River-link project only with Kerala's consent: Bansal Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has

reportedly assured Kerala that it would implement the Centrally sponsored Pamba-Achencoil rivers link project with the Vaipar in Tamil Nadu only with the consent of Kerala. He gave this assurance to Kerala Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph even as the State has been urging the Centre to permanently scrap the project formulated by the Centre's National Water Development Agency (NWDA) according to which 634 tmc ft of surplus water in the two rivers would be transferred to the deficit Vaipar in Tamil Nadu. Kerala claims the project would be detrimental to the interests of the people in the State and dry up many lakes in the surroundings of the two rivers in the State. It directed the Centre to form a special committee for the implementation of the interlinking of rivers and noted that the project could be implemented only with the concurrence of the State concerned (Kerala). Kerala is particular that the project is removed from the Peninsular Development Component of Interlinking Proposal. Under the project, dams will be constructed across the Kerala rivers to pump the water to Alagar, the tributary of Vaippar, to irrigate 91,400 hectares in Tuticorin, Virudunagar and Tirunelveli districts. Kerala is against the project since it was prepared in 1995 by the NWDA and the State says that diversion of water from Pamba and Achencoil to Vaipar would dry up the ecologically sensitive wetland system part of the Vembanad lake. RLNG for gas-based projects from today Gas-based power projects being operated at 60-70 per cent of the capacity due to fuel shortage, are poised to get re-gassified liquefied natural gas (RLNG).The Gas Authority of India Limited is supplying the fuel under an agreement it signed with Reliance Industries Limited. The cost of power generated with this fuel works out to Rs.8.50 per unit, but AP Transco is left with no other alternative to overcome the present power shortage. A Transco official said the agreement provided for supply of 1.1 MMSCMD (million metric standard cubic metres per day) to the gas-based units which would be able to support an installed capacity of 250 MW. Purchase of RLNG became possible as the government released a sum of Rs.100 crore out of Rs.200 crore it had promised for the purpose. The RLNG would be used to scale up the capacity utilisation at Lanco, GVK and other gas-based stations. Performance of Tatra trucks is outstanding: DRDO chief According high marks to the performance and ruggedness of the Tatra trucks in service with the Army, the chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), V.K. Saraswat, who is also the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister has rated the vehicle as outstanding. Performance of Tatra trucks is outstanding. It has the capacity to traverse across various terrains and cross-country. It is one of the very good vehicles with the armed forces,. Dr. Saraswat said as for the DRDO, it has mounted the Surface-toSurface Prithvi missile system on the truck. The nuclear-capable three-stage missile is expected to have flight trials over the next two years and ready to become operational around 2014-15. India will break into the exclusive ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) club that counts just the U.S., Russia, China, France and U.K. as its members. Anti-malarial compounds from marine organisms Indian scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the search for new anti-malarial compounds of natural origin to combat different strains of the parasites responsible for the dreaded disease. An interdisciplinary research team comprising scientists drawn from four institutes across the country has zeroed in on two marine organisms that generate chemical compounds with potent anti-malarial activity. Extracts of more than 200 organisms including different species of marine fungi, seaweeds, mangroves, sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, echinoderms and ascidians were screened during the first two phases of the project which began in 2004. About 25 organisms showed the presence of anti-malarials. Named Discovering Anti-malarials from Marine Organisms,' the collaborative project involves the Centre for Marine Biodiversity under the University of Kerala, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi; Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad; and the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur. The Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, is funding the project. The marine organisms are collected from the seabed, their extracts prepared and subjected to metabolite fingerprinting at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity to detect their biological and chemical features. The extracts are then sent to the ICGEB where they are screened for anti-malarial activity using state-of-the-art high-throughput (HTP) assays for faster identification of active compounds.

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Kiran Kumar is new SAC Director A.S. Kiran Kumar, Associate Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, took over as its Director. He succeeds R.R. Navalgund. The SAC is an important facility under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It specialises in designing and developing payloads for various Indian satellites, including the Chandrayaan missions. Dr. Navalgund had a long tenure in the SAC. He made important contributions to the ISRO's remote-sensing satellites and provided leadership in making the payloads for Chandrayaan-1 mission. He was also the director of National Remote-Sensing Centre, Hyderabad. Anti-aircraft carrier variant of BrahMos successfully test-fired BrahMos, the India-Russia joint-venture, has developed an anti-aircraft carrier variant of the supersonic cruise missile and successfully tested it recently. Sharing the information, BrahMos Chief A. Sivathanu Pillai said that with this the organisation achieved the capability to attack aircraft carriers using the supersonic vertical dive variant of the missile that could travel up to 290 km. He said that the steep dive variant of the missile was done for the Army and after its success, the path for the induction of the fourth regiment for mountain warfare was clear. The Army had plans to deploy the missile regiment in the Northeast along the borders with China and the proposal was accorded sanction in a Defence Acquisition Council meeting year 2011. Considering that the country was planning to induct a number of new aircraft including the medium multirole combat fighter aircraft and MiG-29K naval fighters, the BrahMos planned to develop smaller version of the missile for them. Country's first solar power plant inaugurated The country's first solar power plant of 40 MW capacity was inaugurated in Jaisalmer district's Dhudsar village in Rajasthan. The plant, built at a cost of Rs.400 crore by the Reliance, is spread over an area of 140 hectares near Pokhran town. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Union Minister for Renewable Energy Sources Farooq Abdullah, Rajasthan Energy Minister Jitendra Singh and Reliance chairman Anil Ambani were present at the function. India is set to gain a new identity on the energy front in the world soon. Lot of work is being carried out in the power sector in the country, Dr. Abdullah said on the occasion. He said the target was to create 20,000 MW capacity in the solar sector by the year 2020. He appreciated the Solar Energy Policy of the Rajasthan Government and congratulated Mr. Gehlot for his initiatives on the energy front. Dr. Abdullah on the occasion also revealed that India presently had fifth position in the world in wind energy production. As sanctions loom, Mali junta plans' elections Mali's coup leader responded to the threat of sanctions by saying he plans to hold elections and rapidly return the country to its established order but gave no timetable, falling short of demands by West African countries. Mali's neighbours gave the captain a 72-hour deadline to hand power back to civilians or else face severe consequences, including the closing of borders to the landlocked nation and the freezing of the country's account at the regional central bank. Amid the turmoil, Tuareg rebels in the north pushed into the strategic town of Kidal, according to Lt. Samba Timbo, the chief of security for junta leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo. Kidal, a garrison town, is a major prize for the Tuareg separatists who launched a rebellion in January with the aim of carving out a homeland for themselves in the desolate north. Enough global oil to sideline Iran: Obama U.S. President Barack Obama has approved new sanctions against Iran, saying there is sufficient oil in the world market to allow countries to cut Iranian crude imports. According to Al Jazeera TV, Mr. Obama said that the global economic conditions, increased production (of crude oil) by some countries and the existence of strategic reserves meant U.S. allies boycotting Iranian crude would not be harmed by the sanctions. Iran has the world's third-largest oil reserves. The sanctions are aimed at pressuring Iran to abandon its disputed uranium enrichment programme. Western powers suspect Iran of seeking to create a nuclear bomb. Iran says the programme is designed solely for the production of civilian energy. Under a new law passed by the U.S., countries risk being cut off from the American financial system if they fail to show by June 28 a significant reduction in the amount of Iranian crude imports.

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Ex-Soviet master spy kills himself Former Soviet master spy Leonid Shebarshin, who had worked for many years in India and Pakistan, is believed to have killed himself in Moscow. The body of General Shebarshin, who turned 77 a few days ago, was found in his flat in central Moscow. Police said he had apparently shot himself with his pistol. Gen. Shebarshin was KGB station chief in India in 1971-1977. He also worked in Pakistan and Iran. In 1989 he was appointed head of the First Main Directorate, the foreign intelligence service of the KGB, and headed the KGB for one day after the August 1991 putsch against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He retired after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Air India's financial revamp plan cleared Grappling with a fragile financial position, Air India's financial restructuring plan (FRP) has been approved by a consortium of banks, which may enable the ailing carrier save several hundred crore in the first year itself. As part of the FRP, Air India signed four agreements with the SBI-led consortium. These were Master Restructuring Agreement, Working Capital Facility Agreement, Appointment of Facility Agent Agreement and Appointment of Trustee Agreement, airline officials said. SEBI norms for automated trading The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued broad guidelines on Algorithmic Trading, that is, any order that is generated using automated execution. It has been observed that adoption of technology for the purpose of trading in financial instruments has been on the rise over the past few years. Stock brokers as well as their clients are now making increased usage of trading algorithm, SEBI said. The SEBI said the minimum order-level risk controls include: Price check the price quoted by the order shall not violate the price bands defined by the exchange for the security. IPL's first five-year sponsorship to expire The Indian Premier League (IPL) will throw its doors open again to corporates and brands for Season Six in 2013. Come June and the Board of Control for Cricket in India's marketing whiz kids will be on an overdrive inviting new sponsorship/ partnership proposals for the Twenty20 extravaganza. And that's because its sponsorship/ partnership agreements that began in the inaugural season in 2008 with guaranteed revenue far in excess of $100 million will expire at the conclusion of the IPL season 5 on May 27. All sponsorships and partnerships come to end this season,'' confirmed Sundar Raman, CEO, IPL. Five years ago the IPL signed five-year partnership agreements with Hero Honda as associate partner for $22.5 million, Pepsico as official pouring partner for $12.5 million, Kingfisher as umpires partner for $26.5, ITC as hotel partner and with Kingfisher as airline partner. Indian cyclists qualify for Worlds For the first time ever in the history of the sport, India has qualified for the World track cycling championship to be held in Melbourne from April 4-8. The country will be represented by O. Bikram Singh, Amrit Singh and Amarjit Singh in the team sprint event. India earned the qualification because of its fine performance in the Asian cycling championship in Kuala Lumpur in February. Bronze for Rajender Indian Greco Roman wrestlers missed an Olympic berth in the Asian qualifying event in Astana, Kazakhstan. All the Indian grapplers in contention lost in the first round itself. Rajender Kumar's 55kg bronze medal was the only consolation. Rajender lost to eventual champion Kohei Hasegawa of Japan (1-0, 1-0) in the opening round. However, the Commonwealth Games gold medal winner beat Siriphong Champakham of Thailand (50, 7-0) and Arsen Eraliev of Kyrgyzstan (1-0, 3-0) in repechage to claim the bronze.

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RISAT-1 likely to be launched on April 20 RISAT-1, India's indigenous radar imaging satellite that can take images of the earth during day and night and in cloudy conditions, is likely to be launched on April 20. Bagta piece sells big at Bonham auction An unrecorded portrait by 18th century Indian artist Bagta, who was involved with the Maharanas of Udaipur and the Rawats of Devgarh in Rajasthan, sold for six times the estimated price at $302,500 at an auction in New York. The remarkable work and cover lot to Bonhams' Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art sale last month dates back to 1808 and measures 16x22 inches. According to the auction house, this work is a rare representation of the larger scale depiction of Bagta (1761-1814). It had a pre-sale estimate of $30,000$50,000. Bagta is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Wonder of the Age, Master Painters of India, 1100-1900' . New Central scheme to supply free generic drugs Moving towards major reforms, the Centre is in the process of rolling out a universal health coverage package in at least one district in each State on an experimental basis. These recommendations had been made by the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) in its report on universal health coverage. The panel had also recommended against any insurance scheme as a mechanism for health coverage. The HLEG had been set up by the Planning Commission and it submitted its report in November 2011. The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry will soon write to the States asking them to put in place a professional and transparent mechanism for providing free generic drugs. L.C. Goyal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry, said the scheme will be included as a new initiative under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) at a cost of Rs. 30,000 crore for the next five years. The scheme will be implemented from sub-centres to district hospitals, but not in medical college hospitals. At 101, Fauja prepares for London Marathon As he turned a memorable 101-years-old, Sikh marathoner Fauja Singh did not have his birthday celebrations on his mind at his London home. Instead, the oldest athlete on earth is busy preparing for his next event the London Marathon on April 22. Even at 101, what is top-most on his mind is the preparation for the London Marathon for which he is already training and not his birthday cake. Last year, Fauja Singh had become, perhaps the only man in the world to have lived a 100 years to see his biography being released at that age. The biography Turbaned Tornado written by Khushwant Singh was released in London in July 2011. An illiterate person who converses only in Punjabi, Fauja had told IANS, how, he yearned that he could have read his biography. As Fauja Singh prepares for the London marathon, no insurance company in Britain is ready to issue him a policy for the event. Indian envoy in South Sudan on oil mission Responding to the ongoing conflict between Sudan and South Sudan, India has appointed a special envoy to broker peace between the two countries that hold the key to India's pursuit of oil and other hydrocarbon resources in Africa. The foreign ministry's decision to send a special envoy to these countries last week came three months after China, with whom New Delhi is locked in a fierce geopolitical battle to tap energy resources in Africa, sent its own special envoy to handle the crisis and protect Beijing's oil interests. Amarendra Khatua, who handles the passport division, is on a visit to both Juba and Khartoum as India's special envoy to help promote peace and protect India's interests in other African nations as well. The escalating conflict between the two nations, which has led Juba to suspend production and shipment altogether, is threatening to imperil ONGC Videsh Limited's (OVL) investments of close to $3 billion into the undivided country. South Sudan has the largest oil reserve in Africa after Angola. It walked away with 75% of the oil fields of the undivided country after South Sudan was carved out last year. However, in the absence of any processing infrastructure, its authorities are seeking help from OVL to build pipelines, oil stores and refineries. Flood-hit Fiji declares state of emergency Flood-ravaged Fiji declared a state of emergency and warned tourists to stay away for the time being, as heavy rain and high winds continued to pound the South Pacific nation. Officials said they could not guarantee visitors safety in the wake of flash floods that have killed at least two people and forced more than 5,000 to take shelter in evacuation centres. Tourism Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said. The request is believed to be unprecedented for tourist-dependent Fiji. National carrier Air Pacific said it had cancelled all inbound flights scheduled for today and was operating only limited outbound flights for passengers who had Page 1 of 3 2nd April 2012

already checked in at Nadi airport. Airports Fiji Limited chief executive Tony Gollin said hundreds of international passengers were at the airport awaiting departure. Chavez in Cuba for more radiation treatment Venezuelan Cuban President Raul Castro has received his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, who arrived for a second round of radiation therapy as part of his back- and-forth cancer treatment in Havana. The Venezuelan president was accompanied by his foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, according to Juventud Rebelde newspaper. Chavez is also accompanied on this trip by his daughter Maria Virginia and one of his grandchildren, Venezuelan television reported. Chavez, 57, who is facing a tough re-election fight this year, is expected to complete five weeks of radiation treatment in Havana, but return home for brief periods during that time. Tighter sanctions sought against Syria Dozens of countries sought to set conditions for a new Syria, pushing for tighter sanctions and diplomatic pressure to further isolate President Bashar Assad, while urging the opposition to offer a democratic alternative to his regime. Yet the show of solidarity at the Friends of the Syrian People conference in Turkeys largest city, Istanbul, was marred by the absence of China, Russia and Iran key supporters of Assad who disagree with Western and Arab allies over how to stop the bloodshed. A peace plan by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has so far failed to take hold amid fresh reports of deadly violence. Erdogan also indicated military options might have to be considered, if Syria does not cooperate with Annans plan and the U.N. Security Council fails to unite in opposition to Assad. He referred to the vetoes of UN censure of Assad by Russia and China, which fear the measures could lead to foreign military intervention. Third party liability premium goes up Owners of cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers will have to pay more towards insurance with enhanced motor insurance rates coming into effect from April 1. The premium rates for third party motor insurance in certain cases will go up by as much as 40 per cent from April 1, 2012, as per the notification of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). The IRDA had earlier announced that the new rates of third party motor insurance premium would be revised at the end of every fiscal year. Third-party insurance cover protects the vehicle owner from any financial liability, in case of damage to life or property in an accident to the third person. As per the new rates, private car owners would have to pay premium depending on the size of the vehicles. The hike would be in the range of 6-40 per cent. Owners of cars up to 1,000 cc engine capacity will have to shell out a third party premium of Rs 784. It would be Rs 925 for cars with engine capacity of above 1,000 cc and up to 1,500 cc. For cars exceeding 1,500 cc, the premium rate will be Rs 2,853 per year. Walmart to source more from India The worlds largest retailer Walmart is looking to source more farm produce from India for international operations through its Indian joint venture apart from expanding product basket. The companys 50:50 joint venture with Bharti Enterprises -- Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd is looking to engage 25,000 farmers in India by 2015 up from the present 4,000. ASDA Walmart is a chain of 500 stores that sell food, grocery and other essential items across UK. He said there are opportunities to export a range of items from India like musk melon, pomegranate and rice. As a pilot, the company has started sourcing grapes from farmers in Maharashtra for supplying to ASDA Walmart. RIM looks at CDMA devices to boost India sales BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) is now looking at CDMA devices to boost its sales in the country and is re-launching its Curve 8530 model at about 12 per cent lower price of Rs 11,990. Curve 8530, which was earlier available at Rs 13,500, is the CDMA version of BlackBerrys most popular GSM device -- Curve 8520. This will not only help users who are looking at more smartphone options for CDMA, but will also ensure that more CDMA users can move to smartphones. GSM and CDMA are two mobile telephony technologies, of which GSM is dominant in India with telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular offering services across India. On the other hand, CDMA operators in the country include Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, though the last two also offer GSM services.

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Paes reaches a milestone Indian tennis veteran Leander Paes became only the 24th player in the ATP World Tour history to win 50 doubles titles after he and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek clinched the Sony Ericsson Open, their second team trophy of the season. Paes and Stepanek, who were seeded seventh, rallied to upstage second seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 3-6, 6-1, 10-8. After dropping the first set, the Australian Open champions broke Mirnyi and Nestor twice in the second set to force a match tie-break. Geeta makes cut for Olympics Geeta created history by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympics after she won a gold medal in the Asian Qualifying Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan. Geeta defeated Ji-Eun Um of Korea 5-0 on technical points in the summit clash of the 55kg female wrestling category to not only pocket a gold, but also a place in the upcoming London Olympics. Both the gold and silver medallists from the Asian qualifying event, which ended today, will get a ticket to the London Games. This is the first time an Indian female grappler has qualified for the Olympics since womens wrestling was introduced in the quadrennial extravaganza in 2004. Geeta had earlier defeated Gulina Kubatbek Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in her opening bout getting the better of Thai grappler Wilaiwan Thongkam in the next. The Indians next victim was Aiym Abdildina of Kazakhstan which gave her ticket to the final round and also a place in the London Games. Monterosso wins Dubai World Cup Monterosso led home a Godolphin one-two in the Dubai World Cup over 2,000m at Meydan racecourse when he swept past his stablemate, Capponi, to win the world's richest race. The five-year-old, ridden by Mickael Barzalona, advanced from a prominent position to win a race in which he finished third year 2011. Indian paddlers finish 27th The Indian paddlers improved their performances to finish 27th in the men's and women's categories at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund, Germany. Men: India bt Brazil 3-2, Women :India bt Italy 3-1.

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Defence Ministry revises offset guidelines Under attack for tardy acquisitions, the Defence Ministry finalised a 15-year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan and a slew of changes in the offset guidelines to enable manufacturers to count transfer of technology under the mandatory clause. Besides effecting a major change in the offset guidelines that requires foreign manufacturers to source 30 per cent of the value of an order worth over Rs.300 crore from the domestic market, Defence Minister A. K. Antony reviewed issues and proposals relating to the Army in particular. The announcement came a week after Chief of the Army Staff General V.K. Singh's classified communication to the Prime Minister, painting a grim picture of procurement, became public, sparking a debate on security and defence preparedness. Kalifulla sworn in as Supreme Court judge Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla was sworn in as Supreme Court judge. Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia administered the oath of office to him at a function in the presence of the Full Court and members of the Bar. Justice Kalifulla, who hails from Tamil Nadu, will be the second judge to represent the Madras High Court in the Supreme Court after Justice P. Sathasivam. Frame charges against RIL, three lobbyists, says Delhi court A sessions court has ordered that charges be framed against Reliance Industries Limited and three of its veteran lobbyists in a 13-year-old case of alleged recovery of secret Indian government documents from the possession of RIL Group president V. Balasubramanian alias Balu during a search of the company's office premises in Delhi. A.N. Sethuraman, then vice-president at RIL and now Group president of the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance ADA Group, and Shanker Adawal, then general manager (Corporate Affairs) and now believed to be Mukesh Ambani's point man here, will also be put on trial. Bengal passes Bill to lift land ceiling on more industries The Mamata Banerjee government passed its first pro-industry Bill amending Section 14Y of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, that lifts the land ceiling in several cases of industrial operations. This legislation gave a much wider ambit to Section 14 Y of the Act, which only allowed a person or an industrial house to keep land in excess to the ceiling of 24.2 acres for the purpose of establishing tea gardens, mills, factories, workshop, livestock breeding farm, poultry farm, dairy or township. Orissa govt puts out list of corrupt Kick-starting its plan to name and shame the people allegedly involved in corrupt deals, the Naveen Patnaik government posted online a list of persons facing graft cases. Journalist Chandrabhanu Patnaik, the editor of a local television channel against whom a vigilance case was lodged in January 2009, features in the list put up on the state vigilance departments website. Orissa has become the first state to make public the names of people, government officials and others, facing corruption cases, vigilance department chief Surendra Panwar said. The list has been further divided into Agreed List and Suspect List like the Central Vigilance Commission, which had posted online a list of corrupt persons about two and a half years ago. The Agreed List has 351 names and Suspect List 368, in all covering 14 government departments. Bill to ban manual scavenging to be introduced in Parl: SC told Nine years after a PIL said over five lakh people were engaged in manual scavenging across the country, the government told the Supreme Court that a bill aimed at banning such practice will be introduced in Parliament soon. I have received written instructions that a bill is being introduced in Parliament in Monsoon session which will take care of the entire matter, Additional Solicitor General Haren Raval told a Bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia. Page 1 of 2 3rd April 2012

Conservation authority formed for protecting Pallikaranai marshland The State Forest Department has formed a conservation authority for protecting and managing the Pallikaranai marshland. Pallikaranai marshland is the last remaining natural resource located in the city limits. The water body faces threat in the form of dumping of garbage, release of untreated raw sewage into it and its habitat is fragmented due to unplanned development. A government order issued said a proposal from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) suggesting formation of an authority to protect the marshland was approved. The marshland would be filled with water from July to February due to flooding. Therefore, it would be difficult to carry out any development activity during this period. China boosts trade with Nepal China will provide Nepal with technology and assistance to build a border land port that will boost trade and serve as a transit point on a proposed railway line, Chinese officials have said. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yang Houlan told Nepali officials that China is taking forward plans for a dry port at Tatopani near the border with Tibet, following discussions held during Premier Wen Jiabao's brief half-day visit to Kathmandu in January. During the visit, both countries also discussed plans for a railway line connecting Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and agreed to have more frequent high-level visits. Mr. Wen's visit was the first high-level visit since that of the former Premier, Zhu Rongji, in 2001. World Bank cries fraud, graft in highways projects A report prepared by the World Banks Institutional Integrity Unit has listed fraudulent and corrupt practices by private Indian contractors working on national highway projects funded by it, and sought a thorough investigation into the matter. Contractors paid bribes and gifts, including gold coins, to influence the actions of officials and consultants of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), says the report dated March 1, 2012. The report, prepared by Christina Ashton-Lewis, regional team leader (South Asia) of the Institutional Integrity Unit, focuses on six areas of malpractices. Under the scanner are the World Bank-funded Lucknow-Muzaffarpur National Highway project, the Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project, and the Third National Highway Project. The deadline for the Lucknow-Muzaffarpur highway, for which the World Bank has provided $ 620 million, is June 2012. The other two projects have been completed. India set to cut sensitive list of Pak imports by 30 per cent With domestic political pressure building up in Islamabad on New Delhis delay in reciprocating Pakistans gesture of granting India Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status, the commerce and industry ministry plans to prune its sensitive list of imports by up to 30 per cent soon. Indias sensitive list of Pakistani imports has 878 items, mostly textiles and chemicals products, which attract high import duties. The sectoral break-up of the items will be firmed up during the commerce secretary-level talks in the second week of April. Sher-E-Punjab reigns supreme Sher-E-Punjab's deadly forwardline overwhelmed Pune Strykers 5-2 in the Bridgestone World Series Hockey (WSH) final. V.S. Vinaya, with his tireless display in the defensive and offensive half, scored first for Sher-E-Punjab. Former India strikers Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh were also on target in the big game as the favourite played true to form.

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High Court sets aside appointment of Chandrashekaraiah as Upalokayukta In a landmark verdict, the Karnataka High Court held that the names of judges to be appointed to the posts of Lokayukta and Upalokayukta should emanate only from the Chief Justice of the High Court, and no other constitutional authority involved in the selection process could suggest names. High Court said the Chief Minister would have supremacy over the final selection of the judge, recommended by the Chief Justice, after holding consultation, in writing, with four other constitutional functionaries the Speaker of Legislative Assembly, the Chairman of the Legislative Council, and Leaders of the Opposition in the Assembly and the Council who are also part of the selection process. A Division Bench comprising Justice N. Kumar and Justice H.S. Kempanna, which interpreted the provision of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act for the first time because of the controversy over the process of appointment adopted by the State, also set aside the appointment of Chandrashekaraiah, a former judge of the High Court, as Upalokayukta for the reason that the Chief Justice had not recommended his name. The court also directed the government and the Chief Minister to initiate fresh proceedings for the appointment of an Upalokayukta as the post could not be kept vacant. ISRO to launch French satellite An advanced French remote sensing satellite SPOT-6 weighing close to 800 kg will be launched by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota during the second half of 2012. An agreement was signed recently between ISRO's commercial wing Antrix Corporation Limited and Astrium SAS, a company under European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), France, for the commercial launch of the satellite. Along with SPOT-6, the PSLV will also carry other co-passenger payloads. This launch services agreement signed between Antrix and Astrium is part of a long-term agreement signed between the two agencies in September 2008, the release said. In November 2010, under a commercial contract between Antrix and Astrium, an advanced communication satellite Hylas was built for a European customer. Meanwhile INSAT-2E, the last of the five satellites in the INSAT-2 series, has completed its mission life after 13 years in orbit. Launched on April 3,1999 by the European Ariane-5 launcher, INSAT-2E carried 14 C-band and 5 lower extended C-band transponders for various communication services. The satellite also carried a very high resolution radiometer and a charge-coupled device camera for meteorological observation. Eleven communication transponders of 36 MHz bandwidth onboard INSAT-2E satellite were leased to the International Telecommunication Satellite Organisation, the first such lease from an Indian satellite. WHO calls for greater attention to aging India The World Health Organisation (WHO) in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has called for greater attention to the aging of India's population, its implications for health policy and for promotion of a society where the elderly can live full, enriching and productive lives. In India, as all around the world, people are living longer. Undoubtedly the population of India is aging and will continue to age steadily in the next few decades. It is estimated that the population aged 60 years and above will grow from 77 million (7.4% of the total population) in 2001 up to 300 million (17%) by 2050,'' noted a release issued by WHO. WHO representative to India Dr. Nata Menabde said: The challenge for India, as for countries all over the world, is not only to add further years to life but more importantly to add life to years and to ensure that the elderly can live full, enriching and productive lives. For this to be possible, good health is essential.'' With a steady increase in life expectancy and the elderly population, the burden of non-communicable diseases (including heart disease and stroke, cancers, diabetes, mental health problems, vision and hearing impairment) will continue to grow, putting significant additional demands on health services. With the trend towards nuclear family, care of the elderly population at the family level will become difficult. Long-term care of the old and very old will need additional inputs from the families and governments, said WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr. Samlee Plianbangchang. Reliance plans largest solar power hub Within the next two years Rajasthan will become the world's solar power hub as Reliance Power plans to take up the generation capacity of its newly-opened 40-MW plant at Dhursar village in Pokhran to 300 MW by 2014. Reliance Power will add another 100 MW by 2013 to the existing capacity and then take it up to 300 MW at the same location in the next two years. This will be the world's largest solar power generation facility at a single location, thus giving a big push to efforts to produce energy through use of non-conventional sources, said Reliance Power Chairman Anil Ambani. Reliance Power plans to invest Rs.6,000 crore to expand the solar power generation capacity to 300 MW. India's largest solar photovoltaic power plant at Pokhran in Jaisalmer district has been set up at an investment of about Rs.700 crore, The Dhursar plant Page 1 of 4 4TH April 2012

has been set up in a record time of five months that uses new, efficient technology like thin film. It is estimated that the clean energy generated from the plant will displace over 70,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year that is equivalent to taking 25,000 cars off the road. It will generate more than 70 million kilowatt hours of clean and green energy enough for consumption of 75,000 households, said Reliance Power CEO J.P. Chalasani. The project is financed with a debt-equity ratio of 75:25 where Reliance Power has put in the entire equity while the debt has been provided by the US Exim Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Scientists called in to reinstate rescued Star tortoises In a bid to repatriate 800 Indian Star tortoises, which were seized while being reportedly smuggled out of the country, the Tamil Nadu forest officials have sought the help of molecular biologists to identify their place of origin. With two species of Star tortoises present in the country - one set is found in the western parts in Gujarat and also in Rajasthan. The other type is found in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and also in the neighbouring island country, Sri Lanka. They are smuggled out of the country for use as exotic pets and are eaten as delicacies. Scientists from the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), a facility of the Centre for Cellular and Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad, have earlier enabled successful repatriation of around 1,500 Star tortoises, which were confiscated after they were smuggled out of the country. They compared the DNA sequence of animals from known location and found they belonged to the southern part in the country. Later they were released in the wild in Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi Award for Ambika Dutta Kota-based Hindi poet Ambika Dutta has bagged the prestigious Meera Award instituted by the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi for 2011-12 for his collection of poems, Aawon Mein Baarahon Maas (the twelve months in crisis), relating travails and challenges of life in lyrics. The award carries a cash component of Rs.31,000. The Akademi announced its annual awards and prizes for 2011-12 in Udaipur. Akademi Chairman and noted litterateur Ved Vyas said the coveted prizes recognise the literary contributions of established authors and encourage the budding writers and poets. The Sudhindra Award for poetry has gone to Narendra Sharma Kusum' of Jaipur for his craft, Antaraal (Interruption), while the Rangeya Raghav Award for story-novel genre has been given to Charan Singh Pathik of Karauli for his book, Peepal Ke Phool. The Deoraj Updhyay Award for criticism has been conferred on Kundan Mali of Udaipur for his work, Vastutah (In Reality). The Kanhaiyalal Sahal Award for miscellaneous literary crafts has gone to Jitendra Nirmohi of Kota for his book, Ujaley Apni Yadon Ke (Gleams of Reminiscences), relating a nostalgic account of his life. These awards comprise a cash prize of Rs.15,000 each. Uttarakhand rivers vanishing due to hydro projects The health of rivers in Uttarakhand has deteriorated substantially due to violation of environment laws by various hydroelectric projects in the hill State. Important rivers such as the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda are either disappearing downstream of dams or are being used as dumping ground. Garbage dumped in the Tehri dam reservoir has made the Bhagirathi untouchable for even local residents. In a letter written to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, T Chatterjee and member secretary of Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board, Jairaj, Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan has pointed out various anomalies involving green norm violations in hydel power plants. Notify tiger buffer zone: SC to parks In a major boost to save Indias dwindling tiger count, the Supreme Court directed all national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves in the country to notify buffer zone required under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 within three months. The order by a Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra came pursuant to a list supplied to the Court by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) about 15 tiger reserves yet to issue the mandatory notification of buffer zone as provided under Section 38-V(ii) and the Explanation to the provision. Court noted that an Expert Committee of NTCA under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is expected to submit a report on framing of guidelines relating to ecotourism in and around tiger reserves. The Committee is expected to submit final report by May 16.

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Shah Rukh Khan to speak at Yale Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is to deliver a lecture at the prestigious Yale University, Washington as its Chubb Fellow, an honour which in the past has been bestowed on heads of states and Nobel Prize winners. As part of the prestigious fellowship, Shah Rukh would deliver a lecture at Yale University on April 12. The Chubb Fellowship is among Yale's highest honours and Mr. Khan would join a roster of fellows dating back to 1949 who have included heads of states, Nobel Prize winners, and leaders from every area of human endeavour who have inspired Yale students. Each year three or four distinguished men and women have been appointed as visiting Chubb Fellows. Chubb Fellows spend their time at Yale in close, informal contact with students and deliver a public lecture. Former Chubb Fellows include U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter; authors Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes and Toni Morrison; filmmaker Sofia Coppola; architect Frank Gehry; and journalist Walter Cronkite. James Murdoch quits as BSkyB chairman Rupert Murdoch suffered a huge setback in his bid to protect his other media interests from the damaging fallout of the 'News of the World' phone hacking scandal as his son and heir apparent James Murdoch was forced to resign as chairman of the British satellite broadcaster BSkyB (popularly known as Sky TV) saying that he did not want its interests to be undermined by matters outside the scope of this company, a reference to the controversy over his role in the hacking row. He will remain on the board of BSkyB as a representative of News Corp, his father's New York-based company which has a 39-per-cent stake in Sky. This is the second important position Mr. Murdoch has lost in a space of a few weeks. Last month, he was forced to step down as executive chairman of News International, publisher of the defunct News of the World. Syria agrees to pull out forces by April 10 After agreeing to abide by a plan drawn up by Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy, Syria has pledged to pull out its forces battling armed rebels by April 10 a move that, if implemented, could lead to reconciliation and political transition in a country embroiled in conflict for the last one year. Ahmad Fawzi, the spokesman for Mr. Annan, has been quoted as saying that the Syrian government has agreed to withdraw forces from Sunday and complete the pullout by April 10. After the withdrawal, a ceasefire can commence within 48 hours. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice clarified that the Syrian opposition should hold fire 48 hours after the Syrian forces ceased to use force. Syria's Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari has hinted that his government would not be in a position to enforce Mr. Annan's plan unilaterally. U.S. judge grants class action status to Tata wage suit Employees of Tata Sons, who were deployed from India to work in information technology jobs in the United States, won the right to proceed with a class action lawsuit against the Indian corporate giant over unpaid wages. California federal judge Claudia Wilken granted class-action status to the suit that accuses Mumbaibased Tata and its subsidiary, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services exporter, of breaching employee contracts and violating California labour laws. Tata Sons is the holding company for Tata Group. Two former employees accused the company in 2006 of forcing all non-U.S.-citizen workers to sign over their U.S. federal and state tax refund cheques to the company. Tata also deducted their Indian wages from their compensation, the suit alleged. The judge authorised one national class of plaintiffs, comprising non-U.S. citizens who worked at the company between 2002 and 2005, to sue for contract violations. The court certified a separate class of employees to bring claims under California labour laws. FunBook heralds Micromax into tablet PC Mobile company Micromax, entered the tablet PC market by launching FunBook, priced at just Rs.6,499. Mircomax's tablet is aimed at younger generation and the firm had tied up with leading education and entertainment content providers. As the Centre gears to launch phase II of Aakash tablet PCs (to distribute 50-lakh devices to students priced at Rs.2,276 each), more companies are making a foray into the tablet PC market, offering feature-rich devices at competitive prices. Micromax's FunBook comes with seven-inch screen and is powered by Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich. It has a 1.22 GHz processor, 0.3 MP VGA front camera and 4 GB internal memory (expandable up to 32GB).

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Cairn Energy's second oil discovery in KG block Cairn Energy India Pty Ltd. (CEIL), said it had discovered oil in Nagayalanka-SE-1 well in the onshore block of Krishna-Godavari Basin. CEIL, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Cairn India Ltd. (CIL), has notified the management committee comprising Director-General of Hydrocarbons, ONGC and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the discovery in the onshore block KG-ONN-2003/1. CEIL (24 per cent) is the operator of the block while CIL holds 25 per cent with the other joint venture partner ONGC holding 51 per cent. Nagayalanka SE is the second discovery in this block and Nagayalanka-SE-1 well is the second successive discovery well in this block by the Cairn-ONGC joint venture consortium. Tata Motors to replace suspension part in Manza free of cost Tata Motors is replacing free of cost a part in the suspension system of its mid-sized sedan Manza that has been sold so far, without calling it a recall. The anti-roll bar bush is placed between two moving metal parts to prevent friction and provide stability to the vehicle while on the move. Manza model was launched in October, 2009. Earlier year 2011, Tata Motors had asked an estimated 1.40 lakh Nano owners to bring back their cars for change of the starter motor free of cost. It was the biggest-ever replacement exercise in the Indian automobile history. Wind energy units want accelerated depreciation benefits restored With the Union Government removing the accelerated depreciation benefit for investors in wind mill projects from April 1, 2012, investment in the wind energy sector will not be attractive to the small captive investors, according to K. Kasthoorirangaian, Chairman of Indian Wind Power Association. The total installed wind energy capacity in the country is 16,167 MW and this includes 6,826 MW in Tamil Nadu (as on February 29, 2012). During the last two years, an average of 2,400 MW was added every year. Any investor should shell out 25-30 per cent of total investment from his resources to install a wind mill. Bharti Airtel to launch 4G service in Kolkata this month Telecom major Bharti Airtel is set to launch 4G services in Kolkata this month. Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor said 4G technology is supposed to provide download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second on the move and it can go up to 1 Gigabits per second at a fixed location. With the launch in Kolkata, Airtel will be the first company to start 4G services in the country. The countrys largest private telecom company had earlier appointed Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for building and operating its 4G network in the Maharashtra circle using TD-LTE, one of the 4G technologies. Messi breaks records, Ibrahimovic rages against referee Barcelona's Lionel Messi set a Champions League scoring record when he took his tally to 14 in the competition so far this season as the holders knocked out AC Milan to reach the semi-finals. The three-times World Player of the Year netted a penalty after 11 minutes, scored with a second spot kick just before the break and then helped to set up Barca's third goal for Andres Iniesta as they ran out 3-1 winners at the Nou Camp. The Argentine passed the previous competition record of 12 goals set by himself last season and Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United in 2003. It also made him the youngest player at 24 to pass the 50-goal mark in Europe's elite club competition as he moved on to 51.

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One of the last surviving ICS officers dead Govind Narain, one of the last surviving Indian Civil Service (ICS) officers and Home Secretary during the Bangladesh war, has passed away at his South Delhi residence. The 95-year-old Padma Vibhushan awardee breathed his last in Chhattarpur due to old age. He had refused to be admitted to a hospital and died peacefully at home. Born on May 5, 1916, in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri, Oxford-educated Narain joined the ICS in 1939 and went on to become the country's Home Secretary and Defence Secretary. Mr. Narain, who worked under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, was Home Secretary from 1971 to 1973 and one of the top officers instrumental in planning the Bangladesh war and setting up of Mukti Bahini. In 1973, he was moved to the Defence Ministry as Defence Secretary, a post from which he retired two years later. He was appointed Karnataka Governor in 1977 and was in Raj Bhavan till 1983. A post-graduate in science from Allahabad University, he is also credited with the setting up of the defence production establishment and a tie-up with Russia in this regard. In 1968, he was appointed Secretary, Defence Production. India now poised to have highest 3G connections by 2014 After witnessing a boom in mobile phone connections, it is now time for a 3G and broadband explosion in India. The GSM Association, the global body of mobile operators, has said 3G mobile connections in India are expected to grow to more than 10 crore by 2014 the highest in the world while India would become the second largest mobile broadband market globally within the next four years. India will also have 36.7 crore mobile broadband connections by 2016, overtaking the US, which will then account for 33.7 crore mobile broadband connections. However, India will still be second to China, which will have reached 63.9 crore connections by then. India has over 90 crore mobile subscribers, where some cities have over 100 per cent tele-density. GSMA Director-General Anne Bouverot said after opening its first permanent office in New Delhi, thus underlining India's growing influence in the mobile industry. AERB, first new member of MEDP India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was admitted as the first new member in the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP). The MDEP was launched by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the United States and the French Nuclear Safety Authority ( Autorite de Surete Nucleaire , ASN) with the objective of evolving innovative approaches to leverage the resources and knowledge of national regulatory authorities in reviewing new reactor designs. India will be the 11th member of this body whose other members are Canada, China, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. The MEDP pools the resources of the regulatory authorities of its members for the purpose of cooperating on safety reviews of designs of nuclear reactors that are under construction and undergoing licensing in several countries as well as exploring opportunities and potential for harmonisation of regulatory requirements and practices. According to Dr. R. Bhattacharya, the Chairman AERB, Dr. S. S. Bajaj, will be attending a meeting of the MDEP in Paris in May when the final announcement of India's membership will be made. President confers Padma awards Late cartoonist Mario Miranda, actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, top mathematician M.S. Raghunathan, former Central Vigilance Commissioner N. Vittal and industry leader B. Muthuraman were among those conferred the Padma awards by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil. Miranda's son Rahul received Padma Vibhushan at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Among the Padma Bhushan awardees were literary theorist Homi K. Bhabha, violinist M.S. Gopalakrishnan, former bureaucrat Mata Prasad, jurist P. Chandrasekhara Rao Vittal, actor Dharmendra and actor-turned-activist Shabana Azmi, neurologist Noshir Hormusji Wadia and former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yong-Boon Yeo. Eminent painter K.G. Subramanyan (Padma Vibhushan) and Satya Narayan Goenka and Jose Pereira (Padma Bhushan) were not present. INS Chakra inducted into Navy Nuclear-powered attack submarine INS Chakra was formally inducted into the Navy in the presence of Defence Minister A.K. Antony, taking India into an elite league of six nations that operate nuclear subs. The Navy will use INS Chakra, commissioned on January 23 this year at Vladivastok in Russia, for training its men in operating such submarines. The Navy began operating submarines in 1967 and within two decades, graduated to operating nuclear submarines by leasing a Soviet Charlie class submarine, also named INS Chakra, between 1988 and 1991. INS Chakra has a displacement of over 12,000 tonnes and is manned by a Page 1 of 4 5TH April 2012

crew of 80. It is powered by a 190-MWe reactor for a maximum submerged speed of 30 knots (55 kmph) and operating depths of over 500 metres. Tamil Nadu has highest percentage of widowed/divorced in India Tamil Nadu was home to the highest percentage of widowed/divorced or separated (WDS) individuals in India in 2010 (8.8%) while Delhi had the lowest (4.1%). Maharashtra figured in both the top five lists of highest percentage of WDS overall and females. The percentage of WDS females was almost three times that of men (2.9% against 10%). Altogether, 7% of the population aged 10 and above were either widowed, divorced or separated in 2010 in India, according to the Registrar General of India's Sample Registration System 2010 data finalized and submitted to the Union health ministry. Some big states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka recorded WDS population as high as 8.2%, followed by Odisha (7.2), Himachal Pradesh (7.1%) and Maharashtra (7%). In West Bengal, the number of WDS women was almost six times higher than their male counterparts. The percentage of widowed/divorced or separated (WDS) men in West Bengal was as low as 1.9%, it was 11.4% for women in that category. Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest number of "never married people" at 45.4% against the lowest in Andhra Pradesh at 30.4%. Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest percentage of married individuals at 61.4%, followed by Maharashtra (61%), Kerala and West Bengal (60.1%), Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh (59.8%). Two Indians among 2012 Yale World Fellows Yale University has selected 16 World Fellows for 2012. Two of them are from India, bringing the total number of fellows from India to 11 since the programme started in 2002. India and Britain - each with 11 fellows - have had more fellows in the Ivy League university's signature global leadership development initiative than of the 79 countries represented since its inception, the New Haven, Connecticut, based institution announced. Two fellows from India are Ayush Chauhan, co-founder and managing director, Quicksand and Ruchi Yadav, senior programme officer, The Hunger Project. From August to December, the 2012 World Fellows will enrol in a specially designed seminar taught by leading Yale faculty; audit any of the 3,000 courses offered at the University; participate in weekly dinners with distinguished guest speakers; receive individualised skill-building training; and meet with US and foreign leaders. Japan rushes to restart reactors to avoid total shutdown Japan's government is racing to get two nuclear reactors, idled after the Fukushima crisis, running again by next month out of what experts say is fear that a total shutdown would make it hard to convince a wary public that atomic power is vital. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and three cabinet ministers are to meet to discuss the possible restarts of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi plant in Fukui, western Japan - a region dubbed the "nuclear arcade" for the string of atomic plants that dot its coast. Concern about a power crunch when electricity demand peaks in the summer has been set against public fears about safety since Fukushima, the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years. Nuclear power, long advertised as safe and cheap, provided almost 30 percent of Japan's electricity before the crisis but now all but one of Japan's 54 reactors are off-line, mainly for maintenance. The last reactor will shut down on May 5. Sudan, South Sudan agree on ceasefire Sudan and South Sudan have agreed on an immediate ceasefire and securing the border and oil-rich areas during their talks in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The two sides would discuss remaining differences at the level of a political committee. Military clashes erupted in the South Kordofan State on the border. Sudan and South Sudan have failed to demarcate the border and rivers in many areas. Tata venture for cleaner energy Tata Power and Exxaro, has announced the launch of Cennergi, a new cleaner energy company which will serve the expanding energy markets in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Tata Power Company, through its subsidiary Khopoli Investments, and Exxaro Resources Limited (Exxaro) of South Africa, have formed a 50:50 joint venture to create a new energy company, Cennergi (Pty) Limited. Together, the partnership will ensure that Cennergi possesses the skill set, track record and experience to become a successful South African private power company. L&T division buys Thalest of U.K. The Electrical & Automation business of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) completed the share sale agreement formalities for the acquisition of Thalest, the U.K.-based holding company of Servowatch Systems Ltd., Bond Page 2 of 4 5TH April 2012

Instrumentation & Process Control Ltd. and Servowatch of the U.S. Thalest is engaged in offering integrated platform management system (IPMS) and integrated bridge system (IBS) solutions for naval warships and mercantile marine ships, vessels and floating systems. L&T's Electrical & Automation business has been present in this space with marine electrical and automation solutions. New product from Lifebuoy Lifebuoy launched Activ Naturoi Shield, a technology in germ protection. This technology has been launched in India through Lifebuoy clini-care10 with proven 10 times better germ protection compared to leading germ protection soaps. Toyota begins Etios exports Automobile major Toyota, through its joint venture with the Kirloskar group, began exporting Etios cars, manufactured at the Bangalore plant, to South Africa. The first batch, of 247 Etios, were loaded on to m.v.Antares Leader , a roll-on-roll-off vessel, at the Ennore port. The export model of Etios is built on the same platform as Etios and Etios Liva, manufactured and sold in India. However, it would be customised to suit the local requirements. The company will export only the petrol variants. SC no to review sales tax case of Essar Oil The Supreme Court has refused to review its January 17 judgment, which quashed the Gujarat High Court's order allowing Essar Oil to pay Rs.6,300 crore sales tax liability in deferred instalments and extended the time period of the State Government's tax incentive scheme. Essar Oil had availed itself of the Gujarat Government's Capital Investment Incentive to Premier/Prestigious Unit Scheme, 1995-2000' for its Rs.1,900-crore Vadinar plant in Jamnagar district as a 100 per cent export-oriented unit (EoU) for refining of petroleum products with a capacity of nine million tonnes annually. Suzlon to sell windfarms for $40 mn Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy said it would sell a block of its windfarm assets for USD 40 million (Rs 200 crore). The windfarms are located across India, with a majority of the assets in Tamil Nadu. Indiabulls Fin to pay Rs 15L to couple A leading investment and financial firm has been ordered by the country's apex consumer forum to pay over Rs 15 lakh to an elderly couple for selling their shares without their consent and causing loss to them. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) asked Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd to pay Kerala resident Varghese Skaria, a retired private firm employee and his wife Darly Varghese to pay the sum, holding the firm guilty of rendering deficient service. Upholding the Kerala State Consumer Commission's March 2011 verdict, an NCDRC bench headed by Justice V B Gupta ordered payment of Rs 13 lakh to the couple, besides a compensation of Rs two lakh. Yahoo plans to lay off 2000 staff Yahoo Inc will lay off 2,000 people, or 15% of its workforce, in its deepest round of job cuts in years as new CEO Scott Thompson tries to drive innovation within a leaner, more agile company while saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Honda zooms past 'Hamara Bajaj' It is one of the biggest upsets in the Indian two-wheeler industry. Japanese giant Honda has beaten 'Hamara Bajaj' with a comprehensive lead to emerge as the second-biggest two-wheeler maker, behind Hero MotoCorp (erstwhile Hero Honda) of the Munjals. Honda sells two-wheelers through Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) after the split with Munjals. It has been aggressively ramping up production as well as sales, both in scooters and motorcycles. India's Pakistan trip not cleared The Union Ministry of External Affairs has not cleared India's participation in the three-nation hockey tournament, scheduled to be held in Lahore (Pakistan) from April 9-13. Hockey India (HI) said it had been advised by the ministry that in view of the security situation prevailing in Pakistan, the visit of the Indian hockey team would not be advisable unless backed by credible high level assurances of security from the Pakistan side. Page 3 of 4 5TH April 2012

Women's team for World boxing M.C. Mary Kom (51kg), L. Sarita Devi (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) will vie for Olympic spots in the women's World boxing championship to be held at Qinhuangdao, China, from May 9-20. The three boxers had performed well in the recently-concluded Asian championship in Mongolia. While Mary Kom and Sarita had returned gold medals, Pooja had settled for the silver. The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF), following the selection trials held at NIS Patiala, named the trio for competitions in Olympic weight categories to be held in the World meet. The World championship will be the only Olympic qualification event for the women boxers. The quarterfinalists in each of the above-mentioned weights will make the cut for the London Games. The IBF also announced names of the boxers who would participate in seven other weight divisions in the World championship. They are Pinki Jangra (48kg), Sonia Lather (54kg), K. Mandakini Chanu (57kg), Meena Rani (64kg), Neetu Chahal (69kg), R.L. Jenny (81kg) and Kavita Chahal (above-81kg).

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Secrets of Wild India' bags international award Secrets of Wild India', a three-part series highlighting the diversity of Indian wildlife, has won the Best Television Series' award at the International Wildlife Film Festival held at Montana in the US. The series had to compete with films from across the globe at the prestigious festival. Secrets of Wild India' was commissioned by National Geographic and is currently being shown in India. Saravanakumar, principal cinematographer of the series, said that the three episodes covered three different ecosystems. The first was about the grassland ecosystems of Kaziranga with elephants as the main subject. The second, Tiger Jungles' was filmed in Tadoba, Maharashtra, and is about the central Indian forests with the tiger as its principal character. The third episode, Desert Lions', was filmed in western India, in the arid lands of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Second Brazilian plane with Indian AEW&C System flown The maiden flight of the second fully modified Embraer aircraft for India-developed Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) System took place on April 4 at Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo in Brazil. This aircraft will be delivered to India in June 2012. The other mission systems will then be integrated and the mission system flight trials may begin from November 2012. The mission systems and components, including the dummy Active Antenna Array Unit (AAAU), were fitted onboard an Embraer EMB 2451. The AEW&C System is mounted on top of the plane's fuselage. India's first AEW&C System, with dummy electronics, made its maiden flight on December 6, 2011 on another modified Embraer from the Sao Jose dos Campos facility. India will receive the third Embraer by the middle of 2013 to be fitted with the AEW&C System. The Centre for Air-borne Systems (CABS) in Bangalore that comes under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is executing the System with other DRDO laboratories as partners. CABS, headed by S. Christopher is Director, has developed about 1,000 mission system components for the System. Crossing Antarctica with the Tricolour in hand A young doctor, son of Indian immigrants, is set to become the first foreign national of Indian origin to walk across Antarctica carrying the Tricolour to what he ecstatically describes as the uttermost end of the world the South Pole and back. The expedition is scheduled for 2014. Dr. Alexander Kumar told from Antarctica, where he has been living since January conducting research for the European Space Agency's human spaceflight programme, that he was excited and proud to represent the best aspects of my British-Indian heritage. Dr. Kumar (28), who has been selected as the Chief Medic and Chief Scientist for the expedition, is among a team of six who will make the crossing retracing the steps of famous British explorers Sir Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. Currently, he is based in Concordia Station a French-Italian base in the interior of Antarctica which he describes as the most isolated and extreme research station in the world. He and his crew live in complete isolation with no chance of evacuation even in a medical emergency. Dictatorship, terrorism feed off each other: Nobel laureate Karman Having emerged as the female face of the Arab Spring, Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkol Karman equated dictatorship with terrorism. The Yemeni journalist, politician and human rights activist who is in India said dictators and terrorists feed off each other and that dictatorship and terrorism are the two faces of the same coin. Ms. Karman said concerns that the revolution and the subsequent toppling of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade rule in Yemen would pave way for terrorists to take over the country were unfounded. Ms. Karman, who is also known as the mother of the revolution, said sowing seeds of democracy in her country was a not an easy task. The revolution of Arab Spring, she said, germinated from the deep desire of the people of Yemen to gain equality, dignity, freedom and democracy. India to build own 155mm Howitzers At a time when the defence preparedness of the nation's armed forces has become a controversial matter, the Ordnance Factory Board has taken up the task of indigenously manufacturing 155 mm Howitzers, similar to the Bofors gun which had blazed a trail of controversy in 1986. Slated to be manufactured in India, the Howitzer will have the same specifications as the Bofors gun which was used in the Kargil conflict in 1999. If everything goes according to plan, two giant Howitzers would be given to the Indian Army for field trials in the current financial year. This will be the first time that large calibre Howitzers are being manufactured entirely in India. Howitzers would be made using a transfer of technology (TOT) agreement already in place with the Swedish original equipment maker AB Bofors after the guns were procured in the mid-1980s. The OFB will also make the spare parts which will result in the repairs and maintenance of the gun becoming cost effective Page 1 of 4 6TH April 2012

and less time consuming. The step was taken to encourage indigenous production for curtailing procurement costs. The production is expected to be undertaken at the Gun Carriage Factory at Jabalpur, which makes the 105mm Indian Field Guns, the only indigenously developed Howitzers. Earlier, the factory had upgraded the existing 155x45 guns purchased from Sweden to 155x52 mm and 130 mm guns to 155 mm. India, China, U.S. to lead global urban growth: U.N. India, China, Nigeria, Indonesia and the United States are set to lead the world's growth in urban populations during the next four decades, sparking challenges in providing jobs, housing, energy and infrastructure, the United Nations said. Ahead of a U.N. sustainability summit in Rio in June, the world body released new forecasts for urban populations in a bid to urge global leaders to come up with concrete plans at the conference in Brazil to produce sustainable cities. Nigeria's cities are expected to add 200 million people by 2050, more than doubling the country's current population; India's cities are to add 497 million, increasing the current total population by more than 40 percent; and Indonesia's cities are set to add 92 million people, about a 38 percent increase in its total population, according to the U.N.'s 2011 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects. U.S. cities are forecast to add 103 million people, raising the country's total population by a third, while China is due to boost its total population by a quarter, with an increase of 341 million in its cities. Currently half the world's 7 billion people live in cities, the United Nations said. India-UK joint bid to map malaria, Japanese encephalitis-prone areas British and Indians scientists have joined hands to predict areas of the country that face the maximum risk of malaria and Japanese encephalitis (JE) outbreaks. Scientists from the Liverpool university are working with computer modeling specialists in India to predict areas that will see the deadliest malaria outbreaks following changes in monsoon rainfall. Experts say the number of heavy rainfall events in India has increased over the past 50 years, but research has tended to focus on the impact this has on agriculture rather than the vectorborne diseases, such as malaria and JE. The university's school of environmental sciences is working with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's ( CSIR) Centre for Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation (C-MMACS) to develop a technology that will help decision-makers target areas that are prone to widespread climate variability and malaria epidemics. According to the recent World Malaria Report, 2011, over 70% of India's population, or 100.41 crore face the risk of malaria infection. Around 31 crore, however, face the "highest risk" of getting infected by the vector-borne disease. French nuclear reactor shuts down after fires A French nuclear reactor shut down automatically after two small fires at the installation in the north of the country that firefighters quickly extinguished. EDF, the operator of the power plant in Penly on the English Channel near the port of Dieppe, said the installation was secure, no-one was injured, and there were no consequences for the environment. The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) said the firefighters had found small pools of oil on fire but had quickly extinguished the flames. France generates 75 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power and the future of the industry has become an issue in campaigns for the presidential election to be held in April and May. France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, operates 58 reactors and has been a leading international proponent of atomic energy. Kuwait-Iraq flights to resume after 20 years Iraq has approved a request from Kuwait's Jazeera Airways to operate services to Baghdad and Najaf, more than 20 years after direct flights between the neighbours were halted. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, after which flights between the Iraq and its small neighbour to the south were suspended. During a visit by Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki in mid-March, Kuwait agreed to a $500 million deal with Baghdad aimed at ending a decades-long debt dispute that saw an Iraqi Airways flight impounded in London. According to Kuwait Airways, Iraq's flag carrier owes it $1.2 billion as a result of the 1990 invasion. Kuwait says 10 of its planes as well as aircraft parts were plundered after its airport was seized during the invasion BMW to bring Mini in CBU format The BMW Group, announced that the Mini range of vehicles from its stable would be available as completely built-up units (CBUs) in India. The Mini range will include Mini Hatch, Mini Convertible and Mini Countryman. These will be available in petrol variants with six-speed automatic transmission. The Mini range will cover five models with Mini Cooper (at the lower-end) priced at Rs.25.50 lakh and Mini Cooper S Countryman High at Rs.35.90 lakh (at the higher-end), ex-showroom all India. The BMW Group with its three brands BMW, Rolls Royce and Mini is focussed on the premium sector of the Indian automobile market. Page 2 of 4 6TH April 2012

Hewlett-Packard launches all-in-one workstation Hewlett-Packard, launched the world's first 27-inch all-in-one workstation 'Z1'. Priced at Rs.99,990, the Z1 combines a sleek industrial design with accelerated performance, featuring Intel Xeon processors, NVIDIA Quadro graphics and is targeted especially at computer-aided design, digital media and entertainment professionals. HP enjoys 53 per cent market share in the workstation space of the 70,000-unit annual sales. The company is also planning to re-enter the fast-growing Indian tablet PC market. JLR to build new sports car in Britain Upmarket carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India's Tata Motors, announced that it plans to build its new Jaguar F-Type sports car in Britain. The two-seater convertible which is the long-awaited successor to the iconic Jaguar E-Type will be built at JLR's Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, central England, ahead of its sales launch in the middle of 2013. JLR had revealed the model's name earlier this week at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. Lemon Tree to open 100 hotels Hospitality chain Lemon Tree Hotels said it plans to open 100 hotels in India by 2020, with a total room capacity of 10,000. The company, which owns and manages 18 hotels under Lemon Tree Premier, Lemon Tree and Red Fox brands, said that it had put on hold plans to enter the real estate sector in partnership with U.S.-based investment firm Warburg Pincus. Deutsche Post DHL buys out Lemuir in JV Deutsche Post DHL, the world's leading postal and logistics group, said it had acquired the 24 per cent stake held by the Lemuir Group in their joint venture. With this acquisition, the joint venture, DHL Lemuir Logistics Pvt. Ltd., becomes a 100 per cent subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL. The entity has been renamed as DHL Logistics Pvt. Ltd. HCC receives Rs. 162 cr order Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has bagged a Rs. 162-crore order from North Frontier Railway to develop a rail tunnel. Under the contract, the company will build a tunnel between Kambiron Road and Thingou stations on the new railway line coming up between Jiribam and Tupul in Imphal, Manipur. HCC will be developing the tunnel with its Hyderabad- based JV partner Coastal Projects, in which it holds 60 per cent stake. NTL, Lemnis form venture NTL Electronics India has announced its joint venture with Lemnis Lighting of the Netherlands, to design, produce and sell energy-efficient LED lighting systems for India as well as the global audience. Both companies will initially invest Rs. 40 crore in the joint venture. KONE expands into Sri Lanka KONE, a global leader in the elevators and escalators industry, is expanding its operations into the Sri Lankan market. It has entered into a distributor arrangement with Lanka Elevator Engineering. KONE will be supplying elevators to the Sri Lankan market from its global supply units and Chennai. Biocon opens integrated R&D centre in Bangalore Biocon, opened an integrated R&D centre in Bangalore. It is equipped with multi-disciplinary capabilities in molecular biology, biologics process sciences, formulation research and pre-clinical and clinical development. Dell to acquire Make Technologies Dell, said it would acquire Make Technologies, a provider of application modernisation software and services, for an undisclosed sum.

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Brij Bhushan elected WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been elected unopposed the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). In the WFI elections held in New Delhi, I.D. Nanavati was elected the senior vice-president, while Raj Singh was elected the secretary-general. According to a WFI release, Nanavati polled 58 votes while his rival R.K. Hooda failed to manage a single vote. Raj Singh got 57 votes against his opponent Kartar Singh's one. The elections were conducted by returning officer Justice R.C. Chopra, a retired Delhi High Court judge, Union Sports Ministry observer A.K. Patro and Indian Olympic Association observer S.M. Bali. The High Court, on January 4, had quashed the election of Dushyant Singh as the WFI president. Later, the court had set aside the election of Brij Bhushan, who on January 29 was elected as the WFI president in controversial circumstances.

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India will see highest urban population rise in 40 years' India will witness the largest increase in urban population in the next four decades followed by China, a United Nations report has said. India will add another 497 million to its urban population between 2010 and 2050, while China will see 341 million people shifting into cities, followed by Nigeria (200 million), the United States (103 million) and Indonesia (92 million), according to the U.N.'s 2011 Revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects' report. The projected increase in urban population in India and Nigeria between 2010 and 2050 will be higher than that of the past 40 years. This trend is particularly prominent in Nigeria, where the urban population grew by only 65 million between 1970 and 2010, but is projected to increase by 200 million between 2010 and 2050 the third largest increase in urban population of all countries of the world. In 2025, Tokyo is projected to remain the world's most populous urban agglomeration, with almost 39 million inhabitants, although the population will scarcely increase. It will be followed by Delhi with 33 million inhabitants and Shanghai in China with 28.4 million inhabitants. Mumbai would come next, with almost 27 million inhabitants. All three cities are expecting important population gains. Amitabh to be honoured for polio campaign Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who has been the Goodwill Ambassador for Polio UNICEF campaign from 2005, will be honoured for his contribution to the cause. The 69-year-old actor has fronted the polio eradication programme successfully. In February, the World Health Organisation had taken India off the list of polio endemic countries. The actor is happy to know that there has been no case of polio year 2011. For an entire year there has been no case of polio reported in the country for the first time since the campaign began. That is fantastic for a country plagued with the disease for years, he said. Chennai woman is first Indian dean at American B-school Srilata Zaheer has been appointed Dean at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. Ms. Zaheer, who grew up in Chennai, is the first Indian to head the business school situated in Minneapolis, U.S.A. Sri, as she is known to friends and colleagues, is the 12th dean in the more than 90-year-old history of the Carlson School. CRPF to have worlds first all-women pipe band After raising an exclusive women's battalion 25 years ago, the CRPF has now set up the world's first allwomen 'paramilitary' pipe band. The 22-member band will get its ceremonial colours on April 9 during the 'Valour Day' celebrations of the paramilitary force. The band will be led by a commander, called the 'Major of Pipes', sub-inspector Darshana Kumari. Out of the 22 band players, 12 will play the pipes while five will be on the drums and the rest will play other musical instruments. The women's band will not only play martial and ceremonial tunes at traditional events of the force but would also be sent to boost the morale of troops at their United Nations (UN) mandated duty locations. The band, on its debut, is expected to play the national anthem, the CRPF song 'CRPF sada ajay, Bharat mata ki jai' and 'Kadam kadam badhaye jaa'. The CRPF, like other central forces and state police departments, also has its own male band. The force is also credited with raising the first women's battalion in central police forces way back in 1986. The force presently has three operational women's battalions with headquarters in the national capital, Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Ajmer in Rajasthan. Non-coastal Punjab tops country's fish output If the succulent Amritsari fish has swum miles from the winding cobbled lanes of the old border town in Punjab to Delhi and Mumbai's swish parties, the secret lies in Punjab topping the country's fish output. Data on country's fish producing states recently revealed that Punjab topped the charts in fish productivity at 6,560kg per hectare in the financial year 2011-2012. For a state that does not have an inch of marine coastline, Punjab for six years in succession has quietly maintained the number one position in the country with regard to fish production per unit area. The total annual production for fish in Punjab, however, still lags at 97,000 tonne per year and is yet to enter into the list of top 10 fish producing states. At present, fish farming in Punjab is being practiced in natural water, including river areas like Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Ghaggar and artificial pond water. Soil salinity and waterlogging, agriculture in Punjab often means a single crop in a year and that too where soil has low salt deposits, leading to fishing as alternative farming.

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Khasi withdrawn from UNESCO's languages in danger list The Khasi language of Meghalaya has been withdrawn from the UNESCO's Atlas of the Worlds Languages in Danger as it is now considered as "safe". The language is spoken by some 900,000 people in the state and is no longer in danger, UNESCO declared on its website. Khasi is spoken in the region of the Khasi and Jaintia hills and is also known as Khasia, Khassee, Cossyah or Kyi. This language of the Mon-Khmer linguistic branch and its status was reassessed by the editorial board of the Atlas, which concluded that Khasi may be classified as "safe" on UNESCO's scale of language vitality. Recognized as "associate official language" in the state of Meghalaya since 2005, Khasi is widely used in several domains such as primary and secondary education, radio, television and religion, the UNESCO official website said. To date, the Atlas lists 2473 languages in danger in the world, classified in five degrees of vitality vulnerable, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered and extinct. India becomes member of CGAP The industry body of micro-lenders MFIN has said that India has become a member of Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), which is an international apex body for micro-finance. "India has been admitted as a member of CGAP two days ago. The implication is that for the first time, a developing country has joined CGAP," Managing Director of Basix Micro finance and President of Micro-Finance Institutions Network (MFIN) Vijay Mahajan told. "Secondly, India will get a place in the world table on the issue of financial inclusion. G20, in their economic agenda, made financial inclusion one of the topics. CGAP is a secretariat for that," he said. CGAP is an independent policy and research center dedicated to advancing financial access for the world's poor. It is supported by over 30 development agencies and private foundations, who share a common mission to alleviate poverty. Housed at the World Bank, CGAP provides market intelligence, promotes standards, develops innovative solutions and offers advisory services to governments, financial service providers, donors, and investors. Andhra accounted for nearly 30% of the total micro-finance business in the country, which was pegged at Rs 30,000 crore in 2010. BHEL sets up country's first coal research centre BHEL, Tiruchi Complex, has accorded for research and development has crystallised in the setting up of a dedicated Coal Research Centre (CRC), the first of its kind in the country. The centre will enable coal characterisation through detailed analysis of coal from project sites and mines across the country and creation of a valuable data bank for optimal design for boilers. The Performance Highlights 2011-12' brought out by BHEL, Tiruchi, states that milling trials for biomass co-firing have been carried out, and that a BHEL team was deputed to Germany and UK for benchmarking in the field of carbon capture and storage, and clean coal technologies. Britain bans display of cigarette packets in shops Driven apparently by the logic out of sight, out of mind, the British government imposed a ban on the display of cigarette packets in shops, saying the move was aimed at discouraging young people from taking to smoking. Cigarette packets disappeared from supermarket shelves across England and went literally under the counter as the long-threatened ban finally came into force amid fury among smokers who denounced it as yet another assault on their freedom on top of the existing ban on public smoking. Small shops have been spared for now and given three years to refit suitable shelves and counters to hide cigarette packets. The government cited the Irish experience which, it claimed, showed that the measure could help in preventing young people from turning to smoking. Other countries where display is banned include Canada, Ireland, Iceland and Finland. A move by Scotland to introduce a similar ban has been delayed by protests from tobacco companies. ICC halts Israeli war crimes investigation The International Criminal Court (ICC) has controversially stalled the bid by the Palestinian Authority (PA) for an investigation into Israel's conduct during the Gaza war of 2008 because Palestine does not have the required legal status of an internationally recognised independent State. The heavy Israeli incursion apparently to curb cross-border rocket fire from Gaza, began at the end of December 2008 and ended 22 days later. It is estimated that the conflict, infamous for the alleged use of phosphorus bombs in populated areas, killed at least 1,166 Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority in January 2009 had approached Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo to launch a war crimes investigation against Israel following the Gaza war. ICC prosecutor noted that over 130 countries and some U.N. bodies did recognise Palestine as a State. However, Palestine enjoyed only an observer status in the U.N. General Assembly. The ICC said in the future, it could consider allegations of war crimes committed in the Palestine, provided the Security Council arrived at a decision to Page 2 of 4 7TH April 2012

recognise Palestine as an independent State. The Council is yet to take a position on admitting Palestine, despite President Abbas' application in September seeking full U.N. membership. The Palestinians have long sought the establishment of an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Germany strikes deal to tax secret Swiss accounts Switzerland has agreed to a revised tax deal with Germany, with Switzerland to pay billions of dollars on funds hidden in its banks by German tax dodgers. The deal was the latest step in an international charm offensive that is meant to salvage at least some of Switzerland's famous banking secrecy. The accord, which was tougher to reach after a deal in September was criticised by German opposition parties and European Commission officials in Brussels, provides for the assessment of a one-time charge of 21 to 41 per cent of the value of secret German accounts, higher than the original agreement of 19 to 34 per cent. Swiss banks that are home to such accounts would make payments to the German government. Switzerland signed a similar deal with Britain on March 20. Seeking to overcome the country's reputation as the biggest offshore tax haven in the world, Switzerland has in recent years moved against money laundering and reached more than 40 deals providing for the exchange of tax data with other governments. U.S. cannons sink Japanese ghost ship' A U.S. Coast Guard cutter poured cannon fire into a Japanese ghost ship that had been drifting since last year's tsunami, sinking the vessel in the Gulf of Alaska and eliminating the hazard it posed to shipping and the coastline. The cutter's guns tore holes in the 50-metre Ryou-Un Maru, ending its long, lonely journey across the Pacific that began when the deadly tsunami set it floating more than a year ago. The crew pummelled the ghost ship with high-explosive ammunition, and the derelict Ryou-Un Maru soon burst into flames and began taking on water. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency decided it was safer to sink the ship and let the fuel evaporate in the water. Malawi President dead Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika died. Mr. Mutharika, a former World Bank economist who first came to power in 2004, was re-elected with a sweeping majority in 2009 as President of the poor southern African country. His Vice-President, Joyce Banda, is next in line to run the country, according to the Constitution. Himadri Chemicals eyes major German firm Himadri Chemicals & Industries Ltd, a Kolkata-based chemicals company, is eyeing a German company Rutgers for possible acquisition. Like Himadri, the Dsseldorf-based Rutgers is also in the business of making coal tar pitch (CTP) distillates and has been in this business for about 160 years. Rutgers is actually billed as the world's second largest company in CTP, with units in Europe and Canada, besides an office in China. This would be Himadri's second attempt at acquiring the company. It had backed out of a bid made in 2007, when the government-controlled company was being divested. Himadri was in the race with 22 other bidders and was also among the two finalists. India, China cashing in on Iran sanctions Iran's two major oil buyer India and China now appear to be seeking to take advantage of the international sanctions against the Islamic republic by forcing concessions from Tehran. India has used the payments difficulties to force concessions from Iran, including an Iranian acceptance of payment for about 45 per cent of the oil sales in rupees, India's local currency, but which is not convertible, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said. CRS said South Korea is known to be actively negotiating with the United States to achieve an exemption. The three other large Iranian oil buyers China, India, and Turkey have not pledged to cut oil purchases from Iran. Rolls-Royce opens largest Asia facility in Singapore Global power systems company Rolls-Royce has opened its largest facility in Asia, at the Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore. This is the first of its kind to bring advanced aerospace high-value manufacturing technology to this part of the world. Singapore Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong, recently opened the RollsRoyce facility. Rolls Royce has a customer base, comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in more than 80 countries.

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Firestone Energy rejects Tata Power bid Exploration company Firestone Energy has rejected a bid by Tata Power for a 30 per cent stake in a coal project in South Africa, citing a huge undervaluation of the project, a report has said. Tata had offered Rand 480 million for the stake in the Limpopo venture, which is a partnership between Firestone Energy and South Africa-based Sekoko Resources. Tata had based its bid on a valuation of Rand 1 billion, while the true value of the asset was Rand 1.6 billion, Sekoko Chairman Tim Tebeila told. Nasscom creates health insurance plan for IT companies In what may be a first of its kind initiative by an industry body, Nasscom has created a health insurance plan in association with Oriental Insurance for the 2.5 million people industry. Insurance premiums come down when more people are part of a plan, and given the scale of the IT sector, Nasscom's TechieHealth Plan will bring down substantially the cost of providing insurance especially for small and medium businesses (SMBs). Saregama MD resigns RPG Group firm Saregama India's Managing Director and CEO Apurv Nagpal has resigned from the company to pursue other interests. Mr. Nagpal, who joined Saregama in 2009. Saregama India is the flagship company of the entertainment sector of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. Pendleton wins sixth world sprint crown Britain's Victoria Pendleton claimed a sixth sprint title at the world track cycling championships after a 2-0 defeat of Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania.

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Indian Navy is all set to commission UAV squadron The Indian Navy is all set to commission its first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron on the East Coast at Uchipuli. It is considered a significant step towards strengthening maritime surveillance and reconnaissance in Palk Strait, Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay off the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coast. The commissioning of the UAV squadron near Rameswar-am assumes significance not only due to its close proximity to Sri Lanka but also due to the strategic importance of the region. It has been christened INAS 344 and it will be operated from INS Parundu, a naval air station. It will be the third UAV squadron of the Navy. Established in 2006, the Indian Navy's first UAV squadron, INAS 342 in Kochi, already performs operational missions as well as training. The 2nd squadron was commissioned at Porbandar in Guajarat in 2011. Agni-V getting ready for launch Amid the sylvan surroundings of coconut groves, shrubs, lawns and cottages on the tiny Wheeler Island off Odisha coast, hectic preparations are on for the launch of Agni-V missile any day between April 15 and 20. The three stages have been integrated horizontally. It will then be made vertical and electrical connections given. If the current schedule holds good, the missile will soar into the sky from a road-mobile launcher during the launch window of April 15 to 20. Capable of covering 5,000 km, Agni-V is India's longest-range missile which can carry a nuclear warhead. If the test-flight is successful, it will catapult India into a select band of countries possessing the technology for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed and developed it. Agni-V is 17 metres tall and weighs 50 tonnes. Its diameter is two metres. All its three stages are powered by solid propellants. It can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 1.1 tonne and a dummy payload. The entire flight will last more than 1,000 seconds. Avinash Chander, Chief Controller (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO, described Agni-V's technology as a game-changer for strategic options. Except the U.S., Russia, France and China, no other country had designed and developed this range of systems. PM's Rural Development Fellowship scheme gets underway Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh launched the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellowship (PMRDF) programme in Hyderabad. Under the programme, 156 youth selected for the fellowship would work in 78 Left-wing extremism (LWE)-affected districts covered in the integrated action plan (IAP) in nine States Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand for two years. After two-month training, they would work closely with local elected bodies and women self-help groups to improve the implementation of government schemes, due to lack of which the areas remained under-developed, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said. They would work directly under district Collectors and Chief Executive Officers of Zilla Parishads. The fellows will not be agents of the Centre. There will be no assault on the federal nature of our governance, he assured. He, however, cautioned them that their job would be tough and very difficult. Some of you may be welcomed with open arms and some others may be seen as interlopers. You have to find your niche, the Minister told them. IIT-Jodhpur, Datawind head for legal battle The HRD Ministry may have transferred the Aakash tablet project to IIT-Bombay, but the conflict between IITJodhpur, which was earlier handling the project, and Datawind, the Canada-based manufacturers, is far from solved. Datawind and IIT-Jodhpur are now heading for a legal battle. IIT-Jodhpur has claimed damages from Datawind and also decided to forfeit the Rs 50 lakh that the latter had deposited as earnest money, according to highly placed sources. Datawind, on the other hand, has shot off a notice to two of the IITJodhpur faculty members for violation of the non-disclosure agreement signed for the project. The IITJodhpur Board of Governors has called an emergency meeting next week to find a solution. IIT-Jodhpur has filed a claim against Datawind for liquidated damages, and is also writing to the companys bankers. The liquidated damages stipulation in any contract establishes a predetermined sum that must be paid if a party fails to perform as promised. Joshi to remain PAC chairman BJPs veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi, the chairman of the outgoing Public Accounts Committee, is among the 15 Lok Sabha members elected to the prestigious Parliamentary panel for its next term. As the chairmans post goes to the main Opposition party, Joshi is set to retain the office. Among the fresh faces in the new PAC, which will begin its one-year term from May 1, are former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and DMKs spokesperson TKS Elangovan. While 10 members of the outgoing committee continue to be part of the new panel, Jagdambika Pal, K Sudhakaran, K Samba Siva Rao (all Congress), Rewati Raman Singh (SP) and Adhi Shankar (DMK) have made way for others. Page 1 of 3 8TH April 2012

Turkish Prime Minister makes first trip to China in 27 years Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to arrive in Beijing on an official visit to boost business and political ties between the rising powers with booming economies, despite differences over Syria and China's ethnic Uighur region. The visit is the first to China in 27 years by a Turkish premier and follows a February trip by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to Ankara and Istanbul, where the countries signed deals worth billions of dollars. Suu Kyi to take seat in Myanmar parliament on April 23 Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will take her seat in parliament for the first time on April 23, her party said, following her milestone election to political office. The veteran dissident's National League for Democracy, which won 43 seats in April 1 by-elections, will be the main opposition force in a national parliament dominated by the military and its political allies. Registration of Hindu marriage a must: Bangladesh Bangladesh is set to make mandatory the registration of Hindu marriages to ensure rights of the followers of the faith by bringing in a law on the lines of India, law minister Shafique Ahmed said. "Registration of Hindu marriages is being made mandatory ," he told a seminar on the rights of Hindu community with regard to marriage registration. Ahmed assured that the government would not formulate any law that would hurt religious sentiment. Citizens for Enactment of the Hindu Marriage Law organized the seminar to review a draft on the proposed registration law following the example of a related legislation in neighbouring India. Bangladesh last year enacted the Vested Property Law 2001, to allow the return of property of the minority community , confiscated during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. China becomes world's largest food China is now the world's largest food and grocery market, having overtaken the US in terms of sales in 2011, a market research firm said. British food industry analysts IGD also noted that BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - will make up four of the top five grocery markets by 2015. China's supermarket sector was worth $970 billion at the end of 2011, surpassing the US market, valued at $913.5 billion. The rapid expansion is driven by China's growing economy, rising wealth, and inflationary food prices 117 Pakistani soldiers missing as avalanche hits Siachen Glacier Over 100 Pakistani soldiers guarding the frontiers on the Siachen glacier have been trapped under heaps of snow for over 12 hours after a massive avalanche hit a military camp. The avalanche hit the remote camp of the Northern Light Infantry in the Gayari region around 6 a.m. it was a massive slide and must have taken the troops by surprise as such occurrences normally happen at night. Hundreds of troops, sniffer dogs and mechanical equipment were pressed into service to locate the men snowed in following the avalanche which crashed into the rear headquarters building in the Gayari sector. They are believed to be buried under approximately 70 feet of snow in a treacherous terrain where survival is, as it is, is very difficult. The terrain, coupled with sub-zero temperatures touching minus 70 degree Celsius in winter and low oxygen levels, has claimed more lives on both sides of this India-Pakistan standoff over Siachen than actual combat. Billed as the world's highest battlefield, the glacier along the Line of Control was an uninhabited terrain before troops moved in there in 1984. Emami to revive over-the-counter products like Zandu Pancharishta, Nityam Churna Consumer products maker Emami is reviving its over-the-counter healthcare business with a slew of brand relaunches along with new distribution system, packaging and marketing blitz. The brands being relaunched include digestive tonic Zandu Pancharishta, blood and skin purifier Zandu Lalima, laxative Nityam Churna, cough tonic Sardi Ja and even popular pain reliever Zandu Balm-some of its own and some acquired from Zandu. Currently, only two of its OTC brands, Zandu Balm and Chyawanprash, make money for the company. Emami roped in MS Dhoni as brand ambassador for Zandu Pancharishta, cricketer Virendra Sehwag for Sardi Ja and Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj for the entire Zandu range. Govt to fix minimum investment limit for JV partners in FDI The Government is likely to define the term joint venture for the purpose of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under which it would be mandatory for at least two partners to have minimum 25 per cent stake each in the JV company. The definition of joint venture would be incorporated in the consolidated FDI policy which is to be unveiled shortly. The official said that lack of any prescribed definition for joint venture was leading to cases where companies were entering into partnership without any minimum prescribed investment limit and Page 2 of 3 8TH April 2012

then terming it as a joint venture. The policy, which was originally scheduled to be unveiled on March 30, was held up as the then DIPP secretary PK Chaudhery was appointed as Haryana Chief Secretary and the new incumbent is yet to take charge. Pak players not to play in IPL till resumption of cricket ties between both sides' Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajeev Shukla has stressed that Pakistani players will not play in the Indian Premier League until the resumption of cricket ties between both sides. He added there was no campaign or hatred against Pakistan and that he himself felt sad that Pakistani cricketers were not featuring in the IPL. "No one is against Pakistan or Pakistani players in India or else we would not have allowed Pakistani commentators or umpires in the IPL 5 season. The reality is that everything is tied to the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries. Once that happens I think everything will happen automatically, Shukla was quoted, as saying. Serena Williams crushes Lucie Safarova to win Charleston event Fifth seeded Serena Williams captured her 40th career WTA title by overpowering ninth seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 6-0, 6-1 at the Charleston claycourt tournament. The 13-time Grand Slam winner needed just 58 minutes to dispatch Safarova in her first final appearance since last year's US Open when she lost to Samantha Stosur. This marked Williams' first WTA title since turning 30 in September and she is the first 30year-old to win on the green clay in Charleston since Martina Navratilova in 1990.

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Zardari announces $1 million to Ajmer dargah After signalling a positive outcome of his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari paid obeisance at the historic dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti during his private visit and offered a chadar and floral tributes at the Sufi saint's tomb. His son and Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto was among those who accompanied him. Mr. Zardari announced a donation of $1 million to the shrine after performing the ziarat' rituals. This was stated to be the biggest-ever financial contribution made by a head of State, even as the declaration led to speculations about its use for development of the dargah and distribution among Khadims, who claim to be custodians of the 13th Century mausoleum. Khadims Iqbal Kaptan and Talib Kaptan helped the VIPs in performing ziarat' and carried out their dastaarbandi' (tying of turban) and presented sweetmeats to them. First of its kind "Gorkha war musuem" in the country The first of its kind Gorkha Musuem is all set to come up in Darjeeling in West Bengal, depicting primarily the martial aspect of the Gorkhas, known throughout the world for their bravery. Pegged at Rs 1 crore, the museum will be located adjacent to the Gorkha War Memorial at the Batasia Loop, 6 km from Darjeeling town. Jaswant Singh, Lok Sabha MP, Darjeeling laid the foundation stone for the museum. A personal initiative has actually paved way for this museum. 58-year-old Hemant Kumar Pradhan has been collecting war artifacts (medals, photographs, weapons, uniforms) related to the Gorkha regiments since he was 17 years old. Having managed a sizable collection of these rare artifacts, he has been running from pillar to post sharing his idea of a Gorkha war museum. Pradhan has even organized numerous exhibitions of his personal collection. First Gorkha battalion (then named Nasiri regiment) in April 1815 later named King Georges Own Gurkha Rifle. The Gorkha regiments in the British-Indian army saw action in Anglo-Sikh wars, Afghan wars, supressing Indian Rebellion of 1857 and both World Wars. India's launches its first integrated check post at Attari India soft launched its first Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari international land border. Three buses parked at the Zero Line picked up the passengers arriving from Pakistan and dropped them at passenger terminals at the post where they were provided with state of the art immigration and custom facilities in a friendly atmosphere. The formal inauguration of the ICP is slated for April 13. A 32-member delegation of the Faislabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), Pakistan, arrived in India to explore new markets in the country and give a boost to trade between the two nations during the trial run of the ICP. Chairman of FCCI, Jamail Ahmad said FCCI was honoured to be the first trade delegation from Pakistan to have arrived in India on the soft launch of ICP. Commonwealth Games gold medalist slams government bias in jobs Manoj Kumar, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Championship gold medalist, has slammed the Haryana government for being biased while offering jobs in the sports quota. Manoj, who hails from a nondescript village of Jind, rejected the government's offer of inspector's job with the Haryana police, calling it "discriminatory". He was the first boxer to qualify for London Olympics. Around 11 sportspersons, including Mamta Sauda, who scaled the Mount Everest, were made DSP with Haryana police after the CWG. Uttar Pradesh plans scheduled caste status for 17 OBC sub-castes The Samajwadi Party government is gearing up to include 17 OBC sub-castes into the scheduled castes. A high-level committee headed by Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Jawed Usmani has sought details from the department of social welfare before issuing a notification in this regard. The circular from the UP chief secretary on March 28, too, speaks of the government's priorities, including the inclusion of 17 OBC subcastes within the SC category. Gen. V.K. Singh offers help to Nepal Army Hailing India-Nepal relations as one of great importance', Army Chief General V.K Singh hoped for an early settlement to Nepal's peace process and offered assistance to the Nepal Army. He said the largest investment to Nepal came from India. It supports several projects; and there are deep historic, cultural and religious ties' between the two countries. An agreement between Nepal's political parties in November states that a maximum of 6500 Maoists would be integrated in a specially created directorate under the Army. The directorate will look after industrial security, development, disaster management and forest protection. It will also include personnel from other security organs.

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Israel ban on Grass Israel barred German author Gunter Grass from entering the Jewish state, citing a poem in which he accuses Israel of plotting Iran's annihilation and threatening world peace. Gunter's poem is an attempt to fan the flames of hate against the state of Israel and the Israeli people, it quoted Mr. Eli Yishai as saying. In his poem What must be said, the 84-year-old longtime leftist activist wrote of his concern that Israel could wipe out the Iranian people with a first strike due to the threat it sees in Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. Mr. Grass, author of the renowned antiwar novel The Tin Drum, sparked outrage in 2006 when he revealed, six decades after World War II, that he had been a member of the notorious Waffen SS. China expands its first nuclear plant with new reactor China has expanded its first nuclear power plant at Qinshan with installation of a new generator unit indicating resumption of work at new nuclear projects halted for safety review in the wake of Fukushima atomic disaster in Japan year 2011. The pressurised water reactor power-generating unit, with a capacity of 650,000 kw, takes the total number of generator units at Qinshan to seven and the total capacity to 4.32 million kw, China National Nuclear Corporation said in a statement. The nuclear plant is expected to generate about 34 billion kwh of electricity annually. The expansion project of the nuclear plant started in 2006, aims to install two units. The first one, also with a capacity of 650,000 kw, was put into commercial use in October 2010. The new units are designed, built and operated by Chinese companies, said Chen Hua, assistant general manager of CNNC. Qinshan nuclear power plant, situated not far from Shanghai, started operation in December 1991. The operationalisation of the new units formally kicks off the resumption of work of new nuclear power plants which was halted after Fukushima nuclear disaster year. According to the National Energy Administration, China has 15 nuclear reactors in operation with 26 more reactors under construction. Myanmars Suu Kyi meets Karen ethnic rebels Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with Karen ethnic minority rebels in her first significant foray into politics since her election to public office a week earlier. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who won her first-ever seat in parliament in April 1 by-elections, held about two hours of talks with delegates from the Karen National Union in Yangon. The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader described the meeting as a significant event that would help to foster national reconciliation. The talks came a day after the KNU delegates met Myanmars reformist President Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw for the first time. Myanmar considers the group whose leadership is based in Thailand to be an illegal organisation. Its armed wing has been waging Myanmars longest- running insurgency, battling the government since 1949 in the eastern jungle near the Thai border. Insurance mis-selling to be included in Ombudsmans ambit soon With the cases of mis-selling the insurance products to earn high commissions becoming rampant day-byday, the IRDA board meeting with the private insurance companies last week discussed the proposal of including the complaints regarding the mis-selling of the insurance products within the ambit of the Insurance Ombudsman and increasing their number to deal with the tactics sellers resort to entice people to buy the wrong products. The institution of Insurance Ombudsman was created in 1998 with the purpose of quick disposal of grievances of the insured customers and to mitigate their problems involved in redressal of those grievances. The IRDA in January came out with a draft Prospect Product Matrix, which is a set of processes that documented the inputs and the reasoning on the basis of which an insurance broker would recommenda particular product to a customer. Sony to cut global workforce by 10000, claims newspaper Sony will cut its global workforce by about 10,000, or 6 per cent of its entire workforce, by as early as the end of 2012, the Nikkei newspaper reported. The loss-making electronics firm may also request that its seven executive directors who served through the fiscal year to March, including Chairman Howard Stringer, return their bonuses, the Nikkei said.

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Sanjeev Kapoor tours White House kitchen Chef Sanjeev Kapoor was given a rare insight into the historic kitchen of the White House, which prepares food for US President Barack Obama, his family and the guests at the White House every day. Kapoor was not only given the tour of the historic kitchen, but also had an intensive discussion with the team of White House chefs led by its executive chef, William 'Bill' Yosses. He was accompanied by KN Vinod, an eminent Indian-American chef from Washington who runs three popular Indian restaurant in the nation's capital. Yosses, said to be a great lover of Indian food himself, took Kapoor and Vinod around the White House kitchen, but also gave him a tour of the kitchen garden of the first lady Mitchell Obama. Vijender books London berth Vijender Singh (75kg) became the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games for a third successive time after reaching the semifinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan. The first Indian to win an Olympic and World Championships medal bronze in both events Vijender outpunched Chuluuntumur Tumurkhuyag of Mongolia 27-17 to not just assure himself of an Olympic berth but also a medal at the ongoing tournament. The 26-year-old had failed in his first attempt to book a ticket for London in last years World Championships. Before the 2008 Beijing Games, Vijender had won gold at the Asian Qualifiers at that time, which incidentally were also held in Kazakhstan. India already have four Olympic berths through L Devendro Singh (49kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) who grabbed their slots after reaching the quarterfinals of the World Championships year 2011. Bubba Watson wins playoff to claim Masters title American Bubba Watson parred the second sudden-death playoff hole to defeat South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and capture the 76th Masters for his first major golf championship. Jorge Lorenzo wins season-opening Qatar MotoGP Spain's 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo, riding a Yamaha, won the season-opening Qatar Moto GP under the Losail floodlights to record his first elite class victory. Lorenzo was the third Spanish winner of the night. Pankaj Advani wins 11th Asian billiards championship Six-time world champion Pankaj Advani clinched the 11th ONGC Asian Billiards Championship title after defeating Thawat Sujaritthurakarn of Thailand in the final. Although Advani was the one who started the proceedings on a positive note by winning the opening game, it was Thawat who actually impressed in the initial stages of the match played at the Clube Tennis De Gaspar Dias Miramar by taking the second and third games to secure a 2-1 lead.

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Dr. Chishti granted bail The Supreme Court granted bail to Pakistani microbiologist Mohammad Khalil Chishti, undergoing life imprisonment in the Ajmer jail in a murder case. It asked him to remain in Ajmer until further orders. A Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and J. Chelameswar granted bail on a special leave petition filed by Dr. Chishti against the Rajasthan High Court judgment upholding his conviction and life sentence awarded by the trial court. Senior counsel U.U. Lalit, appearing for Dr. Chishti, submitted that the appellant was 80 years old and a resident of Karachi. He was in Ajmer for the last 20 years. Dr. Chishti came to Ajmer in February 1992 to see his ailing mother. Assam rhino population swells by 304 Assam has recorded an increase in the total population of the world-famous one-horned rhinos over the past three years. The figures of the just-concluded 2012 census have revealed the presence of 2,505 rhinos as against 2,201 found during the 2009 count an increase of 304. The Kaziranga National Park (KNP) had 2,290 rhinos and the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park 100. The Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary recorded 93 rhinos while the Manas National Park housed 22 rhinos received through translocations from Kaziranga and Pabitora under the Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 programme. In 2009 Kaziranga accounted for 2,048 of the animals. The census figures show that rhino population in this world heritage site has increased by 242 over the past three years. The Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary has recorded an increase of nine rhinos from 84 in 2009. However, the actual increase would be 17 as eight had been translocated to Manas. The sanctuary has the highest density of rhinos in the world. The Orang National Park which accounted for 64 in 2009 recorded 100 rhinos this time, an increase of 36 rhinos. India and Qatar take forward initiatives in mutual investments India and Qatar largely eschewed discussions of a political nature such as Taliban's opening of an office in Doha and the situation in nearby Syria and Bahrain. The Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took forward the initiatives on mutual investments agreed upon during their previous detailed interaction in 2008. Four pacts, including one setting in place the framework for a more intensive partnership in the hydrocarbons sector, were signed in their presence. Although Qatar is among the few countries in the region with which India has a structure for joint maritime security and training besides an agreement on security and law enforcement seeking to check money laundering and transnational crime, the discussions did not touch the political realm. This could probably be because after having voted against Syria and wholeheartedly supporting the Arab League plan, India had edged politically closer to the petromonarchies in the region. Qatar in turn welcomed Indian companies bidding for projects and requested support for facilitating its investments. TN Speaker banishes cellphones from House Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker D Jayakumar banned Ministers, MLAs and journalists from carrying mobile phones inside the House, as was done in Karnataka and Gujarat Assemblies, following the porn-gate in Karnataka Assembly. However, the ban in Tamil Nadu stems more from an incident that took place in the Assembly few months back rather than the porn-gate itself. DMK MLA TRB Raja (Mannargudi), son of former Union Minister TR Baalu was caught recording an altercation between the ruling AIADMK and DMK members during the House proceedings. Raja was then suspended for 10 days. Tamil Nadu Assembly Privileges Committee had recommended a blanket ban on mobile which the Speaker accepted. Banning cell phones inside the Assembly Jayakumar announced that separate lockers have been installed for members to deposit their phones before entering. He also announced that pay phones have been installed at different places including cafeteria and members lounge and that MLAs have been provided with smart cards with talk time valid for one year. The ban has not gone down with many members and especially not with the media. Spy drones to be deployed on Tamil Nadu coast After Kerala and Gujarat, India is now deploying naval spy drones on the Tamil Nadu coast to detect terror as well as conventional threats emanating from sea in real-time. The new naval UAV ( unmanned aerial vehicle) squadron, named INAS 344, with a mix of Israeli Searcher and Heron drones, will be formally commissioned at the Parundu air station in Tamil Nadu. With an eye on China, the Parunda air station was commissioned in 2009, as part of the overall strategy to boost force-levels on the eastern coast with new warships, aircraft and spy drones. The first naval UAV squadron (INAS 342) has been operational at Kochi for the last few years. After Kochi, Porbandar (INSAS 343) and Parundu, new naval UAV squadrons are also earmarked for Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Page 1 of 4 10TH April 2012

Exiled Tibetans thrice more prone to TB than Indians Tibetans in exile, living in India, are now facing a serious enemy in Tuberculosis. The Union health ministry says Tibetans in exile have one of the highest rates of TB in the world. In India, the prevalence of the deadly air-borne disease is three times higher in the Tibetan population than the national average. The alarming trend made the head of India's Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) Dr Ashok Kumar meet the Dalai Lama on Wednesday at Dharamsala - the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The ministry is most worried about multidrug-resistant (MDR) - a form that is hard to treat among Tibetans in India. The World Health Organization has supplied the exiled government with two Genexperts - a machine that diagnoses MDR TB is less than two hours. A Line Probe Assay test takes two days to diagnose a single MDR sample, while liquid culture and solid culture tests take two months and four months, respectively. Pregnant women should not be sacked: Government panel To plug loopholes in the law on maternity benefits, a government panel has suggested an amendment forbidding the sacking of a pregnant employee on any ground. The Planning Commission's working group which had been asked to review the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 has also recommended increasing the duration of maternity leave, though it did not specify by how days it should be increased. The group wants the government to incorporate a clause in the Act, saying, "No woman should be discharged from service during the period of pregnancy on any pretext." A panel member said although the existing maternity law prohibits the sacking of a pregnant employee, there were many examples where employers have sacked pregnant women for 'misconduct' to avoid giving them maternity benefits. Under the existing law, a pregnant woman can be fired for gross misconduct. The panel, headed by the women and child development secretary, was in favour of making maternity leave flexible, allowing a mother to take it according to her convenience. As of now, women are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. Istanbul is the venue: Iran Iran confirmed that nuclear talks this week with world powers would take place in Istanbul, dropping reservations over that city as venue following a sharp-worded row with Turkey. If the Istanbul negotiations with the P5+1 group the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany prove fruitful, another round of talks could be held in Baghdad, said Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in a statement. The confirmation appeared to put an end to Iran's vacillation on Istanbul that cast a cloud of doubt over the talks in recent days. Tehran had at first enthusiastically embraced the Turkish city as the ideal venue. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even went as far as to declare that city as the host of the talks. But Iranian officials and politicians suddenly went cold on it, saying Turkey's support of the opposition in Syria Iran's chief ally excluded Istanbul as a venue. They proposed Baghdad instead, or possibly Damascus or Beijing. That earned an unexpectedly strong protest from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had visited Tehran just days earlier to discuss the talks with Iran's leaders. Iran had again come around to accepting Istanbul as the venue. Chinas charm diplomacy on India is paying off: Daily Chinas charm diplomacy on India is bearing fruit in terms of mutual cooperation, but it may not be enough to eliminate all suspicions in the backdrop of New Delhis plans to launch long rage Agni-V, missile. In a commentary on the recent visit of President Hu Jintao to North Korea, India and Cambodia, the article published in the China Daily said his visits to New Delhi and Phnom Penh proved to be particularly fruitful. The article titled Charm diplomacy bears fruit said, during the fourth BRICS summit in New Delhi, Hu also clarified Chinas stance on various issues including global governance and sustainable development, put a premium on BRICS countries maintaining world peace and promoting common development and raised proposals for their development, it said. Undoubtedly, China and India share common interests in a variety of areas and despite their border dispute, the two countries can reach consensus and make concerted efforts to tackle key international and regional issues, such as the global financial crisis and climate change. The two countries have been maintaining close contact on various multinational occasions including the trilateral meeting between China, India and Russia, and the BRICS summit,

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US Navy deploys 2nd aircraft carrier to Gulf The US Navy says it has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear programme. Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said that the deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the region. The two carriers will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden. The warships also patrol the Gulf's strategic oil routes that Iran has threatened to shut down in retaliation for economic sanctions. North Korea satellite launch provocative: US The planned satellite launch later this month by North Korea was provocative, the US government said. "North Korea's launch of a missile would be highly provocative, it would pose a threat to regional security, and it will be inconsistent with its recent undertakings to refrain from any kind of long-range missile launches," Victoria Nuland said. She noted that Washington considered the launch as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and 1874, which prohibited Pyongyang from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology. North Korea announced its plan to launch an "earth observation" satellite between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of its founder Kim Il Sung. Loop Telecom to shut shop Loop Telecom, which had bagged pan-India telecom licence in 2008 under the then Telecom Minister, A. Raja, has asked its subscribers to make use of the mobile number portability to port their mobile number to other operator as the company plans stop its services, barring Mumbai circle, by May 2012. Loop Telecom has just around 6,000 subscribers in 13 circles while it is yet to start its operations in eight circles. Almost all its 32-lakh subscribers are in the Mumbai circle (where the firm is known as Loop Mobile) for which it had got licence prior to 2008 and was earlier being operated as BPL Mobile. The 13 circles where Loop Telecom is closing down its operations are Haryana, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Kolkata, North-East, Uttar Pradesh (West) and Rajasthan. Numaligarh Refinery shuts down two units due to fire The hydrocraker and hydrogen units of Numaligarh Refinery have been temporarily shut down due to the major fire that broke out in the hydrocracker unit. The production capacity of the hydrocracker unit is 1.1 million tonnes annually while that of the hydrogen unit, located adjacent to it, is 38,000 tonnes per annum. The capacity of the crude distillation unit of the refinery is three million tonnes while the capacity of the vacuum distillation unit is 1.32 million tonnes annually. Airtel set to launch 4G services today Bharti Airtel is all set to rollout broadband wireless access (BWA) services based on 4G technology in Kolkata. With this launch, Bharti Airtel would become the first to launch these high-speed services. According to Airtel sources, this would entail speed of 100 megabits per second when a subscriber is on the move and a far higher speed when he is at a fixed location. The company had won the auctions for three other circles but Kolkata's preparedness', had made this launch possible. It had selected ZTE Corporation of China, a listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, to plan, design, supply and deploy its 4G network in Kolkata. Isgec, Hitachi form joint venture Isgec Heavy Engineering and Hitachi Zosen Corporation of Japan, joined hands to form a joint venture Isgec Hitachi Zosen to make specialised and critical process equipment with an investment of Rs.100 crore. Isgec Heavy Engineering is a leading global supplier of process equipment. Hitachi Zosen Corporation is a Japanese engineering giant. The joint venture will use one of the manufacturing facilities of Isgec located at Dahej in Gujarat. Isgec will hold 51 per cent stake in the new venture. Hitachi will hold the balance. Kingfisher employees get salaries after 4 mnths A large section of Kingfisher Airlines employees, including pilots and engineers, received their salaries after a delay of nearly four months. Chairman of the crisis-hit airline Vijay Mallya had assured his employees that their salaries would be disbursed in a staggered manner from April 4 to 10. The airline has salary accounts in HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI.

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India records 2nd highest domestic air traffic growth in February India experienced the second strongest domestic air traffic growth in the world after Brazil, but the high growth hid the financial weakness facing the Indian carriers, global airline body IATA has said. India experienced the second strongest growth among the major domestic markets at 12.3 per cent. This lagged behind the 16.3 per cent increase in capacity over previous-year levels, the global traffic results for February announced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. Brazil had the fastest growth compared to the previous year as the demand was up by 17.9 per cent. Marico to sell 4.6% to fund Paras buy Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Marico Ltd, famous for brands such as Parachute coconut oil, Kaya skincare service, Saffola brands of oats and wheat flour, said it will sell 4.6% in the company to two foreign investors for up to Rs. 500 crore . The company will use the proceeds to fund acquisition of the personal care business of Paras from Reckitt Benckiser. The company, which has already received board approval to sell 3.4% stake to Indivest Pte Ltd, an affiliate of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd and another 1.1% stake to Baring India Private Equity Fund III Listed Investments Ltd, is seeking shareholders nod for the same. Thapa fifth Indian to make last four Shiva Thapa upset 2004 Olympic silver medallist and 2010 Asian Games gold winner Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand to advance to the semifinals of the Asian Olympic boxing qualification event in Astana, Kazakhstan. In a 56kg quarterfinal bout, 18-year-old Thapa stunned the experienced Thai boxer 16-10 to become the fifth Indian to reach the last four. The top three boxers from this weight will qualify for the London Olympics. Youth Olympics silver medallist Thapa was ahead 5-3 in first three minutes and extended his lead to 12-5 in the next. He thwarted a strong fightback from the Thai in the final round to script a memorable victory. Ghosal records win Top Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal notched up a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Robbie Temple of England at the $120,000 El Gouna International Open in El Gouna, Egypt. Ghosal defeated Robbie 8-11, 911, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 in a first-round match that lasted 85 minutes FIH president Negre to meet Hockey India, Indian Hockey Federation International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre will be visiting India to sort out the differences between the two warring bodies Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). The FIH president, in February during the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers, had given both the bodies a month's time to sort out their differences and come out with a merger formula.

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Vectra chief made Rs. 250 crore from Tatra truck deal: CBI The CBI has estimated that the purchase of 5,000 Tatra all-terrain trucks for the army since 1997 in violation of defence purchase norms enabled London-based Vectra chief Ravinder Rishi to pocket Rs. 250 crore. He made around Rs. 5 lakh per truck that cost the army Rs. 72 lakh in 2010, CBI sources said.Rishi has been named as an accused in the FIR registered by the CBI, which is probing the deal on the basis of complaints by the defence ministry and other sources. The CBI is also focusing on the role of top officials of the public sector Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), which purchased the trucks through Tatra Sipox (UK) -part of the Vectra group - instead of procuring them directly from the Czech manufacturer. Investigators found that Tatra a.s., the Czech maker of the trucks, repeatedly wrote to BEML to purchase directly but the requests were ignored. When BEML entered into an agreement with Tatra Sipox, the latter did not have the right to use the Tatra trademark. So, a clause was added that BEML would not use the word Tatra on the trucks but could mention the model number. Another Czech company, TANAX, which used to manufacture such axles, was later acquired by Rishi's group. Chinese loans for Indian telecom firm raise eyebrows The operations of Chinese telecom equipment providers Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corporation in India have again come under the scanner of law enforcement agencies and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The matter now relates to Reliance Communications (RCom) getting huge loans from Chinese financial institutions with the help of the two firms. Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in a note to DoT, pointed to Huawei Technologies' links with the People's Liberation Army and the Ministry of State Security of China. It may be recalled that in 2010, BSNL, on security grounds, cancelled a contract awarded to Huawei and ZTE for GSM projects in the northern and eastern zones in India even though their bid was adjudged the lowest, the note said. Huawei Technologies has recently decided to appoint an Indian as the Chairman of its wholly-owned subsidiary in India and has taken some Indians on the Board of Directors. ZTE also plans to revamp its five-member board in India by taking more Indians, it said. HC orders CBI probe into PF withdrawal scam in Uttar Pradesh The Allahabad High Court has directed the CBI to investigate a scam involving a huge withdrawal of Provident Funds (PF) of Class III employees in Ramabai Nagar (Kanpur Dehat) district of Uttar Pradesh. The court also directed the agency to probe the role of local police officials in shielding and colluding with culprits. The court sought a progress report to be submitted on the next date of hearing May 22. The court observed, In this matter, where an FIR was lodged on September 21, 2010, there has been no effective investigation so far. Whatever has been, is only eyewash. The court was informed by the Government that a chargesheet was filed against two - peon Surendra Singh and clerk Anand Pratap Singh. The high court expressed concern over the fact that other senior officials, who were actually involved in the scam and responsible for release and withdrawal of PF money, were spared. Hijacked ship crew safe, talks on: Shipping DG In the second major strike in Oman region in less than eight months, Somali pirates have hijacked a Panama-flagged chemical-cum-oil tanker with a crew of 22, including 17 Indians, while it was on way to Nigeria. Disseminating the information about the hijack belatedly, the Directorate General of Shipping said that MT Royal Grace, a 1984 built tanker, was hijacked on March 2 from 160 km north-east of Oman Coast. The tanker with a multi-national crew of 17 Indians, (including Master), 3 Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh was reportedly on its maiden voyage. The vessel was heading towards Nigeria from Sharjah when it was hijacked. This is the second major ship hijack in Oman region during the last eight months. Earlier on August 20,2011, the 26,350 metric tonne chemical tanker MT Fairchem Bogey with 21 crew members, all Indians, had been hijacked by Somali pirates from the designated anchorage of Salalah port in Oman, while the vessel was waiting for the berthing instructions. At that time, the ship was on its way to China from Saudi Arabia. It had anchored near Salalah Port to load methanol after discharging at Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia. The hijacked ship had later sailed to the Somalia coast. 1 in 8 Indians hit by chronic sinusitis: Study An estimated 134 million Indians suffer from chronic sinusitis, the symptoms of which include but are not limited to debilitating headaches, fever and nasal congestion and obstruction. That's more than population of Japan. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' (NIAID) estimate does not even take into account those of us who suffer from acute sinusitis. Among Indians this disease is more widespread than diabetes, asthma or coronary heart disease. One in eight Indians suffer from chronic sinusitis caused by the inflammation of the nasal and throat lining, which results in the accumulation of mucus in the sinus cavity, Page 1 of 4 11TH April 2012

and pressure build-up in the face, eyes and brain. What's worrying, say Mumbai doctors, is that the disease is likely to be higher in Mumbai given the pollution levels and unhealthy lifestyle of its citizens. Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary declared tiger reserve The government has issued an order declaring the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary in Adilabad district as the Kawal Tiger Reserve. This will be the second tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh after Srisailam. Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, which spreads over an area of 892.23 sq.km, would form the core of Kawal Tiger Reserve and an area of 1,123.212 sq.km of surrounding notified forests would form the buffer of the tiger reserve. The National Tiger Conservation Authority, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, had accorded approval for creation of Kawal Tiger Reserve in September, 2011. The expert committee constituted under Section 38 V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, for the purpose, also identified and recommended the area for creation of buffer to the core of Kawal Tiger Reserve. The area constitutes notified forest blocks in Adilabad, Bellampalli, Jannaram and Nirmal forest divisions of Adilabad district. Haryana signs MoU to promote lawn tennis in rural areas The Haryana Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) to promote sports in rural areas. As per the MoU signed in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and ace international tennis player Leander Paes, the CLTA would provide training, boarding and lodging, schooling and participation in tournaments to 15 selected players from rural areas of Haryana while the State Government would sponsor these players. The CLTA would also provide technical assistance to the State Government for development and promotion of tennis in Haryana and offer advanced training facilities on mutually agreed terms for coaches and player at CLTA Centre. Election reform rally in Malaysia Malaysia's Home Minister said the government would allow a nationwide protest for electoral reforms but only at an appropriate location. Prime Minister Najib Razak's government expected to call elections soon crushed a similar rally last year, drawing national and international condemnation. Activist group Bersih 2.0 has said it plans to stage a peaceful sit-in at Independence Square in central Kuala Lumpur on April 28 to press for thorough reform of a poll system it claims is marred by fraud. Among their demands is that the voter roll is cleaned thoroughly of irregularities and the Election Commission resigns amid allegations of bias towards the ruling coalition. Extradition of Abu Hamza to U.S. ordered The contentious British-U.S. extradition treaty that critics say is heavily loaded in favour of America got a big boost after the European Court of Human Rights ordered the extradition of the radical cleric Abu Hamza, serving a seven-year sentence in a high-security British jail for inciting racial hatred, and four others to America to stand trial on terror charges. All five had argued that the prospects of being held in solitary confinement in a supermax jail with the possibility of a life imprisonment would breach their human rights. Specifically referring to the conditions at ADX Florence, a Federal supermax jail in Colorado, the judges ruled that they were satisfied that they were not such as to violate the prisoners' human rights. The men have three months to lodge a final appeal with the Grand Chamber of the court. Besides Hamza, they include Babar Ahmad, Khaled al Fawwaz, Syed Tahla Ahsan and Adel Abdul Bary. Egyptian-born Hamza, who gained notoriety for his inflammatory sermons outside a mosque in north London controlled by his supporter and for praising the 9/11 hijackers, has been described by America as a terrorist facilitator with global reach. He is wanted there on a number of charges including conspiring to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, and facilitating a hostage plot in Yemen. Shell's India chairman to step down in October Vikram Singh Mehta will step down as the chairman of Shell Companies in India at the end of October, the company said. Mehta, who has been the face of Shell in India for 24 years, will be replaced by Yasmine Hilton.

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Mamata invites Amul, plans rejuvenation of Himul The Mamata Banerjee government has drawn up a PPP plan for revival of Himul, which is on the brink of closure. At the same time, the government will seek the expert opinion of Amul in Gujarat. Himul or the Himalayan Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited, whose Matigara plant in near Siliguri (about 10 km) has a capacity to process 60,000 litres a day, was taken. It was decided in the meeting that the diary plants of Himul lying under-utilized or defunct will now be taken up for renovation, modernization and expansion in the PPP model where the government will retain 49 per cent and offer 51 per cent to the private partner. Airtel to launch 4G service in Bangalore in 30 days Telecom major Bharti Airtel has said that it will be ready to launch 4G service in Bangalore in the next 30 days. We have selected Huawei (as network equipment vendor) for Bangalore, Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor told mediapersons during a conference call. The company announced launch of fourth-generation (4G) telecom service using TD-LTE technology in Kolkata. It has selected Chinese telecom equipment company ZTE for providing technology and equipment for the service. The company has not got approval to provide voice and sms service to users on 4G network, Mr. Kapoor said. It expects that consumers will get 10 times higher broadband speed compared to the speed on 3G network. The data speed of around 1.2 to 2 mbps on 3G network. Panel set up on corporate governance To improve corporate governance, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has constituted a high-level committee, headed by Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej. The committee, comprising representatives from the corporate world, industry bodies and government departments, will suggest a comprehensive policy framework to enable corporate governance of highest quality in all classes of companies without impinging on their internal autonomy to order their affairs in their best judgment. Some of the prominent members of the Committee are: Biocon head Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, FICCI Vice-President Sidharth Birla, Asian Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability Vice-Chairman M. K. Chauhan, former chairman of Company Law Board S. Balasubramaniyan, besides former heads of ONGC, R. S. Sharma, and SAIL, S. K. Roongta. Indian consortium to ink final pact for Hajigak mines soon Indias SAIL-led consortium and Afghanistan Government may to ink a final pact in May to develop rich Hajigak iron ore mines and set up steel and power plants there, paving way for Indian companies to invest in the war-torn country. Afghanistan and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual cooperation in the area of iron and steel, on which visiting Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma has said, will also encourage Indian public and private sector to invest in iron and steel sectors there. Verma said the MoU shall pave the way for institution and capacity building in the Afghan iron and steel. Pakistan to double tea imports from India by 2015 Pakistan is targeting to double its tea imports from India by 2015 from 24 million kg in 2011 to 50 million kg. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed between the Indian Tea Association and the Pakistan Tea Association (PTA). The managing partner of PTA, Mohammad Hanif Janoo, said in Kolkata that besides the South Indian teas, consumers in his country were keen to try out other types of CTC teas from Assam and Dooars. Davis Cup tie in Chandigarh India and New Zealand will face off in a Davis Cup tie in September at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) stadium. Indian tennis ace Leander Paes, CLTA chairman Rajan Kashyap revealed the news quoting All India Tennis Association (AITA) secretary-general Anil Khanna. Mr. Khanna has announced that the Davis Cup match to be played between India and New Zealand teams will be played at Chandigarh, Kashyap said. Shooters to be based abroad till Olympics The 11 Indian shooters preparing for the Olympic Games will be based abroad after the World Cup to be staged in London. The president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), Raninder Singh, stated that the rifle and pistol shooters would be based in Germany after the London World Cup and proceed for the two other World Cups in Milan and Munich thereafter. The three shotgun shooters would compete in the World Cups back to back in London and Lonato, and would also train overseas till the Olympics. It was announced that pistol shooter Heena Sidhu and rifle marksman Joydeep Karmakar, who did not qualify for Page 3 of 4 11TH April 2012

the Olympics, but were given entries based on the selection procedure, had also been sanctioned funds for their individual training by the government. Hyderabad to host World junior TT The Volkswagen 2012 World Junior Table Tennis Championship (WJTTC) for boys and girls under 18 years of age will be held at Hyderabad from December 9 to 16. Incidentally, the South African Table Tennis Board withdrew from hosting the above mentioned event, citing financial reasons. The TTFI, which had earlier offered to stage the 2013 edition of the same event, stepped in to replace South Africa as host for this year's event. India was the member association that proposed holding of a world title competition for juniors in late 90s and it became reality in 2003 when the first ever WJTTC was held in Chile, said Judit Farago, Chief Executive Officer of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Jelena Dokic dumped for Australia Fed Cup tie in Germany Australia have dropped Jelena Dokic for their bid to return to the top tier of Fed Cup tennis in a World Group playoff against Germany, Tennis Australia said. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist played in the 4-1 win over Switzerland in February 2012 but has been replaced in the team for the April 21-22 tie in Stuttgart by 20-year-old Olivia Rogowska, who is ranked 120th in the world. Rogowska will be making her Fed Cup debut in a tough tie against a Germany team which could feature four top 20 players in Andrea Petkovic, Sabine Lisicki, Angelique Kerber and Julia Goerges. Chetri to leadin four-nation tourney Experienced goalkeeper Bharat Chetri will lead an 18-member Indian team in the Mens Four Nation Olympic Test Event to be held at London from May 2 to 6, Hockey India said. Star midfielder Sardar Singh will be Chetris deputy in the squad, which was announced after selection trials at SAI Centre, Bangalore on April 8 and 9. There were a few changes in the squad with Gurbaj Singh making a comeback and Chinglensana Singh also earning a place. However, promising India striker Yuvraj Walmiki, who was injured during the Olympic qualifiers, was left out. The Four Nation Tournament will also feature Australia, Germany and Great Britain and it will help India gain experience of playing at the same venue that will host the Olympics as also playing against higher ranked teams.

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Quakes off Sumatra trigger tsunami panic Massive earthquakes hit the north Indian Ocean off Indonesia on April 11 and triggered a tsunami watch. The tremors sent people scurrying from buildings as far away as southern India. A tsunami alert was issued to countries all along the rim of the Indian Ocean, from Australia and India to as far off as Africa. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first 8.6-magnitude quake was a shallow 22 km in the sea, 435 km from Aceh's provincial capital. Tremors of varying intensity were felt in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal, apart from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are the closest to the epicentre. In Indonesia, the first temblor of 8.6-magnitude struck at 2.08 p.m. It was followed by aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 6.6 to 8.2. Soon after the first quake, the Hyderabad-based Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami alert for the coastal areas. With no sign of a tsunami emerging, the centre was almost on the verge of withdrawing the alert, when the second tremor occurred at 4.13 p.m. The alert was continued and ultimately it was withdrawn around 6 p.m. New Chief Justice of J&K High Court Justice M.M. Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been recommended to be the next Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. He will succeed Justice Ibrahim Kalifullah, who has been elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Cauvery Tribunal chief quits on health grounds Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Chairman N.P. Singh resigned on health grounds, after having remained in office for about 16 years. Justice Singh (80) was appointed chairman of the Tribunal a few days prior to his superannuation as Supreme Court judge in December 1996.Justice Singh told that there were no other reasons for his resignation. As review applications were filed, the Tribunal continued to function even after it had submitted the final award in February 2007. A few days ago, Tamil Nadu filed an application to restrain Karnataka from proceeding with summer irrigation and it was listed for hearing on April 17. However, due to the resignation of Justice Singh, the application will not be heard that day and a fresh hearing will take place only after the appointment of a new chairman. Under the Inter State Water Disputes Act, only a sitting Supreme Court judge who is on the verge of retirement can be appointed to head the Tribunal. The Tribunal was constituted on June 2, 1990 and, by an interim award on June 25, 1991, it directed Karnataka to release 205 tmcft each year to Tamil Nadu at Mettur. Of this, Tamil Nadu was to release 6 tmcft to Puducherry. The actual releases by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu are to be 192 tmcft annually; of this, Tamil Nadu will release 7 tmcft to Puducherry. 3 Indian students win Gates Cambridge scholarship Three Indian students are among 50 from around the world chosen for this year's prestigious Gates Cambridge scholarship established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 and awarded annually to the ``world's most brilliant'' scholars. They are Siddhartha Kar, Suhasini Sen and Anand Shrivastava. They will begin their courses at Cambridge University in October. The university said that the competition this year was intense and the 50 successful candidates from 23 countries were chosen on the strength of their potential to improve the lives of others in a multitude of important ways. King's College opens its first summer school in Mumbai King's College London, one of the top 30 universities in the world, has launched its first summer school for Indian students in Mumbai. The 25-day-Mumbai programme, an extension of the successful London-based summer school, is part of the university's ongoing efforts to build a mutual relationship with Indian students. The opening of the Mumbai Summer School on April 2 comes just a few months after the official launch of the King's Mumbai Alumni Branch year 2011 and the highly-successful inauguration of the King's India Institute in London in January 2012. Over 200 undergraduate students will spend up to four weeks with King's faculty from London, and deliberate on topics covering marketing, politics and Global business. Four best students from Mumbai will be granted full time scholarships to attend the London-based summer school at King's in July. Give mercy plea details in 48 hours: Supreme Court The Supreme Court, which is hearing petitions and debating whether delay in deciding mercy pleas could result in commutation to life term, put 12 states on a 48-hour notice to furnish details of clemency pleas of condemned prisoners pending with respective governors. The court had on February 22 directed all state governments to provide details to additional solicitor general Harin Raval to help him prepare a chart of the pending mercy petitions with a timeline. But Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Page 1 of 3 12TH April 2012

Odisha, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Goa have not yet submitted the data. Illiteracy costs India over $ 53 billion a year: Report Illiteracy is costing Indian economy more than USD 53 billion a year, a report has estimated. According to the report titled 'Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy' by World Literacy Foundation, illiteracy costs India an estimated USD 53.56 billion. The losses to China are pegged higher at USD 135.60 billion. Russia at USD 28.48 billion and Brazil at USD 27.41 are placed at the third and fourth places respectively. Literates constituted 74 per cent of the total population in India aged seven and above, and illiterates form 26 per cent, as per the provisional data of the 2011 census. The report said illiterate people earn 30-42 per cent less than their literate counterparts. "We need to treat illiteracy as a disease that we are aiming to eradicate. We need to understand that early intervention can avert a lifetime of hardship, poverty and pain for a child, young person or adult who is struggling to read or write," World Literacy Trust CEO Andrew Kay said. Nancy Powell, new US envoy to India, tasked with defrosting ties When Nancy Powell came to her first India posting in 1992 as the US Consul General in Calcutta, she helped celebrate 300 years of American trade with India, exchanges that included export of ice from New England to the sub-continent on whaling ships. Indeed, ice (and spice) predated software and spirituality as first items of trade between the two countries, a commerce consecrated in the form of now defunct icehouses in Kolkota and Chennai and spice companies in Baltimore. When Powell arrives in New Delhi on April 18 as Washington's first woman ambassador to India, she will have the rather more mundane but immediate task of defrosting ties between the two ancient trading partners, and warming them up. India seeks expanded UNSC with 25-26 members Calling for urgent UN reforms, India has said it is time to have an expanded UN Security Council comprising 25-26 members. Participating in the eighth round of inter-governmental negotiations on UN Security Council reforms, India's Permanent Representative to the UN ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri cautioned that the delay in reforming the powerful world body would be at the international community's "own peril". He said that a reformed UNSC, with expansion in the permanent and non-permanent categories, will enhance the Council's credibility and effectiveness in dealing with global issues. He said structural reform of the Council should respond to the pressing need for credible improvements in the global governance architecture. Chavez back in Venezuela, says he's beating cancer Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has returned to Venezuela and says he's "doing well" following cancer treatment in Cuba. Chavez flew to Cuba for his third round of radiation therapy. He began the treatments after having a tumour removed. He plans to have a total of five rounds in hopes of preventing a recurrence of his illness. The Venezuelan leader has regularly travelled to and from Cuba for cancer treatment since June 2011. That's when he says an initial surgery removed his first tumour, which was the size of a baseball. Chavez has not identified the type of cancer or the precise location where the two tumours were located. Piramal's orthopaedic product gets EU nod Piramal Healthcare (PHL), said it had received European regulatory approval to sell its bio-orthopedic product for cartilage repair, BST-CarGel, in European Union countries. Swati Piramal, Director, Piramal Healthcare, said, with the European CE mark approval, we can start selling BST-CarGel in countries such as the U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Italy. BST-CarGel requires one surgery and it fills a void in the cartilage repair market. It is a liquid thermogel and helps regenerate damaged tissue. The competing technology is very expensive and requires knee replacement and a considerable recovery period. Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group, said, BST-CarGel provides us with a superior way to address significant unmet medical needs in the global knee cartilage repair market. Ingersoll to set up plant in Chennai Ingersoll Rand, on Wednesday, said it would set up a new manufacturing plant in Chennai with an investment of $22 million. Besides, the industrial solutions provider announced its entry into the domestic consumer durables market by introducing high-end split air-conditioners and electronic door-locking systems for the residential sector. Ingersoll Rand Chairman, President and CEO Michael W Lamach, told. This would be the Irish firm's third facility in India, the other two being at Naroda (Gujarat) and Sahibabad (Uttar Pradesh). It also has two engineering and technology centres in Bangalore and Chennai. Page 2 of 3 12TH April 2012

Garware Motors and Hyosung to launch 250 cc bike Garware Motors, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Garware Bestretch, will launch a new bike in 250 cc category under Korean brand Hyosung. Garware Motors plans to launch a new bike in the 250 cc category in Mumbai. Garware Motors has three models, ST7 Royale, GT 650R and GT 650N in its product portfolio, which are sold across 16 dealerships pan-India. Garware Motors has set up a facility at Wai in Maharashtra with a production capacity of 2000 bikes per year. The company sold 611 bikes in the last financial year. Garware Motors has entered into a partnership with S&T Motors of South Korea, the manufacturers of Hyosung brand. The brand which has earned a reputation among the global biking fraternity, particularly in the US, South America, the U.K., Australia and many Asian countries. Shreyans Group is Bang & Olufsens India master dealer Dutch electronics major Bang & Olufsen has as appointed Shreyans Group as its master dealer for the country, a move aimed at expanding its business in India. Shreyans Group, which retails and distributes luxury brands such as Ducati, Ferrari and Maserati among others in India, plans to double the number of B&O stores to 10 by next year. India is a strategic market with plenty of young consumers. Our master dealer will start distribution of wide range of audio and video systems in the country from. The group will remain responsible for investments, training, promotion and expansion of retail outlets here, said Danny F. Espersen, vice president, B&O while launching new Beolit 12, a audio system. India Hospitality Corp buys UK's Adelie food group for Rs 1,800 crore India Hospitality Corp, the owner of Mumbai eateries Jazz by the Bay and All Stir Fry, has bought UK's Adelie Food Group, which supplies quiches, salads, sandwiches and assorted ready-toeat food to retail chains such as Starbucks coffee and Sainsbury's supermarkets, for $350 million from PE firm Duke Street Capital. The transaction, the largest overseas acquisition by an India-focused company in the food and beverages segment since Tata Tea bought vitamin water maker Glaceau in 2006, will enable India Hospitality Corp (IHC) to spread its wings internationally. IHC had made a failed attempt to acquire London's famous noodle chain company Wagamama two years ago. The deal will also make IHC India's largest food services company and help strengthen its presence in the rapidly growing out-of-home food market in the country. Indian soccer equals worst ever in FIFA rankings India equalled its worst ever FIFA rankings with the country slipping seven slots down in the latest chart to be placed at 165th. India had a disastrous AFC Challenge Cup campaign March 2012 in Nepal where they lost all their league matches and that saw the country lose 10 points from previous month's 132 points. The earlier all-time low after India appeared in the FIFA charts in August 1993 was the 165th from March to May 2007 when Englishman Bob Houghton was the coach. India's best ever rankings in FIFA charts which currently has 204 members -- was the 94th in February 1996. India now occupy 32nd spot among 46 Asian countries. It's now below Nepal (149th), Bangladesh (152nd) and Maldives (164th) among South Asian countries.

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SC upholds 25% quota for poor The Supreme Court by a majority of 2:1 upheld the constitutional validity of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which provides for free and compulsory education to children between the age of 6 and 14 years and mandates government/aided/and non-minority unaided schools to reserve 25 per cent of the seats for these children. The CJI who wrote the judgement said: It will apply from the academic year 2012-13. However, admissions given by unaided minority schools prior to the pronouncement of this judgement shall not be reopened. By judicial decisions, right to education has been read into right to life in Article 21. A child who is denied right to access education is not only deprived of his right to live with dignity, he is also deprived of his right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19(1) (a). The 2009 Act seeks to remove all those barriers including financial and psychological barriers which a child belonging to the weaker section and disadvantaged group has to face while seeking admission. Under Article 21A, the Government enacted Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 with a view to provide quality education to all children, including those from socially and financially disadvantaged sections of the society. The majority view held, The object of the 2009 Act is to remove the barriers faced by a child who seeks admission to Class I and not to restrict the freedom under Article 19(1)(g). The obligation cast on private unaided schools was held not to be an unreasonable restriction. Registration of marriages to be made compulsory The government will amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, to include registration of marriages under the purview of this law. The amendment bill to be introduced in Parliament during this session. This will provide legal protection to couples, especially in cases of inter-religious matrimony. The Union Cabinet also approved amendment to the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, to provide for registration of marriages of Sikhs that has been a long-standing demand of the community. The proposed Bills will be beneficial to women, protecting them from unnecessary harassment in matrimonial and maintenance cases. It will also provide evidentiary value in matters of custody of children, right of children born from wedlock of two persons whose marriage is registered and the age of the parties to the marriage, Union Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, told. While marriages of Sikhs along with those of Buddhists and Jains are currently registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, Muslims, Parsis, Christians and Jews have separate Acts for registration. Necessary provisions have also been made to avoid duplication of registration both under the proposed central legislation and State laws. The registration of marriages under the proposed amendment would, however, not affect any right recognised or acquired by any party to marriage under any law, custom or usage. Quraishi concerned by paid news trend Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, SY Quraishi expressed his concern over the menace of paid news during elections and stressed the need to curb it completely. Quraishi was addressing a conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all States organised at Faridabad, Haryana. He directed all CEOs to up date information of their concerned State on Commissions website within five days and have the printout of the same by April 30. Quraishi said it has been observed that some candidates, in connivance with the media groups, show the highly priced advertisements as of less price to minimise their election expenditure. This should be completely checked. He said after elections the candidates should be asked for record of expenditure within a specific period of time so that candidature of those found violating the rules could be cancelled. He said increasing use of money in elections was dangerous for democracy, adding that to keep an eye on expenditure in elections, help of voluntary organisations could also be sought. Deoband against second marriage Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has appealed to Muslims not to marry for the second time since it is hard to provide "equal justice" to two wives in the "Indian custom" . "It is hard to provide equal justice to two wives in Indian custom," it said, replying to a query by a person who wanted to marry a second time while his first wife was alive. "Though Islam permits two wives at the same time, Indian tradition does not allow it," the seminary said. President of Uttar Pradesh Imam organization, Mufti Zulfikar said though Islam allows for second marriage on the condition that the husband ensures equal maintenance, "it is difficult to provide same treatment to both women" . North Korea opens five-day launch window North Korea's five-day window to launch a rocket opened with no confirmed firing, but Asian countries remained on alert as Washington rallied world opinion against the Communist state. The morning timeframe in which North Korea plans to launch its 30-metre rocket came and went with no sign of liftoff from a newl Page 1 of 3 13TH April 2012

space centre on the country's northwestern Yellow Sea coast. But the North says the Unha-3 (Galaxy-3) rocket, ostensibly carrying a satellite payload, could go up any day of the birth of its founding leader Kim IlSung. North Korea is now led by a third generation of the Kim dynasty in the youthful form of Kim Jong-Un, who has been awarded an array of titles including chairman of the all-powerful Central Military Commission. Row between Sudans hots up South Sudan's President said that the nation will not withdraw its troops that this week entered a disputed border region with Sudan. South Sudan President Salva Kiir spoke to Parliament in the midst of escalating clashes along the border with Sudan. He said the country's military would also re-enter another disputed area, Abyei, currently occupied by Sudan if the United Nations does not urge Sudan to withdraw. Troops from South Sudan captured the oil-rich border town of Heglig that is claimed by Sudan, whose troops withdrew under the onslaught. Mr. Kiir said South Sudan's military forces, the SPLA, had also advanced past Heglig after occupying it. Fighting along the north-south border has been near constant over the past two weeks. South Sudan accused Sudan of bombing the capital of Unity State, Bentiu. New ISI chief to visit Europe with predecessor Pasha ISIs new chief Lt Gen Zahirul Islam plans to visit some European countries with his predecessor Ahmed Shuja Pasha for exchanging views with intelligence and military officials on Pakistans ties with the US and reopening of NATO supply routes. Pasha will accompany Islam to help him with the transition at the ISI, as the new chief familiarises himself with global and regional issues. Islam took over as chief of the powerful spy agency in March 2012. Though Parliament is to make a final decision on ties with the US and the NATO supply routes, Islam is likely to discuss both issues during his planned visit to Europe. Pakistan closed the supply routes in November 2012 after a cross-border NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. New York Life exits India venture U.S.-based New York Life, said it had sold its 26 per cent stake in Max New York Life Insurance to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI) of Japan for Rs.2,731 crore. According to MSI President and Chief Executive Officer Yasuyoshi Karasawa, MNYL is the best possible life insurance company that we could have partnered with for our entry into the Indian Life Insurance space with its life insurance focus, a balanced distribution and product mix, robust corporate governance practices and a strong and committed management team. Announcing its exit, New York Life Insurance CFO Michael Sproule said the company was taking the step as it needed to focus on its North American business. This all-cash deal is the second largest in the Indian insurance sector after Reliance Life that has sold its 26 per cent stake to another Japanese firm Nippon Life for about Rs.3,062 crore in 2011. Maruti unveils Ertiga Announcing its entry into a new segment of cars, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), on Thursday, introduced Ertiga, a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), primarily targeted at big Indian families living in urban areas. And to further intensify the price war in the fast-growing Indian car market. Maruti Suzuki is projecting Ertiga an attractive option for customers looking to upgrade to a sedan. MPVs presently account for around 10 per cent share of the Indian automobile industry. The Indian MPV segment is currently dominated by Toyota's Innova and Mahindra & Mahindra's Xylo. Ertiga is a major step forward for Maruti Suzuki. Many urban families in India are now looking for a vehicle that offers more space and flexibility than a sedan, without being bulky, bland and expensive like a utility vehicleErtiga is designed for these customers, MSIL Managing Director and CEO S. Nakanishi told. Thai Airways launches cargo freighter service from Hyderabad Thai Airways started its first Cargo Freighter Service from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad with the airlines declaring its intention to tap the cargo business potential in the region. Boeing 747-400F, the first freighter owned by Thai Airways, will operate on Bangkok-Hyderabad-Frankfurt route every Thursday. Pichai Chunganuwad, Managing Director, Thai Airways, Cargo, said the freighter service would also be operated from Bangkok to Delhi on Sundays. A second freighter aircraft being acquired by Thai Airways would be operated on Bangkok-Chennai-Amsterdam route from May 2012. Zee TV is first Indian channel to land in China Zee TV has become the first Indian television channel to be granted landing rights in China, following a long six year wait and a concerted campaign to win over Chinese authorities long reluctant to open the door to Indian entertainment in this country. China's State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), Page 2 of 3 13TH April 2012

gave the green light for Zee TV Asia Pacific to sign a landing agreement with the country's only agent that is allowed to distribute foreign channels, CTV-STVP, on March 27. Angela Lin is the head of Zee TV in China. 'India's exports in volume grow fastest' India recorded exports growth of 16 per cent in 2011, the fastest in the world in volume terms during last year, even as the global trade expansion slowed to five per cent, according to the WTO report. "India had the fastest export growth among major traders in 2011, with shipments rising 16.1 per cent. Meanwhile, China had the second-fastest export growth of many major economy at 9.3 per cent," the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said. However, the WTO economists forecast further slowing down of world trade in 2012 to 3.7 per cent as the downside risks remain high. "We are not yet out of the woods," WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said. Govt to give Rs 2,065 cr more to Swavalamban pension scheme In a move that will benefit 70 lakh unorganised sector workers, the Centre approved an additional support of Rs 2,065 crore to Swavalamban Scheme, a pension programme, and also extended the funding support to subscribers for another two years. Extending funding support for implementing the scheme under the New Pension System (NPS) from present three years to five years for all subscribers enrolled during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 has been approved, HRD and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal told. "This will benefit 70 lakh workers of the unorganised sector till 2016-17," Sibal said. Also, the exit norms of the scheme have been relaxed to enable Swavalamban subscribers to exit at the age of 50 years instead of 60 years, or a minimum tenure of 20 years, which ever is later. RBI to issue 20 and 50 rupee notes with rupee symbol The Reserve Bank will soon issue Rs 20 and 50 notes with the rupee symbol. The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue of Rs 20 and Rs 50 denomination Banknotes without inset letter and with (Rupee) symbol...bearing the signature of D Subbarao, Governor, RBI,said. The design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series 2005 issued earlier, except for rupee symbol. Shiva Thapa, Sumit Sangwan win gold in Asian meet A day after booking their London Olympic berths, Shiva Thapa and Sumit Sangwan put the icing on the cake by winning the gold at the Asian qualifying tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan. Shiva, who became the youngest-ever Indian boxer to qualify for the Summer Games, beat 2010 Asian Games bronze medallist Wessam Salamana of Syria 18-11 in the 56kg weight category. Sumit, competing in 81kg category, overcame another 2010 Asiad bronze medallist, Jakhon Qurbanov of Tajikistan, 14-9. Saina to open against Yin in Indian Open Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal will open her campaign against Asian Games bronze medallist Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong in the India Open World Superseries tournament, starting on April 24. The event will also double up as the final qualifying meet for the London Olympics. Saina, seeded third, had beaten Yin three times in a row since her loss to the same opponent in the Asian Games quarterfinals in 2010. Anand Pawar wins French international badminton title After a gap of nearly two years, the Mumbai shuttler Anand Pawar won an international title when he emerged champion in the French International Badminton tournament which concluded at Orleans (France). In a well-contested final, third seed Pawar trounced Malaysia's Ramdan Mohmed Misbun 21-16, 21-10 in 34 minutes. Pawar, ranked 71 in the world, started shakily against fourth seeded Misbun and was trailing 5-11 in the first game. Akashdeep to lead India in Junior Asia Cup hockey Forward Akashdeep Singh will be leading the 18-member Indian hockey squad for the 7th Junior Asia Cup at Malacca, Malaysia from May 3-13. Besides India and hosts Malaysia, the other participating teams are Bangladesh, China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India won the last two editions of the championship at Karachi and Chennai in 2004 and 2008. This tournament will be the qualifier for the Junior World cup to be held in 2013.

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New liberal visa regime with Pakistan in the offing, says Chidambaram Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said New Delhi and Islamabad could soon sign a more liberal bilateral visa regime after the Pakistan Cabinet cleared it. He appealed for expeditious dismantling of all trade barriers. He Integrated Checkpost at Attari, 33 km from Amritsar. The state-of-the-art facility, established on 118 acres at a cost of Rs.150 crore, was dedicated to the nation and India-Pakistan peace and harmony. Mr. Chidambaram said though details could not be revealed now, the new visa regime would facilitate the movement of businessmen, the elderly, children and spouses. India had already agreed to the new regime, and was awaiting an appropriate decision from the Pakistan Cabinet. Parkash Singh Badal demanded that the Integrated Checkpost handle all those goods traded between Karachi and Mumbai. He recalled how Punjab was the biggest and richest State in India before Partition, and how it suffered in the post-1947 era. He wanted the Hussainewala border in Ferozpur district reopened and urged Pakistan to allow a special corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur Sahib for the benefit of pilgrims. Chief Ministers of Pakistani Punjabs Shehbaz Sharif suggested creation of an economic free zone between the two countries to attract investment and accelerate trade. He asked India and Pakistan to learn from the western countries, which had created the European Union, a common currency and the European Parliament, and came to the rescue of Greece. Additional funds for pension scheme The Union Cabinet approved an additional funding of Rs. 2,065 crore for the Swavalamban' scheme and also extended financial assistance to subscribers of the pension programme for another two years. The step is expected to benefit about 70 lakh workers in the unorganised sector till 2016-17. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said the approval pertained to extending funding for the scheme under the New Pension System (NPS) from three years at present to five years for all subscribers who enrolled during 2010-11 and 2011-12 and those who would do so in 2012-13. The scheme is a co-contributory pension programme, under which the Union government contributes a sum of Rs 1,000 each year in each NPS account that has a saving of Rs 1,000 to Rs 12,000 per annum. The scheme is aimed to benefit anganwadi and construction workers and occupational classes such as weavers, fishermen, farmers and dairy workers. American historian's visa extended The Union Home Ministry has extended the visa of American historian Peter Heehs by one year. Mr. Heehs, whose book on Aurobindo had created a controversy, received an oral communication to that effect from the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in New Delhi. Mr. Heehs, whose visa was to expire on April 15, had booked tickets to the United States when the order came. He is expected to receive the papers soon. Earlier, the FRRO had decided not to extend his visa following complaints from Ashram followers that they were hurt by the contents of his book. However, the decision was reviewed following an appeal by several personalities, including Union Ministers. ED seeks info on Tatra UKs MoU from Rishi The CBI has already questioned London-based businessman Ravi Rishi over the Tatra truck deal and the ED has now asked him to produce documents related to the Tatra Sipox UK's memorandum of understanding with BEML that was inked in 1997, including details of financial statements and tax returns. The ED can ask for similar documents from BEML as also the defence ministry. The first agreement for supply of the allterrain Tatra trucks used for the transport of soldiers, heavy machinery and missile systems was signed with the Czechoslovakia-based company Tatra in 1986. In 1997, the BEML started procuring trucks through Tatra Sipox UK, claiming the firm to be the marketing arm of Tatra. Rishi has a substantial stake in the UK company. The CBI has alleged that since Tatra Sipox UK is not the original manufacturer, the rule that defence procurements should be contracted from the original manufacturer was violated. Tatra has claimed that Rishi's firm is an original equipment manufacturer. Puerto Rican poet Jack Agueros wins Asan prize Puerto Rican poet Jack Agueros has been selected for this year's Asan World Prize, the only international award given for poetry from the Kerala. The award carries a cash prize of Rs.3 lakh, which is the highest given to poetry and literature in the State. The award was started in mid-Eighties by the Asan Memorial Association, Kayikkara. Cuban poet Nicolas Guillen, Senegalese poet Leopold Senghor, Australian poet Judith Wright, Kamala Das and Sri Lankan poet Ediriweera Sarachchandra were the earlier winners of the award. Announcing the award here, literary critic M.K. Sanoo, who headed the judging panel, said Mr. Agueros reflected the agonies and protests of the Puerto Rican community, which has been freed from Spanish colonial rule and yet to be accepted to U.S. society. A panel of judges comprising M. Leelavati, M. Thomas Mathew and M. Mukundan, besides Prof. Sanoo selected Mr. Agueros for this year's award. Page 1 of 3 14TH April 2012

Justice Raikote to head panel on Presidential Order Retired Judge of AP High Court B. S. Raikote has been named to head the one-man commission to review grievances related to implementation of the Presidential Order. The commission will suggest corrective action and remedies to the government. It will examine and consider the representations received from the employees associations, employees and government agencies and give appropriate recommendations to the Government. The commission will suggest modifications in the existing rules and GOs relating to implementation of Presidential Order within its framework. It will also suggest feasible policy level interventions for making implementation of Presidential Order more effective and transparent. The appointment of the Commission follows an agreement reached between the Telangana Joint Action Committee of employees, teachers and workers and the State government on October 24 , 2011. Panel to monitor SC/ST sub-plans The Andhra Pradesh State government issued orders constituting a Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) to examine matters relating to implementation of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe sub-plans as promised by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in the Assembly recently. The CSC will be headed by Deputy Chief Minister C. Damodar Rajanarasimha, while eight other Ministers - J. Geeta Reddy, Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, Pithani Satyanarayana, P. Balaraju, S. Sailajanath, Dokka Manikya Varaprasada Rao, Erasu Pratap Reddy and Kondru Murali Mohan - will be the members. The committee will hold stakeholder consultations on the steps to be taken for the successful implementation of the two sub-plans and submit its recommendations to the government within two months. RIC opposes new sanctions on N. Korea Russia, India and China (RIC) have taken a common stand on a range of international issues, including North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, terrorism and regional security in Asia. The Foreign Ministers of the three countries voiced regret over North Korea's rocket launch but opposed new sanctions on Pyongyang and called for restraint from neighbouring countries and the U.N. Security Council. The three Ministers voiced serious concern over the situation involving Iran's nuclear programme. Russia, India and China backed Afghanistan's request to join as observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and described the group as the optimal platform for regional cooperation on Afghanistan. Four-year-old girl with the IQ of a genius A four-year British girl has been hailed as a child genius'' after being ranked just one point below Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking in IQ. Heidi Hankins, whose father is a university lecturer and mother an artist, has an IQ of 159 as against the average adult IQ of 100. She has become the second youngest ever child to be accepted into the elite Mensa society for people with high IQs. The record for the youngest Mensa member remains with Oscar Wrigley who was just two and a half years old when she was accepted into Mensa with an IQ of 160. British Mensa chief executive John Stevenage said Heidi's parents correctly identified that she shows great potential when astonished by her off-the-scale'' IQ test results they sent them to Mensa for confirmation. Heidi's parents decided to test Heidi after her nursery told them they had no activities capable of challenging her. She is one of just 90 children under 10 to be accepted by Mensa UK. China looks to Indian success story in fight to save its mangroves Chinese environmentalists want to learn from India's experience in protecting mangrove forests even as they face an uphill struggle to save their country's wetlands from increasing developmental pressures. In the tropical southern Chinese island province of Hainan, which boasts one of China's most pristine mangrove forest wetland reserves, environmentalists are fighting off a tourism push and new development plans to protect the island's rich and unique ecosystem. At Dongzhaigang Bay, China's first mangrove nature reserve which lies on the outskirts of the bustling provincial capital of Haikou on Hainan island's northern coast, acres of pristine mangrove forests sit beside quiet fishing villages. The 3,300 hectare wetlands here are home to 25 mangrove species besides 194 species of birds, including rare and nationally protected Chinese egrets and black-faced spoonbills. The Hainan government's plans to develop the island province into a world-class tourism destination China's Hawaii. The mangroves are crucial to both sustaining the rich and sensitive ecosystems of coastal communities as well as protecting the coastline. Dongzhaigang was China's first mangrove nature reserve, established in January 1980. But by then, many of China's wetlands had faced significant destruction.

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Chinese firm, IL&FS ink deal The State-run Power Construction Corporation of China (PCC) has signed a $2.4 billion deal with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), the infrastructure development firm, to set up a coal-fired power plant in Tamil Nadu. PCC will set up four 660 MW generators for the second phase of a 3,600 MW IL&FS power project in Tamil Nadu. The deal is the third major China-related move by IL&FS in recent months, underscoring the infrastructure firm's growing interest in this market. In 2011, IL&FS became the first Indian company to acquire a stake in a State-owned Chinese enterprise, with its ITNL International Private Limited (IITL) subsidiary signing a $150 million to acquire 49 per cent equity in an infrastructure company in the south-western municipality of Chongqing. Mobile phones on wrist watch Giving an interesting twist to the mobile handset market in India, Netherland-based Burg, launched innovative models of wrist watch mobile phones, priced between Rs.9,000 and Rs.23,000. The company also expanded its presence by launching stores across the country. Now, the Dutch firm has five stores, two in Delhi and one each in Guwahati, Kolkata and Gurgaon. Burg already has a significant presence in the U.S., Italy, Germany, Russia, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Chile and Venezuela. Shree Ganesh Jewellery gets into solar power Kolkata-based, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House Ltd. (SGHJL), said that it had set up a 25 MW solar power project in Gujarat, marking its foray into solar power. The project had been executed through its subsidiary Alex Group. Set up at Rs,400 crore on 150 acre, unit would sell power at Rs.15 a unit to the Gujarat Government. The project had started commercial production from April 4. The company was eyeing similar projects in Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. In Gujarat itself, the company was planning to set up two additional solar power units of 25 MW and 50 MW. According to Nilesh Parekh, Group Chairman, Alex Group of Companies, the company was also planning to set up a 1,000-acre solar power park. Vikas Gowda sets National record Vikas Gowda proclaimed his Olympic ambitions in telling fashion with a National record of 66.28 metres in the Old Style discus challenge meet at Norman, Oklahoma, US. The 28-year-old Indian, second in the Commonwealth Games (63.69m) and third in the Asian Games (63.13m) in 2010, had finished seventh in the World championships in Daegu (64.05m) last year. Gowda is among the nine Indian athletes who have qualified for the London Olympics and on the strength of his latest performance he should be looking forward to his best ever finish at the Games. In both Athens and Beijing he had gone out in the preliminary round.

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Pradeep Mehta in WTO panel Pradeep S Mehta, secretary-general of the consumer organisation CUTS, has been nominated to the 11member panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on future of trade. The high-level stakeholders' panel on defining the future of trade will have its first meeting in Geneva on May 16. The panel will take up the task of analysing the transformations in the world economy which will require the attention of WTO. Mr. Mehta's nomination was made by WTO Director General Pascal Lamy. The panel includes Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP, Festus Gontabanye Mogae, former President of Botswana, George Yeo, former Foreign Minister of Singapore, Frederico Peinheiro Fleury Curado, CEO, Embraer, Brazil, Thomas Donohue, CEO, US Chamber of Commerce, Josette Sheeran, Vice-Chairman, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Jordan and Victor K. Fung, Chairman, Li & Fung Group, Hong Kong. Sushma-led MPs team arriving in Colombo tomorrow The Indian delegation of members of Parliament arriving Colombo on April 16, will have an opportunity speak to all groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka those in the Northern Province, Eastern Province, in the hills, and in Colombo. Led by Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Sushma Swaraj, the delegation has a packed programme before it leaves on April 21. Salman Bashir, new Pakistan envoy Pakistan's former Foreign Secretary, Salman Bashir, 60, has been appointed High Commissioner to India. Centenary gets titanic tribute worldwide From the Titanic's birthplace in a Belfast shipyard to its resting place in the North Atlantic, thousands gathered to remember the cruise ship that embarked on its maiden voyage as an icon of Edwardian luxury but became, in a few dark hours 100 years ago, an enduring emblem of tragedy. The ship was travelling from England to New York, carrying everyone from plutocrats to penniless emigrants, when it struck an iceberg at 11.40 p.m. on April 14, 1912. It sank at 2.20 a.m. on April 15, with the loss of more than 1,500 of the 2,208 passengers and crew. Aboard the Balmoral, a cruise ship that is taking 1,309 history buffs and descendants of the Titanic's victims on the route of the doomed voyage, passengers and crew will hold two memorial services at the site of the disaster, 400 miles (640 km) off the coast of Newfoundland one marking the time when the ship hit the iceberg, the other the moment it sank below the waves. Qatar is obesity capital of the world: Report With over half of its population overweight, the worlds wealthiest country Qatar is the obesity capital of the world. The energy-rich Gulf country, which has the highest per capita wealth in the world, was ranked by Forbes this year as the worlds wealthiest country. However, it has seen an increase in obesity related health problems. According to the report, half of all adults in the State are classed as obese and 17 per cent are suffering from diabetes, making it the most overweight country in the world. An unhealthy combination of low levels of exercise and a growing popularity of fast food outlets has led to concern among local health activists. Annan thanks India for help Joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy for Syria Kofi Annan has thanked India for help in setting up his mission. Mr. Annan called External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in Moscow to express his appreciation of the efforts of India's U.N. envoy Hardeep Singh Puri. The conversation comes ahead of the U.N. Security Council's preparations to vote on a resolution on deploying an advance team of military observers in Syria to monitor the ceasefire. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the draft resolution was practically agreed but criticised the U.N. Secretariat for dragging its feet over finalising monitoring details with the Syrian government. Norwegian Major-General Robert Mood, who headed the U.N. team, was recalled from Damascus and has not returned despite numerous appeals from the Syrian side. Rabbani's son to lead peace talks Son of Afghanistan's slain peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani was appointed the head of the Afghan High Peace Council to lead reconciliation talks with the Taliban, months after his father's assassination dealt a major blow to the peace efforts. Salahuddin Rabbani, son of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, was appointed in a unanimous agreement as the new chairman of Afghanistan High Peace Council, during a meeting with council members at the presidential palace, said President Karzai's press office in a statement. Stepping into his father's shoes, Mr. Rabbani, who is Ambassador to Istanbul, said in a statement that it was only through peace that stability and security can be ensured in Afghanistan. Burhanuddin Rabbani, was killed by a suicide bomber at his home in Kabul September 2011. Page 1 of 2 15TH April 2012

First UN monitors arrive in Syria The first six UN military observers who will monitor a shaky cessation of hostilities in Syria have arrived in Damascus, a UN spokesman said. The six, who arrived late on Sunday night, are the first of 30 monitors who were approved by the UN Security Council. The first group will set up a headquarters and prepare routines so that the mission can verify that a cessation of hostilities, started between President Bashar alAssad's forces and opposition fighters is holding. Syrian forces reportedly killed five civilians in shelling of rebel areas and clashes with gunmen in the hours before the arrival of the first monitors. UN leader Ban Kimoon raised strong concerns about the continuing violence. UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan eventually wants more than 200 observers in Syria, but the Security Council has said the full mission can only go if the violence halts. The UN says more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad started 13 months ago. BHEL launches logistic service to North-East The eastern region office of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has taken a new initiative by starting to provide logistics and multi-modal transportation in an integrated manner to the remote areas, thus making it possible to implement large projects there. Altogether 190 consignments had to be moved for the implementation of the 2x363.3 MW gas-based project, billed among the largest in India. The project is coming up as a joint venture of ONGC and the Tripura Power Development Corporation in which IL&FS also has a stake. The equipment for this project was supplied by various manufacturing units of BHEL. There were also some imported components from Siemens, Germany, which could not be transported through road alone. So the Central Government signed a treaty with the Bangladesh Government to get permission to use its road and waterways (but not its bridges). China widens yuan's trading band against dollar The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has announced it would widen the yuan's daily trading limit against the U.S. dollar to one per cent from April 16. In the foreign exchange spot market, Chinese banks can exchange the yuan one per cent above or below the central parity against the U.S. dollar announced by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System each trading day. Previously, the daily trading limit was set at 0.5 per cent. The announcement came a month after PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan told Xinhua on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session that the country is considering appropriately' widening the yuan's trading band to better reflect an exchange rate regime decided by market supply and demand. Maruti-Suzuki to invest Rs. 2,000 crore in Gurgaon facility Car major Maruti Suzuki plans to invest Rs. 2,000 crore in diesel engine manufacturing facility at its Gurgaon plant to meet the demand for Swift and Desire models. Indian women's archery team wins silver The three-member Indian women's recurve team failed to get past World champion Korea in the final of the World Cup Stage 1 meet at Shanghai. The team, comprising Deepika Kumari, L. Bombayla Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro, went down to Korea 212-222 points, in what could be considered as the first trial before the London Olympics. It was indeed heartening to note that the Indian team reached the final in a strong field. India defeated Ukraine 221-213 in the semifinals; outshot Poland 224-216 in the quarterfinals and eliminated Spain 217-197 in the round of 16. China beat Ukraine 217-207 for the bronze medal. The Indian men's recurve and compound teams failed to reach the medal round while a new-look women's compound team, consisting of Gangandeep Kaur, Parveena and Jyothi V. Surekha, lost in the semifinals. It will compete for the bronze medal .

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Supreme Court wants VIP quota for Haj to go The Supreme Court said that the VIP quota in Haj pilgrimage should not go on perpetually. An apex court bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam said that the government has proposed a Haj quota of one plus nine for VIPs, but it should come down to one plus three and eventually should be avoided. Justice Alam said that Haj quota was started in 1967, as a goodwill gesture and could not be allowed to go on in perpetuity. The court said this in the course of a hearing of petitions by Haj tour operators. The court is examining the VIP quota component of the Haj policy. Bengal starts issuing forms for imams honorarium scheme In a quick implementation of the honorarium scheme announced by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier this month, the State Government started distributing the prescribed forms among Muslim clerics in order to help them draw the monthly allowance as soon as possible. The distribution will be done through the offices of the district magistrates and block development officers. Chief Minister had earlier told a huge gathering of States Imams in Kolkata that she would start a scheme whereby a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 would be given to each of the States 30,000 Imams. This is in addition to additional sops for the Muslim clerics who would be given financial assistance to construct their houses and bear the cost of education of their children. India plans 90-seater civilian plane India is working on developing its very own 90-seater civilian aircraft with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) saying "the strategy for its production has already been evolved" with the design "planned to have unique features like enhanced fuel efficiency, use of bio fuel with low carbon footprint, short to long range haul, shorter air strip requirement and ultra modern avionics". A design bureau has been set up to undertake indigenous design and development of the plane, called the National Civil Aircraft (NCA-90). A total of seven prototypes are proposed to be developed by CSIR along with the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) "to prove the design and demonstrate compliance with respect to airworthiness requirements and certification". Dr Sudeep Kumar, head of CSIR's planning and performance division, said. Bangalore-based NAL had earlier developed India's first multi purpose 14-seater civilian aircraft Saras. But on March 6, 2009, two IAF test pilots along with a flight test engineer were killed when the second prototype crashed 30 km from Bangalore. National Institute of Design in Haryana Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced that a National Institute of Design (NID) would be set up at Kurukshetra. It would be the second such institute after Ahmedabad where education in design and research would be imparted. Iran, world powers agree to in-depth talks next month Iran and world powers agreed in nuclear talks to hold a more in-depth meeting in Baghdad on May 23 where, the EU's foreign policy chief warned Tehran, concrete results must be achieved. Catherine Ashton said there had been constructive and useful talks with Iranian chief negotiator Saeed Jalili and said this was a process which, if it is to be successful, will have to be sustained. The talks involved the so-called P5+1 grouping the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany and Iran. The last time Iran met with the P5+1 in Istanbul in January 2011, it quickly became apparent the talks would go nowhere, but this time diplomats said Tehran's delegation had come with a much more constructive attitude. George Washington named Britains greatest-ever foe George Washington, who led the US victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, has been named as the UKs greatest-ever foe, according to a survey which included Indias Tipu Sultan and Rani of Jhansi. In the second place after the first American President was Irish leader Michael Collins, followed by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, German Field Marshal during World War II Erwin Rommel, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first President of Turkey. The top five were selected from an initial list of 20 candidates, drawn up by UKs National Army Museums curators, to identify the countrys most outstanding military opponent. Most of the 20 fought in various colonial wars against Britain, such as Ntshingwayo kaMahole, the Zulu leader and victor of Isandlwana, one of the UK armys greatest military defeats, and Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore, who resisted British expansion in India. Alongside Rommel, the only Second World War leader was Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Japanese commander who oversaw the fall of Singapore. The one woman on the list was Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmi Bai, who was one of the leading figures of Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a symbol of resistance to the rule of the British East India Company in the subcontinent. Page 1 of 2 16TH April 2012

Tata Steel to invest $1.3 bn in Wales Ratan Tata-led Tata Steel plans to invest up to 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) in its facilities in Wales over the next five years, the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said in a statement, after returning from a visit to India. Bharat Hotels to operate under 'Lalit' brand in London Bharat Hotels, which runs the Lalit brand of hotels and resorts in India, has acquired a 70-room property in London that will be operational in three years. The building, which was an academic institute earlier, is being renovated by the company. Bharat Hotels Chairperson and Managing Director Jyotsna Suri told . She said two other international firms were in the race to acquire the property. The company that operates nine luxury hotels and resorts in India, also has plans to expand to other international markets like Dubai and Thailand. Within India, the company has plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore by 2015. "Rs 500 crore would be invested in 25 budget hotels under the Lalit Traveller brand by 2015 and Rs 1,000 crore for opening luxury hotels," . The first Lalit Traveller is set to open in Jaipur, she said. Ajay Banga to head USIBC; help boost US, India trade ties By electing Ajay Banga as Chairman of the US India Business Council (USIBC), Corporate America hopes to steer its India ship at a time when political environment in the two countries is making it tough for them to rapidly expand their trade ties. Indian American Banga is the President and chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MasterCard. USIBC announced that it has elected Banga, 50, as its chairman. He replaces Harold "Terry" McGraw III, of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Son of a decorated Indian Army General, Harbhajan Singh Banga, the MasterCard CEO was born in Pune. Alumni of IIM, Ahmedabad, he has worked at Citibank and PepsiCo. Semenya fails to qualify Former world women's 800 metre champion Caster Semenya failed to secure a place at the 2012 London Olympic Games when winning the national title. The 21-year-old bettered the Olympic qualifying time of 1:59.90 when finishing second last year in defence of the title. Semenya, who has recovered from a lower back injury, swapped coaches last year, replacing Michael Seme with 2000 Sydney Olympics 800 metres gold medallist Maria Mutola from Mozambique. Murray Rose passes away Australian swimming great and four-time Olympic gold medallist Murray Rose died in Sydney aged 73 after a battle with leukaemia. The England-born Rose, who was 17 during the 1956 Melbourne Games, won gold medals in the 4x200m freestyle relay, 400m and 1500m freestyle, becoming the first swimmer in 36 years to win both individual events. Abhijeet to lead Indian challenge Defending champion Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta will spearhead the Indian challenge in the 14th edition of Dubai International Chess Open. Gupta, who became the first Indian to win the title here last year, has followed up his success with some tremendous results in the last one year that includes winning two major International opens, the Vizag GM and London Classic FIDE Open, and the National championship in 2011.

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Kashmir Literary fest planned Adbee Markaz Kamraz (AMK), a literary organisation promoting Kashmiri language, said it is planning to hold an international Kashmir Literary Festival (KLF) on the pattern of the Jaipur Literary Festival in Srinagar later year 2012. To bring Kashmir on the international literary scene, AMK plans to organise the first ever international Kashmir Literary Festival in Srinagar year 2012, It will be on the lines of Jaipur Literary Festival and Karachi Literary Festival, said general secretary of the organization Shujaat Bukhari . This will be a first of its kind literary carnival in Kashmir to which authors from around the world will be invited to share their works with local authors. Global ICT conference begins in Delhi today Delegates from over 30 countries will take part in the two-day World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) that begins in New Delhi on Apr. 17. India is hosting the fifth edition of the coveted event that will focus on use of information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture, education, health and egovernance within the overall theme of ICT for Sustainable Human Development'. Being organised by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) in partnership with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Union Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, WITFOR-2012 will open with an inaugural address by Communications & IT Minister Kapil Sibal. Leaders from multilateral organisations like UNESCO, UNDP, World Bank and from regional bodies like the West African Health Organisation will share their experiences in meeting the challenges of globalisation and sustainable development. Award for journalist Journalist Pradeep Saurabh will be conferred the International Indu Sharma Katha Samman-2012'' for his Hindi novel Teesri Tali. According to an e-mail sent to Mr. Saurabh by Katha UK, the award will be presented to him at a function at the House of Commons in London on June 28. The novel, published by Vani Prakashan, deals with the life of eunuchs. Katha UK is a group of Asian writers settled in Britain. The award has been instituted in memory of poetess and short story writer Indu Sharma who died of cancer in 1995. Chitra Mudgal, Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi and Vibhuti Narain Rai are among those who have received the award in the past. India to join project to build largest telescope In a giant leap for astronomy, India will help build the world's largest and most advanced telescope. About 20 institutions like the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research will join construction of the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) - a telescope that will have nine times the collecting area of the current largest optical/infrared telescopes and will provide unparalleled high-sensitivity spatial resolution more than 12 times sharper than what is achieved by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Department of Atomic Energy has proposed a budget of Rs 700 crore for the project over the next five years. The 30-meter aperture will permit the telescope to focus more sharply than smaller telescopes by using the power of diffraction of light. The large aperture also collects more light than smaller scopes, allowing images of fainter objects. TMT will have a very important role to play in many aspects of this endeavour. The TMT project, being spearheaded by the California Institute of Technology and having international partners like Canada, Japan and China, has entered the early construction phase and is expected to be completed by 2019. Pentavalent vaccine in six more states The government on Monday passed a decision to roll out the five in one pentavalent vaccine in six new states. Children in Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana, Goa, J&K and Pondicherry will soon be protected by the pentavalent vaccine. The Union health ministry passed the at the meeting of the National Rural Health Mission's high powered mission steering group headed by Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The vaccine that protects children against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT), Hepatitis B and HIB (Haemophilus influenzae type B) through a single shot, was rolled out in Tamil Nadu and Kerala December 2012. This made India the 117th country to introduce the pentavalent vaccine in its national immunization programme.

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CBI seeks Interpol help to probe Tatra scam links The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the Tatra scam spread across four countries including a tax haven, has approached Interpol to get details of companies related to Vectra chief Ravinder Rishi from these four countries. Agency sources said they had moved Interpol to avoid the delay of replies through Letter Rogatories (Lrs). The agency has asked Interpol to provide details of at least five companies in these countries - Czech Republic, Slovakia, UK and Liechtenstein. Meanwhile, agency sources said they also questioned former BEML director (finance) V Mohan in connection with the Tatra deal while present BEML chief V R S Natarajan will be questioned. India, UAE draw up road map to bolster relations India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sketched out the outlines of a road map, centred on a new partnership rooted in energy security and investments, to firm up their ties. Analysts point out that while the quantum of oil exports can increase, the price would fluctuate in accordance with market conditions. Going beyond a buyer-seller relationship, India is looking for avenues in oil exploration in the UAE. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna explained the rationale behind India's growing energy demands. Looking at its trajectory of growth of 7-8 per cent, India has to expand the imports of oil and gas from countries like the UAE, with which we enjoy extraordinary ties, he said. Mr. Krishna's counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said the time had come to push forward the UAE-India relationship in new ways. Fresh opportunities were emerging in tune with the high demand for UAE investments in India, and on account of India's expanding energy needs. With investments of around a trillion dollars required over the next decade, India is looking for Abu Dhabi's participation in developing its infrastructure. The late Manning Marable wins history Pulitzer, no fiction prize given The late Manning Marable won the Pulitzer Prize for history, honored for a Malcolm X book he worked on for decades but did not live to see published. For the first time in 35 years, no fiction prize was given. Pulitzer judges almost awarded two posthumous prizes. David Foster Wallace's "The Pale King," a novel assembled from notes he left behind at the time of his suicide in 2008, was among the finalists for fiction. Also cited were Karen Russell's "Swamplandia" and Denis Johnson's novella "Train Dreams." "It's wonderful that the Pulitzer nominating committee recommended 'The Pale King' to the judges," the book's editor, Michael Pietsch of Little, Brown and Company, wrote in an email. "Anything that brings readers to David's brilliant novels, especially his great novel 'Infinite Jest,' is a good thing!" Rich Britons keen to flee their 'gloomy' homeland One in five Britons with more than $398,800 in savings are thinking of living abroad because they are tired of crime, poor weather and the high cost of living, the wealth management arm of Lloyds Banking Group said. Britain, facing the worst economic crisis in a century, is grappling with how to preserve its image as a safehaven for the international rich while increasing taxes and slashing public spending. But research from Lloyds TSB International Wealth showed that 19% of wealthy Britons were thinking of moving to euro zone countries like France and Spain or further afield to the US, Australia, New Zealand or Canada. Hungary PM proposes close ally as new president Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban tapped a close ally to become the next president, in a move that will cement the power of his conservative party and help push through his political agenda. The nomination of 52-year-old Janos Ader and his endorsement by Orban's Fidesz party pave the way for his election next month by parliament, where the party commands a two-thirds majority. The former president, Pal Schmitt, also a Fidesz loyalist, resigned this month in a plagiarism scandal. TRAI seeks power to grant telecom licences With the Centre yet to finalise the new telecom policy, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said it should be given the task of granting telecom licences, even as the regulator recommended three levels of unified licence for the telecom sector. In the new licensing regime, as the spectrum has been delinked from the licence, it has been recommended that TRAI should be entrusted with the function of granting all types of unified licences, the telecom sector regulator said while issuing its recommendations on Guidelines for unified licence/class licence and migration of existing licences'.

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AgSri signs pact with US firm for low-cost drip systems AgSri Agricultural Services Private Ltd, a city-based social enterprise announced signing of an agreement with Driptech, a US-based company, to distribute the new drip implements in the State. Chief executive officer of Driptech Peter Frykman stated that their micro irrigation systems were based on laser technology to ensure create uniformity of water emission. Optimised for vegetables, floriculture and commercial crops such as sugarcane, cotton, chillies and turmeric the low-cost drip irrigation implements had longer life of over four years, he claimed. The system would cost Rs. 10,000-12,000 per acre and had life of about four years. They were planning to set up a manufacturing unit in India. Aakash tablet in limbo The future of Aakash tablet hangs in balance. Datawind, the UK firm that devised Aakash tablet, and QUAD Electronics Solutions Private Ltd that won the mandate for manufacturing of devices, have locked horns over alleged violation agreements. New iPad to be launched on April 27 The new iPad, Apple's third generation tablet PC, will be reaching the Indian shores on April 27. The new iPad is one of the most awaited gadgets in recent times, and though slightly thicker and heavier than the previous iPad 2, the device has been garnering positive reviews for its Retina display (that promises to make it the sharpest mobile device packing in more pixels than even the standard HD TV). There have been some complaints though from the users that the device gets a bit overheated when compared with previous models when used over a long period for high-resolution applications such as 3D gaming. Apple has reacted that the temperatures may be higher than the iPad2 but still fell within its operational requirements. Shantha Bio to supply cholera vaccine to Haiti Haiti is all set to start vaccinating one lakh people with an oral cholera vaccine Sahchol developed by the Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics. According to a news report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the first phase of the campaign will be targeting 50,000 people living in Port-au-Prince and will be followed by a further 50,000 in the Artibonite River valley. The vaccination programme became possible with the Haiti's National Ethics Committee approving the oral cholera vaccine. The company sold the vaccine in small quantities to Uganda and Solomon Islands. Sahchol is a 2-dose vaccine, and the second dose is given two weeks after the first dose. The oral cholera vaccine that was developed through the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization established by the United Nations and based in Seoul, received prequalification from the World Health Organization (WHO) in November year 2011. Tata Steel to invest up to 250 m pound in U.K. facility Tata Steel, said it would invest up to 250 million pound (about Rs.2,000 crore) in its Port Talbot facility in the U.K. in the near-term, including 185 million pound for rebuilding a blast furnace. Tata Steel's key near-term investment in Wales is 185 million pound to be spent on rebuilding the Number Four blast furnace at Port Talbot, work on which is scheduled to start in June 2012. The Port Talbot plant in Wales is one of the largest steel plants in the U.K. It has about five million tonnes of steel slab annually. Agnivesh Agarwal buys majority stake in Primex Healthcare Agnivesh Agarwal, son of Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Group, has picked up 60 per cent stake in Chennai-based nascent Primex Healthcare for an undisclosed consideration. Primex Healthcare operates own healthcare centres in Chennai. While Mr. Agarwal will hold 60 per cent stake, the remaining equity of Primex Healthcare will be owned by Primex Scans and Labs, which has 50 partner-driven healthcare centres. The equity of Primex Scans and Labs is held by Kalpathi Investments, the promoter group (including Anand Mahadevan, the founder CEO of Primex) and some high net worth individuals. OMCs not serious on implementing Lal Committees recommendations: Par Panel Even more than two and a half years after the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) terminal in Jaipur was destroyed in a massive fire explosion caused due to a leakage, the Petroleum Ministry has invited the ire of a Parliamentary panel for its non-serious attitude towards implementation of the key safety-related recommendations of the MB Lal Committee, which in fact led to heated arguments between several panel members and officials of oil marketing companies in a recent meeting, leading to some Members of Parliament (MPs) walking out of the proceedings. The Lal Committee, which had been set up by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), a day after the October 29, 2009 fire incident took place, had Page 3 of 4 17TH April 2012

highlighted the importance of having in place emergency back up plans and latest hazard combating technologies in hazardous locations, and these should be put in place after undertaking quantitative risk analysis. It also stressed on the importance of imparting advanced training to personnel working at such facilities. Gowda wins another title Discus thrower Vikas Gowda took his third title on the trot in the US but could not reproduce last form at the John Jacobs invitational meet at Norman, Oklahoma. Having touched a National record of 66.28m just two days earlier at the same venue that helped him win the title and also go to the top of the world charts for the season, Gowda could have been expected to be in the 65-66m region. Gowda has six career marks over 64.68 including his national record. He had opened the season with a win at Mesa, Arizona, with a 63.05m. American Ian Waltz, who was fifth at the 2005 World championships, took the second place at 62.40m, while Russ Winger, also of the US, came third at 61.98m. Gowda continues to top the world lists with his 66.28, followed by Yennifer Frank Casanas of Spain (66.25), Jorge Fernandez of Cuba (66.05), Jason Morgan of Jamaica (65.61) and Winger (65.46). Indians bag six medals Indians won six medals, including two golds, in the ninth Asian lawn bowls championships held in Kuala Lumpur from April 6 to 11. Nain Muni Saikia (women under-25) and Sunil Bahadur (senior men) won the golds. Manu Pal and Kavita (women pairs) and Pinki, Farzana Khan and Lovely Chaubey (women triple) contributed silver medals while Pinki, Farzana, Kavita and Manu Pal (women fours) and Tania Chaudhry (women under-25) won bronze. Meanwhile, Bowling Federation of India president Ms. Sunaina Kumari was elected vice-president of the Asian Lawn Bowls Federation for a second term. Indian women finish last The Indian women's hockey team lost 2-1 to USA via a golden goal in the bronze medal play-off match to return empty handed from the first leg of the Four-Nation tournament. Locked 1-1 at the end of the regulation time, India conceded a penalty stroke three minutes into extra time, which USA captain Lauren Crandall converted at the Harbour Hockey Stadium in Auckland. Host New Zealand won the gold by beating Australia 3-2. IPL launches Super Sixes competition The IPL has launched a new and exciting competition to identify the league's longest hitter. The Super Sixes challenge will feature a select number of big-hitting players, as they showcase their power hitting skills against a standard delivery. The first of five of the Super Sixes challenges commenced in Kolkata at Eden Gardens following the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. It proved to be highly entertaining and showcased both local and international players. Yusuf Pathan of Knight Riders hit one of his four deliveries a distance of 78 metres. However, it was not long as Kings XI Punjab's David Miller from South Africa, who favoured the conditions and hit all four of his deliveries over the boundary rope, the longest of which travelled 83 metres, ensuring his place at the top of the leader board. The rules of Super Sixes are simple. Each team will nominate up to three batsmen to face a total of 12 balls delivered by a bowling machine. As a warm-up, each player will receive two practice balls. The winner of each challenge will be the player who hits the longest six as measured by Hawk Eye, and will receive a prize of Rs. 1 lakh.

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Restart shelved hydro projects, demands Bahuguna Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said that hydropower projects, which had already obtained clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment & Forest, should not be barred from other technical clearance just for a mere perceived feelings of some people. CM Bahuguna, speaking at a meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi asserted that the power projects are very essential for the development of the State and they played pivotal role in improving the economy of the State. Uttarakhand had always made sacrifices for conservation of environment in the national interest and the peoples rights to improvement in their living standard could not be ignored. Several hydropower projects were closed down owing to protests by certain people though clearance was obtained from the Union Ministry of Environment and other technical permission obtained. Bahuguna demanded that those projects be restarted. Country to brush up tiger monitoring protocol Coming a long way since the days of the flawed pugmark tiger census, followed for over three decades, the country is all set to become the world pioneer in big cat monitoring with its new refined phase-four protocol. As per the latest method, annual monitoring of tiger source population would be done covering a sufficiently large area with more intensified sampling using the state-of-the-art technology. This involves using capturerecapture methods based on individual identification of tigers from camera trap data or fecal DNA. The refinements have been developed over the past three years by NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), with the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, playing a key supportive technical role. According to Dr Ulhas Karanth, director of Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program, If implemented fully, these refined protocols now adopted by NTCA are well ahead of most big cat monitoring programs anywhere in the world. Bid to eradicate iodine deficiency disorders India has stepped up its efforts to stamp out the use of non-iodized salt. The Mission Steering Group (MSG) the highest decision-making body of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) headed by Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad - passed a resolution to pay Rs 300 to each ASHA annually on testing of at least 50 salt samples per month for 303 iodine deficiency-endemic districts. According to the health ministry, only 20 lakh metric tonnes of iodated salt in the country is being sold in packets. The rest is sold as loose salt. To make matters worse, even labeled salt packets have been found to be non-iodized. Experts say iodine is one of the most essential micronutrients with an average daily requirement of 100-150 micrograms for normal human growth and development. At present, no state in the country is free from Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). Envoy Powell shares Obama vision of Indo-US ties US ambassador-designate to India Nancy Powell said that she shared President Barack Obama's vision of India and the US together forming one of the ''definitive partnerships'' of 21st century. The 64-year-old career diplomat, who will take charge, listed expansion of trade and defence ties as some of her priorities. Powell, who describes herself as an avid photographer, had served in the American Consulate in Kolkata and the US Embassy in New Delhi as a diplomat from 1992 to 1995. The US Senate had announced her name as ambassador to India in March. Obama's first ambassador to India, former congressman Timothy Roemer, had announced his resignation in April, 2011. Powell had previously served as the US envoy in Pakistan and Nepal, and holds the prestigious rank of career ambassador. US corporates preparing 'agenda for progress' for UP India-focused American companies are developing the "agenda for progress" for Uttar Pradesh with the objective of its all-inclusive and dynamic growth, the US India Business Council(USIBC) has said. The "agenda for progress", tailored made for the state, is being prepared at the request of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. It would be developed within the first 100 days of the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh by USIBC, which is the apex body of American companies doing business in India. "Once Yadav fine tunes the agenda, USIBC will launch a major high-level executive mission to Uttar Pradesh to begin implementation," USIBC president Ron Somers said. These areas include farming best practices; agricultural development, food processing, water development for drinking, irrigation, and treatment; connectivity - including by air, by roads, and via the internet.

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EU demands release of former Mali Premier The EU demanded the immediate release of former Malian prime minister Modibo Sidibe and several other prominent figures arrested overnight by a junta that seized power last month. The EU has learnt with concern of the arrest of several military and civilian figures in Mali, including former prime minister Modibo Sidibe, and calls for urgent clarification and their immediate release, Australia to withdraw troops Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced withdrawal of most of the Australian troops from Afghanistan by mid next year, while rolling out her future plan of Canberra's role in the war-torn country. Ms. Gillard said Australian troops would begin pulling out this year and most would be home by the end of 2013 an election year in the country. About 130,000 NATO troops are serving in Afghanistan from 50 contributing nations, including Australia. Most of them are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Kim seeks new alignment of the World Bank Korean-American physician Jim Yong Kim, who has been selected as new President of the World Bank, has said he will seek a new alignment of the body with a rapidly changing world. As President, I will seek a new alignment of the World Bank Group with a rapidly changing world, said Mr. Kim in a statement after the World Bank announced that he has been selected to replace Robert Zoellick on July 1. The World Bank picked Seoul-born Kim over Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Mr. Kim is a co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH) and a former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization (WHO). Mr. Kim (52) will take over at the beginning of July, after Robert B Zoellick, steps down at the end of his five-year term. AP utility signs agreement with GDF Suez LNG Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corporation Ltd. (APGDC), jointly promoted by GAIL Gas Ltd. (GGL) and Andhra Pradesh Gas Infrastructure Corporation Pvt. Ltd. (APGIC), entered into a project framework agreement (PFA) with GDF Suez LNG UK Ltd. for jointly setting up a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) in offshore Andhra Pradesh. The PFA was signed in the presence of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Jaipal Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, GAIL (India) Chairman B.C. Tripathi, GDF Suez LNG UK CEO and President Philip Olivier. Samsung introduces Galaxy variants Samsung India, a leading digital solutions provider, is targeting to improve its market share in the smart phone segment from the existing 45 per cent to 60 per cent during the current year. Samsung is all set to launch its new version of the 7-inch tablet early next month and is hopeful that growth in the smart phone segment, pegged at 220 per cent during the previous fiscal, will drive the company's ambitious plans to cross 60 per cent market share. Samsung India Mobile and IT divisions country head Ranjit Yadav along with the company's General Manager Manu Sharma launched two new variants of the smart phone Galaxy S advance (Rs.26,500) and Galaxy Pocket (Rs.8,150). Global delivery centre inaugurated MphasiS, a leading IT and BPO services company, announced expansion of its India operations with the inauguration of its new global delivery centre in Bhubaneswar. Lanco Solar completes 56-MW grid connected photovoltaic power plants in Gujarat Lanco Solar, a fully-owned subsidiary of Lanco Infratech, has announced the completion of a total of 56 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Gujarat. This includes three plants of 35 MW owned by Lanco Infratech and an additional 21 MW built as turnkey EPC for other developers the Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd., GSPC Pipavav Power Company Ltd, GHI Energy Pvt Ltd., and Gujarat State Electricity Corporation. These power plants would generate upto 90 million units of green electricity annually resulting in reduction of carbondioxide emissions by 85,757 tonnes annually. NComputing makes available new software NComputing announced immediate availability of vSpace Client for Windows. This innovative software client transforms PCs, laptops, netbooks and tablets into high performance NComputing virtual clients, delivering secure anytime anywhere access to corporate desktops or selected applications running on a central host. Page 2 of 3 18TH April 2012

MasterCard's Ajay Banga to head US-India Business Council Ajay Banga, president & CEO of MasterCard Worldwide, has been elected next chairman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), a trade association made of 350 top American and Indian companies. Banga, who became the president and CEO of global payments and technology company in July, 2010, takes over from Harold "Terry" McGraw III, president, chairman, and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. MasterCard's activities in India empowering people via financial inclusion and making available to every segment of Indian society innovative payment solutions are central to the future US-India growth story," said USIBC President, Ron Somers. IFCI CEO not guilty of contempt of court The judgment passed by the Single Judge of Delhi High Court in the matter relating to Koshika Telecom holding Atul Kumar Rai, CEO & MD, IFCI Ltd as guilty of contempt of court and awarding sentence by way of undergoing imprisonment for one month in addition to fine of `3.50 lakh to be deducted from his salary were set aside earlier by Division Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Rajiv Shakdher. The Court has held that no case of contempt is made out against Rai. Fencing: India wins gold India bagged the first gold when Komalpreet Shukla defeated Renu Devi 15-7 in women's sabre (individual) event of the second South Asian fencing championship at KVBR indoor stadium in Hyderabad.

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Supreme Court upholds Election Commission criteria for recognition of political parties The Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission rule mandating a State political party to garner at least six per cent of votes in an Assembly election and win at least two seats for getting recognition. By a majority 2-1 verdict, a three-judge bench said the benchmark laid down by the Commission is not unreasonable and dismissed a bunch of petitions filed by various unrecognised political parties in several States. The Election Commission has set down a benchmark which is not unreasonable. In order to gain recognition as a political party, a party has to prove itself and to establish its credibility as a serious player in the political arena of the State. Once it succeeds in doing so, it will become entitled to all the benefits of recognition, including the allotment of a common symbol, said the majority verdict of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S. S. Nijjar. Jairam likely to rope in King Khan, Vidya for sanitation campaign Shahrukh Khan and Vidya Balan will come together, not to promote a commercial venture, but to act as brand ambassadors to fight open defecation, propagate sanitation and appeal to the people to get clean.Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who also holds the portfolio of drinking water and sanitation, has broached the idea with the actors, and their response has been positive. Mr. Ramesh has said he will pursue the idea of roping in Shahrukh Khan and Vidya Balan for a massive communication programme for the success of the total sanitation campaign to make the people use toilets. The latest census report points out that more people in India use mobile phones than toilets; about 50 per cent of the population still defecate in the open. India accounts for 60 per cent of the world population that practises open defecation. The Ministry has already brought in Sachin Tendulkar, and now Mr. Ramesh intends to cash in on the fan following of Shahrukh Khan and Vidya Balan, who is said to be topping the popularity charts. Didi on Time list of world's most influential West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been named by 'Time' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the world. Ms. Banerjee joins a club of people who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world, that includes U.S. President Barack Obama, billionaire investor Warren Buffet, Pakistan's first Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Award for veteran photo-journalist Veteran photo-journalist Virendra Prabhakar has been awarded Sulabh Kala Sarjak Samman with a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh and a citation for his outstanding contribution over the years in the field of photojournalism. The award has been instituted by Sulabh International, founded by Bindeshwar Pathak. Haryana bans use of word 'handicapped' Haryana government has banned the use of expression 'handicapped' saying it violates and undermines the dignity of persons with disability. An official said the expression 'handicapped' was against the spirit of the Constitution, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, and, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India was also a state party. Hukitola Island, a ship called Veleda & its 137-yr-old story Even while the world marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, few are aware of the Veleda which capsized off Paradip even earlier in 1875 and the wreckage of which is still visible to residents during low tide. The French ship Veleda is older than the Titanic. The Titanic was built in 1912 in the UK. After 73 years of its sinking, a joint US-French team located and photographed the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. The French ship is 250 feet long and 50 feet wide. John Beames, who served as collector and district magistrate in Baleswar from 1869 to 1873 and in Cuttack from 1875 to 1878 described the sunken French ship Veleda in his autobiography. Beames states in his autobiography that Veleda had sunk in a cyclone in 1875 near Hukitola, about 50 kilometres from Kendrapada. The ship was carrying food grain, sugar, liquor, wine and other goods from Paris. Some crewmen of the ship also drowned and their bodies were buried in a cemetery near the lighthouse. The hull of the ship was noticed during low tide near Hukitola in the Bay of Bengal recently. In 2008, Sabir Bux, an internationally acclaimed scuba diver, spent about two hours in the sea to study the ship remnants and retrieved small pieces of its wreckage.

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UK secret files show how US built Diego Garcia base The extent to which the British government duped its parliament and public in the 1960s and early 70s to facilitate a United States military base in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia was revealed in a belated release of files from the archives. Most such papers are made public after a maximum of 30 years. The US military presence in the Indian Ocean caused considerable concern to India during the Cold War, when Washington was unmistakably inimical to India and tilting in favour of Pakistan, which was obviously even more hostile. Indeed, the Indian government for many years opposed American armed forces being stationed at Diego Garcia. Britain bought the Chagos archipelago, of which Diego Garcia is a part, in 1965 from Mauritius. It then forcibly evicted islanders in Diego Garcia to pave the way for creation of the US base. It has since been used by long range bombers belonging to the US Air Force. More recently, it has been the staging post for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Myanmar Prez Thein Sein to visit Japan Thein Sein this week becomes the first Myanmar head of state in 28 years to visit Japan as the former dictatorship is gradually welcomed back into the global community, Tokyo said . The president will meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for talks and will take part in a six-nation Asian summit, a foreign ministry official said. Thein Sein will also attend a Japan-Mekong summit on Saturday in which the leaders of five Mekong delta nations Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam will participate. Thein Sein visited Japan as prime minister in 2009 for a Japan-Mekong summit. China, Russia to hold joint naval exercises close to Japan China and Russia will hold major joint naval exercises close to Japanese waters , aimed at further strengthening strategic partnership and stepping up joint response to new challenges and threats. China will send 16 naval ships and two submarines to its first joint naval exercise with Russia, slated to start this weekend in the Yellow Sea, the Chinese Ministry of National Defence said. Since 2005, China and Russia have conducted several joint military exercises within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which also includes the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Indian beer to add froth at UK royal picnic Cobra has been chosen as the sole supplier of beer for British Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee picnic, to be held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on June 4. More than 12,000 people will attend this event, which will be followed by a Diamond Jubilee concert at the same venue, the same evening. It will mark the 60th year of the Queen's accession to the throne of seven countries in 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI. Cobra draught beer will be served to the guests, accompanying hampers provided by Heston Blumenthal and Waitrose, bottles of water from Hildon and Moet & Chandon champagne. Performers and the audience at the concert will also be able to enjoy Cobra at the exclusive reception at Buckingham Palace after the concert. Karan Bilimoria is a founder and chairman of Cobra Beer. Cobra Beer is now a joint venture with Molson Coors. The two have recently opened a brewery in Bihar. Queen Victoria in 1897 is the only other monarch in UK's history to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee. Suu Kyi to collect 1991 Nobel in Oslo After years of house arrest, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi plans to make a trip to Oslo in June to accept in person the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize she won for her peaceful struggle. She plans to travel to Britain and Norway on her first trip abroad in 24 years. The 66-year-old democracy icon has not left Myanmar for more than two decades because of fears that she would not be allowed to return. Myanmar democracy activist, who has spent much of the past 22 years locked up by the junta under house arrest, had applied for a passport to travel but that it had not yet been granted. Ms. Suu Kyi has not left Myanmar since 1988, when she arrived from Britain to visit her ailing mother and ended up leading the country's struggle for democracy. Ms. Suu Kyi was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights, according to the citation, but she was never able to travel to Oslo to accept the award in person. Sun Pharma wins U.S. patent case Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, said the U.S. Supreme Court had given a favourable verdict in its patent case against Novo Nordisk over generic Prandin tablets used for treating diabetes. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the company's subsidiary, Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, in its patent litigation against Novo Nordisk over Caraco's generic version of prandin, repaglinide tablets, Sun Pharma said. Prandin is a registered trademark of Denmark-based drug firm Novo Nordisk. Page 2 of 3 19TH April 2012

New BlackBerry from RIM Canada's Research In Motion (RIM), introduced a new smartphone Curve 9220 aimed at further consolidating its position in the Indian smartphone market. Priced at Rs.10,990, the Curve 9220 comes with upgraded BlackBerry 7.1 operating system and offer all the messaging and social-centric features. RIM claims that the new model offers the longest lasting battery life yet in a Curve model, giving users up to seven hours of talk time or up to 28 hours of music playback or FM radio listening on headphones. Woori Bank opens in India Seoul-headquartered Woori Bank, one of the oldest and largest banks in South Korea, has set up its first Indian branch in Chennai. Woori Bank chose Chennai as location for its head office since the city houses more than 170 Korean companies, including giants Hyundai Motor, Lotte and Samsung, said Soon Woo Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer, Woori Bank. Mr. Lee said Woori Bank would bring in a capital of $35 million into India. SpiceJet gets nod to import jet fuel directly The director general of foreign trade (DGFT) has allowed low cost carrier SpiceJet to directly import aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel. Domestic airlines have long complained that the high base price charged by oil PSUs on ATF coupled with up to 35% sales tax charged by states have made jet fuel prohibitively expensive for them in India. With neither states lowering sales tax nor the Centre putting it in declared goods list so that ATF attracts a 4% uniform tax across the country, airlines had sought nod to directly import jet fuel to reduce their costs. Sandipan Chanda in joint lead Indian Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda scored a swift victory over Russian Elmira Mirzoeva to stay in joint lead after the third round of the 14th Dubai international chess open in Dubai. Playing the black side of a Benko Gambit, Chanda was happy that his sacrifice was not accepted by Elmira, who had caused an upset in the second round defeating Sahaj Grover. Chanda now shares the lead with Ni Hua of China, Kravtsiv Martyn of Ukraine, and the Georgian trio of Baadur Jobava, Levan Pantsulaia and Mikheil Mchedlishvili, who all have three points apiece. As many as 22 players share the sixth spot in the $50,000 prize money tournament. Prominent Indians amongst them are GMs G.N. Gopal, M.R. Lalith Babu and IMs P. Shyam Nikil and Tania Sachdev. Bolt aims to run as fast as possible Reigning Olympic champion Usain Bolt has said that he is looking for another breathtaking performance at the London Games, aiming to go as fast as possible for the 100 and 200 metres. Bolt was one of the main stars of the last Games in Beijing four years ago, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, establishing him as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. The sprinter clocked World records of 9.69secs and 19.30secs in the 100m and 200m, while the Jamaican team's 37.10secs in the 4x100m was also a new world best. Bolt cemented his position in the sporting pantheon by lowering his own world records to 9.58secs for the 100m and 19.19secs for the 200m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin

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Agni-V propels India into elite ICBM club India propelled itself into an elite club of nations with Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) technology by successfully test-firing nuclear-capable Agni-V, which covered a range of more than 5,000 km. The significance of the success lies in the fact that Agni-V is the most formidable missile in India's arsenal, with the longest range. With this grand success, India joins the U.S., Russia, France and China, which have ICBM capability. With India's policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, Agni-V will provide the country with depth in deterrence. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed and developed Agni-V. Although DRDO officials claim that Agni-V is not any country-specific, the fact remains that the missile can reach most parts of China. The three-stage, 17-metre tall Agni-V, weighing 50 tonnes, is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of 1.1 tonnes. Avinash Chander, Chief Controller (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO, and Programme Director, Agni-V, called it a fantastic mission, which has achieved a range of more than 5,000 km. The success gave India the confidence to go ahead with a larger number of missiles and longer ranges. V.G. Sekaran, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad, described the success as overwhelming. Ponneelan elected president of Progressive Writers' Association Noted Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi Award winner Ponneelan has been elected the new all-India president of the Progressive Writers' Association. He is the first Tamil writer to head this select club. He will hold this post for a period of four years. Mr. Ponneelan is at present a presidium member of the Tamil Nadu Association of Arts and Literature (Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumandram) founded by late Communist leader P. Jeevanantham. The Progressive Writers' Association was formed way back in 1936 and renowned writers including K. M. Munshi, Premchand, Mulkraj Anand, Sajjad Zaheer and Kamala Prasad have served as all-India president of this forum on various occasions. Now road toll can be paid without stopping at plazas Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi unveiled India's first Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology-based Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) Plaza at Chandimandir . All the highways in the country would be enabled with RFID technique that helps users to pay the toll tax without stopping at toll plazas and reduces traffic congestion and commuting time. Toll statements can also be made available online to the road users and they need not stop for the receipt. Uranium mine to be commissioned Atomic Energy Commission chairman Srikumar Banerjee will commission the Rs. 1,106 crore uranium ore mine and processing plant set up by Uranium Corporation of India in Kadapa district of Karnataka. The Thummalapalle Project would boost India's nuclear energy plans and help reduce costs by helping switching over from coal. It would give a fillip to power production from nuclear plants from three per cent in 2011 to over 30 per cent by 2050.About 1.10 million tonnes of ore can be mined annually at Thummalapalle. On processing, the ore can yield 250 tonnes of uranium oxide and, on further processing, can be used as fuel for nuclear reactors. The Thummalapalle mine is considered to have world's largest reserves of 1.50 lakh tonnes of uranium. Centre to instal solar panels in individual houses In an ambitious clean technology initiative, the Centre is planning to install solar panels in individual households. The power generated will be supplied to the house and excess energy directly transmitted to the grid, according to G. Giridhar, Director, Solar Radiation Resource Assessment, a wing of the Union Ministry of Renewable Energy Sources. Dr Giridhar said the excess power generated from the panels would be transmitted to the grid through special switches, which would be fixed in every household. The individual household would be financially rewarded for the quantum of power it contributed to the grid. The new system will be launched initially in Puducherry and extended in a phased manner to other States. The Power Grid Corporation will be the implementing agency for the new system. Indias first aero city project suffers due to Centre-Mamata spat The off and on sparring between the Centre and West Bengal government was evident yet again when the Union government threw a spanner in the works of the ongoing Rs 10,000 cr Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL), India's first aero city project, at Andal. The Union coal ministry sent its objections to the project in a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, saying it would block an A-grade coal reserve which would affect several states, said coal minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal. Coal India (CIL) had first raised such objection in September 2008. Later, the project site was realigned to release 150 acres of coal-bearing land. About the Page 1 of 3 20TH April 2012

proposed site of Aerotropolis, CIL had said that a majority of the area demarcated for the project has huge coal reserve, and any permanent structure there would affect the future energy security of the country. Miss Lovely only Indian film at Cannes Ashim Ahluwalia, who directed 'Miss Lovely' , is representing India at Cannes this year and the film will be screened as a part of the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. The film, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui of 'Kahaani' fame, Niharika Singh and Anil George, is a Hindi feature film set in the lower depths of Bombay's C' grade film industry. Other films in the competition section include 'Holy Motors' (Leos Carax), 'Cosmopolis' (David Cronenberg) and Lee Daniels' 'Paperboy'. First Koodankulam reactor may be commissioned by June Expressing satisfaction over the progress in preparing the first reactor of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project for commissioning, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Jain has said the KKNPP was waiting for the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board's clearance for the opening of the reactor pressure vessel for inspecting the internal components' performance and subsequent loading of enriched uranium fuel rods. Mr. Jain was along with a team of Russian specialists headed by Valery Limarenko, president of Atomstroyexports, the Russian firm constructing the reactors at KKNPP, to ascertain the progress after the stalled works resumed on March 19 to ensure the early commissioning of the first of the 2 X 1,000-MWe reactor. After the successful completion of the hot run,' test reports were submitted to the AERB for review by a team of experts. Sushma Swaraj hands over railway line to Sri Lanka When a railway project built with Indian assistance was handed over to Sri Lanka at a railway station, it marked a departure from tradition: it was not an Indian Minister who did the honour but the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation.The upgraded coastal railway line, costing $167.4 million, was completed ahead of schedule by an Indian public sector company, IRCON. Work on phase-1 of the project, from Galle to Matara (42 km), commenced in September 2009 and the upgraded track was opened to traffic on February 16, 2011. The phase-2 work (Kauthara to Galle, 71 km) began in November 2010. The section will be open to traffic from April 19. The upgraded track will have a speed potential of 100 kmph.Ms. Swaraj visited the Kankasanthurai harbour, where India has completed a $22-million wreck removal project. As many as 10 shipwrecks were removed from the harbour. Syria signs initial protocol for UN observer mission Syria has signed a preliminary accord outlining a protocol for a UN mission to monitor a fragile week-old ceasefire in the strife-torn country, the two sides announced. Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad signed the deal with a member of a UN advance team, the ministry said in a statement. This agreement comes within the framework of Syrian efforts aimed at making the Annan plan succeed and to facilitate the UN observer mission while respecting Syrias sovereignty, the statement said. A spokesman for UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who drafted the six-point ceasefire accord, confirmed in Geneva that an agreement had been concluded between the two parties. G-Bissau junta defy calls for democracy Guinea-Bissau's junta and opposition parties pressed on with plans for a lengthy transition, defying international calls for a return to democracy and brushing off a sanctions threat. The World Bank and the African Development Bank suspended development programmes to the chronically unstable west African nation in the wake of the April 12 coup which ousted the government. The calls for a return to constitutional order join an international chorus, and come a day after the junta and opposition parties dissolved government and agreed on a two-year transition period until fresh elections. But after nearly four decades of coups, counter-coups and assassinations in the continuous power struggle between army and state since an independence war, Bissau-Guineans hold little hope that a transition will lead to stability. The opposition denounced the coup but has negotiated an agreement with the junta. KKR to pick up stake in TVS Logistics Global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) has decided to pick up a significant minority stake' in TVS Logistics Services, a company promoted by TVS & Sons. KKR will be the second global investment firm to park equity funds into TVS Logistics. Global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs had invested Rs.100 crore into TVS Logistics to acquire a significant minority stake' way back in 2008. Now, Goldman Sachs is set to up its investment in the company. Page 2 of 3 20TH April 2012

Connecting customers, the Volvo way Swedish luxury car maker Volvo is stepping on the gas to take on competition from German brands in India. Besides expanding its dealer network and strengthening marketing operations, it has decided to engage with prospective customers through a range of activities, including golf tournaments. There has been a new focus on India from the head office, Volvo Auto India Pvt Ltd Managing Director Tomas Ernberg said. The potential for luxury cars in India was huge. Worldwide, luxury cars account for 10 per cent of all cars sold whereas in India their numbers add up to a mere one per cent. It [market] is not over crowded and no one wants to be away from India, he said, adding that by 2020, the share of luxury cars was expected to increase to 3 per cent. Smartphone from Lava Mobile handset-maker Lava International, launched first smartphone with Intel Corporation's processor. Priced at Rs.22,000, the Xolo X900' mobile phone comes with high-performance 1.6 GHz Atom processor with Hyper Threading Technology', best suited for multi-media operations and hi-speed connectivity. The smartphone that runs on Android Gingerbread comes with 4.03-inch high-resolution LCD touch screen, an 8megapixel camera and battery life of up to 5 hours of 3G browsing, 45 hours of audio and 8 hours of talk time. This is the first smartphone in India, powered by Intel's Atom Z2460, which is the fastest processor available (on phone) in the market, Lava Co-Founder and Director Vishal Sehgal told . Lava International had announced its partnership with Intel at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Bangladesh High Court blocks team's Pakistan tour The Bangladesh High Court has halted the planned tour of Pakistan by the Bangladesh cricket team and asked the government and cricket board to justify the decision when no international team has visited the country following a terror attack in 2009. The secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry, the chairman of the National Sports Council and president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board have been made respondents to the ruling. The Bangladesh team was scheduled to tour Pakistan from April 29 to 30 to play a One-Day International and a Twenty20 match in Lahore under a controversial move believed to be solely taken by the Bangladesh Cricket Board President A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal. Meanwhile in Melbourne, the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) CEO Tim May described Bangladesh's decision to tour Pakistan chaotic and contradictory, and remarked that players' safety should not be put at risk. Pfeilschifter pips Yi Siling Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany served a warning in the run-up to the Olympics as she clinched the gold 0.5 point ahead of the reigning World champion and World record-holder Yi Siling of China in the World Cup shooting in London. The four-time World champion Pfeilschifter has won World Cup gold medals 27 times, apart from the World Cup finals six times. Though it was the Chinese who shot a perfect 400 to lead the qualification in a field of 85, two points ahead of Pfeilschifter, it was the German who showed her class with a 105 in the final. Indian men, women's teams post wins Indian men and women's teams won the second carrom Test' against Sri Lanka in Colombo, according to information received here. Indian men defeated Sri Lanka 3-0, while the women's team conceded a match before wrapping it up 2-1. India had also won the first Test' in the three-match series. Ricco gets 12-year ban Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco was given a 12-year doping ban by the National Anti-doping Tribunal. The Tribunal accepted the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor's request after Ricco was accused of giving himself a blood transfusion. Ricco maintains he is innocent and merely injected himself with an iron solution but a doctor who operated on him claimed Ricco had tried to give himself a blood transfusion. Awards for Vengsarkar and Shiny Former India captain and former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and acclaimed international athlete of yesteryears Shiny Abraham-Wilson will be given Lifetime Achievement awards in the Bluechip-Calcutta Sports Journalists' Club annual awards function. National table tennis champion Anthony Amalraj and promising youngster Soumyajit Ghosh have been named the best senior and junior sportspersons of the country respectively. The event will be held at the Town Hall on April 26. Page 3 of 3 20TH April 2012

Uranium not responsible for dying fish: Meghalaya The Meghalaya government denied a report that fish in the State's Ranikor river were dying due to exploratory drilling for uranium ore and claimed the water had turned toxic from substances used by local people for fishing. Thousands of dead fish have been found floating in the Ranikor since April 13, prompting the government to conduct an inquiry. Geologists K.B. Surong and E. Nongbri submitted their findings after studying the Kynshi and Rilang rivers, the two tributaries of the Ranikor. While water flowing from the Rilang was crystal clear, Kynshi water was found to be muddy, reddish-brown with lot of impurities. The fish were found floating on Kynshi's waters. Kolkata-based Maheshwari Mining Private Limited is currently conducting exploratory drilling for uranium ore near one of the streams that joins the Kynshi river. The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) has found an estimated 9,500 tonnes of uranium oxide reserves in Meghalaya. The proposed open-cast uranium mining project in West Khasi Hills district has been hanging fire since 1992 after several groups cited the ill-effects of radiation on human health and environment. The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) proposes to set up an open-cast uranium mine and processing plant in Meghalaya. It has also plans to produce 375,000 tonnes of uranium ore a year and process 1,500 tonnes a day. New species of caecilian amphibian reported from Kerala A team of scientists from the University of Kerala; Central University, Kasaragod; and Natural History Museum, London, have reported the discovery of a new species of caecilian (limbless) amphibian from the southern region of the Western Ghats in Kerala. 'Gegeneophis primus' belongs to the Indotyphlidae family comprising African, Seychellean and Indian varieties. It is the first new species of 'Gegeneophis' reported from Kerala since1964. The species were collected from the Sugandhagiri Cardamom Estate neighbouring an evergreen forest in the northern district of Wayanad. Measuring approximately 168 mm in length and pink in colour, the specimens were dug out from moist soil along the shrub-covered banks of a stream under a dense canopy. The finding has been reported in the latest edition of 'Zootaxa' , an international journal for zoological taxonomists. The team has proposed that the conservation status of the species be classified as Data Deficient under the IUCN Red List criteria. The paper suggests the common name of Malabar Cardamom Geg for the species, indicating the northern part of the State and the cardamom estate from where it was discovered. Best Global Enterprising Educator award for Jaipur teacher Pink City's Ranju Mehta has been conferred the Best Global Enterprising Educator 2012 award by the USbased international organisation, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. The award comprises a plaque and a cash component of $1,000. She is the recipient of India Certified Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year 2004. Apart from teaching philosophy at Jaipur's Kanoria College for the past 28 years, Ms. Mehta helps her students to discover themselves. IIT extension centre for Chhattisgarh Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chhattisgarh Government to open an extension centre in the State to impart quality improvement and knowledge upgradation training to university and college teachers. This will be Chhattisgarh's first centre for excellence in human resource development and will offer part-time programmes leading to awards or qualifications at the Master's and higher or equivalent levels within the framework of IIT-Kharagpur's academic norms and regulations for teachers at all levels serving universities and colleges and polytechnics. Under the agreement, Chhattisgarh will make available the requisite land, buildings and related infrastructure, including furniture, etc., as per norms set by IIT-Kharagpur to enable the institute start the centre, while the IIT will be free to decide on the fee structure, syllabi and issuance of certificates. Right to Service Act registers 87% success rate in Jharkhand Right to Service the pioneering concept of the State Government launched in the month of February 2011 year to make administration responsive towards common man has been a great success. In the last one year the State Government received 32.50 lakh complaints out of which 28.30 lakh complaints were sorted out which is 87 per cent of the total complaints registered. A total of 54 services were brought within the ambit of Service Act where the administration has direct dealing with people. Maximum complaints were received regarding payments of scholarship in school and colleges and related others. A total of 23,42,509 complaints were registered out of which concerned authorities disposed of 19,26,646 cases. In Jharkhand there are numerous reports about corruption in issuing caste and residential certificates where common people are forced to run from pillar to post to get their work done. In the corresponding year 20,66,09 Page 1 of 4 21st April 2012

complaints were registered regarding delay or denial of residential certificate. The Right to Service Act is the key to the concept of Chief Minister Arjun Munda who has been stressing on a transparent administration. 138m Indian smokers unaware that puff causes stroke Of the 275 millions Indians who consume tobacco, nearly 138 million do not know that smoking causes stroke. As many as 92 million aren't aware that tobacco causes heart disease. According to a report released by the World Heart Federation (WHF), half of all Chinese smokers and one-third of Indian smokers are unaware of the risks tobacco pose to our heart. Awareness of the risk of secondhand smoke is even lower. According to WHF, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world's leading cause of death, killing 17.3 million people every year. Around 80% of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries like India, which are increasingly being targeted by the tobacco industry. Tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure causes about 1/10th of global deaths from CVD. Secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of heart disease by 25% and more than 87% of worldwide adult deaths caused by secondhand smoke are due to CVD. Over 100 killed as Pakistan jet crashes A private aeroplane with 127 people on board crashed near the federal capital just as it was approaching the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Rawalpindi for landing. With over 100 bodies recovered five hours after the crash and given the condition of the dead, rescue workers were not hopeful of finding any survivors from among the 121 passengers and six crew members on board. The aircraft of Bhoja Airways, B4-213, was flying in from Karachi and lost contact with the Air Traffic Control. Eyewitnesses claimed that they heard a blast and saw a massive ball of fire as the aircraft crashed into a farmland near the Chaklala Airbase of the Pakistan Air Force. Debris of the fallen aircraft was strewn over a kilometre area along with mangled bodies of the passengers and their belongings. The flight data recorder (black box) has been recovered. There was no clarity on the cause though technical experts said it could have been caused by the bad weather conditions. According to Geo News, this Boeing 737 was over 27 years old and was of a make that is no longer being used by the U.S., Europe and Gulf countries. Russia to test first combat drone in 2014 Russia will test its first domestically-produced strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in 2014, First Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov said . In February, Army General Nikolay Makarov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, said the drone would be first test flown in late 2012, a revision of the initial 2015 timeframe. In early April, Russias defense ministry issued a technical specification for the development of the drone. The new aircraft is expected to have a modular structure and be able to carry various types of equipment and armament. The Tranzas company will build the UAV's on-board electronics as well as its navigation and control systems, while the airframe will be produced by the Kazan-based Sokol design bureau. Hacker attack underlines Web role in China scandal A massive hacker attack has crippled an overseas website that has reported extensively on Chinas biggest political turmoil in years, underscoring the pivotal role the Internet has played in the unfolding scandal. North Carolina-based Boxun.com was forced to move to a new web hosting service after its previous host said the attacks were threatening its entire business. He believes the attacks were ordered by Chinas security services, but it isnt clear where they were launched from. The assaults on Boxuns server followed days of reporting on Bo Xilai, formerly one of the countrys most powerful politicians, who was fired as head of the mega-city of Chongqing and suspended from the partys Politburo amid accusations of his wifes involvement in the murder of a British businessman. The scandal has deeply embarrassed Community Party leaders obsessed with controlling their image and imposing strict secrecy over their inner workings. Per second plan a must, TRAI tells telecom companies The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), came out with a new tariff order, making it mandatory for operators to offer at least one tariff plan each for post-paid and prepaid subscribers with a uniform one second' pulse rate. It has also put a ceiling on tariff for calls and SMS meant for participating in contests and games. Meanwhile, TRAI has announced a minor hike in the processing fee for all mobile recharge coupons (top-up vouchers) priced above Rs.20. TRAI has also directed all Telecom service providers to provide consumers with at least one top-up voucher priced at Rs.10.

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Google ex-CEO Eric Schmidt's salary rises to $1.25 million from $1 Google Inc's former chief executive Eric Schmidt received a bump in his annual salary to $1.25 million from the $1 he received in the previous year, after he became the executive chairman of the company in April 2011. Schmidt's total compensation last year swelled to $101 million thanks to a previously announced equity award granted when he ended a 10-year stint in the top job at Google, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Schmidt ranked as the most highly compensated Google executive in 2011 by a longshot, earning more than four times the compensation of Google's next highest-paid executive. Food Ministry signs MoU with WFP for computerization of PDS Ministry of Food singned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for scaling up computerization of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) within the country. Modernisation including computerisation of TPDS in the country is enabling timely allocation of foodgrains, biometric identification of beneficiaries, recording of transactions at the fair price shops and tracking of foodgrains. The WFP programme will assist the selected States to expedite their TPDS computerisation programmes and will complement the ongoing efforts being made for modernisation of TPDS by the Government of India and State Governments. Surya Pharma strengthens global footprint Chandigarh based Surya Pharmaceutical Limited, one of the leading Pharma companies in the country has achieved a yet another milestone with European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM) awarding the Certificate of Suitability (COS) for its key product Cefalexin Monohydrate. The Cefalexin Monohydrate is a first generation cephalosporin antibiotic used especially in the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections. This is the second product being awarded with COS, the first one being Cefixime, earlier awarded by EDQM with COS. Surya Pharma is a strong global player fulfilling requirements of its clients in over 90 countries. Headed by Rajiv Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director. The company has its network of overseas offices in China, Singapore and USA and has set up a Research and Development Centre at San Diego, USA. Alstom bags Jaipur metro order Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has awarded Alstom a contract to supply the Urbalis train control system to Corridor 2 of the new Jaipur metro in India. The contract includes the design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the complete train control, traffic management and signalling systems for Corridor 2 (EW-A section) of Phase I of Jaipur metro. IDBI Bank enters Swiss Franc bond market IDBI Bank has launched a Swiss Franc (CHF) denominated bond for an amount of CHF 100 million (Rs. 620 crore) with a maturity of three and a half years. The issue received encouraging response and was oversubscribed, the bank said in a release. The issue was made by IDBI Bank through its offshore branch at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai. E-filing of return must for person with income over Rs 10 lakh The government has made it mandatory for individuals with income of over Rs 10 lakh to file their tax returns for 2011-12 electronically. "e-filing has been made compulsory for the person who is an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family, if his or its total income, or the total income in respect of which he is or it is assessable under the Act during the previous year, exceeds ten lakh rupees for assessment year 2012-13 onwards," the Income Tax Department said. E-filing for such individuals was optional till 2010-11. Income Tax Department had received a record number of 1.64 crore e-Returns in 2011-12 financial year. Heena Sidhu misses final by one point Heena Sidhu shot 384 and missed the final by one point in women's air pistol in the shooting World Cup in London. Heena, preparing for the Olympics in right earnest, shot rounds of 96, 94, 98 and 96 at the Royal Artillery Barracks. The two other Indian girls also shot well, as Shweta Chaudhry was placed 16th in a field of 81 with a score of 383 and Annu Raj Singh was 22nd on 382. Tien Chia Chen of Chinese, who topped the qualification with a score of 388, beat Athens Olympics champion and the shooter of the year, 2011' Olena Kostevych of Ukraine, for the gold by 0.7 point.

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Malhotra hails Randhir's appointment The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acting president, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, hailed Randhir Singh's appointment as vice-president of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Randhir, who is the secretary-general of the IOA as well as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), was elected to the post at the ANOC General Assembly in Moscow. The meeting also elected Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah as ANOC president. Sheikh Ahmad is the president of the OCA.

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INS Vikramaditya to join Navy by December The Indian Navy will take charge of the much-awaited aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov), by December 4,2012, but it will be early 2013 by the time the warship reaches home. The induction of the Kiev-class aircraft carrier will allow the Navy to have two such platforms for a while; a third indigenous aircraft carrier is under construction at the Kochi shipyard. Vice- Admiral Ganesh Mahadevan, who led the team which renegotiated the aircraft carrier whose final price tag is $2.34 billion, however, would not be in service to see the warship join the Navy as he retires by the end of this month after a 40-year career. Comptroller and Auditor-General objected to the steep rise in the price as well as the length of its service, Vice-Admiral Mahadevan said that when compared to the original contract, the revised figure was for a warship that was over 90 per cent new with an estimated life of 40 years. Dr. Reddy elected WHF president Dr. Srinath Reddy has been elected president of the World Heart Federation (WHF), an overarching, global, non-governmental organisation, and the only body dedicated to the global prevention of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Dr. Srinath Reddy is the first Indian ever, to be conferred this honour. The election took place at the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai. He succeeds Dr. Sydney Smith of USA, and will serve a two-year term, commencing in January 2013. Dr. Reddy is the president of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), and former Head of Cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. IMO yet to get India's response on rights of armed guards on ships Even as the authorities continue to grapple with the case of killing of two fishermen, allegedly by armed guards aboard Italy-flagged tanker 'Enrica Lexie' off the coast of Kerala, India appears to be dragging its feet on the position it should take on the rights of armed guards of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) elicited the views of 170 member-countries through a three-page questionnaire sent six months ago on certain issues that should be addressed in regard to the use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) on board ships in the high-risk areas for protection against piracy. Although the questionnaire was issued in September 2011, India's response has not yet reached the London-based IMO that is scheduled to meet on May 16. The deadline for response was November 30. DRDO plans to build reusable missiles After the successful launch of Agni V Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, India is all set to develop reusable rockets which will combine the technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles. As part of plans to develop reusable ballistic missiles, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will test indigenously developed scram jet engine next year, DRDO chief V K Saraswat said. India 7th nation with ICBM technology Ballistic missiles are categorised according to their range, which is the maximum distance measured along the surface of the earth from the point of launch of a ballistic missile to the point of impact of the last element of its payload. In the US, they are divided into four classes: Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or ICBM (over 5,500 km), Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile or IRBM (3,000 to 5,500 km), Medium-Range Ballistic Missile or MRBM (1,000 to 3,000 km) and Short-Range Ballistic Missile or SRBM (up to 1,000 km). The Russian system, on the other hand, classifies them as strategic (over 1,000 km), Operational-Strategic (500-1,000 km), Operational (300-500 km), Operational-Tactical (50-300 km) and Tactical (up to 50 km). Till now, the US, Russia, China, UK, France and Israel were the only countries with ICBM technology. Although Agni-V is a little short of the American definition, with its successful launch India has joined this elite club. Pak-occupied Kashmir shown as 'Azad Kashmir' in class three text book In a faux pas, an exercise book prescribed for class three students at an Army school in Srinagar has depicted Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as " Azad Kashmir". It was found that the map practice exercise book for schools run by Army Education Welfare Society showed PoK as "Azad Kashmir". The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has, however, distanced itself from the controversy by maintaining that the exercise book in question was brought out by a private publisher and not of the NCERT which it prescribes for class one to class eight students. CBSE Chairman Vineet Joshi said the Board has "Nothing to do with it".

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Off WHO list, India to help Pak fight polio menace The war against polio virus in Pakistan will be now fought with help of India. A decision in this regard was taken at a recent meeting in New Delhi with the officials of the UNICEF, where concerns were raised regarding increase in polio cases in the neighbouring nation. According to the UNICEF, Pakistan registered 198 cases of polio in 2011, rising from 144 cases in 2010. Over the last few months, the country has reported nine cases of polio. This situation across the border is not healthy for India which, after registering a poliofree-year, has been recently taken off the list of polio-endemic countries by global health body World Health Organisation (WHO). India registered a no-polio year in February 2012. But as Pakistan remains in the grip of the crippling disease, it will be Herculean task for India to achieve the target. In wait for ICJ Justice Dalveer Bhandari of the Supreme Court cannot wait till the fateful day of April 27 when voting is to take place on choosing a judge for the International Court of Justice. Since his name was nominated by India for the coveted post, the judge has been keeping away from regular work in Court to devote his time persuading all member countries to vote for him. While the ICJ elections are unanimous by and large, the only worry for the judge could be a fresh nomination of a name by Philippines, which threatens to split his vote share. Good luck for the judge. Syria hails UNSC's latest resolution Syria has welcomed the United Nations Security Council's latest resolution and said the world body's observers have been able to access all the trouble spots that they wished to visit. In the first reaction from Damascus minutes after the UNSC resolution, Syria's Minister of Information Adnan Mahmoud said Syria welcomed all international observers, whether from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and all those who look objectively but wanted the West and their three Middle East allies Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to stop using the armed groups as a tool for executing their plans in the region. The Minister accepted the right of the U.N. Secretary General to approve the mission and observers, a stand that conforms to the spirit of the UNSC resolution. Syria also had a word of appreciation for the Indian view at the UNSC. The Indian stand was positive in support of Syriaby rejecting foreign interference and insisting on the sovereignty of Syria. US, Afghanistan officials finalise strategic pact Afghan and US officials finalised a long-awaited strategic partnership deal that is meant to set forth guidelines for US involvement in Afghanistan as forces draw down, the two Governments said. Afghan and US officials had said that they expected to sign the deal before a NATO summit in May but a series of disagreements had threatened to derail the partnership in recent months. Some of the most contentious issues were removed from the broader pact into separate memorandums of understanding. The document provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world and is a document for the development of the region, Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta said. Japan foregoes Myanmar's $3.7-billion debt Japan said it will forgive about 300 billion yen ($3.7 billion) of Myanmar's debt and resume development aid as a way to support the country's democratic and economic reforms. The government made the announcement after a meeting between Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Myanmar President Thein Sein following a summit with leaders from the five nations of the Mekong River region. Myanmar's military junta last year handed power to a nominally civilian government that has surprised the world with a series of sweeping political and economic reforms, including releasing prominent political prisoners and allowing democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to contest recent parliamentary by-elections. Etios racing series unveiled oyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited has unveiled concept cars of Etios motor racing series along with motorsport activities such as racing simulators and remote controlled cars . The Etios racing platform will help talented young racers develop their skills and further train them to gain a competitive edge for future in motorsports. Tea will be declared a national drink, says Montek Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that tea would be declared a national drink by April 2013. It would be accorded the national drink status by April 17 next year to coincide with the 212th birth anniversary of the first Assamese tea planter and Sepoy Mutiny leader Maniram Dewan, Mr. Page 2 of 3 22nd April 2012

Ahluwalia said. Maniram Dewan was not only the first indigenous tea planter but was also involved in the national movement. According to ORG-India Tea Consumption Study, 83 per cent households in India consume tea and is the cheapest beverage in the world after water. India-Indonesia bilateral trade target revised to $45 billion Seeing bigger potential in the fast growing business between India and Indonesia, the bilateral trade target for 2015 has been revised from USD 25 billion to USD 45 billion, Indonesian Ambassador Andi M Ghalib said. Indonesia would also resume its plan of commencing air traffic to India June 2012. India, BRICS nations hold back on new contributions to IMF India and the other four BRICS nations have opted to hold back on their announcement of new contributions to the International Monetary Fund to enable it to create a firewall to protect the global economy from any worsening of the Euro-zone debt crisis. Although G-20 countries have collectively pledged to provide IMF $430 billion in new resources, the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have refrained from announcing their individual quantum of funding for the 188-nation IMFs crisis-related operations. Renjith qualifies for London Olympics Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary joined the qualifiers' list for the London Olympic Games by reaching 16.85 metres on the opening day of the Federation Cup athletics championships in Patiala, Punjab. The qualification standard happened to be exactly what Renjith had jumped in the fifth round. He now joins nine other Indians among those who have made the Olympic grade. Barring Renjith's feat, performance levels remained ordinary in the men's section as athletes strained to put up a decent show even if they only had a very remote chance of reaching the requisite standards. In the women's category, Sahana Kumari reached a personal best 1.88m in high jump and found that she was still four centimetres short of the Olympic qualification mark. Gibson fined West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee after hitting out at the DRS review technology system during the drawn second Test against Australia. The incident took place when, during the post-third day's play media briefing, Gibson challenged the DRS and its implementation by the match officials. Djokovic, Nadal set up final showdown World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will try to deal Rafael Nadal another blow when the world's two top players clash in Monte Carlo Masters tennis final, where the Spaniard is chasing an eighth consecutive crown. Nadal recorded his 41st win in a row in the season's first big claycourt event as he defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4 in semifinal, while the Serbian battled back from a set down to beat sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic has won their last seven encounters, which were all finals in Grand Slam or Masters events, including at the Madrid and Rome claycourt tournaments year 2011.

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Six scientists of Indian origin elected Fellows of Royal Society Bangalore-based biologist Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan and Professor Tejinder Singh Virdee of Imperial College, London, who was associated with the design and construction of the Large Hadron Collider, are among six internationally-renowned scientists of Indian origin elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Society, Britain's premier science academy. They join the ranks of some of the world's most famous names, including Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said: These scientists who have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society are among the world's finest. They follow in the footsteps of luminaries such as Newton, Darwin and Einstein and I am delighted to welcome them into our ranks. The Fellows, elected for life for their contribution to excellence in science, include more than 80 Nobel Laureates. RISAT-1 all set for launch at Sriharikota Things are getting set for the launch of India's Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1) from the space-port at Sriharikota. The four stages of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) have been stacked up at the first launch-pad built on the beachside on the Sriharikota island and the satellite is married up with the vehicle. The RISAT-1 is essentially a remote-sensing satellite. The RISAT-1, which has been ten years in the making, will be the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first radar-imaging satellite. RISATs use synthetic aperture radars and the great advantage of RISATs is that they can take pictures of the earth at all times, through rain, sun, clouds, fog and cyclones. This is not only the first radar imaging satellite to be built by India but this is the heaviest remote-sensing satellite built by the ISRO. Besides, it is the heaviest satellite to be put in orbit by the PSLV. RISAT-1 weighs 1858 kg. M. Annadurai is the Programme Director for RISAT-1. N. Valarmathi is its Project Director. Although this is the first time the ISRO is launching its own RISAT, it has twice launched Israel's RISATs in orbit using the PSLVs from Sriharikota. The ISRO first put Israel's RISAT, Tecsar, in orbit in January, 2008, and the agency deployed Israel's RISAT-2 in orbit in April 2009. Both Tecsar and RISAT-2 are reconnaissance/surveillance satellites. While Israel uses the images from Tecsar, India uses the images from RISAT-2 for surveillance. JNU professor bats for specialised environment agency under U.N. While there are around 16 international specialised agencies working under the United Nations to perform specific tasks with the International Labour Organization looking after labour issues and the World Health Organisation taking care of health, environment remains a key area in which the absence of an agency under the U.N. is being missed. On his return from London where he has just finished publishing his article, The Quest for a U.N. Specialized Agency for the Environment in 'The Round Table' , an international affairs journal-based in the Capital of the United Kingdom, Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Bharat Desai said environment is one area that needs a specialised agency. He said that the current U.N. Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya, was not enough to meet the environment needs of the world. Supreme Court strength goes up to 27 as Justice Gogoi takes oath Justice Ranjan Gogoi was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge, raising the strength of the apex court to 27 against the approved strength of 31. Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia administered the oath of office to Justice Gogoi, the former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court. On April 2, Justice Fakir Muhammad Ibrahim Kalifulla was elevated to the apex court from the Jammu and Kashmir high court. Justice Gogoi had taken charge as the Punjab and Haryana high court chief justice on February 12, last year. He had joined the judiciary on February 28, 2001 when he was made a permanent judge of the Gauhati high court. Pak plans to build two N-power plants in Sindh Pakistan plans to build two coastal nuclear power plants with a capacity of 1,000 MW each in the southern port city of Karachi to meet the future energy needs of the financial hub. Karachi currently has an ageing nuclear power plant that can generate 80 MW. The two new plants will be called the CNPP-1 and CNPP-2. Besides, authorities plan to build four nuclear power plants on the Taunsa Punjnad canal, about 32 km from Muzzafargarh in Punjab province. These plants will generate 1,000 MW. Work on the third and fourth Chashma Nuclear Power Plants too is underway. Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-3 is scheduled to be operational by December 2016 and the fourth plant in 2017. Authorities are hoping to complete these two plants about eight months ahead of scheduled. Each plant will generate 325MW of electricity. The Chashma complex already has two functional nuclear power plants that generate 650MW. Under the energy security plan for 2005-2030, Pakistan plans to generate 8,800MW from nuclear power plants. Page 1 of 3 23rd April 2012

Hollande, Sarkozy heading to French vote runoff Francois Hollande, a mild-mannered French Socialist, is heading into a presidential runoff election with the upper hand over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy after winning the most votes in the first round of voting. However, the nearly one in five voters who chose far right candidate Marine Le Pen may hold the key to victory in the decisive vote on May 6. Hollande remains favorite to win the runoff after besting Sarkozy in the first round. If Hollande wins the second round, he would become the first socialist president since 1995. His election could also alter Europe's political and economic landscape. Disney chairman resigns Walt Disney Pictures chairman Rich Ross has stepped down after the company incurred a loss of $200 million on mega-budgeted movie 'John Carter'. Mr. Ross was named the Chairman of Disney in October 2009 with a mission to cut costs and develop new hits. During his career as a chairman, he reportedly lost the confidence of the Disney's acclaimed producers, including 'Pirates of the Caribbean' producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Back in 2011, Mr. Ross shut down Bruckheimer's big project 'The Lone Ranger' due to budgetary issue. Nestle buys Pfizer Nutrition for $11.85 billion Swiss food giant Nestle said it has agreed to pay $11.85 billion to acquire infant food maker Pfizer Nutrition, which generates about 85 percent of its sales from emerging markets. "Pfizer Nutrition is an excellent strategic fit and this acquisition underlines our commitment to be the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness company," Nestle chief executive Paul Bulcke said. Vodafone agrees to buy Cable & Wireless Worldwide Vodafone agreed to buy corporate telecoms company Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for 1.04 billion pounds ($1.68 billion) in a deal that adds a British fixed line network to its wireless network. Vittorio Colao, chief executive of Vodafone, said: "The acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide creates a leading integrated player in the enterprise segment of the UK communications market and brings attractive cost savings to our UK and international operations." Volvo to launch 10 new models in China by 2020 Volvo plans to launch 10 new models in China by 2020, its chairman, Li Shufu, said on the sidelines of the Beijing Autoshow. Li is also chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co, which acquired Volvo in 2010. In the first quarter, Volvo sold 100,881 cars in China, up 24.2 percent from the year-ago period. Indian 2012 wheat harvest seen at record 90.83 million tonnes India is expected to produce a record 90.83 million tonnes of wheat in 2012, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said, releasing the ministry's latest output estimates. The estimated output is higher than the 86.87 million tonnes produced in the previous year. India, the world's second biggest producer, consumes about 76 million tonnes of wheat a year. Vettel back on top with Bahrain victory Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel returned to the top of the standings with Red Bull's first victory of the season in a lively Bahrain Grand Prix that went ahead without incident despite protests against it. The 24-year-old German's 22nd career triumph, and first in the troubled Gulf kingdom, made him the fourth different winner in four races. He was pushed hard in the closing laps by Finland's 2007 World champion Kimi Raikkonen, who finished second ahead of Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean in the Frenchman's first appearance on the F-1 podium. Australian Mark Webber was fourth in the other Red Bull for the fourth successive race. Soumyajit and Ankita qualify; Amalraj stops Sharath In a first of its kind in Indian table tennis, two juniors Soumyajit Ghosh and Ankita Das have qualified for the Olympic Games. Sharath Kamal, National champion A. Amalraj, ladies National champion Poulomi Ghatak and K. Shamini will now have to fight it out for the two spots, in each section, in the final qualifying tournament in Doha next month ahead of the Olympic Games in London in July-August 2012. Record 20th Masters title for Nadal Rafael Nadal finally managed to beat Novak Djokovic in a final, thrashing the top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-1 to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the eighth consecutive year and end a run of seven straight defeats to his Page 2 of 3 23rd April 2012

rival in title matches. Reigning Wimbledon champion and World No. 3 Petra Kvitova put holder Czech Republic through to the Fed Cup final by beating Italy's Francesca Schiavone. Kipsang wins London Marathon Kenya's Wilson Kipsang won the men's London Marathon. Kipsang's unofficial time of two hours, four minutes and 42 seconds was just outside the course record of 2:04:40 set by compatriot Emmanuel Mutai in winning last year's race. Second place went to Kenyan's Martin Lel, who produced a sprint finish to overtake fellow former London champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia in the closing 100 metres. Rahi Sarnobat misses the final by one point Rahi Sarnobat's 582 saw her miss a slot in the final by one point in the shooting World Cup at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London. Annu Raj Singh, who has qualified in air pistol for the Olympics, shot 578 following identical scores of 289 in the two stages.

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1. RISAT-1's radar can see through clouds and work in darkness The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to send the satellite into space aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle that is scheduled to lift-off from Sriharikota on 26-04 2011.The RISAT-1's radar will be able to see through clouds and work in darkness, conditions that hamper optical satellites. Its images will be useful for a variety of applications, from crop forecasting and disaster management to addressing the country's strategic needs.The RISAT-1 will, however, be the country's second radar imaging satellite. India already operates the Israeli-built RISAT-2, which was launched in April 2009. The RISAT-1 uses the synthetic aperture radar' technique. It carries out complex processing of the radar echoes received from the same place on the ground so as to simulate a much bigger antenna than it actually carries. 2. Piracy Bill tabled in Lok Sabha The Government introduced the Piracy Bill, 2012 in Lok Sabha. It was introduced as India does not have a separate domestic legislation on piracy and prosecution for piracy as a crime has not been included in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. It provides punishment for an act of piracy, attempt to commit piracy and accomplice to piracy and has a provision for extradition of persons involved in an act of piracy. It confers power on any gazetted officer of the Central government or of a State government with powers of arrest of any person, investigation and prosecution exercisable by a police officer under the Code of Criminal Procedure.The Bill provides for setting up of designated courts for speedy trial of offences of piracy and territorial jurisdiction of each such court. It provides for application of Code of Criminal Procedure in the proceedings before a designated court. 3. Mullaperiyar report to be submitted The five-member Empowered Committee (EC) headed by former Chief Justice A. S. Anand has finalised the report on the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam. The 250-page final report will be submitted to the Supreme Court on 25 April 2012. The committee, after examining the reports it had received from various agencies constituted by it on the strengthening measures as well as on the safety and security of the dam, gave finishing touches to the final report which has eight chapters. The committee, since it was set up, had held 18 sittings to complete the work assigned to it. The final report took into consideration the terms of reference of the Supreme Court in its February 2010 order, fact-finding reports as well as the reports of analysis done by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, on the samples done on the nine drilling works. 4. J&K gets passport kendra To speed up the issuance of passports and ease the burden on the local passport office, Jammu & Kashmir got its first passport seva kendra in the winter Capital. The Ministry of External Affairs has opened the passport kendra in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services. As part of national implementation of the Passport Seva Project under the National e-Governance Programme (NeGP), passport kendras are being set up to provide services in a comfortable environment using world class infrastructure. Conceived by the Ministry of External Affairs, the passport kendras function under the Passport Seva Project with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the service provider responsible for setting up and operating the 77 kendras across the country. 5. Now Kashmiri music gets its first online 24x7 radio Kashmiri diaspora spread across the world can now enjoy Kashmiri music any time as a Canada-based organisation has launched the world's first and only online radio station RadioKash.com. RadioKash.com is the web's only 24x7 streaming radio station that broadcasts music and songs from Kashmir. The goal of starting this radio station is to promote Kashmiri music and Kashmiri heritage, first to the Kashmiri people and then to the rest of the world. 6. NIA's third regional centre in Lucknow With Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav assuring full cooperation, a regional centre of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will be opened soon in Lucknow. It will be the third, after Hyderabad and Guwahati.

Page 1 of 2 25th April 2012

7. BGI, ICRISAT join hands on genomics research BGI, the world's largest genomics organisation founded in China and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have signed of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a long-term collaboration on applied genomics research and molecular breeding.The partnership aims to enhance precision of breeding programmes for semi-arid tropic crops by using next-generation sequencing technologies towards crop improvement for sustainable food production particularly in the dry lands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.The MoU was signed by Dr.William D. Dar, Director General of ICRISAT and Dr.Gengyun Zhang, vice-president of BGI. 8. Rao takes charge at Coal India S. Narsing Rao, former chairman of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Ltd (CIL). 9. Centre eases taxation norms for highway builders Paving way for highway builders to avail themselves of easy bank loans, the government has relaxed the taxation norms, allowing depreciation for the full concession period of the toll projects. The amortisation amount or the rate shall ensure that the whole of the cost of the intangible asset is amortised over the concession period. The new norms, as per the notification, will be applicable in respect of all tolled roads, National or State, constructed under build, operate and transfer mode or any other form of public-private partnership. 10. Anita gets nod The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) decided to field Anita in the contentious women's 63kg category for the Olympic qualifier in Helsinki from May 4 to 6, after having called a retrial between Geetika Jakhar and Alka Tomar. 11.Wimbledon increases prize money Wimbledon chiefs have increased the total prize money on offer at the grass-court tournament to 16.1 million in a bid to satisfy calls for a fairer distribution of the wealth at Grand Slams. 12. Umadevi on top of the world R. Umadevi claimed her maiden World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association title, beating World No. 13 Eva Palmius 2-0 in the seniors' final at the Cambridge Snooker Centre, England.

Page 2 of 2 25th April 2012

1. ICJ election to be held The election to fill the casual vacancy for Asia for the post of Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is to be held on April 27. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. India's nominee is Justice Dalveer Bhandari of the Supreme Court and the Philippines has nominated Justice Florentino Feliciano. A keen contest is expected in the election to fill the casual vacancy following the resignation of Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh from Jordan in October 2011. The election is scheduled to be held in New York. As per Article 8 of the ICJ statute the General Assembly and the Security Council shall proceed independently of one another to elect a judge of the ICJ. The candidate who gets absolute majority in both the General Assembly (97 votes) and the Security Council (8) votes) will be declared elected. If none gets a majority in the first round, subsequent rounds of voting will be held to determine the winner. The person elected is appointed for six years and he is eligible for re-election for a second term of nine years. 2.Thar to witness huge war game in May The first week of May 2012 will witness one of the biggest-ever war games of the Army in the Thar desert. The forces are gearing up for Shoorveer a war game and military training exercise to be held in the districts of Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar and Bikaner in Rajasthan. The exercise will see the deployment of more than 200 tanks and over 60,000 troops in the border State. Shoorveer comes close on the heels of the Army's Vijayee Bhava exercise in Suratgarh and Sudarshan Shakti a massive display of military might in Barmer district, validating its new battle-fighting concepts developed after the transformation studies carried out recently. 3. Native anti-malaria drug launched India launched its first indigenously manufactured anti-malaria new-age drug Synriam. The drug, produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories. The drug has been developed by Ranbaxy Laboratories in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research. The dual-molecule combination drug conforms to the recommendations of World Health Organisation (WHO) and will be required to be taken only once a day for three days. Synriam will be used to treat uncomplicated plasmodium falciparum malaria in adults. 4. Mullaperiyar dam is structurally and hydrologically safe Setting at rest the controversy over the safety of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, the Empowered Committee, headed by the former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand, has said it is structurally and hydrologically safe, and Tamil Nadu can raise the water level from 136 to 142 feet after carrying out certain repairs. 5. Pakistan launches Hatf IV Shaheen-1A Pakistan has successfully conducted the launch of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Hatf IV Shaheen1A Weapon System. The missile capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads is billed as an improved version of Shaheen-1. 6. Maldives appoints Vice-President Amidst walkout by the Maldivian Democratic Party of ousted President Mohammed Nasheed, the Parliament ratified the appointment of the Vice-President and Cabinet Ministers. With strength of 46 MPs including the Speaker, the Parliament unanimously approved the Cabinet appointments made by President Mohammed Waheed, including that of Mohamed Waheeduddin as Vice-President. 7. S&P lowers India's credit rating outlook to negative In a wake-up call to the government to put its act together on the macroeconomic front, global rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) scaled down India's credit rating outlook from stable' (BBB+) to negative' (BBB-) with a warning of a downgrade if there is no improvement in the fiscal situation and political climate. Giving reasons for downgrading India's sovereign rating outlook to the lowest investment grade and just one step away from junk bond status. Alongside, as a reflection of the outlook on the sovereign credit rating on India, the S&P also lowered the rating outlook of the country's 10 top banks which include the State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

Page 1 of 2 26th April 2012

8. CIL signs FSAs with five firms Coal India Limited (CIL) is understood to have inked fuel supply agreements (FSA) with five power companies for minimum assured coal supply as per directions of the Central Government. So far, five firms, including Lanco Anpara Power and Bajaj Hindustan, have signed the FSA with CIL and more are likely to follow soon. Earlier this month, the government had issued a directive to CIL to commit a minimum of 80 per cent of fuel supply to power producers, failing which it would attract penalty. 9. Edapadi union panchayat bags national award The Edapadi union panchayat in Salem District has bagged the Panchayat Enforcement and Accountability Incentive Scheme Award (PEAIS) instituted by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development. A. Madesh, Edapadi Union Panchayat received the award from Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs V. Kishore Chandra Deo at the National Panchayati Raj Divas held in New Delhi. The award carries Rs. 15 lakh and a certificate and was given in recognition of the implementation of the welfare schemes, building of basic infrastructure like roads, providing drinking water and providing sanitation to the villagers. The award is also for innovative welfare schemes implemented by the union panchayat and its efforts for effective utilisation of development funds. 10. Assam bodybuilder wins ISNBC Bobby Singh of Assam won the Mr. India Senior National Bodybuilding Championship. Sonia Mitra of West Bengal won the Ms. India Fitness Championship. Mr. Singh won Rs. 3 lakh in cash, a car and a citation. He defeated last year's champion Sangram Chougale of Maharashtra. Ms. Mitra defeated Amrita Mondal of West Bengal. Contestants from 11 States participated in the Ms. India Fitness Championship. 11. Omkar 16th place in free pistol Omkar Singh shot 555 and finished 16th in men's free pistol in the shooting World Cup at the Royal Artillery Barracks, London.The reigning World Champion Tomoyuki Matsuda of Japan outclassed the field in the qualification with a score of 572 that gave him a seven-point lead, but a below-par fare in the final saw him eventually pip Vladimir Isakov of Russia by 1.6 points for the gold.

Page 2 of 2 26th April 2012

1. Rajasthan to launch programme to reduce mortality rate Jhpiego, a non-profit organization affiliated with the John Hopkins University, USA, will provide assistance to the state government to bring down the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality ratio (MMR). In this regard, the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jhpiego on Friday to launch 'Safe childbirth checklist' programme to improve the quality of maternal and new born care in Rajasthan. Rajasthan has high IMR and MMR compared to national average. As per the Sample Registration Survey (2007-09), the state recorded 318 per1 lakh live births against a national average of 212 per 1lakh live births. 2. Maharashtra to get H1N1 vaccine for doctors, staff soon The doctors and paramedical staff involved in the management of swine flu cases in Maharashtra will get the swine flu vaccine in a few days. The state government has submitted a requisition for 20,500 doses of injectable vaccine to the Union health ministry. The vaccine doses are likely to arrive within a week. The objective is to vaccinate the front-line health staff before the monsoon, officials from the ministry said. 3. Samsung No. 1 handset maker Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia as the world's biggest vendor of mobile phones for the first time, ending the Finnish company's 14-year run as the global leader, according to an industry study. Samsung shipped 93.5 million handsets in the first quarter, 36% more than a year earlier, compared with 82.7 million for second-ranked Nokia. Demand for Galaxy smartphones helped the Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung post first-quarter net income today of 5.05 trillion won ($4.5 billion), beating analysts' estimates. Nokia had been the biggest mobile-phone maker by shipments since 1998, when the Espoo, Finland-based company took over the spot from Motorola. Nokia reported a 1.34-billion-euro ($1.8-billion) first-quarter operating loss after handset sales slumped. Both smartphones and low-end handsets declined as Nokia's aging portfolio was outpaced by handsets running Google's Android. 4. Garment makers eye emerging markets Apparel export companies in India are eyeing emerging markets like South Africa and Latin America, as demand in traditional markets such as Europe and the US has come down considerably in the last one year. While value of exports increased by 18% to $13.7 billion, exporters said the increase has been primarily because of rise in prices of raw materials. According to the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), volume of apparel exports fell by nearly 8% due to lack of demand in Europe. 5. Delhi ranks second in per capita income list With a per capita annual income of Rs 1,75,812, Delhi again finished second behind Goa, which had a per capita annual income of Rs 1,92,652. However, it was the richest among the major states and union territories with crore-plus populations (Goa's population is only 14.6 lakh). Haryana, with Rs 1,09,227 per capita finished third, while the country overall touched the Rs 60,972 per person income level. In 2010-11, Delhi's per capita income at current prices was Rs 1,50,653. Even at constant prices (after factoring in inflation), the city's per capita income was Rs 1,19,032 in 2011-12, a leap of Rs 10,156 from Rs 1,08,876 a year ago. It was also three times the national average estimated at Rs 38,005. 6. Centre mulls to amalgamate Total Sanitation Campaign & MNREGS Union minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh has indicated about the convergence of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with the total sanitation campaign. Part of the assistance money would be covered under the MNREGS. The convergence is being done to ensure that rural job card holders get work while the targets for total sanitation are achieved.

Page 1 of 2 28th April 2012

7. Supreme Court upholds High court's decision to quash quota in promotion The Supreme Court, upheld the Allahabad high court's decision to scrap the policy of reservations in promotions introduced by the Mayawati government. The Allahabad high court on January 4, 2011 had dubbed it "unconstitutional" and struck it down following at least 50 petitions by employees associations from across the state. Following this, a special leave petition was filed in the Supreme Court against the order by the Bahujan Samaj Party government and some organisations. Terming the SC decision to quash reservation in promotion as a milestone, the state government employees of general category burst into celebrations on Friday. The decision will benefit nearly 18 lakh UP government employees -- mainly of the general and OBC category - who have been waiting for their promotions for the past five years. 8. New tech to help study geographical problems The remote sensing and geo-informatics department of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University will analyze and study the data for Rajasthan received from Risat ( radar imaging satellite) which is put in orbit a day before. The department has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with space center of ISRO, Ahmedabad. The statistics will be helpful in getting information about the ground resources of the state as well as weather of the region. The new technology will provide clear picture of crops and ground realities of geographical problems. 9. Barcelona lose its Pep as Guardiola quits His cabinet is packed with almost every major title in club football (13 out of a possible 19 in four years), but it's the quality of the attacking, aesthetically-pleasing football that flowered at Barcelona under his tutelage that will forever define Pep Guardiola. It was a dream run that led to many aficionados arguing that this was the greatest team of all time. But on Friday, it ended with a speed that left the world gasping. Guardiola, like so many hip, urban 40-somethings the world over are doing, stepped out of the way before burnout consumed him. 10. Kashyap qualifies for Olympics after Chen Jin walkover In a dramatic turn of events, Indian shuttler P Kashyap edged past Ajay Jayaram to qualify for the London Olympics after Chen Jin of China gave him a walk over in the quarterfinals of the Indian Open Super Series because of a wrist injury. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap came into the tournament with over 1000 points behind compatriot Jayaram and needed to win at least two rounds more than Jayaram to leapfrog him for the lone Olympic berth. The world number 30 Kashyap had defeated Boonsak Ponsana on Thursday to set up a clash with world number four Chen. 11. Sushil Kumar finally qualifies for London Olympics After struggling with a series of injuries in the past year and disappointments in various international events, Sushil Kumar finally found his touch on Friday by qualifying for the London Olympics. Sushil outclassed 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Tushishvili Otar 3-0 on his way to a gold medal in the 66kg category at the World qualifying tournament in Taiyuan (China). Sushil had also won a bronze in Beijing.

Page 2 of 2 28th April 2012

1. Four-year jail for Bangaru Laxman A Special CBI Court in New Delhi on April 29 sentenced former BJP president Bangaru Laxman, who has been convicted of corruption charges, to four-year rigorous imprisonment. It also imposed a fine of Rs.1 lakh on him. On April 28, he was held guilty of accepting money, to facilitate government contracts, from Tehelka journalists posing as arms dealers. They filmed him in a sting operation in 2001, causing uproar and embarrassment to the NDA government, forcing Mr. Laxman to resign. 2. Wanchoo appointed Governor of Goa The former Special Protection Group (SPG) chief and Gandhi family loyalist, B.V. Wanchoo, was appointed Goa Governor, and the former Madhya Pradesh Minister, Aziz Qureshi, Governor of Uttarakhand. A release from Rashtrapati Bhavan also said that K. Sankaranarayanan would continue as Governor of Maharashtra, for a fresh term, Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva would be the new Governor of Rajasthan. While three months after the completion of a full fiveyear term, Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan has been given a five-year-long extension by the President. 3. Ore export: CEC for probe by independent agency The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended a probe by an independent investigating agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation into the illegal export of iron ore from the Belekeri port in Uttara Kannada. 4. Osmania University played a crucial role in the success of the recently test-fired Agni-V missile The crucial algorithm written by an OU professor and his team was used in Prithvi-I missile and the same algorithm with minor tweaks is being used in the Agni-V missile, Dr. Saraswat disclosed amidst loud cheers from OU students and faculty members at a function organised to felicitate the DRDO team responsible for success of the missile which put India in the club of select nations with ICBM capabilities. Dr. Saraswat disclosed that the Research and Training unit for Navigational Electronics had participated in 14 projects of the DRDO. OU had also provided many aeronautical and mechanical engineers who played a key role in the development of missile programme in the country, he said. Interestingly, Dr. Saraswat is also an alumnus of OU College of Engineering. 5. RISAT-1 placed in its final orbit According to ISRO, the Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1), launched on April 26, has been placed in its final polar sun-synchronous orbit of 536 km. 6. A slogan boosts sanitation in Haryana The slogan, no toilet, no bride,' seems to be working wonders for sanitation in Haryana. In just one year (2011), 330 gram panchayats have been turned into nirmal gram' or clean villages. The Total Sanitation Campaign spearheaded by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under the Ministry of Rural Development, gathered pace in 2010, when 259 gram panchayats in the State put an end to open defecation and ensured total sanitation in villages. 7. NHRC chief against curbs on media reporting Even as a case is under way in the Supreme Court relating to guidelines for media reporting of court proceedings, National Human Rights Commission Chairman K.G. Balakrishnan has said he is against any curb on media reporting. The former Chief Justice of India, while speaking at a workshop for mediapersons on human rights and the functioning of the NHRC, referred to the court's move on media guidelines and said the Commission was a formal party in the matter. But it decided not to intervene, as the issue was only about reporting of court proceedings and not on general issues.

Page 1 of 2 29th April 2012

8. Escaped Chinese lawyer in U.S. protection' The visually-challenged Chinese lawyer and crusader against forced abortions, Chen Guangcheng, who recently escaped from more than a year-and-a-half of house arrest is now under the protection of United States officials and is likely to be in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. China Aid, a Texas-based Christian human rights group that has been in contact with Mr. Chen, said in a statement that it had learned from a source close to the Chen Guangcheng situation that Chen is under U.S. protection and high level talks are currently under way between U.S. and Chinese officials regarding Chen's status. 9. Protest over Rushdie books Students and teachers of Peshawar University are agitated over the inclusion of two books of Salman Rushdie Midnight's Children and Shame in M.Phil and Ph.D courses offered by the Department of English. Describing Mr. Rushdie as a blasphemer'' students have planned protests against this decision, The News reported. Over a month ago, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan had refused to attend a conclave in India because he would have had to share a platform with Mr. Rushdie. In a related development earlier this year, efforts by the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa Government to change the school textbooks of history and Islamic Studies had to be shelved after some religious Right-wing organisations objected to the move. 10. EGoM decides not to review earlier decision on Sasan excess coal A high-level inter-ministerial panel has recently decided not to review the earlier decision, allowing Reliance Power to use excess coal from the Sasan UMPP (ultra mega power project) mines for its another project. An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on UMPP, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, decided not to review the past decision after taking legal opinion from the Attorney General G. E. Vahanvati. In August, 2008, an EGoM had given approval for Reliance Power to divert surplus coal from the Sasan blocks for another project in Chitrangi. Both projects are in Madhya Pradesh.

Page 2 of 2 29th April 2012

1. Mid-day meals: Centre asks States to adopt A.P. fund model With some States defaulting on payment of their share of funds for providing meals to children in government schools, adversely affecting the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Centre has now asked all States to consider adopting Andhra Pradesh's model Green Channel Scheme.' The A.P. model makes funds available throughout the year. An analysis of the annual plan proposals received from the States and Union Territories has revealed that only 3 meetings of the State Steering-cum-Monitoring Committee (SSMC), headed by the State Chief Secretary, were held in 2011-12, as against once every quarter as mandated in the guidelines. 2. Invoke new visa rules to keep Narendra Modi out, say human rights campaigners in the U.K. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi could be among those likely to be affected by new immigration rules under which non-European Union citizens accused of serious human rights abuses may be banned from entering Britain. Rights campaigners said that they would demand that the proposed rules be used to keep out Mr. Modi because of his alleged role in the antiMuslim riots in Gujarat. There were widespread protests when he was allowed to visit Britain in 2003, and a planned visit in 2005 was called off at the last minute after a determined bid by rights groups to get an arrest warrant against him. The South Asia Solidarity Group said such a law must be applied to Mr. Modi as his role in the Gujarat genocide was well-documented. 3. Philosophers at war over ouster of Mrinal Miri Philosophers at the prestigious Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR) are at war with one another over what some of them describe as the unceremonious removal of noted academic Mrinal Miri as Editor of the Council's in-house journal. Prof. Miri, former chairperson of the ICPR, revived the Journal of Philosophical Research that had been out of print for four years when he took over. As many as 16 editions were brought out during Prof. Miri's tenure including a special number on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. 4. Tea is to be as National Drink It's the most common drink in the country after water. In the last week of April 2012, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the government was considering making tea India's national drink. The announcement, he said, was likely to be made next year. 5. Regressive clause clashes with IPC rape laws If the Bill seeking to protect children from sexual offences is passed by Parliament in the form in which it was cleared in the April 2012 by the Cabinet, then there will be a direct but unstated conflict between the general and special laws on rape. Under the special law proposed in the freshly revised "Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Bill", no person below 18 years will have the legal capability to give consent for engaging in any kind of sexual activity. This flies in the face of the general law, Indian Penal Code (IPC), which recognizes 16 as the age of consent for girls. 6. Delhi and Kabul to share real time intelligence info India and Afghanistan are looking to revamp their intelligence sharing system after the recent multiple strikes by Taliban in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. Ahead of foreign minister S M Krishna's meeting with his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul this week, government officials said the two countries have decided to shun the practice of sharing intelligence through "routine'' letters and will instead focus on transferring intelligence inputs immediately. Kabul and other Afghan cities were targeted on April 15 by Taliban in what was the most ferocious coordinated strikes in the country in years. While Indian establishments were not specifically targeted, Kabul's diplomatic enclave was attacked by the terrorists.

Page 1 of 3 30th April 2012

7. China launches two navigation satellites China successfully launched two more satellites for its proposed Beidou global navigation and positioning network being built to counter the US Global Position System (GPS). With the two, China has so far launched 13 satellites to form part of the Beidou system. The Beidou-2 satellites, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the south-western province of Sichuan, was boosted by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and has entered the scheduled orbit. It is the first time China has launched two navigation satellites with one rocket, and the two satellites will help to improve the accuracy of the Beidou, or Compass system. China will launch three more satellites for the Beidou network this year and a global satellite positioning and navigation system will be completed in 2020 with more than 30 orbiters. According to state-run Xinhua this mission marked the 160th flight of Chinas Long March series of carrier rockets. 8. Sudan declares state of emergency on South border Sudan declared a state of emergency along its border with South Sudan on April 29, after monthlong border clashes, as four foreigners allegedly arrested in the Heglig oil region remained in custody. President Omar al-Bashir issued a resolution declaring the emergency in the border states of South Kordofan, White Nile and Sennar, the official SUNA news agency said. 9. Russia destroys over 60 percent of chemical weapons About 25,000 metric tonnes - or 62 percent - of Russia's chemical weapons haf been destroyed till April 29, RIA Novosti reported recently. In 15 years, Russia destroyed about two-thirds of its stockpile of 40,000 metric tonnes. The goal is to destroy 100 percent of chemical weapons by 2015. The International Chemical Weapons Convention came into force on April 29, 1997. The 188 parties (states) to the Convention initially planned to destroy all chemical weapons by 2012. Russia and the US, who have 40,000 and 27,000 metric tonnes of chemical weapons, said they were behind schedule and the deadline was postponed until Dec 31, 2015. The US said it had already destroyed about 90 percent of its chemical weapons. The Department of Defense, however, twice postponed the deadline for destroying the remaining 2,000 metric tonnes first until 2021 and then until 2023. As of Jan 31, 2012, more than 50,000 metric tonnes of chemical weapons - or 73 percent of the global stockpile - have been destroyed. The convention was signed on April 29, 1997, and 188 out of 195 UN member states joined it. Myanmar and Israel are signatories to the treaty but are yet to ratify it. Only Angola, North Korea, Egypt, Somalia and Syria are still outside the convention. The countries that officially admitted having chemical weapons were Albania, Libya, Iraq, India, Russia, the US and South Korea. 10. Three new deals inked to boost firepower of Special Forces The Indian government has inked three contracts to boost firepower and surveillance capabilities of Special Forces and infantry soldiers. Out of these the first contract to acquire 1,568 advanced sub-machine guns for the "ghatak'' platoons of infantry battalions has been inked with M/s B&T Switzerland for Rs 25.84 crore. Simultaneously, defence PSU Bharat Electronics has been contracted to supply a fresh consignment of 630 hand-held thermal imagers for Rashtriya Rifles, the specialized counter-insurgency force deployed in J&K, at a cost of Rs 132.38 crore. Another Rs 105.45 crore deal for acquiring laser target designators for the Special Forces has been inked with M/s Alpha Design. Sources say several procurement projects worth over Rs 15,000 crore are now in the final stages. These include new regiments of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers as well as 10,000 Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles and 25,000 Invar missiles to arm the T-90S tanks. Then, there are other projects like the electronic warfare systems for the crucial 4 Corps (Tezpur) and 15 Corps (Srinagar) for Rs 975 crore.

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11. Asia stocks rise on hopes of new Fed stimulus move Asian stock markets rose on April 30 in holiday-thinned trade as sluggish U.S. growth figures boosted hopes for more measures from the Federal Reserve to help the worlds No. 1 economy. South Koreas Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,980.27 amid improving business sentiment among manufacturers. Australias S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 4,393.30 as rising commodities prices helped push up its mining sector. The Fed has already carried out two rounds of bondbuying known as quantitative easing to stimulate spending and drive down long-term interest rates. Low bond yields generally encourage investors to shift money to buying stocks. 12. Telenor ready to write off Rs 14000 crore, pull out of India Norwegian firm Telenor has threatened to exit India, saying it will be tough for companies to comply with the spectrum auction norms and rollout obligations suggested by the regulator, Trai. Telenor holds 67% in Unitech Wireless and is looking to sever ties with its Indian partner Unitech. Unitech Wireless' 22 licences were among the 122 cancelled by the Supreme Court in February on the grounds that former telecom minister A Raja ignored norms while issuing them. 13. Officers Choice ends Bagpiper reign Vijay Mallya's Bagpiper whisky ended its seven-year stint as the largest selling Indian spirits brand, falling behind Officer's Choice whisky from the smaller rival Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD). Bagpiper, a top volume grabber for the most part of the last decade, piped down to singledigit negative growth in 2011, said two independent digests of top selling alcobev brands globally. New York-based Impact International and International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR) in London put Officer's Choice as the largest selling Indian spirits brand in their latest estimates. The Kishore Chhabria-owned Officer's Choice saw 7.5% growth to 15.8 million cases (of 9 litres each) while Bagpiper declined 5.9% to 15.6 million cases during the last calendar year, said IWSR. The numbers were slightly higher for both brands in Impact's listings but Officer's Choice was the clear topper. 14. India, Japan to hold first 'economic dialogue' India and Japan will hold their first ever "economic dialogue' on April 30, 2012, a move reflecting closer trading ties between two of Asia's biggest democracies, the Indian government said. The meeting in New Delhi comes after Japan and India last year signed a free trade pact under which the high-tech nation and the South Asian emerging market giant will scrap tariffs on 94 percent of goods within a decade. The first India-Japan Ministerial-level Economic Dialogue will focus on boosting trade and economic ties, India's foreign affairs ministry. 15. Rafael Nadal wins seventh Barcelona title Rafael Nadal became the first player in the open era to win two tournaments seven times when he fought off tenacious Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 7-6, 7-5 to win a thrilling Barcelona Open final on 29/04/2012. 16. Donald reclaims World No. 1 ranking from McIlroy England's Luke Donald took back the World No. 1 golf ranking that he lost to Rory McIlroy two weeks ago with a strong finish among the leaders at the US PGA Zurich Classic on April 29, 2012. Donald has exchanged the top spot with the Northern Irish star and reigning US Open champion for the past two months.

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