NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

FOOD SECURITY
INTERMEDIARY GODOWNS FOR STORAGE OF GRAINS The Union Govt. has decided to allow the states to construct intermediary godowns under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee act for storage of food. As per the idea: The Rural Development ministry will provide Rs. 450 crore in the first phase for the creation of a capacity of 15 lakh tonnes. The states would have to provide the land free of cost. Schedule 1 of the MGNREGA would be amended to include the construction of intermediary godowns. FCI would provide food grains to the intermediary godowns which would in turn distribute them to fair price shops. It would depend on the state if it wants to avail the scheme or not.

Global Perspective
International Relations Indo-Russia Highlights of 14th Indo-Russian Summit

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The summit was hosted by Russia. The two countries pledged to resolve all outstanding issues related to Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Agreed to expeditiously1 finalise the General Framework Agreement and the techno-commercial offer for Units 3 and 4 in Kudankulam. Emphasised the need to facilitate cooperation among power sector companies for modernisation of existing power plants and construction of new facilities. Discussed the possibility of having a pipeline from Russia to India for transportation of oil. Vowed to enhance cooperation in the key areas of rocket, missile and naval technologies and weapon system. Agreed to extend indefinitely their 15 Years old partnership for producing the Brahmos missile and to produce more potent version of the missile. Russia offered India partnership in the Glonass programme and to set up two Glonass ground control stations in India. Expeditiously: That works well without wasting time, money, etc. synonym: efficient

The two countries agreed to deepen their consultation and cooperation in the field of cyber security and space technologies. Noted their stand to various international issues such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. Russia invited India to be a part of Geneva-2 international conference on Syria.

INDO-CHINA
PM Manmohan Singh visited China after his meeting with Russian counterpart. India and China signed nine agreements including Border Defence Cooperation agreement (BDCA). The main provisions are as follows: The BDCA seeks to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control. It reiterates that neither side shall use its military capability against the other. To enhance communication both nations will consider establishing a hotline between military headquarters. Formalised an agreement not to tail each others patrols in the border areas where there is no common understanding of Line of Actual Control. Both the sides agreed to show maximum self-restraint if the two sides come face-to-face in areas where they have different perceptions with regard to LAC. Provides for joint military training exercises at the army level in each other country on regular basis. A memorandum of understanding on Strengthening Cooperation on trans-border rivers was signed to share hydrological information on Brahmaputra. India brought up the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Chinese infrastructure building in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. 2014 has been designated as a year of Friendly exchanges between India and China. Both the countries will discuss with Myanmar the ways to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Panchsheel.

Retrospection of Indo -China relations

The People's Republic of China (PRC) was established on October 1, 1949, and India was the first non communist country to establish an Embassy in PRC. On April 1, 1950, India and China established diplomatic relations. The two countries also jointly expounded the Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence) in 1954. The India-China conflict in 1962 led to a serious setback in bilateral relations. IndiaChina political relations are enhanced and strengthened by various mechanisms. There is a close and regular interaction between strategic and foreign policy think-tanks. India and China officially resumed trade in 1978. In 1984, the two sides signed the Most Favoured Nation Agreement. China has become Indias largest goods trading partner, replacing the United States of America. Still there is a long way for the countries to achieve cordial relationship. Both the nations are trying at best to resolve all major issues to lead the partnership to a new level.

Saudi-Arabias decline to keep non-permanent seat

Saudi Arabia rejected a coveted seat on the United Nations Security Council expressing its anger at the failure of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues. It has been accorded that the Riyadh the kingdom is refraining from taking membership of the U.N. Security Council until it has reformed so it can effectively and practically perform its duties and discharge its responsibilities in maintaining international security and peace. The five rotating seats that opened up this year were uncontested, leaving Saudi Arabia, Chad, Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile to replace retiring members Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, and Togo.

SWITZERLAND TO SHARE TAX INFORMATION

Switzerland has signed OECDs Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters which provides for sharing of information and mutual cooperation among all its 58 signatories. This would lead to Switzerland providing all form of mutual assistance on request, spontaneous information sharing tax examinations abroad and assistance in tax collection. The signing of the convention to which India is also a party is a major achievement for the Paris based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which has, among other things, focussed on exchange of financial information among between banks of various nations to curb tax evasion. Switzerland long known for its anonymous and secret banking, has taken the first step towards joining the mainstream by signing the multilateral convention.

ECONOMIC
WORLD BANK LOWERED INDIAS GROWTH RATE
The World Bank 2 sharply lowered its forecast for India's economic growth to 4.7 percent from 6.1 percent for the current fiscal year. Main causes cited are The recent global market turmoil is unlikely to have major adverse effects on India. Slowdown in manufacturing and investment as well as negative business confidence. High headline inflation, an elevated current account deficit, and rising pressure on fiscal balances from the depreciation of the rupee could further impede the country's growth. Economic activity is expected to pick up in the second half of FY2014.

CAPITAL INFUSION IN PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS

Union govt. has approved infusion of Rs.14000 crore in public sector banks during financial year 2013-14 through the preferential allotment of equity in its favour. The main motive behind is to meet adequately the credit requirements of productive sectors and to maintain regulatory Capital Adequacy Ratio. Besides the capital infusion from the govt. the Public Sector Banks have the option to raise Rs. 10000 crore from market through rights issue, Qualified Institutional Placements (QIP) or follow on public offer without diluting existing Govt. stake.

DEFENCE/ SECURITY
INS SUNAYNA
The second of the Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sunayna has been commissioned in Kochi. The vessel has been built at the Goa Shipyard Limited, to be based under Southern Naval Command and is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of Sea

World bank: It is international financial institution, consists of five organisations-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)-established in July 1944, provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes. The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty.

Lines of Communications and offshore assets and escort duties. INS Sunayna can also carry a helicopter and is expected to be deployed in the Gulf of Aden.

INDO-RUSSIAN JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE

The Indo-Russian joint military exercise 'INDRA 2013' to improve capabilities for carrying out anti-terrorist operations, held at Mahajan field firing range near India-Pakistan border in Thar desert of Rajasthan. The Mahajan field firing range is under the control of headquarter of the South Western Command (Jaipur). Other military exercises held recently: Ajeya Warrior: Joint exercise with Britain to test the preparedness to carry out joint counter-insurgency operations at Belgaum, Karnataka. Shakti: Paris hosted Indian Army for a joint exercise in the French Alps at Grenoble. Shatrujeet: Indian and U.S soldiers practised an amphibious war scenario near a sea beach. With china a joint military exercise is scheduled to be held in November. INS SAMUNDRA RATNAKAR The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has launched a deep sea exploration ship RV Samudra Ratnakar. The ship is equipped with high-end technologically advanced instruments needed for geological, geophysical and geochemical explorations in offshore areas. It is a multi-tasking and multi-disciplinary ship with modern onboard laboratories, designed to carry out sea-bed mapping, mineral exploration in the deep waters and also research activities. The ship has been built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Ulsan, South Korea. The GSI plans to collaborate with other national organisations like the National Centre for Antarctic and Offshore Research (NCAOR), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), National Institute of Oceanography, Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) which are working in marine domain.

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY/ ECOLOGY/ HEALTH

Diindolyl Methane
Scientists of the Georgetown University Medical Centre in the U.S. have examined that DIM (3, 3diindolylmethane), a compound found in vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, could have protective effects against radiation. These vegetables contain a compound, indole-3-carbinol (refer to notes & references on last page), which is broken down in the stomach to DIM. Both compounds are being studied for their cancer prevention properties. Scientists hope that this substance will be similarly beneficial for people who have to undergo radiation therapy for cancer as well as those who get exposed to radiation from a nuclear accident.

GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD (CRITICALLY ENDANGERED)

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Great India Bustard under the category of Critically Endangered birds, in the 2013 Threatened Bird list. The IUCN list includes 145 birds across the country. Three species Pink-headed Duck, Jerdons Courser and Siberian Crane named in its critically endangered list are on the verge of extinction. The change of land use from grassland to farmland has been a major threat since it has shrunk the birds habitat. Poaching is another key problem. Rajasthan has the largest known population of the great Indian bustard. The other States where the species still exists are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In Maharashtra, the Great Indian Bustard has been reduced to only three districts Chandrapur, Nagpur and Solapur.

OUTDOOR POLLUTIONS: CAUSES CANCER

An evaluation by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs Programme found that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer and increases the risk for bladder cancer. The main sources of outdoor air pollution are transportation, stationary power generation, industrial and agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking. Some air pollutants have natural sources, as well. Air pollution is already known to increase risks for a wide range of diseases, such as respiratory and heart diseases. Rapidly industrialising countries including India have significant levels of air pollution due to increasing vehicular traffic.

GENETIC BLEEDING SCORE

Indian genetic scientists has developed a tool called Genetic Bleeding Risk Score which takes into account genetic and non-genetic factors in a patient to rate his risk of bleeding while on oral anticoagulant therapy. It has been validated by the International Journal of Genome Medicine. The new developed score will allow the doctors to classify the anti-coagulant therapy patients in two categorieslow risk and high risk. The existing bleeding risk prediction scores in the world are based on non-genetic factors such as age, disease conditions etc. The anti-coagulant therapy is given to the patients to prevent blood clots a condition medically known as Thrombosis. Around 15 to 25% patients on oral anti-coagulant therapy report minor to major bleeding episodes due to excessive thinning of blood post medication. Of these about 2% patients die due to excess bleeding.

Committee to Examine HEP

Recently a new committee has been set up (under the Chairmanship of Prof. Ravi Chopra Director of the Peoples Science Institute and member of National Ganga River Basin Authority) to examine whether 24 out of 39 Hydroelectric Power (HEP) projects are causing significant impact on bio-diversity along the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basin and will review their status. The committee will also study the current state of Himalayan glaciers and the impact of HEP activity on these glaciers. Recently in the wake of floods in Uttarakhand a SC Bench of judges had expressed concerns over the mushrooming of hydro power projects in the region and directed the MoEF to not to give further forest or environmental clearance to any hydroelectric power projects. The committee will consist of representatives from the Wildlife Institution of India, MoEF, Uttarakhand Govt., Central Water commission, Central Electricity Authority, Central Public works Department and experts from leading environmental research institutions.

REPORTS/ SURVEYS GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX 2013

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The Global Slavery 3Index surveyed 162 nations. Definition of modern slavery includes debt bondage, forced marriage, trafficked into brothels and the use of children in the military. It estimated 29.8 million slaves worldwide, higher than International Labour Organisations estimation which estimated almost 21 million people victims of forced labour.

Global Slavery Index: The Index provides a ranking of 162 countries, reflecting a combined measure of three factors: estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population, a measure of child marriage, and a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country. The index is compiled by Australia based Walk Free foundation a rights organisation. A number one ranking is the worst, 160 is the best.

The countries with the highest numbers of enslaved people are India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Taken together, these countries account for 76% of the total estimate of 29.8 million in modern slavery. India leads the list with 13.9 million forced labourers, while China has some 2.9 million and Pakistan just above 2 million. India's ranking was mostly due to the exploitation of Indians citizens within the country itself and in India the risk of enslavement varies markedly from state to state. The highest proportion of slaves is in Mauritania (ranked 1st), with many people inheriting slave status from their ancestors, Haiti is second in the index, Pakistan third and India fourth. Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom are tied with a ranking of 160 in the Index. This does not mean these countries are slavery free but they are doing better.

MISCELLANEOUS
PERSONALITIES
VIKTOR ORBAN Mr. Orban is Hungarian Prime Minister who recently visited India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the defence ministries of the two countries. Hungary will facilitate transfer of knowhow, experience and technical information in the areas of biological, radiological and chemical warfare to India. The other agreements signed are for cooperation in science and technology, culture, traditional systems of medicine, civil aviation and youth affairs and sports. India sought Hungary's support for India's full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) and other multilateral export control regimes. SCOTT CARPENTER Astronaut Scott Carpenter, who in 1962 became the fourth American in space and the second (after John Glenn) to orbit the Earth, died on Thursday in Colorado at the age 88 of complications from a stroke.

LYDIA DAVIS
Ladia Davis is an American short story writer, won the fifth Man Booker International 4Prize for fiction for a body of work that includes some of the briefest tales ever published.

GOVIND PURUSHOTTAM DESHPANDE

Mr. G. P. Deshpande was a Marathi playwright and political thinker, died recently. He was also a renowned teacher, scholar, author, political commentator, literary critic, editor, scriptwriter and even actor.

MANNA DEY
A legendary play back singer Manna Dey has passed away. The recipient of countless awards, including Dada Saheb Phalke Award and Padma Bhushan, the singer was born in West Bengal.

Man Booker international Prize:- It is an international literary award given every two years to a living author of any nationality for a body of work published in English or generally available in English translation. The award was introduced in 2004 for the first time.

PLACES BUDGE BUDGE RAILWAY STATION

To commemorate the Gadhar centenary the Indian Govt. has renamed the Budge Budge railway station, on Kolkatas outskirts as Komagata Maru Budge Budge station. This is the first Indian memoir to salute the martyrs of Komagata Maru incidence 5of September 29, 1914.

Komagata Maru Incidence: Komagata Maru was a Japanese Ship hired by a Sikh businessman Bhai Gurdit Singh to challenge the Canadian Laws which sought to prevent the so called brown invasion by Indian immigrants. The ship started its journey from Hong Kong to Canada. The ship reached Vancouver on May 23, 1914 but was forced to go back two months after it anchored to Canada. On its way back the ship sailed to Calcutta instead of Hong Kong and was stopped by the British, who detained its passengers from Budge Budge station. The passengers were demanding their return to Punjab but the resistance was met with firing that killed 29 Indians.

Notes & References

Few Facts about Saudi Arabia
Officially known as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab state in the western Asia occupies about 80% of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Yemen. Saudi Arabia has the world's 2nd largest oil reserves and has the world's 2nd largest oil reserves, which are concentrated largely in the Eastern Province. Oil accounts for more than 95% of exports and 70% of government revenue. Saudi Arabia's geography is dominated by the Arabian Desert.

FORTUNE'S LIST OF 50 MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Four Indian women are ranked in the Fortune magazines list of 50 most powerful women in business. ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar has been ranked at fourth, followed by National Stock Exchange chief Chitra Ramkrishna at 17th, Axis Bank's Shikha Sharma at 32nd and HSBC's Naina Lal Kidwai at 42nd place while PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi has been ranked second in a similar list for the US. This list is topped by Brazilian energy giant Petrobras' CEO, Maria Das Gracas Foster. z8_GND_5296 This is the most distant galaxy Astronomers have ever found. Light from the galaxy, designated by scientists as z8_GND_5296, took about 13.1 billion years to reach the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope7 and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, both of which detected the galaxy in infrared light. The galaxy, which is about a billion times as massive as the sun, has two unusual characteristics. First, z8_GND_5296 is forming stars at a very fast pace, pumping out about 100 times more stars than the Milky Way galaxy, so it may be brighter than the other candidate galaxies. Second, it contains a surprisingly high percentage of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. More details about z8_GND_5296 will likely have to wait until NASA launches its successor observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, targeted for launch in 2018.

Indole-3-Carbinol
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is a compound found in high concentrations in Brassica6 family vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. As a nutritional supplement, I3C has received attention in recent years as a promising preventive and treatment agent for breast and other types of cancers, and may have beneficial effect in the management of Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and human papilloma virus (HPV). Preliminary studies have examined its efficacy, safety, and optimal dosage. Early studies have been promising, and will likely be followed by larger clinical trials.

MUMBAI
Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) a member of the Maybank Group launched its first branch in Mumbai. BII is headquartered in Indonesia whilst Malaysianlisted Maybank is South East Asias fourth largest bank by assets. BII Mumbai which has a capital base of $28 million, opened for business in July.

Brassica; a plant of a type that includes cabbage , rape and mustard

Hubble Space Telescope (HST): is a space telescope that was carried into orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. Hubble's orbit is outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere which allows it to take extremely high-resolution images with almost no background light. Scientists have used Hubble to observe the most distant stars and galaxies as well as the planets in our solar system.