Issue 5 PDF

29 January - 4 February 2013 Issue-5/2013 (29 th January to 4th February)
CURRENT AFFAIRS
CLASS NOTES: 29 Jan - 4 Feb, 2013
(Compiled from 11 Newspapers & 7 Magazines)
29 January 2013 China gives go-ahead for three new Brahmaputra dams
1. China has given the go-ahead for the construction of three new hydropower dams on the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra river, ending a two-year halt in approving new projects on the river amid concerns from India and environmental groups. 2. The three new dams have been approved by the State Council, or Cabinet, under a new energy development plan for 2015 that was released on January 23, according to a copy of the plan available with The Hindu. 3. China has, so far, only begun construction on one major hydropower dam on the main stream of the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra or YarlungZangbo as it is known in China a 510 MW project in Zangmu in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), which began to be built in 2010. 4. One of the three approved new dams is bigger than the Zangmu project. 5. A 640 MW dam will be built in Dagu, which lies 18 km upstream of Zangmu. Another 320 MW dam will be built at Jiacha, also on the middle reaches of the Brahmaputura downstream of Zangmu. A third dam will be built at Jiexu, 11 km upstream of Zangmu. The capacity of the Jiexu dam is, as yet, unconfirmed. 6. The three projects were listed in the State Councils energy plan for the Twelfth Five Year Plan period (2011-15), which was released on January 23. Vigorous push 7. The plan said the government will push forward vigorously the hydropower base construction on the middle reaches of the YarlungZangbo. In the Twelfth Five Year plan period (2011-15), the government will begin construction of 120 million kilowatt of conventional hydropower. Feasibility study 8. A pre-feasibility study report for the 640 MW Dagu dam passed review in November, according to the Huadong Engineering Corporation, a hydropower company that was tasked with conducting the study by the local government. 9. A notice posted on its website said a two-day review conference for the pre-feasibility study of the dam was held in November, organised by the Tibet Autonomous Region governments Development and Reform Commission. The notice said the study successfully passed review, adding that the dam would be located 18 km upstream of the already in-construction Zangmu dam. 10. The catchment area at the dam site, according to the Huadong Engineering Corporation, is 157,400 square kilometres, and the average annual discharge is 1010 cubic metres per second. 11. The dam will be built with a height of 124 metres and 640 MW capacity. The construction of the Zangmu dam in 2010 triggered concerns in India regarding possible impact on downstream flows. Chinese officials, however, assured their Indian counterparts that the project was only a run-ofthe-river hydropower station, which would not divert the Brahmaputras waters. The government has also built at least six smaller hydropower projects on the Yarlung Zangbos tributaries, which, officials say, will have no impact on downstream flows. Diversion plan shelved 12. The government has, for now, shelved a long-discussed plan to divert the YarlungZangbos waters to the arid north, citing technical difficulties. The plan is part of the proposed Western route of the massive South-to-North diversion project, on which construction is yet to begin. Chinese officials and analysts say a diversion plan is very unlikely, considering the difficult terrain and technical problems. 13. However, with the three new approvals under the energy plan, four hydropower projects will now be built all located within a few dozen kilometres of each other on the main stream of the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra. Fresh concerns likely in India 14. While they are run-of-the-river projects, they will be required to store large volumes of water for generating power. Their construction is likely to trigger fresh concerns in India on how the flows of the Brahmaputra downstream will be impacted.
Leprosy continues to haunt India, social stigma remains

1. While India celebrates its near victory over polio, another dreaded disease, leprosy, that was overpowered in 2005 continues to haunt the government. Those affected by the disease continue to face social stigma and discrimination. 2. In addition to the 12,305 child cases detected during the past year, 16 States and Union Territories have also shown an increase in the number of cases. 3. Though in 2005 leprosy was eliminated (having less than 1 patient per 10,000 population), now it has the worlds highest burden of disease, accounting for close to 58 per cent of the cases in the world. A total of 1.27 lakh new cases were detected in 2011-12 which gives an Annual New Case Detection Rate (ANCDR) of 10.35 per 100,000 population, which is marginally less than that of 10.48 in 2010-11. 4. Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It usually affects the skin
JTS Institute
Current Affairs Notes
29 January - 4 February 2013

and peripheral nerves, but has a wide range of clinical manifestations. The disease is characterised by long incubation period generally 5-7 years and is classified as paucibacillaryor multibacillary, depending on the bacillary load. Leprosy is a leading cause of permanent physical disability. Timely diagnosis and treatment of cases, before nerve damage occurred, is the most effective way of preventing disability due to leprosy. 1.26 lakh new cases 5. Of the total of 1.26 lakh new cases deleted from record, a total of 1.16 lakh completed their treatment within the specified period. However, only 69.5 per cent people were able to complete their treatment in Delhi, 66.7 per cent in Tripura, 67.7 in Meghalaya and 32.4 per cent in Himachal Pradesh 6. According to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the eve of the Anti-Leprosy Day, a total of 0.83 lakh cases are on record giving a prevalence rate of (PR) of 0.68 per 10,000 population though only 530 districts out of the 640 have achieved the elimination level. Chhattisgarh (1.69 per 10,000 population) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (2.93 per 10,000) have the prevalence rate between 1 and 3 per 10,000. Although Bihar has reached the PR of less than 1 in 2011-12, the government is still keeping an eye over it. 7. I would say leprosy is effectively cured in India with MDT (multi drug therapy) since 1985. It is not an infectious or a contagious disease any more but the stigma associated with it is unacceptable, says P.K. Gopal, who for over four decades has championed efforts to help eradicate leprosy and to further the cause of those who are affected by this disease. 700 leprosy colonies 8. Dr.Gopal, International President of the International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement (IDEA), which he helped to set up in 1994, says there are 700 leprosy colonies in the country where over 2 lakh people live marginalised lives. 9. Even if they do not have the disease, merely the address of a leper colony is reason enough for disqualification for applying to a job or being denied admission in a school, Dr.Gopal told The Hindu while citing a recent case of Bihar, where a child was denied admission merely because someone in the family had the disease. 10. Despite being part of a panel that is now busy preparing a new official programme for leprosy with on early detection and removal of stigma, Dr.Gopal feels that there has been some complacency in the implementation of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme launched in 1983. There is some kind of lack of interest because the disease is believed to have gone. But there is a steady flow of new cases, he explains. 11. With the introduction of MDT, India with help from the World Bank and the World Health Organisation (WHO) started providing MDT free of cost to affected people from 1993 until 2004. India took over the programme in 2005 after it pronounced that the disease was eliminated. Reduction in funds 12. There has been a huge reduction in the funds ever since leprosy was eliminated that has adversely impacted the nongovernmental organisations and civil society activists working for the uplift of the leprosy-affected and cured people, says V. Narasappa of the National Federation of Leprosy Cured People in India. People in the rural areas do not even know MDT is available free and importantly they keep away from health facilities for fear of stigma, says Mr.Narasappa. The burden of the disease is highest among the Scheduled Castes (18.40 per cent) and Scheduled Tribes (15.83 per cent). 13. Under the 11th Five Year Plan, leprosy services were being provided through the PHC with general health staff. However, a component called District Nucleus was kept at the district-level under the District Programme Officer with persons from the erstwhile vertical staff under NLEP. As against 642 districts, there are only 369 sanctioned posts of District Leprosy Officers, remaining districts are managed by the District Programme Officer, who also works for other programmes. Concept: Leprosy Leprosy is a disease that has been known since biblical times. It causes skin sores, nerve damage, and muscle weakness that gets worse over time. Causes, incidence, and risk factors Leprosy is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It is not very contagious and it has a long incubation period (time before symptoms appear), which makes it hard to know where or when someone caught the disease. Children are more likely than adults to get the disease. Leprosy has two common forms: tuberculoid and lepromatous. Both forms produce sores on the skin. However, the lepromatous form is most severe. It causes large lumps and bumps (nodules). Leprosy is common in many countries worldwide, and in temperate, tropical, and subtropical climates. About 100 cases per year are diagnosed in the United States. Most cases are in the South, California, Hawaii, and U.S. islands. Effective medications exist. Isolating people with this disease in leper colonies is not needed. Drug-resistant Mycobacterium leprae and an increased numbers of cases worldwide has led to global concern about this disease. Symptoms Skin lesions that are lighter than your normal skin color Lesions have decreased sensation to touch, heat, or pain Lesions do not heal after several weeks to months Muscle weakness Numbness or lack of feeling in the hands, arms, feet, and legs Signs and tests Lepromin skin test can be used to tell the two different forms of leprosy apart, but it is not used to diagnose the disease Skin lesion biopsy Skin scraping examination Treatment A number of different antibiotics (including dapsone, rifampin, clofazamine, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and minocycline) are used to kill the bacteria that cause the disease. More than one antibiotic is often given together. Aspirin, prednisone, or thalidomide is used to control inflammation.
Loans to become cheaper as RBI cuts policy rate

1. For the first time in nine months, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday cut the indicative policy
JTS Institute

rate (repo) by 25 percentage points, from 8 percent to 7.75 percent, and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 25 percentage points, from 4.25 per cent 4 percent. 2. The step is likely to benefit retail borrowers, as lending rates are likely to come down. After meeting RBI Governor D. Subbarao, bankers said they would pass on the benefit to borrowers. 3. The RBI first cut the repo rate in the current fiscal in April 2012, with a reduction of 50 percentage points, from 8.5 per cent to 8 per cent. It reduced the CRR from a peak of 6 percent to 4.25 till midDecember 2012.Repo is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the central bank. CRR is the portion of deposits banks must keep with the RBI. 4. In its third quarter review, Dr.Subbarao said: While the series of recent policy initiatives by the government has boosted market sentiment, it will take some time to reverse the investment slowdown and reinvigorate growth.The RBI has scaled down the projection for GDP growth for the current year, from 5.8 per cent to 5.5 per cent, and for the wholesale price inflation in March 2013, from 7.5 percent to 6.8 percent. 5. This provides space, albeit limited, for monetary policy to give greater emphasis to growth risks, Dr.Subbarao said.However, the RBI has warned that retail inflation is still at a higher level. Standing Committee recommendations on Agriculture, the group said that the panel had clearly warned the government against the facilitative benevolence of opening the agriculture sector up to private prospectors as done in communications, pharma, mineral wealth and other sectors If the shortcomings in the food sector are addressed, there would not be any compelling need for adopting technologies which are yet to be proven totally safe for biodiversity, environment, human and livestock health and which will encourage monoculture an option best avoided, the panel had observed. 4. The coalition said the conference had a predominance of vested interests behind it promoting the conference with full-page advertisements in newspapers such as the Pesticide Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India, the biotechlobby group [Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises] and the National Seed Association of India. It has included controversial speakers who are known for their support to GM crops without supporting scientific facts or evidence. 5. It is unethical for the Ministry to blatantly promote technologies such as genetically modified crops, when India is trying to come out of the pesticide treadmill and make its production, farming and farmers livelihood sustainable, safe and remunerative, it added. 6. The coalition has objected to the Ministry, which is answerable to the larger public, acting at the behest of these industries who stand to profit from these unneeded and hazardous technologies. 7. The conference, Doubling Food Production in Five Years, is slated to be inaugurated by President PranabMukheree with Mr.Pawar as a key speaker. Concept: GM crops Genetically modified crops (GMCs, GM crops, or biotech crops) are plants, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques, to resist pests and agents causing harm to plants and to improve the growth of these plants to assist in farmers efficiency. Genetic engineering techniques are much more precise[1] than mutagenesis (mutation breeding) where an organism is exposed to radiation or chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change. Other techniques by which humans modify food organisms include selective breeding; plant breeding, and animal breeding, and somaclonal variation. In most cases the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in this species. Examples include resistance to certain pests, diseases or environmental conditions, or the production of a certain nutrient or pharmaceutical agent. Critics have objected to GM crops per se on several grounds, including ecological concerns, and economic concerns raised by the fact these organisms are subject to intellectual property law. GM crops also are involved in controversies over GM food with respect to whether food produced from GM crops is safe and whether GM crops are needed to address the worlds food needs.
Iron, folic acid tablets to be given to 13 crore girls every week

1. In an effort to prevent anaemia, the government will soon launch an ambitious programme to provide Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablets every week to 13 crore adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years across the country. 2. Health Ministry will roll out the programme across the country in the next three months under which girl students will be administered the tablets every Monday. This is a programme wherein we will give the tablets to 6 crore girl students in schools and another 6 to 7 crore who are outside schools. The tablets will be given to them after the mid-day meals, Anuradha Gupta, Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission, said on Tuesday. 3. She also said the adolescent girls will be given six monthly dose of Albendazole (400 mg) tablet for deworming.The aim of the programme is also to inform adolescent girls of the correct dietary practices for increasing iron intake, she said. 4. Briefing reporters about the Indias Call to Action Summit for Child Survival and Development in Chennai from February 7, organised in collaboration with UNICEF, she said, since 1990, the child mortality rate in India has dropped by 45 percent.
Agro-conference teems with vested interests, group tells Centre

1. The Ministry of Agriculture has no intentions of keeping off a conference it has supported despite the Coalition for GM-free India having taken umbrage at the government associating with an event organised by the agrochemical industry to be addressed by speakers known for being promoters of genetically modified (GM) crops as an answer to food security. 2. In a letter written to Agriculture and Food Processing Minister SharadPawar, the group urged the government not to go ahead with the conference scheduled for next week, saying it would provide a platform to hazardous industries and waste precious public funds in support of their cause. 3. Quoting from the Parliamentary
JTS Institute

5. She also admitted that there has been no progress in neo-mortality rate but hoped that the situation will improve in the coming years.India is still among the top four that account for 50 per cent of global under-five mortality. In this context, India co-convened the June 2012 Global Call to Action on child survival along with Ethiopia and United States of America. questions, but makes sure that the papers are in order. The hospital does not cater to foreign clients, but has had NRI customers. Their charge is same whether for IVF or surrogacy, which is Rs. one lakh per cycle. The doctors in these institutions feel that sensational media coverage has boosted the industry that sorely needs regulation. At the only private hospital that agreed to be interviewed for the study, the doctor said that she had been providing IVF services since the early 1990s. She did have some clients seeking surrogacy, but she did not like the issues attached to it and so had stopped catering to such clients. She has restarted offering this service of late since she knows a reliable third party agency that handles all legal and other issues. She deals only with the medical aspect, till a pregnancy is successful, after which an obstetrician takes over. All the doctors were aware of some doctors running hostels for surrogates where they could be monitored and supervised. This was, of course, against ICMR guidelines. On the other hand, surrogates clearly need such institutions since they need to stay away from home for a long period and then return claiming that they had been away on work, so that their neighbours do not find out about their pregnancies. Many of the commissioning couples also prefer the surrogate to stay in a hostel so that they could be in regular contact with the surrogate, and indeed bond with her, even as the doctor keeps an eye on her and supervises her diet and medication. The surrogates husband and children are permitted to visit her regularly. All the doctors interviewed are highly qualified specialists. They have been in this field for 20 years or more and all of them are members of Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Society of India (FOGSI) and the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR). In the public sector institutions, postgraduates are trained in assisted reproduction. The other doctors interviewed, one from the trust hospital and the other from a clinic, are also involved in training workshops as members of ISAR. It was found that due to severe shortage of qualified embryologists, medical and ethical rules are flouted with aplomb. While untrained doctors pass off as embryologists, there are no standard guidelines for facilities required or uniform rate of charges and payment. The harvesting of up to 20 eggs, the insertion of any number of embryos and the widespread practice of embryosharing are the unethical practices. The study observed that immediate passage of the ART (Regulation) Bill in Parliament is the need of the hour; it will create transparency because ART banks, and not clinics, will deal directly with surrogates. The registration of such banks would also mean that middlemen, who now thrive, would be weeded out. FAQs about surrogacy laws in India: What claims does a surrogate have over the child? In India the surrogate is not considered as the legal mother. As per ICMR Guidelines 2005, a surrogate mother cannot be genetically related to the child . She is legally and psychologically counselled that she will not be having any rights over the child. Her rights and obligations towards the intended parents as well the child are formulated in the gestational surrogacy agreement. Moreover, a child born through surrogacy shall be presumed to be the legitimate child of the intended parents/s and shall have all the legal rights to parental support, inheritance and all other privileges which a child born naturally to the intended parents/s would have had. Who is the legal mother of the surrogate child under Indian law? As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR Guidelines) the surrogate mother should not be biologically connected to the child (Guideline 1.2.33).The Indian Law recognises the Intended mother only as the legal mother in surrogacy arrangements. Also Guidelines 3.10.1 and 3.16.1 make it very much clear that the intended parents only would be the legal parents of the child with all the attendance rights, parental responsibility etc. Also Guideline 3.5.4 states that the surrogate mother shall not be the legal mother and the birth certificate shall be in the name of the genetic parents. 3.5.5 Provides that the surrogate mother shall relinquish in writing all the parental rights over the child. India is very soon going to enact its legislation on the field
Reproductive Tourism in India

Expansion and proliferation of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has been facilitated by economic globalisation wherein reproductive tissues like sperm, ova, and uteri are traded like any other commodity to make profit, says a new study, adding that India has emerged as the surrogacy outsourcing capital of the world. Titled Reproductive Tourism in India: Actors, Agencies and Contemporary Transnational Networks, the study was conducted by the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU, Sama-Resource Group for Women and Health and Kings College London. The study focuses on the scenario in New Delhi where a large number of private hospitals and government institutions offer ART. It was found that public sector institutions offer only altruistic surrogacy services which are medically indicated. Leading obstetricians and gynaecologists from a top government-run hospital admitted that they have performed in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in some cases where they were not sure if it was altruistic surrogacy. One doctor said that she once had a patient, a doctor by profession who bore a surrogate baby for her sister-in-law who was also a doctor, married to a doctor, since they could not have their own biological baby. We do counsel about adoption, but the urge to have their own child is very strong here, she said. She gets about five to six surrogacy cases a year and they are all Indian couples. According to the doctor, the surrogates are clearly doing this to educate their children and get ahead in life. At trust hospitals, the focus is on infertility and IVF and not on surrogacy. They handle about two to three surrogacy births and about a hundred IVF cases a year. The commissioning couple brings the surrogate and the doctors ask no
JTS Institute

of Assisted Reproductive Technology. The Proposed act also has the same favourable provisions. Who is the legal father of the surrogate child under Indian law given that the surrogate mother is widowed and the sperm derives from the intended father. Indian law doesnt put any bar on opting for donor sperm or eggs. In cases where the child is biologically related to the intended father the intended father only would be the legal father provided the child so born should not be biologically connected to the surrogate mother. In such a scenario the donor egg should be used and the donor under guideline 3.5.5 shall be bound to relinquish all the parental rights over the child so born, thus making the intended father only as the legal father of the child as per Indian law. Is there are any requirement for a court application to be made in India for a pre-birth order and a post-birth order such as is required in some other nations? No, there is no requirement to make a court application for prebirth order or post-birth order in India. However there are some countries which require us to obtain the declaration decree for the intended parents. In case the country of intended parents requires obtaining a court decree getting themselves declared as the legal parents the same can be obtained by applying to Indian Courts under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908. What would be the legal position under Indian law if the surrogate mother changed her mind upon birth and refused to hand over the child to intended parents? However such instances have not been witnessed in the Indian scenario but still if a situation like this arises then the surrogacy contract can be the saviour. The contract must clearly state that the child /children born out of surrogacy shall be the legal children of the intended parents and that the surrogate shall have no rights over the child/children. The said contract can then become the basis of legal action against the surrogate mother also the law pertaining to surrogacy i.e. ICMR Guidelines also support the intended parents only as the legal parents. haemophiliacs in the district dry as they will have to shell out at least Rs. 24,000 to buy blood clotting agent in private hospitals. 2. Even a year after registering their names with the Karunya Benevolent Fund, haemophilia patients here are yet to get blood clotting factors free of cost. 3. The Karunya Benevolent Fund was set up by the government to provide financial assistance to under-privileged people suffering from acute ailments. 4. Persons who lack blood factor that helps clotting need immediate treatment with externally supplied factor for every bleed. Haemophilia is a genetically-transmitted disease that impairs the bodys ability to help blood clotting. 5. The quantity of the clotting factor required for a haemophiliac during bleeding depends on the weight of the patients body. 6. As a unit of the factor costs Rs. 12, a patient on average may require up to Rs. 24,000 for treating a small bleed. (See graphic) 6,500 HAEMOPHILIACS 7. The State has about 6,500 registered haemophiliacs. But there could be a lot more in the population that go undetected, said N. Vijaykumar, medical officer incharge of Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, Aluva. 8. In the open market, the blood factor is expensive. The World Federation of Haemophilia Societies provides the blood clotting factors only to registered societies. 9. There are 860 haemophilia patients registered with the Haemophilia Society, Angamaly, which is among the most active societies in mid-Kerala region. DEADLY DISEASE 10. Chronic shortage of the factor, high cost of treatment and poor financial capacity of patients make this genetically transmitted disorder a deadly disease. 11. Karunya Fund was expected to issue identity cards for all registered patients so that they can access the factor free of cost from medical colleges and district hospitals. However, neither have the identity cards come through nor has the government started making the blood factor available at the district hospitals. In Thiruvananthapuram, the blood clotting factor is available free of cost under the Karunya scheme. 12. A judicial intervention about two years ago had made the factor available at all medical colleges in the State. HAEMOPHILIA CENTRE 13. A full-fledged haemophilia centre proposed at the Regional Blood Transfusion Centre at a cost of Rs. 3.5 crore is also in limbo. While the State had given its nod for starting the centre, construction work is yet to begin. Such a centre would be the first in the State and third in the country after CMC Vellore and St. Johns Hospital, Bangalore. 14.The district panchayat will provide Rs. 40 lakh for setting up the centre, panchayat president EldoseKunappilly said. The project has been approved and tendering process is on, he said. 15. The National Rural Health Mission and Kerala State Medical Services Corporation are also expected to chip in. According to Dr.Vijayakumar, equipment worth Rs. 8 lakh is ready but there is no building to house it.
Asteroid to come close to earth on Feb 15

An asteroid will come close to the earth on February 15, according to Birla Science Centre here. This is the first near-earth asteroid to pass so close to the earth, said B M Birla Science Centre Director Dr B G Sidharth said in a release here. The asteroid 2012 DA 14 measures about 50 metres and would swoop to about 27,000 km near earth or roughly about one tenth the distance to moon, he said.
Antarctic drillers reach lake buried beneath ice

1. US scientists have successfully drilled into Lake Whillans, a body of water buried almost one kilometre under the Antarctic ice. 2. Scientists reported that sensors on their drill system had noted a change in pressure, indicating contact had been made with the lake. 3. A camera was then sent down to verify the breakthrough, BBC News reported. 4. The Whillans project is one of a number of such ventures trying to investigate Antarcticas buried lakes. In December, a British team
Lack of free pill bleeds dry haemophiliacs

1. A small cut will bleed
JTS Institute

had abandoned its efforts to get into Lake Ellsworth after encountering technical difficulties. 5. The Russians have taken water samples from Lake Vostok, although they have yet to report any big discoveries, the report said. 6. Lake Whillans is situated in the west of Antarctica, on the southeastern edge of the Ross Sea. It is less of a lake and more of a dense system of streams, almost like a delta, that covers some 60 square kilometre. The liquid body is quite shallow - just a few metres in depth. 7. The Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (Wissard) team has been using a hot-water drill to melt a 30cm-diameter hole through the overlying ice.The intention, now that the hole is secure, is to lower various sampling tools and sensors into the lake to study its properties and environment. 8. Samples will be assessed onsite at the ice surface in temporary labs, and others will be returned to partner universities for more extensive analysis. 9. The thickness of the overlying ice was measured to be 801m, which agreed well with the estimates from seismic imaging, the Wissard blog said. More than 300 large bodies of water have now been identified under the White Continent. Scientists are still unsure whether the bacteria and fungi they found routinely inhabit the sky, living off carbon compounds, or are continually borne aloft by winds and air currents. We did not expect to find so many micro-organisms in the troposphere, which is considered a very difficult environment for life, lead researcher Dr Kostas Konstantinidis, from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, said. There seems to be quite a diversity of species, but not all bacteria make it into the upper atmosphere, Konstantinidis said. DNA analysis revealed that bacteria made up 20 per cent of particles previously thought to consist of nothing but sea salt or dust. Marine bacteria were mostly found over the ocean, while their terrestrial cousins tended to occupy the air above land. There was strong evidence that hurricanes affected the distribution and dynamics of microbial populations. Around 17 different families of bacteria were detected. The bugs can help trigger cloud formation by supplying the particles around which ice crystals form. In the absence of dust or other materials that could provide a good nucleus for ice formation, just having a small number of these micro-organisms around could facilitate the formation of ice at these altitudes and attract surrounding moisture, said coauthor Professor Athanasios Nenes, also from the Georgia Institute of Technology. helping banks to transmit the rate cut to customers immediately. HDFC Bank reduced its auto loan rates by up to 0.5 percentage point. The interest rate on car loans will be lower by 0.25 percentage point ranging from 10.50 per cent to 11.50 per cent (from 10.75 per cent to 11.75 per cent). The new rates would be effective from February 1. In the two-wheeler segment, loans will be cheaper by 0.5 percentage point. The bank reduced the interest rate on commercial vehicle loans by 0.25 percentage point. With regard to commercial vehicles, rates for heavy commercial vehicles loans will be down to 11 percent, while that on light commercial vehicles to 13.75 percent from 14 per cent. Among the old private sector banks, Federal Bank slashed its interest rates on auto loans to 10.45 percent from 11.20 per cent. Concept: Base Rate vs BPLR Rate BPLR is the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate and is the rate at which banks in the country lend money to their most credit worthy customers. Till now, RBI had given a free run to the banks to fix their BPLR and different banks do have different BPLR causing resentment among customers. Add to it the practice of banks to provide loans at a much higher rate than their BPLR and it completes the misery of the common people. Keeping all this in mind, RBI has suggested the use of a Base Rate in place of BPLR from July 1, 2011 that will be applicable to all banks across the country. Let us understand the differences between BPLR and Base rate in detail. Though all banks have a BPLR, it has been seen that they charge a higher rate of interest on home loans and car loans from customers. In some cases, the difference between BPLR and the rate of interest charged by the bank is as much as 4%. There is no mechanism at present to educate a customer about BPLR and the rate at which he is being offered a loan and why there is a difference between the two rates. Though BPLR, also known as prime lending rate or simply prime rate, was originally meant to bring transparency in the system of loaning, it was seen that banks began to misuse BPLR as they were at a liberty to set their own BPLR. It became difficult for a customer to compare BPLR of
Significant number of unknown bugs living above the clouds

Scientists have discovered a significant number of bugs living in the middle and upper troposphere, the airy layer eight to 15 kilometres above the Earths surface. The microbes could have a previously unrecognised impact on cloud formation, according to the research. Long distance travel by the airborne organisms may also help spread infections around the world, researchers believe. The bugs were discovered in air samples scooped up by a DC-8 aircraft flying over both land and sea across the US, Caribbean and western Atlantic, the Daily Mail reported. Samples were collected at altitudes of eight to 15 kilometres before and after two major tropical hurricanes in 2010.
30 January 2013 SBI cuts Base Rate marginally

State Bank of India surprised the markets with a cut of only 0.05 percentage point in its Base Rate on Wednesday from 9.75 percent to 9.70 percent with effect from February 4. SBI cut rates following a 25 basis point cut in policy rate (repo) by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday in its third quarter review of monetary policy from 8 percent to 7.75 percent. The RBI has also cut Cash Reserve Ratio by 25 basis points from 4.25 per cent to 4 percent to cushion the rate cut
JTS Institute

different banks as all had different BPLR. Another point of resentment is that when RBI reduced its prime lending rate, banks did not automatically followed suit and continued to lend money at a higher rate of interest. It became clear to RBI that BPLR system was not functioning in a transparent manner and complaints of consumers were increasing in an exponential manner. This is why, RBI, after studying the recommendations of a study group has decided to enforce a Base Rate instead of BPLR from July 1, 2011. The difference between BPLR and Base Rate is that now the banks are given parameters like cost of funds, operational expenses, and a profit margin that banks have to provide to RBI as to how they arrived at their base rate. On the other hand, though there were similar parameters in case of BPLR also, they were in less detail and also RBI did not have the power to scrutinize BPLR of the banks. Now the banks will be forced to follow a consistent method of calculation as against arbitrary methods they chose while calculating BPLR. Earlier banks gave loans to blue chip companies at rates even lower than their BPLR and compensated by giving loans at higher rates to common consumers but now they have been asked not to give loans at a rate lower than the Base Rate. All this obviously means the system of Base Rate will be more transparent than BPLR system. In brief: BPLR Rate vs Base Rate BPLR is Benchmark Prime Lending Rate which is set by banks to lend money to customers. Banks gave loans at even lower than BPLR to blue chip companies while charged higher rate of interest from common people. This is why RBI has decided to scrape the BPLR system and introduced a Base Rate that will be applicable from July 1, 2011 Base rate will bring transparency in the loan segment as banks cannot give loans at rates lower than Base Rate. epidemic causing 1.9 million deaths every year. 2. Studies carried on the people of Arunachals Idu-Mishmis tribe, suffering from this dreaded disease, have discovered a possible reason for the resistance of tuberculosis, said the scientists from the Stanford University and Forsyth Institute. 3. According to results of the study published in the prestigious Science Translational Medicine journal, this is because of the ability of the tuberculosis bacteria to infiltrate and settle down in a particular class of stem cell in the bone marrow. 4. By doing so, the bacteria take advantage of the bodys own mechanisms of self-renewal. 5. Cancer scientists have noted that self-renewing stem cells like these in the bone marrow have properties such as natural drug resistance, infrequent division and a privileged immune status that make them resistant to many types of treatment, said Dean Felsher, MD, PhD, professor of oncology and of pathology. 6. Not only did the scientists find genetic material from the bacteria inside the stem cells, they were also able to isolate active bacteria from the cells of human patients with tuberculosis who had undergone extensive treatment for the disease. 7. We now need to learn how the bacteria find and infect this tiny population of stem cells, and what triggers it to reactivate years or decades after successful treatment of the disease, said postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, from the Stanford University, and lead author of the study. 8. The researchers and doctors conducted free general medical camps in five villages of Arunachal Pradesh in India and gave free medicines to all patients belonging to the Idu-Mishmis sub tribe. 9. This effort led to identification of individuals who had TB, and successfully completed drug treatment. 10. From these individuals, the team isolated the CD271+ stem cells, and found evidence of dormant TB bacteria in those stem cells.These results supported Dass laboratory and CamposNetos animal study evidence that dormant TB hide in the CD271+ stem cells, the press statement said. 11. The findings raise the possibility that other infectious agents may employ similar wolfin-stem-cell-clothing tactics. 12. And, although any new human treatments are likely to still be years away, they suggest a new possible target in the fight against tuberculosis, which infects nearly 2.2 billion people worldwide. 13. The study as to why TB treated patients remain sensitive to TB tests for life made a breakthrough, the results now will have direct implications in anti-TB drug development and explain why it is so difficult to treat active and latent TB said the RIWATCH release.This medical research has brought the Idu-Mishmi people and Arunachal on the world map.
India slides down in press freedom index

1. India has dropped nine places to 140 in the list of 179 countries in the 2013 World Press Freedom Index, which its authors, Reporters Without Borders, said was the lowest for the worlds biggest democracy since 2002. 2. In Asia, India (140th, 9) is at its lowest since 2002 because of increasing impunity for violence against journalists and because Internet censorship continues to grow, Reporters Without Borders said. 3. China (173, +1), it said, had shown no sign of improving. Its prisons still hold many journalists and netizens, while increasingly unpopular Internet censorship continues to be a major obstacle to access to information. 4. As last year, the list is topped by three European countries Finland, Netherlands and Norway. Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea continue to be at the bottom of the list as has been in the last three years. 5. The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not take direct account of the kind of political system, but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. In dictatorships, news providers and their families are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in democracies news providers have to cope with the
Arunachal tribe helps in TB research breakthrough

1. A small Arunachal sub-tribe has helped U.S. scientists made a major breakthrough in tuberculosis research, giving them new insight on how TB remains a global
JTS Institute

medias economic crises and conflicts of interest. While their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all those who resist pressure whether it is aggressively focused or diffuse, he said. 6. According to the report, in almost all parts of the world, influential countries, including India, that are regarded as regional models have fallen in the index. 7. Observing that there was a general decline in freedom of information in South Asia, the report said the Indian subcontinent was the region in Asia that saw the sharpest deterioration in the climate for those involved in news and information in 2012. Brahmaputra on the Arunachal Pradesh, Assam border.
Vodafone issue will be resolved shortly

9. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has exuded confidence that the Rs.11,200-crore Vodafone tax dispute will be resolved within a month. 10. They (Vodafone representatives) are being invited to a third round of discussions this week....they (the Central Board of Direct Taxes) expect them to come any time this week and I am looking forward to a resolution of the Vodafone issue. And Im confident we will resolve that issue, he told the Financial Times in an interview. 11. When asked whether the issue would be resolved in the next month or so, the Minister said, I am trying to resolve it even sooner than that. 12. British telecom major Vodafone was slapped with an income tax demand notice of Rs.11,200 crore on its 2007 acquisition of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoas stake in its Indian telecom business. The liability arose following the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee amending the Income Tax Act, 1961, with retrospective effect to undo the Supreme Court judgment that had ruled in favour of the company. 13. Mr. Chidambaram said he was happy that Vodafone has formally written to the government offering to engage senior government officials to find a way out of the problem. They have held two rounds of discussions with my Revenue Secretary and the Chairman of the CBDT. 14. The Minister said he was confident about resolution of the dispute soon because for the first time, Vodafone has offered to engage the government in a discussion to find a solution rather than persist with its Notice of Arbitration. 15. The Indian government is working towards a solution based on recommendations of the Shome panel, which suggested that either the government should withdraw the retrospective tax amendment or waive the penalty in case it had to recover the taxes. 16. Withdraw spectrum guidelines 17. Meanwhile, Vodafone India has sought withdrawal of the recently issued guidelines for the second round of spectrum auction, terming
U.S. fears over compulsory licence for anti-cancer drug allayed

1. India, on Wednesday, conveyed to the U.S. that it had not violated any multilateral trade agreement by issuing compulsory licence for Bayers patented anti-cancer drug Nexavar to a local firm so as to make it affordable.It also asserted that such a move should not be seen as routine by the U.S. 2. The message was conveyed by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma to U.S. Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment RoberHormats, who raised concerns over the matter during a meeting here, according to an official. 3. Mr. Sharma has assured him that the move was totally compliant with multilateral agreements. The compulsory licence (CL) was issued after a due adjudication process, so it should not be seen as routine, the official added. 4. In March last, Hyderabad-based NatcoPharma was allowed to manufacture and sell cancertreatment drug Nexavar at a price that was just a fraction of that was charged by patent-holder Bayer Corporation, under CL. The German firm has already filed an appeal against the Indian Patents Offices order with the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. 5. Mr. Hormats raised the U.S. pharmaceutical industrys concern over issuance of CL by India and said that patent holders should be assured that it should not be a routine thing, the official said. 6. The Minister informed him that India is a responsible state and it will not do anything which will hamper innovation in the pharma sector, the official added. 7. As per the WTO agreement, a CL can be invoked by a national government, allowing someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner in public interest. Drug price 8. Natco was allowed to sell the drug at a price not exceeding Rs.8,880 for a pack of 120 tablets required for a months treatment as compared to a whopping Rs.2.80 lakh charged by Bayer for its patented Nexavar drug.
Run-of-the-river dams wont affect inflows into India

1. Amid concern in India over Chinas plans to construct dams upstream on the Brahmaputra, a senior government official said here on Wednesday that the run-ofthe-river projects would not affect inflows into India. 2. Reacting to the news that China plans to construct three new hydropower dams in the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra (or YarlungZangbo as it is known in China), Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijay Singh told The Hindu that the Indian government was aware of the dams being constructed/proposed by China. We are keeping a close watch. These are run-of-the-river dams with no storage and will not affect inflows into India, he said. 3. However, the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, an NGO, said these being run-of-theriver projects, there may not be any change in the annual flows of the river, but the flow patterns may change and concern about flooding and erosion could not be overlooked. 4. The Hindu reported on Tuesday that the Chinese State Council had approved the construction of three new dams on the Brahmaputra under a new energy development plan for 2015. 5. In India, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation is constructing the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project on the Siang tributary of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh and the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project on Subansiri, another tributary of the
JTS Institute

them illegal, discriminatory and benefiting one set of players. 18. Vodafone said the guidelines were discriminatory in nature, as they fix the reserve price of 900Mhz at three times the price of 800Mhz, while The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended both these bands to be treated on a par. 19. Fixing reserve price of 800 MHz band at comparatively low levels benefits a certain set of telecom operators, it said in a letter to Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar, while seeking withdrawal of the guidelines. 20. Vodafone also said auction of 900MHz spectrum included the spectrum which was now being used by the company for Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata circles and since the same spectrum was already being used in its networks, it could not be put out for auction. X-ray or radio frequencies, a pulsar located 3,500 light years away has been found emitting both radio and X-ray radiation in sync When a star heavier than our Sun by eight to 50 times runs out of hydrogen, it blows away its outermost layers of gas in a supernova explosion and undergoes a gravitational collapse. The remnant of this is a core of neutrons called a neutron star usually around 20 km across, densely compacted and highly magnetised. When the neutron star is spinning, it emits strong radiation from its poles which can be detected only when it is pointed towards the Earth. Because of the spin, these emissions point at Earth periodically, making it appear as though the neutron star is pulsating. For this reason, spinning neutron stars are called pulsars. In a paper published in Science journal on January 25, an international team of scientists working on the LOFAR telescope in the Netherlands and the GMRT telescope near Pune, India, announced a strange behaviour of a pulsar PSR B0943+10. Located 3,500 light years from Earth, PSR B0943+10 has been known since the 1980s to emit radiation in the radio frequency. Pulsars usually emit radiation at radio or X-ray frequencies exclusively, although ones emitting purely gamma radiation have also been found. Some other pulsars also switch modes, emitting brightly for some time and weakly for the some other time, within seconds. While this behaviour has been known for some time, a self-consistent theory to explain it still eludes astrophysicists. However, for the first time ever, a pulsar, PSR B0943+10, has been observed switching between two different modes of radiation X-ray and radio within a second. The Xray mode showed itself when the radio mode had weakened. Also, anomalous weak radio signals were observed when the pulsar was in the bright X-ray mode. As Dr.WimHermsen, the lead author of the study, in an email to this Correspondent noted: The details of our findings were totally surprising, and cannot be explained with the different presently prevailing theories. Dr.Hermsen is associated with the Netherlands Institute for Space Research. Dr.DipanjanMitra, from the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, led the Indian effort of the study, working with the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Alongside Dr. Joanna Rankin of the University of Vermont, Dr.Mitra continuously monitored the pulsar in 2009, and laid the foundation for the published paper. Spotting the anomaly The X-ray emissions were tracked using the European Space Agencys XMM-Newton orbiting space telescope, and the radio signals were studied using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) near Exloo, the Netherlands, and GMRT. While LOFAR can detect only at a fixed frequency, GMRT can sweep a range of frequencies. First, the radio and X-ray emissions were recorded simultaneously over several days. The times at which the flips occurred were first noted in the radio data. Then, the scientists studied the behaviour of the X-ray mode during these flip times. They found that the radio and X-ray modes were perfectly synchronised with each other. While the radio signals were strong and highly organised, the X-ray signals were weak and disorganised, and vice versa. Also, each mode lasted typically for seven hours, although over the course of the study, they also observed that the X-ray mode sometimes lasted for only half-hour or so, making it unpredictable. As Dr.Mitra said, Its as if the pulsar has two personalities. We knew about this behaviour in the radio, but now we see it in the Xrays as well. The team also found that the X-ray emission seemed thermal in origin. This suggests that a temporary hotspot appears close to the pulsars magnetic pole which switches on and off as the pulsar flips.The scientists will go on to analyse the data further to see if they have missed out anything, such as how much of an influence the pulsars plasma-atmosphere has on such emissions.
NASA launches communication satellite

NASA on Thursday launched a new communication satellite to stay in touch with its space station astronauts and relay more Hubble telescope images. An unmanned Atlas V rocket blasted into the starry night sky carrying the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.This is the 11th TDRS satellite to be launched by NASA.The space agency uses the orbiting network to communicate with astronauts living on the International Space Station. The first TDRS spacecraft flew in 1983; it recently was retired along with No. 4. The second was lost aboard space shuttle Challenger in 1986; Monday marked the 27th anniversary of the launch disaster.This newest thirdgeneration TDRS carries the letter K designation. Once it begins working, it will become TDRS-11. It will take two weeks for the satellite to reach its intended 22,300-mile-high orbit. Testing will last a few months.NASA estimates the satellite costs between $ 350 million and $ 400 million. Another TDRS spacecraft, L in the series, will be launched next year.NASA wants at least seven TDRS satellites working in orbit at any one time. The one launched today will make eight.
At last, hideout of dormant TB bacteria found

The hiding place of dormant tuberculosis bacteria in humans has been finally found. The bacteria are present in a nonreplicating, dormant but viable state, and can get reactivated to cause active TB in people who have been successively treated earlier. The
Pulsar behaviour defies theories

Unlike pulsars that emit either at
JTS Institute

remarkable study published today (January 31) in the Science Translational Medicine journal unequivocally demonstrates that a particular kind of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (CD271CD45) provide a safe shelter for the dormant TB bacteria. Recurrence of TB after successful drug treatment remains a big challenge in controlling the disease. Recurrence could happen either due to reactivation of the dormant TB bacteria residing somewhere inside the body or through reinfection. Several studies have shown that more than reinfection, it is the reactivation that causes disease recurrence. Hence management to prevent reactivation is essential. But the precise location where the bacteria hides was not known. But, no longer. The first step adopted by Bikul Das from Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Stanford University, and the lead author of the paper, and others was to study bone marrow stem cells. There was a reason to target these cells they provide a safe haven for the dormant TB bacteria to hide from the immune system; the bacteria are not exposed to TB drugs either. In fact, the stem cells have an efficient way of removing TB drugs that can kill the bacteria, thus providing the bacteria a perfect environment to remain viable for extended periods of time. The germ of an idea to look for TB bacteria in bone marrow samples occurred to Dr. Das way back in the mid 1990s when he was doing biopsies of bone marrow samples. In those biopsies I saw AFB [stained] positive bugs in bone marrow [samples], and occasionally inside progenitor cells. I was not sure if they were stem cells, as a biopsy cannot confirm those cells to be stem cells or progenitor cells, noted Dr. Das in an email to this Correspondent (see box item). An idea came to my mind that if TB bugs indeed reside inside bone marrow stem cells, it could explain why it is so difficult to treat TB. So they started off by studying different bone marrow stem cells from healthy humans to know if the bacteria could infect specific stem cells in vitro. They solved the first piece of the puzzle when they found that the bacteria could infect a few BM stem cells in vitro. Of them, the CD271/CD133 stem cells proved to be the most permissive for TB bacteria infection. After infection, the bacteria multiplied just twofold to threefold within four days and then remained unchanged. Also the bacteria remained viable inside the cells for about two weeks. Differentiation of the stem cells was the only factor that could affect the long-term viability. The viability reduced fourfold when the stem cells differentiated to form specific cell types. The stem cells contain both haematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells. On further scrutiny, they found that the bacteria preferentially infects only the mesenchymal stem cells (CD271). Mesenchymal stem cells are capable of becoming any of the specialised cells in the body. They are essentially found in the bone marrow but can migrate to the lungs. They then performed several experiments using mice. First, they demonstrated the ability of the TB bacteria to migrate to the mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) of mice once the animals were exposed to a low dose of aerosolised virulent TB bacteria. Four weeks after infection, the animals were killed and the presence of TB bacteria in MSC studied. They did find the bacteria in the bone marrow cells. By performing another kind of experiment, they found that TB bacteria retained viability in the mice mesenchymal stem cells. Besides bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, they found viable nonreplicating TB bacteria in lung mesenchymal stem cells too. They progressed to the next stage of studying the infectious nature of the nonreplicating bacteria hiding in the stem cells. To do this, they retrieved the dormant bacteria from the lung mesenchymal stem cells of some mice and injected them into other healthy mice. The recipient mice did develop lung granulomas. The final piece of the puzzle was solved by looking for the presence of dormant TB bacteria in humans who were successfully treated using anti-TB drugs. Nine individuals who had undergone complete treatment and a control group of six healthy people from non-endemic regions were chosen. While all the six healthy people in the control group did not exhibit measurable dormant TB bacteria, eight of the nine people who had successfully undergone treatment did have the bacteria in the CD271 BM mesenchymal stem cells. Our work is only a basic research and does not provide any therapy for patients with tuberculosis, stated Dean W. Felsher of Stanford University in an email to this Correspondent. We do hope that our work will provide potentially new scientific approaches that may lead to new treatments for TB.
Habitable Zone for alien planets redefined

Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have redefined the boundaries of the habitable zone for alien planets, kicking out some exoplanets that were thought to fall within it, and allowing a few others to be included in the zone. This will have a significant impact on the number of exoplanets that are within habitable zone, said research team leader Ravi Kumar Kopparapu of Penn State University. One of the most important characteristics of an alien planet is whether or not it falls into whats called the habitable zone - a Goldilocks-like range of not-tooclose, not-too-far distances from the parent star that might allow the planet to host life. The habitable zone defines the region where a planet might be able to retain liquid water on its surface. Any closer to the star and water would vaporise away; any farther, and it would freeze to ice, Space.com reported. But water in its liquid state is what scientists are after, since that is thought to be a prerequisite for life. The new definition of the habitable zone is based on updated atmospheric databases called HITRAN (high-resolution transmission molecular absorption) and HITEMP (hightemperature spectroscopic absorption parameters), which give the absorption parameters of water and carbon dioxide - two properties that strongly influence the atmospheres of exoplanets, determining whether those planets could host liquid water. The scientists cautioned that the habitable zone definition still does not take into account feedback effects from clouds, which will also affect a planets habitability. The previous habitable zone definitions were derived about 20 years ago by Penn State researcher
JTS Institute
10

James Kasting, who was also part of the team behind the updates. The new definition isnt radically different from the old one. For example, in our own solar system, the boundaries of the habitable zone have shifted from between 0.95 astronomical units (AU, or the distance between Earth and the Sun) and 1.67 AU, to the new range of 0.99 AU to 1.7 AU. Its a surprise that Earth is so close to the inner edge of the habitable zone, said astronomer Abel Mendez of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, who was not part of the team behind the redefinition. Right now as I see it as a significant change. Many of those planets that we believe were inside are now outside. But on the other side, it extends the habitable zones outer edge, so a few planets that are farther away might fall inside the habitable zone now, Mendez said. He mentioned one planet in particular, Gliese 581d, was thought to lie at the outer edge of its stars habitable zone. With the new definition, though, it falls almost smack in the middle, making it perhaps a better candidate for extraterrestrial life. The new habitable zone definition will be published in the Astrophysical Journal. Avoidance Agreement with Chile and has asked that country to further liberalise its visa regime to help the movement of professionals and businessmen. Chiles main export to India is copper, and with the inking of the new trade agreement the product is expected to reach India with zero tariffs. Chile also exports paper pulp among other things to India. The two countries are seeking cooperation in areas like information technology, oceanography, science and technology, agriculture and food processing and engineering and infrastructure. India and Colombia have a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) which came into effect in June 2012. India has also urged Colombia to expedite ratification of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to boost investor confidence. Earlier this month, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), has discovered oil on an on land block, CPO-5, in Colombia. OVL holds 70 percent participating interest in the block located at the Ilanos basin of Colombia. The project was under phase-1 of exploration, with a commitment of drilling two exploratory wells. Argentina, a leading agricultural economy, has invited farmers from India to purchase land there and cultivate it. India is also a major importer of Argentine soybean oil, importing $1.8 billion in 2010. Indian companies have a major presence in Latin American countries. Indian IT companies in Chile include TCS. While in Argentina, there are over 15 Indian companies, with many being in the IT and IT-enabled services sector, employing thousands of people. The others are in various manufacturing areas, from pharma to cosmetics to agro chemicals. India-Latin American trade stood at $20 billion in 2010, way below the $140 billion trade between ChinaLatin American. Monday to push the long-pending India-EU trade accord. Khurshid will hold discussions with German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and would call onchancellor Angela Merkel during his two-day visit on January 28-29. Germany is Indias largest trading partner in Europe.
31 January 2013 Look-East policy bring India into Asia Pacific: Hillary
1. Lauding Indias Look East policy, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that America supports New Delhis move to weave it into the fabric of Asia Pacific region. 2. Weve encouraged Indias Look East policy as a way to weave another big democracy into the fabric of the Asia-Pacific, Ms. Clinton said on Thursday in her last foreign policy speech as the Secretary of State at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a Washington-based think-tank. 3. This was the only place in Ms. Clintons speech that mentioned India as she described Americas expanding engagement in the Asia Pacific region. 4. Now, much attention has been focused on our military moves in the region. And certainly, adapting our forces posture is a key element of our comprehensive strategy. But so is strengthening our alliances through new economic and security arrangements, she said. 5. We responded to the triple disaster in Japan through our government, through our businesses, through our not-forprofits, and reminded the entire region of the irreplaceable role America plays. 6. First and foremost, this so-called pivot has been about creative diplomacy, like signing a littlenoted treaty of amity and cooperation with ASEAN that opened the door to permanent representation and ultimately elevated a forum for engaging on high-stakes issues like the South China Sea, she said. 7. Referring to the agenda of the next four years and beyond, she said the U.S. would have to keep pushing forward on this agenda: consolidate its engagement in the Asia-Pacific without taking eyes off
Ties with Latin America to deepen further

Like Look East Policy of the Indian Government, Focus on Latin America has been the recent emerging policy and will get further boost when external affairs minister Salman Khurshid leaves on a ten-day visit to that region. Khurshid, who returns Thursday after a four-day visit to Germany and Belgium, will leave on Friday for Argentina, Colombia and Chile. India and Chile are close to formalizing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), an arrangement equivalent to a free trade agreement, which would help reduce or eliminate duties on maximum number of products they trade in. Chile is also considered to be the gateway to Latin America in the areas of investment and trade opportunities. With the bilateral trade at $2.6 billion in 2011-12, India has been pushing for a Double Taxation
Khurshid to visit Germany, Belgium to push EU accord

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid will visit two important European Union countries Germany and Belgium from
JTS Institute
11

the Middle East and North Africa. 8. She also called for keep working to curb the spread of deadly weapons, especially in Iran and North Korea; effectively manage the end of combat mission in Afghanistan without losing focus on al-Qaeda and its affiliates and pursuing a far-ranging economic agenda that sweeps from Asia to Latin America to Europe; and keep looking for the next Burmas. 5. Some Indian participants, evidently upset and taking advantage of this candour, reminded the Iranian gentleman that Iran had always sided with Pakistan and asked him what it was that Iran had done for India, that Iran was buying wheat from the U.S. but was not willing to buy it from India, that Iran was spreading radicalisation among the Shia community in India, that India says Iran is important for India but Iran never says India is important for Iran, etc. Someone pointed out that Shiite Iran supported the Taliban in Afghanistan, which was a diehard Sunni movement. 6. The Iranian friend we have to describe him as a friend since friends are supposed to talk frankly without worrying about offending anyone was not nonplussed. It was not Iran which placed obstacles for Indian wheat sales in Iran; this was a matter of business considerations. He added that India could not have an unfriendly attitude towards Iran and, at the same time, expect special consideration. Iran was a land of moderation, not a land of extremism; it never exported Shia extremism to India. If there is Shia extremism in India, there is also Hindu extremism, he added for good measure. As for supporting Pakistan, he said Iran had to, since Pakistan was a neighbour and a friendly country, but Iran had never done anything against India and wanted to be helpful to both. He rubbished the reports about supporting the Taliban and added that India had been in touch with the Taliban. 7. On the nuclear issue, the Iranian expert said Iran was not asking for anything more or less than the rights and obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran had always been in full compliance with its treaty obligations. No section of Iranian society saw nuclear weapons as a matter of privilege or security. Islamic jurisprudence specifically forbade intentionally polluting the atmosphere. Nuclear weapons did not provide security to nuclear weapon states; the U.S. and Nato had nukes but of what use had they been in Afghanistan? Had India been able to use them against Pakistan? As for some evidence contained in a laptop revealed in Vienna, it was fabricated and a cheap argument. 8. The friend used the very point raised by the Saudis and others; India, he pointed out, could easily get oil from other sources, Iran was not really important for India as an energy source.Instead of taking offence at his remarks, we ought to draw some lessons from them. 9. Unlike Iran, which never says India is important for it, Indian strategic community never tires of repeating how crucial Iran is to us for its energy resources, for alternative access to Afghanistan and for the northern corridor to Central Asia. For good measure, we often remind ourselves of the fact that there is a large Shia community in India, the assumption being that the Shias in India expect the government to be mindful of their religious sentiments while deciding on the policy towards Iran. Such talk only strengthens Irans attitude of being somewhat contemptuous or dismissive of India. It further makes people in Iran and India conclude that India needs Iran much more than Iran needs India, if at all. 10. As of today and this must be emphasised Iran certainly needs Indias friendship. It is true that our anti-Iran vote in IAEA has harmed our relations with Tehran, but international relations cannot forever be held hostage to past actions. We ourselves have long forgotten even the fact that many countries had voted against us in the United Nations at the time of Bangladeshs war for independence in 1971. 11. The Iranian friend was right; there are other sources from where India can buy oil. Saudi Arabia would be delighted if we were to turn to it to make up the shortfall, since it would clearly be interpreted as India siding with it in the undeclared politico-sectarian war against Iran. (This is one reason why India would not want to do so.) But the number of buyers of Iranian oil is dwindling fast and Iran is hard put to find alternative buyers, even at discounted prices. Contrary to what our friend said, his Oil Minister has publicly acknowledged that Irans oil exports fell by 40 per cent last year. Iran needs Indias friendship 12. The Prime Minister paid an official visit to Iran last year for the non-aligned summit, no doubt upsetting the Americans. The fact that he was granted an audience by the supreme leader should not flatter us. Iran certainly needs friends like India. Would the supreme leader have received the Prime Minister if his country did not
Lesson on diplomacy, from an Iranian

1. Track II meetings can be useful when participants express their views candidly, without worrying about offending the sensitivities of others. When the event is held in India, visiting think tankers take pain not to upset their hosts. Since most foreigners have rightly concluded that Indians are not only flattery prone but credulous as well, they are usually complimentary about Indias role in various situations such as in Afghanistan, Syria, Middle East, etc. 2. It is therefore refreshing when a visiting participant in a Track II meeting gives free rein to his views about Indias foreign policy as was the case when an Iranian expert, familiar with the official thinking of his government, spoke his mind at an event in Delhi some time ago. Other Iranian participants at the same meeting spoke in a similar vein. 3. Inclined towards U.S. 4. India, he said, was anxious not to make the United States unhappy. Your qibla, he said, is Washington. India was much inclined towards the U.S. and should reconsider striking a balance in its foreign policy; India had some shortcomings and should reconsider its relations with Iran; India was not being pragmatic but opportunistic. Traditionally, India enjoyed huge social capital in Iran; it was hugely popular with the Iranian people. All that had been destroyed for generations in one stroke because of Indias anti-Iran vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency. India could not vote against Iran and claim, at the same time, that Iran was important for India; it just did not make sense. A little later in the interactive session, he reiterated his view that India could not vote against Iran and, at the same time, say it wanted to work with Iran. I repeat this because it was a very harmful act and it is very hard for any friend of India in Iran to accept this.
JTS Institute
12

face sanctions? Iran surely knows that India has not joined in the unilateral sanctions imposed by the West. If Iran, in the face of these facts, has convinced itself that Indias qibla is in the direction of Washington, there is nothing we can do to disabuse it of its thinking. 13. The above analysis is not an argument for downgrading Irans importance for us and for the region of which it is a part. Rather, it is meant to keep in mind what Harish Khare, the respected columnist, recently observed: Appeasement policy does not serve national interest, in domestic politics or in international relations. His advice is aimed at the government but is equally true at the non-governmental level. International relations must be conducted on the basis of reciprocity and mutuality of interests. We also have to keep in mind that countries which at present have strained, even hostile relations with Iran, can and will change their policy at a time of their choosing; we should not be left surprised. We are trying to see what could be the best in terms of transparency so that issues that are hurting industry could be covered adequately, Dr Shome said while noting that the Finance Ministry was also engaged in addressing the issue of expenditure control which remained a major challenge. expansion in GDP during 2011-12 was mainly on account of growth in sectors such as financing, insurance, real estate and business services by11.7 percent, transport, storage and communication (8.4 per cent), electricity, gas and water supply (6.5 per cent) and trade, hotels and restaurants (6.2 per cent). 10. As for gross domestic savings (GDS), the growth in 2011-12 at current prices fell to 30.8 percent of the GDP at market prices and is estimated at Rs.27.65 lakh crore during the year as compared to an increase of 34 percent to Rs.26.52 lakh crore in 2010-11 Deceleration 11. The deceleration in GDS growth in 2011-12, the statement said, was mainly owing to declines in household financial savings from 10.4 percent to 8 percent, in private corporate sector savings from 7.9 percent to 7.2 per cent and in public sector savings from 2.6 per cent to 1.3 per cent as compared to a year ago. 12. Among other major indicators, the gross national income at constant (2004-05) prices and at factor cost in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs.51.97 lakh crore as compared to Rs.48.82 lakh crore in 2010-11, which works out to an increase of 6.4 percent during the year and marks a decline from the previous years growth figure of 8.8 per cent. On the other hand, the GNI at current prices in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs.82.77 lakh crore as compared to Rs.71.85 lakh crore in 2010-11, an increase of 15.2 percent which is lower than the 18.4 percent growth achieved in the previous year. Household sector 13. Household sector savings in absolute terms, the data showed, increased from Rs.18.33 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs.20.04 lakh crore in 2011-12 to pose an increase of 9.3 percent while private corporate sector savings rose by 4.1 percent from Rs.6.19 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs.6.44 lakh crore in 2011-12. 14. Savings of the public sector, however, fell by a hefty 41.4 per cent from Rs.1.99 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs.1.17 lakh crore in 2011-12. 15. As per the data, gross domestic capital formation increased from Rs.28.72 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs.31.41 lakh crore in 2011-12 at current prices. 16. At constant prices (2004-05), it increased from Rs.21.20 lakh crore
GDP growth for 2011-12 lowered to 6.2 percent

1. The government, on Thursday, announced a downward revision in GDP (gross domestic product) growth to 6.2 percent for fiscal year 2011-12 from the earlier provisional estimate of 6.5 per cent. 2. Alongside, however, the GDP growth for 2010-11 fiscal stands revised upwards to 9.3 percent from 8.4 percent, as per the first revised estimates of National income, consumption expenditure, saving and capital formation, released here by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for 2011-12 along with second revised estimates for 2010-11 and the third revised estimates for 2009-10. 3. GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs.52.43 lakh crore as against Rs.49.37 lakh crore in 2010-11, registering a growth of 6.2 per cent during the year as against a growth of 9.3 per cent in the year 2010-11, a CSO statement said. 4. As per the statement, the GDP in 2011-12 at current prices is estimated at Rs.83.53 lakh crore as against Rs.72.67 lakh crore in 2010-11, marking an increase of 15 per cent as against an increase of 19 per cent in the previous fiscal year. 5. The per capita income in real terms (at 2004-05 prices), the CSO said, is estimated at Rs.38,037 for 2011-12 as against Rs.36,342 in 2010-11, which works out to an increase of 4.7 per cent during the fiscal as against an increase of 7.2 per cent in the previous year. 6. However, the per capita income at current prices is estimated at Rs.61,564 in 2011-12 as against Rs.54,151 in the previous fiscal to mark a lower growth of 13.7 per cent as compared to an increase of 17.1 per cent posted in 2010-11. 7. Standard of living 8. As a measure to assess the standard of living, the per capita income on a monthly basis works out to Rs.5,130 during the fiscal as compared to Rs.4,513 in 2010-11. 9. According to the CSO data, the
Modified DTC soon, says Shome

A modified Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill is to be placed in Parliament for approval after incorporating changes as per the suggestions made by the Standing Committee on Finance. [We] will come out with [a] modified DTC [Bill] in response to Standing Committee suggestions, Advisor to Finance Minister ParthasarathiShome said at a FICCI event here. Dr.Shome informed industry leaders that the Finance Ministry was looking at the Bill, and working on the tax structures, as was suggested by the Parliamentary panel. In its report on the DTC Bill submitted to Parliament in March last year, the standing panel on finance headed by former Finance Minister and senior BJP leader YashwantSinha had suggested a hike in the income tax exemption limit to Rs.3 lakh as against Rs.2 lakh proposed in the original DTC Bill. The Bill, tabled in August, 2010, was referred to the standing panel for scrutiny. Among other things, the committee had also suggested that subsequent tax slabs be accordingly adjusted to provide relief to the taxpayers who were already burdened under the impact of inflation.
JTS Institute
13
in 2010-11 to Rs.21.32 lakh crore in 2011-12. 17. Accordingly, the rate of growth of gross capital formation at current prices stood at 35 per cent in 201112 as against 36.8 per cent in 2010-11 and at 37.9 per cent and 40.0 per cent during the two years at constant prices.
29 January - 4 February 2013 Tobacco use accounts $ 502 mn as indirect costs, says a Journal
1. The country suffers a huge loss of about $ 502 million a year as the indirect cost of tobacco-induced morbidity, says an article published in a medical journal. 2. While $ 398 million is estimated to be the indirect morbidity costs on smoked tobacco, smokeless tobacco products results in $ 104 million, says a review paper carried in the recent issue of Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. 3. Indirect morbidity costs are explained as costs on caregivers and value of work loss due to illness. 4. This is apart from the direct medical costs of treating tobaccorelated diseases, which for the year 2004 was $ 907 million for smoked tobacco, and $ 285 million for smokeless tobacco. 5. The paper is authored by Dr Gauravi A Mishra of Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, with Dr Sharmila A Pimple and Dr Surendra S Shastri. 6. The total economic cost of tobacco use in India in 2004 was calculated to be 16 per cent more than the total excise tax revenues from all tobacco products during the year. 7. The total economic cost includes direct health care expenditure for inpatient hospitalisation or outpatient visits, expenditures incurred for transportation other than ambulance and lodging charge of caregivers and wage income lost to the whole household due to inpatient hospitalisation or outpatient visits. 8. The paper also underlines the need for adequate tobacco cessation services in the country. Lack of cessation services may lead to an additional 160 million global deaths among smokers by 2050. Cessation centres in India have reported quit rates of around 16 per cent, six weeks after intervention, the paper notes.
Yamuna river bank or water bodies near it. It also ordered the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and their agencies to immediately start removing the debris and dumping it at appropriate sites. We hereby issue an injunction restraining anybody, any person, authority from throwing any debris of any kind including solid wastes on the river bank of Yamuna or the water body near the river. State of UP, DDA, Government of NCT Delhi and East Delhi Municipal Corporation shall forthwith start removing debris from the river bank of Yamuna and the water body, NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said. The green panel directed the authorities to communicate this order to all, primarily the builders who are involved in huge construction in and around NCT of Delhi. According to the order, all municipal solid wastes will have to be taken to the MCDs dumping site in Ghazipur while construction material and similar waste shall be removed to other identified sites.
Environment and developmental agendas linked: PM

The global environmental agenda and the global development agenda were interlinked, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday while stressing that resource efficiency was a necessary condition for sustainable development. A global growth model, which is inclusive and sustainable, would assist developing countries pursue their objectives, Dr. Singh said at the inauguration of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) in New Delhi. Resource-efficiency is a necessary condition for sustainable development, and a key element of the economic pillar of sustainability. The global environmental agenda and the global development agenda are now inter-linked, he said. India is committed to meeting its domestic mitigation goal of reducing the emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020. What is required are regulatory regimes that are transparent, accountable and subject to oversight and monitoring. I would like to mention that protection of the environment and promoting development need not amount to a zero sum game, he said. We in India are fully conscious of the need to conserve our resources through their utilization in a sustainable manner, he added. We need to re-engineer our economies in ways that are both frugal and innovative in their use of resources, Dr. Singh said. The 13th edition of the DSDS focuses on the theme The Global Challenge of Resource-Efficient Growth and Development. It provides an efficient platform for thought leaders and policymakers to discuss effective policy mechanisms to reduce energy and resource footprint, a statement from the organisers The Energy Research Institute (TERI) said.
May fall short of stake sale target (disinvestment)

In a challenge for the fisc, the finance ministry on Thursday conceded that it may fall short of the estimated target of Rs 30,000 crore from disinvestment proceeds during the current fiscal. Rs 30,000 crore disinvestment target may be difficult to reach. My calculation is Rs 25,000 or Rs 26,000 crore. We will try to cover Rs 27,000 crore, disinvestment secretary Ravi Mathur said on Thursday. The department of disinvestment has raised about Rs 6,900 crore from stake sales of in state owned NMDC Ltd and Hindustan Copper Ltd. On Friday, it is scheduled to auction 10 per cent stake in Oil India Ltd (OIL) that is likely to raise about Rs 3,065 crore. The government has fixed the floor or the minimum offer price for OIL stake sale at Rs 510 a share, which is a discount of 5.41 per cent over Thursdays market price of Rs 539.20. We expect a good response (to the OIL issue). It (Rs 510) is at a good discount, Mathur said. The government is also planning to sell 9.5 per cent stake in NTPC Ltd
Green tribunal bans dumping of debris on Yamuna banks

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday issued an order restraining all individuals, companies as well as public authorities from throwing any debris or solid waste on the
JTS Institute
14

and has already begun roadshows in five countries, including the US, the UK and Japan, for promoting the proposed Rs 13,000 crore issue. NTPC roadshows are going on. As soon as roadshows are over we will fix a date for share sale, Mathur said. The DoD plans to divest stake in a host of bluechip PSUs in the current fiscal, including SAIL, NALCO and MMTC. The government has already identified 10 PSUs for divesting stake. Fiscal deficit at 78.8% of target The Centres fiscal deficit during the April-December period stood at Rs 4.04 lakh crore or 78.8 per cent of the Budget Estimate of Rs 5.14 lakh crore, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts. During the same period in the previous fiscal year, the deficit was 92.3 per cent of the target. The improvement has been brought about by a strict tightening of the expenditure since September and some fruition of the efforts to arrest the fall in tax revenue growth. The government is aiming to contain fiscal deficit at 5.3 percent of the GDP during current fiscal, despite a difficult economic environment that has resulted in less than anticipated level of growth in tax and non-tax revenue. The latest data signal the need for further aggressive measures to meet the revised target to reduce the fiscal deficit to 5.3% of the GDP, including a focussed push to disinvestment. FE 15 spots in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and the Union territory of Chandigarh. The NDMA and Delhis DDMA had conducted the largest ever mock disaster drill on February 15 last year. The Delhi exercise will be the benchmark for the upcoming one. Eventualities such as a chemical explosion, a bridge collapse, fire, a gas leak and building collapses will be simulated at flyovers, markets, offices, government and private schools and colleges, hospitals, railway stations, bus stands, airports and residential areas. There are three aspects to it to develop realistic scenarios to know the vulnerability and preparedness of state machinery as well as the publics response; to make the government machinery more knowledgeable about such scenarios; and to conduct awareness campaigns and mock drills, Gupta said. We have estimated the population that will be exposed to the risk as against the total population density, and, considering topography and other surface features, the human loss that such a scenario can lead to, Gupta said. Factoring in the aftershocks that come 20-30 seconds after the first earthquake impact, the NDMA has projected that 231.8 lakh people will be exposed to intensities X-IX on the MSK scale, 323.6 lakh to intensities IX-VIII, and 251.6 lakh to intensities VIII-VII. The idea is to first bring about participation of various stakeholders, and check how all the emergency support functionaries police control room, fire brigades, ambulances, hospitals, administration, disaster management, volunteers respond, and to calculate their response time, an NDMA official said. The drills are likely to be held at bus stands, markets, colleges, schools, administrative offices, railway stations... The Army will be requested for observers to conduct a third-party assessment. Over the last four months, authorities in the areas to be covered have mapped their resources, prepared scenarios for the mock drill, identified venues, and trained volunteers as dummies (dead, critically injured, minorly injured). DDMA officials said the process of laying the groundwork began six months ago in a series of meetings initiated between NDMA vice chairman Shashidhar Reddy and other officials, the chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, and the Chandigarh governor. The Himalayan region was counted among the most vulnerable on the global seismic hazard map prepared during the International Decade on Natural Disaster Reduction during 1991-2000. And experts say the number of deaths due to natural disasters during the first 12 years of the 21st century has already crossed the total of the 20th century, despite advancements in science and sociology. Risk assessment and preparedness can mitigate effects of disasters to a great extent, Gupta said. Gupta, a seismologist and a member of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk programme as well as the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, is credited with developing Indias tsunami warning system. In 1977, a cyclone caused 20,000 deaths on the east coast of India. In the years that followed, an early warning system was established, complete with meteorological radars and emergency plans. As a result fewer lives were lost about 1,000 when the same area was hit by a cyclone of similar strength in 1996, and again in 2005, when the death toll was just 27.
1 February 2013 Gates emphasises quality metrics, technological firepower

1. What links the efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality in Bihar, the battle against cassava plant diseases in Brazil and tuberculosis interventions in South Africa? 2. While one would be tempted to assume these are United Nations or World Bank initiatives, it is a purely private sector supported organisation that drives these projects the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 3. Bill Gates, the Foundations head and Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, commands the kind of attention among global policy makers that World Bank executives would envy. Releasing his annual letter to policymakers this week, he said in an India-exclusive interview with The Hindu that one word
Faking magnitude 8 in the Himalayas, to handle earthquakes better

Rather than wait for an earthquake to happen in the high-risk Himalayan region, disaster managers will simulate the aftermath of one of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale. Since there is no method of forecasting an earthquake the most instantaneous natural disaster we need to be better prepared, said Prof Harsh K Gupta, member of the National Disaster Management Authority. The imagined earthquake will have its epicentre at Sundarnagar in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. It will have struck at 11.30 am on February 13 and ruptured an entire 200-km faultline, causing tremors of varying intensities and affecting
JTS Institute
15

summed up the guiding principle of his foundation in pursuing its broad, multi-pronged agenda: measurement. At a time of shrinking aid and development budgets in many Western economies, Mr. Gates emphasis on measurement is timely. Not only is it rooted in an urge to ramp up project efficiency across the developing world but it is also, as he admits in his letter, a response to governments... rightfully demanding effectiveness in the programs they pay for. Quality metrics 4. Apart from the sheer scale of resources the Foundation, with an asset base of $32.6 billion, tops 104 of the 190 nations ranked according to nominal GDP by the World Bank Mr. Gates said a sharp focus on quality metrics and keenness to deploy technological firepower set his approach apart from standard public-sector strategies. 5. Measurement is something that comes naturally to the private sector, because they have to have a theory about how their business works, said Mr. Gates. Though governments and philanthropic groups had not done much measurement the good news is that measurement is easier to do in a world of satellite photos, cell phones, cheap software and databases, he added. 6. His point resonates well in India, which has seen the breathtaking effectiveness of the polio eradication campaign. Earlier this year, the nation marked two years since a child was crippled by polio an impossible outcome had it not been for millions of volunteer vaccinators fanning out across the nation during immunisation weeks. 7. Lavishing praise on one of Indias biggest accomplishments in the last decade in his letter, Mr. Gates points to the importance of micro-level delivery mechanisms the country adopted. 8. However, India has a long way to go in other areas, according to him. The quality of execution is a limiting factor, he said. But he cited Kerala as an example of a State that achieved great health results not so much by putting in a lot more money than other places. 9. When pressed on specifics regarding challenges to Indias policy implementation, Mr. Gates revealed as much about his familiarity with the signs of failure as he did about his impatience to bring technology on board to mitigate the situation. Going digital 10. Does grain for the poor get diverted corruptly? he asked, Do teachers show up? Are healthworker jobs filled? Are they properly trained? Why dont kids get vaccinated? We should be able to register them digitally and follow up digitally. 11. This last innovation of digital vaccines, Mr. Gates said, had actually taken root in Bihar after the Foundation ran the project in pilot districts and then handed it over to the government to propagate. But to ask whether the Foundation can boost effectiveness of government policy implementation is to raise an even bigger question: Is it possible to harmonise private and public sector strategies when they are often driven by different motives and represent varied stakeholders? 12. Mr. Gates, at least, is unequivocal about this. A lot of what we are able to do... is hire what we call strategy units... analytical-type personnel, create the right tools and salary structures for them and connect them up with a government activity like vaccination coverage or spending or getting contraception out and make sure that the increased government investment is actually being used appropriately. 13. Sure enough, the Foundation works with an impressive analytical arsenal. Convinced by the data on the financing of their worldwide polio eradication drive, the organisation keeps a steady eye on the year-on-year requirement of $1 billion. Any less, warns Mr. Gates, and hundreds of thousands of polio cases will start cropping up. Nigeria and Pakistan 14. Similarly, the Foundation soldiers on to meet vaccination targets in the two countries that have proved the most dangerous for vaccinators Nigeria and Pakistan. Nigeria witnessed a crisis due to religion-based objections to vaccines and fears and misinformation about negative effects. In December, militants in Pakistan stalked and killed nine women polio workers prompting the United Nations to suspended its anti-polio drive and risk a public health crisis. 15. When queried about this, Mr. Gates praised his staffs bravery, saying, I am afraid of unrest and instability... But it doesnt mean we are not going to do our best to eradicate polio and partner with our government to try to save those million lives. By persevering we honour the people in Pakistan who died. The benefits of getting rid of these things are so clear. 16. This points towards the core debate on large-scale philanthropic interventions that sit beside government policies: can the private sector model be applied anywhere to developmental issues without severe modifications to suit local idiosyncrasies? 17. In Mexico, for example, where Mr. Gates argued that the status quo in the education sector was highly defended by the teachers unions, is there some way that the Foundation mantra of personnel system reform and technology could assuage concerns over employment, equity and poverty? 18. While it may sound like the perfect blueprint for a profit-driven firm such as Microsoft, Mr. Gates believes both the model and the skills behind it ought to be deployed more widely in development policy. Giving pledge 19. Indeed, along with Co-Chair and wife Melinda, he has launched what is called the Giving Pledge (GP), Mr. Gates said with a twinkle of pride in his eyes. GP is a fundraising drive aimed at tapping the resources and skills of billionaires across the world for the express purpose of philanthropy. 20. Until 2013, it was focused on ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the U.S. and there were at least 91 dollar billionaires who had pledged to give the majority of their wealth away during their lifetimes or through their wills. 21. Mr. Gates appeared enthused, holding firm to the view that philanthropy ought not to be a passive thing that you should do through your will but... an enjoyable thing that you do with the same skills that helped you make the money. 22. Just this year we are recruiting internationally... but it will be a long time before there are as many non-U.S. GP members as U.S. members, even though there are more international billionaires than U.S. billionaires, he explained. While there were wonderful, giving people, such as Azim Premji in India, Mr. Gates said, it is just less of a tradition.
JTS Institute
16
Rangarajan sees growth rate moving closer to about 6 p.c. this fiscal
1. Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister C. Rangarajan on Friday expressed optimism that the economy had the resilience to bounce back to eight to 9 percent growth rate and asserted that firm action would be taken on the macro-economic and sectoral fronts to achieve this goal. 2. While the macro-economic issues that needed to be tackled were inflation, fiscal consolidation and the balance of payments deficit, the sectoral concerns that urgently required attention were those governing agriculture and infrastructure, he said. 3. Dr.Rangarajan was addressing the Chamber Day celebrations of the Hindustan Chamber of Commerce. 4. Some recent actions by the Centre, especially in improving the investment sentiment, clearly indicated a commitment to taking this road to achieve higher growth rates, he said. 5. According to Dr.Rangarajan, the new economic policy had nothing that took away the role of the State; it only redefined its charter. The thrust of the policy was on removing entry barriers to improve domestic and international competitiveness of industry. 6. In his estimation, the growth rate would move closer to about 6 per cent this fiscal, with manufacturing expected to shift gears in the January-March period. The next fiscal is going to be much better when the full impact of the change in investment sentiment that we are seeing now will manifest and result in private investment picking up, he said. 7. N. Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice Chairman, Cognizant, who was a special guest, said that while medical technology saw amazing advances over the years, the cost factor remained prohibitive. He called for applying technology for cost targeting, especially in the diagnostics sector that had a pronounced electronic component. Dr.Rangarajan presented the Champion of Humanity awards instituted by the Chamber to G.S.K. Velu, Managing Director of Trivitron Group of Companies, and RadhikaSanthanakrishnan, founder of Penn Nalam, an NGO that works with women cancer patients.
29 January - 4 February 2013 Oil India share oversubscribed

1. The disinvestment initiative of the UPA Government gather pace with Oil India Limited (OIL) stake sale getting an over-whelming response from the markets and getting over-subscribed even before the closure of market hours. 2. The government is estimated to get a minimum of Rs. 3,100 crore from the third divestment this fiscal. The auction, which started in the morning, got bids for over 7.50 crore shares by noon against an offer of over 6.01 crore as per data on National Stock Exchange. The indicative price, which is the weighted average price of all valid bids, was Rs. 518.04 a share. At this price, the government would garner at least Rs. 3,100 crore. The government had fixed the floor price for the 10 per cent share auction of OIL at Rs. 510 apiece. Shares of OIL were quoting at Rs 527.8 on NSE. 3. Bids for over 4.94 crore shares were with 100 percent margin which meant that if the bidder decides to withdraw later they can do so. The government is selling 6.01 crore shares or 10 percent of its stake in OIL through the offer for sale route. The government holds 78.43 percent stake in the company which would come down to 68.43 per cent after disinvestment. OIL got listed on stock exchanges in 2009. As on March 31, 2012, the company had employee strength of 8,096. 4. The government has fixed a disinvestment target of Rs 30,000 crore for the current financial year. With the OIL issue going through successfully, the receipts from PSU stake sale are set to cross Rs. 10,000 crore while two more months are remaining in the current financial year.
part of pre-Budget consultations, Mr. Chidambaram highlighted the efforts being made to turn the economy around and create a more investor-friendly climate. 3. In his address while chairing the sixth meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), Mr. Chidambaram, according to an official statement here, reiterated the governments firm resolve on observing the path of fiscal consolidation and imposition of fiscal targets and policies that will make necessary fiscal correction needed for the economy and take the economy back to the path of higher growth. 4. The Finance Minister also informed members that to encourage foreign flows into India and offer reassurance on the positive investment climate, he had recently held discussions with a cross-section of international investors at Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Frankfurt last month and hoped to get positive results. 5. The FSDC meeting was attended by RBI Governor D. Subbarao, SEBI Chairman U. K. Sinha, PFRDA Chairman YogeshAgarwal and IRDA Chairman J. Hari Narayan. The Finance Ministry was represented, among others by Finance Secretary R. S. Gujral, Economic Affairs Secretary ArvindMayaram, Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose, Disinvestment Secretary Ravi Mathur, and Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram G. Rajan.
Ozone thinning has changed ocean circulation

1. A hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has changed the way waters in the southern oceans mix, which scientists say could impact global climate change.The situation has the potential to alter the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 2. In a study, published in the journal Science, Darryn W. Waugh and his team show that subtropical intermediate waters in the southern oceans have become younger as the upwelling, circumpolar waters have gotten older - changes that are consistent with the fact that surface winds have strengthened as the ozone layer has thinned. 3. This may sound entirely academic, but believe me, its not, said Mr. Waugh of the Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. This matters because the southern oceans play an
Steps on to boost investor trust

1. Back from his road shows in East Asia and Europe to allay investor concerns over Indias taxation policies for attracting foreign investment and laying down the contours of the reforms agenda, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on Thursday, reiterated the governments commitment to fiscal consolidation along with efforts to boost investor confidence to get back to the high growth path. 2. Addressing the countrys financial sector regulators here as
JTS Institute
17

important role in the uptake of heat and carbon dioxide, so any changes in southern ocean circulation have the potential to change the global climate, he said in a statement. 4. Researchers used measurements taken from the early 1990s to the mid-to-late 2000s of the amount of a chemical compound known as chlorofluorocarbon-12, or CFC12, in the southern oceans. 5. CFC-12 was first produced commercially in the 1930s and its concentration in the atmosphere increased rapidly until the 1990s when it was phased out by the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. 6. Researchers were able to infer changes in how rapidly surface waters have mixed into the depths of the southern oceans. Because they knew that concentrations of CFCs at the ocean surface increased in tandem with those in the atmosphere, they were able to surmise that the higher the concentration of CFC-12 deeper in the ocean, the more recently those waters were at the surface. The inferred age changes - younger in the subtropics and older nearer the South Pole - are consistent with the observed intensification of surface westerly winds, which have occurred primarily because of the Antarctic ozone hole, suggesting that stratospheric ozone depletion is the primary cause of the changes in ocean ventilation. New technique to measures mass of black holes 1. Scientists have developed a new technique of measuring the mass of Supermassive black holes which they say could revolutionise our understanding of how they form and help to shape galaxies. 2. The method, developed by a team including Oxford University scientists, can spot the tell-tale tracer of carbon monoxide within the cloud of gas (mostly hydrogen) circling a supermassive black hole at the centre of a distant galaxy. By detecting the velocity of the spinning gas they are able to weigh (determine the mass) the black hole. 3. Detailed information is scarce on supermassive black holes, thought to be at the heart of most galaxies. The problem is that most other supermassive black holes are too far away to examine properly even with the Hubble Space Telescope. 4. The new method, when combined with new telescopes such as ALMA (Attacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array), promises to extend this black hole weigh-in to thousands of distant galaxies. 5. It will also enable the study of black holes in spiral galaxies (similar to our own Milky Way), which are hard to target using currently available techniques. 6. Technique exhibited 7. The team demonstrated the new technique on the supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy, NGC 4526, in the constellation of Virgo. NGC 4526 was chosen as a test because it has been widely studied but the team believes the technique will work on a wide range of different galaxies. 8. We observed carbon monoxide molecules in the galaxy we were monitoring using the Combined Array for Research in Millimetrewave Astronomy (CARMA) telescope. With its super-sharp images we were able to zoom right into the centre of the galaxy and observe the gas whizzing around the black hole, Tim Davis of the European Southern Observatory, lead author of the paper, said in a statement. 9. This gas moves at a speed which is determined by the black holes mass, and the distance from it. By measuring the velocity of the gas at each position, we can measure the mass of the black hole, Davis said. 10. Because of the limitations of existing telescopes and techniques we had run out of galaxies with supermassive black holes to observe, said Dr. Michele Cappellari of Oxford Universitys Department of Physics, another author of the paper. 11. Now with this new technique and telescopes like ALMA we will be able to examine the relationship between thousands of more distant galaxies and their black holes giving us an insight into how galaxies and black holes coevolve, Cappellari said. vision, while cones offer a fullcolour look at the world during the day. 3. It was not known, says University of Alberta researcher Ted Allison, whether stem cells could be instructed to only replace the cones in its retina. This could have important implications for human eyesight, the journal Public Library of Science ONE reports. 4. Almost all success in regenerating photoreceptor cells to date had been limited to rods, not cones. Most previous experiments were conducted on nocturnal rodents, animals that require good night vision and have far more rods than cones, according to an Alberta statement. 5. This is the first time in an animal research model that stem cells have only repaired damaged cones, said Allison. For people with damaged eyesight, repairing the cones is most important because it would restore day-time colour vision. 6. Researchers say this shows some hope for stem cell therapy that could regenerate damaged cones in people, especially in the cone-rich regions of the retina that provide daytime/colour vision.
Long live your liver

1. As the largest single organ in our bodies and one of the most complex, the liver is very difficult to replace or replicate artificially. And while diseases that affect the liver can be treated, they can hardly be cured. So never make the mistake of ignoring this life sustaining organ until it is too late. 2. Its as soft as a rose petal and doctors refer to it as the chemical factory of our bodies. But while the heart gets star billing, many of us tend to completely ignore the life sustaining liver, mostly because were not aware of how it tirelessly strives to ensure our good health. The liver has a multitude of functions, says Dr A.R NitinRao, consultant gastroenterologist and a specialist in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery (treating diseases associated with the liver, pancreas and bile) at MS Ramiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore. It produces bile (and other enzymes) which help in digestion of food; it also aids in the storage of fats, eliminates poisonous substances from our bodies and provides us with better immunity. It is important that we take some simple steps on a daily basis to care for this organ better.
Zebrafish stem cells could heal human retinas

1. Stem cells from zebrafish, the staple of genetic research, could regenerate damaged cones in retinas and restore eyesight to people. 2. Rods and cones in the eyes are the most important photoreceptors. In humans, rods provide night
JTS Institute
18

3. Dont overdose: There are many ways in which we unknowingly abuse our liver but drinking excessive alcohol is just one of these. Ensuring that your alcohol intake is regulated in small doses should be the first step to maintaining a healthy liver. Also, never overdose on any medication, especially over-the-counter drugs. Many of us tend to get careless about dosage, but if you take medication often for chronic ailments, then this is something you need to approach with caution. Every medicine you ingest is full of chemicals that are finally processed in the liver, says Dr NitinRao. Too many chemicals can cause the liver to harden and can result in permanent damage. Paracetamol in particular (the most commonly prescribed fever medication) can be very damaging to your liver if taken in excessive amounts. So use medication judiciously and the next time youre tempted to pop pills for a mild head or body ache, spare a thought for the health of your liver. 4. Beware of a fatty liver: When you eat a diet that is rich in calories, your liver will work overtime to process all that extra fat. While some amount of fat in the liver is normal, when it makes up more, that 5-10% of the weight of the liver, it could lead to serious complications. An overload of iron in the diet, obesity, excessive alcohol consumptionall this can cause a fatty liver. A fatty liver is undesirable because it produces a thicker bile solution, explains Dr Prof. N. Rangabashyam, a pioneer in pancreatic hepatobiliary surgery in India and former Head of the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Proctology, Madras Medical College and Government General Hospital, Chennai. This can cause stones to form in the gall bladder which require surgical intervention to remove. 5. Avoid food traps and go green: Your diet plays an important role in keeping your liver sound, but what you dont eat is as important as what you do. There is a species of wild mushroom that can cause liver failure immediately upon consumption, warns Dr Rao. While button mushrooms and most other species are harmless, one must avoid mushrooms grown in the wild, because the poisonous variety can be sold unknowingly in rural areas. 6. Many vegetarians dont consume enough protein, says Dr Rangabashyam. A chronic protein deficiency can cause hardening and sclerosis of the liver, resulting in permanent damage. For instance, we tend to eat more carbohydrate rich food like idli-dosa for breakfast, accompanied by a sambhar that is devoid of vegetables. To ensure adequate protein intake, make chick-peas (sundal), dhal, and soybean a regular feature in your menu. A vegetable dish with breakfast (for instance, spinach, drumstick or ladies finger) is a must as it adds more fibre, aids digestion and prevents other complications such as constipation and piles. Traditional herbs like keezhanelli have long since been used to treat a malfunctioning liver. These herbs are effective in enhancing liver function and can be used as a preventive aid, but studies are yet to prove that they can cure liver diseases, says Dr Rao. 7. Stock up on antioxidants: Foods that are rich in antioxidants are especially good for the liver. The paan leaf (vethilai) taken plain without the supari is an excellent source of antioxidants and has a protective effect. The curry leaf is good source as well, but though it is used in cooking, it is unfortunately discarded when we consume the food. Garlic and turmeric also help enhance liver function, says Dr Rao. 8. Stay away from plastic: Drinking a water bottle that lies in the sun, placing food in a flimsy plastic take-away carton and reheating it at home plastic is a part of our daily lives. But cheap plastic has several layers and when this melts and is consumed, it can pose a serious hazard to the health of our liver, even causing liver cancer, says Dr Rao. 9. Regular check-ups and vaccinations: Today, vaccinations are available to prevent two of the most dreaded liver diseases Hepatitis A and B. These viral infections, when unchecked, can lead to severe jaundice and have the potential to destroy the liver. However there is no vaccine to provide protection against Hepatitis C, though research is ongoing. Every year, after the age of 35, doctors recommend that you take a liver function test that can help ascertain whether the liver is functioning normally. An ultrasound is also essential. The liver has the remarkable power to regenerate itself, so no matter what abuse you have subjected it to, there exists a miraculous power of healing and restoration, says Dr Rangabashyam.
Geographic mapping services log $3 billion sales, 1.35 lakh jobs in 2011
Geographic mapping and locationbased services (geo services) generated $3 billion in revenue and created 1.35 lakh jobs in 2011 in the country, a study by Google has said. According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report commissioned by Google, the impact of geo services industry is valued at approximately 15 times of the current size. In India, geo services help Indian businesses drive $40-45 billion in revenue, save $70-75 billion in costs and affect 8-9 million jobs in India, it said. The Indian geo services industry is comprised of companies that process location data, produce geo-enabled software, and expert industries that use geospatial data to generate insights. The report also found that Indian consumers are also willing to spend $1.5-2 billion more than they currently do for geospatial services like online maps, navigation systems and local searches. Geo services helped generate $2 billion in revenue within the Indian accommodation and food services industry alone. Users benefit as it makes it easier for them to find the information on local offerings and creating valuable efficiencies in their day-to-day lives, Google India Head Product LaliteshKatragadda said. Geo services like Google Maps are helping to grow the Indian economy by enabling job opportunities, and paving the way towards future innovation, he added. To enable continued growth, governments, companies, researchers and consumers all need to encourage mapping innovations and investments in India, Katragadda said. A variety of other industries like transportation use geo services for making their businesses more efficient and productive. Currently, geo services represent 0.2 per cent of Indias GDP and affect 2 per cent of the national workforce. However, there is tremendous room to grow this
JTS Institute
19

industry and create a lasting source of competitive advantage for India, said PrashantAgrawal, one of the BCG consultants who worked on the report. 2007, in order to co-ordinate National Action for Assessment, Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change. The National Action Plan of Climate Change (NAPCC) was released by the Prime Minister in June 2008. Under the NAPCC, with the approval of PMs Council on Climate Change, eight national missions are being implemented. areas, their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire ocean basins; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with over 230,000 people killed in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. The Greek historian Thucydides suggested in 426 BC that tsunamis were related to submarine earthquakes, but the understanding of a tsunamis nature remained slim until the 20th century and much remains unknown. Major areas of current research include trying to determine why some large earthquakes do not generate tsunamis while other smaller ones do; trying to accurately forecast the passage of tsunamis across the oceans; and also to forecast how tsunami waves would interact with specific shorelines.
Executive Committee on Climate Change constituted

The Prime Minister has decided to constitute an Executive Committee on Climate Change to assist the Prime Ministers Council on Climate Change. The Executive Committee on Climate Change would focus on the following tasks: 1. Assist the PMs Council on Climate Change in evolving a coordinated response to issues relating to climate change at the National level. 2. Regularly monitor the implementation of the eight national missions and other initiatives on Climate Change. 3. Advise the PMs Council on Climate Change on modifications in the objectives, strategies and structure of the missions, as may be necessary. 4. Co-ordinate with various agencies on issues relating to climate change. The Chairman of the Executive Committee on Climate Change will be the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests will be the MemberConvenor. Other members of the Committee include Cabinet Secretary, Finance Secretary, Secretary, Planning Commission, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Secretary, Water Resources, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & co-operation, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research & Education, Secretary, Department of Earth Sciences, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs. The Chairman of Executive Committee on Climate Change may invite any other officer/Expert to the meetings as may be necessary. The PMs Council on Climate Change and the Executive Committee on Climate Change would be serviced by Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Prime Ministers Council on Climate Change was constituted in
2 February 2013 NREGS: national award for Vizag

The Steel City has received a national award for successfully implementing the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and thereby improving social equality. Collector V. Sheshadri received the award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a function held in New Delhi on Saturday. A beneficiary K. Ramanamma shared her experiences at the meeting in the presence of Dr. Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi
LED lights on roads in added city areas soon

1. The civic body has initiated a programme to improve lighting with energy-saving lamps in the added areas of the city. 2. In the first phase of the proposal, 1.1 lakh streetlights will be installed. The Chennai Corporation has floated tenders for over 9,000 LED fittings in eight zones. 3. The work will begin in the third week of February. The LED streetlights will be commissioned in 45 days. 4. The initiative of the civic body is expected to help residents in the added areas of Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Valsaravakkam, Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur. 5. The LED lights will considerably improve lighting in the added zones as they last five times longer than sodium-vapour lamps. 6. The initiative is also expected to bring down the level of energy consumption by 25 per cent and save power in the coming year. The civic body was also impressed by the aesthetic value of the LED streetlights. 7. The 426 sq. km. of the city have over 2.2 lakh streetlights and the expanded areas have 88,000 streetlights. 8. Even though roads in the seven zones of Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar in the old city limits have superior illumination with a very low percentage of faulty streetlights, the added areas continue to have the
Quake rocks Japan island; no tsunami

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Japans Hokkaido island late on Saturday, but there was no tsunami warning. Concept: A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Tsunami waves do not resemble normal sea waves, because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves. Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called wave train.[4] Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal
JTS Institute
20

old system of illumination put in place by many erstwhile panchayats in the region. 9. The civic body has divided the work to install LED fittings into 68 packages in order to speed up work. 10. The new streetlights will be put up 25 metres apart from each other. 11. As many as 1,000 roads in the added areas will be illuminated by the LED streetlights. Many of the roads are bus routes. The streetlights will have underground cables. 12. The LED streetlights have advantages such as improved night visibility due to higher colour rendering and higher colour temperature. 13. The significantly longer lifespan, lower energy consumption, reduced maintenance costs, absence of disposal hazards and lower carbon footprint has made the civic body opt for LED streetlights. Defence Ministry brass. It is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world, he said while insisting the F-313 was a deterrent meant to send a message of peace despite its aggressive name. Low radar signature Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted in media as saying the plane boasted a very low radar signature, and that advanced materials were used to build it. The unveiling comes as Iran marks the 34th anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which replaced the U.S.backed Shah with an Islamic regime. On January 28, Iran said it sent a monkey into space to an altitude of 120 km for a sub-orbital flight, challenging UNSC sanctions against development of its ballistic programme. AFP side, limit intake to 300 gm a week. French fries and chips: The process in making French fries and potato wafers creates acrylamide, which has been linked to cancer. This is a carcinogen that is present in foods that have been baked, fried or grilled at temperatures higher than 120C. Doughnuts: Doughnuts increase risk of cancer in more than one way. First, they are made with white flour, sugar and hydrogenated oils. Then they are deep-fried at high temperatures. The high sugar content influences the production of insulin, encouraging growth and division of cancerous cells, especially in the pancreas. Pickles: Everyone loves pickle because it enhances the taste of a boring dish. Unfortunately pickled foods may increase risk of cancer of the stomach, particularly if they are very salty. Sodas and soft drinks: These contain chemical additives, sugar and caffeine. Having just two soft drinks a week appears to nearly double the risk of getting pancreatic cancer. White bread and rice: Anything that is white is unhealthy because white means processed food. White bread comes from bleached flour but even unbleached white flour is processed and contains a high level of saturated fats, which are closely linked to breast cancer. White rice has a high sugar content compared to brown rice. To balance this out, there are other foods that can help reduce the risk. Include the following foods with cancer-fighting benefits in your diet: Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower contain a chemical component called indole3-carbinol that can combat breast cancer by converting a cancerpromoting oestrogen into a more protective variety. Organic green tea: This is one of the most well studied foods and has been on the health charts for many years because of its cancer fighting properties. It contains antioxidants that help prevent damage to cells and help in cases of bladder cancer, breast cancer, and even skin cancer. Green tea also modulates blood sugar levels. Mushrooms: Many mushrooms contain compounds that can help the body fight cancer. Shitake, maitake, reishi and even the inexpensive button mushrooms all have immunity-boosting properies
SEBI plans colour-coded MF products

1. In a bid to caution people about the risks associated with a certain mutual fund product, SEBI is planning to introduce colour- coded mutual fund products to depict the level of risk involved with the instrument, according to a senior official of the capital market regulator. 2. Addressing a conference here, S V MuralidharRao, executive director , SEBI said that a SEBI subcommittee had been set up to deal with the introduction of product labelling for MF schemes. 3. He also said that SEBI was working on a long-term policy for the MF sector. 4. Mr Rao felt that sound business models, better distribution networks and increased investor awareness about mutual funds could propel a sustainable growth path for the industry, which now commands an asset under management of Rs 7.5 lakh crore. Of the 45 million folios, 97 percent was with retail investors. 5. D. Chatterjee, the managing director and CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd felt that for the sustainability of AUM, the MF industry should earn the trust of investors. Cancer cuisine Red Meat: Its more tempting than white meat but various studies suggest that it increases the risk of cancer death by 10 per cent. It also increases risk of breast, colon and prostate cancers. To be on the safe
NH-5 to be widened
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will widen the National Highway (NH)-5 between Vijayawada-Gundagolanu. A 3G notification has been issued in The Hindu on January 20. The farmers who claim ownership on the lands will have to produce relevant documents registration, link, pattadar passbook before RDO Vijayawada. The farmers of Gollapudi will have to appear on Monday, while Jakkampudi and Ambapuram farmers will have to appear on Tuesday. Nunna farmers (February 6) and K.V. Kundrika, Pathapadu and P. Nainavaram (February 7). The farmers will have to bring both original and photocopy of the documents.
Iran develops fighter jet

Iran has trumpeted military, space and nuclear advances in a series of announcements coinciding with a new bid by world powers to revive stalled talks with Tehran over its atomic ambitions. Unveiling it on Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled a futuristic-looking fighter jet he said ranks among the most sophisticated aircraft, media reports said. Code-named the Qaher (Conqueror) F-313 and shaped similar to stealth bombers, the grey warplane was designed and built domestically, Mr. Ahmadinejad told an audience of
JTS Institute
21

that help prevent cancer. Reishi mushrooms have been shown to inhibit the growth of malignant tumours. Maitake mushrooms help reduce blood sugar levels and thereby reduce cancer risk. Garlic: Garlic contains a powerful plant phytonutrient called allicin that protects the body against cancer. Studies show that Allicin has the power to kill tumour cells. Garlic also releases a powerful antioxidant effect that helps protect against free radicals, which can cause cancer. Grapefruits: Like orange and other citrus fruits, grapefruits contain monoterpenes that help prevent cancer by sweeping carcinogens out of the body. They also contain vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folic acid. Tomato: The antioxidant lycopene, which gives it the red colour, plays an important role in reducing risk of many cancers. They are also a vital source of vitamin C antioxidant that can prevent cellular damage leading to cancer. Turmeric: Turmeric possesses medicinal properties because it hampers production of the inflammation-related enzyme cyclooxygenase 2, whose levels are abnormally high in certain inflammatory cancers, especially bowel and colon cancer. size and appearance of malignant cells, namely, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). 5. Traditional treatment options are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. New developments in imaging and radiation techniques have helped treatment of lung cancers. One such innovation is the Radiosurgery-CyberKnife technique. Little known in India, it is an advanced method of robotic radiosurgery for lung tumors, whether primary and early stage, recurrent, or secondary, central or peripheral. The technology delivers high doses of radiation with great accuracy with minimal radiation exposure and side effects as compared to traditional radiotherapy procedures. 6. Because of their anatomical location, lung tumors move a lot with respiration. The new techniques image guidance capability, coupled with software that predicts the tumours location according to the respiratory cycle, allows for a correction of the radiation beam during the sessions, unlike other imageguided conventional radiation techniques. 7. Compared to invasive surgical methods, the healing process involves fewer complications. The systems advanced technology enables treatment to be tailored for the needs of the individual. 8. Early detection is the best defence against cancer. According to the National Cancer Registry Project, India, more than 60 per cent of patients are diagnosed late due to poor awareness of symptoms. Symptoms Chronic cough, abnormal shortness of breath, repeated lung infections, coughing up blood, change in voice, persistent thoracic pain and permanent swelling of neck and face. Lung cancer can also manifest through general symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, prolonged fever, headache, nervous disorders, progressive swelling of fingers. Causes Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke, including passive smoking. Other risk factors include occupational hazards, exposure to contaminated drinking water, breathing polluted air and a family history of the disease.
Earthquake hits the coast of the Solomon Islands

A 6.6-magnitude quake hit the Solomon Islands, Australian seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage and a tsunami threat was also ruled out. The quake struck today near the Santa Cruz islands about 623 kilometres (387 miles) from the capital Honiara and was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks, according to Geoscience Australia. The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake at 6.7magnitude but later revised it down to 6.3 at a depth of 19 kilometres. Weve got it at 6.6, Geoscience Australia seismologist Jonathan Bathgate said, adding that the quake was very unlikely to have generated a tsunami. A separate bulletin from the the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also ruled out the threat of a Pacific-wide destructive tsunami. The Solomon Islands are part of the Ring of Fire, a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific Ocean that is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In 2007 a tsunami following an 8.1magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless. Bathgate said the latest tremors follow two 6.1-magnitude quakes and one 6.4-magnitude in the same area over the past few days. Theres been four quakes over six (magnitude) in the last three days in that area. It doesnt necessarily indicate that theres anything bigger to come. There could be some more to come or there could be nothing. We just dont know.
Reducing mortality
1. Lung cancer is hard to treat. According to the World Health Organisation statistics, lung cancer accounted for 18.2 percent of cancer mortalities in 2010. Survival rates are poor partly because it goes undetected till it is in an advanced state. 2. As the lung does not contain nerve endings, the occurrence of a tumor does not cause direct pain. This is experienced when the tumor reaches the pleura or the tissues surrounding the lungs, or when it presses on nerve structures in proximity. The tumor can also compress or invade other organs and cause other symptoms. 3. A clinical examination followed by a chest x-ray or a CT scan are the first steps in diagnosis. This is then confirmed by a biopsy. A PETCT is the best to pick up distant metastases in lung cancer as it can detect tumors as small as 3-4 mm in any part of the body except the brain. 4. There are two main types of lung cancers classified according to the
Global warming leading to extreme rainfall

In the most comprehensive review of changes to extreme rainfall ever undertaken, researchers from the University of Adelaide, evaluated the association between extreme rainfall and atmospheric temperatures at more than 8000 weather gauging stations around the world, the telegraph reported. The results are that rainfall extremes are increasing on average globally. They show that there is a 7 percent increase in extreme rainfall intensity for every degree increase in global atmospheric temperature, lead
JTS Institute
22

author Dr Seth Westra said. Assuming an increase in global average temperature by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century, this could mean very substantial increases in rainfall intensity as a result of climate change, he said. Dr Westra, a Senior Lecturer with the University of Adelaides School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering and member of the Environment Institute, said trends in rainfall extremes were examined over the period from 1900 to 2009 to determine whether they were becoming more intense or occurring more frequently. The results show that rainfall extremes were increasing over this period, and appear to be linked to the increase in global temperature of nearly a degree which also took place over this time. If extreme rainfall events continue to intensify, we can expect to see floods occurring more frequently around the world. Dr Westra added. The strongest increases occurred in the tropical countries, although some level of increase seems to be taking place at the majority of weather gauging stations. Most of these tropical countries are very poor and thus not well placed to adapt to the increased risk of flooding, which puts them in a larger threat of devastation, he said. is also a provision for monthly pension for those unable to work. 3. Amendments have been sought to Section 56 of the Indian Railways Act 1989, which empowers the Railways to refuse to carry a person suffering from leprosy; Section 13 (IV) of the Hindu Marriage Act, Section 27 (1) (g) of the Special Marriage Act, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, the Indian Christian Marriage Act and the Indian Divorce Act, under which the spouse can seek separation if his/her partner is suffering from a virulent and incurable form of leprosy. 4. There are misperceptions about leprosy and LAP. With the advancement of science, the disease is curable and noncontagious now. In this changed scenario, it is necessary to review and amend nearly 16 Acts, Brahmdutt, president, Federation of Leprosy Organisations, told The Hindu. 5. Leprosy affected persons are not allowed to get driving licence in Maharashtra due to certain discriminatory provisions. Therefore, an amendment has been sought in the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation Act, 1980. 6. An amendment also has been proposed in the Life Insurance Corporation Act, in which people with infectious diseases are made to pay a higher premium; the Persons with Disabilities Act, the Industrial Disputes Act, the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act (Section 419), the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (Section 18), the Rehabilitation Council of India Act and the Prevention of Begging Act (in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka). 7. The now annulled Indian Lepers Act, enacted by the British, sought to segregate the affected persons by creating asylums at least 10 km away from main cities. The affected persons had no property rights or even marriage rights. It was repealed in 1985 after leprosy was declared curable with multidrug therapy (MDT). varieties such as Thonnuramthondy and Palthondy; medicinal varieties such as Navara and Chennellu; and droughtresisting varieties such as Chenthadi and Chenthondi. This process, which goes on for up to two months, helps in the event of a crisis. If the long-term seeds are destroyed in climatic vagaries, the short-term seed varieties are used to avoid famine. 2. The process of Moodakettal takes place seven to 15 days after harvest. For preparing each Mood, different varieties of seeds are dried separately for nearly 15 days in an open place, day and night. Later, each species of rice seeds are wrapped in a layer of dry hay or plantain sheaths with bamboo plinths. Eachmooda can hold 10 to 60 kg of rice seeds. The seeds preserved in a mooda can be conserved for a longer period without fear of pest attack or moisture loss. Besides preservation, the tribesmen (including Kurichya and Kuruma) have been propagating the seeds by disbursing them to other farmers showing interest in cultivating rice. 3. As far as the tribesmen are concerned every stage of paddy cultivation is a divine activity as well as a ritual. Hence, the occasions such as the sowing of paddy seeds on the field and the transplanting of paddy and harvest are celebrated with religious fervour. From the sowing of seeds to the harvest, they consider the advice of Nikal (the spirit of their ancestors) or a shaman, the representative of the vegetation cults. 4. Cheruvayaltharavadu (homestead), near Kammana in Wayanad district, is a treasure house of indigenous rice seeds and the members of the tribal homestead have preserved a rare collection of 29 varieties. A few generations ago, our ancestors had cultivated more than 150 varieties of rice seeds, but most of them were lost over time, says Raman of Cheruvayal, who owns 2.5 hectares of land and is yet to get any assistance from governmental agencies. 5. The Edathana Kurichiya tharavadu, at Edathana near Valad, also has a rare collection of germ plasm. Every year, the members of this homestead have been cultivating different varieties of seeds on 5.6 hectares of land owned by the joint family. I fear that the traditional practice may vanish
3 February 2013 Long after Lepers Act is gone, discrimination still stays on statute
1. The draconian Indian Lepers Act, 1898 that sought to shun people afflicted with the disease, may have gone long ago but there are more than a dozen laws discriminating against them despite its being curable and non-contagious now. 2. Several petitions have been filed before the Centre, including the RajyaSabha, seeking amendments to the discriminating clauses. A draft Bill for The Leprosy Affected Persons Welfare is also in circulation. It seeks to create a separate body for the welfare of leprosy affected people (LAP), on the lines of the Disability Commission, in addition to reservation in educational institutions and employment. There
The rice is right

1. For many generations, the tribesmen of the Wayanad district of Kerala have employed a traditional method called Moodakettal to preserve nearly 35 varieties of indigenous rice seeds. These include aromatic rice seeds such as Gandhakasala, Kayama and Jeerakasala; short-term rice
JTS Institute
23

in the near future as the number of experts in Moodakettal is very few now, says AchappanVaidyar, 87, the chieftain of the homestead and traditional tribal healer. The new generation has lost interest in Moodakettal, as they prefer to store seeds in gunny or plastic bags. 6. All the work, from sowing to harvesting, is being done by my family and we have no practice of purchasing rice from shops, says AchappanVaidyar. Now, many farmers in the district are showing interest in traditional rice cultivation, thanks to the various afflictions suffered by the hybrid varieties recently. We are giving them seeds from our gene bank. 7. Instead of selling seeds for cash, they follow a type of barter system: for every pothi (approximately 60 litres) of rice seeds purchased, the buyer should return 70 litres of seeds after harvest. AchappanPeruvadi, a tribal chieftain near Vellamunda in Wayanad, says, I plan to set up a gene bank of traditional rice seeds to preserve the remaining seeds for our future generation, even though it is not a remunerative business. high and low blood pressure, and anaemia. Exclusion of Gods grain, the small millets, and overdependence on rice and wheat had accelerated the spread of urban ailments into the hinterland. 5. Palanichamy, the convenor of Walkathon 2013, showcased the potential of small millets to prevent malnutrition among women and children. 6. Pandiammal from Peraiyur recalled how food made from small millets provided them with the strength and stamina to labour in agricultural fields from dawn to dusk. The absence of millet in the daily diet was sending people to hospital, she noted. 7. M. P. Vasimalai, Executive Director, Dhan Foundation, speaking on the sidelines of the meet, said that the objective of organising the walkathon in 26 district headquarters in five States was to promote agricultural biodiversity through small millets. The Dhan Foundation had come out with a 10-point strategy to encourage cultivation of rain-fed millet. The strategy includes creation of farm ponds, preservation of oorunis (used for drinking water) and kanmais (used for irrigation) and development of orchards and seed farms. 8. Food processing centres to come out with value-added products such as cookies using small millets would be started in Peraiyur in Madurai district, and Anjatti and Javvadu Hills in Krishnagiri district. Research conducted by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University showed that millets facilitated slow release of sucrose and glucose and helped in controlling diabetes. and recommend actionable strategies. In this scenario, the 16th National Conference on eGovernance based on the theme of Towards an Open Government seeks to explore effective strategies for social, financial & digital inclusion and transformation in governance through innovation and technology. a. To recognise and promote excellence in implementation of eGovernance initiatives, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India, presents National Awards for e-Governance every year. 3. Category of Awards are: A) Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering B) Exemplary Horizontal Transfer of ICT-based Best Practice C) Outstanding Performance in Citizen-Centric Service Delivery D) Innovative Usage of Technology in e-Governance E) Exemplary Usage of ICT by PSUs F) Best Government Portal G) Sectoral Award (Focus Sector Social Sector Programs) 4. Gold, Silver and Bronze icons will be awarded in each category. State-wise award are as follows:Assam-01, Karnataka-01, Gujrat-04, Jharkhand-01, Andhra Pradesh -02, Odisha- 02, Rajasthan-01, Madhya Predesh02., Jammu & Kashmir -01, Bihar01, Govt. of India -01. Category 1 - Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering GOLD: Computerisation of Registration (Panjeeyan) Project in Assam, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Government of Assam SILVER: Transformation of Mineral and Administration through eGovernance (Geology and Mining), Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka BRONZE : Online Voting System (OVS), State Election Commission, Gujarat Category 2 - Exemplary Re-Use of ICT Based Solutions GOLD: XLNXtended Licensing & Laboratory Node of SALES, Food & Drugs Control Administration, Gujarat SILVER: Electronic Benefit Transfer through BC Model
Eat millet and steer clear of disease

1. To hundreds of women gathered at the Tamukkam Auditorium, it was a message that brought cheer. When the chairperson of Kalanjiam, a confederation of womens self-help groups, Chinnapillai, recommended the consumption of millet on a daily basis, they cheered. Millet is the staple diet in many households. 2. The message was boycott junk food; go back to small millets. The women and children had assembled at the Tamukkam Ground at the culmination of Walkathon 2013, organised by Dhan Foundation with the theme Food security through agricultural biodiversity: relevance of small millets. 3. Outside the venue were posters carrying information on the nutritious value of each variety of small millets such as kezhvaragu (ragi) and panivaragu (common millet). 4. Their samples were kept on display. Several speakers, including Lakshmikanthan of VayalagaIyakkam, explained how consumption of small millets controlled the spread of diabetes,
National Awards for E-Governance

1. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India, in association with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India and the Department of Information Technology & Communication, Government of Rajasthan, is organizing 16th National Conference on e-Governance on 11 - 12 February, 2013 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. 2. The National Conference on eGovernance has been providing a platform to policy makers, practitioners, industry leaders and academia to deliberate, interact
JTS Institute
24

at Pragya Kendras, Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of IT, Department of IT, Government of Jharkhand BRONZE : IT enabled services in Gurukulam institutions, APTWREIS (Gurukulam), Tribal Welfare Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh Category 3 - Outstanding performance in Citizen-Centric Service Delivery GOLD: Students Academic Management System (SAMS), Department of Higher Education, Government of Odisha SILVER: Mail Network Optimization Project, Department of Posts, Government of India BRONZE: Use of ICT for Delivering Mechanized Agricultural Implements & Effective Monitoring of Input Delivery System through ICT, Directorate of Agriculture & Food Production, Government of Odisha Category 4 - Innovative use of Technology in e-Governance GOLD: iBHUGOAL, Information Technology Department, Government of Bihar and National Informatics Centre, Bihar SILVER: Measuring Physical Accessibility to Healthcare Network and Population Coverage Modeling in J&K State using Geoinformatics, Directorate of Environment & Remote Sensing, Government of J&K BRONZE: MAGIC: Mineral Administration and Governance Using ICT,Commissionerate of Geology and Mining, Government of Gujarat Category 5 - Innovative use of ICT by PSUs for Customers Benefits GOLD Integrated System for Online Generation of Electrical Specifications for Transformers, Informatics Center (IFX), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bhopal SILVER EPIMRS, IT Wing, Eastern Power Distribution Company of A.P. Limited. BRONZE iMINE (IT Intervention for Managing Integrated Networked Enterprise), Information Technology Department, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited (GMDC) Category 6 - Best Government Portal GOLD: RPSC e-Governance, Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Ajmer Category 7 Specific Sectoral Award - Focus Sector Social Sector Programmes GOLD: SPARSH Special Project for Assistance, Rehabilitation & Strengthening of Handicapped A healing touch for disabled, old age and destitute, Directorate Social Justice, Government of Madhya Pradesh and National Informatics Center, Madhya Pradesh SAIL, NTPC and CIL and 16 Navratna companies, including RashtriyaIspat Nigam Limited and NMDC.
ShanuLahiri, a great Bengali Painter Died at 85

ShanuLahiri, the renowned painter of Bengal School died on 1 February 2013 following a brief illness at the private hospital in Kolkata. She was 85 years of age. She is survived by daughter Damayanti and son Arnab. She was cremated at the Keoratala Crematorium on 1 February 2013.
BHEL and GAIL Granted Maharatna Status

The Union Government of India gave the Maharatna status to two PSUs- BHEL and GAIL on 1 February 2013. Granting Maharatna status to BHEL and GAIL will provide them with better functional and financial freedom and will also guarantee them with better valuation of the shares. Ideally any Maharatna firm has a capacity to take investment decision of around 5000 crore Rupees without taking assistance from the government. On the other hand, forms with Navratna status have the capability of 1000 crore Rupees. However, both BHEL and GAIL do not have enough non-official directors on the board, which is why they cannot exercise their Maharatna powers. Even though all other conditions of Maharatna status were met by both these PSUs but their boards do not have requisite number of board members. While GAIL is short of 4 independent directors, BHEL, on the other hand is short of 6 nonofficial directors. In terms of turnover, networth as well as net profit, both these companies meet all the eligibility criterions. Eligibility of a company to get a Maharatna status For any company to qualify for Maharatna status, the annual turnover should be over 20000 crore Rupees in past three years, as per the guidelines issued by Department of Public Enterprises. The net worth of the PSU should be more than 10000 crore Rupees in past three years. The net profit should be over 2500 crore Rupees during past three years. At present, there are five Maharatna companies - ONGC, Indian Oil,
Different ways to tell age of a person:

1. School Records 2. Methods like Orchodometry which measures testicular volume. The test is available in India. 3. Teeth (Forensic experts check teeth first. All molars are up by 18.) 4. X-Ray of elbow, hip, knee, wrist, shoulders and collar-bones are taken for bone ossification (hardening) test. Bone age is correlated to chronological age. 5. TW3 Test (Tanner-Whitehouse Tests) or Bone Maturation Test Has been introduced by BCCI to check age fraud in junior cricket. It works out skeletal maturity from hand and wrist bones. 6. Telomeres Age determination based on the length of telomeres, the protective cap of chromosomes. Telomere length varies with age.
At 105, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan is the oldest to get Padma Award
Hindustani vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan (105) has become the oldest person to be chosen for this years Padma Shri award. Previously, in 2011, Indias first woman photo-journalist HomaiVyarawala was honoured with the Padma Vibushan at the age of 97. She passed away in 2012. Khan is also a poet who has penned around 2000 compositions under the pseudonym RasanPiya.
Iran claims to have sent monkey into space

Iran has claimed that it has successfully sent a monkey into
JTS Institute
25

space, boasting the launch as another step toward Tehrans aspirations of a manned space flight. As per reports, the rocket dubbed Pishgam (Farsi for pioneer), reached a height of 120 km. The monkey is learnt to have returned to earth safely. The west is worried that Irans advancements in this technology from the space program could also be used to develop longrange missiles that could possibly be armed with nuclear warheads. Iran aims to place its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation, improve telecommunications and expand military surveillance in the region. The country has a key satellite launch complex nearSemnan, about 200 km east of Tehran. It also has a satellite monitoring facility outside Mahdasht, about 70 km west of the Tehran. six warheads in the vehicle, how to disperse them and the pattern of their dispersal. The warheads could be released in an order, one after another. If one warhead were to hit a place, another could fall 100 km away from it, the technologists said. Both Agni-V and Agni-VI have three stages, all powered by solid propellants, and their diameter is two metres. And the comparison ends there. While Agni-V weighs 50 tonnes and is 17.5 metres long, Agni-VI belongs to the 65-70-tonne class and will be 20 metres long. Agni-VI will be a massive vehicle, the technologists said. It was too early to say when its first launch would take place. It would be road-mobile and blast off from trucks with launching platforms. have argued that a credible measurement of sustainability should include not just natural resources, such as wetlands, forests, coastlines, mountains and their biodiversity, but other components. These should provide future generations a set of opportunities as large as the one available to the present. It is critical, therefore, to also factor in human capital and account for public expenditures on education and health as productive rather than consumptive. India has visibly failed on these counts. While the country is consuming scarce resources rapidly, it is investing little in real terms in the key social areas. Now that the Prime Minister has acknowledged the need to adopt green accounting, it would be good to start the exercise of creating baseline knowledge on the contribution of the environment to many sectors of the economy. Natural systems, after all, represent the GDP of the poor. This can lead to greater legal protection, and help arrive at the real prices that commercial sectors must pay for these resources. The unfortunate reality is that in the absence of any attempt at monetary quantification, nature is often seen by industry as inherently worthless. A more enlightened approach should set the balance right.
Green calculations
At the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced a much-needed corrective to the GDP-focused development debate by underscoring the problem of replacing environmental resources consumed at a rapid pace. His reference to the depletion of freshwater in particular, and the likelihood of alarming scarcities arising from a demand-supply mismatch in the future should give pause to stakeholders who are mindlessly extracting it. What he should also have emphasised is the need for users, especially industries, to meet the actual cost of mitigating the pollution that is degrading this precious asset. Given its life-sustaining role, and its importance to agriculture, water should be treated as a vital part of the commons and protected from pollution through a strong legal approach. A model Bill has been circulated to the States to regulate groundwater, and it should help end the ineffectual approach of pollution control authorities towards the issue. The broader discussion on development, however, goes well beyond water and needs to encompass the idea of sustainability in its entirety. The definition of sustainability is far from settled, and economists and environmentalists have not achieved convergence on the metrics to be included. What is important, however, is to recognise that progress has been made in narrowing down metrics that are important to assess future wellbeing. Forward-looking economists
4 February 2013 Agni-VI all set to take shape

Agni-VI with multiple nuclear warheads, which can reach targets 6,000 km away, is all set to be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Only in April last, it carried out the maiden launch of Agni-V, which has a range of more than 5,000 km. So far, all the strategic missiles developed by the DRDO Agni-I, II, III, IV and V, and the submarinelaunched K-15 and its land-based version Shourya can carry only single nuclear warhead. The DRDOs tactical missiles and supersonic cruise missile BrahMos can carry one conventional warhead each. We have started working on the multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles [MIRV] version [Agni-VI]. It will carry four or six warheads depending upon their weight, DRDO missile technologists said. The constraint is the vehicles mass. Although the Union government is yet to sanction Agni-VI project, the DRDO has done all the enabling studies, finalised the missiles design and started working on the engineering part. It had also figured out how to anchor four or
SEBI revises rules for amalgamation of companies

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday revised rules for merger and amalgamation of companies, which requires stricter valuation of entities. In the recent past, SEBI said it received applications seeking exemption from certain entities containing inadequate disclosures, convoluted schemes of arrangement, exaggerated valuations, etc. SEBI is of the view that granting listing permission or exemption from the requirements based on such applications would not be in the interest of minority shareholders. At the same time, if listing permission or such an exemption is delayed or denied, it would add to the uncertainty and would deprive shareholders of an exit opportunity. SEBI asked listed companies to place before its audit committee the valuation report obtained from an independent chartered accountant.
JTS Institute
26

The audit committee would furnish a report recommending the draft scheme, taking into consideration of the valuation report. SEBI has also said that one of the stock exchanges, having nationwide trading terminals, would be the designated stock exchange for the purpose of coordination. The entities were asked to include the observation letter of the stock exchanges in the notice sent to the shareholders seeking approval of the scheme and bring the same to the notice of the High Court at the time of seeking approval of the scheme. The stock exchanges were asked to forward the draft scheme to the capital market regulator within 3 working days. The stock exchanges were also asked to process the draft scheme (including seeking clarifications from company and/or opinion from an independent chartered accountant) and forward their objection/no-objection letter on the draft scheme to SEBI. SEBI also asked exchanges to disclose the draft scheme and all the documents on its website. It shall also disclose the observation letter of the stock exchanges on its website within 24 hours of receiving the documents. About 50 per cent of the population in Mumbai stays in slums. In cities like Delhi also, about 84 per cent of homeless people are selfemployed. Since they are an integral part of Indias urbanisation story, irrespective of location categories, we need to create affordable housing even in the premium locations of mega cities. It is required to bring these service providers nearer to service consumers, Mr.Maken said. Adi Godrej, President, CII, said that with increased urbanisation, India would need $800 billion in the coming years towards urban development, and out of this, $350 billion would go towards building roads. According to K.C. Sivaramakrishnan, Chairman, Centre for Policy Research, megacities contribute 14-36 per cent of GDP of their respective states and the urban centres have also become critical in deciding the political leadership at the state and central levels. vaccine while the other half got a placebo. They were followed for up to three years. In the group that got the vaccine, there were 32 cases of TB, versus 39 cases in the group that got a placebo. The vaccines efficacy rate was about 17 per cent. No serious side effects related to the vaccine were reported. The study was paid for by Aeras, the Wellcome Trust and the OxfordEmergent Tuberculosis Consortium. The results were published online Monday in the journal Lancet. There is much that we and others can learn from the study and the data it has produced, said Helen McShane of the University of Oxford, one of the study authors, in a statement. She and colleagues are further analyzing the samples from the trial to better understand how humans become infected with TB bacteria. McShane and her co-authors wrote that the vaccine could potentially protect adolescents or adults against TB since their immune systems work differently from those of infants. The shot is also currently being tested in people with HIV. If this vaccine is effective in adults, that would be hugely valuable because the majority of TB disease and deaths are among adults, said Richard White, an infectious diseases expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. But no one knows the answer to that right now. A vaccine is likely to be a cost effective way of preventing TB, he said, comparing the $650 million that has been invested into vaccine development in the past decade versus the more than $4 billion it currently costs to control the disease every year, according to the World Health Organization. White also warned the world couldnt afford to ignore the spike in TB and its drugresistant forms. There are certain boroughs of London that have higher rates of TB than parts of Malawi, he said. TB is such a big problem that we really need to throw the book at it.
New TB vaccine doesnt protect infants: study

The worlds most advanced tuberculosis vaccine failed to protect babies against the infectious disease, according to a new study in South Africa. The vaccine, MVA85A, was designed to improve protection from the only existing tuberculosis vaccine, BCG, which is routinely given to newborns. Though the new vaccine appeared safe, scientists found no proof it prevented tuberculosis, an airborne disease that kills more than 1 million people worldwide every year. Previous tests of the vaccine in adults had been promising and researchers said the trial provided useful data to inform future studies. There are a dozen other TB vaccines currently being tested. Some health officials were discouraged by the results. Its pretty disappointing, said Dr. Jennifer Cohn, a medical coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, who was not part of the study. Infants are at really high risk of TB but this doesnt seem to offer them any protection. MVA85A was developed at Oxford University and was tested in nearly 2,800 infants in South Africa who had already been given a BCG shot, between 2009 and 2011. About half of the babies got the new
Mega cities should review FSI policy to boost affordable housing: Ajay Maken
There is a need to review the FSI (Floor Space Index) policy and make appropriate changes to boost affordable housing in mega cities like Mumbai, according to Ajay Maken, Union Minister for Housing and Poverty Alleviation. The state is the responsible authority to do so, and, in our opinion, it should consider this option, Mr.Maken said, while addressing an international conference on Governance of Megacity Regions in India, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Monday. At the central level, the policy for providing infrastructure status to affordable housing schemes was on the cards to improve the urban housing scenario, the minister said, adding, this can be treated as a sub sector of real estate and at least this sub sector can be given infrastructure status.
Indian economys growth slashed to 5.6% in 201213 by NCAER

Indian economy will grow 5.6 per cent in the current fiscal, lower than 5.9 per cent projected earlier but will be higher in 2013-14,
JTS Institute
27

economic think-tank NCAER said today. Based on quarterly model estimates, the GDP growth for 2012-13 is projected at 5.6 percent... Our preliminary estimates show GDP growth in constant 2004-05 prices (to be) at 6.1 percent in 2013-14, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said its report on Quarterly Review of the Economy. It said economic slowdown is evident not only on the production side of the economy but also on the demand side. The estimates show downward revision of GDP growth rate in the final two quarters, as compared to the previous estimate in October, it added. This is mainly due to contraction of output in all three sectors agriculture, industry and services. While lower agricultural output is explained by high deficit in rainfall, lower industrial and services output growth are a result of decline in...growth and decline in government expenditure. However, in 2013-14, it expected that all these sectors would perform better than the previous fiscal. The manufacturing sector alone, in the first half of 2012-13 declined steeply to 0.49 per cent, which is a record decline and acts as a severe pull-down factor for the growth of GDP, the report said. It said services sector has been slowing down and there are indications that the sector will register low growth in the current fiscal. Investment and private consumption were significantly contracted during the first half of the fiscal.
JTS Institute
28

Issue 5 PDF

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Issue 5 PDF

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

29 January - 4 February 2013 Issue-5/2013 (29 th January to 4th February)

Leprosy continues to haunt India, social stigma remains

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Loans to become cheaper as RBI cuts policy rate

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Iron, folic acid tablets to be given to 13 crore girls every week

Agro-conference teems with vested interests, group tells Centre

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Reproductive Tourism in India

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Asteroid to come close to earth on Feb 15

Antarctic drillers reach lake buried beneath ice

Lack of free pill bleeds dry haemophiliacs

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Significant number of unknown bugs living above the clouds

30 January 2013 SBI cuts Base Rate marginally

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

India slides down in press freedom index

Arunachal tribe helps in TB research breakthrough

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Vodafone issue will be resolved shortly

U.S. fears over compulsory licence for anti-cancer drug allayed

Run-of-the-river dams wont affect inflows into India

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

NASA launches communication satellite

At last, hideout of dormant TB bacteria found

Pulsar behaviour defies theories

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Habitable Zone for alien planets redefined

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Ties with Latin America to deepen further

Khurshid to visit Germany, Belgium to push EU accord

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Lesson on diplomacy, from an Iranian

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

GDP growth for 2011-12 lowered to 6.2 percent

Modified DTC soon, says Shome

Current Affairs Notes

Environment and developmental agendas linked: PM

May fall short of stake sale target (disinvestment)

Green tribunal bans dumping of debris on Yamuna banks

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

1 February 2013 Gates emphasises quality metrics, technological firepower

Faking magnitude 8 in the Himalayas, to handle earthquakes better

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013

Current Affairs Notes

29 January - 4 February 2013 Oil India share oversubscribed

Ozone thinning has changed ocean circulation

Steps on to boost investor trust