Civil Services Mentor August 2013

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Naxalism in India
The Politics of Convenience
Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost
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Naxalism in India
The attack in southern
Chhattisgarh this past May 25 has
again raised questions and some
bogeys about Indias internal
conflicts and the place Maoist rebels
occupy in this universe. Whats the
situation? And what is likely to
happen? The short answer is that
over the past three to four years,
Left-wing rebels led primarily by
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
have been severely depleted by the
surrender, arrest or death of leaders
and cadres. Pressured by the
onslaught, often knee-jerk, of both
central and various state
governments, the Maoists effective
area of combat has shrunk to
southern Chhattisgarh and adjacent
areas of western Maharashtra and
southwest Odisha (known as
Danda-karanya), Bihar, a few
pockets in Jhark-h-and, a sliver of
Andhra Pradesh. While it is an
emphatic weakening, the area is still
vast, and cadre numbers and
abilities enough to inflict severe
damage in areas of strength. The
Dandakaranya zone, where the
attack on May 25 took place, is both
major Maoist sanctuary, and core
laboratory for administration,
education, healthcare and way of
community living and economic
activity run by the Janatana Sarkar,
or peoples government. This
remains among the most
inaccessible and forbidding
policing and combat terrains in the
country. This is where top Maoist
military leadership shelters. This is
where some of the most battle-
hardened cadres are.
Naturally, this is also where
most government forces combating
Maoists are located. For Maoists,
this region is also quite different
from the rough and tumble in Bihar
and Jharkhand where Maoist rebels
have for long been less concerned
with trying to provide an alternate
grassroots model; because of what
can be called objective conditions
of rebellion, more engaged in
retribution and survival. The
Maoists duress is manifold. Among
other things, they appear to be
increasingly hard-pressed to
communicate issues. There is a core
hard-Left-leaning pool in urban India
that will continue to provide recruits
for on-ground action and eventual,
ideological leadership. As ever this
core is driven by angry
intellectualism, and can move easily,
generationally, from farmers rights-
related land issues prevalent in the
1960s and 1970s to, say, land-related
issues of tribal rights, and callous,
often-corrupt land acquisition for
various projects.
History History History History History
The term Naxalites comes from
Naxalbari, a small village in West
Bengal, where a section of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(CPM) led by Kanu Sanyal,and
Jangal Santhal initiated a violent
uprising in 1967. On 18 May 1967,
the Siliguri Kishan Sabha, of which
Jangal was the president, declared
their support for the movement
initiated by Kanu Sanyal and
readiness to adopt armed struggle
to redistribute land to the landless.
The following week, a sharecropper
near Naxalbari village was attacked
by the landlords men over a land
dispute. On 24 May, when a police
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team arrived to arrest the peasant
leaders, it was ambushed by a group
of tribals led by Jangal Santhal, and
a police inspector was killed in a hail
of arrows. This event encouraged
many Santhal tribals and other poor
people to join the movement and to
start attacking local landlords. These
conflicts go back to the failure of
implementing the 5th & 9th
Schedules of the Constitution of
India. See Outlook India comment
by E.N. Rammohan Unleash the
Good Force - edition July 16, 2012.
In theory these Schedules provide
for a limited form of tribal autonomy
with regard to exploiting natural
resources on their lands, e.g.
pharmaceutical & mining), and land
ceiling laws, limiting the land to be
possessed by landlords and
distribution of excess land to
landless farmers & labourers. The
caste system is another important
social aspect of these conflicts.
Mao Zedong provided
ideological leadership for the
Naxalbari movement, advocating
that Indian peasants and lower class
tribals overthrow the government
and upper classes by force. A large
number of urban elites were also
attracted to the ideology, which
spread through Charu Majumdars
writings, particularly the Historic
Eight Documents which formed the
basis of Naxalite ideology. In 1967,
Naxalites organized the All India
Coordination Committee of
Communist Revolutionaries
(AICCCR), and later broke away
from CPM. Violent uprisings were
organized in several parts of the
country. In 1969, the AICCCR gave
birth to the Communist Party of India
(Marxist-Leninist) (CPI(ML)).
Practically all Naxalite groups trace
their origin to the CPI(ML). A
separate offshoot from the
beginning was the Maoist
Communist Centre, which evolved
out of the Dakshin Desh group. The
MCC later fused with the Peoples
War Group to form the Communist
Party of India (Maoist). A third
offshoot was that of the Andhra
revolutionary communists, mainly
represented by the UCCRI(ML),
following the mass line legacy of T.
Nagi Reddy, which broke with the
AICCCR at an early stage. During the
1970s, the movement was
fragmented into disputing factions.
By 1980, it was estimated that
around 30 Naxalite groups were
active, with a combined
membership of 30,000.
GROUPS. GROUPS. GROUPS. GROUPS. GROUPS.
The Naxalism is spreading
through following groups in the
following names :-
(1) CPI (ML): Communist Party of
India.
(2) MCI: Moist communist centre.
(3) PWG: People war
group fused to CPI(Moist)
(4) UCCRI (ML): Termed as
Andhra communist.
Target of Naxal to Raisenaxalism Target of Naxal to Raisenaxalism Target of Naxal to Raisenaxalism Target of Naxal to Raisenaxalism Target of Naxal to Raisenaxalism
They basically cover:-
(a) Landlords.
(b) Teachers.
(c) Businessmen.
(d) University Teachers.
(e) Police officers.
Cause of Naxalims Cause of Naxalims Cause of Naxalims Cause of Naxalims Cause of Naxalims
The causes of the Maoist
movement in India are structural.
Economic, political and cultural
dimensions are closely linked. The
first is the economic situation which
is exploited by Naxalites and their
extreme left ideology. It seems
much like a catch-22 situation. The
basic rise to the naxalism is the one
and only one reason of poverty. The
Naxals do not consider themselves
to well furnish in nature, in terms of
amenities, which should be
provided by the state. They consider
themselves the weaker section of
the society. Hence, to raise their
power, and to prove the society they
are supreme, and independent in
nature. They started mobilising the
poor, underprivileged, and
discouraged and marginalised in the
rural areas of India. Futher to raise
their power and strength and to
make their own government they
started damaging the property, and,
the people who are against them.
On the one hand, India has
experienced relatively fast
economic growth, which has led to
increased levels of national wealth.
To facilitate and continue this
development, businesses need
more land and natural resources
such as minerals. On the other
hand, this economic growth has
been uneven among regions, and
has widened the disparity between
the rich and the poor. Proponents
of these businesses argue that these
regions need economic
development, if they are to catch up
with their richer counterparts.
The Indian aboriginals, known
as adivasis, live these richly forested
lands, which are wanted for
development by businesses. The
conflict between economic
progress and aboriginal land rights
continues to fuel the Naxalites
activities. Their strongest bases are
in the poorest areas of India. They
are concentrated on the tribal belt
such as West Bengal, Orissa, and
Andhra Pradesh where locals
experience forced acquisition of
their land for developmental
projects. Second, the alienation that
is being exploited by the Maoists
has a social, communal and regional
dimension. The battle can also be
described between Indias most
neglected people and the nations
most powerful industrial
businesses. The adivasis make up
about 8.4 percent of the population
and live in severe poverty. They live
in remote areas where government
administration is weak and there is
a lack of government services. These
indigenous people have the lowest
literacy rates in the country and
highest rates of infant mortality.
Gi ven thi s soci o-economi c
alienation, it is easy to see how the
Naxalites ideology is popular
among the rural poor and
indigenous tribes, and why the
adivasis view the guerrillas as their
saviours. The adivasis do not feel
like they have any political power
to voice their grievances
legitimately, and therefore the
alternative of subversive, illegal
groups seem attractive.
Some argue that Naxalites are
not concerned about the social or
economic welfare of these people
and are simply using them as a
means to its end goal of seizing
political power. The spread of
Naxalism reflects the widespread
alienation and discontentment felt
by large parts of the country who
are systematically marginalised. Dr.
Subramanian, a former Director-
General of the National Security
Guard and Central Reserve Police
Force notes that Naxalism exists in
these tribal areas because of the
dissatisfaction of the people against
the government and big businesses,
the terrain is suitable for guerrilla
tactics, and there is no existence of
a proper and effective local
administration mechanism. In
these areas, the conditions are
conducive to warfare and extremist
ideologies. Even if Naxalites are
simply exploiting the adivasis
situation for their own ends, their
popularity indicates the power of
the root causes to create such an
environment for insecurity and
violence.
Given the enormity of such
ongoing government and business-
led misdemeanour, it may be of
some surprise that the intensity of
Maoist recruitment has waned. But
tools of protest and redress
increasingly available in Indias
imperfect but dogged democracy
Right to Information, protests by
local communities and civil society,
judicial and media activism,
investor watchdogs are showing
ways to negotiated solutions that do
not require the gun. The Forest
Rights Act is not perfect indeed,
several critics feel it does little to
protect the interest of tribal folk.
PESA, or Panchayat (Extension to
Scheduled Areas) Act is also known
for lack of true application. And the
Land Acquisition, Resettlement &
Rehabilitation Bill, 2011 is
floundering in Parliament as it takes
hits from political and corporate
interests seeking to weaken it; give
less to the project-affected. Yet,
there are entirely democratic and
non-violent moves to strengthen
such ostensibly people-friendly
legislation. In this respect, in their
strategic measurement the Maoists
appear to be focusing more on the
negative aspects and failures of
India than calculating the
aspirational, positive aspects and
strengths of India.
Many of these problems have
to do with one simple fact: the
people living in these areas are
tribals who, on paper, receive
special rights and privileges but are
actually subject to brutal
discrimination in Indias caste-
conscious society. Even in West
Bengals so-called socialist utopia,
in dry areas where a single source
of water, like a well or a pond, has
to be shared by many households,
the tribal is the last person in queue
to get her bucketful. The Naxal issue
is complex, widespread and rooted
in local factors. The government
cant end Naxalism by sending the
military into villages and jungles.
And it wont help to club Naxals as
terrorists and book suspects under
harsh laws. Last year, a report on
Naxalism, published by the Planning
Commission, made this accurate
observation: Mobilising the support
of the people is also absolutely
essential to weaken the support
base of the Naxals. The political
parties are not playing their role in
this regard. The representatives of
major political parties have virtually
abdicated their responsibility.
The Red terror spots have
begun to pop up in Indias capital
and northern States forest and hilly
areas too. It seems that the Maoists
are interested in enlarging their area
of influence outside the jungles of
the Red Corridor that runs from the
Nepal border down to Andhra
Pradesh. Lately, they have begun
targeting Indias seat of power
New Delhiand many other cities
by setting up urban bases with the
aim to penetrate and influence
policy makers, judiciary, media, civil
liberty, human rights, cultural, Dalit,
women and youth organisations. So
far, the urban units are not indulging
in violence. But who knows when
they may start firing guns. Seized
documents of the CPI (Maoist)
Politburo and Central Committee
talk about the need to run a secret
service and unleash psychological
wars through effective networking
of various friendly groups in the
urban areas. According to a
confidential report of the military
intelligence, Indias 231 districts in
13 States, including three in the
NCR, are now being targeted by the
Maoists to achieve their ultimate
aimseize power in Delhi by 2050.
The Red Corridor runs
through the dense forest and tribal
belt, from Nepal through Bihar,
Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh and all the way to
Andhra Pradesh and to the upper
reaches of Maharashtra, and some
parts of Karnataka. Inside their
corridor, the Naxalites run a parallel
government and vow to continue
their fight against the statea full-
fledged war they call peoples
struggle. All the Left-wing militant
organisations, including the Maoist
Communist Centre (MCC) and the
Peoples War Group (PWG), after
their merger are now operating
under the flagship rebel partyCPI
(Maoist). The Central intelligence
reports have also issued a warning
that the Maoists are now in the
process of identifying new
operational areas across the
country. They are keenly looking at
industrial belts, where big corporate
houses are planning to set up the
Special Economic Zones (SEZs), an
easy target to launch violent
agitation. The Central Committee of
the CPI (Maoist) has published a
secret red book Strategy and
Tactics of the Indian Revolution,
which is said to be the Naxals Bible.
The book says: The central task of
the revolution is seizure of political
power through protracted Peoples
war. Talking about supporting sub-
national movements in India, the
book says: Lakhs of enemys armed
troops have been deployed since
long in J&K and the north-eastern
States. More and more nationalities
may come into armed confrontation
with the reactionary Indian State, so
it will be difficult for the Indian
ruling classes to mobilise all their
armed forces against our
revolutionary war. It further says the
urban areas are one of the main
sources which provide cadre and
leadership having various types of
capabilities essential for Peoples
war.
Another reason why the
Naxalites are the biggest threat to
security is because of the way the
issue affects Indias economic
development. This is apparent in
several ways. For example, the more
the Maoists concentrate on the poor
and marginalised regions of India,
the more economic development
(which is imperative to improving
those regions conditions) will be
hampered. Furthermore, the
Naxalite rebels are no longer just
focussing on remote jungles but on
urban centres. Maoist leader
Kishenji even declared that the
group aims to establish an armed
movement in Calcutta by 2011.
Internal order and stability are
necessary for a nations economic
development. For India to continue
being able to withstand outside
security threats, it must build up its
infrastructure, its defence and its
people. In terms of lifting its citizens
out of poverty, India has a long way
to go, and continued economic
growth is integral to Indias
development as a strong global
player. The Naxalite activities are
using up scarce resources on
defence and internal security when
it should be spent on areas such as
social development. For example in
2006, 22% of the total government
expenditure is on the military,
compared with a mere 1.84% of the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
spent on the social sector. The
Naxalite movement is also the
biggest threat to India, in terms of
the effects on its citizens and what
it means for democracy and rule of
law. Not only has there been a great
loss of life since the conflict
between the guerrillas and the
military, but addressing the problem
through violence risks polarising
people further and driving them to
subservience. The guerrilla warfare
is a threat not only to citizens lives
but their properties. Too impatient
and desperate to wait for
government intervention, civilians
such as landlords are taking matters
into their own hands.
Hunger, star-va-tion,
mal-nu-tri-tion, ill health and
untimely death pro-vide a fer-tile
ground for the growth of left wing
extrem-ism. The Red Cor-ri-dor in
gov-ern-ment par-lance or
com-pact rev-o-lu-tion-ary zone
(CRZ) in Maoist lan-guage
con-sti-tutes the most poor,
back-ward and under-de-vel-oped
part of the coun-try. These areas are
pre-dom-i-nantly inhab-ited by
Adi-va-sis (tribal groups) and Dal-its
(lower castes), who are amongst the
most mar-gin-alised and exploited
sec-tions of the Indian soci-ety.
These two wretched of the earth-
groups con-sti-tute the most
sig-nif-i-cant sup-port base of the
Maoist move-ment. In fact, the
Maoists explic-itly claim to be
fight-ing for them. The so-called
upper caste (land-lords), who also
dou-ble as money-len-ders along
with state offi-cials such as Pat-waris
(vil-lage level rev-enue offi-cials)
and for-est guards, have been
oppress-ing the under-priv-i-leged
Adi-va-sis and Dal-its. Resis-tance of
these groups was always
sup-pressed by the priv-i-leged
classes, with active sup-port from
the state in the name of law
and order.
In addi-tion, the human rights
activist Binayak Sen rightly argues
that the so-called Red Cor-ri-dor
should be declared a famine
stricken region and the Adi-va-sis
and Dal-its a famine stricken
com-mu-nity. More than sixty
per-cent of the pop-u-la-tion of this
region and more than sixty per-cent
of the Adi-va-sis and Dal-its have a
Body Mass Index lower than 18.5.
The cri-te-ria laid down by the World
Health Organ-i-sa-tion deter-mine
that a com-mu-nity or region should
be clas-si-fied as famine stricken if
more than one third of the
pop-u-la-tion has a BMI lower than
this num-ber. Sub-Saharan Africa for
exam-ple has been declared to be
famine stricken region on this basis.
Con-se-quen-tially, if
the WHO cri-te-rion is applied to
the Adi-va-sis and Dali-tis as a
com-mu-nity and the Red Cor-ri-dor
as a region then they should be given
this very same clas-si-fi-ca-tion. It is
because of this abysmal poverty in
the east-ern and cen-tral Indian
regions that Maoists have found
fer-tile ground to expand their
influ-ence, and to carve out their
guer-rilla zone in order to wage war
against the Indian state.
In May 2006, the Planning
Commission appointed an expert
committee headed by D.
Bandopadhyay, a retired IAS officer
instrumental in dealing with the
Naxalites in West Bengal in the
1970s. The expert committee has
underscored the social, political,
economic and cultural
discrimination faced by the SCs/STs
across the country as a key factor in
drawing large number of
discontented people towards the
Naxalites. The committee
established the lack of
empowerment of local communities
as the main reason for the spread of
the Naxal movement. Choosing its
words carefully, the report states
that We have two worlds of
education, two worlds of health,
two worlds of transport and two
worlds of housing... The expert
committee delved deep into the
new conflict zones of India, i.e. the
mines and mineral rich areas, steel
zones, as well as the SEZs. The
report holds the faulty system of
land acquisition and a non-existent
R&R Policy largely responsible for
the support enjoyed by the
Naxalites. On the other hand, the
committee makes a forceful plea for
a policy and legal framework to
enable small and marginal farmers
to lease-in land with secure rights
while landless poor occupying
government land should not be
treated as encroachers. For the first
time in the history of the Naxal
movement, a government appointed
committee has put the blame on the
State for the growth of the
movement. Providing statistics of
125 districts from the Naxal-affected
States, the committee finds out that
the state bureaucracy has pitiably
failed in delivering good governance
in these areas. The report
recommends rigorous training for
the police force, not only on humane
tactics of controlling rural violence
but also on the constitutional
obligation of the State for the
protection of fundamental rights.
Making a departure from the usual
government position, the expert
committee concludes that
development paradigm pursued
since independence has aggravated
the prevailing discontent among the
marginalized sections of society.
Citing democratic principles, the
report also argues for the right to
protest and discovers that unrest is
often the only thing that actually
puts pressure on the government to
make things work and for the
government to live up to its own
promises.
Solutions Solutions Solutions Solutions Solutions
The complexity of the causes
of the Naxalite problem as well as
its implications both for internal and
external security reflect a solution
that is multi-dimensional and calls
for a synergy between the central
governments and the states. In order
to comprehensively dissolve the
Naxalite threat, the government has
to address its root causes. Socio-
economic alienation and the
dissatisfaction with the widening
economic and political inequality
will not be solved by military force
alone, which seems to be the main
instrument employed by the
government. The problem calls for
a three-pronged solution: social and
economic development, multi-
lateral dialogue and military force.
Socio-economic development Socio-economic development Socio-economic development Socio-economic development Socio-economic development
As the Naxalites are fuelled by
discontent from the marginalised
and the poor, a larger percentage of
the national budget must be
allocated to addressing the needs of
these regions. More of the national
expenditure needs to be focused on
developing these poorer regions
through initiatives regarding health,
education, social welfare and rural
and urban development.
Government service delivery should
be improved in these tribal areas.
Both state and government must
ensure that things such as statutory
minimum wages, access to land and
water sources initiatives are
implemented. In coming up with
strategies for national economic
growth, the government must
always bear in mind the possible
effects of fast growth for all socio-
economic groups in a country as
large and diverse as India. If the
social needs of these marginalised
people are addressed, there will be
no discontent to fuel the Naxalites
movements.
Dialogue Dialogue Dialogue Dialogue Dialogue
Second, the government
should initiate sincere dialogue with
these marginalised groups, the
Naxalites and state leaders. The
popularity of Naxalites with the
adivasis is a reflection of the fact that
the government has been unaware
or unapologetically indifferent to
their plight. By communicating
and starting a dialogue between
these stakeholders, these groups
will feel that they being listened to.
By opening dialogue, the
government can give opportunity
for the rebels to join the mainstream
by showing them that solutions can
be created together with the
government, by being part of the
political system in a legitimate way.
If the state can-not dec-i-mate the
Maoists, the Maoists also can-not
smash the Indian state. The idea of
vic-tory through pro-tracted armed
agrar-ian strug-gle is a hoax as
glob-ally speak-ing there is no
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pos-si-bil-ity of over-throw-ing any
state solely through guer-rilla
war-fare. Nepal could there-fore be
a good exam-ple for the Indian
Maoists to emu-late. If the Nepali
Maoist party can con-test the
elec-tions, form and run the
gov-ern-ment, then why should this
be impos-si-ble for the Indian
Maoists? Rad-i-cal left lead-ers like
Prac-hand and Babu-ram Bhat-trai in
Nepal, Chavez in Venezuela, and
many oth-ers took the
par-lia-men-tary path and won
elec-tions in their coun-tries. Now
they are suc-cess-fully run-ning the
gov-ern-ments in Nepal, Venezuela
and sev-eral Latin Amer-i-can
coun-tries. Dia-logue is the only
solu-tion to the vio-lence unleashed
by both the Maoists and the state.
Oth-er-wise it will even-tu-ally be
inno-cent civil-ians who con-tinue to
suf-fer the most, guar-an-tee-ing that
the whole nation pays the price for
the insurgency.
Military Military Military Military Military
Sev-eral strate-gic ana-lysts are
nev-er-the-less of the firm opin-ion
that unless and until the insur-gents
have been deci-sively defeated they
will not come to nego-ti-at-ing table.
They argue that if insur-gents are in
a strong mil-i-tary posi-tion they
have no rea-son to nego-ti-ate
because they are sens-ing vic-tory.
Strate-gic ana-lysts cite the
exam-ples of Pun-jab, Tripura and
Andhra, where insur-gents were
dec-i-mated by lethal force.
How-ever, suc-cess in one state is
no guar-an-tee that it can be
repli-cated mechan-i-cally in other
states.
If this would be the case then
the COBRA (Com-bined Bat-tal-ion
for Res-olute Action)
coun-terin-sur-gency force of the
Cen-tral Reserve Police Force
(CRPF), which has been cre-ated to
fight Nax-als using the pat-tern of the
Grey-hound of Andhra, would have
suc-ceeded in crush-ing the Maoists
of the Dand-karayana region in
cen-tral India. Currently, the main
instrument employed by the
government to address the Naxalite
threat is the increasing use of the
military. While some military force
is still needed to combat against the
Maoist guerrillas, it should not be
the only solution. By only addressing
the issue by brute force, government
risks alienating civilians who are
caught in the middle. Coercion of
the state will only encourage people
to rally against it.
In order to win the peo-ple
over to the state side the Indian
gov-ern-ment is pur-su-ing
t he US coun- t er i n- sur - gency
strat-egy of clear, hold and build.
This strat-egy is how-ever
mechan-i-cally applied in the form
of a heavy deploy-ment of
para-mil-i-tary forces and area
dom-i-na-tion patrols in the Maoist
regions, aimed to wrest the con-trol
of these region from them. The
mas-sive surge of troops and their
patrolling in the region, intended to
make their pres-ence felt, has given
the insur-gents the chance to
exe-cute a new strat-egy of mobile
war-fare. Ear-lier they used to tar-get
only two to three secu-rity
per-son-nel in their hit and run
guer-rilla tac-tics, but now they are
engag-ing entire com-pa-nies of
secu-rity forces con-sist-ing of more
than sev-enty secu-rity per-son-nel,
and fight them through encir-cling
tac-tics in face to face bat-tle. After
killing the troops the Maoists also
snatch their weapons, thus
increas-ing their armoury. This has
hap-pened sev-eral times in the
Maoist dom-i-nated regions and is
demor-al-is-ing both the
para-mil-i-tary forces and the
government.
The Maoist move-ment is not a
seces-sion-ist move-ment like the
North-east or Kash-mir
insur-gen-cies. And since the
Maoists are not sep-a-ratists,
opin-ions in the gov-ern-ment and
the armed forces are sharply divided
regard-ing the use of mil-i-tary force
against them. The insur-gents
them-selves how-ever are of the firm
opin-ion that a mil-i-tary strat-egy
will even-tu-ally be used against
them and that only by defeat-ing the
Indian armed forces they can
suc-ceed in their objec-tive of
cap-tur-ing polit-i-cal power. They
know this is not an easy task and
because of this they speak of a
pro-tracted agrar-ian armed
strug-gle against the state, seiz-ing
power in the rural areas and
even-tu-ally encir-cling the cities.
Accord-ing to them this would force
the enemy to sur-ren-der, just as
hap-pened in China. How-ever,
India is not China and the Indian
army is not Chiang-Kai-Sheks army.
Governance Governance Governance Governance Governance
The growing Naxalite
insurgency also reflects a flaw in the
federal structure. Because law and
order is seen as a state
responsibility, the central
government is unable to be
implement a coherent national
strategy to address the threat.
Ganguly notes that in the absence
of a near complete breakdown of
public order or without the express
request of the afflicted state, the
central government
cannot[intervene]. The
government has the overall
responsibility of mobilising
development, but it cannot do so
without the support of the states.
The central government and the
states need to cooperate together
to solve the internal security threats
and coordinate the implementation
of this multi-dimensional
approach. Both organisations must
complement and support each
others initiatives and strategies.
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Cure to Naxalism by the Cure to Naxalism by the Cure to Naxalism by the Cure to Naxalism by the Cure to Naxalism by the
Efforts of Government Efforts of Government Efforts of Government Efforts of Government Efforts of Government
The following cure had been
adopted by the government to
mobilise naxalism are as follows:-
(1) Release of Funds.
(2) Providing every amenity
needed to the state.
(3) Police force to be maintained,
in order to overcome Naxal
attacks.
(4) Modern equipments to be
provided to police.
Cure to Naxalism in General Cure to Naxalism in General Cure to Naxalism in General Cure to Naxalism in General Cure to Naxalism in General
The cure should be taken by
the people to mobilise naxalism are
as follows:-
(1) People should believe in
Government.
(2) They should apply their
prudent mind.
(3) They should believe in
themselves.
(4) The government should
provide adequate remedies
and facilities to such groups.
(5) They should send their
children to school.
(6) They should help the Police to
mobilise such groups.
Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion
To conclude, the Naxalite
problem reflects underlying issues
in the Indian social, economic and
political institutions which threaten
to expose India to even more danger
from outside forces. While the
Naxalite movement is mainly an
internal threat, with globalisation,
external and internal security threats
are inextricably linked. The complex
and multi-faceted approach to
solving the Naxalite issue also
reflects the fact that this is the
biggest menace to Indias security
in the future. To get Naxals into the
political mainstream, the political
mainstream has to make the first
move. And to do that, the
government has to take the first step
to reconciliation. Otherwise, which
politician would like to be seen
hobnobbing with people branded
as Naxals and terrorists? Dealing
with Naxalism needs a holistic
approach with development
initiatives as an integral part of the
security approach. Security here
must be understood in its broader
perspective, which includes human
development in its scope, because
human security is an inseparable
component of any human
development formula, and vice
versa.
Saket Singh Saket Singh Saket Singh Saket Singh Saket Singh
MCQ Series
MCQ Series
The Politics of Convenience The Politics of Convenience The Politics of Convenience The Politics of Convenience The Politics of Convenience
The Politics of Convenience
In the immediate aftermath of
the Boston bombing, ugly evidence
emerged of how ethnic stereotyping
tears apart civilisational fabric.
Misdirected racist vitriol saw Indian-
American Sunil Tripathi falsely
named as a suspect by hordes of
Reddit and Twitter users. One can
only imagine the wretched situation
of the Tripathi family as one of their
own faced a social media lynching,
only to be told a week later that a
body found in Rhode Islands
Providence Harbour was Sunils.
Then the Federal Bureau of
Investigation aided the steady,
trickling flow of background details
on the Tsarnaev brothers, Tamerlan
(26, killed in a gunfight with police)
and Dzhokhar (19, in custody but
hospitalised with severe injuries),
suspects in the bombing. Within
days, the media unearthed the
Tsarnaev link with Chechnya,
Dagestan and Kyrgyzstan and a
cascade of public commentary
proclaimed the Islamist connection
established. President Barack
Obama kept the rhetoric moving
along smoothly when he tacitly
approved labelling what happened
in Boston an act ... of terror.
After the Boston Marathon
bombers struck on April 15, killing
four in their wake and injuring 264,
the initial caution about ethno-
religious stereotyping of Islamic
extremists appears to have given
way to a freewheeling discourse that
seeks to firmly tie Muslims to global
terror plots. Before this rather crude
logic acquires a national echo and,
similar to the post-9/11 scenario,
fuels hate crimes against ethnic
minorities such as Muslims and
Sikhs, it is important to give context
to Americas cynical application of
the notion of terrorism.
Historic Irony Historic Irony Historic Irony Historic Irony Historic Irony
But was it really? There are two
problems with Americas eagerness
to call the admittedly despicable
attack on civilians terrorism. The
first is replete with historic irony.
What happened on 9/11 on the
U.S. eastern seaboard is often seen
as the culmination of Washingtons
engagement in Afghanistan during
the 1980s, particularly the CIAs
shadowy Operation Cyclone,
through which hundreds of millions
of dollars were pumped into the
coffers of Afghan fighters battling
the forces of Mohammad Najibullah.
While some insist the CIAs
funding did not cross the red lines
between the Afghan Mujahideen
and foreign or Arab fighters,
questions were raised about
whether the same weapons and
training that flooded Afghanistan
during that era came back to haunt
the U.S. in the form of an invigorated
al Qaeda and Taliban in the late
1990s and 2000s.
Hypocrisy in Chechnya Hypocrisy in Chechnya Hypocrisy in Chechnya Hypocrisy in Chechnya Hypocrisy in Chechnya
Despite the grisly episodes of
the 2002 Moscow theatre hostage
crisis, the 2004 Beslan school siege
and several other terror attacks
associated with Chechen
separatists, the U.S., led by the
neocon-staffed American
Committee for Peace in Chechnya
(ACPC), chose to turn a blind eye
to events in the region. Back in 2004,
John Laughland of the British
Helsinki Human Rights Group
explained that ACPC members
represented the backbone of the
U.S. foreign policy establishment,
and included Richard Perle, a former
Pentagon advisor, and James
Woolsey, former CIA director who
backed George W. Bushs foreign
policy. The influential group heavily
promoted the idea that the
Chechen rebellion shows the
undemocratic nature of Putins
Russia, and cultivates support for
the Chechen cause by emphasising
the seriousness of human rights
violations in the tiny Caucasian
republic.
The ACPC then upped the
pressure against the Putin regime
even more in August 2004, when it
welcomed the award of political
asylum in the U.S., and a U.S.-
government funded grant, to Ilyas
Akhmadov, Foreign Minister in the
opposition Chechen government,
and a man Moscow describes as a
terrorist.
Was Washington happy to
countenance violent groups so long
as rival Russia and its intractable
President Putin faced the heat? In
insisting Moscow achieve a political,
rather than military, solution wasnt
the U.S. administration actually
calling on Mr. Putin to negotiate with
terrorists, a policy the U.S.
resolutely rejects elsewhere?
Moussaoui Overlooked Moussaoui Overlooked Moussaoui Overlooked Moussaoui Overlooked Moussaoui Overlooked
The ACPCs soft-pedalling on
terror apart, evidence of the U.S.
unwillingness to crack down on
Chechen extremism came in the
form of one of the most high-profile
U.S. law enforcement successes in
the days leading up to 9/11: the
capture of Zacarias Moussaoui in
Minnesota on August 16, 2001.
Whistleblower Coleen Rowley
wrote recently that not only did her
former employers at the FBI, CIA
Director George Tenet, and other
counterterrorism experts balk at
allowing a search of Moussaouis
laptop and other property but, more
disturbingly, they brushed aside a
critical April 2001 memo by
erstwhile FBI Assistant Director Dale
Watson. That memo, entitled Bin
Laden/Ibn Khattab Threat
Reporting, warned about
significant and urgent intelligence
to suggest serious operational
planning for terrorism attacks by
Sunni extremists with links to Ibn
al Khattab, an extremist leader in
Chechnya, and to Usama Bin Laden,
reported the New York Times
Philip Shenon in his insightful 2011
story of The Terrible Missed
Chance.
Even after the FBIs attach in
Paris reported that French spy
agencies had evidence suggesting
Moussaoui was a recruiter for
Khattab and despite senior
intelligence officials admitting that
the system was blinking red with
the prospect of an imminent terror
attack, no one seemed to want to
acknowledge that Moussaoui,
Khattab and bin Laden were
brothers in bloodshed.
In the Boston investigation,
Dzhokhar is now said to have
indicated that he and Tamerlan were
disenchanted with U.S. wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan their Chechen
background cannot be discounted
here and this may have driven
their ghastly actions. If this is
established as the true motive then
history would have come full circle.
That will or at least it ought to
provoke more questions about the
cynical manipulation of facts and an
ever-morphing concept of
terrorism that sustain the U.S.
wars and its economy.
Gun Violence Paradox Gun Violence Paradox Gun Violence Paradox Gun Violence Paradox Gun Violence Paradox
A second sophisticated
obfuscation of terrorism in the U.S.
is that it is liberally applied when a
person or group perceived as alien
in terms of race, religion or
citizenship is held responsible for
an act of lethal violence, but much
less so in other contexts. In this case,
the discovery that the Tsarnaevs
were Muslim led to an almost
triumphalist cheer in some
conservative corners of the country.
To give this odd
overzealousness some context,
consider the case of gun crime
which, some such as Michael Cohen
of The Guardian have argued, gets
a relatively muted reaction from
Americans compared to the random
act of terror that hits the mainland
from time to time, despite the
latters far greater toll on human life.
Bizarrely, recent mass killings
including the Sikh Temple of Oak
Creek, Wisconsin, the theatre
shooting in Aurora, Colorado, and
the school shootings at Newtown,
Connecticut by mostly white,
gun-toting young men, did nothing
to prevent conservatives in the U.S.
Congress from defeating a bill
proposing rudimentary checks on
gun buyers backgrounds before
arming them. In none of these cases
did Second Amendment-warriors
attach the terrorist label to the
perpetrators. Why are James
Holmes, Adam Lanza, Wade Page,
and numerous others merely
alluded to as disturbed
individuals? The Tsarnaevs may be
no different from these mass killers,
some such as Glen Greenwald have
argued, and all of these men are
likely to have been driven by a
combination of mental illness,
societal alienation and mostly
apolitical rage.
While a robust debate on the
application of terrorism would
help the American media and public
avoid the frequent retreat to racist
stereotyping that we have seen in
recent weeks, a failure to do so
would only feed the U.S. fatal
politics of convenience and
extinguish the prospect of change
that could make a real difference.
Narayan Lakshman Narayan Lakshman Narayan Lakshman Narayan Lakshman Narayan Lakshman
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Sport is a big phenomenon of
today, it is very important part of
today life. However, sport is rather
contradictory phenomenon. It is
connected with big humanistic
values and it formats life and values
of billions of people on the one side.
It is also connected with dirty
business, doping, corruption and
violence on the other side.
Corruption in sport should be matter
of concern not of pessimism. We are
not speaking about decline of sport
values. But we are facing of a new
challenge. This challenge is higher
as the issue is still not dealt with
properly. We may perhaps compare
doping in sport with corruption in
sport. However, doping has been
seriously treated for many years
now, with number of experts,
scientific background and
international co-ordination
structures. Nothing of it exists in the
area of corruption in sport yet.
Just over a decade after cricket
was hit by one its biggest scandals,
three Pakistani cricketers were given
prison sentences last week by a
London court on charges of spot-
fixing. For the first time in crickets
history, players face jail terms of
between six and 30 months, besides
the prospect of never again playing
the game. This is in stark contrast to
investigations into match-fixing in
2000 where the central figure was
the former South African captain,
Hansie Cronje. Cricketers from
various countries were alleged to
have been involved, including a
former captain of the Indian team
who is now a member of the Indian
Parliament. Enquiry commissions
were set up in South Africa and
Pakistan following the scandal, but
most players got away with bans,
fines or in some cases just a
reprimand. After the events of 2000,
crickets governing body, the
International Cricket Council, set up
the Anti-Corruption and Security
Unit to tackle the menace of match
fixing. But ironically it was a sting
operation by the now discredited
and defunct News of the World in
2010 which exposed the spot-fixing
by the Pakistani cricketers and
provided evidence for sentencing.
While cricket with its elaborate
rules is particularly prone to spot-
fixing - where you bet on individual
events within the game rather than
the result itself - the phenomenon
of fixing is hardly confined to
cricket. We are at a time when the
world of sport seems to be awash
in corruption. Earlier this year,
prosecutors in South Korea indicted
an astonishing 46 football players on
charges of fixing matches in the
football K-League. According to the
South Korean prosecutors, the
players received up to US$50,000
for fixing matches, and sometimes
even bet on the outcome. In Turkey,
the champion club Fenerbahce is at
the centre of a match-fixing scandal,
having won 16 of its 17 league
matches at the end of the season to
clinch the title on goal difference.
Its not just sportspersons who are
in the dock. Sports administrators all
over the world are facing scrutiny.
FIFA, footballs governing body and
the richest sports association in the
world, is in the midst of its biggest
scandal. FIFAs 24-member
executive committee, which has
had Sepp Blatter at the helm of
Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost
Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost
affairs for 13 long years, is among
the most sought after clubs. But this
elite club has now been raven apart
with influential committee members
accused of paying bribes.
The head of the Caribbean and
North and Central American region
has already resigned. And Qatars
Mohamed bin Hammam, who was
head of Asias football federation,
has been banned for life by FIFAs
ethics committee. Bin Hammam is
not going down without a fight. He
has not only challenged FIFAa ban
but also promised to reveal
wrongdoings by Blatter. This has put
a question mark over the bidding
process for the 2018 and 2022 World
Cups which were awarded to Russia
and Qatar respectively. What many
had long suspected about the
cronyism and corruption within
FIFA is now coming to light.The
obvious reason why there are so
many corruption scandals involving
both players and administrators is
the incredible amount of money
involved in sport. FIFAs current
annual revenue is now pegged at
US$1.3 billion and it even gets tax
breaks from Switzerland where it is
headquartered. There is plenty of
money too in other sports like
cricket which enjoys much less
global popularity, but is akin to a
religion in South Asia. In 2010-11,
the Board of Control for Cricket in
India generated over US$400 million
in revenues. With this kind of money
it is not surprising that corruption
has eaten into sport. While sports
administrators in many parts of the
world have never had a great
reputation, it is the corruption of
players that is more worrying. Many
individual sporting disciplines have
been tainted by performance
enhancing drugs, but that is
something the administrators have
tried to check by putting in place
an elaborate regime of doping tests.
Transparency International has
produced this collection of articles,
links and information resources to
cast a light on the vulnerabilities of
the sport world to corruption as well
as efforts being undertaken to
combat it. We speak with
investigative journalists. We look at
the mysterious lack of convictions
in sports corruption. We examine a
book that details the history of FIFA
(Fdration Internationale de
Football Association). And we talk
about the role of civil society
organisations in keeping the
beautiful game beautiful. If sport
was a largely informal affair a
century ago, it has morphed into a
full-fledged industry total costs,
including infrastructure, of the 2006
World Cup in Germany are
estimated at upwards of 6 billion
(see interview with sport journalist
Jens Weinreich). With such
increasingly huge sums in play,
whether in terms merchandising,
sponsorship, betting or athlete
salaries, the seduction of and
vulnerability to corrupt behaviour
has grown. The sport world has
responded slowly and, to date,
inadequately. It is as serious a threat
as doping; only it has the potential
to inflict much greater damage on
the sport world and the
communities, representing billions
of people globally, that support it.
Football scandals in Germany,
Brazil, Italy, Belgium and China are
evidence that the problem is real
and it is global. This means that
international sports associations
such as FIFA and the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) must
lead the way in terms of systematic
enforcement of a zero-tolerance
policy on corruption. FIFA is
currently trumpeting the
introduction of an Ethics
Commission as well as the creation
of a commercial firm called Early
Warning System designed to detect
irregularities in game scoring. These
are laudable efforts, but the
phenomenon runs deeper than
match-fixing. There is a need to
address the conflicts of interest that
are part and parcel of a familial
network of athletic officials that
spans the globe. While statements
have been made and ethical codes
adopted, what is missing is rigorous
enforcement and follow-through,
including the systematic ejection of
tainted officials.
For preventing and eliminating
corruption it is important to know
the scope of corruption and areas
where it occurs. Knowing this it is
also important to know patterns
under which corruption is
predominantly performed. This
simple request is not easy to fulfill.
When corruption is regarded it is
very difficult everywhere, in all
sectors of society, to get reliable
figures. Especially to get police and
judicial statistic, which is
successfully used in many other
areas of crime and social pathology,
do not bring required information.
Detected or reported corruption is
always only an iceberg of the whole
problem and not always indicates
correctly areas where corruption is
most wide spread. A
comprehensive study of this issue
would be most desirable. But even
for the short study like this one a
survey of international press and
Internet provides interesting
mapping of the problem. It appears
that corruption can be found in
almost any imaginable areas of
sport. The main areas are match
fixing, embezzlement or misusing of
sport funds, corruption in hosting of
games, corruption in changing sport
results, corruption in transfers of
players, corrupted elections in
sporting bodies. We can also
mention situations where high sport
officials were convicted of
corruption in their non-sport
activities which is not corruption in
sport itself but it certainly influences
the sport life.We also keep aside a
role of politics in sport which might
be very close to political corruption
of sport. It represents another very
interesting and controversial issue of
sport closely related to the issue of
corruption in sport.
Match Fixing Match Fixing Match Fixing Match Fixing Match Fixing
Match fixing is a quite common
problem in number of sports like
football, tennis, basketball,
volleyball etc. The reasons for match
fixing may be also numerous.
Perhaps the most commonly match
fixing is connected with betting,
legal or illegal. In this cases match
fixing is connected with financial
profit and it may be connected with
organized groups or we can even
directly speak about links to
organized crime. Match fixing may
also occur in direct links with sport
life. Matches can be fixed in order
to gain better position in sport
competition. It often occurs in cases
where a club is in a risk of falling to
lower league. While the visible
purpose is of a purely sport nature
the underlining causes are often
again financial remaining in a
higher league can generate higher
income for the club and its owners
(TV rights, better value for players).
Devastating impact to sport is the
same.
However, match-fixing is
something that requires not just
administrators but investigative
agencies to be on their toes. Prison
terms for the guilty cricketers, one
of them still a teenager, is not a
happy occurrence. But its
heartening that the Pakistani people
have by and large welcomed the
court judgment and said the players
deserved it. Indeed, we can only
hope that such punishment will
deter sportspersons in future from
giving in to the temptation of making
quick money through dubious
means. Fixing of any sort destroys
the purity of sport and the
sacrosanct relationship between a
spectator and the sports hero. Once
that trust is destroyed, it does
irreparable damage to the enterprise
of sport. Thats why the jail terms for
the cricketers, however distasteful,
were needed.
Spot Fixing Spot Fixing Spot Fixing Spot Fixing Spot Fixing
Spot-fixing refers to illegal
activity in a sport where a specific
part of a game is fixed. Examples
include something as minor as
timing a no ball or wide delivery in
cricket or timing the first throw-in
or corner in association football.
Spot-fixing attempts to defraud
bookmakers illegally by means of a
player agreeing to perform to order
by pre-arrangement. As such spot-
fixing differs from match fixing,
where a whole match is fixed, or
point shaving, a specific type of
match fixing in which corrupt
players (or officials) attempt to limit
the margin of victory of the favoured
team. Spot-fixing is more difficult to
detect than match fixing or point
shaving. Spot-fixing is most
associated with the betting markets
of the Indian subcontinent where
bets can be placed on individual
deliveries in a cricket match. The
advent of Twenty20 cricket is said
to have made spot-fixing more
difficult to detect as has the growth
of Internet gambling and spread
betting.
The 2013 Indian Premier
League spot fixing and betting case
arose when the Delhi Police arrested
three cricketers, Sreesanth, Ajit
Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, on the
charges of spot-fixing. The three
represented the Rajasthan Royals in
the 2013 Indian Premier League. In
a separate case, Mumbai Police
arrested Vindu Dara Singh and
Gurunath Meiyappan for alleged
betting and having links with
bookies.
Managing of Managing of Managing of Managing of Managing of
International Sport Federations International Sport Federations International Sport Federations International Sport Federations International Sport Federations
International sport federations
with their often-enormous wealth
and limited external control are of
an especially high risk of corruption.
Corruption here can take different
form from simple misuse or
embezzlement of federation funds
though corruption related to media
rights up to corruption of federation
members. To make picture more
structured we take the later two
options as separate one. Following
case of Ruben Acosta, former
president of Volleyball Federation
represents a very good example of
difficulties regarding possible
corruption in sport. Media rights and
other marketing activities represents
one of major income source of
sport, namely of a top international
sport. Large sum of money attract
the fraud and corruption and
organised crime. Large amount of
money also always attracted
organized criminal groups. At the 12
Anti-corruption conference in
November 2006, on workshop The
Business of Sports and Corruption
Henri Roemer, of UEFA, presented
part of the findings of a report that
he had made to UEFA and which is
expected to lead to some reforms
of the organization in the next few
months: There are no sport mafias
but mafias invest into sports. With
the huge potential for financial
returns and the generally rather low
standards of professionalism in the
administration of clubs, football
attracts criminal activities such as
the trafficking of young players,
money laundering, illegal betting
etc.
The risks for criminals are
minimal and control systems are
weak. Players are normally young
and easy to influence, while by
bribing one key player, the outcome
of a game can be bought and
generate revenues from betting.
Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost Corruption in Sports: Money at Any Cost
National laws and systems often
have little chances to be effective
in relation to the international
dimension of illegal activities in
sports. There is also a legal vacuum:
even the EU itself counts only half
as many members as UEFA. Because
player trafficking, money laundering
and corruption are bloodless
crimes, they tend to be rather
accepted socially. One can also see
that these problems started to affect
amateur sports too. But the risks are
great and the loss of interest by fans
can already be witnessed in empty
Italian stadia.
Doping is another grave area of
concerns. There have been many
successful partnerships between
anti-doping and Governments
worldwide, collaborating together
to bring fair honest sport to all that
deserve it. Anti-doping operations
including the Balco case, the Italian
police investigations at the 2007
Turin Olympics and operation
Puerto were all conducted with
close partnerships between the
police and anti-doping agencies.
Drug testing, research and
education is overseen by the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and
the WADA Code forms the bible of
anti-doping, seen by many as one of
the most significant developments
in anti-doping to date. Many now
believe that the other evil of sport
is that of corruption, yet there is no
anti-corruption body solely for
sport. Corruption is growing and at
an alarming rate. Betting scandals
are taking up more headline space
in sports such as snooker, tennis and
soccer. Where there is money there
will be crime and corruption.
Unfortunately there is no test for
corruption, although WADA have
close ties with Interpol and the
World Customs Organisation to help
combat such evils. Sport is big
business, with millions being
gambled on events each day, we are
faced with many challenges. It is
important that the anti-doping
community unite against such spoils
and that all athletes respect ethical,
honest sport.
Outcomes of above mentioned
discussion must reach wide sport
audience. They must therefore be
transferred into ethical guidelines
and training manuals. Ethical and
integrity aspect including risk of
corruption and corruption
prevention principles should
become a part of sport education
and training. While many
manifestation of corruption in sport
may be ambiguous there are many
acts of corruption in sport which can
be prosecuted under existing
international legislations. As Council
of Europe and United Nations
conventions provide rather
sufficient framework for corruption
investigation and prosecution it is
highly recommended to adhere to
these convention for countries
which had not done so yet.
Transparency is one of the most
powerful tools against corruption.
Any measure which will make sport
life, including sport financing, more
transparent should be supported
and promoted. National subsidies
provided by government to sport
can be use a tool for requesting
increased transparency. Having in
mind limited possibilities of
governments to intervene to internal
sport life also other measures should
be explored. For instance big
sponsors and marketing partners
might be encouraged to play an
important role in promoting
transparency in sport. To avoid risk
that they will be perceived
negatively together with corrupted
sport in the case of corruption
scandals they may man connect
their support to the sport
organization with demands on
bigger transparency. The power of
money can be in this way put to the
service of a good purpose.
R K Seth R K Seth R K Seth R K Seth R K Seth
MCQ Series
National Issues National Issues National Issues National Issues National Issues
Changes to National Rural Changes to National Rural Changes to National Rural Changes to National Rural Changes to National Rural
Livelihoods Mission approved Livelihoods Mission approved Livelihoods Mission approved Livelihoods Mission approved Livelihoods Mission approved
The Union Cabinet had cleared
important changes to the National
Rural Livelihoods Mission (Aajeevika)
in a major boost to the roll out of the
womens self help group model
across the country, The changes is
supposed to provide additional
resources and additional elasticity to
implement the NRLM (Aajeevika) in
a more effective and accelerated
manner across the country thereby
creating new livelihoods and
empowering women across rural
India.
Highlights of the Changes Highlights of the Changes Highlights of the Changes Highlights of the Changes Highlights of the Changes
Approved are Approved are Approved are Approved are Approved are
Improved targeting, by doing
National Issues
to 3 lakh Rupees at an interest
rate of 7 per cent per annum.
Women SHGs that repay loans
in time will get additional 3 per
cent subvention, reducing the
effective rate to 4 per cent. The
initiative, in the first phase,
would focus on 150 districts,
including the 82 IAP districts,
affected by Left Wing
Extremism.
Change in the pattern of Change in the pattern of Change in the pattern of Change in the pattern of Change in the pattern of
financial assistance - replacing financial assistance - replacing financial assistance - replacing financial assistance - replacing financial assistance - replacing
Capital subsidy with a Capital subsidy with a Capital subsidy with a Capital subsidy with a Capital subsidy with a
Community Investment Support Community Investment Support Community Investment Support Community Investment Support Community Investment Support
f und f und f und f und f und
The Cabinet has approved to
withdraw capital subsidy to
S.H.Gs and instead provide
financial support S.H.G
federations and livelihoods
organizations of the S.H.G
members in the intensive
blocks through a grant called
Community Investment
Support fund.
Setting up of National Setting up of National Setting up of National Setting up of National Setting up of National
Level Society under N.R.L.M for Level Society under N.R.L.M for Level Society under N.R.L.M for Level Society under N.R.L.M for Level Society under N.R.L.M for
more effective implementation more effective implementation more effective implementation more effective implementation more effective implementation
The Cabinet also approved the
away with BPL criteria and instead
identifying target groups through the
Participatory Identification of Poor
(PIP) process.
The Participatory Identification
of Poor process has been
expansively demonstrated to
be very effective in states
where womens self-help-
groups have been
succeeded. The list finalized
through the P.I.P process will
be inspected by the Gram
Sabha and approved by the
Gram Panchayat.
The P.I.P process will also have
a set of exclusion criteria,
automatic inclusion criteria and
a set of deprivation indicators
for enabling poverty ranking in
a participatory manner. This
delinks N.R.L.M target group
from the BPL list.
Interest subvention and Interest subvention and Interest subvention and Interest subvention and Interest subvention and
additional interest subvention additional interest subvention additional interest subvention additional interest subvention additional interest subvention
in 150 districts in 150 districts in 150 districts in 150 districts in 150 districts
Union Cabinet has approved
the provision of interest
subvention to Women SHGs,
enabling them to avail loans up
setting up an autonomous,
adequately staffed,
professionally managed and
empowered agency at the
national level to implement the
N.R.L.M, called the National
Rural Livelihoods Promotion
Society (N.R.L.P.S) under the
Societies Registration Act.
The NRLPS will act as the
technical support unit of
N.R.L.M. The setting up of such
a Society is essential to
implement the programme in a
mission mode, as livelihoods
programmes require a wide
range of specialization and
experience.
The Society structure would
enable access to high quality
professional support, provide
flexibility to create
partnerships and facilitate
innovations and would serve as
a knowledge center for rural
livelihoods for the state
missions.
Further it will provide an
opportunity for formally
involving State Governments in
decision-making, by
nominating them to the
Executive Committee of the
Society.
MoU for Improving Living MoU for Improving Living MoU for Improving Living MoU for Improving Living MoU for Improving Living
Conditions of Destitute Conditions of Destitute Conditions of Destitute Conditions of Destitute Conditions of Destitute
Women Women Women Women Women
A Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed
between National Commission for
Women (NCW) and HUDCO in New
Delhi. The MoU was signed by V P
Baligar, IAS, Chairman & Managing
Director (HUDCO) and K. Ratna
Prabha, IAS, Member Secretary,
National Commission for Women
(NCW). The MoU was signed to
improve living conditions of destitute
women.
Major points of the MoU Major points of the MoU Major points of the MoU Major points of the MoU Major points of the MoU
The importance of the MoU is
that both the Ministries will be
cooperating in elevating the
condition and status of the
marginalized and destitute
women in India.
This MoU is a part of Corporate
Social Responsibility of
HUDCO, under which focus
will remain on providing better
amenities of housing and other
facilities such as drinking water,
sanitation and electricity to
poor and destitute women.
HUDCO and NCW, under the
MoU, agreed to co-operate and
work together by utilizing their
respective strengths for
improvement of the living
conditions of destitute women
and also facilities like women
hostels and remand homes.
The two bodies entered into
the MoU for improving the
living conditions of destitute
women on anything that is
related to women welfare or
development by enhancing the
quality of their habitat.
HUDCO and NCW shall
cooperate in the areas of re-
construction of existing
structures where women in
distress are housed, providing
for living quarters, kitchens and
toilets, construction of living
quarters, kitchens and toilets in
pre-identified sites.
Under the MoU, NCW shall
identify the areas where the
activity or project has to be
undertaken and HUDCO shall
provide financial assistance for
implementation of these
projects along with technical
advice.
Life Saving Drugs to be Life Saving Drugs to be Life Saving Drugs to be Life Saving Drugs to be Life Saving Drugs to be
Cheaper by up to 80% Cheaper by up to 80% Cheaper by up to 80% Cheaper by up to 80% Cheaper by up to 80%
The department of
pharmaceuticals on 16 May 2013
notified the Drug Price Control Drug Price Control Drug Price Control Drug Price Control Drug Price Control
Order 2013 Order 2013 Order 2013 Order 2013 Order 2013 and with its coming
into effect prices of 348 essential
medicines including life saving drugs
will go down by up to 80 percent. As
per the new Drug Price Control Order
2013, the National National National National National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Pharmaceutical Pricing Pharmaceutical Pricing Pharmaceutical Pricing Pharmaceutical Pricing
Authority (NPPA) 2012 Authority (NPPA) 2012 Authority (NPPA) 2012 Authority (NPPA) 2012 Authority (NPPA) 2012 i s
authorized to regulate the prices of
the 348 essential medicines as it is
listed in the National List of National List of National List of National List of National List of
Essential Medicines (NLEM) Essential Medicines (NLEM) Essential Medicines (NLEM) Essential Medicines (NLEM) Essential Medicines (NLEM)
2011. 2011. 2011. 2011. 2011. The government has notified
t he Drug Prices Control Order Drug Prices Control Order Drug Prices Control Order Drug Prices Control Order Drug Prices Control Order
(DPCO) 2013 (DPCO) 2013 (DPCO) 2013 (DPCO) 2013 (DPCO) 2013, with effect from 15
May 2013 and replaced the 1995
order. In its previous order prices of
74 bulk drugs were regulated and as
per the new order all dosages and
strengths specified in the NLEM will
be under price control. The ceiling
prices of the NELM drugs will also be
decided as per the National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy and the
policy states that the ceiling price of
an essential drug will be the simple
average of all brands with a market
share of at least 1 per cent.
India Unveiled its First India Unveiled its First India Unveiled its First India Unveiled its First India Unveiled its First
Indi genousl y devel oped Indi genousl y devel oped Indi genousl y devel oped Indi genousl y devel oped Indi genousl y devel oped
Rotavirus Vaccine Rotavirus Vaccine Rotavirus Vaccine Rotavirus Vaccine Rotavirus Vaccine
India unveiled its indigenously
developed Rotavirus Vaccine named
Rotavac after the Phase-III clinical trial
of low cost rotavirus Vaccine. The
Rotavac that has demonstrated
strong efficacy and excellent safety
profile; if gets its approval by the
Drugs Controller General of India
(DCGI) than will be made available
in the market at a rate of 54 rupees
per dose.
Approx 453000 child across the
world dies every year due to Rotavirus
diarrhea and following the recent
reports every year approx one lakh
children below five years in India die
due to severe diarrhea that is caused
due to Rotavirus bacteria.
India accounts for 22 percent
of the global deaths that occurs due
to diarrhoea-causing rotavirus.
Rotavac vaccine has been developed
under a public-private partnership
and is the third such vaccine that will
hit the Indian market. The previous
two vaccines cost more than 1000
rupees per dose and thus remain out
of reach from the hands of millions in
developing and third world
nations. It is an oral vaccine that is
administered in infants in three dose
course at ages of six, ten and fourteen
weeks, which is given to a child along
with the Universal Immunisation
Programme (UIP) vaccines
recommended to be given to
children.
Board of Governors of Board of Governors of Board of Governors of Board of Governors of Board of Governors of
MCI Reconstituted MCI Reconstituted MCI Reconstituted MCI Reconstituted MCI Reconstituted
The Government of India
reconstituted the Board of Governors
of Medical Council of India (MCI)
after the President of India; Pranab
Mukherjee promulgated the
Ordinance amending Indian Medical
Council Act, 1956. Dr R K Srivastava
was appointed as the new Chairman
of the Board of Governors of Medical
Council of India.
The amendment also provides
for separate representation to
Union Territories and more
representation to Health
Universities.
The Indian Medical Council
(Amendment) Bill, 2013 was
promulgated as the Ordinance by the
Government of India. It was
introduced in Rajya Sabha during the
Budget session. The term of the
present Board of Governors of the
Medical Council of India ended on
14 May 2013, but it has been given
extension.
Inter-Ministerial Group to Inter-Ministerial Group to Inter-Ministerial Group to Inter-Ministerial Group to Inter-Ministerial Group to
tackle Fraudulent Money tackle Fraudulent Money tackle Fraudulent Money tackle Fraudulent Money tackle Fraudulent Money
Pooling Activities Pooling Activities Pooling Activities Pooling Activities Pooling Activities
The Union Government of India
constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group
to suggest the possible ways to tackle
with the fraudulent money pooling
activities and protect the investors
interest in the same. Members of the
inter-ministerial group will comprise
of representatives from the Finance
and Corporate Affairs Ministries,
Effects of amendment in Effects of amendment in Effects of amendment in Effects of amendment in Effects of amendment in
Indian Medical Council Act, Indian Medical Council Act, Indian Medical Council Act, Indian Medical Council Act, Indian Medical Council Act,
1956 1956 1956 1956 1956
The amendment in the Indian
Medical Council Act, 1956
enables the Overseas Citizens
of India to practice medicine
in India.
The amendment also removes
the restriction on foreign
doctors to practice only for
teaching, research or
charitable work.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and
Securities and Exchange Board of
India (SEBI). The decision to
constitute a Inter-Ministerial Group
was taken in wake up of the instances
of people being defrauded by Ponzi
Schemes like the Kolkata-based
Saradha Group cheating in which
many investors were fooled via
fraudulent money pooling schemes.
Ponzi Schemes are activities that
involve collecting money from public
(investors) on a large scale making
fraud promises of big returns. These
are paid from the money that is paid
by the new investors and in this type
of scheme the old investors get big
returns by bringing in new investors.
National AIDS Control National AIDS Control National AIDS Control National AIDS Control National AIDS Control
Support Project Approved Support Project Approved Support Project Approved Support Project Approved Support Project Approved
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs approved the
proposal of Department of AIDS
Control, Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare for the implementation of
National AIDS Control Support
Project (NACSP) under the National
AIDS Control Programme (NACP).
The amount for this would be 2550
crore Rupees. The Government of
India as well as the World Bank will
finance the NACP in equal
proportions.
The benefits of project The benefits of project The benefits of project The benefits of project The benefits of project
Strengthening Behaviour
Change Communication (BCC)
and demand generation
Intensifying and consolidating
prevention services with a focus
on highly vulnerable
populations, high risk groups
and bridge population
Institutional strengthening and
financial management
The project would also help in
controlling the spread of HIV
infection in India
Objective of the project Objective of the project Objective of the project Objective of the project Objective of the project
The main objective of the
project is increasing the safe
behaviour among high risk
groups groups in pursuance of
the national goal of accelerated
reversal of the HIV epidemic by
2017.
The focus of the activities of
this project would be on
strengthening as well as scaling
up prevention interventions
and related BCC strategies for
sub-groups of population
identified to be most-at-risk by
the NACP. These vulnerable
groups include Injecting Drug
Users (IDU), Transgender (TG),
Female Sex Workers (FSW) and
Men who have sex with Men
(MSM).
The aim of the project is also to
support the planned
expansion and consolidation of
tailored interventions for other
at-risk populations which
include migrant workers and
truckers.
The BCC strategies which are
developed under this project
will emphasis on demand
generation for prevention
services among high risk groups
and vulnerable populations.
This will have special focus on
the youth.
About National AIDS Control About National AIDS Control About National AIDS Control About National AIDS Control About National AIDS Control
Programme (NACP) Programme (NACP) Programme (NACP) Programme (NACP) Programme (NACP)
National AIDS Control
Programme (NACP) in its third
phase (2007-2012) saw
remarkable success in
controlling spread of HIV. As a
result, India is on its track to
meet the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) for
HIV prevention and control.
Over past 10 years, there has
been reduction of 57 percent
in the new HIV infections and
29 percent reduction in AIDS-
related deaths.
Monetary Monetary Monetary Monetary Monetary
Assistance under IAY Hiked Assistance under IAY Hiked Assistance under IAY Hiked Assistance under IAY Hiked Assistance under IAY Hiked
hiked the monetary assistance by
25000 rupees under the Indira Indira Indira Indira Indira
Awas Yojana (IAY) Awas Yojana (IAY) Awas Yojana (IAY) Awas Yojana (IAY) Awas Yojana (IAY), the housing
scheme for the poor, giving priority
to the scheduled castes, tribes and
minorities. The cost for 250 square
foot housing unit has gone up to
70000 rupees in plain areas and
75000 rupees in hilly and difficult
areas from 45000 rupees. The Union
Government under the new
guidelines of the Indira Awas Yojna
has decided to transfer the share of
its funds to the State Governments
rather than making a district based
allocation.
The Union Governments
assistance got procurement of a
homestead site to the states has been
doubled for landless poor from 10000
rupees to 20000 rupees. The
changes has been brought in
following the agreement reached
between the Government and the Jan
Satyagraha on 11 October 2012 at
Agra, also known as the Agra
Agreement on Land Reforms in which
10-point agreement was signed by
the Rural Development Minister
Jairam Ramesh at Agra.
Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) Indira Awas Yojna (IAY)
Indira Awas Yojna is a flagship
scheme of the Union Ministry of Rural
Development to address the rural
housing needs of providing grants for
construction and upgradation of
dwelling units of BPL families.
Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was
launched in May 1985 as a sub-
scheme of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. It
is being implemented as an
independent scheme since 1 January
1996.
Approval for Women Self Approval for Women Self Approval for Women Self Approval for Women Self Approval for Women Self
Help Groups to Get Low Help Groups to Get Low Help Groups to Get Low Help Groups to Get Low Help Groups to Get Low
Interest Loans Interest Loans Interest Loans Interest Loans Interest Loans
The Union Cabinet of India
approved major changes to the
National Rural Livelihoods Mission
(NRLM) with the objective of
removing poverty in rural areas by
empowering women. Approximately,
25 lakh Women Self Help Groups
(SHGs) will be given bank loans at an
interest rate of seven percent. They
could avail loans upto 3 lakh rupees
annually. At first, the scheme will
begin as a pilot project in 150 districts
which includes the 82 Integrated
Action Plan districts affected by naxal
violence while 75 per cent of the cost
will be carried by the Central
government and 25 per cent by the
States in the rest of the states. All
women SHGs are now getting bank
loans at 11.5 to 14 per cent rate of
interest. In the 150 districts, the
Union government will carry the
complete cost of the interest
subvention from the market rate to
seven per cent. The entire cost of the
project is approximately 1650 crore
rupees for 2013-14, out of which,
1400 crore rupees shall be carried
out by the Union government and
250 crore rupees by the States.
Aajeevika: Aajeevika: Aajeevika: Aajeevika: Aajeevika: National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was
launched by the Ministry of Rural
Development (MoRD), Government
of India in June 2011.
Aided in part through
investment support by the World
Bank, the Mission aims at creating
efficient and effective institutional
platforms of the rural poor enabling
them to increase household income
through sustainable livelihood
enhancements and improved access
to financial services.
6-Member Expert Committee 6-Member Expert Committee 6-Member Expert Committee 6-Member Expert Committee 6-Member Expert Committee
to measure Backwardness of to measure Backwardness of to measure Backwardness of to measure Backwardness of to measure Backwardness of
States States States States States
The Union Government had set
up an expert Committee under the
supervision Raghuram G Rajan, Chief
Economic Adviser to evolve a
composite index to measure
backwardness of states. The panel is
set up in consistent to the Budget
announcement, and it can also invite
other experts as Special Invitees for
discussions.
The decision was taken amid
demands for special category status
by Bihar. The backwardness of the
States will be consider in terms of
measures like distance of the State
from the national average under
criteria such as per capita income and
other human development indicators
and for evolving a Composite
Development Index of States.
The Committee is supposed to
submit its report within 60 days. The
other members of the committee are
Shaibal Gupta, Bharat Ramaswami,
Najeeb Jung, Nirija G Jayal and Tuhin
Pandey.
It is important here to note that
the present criteria for determining
backwardness are based on terrain,
density of population and length of
international borders.
Kudankulam Nuclear Kudankulam Nuclear Kudankulam Nuclear Kudankulam Nuclear Kudankulam Nuclear
Power Plant Got Approval SC Power Plant Got Approval SC Power Plant Got Approval SC Power Plant Got Approval SC Power Plant Got Approval SC
The Supreme Court of India
directed that the Kudankulam
nuclear plant situated in Tamil Nadu
could start its operations now. A
bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan
and Dipak Misra issued the directions
to the government on safety as well
as security of the plant, along with its
operations.
The Supreme Court directed
Nuclear Power Corporation of India
and the Atomic Energy Regulatory
Board to ensure that all steps were
taken for the safety of the nuclear
plant. The Apex Court explained
that the Kudankulam nuclear plant
was absolutely safe and secure and
that it was necessary to start its
operations for economic growth as
well as welfare of India. In 2012, the
fishermen as well as villagers
protested against the fuelling of this
plant.
Opponents of this plant,
Peoples Movement Against Nuclear
Energy (PMANE) complained that it
was situated in the area which was
affected badly by 2004 Asian tsunami
and that there was a fear of disaster
like that of Fukushima nuclear plant
of Japan in 2011. The Kudankulam
nuclear plant is among those plants
which is a part of Indias aim of
generating 63000 MW of nuclear
power by 2032.
Controversy over Controversy over Controversy over Controversy over Controversy over
Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Kudankulam Nuclear Plant
Kudankulam nuclear plant is the
under-construction nuclear power
plant in Kudankulam in Tirunelveli
district of Tamil Nadu. The
construction of this plant began in
March 2002. The delay in the
construction of the plant is attributed
to anti-nuclear protests by the locals
as well as Peoples Movement Against
Nuclear Energy (PMANE). The pre-
service inspection of the first unit of
Kudankulam nuclear plant began by
the engineers in 2012. The Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board completed
the inspection of reactor pressure
vessel of Unit-1 and it was found that
there were no defects at all.
Age Limit for Financial Age Limit for Financial Age Limit for Financial Age Limit for Financial Age Limit for Financial
Assistance under JSY for Assistance under JSY for Assistance under JSY for Assistance under JSY for Assistance under JSY for
Institutional Deliveries Institutional Deliveries Institutional Deliveries Institutional Deliveries Institutional Deliveries
Rel axed Rel axed Rel axed Rel axed Rel axed
The Union Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare on 21 May 2013
relaxed the eligibility parameters for
the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), with
an expectation of reducing the
neonatal and maternal mortality in
young mothers.
Janani Suraksha Yojana provides
financial assistance to mothers for
institutional deliveries. With the
relaxation of the scheme, the women
who belong to Below Poverty Line
(BPL) category can get an access to
JSY benefits irrespective of their age
and the number of Children they
have.
The benefits of the scheme is
extended to every women from BPL
Category as well as Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes from all States
and Union Territories of the country
if they give birth to the new one in
Government as well as the Private
accredited health facility, as well as
to those women from BPL category
who delivers at home (as part of their
choice).
About the About the About the About the About the
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is
a safe motherhood intervention under
the National Rural Health Mission
(NRHM) that is implemented with the
objective of reducing maternal and
neo-natal mortality by promoting in-
stitutional delivery among the poor
pregnant women.
The Yojana, launched on 12
April 2005, by the Prime Minister, is
being implemented in all states and
UTs with special focus on low
performing states. JSY is a 100 %
centrally sponsored scheme and it
integrates cash assistance with
delivery and post-delivery care. The
success of the scheme would be
determined by the increase in
institutional delivery among the poor
families
Reason behind Age Reason behind Age Reason behind Age Reason behind Age Reason behind Age
Rel axati on Rel axati on Rel axati on Rel axati on Rel axati on
The decision of relaxing the age
parameters for the JSY came up after
the Government realized that the
majority of women who could have
been benefitted with the scheme
needed to prove that they were
above 19 years in age and didnt had
more than two children.
Because of the initial parameters
that existed under the purview of the
JSY scheme, the JSY failed to
respond to the maternal mortality of
the girls aged 14-15 (who suffered
maximum), as they didnt succeeded
in getting the age verification as well
as the number of children they had.
The Union Health Ministry data
claims that after the launch of the
scheme, there has been an increase
in the institutional deliveries of from
47 percent in 2007-08 to 72.9
percent in 2009 (Coverage
Evaluation Survey).
The Year 2013 declared as The Year 2013 declared as The Year 2013 declared as The Year 2013 declared as The Year 2013 declared as
Water Conservation Year-2013 Water Conservation Year-2013 Water Conservation Year-2013 Water Conservation Year-2013 Water Conservation Year-2013
The decision to declare the
year 2013 as Water Conservation Year
2013 was approved by the Union
Cabinet of India. A number of mass
awareness activities will be under-
taken during Water Conservation Year
2013 with emphasis on sensitizing the
masses on water related issues,
encourage them to conserve and use
it judiciously.
The policies and programmes
of the Ministry of Water Resources will
be propagated to create a
sustainable society and economy.
An effective and sustained mass
awareness programme will be
launched with the involvement of all
stakeholders to achieve the
objectives identified in the National
Water Policy, 2012 and National
Water Mission.
Water as a Natural Resource Water as a Natural Resource Water as a Natural Resource Water as a Natural Resource Water as a Natural Resource
Water is a natural resource,
fundamental to life, livelihood, food
security and sustainable
development. It is also a scarce
resource. India has more than 18
percent of the worlds population,
but has only 4 percent of worlds
renewable water resources with 2.4
percent of worlds land area. There
are further limits on utilizable
quantities of water owing to uneven
distribution over time, as 75 percent
of annual rainfall is received in just
four months. Also region wise it varies
from 10 cm rainfall in Rajasthan to
1000 cm in North Eastern Region. In
addition, there are challenges of fre-
quent floods and droughts in one or
the other part of the country. With a
growing population and rising needs
of a fast developing nation as well as
the given indicators of the impact of
climate change, per capita availability
of water is likely to go down from
1545 cubic metre per year in 2011 to
1341 cubic metre per year in 2025.
The increasing demand of water for
various purposes will further strain
with the possibility of deepening
water conflicts among different user
groups as drinking water need is
going to rise by 44 percent, irrigation
need by 10 percent, industry need
by 81 percent respectively by 2025.
National Water Policy National Water Policy National Water Policy National Water Policy National Water Policy
In view of this, the Ministry had
prepared National Water Policy
(2012), which was adopted by the
National Water Resources Council
headed by the Prime Minister on 28
December 2012. This takes
cognizance of the existing situation;
proposes a framework for creation of
a system of laws and institutions and
a plan of action with a unified na-
tional perspective. Hence, there is a
need for greater awareness on water
conservation for optimal usage of the
existing resources.
About Water Conservation About Water Conservation About Water Conservation About Water Conservation About Water Conservation
Water Conservation is also the
key objective of the National Water
Mission which is one of the eight
National Missions under the National
Action Plan for Climate Change. This
envisages conservation, minimizing
wastage and ensuring more equitable
distribution of water resources both
across and within States through in-
tegrated water resources
development and management.
Water Resource Management Water Resource Management Water Resource Management Water Resource Management Water Resource Management
The effective water resources
management must be underpinned
by knowledge and understanding of
the availability of the resource itself,
the uses to which water is put and
the challenges facing the users of
water at all levels of stake holders. This
can be done by creating mass
awareness about the fact that water
conservation is the immediate need
of the hour.
Launch of the National Urban Launch of the National Urban Launch of the National Urban Launch of the National Urban Launch of the National Urban
Health Mission approved Health Mission approved Health Mission approved Health Mission approved Health Mission approved
The Union Cabinet of India
approved the launch of the National
Urban Health Mission to reduce rates
of infant mortality, maternal mortality
and for universal access to reproduc-
tive health care.
The cost of the National Urban
Health Mission for 5 years is 22507
crore rupees and the Central
government will share 16955 crore
rupees. The mission will be imple-
mented in 779 cities and towns each
with the population of more than
50,000 has expected to cover about
7.75 crore people.
The Union Government had
launched its four-week special
immunisation programme in high-risk
areas across the country. The
vaccination sessions, is planned to be
held for a week each in June, July
and August 2013. The vaccination
Programme is launched in a bid to
promote vaccination. The
Government is Encouraging state and
development partners to focus on
vaccines that are provided free of
cost under the Universal Immunisation
Programme. Despite the fact that full
immunisation prevents
approximately 4 lakh deaths from
vaccine preventable diseases in the
under-five category every year, but
with an astonishing figure revealed
by Government it was found that
around 75 lakh children miss child-
hood vaccinations each year. So, in
that sense globally, every fifth child
is not immunised. It is important here
to note that the first special
immunisation week, which took place
from April 24-30, was organised in
collaboration with Unicef. The
government has declared the year
2012-13 as the Year of intensification
of routine immunisation. Intensifica-
tion efforts saw the expansion of the
Pentavalent vaccine to six more
states, after Tamil Nadu and
Kerala.The pentavalent vaccine
protects children from Hib
pneumonia and Hib meningitis in
addition to diphtheria, pertussis,
tetanus and Hepatitis B.
OBC Creamy layer OBC Creamy layer OBC Creamy layer OBC Creamy layer OBC Creamy layer
Criteria raised to 6 Lakh Criteria raised to 6 Lakh Criteria raised to 6 Lakh Criteria raised to 6 Lakh Criteria raised to 6 Lakh
Rupees Rupees Rupees Rupees Rupees
The Cabinet also gave its nod to
a bill which provides for confiscating
property illegally acquired by corrupt
public servants. The major changes
to the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988 were approved by the
Cabinet.
A timeframe has also been set
for getting sanction of the competent
authority to prosecute serving and
retired bureaucrats and reasons will
have to be specified for giving the
nod or refusing it. The Union Cabinet
also approved the Empowered
Group of Ministers (EGoM)s
decision to conduct auction of 839
channels of FM radio stations in 294
cities through e-auction.
The decision is part of the
amendments in the Policy Guidelines
for Phase III expansion of FM Radio
broadcasting services through
private agencies. The government
also approved amendments to a bill
that seeks to eradicate manual
scavenging.
The Prohibition of Employment
as Manual Scavengers and their
Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 includes
provisions for mandatory inclusion of
women in vigilance committees at
the district, state and national level
and a survey to identify manual
scavengers. The Union Cabinet also
referred the Marriage Laws
(Amendment) Bill to a Group of Min-
isters. The law deals with a womans
right to marital property in case of a
divorce.
Special Vaccination Special Vaccination Special Vaccination Special Vaccination Special Vaccination
Programme in Programme in Programme in Programme in Programme in
High-Risk Areas launched High-Risk Areas launched High-Risk Areas launched High-Risk Areas launched High-Risk Areas launched
on 16 May 2013 revised the criteria
for creamy layer of Other Backward
Classes (OBCs) from 4.5 lakh rupees
to 6 lakh rupees to avail benefits of
reservations in government jobs and
admissions to central educational
institutions. The decision came up
in a view to increase the income lim-
its in tune with the increase of the
consumer price index. This would
enable more people to take an
advantage of reservation benefits that
are extended to OBCs. Creamy layer
is the income limit beyond which
OBCs are not eligible for quotas
MoHUPA Proposed MoHUPA Proposed MoHUPA Proposed MoHUPA Proposed MoHUPA Proposed
Launching NULM Launching NULM Launching NULM Launching NULM Launching NULM
The Ministry of Housing and
Urban Poverty Alleviation proposed
to launch the National Urban
Livelihoods Mission (NULM) in its
12th Five-Year Plan. The NULM will
replace the existing Swarna Jayanti
Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).
Features of NULM Features of NULM Features of NULM Features of NULM Features of NULM
NULM will focus on primary
issues which relate to the urban
poverty such as providing wage
employment, self-employment
opportunities to the urban
poor, imparting skill training and
enabling entrepreneurship
development.
Proposal of NULM is at the
approval stage.
The annual targets under NULM
will be fixed after final
approval.
Union Government of India Union Government of India Union Government of India Union Government of India Union Government of India
decided to launch DBTL decided to launch DBTL decided to launch DBTL decided to launch DBTL decided to launch DBTL
Scheme Scheme Scheme Scheme Scheme
Government of India decided
to launch Direct Benefit Transfer for
LPG (DBTL) scheme in 20 high
Aadhaar coverage districts from 1
June 2013. The scheme aims to curb
leakages and prevent black-
marketing and provide subsidy to
consumers in their bank accounts. All
LPG consumers are advised to
immediately do the following to avail
of subsidy in their bank accounts:
Get an Aadhaar number if they
dont have one at Aadhaar
enrollment centers.
Open a bank account with
Aadhaar number if they do not
have one by going to a bank
branch with Aadhaar number.
If they already a bank account
then link their Aadhaar number
with their bank account by
visiting their branch or through
a request form available with
LPG distributors and deposit it
in the drop boxes placed at LPG
distributors premises.
Provide Aadhaar numbers to
LPG distributors for linking with
LPG consumer number.
For the benefit of LPG
consumers, OMCs have provided the
facility on their web-sites to check
whether the Aadhaar number has
been attached to LPG consumer
number/bank account. For the
benefit of LPG consumers, who
cannot complete formalities by 1 June
2013, a grace period of three months
is being given to complete the
formalities. After this period, all
consumers who have not completed
the formality will get LPG cylinders at
market price, without any subsidy, till
they complete the same.
The salient features of the The salient features of the The salient features of the The salient features of the The salient features of the
DBTL scheme are described DBTL scheme are described DBTL scheme are described DBTL scheme are described DBTL scheme are described
bel ow: bel ow: bel ow: bel ow: bel ow:
All LPG consumers desirous of
availing subsidy will have to
provide the Aadhaar number to
Oil Marketing Companies and
also to their bank accounts for
linking with their LPG consumer
numbers and bank accounts
respectively.
All Aadhaar linked domestic
LPG consumers will get an
advance in their bank account
as soon as they book the first
subsidized cylinder even
before delivery. This is to
reduce their financial burden
when they purchase the first
LPG cylinder after launch of
scheme at market rate.
As soon as, the first cylinder is
delivered to such consumers,
subsidy eligible on date of
delivery will again get credited
in the bank account, which will
then be available for the
purchase of the next cylinder
at market rate.
Thus, subsidy eligible on each
such domestic cylinder, up to
the cap of 9 cylinders per year
will be directly transferred to
the Aadhaar enabled bank
account of the consumer.
All LPG consumers who are not
Aadhaar linked will have three
month grace period to link LPG
consumer number and bank
account with Aadhaar number
and during this period they will
continue to get the LPG
cylinders at subsidized rate, as
they are getting today, up to
their entitlement.
After the grace period, LPG
cylinders will be sold to all
domestic LPG consumers at
market price. However, the
subsidy will be transferred to
only those who have linked
Aadhaar in LPG database and
Bank account. Others will not
get any subsidy.
After the grace period, as soon
as a consumer links the Aadhaar
number to bank account and
in LPG database, one-time
advance and subsidy transfer
will re-commence as per
balance entitlement.
Consumers who do not
provide Aadhaar will continue
to get LPG cylinders at market
price.
Amendments in the Amendments in the Amendments in the Amendments in the Amendments in the
Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959
Approved Approved Approved Approved Approved
The Union Cabinet of India gave
its approval to Amendments in
t he Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 Disqualification) Act, 1959 by
introducing a Bill in the Parliament
named Parliament (Prevention Parliament (Prevention Parliament (Prevention Parliament (Prevention Parliament (Prevention
of Disqualification) Amend- of Disqualification) Amend- of Disqualification) Amend- of Disqualification) Amend- of Disqualification) Amend-
ment Bill, 2013. ment Bill, 2013. ment Bill, 2013. ment Bill, 2013. ment Bill, 2013.
The Section 3 of the Parliament
(Prevention of Disqualification) Act,
1959, has been amended time to
time. It lists certain offices of profit
under the Government of India or the
Government of any State, which do
not disqualify the holders thereof for
being chosen as, or for being, a
Member of Parliament. The
Chairperson of the National Commis-
sion for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes is exempted from
such disqualification under Sub-
clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3
of the Parliament (Prevention of Dis-
qualification) Act, 1959. By the 89th
Amendment Act of 2003 of the
Constitution of India, the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes
and Tribes was bifurcated into two
independent Commissions namely
the National Commission for the
Scheduled Castes and the National
Commission for the Scheduled
Tribes. With the 89th amendment Act
Article 338 of the Constitution was
amended and a new article, namely,
Article 338A was inserted in the
Constitution.
Election Commission Signed Election Commission Signed Election Commission Signed Election Commission Signed Election Commission Signed
MoU on Electoral Literacy MoU on Electoral Literacy MoU on Electoral Literacy MoU on Electoral Literacy MoU on Electoral Literacy
The Election Commission of
India and the National Literacy
Mission Authority, Ministry of Human
Resource Development, on 21 May
2013 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on Electoral
Literacy and Greater Participation for
a Stronger and Inclusive Democracy
in New Delhi. The MOU is the first
ever by the Election Commission of
India with a Government
Department. Under the MoU, ECI and
NLMA will work jointly to sensitize
citizens, especially the vulnerable
and disadvantaged including
women, SCs, STs, Minorities, in NLMA
covered districts, about their electoral
rights and about exercise of
franchise.
Electoral Literacy will form part
of curriculum for adult Literacy and
Basic education. NLMA will spread
electoral literacy during its environ-
ment Building and mass mobilization
campaigns, with specific focus on
electoral registration and informed
and ethical voting in co-ordination
with the Election Commission. The
MOU will help bridge the deficit in
enrolment, particularly among
women and the youth. It can be
described as a historic beginning and
innovative collaboration based on
common objectives. Such
convergence could serve as a model
for governance for more empowered
democracy.
Government Notified Government Notified Government Notified Government Notified Government Notified
New Guidelines for the New Guidelines for the New Guidelines for the New Guidelines for the New Guidelines for the
Indira Awas Yojna Indira Awas Yojna Indira Awas Yojna Indira Awas Yojna Indira Awas Yojna
The government on 13 May
2013 approved new guidelines for
the Indira Awas Yojna Scheme for
rural poor. The new guidelines are as
following:
Building Toilets has been made
compulsory under the Indira
Awas Yojna.
Manual scavengers, freed
bonded labourers and tribal
groups will be given
preference in allotments.
The allocation for each
dwelling unit was increased
from 45000 rupees to75000
rupees.
In Maoist-affected and hilly
regions, the allocation would
now be 75000 rupees from the
existing 48500 rupees.
Landless labourers which were
given 10000 rupees for buying
land would now be given
20000 rupees.
Apart from the above
guidelines, a major change was
introduced which is that funds will
be given to only consolidated
proposals from state governments
and not district-level organisations.
Indira Awas Yojana is a flagship
scheme under the rural development
ministry. It addresses rural housing
needs by giving grant for construction
of dwelling units of BPL families.
Policy Development of Policy Development of Policy Development of Policy Development of Policy Development of
Aviation Hubs in India Aviation Hubs in India Aviation Hubs in India Aviation Hubs in India Aviation Hubs in India
Approved Approved Approved Approved Approved
approved the policy development of
aviation hubs in India. Information
and Broadcasting Minister Manish
Tewari announced that the Inter-
Ministerial Committee will be
developed that will work out on
Development (PMNCSD). The
National Skill Development Agency
(NSDA) will come under the Ministry
of Finance.
The role of NSDA is
coordination as well as harmonization
of Governments skill development
efforts as well as private sector for
achieving skilling targets of 12th five-
year plan. NSDA will also play the role
of anchoring and operationalising
National Skills Qualifications
Framework (NSQF) as well as the
nodal agency for Sector Skills
Councils.
Tribal Forest Dwellers Tribal Forest Dwellers Tribal Forest Dwellers Tribal Forest Dwellers Tribal Forest Dwellers
Empowerment Scheme Empowerment Scheme Empowerment Scheme Empowerment Scheme Empowerment Scheme
Launched Launched Launched Launched Launched
Tribal Forest Dwellers
Empowerment Scheme of National
Scheduled Tribes Finance and
Development Corporation (NSTFDC)
for economic upliftment of Schedule
Tribe forest dwellershere was
launched on 8 May 2013 by the Union
Ministry of Tribal Affairs & Panchayati
Raj. This is a significant scheme for
economic development of
Scheduled tribes. The Forest Rights
act recognized and regularized the
preexisting rights of ST forest
dwellers and under this scheme,
financial assistance will be provided
them at concessional rate for their
empowerment.
The Government enacted a
Scheduled Tribes and Other
Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006. Under this act, the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional forest
Dwellers have been given the right
different models for this policy. The
formation of the hubs would require
establishment of various facilities
such as foreign exchange,
immigration, provisions for visa-on-
arrival as well as customs. For this
various ministries will be involved and
therefore the Inter-Ministerial Com-
mittee will be developed. This
committee would facilitate
establishment of various aviation hubs
in different major cities. The approval
of the policy is termed as the major
initiative for infrastructural
development. The aviation hub is
basically an airport that is used as in-
termediate point for transferring air
travellers from original destination to
final destination of their journey. This
is also technically called hub-and-
spoke operation.
The policy will focus on not just
development of the global hubs in
India, but also establishment of
domestic regional hubs which will
cater to growing air traffic from the
non-metro destinations in areas such
as Northeast. The Union Cabinet,
along with the approval of policy
development of aviation hubs, also
approved constitution of autonomous
body called the National Skill Devel-
opment Agency (NSDA) by includ-
ing the National Skill Development
Coordination Board (NSDCB), Office
of the Adviser to the PM on Skill
Development as well as Prime
Ministers National Council on Skill
to hold the forest land for habitation
or for self-cultivation or for carrying
out any other traditional activity for
their livelihood. Most of the
Scheduled Tribes are poor and need
financial support for productive
utilization of land for their livelihood.
In order to provide
concessional finance to the Forest
Dwelling STs, the NSTFDC has
formulated the new Tribal Forest
Dwellers Empowerment Scheme.
NSTFDC would generate awareness,
provide training and assist in market
linkage apart from providing financial
assistance at concessional rate of
interest of 6% p.a. to the
beneficiaries. This assistance would
be made available through 33 State
Channelizing Agencies of NSTFDC
and certain PSU Banks/ Regional Rural
Banks having refinance agreements
with NSTFDC.
SC: Two-finger Test on a Rape SC: Two-finger Test on a Rape SC: Two-finger Test on a Rape SC: Two-finger Test on a Rape SC: Two-finger Test on a Rape
Victim violates her Right to Victim violates her Right to Victim violates her Right to Victim violates her Right to Victim violates her Right to
Pri vacy Pri vacy Pri vacy Pri vacy Pri vacy
The Supreme Court of India
held that the two-finger test on a rape
victim violates her right to privacy. It
also directed the government to
provide better medical procedures
to confirm sexual assault. A bench of
Justices B S Chauhan and FMI Kalifulla
gave the ruling. The court stated that
even if the report of the two-finger
test is affirmative, the consent on part
of a rape victim cannot be proved.
The court held that rape survivors are
entitled to legal recourse that does
not violate their physical or mental in-
tegrity and dignity. Medical
procedures should not be conducted
in a way that includes inhuman or de-
grading treatment and health should
be given topmost consideration
while dealing with gender-based
violence. The State is responsible to
make such services available to survi-
vors of sexual violence. The
Supreme Court gave this ruling
keeping in mind the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights 1966 and the UN Dec-
laration of Basic Principles of Justice
for Victims of Crime and Abuse of
Power 1985.
World Bank Assisted ISSNIP World Bank Assisted ISSNIP World Bank Assisted ISSNIP World Bank Assisted ISSNIP World Bank Assisted ISSNIP
The Minister for Women & Child
Development, Krishna Tirath
launched the World Bank assisted
ICDS Systems Strengthening and
Nutrition Improvement Project
(ISSNIP). The aim of the programme
is improvement of child development
and nutritional outcomes for children
in selected districts having higher
proportional of child under nutrition.
The project is worth 2893 crore
Rupees with 70 percent IDA share
of2025 crore Rupees over the time
duration of 7 years. The cost of phase
1 of the project is estimated to be
around 682 crore Rupees. The
project received an initial support of
106 million US dollar by World Bank,
which is payable over the time of 25
years. This will be followed by the
support for second phase of 344
million US dollar, which will be
subject to assessment of phase 1. First
phase of this project will support the
efforts of Union Government to
strengthen policy measures and
institutional capacity and will also
finance innovative pilots and pro-
grammers in 162 high malnutrition-
burden districts across eight States.
Apart from this, the project will also
support the urban and sub-urban
pilots in NCR of Delhi and convergent
nutrition action pilots in Odisha and
Uttarakhand. The Minister for
Women & Child Development took
various other measures for
strengthening the programme
management, planning and
monitoring of ICDS with introduction
of revised MIS, and the 5-tier
monitoring and supervision
committee with representation of
Peoples representatives to review
the progress in ICDS at different
levels. The ISSNIP project will sup-
port the governments efforts in
building the necessary institutional
capacity and systems needed to
improve nutrition in the targeted
groups of mothers and children.
Economic Affairs approved the
implementation of the International
Development Association (IDA)
assisted ICDS Systems Strengthening
and Nutrition Improvement Project
(ISSNIP) in October 2012.
Features of ICDS Systems Features of ICDS Systems Features of ICDS Systems Features of ICDS Systems Features of ICDS Systems
Strengthening and Nutrition Strengthening and Nutrition Strengthening and Nutrition Strengthening and Nutrition Strengthening and Nutrition
Improvement Project (ISSNIP): Improvement Project (ISSNIP): Improvement Project (ISSNIP): Improvement Project (ISSNIP): Improvement Project (ISSNIP):
ISSNIP is designed to
supplement and provide value
addition on the existing ICDS
programme, through systems
strengthening for better service
delivery, as well as to allow the
selected States and Districts to
experiment, innovate and
conduct pilots of potentially
more effective approaches for
ICDS in order to achieve early
childhood education and
nutrition outcomes.
The additional support through
the project is catalytic and is
an important dimension of
MWCDs overall efforts to
strengthen and restructure the
ICDS programme.
Four major components under
the project are: (i) Institutional
and systems strengthening in
ICDS (ii) Community
mobilization and behaviour
change communication (iii)
piloting multi-sectoral nutrition
actions, and (iv) Project
Management, Technical
Assistance and Monitoring &
Evaluation.
National National National National National
Cyber Security Policy Cyber Security Policy Cyber Security Policy Cyber Security Policy Cyber Security Policy
approved approved approved approved approved
approved a National Cyber Security
Policy with an aim to create a secured
computing environment across the
country. The Policy also aims towards
building the capacities to strengthen
the current set-up and increase the
focus on manpower training. The
policy was approved by the Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS) that
lays stress on augmentation of the
Indias indigenous capabilities in
terms of developing the cyber secu-
rity set-up.
The policy also caters to every
spectrum of ICT users and service
providers as it includes home as well
as small users, medium and large
enterprises and government and non-
government entities. The policy also
aims at the creation of the cyber
security framework to address all re-
lated issues pending over a long
period.
The set framework will also
enhance the security posture of the
countries cyber space via specific
actions and programmes. Cyber
Security Policy will also help in
enhancing the intelligence as its
integral component and help in
anticipating attacks and adopt,
counter measures.
Nawaz Sharifs Party PML-N Nawaz Sharifs Party PML-N Nawaz Sharifs Party PML-N Nawaz Sharifs Party PML-N Nawaz Sharifs Party PML-N
got Majority got Majority got Majority got Majority got Majority
The Election Commission of
Pakistan on 14 May 2013 announced
results of 272 National Assembly
seats, with Pakistan Muslim League-
Nawaz heading the count with 126
seats, followed by the Pakistan
Peoples Party with 31 seats. The
voting took place for all parliamentary
constituencies of Pakistan to elect
342 members for the National
assembly, including 60 seats reserved
for women and 10 for non-Muslims,
simultaneously voting took place for
the four Provincial Assemblies of
Punjab, KPK, Sindh and Balochistan
as well. Over 4600 candidates a
contested at the centre for National
Assembly seats, while 11000
International Issues
constituencies of Pakistan, to elect
Members (MNAs) to seats in the
National Assembly, the lower house
of parliament. It is worth mentioning
here that the current National
Assembly completed its
constitutional term on 18 March 2013,
five years after the first session of the
National Assembly elected during the
2008 general election.
Pakistan Election 2013 was
intended to elect members of the
National Assembly of Pakistan, the
lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora
(the nations parliament).Pakistans
opposition parties, the Imran Khans
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (N)
were the major contenders for the
general Election. The 63-year-old
Sharif, belongs to Pakistan Muslim
League Nawaz (N) party. He had
twice served as premier. Pakistan
Muslim League-N attained an
overpowering lead with 130 seats.
The first runner up is Imran Khans
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with 37
seats and the last is Pakistan Peoples
Party (PPP) with 31 seats.
The Pakistan Peoples Party
candidates contested at provincial
levels.
As per the article 51 (6) c article 51 (6) c article 51 (6) c article 51 (6) c article 51 (6) c of
the constitution of Pakistan the
members to the seats reserved for
women which are allocated to a
Province under clause (3) shall be
elected in accordance with law
through proportional representation
system of political parties lists of
candidates on the basis of total
number of general seats secured by
each political party from the Province
concerned in the National Assembly.
Also with reference to the
article 51 (6) e article 51 (6) e article 51 (6) e article 51 (6) e article 51 (6) e members to the
seats reserved for non-Muslims shall
be elected in accordance with law
through proportional representation
system of political parties lists of
candidates on the basis of total
number of general seats won by each
political party in the National
Assembly. Pakistans General election
2013 was the election to the 14th
parliament of Pakistan. Former
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
declared winner which was followed
by a historic election. The voting has
taken place in all parliamentary
International Issues International Issues International Issues International Issues International Issues
(PPP), which had a tally of 124 in the
2008 elections and ruled the country
for five years with the support of the
MQM and the Awami National Party.
It is important here to note that to win
a simple majority, a party or coalition
would have to bag 137 of the 272
National Assembly seats for which
polls were held. Another 70 seats,
reserved for women and non-
Muslims, will be allocated to parties
according to their performance in
polls. To have a majority in the 342-
member National Assembly, a party
or coalition would need 172 seats.
The Senate or upper house of the
parliament is currently controlled by
the PPP.
Facts to remember about Facts to remember about Facts to remember about Facts to remember about Facts to remember about
Provincial Assemblies Provincial Assemblies Provincial Assemblies Provincial Assemblies Provincial Assemblies
El ecti on El ecti on El ecti on El ecti on El ecti on
PML (N) leads Punjab Province
with 211 out of 297 seats
PPP Party leads the Sindh
Province of Pakistan with 65 out
of total 130 seats
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
party leads the KPK Province
with 34 out of total 99 seats.
PMAP(Pakhtunkhwa Milli
Awami Party) leads the
balochistan province with 10
out 21 seats.
Some facts about the Election Some facts about the Election Some facts about the Election Some facts about the Election Some facts about the Election
4670 candidates standed for
272 seats in a first-past-the-
post system in the 342-member
lower house.
Sixty seats reserved for women
and 10 for non-Muslim
minorities are distributed by
proportional representation
based on the parties share of
the directly elected seats.
A total of 10955 candidates
contested in elections for
Pakistan s four provincial
assemblies in Punjab, Sindh in
the south, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
in the northwest and
Baluchistan in the southwest.
Only 161 women standed for
the national assembly, 3.5
percent of the candidates
VOTERS.
There are 86.2 million
registered voters 37.6 million
women and 48.6 million men.
North Korea North Korea North Korea North Korea North Korea
Test Fired Four Missiles Test Fired Four Missiles Test Fired Four Missiles Test Fired Four Missiles Test Fired Four Missiles
North Korea on 19 May 2013
test-fired a short-range missile off its
east coast, counted as fourth test
firing in two days. The missile was
fired into the Sea of Japan. Earlier on
18 May 2013 the North Korea fired
three short-range missiles off its east
coast, considered as part of a military
drill. The launching of missile by
North Korea is not usual but it came
at a time of sensitive alert on the
peninsula followed by the
Pyongyangs nuclear test in February
2013 which had led to tougher UN
Sanctions.
The launch of missile by North
Korea was to demonstrate its military
ambitions in rebelliousness of
international sanctions and
diplomatic efforts to convince the
totalitarian state to return to talks. The
United States, Russia and the United
Nations have all issued renewed calls
for restraint from North Korea.
Followed the firing of three short-
range projectiles, South Korea urged
the North to stop provocations.
India was granted an India was granted an India was granted an India was granted an India was granted an
Observer Status by Arctic Observer Status by Arctic Observer Status by Arctic Observer Status by Arctic Observer Status by Arctic
Counci l Counci l Counci l Counci l Counci l
India on 15 May 2013 was
successful in getting the observer
status in the Arctic Council along with
five other nations namely China, Italy,
Singapore and South Korea. This step
of the Arctic Council will give India a
foothold in the resource rich Arctic
Ocean with the melting of the ice. As
India will get an access from
navigation to oil and gas exploration.
The observer status was
assigned to India after a meeting held
at Kiruna, Sweden. With this success,
India will get an opportunity to
contribute its scientific expertise
mainly its capabilities in polar
research to the work of the Arctic
Council and support its
objectives. The observer status of
India in the Arctic Council if seen at
the realpolitik level; India will get an
access for hydrocarbon exploration
that is offered in the Arctic Circle. For
this India will have to join its hands
with one of the five countries gearing
up for the purpose among US,
Canada, Russia, Denmark and Russia.
If seen with the perspective of
geographical distance than Russia is
an ideal partner for India and to make
this happen India will have to take a
firm stand on the Lomonosov Ridge
and the Mendeleev Ridge for Russia.
Russia claims that the Lomonosov
Ridge and the Mendeleev Ridge are
the extension of its continental shelf.
This support will also bring in Indias
chances to get access in the rich
deposits of Arctic Belt and utilize the
North Sea Route.
About Melting Ice of Arctic About Melting Ice of Arctic About Melting Ice of Arctic About Melting Ice of Arctic About Melting Ice of Arctic
Circle and Interests of Nations Circle and Interests of Nations Circle and Interests of Nations Circle and Interests of Nations Circle and Interests of Nations
and Researchers and Researchers and Researchers and Researchers and Researchers
The level of melting ice in the
Arctic sea in September 2012 went
down to the new lows and attracted
interest of nations and researchers
towards it. Various nations placed
their interest in the region for
exploration of its rich mineral
resources and navigation purposes.
India has its Arctic research station
named Himadri Himadri Himadri Himadri Himadri since 2008 that is
located at the International Arctic
Research base, Ny-Alesund at
Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. The
station is operated by the National
Centre for Antarctic and Ocean
Research. Indias approach in the
Arctic Circle since 2008 has always
been purely scientific. China
became the first Asian country to
navigate the area with a three-month
sea voyage in an ice breaker across
the Arctic Circle.
US slapped Sanctions against US slapped Sanctions against US slapped Sanctions against US slapped Sanctions against US slapped Sanctions against
4 Iranian Nuclear Supply 4 Iranian Nuclear Supply 4 Iranian Nuclear Supply 4 Iranian Nuclear Supply 4 Iranian Nuclear Supply
Companies Companies Companies Companies Companies
The United States on 10 May
2013 slapped sanctions against four
Iranian Nuclear Supply Companies
and an individual for their attempt to
procure goods for Iranian Nuclear
Programme. The four Iranian
companies are Aluminat, Pars
Amayesh Sanaat Kish, Pishro Systems
Research Company and Taghtiran
Kashan Company and the Iranian
Citizen is Parviz Khaki. Parviz is alleged
for procurement and attempt to
procure goods for Irans nuclear
programme, which can be used for
construction, operation and
maintenance of gas centrifuges to
enrich Uranium. The foreign financial
institutions facilitating significant
Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing
government in 2009 to avoid the
conflict following a bloody and
violent Presidential run-off election
in 2008. The power-sharing
government faced difficulties
frequently over the allocations of key
government posts, the
implementation of key reforms and
incidents of violence. The five-year
coalition parliament was formed
under the same power sharing
agreement. It expires on 29 June
2013, and parliamentary and
presidential elections have to take
place within 90 days of that date.
Mugabe and his allies want the
elections as early as possible, while
Tsvangirai insists on the application
of reforms for ensuring a free and fair
election.
Ireland Unveiled the Ireland Unveiled the Ireland Unveiled the Ireland Unveiled the Ireland Unveiled the
Protection of Life during Protection of Life during Protection of Life during Protection of Life during Protection of Life during
Pregnancy Bill Pregnancy Bill Pregnancy Bill Pregnancy Bill Pregnancy Bill
Irelands government on 1 May
2013 unveiled the Protection of Life
during Pregnancy Bill. It explains
when life-saving abortions can be
performed. Moreover, its a
clarification of rights within the ambit
of Current law. The bill mentioned
clearly that anyone illegally involved
in abortion could face a maximum 14-
year prison sentence whether he is a
doctor or a patient. The bill was
unveiled following the death of an
Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar in
2012.
Enrico Letta is Italys new Enrico Letta is Italys new Enrico Letta is Italys new Enrico Letta is Italys new Enrico Letta is Italys new
Prime Minister Prime Minister Prime Minister Prime Minister Prime Minister
Italian Centre Left Politician,
transactions to or from the sanction
entities and individual are exposed
to potential loss of access to US
Financial Sector, following the rules
of the US State Department.
Zimbabwes New Constitution Zimbabwes New Constitution Zimbabwes New Constitution Zimbabwes New Constitution Zimbabwes New Constitution
signed into Law signed into Law signed into Law signed into Law signed into Law
President Robert Mugabe on
22 May 2013 signed Zimbabwes
new constitution into law, clearing
the path to crucial elections later this
year. The constitution was
unopposed through both houses of
parliament. The new constitution was
approved overwhelmingly in a
referendum in March 2013.
The features of new The features of new The features of new The features of new The features of new
constitution are as following: constitution are as following: constitution are as following: constitution are as following: constitution are as following:
The constitution cut short the
powers of the president, limits
presidential tenures to two
five-year terms and does away
with the post of prime minister.
However, it does not apply
retroactively so the 89-year-old
Mugabe could technically
extend his three decades in
office by another 10 years.
A new constitution is one of the
pre-conditions for elections to
pick a successor to the power-
sharing government Mugabe
formed four years ago with
Tsvangirai. The date for the
elections is yet to be
announced.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe
since 1980 when the country gained
independence from Britain. His
regime has been tainted by
allegations of rights abuses against his
opponents and critics. Mugabe and
Enrico Letta on 27 April 2013 formed
a new coalition Government in Italy
by winning the support of other
parties. He will be the new Prime
Minister of Italy. The newly formed
Government will include former
Prime Ministers Silvio Berlusconis
closest allies as deputy prime minister.
The two months of political stalemate,
since the general elections in Italy
ended with this coalition.
Enrico Letta met Giorgio
Napolitano, the President of Italy to
inform him about the coalition
agreement reached with the leaders
of the centre-right People of
Freedom (PDL) party. With this
agreement for coalition, the two
parties Democratic Party (PD) and the
People of Freedom party (PDL) came
together for the formation of the
Government. Angelino Alfano from
centre-right People of Freedom Party
will be the deputy Prime Minister of
the new Government formed in the
Country. Fabrizio Saccomanni, the
Director General of Bank of Italy will
take over the portfolio of the
Economy Ministry. The former
European Commissioner Emma
Bonino will be Foreign Minister.
Lettas candidature as the Prime
Minister of Italy emerged after Pier
Luigi Bersani, the Democratic Party
leader announced his resignation as
a follow up of the party rebellion over
his choice of Italian President, also
because of his personal refusal to
work with Berlusconi.
The new Cabinet and Prime
Minister of Italy will be sworn in at
the presidential Quirinal Palace in
Rome. Italy is the third largest
economy of the Euro Zone and has
been without any effective
government for more than two months
because of the post-election
deadlock to end up recession. The
current recession would become the
longest recession in the history after
World War II. The Vote of confidence
would take place on 29 April 2013
from the supporters that include
Lettas Democratic Party, Berlusconis
People of Freedom (PDL) and the
centrist bloc led by outgoing Prime
Minister Mario Monti after Letta is
sworn in to for the Position of Prime
Minister of Italy on 28 April 2013.
Largest Biogas Largest Biogas Largest Biogas Largest Biogas Largest Biogas
Plant of the World Plant of the World Plant of the World Plant of the World Plant of the World
I naugurated I naugurated I naugurated I naugurated I naugurated
The largest biogas plant of the
world was inaugurated in Finland.
The biogas plant was inaugurated on
the western coast of Finland. The
plant is built near the already-present
coal-fired power plant in Vaasa in
Central Finland. The 140 MW biomass
gasification factory would help the
country in cutting down the use of
coal by up to 40 percent. The largest
biogas plant of the world is fuelled
primarily with the help of wood
residue from the large forestry sector
of Finland. This plant, apart from
reducing the use of coal, will also help
in reducing the emission of carbon
dioxide by 230000 tonnes per year.
It will also help in facilitating
electricity as well as heating for the
Vaasa to approximately 61000
residents. The operator of the plant
is Vaskiluodon Voima. Vaskiluodon
Voima declared that this plant will
help in creating various jobs in this
region.
British Parliament agreed to British Parliament agreed to British Parliament agreed to British Parliament agreed to British Parliament agreed to
Outlaw Caste Discrimination Outlaw Caste Discrimination Outlaw Caste Discrimination Outlaw Caste Discrimination Outlaw Caste Discrimination
The British parliament finally
agreed to outlaw caste discrimination
by amending the Equality Act 2010.
The Act prohibited race
discrimination, harassment and
victimisation in the workplace, till
now. The definition of race
mentioned in the Act includes
colour, ethnic or national origin and
nationality but makes no specific
reference to caste. The British
parliament finally voted for legal
protection for the four lakh dalits
residing in the country. x
With this step, UK has become
the first country outside South Asia
to legislate against caste
discrimination. The legislation will
protect thousands of people, who has
suffered abuse and prejudice
because they were considered low
caste.
The issue has created a divide
among the Indian diaspora in the
UK.The groups like Caste Watch UK
are rallying to urge MPs to introduce
legal protection for those from
traditionally lower-caste
backgrounds wheras the Hindu
Alliance called for a boycott of the
amendment. According to the 2011
census, there are 81633 Hindus are
living in UK.
China exported China exported China exported China exported China exported
Arms worth 11 Billion US Arms worth 11 Billion US Arms worth 11 Billion US Arms worth 11 Billion US Arms worth 11 Billion US
Dollars in 5 Years Dollars in 5 Years Dollars in 5 Years Dollars in 5 Years Dollars in 5 Years
According to a report released
by Pentagon China signed
agreements for arms exports worth
11 billion US dollars from 2007 to
2011. Pakistan maintains its position
as Beijings primary customer for
conventional weapons. The report
added that Chinese defence firms are
marketing and selling arms
throughout the world with the
majority of their sales to Asia and the
Middle East/North Africa. In 2012,
China unveiled the Yi Long tactical
unmanned aerial vehicle. It will be
marketed to developing nations.
China engages in both arms sales and
defence industrial cooperation with
Islamabad, including co-production
of the JF-17 fighter aircraft, F-22P
frigates with helicopters, K-8 jet
trainers, F-7 fighter aircraft, early
warning and control aircraft, tanks,
air-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise
missiles, and cooperation on main
battle tank production. Chinas
military modernisation may have
potential implications for regional
stability. According to the report,
Sub-Saharan African nations consider
China as a provider of low-cost
weapons with less political hassles
compared to other international arms
suppliers.
British Territories Signed Deal British Territories Signed Deal British Territories Signed Deal British Territories Signed Deal British Territories Signed Deal
on sharing Tax Information on sharing Tax Information on sharing Tax Information on sharing Tax Information on sharing Tax Information
Bermuda and other British
overseas territories on 1 May 2013
signed deals with financial centres on
sharing tax information. The similar
recent deals were struck with Jersey,
Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Other
British overseas territories are namely
the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman
Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat and the
Turks and Caicos Islands. The move
aims to track down banking clients
who escape paying taxes by not
revealing their money overseas. It
comes in the midst of an international
operation against tax evasion and the
use of tax havens. As per the deal,
the bank account details, such as
names, addresses, dates of birth,
account numbers, account balances
and payment details will be passed
on. The data will be shared with both
the UK tax authorities and those in
France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Nevada Became First US State Nevada Became First US State Nevada Became First US State Nevada Became First US State Nevada Became First US State
to Legalize Online Casino to Legalize Online Casino to Legalize Online Casino to Legalize Online Casino to Legalize Online Casino
Nevada, in the month of April
2013, became the first US State that
allowed its residents to play online
poker for money, legally. Online
Poker gained legitimacy in Nevada in
February 2013. Other states that will
legalise online poker soon in US are
Delaware and New Jersey. The
Nevada Gaming Control Board issued
the 30-day license to enable the
websites for competing against each
other for the customers.
The first legal online poker
website to go live in Nevada is
UltimatePoker.com. Ultimate Poker is
the subsidiary of Station Casinos that
operate 16 casinos in Las Vegas. US
authorities claimed that online
gambling can generate billions of
dollars. Every year, around 10 million
US citizens play online poker.
However the sites are all offshore,
which means that federal authorities
as well as state make no money at all.
US had imposed a ban on online
gambling in 2006, but the rules could
be relaxed now.
Maryland, First southern US Maryland, First southern US Maryland, First southern US Maryland, First southern US Maryland, First southern US
state to Abolish Death Penalty state to Abolish Death Penalty state to Abolish Death Penalty state to Abolish Death Penalty state to Abolish Death Penalty
Maryland, the U.S. state located
in the Mid-Atlantic region of the
United States, on 2 May 2013 became
the first southern US state to abolish
the death penalty. The measure on it
was signed by Democratic Governor
Martin OMalley on 2 May 2013. The
person who was attended was former
Maryland death row inmate Kirk
Bloodsworth. He will be the first
person in the country freed from
death penalty because of DNA
evidence after being convicted in a
death penalty case. On the global
level, Maryland is the 18th state to
abolish the death penalty. The
Governor can commute the death
sentences of intimates to life without
parole. The Governor OMalley has
asserted that he will consider them
on a case-by-case basis. The states
last execution was in 2005.
US Congress introduced US Congress introduced US Congress introduced US Congress introduced US Congress introduced
Explosive Materials Explosive Materials Explosive Materials Explosive Materials Explosive Materials
Background Check Act Background Check Act Background Check Act Background Check Act Background Check Act
An American Senator in month
of April 2013 introduced legislation
in the US Congress which requires the
sales of explosive powder be subject
to a background check. The
legislation was introduced in the
wake of the Boston terror attack. As
per the Bill there should be a
background check to purchase black
powder, black powder substitute, or
smokeless powder, in any quantity. It
provides the Attorney General with
the authority to stop the sale of
explosives when a background check
reveals that the applicant is a known
or suspected terrorist and the
Attorney General reasonably
believes that the person may use the
explosives in connection with
terrorism. It has been made illegal by
the legislation to manufacture
homemade explosives without a
permit; and directs ATF to conduct a
study on the tagging of explosives,
particularly black powder, black
powder substitute, and smokeless
powder, which could enable law
enforcement to detect, identify, and
trace explosives used in crimes.
the US Senator Lautenberg had
introduced a similar proposal in 2003
as part of his Homeland Security Gun
Safety Act of 2003. As per the current
law it is allowed for an individual to
purchase as much as 50 pounds of
explosive black powder without a
background check, and also permits
an individual to purchase unlimited
amounts of dangerous smokeless
powder and black powder substitute
without a background check. The
powders can be used as the
explosive material in assembling pipe
bombs, used in the Columbine school
shooting, and pressure cooker
bombs, which were used in the
recent Boston attack that left three
persons dead and nearly 200
wounded.
Work on Work on Work on Work on Work on
Inga Dam to Start in 2015 Inga Dam to Start in 2015 Inga Dam to Start in 2015 Inga Dam to Start in 2015 Inga Dam to Start in 2015
The Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) on 19 May 2013
declared that it will start the work
o n world s biggest world s biggest world s biggest world s biggest world s biggest
hydroelectric Inga dam on hydroelectric Inga dam on hydroelectric Inga dam on hydroelectric Inga dam on hydroelectric Inga dam on
Congo River Congo River Congo River Congo River Congo River in October 2015. DRC
made the announcement on the
construction of the dam in Paris after
the talks between the DRC and
International officials ended. The
meet on the development of the dam
involved multilateral lending
institutions. The planned Inga dam
Project will produce 40000
megawatts power and provide
electricity to half the African
Continent. Whereas, the World Bank
has estimated that DR Congos total
hydropower resources can generate
up to 100000 megawatts. As per the
World Bank estimates if the project is
completed at full its capacity than it
will be capable of providing power
to about 500 million African
households.
During the first phase the Inga
3 Basse Chute project will have a
capacity of 4800 megawatts. The
Paris meet of the DR Congo and the
International officials followed the
deal signed on 7 May 2013 between
South Africa and DR Congo for
cooperation in the energy sector. As
per the 7 May 2013 deal, South Africa
will buy some of the electricity
produced by the project. The project
will be developed on the powerful
Inga Falls that lie is a narrow strip of
DR Congo Territory, through which
the Congo river runs down to the
Atlantic Coast. At present, Three Three Three Three Three
Gorges Dam on the Yangtze Gorges Dam on the Yangtze Gorges Dam on the Yangtze Gorges Dam on the Yangtze Gorges Dam on the Yangtze
River of China River of China River of China River of China River of China is the worlds largest
hydropower complex, with a
capacity of 22500 megawatts.
France legalise Gay Marriage France legalise Gay Marriage France legalise Gay Marriage France legalise Gay Marriage France legalise Gay Marriage
Frances President Francois
Hollande on 17 May 2013 signed into
law a controversial bill to legalise gay
marriage. It makes France the ninth
in Europe and 14th in the world to
do so. The move was opposed by
many conservatives and the Catholic
Church in France. As of May 2013,
thirteen countries (Argentina,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark,
Iceland, France, Netherlands,
Portugal, Norway, Spain, South Africa,
Sweden), and several sub-national
jurisdictions (parts of Mexico and the
USA), allow same-sex couples to
marry. The Constitutional Council
rejected a challenge by the right-
wing opposition, clearing the way for
Francois Hollande to sign the bill. The
first gay wedding will be held 10 days
after the bills signing. In fact, the
ruling Socialist Party made the
legislation their flagship social reform
since being elected in 2012.
UN Adopted UN Adopted UN Adopted UN Adopted UN Adopted
Resolution on Syria Resolution on Syria Resolution on Syria Resolution on Syria Resolution on Syria
The UN General Assembly on
15 May 2013 adopted a resolution
(non-binding in nature) calling for a
political transition in Syria and
condemning President Bashar al-
Assad Government for its increasing
use of heavy weapons. A majority of
107 states voted to adopt the
resolution. There were 12 votes
against and 59 abstentions. Russia was
fiercely opposed to the resolution,
termed it as unbalanced and
inadequate to address adequately
atrocities allegedly committed by
rebel groups. The resolution was
drafted by Arab states who have
supported the rebels. The resolution
asked for immediate financial
support to neighbouring countries,
which are hosting 1.5 million
refugees. The UN resolution on Syria
highlighted the dire situation of the
4.25 million internally displaced
people.
Arab League agreed to Arab League agreed to Arab League agreed to Arab League agreed to Arab League agreed to
Israel-Palestine Israel-Palestine Israel-Palestine Israel-Palestine Israel-Palestine
Land Swap Agreement Land Swap Agreement Land Swap Agreement Land Swap Agreement Land Swap Agreement
Arab nations on 1 May 2013
collectively agreed to accept an
arrangement that will allow Israelis
and Palestinians to carry on with their
land swap agreement to resolve
differences instead of sticking to the
pre-1967-war position.The decision
of Arab nations followed a meeting
in Washington of Arab officials and
the US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Arab league delegation affirmed
after the talks that the agreement
should be based on the two-state
solution on the basis of the 4 June
1967 line, with the possibility of
comparable and mutual agreed minor
swap of the land. The Arab Leagues
proposal in its original form-proposed
in 2002 at the Arab Leagues Summit
in Beirut- included a full Arab
recognition of an Israeli state,
provided it gave up land captured in
the 1967 Israel-Arab war and it should
accept a just solution for Palestinian
refugees. The Israel had earlier
rejected the plan. Israel refuses to
return to 1967 borders, inclusion of
East Jerusalem in a future Palestinian
state and the return of Palestinian
refugees displaced in earlier Israel-
Arab wars.
Three Chinese Ships Sailed Three Chinese Ships Sailed Three Chinese Ships Sailed Three Chinese Ships Sailed Three Chinese Ships Sailed
Into Senkaku Islands Into Senkaku Islands Into Senkaku Islands Into Senkaku Islands Into Senkaku Islands
Three Government ships of
China on 5 May 2013 entered into
called Diaoyu Islands in China or Pin-
nacle Islands, are basically the group
of uninhabited islands. These islands
are under the control of Japan in East
China Sea.
These islands are located in the
east of Mainland China, northeast of
Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island as
well as north of the southwestern end
of Ryukyu Islands. There is terrestrial
sovereignty over Senkaku islands as
well as maritime boundaries around
these islands are disputed between
China, Taiwan and Japan. China and
Taiwan claim that Senkaku islands
have remained a part of China since
1534. However, in 1894-1895, Japan
got the control of the islands during
first Sino-Japanese War and the
Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed.
New Gas Reserve discovered New Gas Reserve discovered New Gas Reserve discovered New Gas Reserve discovered New Gas Reserve discovered
in Southern Sindh in Southern Sindh in Southern Sindh in Southern Sindh in Southern Sindh
Pakistan in the Month of April
had discovered a new gas reserve in
southern Sindh province that is
supposed to help in reduction of
acute gas shortages for industry and
transport. The Discovery was made
by the Italian energy company ENI
with joint venture partners Pakistan
Petroleum Limited and Kuwait
Foreign Petroleum Exploration
Company in the Kirthar Fold Belt
region 270 kilometres (170 miles)
north of Karachi. It was found during
the production testing that the gas is
flowing at 33 million cubic feet per
day highlighting an excellent
potential for the future for energy
needs of the country. It is important
here to note that the under an early
production scheme, gas supply from
waters of Senkaku islands, which are
disputed and controlled by Tokyo.
The surveillance ships of China sailed
12-nautical-mile zone off the
Senkaku islands, also known as Diaoyu
by China.
The government ships of China
have sailed into five islands in recent
past. This has led to diplomatic dis-
putes with Japan. In April 2012, eight
vessels of the Chinese Government
had entered in the disputed waters.
The disputed Senkaku islands The disputed Senkaku islands The disputed Senkaku islands The disputed Senkaku islands The disputed Senkaku islands
Senkaku islands, which are also
the new reserve would be possible
within three years. The discovery of
new oil and gas reservoirs is of
imperative importance to cope with
the prevailing energy shortage in
Pakistan.
One of the largest oil producers,
ENI is under existence in Pakistan
since 2000 and is the countrys largest
producer, with an average
production of 54800 barrels of oil
equivalent per day in 2011. Pakistan
has a widespread energy crisis for
years which is characterized by
frequent blackouts, which has stulti-
fied the economy.
Serbia and Kosovo Reached Serbia and Kosovo Reached Serbia and Kosovo Reached Serbia and Kosovo Reached Serbia and Kosovo Reached
Agreement on Power-Sharing Agreement on Power-Sharing Agreement on Power-Sharing Agreement on Power-Sharing Agreement on Power-Sharing
Serbia and Kosovo on 20 April
2013 reached an agreement on
overcoming ethnic enmities in
Kosovo, a former Serbian province
after months of difficult negotiations.
It will increase stability in the
region as well as allow both countries
to join European Union. As per the
agreement, municipal bodies in the
Serb-majority north will retain
autonomy in areas like health care and
education. In exchange, the police
and courts will apply the Kosovo
central governments laws. The
Serbian municipalities will have the
authority to appoint a regional police
chief. Serbia has had de facto control
over the small Serb-majority area in
the north, which does not accept
Kosovos authority. Tensions have
increased since Kosovo declared
independence from Serbia in 2008.
Kosovos ethnic Albanian Muslim
majority won independence after a
brutal ethnic civil war with Serbia.
Kosovo is now recognized by more
than 90 countries, including the
United States and a majority of nations
in the European Union. But five
member nations of EU, including
Spain and Cyprus, refused to
recognize Kosovo. Serbia has also
refused to recognize Kosovo.
It has argued that Kosovos
declaration of independence
breached international law. Serbias
close ally, Russia, has blocked
Kosovos membership in the United
Nations which is hindering its political
and economical progress.
52-year-long Indebter Turkey 52-year-long Indebter Turkey 52-year-long Indebter Turkey 52-year-long Indebter Turkey 52-year-long Indebter Turkey
to End its Debt to End its Debt to End its Debt to End its Debt to End its Debt
Turkey Treasury
Undersecretariat on 26 April 2013
announced that it would close the
debt chapter with IMF (International
Monetary Fund) by refunding 422.1
million US dollars of capital as part of
its 19th Stand-by. This will end
Turkeys 52 years long indebter
category from IMF.
Turkey became the part of IMF
in 1947 and till date has been
successful in completing only two of
the 19 stand-by deals. As per the new
IMF regulation that was agreed in
2010, Turkeys quota was increased
to 4.6 billion SDRs and will now be
the 20th country in the highest quota
share within IMF. At present Turkey
is ranked 32nd in the listing. Turkey
will be performing as the Director
within IMF from 2014 to 2016 and
2018 to 2020.
Record of Turkey s Debt Record of Turkey s Debt Record of Turkey s Debt Record of Turkey s Debt Record of Turkey s Debt
Stock in IMF Stock in IMF Stock in IMF Stock in IMF Stock in IMF
Y e a r Y e a r Y e a r Y e a r Y e a r Debt in SDR Debt in SDR Debt in SDR Debt in SDR Debt in SDR
(Special Drawing Rights) (Special Drawing Rights) (Special Drawing Rights) (Special Drawing Rights) (Special Drawing Rights)
2002 16.2 billion SDR
2012 562,109,622 SDR
Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights
(SDRs) (SDRs) (SDRs) (SDRs) (SDRs)
The SDR is an international
reserve asset, created by the IMF in
1969 to supplement its member
countries official reserves. Its value
is based on a basket of four key
international currencies, and SDRs
can be exchanged for freely usable
currencies. With a general SDR
allocation that took effect on 28
August and a special allocation on
9 September 2009, the amount of
SDRs increased from SDR 21.4 billion
to around SDR 204 billion (equivalent
to about $310 billion, converted
using the rate of 20 August 2012).
Under its Articles of Agreement
(Article XV, Section 1, and Article
XVIII), the IMF has the power to
allocate SDRs to member countries
in proportion to their IMF quotas.
Such an allocation provides each
member with a costless,
unconditional international reserve
asset. On this allocated asset reserve
interest is neither earned nor paid.
However, if a members SDR holdings
rise above its allocation, it earns
interest on the excess. Conversely, if
it holds fewer SDRs than allocated, it
pays interest on the shortfall.
Unemployment Rate in Spain Unemployment Rate in Spain Unemployment Rate in Spain Unemployment Rate in Spain Unemployment Rate in Spain
Reached Record High Reached Record High Reached Record High Reached Record High Reached Record High
The unemployment rate in
Spain reached new record of 27.2
percent of workforce in first quarter
of 2013. Official figures revealed that
the number of unemployed in Spain
crossed 6 million mark, even though
the rate of this increase in
unemployment slowed down. The
figures describe that Spain has been
struggling from the economic crisis
which started in 2008.
As a result, Prime Minister of
Spain, Mariano Rajoy decided to
reveal the policy measures and fiscal
measures on 26 April 2013 in order
to curtail the recession in fourth
largest economy of the Eurozone. It
is worth noticing that even the
International Monetary Fund in the
third week of April 2013, cut the 2013
forecast for the growth of Spain to
1.6 percent contraction from 1.5
percent. IMF also announced that the
rate of unemployment will rise to 27
percent in 2013. Another important
fact is that the figure of unemployed
in Spain is the highest since 1976. In
1976, the transition of Spains
democracy began after the death of
Dictator Francisco Franco.
Japan Concluded a Japan Concluded a Japan Concluded a Japan Concluded a Japan Concluded a
Deal with UAE Deal with UAE Deal with UAE Deal with UAE Deal with UAE
Japan on 2 May 2013
concluded a deal with the United
Arab Emirates for transferring the
nuclear power technology. It is the
first transfer of the nuclear power
technology since 2011 Fukushima
nuclear accident. Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe visited the
Persian Gulf state on the third leg of a
weeklong overseas trip. Shinzo Abe
met UAE Vice President and Prime
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum on 2 May 2013 in
order to conclude the nuclear deal.
The nuclear deal was concluded
with an agreement to promote
bilateral investments and economic
exchanges. Shinzo Abe also
explained about Japans plan for
holding the ministerial-level strategic
talks on a regular basis with six Gulf
Arab states, known as the Gulf
Cooperation Council.
The Law on Elimination of The Law on Elimination of The Law on Elimination of The Law on Elimination of The Law on Elimination of
Violence against Women Violence against Women Violence against Women Violence against Women Violence against Women
blocked in Afghanistan blocked in Afghanistan blocked in Afghanistan blocked in Afghanistan blocked in Afghanistan
Afghanistan Parliament on 19
May 2013 blocked law aimed at
strengthening provisions for womens
freedom. The Parliament argued that
parts of the law violated Islamic
principles and encouraged
disobedience. In fact, the Law on
Elimination of Violence against
women is in force since 2009, but
only by Presidential decree. The law
was now presented in the parliament
to get its approval so that in future no
president could repeal it to satisfy the
wishes of orthodox religious parties.
The Features of Law The Features of Law The Features of Law The Features of Law The Features of Law
The law criminalizes child
marriage and forced marriage.
It bans baad, the traditional
practice of selling and buying
women to settle disputes.
It also makes domestic violence
a crime punishable by up to
three years and specifies that
rape victims should not face
criminal charges for fornication
or adultery.
The Taliban while in power
imposed a strict interpretation of
Islam that put severe restrictions on
the freedom of women. Taliban even
banned women from working and
going to school, or even leaving home
without a male relative. In public, all
women were forced wear a head-to-
toe burqa, which even covered the
face. Violators faced public flogging
or execution. Since the U.S.-led
invasion in 2001, womens freedoms
have shown improvement, but Af-
ghanistan still exhibits conservative
culture, mainly in rural areas. As per
the UN analysis in late 2011, only a
small percentage of reported crimes
against women were taken into con-
sideration by the Afghan government.
Between March 2010 and March
2011 only 7 percent of the total
number of crimes reported.
Cuba launched Complaint Cuba launched Complaint Cuba launched Complaint Cuba launched Complaint Cuba launched Complaint
against Australian Tobacco against Australian Tobacco against Australian Tobacco against Australian Tobacco against Australian Tobacco
laws at WTO laws at WTO laws at WTO laws at WTO laws at WTO
Cuba on 6 May 2013 has
launched a legal challenge to
Australias tobacco packaging laws at
the World Trade Organization, the
Geneva-based trade body. It is
important here to note that Cuba has
never before launched WTO litiga-
tion. Its challenge follows related
complaints about Australias tough
tobacco packaging rules by Ukraine,
Honduras and Dominican Republic.
Cuba has touched off a 60-day win-
dow for Australia to try to resolve the
problem in talks with Cuba. After that
Cuba could ask the WTO to appoint
a panel of adjudicators to judge its
complaint.
It was in December 2012 when
Australias law came into force
banning cigarette logos and requiring
packets to be plain olive green with
graphic health warnings.
It was seen as a model for others
considering a similar move, including
the European Union, India, Norway,
South Korea, New Zealand and
Canada. So, in order to bring in the
worlds toughest rules on tobacco
packaging, Australia had to win a
court fight against cigarette makers
British American Tobacco, Imperial
Tobacco, Philip Morris and Japan
Tobacco.
IBSA Resolution to IBSA Resolution to IBSA Resolution to IBSA Resolution to IBSA Resolution to
Empower the Women Empower the Women Empower the Women Empower the Women Empower the Women
The Union Minister for Women
and Child Development Krishna
Tirath on 16 May 2013 signed the
Fifth India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA)
Womens Forum Resolution at the end
of the three day meet of IBSA
Womens Forum. To end violence
against women for development of
the equitable society and model for
effective delivery of financial
benefits to poor families, South Africa
i s runni ng a Stop Rape Stop Rape Stop Rape Stop Rape Stop Rape
Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign and on similar grounds
Brazil is running a campaign
named Bolsa Familia of Brazil. Bolsa Familia of Brazil. Bolsa Familia of Brazil. Bolsa Familia of Brazil. Bolsa Familia of Brazil.
The platform of IBSA was constituted
to enhance the efforts for continuous
engendering of the policies and
programmes of India, Brazil and South
Africa and to bring in the marginalized
section into the mainstream.
IBSA (India Brazil-South- IBSA (India Brazil-South- IBSA (India Brazil-South- IBSA (India Brazil-South- IBSA (India Brazil-South-
Afri ca) Tri l ateral Afri ca) Tri l ateral Afri ca) Tri l ateral Afri ca) Tri l ateral Afri ca) Tri l ateral
IBSA is a trilateral,
developmental initiative between
India, Brazil and South Africa to
promote South-South cooperation
and exchange. Formation of IBSA
for the first time was discussed during
the G-8 meeting that took place in
Evian, France in 2003.
Further, the External Affairs
Minister of India, Yashwant Sinha, the
Foreign Affairs Minister of Brazil, Celso
Amorim and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of South Africa, Nkosazana
Dlamini Zuma met in Brasilia on 6 June
2003 and farmalised the launch of
IBSA Dialogue Forum with an
adoption of the Brasilia Declaration.
Womens Forum of IBSA Womens Forum of IBSA Womens Forum of IBSA Womens Forum of IBSA Womens Forum of IBSA
The Womens Forum initiative
launched under the People-to-
Peoples Forum by the heads of the
IBSA states came up during the
second IBSA Summit in South Africa
in 2007. The forum came into
existence with the aim of
cooperation between the three
countries with the objective of
promoting gender equality and
empowerment.
State of Emergency declared State of Emergency declared State of Emergency declared State of Emergency declared State of Emergency declared
in Three States of Nigeria in Three States of Nigeria in Three States of Nigeria in Three States of Nigeria in Three States of Nigeria
Nigerian president, Goodluck
Jonathan on 14 May 2013 imposed a
state of emergency in three states of
Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in an
effort to curb the increasingly violent
attacks by radical Islamist armed
group Boko Haram.
The decision was taken after a
series of attacks on security forces
and government targets by Boko
Haram in its northeast stronghold in
May 2013 to restore public safety and
security. A large number of troops are
being deployed immediately in these
areas.
About Boko Haram About Boko Haram About Boko Haram About Boko Haram About Boko Haram
Boko Haram is a jihadist militant
organisation based in the northeast
of Nigeria and north Cameroon. It is
an Islamist organisation which strongly
opposes man-made laws and
westernization.
The Organisation was founded
by Mohammed Yusuf in 2001 and it
seeks to establish sharia law in the
country. The group is also known for
attacking Christians and bombing
churches.
The group identified
internationally following sectarian
violence in Nigeria in July 2009,
which had left over 1000 people
dead. In year 2011 the group was
accountable for at least 450 killings
in Nigeria.
http://www.flipkart.com
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/books
India & The World India & The World India & The World India & The World India & The World
India & The World
India and the US 16 May 2013
decided to expand co-operation in
knowledge sector. This was
announced during a round table
discussion on Advances in US-India
Academic Partnership in
Washington. It was also stated during
the discussion that eight more awards
finalized under the Singh-Obama
Knowledge Initiative and it will be
jointly announced during the
forthcoming Indo-US strategic
dialogue in New Delhi next month.
Eight such awards were announced
last year. He said there is a proposal
to place young Indian faculty in best
of US institutions to enhance their
capabilities. Under this plan 126 post
schools and community participation
in school education.
USA Cleared USA Cleared USA Cleared USA Cleared USA Cleared
Shale Gas Export to India Shale Gas Export to India Shale Gas Export to India Shale Gas Export to India Shale Gas Export to India
USA on 18 May 2013 granted
conditional authorization to export
domestically produced liquefied
natural gas (LNG) to countries that do
not have Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) with it. It opens up the
prospects of export of shale gas to
India. The decision was announced
by Department of Energy in USA.
The gas will be exported from
Freeport Terminal on Quintana Island
in Texas. The companies from nations
like Japan, China and Britain have
huge stake in the Texas company,
Indian chances to benefit
immediately from this grant of license
are rare. India does not have a free
trade agreement with the USA. But
Indian companies can seek similar
licences for import of the shale gas
from the U.S. in large quantities from
other terminals. The present federal
law generally requires approval of
natural gas exports to nations that
have an FTA with the U.S. But those
doctorals have been selected. India
sought US co-operation in promoting
skill building through community
colleges. Touching upon the possi-
bilities of a wide ranging co-opera-
tion in education sector between the
two countries, the co-operation
should be supportive in the field of
ICT, digital world, promoting quality
research and innovation and
boosting vocational education
system. 20 billion dollars of additional
resources will be pumped in the state
system to ensure access and excel-
lence in tertiary education through
National Higher Education Mission
(RUSA in vernacular). The round
table organised by the International
Institute of Education at Washington
discussed issues such as
collaboration in the field of
Community Colleges and promoting
massive online courses and
Technology Enabled Education. It
also discussed students mobility, par-
ticularly encouraging US students to
visit India. India and USA also dis-
cussed issued relating to
improvement of school education,
teacher educators, assessment of
nations that do not have an FTA with
the U.S., the Natural Gas Act directs
the Department of Energy to grant
export authorisations provided that
the proposed exports will not harm
the public interest.
India on 4 May 2013 granted
consular access on daily basis to
Pakistan officials to visit Sanaullah
Ranjay, who was injured in a fight
with another inmate in Jammu jail
and was admitted to a hospital in
Chandigarh. It is worth mentioning
here that Earlier, a team of Pakistan
High Commission officials had met
Sanaullah at PGI Chandigarh. As per
the Ministry of External Affairs, with
the grant of Consular Access, the Pa-
kistan officials can visit Sanaullah
once in a day. They will also be
briefed twice a day on the condition
of the prisoner.
About Sanaullah Ranjay About Sanaullah Ranjay About Sanaullah Ranjay About Sanaullah Ranjay About Sanaullah Ranjay
Sanaullah who is a resident of
Sialkot in Pakistan was injured during
a brawl with another inmate in Jammu
jail where he was serving life term after
being convicted under TADA
provisions. He was arrested in 1999.
Sanaullah without any delay was
shifted from high-security Kot Balwal
jail to Government Medical College
Hospital and later rushed to PGIMR
in Chandigarh in an air ambulance
after he was found critical. As per the
Pakistan government the brawl
between Sanaullah and other jail
inmates is an obvious retaliation to the
death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit
Singh in a Lahore hospital on 2 May
2013. Sarabjit Singh had been
attacked by fellow inmates in Kot
Lakhpat Jail on 26 April and
succumbed to his injuries six days
is the list of Documents signed during
the State Visit of Chinese Premier Li
Keqiang to India.
1. Protocol between 1. Protocol between 1. Protocol between 1. Protocol between 1. Protocol between
Indian and China on Indian Indian and China on Indian Indian and China on Indian Indian and China on Indian Indian and China on Indian
Official Pilgrimage (the Kailash Official Pilgrimage (the Kailash Official Pilgrimage (the Kailash Official Pilgrimage (the Kailash Official Pilgrimage (the Kailash
Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet
Autonomous Region of China Autonomous Region of China Autonomous Region of China Autonomous Region of China Autonomous Region of China
With the signing of Protocol
both the countries have agreed to
conduct the Yatra every year from
May to September. China will make
further advancements in the existing
facilities on the route of the pilgrims
and to maintain even communication.
They have also agreed to assist in
renting wireless sets and local SIM
cards.
2. Agreement on Work 2. Agreement on Work 2. Agreement on Work 2. Agreement on Work 2. Agreement on Work
Programmes of the Three Programmes of the Three Programmes of the Three Programmes of the Three Programmes of the Three
Working Groups under Joint Working Groups under Joint Working Groups under Joint Working Groups under Joint Working Groups under Joint
Economic Group between Economic Group between Economic Group between Economic Group between Economic Group between
Ministry of Commerce & Ministry of Commerce & Ministry of Commerce & Ministry of Commerce & Ministry of Commerce &
Industry of India and China. Industry of India and China. Industry of India and China. Industry of India and China. Industry of India and China.
The three working groups
under the Joint Economic Group
are:
(i) Services Trade Promotion
Working Group
(ii) Economic and Trade Planning
Cooperation
(iii) Trade Statistical Analysis
3. MoU on Buffal o Meat, 3. MoU on Buffal o Meat, 3. MoU on Buffal o Meat, 3. MoU on Buffal o Meat, 3. MoU on Buffal o Meat,
Fishery Products and Agreement Fishery Products and Agreement Fishery Products and Agreement Fishery Products and Agreement Fishery Products and Agreement
on Feed and Feed Ingredients on Feed and Feed Ingredients on Feed and Feed Ingredients on Feed and Feed Ingredients on Feed and Feed Ingredients
between Agricultural and between Agricultural and between Agricultural and between Agricultural and between Agricultural and
Processed Food Products Export Processed Food Products Export Processed Food Products Export Processed Food Products Export Processed Food Products Export
Development Authority of India Development Authority of India Development Authority of India Development Authority of India Development Authority of India
and China and China and China and China and China
It is directly aimed at
strengthening mutual cooperation in
later. It is being said that Sanaullah is
a victim of a direct assault coming in
the wake of the death of Sarabjit
Singh.
Chinas new premier Li
Keqiangs visited India on his first
foreign trip to India from 19-22, May
2013 since taking his office in March
2013. Both the countries are looking
for speeding up their efforts to settle
a decades-old border dispute and
strengthen economic ties. The
leaders of both the countries had a
thorough exchange of views on
bilateral relations and regional and in-
ternational issues of common interest
in a sincere and cordial atmosphere
and reached broad consensus. Here
trade and safety of buffalo meat,
fishery products and feed and feed
ingredients, and to meet the
regulatory requirements with
respect to safety & hygiene &
quarantine and is also supposed to
deal with the growing trade deficit
between the two countries.
4. MoU between the Ministry 4. MoU between the Ministry 4. MoU between the Ministry 4. MoU between the Ministry 4. MoU between the Ministry
of Urban Development of India and of Urban Development of India and of Urban Development of India and of Urban Development of India and of Urban Development of India and
National Development and Reform National Development and Reform National Development and Reform National Development and Reform National Development and Reform
Commission of China on Commission of China on Commission of China on Commission of China on Commission of China on
Cooperation in the field of Sewage Cooperation in the field of Sewage Cooperation in the field of Sewage Cooperation in the field of Sewage Cooperation in the field of Sewage
Treatment Treatment Treatment Treatment Treatment
The MoU signed by the Urban
Development will enhance
cooperation in the field of Sewage
Treatment and ideas and knowledge
sharing in the areas of mutual
interest in the urban sectors.
of Water Resources of India and of Water Resources of India and of Water Resources of India and of Water Resources of India and of Water Resources of India and
The National Development and The National Development and The National Development and The National Development and The National Development and
Reform Commission, of China on Reform Commission, of China on Reform Commission, of China on Reform Commission, of China on Reform Commission, of China on
Cooperation in the field of Cooperation in the field of Cooperation in the field of Cooperation in the field of Cooperation in the field of
Water Efficient Irrigation Water Efficient Irrigation Water Efficient Irrigation Water Efficient Irrigation Water Efficient Irrigation
The MoU dirtectly aims at
enhancing bilateral cooperation in
the field of water efficient
technology with applicability in the
area of agriculture and exchange of
best practices.
6. MoU between the India 6. MoU between the India 6. MoU between the India 6. MoU between the India 6. MoU between the India
and the State Administration of and the State Administration of and the State Administration of and the State Administration of and the State Administration of
Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Press, Publication, Radio, Film and
Television of China on Cooperation Television of China on Cooperation Television of China on Cooperation Television of China on Cooperation Television of China on Cooperation
in Mutual Translation and in Mutual Translation and in Mutual Translation and in Mutual Translation and in Mutual Translation and
Publication of Classic and Publication of Classic and Publication of Classic and Publication of Classic and Publication of Classic and
Contemporary Work Contemporary Work Contemporary Work Contemporary Work Contemporary Work
As per the MoU a Joint Working
Group will formed which will
coordinate translation and
publication of 25 books of Classic
and Contemporary Works of
each side over a period
of 5 years in to Chinese
and Indian languages re-
specti vel y.
of Water Resources of the India and of Water Resources of the India and of Water Resources of the India and of Water Resources of the India and of Water Resources of the India and
the Ministry of Water Resources of the Ministry of Water Resources of the Ministry of Water Resources of the Ministry of Water Resources of the Ministry of Water Resources of
China upon Provision of China upon Provision of China upon Provision of China upon Provision of China upon Provision of
India and China showed
eagerness to carry out
cooperation on establishing
industrial zones so that they
can provide platforms for
cluster-type development of
enterprises of the two
countries.
India and China decided to
mark the 60thanniversary of
the Five Principles of Peaceful
Coexistence (Panchsheel) in
2014 by designating it as the
Year of Friendly Exchanges.
Both the Country agreed to
encourage their cities/
provinces to establish
twinning relationships in
accordance with the
Agreement to Facilitate
Cooperation and Linkages
between Indian and Chinese
Cities and States/Provinces.
Both the Country underlined
the need to implement all
relevant UN resolutions, in
particular UNSC resolutions
1267, 1373, 1540 and 1624.
Both the Countries agreed to
enhance coordination in the
follow up process of the UN
Conference on Sustainable
Development and in
discussions on the post 2015
development agenda as well
as international negotiations
on climate change.
The two countries sides
reaffirmed their commitment to
promoting multilateral arms
control, disarmament and non-
proliferation processes. They
support the complete
prohibition and thorough
destruction of all nuclear
weapons and reaffirm their
opposition to the
weaponization of and an arms
race in outer space.
Both the countries agreed to
work towards simplifying visa
procedures.
Hydrological Information of the Hydrological Information of the Hydrological Information of the Hydrological Information of the Hydrological Information of the
Yaluzangbu/Brahmaputra River Yaluzangbu/Brahmaputra River Yaluzangbu/Brahmaputra River Yaluzangbu/Brahmaputra River Yaluzangbu/Brahmaputra River
in Flood Season by China to in Flood Season by China to in Flood Season by China to in Flood Season by China to in Flood Season by China to
I ndi a I ndi a I ndi a I ndi a I ndi a
As per the Memorandum of
Understanding China is supposed to
provide India with information of
water level, discharge and rainfall of
8:00 hrs and 20:00 hrs(Beijing Time)
twice a day from 1st June to 15
October each year in respect of
three hydrological stations on the
mainstream Brahmaputra river.
8. Agreement between the 8. Agreement between the 8. Agreement between the 8. Agreement between the 8. Agreement between the
Ministry of External Affairs, of India Ministry of External Affairs, of India Ministry of External Affairs, of India Ministry of External Affairs, of India Ministry of External Affairs, of India
and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
of China to facilitate cooperation of China to facilitate cooperation of China to facilitate cooperation of China to facilitate cooperation of China to facilitate cooperation
and linkages between Indian and and linkages between Indian and and linkages between Indian and and linkages between Indian and and linkages between Indian and
Chinese cities & states/provinces Chinese cities & states/provinces Chinese cities & states/provinces Chinese cities & states/provinces Chinese cities & states/provinces
As per this said agreement
both the sides agreed to identify
sister cities and sister states/provinces
in India and China with a view to
establishing relationships between
them in areas of mutual interest for
enhancing greater people to people
contacts
Some Important Outcome of Some Important Outcome of Some Important Outcome of Some Important Outcome of Some Important Outcome of
the Meeting between Chinese the Meeting between Chinese the Meeting between Chinese the Meeting between Chinese the Meeting between Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Premier Li Keqiang and Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Both the Countries agreed to
a regular exchange of visits
between the Heads of State/
Government of the two
countries. The leaders of the
two countries will also
continue to meet on the
sidelines of important multi-
lateral forums.
Both the Countries agreed in
further strengthening
cooperation in the areas of
energy and environmental
conservation, new and
renewable energy and
high-technology. The
two sides agreed to
enhance cooperation in
the railway sector
including heavy haul-
age and station development.
In order to pursue mutual
benefit and fulfill their
international cooperation
objectives, both the Countries
agreed in considering
collaborating on development
projects of common interest in
third countries.
100-billion targets for Financial 100-billion targets for Financial 100-billion targets for Financial 100-billion targets for Financial 100-billion targets for Financial
Year 2014-15 Year 2014-15 Year 2014-15 Year 2014-15 Year 2014-15
India and China on 20 May
2013 decided to scale up its two-
way trade to 100 billion dollars by
2015 from 67.8 bn Dollars in 2012-
13. It is worth mentioning here that
bilateral trade between the two
countries scaled up from 2.1 bn
Dollars in 2001-02 to 75.6 bn Dollars
in 2011-12 and suddenly it dropped
down to 67.8 bn dollars during
2012-13.
Some important points to Some important points to Some important points to Some important points to Some important points to
remember remember remember remember remember
Indias trade deficit increased
from 1.1 bn dollars in 2001-02
to 40.8 bn dollars in 2012-13.
In 2012-13, China became
Indias fourth largest trading
partner from third largest in
2011-2012. Our exports fell
from 18.1 bn dollars in 2011-
12 to $13.5 bn in 2012-13
In year 2010, both countries
had set a trade turnover target
of 60 bn dolars which was
achieved.
An India-China CEOs Forum
has been constituted to
deliberate on business issues
and make recommendations
on expansion of trade and
investment cooperation which
will be head by Anil Ambani
and Chen Yuan from India and
China Side respectively.
As per the exporters increasing
of market access to China is critical
for a shoot in Indias exports as the
country efforts to change its export
profile from raw materials to
finished and value-added products.
MoUs to Address Concerns on MoUs to Address Concerns on MoUs to Address Concerns on MoUs to Address Concerns on MoUs to Address Concerns on
Trade Defi ci t Trade Defi ci t Trade Defi ci t Trade Defi ci t Trade Defi ci t
India and China on 20 May 2013
signed three Memorandum of Under-
standings (MoUs) on buffalo meat,
fisheries and pharmaceuticals and
one agreement on feed and feed in-
gredients during the visit of the
Premier of the State Council of the
Peoples Republic of China, Li
Keqiang to India. The MoUs is
supposed to deal with the growing
trade deficit between the two coun-
tries. It is worth mentioning here that
the trade deficit has increased from
1.08 billion US Dollars in 2001-02 to
40.77 billion US Dollars in 2012-
13. The resumption of exporting
buffalo meat from India to China, will
bring a big merchandise trade that
will not only be helpful in reducing
trade imbalance of India but also in
Chinas food security by providing
quality and hygiene meat products.
Earlier the export of buffalo meat is
not allowed from India to China due
to concerns about Foot & Mouth
Disease. It was a long pending issue
between two countries. The Other
Mou was signed for import and
export trade of fishery products
which aims to bring cooperation in
promoting trade of fishery products
and healthy development of trade
between India and China.
Another MoU was also signed
between Pharmaceuticals Export
Promotion Council of India
(Pharmexcil) and the China
Chamber of Commerce for Import
and Export of Medicines and Health
Products (CCCMHPIE) which will
facilitate access to the China market
in pharmaceuticals. The average
imports of medicinal and
pharmaceutical products
from China during last five
years were 4332.37 million
US dollars vis--vis ex-
ports from India of 692.44
million US dollars. An
important agreement was
signed between Export Inspection
Council of India (EIC) and AQSIQ on
trade and safety of feed and feed
ingredients which is supposed to
bring big merchandise trade for feed
& feed ingredients after the
resumption of trade as China has
suspended import of feed and feed
ingredients since 1 January 2012.
Both the countries also agreed to
conduct the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra
every year between May and
Sept ember .
Troops pulled back from Troops pulled back from Troops pulled back from Troops pulled back from Troops pulled back from
Daulat Beg Oldi Sector Daulat Beg Oldi Sector Daulat Beg Oldi Sector Daulat Beg Oldi Sector Daulat Beg Oldi Sector
India and China on 5 May 2013
pulled back their troops from the
stand off point at Daulat Beg Oldi
sector in Ladakh, where the Chinese
forces had intruded nearly three
weeks back. A battalion of Chinese
troops estimated at about 50 and ac-
companied by vehicles and dogs had
intruded 19 km inside the Indian
Territory across the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) in Daulat Beg Oldi
sector on April 15 and set up five
tents. The Indian troops had also
established tented posts facing the
Chinese forces at a distance of 300
metres.
An agreement was reached for
both nations to pull back their
troops simultaneously from the face
off point.
India and Saudi Arabia on 28
April 2013 decided to set up a joint
working group to address the
concerns of expatriate Indian
workers in Saudi Arabia on the
Nitaqat law. The India-Saudi Arabia
Joint Working Group on Labour will
discuss a Memorandum of
Understanding on labour co-
operation and other issues. The
decisions were taken at a meeting of
a high level Indian delegation led by
the Overseas Indian Affairs Minister
Vyalar Ravi with the Saudi Labour
Minister Adel Fakieh in Jeddah.
The first meeting of the group
will be held in Riyadh on 1 May 2013.
The Joint working group led by a
Saudi Deputy Minister and Indias
Deputy Chief of Mission in Saudi
Arabia will discuss and evolve
mechanism to address all immediate
problems facing the NRI community
including issues related to overstay-
ing Indian workers. The process of
recruitment of Indian workers would
be made more transparent. Saudi
Arabia is worlds top oil exporter. It
has more than nine million
expatriates. They provide important
revenue for countries including India,
Pakistan, Yemen and the Philippines.
What is Nitaqat Law What is Nitaqat Law What is Nitaqat Law What is Nitaqat Law What is Nitaqat Law
The Nitaqat law makes it
mandatory for local companies to hire
one Saudi national for every 10 mi-
grant workers. The new policy will
result in to denial of job opportuni-
ties for many Indians working there.
The Nitaqat aims to create more jobs
for Saudi citizens. It was enacted
following Arab Spring, which
happened mainly because of huge
unemployment in countries such as
Yemen and Egypt.
As per the Indian envoy to
Colombo Ashok K Kantha Indian
companies have invested nearly 1
billion dollars in Sri Lanka since
2003. The figure is supposed to rise
above 2 billion dollars in the next
five years. It is important here to
note that with investment inflows of
160 million Dollars in 2012, nearly 2
billion Dollars worth of FDI had
been committed by Indian
companies for the next five
years or so.
Some Points to be Known
In 2011-12, Indias imports from
Sri Lanka went up by almost 45
per cent to cross 720 million
dollars, making Sri Lanka the
largest source of merchandise
from the South Asian region for
India.
It was a big jump from the 45
million dollars imports in
2000-01, when Sri Lanka
occupied 4th rank as an
import source for India in the
region.
Sri Lankas exports to India
had multiplied by over 16
times in this period, while
Indias exports to Sri Lanka
had gone up by less than 7
times.
Basically the FTA had brought
significant benefits to both sides,
but more to Sri Lanka. In Last few
years a number of top Indian
companies had displayed high
interest in Sri Lanka, investing in the
country across sectors such as
infrastructure, manufac-
turing, services, and construction.
The Union Minister of
Commerce and Industry, Anand
Sharma during his two day visit to
Japan from 17 to 18 May 2013 sought
more market access for Indian
exporters in sectors like agriculture,
marine and pharmaceutical products
in Japan. During his visit to Japan,
Anand Sharma expressed concern
towards the mounting trade deficit,
with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio
Kishida in Tokyo.
It is projected that the Japanese
pharmaceutical market will touch 100
billion US dollar and in providing
affordable healthcare, the Indian
generics can play a key role in
providing affordable healthcare. In
2012-13 trade deficit of India with
Japan measured to 6 billion
dollar. The two day visit is targeted
towards a comprehensive review of
the bilateral economic engagement
with Japan. Anand Sharma apprised
Shinzo Abe about the successful
implementation of the Delhi Mumbai
Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project,
which was conceptualized during his
visit of to India in 2007. During his
meet with the Foreign Minister Fumio
Kishida expressed satisfaction on the
healthy growth of trade after the
signing of Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
between the two countries
A bilateral meeting between
Union Minister of Health & Family
Welfare, India, Ghulam Nabi Azad
and Minister of Health Switzerland,
Alain Berset, was con-
cluded on 20 May 2013 at Geneva.
The meeting was held on the
sidelines of World Health Assembly
at Geneva. The aim of the meeting
was to give further impetus to coop-
eration in the field of healthcare. In
the past, various bilateral institutional
arrangements between India and
Switzerland have been signed and
these include Indo-Swiss Joint
Commission, Swiss- India Chamber of
Commerce, Indo-Swiss Joint Commit-
tee on Science & technology and
many more. In the meeting, it was
decided that an MoU between the
two countries will be inked soon for
broadening the scope of bilateral ties.
The major areas of cooperation of that
MoU will be:
Non-Communicable Diseases
including controlling the
associated risk fac-
tors of tobacco use,
harmful alcohol use,
unhealthy diet, etc.
Communicable Diseases and
Anti- Microbial resistance
Universal Health Coverage
Maternal & Child health
Sexual & Reproductive Health
Health & Medical Research
Therapeutic Products
Electronic Medical Records
Global Health Governance
In the meeting, it was exuded
that Switzerland will extend full
support to India on global platforms
in order to carry forward the pursuits
of providing high quality generic
medicines at affordable prices.
The 17th Session of the India-
Iran Joint Commission was held in
Tehran on 4 May 2013. The Session
was co-chaired by Ali Akbar Salehi,
Foreign Minister of Islamic Republic
of Iran and by Salman Khurshid,
External Affairs Minister of India.
India and Iran discussed bilateral and
regional issues of mutual interest.
They discussed Indian participation
in Chahbahar Port project which will
provide connectivity with
Afghanistan and will give an impetus
to Afghanistans economic
development. They also discussed
the developing situation in
Afghanistan and agreed to remain in
regular contact.
The two sides also reiterated
the importance of greater connectiv-
ity between Russia, Central and South
Asia through the International North
South Transport Corridor(INSTC).
India and Iran reiterated importance
of enhancing cooperation in
expanding trade and banking
relations. The two sides agreed to
study the prospects of joint invest-
ment in both countries. The two sides,
while noting their capabilities in the
industrial sector, agreed to diversify
their cooperation in this regard. On
developments in Syria, the two
nations strongly expressed deep
concern on the continuing and
unabated violence and called upon
all sides in Syria to abjure violence
and resolve all issues peacefully
through discussions taking in to
account the aspirations of people of
Syria. In this regard, they supported
the Geneva Communiqu which
includes the 6-Point Plan of Kofi
Annan and welcomed the efforts of
Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
Salman Khurshid also inaugurated
the Indian Cultural Centre in Tehran
on 3 May 2013. During the visit, India
and Iran also signed the following
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoUs):
MOU between Institute of
Standards and Industrial
Research of Islamic Republic
of Iran (ISIRI) and Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS).
MOU between the Foreign
Service Institute, Ministry of
External Affairs, Republic of
India and School of
International Relations,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Islamic Republic of Iran.
MOU between the
Government of Republic of
India and the Government of
Islamic Republic of Iran on
cooperation in the field of
water resources management.
India and EU
The Chief negotiators met in
New Delhi from 15 May to 17 May
2013 for 14th round of negotiation
for India EU BTIA (Broad-based
Trade and Investment Agreement).
All issues on the table were
discussed. Negotiators felt that some
positive movements have been
accomplished though many critical
issues are still needed to be dis-
cussed further. Negotiators reiterated
their commitment for a balanced and
ambitious agreement. Negotiators on
both sides acknowledged that some
positive movements were accom-
plished, however many critical issues
still needed to be discussed further.
The negotiations included trade in
goods, sanitary and phyto-sanitary
measures and technical barriers to
trade, investment, trade in services,
intellectual property rights and geo-
graphical indications, competition
policy, customs and trade facilitation,
trade defence, government procure-
ment, dispute settlement and
sustainable development.
An MoU was signed between
Union Minister of Health & Family
Welfare India, Ghulam Nabi Azad
and Secretary of State for Health,
UK, Jeremy Richard Hunt on
cooperation in the field of health
sector on 19 May 2013 at Geneva
between the Government of India
and the Government of the United
Kingdom. The aim of the
agreement is promotion of wide-
ranging cooperation in the health
sector between the two countries.
The main areas identified for
cooperation in the MOU include:
Promoting exchange on
healthcare policy in India and
the UK;
Human resources for Health;
Regulatory issues;
Health technology
development:
Primary healthcare;
Strengthening of public
infrastructure and capacity;
Health security, including
cooperation on infectious
diseases, emerging infections
and drug resistance.
India, at present, is the strategic
partner to the UK and has been a
recipient of UKs bilateral assistance
in the form of grants since 1975. The
aid agency of the UK is Department
for International Development
(DFID).
Super Priority Visa Service for Super Priority Visa Service for Super Priority Visa Service for Super Priority Visa Service for Super Priority Visa Service for
Travellers from India Travellers from India Travellers from India Travellers from India Travellers from India
Britain on 12 May 2013 launched
super priority same-day visa service
for urgent travellers from India. Britain
has launched this kind of service
anywhere in the world. The super
priority visa service was announced
by British Prime Minister David
Cameron during his visit to India in
February 2013.
The Main points of new Visa The Main points of new Visa The Main points of new Visa The Main points of new Visa The Main points of new Visa
Service are as following: Service are as following: Service are as following: Service are as following: Service are as following:
For the first time, Indian
visitors will get the option of
a same-day visa to the UK.
This new service can be
particularly useful for
business.
The Super Priority Visa is an
optional service, which costs
an additional fee of 600 pounds
in addition to the standard fee
for the type of visa which was
applied for.
Applicants are required to
submit their applications after
completing an online form, by
appointment, before 9. 30 am.
If an application is successful,
the applicant can collect the
visa by 5.30 pm the same day
in New Delhi or by 6.30 pm the
same day in Mumbai.
The new service is available to
customers who applies for a six-
month or two-year multiple entry visit
visa (excluding student visitors) and
who have travelled before to the UK,
Australia, US, New Zealand, Canada
or a Schengen country within the last
five years. The service is also available
to visa applicants sponsored by
companies who are members of the
UKs Business Express Programme. As
per an estimate, India is considered
as the UKs biggest visa operation in
the world. It processes around
400000 applications each year and
most of the applications are approved
(97 percent of UK Business visit visas
and 86 percent of visit visas).
India and Netherlands on 14
May 2013 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on Technical Coop-
eration in the field of Spatial Planning,
Water Management, and Mobility
Management at Hague, Netherlands
during the visit of Kamal Nath, Minister
for Urban Development and Parlia-
mentary Affairs. The Memorandum of
Understanding will enable greater
cooperation in the areas of - Spatial
planning, urban and regional plan-
ning and development and
architecture; Water management in
terms of Water supply and sanitation
and governance structures; Transport
management and transport systems
and infrastructure; Energy-efficient
and sustainable built forms.
Under the MoU, a Joint Working
Group would be set up that would
prepare annual work programmes. It
was decided that the first seminar
under the MoU would take place in
June 2013 at Rotterdam to be
followed by another seminar in India
later in the year. During Kamal Naths
visis it was noted that the bilateral
trade between India and Nether-
lands is increasing at a brisk pace and
it was agreed that there is a need to
expand the trade basket to other
important areas such as Urban Devel-
opment.
Economy Economy Economy Economy Economy
Inflation Indexed Inflation Indexed Inflation Indexed Inflation Indexed Inflation Indexed
Bonds (IIBs) to be launched Bonds (IIBs) to be launched Bonds (IIBs) to be launched Bonds (IIBs) to be launched Bonds (IIBs) to be launched
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India)
decided to launch Inflation Indexed
Bonds (IIBs). The first tranche of the
IIBs 2013-2014 for 1000 to 2000
crore rupees will be issued on 4
June 2013. The maturity period of
these bonds will be 10 years. The
total issue size will be 12000 to
15000 crore rupees in 2013 to 14.
The RBI will do on monthly basis to
attract household savings of up to
15000 crore rupees so as to
discourage investments in gold.
After the first tranche, bonds
will be issued on the last Tuesday of
every month. While the first series of
the bonds will be open for all class of
investors, the second series issue -
Economy
beginning October - will be reserved
exclusively for retail investors.
WPI Inflation eased to 4.89 WPI Inflation eased to 4.89 WPI Inflation eased to 4.89 WPI Inflation eased to 4.89 WPI Inflation eased to 4.89
Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent
As per official data released on
14 May 2013, WPI Inflation eased to
4.89 percent in April 2013. Declining
price of food items, including fruits
and vegetables caused a three and a
half year low. Inflation based on the
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) stood
at 5.96 percent in March 2013. In
April, 2012, it was 7.50 percent. This
is the lowest level of inflation since
November, 2009 when it was 4.78
percent.
The major data are given as The major data are given as The major data are given as The major data are given as The major data are given as
following: following: following: following: following:
WPI inflation in the
manufactured items category
declined to 3.41 percent in
April from 4.07 percent in
March.
Also, inflation in food articles
category, which has a 14.34
percent share in the WPI
basket, came down to 6.08
percent. Inflation in this cat-
egory was at 8.73 percent in
March 2013.
The easing in food inflation
was helped by a sharp drop
in prices of vegetables.
Inflation in vegetables stood at
(-) 9.05 percent in
April 2013, against (-)0.95
percent in March 2013.
The inflation in fruits declined
to 0.71 percent during April
2013 as compared to 4.71
percent in March 2013.
However, the rate of price rise
in onion was high at 91.69
percent for the month of April,
as against inflation rate of
94.85 percent in the previous
month.
Inflation for February was
revised upwards to 7.28
percent from 6.84 percent as
per provisional estimates. The
retail inflation, as measured by
consumer price index, came
down to single digit at 9.39
percent in April after many
months, indicating
that inflationary ex-
pectation is on de-
clining trend.
Inflation in wheat eased to
13.89 percent in April, as
against 19.87 percent in the
previous month. Potatoes too
saw decline to (-)2.42 percent,
from 20.06 percent in March.
Inflation rate in rice and
cereals eased to 17.09 percent
and 15.63 percent,
respectively, in April 2013.
Pulses prices declined
marginally to 10.28 percent
during the month. While the
inflation rate in egg, meat and
fish category stood at 10.44
percent, for milk it was 4.04
percent. For the fuel and
number of APL families at the rate of
15 kg per family per month in 22
States/ UTs and at the rate of 35 kg
per family per month in 13 States/UTs
under TPDS since June 2011.
RBI directed Banks to follow RBI directed Banks to follow RBI directed Banks to follow RBI directed Banks to follow RBI directed Banks to follow
Clean Note Policy Clean Note Policy Clean Note Policy Clean Note Policy Clean Note Policy
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
directed banks to follow the Clean
Note Policy strictly and issue clean
currency notes to public. RBI issued
a notification that also asked the banks
to do away the process of stapling
the currency notes and to secure the
note packets with paper bands. In
its notification to the banks, the RBI
also directed to sort notes into re-
issuable and non-issuable notes and
to withdraw soiled notes from
circulation in the market. Banks have
also been asked to stop writing of any
kind on watermark window of bank
notes as it disfigures the watermark
impression and recognition becomes
difficult. As per RBI, on an average
20 percent of notes is disposed off
after getting soiled every year and in
the fiscal year 2012-13 that ended
on 31 March 2013 the number of such
soiled currency bills stood at over 13
billion units.
IMF approved 1.3 bn Dollars IMF approved 1.3 bn Dollars IMF approved 1.3 bn Dollars IMF approved 1.3 bn Dollars IMF approved 1.3 bn Dollars
loan for Cyprus loan for Cyprus loan for Cyprus loan for Cyprus loan for Cyprus
The International Monetary
Fund on 15 May 2013 approved a
three-year, 1.3 billion dollars loan for
supporting Cyprus attempts to
stabilize its financial sector and to
bring the Governments deficit under
control and restore economic
growth. The IMF loan to Cyprus is
power category, it was lower
at 8.84 percent in April as
compared to 10.18 percent in
March 2013.
CCEA approved the Same CCEA approved the Same CCEA approved the Same CCEA approved the Same CCEA approved the Same
Scale of Allocation to APL Scale of Allocation to APL Scale of Allocation to APL Scale of Allocation to APL Scale of Allocation to APL
Families Families Families Families Families
Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 16 May
2013 approved the continuation of
the same scale of allocation to APL
families during 2013-14 (at the rate
of 15-35 kg monthly per family) under
the Targeted Public Distribution Sys-
tem (TPDS). As on 1 April, 2013, the
total stocks of rice and wheat in the
Central Pool is 596.75 lakh tonnes
comprising 354.68 lakh tonnes of rice
and 242.07 lakh tonnes of wheat. The
procurement during the year is ex-
pected to be 401.3 lakh tonnes for
rice and 441.21 lakh tonnes for wheat.
Thus it is expected that there will be
sufficient stock of foodgrains in the
Central Pool.
The CCEA has accordingly
approved additional allocation of
41.89 lakh tonnes of wheat and 19.84
lakh tonnes of rice at APL issue prices
to States/Union Territories (UTs) for
ensuring a minimum allocation of 15
kg per APL family per month in 22
States/UTs and 35 kg per family per
month in 13 States/UTs. They are
Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura,
Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh,
Mizoram, Sikkim, Uttarakhand,
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Lakshdweep and Andaman
& Nicobar Islands. The Government
of India has been making allocation
of foodgrains to the accepted
basically a part of a rescue package
of 10 billion euros (12.9 billion dol-
lars) counterfeit in March 2013 with
the eurozones bailout fund. The
loan was approved by IMFs execu-
tive board which also includes an
immediate disbursement of 110.7
million dollars.
Counting the IMF
disbursement, Cyprus has received
about 2.7 billion dollars in the third
week of May 2013 from its interna-
tional lenders. The Luxembourg-
based European Stability Mechanism,
which is a eurozone bailout fund, on
13 May 2013, announced that it had
approved its first bailout tranche for
Cyprus and transferred an initial 2
billion euros (2.6 billion dollars). The
rest of the tranche up to 1 billion
euros will be transferred by 30
June 2013.
The loans approved by the
European Stability Mechanism help
to maintain financial stability in the
euro area and buy time for Cyprus. It
is important here to note that in the
eurozones long-running fiscal crisis,
Cyprus followed Greece, Ireland and
Portugal to become the fourth
eurozone country since 2010 to
agree to a full bailout.
Exports in India grew up by Exports in India grew up by Exports in India grew up by Exports in India grew up by Exports in India grew up by
1.6 percent in April 2013 1.6 percent in April 2013 1.6 percent in April 2013 1.6 percent in April 2013 1.6 percent in April 2013
Exports in the month of April
2013 recorded a growth of 1.6
percent and stood at 24.16 billion US
Dollar as against 23.7 billion US dollar
in April 2012.
The surge in gold imports
2013-14 set by the Union
Government is 325 billion US dollar.
CCEA approved Exchange CCEA approved Exchange CCEA approved Exchange CCEA approved Exchange CCEA approved Exchange
Trade Fund for PSU stocks Trade Fund for PSU stocks Trade Fund for PSU stocks Trade Fund for PSU stocks Trade Fund for PSU stocks
Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared
the government proposal to set up
an exchange traded fund backed by
a basket of PSU stocks, commonly
referred as CPSEETF. The basic idea
behind setting up of fund is that
among other benefits, PSU
divestments could be carried out in
a much less disturbing
manner for the market and
can also incentivize retail investors.
An empowered group of ministers
would take this forward. The
government plans to float such a fund
so that, The CPSEETF will comprise a
basket of shares of different PSUs
which would track an index, but will
trade like a stock on the exchange.
ICICI Securities is the adviser to the
ETF and Goldman Sachs is learnt to
be the fund manager. The release
on CPSEETF noted that each stock
would have a fixed weightage in the
basket and the ETF will give discount
to investors. It is important here to
note that the Selling a mutual fund at
a discount to its NAV is a new concept
in the Indian market, and would
require some rule change by the
market regulator SEBI.
Stronger Powers proposed to Stronger Powers proposed to Stronger Powers proposed to Stronger Powers proposed to Stronger Powers proposed to
SEBI for tackling Ponzi SEBI for tackling Ponzi SEBI for tackling Ponzi SEBI for tackling Ponzi SEBI for tackling Ponzi
Schemes Schemes Schemes Schemes Schemes
The Union Government in
Month of May 2013 has proposed
Stronger Powers to (Securities and
Exchange Board of India) SEBI
enabling it to carry out search and
seizure operations and for attachment
pushed the trade deficits to 17.7
billion US dollar.
This is the fourth consecutive
month that exports have witnessed
growth. Imports of gold and silver in
April 2013 doubled by 138 percent
to 7.5 billion US dollar from 3.1 billion
US dollar in April 2012. The
merchandize imports rose by 10.9
percent to 41.95 billion US dollar
bringing up the trade deficit by more
than 72 percent from March.
Widening of trade deficit attributed
to the high gold imports. The
targeted exports for the current fiscal
of assets. With this a Special power
has also been proposed to SEBI with
which it can seek information on
telephone call data records, from any
persons or entities in respect to any
securities transaction being exam-
ined by it.
It is worth mentioning here that
Proposals to make required amend-
ments in the SEBI Act and other
relevant regulations have been
finalised after detailed consultations
with the market regulator and are
being presented before the Union
Cabinet for its approval.
A Cabinet note in this regard has
also been circulated by the
Department of Economic Affairs to
other departments in the Finance
Ministry, as also to the Corporate
Affairs, Home, Law and Telecom min-
istries, Reserve Bank of India, Planning
Commission and Prime Ministers Of-
fice for their comments and feedback
on the proposals. The Government is
planning to introduce the Securities
Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013 in
Parliament to carry out the proposed
changes for grant of stronger powers
to SEBI. The Government has come
up with the decision of accepting
most of the proposals made by SEBI
in this regard and the amendments
would be carried out after the Cabi-
net approves them and the required
amendment Bill is passed by
Parliament.
What is Ponzi Schemes?
A Ponzi scheme is basically a
fraudulent investment operation that
pays returns to its investors from their
own money or the money paid by
plan projects under Indian Institute
of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur and
All India Coordinated Research
Project on Chickpea. In past three
years, thirteen types of high yielding
varieties of chickpeas have been
released in India.
Creation of basic and strategic
research for development of location
specific climate supporting high
yielding chickpea varieties and
improved production and protection
following investors, rather than from
profit earned by the individual or
organization running the operation.
The Ponzi scheme generally tempts
new investors by offering higher
returns than other investments, in the
form of short-term returns that are
either abnormally high or unusually
consistent.
India is the largest Producer India is the largest Producer India is the largest Producer India is the largest Producer India is the largest Producer
and Consumer of Chickpeas in and Consumer of Chickpeas in and Consumer of Chickpeas in and Consumer of Chickpeas in and Consumer of Chickpeas in
Worl d Worl d Worl d Worl d Worl d
Food & Agriculture
Organization (FAO) in its latest report
for 2011 claimed that India is the
largest consumer and producer of
Chickpeas in the world. The second
advance estimates for 2012-13
marked a record production of
Chickpea is 8567.8 thousand
tonnes. Production details of
Chickpeas in India as compared to
the World Chickpea producing
nation:
Country Country Country Country Country Production (000 tonnes) Production (000 tonnes) Production (000 tonnes) Production (000 tonnes) Production (000 tonnes)
India 8221.10
Australia 513.34
Myanmar 466. 74
Turkey 487. 48
Ethiopia 322. 84
Systematic and concentrated
research on Chickpeas is undertaken
by Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) through its on-going
technologies are the major steps
included in the research program.
Several Crop development schemes
like Food Security Mission (NFSM-
Pulses), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
(RKVY) and others are implemented
by the Government of India in order
to increase the production and pro-
ductivity of Pulses including
Chickpeas. Special Plan to achieve
more than 19 million tonnes of pulse
production during 2012-13 has also
been initiated.
BSE launched broad-based BSE launched broad-based BSE launched broad-based BSE launched broad-based BSE launched broad-based
Islamic Equity Index Islamic Equity Index Islamic Equity Index Islamic Equity Index Islamic Equity Index
The Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) on 30 April 2013 launched an
Islamic equity index based on the
wide-measure S&P BSE 500 index.
It will provide a new benchmark for
Islamic investors in one of the worlds
largest stock exchanges. The new
index includes the largest 500
companies in the BSE, out of more
than 5000 listed. These companies
fulfill Islamic finance principles such
as bans on investing in alcohol,
tobacco and gambling-related busi-
nesses.
The BSE had launched the
countrys first Islamic index in 2010
after tracking the 50 largest and most
liquid stocks. Indias Islamic banking
industry has made slow progress
because banking rules need lenders
to declare the rates of interest they
charge customers. This condition it
at odds with Islamic banks which
base their products on profit rates
instead. In this regard to satisfy the
needs of Muslims in India, the industry
is trying to develop investment
products.
SC upheld 51 Percent FDI in SC upheld 51 Percent FDI in SC upheld 51 Percent FDI in SC upheld 51 Percent FDI in SC upheld 51 Percent FDI in
Multi-brand Retail Multi-brand Retail Multi-brand Retail Multi-brand Retail Multi-brand Retail
The Supreme Court of India on
1 May 2013 upheld the constitutional
validity of Governments decision al-
lowing 51 percent foreign direct
Investment in the multi-brand retail
sector.
A bench of Justices R M Lodha,
Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph
gave the ruling. The bench observed
that there was no harm in giving the
policy a chance. It saw merit in the
policy that it would eliminate
middlemen and help provide farmers
a better price for their produce. It
dismissed the petition filed against
the 51 percent FDI in multi-brand
retail. As per the court, the policy will
affect the lives of only 13.3% of the
countrys population living in 53
cities.
CCEA approved Proposal to CCEA approved Proposal to CCEA approved Proposal to CCEA approved Proposal to CCEA approved Proposal to
set-up 2 Major Ports set-up 2 Major Ports set-up 2 Major Ports set-up 2 Major Ports set-up 2 Major Ports
Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 9 May
2013 approved the proposal of the
Ministry of Shipping for setting up of
two major ports in the country. The
two ports will be set up through a
Public Private Partnership Mode in
West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh
each. As per the proposal approved
the port will be developed at Sagar
Island in West Bengal after obtaining
environmental clearances and
following exact procedures for
development of the project. The
cabinet also agreed for appointment
of the transaction advisers and legal
consultants and finalization of the
project structure in consultation
with the State Government of West
Bengal and the Planning
Commission. In case of Andhra
Pradesh, the Cabinet identified
Dugarajapatnam location for
development of the port and looked
forward to find out the techno-eco-
nomic feasibility report for
commissioning of the port.
Benefits of setting-up the Benefits of setting-up the Benefits of setting-up the Benefits of setting-up the Benefits of setting-up the
two Ports two Ports two Ports two Ports two Ports Sagar Port in West Sagar Port in West Sagar Port in West Sagar Port in West Sagar Port in West
Bengal : Bengal : Bengal : Bengal : Bengal : At present Kolkata has
facilities of two ports namely Kolkata
Docks at Kolkata and Haldia Dock
Complex at Haldia. Both these ports
being reverine face limitations of
draught due to the morphological
changes (change in river platform) in
Hooghly because of siltation.
Development of Sagar Port will
provide a deep draught port for
handling the large size vessels by
doing away the heavy maintenance
dredging activity.
Port of Andhra Pradesh: Port of Andhra Pradesh: Port of Andhra Pradesh: Port of Andhra Pradesh: Port of Andhra Pradesh: It
will facilitate the economic
development of Andhra Pradesh as
the rapid industrialization across
Visakhapatnam Port has created a
necessity of a new port in the state.
21 New Textile Parks 21 New Textile Parks 21 New Textile Parks 21 New Textile Parks 21 New Textile Parks
The Union Minister for
Commerce, Industry and Textiles,
Anand Sharma on 23 April 2013,
launched 21 New Textile Parks
approved under Scheme for
Integrated Textile Parks (SITP). With
the launch of these new textile
parks, the total number of parks
reaches 61 because 40 parks were
already sanctioned.
The Scheme for Integrated The Scheme for Integrated The Scheme for Integrated The Scheme for Integrated The Scheme for Integrated
Textiles Parks (SITP) Textiles Parks (SITP) Textiles Parks (SITP) Textiles Parks (SITP) Textiles Parks (SITP)
The Scheme for Integrated
Textiles Parks (SITP) plays a
vital and instrumental role in
the development of wide
range of models for green field
clusters from a 1000 acre FDI
driven integrated cluster, to a
100 acre powerloom cluster
and a 20 acre handloom
cluster.
Under this scheme, a total
number of 61 parks have been
sanctioned. 40 projects out of
these began in 11th Five Year
Plan and another 21 projects
are scheduled to be
implemented in 12th Five Year
Plan.
Out of these 21 parks, six are
in Maharashtra, four in
Rajasthan, two each in Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and
one each in Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal, Tripura, Karnataka,
Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and
Jammu & Kashmir.
Out of 40 parks which were
sanctioned earlier under this
scheme, 25 Textile Parks are
operational already.
Most of the parks under this
will be completed during 2013-
14 financial year.
The estimated employment
generation is more than 10
lakh people with total
estimated investment of 27562
crore Rupees.
It is important to note that in
2013-14 Union Budget, the
Union Finance Minister had
announced an additional
amount of up to 10 crore
Rupees per park for
establishment of the apparel
manufacturing units for the
projects under the SITP
scheme.
On the occasion of launch,
Anand Sharma also released a
coffee table book on SITPs. This
coffee table book encapsulates the
broad features of various ITPs set up
all over India. The book gives an
insight into the physical and pictorial
status of each ongoing Park approved
under SITP.
RBI imposed Restrictions on RBI imposed Restrictions on RBI imposed Restrictions on RBI imposed Restrictions on RBI imposed Restrictions on
Gold Import by Banks Gold Import by Banks Gold Import by Banks Gold Import by Banks Gold Import by Banks
The RBI on 12 May 2013
imposed restrictions on gold import
by banks in order to moderate the
demand of gold for domestic use.
The RBI decided to restrict the
import of gold on consignment basis
by banks, only to meet the genuine
needs of exporters of gold jewellery.
The RBI stated that the decision is
based on the recommendations of
the Working Group on Gold that had
suggested aligning gold import
regulations with the rest of the
imports for creating a level playing
field between gold imports and other
imports. The restrictions have come
into effect immediately.
325-billion Dollars 325-billion Dollars 325-billion Dollars 325-billion Dollars 325-billion Dollars
Export Target Set for 2013-14 Export Target Set for 2013-14 Export Target Set for 2013-14 Export Target Set for 2013-14 Export Target Set for 2013-14
The Union Government
announced an export target of 325
billion dollars for the current
financial year 2013-14 to support the
slowdown in the global markets. It is
due to the global slowdown in
developed regions like that of US
and Europe, the exports of India
went down for the first time in three
years with a dip of 1.8 per cent to
300.6 billion Dollars in 2012-13,
making the trade deficit to a record
high level of 191 billion dollars. It is
important here to note that, the
Government had set an export target
of 360-billion dollars for the financial
year 2012-13. According to the
provisional figures, export
registered an increase of 0.8 per
cent for the month of January 2013
after a permanent fall during May,
June, July, August, September,
October, November and December
2012.
Foodgrains Output for 2013 Foodgrains Output for 2013 Foodgrains Output for 2013 Foodgrains Output for 2013 Foodgrains Output for 2013
Exceeded its Target Exceeded its Target Exceeded its Target Exceeded its Target Exceeded its Target
The Union Government of
India on 3 May 2013 revised the
production estimates of the
foodgrains upwards by 5.22 million
tonnes for 2012-13, over earlier
expectation of 254.24 million tonnes
due to the higher output of wheat,
rice and coarse cereals. With this
revision the total cereal output esti-
mation has gone up to 255.36 million
tonnes. The wheat and rice
production pegged at 93.62 million
tonnes and 104.22 million tonnes
respectively. The earlier estimate set
for the foodgrains for the year was
254.24 million tonnes. The third
advance estimate that was officially
released on 3 May 2013 estimated
that the total foodgrain production
for the year will be lower by 3.96
million tonnes from the previous year
2011-12 ecord production of 259.24
million tonnes. As the total output for
wheat and rice in 2011-12 were 94.98
million tonnes and 105.31 million
tonnes respectively. While for 2012-
13 it is estimated to be 93.62 million
tonnes and 104.22 million tonnes re-
spectively.
States that Lacked in Production
Due to Environmental Issues
Delayed monsoon and drought
in different parts of states like
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and
Rajasthan had an impact on the
production of pulses and coarse
cereal during Kharif season.
Backward Region Grant Fund Backward Region Grant Fund Backward Region Grant Fund Backward Region Grant Fund Backward Region Grant Fund
Entitlement for Uttar Pradesh Entitlement for Uttar Pradesh Entitlement for Uttar Pradesh Entitlement for Uttar Pradesh Entitlement for Uttar Pradesh
Hi ked Hi ked Hi ked Hi ked Hi ked
on 15 May 2013 announced
increment in the Backward Region
Grant Fund (BRGF), entitled to Uttar
Pradesh. The fund has gone up to
818.17 crore rupees for 2013-14 from
initial 667 crore rupees. To release
the funds for Uttar Pradesh, the Union
Ministry of Panchayati Raj has directed
the state Government to submit its
annual plan by 25 June 2013. 35
districts of Uttar Pradesh are entitled
for the BRGF Scheme. In 2012-13,
Uttar Pradesh failed to get its share of
BRGF grants as the Government
ordered a probe into the alleged
irregularities that was committed
during the Mayawati regime and it
stopped the work which was being
carried on in the BRGF beneficiary
districts.
IMG approved 10% Equity IMG approved 10% Equity IMG approved 10% Equity IMG approved 10% Equity IMG approved 10% Equity
Sale in Coal India Limited Sale in Coal India Limited Sale in Coal India Limited Sale in Coal India Limited Sale in Coal India Limited
An Inter-Ministerial Group
(IMG) on 10 May 2013 approved 10
percent equity sale of Coal India
Limited. This equity sale is likely to
fetch, about 17000 crore rupees to
the Union Government. Union
Governments holds over 90 percent
stake in Coal India at present. The
Inter-Ministerial Group was headed
by Ravi Mathur, the Disinvestment
Secretary and it is guiding the
process of disinvestment of
Governments Equity in CIL. The CIL
with a cash balance of 60000 crore
rupees is the biggest disinvestment
for the Government in the current
fiscal year 2013-14 and Union
Government is in the plan to
generate 40000 crore rupees with
sales of PSUs stakes in the current
fiscal.
SEBI approved Keralas Start- SEBI approved Keralas Start- SEBI approved Keralas Start- SEBI approved Keralas Start- SEBI approved Keralas Start-
up Village Angel Fund of 10 up Village Angel Fund of 10 up Village Angel Fund of 10 up Village Angel Fund of 10 up Village Angel Fund of 10
million Dollars million Dollars million Dollars million Dollars million Dollars
Market regulator SEBI in May
2013 had approved an angel fund of
10 million Dollars to address the
problem of resource crisis for start-
up companies across the country.
The fund could go up to 20 million
dollars with an over-allotment
option that would focus on telecom
and internet firms. The Fund is
supposed to start investing once the
initial close of 2 million Dollars is
achieved. Consultancy KPMG is the
advisor and ILFS is trustee of the fund
based at Start-up Village which is the
countrys first telecom incubator.
About Village Angel Fund
The angel fund will be
investing not only in the most
promising start-ups located in
Start-up Village but also in
similar enterprises across the
country.
Infosys co-founder and Start-
up Village chief mentor Kris
Gopalakrishnan, MobME, the
country s first campus
telecom start-up, Ravi Pillai,
founder of the.16000-crore
Rupees Bahrain-based RP
Group and other leading angel
investors in India will be part of
the fund.
The Village angel fund will act
like a shot in the arm for Start-
up Village, which would
become the first incubator in
India to have its own in-house
fund.
The fund will help the internet-
telecom incubator to get the
most conducive ecosystem
for product start-ups.
NSE Launched NSE Launched NSE Launched NSE Launched NSE Launched
Debt Trading Platform Debt Trading Platform Debt Trading Platform Debt Trading Platform Debt Trading Platform
National Stock Exchange, the
Leading bourse on 11 May 2013
launched the countrys first
dedicated debt trading platform.
The new Platform launched is
awaiting the market regulator SEBIs
guidelines for allowing participation
of mutual funds, insurance compa-
nies and pension funds. NSE had
recently received approval from SEBI
to launch the debt segment.
Function of the Debt Trading
Platform
The debt trading platform is
supposed to provide retail
investors an opportunity to
invest in corporate bonds on a
liquid and transparent
exchange platform.
Banks and primary dealers are
the first to enter and they will
provide enough liquidity in the
debt segment.
The mutual funds, in-
surance companies and
pension funds are also
expected to participate after
guidelines for the same are is-
sued.
The Debt Trading exchange
platform is an innovation, which has
been launched after intensive
feedback from market participants.
It is similar to RBIs NDS-OM, where
Government securities are traded on
a transparent platform
Indias Services Growth hit 18-
month low
As per the survey undertake by
HSBC, in the month of May 2013,
Indias services sector grew at its
slowest pace in one and half years
during the month of April 2013 as
costs for raw materials, petrol and
labour increased considerably. It is
important here to note that the pace
of hiring by private sector companies
was also slowest in seven months, as
per a monthly HSBC India survey of
services sector managers.
Highlights of the Report
The HSBC India Composite
Output Index fell to 50.5 in
April from 51.4 in March.
The latest reading indicated
that activity increased
marginally and at the slowest
pace since October 2011.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC
Business Activity Index
declined to 50.7 in April from
51.4 in the previous month.
Input prices saw further
increase in April 2013 the
trend continued for the 49th
consecutive month and
cost of raw material, petrol
and labour were higher, HSBC
noted.
The rates of increase in average
selling prices were slower at
both manufacturers and service
providers.
Despite the fact that new
businesses placed at services
and manufacturing firms in
India increased last month, the
rates of expansion eased.
The manufacturers cited
power cuts while service
providers mentioned extreme
weather and challenging
market conditions for such a
trend.
Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology
Science & Technology
Bacteria can help Bacteria can help Bacteria can help Bacteria can help Bacteria can help
Farmers Use less Potash Farmers Use less Potash Farmers Use less Potash Farmers Use less Potash Farmers Use less Potash
Potash is one of the major
nutrients required by all crops. There
is no such source in India and the
entire requirement of potassic
fertilizer is met by imports and
distributed to farmers at subsidised
price eroding both the foreign
exchange reserve and revenue.
Import
During the year 2011-12 India
imported about 38 lakh tonnes of
potassic fertilizers for supplying to
farmers. One can imagine the
kg of Muriate of Potash which costs
Rs. 5,450. But to our advantage Indian
soils are naturally rich in potassium
and there is a potash mobilizing bac-
terium to mobilize this native
potassium for plant absorption.
Potassium in soil exists in different
forms but the crop can absorb what
is present in soil solution only.
US Scientists Created frist US Scientists Created frist US Scientists Created frist US Scientists Created frist US Scientists Created frist
Cloned Human Embryo Cloned Human Embryo Cloned Human Embryo Cloned Human Embryo Cloned Human Embryo
A group of US Scientists in
second week of May 2013 declared
that they have succeeded in creating
a cloned human embryo using the
technique that helped in developing
the cloned sheep in 1996. The
scientists took fifteen years to create
the cloned embryo. The team of
spending by the Government apart
from the expenditure to the farmers.
Usually about 50-60 kg of potassium
is recommended for a hectare of rice.
Crops like sugarcane, banana, potato
and tapioca require more potassium.
As much as 200 kg of potassium is
recommended per hectare of sugar-
cane. To supply this quantity of
potassium, farmers have to apply 330
scientists developed the embryo
using skin samples of a womans egg
to develop an early cloned human
embryo. Aim of this research is
development of a source of stem
cells not a baby. These can be helpful
in repair of damage created after
heart attack or brains of patients of
Parkinsons disease. Somatic Cell
Nuclear transfer technique was used
in development of the embryo and it
is the same technique that was used
for developing the Ship Dolly, the first
cloned animal in 1996.
Hydrogen Hydrogen Hydrogen Hydrogen Hydrogen
Sensor for Greater Safety Sensor for Greater Safety Sensor for Greater Safety Sensor for Greater Safety Sensor for Greater Safety
The use of liquid sodium as a
coolant in fast breeder reactors has
been made safer, thanks to a sensor
electrochemical hydrogen meter
developed by scientists at the
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic
Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, off
Chennai. The sensor has been thor-
oughly tested at IGCAR; it was also
tested at the Phenix fast breeder re-
actor in France. It was first tested in
Phenix in 2009 for one year, said T.
Gnanasekaran, Raja Ramanna Fellow
at the Chemistry Group, IGCAR. Now
another sensor has been installed a
few days ago in one of the experi-
mental sodium loops in Cadarache,
France. Liquid sodium metal, not wa-
ter, is used for extracting heat from
the extremely hot core (where
nuclear fission takes place) of a
breeder reactor. Aside from other
properties, liquid sodium has
excellent heat transfer properties
compared with water. The liquid
metal at about 550 degree C trans-
fers the heat to water in the
secondary circuit to generate steam;
the steam eventually runs the turbine.
Any large-scale mixing of sodium and
steam should be prevented as it can
lead to explosive events. The
pressure on the sodium side is low (1
bar) as the liquid sodium is at an
operating temperature of 550 degree
C, well below the 883 degree C
boiling point. However, at about 160
bar, the pressure on the steam side is
very high. But all that separates
sodium and steam is a thin (4-5 mm)
ferretic steel tube through which
steam flows. There is a possibility,
even if remote, of tube failure. Steam,
which is at a higher pressure than
sodium, tends to leak into the coolant
when the tube develops a leak. On
reaction with sodium, hydrogen and
sodium hydroxide are formed.
Sodium hydroxide, which is a caustic
material, further aggravates the
problem. Due to its low melting point,
sodium hydroxide turns into a molten
material at the site of the crack caus-
ing further corrosion of the tube.
Continuous monitoring for any steam
leak even at its inception is therefore
extremely important, he pointed out.
Since the operating temperature of
sodium is high, hydrogen and other
reaction products get dissolved in it.
Hence the presence of dissolved hy-
drogen in sodium is continuously
monitored to detect the initiation of
a leak. If undetected at the micro
and small leak stages, steam leaks can
develop into a large leak and lead to
explosive events, Dr. Gnanasekaran
pointed out.
Peptide-based Delivery Peptide-based Delivery Peptide-based Delivery Peptide-based Delivery Peptide-based Delivery
Platforms to cure Cancer Platforms to cure Cancer Platforms to cure Cancer Platforms to cure Cancer Platforms to cure Cancer
Scientists at CSIR-Centre for
Cellular and Molecular Biology
(CCMB) invented peptide-based
delivery platforms for targeting
tumours. This can be helpful in curing
Cancer. The scientists developed this
platform by using bacterial fermen-
tation to bind DNA or small interfering
RNA (siRNA) or short hairpin RNA
(shRNA) and delivering them into
cells to target tumours.
Given that DNA, siRNA and
shRNA are negatively-charged, they
need carriers like recombinant
proteins. The benefit of DNA or siRNA
is that they help in silencing the
targeted genes. For example, if the
TF gene involved in new blood
vessel formation is silenced, the
tumour will degenerate. At CCMB,
the scientists developed chimeric
peptide by fusing three peptide
modules to deliver DNA or shRNA for
degenerating tumours. Chimeric
proteins with varied functional
properties can be obtained from any
organism or a virus and produced in
bacterial factories using standard
practices of recombinant DNA
method. The advantage of using
chimeric proteins is that they could
be changed to target different
tumours. Scientists are making efforts
to evolve peptide-based platform
technology with other homing ligands
recognising different targets.
A New Type of Wheat A New Type of Wheat A New Type of Wheat A New Type of Wheat A New Type of Wheat
developed to Increase developed to Increase developed to Increase developed to Increase developed to Increase
Productivity Productivity Productivity Productivity Productivity
British scientists developed a
new type of wheat which could
increase productivity by 30 percent.
The last 15 years have registered little
growth in the average wheat harvest
from each acre in Britain. The
Cambridge-based National Institute
of Agricultural Botany combined an
ancient ancestor of wheat with a
modern variety to produce a new
strain.
The scientists used cross-
pollination and seed embryo transfer
technology to transfer some of the
resistance of the ancient ancestor of
wheat into modern British varieties.
The resulting crop turned out to be
bigger and stronger than the current
modern wheat varieties. Scientists
will carry out more tests before it is
harvested by farmers. This Scientific
development ensures that the global
food security demands of the next
five decades can be met.
Camera with Camera with Camera with Camera with Camera with
Compound eye-like Lenses Compound eye-like Lenses Compound eye-like Lenses Compound eye-like Lenses Compound eye-like Lenses
A digital camera that has a lens
that very closely mimics the
compound eye of arthropods in all
respects wide-angle field of view
of nearly 160 degrees, low aberration,
high sharpness of vision, and infinite
depth of field has been
developed by a team of scientists led
by Young Min Song from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, U.S. A paper on the
invention is published today (May 2)
i n Nature. Compound eyes of
arthropods are by default
hemispherical and have multiple
lenses; hence any camera lens that
intends to mimic them should have
the same shape and multiple lenses.
Digital cameras available today have
a planar sensor with a single lens. The
biggest challenge the scientists faced
was in developing such a
hemispherical sensor that has
multiple microlenses.
They took advantage of the
recent developments in stretchable
electronics to achieve this. Elastic
microlenses that could be blown into
a dome-shaped structure are formed
from a moulded piece of rubber. An
array of 16 by 16 microlenses is found
in a small square area of nearly 15 mm
by 15 mm. According to the authors,
of the 256 microlenses present, only
180 form the working components
of the camera. Each convex
microlens is connected to the base
layer by means of a supporting post.
This makes a microlens to appear like
a dome on top of a pillar. A
perforated black matrix covers the
interspaces between the
microlenses to prevent any stray light
from entering the imaging system.
A black flexible silicon base
layer has photodetectors that are
arranged in such a manner that they
match the microlenses. The two layers
one containing the lenses and the
other containing the photodetectors
are then bonded in such a manner
that the photodiodes are at the focal
position of the lenses. The bonding
is done at the points where the lenses
overlie the photodetectors. Since
both layers are made of stretchable
material and are bonded at the
correct points, they can be elastically
changed from a flat shape, in which
they are fabricated, to a dome-
shaped structure when it becomes a
part of the camera. The dome-shaped
structure of the lens mimics a
compound eye. The authors stress
that changing the shape from planar
to hemisphere neither changes the
optical alignment nor the optical and
electrical.
The Tibetan Plateau and the The Tibetan Plateau and the The Tibetan Plateau and the The Tibetan Plateau and the The Tibetan Plateau and the
Indian Monsoon Indian Monsoon Indian Monsoon Indian Monsoon Indian Monsoon
The Plateau heating correlated
with monsoon rainfall but only in early
and late season. To what extent does
the Tibetan plateau influence the
south-west monsoon? Some 130 years
ago, Sir H.F. Blanford, Chief Reporter
of the newly-established India Me-
teorological Department (IMD), no-
ticed that more Himalayan snow cover
during the preceding winter
presaged a poor monsoon. On that
basis, IMD began issuing the first
monsoon forecasts from 1882. But
monsoon prediction was not so eas-
ily done and remains a difficult
problem to this day.
Years later, the established view
came to be that the Himalayas acted
on the monsoon in two ways. The
Tibetan plateau, heated up during
summer and thereby established an
atmospheric circulation that was
conducive for the monsoon.
The vast mountain range also
acted as a tall barrier, preventing cold,
dry air in the northern latitudes from
entering the subcontinent and
subduing the warm, moisture-laden
winds from the oceans that drive the
monsoon.
In a paper published in the
journal Nature in 2010, William Boos
and Zhiming Kuang of Harvard
University in the U.S argued that the
Himalayas role as a barrier was the
crucial factor for the monsoon.
Using a general circulation
model that simulated what happened
in the atmosphere, they found that
even if the Tibetan plateau did not
exist, the monsoon would be
unaffected provided the Himalayas
and adjacent mountain ranges were
there to prevent intrusion of northern
air. That belt of low pressure sucked
in moisture from the oceans, thus
initiating the monsoon. The heating
of the Tibetan plateau correlated well
with rainfall over India from May 20
to June 15 when the monsoon was
setting in. But then the correlation
disappeared only to reappear again
for rainfall between September 1 and
October 15 when the monsoon was
tailing off. We dont have a very good
answer yet about how the Tibetan
plateau could be influencing the late
stage of the monsoon, he said.
In an earlier paper, he and Dr.
Molnar had noted that swings in the
temperature of the tropical Pacific
Oceans surface waters near the in-
ternational dateline, known as the El
Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO),
also strongly influenced rainfall over
central India and its west coast during
the early and late phases of the
monsoon. With the Tibetan heating
and ENSO acting independently of
each other, the two factors taken
together could have predictive value
for rainfall in the monsoons early and
late phases.
IISC designed a New Concept IISC designed a New Concept IISC designed a New Concept IISC designed a New Concept IISC designed a New Concept
of Vaccine Delivery System of Vaccine Delivery System of Vaccine Delivery System of Vaccine Delivery System of Vaccine Delivery System
The Indian Institute of Science
(IISc) designed and successfully
tested a new concept of needleless
vaccine delivery system in the
laboratory. IISc has become the only
organization in the world that has
developed such a device. The new
device was the result of collaboration
among the laboratory for hypersonic
and shock wave, the department of
aerospace engineering, and the
microbiology and cell biology de-
partment of the Indian Institute of
Science.
Typhoid vaccine was
successfully delivered into mice in
laboratory using the new technique.
The device utilizes the instantaneous
mechanical impulse produced by
micro-blast waves to achieve delivery
of vaccines into mice.
A negligible amount of
chemical energy is used to generate
the micro-blast wave inside a small
disposable plastic tube. Since the
depth of penetration of drug below
the skin is not much, animals do not
feel the pain during vaccine delivery.
The trials on animals have proved that
by using this device a lesser quantity
of vaccines is sufficient to provide
resistance to animals against in com-
parison to conventional methods. The
new system is safe, economical and
painless.
Making more out of Pedal Making more out of Pedal Making more out of Pedal Making more out of Pedal Making more out of Pedal
Power Power Power Power Power
Nine out of every 20 households
in India still use bicycles (Census
2011). This offers a great potential to
tap vast amount of energy from these
cycles. Atom, a lightweight bicycle
generator, can power your mobile,
lights or any electronic device via
USB. It comes with a detachable
rechargeable battery pack, meaning
the stored energy can be used
whenever and wherever you need it.
The Atom is designed to charge
phones at 2.5 W at 14.5 km per hour,
initiating the charging at 5 kmph with
0.75 W. The rate of power generation
is dependent on speed, but weve
designed the Atom to be fully
functioning at moderate speeds. At
this speed, devices charge at the
same rate as if they were plugged into
a computer, and conforms to USB 2.0
standards, said Aaron Latzke, CTO
of Siva Cycle and the brain behind
the design of this device. That charge
rate equates to 1 per cent for every 2
minutes on the cycle for a 1440 mAh
battery, the likes of which powers an
iPhone 5. For batteries with lesser
capacity, it would therefore charge
faster.
Citrus Greening a Citrus Greening a Citrus Greening a Citrus Greening a Citrus Greening a
Deadly Fruit Disease Deadly Fruit Disease Deadly Fruit Disease Deadly Fruit Disease Deadly Fruit Disease
Citrus greening disease is an
important disease of citrus which
greatly affects the production of the
fruits in several parts of India.
Characteristic symptoms include
yellowing of leaf veins and adjacent
tissues, followed by premature
defoliation, dieback of twigs, decay
of feeder rootlets and lateral roots.
Infected fruits are small, lopsided
with bitter taste. Such fruits may fall
prematurely; while those that remain
on the tree do not colour properly,
remaining green on the shaded side.
Management
Routinely scout citrus for signs
of greening so that infected trees can
be removed. Scouting should be
done at least four times a year, or more
in areas known to have infected trees.
October through March is the best
time for scouting, but symptoms can
be present at other times of the year.
For effective management remove
infected trees.
This is the only way to ensure
that they wont remain a source of
infection for other trees. Pruning
symptomatic limbs is often ineffec-
tive since other parts of the tree may
be infected, but do not show
symptoms. Before removing, the tree
should be sprayed with a foliar
insecticide to kill any psyllids in order
using disease-free nursery trees,
reducing infection sources
(inoculum) by frequent surveys and
diseased tree removal, and
suppressing Asian citrus psyllid
through area-wide management
Foliar spray
Spray foliar insecticide prior to
tree removal. Increase frequency of
scouting in areas where infected
trees have been removed. The
complex of natural enemies attacking
ACP around the world usually
includes various species of
ladybeetles, syrphid flies, lacewings,
spiders.
Use soil-applied systemic
insecticides on young trees. Foliar
sprays of fenpropathrin (Danitol 2.4
EC), chlorpyrifos (Lorsban 4EC),
petroleum oil (2 per cent rate).
Worlds First Gun Made From Worlds First Gun Made From Worlds First Gun Made From Worlds First Gun Made From Worlds First Gun Made From
3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology
The first gun of the world made
out of 3D printer technology was
fired successfully in US. Defense
Distributed created this firearm and
the form also planned to make these
blueprints available online. Defense
Distributed spent a year for creation
of this firearm, which was fired suc-
cessfully on 4 May 2013 at firing range
south of Austin, Texas.
The anti-gun campaigners
criticised this project, while the law
enforcement of Europe is monitoring
the developments of this project.
Victoria Baines of cybercrime
centre of Europol explained that the
criminals at present were likely to
pursue the established routes for ob-
taining these firemans, but with the
passage of time, the 3D printer tech-
nology would become more user-
friendly as well as cost-effective,
thereby posing risks. Cody Wilson,
25, a student of the University of
Texas is the head of Defense Distrib-
uted. 3D printing has successfully
been called the future of
manufacturing.
to keep them from moving on once
the tree is removed. Focus Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) efforts on
Working of the Working of the Working of the Working of the Working of the
3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology 3D Printer Technology
The 3D printer technology
works by building layer upon layer of
the material, which is basically plastic.
This is done in order to build the com-
plex and solid objects. This
technology is cheaper and instead of
buying the goods from markets, the
consumers will be able to download
its designs. Then these can be printed
out at the home itself.
However, like all technologies,
there are advantages as well as
disadvantages. The first gun of the
world made out of 3D printer
technology cost 8000 US dollar from
eBay. The gun was assembled from
different printed components which
were made out of ABS plastic. The
firing pin was made out of metal.
Cody Wilson was fiven the
manufacturing as well as sellers
license from US Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF) in order to make this gun. US
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
official Donna Sellers explained that
the gun was legal in US as long as it
wasnt a National Firearms Act
weapon. 3D printing technology
was used in the past by certain
criminal organisations for creation of
card readers skimmers, which are
inserted in the bank machines. Law
enforcement agencies across the
world have professionals for
monitoring cybercrimes.
New Less Expensi ve Techni que New Less Expensi ve Techni que New Less Expensi ve Techni que New Less Expensi ve Techni que New Less Expensi ve Techni que
of Creati ng 3D Images of Creati ng 3D Images of Creati ng 3D Images of Creati ng 3D Images of Creati ng 3D Images
Scientists at University of
Glasgows School of Physics and
Astronomy discovered a new less ex-
pensive technique of creating 3D
images. They created a system
which makes use of the detectors that
have single pixel for sensing the light
instead of various pixels used in
imaging sensors found in digital
cameras.
The detectors have the
capability of judging the frequencies
beyond visible light, which in turn
would help in various new applica-
tions for 3D imaging in geography
and medicine. The scientists
explained that the single pixel
detectors will cost just a few pounds
in comparison to present systems
which amount to thousands of
pounds. The scientists believe that
the ability of this system to sense the
wavelengths beyond digital cameras
capabilities, as well as its low cost
would result in making it a valuable
tool for various industries.
Possible applications include
use in medical industry for finding
tumours. Prof Miles Padgett, the lead
researcher of the team at University
of Glasgows School of Physics and
Astronomy explained that single
pixel detectors in four locations can
be used for detecting the light from
data projector, which elucidates
objects with the sequence of black-
and-white patterns. 3D images were
created with the combination of
images from four detectors while
making use of a technique known as
shape from shade. The 3D compu-
tational imaging, also known as ghost
imaging produces the detailed
images of the objects in merely a few
seconds. Conventional 3D imaging
systems make use of multiple digital
camera sensors for producing 3D
image from 2D information. However,
there is a need of careful calibration
for making sure that multi-megapixel
images align properly. The digital
camera sensors have restricted
sensitivity beyond spectrum of light,
where single pixel detector can be
used for capturing information
beyond visible reaching wavelengths
from the X-ray to TeraHertz.
First Global Model developed First Global Model developed First Global Model developed First Global Model developed First Global Model developed
to analyse the Routes of to analyse the Routes of to analyse the Routes of to analyse the Routes of to analyse the Routes of
Marine Species Marine Species Marine Species Marine Species Marine Species
Scientists developed the first
global model that analyses the routes
taken by marine invasive species.
They examined the movements of
cargo ships across the world to detect
the hot spots where these aquatic
aliens could thrive. Marine species
wreak havoc in new locations causing
the extinction of natives.
A well-documented boom has
been observed in global shipping
over the last 20 years and this has
resulted into growing numbers of
species moving via ballast tanks. The
ports such as San Francisco and
Chesapeake Bay have informed about
several exotic new species arriving
every year. Economic data indicates
that marine invaders can have effects
that last for decades. Therefore, sci-
entists came out with a model that
can curb these marine species. They
procured detailed logs from nearly
three million voyages that happened
in 2007 and 2008.
Hytholamus the Mechanism Hytholamus the Mechanism Hytholamus the Mechanism Hytholamus the Mechanism Hytholamus the Mechanism
Responsible for Ageing Responsible for Ageing Responsible for Ageing Responsible for Ageing Responsible for Ageing
The US team of scientists found
the mechanism in the hypothalamus-
which is located deep inside the
brain- and showed that it is
responsible for the ageing process.
Scientists carried out a series of
experiments to find that they could
extend the lives of mice by a fifth,
without the problems such as animals
suffering from muscle weakness,
bone loss or memory problems asso-
ciated with old age. Scientists
discovered that a chemical called NF-
kB became more active in the
hypothalamus of mice as they
reached old age. When they blocked
NF-kB, mice lived up to 1100 days,
compared with 600 to 1000 days in
normal condition. But all the mice
died within 900 days, when NF-kB
was given to them in abundance.
Further experiment showed that NF-
kB reduced levels of a hormone called
GnRH, which plays a key role in fertil-
amino acid (A477V) in one
pigmentation relate gene (SLC45A2)
is the cause of white fur or sepia
brown stripes in some tigers.
The scientists studied 16
captive white tigers from three
different parents to come up with the
conclusion. As per the scientists, two
types of melanin namely
pheomelanin and eumelanin are
used for identifying the color of fur,
eye and stripes of the tiger. In case of
the white tigers, pheomelanin that
produces red and yellow color is
affected. As per the research, the
point mutation in the amino acid
blocks a particular channel partially;
as a result of this blockage yellow
pigment forming process is affected.
Same type of mutation in
pigmentation-related gene
(SLC45A2) causes light skin colour
in modern Europeans as well as
mouse, chicken and horse too.
As per the study, human often
force the tigers to inbreed for
increasing the number of white tigers
in zoos. This type of forced
inbreeding may create some health
side effects in the tigers as it has been
a reason of health ailments in humans.
In tigers this forced inbreeding has
resulted in human-induced
inbreeding has resulted in premature
death, stillbirth and deformities.
White tigers are a part of the genetic
diversity of the tigers, which is caused
due to mutation and are worth
conserving. The findings of the
research was published in Thursday
in the Current Biology journal. The
study was conducted under the
leadership of Shu Jin Lau of Peking
University.
Robo-Fly Robo-Fly Robo-Fly Robo-Fly Robo-Fly
US Scientists at the Harvard
University created a robot of the size
of fly which can perform fast
manoeuvres of omnipresent insects.
The robot called Robo-Fly is built
from the carbon fibre which weighs
just a fraction of the gram and also
ity and the development of sperm
and eggs. When the mice were given
daily dose of GnRH, it resulted into
fresh neurons growing in their brains.
Tiny Movie at Molecular Level Tiny Movie at Molecular Level Tiny Movie at Molecular Level Tiny Movie at Molecular Level Tiny Movie at Molecular Level
Scientists have taken the idea
of a film short down to new levels.
Molecular levels. IBM says it has made
the tiniest stop-motion movie ever, a
one-minute video of individual
carbon monoxide molecules
repeatedly rearranged to show a boy
dancing, throwing a ball and
bouncing on a trampoline. Each
frame measures 45 by 25 nanometres.
There are 25 million nanometres in
an inch but hugely magnified, the
movie (http-//bit.ly/17ZmHIt ) is remi-
niscent of early video games,
particularly when the boy bounces
the ball off the side of the frame
accompanied by simple music and
sound effects. The movie is titled A
Boy and His Atom. Videos showing
atoms in motion have been seen
before but Andreas Heinrich, IBMs
principal scientist for the project,
said Tuesday this is the first time
anything so small has been
manoeuvred to tell a story. This movie
is a fun way to share the atomic-scale
world, Heinrich said. The reason we
made this was not to convey a
scientific message directly, but to
engage with students, to prompt
them to ask questions.
Scientists Solved the Mystery Scientists Solved the Mystery Scientists Solved the Mystery Scientists Solved the Mystery Scientists Solved the Mystery
behind Bengal White Tigers behind Bengal White Tigers behind Bengal White Tigers behind Bengal White Tigers behind Bengal White Tigers
Scientists from Peking
University, Beijing in May 2013
discovered that a change in single
has super-fast electronic muscles that
are used to power the wings. The
developers of the robot described
that the tiny robots like these could
be used in various rescue operations.
For example, such a kind of the robot
could be used for navigating through
the tiny spaces in buildings which
have collapsed.
Dr Kevin Ma of Harvard
University as well as his team which
was led by Dr Robert Wood
described their creation as the
worlds smallest flying robot. The fly-
like agility that this robot
encompasses, allows it to evade the
fastest human efforts to swat them.
This ability came because of precise
wing movements. The robot has the
ability to perform immediate evasive
manoeuvres as well as hover, by
constant adjustment of the effect of
lift and thrust which acts on the body
at extremely high speed. Like any real
fly, the flexible and thin wings of the
robot can beat around 120 times per
second.
This high speed of the wings
can be achieved with the help of a
special substance known as
piezoelectric material. This material
contracts each time with the
application of the voltage to it. The
scientists switched on and off the
voltage very rapidly and this helped
them in making the material behave
like tiny muscles which make the flys
wings beat very fast. The scientists
explained that the primary goal of this
research was not to build the useful
robot, but understand the flight
working of the insects. However,
now, with the development of the
robot, there could be various uses of
the machine. These robots could also
be used for the monitoring of the
environment by being dispersed into
habitat for sensing trace chemicals or
certain other factors. Dr Ma also ex-
plained that these robots were able
to behave like the real insects and
could also help in pollination of
crops. At present, the model of
robo-fly is small, off-board power
source. However, in the next step, it
would be created as the completely
wireless flying robot.
Mars Rover Studied about Mars Rover Studied about Mars Rover Studied about Mars Rover Studied about Mars Rover Studied about
Rock Esperance Weathered Rock Esperance Weathered Rock Esperance Weathered Rock Esperance Weathered Rock Esperance Weathered
by Water by Water by Water by Water by Water
Mars Rover, Opportunity of Opportunity of Opportunity of Opportunity of Opportunity of
NASA NASA NASA NASA NASA in the third week of May 2013
completed examining the fractured
rocks on Mars, the red planet those
were altered by water. The rover was
searching for the evidences of the
wet ancient environment that
possibly favoured the life of the
planet. Now the Opportunity has
been driven towards a new study area
after finishing 20 months on the
dubbed Cape York Cape York Cape York Cape York Cape York location. The
scientists from NASA gave several
weeks to study and get the
measurement of the fractured rock
named Esperance Esperance Esperance Esperance Esperance, which was
important for them from many
aspects. Esperance was spotted by
the team of NASA, while exploring a
portion of Cape York, where the
Compact Reconnaissance
Spectrometer for Mars on NASAs
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
detected the clay mineral. After
studying the area, the rover team
found an outcrop called Whitewater
Lake that has a small amount of clay
altered due to its exposure to clay.
IBM Released Worlds IBM Released Worlds IBM Released Worlds IBM Released Worlds IBM Released Worlds
Smallest Stop Motion Film Smallest Stop Motion Film Smallest Stop Motion Film Smallest Stop Motion Film Smallest Stop Motion Film
Called a Boy and His Atom Called a Boy and His Atom Called a Boy and His Atom Called a Boy and His Atom Called a Boy and His Atom
The IBM scientists on 1 May
2013 released the smallest movie of
the world called A Boy and His A Boy and His A Boy and His A Boy and His A Boy and His
Atom Atom Atom Atom Atom. The movie tracks movement
of the atoms which are magnified 100
million times. The movie, A Boy A Boy A Boy A Boy A Boy
and His Atom and His Atom and His Atom and His Atom and His Atom, is a story of the
character called Atom who in turn
befriends the single atom and then
follows him on journey of bouncing
and dancing which helps in
explaining the science behind the
data storage. A scientist at IBM
Research, Andreas Heinrich
explained that positioning, shaping
and capturing the atoms in order to
create the original motion picture on
atomic level was completely first-of-
its-kind and precise science. The
movie is actually a fun-filled way of
sharing the atomic-scale world.
New species of New species of New species of New species of New species of
Dragonfly in Goa Dragonfly in Goa Dragonfly in Goa Dragonfly in Goa Dragonfly in Goa
Researchers in the Month of May
2013 discovered a new species of
dragonfly from a wildlife sanctuary in
Goa. The new species was spotted
at Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife sanc-
tuary at Collem in south Goa by
researchers Parag Rangnekar and
Rohan Naik in collaboration with Dr K
A Subramanian, the scientist with
Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.
The species is scientifically named
as (Idionyx Gomantakensis) (Idionyx Gomantakensis) (Idionyx Gomantakensis) (Idionyx Gomantakensis) (Idionyx Gomantakensis), and
is restricted to evergreen forest. As
per the researchers, most of the
species of this genus are known from
South India, while Goa has two. It is
important here to note that, the re-
search was conducted under the
banner of Mineral Foundation of Goa
and supported by the Department of
Science and Technology, Govern-
ment of Goa. The government wild
be conducting focused surveys
could result in discovery of more
species from the state.
Some Points to Remember about
Dragonfly
Dragonflies and Damselflies
belong to the Order Odonata.
This group of insects is
dependent on water for
completion of their life-cycle
and hence the quality of water
defines the species
composition.
The group was an excellent
indicator of the health of a
water body and can be
effectively used in bio-
monitoring.
Bilateral Mastectomy is not a Bilateral Mastectomy is not a Bilateral Mastectomy is not a Bilateral Mastectomy is not a Bilateral Mastectomy is not a
Foolproof Method Foolproof Method Foolproof Method Foolproof Method Foolproof Method
The link between harbouring
deleterious mutations in BRCA1 and
BRCA2 genes and the risk to breast
cancer and ovarian cancer, is not ab-
solute. This means if 100 ladies have
the same deleterious mutation, only
50-80 of them would develop breast
cancers during their life time and 30-
50 would develop ovarian cancers.
This indicates that 20-50 of these
women may not develop the breast
cancer during their life time. This is
proof that other factors modulate the
risk of developing the breast cancer
these could be genes, the
environment and lifestyle related. At
this point in time, we do not know all
the risk factors. It is true that we still
do not know a lot about cancer.
However, as in any science we are
learning and the newer technologies
are helping to this end. About 10 per
cent of breast cancer cases are
hereditary in nature. Of the 10 per
cent, BRCA1 and BRCA2 would
account for 20-30 per cent. Hence
there are other genes which could
be involved but not at the same level
of penetration as these two genes.
These intermediate risk genes are
now being included to widen the
scope of detection. We also need to
know which other genes increase or
decrease the risk of BRCA-associated
breast cancers. Newer technologies
with properly designed studies can
help provide these answers.
There are several options with
regard to preventative measures for
reducing the risk in those carrying the
deleterious mutation. First, bilateral
mastectomy (removal of both breasts)
helps but is not a foolproof method.
Normal breast tissue extends over a
wide region and potential for some
tissue being left behind is possible.
Second, removal of both the fallopian
tubes and ovaries (bilateral
salphingo-oopherectomy) can be
done in women who have completed
their family and are menstruating. This
removes the risk of cancers arising in
the ovaries (and fallopian tubes). In
addition, by removing the ovaries, the
major source of oestrogens that can
induce the malignant change in the
breast is eliminated. Studies have
shown that this approach can reduce
the risk of development of breast
cancer by nearly 50 per cent. Third,
drugs can be used to reduce the
breast cancer risk.
Tamoxifen has been used in the
past but has major side effects
including the development of
uterine cancer and clotting in blood
vessels. Trials have been undertaken
to evaluate drugs that can reduce the
risk. Finally, lifestyle modifications can
cut the risk. A healthy balanced diet
consisting of plenty of fruits and
vegetables, reducing dietary fat
content, avoiding red meat, avoiding
junk food, minimising fried food,
regular exercise (minimum 45
minutes of brisk walk every day),
practising yoga especially pranayams
and cutting body mass index (BMI)
to less than 25 would help. Mrs.
Angelina Jolie opted for bilateral
mastectomy; it was her decision.
Individuals who have seen their loved
ones suffer and die due to cancer are
more likely to choose this option. It is
essential to understand our
limitations, and at the same time not
belittle the scientific advances which
have saved lives. Predictive gene
testing refers to testing a woman who
has not developed breast cancer but
whose first- or second-degree
relatives have cancer and have been
found to carry a deleterious mutation
in BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Predictive
testing should never be done if we
do not have a strategy to reduce the
risk of development of cancer.
Fortunately, preventative strategies
and early detection approaches are
available in the case of hereditary
breast and ovarian cancers. These
tests are indeed expensive. But
without being patronising, I would
like to mention that Cancer Institute,
Chennai provides these tests free of
cost to eligible patients.
Worlds Smallest Droplets Worlds Smallest Droplets Worlds Smallest Droplets Worlds Smallest Droplets Worlds Smallest Droplets
Scientists from Switzerland
created the smallest drops of liquid
ever made in the lab. Scientists
carried out a series of experiments at
the Large Hadron Collider, the
worlds largest and most powerful
particle collider located at the
European Laboratory for Nuclear and
Particle Physics (CERN) in
Switzerland. Evidence of the tiny
droplets was obtained following the
collision of protons with lead ions at
velocities approaching the speed of
light.
These short-lived droplets are
the size of three to five protons-that
is about one-100000th the size of a
hydrogen atom or one-100000000th
the size of a virus according to
scientific calculation. These small
droplets flow in a same manner as
quark-gluon plasma does. It can be
defined as a state of matter that is a
mixture of the sub-atomic particles
that constitutes protons and neutrons
and only found at extreme tempera-
tures and densities. Scientists
proposed that the whole universe
once consisted of this strongly
interacting elixir for fractions of a
second after the Big Bang when con-
ditions were dramatically hotter and
denser than todays conditions.
First Smart RFID-Enabled First Smart RFID-Enabled First Smart RFID-Enabled First Smart RFID-Enabled First Smart RFID-Enabled
Paper Paper Paper Paper Paper
The scientists at the North
Dakota State University developed a
process called Laser Enabled
Advanced Packaging (Leap) which
can help embed the radio frequency
identification (RFID) chips on the
paper. This process is cheaper and
faster as well as it offers a range of
applications than the present
method. This technique is useful for
preventing fraudulent practices. It
also gives a new meaning to paper
trail. In this process, lasers are used
to transfer as well as assemble the
chips on the paper. The paper would
thus be called a smart paper, which
in turn can be used for various
purposes such as smart labels,
banknotes, tickets and legal
documents.
These findings would be
presented at Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers
conference on RFID in Orlando,
Florida. There are already some RFID-
enabled papers in the market but
chip are thicker, which leads to either
bumpy surface or bulky paper. This
means that such a paper would not
be printed.
The chips are at first, thinned
by the plasma etcher. The technology
is yet to be patented. It makes use of
the laser beams energy in order to
transfer the ultra-thin chips precisely.
Antennas are embedded by making
use of the same method. Prof Val
Marinov, the Head of the project
explained that this process was twice
faster than the present method of
manufacturing. It is also cheaper
because of less material used.
Therefore, there is an extensive po-
tential for this technology. Prof Val
Marinov also explained that the
European bank and Bank of Japan
had hinted towards their intention for
development of this technology, but
they did not go for it. Therefore, the
technology developed by the US
scientists is the first one which dem-
onstrates the functional RFID tag
embedded in paper. The team that
developed the technology is now
looking for the commercial partners
of this technology.
What is RFID?
RFID is expanded as Radio-
frequency identification. RFID is
primarily the wireless non-contact
application of the radio-frequency
electromagnetic fields for transferring
data. It is used for automatic
identification as well as tracking the
tags which are attached to the
objects. The tags are encompassed
with electronically stored information.
Some of these tags are powered as
well as read at the short ranges
through the electromagnetic induc-
tion or magnetic fields. Other tags
make use of the local power source
like battery, but they collect the
energy from interrogating EM field.
New Keyboard New Keyboard New Keyboard New Keyboard New Keyboard
Called KALQ to Beat QWERTY Called KALQ to Beat QWERTY Called KALQ to Beat QWERTY Called KALQ to Beat QWERTY Called KALQ to Beat QWERTY
Researchers at St Andrews, the
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
in Germany and Montana Tech in the
US created a keyboard layout, said
to be great for the touchscreen
devices like smartphones and tablets.
The new keyboard, researchers
claimed, can make thumb-typing
faster and easier. Dr Per Ola
Kristensson of the St Andrews
University explained that the typical
QWERTY keyboard trapped its users
in suboptimal text entry interfaces.
New design of the keyboard is called
KALQ, in order of its keys on one
line. The creators of this keyboard
made use of the computational
optimisation techniques in order to
identify the best performance.
The virtual keyboard was
created in alliance. This keyboard
would be accessible to the users free
of cost for the Android-based
devices.
The research team explained
that two-thumb typing becomes very
different ergonomically in
comparison to the typing on physical
QWERTY keyboards. QWERTY
keyboards in turn were developed
in late 19th century by the
typewriters. The researchers
claimed that any normal user making
use of the QWERTY keyboard on any
touchscreen device could type just
20 words per minute, which is way
too low than the normal physical
keyboards available with the
computers.
Researchers explained that a
process by which optimization of a
keyboard for two thumbs could be
done, was by minimizing the long
typing sequences which involved the
use of single thumb only.
It was additionally imperative
that the letter keys which were used
frequently should be placed
alongside in order to reduce the
typing time. Optimal layout involved
reducing the moving time of thumbs
as well as enabling the typing on
alternating sides of touchscreen
device.
In the new keyboard, all vowels
were placed in area which was
assigned to right thumb, while the left
thumb had more keys. With error-
correction algorithm, the users who
were trained could reach 37 words
in a minute. KALQ provided better
performance to users. The new
keyword work of the researchers will
now be presented at CHI 2013
conference (the ACM Conference on
Human Factors in Computing
Systems) in Paris on 1 May 2013.
Using Gold Using Gold Using Gold Using Gold Using Gold
Nanoparticles for Drug Nanoparticles for Drug Nanoparticles for Drug Nanoparticles for Drug Nanoparticles for Drug
Del i very Del i very Del i very Del i very Del i very
Using bio-resources, scientists
from the Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, have
synthesised eco-friendly gold
nanoparticles which could be used
as carriers for delivering anti-cancer
drugs and also for diagnosing the
disease. Developed from leaf
extracts, the biocompatible
nanoparticles have shown promising
results and inhibited cancer cells pro-
liferation in lung and breast cancer
cell lines. In the first instance, they
have used leaves of Bhringaraj
(Eclipta alba ), a herbal plant. While
gold nanoparticles could be
developed by chemical methods, the
inherent problem in that approach
was of toxicity. But here we are
using a green chemistry approach. It
is environmental-friendly because the
solvent we are using is water. It is a
simple, clean, efficient and low-cost
method, said Dr. Chittaranjan Patra,
Scientist, Ramanujan Fellow, IICT.
Explaining the importance of using
gold, he said it has been used from
time immemorial.
We have a long history of using
gold as a medicinal agent in
Ayurveda. More than 1,000 years ago
it was used as a nanoparticle
( swarnabhasma ). At that time,
there were no sophisticated
instruments and that is why people
did not know that it was a gold
nanoparticle, he observed. He said
the gold nanoparticle was bio-com-
patible, easy to synthesise and
multiple cancer drugs could be
loaded. It could reduce the toxicity
of the anti-cancer drug, increase its
efficacy and ensure better retention
of the drug in the blood system.
When conjugated with gold
nanoparticle, the anti-cancer drug
could stay for more time in the tumour
and enhance the therapeutic
efficacy, he added.
Carbon Aerogel Carbon Aerogel Carbon Aerogel Carbon Aerogel Carbon Aerogel
Zhejiang University in China in
May 2013 announced that the team
of scientists produced an ultra-light
substance known as carbon aerogel,
which has the density of 0.16
milligrams per cubic centimeters.
The scientists claimed that this
was the lightest material ever
produced by anyone. The carbon
aerogel is made of granite as well as
the carbon nanotubes which can
absorb around 900 times its own
body weight. The lead scientist,
Professor Gao Chao explained that
carbon aerogel was structure-wise,
just like carbon sponge. When the
aerogel with the size of a mug was
put on Setaria, then even the grass
would not bend. Professor Gao
Chao also explained that the carbon
aerogel can provide effective
solutions to major problems like
cleaning oil spills as well as pollution
control.
What are Aerogels?
Aerogels are primarily
produced by extraction of liquid
component of the gel through
supercritical drying. This enables
liquid to slowly dry off without having
an impact on solid matrix. This means
that the solid matrix in gel does not
collapse from the capillary action,
which would take place with
conventional evaporation. First
aerogels were manufactured from the
silica gels. Samuel Stephens Kistler
in 1931 produced aerogels based on
tin dioxide, chromia and alumina. First
carbon aerogels were developed in
late 1980s.
Quantum Quantum Quantum Quantum Quantum
Biology Mimicked in Lab Biology Mimicked in Lab Biology Mimicked in Lab Biology Mimicked in Lab Biology Mimicked in Lab
For the first time scientists have
engineered a series of molecules that
show quantum effects similar to that
observed in the light-harvesting
complexes. Greg Engels groups in
University of Chicago have been able
to both understand as well as mimic
the efficient mechanism of light
transfer happening in plants. Aside
from other benefits, this would lead
to the production of artificial energy-
transfer devices which could use the
mechanism efficiently.
Photosynthetic antennae are
arrays of proteins and chlorophyll
which transfer absorbed light energy
to the reaction centres where light
energy is converted to chemical
energy. This enhances the efficiency
of light transfer compared to the pro-
cess when light is absorbed directly
by the reaction centres themselves.
The secret of the efficiency of the
transfer process lies in quantum elec-
tronic coherence that stretches over
some femto seconds (a femto
second is a millionth of a billionth
of a second). When there is
coherence, energy from the incoming
photon can simultaneously explore
every possible cholorophyll route
from the proteins surface to the
reaction centre at its core and then
settle for the shortest route. Compare
this with the time and energy wasted
if the photon had to sequentially try
out every path before reaching the
reaction centre. Thus the efficiency
of the process is increased manifold.
The researchers have
engineered a series of molecules that
show quantum effects similar to that
observed in the light-harvesting
complexes. Biological light-
harvesting systems are so complex
that they obscure the design
principles involved. However, the
model systems engineered by the
group are simpler yet manage to
capture the physics involved,
according to the report published on
April 18 in Science Express. The
main actor in this is a dye-like material
called fluorescein. The researchers
modified fluorescein and linked parts
of these together rigidly to form a
series of compounds. The resulting
molecules were able to mimic the
behaviour of light-harvesting centres
in plants that use photosynthesis,
especially the coherences which
persists for over tens of femto
seconds.
Bi o-i nspi red Bi o-i nspi red Bi o-i nspi red Bi o-i nspi red Bi o-i nspi red
Peptides for Gene Delivery Peptides for Gene Delivery Peptides for Gene Delivery Peptides for Gene Delivery Peptides for Gene Delivery
Seeking to overcome the
problem of suitable delivery
mechanism for gene therapy,
scientists at CSIR-Centre for Cellular
and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have
designed peptide-based delivery
platforms for tumour targeting which
holds the potential for cancer
treatment. The scientists have
developed recombinant peptides
through bacterial fermentation to
bind DNA or small interfering RNA
(siRNA) or short hairpin RNA (shRNA)
and deliver them into cells to target
tumours. Since DNA, siRNA and
shRNA are negatively-charged, they
require carriers like recombinant
proteins, said Dr. Vijaya Gopal, senior
principal scientist, who along with her
colleagues designed novel peptide-
based carriers to ferry biological mac-
romolecules into cancer cells.
Lack of suitable delivery
platforms is impeding progress in
gene therapy, she says. While
stressing that the main concerns in
gene therapy are toxicity and safety,
she points out that peptide and lipid-
based polymers are two main types
of non-viral carriers. Although the
suppression of tumours in animal
studies has been successful, further
investigations are essential to validate
the efficacy in preclinical situation,
she adds.
Focus Areas
One of the focus areas in the
future will be to design peptide-
based modules to target brain
tumours by crossing the blood-brain
barrier. According to CCMB Director,
Dr. Ch. Mohan Rao, complete
understanding of the physiochemical
properties of nanoparticles as delivery
systems, including peptides, is
essential to improve clinical
usefulness. Targeted drug delivery
would be less toxic as it attacks only
the diseased cells and spares the
normal cells, he says. Drugs may be
packaged into small particles made
from biodegradable synthetic
polymers or designed peptides.
Scientists at CCMB are attempting to
study and develop such systems. In
addition to delivering RNAi and DNA,
we are also investigating such systems
for cancer treatment and conditional-
release systems for ophthalmic appli-
cations, he notes. The future of
medicine is likely to depend on tar-
geted and controlled delivery of
therapeutic molecules which will
make the drug more effective with
minimal or no side effects, he says.
LEDs Disrupt Sleep LEDs Disrupt Sleep LEDs Disrupt Sleep LEDs Disrupt Sleep LEDs Disrupt Sleep
In the frenetic, coffee-fuelled
lives of today, too many people are
not getting enough sleep. Modern
light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used in
energy-efficient lighting as well as
television and computer screens,
laptops, tablets and various handheld
devices, are adding to the problem,
according to an article appearing
today (May 23) in Nature. Lack of
sleep takes its toll. The cumulative
effects of sleep loss and sleep
disorders have been associated with
a wide range of deleterious health
consequences including an
increased risk of hypertension,
diabetes, obesity, depression, heart
attack and stroke, noted a 2006
report from the U.S. Institute of
Medicine.
The electric light has had a
powerful impact on the bodys clock,
known as the circadian rhythm. And
light affects our circadian rhythms
more powerfully than any drug, re-
marked Charles A. Czeisler in his
perspective article
i n Natures Outlook feature on
sleep. He is a sleep specialist with
Harvard Medical School and Brigham
and Womens Hospital at Boston in
the U.S. Apart from rods and cones
needed for vision, the eyes retina also
contains intrinsically photosensitive
retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs).
These light-sensitive cells help
synchronise the bodys circadian
rhythm to the natural day and night
cycle.
When artificial light strikes those
cells, the body gets misled and
responds by promoting wakefulness
and inhibiting sleep. Consequently,
many people are still checking e-
mail, doing homework or watching
TV at midnight, with hardly a clue that
it is the middle of the solar night,
observed Dr. Czeisler.
Technology has effectively
decoupled us from the natural 24-
hour day to which our bodies evolved,
driving us to go to bed later. And we
use caffeine in the morning to rise as
early as we ever did, putting the
squeeze on sleep. White light
emitted by LEDs was typically rich in
blue light.
This mattered because ipRGCs
were most sensitive to blue and blue-
green light. So night-time exposure
to LEDs was typically more disrup-
tive to circadian rhythms and sleep
than the old incandescent light bulbs.
Since solid-state light fixtures could
carry multicoloured LEDs, it would be
relatively easy to control their light
intensity and colour composition.
The adverse effects of night-time
light on sleep and circadian rhythms
can be reduced by replacing blue-
enriched light with red- or orange-
enriched white light after sunset, he
suggested. In addition, it is critical
to establish a regular bedtime and
wake time, said Dr. Czeisler in an
email. The interval between those two
times must allow a person to catch
enough sleep. An average adult
needed eight hours of sleep.
Children needed more sleep. A
typical high school student would
need more than nine hours in bed.
Children become hyperactive
rather than sleepy when they dont
get enough sleep, and have difficulty
focusing attention, so sleep
deficiency may be mistaken for
attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), an increasingly
common condition now diagnosed
in 19 per cent of U.S. boys of high-
school age, he pointed out in the
article.
Focus on Focus on Focus on Focus on Focus on
Plant Proteins to Feed Billions Plant Proteins to Feed Billions Plant Proteins to Feed Billions Plant Proteins to Feed Billions Plant Proteins to Feed Billions
Growing food sustainably to
feed a growing global population will
require improving the way staple
crops take in and transport
substances, says a group of a dozen
scientists from six countries. As it was,
some two billion people in the world
were suffering dietary deficiencies
that had an enormous impact on their
health, noted Julian Schroeder of the
University of California at San Diego
in the U.S. and his colleagues in a
Perspective article appearing today
(May 2) in Nature .
During the next four decades,
an expected additional two billion
humans would require nutritious
food. Global demand for food is
predicted to increase by 40 per cent
by 2030. Innovative solutions are
required to increase production on
the land currently used for
agriculture, because we are already
close to the sustainable limit of 15 per
cent of the Earths surface that can
be exploited for crop production.
Utilising the biology of a class of plant
proteins known as membrane
transporters could be a key
contributor to the goal of global food
security, they said. These proteins,
embedded within membranes of
cells, could improve the efficiency
with which plants took up and used
water and nutrients. The transporters
were also central to mechanisms for
drought tolerance in plants as well as
their ability to grow in other adverse
conditions, such as in saline or acidic
soils.
Salt Tolerance Salt Tolerance Salt Tolerance Salt Tolerance Salt Tolerance
The HKT family of transporters,
for instance, moves sodium and
potassium, and plays an essential part
in salt tolerance. In the course of
fundamental research using the
plant Arabidopsis thaliana , Prof.
Schroeders lab discovered the
genes for these proteins and their
mechanism for improving salt
resistance.
Recently, agricultural scientists
in Australia, led by co-author Rana
Munns, used marker-assisted
breeding to move members of this
gene family from a wild, salt-tolerant
wheat species to a commercial vari-
ety, boosting the latters yield by 25
per cent in field trials. Aluminium
tolerance genes are also very
promising for enhancing yields in
acidic soils, said Prof. Schroeder in
an email. Such soils, with low crop
yields, were widely distributed in
sub-tropical and tropical regions of
the world where developing nations
are located. Many millions of people
in the world suffered from iron and
zinc deficiencies because their
plant-based diets are not a sufficiently
rich source of these essential ele-
ments, the scientists observed in
their paper.
Boosting Iron Content
To fortify rice with more iron,
scientists had turned on key
transporter genes in the plants seeds.
These genes are usually expressed
in the root so that the plant could take
in nutrients from the soil. The result
was a greenhouse-grown rice with
three- to four-fold higher levels of
iron in polished grain. In a similar fash-
ion, zinc content of cereal grains
could be increased, according to
Dale Sanders, director of the John
Innes Centre in the U.K. and another
co-author. His team had demon-
strated this with barley. We are also
in the early stages of research to in-
crease iron and zinc content in
wheat, he added in an email.
Fertiliser Reduction
Targeting appropriate
membrane transporters could
increase the efficiency with which
plants took up phosphorus and
nitrogen. The amount of phosphate
and nitrate fertilisers used for
cultivation could then be substantially
reduced. This is an important goal
for sustainable high-yielding
agriculture, remarked Prof.
Schroeder in his email. However,
more basic research was needed into
the fundamental mechanisms
operating in plants.
Raw Horse Raw Horse Raw Horse Raw Horse Raw Horse
Gram Good for Diabetics Gram Good for Diabetics Gram Good for Diabetics Gram Good for Diabetics Gram Good for Diabetics
With dietary practices
increasingly linked to lifestyle
diseases, here is some news to cheer
about for diabetics. Scientists from
the Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology have found that
unprocessed raw horse gram seeds
not only possess anti-hyperglycemic
properties but also have qualities
which reduce insulin resistance. The
scientists made a comparative analysis
between horse gram seeds and their
sprouts and found that the seeds
would have greater beneficial effects
on the health of hyperglycemic
individuals. Dr. Ashok Kumar Tiwari,
Principal Scientist and lead author of
the study said increased
consumption of highly processed
foods was contributing to spiked
levels of blood glucose and lipid
levels. He said South Asians consume
more carbohydrates, and the
introduction of polished white rice
has contributed to increased levels
of blood sugar among them. Quoting
an earlier study carried out at IICT,
he said it was noticed that brown rice
or pounded rice was less glycemic
than polished rice. He said that
persistent hyperglycemia induces
oxidative stress which in turn
generates free radicals. These free
radicals damage bio-molecules
leading to imbalance in physiological
functions and development of
diabetic complications. Describing
horse gram (Ulavalu in Telugu, Kulthi
in Hindi, Kollu in Tamil) as a poor
mans pulse crop in South India, he
said it was an anti-oxidant rich food
grain. Traditionally different
preparations were made with the
pulse to suit the requirements of
different seasons. For instance, it was
given in the winter for generating
body heat/warmth and energy.
The authors of the study, which
was published recently
i n Nutrafoods, said: traditional
medicinal texts describe its use for
asthma, bronchitis, leucoderma,
urinary discharge, kidney stones and
heart disease. Dr.Tiwari said the study
found that raw horse gram seed was
rich in polyphenols, flavonoids and
proteins, the major anti-oxidants
present in fruits and other food
materials.
Anti-oxidants help in
controlling oxidative stress by
scavenging free radicals. He said the
study found that raw horse gram seed
has the ability to reduce post-
prandial hyperglycemia by slowing
down carbohydrate digestion and
reduce insulin resistance by
inhibiting protein-tyrosine
phosphatase 1 beta enzyme. He said
that of late a belief has gained ground
that eating sprouts of horse gram
would be beneficial for health.
However, the study found that
during sprouting its anti-diabetic
medicinal property gets reduced. He
said the majority of anti-oxidant
properties were confined to the seed
coat and its removal would not do
any good. Any preparation made of
whole grain is better than sprouts or
horse gram pulses, he added.
Mining Genetic data from the Black
Sea Sediment Record
Instead of using a microscope
to count the fossil skeletons found in
sediment cores, WHOI scientists
Marco Coolen looked for the
genomic remains of plankton to study
the past inhabitants of the Black Sea.
Puzzle of why the
Penguin cannot Fly Solved
By looking at seabirds closely
related to the penguin, scientists
confirmed that a wing that is good
for flying cannot also be good for
diving and swimming. Penguins
underwater prowess may have cost
it its flying ability.
Fabric that Makes you Feel Fresh
Despite Sweat
Summers might just become
less smelly experience, as IIT-Delhi
in partnership with an industrial firm
has developed a fabric that cuts out
smell and keeps it fresh for the wearer
despite sweating.
Some male black spiders can eat
female spiders
A new study has shown that the
tendency of the Black Widow spider
to consume a potential mate is also
true of some types of male spider.
Mal e spi ders of the Micaria
sociabilis species are more likely to
eat the females than be eaten.
Genes show Europeans are one big
family
Europeans are closely related
to one another for the past thousand
years, according to a new study of
the DNA of people from across the
continent. On a genealogical level,
they can be traced back to the same
set of ancestors.
Curiosity rover drills into second
Martian rock
NASAs Curiosity, ending a
month-long hiatus, has bored a hole
in a second rock and will transfer a
pinch of powder to its onboard
laboratories later this week for
analysis. The latest drill site is nine feet
away from the first one.
Herschel space telescope closes its
eyes on universe
Europes Herschel space
observatory the largest infrared
telescope ever launched has
stopped working after exhausting its
supply of liquid helium coolant,
ending nearly four years of
functioning.
Milky Way black hole snacks on
hot gas
The Herschel space
observatory had made detailed
observations of surprisingly hot gas
that may be orbiting or falling towards
the supermassive black hole lurking
at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.
Herschel was an ESA mission.
Plants talk to plants to help them
grow
Having a neighbourly chat
improves seed germination, says a
study in BMC Ecology. Even when
other known means of communi-
cation, like contact, chemical and
light-mediated signals, are blocked,
chilli seeds grow better when grown
with basil plants.
MCQ Series
Sports
Indian Premier League 2013 Indian Premier League 2013 Indian Premier League 2013 Indian Premier League 2013 Indian Premier League 2013
In the final match of Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian
Premier League 2013 Premier League 2013 Premier League 2013 Premier League 2013 Premier League 2013, Rohit
Sharma led Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians
defeated Chennai Super defeated Chennai Super defeated Chennai Super defeated Chennai Super defeated Chennai Super
Kings Kings Kings Kings Kings by 23 runs to lift the title for
the very first time at Eden Gardens
on 26 May 2013. Mumbai Indians
decided to bat first and scored 148
runs for nine in 20 overs. On the other
hand, in a chase of 148 runs, the
Chennai Super Kings managed to
May 2013, MS Dhoni was highest
individual scorer of the match (63 not
out for 45 balls).
Previous IPL Winners
IPL Season 1: Rajasthan Royals
IPL Season 2: Deccan Chargers
IPL Season 3: Chennai Super
Kings
IPL Season 4: Chennai Super
Kings
IPL Season 5: Kolkata Knight
Riders
IPL Season 6: Mumbai Indians
Sreesanth
Arrested for Spot-Fixing
Indian fast bowler, S. Sreesanth
and his two team mates from
score just 125 runs for nine in 20
overs. This was the first IPL trophy for
Mumbai Indians. Earlier they had lost
in the finals to the Chennai Super
Kings in 2010.
Chennai Super Kings, now have
lost three times in the final, i.e., in the
year 2008, 2012 and 2013. In the final
match between MI and CSK on 26
Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports
Rajasthan Royals namely Ajit Chadila
and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by
Delhi Police on 16 May 2013 on
charges of Spot Fixing in Indian Pre-
mier League (IPL). The three
cricketers were arrested from
Mumbai and will be brought to Delhi
for being produced in a Court. Apart
from the three cricketers the police
also arrested seven bookies. Both the
cricketers and the bookies are
charged under two sections
o f Indian Penal Code, Section Indian Penal Code, Section Indian Penal Code, Section Indian Penal Code, Section Indian Penal Code, Section
420 (cheating) and Section 420 (cheating) and Section 420 (cheating) and Section 420 (cheating) and Section 420 (cheating) and Section
120B (criminal consp- 120B (criminal consp- 120B (criminal consp- 120B (criminal consp- 120B (criminal consp-
iracy). iracy). iracy). iracy). iracy). The arrests made were a
part of the investigations being con-
ducted by the Special Cell of the
Delhi Police over months on alleged
Spot Fixing in the cash rich IPL.
Spot Fixing
Spot Fixing is an illegal activity
in a sport, in which any part of the
game may be an over or a ball is fixed
between the player and the bookies.
Under this, the player agrees to play
in accordance to the agreement
made before the game with the
bookies, so that they can bet upon
the same. Although betting on any
sport is illegal in India.
Sachin Tendulkar Announced Sachin Tendulkar Announced Sachin Tendulkar Announced Sachin Tendulkar Announced Sachin Tendulkar Announced
Reti rement Reti rement Reti rement Reti rement Reti rement
Sachin Tendulkar announced
retirement from Twenty20 cricket
format on 26 May 2013, immediately
after Mumbai Indians beat Chennai
Super Kings to lift the title of Pepsi
Indian Premier League 2013 at Eden
Gardens in Kolkata. This means that
IPL Season 6 was the last IPL season
played by Sachin Tendulkar.
Some Important Facts
Sachin Tendulkar was the
captain of Mumbai Indians team
in 2010.
He has represented this
franchise in 86 matches in all
and finished with 2529 runs.
These runs include one century
and 14 half-centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar played the
last game for Mumbai against
Sunrisers Hyderabad at
Wankhede Stadium on 13 May
2013. He was injured
thereafter.
Twenty20 cricket is the second
format from which he
announced his retirement.
Earlier in December 2012, he
had announced retirement
from the One-Day
Internationals.
He also has the unbroken
record of 15837 test runs as
well as 18426 ODI runs.
Chris Gayle Hit Fastest-Ever
Century
in the history of cricket by reaching
100 in merely 30 balls during Royal
Challengers Bangalore-Pune Warriors
IPL match on 23 April 2013. Gayle
scored a total run of 175 runs in merely
66 balls, which included 17 sixes and
13 boundaries.
This was also his fourth century
in the IPL career. With Gayles
performance, the total score Royal
Challengers Bangalore was 263 for
five, which is one of the highest total
in this format of the game. Previously,
the highest total in this format was 260
by Sri Lanka. Jamaican Chris Gayle
also became the highest-ever indi-
vidual scorer in a T20 game, beating
Kolkata Knight Riders Brendon
McCullum who had hit 158 off 73 balls
against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Pakistans Shahid Afridi holds the
record of fastest century in ODI (37
balls) and Viv Richards is the record-
holders for fastest century (56 balls)
in the Test cricket history.
The previous record The previous record The previous record The previous record The previous record
holders of fastest centuries are holders of fastest centuries are holders of fastest centuries are holders of fastest centuries are holders of fastest centuries are
as follows: as follows: as follows: as follows: as follows:
30 balls: 30 balls: 30 balls: 30 balls: 30 balls: Chris Gayle, Royal
Challengers Bangalore vs. Pune
Warriors, IPL, 23 April 2013
34 balls: 34 balls: 34 balls: 34 balls: 34 balls: Andrew Symonds,
Kent vs. Middlesex, Twenty20
Cup, 2 July 2004
35 bal l s: 35 bal l s: 35 bal l s: 35 bal l s: 35 balls: Louis van der
Westhuizen, Namibia v Kenya,
unofficial T20 international, 7
November 2011
37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: Shahid Afridi,
Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka, ODI, 4
October 1996
37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: Scott Styris, Sussex
vs. Gloucs, Twenty20 Cup, 24
July 2012
37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: 37 balls: Yusuf Pathan,
Rajasthan Royals vs. Mumbai In-
dians, IPL, 13 March 2010
Chris Gayle Chris Gayle Chris Gayle Chris Gayle Chris Gayle, the West Indies
opener, hit the fastest ever century
CLTA signed a Deal with its CLTA signed a Deal with its CLTA signed a Deal with its CLTA signed a Deal with its CLTA signed a Deal with its
Spanish Counterpart MTF Spanish Counterpart MTF Spanish Counterpart MTF Spanish Counterpart MTF Spanish Counterpart MTF
Chandigarh Lawn Tennis
Association (CLTA) on 18 May 2013
signed a deal with its Spanish
counterpart, Madrid Tennis
Foundation (MTF) with the objective
of improving the quality of the sport
in the region.
The deal was signed for the
next three years. Under the protocol,
the training and coaching systems of
CLTA will improve a lot. Top tennis
coaches from Spain will visit CLTA
regularly to upgrade the training
facilities, help the coaches and teach
latest skills to trainees. CLTA also has
rural scheme CHART apart from
Centre of Excellence.
Men Men Men Men Men
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federar
in the final match played on 19 May
2013 to lift his seventh Italian Open
title. He defeated Federar in straight
sets 6-1, 6-3. The match was played
on clay court. This was Nadals 20th
victory against Federar. He has lost
only 10 matches to Federar so far. It
was Nadals fifth title since returning
earlier this year from a seven-month
layoff due to a left knee injury. Nadal
collected 400 points from this victory
which carried him into fourth position
on the rankings ladder.
Women Women Women Women Women
Serena Williams on 19 May 2013
won her fourth consecutive tennis
title after thrashing out the former
world number one Victoria Azarenka
6-1 6-3 to take the Italian Open on
the Rome Clay.
The world number one Serena
Williams has not lost a single match
since the Belarusian Azarenka
defeated her in the Doha Final in
February 2013. Before the Italy
Open in 2013, Serena Williams won
Miami, Charleston and Madrid
Open. To win the 51st Career Title,
Serena Williams broke serve of
Azarenka three times in a one-sided
first set and with this win, she also
secured her career-best winning
streak of 24 games.
Madrid Open 2013 Madrid Open 2013 Madrid Open 2013 Madrid Open 2013 Madrid Open 2013
In the Mens Singles title clash
of the Madrid Open played on 12 May
2013, World Number Five Nadal
defeated Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka,
in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Spains Rafael
Nadal has clinched his fifth title in
seven tournaments since returning
from a seven-month knee injury layoff.
In the Womens Singles, World
Number One Serena Williams of the
United States bagged her 50th career
Singles title. She beat Russian Maria
Sharapova, 6-1, 6-4.
Porsche Porsche Porsche Porsche Porsche
Tennis Grand Prix 2013 Tennis Grand Prix 2013 Tennis Grand Prix 2013 Tennis Grand Prix 2013 Tennis Grand Prix 2013
German duo Sabine Lisicki and
Mona Barthel won the womens
doubles title at the WTA Porsche
Grand Prix in Stuttgart on 28 April
2013. The Germans defeated the in-
form pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands
and Sania Mirza 6-4, 7-5 in one and a
half hours to claim their first title as a
team. Mirza and Mattek-Sands have
already won 2 titles in 2013 but
couldnt repeat the winning perfor-
mance against the Germans who
were playing in front of the home
crowd.
Portugal Open 2013 Portugal Open 2013 Portugal Open 2013 Portugal Open 2013 Portugal Open 2013
Switzerlands Stanislas
Wawrinka defeated Spains David
Ferrer in the final match of ATP World
Tour, Portugal Open 2013 title at
Oeiras on 5 May 2013 by a 6-1, 6-4
margin. David Ferrer, inspite of the
defeat, maintains a record of 7-4
against Stanislas Wawrinka. This is the
fourth career title of Stanislas
Wawrinka and also first since January
2011.
Third Hockey India Senior Third Hockey India Senior Third Hockey India Senior Third Hockey India Senior Third Hockey India Senior
Women National Women National Women National Women National Women National
Championship Championship Championship Championship Championship
Haryana on 30 April 2013
defeated Railways 4-1 to win the third
Hockey India Senior Women National
Championship at the Major Dhyan
Chand Stadium in the Guru Gobind
Singh Sports College, Lucknow. Rail-
ways scored their opening goal
through Amandeep Kaur in the 15th
minute. Haryana scored through
Udita (34th, 65th min) and Narinder
(47th, 49th min) to win the match.
Jharkhand defeated Punjab 2-1 to
finish third in the championship.
Jharkhand scored through Ebha
Kerketta and Basanti Kachhap.
3rd Hockey India Junior 3rd Hockey India Junior 3rd Hockey India Junior 3rd Hockey India Junior 3rd Hockey India Junior
Women National Women National Women National Women National Women National
Haryana Haryana Haryana Haryana Haryana cl i nched t he 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd
Hockey India Junior Women Hockey India Junior Women Hockey India Junior Women Hockey India Junior Women Hockey India Junior Women
National Championship National Championship National Championship National Championship National Championship ti tl e i n
the final match on 1 May 2013 in
Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi.
Haryana registered a 2-1 victory over
Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy.
Jharkhand defeated Punjab 6-0 to
claim the bronze medal. Madhya
Pradesh opened their account with
penalty corner in fourth minute by
Shyama Tickadam. Haryana leveled
this in 35th minute through penalty
corner which was converted by
Navneet Kaur. Jyoti Guptas scored
the final goal in fifth minute of extra
time which helped Haryana win the
championship.
Two semi-final matches were
played between Haryana and
Jharkhand as well as Punjab and
Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy
on 30 April 2013. In the final, Haryana
took over Madhya Pradesh Hockey
Academy.
Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Thomas Cup and Uber Cup
Finals to be Hosted in Delhi Finals to be Hosted in Delhi Finals to be Hosted in Delhi Finals to be Hosted in Delhi Finals to be Hosted in Delhi
The Finals of the Uber Cup 2014
and Thomas Cup 2014 is to be held
at New Delhi from 18 May 2014 to 25
May 2014. The announcement of the
dates and venue of the finals of the
two major badminton tournaments
was done by the President of
Badminton Association of India
Akhilesh Das Gupta after an official
signing ceremony between Badmin-
ton World Federations (BWF)and
Badminton Association of India at
present is hosting the India Open
Super Series.
About Thomas Cup
Thomas Cup is the Badminton
World Federations first international
tournament and was first staged in
1948-49. It is also known as the Mens
World Team Championships. It is
organised at an interval of three years.
First President of the World body, Sir
George Thomas and legendary player
with 21 All England titles and
administrator of the Sport came up
with the idea of the competition and
donation of the trophy.
About Uber Cup
Uber Cup is also known was the
Womens World Team
Championships and was organised for
the first time in 1956-57. Since 1984,
the Final of the Uber Cup is held
alongside the Mens Competition i.e.
the Thomas Cup. The Uber Cup, or
the idea of organizing Women
Championship was a brainchild of
Betty Uber. Betty Uber in 1956-57
made a draw in the inaugural
tournament of the Cup that took place
at Lytham St Annes in Lancashire,
England. Both Thomas and Uber
Cups are held biennially now.
Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia
Badminton Grand Prix Title Badminton Grand Prix Title Badminton Grand Prix Title Badminton Grand Prix Title Badminton Grand Prix Title
Indias rising shuttler PV Sindhu
on 4 May 2013 won her maiden Grand
Prix Gold title winning Malaysia Open
womens final. In a thrilling clash in
Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, top seed
Sindhu got her act together in time
and defeated lower seed, Gu Juan of
Singapore, 21-17, 17-21, 21-19, with
an exceptional racket display. She hit
as many as 17 smash winners
compared to just nine by the
Singaporean girl.
With this, the World Number 13
Sindhu has become the second
Indian girl to have won the Grand Prix
Gold competition, after Indias shuttle
queen and London Olympics bronze
medalist, Saina Nehwal achieved the
feat in 2006. PV Sindhu was the
only Indian who had made it to the
final stage of this tournament. Saina
Nehwal did not take part in the
tournament.
New President of Asian New President of Asian New President of Asian New President of Asian New President of Asian
Football Confederation Football Confederation Football Confederation Football Confederation Football Confederation
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim
al-Khalifa al-Khalifa al-Khalifa al-Khalifa al-Khalifa was elected as the new
president of Asian Football
Confederation on 2 May 2013. He
replaced Mohamed Bin Hammam.
Bahraini Sheikh Salman won 33 votes
out of 46 in Malaysia to beat his rival
Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab
Emirates as well as Worawi Makudi of
Thailand. Sheikh Salman claimed the
vacant seat on executive committee
of FIFA as well, which was held by
Bin Hammam. On this seat, Sheikh
Salman defeated Qatar World Cup
organising chief Hassan Al Thawadi.
It is important to note that Bin
Hammam was given a lifetime ban in
2011 by FIFA on the basis of
allegations that he tried to buy the
votes. He eventually retired from
football in July 2012 after his
suspension was annulled. Sheikh
Salman took over last 20 months of
term of Bin Hammam as the AFC
president. Next elections will be held
in January 2015. The position of AFC
president gives a person the control
of all major football events in Asia.
David Beckham announced David Beckham announced David Beckham announced David Beckham announced David Beckham announced
his Retirement his Retirement his Retirement his Retirement his Retirement
Legendary Footballer and
Former England captain David
Beckham on 16 May 2013 announced
his retirement from professional
football and gave an end to his
illustrious career of more than two
decades. He will retire from the
professional football after the end of
this season. The 38 year old
footballer recently helped his team
to win a league title in the fourth coun-
try with Paris Saint Germain.
About David Beckham About David Beckham About David Beckham About David Beckham About David Beckham
Beckham earned 115 caps for
England, a record for an outfield
player, and won the Champions
League, six Premier League
titles and two FA Cups with
Manchester United.
David Beckham joined
Manchester United as a 14-year-
old in 1992 and made 398
appearances, winning six
Premier League titles and the
Champions League.
He made his debut for England
in 1996 and made 115
appearances for the country
He is the most capped outfield
player of in the history of
England
By securing the Paris Saint-
Germains Ligue 1 wins, he has
won 19 trophies of which 10
are League titles
He is the only English player to
win Championship titles in 4
different countries
Beckham was a key member of
the Treble Team and he helped
it in addition of Champions
League, 2 FA Cups, 1
Intercontinental Cup and 4
Community Shields to a long list
of its honours. (Treble Team Treble Team Treble Team Treble Team Treble Team
i s a term that i s used i n i s a term that i s used i n i s a term that i s used i n i s a term that i s used i n i s a term that i s used i n
footbal l associ ati on to footbal l associ ati on to footbal l associ ati on to footbal l associ ati on to footbal l associ ati on to
refer a team that wi ns refer a team that wi ns refer a team that wi ns refer a team that wi ns refer a team that wi ns
three trophies in a single three trophies in a single three trophies in a single three trophies in a single three trophies in a single
season). season). season). season). season).
He is the first English player
who scored in 3 consecutive
World Cup Finals
Beckham has the record of
joint-second most goal assists
in European Championship
Finals history
He is among few of the British
players who played for Real
Madrid, AC Milan, LA Galaxy
and Paris Saint-Germain
He is the first British player to
reach 100 champions league
appearances
He was successful in winning
La Liga Title in the final season
of Spain as well as has been the
winner of US MLS
Championship twice
He helped the team to win
French Ligue 1 Championship
in 19 years
Stiliyan Petrov Retired from Stiliyan Petrov Retired from Stiliyan Petrov Retired from Stiliyan Petrov Retired from Stiliyan Petrov Retired from
Footbal l Footbal l Footbal l Footbal l Footbal l
Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Petrov, the captain of
Aston Villa retired from football in May
2013 at the age of 33 years. Stiliyan
Petrov retired because of his fight
with leukaemia. He was diagnosed
with the disease in March 2012. Aston
Villa Football Club is the English
professional association football club
that is based in Birmingham. Stiliyan
Petrov became a part of Aston Villa
in 2006 from Celtic for 6.5 million
Pound.
He played for Aston Villa in the
Premier League and the Bulgaria
national team. He also won Bulgarian
Footballer of the Year award in 2003
while playing for Celtic. In 2005,
Stiliyan Petrov also wrote the
autobiography titled You Can Call Me
Stan. The book was a description of
the correct spelling of his name.
Honours and Awards won by Stiliyan
Petrov
Bulgarian Championship: 1997
Bulgarian Cup: 1997, 1999
Scottish Premier League: 2001,
2002, 2004, 2006
Scottish Cup: 2004, 2005
Scottish League Cup: 2000,
2006
UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2003
Football League Cup: Runner-
up 2010
SPFA Young Player of the Year:
2001
Celtic Player of The Year: 2005
Aston Villa Players Player of the
Year: 2009, 2012
Aston Villa Supporters Player
of the Year: 2009
SPL Player of the Month: 3 times
Bulgarias Player of the year:
2003
Indian Womens Compound Indian Womens Compound Indian Womens Compound Indian Womens Compound Indian Womens Compound
Team won Bronze in Archery Team won Bronze in Archery Team won Bronze in Archery Team won Bronze in Archery Team won Bronze in Archery
Indian womens compound
team which comprised Gagandeep
Kaur, Trisha Deb, and P Lily Chanu,
won Bronze medal on 18 May 2013
at Shanghai. This is Indias first ever
world medal in archery. The Indian
trio, defeated Italy which included
Katia DAgostino, Laura Longo and
Marcella Tonioli in the bronze medal
play-off in the World Cup archery
Stage I by 228-223. India was ahead
by two points after the first end, four
at the halfway mark and three points
after the third end. Shooting first in
the last end, Italy landed two 8s,
whereas India finished the match
with 8-9-10-10-10-10 for a well-
deserved victory.
In 2012 at Shanghai, Italy had
triumphed over an inexperienced
Indian trio of Parveena, Gagandeep
Kaur, and V. Jyothi Surekha, by 230-
217.
Mary Kom Regional Boxing Mary Kom Regional Boxing Mary Kom Regional Boxing Mary Kom Regional Boxing Mary Kom Regional Boxing
Foundati on Foundati on Foundati on Foundati on Foundati on
The Union Sports Ministry on 24
May 2013 gave its approval for a grant
of 309.56 Lakhs rupees to Mary Kom
Regional Boxing Foundation, Imphal
for construction of gymnasium hall
and procurement of gym equipments
for the foundation. The grant will be
disbursed from the National Sports
Development Fund (NSDF). The
grant will be released in installments
on fulfillment of certain conditions
that is required by NSDF Scheme.
Mary Kom Regional Boxing
Foundation is looking forward to
create facilities at the new site allotted
to it by the State Government of
Manipur. Before this National Sports
Development Fund released funds of
492 lakh rupees for Usha School of
Athletics, Kozhikode, Kerala, for
laying an 8 Lane Synthetic Track of
international standard with
supporting facilities.
Limassol Cup held in Cyprus Limassol Cup held in Cyprus Limassol Cup held in Cyprus Limassol Cup held in Cyprus Limassol Cup held in Cyprus
Indian boxers won the 2013
Invitational FXTM International
Limassol Boxing Cup held in Limassol,
Cyprus on 19 May 2013. They won
10 medals which included four gold
medals, three silver medals and three
bronze medals which ensured them
the first rank. Indian boxers won the
tournament on the European circuit
for the first time.
Indian boxers performed in Indian boxers performed in Indian boxers performed in Indian boxers performed in Indian boxers performed in
the following way: the following way: the following way: the following way: the following way:
Reigning national champion
Madan Lal (52kg) beat Ayigah
Dodsi from Belgium to bag the
flyweight title.
Gold medallist at the 2009
Youth Olympic Games V Durga
Rao (56kg) beat German Dieter
Dier to bag his very first
international medal on the
senior tour.
Mandeep Jangra (69kg) beat
Victor Vega Blanco of Spain in
a completely one sided affair
to bag the welterweight title.
Super heavyweight boxer
Praveen Kumar (+91kg) won
the fourth gold for Indiabeating
Beguerni Hamza from Algeria.
Manoj Kumar (64kg), Olympian
Dinesh Kumar (91kg) and
Sukhdeep Singh (75kg) won a
silver medeal each.
Earlier in the tournament, Anil
Kumar (60kg), Jagroop Singh
(81kg) and L Devendro Singh
(49kg) reached the semi-finals
and claimed a bronze medal
each.
Senior National Womens Senior National Womens Senior National Womens Senior National Womens Senior National Womens
Boxing Championship 2013 Boxing Championship 2013 Boxing Championship 2013 Boxing Championship 2013 Boxing Championship 2013
Pugilist Preeti Beniwal on 22
May 2013 bagged the gold medal in
Senior National Womens Boxing
Championship.
In the event held at Khatima,
uttarakhand, Preeti out-punched
Manipurs Y Sandhya 22-9 in the final
of the 60kg category.
Preeti Beniwal was born on 25
December 1987. She hails from Hisar.
Her father Subey Singh is a boxing
coach. Her elder sister is married to
famous Indian Boxer Akhil Kumar.
Preeti is employed with Haryana
Police as sub inspector.
Preeti Beniwals Boxing Career
Gold in 58th All India Police
Women Boxing Championship,
Pune, Maharashtra from 2010-
04-06 to 2010-04-10.
Gold in 4 N.C. Sharma Memorial
Federation Cup Women Boxing
Champioships 2008-09 at
Nainital, Uttarakhand.
Gold in 9th Senior Women
National Boxing
Championships at St. Johns
College,, Agra from 2008-11-02
to 2008-11-07
Gold in Trg.-cum-compet
Canada, 2008
Gold in Women Open Boxing
Tournament Hanoi, 2006
Thanthi TV-Asia Pacific Thanthi TV-Asia Pacific Thanthi TV-Asia Pacific Thanthi TV-Asia Pacific Thanthi TV-Asia Pacific
The mens and womens finals
of the Thanthi TV-Asia Pacific under-
21 beach volleyball championship
were won by Indonesia and Australia
respectively. The final matches were
played on 19 May 2013 at Marina
beach in Chennai. In women
category, The Australian pair of
Mariafe Artacho and Jessyka
Ngauamo defeated Japans Chiyo
Suzuki and Satono Ishitsubo 21-11,
21-12. Mariafe and Jessykas all-round
performance enabled an easy victory
for Australia. The pair was
exceptional and brilliant with
smashes and blocks. The Australian
pair didnt have any trouble in both
sets. Japanese women were not upto
the mark. They made far too many
errors at the net. They seemed unable
to give their best.
In the mens final, Indonesias
Mohammad Ashfiya and Rendy
Verdan beat Vladislav Pustynnikov
and Sergey Bogatu of Kazakhstan 21-
16, 19-21, 15-10. Although
Kazakhstan players were playing
together for the last five years at the
International level, Indonesians
played very aggressively against them.
India lost in the quarterfinals but three
teams managed a berth for the World
u-21 championship to be held in
Umag, Croatia from June 20 to 23.
India-1 (Rajkumar & Yogaraj) & India-
2 (Shankar & Mahesh Kumar) in men,
and the womens India-1 (R. Deepika
& S. Eshwari) team made the grade.
The top six teams in men and women
will go to Croatia.
FIBA Asia 33 Basketball FIBA Asia 33 Basketball FIBA Asia 33 Basketball FIBA Asia 33 Basketball FIBA Asia 33 Basketball
Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013
Indian women basketball team
won gold in inaugural FIBA Asia 33
basketball tournament 2013 in Doha
on 17 May 2013. India defeated
Mongolia 21-14 in the final play-off.
Mongolia had defeated Turkmenistan
in the semi-finals. In the 33 format,
this is the third consecutive gold
medal of India. It won gold at South
Asian Beach Games in Sri Lanka as
well as Asian Beach Games in China
in 2012 in the same format. In the
Indian team, Geethu Anna Jose, Anita
Pal Durrai, Manisha Dange and
Pratima Singh were the key players.
Indian team won all six games in the
tournament. India was placed in the
Group B. Geethu Anna Jose won the
title of Best Player of the Tournament.
India defeated Qatar 21-5 in the
quarterfinals and Hong Kong 21-8 in
the Semi-finals.
Commonwealth Championship Commonwealth Championship Commonwealth Championship Commonwealth Championship Commonwealth Championship
India on 10 May 2013 finished
their candidature in the tournament
with a record haul of 2 Silver and 7
Bronze in the 19th Commonwealth
Table Tennis Championships that
concluded in New Delhi. One silver
medal on behalf of India was won by
Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das in
the mixed doubles event, and the
other one was won by the mens team
earlier in the tournament. Indians
represented the country in atleast six
of the eight tournaments that
included doubles too, but didnt
turned up to be successful in
securing a gold medal for the country.
At the same time, Singapore
delivered the best and claimed gold
in every category except the
womens individual competition. Mo
Zhang from Canada pulled off the gold
from Singapores world no 27
Mengyu Mu by securing a 4-3 win in
the finals.
Volleyball Champions Volleyball Champions Volleyball Champions Volleyball Champions Volleyball Champions
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
emerged volleyball champions at the
18th National Games for the Deaf at
the Sree Kanteerava Stadium,
Bangalore on 28 April 2013. Andhra
Pradesh defeated Tamil Nadu 25-22,
25-19, 25-19 in the mens final while
in womens category Karnataka
defeated Andhra Pradesh 25-10, 19-
25, 15-7 to win the title.
The 18th National Games for the
deaf took place after a 17-year gap.
It was participated by 21 Indian
states.
IAAF World Challenge IAAF World Challenge IAAF World Challenge IAAF World Challenge IAAF World Challenge
Meeti ng 2013 Meeti ng 2013 Meeti ng 2013 Meeti ng 2013 Meeti ng 2013
At the IAAF World Challenge
meeting in Jamaica, Kingston, US-
based discus thrower, Vikas Gowda
clinched Gold on 5 May 2013 with
the throw of 61.38 metres. He
defeated Jamaicans Jason Morgan
and Fedrick Dacres with throws of
60.96 and 59.30 metres respectively.
Both these Jamaicans finished at the
second and the third positions. In the
100 metres sprint, USs Tyson Gay
recorded 9.86 and secured the top
most position. In women category,
the best performance was that of US
Gia Lewis-Smallwood with 62.41
metres. The IAAF World Challenge
meeting in Jamaica was organised at
the Kingstons National Stadium.
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna Award 2013 Khel Ratna Award 2013 Khel Ratna Award 2013 Khel Ratna Award 2013 Khel Ratna Award 2013
Somdev Devvarman, the winner
of two gold medals at Asian Games in
Guangzhou as well as singles gold
medal in Commonwealth Games in
India was recommended for Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna award 2013 by All
India Tennis Association (AITA).
Somdev Devvarman had formed
Indian Tennis Players Association
(ITPA) along with Mahesh Bhupati
and Leander Peas.
Somdev Devvarman played a
very important role in placing India
at the World Group in Davis Cup. The
Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali, on the
other hand was recommended for
Arjuna award, apart from Rushmi
Chakravarthi, a womens tennis player
of India. Nandan Bals name was
recommended for Dronacharya
award. For the award of Dhyan Chand
life time achievement, Vijay Amritraj
was recommended.
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Award & Prizes Award & Prizes Award & Prizes Award & Prizes Award & Prizes
Award & Prizes
Vyas Samman Vyas Samman Vyas Samman Vyas Samman Vyas Samman
Professor Ramdarash Mishra
and Dr Narendra Kohli were
conferred with the Vyas Samman on
23 May 2013 for the year 2011 and
2012 respectively. Professor
Ramdarash Mishra (89) was
honoured with the award for his
collection of poems Aam ke Aam ke Aam ke Aam ke Aam ke
Patte Patte Patte Patte Patte publ i shed i n 2004. The
collection of poems has tried to
establish a relationship of man with
ordinary objects like pen and table
and has reminded their unnoticed
importance in human life. Dr
Narendra Kohli (73) was honoured
for his historical novel Na Bhooto Na Bhooto Na Bhooto Na Bhooto Na Bhooto
Na Bhavishyati Na Bhavishyati Na Bhavishyati Na Bhavishyati Na Bhavishyati published in 2004.
The book has portrayed Swami
Vivekananda, the culture of his time
and his quest to be a sanyasi for
National Unity. The award was
presented by Professor Surya Prasad
Dixit, a noted scholar of Hindi and
the Chairman of the Selection
Committee.
About Vyas Samman About Vyas Samman About Vyas Samman About Vyas Samman About Vyas Samman
Vyas Samman was instituted
by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991
and is awarded annually in
recognition of the hindi literary work
published in past 10 years in genres
like plays, novels, poetry, short
stories, critiques and others. The
award carries 2.5 lakh rupees and a
citation and a plaque.
National Florence Nightingale National Florence Nightingale National Florence Nightingale National Florence Nightingale National Florence Nightingale
Award 2013 Award 2013 Award 2013 Award 2013 Award 2013
The President of India Pranab
Mukherjee presented National
Florence Nightingale Award 2013 to
35 nursing professionals for their
services with devotion, sincerity,
dedication and compassion in New
Delhi on 12 May 2013. The awards
were given on the occasion of
international Nurses Day. The
Florence Nightingale Award was
instituted by the Health Ministry to
appreciate the selfless services
rendered by Nurses with devotion,
sincerity, dedication and
compassion. The Award carries
50000 rupees cash, a certificate, a
citation certificate and a Medal. This
award would inspire nursing
professionals all over India to
encourage them to join this noble
profession and provide better
healthcare service to the people.The
National Florence Nightingale
Award is given to the outstanding
nursing personnel employed in
Central, State/UTs. Nurses working
in Government, Voluntary
Organizations, Mission institutions
and private institutions can apply
with due recommendation of
concerned State Government.
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Altogether 272 nurses have been
decorated with this award by the
Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare so far.
Man Booker Man Booker Man Booker Man Booker Man Booker
International Prize 2013 International Prize 2013 International Prize 2013 International Prize 2013 International Prize 2013
American writer Lydia Davis
won 2013 Man Booker International
Prize for her innovative and influential
writing. The winner of the Prize was
announced at the awards ceremony
at Victoria and Albert Museum in
London on 22 may 2013. This was the
fifth Man Booker International Prize.
Lydia Davis is a professor of creative
writing at the University of Albany.
She is also an accomplished
translator. Her works include The
End of the Story and Varieties of
Disturbance. Lydia Davis is also
known for her work as a translator of
French literature and philosophy,
most notably of Marcel Proust and
Gustave Flaubert. Her translations led
her to be named aChevalier of the
Order of Arts and Letters by the
French government. Well-known
Kannada author UR
Ananthamurthy was the only Indian
to be shortlisted for the prestigious
award.
The Man Booker International
Prize recognises one writer for his
or her achievement in fiction. Worth
60000 ponds, the prize is awarded
every two years to a living author
who has published fiction either
originally in English or whose work
is generally available in translation
in the English language. The winner
is chosen solely at the discretion of
the judging panel and there are no
submissions from publishers. The
Man Booker International Prize is
significantly different from the
annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
In seeking out literary excellence,
the judges consider a writers body
of work rather than a single novel.
Gershwin Prize Gershwin Prize Gershwin Prize Gershwin Prize Gershwin Prize
US singer-songwriter Carole
King became the first woman to
receive the Library of Congress
Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
The President of America, Barack
Obama conferred upon her, the
Gershwin Prize that is given as a
lifetime achievement in popular
music.
The award was given away at
the White House in
Washington. Carole King is 71 years
of age. She is known most popularly
for her hit songs such as Aretha
Franklins (You Make Me Feel Like) A
Natural Woman. Carole King has won
the Grammy Award four times. She
was the co-writer of her first number
1 hit song in 1960. The song was Will
You Love Me Tomorrow which was
recorded by The Shirelles. She
became the first solo artist to sell over
10 million copies of a single album
with 1971 release, Tapestry.
About the Gershwin Prize About the Gershwin Prize About the Gershwin Prize About the Gershwin Prize About the Gershwin Prize
The Library of Congress
Gershwin Prize for Popular
Song, also known as,
Gershwin Prize is conferred
upon the performer or
composer for lifetime
contribution to popular
music.
The award was created in 2007
by the Library of Congress.
Gershwin Prize is named after
brothers- George Gershwin
and Ira Gershwin, both of
whom contributed to popular
music.
First recipient of this award
was Paul Simon. Other
awardees of this prize are
Stevie Wonder (2008) and Sir
Paul McCartney (2009).
UNA-USAs Champion for Global UNA-USAs Champion for Global UNA-USAs Champion for Global UNA-USAs Champion for Global UNA-USAs Champion for Global
Change Award Change Award Change Award Change Award Change Award
The Pakistani activist, Malala
Yousafzai (15) was selected for
UNA-USAs Global Leadership
Award called Champion for Global
Change Award for 2013, in the
month of May 2013. Malala
Yousafzai was shot in 2012 by
Taliban for promotion of girl
education. She will receive the
Champion for Global Change Award
for 2013 at Gotham Hall on 6
November 2013 in the event which
will be hosted by UN Foundation
and benefits UN Foundation and the
United Nations Association of the
USA (UNA-USA)s Global
Classrooms Model UN programme.
It was declared on 20 May 2013 that
Malala will receive the UNA-USAs
Global Leadership Award for
advocating education as well as
empowerment of girls across the
world. In 2012, the UN Secretary,
General Ban Ki-moon had declared
10 November as the Malala Day. She
was also given the title of daughter of
the United Nations. UN Foundation
as well as UNA-USA, together
represents a single largest network of
American supporters of UN.
List of awardees selected List of awardees selected List of awardees selected List of awardees selected List of awardees selected
for UNA-USA s Global for UNA-USA s Global for UNA-USA s Global for UNA-USA s Global for UNA-USA s Global
Leadership Award 2013: Leadership Award 2013: Leadership Award 2013: Leadership Award 2013: Leadership Award 2013:
Malala Yousafzai for
advocating education of girls
and empowerment of girls
Front-line polio workers for
commitment to vaccine those
who have threat of contracting
polio
10x10 for efforts to make sure
that all girls receive education
GE Africa for helping the
countries in Africa on
challenges to meet the
demands of water and
clean energy
United Nation s United Nation s United Nation s United Nation s United Nation s
Public Service Award Public Service Award Public Service Award Public Service Award Public Service Award
The Chief Minister of Kerala,
Oommen Chandy won United
Nations Public Service Award for
his Mass Contact Programme on 22
May 2013. In the Mass Contact
Programme, he engaged with
masses of Kerala to address the
grievances. He was conferred with
the first prize from the Asia Pacific
region along with other awardees
that are selected on yearly basis
from five different zones of the
world.
United Nations United Nations United Nations United Nations United Nations
Public Service Award Public Service Award Public Service Award Public Service Award Public Service Award
Since the year 2003,
United Nations has been awarding
people as part of the programme for
Public Service Day that is celebrated
on 23 June. The United Nations
Public Service Award was instituted
through the UN resolution and are
announced after the three-tier secu-
rity as well as meticulous
examination. The candidates who
are shortlisted are kept under
examination by the seven-member
sub-committee of Committee of
Experts in Public Administration of
the United Nations. The UN Public
Service Day ceremonies are
scheduled to be organised from 24
June 2013 to 27 June 2013 in Bahrain.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-
Moon will confer the awards on the
awardees on 27 June 2013.
The Mass Contact Programme The Mass Contact Programme The Mass Contact Programme The Mass Contact Programme The Mass Contact Programme
of Oommen Chandy of Oommen Chandy of Oommen Chandy of Oommen Chandy of Oommen Chandy
The Mass Contact Programme
was appraised worldwide as the
democratic experiment. The CM of
Kerala, Oommen Chandy met a lot of
people without intermediaries. He
got up to 5.5 lakh petitions, out of
which he resolved approximately 3
lakh petitions and also distributed
financial aid of 22.68 crore Rupees
as part of this programme. The
criteria of evaluation included
mechanism for increasing the ability
of people to receive information on
time, monitor the decision making as
well as transparency. Other
parameters included documentation
and accountability, procedural as
well as fiscal requirement as well as
evidence of the conformity of
government.
Lata Mangeshkar Samman Lata Mangeshkar Samman Lata Mangeshkar Samman Lata Mangeshkar Samman Lata Mangeshkar Samman
Alankaran 2013 Alankaran 2013 Alankaran 2013 Alankaran 2013 Alankaran 2013
Singer Hariharan was conferred
with the Lata Mangeshkar Samman
Alankaran in Indore on 20 May 2013.
The Lata Mangeshkar Samman
Alankaran is conferred by the
Madhya Pradesh government on
playback singer, Hariharan. The
award distribution was a part of
three-day cultural event held in
Indore.
About Lata Mangeshkar About Lata Mangeshkar About Lata Mangeshkar About Lata Mangeshkar About Lata Mangeshkar
Samman Alankaran Samman Alankaran Samman Alankaran Samman Alankaran Samman Alankaran
Madhya Pradesh government
instituted the award in 1984.
The first recipient of this
award was music composer
Naushad.
The Lata Mangeshkar Samman
Alankaran consists of 2 lakh
Rupees as well as citation.
It is instituted by Madhya
Pradesh government.
The award is conferred upon
to the music composer and
singer alternately. In 2012, the
award was given away to
Rajesh Roshan.
This was the 28th Annual Lata
Mangeshkar Award.
Hariharan is the Padma Shri
recipient as well. He sung
various songs in different
languages including
Hindi, Telugu, Bhojpuri,
Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and
Marathi.
Champions of Change Champions of Change Champions of Change Champions of Change Champions of Change
The US government on 6 May
2013 honoured 15 Asian American
and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women
as champions of change in
recognition of their important
contribution to the community. This
includes two Indian-Americans;
Aparna Bhattacharyaa from Atlanta
and Pramila Jayapal from Wahington
State. Aparna Bhattacharyya is the Ex-
ecutive Director of Raksha, in Atlanta.
She is a passionate advocate for
immigrant survivors of family and
sexual violence and plays a key role
in providing them access to safety,
justice and healing.
Aparna at present is a board
member for the Georgia Coalition
against Domestic Violence, VIDA
Legal Assistance and the National
Immigrant Womens Advocacy
Project. Pramila Jayapal founded the
non-profit organization OneAmerica
in the aftermath of 9/11. One
America is the largest immigrant
advocacy organisation in
Washington State. Pramila at present
is the Distinguished Taconic Fellow
at Center for Community Change
and a Distinguished Fellow at the
University of Washington Law
School. The Champions of Change
programme honours groups of
Americans, individuals, businesses
and organisations, who are doing
extraordinary things to
empower and inspire members of
their communities. Other awardees
of the Champions of Change are;
Minh Dang from California; Catherine
Eusebio from California; Atsuko Toko
Fish from Boston, Lusiana Tuga
Hansen from Alaska, Myrla Baldonado
from Chicago, Arline Loh from Dela-
ware, Mia Mingus from California,
Natalie Nakase from Los Angeles,
Mary Frances Oneha from Hawaii,
Nancy Tom from Chicago, Karen
Suyemoto from Boston, Van Ton-
Quinlivan from California and Shireen
Zaman from Washington, DC.
Asom Ratna Award Asom Ratna Award Asom Ratna Award Asom Ratna Award Asom Ratna Award
The President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee presented the Asom
Ratna Award for the year 2012 to
Indira Goswami (posthumously) and
the Srimanta Shankardeva Award for
the year 2008 to Sharmila Tagore on
13 May 2013 at a function at
Guwahati, Assam. Sharmila Tagore
has contributed richly to Indias
cultural life as a goodwill ambassador
for UNICEF and Chairperson of the
Indian Film Censor Board.
Indira Goswamy was a
legendary story teller and prolific
novelist who courageously
advocated social change in a very
volatile period in Assams history. She
would be particularly remembered
for her role as a mediator in talks
between armed militants in Assam
and the Government of India. In all
her works, Mamoni as she was
known, had focused on women, the
disadvantaged and the oppressed in
society. By creating a consciousness
about these problems, she was able
to sow the seeds of change. The
Srimanta Sankardeva award would
propagate the teachings of Swami
Srimanta Shankardeva, an Assamese
saint, scholar and social reformer who
lived in the 15th and 16th Centuries.
His Neo-Vaishnava movement
repudiated caste barriers and sought
to create an egalitarian civil society
based on the shared values of
fraternity, equity, humanism and
democracy.
Jnanpith Award 2011 Jnanpith Award 2011 Jnanpith Award 2011 Jnanpith Award 2011 Jnanpith Award 2011
The President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee conferred the 47th
Jnanpith Award for the year 2011 on
Pratibha Ray on 22 May 2013 at
Balyogi Auditorium in New
Delhi. The award includes cash prize
of 11 lakh Rupees, a citation as well
as bronze replica of Goddess
Saraswati.
About Dr. Pratibha Ray About Dr. Pratibha Ray About Dr. Pratibha Ray About Dr. Pratibha Ray About Dr. Pratibha Ray
Pratibha Ray was born in Alabol,
a village in Jagatsingpur district
of Odisha.
She is the first Oriya woman and
fourth Oriya writer to get the
coveted award. Prior to her,
Sitakant Mahapatra (1993),
Sachidananda Rout Roy (1986)
and Gopinath Mohanty (1973)
were the other Oriya writers to
be conferred with this award.
Her first novel was Barsa
Basanta Baishakha in 1974, for
which she was recognised as
a writer for the first time.
The most acclaimed work of
Pratibha Ray was Yajnaseni,
for which she received
Bharatiya Jnanpith Trusts
Moorti Devi Award in 1991.
She was the first woman to be
conferred with this prestigious
Moorti Devi Award in 1991.
Apart from this, she also won
various awards such as Orissa
Sahitya Akademi Award,
Moortidevi Award by
Bharatiya Jnanpith and
Saptarshi Award.
Pratibha Ray has 20 novels, 24
short stories, 10 travelogues,
two poetry collections and a
number of essays to her credit.
Her literary works have been
translated into not just English,
but various other foreign
languages and various Indian
languages as well.
Pratibha Ray is one of the most
widely read Oriya novelists and
short story writers.
She is also renowned for her
role of womans voice.
Her works revolve around
various themes such as racial
consciousness, mythology,
lifestyle, fiction, rural culture
and many more. Her novels
have various subject matters as
well as interests.
About the Jnanpith Award About the Jnanpith Award About the Jnanpith Award About the Jnanpith Award About the Jnanpith Award
The Jnanpith Award is one of
the highest literary honours of
India. Other honour includes
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.
This award was instituted first
in 1961 and is presented by
Bharatiya Jnanpith, the trust
founded by Sahu Jain family,
the publishers of The Times of
India newspaper.
Any Indian citizen who
presents his/her work in any
official Indian language can be
eligible for this award.
G. Sankara Kurup was the first
one to receive this award in
1965.
Post 2011, the cash prize of this
award has been increased from
7 lakh Rupees to 11 lakh
Rupees.
Whitley Award 2013 Whitley Award 2013 Whitley Award 2013 Whitley Award 2013 Whitley Award 2013
A young Indian biologist, Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.
Aparajita Datta Aparajita Datta Aparajita Datta Aparajita Datta Aparajita Datta was honoured
with the Whitley award Whitley award Whitley award Whitley award Whitley award, also known
as Green Oscar, in London on 2 May
2013. Aparajita Datta, the Indian wild-
life biologist was conferred with the
award by Princess Anne, daughter of
Queen Elizabeth, at the Royal
Geographical Society in London for
her efforts in order to save the
endangered hornbills in Eastern
Himalayas. Aparajita Datta is the head
of the program for conservation of the
hornbills in dense tropical forests of
Arunachal Pradesh, at Nature
Conservation Foundation. The
tropical forests of Arunachal Pradesh
are an abode to five hornbill species.
Hornbills are the brightly coloured
and curved-beak birds which are
catalyst of seed dispersal; these birds
remain endangered for the beats as
well as feathers by a tribal group,
known as Lisu. Aparajita Datta set
up the community-based
conservation program along with
tribal hunters in order to protect horn-
bills. The focus of the program was to
bring down the poaching activities.
Schools were started by her and the
team in order to build the river em-
bankments for checking soil erosion.
The team of Aparajita Datta also fo-
cused on marketing the handicrafts
of Lisu as well as development of the
nature tourism, which would in turn
facilitate Lisu with better financial
gains than poaching. The Whitley
awards are given every year in order
to honour exceptional individuals for
the efforts in conservation of nature
in the developing countries. Aparajit
Datta won the award along with
eighth other conservationists who
belonged to different countries. They
shared the prize money worth
295000 pounds.
I SRO I SRO I SRO I SRO I SRO
Young Scientists Award for 2013 Young Scientists Award for 2013 Young Scientists Award for 2013 Young Scientists Award for 2013 Young Scientists Award for 2013
Jenita Mary Nongkynrih, A
young woman scientist from
Meghalaya was selected for ISRO
Young Scientist Award 2013 for her
urban information system project in
the North East. The award for Jenita
Mary Nongkynrih carries a citation
and cash of 50000 rupees. Jenita
Mary Nongkynrih is currently
working as a scientist at the North
Eastern Space Applications Centre
(NESAC), Umiam, Nongkynrih.
UN Public Service Award 2013 UN Public Service Award 2013 UN Public Service Award 2013 UN Public Service Award 2013 UN Public Service Award 2013
Cottage and Village Industry
Department of the Madhya Pradesh
Government on 16 May 2013 bagged
United Nations Public Service
Award for year 2013 for their
initiative named Graamin Haat. The
United Nations honours outstanding
public welfare works at international
level under different categories every
year. The Cottage and Village
Industry Department of Madhya
Pradesh was successful in winning
the honour of United Nations for
their initiative of Graamin Haat. The
initiative of Graamin Haat was started
in the state with the aim of
strengthening and empowering the
womens self-help groups. The
initiative has helped the self help
group in becoming more self-reliant
economically and ensured
participation of women in social de-
cisions.
The award will be presented to
Kanchan Jain, the Principal
Secretary of the Cottage and Village
Industry Department of Madhya
Pradesh on 27 June 2013 in Manama,
the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Apart from Graamin Haat Apart from Graamin Haat Apart from Graamin Haat Apart from Graamin Haat Apart from Graamin Haat
other Indian initiatives those other Indian initiatives those other Indian initiatives those other Indian initiatives those other Indian initiatives those
were recognized and won were recognized and won were recognized and won were recognized and won were recognized and won
award include award include award include award include award include
Institution Institution Institution Institution Institution Initiative Initiative Initiative Initiative Initiative
Chief Ministers Office Mass Contact
Programme
(MCP)
District Administration,
Dhanbad Swavalamban
United Nations Public Service United Nations Public Service United Nations Public Service United Nations Public Service United Nations Public Service
Award for year 2013 Award for year 2013 Award for year 2013 Award for year 2013 Award for year 2013
The United Nations Public
Service Forum Day and Awards
ceremony will take place in Manama,
the Kingdom of Bahrain, from 24 to
27 June 2013 with its
t heme, Transformative e- Transformative e- Transformative e- Transformative e- Transformative e-
Government of the Kingdom of
Bahrain.
The United Nations Public The United Nations Public The United Nations Public The United Nations Public The United Nations Public
Service Awards 2013 will be Service Awards 2013 will be Service Awards 2013 will be Service Awards 2013 will be Service Awards 2013 will be
given in three different given in three different given in three different given in three different given in three different
categories and they are categories and they are categories and they are categories and they are categories and they are
Category 1 Category 1 Category 1 Category 1 Category 1 Preventing and
Combating Corruption in the
Public Service
Category 2 Category 2 Category 2 Category 2 Category 2 Improving the
Delivery of Public Services
Category3 Category3 Category3 Category3 Category3 Fost eri ng
participation in public policy
decision making through
innovative mechanisms
Category 4 Category 4 Category 4 Category 4 Category 4 Promoti ng
wh o l e - o f - g o v e r n me n t
approaches in the Information
Age
Category 5 Category 5 Category 5 Category 5 Category 5 Promoti ng
Gender- Responsive Deliveries
of Public Services
Gallantry and Distinguished Gallantry and Distinguished Gallantry and Distinguished Gallantry and Distinguished Gallantry and Distinguished
Service Awards Service Awards Service Awards Service Awards Service Awards
President of India and the
Supreme Commander of Armed
Forces of India Pranab Mukherjee on
27 April 2013 conferred one Kirti
Chakra and twelve Shaurya Chakras
to Forces Personnel for displaying
conspicuous gallantry, indomitable
courage and extreme devotion to
duty at a solemn ceremony at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan. Two of the
Shaurya Chakra was given
posthumously. The President also
conferred ten Param Vishisht Seva
Medal, one Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
four Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
and twenty seven Ati Vishisht Seva
Medals to senior officers of the
Armed.
Government and Innovation: Government and Innovation: Government and Innovation: Government and Innovation: Government and Innovation:
Creating a Better Future for Creating a Better Future for Creating a Better Future for Creating a Better Future for Creating a Better Future for
All. All. All. All. All. The Forum is organized by the
United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs
(UNDESA), Division for Public
Administration and Development
Management (DPADM) in
partnership with the United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN
Women), and the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia (UN ESCWA), in
collaboration with the hosting
In The News
Roberto Azevedo Roberto Azevedo Roberto Azevedo Roberto Azevedo Roberto Azevedo
Roberto Azevedo from Brazil
on 8 May 2013 was named as the
head of the World Trade
Organisation. His appointment to
the office came up at the time when
the organization is struggling to
identify ways to revive the talks on
freeing global commerce and to
help poorer nations in
development. He will take charge
of his office from Pascal Lamy of
France in the Geneva-based Body
in September 2013. Azevedo is
the first Latin American to be
appointed as the head of the WTO
since it was created in 1995. The
process of electing the WTO Head
took a period of about six months.
A total of nine people were
competing for the post. After
being into the office, his journey will
start with the 9th ministerial in Bali,
Indonesia from 3 to 6 December
2013.
Shashi Kant Sharma Shashi Kant Sharma Shashi Kant Sharma Shashi Kant Sharma Shashi Kant Sharma
The President of Indian Union,
Pranab Mukherjee on 21 May 2013
appointed Shashi Kant Sharma as
the new Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) of India. Shashi Kant
Sharma will succeed Vinod Rai who
superannuates on 21 May 2013 after
completing tenure of five and a half
years as the Head of the
Constitutional Financial body. His
appointment to the post of CAG by
the President was made on basis of
Article 148 (1) of the Constitution
of India. He will assume the charge
to the office of CAG on 23 May 2013
after administering the oath of the
office by the President of India.
The Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) of India is appointed
for a maximum term of six years or till
he attends the age of 65 years,
whichever is earlier. Earlier, during
the tenure of Vinod Rai, CAG came
under sharp attacks from the Union
Government of India for its
assessment reports of 1.76 lakh crore
rupees loss in Allocation of 2G
Spectrum and Public Exchequers
Loss at 1.86 Lakh Crore in Coal Blocks
Allocation. Tenure of Vinod Rai to the
office of CAG was accused for going
beyond its ambit of auditing and
analyzing the policy decisions.
Abdul Hamid Abdul Hamid Abdul Hamid Abdul Hamid Abdul Hamid
Parliamentary Speaker Abdul
Hamid was on 24 April 2013 sworn
in as Bangladesh President to
replace Zillur Rahman, who died in
March 2013. Abdul Hamid is the
20
th
President of Bangladesh. He will
In The News In The News In The News In The News In The News
hold the ceremonial position for a
five-year term.
Hamid was the acting
President since 14 March 2013 when
Rahman went for medical treatment
to Singapore. He is a former lawyer.
He was elected to Parliament seven
times from the Kishoreganj
Constituency. He is a member of the
Awami League.
Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah, the leader of the
Indian National Congress on 11 May
2013 was sworn in as the 22nd chief
minister of the state of Karnataka. 64
years old Siddaramaiah was
administered the oath of office and
secrecy by Governor HR Bhardwaj at
Sree Kanteerva stadium.
Siddaramaiah led the Congress in
Karnataka which won 121 seats in the
225-member assembly for which
election was held on 5 May 2013 and
voted counted on 8 May. The
Congress last ruled the state on its
own in 1999-2004. For nearly two
years in 2004-2006, it headed a
coalition with Janata Dal-Secular.
Dr. Christopher Briggs Dr. Christopher Briggs Dr. Christopher Briggs Dr. Christopher Briggs Dr. Christopher Briggs
Dr. Christopher Briggs was
announced the Secretary General of
the Ramsar Convention in third week
of April 2013. His appointment to
the post was declared by the
Standing Committee of the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands during 46th
meeting held in Gland, Switzerland
from 8-12 April 2013. He is the
successor of Tiga Anada, who
served the convention for six years.
Ramsar Convention Ramsar Convention Ramsar Convention Ramsar Convention Ramsar Convention
The Convention on Wetlands
(Ramsar, Iran, 1971) called the
Ramsar Convention is an
intergovernmental treaty that
embodies the commitments of its
member countries to maintain the
ecological character of their
Wetlands of International Importance
and to plan for the wise use, or
sustainable use, of all of the wetlands
in their territories.
Takehiko Nakao Takehiko Nakao Takehiko Nakao Takehiko Nakao Takehiko Nakao
Takehiko Nakao on 27 April
2013 was appointed as the President
of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) by the Board of Governors at
New Delhi. His appointment to the
post was unanimously accepted
ahead of the annual meet of the
bank. He succeeded Haruhiko
Kuroda, who resigned from his
office in March 2013 to take up an
assignment as the Governor of the
Bank of Japan. The 57 years old
Nakao is the former Vice Minister of
Finance for International Affairs of
Japan. He will be the ninth President
and will assume the charge of his
office on 28 April 2013. He is
appointed to complete the
unexpired term of his predecessor
that is supposed to end in
November 2016.
Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore
Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore Laxman Singh Rathore, the
Director General of Meteorology &
Permanent Representative of India
with World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) was elected as
the Member of Executive Council of
WMO during the 65th Executive
Council of WMO meeting which is
ongoing at Geneva. He had served
a term as the Vice President of
Commission of Agriculture
Meteorology of WMO and was also
elected to serve the Executive
Council in an individual capacity. The
council includes 37 Heads/directors/
Director Generals of National
Meteorological Services and also the
President and three Vice-Presidents
who are elected by Congress. Apart
from this, the presidents of the six
regional associations are also a part
of this council.
Executive Council of WMO? Executive Council of WMO? Executive Council of WMO? Executive Council of WMO? Executive Council of WMO?
The Executive Council of WMO
is an executive body of this
organisation. The council meets yearly
to implement the decisions of
Congress, coordinate the
programmes, examine the utilization
of budgetary resources, consider and
take action on recommendations of
Regional Associations and Technical
Commissions and guide their work
programme, provide technical
information, counsel and assistance
in the fields of activity of the
Organization and study and take
actions on matters affecting
international meteorology and
related activities.
Narasimhan Ravi Narasimhan Ravi Narasimhan Ravi Narasimhan Ravi Narasimhan Ravi
Narasimhan Ravi, the director
of Kasturi and Sons Limited as well
as the former Editor of The Hindu
was unanimously elected as the
president of Editors Guild of India
on 23 April 2013 at the annual
general meeting of the Guild in New
Delhi. He succeeded T.N. Ninan, the
chairman and editorial director of
Business Standard. He will be serving
two-year term as the President of the
Guild.
Editors Guild of India Editors Guild of India Editors Guild of India Editors Guild of India Editors Guild of India is the
organisation of the editors of various
magazines and newspapers of India.
Apart from the election of the
President of the Guild, the annual
general meeting took certain issues
such as consultation paper on the
cross-media ownership which was
issued by Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI). Another
issue that was discussed at the general
meeting was media regulation.
Nirbhay Sharma Nirbhay Sharma Nirbhay Sharma Nirbhay Sharma Nirbhay Sharma
Nirbhay Sharma on 16 May 2013
appointed as governor of Arunachal
Pradesh as the term of present
incumbent Gen (retd) J J Singh
ended in January 2013.
The tenure of 65 year old
Nirbha Shrama will come into effect
from the day he assumes charge of
his office, a Rashtrapati
Bha v a n.
Anil Goswami Anil Goswami Anil Goswami Anil Goswami Anil Goswami
Union Ministry of Home Affairs
on 26 April 2013 appointed Anil
Goswami, a Jammu and Kashmir
cadre IAS officer as Union Home
Secretary. Government on 26 April
20134 appointed him as the officer
on special duty in the ministry with
immediate effect till 30 June 2013.
He will take charge from incumbent
R.K Singh. His appointment to the
office was made by Appointments
Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed
by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
His tenure is fixed for a period of two
years, till June 2015. This is the first
time in the history that announcement
of the name of the next Home
Secretary was made two months
earlier from the actual date of
assuming the office. Generally, the
successor of the post is appointed a
month in advance.
Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum
Legendary singer Shamshad
Begum died on 23 April 2013 in
Mumbai due to illness. She was 94
years of age. She was one of the first
few playback singers of the Hindi
film industry. She is survived by her
daughter and son-in-law.
About Shamshad Begum About Shamshad Begum About Shamshad Begum About Shamshad Begum About Shamshad Begum
Shamshad Begum was born on
14 April 1919 in Amritsar,
Punjab.
Her debut was in Lahore on the
Peshawar Radio on 16
December 1947.
Some of her popular Hindi
songs include Kabhi Aar Kabhi
Paar, Kajra Mohabbat Wala and
Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon.
Her hit tracks included Saiyan
Dil Mein Aana Re, Chod Babul
Ka Ghar, Leke Pehla Pehla
Pyar, Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin
Pe Nishana and Boojh Mera Kya
Naam Re.
Shamshad Begum started her
singing career in early thirties.
She sang under the contract
with Jenophone Record
Company, for which she
received 12.50 Rupees per
song in 30s. She re-
corded around 200
songs for this company under
baton of Ghulam Haider. Her
songs were broadcasted on
radio but not on gramophone.
Before she made her debut in
Hindi films, she sang in
Punjabi film of Dalsukh
Pancholi called Yamla Jat with
the music given by Ghulam
Haider.
The first Hindi film of Dalsukh
Pancholi was Khazanchi in
which there were nine songs,
all of which were recorded in
Shamshad Begums voice.
She was among the most
sought-after female playback
singers of 40s.
She sang in various languages
such as Tamil, Punjabi,
Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali
apart from Hindi in multi-
lingual song Ye Duniya Roop
Ki Chor.
Shamshad Begum also sang
for All India Radio (AIR)
through the musical group
called The Crown Imperial
Theatrical Company of
Performing Arts.
She was conferred with the O
P Nayyar award for
contribution to Hindi film
music, in the year 2009.
In 2009 again, she was
conferred with the third-
highest civilian honour of
India, Padma Bhushan.
Jiah Khan Jiah Khan Jiah Khan Jiah Khan Jiah Khan
Jiah Khan, the 25-year old
Bollywood actress died on 3 June
2013 at her Juhu residence in
Mumbai. She allegedly committed
suicide. Jiah Khans real name was
Nafisa Khan. She was born on 20
February 1988 in Chelsea, London.
She debuted in Ram Gopal Varmas
Nishabd, opposite veteran actor
Amitabh Bachchan in the year 2007.
She also got the Filmfare Best
Debutant Nomination for
Nishabd. Jiah Khan also appeared
with Aamir Khan in A R Murugadosss
Ghajini. She also starred in Sajid
Khans comedy film Housefull in
2010. Housefull was her last film. Jiah
was raised in England and later
moved to Mumbai to make a mark in
Bollywood industry.
Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones
Penne Hackforth-Jones, one of
Australias most recognisable actors
died at the age of 64 after battling
lung cancer. Born in 1949 in the US
state of Connecticut, she was
brought up in Australia. Her first
credited role was in the 1969 TV
series Riptide. Hackforth-Jones ap-
appearance was in The Doctor Blake
Mysteries.
Deanna Durbin Deanna Durbin Deanna Durbin Deanna Durbin Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin, the renowned
face of Hollywood in 1930s and
early 40s died on 20 April 2013 in
the village outside Paris. She was 91
years of age. Deanna Durbin was
among the highest paid stars in US
in 1947. She retired at the age of just
27 years. She debuted in 1936 MGM
short Every Sunday. She appeared
with Judy Garland. Deanna Durbins
first movie was Three Smart Girls for
the Universal studios. This movie was
also nominated for best picture Oscar
in 1937. In 1939, she won Juvenile
Academy Awards for her significant
contribution to screen, along with her
fellow teen stars. Her most notable
achievement was that her films suc-
cess saved the Universal Studios from
Bankruptcy in late 1930s. It was esti-
mated that her films accounted for
17 percent of overall revenue of the
Universal Studios during that
decade.
In 1946, Deanna Durbins salary
was 323477 US dollar, which made
her the second highest-paid woman
in America, behind Bette Davis. She
retired from the films at the peak of
her career in 1949 and moved to a
village in France.
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar
(1932-2013), the dhrupad vocalist
passed away on 8 May 2013 follow-
peared in many well-known
Australian television series, including
A Country Practice, All Saints and
Mother and Son. She also featured in
a number of movies, including Maos
Last Dancer in 2009 and Muriels
Wedding in 1994. Her last
ing brief illness at his Gurukul near
Panvel. He was 80 years of age.
Drupad is the oldest existing north
Indian classical music form.
About About About About About
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar
was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan
on 15 June 1932.
He was also the court musician
of Maharana Bhupal Singh of
Udaipur.
He played a prominent role in
reviving the dhrupad tradition
in the 20th century along with
his brother late Ustad Zia
Mohiuddin Dagar, the
legendary rudra veena player.
He was the master of srutis. He
was renowned for his drupad
vocal in not just India, but also
across the world.
He gave performances in
various popular festivals in India
and abroad.
He won various prestigious
honours and awards such as
Tagore Ratna Award, Tansen
Samman and Sangeet Natak
Academy Fellowship.
He was also conferred upon
with the Padma Shri- Indias
fourth highest civilian honor in
2012, but he turned it down.
He also remained a
distinguished guest faculty at
the Dhrupad Sansar of IIT
Bombay for 5 years.
Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh, the
renowned Bengali film maker died on
30 May 2013 of cardiac arrest at his
south Kolkata residence. 49 Years old
Rituparno Ghosh is the winner of 12
national and some of the international
awards.
Ghosh came into limelight by his
direction of a childrens film Hirer
Angti in year 1994. His film Unishe
April won national award winner in
1995. Some of his famous films
include Dahan, Asukh, Chokher Bali,
Raincoat, Bariwali, Antarmahal and
Noukadubi.
A brief A brief A brief A brief A brief
Insight into Ghoshs Career Insight into Ghoshs Career Insight into Ghoshs Career Insight into Ghoshs Career Insight into Ghoshs Career
Rituparno started his career as
a advertising Professional and
his directional debut was Hirer
Angti (The diamond ring).
He won the National film
award for Best Director for his
Bengali film Abohoman
starring Jishu Sengupta, Ananya
Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey and
Mamata Shankar.
He made his first screen
presence in an Oriya film Katha
Deithilli Ma Ku which is
directed by Himanshu Parija
and released in 2003.
He hosted two celeb-
rity chat shows, namely Ebong
Rituporno on ETV Bangla and
Ghosh and co. on Star Jalsha.
He was also the scriptwriter of
Gaaner Opa.
Sailendra Nath Roy Sailendra Nath Roy Sailendra Nath Roy Sailendra Nath Roy Sailendra Nath Roy
Sailendra Nath Roy, an Indian
Guinness World Record holder who
on 28 April 2013 attempted to cross
a river called Teesta suspended from
a zip wire attached to his ponytail has
died during the stunt. He was trying
to cross the Coronation Bridge over
the Teesta river near Siliguri town
suspended from a zip wire 600ft
(180m) long at a height of 70ft (20m).
In March 2011, Sailendra was
named a Guinness World Record
holder for travelling the farthest dis-
tance on a zip wire using hair. In 2008,
Sailendra pulled the Darjeeling toy
train with his ponytail. And in 2007,
his ponytail tied to a rope, he flew
from one building to another in front
of television cameras.
Surendra Tiwari Surendra Tiwari Surendra Tiwari Surendra Tiwari Surendra Tiwari
Hindi story writer and
playwright Surendra Tiwari died due
to brain haemorrhage on 7 May
2013. He was 64 years of age. He is
survived by his wife, two sons and
a daughter.
About Surendra Tiwari About Surendra Tiwari About Surendra Tiwari About Surendra Tiwari About Surendra Tiwari
Surendra Tiwari wrote and
edited 25 books in all.
He also edited 51 stories of
Nobel Prize winners as well as
10 volumes of stories of 251
female storytellers.
He wrote various plays during
his career, which included
Deewarein, Ek Aur Raja and
Chabutra.
In 1974, his first story collection
called Doosra Footpath, was
published.
In the year 1975, his play called
Deewarein was published.
His renowned novels included
Agniparv and Antatah.
He also served in the Indian
Information Service.
He served in AIR Publications
Department as well as
Registrar s Office of the
newspapers.
He was born on 8 October
1948 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
Sarabjit Singh Sarabjit Singh Sarabjit Singh Sarabjit Singh Sarabjit Singh
Sarabjit Singh, the Indian
national and a death row prisoner in
the Lahores Kot Lakhpat Jail died on
2 May 2013 at the Lahores Jinnah
Hospital in Pakistan. He was on the
life-support system since 26 April
2013 after being attacked by the
inmates in the jail.
49 years old Sarabjit Singh is an
Indian national who was born in
Bhikhiwind Province of Punjab and
had spent 23 years in Pakistani jail,
after being convicted of involvement
in the serial bomb blasts of 1990 in
Lahore and Faisalabad that killed 14
people. He was arrested from Kasur
Border for illegal crossing the border
in Pakistan in August 1990. In May
2012, his fifth mercy petition was
dismissed.
Sanaullah Ranjay Sanaullah Ranjay Sanaullah Ranjay Sanaullah Ranjay Sanaullah Ranjay
Sanaullah Ranjay, the Pakistani
prisoner who was attacked by a jail
inmate in Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu
died due to multi-organ failure at the
PGI Hospital in Chandigarh on 9 May
2013.
Sanaullah was attacked by a
fellow inmate on 3 May 2013 after the
death of Sarabjit Singh an Indian
Prisoner in Jinnah Hospital Lahore
after he was assaulted and attacked
by his jail inmates in Kot Lakhpat Jail
in Pakistan. Sanaullah was in prison
for the past 17 years on militancy re-
lated charges.
He was attacked by a former
Indian army soldier. Sanuallah was a
resident of Sialkot, Pakistan and was
serving a life term in India after being
convicted under the TADA
provisions. He was arrested in 1999.
Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Engineer
Asghar Ali Engineer, a noted
Islamic scholar died on 14 May 2013
after a prolonged illness in Suburban
Santa Cruz, Mumbai. The 73 year old
Asghar is survived by his son and a
daughter.
About Asghar Ali Engineer About Asghar Ali Engineer About Asghar Ali Engineer About Asghar Ali Engineer About Asghar Ali Engineer
For communal harmony, he
received Dalmia Award in
1990
He was honoured with three
doctorate degrees
He was the Chairman of the
Centre for Study of Society and
Secularism (CSSS) founded in
1993 after the 1992 Babri
Mosque destruction
He edited Indian Journal of
Secularism
He also edited a monthly paper
named Islam and Modern Age
and published Secular
Perspective, a fortnight paper
He received the National
Communal Harmony Award in
1997
`He won the USA Award from
the Association for Communal
Harmony in Asia in 2003
Steve Miller Steve Miller Steve Miller Steve Miller Steve Miller Steven Miller, the acting
director of the Internal Revenue
Service on 15 May 2013 had resigned
amid the criticism over the tax
agencys handling of conservative
groups seeking tax-exempt status.
The Scandal came into highlight
when it was found that officials
studying tax exempt status
applications singled out groups with
names including phrases like Tea
Party or Patriots, which could thus be
expected to be fiercely opposed to
US President Barack Obama. Steven
Miller, said in a message to colleagues
there was a strong and immediate
need to restore public trust in the
nations tax agency. The scandal has
been one of several to enervate the
White House in recent days.
Analysing the situation President
Barack Obama asserted that had
reviewed the Treasury Inspector
General for Tax Administration
(TIGTA) report on the IRSs targeting
of conservative groups and found the
misconduct uncovered was
inexcusable.
Queen Beatri x Queen Beatri x Queen Beatri x Queen Beatri x Queen Beatri x
Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands abdicated the throne in
favour of her son Prince Willem-
Alexander. She was the queen for
the last 33 years. At present, she is 75
years old. Willem-Alexander has now
become Netherlands first king since
1890. Queen Beatrix had announced
her decision in January 2013 to step
down stating that her son was ready
to reign.
Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf
The High Court in the
northwestern city of Peshawar on 30
April 2013 imposed a lifetime ban on
former President Pervez Musharraf
from contesting elections. It was the
first time a court in Pakistan had
declared a citizen ineligible from
contesting elections for
life. Musharraf returned in March
2013 after nearly four years of self-
imposed exile to contest May 11
general election. The court observed
that Musharraf abrogated the
Constitution twice.
The first was when he carried
out a coup to oust a democratically
elected government.The second
time when he declared emergency
in 2007 and detained 60 judges.
Musharraf had filed nominations from
four constituencies namely Chitral,
Karachi, Kasur and Islamabad.
PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar
Union Railway Minister Pawan
Kumar Bansal and Union Law Minister
of India Ashwani Kumar submitted
their resignation to the Prime Minister
of India, Manmohan Singh on 10 May
2013. Railway Minister PK Bansal
resigned from his office after a weeks
time since his nephew Vijay Singla
was arrested for his alleged
involvement of bribery of 90 lakh
rupees from the Railway Board
Member, with a promise of
promotion.
Ashwani Kumar the Union Law
Minister submitted his resignation
after being into attack by the
opposition and the CBI affidavit
submitted to Supreme Court for
vetting up the CBI report in the Coal
Block allocation scam.
Raja parvez Ashraf Raja parvez Ashraf Raja parvez Ashraf Raja parvez Ashraf Raja parvez Ashraf
The former Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Raja Pervez Ashraf on 13
May 2013 was barred from Federal
Investigation Agency (FIA), of
Pakistan from leaving the country over
allegation of corruption in setting up
the Rental Power Projects. His name
has been placed on the Exit Control
List.
The immigration authorities and
airports of the country were ordered
by FIA to ensure that none of the
accused in the Power Project Scam
case including Raja Parvez Ashraf
leaves Pakistan. Earlier, the National
Accountability Bureau of Pakistan
(anti-corruption agency) has
decided to file a case over the Rental
Power Projects after the 11 May 2013
polls. The charges against Ashraf
dates back to his tenure as the Power
Minister of Pakistan.
Understanding Bhagat Singh Understanding Bhagat Singh Understanding Bhagat Singh Understanding Bhagat Singh Understanding Bhagat Singh
Understanding Bhagat Singh a
book by Prof. Chamanlal was released
in the on 3 May 2013. Professor
Randhir Singh, Eminent Thinker
released the book at School of Social
Sciences (SSS- I) Auditorium, JNU in
New Delhi. There exist more than 400
votes on the martyr, Bhagat Singh who
lived for just 23 years on this earth.
The book Understanding Bhagat
Singh has tried to explain the soul or
spirit of Bhagat Singh like his
principle of achieving objectives
with dignity, honesty and
fearlessness. Chamanlal is an Indian
author and scholar, who is a professor
in Hindi translation at centre of Indian
languages of Jawaharlal Nehru
University.
Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal
Nehru University, Prof. S. K. Sopory
and Sheila Bhallan, JNU economics
professor were the Guest of honor on
the occasion of the book release.
How to Get Filthy Rich in How to Get Filthy Rich in How to Get Filthy Rich in How to Get Filthy Rich in How to Get Filthy Rich in
Rising Asia Rising Asia Rising Asia Rising Asia Rising Asia
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising
Asia was released in April 2013. The
book is written by a Pakistani writer,
Mohsin Hamid. His other books
include Moth Smoke (2000) and The
Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007).
The book is a tale of the man who
takes his journey from a poor rural boy
to the corporate magnate. The book
takes the outline from the self-help
business books which are read by
youth all across the rising Asia. How
to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a
tale of contemporary life amidst
crushing upheaval. The book brings
out characters that develop a sense
of intimacy amidst shattering
changes. How to Get Filthy Rich in
Rising Asia in published in various
languages in different countries.
These languages include Arabic,
Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian,
Chinese, Danish, English, French,
German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi,
Japanese, Korean, Italian, Malayalam,
Marathi, Russian, Spanish and many
more. Mohsin Hamids first novel,
Moth Smoke reached to the final stage
of PEN/Hemingway Award, which is
given to best first novel in the US. His
second novel, The Reluctant
Fundamentalist, became an
international bestseller and was
shortlisted for Man Booker Prize. This
book won various awards which
included Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
as well as the Asian American Literary
Award.
An Ardent Patriot An Ardent Patriot An Ardent Patriot An Ardent Patriot An Ardent Patriot
Hamid Ansari, the Vice
President of India on 30 April 2013
released a book titled An Ardent
Patriot Dinesh Goswami, compiled
and edited by Kumar Deepak Das,
Member of Parliament. The book
is compilation of Parliamentary
Speeches of veteran parliamentarian
from Assam- Dinesh Goswami. The
book comprises of the Parliamentary
speeches made by him in the
Parliament during his tenure of Rajya
Sabha and Lok Sabha from 1971 to
1990. Dinesh Goswami was an
eminent political leader from Assam
who was a distinguished
parliamentarian. Apart from this, he
was also a reputed legal luminary, a
skilled orator and an ardent
champion of public service. His
work includes that as the Chairman
of the Committee on Electoral
reforms in 1990, popularly called the
Dinesh Goswami Committee. The
Dinesh Goswami Committee played
a key role in relevant
recommendations on reforms of our
electoral system which remain valid
even today.
Inferno Inferno Inferno Inferno Inferno
Inferno a novel written by Dan
Brown in the third week of May 2013
came into attack by the Philippines
authorities for its portrayal of Manila
as - the gates of hell. In the novel
Inferno, Brown has included a
character a doctor, who describes
Manila as a city of horrible traffic jams,
poverty, child sex-trade and crime.
In Inferno, the character
described by Dan Brown states Ive
run through the gates of hell about
her experiences in Manila. Francis
Tolentino, the Chairperson of the
metropolitan Manila wrote a letter to
Dan Brown and its publishers
showcasing his disappointment re-
garding the inaccurate portrayal of
the capital city and defining it for the
terrible description of poverty and
pollution. Dan Brown is the writer
of the famous novel, Da Vinci Code,
the book, whose film adaptation was
banned from screening in Manila City
in 2006 by stating it as an offensive
act against Catholic Church.
About Dan Brown About Dan Brown About Dan Brown About Dan Brown About Dan Brown
Dan Brown is the author of
number one bestselling novels like Da
Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Angels
& Demons, Deception Point and
Digital Fortress. Da vinci Code was a
novel that created a huge debate
among the readers and scholars and
renewed the interest of people in
Leonardo da Vinci and the early
history of Christianity. His novels are
published in 52 languages around
the world with 200 million copies in
print. In 2005, Time Magazine named
him among one of the top 100 most
influential people in the world.
Fi da-e-Lucknow Fi da-e-Lucknow Fi da-e-Lucknow Fi da-e-Lucknow Fi da-e-Lucknow
The Vice President of India,
Hamid Ansari released a book
entitled Fida-e-Lucknow -Tales of
the city and its people on 1 May
2013. The book is authored by
Parveen Talha, former Member
UPSC. It is important to note that a
lot of authors as well as poets have
also penned down about Lucknow
and its culture. Cultural civilization
grew in the city because of its rich
tradition and specialty.
Fida-e-Lucknow -Tales of the
city and its people is the collection
of 22 short stories. It peeps into the
flavours and textures of life in
Lucknow. The book takes its readers
through the history of its Ganga-
Jamuni culture and the changes
which came over the city and its
people in the post-Independence
period. The book also describes
about the story of Lucknows women.
A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis
of Awadh of Awadh of Awadh of Awadh of Awadh
Hamid Ansari, the Vice-
President of India on 26 April 2013
released a book entitled A Leaf turns
Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh edited by
filmmaker and social worker Muzaffar
Ali in New Delhi. The book depicts
the cultural history of the Awadh in
totality and highlights the rural culture
of Noth India especially the Awadh
in its composite form. The book is
researched well and is a thorough
account of the Sufism in (erstwhile)
Awadh. It has introduced the history,
traditions, sub-cultures, poetry and
institutions of Awadh. Every Chapter
of the Book is in the form of essay and
revolves round the expressive
traditions and socials backgrounds
that are responsible for the way of
living and unique thinking in the
people of the region.
National National National National National
Testing Agency (NTA) Testing Agency (NTA) Testing Agency (NTA) Testing Agency (NTA) Testing Agency (NTA)
The HRD Ministry on 31 May
2013 decided to set up a seven
member Task Force under the Chair-
manship of Sanjay Dhande. It will have
the representatives from CBSE, UGC,
NCERT, AICTE and from the Ministry.
It will prepare a blue print for creating
a special purpose vehicle to take the
concept of National Testing Agency
(NTA) forward. The rationale for
setting up the NTA lies in ensuring
that multiplicity of entrance
examination leading to stress on the
students is addressed in a compre-
hensive manner by formulating a
uniform entrance examination for ad-
missions in different branches of
higher learning. The decision for
setting up the National Testing
Agency was taken in the meeting of
Central Advisory Board for Education
(CABE) which was held on 2nd April
2013. In the meeting it was decided
that the proposal to set up National
Testing Agency shall be taken
forward in consultation with all stake-
holders.
Bichitra Tagore Variorum Bichitra Tagore Variorum Bichitra Tagore Variorum Bichitra Tagore Variorum Bichitra Tagore Variorum
Websi te Websi te Websi te Websi te Websi te
The President of India Pranab
Mukherjee launched the Bichitra
Tagore Variorum Website on 5 May
2013 at a function at Jadhavpur
University, Kolkata. Bichitra would
convey the message of Tagores art
and thought across the world.
In fact, Tagores works are a
treasure which speaks of humanitys
eternal message. By making Tagores
works available to all Bichitra will
remind us the high moral standards
he set for us. Let us reset our moral
compass.
US Senate confirmed US Senate confirmed US Senate confirmed US Senate confirmed US Senate confirmed
Srinivasan as top US Court Srinivasan as top US Court Srinivasan as top US Court Srinivasan as top US Court Srinivasan as top US Court
Judge to the District of Judge to the District of Judge to the District of Judge to the District of Judge to the District of
Columbia Circuit Columbia Circuit Columbia Circuit Columbia Circuit Columbia Circuit
The US Senate on 23 May 2013
approved Srikanth Srinivasan was as
the most senior US Judge of the South
Asian descent to the US Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit.
The unanimous approval of
Srinivasan gave birth to speculations
that one day he may be tapped for
the Supreme Court. Srinivasan born
in Chandigarh, India and raised in
Kansas is the first justice who has
been confirmed to the Washington
court since 2006 a year after Chief
Justice John Roberts elevation
created a vacancy. The senate
confirmed his name to fill the vacancy
created seven years ago by 97 votes
in his favour.
About Srikanth Srinivasan About Srikanth Srinivasan About Srikanth Srinivasan About Srikanth Srinivasan About Srikanth Srinivasan
He is the Principle Deputy
Solicitor General and defends
the policies of US President
Barack Obama before the
Supreme Court
Earlier he has also worked
under the former President,
George W. Bush
He is a proud recipient of the
Attorney Generals Award for
Excellence in Furthering US
National Security in 2003
He also won Office of the
Secretary of Defence Award
for Excellence in 2005
He is described as a trailblazer
by the US President, Obama
He is the first India-American
to be appointed to the top
American Court
His nomination to the post for
the first time was made by
President, Barack Obama in
June 2012, which was
returned back to him on 2
January 2013 due to sine die
adjournment of the senate.
Obama re-nominated
Srinivasan for the same position
on 3 January 2013
In 1989, he received his BA
with honours from Stanford
University and in 1995
received his Juris Doctor (JD)
in 1995 from Stanford Law
School. He was elected to
Order of the Coif and further
served as the editor of the
Stanford Law Review
GoM to consider Functional GoM to consider Functional GoM to consider Functional GoM to consider Functional GoM to consider Functional
Autonomy of CBI Autonomy of CBI Autonomy of CBI Autonomy of CBI Autonomy of CBI
The Union Cabinet of India on
14 May 2013 approved constitution
of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to
consider the matter relating to an ap-
propriate law being made to provide
for the independence of the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and its
functional autonomy. It has also been
decided, with the approval of the
Prime Minister that the composition
of the GoM will be as under:
1. P Chidambaram, Minister of
Finance;
2. Sushilkumar Shinde, Minister
of Home Affairs;
3. Kapil Sibal, Minister of
Communications and
Information Technology and
Minister of Law and Justice;
4. Salman Khurshid, Minister of
External Affairs; and
5. V Narayanasamy, Minister of
State in the Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances
and Pensions; and Minister of
State in the Prime Ministers
Office.
The GoM will prepare the draft
law and the draft affidavit to be filed
in the Supreme Court in the context
of the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 120 of
2012, within three weeks. The GoM
will be serviced by the Department
of Personnel and Training.
Pilatus PC 7 MKII Pilatus PC 7 MKII Pilatus PC 7 MKII Pilatus PC 7 MKII Pilatus PC 7 MKII
The IAFs premier Academy
located at Dundigal, Hyderabad on
31 May 2013 inducted basic trainer
aircraft Pilatus PC 7 MKII. The PC 7
MK II aircraft would be used for Basic
Training of all pilots of the Indian Air
Force, in addition to the pilots of the
Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. Till
now this role was performed by the
reliable but ageing workhorse, the
HJT-16 Kiran aircraft. A total of 75
aircraft have been contracted from
Pilatus, Switzerland. The
procurement of PC 7 MkII was
approved by the government in May
2012 and the first batch of PC-7 Mk II
arrived at the Academy in February
this year as a part of accelerated
induction plan. The first batch of
Flight Cadets would start their train-
ing on PC-7 MK II from July onwards.
Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission
The Union Cabinet of India on
16 May 2013 approved the
establishment of the Gandhi Gandhi Gandhi Gandhi Gandhi
Heritage Sites Mission. Heritage Sites Mission. Heritage Sites Mission. Heritage Sites Mission. Heritage Sites Mission. T h e
objective behind this approval is to
conserve and restore the heritage
sites associated with the Mahatma
Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.
Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission
will be assigned with the
identification, collation and
assessment of the information on
Gandhi Heritage material, its
management and deployment.
The mission will also be
responsible for identifying the
conservation methodology as well as
the priorities for documents and
objects, with its point of view of
archival storage and museology and
for physical structures and sites, as
also guidelines for their subsequent
maintenance.
The mission will disseminate the
information that is based on relevant
material for identification, collation
and assessment and conservation
would be through a web based
portal, audio/visual (like digital prints
and CDs), publications. It will also
communicate through core sites and
specify the function, use and signifi-
cance of the site, wherever
necessary.
The mission will also preserve
the 2000 important sites identified by
the panel that was chaired by
Gopalkrishna Gandhi, ex-Governor of
West Bengal along with the other 39
core sites.
Moska Najib Moska Najib Moska Najib Moska Najib Moska Najib
Afghan Women, Moska Najib is
among the 25 shortlisted for one of
the best jobs of the world in the
Australias Best Job in the World com-
petition. The 29 year old Moska Najib
is a documentary film maker and
photographer by profession.
The Delhi based Moska is the
only Afghan to beat 6 lakh applicants
in the race and if she wins the race
by gaining the job, she will earn
100000 Australian dollars in six
months.
Yuichiro Miura Yuichiro Miura Yuichiro Miura Yuichiro Miura Yuichiro Miura
Yuichiro Miura, the 80-year old
mountaineer from Japan reached
Mount Everests summit on 23 May
2013. With this, he became the oldest
man to climb the highest mountain
peak of the world. Yuichiro Miura
climbed the Everest at the age of 70
and 75 as well. As the oldest man to
climb Mount Everest, he replaced
Nepals Min Bahadur Sherchan who
climbed the Everest at the age of 76
years in 2008. It is important to note
that Min Bahadur Sherchan will again
attempt climbing Mount Everest in
the last week of May 2013, at the age
of 81 years. Yuichiro Miura reached
the height of 29035 foot (8850-
meter). He climbed the Everest with
three more Japanese climbers, which
included his son and six Nepalis
Sherpas.
Thanjavur Thanjavur Thanjavur Thanjavur Thanjavur
Defence Ministry on 27 May
2013 inaugurated the first fighter
aircraft base at Thanjavur in southern
India. Su-30MKI combat aircraft will
be stationed here.Thanjavur airbase
can be another strategically
important airbase of the Indian Air
Force. IAF can protect vast area of
interests by stationing frontline
fighter aircraft Sukhoi at Thanjavur.
The setting up of the premier fighter
base is important because of current
geo-political scenario and threat
perception in the Indian peninsula
and in the Indian Ocean.
Rashtriya Smriti Rashtriya Smriti Rashtriya Smriti Rashtriya Smriti Rashtriya Smriti
The Union Cabinet gave
approval for setting up Rashtriya
Smriti to perform the last rites of the
departed national leaders. The
Union Cabinet of India, on 16 May
2013 gave approval for setting up
Rashtriya Smriti at the Samadhis
Complex near Ekta Sthal in New
Delhi.
The Rashtriya Smriti is
established to perform the last rites
of the departed national leaders.
The national leaders include
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Prime
Ministers, former Presidents, Vice
Presidents, Prime Ministers and such
other leaders which will be decided
by the Cabinet. It is important to note
that previously, separate memorials
for the national leaders were created
near the Rajghat which consumed a
lot of space. Therefore, the Cabinet
decided that no new Samadhi would
be developed for departed national
leaders anymore and that the
Rashtriya Smriti would be used for
performance of last rites of these
leaders. The Smriti area will also pro-
vide for the space for last rites apart
from space for the public gathering.
New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi
At the number 2 position was
Singapore. Pattaya was at number
fourth position while Hong Kong
followed it with 5th rank. Phuket was
at the 7th position and Kuala Lumper
remained at 9th position. New York
and Las Vegas were at 8th and 10th
positions respectively. London
remained at 6th position and Dubai
grabbed the 3rd position.
Hotel Price Index (HPI) report
of 2012 by Hotels.com revealed that
the metro cities of India remain at
the top most positions in the list of
top 10 favourite Indian destinations
for the international travellers. The
national capital of India, New Delhi
ranked first followed by Mumbai.
The third most favourite
destination for the international
travellers was the beach capital of In-
dia, Goa. Other favourite destinations
included south Indian cities of
Bengaluru and Chennai which
ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
At the sixth position was Pink City of
Jaipur.
In terms of Indians planning the
trips abroad, the destination that
dominated the top 10 favourite spots
in the list were South East Asian
destinations. The most preferred des-
tination for the Indian travellers was
Bangkok because of great value rates.
Zhongxi ng- 11 Zhongxi ng- 11 Zhongxi ng- 11 Zhongxi ng- 11 Zhongxi ng- 11
China, on 2 May 2013,
successfully launched a
communications satellite called
Zhongxing-11 from Xichang Satellite
Launch Center in southwest Sichuan
province. The satellite was launched
into its present orbit from Long March-
3B rocket. This marked the 176th
launch of Long March series of rock-
ets of China.
About Zhongxi ng-11 About Zhongxi ng-11 About Zhongxi ng-11 About Zhongxi ng-11 About Zhongxi ng-11
Zhongxing-11 has the lift-off
mass of approximately 5000 kg
as well as mmedia for clients,
Direct-to-Home as well as data
transmission for the Asia-Pacific
region.
A New Variety of Mango, A New Variety of Mango, A New Variety of Mango, A New Variety of Mango, A New Variety of Mango,
Nirbhaya Nirbhaya Nirbhaya Nirbhaya Nirbhaya
A new variety of mango,
harvested at Uttar Pradeshs famous
mango centre Malihabad, was
named Nirbhaya after the 23-year-old
Delhi girl who was brutally gang-
raped on 16 December 2012 and
died of her injuries two weeks later.
The new variety is a way of
honouring the bravery and spirit of
the young physiotherapist, whose
rape and death galvanized the entire
nation.
Arunima Sinha Arunima Sinha Arunima Sinha Arunima Sinha Arunima Sinha
Arunima Sinha, became the first
Indian amputee to conquer Mount
Everest on 21 may 2013. 25-year-
old Arunima Sinha is former national
level volleyball player and had lost
one of her legs after being thrown off
a moving train of Padmawati Express
for resisting a chain-snatching
attempt by some criminals, when she
was travelling from Lucknow to Delhi
on 12 April 2011. She scaled the 8848
metre-high summit of the worlds
highest peak at 10.55 a.m. as IST on
21 May 2013.
About Arunima Sinha About Arunima Sinha About Arunima Sinha About Arunima Sinha About Arunima Sinha
She was hospitalised with
serious leg and pelvic injuries
and in a proposition to save her
life, doctors had to amputate
her left leg below the knee.
Arunima successfully scaled
the 6622-metre-high Mount
Chhamser Kangri of Ladakh
in year 2012 .
Arunima started training at the
Tata Steel Adventure
Foundation (TSAF) camp in
Uttarkashi last year under the
guidance of Bachendri Pal, the
first Indian woman to conquer
Mt Everest.
BrahMos BrahMos BrahMos BrahMos BrahMos
Supersonic Cruise Missile Supersonic Cruise Missile Supersonic Cruise Missile Supersonic Cruise Missile Supersonic Cruise Missile
India on 22 May 2013
successfully test fired the 290-km
range BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile from the Navys latest guided
missile frigate INS Tarkash off the
coast of Goa. The missile performed
the high-level C manoeuvre in the
pre-determined flight path and
successfully hit the target. Jointly
developed by India and Russia, the
BrahMos is capable of carrying a
conventional warhead of 300 kg.
India is readying several different
versions of the missile which includes
land attack, anti-ship and submarine-
launched versions.
Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma
Oklahoma City suburbs, Oklahoma City suburbs, Oklahoma City suburbs, Oklahoma City suburbs, Oklahoma City suburbs,
US: US: US: US: US: 91 peopl e, i ncl udi ng 20
children were killed because of huge
tornado that went through Oklahoma
City suburbs in US on 20 May 2013.
The worst affected area was Moore,
situated towards the south of
Oklahoma. The tornado travelled
with the speed of 200 mph or 320
kmph.
Apart from 91 killed, 120 are
seriously injured. The President of US,
Barack Obama declared the
Oklahoma tornado as the major
disaster. Tornadoes, high winds as
well as hail storms hit Kansas as well.
What is a Tornado? What is a Tornado? What is a Tornado? What is a Tornado? What is a Tornado?
Tornado is the rotating column
of air which is in contact with the
earth as well as cumulonimbus
cloud, at the same time. They are
also called cyclones or
twisters. The tornado is encircled
by the cloud of dust and debris. Most
of the tornadoes travel with a speed
of less than 110 miles per hour and
are around 250 feet across. Before
dissipating, they travel to several
kilometres.
Hill Forts of Rajasthan and Hill Forts of Rajasthan and Hill Forts of Rajasthan and Hill Forts of Rajasthan and Hill Forts of Rajasthan and
Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park
Rajasthan and Great Rajasthan and Great Rajasthan and Great Rajasthan and Great Rajasthan and Great
Himalayan National Park: Himalayan National Park: Himalayan National Park: Himalayan National Park: Himalayan National Park: I ndi a
nominated cluster of six hill forts in
Rajasthan as well as Great Himalayan
National Park in Himachal Pradesh
for World Heritage Sites for 2013.
The UNESCOs World Heritage
Committee will be held in Phnom
Penh in Cambodia in June 2013 and
conferring the status of World
Heritage Sites on these places will
be decided in this meeting.
Hill forts of Rajasthan Hill forts of Rajasthan Hill forts of Rajasthan Hill forts of Rajasthan Hill forts of Rajasthan
Hill forts at six places Amber,
Chittorgarh, Gagron, Jaisalmer,
Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore are
showcase of the military architecture
of Rajput, which are seen in
memorials, temples as well as palaces.
These forts were built between 13th
and 19th century and they are
absolutely unique in the region.
The Great The Great The Great The Great The Great
Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park Himalayan National Park
The Great Himalayan National
Park is spread over 75400 hectares
and is situated in western part of the
Himalayan Mountains in Kullu
District. This rich in biodiversity site
is one of the most scenic places of
India. It nests 25 forest types and
supports 805 different varieties of
plants.
It also hosts 31 mammal
species and 209 kinds of birds. The
International Council on Monuments
and Sites (ICOMOS) evaluates
cultural properties for UNESCO.
These sites were inspected by
ICOMOS in 2012 and final
recommendation will be given by 17
May 2013. Overall, India has 29
World Heritage Sites; out of which 23
are cultural 6 are natural properties.
3-Man Probe Panel to probe 3-Man Probe Panel to probe 3-Man Probe Panel to probe 3-Man Probe Panel to probe 3-Man Probe Panel to probe
IPL Betti ng IPL Betti ng IPL Betti ng IPL Betti ng IPL Betti ng
The Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) on 29 May 2013
constituted a three-man inquiry
commission to probe the allegations
against Gurunath Meiyappan and the
three Rajasthan Royals players, who
were arrested on charges of betting
in the IPL-6 matches.
The Commission will be
initiating the adjudication
proceedings at the earliest. The
committee consisting of Former
Judge of the Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu High Courts Justice T. Jayaram
Chouta, Former Judge of the Tamil
Nadu High Court Justice R
Balasubramanian, and Secretary of
BCCI Sanjay Jagdale. They will
probe charges against M Gurunath,
former Team Principal of Chennai
Super Kings, as well as the three
Rajasthan Royals cricketers who were
arrested for alleged spot-fixing. The
committee will also probe India
Cements Ltd. the owner of the
Chennai Super Kings Franchise and
Jaipur IPL Pvt. Ltd. the owner of the
Rajasthan Royals Franchise.
Abhi nav Abhi nav Abhi nav Abhi nav Abhi nav
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL)
on 28 May 2013 launched its third
Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) which is built
for the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel
was launched by Nina Paul Antony,
the Chairman of Cochin Port Trust.
This vessel was named Abhinav.
About the Fast Patrol Vessel About the Fast Patrol Vessel About the Fast Patrol Vessel About the Fast Patrol Vessel About the Fast Patrol Vessel
The Fast Patrol Vessel was
named Abhinav.
The Fast Patrol Vessel weighs
120 tons and was placed on
the specially designed cradles
at the dock head which was
hoisted by the gantry crane.
This vessel is third in series of
20 numbers FPVs contracted
by CSL.
The primary objective of the
vessel is monitoring, fisheries
protection as well as patrolling
within within exclusive
economic zone (EEZ). Also,
the objective of this vessel is
coastal patrolling and
involvement in patrolling for
anti smuggling, search and
rescue operations and for anti
piracy operations.
The secondary role of the
vessel is to provide
communication link as well as
escort convoys during the war
time as well as hostilities.
The three Fast Patrol Vessels
are small in size but they are
technologically challenged
and complex.
These ships are propelled by
water jets in order to achieve
the speed of 33 knots.
Cochin Shipyard developed
certain special techniques in
order to make sure of the high
quality welding as well as
fabrication of Aluminium
structures.
At present, the Cochin
Shipyard has 25 ships on the order
which consists of 20 Fast Patrol
Vessels, 3 Offshore Support ships for
Indian and foreign owners, one
Prestigious Aircraft Carrier for the
Indian Navy as well as 1 Buoy
Tender vessel for the Department of
Lighthouses and Lightships.
Nunshi and Tashi Malik Nunshi and Tashi Malik Nunshi and Tashi Malik Nunshi and Tashi Malik Nunshi and Tashi Malik
Nunshi and Tashi Malik, two 21-
year old Indians from Dehrahdun
became first twins to scale Mount
Everest on 19 May 2013. They were
among 135 other people, who
reached the top of the Mount Everest,
which is the highest mountain of the
world at 8848 meter above sea level.
It is interesting to note that these twins
reached the top of Mount Everest
with two sherpas, who were also
twins. Both these twin sisters were
staying on mountains in that region in
order to get acquainted with the
atmosphere. Along with them, 11-
member joint Indian and Nepal army
expedition reached that summit
too. In 2012, 62 Indians had
attempted to scale Mount Everest,
with 45 being successful.
Mount Fuji Mount Fuji Mount Fuji Mount Fuji Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji, Japan:
International Council on Monuments
and Sites (ICOMOS) approved
Japans Mount Fuji to be declared
as the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mount Fuji is the snow-topped
volcano in Japan. Formal decision
would be taken about its declaration
as the world heritage site when the
World Heritage Committee of
UNESCO will meet in Cambodia in
June 2013.
Japans Mount Fuji is located at
12460 feet and is the highest
mountain of Japan. The volcano
that erupted around a little more
than 300 years ago is situated to
south-west of Tokyo. It is visible
from Tokyo easily. Mount Fuji is also
featured in the historic art work of
Japan, which also includes wood
blocks prints. It is also said to be a
part of traditional Three Holy
Mountains, apart from Mount Haku
and Mount Tate, both of which lie in
Central Japan.
International Council on International Council on International Council on International Council on International Council on
Monuments and Sites Monuments and Sites Monuments and Sites Monuments and Sites Monuments and Sites
International Council on
Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS) approved Mount
Fuji an appropriate site for
registration.
ICOMOS evaluates the cultural
properties which are
nominated to World Heritage
List. It is also responsible for
submission of the
recommendation to
UNESCOs annual meetings.
At present, there are 16 World
Heritage listed Sites in Japan, out of
which 12 are cultural and four
natural. Recent additions to this list
were Buddhism-linked gardens and
temples of Hiraizumi, which were
recognised as World Heritage Site
in 2011.
National Defence University National Defence University National Defence University National Defence University National Defence University
The Prime Minister of India,
Manmohan Singh on 23 May 2013 laid
the foundation stone of the Indian
National Defence University (INDU)
at Binola, Gurgaon. The university is
going to be an autonomous institution
of national importance.
The Defence University came
up following the recommendation
of the Review Committee
constituted after the Kargil Conflict
by the Government for the
establishment of a University that
deals exclusively with defence and
strategic matters. The review com-
mittee was headed by eminent
strategic expert K Subrahmanyam.
Aim of INDU Aim of INDU Aim of INDU Aim of INDU Aim of INDU
INDU aims to provide
knowledge based higher
education for management of
the defence of India to the
military leadership and other
concerned civilian officials. It
will also keep them abreast of
the emerging security
challenges via scholarly
Research and Training
It will develop and propagate
higher education in Defence
Studies like Defence
Management, Defence
Science and Technology. It
will also promote the policy
with its orientation towards,
research related to National
Defence.
It will prepare officers for high
level leadership as well as staff
and policy responsibilities
The think tanks of the
University will be responsible
for providing inputs for Policy
Formulations
It will focus on higher
education in defence studies,
defence management and
defence science and
technology
The university will offer post
graduate studies and doctoral
/ post doctoral research
Constituent Colleges and Constituent Colleges and Constituent Colleges and Constituent Colleges and Constituent Colleges and
Institutions of INDU Institutions of INDU Institutions of INDU Institutions of INDU Institutions of INDU
National College of Defence
Studies (NCDS)
Indian Institute of Defence
Technology (IIDT)
Indian Institute of Defence
Management (IIDM)
Defence Institute of Distance
and Open Learning (DIDOL)
Institutes and Colleges of Indian Institutes and Colleges of Indian Institutes and Colleges of Indian Institutes and Colleges of Indian Institutes and Colleges of Indian
armed forces that will be armed forces that will be armed forces that will be armed forces that will be armed forces that will be
affiliated through INDU affiliated through INDU affiliated through INDU affiliated through INDU affiliated through INDU
National Defence College
(NDC) New Delhi
Defence Services Staff College
(DSSC) Wellington
College of Defence
Management (CDM)
Secunderabad
National Defence Academy
(NDA) Khadakwasla
The University will be
instituted by the Act of the Parliament
and President of Indian Union will be
a visitor to it and Defence Minister
will be the Chancellor. INDU will be
governed as per its own norms and
will be responsible to promote
coordination and interaction
between Institutions of Armed
Forces or establishments of the
country. It will give opportunity of
higher studies through distance
learning to both military and civilian
personnel. It will also give affiliation
to defence training institutions to
award degrees. The Institute will be
headed by its President (who will
be a three star serving General /
equivalent officer with C-in-C status
on appointment) and the Vice-
President will be a civilian. The
University is being planned on the
lines of IIT/IIMs.The students of the
University will constitute 66 percent
students from armed forces and
remaining 33 percent would be
drawn from other government
agencies, police and civilian. The
teaching faculty will com-
prise of both military
personnel and civilians in the ratio of
1:1.
Samina Baig Samina Baig Samina Baig Samina Baig Samina Baig
Samina Baig on 19 May 2013
became the first Pakistani woman to
scale Mount Everest. She did this
along with Nunshi and Tashi Malik, the
first Indian twin sisters to scale the
Everest. After reaching to the top of
Everest, all three women hoisted
Indian and Pakistani flags along side,
depicting a message of collaborative
action, friendship and peace. The
Nepal Mountaineering Department
officials confirmed the feat, while at
the same time, also explaining that
35 foreigners along with 29 Nepalese
Sherpa guides scaled the Everest
after climbing from highest camp on
South Col, which is the pass between
Mt. Everest and another
neighbouring mountain.
Seljuk Minaret Seljuk Minaret Seljuk Minaret Seljuk Minaret Seljuk Minaret
Seljuk minaret in The Great Seljuk minaret in The Great Seljuk minaret in The Great Seljuk minaret in The Great Seljuk minaret in The Great
Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Seljuk
minaret in The Great Mosque of
Aleppo, which was constructed in
1090, was destroyed in Syrian
protests on 24 April 2013. The Great
Mosque of Aleppo, also known as
Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo is
largest and also one of the oldest
mosques of Aleppo, Syria. This
mosque is located in al-Jalloum
district of Ancient Aleppo and has
also been declared as the World
Heritage Site. This mosque was
constructed in 8th century but the
present building dates back to 13th
century apart from the destroyed
minaret that was constructed in 1090.
It is believed that the mosque is home
of remains of Zechariah, the father of
John the Baptist.
The activists of President Bashar
al-Assad regime and the anti-
government activists blamed each
other for the destruction of the
minaret. It is important to note that
this was the second in one week that
historic mosque has been damaged
seriously.
In the protests ongoing in Syria,
five out of six World Heritage sites of
Syria have already been damaged,
according to the UNESCO. Earlier,
the protestors broke into the best-
preserved Crac des Chevaliers, ruins
in the ancient city of Palmyra and
Crusader castles of the world.
Antique furnishings as well as intricate
sculpted colonnades were burnt.
Apart from this, the Islamic relics were
also ransacked. Also, the looters took
away the box that is said to
encompass the strand of Prophet
Muhammads hair. The cultural
agency of the United Nations-
UNESCO warned Syria that civil war
was posing threat to rich cultural
heritage of the country.
CSAT
General Studies Manual
IAS Preliminary
Examination Paper I
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Freedom that Must have Limits Freedom that Must have Limits Freedom that Must have Limits Freedom that Must have Limits Freedom that Must have Limits
Kamlesh Vaswanis PIL seeking
to ban the viewing of pornography
and make it a non-bailable offence has
raised eyebrows. Columnists and
social media commentators have
greeted the idea with shock, raising
issues such as social liberty, sexual
freedom, and the fact that the mere
banning of pornography might not
bring down the incidence of rape. On
the surface of it, this sounds politically
correct but the reality is much more
complex.
Take two facts. First, the two
men arrested for raping the five-year-
old in Delhi were watching porn
before they stepped out and
abducted the girl. Second, Google
Trends shows that in 2012, New Delhi
recorded the highest percentage
worldwide for the number of times
the word porn was searched online.
And National Crime Records Bureau
data for the same year show that 706
rapes were reported in Delhi, the
highest in the last decade and more
than double the number for 2002.
In the West
Too simplistic a correlation?
Perhaps. But does that mean we can
afford to ignore the parallel? The
world over, governments and
sociologists are struggling with the
issue of untrammelled access to
pornography and the alarming rise in
incidents of violent rape and child
abuse. In London, Prime Minister
David Cameron is set to announce a
government-backed code of conduct
that will block pornography in public
spaces such as cafes and railway
stations where children are likely to
be present.
Liberal Icelands existing laws
banning pornography are similar to
Indias vague and rarely enforced.
The government there is drafting a
law, much to the horror of some of its
wired and freethinking citizens, that
seeks to ban pornography altogether
to protect children from violent sexual
imagery. AGuardian report quotes an
Icelandic Interior Ministry
spokesperson: When a 12-year-old
types porn into Google, he or she is
not going to find photos of naked
women out on a country field, but very
hardcore and brutal violence.
The problem with pornography
is just that. It is not so much about
erotica, as its advocates will have us
believe, as it is about extreme vio-
lence, degradation and subjugation
of women, and the violation of
children and teenagers. It extols
rape, defilement and mutilation. Most
dangerously, it mainstreams all of this
and packages it as the normal. This
is lethal in a place like India, where
large numbers of people leapfrog
from a state of total ignorance about
even ordinary sex to direct exposure
to vicious abuse.
Documenting abuse
As the pornography industry
thrives by getting more extreme each
day, sociologists have
correspondingly begun to note that
gang rapes have risen, the age of the
rapists has fallen, and the violence is
much more brutal today. One report
quotes U.S. Department of Justice
statistics that show the percentage
of rapes involving two or more offend-
ers increasing from seven per cent in
1994-1998 to 10 per cent in 2005-
2010.
In last years Steubenville High
School rape in Ohio, U.S., when a high
schoolgirl was doped and repeatedly
violated by her schoolmates, two
other appalling facts emerged. One,
the rapists uploaded photos of the
acts on social media where it went
viral; and second, students who
witnessed the acts said they did not
recognise the acts as rape. In the last
few months, two teenagers, Rehtaeh
Parsons and Audrey Potts, in the U.S.
and Canada, respectively, have
committed suicide after being gang-
raped by 16- and 17-year-old boys
who then posted the photos online.
Let us not forget our own MMS
scandals involving schoolchildren.
Blurring lines
This trend of online
documentation of abuse follows
closely on the footsteps of porn
websites that actively encourage the
posting of real-life pictures of girls
caught unawares or of pictures taken
of them with hidden cameras. In other
words, the lines are already blurring
between pornographic websites and
social network websites. What was
once an explicit image on a
clandestine website could today be a
picture of a classmate on Facebook.
It might be statistically
impossible to directly link the viewing
of pornography to rape, but it is
undeniable that its mainstreaming is
actively encouraging and endorsing
a culture of abuse of women and chil-
dren. Recent news reports, in fact,
have quoted counsellors who say that
obsessive porn viewing is today a
leading cause of marital abuse and
divorce in India.
The link between violence in
films and the increased rate of
violence in society is equally
unverifiable, but its interesting that
this medium has always been filtered
by some form of certification. How
then is a medium that is inherently
much more dangerous left so
unregulated?
The existing IT Act, which
stipulates three years imprisonment
for publishing and transmitting
obscene material electronically, is
followed more in the breach.
Following the PIL, the Supreme Court
has asked the Ministries of Information
Technology, Information and
Broadcasting, and Home Affairs to
come up with some answers by April
29. Whether it is stricter policing and
stiffer (and implemented)
punishments, or some sort of
technologically feasible filters, or
steep levies on the viewing of such
content, some adequate response is
required, something that makes it
more difficult to access porn than
ticking a box that asks if you are 18.
Yes, freedoms are precious and
worth fighting for, but just because
some of our men are not mature
enough to enjoy these freedoms
responsibly, should our children and
women be made to pay the price?
Courtesy-The Hindu Courtesy-The Hindu Courtesy-The Hindu Courtesy-The Hindu Courtesy-The Hindu
Restraint is the key Restraint is the key Restraint is the key Restraint is the key Restraint is the key
The Line of Actual Control is
crossed many times each year as if to
underline the fact that India and China
do not agree fully on its contours, but
the latest incursion by Chinese troops
in Ladakh has cast a shadow on the
new warmth in ties between New
Delhi and the new leadership in
Beijing because the troops have
stayed put and not returned. Just a
month ago, at their meeting on the
sidelines of the BRICS summit in
Durban, Chinese President Xi Jinping
told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
that the two countries must broaden
exchanges and cooperation between
their armed forces and deepen mutual
military and security trust. President
Xi also talked about both sides striving
towards a fair, rational solution on
the border issue as soon as possible.
Further, he said both countries
should continue to safeguard peace
in their border areas and prevent the
issue from affecting bilateral
relations. The developments in
Daulat Beg Oldie, 10 km inside Indian
territory, near Burthe in eastern
Ladakh, are contradictory to the spirit
of the sentiments expressed by the
Chinese President. A flag meeting
between the two sides on Tuesday,
the second in a week, failed to resolve
the issue, and the PLA soldiers
continue to camp on the Indian side.
To their credit, both governments
have seen the wisdom of not allowing
the matter to escalate, and have been
restrained in their statements.
In the last decade or so, both
sides have tried to quarantine the
border issue from the rest of the
bilateral relationship, succeeding in
large measure. India and China have
held 15 rounds of talks on their border
dispute since 2005; additionally, in
2012, a border management
mechanism was set up to sort out
potential threats to peace and
tranquillity. Meanwhile, trade
relations have grown to a point where
they are routinely cited as a model in
how nations with a border dispute can
still have civil ties. Despite many other
irritants, there have been high-level
contacts to widen engagement to
strategic and security related issues,
including a bilateral dialogue on
Afghanistan, and an agreement on
maritime co-operation. On the military
front too, there has been interaction.
Army exercises are planned and there
is greater coordination on anti-piracy
measures. Unfortunately, incidents
such as the one in Ladakh take away
from these successes, feeding into
unhelpful popular perceptions about
India-China relations. The scheduled
visit by Premier Li Keqiang next
month, in itself significant as it is likely
to be his first tour abroad after assum-
ing office, is now likely to be
dominated by the border issue. It is
essential that both sides work swiftly
to clear the air.
Legacy of Change through Legacy of Change through Legacy of Change through Legacy of Change through Legacy of Change through
Justi ce Justi ce Justi ce Justi ce Justi ce
What do we seek in a Supreme
Court judge? One who must exercise
among the widest constitutional
jurisdictions of any Supreme Court in
the world: to pass any order that does
complete justice, hear, however
briefly, petitions against any order
from any court and to decide direct
cases on violations of fundamental
rights?
The role requires complete
probity, and spine; the courage and
the wisdom to interpret rights in ways
that adhere to the law, yet evolve in
new directions to distinguish
changing circumstance; and the ability
to get things done.
Judicial innovations
Justice Vermas leadership at the
Supreme Court and beyond was
based on this character. In his brief
tenure as Chief Justice of India, he
sought to institutionalise honesty: in
1997, the Supreme Court adopted the
Restatement of Values of Judicial
Life. A few months later, Justice
Verma passed theVishaka judgment,
which made sexual harassment at the
workplace illegal when Parliament
failed to do so. It is less widely known
how the bench did this.
Vishaka made clear that the
courts could breathe life into
fundamental rights where Parliament
had failed to do its job - because of
inattention to rights or regular
adjournments using international
treaties India has signed. Parliament
passed a Bill on sexual harassment 15
years later, with no discussion at all in
the Lok Sabha, in large part because
of the Vishaka judgment. During
that time, working women were
grateful for the recognition of their
right to work with human dignity,
far from odd patriarchal standards of
modesty being outraged.
Justice Vermas innovation of
continuing mandamus is now an
accepted judicial role, to compel
governments to do what they are
legally required but without taking
over the function. In this he urged
court restraint, so as not to blur the
line between the two. Some of his
decisions have been widely critiqued:
the collegium system, for instance, by
which senior Supreme Court judges
decide the appointment of other
judges. Also his references to
Hindutva, which he later said were
misinterpreted. But its a mistake to
seek unblemished heroes. How
otherwise would you see yourself
reflected, learn to deal with lives and
laws that are themselves imperfect?
Honesty and backbone can
make you inconvenient, especially if
you call a spade a spade when its
being widely referred to as a pickaxe.
Tributes from those in power are
pouring forth now, but many did their
best to ignore Justice Vermas assured
constitutional voice.
Under his chairmanship, the
National Human Rights Commission
was one of the first institutions to
condemn the role of the State
Government in the 2002 riots. He
raised the issue not just of State
inaction in the face of mass murder
and rape, but also of the economic
and social ghettoisation of
communities. He hired me shortly
after as Officer on Special Duty to the
Commission, to help continue some
of that work as he stepped down. I
was 26.
Road Map for Rights
Eleven years later, when gusts
of equality were blowing down
Rajpath, young people stormed the
barricades of a different government,
facing beatings and water cannons,
alienated by State inaction on sexual
violence, Justice Verma placed the
full weight of his eminence and
judicial experience behind them.
The report he produced has
given women and men a
contemporary bill of rights, giving
flesh to constitutional gender equality.
The Justice Verma Committee also
laid out a road map to achieve those
rights. A few sections have found
place in the new anti-rape laws, but
the report has been largely ignored.
Instead, a rash of death sentences
threatens to make common a standard
that was reserved for the rarest of
rare crimes.
All evidence shows that this will
not stop the violence certain justice
is a deterrent, extreme sentencing is
not. Citizens were on the streets again
this week, unwilling to accept the rape
of another child being badly
mishandled, seeing ad hoc reform and
little change. This is an issue that will
not blow over. What then can
governments, Central and State, do to
give effect to the Verma Committees
Bill of rights? There is no magic bullet,
but without a criminal justice system
that works the very reason for
governance falls open to question.
Implement the laws against
sexual violence: relevant provisions in
the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act, the Indian Penal Code
and the Criminal Procedure Code
should be converted to plans of action
by each agency tasked to implement
them, costed by those agencies and
finance and other resources provided.
Such exercises are considered basic
in Brazil and South Africa to ensure
laws dont remain largely on paper.
Pass legal amendments:
Representation of People Act, to
disqualify from elections candidates
against whom courts have taken
cognisance of charges; Police Acts to
enhance efficacy and accountability;
Indian Penal Code, to criminalise
sexual violence of men against men
and transgenders; Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act, to allow rapes
and sexual violence to be
prosecuted in normal courts, outside
boys club protections.
Carry out police reforms: set up
security commissions for police in
every State and National Security
Commission at the Centre; most have
not done this, in spite of a Supreme
Court judgment seven years ago and
two benches of Justice Singhvi and
Chief Justice of India Justice Kabir
asking States to respond. Fill existing
vacancies and address the gender
imbalance in the police forces; amend
service and other rules to recruit, train,
promote and penalise public servants
based on attitudes and service records
on sexual violence; facilitate FIRs
against police officers who assault or
sexually harass citizens, especially
survivors of sexual violence,
Execute plans to increase the
number of courts, judges, court
infrastructure, prosecutors and
strengthened legal aid need to be
implemented.
Include guidelines and
protocols for medical examination
and collection of forensic evidence of
sexual assault survivors in medical
school curricula; also protocols for
counsellors and psychologists in the
relevant curricula; ,modules on
gender in teacher training curricula
and in school curricula. Set up rape
crisis cells and crisis intervention
centres around the country staffed
by medical professionals, police desk,
counsellors and a legal desk. Equip
public emergency response systems
that work, create safe houses that
women and children can go to escape
violence.
Criminal justice may well be an
election issue now. Rather than
expressing outrage in Parliament,
political parties at the State and
Central levels can roll out plans on
what they intend to do to reduce
sexual violence where they are in
power, and where they hope to run
for government. But governments
cant and shouldnt do everything.
Families can end cycles of violence
and misogyny passed down from
parent to child. Proud male feminists
are already stepping forward,
masculinities groups with male
members working on gender equality
are being founded. Women are
learning to use the law, also other
ways of dealing with discrimination:
with humour, with firmness, with an
internalised sense of right and power.
An important leader has passed. His
legacy of ideas has emboldened
citizens, his last bequest equips
government to overhaul institutions.
Going by previous figures, more than
700 women and girls are likely to be
raped in Delhi this year. That number
could be much less. We have a choice.
Lesson from an Lesson from an Lesson from an Lesson from an Lesson from an
Unsettled Boundary Unsettled Boundary Unsettled Boundary Unsettled Boundary Unsettled Boundary
In 1950, the Survey of
India issued a map of India showing
the political divisions of the new
republic. While the border with
Pakistan was defined as it is now,
including the Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir area, the borders with China
were depicted differently. In the east,
the McMahon Line was shown as the
border, except in its eastern
extremity, the Tirap subdivision,
where the border was shown as
undefined. In the Central sector of
what is now Uttarakhand and
Himachal Pradesh and the eastern
part of Jammu & Kashmir, including
Aksai Chin, the boundary was
depicted merely by a colour wash
and denoted as boundary
undefined.
Unilateral act
In March 1954, the Union
Cabinet met and decided to
unilaterally define the border of India
with China. The colour wash was
replaced by a hard line,
and the Survey of India issued a
new map, which depicts the borders
as we know them today. All the old
maps were withdrawn and the
depiction of Indian boundaries in the
old way became illegal. Indeed, if
you seek out the White Paper on
Indian States of 1948 and 1950 in the
Parliament library, you will find that
the maps have been removed
because they too showed the border
as being undefined in the Central
and Western sectors.
What was the government up
to? Did it seriously think it could get
away with such a sleight of hand? Or
was there a design that will become
apparent when the papers of the
period are declassified? Not
surprisingly, the other party, the
Peoples Republic of China, was not
amused and, in any case, there are
enough copies of the old documents
and maps across the world today to
bring out the uncomfortable truth
that the boundaries of India in these
regions were unilaterally defined by
the Government of India, rather than
through negotiation and discussions
with China.
It is not as though the Chinese
have a particularly good case when it
comes to their western boundary in
Tibet. The record shows that the
Chinese empire was unclear as to its
western extremities, and rejected
repeated British attempts to settle the
border. The problem in the Aksai Chin
region was further compounded by
the fact that this was an uninhabited
high-altitude desert, with few markers
that could decide the case in favour
of one country or the other. But there
was cause for the two countries to sit
down and negotiate a mutually
acceptable boundary. This
as we know was not to be and, since
then, the process has gone through
needless tension and conflict.
In the initial period, Indias focus
was on the McMahon Line which
defines the boundary with China in
what is now Arunachal Pradesh. It
tended to play down the issue of Aksai
Chin because it was a remote area and
of little strategic interest to India. But
for China, the area was vital. Indeed,
according to John W. Garver, it was
essential to Chinese control of
western Tibet and very important to
its control of all of Tibet. In other
words, in contrast to Indias legalistic
and nationalistic claims over the
region, for China, control over Aksai
Chin had a geopolitical imperative.
For this reason, it entered the
area, built a road through it and
undertook a policy to expand
westward to ensure that the road was
secure. India woke up to the issue
late and when it sought to confront
the Chinese through its forward
policy in 1961, it was already too late.
And the 1962 war only saw a further
Chinese advance westward which
led to almost the entire Galwan River
coming under the Chinese control.
We can only speculate on the
causes of their present westward shift
in the Daulat Beg Oldi area. But one
thing is clear: the central locomotive
of Chinese policy remains Tibet.
Despite massive investments in the
region, large numbers of Tibetans
remain disaffected. No country in the
world, including India, recognises
Tibet as being a disputed territory yet,
for two reasons. The Chinese
constantly seek reassurance from
New Delhi about its intentions. First,
because of the past support that
Tibetan separatist guerrillas got from
the U.S. and India, and second,
because of the presence of the Dalai
Lama and the Tibetan government-
in-exile in India. Despite the massive
growth of Chinese power, their
insecurities remain high. In great
measure, they are due to Beijings own
heavy-handed policies and only China
can resolve the issues through
accommodation and compromise
with its own people. But not untypical
of governments, Beijing seeks to
deflect the blame of its own
shortcomings on outsiders.
There could be other drivers of
the tension as well. In the past five
years, the Chinese have been generally
assertive across their periphery and
this could well be an outcome of
policy decisions taken by the top
military and political leadership of the
country or, as some speculate,
because of an inner-party conflict.
Exaggerated Chinese maritime
boundary claims have brought them
into conflict with the ASEAN
countries, principally the Philippines,
Vietnam and Malaysia. A separate
order of tension has arisen with Japan
over the Senkaku islands in the East
China Sea. In the case of India, an
important initiative to resolve the
border dispute through Special
Representatives has been allowed to
run aground.
Another possible explanation
for the Chinese behaviour could be
the steps India is taking with regard
to its military on its borders with China.
Indias border infrastructure and
military modernisation schemes have
been delayed by decades. But in
recent years, there have been signs
that New Delhi may be getting its act
together. In any case, the cumulative
impact of the huge defence expen-
ditures since 2000 is beginning to
show in terms of better border con-
nectivity and modernisation
programmes. This momentum could
see Indian forces confrontation with
China become even stronger when
you take into account new
manpower and equipment such as
mountain artillery, attack helicopters,
missiles and rocket artillery.
Overlapping Claims
Even so, it would be hazardous
to speak definitively about Chinese
motivations. After being lambasted by
the Indian media for occupying
Indian territory, the Chinese might
be concerned about losing face with
a hasty retreat. The fact of the matter
is that the boundary in the region is
defined merely by a notional Line of
Actual Control, which is neither put
down on mutually agreed maps, let
alone defined in a document through
clearly laid out geographical features.
While both sides accept most of the
LAC and respect it, there are some
nine points where there are
overlapping claims and both sides
patrol up to the LAC, as they
understand it. In such circumstances,
the Chinese could well withdraw after
a decent interval.
This more benign interpretation
of Chinese behaviour is also in tune
with the statements that the new
leadership in Beijing has been making.
As has been noted, following his
meeting with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of
the BRICS conference in Durban, the
new supremo of China, Xi Jinping,
was quoted in the Chinese media as
saying that Beijing regarded its ties
with New Delhi as one of the most
important bilateral relationships.
Belying the belief that the Chinese
were dragging their feet on the
border issue, Mr. Xi declared that the
Special Representative mechanism
should strive for a fair, rational
solution framework acceptable to
both sides as soon as possible. This
last sentence is significant because a
week earlier, he was quoted as making
the standard formulation that the
border problem is a complex issue
left from history and solving the issue
wont be easy. 2013 is not 1962 and
the Indian media and politicians
should not behave as though it was,
by needlessly raising the decibel
level and trying to push the
government to adopt a hawkish
course on the border. But what the
recent controversy does tell us is
unsettled borders are not good for
two neighbours because they can so
easily become the cause of a conflict
that neither may be seeking.
Workplace Sexual Harassment Workplace Sexual Harassment Workplace Sexual Harassment Workplace Sexual Harassment Workplace Sexual Harassment
Sixteen years after the landmark
Vishaka case judgment of the
Supreme Court, the government
introduced in the Lok Sabha in
September 2012 a defective Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Bill. The Act, as it stands,
has failed to draw on the extensive
research on sexual harassment that
has been done in this country and
elsewhere. Further, its inaccurate
phrasing of workplace sexual
harassment and mismatches between
subheadings and content of the text
eclipses the most common forms of
workplace sexual harassment.
Before 1997, sexual
harassment had never settled into
the Indian legal lexicon. We were
instead saddled with an archaic
Victorian template which
criminalised outraging or insulting
a womans modesty. It made us
pretend that we had it all covered.
But we never did. Unwelcome
words, gestures, images, language,
and all those subtle intangibles which
sexually violate a woman, were
comfortably woven into the pattern
of life rather than the fabric of law. It
all became a silent and acceptable
part of the way things are.
Bhanwari Case
It was not until the 1990s that
the sexual torment endured by a rural
level change agent in Rajasthan and
her subsequent determination to
challenge what led to her violation
gave rise to a long overdue common-
sense approach to what needed to
change. It was us. Sexual harassment
hit the Indian legal map when
Bhanwari, a saathin in Rajasthan,
prevented the child marriage within
an upper caste community. In doing
so she was subjected to unwelcome
sexual harassment through words and
gestures from men of that community.
When she reported the harassment,
the local authority did nothing. That
omission was at great cost to
Bhanwari she was subsequently
gang-raped by those very men.
Surprisingly, nationwide calls for
justice hovered around demands for
a stringent criminal law response, i e,
the filing of a first information report
(FIR). With a history of failures by the
criminal justice system to stem the
pandemic of violence towards
women, such demands appeared
futile. At the risk of offending purists
of criminal law, it has always struck
me as somewhat offensive that a
breach of criminal law is effectively
treated as a crime against the state.
Each FIR becomes the pursuit of a
culprit by the police for a harm which
the State has endured. At most the
complainant woman is only ever a
witness.
Bhanwaris experience invited
us to change that pattern. Rather than
perceive sexual harassment in the
home, on the street, at work or in
accessing justice as individual
personal injuries, we needed to
experience it as a constitutional
concern. The microcosmic
commonality of Bhanwaris
experience of sexual harassment
mirrored what scores of working
Indian women faced in India
everyday, everywhere, all the time.
In the absence of any existing legal
response to sexual harassment, the
opportunity was ripe for a
comprehensive approach. In 1992,
therefore, we approached the
Supreme Court of India in a public
interest litigation to do precisely that
rethink the way things are.
Sexual Harassment at Work
Sexual harassment was a form of
discriminatory conduct at the
workplace. It hampered womens
constitutional rights to equality and
dignity. It sabotaged work
performance, affected working
environments, impaired womens
progress, resulted in absenteeism and
cost both individuals and institutions
in terms of qualitative health and
growth. The statistics of the
International Labour Organisation
(ILO) reveal how 55% of women
from the ages of 14 to 55 in Italy have
been subjected to sexual harassment
(2004); sexual harassment in the
United States army has cost close to
$250 million (1999 survey); 40 to 50%
of women in the European Union have
faced some form of sexual
harassment; and a 2002 survey by
Sakshi (a non-governmental
organisation) of 2,000 persons across
workplaces found 80%
acknowledging that workplace sexual
harassment existed in India.
Statistics apart, constitutional
equality was never the lens through
which we viewed womens
experience of sexual harm at work. It
took that rare creative courage of a
judge, the late Justice J S Verma (then
chief justice of India) to rise to the
occasion and in 1997 we were
given Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan.
Unlike anything before it, Vishaka was
a visionary decision. Primarily, it filled
a legal vacuum. Second, it viewed
sexual harassment through an equality
lens and thus prioritised prevention.
Third, in the absence of legislation, it
became legally binding
o n al l workplaces. Unlike the
criminal law, it was the State, the
employer, and the institution that had
to own up for the equality and dignity
of women at work.
Finally, it gave us a map for
creating accountability. Workplaces,
organisations, institutions (including
educational establishments) were
compelled to raise awareness about
sexual harassment, take steps to
prevent it and to offer effective
redress. We sought and were granted
the presence of a third party expert
on complaints committees for sexual
harassment, a mechanism mandated
by Vishaka for all workplaces.
It was an innovative moment in
the history of womens constitutional
rights within all workplaces. That is
what a visionary approach does for
peoples rights. It expands and uplifts
them through an inclusive process.
Vishaka changed the map of how we
could respond to other forms of
violence against women.
Unfortunately, the moment and
momentum was frittered away by a
state unable and unwilling to adhere
to the bar Vishaka had set. Despite
the Government of Indias own
ratification of Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), the womens
convention which promised to
uphold the equality rights of women
in all aspects of life, its commitment
rang hollow. Added to this was
increased public immunity to the
daily sexual exploitation of women
who never took adequate notice of
what Vishaka had to offer.
To Do Something
Still, Vishaka made it impossible
for us to slip back to the way things
are. It gave us language. Womens
experience of unwelcome sexual
conduct was no longer a patronising
moral transgression of her modesty,
it was sexual harassment a violation
of her constitutional equality.
Sixteen years post the landmark
judgment, the Government of India
introduced a new bill. Such delay
might have been justified had
excellence and improving on Vishaka
been the goal. In reality, the state
simply awoke from its lengthy slumber
to do something. Amidst the din of
the coal block allocations scam in the
Lok Sabha, a defective Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Bill was allowed to pass
into law without debate in
September 2012. Before the Rajya
Sabha, a feebler introduction was
made by the minister whose vision
suggested that it was a bill to make
them economically empowered so
that they can do their work properly
a condescending preface to
constitutional equality which was the
backbone of the Vishaka judgment.
Adding insult to injury, nowhere does
the debate find mention of
constitutional equality.
Apart from the statement of
objects, there is little in the language
and content of the new Act which
has continued to raise the bar, let
alone retain the spirit of Vishaka. An
itemised definition of what
constitutes workplace might have
been more easily stated as any place
where a woman is present by virtue
of her work a suggestion supported
by many at a consultation held in the
presence of parliamentary standing
committee members. Educational
institutes have complained that the
definition does not go far enough to
include students who, while not
workers, frequently suffer coercive
sexual harassment on campus or
otherwise linked to their educational
growth, a concern endorsed by the
Justice Verma Committee. Such
institutes will need to adopt a
creative approach to ensure students
are covered. Extensive cross-country
research carried out for the Vishaka
hearings provided contemporary
approaches to the definition and a
road map for preventing workplace
sexual harassment.
Use of such knowledge was
scarcely evident in crafting the latest
Act. Inaccurate phrasing (a trait which
characterises much of the Act) of
hostile workplace sexual harassment
eclipses the relevance of the most
common forms of workplace sexual
harassment. Mismatches between
subheadings and content compound
that perception. A section titled
Prevention of Sexual Harassment,
for instance, fails to deliver on
anything related to preventive
measures. Instead, the section
highlights circumstances which
may amount to sexual harassment.
Such glaring oversight betrays an
abysmal lack of homework by the
legislative draughtsperson and
ignorance about the issue by
parliamentary representatives across
the political spectrum.
Diluted Version of Vishaka
As for the internal and local
complaint committees now
mandated under the Act in all
workplaces, political understanding
of what was intended to be an
inclusive and informed redress
mechanism simply is not there.
Diluting third party presence on
these committees to persons
committed to the cause of women
demeans the skill and specialisation
required to meet the nuances of
workplace sexual harassment. In a
recent example, a lawyer committed
to the cause of women was
inducted into a government
department complaints committee.
Post the proceedings, my office was
contacted by the department for a
follow-up. Amazingly, the record
revealed how the person accused of
sexual harassment was allowed to
openly question the complainant as
part of the committee proceedings
a fundamental violation of the non-
intimidation principle designed to
protect complainants from just such
practices. Third party persons
(lawyers or not) must bring
knowledge, skill and capacity to the
table to ensure processes are
professionally informed and
unbiased. Vishaka envisaged an
inclusive complaints committee to
build ownership of the issue, ensure
fair treatment and enhance
knowledge and experience around
workplace sexual harassment.
Of all sections, the most
disturbing provision in the Act
(Section 14) is one which punishes a
false or malicious complaint. Such
inventions are only ever peculiar to
gender-specific legislations which
relate to women and violence. In no
other area of law do such penalty
clauses exist as a matter of practice.
Its presence in the new Act has no
legal basis.
Investigations (and this is true
of any law) are designed to determine
whether a harm occurred or not. That
is it. To premise an Act on the
assumption that women are potential
liars about their human rights abuses
reeks of stereotyping women and for
that reason would be constitutionally
untenable. Flawed drafting further
amplifies the lack of political serious-
ness towards socially relevant
legislation for women. The false
charges section provides that mere
inability to substantiate a complaint
or provide adequate proof need not
attract action against the
complainant, but does not enlighten
us on what need not means. Does it
imply that if a complaint does not suc-
ceed, it ought not to but still might
attract action for false charges? The
absence of user-friendly,
unambiguous and accessible
language throughout the new Act
renders it prone to typical gender ste-
reotyping in such cases. In all
consultations on the bill, this
retrograde provision was rejected out-
right. To foist it into the legislation can
only be perceived as an attempt to
discourage women from making
complaints of sexual harassment.
In the 16 years since Vishaka,
progressive developments have taken
place in international guidelines and
practices on workplace sexual
harassment. Prescribing duties
under the new Act as a way to compel
employers to prevent sexual
harassment runs contrary to
contemporary human rights emphasis
on promoting responsibilities. It is
the difference between what
employers feel obliged to do (and
hence resist and scuttle) from what
they would responsibly own and do
(and hence, be proud of).
Clearly, the absence of urgency
and enhanced vision has given us a
diluted version of Vishaka. Dilution is
what traditionally allows sexually
inappropriate conduct to fester,
spread and eventually escalate into
rape in the first place. That is how it
all began in Bhanwaris case. For that
reason, a 16-year wait offers no
excuse for not getting a law that
mirrored global standards of
excellence and understanding in
systemically tackling workplace
sexual harassment.
At the same time, legislation,
flawed or otherwise, cannot excuse
us from implementing change, one
which calls upon our own willingness
to connect the dots. At most,
legislation has reignited attention
towards the plague of workplace
sexual harassment. Owning the
constitutional subtext to make it work
is our job. Unexpected but welcome
initiatives have begun to dot the
landscape even pre-legislation. A
recent award by the industrial tribunal
in West Bengal offers an unusually
credible direction in the sexual
harassment case of senior journalist
Rina Mukherjee against The
Statesman.
Rina Mukherjee vs
The Statesman
Within six months of
j oi ni ng The Statesman, Rina
Mukerhjee lost her job. While the
company alleged that her work was
tardy and lacking in quality, it
suppressed Rinas complaint of sexual
harassment against the news
coordinator, Ishan Joshi. Within her
first month of work, Rina had taken
her complaint directly to the
managing director (MD), Ravinder
Kumar. Understandably, she
expected him to act professionally
and intervene, but time passed and
nothing happened. Exploiting her
status as a probationer, Rina was fired
by The Statesman.
Such patterns are common to
organisations who fail to see the
importance of promoting a
workplace free from sexual
harassment. Frequently, a woman on
probation will find it impossible to
make a complaint, let alone succeed
with one. Hence, most women
hesitate and tolerate the behaviour.
Rina was an exception. Post her
termination she filed a formal
complaint with the MD, The
Statesmans owner, C R Irani and the
West Bengal Womens Commission
with the firm belief that her
termination was a result of her sexual
harassment complaint.
The matter was eventually heard
by the Industrial Tribunal (West
Bengal). In a rare display of social
context, insight and clarity amongst
the judiciary, judge Kundan Kumar
Kumai, rejected The Statesman s
claim that Rina only referred to
professional harassment in her
complaint to Ravindra Kumar. In
Kumais view, Kumars failure to dig
deeper was clearly suspect. In the
judges words:
He [Ravindra Kumar] never
started any enquiry however discreet
it may have been. Fairplay demanded
at least an explanation from the senior
executives as to why there was an
allegation of professional harassment
against them. Rather he has gone
hammer and tongs over the delay
made in making the sexual
harassment public, in writing. What
else could she have done... she made
a verbal complaint of sexual
harassment and professional
harassment and she was dismissed
from her service even without
completion of her probation period.
It should also not be forgotten
that the lady workman was not only
well-educated but had about ten years
of journalism, with other well known
publications, behind her and not a
novice or a rookie journalist, at that
relevant time.
Moreover...it becomes clear that
there was no Committee on sexual
harassment, as per the Honble
Supreme Courts direction in Vishaka
vs State of Rajasthan, existing in The
Statesman, at that relevant time...to
expect-the lady workman to file a
written complaint and not to believe
the same, when it has been filed at a
later date is sheer bias.
The Statesman was ordered to
reinstate Rina and grant her full back
wages from the time of her
termination to the date of the order.
It took 11 years but Rina won an order
that dispels assumptions about why
women take time to complain about
sexual harassment, how those in
power try through sheer numbers and
gagged employees to dismiss such
claims, and how workplaces can no
longer take legal compliance on
sexual harassment lightly. HadThe
Statesman taken her complaint
seriously at the outset and complied
with Vishaka, the result could have
been beneficial for all for Rina,
women workers, the workplace
environment and inevitably the
companys reputation.
Conclusions
Repetition creates a life pattern.
Enduring workplace conduct which
sexually demeans, intimidates,
offends, excludes and limits women
is not only about the patterns of sexist
behaviour, it is also about the
repetitive nature of our own
complacency. We have become
immune to the pervasive harm of
sexual harassment and its
unconstitutional character. People like
judge Kumai, justice Verma, Bhanwari
and Rina remind us that this need not
be so. They inspire the rest of us who
care, to use our carefully crafted skills,
know-how and passion to innovate
and transform the most ill-crafted
provisions in law to work for us rather
than limit us.
Sexual harassment need not be
the way things are. It is up to us as
political leaders, judges, responsible
workplaces and individuals to
change that pattern of thought.
Having found its way onto our
constitutional map for all to follow the
direction and visibility of workplace
sexual harassment will be determined
by the men and women who
understand the professional and
human worth of speaking up. As
frightening as that can be, it will
enable us to own our constitutional
equality not has some elusive right we
should continue to aspire for, but as
something we can live, experience
and embrace everyday. That is not
the way things are, that is the way
things should be.
Cour t esy- Cour t esy- Cour t esy- Cour t esy- Cour t esy-
Economic & Political weekly Economic & Political weekly Economic & Political weekly Economic & Political weekly Economic & Political weekly
The Disconnect with The Disconnect with The Disconnect with The Disconnect with The Disconnect with
Di sabi l i ty Di sabi l i ty Di sabi l i ty Di sabi l i ty Di sabi l i ty
Friday, April 5, 2013, marked an
important day in the global
development agenda. From this day,
there would only be a thousand days
more to achieve the targets set by the
Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) to the extent possible.
Although the performance of the
MDGs has come under tremendous
critique, it cannot be refuted that
these goals have given the world a
unified development agenda on
poverty, education and gender
issues. There are two parallel tracks
of discussions currently ongoing: one
that is more focused on the post-2015
agenda, and the other which urges
caution in shifting the focus to post-
2015, underlining the fact that it may
be too soon to write-off the MDGs.
This is a good time for people
with disabilities to take stock of things.
Discrimination
Although a substantial
percentage of the worlds population
is affected by disability, there is no
mention of disability in the MDGs. This
despite the well-established
connection between disability and
poverty, the fact that children with
disabilities are the ones who have
been left behind, and the fact that
women with disabilities are even
more marginalised and face multiple
discrimination.
In India, home to 70-100 million
people with disabilities, a study in
2003 conducted by the National
Centre for Promotion for Employment
for Disabled People (NCPEDP)
showed that only 0.51 per cent of
students with disabilities were
enrolled in mainstream schools.
Likewise, a survey of the top 100 com-
panies of India in 1999 showed an
average rate of employment of 0.4
per cent for persons with disabilities.
These figures havent improved over
the years. A review done by NCPEDP
recently shows that less than one per
cent of students with disabilities are
in top colleges and universities, and
less than one per cent of people with
disabilities are finding employment.
Today, the World Health
Organisation says that one billion
people, or 15 per cent of the worlds
population, live with disability. Of
them, 800 million or 80 per cent live
in the global South. People with
disabilities comprise 20 per cent of
the worlds poorest. In this scenario,
it is not only imperative that disability
is intrinsic to the processes for
fulfilling the MDGs by 2015, but must
also be a significant part of debate,
discussions and outcomes of the post-
2015 development agenda.
Steps forward
To do so, it is important for the
global disability movement to take
into account a number of factors.
Looking South: if 800 million of
the worlds one billion people with
disabilities live in the global South
where development has a far
significant meaning and impact, it is
essential that their voices are heard,
and heard loud and clear.
High-level meeting on disability
and development: one of the most
significant milestones in the disability
movement is the upcoming U.N. High
Level Meeting on Disability and
Development in New York on
September 23, 2013. This meeting
will hopefully set the tone for inclu-
sion of disability in the global
development agenda. Advocacy is
required to ensure that governments
take this meeting with the seriousness
it deserves. It is also important to
connect this meeting with the
opening of the General Assembly
debate on September 24, 2013 and
the special event on MDGs on
September 25, 2013.
Engaging with national
governments: it is essential to garner
the support of Member States for
disability and for them to include it in
their countrys priorities. Disability is
a non-political issue and the chances
of it being opposed are less. However,
the probability of it not making to a
majority of the countries list of
priorities is much higher.
Disability as a development
issue: the fact that disability is a
crosscutting issue has by and large
been well-established. But the new
argument put forward by disability
rights advocates is that it is not just a
human rights issue but also a
development issue. Therefore, it
needs to be looked from that point of
view as well.
Going to the grassroots: to reach
that last person with disability in the
remotest corner of our villages, it is
essential that we focus on the
grassroots. We need to adopt a sense
of caution at the sudden, seemingly
top down disability agenda and
related advocacy.
Leaving disability out of the
development agenda is a mistake the
world cannot afford a second time. It
is time that all stakeholders are
nudged into action to avoid doing so.
Indigenising Defence Indigenising Defence Indigenising Defence Indigenising Defence Indigenising Defence
The defence procurement wheel
seems to have turned full circle with
self-reliance becoming the
governments credo once again. The
Defence Procurement Procedure-
2013 (DPP) announced by the
government a few days ago
emphasises two major points
strengthening the defence manufac-
turing base in the country and making
the procurement process more effi-
cient. The policy says that
categorisation the process by
which the Defence Ministry chooses
between various options such as
buying equipment and supplies from
abroad, buying from within the
country, making them in the country
or importing technology to make
them within the country should
clearly favour indigenisation. The op-
tion of importing a piece of defence
equipment should be exercised only
after exhausting the option of
sourcing it from within. These
laudable objectives are probably
driven by the bad experience with
middlemen and corruption in
procurement of defence equipment
from overseas suppliers. Yet, it would
be nave to believe that this is a
workable proposition given the state
of our indigenous defence
equipment manufacturing base.
Though India got off to an early start
the first ordnance factory was set
up by the British in 1787 at Ichapore
and the Defence Research and De-
velopment Organisation (DRDO) was
set up in 1958 it lost its way subse-
quently.
Two of DRDOs highest profile
projects the Main Battle Tank and
the Light Combat Aircraft have
proved that indigenisation is not an
easy proposition, especially given the
unwillingness of existing suppliers to
share key technologies. Indeed, ac-
cessing technology will be the
biggest challenge for the
development of indigenous defence
manufacturing. One way of
circumventing this difficulty would
be to open up the sector for foreign
investment, a proposal recently
mooted by Commerce and Industry
Minister Anand Sharma. But the
objective of developing an
indigenous base without which
domestic procurement will be
impossible requires other steps too.
Besides technology-linked FDI, the
Ordnance Factories Board a
massive set-up under the Defence
Ministry must be encouraged to
team up with private collaborators,
both Indian and foreign. The OFB
boasts of tremendous expertise and
resources which should be capital-
ised upon. Finally, the government
must strive for scale economies, en-
couraging domestic players
public and private to invest in
capacities with an eye not just on
Indias defence forces as clients but
also those of foreign countries.
Defence equipment production is
capital intensive and tying down
suppliers to a single customers
whims may not really result in
adequate investment.
Reaping the Information Reaping the Information Reaping the Information Reaping the Information Reaping the Information
Dividend through Social Media Dividend through Social Media Dividend through Social Media Dividend through Social Media Dividend through Social Media
India is on a threshold of
becoming a lead economy of the
world as her demographic dividend
will be the highest-i.e. the largest
population between the age group
18-59 years - within not so distant
future. While talking of the return from
this vast working human resource
known as demographic dividend, it
would be pertinent to look into
another big opportunity which has
recently emerged and likely to grow
in what is termed as information driven
economy. In the age of information-
led economy, it is the information
dividend which can yield socio-
economic benefits to the large section
of masses. In recent years social media
and its various forms have brought
significant contribution to the
economic growth and development.
The attachment of information
with technology has led to the growth
of so many countries with India no
more an exception as the impact of
information dissemination leads to
democratic decision making and
policy formulation for better
governance. The composite impact
of convergence of information,
technology, media and particularly
social media leads to easy life, faster
accessibility of services, transparent
governance, cost effective delivery
of goods, growth of business and
employment opportunities and many
more. With the advent of internet and
web based technology people have
come closer because the usage and
accessibility of faster and efficient
communication networks including
quicker social networking sites like;
twitter, facebook, you tube, LinkedIn
etc. which provide blogging, micro-
blogging, video-blogging chatting,
information sharing services are
gaining importance day by day. The
dependence of a large number of
working class on the information
disseminated by the social media
which is blessed with technological
innovations and IT revolution has
changed the lives of the people as
they are now more connected than
ever before with cost saving social
media. Before analyzing the com-
bined effect of yield-return provided
by information dividend through so-
cial media-on growth, it would be
advisable to examine that why de-
velopment and growth of social me-
dia has become so crucial in India?
In the recently presented union
budget 2013-14, the concerns are
expressed on burgeoning current
account deficit (CAD)-which is due
to trade deficit arising as a result of
decreasing export of Indian products
and services world-wide. Therefore,
the competitiveness of Indian exports
becomes a questionable issue and
how India can reap the rich dividend
distributed by information facilitated
by internet enabled social media?
How inclusion of the social media
facilitates the business growth
including the growth of small scale
sector? Also, in view of the New
Manufacturing Policy (NMP) which
targets to make share of
manufacturing in GDP to 25% by the
year 2022, how social media can be
utilised to raise the competitiveness
of manufactured products of Indian
companies is an important issue to
consider? How the information
infrastructure project can help in
developing social media in India?
Rise of Internet and
Social Media in India
The role of social media and its
implication on economic growth is
well researched and as the largest
democracy of world with huge
customer base, India acquires
significant position as still the
potential of information yield remains
untapped. According to the Internet
and Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI) and Indian Market Research
Bureau (IMRB) report the growth in
the number of social networking users
can be attributed to the rising Internet
penetration in India, through
increasing affordability of smartphone
and consequent mobile Internet
use. Internet being the pre-
requirement for the spread of social
media is important for study as social
media interaction and information
sharing are possible only through
internet or web connectivity.
As per the authentic sources,
more than three quarters of Internet
users in are India engaged in social
networking. That accounts for nearly
65 million social media users in urban
India. India is the third largest internet
user country in the world having 140
million internet users. India has 5.7%
users of internet users world-wide
and has 11.4% population
penetration of internet users as on
30th June, 2012. And there are more
than 200 million computer literates
in India and 950 million mobile
owners in India. According to
McKinsey Global Institute Report
(2011) on Internet matters: the nets
sweeping impact on jobs, growth and
prosperity, China and India have
already 500 million internet users
which are estimated to go up to 1200
million users by the year 2015.
As far as internet users using
social media sites are concerned,
India has 46 million members of the
biggest networking social site
Facebook out of total 800 million
Facebook users worldwide while
there are 15.5 million, 5 million and 5
million users of Orkut, Twitter and
ibibo social networking sites (SNWS)
respectively. According to Internet
and Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI), the number of social media
users is expected to grow to 66 million
by June, 2013. Youth and college-
going students form the largest user
base of social networking, accounting
for 84% of active internet users, or 20.3
million. The rise of internet users also
depends on the telephone
connectivity and telecom reforms
during the last few years have
enhanced the growth of telephone
and wireless users which is an
indicator of growing social media.
According to data available in
the Economic Survey, 2012-13 tele-
density, which is an important
indicator of telecom penetration,
increased from 18.22 per cent in
March 2007 to 73.34 per cent as on
31 December 2012, with urban tele-
density at 149.55 per cent and rural
at 39.90 per cent. As on 31st Oct.
2012, the total no. of telephones
were 935.18 million out of which
904.23 million were wireless and
30.95 million were landline phones.
Wireless phones accounts for 96.7
percent of all telephones in India.
Internet, Social Media and GDP
It has been proven that internet
plays a role in contribution to the GDP
of a country. As per recent study by
McKinsey Global Institute Report
(2011) internet contributes 3.2% of
the GDP in India while developed
nations like Sweden, UK, South Korea
and Japan have equal to or more than
4 percent of GDP contribution by
internet. Thus, India still has a
potential for growth of its internet
penetration and social media can
facilitate the trend. The study also
reveals that in India the percentage
of total internet contribution comes
from private consumption (20%),
private investment (28%), public
expenditure (5%) and trade balance
(47%). Nations around the world
have recognised the contribution of
broadband infrastructure to speed
up growth and spurt development as
according to a World Bank Report
(2010), a 10 percent increase in
broadband penetration leads to
1.38% increase in per capita GDP in
developing economies.
Social media is dependent on
internet penetration; India still
possesses a lot of potential for the
growth of internet penetration which
would ensure parallel growth of social
media. As per report by Gartner-
leading IT research firm- the world
wide social media revenue stood at
$11.8 billion in 2011 which is
expected to reach $16.9 billion in
2012 and $ 34 billion in 2016 . In In-
dia total mobile service revenue is
projected 12.5% Compound
Annualized Growth Rate (CAGR)
during five years (2009-13) period.
Social Media and
Business Growth
Internet and social media also
have a tendency to improve the
business prospects of a country as
observed in a study entitled Going
Social: How businesses are making
the most of social media done by the
management consultancy firm KPMG
(2011) that more than 70 percent of
organizations operating around the
world are now active on social media
and adoption of social media is
widespread for businesses in the
emerging markets of China, India and
Brazil who on average are 20 to 30
percentage points more likely to use
social media than counterparts in the
UK, Australia, Germany or Canada.
This is due to the fact that, social
networks tend to be consumer-
focused and, therefore, provide a
cost-effective marketing channel. But
they also enable retailers and
wholesalers to capture a rich source
of customer information to better
direct their product development and
planning.
The changing life style,
aspiration to use branded products,
increasing income of middle class,
fashion consciousness, changing
tastes and preferences are factors
which contribute to the growth of e-
commerce which includes e-business,
e-shopping, on-line retailing, e-gifting
and many more. Social media has
accelerated the growth of e-
commerce as India has vast
population of the aspiring youth who
are users of SMNSs. For instance,
Dell, which sells laptops and acces-
sories, claimed in 2009 that it had sold
products over Rs.29.2 crore purely via
its Twitter account at dell outlets.
According to the data provided
by Social Media Marketing Industry
Report (2012) based on survey of
some companies, 94 percent of all
businesses with a marketing
department used social media as part
of their marketing platform and about
60 percent of marketers are devoting
the equivalent of a full work day to
social media marketing development
and maintenance. 43 percent of
people between the age group 20-
29 years spend more than 10 hours a
week on social media sites.
85 percent of all businesses that
have a dedicated social media
platform as part of their marketing
strategy reported an increase in their
market exposure while 58 percent of
businesses that have used social
media marketing for over 3 years
reported an increase in sales over that
period.
The power of social media in
terms of convincing the customers,
disseminating speedy and accurate
information about the product,
reduced operating costs, spontaneous
feedbacks and response, brand
building and customer relationship is
well established as founded in various
studies. Thus, use of social media in
business leads to value addition to
their products, promotion and
revenue generation and ultimately
helping the customers.
The impact of usage of internet
by the small and medium scale
industries on the growth of companies
is well studied. In a study conducted
by Mckinsey (2011), out of more than
4800 small medium enterprises
(SMEs) in 12 countries including India,
it was found that on an average
companies using internet with high
intensity grow twice as quickly as low
web-intensity companies, export
twice as they do, and create more
than twice as many jobs.
The leverage of the usage of
internet by SME sector can further
lead to better performance and
competitiveness of products
manufactured under SME sector in
India as the export constitutes about
40 percent and there lies enough
scope for its growth once the product
information is made available through
social media using internet. The trade
deficit may be brought under cap.
Similarly, small scale companies
can integrate their marketing
practices with social media and
capitalize the synergy to make their
products demandable in domestic
markets as well because social media
helps them for cost effective product
promotion, disseminate their offerings
to a large segment of customers,
improve their design to satisfy the
changing needs, deliver and take
feedback thus improving the
competiveness and ensuring the
accessibility of offerings to remotest
areas of the country.
Social media and Information Social media and Information Social media and Information Social media and Information Social media and Information
Infrastructure Project Infrastructure Project Infrastructure Project Infrastructure Project Infrastructure Project
How social media can be made
more useful for the people? For
reaping the benefits of information
dividend, the information
infrastructure is a must as the
Government of India is planning to
establish the National Optic Fiber
Network, with an aim to provide
broadband connectivity to Indias
2,50,000 panchayats by the year
2014 and, as per reports, with the
deployment of 3G, 4G and BWA India
could have 36 crore mobile
broadband connections by the year
2016. According to Sh. Sam Pitroda,
Prime Ministers advisor on
infrastructure, innovation and
information, Union government
approved over Rs 6000 crore to launch
and build this network.
The network would be like super
highways where everybody would be
connected and information will reach
to the remotest person. The real
benefit of video conferencing was for
education and there were similar
benefits for health, vocational
education and other activities. The
Government initiative to make the
information accessible to each citizen
through the information infrastructure
with 27 missions in 17 states, e-courts,
Akash Ganga projects etc. which are
meant for making the information
available to the people is a step to
grow the social media and related
business.
Once the information
infrastructure is established, it will
boost up connectivity of people with
government, business, small scale
industries and open avenues for the
growth of personal computing
devices ranging from the smart
phones, tablets to the PCs. The
peripheral services provided by the
increased use of the hardware would
definitely multiply the growth driven
by consumption, income,
investment, employment,
entrepreneurship and revenue. The
people having information access will
become connected to the social
media networks and the dividend
could thus be distributed.
Now the government has
initiated taking help of the websites
for receiving public opinion on
various policy issues. The experiment
is showing positive results as the
people are coming up with their own
suggestions on policies- which is a
much democratic way to policy
formulation.
Conclusion
In the information led economy,
social media has emerged as a
powerful influential apparatus to
ensure growth as reflected and
empirically tested in various studies.
Since social media is an outcome of
internet and IT, the information
sharing about products, services,
business practices, enterprises,
governance, policy formulation and
behaviour changes which are driven
by increasing income level, spiraling
aspirations of middle class, changing
habits of consumers and cost effective
mode; its impact on business,
entrepreneurs, investment,
consumption and employment is
inevitable. The multiplier effect of
social media on the growth of web-
based technology, peripheral
services, innovative tele-
communication devices, mobile
telephony, tablets and PCs cannot be
taken lightly.
The increasing information
needs of the people have made the
business, small scale industries,
entrepreneurs, banks, financial service
organizations, public services like-
health, education, police, and
judiciary think that they must
integrate and adopt proper
information infrastructure as it not
only enhances their performance but
also contributes to the economy as a
whole. There is a strong need to
understand and en-cash the rich
information dividend by optimizing
the use of social media and its various
forms by both the public and private
sectors in harnessing the hidden
potential for economic growth and
development.
Courtesy-Yojana Courtesy-Yojana Courtesy-Yojana Courtesy-Yojana Courtesy-Yojana
Hotspot in a Spot Hotspot in a Spot Hotspot in a Spot Hotspot in a Spot Hotspot in a Spot
In commissioning a High-Level
Working Group headed by the space
scientist K. Kasturirangan to study the
recommendations of the Western
Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP),
the Ministry of Environment and
Forests hoped to resolve
an impasse. It now appears that far
from nearing resolution, the question
of preserving and ensuring holistic
development of the Ghats is
enmeshed in more controversy. The
miraculous survival of this 1,500 km
long mountainous and forested area
into the 21st century in a populous
country underscores the need for
careful preservation. That must take
place, however, without ignoring the
development aspirations of millions
of people who live in areas that are
no longer part of the natural land-
scape. The challenging task before
the Centre now is to distil the output
of the two expert panels and finalise
a framework that keeps the ecologi-
cally fragile areas out of danger. Its
first priority must be to save what is
not already lost. This process requires
patient assessment of scientific
evidence on the flora, fauna and
ecological significance of habitat, es-
pecially those involving proposed
hydroelectric projects such as
Athirapilly and Gundiya. Relying only
on satellite remote sensing data
would miss the value of solid research
done on the ground.
The Madhav Gadgil WGEEP
recommendations were opposed by
States which host the Ghats on
specific grounds such as restrictions
on building roads, infrastructure and
hydroelectric projects in vast
Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA).
There is now an alternative view
available from the HLWG, which has
demarcated a smaller area for core
protection as ESA, and suggested a
mining ban there. But its sympathetic
approach to hydroelectric projects in
ESAs even with conditionalities
is bound to alarm conservationists,
since biodiversity loss and severe
negative impacts for downstream
communities are well-known
outcomes of such activity. The States
involved should remember that these
forested mountains mediate the
monsoon storm systems in peninsular
India, providing an average of 3,000
mm of precipitation annually on the
Western slopes. Moreover, as a
globally-acclaimed biodiversity
hotspot, these forests have priceless
flora and fauna. In their totality, they
are a small part of the land that is
under protection. The Centre and the
six endowed States have a duty to
safeguard them. The suggestion
made by the Kasturirangan group to
institute a compensatory funding
mechanism to offset losses suffered
by States that cannot use natural
resources a debt for nature swap
is worthy of serious consideration.
Relaxation of norms for intensive de-
velopment, however, should be con-
fined to non-forested areas.
An Ecosystem to An Ecosystem to An Ecosystem to An Ecosystem to An Ecosystem to
Save, or Squander Save, or Squander Save, or Squander Save, or Squander Save, or Squander
This is a challenging time in
Indias development history where a
number of tenets of environmental
governance are being questioned by
the imperative of growth.
Environmental governance in India is
under assault, and is thus in need of
both fresh thinking, and a new focus,
based on outcome and results. The
Western Ghats are no ordinary
ecosystem. They constitute the water
tower of peninsular India, providing
water to 245 million people and
draining a large part of the land
surface of India. They are also a
treasure trove of biodiversity. The
Convention on Biological Diversity
confers sovereign rights over these
elements of biodiversity for which we
are a country of origin. India can play
an important role in research relating
to such biodiversity elements and
claim a share in the commercial profits
flowing out of their use. The elements
of value not only include medicinal
plants and cultivated species of plants
and their wild relatives, but seemingly
worthless creations such as spider
cobwebs, which turn out to be
sources of a new kind of silk stronger
than steel. Notably enough, such
elements of value are by no means
confined to natural forests, but occur
everywhere across the Western
Ghats, underscoring the need to
maintain connectivity amongst
biodiversity rich habitats.
Hostility
Today, however, it is estimated
that only seven per cent of the Ghats
primary vegetation survives and there
are many threatened species, of
which 51 are critically endangered
species. It was in this context of
threats and in response to demands
by people of the Western Ghats, that
the Western Ghats Ecology Expert
Panel (WGEEP) was set up in March
2010 by the Ministry of Environment
and Forests (MoEF) to assess the state
of the Ghats and suggest ways for
their conservation, protection and
rejuvenation through a process of
consultations with State governments,
industry, and local people. Post
submission of the report in August
2011, its quarantine until May 2012,
and its subsequent release, the panel
presumed that a more detailed
public discussion would follow its
translation into regional languages,
and then finalised. This did not
happen. Instead, an adversarial
environment emerged or was
created, resulting in hostility to the
WGEEP report. State governments
protested that development will be
affected, without a careful reading
of what it allows, promotes and seeks
to protect. They chose to ignore, as
did the MoEF, the tentativeness of
the panels recommendations, the
provisional nature of zone boundaries
and sectoral guidelines, to be used
for informed and inclusive
deliberations, a point made
repeatedly but which continues to
be misrepresented. However, in-
stead of there being a larger debate
around the WGEEP report, the Minis-
try chose to appoint a High Level
Working Group (HLWG) whose
mandate it was to examine the
WGEEP report in a holistic and
multidisciplinary fashion.
We would like to comment on
three aspects of this examination: (i)
the process followed, (ii) analytical
approach adopted, and (iii)
recommendations made.
The Process
The stakeholder comments
received by the MoEF (1,750 in a
population of 50 million in the
Working Group States) should have
been shared with the panel. Instead,
secrecy followed inexplicable,
given that the WGEEP was an MoEF
appointed panel, not a fly-by-night
operator as seen in the mining regions
of the Ghats. The MoEF also summarily
rejected the panels plea that any
decision in the matter should be
made only after the report is made
available to people in regional
languages and their feedback
obtained. The HLWGs examination of
the WGEEP report ought surely to
have commenced with a dialogue
with the panel. This was not done, but
for a meeting with the chairperson and
some of the members, very late in the
game. Instead, the HLWG had a
limited consultative process and
finalised the recommendations and
submitted its report, without sharing
this with the Gadgil Panel, suggesting
that the intention was not to make the
WGEEP recommendations
implementable, but really to replace
it by an alternative framework.
Analytical approach
The approach adopted for the
examination combined a selective
review of development issues in the
WGEEP report with its own reasoning
that insufficiently regarded the
Western Ghats as an ecosystem from
the perspective of conservation,
protection and rejuvenation. An
ecosystem such as the Western Ghats
comprises both people and the
ecology, and hence WGEEP carried
out its mandate using a social-
ecological lens. It is misleading then
to suggest that the WGEEP did not
have local people or the states
development needs in mind in arriving
at its recommendations. What WGEEP
did was mainstream into development
planning for the districts of the
Western Ghats the more long-term
needs of the people such as water and
ecosystem services. With this in mind,
it suggested not just the graded
regulation of the more ecologically
harmful activities, but the promotion
of more benign, job creating activities,
for example, agro and biomass-based
industry, regulated ecotourism,
industries and services that involve
dematerialisation, education hubs,
etc. In energy provisioning, it
recommended clean energy, smart
demand side management
campaigns, and more equitable
distribution policies.
Misread
Despite a detailed discussion of
the sectoral issues and dilemmas and
a whole chapter dedicated to multi-
centred governance for the Ghats that
examined both regulatory and market
instruments, the impression has been
created that there was no engagement
in our report with social and
development issues. We do agree that
there was need for more discussion
on the recommendations, but these
were to be discussed and refined
after submission to the MoEF. Many
arguments were made for
incentivising environmental
improvements through ecosystem
payments and fiscal measures, as were
discussions of how the Green India
Mission, Compensatory Afforestation
and Management and Planning
Authority (CAMPA), and National Af-
forestation and Ecodevelopment
Board (NAEB) should aim for genu-
ine and effective transfer of powers
and funds to local institutions for
implementing the programmes.
Similarly, it was argued that interna-
tional mechanisms such as Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM),
and (REDD+) or Reduced Emissions
from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation (REDD), Forest
Conservation, and Enhancement of
Carbon Stocks and Sustainable Man-
agement of Forest could be tapped
to provide adequate financial
resources for larger scale efforts, for
example, where plantation owners
chose to regenerate forests where
these plantations were no longer seen
as profitable, as some owners
suggested to us. Instead, it is
suggested that WGEEP had recom-
mended that coffee plantations be
restored to forests, creating panic
among plantation owners of Kodagu,
when no such reference was made.
It is thus unfortunate that the spirit of
the WGEEP report is being distorted
and misread and an impression being
created that it was rigid, disregarded
social and development issues, and
is thus, not implementable. The
WGEEP approach was to engage
with the community in understand-
ing their concerns, do the scientific
assessments, and then take the
science back to the local community,
and have the state and community
take the final decisions on both
ecologically sensitive areas and
sectoral activities that should be al-
lowed.
The use of more detailed remote
sensing data and inclusion of more
social data in the HLWG report is an
improvement for arriving at a more
detailed zoning. But only a few
parameters are used to arrive at
ecological sensitivity. It is not evident
to us if this list of parameters is
sufficient to define the sensitivity of
this unique ecosystem. Nor is it clear
that just incentives and current
regulations will result in improved
behaviour of agents in harmful
activities in the other (cultural
landscape) areas. It was, in fact, in
response to the people in the
inhabited areas, where such activities
impact peoples lives, water, health
and livelihoods, that we had
suggested that there was need for
strong oversight and regulation of
such activities. This is where the
pressures are most high as are
conflicts.
Recommendations
The HLWG calls for an
Ecologically Sensitive Area for just 37
per cent of the Western Ghats; it drops
the layered ecological sensitivity
approach for the rest of it. Mere
incentives for greener growth for the
rest of the 63 per cent of the Ghats,
we believe, will result in business as
usual. How does that protect the
Western Ghats as an ecosystem? In
sum, the HLWG report does not
review and refine the WGEEP report,
but provides instead an alternative
framework and recommendations.
In the light of these two reports,
we need more thinking on the kind of
environmental governance needed
for the Western Ghats around: (i) the
value of the Western Ghats ecosystem
and the services it provides (ii) the
consultative processes required to
arrive at recommendations, and (iii)
the argument made about
implementability. To which we ask:
for whom and for what?
The Significance of Niyamgiri The Significance of Niyamgiri The Significance of Niyamgiri The Significance of Niyamgiri The Significance of Niyamgiri
The Supreme Court has strongly
endorsed the role of the gram sabhas
as democratic decision-making fora
on issues of individual, community
and cultural rights of tribals and
traditional forest dwellers. Its recent
ruling in the Niyamgiri bauxite mining
case has far-reaching impact because
environmental laws such as the Forest
(Conservation) Act, the Forest Rights
Act and the Environment (Protection)
Act are given scant respect by
industrial project proponents looking
for natural resources. This trend has
accelerated in recent years, with
national development being
measured by a single number, the
Gross Domestic Product. Under
pressure, the Ministry of Environment
and Forests has generally adopted a
benign approach to enforcement. In
the bauxite mining project promoted
by the Vedanta group in Odisha, the
Ministry made a welcome exception
and recorded violations too
egregious to be glossed over. The
Supreme Court order in the case,
endorsing the rights of tribals under
the Forest Rights Act and the
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled
Areas) Act to make fresh claims and
designating the gram sabhas as the
competent fora to decide them,
should end strong arm measures
against defenceless communities. It is
beyond doubt that there is an organic
connection between tribals and the
land, and this has been accepted by
the Supreme Court in another case in
1997. That bond must be respected.
Besides this fundamental issue,
several key questions relating to
negative externalities caused by
development projects have also been
addressed: diversion of forest land for
industry should be compensated
through payment of Net Present
Value; separate funds must be
earmarked for compensatory affores-
tation and wildlife management;
designated pre-tax profits should be
allocated for development of
scheduled areas. Unfortunately, such
basic requirements are often
portrayed as impediments to eco-
nomic growth, and environmental
losses stand ignored. Moreover, a
transparent, independent assessment
mechanism to monitor implementa-
tion of conditions set for grant of
clearance does not exist. In Odisha,
for instance, environmental rules and
conditions were brazenly violated by
Vedanta Alumina when it launched
the expansion of its project before
clearance was given, a fact recorded
by the Saxena committee of the
Environment Ministry. Now that the
gram sabhas, and thereafter the MoEF
have another opportunity to revisit the
Niyamgiri project, they must ensure
that tribal rights are recognised. The
Supreme Court order is a good pre-
cedent for all projects that have
environmental and social
consequences. Development is a
natural aspiration, but it must be
genuine and not result in the loss of
even the existing quality of life.
Between mass Hunger and Between mass Hunger and Between mass Hunger and Between mass Hunger and Between mass Hunger and
Bursting Granaries Bursting Granaries Bursting Granaries Bursting Granaries Bursting Granaries
The hallmark of the National
Food Security Bill 2011 is that if
implemented it will translate into
Indias first ever right to food legisla-
tion, guaranteeing food as a
justiciable, legal entitlement to its
people. However, in its current form,
the Bill fails to evolve a robust under-
standing of food security one in
which food is valued as a basic fact
of life, and security translates into a
life lived with dignity, with individuals
as active seekers of their entitlements.
The repeated use of the word
entitlement in the Bill makes it
possible to conceptualise food
security as a right. It allows the
Government to speak convincingly of
an ostensible shift from a welfare-
based to a rights-based approach. The
Bill, however, defines food security
as the supply of entitled foodgrains
and meal. Such a narrow definition
assumes the individual to be a passive
recipient of a dole and not a proactive
claimant of entitlements. Moreover, it
sharply contrasts with the
understanding of entitlements
advanced by the Right to Food
Campaign (RTFC) a movement that
sculpted the passage for the birth of
the Food Bill.
The RTFC emerged in 2001 as an
outgrowth of the civil writ petition
filed in the Supreme Court by the
Peoples Union of Civil Liberties
(PUCL), Rajasthan, demanding that the
countrys rotting foodgrain stocks be
used to prevent mass hunger and
acute starvation. The petition
emphasised the constitutional basis of
the right to food flowing from Article
21 that guarantees the fundamental
right to life. This petition, also known
as the landmark PUCL vs. Union of
India or the right to food case, is
ongoing as a public interest litigation.
More Inclusive
The RTFC places the right to
food in a wider, more inclusive bed
of entitlements. Its shared premise
is that to address the structural roots
of hunger, the right to food should
be read together with entitlements
concerning livelihood se-
curity, equitable rights over resources
such as land, water and forests,
sustainable food systems, right to
information, education and health
care, social inclusion and non-
discrimination. Over the years, it has
publicly shared and structured this
premise through a legal and street
advocacy, grassroots engagement
and policy advocacy.
In fact, the universalisation of
cooked midday meals in schools
across India was a direct result of the
interim order under the right to food
case and campaigns around the
judgment, steered by the RTFC.
It is against this background of
steady advocacy that the Congress,
after its re-election in 2009, acted on
its electoral promise to legislate the
right to food. The United Progressive
Alliance-II tasked the Empowered
Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed
by then Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee to draft the National Food
Security Act.
The Bill tabled in Parliament in
2011 was a whittled down version of
a visionary draft prepared by the
National Advisory Council. It was
referred to the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Food,
Consumer Affairs and Public
Distribution. After a State Food
Ministers meeting to deliberate the
committees recommendations in
February this year, a revised version
of the Bill was cleared by the Cabinet
the following month. Amendments to
the Bill were introduced in the Lok
Sabha on May 2, which now urgently
await discussion and passage.
Columnists in economic and
business dailies have been quick to
dismiss the Bill as a fiscal nightmare.
The Food Minister, who argues that
India can no longer afford to forgo
the historic opportunity of enacting
a National Food Security Act, justly
rubbishes this discourse.
For and against
Briefly, the Bill may be lauded for
stipulating formidable reforms to the
PDS, maternity entitlements for
lactating and pregnant mothers and
expanding coverage, respectively, to
75 and 50 per cent of the population
in rural and urban areas.
Supporters of the Bill, however,
are unhappy about the continuation
of targeting in PDS, reduction in
monthly per capita PDS grain
entitlement from 7 kg to 5 kg, omission
of the health and preschool education
components of ICDS, absence of
special entitlements for the most
vulnerable sections of the population
(persons in destitution or starvation,
the elderly, persons with disabilities
and single women), proposed
introduction of cash transfers and
unsatisfactory grievance redress
mechanisms, among others. But the
bigger concern is that a robust
understanding of the right to food,
premised on hunger has been
weakened to mean a passive right to
receive whatever the state wants to
give in the name of food security.
Reframing Food Security
The successive erosion of the
essence of the right to food through
multiple drafts has divorced it from
the context of a silent emergency of
malnutrition and hunger in which the
RTFC first rooted it. This is evident in
the absence of the phrase right to
food from the text of the Bill. While
noteworthy reforms to the PDS have
been duly centre-staged, the
reference to improvements in
agriculture, water and sanitation,
health care and decentralised
procurement and storage, is only
tangential (buried in the last schedule
of the Bill). Any framing of food
security cannot ignore the moral
implications of hunger and must
argue for a better understanding of
the social, beyond the legal and
economic, to arrive at a society
unconditioned by the fear of
powerlessness that hunger can
impose.
When Development Triggers When Development Triggers When Development Triggers When Development Triggers When Development Triggers
Caste Violence Caste Violence Caste Violence Caste Violence Caste Violence
On the evening of November 7,
2012, a crowd numbering over 1000
people burst into three Dalit
settlements in Dharmapuri, north-
western Tamil Nadu, and laid them
waste. Over a period of several hours,
they looted, smashed and burned.
Trees had been felled on all approach
routes to prevent police and fire-
tenders from reaching the scene and
those officers who were present
decided that discretion was the
better part of valour. Over 260 houses
were razed to the ground, valuables
worth millions of rupees stolen, and
goods from televisions to motorbikes
smashed and set on fire.
Status Competition
The immediate motive for this
sustained attack was said to be an
inter-caste marriage between a Dalit
man and a backward caste woman.
Tamil Nadu, however, has a long
history of anti-caste activism which
encouraged cross-caste marriages.
Even today, couples marrying across
caste are entitled to various state
benefits. This region, furthermore, has
a history of communist inspired
mobilisation that saw the poor of all
castes uniting against landlords and
industrialists. In the past 20 years,
however, caste identities have been
increasingly politicised and polarised
by politicians seeking to make
political capital out of community
identities. It is caste politics and
status competition that underpin
such violence rather than domestic
politics; a point emphasised in May
2013 when violence erupted once
more around a Vanniyar (Most
Backward Caste) caste conference.
Those at the forefront of the
current upsurge in violence are those
called the backward or the most
backward castes. These are formal
categorisations that entitle groups to
affirmative action in recognition of the
fact that they have historically lacked
the privileges of education and social
status. These castes are located just
above Dalits in the caste hierarchy but
tend to own land. These castes have
increasingly mobilised politically to
demand special provisions for their
group.
In so doing they have reinforced
the boundaries of caste and mobilised
against perceived threats and
injustices. One recurrent assertion of
such groups is that Dalits receive
favourable treatment from the state
and misuse anti-caste legislation to get
back at higher castes. Attempts by
Dalits to assert themselves in the late
1990s, thus, were met by violent
repression from backward castes
anxious to defend their status and
dominance.
The tragedy of the situation is
that there have been systematic
efforts to reduce caste tensions in this
millennium. Thol. Thirumavalavan,
Member of Parliament, Viduthalai
Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK-Liberation
Panther Party) the largest Dalit
party in Tamil Nadu came to
prominence for his fiery rhetoric that
promised to hit back against caste
aggression and spoke of a counter-
violence of the oppressed. Since
gaining office, however, he joined
hands with Dr. S. Ramadoss leader
of the Most Backward Caste Vanniyar
party, Pattali Makkal Katchi and
campaigned on Tamil issues in the
interests of social harmony. Indeed,
as Gowthama Sannah Dalit
intellectual and VCK leader put it
in 2012:
Back then when we spoke of
hitting back, Mukkulathors and
Vanniyars were vehemently and
violently anti-Dalit. After Dalits started
to counter-attack, their predatory
instincts diminished. Now they do not
engage in major riots, they do not
tend to set light to cheris [ Dal i t
settlements], they do not tend to
muster people to attack Dalits.
Though small-scale violence persists
in many places, the will to engage in
major clashes has declined. Then why
should we stick to the same hit back
slogan and strategy? You can only say
that when there is a need. Now, when
they are being quiet after the war,
peace is the only way.
Barely a month after this
statement, caste wars erupted again.
Following on from the arson in
Dharmapuri there have been similar
incidents elsewhere. One question
that has been raised is whether this
violence can be understood as a form
of untouchability or whether it
reflects the more recent politicisation
of identity. Certainly Dalits have been
hitting back across India, but to equate
this to the eradication of hierarchy
would be premature. Dalits or
Scheduled Castes as they are known
in official documents are still
disproportionately represented
amongst the poor and landless and
still struggle to realise the promises
of the Constitution.
While activists are fond of
insisting that nothing changes, caste
is clearly changing across India and
Dalits are developing economically
and educationally just as others are.
Indeed, it is arguably because of this
development that the current conflicts
arise. Quietly and gradually, Dalits are
escaping forms of dependence and,
in so doing, are posing a challenge to
the caste order that those just above
them in the caste hierarchy find hard
to stomach. In Dharmapuri in 2012 and
Marakkanam in 2013, mobs
deliberately targeted the economic
assets of their victims. One factor
fuelling their animosity is that Dalits
no longer act as submissive
agricultural labourers in the fields of
the dominant castes. This resentment
feeds into a sense of security that is
captured in backward caste slogans
that say: first our jobs and now our
women. Womens bodies, here,
serve as the embodied markers of
caste purity and so it is when Dalit
men marry Vanniyar women that
issues arise. The voices and choices
of the women concerned are lost in
the claims and counter-claims of male
politicians.
For all Sannahs talk of peace, the
violence in Dharmapuri was not
completely unexpected. Earlier in the
year, a Vanniyar Member of the
Legislative Assembly had threatened
violence against any non-Vanniyar
who dared to marry a Vanniyar girl.
Though this hate speech was made on
an open stage, no action was taken
against him for inciting violence. Such
speeches are extremely popular
within the party because they
counter-pose valorous sons-of-the-
soil against uppity Dalits who ought
to know their place.
This construction of an exclusive
identity helps create internal solidarity
that may help the party in elections,
but commentators are increasingly
questioning the social costs of such a
strategy. Finally, in May 2013, senior
members of the PMK were arrested
and charged with inciting violence;
a move which prompted widespread
disruption across the State and party
members smashed and burned
vehicles, blocked roads and took to
the streets.
Vociferous forms
It is tempting to dismiss this
violence as indicating the continuing
significance of age-old caste
identities and relations. To do so,
however, ignores the fact that the
caste system is clearly changing and
the structures underpinning it are
starting to shift. Old certainties are
being eroded and caste identities are
assuming new often more
vociferous forms. Aspects of caste
and untouchability, however,
continue to be embedded in the
make-up of Indian society. Much as
institutions in the U.K. had to confront
issues of institutionalised racism,
those in India need to recognise and
address institutionalised casteism
throughout society.
The road towards a casteless
and egalitarian society will be long
and tortuous, and the divisions
between Dalits and caste Hindus
will prove hardest of all to bridge.
Standing by while politicians spew
casteist venom renders the authorities
partly culpable for caste polarisation
and any ensuing violence. If the
belated arrest of politicians
responsible for hate-speech signals
a new and more proactive approach
to caste politics, then perhaps some
good may arise from the ashes of Dalit
homes in Dharmapuri.
Power with Responsibility Power with Responsibility Power with Responsibility Power with Responsibility Power with Responsibility
There are two parts to the
Supreme Courts landmark decision
on Kudankulam, and each is equally
important. Much to the relief of the
Centre, which had invested hundreds
of crores of rupees there, the Tamil
Nadu government which desperately
needs electricity, and the nuclear
establishment whose very raison
detre had been challenged, the
court has said the power plant can
now be switched on. But it has laid
down important caveats on safety
the chief concern of those opposed
to the project and urged the
authorities to roll-back the hundreds
and thousands of cases that have
been foisted, mostly unfairly, on the
protesters. Apart from underscoring
the need for the plant to satisfy all
environmental safety conditions
stipulated by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, the judges
have wisely tasked Kudankulams op-
erator the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Limited and
its regulator, the Atomic Energy Regu-
latory Board, with a review of the plant
every three months, after initially
certifying the safety and reliability of
all the components and systems
installed.
It would add to the credibility
of Indias atomic energy establishment
if it widens the ambit of such reviews
by making them truly independent
and transparent. The AERB today is
not independent of the Department of
Atomic Energy, which is the parent
body of NPCIL, and the government
itself plans to replace it with a more
credible Nuclear Safety Regulatory
Authority. In the interim, and indeed
even after the NSRA comes into being,
the Supreme Court ought to subject
these reviews to judicial scrutiny. This
approach would mirror the apex
courts efforts to strengthen the
independence of the Central Bureau
of Investigation.
Apart from expeditiously
withdrawing the cases lodged
against those who participated in the
anti-nuclear agitation, the Tamil Nadu
government must also actively follow-
up the neighbourhood development
and housing programmes for which
funds have been allocated. While
judicial orders can help
ensure that Kudankulam starts its
operations on a sound footing,
building public confidence will
depend on the approach of the
nuclear establishment to a host of
issues: of safety of nuclear material,
handling of spent fuel, and the need
to build scientifically validated
nuclear waste repositories without
delay. Since spent fuel is not to be
reprocessed at Kudankulam, and
must be transported to other facilities
as per international safety norms, it is
reasonable to expect that the modali-
ties, if not the details, will be shared
with the country. For instance, is
transport by rail adequately
protected? Equally, it is incumbent
on the Centre and Tamil Nadu to
show demonstrable proficiency in
emergency and disaster
management preparedness up to the
district level, as mandated by national
guidelines. After Fukushima, it should
be clear that indifference to safety
can jeopardise the future of the entire
nuclear energy programme.
Second Chance to Mend Ties Second Chance to Mend Ties Second Chance to Mend Ties Second Chance to Mend Ties Second Chance to Mend Ties
The hope among some in India
of better bilateral relations with
Pakistan under Nawaz Sharif as Prime
Minister could well be the undoing of
his India policy even before it is
crafted. Much before his path to the
Prime Ministers house was cleared for
the third time, Pakistani hawks were
at him for making pro-India statements
in his election rallies and interviews
to the Indian media.
Ripping apart Mr. Sharifs recent
interview to CNN-IBNs Devils
Advocate and other India-related
references, a report in The
News said: In his bid to appease
India or vent his pent up anger on
the military establishment, days
before the May 11 elections, Mian
Nawaz Sharif have (sic!) gone to the
extent of committing that if he returns
to power he would share the reports
of commissions on Kargil and Mumbai
incidents with New Delhi.
For now, however, Mr. Sharif
appears to be holding his ground if
his remarks in an interview to theWall
Street Journal soon after establishing
a decisive lead in the vote count are
anything to go by. Well pick the
threads where we left. We want to
move toward better relations with
India, to resolve the remaining issues
through peaceful means, including
that of Kashmir.
While no civilian government
can cast its India policy in stone as
the military still has the last word on
strategic affairs and foreign policy as
it pertains to New Delhi, Washington,
Beijing and Kabul those who have
watched his political journey from the
Zia days say that he has matured as a
politician and remained consistent on
I n d i a .
Trade
He is a businessman and has
always believed in trade with India,
said veteran journalist M. Afzal Khan.
While Mr. Sharif always spoke out in
public meetings against India when
he was Chief Minister during Benazir
Bhuttos stint as premier, Mr. Khan
recalled that he would insist in
private that those statements were
basically political in nature for
domestic consumption.
His first stint as Prime Minister
did not see much positive movement
on India but in his second tenure he
did make efforts resulting in Atal Bihari
Vajpayees bus journey to Lahore and
the Lahore Declaration. Kargil upset all
that but, as Mr. Khan pointed out,
since then he has never spoken
against India.
Indeed, Mr. Sharif has always
insisted he was kept in the dark about
the Pakistan Armys Kargil adventure,
though he was then the Prime
Minister. However, varied accounts on
what transpired in the days ahead of
the intrusions, provide a more mixed
picture, the latest being a book by
the then Director-General of the
Analysis Wing of the Inter-Services
Intelligence, Shahid Aziz. He has
indicated that Mr. Sharif might not
have been completely in the dark
about the Kargil misadventure
orchestrated by then Chief of Army
Staff Pervez Musharraf and three
other generals. The retired general
recalls a colleague telling him that Mr.
Sharif asked when are you giving us
Kashmir during an informal
discussion, challenging the new
Prime Minister-designates denials.
Plus there is the growing corpus
of evidence that show the behind-
the-scene agreements including
pre-electoral arrangements, his party,
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) has with jihadioutfits, many
of them with an anti-India focus. In
the 2010 Punjab budget, his brother
Shahbaz Sharifs government
allocated PKR 80 million to
institutions linked to the Jamat-ud-
Dawah (JuD) despite it being on the
United Nations terror list. The
provincial governments plea was that
these schools and hospitals had been
taken over by the administration as
closing them down would be
counterproductive.
How these Faustian bargains
Mr. Shahbaz Sharif himself has
secured help from the banned anti-
Shia outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba and its
many incarnations in his elections
will impact PML(N)s policies remains
to be seen. But, Mr. Afzal Khan was
optimistic. Despite being right-
leaning and his good relations with
JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, Mr. Sharif never
said anything against India during his
entire campaign.
No Resonance
If anything, Mr. Sharif flagged
Mr. Vajpayees Lahore bus journey as
a major achievement in many of his
election rallies. He has been
consistent on improving relations with
India, is a commonly heard refrain
about Mr. Sharif.
In fact, there is across-the-
political spectrum consensus on the
need to improve relations with India.
Through the elections, there were no
reports of any mainstream political
party using anti-India rhetoric to
garner support and Kashmir was not
an issue, finding nothing more than a
passing reference in most manifestos.
An attempt made by Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf office-bearer Shireen
Mazari to fan anti-India sentiment in
Islamabad in the twilight hours of the
campaign by referring to Pakistani
prisoner Sanaullah, who had
succumbed to his injuries in a
Chandigarh hospital earlier in the day,
drew no response. If there is any issue
on which bitter political rivals agree,
it is on improving relations with India.
Given its support base within
the trading community, the PML(N)
is in favour of improving trade
relations with India and has been
supportive of granting India most-
favoured-nation status. Its
comfortable position in Parliament
should allow the party to push forth
with this agenda but negotiating the
India relationship would remain a
tightrope walk given the PML(N)s
uneasy relationship with forces in Pa-
kistan that have always succeeded in
ratcheting up the anti-India rhetoric
when it suits them.
The PML(N) manifesto states
that the party is committed to trade
with India but will also make special
efforts to resolve the Jammu & Kashmir
issue in accordance with the
provisions of the relevant United
Nations resolutions and the 1999
Lahore Accord and in consonance
with the aspirations of the people of
the territory for their inherent right of
self-determination.
Transit Economy
In keeping with its trade focus,
the PML(N) is also eager to take
advantage of Pakistans location at the
junction of South, West and Central
Asia to develop a transit economy
for the country. Pakistan can also
develop a flourishing transit economy
because it provides the shortest land
routes from Western China to the
Arabian Sea, through the Gwadar Port,
while linking India with Afghanistan
and the Central Asian Republics
(CARs) and providing land route from
Iran to India and access to the CARs
to the Arabian Sea and India for oil/
gas pipelines.
Non-committal on whether this
could include revisiting the
Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade
Agreement 2010 to allow India to send
goods to Afghanistan and beyond
through Pakistan, former Ambassador
Tariq Fatemi, who was part of the
manifesto drafting exercise, said: Mr.
Sharif believes the bilateral
relationship should be extended to
include the region as regional uplift is
crucial.
Pakistans Vote for Change Pakistans Vote for Change Pakistans Vote for Change Pakistans Vote for Change Pakistans Vote for Change
A historic election has just been
held in Pakistan, enabling a transition
from one civilian government to
another for the first time in its 65-year
existence. In the run-up, an orgy of
violence unleashed by the Taliban
threatened to overwhelm the
countrys date with democracy, but
democratic change was what the
people wanted and they turned out
in large numbers to vote out the
Pakistan Peoples Party, whose five-
year term was marked by an abysmal
absence of governance. While the
Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf led by
Imran Khan disrupted what has
traditionally been a two-horse race
with its heady new slogan of a New
Pakistan, the electorate preferred to
vest its trust in more experienced
hands. The Pakistan Muslim League
(N) of Nawaz Sharif whose second
term as Prime Minister was terminated
by the 1999 military coup that
brought General Pervez Musharraf to
power is on course to win enough
seats in the 272-strong National
Assembly to form the government. Its
centre-right agenda, similar to Imrans
but offering more details and stabil-
ity, clearly touched a chord in a
population that is increasingly suspi-
cious of the U.S. but also knows the
country cannot live in isolation. Even
so, this election offers no simple
reading. The PML (N)s mandate
came almost entirely from Punjab.
While that confirms the provinces
predominance, it questions the
national character of the vote, which
seems to have split along provincial
lines. Official results are still coming
in, but most of the PTIs parliamentary
seats were won in Khyber-
Pukhtunkhwa, where Imran Khans
anti-drone campaign was most
effective. Neck and neck with the PTI,
the PPP won mostly in Sindh, its
traditional stronghold, and was
routed elsewhere. The verdict in
Balochistan, where turnout was low,
was too fractured to offer any hope
to the restive province.
Mr. Sharif knows only too well
the enormity of the challenges ahead
of him. In his last term, his ties with
right-wing groups led him into costly
Islamist adventurism. He has evolved
in the last decade but members of
his party still consort openly with
jihadist outfits. He and his party have
also sent out mixed messages on how
to deal with the terrorism that is
devouring Pakistan, and which
threatens India and the
neighbourhood. It is likely that being
in power, and dealing with a world
that has changed much since 2001,
will help clear his vision. Where he
gives most hope is in his strong and
unambiguous articulation of better
India-Pakistan relations, though this
will depend on his stated
determination to correct the civil-mili-
tary imbalance, and reclaim the
national agenda from the security es-
tablishment. Whether he can suc-
ceed is another question, but India
will be hoping he will.
In Malkangiri, Losing the Fight In Malkangiri, Losing the Fight In Malkangiri, Losing the Fight In Malkangiri, Losing the Fight In Malkangiri, Losing the Fight
for Hearts and Minds for Hearts and Minds for Hearts and Minds for Hearts and Minds for Hearts and Minds
Last month, 65 representatives
o f panchayati raj institutions in
Malkangiri, Odisha, resigned en masse
protesting against the apathy of the
State government. All Adivasis, their
principal demands have been the
extension of an irrigation canal, road
repair, and the supply of drinking
water to villages. They had been
making representations to the State
Government and meeting officials but
to no avail. Even after they resigned,
Bhubaneswar has hardly taken note
of the grave constitutional and
governance crisis this has caused.
What would the reaction have been
had this happened in say Jammu and
Kashmir?
Tackling Naxals
Panchayat raj institutions are
integral to our constitutional edifice.
No minister or bureaucrat from
Bhubaneswar has decided to visit the
district to establish an interface with
the elected adivasi leaders. What can
be more insensitive?
In early 2009, the Central
Government decided on a significant
initiative to deal with rising Maoist
violence. Here, the deployment of
Central forces was increased and
States given support to add to their
capability in coping with Maoist
violence. The expectation was that a
grid pattern of deployment of Central
forces, supported by special forces
with deep penetration capability,
would facilitate developmental and
governance initiatives. Affected
districts were provided assistance
under the Integrated Action Plan
(IAP), which was one more method
of gap-funding after the Backward
Regions Grant Fund (BRFG). Besides,
the districts were given additional
funds under various Centrally-
sponsored schemes. The strategy has
worked wherever State governments
have been able to benefit
from Central assistance.
Where the State adminis-
tration is disinterested, the Central
effort has yielded limited benefits.
Neither money nor security
forces individually or together can win
the hearts and minds of people, if
money remains unspent and all that
people see are large numbers of
heavily armed personnel. This is
precisely what happened to
Malkangiri four years later. The State
Government has been unable to
create capacity or improve
governance. Development schemes
can hardly be implemented. Ministers
and bureaucrats are unwilling to visit
the district to personally take charge,
review implementation or assuage the
frustration of the Adivasis. There is a
case for a rethink on our strategy to
deal with what the Prime Minister has
termed the biggest internal security
threat to India.
Underutilised Gunds
During a recent visit to
Malkangiri I met the Adivasi leaders.
They were simple and straightforward
in talking about the issues that
affected them and expressed a great
sense of helplessness at having been
cheated by the government. They no
longer trust it. Ironically, Malkangiri is
among the top three Naxal-affected
districts of the country with 60 per
cent Adivasis and 81 per cent people
below poverty line. The district gets
generous funds under Central
schemes as well as under BRGF and
IAP yet fares poorly on all
development indicators besides
reporting extremely poor utilisation of
Central funds. Malkangiris misery is
being perpetuated by the insensitivity,
inaction and neglect of a callous State
government. Unfortunately, civil
society has little time for the Adivasis.
Innocent children are dying of
diseases, youth are unemployed,
women are vulnerable, farmers do not
have access to irrigation and there is
an atmosphere of bedlam and
unprecedented institutional decay.
Poor Infrastructure
Under the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme, the district has received
Rs.35.39 crore till February this year,
but only Rs.14.78 crore has been
spent. Out of the 3,024 units
sanctioned under the Indira Awaas
Yojana housing scheme, about 30
houses have been built. Under the
IAP, the district has received Rs.85
crore out of which Rs.30 crore remains
unspent. Malkangiri has as many as 36
health centres apart from the district
headquarters hospital. But they
remain non-functional as at least 40
posts of doctors, including specialists,
are vacant against the sanctioned
strength of 87.
Roads are in bad shape and
people have been repeatedly blocking
them to voice their anger, but to no
avail. Road projects worth Rs.460
crore, of the Public Works
Department, and Rs.630 crore under
the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana (PMGSY) are yet to take off.
Only 35 per cent of the funds under
PMGSY have been used. Ironically,
the Chief Minister holds the Works
portfolio, which is supposed to
maintain all major roads and look af-
ter the Water Resources department.
Political executives from
Bhubaneswar hardly ever visit the dis-
trict. When they do, they never spend
a night even at the fortified district
headquarters. When Ministers,
secretaries and bureaucrats are
unwilling to visit the district and
senior police officers move around
in helicopters provided by the
Central Government for security
reasons, we cannot blame the district
officials for their unwillingness to visit
the interiors, particularly after the kid-
napping of two Collectors from the
Bastar region. The State Government
has failed to build a bridge across the
Gurupriya river that separates the cut-
off areas from the mainland of
Malkangiri district. The cut-off areas
are essenti al l y the ei ght gram
panchayats of Kudumul ugumma
block separated from the mainland
district by the Balimela reservoir
constructed in 1977. The dam project
separated some 33,400 people in
151 villages from the Odisha mainland
though they are connected on the
other side to Visakhapatnam district
in Andhra Pradesh.
Rights Violations
In 2001, the Collector and
Superintendent of Police ran away
from the district. On the Chief
Ministers request, the Central
Government sent four battalions of
Central forces as well as a helicopter.
Money has also been provided for the
modernisation of the police force.
The State Government meets the
entire expenditure on fighting
Naxalites under the Security Related
Expenditure (SRE) Scheme of the
Central Government. To this, the
Central Government has now
sanctioned two engineer battalions
to attend to road work in areas where
contractors are not taking up work.
Instead of providing security cover,
the security forces have become the
only government agency present or
visible. There are repeated allegations
of human rights violations. This when
the purpose of security cover was to
implement development work and
sort out governance issues.
The Centre has poured in funds
and deployed huge numbers of
security personnel. But, what does
one do if the State administration fails
to implement and tackle governance
issues? What if Ministers and
bureaucrats do not carry out routine
reviews and inspections? Since the
kidnapping of Collector Vineel
Krishna, governance has more or less
collapsed. No development has taken
place, fuelling the current crisis that
has forced elected Adivasi leaders
to resign.
The Adivasis are simple people,
who have for long tolerated the
highhandedness of the administrators
and the police. Now, they have been
left to face armed Maoists.
To me, this is a grave
constitutional crisis and all efforts
must be made to restore grass-roots
democracy here.
New Leader, Daunting Job New Leader, Daunting Job New Leader, Daunting Job New Leader, Daunting Job New Leader, Daunting Job
There is plenty of symbolism
and not a little substance in the
selection of Brazils Roberto Azevedo
as the new head of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO). Though not the
first from the developing world to
occupy the post, he is the first from
Latin America and comes from a major
emerging market country rapidly
growing in stature and ready to
demonstrate its clout in the
international economic arena. Mr.
Azevedos diplomatic skills and
familiarity with the workings of the
WTO will stand him in good stead
when he takes over on September 1.
The incumbent, Pascal Lamy, a
Frenchman and a former European
trade commissioner, has been
accused of bias towards the West.
Although the selection process at the
WTO is opaque, it is the near
unanimous support of the developing
countries that reportedly saw him
through, overcoming the tepid
response of the U.S. and the European
Union. The vote is a pointer to what
would happen at the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund if those
institutions were to ever be
democratised.
The problem is that if the
developed countries remain
lukewarm to his leadership, Mr.
Azevedos task of reversing the
WTO s declining relevance in the
wake of its failure to broker a global
trade deal becomes that much more
difficult. The Doha round was
launched in the Qatari capital nearly
12 years ago to cut tariffs and trade
distorting subsidies but is now on life
support. Talks broke down in mid-
2008 over seemingly irreconcilable
differences, between the U.S. and In-
dia, and also between other countries
and groupings. Of course, the WTO
continues to have a trusted role in
monitoring trade agreements and
umpiring disputes. Its dispute settle-
ment mechanism allows even the
smallest of countries to enforce the
rule of law against their more powerful
trading partners. But deadlock in the
multilateral talks has prompted many
countries, India included, to go in for
bilateral and regional free trade
agreements. These are only a second
best option as they involve trade
displacement from third parties. Be-
sides, as a rule, FTAs make an eventual
multilateral trade agreement infinitely
more difficult. In a weak global trade
environment caused by the failure of
important countries to adhere to
multilateralism, the threat of protec-
tionism looms large. In 2012, global
trade grew by just 2 per cent a
rate lower than global GDP growth
and turned in the second worst
performance since records began in
1981. Mr Azevedo will need a suc-
cessful meeting at Bali later this year
to advance the heavily scaled down
Doha round. But only diehard
optimists can hope for a
breakthrough.
Beware the Beware the Beware the Beware the Beware the
Nostrums of Economists Nostrums of Economists Nostrums of Economists Nostrums of Economists Nostrums of Economists
A to-do
List for the New Law Minister
With only a year to go before the
Lok Sabha elections, the new Law
Minister has his work cut out for him.
On paper, Kapil Sibal is perhaps the
United Progressive Alliances best
man for the job. As a lawyer, he
understands legal technicalities; as an
experienced hand, he also
understands the working of the
government. There are several
pressing reforms that demand
immediate action by the Law
Ministry, most of which have
unfortunately been either completely
ignored or lie unimplemented.
In part, this is attributable to the
frequent shuffling of Ministers that the
Law Ministry has seen under the UPA
government in the last five years.
Some blame must also be attributed
to the difficulty in getting the
necessary political consensus for the
more contentious reforms. In the next
one year, it would be wise for Mr.
Sibal to set modest, achievable goals;
and focus on the most pressing
reforms. Four key areas of reform that
require immediate attention are
appointment of judges; working of
the judicial system; modernising key
economic legislation and restoring
the independence and dignity of the
law officers of the government.
Judicial
Appointments Commission
The appointment of judges to
the Constitutional Courts is presently
done by the collegium of judges of
the High Court and the Supreme
Court. The controversies surrounding
the proposed appointment of Justice
P.D. Dinakaran, and the impeachment
of Justice Soumitra Sen show that this
system of appointment has surely
failed. Recent political consensus also
appears to be against the collegiate
system of appointment of judges, and
in favour of it being replaced by a
Judicial Appointments Commission
(JAC).
It would however be nave to
believe that the mere setting up of a
JAC, without anything more, can be
the solution to the present problems
plaguing the appointment of judges.
The Ministry must identify transparent
and well-defined criterion based on
which the JAC would function and
exercise its powers. It is also
important to note that the setting up
of a JAC cannot be done through leg-
islation alone. The collegiate system
of appointment of judges was insti-
tuted by the judgments of the
Supreme Court in the
three Judges cases; and to set up a
JAC and in effect reverse the holding
in that decision, it is imperative to
remove the foundation or the basis
on which the judgment was passed.
Since theJudges cases have ren-
dered the word consultation (with
the judges) in Articles 124 and 217
of the Constitution to mean a virtual
concurrence, it would be essential
to pass a constitutional amendment
to amend the text of those Articles,
lest the validity of the JAC be open
to challenge on this ground. The UPA
government does not have the
numbers to pass such an amendment
by itself; and it would require a con-
sensus of parties across the political
spectrum to do so.
Pendency of Cases
The Indian judicial system is
overworked, understaffed and
bursting at the seams. Pendency of
cases in the High Courts and the
Supreme Court is at an all-time high.
Many have argued that the solution to
this is to increase the number of
judges we have approximately 11
judges per million persons, as
opposed to the global average of
around 50 judges per million.
However, the judge-population ratio
is, strictly speaking, irrelevant to
understand the issue of pendency.
What is relevant is the judge-pendency
ratio, the impact of which has sadly
not been examined in policy debates.
More importantly, an empirical study
conducted in 2010 (Kannan) revealed
that the problem with the working of
the judicial system lies elsewhere. It
concluded that (assuming no fresh
cases are filed) it would take
approximately nine months to clear
the entire backlog of cases in Tamil
Nadu. Most States in India had
somewhat similar figures, and only a
few needed more than two to three
years to clear their entire backlog.
These numbers demonstrate that the
problem of pendency is not
insurmountable, and the answers to
streamlining the working of the
judicial system are not to be found in
resolving pendency by increasing the
number of judges. They lie elsewhere.
National Litigation Policy
The trouble with the working of
the judiciary can be traced to the
existing institutional structure. Most
cases in the courts are fought by or
against the state or its agencies, and
serious efforts must be made to
transform the government into an
efficient and responsible litigant. A
well-drafted National Litigation Policy
was mooted under the aegis of
Veerappa Moily in 2010, but remains
largely unimplemented. Similarly,
provisions for imposition of actual
costs on litigants would reduce
frivolous law suits, and cut down on
unnecessary adjournments. The
executive, the legislature and the
judiciary need to work together to
implement these institutional changes,
and the lead must be taken by the Law
Minister.
While the larger reforms of the
legal system are carried on, it would
also be useful, as a more immediate
measure, to improve the quality of
justice delivery in high value
commercial cases, especially given
the strong co-relation between foreign
investment and a stable, predictable
and efficient legal system. The
Commercial Division of High Courts
Bill appeared to be a step in the right
direction but suffered from serious
drafting flaws and had to be scrapped
in December 2011 despite having
been passed by the Lok Sabha. Salman
Khurshid, the Law Minister who
spearheaded this Bill, had promised
a revised version of the Bill, but it has
remained in cold storage. It is hoped
that it will be taken up again.
There are many important
economic laws that require the
immediate attention of the legislature.
The proposed Companies Bill 2012
that seeks to replace the Companies
Act, 1956 is pending vote in the Rajya
Sabha, having been passed by the Lok
Sabha. Key amendments to the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
which reduce judicial intervention
and streamline the process of
alternative dispute resolution, have
not been passed, despite a
consultation paper being
prepared under the stew-
ardship of Mr. Moily. Similar
amendments are required to further
strengthen the regulatory framework
in the insurance and banking sectors
both of which are presently
governed by antiquated legislation.
The law officers of the
government, the Attorney General, the
Solicitor General and the Additional
Solicitor Generals, do not merely serve
their clients, but owe an important
duty to the court and perform critical
constitutional functions. The
Constitution in Article 76, in fact,
enjoins the President to appoint a
person who is qualified to be
appointed a Judge of the Supreme
Court to be the Attorney General. In
the recent past, several law officers
appointed under the UPA
government have compromised the
dignity of their office while the
upright ones have preferred to quit.
Institution Eroded
The involvement of two law
officers in the recent Coalgate
controversy has tarnished the
credibility of not just the individuals
in question, but of the offices they
hold. The erosion of this institution
does not augur well for Indian
democracy. It might be useful to
consider designating the JAC which
is proposed to be instituted for
appointing judges to the
Constitutional Courts, to also appoint
the law officers. This will not only
insulate their offices from unnecessary
political pressures but also reduce any
charge of the governments
management of sensitive cases before
the Constitutional Courts.
Mr. Sibal is an old hand with a
hard road ahead of him, and it is
hoped that he will make the most of
his position as Law Minister. The
confidence of the public in the justice
delivery system has been severely
eroded, not just due to recent events
but also due to the various structural
and institutional weaknesses that have
crept into the present system. H.M.
Seervai said that the Constitution
confers power, but it does not
guarantee that the power could be
wisely exercised. Equally, it can be
said that the Constitution confers
power but it gives no guarantee that
it will be worked by men of high
character, capacity and integrity. If the
Constitution is to be successfully
worked, an attempt must be made to
improve the political atmosphere. It
is hoped that the new Law Minister
will be up to the task that is cut out
for him.
Shocki ng Shocki ng Shocki ng Shocki ng Shocki ng
Betrayal on Western Ghats Betrayal on Western Ghats Betrayal on Western Ghats Betrayal on Western Ghats Betrayal on Western Ghats
Dear Dr. K. Kasturirangan, J.B.S.
Haldane, the celebrated 19th-
century scientist and humanist who
quit England protesting its
imperialistic invasion of Suez to
become an Indian citizen, once said:
Reality is not only stranger than we
suppose, but stranger than we CAN
suppose! I could never have
imagined that you would be party to
a report such as that of the High Level
Working Group on Western Ghats,
but, then, reality is indeed stranger
than we can suppose!
In our report to the Ministry of
Environment & Forests, based on
extensive discussions and field visits,
we had advocated a graded
approach with a major role for
grassroots-level inputs for
safeguarding the ecologically
sensitive Western Ghats. You have
rejected this framework and in its
place, you advocate a partitioning
amongst roughly one-third of what
you term natural landscapes, to be
safeguarded by guns and guards, and
two-third of so-called cultural
landscapes to be thrown open to de-
velopment, such as what has
spawned the Rs.35,000-crore illegal
mining scam of Goa.
This is like trying to maintain
oases of diversity in a desert of
ecological devastation. Ecology
teaches us that such fragmentation
would lead, sooner rather than later,
to the desert overwhelming the oases.
It is vital to think of maintenance of
habitat continuity, and of an ecologi-
cally and socially friendly matrix to
ensure long-term conservation of
biodiversity-rich areas, and this is
what we had proposed.
Moreover, freshwater
biodiversity is far more threatened
than forest biodiversity and lies largely
in what you term cultural landscapes.
Freshwater biodiversity is also vital to
livelihoods and nutrition of large
sections of our people.
That is why we had provided a
detailed case study of the Lote
Chemical Industry complex in
Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra,
where pollution, exceeding all legal
limits, has devastated fisheries so that
20,000 people have been rendered
jobless, while only 11,000 have
obtained industrial employment. Yet,
the government wants to set up fur-
ther polluting industries in the same
area, and has therefore deliberately
suppressed its own Zonal Atlas for
Siting of Industries.
Your report shockingly dismisses
our constitutionally-guaranteed
democratic devolution of decision-
making powers, remarking that local
communities can have no role in
economic decisions. Not surprisingly,
your report completely glosses over
the fact, reported by us, that while the
government takes absolutely no action
against the illegal pollution of Lote, it
had invoked police powers to
suppress perfectly legitimate and
peaceful protests against pollution on
as many as 180 out of 600 days in
2007-09.
Indias cultural landscape
harbours many valuable elements of
biodiversity. Fully 75 per cent of the
population of lion-tailed macaque, a
monkey species confined to
the Western Ghats, thrives
in the cultural landscape of tea
gardens. I live in the city of Pune and
scattered in my locality are a large
number of banyan, peepal and gular
trees; trees that belong to genus Ficus,
celebrated in modern ecology as a
keystone resource that sustains a wide
variety of other species. Through the
night I hear peacocks calling, and
when I get up and go to the terrace I
see them dancing.
It is our people, rooted in Indias
strong cultural traditions of respect for
nature, who have venerated and
protected the sacred groves, the Ficus
trees, the monkeys and the peafowl.
Apparently, all this is to be
snuffed out. It reminds me of Francis
Buchanan, an avowed agent of British
imperialism, who wrote in 1801 that
Indias sacred groves were merely a
contrivance to prevent the East India
Company from claiming its rightful
property.
It would appear that we are
now more British than the British and
are asserting that a nature-friendly
approach in the cultural landscape is
merely a contrivance to prevent the
rich and powerful of the country and
of the globalised world from taking
over all lands and waters to exploit
and pollute as they wish while
pursuing lawless, jobless economic
growth. It is astonishing that your
report strongly endorses such an
approach. Reality is indeed stranger
than we can suppose!
How the World Looks from India How the World Looks from India How the World Looks from India How the World Looks from India How the World Looks from India
AMITABH MATTOO AMITABH MATTOO AMITABH MATTOO AMITABH MATTOO AMITABH MATTOO
The Government of India may
have rolled out the red carpet for
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who
arrived in New Delhi yesterday, but
popular opinion in India is deeply
sceptical of Chinese ambitions in Asia
and its policy towards India. This is
the clear verdict of arguably the most
comprehensive survey of Indian pub-
lic opinion in recent years. But while
there is great warmth for the United
States, and discomfort at Chinas rise,
the percentage of Indians who
believe India should cooperate with
China at the global level equals those
who support plans to contain
China. India Poll 2013 , the findings
of which are being released today,
was carried out late last year, much
before last months incursion by
Chinese troops in Ladakh.
Predictably, there continues to
be deep concern within India about
possible terrorist attacks from Pakistan
as well as the motives of the Pakistan
Army, but a courageous,
reconciliatory move towards
Islamabad by the Indian Prime
Minister would invite widespread
domestic support.
India Poll 2013: Facing the
Future is a survey of opinion of 1,233
adults, a representative cross-section
of Indians from all sectors of society;
interviews were conducted face-to-
face in India between August 30 and
October 15, 2012. The poll was
commissioned by the Australia India
Institute at the University of
Melbourne and the Lowy Institute for
International Policy, and the
fieldwork conducted by a reputable
international polling company.
China and Threat Factors
Not surprisingly, Indians see
Pakistan and China as the biggest
foreign threats to their nation. Only
nine per cent of Indians believe China
does not pose a threat, while 84 per
cent believe it does, with 60 per cent
identifying it as a major threat. Seventy
per cent of the respondents agreed
that Chinas aim is to dominate Asia.
The responses were roughly equal,
however, between those who
believed that India should join with
other countries to limit Chinas influ-
ence (65 per cent), and those who
believed India should cooperate
with China to play a leading role in
the world together (64 per cent). In
fact, some Indians clearly hold both
views at once, an interesting sign of
the tensions or indeed duality within
Indian foreign policy expectations.
From all those who had
identified China as a threat, over 80
per cent agreed that threat was for
the following reasons: China
possesses nuclear weapons, it was
competing with India for resources
in other countries, it was
strengthening its relations with other
countries in the Indian Ocean
Region, and it was claiming
sovereignty on parts of Indias
territory. Only a slightly smaller
number believed that the threat was
because of Chinas stronger military,
its bigger economy, its military
assistance to Pakistan, and because
it does not show respect to India.
On a Scale
This does not mean, however,
that Indians do not want better
relations with China; 63 per cent of
the respondents want bilateral ties to
be stronger. On a scale of 0 to 100, in
terms of feelings towards a country
(with 100 meaning very warm, and 0
very cold) of the 22 countries listed,
China ranked right in the middle along
with Brazil, at 44 degrees; the United
States, Singapore, Japan, Australia,
France, Nepal, Russia, Great Britain, Sri
Lanka and South Africa ranked higher.
While the findings may suggest
a schizophrenic Indian attitude
towards China, the message is
relatively straightforward. Indians are
deeply apprehensive about what they
perceive as Chinas assertive or even
aggressive attitude towards India,
fearful of its policies in the region and
anxious of its growing capabilities.
And yet, while Indians generally
hope that relations with China will
become better and with little ill feeling
towards the Chinese people, there is
a lack of clarity on how India should
respond to a Rising China. Should
India partner with China to create a
united front among Asias rising giants,
if possible?
Or be part of a balancing
coalition to ensure that Chinas rise
remains peaceful and not destabilising
at a time when there are widespread
concerns that Beijing is aspiring for a
dominant role in Asia? It is this policy
dilemma which New Delhi needs to
resolve. Likewise, Chinese diplomacy
clearly faces a major challenge in
terms of Indian public perceptions.
Pakistan
On Pakistan, the findings are
along predictable lines, but with a
significant counter-intuitive finding.
Ninety-four per cent of Indians
believe Pakistan is a threat, of which
78 per cent consider it a major threat.
Of all those who identified Pakistan
as a threat, over 90 per cent did so
because of the possibility of terrorist
attacks from Pakistan, the Pakistan
militarys animosity to India, its
possession of nuclear weapons, and
because it claims sovereignty over
Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan ranks
lowest in terms of warmth of feeling
in the list of 22 countries.
And yet, despite great
scepticism about Pakistan, 89 per
cent of Indians agree that ordinary
people in both India and Pakistan
want peace. Eighty-seven per cent
agreed that a big improvement in
India-Pakistan relations requires
courageous leadership in both
countries and 76 per cent felt that
India should take the initiative in
seeking peace with Pakistan.
Seventy-two per cent felt that trade
and economic cooperation would
bring peace between the two
countries, while 67 per cent felt that
without an agreement on Kashmir,
peace would not be possible.
In sum, the findings suggest that
if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
were to have a summit meeting with
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and take
the lead on a dialogue with Pakistan,
he would have popular support. While
a grand reconciliation with Pakistan
had been central to Dr. Singhs vision
of South Asia, he seems to have
abandoned the goal for fear of a
pol i ti cal backl ash. India Poll
2013 indicates that even in the last
year of the present government, peace
with Pakistan is an opportunity worth
pursuing.
Ties with U.S.
At 62 degrees, Indians feel most
warmly towards the U.S. in the list of
22 countries surveyed. Eighty-three
per cent feel that Indias relations
with the U.S. are strong, while only
four per cent think they are weak, 75
per cent want them even stronger
and only one per cent want them
weaker.
During most of the Cold War and
beyond, suspicion of America was a
striking feature of Indian, particularly
elite, opinion, even while the U.S.
became a land of opportunity for
Indian professionals. American
sanctions after the 1998 nuclear tests
further compounded this feeling. In
January 2009, however, after the U.S.-
India nuclear deal, Manmohan Singh
surprised many by telling President
George W. Bush: The people of India
deepl y l ove you. India Poll
2013 confirms the affection the
people of India have for the United
States, if not for a single President.
Watching the Watchmen Watching the Watchmen Watching the Watchmen Watching the Watchmen Watching the Watchmen
Union Defence Secretary
Shashi Kant Sharma has been
appointed the Comptroller and
Auditor General of India (CAG),
replacing Vinod Rai who retires
today. While Mr. Sharma is by all
accounts an officer of the highest
integrity who enjoys the confidence
of the government, his choice causes
deep misgivings about the continued
independence of the CAG and the
motivations of a government that has
been repeatedly chastised by the
Supreme Court for failing to respect
the autonomy of independent
institutions.
From December 2003, apart
from three short stints elsewhere, Mr.
Sharma was a key functionary
throughout in the Ministry of Defence.
His appointments in the Ministry,
crucially as Director-General (Acqui-
sitions) from August 2007 to Septem-
ber 2010, and Defence Secretary
from July 2011 till today, lead to a fun-
damental conflict of interest. Not only
will Mr. Sharma be a key functionary
to be held accountable for defence
procurements made under his watch
but, specifically, his inputs regarding
the contract signed by the Ministry
with AgustaWestland, U.K., for the
supply of 12 AW-101 VVIP helicop-
ters will have to be closely scrutinised.
The CAG is currently tasked with both
these functions. Crucially, the CAGs
audit report on the helicopter
contract and perceived irregularities
therein are yet to be tabled in Parlia-
ment.
Perception of Impartiality
In these circumstances,
appointing Mr. Sharma as the CAG
creates an inevitable conflict of
interest and adversely impacts the
perception of impartiality. Nemo
judex in causa sua , i.e. no person
shall be a judge in his own cause, is a
fundamental principle of
administrative law that governs
conflicts of interest. Though the CAG
is not a judge in law, his task of
auditing government accounts, as a
matter of principle, requires
independence from the government
analogous to that enjoyed by a judicial
officer. Such a principle will
unarguably be violated when Mr.
Sharma audits his own Ministrys
actions, especially concerning the
hugely controversial helicopter
contract, irrespective of how upright
he himself might be.
Even if Mr. Sharma recuses
himself from such audits, the manner
in which his appointment has been
made adversely affects the
perception of impartiality that is
necessary for an independent
constitutional office-holder. The
Supreme Court has repeatedly held
that the test for determining whether
a decision-making authority is
perceived to be impartial is whether
there is a reasonable apprehension
of bias from the point of view of an
average honest man. One of the key
factors giving rise to such an
apprehension is the manner of ap-
pointment. By all available accounts,
Mr. Sharmas name was recom-
mended by the government to the
President without any public
discussion whatsoever, on the crite-
ria used for evaluation and the merits
and demerits of available candidates.
Was there a shortlist drawn up? If so,
on what basis? What qualifications did
the candidates possess for being the
CAG? In what way was Mr. Sharma
considered to have superior creden-
tials?
Independence of CAG
That the CAG should not just be
impartial but be seen to be so was a
key desideratum that influenced the
drafters of the Constitution.
Specifically, Dr. Ambedkar felt that the
CAG is probably the most important
officer in the Constitution of India
(Constituent Assembly, 30 May 1949).
As the chief enforcer of financial
accountability of the government, it
was imperative for the CAG to remain
independent of the political executive
and for the Constitution to
demonstrate as such. This was
guaranteed by provisions protecting
the salary, tenure and pensions,
prohibition on his removal save by
impeachment and a bar on post-
retirement employment.
Curiously, no analogous protection
was devised in the appointments
mechanism which would be at the
sole discretion of the executive.
An Anomaly
What was a conspicuous
omission at the time of drafting the
Constitution has, over time, regressed
to an egregiously controversial
anomaly. Controversial, since the lack
of appointment criteria has meant
that the position has led to a turf war
between the Indian Audits and
Accounts Service (IAAS) and the
Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Anomalous, since other independent
institutions such as the judiciary and
the Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC) have seen the executive being
divested of its unfettered power of
appointment. The anomaly has been
rendered egregious by the fact that
it has not been rectified in case of
the CAG despite repeated calls to do
so. A High Powered Committee of
The National Commission to Review
the Working of the Constitution
recommended that the power of
appointment be kept outside the
exclusive power of the Executive.
Eminent public figures, such as Era
Sezhiyan and Ramaswamy Iyer, have,
in the pages of this newspaper, called
for introspection and reform. Most
recently, Jay Panda, Member of
Parliament, introduced two Private
Members Bills to reform the
appointments process. Rather than
deliberating on these suggestions, the
government has deemed it prudent to
continue exercising its power of
appointment consonant with the
opaque letter of the Constitution,
disdainfully oblivious to its exalted
spirit embodied in Dr. Ambedkars
wo r ds .
Anachronistic Practice
The governments selection of
the CAG and the method adopted
demonstrate a concerted pushback to
the progressive discourse of
accountability that has developed in
India today. Accountability demands
that not only must processes of
government be transparent; equally
the government must publicly justify
its decisions. Claiming the
prerogative to appoint, without
disclosure and discussion, is widely
considered anathema to such devel-
opments. But by forcibly trying to
extend such an anachronistic
practice, the government is throwing
down the gauntlet as far as the
meaning and significance of
accountability in public life in India
are concerned.
In the process, it is cocking a
snook at the Supreme Court, which
has repeatedly berated it for its
interference in the functioning of
oversight institutions. In quashing the
appointment of P.J. Thomas as the
Central Vigilance Commissioner, the
Supreme Court criticised the
government for failing to respect the
institutional integrity of the CVC
which would be adversely affected
by Mr. Thomass appointment. Again,
in response to interference by the
executive in the functioning of the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
the Supreme Court strongly
condemned its control over the
institution. One may have hoped that
as a responsible government, such
censure would prevent future
meddling in oversight institutions.
However, in light of the questionable
recommendation to the post of CAG,
a constitutional functionary higher in
status than the CVC or the CBI, it is
evident that such hope is plainly
misplaced. There is no gainsaying that
reform of the appointment process
of the CAG must take place. But more
significant than such reform is the
governments choice of the CAG. The
appointment of the CAG was a test of
the governments inten-
tions toward the autonomy of
independent institutions would it
respect this autonomy, or continue a
long and reprehensible tradition of
wrecking them for narrow personal
or political gains. To any sensible
person, there is only one right answer
and it is now obvious.
http://www.civilservicesmentor.com 132 http://upscportal.com
The Karakoram Pass played a
significant role in the flourishing
trade on the Silk Route between
India-China and Central Asia. The
pass was shut down and trade
stopped in 1949 when Xinjiang
became a part of Peoples Republic
of China. Leh was a busy
cosmopolitan commercial town,
with traders from Central Asia,
Kashgarh, Yarkand, Kabul, Tibet,
Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal
Pradesh who stayed on for one or
two months after their exhausting
journey.
The trade, through the
Karakoram, influenced the dress,
food and dance forms of Ladakh. On
the other side of the Pass, Chini
Bagh at Kashgarh (the residence of
the British Joint Commissioner of
Trade), Gurdial Sarai and Kashmiri
Kucha (street) at Yarkand, where
Indian traders used to stay, still
remind us of the magnitude of
commerce that took place. The
Bactrian camel (double hump) of
Nubra valley is a relic from Xinjiang.
A generation of people in Nubra still
speaks the Uyghur dialect. Food
served in some of old streets of Leh
has a distinctly Central Asian flavour.
Central and Popular
At 18,250 feet, Karakoram was
one of the highest trade routes.
Now, a motorable road exists
through Khardungla (18,680 feet)
and Turumputila up to the base of
Saser Kangri. Thereafter, a track
moves over to camp sites of Murgo
(in Yarkandi, also known as the
gateway of death), Burtsa,
Kazilangar, Deptsang la, Daulat Beg
Oldi (the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
post named after a Xinjiang caravan
leader who was buried here) and
fi nall y to the Karakoram Pass.
Notably, the India-China boundary
at the pass is not disputed; it is
indicated by two heaps of stones at
a distance of 50 feet, one Indian, and
the other Chinese. It is an eight day-
trek from the picturesque Nubra
Valley to the Karakoram Pass. It is
not possible to get lost there the
trail of bones and skeletons of men
and animals constantly remind the
weary traveller of the ruggedness of
terrain and weather. But in spite of
those drawbacks, the Karakoram
Pass remained popular due to its
centrality and affinity with Ladakhis.
The Silk Route, through which
passed Chinese merchandi se,
notably silk to Rome, is a primary
axis of transportation through the
heart of Asia. A number of auxiliary
axes feed into the Silk Route. An
important feeder route from the
lower Himalayas was from Hunza
via Sarikol into Xinjiang via the
Mintaka Pass. This route is now a
part of the Northern Areas of
Pakistan. Another more important
route was via Karakoram from the
Leh-Nubra valley or Leh-Changla
pass-Shyok Valley.
Modern link
Pakistan has always enhanced
its strategic power much more than
its economic and scientific potential
by making full use of its geostrategic
location. It was at the 1955 Bandung
Non-Aligned nations conference
that President Ayub Khan and
Premier Chou en Lai met for the first
time and later concluded, in 1963,
the historic Sino-Pakistan Boundary
http://upscportal.com 133 http://www.civilservicesmentor.com
Agreement. Earlier, Pakistan Army
engineers had built a Indus Valley
road to Gi l gi t. Later, Paki stan
concluded an agreement with China
to transform this road into an all-
weather dual carriageway all the
way up to the Mintaka Pass.
Completed in 1969, the Karakoram
Highway pushes north through
Islamabad, Gilgit and crosses the
Karakoram range through the
16, 000ft Khunjerab Pass. The
highway abandoned the Mintaka
Pass because of its proximity to
Russia and the road is now closer to
and strengthens the Xinjiang-Aksai
Chi n Western Ti bet road.
Approximately 10,000 Chinese and
15,000 Pakistani engineers and army
troops were employed in building
the road with 80 bridges. The road
was hai l ed by the London-
based Financial Times as Chinas
new trade outlet to Africa and
Middl e East in the Paki stan
Hi mal ayas vi a a modernized
anci ent si lk route (quoted
by Dawn , Karachi, April 30, 1971).
Cultural Bridges
India should negotiate with
China to open the ancient trade
route for mutual gain. India enjoys
historic popularity with the people
of Central Asia and Xinjiang. Most
of the merchandise sold by Pakistani
traders across the border in China
is of Indian origin. The economy of
Ladakh, which has traditionally
depended on trade, would thrive
with the opening of the Karakoram
Pass. Ever suspici ous of li nks
between mi litant Uyghurs and
terrorist outfits in Pakistan, China
would have no such fears regarding
Ladakh. There are i mmense
possibilities for the revival of an
ancient Buddhist connection and for
two-way touri sm to ancient
Buddhist sites in Central Asia and
India. Ladakh Buddhists long to visit
the Thousand Buddhist caves at
Dunhuang in Xinj i ang. The
Karakoram Pass has also been a
traditional Haj route from Xinjiang.
Pilgrims can take advantage of direct
Haj flights from Srinagar. As strong
cultural bridges already exist, we
have to revive them by resuming
trade through the pass.
Energy gateway
Karakoram can also act as a
gateway for hydrocarbon pipelines
from Central Asia. The planned
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-
India pipeline (TAPI) from the city
of Shymkent must pass through
disturbed and insecure areas of
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Another
pipeline from Kazakhstan, which
would also pass through the same
territory, is being conceived. The
security of the pipeline would
always be in doubt despite local
government guarantees. The route
from the Central Asian countries via
Xinjiang and the Karakoram Pass
would be more secure. There is
another advantage, most of the
hydrocarbon pipelines in Central
Asia are on an east-west axis. A
pipeline through Karakoram, at least
up to the pass, would have an east-
west line. It would be economical
and technologically easier. China is
already planning an oil pipeline
connecti ng Gwadar Port wi th
Xinjiang along with the Karakoram
Highway. Indi a can make a
begi nni ng by proposi ng a
comparati vel y secure pipeli ne
through Xinjiang and Karakoram. It
would be a good confidence-
building step by both countries.
It may be argued that the
economic viability of the Pass is not
great, especially through the all-
weather motorable roads over the
Khunjerab Pass; through here, a
truck from Kashgarh can get to
Karachi in five days for seven
months in a year, compared to 12
through the Karakoram Pass.
The author would argue that
the opening of the Karakoram Pass
would hugely benefit the people of
Ladakh and Xinjiang. Tibet, as a
source of merchandise, has not
been successful as Chinese goods
are available from Nepal.
The commercial potential of
central Asian carpets, silk, leather
goods, dry fruits in India and the
direct export of Indian goods to
Xinjiang would be very high. The
popularity of Indian and Xinjiang
goods and the revival of ancient
cultural links make a good case for
opening the Karakoram Pass for
trade. Once done, development of
infrastructure for traffic and energy
pipelines, and other benefits will
follow.
Courtesy: The Hindu
Virendra Sahai Verma
The victory of former Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharifs party, the
geographically fragmented verdict,
the lack of a cl ear ideologi cal
distinction between the political
parties in the fray and the poor
showing of progressive, left wing
forces suggest that there are part
things new and part things old
in Pakistani politics following the
election results in 2013.
The main slogan for the May
2013 Pakistan elections, was one of
change, for a naya (new) Pakistan.
In i mportant ways, the 2013
elections were as important and as
critical as the 1988 elections which
began the process of electoral
politics albeit not democracy in
Pakistan after a long, dark and cruel
mi litary dictatorship.This ti me
round, in 2013, while the transition,
the first ever from a democratically
elected government to another, is
very different compared to 1988, the
importance of a break from the past,
is perhaps more powerful than that
of the 1988 elections.
Breaking from the Past
There are numerous obvious
examples of what is new in these
elections and the many breaks from
the past. For a start, perhaps the
most important aspect of these
elections was, that for the first time
a democrati call y el ected
government held free and fair
elections in Pakistan albeit with
allegations and proof of rigging in
some polling stations. Moreover, the
democratically elected government
of 2008-13, willingly accepted its
fai l ure and congratul ated the
winning parties, and for the first time
i n Paki stan, a full y ci vi li an
government no signs of Pakistans
model of praetorian democracy at
play here handed over power as
per the Constitution to a caretaker
government which is expected to
pass on power to the elected
governments in Pakistan by the end
of this week. Given Pakistans
histories of military intervention,
control, meddling, oversight, and
much else, all these firsts are by
themselves, quite a remarkable
achi evement. Whi l e perhaps
anti cipated and somewhat
expected in many ways given the
apparent trends and signs since
2007 and agai n i n
2010,
1
nevertheless, it is always still
surprising in Pakistans context that
this process happened without the
militarys interference.
What i s also new, is that,
Nawaz Sharif is about to be sworn
in as Pakistans first prime minister
to be elected to that office for the
third time, a record which is unlikely
to be broken for many years to
come. Equally refreshing, is the fact
that the mi l i tary general who
removed Nawaz Sharif from office
i n October 1999 and became
Pakistans chief executive, and
forced Nawaz Sharif into many years
of exile, is today in a Pakistani jail. It
is not often that one can celebrate
the fact that Pakistans former
president/general, the former Chief
of the Army Staff, is under arrest and
investigation by Pakistani courts,
ironically by many of the lawyers of
the Supreme Court who sanctified
general Pervez Musharrafs coup in
October 1999. Whi le there i s
speculation that Musharraf will be
allowed to get away, even this
temporary judicial and publ ic
humiliation, is an important first in
Pakistan.
New, also, is the fact that
almost all experts got the results of
the elections very wrong. Barring
just a handful, the results announced
by a large and wide variety of
analysts, all suggested that no single
party would win enough seats to
form a government on its own, and
like the two previous governments,
Pakistans next government would
also be a coalition government.
Nawaz Sharif surprised everyone by
winning enough seats in the end to
form a government which is formed
largely by his own party, and by
some new entrants who have joined
him after the elections.
Not only that, one can also
argue, that Nawaz Sharif is probably
one should always be cautious
about making predictions about
Pakistan the first prime minister
since Z A Bhutto in 1971, who ought
to see a full term of five years ahead
of him. All elected governments
after Z A Bhutto there have been
seven have been sworn in and
functioned under the dark clouds of
the Pakistan military, often with a
serving general as President of
Pakistan or with help from the
notorious Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI). Nawaz Sharif, at the moment
at least, seems to be free of such
fetters, again, a novel way to start
the term of a democratically elected
government in Pakistan.
Other equal l y new
developments include the rise and
fall of two parties, one new, the
other old. For the first time since
1968, the Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) did not have a leader leading
it into the elections, the 10th since
1970. Not only was there just no
leader, there was no Bhutto to lead
the party, clearly one of the two
factors which led to the party, again
for the very first time, receiving the
thi rd, rather than the second,
highest number of votes.
2
Since
1970, the PPP has been either in
government or in opposition as a
formidable force lead articulately by
a Bhutto. Not this time. Likewise,
probably the most newest of all new
trends of the 2013 elections - again
a new phenomenon not seen since
1985 when the Muhajir Qaumi
Movement became a major political
force in Karachi - has been the
emergence of former nati onal
cricket team captain Imran Khans
Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf (PTI).
The fact that 56% of the
electorate voted, the hi ghest
proportion since 1970, must rest on
the emergence of a second (or third)
force on the pol i ti cal map of
Pakistan. The PTI received 18% of
the popular vote, converting into 24
National Assembly seats and the
ability to form government in the
highly important and sensitive
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This,
from a party which had only one
member of the national assembly
and only one member of the
provincial assembly in 2002, and
none in the previous elections of
2008 as the PTI boycotted
Musharrafs elections. By al l
accounts, much credit for bringing
out the elite as well as this diverse
category being called the youth as
voters, goes to Imran Khans highly
motivated and inspiring political
campaign, although perhaps not so
much his political imagination see
below.
The PTI also deserves credit for
becoming one of the few political
parti es to confront the maj or
political force in Karachi, the MQM
(Muttahida Qaumi Movement).
Others have arisen and failed, yet
numerous members contesting the
elections on the PTI ticket from
Karachi were brave enough to
challenge and confront the hold of
a party variously described in the
past as militant, authoritarian,
fascist, and with such other
epithets. It is certainly no mean
achievement to stand up to the
MQM in Karachi, suggesting perhaps
that the party may be losing its hold
on the city. The fact that the PTI
received as many as 30,000 votes
from the heartland of the MQM in
Karachi, signifies a shift in the
politics of Karachi, and also shows
that even entrenched poli tical
parties can be challenged.
The End of Ideologies?
In the past, it has been possible
to suggest some sort of ideological
divide between political parties in
Pakistan. The PPP was seen to be
progressive by many, Nawaz
Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League
(PMLN) socially conservative with
an Islamic bent, the Awami National
Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
as the nationalist Pakhtun party of
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his
heirs, and of course, the Islamists
parti es as j ust that. The 2013
elections have made such
categories very fuzzy, and what is
lefti st, righti st, and especi al ly
conservative in the course of
political ideology, has become very
blurred and far more complicated
than one envisages.
Take the argument doing the
rounds in Pakistan which suggests
that a right wing wave has swept
Pakistans recent general elections.
The arithmeti c based on the
numbers of seats won and votes
cast, would suggest that
conservative parties have won the
election, and this in turn would also
suggest, at least at first glance, that
Pakistanis have consciously shifted
to, and chosen, conservative and
right wing candidates. Clearly, such
analysis simplifies electoral choices
and does not fully explain Pakistans
apparent, and differentiated, turn to
the right.
By all accounts, the numbers
are persuasive and do support these
conclusions. At the national level,
Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim
League Nawaz has received 35% of
votes and Pakistan Tehreek Insaf
17.8%. If we add some of the
Islamist parties such as the Jamaat
Islami and Fazlur Rahmans Jamiat
Ul ema Isl am (JUIF), and not
counting the minor parties, then the
total votes received by parties which
are conservative and there ought
to be no two views about them
being conservative at least 57% of
the votes cast went to such parties,
whether overtl y Isl ami st or
conservative of a different kind. If
one wants to di stinguish non-
conservative parties, and include
the PPP, ANP and MQM in this group
clearly a highly problematic
proposition to call them liberal and
secular given the nature of their
politics but just for the sake of the
argument, then these three parties
received merely 23% of the popular
vote.
Such analysis ignores many of
the nuances which have had an
effect on Pakistans elections. One
needs to examine the votes cast in
light of broader factors. Take the
case of the PMLN. It won
resoundedly in the Punjab, perhaps
not because there was a sudden
lurch towards conservatism, but
perhaps because the previous PMLN
government at the province was
seen by the voters as a party of
choice worth investing in again. Re-
electing a political party is not an
ideological swing, but just reaffirms
faith in that party. The PMLN was
reelected in Punjab because the
perception of the electorate was
that the party had deli vered
whatever they felt was necessary. Of
course, there was also a strong anti-
PPP sentiment for its failure to
govern at the federal level, which
added to the PMLN getting more
votes overall. The PPP in Punjab was
also a leaderless party, which didnt
help its cause much. The bastion of
the PPP, southern Punjab, also
col lapsed on account of poor
politics and poor governance.
In Khyber Pakhtunkwa, where
the PTI made extraordinary inroads,
it is again difficult to sustain the
argument that these were
consciously political choices in
favour of an Islamic conservatism.
Having dismissed both of the last
two elected governments in 2002
and 2008, the Pakhtunkhwa
electorate has only shown i ts
commitment to address problems
of Islamic militancy in the province,
by choosing the party it best feels
able to do so. The fact that their
choice is the conservative PTI, is a
refl ecti on of how the PTI has
promised to deal with drones, the
Taliban, and other militant factors.
To suggest that thi s is also an
ideological right wing choice, is
only partially correct.
A distinction needs to be made
about the di fferent types of
conservatism in Pakistan and the
electorates choice of such politics.
For instance, there is no doubt that
Islamic political parties, such as the
JUIF and the JI, are conservative
because of their understanding and
politics based on religion. About the
PMLN, one is probably not wrong
in calling it a European Christian
Democratic party or one closer to
Turkeys Justice and Development
Party (AKP), rather than to the
Muslim Brotherhood. The PTI, most
of the time exudes the worst forms
of conservatism and in many ways
is an English-speaking Jamaat Islami,
but also talks about issues not very
dissimilar to those of the PMLN. In
terms of administrative reform and
governance, it sounds more like
World Bank right wing technocratic
crusaders, rather than Islamist
ideologues, although by joining its
twin (the Jamaat Islami) to form the
government i n Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, perhaps i ts real
colours will be revealed.
The corporate, so called good
governance conservative agenda of
both the PMLN and the PTI which
none of the so-called liberal parties
articulated distinguishes them
from Islamist political conservatism,
and may have been a choice of the
electorate in terms of service
delivery, and is different from what
is normally called conservatist
politics in Muslim majoritarian
countries. Moreover, specific and
local issues of politics may have also
had a strong impact on how voters
have voted.
The argument that Pakistan has
moved to the right politically, or that
the elections show a ri se of
pol i tical ly and i deol ogi cal l y
conscious conservatism, needs to
be differentiated for its layered
distinctiveness. Moreover, which
party supports which ideology, also
becomes a little problematic. For
i nstance, the PTI i n Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa is imagi ned as a
largely conservative political party,
while it is seen as being progressive
and enlightened by many who
voted for it in Karachi. However,
even if voters may not have made a
conscious choice for conservatism,
whether Islamic or of the good
governance variety, such choices
bri ng numerous unintended
consequences which have far
reaching ramifications on society
and pol i ti cs, and perhaps the
di sti ncti veness of i deol ogical
moorings will be better exposed as
poli ti cal praxis proceeds.
Nevertheless, questi ons about
which party supports whi ch
political ideology, remain largely
unclear in the naya Pakistan.
Remnants of the Old
If anyone was tuned i nto
Pakistans growing and vibrant
virtual social media, the verdict was
clear: Imran Khan would sweep the
el ecti ons and become pri me
minister. Not just social media, but
the electronic media too, was
caught up in a hype of the PTI, where
the potential election tally was
raised each passing day as Imran
Khan became perhaps the most
vibrant and potent symbol of
Pakistans elections. Nevertheless,
Imran Khans tsunami turned out to
be a virtual wave, rather than a real
one. As some bloggers have
confessed, the social media is an
echo chamber which simply repeats
i tsel f and gi ves itself sel f-
importance, believing only in itself.
Anyone fol lowi ng different
products of the virtual media would
have indeed been led to believe that
this new form of politics dare one
call what happens on social media
as political trumped the old form
of real and hard campaigning and
contact with real people. However,
in the last elections, in the real
world, it was the old, real, form
which scored over the new and the
virtual.
Despite the resounding victory
of Nawaz Sharif, the electoral map
of Pakistan continues to show a
highl y fragmented pi cture of
regionalisation. Although the PMLN
can claim that it has won seats in all
four of Pakistans provinces, its
victory in Pakistan rests almost
exclusively on its victory in the
Punjab. Similarly, although the PTI
has won 27 seats, 16 of these are in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. With the
MQM and PPP in Sindh, the PMLN
in the Punjab and PTI in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistans politics
reflects a deep fragmentati on.
Balochistan, as always, with the
lowest turnout from any region,
remains even further fragmented,
with no single party anywhere near
a maj ori ty, unl i ke the three
provinces. With the lowest of the
voter turn-out, i n some
constituencies politicians were
elected with less than a thousand
votes.
New expectations from the Old
Nawaz Sharif is not the fresh
face of the el ecti ons whi ch
supporters of PTI had hoped for,
and has been in electoral politics
since 1985. He is an old hand, if ever
there was one, having been
dismissed twice as prime minister
of Pakistan, the last time when he
even had a so-cal l ed heavy
mandate, with a two-thirds majority
in parliament. However, Pakistan
has changed fundamentally since
Nawaz Sharif was last prime minister
i n si gni ficant and, perhaps,
permanent ways, some better and
some whi ch cl earl y reveal
retrogression of the worst kinds.
Despi te bei ng an ol d hand,
indications so far, are that Nawaz
Sharif has changed radically since
his earlier days as Pakistans prime
minister.
The terms being used in the
media to describe Nawaz Sharif
compared to 14 years ago, include
those which suggest that he has
matured, learnt his lessons, become
wiser, more accommodative, and
other such posi ti ve terms to
describe his new politics. There is
ample evidence that these flattering
terms are well deserved. Not just in
2013, but since 2007 when he
returned to Pakistan after his exile,
and especially as Pakistans friendly
opposi ti on during the last
governments tenure, Nawaz Sharif
has done as much in protecting
Pakistans fragile democracy as has
President Asif Ali Zardari. Both have
put their personal differences apart
and have been committed to
strengthening democracy from all
kinds of hostile forces, such as
Islamic militants as well as Pakistans
military establishments and its many
surrogates.
3
The past history of the
PPP and Nawaz Sharif throughout
the 1990s was one of putting each
other down, and looking to the
military to oust the incumbent and
repl ace i t with the ever-ready
opposition-in-waiting. Perhaps
Pakistans democrats have learnt
some lessons.
When one thinks of the old
Pakistan, perhaps the one single
institution which comes to mind, is
the military. It has ruled Pakistan
directly for 33 years, and has ruled
indirectly for another 11. In the last
fi ve years, si nce 2008, i ts
overbearing presence in the political
life of Pakistan has been partially
margi nal i sed, at l east for the
moment. Nevertheless, despite the
rise of new institutions, such as the
media, judiciary and Parliament, few
would be hasty to dismiss the
military as a powerful, perhaps even
the most powerful, institution of
Pakistan.
Hence, Nawaz Sharifs
pronouncements of how he is going
to deal with the military, suggest a
confidence not shown by any leader
in the past except Z A Bhutto. This
is probably not simply bravado and
there have been enough indications
from Nawaz Sharif, that he expects
to be the ci vi li an head of al l
institutions in the country. Whatever
the eventual outcome, the old seems
to be looking like something new.
The same, and linked to it, has
been his announcements which
have been frank and outright, that
Pakistan will befriend India, perhaps
like never before. It is important to
point out, a point missed by many,
that India does not feature in the
poli ti cs and certai nl y i n i ts
electoral politics of Pakistan. It did
not in either the 2002 or 2008
elections, and given Pakistans
numerous and mul tifaceted
problems, one didnt hear much of
India in the 2013 elections either. If
anythi ng, the ri ght-wi ng press
castigated Nawaz Sharif for being
soft on India. Again, much of the old
changes.
Conclusions
To say that the 2013 elections
have been the most fascinating since
1988, is an understatement. Even
though some parties which had
been in power in the past were
reelected, one cannot deny that
even the old i s now showi ng
numerous si gns of a newness.
Whether it is Nawaz Sharif, or even
the MQM in Karachi embarrassed
and in retreat, or the military, at least
in retreat, or the PPP completely
decimated, electoral politics in
Pakistan has had a significant impact
on challenging and perhaps even
altering, ol d i deol ogies and
outcomes. The public discourse of
pol i tics in Paki stan has al so
undergone change, where the virtual
sphere has formed fal se and
comfortable ideologies and self-
indulgent self-believers.
The terms which existed in
political circles for many years,
particularly amongst the lower and
middle urban classes, and perhaps
particularly in Karachi, highlighting
soci al , cultural and class
distinctions, such asburger and bun-
kebab, have found widespread
expression in the political public
sphere as well. Pakistans political
discourse and perhaps even its
narratives have also been changing.
Whether such articulation,
expectation and promise, brings
about a naya Pakistan, still needs to
be seen. The more i mportant
question, however, knowing that not
all newness is necessarily desirable
and clearly, there is much in the
new which one would rather not
have is what exactly will be
this naya Pakistan? With the clear
absence of l eft-l eani ng and
progressive alternatives similar to
those which appeared after years of
military dictatorship and after some
initial years of conservative and
ri ght-wing democratic pol iti cs
across Latin America, for many
reasons, unfortunately, one fears
that the best naya Pakistan might
do, is look a little like Turkey, and
not at all like Brazil.
S Akbar Zaidi
Economic & Political Weekly
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Civil Services Mentor August 2013

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Civil Services Mentor August 2013

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