Foreign Exchange Earnings From Tourism Grew by 7 Percent in April 2013

7/27/2019 Foreign Exchange Earnings From Tourism Grew by 7 Percent in April 2013

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Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism

grew by 7 percent in April 2013

The Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in terms of Rupee in April 2013 rose by sevenpercent from the one recorded in April 2012. The Foreign Tourists Arrival (FTAs) in April 2013 remained

the same 4.52 lakh with the one recorded in April 2012.

The FTAs in a quarters time from January to April 2013 has risen by 1.9 percent to 24.80 lakh. In January

to April 2012 the FTAs were 24.34 lakh.

Highlights of the FTAs and FEEs during April 2013 from Tourism

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs)

In April 2013 the number of FTAs was 4.52 lakh, while, the number of FTAs in April 2012, was also 4.52

lakh.

There was no growth in FTAs recorded in April 2013, whereas, the FTAs grew by 1.3 percent during

April 2012 over April 2011.

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from Tourism in rupee terms and USdollars terms

During the month of April 2013 the FEEs was 7248 crore rupees, which was 6745 crore rupees in April

2012 and 5724 crore rupees in April 2011.

In terms of rupees the FEEs grew by 7.5 percent in April 2013 over April2012 as compared to 17.8percent of April 2012 over April 2011

The FEEs in terms of rupee from tourism from January to April 2013 is 37323 crore rupee with a

growth of 17.7 percent as compared to the FEE of 31713 crore rupees with a growth of 28.5 percent

during January-April 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.

In terms of USDs the FEEs during the month of April 2013 were 1.333 billion US dollar as compared to

FEEs of 1.305 billion US dollars during the month of April 2012 and 1.290 billion US dollars in April 2011.

The FEEs grew by 2.1 percent in terms of US dollars in April 2013 over April 2012. It was 1.2 percent in

April 2012 over April 2011.

FEE from tourism in terms of US dollars during January-April 2013 were US dollars 6.878 billion with a

growth of 9.6 percent, as compared to US dollars 6.275 billion with a growth of 14.7 percent duringJanuary-April 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.

The monthly estimates of FTAs are compiled by the Ministry of Tourism and are made based upon the

data received from the major ports and the FEEs from tourism on the basis of data received from

Reserve Bank of India.


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Russia and USA announced Commitment to

Negotiate to End Syrian Conflict

Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of United States John Kerry announced theircommitments to a negotiated settlement for the end of the conflict of Syria at Moscow on 7 May 2013.

The two have pushed forward for an international conference on the crisis situation.

The decision came up after the talks that lasted for hours between the Visiting US Secretary of State

John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin further proceeded by the Russian Foreign Minister

Sergei Lavrov in a bid to lessen the differences between Washington and Russia over the Syrian Conflict.

Both the nations will try to come up with an international conference over the conflict of Syria and will

try to convince the regime as well as the rebels to accept the terms of Geneva that was agreed and

suggested by the world powers in June 2012.

Geneva agreement was reached by the world leaders on 30 May 2012 by setting up the path towards

the formation of the transitional Government in Syria, without declaring the fate of President Bashar al-

Assad.

The International Conference will aim at bringing together the leaders of the government and the

opposition at one platform to come up with a negotiated settlement of issue, to end the bloodshed in

Syria.

Sahara Created New World Record ofLargest Group to Sing National Anthem at

One Place

Lucknow, UP: Sahara India Pariwar created a new Guinness World Record on 6 May 2013

when its 121653 staff and workers sang Indias national anthem Jana Gana Mana in union at

Lucknow. The present world record is in the account of Pakistan where 42813 people sangnational anthem in a group at one place.

Apart from this, Sahara India Pariwar had also attempted the record of more than one millionemployees singing the national anthem in one uniform at 4512 offices of Sahara spread in India.

Sahara came to be recognised on the global map through acquisition of Plaza Hotel in New York

and London's Grosvenor House hotel.

The representatives of Guinness World Record witnessed the moment and confirmed the world


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record. Subrata Roy Sahara, the Chairman of Sahara India Pariwar was conferred with the

certificate by officials of Guinness Book of World Records.

The Union Government Cleared 2000 Crore

Rupees Project for Juhu AirportRedevelopment

The Union Government of India decided to redevelop the Juhu Airport of Mumbai by extending runway

650 metres into sea. This has been done to ease the congestion of traffic at Chhatrapati Shivaji

International (CSI) Airport. It is worth noticing that this is the first ever kind of a project in India where

the realigning and extension of the runway would be done into the sea.

The government planned that the Juhu runway would be operational by 2017. It is forecasted that by

2017, the CSI Airport would become completely saturated. The Juhu Airport thus would cater to the

small turboprop and the private jets along with ATR operations that encompass approximately 15

percent of total operations of CSI Airport. This means that there would be a diversion in aircraft

movement from CSI to Juhu Airport by around 15 percent. Apart from this, the Juhu Airport would also

cater to the helicopter operations with its second and smaller runway.

The cost of the project is estimated to be somewhere around 2000 crore Rupees. The Juhu Airport

runway will run parallel to CSI main runway. Both these airports would be able to take on landings as

well as take offs simultaneously.

The decision on whether this project would be taken up by public-private partnership or Airports

Authority of India (AAI) is yet to be decided. Feasibility options for Juhu Airport development were

studied at a recent meeting of AAI, Maharashtra government officials as well as Aviation Ministry.

The Aviation Ministry explained that the Bandra Versova sea-link as well as redevelopment of Juhu

Airport projects would be done in such a way that both these can co-exist. Concerns over environmental

issues and hampering of Juhu Beach area would be considered as well.

World Bank agreed Grant of 100mn USD to

Afghanistan for Expansion of Health Services

The World Bank on 7 May 2013 announced that it will provide grant of 100 million US dollar to

Afghanistan for expansion of the basic health and essential hospital services in the country. The World

Bank and Afghan Government released a press statement on the agreement reached and signed

between the two to this effect at Kabul.


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World Banks International Development Association (IDA) will provide the grant with an aim to help the

Afghan Public Health Ministry for its System Enhancement Health Action in Transition (SEHAT) program.

Afghanistan will use the grant for expansion of the scope and quality of the basic health and essential

hospital services across the nation, which includes 22 rural and urban areas of its 34 provinces. It will

also strengthen the National Health System by developing the capacity of the Public Health Ministry.

Afghanistan has made a steady progress in the health sector in the past decade. The facilities of health

in 11 targeted provinces of Afghanistan has also tripled in a decades time from 148 to 432 as per official

records, with about 20000 trained community health workers. The number of facilities with trained

female health workers rose from 25 percent before the project to 74 percent today. The functional

health care facilities in Afghanistan has gone up to 2000 from 496 and thus resulted in significant

improvement in the coverage of reproductive and child health services, there has been a marked drop in

maternal and child mortality.

Profulla Borua, the Veteran Indian Journalist

Passed Away in Guwahati

Profulla Borua, the veteran Indian journalist passed away in Guwahati, Assam after prolonged illness on

6 May 2013. He was 75 years of age. He died after a fight with cancer.

About Profulla Borua

Profulla Borua held the post of the editor in some of the prominent Assamese newspapers.

In his career span of 50 years, he had dynamic spirit of journalism.

From 1969 to 1986, he was the editor of Janambhumi, the prominent newspaper of North East.

He was also the editor ofDainik Asam from 1987-95.

Lately, he was the editor of Uddipam, which is the only weekly for the senior citizens of northeastern

region.

He was also the executive trustee of celebration and documentation of 150 years of newspapers in

Assam by Media Trust.

He was arrested twice in 1981 and 1983 while fighting for Press independence.


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3rd National Awards for Technology

Innovation in Petrochemical and

Downstream PresentedThe Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Statistics &

Programme Implementation Srikant Kumar Jena presented 3rd National Awards for TechnologyInnovation in Petrochemical and Downstream, Plastic Processing Industry in New Delhi on 7

May 2013.

The awards were given away to winners for their outstanding contribution in the fields ofPolymeric Material, Polymeric Products, Polymer Processing Machinery & Equipment, Polymer

Waste Management & Recycling Technology, Polymeric Materials & Products, Polymers in

Agriculture and Water Conservation, Green Polymers in Public Health care and Research in the

field of Polymer Science & Technology. The awards were aimed at recognizing the innovationsin niche areas of petrochemicals and plastics processing.

The award included a shield, a citation as well as cash prize of 2 lakh Rupees. The runners-upreceived a shield and a citation.

National Policy on Petrochemicals and Introduction of the Awards

The National Policy on Petrochemicals was approved in April 2007 by the Government of India.

The aim of the policy was increasing investment, competitiveness, and Research & Development

efforts in thrust areas of polymeric materials.

The award scheme was introduced by the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC),

Government of India to incentivize meritorious innovations and inventions in various fields of

Polymer Science and Technology, by Individual/Team, Industry, Academic and R&DInstitutions.

The aim of these awards is development of petrochemical industry as a globally competitiveindustry. The implementation of scheme of National Award for Technology Innovation in

Petrochemicals & Downstream Plastic Processing Industry is entrusted with the Central Institute

of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), an autonomous institute under DCPC.

About the 3rd National Awards

In 3rd National Awards, 306 nominations were received which were scrutinized and evaluated

by a committee of experts consisting of academicians, members from the Industry, experts from

R&D institutions.

Out of these, 11 nominations were selected as the winners, 8 nominations were chosen as the


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runners-up and 6 were recommended for Commendation Certificate for Technology Innovation

in Petrochemicals and Downstream Plastic Processing Industries in the third year of its operation

in 2012-13.

List of the winners

Gharda Chemicals Ltd., for An Economical Process to Manufacture ABPBI (2.5Polybenzimidazole) parts in the Industry category of Innovation in Polymeric Materials.

Anindya Deb, Centre for Product Design And Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science for

Nanoclay -Polypropylene Based Enhanced Automotive Upper Interior Head Impact SafetyProtection in the Individual / Team category of Innovation in Polymeric Products.

Shriji Polymers (India) Pvt. Ltd., for their innovation of Child Resistant Cap in the Industry

category of Innovation in Polymeric Products.

M. J. Giridharan, C. G. Enterprises, for Multiport HDPE Saddle Welding Machine in theIndividual / Team category of Innovation of Polymer Processing Machinery & Equipments.

CSIR- Indian Institute of Petroleum for Technology to Convert Waste Plastics (Polyolefins) to

Automotive Grade Fuel and Petrochemicals in the Academics and R&D Institution category ofInnovation In Polymer Waste Management & Recycling Technology.

Team comprising Dr. S.T. Mhaske, Vilas S. Karande & Niranjan R. Savadekar from Institute

of Chemical Technology for their innovation Synthesis of Nanocellulose (Nanowhiskers and

Nanofibers) and its Applications in Biopolymers to Enhance their Performance Properties in theAcademics and R&D Institution category of Innovation In Green Polymeric Materials &

Products.

Reliance Industries Ltd. for Polymeric Packaging for Extending Shelf Life of Agriculture,Floriculture and Horticulture Produce in the Industry category of Polymers In Agriculture And

Water Conservation.

Team comprising Mr. Jandas P. J., Dr. Smita Mohanty & Prof. S. K. Nayak from Laboratory

for Advanced Research in Polymeric Materials (LARPM)-CIPET for their innovation Polyimide Based Piezoelectric-Induced Pressure Pulse (PIPP) Films for MEMS Applications in

the Academics and R&D Institution category of Innovation in Polymeric Materials.

Mohana Orthotics and Prosthetics Center for Plastics in the field of Physically Handicapped inthe Industry category of Polymers in Public Health Care.

Niranjan Karak, Tezpur University for Biodegradable Tough Transparent Novel

Hyperbranched Polyurethanes from Vegetable Oils in the Individual / Team category ofResearch in the Field of Polymer Science & Technology.

Prof. Mangala Joshi from Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and Dr. Amitava

Bhattacharyya, PSG Institute of Advanced Studies for Polyurethane / Nanographite based

Multifunctional Coatings for Defense Applications in the Academics and R&D Institutioncategory of Research in the Field of Polymer Science & Technology.

List of the Runners - Up

Dr. S Anitha & Dr. T. S. Natarajan from Indian Institute of Technology Madras for

Development of Electrospun Nanocomposite Smart Material in the Academics and R&D

Institution category of Innovation In Polymeric Materials. Sachin Joshi, Mohit Mehta & Sarojini Swain of Crompton Greaves Limited for the innovation


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of Mild Steel Based Storage Water Heater Tank, Inside Coated with Specially Developed Nano

Based Liquid Polymer Applied by 2 Axis Synchronized Robotic Painting System in the Industry

category of Innovation in Polymeric Products. Manoharmayum Manihar Sharma for the innovation of Solar Multi Silk and Mugha Reeling

cum Spinning Machine in the Individual / Team category of Innovation Of Polymer Processing

Machinery & Equipments. CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute for On-line Sorting of ConsumerPlastic Groups through Near Infrared Spectroscopy in the Academics and R&D Institution

category of Innovation In Polymer Waste Management & Recycling Technology.

Sridevi Avancha, Ajaya Kumar Behera, Ramkrishna Sen & Dr. Basudam Adhikari of IIT -Kharagpur for the innovation of Biodegradable and Eco-friendly Jute Soy Composite and

Sapling pot in the Academics and R&D Institution category of Innovation In Green Polymeric

Materials & Products.

Godavari Polymers Pvt. Ltd. for Break through Techniques in Drip in Line Lateral Design inthe Industry category of Polymers in Agriculture and Water Conservation.

Dr. K. P. Chellamani, D. Veerasubramanian & R. S. Vignesh Balaji from The South India

Textile Research Association for the innovation of Barbed Bi-directional Surgical Sutures in theIndustry category of Polymers In Public Health Care.

Prof. Pralay Maiti, Prof. Nira Misra & Mr. Govinda Kapusetti from IIT (BHU) for the

innovation of Polymer Based Nanobiocomposites for Faster Bone Healing in the Academics and

R&D Institution category of Research In The Field Of Polymer Science & Technology.

MoU Signed Between NCW and HUDCO for

Improving Living Conditions of Destitute

WomenA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between National Commission for Women (NCW)

and HUDCO on 7 May 2013 in New Delhi. The MoU was signed by V P Baligar, IAS, Chairman & Managing

Director (HUDCO) and K. Ratna Prabha, IAS, Member Secretary, National Commission for Women

(NCW). The MoU was signed to improve living conditions of destitute women.

Major points of the MoU

The importance of the MoU is that both the Ministries will be cooperating in elevating the condition

and status of the marginalized and destitute women in India.

This MoU is a part of Corporate Social Responsibility of HUDCO, under which focus will remain on

providing better amenities of housing and other facilities such as drinking water, sanitation and

electricity to poor and destitute women.

HUDCO and NCW, under the MoU, agreed to co-operate and work together by utilizing their

respective strengths for improvement of the living conditions of destitute women and also facilities like

women hostels and remand homes.

The two bodies entered into the MoU for improving the living conditions of destitute women on


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anything that is related to women welfare or development by enhancing the quality of their habitat.

HUDCO and NCW shall cooperate in the areas of re-construction of existing structures where women

in distress are housed, providing for living quarters, kitchens and toilets, construction of living quarters,

kitchens and toilets in pre-identified sites.

Under the MoU, NCW shall identify the areas where the activity or project has to be undertaken and

HUDCO shall provide financial assistance for implementation of these projects along with technical

advice

India at Top in List of 1st Day Deaths of

Infants: State of the Worlds Mothers Report

State of the Worlds Mothers report released in first week of May 2013 reported that India holds the

record of first day death of newborns than any other country of the world. As per the latest report

released, India accounts to more than 309300 deaths of new born on the first day and accounts to 29percent of the global population.

The basic reason for the deaths of the infants of the first day as per the records of the report are the

complications associated with the preterm birth, maternal health and hygiene standards.

The report is based on the survey done on 186 countries came up with the finding that South Asia that

accounts for about 24 percent of worlds population recorded 40 percent of the first day death of child.

As per the report, the first day death occurs mainly in 10 countries of which the most populated

countries like India and Indonesia.

Others countries placed high in the list are Pakistan, Afghanistan and African nations like Nigeria and

Ethiopia. The developed countries accounts for only 1 percent of the global first-day deaths. Bangladesh

and Pakistan also have a high rate of deaths at 28000 abd 60000 respectively. These deaths are the

reason of chronic malnourishment of the mother and other fatalities of the reason. Despite being more

populated, China ranks 4th and accounts for only 5% of the global share of first-day deaths.


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Identified causes for the first day death of the child includes:

Complications during birth Prematurity and infections, low birth weight (28% of babies in India are underweight)

Limited access to low-cost, life-saving interventions as the access could cut down the figures by as

much as 75 percent

Early marriage and childbearing heightens the risk for babies further. In India 47 percent girls are

married off by the age of 18

As per the report the reason for the deaths in South Asia is the availability of just 14 doctors or nurses

over every 10000 people. In the category of Maternal deaths, India is placed at 142nd position among

176 countries with 56000 maternal deaths per year.

Inter-Ministerial Group Constituted to tackle

Fraudulent Money Pooling Activities via

Ponzi Schemes

The Union Government of India on 7 May 2013 constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group to suggest the

possible ways to tackle with the fraudulent money pooling activities and protect the investors interest

in the same.

Members of the inter-ministerial group will comprise of representatives from the Finance and Corporate

Affairs Ministries, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The decision to constitute a Inter-Ministerial Group was taken in wake up of the instances of people

being defrauded by Ponzi Schemes like the Kolkata-based Saradha Group cheating in which many

investors were fooled via fraudulent money pooling schemes.


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UKs Cairn Energy plc on 7 May 2013 sold 8 per cent stake in Cairn India for 910 million US

dollars. Cairn Energy retains about 10 per cent shareholding in Cairn India following the sale.

The fund will be used to fulfill Cairns current capital needs, which include the development of

discovered resources in the North Sea. Cairn Energy in June 2012 had sold 3.5 per cent stake in

Cairn India for about 360 million US dollars. Cairn Energy is based in Edinburgh.

Nokia unveiled Asha 501 with New Operating

System and Free Facebook Access

Nokia on 8 May 2013 announced Asha 501, a smart phone to beat the low-cost Android phones

in developing markets like India.

The company had been very impressed by the way Asha phones performed so far and they want

to restore the platform. The Series 5 Asha phones had been made purposely for consumers in

countries like India.

The Asha 501 will cost around99 Dollars plus taxes in India. The Phone will be made available

in June in India. The device supports only 2G connection and Wi-Fi. The 3G version is plannedto be launched later.

Specifications of the Asha 501

The Asha 501 runs on a revamped Asha operating system. The device has a design similar to that of low-end Lumia phones. It will be available in six

colours. It has a 3-inch touchscreen and a 3.2MP camera. It will come with a 4GB microSD card.

Asha 501 will not run on the old Symbian S40 operating system, but an entirely new one.

The Asha 501 will be available in two variants - single SIM and dual SIM. The dual SIMvariant will have two slots for micro SIM, of which one will be hot swappable.

Inspired by the Lumia design, the Asha 501 will be available in six colours - bright red, bright

green, cyan, yellow, white and black. It has 17 hours of talktime with 48 days of stand-by for the single SIM variant and 26 days for

the dual-SIM model.

Nokia also announced a global partnership with Facebook, with this the Asha 501 users on Airteland MTNL will get free access to the social networking site.


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Amendments in the National Food Security

Bill Introduced in the Lok Sabha

Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution introduced amendments in theNational Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha on 9 May 2013 and placed the amended Bill for

consideration and passing by the House. Based on the recommendations of the Standing

Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, the Government decided tomove certain amendments to the Bill. These amendments seek to make the framework of the

proposed legislation simpler, provide more flexibility to States/UTs in its implementation and to

address some of the concerns raised by them.

Main amendments to the Bill are as under:

Coverage and entitlement under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): Instead of

coverage of upto 75 percent of the rural population and upto 50 percent of the urban populationunder two categories of priority and general households with different entitlements and issue

prices provided in the original Bill, there would be only one category of beneficiaries withuniform entitlement of 5 kg per person per month. Protection of entitlements under Targeted Public Distribution System:The entitlement of

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute poorest of the poor will, however,

be protected at 35 kg per household per month. It is also proposed to accept the recommendationof the Committee to protect the existing allocation of foodgrains to the States/UTs, subject to it

being restricted to average annual offtake during last three years (2009-10 to 2011-12).

State-wise coverage and identification of beneficiaries: Corresponding to coverage of 75

percent/50 percent of the rural/urban population at the all India level, State-wise coverage will bedetermined by the Planning Commission. The work of identification of eligible households is

proposed to be left to the States/UTs, which may frame their own criteria or use the Social

Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data.

Subsidized Prices under TDPS and their revision: Uniform prices of 3/2/1 rupees per kg forrice/wheat/coarse grains will be applicable to all eligible beneficiaries. It is proposed to fix these

prices for the first three years of implementation of the Act, and thereafter link the same suitably

to MSP. Cost of intra-State transportation & handling of foodgrains and FPS Dealers margin: In order

to address the concerns of States/UTs regarding additional financial burden, it is proposed that

Central Government may provide assistance to States towards cost of intra-State transportation,

handling of foodgrains and FPS Dealers margin, for which norms will be devised. Maternity benefit: It is proposed to allow States/UTs to use the existing machinery of District

Grievance Redressal Officer (DGRO), State Food Commission, if they so desire, to save

expenditure on establishment of new set up. The National Food Security Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011 to

addresses the issue of food security in a comprehensive manner, by adopting a life cycle

approach. The Bill was introduced after a wide-ranging consultation with various stakeholders.

After introduction, the Bill was referred to Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and


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Public Distribution, who interacted with other Central Ministries, various other organizations and

individuals and visited States before submitting its report to the Speaker, Lok Sabha on 17

January 2013. The recommendations of the Standing Committee were examined in consultationwith concerned Central Ministries and also with the Food Ministers and Food Secretaries of

States/UT.

At the coverage and entitlement now proposed, total estimated annual foodgrains requirement is

612.3 lakh tons and the corresponding estimated food subsidy for implementation of NFSB, at

2013-14 costs, is about 124747 crore rupees. When compared to the estimated food subsidyrequirement under existing TDPS and Other Welfare Schemes, the additional food subsidy

implication is about 23800 crore rupees per annum. Requirement for assistance to States for

meeting the expenditure on Transportation, Handling and FPS Dealers margin, etc., would be

additional.

Supreme Court dismissed Plea Challenging

Cairn-Vedanta DealThe Supreme Court on 8 May 2013 dismissed a PIL challenging 8.5 billion US Dollars Cairn-Vedanta deal

and its validity.

A bench of justices comprising of K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra asserted that the decision by the

Centre and ONGC pertaining to the deal was taken after due consideration and the court is not liable to

sit in judgment on the decision taken by parties in business dealing.

The PIL was filed by a resident of Bangalore Arun Kumar Agarwal who had alleged that there was a

clause in the agreement between Cairn group and ONGC that in case Cairn Group wanted to sell its

shares in Cairn India, it would first offer the same to ONGC and this right was not asserted by the PSU

and the Centre.

It was also alleged that the decision on the deal had been made on extraneous considerations and

without taking into account the relevant aspects.

As per the clause, Cairn could sell its shares to other parties only after ONGC refused to buy the stake

and ONGC, thus, had the right of first refusal (ROFR).

As per the petitioner Cairn Energy had violated the clause and signed a deal with Vedanta group to sell

its shares in Cairns India, without making an offer to ONGC and that the exchequer would have

benefited by over one lakh crore Rupees if ONGC had insisted on enforcing the clause.

About Cairn India Ltd

Cairn India Ltd, a subsidiary of UK-based Cairns Energy, is the operator of the Rajasthan oil block. It had


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entered into an agreement with UK-based Vedanta Group on 16 June, 2010, to sell its majority stake in

Cairn India for a consideration of around 8.5 billion US Dollars without offering the shares to its partner

ONGC in the joint venture as per the agreement of right of first refusal.

Land Pooling Policy in Master Plan Delhi2021 Approved

The modification regarding Land Pooling Policy in Master Plan Delhi 2021 (MPD-2021) wasapproved by the Ministry of Urban development on 18 April 2013. The Policy envisages 40

percent land will be kept with DDA for land parcels above 20 Hectare and 60 percent for land

parcels below 20 Hectare. The Development Fee as decided under the Policy shall be payable by

the Land owner.

MPD2021, provides a comprehensive policy to meet the growing demands of Housing and

urbanization. DDA is currently engaged in extensive modification of the Master Plan of Delhi -2001 and is preparing MPD with a perspective up to 2021 to cater to the increasing population

and the changing requirements of the city.

As a prelude to preparation of MPD - 2021, twelve subgroups have been constituted comprising:

Experts and Professionals,

Eminent Persons, Public Representatives,

Concerned Departments,

Sectoral Studies

Series of Seminars inviting politicians, administrators,local bodies & RWA's etc.

About 200 Experts are Delibrating on different aspects.The Sub-Groups on :

Demographic Profile

Regional and Sub-Regional

Shelter Trade and Commerce

Industry

Physical infrastructure Traffic and Transportation

Social Infrastructure

Mixed Land Use Conservation and Urban Renewal Environment and Pollution

Development Controls

Stages:

Public participation through series of seminars and interaction with Residents Welfare


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Associations etc.

Recommendations of the sub-groups

Central / state government and authority advice-(Guidelines received from GOI - additional input being publicised for consultation with

stakeholders)

Draft plan Approval of GOI for issue of public notice to invite objections & suggestions. Consideration of objections and suggestions

Final plan

The Delhi Development Authority was created in 1957 under the provisions of the Delhi

Development Act "to promote and secure the development of Delhi "

Alex Ferguson announced retirement as

Manchester United ManagerAlex Ferguson on 8 May 2013 declared that he would step down as the Manager of ManchesterUnited at the end of the season. His declaration has put to an end, his 26 years journey as the in-

charge of Manchester United. After retirement, he will join the board of the football club.

The 71 year old, Alex Ferguson would step down from the position of manager after the Uniteds

game against West Bromwich Albion to be played on 19 May 2013. Alex will now take over the

position of both Director and Ambassador for the club.

About Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in the English Football History He took over the charge of the team as its manager in 1986 from Ron Atkinson and since then

has helped the team in winning five FA Cups and two Champions League

In 26 years of his journey he managed to win 13 league titles He was the in charge of 1498 matches for the club

After taking the charge of Manchester United, he helped the team to win the English title of

1992-93 by defeating Liverpool

Players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldoand Wayne Rooney started their career under Alex Ferguson

Championships Won under Alex Ferguson by Manchester United

Championships Years of Winning

Premier League 1993, 1994, 1996,1997, 1999, 2000,

2001, 2003, 2007,

2008, 2009, 2011 and2013


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Champions League 1999 and 2008

FA (Football Association)

Cup

1990, 1994, 1996,

1999 and 2004

League Cup 1992, 2006, 2009 and

2010

FIFA World Cup 2008

Tribal Forest Dwellers Empowerment

Scheme Launched

Tribal Forest Dwellers Empowerment Scheme of National Scheduled Tribes Finance and

Development Corporation (NSTFDC) for economic upliftment of Schedule Tribe forest

dwellershere was launched on 8 May 2013 by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs & PanchayatiRaj. This is a significant scheme for economic development of Scheduled tribes. The Forest

Rights act recognized and regularized the preexisting rights of ST forest dwellers and under thisscheme, financial assistance will be provided them at concessional rate for their empowerment.

The Government enacted a Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers

(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Under this act, the Scheduled Tribes and OtherTraditional forest Dwellers have been given the right to hold the forest land for habitation or for

self-cultivation or for carrying out any other traditional activity for their livelihood. Most of the

Scheduled Tribes are poor and need financial support for productive utilization of land for their

livelihood.

In order to provide concessional finance to the Forest Dwelling STs, the NSTFDC has

formulated the new Tribal Forest Dwellers Empowerment Scheme. NSTFDC would generateawareness, provide training and assist in market linkage apart from providing financial assistance

at concessional rate of interest of 6% p.a. to the beneficiaries. This assistance would be made

available through 33 State Channelizing Agencies of NSTFDC and certain PSU Banks/ RegionalRural Banks having refinance agreements with NSTFDC.

Brazil's Roberto Azevedo appointed Head of

World Trade Organization

Roberto Azevedo from Brazil on 8 May 2013 was named as the head of the World Trade Organisation.His appointment to the office came up at the time when the organization is struggling to identify ways

to revive the talks on freeing global commerce and to help poorer nations in development. He will take

charge of his office from Pascal Lamy of France in the Geneva-based Body in September 2013.

Azevedo is the first Latin American to be appointed as the head of the WTO since it was created in 1995.

The process of electing the WTO Head took a period of about six months. A total of nine people were


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competing for the post.

After being into the office, his journey will start with the 9th ministerial in Bali, Indonesia from 3 to 6

December 2013.

About Roberto Azevedo

Since 2008, the 55 years old, Roberto Azevedo has been serving WTO as the Permanent

Representative of Brazil to WTO and other International Economic Organisation in Geneva

He was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Affairs to the Foreign Minister from 1995 to 96

He was the head of Dispute Settlement Unit from 2001 to 2005

Director of the Department of Economic Affairs from 2005 to 2006

Vice Minister for Economic and Technological Affairs from 2006 to 2008

About WTO

WTO was established with the signing of the Marrakesh Agreement/ Marrakesh Declaration at

Marrakesh, Morrocco in 1994. WTO came up as a replacement of the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (GATT). GATT was overseeing the rules of commerce since 1948. GATT covered trade in goods,

whereas WTO deals with trade of inventions, designs and services too.

Arab League agreed to Israel-Palestine Land

Swap Agreement

Arab nations on 1 May 2013 collectively agreed to accept an arrangement that will allow Israelisand Palestinians to carry on with their land swap agreement to resolve differences instead of

sticking to the pre-1967-war position.The decision of Arab nations followed a meeting in

Washington of Arab officials and the US Secretary of State John Kerry. The Arab league

delegation affirmed after the talks that the agreement should be based on the two-state solutionon the basis of the 4 June 1967 line, with the possibility of comparable and mutual agreed minor

swap of the land.

The Arab Leagues proposal in its original form-proposed in 2002 at the Arab Leagues Summit

in Beirut- included a full Arab recognition of an Israeli state, provided it gave up land captured in

the 1967 Israel-Arab war and it should accept a just solution for Palestinian refugees. The Israelhad earlier rejected the plan. Israel refuses to return to 1967 borders, inclusion of East Jerusalem

in a future Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees displaced in earlier Israel-Arabwars.


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Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan Appointed as

the New CEO of Anglogold Ashanti

Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, also known as Venkat was on 9 May 2013 appointed as the new ChiefExecutive Officer of South Africas AngloGold Ashanti. Venkat has remained with the Johannesburg

headquartered AngloGold Ashanti for nine years. At present, he is the finance head of the company.

Venkat replaced Mark Cutifani who quit in April 2013.

Venkat was the Chief Financial Officer at Ashanti Goldfields. Later, Ashanti Goldfields merged with the

AngloGold Limited in May 2004, which eventually created AngloGold Ashanti. With the merger of these

two companies, Venkat became the CFO of the combined company.

He held Associate Chartered Accountant degree from Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid. The

company announced that he will continue to hold the position of CFO at AngloGold Ashanti, till notifiedfurther.

AngloGold Ashanti is the gold mining company at international level. It has 20 operations on four

continents. The company produced 3.944 million ounces of gold in 2012. In gold income, it generated

6.35 billion US dollar. Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, also known as Venkat was on 9 May 2013 appointed

as the new Chief Executive Officer of South Africas AngloGold Ashanti. Venkat has remained with the

Johannesburg headquartered AngloGold Ashanti for nine years. At present, he is the finance head of the

company. Venkat replaced Mark Cutifani who quit in April 2013.

Venkat was the Chief Financial Officer at Ashanti Goldfields. Later, Ashanti Goldfields merged with theAngloGold Limited in May 2004, which eventually created AngloGold Ashanti. With the merger of these

two companies, Venkat became the CFO of the combined company.

He held Associate Chartered Accountant degree from Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid. The

company announced that he will continue to hold the position of CFO at AngloGold Ashanti, till notified

further.

AngloGold Ashanti is the gold mining company at international level. It has 20 operations on four

continents. The company produced 3.944 million ounces of gold in 2012. In gold income, it generated

6.35 billion US dollar.

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) cleared

26 New Areas for Development


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The Delhi development authority on 8 May 2013 had declared Twenty-six villages as development areas

which are identified as low density residential areas under the farmhouse policy.

A resolution in this regard was passed at a DDA meeting. Now, the DDA will be responsible for

regularisation of farmhouses and providing of civic amenities in these low density residential areas.

It is being considered as a necessary step to ensure overall integrated development of urbanisable area

under the recently approved land pooling policy and also the planned development of low density areas

like farmhouses, country homes, etc, to declare villages identified as low density residential areas as

development areas of DDA.

The DDA has drawn up a list of 26 villages for development under a policy that seeks to regularise

farmhouses built before 2 February, 2007, including built-up area beyond permissible limits, by levying

penalty charges.

The funds that will be collected through levy for regularisation of existing farmhouses are supposed to

be shared by DDA and MCD as per modalities decided by the Centre.

Also, In another development, there is plan of providing more floor area ratio (FAR) to the city hospitals

based on the width of the right of way of the road outside and subject to no-objection certificates

from agencies concerned.

Union Minister of Culture Launched 13

Short Films Based on Tagores PoemsThe Union Minister of Culture, Chandresh Kumari Katoch launched 13 short films based on the poems of

Rabindranath Tagore in New Delhi on 9 May 2013. All the films have been produced with the financial

support of Ministry of Culture.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta, the noted Director directed these 13 short films through the National Film

Development Corporation. The project of Production of 13 short films or documentaries is a part of

commemoration celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

The Screening Committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Shyam Benegal in order toexamine film production and related proposals for the commemoration.

All the 13 short films are of 25-30 minutes time duration. These are based on the Tagores poems

namely, Bansi (The Flute), Krishnakali (The Dark Maiden), Mukti (The Freedom), Phanki (Deception),

Pukur Dhare (From the pool side), Ek Gaye (A Village), Camellia (Camellia), Banshiwallah (The Flutist),

Shesh Chithi (The Last Letter), Hothat Dekha (The Unexpected Meeting), Patralekha (The letter ought to


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be written), Basha Bari (The mansion) and Istition (The Station).

The films depict the Tagores humanism as well as creativity in him. The films reflect a wide range of his

intellectual thinking from Romance to Philosophy and tradition to the contemporary ills.

Rabindranath Tagore is known across the world for his literary and artistic genius, creativity, humanism

and internationalism.

British Parliament agreed to Outlaw Caste

Discrimination

The British parliament finally agreed to outlaw caste discrimination by amending the Equality

Act 2010. The Act prohibited race discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the

workplace, till now. The definition of race mentioned in the Act includes colour, ethnic ornational origin and nationality but makes no specific reference to caste.

The British parliament finally voted for legal protection for the four lakh dalits residing in the

country. With this step, UK has become the first country outside South Asia to legislate against

caste discrimination. The legislation will protect thousands of people, who has suffered abuse

and prejudice because they were considered low caste.

The issue has created a divide among the Indian diaspora in the UK.The groups like Caste Watch

UK are rallying to urge MPs to introduce legal protection for those from traditionally lower-castebackgrounds wheras the Hindu Alliance called for a boycott of the amendment. According to the

2011 census, there are 81633 Hindus are living in UK.

Maruti Launched Limited Edition Ertiga

Trim Called Feliz

Maruti on 9 May 2013 launched a limited edition trim of the Ertiga called the Feliz, in

celebration of the MPVs first anniversary. It is available in the VXi and VDi variants at prices

of 6.89 lakh rupees and 8.24 lakh rupees respectively, which is 20000 rupees higher than the

regular Maruti Ertiga.

Ertigas exteriors include features in the form of a silver colored grille, silver colored rear-view

mirrors (which have integrated indicators), and a pair of silver colored fog lamps. There arechanges to the body graphics on the side, and a rear spoiler was also added.

Ertigas interior features have also been changed. These are in the form of beige steering wheel,seat covers and floor mats with branding, a different music system, an interior display kit and

new door sill guards


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Benefits of Exposing Skin to Sun Can

Outweigh Risks of Skin Cancer: Research

Edinburgh University research suggestedthat the benefits of exposing the skin to sun

can outweigh the risks posed to health. The

research indicated that sunlight is useful for

reducing the blood pressure, stroke risks as

well as risks of heart attack. It can evenprolong the life.

It was found that the ultraviolet rays exposed

from the sun release a compound called nitric

oxide which can lower the blood pressure.

The heart strokes as well as heart diseaseswhich are associated with high BP can prove

to be 80 times more fatal than the deaths due

to skin cancer in UK.

Nitric Oxide production is different from the

manufacturing of vitamin D in human body.

Vitamin D can be increased in the body after

exposure to the sunlight.


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During their research, the researchers

studied blood pressure of 24 volunteers underheat and UV lamps. In a single session, these

volunteers were exposed to heat of the lamps

as well as the UV rays. In the other session,

volunteers were not exposed to the UV rays

and so, they were exposed only to the heat of

lamps.

The result indicated that volunteers exposed

to UV rays during one hour session had

significant drop in the blood pressure level,

than that of heat-only sessions.

The researchers thus suggested that the UV

rays of the sun can lead to benefits. During

both the sessions, the level of Vitamin D

remained unaffected.

The study will be presented in Edinburgh on

10 May 2013 at largest gathering of the skin

experts, International Investigative


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Dermatology conference. ESA Gave Green

Signal to Biomass Satellite to Monitor the

Forests of Earth

The European Space Agency (ESA) gave a green signal to Biomass, the satellite that can weigh the forests

of the Earth. Biomass would be launched in 2020. The Earth Observation Programme Board of ESA

approved 400 million Euro for the Biomass mission on 7 May 2013.

Biomass will carry the state-of-the-art radar system which can sense trunks as well as the branches of

the trees from orbit. This satellite will be used by the scientists for calculating the carbon amount stored

in forests of the world. It will also be used for monitoring the changes in the forests during its five-year

mission.

The data from the satellite will be used by the scientists to understand role of trees in cycling of carbon

on Earth and that how it affects the climate of our planet.

The scientists explained that this would in turn help in formation of the treaties which would help the

developing countries in preservation of the forests by undertaking measures such as UN Reducing

Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative.

Biomass will be the seventh satellite of ESAs Earth Explorers, a series of the spacecrafts which are

designed for innovative science. So far, ESA has sent its three missions in the orbit, which sent back vital

information such as ocean salinity, soil moisture, polar ice cover and gravity.

The spacecraft that will study the magnetic field of the Earth will be launched by the ESA in 2013. The

satellites under this mission will study wind as well as fine particles in atmosphere.

Features of Biomass

Biomass is the 1.2-tonne satellite at the launch, which means that it would go into the orbit through

new Vega rocket of ESA.

The sole instrument of Biomass will send 70 cm radar pulse on the Earth which will penetrate the

canopies of forests but will scatter into large woody parts of the trees.

Biomass will sense volume of the material at resolution of around 200 m. Basically; it will help in

weighing the amount of carbon associated with the forests of the world.

The 12 m reflector antenna will capture return signal from radar.

At present, Biomass is not permitted to operate on Europe, Arctic and North America. This is so

because the US Department of Defense (DoD) warned that the radar of Biomass would interfere with


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the missile early-warning as well as space tracking systems.

The Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) of UK funded the basic science which underpinned the

concept of Biomass. Britain is senior partner of Earth observation programme of ESA. It will play a crucial

industrial role in biomass mission.

India is the largest Producer and Consumer

of Chickpeas in World

Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its latest report for 2011 claimed that India is the

largest consumer and producer of Chickpeas in the world. The second advance estimates for2012-13 marked a record production of Chickpea is 8567.8 thousand tonnes.

Production details of Chickpeas in India as compared to the World Chickpea producing nation:

Country Production (000

tonnes)

India 8221.10

Australia 513.34

Myanmar 466.74

Turkey 487.48

Ethiopia 322.84

Pakistan 496.00Islamic Republic of Iran 290.24

Canada 90.80

United Republic ofTanzania

71.18

Systematic and concentrated research on Chickpeas is undertaken by Indian Council of

Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its on-going plan projects under Indian Institute of Pulses

Research (IIPR), Kanpur and All India Coordinated Research Project on Chickpea. In past three

years, thirteen types of high yielding varieties of chickpeas have been released in India.

Creation of basic and strategic research for development of location specific climate supportinghigh yielding chickpea varieties and improved production and protection technologies are themajor steps included in the research program.

Several Crop development schemes like Food Security Mission (NFSM-Pulses), RashtriyaKrishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and others are implemented by the Government of India in order

to increase the production and productivity of Pulses including Chickpeas. Special Plan to

achieve more than 19 million tonnes of pulse production during 2012-13 has also been initiated.


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IISC designed a New Concept of Vaccine

Delivery System

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) designed and successfully tested a new concept ofneedleless vaccine delivery system in the laboratory. IISc has become the only organization in

the world that has developed such a device. The new device was the result of collaboration

among the laboratory for hypersonic and shock wave, the department of aerospace engineering,and the microbiology and cell biology department of the Indian Institute of Science.

Typhoid vaccine was successfully delivered into mice in laboratory using the new technique. Thedevice utilizes the instantaneous mechanical impulse produced by micro-blast waves to achieve

delivery of vaccines into mice. A negligible amount of chemical energy is used to generate the

micro-blast wave inside a small disposable plastic tube.

Since the depth of penetration of drug below the skin is not much, animals do not feel the painduring vaccine delivery.

The trials on animals have proved that by using this device a lesser quantity of vaccines is

sufficient to provide resistance to animals against in comparison to conventional methods. Thenew system is safe, economical and painless.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) designed and successfully tested a new concept ofneedleless vaccine delivery system in the laboratory. IISc has become the only organization in

the world that has developed such a device. The new device was the result of collaboration

among the laboratory for hypersonic and shock wave, the department of aerospace engineering,

and the microbiology and cell biology department of the Indian Institute of Science.

Typhoid vaccine was successfully delivered into mice in laboratory using the new technique. Thedevice utilizes the instantaneous mechanical impulse produced by micro-blast waves to achieve

delivery of vaccines into mice. A negligible amount of chemical energy is used to generate the

micro-blast wave inside a small disposable plastic tube.

Since the depth of penetration of drug below the skin is not much, animals do not feel the pain

during vaccine delivery.

The trials on animals have proved that by using this device a lesser quantity of vaccines is

sufficient to provide resistance to animals against in comparison to conventional methods. Thenew system is safe, economical and painless.

Government of Tamil Nadu banned Pan

Masala, Gutka in the State


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The Tamil Nadu Government in the month of May 2013 had banned the production, possession,

distribution and sale of tobacco products such as pan masala and gutka in the State.

It is worth mentioning here that in some states, which includes Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, there is

already a ban on the sale of pan masala and gutka.

Making its own motion statement in the Assembly on 8 May 2013 Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J.

Jayalalithaa denoted to the Supreme Courts remarks in a case pending before it, looking for to know the

action taken by state governments in controlling the usage of tobacco and announced the governments

decision.

J. Jayalalithaa had also mentioned to her Governments notification on 19 November 2011, to ban the

use of tobacco under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, for five years, on which the

Supreme Court ruled that the Centre alone had the powers to issue such notifications.

The Government had constituted a separate department Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Medical

Administration, after the Centre announced the Food Safety and Standards Act.

Researchers Discovered a New Species of

Dinosaur; the Oldest in North America

Researchers of University of Toronto discovered a new species of dinosaur, which according to them is

oldest in North America, or possible even the world. This is the bone-headed, dog-sized herbivorous

dinosaur species which had a skull shaped like a dome and is called Acrotholus.

The researchers unveiled that this new species of dinosaur fills gap in the family tree of dinosaur. The

researchers explained that there were some other small dinosaurs such as Acrotholus audeti that await

discovery.

The kind of dinosaur unearthed is scientifically called pachycephalosaurs. Pachycephalosaurs are the

kinds of dinosaurs that are like thick-headed lizards or bone-headed dinosaurs. These are a very strage

group of dinosaurs, which are herbivorous and have thick-boned dome over their skulls.

About Acrotholus

Acrotholus, according to researchers, is almost the size of large dog.

It weighed around 40 kg, walked on two legs as well as had the skull which is composed of solid bone

that is more than 10cm thick.

The discovery of the fossil of this new dinosaur offers a lot of information about the evolution of bone-


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headed dinosaurs.

It is worth noticing that information about the diversity of small dinosaurs (weighing less than 100 kg) is

very limited because they are under-represented in fossil record.

Union Government of India approved

National Cyber Security Policy

The Union Government of India on 8 May 2013 approved a National Cyber Security Policy with an aim to

create a secured computing environment across the country. The Policy also aims towards building the

capacities to strengthen the current set-up and increase the focus on manpower training.

The policy was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that lays stress on augmentation

of the Indias indigenous capabilities in terms of developing the cyber security set-up.

The policy also caters to every spectrum of ICT users and service providers as it includes home as well as

small users, medium and large enterprises and government and non-government entities. The policy

also aims at the creation of the cyber security framework to address all related issues pending over a

long period. The set framework will also enhance the security posture of the countries cyber space via

specific actions and programmes.

Cyber Security Policy will also help in enhancing the intelligence as its integral component and help in

anticipating attacks and adopt, counter measures.

Hindi Story Writer and Playwright Surendra

Tiwari Died

Hindi story writer and playwright Surendra Tiwari died due to brain haemorrhage on 7 May 2013. He

was 64 years of age. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

About Surendra Tiwari

Surendra Tiwari wrote and edited 25 books in all.

He also edited 51 stories of Nobel Prize winners as well as 10 volumes of stories of 251 female

storytellers.

He wrote various plays during his career, which included Deewarein, Ek Aur Raja and Chabutra.

In 1974, his first story collection called Doosra Footpath, was published.

In the year 1975, his play called Deewarein was published.

His renowned novels included Agniparv and Antatah.


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He also served in the Indian Information Service.

He served in AIR Publications Department as well as Registrars Office of the newspapers.

He was born on 8 October 1948 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.

Union Government set 325-billion DollarsExport Target for 2013-14

The Union Government announced an export target of 325 billion dollars for the current financial year

2013-14 to support the slowdown in the global markets.

It is due to the global slowdown in developed regions like that of US and Europe, the exports of India

went down for the first time in three years with a dip of 1.8 per cent to 300.6 billion Dollars in 2012-13,

making the trade deficit to a record high level of 191 billion dollars.

It is important here to note that, the Government had set an export target of 360-billion dollars for the

financial year 2012-13.

According to the provisional figures, export registered an increase of 0.8 per cent for the month of

January 2013 after a permanent fall during May, June, July, August, September, October, November and

December 2012.

Cancer deaths dropped by 60000 through

Cancer Prevention Measures: CancerCouncil

A research conducted by the New South Wales Cancer Council in the second week of May 2013 came up

with a conclusion that 60000 people in the country have been saved through Cancer Prevention

Measures over the past 20 years. The researchers in the study compared the recent deaths with cancer

with the deaths reported in 1980s.

After studying the two cases, the group came up with a conclusion that the overall deaths due to cancer

were reduced by 30 percent. The largest deaths reductions were seen in bowel, lung and breast cancers.

The latest advances in cancer prevention, treatment and screening have improved, whereas there are

scopes of improvements in brain, palate and pancreatic cancers.


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Solar Impulse, the Sun-Powered Aircraft

Completed First Leg of Journey to Cross US

Solar Impulse, the plane powered by Sun completed its first leg of journey with an aim to cross US. Theplane took off from San Francisco, California on 3 May 2013 and landed in Phoenix, Arizona on 4 May

2013.

It is planned that Solar Impulse will also halt in Dallas, St Louis, Washington DC and New York. The

wingspan of the plane is similar to that of Airbus A340, but its weight is merely 1.6 tonnes. Solar Impulse

already completed a flight which lasted more than 26 hours. The aim is now to circumnavigate it around

the world in 2015.

This indicated that Solar Impulse spent a lot of hours in darkness and relied only on energy which was

stored in a range of lithium-ion batteries, used to drive the propellers.

In the daylight, these lithium-ion batteries were charged by around 12000 solar cells which cover the

wings as well as stabilizer of the plane. Bertrand Piccard, the co-founder of this plane project was the

pilot of HB-SIA craft. He is also the same person who circumnavigated the globe in hot air balloon in

1999.

This is the first ever attempt of America to create zero-fuel aircraft. At present, the HB-SIA aircraft is the

prototype of plane which will be used for round-the-world trips as well as transoceanic flights. By the

end of 2013, HB-SIB will be completed.

The Solar Impulse is said to be the Clean Generation Initiative of the creators. This would serve as an

effort for encouraging the policy makers as well as businesses for the development as well as adoption

of sustainable energy technologies.

What is Solar Impulse?

Solar Impulse is the Swiss long-range solar-powered project. The aim of this project is to circumnavigate

the globe with the use of just solar power. Bertrand Piccard as well as Swiss businessman Andr

Borschberg led the project.

Successful solar flights were conducted by Piccard and Borschberg in 2012 from Switzerland to Spain

and Morocco. In 2013, successful flight was taken within USA.

Sanaullah Ranjay, the Pakistani Prisoner

died at PGI Chandigarh


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Sanaullah Ranjay, the Pakistani prisoner who was attacked by a jail inmate in Kot Bhalwal jail in

Jammu died due to multi-organ failure at the PGI Hospital in Chandigarh on 9 May 2013.

Sanaullah was attacked by a fellow inmate on 3 May 2013 after the death of Sarabjit Singh an

Indian Prisoner in Jinnah Hospital Lahore after he was assaulted and attacked by his jail inmates

in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Pakistan. Sanaullah was in prison for the past 17 years on militancy relatedcharges. He was attacked by a former Indian army soldier. Sanuallah was a resident of Sialkot,

Pakistan and was serving a life term in India after being convicted under the TADA provisions.

He was arrested in 1999.

Sarabjit Singh under Coma: He was attacked in Lahore Jail

Sarabjit Singh Died in Lahore's Jinnah Hospital in Pakistan

Congress won in Karnataka Assembly

Elections 2013; Claimed 121 seats of 223

Karnataka Elections: Congress Secured 121 seats of the 223 Seats to emerge as winner.

Congress on 8 May 2013 won 121 seats of the 223 seats on which polls were contested in Karnataka

Assembly Elections 2013, the elections were held on 5 May 2013. Congress returned back to power afterseven years in the state. The party of opposition BJP and Janta-Dal secular managed to win 40 seats

each.

The Results of Karnataka Elections: Status known for 223 of 224 constituencies

Congress - won 121

BJP - won 40

Janata Dal (Secular) - won 40

Samajwadi Party - won 1

KJP - 6

Others - won 15

Parties like Karnataka Janatha Party of BS Yeddyurappa and the BSR Congress of B Sriramulu were

reduced to single digits in context of seats. Whereas, Samajwadi party managed to secure Chennapatna

seat and opened its account for the first time in the state.

The major setbacks of the election were the defeat of defeat of former State President of BJP K S
http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/sarabjit-singh-under-coma-he-was-attacked-in-lahore-jail-1367045841-1http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/sarabjit-singh-died-in-lahores-jinnah-hospital-in-pakistan-1367574576-1http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/sarabjit-singh-died-in-lahores-jinnah-hospital-in-pakistan-1367574576-1http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/sarabjit-singh-died-in-lahores-jinnah-hospital-in-pakistan-1367574576-1http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/sarabjit-singh-under-coma-he-was-attacked-in-lahore-jail-1367045841-1


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Eshwarappa and Karnataka State Congress President G Parameshwar. After the results were declared,

Chief Minister Jagadish Shetter submitted his resignation to the Governor of the state following the

defeat of his party in the state.

In 2008, BJP came to power in the state for the first time after winning 110 seats against congress 80

seats and JDs 28 in the 224 member house. Polling was held on 223 seats in the state. Date for polls in

the Periyapatna in Mysore district was postponed to 28 May 2013 following death of a BJP candidate

Sannagoge Gowda on 1 May 2013.

Removal of BS Yeddyurappa from the Chief Minister's post and his decision to form his own party were

identified as the two major reasons for the huge defeat suffered by BJP in Karnataka, considered to be a

gateway to South India for BJP.

10 may

Air India declared Transformation byImplementation of Cost Cutting Measures

Air India on 10 May 2013 declared a set of transformations by implementing certain cost cutting

measures. The airlines will soon start charging passengers travelling in economy class on

domestic sectors for food. The recommendations on transformation suggested by the committeeconstituted to suggest cost-cutting measures for the bleeding national carrier were accepted by

the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The constituted committee has suggested a set of 46 recommendations, which whenimplemented will save an estimated annual expenditure of 3240 crore rupees. One of the major

recommendations suggested by the committee is serving tea, cold drinks, coffee, peanuts and

biscuits, free of cost by doing away the meal. The complete meal on an Air India flight costs 175rupees which will come down to 25 rupees, with the implementation of recommendation and

help in saving about 100 crore rupees annually to Air India.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has recommended to Air India to implement the

recommendations and provide a schedule on implementation to it within a weeks time. The

Ministry of Civil Aviation on 29 April 2013 allowed airlines to unbundle charges for services

like preferential seating, meals, snacks, drinks (doesnt include water) and use of lounges and

baggage.

The free baggage allowance was reduced to 15 kg from previous 20 kg by Air India and Jet

Airways, following the announcement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. For baggage above15 kg, 250 rupees per kg extra will be charged by the passengers. The decision from the Aviation

Ministry came up in wake up of the nod given to Air Asia to launch a local airline by the Union

Ministry of Finance.


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The constituted committee that suggested the recommendations on the cost cutting measures and

Optimal Utilisation of Resources in Air India was a five-member Committee, headed by

Ravindra H. Dholakia, Professor of Economics and Public Systems, IIM, Ahmedabad to suggestvarious measures for cost cutting and optimal utilisation of resources in Air India.

Amendments in the Parliament (Prevention

of Disqualification) Act, 1959 Approved

The Union Cabinet of India on 9 May 2013 gave its approval to Amendments in the Parliament

(Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 by introducing a Bill in the Parliament named Parliament

(Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2013.

The Section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, has been amended time to

time. It lists certain offices of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State,

which do not disqualify the holders thereof for being chosen as, or for being, a Member of Parliament.

The Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is exempted

from such disqualification under Sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention

of Disqualification) Act, 1959.

By the 89th Amendment Act of 2003 of the Constitution of India, the National Commission for

Scheduled Castes and Tribes was bifurcated into two independent Commissions namely the NationalCommission for the Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes. With the

89th amendment Act Article 338 of the Constitution was amended and a new article, namely, Article

338A was inserted in the Constitution.

Unknown Number of Elephant Killing Took

Place at World Heritage Site in Central

African

The armed gang of poachers, in the month of May 2013, killed an unidentified number of elephants at

Dzanga-Ndoki national park, the world heritage site in Central African Republic.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) explained that these ivory poachers were observed with the help of

observation platform of the scientists used to shoot animals.


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The Dzanga-Ndoki Park is situated in south-western corner of the Central African Republic (CAR) that

borders Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. This Park is described as the ne-of-its-kind habitat for

primarily the forest elephants. Dzanga-Ndoki Park is also called the village of elephants and around 200

elephants gather everyday in this Park for drinking mineral salts which are found in the sands.

On 6 May 2013, WWF issued warning about the group of 17 armed poachers who had heavy-calibre

rifles. The armed men made use of the Dzanga-bai observation platform for shooting these elephants.

This platform is mostly used only by the tourists and the scientists.

Dr Anna Feistner of WWF explained that Sudanese ivory poachers were taking benefit out of lawless

state of this country.

Elephant raid in the world heritage site also alarmed the international conservation authorities such as

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

Serious illegal killing of the elephants has been observed in African countries over the past. In African

countries, the amount of seized ivory is at highest level in past 16 years.

Cabinet Committee on UIDAI Approved

Cost Estimates for Phase IV of UID Scheme

The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on 9 May 2013 approved the

cost estimates of Phase IV of the UID Scheme. The estimated cost of the scheme is around 3436 crore

Rupees.

The cost includes different components of the projects such as the cost of enrolment for 40 crore other

residents through different registrars, additional rent for the regional offices of UIDAI, data centres, non-

data centres, cost of updation services, additional cost of the construction of buildings for the

headquarters and cost of printing as well as delivering the Aadhaar cards.

The expenditure of this scheme includes:

1600 crore Rupees for cost of enrolment of other 40 crore residents

490 crore Rupees for the cost of updation services

1049 crore Rupees for cost of printing as well as delivering the Aadhaar letters 247.16 Crore Rupees towards the construction of buildings of headquarters, data centres as well as

non-data centres

The Phase IV of the UID Scheme will begin with an immediate effect. The UID project was launched on

29 September 2010. Since then, over 31 crore residents have been issued with the UID numbers. By

March 2014, additional 40 crore residents will be allocated the UID.


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Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Dhrupad

Vocalist Passed Away at 80

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (1932-2013), the dhrupad vocalist passed away on 8 May 2013 followingbrief illness at his Gurukul near Panvel. He was 80 years of age. Drupad is the oldest existing north Indian

classical music form.

About Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan on 15 June 1932.

He was also the court musician of Maharana Bhupal Singh of Udaipur.

He played a prominent role in reviving the dhrupad tradition in the 20th century along with his brother

late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, the legendary rudra veena player.

He was the master of srutis. He was renowned for his drupad vocal in not just India, but also across theworld.

He gave performances in various popular festivals in India and abroad.

He won various prestigious honours and awards such as Tagore Ratna Award, Tansen Samman and

Sangeet Natak Academy Fellowship.

He was also conferred upon with the Padma Shri- India's fourth highest civilian honor in 2012, but he

turned it down.

He also remained a distinguished guest faculty at the Dhrupad Sansar of IIT Bombay for 5 years.

CCEA approved Proposal to set-up 2 MajorPorts in Bengal and Andhra Pradesh

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 9 May 2013 approved the proposal of the

Ministry of Shipping for setting up of two major ports in the country. The two ports will be set up

through a Public Private Partnership Mode in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh each.

As per the proposal approved the port will be developed at Sagar Island in West Bengal after obtaining

environmental clearances and following exact procedures for development of the project. The cabinet

also agreed for appointment of the transaction advisers and legal consultants and finalization of the

project structure in consultation with the State Government of West Bengal and the Planning

Commission.

In case of Andhra Pradesh, the Cabinet identified Dugarajapatnam location for development of the port

and looked forward to find out the techno-economic feasibility report for commissioning of the port.

Benefits of setting-up the two Ports


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Sagar Port in West Bengal: At present Kolkata has facilities of two ports namely Kolkata Docks at Kolkata

and Haldia Dock Complex at Haldia. Both these ports being reverine face limitations of draught due to

the morphological changes (change in river platform) in Hooghly because of siltation. Development of

Sagar Port will provide a deep draught port for handling the large size vessels by doing away the heavy

maintenance dredging activity.

Port of Andhra Pradesh: It will facilitate the economic development of Andhra Pradesh as the rapid

industrialization across Visakhapatnam Port has created a necessity of a new port in the state.

Stiliyan Petrov, the Captain of Aston Villa

Retired from Football

Stiliyan Petrov, the captain of Aston Villa retired from football in May 2013 at the age of 33 years.Stiliyan Petrov retired because of his fight with leukaemia. He was diagnosed with the disease in March

2012. Aston Villa Football Club is the English professional association football club that is based in

Birmingham.

Stiliyan Petrov became a part of Aston Villa in 2006 from Celtic for 6.5 million Pound. He played for

Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Bulgaria national team. He also won Bulgarian Footballer of

the Year award in 2003 while playing for Celtic.

In 2005, Stiliyan Petrov also wrote the autobiography titled You Can Call Me Stan. The book was a

description of the correct spelling of his name.

Honours and Awards won by Stiliyan Petrov

Bulgarian Championship: 1997

Bulgarian Cup: 1997, 1999

Scottish Premier League: 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006

Scottish Cup: 2004, 2005

Scottish League Cup: 2000, 2006

UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2003

Football League Cup: Runner-up 2010 SPFA Young Player of the Year: 2001

Celtic Player of The Year: 2005

Aston Villa Players' Player of the Year: 2009, 2012

Aston Villa Supporters' Player of the Year: 2009

SPL Player of the Month: 3 times

Bulgaria's Player of the year: 2003


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Minister for Women & Child Development

Launched the World Bank Assisted ISSNIP

The Minister for Women & Child Development, Krishna Tirath on 9 May 2013 launched theWorld Bank assisted ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP).

The aim of the programme is improvement of child development and nutritional outcomes for

children in selected districts having higher proportional of child under nutrition.

The project is worth 2893 crore Rupees with 70 percent IDA share of2025 crore Rupees over the

time duration of 7 years. The cost of phase 1 of the project is estimated to be around 682 crore

Rupees. The project received an initial support of 106 million US dollar by World Bank, whichis payable over the time of 25 years. This will be followed by the support for second phase of

344 million US dollar, which will be subject to assessment of phase 1.

First phase of this project will support the efforts of Union Government to strengthen policymeasures and institutional capacity and will also finance innovative pilots and programmers in

162 high malnutrition-burden districts across eight States. Apart from this, the project will alsosupport the urban and sub-urban pilots in NCR of Delhi and convergent nutrition action pilots inOdisha and Uttarakhand.

The Minister for Women & Child Development took various other measures for strengtheningthe programme management, planning and monitoring of ICDS with introduction of revised

MIS, and the 5-tier monitoring and supervision committee with representation of Peoples

representatives to review the progress in ICDS at different levels.

The ISSNIP project will support the governments efforts in building the necessary institutional

capacity and systems needed to improve nutrition in the targeted groups of mothers and children.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the implementation of the International

Development Association (IDA) assisted ICDS Systems Strengthening and NutritionImprovement Project (ISSNIP) in October 2012.

Features of ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP):

ISSNIP is designed to supplement and provide value addition on the existing ICDS programme,through systems strengthening for better service delivery, as well as to allow the selected States

and Districts to experiment, innovate and conduct pilots of potentially more effective approaches

for ICDS in order to achieve early childhood education and nutrition outcomes.

The additional support through the project is catalytic and is an important dimension of

MWCDs overall efforts to strengthen and restructure the ICDS programme.

Four major components under the project are: (i) Institutional and systems strengthening inICDS (ii) Community mobilization and behaviour change communication (iii) piloting multi-


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sectoral nutrition actions, and (iv) Project Management, Technical Assistance and Monitoring &

Evaluation.

Painting by Fernand Leger from 1921 Sold

by Madonna for 7.2 Million US DollarThe painting by Fernand Leger, which was owned by Madonna sell for 7.2 million US dollar in New York

on 7 May 2013 at the Sotheby's auction house. The painting called Three Women at the Red Table dates

from 1921. The proceeds from this sale will fund Madonna's Ray of Light Foundation that supports the

projects of girls education in South Asia and Middle East.

The sale was a part of Sotheby's sale of Impressionist as well as modern art which took over 230 million

US dollar. In the meanwhile, the painting Les Pommes, a still life by French artist Paul Cezanne claimed

the highest price, i.e., 41.6 million US dollar.

L'Amazone, a portrait of French socialite Baroness Marguerite de Hasse de Villers by Amedeo

Modigliani, was sold for 25.9 million US dollar. A Pablo Picasso sculpture of his young muse Sylvette

went on sale for 13.6 million US dollar.

In the same auction in 2012, the version of Edvard Munch's The Scream was sold for a world record

price of 119.9 million US dollar.

Union Cabinet of India declared Year 2013 as

Water Conservation Year 2013

2013: Water Conservation Year

The Union Cabinet of India on 9 May 2013 gave its approval to declare the year 2013 as Water

Conservation Year 2013.

Following the theme of the year, the Government has proposed to come up with several mass

awareness activities with an emphasis on sensitizing the masses on water issues and to encourage them

to use water judiciously and conserve it. The Policies and programs of the Ministry of Water Resourcefor the year will be to create a sustainable society and economy.

The national awareness programs launched by the Government will aim towards achieving the identified

objectives of the National Water Policy 2012 and National Water Mission.

National Water Policy 2012


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National Water Policy 2012 was adopted by the National Water Resources Council headed by the Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh on 28 December 2012. The Policy takes cognizance of the existing situation

and proposes a framework for creation of a system of laws and institutions and a plan of action with a

unified national perspective.

National Water Mission

The key objective of National Water Mission is water conservation. It is among the eight national

missions under the National Action Plan for Climate Change. The mission aims towards conservation of

water by minimizing wastage and to develop formulae for impartial distribution of the water resources

both in and across the states via integrated water resources development and management.

Bryan Forbes, Veteran Film Director Passed

Away At 86

Bryan Forbes, the English film director, actor, screenwriter and novelist, died on 8 May 2013 in Virginia

Water, Surrey following the long illness. He was 86 years of age.

About Bryan Forbes

He was born in east London on 22 July 1926.

Bryan Forbes was popularly described as the Renaissance Man.

He was one of the most prominent members of the British film industry.

He is known for his horror film, Stepford Wives (in 1970s). Additionally, he wrote as well as directed a

range of critically acclaimed films such as King Rat (1965), Sance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) andWhistle Down the Wind (1961). He scripted various films such as Only Two Can Play (1962), The Angry

Silence (1960) and The League of Gentlemen (1959).

His latest novel was The Soldier's

Foreign Exchange Earnings From Tourism Grew by 7 Percent in April 2013

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