sree current affairs november-32pages

7/31/2019 Sree Current Affairs NOVEMBER-32pages

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CONTENTS

Disclaimer : All Readers of this book undertake responsibility for the relevance and accuracy of its content. The Publisher cannot Guarantee the accuracy and

Reliability of Content.

Honours & Awards - 2

News Makers - 6

Places in News - 6

Science Snippets - 7

Defence - 8

Space Science - 8

Summits - 9

Committees - 10

Deaths - 10

Economic Scenario - 11

Sports - 14

NationalRound-Up - 16

International Round-Up - 20

Knowledge Capsules - 24

Banking Awareness - 26

(For Bank PO & Clerks Exams)

Current MCQ Capsules - 28


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Current News & Events 2

LatestCurrentAffairsHonours & Awards

British Writer Hilary

Mantel won Booker Prize

for Second TimeBritish Writer Hilary Mantel

on 16 October 2012 won theprestigious literary prize, the BookerPrize for her novel Bring up theBodies, the second in a historicaltrilogy set during the reign of KingHenry VIII. Hilary Mantel had earlierwon the Booker prize in 2009 for"Wolf Hall," the first novel in thetrilogy. Hilary Mantel is the thirdauthor to win the prize twice,alongside South-African-born J.M.Coetzee and Australian PeterCarey. With this she also becamethe first British author, and the firstwoman, to achieve a double BookerPrize. Bring Up the Bodies is alsothe first sequel to win the prize.Bring up the Bodies and Wolf Hallare parts of a planned trilogy aboutThomas Cromwell, the powerfuland ambiguous chief minister to

King Henry VIII.Man Booker Prize:

The Man Booker Prize forFiction is a literary prize awarded

each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English

language, by a citizen of theCommonwealth of Nations,Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winnerof the Man Booker Prize is generallyassured of international renownand success. The selectionprocess for the winner of the prizecommences with the formation ofan advisory committee whichincludes an author, two publishers,a literary agent, a bookseller, alibrarian, and a chairpersonappointed by the Booker PrizeFoundation.

Gavaskar to receive

BCCIs lifetime achieve-

ment award

Former India captain Sunil

Gavaskar will be conferred the Col

C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement

award at the annual BCCI awards

function. The BCCI's Col C K

Nayudu Award Committee met on25 October and decided to confer

the honour on the legendaryopener, a release from BCCIsecretary Sanjay Jagdale said. Theaward comprises a trophy, citationand a cheque for Rs 25 lakh.

Sharmila Tagore gets

honorary degree from

Edinburgh UniversityVeteran actress Sharmila

Tagore has been given an HonoraryDoctorate of Arts from EdinburghNapier University for heroutstanding contribution to Indian

Narayana Murthy receives 2012 Hoover Medal

Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy has been conferred withthe prestigious 2012 Hoover Medal in recognition of his philanthropicactivities in India. Former US Presidents Herbert Hoover, DwightEisenhower and James Earl Carter are among some of the prominentrecipients of this annual award established in 1930 to recognize great,unselfish and non-technical services by the engineers to humanity.Murthy was awarded with the prestigious award at the GlobalHumanitarian Technology Conference in Seattle.

The 70th recipient of the award, Murthy was recognized forestablishing a foundation that forges outstanding improvements inhealthcare, social rehabilitation, rural uplift and education following hisformation of Infosys, an innovative company that provides businessconsulting, technology, and engineering services in over 30 countries.


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cinema. The 67-year-old actress,who is the great grand-niece ofnoted poet Rabindranath Tagore,

jo ined leading figures from the

world of foreign affairs, educationand almost 1000 students at theceremony to collect the award. "It isindeed a privilege to be conferredan Honorary Degree by EdinburghNapier University.

Kahaani wins Best Film

award in FijiVidya Balan starrer

'Kahaani' has been named the bestfilm at the International Film Festivalin Fiji. The two-week long film

festival, which was partnered withIndian High Commission andorganized by Fiji National Universityand Film Fiji, was held in Labasa.The Indian feature anddocumentary films were also a partof festival where 'Kahaani' receivedthe award in 'Best Film' category.

The Fiji Film Festivalfeatured a range of diverseinternational and local film entriesincluding French, Russian, MiddleEastern films, Bollywoodblockbusters and Bengali classicsas well. These films were screenedfrom all over the country fromOctober 5 to 18.

Waheeda Rehman

conferred with the life

achievement awardWaheeda Rehman was

conferred with the life achievementaward at the closing function of the14th Mumbai Film Festival onOctober 25. The weeklong festival,

during which over 200 films werescreened, concluded with thescreening of Pablo BergersBlancanieves. Ms. Rehman, who

accepted the award from directorShyam Benegal, said there comesa time in an artistes life when he-or-she shies away from accoladesand she was doing that in the past.

However, this time shedecided to accept since the honourwas from her own fraternity, at an

international film festival and in the100th year of cinema. Shededicated the award to hercolleagues in the film industry. Ms.Rehman has acted in 84 films in acareer spanning six decades andhas been awarded the PadmaBhushan.

Pakistani singer Abida

Parveen recieves lifetime

achievement awardSufi legend Abida Parveen

was honoured with a lifetimeachievement award by KaladharmiBegum Akhtar Academy of Ghazal.

Abida is an internationallyacclaimed Pakistani singer ofSindhi descent and one of theforemost exponents of Sufi music.Her songs include mainly ghazals,Urdu love tracks and her forte,Kafis, a classical form of Sufipoetry. Some of her hits are 'DumaDum Mast Qalandar', 'Teray IshaqNachaya', 'Latthe Di Chadar', 'Kuch

Is Ada Se Aaj' and 'Kafian BullehShah'. During her career, Abida hasbeen awarded both the 'Pride ofPerformance' and the 'Sitara-e-Imtiaz' by the Government ofPakistan.

British military dog gets

posthumous medalA British mili tary dog who

died in Afghanistan has beenawarded the highest bravery awardfor an animal for finding hiddenweapons and improvised explosivedevices planted by the Taliban.

Theo, a springer spaniel,died from an undiagnosed seizurehours after his handler LanceCorporal Tasker was killed onMarch 1, 2011 in a firefight. Theoworked for five months in

Afgh an is tan wi th Ro ya l ArmyVeterinary Corps, searching outroadside bombs. Theo has nowbeen recognised with the DickinMedal by the Peoples Dispensaryfor Sick Animals (PDSA). It is thehighest award any animal canreceive and is given for gallantry ordevotion to duty in military conflict.

The PDSA Dickin medalrecognises that in finding IEDs andbomb-making equipment, Theoprevented soldiers and civilians

Sachin Tendulkar to be awarded Order of Australia

membership

Sachin Tendulkar is set to another feather to his already crowdedcap as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillardon October 16 announced that the iconicIndian cricketer will be conferred themembership of the Order of Australia, anhonour rarely awarded to non-Australians.

Sachin Tendulkar will become only thesecond Indian after former Attorney GeneralSoli Sorabjee to get the honour. Mr. Sorabjeewas made an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for serviceto Australia-India bilateral legal relations in 2006. Tendulkar is not thefirst cricketer to be made an Order of Australia AM as in 2009, WestIndies legend Brian Lara was also made an honorary member. AnotherWest Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, is an Honorary Officer in the Order of

Australia, having been conferred the award way back in 1985. The right-handed Tendulkar, considered the finest batsman in contemporarycricket, has 15,533 runs in 190 Tests besides a mammoth 18,426 runsin 463 ODIs.


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from being killed or wounded. Theois the 64th animal to receive thePDSA Dickin Medal. Otherrecipients include 27 other dogs,

32 pigeons, three horses and a cat.

Gov. of Bangladesh

Awarded Babu Jagjivan

Ram with Friends of

Liberation War HonourFormer Deputy Prime

Minister and Defence Minister ofIndia, Babu Jagjivan Ram wasawarded with the Friends ofLiberation War Honour by theGovernment of Bangladesh for his

contribution in the 1971 War. Hewas given the honour by the PrimeMinister of Bangladesh, SheikhHasina and President ofBangladesh, Mohammad. ZillurRahman.

The award was received byBabuji's grandson, Anshul Avijit atthe Bangabandhu InternationalConference Centre in Dhaka.

Anshul Avij it, is a journalist andacademician and also the son ofSpeaker of the Lok Sabha, MeiraKumar. Babu Jagjivan Ram as the

Defence Minister and chiefstrategist of India in 1971, helpedin liberation of Bangladesh. Heassured that the war for liberationof Bangladesh ended in theremarkably short time of 13 days.

First Ever India

Biodiversity Award

Presented in HyderabadThe Government of India in

collaboration with United Nation

Development Programme (UNDP)announced Biodiversity award2012 in Hyderabad on 17 October2012. The winners of the awardswere: Pir Jahania Jungle SurakshaSamiti from Odisha in thecommunity stewardship category,Shankarpur Village GramPanchayat from Maharashtra in thecategory of decentralisedmanagement, Van UtthanSansthan from Rajasthan in thecategory of co-management andPeriyar Tiger Reserve in the

protected areas category. Theprogramme was hosted by theMinistry of Environment andForests.The award recognizes the

outstanding models of biodiversitygovernance across the country. Theaward was actually presented atministerial reception of EleventhConference of the Parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity.

With the presentation ofAward, the Minister of Environmentand Forests Jayanthi Natarajanannounced that the IndiaBiodiversity Awards will now begiven annualy, to mark InternationalBiodiversity Day on 22 May eachyear.

Singham Bravery Awards

An Indian Pol ice Service

officer who was crushed to death

by mining mafia in Madhya

Pradesh and several security

personnel who have laid down

their lives fighting for the country

were honoured posthumously with

Singham Bravery Awards on

October 20.

The awards, instituted by All

India Anti-Terrorist Front led by M.

S. Bitta, were handed over to thebereaved families by reel-life

Singham Ajay Devgn, film-maker

Rohit Shetty and former Central

Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

Director-General K. Vijay Kumar.

Narendra Kumar, a 2009-batch IPS

officer, was crushed to death under

a stone-laden tractor trolley

belonging to the mining mafia in

Chambal district of Madhya

Pradesh on March 8 while on

inspection.

Niryat Shree and Niryat

Bandhu AwardsPresident of India Pranab

Mukherjee with Union Minister forCommerce, Industry and Textiles

Anand Sharma on 5 October 2012presented awards to exporters onthe occasion of the presentation ofFederation of Indian ExportOrganisations (FIEO) Niryat Shreeand Niryat Bandhu awards atVigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

The President gave away52 awards 46 Niryat Shree

Awards was given to exporters fortheir performance in 12 differentcategories, which includesagriculture, plantation products;chemicals, drugs, pharmacy andallied products; engineering; gemsand jewellery, handicrafts, carpets;textiles, leather, service providers;and 6 Niryat Bandhu Awards weregiven to Export Promotion Councilsand Banks for their support to theexporting community.

Among the Ni ryat Shreeawardees that were presented agold trophy was MIOT HospitalsLimited for being the highestforeign exchange earner in thecountry among all serviceproviders.

The award was received bycompany chairperson MallikaMohandas. Reliance Industrieswas also awarded a gold trophy forearning the highest foreignexchange.

PC Jewellers was awardeda silver trophy in the Gems andJewellery category. In the NiryatBandhu category for banks, thewinners were Canara Bank whichgot gold trophy followed by Bank ofIndia and Punjab National Bankgetting silver and Bronze trophy

respectively.

President Presents L.B.

Shastri National AwardThe President of India, Shri

Pranab Mukherjee conferred onSmt. Tessy Thomas, theprestigious Lal Bahadur ShastriNational Award for Excellence inPublic Administration, Academicsand Management: 2012 at afunction in Rashtrapati Bhavan onOctober 1.


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Nobel Prizes 2012

British, Japanese

scientists win NobelPrize for Medicine

Two scientists from differentgenerations won the Nobel Prizein medicine on October 8 for thegroundbreaking discovery that cellsin the body can be reprogrammedto become completely differentkinds, potentially opening the doorto growing customized tissues fortreatments.

The work of Britishresearcher John Gurdon andJapanese scientist ShinyaYamanakawho was born the yearMr. Gurdon made his discovery hasraised hopes of developingtransplant tissue to treat diseases

like Parkinsons and diabetes. Andit has spurred a new generation oflaboratory studies into otherdiseases, including schizophrenia,that may lead to new treatments.

Haroche, Wineland win

Nobel prize for physicsFrenchman Serge Haroche

and American David Winelandhave won the 2012 Nobel Prize inphysics for inventing anddeveloping methods for observingtiny quantum particles without

destroying them. The RoyalSwedish Academy of Sciencescited the two scientists for ground-breaking experimental methodsthat enable measuring andmanipulation of individual quantumsystems. Their ground-breaking

methods have enabled this field ofresearch to take the very first stepstowards building a new type ofsuper fast computer based onquantum physics, the academysaid.

Lefkowitz, Kobilka win

Nobel chemistry prizeAmer ican s Robert

Lefkowitzand Brian Kobilka wonthe 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistryon October 10 for studies of proteinreceptors that let body cells senseand respond to outside signals.Such studies are key for developingbetter drugs.

The Royal SwedishAcademy of Sciences said the tworesearchers had made groundbreaking discoveries on animportant family of receptors,known as G-protein-coupledreceptors. About half of allmedications act on these

receptors, so learning about themwill help scientists to come up withbetter drugs. The human body hasabout 1,000 kinds of suchreceptors, which let it respond to awide variety of chemical signals,like adrenaline. Some receptorsare in the nose, tongue and eyes,and let us sense smells, tastesand vision.

Mo Yan wins Nobel

Prize for LiteratureChinese authorMo Yan has

been awarded the 2012 NobelPrize for literature. The Swedish

Academy praised his work which"with hallucinatory realism mergesfolk tales, history and the contemporary". Mo Yan is the first Chineseresident to win theprize. Chinese-born Gao Xingjianwas honoured in2000, but is aFrench citizen. Mois the 109threcipient of theprestigious prize.

European Union wins

Nobel Peace PrizeThe European Union won

the Nobel Peace Prize for its effortsto promote peace and democracyin Europe despite being in themidst of its biggest crisis since thebloc was created in the 1950s.

The Norwegian prizecommittee said the EU received theaward for six decades ofcontributions to the advancementof peace and reconciliation,democracy and human rights inEurope. The EU rose from theashes of World War II, born of theconviction that ever-closereconomic ties would make surethat century-old enemies neverturned on each other again. Its nowmade up of 500 million people in27 nations, with other nations linedup, waiting to join.

Two Americans win

Nobel economics prizeAmericans Alvin Roth and

Lloyd Shapleywere awarded theNobel economics prize forresearch that helps explain themarket processes at work whendoctors are assigned to hospitals,students to schools and humanorgans for transplant to recipients.

The Royal SwedishAcademy of Sciences cited the twoeconomists for "the theory of stableallocations and the practice ofmarket design". Roth, 60, is aprofessor at Harvard University inBoston. Shapley, 89, is a professoremeritus at University of CaliforniaLos Angeles.


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News Makers

Hyderabad Last Nizam

Named All time RichestIndian

Osman Ali Khan the lastNizam of Hyderabad on 16 October2012 was named in list of the 25richest people across the worldwho ever lived by US websiteCelebrity Networth.

Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam,who ruled Hyderabad between1886-1967, was ranked sixth inworld and the richest in India with

$236 billion. He died in 1967 at ageof 80. The list declared by USwebsite Celebrity Networth wascompiled after adjusting thefortunes of people across historyfor inflation. For example, $100million in 1913 is equivalent to$2299.63 billion in 2012.

As per the report, The 25richest who ever lived had acombined fortune of $4.317 trillion,of which 14 are American.

Chavez re-elected to 6-

year term in VenezuelaVenezuelan President Hugo

Chavez was re-elected on October7 to a fourth term, which would bringhis total years in office to 20,according to preliminary officialresults made public by the NationalElectoral Council.

Mr. Chavez received 54.42per cent of the votes with about 90per cent of the ballots countedwhile Henrique Capriles, theunified opposition candidate,

received 44.97 per cent. The resultswould secure Mr. Chavez anothersix-year mandate, taking his termof office through 2019.

Monisha Kalterborn Became the First Woman

Team Principal in Formula oneIndian born, Monisha Kalterborn Became the First Woman Team

Principal in Formula one on 11 October 2012 after taking the control ofteam Sauber, a swiss Formula one team with the stepping down ofteam founder Peter Sauber from day to day management.

The news of Monisha Kalterborn appointment came after PeterSauber made it clear that he did not wish to run the team, which hebuilt more than fourty years ago. Monisha Kalterborn joined Sauber in2000 as head of its legal department and has been its CEO sinceJanuary 2010. Monisha secured her bachelors degree in law from theUniversity of Vienna in 1995 and also holds a Masters degree inInternational Business Law from the London School of Economicswhich she did in 1996.

Ajit Saran Appointed as

Secretary in National

Commission for WomenSenior IAS officer Ajit M

Sharan was appointed as MemberSecretary in National Commissionfor Women (NCW) on 3 October2012. Ajit Sharan is a 1979 batchofficer of Haryana cadre. He isgoing to be in the rank and pay of

Additional Secretary.The Appointments

Committee of the Cabinet has alsoappointed Rajiv Mehrishi, an IASofficer of 1978 batch of theRajasthan cadre, as Secretary,

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairsin the vacancy of Parvez Dewan, a1977 batch IAS officer of Jammuand Kashmir cadre. Rajiv Mehrishiis presently Special Secretary,Department of AgriculturalResearch and Education, Ministryof Agriculture.

Places in News

Hyderabad Named world

Third Best City to Visit in

2013The City of Hyderabad was

named as World Third best city tovisit in 2013 by Travel guide bookLonely Planet published on 22October 2012. Hyderabad thecapital city of Andhra Pradesh wasdescribed as "elegant andblossoming" by the Lonely Planet.The top 10 cities according to Lonely

Planet to visit in 2013 are SanFrancisco, Amsterdam, Hyderabad,Derry/Londonderry, Beijing,Christchurch, Hobart, Montreal,

Addis Ababa and Puerto Iguazu.Earlier in 2011, New York Timesrated Hyderabad among the 41 topdestinations to visit in the world.

North East biggest

mosque to be

inaugurated in ShillongThe north-east biggest and

a unique mosque is all set to beopened up for devotees for prayersfrom October 18. Named asMedina Masjid with an imposing

and resplendent structure of glassdome and glass minarets.

The four storey structure onthe Umshyrpi College campus aninstitution run by Shilong MuslimUnion (SMU), is an architecturalmarvel in itself. With 120-foot widthand 61-footbreath, the buildingfitted with glittering glass workhouses a mosque besides anorphanage, Islamic library and aMarkaz (Islamic theologicalinstitute). At night the mosque is aneye catching spectacle as brilliant

ligh work set the entire areaglowing. The Shillong MuslimUnion was formed in 1905 inerstwhile East Bengal, whichstretched from Siliguri to Cox'sBazar and Chittagong to Dibrugarh.

After India's partition in 1947, SMUnarrowed down its activities to

Assam. Sinc e Megh alaya' sformation in 1972, its activities havebeen limited to the state.


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Science Snippets

Humanoid Robot called

Baxter designed in USAA hu mano id robo t wi th

common sense, designed to worksafely alongside its human co-workers on factory productionlines, was unveiled in the US.Baxter could apply common sense,adapt to its environment and betrained in less than 30 minutes tocomplete specific tasks. It iscapable of superhuman speed andprecision. To teach Baxter a new

job, a human guides its arms to

simulate the desired task, andpresses a button to program in thepattern, the report said. The robotresponds with a confusedexpression, if it does notunderstand.

Australian Scientists

unveiled the Colossal

Radio TelescopeAustralian Scientists on 5

October 2012 unveiled a colossalradio telescope with abilities ofexploring the depths of universewith unparalleled precision. Thetelescope will increase theabilities of astronomers inmapping black holes, survey theuniverse, and cracking the newlight across the galaxies to anexponential level.

At present the AustralianSKA Pathfinder telescope having36 antennas with diameter of 12meters each is placed at theremote Murchison Radio-

As tronomy obse rvatory in the

deserts of West Australia.Designed and developed bymaking investments of Australian$ 140 million has facilit ies ofsurveying the sky at a much fasterspeed than any other telescopeavailable in the world. Thesensitive antennas of thetelescope are quite sensitive to thefaint radiations of Milky Way henceis able to detect the galaxies faraway. The radio waves generatedfrom this telescope can providedetails of the cosmos far away and

the gases that resulted in theformation of any particular star.

Pulsars and quasars canalso be identified by the telescopewith an ease pushing forward theboundaries of knowledge of themankind ahead of the physical lawsof nature. The principle of radio-astronomy can provide the detailsof the beginning of the universe.Basically the antennas of thetelescope spread across the rocky

terrain would be used for collectionof the radio signals of the cosmicphenomenon. Being 50 times morepowerful, when compared to otherradio devices, it can easily detectthe exploding stars. Hence can beof a great use in establishing thefacts related to the formation of theuniverse that happened about 14billion years ago.

Home cure for dengueThe juice of the humble

papaya leaf has been seen toarrest the destruction of plateletsthat has been the cause for somany deaths due to dengue.

Ayurveda researchers havefound that enzymes in the papayaleaf can fight a host of viralinfections, not just dengue, and canhelp regenerate platelets and whiteblood cells. Scores of patients havebenefited from the papaya leaf

juice, say doctors . Papaya hasalways been known to be good forthe digestive system. Due to its richvitamin and mineral content, it is a

health freaks favourite. But itsdengue-fighting properties haveonly recently been discovered.Chymopapin and papin-j enzymesin the papaya leafhelp reviveplatelet count, say experts.

The juice has to beprepared from fresh papaya leaves.De-vein the leaves and grind thegreen, pulpy part into a paste. Youcan also use a mixer. The paste isvery bitter and you would probably

have to mix it with fruit juice. Doctorsrecommend 20-25 ml (about fourto five teaspoons), twice a day, forat least a week to get the bestresults.

Giant telescope with most

advanced mirror to

probe universeScientists have developed

the most challenging astronomicalmirror - ten times more powerfulthan any other ever made - for a

giant telescope to explore the outerspace and early universe.Researchers at the StewardObservatory Mirror Laboratory,University of Arizona and inCalifornia, working underneath afootball stadium have beenpolishing an 8.4-meter diametermirror with an unusual, highlyasymmetric shape. By thestandards used by opticalscientists, the degree of difficultyfor this mirror is 10 times that ofany previous large telescopemirror.

New species of coelacanth fish discoveredScientists have discovered a new species of coelacanth fish

whose tiny pieces of fossil skull are 100 million years old. The

coelacanth has one of the longest lineages, 400 million years, of anyanimal. The discovery, made in Texas, is significant because it is mostclosely related to vertebrates, including humans. The SouthernMethodist University (Dallas) specimen is the first coelacanth in Texasfrom the Cretaceous (period), extending from 146 million years ago to66 million years ago, said John F. Graf, the palaeontolgist who identifiedthe fossil and named it Reidus hilli. Previously, the youngest was a200 million-year-old coelacanth from the Triassic. Reidus hilli is thefirst coelacanth ever identified from the Dallas-Fort Worth area,according to a Southern Methodist statement.

Coelacanth fossils have been found on every continent exceptAntarctica. The species has eluded extinction for 400 million years.Scientists estimate the coelacanth reached its maximum diversity

during the Triassic.


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Defence

Space Science

India tests nuclear-

capable ballistic missileDhanush

India successfully test-firednuclear capable Dhanush, thenaval version of Prithvi short-rangeballistic missile, from a warship offOdisha coast on October 5.

The indigenously developed naval version of the Prithvishort-range ballistic missile has astrike range of up to 350 km andcan carry 500 kg of conventional ornuclear warhead.

"Dhanush was test-firedfrom a naval ship off Odisha coast.

The test was conducted by thestrategic force command (SFC) ofthe Indian Navy. The trial was acomplete success and all themission objectives wereaccomplished. Developed by theDRDO, the missile is about 8.53metre in length and 0.9 metre indiameter. This single stage missileuses liquid propellant.

Nuclear Capable Prithvi

II Missile Sucessfully Test

FiredIndia on 4 October 2012

successfully test fired itsindigenously developed, nuclear-capable ballistic missile Prithvi-IIfrom a test range in Odisha.

The missile was test firedby the Strategic Forces Command(SFC) from the Integrated TestRange at Chandipur, Odisha.

All the radars and electro-optical systems along the coasthave monitored the missile

throughout its flight path. TheDefence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) have developed Prithvi-II

for the Indian Air Force for deepinterdiction and the missile can bearmed with a nuclear warheadweighing 500 kg. In this flight, itcarried conventional explosives.

Prithvi-II is a user-friendlymissile which has a completelyguided trajectory. The SFC hadearlier launched it on August 25,2012 and the flight was successful.The Indian Army is already armedwith the single-stage Prithvi-II,which uses liquid propellants.

From July 2012 onwards theStrategic Forces Command hadlaunched a series of strategicmissiles including Agni-I, Agni-IIand Agni-III.

It is one of the five missilesthat were developed under thecountry's Integrated Guided MissileDevelopment Programme.

First commercial cargo

flight heading toInternational Space StationThe SpaceX rocket, the first

commercial flight to theInternational Space Station, lifted offOctober 7 carrying an unmannedcargo capsule. The Falcon 9 rocketwith its Dragon capsule launchedfrom Cape Canaveral, Florida.

About 10 minutes into the flight, theDragon separated from the rocketand was on its way to the spacestation. Mission control called it "a

picture-perfect launch and aflawless flight of Falcon."

It is is the first of a dozenNASA-contracted flights to resupplythe International Space Station, ata total cost of $1.6 billion. Thelaunch comes nearly five monthsafter a demonstration mission inwhich a Dragon capsulesuccessfully berthed at the stationand returned to Earth.

The unmanned capsule ispacked with about 1,000 poundsof cargo -- everything from low-

sodium food kits to clothing andcomputer hard drives. It 'sscheduled to return in late Octoberwith about 2,000 pounds of cargo,

including scientific experimentsand failed equipment that can berepaired and sent back

The Dragon spacecraft issupposed to catch up with thespace station early Wednesday.Station Commander SunitaWilliams and Aki Hoshide from theJapanese Space Agency will usethe robotic arm to grab Dragon andberth it to the station.

ISRO plans 58 space

missions during 12th PlanISRO plans to launch 58space missions, including sendingspacecraft to moon and Mars, an

exclusive satellite to keep a round-the-clock watch on the country and

deploy 500 transponders in the next

five years.

The space agency also

aims to deploy its own version of

the Global Positioning System by

putting into orbit a constellation ofseven satellites which would form

the Indian Regional NavigationalSatellite System (IRNSS).

According to the 12th Five

Year Plan, approved by the Cabinet

last week, the Indian Space

Research Organisation plans toadd 400 transponders to the

existing 187 to meet the growingdemand from DTH operators,

satellite mobile communications

and new generation broadband

VSAT systems.

An indicative plan outlay of

Rs 39,750 crore for the 12th Plan

has been made for the Departmentof Space. Missions initiated in the

11th Plan like Chandrayaan-II,Astrosat-1 and Aditya-1 are also

expected to set forth on their

respective destinations into space

over the next five years.

As part of Chandrayaan-

II, ISRO plans to land a rover on the

lunar surface and put a satellite inan orbit around the moon. The

mission is expected to be launchedin 2014.


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Summits

International Conference

of CAPAMThe three day International

Conference of CommonwealthAssoci at ion of Publ ic Admi nistration and Management (CAPAM)and the fourth Common PublicService Ministers Forumconcluded at New Delhi on October27 with a call for efficient andeffective public administration thatcan enhance the role of just andhonest government to spur socio-economic and political

development, leading to transformation of societies. The MinistersForum agreed on the important roleof public policy in improvinggovernance and strengtheningpublic admini stration in support ofnational development objectivesand to meet internationalchallenges. They acknowledgedthe need for developing countriesto address challenges posed by aglobalised economy, the competitiveness of markets and the

capability of member countries toretain their comparable advantages. The three day CAPAMconference was attended byMinisters and senior officials from21 countries besides India. Thetheme of the Conference was APublic Service Fit for the Future.During the conference learnedscholars made importantpresentations on the challenges ofgood governance and publicservice excellence.

Second India-Japan 2+2Dialogue held in TokyoThe 2nd India-Japan 2+2

Dialogue was held in Tokyo on 22October, 2012. These 2+2consultations at Senior Officiallevel are mandated by the ActionPlan to Advance SecurityCooperation concluded betweenIndia and Japan in December2009. The first India- Japan 2+2Dialogue was held at New Delhi inJune 2010. The two countries

CoP - Leading the Way ForwardFollowing are the highlights of the CoP-11 Conference on

Biodiversity concluded in Hyderabad on 19 October, 2012:

Largest ever such conference organised in India. 170 countriesparticipated. The number of pre registered delegates around 15000.Minister/Vice Minister level participation around 80. More than 400side events many organised by the World Bank, UNDP, GEF,other countries and International and national NGOs.

The elements of successful CoP were flawless logistics, strategicthinking in the development of Agendas content, participation of alarge number of stakeholders and persuasive yet effectivenegotiations.

One of the most important outcomes of the CoP is the commitmentof the Parties to double the international financial flows for BioDiversity by 2015. This will translate into additional financial flowsto the developing countries to the tune of about US $ 30 billion

equivalent to about Rs. 1,50,000 crore over the next 8 years. This isa major achievement especially in the context of .1. Global economic downturn2. Contentious stands regarding the robust baseline and the reporting

mechanism3. Absence of any such target in the recommendation sent to the CoP

by WGRI4. With no proposal from Working Group on Review of Implementation

(WGRI) the Parties would not have come with the required clearancefrom the respective Finance Ministries.

India rectified the situation by her initiatives

1. Suggested a two track solution envisaging a preliminary target anda road map.

2. Co sponsored informal dialogue to promote better Understanding

among the parties of the issues involved.3. Co sponsored India UK High Level Panel to assess the requirement

of funds.4. Worked closely with the Bureau to introduce a specific element of

preliminary target, so that the parties come prepared with mandatesfrom their Finance Ministries.

5. During the CoP India led the efforts of the Parties to find a satisfactoryoutcome

briefed the other on their respectivedefence and security policies in thebackground of each countryssecurity environment.

The next and the 3rd roundof the India Japan 2+2 Dialoguewill be held at New Delhi at amutually convenient date.

ASEAN- India Agri ExpoAgriculture Minister Sharad

Pawar October 17 inaugurated theASEAN-India Agri Expo along withMinisters and representatives ofthe ASEAN member countries. TheExposition has been organisedconcurrently with the Second

ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting

on Agriculture and Forestry meeting

to showcase technologies of the

region to further promote and

intensify cooperation between

India and ASEAN nations inagriculture, forestry and allied

sectors.

The Expo displays exhibits

from different Indian institutes such

as the test kit for detection of

antibiotic residues in milk at dairy

farm and new colour based test for

anionic detergent in milk developed

by the National Dairy Research

Institute, Karnal. Exhibits from

institutes of ASEAN countries are

also on display at the Expo.


11/33


Deaths

King of romance Yash

Chopra diedKing of romance, master of

the emotion-laden weepie andlover of beautiful people andbeautiful locations are some of theterms being showered on YashChopra, who died on October 21.

Chopras oeuvre tracks thatarc, beginning with the aftermathof Partition and the effect it had onordinary people to the lifestyles ofthe rich and famous who live aseasily in London and Ludhiana,Jalandhar and New Jersey. At alltimes, however, they remainPunjabi and that too a certain kind

of Punjabi living life king size,wearing their heart on their sleeves,hosting huge weddings and,sticking to Indian Traditions inwhich the women, pretty andgorgeously dressed, carrieddesigner bags and let the men bemen. Though the new generationwill identify him with films likeChandni, Dil to Pagal Hai and VeerZara all directed by him andblockbusters like Dilwale DulhaniaLe Jayenge (DDLJ), directed by histalented son Aditya but with the

fathers unmistakable stamp on it,one must look way back into historyto really understand the YashChopra journey.

Committees

PM constitutes National

Committee on DirectCash Transfers

The Union Government on

25 October 2012 constituted a

National Committee on Direct

Cash Transfers. The committee

would be responsible to coordinate

in development of the process for

making the transfer of the cash

directly to the individuals, being

provided under different types of

government schemes and

programs.The Prime Minister of India,

Manmohan Singh would be the

Chairperson of the committee and

the group of members would

include eleven Cabinet Ministers,

two Ministers of State with

independent charge, the Deputy

Chairman Planning Commission,

the Chairman UIDAI, the Cabinet

Secretary with the Principal

Secretary to the PM as the

convenor. The Prime Minister can

invite some more officers, minister

or any expert for the committees

meet.

The National Committee on

Cash Transfers will be assisted by

an Executive Committee on Direct

Cash Transfers chaired by the

Principal Secretary to PM and the

Secretaries of the concerned

Ministries and the DG UIDAI. The

Secretary Planning Commission

will be the convenor.

Kelkar CommitteeThe Kelkar Committee was

set up by Finance Minister P.Chidambaram to chalk out aroadmap for fiscal consolidation. Itwas headed by Mr Vijay Kelkar,former Finance Secretary. Thereport was warned there is anurgent need to take immediatecorrective measures to fix the fiscaldeficit to prevent the economy fromslipping in to a situation worse than1991.

Shome CommitteeThe Parthasarathi Shome

Committee report on General Anti-

Avoida nce Ru les (G AAR) hasrecommended the postponementof GAAR by three years andabolition of short-term capitalgains tax.

Rangarajan panel

recommends deregulation

of sugar sectorThe Rangarajan

Committee in its latest report,submitted to the Prime Minister,recommended deregulation of the

sugar sector, the only remainingindustry that continues to becontrolled by the government, bygiving freedom to mills to sell sugarin the open market.

It has also suggested doingaway with the system of levy sugar,under which the mills are requiredto sell 10 per cent of their productionto the government at below marketprice for running ration shops. Levysugar is meant for distribution inthe ration shops, while non-levysugar is for sale in the open market.

While other sectors of theeconomy have been freed, thesugar industry continues to remainunder the government control, rightfrom the level of production todistribution. The Centre fixes thequantity of sugar that mills can sellin the open market and rationshops. The industry has been for along time demanding thegovernment do away with thesystems of regulated releasemechanism and levy sugar

obligations. The expert committeewas set up by the Prime Minister toexamine issues related todecontrolling the sugar sector.

Jaspal Bhatti died in a road accidentA pall of gloom descended on the streets in Chandigarh as

word spread about the tragic demise of satirist and filmmaker JaspalBhatti, whose mortal remains were consigned to flames following hisdeath in a road accident. Bhatti, who became popular with his satiricalshows during the golden days of Doordarshan, was on a tour topromote his upcoming film 'Power Cut' when the accident took place.


12/33


Economic Scenario

Indian government debt

jumped 3.6%The government's debt in

the July-September period in thisfinancial year grew by 3.6 per centto Rs 39,00,386 crore from Rs37,63,264 crore in the previousquarter.

The total public debt(excluding liabilities that are notclassified under public debt) of theGovernment had grown by 5.2 percent in April-June quarter. "Thisrepresented a Quarter-on-Quarter

(QoQ) increase of 3.6 per cent(provisional) compared with anincrease of 5.2 per cent in theprevious quarter (Q1 of FY13)," theQuarterly Report on DebtManagement released by theFinance Ministry said. Internal debtin July -September quarterconstituted 90.4 per cent of publicdebt, compared with 89.6 per centat the end of June. The internal debtat Rs 35,27,405 crore constituted34.7 per cent of GDP. It was 33.2

per cent at end-June 2012.During the second quarterof the fiscal, liquidity conditions inthe economy remained generallytight, though the deficit was withinthe Reserve Bank's stated comfortzone of about one per cent of NetDemand and Time Liabilities(NDTL) of scheduled commercialbanks.

The net amount providedunder Liquidity Adjustment Facility(LAF) operations, the report added,witnessed some oscillations

during the quarter. It further said thatthe cash position of the governmentduring the second quarter was

generally comfortable andremained in positive territory for amajor part of the period underreview. Gross tax collections duringthe April-August at 26.4 per cent ofbudget estimates were higher than25.8 per cent a year ago.

In the direct taxes,collections from corporation taxand personal income tax at Rs64,900 crore and Rs 58,249 crore,respectively, showed healthygrowth rates of 25.8 per cent and

30.3 per cent against 13.9 per centgrowth rate budgeted for eachduring FY13. Among the majorindirect taxes, growth in collectionsfrom customs and excise dutiesdecelerated to 3.4 per cent and10.8 per cent, respectively, againstbudgeted growth rates of 22.0 percent and 29.1 per cent. However,service tax collections increased by33.5 percent during April-August2012-13 as against BE growth rateof 30.5 per cent.

Backward Regions GrantFund (BRGF)

The Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs on October 25approved the proposal for :(i) continuing the Special Plan for

Bihar in 2012-13 with anallocation of Rs.1500 crore,based on the enhanced levelof cost of Rs.9985.54 crore ofall existing projects, revisedcost of existing projects, and

AP ranks 4th in share of private investments

Andhra Pradesh ranks fourth in terms of share in the total private

sector investments, including from foreign private players across India.

A study by industry body Assocham revealed that the State had a share

of over 8 per cent in the total private sector investments as of June this

year. Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra with a share of 12.5 per cent,

10.7 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively, figure ahead of Andhra

Pradesh. Out of the total outstanding investment of over Rs 12.3 lakh

crore in the State, private sector accounts for over Rs 6.9 lakh crore,

accounting for a share of 56 per cent, the study reveals.

In fact, at the national-level, private sector investments account

for a share of 86.6 per cent of the total outstanding investments. At the

other end of the spectrum, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand

and Assam, have the least share in Indias total private sector

investment, which is even less than one per cent, the study said.

the cost of new projects, if any,that may be approved by theEmpowered Committee,

(ii) continuing the Special Plan forthe Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) districts ofOdisha in 2012-13 with anallocation of Rs.250 crore, and

(iii) continuing the special packagefor implementing droughtmitigation strategies inBundelkhand region of UttarPradesh and Madhya Pradesh

in 2012-13 with an AdditionalCentral Assistance of Rs.1400crore.

Background:

The Twelfth Five Year Plan(2012-17) is being finalized. Thepossibility of restructuring theBackward Regions Grant Fund(BRGF) including the DistrictComponent as well as the StateComponent for the period 2013-14to 2016-17 is being considered.Pending completion of thisexercise, it is necessary to continuethe BRGF (District Component andState Component) in its presentform in 2012-13. The districtcomponent of BRGF as well as thespecial plan for West Bengal andthe Integrated Action Plan (IAP) forselected tribal and backwarddistricts under the State componentof BRGF are already approved forcontinuation in 2012-13. Since thepresent approval to the specialplan for Bihar, special plan for the


13/33


KBK districts of Odisha andBundelkhand package is valid onlyfor the Eleventh Five Year Planperiod i.e. 2011-12, it is now

proposed to continue theseprogrammes in 2012-13 in itspresent form.

India ranks 132nd in

ease of doing business

among 185 economiesIndia lags behind

neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladeshand Nepal in the rankings on easein doing Business, despite carryingout most reforms since 2005, asurvey by International Finance

Corporation, the private sectorlending arm of World Bank shows.

A new IFC and World Bankreport- Doing Business- finds thatIndia has improved the regulatoryenvironment for localentrepreneurs more than any othereconomy in South Asia since 2005.In the past eight years Indiaimplemented a total of 17institutional or regulatory reformsmaking it easier to do business.

'Doing Business' analyzes

regulations that apply to aneconomy's businesses duringtheir life cycle, including start-upand operations, trading acrossborders, paying taxes, andprotecting investors. The aggregateease of doing business rankingsare based on 10 indicators andcover 185 economies. But in termsof ranking, India lags Sri Lanka (81), Maldives (95) and Bangladesh(129) and is ranked 132 globally interms of doing business.

The report finds that India is

the first economy in the region to

make dealing with constructionpermits easier for local firms since2005. In the past year Indiaestablished strict time limits for

preconstruction approvals,reducing the time needed toprocess permit applications.

BSE joins UN's Sustainable

Stock Exchanges global

initiative

The Bombay StockExchange Ltd (BSE) announcedthat it has joined the SustainableStock Exchanges (SSE) initiative.

The SSE initiative waslaunched by UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon and UNCTADSecretary-General SupachaiPanitchpakdi in 2009 at UNheadquarters in New York City.

The BSE has been the firstamongst global peers to join fiveother leading exchanges that havepublicly committed to promotingsustainable investment practices.

Other exchanges includethe Brazilian stock exchange BM &FBOVESPA, Egyptian Exchange(EGX), Istanbul Stock Exchange

(ISE), Johannesburg StockExchange (JSE) and NASDAQ OMXmade a commitment towardsimproving sustainability at theSustainable Stock Exchanges 2012global dialogue in Rio de Janeiro

earlier this year. BSE is alsocredited with launching the first-ever live Carbon Index BSE-GREENEX in India, earlier in 2012.

The index measures theperformances of companies interms of carbon emissions.

"BSE is committed toworking with investors, companiesand regulators in playing atransformative role towardsenhancing sustainability in Indiancapital markets.

More powers to FMCIn a reforms boost to the

commodity futures market, theUnion Cabinet, on October 4,cleared amendments to theForward Contract (Regulation) Act(FCRA) Amendment Bill, 2010,which provides for autonomy andpower to the regulator.

The amendments arebased on the recommendations ofthe Standing Committee of theMinistry of Food and Consumer

Af fa ir s. The Ac t prov id es fo rregulation of futures markets inIndia and establishment of theForward Markets Commission.

The Bill was meant to givemore teeth to the regulator and alsobenefit farmers, Minister of State forConsumer Affairs K.V. Thomas told

journa li st s af te r th e Cabi ne tmeeting.

India among fastest growing Internet marketIndia is among the top three fastest growing Internet markets in

the world, a study by industry body Assocham and ComScore has said."Among the Bric nations, India has been the fastest growing marketadding over 18 million Internet users and growing at an annual rate of41 percent," the study said. The Internet user base in the country is

approximately 125 million, the study added. "China added over 14 millionusers to reach 336 million Internet users by the end of July 2012. Russiaand India show similar trends in online usage patterns along withsimilarities in e-commerce and payment types," it said. India is alsoamong the top three fastest growing markets worldwide in the last 12months, the study said. The top five popular categories accessedonline are social networking, portals, search, entertainment and newssites, the study said. "Out of the approximate 125 million Internet userbase, the female population accounts for almost 40 percent," it added.The study said the average transaction size online in India across bothtravel and retail category is USD 31 between April-June 2012. Thisamount is set to increase with consumer confidence in buying highpriced products in the coming months, it said.


14/33


Union Cabinet Approved setting up of National

Automotive Board

The Union Cabinet on 18 October 2012 gave its nod for settingup of the National Automotive Board (NAB). The body will beresponsible for promoting the research and development activities ofthe industry and act as a facilitator in between the industry and thegovernment. NAB would also be responsible as a specialized body topromote sustainable development of the Nations Auto Sector alongwith skill development for the automobile sector.

RBI Expanded the

Lending Norms on

Priority SectorsThe Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) on 18 October 2012 extendedthe lendings on the Priority sectorslike housing, agriculture, small andmedium enterprises, andexpanded the scope of bank loansfor these sectors up to 2 croreRupees. These ammendmentswould be in effect from 20 July2012. The banks were permittedby the central bank to offer loansup to an aggregate limit of 2 croreRupees, to corporate that includes

farmers producer companies, co-operatives and partnership firms offamers indulged in agricultural andallied activities including animalhusbandry, bee-keeping, dairy,fishery and sericulture. The Priorityloan would also be made availablefor pre-harvest and post-harvestactivities like weeding, spraying,grading, harvesting and sorting.Export Credit loans for exportingones own farm produce wouldalso be made available. The

lending scheme fulfills the criterionmentioned under the MSMED Act-2006.

Bank loans to Micro andSmall Enterprises (MSEs) those areengaged in providing serviceswould be eligible for the directfinance of up to 2 crore Rupees perborrower per unit under prioritysector. In case the loan amount perborrower increases the limit of 2crore rupees, than it can beconsidered as the indirect financefor agriculture.

India topples Thailand as

world's largest rice

exporterIndia has the emerged as

the world's largest rice exporter in2012 beating its Asian counterpartThailand with shipment of 9.75million tonnes, according toUSDA's latest report. Thailand wasthe top rice exporter with exports of10.65 million tonnes in 2011.

However, its volume slipped to 6.5

million tonnes in 2012. "On the

export side, India's exports were

raised 1.75 million tonnes to a

record 9.75 million tonnes based

on a record pace of shipments to

date and larger supplies. This

makes India the largest rice

exporter in 2012, a first for India,"

the USDA report said.

India is followed by Vietnam,

which shipped 7 million tonnes of

rice, Thailand (6.5 million tonnes),

Pakistan (3.75 million tonnes) and

the US (3.5 million tonnes), it

added. India moved to the top slot

from the third place in 2011 buoyed

by record production of 104.32

million tonnes on the back of good

monsoon rains.

The US agency said with

India's shipments rising this yearit had to revise its global trade

estimates upwards by 1.85 million

tonnes. "Global trade for 2012 was

raised 1.85 million tonnes to a

record 37.7 million tonnes, with

India accounting for the bulk of the

upward revision in exports," it said.

The global rice production

in 2012 is estimated at 464.87

million tonnes in 2012. India is the

world's largest grower.

19th livestock census

report by Aug 2013The 19th livestock census

will be completed by November-endin all the States and the final report

will be presented by August 2013,the Central Statistical Organisation(CSO) said.

The livestock census isconducted once in five years. Thelast census report was finalised in2007.The 19th livestock censuswas launched on September 15except in Sikkim and Jammu andKashmir. The census will becompleted in all the States byNovember-end and the final reportwill be presented by August 2013,

CSO Director-General S. K. Dastold. At present, information aboutlivestock population has beencollected in 18 States and theprocess is midway in the remaining17 States.

South Africa agrees to

host planned development

bank for BRICSSouth Africa indicted that it

was ready to host a planneddevelopment bank for the BRICS

grouping of five emergingeconomies, including India.Officials from Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa are workingon feasibility studies for the creationof a BRICS bank expected tomobilise resources for infrastruc t u r a ld e v e l o pm e n tprojects indevelopingnations.


15/33


Sports

Pankaj Advani wins

Billiards world title(Time format)

Ace Ind ian cueis t PankajAdvani proved his class once againas he notched up his seventhWorld Billiards Championship titleafter comprehensively beatingdefending champion andseasoned Englishman MikeRussell in the final. The celebratedcueist stamped his dominancewith 1895-1216 win.

This is the eighth overallworld title for Pankaj and hisseventh in billiards. His first world

title in billiards came in 2005 whenhe created history by becoming thefirst cueist ever to win the Timedand Points format of the IBSF WorldBilliards Championship in thesame year, a feat he repeated in2008. He also won the IBSF WorldBilliards Championship (TimedFormat) in 2007 and won WorldProfessional Billiards title 2009.The only active player to competeat the highest level in both Billiardsand Snooker, Pankaj made thetough choice of picking the WorldBilliards Championship overInternational Snooker Championships due to a clash in the dates ofthe two tournaments.

Vettel wins Indian Grand Prix

Red Bulls Sebastian Vettelhad a lonely race from pole to thechequered flag at the Indian GrandPrix as the German took anotherstep towards a Formula One titlehat-trick. Vettel got his fourth victoryin a row, a first for him, ahead of

title rival Fernando Alonso of Ferrariand Mark Webber of Red Bull, whohad to relinquish second place latein the race with problems with theKers power boost system.

Alon so le d Vettel by 39points but the German turned thedeficit into a 13-point lead into thefinal three races with victories inSingapore, Japan, South Korea

and India.Vettel has 240 points to

Alonsos 227, with Kimi Raikkonenof Lotus (173) and Webber (167)with only a mathematical chance.McLarens Lewis Hamilton (165)and Jenson Button (141) are nowofficially out of the title race aftercoming fourth and fifth, respectively.

Sydney Sixers win 2012

Champions League

Twenty20Sydney Sixers produced a

clinical all-round display to clinchthe Champions League Twenty20title with a thumping 10-wicketvictory over Highveld Lions in alopsided summit clash atJohannesburg on October 28.

Sixers first rode on abrilliant bowling display by spinnerNathan McCullum (three for 24) andpacer Josh Hazlewood (three for22) to dismiss Lions for a modest121 after electing to field. The

Aust ralian side overhauled thetarget with 7.3 overs to spare,thanks to some powerful hitting byopeners Michael Lumb and BradHaddin who added 124 runs. Lumb

annihilated the Lions with eightfours and five sixes in his 42-ball82 while Haddin blasted fourboundaries and a six in his 33-ball

37. The opening duo wasparticularly harsh on Chris Morrisand Aaron Phangiso as the twoconceded 54 in just four overs.

The Sydney Sixers becamethe second Australian team, afterNew South Wales Blues to win theChampions League. They weretested by the Nashua Titans in thesecond semi-final but apart fromthat, they have been outstandingthroughout the tournament. TheSixers take away the trophy, Lumbtakes away the Golden Bat andMitchell Starc takes away theGolden Wicket.Man-of-the-match: M. Lumb;Man-of-the-tournament: M. Starc.

Minatsu Mitani wins

French Open TitleMinatsu Mitani of Japan

shocked World No. 3 Saina Nehwalof India to record a sensational 21-19, 21-11 win in the 39-minute finalof the French Open Super Series

womens singles in Paris onOctober 28. Mitani created historyof sorts by becoming the firstJapanese woman player ever towin the French Open, which alsofor the first time has not featuredany Chinese player in the final. Thisperformance also meant that Mitanidenied Saina Nehwal what couldhave been her third straight title-triumph in Super Series this yearhaving won the Indonesian and theDenmark editions earlier.

Rupesh claim Worldbilliards title

(point frame)

Rupesh Shah became onlythe fifth Indian cueist to lift the worldtitle twice after he beat AustraliasMatthew Bolton 6-2 in the final ofthe World billiards (point frame) atLeeds. Rupesh had earlierdefeated big guns like Mike Russell(in quarterfinals), and PeterGilchrist (in semifinals).


16/33


Sun TV Network wins new IPL franchise bidSun TV Network has won the Hyderabad franchise of the Indian

Premier League for an amount of Rs 85.05 crores per year, putting an

end to the process of finding a new team in the wake of the controversialtermination of cash-strapped Deccan Chargers. The IPL GoverningCouncil met in Mumbai to open the bids for the new IPL franchise andSun TV was found to have the highest bid amount.

The SUN TV Network bid was substantially higher than thesecond bid of PVP Ventures, which was Rs 69.03 crores. The BCCIhad floated the tenders for a new IPL franchise after terminating DeccanChargers' contract on 15th September but the team owners DCHLhad challenged it at the Bombay High Court.The High Court had ruledin favour of the BCCI after Deccan Chargers Holdings Limited failed tofurnish bank guarantee of Rs 100 crore before October 12 5pmdeadline. DCHL then approached the Supreme Court which, however,declined on 19th October to interfere with the High Court decision

which had set aside the status quo order passed by the arbitrator.

Saina clinches Denmark

Open titleSaina Nehwal came up with

a near flawless performance tonotch up an impressive 21-17, 21-8 win over Juliane Schenk ofGermany in the 35-minute final ofthe Denmark Super Seriesbadminton championship.

The World No. 4 from Indiawas in irresistible form against anopponent who threatened to posemuch bigger challenge than manyof the opponents lined up in thisevent against Saina did to level thescores nine-all 10-all at one stage.

Saina, playing in her maidentournament after her bronze-medalwinning performance in the 2012London Olympics, ensured that her

return to the big league ended on atriumphant note.

Playing without the chiefnational coach and her mentorPullela Gopi Chand, the 22-year-old Hyderabadi was just too goodfor the German opponent, winnerof the World championship bronzein 2011 and who ironically finishedrunner-up in four events this year.

The final point of the matchwhen Schenk did not attempt toreturn the serve from Saina was ina way symbolic of the totaldomination of the ace Indianshuttler. On the other hand forSaina, this was her sixth SuperSeries title overall and second this

year after the Indonesian Open win.

Novak Djokovic won

Shanghai MastersNovak Djokovic beated

British Tennis Player Andy Murray,on 14 October 2012 saving fivematch points to seal a stunning 5-

7, 7- 6 ( 13/ 11), 6- 3 victory in theShanghai Rolex Masters final. Withthe winning of match NovakDjokovic became the first player towin seven of the nine ATP WorldTour 1000 Masters events

Al so in the Doub le sCategory, Leander Paes andRadek Stepanek won the ShanghaiRolex Double title by defeatingMahesh Bhupati and Rohan

Bopanna.Novak Djokovic has won fiveGrand Slam singles titles: the 2008,2011, and 2012 Australian Open;the 2011 WimbledonChampionships; and the 2011 USOpen. By winning three Majors in2011, Djokovic became the sixthmale player in the open era to winthree Majors in a calendar year.

He is the first male playerrepresenting Serbia to win a Majorsingles title and the youngest playerin the open era to have reached the

semifinals of all four Grand Slamevents, separately and

consecutively.

NRAI appointed Jaspal

Rana as Junior Pistol

Chief CoachNational Rifles Association

of India (NRAI) on 15 October 2012appointed Jaspal Rana as thechief coach for the Junior PistolShooters. The triple Gold Medallist

at Doha Asian Games, Rana wouldbe entitled for a salary of 50,000rupees per month.

Olympic Shooter Vijay

Kumar Named Services

Best Sportsman

London Olympic Shooter

and silver medalist Vijay Kumar on

19 October 2012 was honoured

with the Services Best Sportsman

award for 2012 at the Army

Headquarters in New Delhi

The award which include

trophy and cash award of one lakh

rupees is generally given to the

best sportsman from the three

defence forces of Army, Air Force

and Navy. Vijay Kumar is the current

world number and had earlier won

three gold medals and one silver

medal at the Delhi 2010

Commonwealth Games. Vijay

Kumar won a silver medal at the

July-August 2012 London Gamesin the individual 25 metre rapid fire

pistol. Vijay Kumar is from Barsar

village of Hamirpur district of

Himachal Pradesh and is

presently a serving Subedar Major

in the Dogra Regiment (16th

Battalion) of the Indian Army. He was

also awarded with Arjuna Award in

2007 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Award in 2011-12 by the

Government of India.


17/33


National

Round-Up

Infant Mortality Rate Reduced to 44 Per 1000 Live

Births during 2011

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has dropped by 3 points from 47 to 44infant deaths per 1000 live births during 2011. As per October 2012bulletin of the Sample Registration System (SRS) released by theRegistrar General of India (RGI), the IMR for rural areas has droppedby 3 points from 51 to 48 infant deaths per 1000 live births while theUrban rate now stands at 29 from the previous 31/1000.

Among the states, Goa and Manipur have the lowest IMR of 11infant deaths followed by Kerala with 12 infant deaths per 1000 livebirths. Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR of 59/1000 followed by UPand Odisha with 57/1000 IMR. Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthanand Meghalaya have IMRs more than the national average of 44.

It may be mentioned that the Sample Registration System (SRS)is a large-scale demographic survey for providing reliable annualestimates of birth rate, death rate and other fertility & mortality indicators

at the national and sub-national levels. At present, SRS is operationalin 7,597 sample units (4,433 rural and 3,164 urban) spread across allStates and Union territories and covers about 1.5 million householdsand 7.35 million population.

16 States Sign Tripartite

Agreements for Laying

Digital HighwaysThe Minister of

Communications & IT Sh. KapilSibal on October 26 called theNational Optical Fibre Network(NOFN) ---a project, which wouldconnect all the 2, 50,000 GramPanchayats (GPs) in the countrythrough Optical Fibre Cable (OFC)

in two yearsas a paradigm shiftwhich would transform the wayIndia works. Sh Sibal was speakingat a function in New Delhi where13 State governments and 3 Unionterritories signed tripartiteMemorandums of Understandingfor free Right of Way (RoW) with theCentral Government and BharatBroadband Network Limited(BBNL--the SPV incorporated forexecution of the project). Calling itthe end of distance, the Ministersaid from people reaching out tothe government we have now cometo the government reaching out tothe people. He emphasized that thecontent that would be riding onthe virtual highway would beequally important, and its successwould lay on it being accessibleand affordable to the common man.Sh Sibal said it is now upto theState governments to digitize alldata, and make it interoperable not

just within the state but also insidethe country.

In all 1,40,727 GramPanchayats will get covered byOptical Fibre Network in theseStates and UTs.

Mumbai to have First

Museum of Indian

CinemaFilms Division Ministry of

Information & Broadcasting,Government of India on 16 October2012 announced its plan ofestablishing a National Museum of

Indian Cinema (NMIC). TheMuseum would be located in the

Films Division Complex, Dr. G.

Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai and is

predicted to come up by June 2013.

The development of the museum

was planned to mark the occasion

of Indian Cinema that will completeits 100 years of journey from the

day of first screening of Raja

Harishchandra in 1913.

Union Cabinet Approved

Amendment of Indecent

Representation of

Women ActThe Union Cabinet on 11

October 2012 approved the

introduction of Amendments to theIndecent Representation ofWomen (Prohibition) Act, 1986 inParliament under thechairmanship of Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.

The amendmentsproposed are as:(a) Broaden the scope of the law

to cover the audio-visual mediaand material in electronic formwhich includes Internet,satellite-based communication, multi-media

messaging and cable

television, among others.

(b) Penalties to be enhanced to a

maximum of three years of

imprisonment and fine of

between 50000 to 100000

Rupees for first conviction, and

imprisonment of not less than

two years, but which mayextend to seven years, and a

fine between 100000 Rupees

to 500000 Rupees for second

conviction.

(c) Police officers not below the

rank of Inspectors authorized

to carry out search and seizure,

in addition to State and Central

Government officers authorized

by the State or Central

Government.

The Act was enacted in

1986 to prohibit the indecentrepresentation of women through

advertisement, publication, writing,

and painting or in any other

manner. With the increased use of

advanced technology and

communication devices in everyday

life, the Government felt the scope

of the Act should be amended. The

amendments were introduced after

consultations with stakeholders,

including lawyers and civil society

organisations, on the draft Bill.


18/33


Arvind Kejriwal

Launched Bijli Paani

Satyagrah

Indian Social activist Arvind

Kejriwal on 6 October 2012

launched a Bijli-Paani Satyagraha

in New Delhi to protest against

inflated power and water bills and

hike in tariffs by restoring electricity

connection to the household of a

labourer which was disconnected

for non-payment of bills.

The protest was launched

at Tigri Colony in New Delhi where

Kejriwal and his supporters

restored the power connection of

the labourer. The labourer claimed

that he got a bill for Rs 15000 last

month and connection

disconnected as he could not pay

it. Arvind Kejriwal told the masses

to Stop paying electricity and water

bills til l Delhi government

withdraws tariff hikes.

Save Ganga, Save Dolphin

campaign initiated in

Uttar Pradesh

Save Ganga, Save Dolphin,the three day campaign was

initiated on 5 October 2012 by the

Uttar Pradesh Forest Department

in association with the World

Wildlife Fund (WWF). The team

also included local volunteers and

14 NGOs. The campaign was a

state-initiative to create awareness

to conserve the Gangetic Dolphins

one of the critically endangered

species of the Gangetic River

System. These dolphins are

scientifically named as PlatanistaGangetica.

To cover a distance of about

2,800 kilometers in the Gangetic

River System that flows within the

state, 18 boats were flagged off by

Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh,

the Transport Minister of the state.

The campaign that also aims at

identifying the population of the

dolphins in the river system and it

ended with the declaration by

Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief Minister

5 October observed as Dolphin Day in BiharBihar on 5 October 2012 observed Dolphin Day. This day was

observed in wake of spreading awareness for conservation of the

Gangetic Dolphins the rare and endangered species that is found

only in the Gangetic River System and its Tributaries. Bihar that

observed the World Wildlife Week from 2 to 8 October 2012, decided

to observe 5 October as Dolphin Day every year. Sushil Kumar Modi,

the Deputy Chief Minister of the state on this occasion declared that

the state will come up with a Dolphin Watch Center at places where

these rare aquatic species are seen.

of the state on 7 October 2012. In

the last two surveys conducted in

the year 2005 and 1982, the

population of this species recorded

was 1,600 and 4000 to 5000respectively.

Construction of Tunnel

across Jojila Pass on

Srinagar-Leh highway

Started

In Jammu and Kashmir, an

ambitious project of constructing

6.5 kilometre long tunnel across

Jojila Pass on Srinagar- Leh

highway started on 4 October 2012.

The project on its completion willmake Srinagar - Leh road an all

weather road and fulfill the long

pending demand of the people of

Laddakh region. The tunnel project

fulfills the long term demand of

people in Laddakh region.

Ministry of RD Launched

Nirmal Bharat Yatra

Ministry of rural

development on3 October 2012

started a campaign named Nirmal

Bharat Yatra which focuses on

making the country free from open

defecation.The yatra will begin from

Wardha District of Maharashtra

from 3 october 2012 and will go

through Indore, Kota, Gwalior, andGorakhpur and end up in Bettiah

district of Bihar on November 17,

covering about 2000 km of

distance. The Indian Bollywood

actress Vidya Balan is the brand

ambassador of the campaign.

Oldest Voter, Highest

Polling Booth in

Himachal PradeshThe Election Commission

has identified Sh. Shyam SaranNegi as oldest voter in HimachalPradesh (HP). Sh. Negi, aged 95,lives in Kalpa Tehsil, DistrictKinnaur. H.P. Sh. Negi retired fromGovernment Primary School in1975 and his family includes wife,four sons and five daughters.

Sh. Negi was among thefirst to cast his vote in independentIndias first Election in October1951, of H.P. State Legislative

Assembly from 10- Chini AssemblyConstituency later renamed as

Kinnaur. At that time, election insnow-bound 10- Chini (nowKinnaur) was held ahead of otherplaces in the State.

Interestingly, the worldshighest Polling booth will also belocated in H.P. at the height of 15000ft above sea level. This PollingStation will be at Hikkam in Lahaul& Spiti Assembly Constituencylocated on motorable road. TheHikkam Polling Station will serve

333 voters, comprising 180 male

& 153 female voters.


19/33


Indira Gandhi International Airport Got

International CertificationThe Indira Gandhi International Airport operator, Delhi

International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) on 22 October 2012 got an ISO20000 international certification for eliminating and controllinginformation technology-related threats. With the getting of ISOcertification, Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) became thesixth airport operator to receive the ISO 20000 certification in IT ServiceManagement System (ITSMS) after Dubai, Munich, Abu Dhabi, Incheonand Hyderabad. ISO 20000-1:2011 is a service management system(SMS) standard which specifies requirements for the service providerto plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain andimprove an SMS.

Rajat Gupta Got Two Year

Jail For Inside Trading

Rajat Gupta, the formerGoldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)director and McKinsey & Co.Managing director on 25 October2012 was sentenced to two yearsin prison for passing inside tips tohis business partner. Rajat Guptawas convicted in June 2012 onthree counts of securities fraud andone count of conspiracy. It wasalleged by the US prosecutors thatRajat Gupta used his positions onthe boards of Goldman and Procter& Gamble, one of the world's

largest consumer goodscompanies, to pass information tohedge fund manager RajRajaratnam, who then drewmillions of dollars in profit fromtrading on it. Rajat Gupta, the India-born businessmen in the US whowas considered to be an icon isnow being called "deceptive anddishonest" after his conviction oninsider trading charges.

International rubber

conferenceThe International Rubber

Research and Development Boardwill hold its annual meetings 2012and the tenth annual rubberconference at Kovalam. Theconference will be held fromOctober 29 to November 2. Theconference will have technicaldeliberations focusing onchallenges to rubber industry andfarm mechanisation. Annualmeetings include those ofdirectors, chief executive officersand liaison officers of internationalboard.

Brahma Chellaney won

Bernard Schwartz AwardIndia's leading strategic

thinker and analyst, BrahmaChellaney on 25 October 2012 wonthe 2012 Asia Society BernardSchwartz Book Award for hisrecently published book Water:

Asia's New Battleground .

Brahma Chellaney is goingto be honoured with $20,000 prizemoney at a special event to be heldat Asia Society's headquarters in

New York City. The book Water:As ia 's New Ba tt le ground " byBrahma Chellaney was selectedfrom nearly 90 nominationssubmitted by US and Asia-basedpublishers for books published in2011. Asia Society BernardSchwartz Book Award wasestablished in 2009 and is the onlyaward that recognizes non-fictionbooks for their outstandingcontributions to the understandingof contemporary Asia or US-Asiarelations.

Delhi among 10 most

attractive cities for global

shoppers in Asia-Pacific

regionDelhi figures among the 10

most attractive cities forinternational travel shoppers in the

Asia-Pacific region, a report says.Delhi came tenth in the GlobeShopper Index, published by GlobalBlue. A few points behind Seoul and

ahead of Manila, while Bangaloreranked fourteenth and Mumbaisixteenth.

The length of the city's salesseasons also helped Delhi to agood score. The sales seasonslast more than 13 weeks of the yearin Delhi, the fourth longest of thecities on the Index. In Delhi, globeshoppers have good opportunitiesfor bargaining and the city ranked

second on the Index with a few other

cities as a place to bargain for a

good price. The national Capital

also scored well on climate and

tourist sites, however, itsperformance was held back by the

quality of public transport and the

cost of some luxury items such as

watches and electrical goods.

Global Blue's expanded

Globe Shopper Index adds 25 Asia-

Pacific cities to the existing 33

European cities and ranks them on

the experience they provide to

international travel shoppers. The

rankings are based on five

categories covering shops,

affordability, convenience, hotels

and transport and culture and

climate.

Saibaba Sansthan bans its

staff from using mobile

phones

The Shri Saibaba Sansthan

has banned its staff and security

men from using mobile phones

after it was found that this caused

negligence of their duties. Several

Sansthan employees have links to

outside businesses and they also

facilitate 'darshan' of rich VIPs. After

the ban, such activities will be

reduced. Earlier, the Sansthan had

banned using mobiles in temple

premises, but employees and

security men failed to maintain the

ban, forcing it to impose the ban on

its staff and security men.


20/33


Global Hunger Report

2012The report on Global

Hunger Index for seventh year wasreleased on 11 October 2012 by theInternational Food Policy ResearchInstitute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe,and Concern Worldwide. The basictheme of the report for the 2012Global Hunger Index -- TheChallenge of Hunger: EnsuringSustainable Food Security underLand, Water, and Energy Stresses.

IFPRI that calculated theglobal hunger Index analysed themeasures based upon

multidimensional angles. Thepublished report have shown aproportional growth in hungerreduction of people worldwide butrecorded the progress speed wastragically slow and alarming.

The report in its findingsrecorded twenty countries acrossthe world mainly from South Asiaand Sub-Saharan Africa to be highlyalarming and have highest level ofhunger, and showcased thesufferings of millions of poor.

As per the report, the nationsthat had showcased an absoluteprogress between 1990 GlobalHunger Index to 2012 GlobalHunger Index were Bangladesh,

Ango la , Ma lawi , Ni ca ragu a,Ethiopia, Niger, and Vietnam.Whereas there are 15 countries thathave managed to reduce it by 50percent or more. As per the report,India instead of its fast pacedeconomic growth in past twodecades has lagged behind inimproving its record in Global

Hunger Index chart. In the list of 79countries in the global Hunger

Index, India was ranked 65thbehind China that was placed at2nd place position, Pakistan at57th and Sri Lanka at 37th position.

The report also points outthe three countries Bangladesh,India and Timor-Leste constitutesto the highest occurrence ofunderweight children under the agegroup of five years, which recordsto more than 40 percent in eachcountry. India was ranked secondwith 43.5 percent of the childrenless than five underweight in thelist of the 129 countries comparedfor underweight child, after Timor-Leste. Countries like Ethiopia,Niger, Nepal and Bangladesh

followed the chart.

India gearing up to be

declared polio free by 2014

Having made unprecedented progress in polioeradication, India is now gearingup to be declared polio free by 2014by guarding itself against the importof polio virus from neighbouringcountries and by boosting routineimmunisation. "However, the riskof polio persists as long as

India's milk output may touch new high of 135 mn

tonne next year

India's milk production, highest in the world, is estimated totouch a record 135.5 million tonne next year on firming domestic demandand better prices, a study has said.

It is expected to be sufficient to meet the local demand, andthere may not be significant export volumes of skimmed milk powder(SMP) even as the ban has been lifted on the same in June 2012. "Asa result of strong prices, active government support, and growingdemand, USDA forecasts 2013 calendar year fluid milk production at arecord 135.50 million tonnes, 5 per cent more than 2012," the USDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report.

Similarly, production of butter and ghee is estimated to increaseby 5 percent to 4.75 million tonnes next year. While fluid milk productionis expected to continue increasing in 2013, production of non-fat drymilk (NFDM) is only expected to face marginal increases due to large

stocks carried over from this year, it added. USDA also noted, "Thisestimate may fluctuate slightly in response to fodder availability andoverall monsoon conditions in 2013." India accounts for about 17percent of the world's total dairy production, and consumes almost allof it. The report highlighted that over the last several years, India hasexperienced strong growth in demand for dairy products, which isestimated to be 6-8 percent annually, approximately twice the growthrate of supply.

poliovirus transmission continuesanywhere in the world," says Dr AjayKhera, Deputy Commissioner atthe Union Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare, while pointing outthat among the remaining polioendemic countries of Pakistan,

Afghanistan and Nigeria, two ofthem are with close proximity toIndia. Regular Polio immunisationis being carried out at five borderpoints along the Indo-Pak border,at Baramulla and Poonch inJammu and Kashmir, Attari andWagah in Punjab and Munabo inRajasthan.

To raise public awarenesson the ravages of polio and garner

support for eradication efforts,World Polio Day will be observedtomorrow across the globe. Thehealth ministry, along with itspartners in World HealthOrganisation (WHO), Unicef andRotary International, are takingspecial efforts across the country,particularly in the high-risk areasand among high-risk groups forpolio - such as migrant and mobilepopulations to ensure they arereached with polio vaccines.


21/33


International

Round-Up

India and Spain Sign

MoU on Roads and Road

SectorMemorandum of Under

standing between India and Spainon Roads and Road TransportSector was signed by the Ministerof Road Transport & Highways andMinister of Railways, Dr. C.P.Joshiand visiting Spain Minister of PublicWorks and Transport, Ms. Ana

Pastor Julin at New Delhi onOctober 26.

The objective of MOUinclude promoting efficient andenvironmentally sustainabletransport systems and toinstitutionalize a technical andscientific cooperation in the fieldsof road infrastructure, construction,maintenance and management ofroads. It will also include exchangeof information betweenGovernment officials andspecialists of the HighwayDepartments in the field oftransportation by road, andpromote and develop the relationsbetween enterprises (consultancy,engineering and road transportservice provider companies) toenable transfer of technology in thefield of road and road transport.

India convinces rich

nations to commit $12

billion biodiversity

conservationIndia, backed by vociferous

developing countries, ultimatelyconvinced the rich world to doublethe international funds forconserving biodiversity in thedeveloping world by 2015. Thedecision was taken at the annualmeeting of the UN Convention onBiodiversity, after hard-nosednegotiations with the EuropeanUnion and some other countriesdrew the meeting into extra time.

The gathered representatives of 193 countries decided thatthe developed countries woulddouble the biodiversity-related

international funds by 2015, usinga baseline figure of the averageannual national spending onbiodiversity between 2006 and2010. Back-of-the-envelopecalculations peg it to be around$12 billion.

The decision took a long-drawn argument with the UK, EUand Canada besides some otherdeveloped countries, Indiannegotiators said. Unionenvironment and forests ministerJayanthi Natarjan was engaged inseveral closed-door parleys toconvince the developed nations togive into the demand.

In a meeting that saw theNorth-South cleave get deepen, therich countries demanded that thedeveloping world first make afirmer assessment of needs andalso develop elaborate reportingframework before funds arecommitted. The African nations,particularly, along with several otherdeveloping countries like Brazil

saw this as a delaying tactic afterpromises were made last year thatrich countries would pledge moneyat Hyderabad.

The last-minute deal alsoincluded the decision that greaternumber of countries wouldincorporate biodiversity-related

concerns in their financial anddevelopment plans. All partiesagreed to substantially increasedomestic expenditures for

biodiversity protection over thesame period. These targets are notto be reviewed in 2014.

In another significantdecision, the countries decided toclassify marine areas on basis oftheir ecological or biologicalsignificance. This classification isexpected to feed into the larger UNprocess of creating a new globaltreaty for conservation ofbiodiversity in international waters.

The meet also decided tokeep track of and follow theprecautionary principle in studyingthe impact of the new emergingscience of synthetic biology anadvancement over the existinggenetically modified technologies.

Tea Board of India Joined

hand with European Tea

CommitteeTea Board of India Signed a

joint Communique with Europeantea Committee on 17 October

2012. It was agreed with signing ofcommuniqu that both theoraganisation will cooperate andwork together in distributinginformation about the ProtectedGeographical Indication (PGI)registration and its implications inGermany and other tea consuming

Cultural Carnival to Celebrate Six Decades of Indo-

German TiesThe German Ambassador to India, Michael Steiner on 19 Octo-

ber 2012 announced the event named Indo-German Urban Mela sched-uled to start from 27 October 2012 at Delhi. The celebrations are thepart of Germany and India 2011-2012: Infinite Opportunities.

The nine-day cultural extravaganza that is scheduled to be heldat Indraprastha Millenium Park that is mea

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