The widening sinkhole that the coal scam has become claimed its first victim on Wednesday as Additional

Solicitor-General Haren Raval resigned for having misled the Supreme Court, while CBI Director Ranjit Sinha brought the executive and the judiciary to the verge of open confrontation by stating that his agency was not an autonomous organization but part of the government.

The widening sinkhole that the coal scam has become claimed its first victim on Wednesday as Additional Solicitor-General Haren Raval resigned for having misled the Supreme Court, while CBI Director Ranjit Sinha brought the executive and the judiciary to the verge of open confrontation by stating that his agency was not an autonomous organization but part of the government.

The CBI, which later sought to clarify its Directors remark, came in for criticism earlier in the day when the Supreme Court said the investigative agency should be insulated from executive interference. We have to undertake this exercise so that this premier organisation restores its position of impartiality, Justice R. M. Lodha, heading the Bench, declared.

CBI as a premier investigating agency, your action must be to enhance its credibility and impartiality. Independence means not that you [CBI] move with crutches of the Executive. Your action [in sharing the report with Law Minister and two officials] has shaken the independent process. First thing we should do is liberate the CBI from any extraneous consideration and interference so that the investigation is not maligned. This is the prime task. Disturbing events unfolded in this case affects the credibility of the institution. This investigation and henceforth all investigations must be uninfluenced by any extraneous force. The Bench rapped the CBI for sharing the draft status report on the coal scam with the Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and said suppression of this fact from the court was disturbing.

Additional Solicitor-General Harin P Raval, who wrote to the Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati on Monday that he had been made a scapegoat in the coalgate controversy, on Tuesday submitted his resignation to the Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar.

Even as tensions between India and China continue in eastern Ladakh, the two sides held a third flag meeting on Tuesday to discuss the incursion issue, sources in the Army said.

Local commanders of the two sides, usually of the rank of brigadier, met for the third flag meeting to discuss the situation prevailing in the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) sector where a platoon-strength of Chinese troops came in on April 15 and established tents. As differing perceptions exist about the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is yet to be demarcated, patrolling parties of the two sides usually go up to a certain point and return but it is for the first time that Chinese troops have set up five tents and stayed put for the past two weeks.

Details of what transpired at the third flag meeting were not available but the first two flag meetings held on April 18 and 23 failed to yield any result that could have helped in ending the stand-off. According to Indias perception of the LAC, Chinese troops incursion is 19 km deep inside Indian territory in eastern Ladakh. : Pulled up by the Supreme Court for having shared the status report on the probe into the coal blocks allocation scam with the Union government, Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said it was not an autonomous agency and that it was part of the government.

Following an uproar over the statement made by its Director Ranjit Sinha, the investigating agency late in the evening issued a clarification, saying, The CBI does not exist in isolation. We are part of a system and need to consult and take opinion on certain occasions.

In a fit of candour quite uncharacteristic of those holding high office, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha said on Tuesday afternoon what everyone knows to be the truth about the autonomy and independence of Indias premier investigation agency. I am a part of the government, I am not an autonomous body, he blurted out when asked for his reaction to the Supreme Court expressing its disappointment and anger at the fact that the CBI had allowed the political executive to vet its status report in the coal scam probe. As the political, legal and moral significance of Mr. Sinhas fatal confession slowly became apparent, he sought desperately to press the reset button There is simply no excuse for what happened to Sarabjit Singh in Lahores Kot Lakhpat jail.

If this murderous attack does not awaken both Pakistan and India to the shabby treatment they mete out to each others nationals in their jails, nothing can. Sarabjit was convicted for carrying out four bomb attacks in Lahore and Faisalabad in 1990 that killed 14 people and left 80 wounded, over his protestations that he was a victim of mistaken identity

. Despite the opposition in Pakistan to the release of a terror convict, there was a time in 2008 when the newly elected Pakistan Peoples Party government seriously considered this it indefinitely put off his hanging as a goodwill gesture towards India . Despite the opposition in Pakistan to the release of a terror convict, there was a time in 2008 when the newly elected Pakistan Peoples Party government seriously considered this it indefinitely put off his hanging as a goodwill gesture towards India

their fate gets enmeshed in the larger bilateral relationship. Prisoners, most of them poor and marginal in their own countries, are treated like bargaining chips, to be released only if goodwill needs to be shown to the other side, long after sentence completion.

[It] is perfectly possible to pervert the Constitution, without changing its form by merely changing the form of the administration and to make it inconsistent and opposed to the spirit of the Constitution Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it.

It has been 65 years since independence, and we are yet to learn the true meaning of constitutional morality, and to develop the inherent natural tendency to repel any attempt by anybody to obfuscate the spirit of the Constitution. Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it.

It has been 65 years since independence, and we are yet to learn the true meaning of constitutional morality, and to develop the inherent natural tendency to repel any attempt by anybody to obfuscate the spirit of the Constitution.

the ineffectiveness of the judicial system has given rise to an alternative sub-culture, which is nourished by delays and corruption in the judicial and administrative systems.

vintage vintage I, therefore, recommend that the Indian must have a National Judicial Commission for Performance & Audit of the Judicial System under the Constitution which aids the High Courts. A judicial commission without any mechanism for receiving feedback would be an inchoate legislation. Some people, especially those within the system, have argued that fixation of targets of cases to be disposed of and review of judgments in grant of promotion are methods that could be considered as sufficient check on the judges. I do not think that fixing of targets to be met by judicial officers is a mechanism of monitoring; in fact, I regard fixation of targets as anathema to the justice dispensation system. One cannot measure the success of a judge by the number of cases he has disposed of. Even fixation of targets for subordinate judiciary is an exercise that conceptually forms a roadblock in access to justice, and perhaps forms one of the reasons why courts are mandating that parties resort to alternative methods of dispute resolution (ADR). the court-mandated resort to ADR as one of the factors that limits the effectiveness of the judicial system. Dispute resolution by way of ADR mechanism should be resorted to by disputing parties of their own accord, and I consider it a failure of the judicial system when a person is compelled, either by the court or by the state of affairs that prevails in the judicial system, to choose such alternative methods of dispute resolution. the court-mandated resort to ADR as one of the factors that limits the effectiveness of the judicial system. Dispute resolution by way of ADR mechanism should be resorted to by disputing parties of their own accord, and I consider it a failure of the judicial system when a person is compelled, either by the court or by the state of affairs that prevails in the judicial system, to choose such alternative methods of dispute resolution. The frequent recommendation of alternative methods of dispute resolution by courts limits the effectiveness of the legal system and results in second hand justice

Those who have watched the global garment saga swell and decline chaotically in the past half-acentury can tell that this was a disaster waiting to happen anywhere in Asia or Africa. Even then, the fellow garment workers and media from the South have been slow to respond. Instead, the loudest public outcry has come from European and American consumers who have put a different spin to this human disaster in Bangladesh.

What is worrying about the western coverage is its first-worldism. Another preventable tragedy in Bangladesh, reported The New York Times , a statement echoed by BBC, The Globe and Mail , Reuters and others, who refuse to see this crisis as anything but yet another third world mishap that has to do with greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, incompetent bureaucracy, and the large swathe of the poor with no other options but to put themselves in the line of death. The Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) of 1974 virtually dictated in great detail, item by item and design by design, how many pieces of garment an individual third-world country could export to the U.S. Every piece of garment exported from anywhere in the world between 1974 and 2004 had to earn an individualised visa before entering American shores. With Americas strategic interest at heart, potentially rival countries like China were given lower quotas while smaller countries like Bangladesh and Lesotho were given higher quotas. It should not come as a surprise then that the garment industry in Bangladesh, virtually non-existent until the early 1970s, swelled so exponentially as to employ 3.5 million workers within a few decades.

That is a reason why most factory buildings are found to be built haphazardly, without acquiring the necessary clearance from state agencies.

the authorised state body to carry out this task, could not keep pace with the explosive rate at which the garment industry was growing in Bangladesh at this time. It is true that MFA has recently been replaced by other sets of trade agreement, but its legacy continues to haunt.

The earliest speakers of the language in the subcontinent in the 17th and 18th century, were trade middlemen known as dubashis : literally, bilinguals

What connects the worlds of the 18th century dubashi middlemen and the 21st century exclusive English speakers are the worlds of commerce and caste.

inevitably upper castes, depended on English for trade. What enables the 21st century English speakers to be entirely ignorant of other Indian languages is merely the changing nature of capital, globally, and the growing acceptance of English, nationally.

the history of standardisation in vernacular/regional languages since the onset of printing technology. This standardisation has been critiqued in nearly every Indian language as equating the Hindu uppercaste Sanskritised versions of the languages with the standard form, often marginalising the flourishing literatures of other classes/castes the history of standardisation in vernacular/regional languages since the onset of printing technology. This standardisation has been critiqued in nearly every Indian language as equating the Hindu uppercaste Sanskritised versions of the languages with the standard form, often marginalising the flourishing literatures of other classes/castes

the history of standardisation in vernacular/regional languages since the onset of printing technology. This standardisation has been critiqued in nearly every Indian language as equating the Hindu uppercaste Sanskritised versions of the languages with the standard form, often marginalising the flourishing literatures of other classes/castes the history of standardisation in vernacular/regional languages since the onset of printing technology. This standardisation has been critiqued in nearly every Indian language as equating the Hindu uppercaste Sanskritised versions of the languages with the standard form, often marginalising the flourishing literatures of other classes/castes

t our people have yet to learn it.

It has been 65 years since indepe

Arab countries have collectively agreed to accept an arrangement that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to go ahead with land swaps to resolve differences, rather than strictly sticking to the pre-1967-war position.

Arab countries have collectively agreed to accept an arrangement that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to go ahead with land swaps to resolve differences, rather than strictly sticking to the pre-1967-war position.

Arab countries have collectively agreed to accept an arrangement that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to go ahead with land swaps to resolve differences, rather than strictly sticking to the pre-1967-war position.

Bangladesh got its first woman Speaker with the election of Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury by the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday. She was the lone candidate.

The Miranda warning, also referred to as Miranda rights, is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings.

The Netherlands Willem-Alexander was sworn in as Europes youngest monarch on Tuesday after his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated and his country hailed the avowedly 21st-century King with a massive, orange-hued party. She will now be referred to as Princess.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday allayed apprehensions over the imposition of wealth tax on agricultural land within urban area limits to provide a big relief to farmers, especially in Haryana and Punjab.

Telecom carriers Vodafone Group of the U.K., Telekom Malaysia from Malaysia, Omantel from Oman, Etisalat from the UAE, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Dialog Axiata from Sri Lanka have formed a consortium to set up an 8,000-km-long Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) submarine cable system to link Malaysia and Singapore to the Middle East, with connections reaching out to India (Mumbai and Chennai) and Sri Lanka.

The cable system is designed to provide upgradable and transmission facilities by having 100 Gbps capability. This cable system is expected to carry commercial traffic by the end of 2014. According to analysts, this new cable system could help end the monopoly of some existing players operating in this region and bring down infrastructure cost for the consortium members. Tata Communications formerly VSNL submarine cable system almost passes through the same route.

Setting at rest the confusion that had been created over the taxability of investment through countries such as Mauritius and Cyprus, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on Tuesday, asserted that the tax residency certificates (TRCs) issued by a foreign government would be accepted as proof of residency for the purposes of availing of benefits under tax treaties.

In a relief to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the governments proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trade (MBRT) saying the move did not suffer from any unconstitutionality, illegality, arbitrariness or irrationality.

consumer is king and if that is the philosophy working behind the policy then what is wrong in it. The Bench referred to the Centres counter and said the decision to allow FDI in retail has a legal basis Foreign Exchange Management Act 2000. The court welcomed what it called the focus on benefiting the consumer by enlarging the choice of purchase at more affordable prices and by eradicating the traditional trade intermediaries/middlemen to facilitate better access to the market *ultimate retailer+ for the producer of goods.

The Bench also said that the new policy aims to throw out middlemen, who are a curse to Indian economy and who are sucking it. Farmers will benefit significantly from the option of direct sales to organised retailers. The bench said: This court does not interfere in the policy matter unless the policy is unconstitutional, contrary to statutory provisions or arbitrary or irrational or there is total abuse of power. The impugned policy cannot be said to suffer from any of the vires. The Bench also noted that the policy to allow FDI, up to 51 per cent in retail trade was only an enabling policy. The State governments/Union Territories are free to take their own decisions in regard to implementation of the policy in keeping with local conditions. It said the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was empowered to make policy pronouncements and there was no merit in the contention that the Government of India had no authority to formulate the FDI policy.

Consumer is king and if that is the philosophy working behind the policy then what is wrong in it? There are nearly 15 million farmers (Main cultivators) fewer than there were in 1991. Over 7.7 million less since 2001, as the latest Census data show. On average, thats about 2,035 farmers losing Main Cultivator status every single day for the last 20 years . And in a time of jobless growth, theyve had few places to go beyond the lowest, menial ends of the service sector.

employment in total and in non-agricultural sectors has not been growing. This jobless growth in recent years has been accompanied by growth in casualization and informalization. It speaks of an an absolute shift in workers from agriculture of 15 million to services and industry. But many within the sector also likely moved from farmer to agricultural labourer status. Swelling the agrarian underclass.

Census 2011 tells us we now have 95.8 million cultivators for whom farming is their main occupation. Thats less than eight per cent of the population. (Down from 103 million in 2001 and 110 million in 1991). Include all marginal cultivators (22.8 million) and that is still less than 10 per cent of the population.

casualization informalization .

informalization

casualization, casualisation [?k?j??la?'ze???n] n (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) the altering of working practices so that regular workers are re-employed on a casual or short-term basis

Informalization: a process whereby workers are employed not directly by the company that will sell the products of their work but by a sub-contractor.

The acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 riot case extinguishes every glimmer of hope for substantial justice to the Sikh victims of the bloody pogrom that took place in the nations capital in the aftermath of Indira Gandhis assassination. The judge found three men guilty of murder and two of rioting, but was not convinced that Mr. Kumar had instigated the riots. The verdict is bound to reinforce the view that politically well-connected persons will continue to evade the law, helped as they are by an excruciatingly slow judicial process, manipulated investigations and shoddy prosecutions. The positive feature of Judge J.R. Aryans 129-page verdict is that it recognises the value of the testimony of the first prosecution witness Jagdish Kaur despite 28 years having elapsed since her husband, son and three cousins were killed in the Raj Nagar area of Delhi Cantonment. However, her credibility, according to the court, is limited to her account of these five deaths and does not extend to her claim that she had seen Mr. Kumar, then the local MP, addressing a crowd of supporters, while she was on her way to the police station on the morning of November 2, 1984. And two other witnesses who sought to corroborate her version, also failed to convince the trial judge. It did not help matters that Ms Kaur, who testified about Mr. Kumars role before the Justice Nanavati Panel in 2000, had, presumably out of fear, omitted mention of the Congress leader in her submission to the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission soon after the massacres.

While appreciating the Central Bureau of Investigation for persisting with its charges against Mr. Kumar despite the complicity of sections of the Delhi police with the suspects in the early stages, one must fault the agency for limiting its charge sheet to simple oral testimony by witnesses that they had seen Mr. Kumar berating his supporters for not doing enough damage to the Sikhs and warning that even Hindus offering shelter to them must be killed and their houses burnt. Given the deliberate inaction on the part of the Delhi police and, in some cases, its active collaboration, the agency ought to have more diligently pursued a possible conspiracy angle. There is not a whisper in the testimony discussed in the verdict on the party affiliations of the rioters, or how the mob came

to assemble in the area or the extent of planning and coordination behind the organised riots. Sadly, at no stage has any investigation seriously attempted to grapple with the vital element of political complicity, a curious omission since the thugs who wreaked murder and arson across the national capital for three days were only executing what someone in authority had deliberately willed. Until the time these instigators are identified and punished, 1984 will always haunt the conscience of India.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Rs. 22,507-crore National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) that seeks to address healthcare challenges in towns and cities with focus on urban poor.

The scheme will now be introduced as a sub-mission under the National Health Mission (NHM). The mission will be implemented in 779 cities and towns, each with a population of more than 50,000, and cover over 7.75 crore people.

The NUHM aims to improve the health status of the urban population in general, and the poor and other disadvantaged sections in particular, by facilitating equitable access to quality health care through a revamped primary public health care system, targeted outreach services and involvement of the community and urban local bodies.

The NUHM will be on the lines of the Health and Family Welfare Ministrys flagship National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) launched in 2005 to address the health challenges of rural India.

The interventions under this sub-mission will aim to result in the reduction of the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), universal access to reproductive health care and the convergence of all health-related interventions

Under the scheme, the government proposes to set up one Urban Primary Health Centre for a population of 50,000-60,000, one Urban Community Health Centre for five to six urban Primary Health Centres in big cities, an Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANM) for a population of 10,000 and an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) (community link worker) for 200 to 500 households.

The Central government is to provide a share of Rs. 16,955 crore toward the estimated cost of NUHM for five years Rs. 22,507 crore.

Centre will fund 75 per cent of the mission and the State 25 per cent, the funding ratio for North Eastern States and special category States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be 90:10. At present, there is no dedicated health delivery system for the urban poor. The health indicators among them are also bad and nutrition levels of urban children living in slums are alarmingly low. Estimates have shown that one in 10 children born in the slums did not see their fifth birthday while less than half were immunised.

Between 1981 and 1991, the number of cultivators (main workers), actually went up from 92 million to 110 million. So the huge decline comes post-1991.

Hold on: arent 53 per cent of the population farmers?

No. Thats a common fallacy. The over 600 million Indians dependent on agriculture are not all farmers. They are deployed in an array of related activities including fisheries. This confusion is widespread and innocent. The mistaken notion that the 53 per cent of Indias population dependent on agriculture are all farmers leads many to dismiss the massive farmers suicides as trivial

The conflict in Syria has inched closer to a regional conflagration with the bold declaration by Hizbollah that it would prevent the armed opposition and its allies from toppling the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Mr. Obama, while campaigning for the 2008 presidential polls, had promised to close the prison. He has since blamed the U.S. Congress for stymieing his efforts to either move the inmates to the U.S. mainland and face trial in a civilian court or transfer them back to their home nations, such as Afghanistan and Yemen. Human rights groups say 86 of the 166 inmates have been cleared for release.

In addition, last week, the President of the American Medical Association (AMA) was said to have sent a letter to U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel reiterating its *AMAs+ long-held position that it is a violation of medical ethics to force-feed mentally competent adults who refuse food and lifesaving treatment.

The Union Cabinet, on Wednesday, gave its go-ahead for slashing the subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for this fiscal.

The move is expected to save the government around Rs. 5,000 crore.

The decision to cut subsidy has been taken in view of falling global prices.

Despite the reduction in subsidy, the government is hopeful that the maximum retail price (MRP) of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and Muriate of Potash (MoP) would come down by Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 1,000 per tonne, respectively The Union Cabinet, on Wednesday, gave its go-ahead for slashing the subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for this fiscal.

The move is expected to save the government around Rs. 5,000 crore.

The decision to cut subsidy has been taken in view of falling global prices.

Despite the reduction in subsidy, the government is hopeful that the maximum retail price (MRP) of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and Muriate of Potash (MoP) would come down by Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 1,000 per tonne, respectively

Bangalore is Indias most global city and it is slipping into coma, slowly but surely. 400 of the Fortune 500 companies are here in one form or the other; its per capita income is the highest in India at about Rs.9,200 (even higher than Mumbai). It produces about 60 per cent of Karnatakas State gross domestic product (SGDP) and contributes about 66 per cent of its taxes. McKinsey estimates that by 2030 Bangalore will be Indias fifth largest metro with a GDP of $127 billion, and a population of 10.1 million. Sadly a significant part of the GDP is not spent on upgrading the citys infrastructure and is not ploughed back into the city itself. The report estimates that Bangalore needs about $58 billion over the next 20 years or $255 per capita and it is next to impossible for it to find these resources.

the computerisation of commercial taxes or e-Sugam Revenue volumes have shot up Revenue volumes have shot up power situation in Bangalore as compared to Chennai and Hyderabad is far better power situation in Bangalore as compared to Chennai and Hyderabad is far better transmission and distribution losses are at a low seven per cent. 99 per cent of what is billed is collected

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Fourth, the imaginative Sakala Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act covers about 265 services across 18 departments of which more than half are operational now. The entirely automated system is hugely popular and has received about 2.20 crore applications with a commendable redressal rate of 97 per cent.

Last, and certainly not the least, the Global Investor Meet (GIM) brainchild of two outstanding IAS officers, V.P. Baligar and Maheshwar Rao in its two avatars saw MoUs worth over Rs.10 lakh crore in investment being signed. Even assuming only 30-40 per cent of this is realised, it would be a huge fillip to Karnatakas development.

Growing food sustainably to feed a growing global population will require improving the way staple crops take in and transport substances, says a group of a dozen scientists from six countries.

Growing food sustainably to feed a growing global population will require improving the way staple crops take in and transport substances, says a group of a dozen scientists from six countries.

As it was, some two billion people in the world were suffering dietary deficiencies that had an enormous impact on their health As it was, some two billion people in the world were suffering dietary deficiencies that had an enormous impact on their health During the next four decades, an expected additional two billion humans would require nutritious food Global demand for food is predicted to increase by 40 per cent by 2030.

Innovative solutions are required

because we are already close to the sustainable limit of 15 per cent of the Earths surface that can be exploited for crop production.

hese proteins, embedded within membranes of cells, could improve the efficiency with which plants took up and used water and nutrients. The transporters were also central to mechanisms for drought tolerance in plants as well as their ability to grow in other adverse conditions, such as in saline or acidic soils.

The HKT family of transporters, for instance, moves sodium and potassium, and plays an essential part in salt tolerance.

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Aluminium tolerance genes are also very promising for enhancing yields in acidic soils, said Prof. Schroeder in an email. Such soils, with low crop yields, were widely distributed in sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world where developing nations are located. Many millions of people in the world suffered from iron and zinc deficiencies because their plantbased diets are not a sufficiently rich source of these essential elements, the scientists observed in their paper.

To fortify rice with more iron, scientists had turned on key transporter genes in the plants seeds. These genes are usually expressed in the root so that the plant could take in nutrients from the soil. The result was a greenhouse-grown rice with three- to four-fold higher levels of iron in polished grain.

In a similar fashion, zinc content of cereal grains could be increased, according to Dale Sanders, director of the John Innes Centre in the U.K. and another co-author. His team had demonstrated this with barley. We are also in the early stages of research to increase iron and zinc content in wheat, he added in an email.

If citizen science, in which non-scientists participate to collect scientific information, is at an advanced stage in America and other countries, organisations in India have pioneered a few programmes. What is interesting is the way the programmes seem to require a mix of Internet and field-based work.

If citizen science, in which non-scientists participate to collect scientific information, is at an advanced stage in America and other countries, organisations in India have pioneered a few programmes. What is interesting is the way the programmes seem to require a mix of Internet and field-based work.

The common bird monitoring of India programme (CBMI), headquartered in Nashik, collects data on population and distribution of common birds. With its 2,000 participants and 700 datasets, it has made quite a headway.

Another programme that involved the urban population was Be a scientist for a day. It was conducted by V. Shubhalaxmi, Deputy Director of Bombay Natural History Societys (BNHS) Conservation Education Society. The participants built up a checklist of species of plants, insects (especially moths), birds, reptiles and amphibians from BNHS 33-acre nature reserve. Surprisingly, corporates have also been fired up to undertake citizen science projects. HSBC partnered with IISc, Bangalore and Earthwatch, an NGO, for the climate watch programme.

There is also a need to consciously reach out to people to tap their potential and knowledge,

when u dont give up you can not fail ................

when u dont give up you can not fail ................

Scientists have taken the idea of a film short down to new levels. Molecular levels.

IBM says it has made the tiniest stop-motion movie ever, a one-minute video of individual carbon monoxide molecules repeatedly rearranged to show a boy dancing, throwing a ball and bouncing on a trampoline.

Each frame measures 45 by 25 nanometres. There are 25 million nanometres in an inch but hugely magnified, the movie (http-//bit.ly/17ZmHIt ) is reminiscent of early video games, particularly when the boy bounces the ball off the side of the frame accompanied by simple music and sound effects. The movie is titled A Boy and His Atom. Jamie Panas of Guinness World Records said Guinness certified the movie as Smallest Stop-Motion Film.

IBM used a remotely operated two-ton scanning tunnelling microscope at its lab in San Jose, California, to make the movie earlier this year. The microscope magnifies the surface over 100 million times. It operates at 450 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (268 degrees below zero Celsius). IBM used a remotely operated two-ton scanning tunnelling microscope at its lab in San Jose, California, to make the movie earlier this year. The microscope magnifies the surface over 100 million times. It operates at 450 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (268 degrees below zero Celsius).

A digital camera that has a lens that very closely mimics the compound eye of arthropods in all respects wide-angle field of view of nearly 160 degrees, low aberration, high sharpness of vision, and infinite depth of field has been developed by a team of scientists led by Young Min Song from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S.

Compound eyes of arthropods are by default hemispherical and have multiple lenses; hence any camera lens that intends to mimic them should have the same shape and multiple lenses. Digital cameras available today have a planar sensor with a single lens. The biggest challenge the scientists faced was in developing such a hemispherical sensor that has multiple microlenses. They took advantage of the recent developments in stretchable electronics to achieve this.

Please note :"PNR status" and "Accommodation availability" queries are very Network resource intensive queries. You are therefore requested to please wait for sometime and not to re-submit the same. Thanks for your co-operation. Please note :"PNR status" and "Accommodation availability" queries are very Network resource intensive queries. You are therefore requested to please wait for sometime and not to re-submit the same. Thanks for your co-operation. The microlens, supporting post, photodiode and the black silicon base correspond to an eyes corneal lens, cone, rhabdom (channel that contains light-sensitive cells) and screening pigment respectively. All the lab-created structures together form an optical unit (ommatidium). Each ommatidium contributes a single pixel.

The microlens, supporting post, photodiode and the black silicon base correspond to an eyes corneal lens, cone, rhabdom (channel that contains light-sensitive cells) and screening pigment respectively. All the lab-created structures together form an optical unit (ommatidium). Each ommatidium contributes a single pixel.

Scientists have now discovered why in some years more cyclones form in the Arabian Sea than usual. This is due to a newly discovered Phenomenon (2007) El Nino Modoki which causes warm moist conditions in the Central Pacific and dry cold conditions in Eastern and western pacific. A more familiar phenomenon, El Nino, was found to suppress cyclone formation in the Arabian Sea.

The reason why El Nino Modoki brings only fewer number of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal is because one of the two descending limbs of the Walker Cell is over the western Pacific and Bay of Bengal. The descending limb causes dry conditions not conducive for cyclone formation. The ascending limb of the Walker Cell, on the other hand, brings rain. Also, an El Nino Modoki creates stronger divergence over the western Pacific and Bay of Bengal compared to El Nino. Divergence (opposite of convergence) means surface winds move away from each other and result in low relative vorticity (rotational flow of winds). These conditions are not conducive for cyclones. This explains why Bay of Bengal region (close to western Pacific) has fewer cyclones during an El Nino Modoki On the other hand, there is large convergence over the Arabian Sea during an El Nino Modoki explaining the large number of cyclones in that region A statistical analysis of the El Nino and El Nino Modoki years between 1979-2004 was conducted. It was found that there were four El Nino years and seven El Nino Modoki years during this period. The number of cyclones per year show significant differences indicating that El Nino Modoki years are conducive for cyclone formation over Arabian Sea while El Nino is conducive for cyclones over the Bay of Bengal.

Cyclones usually do not form during monsoon season,

Second, during monsoon there is strong zonal (latitudinal) wind in the form of a jet at lower levels and this is not conducive for cyclone formation as the vertical shear between lower and upper troposphere will not be minimum. Finally, the sea surface temperatures are too low for cyclogenesis.

Europes Herschel space observatory the largest infrared telescope ever launched has stopped working after exhausting its supply of liquid helium coolant, ending nearly four years of functioning.

Country has to import pulses, edible oil, says Thomas

Despite surplus food stocks in the central pool, the per capita per day intake of calorie and protein has declined in the country between 2004-05 and 2009-10.

The per capital net availability of foodgrains including rice, wheat, other cereals and pulses too declined every year between 2006 and 2010, and, while 42.5 per cent children under five years are under-weight, 69.5 per cent are anaemic. The country is surplus in wheat and rice but has to import pulses and edible oil to bridge the shortfall in availability, Although calorie intake is higher in the rural areas compared to urban areas, it has declined in both populations. Although calorie intake is higher in the rural areas compared to urban areas, it has declined in both populations. Please note :"PNR status" and "Accommodation availability" queries are very Network resource intensive queries. You are therefore requested to please wait for sometime and not to re-submit the same. Thanks for your co-operation. Please note :"PNR status" and "Accommodation availability" queries are very Network resource intensive queries. You are therefore requested to please wait for sometime and not to re-submit the same. Thanks for your co-operation. :4 03:40

Backup C:\Users

C:\Users\Dr. Arun\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Backup The World Bank Institute awarded $2 million (Rs. 10.74 crores) to 20 organisations working in the sectors of financial inclusion, trafficking, health, education and livelihood. The grant of $ 100,000 (Rs. 53.7 lakhs) per project is to help these social enterprises expand in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The winners include successful social sector endeavours like Operation ASHA,

Mr. Ruhl explained that after the economies of China and India have grown, the share of the World Bank in funding development per se has decreased in these countries. Now we help governments in ensuring the services reach people who need them the most

Although calorie intake is higher in the rural areas compared to urban areas, it has declined in both populations. Calorie intake in 2004-05 was 2,047 Kcal and protein intake was 57 grams in rural populations.

It declined to 2020 Kcal and 55 grams in 2009-10. In urban populations, the Calorie intake of 2020 Kcal and protein intake of 57 gram in 2004-05, fell to 1946 Kcal and 53.5 grams respectively in 200910. The per capita availability of foodgrains per year in 2006 was 162.5 kg. This has come down to 160.1 kg in 2010, the Minister said.

While the National Food Security Bill that provides for mandatory distribution of subsidised foodgrains to 67 per cent of the population is in the offing, the government has no immediate plan to introduce direct cash benefit in the Public Distribution System nor will it give foodgrains in lieu of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Minister said.

in lieu o in lieu of

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Parliament on Thursday expressed shock and sorrow over the death of death-row prisoner Sarabjit Singh in a hospital in Pakistan.

With the continued spread of influenza A(H7N9) virus to 127 people in China and a concomitant increase in the number of deaths (26), the outbreak has confirmed what the World Health Organisation had earlier noted H7N9 is definitely one of the most lethal influenza viruses we have seen so far. The only silver lining in the latest episode is the willingness of China to readily share live virus samples with WHO and other laboratories and upload the genetic sequence of the virus to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database the very same day the first human case of infection was reported. This is a huge leap forward compared with its near secrecy during the 2002 SARS outbreak. But the darker side of data sharing has already reared its ugly head. According to Nature , Novartis in Basel and the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland planned to use the data to make H7N9 vaccines but without informing or involving the Chinese team. Though the issue seems to have been ironed out, the episode brings back memories of what Thailand faced following the H5N1 outbreak. In 2007, the country refused to share samples after an Australian drug company developed a vaccine using the Indonesian strain but without their knowledge or consent.

This episode confirms that GISAID, launched in 2008 to bring in more transparency and engagement, is struggling to fully deliver on its promise.

Niyamgiri

The Supreme Court has strongly endorsed the role of the gram sabhas as democratic decisionmaking fora on issues of individual, community and cultural rights of tribals and traditional forest dwellers. Its recent ruling in the Niyamgiri bauxite mining case has far-reaching impact because environmental laws such as the Forest (Conservation) Act, the Forest Rights Act and the Environment (Protection) Act are given scant respect by industrial project proponents looking for natural resources. This trend has accelerated in recent years, with national development being measured by a single number, the Gross Domestic Product.

Besides this fundamental issue, several key questions relating to negative externalities caused by development projects have also been addressed: diversion of forest land for industry should be compensated through payment of Net Present Value; separate funds must be earmarked for compensatory afforestation and wildlife management; designated pre-tax profits should be allocated for development of scheduled areas. Unfortunately, such basic requirements are often portrayed as impediments to economic growth, and environmental losses stand ignored.

a transparent, independent assessment mechanism to monitor implementation of conditions set for grant of clearance does not exist. In Odisha,

080 pixels, 424ppi 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800

Now that the gram sabhas, and thereafter the MoEF have another opportunity to revisit the Niyamgiri project, they must ensure that tribal rights are recognised. The Supreme Court order is a good precedent for all projects that have environmental and social consequences. Development is a natural aspiration, but it must be genuine and not result in the loss of even the existing quality of life. freewheeling freewheeling

The countrys past unwillingness to call out Chechen extremism and its continuing reluctance to bring in gun control laws expose its double standards on terrorism

The influential group heavily promoted the idea that the Chechen rebellion shows the undemocratic nature of Putins Russia, and cultivates support for the Chechen cause by emphasising the seriousness of human rights violations in the tiny Caucasian republic.

Was Washington happy to countenance violent groups so long as rival Russia and its intractable President Putin faced the heat? In insisting Moscow achieve a political, rather than military, solution wasnt the U.S. administration actually calling on Mr. Putin to negotiate with terrorists, a policy the U.S. resolutely rejects elsewhere?

Approximately 30,000 Americans die of gun violence every year compared to the 17 who died last year in terrorist attacks. On the very same day of the Boston Marathon bombing, 11 Americans were murdered by guns. In the last four months alone 3,531 Americans were killed by guns even more than the number killed on 9/11.

In none of these cases did Second Amendment-warriors attach the terrorist label to the perpetrators. Why are James Holmes, Adam Lanza, Wade Page, and numerous others merely alluded to as disturbed individuals? The Tsarnaevs may be no different from these mass killers, some such as Glen Greenwald have argued, and all of these men are likely to have been driven by a combination of mental illness, societal alienation and mostly apolitical rage.

continuing mandamus continuing mandamus Our first exercise will be to liberate CBI from political interference. This is what the Supreme Court said while deliberating the coal scam status report. It is not the first time that the court will be embarking on such a project. A similar exercise was undertaken after the hawala case judgment on December 17, 1997 Our first exercise will be to liberate CBI from political interference. This is what the Supreme Court said while deliberating the coal scam status report. It is not the first time that the court will be embarking on such a project. A similar exercise was undertaken after the hawala case judgment on December 17, 1997 The CBI had failed to investigate this properly and prosecute those involved. This was done to protect people who were influential and powerful.

The court adopted the procedure of continuing mandamus that allowed it to issue interim orders from time to time. One order was similar to what was done in the coal scam. It asked the CBI not to report the progress of investigations to the person occupying the highest office in the executive. The CBI had failed to investigate this properly and prosecute those involved. This was done to protect people who were influential and powerful.

The court adopted the procedure of continuing mandamus that allowed it to issue interim orders from time to time. One order was similar to what was done in the coal scam. It asked the CBI not to report the progress of investigations to the person occupying the highest office in the executive.

The final judgment of the court comprised various directions to establish institutional and other arrangements aimed at insulating the CBI from extraneous influences. Four of these were important. One, the judgment transferred the superintendence over the CBI from the government to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Two, it said that selection for the post of CBI Director should be made by a committee

Three, the CBI Director should have a minimum tenure of two years, regardless of the date of his superannuation. Four, the CBI would no longer be required to obtain permission from the government before investigating allegations against officers of the rank of joint secretary as the Single Directive was declared null and void.

None of these directives was implemented honestly. Control over the CBI was not fully transferred. The CVC Act of 2003 allowed the CVC to exercise superintendence only over corruption cases registered by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE). The border has not been delineated. Hence it is natural for problems to crop up from time to time, says Chinese Foreign Ministry

p p New Delhi: The Election Commission on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it would convene an all-party meeting on May 10 to decide on changes to be made in the electronic voting machine for introducing the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) System.

Under this system, a voter by pressing a button in the EVM will know the candidate whom he/she is voting through a printing slip which will display the name and go into a box.

The EC would require about 13 lakh EVMs and Rs. 1,690 crore for implementing the scheme, the affidavit said. With Asia still facing many developmental challenges despite remarkable growth in the past few decades, Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Takehiko Nakao on Thursday lamented that the region was still home to over 800 million people steeped in poverty.

With Asia still facing many developmental challenges despite remarkable growth in the past few decades, Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Takehiko Nakao on Thursday lamented that the region was still home to over 800 million people steeped in poverty.

It It is disheartening that in a region of such rapid progress, we still have a population of more than 800 million people living in absolute poverty. This, along with growing inequality, remains an overarching challenge It is disheartening that in a region of such rapid progress, we still have a population of more than 800 million people living in absolute poverty. This, along with growing inequality, remains an overarching challenge

lending agencies such as the ADB were expected to not only extend greater assistance to lift the 800 million out of abject poverty but also help many Asian middle income countries find ways of overcoming the middle income trap, the challenge was all the more great

lending agencies such as the ADB were expected to not only extend greater assistance to lift the 800 million out of abject poverty but also help many Asian middle income countries find ways of overcoming the middle income trap, the challenge was all the more great

Because our income from investments of surplus resources, which is mostly lent to European countries, that return on investment is smaller than expected because of lower interest rates. So we hope to solve this issue of maintaining a sustainable lending level.

Such a prospect did not augur well for India, especially since it was the biggest recipient of ADB assistance. In 2012, it extended loans worth $2.4 billion and the assistance was spread across sectors such as transport, energy, commerce, industry, trade and finance. ADB would still be interested in promoting a number of projects in India that include the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor and other highway and railway projects. ADB would still be interested in promoting a number of projects in India that include the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor and other highway and railway projects. he sought to stress the need for private sector participation in infrastructure projects in emerging economies such as India. http://www.google.com/http://www.google.com/

Indicating the extent of shortfall in infrastructure funding, he pointed out that while the requirement of Asian countries over the 10-year period would be $8 trillion, the banks capacity of extending assistance would be $10 billion. We have to continue to mobilise resources for infrastructure financing through good taxation and mobilise savings of people to investment in infrastructure, he said.

Mr. Nakao said poverty could be eradicated only through infrastructure development and, towards this end, co-financing with the private sector and attracting offshore funds would act as a catalyst in promoting infrastructure finance.

Scientists have found a biological command centre for the ageing process in a lump of brain the size of a nut.

The U.S. team identified the mechanism in the hypothalamus, which sits deep inside the brain, and showed that they could tweak it to shorten or lengthen the lives of animals. Scientists have found a biological command centre for the ageing process in a lump of brain the size of a nut.

The U.S. team identified the mechanism in the hypothalamus, which sits deep inside the brain, and showed that they could tweak it to shorten or lengthen the lives of animals.

The work raises the tantalising prospect of drugs that slow down natural ageing to prolong life in humans, but more crucially to prevent age-related diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimers.

Were very excited about this. It supports the idea that ageing is more than a passive deterioration of different tissues. It is under control, and can be manipulated, said Dongsheng Cai at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

They found that a chemical called NF-kB became more active in the hypothalamus of mice as they got older. When the researchers blocked the substance mice lived up to 1,100 days, compared with 600 to 1,000 days for normal healthy mice. When they boosted NF-kB in mice, they all died within 900 days.

Further work showed that NF-kB lowered levels of a hormone called GnRH, which is better known for the central role it plays in fertility and the development of sperm and eggs. When the scientists gave old mice daily jabs of GnRH they found that this, too, extended the animals lives, and even caused fresh neurons to grow in their brains.

he results could have important implications for our understanding and treatment of age-related diseases. Mr. Cai said there may be several ways to slow down ageing, with drugs that dampen the activity of NF-kB in the brain, or raise levels of GnRH. For now we are going to work on understanding the mechanism, he said.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Mooting a very cautious stand on its forthcoming monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it was left with only very little space for further easing of monetary policy in this current financial year.

Asserting that Indian exporters and entrepreneurs deserved a greater access to Chinese markets in sectors such as pharmaceutical and IT, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, on Thursday, said India had taken up the issue with the Chinese leadership at the highest level.

We have a huge trade deficit with China, and what is a cause of serious worry for us is the composition of trade with China as India remains an exporter of raw material and importer of finished manufactured goods. This is untenable, and we have taken this up at the highest level,

Indias estimated trade deficit of $39.65 billion was in favour of China.

China has emerged as our largest trading partner at $69 billion which is a natural phenomena given our geographical proximity with it,

Referring to the India-EU free trade agreement, Mr. Sharma said the negotiations were at an advanced stage. Our negotiators are working within the defined mandate. The negotiators are taking care of all the sensitivities and concerns of the domestic industry, and ensure that we get more access to markets in sectors such as textiles, pharma and IT, he said. He said the situation in the eurozone continued to be grim. While Japan and the U.S. were facing challenges, parts of North Africa and the Middle East which experienced turbulent uprisings were

yet to find a stable equilibrium. Our initiative of diversification of export market has yielded positive results, he said.

What is a cause of serious worry for us is the composition of trade with China, says Sharma

The venue of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Geneva.

The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, meeting in Geneva, approved non-chemical as well as chemical alternatives to endosulfan on Thursday.

The non-chemical alternatives were proposed in a significant departure from past practice. The evaluation of non-chemical alternatives, as accepted by the conference, consists of an ecosystembased approach to pest management as well as technical interventions.

now that non-chemical alternatives to endosulfan are accepted officially by the UN Convention, there is lot of scope for India and others to explore and be world leaders in providing the solutions to farming

now that non-chemical alternatives to endosulfan are accepted officially by the UN Convention, there is lot of scope for India and others to explore and be world leaders in providing the solutions to farming without poisons. The conference approved as many as 100 chemical alternatives to endosulfan subject to certain reservations. The approved chemical alternatives include pesticides malathion, aldicarb, carbofuran, cabaryl, fipronil, methyl parathion, and pyrethrin, which are used in India.

The decision emphasised the need for further assessment under local conditions prevailing in the context of specific agro-ecosystems and agricultural practices and giving priority to ecosystem-based approaches to pest control

The convention had decided upon phased elimination of endosulfan and its related isomers in 2011 with specific exemptions that included use on multiple crop-pest complexes. As a follow-up to that, it had launched the work programme for evaluating alternatives, as wanted by India and other countries. The review committee was asked to support the development and deployment of alternatives. Of the 110 chemical alternatives considered by the committee, dicofol was dropped as it was considered a potential persistent organic pollutant. Nine others needed further evaluation.

Benin, Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Venezuela, and Togo reported that they had banned endosulfan use and import and were already using alternatives.

Benin, Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Venezuela, and Togo reported that they had banned endosulfan use and import and were already using alternatives.

Irrfan shared the best actor trophy with veteran Marathi actor Vikram Gokhale for his role in Anumati. Actress Usha Jadhav was honoured with the best actress trophy for her portrayal of a rustic housewife in Marathi film Dhag .

Paan Singh Tomar , a biopic on an athlete-turned-dacoit, won the best picture award. The best film trophy comes with a Swarna Kamal and a cash prize of Rs. 2,50,000.

Paan Singh Tomar , a biopic on an athlete-turned-dacoit, won the best picture award. The best film trophy comes with a Swarna Kamal and a cash prize of Rs. 2,50,000.

However, despite a better showing in the third advance estimates released officially here on Friday, the total foodgrains production will be lower by 3.96 million tonnes than the previous years (201112) record production of 259.24 million tonnes. Wheat output then was 94.98 million tonnes and rice was 105.31 million tonnes.

Drought in parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan due to delayed and inadequate monsoon had hit production of coarse cereals and pulses during kharif season but the late rains redeemed the situation.

However, some hail and untimely rain towards the final stages of the rabi season that followed, affected the wheat output in parts of Punjab and Haryana, sources said.

Output of coarse cereals is expected to be 39.52 million tonnes as against 38.47 million tonnes in the earlier estimate.

There has been a slight improvement in the output of pulses from 17.58 million tonnes in the second estimates to 18.00 million tonnes in the third advance estimates, The overall production of oilseeds is expected to be higher at 30.72 million tonnes than the earlier estimate as well as the output in the previous year.

The output of groundnut, however, which was hit by kharif drought in Gujarat and Karnataka, is likely to be lower by 1.53 million tonnes.

Uttarakhand continues to perform well and Uttar Pradesh poorly on key health indicators as per the findings of the Annual Health Survey (AHS) conducted in 284 districts of nine States.

Uttarakhand continues to perform well and Uttar Pradesh poorly on key health indicators as per the findings of the Annual Health Survey (AHS) conducted in 284 districts of nine States.

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Among the major macroeconomic risks, the biggest is the current account deficit, which last year was at its historic high and well above the 2.5 per cent level which the RBI considers to be sustainable. As much as the size of the CAD, its financing exposes the economy to the risk of sudden stop and reversal of capital flows. The advanced economies from where these flows originate themselves face an uncertain economic outlook. Within India, a growth revival is not possible without a revival in investment. But business confidence is at a low and both borrowers and lenders have become risk averse. Finally, the effectiveness of monetary policy in easing inflation pressures could be undermined by supply constraints in the economy, especially in critical areas like food and infrastructure.

The economic vulnerabilities that confront households in the current sluggish recovery from the global meltdown are aggravating the fight against child labour, says the International Labour Organisation. Its latest report emphasises the need for universal coverage of at least a minimum level of social security to help some 215 million working children

Half that number is trapped in the worst forms of child labour work akin to slavery, debt bondage, child prostitution and hazardous occupations harmful to health and safety. To be sure, the number of child workers did drop by some 30 million in the last decade.

To be sure, the number of child workers did drop by some 30 million in the last decade. But job losses in the adult population in the wake of the global financial crisis and shocks related to crop failure and recurrent freak weather patterns are threatening a reversal of recent gains.

Getting kids to go to school, a key priority that drove the abolition campaign a decade ago, is obviously a necessary but not sufficient condition for the eradication of child labour. Surely, there has been a surge in enrolments in recent years and there has even been some talk of devising ways to retain wards beyond primary school. But all of this presupposes a sound overall policy framework to be sustained over the long term.

Correspondingly, cash transfers are known to prove effective in reducing child labour in Asia and Latin America, subject to supply-side conditions such as the availability of education facilities. Similarly, in many African countries where parents have been lost to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, social protection measures such as health insurance, targeted at the elderly, ensure uninterrupted school attendance among children. Correspondingly, cash transfers are known to prove effective in reducing child labour in Asia and Latin America, subject to supply-side conditions such as the availability of education facilities. Similarly, in many African countries where parents have been lost to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, social protection measures such as health insurance, targeted at the elderly, ensure uninterrupted school attendance among children.

Correspondingly, cash transfers are known to prove effective in reducing child labour in Asia and Latin America, subject to supply-side conditions such as the availability of education facilities. Similarly, in many African countries where parents have been lost to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, social protection measures such as health insurance, targeted at the elderly, ensure uninterrupted school attendance among children.

deterrence deterrence deterrence

deterrenc deterrence deterrenc Since India became a declared nuclear weapon state in May 1998, there has been a concerted campaign, particularly by non-proliferation lobbies in western countries, echoed by analysts in China and Pakistan, to spread the notion that Indias strategic programme has been driven by considerations of prestige and propaganda, rather than by any real security threats. Lately such assessments have also begun to emerge from some Indian commentators, who argue that Indias dominant objective was political and technological prestige, while for every other nuclear weapon state it was deterrence.

After the end of the Cold War, a determined attempt was made to legitimise precisely such a division, firstly by making the discriminatory Non-Proliferation Treaty permanent through an amendment adopted in 1995. Then a similar discriminatory Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996 was foisted without any link to the goal of nuclear disarmament, a link that India had consistently insisted upon. These moves would have permanently foreclosed Indias option to acquire a fully tested nuclear weapon arsenal, while those already in possession of nuclear weapons would enjoy an asymmetrical advantage in perpetuity. This would have severely undermined Indias security, making it vulnerable to nuclear threat and blackmail.

Thereafter, the clandestine acquisition of nuclear weapons and missile delivery capabilities by Pakistan, fully supported and assisted by China, created a heightened security threat to India confronted India with a hostile Sino-Pakistan nuclear nexus, which continues to operate even today confronted India with a hostile Sino-Pakistan nuclear nexus, which continues to operate even today

(There are recent indications that China may be revising its no-first use policy.) It is this evolving regional and global security landscape which precipitated Indias decision to carry out a series of tests in May 1998 and declare its status as a nuclear weapon state. It was the quest for security in a hostile and threatening environment that drove the countrys strategic programme, neither prestige nor propaganda

A more recent argument is that since the May 1998 tests, India has not taken credible steps to operationalise its nuclear deterrent. And this demonstrates, it is claimed, that India looks upon its nuclear weapons as a political instrument, a source of prestige, rather than as a deterrent.

In fact, since January 2003, when India adopted its nuclear doctrine formally at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, it has taken a series of graduated steps to put in place a triad of land-based, air-delivered and submarine-based nuclear forces to conform to its declared doctrine of no-first use and retaliation only. at least two legs of the triad are fully operational These include a modest arsenal, nuclear-capable aircraft and missiles, both in fixed underground silos and those mounted on mobile rail and road-based platforms. Land-based missiles include both Agni-II (1500 km) as well as Agni-III (2500 km). The range and accuracy of further versions for example, Agni V (5000 km) which was tested successfully only recently, will improve with the further acquisition of technological capability and experience.

The third leg of the triad is admittedly a work in progress. We need a minimum of three Arihant class nuclear submarines so that at least one will always be at sea. The submarine-based Sagarika missiles have been developed and tested but are still relatively short in range. It is expected that a modest sea-based deterrent will be in place by 2015 or 2016. The National Command Authority (NCA) is in charge of Indias nuclear deterrent. At its apex is the Political Council which is headed by the Prime Minister and includes all the ministerial members of the Cabinet Committee on Security such as the Ministers of Defence, Home and External Affairs. At the next level is the Executive Council which is headed by the National Security Advisor and includes the Chiefs of the three armed forces, the Commander-in-Chief of Indias Strategic Forces Command, a three star officer, among others. There is an alternate NCA which would take up the functions of the nuclear command in case of any contingency that renders the established hierarchy dysfunctional. The NCA has access to radiation hardened and fully secured communication systems, and redundancies have been put in place as back-up facilities.

The NCA works on a two-person rule for access to armaments and delivery systems.

This is clearly not the record of a state which regards its nuclear arsenal as having only symbolic value. While further steps may be required to make our deterrent more robust, it is misleading to spread the notion that it is dysfunctional or worse, that it is non-existent.

Indias nuclear doctrine declares that while India will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, if it is attacked with such weapons, it would engage in nuclear retaliation which will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage on its adversary. The label on a nuclear weapon used for attacking India, strategic or tactical, is irrelevant from the perspective of its doctrine. The security of both India and Pakistan would be enhanced if Pakistan abandoned cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy and instead joined India in the pursuit of nuclear and conventional confidence building measures which are already on our bilateral agenda. An agreement on non-first use of nuclear weapons would be a significant follow-up to the existing bilateral commitment to maintain a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing.

We are now in a classic situation of coercive diplomacy by the Chinese. The Chinese, who have not rescinded from their original position either on the ground or by their words, have given their minimum essential demands to meet their goals, and by asking for patience only imposed a mild degree of urgency on the outcome coercive diplomacy coercive diplomacy

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Google has recognised the Palestinians upgraded U.N. status, placing the name Palestine on its search engine instead of Palestinian Territories, a company spokesman said on Friday.

Italys first black Cabinet Minister, who has been the target of racist slurs following her appointment last week, says Italians arent racist but that some are merely ignorant of other cultures.

Italys first black Cabinet Minister, who has been the target of racist slurs following her appointment last week, says Italians arent racist but that some are merely ignorant of other cultures.

Congolese-born Cecile Kashetu Kyenge held a press conference on Friday to introduce herself to Italians so they could get to know her, saying: I am black. This is important to say. I emphasise it proudly.

The Reserve Bank of India cut its key lending rate by 25 basis points on Friday but bankers said that it was too small to have any impact on retail lending rates immediately.

There is no scope to cut rates. It will depend on the banks if they want to increase credit. As of now, each bank has to assess the competition and their standing. There is nothing to transmit, said Pratip Chaudhuri Chairman, State Bank of India.

The RBI reduced the indicative policy rate (repo rate) from 7.50 per cent to 7.25 per cent. However, it kept the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the portion of total deposits banks are mandated to keep with the central bank, unchanged at 4 per cent. The RBI had cut the CRR in the last nearly one-and-half years by 200 basis points.

Including the latest one, the RBI has cut the repo rate by 125 basis points (one basis point is onehundredth of a percentage point) in the last one year. The hefty 50 basis points cut in April 2012 was followed by 25 basis point cuts each in January and March this year. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the central bank.

The Reserve Bank of India cut its key lending rate by 25 basis points on Friday but bankers said that it was too small to have any impact on retail lending rates immediately.

There is no scope to cut rates. It will depend on the banks if they want to increase credit. As of now, each bank has to assess the competition and their standing. There is nothing to transmit, said Pratip Chaudhuri Chairman, State Bank of India.

The RBI reduced the indicative policy rate (repo rate) from 7.50 per cent to 7.25 per cent. However, it kept the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the portion of total deposits banks are mandated to keep with the central bank, unchanged at 4 per cent. The RBI had cut the CRR in the last nearly one-and-half years by 200 basis points.

Including the latest one, the RBI has cut the repo rate by 125 basis points (one basis point is onehundredth of a percentage point) in the last one year. The hefty 50 basis points cut in April 2012 was followed by 25 basis point cuts each in January and March this year. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the central bank. India on Saturday announced its participation in the Chabahar port project a move that would reinforce New Delhis strategic ties with Tehran and Kabul ahead of next years withdrawal from Afghanistan by the United States.

The decision to forge a trilateral partnership was announced in Tehran by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

The convergence of views between India and Iran goes beyond the ambit of bilateral relations and extends to the regional and international arena as well. The Chabahar port project is one such area which reflects our commitment to the stability and peace in Afghanistan. Analysts point out that Indias participation in the upgradation of Chabahar port has deep geopolitical resonance. The full development of the Chabahar port would lower landlocked Afghanistans dependence on Pakistani ports for assured access to the sea.

Analysts point out that Indias participation in the upgradation of Chabahar port has deep geopolitical resonance. The full development of the Chabahar port would lower landlocked Afghanistans dependence on Pakistani ports for assured access to the sea.

Besides, the trilateral arrangement could balance joint forays by China and Pakistan in the Indian Ocean. In February, Pakistan decided that China would operate its Gwadar port, just 76 km from Chabahar.

Besides, the trilateral arrangement could balance joint forays by China and Pakistan in the Indian Ocean. In February, Pakistan decided that China would operate its Gwadar port, just 76 km from Chabahar.

For the first time, Gwadar would provide Chinese ships sustained anchorage in an area on the edge of the Arabian Sea, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, through which the bulk of the worlds energy supplies pass. Observers say the development of Gwadar may have imparted some urgency to Indias decision to go ahead with the Chabahar project.

Mr. Khurshid stressed that India, Iran and Afghanistan should sign a parallel transit agreement to streamline their logistical lines.

lull before the storm lull before the storm Even as Indias Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is yet to be fully implemented under its second phase, the governments flagship programme on distribution of entitlements to the poor came in for praise by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

I think it is a great effort. We are learning a lot from India. You are now building a bio-information [system] and then you are providing direct subsidy without any intermediary. That would significantly reduce corruption and inefficiencie as a way to enhance public finance and as a way to enhance transparency.

m3

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A recent research on the safety of GM (genetically modified) foods has exposed the folly of limiting earlier researches to just 90 days as it found that many of the serious health problems appear after 90 days

Before this, most research on rats regarding safety of GM foods had been conducted for only 90 days

Before this, most research on rats regarding safety of GM foods had been conducted for only 90 days shown that among the rats fed on GM food (maize), female rats died two to three times more compared to female rats not fed GM food (controls). Similarly health problems relating to liver, kidney and tumours were much more severe in female rats fed on GM crop compared to controls. Male rats fed on GM food also had much higher incidence of tumours shown that among the rats fed on GM food (maize), female rats died two to three times more compared to female rats not fed GM food (controls). Similarly health problems relating to liver, kidney and tumours were much more severe in female rats fed on GM crop compared to controls. Male rats fed on GM food also had much higher incidence of tumours It is believed that the short duration of observation was due to pressure of corporate interests.

The fundamental problem of the way in which GM foods have been approved is that they havent really been tested properly at all. All that has happened is something which I would characterise as an exercise in wishful thinking. Despite the efforts by big GM corporations to direct research along lines convenient to them, warnings relating to serious health hazards of GM crops and GMOs (genetically modified organisms)

have the support of some of the worlds most eminent and well-qualified independent scientists and experts in the field.

concluded that many GM crops contain gene products known to be harmful. For example, the Bt proteins that kill pests include potent immunogens and allergens. Food crops are increasingly being engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, drugs and vaccines in the open environment, exposing people to the danger of inappropriate medication and their harmful side effects. Herbicides tolerant GM crops are tied to the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium. These have been linked to spontaneous abortions, birth defects and other serious health problems for human beings, animals and soil-organisms. GM varieties are unstable, with the potential to create new viruses and bacteria that cause diseases, and to disrupt gene function in animal and human cells. More recently, 17 distinguished scientists from Europe, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister of India: GM transformation can produce novel biochemical processes that are unpredictable and for which there is no natural history to assume are safe.

Of greatest concern is that studies show negative health effects with GM crops that have already been approved and which have been grown commercially for 10-13 year

Watchable Rating: 7 / 10

Kaliyikkavila

Of greatest concern is that studies show negative health effects with GM crops that have already been approved and which have been grown commercially for 10-13 year his highlights the inadequacy of the original criteria and set of data on the basis of which marketing approval was and is still being granted. In the more specific context of Bt brinjal, this letter said, Bt toxin is a proven potent immunogen raising justifiable concerns that it can give rise to allergic reactions. Animals fed diets containing Bt corn have shown signs of direct toxicity. Independent re-evaluation of Monsantos own research on their Bt corn crops shows negative health effects even in short-term (90-day) animal feeding studies raw experimental data of animal feeding studies with Bt brinjal shows highly statistically significant negative signs of toxicity on the functioning of multiple organ systems such as liver, kidney, blood and pancreas in all animals tested (especially rats, rabbits and goats). It is very important to note that these adverse effects were observed after only at most, a 90-day feeding time, which raises serious concerns about the safety of consuming this product over an entire lifetime. Long-term (at least two-year) animal feeding studies were not done and are stated as not required by the apex regulator, contrary to the science, which requires these studies to detect chronic slow-onset toxicity and cancer. The executive implements government policy and our job as external auditor is to audit the governments expenditures and implementation of policies, post the events. We believe that we are as much in the process of upgrading governance as anybody else is. We do not question policy. We only audit implementation.

rave review

rave

P.V. Sindhu reaffirmed her status as the rising star of Indian badminton as she lifted her maiden Grand Prix Gold title in Malaysia after getting the better of Juan Gu of Singapore in a gruelling final here on Saturday.

He alluded to the off-shore Farzad B project where Indian companies could acquire oil under a lucrative production sharing agreement. On his part, Mr. Khurshid tuned the attention of his hosts to the merits of expanding Indias role in Irans food security basket. Israeli warplanes hit a weapons shipment in Syria headed for Lebanons Hezbollah, media quoted U.S. officials as saying, with a diplomatic source reporting on Saturday that the strikes targeted arms stored at Damascus airport.

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/tech/2013/07/top-best-new-free-android-games-2013/ Skater California Skater California is a new skating game from Skater Skate. Players can choose from 6 different characters, and skate their way through 100 challenging levels. Test your skills and have fun riding hills, railings, ramps, and jumps, while listening to hip-hop music. Collect trophies and coins to unlock new levels. Bonuses include new decks, trucks, and wheels. You can download Skater California from the Google Play Store here. Top 10 Battery Saving Apps for Android Phones and Tablets | HEAVY Here are 10 easy to use apps that will improve battery life on your Android phone or tablet. Click here to read more 10. Space Hero Space Hero is the latest game from FT Games. Jump from planet to planet, and defeat evil monsters along the way. Use power-ups to take your score into the next dimension. Kill as many evil monsters as you can, and make your way to the

leaderboards. If you run out of energy, the game will be over, so move fast! Space Hero is fun and extremely addicting. You can download Space Hero from the Google Play Store here. Top 10 Best TV and Movie Streaming Apps for Android | HEAVY Here's a list of the best TV and movie streaming apps for Android, available in Google Play. Click here to read more SHARE THIS ARTICLE FOLLOW HEAVY ... Share Follow Heavy Related Items Amazing Alex, Android, Android Apps, Android Games, Apps, Busy Beaver, Eden to Green, Empire Four Kingdoms, Fishing Game, Games, Google Play, Kavinsky, Pocket League Story 2, Retroid, Rivals at War: 2084, Skater California, Space Hero, Technology RESPOND TO THIS 1 comment Sign in13 people listening + FollowPost comment as... Newest | Oldest androidoyun Jul 24, 2013 new android oyunlar ShareFlagLikeReply Will Google Glass Spy on You? Google May Not Mind MORE TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW Next

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/tech/2013/07/top-best-new-free-android-games-2013/

The Reserve Bank of India cut its key lending rate by 25 basis points on Friday but bankers said that it was too small to have any impact on retail lending rates immediately.

There is no scope to cut rates. It will depend on the banks if they want to increase credit. As of now, each bank has to assess the competition and their standing. There is nothing to transmit, said Pratip Chaudhuri Chairman, State Bank of India.

The RBI reduced the indicative policy rate (repo rate) from 7.50 per cent to 7.25 per cent. However, it kept the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the portion of total deposits banks are mandated to keep with the central bank, unchanged at 4 per cent. The RBI had cut the CRR in the last nearly one-and-half years by 200 basis points.

Including the latest one, the RBI has cut the repo rate by 125 basis points (one basis point is onehundredth of a percentage point) in the last one year. The hefty 50 basis points cut in April 2012 was

followed by 25 basis point cuts each in January and March this year. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the central bank. India on Saturday announced its participation in the Chabahar port project a move that would reinforce New Delhis strategic ties with Tehran and Kabul ahead of next years withdrawal from Afghanistan by the United States.

The decision to forge a trilateral partnership was announced in Tehran by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

The convergence of views between India and Iran goes beyond the ambit of bilateral relations and extends to the regional and international arena as well. The Chabahar port project is one such area which reflects our commitment to the stability and peace in Afghanistan. Analysts point out that Indias participation in the upgradation of Chabahar port has deep geopolitical resonance. The full development of the Chabahar port would lower landlocked Afghanistans dependence on Pakistani ports for assured access to the sea.

Analysts point out that Indias participation in the upgradation of Chabahar port has deep geopolitical resonance. The full development of the Chabahar port would lower landlocked Afghanistans dependence on Pakistani ports for assured access to the sea.

Besides, the trilateral arrangement could balance joint forays by China and Pakistan in the Indian Ocean. In February, Pakistan decided that China would operate its Gwadar port, just 76 km from Chabahar.

Besides, the trilateral arrangement could balance joint forays by China and Pakistan in the Indian Ocean. In February, Pakistan decided that China would operate its Gwadar port, just 76 km from Chabahar.

For the first time, Gwadar would provide Chinese ships sustained anchorage in an area on the edge of the Arabian Sea, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, through which the bulk of the worlds energy supplies pass. Observers say the development of Gwadar may have imparted some urgency to Indias decision to go ahead with the Chabahar project.

Mr. Khurshid stressed that India, Iran and Afghanistan should sign a parallel transit agreement to streamline their logistical lines.

lull before the storm lull before the storm Even as Indias Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is yet to be fully implemented under its second phase, the governments flagship programme on distribution of entitlements to the poor came in for praise by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

I think it is a great effort. We are learning a lot from India. You are now building a bio-information [system] and then you are providing direct subsidy without any intermediary. That would significantly reduce corruption and inefficiencie as a way to enhance public finance and as a way to enhance transparency.

m3

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A recent research on the safety of GM (genetically modified) foods has exposed the folly of limiting earlier researches to just 90 days as it found that many of the serious health problems appear after 90 days

Before this, most research on rats regarding safety of GM foods had been conducted for only 90 days

Before this, most research on rats regarding safety of GM foods had been conducted for only 90 days shown that among the rats fed on GM food (maize), female rats died two to three times more compared to female rats not fed GM food (controls). Similarly health problems relating to liver, kidney and tumours were much more severe in female rats fed on GM crop compared to controls. Male rats fed on GM food also had much higher incidence of tumours shown that among the rats fed on GM food (maize), female rats died two to three times more compared to female rats not fed GM food (controls). Similarly health problems relating to liver, kidney and tumours were much more severe in female rats fed on GM crop compared to controls. Male rats fed on GM food also had much higher incidence of tumours It is believed that the short duration of observation was due to pressure of corporate interests.

The fundamental problem of the way in which GM foods have been approved is that they havent really been tested properly at all. All that has happened is something which I would characterise as an exercise in wishful thinking. Despite the efforts by big GM corporations to direct research along lines convenient to them, warnings relating to serious health hazards of GM crops and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have the support of some of the worlds most eminent and well-qualified independent scientists and experts in the field.

concluded that many GM crops contain gene products known to be harmful. For example, the Bt proteins that kill pests include potent immunogens and allergens. Food crops are increasingly being

engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, drugs and vaccines in the open environment, exposing people to the danger of inappropriate medication and their harmful side effects. Herbicides tolerant GM crops are tied to the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium. These have been linked to spontaneous abortions, birth defects and other serious health problems for human beings, animals and soil-organisms. GM varieties are unstable, with the potential to create new viruses and bacteria that cause diseases, and to disrupt gene function in animal and human cells. More recently, 17 distinguished scientists from Europe, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister of India: GM transformation can produce novel biochemical processes that are unpredictable and for which there is no natural history to assume are safe.

Of greatest concern is that studies show negative health effects with GM crops that have already been approved and which have been grown commercially for 10-13 year

Watchable Rating: 7 / 10

Kaliyikkavila

Of greatest concern is that studies show negative health effects with GM crops that have already been approved and which have been grown commercially for 10-13 year his highlights the inadequacy of the original criteria and set of data on the basis of which marketing approval was and is still being granted. In the more specific context of Bt brinjal, this letter said, Bt toxin is a proven potent immunogen raising justifiable concerns that it can give rise to allergic reactions. Animals fed diets containing Bt corn have shown signs of direct toxicity. Independent re-evaluation of Monsantos own research on their Bt corn crops shows negative health effects even in short-term (90-day) animal feeding studies raw experimental data of animal feeding studies with Bt brinjal shows highly statistically significant negative signs of toxicity on the functioning of multiple organ systems such as liver, kidney, blood and pancreas in all animals tested (especially rats, rabbits and goats). It is very important to note that these adverse effects were observed after only at most, a 90-day feeding time, which raises serious concerns about the safety of consuming this product over an entire lifetime. Long-term (at least two-year) animal feeding studies were not done and are stated as not required by the apex regulator, contrary to the science, which requires these studies to detect chronic slow-onset toxicity and cancer. The executive implements government policy and our job as external auditor is to audit the governments expenditures and implementation of policies, post the events. We believe that we are as much in the process of upgrading governance as anybody else is. We do not question policy. We only audit implementation.

rave review rave

P.V. Sindhu reaffirmed her status as the rising star of Indian badminton as she lifted her maiden Grand Prix Gold title in Malaysia after getting the better of Juan Gu of Singapore in a gruelling final here on Saturday.

He alluded to the off-shore Farzad B project where Indian companies could acquire oil under a lucrative production sharing agreement. On his part, Mr. Khurshid tuned the attention of his hosts to the merits of expanding Indias role in Irans food security basket. Israeli warplanes hit a weapons shipment in Syria headed for Lebanons Hezbollah, media quoted U.S. officials as saying, with a diplomatic source reporting on Saturday that the strikes targeted arms stored at Damascus airport.

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/tech/2013/07/top-best-new-free-android-games-2013/ Skater California Skater California is a new skating game from Skater Skate. Players can choose from 6 different characters, and skate their way through 100 challenging levels. Test your skills and have fun riding hills, railings, ramps, and jumps, while listening to hip-hop music. Collect trophies and coins to unlock new levels. Bonuses include new decks, trucks, and wheels. You can download Skater California from the Google Play Store here. Top 10 Battery Saving Apps for Android Phones and Tablets | HEAVY Here are 10 easy to use apps that will improve battery life on your Android phone or tablet. Click here to read more 10. Space Hero Space Hero is the latest game from FT Games. Jump from planet to planet, and defeat evil monsters along the way. Use power-ups to take your score into the next dimension. Kill as many evil monsters as you can, and make your way to the leaderboards. If you run out of energy, the game will be over, so move fast! Space Hero is fun and extremely addicting. You can download Space Hero from the Google Play Store here. Top 10 Best TV and Movie Streaming Apps for Android | HEAVY Here's a list of the best TV and movie streaming apps for Android, available in Google Play. Click here to read more SHARE THIS ARTICLE FOLLOW HEAVY ... Share Follow Heavy Related Items Amazing Alex, Android, Android Apps, Android Games, Apps, Busy Beaver, Eden to Green, Empire Four Kingdoms, Fishing Game, Games, Google Play, Kavinsky, Pocket League Story 2, Retroid, Rivals at War: 2084, Skater California, Space Hero, Technology RESPOND TO THIS 1 comment Sign in13 people listening + FollowPost comment as... Newest | Oldest androidoyun Jul 24, 2013 new android oyunlar ShareFlagLikeReply Will Google Glass Spy on You? Google May Not Mind MORE TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW Next

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/tech/2013/07/top-best-new-free-android-games-2013/

9.82623,76.367542 9.82623,76.367542

Untitled By bringing in the solar purchase obligation, the Tamil Nadu government has created the basis for the development of solar power in the State. In other words, it has created the demand. The SPO makes it mandatory for certain classes of electricity consumers to get a part of their consumption from solar plants.

detre detre raison detre

Those who put up the plants can be divided into four broad classes Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who put up large-scale projects and sell the electricity; industries that wish to put up solar projects on premises either for energy security and/or for meeting the SPO; educational institutions which may want to put up rooftop solar plants either to meet their obligations or expose their students to this technology; and households.

The Tamil Nadu Solar Policy was introduced in October last. Till then, the State had solar power capacity of 7 megawatts (MW). Now, as a consequence of a tender floated by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO), at least 226-MW worth of projects are very likely to be set up within a year.

Given the level of interest among developers, it is not inconceivable that the State could end up with 1,000 MW in the next couple of years.

For large industries, such as automotive companies, it is cheaper to put up their own rooftop or ground-mounted plants than to buy solar power to meet their SPO. Many companies are planning such projects.

A good example is that of the Daimler plant near Chennai, which produces Daimler Benz trucks. The company has set up a 300-kilowatt (kW) rooftop plant and has said it will do more.

For colleges and schools, it makes sense to put up a solar plant on their own roofs, rather than buy power from elsewhere. Just as for industries, the availability of large roof space is an advantage for colleges. Large amounts of computer equipment from Dell have been sold to the Syrian government through a Dubai-based distributor despite strict trade sanctions intended to ban the selling of technology to the regime, according to documents obtained by The New York Times .

Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari inaugurated the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED) here on Saturday. The Centre has been set up by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and seeks to establish a global Centre of Excellence to improve accountability and governance in the area of environment and sustainable development.

Diplomacy finally won the day as India and China ended their three-week stand-off in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector in eastern Ladakh.

Diplomacy finally won the day as India and China ended their three-week stand-off in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector in eastern Ladakh.

Nominal quantity dark Horse

Gender needs to be consensual, argued the recently released study report on Queer Person Assigned Gender Female at Birth (PAGFB) by LABIA A Queer Feminist Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LBT) collective.

LABIA, a Mumbai-based autonomous, voluntary collective, with a focus on queer and feminist activism, released the report last week here. Queer

The report has highlighted the specific ways in which they are isolated, harassed and discriminated against in every sphere, both personal and public. The names in the report have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees.

The authors of the report arrived at the term PAGFB independently during the discussion in the context of the study. It reflects the understanding that none of us is born with a readymade gender; gender is assigned to us at birth based on the traditional conflation of sex, particularly, of the external genitalia, with gender. This assigned gender may or may not match a persons own sense of gender. All respondents of this study are PAGFB, though not all of them belong to the female gender or consider themselves as women.

The authors of the report arrived at the term PAGFB independently during the discussion in the context of the study. It reflects the understanding that none of us is born with a readymade gender; gender is assigned to us at birth based on the traditional conflation of sex, particularly, of the external genitalia, with gender. This assigned gender may or may not match a persons own sense of gender. All respondents of this study are PAGFB, though not all of them belong to the female gender or consider themselves as women.

Considering the patriarchal nature of our society, all PAGFB tend to face greater violence and discrimination within the family. And when non-normative gender and sexuality enter the equation, things become even worse

Natal families emerge in this study as one of the most important sites for intervention, so that they can become supportive and safe spaces that allow the young to make real choices, even if these do not conform to the norms of the world around and in order to alter societys prescriptions around gender and sexuality, Natal families emerge in this study as one of the most important sites for intervention, so that they can become supportive and safe spaces that allow the young to make real choices, even if these do not conform to the norms of the world around and in order to alter societys prescriptions around gender and sexuality, The report stresses upon the need of PAGFBs to be financially independent

aegis aegis As Nepal finally goes ahead with long-overdue plans to examine the feasibility of launching its first satellite before 2015, the country may turn to China, which has in recent years helped a number of developing countries, including some of Indias neighbours, with financial and technological assistance for their satellite programmes.

An orbital slot provided by the International Telecommunication Union to Nepal many years ago will expire in 2015, prompting Kathmandu to embark on the long-discussed project with new-found urgency. Chinas Great Wall Industry Corporation (GWIC), which has helped launch satellites for a number of developing countries, from Pakistan and Sri Lanka to Bolivia and Nigeria, is expected to make a pitch for cooperating with Nepal on the project, having voiced its interest in principle in the past to Nepali diplomats. GWIC is also in talks with Bangladesh over its satellite programme. Chinas dual offers of technological assistance and financial support through favourable loans from the China Development Bank have found favour with many developing countries.

Chinas recent success in launching satellites, particularly for countries in Indias neighbourhood, has concerned New Delhi, with officials from different government ministries meeting last month to come up with a strategy to respond to Chinas moves.

abinet Committee on Security in March asked the Indian Space Research Organisation to become more active in responding to neighbours needs after reports from the Research & Analysis Wing highlighted how Indias lack of interest in the recent past had enabled Chinas fast-expanding success in this field.

Mutations in DARS gene responsible for inherited brain disorder, says team

In a discovery that would pave way for diagnosis and treatment of children with genetic diseases, a global team of researchers comprising two Delhi doctors has identified the causative gene behind the motor developmental delay found that mutations in the DARS gene were responsible for causing inherited brain disorder, HBSL (Hypomyelination with Brain Stem and Spinal Cord Involvement and Leg Spasticity). found that mutations in the DARS gene were responsible for causing inherited brain disorder, HBSL (Hypomyelination with Brain Stem and Spinal Cord Involvement and Leg Spasticity).

They have named the disease HBSL because it causes Hypomyelination in the brain stem and spinal cord leading to leg spasticity. Hypomyelination occurs when people do not have enough myelin, the

substance that coats nerve fibres and enables the transmission of electrical impulses in the nervous system. at present between 30 and 40 per cent of patients with intellectual disability go undiagnosed in India. at present between 30 and 40 per cent of patients with intellectual disability go undiagnosed in India. Even in the wake of constraints on its lending resources, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Sunday made a commitment of sorts to maintain an assistance quantum of about $6 billion loan to India over the next three years.

Even in the wake of constraints on its lending resources, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Sunday made a commitment of sorts to maintain an assistance quantum of about $6 billion loan to India over the next three years.

Manila-based multilateral institution

ADB will maintain its lending level to India, approximately $2 billion over next three years. We are now working on the country partnership strategy and we are planning to maintain the level of lending to India. In 2012, the lending agency had extended a total loan assistance worth $ 2.4 billion to India spread across diverse sectors such as transport, energy, commerce, industry, trade and finance.

The ADB chief also indicated that the bank would maintain its loan assistance quantum of $10 billion each year to member-nations despite the low returns on investments, a major resource challenge which would require urgent attention. We will look at all options for ensuring that our lending level remains adequate, he said.

Unsafe abortions killing a woman every two hours

in this country While Indias MMR has declined from 254 per 1,00,000 live births in 2004-06 to 212 in 2007-09, no recent incidence study provides data after 2002-03 on unsafe abortions abortion-related deaths contribute to 8 per cent of (around 4,600 deaths annually) of all maternal deaths in India. Ipas calculations, using national census and SRS data, indicates that one woman dies of abortion-related causes every two hours

exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala

Vinoj Manning, country director, Ipas, India, said abortion deaths are under-reported. A Lancet paper in 2007 said there were 6.4 million abortions, of which 3.6 million or 56 per cent were unsafe

It is feared that expanding the base of providers for abortion will lead to more sex-selective abortions. However, Ipas said 80-90 per cent abortions in the country take place in the first trimester and sex determination takes place in the second trimester. Women also delay abortion till the second trimester for reasons other than sex selection.

In the absence of safe legal options, women opt for backroom procedures which can be fatal. The proposed amendments to the MTP Act are aimed at increasing the availability of safe and legal abortion services.

most abortion seekers are married women who want to limit their families or space their children. Though awareness of family planning was high, women were not always able to use it because of cost, non-availability or lack of permission from husbands apart from fear of side effects. Additionally, women were hesitant to visit public hospitals because of long waiting times or unsympathetic attitude of staff or because doctors insisted on the husbands signature.

It could not have been more poignant than this when a sea of humanity in the heart of the rainstarved Saurashtra region in Gujarat took a pledge here on Sunday to conserve water by adopting drip irrigation on a massive scale and check the mining of groundwater.

It was Mr. Sawanis efforts that inspired the BJPs Keshubhai Patel government in 2000 to come up with a check dam scheme, in which the State would bear 60 per cent of the cost and the villagers would share 40 per cent. The Narendra Modi government has continued to encourage the construction of check dams. Under this scheme, the Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust was instrumental in getting 300 big check dams, above Rs. 50 lakh, built. This is besides 9,000 smaller dams and the revival of more than 22,000 check dams.

Additional Director of Information Abhay Rawal told The Hindu that because of this joint effort, the States agricultural production has jumped to an estimated Rs. 39,000 crore for the past few years from Rs. 9,000 crore earlier. We were able to tap the scarce rainfall effectively by these check dams, he added.

He said the government had also taken up desilting work in all dams in the State along with the deepening of wells.

Mr. Modi said the government was also in the process of launching a campaign for desalination of sea water taking advantage of Gujarats 1,600-km coastline. Simultaneously, there was an ambitious

plan to recycle waste water generated in 50 towns of the State and this would also help farmers on the outskirts of these cities.

One drop, more crop this is the governments motto, Antibiotics, once hailed as the bedrock of modern medicine, may not work on infections in the next ten years as their indiscriminate use had spawned drug resistant bacteria Antibiotics, once hailed as the bedrock of modern medicine, may not work on infections in the next ten years as their indiscriminate use had spawned drug resistant bacteria

Though bacterial resistance to common antibiotics was a world-wide concern, the magnitude of the problem was much more in India across the three main classes of superbugs Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobact.

Dr. Rodrigues also overturned several entrenched notions. For one, unlike what many medical practitioners would like to believe, stopping the use of antibiotics would not make the resistant bacteria go away. Another pertained to the practice of treating ICUs like fortresses from which even family members were barred. A family member is less likely to propagate cross-transmission than doctors or nurses who interact with all the patients, she said I dont see a future for antibiotics. Perhaps what clinicians can do is to delay the onset of resistance by revisiting the duration of course and keeping it to five days, she said.

I dont see a future for antibiotics. Perhaps what clinicians can do is to delay the onset of resistance by revisiting the duration of course and keeping it to five days, she said.

The focus needs to be directed at improving public sanitation conditions as large amounts of consumed antibiotics are excreted by the human body, making sewers happy breeding grounds for bacterial organisms to churn out superbugs, the microbiologist said

The Supreme Court, in the course of just one month, has rendered two judgments that appear to be contradictory. As both the judgments have been rendered by the same Bench, comprising two judges, they need to be studied closely, to arrive at the law.

The source of law for both the judgments is the Supreme Courts five-Judge Constitution Benchs judgment in Triveniben (1989), which had held that undue long delay in execution of the sentence of death would entitle the convict to approach the Supreme Court under Article 32. The Court, however, had added a rider that it would examine only the nature of delay caused and the circumstances that ensued after the sentence was fully confirmed by the judicial process. More important, the Court had made it clear that the delay jurisdiction would not enable the Court to reopen the conclusions reached by the Court while finally maintaining the sentence of death

The success of a parliamentary democracy depended on maintaining a fine balance between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, President Pranab Mukherjee said here on Sunday as he called upon the judiciary to come up with a mechanism to self-discipline itself to maintain the balance.

The success of a parliamentary democracy depended on maintaining a fine balance between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, President Pranab Mukherjee said here on Sunday as he called upon the judiciary to come up with a mechanism to self-discipline itself to maintain the balance.

Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari inaugurated the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED) here on Saturday. The Centre has been set up by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and seeks to establish a global Centre of Excellence to improve accountability and governance in the area of environment and sustainable development.

The Institute aims to harness Indias expertise in conducting over a 100 environment audits in the last 20 years to provide extensive training and an international forum for experience sharing in this field. iCED is also the Global Training Facility for The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions which is an organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions worldwide. It is amongst the first government buildings in India to have a 5 star green rating as per Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment norms. the importance of environment audit has been compounded by the ever increasing expenditure on protection and conservation of environment; growing international commitments made by India as state party to various global treaties and conventions; introduction of laws and regulations aimed at controlling degradation of environment; and the increasing environmental awareness as corroborated by various grassroots green movements across India. the importance of environment audit has been compounded by the ever increasing expenditure on protection and conservation of environment; growing international commitments made by India as state party to various global treaties and conventions; introduction of laws and regulations aimed at controlling degradation of environment; and the increasing environmental awareness as corroborated by various grassroots green movements across India.

The most recent round of nuclear talks between the P5+1 were, by any meaningful measure, a failure.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton had to acknowledge that western members of the P5+1 and Iran remain far apart on substance.

Western officials blame the failure either on the Islamic Republics upcoming presidential election or on that old fallback, Iranian intransigence. In reality, talks failed because America and its western partners remain unwilling to recognise Irans right to enrich uranium under international safeguards.

meteor shower

As a sovereign state, Iran is entitled to enrich, if it chooses; as a party to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT), it is entitled to do so under safeguards. The NPT explicitly recognises signatories inalienable right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. That this inalienable right includes the right to enrich is clear from the NPT itself, its negotiating history, and decades of state practice, with at least a dozen non-weapons state parties having developed safeguarded fuelcycle infrastructures potentially able to support weapons programmes.

If Washington recognised Irans right to enrich, a nuclear deal with Tehran could be reached in a matter of weeks. As long as Washington refuses to acknowledge Tehrans nuclear rights, no substantial agreement will be possible.

the real reason for U.S. obstinacy is that recognising Irans nuclear rights would mean accepting the Islamic Republic as a legitimate entity representing legitimate national interests. No American administration since the Iranian Revolution not even that of Barack Hussein Obama has been willing to do this. ??????????????? ????????? ????????? ??????. ROFL .... enthellam kananam daivame ...!! samaram kazhinjaalum vazhiyil irangaan pattatha avastha aavumo ??

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ROFL .... enthellam kananam daivame ...!! samaram kazhinjaalum vazhiyil irangaan pattatha avastha aavumo ??

????????????? ??????????? ?????????????? ????????????? ?????? ??????????????? ???????? ???????????????.... ... . ???? ????????? ????????? ??????????? ???????. ??????????????? ????????? ????????? ??????. ......!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROFL ....

?????????? ????? ????? .... ??????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ????? .... http://www.indiavisiontv.com/2013/08/11/241562.html#.UgcDxxEQuqU.facebook

Washingtons unwillingness is grounded in some unattractive, but fundamental, aspects of American strategic culture: difficulty in coming to terms with independent power centres (whether globally or in vital regions like the Middle East); hostility to non-liberal states, unless they subordinate their foreign policies to U.S. preferences (as Egypt did under Sadat and Mubarak); and an unreflective but deeply rooted sense that U.S.-backed norms, legal rules, and transnational decision-making processes are meant to constrain others, not America itself. ROFL .... ?????????? ????? ????? .... ??????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ????? .... (http://www.indiavisiontv.com/2013/08/11/241562.html#.UgcDxxEQuqU.facebook)

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Tony Thomas shared "Unaku ok sonnala nambavae mudiyala, its a medical miracle"'s photo. Ananthu As commented on Azhar Shajahan's photo: "Ethu njan edutha photo aanallo..."

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Tony Thomas shared "Unaku ok sonnala nambavae mudiyala, its a medical miracle"'s photo. Ananthu As commented on Azhar Shajahan's photo: "Ethu njan edutha photo aanallo..." Ameya Bharat Bhagwat commented on Saiprasad Nimbalkar's status: "Okkk! It is

??? ??????? ??? ??????????? ????????????? ????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ????????????????????? ??????. Oraalude Peru undel aale trace cheyyan pattatha naadano India ... Aa entrance ezhuthiyorudev list eduthal mathiyallo ..if not those who applied ..details kittathille ...Facebook mathiyakumallo

Mukkinu mukkinu camera undallo ..specific date um undu ..Aa rare car Kandu pidikkan pattathille ..

Villainte mukham 3 perkku vyakthamayittu ariram..enthe padam varappikkunjilla ..otta thavana kanda aalude plolum rekhachithram manyamayi varakkum nammade police ...

Facebook illel voter pattika nokkanam ... 1000 per kanumo Vimala Menon ... Take each of them ... They aren't even trying any of these possibilities ...

i'm not considering any of the gimmicks ... just the logic of investigation ... koothara vellamadi okke pokatte

aa police surgeon te phone off ayathu evude vacha ennu trace cheyyunne illallo ... why ?? they might get a lead ... distance okke pinne pokatte ..kshamikkam..kurachu aanukoolyam ...

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18:50 BST. 18:50 BST. 18:50 BST. 18:50 BST.

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the importance of environment audit has been compounded by the ever increasing expenditure on protection and conservation of environment; growing international commitments made by India as state party to various global treaties and conventions; introduction of laws and regulations aimed at controlling degradation of environment; and the increasing environmental awareness as corroborated by various grassroots green movements across India

Hoping that iCED will become a world class centre in environment audit and sustainable development issues: Rai

The iCED facility is conceived as a green building, efforts to be taken to reduce its carbon footprints

For a variety of reasons but mainly to step up the number of interactions with the financial markets the RBI now has a policy statement eight times a year or roughly one every 45 days. Apart from the annual policy statement there are quarterly reviews and mid-quarter reviews. For the common man, the policy statements matter mainly because they convey interest rate changes. That is understandable because interest rates are something most people relate to, either

as borrowers or depositors. But over the medium-term at least, it is hoped that even ordinary citizens will be able to appreciate the macro-economic circumstances that have prompted the interest rate changes (or preserved the status quo) in the first place.

The RBI cut the policy repo rate by 0.25 percentage points to 7.25 but left the cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged even though a reduction might have helped as there is certain tightness in the money markets.

The intention is to rely on open market operations (OMOs) rather than on CRR cut to manage liquidity. Besides, a repo rate cut works best if liquidity is in relative short-supply. That, however, does not automatically ensure that monetary transmission, in this case, the repo rate reduction, will translate into lower interest rates of banks. As banks are quick to point out a repo rate reduction does not ensure a larger availability of funds, it can at best lead to an interest rate softening over time. But then at lower interest rates bank deposits might become unattractive.

The RBI has been influenced by rapidly decelerating growth recently and the inflation outlook. From a 9.2 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2010-11 economic growth slumped to 4.2 per cent in the third quarter of last year. Although wholesale price index (WPI) inflation had eased by March, food price pressures persist and supply side constraints are endemic.

0.0165 In a statement that is bound to catch popular imagination, the RBI says that both borrowers and lenders have become risk averse, the former because of governance concerns, delays in approvals and tight liquidity and the latter due to rising non-performing assets and heightened risk premia. Finally, the RBI once again renews its call for easing supply side constraints, notably in food and infrastructure without which the effectiveness of monetary policy to contain inflation and anchor inflation expectations will be undermined.

RBI: The effectiveness of monetary policy in bringing down inflation could be undermined by supply constraints in the economy, particularly in the food and infrastructure sectors. Without policy effortsgrowth could weaken even further and inflationary strains could re-emerge.

Finance Ministry: We believe there will be enough incentive to certainly look positively at the rate cut but I am not predicting, I am not even demanding, I am only stating how I see the situation on the ground.

Washingtons unwillingness is grounded in some unattractive, but fundamental, aspects of American strategic culture: difficulty in coming to terms with independent power centres (whether globally or in vital regions like the Middle East); hostility to non-liberal states, unless they subordinate their foreign policies to U.S. preferences (as Egypt did under Sadat and Mubarak); and an unreflective but deeply rooted sense that U.S.-backed norms, legal rules, and transnational decision-making processes are meant to constrain others, not America itself. Washingtons unwillingness is grounded in some unattractive, but fundamental, aspects of American strategic culture: difficulty in coming to terms with independent power centres (whether globally or in vital regions like the Middle East); hostility to non-liberal states, unless they subordinate their foreign policies to U.S. preferences (as Egypt did under Sadat and Mubarak); and an unreflective but deeply rooted sense that U.S.-backed norms, legal rules, and transnational decision-making processes are meant to constrain others, not America itself.

The world has also seen what happens when America and its European partners demonstrate such bad faith in nuclear diplomacy with Tehran Iran expands its nuclear infrastructure and capabilities. When Iran broke its nearly two-year suspension of enrichment in 2005, it could run less than a thousand centrifuges; today, it has installed 12,000 centrifuges, more than 9,000 of which process uranium gas to produce enriched uranium. In February 2010, Iran began enriching uranium to the near-20 per cent level needed to fuel the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) after the U.S. and its partners refused to sell the fuel; Iran consistently offered to suspend near-20 per cent enrichment if it could obtain an adequate fuel supply for the TRR. After the Obama administration torpedoed the Tehran Declaration, Iran accelerated its production of near-20 per cent uranium and began indigenously manufacturing fuel plates for the TRR. With America and its European partners once again blowing an opening to accept Tehrans nuclear rights and close a nuclear deal, we are likely to see another surge of expansion in Irans nuclear infrastructure. Certainly, Iran will continue enriching, at the three to four per cent level needed for power reactors and at the near-20 per cent level needed for the TRR, and installing more efficient second-generation centrifuges. Iran also appears to be on track to commission a heavy water reactor at Arak next year.

Although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) consistently certifies that no nuclear materials have been diverted from Irans safeguarded nuclear facilities, all of these steps will be cited by Israel, the pro-Israel lobby in Washington, and other constituencies in the U.S. hankering for military action as evidence that time for diplomacy with Tehran has run out. Additionally, it is possible that the Islamic Republic will find legitimate reasons to begin enriching above the 20 per cent level. While such higher-level enrichment would be done under IAEA safeguards, this would also be interpreted in the U.S. and Israel as provocative Iranian escalation.

A large number of disputes can be settled outside the courtroom. This is less expensive for the parties and eases pressure on courts

Thus there is no one method that fits all cases, neither adjudication as Mr. Subramanium would like, nor mediation that some overzealous mediators want. The answer is simply finding the right method of dispute resolution for the particular case, of matching remedy to malady. I realised that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties driven asunder. His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

I realised that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties driven asunder. His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Scientists, who have been concentrating on mechanisms of inheritance and expression not related to DNA sequences, a system called epigenetics, think that we should be concentrating on gene networks. Furthermore, the architectures of cellular components other than DNA and RNA are also perceived as important, and the trajectory that is selected by a cell and organism under environmental stresses is deemed to play a big role. Scientists, who have been concentrating on mechanisms of inheritance and expression not related to DNA sequences, a system called epigenetics, think that we should be concentrating on gene networks. Furthermore, the architectures of cellular components other than DNA and RNA are also perceived as important, and the trajectory that is selected by a cell and organism under environmental stresses is deemed to play a big role.

Scientists, who have been concentrating on mechanisms of inheritance and expression not related to DNA sequences, a system called epigenetics, think that we should be concentrating on gene networks. Furthermore, the architectures of cellular components other than DNA and RNA are also perceived as important, and the trajectory that is selected by a cell and organism under environmental stresses is deemed to play a big role. The frontier forces of the two countries have terminated the standoff at the Tiannan River Valley area, the statement said, adding both sides moved forward and adopted a constructive and cooperative attitude and calmed the tensions through border-related mechanisms, diplomatic channels and border defence meetings since the stand-off began last month.

The frontier forces of the two countries have terminated the standoff at the Tiannan River Valley area, the statement said, adding both sides moved forward and adopted a constructive and cooperative attitude and calmed the tensions through border-related mechanisms, diplomatic channels and border defence meetings since the stand-off began last month.

The Supreme Court has cleared the decks for the commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear plant

Benefits outweigh minor radiological detriments, says SC

however, made it clear that the plant should not be made operational unless the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) gave their final clearances. The Bench said we have to balance economic scientific benefits with that of minor radiological detriments on the touchstone of our national nuclear policy.

Economic benefit has to be viewed on a larger canvas which not only augments our economic growth but alleviates poverty and generates more employment. NPCIL, while setting up the NPP at Kudankulam, have satisfied the environmental principle.

A top United Nations human rights investigator has exploded a bombshell, pointing out a strong likelihood of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian opposition and finding little merit in allegations of their use by government forces.

Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.

After cancelling its licence to sell 12 varieties of Bt cotton seeds last year, the State government has allowed Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) to sell the seeds in the coming kharif season, subject to certain conditions.

Confirming this, State agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat told The Hindu on Monday that Mahyco had given an affidavit to him stating that the company would supply 10 lakh packets of Bt cotton seeds of the popular MRC 7351 variety

The company would submit a detailed production programme and ensure proper distribution of the seeds.

It would also ensure that the seeds were sold at Rs. 930 per packet for this variety One of the complaints last year was the inflated prices at which seed packets were sold. The decision was taken keeping in mind the high demand for this variety, Mr. Dangat added. One of the complaints last year was the inflated prices at which seed packets were sold. The decision was taken keeping in mind the high demand for this variety, Mr. Dangat added. One of the complaints last year was the inflated prices at which seed packets were sold. The decision was taken keeping in mind the high demand for this variety, Mr. Dangat added.

?????????????????? ???? ??????????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????????. ?????????????????? ???? ??????????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????????.?????????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????????? ??? ???????? ????? ??????????????????????????????. ???? ????????????? ??????????????? ??????? ????????????. ???????? ?????? ???????????????. ?????????????? ?? ? ??? ????????? ????? ?????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ??????????????????. ?????????????????? ???? ??????????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????????.

?????????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????????? ??? ???????? ????? ??????????????????????????????. ???? ????????????? ??????????????? ??????? ????????????. ???????? ?????? ???????????????. ?????????????? ?? ? ??? ????????? ????? ?????? ??????????????

?????????????? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ??????????????????. ?????????????????? ???? ??????????????? ???????????? ????????? ????????????. http://www.mathrubhumi.com/movies/web_exclusive/382964/#storycontent Explanation on police brutalities an eyewash, says apex court

Next time, the highest official will bear the brunt

ndia and China need to make a push for resolving the boundary question quickly. As a first step, compl India and China need to make a push for resolving the boundary question quickly. As a first step, completing the process of exchanging maps depicting each sides understanding of where the LAC lies is crucial. Unless this happens, such disputes are likely to arise again, and strain the entire gamut of ties. India and China need to make a push for resolving the boundary question quickly. As a first step, completing the process of exchanging maps depicting each sides understanding of where the LAC lies is crucial. Unless this happens, such disputes are likely to arise again, and strain the entire gamut of ties.

ade. The proposed visit by Chinese premier Li Keqiang later this month and the preparatory visit by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to Beijing this week will be important for restoring a measure of confidence in the relationship.

It is still unclear what caused the Peoples Libera hanks to the stand-off, Indian public opinion has become suspicious of Chinese intentions to the point of making irrelevant the important progress achieved in the bilateral relationship over the past decade. hanks to the stand-off, Indian public opinion has become suspicious of Chinese intentions to the point of making irrelevant the important progress achieved in the bilateral relationship over the past decade.

hanks to the stand-off, Indian public opinion has become suspicious of Chinese intentions to the point of making irrelevant the important progress achieved in the bilateral relationship over the past decade. It is still unclear what caused the Peoples Liberation Army to move troops into the Depsang Plain. There is speculation that it might have done so to convey its displeasure at the recent infrastructure development undertaken by India in Ladakh

Indeed, Beijing must realise that its attempts to resolve long-standing disputes with countries across Asia through coercive tactics will only rebound on itself

i looked this incident as a response to the indian initiatives to build up robust cooperation among countries around china ,such as japan,philippians,vietnam and thailand,which have various disputes with indias counter part china. our foreign policy should be more active and it should be internationally and asian based strategy which would need number of engagements with neighbours rather than others far away from us we we need to get in pirate issues near in african continent,syrian issue and so on.it is so important ,as we are one of the populated n fast growing economy to be recognised by its involvement in issues internationally proactive enough proactive proactive

three areas-ladakh,middle and eastern areas must be solved by using the priority method, wherein the least turbulent area must be selected first. Even within the least turbulent region say for example the middle one the area can be broken into smaller one to arrive at the mutually agreeable point. Furtheron, permanent method of recognition should take place wherein the administrative bodies of the two sides could help it out in converting the LAC to International border.As far as International players are concerned we must try to be extra cautious in trusting them The Chinese are doing a fine job of uniting their neighbourhood. At this rate, only Pakistan

and North Korea will be their friends.

and North Korea will be their friends.

from: ashok Posted on: May 7, 2013 at 12:03 IST

uch tussles may be quite often in the future. To solve the dispute, both sides should make efforts to demarcate the disputed boundaries which needs enthusiasm and determination from both the sides else much will be at stake in the future. It is frustrating to see that repeated incursions, warnings, military infrastructure development along the entire length of LAC by the Chinese, direct and indirect encirclement of India, nuke and missile transfers to Pakistan are all whitewashed and India is urged to diplomatically resolve the border issue with an intransigent and bellicose China. No doubt that the US is an unreliable ally and should be approached with caution but do not forget that China is seeking an alliance with Russia too. Please offer advice to China too.

India is an economic

powerhouse, fully capable to project herself as a global power. Its time for her to stop banking on western powers to safeguard its regional interests. Its time to unleash the wave of change proposed by Defense Minister A K Antony to develop indigenous defense capabilities to confront belligerent neighbors. In the long run, it would be beneficial for both India and China if it prevents American foothold in Indian subcontinent.

subdided subdided subdided For quite sometime now, media reports have revealed the intentions of China to aggressively exploit pursue its upper riparian rights. Its indiscriminate and over-damming of the Mekong has already caused havoc to south eastern countries. If it does the same thing on Brahamaputra, eastern India will be ruined. Already experts have foretold that the next war will be one that will be fought on water related issues. The full implicationsd of the recent tuswsle with China hasve not bee disclosed by the govt. yet., China is spending thrice that of India on defence forces, what India is doing to meet this. We have to redouble our efforts to clear the backlog in infra projects in border areas. Fear of nuclear disaster has no basis: court

The Supreme Court on Monday said there is no basis to the fear that the radioactive effects of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, when commissioned, will be far reaching.

We are convinced that the KKNPP design incorporates advanced safety features complying with the current standards of redundancy, reliability, independence and prevention of common cause failures in its safety systems.

Design also takes care of Anticipated Operational Occurrences (AOO), Design Basis Accidents (DBA) and Beyond Design Basis Accidents (BDBA) like Station Black Out (SBO), Anticipated Transients Without Scram (ATWS), Metal Water reaction in the water core and provision of core catcher to take care of core degradation.

. The design also includes the provisions for withstanding external events like earthquake, tsunami/storm, tidal waves, cyclones, shock waves, aircraft impact on main buildings and fire. The 17 recommendations were made after the Fukushima accident, which was caused by a natural phenomenon. The facts would indicate that the tsunami-genic zone along East Coast of India is more than 1,300 km away from the nearest NPP site (Madras/Kalpakkam) and about 1,000 km away from Kudankulam. The possibility of hitting tsunami at Kudankulam, as the one that hit Fukushima, seems to be very remote

As of 2011, nuclear power in the United States is provided by 104 commercial reactors (69 pressurized water reactors and 35 boiling water reactors) licensed to operate at 65 nuclear power plants, producing a total of 790 TWh of electricity, which was 19.2% of the nation's total electric energy generation in 2011.[1] The United States is the world's largest supplier of commercial nuclear power. All US nuclear power plants, and almost all reactors, began construction by 1974; following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 and changing economics, many planned projects were canceled. Of the 104 reactors now operating in the U.S., ground was broken on all of them in 1977 or earlier.[2][3][4] We may, however, caution that it is of utmost importance that the Union of India, NPCIL etc. should find out a place for a permanent deep geological repository. Storing of Spent Nuclear Fuel at NPP site will, in the long run, poses dangerous, long-term health and environmental risks. NPCIL and the Union of India are bound to look at the probabilities of potentially harmful events and the consequences in future. Noticeably, NPCIL does not seem to have a long-term plan, other than, stating and hoping that in the near future, it would establish a DGR Economic

The report highlights that to sustain rapid global economic growth, it is necessary to double the supply of energy and tripling supply of electricity by 2050. Further, it is stated billions of poor people need energy and other life-saving and job-creating technologies.

paradigm shift paradigm shift Hailing the Food Security Bill as a historic initiative in pursuit of food security, Mr. Thomas said it marked a paradigm shift in approach from welfare to a rights-based one by ensuring that people had access to adequate quantities of quality food at affordable prices. The Bill aims to provide 5 kg of foodgrains per month per person to nearly 67 per cent of the population through ration shops.

He pointed out that India, the worlds second-fastest growing economy, had one of the highest burdens of child malnutrition globally. However, his brief speech, in which he voiced certain reservations about the Bill in its present shape, was drowned in the din.

The Finance Ministry, on Monday, asked public sector banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to take immediate action against employees appear to be advising customers on ways of violating KYC (know-your-customer) and other regulatory norms.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said it was examining the allegations of money laundering against LIC, Reliance Life, Tata AIA and Birla Sunlife and action would be taken against the guilty at the earliest.

Seeking to boost exports and bridge the ballooning current account deficit, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee, on Monday, suggested a slew of measures such as introduction of differential tax regime, and increasing the scope of interest subsidy scheme for exporters.

The global trade environment may not improve in the immediate period. There is, therefore, an urgent need to boost Indias exports so that the trade deficit is narrowed down, and CAD stays within the projected cap, the RBI said.

The Reserve Bank had constituted a technical committee on services/facilities for the exporters under the Chairmanship of RBI Executive Director G. Padmanabhan to suggest ways for improving financial support from alternative sources.

Among others, the committee has made recommendations relating to review of Gold Card Scheme for extension of export credit to exporters, appropriate inclusion of export finance under the priority sector lending, and raising of foreign currency loans on pool basis for extension of export credit to exporters.

The committee has recommended for inclusion of additional sectors such as electronics and all engineering goods, especially automotive sector, and all exports originating from domestic tariff area units to SEZs.

It also asked for early introduction of GST (Goods and Services Tax) to make the tax structures more streamlined for exporters, who incur numerous levies, such as VAT (value added tax), purchase tax, turnover tax, octroi, electricity duty, which are making the export pricing uncompetitive.

Further, the committee recommended continuation of export credit refinance policy for three years which would provide certainty in availability of funds to the banks for managing their asset-liability positions, and would also build confidence among the exporting community.

It asked for setting up of a nodal agency for borrowing in foreign currency from abroad on a pool basis, and further lend to these companies in India at competitive rates.

India may soon find a place on the high table on Syria courtesy Iran, which is considering a diplomatic initiative to resolve the festering crisis by involving major countries of the nonaligned movement.

In order to financially strengthen Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) across India, the Union Cabinet has approved key changes to the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), aiming to eradicate poverty in villages by empowering women. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh announced on Monday that over 25 lakh Women SHGs will now be provided bank loans at an interest rate of seven per cent.

ensuring that they shall avail loans up to Rs. three lakh at an interest rate of seven per cent per annum.

In 150 districts, all Women SHGs, which are now getting bank loans at 11.5 to 14 per cent rate of interest, will now get it at seven per cent rate of interest, said Mr. Ramesh.

Additionally, Women SHGs that repay loans in time will enjoy an additional three per cent subvention, thereby reducing the effective rate to four per cent. In the 150 districts, the Central government will bear the entire cost of the interest subvention from the market rate to seven per cent.

The total cost of the project is around Rs.1,650 crore for 2013-14, out of which, Rs.1,400 crore shall be borne by the Central government and Rs. 250 crore by the States.

Over the next five years, we will move to a situation where the entire cost will be borne by the Centre, added Mr. Ramesh. In order to improve targeting, the Cabinet has decided to do away with the BPL (below poverty line) category in the NRLM, and instead identify target groups through the Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP) process, at the community-level.

Currently, there are nearly 25 lakh Women SHGs in the country, with nearly three crore members and over the next five years, the number is expected to increase to seven crore.

The NRLM was launched by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in June 2011 a poverty reduction programme based on employment generation by adoption of a multi-pronged strategy. The program aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor, thereby enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.

retalliate

The Congress is now trying to shift the focus from corruption in high places to passing social welfare legislation, and paint the Opposition as anti-poor. The focus of the Congress Core Groups meeting on Tuesday afternoon after the Opposition blocked Parliament was the food bill.

There are two parts to the Supreme Courts landmark decision on Kudankulam, and each is equally important. Much to the relief of the Centre, which had invested hundreds of crores of rupees there, the Tamil Nadu government which desperately needs electricity, and the nuclear establishment

whose very raison detre had been challenged, the court has said the power plant can now be switched on. But it has laid down important caveats on safety the chief concern of those opposed to the project and urged the authorities to roll-back the hundreds and thousands of cases that have been foisted, mostly unfairly, on the protesters.

Talks on a global treaty to give copyright exemptions for the blind and print disabled are inching close to fruition at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), notwithstanding sticky areas in the draft text. The refusal by western countries, in particular the United States, to move forward on the treaty obviously has to do with concerns over the general lack of protection against piracy in the developing world. But the message from the WIPO talks in Geneva is also that the advanced world cant ignore the needs of the disabled elsewhere for too long A Parliamentary panel has recommended removal of the provision of 26 per cent profit sharing by coal and lignite miners with project-affected people and replacing it with a system based on royalty payments by the firms concerned.

The Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, seeks to replace a more than halfa-century-old law under the same name and was tabled in Parliament in December, 2011. Later, it was sent to the Standing Committee.

As per the provisions of the new Mines Bill, coal and lignite miners would have to share 26 per cent of the profits from their mines with people impacted by projects. For non-coal and non-lignite miners, the new law has proposed payment of an amount equivalent to royalty paid by the companies to the State Government. The collected money was proposed to be used for the welfare of the project-affected persons through a newly created District Mineral Foundation (DMF).

However, the Standing Committee recommended that in case of coal and lignite, the mechanism for payment to DMF on the basis of royalty paid during the financial year may be worked out instead of an amount equal to 26 per cent of the profit and amendment be made in the relevant clause as proposed by the Ministry of Coal.

It also called for bringing the DMF under the CAG audit purview and asked the government to increase representation of local community in the DMF council.

The repeated use of the word entitlement in the Bill makes it possible to conceptualise food security as a right. It allows the Government to speak convincingly of an ostensible shift from a welfare-based to a rights-based approach. The Bill, however, defines food security as the supply of entitled foodgrains and meal. Such a narrow definition assumes the individual to be a passive recipient of a dole and not a proactive claimant of entitlements Such a narrow definition assumes the individual to be a passive recipient of a dole and not a proactive claimant of entitlements Supporters of the Bill, however, are unhappy about the continuation of targeting in PDS, reduction in monthly per capita PDS grain entitlement from 7 kg to 5 kg, omission of the health and preschool education components of ICDS, absence of special entitlements for the most vulnerable sections of the population (persons in destitution or starvation, the elderly, persons with disabilities and single women), proposed introduction of cash transfers and unsatisfactory grievance redress mechanisms, among others. But the bigger concern is that a robust understanding of the right to food, premised on hunger has been weakened to mean a passive right to receive whatever the state wants to give in the name of food security.

While noteworthy reforms to the PDS have been duly centre staged, the references to improvements in agriculture, water and sanitation, health care and decentralised procurement and storage, are only tangential (buried in the last schedule of the Bill)

Tarun Vijay Tarun Vijay Googles power and usefulness are well-recognised. An entire generation reveres Google as the god of all information. This aura makes it harder to understand the companys conduct. It has not only

contemptuously ignored the queries raised by Indias Surveyor General, but also put out a version in the media portraying those objecting to its violations as Neanderthals.

The basic issues are these: is Google India expected to follow Indian law or not? If there is a violation that is glaring and which could compromise Indias military and nuclear secrets, should we raise an objection or not? If there is a violation that is glaring and which could compromise Indias military and nuclear secrets, should we raise an objection or not?

Can Google India be above all other mapping agencies working in India just because of the cosmetic aura it has woven around itself or should it be subjected to the same rules and norms applicable to others?

Googles sin against the Constitution and the law is this: it showed vital military installations, with annotations depicting the core of the Apsara nuclear reactor, blast pens inside the Hindon airbase, ammunition depots, markings of hangers meant for specific fighter jets as well as those jets visible outside in the high resolution images, warships in naval dockyards, and much more.

To make matters worse, defence systems and infrastructure were marked over a period of time. This sensitive data showing changes on a timeline can lead to a comprehensive and accurate/predictive analysis of our defence preparedness and planned responses to a situation.

Satellite imagery available on Google Earth or through any other remote sensing satellites can only give a viewer a vague idea of structures and objects. But it needs a highly sophisticated mechanism to decipher these images and have them accurately marked for actionable intelligence

The New Mapping Policy 2005 requires that all mapping data above 1:50 K collected by private agencies should be vetted by the Ministry of Defence.

The New Mapping Policy 2005 requires that all mapping data above 1:50 K collected by private agencies should be vetted by the Ministry of Defence.

While every other agency does it, the query that Surveyor General of India Swarna Subba Rao raised was whether Google had submitted the data collected through its Mapathon or its continuous mapmaking process through crowd sourcing for vetting, as required by the law. Surprisingly, Google has said everything except answer this specific query Surprisingly, Google has said everything except answer this specific query

The Survey of India (SOI) complaint against Googles Mapathon 2013, a collaborative and community mapping exercise, on the ground that it jeopardises national security represents unwarranted paranoia. In February, Google announced a nation-wide competition inviting those interested to use its online tools, add neighbourhood data and create better maps. Towards the end of March, when the competition ended, the SOI, following a shrill BJP campaign, filed a complaint with the Delhi police. It objected that this Google venture violated the National Map Policy and could pose a security risk. In an age when GPS devices are freely available for navigation, geographical information flows unhindered across borderless digital space and satellite images of every square inch of the earth are in the public domain, the SOIs notion of restricted areas and insistence on monopoly over spatial data appear irrational

The irony is that it is not Google, but the SOI which has failed the National Map Policy. Foreseeing the challenges of digital practices, the policy urged the SOI in 2005 to take up a leadership role in democratising spatial information through partnerships. But the SOI, despite an early start and the weight of the state behind it, has till date offered no people-friendly facilities worth mentioning.

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NAME When spatial information is restricted and official maps are inadequate, private services step in to create user-friendly maps

the SOI has taken to a narrow approach, which stifles innovation and would eventually strengthen the powerful mapping companies that have the wherewithal to work around the bureaucratic hurdles and which can afford to pay prohibitive licensing fees

The main issue with SOI is the presence of military officers and the internal fights between the civilian and military counterparts. The Department of Science & Technology(DST), which manages SOI, has stopped the legal mode of induction of civilian officers through Engineering Services Examination thus creating a dearth of officers. SOI should not have problems with an initiative to encourage democratization of spatial inf While SOI should not have problems with an initiative to encourage democratization of spatial information, it's concerns related to national security must be heard. Strategic installations vital to national security, should not be displayed in maps. While ensuring active private participation in cartography, strict regulations need to be enforced to maintain national security. Even in digital world, such regulations should be effected. Free flow of information is required but without compromising upon national security.

Harsha Bhogle speaks about Sachin Tendulkar at IIMC Harsha Bhogle speaks about Sachin Tendulkar at IIMC In a comprehensive 100-page report covering issues across the print and electronic media landscape, a parliamentary standing committee has documented the trend of paid news in its various forms and recommended content regulation by an empowered mechanism. It has also strongly criticised the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) for failing to discharge its responsibility.

it has concluded that the dangerous trend of presenting *paid-for] information as news content has spread at a remarkable pace in sections of the media. Paid news has had a serious and damaging impact on innocent audiences; undermines democratic practices; affects markets, industry and health; is a tax fraud; and a question of ethics.

In March 2012, conflict in northern region was carried out by a group of junior soldiers who seized control of the presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. Islamist group linked with Al-Qaeada gained the centre stage in the conflict. Efforts are on to regain control of northern region of the country which is under Islamist control.

 The UN Security Council had given approval for an African-led intervention force, which UN officials said could not be launched until September. France sent troops to the affected regions which operated with Malian troops that led to recapture of two key towns from al-Qaeda-linked Islamists holding Malis north. This move was also backed by the UN. Current Situation: Although the French led operations have recaptured the key regions from al-Qaeda, large weapons caches are still believed to be hidden in the desert, has dampened the initial spirit of jubilation after French forces swept into the region. In addition to regular incidents outside Timbuktu, it and other towns in the north have been rocked by a spate of suicide bombings. S. Korea rebuilds Namdaemun: National Treasure Number One May 2nd, 2013 South Korea has unveiled its cultural gem Namdaemun gate after completing works of its restoration. Namdaemun which is also known as countrys National Treasure Number One, was destroyed to ashes in 2008 in an arson attack. What is the importance of Namdaemun for S. Korea? Namdaemun is 600-year old pagoda-style gate which was first built in the last year of King Taejo of Joseons dynasty in 1398, and rebuilt in 1447, during the 29th year of King Sejong the Great of Joseons reign. The gate which is officially known as the Sungnyemun (literally Gate of Exalted Ceremonies), is one of the Eight Gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, which surrounded the city in the Joseon Dynasty. It was once one of the three major gateways through Seouls city walls which had a stone circuit of 18.2 kilometres (11.3 mi) and

stood up to 6.1 metres (20 ft) high. What happened to the gate in 2008? Namdaemun was set afire by an arsonist who was disgruntled over receiving insufficient compensation following the expropriation of his land as part of an apartment-building project in Seouls northwestern satellite city of Koyang, as claimed by him. In this tragedy, the gate was severely damaged. The whole restoration took 5-year time and cost S. Korea 27-billion-won ($24.4 million). What is a Pagoda? Pagoda is an architectural style of building tiered towers (multi-storied) which can be of stone, brick, or wood. Its origin can be traced to Indian Stupa which is a dome shaped monument, was used as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics. In has strong links with Buddhist practice in which this form came to be considered as an appropriate repository for sacred relics, and it spread across East and Southeast Asia. This kind of towers are common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Burma and other parts of Asia. Turkey chooses Asia, joins Shanghai Cooperation Organisation May 2nd, 2013 Turkey, which is a NATO member, has joined the Russia and China led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It has joined the SCO security bloc as a dialogue partner and declared that its destiny is in Asia. Why this shift? Turkey, which has been trying to get membership in the European Union, is upset over the slow progress of accession talks. Ankara has been in talks on joining the EU since 2005 but has only completed one of the 35 policy areas, or chapters, every candidate must conclude to be allowed entry due to disagreements largely over the divided island of Cyprus.

What is SCO? The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation. ? The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are Chinese and Russian. ? Headquarters: Beijing, China ? Member States: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan ? Observer States: India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan ? Dialogue Partners: Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey (latest) What is the equation of India and SCO? In March 2012, conflict in northern region was carried out by a group of junior soldiers who seized control of the presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. Islamist group linked with Al-Qaeada gained the centre stage in the conflict. Efforts are on to regain control of northern region of the country which is under Islamist control. The UN Security Council had given approval for an African-led intervention force, which UN officials said could not be launched until September. France sent troops to the affected regions which operated with Malian troops that led to recapture of two key towns from al-Qaeda-linked Islamists holding Malis north. This move was also backed by the UN. Current Situation: Although the French led operations have recaptured the key regions from al-Qaeda, large weapons caches are

still believed to be hidden in the desert, has dampened the initial spirit of jubilation after French forces swept into the region. In addition to regular incidents outside Timbuktu, it and other towns in the north have been rocked by a spate of suicide bombings. S. Korea rebuilds Namdaemun: National Treasure Number One May 2nd, 2013 South Korea has unveiled its cultural gem Namdaemun gate after completing works of its restoration. Namdaemun which is also known as countrys National Treasure Number One, was destroyed to ashes in 2008 in an arson attack. What is the importance of Namdaemun for S. Korea? Namdaemun is 600-year old pagoda-style gate which was first built in the last year of King Taejo of Joseons dynasty in 1398, and rebuilt in 1447, during the 29th year of King Sejong the Great of Joseons reign. The gate which is officially known as the Sungnyemun (literally Gate of Exalted Ceremonies), is one of the Eight Gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, which surrounded the city in the Joseon Dynasty. It was once one of the three major gateways through Seouls city walls which had a stone circuit of 18.2 kilometres (11.3 mi) and stood up to 6.1 metres (20 ft) high. What happened to the gate in 2008? Namdaemun was set afire by an arsonist who was disgruntled over receiving insufficient compensation following the expropriation of his land as part of an apartment-building project in Seouls northwestern satellite city of Koyang, as claimed by him. In this tragedy, the gate was severely damaged. The whole restoration took 5-year time and cost S. Korea 27-billion-won ($24.4 million). What is a Pagoda?

Pagoda is an architectural style of building tiered towers (multi-storied) which can be of stone, brick, or wood. Its origin can be traced to Indian Stupa which is a dome shaped monument, was used as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics. In has strong links with Buddhist practice in which this form came to be considered as an appropriate repository for sacred relics, and it spread across East and Southeast Asia. This kind of towers are common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Burma and other parts of Asia. Turkey chooses Asia, joins Shanghai Cooperation Organisation May 2nd, 2013 Turkey, which is a NATO member, has joined the Russia and China led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It has joined the SCO security bloc as a dialogue partner and declared that its destiny is in Asia. Why this shift? Turkey, which has been trying to get membership in the European Union, is upset over the slow progress of accession talks. Ankara has been in talks on joining the EU since 2005 but has only completed one of the 35 policy areas, or chapters, every candidate must conclude to be allowed entry due to disagreements largely over the divided island of Cyprus. What is SCO? The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the

inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation. ? The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are Chinese and Russian. ? Headquarters: Beijing, China ? Member States: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan ? Observer States: India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan ? Dialogue Partners: Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey (latest) What is the equation of India and SCO? so

The practice, according to the committee, assumed different forms gifts, sponsored travels, direct or indirect payment of money, indirect blackmailing by media houses and, increasingly, award ceremonies by media houses where regular advertisers are awarded

Ministry had not done anything substantial to check the menace of paid news, and demanded action in the next six months.

It also recommended that a team of experts be set up to track the coverage pattern and that the regulatory body swing into action in case of any unusualness.

The committee also noted the pathetic working conditions of significant sections in the media, disapproved of the medias tendency to hire and fire, and noted that the contract employment should not be used for attraction and allurement

in its most controversial remarks, the committee has dismissed self-regulation as an eyewash, and recommended that a statutory body such as the Media Council be set up to look at media contents in both print and electronic media with powers to take strong actions. Alternatively, the Press Council could be revamped in case of print journalism and a separate statutory body be set for the electronic media. It called for strengthening election laws and empowering the Election Commission and asked the I&B Ministry to act swiftly on issues of crossmedia ownership : Chinas concerns over ongoing tensions with several of its neighbours, from Japan to the Philippines, may have prompted a rethink leading to the withdrawal of its troops from the face-off situation in Ladakh, a Chinese analyst has suggested.

Since December 1 last year, 18 infants have died in Attappady most of them less than two-and-ahalf months old. Records with the Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) office show the babies did not have the ability to imbibe nutrition.

The reason for the dismaying statistics can be found in the debris of welfare projects across Attappady over the years. One of them is the Attappady Hills Area Development Society (AHADS). Set up with a financial aid of Rs. 219 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 1994 under the Rural Development Ministry, AHADS began work two years later with the sole objective of introducing ecological stability and social engineering through tribal peoples participation. By 2005, the society had reclaimed 1,000 hectares of green cover. It created 190 micro-watersheds and four macro-watersheds on tribal lands.

But AHADS came to a standstill in 2010-2011. We just stopped getting projects, says N.C. Induchoodan, its Director. About 80 Adivasi staffers, who lost their jobs after AHADS became defunct, are fighting the government for work.

Health officials are mostly in a state of denial about the infant deaths. The doctors at the 40-bed Kottathara hospital blame it on the tribal peoples lifestyle.

In an annual report to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon has said that Chinese government is responsible for cyber intrusions and, in doing so, had built up an arsenal of skills similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks.

Dismissing Pentagons claims, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the U.S. military establishment had repeatedly made irresponsible comments about Chinas normal and justified defence build-up and hyped up the so-called China military threat.

The report spelt out specific concerns about Chinas alleged involvement, including the charge that these efforts were focused on exfiltrating information, primarily by using Chinese computer network exploitation (CNE) capability to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defence industrial base sectors that supported national defence programmes.

these efforts were focused on exfiltrating information, primarily by using Chinese computer network exploitation (CNE) capability to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defence industrial base sectors that supported national defence programmes. It reported that China had signed agreements for arms exports worth $11 billion from 2007 to 2011 and that Pakistan remained Beijings primary customer for conventional weapons.

A string of Israeli air strikes on Syria is threatening to expand the geographical boundaries of the conflict by drawing Palestinian groups allied to the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hizbollah into an open confrontation with Israel.

ensemble ensemble

ensemble

Settling the issue of fixing coal prices, a Group of Ministers (GoM), on Tuesday, decided that the proposed regulator would not determine fuel rates, a job that would continue to be vested with the producers.

The regulator, however, would be empowered to resolve disputes, including disputes arising out of fuel supply agreements (FSAs).

mooted

mooted The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel on Tuesday mooted India Bill Payment System (IBPS), a GIRObased electronic bill payment system for payment of dues of essential services, insurance premia, utility payments, taxes, university fees, examination fees and school fees.

This model will enable the setting up of a centralised infrastructure bringing all the billers and banks to the bill platform through the aggregators.

veettil nirbandhikkunnu\

This model will enable the setting up of a centralised infrastructure bringing all the billers and banks to the bill platform through the aggregators.

It will also allow interoperability in the bill payment process and enable the consumers to make payments at any of the collection points, which is the essence of GIRO system.

GIRO payment is a credit push transaction initiated by the payer and may involve the presence of three banks (collecting bank, payer bank and the payee bank). Bill paying public/customers can access any payment channel through banks/non-bank entity under the proposed GIRO system.

The receipt should have the unique reference number generated by the IBPS and also carry the IBPS service mark/logo. The payment made by a consumer would be irrefutable.

The system is a credit push transaction initiated by the payer and may involve the presence of three banks

India has nominated a group of six hill forts in Rajasthan and the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh as candidates for World Heritage Sites this year. UNESCOs World Heritage Committee at its meeting in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh next month will decide on conferring the status on them.

The hill forts at Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber, and Jaisalmer are excellent examples of Rajput military architecture, which are found in palaces, temples, memorials and even in villages. Built between 13th and 19th centuries, these forts are unique to this region and creatively use the landscape to increase protection.

The hill forts at Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber, and Jaisalmer are excellent examples of Rajput military architecture, which are found in palaces, temples, memorials and even in villages. Built between 13th and 19th centuries, these forts are unique to this region and creatively use the landscape to increase protection.

The Great Himalayan National Park, spread over 75,400 hectares, is located on the western part of the Himalayan mountains in Kullu District. It is among the most scenic sites in the country and rich in biodiversity.

The Great Himalayan National Park, spread over 75,400 hectares, is located on the western part of the Himalayan mountains in Kullu District. It is among the most scenic sites in the country and rich in biodiversity.

it is unlikely that the World Heritage Committee would inscribe the Himalayan Park as a World Heritage Site. The IUCN) has said the delineation of the park is disjointed. It recommended that the intervening land be added to the park to create a contiguous area. It suggested that the rights of local communities be accommodated and integrated in the management plan. area. It suggested that the rights of local communities be accommodated and integrated in the management plan. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which evaluates the cultural properties for UNESCO, inspected the sites last year, and their final recommendation will be known on May 17. Recent reports of Maoists using improvised explosives devices (IEDs) and arms such as hand grenades and rocket propelled grenades, besides their access to modern arms through north-east based militant groups, has forced the Home Ministry to review its strategy to counter Naxals more effectively.

You haven't finished your post yet. Do you want to leave without finishing?Are you sure that you want to leave this page? : The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the CBI for allowing the heart of the status report on the investigation in the `coal allocation scam to be changed on the suggestions of officials of the Prime Ministers Office and the Coal Ministry.

Referring to CBIs affidavit that the Law Minister deleted a finding on non-preparation of broadsheets or charts by the screening committee and a sentence about scope of inquiry on legality of allocation and the two joint secretaries changed the report, Justice Lodha said the CBI is like a

caged parrot speaking in masters voice. It is a sordid saga that there are many masters and one parrot. Job of CBI is not to interact with government officials but to interrogate to find the truth.

On Tuesday May 7, in Geneva, the World Trade Organization (WTO) received a new leader, Roberto Azevdo of Brazil. The election of Azevdo is significant not because he is the first person from the Global South to lead the WTO that honour goes to Thailands Supachai Panitchpakdi, who ran it from 2002 to 2005. But unlike Supachai, Azevdo comes with the backing of significant new blocs of the Global South, notably the BRICS grouping which put its heft behind his candidacy. This is the first time that a candidate of the Global South won against someone backed by the European Union, which in this instance had put its support behind Mexicos former Trade Minister Herminio Blanco. The BRICS bloc was able to secure sufficient investment in Azevdo, Brazils representative to the WTO since 1997.

What we in the Third World need is global perestroika, restructuring of international economic relations which would take into account the legitimate aspirations of the four-fifths of humanity that lives in the Third World, for better life for their peoples. Brazilian Roberto Azevdos election as head of the World Trade Organization is a long overdue step towards global perestroika but his task of creating a fair, international economic order is not going to be easy

Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that he would file an affidavit on July 3 to its query whether law could be enacted to insulate the CBI from extraneous influence and make it an independent organisation and to ensure its functional autonomy

The question how India and China can more effectively manage persisting thorny issues such as the border dispute and trans-boundary rivers is expected to emerge as the centre of talks as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrives here on Thursday.

The question how India and China can more effectively manage persisting thorny issues such as the border dispute and trans-boundary rivers is expected to emerge as the centre of talks as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrives here on Thursday.

The question how India and China can more effectively manage persisting thorny issues such as the border dispute and trans-boundary rivers is expected to emerge as the centre of talks as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrives here on Thursday.

The question how India and China can more effectively manage persisting thorny issues such as the border dispute and trans-boundary rivers is expected to emerge as the centre of talks as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrives here on Thursday.

Sruthi Herbert Some Indian officials have come to see the April 15 incursion as tied to Chinas recent moves to push for a border defence cooperation agreement, to which India has not yet responded in order to ensure its strategic interests are not undermined.

China has voiced concern at Indias recent efforts to boost border infrastructure, saying the moves violated the 1993 and 1996 agreements aimed at maintaining peace and tranquillity and reduction of troop levels.

Indian officials, however, point out that China has completed a massive upgrade of road, rail and air networks in Tibet, significantly widening the asymmetry across the disputed Line of Actual Control.

Indias wariness of tying itself down on the issue has been mirrored in Chinas stalling on another sensitive question that has strained ties recently: dams on the Brahmaptura.

China in January gave the green light for three new dams on the river

India has conveyed to China the need for a mechanism more robust and transparent than the current system of sharing hydrological data through joint working groups. China has, so far, not responded to the move

Amid allegations of money laundering against banks and insurance companies by an online portal, Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao, on Wednesday, said it was the responsibility of the government and tax authorities to check such activities.

The RBI is not directly involved... even banks are not directly responsible. They are not expected to inquire about the source of income. It is for government and tax authorities to check money laundering, Dr. Subbarao also said the central bank was planning to introduce plastic currency notes soon. The RBI and the government had earlier decided to introduce one billion pieces of Rs.10 notes in polymer/plastic on a field trial basis in Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubneswar and Shimla.

Even as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is expected to reinforce India's message to China to address the trade imbalance during his two-day visit which begins here on Thursday, new trade figures have shown that India's exports to China in April are down by 24 per cent from a year earlier the biggest decline among all of China's major trading partners.

India's trade deficit with China, after four months of this year, has ballooned to almost half of the entire trade volume.

he decline contrasted with rising figures for exports from other developing countries among China's biggest trading partners: exports from South Africa were up 55 per cent, and those from ASEAN countries up 7 per cent. One reason is the ban on exporting iron ore. And, while India has been pushing China to open up its markets to pharmaceuticals and information technology, the moves have appeared to have made little headway so far.

The government, on Wednesday, set up a high-level Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) for proper enforcement of regulatory framework for multi-level marketing companies (MLMCs), non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and companies running collective investment schemes (CIS).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akash3/1150151_10151839428967718_1498779271_n.jpg With recent incidents of crime against women, especially rape and murder of minor girls, exposing the Samajwadi Party government to attacks from Opposition parties, the Uttar Pradesh police now plans to involve the gram pradhans of about one lakh villages in its efforts to curb such incidents. The gram pradhans will be linked with the police stations through the NIC (National Informatics Centre) SMS gateway and would be required to pass on information related to crime against women to facilitate a quick response from the police.

collecting the cell phone numbers of the pradhans. The SHOs have been given a weeks time to gather details of the pradhans mobile numbers, Mr. Vishwakarma told journalists on Thursday.

involvement of the pradhans would help the police in controlling women-related crime, particularly in cases of female foetic http://www.google.com/

The Cuban Project (also known as Operation Mongoose or the Special Group Augmented) was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed during the early years of President John F. Kennedy's administration. On November 30, 1961, aggressive covert operations against Fidel Castro's communist government in Cuba were authorized by President Kennedy. The operation was led by U.S. Air Force General Edward Lansdale and went into effect after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.

The Cuban Project (also known as Operation Mongoose or the Special Group Augmented) was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed during the early years of President John F. Kennedy's administration. On November 30, 1961, aggressive covert operations against Fidel Castro's communist government in Cuba were authorized by President Kennedy. The operation was led by U.S. Air Force General Edward Lansdale and went into effect after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Operation Mongoose was a secret program of terrorism against Cuba to remove the communists from power, which was a prime focus of the Kennedy administration, according to Harvard historian Jorge Domnguez.[1] A document from the U.S. State Department confirms that the project aimed to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime", including its leader Fidel Castro, and it aimed "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". U.S. policymakers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace".[2]

Operation Mongoose was a secret program of terrorism against Cuba to remove the communists from power, which was a prime focus of the Kennedy administration, according to Harvard historian Jorge Domnguez.[1] A document from the U.S. State Department confirms that the project aimed to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime", including its leader Fidel Castro, and it aimed "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". U.S. policymakers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace".[2]

Operation Mongoose was a secret program of terrorism against Cuba to remove the communists from power, which was a prime focus of the Kennedy administration, according to Harvard historian Jorge Domnguez.[1] A document from the U.S. State Department confirms that the project aimed to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime", including its leader Fidel Castro, and it aimed "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". U.S. policymakers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace".[2]

Operation Mongoose was a secret program of terrorism against Cuba to remove the communists from power, which was a prime focus of the Kennedy administration, according to Harvard historian Jorge Domnguez.[1] A document from the U.S. State Department confirms that the project aimed to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime", including its leader Fidel Castro, and it aimed "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". U.S. policymakers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace".[2]

Operation Mongoose was a secret program of terrorism against Cuba to remove the communists from power, which was a prime focus of the Kennedy administration, according to Harvard historian Jorge Domnguez.[1] A document from the U.S. State Department confirms that the project aimed to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime", including its leader Fidel Castro, and it aimed "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". U.S. policymakers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace".[2]

Hundred and nine civilian deaths occurred due to police firing in 2011, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) According to the NHRC, 2,560 deaths during encounters with police were reported between 1993 and 2008.

. Of this, 1,224 cases were regarded by the NHRC as fake encounters. The police, the central armed police forces and the armed forces have been accused of fake encounters. Complaints have been lodged, particularly against the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Forces, and the armed forces acting under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). It recommends a series of legal reforms and policy measures aimed at fighting impunity and decreasing the level of unlawful killings in India.

In the face of such alarming statistics, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr. Christof Heyns, was invited to the country and he toured extensively between March 19 to 30 this year meeting several State and non-State actors. The main findings of his report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva in June 2013.

It recommends a series of legal reforms and policy measures aimed at fighting impunity and decreasing the level of unlawful killings in India. While deaths resulting from excessive use of force by security officers, and legislation that is permissive of such use of force hampers accountability, impunity is a central problem and represents a major challenge, according to the report.

His report states that India should repeal, or at least radically amend, AFSPA and the Jammu and Kashmir AFSPA, with the aim of ensuring that the legislation regarding the use of force by the armed forces provides for the respect of the principles of proportionality and necessity in all instances, While waiting for the necessary amendment or repeal of AFSPA, it should be ensured that the status of a disturbed area under AFSPA is subject to regular review

The report also recommends the immediate ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its Optional Protocol and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It recommends India to swiftly enact the Prevention of Torture Bill and ensure its compliance with CAT.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved moving official amendments to the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2010 which is pending in the Lok Sabha. Among other provisions, the amendments provide for revival of sick societies.

With this the country ranks as number one in terms of first day of birth mortality; its share in global first-day deaths stands at 29 per cent. Nigeria, is a distant second poor health before and during pregnancy is already a big risk factor lack of good medical care during delivery This brings to the spotlight the need to have a greater percentage of institutional deliveries

The uncomfortable truth is the questionable quality of care at many of these facilities. The personnel attending to deliveries are very often not properly trained and hence not fully proficient in labour-room protocols

Labour rooms are not always fully equipped with essential medicines, equipment and electricity. States must therefore emulate the Tamil Nadu model where women-friendly public services are provided by fully equipped health-centres with a well-trained nurse round the clock to ensure safe deliverie

Bangladesh is not only better off than India, but is also one of the 12 developing countries that have made the greatest strides in achieving a significant decline in deaths between 1990 and 2011. Tremendous gain can be achieved by preventing childhood marriages as teenage pregnancy greatly contributes to first-day deaths.

The joint Russian and United States announcement of a conference to bring together Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government and opposition groups could be a decisive moment in a terrible civil war which has lasted over two years and caused some 70,000 deaths so far perseverance

It is my view that China and India have five basics to properly handle the border-related differences.

maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas serves the fundamental interests of both sides, and plays a vital role in the overall development of bilateral relations. maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas serves the fundamental interests of both sides, and plays a vital role in the overall development of bilateral relations.

Second, both sides have the willingness. Leaders of both countries have expressed strong political desire for the early settlement of the boundary question by including it as one of outstanding issues in the Ten-pronged Strategy they committed themselves to in 2006.

Third, both sides have the experience Even though both sides hold different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control, for a long time, under the effective control of the two governments, peace and tranquillity has been maintained in the border areas with no misfire accident. Thus, both sides have accumulated a wealth of experience to properly handle border-related issues, which also highlights the maturity of China-India relations. Fourth, both sides have means. As of now, China and India have set up border-related mechanisms including the Special Representatives Talks, working mechanism for consultation and coordination over the border affairs, defence and security consultation, border flag meetings, etc, which prove to be effective platforms established with joint efforts by two countries.

Fifth, both sides have confidence. At present, the comprehensive development of China-India relations has created favourable conditions for solving border-related issues. Both countries hope to maintain the hard-won sound momentum of healthy and stable development of China-India relations Top civil society bodies are challenging the governments counter-affidavit in the Paid News case which seeks to gut the Election Commissions powers

Rajasthan national leader in solar energy

Energy is the key to progress. At the same time, it is a big challenge too. Rajasthan is a national leader in solar energy and under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a majority of the solar projects are located in Rajasthan. In wind energy, India is globally positioned at No. 5, generating 11,000 MW after the U.S., Germany, China and Spain, she said.

The solar mission was launched in 2010 with an ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected power by 2022. It aims at reducing the cost of solar power generation through long-term policy, large-scale deployment goals, aggressive R&D and domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, in order to achieve grid tariff parity by the target year. The solar mission was launched in 2010 with an ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected power by 2022. It aims at reducing the cost of solar power generation through long-term policy, large-scale deployment goals, aggressive R&D and domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, in order to achieve grid tariff parity by the target year.

The solar mission was launched in 2010 with an ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected power by 2022. It aims at reducing the cost of solar power generation through long-term policy, large-scale deployment goals, aggressive R&D and domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, in order to achieve grid tariff parity by the target year.

To get solutions, government and private sector have to work together. Companies have to reduce water consumption in processing plants, conserve energy and save environment, he noted.

climate change presented a unique and daunting challenge to the world and adopting green buildings would go a long way in mitigating the effects of this phenomenon. climate change presented a unique and daunting challenge to the world and adopting green buildings would go a long way in mitigating the effects of this phenomenon.

suggested approaches such as solar air-conditioning, green townships and green roofs in order to make a green Rajasthan.

After a campaign restricted by guns and bombs, Pakistan on Friday geared for its first ever elections under civilian watch. Despite reports of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) asking its fighters to carry out suicide attacks at polling stations across the country, enthusiasm for the polls was palpable with expectations of a high turnout.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Friday called on veteran actor Pran and formally presented him with the Dadasaheb Phalke award at the latters residence in Bandra.

The Saudi Arabian government has announced a new concession to the expatriates who are affected by the new Nitaqat (naturalisation) law to be enforced in the kingdom.

those expatriates who were staying illegally/overstayed could return to homeland without facing penal action. The cut-off date for this would be April 6, 2013 (ie, those who were found to be staying illegally on or prior to that date).

if the expatriates, who have to return to the homeland jobless, were able to succeed in getting a new job/sponsor, they could continue to stay there without facing any hardship.

. A number of companies/corporate houses were approaching the Indian Embassy in the kingdom offering jobs/sponsorship to the jobless Indian expatriates

Seeking speedy implementation of the Good and Services Tax (GST), State finance ministers, on Friday, pitched for a common exemption list so that fewer number of items remained outside the indirect tax net.

A Constitution amendment bill to give affect to the GST is pending in Parliament. Both the Centre and States are engaged in negotiations for early implementation of GST, which will subsume most indirect taxes. Mr. Modi, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, said States were demanding

that they should be compensated for five years for their losses on account of phasing out of the Central sales tax.

Informed sources here said the problem for Saudi employers in implementing Nitaqat was that they would have to reserve 10 per cent jobs for the locals and give them a minimum of 3,000 Riyals (one Riyal is equal to about Rs.14.50) a month as salary.

Informed sources here said the problem for Saudi employers in implementing Nitaqat was that they would have to reserve 10 per cent jobs for the locals and give them a minimum of 3,000 Riyals (one Riyal is equal to about Rs.14.50) a month as salary.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/women-play-key-role-in-indian-navy-traditionsofficial_583351.html

The Russian scientists quoted in the article in The Hindu (Op-Ed, Down to minus 45, April 22, 2013) make three claims that are either partial truths or assertions with little basis in fact that: there will have been no global warming since 1998, climate moves in natural cycles of warmer and colder and early signs of cooling are visible, and, future generations will face temperatures several degrees lower than those of today.

The year 1998 happened to have been an unusually warm one because the strongest El Nio of the 20th century occurred in 1997-98. To set 1998 as a benchmark to gauge subsequent temperature

trends is to wilfully skew the comparison. To give a parallel, its like setting the 2002 drought year as the benchmark for subsequent measurement of rainfall and foodgrains yields in India. Nine of the 10 warmest years in NASAs database since 1880 the sole exception was 1998 occurred subsequently, in the first decade of the 21st century. In India too, the trend is one of warming. In 2012, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a table comparing temperatures for the first decade of this century with the baseline period 1960-1990. Average temperatures in India had risen, from 24.87C to 25.51C, by then. Whats more, while there was expected fluctuation between years, not a single year between 2001 and 2010 was colder than the 1960-1990 average: the coldest year (2008) was 0.38C warmer while the warmest year was 0.93C warmer (IMD, Annual Climate Summary of India During 2011, January 13, 2012). Down to minus 45

March in Russia saw the harshest frosts in 50 years, with temperatures dropping to 25 Celsius in central parts of the country and 45 in the north. It was the coldest spring month in Moscow in half a century.

Russia is famous for its biting frosts but this year, abnormally icy weather also hit much of Europe, the United States, China and India.

British authorities said March was the second coldest in its records dating back to 1910.

China experienced the severest winter weather in 30 years and New Delhi in January recorded the lowest temperature in 44 years. According to Rajendra Kumar Jenamani of the India Meteorological Department, winters in northern India have become colder in recent years.

Meteorologists said the unseasonably cold weather in the northern hemisphere this year was a result of the so-called atmospheric Arctic Blocs, with higher than usual air pressure over the Polar regions pushing cold currents southward. They possibly linked the phenomenon to the rapid loss of Arctic ice in recent years. Thus, the record-breaking winter colds this year would seem to support the theory of global warming.

However, Britains Met Office in December said that global warming would take a vacation in coming years. It scaled back by 20 per cent its earlier projected rise in global temperatures through 2017. The readjusted forecast means that there will have been no global warming for two decades since the record warm year of 1998.

There are no grounds to claim that global warming will continue till the end of this century, said academician Vladimir Kotlyakov, head of the Institute of Geography at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Early signs of cooling are already there and the trend may pick up in coming years.

Human activity and industrial discharges do have a great impact on environment, but forces of nature are far more powerful, said the scientist, who has studied Antarctic ice cores that are hundreds of thousand years old. Climate moves in natural cycles of warmer and colder, drier and more humid times.

Scientists who study solar activity also predict global cooling.

Dr. Nagovitsyn then goes on to make the outrageous claim that future generations will have to grapple with temperatures several degrees lower than those we have today. Again, an assertion with little elaboration; given that the difference in average temperatures between now and the peak of the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago was 6C, what does he mean by several degrees lower? If anything, the lag between carbon emissions and warming suggests that we will get unavoidably warmer, not cooler. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes 2007 AR4 report said the commitments to climate change are expected to be about 0.5-0.6C, mostly within the coming century. And there are those who suggest that this committed warming may well be a lot more.

The government has approved the launch of a pilot project that will entail transfer of domestic LPG subsidy directly to the consumers account in 20 districts from May 15.

Under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, consumers will get the subsidy amount about Rs. 4,000 annually in their bank accounts. They will then have to buy LPG at the current market price of Rs. 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder.

Indias hard won gains in achieving food security are in danger of being undermined by a clause in the National Food Security Bill that encourages States to adopt cash transfers in lieu of food entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS).

Supporting this view, a recent report by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) concluded that the provision of food subsidies in the form of cash would save the government crores of rupees. Additionally, cash transfers will supposedly eliminate middlemen such as dealers and transporters, ensuring that the subsidy reaches intended beneficiaries.

Cash transfers are a solution only if we view the PDS in isolation, rather than as part of a larger food policy. Indias food policy begins with the procurement of rice and wheat and price support operations by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the CACP. Each State is entitled to purchase a certain amount of food grains from the FCI at subsidised prices for distribution through its Fair Price (Ration) Shops. It is this distribution end that constitutes the PDS, and what the cash transfers would replace

Besides not taking into account the devaluing effect of inflation or the role of intrahousehold dynamics when it comes to cash transfers, its supporters do not specify what would happen to the agricultural commodities that are procured by the FCI. As the policy exists today, the government holds millions of tons of rice and wheat, well above the buffer norms required by law. To reduce its stocks, the government has preferred open market operations (to bulk consumers) and export to distribution through the PDS. Relying on cash transfers alone would mean that the beneficiary households would have to turn to the market to meet all their food needs. More importantly, the stabilising effect that the PDS has on consumption and prices would be lost. Cash transfers thus are only a partial substitute to the PDS.

he government took steps towards setting up a comprehensive food administration, including procurement by the government, the building of buffer stocks and the introduction of rationing.

However, soon after Independence, India abandoned these policies on the insistence of Gandhiji, who by then had started chanting the following prayer, Controls give rise to fraud, suppression of truth, intensification of the black market and to artificial scarcity. Above all, it (they) unmans the people and deprives them of initiative; it undoes the teaching of self help, they have been learning for generations, makes them spoon-fed. Shortly thereafter, droughts and floods led to insufficient production, food shortages and price rise. Controls in the form of rationing, price control and distribution had to be reintroduced in March 1949 to deal with the adverse food situation. The government had to reintroduce controls and carry-out price support operations to curb the fall in prices. It opened an additional 10,000 ration shops between October 1956 and September 1957, and released its stocks to combat price rise. This episode underscored the need for the government to intervene in the market to influence prices and output. The Food Grains Enquiry Committee recommended the setting up of institutions like the FCI and the CACP for this purpose. The governments decision to promote cash transfers in the National Food Security Bill presented in the recently concluded session of Parliament ignores these lessons from Indias past.

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?????????? ???????? 15. ???????????????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????? ????????????????? 66 ??????. ?????????????????????? ?????? ??? ???????.

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Options Jinu Muraleedharan THE SWEETEST OF THE DEATH WOULD BE TO GET KILLED BY YOUR LOVER.. Sexual cannibalism refers to a female cannibalizing of her male mate prior to, during or after copulation. It is a phenomenon characterized primarily by members of arachnid orders as well as several insect orders. The adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken Identity hypothesis are several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many of the species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female will cannibalize the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression. Source- wikipedia THE SWEETEST OF THE DEATH WOULD BE TO GET KILLED BY YOUR LOVER.. Sexual cannibalism refers to a female cannibalizing of her male mate prior to, during or after copulation. It is a phenomenon characterized primarily by members of arachnid orders as well as several insect orders. The adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken Identity hypothesis are several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many of the species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female will cannibalize the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression.

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exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female will cannibalize the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression. Source- wikipedia THE SWEETEST OF THE DEATH WOULD BE TO GET KILLED BY YOUR LOVER.. Sexual cannibalism refers to a female cannibalizing of her male mate prior to, during or after copulation. It is a phenomenon characterized primarily by members of arachnid orders as well as several insect orders. The adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken Identity hypothesis are several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many of the species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female will cannibalize the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression. Source- wikipedia Like Share 9 hours ago Arjun Surendran, Jinesh PS and 2 others like this.

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Options Jinu Muraleedharan THE SWEETEST OF THE DEATH WOULD BE TO GET KILLED BY YOUR LOVER.. Sexual cannibalism refers to a female cannibalizing of her male mate prior to, during or after copulation. It is a phenomenon characterized primarily by members of arachnid orders as well as several insect orders. The adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken Identity hypothesis are several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many of the species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female will cannibalize the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression. Source- wikipedia THE SWEETEST OF THE DEATH WOULD BE TO GET KILLED BY YOUR LOVER.. Sexual cannibalism refers to a female cannibalizing of her male mate prior to, during or after copulation. It is a phenomenon characterized primarily by members of arachnid orders as well as several insect orders. The adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken Identity hypothesis are several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many of the species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female will cannibalize the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression. Source- wikipedia Like Share 9 hours ago Arjun Surendran, Jinesh PS and 2 others like this.

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View comments(15) RELATED NEWS With universal PDS, TN lukewarm about Food Security BillJUNE 10, 2013 UPA all set to push for ordinance on Food bill todayJUNE 13, 2013 Decision on food bill ordinance put offJUNE 13, 2013 The promise of unconditional moneyDECEMBER 6, 2012 Cash transfers can help make India less unequal, but are not a magic bulletJANUARY 10, 2013 Pass food Bill even without amendments: SenMAY 6, 2013 SEWA model shows cash transfers work JANUARY 2, 2013 MORE IN: Op-Ed | Opinion

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Since the 1950s, India has made major strides in agricultural production as evidenced by the large government-held stocks of wheat and rice. However, problems of inadequate nutrition, starvation and double digit food price inflation remain. Strengthening of the PDS, as seen in Chhattisgarh and

Tamil Nadu, would serve the purpose of ensuring food security for the nation through stabilising prices, production and consumption. Since the 1950s, India has made major strides in agricultural production as evidenced by the large government-held stocks of wheat and rice. However, problems of inadequate nutrition, starvation and double digit food price inflation remain. Strengthening of the PDS, as seen in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, would serve the purpose of ensuring food security for the nation through stabilising prices, production and consumption. Since the 1950s, India has made major strides in agricultural production as evidenced by the large government-held stocks of wheat and rice. However, problems of inadequate nutrition, starvation and double digit food price inflation remain. Strengthening of the PDS, as seen in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, would serve the purpose of ensuring food security for the nation through stabilising prices, production and consumption. As seen in the past, government withdrawal from the food sector can lead to a decline in production and an increase in hoarding and speculative activity. Unlike the PDS, cash transfers cannot counter the resultant shortages and price rise. In a growing economy like India with constantly increasing demand, the government needs to intervene on both the demand and supply sides to ensure food security for all its citizens.

The biggest backers of the Democratic cause urged Barack Obama on Friday to take historic action on climate change by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline.

Opponents of the pipeline fear the project seems headed for approval, despite Mr. Obamas promises to act on climate change in his second term Opponents of the pipeline say it will open up the vast store of carbon in the Alberta tar sands. The pipeline could pump up to 830,000 barrels a day of tar sands crude to refineries on the Texas coast.

This decision more than any other will signal your direction, your commitment, your resolve, the letter said. It is the biggest, most explicit statement you will make in this historic moment, the moment when America turns from denial to solutions or fails to.

Opponents of the pipeline say it will open up the vast store of carbon in the Alberta tar sands. The pipeline could pump up to 830,000 barrels a day of tar sands crude to refineries on the Texas coast.

The Keystone Pipeline System is a pipeline system to transport oil sands bitumen from Canada and the northern United States "primarily to refineries in the Gulf Coast" of Texas.[notes 1]

Starting in spring, 2011, environmental and global warming activist Bill McKibben took the question of the pipeline to NASA scientist James Hansen, who told McKibben the pipeline would be "game over for the planet"

The main issues are the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and 1217% higher greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of oil sands compared to extraction of conventional oil.[48][49] A concern is that a pipeline spill would pollute air and critical water supplies and harm migratory birds and other wildlife.[26] Its original route plan crossed the Sandhills, the large wetland ecosystem in Nebraska, and the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world.[50][43] The Ogallala Aquifer spans eight states, provides drinking water for two million people, and supports $20 billion in agriculture.[51] Critics say that a major leak could ruin drinking water and devastate the mid-western U.S. economy.[44][52] After opposition for laying the pipeline in this area, TransCanada agreed to change the route and skip the Sand Hills.[42]

The main issues are the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and 1217% higher greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of oil sands compared to extraction of conventional oil.[48][49] A concern is that a pipeline spill would pollute air and critical water supplies and harm migratory birds and other wildlife.[26] Its original route plan crossed the Sandhills, the large wetland ecosystem in Nebraska, and the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world.[50][43] The Ogallala Aquifer spans eight states, provides drinking water for two million people, and supports $20 billion in agriculture.[51] Critics say that a major leak could ruin drinking water and devastate the mid-western U.S. economy.[44][52] After opposition for laying the pipeline in this area, TransCanada agreed to change the route and skip the Sand Hills.[42]

The point-of-use device has been designed for providing pathogen-free water to poor households in India and Kenya. Expected to cost about Rs. 500, it will last a lifetime, says Dr. Venkat.

Dr. Venkat also intends scientifically demonstrating the physiological benefits of copper such as improving immunity, as per Ayurveda. According to her, the surface area of the device to the volume of water is crucial and has been standardised for efficacy. Infectious diarrhoea is the cause of around 2.2 million deaths every year, most of them of children under five from developing countries U.S., Indian officials review issues for Strategic Dialogue

From Indias perspective, the U.S. must open up more employment opportunities for its skilled workers, while Washington wanted preferential access for its goods, a move it has initiated with several trading blocs.

India referred to immigration reforms now under consideration in the U.S. and sought greater access for highlyskilled non-immigrant categories. India referred to immigration reforms now under consideration in the U.S. and sought greater access for highlyskilled non-immigrant categories.

With just about a week left for the visit of Chinese Prime Minister, Li Keqiang, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday sought to play down the recent border tension following the incursion of Chinese troops in Ladakh.

Referring to a proposal for a border defence cooperation agreement, Mr. Khurshid said the Special Representatives of the two countries would meet in a couple of months to discuss it.

just like a logger for whom a wood(forest) means nothing more than timber that he must harvest for conversion into products, no matter what happens as a result to the forest as an ecosystem, for a developer (with few notable exceptions), a river is nothing but water that must be utilised to meet human needs.

Here lies the real tragedy that our forests as well as the rivers face, with one notable exception. The forests with an all India service, number of laws and a listing in the Constitutions concurrent list has prima facie a lot going for them in terms of protection and sound management, while for the rivers there is hardly any of the above.

There is no river law in the land and whatever institutions exist in the form of Central Water Commission (CWC) in the Union Ministry of Water Resources or the National Rivers Conservation Directorate (NRCD) in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests remain steadfastly water focussed. It might be interesting and educative to contrast this situation with the late 19{+t}{+h}Century when the then British colonists had enacted the River Conservancy Act, also called the Madras Act No VI of 1884, for the conservancy of rivers in the Madras Presidency.

For rivers, currently lost in a watery grave, the common refrain, when their protection has been talked of, has been that since water in the Constitution is a state subject, there is little that the Centre can do for the rivers, if the States choose not to act. But here lie one of the greatest constitutional myths.

The fact is that the Constitutional framers under Entry 56 of the Union List (List I) had actually put all the inter-state rivers (there is hardly any river which is not inter-state) under the stewardship of the Union government and had even made water as defined and listed under Entry 17 of the State List (List II) subject to the provisions of Entry 56.

water as a state subject is actually conditional and not absolute as is commonly understood.

Enacting a National Rivers Commission Act that would have the ability and the authority with penal provisions, to ensure that our rivers remain healthy is a necessity of the hour

A healthy rives entails assured ecological flows, secured flood plains, vibrant aquatic and riparian biodiversity, and to retain the ability to recharge the aquifers and to form the alluvial and coastal deposits on their path.

To sum up, the rivers must be restored by law to play their original and critical role in the local, regional and global hydrological, nutrient and climatic impacts and cycles. Lest sick rivers become one of the worst causes as well as indicators of the menacing climate changes becoming perceptible by the day.

Sugarcane thats less thirsty

Reducing the crops water footprint cushioned sugarcane farmers in Maharashtras Bilda village from the damaging consequencesof the current drought

Thanks to the Sustainable Sugar Initiative (SSI),

could more than double their yields, from an average of 25 tonnes from an acre. Mr. Jadhar had gone a step ahead in optimising water use by taking inter-crop of tomato amidst rows of sugarcane.

The visuals cover subjects like bud selection and treatment, nursery raising, main field preparation, transplantation, weeding, mulching, fertiliser application, water management, earthing up, detrashing, propping, plant protection, intercropping and harvesting.

cocktail of 17 such practices, grouped under what has been known as better management practices (BMP), helped farmers achieve 50 per cent reduction in seeding material alongside no less than 30 per cent increase in yield. Consequent increase in sugar recovery got farmers a better price

for their produce from the sugar mills. Notable among the practices has been a shift from flood to furrow system of irrigation which could save as much as 50 per cent water.

Together with paddy, sugarcane consumes maximum proportion of water utilised in agriculture, and hence also of the total water consumed, since agriculture itself as a sector consumes about 70-80 per cent vis-a-vis other sectors. Given the fact that sugarcane is grown on four lakh hectares, reduction in its water footprint can contribute significantly to reducing irrigation water consumption. Further, it is a Rs. 30,000-crore-sector accounting for principal livelihood of 35 million farmers, and 50 million others who are employed in 571 sugar-related industries. India has right to develop border facilities: Antony

The country has well-established procedures to sort out issues with neighbours

Pointing out that status quo ante was restored after the issue of the three-week Chinese incursion in eastern Ladakh was sorted out through diplomacy and negotiations, Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Saturday said India had the right to develop infrastructure, facilities and capabilities on its land. Terming the commissioning of the MiG 29K squadron, INAS 303, a red letter day for the Navy, the Minister said the latest squadron would operate from INS Vikramaditya, formerly Admiral Gorshkov, the aircraft carrier that would be delivered later this year.

Naval aviation is set to get more teeth with the new and capable aircraft joining the fleet. Nearly 20 MiG 29K aircraft have been inducted into the Navys air arm and the squadron was formally commissioned

The latest squadron would form the fighter complement of INS Vikramaditya. Contracts had been signed for more MiG 29K aircraft and would form the complement of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1,

which is under construction at the Kochi shipyard. Ever since the decommissioning of INS Vikrant in 1997, INS Viraat with its integral air arm of Sea Harriers, Sea Kings and Chetaks has been central to fleet operations till date. Spend more on R&D to spur innovation: Pranab

India needs to step up expenditure on research to pursue innovation in a big way, said President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday, while expressing concern that the countrys innovation bottom line was not very encouraging. He urged the private sector to increase their share of spending to the levels prevailing in countries such as South Korea, Japan and USA.

India Globalisation, the President said, had rewritten the rules of business and only the most competitive and resilient companies could expect to survive in the fiercely global market. If our systems are strong and robust, the world will respect us and be willing to work with us, he said.

Just as the industrial revolution did a lot of damage and is still doing, drugs will do the same if left unchecked

chinkis chinkis.

chinkis chinkis chinkis

States oppose declared goods tag for mobile phones

State finance ministers, on Saturday, turned down the Centres request to place mobile phones and tablets in the list of declared goods in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, saying the idea was untenable.

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19/8/2013

Get SMS facility is available only 3 days before the date of boarding for this ticket. Get SMS facility is available only 3 days before the date of boarding for this ticket. Get SMS facility is available only 3 days before the date of boarding for this ticket.

19/8/2013 An expert committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has found the emissions from all the stacks at the Sterlites copper unit at Tuticorin to be within the permissible limit prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board when the plant was in normal operation.

Farm leaders to look at support price fixing method

A committee comprising farmers representatives will look at the method of fixing the minimum support price of agricultural commodities.

It will suggest if there is a need for the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to reposition itself in the light of the demands from farmers to raise the remunerative price for essential commodities.

The panel will also look at the existing structure of tariff, taxes and credit to suggest measures to make MSP more competitive and remunerative to the farmers and encourage diversified agriculture growth.

With the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) establishing an insurmountable lead over other parties in the Pakistan National Assembly, the interest was primarily on who would emerge runner-up Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The Navys long-range maritime patrol capabilities will also get a boost with the induction of the first Boeing P8-1 aircraft this year, making it only the second operator of this aircraft after the U.S. Navy. Coastal surveillance capabilities are also being increased with additional UAVs which have been integrated with fleet operations and can be controlled by fleet ships.

The first ever blue book on India released in China by a prominent official Beijing publisher has portrayed a government in serious crisis, but expressed the belief that India would likely emerge as a stronger country by conquering its current obstacles.

Chinese think tanks release blue books every year on a number of issues. While not representing the governments view, the books are put together by official think tanks and the projects are understood to be given tacit backing by the government.

According to a brief summary, the book sees India as weighed down by a number of crises particularly corruption scandals but also details Indias rising military strength, which it sees as being partly directed at China.

On the foreign policy front, the blue book notes that India has focused on boosting relations with its neighbours in South Asia, pushed forward peace with Pakistan and developed strategic relations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal countries with which China has also recently deepened economic ties.

It sees the United States pivot to Asia and strengthening of alliances in the region viewed by most analysts in China as being directed to contain Beijing as accelerating Indias Look East policy, observing that Indias defence cooperation with the U.S., Japan, Vietnam and Australia has warmed.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has congratulated Nawaz Sharif, whose party won the most seats in the recent Parliamentary elections in Pakistan. His strategic policy managers heaved a sigh of relief over the relatively decisive mandate because this was the second item on Indias wishlist. The first was parties contesting the elections in Pakistan not bringing India on their agendas. In his congratulatory message, the Prime Minister especially took note of the high voting, despite the almost continuous violence that scarred campaigning for the elections.

Bilateral ties between India and Pakistan had stalled late last year over security issues the hanging of Kashmiri separatist Afzal Guru and Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab, a skirmish that ended with the beheading of an Indian soldier, and the beating to death of two prisoners in each others jails. The Prime Ministers security managers felt the clear mandate would make it much easier to work with Islamabad in building up a bilateral relationship. But it would be ideal if the new government was more in control of security and foreign policy issues. The sources had in mind the Mumbai attacks of 2008 and the Kargil attack almost a decade earlier, both under the watch of democratic governments in Pakistan. These attacks completely roiled the delicate political and diplomatic attempts at mending bilateral fences. An official TRAI paper has, yet again, exposed the hollowness of television ratings system, which determines huge ad budgets and shapes what we consume

Till the end of 2012, the answer came from television viewership patterns in 8100 households across India. Now, Television Audience Measurement (TAM) Media Research, the only agency measuring how TV is watched in the country, bases its data on 9100 households. For a country with 160 million television households, where TV revenues were estimated at 34,000 crore in 2011, the implications of this data are huge

Produced in the form of weekly Television Ratings Points (TRPs), this guides the broadcast industry in various forms. Channel heads look it up and draw programming guidelines accordingly. Marketing departments of the networks mine through it to understand how to sell shows. Advertising agencies and companies determine how to spend their budgets, advertise on which channel, at what time, during which programme.

But it has been an open secret in the industry that this system of measuring data is full of gaping holes. The private broadcaster, New Delhi Television (NDTV), has filed a case against TAM India and its backers in a US court for indulging in corrupt practices. Now, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a consultation paper, which exposes the limits of the current approach and asks stakeholders to come up with an alternative model.

TRAI paper points out the problems with the system

Details of the methodology to measure ratings are not in the public domain. Adequate sample size representing complete demographic profile...all delivery platforms, full geographical coverage...is required for statistical accuracy

Measuring 9000 households

a distorted picture.

The paper claims that the secrecy of the selected households is not maintained

There exist crossholdings between rating agency and broadcasters, advertisers and ad agencies, with stark conflict of interest issues. There is neither a credible complaint mechanism, nor disclosure related to sale and use of ratings. TRAI says, it will hamper the growth of the TV industry, as financial decisions, production of content, and its scheduling are largely influenced by television ratings Effects of error will get perpetuated in the eco-system

Broadcasters produce shows audience is not interested in; advertisers spend money but miss their target groups; viewers do not get desired content.

TRAI has sought views on what could be an effective model for ratings

According to TRAI, minimum eligibility conditions for rating agencies, and a robust methodology with transparent selection of households, representative and large panel size, and maintaining secrecy of panel homes are important. The paper also flags the impact of digitisation. Trends indicate that people meters, the viewership measurement device, can be integrated with the Set Top Boxes, which will provide authentic data rapidly. There is also a need for clear guidelines on cross-holdings in rating agencies to avoid a situation where a few players have an interest, and the capacity, to manipulate data in a particular way.

Transparency is the key theme of the consultation paper rating agencies are expected to disclose ownership pattern, methodology, get audited, and report periodically to a regulatory mechanism.

It indicates that a market exists for multiple rating agencies, and the main issue is how to encourage effective competition. Industry has engaged in blame-game with few willing to pay up for modernising audience measurement. But as the farcical nature of the current system becomes increasingly apparent, TRAIs paper may provide the impetus on an issue which shapes what millions of viewers watch and consume. Industry has engaged in blame-game with few willing to pay up for modernising audience measurement. But as the farcical nature of the current system becomes increasingly apparent, TRAIs paper may provide the impetus on an issue which shapes what millions of viewers watch and consume. Undeterred by the economic slowdown, burden of high inflation and rising interest rates, Indian families are gearing up to have at least two vacations during 2013, according to a latest survey.

The The Association of Physicians of India has embarked on an exercise to draw up a fresh set of adult immunisation guidelines. The agenda is now to specify what vaccines are important for adults to take, when to take them, and weigh in the risks against benefits.

API drew up a set of guidelines for adult immunisation in 2009. There have been several changes since then. Newer technologies are available now, in vaccine manufacturing. These sophisticated manufacturing techniques have rendered vaccines more effective, and with fewer and fewer adverse effects after immunisation. This means we have to redraw our guidelines all over again. He says all adults over 50 years need to maintain protection against conditions such as seasonal influenza (Flu); pneumococcal disease (pneumonia, sepsis, meningitis); Hepatitis B infection (for adults who have diabetes or are at risk for hepatitis B); tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (for all adults who have not previously received this); and shingles (for adults 60 years and older).

Vaccination is also a way to ensure fewer hospitalisations for complications, he adds.

all adult vaccines are important, he stresses again. But, it is all the more important for people with immune compromised conditions, diabetes, liver disease, heart disease, respiratory diseases, and those in high risk situations to take the vaccines to get vaccinated, NABARD shifts blame for corporate warehousing scheme to FinMin, RBI

In the eye of the storm for funding corporate warehousing projects on terms far softer than those offered to poor farmers, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is now blaming the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the transgressions.

Following a story in The Hindu , (As farmers suffer, NABARD offers soft loans to corporates, December 10, 2012), NABARD came under pressure from the RBI and withdrew its controversial Rs. 2,000-crore Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) scheme with retrospective effect. NABARD was merely implementing a scheme announced by Finance Minister in his Budget speech, say top officials

Centre to establish Bureau of Water Use Efficiency

The Bureau will be an authority to regulate and control water uses

The Centre will establish a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency as an authority for promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial uses.

decided in the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the National Water Mission that was established as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. for improving water use efficiency by 20 per cent, the Mission will review the National and State Water Policies and prepare Sate-specific Action Plans for water sector through consultation process.

improving water use efficiency across various sectors namely irrigation, drinking water supply, power generation and industry.

will take up five benchmarking irrigation projects in parts of the country to demonstrate water use efficiency through water supply on volumetric basis, empowering Water Users Associations to price water and collect water charges and demonstrating state-of-the-art technologies. establish Water Regulatory Authorities for overseeing water pricing and mandatory water audits.

guidelines to States for basin-wise uses of water for irrigation, drinking and industrial use. studies will be undertaken on impact of climate change, if any, on water resources.

funding and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, With funding and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry will initiate a National Water Use Efficiency Improvement Support Programme With funding and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry will initiate a National Water Use Efficiency Improvement Support Programme to identify priority actions.

With funding and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry will initiate a National Water Use Efficiency Improvement Support Programme to identify priority actions.

With funding and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry will initiate a National Water Use Efficiency Improvement Support Programme to identify priority actions.

lthough global economic recovery still remains fragile and the road back to normalcy is a long and difficult one, the fortunes of Indias pharmaceutical industry remain upbeat. Whereas the financial

year gone by has been a dismal one for companies in most sectors, domestic pharmaceutical companies have not only bucked the trend but have seen huge growth in their market capitalisation. In 2012-13, the BSE Healthcare Index returned 21 per cent compared to the modest 8 per cent rise in the Sensex, and the stocks of 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by market cap) outperformed the broader index.

lthough global economic recovery still remains fragile and the road back to normalcy is a long and difficult one, the fortunes of Indias pharmaceutical industry remain upbeat. Whereas the financial year gone by has been a dismal one for companies in most sectors, domestic pharmaceutical companies have not only bucked the trend but have seen huge growth in their market capitalisation. In 2012-13, the BSE Healthcare Index returned 21 per cent compared to the modest 8 per cent rise in the Sensex, and the stocks of 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by market cap) outperformed the broader index. lthough global economic recovery still remains fragile and the road back to normalcy is a long and difficult one, the fortunes of Indias pharmaceutical industry remain upbeat. Whereas the financial year gone by has been a dismal one for companies in most sectors, domestic pharmaceutical companies have not only bucked the trend but have seen huge growth in their market capitalisation. In 2012-13, the BSE Healthcare Index returned 21 per cent compared to the modest 8 per cent rise in the Sensex, and the stocks of 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by market cap) outperformed the broader index.

lthough global economic recovery still remains fragile and the road back to normalcy is a long and difficult one, the fortunes of Indias pharmaceutical industry remain upbeat. Whereas the financial year gone by has been a dismal one for companies in most sectors, domestic pharmaceutical companies have not only bucked the trend but have seen huge growth in their market capitalisation. In 2012-13, the BSE Healthcare Index returned 21 per cent compared to the modest 8 per cent rise in the Sensex, and the stocks of 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by market cap) outperformed the broader index. lthough global economic recovery still remains fragile and the road back to normalcy is a long and difficult one, the fortunes of Indias pharmaceutical industry remain upbeat. Whereas the financial year gone by has been a dismal one for companies in most sectors, domestic pharmaceutical companies have not only bucked the trend but have seen huge growth in their market capitalisation. In 2012-13, the BSE Healthcare Index returned 21 per cent compared to the modest 8 per cent rise in the Sensex, and the stocks of 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by market cap) outperformed the broader index.

lthough global economic recovery still remains fragile and the road back to normalcy is a long and difficult one, the fortunes of Indias pharmaceutical industry remain upbeat. Whereas the financial year gone by has been a dismal one for companies in most sectors, domestic pharmaceutical companies have not only bucked the trend but have seen huge growth in their market capitalisation. In 2012-13, the BSE Healthcare Index returned 21 per cent compared to the modest 8 per cent rise in the Sensex, and the stocks of 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by market cap) outperformed the broader index. Healthcare reforms initiated by the U.S. government, aimed primarily at reducing healthcare spending and extending public healthcare to a larger proportion of the population, are expected to continue driving growth in the generics market.

The picture in Europe, the other major pharmaceutical market, is not quite as rosy austerity measures could act as a double-edged sword for Indian players.

Indias pharma companies have established in some of the other fast-growing semi-regulated markets such as Russia, South Africa, select Latin American countries (Brazil and Mexico) and Southeast Asia. These emerging markets offer strong growth prospects for Indian players given that some of them are branded generics markets, with high out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare

Indias pharma companies have established in some of the other fast-growing semi-regulated markets such as Russia, South Africa, select Latin American countries (Brazil and Mexico) and Southeast Asia. These emerging markets offer strong growth prospects for Indian players given that some of them are branded generics markets, with high out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare

Such alliances benefit from the development and manufacturing capabilities of the Indian partners and the extensive marketing and distribution footprint of the MNCs in those markets. Economic growth forecasts for the current year (2013-14) by official and non-official agencies have started coming in at regular intervals. On May 3, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its annual credit policy statement, estimated gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.7 per cent, which is a full one percentage point below the top end of the union budgets forecast of between 6.1 per cent and 6.7 per cent Border issue must stay in focus, says Chinese official

It was encouraging, he said, that the timely deployment of the joint border dispute resolution mechanism and opening of several communication channels had stopped a local issue spreading to vitiate bilateral relations in other spheres. At the same time the border question must not be put on the backburner, he advised.

It was encouraging, he said, that the timely deployment of the joint border dispute resolution mechanism and opening of several communication channels had stopped a local issue spreading to vitiate bilateral relations in other spheres. At the same time the border question must not be put on the backburner, he advised.

The official said there were two options: either let the situation spin out of control, cause frictions and drag down the entire bilateral relationship, or keep channels of communications open as was done this time. We did quite a good job by using the second option. Think about it, he said.

We must redouble efforts to push forward framework for negotiations as soon as possible

akistan Prime Minister-designate Nawaz Sharif said he would be very happy to have Dr. Singh at his swearing-in ceremony. I will be very happy to extend that invitation. If they will come, it will be a great pleasure for me and for Pakistan, he said in an interaction with foreign journalists at his palatial house in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore.

A mothers milk bank just opened in Udaipur is expected to provide succour to babies who cannot be breastfed for medical reasons

The infant mortality rate of India is 46 per thousand. This figure can be reduced by 22per cent if there is donated mothers milk available. This thought has been the main inspiration behind setting up of a Mothers Milk Bank in Udaipur.

Called Divya Mothers Milk Bank, it aims to provide screened, processed and pasteurised mothers milk to protect, promote and support the infants and babies in need, If mothers milk is not available, then the next best option for a child is donated mothers milk as it will increase the survival chances of the infants by six times If mothers milk is not available, then the next best option for a child is donated mothers milk as it will increase the survival chances of the infants by six times Donated milk is made available to children in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) and also to those infants who have been prescribed so by the doctors, according to Dr. R.K. Agarwal, chief operating officer of Milk Bank, says.

Three Indians have been selected for the 100 Young Leaders programme of Women Deliver conference to be held at Kuala Lumpur later this month. Women Deliver is dubbed as the largest global event of the decade to focus on the health and empowerment of girls and women.

The three Indians selected are: Smarak Samarjeet Anuja Hazarika works with an NGO Beyond Social Services.

Bijoyeta Das is with Womens eNews A global conference to be held this month will root for continuing investments for womens health

The conference will address a number of key issues related to girls and women across the region, including leadership, health, violence against women, and education Nancy Powell hails growing India-U.S. trade

U.S. Ambassador Nancy J. Powell on Monday expressed optimism over the growing commercial ties with India and underscored the work done by the two countries in reducing input costs of farmers and improving farm productivity.

Trade brings people together, creates jobs and provides countless new opportunities for people in both our countries. There is plenty of room for growth, and we need to see where we can best help each other because a healthy balance of trade is essential,

At a meeting attended by government officials, scientists, agriculture staff and women farmers, she said the U.S.-India partnership is based on the joint commitment to improve agriculture productivity and climate resilience, and increase farm profits.

At a meeting attended by government officials, scientists, agriculture staff and women farmers, she said the U.S.-India partnership is based on the joint commitment to improve agriculture productivity and climate resilience, and increase farm profits.

The control of tobacco is an integral part of global public health strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and the growing burden of non-communicable disease partnership with civil society to identify the weak links in the enforcement chain and take remedial actio there has not been much capacity-building or recruitment of personnel in this area

here is something to be learnt here from the aggressive international efforts to curb the sale of tobacco products, with the help of NGOs

The bigger and unmet challenge, though, is to bring smoked tobacco, including bidis, under similar control.

The ugly head of protectionism seems to be rising yet again in the United States where a group of senators the Gang of Eight as they have been nicknamed have introduced a bill in the Senate with provisions designed to make outsourcing expensive and cumbersome. The provisions of the bill will affect Indian IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Cognizant and Wipro, for all of whom the U.S. is the biggest market accounting for at least three-quarters of their respective businesses. There are three key provisions of the bill that worry Indian IT companies. First, H1B/L1 visa holders should not account for more than 50 per cent of the workforce of outsourcing companies in the U.S. Second, outplacement, or the number of employees working at client sites, should not constitute more than a specified part of the workforce. Finally, wages paid to H1B/L1 visa holders should not be less than the prevalent wages for similar work in the U.S. In addition, the visa fees will also increase steeply.

The objectives of the Gang of Eight are clear: push outsourcing companies to recruit local talent, and blunt the cost advantage that they enjoy through the relatively lower wages that they pay their employees in relation to equivalent American talent. Laudable objectives really, except that the senators have overlooked one important issue: the shortage of technology workers in the U.S. Gang of Eight may well be making things more difficult for a whole bunch of U.S. industries, from insurance and banking to health care and automobiles Indian IT companies and the projects they are working on for their clients have helped the latter to cut costs and increase efficiencies in these times of recession. This coupled with the fact that the unemployment rate for technology workers in the U.S. is less than 4 per cent makes it clear that the bill is a very bad idea. To be sure, the draft will undergo several changes. As the bill passes through

the House of Representatives in the next few months, U.S. clients of outsourcing companies are likely to weigh in and demand dilution of its provisions. To push them towards doing that should be the single-point agenda of the Indian IT industry.

China announces Premier Li Keqiangs visits to India, Pakistan

Jurists want India to sign Hague Convention on International Child Abduction

Increasing number of cases of father or mother abducting child, fleeing country

Jurists and eminent academicians on Monday called upon India to not only sign the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction but also legislate on it. For, the number of cases of either the father or the mother abducting the child and fleeing the country of stay was increasing.

The multilateral treaty provides for an expeditious method to return a child taken from one member-nation to another. The Convention currently has 89 member-nations worldwide, but India is not a signatory so far. It seeks to protect children internationally from the harmful effects of their removal or retention and to establish procedures to ensure their prompt return to the state of their habitual residence as well as to secure protection for the rights of access. The participants said given the increased international mobility, there has been a steady rise in cross-border parental child removal cases. Last year, India was second only to Pakistan as a destination for children removed from the United Kingdom alone by one parent against the wishes of the other.

When an NRI marriage breaks, child custody fight occurs across the seas

One lakh children in India die of diarrhoea annually: Lancet

second leading killer of young children globally, after pneumonia. India accounts for the highest number of diarrhoeal deaths, a latest study has suggested.

The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) is the largest study ever conducted on diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries

rotavirus as the leading cause of diarrhoeal diseases among infants under 11 months across all sites and identified other top causes for which additional research is urgently needed.

GEMS evaluated nearly 40 pathogens to map each ones relative contribution to diarrhoeal disease. Combining data from all seven study countries, GEMS found that approximately one in five children under the age of two suffer from moderate-to-severe diarrhoea (MSD) each year, which increased childrens risk of death 8.5 fold and lead to stunted growth over a two-month follow-up period.

Expanding access to vaccines for rotavirus could save thousands of lives and help avoid numerous hospitalisations, thereby improving the lives of children and families while simultaneously reducing significant burden on the healthcare costs, the report suggested.

The world has entered a new danger zone with levels of Earth-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere never experienced by humankind, the United Nations (U.N.) climate chief warned on Monday.

When it breached the CO2 threshold of 400 parts per million (ppm) last week, the world crossed a historic threshold and entered a new danger zone, Christiana Figueres said in a statement urging policy action.

The level measured by U.S. monitors has not existed on Earth in three to five million years a time when temperatures were several degrees warmer and the sea level was 20 to 40 meters higher than today, experts say. Before the Industrial Revolution, when man first started pumping carbon into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, CO2 levels were about 280 ppm rising steadily since records began in the 1950s. The U.N. is targeting a maximum temperature rise of two degrees Celsius on pre-industrial levels for manageable climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which informs policy makers, has said CO2 must be limited to 400 ppm for a temperature rise of 2-2.4 degree Celsius . Climate negotiations have been making poor progress and the yearly rise has led many to conclude that warming of three or four degree Celsuis is probable by centurys end South Korea and a U.S. strike force led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz kicked off on Monday a joint naval drill slammed by North Korea as a wanton provocation and rehearsal for war.

An attempt to reposition family planning within the framework of maternal and child health and womens rights, instead of as tool for population control

Every Indian State has its share of Poonams, who, in the absence of relevant knowledge and access to family planning services, have no control over their lives. In a bid to make a difference to women like her, the government has been working towards nationally repositioning family planning within the framework of maternal and child health and womens rights, instead of seeing it as tool for population control.

The reality is that even though Indias Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined to 2.5 and many States have achieved replacement level fertility, it has not meant a significant decline in maternal and

infant mortality levels. Among the reasons for this is the large unmet need for family planning, which stands at an estimated 32 million.

One delaying age at marriage and at first birth, increasing birth spacing and improving quality of family planning services.

There can be no greater violation of a girls human rights than forcing her into a physical relation by way of marriage To delay marriage, while the PFI review recommends keeping girls in school, intensive community mobilisation and providing life skills education to young women and men, in Dr Sinhas experience, too, talking education with the family along with the possibility of a job is the most powerful weapon against early marriage. We are advocating the opening of a high school in every panchayat. Moreover, the State government has been distributing cycles to girls in Class IX and X so that they can travel independently to the nearest high school. Besides averting early marriages, engaging young couples on contraception use to delay the first pregnancy and ensure adequate birth spacing is another priority area. After facing the wrath of the Supreme Court for having failed to ensure functional autonomy to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Union government on Tuesday formed a Group of Ministers to draft a law to shield the premier investigating agency from external interferences.

An indigenously developed vaccine that could cost just Rs. 50 a dose was unveiled here on Tuesday to treat severe rotavirus diarrhoea, which kills more than one lakh children aged below five in India every year.

Noted Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer, 73, passed away at his home in Santa Cruz

Mid Day Meals programme being implemented by Akshaya Patra a non-governmental organisation for Rajasthan government. UGC sets up panel to draft bill for administration of Central varsities

There is plenty of symbolism and not a little substance in the selection of Brazils Roberto Azevedo as the new head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Though not the first from the developing world to occupy the post, he is the first from Latin America and comes from a major emerging market country rapidly growing in stature and ready to demonstrate its clout in the international economic arena. The incumbent, Pascal Lamy, a Frenchman and a former European trade commissioner, has been accused of bias towards the West. Although the selection process at the WTO is opaque, it is the near unanimous support of the developing countries that reportedly saw him through, overcoming the tepid response of the U.S. and the European Union.

The vote is a pointer to what would happen at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund if those institutions were to ever be democratised. The problem is that if the developed countries remain lukewarm to his leadership, Mr. Azevedos task of reversing the WTOs declining relevance in the wake of its failure to broker a global trade deal becomes that much more difficult. The Doha round was launched in the Qatari capital nearly 12 years ago to cut tariffs and trade distorting subsidies but is now on life support. Talks broke down in mid-2008 over seemingly irreconcilable differences, between the U.S. and India, and also between other countries and groupings

the WTO continues to have a trusted role in monitoring trade agreements and umpiring disputes. Its dispute settlement mechanism allows even the smallest of countries to enforce the rule of law against their more powerful trading partners But but the truth is I carry a faulty gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Double risk

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman. Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 per cent risk of getting it, on average.

My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 per cent to under 5 per cent My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 per cent to under 5 per cent assuaging assuaging assuaging assuaging assuaging assuaging

treading treading treading

How India dealt with Iran without treading on U.S. toes

India has managed to balance the task of assuaging American paranoia about dealing with Tehran as well as confirming with Iran plans to participate in developing a port during External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshids recent visit to Iran.

These mutually clashing aims were accomplished by a relatively simple diplomatic sleight of hand India insisted with the Iranians that only Afghanistan must be mentioned in the portion of the joint statement on their agreement to co-develop the Chabahar port, said highly placed sources here.

The fact that development of Chabahar and extension of infrastructure in the form of a rail link will provide connectivity right up to Central Asia and even Russia via Semipalatinsk, an old silk road town but now infamous for Soviet testing of nuclear weapons, was not mentioned. This is because Washington would have seen it as an Indian effort at bailing out Iran from the unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Western Europe in an attempt to make Tehran walk away from uranium enrichment plans.

Instead, the joint statement deliberately focussed on another route to Central Asia and the Caucasus. This route, the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), is backed by close U.S. allies such as Azerbaijan, besides a host of other countries including Russia. In fact, the next multi-nation meeting on INSTC is slated in Baku.

the sources described the mentioning of only Afghanistan as the key reason for developing Chabahar was to keep the Americans relaxed. For, it is well-known in diplomatic circles that American Ambassadors visit even medium-sized factories in third countries to warn them of the consequences of dealing with Iran if they ever find out that the two sides have established contact.

For now, the official line is that India will co-develop the Chabahar port and then form a joint venture to build a rail line from there to the Afghan border town of Zaranj. India has built a road that cuts across the Pashtun territory from Zaranj to Delaram located on the Afghan garland highway that connects most of the countrys major cities. This road was constructed amidst persistent Taliban attacks that led to several Indians and Afghans being killed.

The Union Cabinet has already committed $ 100 million, a very small amount for developing a port but a huge symbolic gesture.

. India and Iran had prepared the ground earlier by holding a tripartite conference with Afghanistan on the eve of the previous Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran.

As Washington is the most earnest about stabilising Afghanistan, the plan to open this shorter route from Iran to Afghanistans Pashtun provinces and beyond was something the Americans could hardly object to, stated another source.

The logic of Indian involvement in the port is that countries not too well equipped to develop such large infrastructure projects always take the help of a foreign partner However, Iranian and Indian talks on investing in Iranian gasfields will remain pending. The same is the case with the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline which has reached the Pakistani border. It will take about 18 months for the pipeline to reach Islamabad, from where the Indian border is just 200 km. So Indians can afford to wait and hope in the meantime that the geopolitics of the region will change for the better. Otherwise, the Americans wont feel relaxed, said the earlier source. Chabahar

Is India-China deal on border issue in the works ?

three-week face off between Indian and Chinese troops on a desolate plateau in the high ranges of Ladakh an There were two takeaways from the tension, he suggested. The first was that both sides did not allow it to contaminate other spheres of cooperation. The second was this incident should spur both sides to make greater efforts for a quieter border.

China has submitted a draft Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA), which India is studying. Meanwhile, New Delhi suggested that both sides eliminate the grey areas or differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The Hindu spoke to three serving envoys with vast experience in diplomacy and all of them felt the Chinese terming the face-off an isolated incident and Indias response had all the signs of a deal in the works.

Settlement of boundary question will advance basic interests of the two countries

The first phase of Sri Lankas northern railway project, funded by a line of credit facilitated by India, was commissioned on Tuesday.

Tracks along the 43 km-stretch were reconstructed as part of the $800 million-project, being executed by the Indian Railway Ministrys IRCON International Limited to restore the 252 km-railway line that would connect different parts of the countr Tracks along the 43 km-stretch were reconstructed as part of the $800 million-project, being executed by the Indian Railway Ministrys IRCON International Limited to restore the 252 km-railway line that would connect different parts of the countr With CPI (consumer price index) inflation also on a downtrend to a single digit, the marked pulldown in headline inflation during the month to over a three-year low as compared to 7.50 per cent in April 2012 brought more cheer to the authorities than discernible relief to the common man as the WPI data provided enough room to the government to pitch for a further cut in interest rates by the RBI to prop up investments and boost sagging growth.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will soon lift the ban on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as Indian representatives from the government and sports bodies reached an agreement in a meeting with IOC officials in Lausanne on Wednesday. IOC and IOA representatives framed a roadmap for Indias return to the Olympics fold, as the Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh

convinced the IOC that the Sports Bill initially seen by the IOC as a sign of government interference is necessary for good governance of Indian sports. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will soon lift the ban on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as Indian representatives from the government and sports bodies reached an agreement in a meeting with IOC officials in Lausanne on Wednesday. IOC and IOA representatives framed a roadmap for Indias return to the Olympics fold, as the Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh convinced the IOC that the Sports Bill initially seen by the IOC as a sign of government interference is necessary for good governance of Indian sports.

Abhinav Bindra who represented the athletes in the IOC meeting, felt that the developments in Lausanne would pave the way for better administration of sports in the country. The fact that they are willing to work on the sports bill for reforms is the biggest positive, said Bindra from Lausanne.

India gets observer status in Arctic Council

Indias bid for observer status in the Arctic Council was successful on Wednesday along with that of five other countries China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore at a meeting in Kiruna, Sweden.

India would contribute its scientific expertise, particularly in polar research capabilities, to the work of the Arctic Council to support its objectives. India would contribute its scientific expertise, particularly in polar research capabilities, to the work of the Arctic Council to support its objectives. However, at the level of realpolitik, India will be looking at the opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration offered in the Arctic circle by joining hands with either of the five countries gearing up for the purpose the US, Canada, Norway, Russia and Denmark. When geography is considered Russia emerges as the most attractive partner. But for that to happen, India will have to take a firm political stand on the Lomonosov Ridge and the Mendeleev Ridge which Russia claims are an extension of its continental shelf. By supporting Moscows position, India could get access to the rich deposits and also utilise the North Sea Route.

Officially, India maintained that its approach will be solely scientific. Unlike China and South Korea which are going for commercial benefit, our interest is purely scientific. Inflation-linked bonds to hit market in June

Theres now an alternative avenue for those who were in recent times going in for investment in gold as a hedge against inflation. As promised by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the Union budget for 2013-14, the government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Wednesday decided to launch Inflation Indexed Bonds (IIBs) to wean away investors from the yellow metal to paper-based savings instruments.

Announcing the decision, the Finance Ministry in a statement said: the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has decided to launch Inflation Index Bonds (IIBs), as instruments that will protect savings of poor and middle classes from inflation and incentivise household sector to save in financial instruments rather than buy gold. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is preparing to introduce health education as a compulsory subject in schools

If the proposal finally materialises, students in schools across the country will be soon taught about communicable and non-communicable diseases at length. There is also an attempt to try and introduce the students to the best practices followed across the world in terms of prevention of lifestyle associated diseases.

diabetes control and management will be a major part of the syllabus. will also focus on generating awareness about the need to eat healthy, exercise, stay away from alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse. It will give students a holistic view on health.

India has over 61 million diabetic patients today as against 50.8 million last year, an increase of over 12 per cent. Estimates put that by 2030, Indias diabetes burden will cross 100 million, as against 87 million estimated earlier. The International Diabetes Federations (IDF) fifth diabetes atlas says that Indias diabetes prevalence in the age-group of 20-79 is 9.2 per cent and at that rate India is only

second to China in terms of incidence of diabetes. In 2012, diabetes caused 983,000 deaths in India and that way the largest contributor of mortality. screening of people is continuing throughout the country, both in urban and rural areas. The incidence of diabetes is more in the urban centres on account of changing lifestyles. The Centre is supporting the State governments not only for screening but also for meeting the expenses for diabetic treatment. In this regard, he informed that for every 5,000 people in rural areas, one glucometer is being given free for screening and diabetic related treatment is free. A demand for the creation of a separate window under the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) has been made by the industry. It may provide a boost to the countrys domestic solar energy projects by providing easy access to finance for such clean energy technology, the industry has stated in a FICCI white paper.

A demand for the creation of a separate window under the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) has been made by the industry. It may provide a boost to the countrys domestic solar energy projects by providing easy access to finance for such clean energy technology, the industry has stated in a FICCI white paper.

The paper on reducing the cost of finance for solar energy projects through NCEF has been submitted to the government for consideration.

The Fund was announced in the budget 2011-12 and is expected to be a step for funding research and innovative projects in clean energy technology. The white paper in essence, suggests innovative models for sharing and distribution of risk and cost of financing through NCEF as the cost of financing from the domestic Financial Institutions is high. 2011-12 The paper recommends that the interest subsidy be made available for eligible projects and routed through the lenders to such projects so that borrowers would get lower interest rates for the loans while the lenders directly receive the subsidy The FICCI Solar Energy Task Force was launched in February 2010, with the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to provide a platform for the solar energy sector to deliberate on policy and regulatory issues and advance interests of the sector at domestic and global platforms.

Treating solar energy projects under a separate category (say, Renewable Power) or under a sublimit, similar to RPO norms stipulated by Electricity Regulatory Commissions, will provide the much needed fillip to lending to solar energy projects One way to select such projects can be in line with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) scheme for rooftop subsidy, where-in channel partners can directly seek subsidy on behalf of customers. In a similar The government has receiveda white paper from the industry suggesting steps to enhance solar energy projects

Raising awareness about a disease is something celebrities do well. What Magic Johnson did for HIV, and Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikant for polio in India, Angelina Jolie has now done for breast cancer. The Hollywood actor is being feted worldwide for bringing awareness about genetic testing for the disease, and the options available to women who have tested positive for abnormal BReast CAncer genes (BRCA 1/2). Testing positive for either gene puts women at a 65 per cent risk of developing breast cancer on average.

Raising awareness about a disease is something celebrities do well. What Magic Johnson did for HIV, and Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikant for polio in India, Angelina Jolie has now done for breast cancer. The Hollywood actor is being feted worldwide for bringing awareness about genetic testing for the disease, and the options available to women who have tested positive for abnormal BReast CAncer genes (BRCA 1/2). Testing positive for either gene puts women at a 65 per cent risk of developing breast cancer on average.

After decades of creating far-flung resettlement colonies for evicted slum dwellers which often lacked basic services and access to employment the Central government finally refined its thinking on slum policy and introduced the Rajiv Awas Yojana. Though not a panacea, the RAY brings in two crucial innovations by requiring, firstly, that slums be redeveloped in-situ (no more than 1 km from their current location), and secondly, that housing projects be designed in consultation with slum dwellers. Its about a slum policy that stops the proliferation of slums. Middle class India sits in its drawing rooms and marvels at how the poor sell off the flats they are given to move back to slums. But it is precisely the lack of community consultation that fuels this cycle.

Without a design that takes into account their unique social and economic fabric, Govindpuris residents are likely to hand over their flat to the highest bidder. Who could blame them? A forthcoming study by Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Design found that in Delhi, the top floors of a tall building will be uninhabitable for over 150 days of the year without mechanised cooling.

Beyond the cost of cooling, simply pumping water to the upper floors will consume expensive and unsustainable amounts of energy he challenge that pushes the DDA to build skyward is that slum redevelopment projects must achieve the densities that informal settlements have achieved on their own, while ensuring the safety and services necessary for healthy urban living. But architects and designers, together with slum dwellers, have already evolved solutions that achieve density in low-rise settlements. In the east Delhi neighbourhood of Sundernagari, micro Home Solutions and community members developed a four-storey design that smartly integrates green spaces, reduces street widths, and maximises light and ventilation. The density is 600 households per hectare, roughly equivalent to a dense urban slum. Delhis plan to relocate slum dwellers in high-rise buildings shows no lessons have been learnt from the failure of such experiments in American and European cities

Days after Antrix Corporation the Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) commercial arm lost an international arbitration case against its former partner Devas Multimedia Ltd in the Supreme Court, Devas investors took Antrix to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The Court has set up a panel to hear the multi-million dollar claim slapped by Devas Multimedia and its U.S. associates (who invested in the deal through foreign direct investment routed via Mauritius) against the Government of India following the cancellation of the deal for the launch of two satellites and the allocation of S-band spectrum to Devas.

Devas investors take Antrix to arbitration court in The Hague

Days after Antrix Corporation the Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) commercial arm lost an international arbitration case against its former partner Devas Multimedia Ltd in the Supreme Court, Devas investors took Antrix to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The Court has set up a panel to hear the multi-million dollar claim slapped by Devas Multimedia and its U.S. associates (who invested in the deal through foreign direct investment routed via Mauritius) against

the Government of India following the cancellation of the deal for the launch of two satellites and the allocation of S-band spectrum to Devas.

international arbitration citing breach of BIPA (Bilateral Investment Protection & Promotion Agreement) international arbitration citing breach of BIPA (Bilateral Investment Protection & Promotion Agreement) The three will review the damages claim brought by the Devas investor companies under the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Arbitration Rules which entrust the secretary general of the PCA with the role of designating an appointing authority upon request of a party to arbitration proceedings. This role has taken on an increasing significance in recent years. The Mauritius-based firms filed for arbitration last July under the Mauritius-India Bilateral Investment Treaty following the cancellation of the 2005 contract by Antrix Corporation.

The contract had provided for the launch of two satellites allowing Devas to establish a hybrid satellite and terrestrial communications network to supply wireless audio-visual, broadband and mobile internet service across India. Antrix justified the termination of the contract by claiming that Indian policy had changed and that the allocation of S-band Spectrum to companies unconnected with Indias space programme was now regarded as a risk to national security. This change in policy constituted a force majeure event, the company argued.

Courts cant lose sight of social impact of crime against women, says Supreme Court

New Delhi: Offences against women require exemplary punishment from trial courts and High Courts, the Supreme Court has held.

New Delhi: Offences against women require exemplary punishment from trial courts and High Courts, the Supreme Court has held.

In justice delivery system, courts are conscious and mindful of the proportion between the rigour of offence committed and the penalty imposed as also its impact on society in general and the victim of the crime in particular. Social impact of the crime, where it relates to offences against women, cannot be lost sight of and per se requires exemplary treatment. Public abhorrence of the crime needs reflection through imposition of appropriate sentence by the court. Public abhorrence of crime needs reflection through imposition of appropriate sentence

International sanctions have curtailed North Koreas ability to push ahead with its nuclear weapons programme, according to a United Nations (U.N.) report, but doubts remain about how far China will go in implementing U.N. resolutions passed in response to Pyongyangs nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

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While the imposition of sanctions has not halted the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, it has in all likelihood considerably delayed *North Koreas+ timetable and, through the imposition of financial sanctions and the bans on the trade in weapons, has choked off significant funding which would have been channelled into its prohibited activities, said the report.

The assessment comes months after North Korea conducted its third nuclear weapons test and sent a satellite into orbit in a launch many believe was a test of its ballistic missile technology

AirAsia, on Wednesday, named Chennai-born Mittu Chandilya as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its Indian operations.

AirAsia India (Private) Ltd., a joint venture between Air Asia, Tata Sons and Telstra, will start a low cost airline in India by the year-end with Chennai as its hub. Mr. Chandilya will assume office effective June 1, 2013.

Graphene, a one-atom thick lattice of graphite, is a synthetic material with diverse applications ranging from solar cells to diagnostics.

Graphene paves way for better digital storage

Graphene, a one-atom thick lattice of graphite, is a synthetic material with diverse applications ranging from solar cells to diagnostics.

It is simple to synthesise and deploy, and allows scientists to manipulate its properties at the atomic level. Its greatest advantage is that it is much more electrically conductive than copper or silver at room temperature.

Its magnetic capability, however, is nearly unexplo

Its magnetic capability, however, is nearly unexplo

Its magnetic capability, however, is nearly unexplo

This development could potentially open the floodgates on graphenes use in computers, which use magnetic fields to store information on hard-drives.

Manuela Garnica and Sara Barja from UAM first grew a graphene sheet on a base made of the element ruthenium (Ru).

Manuela Garnica and Sara Barja from UAM first grew a graphene sheet on a base made of the element ruthenium (Ru).

Next, they evaporated organic molecules called tetracyano- p -quinodimethane (TCNQ) on the graphene, which gathered on the layer in a condensed manner.

Ms. Garnica, a PhD student, said in an email to this Correspondent, Graphene acts as a separating layer between the ruthenium and TCNQ molecules, preventing TCNQ from bonding with the Ru base. Because Ru is a good electrical conductor, it has a lot of free and highly mobile electrons that move into the graphene layer, and then into the TCNQ layer.

The unique property of graphene to prevent bonding between two layers while allowing charge transfer between them allows the spins of electrons in the top layer to get aligned with those in the bottom. This alignment is called an antiferromagnetic coupling.

Once all electrons have the same spin, the system is said to have a magnetic field. This is the first time graphene has been shown to play a role in the creation of a magnetic field.

Such graphene-Ru arrangements can be used to align electrons with random spins to the same spin. This could find application in faster manipulation of digital information and their high-efficiency storage in computers, Ms. Garnica said.

Graphene is one of the crystalline forms of carbon, alongside diamond, graphite, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. In this material, carbon atoms are arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern. Graphene can be described as a one-atom thick layer of the layered mineral graphite. High quality graphene is

very strong, light, nearly transparent, an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Its interaction with other materials and with light, and its inherently two-dimensional nature, produce some unique properties.

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene".[1] A threat from flu viruses in birds, pigs

A viral surface protein allows the flu virus to enter the human airway

These days, there is a great deal of concern about whether a novel H7N9 bird flu virus, which has been sporadically infecting people in China, could gain the ability to spread easily among humans, thus setting off another influenza pandemic. But researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warn of a possible threat from a different direction H3N2 viruses that are currently found in birds and pigs.

A H3N2 virus caused a pandemic during 1967-68, and strains of that virus continue to circulate among humans, leading to outbreaks of seasonal flu. The current flu vaccine therefore includes protection against this sort of virus.

A key viral surface protein, haemagglutinin (HA) allows the flu virus to latch on to and thereby gain entry into cells lining the human airway. It is also the main target of human antibodies. Then came the pandemic of 2009, which was caused by a H1N1 virus. Another H1N1 virus had produced a pandemic 90 years earlier. (The H1 indicates the sort of HA the virus possessed.)

Our study highlights the critical need to monitor these swine and avian viruses. The study also found that the current H3N2 vaccine strain would not provide protection against these animal viruses. However, a cocktail of H3N2 viruses could be used to formulate a pandemic

vaccine, the paper suggested. Animal studies were needed to create an effective cocktail and prepare for a potential re-emergence of a H3N2 pandemic, it added.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath signed the Fifth India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Womens Forum Resolution on Thursday. The joint resolution between the three countries will look at recognising the key role of governments with the support of civil society in ensuring and accelerating efforts towards achieving gender equality and empowerment of women.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath signed the Fifth India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Womens Forum Resolution on Thursday. The joint resolution between the three countries will look at recognising the key role of governments with the support of civil society in ensuring and accelerating efforts towards achieving gender equality and empowerment of women.

The Stop Rape Campaign of South Africa is particularly appreciable for its intrinsic value in gender sensitising school children. Also, the social programmes, such as Bolsa Familia of Brazil, have popularised the model for effective delivery of financial benefits to poor families. The Indian Government too has recently passed the legislation to prevent women from sexual harassment at workplace, which indicates the seriousness of these issues where women feel insecure at their workplaces. This legislation will go a long way to ensuring the full participation of women in the economy and nation building exercises which are so important, she added. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister from South Arica Lulu Xingwana stated that the platform of the IBSA is for enhanced efforts for continuously engendering the policies and programmes of the three countries and for mainstreaming the marginalised sections. Despite being a signatory to ICCPR, securing prisoners rights remains a distant priority for India

nd the Capital to comprehend the situation. The Tihar jail in Delhi is the largest prison in South Asia. The prison lacks infrastructure and basic hygiene is often overlooked The cells are overcrowded with under-trials and convicted prisoners housed together a gross violation of international human rights rules.

the norm of segregation is violated regularly; she, however, did not blame the authorities as the premises are awfully overcrowded. the slow disposal rate of cases by the judiciary leads to the under-trials being imprisoned for longer periods which leads to overcrowding The second problem which reinforces the first is the lack of legal aid to prisoners. Constitution The third problem is class discrimination among the prisoners. reproached

The biggest problem in the prisons is the lack of external overview. This has been delegated to the National Human Rights Commission, but they are not able to visit more than five to six prisons a year. There is a need to strengthen bodies like NHRC. Additional funds are being sought for State governments to check the plunging child sex ratio

Additional funds are being sought for State governments to check the plunging child sex ratio

In a letter recently written to the Commissions deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, WCD Minister Krishna Tirath noted: The responsibility of implementation of the action plan for improving the child sex ratio would mainly be on the States; in this context, we request you to provide additional funds to the States under the Additional Central Assistance on basis of their performance in improving the sex ratio in their respective States. child sex ratio in India (0-6 years) has dropped from 927 females to 914 females per 1,000 males, the lowest since Independence.

The imminent launch of a new series of inflation indexed bonds (IIBs) that will give investors a measure of protection from the consequences of rampant inflation fulfils a key announcement made in the Union budget. The governments hope is that the bonds will wean away domestic households from their craze for gold and induce them to invest their savings in financial instruments. That, in turn, would reduce the quantum of gold imports, which, despite some duty hikes and administrative measures, shows no signs of abating

Even within the narrower category of gold investors, motivations for holding the metal vary. Some want to beat inflation, others to get a real return, or earn handsome capital gains. Gold scores for other reasons as well. It is liquid, there is no documentation, no capital gains tax or TDS, and, more importantly, gold confers anonymity on the buyer. The realisation that no financial product, however well designed, can wean away a significant portion of gold demand should moderate the expectations from the upcoming issue of inflation indexed bonds. However, the IIBs are certainly worth a try. Care should be taken to simplify the terms of their issue, especially in the ways principal and interest will be aligned periodically with the chosen inflation indices. The IIBs selling point as an inflation-beater might not be sufficient if the bonds are deficient in other attributes such as accessibility and convenience. Finally, the IIBs might well demonstrate their ability to beat inflati The General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday passed a non-binding resolution condemning the government of Syria and calling for political transition.

The vote passed with 107 of 193 nations in favour, 12 against and 59 abstentions, including India, representing a sharp fall in support compared to a similar resolution passed last August with 133 votes in favour, 12 against and 31 abstentions.

China pledges to fix trade deficit issue with India

Balanced trade is conducive to interests of both sides

China is sending an investment promotion mission and one of the biggest ever business delegations to to demonstrate that the government was taking very seriously the widening trade imbalance to demonstrate that the government was taking very seriously the widening trade imbalance

His visit takes place against the backdrop of fast-rising bilateral trade, which reached $66 billion last year as China became Indias second-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade stood at a few billion dollars a decade ago.

Despite the rapid increase in overall trade, the increasingly unbalanced nature of the relationship has emerged as a source of concern, with the deficit reaching a record $29 billion last year, in Chinas favour. Indian imports of Chinese machinery and equipment, particularly in the power and telecom sectors, have emerged as a key driver of trade, while India continues to export raw materials such as iron ore. While India is pushing for greater market access for information technology and pharmaceuticals companies, it has had limited success so far.

China was taking the issue of the imbalance very seriously and had launched a number of initiatives to bridge the gap An investment promotion mission will travel to India next week, he said, to follow up on the work of three earlier missions sent in 2008, 2010 and 2012. We believe that balanced trade is conducive to interests of both sides, he said. The reason we have a trade imbalance is because of economic patterns and structures of the two countries.

China would take steps to facilitate Indian companies efforts to explore the China market, pointing out that China will import $10 trillion worth of goods and invest $500 billion overseas in coming years. We must shake hands to raise Asias standing, says Li Keqiang

China and India are friendly neighbours, he said. We are also natural partners. Both of our countries stand for amicable and peaceful relations between countries and a multipolar world. The peaceful and friendly relations between our two countries is a blessing not just to Asia, but to also the whole world.

The visit, part of a regular programme to exchange youth delegations, is being coordinated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The visit, part of a regular programme to exchange youth delegations, is being coordinated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Farmers suicide rates soar above the rest

Suicide rates among Indian farmers were a chilling 47 per cent higher than they were for the rest of the population in 2011.

The new Census 2011 data reveal a shrinking farmer population. And it is on this reduced base that the farm suicides now occur.

Apply the new Census totals to the suicide data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the results are grim. Sample: A farmer in Andhra Pradesh is three times more likely to commit suicide than anyone else in the country, excluding farmers.

Nationwide, the farmers suicide rate (FSR) was 16.3 per 100,000 farmers in 2011. Thats a lot higher than 11.1, which is the rate for the rest of the population. And slightly higher than the FSR of 15.8 in 2001.

In Maharashtra, for instance, the rate is 29.1 suicides per 100,000 farmers (Main cultivators). Which is over 160 per cent higher than that for all Indians excluding farmers.

The worlds longest-running ethnic conflict took a new turn on May 8, when about 2,000 guerrillas belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) started to cross the south-eastern Turkish border into Qandil in Iraqs autonomous Kurdistan Region. The move, which could take two months to complete, results from a ceasefire negotiated by the PKK leader Abdullah calan, who has been held for alleged treason on the prison island of Imrali since 1999. The declaration was read out to a million Kurds in Diyarbakir on March 21; some 14 million Kurds, nearly 20 per cent of Turkeys 75 million people, form the countrys largest single minority. The PKK, which Mr. calan founded in November 1978, has fought an armed struggle for autonomy within Turkey since August 1984 and has survived repression including torture, executions, and collective punishment such as a ban on the Kurdish language. Over 40,000 people have died, and in the 1990s some 3,000 villages were destroyed. The ceasefire could end at any moment, but once the Kurdish fighters are across the border it will be very difficult for Turkish forces to attack them, though Turkish air-launched rockets have killed civilians there in the past decade.

High Level Working Group on Western Ghats

In our report to the Ministry of Environment & Forests, based on extensive discussions and field visits, we had advocated a graded approach with a major role for grassroots-level inputs for safeguarding the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. You have rejected this framework and in its place, you advocate a partitioning amongst roughly one-third of what you term natural landscapes, to be safeguarded by guns and guards, and two-third of so-called cultural landscapes to be thrown open to development, such as what has spawned the Rs.35,000-crore illegal mining scam of Goa. Shocking betrayal on Western Ghats

In our report to the Ministry of Environment & Forests, based on extensive discussions and field visits, we had advocated a graded approach with a major role for grassroots-level inputs for safeguarding the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. You have rejected this framework and in its place, you advocate a partitioning amongst roughly one-third of what you term natural landscapes, to be safeguarded by guns and guards, and two-third of so-called cultural landscapes to be thrown open to development, such as what has spawned the Rs.35,000-crore illegal mining scam of Goa.

This is like trying to maintain oases of diversity in a desert of ecological devastation. such fragmentation would lead, sooner rather than later, to the desert overwhelming the oases.

It is vital to think of maintenance of habitat continuity, and of an ecologically and socially friendly matrix to ensure long-term conservation of biodiversity-rich areas, and this is what we had proposed. Moreover, freshwater biodiversity is far more threatened than forest biodiversity and lies largely in what you term cultural landscapes. Freshwater biodiversity is also vital to livelihoods and nutrition of large sections of our people.

That is why we had provided a detailed case study of the Lote Chemical Industry complex in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, where pollution, exceeding all legal limits, has devastated fisheries so that 20,000 people have been rendered jobless, while only 11,000 have obtained industrial employment. Yet, the government wants to set up further polluting industries in the same are

Your report shockingly dismisses our constitutionally-guaranteed democratic devolution of decisionmaking powers, remarking that local communities can have no role in economic decisions.

Indias cultural landscape harbours many valuable elements of biodiversity. Fully 75 per cent of the population of lion-tailed macaque, a monkey species confined to the Western Ghats, thrives in the cultural landscape of tea gardens Dont play politics with cooperative societies, Supreme Court warns States

upersession of an elected managing committee/board is an exception and [can] be resorted to only in exceptional circumstances, Elected committee in office should not be penalised for predecessors shortcomings

Demands of unions under study, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said some of the demands raised by the various central trade unions, for which they organised a nationwide general strike for two days in February, were in advanced stage of consideration of the government.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said some of the demands raised by the various central trade unions, for which they organised a nationwide general strike for two days in February, were in advanced stage of consideration of the government.

Those demands include universal social security cover for workers in both organised and unorganised sectors and the creation of a National Social Security Fund, fixing a National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) and provision of a minimum pension of Rs. 1000 a month under the Employees Pension Scheme.

The Cabinet has already approved amendments to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 to provide for a statutory NFLMW, Dr. Singh said, inaugurating the 45th session of the Indian Labour Conference here.

Employment in the organised sector registered a growth of more than 9 per cent from 26.5 million in 2005 to 29 million in 2011. Women employed in the organised sector had also registered a growth of about 19 per cent in the same period.

Rural women were increasingly going for self-employment opportunities in ever-increasing numbers, Dr. Singh said adding that out of 44.32 lakh self-help groups in the country, 30.21 lakh were exclusively for women.

Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said there was a significant reduction in the number of child labour in the country in the last five years. This is primarily due to effective legislations like [the] Right to Education and MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act+, he said.

The trade unions focused on a number of issues relating to the welfare not only of the working classes but also people at large. These include demands on which there could be no disagreement. Demands for concrete measures for containing inflation, for generation of employment opportunities, for strict implementation of labour laws, are unexceptionable.

Moscow reaffirmed ongoing supplies of weapons to Syria even as U.S. reported new Russian missile deliveries. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the uproar in Western media over Russian arms supplies to Syria.

From building a house to securing a community

Part of the second phase of Indian Housing Project launched, they will soon take the form of compact, new homes.

in Eluthumadduval, Jaffna As peace finds its way back to the northern district, development projects gradually pick up. The roads are newly laid and shops are beginning to make an appearance by the road side.

The initiative, being implemented at a cost of $ 270 million, seeks to provide houses to Sri Lankan Tamils displaced during the ethnic conflict. Beneficiaries of the scheme should necessarily own land.

They would receive a cash grant of LKR 550,000 (Rs. 2, 30,000 approximately) for construction of a new house. The money is sent in instalments depending on the progress shown in construction. the Indian government said it hoped to have 10,000 homes constructed by August 2013. A timeframe of three years was set to complete construction of 50,000 houses that the Indian government was helping to build, in partnership with Sri Lanka While residents are happy to have homes of their own, the absence of other facilities in the area, such as schools, hospitals and transportation pose a challenge.

S&P warns of rating downgrade

green shoots green shoots green At a time when green shoots of the economy are signalling a turnaround and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is scouting for infrastructure development funds abroad on the strength of Indias fascinating growth story, Standard & Poors (S&P) on Friday handed down a shocker, threatening to downgrade the countrys sovereign rating to junk status if the government failed to keep pace with the global rating agencys expectation on reforms and containment of the twin deficits.

At a time when green shoots of the economy are signalling a turnaround and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is scouting for infrastructure development funds abroad on the strength of Indias fascinating growth story, Standard & Poors (S&P) on Friday handed down a shocker, threatening to downgrade the countrys sovereign rating to junk status if the government failed to keep pace with the global rating agencys expectation on reforms and containment of the twin deficits.

Green shoots is a term used colloquially and propagandistically to indicate signs of economic recovery during an economic downturn

Significantly, a downgrade from BBB- would mean a scale-down to speculative grade or junk status which renders all overseas borrowings by corporates and other entities costlier

India's long-term growth prospects, underpinned by its favourable demographic profile and its high foreign exchange reserves, support the ratings. The country's large fiscal deficits and debt, as well as its lower middle-income economy, constrain the ratings, it said. India's long-term growth prospects, underpinned by its favourable demographic profile and its high foreign exchange reserves, support the ratings. The country's large fiscal deficits and debt, as well as its lower middle-income economy, constrain the ratings, it said. India's long-term growth prospects, underpinned by its favourable demographic profile and its high foreign exchange reserves, support the ratings. The country's large fiscal deficits and debt, as well as its lower middle-income economy, constrain the ratings, it said. India's long-term growth prospects, underpinned by its favourable demographic profile and its high foreign exchange reserves, support the ratings. The country's large fiscal deficits and debt, as well as its lower middle-income economy, constrain the ratings, it said. India's long-term growth prospects, underpinned by its favourable demographic profile and its high foreign exchange reserves, support the ratings. The country's large fiscal deficits and debt, as well as its lower middle-income economy, constrain the ratings, it said. India's long-term growth prospects, underpinned by its favourable demographic profile and its high foreign exchange reserves, support the ratings. The country's large fiscal deficits and debt, as well as its lower middle-income economy, constrain the ratings, it said. 59157853591 59157853591 59157853591 59157853591 59157853591

" ????? .. ?????? ???????? ???????..????????????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????..??????? ????? ?????..5 ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???? ??????? ???? ????!!" " ????? .. ?????? ???????? ???????..????????????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????..??????? ????? ?????..5 ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???? ??????? ???? ????!!" India is exploring the possibility of setting up a London-listed feeder fund for Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs), and is looking to work with the U.K. on increasing institutional investments in the sector, said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

India is exploring the possibility of setting up a London-listed feeder fund for Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs), and is looking to work with the U.K. on increasing institutional investments in the sector, said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

India is exploring the possibility of setting up a London-listed feeder fund for Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs), and is looking to work with the U.K. on increasing institutional investments in the sector, said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

India is exploring the possibility of setting up a London-listed feeder fund for Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs), and is looking to work with the U.K. on increasing institutional investments in the sector, said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

Both countries agreed to pursue joint work on the common aim of exploring ways to encourage increased institutional investment in infrastructure

A feeder fund makes most of its investments through a master fund. It can obtain better trading and operating costs through the master-feeder structure because of economies of scale.

An agreement to resolve the border issue is not on the cards but sources here expect Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to explain to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh why the Depsang incident took place, when the two leaders closet themselves for talks a few hours

India has been striving to get its IT and pharmaceutical firms a greater foothold in the Chinese market. But TCS has been an exception. Instead of complaining about procedures, it carved out a special business model for China which is different from its approach to western markets, including the United States.

I think they have been successful in getting contracts in China. That is one of the reasons he is visiting TCS Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie's well-publicised decision to have a prophylactic double mastectomy may have renewed the debate on genetic testing for breast cancer Ms. Jolie carries a cancerlinked gene, BRCA1 but it has also revived the discussion on whether private corporations can own the patent to genes.

$3,000 or more per procedure, the cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 remains an obstacle for many women What What her op-ed did not mention is that the sole right to administer the tests is held by a Utah-based genetics firm called Myriad Genetics. It is this company that is responsible for setting fees for testing significantly above the $200 or so that other labs charged before Myriad moved to enforce its patent

Myriads patent application for monopoly ownership of the BRCA genes is facing challenges from civil rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),

The ACLU and other plaintiffs have essentially argued that human genes cannot be patented because they are classic products of nature, notwithstanding the fact that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has already granted thousands of patents on human genes and about 20 per cent of all human genes are already under patent Regarding the patenting of an entity occurring in nature, a key precedent is the 1980 Supreme Court ruling that handed in a 5-4 split decision a patent to an Indian-American scientist, Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, for producing bacterium known as pseudomonas putida, which is capable of breaking down crude oil and could be deployed to soak up oil spills.

With increasing amounts of e-waste from households and small offices posing a huge threat to the environment, the World Banks private sector investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Attero Recycling have come together to start the Clean e-India initiative, where they plan to involve rag-pickers and local kabadiwallahs (scrap dealers) for proper disposal of electronic waste.

rag rag-picker aims to generate awareness and work with all stakeholders producers, bulk consumers, government agencies and civil society to form a sustainable e-waste take-back model. They are collecting e-waste; but the problem is when that waste is recycled openly using unscientific methods. That is what needs to be worked on

will be training scrap dealers rag-pickers on collecting e-waste

and transporting it to collection centres in an eco-friendly manner Burning of these products openly releases toxic fumes and pollutants into the air. Attero Recycling has set up nation-wide collection centres across 22 cities, from where the e-waste is then sent to their facilities for proper metal extraction and disposal.

India presently generates 800,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. The volume is expected to rise to 1.72 million tonnes by 2020 as with decreasing cost of replacing computers, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets, and increasing speed with which technology goes out of date.

Shack owners at the pristine golden beachesof Gokarna come together to address environment issues to protect their area from going the way of other overcrowded polluted seafronts

How the traditional journey of e-waste, from both domestic and overseas sources, in north India leads to health hazards and high levels of pollution

After hammering out the bigger chunks of metal, blue gaseous flames are shot at motherboards to melt the finer particles to separate them from the motherboard.

The final process takes place at the river where the ashes are washed and sieved to recycle the material back into the same industry.

Direct human touch causes several health hazards such as various types of cancers, damaging the brain, kidney, reproductive organs, causing bronchitis and asthma.

Choice of India as the first leg of his maiden overseas tour significant, says Xinhua

The China-India relationship is more about the future than about the past. It is with such a forwardlooking mind that Chinas new leadership has decided to take new initiatives to further deepen bilateral ties and mutual trust, the commentary said. Lis upcoming trip will be a crucial step in that direction.

The China-India relationship is more about the future than about the past. It is with such a forwardlooking mind that Chinas new leadership has decided to take new initiatives to further deepen bilateral ties and mutual trust, the commentary said. Lis upcoming trip will be a crucial step in that direction.

Dont dilute promise on better deal for Tamils, India tells Sri Lanka

The Indian advice came in the wake of reports about a small nationalist party, the JHU, planning to move parliament soon to abolish the thirteenth amendment which aims to empower the Tamils regionally.

Khurshid asks Colombo to request Army not to purchase land in conflict-hit areas

In a replay of the run-up to the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, the battle for proportional representation is on again in Nepal delaying the passing of laws necessary to elect the new CA.

The tussle comes a year after the parties let the last CA lapse without convening it in its final days, ostensibly due to the party leaders failure to agree on a federal model.

Russias game-changing gambit in Syria

Reports about the Russias decision to supply game-changing weaponry, including S-300 missiles, if confirmed, would mark Moscows boldest assertion so far to rescue Syria from becoming yet another victim of a regime-change enterprise in the region.

The scale of the problem and potential risks that it pose, prompted the government come out last year with the e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2010, under the Environment (Protection) Act that put the onus of recycling and reducing electronic waste on the producers. However, the fact remains that policies and regulations will prove ineffective until consumers take action and start contributing.

The rules did come in last year stating that producers ought to take the responsibility of their products. They are making efforts and have started taking some steps. In terms of awareness, we

have seen an improvement. Many understand that this is a legal issue. There is also concern over security of data that is disposed with the e-waste such as computers and mobiles, U.S. clears shale gas export to India

DoE has conditionally authorised Freeport Terminal to export LNG to non-FTA countries

Opening up the prospects of export of shale gas to energy-starved India, the U.S. has granted conditional authorisation to export domestically-produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with it.

the decision paves the way for India, which does not have a free trade agreement with the U.S., to get its companies seek similar licences for import of the much-needed gas from the U.S. in large quantities from other terminals. t the decision paves the way for India, which does not have a free trade agreement with the U.S., to get its companies seek similar licences for import of the much-needed gas from the U.S. in large quantities from other terminals.

The existing federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the U.S.

t the decision paves the way for India, which does not have a free trade agreement with the U.S., to get its companies seek similar licences for import of the much-needed gas from the U.S. in large quantities from other terminals.

The existing federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the U.S. he demand-supply gap of natural gas in India, estimated at around 2.2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) per annum at present, was likely to go up to nearly 4 tcf per annum by 2016-17. This would result in cheaper electricity, lower subsidies on urea and other nitrogenous fertilizers, and a more economical fuel for a variety of industrial and consumptive gas usages, she argued.

Already, we have invested significantly in the liquefaction terminals that are likely to come up in this country. Recently, GAIL booked 2. 3 mmtpa capacity in the Cove Point LNG Terminal proposed to be commissioned by Dominion Cove Point LNG LP in 2017.

Shale gas is natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations.[1] Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States since the start of this century, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world. In 2000 shale gas provided only 1% of U.S. natural gas production; by 2010 it was over 20% and the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration predicts that by 2035, 46% of the United States' natural gas supply will come from shale gas.

The Obama administration believes that increased shale gas development will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions The Indian consumer will benefit under the new Drug Pricing Control Order 2013 (DPCO 2013) which has been notified and will replace the DPCO 1995. The new order will bring 652 drugs under price control and will enable the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy 2012 to regulate prices of 348 drugs covered under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2011.

The Indian consumer will benefit under the new Drug Pricing Control Order 2013 (DPCO 2013) which has been notified and will replace the DPCO 1995. The new order will bring 652 drugs under price control and will enable the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy 2012 to regulate prices of 348 drugs covered under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2011.

Consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries as prices of some brands may fall by up to 70 per cent, D.G. Shah, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) said. It will bring about a structural change , Mr. Shah said. The new policy differs from the existing DPCO 1995 in that it is based on the simple average price (SAP) for all brands with a market share above 1 per cent in their segment.

The new policy also uses a market-based pricing mechanism against the earlier proposed cost-plus method.

In the long-term, the policy proposes to reduce the bandwidth of prices of the same molecule and this will have an impact on manufacturers in the mid and lower segments, analysts feel.

However, despite the initial hit on profitability, volume growth over the next few years and price indexation to inflation will help companies recover. The policy has moved away from the intrusive and opaque cost-plus pricing mechanism to a more transparent market-based pricing regime, The Chinese leader, who made India his first overseas destination after becoming Premier in March, expressed concern over India-based Tibetan exiles whipping up sentiments against his country and named their leader, the Dalai Lama, as one of the key persons fuelling the unrest in Tibet

Dr. Singh assured his Chinese counterpart that the Indian position had not changed and said the Dalai Lama was only a religious and spiritual leader. The second issue raised by the Prime Minister was that of common rivers. Trans-border rivers should not divide but unite us, he told Mr. Li while suggesting an expanded dialogue on water The third major issue flagged by the Prime Minister lopsided trade flow found the Chinese Premier at his responsive best. Mr. Li appreciated Indias willingness to boost trade ties with China

The third major issue flagged by the Prime Minister lopsided trade flow found the Chinese Premier at his responsive best. Mr. Li appreciated Indias willingness to boost trade ties with China

Karzai to seek Indian military aid Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek increased military aid from India during a three-day visit starting on Monday and will discuss recent cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, an aide has said.

There is hardly any archaeological site in this country that is as rich in history, vast in expanse, spectacular in sight and complex in nature as Hampi. There is hardly any archaeological site in this country that is as rich in history, vast in expanse, spectacular in sight and complex in nature as Hampi.

This delay, as Unescos World Heritage Committee recently observed, has caused concern about the future of Hampi

ments. Though Unesco conferred world heritage status on Hampi in 1986, it strongly recommended that the Archaeological Survey of India delineate a larger area and include more monuments. Hampi is n

When this royal city, built between the 14th and 16th centuries by the Vijayanagara kings, was nominated for world heritage status in 1982, Unesco pointed out that conservation cannot be limited to a select group of 56 monuments. Though Unesco conferred world heritage status on Hampi in 1986, it strongly recommended that the Archaeological Survey of India delineate a larger area and include more monuments. Hampi is not a simple set of standalone monuments. It is a large cultural landscape where more than 1500 historic structures co-exist with many living villages, fertile agricultural lands and numerous water bodies When this royal city, built between the 14th and 16th centuries by the Vijayanagara kings, was nominated for world heritage status in 1982, Unesco pointed out that conservation cannot be limited to a select group of 56 monuments. Though Unesco conferred world heritage status on Hampi in 1986, it strongly recommended that the Archaeological Survey of India delineate a larger area and include more monuments. Hampi is not a simple set of standalone monuments. It is a large cultural landscape where more than 1500 historic structures co-exist with many living villages, fertile agricultural lands and numerous water bodies

Public pressure, and the listing of Hampi as an endangered world heritage site in 1999 forced the State government into action. Finally, in 2003, the government set up a Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWAMA) to coordinate with various agencies including the ASI to draw up an integrated management plan. Though it delineated a larger region of about 210 sq km around the archaeological zone, the authority has not yet finalised the integrated plan, which would address mobility issues, environment concerns, monument protection and community interests.

The Government of India may have rolled out the red carpet for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who arrived in New Delhi yesterday, but popular opinion in India is deeply sceptical of Chinese ambitions in Asia and its policy towards India. This is the clear verdict of arguably the most comprehensive survey of Indian public opinion in recent years

But while there is great warmth for the United States, and discomfort at Chinas rise, the percentage of Indians who believe India should cooperate with China at the global level equals those who support plans to contain China

India Poll 2013

Not surprisingly, Indians see Pakistan and China as the biggest foreign threats to their nation

From all those who had identified China as a threat, over 80 per cent agreed that threat was for the following reasons: China possesses nuclear weapons, it was competing with India for resources in other countries, it was strengthening its relations with other countries in the Indian Ocean Region, and it was claiming sovereignty on parts of Indias territory. Only a slightly smaller number believed that the threat was because of Chinas stronger military, its bigger economy, its military assistance to Pakistan, and because it does not show respect to India. This does not mean, however, that Indians do not want better relations with China; 63 per cent of the respondents want bilateral ties to be stronger

And yet, despite great scepticism about Pakistan, 89 per cent of Indians agree that ordinary people in both India and Pakistan want peace Indians are anxious about Chinese policies and capabilities, but a new survey finds as many prefer partnering Beijing as those who favour joining hands with other countries to contain it

Health services in Maoist areas a challenge and an opportunity: Ramesh

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, in a letter to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, has acknowledged that Maoists do not obstruct government health programmes.

In underdeveloped areas of Chhattisgarh, especially in Maoist-controlled districts, government healthcare is virtually non-existent. In most cases, primary health centres (PHC) are miles away from villages and people could hardly make it to the PHCs due to non-availability of transport, hostile terrain and extreme climatic conditions.

In addition, health workers rarely visit the PHCs due to what is perceived as Maoist threat.

a huge percentage of health workers posts are vacant across the State Chhattisgarh Interestingly, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has also failed to fill the vacant positions announced by them

S&P warns of rating downgrade

More shocking was the fact that even as the government was looking forward to an upgrade following S&P representatives discussions with Finance Ministry officials last month, the rating agency not only reaffirmed Indias sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade BBB- with a negative outlook but also warned of at least a one-in-three likelihood of a downgrade within the next 12 months.

Also, in a rebuttal of S&Ps view that the Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) success in raising investment growth remains uncertain, Dr. Rajan said: International institutional investors, who have invested over $ 17 billion into India so far this year, do seem to have a different view. The Government will continue to do what is necessary to keep India on a stable, sustainable, and strengthening growth path. He also noted that the government's job is not to cater to the rating agencies, but to change the ground realities on which it is focused.

Special Representatives to ensure Depsang-type incidents dont reoccur

India and China expressed a strong desire to resolve pending issues and take the relationship forward in new spheres such as civil nuclear energy during two rounds of discussions

A joint statement, however, did not mention Tibet, in 2010 and officials maintained there was no need to bring in Tibet when Beijing was aware of New Delhis stance about the region being an inalienable part of China India has moved the Court of Arbitration at The Hague for clarification or interpretation of the its order delivered in February on its dispute with Pakistan over the 330 MW Kishanganga project under construction in North Kashmir.

In the order, the Court does not permit New Delhi to use the modern draw down technique for removal of silt deposits in run-of-the-river dams on rivers allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960.

Arunima Sinha, 26, became Indias first woman to conquer Mt. Everest on a prosthetic leg Adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar lag behindin the use of sanitary products thus posing a threat to their health, latest official data suggests

Young girls in rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are yet to switch over to the use of sanitary napkins during menstruation whereas in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha, the use of sanitary napkins for better hygiene is really catching up, latest official data suggests.

The government initiated a scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene in 2011 under which highly subsidised sanitary napkins are being supplied to adolescent girls, in the age group of 10-19 years, in the rural areas. The government initiated a scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene in 2011 under which highly subsidised sanitary napkins are being supplied to adolescent girls, in the age group of 10-19 years, in the rural areas. The The supply is made through the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) who are incentivised for this.

use of sanitary napkins was the lowest in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the first year with only 39 per cent and 43 per cent utilisation

Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Punjab showed 100 per cent utilisation

The government supplies one pack of sanitary napkins, containing six pads, at Rs. 6 to rural women through ASHAs who gets Re. 1 for per pack she sells and one pack free every month as an incentive. Evidence suggests that lack of access to menstrual hygiene (which includes sanitary napkins, toilets in schools, availability of water, privacy and safe disposal) could contribute to local infections, including Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI)

Premier Li Keqiangs visit to India Besides dealing with the border issue, both sides seemed to have made the deliberate decision to emphasise the larger strategic and global nature of the relationship. They have added civil nuclear cooperation to the mix, and agreed to enhance co-operation against piracy at sea and other nontraditional threats to maritime security. On trans-border rivers, another problematic area, the two sides have agreed to further strengthen co-operation and continue sharing data

On trans-border rivers, another problematic area, the two sides have agreed to further strengthen co-operation and continue sharing data On trans-border rivers, another problematic area, the two sides have agreed to further strengthen co-operation and continue sharing data Fri Mar 22, 2013 at 7:00 AM

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Following a dismal child sex ratio history, steps undertaken inSri Ganganagar district in Rajasthan to save the girl child can serve as role model for other regions

In the 1991 Census, Sri Ganganagar district in Rajasthan recorded a child sex ratio of 890 females for every 1,000 males in the 0-6 year age group. In 2001, the ratio plummeted to 850:1000 the worst across the State. However, in the 2011 provisional Census data, Sri Ganganagar is the only district in all of the 33 districts in Rajasthan that has shown a rise of four points in the sex ratio that now stands at 854.

persistent efforts slowly led to the building of a positive environment. The role of the panchayats has been vital especially in the rural areas where warning letters were sent out to all the clinics in their jurisdiction

everal panchayats have initiated the practice of sending out congratulatory letters to the parents of newborn daughters and felicitating couples who choose to undergo terminal family planning on the birth of one or two daughters

Last rites by daughters are being encouraged and birth of daughters celebrated with the beating of the metal plate or thali , a practice hitherto reserved for births of sons. sensitisation and mobilisation of the community on the issue of sex selection and proper implementation of the law played an important role good start.

e initiated the kanya lohri in 2007. Lohri , a festival reserved for celebrating the male child was rechristened for the girl child. Media, too, has kept the issue alive. The community leaders take up the issue in their forums. The temples and gurudwaras encouraged their communities to form a positive view about the girl child through relevant quotes from the scriptures and through pledging against sex selection and discrimination. administration who believed in the cause and provided support The unique selling point of the Sri Ganganagar model is the community ownership but efforts need to be regularly fuelled as the situation is still precarious. Indias decision to once again avoid reaffirming its commitment to a One China policy has raised eyebrows in Beijing but Indian officials are playing down the omission of Tibet from the joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

in 2010. India made the point then that Kashmir was as much a core concern of Indias as Tibet was to China, and that Chinas policies of issuing stapled visas and carrying out projects in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir violated this core concern.

This is the point that Indian officials sought to make again. If they had insisted on Tibet, then [we] would have asked for something else *Kashmir+ to be included, an official said, pointing out that there were enough indirect references in the joint statement to make good the exclusion of the Tword.

India, China renew flood data pact on Brahmaputra

While India is seeking a joint mechanism with China for better transparency on the 39 project sites that the latter has identified on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, what was signed on Monday during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was a renewal of the pact on sharing of flood data during the north-west monsoon season. The agreement, inked five years ago, expires on June 4. As per the pact, China will provide India hydrological data of the Brahmaputra twice a day during the flood season (June 1 to October 15) at hydrological stations Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia, which lie on the mainstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra). It will also provide data if water levels exceed mutually agreed levels during the non-flood season.

In return, India will give information about data utilisation in flood forecasting and mitigation.

India has frequently expressed its concern at the proposed seven dams on the main channel of the Brahmaputra, particularly the 510 MW Zangmu project over which there are apprehensions that water may be diverted. If water is diverted, then the Indian projects on the Brahmaputra, particularly the Upper Siang and the Lower Suhansri projects in Arunachal Pradesh, will be affected. Even if Zangmu is a run-of-the-river (no permanent storage) dam, there are apprehensions about the pondage planned for power generation, although China has said it will not affect downstream flows.

India and China, on Monday, signed a series of memorandum of understandings (MoUs) on pharmaceuticals, buffalo meat and fisheries and an agreement on feed and feed ingredients to address the growing trade deficit.

The trade deficit has increased from $1.08 billion in 2001-02 to $40.77 billion in 2012-13. The MoUs were signed as part of Chinese Premier Li Keqiangs visit to India.

The export of buffalo meat is not allowed from India to China and this has been a long-pending issue between the two countries. With the resumption of trade, India hopes that it will not only be helpful in reducing trade imbalance but also help Chinas food security by providing quality and hygiene meat products.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and AQSIQ also signed an MoU on cooperation for import and export of fishery products.

MoU was also signed between the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCCMHPIE). India has been finding it difficult to expand its trade with China in the pharmaceutical sector. The signing of the MoU is expected to facilitate access to the Chinese market

. An agreement was also signed between Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) and AQSIQ on trade and safety of feed and feed ingredients. Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, 61, was appointed as Comptroller and Auditor-General on Tuesday.

The Delhi Police has been instructed by the National Green Tribunal to ensure that plastic waste is not burnt or carried out of Mundka and Nangloi villages in West Delhi.

Admittedly, the burning of plastic results in release of obnoxious gases viz dioxin and furan, which are most injurious and cancerous to human health, Pranab assures Karzai of all help

India will stand by the government and people of Afghanistan in the critical period of transition, development and nation-building, President Pranab Mukherjee told his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.

The gap between the worlds of a child and an adult is so wide that often the problems of a child go unnoticed. I handle cases where often learning disorders go unidentified. This leads to low performance and the gradual branding of a child as an average without realising that the process often leaves out the diverse potential untapped. Slowly, the pressures and the expectations of regular academic performance mount huge and lead to various behavioural problems within a child,

each child is unique and that the education system must cater to their individual requirements. The need of the hour is to build modules within the academic circles so as to tackle the twin problems of behavioural issues and academic mishaps,

In our various models in place in different institutions and organisations, we build up a support chain of teachers and psychologists to talk to students, identify their problem areas and tackle their issues at the levels of counselling, providing extra care and attention via tutoring and working with them In our various models in place in different institutions and organisations, we build up a support chain of teachers and psychologists to talk to students, identify their problem areas and tackle their issues at the levels of counselling, providing extra care and attention via tutoring and working with them We are talking about Jan Swasthya Sahyog (JSS), one of the most-talked-about pioneering initiatives of young doctors in the country to make a real breakthrough in improving rural medicare.

This has been a rare effort in India when a group of doctors got together to create a community health effort. Some doctors joined at a later date while some took a break for some time and have returned or hope to return after some time.

JSS works at a three-tier level of community health workers in hamlets, health sub-centres and the main hospital at Ganiyari. One of its main priorities is a community health programme, providing preventive and curative services, based on about 120 trained village health workers, elected by their respective villages, in about 60 villages of Kota and Lormi blocks mainly (but not only) inhabited by tribal communities (mainly Baiga and Gond). Research and training efforts of the JSS have linked it to possibilities of much wider improvement in health care both at the level of policy and implementation, in the government sector as well as in the voluntary sector.

health and nutrition needs of the poor

Studies have shown that RTIs pose grave threats to women's lives, livelihood, and education. Services for the prevention and treatment of RTI/Sexually Transmitted Infections are integral part of the Reproductive Child Health II Programme (RCH II). This scheme is part of the Adolescent Reproductive Sexual Health (ARSH) in the RCH II. In India, menstruation and menstrual practices are clouded by taboos and socio-cultural restrictions for women as well as adolescent girls. Limited access to safe sanitary products and facilities is believed to be one of the reasons for constrained school attendance, high dropout rates and illhealth due to infection. Lack of awareness is a major reason for unhygienic menstrual practices in the country. In India, menstruation and menstrual practices are clouded by taboos and socio-cultural restrictions for women as well as adolescent girls. Limited access to safe sanitary products and facilities is believed to be one of the reasons for constrained school attendance, high dropout rates and illhealth due to infection. Lack of awareness is a major reason for unhygienic menstrual practices in the country. t Were determined to talk it out, say India & China

Li says two countries have not shied away from addressing the vexed border issue

He then sought to allay Indian unease over the $30-billion annual trade deficit with China. India and China are huge markets with huge potential. We will support Chinese enterprises to increase investments in India and help Indian products have access to the Chinese market

two countries were sincere about addressing the gaps in bilateral relations, from the contentious border, to the apprehensions of a lower riparian state Li visit strong boost to ties, say Chinese media

The Foreign Ministry here said both countries had decided, after two days of talks, to seize the current opportunity to strengthen political mutual trust.

They hold consistent or similar views on the main issues of the world; they are in favour of practicing democracy in international relations and advocate promoting world multipolarisation and abiding by international code, which are supreme values in todays world, analysts

India to explore possibility of getting uranium from Uzbekistan

protecting and maintaining peace and stability in Central Asia India would explore the possibility of getting uranium supplies from Uzbekistan, which has rich reserves of the heavy metal. Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism. India's interest in regional peace and stability in Afghanistan remained unchanged. Our effort would always be to help Afghan people. We have helped Afghanistan in building hospitals, road, power plants, railway lines...people have appreciated India help. We will continue to help them but we will not use Afghanistan as a front yard for some other thing.

Mani Shankar Aiyar-led Expert Committee on Leveraging Panchayat Raj Institutions for effective delivery of public goods and services, suggested that the Gram Sabha should be empowered to monitor and make decisions on all the social sector schemes Central and State.

A panchayat-driven social sector expenditure model empowers the community with a sense of ownership as against the bureaucracy-driven, top-down model currently inbuilt i

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Outcomes are not in sync with the outlays, says the report. The multifold increase in social sector expenditure has barely translated into positive outcomes. There was no tangible rise in the Human Development Indices, despite the exponential increase in social sector expenditure.

When the Panchayat Raj experiment was started two decades ago, there was a certain degree of navet in believing that effective devolution would just happen, Mr. Aiyar recalls. Unlike the West, with its local government experience in parishes and counties, here local government was imposed from above. We had to devolve, while the West evolved from local governments. But, ours was the first such experiment at grassroots devolution leading to tangible social engineering, says Mr. Aiyar.

Committees recommendations

Centre-drafted model Gram Sabha law to motivate State legislation

freezing of rotation of reserved seats to two or three terms to incentivise good work and facilitate capacity building of panchayat leadership;

incentivise PRIs for transparency and accountability and the States to devolve; reorient the outlook of lower bureaucracy to panchayats.

collateral and institutional measures such electronic tagging of funds, setting up of a National Commission for Panchayat Raj, and strengthening Gram Sabhas in PESA areas The report recommends the MGNREGA scheme and BRGF (Backward Regions Grant Fund) model that locate PRIs as central to implementation The report recommends the MGNREGA scheme and BRGF (Backward Regions Grant Fund) model that locate PRIs as central to implementation MGNREGA was initially worked out without a role for Panchayats. On my personal intervention and literally in a midnight, governments amendment to the Bill, (and) a strong role for Panchayats came by. Today, it is a highly functional scheme, says Mr. Aiya While the Committee advocates strong Gram Sabhas that the panchayats are accountable to, the Bill on Land Acquisition lends only consultative powers to the Gram Sabhas.

According to the report, effective devolution leads to better outcomes, which in turn engenders political will.

It was lack of bureaucratic will and not political will that has stalled effective devolution, says Mr. Aiyar. The Committee drawing its template from the Prime Ministers address to the Conference of Chief Ministers in 2004 that calls for a rethink on the top-down design of programmes prescribes Activity Mapping for each CSS. Activity Mapping envisions clear delineation of functions, finances and functionaries, shifting the ownership of Schemes from the line departments to elected Panchayats. The report illustrates model Activity Mapping for eight CSS to lead the way.

Opening economy vital to lift people from poverty: Nancy Powell

More reforms are needed for India to return to the near 10 per cent growth, and lift people out of poverty, according to U.S. ambassador Nancy Powell.

If India is to grow again, support for policies that are necessary for that growth need to be cultivated, If India is to grow again, support for policies that are necessary for that growth need to be cultivated,

Since GDP growth is not an end in its own right, since ultimate growth is to raise standards of living and eradicate poverty, opening the economy and bringing more foreign investment take on a new urgency. You cannot defeat poverty without growth, According to her, the growth that happened in India over the last two decades was enhanced by foreign investment.

She said the US-India economic relationship of the coming century would be built on the phenomenal growth of collaboration between people, public institutions and private companies in both countries.

Syria-Israel conflict in the Golan Heights

Devastating Oklahoma tornado kills 24

With winds at over 320 km/hr, the tornado classified by the National Weather Service as the second most-powerful EF-4 type on the enhanced Fujita scale flattened houses, blew off rooftops and tore through several schools.

EF-4 type on the enhanced Fujita scale

Some of the MoUs expected to be signed will likely reaffirm Chinas commitment to developing the strategically significant Gwadar port project. Built with Beijings assistance, management of the port was taken over by a Chinese company earlier this year For China, the ports significance lies in the access it provides to the Indian Ocean, offering a muchneeded alternative route for its energy imports from West Asia. Around 80 per cent of Chinas energy imports are currently routed through the narrow Malacca Straits.

Chinese planners have proposed building railway links and pipelines linking the far-western Xinjiang region with Gwadar. Last year, both countries completed a pre-feasibility study on a railway link from Kashgar, in Xinjiang, through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), to Havelian. While India has expressed opposition to Chinas involvement in projects in PoK, it appears that China will likely continue with its investments in the region

Also on the table during Mr. Lis visit is a proposed hydropower project in PoK. One obstacle facing the growing links between both countries is the security situation in Pakistan, with many Chinese companies increasingly wary of investing in the country.

Withholding tax norms eased

The Centre seeks to provide broad-based incentive to encourage investment

In a bid to encourage development of the domestic debt market and accelerate the pace of economic growth, the government, on Tuesday, announced reduction in withholding tax rates along with simplification of norms to attract greater subscription in debt securities by foreign investors.

The Enhanced Fujita scale (EF scale) rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States and Canada based on the damage they cause.

Enhanced Fujita Scale EF0 EF1 EF2 EF3 EF4 EF5

China seeks more exports from India

The Prime Minister of China, Li Keqiang, during his visit here , urged the Indian business community to have greater trade ties with his country to address the problem of trade imbalance between the two countries.

Age limit relaxed for financial assistance under JSY to institutional deliveries

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has relaxed eligibility parameters for the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), which provides financial assistance to mothers for institutional deliveries. Now, Below Party Line (BPL) women can access JSY benefits irrespective of their age and number of children.

All women from BPL category, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in all States and Union Territories will be eligible for JSY benefits if they have given birth in a government or private accredited health facility. BPL women who prefer to deliver at home can also get JSY benefits.

Launched in 2005, the JSY is the governments main scheme to enable women especially those from vulnerable sections to access institutional delivery. This was done to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.

majority emained out of the purview of the scheme because they had to prove they were 19 years of age and had no more than two children, emained out of the purview of the scheme because they had to prove they were 19 years of age and had no more than two children, The highest maternal mortality is reported among girls aged 14-15; the majority of these were out of the purview of the JSY as they were unable to produce proof of age or verify the number of children they had, Ms. Gupta explained.

Till now, the scheme provided assistance for institutional delivery to all pregnant women who give birth in a government or private accredited health facility in Low Performing States (those with bad health indicators, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Assam). A woman gets Rs.1,400 for delivery in a government facility or accredited private facility and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) gets Rs. 600 in rural areas. In the urban areas, the amounts paid are Rs.1,000 and Rs. 400 respectively. in High Performing States (those with good health indices, such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka), assistance for institutional delivery was available to women from BPL/SC/ST households, aged 19 or above and only up to two live births for delivery in a government or private accredited health facility. The financial entitlement was Rs. 700 to the mother and Rs. 600 for the ASHA in rural areas and Rs. 600 and Rs. 400 in urban settings. n all States/Union Territories, the scheme provided Rs. 500 to BPL women aged 19 or above and who deliver up to two live births who prefer to deliver at home. With the amendments, all women who deliver at home will be entitled to this amount, basically for nutrition.

Amnesty wants urgent steps to end unlawful killings

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SHARE PRINT T+ Amnesty International on Tuesday urged the Indian government to take practical and immediate steps to address unlawful killings and excessive use of force by security forces.

Welcoming the final report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Amnesty called upon India to implement the recommendations to establish a credible commission of inquiry into extrajudicial executions.

In his report, the Special Rapporteur put most of the unlawful killings in India down to the excessive use of force by security forces, attacks by armed groups, and killings of vulnerable persons. He also expressed concern at fake encounters or extrajudicial killings and said he had received several submissions accusing the Central armed police forces of engaging in such a practice. Calling for repeal, or at least radical amendment to, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the Special Rapporteur urged the government to revisit the legislation on the use of force by armed forces so that they respected the principles of proportionality and necessity in all instances as stipulated under international human rights law.

He wanted the government to sign the two optional protocols the optional protocol to the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women;

the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; and the two optional protocols to the Geneva Conventions. He urged the government to swiftly enact the Prevention of Torture Bill and ensure that it complied with the Convention against Tortur

He urged the government to swiftly enact the Prevention of Torture Bill and ensure that it complied with the Convention against Tortur He urged the government to swiftly enact the Prevention of Torture Bill and ensure that it complied with the Convention against Tortur He urged the government to swiftly enact the Prevention of Torture Bill and ensure that it complied with the Convention against Tortur

Lokayukta indicts Sheila in advertisement campaign case

also recommended that the President advise the Chief Minister to to reimburse either herself or through her party a sum of Rs. 11 crore as half of the cost of the advertisements in election year, used for party political purposes. also recommended that the President advise the Chief Minister to to reimburse either herself or through her party a sum of Rs. 11 crore as half of the cost of the advertisements in election year, used for party political purposes. Mr. Sahay had allegedly disclosed the strategy devised by the Chief Minister and his department to make an elaborate campaign.

Green Tribunal sounds alert over damage to Dadri wetlands

The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday issued notices to the Union Environment Ministry and others for failing to take steps to protect the Dadri wetlands in the National Capital Region

The wetlands are the only area within a 200-km radius of the Capital where blackbucks exist in their natural habitat along with nilgais, and is home to more than 200 species of rare and migratory birds.

Delhi plays host to South African winged visitors

At a time when most of its water bodies are drying up due to the scorching heat, Delhi is witnessing a rare wildlife phenomenon at Shanti Van where nearly a dozen species of South Asian waterbirds have found a safe refuge in a small seasonal wetland which is still alive

At a time when most of its water bodies are drying up due to the scorching heat, Delhi is witnessing a rare wildlife phenomenon at Shanti Van where nearly a dozen species of South Asian waterbirds have found a safe refuge in a small seasonal wetland which is still alive President Pranab Mukherjee presented the 47th Jnanpith Award for the year 2011 to Dr. Pratibha Ray at a function at Balyogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building here on Wednesday.

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the 47th Jnanpith Award for the year 2011 to Dr. Pratibha Ray at a function at Balyogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building here on Wednesday.

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mazon.co.in says she lost he calls calls stylus

http://www.google.com/

The government has decided to put all water data about river flows and ground water in public domain

In a bid to bring transparency in the water sector, the Centre has decided to put in the public domain all water data maintained by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board. The data, including river water levels, river discharge, siltation, reservoir levels, ground water levels and water quality, will be uploaded on the India-Water Resources Information System website In a bid to bring transparency in the water sector, the Centre has decided to put in the public domain all water data maintained by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board. The data, including river water levels, river discharge, siltation, reservoir levels, ground water levels and water quality, will be uploaded on the India-Water Resources Information System website. Earlier such data used to be made available only to the State governments.

However, the government proposes to keep as classified the water data on rivers India shares with neighbouring countries, although the information under this category will also be shared on certain conditions.

Hydro-Meteorological Data Dissemination Hydrology Policy

information about the Indus basin and other rivers/tributaries discharging into Pakistan or the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin and rivers/tributaries discharging into Bangladesh and Myanmar will have to sign a pact with the Centre for the information and can obtain it for a fee. Eighteen villages in the Gadchiroli, Gondia and Amravati districts of Maharashtra have decided to collectively exercise their rights over tendu leaves this season under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.

Under the FRA, gram sabhas have a right of ownership, access to collect, use, sale and dispose of minor produce which has been traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries.

The Act also recognises tendu and bamboo as minor forest produce. While the rights over bamboo got recognised, tendu was caught in the decisions of the government. However, considering the fact that the FRA has already granted them the rights, the gram sabhas of these 18 villages asked the States Forest Department to assist them technically in the process of disposal of tendu leaves

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All the villages had floated e-tenders with the support of the Forest Department and some NGOs but no bids were received. The sulking contractor who earned money from the tendu leaves by paying a meagre amount for the labour to the villagers, decided to boycott the villages.

The government stepped in at this stage with its Tribal Development Department (TDD) deciding to stand by the villages.

Until now, middlemen would buy tendu leaves and sell it in the market paying a meagre amount as labour cost to the villagers. The villagers are not labourers, they are the owners now, said Dilip Gade of Vidarbha Nature Conservation Society ( The villagers are not labourers, they are the owners now, said Dilip Gade of Vidarbha Nature Conservation Society (

The administrative charges derived by the gram sabha will be ploughed back into development of village forest and biodiversity, Indian Oil claims technological breakthrough in making bio-diesel

State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has claimed a technological breakthrough that could be a game changer for advancing use of bio-diesel in the country and ensuring ready acceptance of the fuel by the automobile industry. IOC has stated that it has successfully developed and commercialised a technology to co-process non-edible vegetable oil in the existing diesel hydro-treating (DHDT) units of a petroleum refinery to make bio-diesel.

IOC has stated that it has successfully developed and commercialised a technology to co-process non-edible vegetable oil in the existing diesel hydro-treating (DHDT) units of a petroleum refinery to make bio-diesel.

IOC has stated that it has successfully developed and commercialised a technology to co-process non-edible vegetable oil in the existing diesel hydro-treating (DHDT) units of a petroleum refinery to make bio-diesel.

IOC has stated that it has successfully developed and commercialised a technology to co-process non-edible vegetable oil in the existing diesel hydro-treating (DHDT) units of a petroleum refinery to make bio-diesel.

IOC has stated that it has successfully developed and commercialised a technology to co-process non-edible vegetable oil in the existing diesel hydro-treating (DHDT) units of a petroleum refinery to make bio-diesel.

This is the first time in India and possibly the first in the world when Jatropha oil has been used for co-processing in a petroleum refinery. This technology for co-processing of Jatropha oil has been developed by the R&D Centre of Indian Oil located at Faridabad

This technology for co-processing of Jatropha oil has been developed by the R&D Centre of Indian Oil located at Faridabad Gurgaon has lowest sex ratio, but highest literacy in Haryana

But Mewat with the highest sex ratio has the lowest literacy

In a good news for fliers of Air India Express, the low-cost arm of Air India, the airline management has decided to defer the proposal to charge for advance selection of seats.

India and Uzbekistan shared the view that any outside interference in internal affairs of Afghanistan could prove to be counter-productive, in the backdrop of the proposed withdrawal of the U.S. forces by 2014.

view that emerged was to support the Afghan-led political process. The issue of counter-terrorism too came up for a detailed discussion

Uzbekistan was inviting Indian investments

need for increasing the intensity of the bilateral economic cooperation signed an MoU for upgrading the Jawaharlal Nehru India Uzbekistan Centre for Information Technology in Tashkent. signed an MoU for upgrading the Jawaharlal Nehru India Uzbekistan Centre for Information Technology in Tashkent.

There were discussions on the issues of connectivity in the region

Kannada writer U.R. Ananthamurthy failed to win the Man Booker International Prize announced here on Wednesday with the American writer Lydia Davis picking up the 60,000 award given in recognition of a writers overall contribution to fiction.

India was one of the first countries to extend help to Sri Lanka and relationship between the two countries continued to grow, said Sri Lankas Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa here on Wednesday.

India was one of the first countries to extend help to Sri Lanka and relationship between the two countries continued to grow, said Sri Lankas Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa here on Wednesday.

Speaking to mediapersons after the launch of the Indian housing project in the Eastern Province, India had, soon after the war, expressed faith in Sri Lankas ability to carry out rehabilitation and reconciliation Ahmadinejad protests disqualification of protg

Irans outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has protested against the disqualification of his protg, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, from next months presidential elections, triggering speculation of a wider clash between the President and institutions loyal to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

FinMin to release Rs.1 lakh crore oil subsidy

Following the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Finance Ministry has been pushed to release nearly Rs.1 lakh crore in petroleum subsidy for 2012-13 for the three oil marketing companies (OMCs) with a caveat that the Petroleum Ministry would shift to export parity price (EPP) for pricing of petroleum products.

export parity price export parity price

The Finance Ministry is of the view that petrol and diesel should be priced at a rate they can get in export market, rather than the present practice of pricing the fuels after adding transportation cost and customs duty to the international price Export Parity Price or EPP is defined as, "The price that a producer gets or can expect to get for its product if exported, equal to the Freight on Board price minus the costs of getting the product from the farm or factory to the border. This and the import parity price together define a range of the possible equilibrium prices for an equivalent domestically produced good".[1]

The difference between the EPP and the present formula of trade parity price (TPP) is about $3-4 a barrel. I Officials said shifting to the EPP formula would help save about Rs.18,000 crore of subsidy. However, the oil companies are opposing this formula arguing that they pay customs duty on importing raw material (crude oil), and, naturally, should be allowed to charge the same on products they sell In fact, private refiners such as Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Essar Oil are also likely to take a hit if EPP formula is implemented. RIL may take a hit of Rs.2,500 crore on the 10.5 million tonnes of diesel it sells to state-owned retailers while Essars profit may be dented by Rs.1,860 crore on 7.5 million tonnes of diesel it sells. Immigration bill retains clause banning client site placement of H1-B workers

The provision prohibits any company with more than 15 per cent of its workforce on H1-Bs from placing H1-B workers at client sites

The killer provision of ban on client site placement for H1-B workers, which may prove to be detrimental to the interests of major Indian IT companies, remains in place The ban on client site placement for H1-B Workers is the most damaging of all provisions of Senate Bill 744, which was not addressed by any of the amendments proposed by Senator Hatch on Wednesday.

If this provision becomes law, it will severely impact U.S. companies operational capabilities by disrupting such companies from sourcing their work from the most competitive service providers,

If this provision becomes law, it will severely impact U.S. companies operational capabilities by disrupting such companies from sourcing their work from the most competitive service providers,

potential for some tissue being left behind is possible.

by removing the ovaries, the major source of oestrogens that can induce the malignant change in the breast is eliminated. Studies have shown that this approach can reduce the risk of development of breast cancer by nearly 50 per cent. drugs drugs can be used to reduce the breast cancer risk. Tamoxifen

lifestyle modifications can cut the risk. A healthy balanced diet

regular exercise Using gold nanoparticles for drug delivery

Using bio-resources, scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, have synthesised eco-friendly gold nanoparticles which could be used as carriers for delivering anticancer drugs and also for diagnosing the disease.

http://www.exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala

http://www.exbii.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=343037&highlight=malayala https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U7jCpQuNQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U7jCpQuNQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U7jCpQuNQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U7jCpQuNQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U7jCpQuNQ&feature=youtu.be Using bio-resources, scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, have synthesised eco-friendly gold nanoparticles which could be used as carriers for delivering anticancer drugs and also for diagnosing the disease.

Developed from leaf extracts, the biocompatible nanoparticles have shown promising results and inhibited cancer cells proliferation in lung and breast cancer cell lines. In the first instance, they have used leaves of Bhringaraj (Eclipta alba), a herbal plant.

gold nanoparticles could be developed by chemical methods, the inherent problem in that approach was of toxicity. green chemistry approach. It is environmental-friendly because the solvent we are using is water. green chemistry approach. It is environmental-friendly because the solvent we are using is water.

We have a long history of using gold as a medicinal agent in Ayurveda. More than 1,000 years ago it was used as a nanoparticle (swarnabhasma). At that time, there were no sophisticated instruments and that is why people did not know that it was a gold nanoparticle -na

gold nanoparticle was bio-compatible, easy to synthesise and multiple cancer drugs could be loaded. It could reduce the toxicity of the anti-cancer drug, increase its efficacy and ensure better retention of the drug in the blood system. With the addition of a fluorescent molecule, it could be used to detect the position of the tumour.

drug inhibits tumour cells proliferation even at a low dose. f we can make nanoparticle which comes out from the body (upto 90%) after doing the delivery then it will be a great discovery and related issues regarding the nanoparticles will be solved. Developed from leaf extracts, the biocompatible nanoparticles have shown promising results and inhibited cancer cells proliferation in lung and breast cancer cell lines. In the first instance, they have used leaves of Bhringaraj (Eclipta alba), a herbal plant.

China has indicated it will go ahead with building infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) despite Indias concerns, signing a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan on a transport corridor expected to pass through the disputed region.

Chinese planners have called for a transport and economic corridor to link Chinas far-western Xinjiang region to the port of Gwadar, on the Arabian Sea, which China helped build and is now managing.

The corridor, they hope, will speed up development in Xinjiang, which has seen intermittent unrest, and also open up a new route for Chinas energy imports from West Asia. The corridor will pass through PoK, which borders Xinjiang and provides the only feasible transport link between China and Pakistan.

While India has made its concerns known over the projects considering the regions disputed status, China has appeared to push forward its plans.

Going forward, China would step up its cooperation with Pakistan by building the oil pipeline and railroads linking the countries, Wang Dehua, a South Asia scholar at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told The Global Times, a Communist Party-run tabloid known for its nationalistic views, on Thursday.

The projects, they said, were purely commercial, with China not deviating from its stated position of neutrality on the issue. There has been a breakthrough in number theory, with Chinese mathematician Yitang Zhang coming up with a result that is seen as a step towards solving the twin prime conjecture, a longstanding problem in mathematics.

India has a difficult neighbourhood holding full range of conventional, strategic and non-traditional challenges, but our security has never been stronger than it is today and our international relationships have never been more conducive to our national development efforts, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while laying the foundation for the first Indian National Defence University (INDU) at Binola village here on Thursday.

University conceived to facilitate holistic study of defence, strategic security challenges

The four existing Defence institutions National Defence College, College of Defence Management, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence Academy are proposed to be brought under the ambit of Indian National Defence University (INDU), whose foundation was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Binola village here on Thursday.

Besides these, four new institutes National College of Defence Studies, Indian Institute of Defence Technology, Indian Institute of Defence Management and Defence Institute of Distance and Open Learning will also be set up under INDU at its campus. The lives of over 150,000 children in the country could be saved by a $5-million-programme launched in India by UNICEF-Canada and Teck under the Zinc Alliance for Child Health(ZACH).

The five-year programme aims at scaling up the use of zinc supplementation and oral rehydration salts (ORS) to treat diarrhoea while strengthening healthcare systems across India.

One of the leading causes of these deaths is diarrhoea. Currently, only two per cent Indian children have access to zinc and ORS, a cost-effective and proven life-saving diarrhoea treatment. A 10-day course of zinc tablets costs only 30 cents while a sachet of ORS costs 10 cents. Zinc Alliance for Child Health(ZACH). Zinc Alliance for Child Health(ZACH).

As TRAI prepares to regulate ownership of news organisations to ensure pluralism, big media houses fear shrinking profits and state control by proxy

Last year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) asked TRAI, for the second time in four years, for its views on horizontal and vertical media integration, with the objective of maintaining media plurality.

In industry parlance, horizontal integration refers to an entity having a presence across different media segments (print, TV, FM radio) while vertical integration arises when a broadcaster has control over a distributor like a multi-system operator (MSO) or cable networks, or vice versa.

The government has promulgated an ordinance to extend the term of the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India by six months. The ordinance was promulgated as the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013 The ordinance was promulgated as the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013 In a bid to promote Brand India, the government on Thursday allowed sale of goods manufactured in India, sans excise duty, to incoming and outgoing international passengers and crew at duty-free shops (DFSs) at airports.

Now, a passenger arriving from abroad can buy either duty-free imported goods or duty-free indigenous goods within his overall permissible baggage allowance, says the statement.

White Bengal tiger enigma solved

A change in a single amino acid (A477V) in one pigmentation-related gene (SLC45A2) causes some tigers to have white fur with dark or sepia brown stripes The colour of the fur, stripes and eye of the tiger is determined independently by two types of melanin pheomelanin and eumelanin. In the case of white tigers, only the pheomelanin that produces the red to yellow colour is affected. Eumelanin gives the black to brown colour and is unaffected, the reason why the eye and hair in the stripes are dark or sepia brown. point mutation in the amino acid partially blocks a particular channel, as a result of which the yellow pigment-forming process gets affected. Incidentally, mutations in the same pigmentation-related gene (SLC45A2) causes light skin colour in modern Europeans, as well. The Commerce and Industry Ministry, on Thursday, issued new guidelines for pharmaceutical makers to comply with the European Union (EU) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

Jharkhand adivasi rights activist Dayamani Barla receives the Ellen L. Lutz Indigenous Rights Award from Suzanne Benally, executive director of Cultural Survival, an indigenous peoples rights organisation. PHOTO: Narayan Lakshman

Ms. Barla, who has been described as the Iron Lady of Jharkhand for her fearless opposition to the infringement of adivasi rights was presented with the first ever Ellen L. Lutz Indigenous Rights Award by Cultural Survival, an indigenous peoples rights organisation.

Amid the growing menace of unsolicited calls and SMSes, telecom regulator TRAI on Friday declared that the services of subscribers who illegally carried on telemarketing activities would be disconnected with immediate effect. Further, such users would be blacklisted and not provided with any telecom facility for a period of two years.

The Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES), which runs 15 boat clinics in 13 districts of Assam, in partnership with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has embarked on an ambitious project of building Indias first hospital ship (floating hospital). When complete, the hospital will provide specialised healthcare services to island communities living along the Brahmaputra. The Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES), which runs 15 boat clinics in 13 districts of Assam, in partnership with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has embarked on an ambitious project of building Indias first hospital ship (floating hospital). When complete, the hospital will provide specialised healthcare services to island communities living along the Brahmaputra.

the State would also have to go for smaller boats to make use of the concept of floating hospital, which would cater to the healthcare requirement of lakhs of people who are dependent on river transport mode and do not have access to better healthcare. Mr. Gogoi also underlined the need to emphasise on education and spreading awareness among the people about prevention of diseases.

Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES), Despite the tall claims made by the State government about its successes in the implementation of the MGNREGS, West Bengal remains closer to the bottom when its performance is compared to that of other States.

In a major step towards implementation of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), 2007, the Union government has notified Cauvery Water (Implementation of the Order of 2007) Scheme, 2013. The notice was issued on Wednesday.

The scheme notified as a purely temporary measure will be in place until the Cauvery Management Board, as envisaged in the award, is constituted.

We bring this up to foreground one simple fact, the mere enactment of a law or the passing of an order does not automatically lead to compliance and therefore one must, before passing such orders, conduct a campaign to educate the people and to put in place a mechanism that would ensure that defaulters are brought to book. In the absence of these steps all such orders get reduced to mere lip service and are tantamount to playing to the gallery.

In 2009 a blanket ban was imposed on plastic bags and the ban failed primarily because of three reasons. There was no clarity about what was permitted and what was not permitted, the strength of enforcement staff was woefully inadequate to enforce the order and no alternative packaging material was identified and provided in quantities sufficiently large to be accepted as a viable alternative to the all-pervasive plastic.

After a few days of media coverage and television appearances the scheme was given a quiet burial. Noted economist and Rajasthan State Planning Board Deputy Chairman V. S. Vyas on Friday called upon the youth to take advantage of the countrys economic fundamentals and demographics, with young persons outnumbering those who depend on their earnings.

Allwyn George, Lenny Rodrigues, Zoheb Amiri and Derrick Pereira stepped on stage to receive applause and awards at the Football Players Association of India function to honour outstanding performers for 2012-2013 season Allwyn George, Lenny Rodrigues, Zoheb Amiri and Derrick Pereira stepped on stage to receive applause and awards at the Football Players Association of India function to honour outstanding performers for 2012-2013 season http://www.google.com/ https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akprn2/282797_385047434950645_1459727271_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akprn2/282797_385047434950645_1459727271_n.jpg

The Organization of African Unity marks its 50th anniversary today amid not just the search for solidarity across a continent but for a vision of a global Africa

Supreme Court yet to decide on conflict of interest case

As demand grows for the resignation of BCCI president N. Srinivasan, the issue of conflict of interest whether administrators can have any commercial interest, directly or indirectly, in matches or events conducted by the Board is pending consideration by the Supreme Court.

UIDAI unveils three online authentication services

vision of empowering residents of India with a unique identity and a digital platform to authenticate *it+ anytime, anywhere, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday launched three new Aadhaar-enabled services

It also makes sense for various user agencies [public or private] as they can identify a beneficiary/customer using a fast, secure, economical and paperless format, said UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani. The services launched are authentication services that use iris, One Time Pin (OTP) and e-KYC (Electronic-Know Your Customer) technologies.

iris-based authentication

using their iris images. India is the first country to offer such a platform

The OTP service enables Aadhaar-based authentication of all those who had registered a mobile telephone number during enrolment, using their phone anytime, anywhere on a self -service mode

The e-KYC service will allow individuals to authorise service providers to receive an electronic copy of their proof of identity and address. It can be used by various agencies to verify a persons identity and address. Additionally, only demographic information

with the consent of the Aadhaar user, but will be available only for few seconds to eliminate any misuse. Pakistan on Friday found solace and vindication in U.S. President Barack Obamas speech outlining Washingtons counterterrorism strategy for the future, particularly, the observations made on the controversial drone programme that has been the bane of bilateral relations.

Srikanth Sri Srinivasan (46), the Chandigarh-born, Harvard-educated Obama nominee to the Federal Appeals Court DC Circuit, received bipartisan confirmation in a 97-0 vote by the Senate and set off speculation that he may go on to become the first ever Indian-American judge in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Indian-American Sathwik Karnik (12) has won the prestigious National Geographic Bee contest Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Friday, asked the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to step up efforts to provide mid-cap and small-tier companies greater access to capital markets.

The equity market in our country remains disproportionately focussed on large-cap firms. Many midcap and small-tier companies are crowded out by their larger counterparts while seeking public capital, For our growth story to be truly sustainable in the years to come, small and medium enterprises would need to become a key segment of the Indian economy. They must be facilitated and helped to grow and expand with greater ease India Inc should stop looking abroad and focus on tapping huge investment opportunities within the country, especially in the infrastructure sector, which offers long-term benefits, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said here on Friday.

The long-term benefits of investing in India outweigh the benefits of investing abroad,

I would urge investors to rebalance the portfolio and invest more in India. This is where the market is, this is where the market will shift, this is where the demand is, this is where demand will continue to be robust over the next 20-30 years. Indian investors must invest more in India rather than invest abroad,

I would urge investors to rebalance the portfolio and invest more in India. This is where the market is, this is where the market will shift, this is where the demand is, this is where demand will continue to be robust over the next 20-30 years. Indian investors must invest more in India rather than invest abroad, steps to check excessive volatility in the currency market

Amid the rupee touching nearly 9-month low against the U.S. dollar, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Friday said it would continue to take steps to check excessive volatility in the currency market.

Mr. Padmanabhan said Indias central bank had decided to relax norms for exporters.

The RBI plans to allow exporters and importers to rebook and cancel up to 50 per cent of their total hedged exposure from the present cap of 25 per cent.

IOC, Ceylon Petroleum set to form JV

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) are set to form a joint venture (JV) for taking up various initiatives in the oil and gas sector, including supply of LNG to Sri Lanka by Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) to feed power plants in that country.

Sports Ministry to fund Mary Kom Foundation

Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation, being set up in Imphal. Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation, being set up in Imphal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has set July 15 as the deadline for holding the extraordinary meeting of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to review its constitution and ensure that all standards of good governance and ethics are effectively addressed and implemented in the new constitution.

Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, on Friday, revealed a plan, stressing spotting and nurturing of talents, to achieve his Ministrys goal of making India an elite sporting nation.

spotting and nurturing of talents

The idea is to use Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA), spot talents and nurture them at the Centres of Excellence (CoEs),

government would give each State some funds to create a sports complex in each block, would provide rural youth the facilities to play and excel For talent spotting, which is almost non-existent in the country, the Minister said the government had been working on a scheme, named Identification and Nurturing Sports Talent (INSTAL), under which special schools for talented youngsters would be set up in each district.

Around 100 talented young boys and girls in the age group of 6-10 years, selected through the PYKKA competitions, will be offered admission in district sports schools expenses will be met through a stipend will be guaranteed a job under the sports quota of the Central or State government,

in order to create a better ecosystem, focusing on physical fitness and yoga would be made compulsory at all SAI centres. in order to create a better ecosystem, focusing on physical fitness and yoga would be made compulsory at all SAI centres. foreign exposure would be provided to 10 persons every year, ensure transparency and good governance in the running of sports bodies Jitendra Singh wants to see India among the top 10 sporting powers by 2020 Olympics

: Former World and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, along with the London Games bronze medallist Gagan Narang, will open Indias strong challenge in mens air rifle on the opening day of the shooting World Cup in Germany on Saturday.

The trial court cannot deny an accused the right to summon witnesses he/she has cited for examination at any stage of trial, the Supreme Court has held.

Best available evidence must be brought before court to prove a fact

New bulk drug export norms to comply with EU standards

The Commerce and Industry Ministry, on Thursday, issued new guidelines for pharmaceutical makers to comply with the European Union (EU) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

is expected to have a positive impact on the companies as many of them are aspiring to export to developed countries, /servlet/RoutingServlet?action=awbquery&awb=awb&handler=tnt&numbers=59157853591