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ICMR invites research proposals on superbug The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited research proposals from scientists across the country to study the superbug or the drug resistant bacteria. The announcement comes soon after the Minis try of Health and Family Welfare announced a national anti-microbial policy to help address the issue of superbug, which became international news after the presence of such bacteria (NDM was reported in British medical journal The Lancet. The study would be -1) jointly conducted by the Ministry and a special task force set up for the purpose. A project coordinator and the surveillance team set up in select tertiary care hospitals will implement the surveillance of antimicrobials. 2. Supreme Court bans employment of children in circuses The Supreme Court banned the employment of children in circuses and directed the Union government to take immediate steps to rescue those engaged in such employment. A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A.K. Patnaik orders to implement the fundamental right of children under Article 21A [right to education], it is imperative that the Central government issue suitable notifications prohibiting the employment of children in circuses within two months. 3. Nag induction likely to be delayed The induction of third generation anti-tank Nag missile is likely to be delayed by more than a year with the Army seeking improvements to the specially -made missile carrier, Namica. The Namica too established its channel-crossing ability and manoeuvred across the Indira Gandhi Canal at Nachna in Rajasthan during flotation trials time. Each carrier can carry 12 missiles with eight of them in ready-to-fire mode. Having a maximum range of four km, the Nag is equipped with the highly potent HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead. 4. Siddhartha Mukherjee wins 2011 Pulitzer prize Indian-American physician Siddhartha Mukherjee's acclaimed book on cancer, 'The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer,' has won the prestigious 2011 Pulitzer prize in the general non-fiction category. The Pulitzer for general non-fiction is awarded to a "distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category". It carries a USD 10,000 award. India-born Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a staff cancer physician at Columbia University Medical Centre. 5. Cambridge pips Oxford as top UK university Cambridge has overtaken Oxford to become the leading university in the UK, being ranked at the top of the table among 116 institutions. Cambridge ranked top out of 116 universities in a guide rating institutions by measures such as student satisfaction, research, entry standards, spending on facilities, degree grades and job prospects 6. Pakistan tests nuclear capable, short-range missile Pakistan successfully test-fired a newly developed short-range, surface-to-surface nuclear capable missile. Nasr, a ballistic missile of Hatf series, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead can hit targets up to 60 km. Pakistan in February successfully tested a nuclear-capable cruise missile, Hatf-VII, with a range of up to 600 km. It has been developing an arsenal of missiles and in December tested the medium-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile Hatf V, which has a range of 1,300 km. 7. RIL to enter homeland security, hires Lall from Boeing Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) may be looking at major forays into homeland security and aerospace sectors. In the first firm indication of the group's intention, it has hired Vivek Lall, a former NASA scientist who aggressively led Boeing's military and commercial division in India for several years. Lall is joining RIL as president for a new venture, Page 1 of 2 19th April 2011

which would be focused on homeland security and aerospace, sources said. A RIL spokesperson declined to comment.

8. IIM-type entrance test for MBBS from next year Currently used for entry into the Indian Institutes of Management, the percentile-based selection system may now be used to select MBBS students as well. The Medical Council of India (MCI) plans to start the new method of selection in the proposed National Eligibility Entrance Examination (NEET) a common entrance test (CET) to be introduced next year. 9. World's oldest man turns 114 in Japan The world's oldest man is celebrating his 114th birthday with a traditional Japanese meal. Jirouemon Kimura began his new year with a breakfast of grilled fish with steamed rice and red beans, a typical meal on special occasions in Japan. City official Toru Okubo says Kimura was celebrating today at his home in Kyoto, which he shares with the 82-year-old widow of his eldest son and the 58-year-old widow of a grandson. 10. Walmart buys India-born's social site The world's largest retailer Walmart has announced acquisition of social media site Kosmix, a Silicon Valley firm founded by two IIT Chennai alumni, as the global retail giant aims to strengthen its position in social and mobile commerce offerings. Founded by Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman in 2005, Kosmix has developed a social media technology platform that filters and organises content in social networks to connect people with real-time information that interests them. 11. Somdev back to career-best 71 Somdev Devverman gained a place to be back to career-high singles ranking of 71 while Sania Mirza remained on number 73 in the ranking charts, released today. Somdev had lost in the second round of the clay-court season opening event in Houston. Meanwhile in the doubles rankings, Sania (29), Mahesh Bhupathi (5) and Leander Paes (7) were static in the WTA and ATP charts, respectively. Rohan Bopanna though improved his ranking to 14 with a gain of two positions.

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