Weekly Current Affairs October 10 to 16, 2010

[Prabhu nath singh]

Weekly Current Affairs update

October 10 to 16, 2010

(for BANK PO General Awareness & UPSC General Studies)

Major news of the week

 

Section A: INDIA

Newsmakers

• P L Punia is new NCSC chairman: P L Punia, retired IAS officer and now a Congress MP, was on October 15, 2010 appointed chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NSCS). The post is equivalent in rank to a cabinet minister. The post had been lying vacant since Buta Singh's term ended five months ago. As an IAS officer, Punia had served UP Chief Minister Mayawati thrice as her principal secretary. After his retirement in 2005, Punia joined the Congress and contested the Assembly elections from Fatehpur in 2007, but lost. However, in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, Punia was elected from Barabanki with a record margin.

• Soon after joining, Punia has made his priorities clear. The new Chairman of NSCS has demanded 15 percent reservation for SCs in private sector. He plans to introduce a Bill in Parliament to this effect if the companies do not comply voluntarily. His comments could also put in a fix the UPA government, which favours reservation through affirmative action on part of industries without making it mandatory through legislation.

• The Commerce and Industry Ministry had some time ago written to industry chambers — CII, FICCI and Assocham — suggesting that companies benefiting from government incentives reserve about 5 per cent jobs for SCs/STs. However, last month, representatives of the industry chambers met Principal Secretary to the PM and conveyed their inability to implement the same.

 

• Telangana Praja Front launched: A new outfit to fight for the cause of separate Telangana was formally launched in Hyderabad on October 9, 2010 in the name of Telangana Praja Front (TPF) with ballad singer Gadar as president. According to Gadar, the TPF is not a political party in the strict sense, but a political front aimed at uniting Telangana-based joint action committees (JACs) agitating for a separate Telangana state carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

 

• Priti Kumari is Western Railway’s 1st motor-woman: Priti Kumari, 34, took charge as Western Railway's (WR's) first motor-woman on October 12, 2010. She is a direct recruit selected by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB). Before Priti, the Central Railway had its first motor-woman Surekha Yadav in 2000 and another woman, Mumtaz Quazi in 2005.

 

• Munda distributes portfolios, keeps Home: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda retained ministry of Home, Energy and Road Construction as he distributed portfolios among his cabinet ministers on October 11, 2010, a month after taking the oath, in Ranchi. Deputy CM Sudesh Mahto has been allotted the departments of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Water Resources Development, Forest and Environment, Art, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs. Another Deputy CM Hemant Soren has been allotted the ministry of Finance, Commercial Taxes, Urban Development, Housing, Drinking water and Sanitation, Civil Aviation and Mines.

 

• Akanksha, Rouhan emerge as 'Chhote Ustaad' winners: India's Akanksha Sharma and Pakistan's Rouhan Abbas on October 10, 2010 won the 'Chhote Ustaad' singing reality show, which brought together young talent from both the countries under the religion of music. The winners of the competition received a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs each. The runners up Rishab (India) and Moon (Pakistan) got Rs 5 lakh each. Renowned singers Sonu Niigaam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan were the judges on the Star Plus show, which went on air in July.

 

• Rajapaksa invited as Guest of Honour at CWG closing ceremony: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the Guest of Honour during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi on October 14, 2010. Foreign Minister G L Peiris accompanied Rajapaksa on his visit to Delhi.

 

• Indonesian President to be chief guest at R-Day parade: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be the Chief Guest at next year's Republic Day parade in Delhi. Indonesia forms one flank of the crucial Malacca Straits with Malaysia forming the other. The strait is considered vulnerable because of its limited width and the fact that a considerable portion of the world's trade passes through it. Both countries are attempting to improve trade ties, with Indonesia opening a trade promotion centre in Chennai last year.

 

• DV Singh is new water resources secy: Dhruv Vijai Singh, a 1976 batch IAS officer, was on October 13, 2010 appointed as the water resources secretary.

 

• Former CEC Lyngdoh protests appointment of new CVC: Former chief election commissioner (CEC) J M Lyngdoh is among a group of people who have filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the appointment of P J Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The petition alleges that the government bypassed the essential requirement of “impeccable integrity” in its choice of the former telecom secretary as the head of CVC. On the 2G scam, the petition said Thomas as telecom secretary “has been involved in the cover-up of the 2G Spectrum allocation scam which is widely regarded as India’s biggest corruption scandal having cost the exchequer Rs 70,000 crore”. The CBI is currently investigating the role of Telecom Minister A Raja and several high-ranking ministry officials in the scam. The petitioners also apprehend that the selection of Thomas as CVC may affect the transparent functioning of the CBI, as a committee headed by the CVC gives crucial recommendations for the appointment of the CBI director.

 

News round up

Yeddyurappa govt. survives 2nd trust vote in 3 days

• The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka, headed by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, on October 14, 2010 passed the second floor test in under four days. Of a total of 206 members present at the time of voting, the BJP got 106 votes, two more than for a simple majority. The combined Opposition tally was 100.

• After the Speaker disqualified 16 rebel MLAs, 11 from the BJP and five Independents on October 11, the strength of the 225-member Assembly was reduced to 208 — the ruling party still has 106 MLAs, one more than the new halfway mark needed to prove a majority. The Congress with 73 MLAs and the JD(S) with 28 add up to 101.

• Interestingly, Independent MLA Varthur Prakash from Kolar voted for the BJP in the confidence vote. Manappa Vajjal (BJP) from Lingsugur and M.C. Ashwath (Janata Dal- S) from Channapatna abstained from voting and the parties are expected to seek their disqualification, since abstaining during voting on a confidence motion was tantamount to violation of the anti-defection law.

• The trust vote outcome is subject to the verdict of the Karnataka High Court in the case relating to the disqualification of 16 legislators. Considering the time it normally takes for the final judicial determination of a case of this type, there does not seem to be an immediate threat to the government. The High Court verdict may not be final as either of the parties suffering a setback will take the matter to the Supreme Court.

• Governor H R Bhardwaj, October 12, 2010 had asked the Yeddyurappa government to take the test again after he termed the trust vote conducted on October 11 as “improper” and “not in accordance with the law”. The disqualified MLAs had withdrawn support to the government on October 6. In his order, Bopaiah said these 16 MLAs have been disqualified under the provision of the anti-defection law as envisaged in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

 

1st Trust vote

• The B.S. Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka won a crucial motion of confidence on October 11, 2010 by voice vote amid pandemonium. Speaker K.G. Bopaiah had earlier disqualified 16 legislators, including 11 BJP and five independents MLAs (who the speaker calls associate members of the BJP), under the anti-defection law. The opposition had called the vote a sham, alleging that the even non-MLAs were present in the Assembly during the conduct of the trust vote.

• Soon after the trust vote Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj recommended to President Pratibha Patil that President's rule be imposed in the State and the 13th Legislative Assembly kept under suspended animation. The 225-member Assembly has completed just 28 months of its term and is left with another 32 months for elections. Parliament has to ratify any proclamation for President's rule (as prescribed under Article 356 (3) of the Constitution) for it to continue beyond 60 days after the proclamation is notified.

 

Criticism of Governor’s role

• Legal experts have criticised the Governor for writing to the Speaker, directing him not to disqualify the rebels before the trust vote on October 11. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the issue of anti-defection. Under the Constitution, the Speaker is the authority to disqualify an MLA. It is a quasi-judicial power, which is subject to judicial review. It is for the Speaker to take the view that a member of a party can be proceeded against under anti-defection laws. It is not necessary for the MLA to have parted company with the party. His actions can be the basis of such an action.

• His critics also accuse Governor H.R. Bhardwaj of functioning in a partisan manner unbecoming of his high constitutional office. His initial direction to the Speaker to maintain the strength of the house as on October 6 in order to pre-empt the disqualification of the legislators was unprecedented. His public accusation of the government of corruption in illegal mining, land grabbing, and land de-notification was out of the purview of his authority. His criticism of the state government’s functioning has made his position as an impartial and fair constitutional functionary untenable.

 

Status of Independent MLAs

• The disqualification of independent MLAs under anti-defection law has become a matter of debate. The question now before the Karnataka High Court is: at what point does an independent legislator, elected as an independent, lose that status and become a member of a political party he has been supporting from the outside or even as minister in government?

• The five independents were disqualified by the Speaker a day before the first vote of confidence moved by the CM. The Speaker called them “associate members” of the BJP and invoked the anti-defection law against them. There are differing opinions on this issue.

• Former Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, was of the view that “there is no such thing as an associate member of a party.” “The correct constitutional position is that an elected independent member remains an independent — and, therefore, cannot be disqualified for defying party discipline — unless and until he joins the party by filling up a form and paying the subscription prescribed by the constitution of that party,” the former speaker clarified.

• “There are many instances of independent members associating with a ruling party, supporting it and even accepting ministerial berths. But they do not lose their status as independent members. Neither the Election Commission nor the Constitution recognises anyone as an associate member of a party.”

• However, former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha, Subhash Kashyap, has a different opinion. Kashyap said the constitutional position was that an independent member could lose that status if he were to be associated with a party through his conduct, attendance at party meetings and doing party work, including campaigning for a party. Yes, he would attract disqualification for being so associated, provided a petition was filed before the Speaker.

 

Mess of CM’s own making

• Eager to re-establish his authority over his government — badly eroded last November when he caved in to the demands of the Reddy brothers of Bellary — Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa unwittingly paved the way for the chain of events that followed last month's Cabinet expansion. The CM tried to send out a strong political signal that he was his own man and could do as he liked in Karnataka. He brought back to the Cabinet Shobha Karandlaje, who was dropped expressly at the insistence of the powerful mining lobby represented by the Reddys, and simultaneously dropped three Ministers reported to be close to them.

• Those who were dropped and others who had expected to join the Cabinet became the nucleus of the dissidents. The seeds of discontent were sown when the Cabinet reshuffle took place on September 22. Initially, the Reddy brothers and others opposed to the CM encouraged the dissenters, but later when the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress jumped in and started a serious bid to topple the government, they backed out and even tried to save the government.

 

Government appoints interlocutors for J&K

• The Union government on October 13, 2010 appointed a group of three interlocutors to hold sustained dialogue with all sections of the people in Jammu and Kashmir. They are, Dr. Dileep Padgaonkar, a noted journalist, Prof. M.M. Ansari, Information Commissioner and Prof. (Mrs) Radha Kumar, trustee, Delhi Policy Group. Dr. Dilip Padgaonkar will chair the meetings of the Group.

• The three interlocutors appointed by the Govt. have been entrusted with the responsibility of undertaking a sustained dialogue with the people of Jammu & Kashmir to understand their problems and chart a course for the future. All the three interlocutors have done credible work in public life and bring with them significant understanding of political and economic issues, especially in the context of Jammu & Kashmir.

• Dileep Padgaonkar is a journalist, editor and author. He worked in various capacities in journalistic field including Executive Editor and Editor of the Times of India. He is presently with the Asia Pacific Communications Pvt. Ltd.

• Prof. M.M. Ansari is currently Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission, New Delhi. He has the background of an Economist and Education Specialist and has served several institutions in senior positions and provided research and consultancy service to national and international organizations

• Prof. (Mrs) Radha Kumar is Director of the Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia University and trustee of the Delhi Policy Group. She is a specialist on ethnic conflicts and peace processes and has held several important positions in the international bodies dealing with peace studies and conflict resolution.

• Keeping in view the immediate objectives to maintain peace and order and defuse the situation in J&K through confidence building measures, Government of India had taken certain decisions and one of the decisions was to appoint a Group of Interlocutors under the chairmanship of an Eminent person to hold a sustained dialogue with all sections of the people in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Govt. constitutes special task force on Ladakh

The Ministry of Home Affairs on October 13, 2010 decided to constitute a Special Task Force in order to examine the development needs of the Ladakh region with particular reference to deficiencies in infrastructure and make suitable recommendations. Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission will be the Chairperson. Members are: Joint Secretary, (Plan Finance-II), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir (having jurisdiction over Ladakh), Govt. of J & K, Prof. Akhtar Majeed, Director, Centre for Federal Studies and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hamdard University, New Delhi and Dr. Navnita Chadha Behera Prof. Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. Director (Kashmir), Ministry of Home Affairs will be the Convenor. The terms of reference of the Task Force: ‘To identify the special development needs of the region and suggest measures for addressing the same’ & ‘to examine the allocation to the region in terms of infrastructure needs and to make suitable recommendations to overcome the deficiencies’.

 

Govt. constitutes special task force on Jammu

The Ministry of Home Affairs on October 13, 2010 decided to constitute a Special Task Force in order to examine the development needs of the Jammu region with particular reference to deficiencies in infrastructure and make suitable recommendations. Dr. Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission will be the Chairperson. Members are: Joint Secretary, (Plan Finance-I), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Divisional Commissioner (Jammu), Government of J&K, Dr. Najeeb Jung, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi and Dr. Amaresh Dubey, Prof. of Economics, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU. Joint Secretary (Kashmir), Ministry of Home Affairs will be the Convenor. The terms of reference of the Task Force: ‘To identify the special development needs of the region and suggest measures for addressing the same’ & ‘to examine the allocation to the region in terms of infrastructure needs and to make suitable recommendations to overcome the deficiencies’.

 

IIMs get more freedom in faculty salaries, expansion abroad

• A meeting was organised on October 13, 2010 under the Chairmanship of Human Resources Minister, Kapil Sibal with the Chairpersons and Directors of IIMs on the future vision of the IIMs and the necessary steps to be taken to achieve them. The meeting considered the reports of Committees constituted in the last meeting in Bangalore on certain key issues and took the following decisions.

• On the report of the Committee constituted to recommend a new Governance Structure for IIMs (chaired by R.C. Bhargava, Chairman BOG-IIM, Ranchi): It was decided that the number of Board Members of IIMs would be reduced to 14. It was also decided, in principle, that Directors of IIMs will now be appointed through a process wherein the Board of Governors of the IIMs suggests three names to the Government from which the Government chooses one.

• On the second report of the Committee on Faculty and Research at the IIMs, chaired by Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman, IIM, Calcutta: It was decided that the IIMs can top up the salaries of their Directors also in addition to the Faculty from the funds generated by them on their own. It was also decided that the Faculty members would give individual work plans at the start of the year.

• On the recommendations of the Committee on Fund Raising by IIMs (chaired by Hari S. Bhartia, Chairman of IIM, Raipur): It was decided that the IIMs have a development office especially for the purpose, each IIM have a fund raising policy and thereafter to have road shows.

Steps taken by the HRD Ministry to provide autonomy to the IIMs include:

􀂙 Full powers to the Boards of IIMs to create posts within the approved norms

􀂙 Freedom to open centres in India and abroad

􀂙 Amend Rules of the IIM within the framework of Memorandum of Association and Rules

􀂙 Power to acquire and dispose property not fully or partially funded by the Ministry of HRD

􀂙 Powers to approve their own Budget, and also to manage the funds generated by the IIMs on their own

 

IIM-A submits report on AIIMS governance

• The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has recommended major changes in the governance system to make the New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) a world-class institution, in its report submitted to the government in October 2010. The report cautions against political interference in the functioning and management of the AIIMS. It has also suggested opening up the AIIMS to international faculty.

• Reduce political interference: The report says that the Union Health Minister should not be the chairperson of the AIIMS — the highest decision-making body — and president of the Governing Board. The Ministry asked the IIM to draw up a governance plan to make the AIIMS more efficient and restore its glory. At present, the governing board is dominated by government officials and three MPs, and the AIIMS itself has very little representation. The presence of the Minister as chairperson, influences decisions and the MPs are often used by faculty to push their case.

• Promote research: Pointing out that nearly 75 per cent of the faculty's time is spent on clinical services in clinical departments, leaving them inadequate time for research, the IIM-A has said research publications should be given weightage for promotion. Faculty members should be promoted on the basis of their contribution to research and years of experience.

• Foreign faculty: To improve faculty, the provision for emeritus faculty should be started, and a recruitment drive from the top medical colleges of the world initiated.

 

India ranked 67th on Global Hunger Index

• India has been ranked 67, much lower than neighbouring China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the 2010 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report released on October 11, 2010 by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a US-based policy think tank. India is placed in the ‘alarming' category, a notch lower than the ‘extremely alarming' bracket. The biggest contributor to India’s low GHI is child under-nutrition, which accounts for almost half the score.

• While world’s GHI has reduced from 19.8 in 1990 to 15.1 in 2010, India’s score improved from 31.7 to 24.1 during the same period. China’s score improved by about 50 per cent from 11.6 to 6 during the same period. A higher GHI score suggests higher prevalence of hunger. A decline in hunger index scores suggests improvement in any country’s hunger situation.

• The “2010 Global Hunger Index — The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on the Crisis of Child Under-Nutrition” was prepared by the IFPRI in collaboration with the German Group, Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.

• The 2010 GHI was calculated for 122 developing countries and countries in transition, 84 of which were ranked.  Countries were rated on the basis of three equally weighted indicators — prevalence of child mortality rate, underweight children below five, and the proportion of undernourished (caloric deficient) people. It advises governments to make nutrition, especially for young children during the first 1,000 days, a political priority. Medical evidence shows that the most critical stage when adequate nutrition is essential is the first 1,000 days of life, between conception and the second birthday of the child. The ill-effects of undernourishment are irreversible after the age of two.

India at 67th position

• Deep inequalities have resulted in India slipping from 65th position last year to 67 this year, despite an economic growth rate of about 8.5 per cent. According to the IFPRI, unlike in China, higher growth rate in India has not translated into hunger reduction.

• The reason given for India's low ranking was that it was not investing as much as its neighbours in basic indicators such as health, water, sanitation, education and women's social status. Because of the country's large population, India is home to 42 per cent of the world's under-weight children. Low nutritional, educational and social status of women is among the major factors that contribute to a high prevalence of malnutrition in children under five. The health of women, specifically mothers, is crucial to reducing child malnutrition. Mothers who are poorly nourished as girls tend to give birth to under-weight babies perpetuating the cycle of malnutrition.

Analysis

• There is indeed no denying the fact that India has made perceptible progress in alleviating hunger in the past decade. But this progress is far from satisfactory, considering that even some poorer countries have done far better. Recent data show that malnutrition is pervasive in India, and the extent of food insecurity not just in rural areas but also in towns and cities. Food insecurity can get acute in urban settings, particularly when prices spiral up, as the poor have limited purchasing power and there is no homegrown food to fall back on. With migration from rural to urban areas set to rise further, and most of it in an unplanned manner, the problem would only exacerbate in the years ahead.

• Policy failure in managing food security is all too apparent. It is not limited to mismanagement of food stock, poor forecasting of production and continuing with practices that keep yield low. Undernourishment is not due to scarcity of food but because available stocks are either not reaching the needy — especially children and pregnant and lactating mothers — or, cannot be sold at a price they can afford. Access to food can improve only with higher and regular incomes. In urban areas, that would mean expanding employment opportunities and ensuring better wages for those in the unorganised and informal sectors.

• The hunger index ranking comes at a time when the government is confronted with the problem of high foodgrain stocks on one hand and the administrative challenge of implementing a Right to Food law on the other hand.

• The government cannot afford to ignore the food security of its people, especially the young if inclusive growth targets are to be achieved

Global Hunger Index is based on:

􀂙 proportion of undernourished population

􀂙 proportion of underweight children below the age of five

􀂙 child mortality rate

 

• IAF to hold joint aerial exercise with British RAF: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will conduct a joint aerial exercise with the British Royal Air Force (RAF) from October 20, 2010. The 17-day exercise, called Exercise Indra Dhanush, will be held at Kalaikunda air base in West Bengal. While the RAF will deploy their new Eurofighter jets for the exercise, the IAF fleet will be led by the Sukhoi-30MKI fighters.

 

• BJP makes a clean sweep in Gujarat municipal corporation elections: The Bharatiya Janata Party has recaptured all six municipal corporations in local bodies’ elections organised on October 10, 2010. The BJP secured a more than two-thirds majority in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. It missed the two-thirds majority target in Jamnagar by three seats.

 

• Japanese Film Festival organised in Chennai: A five-day Japanese Film Festival was organised from October 12- 16, 2010 in Chennai. The festival was a retrospective of the celebrated Japanese director Kon Ichikawa, who has made numerous award-winning films based on novels. Consul-General of Japan Kazuo Minagawa, who inaugurated the festival, said Ichikawa's films gave a new definition to Japanese cinema by introducing it to the international audience. He is considered on a par with stalwarts such as Akira Kurosawa and Keisuke Kinoshita, for his inimitable style of filmmaking.

 

• Union Cabinet approves Bengal engineering university takeover: The Union Cabinet, in October 2010 approved the takeover of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur in West Bengal for converting it into an Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST). The BESU will be turned into the IIEST by amending the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Act, with the inclusion of special clauses, reflecting its exclusive character. The IIEST will be an ‘ institute of national importance' covered under the NIT Act and its organisational and governing structure will be on the lines of the National Institutes of Technology (NITs).

 

• Indo-Russia conduct military drill Indra 2010: India and Russia conducted a 10-day joint anti-terrorism exercise from October 14-23, 2010 at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand's Ranikhet district. Termed Indra 2010, Indian and Russian military personnel formed a joint task force and plan and carried out a series of mock anti-terrorism missions in the mountains. Indra-2010 is intended to enhance defence cooperation and military-to-military relations between the two armies.

 

• India sends first ROV to ocean bed: India joined a select club of nations on October 10, 2010, when it deployed its first Remotely Operable Vehicle (ROV), key for observation and exploration of mineral wealth, in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. The ROV has been developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai in association with Russia-based Experimental Design Bureau of Oceanological Engineering (EDBOE). According to marine scientists, ROVs are becoming the primary tool for studying the bio-diversity of the deepest oceanic ecosystems and a key technology in Census research. They are linked to a surface support research vessel that controls their underwater activity and transports them to and from the research site.

 

• 3 Indian cities in Forbes's world's fastest growing cities: Three Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Chennai – have made it to US magazine Forbes's list of the world's 19 fastest growing cities of the next decade. The Forbes ‘Next Decade's Fastest-Growing Cities’ list excludes “established global centres”, urban centres which were in the limelight for the last two decades and “dysfunctional” megacities which are also among the most populous.

 

• INS Kalpeni commissioned: The indigenously built INS Kalpeni, the latest fast attack craft, was on October 14, 2010 commissioned into the Indian Navy. The ship will operate under Flag Officer Commanding- in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command and would be based at Kochi.

 

• All India Bar Examination mandatory for all law graduates: The Bar Council of India (BCI) on October 15, 2010 made All India Bar Examination (AIBE) mandatory for all law graduates who have passed in the academic year 2009- 10 to practice law in India. The BCI will conduct the AIBE in nine languages across 27 cities in India on December 5, 2010.

 

• National Voters' Day announced: January 25 will, hereafter, be celebrated as National Voters' Day, Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi announced in Chennai on October 9, 2010. The day marks the foundation day of the Election Commission of India. On that day, young voters, who attain the age of 18 years on January 1, will be given Electors' Photo Identity Cards (EPIC).

 

• Ketan Desai's licence suspended: The Medical Council of India has suspended the licence of its former President Ketan Desai to practise medicine. It has also asked the World Medical Association not to hand over its presidentship to him. He was arrested in May after he allegedly took a bribe of Rs. 2 crore for granting recognition to a medical college in Punjab. In a letter to Desai in October 2010, the MCI Board of Governors said: “Permission granted to you to practise medicine will be suspended during the pendency of appeal with the Board of Governors in supersession of the MCI.”

 

• Leh enters Guinness for planting record no. of saplings: Leh on October 10, 2010 entered the Guinness Book of World Records after 50,300 saplings were planted at Changa village, nearly 40 km from Leh town, in less than an hour by 9,000 volunteers under a drive supported by Buddhist monks to mark the ‘green' Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The earlier record was held by Peru, where 40,000 saplings were planted in 60 minutes by 8,000 volunteers. A team of three members from the Guinness World Records was in the village to monitor the event. Chairman and adjudicator of the team Tarika Vara announced that 9,000 people had successfully planted 50,300 saplings in less than an hour, a new world record. The saplings were planted by in an initiative taken by Chairman of the NGO ‘Live to Love' Gyalwang Drukpa.

 

• Silver jubilee of the FBTR observed at Kalpakkam: Even as India looks forward to expand its nuclear power programme with imported reactors and fuel, “there will be no compromise with our commitment to the indigenous three-stage nuclear power programme, to our own research and our own technology,” Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithiviraj Chavan said on October 18, 2010 at a function to mark the silver jubilee of the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) attaining first criticality on October 18, 1985, at Kalpakkam, near Chennai. The Minister was responding to fears that India's plans to import 36 reactors would lead to dilution of Homi Bhabha's vision of a three-stage nuclear electricity programme. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the country that he would stand by the programme. India Post released a special cover on the FBTR's silver jubilee.

 

• 25th foundation day of AGP celebrated: Asom Gana Parishad celebrated its 25th foundation day on October 14, 2010 in Guwahati. AGP founder president and former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had launched the sixyear- long Assam agitation, which ended with the signing of the Assam Accord on Independence Day in 1985 by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and All-Assam Students Union (AASU), which was headed by Mahanta. AASU formed AGP later that year and overthrew the Congress Government of Hiteshwar Saikia in the Assembly polls in 1986.

 

• FAO drops reference to J&K, Arunachal as separate countries: The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has dropped the references to Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as “independent entities” in its 2010 report and has initiated a review of system for designating countries and territories. In its report, the FAO had shown Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as separate countries along with India. The two States figured in country grouping for East Asia. The FAO representative to India on October 15, 2010 had stated that the country grouping was based on the FAO's Global Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL) and that “controversial” boundaries cannot be ignored.

 

Section B: WORLD

Newsmakers

• Mark Rutte sworn in as new Dutch prime minister: Mark Rutte of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) was sworn in as Prime Minister of the Netherlands on October 14, 2010. Rutte’s right-wing VVD, 31 seats, and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), 21 seats, formed a minority coalition government supported from the outside by the Party for Freedom (PVV), 24 seats, in the 150 seat House of Representatives. Jan Peter Balkenende of the CDA is the outgoing Prime Minister. The 2010 Dutch general election was held in June 2010.

 

• New PM appointed in Somalia: Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on October 14, 2010 appointed a Somali-American diplomat Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as his Prime Minister. Abdullahi, 49, takes over from Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who resigned in September after a long-running power struggle with the President.

 

• Khagendra Thapa Magar is world’s shortest man: Nepalese Khagendra Thapa Magar turned 18 on October 14, 2010 and was officially declared the world’s shortest man by Guinness record officials in Pokhara, Nepal. Magar,  whose height is 67 cm, displaced the former record holder, Edward Nino Hernandez of Colombia, who measures 70 cm. Magar, who was handed a world record certificate by Guinness, is to serve as a government-appointed goodwill ambassador as his nation celebrates Visit Nepal Year.

 

• Nobel economics laureate Allais passes away: Maurice Allais, the only Frenchman to win the Nobel Prize for economics and an early critic of shortcomings in the global financial system, passed away at the age of 99 on October 9, 2010. Allais was a prolific theorist whose ideas on balancing supply and demand helped rebuild France’s postwar economy. He won the Nobel for economics in 1988.

 

• Opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland is no more: 83-year old Australian opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland, hailed as “La Stupenda” and “voice of the century”, passed away on October 12, 2010. The star impressed European audiences with her vocal range and ability from the 1950s until her retirement in 1990.

 

News round up

India elected to UNSC as non-permanent member

• India was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council at the U.N. General Assembly meeting at UN headquarters in New York on October 12, 2010. Out of the 191 countries that voted, India received 187 votes. India won well over the two-thirds required to win (at least 128 votes out of the total strength of 192). Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Ambassador to the UN, said that this was the highest vote that any country has got in the last five years. India, which is a founding member of the UN, is returning to the Security Council after a gap of 19 years. It has been on the Council six times before – having last served in 1992.

• Other countries elected as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for a two-year term are South Africa, Colombia, Germany and Portugal. The five new countries will be replacing Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda. Three of the new members are part of the G4 (India, Brazil, Japan and Germany), which want to become permanent members.

• India will take over as a UNSC non-permanent member from Japan on January 1, 2011, for the seventh time. The UNSC has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom — who have veto rights. There are also 10 rotating (non-permanent) members who have the right to vote, but cannot veto a resolution.

• While India, South Africa, and Colombia were not challenged by any other country from their region, the two seats of the Western European and Others Group were contested between Portugal, Germany and Canada. Germany made it in the first round of voting with 128 votes – just enough to scrape through, while Canada received the least number of votes and eventually withdrew after the second round of voting.

Analysis

India’s economic rise in the past decade and its new strategic relationships with several major and rising powers have all contributed to this impressive vote in its favour. India’s win is a stark contrast from 14 years ago when India was beaten 40: 142 votes by Japan for the Asian seat as a non-permanent member in 1996. Some analysts say that the election does not change India’s prospects of getting a permanent seat in the UNSC. All that the Indian win really means is that the world perceives this country as a responsible power. External affairs minister S.M. Krishna is right when he suggests that the pattern of the vote is indicative of India's increased weight in world affairs. Had Kazakhstan not withdrawn from the fray earlier this year, India would have had to contest elections against the Central Asian country. India’s real diplomatic victory was perhaps when India was able to persuade Almaty to withdraw in its favour.

 

BASIC Group meet on ‘climate change’ organised in Tianjin

• The BASIC group of large developing nations–India, China, Brazil and South Africa–have intensified their efforts to win the crucial support of small island States on the climate change debate ahead of the year-end U.N. summit at Cancun in Mexico. Representatives from Grenada, current chair of the AOSIS, attended a two-day meeting of the BASIC group, which concluded in Tianjin on October 11, 2010. There remain, however, persistent differences on emission reduction targets between the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the BASIC countries.

• The AOSIS has emerged as a key voice in the climate debate, given the particular susceptibility of small islands to the consequences of climate change and rising sea-levels. The West, in the past, used the interests of the AOSIS countries to pressure large developing nations like China and India to take on greater commitments.

• The AOSIS has been calling for a climate deal that would limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees centigrade by 2050. The BASIC, however, wants a 2 degree cap, citing the need for the developing countries to be able to continue their growth, and the absence of any agreement with developed nations on equity in using carbon space. The small island States have argued that their very survival is at stake.

 

ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus organised in Hanoi

• Defence Ministers from India and several Asia-Pacific countries, including China and the United States, on October 12, 2010 affirmed their collective “commitment to enhance peace, security, and prosperity in the region” at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) organised in Hanoi. The participants are all 10 members of the ASEAN and their key dialogue partners — Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States.

• Addressing the ADMM-Plus conference, Defence Minister A. K. Antony called for the development of “synergy” among the participating powers to address non-traditional security challenges. The Defence Minister said that the Indian Navy was actively engaged in providing anti-piracy patrolling and escort operations in the Gulf of Aden. New Delhi was also proactive in promoting a cooperative approach among the Asia-Pacific States towards the security of sea-lanes.

• The Vietnamese Prime Minister and host, Nguyen Tan Dung, suggested that the participating countries harmonise

security-related standards and evolve codes of conduct so as to enhance regional peace.

 

• Global Gender Gap Report 2010 unveiled: Europe’s Nordic countries remain global leaders in the campaign to close the gender equality gap, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2010 released on October 12, 2010. Iceland, Norway and Finland topped the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual gender gap index, while Pakistan, Chad and Yemen were at the bottom of the 134-nation rankings. The report—which assesses how equitably income, resources and opportunities are distributed between the sexes—gave particular praise to the Philippines in Asia and Lesotho in Africa, which were both in the world top 10.

 

• World’s longest tunnel completed in Switzerland: The world has a new champion for ‘world’s longest tunnel.’ After 15 years and $19.7 billion dollars, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is complete. The tunnel, running underneath the mountainous rocks of the Swiss Alps, connects Zurich in northern Europe to Milan in southern Europe. The 57-km long tunnel, which has led to Switzerland reclaiming the record from Japan's Seikan Tunnel, is an important milestone in the creation of a highspeed transportation network across Europe. The tunnel was completed on October 15, 2010 and is expected to be 100% operable in 2017. Conceived in 1947 by Eduard Gruner, it aims to reduce the damage to the Alpine landscape.

 

• Russia to build nuclear plant in Venezuela: Russia and Venezuela on October 15, 2010 signed an agreement during a visit by President Hugo Chavez to Moscow for Russia to build and operate Venezuela's first nuclear power plant. The agreement was signed by the head of Russia's atomic energy agency Sergei Kiriyenko in the Kremlin with Chavez and President Dmitry Medvedev.

 

• World Standards Day observed: World Standards Day was observed on October 14, 2010. The day is celebrated internationally each year on October 14. The day honours the efforts of the thousands of experts who develop voluntary standards within standards development organizations such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The aim of World Standards Day is to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers as to the importance of standardization to the global economy.

 

• Global Handwashing Day observed: The Global Handwashing Day programme was observed worldwide on October 15, 2010. The Day is being observed from 2008 with the aim of meeting the United Nations' millennium goal of reducing mortality rate by two-thirds among children under the age group of five by 2015.

 

• World Sight Day observed: World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired held on the second Thursday in October. The day, observed on October 14, 2010, is also the main advocacy event for the prevention of blindness and for "Vision 2020: The Right to Sight", a global effort to prevent blindness created by WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

 

• Miners trapped in Chilean Mine rescued: The 33 miners trapped in the San Jose Mine in Chile for 69 days were rescued on October 13, 2010. The men were sealed into the mine’s lower reaches by an August 5 collapse of 700,000 tonnes of rock. Florencio Avalos was the first to be rescued in the presence of President Sebastian Pinera. Three rescue capsules were built by Chilean navy engineers, named Phoenix for the mythical bird that rises from ashes and painted in the white, blue and red of the Chilean flag.

 

• Election results announced in Kyrgyzstan: Five parties crossed the 5-percent threshold in the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, according to results announced on October 11, 2010. The voter turnout was 55.90 percent. The Ata-Zhurt party topped the election with 8.88 percent of the vote nationwide followed by the Social Democratic Party (8.04 percent), Ar-Namys (7.74 percent), Respublika Party (7.24 percent) and the Ata-Meken party (5.6 percent). In all 29 political parties competed for 120 seats in the Kyrgyz new government in which the prime minister will have more power than the president. According to the election rules, seats will be distributed proportionately to parties passing the 5-percent threshold nationwide.

 

• Iran rids nuclear facilities of Stuxnet virus: Iran's nuclear chief said that the West had managed to infiltrate its nuclear facilities but Tehran had emerged successful in combating espionage. Iran acknowledged, in the second week of October 2010, that the computer virus Stuxnet had found its way in the computers at Iranian nuclear power facilities at Bushehr. It has been widely suspected that the sophisticated Stuxnet malware which hijacks industrial software of equipment provided by the German firm Siemens was developed by a government agency. Access to information inside Iran's nuclear establishment had now been restricted as part of heightened security measures

 

• Millennium celebrations organised in Hanoi: Celebrations to commemorate thousand years of foundation of Vietnamese capital Hanoi were organised on October 10, 2010. King Ly Thai To moved the capital of Vietnam to Hanoi in 1010 and called it Thang Long, or “soaring dragon”, symbolising the desire for independence after a millennium of Chinese domination.

 

Section C: AWARDS

Howard Jacobson wins Booker Prize

• Author and columnist Howard Jacobson has won the Man Booker Prize for his comic novel ‘The Finkler Question’.

Jacobson, who beat contenders including double winner Peter Carey, received the £50,000 prize at London's Guildhall on October 12, 2010. Chair of judges, Sir Andrew Motion, described the 68-year-old author's book as "very funny, of course, but also very clever, very sad and very subtle". It explores Jewishness through the lives of three friends - two of them Jewish and one who wishes he was. Jacobson's novel is about a former BBC radio producer, Julian Treslove, who is attacked on his way home from an evening out reminiscing with friends.

• Other contenders: Others short-listed for the award included Tom McCarthy for ‘C’, Peter Carey (who had earlier won in 1998 for ‘Oscar and Lucinda’ and in 2001, for ‘True History of the Kelly Gang’) for ‘Parrot and Olivier in America’, Damon Galgut for his semi-autobiographical novel ‘In A Strange Room’, Emma Donoghue for ‘Room’ and Andrea Levy's ‘The Long Song’.

 

2010 Nobel economics prize awarded

Two Americans and a British-Cypriot economist won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences 2010 (Nobel economics prize) on October 11, 2010 for developing a theory that helps explain why many people can remain unemployed despite a large number of job vacancies. Federal Reserve board nominee Peter Diamond was honored along with Dale Mortensen, an economics professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and Christopher Pissarides, a 62-year-old professor at the London School of Economics, with the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million) prize for their analysis of the obstacles that prevent buyers and sellers from efficiently pairing up in markets. Diamond analysed the foundations of so-called search markets, while Mortensen and Pissarides expanded the theory and applied it to the labour market. Since searching for jobs takes time and resources, it creates frictions in the job market, helping explain why there are both job vacancies and unemployment simultaneously, the academy said. “The laureates’ models help us understand the ways in which unemployment, job vacancies and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy,” the citation said.

 

• Khushwant Singh conferred Sahitya Akademi Fellowship: Eminent writer, historian and columnist Khushwant Singh was in October 2010 conferred the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, an honour reserved for the “immortals of literature”. The nonagenarian writer was presented a plaque of Fellowship and a shawl by Sahitya Akademi president Sunil Gangopadhyay in New Delhi.

 

• Cambridge confers Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall on Aiyar: Rajya Sabha MP Mani Shankar Aiyar was on October 14, 2010 made an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall at his alma mater Cambridge University, London in recognition of his contribution to the "diplomatic and political life of the world's largest democracy." He joins the ranks of figures such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking. The Congress leader is the first south Asian in more than 50 years to be thus honoured. The last was Hajji Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin, Nawab of Dhaka, who became Pakistan's second governor-general and was briefly his country's Prime Minister after the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951. Honorary Fellows are chosen on the recommendations of the existing Fellows.

 

• Brumby gets Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award: John Brumby, Prime Minister of the Australian province of Victoria, was on October 13, 2010 presented with the 2010 Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award by Hindu Foundation of Australia for bringing the Parliament of the World's Religions (PWR) to Melbourne in 2009. The Awards, which is held annually on the occasion of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, is given to those who contribute towards Gandhi's legacy for world peace, non- violence and harmonious living.

 

• Pranab Mukherjee wins Finance Minister of Asia Award: India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on October 11, 2010, won this year's award for Finance Minister of the Year for Asia given by ‘Emerging Markets’, the daily newspaper of record for the World Bank, IMF, etc. Emerging Markets is part of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc., one of the largest and most respected providers of financial information worldwide. It may be recalled that Mukherjee was rated one of the best Finance Minister in the World in 1984 as well.

• Ratan Tata wins Hadrian Award: Each year, the World Monuments Fund presents the Hadrian Award to an international leader whose patronage has advanced the understanding, appreciation, and preservation of the world’s art and architecture. The 2010 Hadrian Award was presented to Ratan N. Tata and the Tata family in recognition of their leadership in the restoration and protection of India's cultural heritage at New York on October 13, 2010. The Hadrian Award was inspired by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (A. D. 76–138), a patron of the arts, who demonstrated a concern for the survival of outstanding artistic works.

 

• Deming Prize for National Engg Industries: C.K. Birla Group’s National Engineering Industries Ltd (NEI) said on October 12, 2010 that it has been selected winner of the 2010 Deming Application Prize by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). A manufacturer of NBC brand bearings for automotive and industrial segments, NEI is to be awarded for achieving distinctive performance improvement through the application of Total Quality Management (TQM). NEI is the only Indian company among four companies globally to have been declared winner.

 

• Asian Business Leader award for Shell's Vikram Singh: Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman, Shell Companies in India was presented with the first Asian Business Leader award by ‘Asia House’, a leading pan-Asian organisation in Europe, in London on October 14, 2010. The other recipients of the awards are Stephen Green, ex-Chairman of HSBC and currently the Minister of Trade in the UK government and Jack Ma, Chairman and CEO of the Alibaba group. Mehta has led Royal Dutch Shell in India since its return to the country in 1993.

 

• Mallya wins International Business leader award: Industrialist and Rajya Sabha member Vijay Mallya was on October 14, 2010 awarded as the International Business Leader of the Year by the GG2 Leadership and Diversity Awards in London. Mallya was honoured for his leadership skills in heading the UB Group, the leading manufacturer of spirits in India. Besides, London-based hotelier and philanthropist Joginder Sanger was given the Incredible India Travel Personality of the Year award.

 

• Kartar Lalvani is Business Man of the Year at world Sikh Awards: Kartar Singh Lalvani, founder of UK-based pharmaceutical major Vitabiotics, has won the Business Man of the Year award at the world's first Sikh Awards in London on October 11, 2010. Founded in London in 1971, Vitabiotics has a portfolio of UK's No 1 brand including Pregnacare, Perfectil, Osteocare, Wellman and Wellwoman. The Queen honoured Dr Lalvani with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) earlier this year for his services to the pharmaceutical industry and charity. Rabinder Kaur Buttar, an NRI entrepreneur and founder, President and CEO of Clin Tec International, was declared Business Woman of the Year. Jaswinder Singh Sehmbi, another NRI industrialist was declared Entrepreneur of the Year.

 

• India wins 2 awards at Wildscreen awards: India won 2 awards at the Wildscreen Festival in Bristol, UK on October 13, 2010. Mysore-based duo Krupakar-Senani bagged an award for their film ‘The Pack: Episode 5’ in the Animal Behaviour Category. Rita Banerji and Shilpi Sharma of Delhi won in the category to promote filmmakers from developing countries for with their ‘The Wild Meat Trail’. The Wildscreen awards are popularly known as The Panda Awards or the Green Oscars.

 

Section D:

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

News round up

Coal India Ltd unveils India’s largest IPO

• CIL Chairman Partha Bhattacharyya on October 14, 2010 announced plans to raise around Rs 15,400-crore through the IPO. Coal India is the largest coal mining company in the world based on its annual production of 431 million tonnes for the year ended March 31, 2010. It is also the largest holder of coal reserves in the world. The company plans to hike its production capacity to 486 million tonnes a year by the end of 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012).

• The Government has fixed the Coal India Ltd initial public offer (IPO) price between Rs 225 and Rs 245 a share. At this price band, it expects to garner between Rs 14,211 crore and Rs 15,475 crore from the issue that will open for subscription on October 18, 2010. The IPO will be the largest ever from an Indian firm till date, surpassing that of Reliance Power that raised Rs 11,500 crore in January 2008.

• The Government will divest 10 per cent stake in CIL through the IPO. Some 631,636,440 shares of Rs 10 each will be offered to investors as part of the issue. A discount of 5 per cent in IPO pricing has been offered to retail investors and the employees of CIL. The company has reserved 63,163,644 shares or 1 per cent of the equity for its employees. About 35 per cent of the net offer of 568,472,796 shares is available for retail individual bidders.

• Coal India reported a net profit of Rs 8,312 crore on revenues of Rs 52,088 crore for the financial year-ended March 2010, as against a net of Rs 2,078 crore on revenues of Rs 45,979 crore, in the previous year. Around 90 per cent of its production originates from open cast mines. This makes Coal India one of the lowest cost producers of coal in the world. It caters to around 82 per cent of India's needs. NTPC is the single largest customer of Coal India with 26.7 per cent of the sales.

• CIL is likely to be the 7th most valued company after listing in early November. The market capitalisation of the company at the upper end of the price band of Rs 245 works out to Rs 15,475 crore. As the market expects CIL to list at a good premium, the market cap could be on the higher side. The top six companies in terms of market capitalisation are: Reliance Industries (Rs 350,824 crore), ONGC (Rs 294,960 crore), SBI (Rs 209,857 crore), TCS (Rs 194,232 crore), Infosys (Rs 180,891 crore) and NTPC (Rs 171,588 crore).

 

AP issues ordinance to rein in MFIs

• The Andhra Pradesh government on October 16, 2010 issued an ordinance to stem the alleged abusive practices adopted by microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating in the state. One of the key steps the ordinance has proposed is setting up of fast-track courts in every district for MFI-related issues.

• Governor ESL Narasimhan gave his assent to the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Ordinance, 2010. The state government would set up these fast-track courts in consultation with the Andhra Pradesh High Court to clear MFI-related cases.

• The ordinance has made it compulsory for the MFIs to get themselves registered with the Registration Authority (RA) within 30 days or face the action of being disqualified from carrying business. The project directors of the District Rural Development Agency  (DRDA) and Mission for Eliminating Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) have been made the Registration Authority in rural and urban areas respectively. The MFIs will have to provide information on their areas of operation, employees, number of members and credit status.

• MFIs are also required to display interest rates prominently on a board. Some MFIs are said to be indirectly charging 52-54 per cent. Another key feature of the ordinance is that the interest amount on a loan can’t exceed the principal. The ordinance stipulates that the accumulated interest collected by microfinance institutions (MFIs) on loans shall not exceed the principal amount. However, the interest rate chargeable by the MFIs finds no mention in the ordinance as the government is of the view that this falls under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Collection of interest beyond the principal amount by “coercion” and other means would render the MFIs liable for punishment with imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to Rs.1 lakh or both.

• Debt swap scheme finalised: The state government on October 14, 2010 also finalised a debt swap scheme to liberate self-help groups (SHG) from the clutches of MFIs. The debt swap scheme would encourage SHGs to avail low-interest loans from banks to clear their high-interest MFI loans and meet their working capital needs. The ordinance does not impose any ceiling on the interest rate chargeable by the MFIs.

 

Finance Minister calls for higher voting powers for emerging economies at IMF

• India has called for reform in the International Monetary Fund, the multilateral financial institution. Finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, has argued for a need to shift voting power in the institution by 5-6 per cent in favour of the emerging economies.

• “Expansion of the IMF role is inextricably linked to reform of quotas. It cannot be effective or credible without a shift in governance structure and voting power in line with the changing importance of countries in the global economy,” Mukherjee said during his intervention on `Global Economy and IMF Reforms,' organised in Washington, USA in October 2010. The finance minister said that the quota shares of advanced economies are being protected on the basis of a flawed formula and outdated data.  India has been calling for a higher voting power in favour of emerging market economies in IMF as they represented around 47.5 per cent of global economy, but had only 39 per cent voting power in the multi-lateral lending body.

• India accounts for 1.8 per cent of the voting power in IMF against 4.85 per cent for France and UK. Incidentally, some of the smaller European nations such as Belgium and Netherlands have greater voting power than Brazil or India.

• The US has the highest voting power of 16.74% followed by Japan (6.01%), Germany (5.87%), UK (4.85%), France (4.85%), China (3.66%), Italy (3.19%), Saudi Arabia (3.16%), Canada (2.88%), Russia (2.69%), Netherlands (2.34%), Belgium (2.08%) and India (1.88%). India is at 13th position in the list of 166 member-countries.

 

August industrial output growth plummets to 5.6%

• Industrial production in the country grew at a slower 5.6 per cent year-on-year in August this year, according to quick estimates of the index of industrial production (base 1993-94) for August 2010, released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on October 12, 2010.

• Growth in August 2010: The general index of industrial production in the country was up 5.6 per cent compared to the level in August 2009. Production indices for the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for August 2010 had corresponding year-on-year growth rates of 7.0 per cent, 5.9 per cent and 1.0 per cent.

• Growth in April-August 2010: Cumulative growth of the index of industrial production (IIP) during April-August 2010-11 was up 10.6 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year (2009-10). The cumulative growth in mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors was 9.4 per cent, 11.3 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, which moved the overall growth in IIP to 10.6 per cent.

• The Union government’s indirect tax collection registered a healthy 44.4 per cent increase in the first half (April- September) of the current fiscal to Rs 150,686 crore. The target for full financial year is Rs 315,000 crore.

• The Indirect Tax collection was bolstered by strong industrial output growth and rise in merchandise imports during April-August. The Budget's move to impose Customs duty on crude oil imports and also hike petro product levies have helped augment indirect tax revenue receipts.

• Customs duty collections in April-September registered 66.8 per cent increase to Rs 63,229 crore (Rs 37,907 crore). The budgeted target for 2010-11 is Rs 115,000 lakh crore.

• Excise duty collections registered a 40.7 per cent increase during April-September to Rs 60,834 crore (Rs 43,237 crore). The budgeted target for 2010-11 is Rs 132,000 crore for 2010-11.

• The budgeted target for 2010-11 indirect tax collections in the first half registered a 14.8 per cent increase to Rs 26,623 crore (Rs 23,191 crore).

 

Namaskar Africa organised in Nairobi

• A two-day ‘Namaskar Africa' event was organised in Nairobi, Kenya by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with support from India's Commerce and Industry Ministry on October 14-15, 2010. The objective was to promote India’s investment and trade relations with countries in Eastern Africa. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Business Council (EABC) and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the participating 12 African countries are helped in the organisation of the event.

Namaskar Africa Summit: Highlights

􀂙 Objective was to boost India’s investment and trade relations  with East African countries

􀂙 India expressed concerns over proposed anti-counterfeit laws in E. African nations

􀂙 These equate genuine Indian generic drugs with counterfeits

􀂙 Pharma MNCs behind creating this confusion

􀂙 Indian pharma cos. have made many life-saving drugs affordable in poor countries

• India has mounted pressure on East African countries, including the host of Namaskar Africa-Kenya, against the latter's proposed anti-counterfeiting legislation. These proposed laws, being brought in allegedly at the behest of the certain multinational drug giants, could affect India's exports of generic (or off-patent) drugs – most of them affordable life-saving medicines – to Africa. These laws unfairly seek to equate legitimate generics with counterfeit drugs. The Kenyan anti-counterfeit law was passed in 2008, but in April 2010, the Constitution Court in Kenya has stayed the legislation following a petition by HIV-positive patients.

• The Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, in his interaction with his counterparts from African countries, expressed India’s concerns on this issue. A fifth of India's pharma exports worth over Rs 44,000 crore goes to Africa, according to industry estimates.

• Addressing the Namaskar Africa function, Sharma said that Indian pharma companies had played a major role in making life-saving drugs affordable in third world countries, including Africa. Life-saving medicines were unaffordable for poor people in Africa, Asia and South America as prices were kept high by MNCs. Indian generics are economical versions of these high-priced drugs. Indian pharma companies have brought down the cost of drugs in Africa for HIV/AIDS treatment for one patient for one year from $12,000 to currently less than $400.

• Sharma accused pharma MNCs of conspiring to reduce the demand for Indian generics by confusing them with counterfeits drugs. The minister added that India's generics and its pharma industry are fully compliant with TRIPs norms. Many EU countries had seized Indian generics shipments in transit meant for third world countries.

 

9 private sector companies bid for projects under PURA

• Nine Private Sector Companies have bid for 15 pilot projects under the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) Scheme of the Union Rural Development Ministry on October 11, 2010. The nine companies that have been finally short-listed are in the area of infrastructure development with strong rural and community mobilization experience either directly of through their consortium partners. These companies include names like Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, IL&FS Ltd and Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd. The selection has been done through an open competitive technical bidding process with rigorous qualification and evaluation criteria.

• In the pilot phase, the private developer is given flexibility to identify and select the Gram Panchayat for undertaking PURA projects based on their familiarity with the area or past experience of working at the grassroots level. PURA will involve convergence of all related schemes for rural infrastructure.

• The average size of the projects is about Rs. 100 crores with the total investment around Rs. 1,300 crores. The average grant sought is 35% and thus in all the projects would be about Rs. 425 crores. Funding for projects under PURA scheme would come from four sources: MoRD schemes, non-MoRD schemes, private financing and Capital Grant under PURA.

‘Mobile phone can be a livelihood tool’ – UNCTAD

• Mobile phones and other forms of communication technology can be used to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods in developing countries, says the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report unveiled in October 2010.

• The UNCTAD Information Economy Report 2010 titled ‘ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation’ says better access to information and information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help poor people raise their incomes significantly. The report urges policymakers in developing countries to make the ICT sector a more important component in their poverty-reduction strategies.

• The report says that ICT-related micro-enterprises in many low-income countries could offer work of real value to populations with little education and scant resources. These include selling mobile recharge cards, repairing personal computers and running cyber cafes. Such commercial undertakings have relatively low barriers to entry with the costs and the skills being often modest. The report cited how Gambian poor and street beggars have been hired as sales representatives for Gamcel, the country's major mobile telecom operator.

• Expanding the ICT service work to rural communities will provide new income-earning opportunities for the poor and governments should consider policies that will encourage this trend. Poor people often lack information — market prices, weather reports, and new income opportunities — that is vital for the work they do, says the report.

• Citing data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UNCTAD report said average global mobile penetration stood at 68 subscriptions for 100 inhabitants at the end of 2009 and it is expected to reach five billion this year. While penetration in both developed and transition economies now exceeds 100 subscriptions for 100 inhabitants, in developing countries it stood at 58. In the least developed countries, there are now on average more than 25 subscriptions for 100 inhabitants.

• The Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Supachai Panitchpakdi, said in an overview to the report that a starting point to make better use of ICTs, notably mobile applications, would be in government services targeting economic opportunities among the poor.

 

Govt asks BlackBerry to provide access by Dec. 31

• The government on October 12, 2010 asked BlackBerry phone maker Research in Motion (RIM) to come up with a final solution by December 31 on giving access to security agencies to its popular messenger and enterprise services. The Canadian phone maker has sought more time on the access issue as it continues technical discussions on the BlackBerry Messenger Service (BMS) and BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) with the security agencies.

• The Government first extended the original August 31 deadline to October 31. The decision to give some more time was taken by the Home Ministry after a meeting with representatives of RIM and the Ministry of Telecommunication. There are around one million BlackBerry subscribers in India.

• RIM representatives explained that BlackBerry mobile device sends encrypted emails, which are sent to BlackBerry

Enterprise Server (BES) located with the service provider. BES decrypts messages and sends them to the email server of the service provider where they remain stored in decrypted form. Then they are pushed to the BlackBerry device in encrypted form.

• According to the licensing conditions, service providers are liable to put in a mechanism allowing security agencies to intercept any conversation or message of any subscriber whenever required. As telecom service providers like Airtel, Vodafone, R Com, the Tatas and the government-run BSNL and MTNL are offering BlackBerry services, it is the responsibility of these operators to ensure that the security agencies get access to all services they offer.

 

• CRISIL to introduce index on financial inclusion: Rating agency CRISIL is developing an index for financial inclusion, which will look into operational nature of “no-frills accounts”. R. Gopalan, Secretary, Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, on October 14, 2010, informed that CRISIL Index will be applied to evaluate public sector banks performance on financial inclusion.

 

• RBI sells NABARD stake to govt: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has divested 71.5 per cent stake amounting to Rs 1,430 crore in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in favour of the government in October 2010. The government now holds 99 per cent of the stake in NABARD. Now the only major institution where RBI holds a stake is National Housing Bank (NHB). The central bank holds 100 per cent stake in the housing finance regulator. The buying of stake in these institutions would enable the government to have greater say in the board of these institutions.

 

• RBI to issue coins on Rajendra Prasad, Tagore: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 14, 2010 said that it would issue new Rs 5 coins to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the country's first president Rajendra Prasad and 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindrnath Tagore.

 

• ‘GDP to grow by 9.2% in 2010-11’ – CMIE: The Indian economy is expected to grow by 9.2 per cent in 2010-11 following impressive growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said on October 14, 2010 in Mumbai.

 

• Axis Bank launches Infra Index: Axis Bank on October 12, 2010, announced the launch of the Axis Infra Index, India’s first index tracking capacity expansion, financial, policy, regulatory, tax and other associated developments which influence investor confidence in the infrastructure sector.

 

• India’s 2nd financial hub coming up in West Bengal: The country's second financial hub, after the Bandra-Kurla complex in Mumbai, is to come up at Jyoti Basu Nagar (previously called New Town) in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The foundation stone for the Rs 16,000-crore project, to be spread over 300 acres, was laid by the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, on October 13, 2010. The financial hub will be set up in collaboration with Orion IT Tech and a government agency, the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.

 

• CII to set up a centre for clean technologies to SMEs: Industry body CII, Bangalore based Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) and Fraunhoffer Institute of Germany have entered into a pact to set up a ‘Centre of Excellence’ with the objective of providing access to newer, clean and green technologies to SMEs. An initiative of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Commerce and Industry Ministry, this partnership envisages the setting up of CII-CMTI Green and Clean Manufacturing Centre within CMTI at Bangalore. The Centre will facilitate the process of importing advanced technologies in green and clean to the Indian manufacturing industry from Germany.

 

• Microsoft unveils mobile platform, Windows Phone 7: Microsoft unveiled a new mobile phone operating system as it seeks to regain ground lost to Apple's iPhone, Blackberry and devices powered by Google's Android software.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer introduced nine mobile phones powered by Windows Phone 7 (WP7) at an event in New York on October 12, 2010. Ballmer said more than 60 mobile operators around the world will offer the devices, made by South Korea's Samsung and LG Electronics, Taiwan's HTC and Dell, the US computer giant, in more than 30 countries. Though mobile makes up only one per cent of Microsoft's revenue, the smartphone market is growing by around 30 per cent a year and the software giant is striving to remain a player in the sector.

 

• Tata Group gifts $50 mn to Harvard: The Tata Group, in October 2010, has given $50 million to the Boston-based Harvard Business School to fund a new academic and residential building on its campus. This is the largest gift received by the institute from an international donor in its 102-year-old history. The gift comes from Tata Companies, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Tata Education and Development Trust, the philanthropic entities of the Group. Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons, attended Harvard's Advanced Management Programme — one of three comprehensive leadership programmes offered by the Harvard Business School's (HBS') Executive Education — in 1975. He had also received the School's highest honour, the Alumni Achievement Award, in 1995.

 

• ADB, WB assess Pak flood damage at $9.7 bn: The devastating floods in Pakistan since July have caused an estimated USD 9.7 billion damage to infrastructure, farms, homes, as well as other direct and indirect losses, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) have said. The estimate was presented in the Damage and Needs Assessment (DNA), a survey conducted nationwide by ADB and the World Bank to assess the extent of the flood damage. The survey was submitted to Pakistan Government and made public at Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) meeting in Brussels on October 15, 2010.

 

• Jugnu launch postponed to 2011: Jugnu, the nano satellite developed by Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) is expected to be launched in the polar orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in the first six months of 2011. Though it was expected that it would be launched recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on October 15, 2010 allotted a slot in the first half of 2011 to IIT-K for the launch. Weighing 3.5 kgs, Jugnu will be launched in the Polar orbit, 700 km above the ground level. The nano satellite, which has a life span of a year, will encircle earth 14 to 15 times each day and transmit images of weather, soil and water bodies to the IIT-K base station. Every day, the images will be transmitted thrice, and each transmission period will be between three minutes to five minutes.

 

Section E: SPORTS

Newsmakers

Tendulkar returns to top of ICC rankings

• Sachin Tendulkar has reclaimed the number one position in the Test rankings for batsman, according to the latest ICC rankings list unveiled on October 15, 2010 after eight years, following his successful run in the just concluded Test series against Australia.

Tendulkar was the highest run-getter with 403 runs in the two-match series, which India won 2-0. He also scored his sixth double hundred and was adjudged Man-of-the-series. Virender Sehwag is the next best Indian at number three with 819 points, behind Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (874).

• In the rankings for Test bowlers, Dale Steyn of South Africa is at the top followed by England off-spinner Graeme Swann in second position. Zaheer Khan is the highest ranked India bowler in fourth position.

• There is no change in the top five in the rankings for Test all-rounders. Jacques Kallis is at the top followed by New

Zealand captain Daniel Vettori in second position.

 

• Tamim Iqbal named Wisden Test Player of the Year: Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal beat competition from established stars to be named the Wisden Cricketer magazine's 'World Test Player of the Year' on October 14, 2010. Tamim scored 837 runs at 59.78 in seven Tests during 2010, despite his team failing to win a single one of them during the year. Wisden Cricketer Test Player of the Year: 1.Tamim Iqbal, 2.Graeme Swann, 3.Virender Sehwag, 4.Simon Katich, 5.Dale Steyn, 6.Morne Morkel, 7.Sachin Tendulkar, 8.Zaheer Khan, 9.Jacques Kallis, 9.James Anderson. The accolade completes a remarkable double success for Bangladesh which has now produced successive Test Players of the Year, with former captain Shakib-Al-Hassan taking the award in 2009.

 

• Sachin-autographed bat on eBay: A cricket bat autographed by Sachin Tendulkar was put up for auction on eBay India in October 2010. The proceeds of the auction will go to ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation of India’, dedicated to granting the most cherished wish of children living with life-threatening illnesses.

 

• Matthew Hayden launches biography: Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden launched his biography titled ‘Last Man Standing’ on October 10, 2010. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the book is a product of more than 100 hours of Hayden’s interviews with renowned cricket journalist Robert Craddock about his life and career.

 

• Djokovic wins China Open title: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic beat David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-4 in the final to win the China Open title in Beijing on October 11, 2010. He has won one Grand Slam singles title, the 2008 Australian Open, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title. Djokovic was also the runner-up at the 2007 and 2010 US Open tournaments.

 

• Rafael Nadal wins Japan Open tennis: World number one Rafael Nadal of Spain captured his seventh title of the season on October 10, 2010 when he defeated Gael Monfils of France in straight sets 6-1, 7-5 to win the Japan Open tennis tournament in Tokyo.

 

• Caroline Wozniacki wins China Open: Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki celebrated her new World No. 1 ranking on October 11, 2010 by capturing her sixth title of the year at the China Open, outlasting her Russian rival Vera

Zvonareva, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

 

• Lee Westwood becomes World No. 1 golfer: Tiger Woods's five year reign as World No. 1 came to an end recently with England's 37-year old Lee Westwood replacing him at the top of the global rankings on October 2010.

 

News round up

Hosts India finish a historic 2nd in Commonwealth Games 2010

• The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events. It was the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. Australia finished at the top of the medals tally with 71 golds followed by hosts India and England in second and third positions respectively.

Commonwealth Games Medals Tally-Top ten

Rank Nation                     Gold              Silver            Bronze          Total

1   Australia                        74                   55                   48                   177

2   India                                38                   27                   36                   101

3   England                         37                   60                   46                   143

4   Canada                            26                   17                   33                   76

5   South Africa                 12                   11                   10                   33

6   Kenya                             12                   11                   9                     32

7   Malaysia                        12                   10                   14                   36

8   Singapore                       11                   11                   9                     31

9   Nigeria                            11                   8                     14                   33

10 Scotland                                                9                     10                   7                     26

     Total                               272                274                282                828

• The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that the Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time it was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. The official mascot of the Games was Shera, designed by Idiom Design and Consulting. The official song of the Games, ‘Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto’, was composed by Indian musician A.R. Rahman.

‘Come out and play’ was the motto of the games.

• Initially, several concerns and controversies surfaced before the start of the Games. Despite these concerns, all member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations participated in the event, except Fiji, which is suspended from the Commonwealth, and Tokelau, which didn't send a team.

• A widely-praised opening ceremony helped improve the image of the Games. The concerns raised during the buildup to the Games proved largely unfounded as most events progressed smoothly. The final medal tally was led by Australia. The host nation India gave its strongest performance yet to emerge second, while England placed third. The games closed on 14th October in a colorful and appreciated closing ceremony featuring both Indian and Scottish performers. The Commonwealth Games flag was handed over to representatives of Glasgow, Scotland, which will host the XX Commonwealth Games in 2014. At the closing ceremony, Michael Fennell, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation declared that Delhi had hosted a "truly exceptional Games".

• Just after the conclusion of the Games, the Government announced the formation of a special investigation committee to probe the allegations of corruption and mismanagement that had marred the buildup to the Games. The Union government on October 15, 2010 appointed a high-level committee headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor-General, V.K. Shungloo, to look into “all aspects of organising and conducting” the Commonwealth Games, which concluded on October 14. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the committee will give its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in three months. The terms of reference will be announced shortly.

India at Commonwealth Games 2010

• India finished a historic second in the final pecking order with more than 100 medals at the Commonwealth Games that concluded on October 14, 2010. A record medal haul of 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals, the best-ever for the country in the Games history, helped India climb to the record-high second position. The majority of these 101 medals came from athletics, shooting, wrestling, boxing, archery and badminton.

• Gagan Narang, who won four gold medals in shooting, was the highest individual medal winner for India. Discus thrower Krishna Poonia made history by becoming the first Indian woman gold medallist in Commonwealth Games athletics. Saina Nehwal became the first Indian women to win a badminton gold medal in the Commonwealth Games after her victory over Malaysian Mew Choo Wong 19-21 23-21 21-13 in the singles final.

• Railways – The Golden PSU at Commonwealth: The ‘lead partner' of the CWG clinched 25 of the 101 medals that went to the country — according to information accessed from the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB). Railway employees won 13 of the 38 gold medals, three of the 27 silver medals, and nine of the 36 bronze medals won by the country. 92 of the total 495 Indian participants at the CWG were Railway employees, a public sector organisation that has historically promoted sport. According to RSPB, the Railways recruit 1,200 sportspersons every year as a policy.

• Haryana – The Golden State at Commonwealth: If Haryana were a country, it would be fifth on the gold medal winners’ list at Delhi 2010 — after Australia, England, Canada and India-minus-Haryana. Fifteen of India’s 38 gold at the Commonwealth Games have been won by athletes from Haryana. The state has just 2 per cent of the country’s population and occupies 1.37 per cent of its land area. Haryana’s result-oriented sports policy and incentives to

athletes are the reasons behind this success.

 

India at Commonwealth Games-Medals by sport

Sport             Gold              Silver            Bronze          Total

Shooting      14                   11                   5                     30

Wrestling     10                   5                     4                     19

Archery        3                     1                     4                     8

Boxing          3                     0                     4                     7

Athletics      2                     3                     7                     12

Weightlifting 2                  2                     4                     8

Badminton 2                     1                     1                     4

Table tennis 1                    1                     3                     5

Tennis           1                     1                     2                     4

Gymnastics 0                     1                     1                     2

Hockey         0                     1                     0                     1

Aquatics      0                     0                     1                     1

Total|            38                   27                   36                   101

India at Commonwealth Games-Multiple Gold Medal Winners

Name                                    Sport             No of golds

Gagan Narang                     Shooting     4

Omkar Singh                      Shooting      3

Vijay Kumar                      Shooting      3

Gurpreet Singh                  Shooting      2

Anisa Sayyed                     Shooting      2

Deepika Kumari                Archery        2

Harpreet Singh                   Shooting      2

Indian Gold Medal Winners

Name                                     Sport      Event

Abhinav Bindra & Gagan Narang Shooting Men's 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)

Anisa Sayyed & Rahi Sarnobat Shooting                Women's 25m Pistol (Pairs)

Ravinder Singh        Wrestling                                Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg

Anil Kumar             Wrestling                                Men's Greco-Roman 96 kg

Sanjay Kumar         Wrestling                                Men's Greco-Roman 74 kg

Yumnam Renubala Chanu Weightlifting                 Women's 58kg

Katulu Ravi Kumar                 Weightlifting            Men's 69kg

Anisa Sayyed          Shooting                  Women's 25m Pistol (Single)

Omkar Singh           Shooting                  Men's 50m Pistol Individual

Rajender Kumar      Wrestling                                Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg

Gagan Narang          Shooting                  Men's 10m Air Rifle Individual

Vijay Kumar & Gurpreet Singh Shooting Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol

Omkar Singh & Gurpreet Singh Shooting               Men's 10m Air Pistol (Pairs)

Geeta Singh Phogat Wrestling                                Women's freestyle 55 kg

Alka Tomar             Wrestling                                Women's freestyle 59 kg

Anita                       Wrestling                                Women's freestyle 67 kg

Deepika Kumari, Dola Banerjee & Bombayala Devi Laishram Archery Women's recurve team

Omkar Singh           Shooting                  Men's 10m Air Pistol (Singles)

Gagan Narang & Imran Hassan Khan Shooting Men's 50m Air Rifle 3 Position (Pairs)

Vijay Kumar           Shooting Men's 25m Rapid Fire pistol Individual

Vijay Kumar & Harpreet Singh Shooting Men's 25m centre fire pistol

Gagan Narang          Shooting Men's 50m Rifle 3 Pos Individual

Narsingh Pancham Yadav Wrestling       Men's freestyle 74 kg

Yogeshwar Dutt      Wrestling                                Men's freestyle 60 kg

Deepika Kumari      Archery                   Women's recurve individual

Harpreet Singh        Shooting Men's 25m centre fire pistol Individual

Rahul Banerjee        Archery   Men's recurve individual

Sushil Kumar          Wrestling                 Men's freestyle 66 kg

Somdev Devvarman Tennis Men's Singles

Krishna Poonia       Athletics Women's Discus Throw

Heena Sidhu & Annu Raj Singh Shooting Women's 10m Air Pistol (Pairs)

Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji & Mandeep Kaur Athletics Women's 4×400m (Relay)

Subhajit Saha & Achanta Sharath Kamal Table Tennis Men's doubles

Suranjoy Singh Boxing Men's Flyweight 52 Kg

Manoj Kumar Boxing Men's Light Welterweight 64 Kg

Paramjeet Samota Boxing Men's Light Super heavyweight +91 Kg

Ashwini Ponnappa & Jwala Gutta Badminton Women's Doubles

Saina Nehwal Badminton Women's Singles

 

Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab removed from IPL

• The governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) terminated its contracts with Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab on October 10, 2010 citing breach of ownership rules. The reconstituted IPL Governing Council terminated the franchise agreements with Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd. (Rajasthan Royals) and K.P.H. Dream Cricket Pvt. Ltd. (Kings XI Punjab). The two teams will not participate in the fourth season of the T20 cricket tournament to be held in 2011. The sacked franchisees are exploring the possibility of taking legal action against BCCI.

• IPL’s parent body, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), at its annual general meeting on September 29 had issued showcause notices to both teams for irregularities and breaching terms of their franchise agreements. BCCI has also warned the new Kochi franchisee to resolve its ownership dispute.

• The Council also decided to issue a show cause notice on a group of investors which holds the unincorporated joint venture of the Kochi franchise, asking them to resolve their disputes and give their group a legal entity that will hold the franchise rights. The Kochi franchise was won by Rendezvous Sports World Ltd. for $333.33 million, together with Anchor Earth Pvt. Ltd., Parinee Developers, Filmwaves Combine, Anand Shyam Estates Developers and Vivek Venugopal.

• Asked about the breaches committed by Rajasthan Royals, which won the inaugural IPL in 2008, BCCI President Shashank Manohar said, “They had a different bidder during the auctions. The agreement was entered into by a different company. The shareholding patterns were different and then shares were transferred to other people without the permission of the IPL governing council.” The Rajasthan Royals franchise is owned by Emerging Media group, chaired by Manoj Badale. Other investors include Lachlan Murdoch, Aditya S Chellaram and Suresh Chellaram. The group acquired the franchise for $67 million. Suresh Chellaram is the brother-in-law of IPL former chairman Lalit Modi.

Actress Shilpa Shetty and husband Raj Kundra paid approximately $15.4 million for around 12 per cent stake in the

franchise before the start of IPL-2 in early 2009.

• The owners of the Kings XI Punjab include actress Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman. The bidders had paid $76 million to acquire the franchise in 2008.

 

India beats Australia in Test series 2-0

• India defeated visitors Australia by three wickets on the fifth and final day of the second test match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on October 13, 2010 to win the two-test series 2-0 and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Batting first, Australia had scores of Australia 478 and 223; India 495 and 207/3. Sachin Tendulkar was Man of the match as well as Man of the Series.

• India had won first test of the series at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh (Oct 1-5, 2010) by 1 wicket. Zaheer Khan was Man of the Match. Australia had won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia had scores of 428 and 192 while India had 405 and 216/9.

 

ICC to set up Test, ODI league

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) board announced on October 13, 2010 that it will set up a “Test league along with a One-Day International league”.

• The Test league will culminate in a four-team playoff in 2013. The final four will be decided by the ICC world rankings. No new Tests will be added but all 10 teams must play one another either home or away. India leads the nine-team rankings, followed by South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Zimbabwe will return to Test status in May.

• The ODI league will begin in April 2011 and run through April 2014, leading to a league champion. The ODI league will also provide rankings and automatic qualifiers for the World Cup. The 50-over World Cup will be run separately. A 50- over World Cup has been running since 1975 while the first World Twenty20 was in 2007.

 

• ICC headquarters to stay in Dubai: The headquarters of International Cricket Council (ICC) will not be shifted out of Dubai, the world cricket body announced in Dubai recently, putting an end to speculations that it may relocate to London. ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said that the matter was resolved. Meanwhile, the ICC Global Cricket Academy was opened adjacent to the ICC Headquarters in Dubai on October 14, 2010. The ICC headquarters was shifted to Dubai from Lords, London, in 2005 after the UK government refused to grant the tax concessions that the cricket body had asked for.

 

• India Blue wins the NKP Salve Challenger Series: India Blue won the NKP Salve Challenger Series with a 140-run victory over India Green in Indore on October 11, 2010. India Blue captain Yuvraj Singh opted to bat after winning the toss. Brief scores: India Blue 287/7 in 50 overs (T Srivastava 103, M Tiwary 84; A Mithun 3/70, S Ladda 2/45); India Green 147 all out in 36.4 overs (R Uthappa 30, RP Singh 3/20, P Chawla 3/45)

 

• Brazil wins World Volleyball Championship: The 2010 FIVB Men's World Championship was held in Italy from September 25, 2010 to October 10, 2010. Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body for the sport of volleyball. Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Cuba in final. Brazil won their third straight world championship having won previously in 2002 and 2006. Serbia defeated Italy in the 3rd place match. Brazilian wing-spiker Murilo Endres was named the tournament MVP (Most Valuable Player). Brazil's third straight world championship equals the record for consecutive titles set by

Italy in the 1990s.

 

Recent Books

Book Author

Explorations In Indian English Drama                                                     T. Sai Chandra Mouli, M. Sarat Babu

The WTO And India - Issues and Negotiating Strategies                       Alokesh Barua and Robert M. Stern

Social Determinants Of Health : Assessing Theory, Policy and Practice    Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Sharon Messenger,and Caroline Overy

Cinema, Emergence, And The Films Of Satyajit Ray                                  Keya Ganguly

Daniel Patrick Moynihan; A Portrait in Letter of an American Visionary    Steven R Weisman

‘Conversations with Myself’                                                                          Nelson Mandela

The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why                                                   Kunal Verma & Rajiv Williams

Brand New World: How India, China, Russia & Brazil Are Reshaping Business                         Max Lenderman

Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62             Frank Dikotter

courtsy: gk.ex...@hotmail.com
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