National:

Goa bans plaster of Paris Ganesha idols

The Goa government has prohibited the sale, manufacture, transportation and use of Ganesh idols made out
of Plaster of Paris (PoP) including their entry in the State of Goa. The PoP idols are made from hemihydrated
calcium sulphate manufactured by calcinations process and when immersed in water, do not dissolve or
disintegrate easily, thereby causing irreversible environmental effects on the riverine/coastal ecology. Any
person found manufacturing, transporting, stocking and selling or displaying such idols shall be punishable in
terms of Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act,1986 and their licences granted to them for the
establishments/chitrashallas shall be cancelled and the idols made of PoP shall be confiscated.
Yasin Bhatkal, founder of Indian Mujahideen, arrested
National Investigation Agency sleuths arrested Indian Mujahideen mastermind Yasin Bhatkal from the IndoNepal border near Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Bhatkal, whose real name is Ahmed Siddibappa, was arrested
on inputs from the Delhi Police and the Karnataka Police. His other aliases were Mohammad Zarrar, Ahmed,
Imran, Asif and Shahrukh.The Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed the arrest after National Security
Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon informed the Prime Minister of the development. Bhatkal carried a reward of Rs
10 lakhs for his arrest. Bhatkal, the cousin of Indian Mujahideen founders Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, is only
founder member of the IM who was still active in India and is believed to be behind almost all bomb blasts
carried out by the IM in the country.
Deepak Sandhu named chief information commissioner
Former media advisor to the prime minister and information commissioner Deepak Sandhu has been
appointed the chief information commissioner. He will succeed Satyananda Mishra. The decision was taken
after PM Manmohan Singh met with leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj and DoPT minister V
Narayanasamy. Sandhu is an information officer (1971 batch) who has been principal director general in the
Press Information Bureau and has been media advisor to the PM. Sandhu joined the Chief Information
Commission on September 2009. A Pearson fellow, she has also held positions in AIR and DD.
1,400 rly coaches get bio-toilets
In the first four months of the current year, Indian Railways has fitted more bio-toilets on coaches than done
in past three years. Between April and July this year, 2,285 bio-toilets were fitted in passenger coaches in
comparison to 1,337 bio-toilets fitted in 2012-13, 169 in 2011-12 and 57 in the year 2010-11. At present
Railways is running 1,400 coaches with about 3,800 bio-toilets in various trains. The first train, GwaliorVaranasi Bundelkhand Express, fitted with bio-toilets is running since January 2011. These bio-toilets are
fitted below the coach floor underneath the lavatories and the human waste discharged into them is acted
upon by a colony of anaerobic bacteria that convert human waste mainly into water and small amount of
gases (methane and CO2). This technology has been developed jointly by Indian Railways and Defence
Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) for railway passenger coaches and is the first of its kind in
Railway Systems in the world.
DC Prashant, veteran Kashmir journalist, passes away
DC Prashant, one of few pre-independence era journalists of Jammu and Kashmir, died in Jammu. He was
96. Prashant started his journalistic career from Lahore in 1946. He joined the Press Trust of India (PTI) in
1947. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1982 and remained an MP till 1986.
Saahard Samman
Recognising Paaranandi Nirmala for her literary contributions, Uttar Pradesh Hindi Samsthan is awarding her
with Saahard Samman (Telugu) for the year 2012 with a cash prize of Rs.2.02 lakh on September 14 at
Lucknow. Ms. Nirmala has so far translated some 103 books from Hindi to Telugu and from Telugu to Hindi
and also from English to Hindi.

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International:
U.S. engineering body elects Indian-American
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) has elected an Indian-American,
Sockalingam Sam Kannappan, as its Secretary and Treasurer of the Southern Zone. Mr. Kannappan, a
native of Nattarasankottai in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu, has 25 years of experience in design,
analysis, and software development for the petrochemical, refinery, and pipeline industries.
Indian professor reports first human-to-human brain interface
An Indian professor at University of Washington in Seattle and his American research colleague have
successfully performed the first non-invasive human-to-human brain interface over the Internet. Using
electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh PN Rao, Associate Professor of
Computer and Science Engineering, sent a brain signal to researcher Andrea Stocco on the other side of the
UW campus, causing Stoccos finger to move on a keyboard. While researchers at Duke University have
demonstrated brain-to-brain communication between two rats, and Harvard researchers have demonstrated
it between a human and a rat, Rao and Stocco believe this is the first demonstration of human-to-human
brain interfacing.
Indian-origin cardiologist named White House fellow
Kapil Parakh, an Indian-origin cardiologist working in Washington area, is among a dozen people chosen by
the White House for its prestigious fellowship programme for 2013-14. . He edged out two other IndianAmericans among the finalists -- Shilpen Patel, associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of
Washington, and Jay Bhatt, geriatric medicine fellow at the University of Michigan Health System. Starting
with Indian-American neurosurgeon and CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, who was a 199798 fellow, Parakh is the latest person of Indian origin to join the White House Fellows Programme created in
1964 by then president Lyndon Johnson.
US launches rocket carrying spy satellite
A rocket carrying a spy satellite lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in the US state of California.
The United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, announced that the satellite was
launched on a Delta IV Heavy rocket, the largest of the kind. However, it did not say when the satellite would
enter the orbit. The launch was named as the NROL-65 mission as it was done for the National
Reconnaissance Office, which is in charge of US intelligence-gathering satellites.
Germany's ex-president to face trial over favours scandal
Germany's former President Christian Wulff, who resigned amid a scandal in 2012, will face court on charges
of accepting a favour while in office. Wulff, 54, who was Germany's youngest president and served less than
two years in the largely ceremonial job, will become the country's first former head of state to answer
charges in court. He is accused of having allowed a film producer friend to pick up part of his Munich hotel
bill during a 2008 Oktoberfest visit in return for lending support to a film project when he was Lower Saxony's
state premier. Film producer David Groenewold has also been charged on suspicion that he paid more than
500 euros ($668) for Wulff and his wife, from whom the ex-president has since separated.

Sci. & Tech:

Scientists grow miniature brains in test tubes
Scientists have grown miniature human brains in test tubes, creating a tool that will allow them watch how
the organs develop in the womb and, they hope, increase their understanding of neurological and mental
problems. Just a few millimetres across, the cerebral organoids are built up of layers of brain cells with
defined regions that resemble those seen in immature embryonic brains. The scientists say the organoids
will be useful for biologists who want to analyse how conditions such as schizophrenia or autism occur in the
brain; though these are usually diagnosed in older people some of the underlying defects occur during the
brains early development. The organoids are expected also to be useful in the development and testing of
drugs. At present this is done using laboratory animals or isolated human cells; the new organoids could
allow pharmacologists to test drugs in more humanlike settings. Scientists have previously made models
of other human organs in the lab, including eyes, pituitary glands and livers.
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New super-heavy element discovered

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of a new super-heavy element with atomic number 115 and it
may soon join the periodic table. An international team of researchers conducted an experiment at the GSI
research facility in Germany to confirm earlier measurements by research groups in Russia. The new superheavy element is yet to be named. A committee comprising members of the international unions of pure and
applied physics and chemistry will review the findings to decide whether further experiments are needed
before the element is acknowledged. Besides the observations of the new chemical element, the
researchers also gained deeper insight into the structure and properties of super-heavy atomic nuclei.

Business & Economy:

RBI to open forex swap window for OMCs
he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to open a forex swap window to meet the entire daily dollar
requirements of three public sector oil marketing companies IOC, HPCL and BPCL. The RBI said that this
decision had been taken on the basis of assessment of current market conditions. Under the swap facility,
RBI will undertake sell/buy U.S. dollar-Indian rupee forex swaps for fixed tenor with the oil marketing
companies through a designated bank.
BNP cuts India's GDP forecast to 3.7%
Financial services major BNP Paribas cut India's GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 3.7 per cent
from 5.2 per cent earlier, saying the country's 'macro muddle' is fast approaching crisis proportions.
Samsung tops list of 25 major supply chain cos in Asia pacific
Samsung has been ranked at the top in IT research firm Gartner's list of 25 major performing supply chain
organisations in Asia Pacific region. Chinese PC and mobile devices maker Lenovo bagged the second
position, backed by impressive revenue growth and inventory turns, Gartner said. Homegrown auto major
Tata Motors has been placed at the fifth place in list of top performing supply chain organisations
headquartered in Asia Pacific. Besides, five new companies Haier, Flextronics, Honda Motor, Canon and LG
Electronics entered the top 10 in 2013. Electronics company Haier was placed at the third position while
Korean auto maker Hyundai was at fourth place in the list.
Holcim, Cemex to swap assets in Europe
Holcim, the worlds largest cement maker by market value, said that it would swap some assets with Mexican
peer Cemex in Europe, with the aim of boosting operating profit by at least 20 million euro ($26.8 million).
Holcim will acquire Cemexs operations in Western Germany, while Cemex will take over Holcims operations
in the Czech Republic. The two companies will also combine their operations in Spain, with Holcim taking a
25 per cent stake in the combined entity.
FIPB clears US pharma major Mylan's Rs 5,168 cr FDI proposal
US-based Mylan Inc's Rs 5,168 crore proposal to acquire Agila Specialties Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of pharma
firm Strides Arcolab, was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Toyota launches Camry Hybrid
Japanese auto giant Toyota, has launched the all-new Camry Hybrid in India, which is the first-ever hybrid
car to be manufactured locally, priced at Rs.29.75 lakh. Globally, India is the 9th country to manufacture
Toyota hybrid vehicles, Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) said. The Camry Hybrid combines a newly developed
hybrid exclusive 2.5 petrol engine with an electric motor and runs on Hybrid Synergy Drive, which senses
when to switch between the two power sources petrol engine and electric motor. The Camry Hybrid is
Indias first locally manufactured hybrid vehicle
Britannias claim for Snax registration rejected by IPAB
Holding that Snax is phonetically similar to the word snacks, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board
(IPAB) has rejected a claim of Britannia Industries Ltd. for registration of the trademark Snax for its biscuit
product. Following opposition from PepsiCo, the Deputy Registrar of Trade Marks, Kolkata, refused to
register Britannias trade mark Snax in 2006.
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Sport:
Kleybanova wins on return after cancer
Alisa Kleybanova of Russia won her first Grand Slam match since being treated for cancer, beating 44thranked Monica Puig of Puerto Rico at the U.S. Open. The 24-year-old Kleybanova was ranked as high as
20th, but after missing much of the last two seasons because of her illness is now 363rd. She entered the
main draw at Flushing Meadows thanks to the WTAs special ranking rule.

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