<hr> International <hr> The Second High Level Meeting (HLM) on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia

and the Pacific concluded in New Delhi on October 25th, 2013. The meetin g has brought together delegates from 33 countries of the region to discuss and share the progress, experience, problems and challenges in the survival, protect ion, development and participation of the nearly 1.2 billion children in the reg ion. The New Delhi Declaration on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and Pacific , has been adopted on October 25th. Speaking at the occasion Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Women and Child Dev elopment said that such high level meetings provide an opportunity to reaffirm o ur commitment towards child rights and recognizing that child rights are fundame ntal to all cultures and societies and are crucial to children s growth and upbrin ging. It is also a reaffirmation of our belief that child survival, development, protection and participation are vital for the growth of the country. Smt. Tirath said that although this Meeting has focused on three crucial themes of adolescence, early child hood care and development and urban settings, we rec ognise that the rights of children are interrelated and interdependent and each one of them is equally important and fundamental to the well-being and dignity o f the child. The application of child rights requires a multi-dimensional, integrated and inc lusive approach for the overall and harmonious development and protection of chi ldren, she noted. Present at the occasion were Mr Sharudin S. Kashim, Deputy Dir ector General Planning, Government of Malaysia , delegates from 33 countries, of ficials from UNICEF and various other dignitaries. <hr> Ethiopia's government on 24th October 2013 temporarily banned its citizens from travelling abroad to look for work. The government took this decision because ma ny Ethiopians had lost their lives or undergone untold physical and psychologica l trauma due to illegal human trafficking. The Ethiopian government had taken va rious steps to limit the suffering of its citizens, including setting up a natio nal council and a taskforce to educate them. The scarcity of work opportunities contributes mainly fuelling emigration from Ethiopia, which has Africa's second largest population. According to the official figures, Youth unemployment was es timated at more than 50 percent. Many Ethiopians migrate to Saudi Arabia, travel ling via Yemen by sea and entering the country illegally. Thousands of others go to Israel, South Africa and Europe. Most of the migrants end up being smuggled, trafficked or subjected to mental and physical torture. <hr> Global Gender Gap Report 2013, which was published on 25 October 2013 by World E conomic Forum- India, was ranked 101 out of 136 countries on Gender Gap index. I n 2012 Report, India secured 105th position in the Gender Gap Index of 135 count ries. The Global Gender Gap Report 2013 Report revealed that world s gender gaps n arrowed slightly in 2013 on the back of definite if not universal improvements in economic equality and political participation between the sexes. The worst perfo rming countries are Yemen (136), Pakisthan (135) and Chad (134).The Report measu res the size of the gender inequality gap in four areas:1)Economic participation and opportunity salaries, participation and highly skilled employment.2)Educati onal attainment access to basic and higher levels of education.3)Political empow erment representation in decision-making structures.4)Health and survival life e

xpectancy and sex ratio. Iceland has the narrowest gender gap in the world, foll owed by Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Global Gender Gap Report, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, provides a framework for capturing the magnitu de and scope of gender-based disparities around the world. <hr> China on 31 October 2013 opened a new highway that links Medog to Zhamog-located near the border with Arunachal Pradesh. The highway linking Medog, the last roa dless county in China, with neighboring Bome County in Tibet formally opened to traffic, ending the county's isolation from the outside world. The 117-km highwa y, which cost 950 million yuan (155 million U.S. dollars), links Zhamog Township , the county seat of Bome, and Medog in Nyingchi Prefecture in southeastern Tibe t. The road will be accessible for 8 to 9 months per year, barring major natural disasters. The Zhamog-Medog starts along the Number 318 National Road in Zhamog Township in Bomi County. It goes through the 4400-meter high Galung La Mountain and cross 6 rivers, to reach Medog. The opening of the Medog road will greatly lower transportation costs and will a lso improve medical care and educational facilities. With this new highway, ever y county in Tibet is now linked through the highway network, underlining the wid ening infrastructure gulf across the disputed border, even as India belatedly pu shes forward an upgrading of border roads in more difficult terrain. China first started attempting to build the highway to Medog a landlocked county in Tibet s N yingchi prefecture in the 1960s, in the aftermath of the 1962 war with India. <hr> Turkey opened the world s first underwater rail link between two continents on 29 October, connecting Asia and Europe and allowing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan t o realize a project dreamt up by Ottoman sultans more than a century ago. The en gineering feat spans 13 km (8 miles) to link Europe with Asia some 60 meters bel ow the Bosphorus Strait. Called the Marmaray, it will carry subway commuters in Europe's biggest city and eventually serve high-speed and freight trains. The 5. 5 billion lira ($2.8 billion) tunnel is one of Erdogan's mega projects , an unprece dented building spree designed to change the face of Turkey. They include a 50-k m canal to rival the Suez that would render half of Istanbul an island, an airpo rt that will be the world's busiest and a giant mosque atop on Istanbul hill. <hr> Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana, a pension and life insurance fund scheme for blue-collar Indian workers in UAE was launched by the Union Minister of Ove rseas Indian Affairs, Vyalar Ravi in Dubai on 28 October 2013.The scheme will co ver 5 million overseas blue collar Indian workers who have the Emigration Cleara nce Required (ECR) category passports in 17 countries. ECR passports are issued to those workers who have not passed Grade 10. Around 65 per cent of more than t wo million Indians in the UAE are blue collar workers and most of them are in th e ECR category. Blue collar jobs are pertaining to wage-earning workers who wear work clothes or other specialized clothing on the job, as mechanics, longshoremen and miners. M ahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY), a special social security scheme for overseas Indian workers on temporary work permits in 17 Emigration Check Req uired (ECR) countries. The MGPSY is aimed at helping the workers to save money f or their retirement, their return to India and resettlement and provides life in surance cover against natural death during the period of coverage. It provides h ome and a life insurance cover for Rs. 1 lakh during their work abroad.

<hr> Syria has destroyed all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing f acilities, meeting a key deadline in an ambitious disarmament programme, the int ernational chemical weapons watchdog said on 31 October. The Organization for th e Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chem ical weapons sites across the country. The other two were too dangerous to inspe ct but the chemical equipment had already been moved to other sites which expert s had visited, it said. "The OPCW is satisfied it has verified, and seen destroyed, all declared critica l production/mixing/filling equipment from all 23 sites," the document said. Und er a Russian-American-brokered deal, Damascus agreed to destroy all its chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to the killing of hundreds of people in a sarin attack on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August. It was the world's deadliest chemical weapons incident since Saddam Hussein's fo rces used poison gas against the Kurdish town of Halabja 25 years ago. The United States and its allies blamed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's force s for the attack and several earlier incidents. Assad has rejected the charge, b laming rebel brigades. Under the disarmament timetable, Syria was due to render unusable all production and chemical weapons filling facilities by 1 November a target it has now met. By mid-2014 it is to have destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons. The next deadline is 15 November, by when the OPCW and Syri a must agree to a detailed plan of destruction, including how and where to destr oy more than 1,000 metric tones of toxic agents and munitions. <hr> The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ), has announced a US $ 250,000 grant to the organization UN Women, which is a p art of the United Nations' Women's Global Safe Cities Initiative. In a press sta tement on 30 October, the US embassy said that the grant is for the ongoing prog ram "Delhi Safe City - Free of Violence against Women and Girls," that will be i mplemented in partnership with Indian civil society organizations. This announce ment comes in the same month as the International Day of the Girl Child and on t he eve of the international community's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence beginning late November. U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy J. Powell said , "The United States recognizes gender-based violence as one of the most debilit ating factors impeding a woman's active participation in any economy in the worl d and her ability to access resources and services. We are pleased to partner wi th UN Women to help promote safe cities and reduce gender-based violence, which plagues every country in the world." <hr> Australia on 29 October 2013 announced the winding down of its military mission in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of most of its troops by the end of 2014. App roximately, 1000Australian troops are posted at the International Force base in Tarin Kot, the capital of southern Afghan province Uruzgan. In 2001, the US-led war in Afghanistan started and 40 Australian soldiers killed and 260 were injure d since that time. USA and other foreign combat troops from Afghanistan chalked out a plan to transfer security responsibilities to local forces by the end of 2 014 and will go back to their countries. As of early June 2013 there were about 1,00,000 Nato troops serving in Afghanistan from 50 contributing nations. Austra lia is one among the leading nations who have contributed units of 550 or more.

<hr>National<hr> The Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) Dr. Rameshwar Or aon and Member, B.L. Meena, on 25th October, presented the Sixth Report on worki ng of safeguard for Scheduled Tribes for 2010-11 to the President of India. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes was constituted w.e.f. 19th February, 2 004 consequent to the amendment of Article 338 of the Constitution of India and insertion of a new Article 338A vide the Constitution (Eighty-ninth Amendment) A ct, 2003 which, inter-alia, enjoins upon the Commission to oversee the implement ation of various safeguards provided to Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or under any other law for the time being in force or under any other order of t he Government and to evaluate the working of such safeguards. Article 338A of th e Constitution, also, mandates the NCST to present to the President annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports on the working of t he safeguards extended to the members of Scheduled Tribes and to make in such re ports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or an y State for effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes. The Report is comprised of seven chapters. Adherence to Clause 9 of Article 338A of the Constitution which mandates the Union and every State Government to consult the Commission on all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Tribes is present ed in Chapter 6 on Consultation on Policy Related Issues. As per the constitutio nal provisions, the report of the Commission has to be laid in both houses of th e Parliament along with a Memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the Union. Similar action has to be taken by the State Governments while laying the Report in the Legislative Assemb ly of the State concerned, in relation to the recommendations concerning the Sta te. <hr> Harald Sandberg, the Swedish Ambassador on 25th October 2013 inaugurated the Nob el Memorial Wall in Kolkata. The Nobel Memorial Wall has been set up at the Espl anade Metro Station in Kolkata. Seven of the Nobel Laureates from India are port rayed in the metro station along with the Rabindranath Tagore. The Memorial Wall was inaugurated marking the centenary of Tagore reception of the Nobel Prize fo r Literature. The portraits on the Memorial Wall also carry the information rela ted to the life and achievements in the respective field of the Nobel Laureates with the year when they were awarded the Nobel in three languages, namely Englis h, Hindi and Bangla. Two more memorial walls would be established at metro stati ons of Gitanjali and Jorasanko. The work on the Nobel Memorial Wall was done as the part of the seventh edition of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial wee. <hr> India was on 25th October, ranked 101 out of 136 countries on a global gender ga p index. The index, compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum, ranked the co untries on the division of resources and opportunities between men and women in the areas of economy, education, politics, education and health. <hr> The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on 24th October, signed a memorandum

of understanding to undertake project management consultancy for construction of a permanent campus of IIM Tiruchirappalli. The MoU was signed here in the prese nce of CPWD DG V K Gupta and IIM Tiruchirappalli Director Dr Prafulla Agnihotri, a statement issued by the Urban Development Ministry said. The campus will come up in 68 hectares of land allotted by the Tamil Nadu government. It will accomm odate 1500 students, besides 300 faculty and staff members and comprise of acade mic facilities, world-class hostels, accommodation for faculty and staff, recrea tional facilities and a well-equipped management development centre. The master planning and designing of the campus has been entrusted to a firm of leading arc hitects. The construction of the Rs 450 crore-project (aprox.) will begin in Mar ch-April next year, and is expected to be completed by March 2016. IIM Tiruchira ppalli aims to have a green campus, and will be self-sufficient in terms of its water requirements in five to seven years of its coming up. IIM Tiruchirappalli is country's 11th IIM, where the session began in 2011. <hr> The Supreme Court on 31 October 2013 directed the Government of India and the St ates to pass order within three months on giving the fixed tenure to civil serva nts. The Supreme Court has also directed to constitute a Civil Services Board at nation and state levels for management of the transfers, posting, reward, inqui ries and process of promotion, punishment and disciplinary matters of bureaucrac y. The decisions were taken to bring bureaucracy out from political interference and to give end to regular transfers of the civil servants from political execu tive. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan said that the fixed tenure of the bureaucrats would help to promote the professionalism, effic iency and good governance. The Parliament has been also directed by the Supreme Court to enact a law to regulate transfer, posting and disciplinary action on th e IAS officers and to immunize them from political interference. The Court direc ted on a petition submitted by 83 former civil servants, like former cabinet sec retary T. S. R. Subramanian, former Indian ambassador to the US Abid Hussain, fo rmer chief election commissioner, N. Gopalaswami and others, demanding reforms t o ensure bureaucracy to get them out from the political influences. <hr> Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge launched the High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd (HSRC), a subsidiary of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL), on 29 October 2 013.The main objective of the HSRC is to develop High Speed Rail (HSR) Corridors in India to run passenger trains at speeds up to 350 Kilo Meter per hour. While inaugurating the HSRC, Railways Minister told that most countries consider high speed capability to be in the range of 250 to 300 kmph which requires a dedicat ed track with fencing and can be prohibitively costly. For a country like ours track fencing also has its own set of associated issues. Thus, leveraging Rolling stock technologies may provide a lower cost solution t o meet the immediate needs of achieving speeds of 160 to 200 kmph and that too o n the existing track. For speeds above 200 kmph the costlier and time consuming solution of providing a separate dedicated track with fencing becomes inescapabl e. He launched the HSRC while inaugurating a two-day international technical con ference on High Speed Rail Travel: Low Cost Solution, in New Delhi on 29 October . <hr> The direction in the judgment dated 27 September, 2013 of the Supreme Court is t o provide a None of the Above (NOTA) option on the EVM and ballot papers so that the electors who do not want to vote for any of the candidates can exercise the ir option in secrecy. The Supreme Court held that the provisions of Rule 49-O un

der which an elector not wishing to vote for any candidate had to inform the Pre siding Officer about his decision, are ultra vires Article 19 of the Constitutio n and Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. As per the prov isions of clause (a) of Rule 64 of Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, read with S ection 65 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the candidate who has p olled the largest number of valid votes is to be declared elected by the Returni ng Officer. Therefore, even if the number of electors opting for NOTA option is more than th e number of votes polled by any of the candidates, the candidate who secures the largest number of votes has to be declared elected. Under the provisions of Sec tion 53(2) of RP Act, 51, if the number of contesting candidates is equal to the number of seats to be filled, the Returning Officer has to declare all the cont esting candidates to be duly elected. In the case of elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies, in cases where there is only one contesting candidat e in the fray, the Returning Officer has to, in accordance with the provisions o f the said Section 53(2), declare the sole contesting candidates as elected. The provision of NOTA option which is an expression of decision not to vote for the contesting candidates is not relevant in such cases. <hr> The Union Cabinet on 30 October gave its approval for declaring the Bhubaneswar and Imphal airports as international airports to fulfill the long pending demand of people as well as the State Governments of Odisha and Manipur. Declaration o f these airports as international airports will offer improved connectivity, wid er choice of services at competitive cost to the air travelers resulting in boos ting international tourism and economic development of the region and the countr y. Biju Patnaik Airport or Bhubaneswar Airport belongs to Airport Authority of Indi a and is suitable for operation of Code `D` aircraft of type B-767-400. The airp ort is also equipped with facilities for night operations, runway 14/32 of dimen sion 2743m X 45m, apron to park six aircrafts and navigational aids. A new domes tic terminal building with all modern amenities for handling 400 arriving and 40 0 departing passengers has been constructed and inaugurated in March 2013. Impha l Airport belongs to Airports Authority of India and is suitable for `C` type (A -320/321) of aircrafts operations in all weather conditions. Major facilities in cluding night operations, runway of dimension 2746m X 45m, Apron to park 3 nos. A-320 and 1 No. ATR-72 at a time, terminal building having an area of 6592 sqm. <hr> Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2013 laid the foundation ston e of the Statute of Unity-a 182-metre tall statue (World s largest statue) of iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 138th birth anniversary at Sardar Sarovar D am site in Bharuch district in Gujarat. The Statue of Unity will be double of th e height of the Statue of Liberty (93 metres) in the USA. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was an Indian freedom fighter and one of the great social leaders of India. He is one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fa thers of the Republic of India. After India's independence, he became the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was the man behind the cons olidation of 565 semi-autonomous princely states to form a united India. <hr>

Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 29 October 2013 inaugurated the Sardar Vall abhbhai Patel National Museum at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Sarda Vallabhbhai Patel Nat

ional Museum was established in the memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was an Indian freedom fighter. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Museum has been dev eloped at the cost of Rs. 28.54 crore in 36,000 sq meter area. Eight feet tall s tatue of Sardar Patel along with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru is the main attraction of this National museum. Museum has rich and rare collection of pers onal belongings of Sardar Patel apart from valuable gifts received by him. Minia ture of Sardar Patel s residence, school, jail and other places associated with hi s life are also created in this museum. Visitors can also see the special 3D fil m on role of Sardar Patel in India s freedom struggle apart from 14 multimedia int eractive displays. <hr> Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh declared Kannur in Kerala as the first zero-landless district in the country on 1 November 2013. Kannur Distr ict Authorities provided land to as many as 11,118 beneficiaries, including 85 f amilies belonging to the Scheduled Tribes category. The prestigious Zero Landles s programme of the United Democratic Front was flagged off by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in October 2013. The Zero Landless programme envisages distributio n of three cents of land each to 243928 families identified across the State. Ka nnur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India.

<hr>Bilateral<hr> India and Peru jointly celebrated the 50th year of establishment of diplomatic t ies between the two countries on 27th October 2013 in Lima. The occasion was cel ebrated during the three day visit of Indian Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansar i to Peru. He was on a three-day visit to Peru. His visit assumes significance a s India seeks to further strengthen India-Peru ties. Indian music and classical dance performance at the mini India cultural festival was showcased for Peruvian s. India established diplomatic relations with Peru in March 1963. India-Peru re lations have traditionally been cordial and friendly. Since the 1990s, there has been an increasing economic and business content to the relationship. On the Pe ruvian side, an enhanced interest in the Asian region due to APEC membership, co upled with India s image as a technologically advanced democratic developing count ry, as well as increased bilateral trade in recent years, has enhanced India s imp ortance. Peru is also a member of NAM and G-77. India and Peru cooperate closely on multilateral matters. <hr> The Vice President M. Hamid Ansari officially launched the Indian Chambers of Co mmerce (INCHAM) during his visit to Peru at special function jointly organized b y the Embassy of India, Peru and INCHAM in Lima, Peru on 28 October. Ambassador of India to Peru Mr. Manpreet Vohra and President of INCHAM, Mr. Ravi Krishna, s enior officials and business leaders from both India and Peru were present on th e occasion. INCHAM aims to facilitate Indian Trade & Industry to do business in

Peru and other countries of Latin America. Addressing the gathering on the launc h, the Vice President said that the new organization promises to fill what has s o far been a vacuum in India-Peru commercial and economic relations. The officia l website of INCHAM was also launched during the occasion. INCHAM will seek to increase awareness of either country s business opportunities in the other, it will offer information and advisory services, and it will provi de the important bridge between businesses and governments that is vital when ec onomic relations reach a take-off stage, as they have between India and Peru. In dia-Peru bilateral trade is increasing very quickly and has gone up by 7 times i n the last 5 years. The growth rate last year was 35%. In the first six months o f this year, it rose by over 44%. Peru is rapidly becoming one of the more impor tant trade partners for India in this region. Looking at the potential, the Gove rnments of India and Peru are hoping to start negotiations soon for a Free Trade Agreement. Indian investments in Peru are also rising. The number of Indian com panies with offices here is increasing steadily, as also the number of Indian pr ofessionals working here. Another document that we hope to finalise with Peru so on is the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. In the framework of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishme nt of diplomatic relations between Peru and India, the Vice President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, accompanied by a high level delegation, paid an official visit to Peru from 26th to 28th October, 2013. During his visit, the Vice Presid ent of India had a special meeting with the President of the Republic of Peru, O llanta Humala Tasso. The Vice President held detailed discussions with the First Vice President of Peru, Marisol Espinoza and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Eda Rivas Franchini. He also had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, H.E. Ms. M agali Silva. In addition, he visited the National Congress of Peru where he met the President of the Congress, Mr. Fredy Otarola and members of the Peru-India P arliamentary Friendship League. The Vice President inaugurated the Festival of I ndia in Peru. He also launched INCHAM; the new Indian Chamber of Commerce in Per u. The two sides agreed to establish a Joint Commission, chaired jointly by their M inisters of Foreign Affairs, with the objective of strengthening political, secu rity, judicial, human resource development, economic, technical, scientific, soc ial and cultural cooperation, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this e ffect. It was further agreed that their senior officials will meet in Lima in th e second half of 2014 to decide on detailed modalities for beginning the work of the Joint Commission and prepare for its first meeting. The two sides noted wit h satisfaction the impressive increase in bilateral trade which was over US$ 1.1 billion in the year 2012. The two sides underlined that India and Peru are cradles of great civilizations. In this context they both underscored the importance of further deepening bilat eral cultural relations through cultural exchanges and cooperation in diverse ar t forms such as painting, dance, theatre, literature, craft, etc. as well as hol ding of cultural festivals in each others countries from time to time. With this objective, the Cultural Ministers of the two sides signed a Letter of Intent for enhancing cooperation in the fields of museology, conservation of mov able cultural properties and dissemination and promotion of cultural heritage of each others countries. The two sides concluded their negotiations and signed a D efense Cooperation Agreement. This will enable the enhancement of cooperation be tween Peru and India in the fields of defense and defense technology through est ablishment of appropriate mechanisms. The two Governments expressed their satisf action with the celebration this year of the 50th anniversary of the establishme nt of Peru - India diplomatic relations, and the organization of various activit

ies to commemorate this. This occasion, has provided a further opportunity for strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between them. They particularly appreciated the visit to India in April 2013 of a parliamentary delegation from Peru, the first ever between the two countries, and agreed to encourage more such exchanges. The Gove rnment of Peru thanked the Government of India for organizing the Festival of In dia in Lima on the occasion of the official visit of Vice President Ansari. <hr> India and Cuba on 30 October 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and Cuban Radio and Televisi on Institute (ICRT). The MoU was signed by India's ambassador to Cuba Chinthapal li Rajasekhar and vice-president of the ICRT Emillio Moises Garcia Borroto. Unde r the agreement both countries will explore co-production opportunities on matte rs of mutual interest. The pact would facilitate exchange programmes in fields o f cultural entertainment, education, science, sports and news. It also opens up avenues for co-production of broadcast content for creative ventures including f ilms and coverage of events. The MoU was signed during the official visit of Ind ia s vice President Hamid Ansari to Cuba.

<hr>Economy<hr> The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), an autonomous institute functi oning under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on 24th October, sig ned 5 memoranda of understanding with country s five leading research, academic an d business institutions, namely: Indian School of Business (ISB); Institute of P ublic Enterprise (IPE); Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS); The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) and YES Bank Limited. Sachin Pilot, Minister of Corpo rate Affairs, was present on the occasion. IICA provides opportunities for resea rch, education, and advocacy and also serves as a knowledge-centre for policy ma kers, regulators and other stakeholders related to the domain of corporate affai rs. The Institute supports the growth of the corporate sector in India through a n integrated and multi-disciplinary approach. IICA is also an academy for the In dian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) officers. The Minister had an intense interact ion with the probationers of the ICLS, discussing their training needs and how I ICA s course modules could be enhanced to cater to everyday practical requirements . Mr. Pilot emphasized the importance of gauging and assessing the specific need s of industry and business and stressed on the fact that all the courses should add value to the participants potential and ability thereby creating a demand in the Corporate Sector for employees to undergo training/development at IICA. <hr> India ranked to the 134th spot in the ease of doing business list according to t he annual Doing Business report released on 29 October 2013 by World Bank and In ternational Finance Corporation (IFC).The top ten nations in the Ease of Doing B usiness ranking are Singapore (1), Hong Kong (2), New Zealand (3), United States (4), Denmark (5), Malaysia (6), Korea (7), Georgia (8), Norway (9) and United K ingdom (10). Among BRICS countries, Russia is placed at 92nd spot, Brazil is ran ked 116, South Africa is ranked the 41st rank and China ranked at 96th position. India is also ranked lowest among the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, Chi na and South Africa). Other neighboring nations of India Nepal (105), Pakistan (

110) and Bangladesh (130) are also ranked above India. <hr> The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 October 2013 released the Second Quarter R eview of Monetary Policy 2013-14.According the released statement by the RBI, th e Repo rate increased by 25 basis points from 7.5 percent to 7.75 percent. The highlights of the Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14 are 1) RBI reduced the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate by 25 basis points from 9.0 percent to 8.75 percent with immediate effect. 2) RBI also increased the po licy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.5 percent to 7.75 percent with immediate effect. 3) The liquidity provide d through term repos of 7-day and 14-day tenor has been increased from 0.25 perc ent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) of the banking system to 0.5 perce nt with immediate effect. 4) Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) unchanged at 4 Percent 5) Repo rate hiked due to upturn of inflation and other factors. 6) RBI downward FY 14 GDP growth to 5 percent from 5.7 percent. <hr> The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the launching of a new Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS) with a total cost of Rs. 50 0 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan on 30 October. The CCEA also granted perm ission to establish four to six brown field projects and three to five green fie ld projects addressing the environmental issues faced by Textile Processing Unit s. The eligible projects under the scheme would cover the following: (i) Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), (ii) Captive power generation on tec hnology preferably renewable/green technology, (iii) Infrastructure such as stor m water management, necessary roads and pipelines for water & wastewater and (iv ) Facility for testing and R&D centres. The Scheme will facilitate the textiles industry become globally competitive usi ng environmentally friendly processing standards and technology and create new p rocessing parks. This scheme will support the up gradation of existing processin g clusters/centres specifically in the area of water and waste water management and also encourage research and development work in the textiles processing sect or.

<hr>Awards<hr> Anjali Gopalan on 25th October 2013 was awarded with French highest civilian awa rd Chevalier de la Legion d Honneur. She was awarded for her work on transgenders and HIV positive patients. She was awarded at a function, by Najat Vallaud-Belka cem, the French Cabinet Minister for Women s Right. Gopalan is an Indian Human Rig hts and Animals Rights Activist. She started the Naz Foundation (India) Trust as its executive director, which further changed the lives of the HIV Positive, tr ansgenders and homosexuals in New York. She started her career as a social worke r working for the migrants of the south East Asian who lacked valid documents. <hr> IRCON International Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking in construction sector under the Ministry of Railways, was selected as the Top Infrastructure Company u nder the category Construction Infrastructure Development Mid at the Dun and Brad

street Infra Awards 2013 for delivering exemplary performance by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), the world s leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insight, announced and presented the third edition of Infra awards. Mohan Tiwar i, Chairman and Managing Director, IRCON, received the award at a grand ceremony held at the ITC Maratha Mumbai on 29thOctober, 2013. Dun & Bradstreet also rele ased the sixth edition of its premier publication India s Leading Infrastructure Co mpanies 2013 at the award ceremony. During the last five years, IRCON has achieved spectacular and enviable growth. Turnover of the Company has increased at a CAGR of about 17 per cent. Profit (PB T) of the company has reached to a record level of Rs. 1014 crore in 2012-13 wit h a CAGR of 44.61 per cent. Growth of the company in terms of Profit is unmatche d by any Public Sector or Private construction company. In addition, Quazigund Ban ihal section of J&K Rail link project executed by Ircon International Limited wa s selected as the best project under the category Railways at the Dun and Bradstr eet Infra Awards 2013 . Award was given at a grand ceremony held at the ITC Marath a Mumbai on 29th October. IRCON completed the Banihal- Quazigund section of 18 k m length involving 11.2 km long transportation tunnel with modern Ventilation & SCADA system, thus fulfilling the dream of connecting Jammu area to Valley acros s Pir Panjal range with all-weather transportation system. <hr> Former Indian Tennis player-turned film producer Ashok Amritraj was presented wi th the 'Soul of India Award' for his outstanding achievements in the film indust ry on 29 October 2013. NRI industrialist Dr. Rami Ranger presented the award to the Ashok Amritraj at the Indian Journalists Association's meet held at the Bomb ay Palace in London. Mrs. Paul, wife of Dr. Virendra Paul, formally launched Amr itraj's book 'Advantage Hollywood' on the occasion. Ashok Amritraj is a former t ennis player and has represented India on an international level. He played in a ll major tennis tournaments during his nine-year career including Wimbledon and the US Open. His brothers, Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj, are also accomplis hed tennis players. Amritraj has produced 109 Hollywood films. His hits, startin g with 'Double Impact' in 1991, have included 'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' , 'Bandits', 'Machete and Premonition'. <hr> Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor was honoured in the House of Commons, London fo r her contribution to the global entertainment industry, on 29 October 2013. The 33-year old actress was presented with a framed golden coloured plaque by NRI M P Keith Vaz, Chairman of Britain s Home Affairs Committee. Kareena was also honour ed by the Asian Sunday Newspaper. Besides Kareena, singer Kimberley Walsh and ma gician Dynamo (Aka Steven Frayne) was honoured by the Asian Sunday Newspaper for their contributions to the global entertainment-industry. Kareena is the only B ollywood artist to be honoured at British Parliament after Amitabh Bachchan and she is the first Bollywood actress to be honoured by UK Parliament. <hr> Renowned Bharatnatyam exponent Geeta Chandran was honoured with the prestigious Guru Debaprasad Award for outstanding contribution in the field of dance on 29 O ctober 2013. The award was presented to Geeta Chandran and three others by Odish a Governor S. C. Jamir at in Bhubaneswar. Guru Debaprasad Award is an annual awa rd instituted in memory of eminent Odissi exponent Guru Debaprasad Das. The awar d was constituted by Tridhara Dance Institute in the year 2007. Geetha chandran is India s renowned Bharatanatyam dancer. She was recipient of Padmashri and a cel ebrated artist, Geetha Chandran is almost synonymous with the Indian classical d ance form of Bharatanatyam.

<hr> Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen on 27 October 2013 conferred with the Mother T eresa Memorial International Award by NGO the Harmony Foundation for her efforts towards achieving social justice in Mumbai. Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen, who is associated with different charitable projects and NGOs, received the award f or her efforts towards achieving social justice and her contribution to society. Along with Sushmitha Sen, seven individuals and an association, India Rescue Mi ssion, were also awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Soci al Justice 2013 for their contributions in the field of human rights and communi ty development. The Mother Teresa International Award is an annual award, consti tuted by Harmony Foundation, which was founded in October 2005 by Dr. Abraham Ma thai to establish communal harmony between various communities, castes and work towards the benefit of all the communities without any discrimination as to reli gion, caste, creed, gender or region.

<hr>Sports<hr> The BCCI on 26th October 2013 terminated Pune Warriors from the IPL after the Sa hara-owned franchise failed to pay its payments and refused to furnish the bank guarantee for the next season. The decision was taken at the Cricket Board's all -powerful working committee meeting. BCCI wanted the team to furnish a bank guar antee of 170.2 crore rupees to remain a part of the league next year. Sahara has been demanding the completion of the arbitration proceedings on the issue of fr anchise fee, which, it feels, should be lowered since the BCCI did not deliver o n its promised number of IPL matches for the team. Pune Warriors were purchased by Sahara for 370 million US dollars (1702 crore rupees) in 2010 and it was the most expensive franchise on the IPL roster.

<hr>Persons<hr> The Government of India on 29 October 2013 decided to appoint Air Marshal Arup R aha as the next Chief of the Air Staff. He will take the charge after the retire ment of present Chief of the Air Staff N.A.K. Browne on 31 December 2013. Air Ma rshal Arup Raha is presently the Vice Chief of Air Staff. Arup Raha was commissi oned into the IAF on 14 December 1974 in the Fighter Stream of the Flying Branch . During a career spanning over nearly 39 years, he has held various command, st aff and instructional appointments. He has commanded Central Air Command and Wes tern Air Command. He is one of the Honorary ADCs to the Supreme Commander. <hr> The director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy appointed a s the Director General (DG) of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on 30 October 2 013. He will succeed Ajay Chadha, IPS. Subhas Goswami is an Indian Police Servic e (IPS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. He served as IGP of CRPF between F ebruary 2001 and February 2008. He was decorated with the Indian Police Medal fo r Meritorious Service in 2001 and the President s Police Medal for Distinguished S

ervices in 2007.The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is an Indian force conceiv ed on 24 October 1962 for security along the India's border with the Tibet Auton omous Region of China. ITBP is a specialized mountain force. <hr> Srishti Rana of India was crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 in Busan, South K orea, on 30 October 2013. Srishti Rana, 21, is the second Indian in a row to win the oldest Miss Asia Pacific World 2013. Earlier, Zeenat Aman (1970), Tara Anne Fonseca (1973), Dia Mirza (2000) and Himangini Singh Yadu(2012) won Miss Asia P acific World titles. She was Finalist of Femina Miss India 2013 on 24 March 2013 . She was also crowned Femina Miss Fashion Icon. <hr> P.S. Raghvan was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Russia on 28 Octob er 2013. At present, Raghvan, the IFS of 1979 batch is serving as the current Se cretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He will succeed Ajai Malhotra , who will retire on 30 November 2013. Raghvan is expected to join the assignmen t shortly. <hr> Noted painter and theatre personality Vijay Soni passed away on 27 October 2013 in New Delhi. Vijay Soni travelled for studying the innovative methods of theatr e to America and Europe in 1960s and beginning of 1970s. He came as the face in the theatre scene during 1970s. He polished his skill as a theatre director whil e he was at the Bread and Puppet Theatre, Odin Theatre in Stockholm and the Thea tre Laboratory of Jerzy Grotowski at Wroclaw He was popular with the name Viko. <hr>