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SAMANYA ADHYAYAN
YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013 Price - 50/-

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YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013

Current Events
Egypt Prez Morsy arrives on India visit
Visiting Egyptian President Dr. Mohamed Morsy was given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan this morning. The visiting dignitary was received by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh. The Egyptian President inspected the guard of honour and also interacted with members of the cabinet. Our correspondent reports India and Egypt are expected to sign several agreements later in the day after delegation level talks between Egyptian President and Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Earlier talking to AIR in Cairo ahead of his visit to India, Mr. Mursi lauded the role of emerging economies like India in achieving high growth rates. He expressed hope that BRICS would one day become E-BRICS when Egypt joins the movement. Mr. Mursi said that he will be visiting Durban to attend the BRICS Summit next week.The Egyptian President also welcomed the idea of a BRICS Bank saying it can support countries to achieve high growth rates and supplement the role of the IMF, World Bank and similar institutions. Mr. Mursi told that the values and the ideals for which the Non aligned Movement came into existence are still relevant. Mr. Mursi said India and Egypt as the founding members of the movement can give

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a push to the NAM towards a global governance where peace is the basic premise. On relations with Iran , he told that while Egypt is working to develop its relations with Iran; it will not be at the cost of its relations with the gulf and the Arab countries.Egypts President told that Pal-

China un veils 5-point f orm ula to unv form ormula impr ove ties with India impro

Unveiling a five-point formula to improve relations with India, China's newly elected President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said the resolution of the boundary dispute between the two sides "won't be easy" and pending its final settlement "peace and tranquility" should be maintained on the border without affecting the overall ties. 59-year-old Xi, who took over as the head of Communist Party, President and military chief, sent clear signals of boosting bilateral relations with India.He also expressed his keenness to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Xi also spoke of the need for India and China with a combined population of 2.5 billion to cooperate in multilateral fora in to safeguard the "legitimate rights and interests" of developing countries. He said China sees its ties with India as "one of the most important bilateral relationships". "The border question is a complex issue left from history and solving the issue won't be easy. However, as long as we keep up friendly consultations, we can eventually arrive at a fair reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement. "Pending the final settlement of the boundary question the two sides should work together and maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and prevent the border question from affecting the overall development of bilateral relations," said Xi. India asserts that the border dispute covered about 4,000 km, while China claims that it confined to about 2,000 km to the area of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers as Southern Tibet. Unveiling his five proposals, Xi said that first China and India should maintain strategic communication and keep the bilateral relations on the "right track". "Second, we should harness each other's comparative strengths and expand win-win cooperation in infrastructure, mutual investment and other areas," he added. "We should accommodate each other's core concerns and properly handle problems and differences existing between the two countries," he said. estinians must get their legitimate rights and urged India to support their cause with the international community.On Israel, he said that Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel and it will abide by all the international treaties .But this treaty was based on achieving comprehensive,just

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MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013


and lasting peace for all which must be established and the rights of Palestinians must be addressed. provide at least Rs 5,000 crore in the next five years for the purpose of commitment of safeguarding and protecting India. Speaking at the annual conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi, Home Minister said international border in the west and LoC continues to be vulnerable to infiltration. Meanwhile, Chief Ministers of different states have their own take on the conference. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday warned against an "emerging pattern" wherein the state's powers are "abrogated" by the Centre through passage of bills and accused it of showing "scant respect" for state governments. In an all-round attack on the Congress-led UPA, Ms Jayalalithaa accused the central government of "encroaching on state powers" through the National CounterTerrorism Centre which was in "contravention" to constitutional provisions that accord priority status to police in the State list. Addressing the Chief Ministers' Conference on Internal Security here, she claimed that the Centre unilaterally decided on the Indo-US joint naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal without taking the state government into confidence. Ms Jayalalithaa, who is opposed to the NCTC, said this implies that the central government has "scant respect" for constitutionally-elected state governments. She also expressed the hope that the Centre follows the principle of prior consultation with the state governments, whenever such important decisions are taken by the central government. "No doubt, it is a pre-arranged exercise according to the prescribed tenets under covenant between two countries. Even so, is it too much to expect to be kept informed?" she asked. Senior CPM leader and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar today came down hard on the Home Ministry accusing it of taking a number steps, including on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and RPF and BSF Acts, which have "serious implications" for the federal structure of the country. Speaking at a conference of chief ministers on internal security, the lone communist Chief Minister cited Home Ministry's notification to form the National Counter Terrorism Centre NCTC and proposed amendments to the RPF Act and BSF Act as examples of "encroachment" upon rights of the states. "I am pained to point out that in recent past the Home Ministry has taken several steps which have serious implication for the federal structure of the country," he said.

CMs unity against Center Government


Non-Congress chief ministers meet separately on sidelines of internal security conference. Lack of consultation with the states and failure to take the states into confidence is a cogent commentary on the system of governance in the Centre. The Centre on April 16, 2012 came in for sharp criticism at the hands of three Opposition Chief Ministers over the way it was handling issues of internal security. United by their opposition to the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Odisha met their Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalithaa in New Delhi to mount pressure against the Centres move. While, Tripura Chief Minister accused Centre of taking a number steps which have implications on the Federal structure of the country, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister called for joint Centre-State efforts in improving internal security. Congress Chief Ministers supported the setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre as an integrating organization for effective offensive against terrorists. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sought permission from the Centre to carry out a Rs 2,400 crore special road corridor development project to effectively deal with Naxalism. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said illegal coal trading in border areas of a number of northeastern states is fast becoming a major source of funding for terror outfits. Kerala Chief Minister Oman Chandy urged the Centre to take steps to get the international Maritime Community to declare that the Ocean along the coast line of India is free from piracy unlike the coast of Africa. Meanwhile, Congress stressed on need for a coordinated efforts by the Centre as well as States to tackle the menace of terrorism. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav urged the Union Government to Civil Services

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Centre ready to work with states to firmly tackle terror: PM

Reaching out to states complaining over NCTC, PM Manmohan Singh has favoured joint and coordinated efforts to deal with challenges of terrorism whatever its origin, whether internal or external. "There is no question that the burden of the fight against terrorism falls largely on the states' machinery. The Centre is ready to work with the states to put in place strong and effective institutional mechanisms to tackle this problem," he said. The Prime Minister, who inaugurated the annual conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi on Monday, did not dwell on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, saying it will be discussed on 5th May in a separate meeting as suggested by some Chief Ministers.

ICC decides to expand number of teams in 2014 T20 World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) executive board has decided to expand the number of teams in the 2014 Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh from 12 to 16. This is to give more opportunities to the non-test playing nations. ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat told reporters in Dubai on Monday that what excites him is the decision to extend the World Twenty20 event, which takes place in 2014 in Bangladesh. Lorgat said from then onwards the board has decided to expand the event to 16 teams. The Twenty20 World Cup will be played this year in Sri Lanka from Sept 18 to Oct 7 between 12 teams. The current 10 full

MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013


members will be joined by six qualifiers in the next version from 2014. with a crew of 73. The vessel is armed with four 533mm torpedo tubes and four 650mm torpedo tubes. India had leased and operated a Charlie class Russian nuclear submarine in 1988 for training its personnel on such submarines. Antony said, "INS Arihant will be ready for sea trials sometime this year." He also said the induction of INS Vikramaditya, earlier called 'Admiral Gorshkov', will take place sometimes early next year. On future induction of platforms in the Indian Navy, he said four warships, including INS Vikramaditya, were expected to be delivered at the end of this year, besides 15 fast interception craft. "In the next few years, the Navy will get more submarines," the Defence Minister said. He refused to share details with the media about the cost of leasing INS Chakra from Russia. He said there is a proposal for leasing another submarine but refused to take queries on the issue. "There is a proposal. But we have not taken any decision...Cost is not necessary, but India can afford it," Antony said. On whether the process of procuring submarines from Russia was too long and slow, he said, "We want speedy procurement and we will modernise our armed forces as quickly as possible. At the same time, zero tolerance to corruption is also our policy." INS Chakra has been taken on lease from Russia for 10 years and would provide the Navy the opportunity to train personnel and operate such nuclear-powered vessels. India had signed a deal with Russia in 2004 worth over USD 900 million for leasing the submarine. It was expected to be inducted a couple of years back, but after an on-board accident in 2008, in which several Russian sailors died, the delivery schedule was changed. Indian Navy personnel have already been imparted training in Russia for operating the submarine. A crew of over 70 people, including around 30 officers, is required to operate INS Chakra.

India commissions nuclear powered submarine 'INS Chakra'


India has inducted Russian- made nuclear powered submarine 'INS Chakra' into the Navy, joining an elite group of five nations possessing such sophisticated warships. Defence Minister A K Antony formally commissioned the Akula II class Nerpa, rechristened INS Chakra, into the Navy at the Ship Building Complex in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. With the country entering the select club consisting of the US, Russia, the UK, France and China with nuclear submarines after a gap of two decades, Antony said, "INS Chakra will ensure security and sovereignty of the country." He did not subscribe to the view that the induction of nuclear powered submarines will lead to any arms race in the region. He said the armed forces will be strengthened to meet any challenge. "India does not believe in arms race. We are not a confrontationist nation. We are a peaceloving nation....but, at the same time, the armed forces will be strengthened to meet any challenge," Antony told reporters when asked about Pakistan's reaction that INS Chakra's induction will lead to arms race in the region. "We have a vast land border. We have more than 7500 kms of coastline and more than two lakhs EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zone). We have to protect the sea lanes of our core area of interest," he said. With INS Chakra and indigenously built INS Arihant expected to start operational patrols soon, India will soon have two nuclear submarines guarding its vast maritime boundary. To a question on China's increasing military capability, Antony said Induction of INS Chakra or Vikramaditya (aircraft carrier) warships or any other platform is not aimed at any country. It is to strengthen our national security to meet any challenge more effectively. With a maximum speed of 30 knots, the submarine can go upto a depth of 600 metres and has an endurance of 100 days Civil Services

Brahmos supersonic cruise missile test fired successfully


India on Wednesday successfully test fired Brahmos supersonic cruise missile as part of a user trial by the Army from the test range at Chandipur off Odisha coast. "The missile was test fired from a ground mobile launcher from the launch complex-3 at about 1122 hours and the trial was successful," said a defence official. The missile, which has a flight range of up to 290 km, is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 200 to 300 kg. The cruise missile, a surface-to-surface Army version, was test fired as part of user trial by the Army, he said. The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy, he said. While induction of the first version of Brahmos missile system in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army. The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress, said the official. The Army has so far placed orders for the Brahmos missile to be deployed by three regiments of the Army and two of them have already been inducted operationally. The Defence Ministry has also given a goahead to the Army to induct a third regiment equipped with the missile system to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along the China border. Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture company headed by a distinguished Indian defence scientist, is also working to develop the air as well as the submarine launch version of the misile system and work on the project is in progress.

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India successfully testfires interceptor missile


India on Friday successfully test-fired indigenously developed interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile, from a test range off Odisha coast. "It was a fantastic launch. The trial, con-

MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013

'P aan Singh' best f ilm, Ir rf an best actor a t Na tA war ds 'Paan film, Irrf rfan at Nat Aw ards
'Paan Singh Tomar', Tigmanshu Dhulia's biopic on the athlete-turned-dacoit, was named the best picture at the 60th National Film Awards while its male star Irrfan Khan shared the best actor trophy with veteran Marathi actor Vikram Gokhale. Irrfan was chosen for his intense portrayal of the steeplechase player Paan Singh Tomar. A seven-time national champion in the '50s and '60s, Tomar, who served in the Indian army, turned a bandit after a land fued in his family. He was killed in 1981. Gokhale, who has acted in many Hindi films as well, was honoured for his poignant depiction of a man struggling to save his dying wife in Marathi film 'Anumati'. Usha Jadhav was adjudged the best actress portrayal of a rustic housewife in Marathi film 'Dhag' while its filmmaker Shivaji Lotan Patil was declared the best director. The film depicts the struggle of a family, who take care of their village crematorium. A beaming Irrfan, 46, dedicated his award to the athlete and his family. "I am happy that Paan Singh Tomar, who was unknown, became a household name through this film. I share this award with his family. I hope that the film helps people realise that talent should not go to waste," Irrfan said on Monday. Bollywood shared the spotlight with Malayalam and Marathi films with the jury recognising wide variety of movies from different regional cinema industries. Though not in the main categories, Malayalam films bagged 13 awards to emerge at the top. Headed by veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, the 11-member feature films jury announced the awards in New Delhi on Monday. The National Film Awards along with Dada Saheb Phalke honour, to be declared later, are likely to be given by President Pranab Mukherjee on 3rd May, officials said. Bedabrata Pain's much-lauded debut 'Chittagong', about Chittagong uprising, Civil Services MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

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shared Indira Gandhi award for best debut film with Siddhartha Siva's Malayalam film '101 Chodiyangal'. Hindi film 'Vicky Donor', John Abraham produced film on sperm donation, was named for three trophies. The Shoojit Sircar directed film was a joint winner with Anwar Rasheed directed Malayalam film 'Ustad Hotel' for the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment honour. 'Vicky Donor' actors Annu Kapoor and Dolly Ahluwalia were best supporting actor and actress. Ahluwalia won the award along with Kalpana for Malayalam film 'Thanichalla Njan'. Director Sujoy Ghosh was declared the best original screenplay writer for his Vidya Balan starrer 'Kahaani' while another Hindi film 'Oh My God', produced by superstar Akshay Kumar, won the best adapted screenplay for Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukhla. 'Ustad Hotel' was recognised for best dialogue for Anjali Menon. 'Kahaani', about a pregnant woman's quest for her missing husband in Kolkata, won Namrata Rao the best editing honour. 'Bolo Na' from 'Chittagong' won the best lyrics for Prasoon Joshi and best male playback singer for Shankar Mahadevan. Aarti Anklekar Tikekar was named the best female playback singer for 'Palakein

Naa Moondoon' from Marathi film 'Samhita'. Thanichalla Njan', apart from its supporting actress win, was also named in the Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration category. Malayalam film 'Spirit', which deals with the topic of alcoholism, was named as the best film on social issues. Another Malayalam film 'Black Forest' was declared the best film on environment conservation/preservation. Hindi film 'Dekh Indian Circus' was best children's film and its lead Virendra Pratap shared the best child actor honour with '101 Chodiyangal'. Nikhil Advani directed 'Delhi Safari' was named the best animation film. Kamal Haasan's 'Vishawaroopam' won best production design and best choreography for Pandit Birju Maharaj. Poornima Ramaswamy was named best costume designer for Tamil film 'Paradesi' while Raja won the best make-up artist award for Tamil movie 'Vazakkuenn 18/9'. Bollywood dominated in the special jury award with Aamir Khan starrer 'Talaash', 'Gangs of Wasseypur', 'Kahaani' and Dekh Indian Circus' being named in the category with Bengali film 'Chitrangada'. Best cinematography honour went to 'Ko:YAD', a film in Mising language. Best audiography award was shared by Malayalam film 'Annayum Rassoolum',

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'Shabdo' and 'Gangs of Wasseypur'. Malayalam film 'Kaliyachan' and Marathi film 'Samhita' shared the best music direction award. Telugu film 'Eega' was named in the best special effects category. 'Baandhon', by Jahnu Baruah, was named the best Assamese film Kaushik Ganguly's 'Shabdo' best Bengali film 'The Good Road', by Gyan Arora, best Gujarati film 'Filmistan', by Nitin Kakkar, best Hindi film P Sheshadri's 'Bharath Stores' best Kannada film Kamal's 'Celluiod' best Malayalam film 'Leipaklei' was named best Manipuri film. The others in this category were: 'Investment (Marathi) 'Nabar' (Punjabi) 'Vazakkuenn 18/9' (Tamil) 'Eega (Telugu) 'Harud' (Urdu) 'Lessons in Forgetting (English) 'Ko:Yad' (Mising). Special mention was given to actor Lal for Malayalam film 'Ozhimuri', H G Dhattatreya for Kannada film 'Bharat Stores', Parineeti Chopra for 'Ishaqzaade', Bishnu Kharghoria for Assamese film 'Baandhon', Tannishta Chatterjee for Hindi film 'Dekh Indian Circus', Hansraj Jagtap for Marathi film 'Dhag' and late actor Thilakan for Malayalam film 'Ustad Hotel'. 'Silent Cinema In India-A Pictorial Journey' in English by B D Garga was named the best book on cinema while best film critic award went to Malayalam writer P S Radhakrishnan while Piyush Roy won a special mention.

ducted from two launch sites of Integrated Test Range (ITR) for developing a fully fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system, was fully successful," ITR Director S P Dash said. The 'hostile' target ballistic missile, a modified surface-to-surface 'Prithvi', was first lifted from a mobile launcher around 1013hours from the launch complex-III of ITR at Chandipur-on-Sea, about 15 km from Balasore, Orissa. After three minutes, the interceptor Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile positioned at Wheeler Island, about 70 km from Chandipur, received signals from tracking radars installed along the coastline and travelled through the sky to destroy it, defense sources said. The ITR director said the interceptor hit the 'target' missile at an altitude of about 15 km over the sea. "Detailed results and the 'kill' effect of the interceptor are being ascertained by analysing data from multiple tracking sources," a Defence Research Development scientist said. The interceptor is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator, sources said.

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a pair of solar flares early Tuesday and is growing like a giant soap bubble. "The coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the R3 (Strong) Radio Blackout event from 0024 UTC March 7 (7:24 p.m. EST March 6) arrived at ACE at 1045 GMT today (15:15 IST)," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said. "So far the orientation of the magnetic field has been opposite of what is needed to cause the strongest storming. As the event progresses, that field will continue to change," NOAA tweeted. Earlier, Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist at the NOAA said, "Space weather has gotten very interesting over the last 24 hours." "This was quite the Super Tuesday you bet," Kunches was quoted as saying by SPACE.com. Several NASA spacecraft caught videos of the solar flare as it hurled a wave of solar plasma and charged particles, called a coronal mass ejection (CME), into space. Early predictions estimate that the CME will reach Earth at 5pm (India time) today, with the effects likely lasting for 24 hours, and possibly lingering into Friday, Kunches said. The solar eruptions occurred when the Sun let loose two huge X-class solar flares that ranked among the strongest type of Sun storms.

The biggest of those flares registered as an "X5.4 class" solar storm on the space weather scale and the CME from this flare is the one that could disrupt satellite operations, Kunches said.

Poverty declined to 29.8 per cent in 2009-10

Massive solar storm hits Earth


A monster solar storm of charged particles that erupted two days ago on Thursday hit the Earth, which could disrupt power grids, satellite navigation and flights. The storm, which scientists claimed to be the largest in five years, was triggered by Civil Services

Going by the controversial daily consumption number of Rs 28.65 per day, one out of every three Indian is poor as per the new Planning Commission's estimates which have pegged the poverty ratio in 2009-10 at 29.8 pc, down from 37.2 pc in 2004-05 An individual above a monthly consumption of Rs 859.6 in urban cities and Rs 672.8 in rural areas (at pier 2009-10 prices) is not considered poor, says the Planning Commission's estimate based on the controversial Tendulkar Committee methodology. The Plan panel has kept the poverty threshold in its recent estimates lower than Rs 32 per capita per day consumption in urban cities and Rs 26 in rural areas is provided last year which were based on June 2011 prices. The Plan panel had said that, in its affidavit before the apex court that the "poverty line at June 2011 price level can be placed provisionally at Rs 965 (Rs 32 per day) per capita per month in urban areas and Rs 781 (Rs 26 per day) in rural areas. The civil society had questioned this definition stating it was very low. As per estimates released today, the number of poor in India has declined to 34.47 crore in 2009-10 from 40.72 crore in 200405.

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The methodology recommended by the Tendulkar Committee includes spending on health and education, besides the calorie intake. Among religious groups, Sikhs have lowest poverty ratio in rural areas at 11.9 per cent, whereas in urban areas, Christians have the lowest proportion of poor at 12.9 per cent. Poverty ratio is the highest for Muslims, at 33.9 per cent, in urban areas. Further, poverty in rural areas declined at a faster pace than in urban cities between 2004-05 and 2009-10. activities from 1st April itself through special immunisation drives, with a special focus on 207 districts recording low routine immunisation coverage." The minister also reaffirmed India's commitment to funding the Polio programme and said it willing to lend all possible support for global eradication of polio. Azad said with increased public investments in health from domestic resources India required "catalytic and technical support" from its various partners in helping eradicate many diseases. He urged Rotary International, WHO, UNICEF, CDC, Gates Foundation, GAVI and other partners to now work to provide impetus to routine immunisation and synergize polio eradication and Routine Immunisation strategies. Azad said that 26 million mothers and children have already been registered under the web enabled mother and child tracking system set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The system generates weekly work plans for the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives through SMS. He informed that in 14 states where coverage is less than 80 percent, introduction of second dose of measles has been started. Our target is to cover more than 130 million children under this campaign. The minister informed the gathering that President Pratibha Patil, who launches the annual National Pulse Polio round, has conveyed her personal greetings and commendation on the public health milestone that has been achieved with WHO's decision to take India off the list of countries with active endemic wild poliovirus transmission. The two-day Summit emphasised perseverance, innovation and accountability as the hallmarks of India's polio programme. Azad said he would look forward to another polio summit after January 2014 when India would be declared Polio Free. MW capacity in thermal sector, 38,991 MW in hydro sector, 4,780 MW in nuclear sector and 24,503 MW in renewable energy sector. At the end of the 11th Plan, i.e. on 31st March 2012 the total installed capacity stood at 1,99,627 MW. There has been an unprecedented growth in capacity addition during the 11th Plan with addition of 54,964 MW of fresh capacity showing a growth of 159% over the 10th Plan period during which 21,180 MW capacity was added. During the 9th Plan the capacity addition stood at 19,010 MW. The year 2011-12 also saw new benchmarks created in the capacity addition. A record capacity of 20,501 MW was added in 2011-12, out of which 5,482 MW was added in the month of March 2012 alone. The improved performance in capacity addition during the 11th Plan period has been recorded across all sectors including the central, state and private sectors.

After polio, India to eliminate measles, tetanus child deaths

Laying emphasis on strengthening of routine immunisation, Health Min Ghulam Nabi Azad said the lessons learnt from success of polio campaign could help eliminate measles-related child deaths and neonatal tetanus from the country. In his valedictory address at the two-day Polio Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, Azad said there has to be continued vigil and effective emergency preparedness as India cannot afford to let its guards now on the polio virus.

"Emboldened by our progress in polio, we are confident that we can achieve elimination of measles related child deaths. We also now wish to completely eliminate neonatal tetanus in India and are moving towards it. Some of our learnings and lessons from the Polio programme could prove to be extremely useful in accomplishing these tasks," Azad said. The Minister laid stress on immunisation and said "strengthening routine immunisation is an imperative if we wish to sustain our gains in polio and guard ourselves against both distant and international importations." He said, "We have declared 2012, the year of the intensification of Routine Immunisation. We intend to accelerate routine immunisation Civil Services

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Installed Capacity Crosses 2 lakh MW Mark
The installed capacity in the country has crossed 2 lakh MW mark with the commissioning of a 660 MW Unit of a power plant in Jhajjar in Haryana this week. With this the total installed capacity has reached 2,00,287 MW. It includes 1,32,013

Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2013 introduced in LS today

The Criminal Law (Aamendment) Bill, 2013, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 19, seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The bill widens the definition of rape and prescribes punishment which may extend to sentence of death if the victim dies during the commission of offence or is reduced to persistent vegetative state. In case of gang rape, the punishment will be for a minimum of twenty years extendable to life. The amendments also seek specific provisions for punishment for the offences of causing grievous hurt by acid attack, punishment for stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment.

According to the Statement of Objects and

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Reasons of the bill, it will be mandatory for all hospitals to immediately provide first aid and medical treatment free of cost to the victims of the acid attack or rape. facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 8.5 per cent with immediate effect. The RBI has left the cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 4 per cent. RBI's cut in its benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points. He said he was glad that the RBI has signaled continuing reduction of rate. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi today, Mr Ahluwalia said the action by the RBI means the Central bank does believe that the macroeconomics of the country are turning around.

India, Egypt bilateral talks


Egypt's Prez Mohammad Mursi will hold bilateral talks with PM Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on March 19, seeking to deepen relations with India and to make it a partner in his country's development. Mursi, who came to power after Egypt's first democratic elections last year, is likely to focus on betterment of trade ties besides boosting bilateral relations. During his stay here, Mursi will meet his counterpart Pranab Mukherjee besides meeting Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, the Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. President Mursi will also address a business event organised by the apex chambers of commerce. Mursi made a short stopover in Pakistan before his visit and officials said he is expected to be accompanied by 15 to 20 high-profile businessmen. Mursi became President after the 30-yearold iron-clasp rule of former strongman Hosni Mubarak came to an end in February, 2011, following a series of anti-regime protests, known as Arab Spring. On the economic front, bilateral trade has grown significantly and consistently in the past five years. Trade between India and Egypt during the last financial year (July 2011-June 2012) increased by 33 percent from USD 3.2 billion to USD 4.2 billion, leaving India with a trade deficit of about USD 350 million.

Mid-quarter monetary policy review:RBI reduces key repo rate by 25 basis points

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However, the apex bank said that high current account deficit (CAD) and inflationary expectations limit possibility of further easing of rates. This is the second policy rate cut by the RBI this calendar year to help revive a faltering economy, taking comfort from moderating core price pressures and the government's commitment to trim the fiscal deficit. The apex bank in its press release said that since January 2013, global financial market conditions have improved, but global economic activity has weakened. It noted that on the domestic front too growth has slowed down significantly, even as inflation remains at a level which is not conducive for sustained economic growth. The apex bank expressed growth concerns, saying headline inflation is likely to remain range-bound at the current levels over the next fiscal year. In addition, it said that elevated food prices, including pressures stemming from minimum support prices (MSP) increases, and the wedge between wholesale and retail inflation have adverse implications for inflation expectations. On the CAD, the RBI said the risk remains significant notwithstanding the likely improvement in fourth quarter and added that financing of the CAD with stable flows remains a challenge. On liquidity management, RBI said it will continue using all instruments including government bond buybacks to inject liquidity. RBI has retained the growth and inflation forecast at 5.5 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively for the current fiscal.

India now world no.1 ODI Cricket team

In its mid-quarter policy review on March 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to reduce the key repo rate by 25 basis points from 7.75 per cent to 7.5 per cent with immediate effect. Consequently, the reverse repo rate stands adjusted to 6.5 per cent and the marginal standing Civil Services

India has become the Worlds number one ODI Cricket team in the International Cricket Council, ICC championship. In the latest championship table released by the ICC in Dubai today, the men in blue have assured themselves of the top ranking by virtue of their consistent performance ahead of the cut off date of April 1. India is number one with 119 points, England is second with 117 points, Australia is placed third with 116 points while South Africa is fourth in the Championship table with 114 points. India will now receive the ODI Shield as well as a cheque of US$175,000 for finishing at the top in the cricket calendar of 2012-13. South Africa needs to beat Pakistan in the remaining two ODIs to claim the second position else England will bag the second position. In the test cricket format, after registering yet another convincing win over Australia at Mohali ; India stays in the race for second best team with Australia and England. India or Australia not only need to win the New Delhi cricket test but also hope for a New Zealand victory in the Auckland Test against England.On the other hand England team needs to win or draw the Auckland Test against Newzealand to secure the second position. South Africa has already assured itself of the ICC Test Champion Shield and the prize money of $4,50,000. The team finishing second gets prize money of $350,000 while the third team will receive $250,000 and the fourth ranked team gets $150,000.

Plan Panel Chief welcomes RBI benchmark policy rate cut


Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has welcomed

MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013

CLONING
Worlds first cloned Pashmina female Goat Noori born in Kashmir
The faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry Sheri Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Kashmir has made a breakthrough by successfully cloning the first pashmina goat using the advanced reproductive techniques under the leadership of Dr Riaz Ahmad Shah, associate professor, Centre of Animal Biotechnology, Kashmir. Success was achieved under the World Bank-funded project called the National Agricultural Innovation Project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and took two years for standardisation of the technique. The healthy female kid was born on March 9, 2012 using a foster mother. The worlds first pashmina goat clone, produced in Kashmir, has been named Noori, an Arabic word referring to light, in Srinagar by a group of scientists and researchers. Noori has gained weight. From 1.3 kg at the time of birth on March 9, 2012, its 5 kg. She is healthy and was allowed to be part of more than two dozen pashmina goats assembled at Alastaingh laboratory for the purpose, said Dr Fazili. Noori took two years of scientific research. It took two years for standardisation of the technique, said Dr Shah. The clone has come as good news for fine fiber-producing pashmina goats, which are only spotted at an altitude of 14,000 feet in Ladakh, the coldest region of the state. With Noori there is hope that pashmina can be yielded in lower altitude like Kashmir valley, said Dr Fazili. The valley owes its fame, besides natural beauty, to famed fine wool of pashmina, gathered from mountainous of Ladakh after the goat sheds its wool as a natural process. The goat survives minus 40 degree Celsius temperature at an altitude of 14,000 feet. In spring, the animal sheds its fiber, called soft pashm, six times finer than human hair. The fiber is used to spun famous kashmiri shawls, scarves, and stoles. It is hoped that this research will help other labs across the region clone their own goats and even revive endangered species. Cashmere wool, particularly made into shawls, is a major source of income for Kashmir, generating about $80 million a year for the Indian-controlled portion of the mountain area. A shawl can cost $200 in Kashmir and much more when sold abroad a boon given the average salary of $800 a year for Kashmirs 10.2 million people. Experts say their numbers are dwindling. In recent years, Kashmir has started importing cashmere from neighboring China to keep up with orders for the regions hand-woven shawls. This is the cheapest, easier and less time-consuming method of cloning, compared with conventional methods that use hightech machinery and sometimes chemicals, Shah said. Noori is the first cashmere goat cloned by this method, though Civil Services

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Cloning the history

Shah earlier cloned a buffalo. They plan to spread the goat-cloning knowledge across the Indian Himalayas so others can grow their own goats.

The world first animal clone Dolly, a sheep, was created on 5 July 1996. It survived for seven years. This is a list of animals that have been cloned in alphabetical order. One significant aspect of this list is documenting the transition from early concerns that animal cloning procedures might be limited to a few species that cloned animals might be physiologically abnormal, or cloning might lack utility for society. Camel Injaz(Arabic: meaning achievement; born April 8, 2009) is a female dromedary camel, credited with being the worlds first cloned camel. Dr. Nisar Ahmad Wani, who headed the research team in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, announced on April 14, 2009, that the cloned camel was born after an uncomplicated gestation of 378 days. Carp Chinese embryologist Tong Dizhou successfully inserted the DNA from a male Asian carp into the egg of a female Asian carp to create the first fish clone in 1963. In 1973 Dizhou inserted Asian carp DNA into a European crucian carp to create the first interspecies clone. Cattle First World cloned calf (Gene) was born on February 7, 1997 on American Breeders Service facilities in Deforest, Wisconsin. Later it was transferred and kept to Minnesota Zoo Education Center. A Holstein heifer named Amy was cloned by Dr. Xiangzhong (Jerry) Yang using ear skin cells from a high-merit cow named Aspen at the University of Connecticut on June 10, 1999, followed by three additional clones, Betty, Cathy and Daisy by July 7, 1999. Second Chance, a Brahman bull was cloned from Chance, a beloved celebrity bull. Second Chance was born August 9, 1999 at Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University cloned a Black Angus bull named 86

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Squared in 2000, after cells from his donor, Bull 86, had been frozen for 15 years. Both bulls exhibit a natural resistance to Brucellosis, Tuberculosis and other diseases which can be transferred in meat. Millie and Emma were two female Jersey cows cloned at the University of Tennessee in 2001. They were the first cows to be produced using standard cell-culturing techniques. Pampa the first animal cloned in Argentina by Biosidus (2002) Ten more Jersey cows were cloned at the University of Tennessee. (females, 2002) Bonyana and Tamina cloned calf in Royan Research Institute,Isfahan, Iran in summer of 2009. In 2010 the first Spanish Fighting Bull was cloned by Spanish scientists. Anatolian Grey bull (Efe) was cloned in Turkey in 2009 and cattle from the same breed no(Ece, Ecem, Nilufer, Kiraz) by TUBITAK GARIMA- I: worlds first buffalo calf through the Hand guided Cloning Technique was born on February 6, 2009 at NDRI, Karnal(India). GARIMA- II: NDRI, Karnal(India). Cloned male buffalo calf Shresth born on August 26, 2010 at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India Deer Dewey was born on May 23, 2003 at Texas A&M University. Dog South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk cloned the first dog, an afghan hound named Snuppy. Later in 2005 Hwang WooSuk was found to have fabricated evidence in stem cell research projects. This caused some to question the veracity of his other experiments, including Snuppy. In their investigation of Hwang Woo-Suks publication, however, a team from SNU confirmed that Snuppy was a true clone of Tei, the DNA donor dog. South Korean scientists recently cloned sniffer dogs. BioArts International held a dog cloning contest where people would send in submissions about which dog was the most suited to be cloned. The winner was Trakr, a K-9 police dog who was a 9/11 hero. In summer 2011, South Korean researchers cloned a beagle dog named Tegon, which glowed in ultraviolet light Civil Services Ferret Clones Libby and Lilly were produced via nuclear transfer by cell fusion in 2004 Frog In 1958, John Gurdon, then at Oxford University, explained that he had successfully cloned a frog. He did this by using intact nuclei from somatic cells from a Xenopus tadpole. This was an important extension of work of Briggs and King in 1952 on transplanting nuclei from embryonic blastula cells Gaur A species of wild cattle, the first endangered species to be cloned. In 2001 at the Trans Ova Genetics in Sioux Center, Iowa, USA, a cloned Gaur was born from a surrogate domestic cow mother. However, the calf died within 48 hours Goat Downen TX 63 684 (nicknamed Megan) was cloned from a top producing Boer goat born on March 29, 2001 at Texas A&M University. The Middle Easts first and the worlds fifth cloned goat, Hanna, has been successfully born at Royan institute in Isfahan, Iran. The cloned goat was developed in the surrogate uterus of a black Bakhtiari goat for 147 days and was born, Wednesday, at 1:30 a.m. through a cesarean section. She is reported to be in a good health. Hanna, also known as R-CAPC1, is completely distinguished from other goats because of its white and henna-like color. Irans first cloned lamb, Royana, was born September 30, 2006 in Royan institute and was able to survive the post-natal complications common in cloned animals. Iranian researchers are looking to use cloned goats to produce the genetically modified animals required for manufacturing new recombinant medications.(April 2009) Isfahan, Iran Horse Prometea, female, born May 2003, Italy Pieraz, male, born February 2005, Italy Paris-Texas, male, born March 2005, USA Gemini, male, born September 2008, USA, clone of multiple recipient of Horse of the Year award for jumping Gem Twist Saphir, male, born February 2010, USA, clone of show jumper Sapphire Mice Possibly the first cloned mammal was a mouse (named Masha) in 1986, in the Soviet Union. However, the cloning was done from an embryo cell, while the sheep Dolly in 1996 was cloned from an adult cell. The first mouse from adult cells, Cumulina, was born in 1997 at the University of Hawaii at Ma-noa in the laboratory of Ryuzo Yanagimachi using the Honolulu technique. Over a dozen clones as of 2002. Mouflan An endangered species, the Mouflon was the first to live past infancy. Cloned 2001 Mule Idaho Gem (male, May 2003) Utah Pioneer (male, June 2003) Idaho Star (male, July 2003) Pig 5 Scottish PPL piglets (Millie, Alexis, Dotcom, Carrel, and Christa) (March 5, 2000) . Xena (female, August 2000). Pyrenean Ibex In 2009, one clone was alive, but died seven minutes later, due to physical defects in the lungs. The Pyrenean Ibex became the first taxon ever to come back from extinction, for a period of seven minutes in January 2009. Rabbit In France (MarchApril, 2003 Rat Ralph (male, 2003) Rhesus Monkey Tetra (female, January 2000) by embryo splitting. Cloned embryos (November 2007) by transfer of DNA from adult cells Sheep From early embryonic cells by Steen Willadsen (1986). Megan and Morag cloned from differentiated embryonic cells in June 1995. Dolly (19962003), first cloned mammal from somatic cells. Polly and Molly (July 1997), first transgenic cloned mammal. Royanan(2006) cloned in Royan Research institute in Isfahan, Iran. Oyali and Zarife were cloned in November 2007 in Istanbul University in Istanbul, Turkey. Water Buffalo The worlds first water buffalo was cloned

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either in Beijing China in 2005 or New Delhi, India in 2009 Samrupa, the worlds first cloned buffalo calf, which died a week later from a lung infection. Wolf An endangered species of wolf cloned by Korean scientists including the controversial scientist Hwang Woo-Suk. There are two cloned wolves in a zoo in Korea for public view, they are called Snuwolf and Snuwolffy which are names taken from the university in Korea, Seoul National University.

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Civil Services

MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

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YEAR 8; Issue 3; March 2013

Cyber crimes Cybercrimes


Interna tional International Con vention on Conv Cyber crimes Cybercrimes
The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or just the Budapest Convention, is the first international treaty seeking to address Computer crime and Internet crimes by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques and )increasing cooperation among nations. It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg with the active participation of the Council of Europes observer states Canada, Japan and China. The Convention and its Explanatory Report was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its 109th Session on 8 November 2001. It was opened for signature in Budapest, on 23 November 2001 and it entered into force on 1 July 2004. As of 28 October 2010, 30 states had signed, ratified and acceded to the convention, while a further 16 states had signed the convention but not ratified it. On 1 March 2006 the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime came into force. Those States that have ratified the additional protocol are requited to criminalize the dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as of racist and xenophobic-motivated threats and insults. Objectives The Convention is the first international treaty on crimes committed via the Internet and other computer networks, dealing particularly with infringements of copyright, computer-related fraud, child pornography, hate crimes and violations of network security. It also contains a series of powers and procedures such as the search of computer networks and Lawful interception. Its main objective, set out in the preamble, is to pursue a common criminal Civil Services MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan policy aimed at the protection of society against cybercrime, especially by adopting appropriate legislation and fostering international co-operation. The Convention aims principally at: Harmonising the domestic criminal substantive law elements of offences and connected provisions in the area of cybercrime providing for domestic criminal procedural law powers necessary for the investigation and prosecution of such offences as well as other offences committed by means of a computer system or evidence in relation to which is in electronic form setting up a fast and effective regime of international co-operation. The following offences are defined by the Convention: illegal access, illegal intercepyears of work by European and international experts. It has been supplemented by an Additional Protocol making any publication of racist and xenophobic propaganda via computer networks a criminal offence. Currently, cyber terrorism is also studied in the framework of the Convention. Accession by the USA Its ratification by the United States Senate in August 2006 was both praised and condemned. The U.S. became the 16th nation to ratify the convention. Fortythree nations have signed the treaty. The Convention entered into force in the USA on January 1, 2007. While balancing civil liberty and privacy concerns, this treaty encourages the sharing of critical electronic evidence among foreign countries so that law enforcement can more effectively investigate and combat these crimes, said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The Convention includes a list of crimes that each signatory state must transpose into their own law. It requires the criminalization of such activities as hacking (including the production, sale, or distribution of hacking tools) and offenses relating to child pornography, and expands criminal liability for intellectual property violations. It also requires each signatory state to implement certain procedural mechanisms within their laws. For example, law enforcement authorities must be granted the power to compel an Internet Service Provider to monitor a persons activities online in real time. Finally, the Convention requires signatory states to provide international cooperation to the widest extent possible for investigations and proceedings concerning criminal offenses related to computer systems and data, or for the collection of evidence in electronic form of a criminal offense. Law enforcement agencies will have to assist police from other participating countries to cooperate with their mutual assistance re-

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tion, data interference, system interference, misuse of devices, computer-related forgery, computer-related fraud, offences related to child pornography and offences related to copyright and neighbouring rights. It also sets out such procedural law issues as expedited preservation of stored data, expedited preservation and partial disclosure of traffic data, production order, search and seizure of computer data, realtime collection of traffic data, and interception of content data. In addition, the Convention contains a provision on a specific type of transborder access to stored computer data which does not require mutual assistance (with consent or where publicly available) and provides for the setting up of a 24/7 network for ensuring speedy assistance among the Signatory Parties. The Convention is the product of four

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quests. Although a common legal framework would eliminate jurisdictional hurdles to facilitate the law enforcement of borderless cyber crimes, a complete realization of a common legal framework may not be possible. Transposing Convention provisions into domestic law is difficult especially if it requires the incorporation of substantive expansions that run counter to constitutional principles. For instance, the U.S. may not be able to criminalize all the offenses relating to child pornography that are stated in the Convention, specifically the ban on virtual child pornography, because of its First Amendment free speech principles. Under Article 9(2)(c) of the Convention, a ban on child pornography includes any realistic images representing a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to the Convention, the U.S. would have to adopt this ban on virtual child pornography as well, however, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, struck down as unconstitutional a provision of the CPPA that prohibited any visual depiction that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In response to the rejection, the U.S. Congress enacted the PROTECT Act to amend the provision, limiting the ban to any visual depiction that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. 18 U.S.C The United States will not become a Party to the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime. Ten Years On: The Budapest Convention A Common Force against Cybercrime The 10th anniversary of the Budapest Convention received special attention last week at the Octopus Conference (21 23 November), part of the Council of Europes Global Project on Cybercrime. After ten years the Budapest Convention remains the only accepted international text on how to protect against and control online crime while at the same time respecting human rights, the Secretary General, Thorbjrn Jagland emphasized in his concluding speech at the close of the Strasbourg held three-day Octopus Conference. Civil Services The overall consensus of the conference was that despite some criticism of the Convention it provides the only effective and practical tool to fight global on-line crime. In its new role as Chair of the Council of Europe, the UK representative, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Crime and Security, James Brokenshire, took the opportunity to outline the continued support that the UK intends to give to the Budapest Convention as the most important international agreement on cyber crime. UK support is evidenced in the UK Cyber Security Strategy, released on Friday, where it commits to using its chairmanship to encourage a wider adoption of the Budapest Convention. A key element of the UK plan will be to enable compatible frameworks of law and effective cross-border law enforcement to deny safe havens to cybercriminals. The UK plans to achieve this by: promoting greater levels of international cooperation; by sharing understanding on cyber crime as begun by the London Conference on Cyberspace; by promoting the Council of Europes Convention on Cyber crime (the Budapest Convention); and by building on the new EU Directive on attacks on information systems. There is also a further commitment to contributing to the review of security provisions of the EU Data Protection Directive and the proposed EU Strategy on Information Security. At the close of the Conference, Mr Brokenshire admitted that the London conference had raised questions about some parts of the Conventions articles, although he repeated the view of William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary, that there was no appetite for an alternative Convention. Brokenshire paid tribute to the Conventions great achievement and to those who developed it. As well he emphasized the effectiveness of the Convention during an era of great technical change and of the need to ensure that it stays relevant which will require all parties to develop additional protocols and other changes as the need arises. Ahead of Australia joining the other 32 parties of the Convention, Australian Attorney General, Robert McClelland, spoke of the duality of modernity that Internet connectivity has brought where the positives are tempered by the darker side of the human condition, as evidenced in crimes and exploitation. Major cyber intrusions, McClelland said, is costing Australian organizations an average of $2 million per incident and more than a billion dollars a year to the Australian economy. This requires a global response, McCelland emphasized. The Attorney General praised too the drafters of the Convention and their remarkable foresight adding that any suggestion that it (the Convention) is out of date was unfounded. McClelland gave examples of the practical approach offered by the Convention and the reason why it remains the worlds leading international legal tool in combating cybercrime. For example; Article 24 requires parties to provide real time assistance to one another; Article 35 requires that assistance be made available on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis facilitated through a central contact point; that parties ensure that their law enforcement responders are properly trained and equipped and that parties have an obligation to provide appropriate technical assistance to others. McCelland noted that a further two dozen countries will soon be joining the Convention and called for all to rise to the challenge to ensure that Governments, businesses and individuals realize the full benefits of cyberspace whilst also ensuring that current and emerging risks are managed. The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Maud de BoerBuquicchio, acknowledged that there were challenges ahead for all members, although there was reason for optimism, and summed up the magic formula in one word: CO-OPERATE. Challenges include the need for: More engagement from political decisionmakers in the co-operation against cybercrime. More co-operation with and between countries from all regions of the world. A stronger public-private co-operation against cybercrime. A stronger co-operation between interna-

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tional organizations. More technical co-operation to assist countries worldwide in the implementation of the Budapest Convention and related tools and good practices. Ms de Boer-Buquicchio further emphasized that the Budapest Convention is not a static treaty and allows for an effective response to new challenges, for example, the problems of jurisdiction and law enforcement as posed by cloud computing. One thing is certain, The Deputy Secretary General stated, the Budapest Convention is the best tool that exists to effectively fight crime on-line. In summing up Secretary General, Thorbjrn Jagland, used recent events in his home country, Norway, to highlight the threat that online criminality poses. Norwegian key defense and energy companies have found themselves the target of recent and ongoing attacks illustrating that the need for global cooperation has never been greater. The Secretary General iterated the commitment of the Council of Europe to enhancing cooperation and in furthering the Budapest Convention as a treaty with global impact. Together, we can take pride in the results, Jagland said: The convention has proven to work. Thanks to it, there has been a broad harmonization of cybercrime legislation. Not only in Europe but worldwide. In addition, offences such as illegal access to computer data or illegal interception of computer data or computer-related forgery or fraud, have been criminalized. By way of caution, Jagland reminded delagates that technology and, with it, the techniques used by cybercriminals evolve much faster than legal responses and although the Budapest Convention is certainly not a static treaty no one can claim to have all the answers to all the emerging challenges. The multistakeholder approach has its part to play as does the need to look for complementarity rather than duplication. Jagland concluded, The Budapest Convention is the international communitys Civil Services most forceful and agreed upon response. It serves as a common ground for international co-operation and partnerships and has the interest of you and me in mind: to protect our rights in cyberspace!

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MINERVA Samanya Adhyayan

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