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Weekly Current Affairs update

For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

Major news of the week

Section A: INDIA
Report on Lokpal Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha Govt. for regulating content on social networking sites India wanted 358 items removed Google Identity card under NPR not UIDAI Home Ministry SC Committee to intervene in Mullaperiyar dam dispute India and China hold 4th Annual Defence Dialogue President witnesses Sudarshan Shakti exercises Ukraine seeks defence relationship with India Embraer completes first test flight of AWACS for India Armys logistic service celebrates 251st anniversary Results of byelections in 8 Assembly, 1 LS seat declared A.P. government survives no-trust motion Bihar Assembly passes Lokayukta Bill Bill on ST status for Manipur communities introduced Bill to bifurcate cadre for Tripura, Manipur introduced Kudankulam maintained in safe mode AERB Chairman States given 4 weeks to enforce number plate schemeSC Uttarakhand to create four districts Producer challenges TN govt ban on Dam 999 Environmental clearance given to Tipaimukh project All govt schools now have drinking water 1st film with health warnings on smoking scenes released President appoints Governors committee on agriculture Bihar Assembly approves renaming Gaya airport CMS Vatavaran-2011 organised ICSI Foundation Day celebrated Trinidad and Tobago Finance Minister visits India New Delhi, Kabul sign MoU on education Armed Forces Flag Day observed Akbaruddin is new External Affairs spokesperson Dev Anand passes away Sukna scam: Lt Gen Prakash found guilty, dismissed World Court rules against Greece in Macedonia case US starts vacating Shamsi airbase in Pakistan New Zealand ruling party agrees to coalition deal India-Sri Lanka ferry, the Scotia Prince, impounded China overtakes India as Diabetes Capital of world World Telugu meet organised in Mauritius UNEP report on Women & Climate Change unveiled Elio Di Rupo appointed new PM in Belgium Kabila declared winner of Congo Presidential election Biden to remain Vice Presidential candidate

Section C: AWARDS
Porfirio is Best Film at India International Film Festival Akal Takht honours Punjab CM Badal Delhis cluster bus scheme wins Urban Transport award S.K. Satheesh wins Earth Sciences Prize

Section D: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers confirm presence of earth-like planet LHC: Higgs boson may have been glimpsed

Section E: ECONOMY & CORPORATE

Government puts FDI in retail on hold Mid-year review trims growth forecast to 7.5% CRISIL cuts 2011-12 GDP growth forecast to 7% C-DoTs broadband technology shared with cos National Common Mobility Card launched 20th World Petroleum Congress organised Urban Mobility India 2011 organised Vedanta completes Cairn India acquisition Govt rules out any changes to RILs D6 contract terms RBI notifies new FDI norms for pharma sector Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy receives mixed response Bill to amend law governing Prasar Bharati passed World Bank to provide $60 million for urban local bodies Indias exports in April-November 2011 at $ 192.7 billion Per capita income rises to Rs 54,000 in 2010-11 Credit default swaps debut in India 3rd India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference organised 4th Global Conference on Tax and Inequality organised India, Canada sign MOU to boost diamond sector Bills on CWC and Exim Bank introduced Finance Ministry sets up panel to look into IFCI CAG takes over as Chairman of UN Auditors Panel

Section B: WORLD
Durban Climate Change talks conclude Hazares movement among top 10 news of 2011 Time India has the highest no. of poor in the world OECD ILOs Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting organised EU nations in tax & budget pact to tackle debt crisis Croatia signs treaty to join EU in 2013 Int. conference on the future of Afghanistan organised Nepal parties agree on new plan to draft constitution Australia lifts ban on uranium export to India Indonesian parliament endorses accession to CTBT International Anti-Corruption Day observed Community of LatAm & Caribbean States launched European Union to slash development aid to India

Section F: SPORTS
India beat West Indies 4-1 in ODI series Australia wins Champions Trophy Hockey McIlroy wins Hong Kong Open golf Footballer Socrates passes away Platini agrees to change calendar for 2022 W Cup

For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

Section A: INDIA
NEWS ROUND UP Parliamentary Committee report on Lokpal Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha
Team Anna demands
Complete inclusion of PM Complete inclusion of CBI Complete inclusion of lower bureaucracy Complete inclusion of judiciary Inclusion of citizens charter Setting up of Lokayuktas in states

Parliamentary Committees response

Has left it to the wisdom of Parliament CBI will not come under Lokpal but will investigate after a preliminary inquiry by Lokpal Group C central govt employees to come under CVC while state employees to come under Lokayukta Judiciary should be dealt with in the judicial standards and accountability bill To be dealt with in the grievance redressal bill Has been accepted by the committee

Differences within the committee

Inclusion of PM: Left, BJP, BJD feel PM should be included with safeguards while one member, Prashant Majumdar, wants complete inclusion of PM. Govt had suggested PM should be investigated after he demits office CVC under Lokpal: 3 Cong members feel CVC should come under Lokpal Inclusion of Group C employees: Three Congress and all BJP members have demanded inclusion of entire bureaucracy under Lokpal CBI autonomy: BJP & BJD demanded appointments of CBI director be done by Lokpal selection panel Citizens charter: BJP has demanded citizens charter be included in Lokpal The report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel and Law and Justice on Lokpal Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on December 9, 2011. The Chairman of the Committee, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said the report has been adopted subject to various dissent notes that will be faithfully reflected in the main report.

Dissent within the Committee

The report of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice on the Lokpal Bill, which was tabled in Parliament on December 9, 2011, saw 17 of the 30 members recording their dissent. Three Congress members, Meenakshi Natarajan, P T Thomas and Deepa Dasmunsi have suggested that the CVC be placed under the Lokpal and the state vigilance commissions under the Lokayukta. They also want that investigations into corruption cases by the CBI be subjected to the control of Lokpal. Their third demand is that Group C officers be brought under the jurisdiction of the Lokpal. Apart from the three Congress members, 14 others also advocated inclusion of Group C employees under the Lokpal. These included BJP members Kirti Azad, Harin Pathak, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Bal Apte, Madhusudan Yadav and D B Chandre Gowda, Vijay Bahadur Singh of the BSP, A Sampath of the CPM, Prasanta Majumdar of RSP and Shailendra Kumar of SP. The six BJP MPs, Sampath, Majumdar and Pinaki Misra (BJD) also backed bringing the prime minister under the purview of Lokpal.

Team Anna not satisfied

Team Anna called the report as weak, accusing the government of betraying the people of India. Lashing out at the Lokpal draft report, the 74-year-old activist said that it does not include some of his key demands. These include the inclusion of the Prime Minister, lower bureaucracy and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the purview of Lok Pal. While the report remains non-committal on the PMs issue, leaving it instead for Parliament to decide, it does not favour junior bureaucrats being answerable to the nine-member Lokpal. For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

Hazare is also unhappy about the exclusion of the CBI from the Lokpals purview in the draft report. The government as well as the investigating agency is opposed to his demand, contending that it will affect the autonomy of the institution.

Norms soon to regulate content on social networking sites Sibal

The Government will soon formulate guidelines to regulate content on social networking Web sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. The Communications and IT Minister, Kapil Sibal, on December 6, 2011 said that the guidelines have been necessitated because the companies that own these Web sites have refused to remove objectionable content despite several requests. He said that though the Government was not in favour of censorship, it would not allow offensive content on the social networking sites. Though the Minister did not elaborate the meaning of objectionable content, he showed some examples of morphed pictures with religious connotation uploaded on social networking sites. Reacting to the Ministers comments, Facebook said it removes any content that violates its own terms but emphasised that it wants to be a platform where people can discuss things freely. The social networking giant has 38 million users in India. Google said that it removes illegal content regularly but when content is legal and controversial it does not remove it because peoples differing views should be respected so long as they are legal. India today has over 10-crore Internet users, third largest in the world after China and the U.S., which is likely to more than double by 2015. India also has over 2.8-crore Facebook users and is the fifth largest Facebook user base in the world and is expected to become second largest by the end of 2012. Sibals demand of deploying resources by websites for pre-screening of offensive content is deemed impossible by experts. According to noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, There is no law at present to deal with pre-screening of material on the web. Pre-publication screening is not workable and asking the companies to do so will not help. Prior to 2008, under the Information Technology Act, an intermediary (social networking sites fall under this definition) was liable for third-party content unless it could show the offence was committed without its knowledge or despite its efforts. However, after revamp of the IT Act in 2008, intermediaries are not liable for any third-party information, data or communication link made available or hosted by them. Intermediaries, by definition, include web-hosting providers that would include companies like Amazon, cyber cafes, online auction sites, internet service providers like BSNL, Airtel, etc. Blogs fall in this category, too, as networked service providers. The due diligence specifies intermediaries should not display, upload or publish any information that is harmful , abusive , blasphemous , defamatory , obscene , pornographic , paedophilic , invasive of anothers privacy, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. According to noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, There is no law at present to deal with pre-screening of material on the web. Pre-publication screening is not workable and asking the companies to do policing will not help. Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011, introduced earlier this year, require Internet intermediaries -that includes sites like YouTube, Facebook and companies that host websites or provide Internet connections - to respond to any official demand to take down offensive content within 36 hours. While government cannot hold the platform provider, in this case the website, responsible for the data uploaded by the user, they can be held for a case of defamation if the offensive content has been pointed out to them and they refuse to block it. The IT Act requires email providers like Yahoo, Microsoft or Google to cooperate with the government in case access to a users account is required for security reasons.

India wanted 358 items removed Google

For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

India is one of only four countries which, during the first half of 2011, requested Google to remove content on the basis that it was critical of the government. Google refused to comply. The other countries were Thailand and Turkey where Google restricted local users from accessing the offending content and the United States, where it refused. According to Googles Transparency Report for January to June 2011, the Internet search giant received requests from the Indian government which seems to include State and Central governments, police and courts to remove 358 items. In a breakdown of reasons for such requests, 255 items were classified under the government criticism category. As many as 8 items were requested to be removed under the category of hate speech. 39 items were requested to be removed on grounds of defamation, 20 due to privacy and security concerns, 14 due to impersonation, three identified as pornographic items, and one request due to national security reasons. Overall, Google says it complied fully or partially with 51 per cent of the requests. We received requests from state and local law enforcement agencies to remove YouTube videos that displayed protests against social leaders or used offensive language in reference to religious leaders, said the Google report. We declined the majority of these requests and only locally restricted videos that appeared to violate local laws prohibiting speech that could incite enmity between communities. Googles statistics gain significance in the light of its alleged refusal to comply with the Indian governments recent demand to block the publication of incendiary hate speech from its sites.

Identity card would be issued under NPR not UIDAI Home Ministry
The Home Ministry has a proposal to issue every adult resident in the country an identity card. The Government has decided to create a National Population Register (NPR) by collecting information on specific characteristics of all usual residents in the country. The NPR would also have photographs, 10 finger prints and 2 IRIS prints of all usual residents who are of age 5 years and above. As per the approved procedure, NPR database would be sent to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for de-duplication and generation of Aadhaar Number. Proposals for issuance of Resident Identity (smart) Card (RIC) under the NPR are under consideration. The scheme has not yet been approved. The mandate of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to issue Unique Identity Numbers (Aadhaar) to all residents of the country and not a Card. The UIDAI is generating Aadhaar numbers and communicating it to the residents through a letter. UIDAI has informed Government that UIDAI is not issuing any card. However, it is learnt that the National Payment Corporation of India has tied up with the UIDAI for issue of RuPay cards (Dhan Aadhaar cards) which serves as ATM/micro-ATM cards and about 250 such cards have been issued by Bank of India. This was stated by Jitendra Singh, Minister of State of Home Affairs in the Rajya Sabha on December 7, 2011.

Empowered Committee to intervene in Mullaperiyar dam dispute

A special one-day session of the Kerala Assembly on December 9, 2011 unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon the Central and State governments to take steps for construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar and to lower the water level in the existing dam to 120 feet and declaring the States commitment to continue supplying water in the present quantity to Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said his government would ensure that the lives of people living downstream were not put in danger in the event of a dam breach. Kerala has raised apprehensions about the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam after recent mild tremors in the area. While the dam is located in Kerala, it serves irrigation requirements of neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Kerala wants the 116-year-old dam to be decommissioned on the grounds of it being unsafe, while Tamil Nadu is opposing it on the apprehension that it will stand to lose its water rights if a new dam is constructed. Kerala says any breach in more than century old dam would endanger lives of 50 lakh people in the downstream region of the dam. The fear is heightened by the incessant rain in the catchments of Mullaperiyar shooting the storage above 136 feet mandated as safe.

For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

If the Mullaperiyar dam breaks due to flood or earthquake, a mass disaster would follow, wherein not only the life and property of 50 lakh people will be affected in Kerala, but lakhs of farmers of Tamil Nadu will also lose irrigation of about 2.5 lakh acres. Hence, Tamil Nadu should agree for the construction of a new dam offered by Kerala as a precautionary measure, demands Kerala. Kerala Cabinet decided to lower the water level in Idukki reservoir as a precautionary measure on November 30, 2011 in view of the precarious condition of Mullaperiyar dam upstream of Idukki. Water level will be lowered to the extent that waters from Mullaperiyar could be contained in Idukki reservoir in case of failure of Mullaperiyar dam.

Empowered Committee to intervene

The Supreme Court-appointed committee on Mullaperiyar Dam dispute met in New Delhi on December 6, 2011 during which lawyers representing Tamil Nadu and Kerala made representations on their stands and asked the panel to hear them before submitting its report. The committee headed by former Chief Justice of India AS Anand is expected to submit its report on the controversial issue by February, 2012. At the meeting, Kerala submitted a memorandum before the committee stating that frequent tremors in Idukki district, where the 116year-old structure is located, was causing damage to the dam and that the state should be heard before the report is finalised. Tamil Nadu contended before the panel that there was no need for a new dam and that the water level of the existing dam should be raised from the present 136 ft to 142 ft as per a 2006 Supreme Court directive. TN and Kerala are engaged in a confrontation over the Mullaperiyar Dam issue. While Kerala wants a new dam to be built near the existing structure, Tamil Nadu wants the water level of the existing dam to be raised to 142 ft. The empowered committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India A. S. Anand, has decided to send a two-member technical team to the site of the dam to carry out an on-the-spot assessment of the claims made by both the States. The committee had earlier conducted a spot inspection of the dam in December 2010.

India and China hold 4th Annual Defence Dialogue

The 4th India-China Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) was conducted on December 9, 2011 in the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi. The Indian side was led by the Defence Secretary, Shashi Kant Sharma. Gen. Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff, PLA led the Chinese side. The Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) was established under the provisions of the MOU for Exchanges and Cooperation in the field of Defence, signed between both the countries in May 2006. The 1st Annual Defence Dialogue was held in Beijing in November 2007, followed by the 2nd ADD held in India in December 2008. The 3rd Annual Defence Dialogue was held in Beijing in January 2010. The 4th ADD was conducted in an atmosphere of cordiality and both sides were frank and constructive in their approach during the deliberations. The Indian and Chinese sides shared regional and global security perceptions. Both sides agreed that enhancement of defence exchanges between the Armed Forces of India and China would contribute to better understanding and mutual trust and confidence building. Both sides also discussed the programme of defence exchanges during 2012 and agreed that the range and scope of exchanges at various levels would be gradually enhanced. It was noted that the existing confidence building measures on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have been successful in maintaining peace and should continue to be implemented. Both sides agreed that the process of dialogue and communication should be strengthened at various levels to ensure stability in the border areas.

President witnesses Sudarshan Shakti exercises: President Pratibha Patil, Supreme Commander of the armed forces, on December 5, 2011 witnessed one of the largest military exercises in recent times Sudarshan Shakti aimed at starting the
For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

transformation of the forces into a modern, lean, and agile fighting combination capable of leveraging new-age technologies. The exercise organised in the deserts near Barmer in Rajasthan in November-December 2011, was led by formations under the Bhopal-based 21 Corps, a strike Corps also known by the name Sudarshan Chakra Corps. The exercise aimed to build synergy between the Army and the Air Force in a network-centric environment to help face challenges of the 21st Century including having to fight in an environment dominated by the threat from nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Sudarshan Shakti is the outcome of a study undertaken by the Army on how to initiate transformation and maintain continuous offensive capabilities with a networked headquarters supported by intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance acting as the nerve-centre of operations. The improvements in weaponry had also given an added impetus to revising existing military doctrines. Among the manoeuvres that the 21 Corps showcased before the President were airdropping of Special Mission teams within enemy lines on Dhruv helicopters, artillery fire to degrade the enemy before actual physical combat from an array of artillery guns and rocket launchers, an onslaught by the Mi-35 Akbar assault helicopters, with the mechanised assault culminating with two squadrons of T-90 Bhishma battle tanks running roughshod over the imaginary enemy.

Ukraine seeks defence relationship with India: Ukraine is looking at India for collaboration in a large number of areas, including
civil nuclear energy and defence, said visiting Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko in New Delhi on December 6, 2011. Home to niche technologies and having been subjected to a nuclear accident in 1986, Ukraine has lessons in nuclear safety for India because this sector still caters to 45-50 per cent of the countrys energy needs. Most reactors are based on the same technology offered by the Russians for the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu and a large number of Ukrainian engineers were working there till protesters forced a shutdown. In defence, Kiev is already modernising the An-32s, backbone of the Indian Air Forces transport and troop replenishment fleet, and wants a more wider-ranging relationship.

Embraer completes first test flight of AWACS for India: Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft major, contracted to supply three platforms for Indias Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) project, on December 7, 2011 announced that it has successfully conducted the maiden test flight. The company has to supply three EMB 145 aircraft, which India has chosen as the platform to build its ambitious surveillance system. The flight points to the delivery of the first aircraft during the first half of 2012. The Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), Bangalore the nodal lab of the Defence Research & Development Organisation is developing the advanced electronic systems, which will be installed in the aircraft and operated by the Indian Air Force. India and Brazil had signed a deal in 2008, under which Embraer was to supply the aircraft. The primary aim of EMB 145 aircraft is to detect, track and identify targets in its patrol area and transmit this information to friendly forces, in order to provide them with an accurate and comprehensive operational picture. Armys oldest logistic service celebrates 251st anniversary: Army Service Corps (ASC), the oldest logistic service of the army,
today celebrated its 251st anniversary in Chandigarh on December 8, 2011. A function was held on the occasion at Western Command headquarters in Chandimandir cantonment. Raised in 1760, the ASC has provided unhindered and uninterrupted logistic support to the army. It has also contributed in the field of sports and adventure activities.

Results of byelections for eight Assembly constituencies declared: In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress retained the
Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had given up after her entry to the Assembly by defeating the CPI(M). Apart from the lone Lok Sabha byelection, results for bypolls in eight Assembly constituencies were declared on December 4, 2011. In Haryana, the Congress won the Ratia seat from the Indian National Lok Dal and secured a majority of its own in the 90-member Assembly, taking its strength to 46 while Adampur seat was retained by the Haryana Janhit Congress. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress won Nalagarh while the BJP won Renuka seat. In Karnataka, the BJP suffered a defeat in the Bellary (ST) seat where an Independent emerged a winner. In Odisha, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won the by-election held for the Umerkote Assembly constituency. In Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), an ally of the ruling BJP, won the Mandu seat defeating the Congress. In Bihar, the ruling JD(U) won the Laukaha seat defeating Rashtriya Janata Dal.

A.P. government survives no-trust motion: The one-year-old Kiran Kumar Reddy government survived a no-confidence motion tabled by the Telugu Desam Party and backed by the entire Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. The motion was defeated by a wide margin of 38 votes on December 6, 2011. While the ruling Congress government won by 160-122 votes, 16 of its MLAs owing loyalty to Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy defied its whip and voted in favour of the no-trust motion. They stand to be disqualified under the provisions of the anti-defection law. The Congress was supported by the Praja Rajyam Party (17 MLAs) and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has 7 members. The lone Lok Satta member, N. Jayaprakash Narayan, remained neutral. Bihar Assembly passes Lokayukta Bill: In a move envisaged to give more teeth to the fight against corruption, the State Assembly on December 7, 2011 passed the Bihar Lokayukta Bill, 2011 by voice vote. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the selection of the
For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

Lokayukta would be free from bureaucratic and political hindrances. The Chairman of the Legislative Council will act as co-coordinator of the five-member Lokayukta selection committee. The committee will include the Speaker of the Assembly, as also two sitting judges, nominated by the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court and the Chief Minister. Out of this selection committee, a search panel will be constituted and it will have a time-limit of three months to draw up a list of probable candidates for Lokayukta. The search committee must include at least two members from the judiciary.

Bill on ST status to Manipur communities introduced: A Bill seeking to give Scheduled Tribe status to Inpui, Rongmei, Liangmai, Zeme, Thangal and Mate communities of Manipur and substitute Galong with Galo the right name of the tribe in the list of Arunachal Pradesh was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 7, 2011. The Bill to amend the original Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 was introduced by Minister of Tribal Affairs V. Kishore Chandra Deo. There are now 33 communities appearing in the list of Schedule Tribes in Manipur and the amendment will meet a long-standing demand for considering grant of the ST status to these communities. In the Arunachal Pradesh list, the Galong community was mentioned. The State government has been recommending for long that the name Galo be substituted with Galong. Galong is a distorted version of the original world Galo. A change is, therefore, required in the list of ST in Arunachal Pradesh, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2011 said. Bill on bifurcation of cadre for Tripura, Manipur introduced: A Bill to bifurcate the joint cadre of IAS, IPS and Forest Service for Tripura and Manipur was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 7, 2011. The North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Amendment Bill, 2011 was introduced by Minister of State for Home M. Ramachandran to amend the original Act of 1971. Once the new law comes into force, Tripura and Manipur will have a separate cadre of the IAS, a separate cadre of the IPS and a separate cadre of the Indian Forest Service. At present, there is a joint cadre of these services for the two States. Kudankulam plant being maintained in safe mode AERB Chairman: All measures have been taken to maintain the safe mode of critical systems with skeletal staff at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in spite of work coming to a halt at the project site following protests, S.S. Bajaj, Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), said in Chennai on December 8, 2011 on the sidelines of the 43rd annual conference of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (India). Dr. Bajaj said that the AERB was also reviewing safety measures at the Kudankulam plant and getting status reports on a periodic basis as a large contingent of Russian and Ukrainian engineers working on the project have been denied access to the site for several weeks in the wake of the protests. The plant, which was given various clearances after applying stringent parameters, had reached an advanced stage of commissioning before work was halted. States given 4 weeks to enforce number plate scheme: Giving the State governments the last opportunity to ensure that vehicles have tamper-proof, high security number plates, the Supreme Court has directed them to implement the scheme within four weeks. In a clear warning on December 8, 2011, a Bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia said contempt proceedings would be initiated against State authorities, without issuing any notice, in case of non-compliance with the scheme within the time limit. No further time would be granted to enforce the scheme. The court passed the order on a PIL petition filed by All-India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman M.S. Bitta, seeking its direction to introduce tamper-proof, number plates and licences. Uttarakhand to create four districts: The Uttarakhand Government on December 8, 2011 issued an order regarding the creation of
four new districts Kotdwar and Yamunotri in the Garhwal Division and Ranikhet and Didihaat in the Kumaon Division. When formally created, these will take the number of districts in the State to 17. Kotdwar will be carved out of Pauri Garhwal, Yamunotri out of Uttarkashi, Ranikhet out of Almora and Didihaat out of Pithoragarh district. Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri said the districts will formally be created after the upcoming Assembly elections due to restrictions by the Election Commission.

Producer challenges Tamil Nadu govt ban on film Dam 999: The Supreme Court on December 8, 2011 asked the Tamil Nadu
government to hear the objections of Sohan Roy, producer and director of Hollywood film Dam 999, on December 12 and pass appropriate orders by December 16. A Bench of Justices A.K. Ganguly and J.S. Khehar passed the order on a petition filed by Roy that challenged the ban on his film by the Tamil Nadu government.

Environmental clearance given to Tipaimukh project: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 3, 2011 said that
environmental clearance had been given to the proposed Tipaimukh dam project on the River Barak in Manipur to be funded by the World Bank. Addressing a public meeting in Imphal, the Prime Minister said that the forest clearance process for the project was underway. The 1500 MW joint venture Tipaimukh Hydro Electricity Project is proposed to be constructed on the tri-junction of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam over the Barak River which originates in Manipurs Senapati district. Earlier, media reports had said that the Bangladesh government had reservations on the project as they had said it would affect their water management. Earlier the Prime Minister and the For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, inaugurated new buildings in the Manipur capital, including the new Assembly complex and City Convention Centre, during a days day visit to the state. They also inaugurated the Manipur Film Development Corporation complex and the Inter State Bus Terminus.

All govt schools now have drinking water: India has crossed a major milestone by being able to provide drinking water in all
government run schools, though it took 65 years since independence and a lot of persuasion followed by coercion from the Supreme Court. The case started in the SC in 2004 with an NGO Environmental and Consumer Protection Foundation complaining about lack of drinking water facility in the national capital. Later, the court expanded the scope of the PIL and asked all state and Union Territories to give status report about availability of drinking water in all government run schools. On December 5, 2011, a bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra announced that all states have on oath told the apex court that they have provided drinking water facility in all schools. The court also asked for status report about toilet facilities in the schools. The bench said, It is imperative that all schools must provide toilet facilities. Wherever separate toilets are not provided, parents are reluctant to send their daughters to schools. It clearly violates a girl childs right to education guaranteed under Article 21A of the Constitution.

First film with health warnings on smoking scenes released: Bezawada is the first feature film to carry health warnings on
every smoking scene as required under the just notified second amendment of the Rules of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. Released in the first week of December 2011, the Telugu film has 10 smoking scenes, all of which depict health warnings by way of scroll. A similar warning smoking is injurious to health is shown at the beginning of the movie, also as required under the new rules that came into effect from November 14.

President appoints Governors committee on agriculture: President Pratibha Patil on December 1, 2011 constituted a Committee of Governors under the chairmanship of Shivraj Patil, Governor of Punjab & Rajasthan to study and recommend measures for enhancing productivity, profitability, sustainability and competitiveness of the agriculture sector in India with special reference to rainfed area farming. The Committee will deliberate on the need for formulating requisite policy initiatives and legislative measures, institutional reforms including restructuring and convergence of schemes at local level so as to integrate with the village economy and avenues and prospects for investment in agriculture and allied sectors. It will also discuss on measures for transfer of innovations and new cutting edge technologies to the farm and allied sectors, steps to meet the emerging scenario of farm labour and farm mechanization and also to recommend the role and participation of agriculture related Public Sector Undertakings, agriculture Universities and Research Institutions both at the Central and State levels in the promotion of sustainable agriculture and knowledge management and a way forward for FarmerIndustry Partnership. Bihar Assembly approves renaming Gaya airport: The Bihar Assembly on December 5, 2011 unanimously passed a resolution renaming Gaya international airport as Bhagwan Buddha International Airport to mark the 2600th year of attainment of enlightenment by Lord Buddha. The resolution was introduced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who said that the re-naming will boost religious tourism in Gaya which has the world famous Mahabodhi temple and Mahabodhi tree which are revered by Buddhists. CMS Vatavaran-2011 organised: A five-day film festival on wildlife and environment, CMS Vatavaran-2011 Environment and Wildlife Film Festival, India was organised at the Convention Centre, New Delhi City Centre (NDCC) in New Delhi from December 6 to 10, 2011. A total of 114 films were screened. In addition to film screenings, the festival, themed around Biodiversity Conservation, hosted an award ceremony for young environment journalists and film-makers, a summit for Asian film-makers, special programmes for children throughout the event and discussions on the environment with more than 50 speakers and 300 delegates from 15 countries. Kosi: Injustice with Millions of Villagers and Revolt by Kosi River by Vishal Nityanand was declared Best Indian film while SoLa: Louisiana Water Stories by Jon Bowermaster of the US was the Best film in international category. ICSI Foundation Day celebrated: The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Corporate Affairs, R.P.N. Singh
delivered the inaugural address at the ICSI Foundation Day Celebrations, in New Delhi on December 9, 2011.

Trinidad and Tobago Finance Minister visits India: The Finance Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Winston Dookeran called on the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in New Delhi on December 8, 2011.

For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

New Delhi, Kabul sign MoU on education: The Union Minister for Human Resource Development and Communications and Information Technology, Kapil Sibal and the Education Minister of Afghanistan, Farooq Wardak exchanging the signed an MoU in the field of education between India and Afghanistan, in New Delhi on December 8, 2011. Armed Forces Flag Day observed: The Armed Forces Flag Day was observed on December 7, 2011. NEWSMAKERS Syed Akbaruddin is new spokesperson of External Affairs Ministry
Syed Akbaruddin will be the new spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs replacing Vishnu Prakash, who will be the next Ambassador to South Korea. Akbaruddin has served in Indias Permanent Mission in New York, on deputation to the International Atomic Energy Agency and in Indian missions in Cairo, Riyadh and Islamabad. An order naming him to the Foreign Offices high visibility post has been issued in the first week of December 2011.

Dev Anand passes away

Hindi cinemas legendary hero Dev Anand passed away on December 3, 2011 in London at the age of 88. Born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand in Gurdaspur of undivided Punjab to a well-to-do advocate Pishorimal Anand on September 26, 1923, he graduated in English literature from the Government Law College in Lahore. He was the second of three brothers born to Kishorimal Anand. His brothers Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand were also into filmmaking. Ruling the roost in Hindi cinema for decades, Dev Anand won the Filmfare Best Actor Awards for his role in Kala Pani in 1958 and for Guide in 1966. He also won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. In 2001, he was bestowed Padma Bhushan, the countrys third highest civilian honour. In 2002, he won the Dadasaheb Phalke award for cinematic excellence. Dev Anand turned to direction later in his career. His movie Chargesheet was recently released under the banner of Navketan International Films, a production company he launched in 1949. Anand was offered his first big break by Ashok Kumar who picked him as the hero for the Bombay Talkies production, Ziddi (1948), co-starring Kamini Kaushal, which became an instant success. His autobiography Romancing with Life was released in September 2007.

Sukna scam: Lt Gen Prakash found guilty, dismissed

Former military secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash was on December 3, 2011 found guilty on three counts by an Army court in Guwahati in the Sukna land scam case following which he was dismissed from service. The dismissal means he will not get any benefits like pension. However, the court gave Lt Gen Prakash, the senior-most Army officer to face court martial, benefit of doubt on the fourth count of committing a civil offence. Prakash was held guilty of misusing his position under the Army Act section 45 (conduct unbecoming of his position as an officer) and section 52 (intent to defraud) by the General Court Martial. The court martial was conducted after Prakash was indicted by an Army court of inquiry in 2010 for his role in the illegal transfer of 71 acres of land adjacent to the Sukna military station near Siliguri in West Bengal to a private realtor for constructing an educational institution in 2008.

Section B: WORLD
NEW ROUND UP Durban Climate Change talks conclude
The UN Climate Change talks at Durban, South Africa concluded on December 11, 2011 with an agreement that the chair said had saved tomorrow, today. The European Union will place its current emission-cutting pledges inside the legally-binding Kyoto Protocol, a key demand of developing countries. Talks on a new legal deal covering all countries will begin next year and end by 2015, coming into effect by 2020. Management of a fund for climate aid to poor countries has also been agreed, though how to raise the money has not.

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Talks ran nearly 36 hours beyond their scheduled close. The conclusion was delayed by a dispute between the EU and India over the precise wording of the roadmap for a new global deal. India did not want a specification that it must be legally binding. Eventually, a Brazilian diplomat came up with the formulation that the deal must have legal force, which proved acceptable. The roadmap proposal originated with the EU, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the Least Developed Countries bloc (LDCs). They argued that only a new legal agreement eventually covering emissions from all countries - particularly fast-growing major emitters such as China could keep the rise in global average temperatures since pre-industrial times below 2C (3.6F), the internationally-agreed threshold. Delegates from the Basic group - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - criticised what they saw as a tight timetable and excessive legality. India believes in maintaining the current stark division where only countries labelled developed have to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Western nations, Jayanthi Natarajan, Indias environment minister said, have not cut their own emissions as they had pledged; so why should poorer countries have to do it for them? Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation, agreed. However, Bangladesh and some other developing countries weighed in on the side of AOSIS, saying a new legally-binding deal was needed. AOSIS and the LDCs agree that rich countries need to do more. But they also accept analyses concluding that fast-developing countries such as China will need to cut their emissions several years in the future if governments are to meet their goal of keeping the rise in global average temperature since pre-industrial times below 2C. Once the roadmap blockage had been cleared, everything else followed quickly. A management framework was adopted for the Green Climate Fund, which will eventually gather and disburse finance amounting to $100bn per year to help poor countries develop cleanly and adapt to climate impacts. There has also been significant progress on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). Environment groups were divided in their reaction, with some finding it a significant step forward and others saying it had done nothing to change the course of climate change. Many studies indicate that current pledges on reducing emissions are taking the Earth towards a temperature rise of double the 2C target.

Anna Hazares movement among top 10 news stories of 2011: Time magazine
Anna Hazares anti-corruption movement that saw Indians rally in support has been named among the top 10 news stories in the world this year by Time magazine on December 8, 2011. Top 10 World-News Stories are: 1. The Arab Spring Blooms in Tunisia and Egypt When a young man set himself aflame on a street in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, his cry of anguish at the hardship of life under a stifling autocracy echoed across the region. Within weeks, his protest had sparked a full-blown people-power revolution that spread quickly throughout the Middle East. Nowhere were its effects more dramatic than in Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world and its cultural epicentre. The regime of President Hosni Mubarak, backed by considerable aid from the U.S., had held sway for three decades and entrenched itself in all corners of Egyptian society. But the spectacle of Tunisians ousting their long-ruling President, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, gave courage to myriad Egyptian dissident groups. Through social media and the Internet, protesters organized a Day of Revolt on Jan. 25, with tens of thousands taking to the streets against Mubarak. Cairos Tahrir Square once a pedestrian-unfriendly traffic circle became the locus of protest and symbolic home of the revolution. In a matter of weeks, a regime that for so long seemed invincible simply unravelled; authorities announced Mubaraks departure on Feb. 11. Hes now on trial, at the order of the interim military government, on corruption charges and for the brutal crackdown by state security forces that led to the deaths of nearly 1,000 protesters. Egypt held its first democratic elections Nov. 27, but its struggles are far from over: for weeks ahead of the vote, thousands massed at Tahrir Square yet again, voicing their disquiet with the militarys dubious commitment to real democracy. With Egypts Islamist parties buoyed by a strong showing in the Nov. 27 vote, the struggle for power only grows trickier. For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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2. The Killing of Osama bin Laden On Sunday night, May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama made a televised declaration from the White House, heralding the discovery and death of Osama bin Laden, the U.S.s most wanted foe. Bin Laden had been tracked to a compound in Abbottabad, a leafy town not far from Islamabad, Pakistans capital. The clandestine raid that followed carried out by a crack unit of Navy SEALs took the world (and likely Pakistans leaders) by surprise. Bin Ladens body was reportedly given Muslim rites of burial and dumped into the Arabian Sea. The repercussions of his death were legion. It capped the decade-long manhunt that had originally driven the U.S. to war in neighboring Afghanistan, while sounding a death knell for al-Qaeda, a group that had already lost much of its allure and capabilities in the decade that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. More crucially, the discovery of the location of bin Ladens hideout not in a mountain cave but in a quiet suburb just down the road from Pakistans main military academy raised obvious alarms over Islamabads commitment to fighting extremists. The ensuing months saw a steady deterioration of ties between Washington and Islamabad, with growing calls in the U.S. Congress to cut aid to Pakistans murky military, whose intelligence agency, the ISI, is considered to have a long history of abetting militant groups in Afghanistan and India 3. Japans Triple Disaster James Nachtwey, an award-winning photographer for TIME who has spent years documenting the ravages of war, was awed by the destruction caused by the March 11 earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan and the cataclysmic tsunami it spawned. The scale of this is beyond belief. Its apocalyptic, he said after visiting Japan in the quakes aftermath. Measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, the temblor was one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, so powerful it knocked the whole planet off its axis by a foot. It also posed the greatest challenge to Japan since the end of World War II. The quake and the waves it produced decimated towns and cities along an entire stretch of the northeastern Honshu coast. Nearly 16,000 residents are estimated dead, and the price of the disaster may reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Thats in part because of a third crisis that followed the earthquake and tsunamis one-two punch: a major meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, caused after tsunami waves overwhelmed the facility and corrupted its coolant systems. The problems at Fukushima proved to be the quakes most enduring aftershock, causing months of frantic emergency efforts, scares over radioactive contamination and global handwringing over the safety and viability of nuclear energy around the world. 4. Europes Financial Crisis The after-effects of the financial crisis laid bare the clumsy and at times irresponsible state of affairs underlying growth and prosperity in a number of euro-zone economies, particularly in Greece, where a proposed IMF and European bailout package mandated crippling budget cuts and other austerity measures. In response, tens of thousands took to the streets in Athens and elsewhere to protest the prevailing financial institutions and feckless political elites that got them into the mess in the first place. Similar anti-austerity demonstrations rocked Spain, where the indignados, the outraged, occupied Madrids iconic Puerta del Sol square for weeks. In both countries, incumbent governments fell and beleaguered Prime Ministers departed. The threat of fiscal contagion from Greece spreading elsewhere pushed Italy the euro zones third biggest economy to the brink and forced the departure of controversial Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a man who had been unbowed by an earlier string of sex and corporate scandals. The crisis has strained the very fabric of the E.U. and threatened the dissolution of the common euro currency, as disgruntled voters in Germany the continents main economic engine and biggest lender and elsewhere chafe at Brussels-imposed austerity measures and at their own governments obligation to bail out struggling neighbours 5. The Fall of Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafis four-decade-long dictatorial rule over the oil-rich North African nation of Libya came to a grisly end Oct. 20, 2011, but the months preceding his death were similarly bloody. In early March, uprisings sparked by the Arab Spring unrest in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia exploded into full-fledged civil war, as barely trained militias rose up against Gaddafis forces, and several prominent allies and generals defected to their cause. Prompted by a rumoured threat of genocide should Gaddafi overrun the rebel stronghold of For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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Benghazi, the United Nations adopted a resolution in March that in essence legitimated a foreign intervention. NATO operations formally began at the start of April and steadily rolled back Gaddafis forces. But the war drifted on for months as Libyas rebels struggled to hold their regained ground, while their Western allies led by the U.K., France and the U.S. remained wary of putting their own boots on the ground. By the end of fighting, an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 Libyans had died; hundreds of thousands more had been displaced as refugees. The steady toll of air strikes enabled rebel advances to seize the capital, Tripoli, sending Gaddafi and the last vestiges of his regime scurrying to his hometown of Sirte. On Oct. 20, after being discovered cowering in a sewage ditch, Gaddafi was seized by rebels and killed, his body placed on display in a meat locker in the port city of Misratah 6. The Arab Spring in the Weeds In Tunisia and Egypt, the popular protests of the Arab Spring sent long-ruling dictators tumbling. But similar uprisings in Syria and Yemen havent played out that way. Both Syrian President Bashar Assad and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have long presided over fractious, complex societies and consolidated their rule through webs of patronage spread across sectarian, tribal lines. The upheavals of 2011 unravelled that status quo in spasms of violence. Saleh, after months of tribal insurrections, an Islamist insurgency and the defections of key military men, agreed in November to step down from power. Roughly 2,000 protesters have been slain in the process, and its unclear what sort of political order will emerge in what is one of the Arab worlds poorest nations. In Syria, the calculus is even more grim. The Assad regime has bitterly clung to power, confronting protesters weekly with tanks and rocket fire. The bloodshed the U.N. estimates that more than 3,500 have been slain has horrified Damascuss neighbours and allies, with some calling for Assads departure. The Arab League has demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities and recently levelled sanctions against the Syrian state, an act that appeared only to push Assad and his remaining loyalists further into a blood-soaked corner. 7. Famine in the Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa seems to be one of the most perennially unstable parts of the world, plagued by myriad insurgencies, Islamist extremism and the frailty of the Somali government in Mogadishu. Deepening the sense of crisis in the region this year was a terrible drought the worst, by some accounts, in more than 60 years. In July, the U.N. declared much of southern Somalia to be in a state of famine a complicated calculation that, among other metrics, states that over 30% of the local population faces acute malnutrition not a term to be taken lightly. Hundreds of thousands of starving Somalis fled to refugee camps on the Kenyan border at a rate of more than 1,000 a day. The camp at Dadaab, already the worlds largest sanctuary for refugees, was overwhelmed. Relief efforts in much of southern Somalia have been complicated by the dominance there of al-Shabab, an Islamist militia linked to al-Qaeda. While U.N. officials are wary of providing an exact death toll from the famine, some estimates place the figure in the tens of thousands The Horn of Africa seems to be one of the most perennially unstable parts of the world, plagued by myriad insurgencies, Islamist extremism and the frailty of the Somali government in Mogadishu. Deepening the sense of crisis in the region this year was a terrible drought the worst, by some accounts, in more than 60 years. In July, the U.N. declared much of southern Somalia to be in a state of famine a complicated calculation that, among other metrics, states that over 30% of the local population faces acute malnutrition not a term to be taken lightly. Hundreds of thousands of starving Somalis fled to refugee camps on the Kenyan border at a rate of more than 1,000 a day. The camp at Dadaab, already the worlds largest sanctuary for refugees, was overwhelmed. Relief efforts in much of southern Somalia have been complicated by the dominance there of al-Shabab, an Islamist militia linked to al-Qaeda. While U.N. officials are wary of providing an exact death toll from the famine, some estimates place the figure in the tens of thousands 8. The Utoya Massacre On July 22, Norway experienced its worst single spasm of violence since World War II. In Oslo, a car bomb detonated near a set of prominent government buildings, killing eight people and shocking Norwegians who watched TV footage of smoke pouring from the heart of the otherwise sleepy seaside capital. The news was about to get far grislier: at a youth summer camp run by Norways ruling center-left Labour Party on the island of Utoya, a gunman had mowed down 69 people. While some commentators leaped to pin the attacks on Islamist terrorists, authorities eventually found one culprit: Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian and far-right fanatic who shortly before the attacks posted online a manifesto filled with hate for immigrants, multiculturalists and leftists. Breivik, who has admitted his guilt, has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic by a panel For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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of psychiatrists who ruled he was insane during the attacks. The ruling could see him eventually be committed to a psychiatric institution rather than prison at the conclusion of his trial, set to resume in April 2012. Breiviks hideous deeds prompted a moment of introspection in Norway whose government has played such a prominent role in trying to author peace in other parts of the world regarding the rise of far-right extremism there and elsewhere in Europe 9. Dream of Palestinian Statehood Deferred With the Mideast peace process as moribund as it has ever been, the leaders of the Palestinian Authority this year chose to appeal directly to the United Nations in their pursuit of statehood. In the months preceding the September U.N. General Assembly, Israeli and American officials warned against the move, arguing that such recognition could be gained only by first directly negotiating with Israeli interlocutors. But the Palestinians countered that the current right-wing Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown little inclination to achieve a formalized peace and, particularly with its continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, seemed antagonistic to the idea. When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appeared at the U.N. in September and, with a stirring speech before the General Assembly, announced the attempt to achieve full recognition at the Security Council, he was greeted as something of a hero back home. But in subsequent months, the effort proved stillborn: the certainty of a U.S. veto, as well as pressure applied by Washington on other members of the Security Council, has almost guaranteed that the Palestinians bid wont get off the ground and may not even reach the General Assembly, where the occupied territories could receive at least the symbolic gloss of international legitimacy. 10. Anna Hazares Hunger Fasts Rock India In a year with more than its share of protests worldwide, perhaps the most striking act of dissent took place in India, where the countrys ruling coalition took flak for a host of corruption cases implicating a number of leading politicians. Anna Hazare, a 74-year-old activist with a Gandhian air, commanded something of the Mahatmas aura when he embarked on a series of hunger strikes in protest of the graft that his supporters say pervades all strata of Indian society. Hazares fasts even the threat of them triggered mass demonstrations of support across Indias major cities and heaped pressure on the government to create an independent ombudsman body capable of investigating the nations political elites even the Prime Minister and bringing the corrupt to justice. The anticorruption bill, which critics fear could erode Indias robust, albeit imperfect, democracy by placing it under the authority of an unelected institution, is still being debated in Parliament. But the mass support Hazare commanded, particularly from Indias burgeoning middle class, is a sign of the growing frustrations and aspirations of those in the worlds largest democracy.

India has the highest number of poor in the world OECD

Inequality in earnings has doubled in India over the past two decades, a new report says, making it one of the worst performers among emerging economies. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in its report released on December 7, 2011, says that the top 10% of wage-earners make 12 times more than the bottom 10%, compared to six times 20 years ago. The OECD says India has the highest number of poor in the world. Some 42% of its 1.21 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. Brazil, Indonesia and, on some indicators, Argentina have recorded significant progress in reducing inequality over the past 20 years, the report, entitled Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, says. By contrast, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa have all become less equal over time. In India, the report says, the ratio between the top and the bottom wage-earners has doubled since the early 1990s. India has also not fared well in poverty reduction, the report says. It says 42% of Indians live below the poverty line, as against the official Indian figure of 37%. The Paris-based OECD is a grouping of 34 advanced and emerging economies. Recently, the Indian government was criticised for saying that an individual income of Rs. 32 a day in urban areas and Rs. 25 a day in rural areas would help provide for adequate private expenditure on food, education and health. Many experts said the income limit to define the poor was too low and aimed at artificially reducing the number of people below the poverty line. A World Bank report in May said attempts by the Indian government to combat poverty were not working. It said aid programmes were beset by corruption, bad administration and under-payments For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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ILOs Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting organised

The 15th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (ARPM) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was organised in Kyoto, Japan from December 4 to 7, 2011 amid concerns of huge unemployment among youth in the region, a widening gender gap and the promise of green jobs. About 500 people, including Ministers, representatives of workers and employers organisations, and academics from more than 46 countries in Asia, the Pacific and the Arab States attended the four-day deliberations. The main thrust of the meeting was to debate how employment, economic and social progress can be safeguarded in the face of the uncertain global economic outlook, according to the ILO. Director-General of the ILO, Juan Somavia in a statement said, The existing unbalanced growth cannot continue. It has failed to deliver jobs of the quality and quantity needed to assure women and men and their families a decent life. Today, unemployment levels in Asia and the Pacific have yet to reach the pre-crisis low of 76.9 million in 2007. Nearly 60 per cent of the regions workers are in vulnerable employment. The crisis of youth employment demands urgent action. Young people make up around 20 per cent of the regions population but are half of the jobless. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that the gap between the rich and the poor was widening in many countries, including industrialised nations, and a trend depicting an ongoing polarisation of society could be seen. A report on the Asia-Pacific Labour Market Update produced for the ILOs 15th ARPM, says that the global outlook is increasingly uncertain. Asia will not be immune from turbulence and weak demand. While the regions economic performance remains positive in some countries impressively so there are signs of slowing growth, with economic and social vulnerabilities appearing in both industrialised and developing Asia.

EU countries agree on tax and budget pact to tackle eurozone debt crisis
European leaders say 26 out of 27 EU member states have backed a tax and budget pact to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. Only the UK has said it will not join. Prime Minister David Cameron said he had to protect key British interests, including its financial markets. The 17 countries that use the euro have all agreed to the deal on December 9, 2011. Nine other countries have said they will sign up, some pending consultations with their parliaments. Hungary originally said it would also remain outside the deal but has now changed its stance. Eurozone members and others will adopt an accord with penalties for breaking deficit rules. It will be backed by a treaty between governments, not an EU treaty. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the UK was the only country to have expressed reservations, but that Cameron had recognised that a stable euro was in Britains interest. Of the nine other EU countries outside the euro, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Sweden have said they must consult their parliaments. Six others - including Denmark, Poland and Latvia - have agreed to join the new deal. EU leaders aim to have the pact - known as a fiscal compact - ready to take effect by March. Its main provisions include: a cap of 0.5% of GDP on countries annual structural deficits; automatic consequences for countries whose public deficit exceeds 3% of GDP; the tighter rules to be enshrined in countries constitutions; the EUs permanent bailout facility, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), to be accelerated and brought into force in July 2012; the adequacy of 500bn-euro limit for the ESM to be reassessed; eurozone and other EU countries to provide up to 200bn euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help debt-stricken eurozone members.

Croatia signs treaty to join EU in 2013: Croatia has signed a treaty to make it the 28th member of the European Union from mid2013, becoming the EUs second ex-Yugoslav member after Slovenia. EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy on December 9, 2011 welcomed the historic treaty signed at the EU summit in Brussels after seven years of negotiations. Territorial disputes with Slovenia and demands for the arrest of war crimes suspects had dogged the bid. Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told the leaders of the 27 existing EU states: Today Croatia is entering Europe, but more importantly Europe is entering Croatia. Yugoslavias split into independent states in the early 1990s sparked conflicts, the last of which enveloped the Serbian region of Kosovo. Belgrade has refused to recognise Kosovos 2008 declaration of independence.

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International conference on the future of Afghanistan organised: Afghanistan will need the financial support of the international community for at least another decade beyond the 2014 departure of international troops, said Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the international conference on the future of Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany on December 5, 2011. Pakistan boycotted the conference to protest an apparently errant U.S. air strike in November 2011 that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the rough border with Afghanistan. Pakistan is seen as instrumental to ending the insurgency in Afghanistan because of its links to militant groups and its unwillingness, from the U.S. and NATO perspective, to drive insurgents from safe havens on its soil where they regroup and rearm. During the one-day conference, about 100 nations and international organisations, including the United Nations, jointly pledged political and financial long-term support for war-torn Afghanistan to hinder it from falling back into chaos or becoming a safe haven for terrorists. Afghanistans western neighbour, Iran, did join the conference, represented by Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. Iran stands ready to support Afghanistan and an Afghan-led reconciliation process, said Salehi, while strongly condemning the idea of any military bases remaining after 2014. Nepal CA endorses new work plan to draft constitution: The Nepalese Constituent Assembly (CA) on December 6, 2011 endorsed a new work plan to draft the countrys new constitution in a time bound frame keeping in view the last extension given for the purpose. The new work plan was required to adjust the extended deadline of drafting a new constitution, which was due to expire on November 30. On November 29 the CA term has been extended for another six month as the political parties failed to complete the task of writing the new constitution within the extended deadline. The 11th meeting of the CA (formed in 2008) on December 6 unanimously passed the calendar and 13-point work plan prepared by the Dispute Resolution Sub-Committee of Constitutional Committee (CC) to follow as the guidelines for the plan of action. Australia lifts ban on uranium export to India: The ruling Australian Labor Partys national conference in Sydney on December 4,
2011 voted by a very narrow margin to overturn its long-standing policy banning uranium sales to India. Till now, party policy dictated that uranium could only be sold to countries signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). Prime Minister Julia Gillard had urged delegates to support the motion, emphasising it would boost trade and enhance the bilateral relationship. The PMs motion was finally endorsed by a 206-185 split, revealing deep dissensions even among ministers in the Gillard government. Australia has no nuclear power stations but has almost 40 per cent of the worlds known uranium reserves. It supplies 19 per cent of the world market. Australia currently exports uranium to China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. While defence minister Stephen Smith, resources minister Martin Ferguson and South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill spoke of India as a close friend which deserves to be respected as a growing superpower and its citizens shouldnt be denied access to clean energy, Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes called the NPT a dead-letter treaty which had failed to stop nuclear proliferation.

Indonesian parliament endorses accession to CTBT: The list of countries still outside the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
(CTBT) thinned by one with Indonesias parliament voting to ratify Jakartas accession to the treaty, according to an announcement by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) on December 6, 2011. This leaves India and seven other countries including China, North Korea, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States, out of the CTBT, which has been signed by 182 countries and ratified by 156. Annexe 2 of the CTBT essentially asks all 44 designated nuclear technology holder countries to sign and ratify the Treaty in order to bring it into law. Among the countries which have not signed the CTBT, the U.S, India, China, North Korea and Pakistan are declared nuclear weapon states. Israel neither confirms nor denies it has nuclear weapons and due to this stand by Tel Aviv as well as the collapsing Middle-East peace process, Iran and Egypt have linked their accession to the demand for a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.

International Anti-Corruption Day, observed: In a reference to the peoples revolutionary movements against corruption in West Asia and countries like India, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on December 9, 2011 asked nations to join forces in fighting the cancer of corruption which he says breeds inequality and injustice. Ban, in his message on the occasion of International AntiCorruption Day, observed annually on December 9, said the poor and vulnerable sections of society may be marginalised by corruption, but they cannot be silenced. He also called on businesses to adopt anti-corruption measures in line with the convention, noting that the private sector, too, stands to gain from effective action. Community of Latin American and Caribbean States launched: The U.S. and Canada were excluded from a new organisation representing Latin American and Caribbean States. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), launched on December 5, 2011 in Caracas, Venezuela, comprises more than 33 member-nations. Among the attendees were Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Cuban President Ral Castro, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner, and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. The inclusion of Cuba in CELAC reflects some Latin
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American nations desire to rebalance the structure and power of regional organisations, as Cuba has long been blacklisted by the U.S. and its membership of the U.S.-dominated OAS was suspended between 1962 and 2009.

European Union to slash development aid to India: European Union has decided to slash development aid to India with effect
from 2014, as part of its efforts to focus on extending help to the poorer nations. The proposed move is part of an exercise, under which the 27-nation bloc of European region would lower its aid for a total of 19 developing countries that also includes China. The decision announced on December 8, 2011 comes at a time when Europe is facing a worsening debt crisis in several EU countries. Among other countries, the development aid would be slashed for India and Indonesia, which have been described by European Union (EU) as two large middle income countries whose GDP is larger than one per cent of global GDP. Explaining the rationale behind the decision, European Commission said the countries that can generate enough resources to ensure their own development would no longer receive bilateral grant aid. European Commission is the executive arm of the EU.

World Court rules against Greece in Macedonia case: The Hague, Netherlands-based International Court of Justice ruled on
December 5, 2011 that Greece was wrong to block Macedonias bid to join NATO in 2008 because of a long-running dispute over the fledgling countrys use of the name Macedonia. In a 15-1 ruling, the court found that Greeces veto breached a 1995 deal under which Greece had agreed not to block Macedonias membership in international organizations if it used the name The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia while the matter was submitted to U.N. mediation. More than 15 years later, discussions over the name are still unresolved. There was little opposition from Athens to the Yugoslav territory using the name Macedonia until it declared independence in 1991. The country occupies some of the territory in the region that was known as Macedonia after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. Under the 1995 interim agreement, Greece dropped economic sanctions against Macedonia in exchange for the temporary compromise on the name. Macedonia also stopped using an ancient Macedonian flag and amended articles of its constitution which could be seen as hinting at claims to Greek territory

US starts vacating Shamsi airbase in Pakistan: The US on December 4, 2011 started pulling out its nationals from Shamsi airbase, reportedly used by CIA- operated drones, on the orders of Pakistan government after a deadly NATO cross-border air-strike killed 24 of its soldiers. Pakistan asked the US to vacate the remote airbase in Balochistan within 15 days and blocked routes used to transport supplies to US and allied forces in Afghanistan after a cross-border NATO air strike on two military posts killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26. New Zealand ruling party agrees coalition deal: New Zealands National Party on December 5, 2011 sealed a coalition deal with
two small parties, nine days after almost securing an outright victory in the general election. The ruling party will govern with the ACT party and the United Future party, which both have one seat in parliament. The National Party, led by PM John Key, secured 60 of 121 parliamentary seats and this deal gives them a majority. It will be Keys second term in office.

India-Sri Lanka ferry, the Scotia Prince, impounded: The ferry boat between India and Sri Lanka was impounded by the
commercial high court in Colombo on December 6, 2011 over a dispute involving its Indian caterer. The ferry service was resumed in June after a gap of almost 30 years caused by the islands civil war. The Scotia Prince travels twice a week between Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu and the Sri Lankan capital. The boat has been anchored in Colombo since the middle of November. The commercial high court ordered the retention of Scotia Prince in Colombo port until the settlement of a dispute involving its Indian caterer. The ruling came after a firm based in Chennai alleged that the ferry owed it 15 million rupees.

China overtakes India as Diabetes Capital: China has overtaken India to wrest the title of the Diabetes Capital of the World, going by the latest figures revealed by the 5th edition of Diabetes Atlas on December 4, 2011. At 90.0 million, China today has the largest number of people with diabetes. India follows with about 61.3 million, and the third on the list is far behind United States at 23.7 million. These figures revealed by the Diabetes Atlas, an effort of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), in mid-November have once again stressed the rampant progress of the epidemic in a world that seems largely under-prepared to tackle the growing numbers. World Telugu meet organised: The World Telugu Conference was organised under the aegis of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University
and Mauritius Telugu Cultural Centre Trust in Mauritius from December 8 to 10, 2011. Prime Minister Naveen Ramgoolam formally inaugurated the conference on December 8. The Conference appealed to the state government to set up a world-standard secretariat to promote the Telugu language. Participating as chief guest in the valedictory, AP Legislative Council chairman A Chakrapani announced of constitution of a House Committee with members from both the Assembly and Council to address the problems being faced by Telugu people. For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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UNEP report on Women & climate change unveiled: Women, particularly those living in the mountainous regions in developing countries, face disproportionately high risks to their livelihoods and health from global warming, says a U.N. report on Climate Change. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report titled Women at the Frontline of Climate Change: Gender Risks and Hopes says investing in low-carbon and efficient green technologies, water harvesting and fuel wood alternatives can strengthen climate change adaptation and improve womens livelihoods. The report was released at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP17) in Durban, South Africa, according to a press release issued by the ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) headquartered in Kathmandu on December 7, 2011.

NEWSMAKERS
Elio Di Rupo appointed new PM in Belgium: Belgium has sworn in a new government, ending a record-breaking 541 days of political deadlock. New Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was sworn in by King Albert II at the royal palace in Brussels along with his 12 cabinet ministers and six secretaries of state on December 6, 2011. Belgium had been run by a caretaker administration since the last government resigned in April 2010. The delay in forming a new government revolved around arguments over budget and immigration issues, but originally started with a row over the distribution of voting rights between the French-speaking and Flemish communities. Belgium now holds the modern-day record for the country which has gone the longest without a government - beating previous title holder Cambodia by 182 days. Di Rupo, 60, is Belgiums first French-speaking prime minister in three decades and the first Socialist to take the premiership in Belgium since 1974. Kabila declared winner of Presidential election in DR Congo: Incumbent Joseph Kabila has won a new five-year term as
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the Election Commission on December 9, 2011, announcing the poll results. Kabila had obtained 49 per cent of the vote to 32.3 per cent for his nearest rival, veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi. Kabila, in power since 2001, ran against a divided opposition field of 10 candidates in the November 28 polls.

Biden to remain Vice Presidential candidate: an end to speculation the White House on December 3, 2011 said that Joe Biden will
remain the Vice Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party for the elections in 2012.

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Section C: AWARDS
Porfirio is the Best Film at India International Film Festival
The Columbian film Porfirio directed by Alejandro Landes and produced by Franciso Aljure bagged the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at the 42nd International Film Festival of India 2011 organised in Goa from November 23 to December 3, 2011. Both Landes and Aljure also received cash prizes of Rs. 20 lakh each. The Silver Peacock Award for the Best Director went to Asghar Farhadi for his film Nader and Simin-A Seperation. The Indian film Adaminte Makan Abu won the Special Jury Award. Director of the film Salim Ahamed received the award which consists of a Silver Peacock, Certificate and a Cash Prize of Rs. 15 Lakhs. The Best Actor award of Rs. 10 lakh went to the Israeli actor Sasson Gabay for his role in the film Restoration whereas the Best Actress Award of Rs. 10 lakh was won by Russian actress Nadezhda Markina for her role in Elena. The above films were chosen by a five member Competition Jury comprising Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Laurence Kardish, Lee Yong Kwan, Tahmineh Milani and Dan Wolman. The festival concluded on December 3, 2011 with the screening of the English film The Lady directed by acclaimed French Director Luc Besson. This film recounts veteran Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyis political and personal struggles and stars Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh. At the closing ceremony, a one minute silence was observed to pay tribute to the departed soul of Brazilian Director, Oscar Maron Filho, who passed away during the festival. The eleven day cinematic extravaganza which began on November 23 with the screening of the Portuguese film The Consul of Bordeaux witnessed the screening of a variety of diverse films from India and from across the world. Special attractions of the 42nd International Film Festival of India included Retrospectives of eminent filmmakers like Luc Besson and Phillip Noyce; Homages to cinematic luminaries like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Leacock, Sidney Lumet and others; Festivals Kaleidoscope; Country Focus on USA; Russian Classics; Spotlight on Poland, Documentaries along with first time packages like 3D Cinema-The Third Dimension, Sketches on Screens, Soccer in Cinema and others. During the course of the festival besides film shows, a host of film related events like Master Class, Open Forums, Film Bazaar by NFDC, 3D Visual Experience Summit and the Short Film Centre were also held to facilitate interaction and business meets in this sector. Master Classes taken by Hugh Welchman on Realising Animation, Resul Pookutty on Weaving the Magic of Sound in Cinema and Phillip Noyce on From Concept to Film, the Phil Noyce Way, were great hits.

Akal Takht bestows Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Quam on Badal: The Akal Takht on December 5, 2011 bestowed the prestigious
title of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Quam on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in recognition of his outstanding contributions and glorious services during his long Panthic and political career at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. The apex clergy of the community led by Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh honoured Badal with a siropa (robes of religious honour), a kirpan (sword for defending the faith) and a silver plaque with the citation of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Quam.

New Delhis cluster bus scheme wins Urban Transport award: The Delhi Government and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal
Transit System (DIMTS) Limited won the Best PPP initiative in Urban Transport award for their project Corporatisation of Private Stage Carriage Buses in Delhi at the Urban Mobility Conference-2011 organised by the Institute of Urban Transport (India) in New Delhi on December 6, 2011. The cluster scheme was conceptualised and drafted by DIMTS in 2007. The process involved dividing 657 routes of Delhi into 17 clusters, with each being serviced by a single operator.

S.K. Satheesh wins Earth Sciences prize of Third World Academy of Sciences: S.K. Satheesh, associate professor at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, was honoured by the Third World Academy of Sciences with its 2011 prize in Earth Sciences that carries a prize of $ 15,000 in December 2011. For over 19 years, Dr. Satheesh has been studying atmospheric aerosols, the tiny suspended particles comprising natural elements like sea salt, desert sand, and volcanic ash and the soot released by human activities like burning biomass and fossil fuels. The announcement from Trieste, Italy, said Dr. Satheesh was chosen for the award for his contribution to the understanding of atmospheric aerosols and their impact on the radiation balance of the earth-atmosphere system and climate. He shared the prize with Wu Fuyuan of the Institute of Geology & Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Section D: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers confirm presence of earth-like planet 600 light-years away
Astronomers at NASAs Ames Research Center have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone around a star not unlike our own. The planet, Kepler 22-b, lies about 600 light-years away and is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, and has a temperature of about 22C. It is the closest confirmed planet yet to one like ours - an Earth 2.0. However, the team does not yet know if Kepler 22-b is made mostly of rock, gas or liquid. During the conference at which the result was announced on December 5, 2011, the Kepler team also said that it had spotted some 1,094 new candidate planets - nearly doubling the telescopes haul of potential far-flung worlds. Kepler 22-b was one of 54 exo-planet candidates in habitable zones reported by the Kepler team in February, and is just the first to be formally confirmed using other telescopes. More of these Earth 2.0 candidates are likely to be confirmed in the near future, though a redefinition of the habitable zones boundaries has brought that number down to 48. Ten of those are Earth-sized. The Kepler space telescope was designed to look at a fixed swathe of the night sky, staring intently at about 150,000 stars. The telescope is sensitive enough to see when a planet passes in front of its host star, dimming the stars light by a minuscule amount. Kepler identifies these slight changes in starlight as candidate planets, which are then confirmed by further observations by Kepler and other telescopes in orbit and on Earth. The results were announced at the Kepler telescopes first science conference, alongside the staggering number of new candidate planets. The total number of candidates spotted by the telescope is now 2,326 - of which 207 are approximately Earth-sized.

LHC: Higgs boson may have been glimpsed

The most coveted prize in particle physics - the Higgs boson - may have been glimpsed, say researchers reporting at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva on December 12, 2011. The particle is purported to be the means by which everything in the Universe obtains its mass. Scientists say that two experiments at the LHC see hints of the Higgs at the same mass, fuelling huge excitement. But the LHC does not yet have enough data to claim a discovery. Finding the Higgs would be one of the biggest scientific advances of the last 60 years. It is crucial for allowing us to make sense of the Universe, but has never been observed by experiments. This basic building block of the Universe is a significant missing component of the Standard Model - the instruction booklet that describes how particles and forces interact. Two separate experiments at the LHC - Atlas and CMS - have been conducting independent searches for the Higgs. Because the Standard Model does not predict an exact mass for the Higgs, physicists have to use particle accelerators like the LHC to systematically look for it across a broad search area.

The Higgs boson

The Higgs is a sub-atomic particle that is predicted to exist, but has not yet been seen It was proposed as a mechanism to explain mass by six physicists, including Peter Higgs, in 1964 It imparts mass to other fundamental particles via the associated Higgs field It is the last missing member of the Standard Model, which explains how particles interact

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Section E: ECONOMY & CORPORATE

11

2:01 IST

Government puts FDI in retail on hold

The government on December 7, 2011 announced suspension of its decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment in retail. Normal functioning of Parliament had been stalled ever since the Cabinet decided to allow 51 per cent FDI in multibrand retail, with some UPA allies, primarily the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, and the entire Opposition, demanding a complete rollback. The impasse finally ended at an all-party meeting, where the government announced its intention to put the Cabinet decision on hold until after all stakeholders were consulted. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made the announcement in the Lok Sabha. He explained that the stakeholders were political parties and Chief Ministers without whose involvement this decision cannot be implemented. It can never be implemented without involving the States. The House then took up question hour for the first time since the winter session began on November 22. RETAIL: CHRONOLOGY Jul 2010: The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion floats discussion paper on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail Nov 2010: A committee under the Consumer Affairs Ministry is formed to ascertain the impact of FDI in multi-brand retail Jul 2011: A Committee of Secretaries under Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth gives in-principle approval to 51% FDI in multi-brand retail Nov 24: Cabinet clears the decision to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail and 100% in single-brand retail. Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress expresses its opposition, says UPA allies were not consulted Nov 28: Prime Minister calls an all-party meeting to break the logjam over the issue. Commerce minister announces FDI would be allowed only if 30% of products is sourced from Indias micro, small and medium enterprises Dec 7: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announces suspension of its decision to allow FDI in retail.

Mid-year review trims growth forecast to 7.5% for the fiscal

Indias economic growth forecast for 2011-12 has been revised downwards to 7.5 per cent. This is much lower than the 9 per cent GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal in the Economic Survey released in February. This significant downward revision in economic growth forecast, although on expected lines, is reflected in the mid-year analysis (2011-12) report tabled by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in the Lok Sabha on December 9, 2011. The sluggishness in the industrial sector in the first half of the current fiscal, besides the sharply deteriorating global economic environment, which has had a dampening effect on India, has prompted the Centre to go in for the downward revision. Indias GDP growth had slowed down to 7.3 per cent in the first half of 2011-12 compared with 8.6 per cent in the same period of 201011. Industrial sector grew 4.2 per cent, substantially lower than the 8.1 per cent in the corresponding period of last year. The GDP growth forecast of 7.5 per cent, +/- 0.25 per cent, for 2011-12 is also lower than the actual economic growth of 8 per cent and 8.5 per cent in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively, the first two years of the UPA-II regime. The mid-year analysis has highlighted that the stuttering US economy and the European sovereign debt crisis was clearly hurting Indias growth. The report has cautioned that Indias economic growth next fiscal may be further affected if these problems are not solved. The report also noted that the picture of the world economy has turned. While China, India and other large emerging markets are not entirely immune to the ongoing crisis in developed countries, their vulnerabilities are much less. On fiscal consolidation, the report has stressed the need to adopt a gradual path. This is because the nature of fiscal deficits in India is largely structural. The Government is, however, determined to keep the overshooting of the fiscal deficit target of 4.6 per cent to as minimal as possible, the report said.

CRISIL cuts 2011-12 GDP growth forecast to 7%

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Crisil Research has lowered Indias GDP growth forecast for 2011-12 to 7 per cent, from its earlier October estimate of 7.6 per cent. The forecast has been scaled down in view of deterioration in the global economic outlook led by the Euro zone recession, a weaker-thananticipated domestic investment climate and limited fiscal space to stimulate the economy, said a press release issued by Crisil on December 8, 2011. GDP growth is expected to slip further to 6.7 per cent in the second half of 2011-12 from 7.3 per cent in the first half. This will restrict the overall GDP growth for 2011-12 at 7 per cent. This would be the second-lowest growth in the past nine years after 6.8 per cent in 2008-09, said Roopa Kudva, Managing Director and CEO, Crisil. Industry, services to see a slowdown: Industrial growth is projected to decline to 4.5 per cent in 2011-12; given that industry grew at a sluggish 4.2 per cent in the first half and a limited upside in growth during the second half. The industrial growth will remain constrained by lagged impact of Reserve Bank of Indias interest rate hikes, weak exports due to slipping demand, particularly from Europe and growing bottlenecks in the mining sector. We have cut down our services sector growth forecast to 8.9 per cent this fiscal as slowing industry growth will reduce the demand for services, Kudva added. Agriculture growth: Crisil Research has raised its agriculture sector growth forecast to 3.8 per cent from 3.2 per cent earlier, on account of the timely and steady progress of the monsoon, which enabled better sowing during the Kharif season and improved prospects for the Rabi crop. Fiscal Deficit: Crisil Research expects the fiscal deficit to stay at 5.5 per cent of GDP for 2011-12 versus the Governments budgeted estimate of 4.6 per cent. The revision takes into account rising expenditure burden due to ballooning subsidies and slow revenue growth due to a tepid growth outlook. Exchange rate: A mild recession in the Euro zone is expected during the first half of calendar year 2012, to be followed by a moderate recovery. In this scenario, the supply of dollars from portfolio inflows will be lower than previous expectations of a recession-free Euro zone in 2012. Hence Crisil Research has lowered its forecast for the rupee against the US dollar to 48, from the earlier forecast of 45-46. This will keep inflation at higher levels than expected earlier, the report said. Inflation forecast: Crisil has revised its forecast for Wholesale Price Inflation for 2011-12 upwards to 9.2 per cent from its earlier forecast of 9.1 per cent. This is because the continuous weakening of the rupee has exerted additional pressure on the imported component of inflation. Despite raising the average inflation forecast for 2011-12, Crisil expects it to head down from the current levels by March 2012. A normal monsoon and hence a good harvest has kept food inflation in check. Also, the impact of monetary tightening on domestic demand growth aided by a base effect will help in moderating inflation going ahead. In addition, recession in Euro zone could bring down global food and commodity prices, and help lower inflation to RBIs year-end projection of around 7.0 per cent, the report said.

C-DoT developed broadband technology transferred to manufacturers

Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and IT transferred a telecom technology, designed and developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to telecom manufacturers on December 5, 2011. The minister said that Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) is one of the game changer technologies after Nano and Akash during recent years. Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology is the pivotal component required for broadband connectivity over optical fiber. CDOT has indigenously designed and developed GPON technology, which can be used to provide triple play (voice, video and data) through Fiber based services (FTTX). It consists of a central office equipment OLT (Optical Line Termination) and customer premises equipment called ONT (Optical Network Termination). The information from central office to the customer premises and back, flows through optical fiber cable, which is essentially a light pipe. Light energy flows through this pipe and carries large amounts of data. The information carrying capacity of an optical fiber is practically limitless. The present GPON standards specify 2.5 Gbps (Gigabit per Second) downstream and 1.25 Gbps upstream data capability to customer premise. Apart from urban areas, especially multi-dwelling units, the large data carrying capability is important for Indian villages too where prevailing low literacy levels will necessitate information with greater graphic and audio content for better dissemination. Besides, voice telephony, high speed internet access and IPTV, the C-DOT GPON has provision to carry cable TV signal too, all on a single optical fiber. Another important advantage of GPON is that it can carry information from a central office to subscribers up to 60 For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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Km away without needing any intermediate repeaters thus doing away with the requirement of power, shelter and upkeep services at the intermediate locations. The GPON technology has been tested, validated, field evaluated and then became operational in the BSNL Network at Ajmer, Rajasthan. The technology is now being transferred to seven manufacturers in public and private sectors M/S Indian Telephone Industries Ltd. (ITI), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), VMC Systems Ltd, United Telecoms Ltd. (UTL), Sai InfoSystem (India) Limited, S M Creative Electronics Ltd. In addition, an agreement has also been signed with M/s Tejas Networks Limited for customized development and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) is in the advance stage of agreement. With this transfer, a requisite production infrastructure has been set-up for state-of-the-art technology manufacturing in the country with associated eco-system through a comprehensive C-DOT Transfer-of-Technology Package, which have been the hallmark for converting R&D concept from lab-to-manufacturing and then to the field deployments to fulfill the objectives of NTP-2011 which aims to provide a secure, reliable, affordable and high quality converged telecommunication services in the country. The policy, therefore, has given major thrust for Broadband on Demand, R&D for Indigenous Technology Development and Indigenous Manufacturing to achieve self-reliance in Telecom / ICT equipment design and manufacturing

National Common Mobility Card launched

The Union Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath on December 6, 2011 launched the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), by the name More, on the concluding day of the four day Urban Mobility India 2011 Conference-Cum-Exhibition organised in New Delhi. The brand name has been chosen More signifying the national bird Peacock as also literally in English meaning more to convey that you get more and more by using this card. The idea of NCMC is to promote the user to perceive it as a single transport system and provide the commuter with a seamless, efficient and hassle free travel experience across the length and breadth of the country. Seamless connectivity across multiple modes of transportation will increase the popularity and acceptability of public transport nationally and make public transport more appealing to the end user. The Ministry of Urban Development, under the National Urban Transport Policy, envisages a single ticketing system over not only all modes of public transport but also for parking and toll. For this purpose, it is spearheading a national program of inter-operable Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems. This means that a single CMC card can be used across cities and different modes of transport. The implementation of More will be partly funded by Central Government under the JNNURM scheme covering the buses sanctioned under the scheme. It is hoped that NCMC would benefit the Public Transport Organisations by significantly increasing overall efficiency; provide control and better management of tariff structure; reduce cash handling and hence lesser pilferage & fraud; better planning based on passenger statistics. To roll-out the card on all India basis, to ensure the standardization of the CMC Project, UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) has been appointed as the technology aggregator to implement the CMC project. UTIITSL is a Government of India, Ministry of Finance Company. So far Agreement has been signed with JCTSL, Jaipur and by the end of this financial year, roll-out in Jaipur is anticipated. Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, Bangalore and Bhopal Municipal Corporation are also at advance stage of entering into the agreement. The Minister also honoured exemplary work shown by State organizations and gave away Awards for Excellence in Urban Transport, on the occasion. In the category of Best PPP Initiative in urban transport, Bhopal Municipal Corporation won the award. Graduates Welfare Association, Fazilka won the Best non-motor transport practice award for their project of Fazilka Ecocabs dial-a-rickshaw. Award for Best Clean Development Mechanism Project for modal shift was won by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Pune Commissionerate of Police were awarded in the category of Best Intelligent Transport System Project (runners up). For New Initiative in Traffic Engineering and Management, the Joint winners were also Pune Commissionerate of Police and Karnataka Commissionerate of Bangalore. The Mumbai Air Traffic Control System were awarded in the Commendable Emerging Initiatives Category. For Inclusive development KSRTC were awarded for Introduction of Modern City Bus Service in Tumkur

20th World Petroleum Congress organised

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The 20th World Petroleum Congress, hosted by Qatar Petroleum, was organised at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in Doha, Qatar, from December 4 to 8, 2011. Held every three years, the World Petroleum Congress and Exhibition is the largest and most reputable oil and gas industry gathering in the world. Since its establishment in 1933, this was the first time that the WPC was hosted in the Middle East. Energy Solutions for All - Promoting Cooperation, Innovation and Investment was the theme of the WPC. The Conference discussed issues such as providing global access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy in both the near and long term future. Indias initiatives in Oil & Gas sector Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who lead the Indian delegation to the WPC, highlighted the growth and development in Indias petroleum sector in recent times. Indias crude oil production is expected to reach about 38 million tonnes (MMT) in 2011-12. The balance recoverable reserves from the known oil and gas reservoirs are about 2041 million tonnes. The incremental oil production in recent years is largely from Barmer fields in Rajasthan, and in case of gas, it is from Krishna Godavari Basin. The production of natural gas in the current year is expected to be slightly more than 50 billion cubic meters (BCM). The liberalized policy environment and the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) of Government of India have been instrumental in bringing about incremental growth in oil and gas production. 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been permitted in exploration and production of oil and gas. Indias objective is to rapidly increase the extent of area explored from the present 65% to 100% by the year 2015. 9 rounds of bidding under the NELP have been held so far. An investment of US $ 16.5 billion has been made in exploration and production activities. The process of award of 9th bid round will be concluded in the near future. More than two dozen foreign companies are working in E&P sector which include global majors. In the last one year, two major investment decisions made by major companys viz. BP and Vedanta in blocks held by RIL and Cairn respectively. While RIL-BP consortium has stated that its investments in exploration and marketing would be up to US $20 billion, Vedantas acquisition costs are likely to be about US $8 billion excluding future investments. In addition to the accelerated domestic efforts, to enhance oil and gas production, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and other Oil Public Sector Undertakings have taken exploration acreages abroad. Indian companies are present in 20 countries. OVL has produced about 9 million tonnes of oil and gas from its overseas assets. Indias refinery sector has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. The installed capacity which was at 62 million tonnes in 1998 has increased to 193 million tones in 2011. This will be further increased to 232 million tones by 2012. This has enabled the country to become an exporter of petroleum products to the tune of 59 million tones valued at $ 43 billion. Indias coal reserves, fourth largest in the world, are prognosticated to hold about 92 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of Coal Bed Methane (CBM). Exploration and production of CBM has commenced in India. Amongst other unconventional sources of gas, we are exploring possibilities in shale gas and gas hydrates. Indias LNG regasification capacity is being expanded to meet the energy needs of the growing Indian economy. LPG coverage is being enhanced in rural areas. The over-all LPG coverage is being increased from 57% to 75% of the population by providing 55 million new LPG connections by 2015.

Urban Mobility India 2011 organised

India with 1.2 billion; over 31 per cent in cities; three mega cities with 10 million plus population,53 million pus cities and rapid pace of urbanization is poised at a critical threshold. Urban renewal and development has become a policy priority of the Government of India. Cities that are livable, clean, green, energy efficient and sustainable need to be built. The most challenging impact of this urban growth and the rising income levels is the mobility crisis. This makes urban transport as the most important urban infrastructure for urbanisation and to ensure that lack of mobility does not become a bottleneck for economic growth, major investments shall have to be done in the field of urban transport in next 20 years. For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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In a continuing effort to get a better understanding of this critical issue, the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, has been organizing Urban Mobility India a conference-cum-exhibition from 3-5th December of every year, for the last 4 years. This year, Urban Mobility India (UMI) 2011 was organized at in Delhi from December 3 to 6, 2011. This year event also co-hosted the 6th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum (EST) having representation from about 40 countries with participation from 23 Asian countries. United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan were partner organizers. About 1000 delegates participated in this four day event from all over India representing almost all the agencies including traffic police, planners, engineers, policy makers, consultants, industry etc.

Vedanta completes Cairn India acquisition

Almost 16 months of protracted wrangling between Cairn Energy, ONGC, and Petroleum Ministry ended on December 8, 2011 with Vedanta Resources Plc completing its acquisition of Cairn India. Mines and metals entrepreneur Anil Agarwals Vedanta Group has acquired a 58.5 per cent stake in Cairn India for $8.67 billion, the two companies said on December 8. Vedanta Resources Plc now holds 38.5 per cent in Cairn India, and its subsidiary, Sesa Goa Ltd, holds 20 per cent. Cairn Energy will retain 22 per cent, 10 per cent are with institutions, 2.7 per cent with retail investors and the balance with FIIs. The Vedanta Group acquired its stake in two tranches: the first 10 per cent sale took place in July 2011, while the second 30 per cent was contingent on state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corps (ONGC) approval. ONGC gave its consent to the deal in November 2011, after Cairn Energy and Vedanta reached an agreement on royalty and cess conditions. The deal gives the Vedanta Group its first inroad into the oil and gas sector in India. Rahul Dhir, Managing Director and CEO of Cairn India, said that they expected to exit the current financial year ending in March at a level of 175,000 barrels per day from the current level of around 125,000. Royalty payments: New terms The deal has ended a period of uncertainty for Cairn India, which was caught in the crossfire as ONGC and Cairn Energy sorted out the issue of royalty payment for the premium Rajasthan oilfields. The transaction was originally announced in August 2010, but its completion was delayed as ONGC had demanded that Vedanta agree to share royalty as a pre-condition for clearing the deal. ONGC was paying royalty on not just its 30% share of production, but also on the 70% share of Cairn India. Under the new terms, Cairn India will bear 70 per cent of the royalty payments while ONGC will bear the balance 30 per cent. Cairn has also agreed to withdraw arbitration over a tax dispute.

Govt rules out any changes to RILs D6 contract terms

The Government has ruled out any change in the existing production sharing contract with reference to Reliance Industries Ltd-operated Krishna Godavari Basin D6 block. This is being seen as toning down of the Governments earlier position of amending the production sharing contract (PSC), if need be, for taking action against the operator for output from producing fields falling below target. There is no change in the production sharing contract (with Reliance), Petroleum Minister, S. Jaipal Reddy, said on December 9, 2011 at the sidelines of the 3rd India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference in New Delhi. Reliance Industries had in November 2011 sent an arbitration notice to the Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry on the latters intent to disallow some of the expenditure incurred by the company in the Krishna Godavari Basin D6 fields. RIL has built facilities to handle 80 million standard cubic metres per day of gas production, but the fields are currently producing just 42 mscmd from the gas fields. The Ministry has indicated that it would be initiating action against the Mukesh Ambani-owned company for drop in gas production by limiting the amount of expenditure it was allowed to recoup. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons was calculating as to how much of For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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the $5.69 billion expenditure RIL had incurred on building facilities which could handle up to 80 mmscmd of output could be disallowed According to reports, the Ministry has decided to disallow expenditure incurred in constructing production and processing facilities that are currently underutilised and have excess capacity because of drop in output. Reliance says the government move to limit recognition of expenditure is illegal as it is against the PSC. The company has to share profits with the government after deducting the expenditure. So a high expenditure figure benefits Reliance but reduces the revenue government gets.

RBI notifies new FDI norms for pharma sector

The Reserve Bank of India on December 9, 2011 notified new rules doing away with automatic approval for foreign direct investment (FDI) in existing pharmaceutical companies. Tightening the norms, the government had in November 2011 done away with automatic approval of FDI in the existing pharmaceutical companies. FDI, up to 100 per cent, would be permitted for brownfield investment (i.e. investments in existing companies), in the pharmaceutical sector, under the government approval route, RBI said in a notification. Under the new rules, for any merger or acquisition, the overseas investor will have to seek permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). After six months, it will be the monopoly watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) which will vet such deals. The decision follows directions from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who along with his senior Cabinet colleagues had deliberated on October 10 over concerns arising out of several acquisitions of domestic pharmaceutical companies by overseas firms. For the new investment, 100 per cent FDI will be allowed under the automatic route, under which investors only inform the Reserve Bank about the inflows and no specific government nod is required. FDI, up to 100 per cent, under the automatic route, would continue to be permitted for green field investments in the pharmaceuticals sector, RBI said. The filter was suggested by a high-level committee, headed by Planning Commission Member Arun Maira Concerns have been raised over the impact of a spate of acquisitions of homegrown firms by multi-national companies. The recent acquisitions include Ranbaxy Laboratories buy out by Daiichi Sankyo of Japan, Shanta Biotech by Sanofi Aventis of France and Piramal Health Care by Abbott Laboratories of the US. The affordability factor has so far been the hallmark of the Indian generic drugs all over the world, thanks to robust growth of the homegrown players.

National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy receives mixed response

The governments plans to bring more drugs under its price control regime could cause a revenue loss of Rs. 3,000 crore for the pharmaceutical industry, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance claimed on December 5, 2011. While the industry fears price control over a large number of drugs would hit their turnover, experts feel that that new regime will not meet its objective of keeping essential drugs prices low. The draft National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy proposes to regulate prices of all the 348 molecules, which are used to make drugs, specified in the National List of Essential Medicines. Currently, only 74 molecules are under the price control regime. Though the government claims that its main aim is to provide poor people access to good quality medicines, the industry body Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance said the draft policy would increase government control over 75 per cent of the drugs sold in the country. Currently, 65 per cent of the retail market is under the price control regime. Pharmaceutical firms claim that they are not consulted by the government before bring out the policy, as it affects their financial health. An expand scope of the price control regime would added 1,154 drugs and 6,441 formulations to the drug control list, the industry said in For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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its memorandum to the department of pharmaceuticals. Any reduction in the drug price in India will have a similar impact on export price as the importers benchmark their price to the local market. Experts, however, have criticised the policy as it regulates only 348 molecules as against over 1,000 used in the country. Experts said that the prices of almost all oral anti-diabetic drugs will double as the prices of medicines that are sold for Rs. 3 or less per unit will not be regulated. For example, a strip of 10 tablets of ranitidine currently sold for Rs. 5.25 will be at liberty to hike the price to Rs. 30. Also the new policy will not control the exorbitantly priced patented medicines of multinational firms as the issue of pricing of patented drugs has been left to a committee which was constituted way back in 2006.

Bill to amend law governing Prasar Bharati passed

Rajya Sabha on December 8, 2011 passed a bill to amend the law governing Prasar Bharati, ensuring that recruitments done between November 1997 and October 2007 will be considered as deemed deputation till retirement. The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010, passed by voice vote will make the status of employees recruited between November 23, 1997 and October 5, 2007 - they are on deemed deputation to Prasar Bharati till their retirement - clear and unambiguous. Winding up a discussion on the Bill, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said, We are bringing the employees under a structure, but decisions in this regard were delayed as employees had moved the Central Administrative Tribunal and the High Court. The bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August 2010, was referred to the Standing Committee whose recommendations were incorporated in it before being taking up for consideration and passage. The Committee had recommended that in the recruitment rules and service conditions of employees of Prasar Bharati, it should be made absolutely clear that the employees on deemed deputation are senior to Prasar Bharati employees and it would not affect their promotional prospects. The bill amends section 11(2) of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill by the addition of and until their retirement at the end of the section. The specified posts pertain to officers and employees of the Indian Information Service, the Central Secretariat Service or any cadre outside Akashvani and Doordarshan but connected to Prasar Bharati. The employees under this category were apprehensive about their promotional prospects, especially in relation to those who were directly recruited for Prasar Bharati.

World Bank to provide $60 million for urban local bodies

The World Bank will provide credit worth USD 60 million to the government for capacity building of urban local bodies in the country. An agreement to this effect was signed in New Delhi on December 8, 2011 between the multilateral agency and the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. The credit will come from the International Development Association (IDA) the World Banks concessionary lending arm. The maturity period will be for 25 years, including a five-year grace period. The project aims to improve skills of urban local bodies (ULBs) for better urban management, thereby reducing poverty. This will help states and at least 20 ULBs in the initial phase to improve systems for financial management, urban planning, service delivery and better governance. Besides, it will provide support at the central and local levels for policy formulation, implementation and monitoring, in the area of urban poverty alleviation. This will be with special focus on building-up information systems, fostering knowledge, information exchange and learning to promote community participation in implementing urban poverty alleviation programmes. Through this project, the union government will set up a Challenge Fund which will recognise innovative practices by ULBs on urban poverty alleviation. It will also constitute a network of practitioners that will include government officials from select ULBs, academics and other actors active in the area of urban poverty alleviation both nationally and internationally.

Indias exports in April-November 2011 at $ 192.7 billion

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Indias export for the month of November 2011 is 22.3 billion US $. Imports for the same period are 35.9 billion US $. Balance of trade for the month of November is( -) 13.6 billion US $. April- November 2011 cumulative exports are 192.7 billion US $, registering the growth of 33.2%. Cumulative imports for the same period is 309.5 billion US $, registering the growth of 30.2%. Balance of trade for the April- November 2011 is (-) 116.8 billion US $, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on December 9, 2011. During April-November 2011, the following sectors have done well viz., petroleum & oil products exports 39.5 billion US $ registering the growth of 62.3%; .engineering, (US $ 40.7 billion) which registered the growth of 22.3% % over the last year. Cotton fabs made ups, 13.7% (US $ 4.4 billion); electronics, 17% (US $ 5.83 billion); readymade garments 28% (US $ 8.4 billion). Basic Chemicals registered the growth of 34% (US $ 6.7 billion), Drugs 21% (US $ 7.9 billion), Gems & Jewellery 56.5% (US $ 30.1 billion). As regards to imports during April-November 2011, the growth estimates on the following sectors are: POL, 42.7%% (US $ 94.1 billion); Gold and silver 56% (US $ 41.4 billion); machinery, 27% (US $ 22.8 billion), electronics, 21% (US $ 22.3 billion). Vegetable oil, 55% (US $ 6.7 billion); Iron & steel 8% (US $ 7.7 billion); Fertilizer 17% 6.6 billion); Coal 61% at (US $ 11.3 billion); Organic & inorganic chemicals 23% at (US $ 12.5 billion); Ores and scraps US $ 8.7 billion registering the growth of 41%.

Per capita income rises to Rs 54,000 in 2010-11

Per capita income in the country rose to over Rs 54,000 in 2010-11 from Rs 18,450 in 2001-02, Parliament was informed on December 8, 2011. The per capita income at current prices has registered an annual average growth rate of about 12.8% during the (2001-02 to 201011) period, Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar said in Rajya Sabha. He said the per capita as measured by net national income stood at an advance estimate of Rs 54,527 in 2010-11, up from estimate of Rs 46,492 in 2009-10. The Central Statistical Organisation has been compiling estimates of rural and urban income of the economy. In reply to another question in Rajya Sabha, Kumar said that the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, conducted to determine beneficiaries of government schemes, is following certain parameters for inclusion and exclusion of citizens for such programmes. Households owning motorised vehicles or fishing boats, mechanised three/four wheeler agriculture equipments or holding Kisan Credit Card with a credit limit of Rs 50,000 or above and households with any government employees would be automatically excluded. On the other hand, households without shelter, destitutes or those living on alms, manual scavengers, primitive tribal groups and legally released bonded labourers would be automatically included in the list of beneficiaries under SECC 2011.

Credit default swaps debut in India

The guidelines on credit default swaps (CDS)derivative instruments that allow lenders to pass on the credit risk to othersbecame effective from December 1, 2011. CDS are contracts where an investor in bonds or a lender (the user or protection buyer) gets a cover against default from another party (the protection provider). Bankers say that this will enable a banker who is comfortable with a clients credit profile but without adequate funds to facilitate a loan by providing credit protection through CDS. Incidentally, CDS belongs to the same family of derivatives that brought down Lehman Brothers and embroiled Merrill Lynch and AIG among others in the subprime crisis in 2008. However, RBI has taken stringent measures to ensure that these instruments cannot be used for speculation which makes them completely different from their infamous American cousins. Parties to a deal will have to report it to the Clearing Corporation of India, a settlement body, within 30 minutes of the deal. The only entities who are permitted to buy CDS are banks, bond houses, finance companies, mutual funds, insurance companies, housing finance companies, provident funds, listed corporates and foreign institutional investors. Moreover, CDS can be used to purchase protection against a debt obligation of a single Indian entity. In the case it is used to buy protection against default of bonds, the bonds have to be listed. Moreover, unlike in the US the credit default swap cannot be freely traded.

3rd India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference organised: India is pinning its hopes on the above-world-average economic growth in Africa to carve out a market for finished petroleum products as it moves towards 70 million tonne of surplus in three years. India has the fifth largest refining capacity in the world. Although India imports 80% of its crude oil requirement, it has a surplus of finished petroleum products like petrol, diesel and jet fuel. India exported 50 million tonne of refined petroleum products in 2010-11. With Africas economic development picking up momentum and its energy demands rising, India is keen on becoming a dependable supplier of
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petroleum products to Africa, said oil minister S Jaipal Reddy at the third India-Africa hydrocarbons Conference organised in New Delhi on December 9-10, 2011.

4th Global Conference on Tax and Inequality organised: India hosted the three day 4th International Tax Dialogue Conference
on Tax and Inequality in New Delhi from December 7 to 9, 2011. More than 400 senior tax policymakers and administrators from almost 90 countries participated in this event hosted by the Finance Ministry of India and organized by the International Tax Dialogue (ITD). The ITD is a joint initiative of various organisations working on tax issues the IMF, the OECD, the World Bank, the European Commission, the IADB, and CIAT. R S Gujral, Finance and Revenue Secretary of India, said that there were two broad themes of the conference, firstly what the reasons for increasing inequality are and secondly how and to what extent this could be reduced through taxation. He concluded by saying that it emerged from the conference that there is no tailor made solution and that the solutions need to be adapted to the state of economic development and demographics.

India, Canada sign MOU to boost diamond sector: Leading Canadian diamond exporting organisation Diamond Bourse of
Canada (DBC) and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on December 2, 2011 to increase bilateral trade and investment in the diamond sector. Under the terms of the MoU, both organisations will work together to enhance and create new trade opportunities in the diamond sector by establishing direct links between Canadian producers and Indian diamond manufacturers and eliminating third parties. At present Canadas entire diamond output is shipped to Europe, from where it goes to other countries.

Bills on CWC and Exim Bank introduced: A bill seeking to make the mini-ratna company Central Warehousing Corporation
(CWC) an independent body without the government being a guarantor was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 8, 2011. The amendment to the existing Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962, has been proposed by the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry to absolve the Central government of the responsibility of being a guarantor of the CWC. The Warehousing Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2011, envisages removal of some sections referring to the governments guarantee. The CWC has consistently paid dividend to the government since its inception in 1957 and its net worth has been positive 2003 onwards. Also, the Corporation has not taken any loan from the Central government and is also not dependent on budgetary support. The CWC is operating 476 warehouses across the country with a storage capacity of 10.18 million tonnes providing warehousing services for a wide range of agricultural and industrial products. The government also introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to increase the authorised capital of Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) from Rs.2,000 crore to Rs.10,000 crore.

Finance Ministry sets up high-level panel to look into IFCI: The Finance Ministry on December 5, 2011 set up a high-level
panel to take a view on the governments future role in the countrys oldest financial institution IFCI. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee cleared the setting up of the panel headed by Finance Secretary R S Gujral. The move to set up a panel now comes three years after an abortive attempt to induct a strategic partner in IFCI after the company did not agree with the demand of the highest bidder, SterliteMorgan Stanley JV, for management control. At present, the government does not have any direct stake in IFCI. State-owned insurance firms and financial institutions, such as LIC, IDBI Bank and Punjab National Bank, own around 28.5 in the entity.

CAG of India takes over as Chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors: Indias Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG)
Vinod Rai has been elected chairman of the panel of external auditors of the United Nations. He succeeds Norbert Hauser, Vice-President of the Federal Court of Auditors, Germany. CAG Director-General Jagbans Singh has been elected chairman of the technical group of the panel. According to an official statement issued by the Finance Ministry on December 9, 2011, the panel of independent external auditors carries out audits and reports periodically on the accounts and management of the U.N., specialised agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Food Programme and the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Formed through a resolution by the U.N. General Assembly in 1959, the panel comprises individual external auditors who are the heads of supreme audit institutions of various countries.

Section F: SPORTS
India beat West Indies 4-1 in ODI series
Kieron Pollards stunning maiden century went in vain as India beat West Indies by 34 runs to win the fifth and final cricket one day international of the series played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on December 11, 2011 to record an emphatic 4-1 For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011

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series triumph. Electing to bat on a track, India reached 267 for five with scores of 104 from Player of the Match Manoj Tiwary and 80 from Virat Kohli. Pollards knock enabled West Indies reach 233 in 44.1 overs. Pollard hit as many as 10 sixes and four fours in his smashing knock of 119 off 110 deliveries. He was last man out. Scores: India 267/6 (50 overs); West Indies 233 (44.1 overs). Rohit Sharma was declared Player of the Series for his aggregate of 305 runs in 5 matches at an average of 76.25 runs at a strike rate of 89.97 runs per 100 balls. India won the first ODI played at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on November 29, 2011 by one wicket (with 7 balls remaining). Scores: West Indies 211/9 (50 overs); India 213/9 (48.5 over). Rohit Sharma was Player of the Match for his 72 runs (99 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) which was the highest score of the match. India won the second match played at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on December 2, 2011 by 5 wickets (with 11 balls remaining). Scores: West Indies 269/9 (50 overs); India 270/5 (48.1 overs). Virat Kohli was Player of the Match for his 117 runs-the highest score in the match. Ravi Rampaul created a new world record for the highest score by a No. 10 batsman in history of ODIs when he struck an unbeaten 86 in West Indies innings. He surpassed the earlier record held by Pakistans Mohammed Aamer who made 73 not out against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi in 2009. West Indies won the third match of the series played at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, on December 5, 2011 by 16 runs. Scores: West Indies 260/5 (50 overs); India 244 (46.5 overs). Ravi Rampaul of West Indies was declared Player of the Match for his figures of 4 wickets for 57 runs in 8.5 overs. India won the fourth match of the series played at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on December 8, 2011 by 153 runs. Scores: India 418/5 (50 overs); West Indies 265 (49.2 overs). Virender Sehwag, who scored a world record 219 runs in 149 balls with 25 fours and 7 sixes was declared Player of the Match. Sehwag also became only the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score a double century in ODIs.

Australia wins Champions Trophy Hockey: Australia beat Spain 1-0 on December 11, 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand to become the first team to win the Champions Trophy mens field hockey tournament four straight times. Eddie Ockenden hit a penalty corner into the top-left corner of the Spanish net in the 59th minute to give the world champion Australians their 11th win in a record 13 finals appearances. The Netherlands beat New Zealand 5-3 to take the bronze medal. Germany beat Britain 1-0 for fifth place, and Pakistan beat South Korea 5-2 to finish seventh in the elite eight-team tournament. Jamie Dwyer (7 goals) of Australia was the top scorer of the tournament while Santi Freixa of Spain was the Best Player. McIlroy wins Hong Kong Open golf: Ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa finished tied 29th, the best among the Indians, at the UBS Hong
Kong Open trophy in Hong Kong on December 4, 2011. World number two Rory McIlroy won the trophy, closing with a spectacular fiveunder-par 65 for a two-stroke victory. Frenchman Gregory Havret settled for second place while Swedens Peter Hanson came third.

Footballer Socrates passes away: The former Brazil great Socrates, 57, passed away in Sao Paulo on December 4, 2011. 1982:
Socrates captained Brazil in 1982 Football World Cup in Spain but they are unable to progress beyond the second group stage. He was a member of the Brazilian team that lost to France in quarter-finals of the 1986 world cup in Mexico. Socrates made his debut for Brazil in 1979 and went on to score 22 goals in 80 matches.

Platini agrees to change calendar for 2022 W Cup: UEFA President Michel Platini on December 3, 2011 said he was willing to
reschedule Europes football calendar to allow the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be played in the winter.

For the Week: December 4 to 10, 2011