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Weekly Current Affairs updateFor the Week March 27 to April 2, 2011

Major news of the week

Section A: INDIA

Leela Samson appointed new Chairperson of Board ofFilm Certification

Lalit Bhasin appointed new Chairperson of FilmAppellate Tribunal

Sukhadeo Thorat appointed new Chairperson of ICSSR India's wild tiger population at 1706 in 2010 Tiger

census AERB sets up committee on safety of nuclear plants India-Pakistan Home Secretary Level talks conclude International World Wide Web conference organised Partners in Population and Development meet organised

MCI proposes major changes in MBBS curriculum Black Carbon Research Initiative launched Machine translation systems for Indian languages

unveiled NICF and Spectrum Institute to be set up in Delhi National Maritime Day observed on March 5, 2011 Right to Education (RTE) Act completes one year National Museum of Statistics to come up in Hyderabad Water barge Pamba inducted into Indian Navy Tenure of Wadhwa Committee on PDS extended Gujarat releases Braille version of RTI Gujarat Assembly resolution bans Lelyveld's book

Bihar launches e-Z card for distribution of scholarships Sikkim Assembly supports demand for Gorkhaland Indias oldest civil servant Chacko passes away

Section B: WORLD

World Theatre Day observed Libyan Foreign Minister defects to UK

Section C: AWARDS

FICCI Frames awards conferred

Bihar CM conferred Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal Padma awards presented to 64 winners DAE Lifetime Achievement Awards 2009 conferred Bengaluru Airport declared Indias best by Skytrax

Section D: ECONOMY & CORPORATE

FDI norms liberalised Exports up 39%, imports rise 24% in Oct-Dec 2010 FII, ECBs up, FDI down in Oct-Dec 2010 Indias External Debt at 297.5 Billion on Dec 31 Central Registry to prevent fraud in loan cas

operationalised Terms of reference of JPC on 2G notified Govt. to set up a National Mission for Electric Mobility India Smart Grid Forum website launched Govt. approves aid for GAGAN

PAT scheme for energy intensive sectors launched India will not provide data exclusivity to MNC pharm

cos Vodafone to buy out Essar's stake for $5 billion Kaushik Basu to design I-T revenue forecasting model Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry meets Union Bank is the first to facilitate payment of IT

ATMs SBI selected as the sole fund manager for EPFO Rabobank gets approval to set up branch in India Indias forex reserves at $303.48 bn on March 25 PFC sets up green' funding arm

Sridharan named acting chairman of SBI Govt. shareholding in Oriental Bank reaches 58% LIC Mutual Fund renamed Railways adds 700 km of new lines in 2010-11 Govt. to set up Indirect Tax Ombudsmen' in 7 cities Tax exemption granted for Cricket World Cup India enters top-10 clean energy investment list India among top 10 industrial nations UNIDO

Section E: SPORTS

India wins 2011 ICC World Cup

Yuvraj Singh is Man of the Series at ICC World Cup Vettel wins Australian GP

Mallya is new Chairman of Indian Banks' Association Anand Mahindra resigns from Air India Board Public Health Foundation accepts Rajat Gupta's resignation Churchill Brothers wins IFA Shield

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Section A: INDIA

Leela Samson appointed Chairperson of

Central Board of Film Certification

Leela Samson, a noted Bharatnatyam dancer,choreographer, instructor and writer has been appointed asChairperson of Central Board of Film Certification in anhonorary capacity from April 1, 2011 for a period of threeyears.

Samson has been known for her technical virtuosity, andtaught Bharatnatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra inDelhi for many years. Presently she is the Director ofKalakshetra, the institute for the classical arts founded bythe Late Rukmini Devi Arundale. She is also theChairperson of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indias National

Academy for Music Dance and Drama. She has beenawarded the Padma Shree for her contribution in the field ofarts.

Lalit Bhasin, a renowned lawyer has been appointed asChairperson of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. Theappointment is for a period of three years. The FCAT hearsthe appeals filed under Section 5C of the Act under whichany applicant for a Certificate in respect of a film who isaggrieved by an order of the Central Board of FilmCertification (CBFC), can file an Appeal before the Tribunal.

Bhasin is also the Vice-President of the Bar Association ofIndia. He is also Chairman of the Services Export PromotionCouncil, established by the Ministry of Commerce and aMember of the ICC International Court of Arbitration apartfrom being a Member of the Task Force on Arbitration setup by ICC. He has several awards to his credit whichinclude Gandhi National Unity Award, 1991, the Plaque ofHonour given by the Prime Minister for his outstandingcontribution to the Rule of Law in 2002 and the NationalLaw Day Award given by the President of India in 2007.

Deepa Dixit and Gurjeet Singh Behl have also been

appointed as Members of the Film Certification AppellateTribunal for a period of three years.

Thorat assumes office as ICSSR chairperson: The IndianCouncil of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has nominatedSukhadeo Thorat as its chairperson for three years. TheICSSR is fully funded by the Human Resource DevelopmentMinistry. Professor Thorat, a former chairperson of theUGC, took charge on April 1, 2011 from Javeed Alam.

Recipient of Padma Shri in 2008, Professor Thorat is

faculty member at the JNU.

India's wild tiger population at 1706 in 2010Tiger census

India's wild tiger population has grown 12 per cent in thlast four years. According to the 2010 tiger census, whoresults were declared on March 28, 2011, there aapproximately 1,706 tigers in the country, which includabout 70 in the marshes of the Sunderbans. The 200census had estimated that there were 1,411 tigers, withoincluding any from the Sunderbans.

As per the release of India Tiger Estimate 2010, thpopulation estimate of tiger in 2010 show the total range olower limit as 1571 and the upper limit at 1875. Thpopulation estimate 1706 is a statistical estimate of the tigpopulation number. The estimate of 2006 shows lower limat 1165 and upper limit at 1675. The population estimate fTiger Census 2006 was total 1411.

As many as 30% of the tiger population lives in areaoutside the 39 Tiger Reserves, giving conservationists new challenge in the effort to protect them.

Tiger occupancy areas shrunk from 9.369 million hectarein 2006 to 7.285 million hectares in 2010.

Karnataka has the largest number of tigers at 30Conservation efforts have been successful in the entiWestern Ghats area. The Terai belt of grasslands at thHimalayan foothills in Uttarakhand has also done well nurturing their tiger populations. The largest number tigers at a single reserve is 100 at Kaziranga in Assam.

The census reveals that most tiger source sites continue maintain viable tiger populations. State where increase population observed are Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Assa

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. State where population hbeen stable are: Bihar, UP, Chhattisgarh, JharkhanRajasthan, Orissa, Mizoram, West Bengal and KeraStates where population has declined are: Madhya Pradesand Andhra Pradesh. New areas populated by tigers includKuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Shivpuri National Pain Madhya Pradesh.

The census process was carried out in three phasebetween Dec 2009 and Dec 2010. The tiger estimatio

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procedure included collection of field data at the beat-level(i.e. the primary patrolling unit) by trained personnel using astandardised protocol in the first phase. The second phasewas analysis of habitat status of tiger forests using satellite

data and the third phase dealt with camera trapping. It wasthe primary method used, where individual tigers wereidentified from photographs based on their unique stripepatterns.

Tiger Population Estimate in 2010-Region wiseAreaoccupiedin 2006(millionhectares)

Areaoccupiedin 2010(millionhectares)

No.in2006

No.in2010

Shivalik GangeticPlains (Uttarakhand,UP, Bihar)

0.517 0.727 297 353

Central India andEastern Ghats (AP,MP, Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra,Orissa, Rajasthan,Jharkhand)

4.86 3.44 601 601

Western Ghats(Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu)

3.4 2.56 412 534

North East Hills andBrahmaputra Flood

Plains (Assam,Arunachal Pradesh,Mizoram, NorthernWest Bengal)

0.423 0.377 100 148

Sunderbans 0.158 0.164 NA 70

Total 9.369 7.285 1411 1706

AERB sets up committee on nuclear safety

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has set up a10-member committee to examine whether the countrys 20nuclear plants can withstand earthquakes and other

external events such as tsunamis, cyclones, floods, etc.That includes checking if the arrangements are adequate toensure safety in case of such events, both within andbeyond the design.

The committee, chaired by AERBs former chairman, S KSharma, held its first meeting is on March 28, 2011.Committee members include representatives of AERB,Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Nuclear PowerCorporation, IIT-Madras, Indian Institute of Tropical

Meteorology, Pune, and Central Water & Power ResearcStation, Pune.

Indian plants were, depending on the sites, designed f

various magnitudes of earthquakes, ranging from 5.5 to 6on the Richter scale. During the 2004 tsunami, nucleplants in south India were able to withstand the effects. Thearthquake following the tsunami in Japan was quunprecedented and the committee will revisit the safeapplications installed in Indian plants.

Indian plants were located in seismic zones II, III and IAfter selection of the site, a detailed seismic survey carried out, considering the earthquakes in that region fthe past about 300 years. Based on the major data aninferred data from the history, the magnitude of possibearthquakes and ground acceleration is calculated. Furtheby a formula, the magnitude of earthquake assumed enhanced. The structures of plant and equipment inside adesigned in line with the enhanced magnitudes.

Further, Indian nuclear plants have an Exclusion Zone

1.6 km surrounding the power station, in which no habitatiois permitted. The entire area is fenced or walled and definethe boundary of the site. Beyond this is the public domaand an area of 16 km radius around the plant site is callethe Off Site Emergency Planning Zone.

India-Pakistan Home Secretary Level talk

concludeThe two day India-Pakistan Home/Interior Secretary levTalks concluded in New Delhi on March 29, 2011.

The Indian delegation was led by Gopal K. Pillai, HomSecretary of India, while the Pakistan delegation waheaded by Qamar Zaman Chaudhary, Interior Secretary Pakistan. The two sides took forward the dialogue proceon several issues and came out with a joint statement.

Both sides agreed to set up a Hotline between HomSecretary of India and Interior Secretary of Pakistan facilitate real time information sharing with respect

terrorist threats.

Both sides reiterated their commitment to fight terrorism all its forms and manifestations and reaffirmed the need bring those responsible for such crimes to justice. Pakistaside provided updates on the ongoing trial and investigatioin Pakistan on the Mumbai Terror Attacks. Pakistaconveyed its readiness, in principle, based upon thprinciple of comity and reciprocity, to entertain Commission from India with respect to Mumbai Terr

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Attack investigations. India provided information on the on-going Samjhautha Express blast case investigation. It wasalso agreed that after filing of report in the court, updatedinformation will be shared with the concerned Pakistan

authorities.

Both sides noted and welcomed the release of prisonersand fishermen by each other since the last round of Talks.Both sides agreed that the problem and issues of theinadvertent crossers should be viewed sympathetically, andin a focused and sensitive manner. Accordingly, both sidesalso agreed to task the Coast Guard of India and PakistanMaritime Security Agency to work on setting up amechanism for release of inadvertent crossers (fishermen)and their boats on the same lines as the inadvertentcrossers on land. The Group will submit its report to theHome/Interior Secretaries before the next round of Talks.

Both sides commended the work done by the JudicialCommittee on Prisoners for the release, repatriation andhumane treatment of prisoners and agreed on the need forits continuation. The next meeting of the Judicial Committeewould be held from April 19-23, 2011 in Pakistan.

Both sides shared the concern of the growing menace ofNarcotics/Drugs and agreed that cooperation between NCBof India and ANF of Pakistan should be enhanced to ensurean effective control on drug trafficking. It was further agreedthat Talks between DG, NCB and DG ANF would be heldannually. Indian side accepted the invitation for DG NCB to

visit Pakistan in May 2011 for talks with DG ANF. The MoUon Drug Demand Reduction and Prevention of IllicitTrafficking in Narcotics Drugs/Psychotropic Substances andPrecursor Chemicals and related matters as finalized will

be formally signed at the next DG level meeting of NCB-ANF in May 2011.

It was decided that CBI and FIA will schedule a meeting towork out the technical details of moving forward on issuesof, human trafficking, counterfeit currency, cyber crimes andRed Corner Notices (RCNs).

Both sides agreed to set up a Joint Working Group toexamine the modalities for streamlining the visaprocedure/modalities and for giving a final shape to revisionof the Bilateral Visa Agreement.

International World Wide Web conferenceorganised

The 20th

International World Wide Web conference wasorganised in Hyderabad from March 28 to April 1, 2011. Thenext conference will be organised at Lyons, France in April

2012. The WWW Conference series aims to provide tworld a premier forum for discussion and debate about thevolution of the Web, the standardization of its associatetechnologies, and the impact of those technologies o

society and culture. The conferences bring togethresearchers, developers, users and commercial venturesindeed all who are passionate about the Web and whathas to offer.The conferences are organized by the International WorlWide Web Conference Committee in collaboration wLocal Organizing Committees and Technical PrograCommittees. The series provides an open forum in which opinions can be presented, subject to a strict process peer review.

Three Keynote Speakers at the conference were Dr. A. P. Abdul Kalam, the 11

thPresident of India (2002-2007), S

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web aChristos H. Papadimitriou, C. Lester Hogan Professor Computer Science at UC Berkeley, US.

About Sir Tim Berners-LeeBerners-Lee conceived of and developed the web with hefrom Robert Cailliau and others at the nuclear physilaboratory European Organization for Nuclear Resear(CERN). He is currently serving as Professor at thMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA anUniversity of Southampton, UK. He is also the Director the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which develo

interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelinesoftware, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. His a founding Director of the Web Science Trust (WSlaunched in 2009 to promote research and education Web Science, the multidisciplinary study of humanconnected by technology. He is also a Director of the WorWide Web Foundation, launched in 2009 to fund acoordinate efforts to further the potential of the Web benefit humanity.

Partners in Population and Development meorganised

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, GhulaNabi Azad, reiterated India's commitment to the promotioof South-South Cooperation and strengthening of Partnein Population and Development (PPD) at the 17

thExecuti

Committee of PPD at New Delhi on April 2, 2011. Azacalled upon the Member Countries to increase their annucontribution and provide long-term fellowships and wotowards institutionalization of South-South mechanism various areas.

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PPD is an intergovernmental initiative created specificallyfor the purpose of expanding and improving South-to-Southcollaboration in the fields of reproductive health, populationand development. PPD was launched at the 1994

International Conference on Population and Development(ICPD), when ten developing countries from Asia, Africa andLatin America formed an intergovernmental alliance to helpimplement the Cairo Programme of Action (POA). ThisPOA, endorsed by 179 nations, stresses the need toestablish mechanisms to promote development through thesharing of experiences in Reproductive Health (RH) andFamily Planning (FP) within and among countries and topromote effective partnerships among the governments,Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), researchinstitutions and the private sector.India is currently the Chairman of PPD and China is theVice-Chair. The Secretariat of PPD is situated in Dhaka,Bangladesh. The Annual Meeting of PPD in 2010 was heldat Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The 2011 Annual Meeting of PPDis being held in South Africa in November, 2011.

MCI proposes major changes in MBBScurriculum

The Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India(MCI) has proposed major changes in the undergraduatecurriculum and training programme that would create anIndian Medical Graduate, who will have necessary

competence to assume his or her role as a healthcare

provider.

The Indian Medical Graduate will have to pass an exit

exam after an internship to get licence to practise anywherein the country. The national-level exit exam is expected toset a standard for doctors. The MCI also proposes tointroduce the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test from2012.

A new two-year Master of Medicine (M. Med) programme isalso proposed with focus on skill development. Degreeholders will be eligible to teach undergraduate courses.There will be no competitive exam for this course and the

assessment will be based on the student's performanceduring the course and the national exit exam.

After M. Med, students would have the option of pursuingone of the five doctorate streams depending on the aptitudeand professional aspirations. After M. Med, the graduateswould be able to compete for Doctor of Medicine or Masterof Surgery or other dual programmes (MD-PhD, MHA, MD-DM and MD-fellowships).

An additional weightage of 5 per cent would be given candidates for putting in six months of intensive rurservice during the M. Med course. The duration aftfinishing MBBS course would be M. Med (2 years); on

more year will get candidate an MD degree.

The restructured curriculum laid emphasis on clinicexposure, integration of basic and clinical sciences, cliniccompetence and skills and new teaching-learnimethodologies that would lead to a new generation graduates of global standards.

This information was given by Dr. S.K. Sarin, ChairpersoBoard of Governors of the MCI, said on March 29, 2011 New Delhi at the national meet on Implementation

Reforms in Undergraduate and Postgraduate MedicEducation where the proposed reforms were adopted.

The proposals will have to be approved by the Ministry Health and Family Welfare before their implementation 2012.

Black Carbon Research Initiative launched

The science plan of the Black Carbon Research InitiativNational Carbonaceous Aerosols Programme (NCAP) undthe aegis of the Indian Network for Climate ChangAssessment, INCCA was launched by the UnioEnvironment Ministry on March 29, 2011.

The NCAP envisages inventorisation, modeling, trackiand assessment of the impact of black carbon on meltinglaciers through involvement of over 101 institutioncountrywide. The programme builds on the existing wounder the aegis of Ministry of Earth Sciences, ISROMinistry of Science and Technology and other associateagencies and experts. Network for Climate ChangAssessment (INCCA) was launched in October 2009.

INCCA is a network of over 125 R&D institutioncountrywide. Under the aegis of INCCA, two national levassessments have already been published, one in M

2010 on Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2007 and the other,4x4 Climate Change Impact Assessment in Novemb2010, for 4 climate sensitive regions of India for 4 sectorsAgriculture, Water, Forests and Health.

Machine translation (MT) systems for Indian languageunveiled: Former President APJ Abdul Kalam on March 32011 launched the Machine translation (MT) systems fIndian languages at the 20

thInternational World Wide We

conference in Hyderabad. Based on the Computation

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Paninian Grammar (CPG), MT systems are available inthree modules Sampark (Indian to Indian), AnglaMT(English to Bengali, Malayalam, Punjabi and Urdu) andAnuvadaksh (English to Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya,

Urdu and Tamil). These have been developed by aconsortium of 11 Indian academic and research institutes,led by IIIT Hyderabad (IIIT-H).

NICF and Spectrum Institute to be set up in Delhi: Thefoundation stone for National Institute of CommunicationFinance (NICF) and Institute of Advance Radio SpectrumEngineering and Management Studies (IARSEMS) was laidby Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in Delhi on March 28,2011. IARSEMS will facilitate efficient spectrum planning toachieve optimal spectrum use. NICF primarily caters to thetraining needs of Indian P&T Accounts and Financeservices Officers (IP&TAFS) Group A Group B and the

awareness needs of various stakeholders of the USO Fundscheme. NICF also serves as a national level training andresearch centre for Telecom policies, Planning & Licensing,Postal accounts, Finance and Internal Audit and relatedsubjects.

National Maritime Day observed: March 5, 2011 wasobserved as the National Maritime Day. The 48

thNational

Maritime Week was observed from March 29 to April 5. TheNational Maritime Day is celebrated every year on 5

thApril

to commemorate the voyage of the first Indian Ship S.S.

Loyalty from Mumbai to London on 5th April, 1919. The

theme for this year is Indian Coast Line-A NewOpportunity. The principal objective of celebrating the Dayis to enable the public to know more intimately about theactivities of the Indian Shipping Industry and the importantrole it plays in the economy of the country.

Right to Education (RTE) Act completes one year: Asmany as 8.1 million children are still out of school, 21 percent of the teachers at the primary level are withoutadequate qualification and as many as 9 per cent schoolshave only the one teacher. These are the findings of theHuman Resource Development Ministry on the completionof the first year of The Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education Act, 2009 on April 1, 2011. As manyas 15 states had notified the Rules under the Right toEducation (RTE) Act while 11 had constituted StateCommissions for Protection of Child Rights. Teachers whodid not possess qualification were given five years to equipthemselves.

National Museum of Statistics to come up inHyderabad: Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam onMarch 31, 2011 laid the foundation stone for Sankhya the

National Museum of Statistics at the University Hyderabad. Sankhya is designed to showcase the history statistics and data relating to people and the country. would serve as a repository of current information on issu

related to health, education and economy for the public.

Water barge Pamba inducted into Indian Navy: A 93tonne water barge, Pamba, was inducted to the flotilla auxiliary craft of the Indian Navy at the Southern NavCommand, Kochi on March 30, 2011. The 50m-long vesswhen fully loaded, can carry 500 tonnes of water and manned by a crew of 17.

Wadhwa Committee's tenure extended: The SupremCourt on March 29, 2011 extended by six months the tenuof the Justice Wadhwa Committee formed to probe tissues in the Public Distribution System. The courdirection came after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves anAdditional Solicitor-General Mohan Parasaran informed thcourt that the panel's term had ended and requesteextension.

Gujarat releases Braille version of RTI: A Braille versioof the Right to Information Act and its rules was released bthe Gujarat Information Commission for the benefit of thvisually challenged on March 31, 2011 at Gandhinagar. ThCommission was also working on bringing out an audio Cfor the visually challenged and other differently abled peopto explain the Act.

Gujarat House passes resolution to ban Lelyveldbook: The Gujarat government has banned JosepLelyveld's controversial book, Great Soul: Mahatma Gand

and His struggle with India, which allegedly calls the Fathof the Nation a racist and bisexual. A resolution to ban thsale, distribution and reprint of the book was moved in thAssembly on March 30, 2011 Chief Minister Narendra Moand adopted unanimously.

Bihar launches e-Z card for distribution scholarships: The Nitish Kumar Government on March 22011 launched a new e-Z pay card to facilitate distributio

of scholarships and honorariums awarded by the state students belonging to the SC, ST and OBC. The carwhose services can be availed of through SBIs ATnetwork, obviates the need for a bank account and does ndictate a minimum balance requirement. Chief MinistKumar recounted the necessity of starting the scheme in thwake of tardy disbursement of scholarships as banks weslow to open accounts for the students.

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Sikkim Assembly supports demand for Gorkhaland: TheSikkim Assembly on March 29, 2011 passed a resolutionstating that the formation of Gorkhaland is the only solutionto ensure free movement of traffic on National Highway 31A

the life line of the land-locked State. CM Pawan KumarChamling said that disturbances in neighbouring Darjeelinghad shown no signs of let-up over the years resulting in thedisruption of free movement of traffic along the highway andthat a remedy lay only in a permanent solution.

Indias oldest civil servant Chacko passes away: P.Mathew, one of the last surviving members of the IndiaCivil Service, in which he had a distinguished careepassed away at the age of 97 on March 28, 2011. H

entered the ICS in 1936 and joined government service the Madras Presidency. Mathew retired from governmeservice in October 1972, ending a 36-year-long civil servicareer marked by a reputation for upstanding integrity anefficiency.

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Section B: WORLDNews round up

World Theatre Day observed: World Theatre Day wasobserved on March 27, 2011. Created in 1961 by the Paris-based International Theatre Institute (ITI), the World TheatreDay is celebrated annually on March 27 by the internationaltheatre community. Events are organized to mark thisoccasion. This includes the circulation of the World TheatreDay International Message by a figure of world stature onhis/her reflections on the theme of Theatre. The 2011message was by Jessica Kaahwa from Uganda.

Libyan Foreign Minister defects to UK: Libya's higprofile Foreign Minister Moussa Muhammad Koussa oMarch 30, 2011 defected to Britain saying he was no longwilling'' to represent his country. Koussa previously headethe Libyan intelligence agency (1994-2009), and wconsidered one of the closest associated of leadMuammar Qadhafi. British intelligence agencies might havfacilitated his defection as part of the West's campaign induce the Qadhafi loyalists to desert him.

Section C: AWARDSFICCI Frames awards conferred

Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman and Aishwarya RaiBachchan bagged the top honours at the FICCI FramesAwards organised in Mumbai on March 25, 2011.Jackman,known for his role as Wolverine' in the popular X Menseries, received the FICCI Frames ExcellenceInternational Honour while Aishwarya got the Decade ofGlobal Achievement Honour for her accomplishments inHindi cinema. Dabangg was Best Film of the Year while

My Name Is Khan won the Best Actor award for Shah

Rukh Khan and Best Director trophy for Karan Johar.Vidya Balan won the Best Actressaward for Ishqiya.

On the television front, Sushant Singh Rajput got the BestActor Award (Male) for serial Pavitra Rishta and Rashmi

Desai won the Best Actor Award (Female) for Uttaran.

Sony TV's Indian Idol 5 was declared the most successful

non-fiction show of the year. Best TV Series Fiction Awardwas given to Pavitra Rishta (Balaji Telefilms). Best General

Entertainment Channel Award was won by Star Plus, whileRadio Mirchi was adjudged the Best Radio Channel.

Bihar CM conferred Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal: BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar was on March 26, 2011conferred the Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial andSocial Peace 2011 by XLRI (Xavier Labour RelationsInstitute)-Jamshedpur for his role in effecting Bihar'sturnaround within a short span.

Padma awards presented to 64 winners: PresidentPratibha Patil presented the second lot of Padma awards for2011 to 64 winners on April 1, 2011. The winners included

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek SingAhluwalia, the former Attorney-General K. Parasaran, anthe former Finance Commission Chairman Vijay LaxmaKelkar. In all, the government had announced 128 award 13 Padma Vibhushan, 31 Padma Bhushan and 8Padma Sri on January 25, 2011. At the first investituceremony on March 24, the President presented the awarto four Padma Vibhushan, 15 Padma Bhushan and 4Padma Shri winners. On April 1, eight persons received th

Padma Vibhushan, 16 the Padma Bhushan and 40 thPadma Shri.

DAE Lifetime Achievement Awards 2009 conferreLifetime Achievement Awards 2009 of the Department Atomic Energy were conferred on the winners by PM DManmohan Singh in New Delhi on March 29, 2011. Thwinners included N. Srinivasan, Dr. V. K. Iya, ProfessObaid Siddiqi and V. K. Mehra.

Bengaluru Airport declared Indias best by SkytraBengaluru International Airport (BIA) was on March 32011 awarded the Best Airport India award by Skytra

World at the airport awards ceremony in CopenhageDenmark. The award is based on 11.38 million survequestionnaires completed by over 100 nationalities of worair travellers, covering more than 240 airports worldwide 2011.

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Section D: ECONOMY & CORPORATEFDI norms liberalised

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion onMarch 31, 2011 announced a slew of changes in its policieson foreign direct investment. These include allowingoverseas firms in existing joint ventures to operatesimultaneously in the same business segments. Earlier,overseas companies needed the prior approval of theirIndian partners.

During the first 11 months of this fiscal (April-February), FDIinflows into India declined by 25 per cent to $18.3 billion.India has received $144 billion of foreign direct investmentsince 1991, when it first opened the economy to foreigninflows.

HIGHLIGHTS Foreign companies need not get permission from their

Indian joint venture partners if they plan to set up newunits in the 'same field' of business or wish to partnerwith another Indian firm

Companies to prescribe a formula for transformingconvertible instruments (like debentures, partly paidshares, preferential shares, among others) into equity atmarket conversion

Businesses simplified into two categories - India-ownedand foreign investors-owned

Equity permitted in exchange for import of capital

goods, machinery and equipment FDI allowed in development and production of seedsand planting material without stipulations like 'controlledconditions'

No change in retail policy-FDI ban in multi-brand retailto remain

On foreign companies having JVs in India: Overseascompanies will no longer need to seek the prior approval oftheir Indian partners if they plan to set up their units in the

same field of business or wish to partner with anothIndian firm. Currently, a foreign player who entered Ind

before January 12, 2005, has to take Government approvand demonstrate that fresh investment in the same fiewould not affect the interests of his domestic joint ventupartner. This was referred to as Press Note 1.

On conversion of debt into equity: The DIPP has alallowed companies to prescribe a formula for transformiconvertible instruments (such as debentures, partly pashares and preferential shares, among others) into equity market conversion, but in accordance with the guidelines FEMA and SEBI. According to the current norm, companieare required to specify upfront the price of convertibinstruments.

New categories: DIPP has also classified companies intwo categories companies owned or controlled foreign investors' and companies owned and controlled Indian investors'. The Government has done away with thearlier categorisation of investing companies', operatincompanies' and investing-cum-operating companies'. Thdecision would have a bearing on companies with majorforeign equity, as they would now be classified as foreigcompanies. For instance, ICICI Bank, in which more than 5per cent equity is owned by overseas entities, will now btreated as a foreign company for the purpose of computinFDI.

No change in retail: No policy changes were madregarding the retail sector where 51 per cent FDI is currenallowed in single brand retail trade only.

Indian companies can offer equity to fund importIndian companies have been given flexibility in raisinoverseas capital by allowing them to give equity to supplieto fund imports of machinery and capital goods. The DIPhas also liberalised conditions for seeking foreig

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10 www.TestFunda.com

investment for the production and development ofagriculture seeds.

Exports up 39%, imports rise 24% in Q3:

Exports recorded a growth of 39.8 per cent, while importsregistered a growth of 24.9 per cent, in the period Octoberto December 2010, according to the Balance of Paymentdata released by the Reserve Bank of India on March 31,2011.

Trade deficit in Oct-Dec 2010: Exports increased to $66billion ($47.2 billon in Oct-Dec 2009), while importsincreased to $97.5 billion ($78.1 billion). The trade deficit(exports minus imports) in increased to $31.6 billion ($30.9billion).

Current account deficit inOct-Dec 2010 declined to $9.7billion in the third quarter, from $12.2 billion in Oct-Dec2009. This is on account of strong recovery in invisiblessurplus. Invisibles receipts grew by 33.8 per cent, whileinvisibles payments grew by 48.2 per cent. Net invisibles(receipts minus payments) increased by 17 per cent,against a decline 19 per cent, to $21.9 billion. Invisiblesinclude travel, transportation, business, software andfinancial services.

Current account deficit in April-Dec 2010: For the periodApril-December 2010, the current account deficit widened to

$38.9 billion ($25.5 billion). This was due to higher tradedeficit at $102.1 billion ($86.8 billion). At this level, currentaccount deficit works out to 3.1 per cent of GDP duringApril-December 2010.

FII, ECBs up, FDI down in Q3

While ECBs and FII increased, FDI declined during thirdquarter (Oct-Dec 2010) of 2010-11 according to the datareleased by the Reserve Bank of India on March 31, 2011.

FDI in Oct-Dec 2010: Inflows under foreign directinvestment (FDI) and short-term trade credits moderated in

the three months. Net FDI flows (net inward FDI minus netoutward FDI) moderated to $2.1 billion from $3 billion a yearago due to lower net inward FDI during the quarter.

FII in Oct-Dec 2010: Net inflows by foreign institutionalInvestors (FIIs) rose to $ 7.2 billion in the third quarter of2010-11, compared with $5.3 billion in October-December2009.

ECBs in Oct-Dec 2011: Net external commercborrowings (ECBs) by Indian companies were significanhigher at $3.6 billion during the quarter, compared with $1billion a year ago.

Indias External Debt at 297.5 Billion on Dec 3

Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance hbeen compiling and releasing quarterly statistics on IndiaExternal Debt for the quarters ending September aDecember every year.

At end-December 2010, Indias external debt stock stooat US$ 297.5 billion reflecting an increase of US$ 36billion (13.9 per cent) over the level of US$ 261.2 billion end-March 2010. The long-term debt increased by US26.0 billion to US$ 234.9 billion i.e. an increase of 12.5 pcent. The short-term debt showed an increase of US$ 10billion to US$ 62.6 billions i.e. an increase of 19.7 per cen

Short-term debt (original maturity) accounted for 21.0 pcentof Indias total external debt while the remaining 79per cent was long-term debt. Component-wise in lonterm debt, the share of commercial borrowings stohighest at 28.5 per cent, followed by NRI deposits (17.0 pcent), multilateral debt (16.0 per cent), bilateral debt (8.5 pcent), export credit (6.4 per cent) IMF (2.1 per cent) anRupee debt (0.6 per cent)

Government (Sovereign) external debt stood at US$ 74billion, (25.0 per cent of total external debt) at enDecember 2010 as against US$ 67.1 billion (25.7 per cenat end-March 2010. The share of non-Government debt wat 75.0 per cent at end-December 2010.

The share of US dollar denominated debt was the highest external debt stock at 53.7 per cent at end-December 201followed by the Indian rupee (19.0 per cent), Japanese Ye(12.0 per cent), SDR (9.7 per cent) and Euro (3.5 per cent

Indias external debt to GDP ratio and debt service ratistood at 16.9 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively, at en

December 2010.

The ratio of short-term external debt to foreigexchange reserves was 21.1 per cent at end-Decemb2010 as compared to 18.8 per cent at end-March 2010.

The share of US dollar denominated debt was the highein external debt stock at 53.7 per cent at end-Decemb2010, followed by the Indian Rupee (19.0 per cen

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Japanese Yen (12.0 per cent), SDR (9.7 per cent) and Euro(3.5 per cent).

The quarterly report of Indias external debt at end-

December 2010 was unveiled by the Ministry of Finance onMarch 31, 2011.

Central Registry to prevent fraud in loan casesoperationalised

The government on March 31, 2011 operationalised theCentral Registry by incorporating the Central Registry ofSecuritisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest ofIndia as a government company under the Companies Act,1956.

Set up as per the announcement made by Finance Ministerduring his budget speech for 2011-12, the objective of theCentral Registry is to prevent frauds in loan cases involvingmultiple lending from different banks on the sameimmovable property. The task of the new company will be tooperate and maintain the Central Registry under theprovisions of the Securitisation and Reconstruction ofFinancial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act,2002 (SARFAESI Act 2002).

For a period of three months, National Housing BankChairman R.V. Verma will hold additional charge as theRegistrar of the Central Registry and will also be the

Managing Director and CEO of the government companyincorporated for the purpose of operating the registrationsystem.

Initially, transactions relating to securitisation andreconstruction of financial assets and those relating tomortgage by deposit of title deeds to secure any loan oradvances granted by banks and financial institutions, asdefined under the SARFAESI Act, are to be registered in theCentral Registry.

The forms for registration and the fees for filing registrationparticulars as well as for taking a search in the Central

Registry have been prescribed by Securitisation andReconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement ofSecurity Interest (Central Registry) Rules, 2011.

Terms of reference of JPC on 2G notified

A Joint Parliamentary Committee has been constitutedunder the Chairmanship of P.C. Chacko, MP to examinematters relating to Allocation and Pricing of Telecom

Licences and Spectrum. Terms of reference of the JPwere notified on April 1, 2011. They are:

(i) To examine policy prescriptions and their interpretatio

by successive Governments, including decisions of tUnion Cabinet and the consequences thereof, in thallocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrufrom 1988 to 2009

(ii) To examine irregularities and aberrations, if any, and thconsequences thereof in the implementation of Governmedecisions and policy prescriptions from 1998 to 2009; and

(iii) To make recommendations to ensure formulation appropriate procedures for implementation of laid dowpolicy in the allocation and pricing of telecom licences.

Govt. to set up a National Mission for ElectrMobility

The Union Cabinet on March 31, 2011 approved a proposto set up a National Mission for Electric Mobility (NCEM) promote electric mobility and manufacturing of electvehicles in India. It would be chaired by the minister heavy industries and public enterprises, and will compriskey central ministries, representatives from the industry anmembers from academia.

The Council will comprise of Ministers from the key CentMinistries/Departments, eminent representatives from tindustry and academia and will be chaired by the Minist(Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises).

The Council will be aided by a 25 member National Boafor Electric Mobility (NBEM) comprising of secretaries stakeholder Central Ministries/ Departments wrepresentation from industry and academia.

The NCEM and NBEM will be serviced by NATRImplementation Society (NATIS) for the time being and future by the National Automotive Board (NAB).

The automobile industry worldwide is gradually shifting more efficient drive technologies and alternative fueincluding electric vehicles. Accordingly, world over majinvestments, incentives and policies are being introduced propagate the development, adoption of electric vehicl(EV) and their manufacturing.

At present, the barriers to greater adoption of ElectrVehicles (EVs) include higher cost of EVs, challenges battery technology, limited range of EVs, lack

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infrastructure, consumer mindset and inadequategovernment support. In order to resolve these barriers andfor electric mobility to take off it is essential that continuedgovernment intervention/support, high level ownership,

adoption of mission mode approach for fast decisionmaking, collaboration amongst various stakeholders, longterm commitment with clearly defined short term and longterm objectives and a synergized - holistic approach isessential. Accordingly, the promotion and manufacturing ofelectric vehicles is being taken up on a mission modeapproach as "National Mission for Electric Mobility".

India Smart Grid Forum website launched

Sam Pitroda, Chairman, Indian Smart Grid Task Force andAdviser to Prime Minister on Public InformationInfrastructure & Innovation, launched the website of IndiaSmart Grid Forum (ISGF) in New Delhi on March 31, 2011.

Smart grids are sophisticated, digitally enhanced power

systems where the use of modern communications andcontrol technologies allows much greater robustness,efficiency and flexibility than todays power systems.

The website will enable authenticated users can get accessto document management system, collaborative working onsame files, team discussions, blog sites, shared calendar,send email to Working group members, manage meetings,scheduling and compare reports etc. This system would

facilitate them to access the files from outside office networkin a secured manner.

The website gives information about functions of ISGTF,tasks of different workgroups formed for ISGTF,methodology for selecting pilot projects for Smart Grid, lossreduction and theft control, data gathering and analysis,power to rural areas and reliability & quality of power tourban areas, Distributed Generation & Renewable, Physicaland cyber security, Standards and Spectrum. List ofmembers of each Work Group is also available on this site.The draft report of different workgroups will be available forsuggestions from various stakeholders after its approval for

public launch.

About ISGF: The India Smart Grid Forum is a non-profitvoluntary consortium of public and private stakeholders withthe prime objective of accelerating development of SmartGrid technologies in the Indian Power Sector. The goal ofthe Forum is to help the Indian power sector to deploySmart Grid technologies in an efficient, cost-effective,innovative and scalable manner by bringing together all thekey stakeholders and enabling technologies. The Forum will

operate in a hierarchical or layered structure with differeworking groups focussing on different aspects of SmaGrid. First meeting of the Forum was held in Septemb2010. Eight Working Groups dealing with the following we

constituted: Advanced transmission, Advancedistribution, Communications, Metering includiInteroperability standards, Consumption & load controPolicy and regulations, Architecture & design ininteroperability and Smart Grid Business model.

About SGTF: The Smart Grid Task Force (SGTF) wconstituted under the Chairmanship of Sam Pitroda, Advisto Prime Minister, Government of India on PubInformation Infrastructure and Innovation. The SGTF is ainter-ministerial group and serves as Governments focpoint for activities related to Smart Grid. The mafunctions of the Smart Grid Task Force to ensuawareness, coordination and integration of the diversactivities related to smart Grid technologies, practices anservices for Smart Grid Research and Development; Cordinate and integrate other relevant inter governmenactivities; Collaborate on interoperability frame worReview and validate the recommendations from India SmaGrid Forum etc.

Govt. approves Rs. 378-cr. aid for GAGAN

The government on March 31, 2011 approved a one timgrant-in aid of Rs. 378 crore as budgetary support f

implementation of GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigatiosystem (GAGAN). The GAGAN system, estimated to coRs. 774 crore, would make the skies from South-East Asto Africa, including Indian airspace, much safer.

The project, being developed jointly by the Airports Authorof India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisatio(ISRO), would place India in the fourth position along wthe U.S., Europe and Japan to have such an advancenavigation system. The project was expected to be ready foperational use by May, 2013.

The project has multiple benefits to the aviation sector an

would help in seamless navigation over Indian airspace.would be an all weather national infrastructure and can bused by defence services, security agencies, Railwaysurface transport, shipping, telecom industry and personusers of position location based services. It will providprecision approach to all aircraft either landing at Indiaairports or overflying the airspace, even over the high seaThe system will offer seamless satellite navigation to atraffic across the Indian Ocean region.

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GAGAN will be compatible with other Space BasedAugmentation Systems like the Wide Area AugmentationSystem of the U.S., the European Geostationary NavigationOverlay Service and the multi-functional Satellite

Augmentation System of Japan.

PAT scheme for energy intensive sectorslaunched

A number of energy intensive industries with energyconsumption more than specified limit have been notifiedunder the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, and selected inthe Phase-I of PAT (perform, achieve, trade) scheme.

The scheme, being implemented from April 1, 2011 acrossIndia by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for energy-intensive large industries, will facilitate to reduce energyconsumption in these industries.

According to the mechanism, companies consuming lessenergy will now be able to sell the efficiency certificates tothe non-efficient ones. The PAT mechanism will enabledesignated consumers who use less energy than the normset for them to earn Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts)for the excess savings. These ESCerts can be used byother designated consumers (who may find it expensive tomeet their norms) for compliance. They will be denominatedin tonnes of oil-equivalent (ToE) and exchanged on special

trading platforms..

According to the scheme, BEE will set a specific energyconsumption target for each plant, depending on level ofenergy intensity of that plant. The target will specify bywhich percentage a plant has to improve its energy intensityfrom the base line value in a period of three years. Further,certificates would be given for energy efficiency, so theindustry will be able to trade these with under-performers.

India will not provide data exclusivity to MNCpharma cos

The government on March 29, 2011 took a firm stand thatIndia will not provide data exclusivity for manufacturers ofpharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals who are seekingprotection of intellectual property rights (IPR) for theirpatented products in India. This was asserted during ameeting of consultative committee of the Parliament onchallenges in Intellectual Property Rights-international anddomestic, which was chaired by minister of commerce andindustry Anand Sharma.

Data exclusivity provides protection to the technical dagenerated by R&D activities of such companies to prove thmerit of usefulness of their products. In the case

pharmaceuticals, it means the data generated by drucompanies through expensive global clinical trials to provthe efficacy and safety of their new medicine. By gaininexclusive rights over this data, innovator companies caprevent their competitors from obtaining marketing licenfor low-cost versions during the tenure of thi exclusivity.

Indian drug firms that make generic versions of patentemedicines get their approvals after proving that their produis bio-equivalent to the original drug. This way, they do nrepeat the same clinical trials conducted by the pateholder company to generate data needed to prove its safeunder current laws.

Under the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which currently under negotiation and is expected to be signewithin the next few months, the EU had been insistent ohaving an exclusive chapter on data exclusivity.

Vodafone to buy out Essar's stake for $5 b

The Essar Group on March 31, 2011 announced its efrom Vodafone Essar by selling its stake in favour of joiventure partner Vodafone as part of a $5-billion deal. TUK-based Vodafone Group would buy out the Ruias' 33 pcent holding in Vodafone Essar, thereby increasing its dire

ownership in the country's third-largest operator to 75 pcent.

Vodafone will need to sell 1.5 per cent stake to an Indiaparty to fall in line with foreign direct investment guidelinethat do not allow foreign companies to own more than 7per cent in a local mobile phone operator.

Prior to this transaction, the Vodafone Group controlled 4per cent in the joint venture through the FDI route and heanother 25 per cent through partners Asim Ghosh (ex CEof Vodafone Essar) and Mr Analjit Singh (Chairman of MaGroup).

According to the shareholders' agreement signed Vodafone and Essar in 2007, Essar had the option of selliits 33 per cent stake in Vodafone Essar before May 8, 201Essar could either sell out entirely to Vodafone for a prdetermined amount of $5 billion or it could sell part of shares to Vodafone in which case the valuation will bbased on the fair market price.

Basu committee to design I-T revenue forecasting: TUnion finance ministry is setting up an expert committee

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design a revenue forecasting model which will be alignedwith the overall planning exercise. Chief Economic AdvisorKaushik Basu is the Chairperson of the expert committee onrevenue forecasting (ECRF) that will suggest ways for

creation of database, time-frame for revenue forecastingand also the scientific model to be adopted by the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for this purpose. The expertcommittee will have representation from various criticalsegments. Principal advisor to the Planning Commission,Pronab Sen, and N R Bhanumurthy from the NationalInstitute of Public Finance and Policy will be part of theECRF.

Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry meets :PM Manmohan Singh presided over the meeting of thePrime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry in New Delhion March 31, 2011. The PM laid down the UPAgovernment's road map for financial sector reforms andinfrastructure development and assured corporates of atransparent and corruption-free environment. Dr. Singhlisted the steps taken relating to enunciation of publicprocurement standards, formulation of a public procurementpolicy, review and abolition of discretionary powers enjoyedby Ministers, and introduction of an open and competitivesystem for the use of natural resources. The PMs

statement was evidently in response to an Open letter' to

political leaders by leading corporates such as Azim Premji,Keshub Mahindra and Deepak Parekh, in which theyexpressed serious concern over a series of scams leading

to governance deficit. The meeting was attended by RatanTata, Rahul Bajaj, Azim Premji, K.M. Birla, Deepak Parekh,Jamshyd Godrej and other members of the Council.

Union Bank is the first to facilitate payment of IT atATMs: The government on March 31, 2011 launched afacility that will enable bank customers to pay income taxthrough ATMs. Initially, the facility is available for UnionBank of India customers and up to eight family memberseven if they do not have a bank account with the publicsector bank. Those with Union Bank debit cards (orrelatives) can register on the lenders website. This site is, in

turn, linked to National Securities Depositories Ltd, which

will help validate the PAN of individuals and Tax DeductionAccount Number provided to taxpayers.

As soon as the registration is valid, a customer, afterlogging in to a bank ATM, can surf the I-T menu that willdisplay his PAN and will ask for the tax amount that is to bepaid along with item-wise details of any other amount. Onconfirmation, the tax amount will be debited to their accountand customer get a receipt containing a number. Customers

can then log in to the banks website, submit the numband print a challan for their recordsSBI selected as the sole fund manager for EPFO : TEmployees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Marc

31, 2011 said its corpus of about Rs 3.5 lakh crore will nobe managed only by State Bank of India for a three-monperiod ending June 30, in an interim arrangement. meeting of EPFOs Central Board of Trustees (CB

recently turned down the proposal to give a three-monextension to the other existing fund managers ICIPrudential, HSBC and Reliance Capital. The three privaplayers were earlier managing the bulk of the total corpus.

Rabobank gets approval to set up branch in India : TNetherlands-based Rabobank has received the ReserBank of India approval to set up a branch. The bank wopen its first branch in Mumbai, said a bank press releason April 1, 2011.

Indias forex reserves at $303.48 bn on March 25: Tcountry's foreign exchange reserves were at $303.48billion for the week ended March 25, according to thWeekly Statistical Bulletin released by the Reserve Bank India. Foreign currency assets were $273.698 billioIndias reserve position at the IMF was $2.409 billion whSDRs were at $5.232 billion.

PFC sets up green' funding arm: Power FinanCorporation Ltd (PFC) said on April 1, 2011 that it ha

incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary company PowFinance Corporation Green Energy Ltd. on March 3The objective of the subsidiary is to provide financsupport for generating green' (renewable and noconventional sources) energy,

Sridharan named acting chairman of SBI: The Uniogovernment has appointed R Sridharan, managing directof State Bank of India (SBI), as acting chairman. O P Bharetired from service on April 01, 2011 after a five-yetenure as chairman. A search panel to select the nechairman had interviewed four Deputy MDs -- HemaContractor, Pratip Chaudhury, Diwakar Gupta and

Krishna Kumar.

Govt. shareholding in Oriental Bank reaches 58%: Tgovernment has infused Rs 1,739.99 crore into OrienBank of Commerce (OBC). This will increase thgovernments shareholding in the Delhi-based bank fro51.09 per cent to 58 per cent. In an extraordinary genermeeting on March 29, 2011, OBCs shareholders approvethe preferential allotment of equity shares worth R1,739.99 crore to the central government. The governme

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had announced capital infusion of Rs 20,157 crore intopublic sector banks in the current financial year to increasetheir capital base. The capital support was given to helpbanks attain a minimum of 8 per cent Tier-I capital by March

31, 2011.LIC Mutual Fund renamed: LIC Mutual Fund was onMarch 30, 2011 rechristened as LIC Nomura Mutual Fund,following the Nomura's acquisition of 35 per cent stake inthe domestic major. Nomura has acquired 35 per cent of thefully paid-up equity share capital of both LIC MF AMC andthe Trustee Company LIC Mutual Fund TrusteeCompany Private Ltd.

Railways adds 700 km of new lines in 2010-11 IndianRailways has completed construction of a record 709 km ofnew lines in 2010-11, according to an official release of theMinistry on March 31, 2011. The highest achievement inconstruction of new lines in one year previously was 357 kmin the year 2008-09. In the case of doubling projects also,the progress during 2010-11 has been 769 km, which is thehighest ever and almost three times the average annualprogress of 260 km of doubling achieved sinceindependence. In terms of gauge conversion, Railwayscompleted 837 km in 2010-11. The overall achievement inconstruction of new lines, gauge conversion and doublingprojects during 2010-11 has been 2315 km, which is alsothe highest ever achieved in a year since independence.The Railways has completed electrification of 972 kmroute during 2010-11 which is again more than the average

annual target of electrification planned during the EleventhPlan.

Govt. to set up Indirect Tax Ombudsmen' in 7 cities :The Union Cabinet on March 31, 2011 approved thecreation of seven posts of Indirect Tax Ombudsmen' to

undertake quick redress of grievances over customs, exciseand service taxes. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by PMManmohan Singh, also approved the Indirect TaxOmbudsman Guidelines 2011. The adjudicating offices areto be set up in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore,Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The Ombudsman an officialwhose job is to examine and report on complaints made by

ordinary people about public authorities will considercomplaints of taxpayers and facilitate their satisfaction orsettlement by agreement through conciliation and

mediation between the departments of Customs, CentralExcise and Service Tax and the aggrieved parties. He willhave the powers to give awards to the aggrieved parties inkeeping with the guidelines.

Tax exemption granted for Cricket World Cup: TheUnion Cabinet on March 31, 2011 approved exemption for

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 from payment of tax on incomaccruing to subsidiaries of the International Cricket Counconly where the contractual obligation to bear tax liability on these entities. The financial implication will b

approximately Rs. 45 crore.

India enters top-10 clean energy investment list: Indhas made its entry into the top 10 clean energy investmelist among the G-20 countries. In 2010, India attracted $billion in private investments, ranking 10

thamong t

member countries. The G-20 members account for 90 pcent of global clean energy finance and investment. Indalso ranked 10

thfor five-year growth rates for renewab

energy capacity, and seventh worldwide in the amount installed capacity, according to Who's Winning thClean Energy Race? 2010 Edition ' released by The PeCharitable Trusts on March 29, 2011. China is ranked firstthe list with $54.4 billion in investments while Germany second at second position ($41.2 billion) followed by the U($34 billion). The report examines the key financiainvestment and technological trends related to clean energThe data has been compiled and reviewed by Pewresearch partner Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

India among top 10 industrial nations UNIDO: Indiaone of the top 10 industrial nations of the world with growing trend of productivity improvements in manufacturing industries, according to a report by thUnited Nations Industrial Development Organisatio

(UNIDO). China has secured the second position after thUS, says the report, titled International Yearbook Industrial Statistics - 2011, released on March 29, 2011.

Mallya is new Chairman of IBA: The Managing Committeof the Indian Banks' Association on March 29, 20selected M. D. Mallya, Chairman and Managing DirectoBank of Baroda, as the Association's new Chairman. Mallysucceeds O. P. Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India. TIBA also appointed K. R. Kamath, CMD, Punjab NationBank, as Deputy Chairman of the Association in place Mallya. The other Deputy Chairmen of the Association aAditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank Ltd, and Alo

Misra, Chairman and Managing Director, Bank of India.

Anand Mahindra resigns from Air India Board: MahindGroup's Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, AnanMahindra's resignation as an independent director on AIndia's board of directors was accepted on March 26, 201Mahindra had sent his resignation to the Civil AviatioMinister, Vayalar Ravi, citing conflict of interest as th

reason for resigning. He was among the four peoplealong with Harsh Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Rea

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Development, Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary-General of FICCI,and former Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major inductedinto Air India's board during Praful Patel's tenure.

PHFI accepts Rajat Gupta's resignation: The PublicHealth Foundation of India (PHFI) on March 31, 2011accepted the resignation of Rajat Gupta, chairperson of itsBoard of Governors, who stepped down on March 16, afterthe United States Securities and Exchange Commissionnamed him a co-conspirator in an insider trading scam,along with billionaire Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon Group,U.S.

Former RBI Governor Y. Venugopal Reddy was appointeinterim chairperson until a regular chairperson. Othmembers of the PHFI governing board include PlanniCommission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwal

National Advisory Council members A. Shiva Kumar aMirai Chatterjee, Nobel Prize winning-economist AmartSen and Co, representatives of the Bill and Melinda GatFoundation, United Nations agencies such as the UNAIDUNICEF, WHO, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfaand some industrialists.

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Section E: SPORTS

India wins 2011 ICC World Cup

India beat Sri Lanka in the final by six wickets to win the2011 ICC Cricket World Cup co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka,and Bangladesh from February 19 to April 2. The fourteennational cricket teams competing in the tournament includedten full members and four associate members of the ICC.

Final: India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the finalplayed at Final played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai onApril 2, 2011 to lift the world cup for the second time aftertheir first win in 1983 in England. Sri Lanka won the tossand decided to bat first scoring 274 runs for six wickets in50 overs. India replied with 277 for 4 in 48.2 overs. Indian

skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who scored 91 not out, wasdeclared Man of the Match.

First semi final: Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand by 5wickets (with 13 balls remaining) in the first semi-finalplayed at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on March 29,2011. New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat andwere all out for 217 runs in 48.5 overs. In reply Sri Lankascored 220 for the loss of 5 wickets in 47.5 overs. SriLankan captain Kumar Sangakkara who scored 54 and tookthree catches in NZ innings was declared Man of the Match.

Second semi final: India beat Pakistan by 29 runs in the

second semi-final played at Punjab Cricket AssociationStadium, Mohali on March 30, 2011. India won the toss andelected to bat first scoring 260 runs at the loss of 9 wicketsin 50 overs. In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 231 runsin 49.5 overs. Sachin Tendulkar was declared Man of theMatch for his score of 85.

Records:

Man of the Series: Yuvraj Singh, who scored 362 runs antook 15 wickets in 9 matches along with four Man of thMatch awards, was declared Man of the series for his round performance.

Top 5 batsmen: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) 500 ruin 9 matches, Sachin Tendulkar (India) 482 runs matches, Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 465 runs in matches, Jonathan Trott (England) 422 runs in 7 matchand Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka) 395 runs in 8 matches

Top 5 bowlers: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) 21 wickets in

matches, Zaheer Khan (India) 21 wickets in 9 matches, TiSouthee (New Zealand) 18 wickets in 8 matches, RobPeterson (South Africa) 15 wickets in 7 matches anYuvraj Singh (India) 15 wickets in 9 matches.

Vettel wins Australian GP: Red Bull driver SebastiaVettel made an ideal start to his Formula One title defencdriving a flawless race to outpace McLaren's LewHamilton and win the season-opening Australian Grand Pin Melbourne on March 26, 2011. Vitaly Petrov (Renauand Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) came third and fourrespectively.

Churchill Brothers wins IFA Shield: Defending champioChurchill Brothers won the 115

thedition of the IFA Shie

defeating McDowell Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the final played the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on March 31, 2011. OdaOkolie and Charan Rai scored the goals for the winnewhile Chidi Edeh scored the only goal for Bagan.

march 27 to april 2_2011

Documents