Cultre-

Mi rza Ghal ibs 215th bi rth anniversary on December 26, 2012. Ghal ibs havel i in Gal i Qasim Jaan, Bal l
imaran,Restored by the Indian Counci l of Cul tural Relations (ICCR) in association wi th Government of Delhi , Ghal
ibs havel i wore a festive look. Exactly a year back, the havel i was opened after restoration and turned into a
museum of personal artefacts and works of Ghal ib.
I nternational Centre f or Koodiyattam, Tripunithura - To promote Koodiyattam and related art forms - the tradi
tional art forms of Kerala - thi s ancient art form has been recogni sed by Unesco as a masterpiece of the oral and
intangible heri tage of humani ty.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman-one of the fi rst freedom fighters in India to oppose the Bri ti sh, a demonstration in
front of the statue seeking to declare the bi rth anniversary of Kattabomman a government hol iday . The youth
wanted the government to instal l a statue of Kattabomman in Chennai . Kattabomman, a legendary chieftain from
Panchalakurichi , fought against the Bri ti sh by refusing to pay tax. He was hanged to death by the Bri ti sh in 1799
at Kayathar in Tuticorin di strict.
150th bi rth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda- bi rth in 1893,taken the Western world by storm wi th hi s ground-
breaking ideas on rel igion and phi losophy. Was Vivekananda a turning point in modern history of India and world? The
book includes a poem, ti tled Hold on yet a whi le braveheart, wri tten by Swami Vivekananda.
Pigeon-fancying - i s a very old sport. found great patronage in India during the Mughal era when pigeon-fanciers
from Baghdad, Turkey, Iran and Egypt flocked to the court. Akbar himsel f was very fond of pigeon-flying and had
some 20,000 pigeons of hi s own. He cal led the pastime Ishkbazi or love-play. the kabootarbaz, as they are cal led,
Makaravilakku - Makarasankranti or Makaravi lakku day i s an auspicious day for the Hindus, besides i t being the
culmination of south Indias largest annual pi lgrimage to Sabarimala
career guidance-cum-counsel l ing centres for youth at various major temples.- would organi se weekly lectures and
classes by experts in various di scipl ines wi th a view to insti l l ing moral and ethical values rooted in Indian tradi
tion in the younger generation. A l ibrary would be set up at these centres, idea was to make Hindu temples
centres of learning too. Classes in Yoga, personal i ty development, and career opportuni ties would be held at these
centres.
Delhi heritage - to get the coveted tag of World Heri tage Ci ty from the Uni ted Nations Educational Scienti fic and
Cul tural Organi sation, - sent the dossier to UNESCO, which wi l l meticulously study the contents and examine
the veraci ty. - the resul ts wi l l be announced in June 2015. Evaluation wi l l be done and there i s a mechani sm to
look at whether the ci tys heri tage i s of outstanding universal value. Thi s means whether the heri tage i s
important for humani ty as a whole. Delhi s heri tage might be okay for Indian civi l ization. But i s i t of interest to
the ci ti zens of other countries? - Indias nominations have been rej ected in the past because the presentations
were inadequate and inaccurate. - Delhi was the Capi tal fi rst under Mughal rulers and then during Bri ti sh
colonial rule - Shah Jahan changed hi s Capi tal from Lahore to Delhi because i t had the famous dargah of Hazrat Ni
zamuddin Aul iya, - The Bri ti sh decided to change thei r Capi tal from Calcutta to Delhi because they wanted to be
seen as legi timate successors. - Shahjahanabad was just two per cent of Delhi - has been reduced to slums - identi
fied 750 havel is which can be converted into touri st lodges. There i s the famous Chunawal i ki havel i. - Compari
son between Lutyens Delhi and Shahjahanabad are inevi table. Both are vibrant and l iving heri tage, yet they are
poles apart cul tural ly
Fashion education in India - Besides the aesthetics aspect, young designers must focus on creating functional
apparel appropriate for use in the Indian tropical cl imate, - mi sconception that fashion education in India came
from the West - Fashion in India i s as old as Indus Val ley civi l i sation - Indian clothing, be i t a saree, a dhoti ,
ghagra, a sui t wi th a dupatta or even a lungi al l these clothes are sui ted for tropical cl imate as they al low ai
r-ci rculation, - powerful nation i s always aped by others - There was a time when other countries aped India. Now,
we are aping the West. - Western powers have ki l led our thinking abi l i ty to further thei r own vested interests
Lingui stic Survey of India (LSI)
tak en up between 1898 and 1928,
There are parts of India which seem to have had each a special Tower of Babel of i ts own, wrote Si r George
Abraham Grierson
i t was di fficul t to draw on a map an exact boundary l ine between di fferent languages and dialects.
Zakat - the annual poor due given by Musl ims
Buddhas bowl - The bowl in presently lying at a Kabul museum The Archaeological Survey of India plans ts to
approach the Union Cul ture Mini stry to depute a team of ASI experts to travel to Afghani stan to study the
authentici ty of a rare bowl bel ieved to belong to Gautam Buddha and bring i t back to India. The Mini stry of
External Affai rs would, however, take the final cal l after assessing securi ty concerns. The bowl , earl ier preserved
in a monastery at Vai shal i in Bihar.
Basantotsav-in Uttarakhand- spring festival ,-Ghingaroo-which i s consumed by wi ld animals and bi rds and i s used by
local people to put up fences around fields, has been chosen as the events theme.
Natarajar temple -at Chidambaram.Tami l Nadu - the right of the Dikshi tars to manage the temple could not be
taken away by the government. The Bench accepted the contention of the Dikshi tars that they were a rel igious
denomination as per the Article 26 of the Consti tution which guarantees right to establ i sh and maintain insti
tutions for rel igious purposes.
World Heri tage Ci ty-Uni ted Nations Educational , Scienti fic and Cul tural Organi zation (UNESCO)-Delhi s quest for
earning the prestigious tag-he Mini stry has to explain why each si te i s of unique outstanding value.Apart from
the three World Heri tage Si tes the Humayuns Tomb, the Red Fort and the Qutab Minar Lutyens Zone has the
iconic India Gate, Parl iament, Hyderabad House, North Block and South Block.
Jarawa-Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Sami ti (AAJVS), the apex wel fare body of the Jarawas, and the pol ice from Hi
ren Tikry, an i sland north of the Jarawa Reserve Area. under the Andaman and Nicibar Islands (Protection of
Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956
lesser-known Hoysala temples-Hoy sal a-st y l e t empl e-=are in Hassan, Mandya, Mysore, Chik magalur and Tumk
ur districts
Annual Flamingo Festival-Andhra Pradesh - near the Pul icat lake bi rd sanctuary in Nel lore di strict - festival was
being held every year to bring together the people and various Government departments in the task of preserving
the Pul icat lake and surroundings. Arrival of a wide variety of migratory bi rds always held a special charm at Pul icat-
the Nelapattu bi rd sanctuary at DV Satram in the vicini ty of Sul lurupeta
Gondi script-The manuscripts, wri tten in the extinct Gondi script, subsequently named the Gunjala Gondi script,
were di scovered in the sleepy vi l lage of Narnoor mandal in Adi labad di strict in 2011
Font finalised The manuscripts wi l l be translated into Hindi and Telugu for the benefi t of the Gond communi ty
spread across six States, as wel l as non-Gonds. Meanwhi le, the font for the Gunjala Gondi script has al ready been
final i sed. The manuscripts talk about the freedom struggle of the Chandrapur Gond Kings who fought against the
Bri ti sh, and the hi story of the Pardhan tribe which has an intrinsic and inseparable connection wi th the Gonds. One
of the epi sodes relate to the rebel l ion of the legendary Ramj i Gond who fought the Bri ti sh at Ni rmal town in
Adi labad di strict wi th the help of Rohi l las. One of the important aspects in the l i fe of Gond Kings highl ighted in
the manuscripts was thei r relationship wi th Myanmar (then known as Burma).There i s a record of the origins of
the famous Nagoba Jatara at Keslapur in Indervel l i mandal which i s an important chapter in the hi story of
Gondwana.
Derozio award - for excel lence in the field of education was conferred upon four heads of schools from across the
country during the valedictory function of the 92nd Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools of India Bangalore
The award, which was insti tuted by the Counci l for Indian School Certi ficate Examinations in 1999, i s in the
memory of Anglo-Indian leader Henry Loui s Vivian Derozio a national i st poet and teacher from West Bengal .
The award consi sts of an engraved gold medal , a ci tation, a si lver plaque, certi ficate and Rs. one lakh in cash.
the government i s planning to rai se the workdays under i ts rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA
from 100 to 150 days per year
Under the MNREGA programme, one member of each rural fami ly i s enti tled to 100 days of work per year wi th
remuneration of Rs 100 plus amount l inked to Consumer Price Index (CPI).
GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system
that seeks to advance safety and improve efficiency of ai rl ines operating throughout India, has now got the
certi fication level Requi red Navigation Performance
proj ect, which has been jointly developed by Ai rports Authori ty of India, the Indian Space Research Organi
zation and Raytheon, wi l l now provide civi l ai rcraft in Indian ai rspace access to more preci sion navigation data
than before.
The enhanced navigation capabi l i ty avai lable through GAGAN improves ai r travel for al l parties - ai rl ines,
passengers and ai r traffic authori ties
A release i ssued by Raytheon said the GAGAN system i s a Satel l i te Based Augmentation System (SBAS)
equipped wi th advanced ai r navigation technology. It i s the fourth SBAS system certi fied for operational use.
Ai rcraft equipped wi th SBAS receivers can uti l i se GAGAN signals in Indian ai rspace for en route navigation
and nonpreci sion approaches wi thout vertical guidance. Thi s capabi l i ty wi l l al low ai rcraft to fol low more
efficient fl ight paths through congested ai rspace, noi se sensi tive areas or di fficul t terrain,
National Green Tribunal
has banned the burning of tyres at publ ic places, such as roads and areas surrounded by residential bui ldings
and also during protests by pol i tical and rel igious groups as i t i s l ikely to cause heal th hazard.
Creates toxic smok e and poses serious environmental threat,
country should be ready to see depreciation in the value of rupee i f i t did not bring down i ts fi scal defici t,
current account defici t and inflation.
If our fi scal defici t i s high, current account defici t i s high, inflation i s higher than of the U.S., and sti l l i f
the currency does not depreciate then we have a problem.because thi s against financial stabi l i ty.
Orderly depreciation of the rupee means the economy i s doing wel l . If i t i s not orderly depreciation, i t
means there i s a problem,
scheme was unconsti tutional as individuals obtaining an Aadhaar number were requi red to part wi th personal
information such as biometrics, i ri s and fingerprints, which infringed on right to privacy, held to be part of the
fundamental right to l i fe under Article 21. He argued that there were no safeguards or penal ties and no legi
slative backing for obtaining personal information
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna
The government on Thursday extended heal th insurance support to auto and taxi drivers by commi tting to pay
hal f of the premium amount under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, which provides smart-card based cashless heal
th insurance cover.
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) scheme wi l l address the heal th concerns of auto rickshaw drivers and
taxi drivers, who form an important and vulnerable segment of the unorgani sed workers in urban areas.
auto and taxi drivers have to contribute 50 per cent of premium for the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, as appl
icable in that di strict, in addi tion to Rs 30 as regi stration fee,
The balance 50 per cent of premium would be shared by the Central and State Government i .e. 25 per cent
each.
clinical trials
unemployment
Wi th one mi l l ion more young people joining the ranks of the jobless in 2013, the worlds youth are facing a
di sproportionate burden, says the latest report of the International Labour Organi sation
The 13.1 per cent rate of unemployment in the 15-24 years age-group global ly i s more than twice that among
the adul t population. Thi s i s a particular concern in India where people below 25 years of age consti tute more
than 50 per cent of the population. Equal ly worrying i s the finding that the number of youth who are nei ther
in employment nor in education or training i s on the ri se in many countries. Again for India, the
overwhelming majori ty (around 90 per cent) of the workforce in the unorgani sed sector lacks even the basic
social protection that i s necessary for the reproduction of labour. The whole scenario has to be viewed against
the ILOs proj ection that employment wi l l continue to expand at a slower pace than the labour force, resul
ting in a shortfal l of some two mi l l ion jobs annual ly over the next five years
Court on Tuesday di rected the Centre to consider giving 10 per cent reservation to people from the Northeast
in the Delhi Pol ice
defence outlay
The 10 per cent hike in mi l i tary spending announced in Mondays interim Budget wi l l not bridge the fast-
widening gap in defence capabi l i ties across the Himalayas, wi th China
Defence spending was increased to Rs. 2.24 lakh crore ($36.2 bi l l ion), a 10 per cent ri se from last year.
Wi th a weakening rupee, however, the defence budget has actual ly fal len from last years spending in dol lar
terms, down from $37.5 bi l l ion.
Mountain strike corps
launched i ts plan to rai se a 50,000-strong mountain strike corps for the northeast dedicated to the China
border, wi th an expected outlay of Rs. 64,000 crore over the next seven years.
Unl ike China, which has a vast indigenous defence manufacturing industry, India i s enti rely rel iant on imports.
Last year, China hiked i ts defence spending by 10.7 per cent to 720 bi l l ion Yuan ($ 115 bi l l ion) more than
three times Indias budget.
The real gap may be far wider, as many analysts bel ieve China vastly understates i ts defence spending, for
instance by excluding swathes of i ts indigenous defence manufacturing industries
Windows XP
The Indian Banks Association (IBA) has i ssued an advi sory to banks to ensure business continui ty after
Microsoft ends support for i ts popular Windows XP operating system
that over 34,000 branches of publ ic sector banks would become vulnerable fol lowing the U.S.-based fi rms deci
sion to stop support to Windows XP.
The fi scal impact of thi s could be as much as a loss of business opportuni ty worth Rs.1,100 crore in a day and a
loss of income worth Rs.330 crore over a period of three days (assuming that a major incident may take three
days for the systems to come up to normal functioning)
Windows XP launched in October, 2001 i s three generations behind the latest operating system Windows
8, which was launched in October, 2012,
I CMR
From now on, any use of stem cel l in patients wi l l be considered research, and not therapy, according to
fresh national guidel ines. Stem cel l use in patients must be done only wi thin the purview of an approved and
moni tored cl inical trial wi th intent to advance science and medicine. In accordance wi th thi s stringent defini
tion, every use of stem cel ls in patients outside an approved cl inical trial shal l be considered a malpractice. It
i s hoped that thi s clear defini tion wi l l serve to curb the malpractice of stem cel l therapy being offered as a
new tool for curing untreatable di seases, according to the Indian Counci l of Medical Research and the
Department of Biotechnology.
There i s no conclusive proof of safety or
therapeutic efficacy of stem cel ls in any condi tion yet
there are important i ssues related to use of embryos for creating human embryonic stem (hES) cel l l ines.
Proj ecting a growth rate of 4.6 per cent thi s year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said the
Indian economy i s l ikely to expand by 5.4 per cent on stronger global scenario, improving export competi
tiveness, a favourable monsoon and a confidence boost after recent pol icy actions
IMF projects 5.4% growth for India in 2014-15
immuni sation
The critical issue in I ndia, where the pentavalent vaccine is being rolled out,
The cri tical i ssue here in India since we now have permi ssion to rol l out the pentavalent (the combo
protection against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussi s (DTP), hepati ti s B, Haemophil ius influenzae type b) vaccine
throughout the country i s to get coverage levels up
National AIDS Control Programme Phase IV (2012-2017)
thi rd-l ine therapy would enhance longevi ty and improve the qual i ty of l i fe of patients.
The thi rd-l ine therapy, sometimes cal led salvage or rescue therapy, i s prescribed for people who have l imi
ted drug options left after the fai lure of at least two drug regimens and wi th evidence of HIV resi stance to
at least one drug in each l ine or the latter cause alone.
For receiving free ART, the minimum CD4-count l imi t had been reduced from 500 to 350. The count i s a
measure of the vi ral load
At present, India i s estimated to have 2.39 mi l l ion people l iving wi th HIV/AIDS.
government tabled the Human Immunodeficiency Vi rus Acqui red Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and
Control ) Bi l l , 2014, in the Raj ya Sabha. It seeks to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and protect the human
rights of people l iving wi th i t.
Bi l l seeks to prohibi t any kind of di scrimination against the infected person for instance, denial or
termination of employment or occupation, unfai r treatment, denial of access to any sector and forcible HIV
testing.
Priori ty Foreign Country l i st
Under the U.S. Trade Act, a Priori ty Foreign Country i s the worst classi fication given to those which deny
adequate and effective protection of intel lectual property rights (IPR) or fai r and equi table market access to
the U.S. persons relying on IPR protection.
demand i s completely wrong as Indias intel lectual property rights are compl iant wi th global laws, including
the World Trade Organi sation (WTO).
Inclusion into thi s l i st leads to trade sanctions. If the U.S. does that, then India probably wi l l have no
option but drag them to the WTOs di spute settlement mechani sm, an official said. The U.S. International
Trade Commi ssion (USITC), a quasi -judicial federal American agency, has al ready ini tiated an investigation
against Indias trade and investment pol icies. It has al leged that New Delhi s laws di scriminate against the U.S.
companies.
India and the U.S. are fighting several cases in WTOs di spute panel . Recently, the U.S. has dragged India on
the countrys national solar programme.
Swi ss pharma major Novarti s AG had lost a legal battle for getting i ts blood cancer drug Gleevec patented in
India
India has commi tted i tsel f to contributing $4 mi l l ion over the next four years to GAVI Al l iance to immuni se
chi ldren worldwide against l i fe-threatening di seases
GAVI Al l iance i s a publ ic-private partnership of members, including the World Heal th Organi zation, UNICEF, the
World Bank and the Bi l l & Mel inda Gates Foundation.
India has three roles to play: It has the largest number of unimmuni sed chi ldren in the world; i t i s our
*GAVIs+ largest suppl ier of vaccines 55 per cent of our vaccines come out of India and now i t i s a donor
as wel l .
Wi th thi s, four of the five BRICS (Brazi l , Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations have become donors of
GAVI. India has been receiving support for i ts immuni sation programme from GAVI since 2002.
OECD
Global economic body OECD on Thursday unvei led a new game-changing mechani sm to combat the menace
of offshore tax evasion, a protocol to which India i s a signatory wi th the purpose of tackl ing black money
The Organi sation for Economic Cooperation and Development wi l l formal ly present the standard for the
endorsement of G20 finance mini sters during a February 22-23 meeting in Sydney in Austral ia, the world body,
whose economic pol icies are fol lowed by over 120 countries,
The G20 invi ted the OECD to develop a global standard on automatic exchange of information in 2013 and
remains the driving force behind the move toward greater tax transparency worldwide
India has al ready signed the OECDs global standard for automatic exchange of information between tax
authori ties two years back and once the new format i s implemented, the country wi l l fol low the new
protocols envi saged in i t

India has al ready signed the OECDs global standard for automatic exchange of information between tax
authori ties two years back and once the new format i s implemented, the country wi l l fol low the new
protocols envi saged in i t

India, Netherlands to set up joint working group on renewable energy
A formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two countries giving the green l ight
to intensi fying cooperation between India and the Netherlands on renewable energy.
India plans to add over 30 GW of renewable energy to i ts energy mix in the next 5 years. He dwel t on the
success of the wind programme as wel l as the signi ficant cost reductions in solar energy through the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mi ssion (JNNSM). India and Netherlands had great potential for enhancing
cooperation in promoting renewable energy and I offer al l possible assi stance for the purpose
As part of thi s, the Dutch aim to cut CO2 emi ssions by hal f, and to generate some 40 per cent of electrici ty
from sustainable sources such as wind at sea and biomass by that time. The Dutch have leading experti se in
areas such as offshore wind energy, cocombustion of biomass in coal -fi red power plants, methods to pre-treat
biomass and smart grids.
Global rating agency Moodys
Indias interim budget was in l ine wi th the pol icy assumptions that underpinned the governments Baa3 rating
wi th a stable outlook.
Moodys stable outlook on Indias Baa3 sovereign rating incorporates the macro-economic ri sks posed by the
governments high defici t and debt ratios as wel l as i ts recent efforts to control the fi scal defici t through ad
hoc measures,
Global rating agencies l ike Moodys, S&P and Fi tch have repeatedly threatened to lower Indias credi t rating
and a downgrade would mean pushing the countrys sovereign rating to junk status, making overseas
borrowings by corporates costl ier.
In the Interim Budget, the government has said that the fi scal defici t for the current
financial year would be contained at 4.6 per cent of GDP.
solar power plant
Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch,
The Welspun Solar MP proj ect, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100 crore on 305
hectares of land, wi l l supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh.
Sou t h Ch i n a di spu t e
Territorial sovereignty, contention on energy, threat to maritime security and overlapping maritime claims
are at the core of the South China Sea dispute
India has vi tal mari time interests in the SCS. Around 55 per cent of Indias trade in the Asia-Paci fic transi ts
through the SCS region. In fact, in recent times, New Delhi has become more active in expressing i ts interest
in the freedom of navigation in the SCS and the peaceful resolution of terri torial di sputes between Bei j ing and
i ts mari time neighbours
Strategic importance
It connects wi th the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Strai t to the southwest, and commands access to the
East China Sea to the northeast.
sea lane running between the Paracel and Spratly Islands i s used by oi l tankers moving from the Persian Gul f
to Japan as wel l as by warships en route from the Indian Ocean to the Paci fic. Securi ty in the SCS i s a
concern both for regional countries such as China, Vietnam, Phi l ippines, Malaysia, as wel l as the extra-regional
countries, including India, due to thei r strategic and economic interests in thi s region. Any confl ict in the SCS
wi l l pose a threat to regional and international securi ty.
for the next 20 years, the
SCS confl ict wi l l probably remain the worst-case threat to peace and securi ty in the ASEAN region.
The SCS, an integrated ecosystem, i s one of the richest seas in the world in terms of marine flora and fauna,
coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, fi sh and plants. The sea accounts for approximately 10 per cent of the
annual global fi sheries catchment, making i t extremely viable for the fi shing industries of nearby countries.
Furthermore, valueadded production (canning, fi l leting, fresh, frozen and chi l led processing) has translated
into valuable foreign exchange earnings and job opportuni ties for countries in the region. However, China has
been imposing fi shing rules to operate in the di sputed waters, resul ting in serious mari time securi ty
concerns and obj ections from other claimant states. Recently, Chinas new fi shing rules which came into effect
on January 1, 2014 rai sed questions about i ts efforts to exerci se juri sdiction over al l fi shing activi ties in the
di sputed waters.
the region richly laden in both oi l and natural gas has led to speculation that the di sputed terri tories could
hold potential ly signi ficant energy resources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Admini stration (EIA)
estimates, the SCS contains 11 bi l l ion barrels of oi l and 190 tri l l ion cubic feet of natural gas in proved and
probable reserves. EIA has di fficul ties in making accurate estimates of oi l and natural gas in the area because of
the lack of exploration and terri torial di sputes. Hence, reserve estimates in the area vary greatly. According to
the Chinese Mini stry of Land and Resources, the SCS oi l reserves are estimated to be around 23 to 30 bi l l ion
tonnes and 16 tri l l ion cubic metres of natural gas. There may also be addi tional hydrocarbon reserves in
underexplored areas of the sea. Most notably, the SCS occupies a signi ficant geostrategic posi tion in terms of
international shipping as a majori ty of energy shipments and raw materials have to pass through i t.
India i s strengthening i ts engagement wi th the ASEAN region steadi ly. New Delhi recogni ses the strategic
importance of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean for defence of the Indian peninsula. Indias prosperi ty i s
dependent, almost exclusively, on sea trade. Land routes from the Indian subcontinent are few and provide l i
ttle faci l i ty for commerce. Safeguarding the sea lanes i s therefore indi spensable for Indias development as i
ts future i s dependent on the freedom of the vast water surface.
Wi th a considerable expansion of Indias engagement wi th the SCS l i ttoral states, India appears to be
emerging, genuinely so, as an indi spensable element in the strategic di scourse of thi s region. India could be a
valuable securi ty partner for several nations in the Asia-Paci fic region, provided i t sustains a high economic
growth rate and nurtures the framework of partnership that i t has enunciated in the region.
Mi lan series of interactions,
Ind-Indo Corpat, coordinated patrol of the international mari time boundary l ine by Indian and Indonesian
navies twice every year, i s growing in scale.
The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
a regional forum of mari time forces formed at the insi stence of the Indian Navy, wi l l open up in phases to
more members and accord observer status to some others once i ts charter of business i s fi rmed up
Even some developed nations have requested membership and inclusion as observers,
on the sidel ines of the mul ti lateral naval engagement, Mi lan, that got under way here on Wednesday wi th
the participation of 16 friendly navies.
Whi le both IONS and Mi lan grew substantial ly over the years, the Indian Navy looked at Mi lan as
complementary to IONS wi th a l imi ted charter and mandate. Thi s was why i t was more seminar-oriented, wi
th very l i ttle exerci se.
Mi lan was conceived as a forum of the navies in the Bay of Bengal rim but wi th every subsequent edi tion,
more requests for inclusion came in.
since 2005, when India implemented the TRIPS (Trade Related aspects of Intel lectual Property Rights), over
1,500 patents were granted to the top nine global pharmaceutical companies alone, for products and composi
tions, apart from patents for manufacturing processes.
Compulsory l icensing i s widely used and 90 per cent of HIV /AIDS drugs used to treat more than 10 mi l l ion
patients in developing countries are sourced from India as Indian prices are often a fraction of U.S. prices. The
U.S. accounts for 30 per cent of Indias pharmaceutical exports of $13 bi l l ion and thi s i s growing at 18-20 per
cent per annum. In al l thi s, the U.S. and U.S. consumers could end up being the loser,
Indias total female population
Not only i s the proportion of Indias total female population that i s economical ly active i s among the lowest
in the world, but urban areas do even worse. Data from the 2011 census shows only hal f as many urban women
work as thei r rural counterparts.
Under I ndias labour laws, women engaged in "inf ormal" work - such as domestic work - have f ew work
place rights. This mak es it harder f or women to have sustainable jobs, let alone a career.
Few states including Iran, Paki stan and Saudi Arabia do worse than India when i t comes to womens
participation in the workforce. Others such as Somal ia, Bahrain and Malaysia do much better. Among the BRICS
(Brazi l , Russia, India, China and South Africa) which are comparable emerging economies, India has the lowest
female participation rate, wi th only 29% of women over the age of 15 working.
even among the MINT countries Mexico, Nigeria, Indonesia and Turkey only Turkey has the same participation
rate as India
Some di screpancy may ari se because many women are involved in home-based work and are part of the informal
sector, where thei r contribution tends to be under-reported. Better enumeration wi l l help, but measurement
i s not the only reason participation rates are so low in India,
two main factors keeping women at home are social customs and very low education levels among women.
In India, there i s a U-shaped relationship between education and participation of women in the workforce,
Verick said. Il l i terates participate more out of necessi ty. Women wi th a middle-level education (below
graduate) have di fferent aspi rations and can afford to remain out of the workforce. Only better educated
women have been pul led into the labour force in response to better paid opportuni ties.
The safety of women i s also a concern in Indian ci ties
Java i slands Mount Kelud
explosive volcanic eruption
Kelud i s among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic nation i s prone to volcanic eruptions
and earthquakes because of i ts location on the Ring of Fi re a series of faul t l ines stretching from the
Western Hemi sphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
Due to the ferti le volcanic soi l and the shortage of space on Java, hundreds of thousands of people l ive close
to active volcanoes.
Article 3 simply states that the Bi l l must be sent to the State legi slature concerned for expressing i ts views
wi thin a speci fied period. The provi sion i s si lent on whether later amendments have to be referred, as wel l as
on the effect that the views of the State legi slatures wi l l have. Thus read l i teral ly, even a wholesale rej
ection of the Bi l l can be ignored by Parl iament, since Article 3 merely gives State Assembl ies a consul tative
role thei r views are not binding on Parl iament in any way.
However, to treat the States views as carrying merely formal value, as has been widely suggested, would
render the consti tutional process of consul tation enti rely nugatory in a matter of national importance. The
current provi so to Article 3 was introduced by the Consti tution (Fi fth Amendment) Act, 1955. Before thi s
amendment, the President could only introduce an Amendment Bi l l in Parl iament after referring i t to the
State legi slatures concerned for thei r views. Thi s was a time-consuming process, al lowing States to vaci l late
in responding, thereby frustrating the efforts of the government of India.
The rej ection of the Telangana Bi l l by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly i s evidence of a dramatical ly changed
time. For the legal interpretation of Article 3 to ignore such change would be an anachroni sm. It would also be
inconsonant wi th the Supreme Courts characteri sation of the Consti tution as a l iving tree capable of
continuous growth wi th concomi tantly changing scenarios.
Whi le holding that the power of the President to impose Presidents Rule i s not above and beyond judicial
review enti rely, the Court narrowed down the ci rcumstances and the manner in which such powers could be
exerci sed. The premi se of thi s shi ft in consti tutional juri sprudence was that the principle of federal i sm was
part of the basic structure of the Consti tution, and thi s principle could only be deviated from in exceptional
and extraordinary ci rcumstances, i .e. where consti tutional rule was not possible in the State.
In the absence of any checks on the exceptional power of the President to impose Presidents Rule and give
federal i sm a go-by in the name of upholding the Consti tution, the Court recogni sed that the Consti tution i
tsel f could be subverted.
That Indias consti tutional ly envi saged federal structure has a strong central i sing tendency i s beyond
question. Such a tendency i s not unique to India. Federal states the world over Canada, the Uni ted States,
Austral ia al l di splay di scernible centripetal forces i rrespective of di fferences in thei r federal structure.
But the deci sion in Bommai and now the Andhra Pradesh Assemblys rej ection of the Telangana Bi l l marks a
signi ficant change in thi s dynamic. It provides recogni tion to a more balanced union, wi th Centre and States
seen increasingly as coordinate enti ties. At a time when the Chief Mini ster of West Bengal trumps the deci sion
of the government of India to sign an international accord, the sole prerogative of the Central government, and
the Chief Mini ster of Tami l Nadu prevents Sri Lankan cricketers from playing in Chennai despi te them having
val id vi sas for travel in India, such a reworked understanding of federal i sm in India i s both real i stic and
pragmatic.
The central i sing tendency in Indias federal structure was adopted at a time when i t was necessary to weld
Indias di sparate elements together into a nation. Thi s was a task for which the government of India was
uniquely posi tioned and requi red a supporting consti tutional archi tecture. Thus, the federal provi sions of the
Consti tution were as much lofty vi sion as pol i tical strategy. Such strategy now requi res a careful recal ibration
since such a tool for nation-bui lding, i f used unthinkingly, wi l l be seen purely as central hegemony. Such
forced uni tari ty wi l l be more harmful than a genuine recogni tion of a more equal federal structure that i s
perfectly consonant wi th the idea of India.
fi rst-phase work of the Border Securi ty Force (BSF) centre at Chekyatt Areekkarakunnu in Nadapuram
Kozhikode
Vodafone tax dispute impasse
The tax di spute between the Centre and the U.K.-based Vodafone
di sease of rice
Bacterial bl ight
infected leaves turn greyi sh green in colour and rol l up. Appearance of a mi lky or opaque dewdrop on young
lesions early in the morning i s one sign of infestation.
cul tural reforms of Westminster abol i shed the death sentence.
In the Uni ted States, many states sti l l do not have the death penal ty.
the Uni ted Nations i s actively considering the el imination of capi tal puni shment from global criminal juri
sprudence al together.
It wi l l therefore be a glorious gesture and a cul tural tribute to Article 14
disease in rice
Also k nown as Lak shmi disease,
caused by a f ungus
Due to the infection, individual grains of the panicle get transformed into greeni sh spore bal ls of velvety
appearance. Spore bal ls are smal l at fi rst growing gradual ly to reach one cm or more in diameter. They are sl
ightly flattened, smooth, yel low and are covered by a membrane. The membrane bursts as the resul t of further
growth and the colour of the bal l turns orange and later yel lowi sh-green or black.
New test for meningitis
cal led Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) scatters laser l ight from a sample that has been combined
wi th si lver nanoparticles.
to speed up the diagnosi s of bacterial meningi ti s. The test uses nanoparticles and lasers to fingerprint more
than one bacterium at a time and so opens the way for targeted treatment.
kamadhenu (holy cow)
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commi ssion (EC) to decide the representation of an al l -
woman pol i tical party seeking the symbol of kamadhenu (holy cow) for i t.
The party pleaded that i t had made several representations to the Commi ssion for al lotment of kamadhenu
symbol but EC had not taken a deci sion.
Commi ssion to decide the plea of Al l India Mahi la Democratic Front wi thin a week after the representation i s
made to i t.
NBFC-MFIs
(RBI) has come out wi th a fresh prescription for pricing of credi t by non-banking financial company-micro
finance insti tutions (NBFC-MFIs).
The Indian Space Research Organi sation intends launching Astrosat, an astronomical satel l i te, in 2015, Chai
rman K. Radhakri shnan
To be launched aboard a PSLV rocket, the satel l i te would have six pieces of equipment bui l t by the Tata Insti
tute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Insti tute of Astrophysics
India had satel l i tes to study weather, envi ronment and water securi ty and to help in communication. RISAT I,
fi rst indigenously bui l t al l -weather, radar-imaging satel l i te launched two years ago, opened up access to the
microwave remote sensing system. It could see through cloud cover for instance, in assessing flooding
and i ts radar worked in darkness. It was being used to moni tor khari f crops such as paddy and jute. We are
moving towards enhanced launch capabi l i ty through the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle and even higher powered
vehicles in the years to come.
Whistleblowers Protection Bill
seeks to provide for adequate protection to persons reporting corruption or wi l ful mi suse of di scretion
which causes a demonstrable loss to the government, or commi ssion of a criminal offence by a publ ic servant.
The Bi l l sets forth the procedure for inqui ring into the di sclosures and provides for safeguards against
victimi sation. At the same time, i t provides puni shment for false or frivolous complaints.
The Bi l l was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2011 and was taken up by the Raj ya Sabha in 2012. However, i t could
not be passed
defini tion of di sclosure has also been amended to include wi l ful mi suse of power or di scretion, which leads
to a demonstrable loss to the government or a demonstrable gain to a publ ic servant or any thi rd party. The
defini tion of competent authori ty to which a complaint can be made has also been expanded
The Bi l l does not cover
Jammu and Kashmi r
Business Regulatory Impact Analysi s (BRIA)
The Planning Commi ssion has started rating al l the States based on six parameters to enable the States to
improve the regulatory ecosystem for manufacturing,
The rating wi l l be done based on international ly establ i shed process cal led Business Regulatory Impact
Analysi s (BRIA) for tuning up investment cl imate of the State as huge investments came from the private
sector. The rating wi l l be done annual ly based on i ssues such as avai labi l i ty of land, space, ski l led labour
and taxation i ssues,
To avoid dupl ici ty of ratings,
clubbing the ratings of Department of Industry Pol icy and Promotion, Micro, Smal l and Medium Enterpri ses wi th
various trade bodies.
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mi ssion
The nation-wide Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA) stations network of Centre for Wind Energy
Technology (C-WET) wi l l be expanded next month wi th the addi tion of 64 stations
The proj ect i s being implemented by C-WET in two phases as part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mi ssion
to make India a global leader in solar energy. The duration of each phase i s about five years
The fi rst phase involved setting up of 51 stations across the country, including seven in Tami l Nadu. In the
second phase, 60 stations along wi th four Advanced Measurement Stations are being formed. Wi th thi s, the
total number of stations would be 119.
Data derived from the field stations wi l l be transmi tted to the Central Server at C-WET Chennai on dai ly basi
s.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Limits set on banks exposure to intra-group transactions
ncial companies and unregulated financial services companies and 10 per cent of paid-up capi tal and reserves
in the case of regulated financial ser
For a single group enti ty, the RBI prescribed a l imi t of 5 per cent of paid-up capi tal and reserves in the case
of nonfinancial companies and unregulated financial services companies and 10 per cent of paid-up capi tal
and reserves in the case of regulated financial services companies.
For aggregate group exposure, the l imi t would be 10 per cent of the paid-up capi tal and reserves in the case
of al l nonfinancial companies and unregulated financial services companies taken together. It would be 20 per
cent of the paidup capi tal and reserves in the case of the group al l group enti ties (financial and non-
financial ) taken together.
Universi ty Grants Commi ssion (UGC)
to review measures for gender sensi ti sation of campuses has recommended that the Commi ssion i tsel f set
up a gender sensi ti sation uni t (GSU) and make gender audi t an essential component of the assessment and
accredi tation of higher educational insti tutions.
Whi le stressing on the need to make infrastructural improvements to make campuses secure for women, the
task force cautions against introducing di scriminatory rules for women in hostels in the name of safety.
Campus safety pol icies should not resul t in securi ti sation, over moni toring or pol icing or curtai l ing the
freedom of movement, especial ly for women.
Further, i t came to l ight that few had set up Gender Sensi ti sation Commi ttees against Sexual Harassment as
was mandated by the Vi sakha Judgement. In fact, the biggest culpri ts in thi s regard were the gi rls col leges,
who were under the impression that they did not requi re one because they did not have male students.
The man-eating tiger incident in Dodabetta in the Ni lgi ri s, which ended in the gunning down of the cat,
brings to the fore the di lemma of ensuring a safe di stance between wi ld animals and people.
Two strategies often adopted to prevent confl ict rely on modi fication of human and animal behaviour. Farmers
are encouraged to swi tch to cash crops to avoid attracting elephants, whi le forest departments provide access
to water wi thin protected areas to stop animals from moving out
The problem today i s that successful ly managed national parks and sanctuaries are wi tnessing a ri se in tiger
and leopard numbers, leading to the di spersal of old and injured animals towards habi tations on the periphery
and even beyond. Future conservation strategies would have to rely on wel l admini stered wi ldl i fe sanctuaries,
and equal ly on a voluntary resettlement programme for forest communi ties.
The problem today i s that successful ly managed national parks and sanctuaries are wi tnessing a ri se in tiger
and leopard numbers, leading to the di spersal of old and injured animals towards habi tations on the periphery
and even beyond. Future conservation strategies would have to rely on wel l admini stered wi ldl i fe sanctuaries,
and equal ly on a voluntary resettlement programme for forest communi ties.
publ ic sector banks.
Two sets of related problems confront pol icy makers. Fi rst, the question of recapi tal i sing PSBs to make up for
thei r impai red capi tal has become a major i ssue,
whi le recogni sing the banks predicament, the Finance Mini ster has made a niggardly al location of Rs.11,200
crore in the interim budget for bank recapi tal i sation, below last years Rs.14,000 crore and wel l below the
current requi rements of PSBs.
Second, the di sadvantages of government ownership extend to recovery. Publ ic sector bankers have less flexibi l
i ty in deal ing wi th problem loans. Final ly, who can deny pol i tical interference in sanctioning loans as wel l as
in thei r recovery?
National Court of Appeal
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre and the Mini stry of Law on the i ssue of establ i
shment of a National Court of Appeal wi th regional benches in major ci ties to final ly decide cases ari sing
from High Courts.
The peti tioner submi tted that di stance of the apex court in national capi tal from other parts of the country
coupled wi th high travel expense and cost of l i tigation were coming in way of ci ti zens from far flung areas
to approach the top court of the land which i s otherwi se also burdened wi th large scale pendency of cases.
In thi s peti tion, i ssue of posi tive nature has been rai sed. We are i ssuing notices to respondents (Centre, Legi
slative Department and Justice Department) seeking for early consideration on representation (by peti tioner)
He submi tted that the geographical proximi ty and financial status of ci ti zens in the society are vi tal factors
for every ci ti zen to have access to top court of the land and referred to media reports that of al l the cases
fi led in the Supreme Court, the highest number are from high courts in the northern States
land uti l i sation
pol icy confusion
Exi sting Foreign Exchange Management Act regulations prohibi t the use of FDI funds to buy farmland.
The Mini stry of Urban Development now wants to ease these restrictions,
The reasoning behind thi s move i s that 100 per cent FDI i s al ready permi tted in developing townships,
housing and other infrastructure proj ects. Hence, i t would be only logical to extend i t and al low the purchase
of agricul tural land for construction purposes
buying of agricul tural land on the outski rts of a ci ty i s inevi table and necessary.
relaxing FDI norms may appear to be a rational step, but in the absence of a clear-cut land use pol icy and plans,
i t wi l l hasten unrestricted acqui si tion and unplanned conversion of farmland and lead to hoarding of land. In
2013, the Mini stry of Rural Development publ i shed a draft National Land Uti l i sation Pol icy. It convincingly
argued that the shrinkage of per capi ta ownership of agricul tural land and the demand to produce more food
245 mi l l ion tonnes in 2013 to 307 mi l l ion tonnes in 2020 necessi tates the protection of ferti le land.
The National Pol icy for Farmers, announced in 2007, insi sted that the government conserve productive land
and al low any change in use only under exceptional ci rcumstances.
It i s imperative to correct any insti tutional deficiencies and strengthen local level land-management plans to
ensure an orderly process of urban development and prevent detrimental effects on agricul ture and envi
ronment.

global emerging market (GEM)
emerging market economies are most unloved ever and are now seen as the biggest ri sk to financial market
stabi l i ty,
investors are the most underweight on BRIC countries Brazi l , Russia, India and China in the hi story of our
data.
global emerging market (GEM) equi ties are undervalued and thi s in turn could lead to a contrarian ral ly,
according to the global financial services major.
Around five years ago emerging markets were safe and banks were toxic. In a complete reversal , emerging
market i s now seen as the biggest ri sk to financial market stabi l i ty.
classical language status
Odia is billed as the f irst language f rom the I ndo-Aryan linguistic group and the case f or mak ing it a
classical language
became the sixth language of the country to get classical language status
same league as Sanskri t, Tami l , Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
i t has no resemblance to Hindi , Sanskri t, Bengal i and Telugu. The proposal was moved by the Cul ture Mini stry.
Once a language i s declared classical , i t gets financial assi stance for setting up a centre of excel lence for the
study of that language and also opens up an avenue for two major awards for scholars of eminence. Besides, the
Universi ty Grants Commi ssion can be requested to create to begin wi th at least in Central Universi ties a
certain number of professional chai rs for classical languages for scholars of eminence in the language.
The cri teria for declaring a language as classical mandates high antiqui ty of i ts early texts/recorded hi story
over a period of 1,500-2,000 years, a body of ancient l i terature/texts which i s considered a valuable heri tage
by generations of speakers and a l i terary tradi tion that i s original and not borrowed from another speech
communi ty. Also since the classical language and l i terature i s di stinct from the modern, there can also be a
di scontinui ty between the classical language and i ts later forms or i ts offshoots.
SEBI Amendment Bill
the Bi l l giving search and sei zure powers to the Securi ties and Exchange Board of India
the draft for the legi slation i s ready wi th the Parl iaments Standing Commi ttee on Finance,
The Bi l l gives powers to SEBI to ini tiate recovery proceedings against unscrupulous promoters. Since the
promulgation of the Ordinance, in July last year to tackle unregi stered col lective investment schemes (CIS),
SEBI has ini tiated proceedings to recover an amount in excess of Rs.1,700 crore. Even though i t lapsed in
September last, the government re-promulgated i t as the Parl iament was not in session. It lapsed again on
January 15, thi s year, as i t was not passed in the winter session. Technical ly, as the session i s on, the
Ordinance cannot be re-promulgated. The amendments bring in any investment scheme above Rs.100 crore,
other than those exempted under Section 11AA of SEBI Act l ike Nidhi funds, chi t funds and non-banking
finance companies (NBFCs), under the regulatory purview of SEBI and such schemes would have to get regi
stered wi th the SEBI.
Further, there are various investment schemes regulated by di fferent regulators. Whi le NBFCs come under the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), company fixed deposi ts come under Mini stry of Corporate Affai rs, insurance under
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authori ty (IRDA) and col lective investment schemes come under the
regulatory purview of SEBI.
CIS schemes
SEBI has been given the mandate to regulate CIS schemes under the SEBI Act in the late 1990s
Whi le investment schemes of Nidhi funds, chi t funds and NBFCs were exempted from the defini tion of CIS,
thi s has been exploi ted by some unscrupulous companies which have been rai sing money from the publ ic in di
fferent names, but schemes simi lar to CIS. The Saradha Group financial scandal i s a case in point where SEBI
has passed an order asking the company to wind up i ts schemes. However, thi s i s not enough. Whi le SEBI
continues i ts crackdown, perhaps there i s a need for a concerted effort by al l financial sector regulators so
that gul l ible investors are not duped. The state governments also need to be more vigi lant in tackl ing such
schemes.
Oxytocin
Retail sale of controversial hormone drug Oxytocin banned
I t is believed that people consuming dairy products, vegetables and f ruits containing the drug are hit by
irreversible hormonal imbalance
to curb i ts mi suse by dai ry owners and farmers who use i t boost mi lk production and plump up the si ze of
vegetables and frui ts. It i s bel ieved that those consuming such dai ry products and vegetables and frui ts are hi
t by i rreversible hormonal imbalance.
3D Printing
3D printing i s based on methods of applying a 2D image on a 3D surface, a system for generating three-
dimensional obj ects by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the obj ect to be formed. 3D scanning i s the
process of analyzing and col lecting data of real obj ect; i ts shape and appearance and bui lds digi tal , three
dimensional models.
3D Printing employs addi tive layer processes, where successive layers of materials are laid down in di fferent
shapes. Some companies offer on-l ine 3D printing services open to both consumers and industries. Such services
requi re people to upload thei r 3D designs to the company websi te. Designs are then 3D printed using industrial
3D printers and ei ther shipped to the customer or in some cases; the consumer can pick the obj ect up at the
store.
The 3D printer can print wi th anything that can be di spensed from a syringe as l iquid or paste.
The 3D printing technology i s used for both prototyping and di stributed manufacturing wi th appl ications in archi
tecture, construction, industrial design, automotive, aerospace, mi l i tary engineering, civi l engineering, dental
and medical industries, biotech (human ti ssue replacement), fashion, footwear, j ewel lery, eyewear,
education, geographic information systems, food, and many other fields.
China has commi tted around $500 mi l l ion towards the establ i shment of national 3-D printing development
insti tutes. In 2013, Chinese scienti sts began printing ears, l ivers and kidneys, wi th l iving ti ssue instead of
plastic successful ly using special i zed 3D bio print.
U.N. Securi ty Counci l
has targeted i l legal wi ldl i fe traffickers for sanctions in a pai r of resolutions against African armed groups
The move fol lows years of warnings from advocates and U.N. officials that wi ldl i fe trafficking, particularly
elephant ivory, has increasingly become a source of financing for armed groups.
Wi ldl i fe traffickers are funding the armed groups that are causing the human rights violations, but i t i s sti l
l treated as an envi ronmental i ssue and that i s just not going to work out.
standing tribunal to adjudicate interstate river water disputes
the proposal to set up a standing tribunal to adjudicate interstate river water di sputes in consul tation wi
th stakeholders, including states i s at conceptual stage.
The Mini ster also said five water di sputes referred to tribunals under the InterState River Water Di sputes Act
of 1956 are yet to be settled
The Ravi and Beas Tribunal set up in Apri l , 1986 to settle di spute between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan gave
i ts report and deci sion in Apri l , 1987. But a Presidential Reference in the matter i s before the Supreme Court
In Apri l , 2004, to settle a di spute between Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, the Kri shna Water Di
spute Tribunal II was set up. It gave i ts final report in November last.
But as per a Supreme Court order of September, 2011 the deci sion of the panel cannot be publ i shed in official
gazette fol lowing references fi led by the Centre and the State Governments.
The Vansadhara Water Di sputes Tribunal to settle water di spute between Andhra Pradesh and Odi sha was establ
i shed in February, 2010. It i s yet to give i ts report.
The Mahadayi Tribunal to settle di spute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra in November, 2010 i s also
to come out wi th i ts award.
The Cauvery Tribunal of June, 1990 gave i ts final award six years ago which was noti fied in February last year
involving di spute between Kerala, Karnataka, Tami l Nadu and Pudducherry. But the States have fi led a Special
Leave Peti tion in the Supreme Court.
Plastic shopping bags
can be converted into diesel , natural gas and other useful petroleum products,
Other products, such as natural gas, naphtha (a solvent), gasol ine, waxes and lubricating oi ls such as engine oi l
and hydraul ic oi l also can be obtained from shopping bags.
involves heating the bags in an oxygen-free chamber, a process cal led pyrolysi s
one can get only 50 to 55 per cent fuel from the di sti l lation of petroleum crude oi l . But since thi s plastic i s
made from petroleum in the fi rst place, we can recover almost 80 per cent fuel from i t through di sti l lation.
Thi s diesel mixture had an equivalent energy content, a higher cetane number (a measure of the combustion
qual i ty of diesel requi ring compression igni tion) and better lubrici ty than ul tra-low-sulphur diesel ,
were able to blend up to 30 per cent of thei r plastic-derived diesel into regular diesel , and found no
compatibi l i ty problems wi th biodiesel,
can just use i t as a drop-in fuel in the ul tra-low-sulphur diesel wi thout the need for any changes
Indias total solar power instal led capaci ty i s 2,000 MWs, up from 2 MW three years ago. At the next NSM
meeting scheduled for February 26, Prime Mini ster Manmohan Singh i s expected to approve a goal of 100,000
MWs for 2022. The USTR i s trying to rake up i ssues at thi s stage though i t has no case at the moment to
create space for i ts industry in Indias big-potential solar market,
The USTR i s crying foul over NSM Phase-II, in which of the total 750 MWs on bid, hal f i s open to global solar
power developers, including Americans, highly placed government sources
The balance 375 MWs i s reserved for domestic players, and that i s what the USTR i s threatening action over.
The sources said thi s batch of 375 MWs would be defended at the WTO as i t was a permi ssible government
procurement scheme and i t addressed Indias energy securi ty concerns. In any case, i t i s a tiny proportion
of al l the solar power proj ects being bid out and developed in India.
Physical education teachers to be educated on law and order issues
effective interface between the pol ice and the publ ic.
He mooted the idea of training students on the l ines of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), and imparting
training to physical education teachers on i ssues related to law and order, traffic rules and regulations.
apex National Board of Wi ldl i fe
Headed by the Prime Mini ster, the Board has a fixed number of non-government officials and insti tutions besides
officials and nominated members of Parl iament.
It i s meant to be the apex body taking deci sions on i ssues relating to wi ldl i fe. The l i st of members i s requi
red to be cleared by the PMO and has always been a post of prestige for many conservationi sts and conservation
NGOs.
The standing commi ttee of the Board, which i s chai red by the Envi ronment Mini ster, i s mandated by
Supreme Court orders to review al l development and industrial proj ects coming up inside wi ldl i fe zones that
have legal protection, such as tiger reserves, national parks and sanctuaries, as wel l as those slated to come
up wi thin the 10-km zone of these wi ldl i fe-rich areas
Wi th the tenure of the last Board having been lapsed in September 2013, the Envi ronment Mini stry has been
unable to clear proj ects that need to be assessed by the standing commi ttee of the National Wi ldl i fe Board.
Dreams occur during a stage of sleep known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, also known as paradoxical
sleep. It is paradoxical in the sense that al though we are sleeping, the brain is actively involved in creating a
visual experience cal led dream, and its metabol ic activity is equivalent to that in the awake state.
Most of the dreams are stored in the brain as a learning experience that we cannot demonstrate or remember.
It is for the safety and wel l being of the person who has a dream that he/she doesnt remember them since
most of the dreams that we usual ly experience are bizarre and often frightful . That is why during the next stage
of sleep ie. slow wave sleep (SWS), these dreams get washed off and the person gets up not remembering
anything at al l
we tend to remember some dreams. It is general ly seen that if a person gets awake suddenly while dreaming
out of fright or someone else forceful ly awakens that person while he/she is in REM sleep stage, that dream
gets registered in our memories for short periods.
In general , when we do not give enough time for our dreams to wash off as un-recal lable experiences, we tend
to remember them, but as a rule, the brain tries al l it can to ensure that we get up remembering nothing at al
l .
worlds largest power-generating lagoon
Swansea Bay
in Bri tain
Restrictive global governance system affects public health
Tobacco companies liberally use bilateral agreement between countries to def eat any law that work s
against their interests
The Lancet journal val idates thi s observation
the current global inequi ties negatively affect the heal th of people in the developing countries.
For instance, despi te the global food production standing at 120 per cent of the worlds dietary needs, about
820 mi l l ion people across the world are chronical ly hungry due to lack of access to safe food.
The di fference in l i fe expectancy between the highest-ranking and lowest-ranking countries i s as much as 21
years, the report states.
Indias deci sion last year to i ssue a compulsory l icence to Natco Pharma Ltd to manufacture a generic version
of Bayers Sorafenib cancer drug i s one of the examples ci ted by the report.
Thi s became possible fol lowing the 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intel lectual
Property Rights) and Publ ic Heal th where i t was agreed by al l the WTO member countries that TRIPS does not
and should not prevent members from taking measures to protect publ ic heal th.
there are ways by which developing countries are arm-twi sted by countries that own intel lectual property
rights despi te the Doha Declaration becomes eminently clear in the case of bi lateral trade agreements
between two countries. More than pharmaceutical companies, the tobacco companies use the bi lateral trade
agreements to thei r advantage to force the developing countries to implement more restrictive and tougher
condi tions at the cost of publ ic heal th
The Lancet report ci tes the case of Uruguay that was almost forced to concede and change i ts law on graphic
pictorial warning on tobacco products. In 2010, when Uruguay enacted the law, Phi l ip Morri s chal lenged i t,
not in Uruguay courts but at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Di sputes (ICSID).
After al l , the pol icies of insti tutions l ike the IMF and World Bank are dictated by a handful of rich countries.
The condi tioned loans provided by these financial insti tutions, as the name suggests, come wi th a big catch
among other ini tiatives, privati sation of heal th care programmes i s one of them. Thi s has an immediate
negative effect on people, particularly the poor.
The dwindl ing gas output from the KG D-6 field i s attributed to an escalation in production costs necessi tated
by geological chal lenges, a claim that i s sti l l being veri fied by the Comptrol ler and Audi tor General (CAG).
Even i f veri fied and found to be true, i t i s a wel l -establ i shed fact that in production sharing regimes such
as the one India has, the operator assumes al l proj ect ri sks. By claiming revi sion in gas price to take care of
the claimed cost escalation, RIL has sought to transfer the ri sk to the government, in violation of market
ethics, norms and widely accepted practices.
The government, instead of enforcing the contract and ensuring that the operator del ivers the promi sed
volumes, not to mention penal i sing the operator for causing extensive losses to stranded gas consumers, has
chosen to double KG D-6 gas prices hoping to cajole RIL to ramp up gas production from KG D-6 to i ts promi sed
levels.
Flawed pricing formula Going back to gas pricing, in the absence of a global marker price, how does one price
domestic gas? The Rangarajan Commi ttee recommendation now being implemented by the government, i s
based on a convoluted weighted average price of the three gas markets the Henry Hub, the European markets
and the Asia-Paci fic market. The last i s dominated by Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea, al l woeful ly gas-
deficient and hugely dependent on imported LNG. Thei r desperation to ensure fuel securi ty has pushed up LNG
prices so steeply that thei r weight in any pricing formula i s bound to skew i t on the higher side.
Instead of imposing thi s formula, gas pricing should be determined by the domestic market. RILs current price
of U.S. $4-20/mmbtu i tsel f was based on competi tive bidding by the company from prospective gas-based
electrici ty generators before i t commenced commercial production.
Paralysis in science policies
Neglect of research in higher education has led to very low research intensity. Ninety per cent of our
universities end up as teaching institutes where research is given a low priority f or lack of f unds
increase the gross domestic expendi ture on research and development (GERD). He commi tted two per cent of
GDP and rei terated i t every year since 2007 at the annual session of the Indian Science Congress Association
(ISCA).
In the last nine years, Indian GERD to GDP ei ther stagnated at 0.9 per cent or even relatively decl ined
adjusted to inflation; 58 per cent of GERD i s consumed by the strategic sectors (atomic energy, defence and
space research) and about 29 per cent i s met by the private sector. So, what i s left for civi l ian R&D, spanning
a dozen or so science agencies, i s rather pathetic. Look at what i s happening in Asia! The Chinese GERD wi
tnessed a dramatic increase from one per cent to 1.84 per cent of GDP in the last decade. In 2012, Japan spent
3.26 per cent, South Korea 3.74 per cent, and Singapore 2.8 per cent. After a decade, the government announced a
new Science, Technology and Innovation Pol icy 2013 or STIP 2013. The scienti fic communi ty and the nation were
left di sappointed as the government had fai led to ful fi l i ts earl ier commi tment. There has been no commi
tment to increase publ ic R&D. The government wi l l only match the private R&D investment to bring i t to the
level of two per cent of GDP. When i s thi s going to happen?
Realistic goals?
new pol icy envi sages posi tioning India among the top five global scienti fic powers by 2020, increasing the
number of ful l -time research and development personnel by two-thi rds wi thin five years, and increasing publ
ications from the current 3.5 per cent of global share to around seven per cent by 2020.
the pol icy aims at increasing the publ ication record in the worlds top one per cent of journals fourfold. India
has al ready fal len behind China and emerging economies on these indicators. For instance, India produced
three times the science output of China in the 1990s wi th a comparable GERD. Today, China has overtaken
India by more than three times. It i s the same in the case of patents. Why have we fal len behind so much?
Thi s i s not unrelated to massive R&D investments by China in the last decade. The continuing pol icy paralysi s
in science and technology i s vi sible across various segments of S&T.
According to research studies, just 25 per cent of the future nuclear budget for renewable energy sources
(wind, solar, biomass etc) wi l l generate almost double the energy planned in a more sustainable manner. Ninety
per cent of water in India i s consumed by agricul ture, yet we have no inclusive energywater pol icy.
R&D in higher education has been the prime victim of pol icy paralysi s.
Pol icy measures to increase research intensi ty in universi ties and nurture them to attain world-class standards
in China, South Korea, Singapore and Japan were a part of thei r respective national innovation strategies since
the 1990s. Such pol icies enabled two to six universi ties in these countries to be l i sted in the Worlds Top
100 Universi ty Rankings in recent years. India could not regi ster even one. Just four to five universi ties figure
in the l i st of 400 or 500. STIP 2013 i s si lent on strengthening research in higher education. Ninety per cent of
the National Knowledge Commi ssions recommendations remain unimplemented as much as the proposal to
create 14 innovation universi ties.
Innovation After the President of India declared 20102020 the Decade of Innovation, STIP 2013 proposed new
schemes such as the Ri sky Idea Fund and Smal l Idea Smal l Money. The government launched the India
Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF) under the Publ ic-Private Partnership (PPP) model , wi th the government chipping
in wi th just two per cent of the budget.
The pol icy paralysi s in science and technology innovation can be seen from the di smal amount of money al
located to a dozen innovation schemes under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the
Department of Scienti fic and Industrial Research (DSIR).
There i s hardly any serious pol icy perspective or thinking to create insti tutional avenues for vocational
training to infuse ski l ls to labour in the informal sector. There are about 7,500 Industrial Training Insti tutes
(ITIs) wi th the overal l intake capaci ty of 75,000. Wi th the growing demand for technicians and an expanding
informal sector, one can imagine the task ahead.
If resources l ike water are degraded and depleted, envi ronmental refugees wi l l fol low. Sana'a ci ty in Yemen
ri sks becoming the fi rst capi tal ci ty to run out of water. If Bangladesh bears the main impact of Chinas
damming of the Brahmaputra, the resul ting exodus of thi rsty refugees wi l l compound Indias securi ty chal
lenges. Internal resource confl icts are often camouflaged as civi l wars. Sudans Darfur confl ict, for example,
arose from water and grassland scarci ty.
The Uni ted Nations in 2010 recogni sed access to safe, affordable water and sani tation as a human right. Yet
the real i ty remains stark
The seriously water-stressed economies, stretching from South Korea and India to Iran and Egypt, are paying a
high price for thei r water problems. The yearly global economic losses from water shortages are conservatively
estimated at $260 bi l l ion. South Korea i s encouraging i ts corporate giants to produce water-intensive i tems
from food to steel for the home market in overseas lands. China, facing growing water pauci ty in i ts arid
north, ri sks sl ipping into the category of water-stressed states
Diet change impacts Compounding the diet-change impacts on the global water si tuation i s the increasing body
mass index (BMI) of humans in recent decades, wi th the prevalence of obesi ty doubl ing since the 1980s. Obesi
ty rates in important economies now range from 33 per cent in the U.S. and 26.9 per cent in Bri tain to 5.7 per
cent in China and 1.9 per cent in India.
Heavier ci ti zens make heavier demands on natural resources, especial ly water and energy. They also cause
much greater greenhouse-gas emi ssions through thei r bigger food and transport needs. For example, greater
car use i s common among the overweight.
i f the rest of the world had the same average BMI as the U.S., i t would be equivalent to adding nearly an extra
bi l l ion people to the global population, wi th major impl ications for the worlds water, food and energy si
tuations.
The point to note i s that a net population increase usual ly translates into greater human capi tal to create
innovations, power economic growth, and support the elderly. But a net increase in body weight only contributes
to state l iabi l i ty and greater water stress.
Looking ahead, water shortages are not only going to intensi fy and spread, but users also wi l l have to
increasingly pay more for thei r water supply.
Space research
Not only do space agencies pay f or themselves directly, they create jobs and are boosting the global
economy by US$300 billion annually through private industry
To say space research i s a waste of money i s wrong. For every US$1 put into US space agency, i ts ci ti zens get
US$10 as payback; in Japan and the European Union that amount i s more than US$3.
The thousands of inventions and innovations spun out from space research have become an integral part of our
dai ly l i fe: weather forecasting, satel l i te televi sion and communications, di saster rel ief, traffic management,
agricul tural and water management, and global posi tioning system (GPS), are but just a few.
Space i s cool. It inspi res the new generation of kids.
The Apol lo mi ssions inspi red a generation. The number of US graduates in the science, technology, engineering
and maths (STEM subj ects), from high-school through to PhD, has doubled.
Space research has opened our eyes to real ri sks we face as a species: global warming, asteroids impacts,
vulnerable ozone layer, and even warning about how our electronics would be affected by the sun.
Mars has al l of the resources requi red for a technological civi l i sation. Wi th a 24.6 hour day, ferti le soi l , a
CO 2 rich atmosphere, and an abundance of water, the introduction of flora i s a real near-term possibi l i ty.
Transformation of the atmosphere into something more hospi table may not remain science fiction.
Castle Bravo
U.S. embarked on a series of nuclear tests in which i t vapori sed several atol ls of the Marshal l Islands in the
Paci fic Ocean, in the process destroying the habi tation, l ivel ihood and cul ture of the unsuspecting Marshal lese
people.
America i s at once a demon and an ideal , a land of diversi ty and prejudice, of rapid advancement and advanced
myopia.
National AIDS Control Programme.
To reduce mother-to-chi ld transmi ssion of HIV, three southern States and Maharashtra have adopted a new drug
regimen
The new Option B Plus brings down transmi ssion levels from 30 per cent to just two per cent, the World Heal
th Organi sation says. Other advantages are the mother need not compulsori ly undergo a C-section and she can
breastfeed the baby wi thout fear of transmi tting the vi rus.
The Union government last week announced implementation of Option B Plus in India under the fourth phase of
the AIDS control programme. States other than Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tami l Nadu have
yet to launch i t because of inadequate drug stocks and lack of training of the implementation personnel .
Earl ier, HIV-posi tive mothers had to undergo C-section to avoid transmi tting the vi rus. Wi th thi s drug
regimen, they have the option of a normal del ivery. Since the infant i s also put on medication, the mother can
breastfeed i t wi thout fear,
Vitamin D deficiency
is clearly associated with diabetes, blood pressure and obesity
According to them, 75 to 80 per cent of the bodys Vi tamin D supply i s met when the skin i s exposed to sunl
ight, which seldom happens in ci ties.
weakness of bones, nerve-related di sorders
The ideal dai ly need of Vi tamin D for human body i s between 1,000 and 2,000 IU (International Uni ts) per day
Vi tamin D helps body retain calcium. It i s di rectly l inked to knee pains and osteoporosi s
Sufficient vi tamin D levels assi st the body to reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol , besides
helping in the essential repai r and maintenance activi ties in the body,
Which elements are permitted to undergo nuclear fusion? Technical ly any two l ight nuclei below i ron [in the
Periodic Table] can be used for fusion, al though some nuclei are better than most others when i t comes to
energy production.
Like in fi ssion, the energy in fusion comes from the mass defect (loss in mass) due to the increase in
binding energy [that holds subatomic particles inside an atom together]. The greater the change in binding
energy (from lower binding energy to higher binding energy), more the mass lost, resul ts in more output
energy.
steps of a nuclear fusion reaction?
extremely high temperatures (100 mi l l ion degrees Celsius) are requi red to overcome the electrostatic force of
repulsion that exi sts between the l ight nuclei , popularly known as the Coulomb's barrier [due to the protons'
posi tive charges].
Fusion reactions are intrinsical ly safe as the reaction terminates i tsel f in the event of the fai lure of any sub-
system.
India is one of the seven countries committed to the ITER program in France. Could you tell us what its status is?
ITER proj ect has gradual ly moved into construction phase. Therefore, Fusion i s no more a dream but a real i ty.
Construction at si te i s progressing rapidly. Various cri tical components are being fabricated in the seven
parties through thei r domestic agencies. The fi rst plasma i s expected in the end of 2020 as per the 2010 basel
ine. Indian industries are also involved in producing various subsystems. R&D and prototyping of many of the
high tech components are progressing as per
plan. India i s commi tted to del iver i ts share in time

l i thium-ion (Li ) batteries
thermal runaway. In a Li battery, during every charge-di scharge cycle, there i s a smal l amount of charge
lost, l ike an electron that evades the desi red electrochemical reaction. The amount of loss i s a geometric
progression. It starts off very low, but bui lds up fast over thousands of cycles
Because that charge goes away into another reaction, i t generates heat. So wi th each cycle, the battery
becomes hotter and performs worse. As the temperature increases, any flammable components start burning.
One such i s the electrolyte, the substance responsible for transporting electric charges inside the battery.
Alkyl carbonates are the conventional electrolytes in Li batteries, and they are highly flammable
The National I gnition Facility, USA, has breached an important milestone on the road to achieving
sustainable nuclear f usion.
Frank Wi lczeks time crystals
In 2014, the only Earth-bound candidate
in a posi tion to lay claim to thi s honour i s nuclear fusion.
Atoms of hydrogen are heavi ly compressed inside a very smal l capsule unti l they fuse together to form
atoms of hel ium, releasing large amounts of energy. Thi s i s how a nuclear fusion reaction i s triggered.
The contents being made to implode are a mixture of deuterium (D) and tri tium (T) both i sotopes of
hydrogen. They are coated as a fine patina on the insides of the capsule, which i s made of gold. When laser
pulses strike the gold, i t emi ts X-rays that then driven the i sotopes inward at such energy and speed (almost
1.12 mi l l ion km/hr) that they are forced to fuse.
The other fusion projects
The biggest operational one wi th more funding and international participation cal led the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, i s based out of Cadarache, France. Because of i ts prodigious scale and
relatively lesser research cohesion among participants, i ts reactor i s expected to be bui l t only by 2019. Once
operational , i ts magnetic containment (tokamak) reactor wi l l make i t the largest experimental fusion faci l i
ty of i ts kind in the world. The European Union i s forking out 45 per cent of i ts $21.87-bi l l ion cost whi le six
other countries, including India and the USA, are footing 9 per cent each.
Gender Sensi ti sation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibi tion
and Redressal ) Regulations, 2013 may make a complaint in wri ting of sexual harassment at Supreme Court of
India precincts to the GSICC through i ts Member Secretary
Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam had formed GSICC which i s headed by the Supreme Courts woman judge,
Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai , and has six other women members.
There are two members who are outsiders and not connected wi th the apex court in any manner. The panel i s
in consonance wi th the guidel ines laid down by the apex court in i ts judgement in Vi shaka case for deal ing
wi th complaints of sexual harassment at workplace. Under the guidel ines, i t i s requi red that the panel has a
majori ty of women members and two members of civi l society nominated by the Chief Justice of India.
Milan
The ninth and the largest edi tion of the Mi lan series of naval engagements, which saw the participation of 16
foreign navies,
The exerci se, said a naval spokesperson, gave a gl impse of the level of engagement the Indian Navy had wi th
friendly navies and helped reval idate communication procedures and standard operating procedures for
interoperabi l i ty among ships of participating navies.
Mau l an a Az ad
made ex t en si v e observ at i on s on t h e edu cat i on sy st em an d sy l l abi i n t h e con t ex t of h i s
own edu cat i on i n t h e l at e 19t h Cen t u ry .
the idea of an undivided India where Musl ims could l ive happi ly wi th the Hindu majori ty. Musl ims made India
thei r home centuries ago, and according to Azad, they had a huge stake in the idea of India. However, Azads
idea received a jol t in 1947 as the violence of parti tion ravaged India. Azad went on to l ive for another ten
years, helping in heal ing and rebui lding the scarred and brui sed new India.
hi s Islam remained qual i tatively di fferent. And i t i s on thi s count that Azad stands di stinctly apart from
everyone else. He was himsel f conscious of the fact that not many people went along wi th him when he said:
In rel igion, in l i terature, in pol i tics, on the paths of phi losophy, wherever I went, I went alone.
He refused to accept the canoni sed Islam; instead he cal led for independent reasoning or ij tihad to interpret
the fai th. He also warned against reading more than what was intended to be conveyed in the Quran. Thi s
sounds so prophetic in the contemporary context where Islam i s invoked by many to speak what they want
the Book
to speak
Reforms in education
Islamic madrasas
was an outdated system of education which had become barren from every point of view teaching methods
defective, worthless subj ects of study, deficient in the selection of books, defective way of reading and cal l
igraphy. If thi s i s what Azad fel t about the Islamic madrasas more than hundred years ago, we can wel l
imagine the urgency and necessi ty of radical reform in the contemporary system of education.
Just imagine i f I had stopped there and had not gone in search of new knowledge wi th a new curiosi ty, what
would be my pl ight! Obviously my early education would not have given me anything except a stagnant mind, a
total stranger to real i ty.
Azads Islam was much more accommodative than the contemporary rigid and combative Islam.
That i s why, at times l ike these, when rel igious faul t l ines threaten the very idea of India, we must pay heed
to Azads inheri tance.
Leprosy
Leprosy affects close to a quarter mi l l ion people (2,32,857 new cases in 2012) across the world. About 58 per
cent of them are in India, where transmi ssion continues in spi te of i t being declared as el iminated as a publ ic
heal th problem in 2005. India has the worlds highest burden of the di sease: 1,34,752 new cases were detected
in 2012-13. On an average, every hour more than 15 new cases are diagnosed here; that adds up to some
1,34,000 cases a year
The next high-burden country i s Brazi l , wi th 33,303 cases. Interestingly, China in spi te of a higher population as
compared to India, has reported only about 1,000 cases a year since 2005. So i s the case wi th most African
countries
It i s a di sease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, and i s not heredi tary. It has an incubation period
running up to 10 years before symptoms appear. The mode of transmi ssion i s sti l l not conclusively proven, al
though person-to-person spread via nasal droplets i s bel ieved to be the main route. A majori ty of people
contract i t through close long-term contact wi th an untreated patient. It i s not transmi tted by mere touch.
Leprosy i s not very contagious, and approximately 95 per cent of the people have natural immuni ty. The earl
iest sign
i s a patch on the skin wi th loss of sensation. Left untreated, i t can progress to cause di sabi l i ties. Irrespective
of age, gender and social class, anyone could be hi t.
Mul ti -Drug Therapy (MDT)
Gandhi s most important pol i tical treati se, Hind Swaraj , was wri tten during November 13-22, 1909, onboard
ship SS Kildonan Castle sai l ing across Atlantic from London to South Africa.
the content of Hind Swaraj are radical ly non-European and non-modern celebrating Indias age-old tradi tions
and way of l i fe. Phoenix and Tolstoy Farm are hi s crucibles for construction thi s unique Indianness by
producing right Indians.
Archaeologi sts have di scovered a 4600-year-old mysterious step pyramid in Egypt, which was bui l t at least a few
decades before the Great Pyramid of Gi za
Working near the ancient settlement of Edfu, in southern Egypt, archaeologi sts unearthed the step pyramid
INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE?
Every employer has to form an ICC i f they have more than 10 employees.
less than 10 workers, there has to be a Local Complaints Commi ttee (LCC) at the di strict level . For example, a
domestic help can approach the LCC for complaints against her employer.
Every employer has to create a workplace free from sexual harassment, fai l ing which the employer wi l l be l
iable to a fine of Rs. 50,000. The fine wi l l double for subsequent violations, and the employer may end up
losing the l icense or regi stration of the fi rm. A sexual harassment complaint has to be fi led wi thin three
months of the incident. The ICC/LCC can take steps to resolve the matter internal ly, only i f the aggrieved
woman wants to. Otherwi se, an inqui ry i s to be ini tiated.
If the complaint di scloses a criminal offence, the commi ttee has to forward i t to the pol ice wi thin seven
days. The commi ttee has to complete the inqui ry in 90 days. Wi thin a further 10 days, the report has to be
sent to the employer or Di strict Officer. And, wi thin 60 days, the employer has to take action.
The act prohibi ts di sclosure of identi ty and address of the aggrieved woman, the respondent and the wi tness.
Anyone who di scloses the same wi l l be fined Rs. 5,000
If the organi sation does not have i ts own rules of puni shment, the complaint commi ttee can recommend
appropriate measures, ranging from a wri tten apology from the perpetrator right up to termination of hi s
service.
The Sexual Harassment of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act, 2013 No woman shal l
be subj ected to sexual harassment at any workplace in India The law i s for every woman, i rrespective of age
or employment
female mosqui toes suck the blood from humans and animals since they requi re the blood meal for protein to
make thei r eggs. They are mostly active during the dawn and dusk. However, species l ike Aedes are also active
during the day time. Envi ronmental factors including heat and moi sture, and ol factory cues including carbon
dioxide attract mosqui toes towards thei r hosts.
RNA i n t erf eren ce
u si n g a g en e- si l en ci n g t ech n ol og y
Medaram
Most revered festival of tribal people
Andhra Pradesh
Women swathed in turmeric, sporting huge bindi and leaving thei r hai r unplai ted, carried lumps of jaggerry
dancing to the tunes of percussion instruments. Some carried pots beauti ful ly decorated wi th garlands of
marigolds, containing food cooked wi th harvested rice. Some of them holding neem leaves, sporting huge
garlands and adeptly balancing the pots on thei r head went into a trance
Legend has i t that the tribal lord Medaraju rul ing thi s part of the area fai led to pay royal ty to the
Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra-II of eighth century owing to continued drought si tuation. Considering the non
payment of royal ty as defiance, the imperial army invaded the area. Fighting the mighty Kakatiya army,
Medaraju and hi s daughter Sammakka and her daughter Sarakka sacri ficed thei r l ives.

declared protected monument
Biotechnology Regulatory Authori ty Bi l l in Parl iament.
early in 2004 had recommended a Parl iament approved regulatory agency as wel l as the necessary
infrastructure for conducting al l India coordinated trials wi th genetical ly modi fied organi sms (GMO).
The necessary precautions, such as the needed i solation as wel l as demonstration of the importance of refuge,
should be undertaken under thi s proj ect. As 10 years have passed since thi s recommendation was made, we
should lose no further time in implementing i t. There must be a trial and safety assessment system which
answers the concerns of anti -GMO non-governmental organi sations. The present moratorium on field trials wi th
recombinant DNA material i s a handicap as wel l as a di sincentive in harnessing the benefi ts of the wide array
of transgenic material avai lable wi th various research organi sations and universi ties. Many of the GMOs in the
breeders assembly l ine have excel lent qual i ties for resi stance to biotic and abiotic stresses as wel l as
improved nutri tion. Much of thi s work has been done in insti tutions commi tted to publ ic good. Also, much of
the work has been done by young scienti sts, di scouraged now because of the lack of a clear official signal on
the future of genetic modi fication. As agricul ture i s a state subj ect, State agricul tural universi ties and State
departments of agricul ture should be involved in the design and implementation of field trials. It takes nearly
10 years time for a new variety to be ready for recommendation to farmers. Therefore, speed i s of the
essence in organi sing field trials and getting rel iable data on ri sks and benefi ts.
Public-private partnership
Nutri tion securi ty involves paying attention to balanced diets (both macro and micronutrients), clean drinking
water, sani tation, primary heal th care and nutri tion l i teracy. Whi le the Food Securi ty Act 2013 wi l l ensure
that al l needing social protection against hunger wi l l be able to get the needed calories, other nutri tional
problems such as protein hunger and hidden hunger caused by the deficiency of micro-nutrients wi l l need simi
lar attention.
Bioforti fication also needs our attention. Natural ly bioforti fied crops l ike yel low flesh sweet potato, drumstick,
amla, breadfrui t, etc should be populari sed in nutri tion gardens and agroforestry systems. Bioforti fied crops
developed by selection and breeding l ike i ron rich baj ra should also become avai lable.
Promoting research
Biodiversi ty i s the feedstock of the biotechnology industry. Therefore, the conservation and sustainable and
equi table use of biodiversi ty should be a major concern of biotechnologi sts. Kri shi Vigyan Kendras should have
the capabi l i ty of offering scienti fical ly credible advice to farmers on GMOs.
Nalanda Universi ty Act of 2010,
The hurdle we have to cross i s *getting+ the Finance Mini stry to agree that i ts not a Central universi ty. That
i ts an international universi ty catering for international facul ty and international students. That ground has
been vi si ted again and again, including the Nalanda Universi ty Act of 2010, Mr. Sen, who i s the chancel lor of
the universi ty
The Union Finance Mini stry has to agree upon the international character of Nalanda Universi ty in Bihar.
Shaping i t as a Central universi ty wi l l mean mi sleading the nine countries that have pledged support to i t
At the East Asia Summi t last year, India garnered support for the universi ty, which i s an attempt to
construct or reconstruct the Asiatic academic heri tage. Nine countries, including China, Thai land and Singapore,
have so far given a financial commi tment.
Pl iocene epoch,
geological time that stretched from 5.3 to 2.6 mi l l ion years ago.
Earths atmosphere apparently contained high concentrations of carbon dioxide. Our best estimates suggest
concentrations of about 300-400 parts per mi l l ion (ppm) much higher than concentrations of 100 years ago,
but the same or lower than today after centuries of industrial i sation and fossi l fuel burning
Plei stocene,
especial ly the past 800,000 years of Earth hi story, a period for which we have detai led temperature
reconstructions and carbon dioxide records derived from bubbles of gas trapped in ancient ice cores.
Recent research indicates that these various carbon dioxide estimates of Pl iocene carbon dioxide levels are
converging, giving added confidence from which to derive estimates of cl imate sensi tivi ty. In particular, i t
seems an increase of carbon dioxide from about 280ppm (equivalent to that before the industrial revolution) to
about 400ppm in the Pl iocene resul ted in an Earth warmer by 2C.
The Bi l l expands the defini tion of di sabi l i ties to include 19 physical and mental di sabi l i ties, and provides
for a 5 per cent reservation in government jobs and reservation in higher educational insti tutions
Rights of the Persons wi th Di sabi l i ties Bi l l , 2014
The 16-odd amendments, which were included after di sabi l i ty rights activi sts
the new Bi l l
would be passed in the winter session
Monarch butterfly.
The Monarchs spectacular annual migration to spend the winter in Mexico i s l i ttle understood. Experts blame
the drop in numbers on several things- extreme weather trends, a dramatic reduction of the butterfl ies habi
tat in Mexico from i l legal logging, and genetical ly modi fied crops in the U.S. di splacing mi lkweed, which the
species feeds on.
Mexico i s addressing the logging problem and cal ls on the U.S. and Canada to deal wi th the impact of thei r
agricul tural pol icies.
the black-and-orange butterfl ies now cover only 1.65 acres (0.67 hectares) in the pine and fi r forests west of
Mexico Ci ty
The Waterman of India, Raj endra Singh,
River protection Decentral i sation i s key to protection of rivers. Water bodies should be decentral i sed and
handed over to the local residents,
Back home in Rajasthan, Mr. Singh has to hi s credi t of reviving seven dead rivers
Aspartame
most commonly used substitute f or sugar
Artificial sweetener not for children, pregnant women
But some countries have banned i t completely as the sweetener, which i s 200 times sweeter than sugar, has
repeatedly got entangled in medical controversies.
Aspertame cannot be added to hot substances or whi le cooking as the chemical compound breaks down. We
recommend sucralose, a natural product, for cooking purposes,
diabetologi sts prefer sucralose, which they say i s a natural product
Noki a ph on e
Goodbye to an iconic brand
Green Oscars
annual Ashden Awards
IT giant Infosys leads five Indian clean energy proj ects that have been shortl i sted for the annual Ashden
Awards
nominated in the Ashden Award for Sustainable Bui ldings category for the Bangalore-based companys cutting
edge design of new bui ldings which helps keep offices cooler and maximi ses natural l ight.
The other final i sts include two proj ects from Maharashtra Sakhi Unique Rural Enterpri se (SURE) and
Greenway Grameen which have been nominated in the Ashden Clean Energy for Women and Gi rls Award
category
The Rajasthan Horticul ture Development Society has been shortl i sted for the USAID Ashden Energy for Agricul
ture Award for i ts solar-powered water pump proj ect and Mera Gao Power from Uttar Pradesh has been
nominated in the Ci ti Ashden Award for Innovation in Finance category for pioneering the use of unsubsidi
sed commercial micro grids, which have so far connected more than 20,000 fami l ies to clean, affordable
power.
Winners wi l l receive up to 40,000 pounds and global recogni tion as one of 2014s green energy leaders
41st Chief Justice of India
Justice Lodha
Justice Raj endra Mal Lodha, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court
Our fundamental rights are the conscience of the Consti tution. Thi s right, and every other legal right, stems
from our abi l i ty to retain the integri ty and the structure of our Consti tution.
There i s a hard learnt, intel lectual hi story to thi s legal inheri tance. The principal of the basic structure of
the Consti tution i s enshrined in Article 79 (3) of the Basic Law for the Federal Republ ic of Germany. The
German consti tution was drafted between 1948-49, in the immediate shadow of i ts Nazi past. During the
drafting sessions, the Weimar consti tution came under immense scrutiny by German juri sts and scholars, who
investigated the document at great length. The Consti tutions broad powers to suspend civi l l iberties, coupled
wi th an insufficient system of checks and balances, presented a structural opportuni ty for Adol f Hi tler to sei ze
power and preside upon an authori tarian democracy.
Separation of powers i s indi spensable because under the Consti tution, power divides i tsel f so that reason can
rule.
In January thi s year
the Supreme court
overstepped i ts consti tutional power and duty and exerci sed the sovereign power of clemency, which i t never
possessed. The three-judge Bench, in i ts unprecedented authori ty, commuted a sentence of death to l i fe for
15 persons on the singular ground of delay.
The Supreme Court has the appel late power to reduce a death penal ty in regular appeals. However, i t has
never possessed such powers to exerci se the remi ssion or commutation whi le exerci sing the judicial review
of clemency power.
However, the protection of our fundamental rights i tsel f never empowered the Supreme Court to ei ther legi
slate or to execute. The deci sion in the Shatrughan Chauhan case has been widely and wrongly heralded as a deci
sion in support of human rights, whi le squarely forgetting the Judiciarys infringement of the cardinal principles
of separation of powers. The Judiciary cannot revol t against the Consti tution, but only on i ts behal f.
The judgment erroneously declared the power of the State government under the Criminal Procedure Code, to
exerci se remi ssion of l i fe sentence to no sentence, and enabled the release of the convicts.
In a country governed by a wri tten Consti tution, the democratic right flows from the attribute of consti tutional
sovereignty. We cannot claim our fundamental right or any other legal rights, unless we retain the structure of
our sovereignty.
Our Consti tution i s our act of revolution and the Judiciary i ts protector. Today when the same Judiciary
oversteps i ts l imi ts, i t i s indi spensable that the deci sion i s corrected, reviewed and reversed by a larger
Bench.

Middle East respi ratory syndrome coronavi rus (MERS-CoV)
a new human vi rus
The vast majori ty of al l MERS-CoV cases have occurred in the Middle East, wi th Saudi Arabia accounting for a
large proportion of them. The Uni ted Arab Emi rates, Jordan, Kuwai t, Oman, Qatar and Yemen have also reported
cases. France, Germany, Italy, the Uni ted Kingdom, Tuni sia and Greece
The vast majori ty of al l MERS-CoV cases have occurred in the Middle East, wi th Saudi Arabia accounting for a
large proportion of them. The Uni ted Arab Emi rates, Jordan, Kuwai t, Oman, Qatar and Yemen have also reported
cases. France, Germany, Italy, the Uni ted Kingdom, Tuni sia and Greece
and a few vegetables
Zamorin
the heredi tary royal ti tle, once ruled the Malabar region of Kerala.
Zamorin of Kozhikode, Sri Manavikraman Raja, passed away
Sebi on Monday restricted foreign investors from buying government securi ties having maturi ty of less than
one year, a move that aims at encouraging inflows of long-term overseas fund.
FIIs (Foreign Insti tutional Investors)/QFIs (Qual i fied Foreign Investors) shal l henceforth be permi tted to
invest only in dated government securi ties having residual maturi ty of one year or above,
Doha Bank, the second largest Qatari lender, wi l l be opening i ts fi rst branch in Mumbai
The World Bank on Wednesday proj ected an economic growth rate of 5.7 per cent in fi scal year 2014 for India
Sun Pharmaceuticals faces in i ts acqui si tion of Ranbaxy Laboratories. In what i s probably the biggest such al l -
stock merger deal between two Indian companies,
The $4 bi l l ion deal , subj ect to approvals, also includes an $800 mi l l ion loan in Ranbaxys books. Analysts have
been quick to point out that thi s i s a bargain acqui si tion by Sun, given that Ranbaxys valuation i s hal f of what
i t was when Japanese major Dai ichi Sankyo acqui red the company from the original promoters in 2008. But
there i s a reason why Ranbaxy came so cheap, and that i s i ts run-ins wi th regulatory authori ties in i ts
largest overseas market, the U.S.
None of The Above (NOTA) option should have weightage. Re-election must be held i f the number of NOTA
votes i s more than the votes garnered by the winning candidate in a particular consti tuency,
To Kil l a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Pul i tzer Pri ze-winning classic.
Racial ly there are the Tibeto-Burman groups such as the Nagas, Mi zos, Bodos, Garos, etc, and the Mon-Khmer
group (Khasi s and Jaintias).
people of the eight north-eastern States are themselves ethnical ly divided. There are major tribes and minor
tribes. The so-cal led major tribes such as the Nyi shi s of Arunachal Pradesh or the Ao and Angami tribes of
Nagaland lord i t over the smal ler tribes who l ive on the peripheries of development because even
development i s skewed and happens along these ethno-centric faul t-l ines.
Meghalaya has three major tribes the Khasi , Jaintia and Garo. The fi rst two are of MonKhmer origin and the
last a part of the Tibeto-Burman race. The Garos have always fel t neglected and have now demanded a separate
State.
the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM). The acronym actual ly means an arrow and the
expanded term means the awakening of the chi ldren of the seven huts. The Khasi s bel ieve they used to
move freely between heaven and earth over a divine umbi l ical cord, unti l one day sin entered the world and
the cord was snapped. Of the 16 fami l ies that were original ly a part of the whole, seven fami l ies remained
on earth and nine fami l ies continued to l ive in the sinless world. The word Hynniewtrep i s a much-used
jargon by pol i ticians and al l sorts of sel f-appointed guardians of Khasi society. Its a word that igni tes j ingoi
stic feel ings and motivates young people to commi t excesses against others who dont belong to the
Hynniewtrep fold.
The KSU stance against non-tribals had to have an al ibi . The al ibi i s simpl i stic. Raucous publ ic meetings where
the non-tribals are accused of taking away al l our jobs, our land and our women became the order of the
day. A nontribal seen wi th a Khasi woman i s taboo. Such a person would be beaten up immediately. At one
point the KSU warned Khasi women not to wear the salwar kameez. Those who wore them were stopped and
thei r clothes torn. Thi s was in the early 1990s.
By the mid-1990s, some radical members of the KSU left to form a mi l i tant organi sation cal led the
Hynniewtrep National Liberation Counci l (HNLC). For over a decade the HNLC intimidated, extorted and el
iminated non-tribal business persons in broad dayl ight. The only civi l society group that stood up and
condemned the mi l i tant violence and extortion upfront was Shi l long We Care (SWC). Shi l long was then
very tense and fear and violence was palpable. Members of SWC engaged wi th the pol ice and pushed them to
create an anonymous helpl ine so that people who were threatened and extorted could cal l for help.
Life without the rights But the non-tribals continue to remain insecure and vulnerable. In the latest round of
violence when several pressure groups demanded the imposi tion of an Inner Line Permi t (ILP) to enter
Meghalaya, along the l ines of Nagaland, Mi zoram and Arunachal Pradesh, at least two non-tribals were burnt to
death.
fixed tenure for chief justices of high courts and the CJI
The fixed tenure i s bound to affect the next member. If there i s a fixed tenure of CJI then the legi timate
expectations of other judges would be taken away. Average tenure of Supreme Court judges i s less than four
years then how do you expect fixed tenure of two years for the CJI,
Bar has the di scipl inary control over the members. It i s for the bar to take action and closely fol low the
conduct of the members. What can a judge do i f some lawyers do not adhere to ethics. Rules are there and bar
has to take action
If my son or daughter does not fol low the code of conduct then Bar has to take action. Unfortunately, the role
which the Bar i s requi red to play i s not being played by the Bar and unfortunately we are blamed,
Kadar t ri bal
in Vazhachal hamlet inside Athi rappi l ly forests
Athi rappi l ly proj ect
According to social anthropologi sts, the Chalakudy river basin, which includes the famous Athi rappi l ly
waterfal ls area as wel l , i s the only home to the Kadars.
India, U.S.
India and the Uni ted States have decided to enhance cooperation for automatic exchange of information on tax
evasion and detection of financial crimes, shoring up efforts to crackdown on blackmoney cases involving
economic channels of the two countries.
India, since 2009, has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) treaty wi th the US which i s also under
revi sion for betterment of protocols
for negotiating an InterGovernmental Agreement (IGA)
European Union has reached a deal on a major step toward creating a banking union that i s meant to stabi l i
ze the financial system and make i t easier to deal wi th troubled banks
INS 'Sumedha', an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) indigenously designed and bui l t by Goa Shipyard Ltd. (GSL),
Goabased defence shipyard for the Indian Navy, wi l l be formal ly commi ssioned
The ship on commi ssioning wi l l join Eastern Naval Command at Vi zag
GSL i s the only yard which has del ivered four classes of OPVs to both Navy and Coast Guard. INS 'Sumedha' i s
the thi rd of the new 105 meter class of NOPV and the largest ship constructed by GSL for the Indian Navy.
European Union member states, on Wednesday, decided to ban the import of five types of frui ts and
vegetables from India, after several batches were found to be contaminated by pests such as frui t fl ies
Pests that are not native to Europe were found in 207 frui t and vegetable consignments from the
subcontinent last year
they could pose a threat to EU agricul ture and production.
The prohibi tion, which goes into effect in May, covers mangoes, aubergines, the taro plant and two types of
gourd. These represent less than 5 per cent of the blocs fresh frui t and vegetable imports from India
According to Section 70 of the Representation of Peoples Act, If a person i s elected to more than one seat in
ei ther House of Parl iament or in the House or ei ther House of the Legi slature of a State, then, unless wi thin
the prescribed time he resigns al l but one of the seats [by wri ting under hi s hand addressed to the Speaker or
Chai rman, as the case may be, or to such other authori ty or officer as may be prescribed], al l the seats shal l
become vacant.
According to Section 70 of the Representation of Peoples Act, If a person i s elected to more than one seat in
ei ther House of Parl iament or in the House or ei ther House of the Legi slature of a State, then, unless wi thin
the prescribed time he resigns al l but one of the seats [by wri ting under hi s hand addressed to the Speaker or
Chai rman, as the case may be, or to such other authori ty or officer as may be prescribed], al l the seats shal l
become vacant.
nuclear fuel complex
country's second nuclear fuel complex wi l l come up at Kota in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs. 2400 crore.
Fol lowing the approval of the Cabinet Commi ttee on Securi ty (CCS)
The complex, located next to Rawabhata nuclear plant, wi l l have the faci l i ty to reprocess atomic fuel . The
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has developed the new arrangement, keeping in mind the growing demand
of fuel requi red for the nuclear plants. The new complex wi l l serve atomic plants which are proposed to be
developed in Gorakhpur, Haryana, Jai tapur in Maharashtra and Mi thi Vi rdhi in Gujarat.
India's fi rst nuclear fuel complex developed at Hyderabad,
Also, under the 12th Plan, India aims to take i ts nuclear energy power capaci ty to more than 17,300 MW.
At present, the nuclear power generation capaci ty in India i s over 5,500 MW
The Reserve Banks guidel ines related to classi fication of bank loans to NBFC-MFIs under priori ty sector are unl
ikely to have a major impact on micro-finance insti tutions profi tabi l i ty,
The interest rate cap wi l l be the average of the base rates of the five largest commercial banks by assets mul
tipl ied by 2.75, or the cost of funds plus margin cap, whichever i s lower. The average of the base rates wi l l be
advi sed by the RBI later.
The interest margin for large MFIs (over Rs 1 bi l l ion portfol io outstanding) has been capped at 10 per cent as
against 12 per cent for 2013-14.
World Tuberculosi s Day
on March 24 to commemorate the di scovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosi s (the agent which causes TB) by
Robert Koch in 1882.
Bara Imam
Bara Imam Bara
Imam Bara, in i ts enti rety, i s not a rel igious si te but a cul tural heri tage not belonging to any particular
communi ty. Hence, a vi si t to monuments and si tes protected by the Archaeological Survey of India could not
be made private wi th the autocratic rules of rel igious groups.
Pointing out that Imam Bara has been vi si ted by people of al l fai ths, they said head cover should not be
imposed *on women+ but *should+ be a matter of choice.
Shia cleric, has however, defended the rule, saying the custom of women entering Imam Bara wi th thei r heads
covered i s old and wel l -known. It has just been formal i sed now.
Independent External Moni tors (IEMs)
to ensure transparency in the di sinvestment process, Finance Mini stry has decided to appoint reti red
bureaucrats and prominent private sector executives as independent moni tors to oversee working of merchant
bankers and others associated wi th PSU stake sale.
The Mini stry wi l l hi re Independent External Moni tors (IEMs) in the Department of Di sinvestment (DoD) in
consul tation wi th Central Vigi lance Commi ssion,
solar-powered toilet
Worlds first solar-powered toilet set for India launch
A revolutionary waterless toi let powered by the sun, developed to help some of the 2.5 bi l l ion people lacking
safe and sustainable sani tation around the world
sel f-contained, waterless toi let wi th i ts innovative technology converts human waste to biochar, a highly
porous charcoal . It aims to provide an eco-friendly solution to help some of the 2.5 bi l l ion people around the
world lacking safe sani tation.
The toi let has the capabi l i ty of heating human waste to a high enough temperature to steri l i se i t and
create biochar, a highly porous charcoal ,
The biochar has a one-two punch in that i t can be used to both increase crop yields and sequester carbon
dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Whi le the current toi let has been created to serve four to six people a day, a larger faci l i ty that could
serve several households simul taneously i s under design.
Ukraine i s Indias second largest trading partner in the Commonweal th of Independent States after Russia.
Exports of pharmaceuticals from India were $154 mi l l ion in 2012-13, which i s about 30 per cent of Indias total
exports to Ukraine.
The troubled region of Crimea has tradi tional ly accounted for just about 5-6 per cent of the sales of the
leading Indian pharmaceutical companies, and i s not a large market. However, there have been reasons for
concern over a l ikely impact on the pharmaceutical companies, largely due to a recent devaluation of the local
currency (Hryvnia) against the dol lar,
Central Electrici ty Regulatory Commi ssion (CERC), which regulates al l central generation and transmi ssion uti l
i ties and proj ects that sel l electrici ty in more than one State, show that i t i s possible for a regulator to be
practical and pragmatic whi le simul taneously protecting the interests of the consumer.
the regulator granted permi ssion recently to Tata Power to charge a tari ff of Rs.2.78 a uni t, marking an
increase of 52 pai se from the original ly contracted price. The regulator could have argued that the company
should have anticipated such exigencies whi le bidding for the UMPP and on those grounds said no to higher tari
ffs.
The RBI said the wi thdrawal i s in conformi ty wi th the standard international practice of not having mul tiple
series of notes in ci rculation at the same time.
The apex bank said i t wi l l moni tor and review the wi thdrawal and exchange process so that the publ ic i s
not inconvenienced in any manner.
Post-2005 notes have added securi ty features and help in curbing the menace of fake currency. At present,
currency notes are i ssued in denominations of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
Rules framed under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, and noted that the Search Commi ttees recommendations
were not binding on the Selection Commi ttee, headed by the Prime Mini ster. Such controversies need not imply
that the statutory framework for the Lokpal i s substantively flawed; but when the finer points in the process
that emerge after rules are framed appear loaded in favour of the rul ing di spensation, the process i tsel f
becomes suspect.
the government equipped i tsel f wi th some potential fi l ters whi le framing the rules. The process involves a
Selection Commi ttee that wi l l appoint a Search Commi ttee. Going by the rules, the search panel wi l l scrutini
se only appl ications forwarded to i t by the Department of Personnel and Training. The rule ci rcumscribes the
Search Commi ttees role to choosing names out of a l i st submi tted by the government and blocks any
independent nomination from the communi ty at large. Further, the panel of names recommended by i t need
not be accepted by the Selection Commi ttee, which i s free to consider names from outside the panel too.
Empowering the apex commi ttee wi th the freedom to go beyond the recommendations may not be inherently
wrong. However, the potential for mi schief in confining the fi rst stage to a government l i st and conferring
wide di scretion on the selection panel in the second stage may ul timately resul t in some deserving
candidates being ignored or, worse, someone deemed inconvenient being del iberately di sregarded.
the consti tutional val idi ty and appl icabi l i ty of the power to pardon, reprieve, remi t, suspend or commute
sentences under Sections 432, 433 and 435 and the l imi tation of Section 433A of the Cr.PC.
They argued that since Article 72 gave the power of clemency to the President and Article 161 to the Governor,
the power of remi ssion vested wi th the State governments would override the Consti tutions mandate.
Time-bound trials for legislators
By fixing a deadl ine of one year from the date of framing of charges for the completion of trial involving
members of Parl iament and Legi slative Assembl ies, the Supreme Court has once again intervened effectively to
give some credibi l i ty to the idea of cleansing the pol i ty of criminal i sation. Last year, i t gave a jol t to the
pol i tical class by striking down a provi sion that protected si tting legi slators from immediate di squal i fication
on conviction. It has now sought to ensure that repeated adjournments and di latory tactics do not indefini tely
protect lawmakers from conviction and di squal i fication. The interim order on a peti tion by a voluntary
organi sation making the framing of charges as the point at which the clock begins to tick i s based on a Law
Commi ssion recommendation that the fi l ing of charge sheet could not be the appropriate stage for di squal i
fication of candidates from contesting. The Court has asked trial courts to wrap up trials involving legi slators wi
thin a year; and i f they are unable to do so, they need to explain the delay to the Chief Justice of the High
Court.
permi tted field trials of GM food crops on the ground that there i s no court injunction in force, but a
transparent regulatory mechani sm that i s nei ther bl indly obstructioni st nor unduly permi ssive and which does
not needlessly delay deci sions needs to be put in place. The Biotechnology Regulatory Authori ty of India Bi l l ,
2013 wi l l lapse wi th the di ssolution of the Lok Sabha
Since these modi fied plant species are of relatively recent origin, data on biosafety are sti l l not accepted as
conclusive or comprehensive. The question of thei r superiori ty over hybrids i s also a matter of debate. From the
farmers perspective, there i s fear of commercial monopol ies in agricul ture wherever GM crops are l inked
to intel lectual property rights or commercial contracts, restrictions on use and the prospect of l i tigation come
into play.
field trials were necessary to generate biosafety data,
The Central Pol lution Control Board has l i sted more than 70 ci ties that have violated ambient ai r qual i ty
standards. Places such as Delhi and Ludhiana have unacceptable levels of PM 198 and 259 micrograms per
cubic metre respectively.
equal ly cri tical i s the need to increase the use of publ ic transport.
The Envi ronment Pol lution (Prevention and Control ) Authori ty for the Delhi region, in a recent report, stated
that al l gains made by converting buses and three-wheelers to Compressed Natural Gas have been lost to a
rapid increase in the number of private vehicles.
stem cel l research
revi sed set of guidel ines on stem cel l research was recently released by the Indian Counci l of Medical
Research and the Department of Biotechnology,
The guidel ines make i t abundantly clear that any use of stem cel ls in patients except to treat various
haematological , immunological and metabol ic di sorders using haematopoietic stem cel ls should, by defaul t, be
considered as cl inical trials.
The exemption i s on the grounds that the use of haematopoietic stem cel ls to treat the said di sorders has
been establ i shed as a standard of medical care. Of course, the use of bone marrow (containing
haematopoietic stem cel ls) to treat di seases l ike leukaemia has been in vogue in India since the 1960s.
overlooked in the new guidel ines i s that treating damaged corneas by l imbal transplantation for l imbal
stem cel l deficiency should also be considered as an establ i shed method of care; l imbal stem cel ls are
transplanted from the heal thy eye to the damaged eye of the same patient to treat an affected cornea.
Khushwant Singh
Kasauli remembers its ladies man
Lord Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram
classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi , Koodiyattam and Mohiniattam.
Param, a dance bal let and Saptha Thandavam.
mari time heri tage museum
State governments move to set up a mari time heri tage museum at Mamal lapuram
According to the sources, the proposed museum wi l l showcase various aspects of the mari time hi story of the
State from the Sangam era ti l l the end of the 20th century AD. It would also have sub-sections for each type
of technology such as papyrus ships, palmyrah ships, steam ships, wooden ships, steel and diesel ships, buoys
communications, l ight houses and Pl imsol l Line for steel ships.
excavation at the Purana Qui la si te
Archaeological Survey of India
12t h Cen t u ry Vi sh n u i dol
di scovered a terracotta miniature bul l . Thi s bul l i s of the Gupta period,
Pottery of the Gupta and Kushan period, semi -precious stones, ear-stud made of terracotta, bowls, miniature
pots and sprinklers were also di scovered.
India was looking for an undersea route to source gas from Iran, bypassing Paki stan in the process, rel iable
sources here maintained that the India-Paki stan-Iran (IPI) Peace Pipel ine sti l l remained on the drawing
board and was the most viable option.
And, the sources suggested that the future of the IPI pipel ine was entwined wi th the Chah-bahar port as Iran
was keen to ensure that thi s town and the surrounding region of Si stan-Baluchi stan Province also gained from
the avai labi l i ty of gas. The benefi ts wi l l cross the border as development of industry due to avai labi l i ty of
energy would give more employment opportuni ties to Paki stani youth. Interestingly, thi s i s Indias approach
too
The Union Cabinet has al ready earmarked $100 mi l l ions for the development of the port in anticipation of Iran
agreeing to involve India in developing the port as wel l as uti l i sing a north-bound route that enters into
Afghani stan and Central Asia.
An earthquake measuring 6.5 on Richter scale occurred some 70 km east of Indi ra Point
Hiking the election expendi ture l imi t incurred by a candidate for each parl iamentary consti tuency to Rs.70
lakh from Rs.40 lakh for al l the bigger States, should come as a big rel ief to most pol i tical parties facing both
inflationary pressures and demands for greater transparency in pol l -spending.
Those l imi ts earl ier ranged from Rs.22 lakh (for Goa) to Rs.35 lakh (for Manipur). In the case of each
Assembly consti tuency, the l imi t has now been hiked to Rs.28 lakh in al l the major States, whi le i t wi l l be
Rs.20 lakh in the smal ler States and some UTs including Puducherry.
World Sleep Day on the thi rd Friday of March every year (March 21 thi s year). The motto: restful sleep, easy
breathing, heal thy body.
some aquatic animals l ike Bottlenose dolphin, Beluga whale, porpoi se and sea l ion, bi rds such as swi ft, sparrow
and chicken show evidence of such uni -hemi spherical sleep. Thi s means one side of thei r brain can go to
sleep whi le the other side remains wide awake.
the Law Commi ssion has also suggested an enhanced sentence of two years under the Representation of the
People Act, 1951, for fi l ing of false affidavi ts by pol i ticians and di squal i fication on such conviction.
The report, ti tled Electoral Di squal i fications, has been placed before the Supreme Court
Against the exi sting legal provi sion of di squal i fication upon conviction in a criminal case, the Commi ssion
stated that di squal i fication at the stage of charging, i f accompanied by substantial attendant legal safeguards
to prevent mi suse, had a signi ficant potential for curbing the spread of criminal i sation of pol i tics.
The stage of framing of charges i s based on adequate levels of judicial scrutiny,
Di squal i fication on conviction had proved to be incapable of curbing the growing criminal i sation of pol i tics
because of long delays in trials and rare convictions, said the Commi ssion. The law needed to evolve to pose
an effective deterrence and prevent subversion of the process of justice, i t said.
Li sting the safeguards, the Commi ssion has suggested bringing only those offences which have a puni shment of
five years or above wi thin the remi t of di squal i fication. Charges fi led up to one year before the date of
scrutiny of nominations wi l l not lead to di squal i fication, and di squal i fication wi l l operate ti l l an acqui ttal
by the trial court, or for six years, whichever i s earl ier.
For charges framed against si tting MPs and MLAs, the trial must be expedi ted through day-to-day hearing and
concluded wi thin a year. The Supreme Court has accordingly accepted thi s suggestion and passed an order di
recting that al l pending trials against MPs/MLAs be completed wi thin a year.
persons wi th charges pending on the date of the law coming into force must be di squal i fied from contesting
future elections, unless such charges are framed less than one year before the date of scrutiny of nomination
papers or the person i s a si tting MP or MLA at the time of enactment of the Act.
The report suggested that a gap of one week be introduced between the last date for fi l ing of nomination
papers and
the date of scrutiny, to give adequate time for fi l ing of obj ections.
NRI
right to vote from abroad
wants the Supreme Court to intervene to amend a law placing an unreasonable restriction on Non-Resident
Indians (NRIs) to be physical ly present in thei r electoral consti tuencies to vote.
a law which creates an inequal i ty between the di fferent economic demographs of Indian ci ti zens l iving
abroad and therefore i s violative of Article 14 of the Consti tution. The law in question i s Section 20(A) of the
Representation of Peoples (Amendment) Act of 2010.
Section 20(A) had amended an earl ier requi rement that requi red a person to be ordinari ly resident in hi s
native consti tuency to have hi s name regi stered in the electoral rol l .
the number of migrant Indian workers far outweighs the number of ci ti zens of India in the other groups and
due to the procedural bottleneck almost al l of them wi l l not have an opportuni ty to vote. For a vast majori ty
of the NRIs, working in a foreign country i s not a matter of choice.
the peti tion quotes from the data of the Mini stry of Overseas Indian Affai rs to show that only 11,000 NRIs
have enrol led as voters on the electoral l i st out of the 1,00,37,761 Indians reside abroad as on May, 2012. It
also quotes a report by the International Insti tute for Democracy and Electoral Assi stance that 20 Asian
countries have al ready adopted external voting practices such as personal voting, postal voting, proxy vote,
and electronic voting.
Nalanda Universi ty at Rajgi r in Bihar
The transnational composi tion of the modern Nalanda was only to be expected. For the states of the second
East Asia Summi t (EAS) in 2007 saw the revival of thi s ancient seat of learning as being central to real i sing
the concept of an Asian communi ty and strengthening regional educational cooperation.
The Universi tys Chancel lor, the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, has repeatedly emphasi sed hi s commi tment to
promoting the highest academic standards, as wel l as ensuring equi ty in the recrui tment and admi ssions
processes.
Dua layer
The newly detected sixth corneal layer was named the Dua layer, in recogni tion of Dr. Duas work.
Two other layers, the Bowmans layer and the Descemets membrane, al ready carry the names of the doctors
who di scovered them. The Dua layer l ies in front of the Descemets membrane.
establ i shed the exi stence of a sixth layer in the cornea medical science ti l l then recogni sed only five
corneal layers Professor Harminder Singh Dua and hi s team at Nottingham Universi ty
Corneal surgeons have hai led the i solation of the Dua Layer as a major advance that considerably improves our
understanding of lamel lar corneal surgery, which in turn wi l l lead to improved safety and outcomes for
patients undergoing corneal grafts.
A major forest fi re was reported in the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve
Karnataka
Uniform civil code There cannot be a uni form civi l code in India as i t i s a nation wi th diversi ty. Even among
Hindus, there i s no uni formi ty; there are castes and sub-castes,
Social security Unl ike other societies, marriage in Hindu law was samskaara (accul turation); not contract
wherein husband and wi fe l ive together wi th mutual love and trust. The joint fami ly had been ensuring social
securi ty,
Hindu Law stood on four pi l lars marriage, fami ly, duty and dharma which unfortunately were becoming
weaker

special category status
The Government of India has the power to extend special category Status to the States on i ts own and i t
requi res nei ther an ordinance nor an approval from Parl iament
special category status to the successor State of Andhra Pradesh for five years
Apart from exci se duty concessions, these States are enti tled to 90 per cent of Central ly sponsored schemes
and external aid as grants and 10 per cent as loans
Genetic Engineering Approval Commi ttee (GEAC)
Genetical ly modi fied crops are often viewed wi th suspicion by the people, and hence there i s a greater
responsibi l i ty on the companies developing these transgenic crops to fol low the laid down protocols in
letter and spi ri t,

there i s an urgent requi rement to appoint independent, ful l time regulators in the bodies l ike GEAC,
Rice crops yield just 25 percent of thei r potential and wheat varieties produce just 18 percent of thei r
potential . When compared to these, the latest mai ze varieties have a yield of about 75 percent of thei r
potential . Thi s indicates that farm output can be increased to a great extent,
If transgenic crops are dangerous for human consumption, the American population would have been affected by
now as that country has been consuming high yielding transgenic varieties for many years,
Ugadi
Telugu New Year,
Konda Kummaris
The Konda Kummari s have been l iving on the hi l l slopes for generations, making pots for use by other tribal
communi ties. They observe tribal customs and practices in bi rths and deaths, weddings and also depend on podu
cul tivation and col lection of forest produce for thei r l ivel ihood
The deprivation of thei r rights by not including them in the ST l i st speaks volumes of the injustice being done
to them during the last three decades by the government and the officials concerned,
National Counci l of Education Research and Training's (NCERT) National Achievement Survey (NAS) for Class III
show that the national average score on a series of questions for language i s 257 out of 500 and that for
mathematics i s 255 out of 500. There was no signi ficant di fference between rural and urban outcomes in most
States, and between boys and gi rls (except in Madhya Pradesh, where gi rls did signi ficantly worse, and in Kerala,
where gi rls did signi ficantly better.)
Maharashtra and the four southern States, Tripura, Mi zoram and Manipur perform better than the national
average on both tests.
mattu gul la
It i s possible to graft an ordinary variety of brinjal wi th the famed mattu gul la variety and get brinjals that
are l ike mattu gul la.
Mangalore
pygmy hog
found in Manas National Park
detected an estimated 21 nests of the cri tical ly-endangered pygmy hog (Porcula salvania).
pygmy hog the smal lest and rarest wi ld pig
The survey also found pel lets of the Hi spid hare (Caprolagus hispidus)
Manas i s known to be the last remaining wi ld habi tat of the pygmy hog in the world.
Both Pygmy hog and Hi spid Hare are Schedule I species.
Schedule I and Schedule II species are given absolute protection under the Wi ldl i fe Protection Act, 1972 and
offences against them attract heavy penal ties
pygmy hogs captured from Manas and captive-bred at Pygmy Hog Conservation Centre at Basi stha in Guwahati
had been released into the Orang National Park, Sonai Rupai wi ldl i fe sanctuary and Nameri Tiger Reserve in
the State.
wet al luvial grasslands dominated by Barenga (Saccharum narenga), Ulu (Imperata cyl indrica) species under the
two ranges were cri tical for survival of pygmy hog.
Hague Declaration
The March 24 deci sion by seven major industrial countries (the G7) to suspend Russia from the informal
grouping cal led the G8 i s not surpri sing in view of Russias annexation of the Ukrainian province of Crimea
i t would not attend the forthcoming G8 summi t in Sochi and would instead meet as the G7 in Brussels; i t has
also threatened co-ordinated sectoral sanctions i f Moscow continues to escalate thi s si tuation. Russia
has been a G8 participant since 1998, under a general plan to strengthen East-West relations.
Russian
pointing out that as the G8 has no formal membership no country can be expel led from i t
To start wi th, the G7 has apparently accepted the appointment of many Ukrainian mini sters wi th neo-Nazi and
anti -Semi tic backgrounds. Secondly, NATO has asserted that Russia plans a Crimea-type move for the
autonomous Moldovan terri torial uni t of Transni stria, where Russian i s the official language and the most
widely used one;
NATO, needless to say, has often tried to justi fy i ts own exi stence since the Soviet Union col lapsed; the
Warsaw Treaty Organi sation (the Warsaw Pact) had a 2004 di ssolution date, but NATO has no such l imi t.
Western mi l i taries and arms manufacturers also stand to benefi t from another Cold War.
NATO, needless to say, has often tried to justi fy i ts own exi stence since the Soviet Union col lapsed; the
Warsaw Treaty Organi sation (the Warsaw Pact) had a 2004 di ssolution date, but NATO has no such l imi t.
Western mi l i taries and arms manufacturers also stand to benefi t from another Cold War.
inj ectable inactivated pol io vaccine (IPV)
India i s among 140 countries that rely on the oral pol io vaccine (OPV). These countries have now been asked
to introduce an inj ectable inactivated pol io vaccine (IPV) into thei r routine chi ldhood immuni sation
programme by the end of next year. The oral vaccine, which i s cheap and easi ly admini stered, uses l ive but
weakened forms of the pol iovi rus. But the l ive vaccine vi ruses can occasional ly revert to vi rulence.
Vaccine-derived vi ruses can gain the abi l i ty to transmi t wi thin communi ties and even pass from one country
to another. Such ci rculating vaccine-derived pol iovi ruses (cVDPV) have struck over 700 chi ldren since the
year 2000, producing outbreaks in several countries, including Paki stan, Afghani stan, Nigeria and Somal ia
More than 95 per cent of the cVPDV cases in recent years have been of the type 2 strain (the pol iovi rus has
three strains, types 1, 2 and 3). Pol io caused by a wi ld type 2 vi rus was, on the other hand, last seen 15 years
back.
The Global Pol io Eradication Ini tiative (GPEI), which coordinates the global fight again pol io, therefore wants
to stop al l use of OPV that contains the type 2 vaccine strain. Trivalent OPV, wi th al l three types of vaccine
strains, i s to be replaced by bivalent OPV wi th only type 1 and type 3 vaccine strains.
But before making that swi tch, the GPEI has asked al l countries using trivalent OPV to introduce at least one
dose of the inj ectable IPV vaccine into thei r routine immuni sation programme. IPV, which i s more expensive,
uses ki l led forms of the three types of wi ld vi ruses and carries no ri sk of reversion to vi rulence. Thi s vaccine
would provide
protection against any type 2 vaccine-derived vi ruses l ingering in the envi ronment
theory cal led cosmic inflation.
It describes the universes behaviour less than one-bi l l ionth of a second after i t was born in the Big Bang,
about 14 bi l l ion years ago, when i t wi tnessed a brief but tremendous growth spurt. The residual energy of
the Bang i s the CMB, and the effect of gravi tational waves on i t i s l ike the sonorous clang of a bel l (the
CMB) that was struck powerful ly by an effect of cosmic inflation. Thanks to the announcement, now we know
the bel l was struck.
For example, consider the four natural ly occurring fundamental forces: gravi tation, strong and weak-nuclear
force, and electromagnetic force. Normal ly, the strong-nuclear, weak-nuclear and electromagnetic forces act at
very di fferent energies and di stances. However, as we traverse higher and higher energies, these forces start to
behave di fferently, as they might have in the early universe. Thi s gives physici sts probing the fundamental
texture of nature an opportuni ty to explore the forces behaviours by studying astronomical data such as
from BICEP2 instead of relying solely on particle accelerators l ike the LHC.
In June 2009, the MHRD rightly empowered the UGC, which had inspected the deemed universi ties before, to
review the maintenance of standards in these insti tutions
The Supreme Courts 2014 new year order in the form of a Universi ty Grants Commi ssion (UGC) review of 44
deemed universi ties has ensured more mental trauma for lakhs of students and appl icants. Though i t has not
approved or di sapproved of the infamous Tandon Commi ttee, i t has made a statutory body, the UGC,
subservient to the Mini stry of Human Resources Development (MHRD).
An arm-chair report
the MHRD arrogated i tsel f the authori ty, and during July 2009, consti tuted the Tandon Commi ttee compri sing
four reti red academics. The Tandon Commi ttee di rected the deemed universi ties to make an oral presentation
in New Delhi for 20 minutes and interacted for about 10 minutes wi th the representatives. The commi ttee
considered nine parameters for review and awarded scores of 5, 3, 1 and 0. It did not vi si t any insti tution and,
on an arm-chai r basi s, categori sed the universi ties as ei ther A (scores greater or equal to 30), B (greater
or equal to 18), or C (less than 18).
Only when the commi ttee recommended wi thdrawal of the deemed universi ty status for those placed in the
C category
in Apri l 2011, the MHRD consti tuted another commi ttee the Thakur commi ttee headed by the Secretary
of the Mini stry, Ashok Thakur, to individual ly review the 44 deemed universi ties and submi t a report. The
MHRD ensured that the process adopted by the Thakur Commi ttee had the di rect effect of the Tandon Commi
ttees findings.
Unfortunately, the Thakur Commi ttee did not set right the deficiency by recategori sing the deemed universi
ties based on the new scoring.
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands recently recorded two new species of bi rds
the Great Short-Toed Lark and the Blue and Whi te Flycatcher.
in the Landfal l Island Wi ldl i fe Sanctuary
there was no record of thi s bi rd in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, i t was recorded in Southern
Myanmar
The Blue and Whi te Flycatcher,
i s a migratory bi rd and breeds north east of China, south east of Russia and in North Korea. The bi rd was sighted
in the Saddle Peak National Park in North Andaman. The team of researchers from the ZSI could not identi fy
the bi rd immediately.
blast infestation
broadly three types of blast. The fi rst i s cal led as leaf blast. Infested crop leaves exhibi t spindle shaped
spots wi th brown margin and grey dots.
The second type i s node blast. Caused by a fungus, the symptoms are crop turning black in colour and panicles
breaking easi ly.
The thi rd type i s cal led neck blast. Thi s starts during panicle emergence ini tiation of the crop period. The
neck region i s blackened and shrivel led. Grain set in ears i s completely or partial ly inhibi ted.
in rice
World Heal th Organi sation (WHO)
Approximately 7 mi l l ion people died of ai r pol lution around the world in 2012,
ai r pol lution has become the single biggest envi ronmental heal th ri sk across the world
the mini stry noti fied rules for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibi l i ty) spending. Under the legi slation, certain
class of companies have to shel l out at least 2 per cent of thei r 3-year annual average net profi t towards
social wel fare activi ties.
The Companies Act 2013 i s final ly a real i ty and has been substantial ly operational i sed wi th the noti fication
of 183 sections earl ier today, in addi tion to the 100 sections noti fied earl ier,
the recently developed process, renewable aviation fuel was produced from Jatropha curcas oi l through a non-
noble metal catalyst.
The carbon tax imposed by Austral ia and the European Union on the aviation indus-try prompted ai rl ines to
run thei r fl ights on biofuel .
Bhanwari Devi
Rajasthan-based womens rights crusader,
she was gang raped and her husband severely beaten up for rai sing thei r voice against chi ld marriage in thei r
vi l lage. She charged the pol ice wi th not carrying out a fai r probe and the judiciary for not del ivering deserved
justice to her. Her case was instrumental in formulating the hi storic Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act 2013.
ordinance route
Yet, the undemocratic ordinance route i s not a proper substi tute for sound legi slative management to which
both the government and the Opposi tion have to contribute.
The power to promulgate ordinances should be used sparingly and only when the urgency i s mani festly clear
and when there i s a real possibi l i ty of the legi slature reconvening in time to provide the requi si te approval
.
Gorumara national park in West Bengal s Jalpaiguri di strict
Rhino census begins
exerci se i s to assess thei r population, the male-female ratio and moni tor changes in the habi tat of the animal
l i sted as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Other than Gorumara, the Jaldapara national park in the same di strict i s the largest habi tat of rhinoceros in
the State wi th thei r number being about 180. As per the last census, i t i s the second-largest habi tat of the
one-horned rhinoceros in the country after the Kazi ranga national park in Assam.
Utkal Divas, the formation day of Odi sha,
Odi sha was formed on Apri l 1, 1936.
Odi sha was formed on Apri l 1, 1936.
age of juvenile
Supreme Court on Friday refused to lower the age of a juveni le from 18, saying the legi slature has fixed the
age, which i s consti tutional ly permi ssible.
tyrannosaurides, Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.
But what makes thi s di scovery even more exci ting i s that Nanuqsaurus hoglundi also tel ls us about the
biological richness of the ancient polar world during a time when the Earth was very warm compared to today,
The pygmy tyrannosaur alone i s real ly cool because i t tel ls us something about what the envi ronment
was l ike in the ancient Arctic,
A new species of dinosaur described as the dreaded Tyrannosaurus Rexs smal ler cousin from the north has
been di scovered in Alaska.
Maoi st insurgency
has been in steady decl ine since 2010. From a peak of 1,180 l ives lost that year, the authori tative South Asia
Terrori sm Portal database records, fatal i ties fel l to 421 in 2013
Key leaders from Chhatti sgarh and Odi sha have left the party, and i ts efforts did nothing to stop a large
turnout in the Assembly elections held in Chhatti sgarh last year. The Maoi sts efforts to expand into smal l
towns and ci ties has yielded l i ttle success. The fourth central commi ttee meeting of the Communi st Party of
India (Maoi st) i ssued a resolution admi tting to the stark fact of decl ining publ ic support, even in the partys
heartland regions.

World Sparrow Day
100 frui t-bearing plants were added to the zoos Bi rd Park
Drawing and essay wri ting competi tions
Kasaragod coconut farmers get growth-aiding bacteria
the fi rst i s the Kera Probio, a talc-based bioinoculant containing the PGPR Baci l lus megaterium for coconut,
the other i s Cocoa Probio containing Pseudomonas putida, meant for cocoa.
Nyctinasty
Leaves of some plants, trees and petals of flowers close at night wi th the onset of darkness.
Nyctinasty i s a non-di rectional response of plants, animals due to changes in temperature or l ight in the
surrounding envi ronment.
tuberculosi s
One mi l l ion chi ldren aged below 15 years are annual ly di seased wi th tuberculosi s across the world, notes a
study publ i shed a few days ago in The Lancet.
Wi th a huge population below the age of 15 years, and the number of new TB cases being about 2.3 mi l l ion a
year in the case of India, there i s greater l ikel ihood of more chi ldren being mi ssed out.
Thekkady Tiger Reserve
granting sanction for a tiger conservation plan, the National Tiger Conservation Authori ty imposed a condi tion
that the proj ect should not overrule the exi sting laws of the country.
China
debt crisis
Al laying fears of a cri si s in China as whose debt crossed a whopping $3.4 tri l l ion,
the Ferti l i zer Mini stry i s gearing to move the Cabinet Commi ttee on Economic Affai rs (CCEA) seeking
approval to reduce subsidy on potash nutrient for 2014-15 fi scal , a move aimed at reducing the subsidy
component by Rs. 900 crore.
the total demand of both potash and phosphate was more than 10 mi l l ion tonnes
Civi l Liabi l i ty for Nuclear Damage Act
Whi le India i s putting up indigenous nuclear plants, thei r capaci ty i s less than what Russia, France and the US
are offering. But al l the suppl iers have obj ected to Sections 17(b) and 46 of the Act which they say run
counter to the International Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).
The CSC requi res domestic l iabi l i ty laws to conform to a model text but the Indian law i s tougher as i t al
lows legal action against suppl iers i f an accident i s caused by faul ty or defective equipment.
the Indian law violates the CSC. Russia, Canada and France have simi lar reservations but are not publ ic about
them.
Giant virus
Larger than some bacteria, thi s vi rus - seen in a cross-section under a transmi ssion electron microscope - was
sti l l able to infect amoebae despi te having spent 30 mi l lennia in a frozen state.
scienti sts have revived a giant vi rus that was buried in Siberian ice for 30,000 years - and i t i s sti l l
infectious. Its targets, fortunately, are amoebae, but the researchers suggest that as Earths ice mel ts, thi s
could trigger the return of other ancient vi ruses, wi th potential ri sks for human heal th.
named i t Pi thovi rus sibericum, inspi red by the Greek word pi thos for the large container used by the
ancient Greeks to store wine and food.
other so-cal led giant vi ruses - including the fi rst, cal led Mimivi rus, in 2003, and two others, known as
Pandoravi ruses, last year.
ri sing global temperatures, along wi th mining and dri l l ing operations in the Arctic, could thaw out many more
ancient vi ruses that are sti l l infectious and that could conceivably pose a threat to human heal th.
Rohingya influx
A steady influx of Rohingya Musl ims into West Bengal via Bangladesh i s causing concern to the securi ty
establ i shment. The Rohingyas l ive in Myanmars Rakhine State,
Rakhine has
Buddhi st Rakhines and Musl im Rohingyas are a clear majori ty and almost equal in number.
They are not considered Burmese ci ti zens under the Ci ti zenship Law and hence they are desperately trying to
move out of Myanmar as they know they wi l l be victimi sed,
Myanmar has about 800, 000 stateless Rohingyas, wi thout access to basic heal thcare or education.
Since 2013, as the influx of Ronhingyas increased, Bangladesh has closed i ts door to one of the most
persecuted minori ties in the world, saying they are not Bangladeshi s. Whi le earl ier i t al lowed a restricted
number to enter the country (about 30,000 regi stered Rohingyas, supported by the U.N. High Commi ssioner
for Refugees), Dhaka i s not ready to accept any more refugees.
So, sandwiched between the Buddhi st-dominated Myanmar and Musl im-dominated Bangladesh, the Rohingyas
are entering India via northeast,
The refugees detained under the Foreigners Act, 1946 are now supposed be sent to the Tihar jai l in New Delhi
as the UNHCR has juri sdiction only in Tihar. Once they get refugee status, they wi l l be sent to Indias only
refugee camp, which i s in Jammu.
The refugees detained under the Foreigners Act, 1946 are now supposed be sent to the Tihar jai l in New Delhi
as the UNHCR has juri sdiction only in Tihar. Once they get refugee status, they wi l l be sent to Indias only
refugee camp, which i s in Jammu.
neutrinos
There are three kinds, or flavours, of neutrinos, designated 1, 2 and 3. Each flavour i s known to spontaneously
transform into the other, a process cal led osci l lation that i s characteri stic of particles that have mass.
However, physici sts have been unable to measure thei r masses. What they have been able to accompl i sh i s
find thei r di fference. Of late, interest has grown in the mass of neutrino-3 wi th respected to the other two,
which i s what INO and JUNO wi l l study.
Neutrinos are col loquial ly cal led ghost particles because they travel at almost the speed of l ight, hardly
interact wi th matter, and are very l ight. Therefore, trapping and measuring a neutrino requi res extremely sensi
tive equipment shielded from interfering radiation.
China has started constructing a $330-mi l l ion underground neutrino detector thi s week which, upon
completion, wi l l have simi lar goals as the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) coming up in Theni , Tami l Nadu.
Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) i s being bui l t underground by the Insti tute of High Energy
Physics (IHEP), Bei j ing.
in coma, the si tuation i s di fferent. There i s a defini te structural or functional defect in the ARAS, or
cerebral cortex, where there i s no response ei ther at ARAS or at cerebral cortex. Unless these two systems
are together, the interpretation of consciousness wi l l not be entertained. During simple unconscious state, the
Electro Ecephalo gram (EEG), which i s a test to detect the activi ties of the brain cerebral cortex, may be normal
. But in coma, the EEG i s abnormal , and suggestive of some abnormal brain activi ty l ike del ta, and theta activi
ties. Sometimes, a normal activi ty of the brain cal led alpha activi ty may be present throughout the brain area,
which i s abnormal , cal led alpha coma. Structural brain lesions, l ike head injury, injury to the brain stem, or
metabol ic si tuations l ike uremia, and diabetic keto acidosi s, poi soning etc, lead to coma.
GM food crop
Field trials for ten varieties of GM (genetical ly modi fied) food and other crops were reval idated by the Genetic
Engineering Apprai sal Commi ttee (GEAC), the statutory apprai sal arm of the Envi ronment Mini stry. These
included field trials for rice, wheat, mai ze, cotton and sorghum
the promoter companies would have to go back to the States for a final nod as agricul ture i s a State subj ect
under consti tutional provi sions.
gravitational waves?
are ripples that carry energy across the universe.
predicted to exi st by Albert Einstein in 1916 as a consequence of hi s General Theory of Relativi ty.
gravi tational waves have not been di rectly detected before. Thi s i s because they are minuscule a mi l l ion
times smal ler than an atom. They are l ike tiny waves on a lake from far away, the lakes surface looks
glassy smooth; only up very close can the detai ls of the surface be seen
Particularly exci ting are primordial gravi tational waves, which were generated in the fi rst moments of the
universes bi rth. These carry vi tal information about how the universe began.
general relativity?
1916, Albert Einstein di scovered a mathematical way to explain gravi ty. He cal led i t hi s general theory of
relativi ty. It rel ied on a set of coordinates that described space and time together, known as the space-time
continuum.
Matter and energy warp the space-time continuum l ike heavy weight on a mattress. The warping creates the
force of gravi ty. Gravi tational waves are ripples in the space-time continuum (instead of an ordinary mattress,
think of a waterbed).
General relativi ty tel ls us how gravi ty affects time, which must be taken into account by your satnav to tel l
you accurately where you are.
significance of this discovery?
detected gravi tational waves, i t i s signi ficant for two reasons. Fi rst, thi s opens up a whole new way of
studying the Universe, al lowing scienti sts to infer the processes at work that produced the waves. Second, i t
proves a hypothesi s cal led inflation. Thi s can be used to give us information about the origin of the universe,
known as the big bang.
How can gravitational waves be detected?
A telescope at the south pole, cal led Bicep (Background Imaging of cosmic Extragalactic Polari sation), has been
searching for evidence of gravi tational waves by detecting a subtle property of the cosmic microwave
background radiation. Thi s radiation was produced in the big bang. It was original ly di scovered by American
scienti sts in 1964 using a radio telescope and has been cal led the echo of the big bang. Bicep has measured
the large-scale polari sation of thi s microwave radiation. Only primordial gravi tational waves can imprint such a
pattern, and only then i f they have been ampl i fied by inflation.
What is inflation?
The big bang was original ly hypothesi sed by Belgian priest and physici st Georges Lemai tre. He cal led i t the day
wi thout yesterday because i t was the moment when time and space began.
But the big bang does not fi t al l astronomers observations. The di stribution of matter across space i s too uni
form to have come from the big bang as original ly conceived. So in the 1970s, cosmologi sts postulated a
sudden enlargement of the universe, cal led inflation, that occurred in the fi rst minuscule fraction of a second
after the big bang. But confi rming the idea has proved di fficul t. Only inflation can ampl i fy the primordial gravi
tational wave signal enough to
make i t detectable. If primordial gravi tational waves have been seen, i t means that inflation must have taken
place.
What next?
Now the work real ly begins. Einstein knew that general relativi ty did not mesh wi th another theory of physics
cal led quantum mechanics. Whereas general relativi ty talks about gravi ty and the universe as a whole, quantum
mechanics talks about the smal l scale of particles and the other forces of nature, the strong and weak nuclear
forces, and electromagneti sm. Despi te almost a century of effort, the worlds physici sts have not been able to
show how these theories work together. The primordial gravi tational waves were generated when gravi ty and
the universe were working on the same scale as particles and the other forces of nature. Thi s detection and the
subsequent analysi s wi l l hopeful ly tel l us how. If i t does, thi s could lead to what physics wi stful ly cal l the
theory of everything.
Kasturi rangan report on the conservation of Western Ghats that has identi fied 123 vi l lages in the State as
ecological ly sensi tive areas (ESAs).
Kerala
The National Green Tribunal has suspended the envi ronmental clearance to NTPC's 2400 MW Kudgi Super
Thermal Power Plant thermal power proj ect in Bi japur, Karnataka for falsi fying information whi le seeking the
mandatory green nod.
Home Finance
The guidel ine value i s the minimum value at which the sale or transfer of a plot, bui l t-up house, apartment or
a commercial property can take place. The market price i s the value of thi s asset as determined by the market
forces of supply and demand and agreed upon between buyer and sel ler.
The guidel ine values are usual ly defined by the local state governments revenue departments or the local
development authori ties, in l ine wi th what they decree as the prices at which the sale or transfer should be
undertaken. As such, i t i s usual ly a determinant or reference rate at best. Market rates, on the other hand, are
determined by the sel lers expectation of price and the buyers incl ination to pay.
Across al l property markets in India, guidel ine values are invariably much lower than the actual market rates.
Thi s i s because they are not reviewed regularly to bring them in l ine wi th market prices, nor do represent the
actual barometer of ground real i ties.
The guidel ine value determines the stamp duty and regi stration charges to be paid for the transaction. Thi s i
s cal led the 'floor price' and the actual transaction price can be higher than thi s, resul ting in higher stamp
duties.

Most real estate transactions are regi stered at the minimum guidel ine values or sl ightly above, which may be
lower than the actual transaction price. The resul t i s a loss to the exchequer in terms of stamp duties. As
market rates are determined by demand and supply, an area wi th lower supply but higher demand wi l l inevi
tably command higher prices. Though guidel ine values and market rates are connected, they have l imi ted
impact on each other. Whi le the market rate can never be below the guidel ine value, the signi ficantly high di
fference in value indicates a lag between market performance and the governemnt's tracking of i t. Thi s i s the
primary reason for black money transactions in the real estate space.
In property sales, stamp duties are usual ly paid by the buyer. It has been argued that an increase in guidel ine
values causes transactions to decl ine. Despi te that, i f the gap between the two rates i s reduced, the
proportion of genuine buyers wi th clear, accounted money entering into transactions wi l l increase signi
ficantly. It may reduce transaction veloci ty but i t also reduces the incidence of black money being parked in
real estate. The point i s signi ficant when seen in the l ight of the government's recent drive towards curbing
black money and money laundering
However, the weeding out of black money in real estate causes the market to behave in a more rational
manner towards proj ect pricing.
Final ly, higher revenue for the government means more funds avai lable for support infrastructure development.
Thus, bringing guidel ine values close to or on par wi th market rates can only be a posi tive process.
second update of the Annual Heal th Survey
Di stricts wi th the highest and lowest values of Crude Bi rth Rate and Infant Mortal i ty Rate remained the same
over the three rounds
The nine States for which AHS i s conducted Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odi sha,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhatti sgarh and Assam
As far as IMR i s concerned, 9 di stricts Purbi Singhbhum, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Gi ridih and Kodarma (Jharkhand);
Chamol i , Rudraprayag, Pi thoragarh and Almora (Uttarakhand) have al ready achieved the Mi l lennium
Development Goal -4 national target of 28.
U5MR, 15 di stricts Pi thoragarh, Almora, Rudraprayag, Chamol i , Naini tal , Bagheswar, Dehradun and
Champawat (Uttarakhand) and Purbhi Singhbum, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Gi rdih, Deoghar and Kodarma
(Jharkhand) have al ready achieved the MDG national level target of 42.
More female infants die, compared wi th males. In Rajasthan, the female IMR i s 60, compared wi th 51 for
males, the di fference i s the highest.
Envi ronmental i sts express serious apprehensions wi th regard to the survival of the global ly threatened yel
lowthroated Bulbul Pcynonotus, Xantholaemus, Pompadour Green Pigeon, Terron Pompadore a bi rd general ly
found in the Himalayan region besides the large Hawk-cuckoo Hierococcyx Sparverioides found in the region in
the back drop of such unchecked fi re di sasters.
Bio-diversity in Seshachalam hill ranges
Andhra Pradesh
Rotavi rus diarrhoea
At about 75,000 to 1,22,000 deaths per year, India accounts for about a quarter of the total number of rotavi
rus deaths worldwide. Rotavi rus diarrhoea accounts for almost 10 per cent of al l under-5 deaths and i t i s
responsible for about 39 per cent of diarrhoea-related admi ssions.
The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International , which had undertaken the cl inical development of the
vaccine and would manufacture the vaccine, has commi tted to make the vaccine avai lable at not more than $1
per dose for government procurement.
good evidence of the efficacy of the 116E rotavi rus vaccine