current affairs march 30

8/4/2019 Current Affairs March 30

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Current AffairsMa rch 30

2011

Praveen

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2/22


FROM THE STATES

Agency to ensure smooth fund flow in MGNREGA

Megha laya wi ll set up an a gency to ensure there i s no del ay i n payment of

wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The State Rural Agency of Meghalaya (SRAM) woul d be responsible in

ensuring there is smooth flow of fund in the implementation of the MGNREGA

in the state, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to ld reporters.

Th is i s expected to en su re th at u nder the MGNREGA, there i s n o d el ay i n

release of the funds by the respective deputy commissioners and

subsequently to the respective blocks for payment of wages to the

beneficiaries.

The SRAM would a lso look into the overa l l aspects of the MNREGA, including

examin ing the various al l egations on misappropriati on of fund s while

implementing this scheme.
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3/22


WORLD AFFAIRS

Gaddafi troops reverse Libyan rebel advance

Muammar Gadd afi 's better armed and organised troops reversed the

westward charge of rebels and worl d powers meeting i n London piled

pressure on the Libyan leader to end h is 41-year ru le.

Bri ti sh Prime M in ister David Cameron , open ing the London conference,

accused Libyan troops of "murderous attacks", while U.S. Secretary of State

H il la ry Cl in ton sa id m il ita ry strikes wou ld press on unti l Gaddafi l oya li sts

ceased violence.

The Uni ted States i s sca ling back to a " supporting role" to l et NATO take fu ll

command from U.S. forces on Wednesday, but a ir strikes by U.S. , French and British p lanes remain key to smashing Gaddafi 's armour and faci l i tating rebel

advances.

I t took five days of a ll ied a ir strikes to pulverise Libyan government tanks

a round the town of Aj dabiyah before Gadda fi 's troops fl ed and the rebel s

rushed in and began their 300-km (200-mile), two-day dash across the desert

to with in 80 km (50 mi les) of the Gaddafi l oya l ist strongho ld of S irte .

A rebel spokeswoman in the ma in rebel strongho ld of Benghazi said that the

front l ine was now just west of Bin Jawad, 25 km (15 mi les) east of

Nawfaliyah.

REBELS ON THE RUN

Without a ir stri kes i t a ppears the rebel s a re not abl e to make advances or

even hold ground.

Brita in said the internationa l partners meeting in London agreed to continue

their mil i tary mission unti l Gaddafi complied with al l terms of a U. N.

resolution to protect civi l ians.

They a lso a greed to set up a con tact g roup, i ncl ud ing Arab sta tes, to g ive

pol iti ca l g ui dance for the response to the war and coord inate l ong- term

support to Li bya. The Gu lf Arab sta te of Qa tar ag reed to convene a fi rst

meeting as soon as possib le.


4/22


Gaddafi accused Western powers of massacres of Libyan civi l ians in a l liance

with rebels he said were a l Qaeda members.

The rebel s deny any a l Qaeda l inks and on Tuesday prom ised free and fa ir

elections if Gaddafi is forced from power.

Both Bri ta in and I ta ly suggested Gaddafi m ight be a ll owed to go i n to exi le to

bri ng a qui ck end to the si x-week ci vi l wa r, bu t the U .S. ambassador to the

Un ited Nations sa id there was no evidence the Libyan leader was prepared to

leave.

Intelligence on Libya rebels shows 'flickers' of Qaeda

Inte ll igence on the rebel forces battl ing Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has

shown " fl ickers" of al Qaeda or Hezbol la h presence, bu t th ere i s sti ll n o

deta il ed pi cture of the emerg ing Libyan opposi tion , NATO's top operations

commander said on Tuesday.

Yemen govt loses control of six of the 18 provinces

Yemen 's pol iti ca l cri si s deepened on Tuesday as President Al i Abdullah

Saleh refused to step down i n th e face of mountin g desertions by his

supporters and offi cial s sa id the government had l ost control of six of the

country's 18 provinces.

Saleh to ld that he would not step down as 95% of the Yemenis backed h is ca l l

for a un ified Yemen and instead i t shou ld be h is opponents, who should leave

the country.

The President's refusa l comes as the death to ll in the massive b last and fi re at

an ammun ition pl ant i n south Yemen shot up to 150 and transi tion of power

talks remained stal led.

Yemeni officia l said , in recent days government forces has abandoned their

force a cross the country, i nclu di ng a reas where n orthern rebel s h ave

chal lenged the m il ita ry and sou thern provinces where a l Qaeda' s Arabi an

branch has maintained sanctuaries.

The col lapse of the authority was acknowledged by the President h imself, who

to ld a committee from his pol itica l party that "s ix of the Yemen's 18 provinces

had fa l len".


5/22


The Yemen i strongman , who h as been i n power for th e l ast 3 2 years h as

moved away from a d ia logue with opposition mediated by American d ip lomats

and Saudi Arabia.

Syrian premier quits, re-appointed as caretaker

Syrian President Bahsar a l-Assad appointed Naj i a l-Ota ri , head of the

government that resigned on Tuesday, as the new caretaker prime minister,

on Tuesday.

The government has l i ttle power in Syria , where power is concentrated in the

hand of Assad, h is fami ly and the security apparatus.

The next government, expected to be formed in the coming days, wil l face the

task of implementing a string of reforms promised by the state after protests

demanding more freedoms erupted in the Baath-ruled country mid-March.

The reforms are expected to i nclude the end of emergency ru le, i n

place since the Baath party came to power in 1963, and the

l iberalization of laws on media and political parties.

The president, who rose to power after the death of h is father Hafez a l-Assad

in 2000, wi l l address his people in the coming days and is expected to

announce the end of emergency ru le.

The Syri a protests have tu rned i ncreasing ly vi ol en t i n recent days, wi th

authori ties accusing fundamenta li sts and "armed gangs" of a im ing to i nci te

unrest in the country.

Smal l d emonstra ti ons demanding " freedom" a lso su rfaced i n the capi ta l

Damascus ea rl ier th is month , bu t were immed iatel y q uel led by securi ty

forces.

Protests demanding change have largely centered in the southern

governorate of Daraa, a tribal region at the Jordanian border, and the

northern port city of Latakia.

Activi sts say more than 130 peopl e have been ki ll ed a nd scores i nj ured i n

clashes with security forces at the Daraa and Latakia ra l l ies. Officia ls have put

the death to ll a t around 30.


6/22


Reform package

Authorities have promised a package of reforms announced in a b id to reach

out to the protest movements, i nclud ing the l i bera li za tion of the country's

media l aws and a new law on l i cens ing pol i tica l parties .

But ana lysts say i t i s too ea rl y to say what the announcement wi ll mean i n

terms of rea l change i n the key M idd le Eastern sta te renowned for i ts ti ght

grip on security.

Syria's emergency law imposes restrictions on publ i c gatheri ng s and

movements and authorizes the arrest of "suspects or persons who threaten

security".

It al so al lows the i nterrogati on of a ny i nd ivi dual and the su rvei ll an ce of

personal communications as wel l as official control of the content of

newspapers and other media before publ ication.

What is going on at Japan's damaged nuclear reactor?

Japanese eng ineers are struggl ing to ga in contro l of the Fukushima Dai ich i nuclear

power p lant, which was seriously damaged by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami .

Two of the six reactors at the p lant, operated by Tokyo E lectric Power Co (TEPCO),

are considered stable but the other four are volati le.

Fo ll owing a re some questions and answers about efforts to end the world's worst

nuclear crisis s ince the 1986 Chernobyl accident:

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Workers are struggl ing to restart the cool ing pumps in four reactors damaged

by the 9. 0 magni tu de earthquake a nd tsunami a nd l ater d renched from

desperate hosing operations to keep the reactors cool.

The immed ia te cha ll enge i s to pump out rad ioacti ve water fl ood ing the

basements in reactors No.1 , No.2 and No.3 and hampering the restoration of

electricity to continuously power the cool ing pumps.

The No.2 reactor has posed especi al ly nasty ri sks, em itti ng h igh l evel s of

rad iation at more than 1 ,000 mi ll i sieverts an hour in both the water and a ir in


7/22


the basement of the turbine bu il ding . That i s the h ighest read ing seen i n the

cris is and compares with a national safety standard of 250 mi l l isieverts over a

year. Th is most l ike ly means that byproducts from a partia l mel tdown in the

reactor core are leaking out into the water.

In the No.1 reactor, workers have been able to start runn ing a ci rcu la tory

steam condensing system to begin to c lear contaminated water. But after five

days of pumping, there is no clear indication of s ignificant progress.

The same systems i n reactors No.2 and No.3 a re fl ooded and so need to be

emptied before they can handle the contaminated water. TEPCO has sa id i t

may need to thin k out of the box to clear th e dangerous waters, while

preventing further flows into the sea and soi l .

HOW LONG MIGHT THIS TAKE?

Nobody knows. The most l ikel y scenario i s a l ong, d rawn-ou t fi gh t, wi th

incremental progress interrupted by emergency cooling measures and spikes

in radioactivity.

Once the pumps and the residua l heat remova l systems are running, i t wou ld

take only a couple days to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown. But

eng ineers are l i tera l ly working in the dark. Lights have only recently gone on

in the control room, but e lectrica l ly powered monitors and gauges -- workers'

eyes and ears inside the reactor - - are sti l l o ff. Rad iation read ings outside the

reactors a re sti l l taken via a moving car, because the mon itoring posts a re

not powered. Temperature and pressure read ings from backup systems are

a l l that workers have to "see" what i s going on in the reactors.

Because of the h igh leve ls of rad iation in the water, experts suspect damage

to the containment structures around the No.2 reactor core. They said i t may

take as long as a few months to bring that reactor to a co ld shutdown.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

The main ri sk comes from the radiation that wi ll continue to seep, or burst,

out each time a p ipe l eaks or ri sing pressure forces workers to vent steam.

Leaking water from with in the nuclear pressure vessels could find their way


8/22


into the soi l and the ocean, whi le spikes in rad iation could contaminate crops

over a w ide area .

The risk that the spent fuel pools could reach recri tica l ity seems remote, as

long as there are workers and fi refighters wi l l ing to douse the reactors with

water each t ime temperatures start to rise.

The same coul d be said of a smal l, hypothetical risk of a corium steam

expl osion , pa rti cu la rl y i n the No.1 reactor, wh ich i s the pl an t' s ol dest a nd

wh ich i s bel ieved to h ave a weak spot. If workers a re u nabl e to con ti nue

h osi ng opera ti on s, a nd i f th e n ucl ea r fuel manages to mel t th rough the

bottom of the reactor and fa ll i n to a water pool below, th i s would resu lt i n a

h igh temperature burst and a sudden re lease of a huge amount of hydrogen

that could, in an un like ly "perfect storm" scenario, breach the conta inment

vessel.

Shou ld ei ther worst-case scenarios happen, i t cou ld d isperse h igh l eve ls of

ra di ati on u p to 20 km (12 mi les) around the si te, maki ng i t impossi bl e to

bring the reactors to a cold shutdown without great sacrifice.

WILL THE SITE BECOME A NO-MAN'S LAND?

Most l ikely, yes. Even a fter a co ld shutdown there i s the i ssue of tonnes of

nuclear waste s itting at the s ite of the nuclear reactors. Enclosing the reactors

by i njecting l ead and encasing them in concrete wou ld make i t sa fe to work

and l i ve a few ki lometres away from the si te, but i s not a l ong-term solution

for the d isposa l of spent fuel , wh ich wi ll d ecay and em it fi ssi on fragments

over several thousand years.

The spen t n ucl ea r fu el i n Fukush ima h as been d amaged by sea water, so

recycl in g i t i s probabl y n ot an opti on , whi le transporti ng i t elsewhere i s

unl ikely g iven the opposition that proposal would bring.

WHAT RISK FROM PLUTONIUM?

Pluton ium has been found i n soi l samp les a t the si te , further evidence that

fuel rods in a t l east one reactor may have melted down considerably before

they were coo led, and that there i s damage to the structures conta ining the

nuclear core.


9/22


Only trace amounts of the toxic substance have been detected. The level of

up to 0 .54 becquerals per kg of soi l i s not considered harmful. Most

people have some plutonium in their bodies from atmospheric and

underwater nuclear tests and some pacemakers are powered by plutonium.

But the presence of the rad ioactive poison outside the reactors compounds

worry for th e workers there a s l ong as a uthori ti es are n ot su re h ow the

heaviest of primordial elements leaked out.

Plutonium-239, used most in reactors, has a half-life of 24,200 years.

It is not readily absorbed by the body but what is absorbed, stays put,

irradiates surrounding tissue and is carcinogenic.

Japan says plutonium at plant not harmful levels

The amount of pl uton ium detected a t the quake-stri cken pl an t i n J apan i s

simi lar to th at wh ich woul d occu r at a l ocati on fa r from an a tmospheri c

nuclear test but i s not harmfu l to people, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety

Agency said on Tuesday.

In th e l atest blow to hopes that authorities were gradual ly getting the

Fukushima Daiichi plant under control, p lant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co

sa id p lutonium had been found at low-risk leve ls in so il samples at the faci l i ty.

The detection of p lutonium at the s ite was further evidence that fuel rods in at

least one of the s ix reactors may have melted down considerably before they

were cool ed , and th at th ere i s d amage to th e stru ctu res con tai ni ng the

nuclear core.

Radioactive iodine from Japan found in Russia

Traces of radioactive iodine-131 from Japan's stricken nuclear power p lant

have been detected in Russia 's Far East Primorye region but posed no hea l th

threat, officials said on Tuesday.

I ts concentration i s more than 100 times lower than the acceptable leve l, and

thus presents no threat to people's health.

Radiation levels detected in Primorye have ranged between 7 and 16

microroentgens an hour during that period, which i s with in the normal range.


10/22


Russian authorities say up to 30 microroentgens an hour is

considered safe.

Primorye's capita l Vladivostok, a c ity of 600,000, l ies across the Sea of Japan,

about 800 km (500 mi les) northwest of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi p lant.


11/22


BUSINESS/FINANCE/ECONOMY

Swan & Loop used as front companies to get spectrum: CBI to SC

The Centra l Bureau of I nvestigation to ld the Supreme Court that two new

licencees Swan Telecom and Loop Tel ecom al legedly acted as

front companies for Anil Ambanis Reliance Communications (RCom)

and the Ruias of the Essar Group, respectively.

The CBI a lso said on Tuesday that Swan and Loop h id vi ta l deta i ls about their

companies to get spectrum and they will be facing charges of cheating

and criminal conspiracy.

The two were among the n ine firms that were granted new l icences by former

telecom m in ister A Ra ja i n January 2008, wh ich the CAG l ater sa id caused al oss to the exchequer of R1 .76 l akh crore. I t was the CAG wh ich fi rst sa id i n

its report last November that Swan was a front company for RCom,

something the latter continues to deny.

The charge aga inst RCom and the Essar Group is that they violated

the cross-holding norm, which bars a telecom firm from having more

than a 10% stake i n another telecom firm within the same circle.

RCom had services i n a reas where Swan appl ied for l i cences and the Essar

Group owns 33% stake i n Vodafone Essar, wh ich opera tes i n a reas where

Loop has l icences.

The CAG report has sa id that a t the time of app lication, the stake of Re liance

Te lecom (a 100% subsid iary of RCom) in Swan was 10 .71%. The department

of tel ecommuni ca ti on s (DoT) d id n ot h ave a ny mechan ism to veri fy th e

correctness of i ts shareho ld ing pattern and, hence, the matter should have

been referred to the m in istry of corporate a ffa irs (MCA) as was advised by

DoTs finance wing.

However, no reference was made to the MCA and instead, Swan was g iven an

opportunity to resubmit a revised shareholding pattern in December, 2007

n ine months a fter thei r date of app li ca tion which declared that Rel iance

Tel ecom had d ivested i ts en ti re stake. Th is was a ccepted by the DoT and

Swan was g iven the benefit of seniority from the date of their initial

app lication, ie, March 2007, the CAG has said .


12/22


As Swan Telecom did not meet the el igibi l ity criteria on the date of

appl ication, i ts appl ication should have been rejected by DoT and the

company shou ld h ave been d irected to appl y afresh . Even i f i t wa s to be

consi dered el ig ibl e on the basi s of i ts ol d appl ica ti on , the date of pri ori ty

based on the fi rst-come-fi rst-served basis shou ld have been revised from

March 2007 to December 2007 in order to ensure fa irness.

Chargesheet against Raja

The CBI, wh ich fil ed a status report in a sea led envelope before a

bench of Justices, said Raja wi ll face charges of cheating, forgery,

and corruption.

Swan Telecoms promoter Shahid Balwa is under arrest, whi le RCom chairman

Ambani h as a lready been questi oned by the CBI, as i s the case wi th Loop

Telecom CEO Sandip Basu and Essar Group CEO Prashant Ruia.

The agency sa id that there was evidence of forgery in a l tering of the fi rst-

come-first-served pol icy to a l low some companies to get 2G spectrum during

Rajas tenure as telecom minister.

It sa id the main chargesheet will be filed on April 2 against four

individuals including Raja, some telecom executives and two

companies for thei r i nvolvement in the 2G scam. The CBI a lso sa id

that the supplementary charge sheet wil l be fi led by April 25 and

investigation in the scam wi l l be completed by May 31.

Senior advocate KK Venugopal , appearing for the CBI, p lacing a transcript of

te lephonic conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and top

corporate leaders and pol iticians, said, These telephonic records wi l l be

used as evidence in criminal prosecution of the accused in the scam.

More Arrests

The CBI on Tuesday a rrested two more peopl e Asi f Ba lwa and Ra jeev B

Agarwal for a l leged invo lvement in money transfer to DMKs Ka laingar TV

channel in connection with the 2G spectrum case.


13/22


The two were a rrested a fter they a ll eged ly d id not cooperate wi th the CBI

during thei r i n terrogation . Asi f i s the younger brother of former MD of DB-

Etislat group Shahid Balwa, who has a lready been arrested by the CBI.

India's wheat bonanza

India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer after China, may start

exports again after a four-year h iatus as i t heads for record production in 2011.

Ind ia banned wheat exports i n February 2007 to protect domestic suppl ies

a fter weather damaged output. I t briefly l ifted the export ban i n July 2009,

for 10 days, unti l weather concerns again emerged.

Ind ia' s output th is year i s expected to be about 82 m il l ion tonnes, putting i t

second g lobal ly to China, which produced some 115 mi ll ion tonnes l ast year.

The Uni ted Sta tes and Russi a vi e for th ird pl ace a t abou t 55 m il li on tonnes

each.

Annual demand i n India is usual ly around 76 mil lion tonnes. This year,

consumption wi ll i ncl ude 26 m il li on tonnes bought by the government for

subsid ised sa le to the poor. India ranks second in consumption, a lso, to Ch ina

- - where demand i s over 100 m il l ion tonnes. Th i rd-placed Russia consumes

about 35.5 mi l l ion tonnes.

Generous subsi di sed paymen ts to fa rmers from the g overnmen t h ave

encouraged them to p lant more acres with wheat despite static demand.

The g overnmen t's procu remen t agency Food Corp of In di a buys whea t

between March and May a t pre-set pri ces. Th is practi ce has encouraged

farmers to pl ant i ncreasing ly l arge a reas to wheat, i n turn contributing to

overflowing storage.

Whea t stocks i n Ind ia on March 1 tota ll ed 1 7. 2 mi ll ion tonnes, more th an

double the government's target of 8.2 mi l l ion tonnes.

Overflowing storage b ins have forced the government to store gra ins under

tarpaul in, leading to some rot and decay.

Farm M in ister Sharad Pawar ca ll ed for l im ited exports of whea t, ri ce a nd

sugar l ast month , saying Ind ia had ample stocks, world prices were strong

and the harvest looked favourable.


14/22


Indi a grows only one wheat crop per year, planted i n October with the

harvest starting i n March . Wheat i s g rown mainly i n Uttar Pradesh, Punjab

and Haryana.

Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan produce high-protein wheat.

Ind ia' s h igh food i nfl ation , currently a round 10 percent, has prompted the

government to p lan more subs id ies in i ts next budget. I t i s introducing a food

securi ty bi ll th i s year a imed a t further protecting i ts hal f a bi l li on poor from

price rises in staples such as wheat and rice .

The country's tota l b i l l for food subsidies is over 600 b i ll ion rupees a year.

Govt may l ift wheat export ban in April, May

The government cou ld decide as early as next month to l i ft a four-year-old

ban on wheat exports, but analysts sa id the government, strugg ling to bring

down prices, may lack the pol i tica l wi l l for such a move.

The world's second-biggest wheat producer and consumer banned

exports in 2007 to bolster domestic suppl ies as bad weather hit

crops.

Th is year it is head ing for record production of around 82 m il lion

tonnes - - at a time when output problems for other producers have

pushed global prices near to 30-year highs. India has more stock than i t

can store and some is rotting.

Bu t traders rema ined scepti cal abou t th e g overnmen t' s a bi li ty to a ll ow

exports, g iven that i ts priori ty now was to bring down h igh food inflation as i t

goes into a series of state e lections beginning next month.

The governments purchases th is year wil l be about 26 mi ll ion tonnes out of

tota l demand of around 76 mi l l ion tonnes.

Rice procurement down by 1 pc so far in 2010-11

The government's rice procurement has decl ined by one per cent to

24.82 mil l ion tonnes so far in 2010-11 season that started October last

year even though production is estimated to rise by five mi l l ion tonnes.


15/22


Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for procurement

and d istribution of foodgrains, had bought 25 .01 mi ll ion tonnes i n th e

corresponding period of the 2009-10 marketing year (October-September).

The government had procured 32.03 m il li on tonnes i n the en ti re 2009-10

marketing year.

Accord ing to th e Ag ri cu ltu re M in istry' s second advance estima te, rice

production is pegged at 94 mil l ion tonnes in 2010-11 crop year (July-

June) as against 89 mi ll ion tonnes in the previous year.

Punjab, which is the largest contributor to the central pool

India among world's top 10 manufacturing nations

Indi a is l isted as one of the top 1 0 manufacturers of the world i n 201 0,

accordi ng to the International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2011 ,

publ i shed by the U n i t e d N a t i o n s I n d u s t r i a l D e v e l o p m e n t O r g a n i s a t i o n

( U N I D O ) .

Ind ia together wi th other l eading developing economies such as Brazi l and

China showed strong performance in economic growth in 2010.

The manufacturing va lue added (MVA) of a ll three countries grew by more

than 10 % i n 2010.

The countries share i n world manufacturing output has reached 32%

compared to 20% ten years ago.

Six core sector growth up 6.8 percent in Feb

The output of the six core i nfrastructure i ndustries grew by 6 .8 per cent i n

February supported by healthy expansion of sectors l ike crude o i l, petroleum

refinery products and finished steel.

The six core sectors -- crude oi l , petroleum refinery products, coal,

electricity, cement and finished steel -- had expanded by 4.2 per cen t i n

February 2010.

In January, 2011 , the output of the core i nfrastructure sectors grew by 7 .1

per cent. These core i ndustries account for 26.68 per cent of the country's

total industrial output.


16/22


NELP IX - Highlights

Ind ia fa i led to woo g lobal p layers in i ts l a test o il and gas exp loration l i cens ing round

as i ts d im track record of commercia l d iscoveries and s luggish bureaucracy deterred

investors, with most of the 33 b locks awarded to domestic firms.

Despite record h igh o il prices and o il major BP agreeing a mu lti -b il l ion dol lar dea l to

jump into Ind ian exp loration b locks owned by Re liance Industries, only a handfu l of

foreign companies showed interest.

Here a re some facts about Ind ia 's n in th l icensing round under ru les i ntroduced i n

1999 for the gas and o il sector:

The latest round fa i led to a ttract b ids from o il majors, apart from companies

which a l ready operate in Ind ia such as BG, BHP Bi l li ton and Cairn Energy.

One o il and gas b lock d id not rece ive any b ids i n the auction , wh ich covered

e ight deepwater b locks, s ix in shal low water and 19 onshore.

A consorti um l ed by ONGC provi si onal ly won fi ve deepwater bl ocks wh il e

Rel iance Industries won two b locks and BG-BHP B i ll i ton the remaining one.

ONGC a lso won fi ve of si x sh al low water bl ocks wh il e sta te-run Oi l In di a

bagged the remaining one.

The winning b ids have to be endorsed by India's cabinet.

Sign ing of contracts for exp loration of o il and gas b locks wil l take p lace in the

next three months.

I n the cu rrent round , Rel iance subm itted bi ds for si x bl ocks i n Andaman,

Cambay Basin and Rajasthan.

In i ts previous eight rounds since 1999, I nd ia has awarded 234 blocks wi th

state-run o i l firms bagging most of them.

Ind ia, the th ird-b iggest economy in As ia , buys over two-th ird of i ts crude o il

needs from overseas, and is keen to cut dependence on imports.

India against inclusion of data exclusivity in any FTA


17/22


Ind ia on Tuesday sa id i t was against inclusion of 'data exclusivi ty' provision in

any of i ts free trade agreements as i t wou ld hurt i nterests of the domestic

pharmaceuticals industry, dominated by generics.

Commerce and Industry Anand Shrma sa id that d ata protecti on must be

respected a s data excl usivi ty i s beyond the provi si ons of Trade Rel ated

Aspects of Intel lectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement under WTO.

"India does not provide data exclusivity for pharmaceuticals and agro-

chemicals, which is in the paramount interest of our generic pharmaceutical

industry as grant of data exclusivity would have considerable impact in

delaying the entry into the market of cheaper generic drugs," he sa id.

India's generic drug industry is estimated at over $20 bil l ion and the

country exports 50 per cent of its produce.

Data exclusivity provides protection to the technical data generated

by innovator companies to prove the usefulness of their products.

In pharmaceutical sector, d rug companies generate th e data through

expensive g loba l cl in ica l tri al s to prove the e ffi cacy and sa fety of thei r new

medicine.

By ga in ing exclusive rights over th is data , innovator companies can prevent

thei r competi tors from obta in ing marketing l i cence for l ow-cost versions

during the tenure of th is exclusivity.

The 27-nation bloc EU, wi th which India i s presently negotiating a

comprehensive market opening pact, is pressing hard to include data

exclusivity in the proposed Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement

(BTIA).

India and EU are negotiating BTIA that wi ll i nclude trade i n goods,

services and i nvestments since June 2007. However, i nclusion of

issues l ike data exclusivity, chi ld labour and environment in the pact

are acting as a stumbling bloc.

India strongly opposes i nclusion of these i ssues i n any free trade

pact.

On the drug seizure i ssue, Sharma sa id that European Union (EU) wi l l soon

amend i ts ru le to stop re-occurrence of d rug sei zu re by some EU member

nations.

Indi a a nd Brazi l h ad d ragged the EU to the WTO i n May l ast yea r a fter over

15 instances of seizure of its generic or off-patent pharmaceuticals


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consignments i n Europe, mainly by the Netherlands, on grounds that they

v io lated EU patent laws.

Sharma a lso expressed concerns over the a ttempt of certa in devel oped

countri es to enact Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) which

contains provisions in addition to those provided by TRIPS in WTO on

enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR).

The ACTA proposed between the EU, the US, Austral ia, Canada, Japan, Korea,

New Zealand and Switzerland seeks to widen the scope of protection and sets

hi gher standa rds for en forcemen t of IPRs beyond the provi si ons of th e

existing TRIPS pact in WTO.

Sharma, al so said that there was four fold increase in the filing of

patents from 8,503 applications in 2000-01 to 34,290 in 2009- 10.


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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Major Radioactive Elements

Scientists measure rad ioactive materia ls in half-lives, or the time it takes to

halve the radiation through natural decay. Half-lives range from fractions of

a second to bil l ions of years.

Major radioactive elements, with half-lives:

Iodine 131, 8 d ays. It i s produced by the fi ssi on of u ranium a toms and has

been b lamed for causing thyro id cancer among young people after the 1986

Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union. "In Japan, the iodine 131 is mostly gone. The concern is more with elements

with longer half-lives, like caesium and strontium," according to officials.

Caesium 134, two years, caesium 137, 30 years. Caesium can be absorbed

in food and water or inha led as dust. I t i s easi ly taken up p lants and an imals .

Ruthenium 103, 39 days; Ruthenium 106, about a year

Strontium 90, 30 years

Plutonium 239, 24,100 years -Japan has found p lutonium at the reactor but

sa id th at th e l evel s were simi la r to those found a t a l ocati on fa r from an

atmospheric nuclear test.

Uranium 234, one of the three natural uranium isotopes, 247,000 years.

Uranium 235, 710 mi ll ion years.

Uranium 238, 4 .5 b il l ion years.


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SPORTS

Ricky Ponting steps down as Australian Skipper

Ricky Ponting, the most successful captain in 1 34 years of test

cricket, resigned as the Austra l ian test and one-day skipper on Tuesday but

a ims to continue p laying the game at the h ighest leve l.

The 36-year-old had l ed Austra li a i n one day i nternational s since 2002 and

tests s ince 2004, a period encompassing h is country's absolute domination of

world cricket and steady decl ine after the retirement of a go lden generation of

players.

With Cri cket Austra li a under pressure to sack h im i n the wake of a home

Ashes defeat to Eng land and a quarter- fina l exi t a s defending champions atthe World Cup th is year, the tough Tasmanian decided to fa l l on h is sword.

RARELY LOVED

Australia won 48 of 77 tests and 164 of 228 one day internationals,

including two World Cups, under Ponting. No other captain has won

as many games in either form.

Admired but rare ly loved in Austra l ia , Ponting admitted that h is tenure as h is

country's 42nd test capta in wou ld probably be remembered by some for

the three Ashes series losses he oversaw.

"It's funny how we talk about losing the Ashes series three times," he said.

"Playing on three World Cup winning teams doesn't come up every often,

winning 16 consecutive test matches doesn't come up very much, winning 30-

odd consecutive World Cup matches doesn't come up very often. "I know

within myself. .. what I've achieved in the game and I'm very proud of it, said

Ponting.


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Most Successful Captain

Ricky Ponting, who holds the record for most wins as a captain in 134 years

of test cricket, announced h is retirement as Austral ian test and one-day skipper on

Tuesday. Here is a l ist of the most successful test captains.

Captain (Country) Matches Won Lost Tied Draw

Ricky Ponting (Aus) 77 48 16 0 13

Steve Waugh (Aus) 57 41 9 0 7

Graeme Smith (SA) 83 38 24 0 21

Clive Lloyd (WI) 74 36 12 0 26

Allan Border (Aus) 93 32 22 1 38

Ponting, the Punter


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Played h is first test and one-day international in 1 995 and has gone on to

establ ish h imsel f as th e one of th e g rea test ba tsmen a nd most su ccessfu l

captains the game has seen.

Has scored 12,363 test runs, i nclud ing 39 centuries, and 13,288 ODI

runs, including 30 centuries. Only Ind ia's Sach in Tendu lkar has scored more

international runs and hundreds than the Tasmanian.

Ponting has won a lmost every i nd ividual award on offer i n the game, i nclud ing

be ing named as the ICC player of the year in 2006 and 2007, the only man

to win the award twice. He was a lso named the ICC's test p layer of the year in

2006 and capta in of the year in 2007.

Nicknamed "Punter", he took over from Steve Waugh as Austra li an one-day

skipper i n 2002 and l ed h is team to vi ctory i n the 2003 Worl d Cup, scori ng an

unbeaten 140 in the final . He led Australia to back-to-back World Cup titles

in 2007. The only other captain to win successive World Cups was West

Indian Clive Lloyd.

Ponting capta ined Austra l ia in 228 ODIs for 164 wins, 50 losses and 14 ties or no

results. His 164 wins remains a record for any ODI captain.

Ponting took over as Austra l ia 's 42nd test capta in when Steve Waugh retired in

2004 and en joyed i nstant success but h is leadersh ip soon came under question

when Austra l ia lost the Ashes to Eng land in 2005.

Ponting avenged that defeat by steering Austra li a to a ru th less 5-0 wh itewash

aga inst Engl and i n the 2006-7 Ashes seri es bu t the reti rements of h is sen ior

p layers, including Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gi lchrist, Matthew Hayden

and Justin Langer, suddenly left h im lead ing a young and inexperienced team.

Austra l ia lost a rare test series at home to South Africa and were then beaten in

each of the next two Ashes series, sl ipp ing down the world rankings and lead ing

to ca l ls for Ponting to step aside.

Ponti ng capta ined Austra li a i n a tota l of 77 tests for 48 wins, 16 l osses and 13

draws. His 48 wins remains a record for any international skipper, but h is success

was largely overshadowed by h is l osses and he ended h is test capta incy as the

only Austral ian skipper to lose three Ashes series.

current affairs march 30

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