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Mi rza Ghal ibs 215th bi rth anniversaryon December 26, 2012. Ghal ibs havel i in Gal i Qasim Jaan, Bal l

imaran,Restored by the Indian Counci l of Cul tural Relations (ICCR) in association wi th Government of Delhi , Ghal

ibs havel i wore a festive look. Exactly a year back, thehavel i was opened after restoration and turned into a

museum of personal artefacts and works of Ghal ib.

I nternational Centre f or Koodiyattam, Tripunithura - To promote Koodiyattam and related art forms - the tradi

tional art forms of Kerala - thi s ancient art form has been recogni sed by Unesco as a masterpiece of the oral and

intangible heri tage of humani ty.

Veerapandiya Kattabomman-one of the fi rst freedom fighters in India to oppose the Bri ti sh, a demonstration in

front of the statue seeking to declare the bi rth anniversary of Kattabomman a government hol iday . The youth

wanted the government to instal l a statue of Kattabomman in Chennai . Kattabomman, a legendary chieftain from

Panchalakurichi , fought against the Bri ti sh by refusing to pay tax. He was hanged to death by the Bri ti sh in 1799

at Kayathar in Tuticorin di strict.

150th bi rth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda- bi rth in 1893,taken the Western world by storm wi th hi s ground-

breaking ideas on rel igion and phi losophy. Was Vivekananda a turning point in modern history of India and world? The

book includes a poem, ti tled Hold on yet a whi le braveheart, wri tten by Swami Vivekananda.

Pigeon-fancying - i s a very old sport. found great patronage in India during the Mughal era when pigeon-fanciers

from Baghdad, Turkey, Iran and Egypt flocked to the court. Akbar himsel f was very fond of pigeon-flying and had

some 20,000 pigeons of hi s own. He cal led the pastime Ishkbazi or love-play. the kabootarbaz, as they are cal led,

Makaravilakku - Makarasankranti or Makaravi lakku day i s an auspicious day for the Hindus, besides i t being the

culmination of south Indias largest annual pi lgrimage to Sabarimala

career guidance-cum-counsel l ing centres for youth at various major temples.- would organi se weekly lectures and

classes by experts in various di scipl ines wi th a view to insti l l ing moral and ethical values rooted in Indian tradi

tion in the younger generation. A l ibrary would be set up at these centres, idea was to make Hindu temples

centres of learning too. Classes in Yoga, personal i ty development, and career opportuni ties would be held at these

centres.

Delhi heritage - to get the coveted tag of World Heri tage Ci ty from the Uni ted Nations Educational Scienti fic and

Cul tural Organi sation, - sent the dossier to UNESCO, which wi l l meticulously study the contents and examine

the veraci ty. - the resul ts wi l l be announced in June 2015. Evaluation wi l l be done and there i s a mechani sm to

look at whether the ci tys heri tage i s of outstanding universal value. Thi s means whether the heri tage i s

important for humani ty as a whole. Delhi s heri tage might be okay for Indian civi l ization. But i s i t of interest to

the ci ti zens of other countries? - Indias nominations have been rej ected in the past because the presentations

were inadequate and inaccurate. - Delhi was the Capi tal fi rst under Mughal rulers and then during Bri ti sh

colonial rule - Shah Jahan changed hi s Capi tal from Lahore to Delhi because i t had the famous dargah of Hazrat N

zamuddin Aul iya, - The Bri ti sh decided to change thei r Capi tal from Calcutta to Delhi because they wanted to be

seen as legi timate successors. - Shahjahanabad was just two per cent of Delhi - has been reduced to slums - identi

fied 750 havel is which can be converted into touri st lodges. There i s the famous Chunawal i ki havel i. - Compari

son between Lutyens Delhi and Shahjahanabad are inevi table. Both are vibrant and l iving heri tage, yet they are

poles apart cul tural ly

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Fashion education in India - Besides the aesthetics aspect, young designers must focus on creating functiona

apparel appropriate for use in the Indian tropical cl imate, - mi sconception that fashion education in India came

from the West - Fashion in India i s as old as Indus Val ley civi l i sation - Indian clothing, be i t a saree, a dhoti

ghagra, a sui t wi th a dupatta or even a lungi al l these clothes are sui ted for tropical cl imate as they al low a

r-ci rculation, - powerful nation i s always aped by others - There was a time when other countries aped India. Now

we are aping the West. - Western powers have ki l led our thinking abi l i ty to further thei r own vested interests

Lingui stic Survey of India (LSI)

tak en up between 1898 and 1928,

There are parts of India which seem to have had each a special Tower of Babel of i ts own, wrote Si r George

Abraham Grierson

i t was di fficul t to draw on a map an exactboundary l ine between di fferent languages and dialects.

Zakat - the annual poor due given by Musl ims

Buddhas bowl- The bowl in presently lying at a Kabul museum The Archaeological Survey of India plans ts to

approach the Union Cul ture Mini stry to depute a team of ASI experts to travel to Afghani stan to study theauthentici ty of a rare bowl bel ieved to belong to Gautam Buddha and bring i t back to India. The Mini stry of

External Affai rs would, however, take the final cal l after assessing securi ty concerns. The bowl , earl ier preserved

in a monastery at Vai shal i in Bihar.

Basantotsav-in Uttarakhand- spring festival ,-Ghingaroo-which i s consumed by wi ld animals and bi rds and i s used by

local people to put up fences around fields, has been chosen as the events theme.

Natarajar temple -at Chidambaram.Tami l Nadu - the right of the Dikshi tars to manage the temple could not be

taken away by the government. The Bench accepted the contention of the Dikshi tars that they were a rel igious

denomination as per the Article 26 of the Consti tution which guarantees right to establ i sh and maintain insti

tutions for rel igious purposes.

World Heri tage Ci ty-Uni ted Nations Educational , Scienti fic and Cul tural Organi zation (UNESCO)-Delhi s quest for

earning the prestigious tag-he Mini stry has to explain why each si te i s of unique outstanding value.Apart from

the three World Heri tage Si tes the Humayuns Tomb, the Red Fort and the Qutab Minar Lutyens Zone has the

iconic India Gate, Parl iament, Hyderabad House, North Block and South Block.

Jarawa-Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Sami ti (AAJVS), the apex wel fare body of the Jarawas, and the pol ice from Hi

ren Tikry, an i sland north of the Jarawa Reserve Area. under the Andaman and Nicibar Islands (Protection of

Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956

lesser-known Hoysala temples-Hoy sal a-st y l e t empl e-=are in Hassan, Mandya, Mysore, Chik magalur and Tumk

ur districts

Annual Flamingo Festival-Andhra Pradesh - near the Pul icat lake bi rd sanctuary in Nel lore di strict - festival was

being held every year to bring together the people and various Government departments in the task of preserving

the Pul icat lake and surroundings. Arrival of a wide variety of migratory bi rds always held a special charm at Pul icat-

the Nelapattu bi rd sanctuary at DV Satram in the vicini ty of Sul lurupeta

Gondi script-The manuscripts, wri tten in the extinct Gondi script, subsequently named the Gunjala Gondi script,

were di scovered in the sleepy vi l lage of Narnoor mandal in Adi labad di strict in 2011

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Font finalised The manuscripts wi l l be translated into Hindi and Telugu for the benefi t of the Gond communi ty

spread across six States, as wel l as non-Gonds. Meanwhi le, the font for the Gunjala Gondi script has al ready been

final i sed. The manuscripts talk about the freedom struggle of the Chandrapur Gond Kings who fought against the

Bri ti sh, and the hi story of the Pardhan tribe which has an intrinsic and inseparable connection wi th the Gonds. One

of the epi sodes relate to the rebel l ion of the legendary Ramj i Gond who fought the Bri ti sh at Ni rmal town in

Adi labad di strict wi th the help of Rohi l las. One of the important aspects in the l i fe of Gond Kings highl ighted in

the manuscripts was thei r relationship wi th Myanmar (then known as Burma).There i s a record of the origins of

the famous Nagoba Jatara at Keslapur in Indervel l i mandal which i s an important chapter in the hi story ofGondwana.

Derozio award - for excel lence in the field of education was conferred upon four heads of schools from across the

country during the valedictory function of the 92nd Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools of IndiaBangalore

The award, which was insti tuted by the Counci l for Indian School Certi ficate Examinations in 1999, i s in the

memory of Anglo-Indian leader Henry Loui s Vivian Derozioa national i st poet and teacher from West Bengal .

The award consi sts of an engraved gold medal , a ci tation, a si lver plaque, certi ficate and Rs. one lakh in cash.

the government i s planning to rai se the workdays under i ts rural employment guarantee programme MNREGA

from 100 to 150 days per year

Under the MNREGA programme, one member of each rural fami ly i s enti tled to 100 days of work per year wi th

remuneration of Rs 100 plus amount l inked to Consumer Price Index (CPI).

GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system

that seeks to advance safety and improve efficiency of ai rl ines operating throughout India, has now got the

certi fication level Requi red Navigation Performance

proj ect, which has been jointly developed by Ai rports Authori ty of India, the Indian Space Research Organi

zation and Raytheon, wi l l now provide civi l ai rcraft in Indian ai rspace access to more preci sion navigation data

than before.

The enhanced navigation capabi l i ty avai lable through GAGAN improves ai r travel for al l parties - ai rl ines,

passengers and ai r traffic authori ties

A release i ssued by Raytheon said the GAGAN system i s a Satel l i te Based Augmentation System (SBAS)

equipped wi th advanced ai r navigation technology. It i s the fourth SBAS system certi fied for operational use.

Ai rcraft equipped wi th SBAS receivers can uti l i se GAGAN signals in Indian ai rspace for en route navigation

and nonpreci sion approaches wi thout vertical guidance. Thi s capabi l i ty wi l l al low ai rcraft to fol low more

efficient fl ight paths through congested ai rspace, noi se sensi tive areas or di fficul t terrain,

National Green Tribunal

has banned the burning of tyres at publ ic places, such as roads and areas surrounded by residential bui ldings

and also during protests by pol i tical and rel igious groups as i t i s l ikely to cause heal th hazard.

Creates toxic smok e and poses serious environmental threat,

country should be ready to see depreciation in the value of rupee i f i t did not bring down i ts fi scal defici t,

current account defici t and inflation.

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If our fi scal defici t i s high, current account defici t i s high, inflation i s higher than of the U.S., and sti l l i f

the currency does not depreciate then we have a problem.because thi s against financial stabi l i ty.

Orderly depreciation of the rupee means the economy i s doing wel l . If i t i s not orderly depreciation, i t

means there i s a problem,

scheme was unconsti tutional as individuals obtaining an Aadhaar number were requi red to part wi th personal

information such as biometrics, i ri s and fingerprints, which infringed on right to privacy, held to be part of the

fundamental right to l i fe under Article 21. He argued that there were no safeguards or penal ties and no legi

slative backing for obtaining personal information

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna

The government on Thursday extended heal th insurance support to auto and taxi drivers by commi tting to pay

hal f of the premium amount under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, which provides smart-card based cashless heal

th insurance cover.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) scheme wi l l address the heal th concerns of auto rickshaw drivers and

taxi drivers, who form an important and vulnerable segment of the unorgani sed workers in urban areas.

auto and taxi drivers have to contribute 50 per cent of premium for the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, as appl

icable in that di strict, in addi tion to Rs 30 as regi stration fee,

The balance 50 per cent of premium would be shared by the Central and State Government i .e. 25 per cent

each.

clinical trials

unemployment

Wi th one mi l l ion more young people joining the ranks of the jobless in 2013, the worlds youth are facing a

di sproportionate burden, says the latest report of the International Labour Organi sation

The 13.1 per cent rate of unemployment in the 15-24 years age-group global ly i s more than twice that among

the adul t population. Thi s i s a particular concern in India where people below 25 years of age consti tute more

than 50 per cent of the population. Equal ly worrying i s the finding that the number of youth who are nei ther

in employment nor in education or training i s on the ri se in many countries. Again for India, the

overwhelming majori ty (around 90 per cent) of the workforce in the unorgani sed sector lacks even the basic

social protection that i s necessary for the reproduction of labour. The whole scenario has to be viewed against

the ILOs proj ection that employment wi l l continue to expand at a slower pace than the labour force, resul

ting in a shortfal l of some two mi l l ion jobs annual ly over the next five years

Court on Tuesday di rected the Centre to consider giving 10 per cent reservation to people from the Northeast

in the Delhi Pol ice

defence outlay

The 10 per cent hike in mi l i tary spending announced in Mondays interim Budget wi l l not bridge the fast-

widening gap in defence capabi l i ties across the Himalayas, wi th China

Defence spending was increased to Rs. 2.24 lakh crore ($36.2 bi l l ion), a 10 per cent ri se from last year.

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Wi th a weakening rupee, however, the defence budget has actual ly fal len from last years spending in dol lar

terms, down from $37.5 bi l l ion.

Mountain strike corps

launched i ts plan to rai se a 50,000-strong mountain strike corps for the northeast dedicated to the China

border, wi th an expected outlay of Rs. 64,000 crore over the next seven years.

Unl ike China, which has a vast indigenous defence manufacturing industry, India i s enti rely rel iant on imports

Last year, China hiked i ts defence spending by 10.7 per cent to 720 bi l l ion Yuan ($ 115 bi l l ion) more than

three times Indias budget.

The real gap may be far wider, as many analysts bel ieve China vastly understates i ts defence spending, for

instance by excluding swathes of i ts indigenous defence manufacturing industries

Windows XP

The Indian Banks Association (IBA) has i ssued an advi sory to banks to ensure business continui ty after

Microsoft ends support for i ts popular Windows XP operating system

that over 34,000 branches of publ ic sector banks would become vulnerable fol lowing the U.S.-based fi rms deci

sion to stop support to Windows XP.

The fi scal impact of thi s could be as much as a loss of business opportuni ty worth Rs.1,100 crore in a day and a

loss of income worth Rs.330 crore over a period of three days (assuming that a major incident may take three

days for the systems to come up to normal functioning)

Windows XP launched in October, 2001 i s three generations behind the latest operating system Windows

8, which was launched in October, 2012,

I CMR

From now on, any use of stem cel l in patients wi l l be considered research, and not therapy, according to

fresh national guidel ines. Stem cel l use in patients must be done only wi thin the purview of an approved and

moni tored cl inical trial wi th intent to advance science and medicine. In accordance wi th thi s stringent defini

tion, every use of stem cel ls in patients outside an approved cl inical trial shal l be considered a malpractice. It

i s hoped that thi s clear defini tion wi l l serve to curb the malpractice of stem cel l therapy being offered as a

new tool for curing untreatable di seases, according to the Indian Counci l of Medical Research and the

Department of Biotechnology.

There i s no conclusive proof of safety or

therapeutic efficacy of stem cel ls in any condi tion yet

there are important i ssues related to use of embryos for creating human embryonic stem (hES) cel l l ines.

Proj ecting a growth rate of 4.6 per cent thi s year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said the

Indian economy i s l ikely to expand by 5.4 per cent on stronger global scenario, improving export competi

tiveness, a favourable monsoon and a confidence boost after recent pol icy actions

IMF projects 5.4% growth for India in 2014-15

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immuni sation

The critical issue in I ndia, where the pentavalent vaccine is being rolled out,

The cri tical i ssue here in India since we now have permi ssion to rol l out the pentavalent (the combo

protection against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussi s (DTP), hepati ti s B, Haemophil ius influenzae type b) vaccine

throughout the country i s to get coverage levels up

National AIDS Control Programme Phase IV (2012-2017)

thi rd-l ine therapy would enhance longevi ty and improve the qual i ty of l i fe of patients.

The thi rd-l ine therapy, sometimes cal led salvage or rescue therapy, i s prescribed for people who have l imi

ted drug options left after the fai lure of at least two drug regimens and wi th evidence of HIV resi stance to

at least one drug in each l ine or the latter cause alone.

For receiving free ART, the minimum CD4-count l imi t had been reduced from 500 to 350. The count i s a

measure of the vi ral load

At present, India i s estimated to have 2.39 mi l l ion people l iving wi th HIV/AIDS.

government tabled the Human Immunodeficiency Vi rus Acqui red Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and

Control ) Bi l l , 2014, in the Raj ya Sabha. It seeks to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and protect the human

rights of people l iving wi th i t.

Bi l l seeks to prohibi t any kind of di scrimination against the infected person for instance, denial or

termination of employment or occupation, unfai r treatment, denial of access to any sector and forcible HIV

testing.

Priori ty Foreign Country l i st

Under the U.S. Trade Act, a Priori ty Foreign Country i s the worst classi fication given to those which deny

adequate and effective protection of intel lectual property rights (IPR) or fai r and equi table market access to

the U.S. persons relying on IPR protection.

demand i s completely wrong as Indias intel lectual property rights are compl iant wi th global laws, including

the World Trade Organi sation (WTO).

Inclusion into thi s l i st leads to trade sanctions. If the U.S. does that, then India probably wi l l have no

option but drag them to the WTOs di spute settlement mechani sm, an official said. The U.S. International

Trade Commi ssion (USITC), a quasi -judicial federal American agency, has al ready ini tiated an investigation

against Indias trade and investment pol icies. It has al leged that New Delhi s laws di scriminate against the U.S.

companies.

India and the U.S. are fighting several cases in WTOs di spute panel . Recently, the U.S. has dragged India on

the countrys national solar programme.

Swi ss pharma major Novarti s AG had lost a legal battle for getting i ts blood cancer drug Gleevec patented in

India

India has commi tted i tsel f to contributing $4 mi l l ion over the next four years to GAVI Al l iance to immuni se

chi ldren worldwide against l i fe-threatening di seases

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GAVI Al l iance i s a publ ic-private partnership of members, including the World Heal th Organi zation, UNICEF, the

World Bank and the Bi l l & Mel inda Gates Foundation.

India has three roles to play: It has the largest number of unimmuni sed chi ldren in the world; i t i s our

*GAVIs+ largest suppl ier of vaccines 55 per cent of our vaccines come out of Indiaand now i t i s a donor

as wel l .

Wi th thi s, four of the five BRICS (Brazi l , Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations have become donors of

GAVI. India has been receiving support for i ts immuni sation programme from GAVI since 2002.

OECD

Global economic body OECD on Thursday unvei led a new game-changing mechani sm to combat the menace

of offshore tax evasion, a protocol to which India i s a signatory wi th the purpose of tackl ing black money

The Organi sation for Economic Cooperation and Development wi l l formal ly present the standard for the

endorsement of G20 finance mini sters during a February 22-23 meeting in Sydney in Austral ia, the world body,

whose economic pol icies are fol lowed by over 120 countries,

The G20 invi ted the OECD to develop a global standard on automatic exchange of information in 2013 andremains the driving force behind the move toward greater tax transparency worldwide

India has al ready signed the OECDs global standard for automatic exchange of information between tax

authori ties two years back and once the new format i s implemented, the country wi l l fol low the new

protocols envi saged in i t

India has al ready signed the OECDs global standard for automatic exchange of information between tax

authori ties two years back and once the new format i s implemented, the country wi l l fol low the new

protocols envi saged in i t

India, Netherlands to set up joint working group on renewable energy

A formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two countries giving the green l ight

to intensi fying cooperation between India and the Netherlands on renewable energy.

India plans to add over 30 GW of renewable energy to i ts energy mix in the next 5 years. He dwel t on the

success of the wind programme as wel l as the signi ficant cost reductions in solar energy through the

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mi ssion (JNNSM). India and Netherlands had great potential for enhancing

cooperation in promoting renewable energy and I offer al l possible assi stance for the purpose

As part of thi s, the Dutch aim to cut CO2 emi ssions by hal f, and to generate some 40 per cent of electrici ty

from sustainable sources such as wind at sea and biomass by that time. The Dutch have leading experti se in

areas such as offshore wind energy, cocombustion of biomass in coal -fi red power plants, methods to pre-treat

biomass and smart grids.

Global rating agency Moodys

Indias interim budget was in l ine wi th the pol icy assumptions that underpinned the governments Baa3 rating

wi th a stable outlook.

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Moodys stable outlook on Indias Baa3 sovereign rating incorporates the macro-economic ri sks posed by the

governments high defici t and debt ratios as wel l as i ts recent efforts to control the fi scal defici t through ad

hoc measures,

Global rating agencies l ike Moodys, S&P and Fi tch have repeatedly threatened to lower Indias credi t rating

and a downgrade would mean pushing the countrys sovereign rating to junk status, making overseas

borrowings by corporates costl ier.

In the Interim Budget, the government has said that the fi scal defici t for the current

financial year would be contained at 4.6 per cent of GDP.

solar power plant

Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch,

The Welspun Solar MP proj ect, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100 crore on 305

hectares of land, wi l l supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh.

Sou t h Ch i n a di spu t e

Territorial sovereignty, contention on energy, threat to maritime security and overlapping maritime claims

are at the core of the South China Sea dispute

India has vi tal mari time interests in the SCS. Around 55 per cent of Indias trade in the Asia-Paci fic transi ts

through the SCS region. In fact, in recent times, New Delhi has become more active in expressing i ts interest

in the freedom of navigation in the SCS and the peaceful resolution of terri torial di sputes between Bei j ing and

i ts mari time neighbours

Strategic importance

It connects wi th the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Strai t to the southwest, and commands access to the

East China Sea to the northeast.

sea lane running between the Paracel and Spratly Islands i s used by oi l tankers moving from the Persian Gul f

to Japan as wel l as by warships en route from the Indian Ocean to the Paci fic. Securi ty in the SCS i s a

concern both for regional countries such as China, Vietnam, Phi l ippines, Malaysia, as wel l as the extra-regional

countries, including India, due to thei r strategic and economic interests in thi s region. Any confl ict in the SCS

wi l l pose a threat to regional and international securi ty.

for the next 20 years, the

SCS confl ict wi l l probably remain the worst-case threat to peace and securi ty in the ASEAN region.

The SCS, an integrated ecosystem, i s one of the richest seas in the world in terms of marine flora and fauna,

coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, fi sh and plants. The sea accounts for approximately 10 per cent of the

annual global fi sheries catchment, making i t extremely viable for the fi shing industries of nearby countries.

Furthermore, valueadded production (canning, fi l leting, fresh, frozen and chi l led processing) has translated

into valuable foreign exchange earnings and job opportuni ties for countries in the region. However, China has

been imposing fi shing rules to operate in the di sputed waters, resul ting in serious mari time securi ty

concerns and obj ections from other claimant states. Recently, Chinas new fi shing rules which came into effect

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on January 1, 2014 rai sed questions about i ts efforts to exerci se juri sdiction over al l fi shing activi ties in the

di sputed waters.

the region richly laden in both oi l and natural gas has led to speculation that the di sputed terri tories could

hold potential ly signi ficant energy resources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Admini stration (EIA)

estimates, the SCS contains 11 bi l l ion barrels of oi l and 190 tri l l ion cubic feet of natural gas in proved and

probable reserves. EIA has di fficul ties in making accurate estimates of oi l and natural gas in the area because of

the lack of exploration and terri torial di sputes. Hence, reserve estimates in the area vary greatly. According to

the Chinese Mini stry of Land and Resources, the SCS oi l reserves are estimated to be around 23 to 30 bi l l ion

tonnes and 16 tri l l ion cubic metres of natural gas. There may also be addi tional hydrocarbon reserves in

underexplored areas of the sea. Most notably, the SCS occupies a signi ficant geostrategic posi tion in terms of

international shipping as a majori ty of energy shipments and raw materials have to pass through i t.

India i s strengthening i ts engagement wi th the ASEAN region steadi ly. New Delhi recogni ses the strategic

importance of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean for defence of the Indian peninsula. Indias prosperi ty i s

dependent, almost exclusively, on sea trade. Land routes from the Indian subcontinent are few and provide l i

ttle faci l i ty for commerce. Safeguarding the sea lanes i s therefore indi spensable for Indias development as

ts future i s dependent on the freedom of the vast water surface.

Wi th a considerable expansion of Indias engagement wi th the SCS l i ttoral states, India appears to be

emerging, genuinely so, as an indi spensable element in the strategic di scourse of thi s region. India could be a

valuable securi ty partner for several nations in the Asia-Paci fic region, provided i t sustains a high economic

growth rate and nurtures the framework of partnership that i t has enunciated in the region.

Mi lan series of interactions,

Ind-Indo Corpat, coordinated patrol of the international mari time boundary l ine by Indian and Indonesian

navies twice every year, i s growing in scale.

The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)

a regional forum of mari time forces formed at the insi stence of the Indian Navy, wi l l open up in phases to

more members and accord observer status to some others once i ts charter of business i s fi rmed up

Even some developed nations have requested membership and inclusion as observers,

on the sidel ines of the mul ti lateral naval engagement, Mi lan, that got under way here on Wednesday wi th

the participation of 16 friendly navies.

Whi le both IONS and Mi lan grew substantial ly over the years, the Indian Navy looked at Mi lan as

complementary to IONS wi th a l imi ted charter and mandate. Thi s was why i t was more seminar-oriented, with very l i ttle exerci se.

Mi lan was conceived as a forum of the navies in the Bay of Bengal rim but wi th every subsequent edi tion,

more requests for inclusion came in.

since 2005, when India implemented the TRIPS (Trade Related aspects of Intel lectual Property Rights), over

1,500 patents were granted to the top nine global pharmaceutical companies alone, for products and composi

tions, apart from patents for manufacturing processes.

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Compulsory l icensing i s widely used and 90 per cent of HIV /AIDS drugs used to treat more than 10 mi l l ion

patients in developing countries are sourced from India as Indian prices are often a fraction of U.S. prices. The

U.S. accounts for 30 per cent of Indias pharmaceutical exports of $13 bi l l ion and thi s i s growing at 18-20 per

cent per annum. In al l thi s, the U.S. and U.S. consumers could end up being the loser,

Indias total female population

Not only i s the proportion of Indias total female population that i s economical ly active i s among the lowest

in the world, but urban areas do even worse. Data from the 2011 census shows only hal f as many urban women

work as thei r rural counterparts.

Under I ndias labour laws, women engaged in "inf ormal" work - such as domestic work - have f ew work

place rights. This mak es it harder f or women to have sustainable jobs, let alone a career.

Few states including Iran, Paki stan and Saudi Arabiado worse than India when i t comes to womens

participation in the workforce. Others such as Somal ia, Bahrain and Malaysia do much better. Among the BRICS

(Brazi l , Russia, India, China and South Africa) which are comparable emerging economies, India has the lowest

female participation rate, wi th only 29% of women over the age of 15 working.

even among the MINT countriesMexico, Nigeria, Indonesia and Turkeyonly Turkey has the same participation

rate as India

Some di screpancy may ari se because many women are involved in home-based work and are part of the informa

sector, where thei r contribution tends to be under-reported. Better enumeration wi l l help, but measurement

i s not the only reason participation rates are so low in India,

two main factors keeping women at home are social customs and very low education levels among women.

In India, there i s a U-shaped relationship between education and participation of women in the workforce,

Verick said. Il l i terates participate more out of necessi ty. Women wi th a middle-level education (below

graduate) have di fferent aspi rations and can afford to remain out of the workforce. Only better educated

women have been pul led into the labour force in response to better paid opportuni ties.

The safety of women i s also a concern in Indian ci ties

Java i slands Mount Kelud

explosive volcanic eruption

Kelud i s among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic nation i s prone to volcanic eruptions

and earthquakes because of i ts location on the Ring of Fi re a series of faul t l ines stretching from the

Western Hemi sphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Due to the ferti le volcanic soi l and the shortage of space on Java, hundreds of thousands of people l ive close

to active volcanoes.

Article 3 simply states that the Bi l l must be sent to the State legi slature concerned for expressing i ts views

wi thin a speci fied period. The provi sion i s si lent on whether later amendments have to be referred, as wel l as

on the effect that the views of the State legi slatures wi l l have. Thus read l i teral ly, even a wholesale rej

ection of the Bi l l can be ignored by Parl iament, since Article 3 merely gives State Assembl ies a consul tative

role thei r views are not binding on Parl iament in any way.

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However, to treat the States views as carrying merely formal value, as has been widely suggested, would

render the consti tutional process of consul tation enti rely nugatory in a matter of national importance. The

current provi so to Article 3 was introduced by the Consti tution (Fi fth Amendment) Act, 1955. Before thi s

amendment, the President could only introduce an Amendment Bi l l in Parl iament after referring i t to the

State legi slatures concerned for thei r views. Thi s was a time-consuming process, al lowing States to vaci l late

in responding, thereby frustrating the efforts of the government of India.

The rej ection of the Telangana Bi l l by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly i s evidence of a dramatical ly changed

time. For the legal interpretation of Article 3 to ignore such change would be an anachroni sm. It would also be

inconsonant wi th the Supreme Courts characteri sation of the Consti tution as a l iving tree capable of

continuous growth wi th concomi tantly changing scenarios.

Whi le holding that the power of the President to impose Presidents Rule i s not above and beyond judicial

review enti rely, the Court narrowed down the ci rcumstances and the manner in which such powers could be

exerci sed. The premi se of thi s shi ft in consti tutional juri sprudence was that the principle of federal i sm was

part of the basic structure of the Consti tution, and thi s principle could only be deviated from in exceptional

and extraordinary ci rcumstances, i .e. where consti tutional rule was not possible in the State.

In the absence of any checks on the exceptional power of the President to impose Presidents Rule and givefederal i sm a go-by in the name of upholding the Consti tution, the Court recogni sed that the Consti tution i

tsel f could be subverted.

That Indias consti tutional ly envi saged federal structure has a strong central i sing tendency i s beyond

question. Such a tendency i s not unique to India. Federal states the world over Canada, the Uni ted States,

Austral ia al l di splay di scernible centripetal forces i rrespective of di fferences in thei r federal structure.

But the deci sion in Bommai and now the Andhra Pradesh Assemblys rej ection of the Telangana Bi l l marks a

signi ficant change in thi s dynamic. It provides recogni tion to a more balanced union, wi th Centre and States

seen increasingly as coordinate enti ties. At a time when the Chief Mini ster of West Bengal trumps the deci sion

of the government of India to sign an international accord, the sole prerogative of the Central government, andthe Chief Mini ster of Tami l Nadu prevents Sri Lankan cricketers from playing in Chennai despi te them having

val id vi sas for travel in India, such a reworked understanding of federal i sm in India i s both real i stic and

pragmatic.

The central i sing tendency in Indias federal structure was adopted at a time when i t was necessary to weld

Indias di sparate elements together into a nation. Thi s was a task for which the government of India was

uniquely posi tioned and requi red a supporting consti tutional archi tecture. Thus, the federal provi sions of the

Consti tution were as much lofty vi sion as pol i tical strategy. Such strategy now requi res a careful recal ibration

since such a tool for nation-bui lding, i f used unthinkingly, wi l l be seen purely as central hegemony. Such

forced uni tari ty wi l l be more harmful than a genuine recogni tion of a more equal federal structure that i s

perfectly consonant wi th the idea of India.

fi rst-phase work of the Border Securi ty Force (BSF) centre at Chekyatt Areekkarakunnu in Nadapuram

Kozhikode

Vodafone tax dispute impasse

The tax di spute between the Centre and the U.K.-based Vodafone

di sease of rice

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Bacterial bl ight

infected leaves turn greyi sh green in colour and rol l up. Appearance of a mi lky or opaque dewdrop on young

lesions early in the morning i s one sign of infestation.

cul tural reforms of Westminster abol i shed the death sentence.

In the Uni ted States, many states sti l l do not have the death penal ty.

the Uni ted Nations i s actively considering the el imination of capi tal puni shment from global criminal juri

sprudence al together.

It wi l l therefore be a glorious gesture and a cul tural tribute to Article 14

disease in rice

Also k nown as Lak shmi disease,

caused by a f ungus

Due to the infection, individual grains of the panicle get transformed into greeni sh spore bal ls of velvetyappearance. Spore bal ls are smal l at fi rst growing gradual ly to reach one cm or more in diameter. They are sl

ightly flattened, smooth, yel low and are covered by a membrane. The membrane bursts as the resul t of further

growth and the colour of the bal l turns orange and later yel lowi sh-green or black.

New test for meningitis

cal led Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) scatters laser l ight from a sample that has been combined

wi th si lver nanoparticles.

to speed up the diagnosi s of bacterial meningi ti s. The test uses nanoparticles and lasers to fingerprint more

than one bacterium at a time and so opens the way for targeted treatment.

kamadhenu (holy cow)

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commi ssion (EC) to decide the representation of an al l -

woman pol i tical party seeking the symbol of kamadhenu (holy cow) for i t.

The party pleaded that i t had made several representations to the Commi ssion for al lotment of kamadhenu

symbol but EC had not taken a deci sion.

Commi ssion to decide the plea of Al l India Mahi la Democratic Front wi thin a week after the representation i s

made to i t.

NBFC-MFIs

(RBI) has come out wi th a fresh prescription for pricing of credi t by non-banking financial company-micro

finance insti tutions (NBFC-MFIs).

The Indian Space Research Organi sation intends launching Astrosat, an astronomical satel l i te, in 2015, Chai

rman K. Radhakri shnan

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To be launched aboard a PSLV rocket, the satel l i te would have six pieces of equipment bui l t by the Tata Insti

tute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Insti tute of Astrophysics

India had satel l i tes to study weather, envi ronment and water securi ty and to help in communication. RISAT I,

fi rst indigenously bui l t al l -weather, radar-imaging satel l i te launched two years ago, opened up access to the

microwave remote sensing system. It could see through cloud cover for instance, in assessing flooding

and i ts radar worked in darkness. It was being used to moni tor khari f crops such as paddy and jute. We are

moving towards enhanced launch capabi l i ty through the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle and even higher powered

vehicles in the years to come.

Whistleblowers Protection Bill

seeks to provide for adequate protection to persons reporting corruption or wi l ful mi suse of di scretion

which causes a demonstrable loss to the government, or commi ssion of a criminal offence by a publ ic servant.

The Bi l l sets forth the procedure for inqui ring into the di sclosures and provides for safeguards against

victimi sation. At the same time, i t provides puni shment for false or frivolous complaints.

The Bi l l was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2011 and was taken up by the Raj ya Sabha in 2012. However, i t could

not be passed

defini tion of di sclosure has also been amended to include wi l ful mi suse of power or di scretion, which leads

to a demonstrable loss to the government or a demonstrable gain to a publ ic servant or any thi rd party. The

defini tion of competent authori ty to which a complaint can be made has also been expanded

The Bi l l does not cover

Jammu and Kashmi r

Business Regulatory Impact Analysi s (BRIA)

The Planning Commi ssion has started rating al l the States based on six parameters to enable the States to

improve the regulatory ecosystem for manufacturing,

The rating wi l l be done based on international ly establ i shed process cal led Business Regulatory Impact

Analysi s (BRIA) for tuning up investment cl imate of the State as huge investments came from the private

sector. The rating wi l l be done annual ly based on i ssues such as avai labi l i ty of land, space, ski l led labour

and taxation i ssues,

To avoid dupl ici ty of ratings,

clubbing the ratings of Department of Industry Pol icy and Promotion, Micro, Smal l and Medium Enterpri ses wi th

various trade bodies.

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mi ssion

The nation-wide Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA) stations network of Centre for Wind Energy

Technology (C-WET) wi l l be expanded next month wi th the addi tion of 64 stations

The proj ect i s being implemented by C-WET in two phases as part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mi ssion

to make India a global leader in solar energy. The duration of each phase i s about five years

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The fi rst phase involved setting up of 51 stations across the country, including seven in Tami l Nadu. In the

second phase, 60 stations along wi th four Advanced Measurement Stations are being formed. Wi th thi s, the

total number of stations would be 119.

Data derived from the field stations wi l l be transmi tted to the Central Server at C-WET Chennai on dai ly basi

s.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Limits set on banks exposure to intra-group transactions

ncial companies and unregulated financial services companies and 10 per cent of paid-up capi tal and reserves

in the case of regulated financial ser

For a single group enti ty, the RBI prescribed a l imi t of 5 per cent of paid-up capi tal and reserves in the case

of nonfinancial companies and unregulated financial services companies and 10 per cent of paid-up capi tal

and reserves in the case of regulated financial services companies.

For aggregate group exposure, the l imi t would be 10 per cent of the paid-up capi tal and reserves in the case

of al l nonfinancial companies and unregulated financial services companies taken together. It would be 20 percent of the paidup capi tal and reserves in the case of the group al l group enti ties (financial and non-

financial ) taken together.

Universi ty Grants Commi ssion (UGC)

to review measures for gender sensi ti sation of campuses has recommended that the Commi ssion i tsel f set

up a gender sensi ti sation uni t (GSU) and make gender audi t an essential component of the assessment and

accredi tation of higher educational insti tutions.

Whi le stressing on the need to make infrastructural improvements to make campuses secure for women, the

task force cautions against introducing di scriminatory rules for women in hostels in the name of safety.Campus safety pol icies should not resul t in securi ti sation, over moni toring or pol icing or curtai l ing the

freedom of movement, especial ly for women.

Further, i t came to l ight that few had set up Gender Sensi ti sation Commi ttees against Sexual Harassment as

was mandated by the Vi sakha Judgement. In fact, the biggest culpri ts in thi s regard were the gi rls col leges,

who were under the impression that they did not requi re one because they did not have male students.

The man-eating tiger incident in Dodabetta in the Ni lgi ri s, which ended in the gunning down of the cat,

brings to the fore the di lemma of ensuring a safe di stance between wi ld animals and people.

Two strategies often adopted to prevent confl ict rely on modi fication of human and animal behaviour. Farmersare encouraged to swi tch to cash crops to avoid attracting elephants, whi le forest departments provide access

to water wi thin protected areas to stop animals from moving out

The problem today i s that successful ly managed national parks and sanctuaries are wi tnessing a ri se in tiger

and leopard numbers, leading to the di spersal of old and injured animals towards habi tations on the periphery

and even beyond. Future conservation strategies would have to rely on wel l admini stered wi ldl i fe sanctuaries,

and equal ly on a voluntary resettlement programme for forest communi ties.

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The problem today i s that successful ly managed national parks and sanctuaries are wi tnessing a ri se in tiger

and leopard numbers, leading to the di spersal of old and injured animals towards habi tations on the periphery

and even beyond. Future conservation strategies would have to rely on wel l admini stered wi ldl i fe sanctuaries,

and equal ly on a voluntary resettlement programme for forest communi ties.

publ ic sector banks.

Two sets of related problems confront pol icy makers. Fi rst, the question of recapi tal i sing PSBs to make up for

thei r impai red capi tal has become a major i ssue,

whi le recogni sing the banks predicament, the Finance Mini ster has made a niggardly al location of Rs.11,200

crore in the interim budget for bank recapi tal i sation, below last years Rs.14,000 crore and wel l below the

current requi rements of PSBs.

Second, the di sadvantages of government ownership extend to recovery. Publ ic sector bankers have less flexibi

i ty in deal ing wi th problem loans. Final ly, who can deny pol i tical interference in sanctioning loans as wel l as

in thei r recovery?

National Court of Appeal

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre and the Mini stry of Law on the i ssue of establ i

shment of a National Court of Appeal wi th regional benches in major ci ties to final ly decide cases ari sing

from High Courts.

The peti tioner submi tted that di stance of the apex court in national capi tal from other parts of the country

coupled wi th high travel expense and cost of l i tigation were coming in way of ci ti zens from far flung areas

to approach the top court of the land which i s otherwi se also burdened wi th large scale pendency of cases.

In thi s peti tion, i ssue of posi tive nature has been rai sed. We are i ssuing notices to respondents (Centre, Legi

slative Department and Justice Department) seeking for early consideration on representation (by peti tioner)

He submi tted that the geographical proximi ty and financial status of ci ti zens in the society are vi tal factors

for every ci ti zen to have access to top court of the land and referred to media reports that of al l the cases

fi led in the Supreme Court, the highest number are from high courts in the northern States

land uti l i sation

pol icy confusion

Exi sting Foreign Exchange Management Act regulations prohibi t the use of FDI funds to buy farmland.

The Mini stry of Urban Development now wants to ease these restrictions,

The reasoning behind thi s move i s that 100 per cent FDI i s al ready permi tted in developing townships,

housing and other infrastructure proj ects. Hence, i t would be only logical to extend i t and al low the purchase

of agricul tural land for construction purposes

buying of agricul tural land on the outski rts of a ci ty i s inevi table and necessary.

relaxing FDI norms may appear to be a rational step, but in the absence of a clear-cut land use pol icy and plans,

i t wi l l hasten unrestricted acqui si tion and unplanned conversion of farmland and lead to hoarding of land. In

2013, the Mini stry of Rural Development publ i shed a draft National Land Uti l i sation Pol icy. It convincingly

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argued that the shrinkage of per capi ta ownership of agricul tural land and the demand to produce more food

245 mi l l ion tonnes in 2013 to 307 mi l l ion tonnes in 2020 necessi tates the protection of ferti le land.

The National Pol icy for Farmers, announced in 2007, insi sted that the government conserve productive land

and al low any change in use only under exceptional ci rcumstances.

It i s imperative to correct any insti tutional deficiencies and strengthen local level land-management plans to

ensure an orderly process of urban development and prevent detrimental effects on agricul ture and envi

ronment.

global emerging market (GEM)

emerging market economies are most unloved ever and are now seen as the biggest ri sk to financial market

stabi l i ty,

investors are the most underweight on BRIC countries Brazi l , Russia, India and China in the hi story of our

data.

global emerging market (GEM) equi ties are undervalued and thi s in turn could lead to a contrarian ral lyaccording to the global financial services major.

Around five years ago emerging markets were safe and banks were toxic. In a complete reversal , emerging

market i s now seen as the biggest ri sk to financial market stabi l i ty.

classical language status

Odia is billed as the f irst language f rom the I ndo-Aryan linguistic group and the case f or mak ing it a

classical language

became the sixth language of the country to get classical language status

same league as Sanskri t, Tami l , Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

i t has no resemblance to Hindi , Sanskri t, Bengal i and Telugu. The proposal was moved by the Cul ture Mini stry

Once a language i s declared classical , i t gets financial assi stance for setting up a centre of excel lence for the

study of that language and also opens up an avenue for two major awards for scholars of eminence. Besides, the

Universi ty Grants Commi ssion can be requested to create to begin wi th at least in Central Universi tiesa

certain number of professional chai rs for classical languages for scholars of eminence in the language.

The cri teria for declaring a language as classical mandates high antiqui ty of i ts early texts/recorded hi story

over a period of 1,500-2,000 years, a body of ancient l i terature/texts which i s considered a valuable heri tage

by generations of speakers and a l i terary tradi tion that i s original and not borrowed from another speech

communi ty. Also since the classical language and l i terature i s di stinct from the modern, there can also be a

di scontinui ty between the classical language and i ts later forms or i ts offshoots.

SEBI Amendment Bill

the Bi l l giving search and sei zure powers to the Securi ties and Exchange Board of India

the draft for the legi slation i s ready wi th the Parl iaments Standing Commi ttee on Finance,

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The Bi l l gives powers to SEBI to ini tiate recovery proceedings against unscrupulous promoters. Since the

promulgation of the Ordinance, in July last year to tackle unregi stered col lective investment schemes (CIS),

SEBI has ini tiated proceedings to recover an amount in excess of Rs.1,700 crore. Even though i t lapsed in

September last, the government re-promulgated i t as the Parl iament was not in session. It lapsed again on

January 15, thi s year, as i t was not passed in the winter session. Technical ly, as the session i s on, the

Ordinance cannot be re-promulgated. The amendments bring in any investment scheme above Rs.100 crore,

other than those exempted under Section 11AA of SEBI Act l ike Nidhi funds, chi t funds and non-banking

finance companies (NBFCs), under the regulatory purview of SEBI and such schemes would have to get registered wi th the SEBI.

Further, there are various investment schemes regulated by di fferent regulators. Whi le NBFCs come under the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), company fixed deposi ts come under Mini stry of Corporate Affai rs, insurance under

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authori ty (IRDA) and col lective investment schemes come under the

regulatory purview of SEBI.

CIS schemes

SEBI has been given the mandate to regulate CIS schemes under the SEBI Act in the late 1990s

Whi le investment schemes of Nidhi funds, chi t funds and NBFCs were exempted from the defini tion of CIS,

thi s has been exploi ted by some unscrupulous companies which have been rai sing money from the publ ic in di

fferent names, but schemes simi lar to CIS. The Saradha Group financial scandal i s a case in point where SEBI

has passed an order asking the company to wind up i ts schemes. However, thi s i s not enough. Whi le SEBI

continues i ts crackdown, perhaps there i s a need for a concerted effort by al l financial sector regulators so

that gul l ible investors are not duped. The state governments also need to be more vigi lant in tackl ing such

schemes.

Oxytocin

Retail sale of controversial hormone drug Oxytocin banned

I t is believed that people consuming dairy products, vegetables and f ruits containing the drug are hit by

irreversible hormonal imbalance

to curb i ts mi suse by dai ry owners and farmers who use i t boost mi lk production and plump up the si ze of

vegetables and frui ts. It i s bel ieved that those consuming such dai ry products and vegetables and frui ts are hi

t by i rreversible hormonal imbalance.

3D Printing

3D printing i s based on methods of applying a 2D image on a 3D surface, a system for generating three-dimensional obj ects by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the obj ect to be formed. 3D scanning i s the

process of analyzing and col lecting data of real obj ect; i ts shape and appearance and bui lds digi tal , three

dimensional models.

3D Printing employs addi tive layer processes, where successive layers of materials are laid down in di fferent

shapes. Some companies offer on-l ine 3D printing services open to both consumers and industries. Such services

requi re people to upload thei r 3D designs to the company websi te. Designs are then 3D printed using industria

3D printers and ei ther shipped to the customer or in some cases; the consumer can pick the obj ect up at the

store.

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The 3D printer can print wi th anything that can be di spensed from a syringe as l iquid or paste.

The 3D printing technology i s used for both prototyping and di stributed manufacturing wi th appl ications in arch

tecture, construction, industrial design, automotive, aerospace, mi l i tary engineering, civi l engineering, dental

and medical industries, biotech (human ti ssue replacement), fashion, footwear, j ewel lery, eyewear,

education, geographic information systems, food, and many other fields.

China has commi tted around $500 mi l l ion towards the establ i shment of national 3-D printing development

insti tutes. In 2013, Chinese scienti sts began printing ears, l ivers and kidneys, wi th l iving ti ssue instead of

plastic successful ly using special i zed 3D bio print.

U.N. Securi ty Counci l

has targeted i l legal wi ldl i fe traffickers for sanctions in a pai r of resolutions against African armed groups

The move fol lows years of warnings from advocates and U.N. officials that wi ldl i fe trafficking, particularly

elephant ivory, has increasingly become a source of financing for armed groups.

Wi ldl i fe traffickers are funding the armed groups that are causing the human rights violations, but i t i s sti l

l treated as an envi ronmental i ssue and that i s just not going to work out.

standing tribunal to adjudicate interstate river water disputes

the proposal to set up a standing tribunal to adjudicate interstate river water di sputes in consul tation wi

th stakeholders, including states i s at conceptual stage.

The Mini ster also said five water di sputes referred to tribunals under the InterState River Water Di sputes Act

of 1956 are yet to be settled

The Ravi and Beas Tribunal set up in Apri l , 1986 to settle di spute between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan gave

i ts report and deci sion in Apri l , 1987. But a Presidential Reference in the matter i s before the Supreme Court

In Apri l , 2004, to settle a di spute between Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, the Kri shna Water Di

spute Tribunal II was set up. It gave i ts final report in November last.

But as per a Supreme Court order of September, 2011 the deci sion of the panel cannot be publ i shed in official

gazette fol lowing references fi led by the Centre and the State Governments.

The Vansadhara Water Di sputes Tribunal to settle water di spute between Andhra Pradesh and Odi sha was establ

i shed in February, 2010. It i s yet to give i ts report.

The Mahadayi Tribunal to settle di spute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra in November, 2010 i s also

to come out wi th i ts award.

The Cauvery Tribunal of June, 1990 gave i ts final award six years ago which was noti fied in February last year

involving di spute between Kerala, Karnataka, Tami l Nadu and Pudducherry. But the States have fi led a Special

Leave Peti tion in the Supreme Court.

Plastic shopping bags

can be converted into diesel , natural gas and other useful petroleum products,

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Other products, such as natural gas, naphtha (a solvent), gasol ine, waxes and lubricating oi ls such as engine oi l

and hydraul ic oi l also can be obtained from shopping bags.

involves heating the bags in an oxygen-free chamber, a process cal led pyrolysi s

one can get only 50 to 55 per cent fuel from the di sti l lation of petroleum crude oi l . But since thi s plastic i s

made from petroleum in the fi rst place, we can recover almost 80 per cent fuel from i t through di sti l lation.

Thi s diesel mixture had an equivalent energy content, a higher cetane number (a measure of the combustionqual i ty of diesel requi ring compression igni tion) and better lubrici ty than ul tra-low-sulphur diesel ,

were able to blend up to 30 per cent of thei r plastic-derived diesel into regular diesel , and found no

compatibi l i ty problems wi th biodiesel,

can just use i t as a drop-in fuel in the ul tra-low-sulphur diesel wi thout the need for any changes

Indias total solar power instal led capaci ty i s 2,000 MWs, up from 2 MW three years ago. At the next NSM

meeting scheduled for February 26, Prime Mini ster Manmohan Singh i s expected to approve a goal of 100,000

MWs for 2022. The USTR i s trying to rake up i ssues at thi s stage though i t has no case at the moment to

create space for i ts industry in Indias big-potential solar market,

The USTR i s crying foul over NSM Phase-II, in which of the total 750 MWs on bid, hal f i s open to global solar

power developers, including Americans, highly placed government sources

The balance 375 MWs i s reserved for domestic players, and that i s what the USTR i s threatening action over.

The sources said thi s batch of 375 MWs would be defended at the WTO as i t was a permi ssible government

procurement scheme and i t addressed Indias energy securi ty concerns. In any case, i t i s a tiny proportion

of al l the solar power proj ects being bid out and developed in India.

Physical education teachers to be educated on law and order issues

effective interface between the pol ice and the publ ic.

He mooted the idea of training students on the l ines of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), and imparting

training to physical education teachers on i ssues related to law and order, traffic rules and regulations.

apex National Board of Wi ldl i fe

Headed by the Prime Mini ster, the Board has a fixed number of non-government officials and insti tutions besides

officials and nominated members of Parl iament.

It i s meant to be the apex body taking deci sions on i ssues relating to wi ldl i fe. The l i st of members i s required to be cleared by the PMO and has always been a post of prestige for many conservationi sts and conservation

NGOs.

The standing commi ttee of the Board, which i s chai red by the Envi ronment Mini ster, i s mandated by

Supreme Court orders to review al l development and industrial proj ects coming up inside wi ldl i fe zones that

have legal protection, such as tiger reserves, national parks and sanctuaries, as wel l as those slated to come

up wi thin the 10-km zone of these wi ldl i fe-rich areas

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Wi th the tenure of the last Board having been lapsed in September 2013, the Envi ronment Mini stry has been

unable to clear proj ects that need to be assessed by the standing commi ttee of the National Wi ldl i fe Board.

Dreams occur during a stage of sleep known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, also known as paradoxical

sleep. It is paradoxical in the sense that al though we are sleeping, the brain is actively involved in creating a

visual experience cal led dream, and its metabol ic activity is equivalent to that in the awake state.

Most of the dreams are stored in the brain as a learning experience that we cannot demonstrate or remember.

It is for the safety and wel l being of the person who has a dream that he/she doesnt remember them since

most of the dreams that we usual ly experience are bizarre and often frightful . That is why during the next stage

of sleep ie. slow wave sleep (SWS), these dreams get washed off and the person gets up not remembering

anything at al l

we tend to remember some dreams. It is general ly seen that if a person gets awake suddenly while dreaming

out of fright or someone else forceful ly awakens that person while he/she is in REM sleep stage, that dream

gets registered in our memories for short periods.

In general , when we do not give enough time for our dreams to wash off as un-recal lable experiences, we tend

to remember them, but as a rule, the brain tries al l it can to ensure that we get up remembering nothing at al

l .

worlds largest power-generating lagoon

Swansea Bay

in Bri tain

Restrictive global governance system affects public health

Tobacco companies liberally use bilateral agreement between countries to def eat any law that work s

against their interests

The Lancet journal val idates thi s observation

the current global inequi ties negatively affect the heal th of people in the developing countries.

For instance, despi te the global food production standing at 120 per cent of the worlds dietary needs, about

820 mi l l ion people across the world are chronical ly hungry due to lack of access to safe food.

The di fference in l i fe expectancy between the highest-ranking and lowest-ranking countries i s as much as 21

years, the report states.

Indias deci sion last year to i ssue a compulsory l icence to Natco Pharma Ltd to manufacture a generic version

of Bayers Sorafenib cancer drug i s one of the examples ci ted by the report.

Thi s became possible fol lowing the 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intel lectual

Property Rights) and Publ ic Heal th where i t was agreed by al l the WTO member countries that TRIPS does not

and should not prevent members from taking measures to protect publ ic heal th.

there are ways by which developing countries are arm-twi sted by countries that own intel lectual property

rights despi te the Doha Declaration becomes eminently clear in the case of bi lateral trade agreements

between two countries. More than pharmaceutical companies, the tobacco companies use the bi lateral trade

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agreements to thei r advantage to force the developing countries to implement more restrictive and tougher

condi tions at the cost of publ ic heal th

The Lancet report ci tes the case of Uruguay that was almost forced to concede and change i ts law on graphic

pictorial warning on tobacco products. In 2010, when Uruguay enacted the law, Phi l ip Morri s chal lenged i t,

not in Uruguay courts but at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Di sputes (ICSID).

After al l , the pol icies of insti tutions l ike the IMF and World Bank are dictated by a handful of rich countries.

The condi tioned loans provided by these financial insti tutions, as the name suggests, come wi th a big catch

among other ini tiatives, privati sation of heal th care programmes i s one of them. Thi s has an immediate

negative effect on people, particularly the poor.

The dwindl ing gas output from the KG D-6 field i s attributed to an escalation in production costs necessi tated

by geological chal lenges, a claim that i s sti l l being veri fied by the Comptrol ler and Audi tor General (CAG).

Even i f veri fied and found to be true, i t i s a wel l -establ i shed fact that in production sharing regimes such

as the one India has, the operator assumes al l proj ect ri sks. By claiming revi sion in gas price to take care of

the claimed cost escalation, RIL has sought to transfer the ri sk to the government, in violation of market

ethics, norms and widely accepted practices.

The government, instead of enforcing the contract and ensuring that the operator del ivers the promi sed

volumes, not to mention penal i sing the operator for causing extensive losses to stranded gas consumers, has

chosen to double KG D-6 gas prices hoping to cajole RIL to ramp up gas production from KG D-6 to i ts promi sed

levels.

Flawed pricing formula Going back to gas pricing, in the absence of a global marker price, how does one price

domestic gas? The Rangarajan Commi ttee recommendation now being implemented by the government, i s

based on a convoluted weighted average price of the three gas markets the Henry Hub, the European markets

and the Asia-Paci fic market. The last i s dominated by Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea, al l woeful ly gas-

deficient and hugely dependent on imported LNG. Thei r desperation to ensure fuel securi ty has pushed up LNGprices so steeply that thei r weight in any pricing formula i s bound to skew i t on the higher side.

Instead of imposing thi s formula, gas pricing should be determined by the domestic market. RILs current price

of U.S. $4-20/mmbtu i tsel f was based on competi tive bidding by the company from prospective gas-based

electrici ty generators before i t commenced commercial production.

Paralysis in science policies

Neglect of research in higher education has led to very low research intensity. Ninety per cent of our

universities end up as teaching institutes where research is given a low priority f or lack of f unds

increase the gross domestic expendi ture on research and development (GERD). He commi tted two per cent of

GDP and rei terated i t every year since 2007 at the annual session of the Indian Science Congress Association

(ISCA).

In the last nine years, Indian GERD to GDP ei ther stagnated at 0.9 per cent or even relatively decl ined

adjusted to inflation; 58 per cent of GERD i s consumed by the strategic sectors (atomic energy, defence and

space research) and about 29 per cent i s met by the private sector. So, what i s left for civi l ian R&D, spanning

a dozen or so science agencies, i s rather pathetic. Look at what i s happening in Asia! The Chinese GERD wi

tnessed a dramatic increase from one per cent to 1.84 per cent of GDP in the last decade. In 2012, Japan spent

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3.26 per cent, South Korea 3.74 per cent, and Singapore 2.8 per cent. After a decade, the government announced a

new Science, Technology and Innovation Pol icy 2013 or STIP 2013. The scienti fic communi ty and the nation were

left di sappointed as the government had fai led to ful fi l i ts earl ier commi tment. There has been no commi

tment to increase publ ic R&D. The government wi l l only match the private R&D investment to bring i t to the

level of two per cent of GDP. When i s thi s going to happen?

Realistic goals?

new pol icy envi sages posi tioning India among the top five global scienti fic powers by 2020, increasing the

number of ful l -time research and development personnel by two-thi rds wi thin five years, and increasing publ

ications from the current 3.5 per cent of global share to around seven per cent by 2020.

the pol icy aims at increasing the publ ication record in the worlds top one per cent of journals fourfold. India

has al ready fal len behind China and emerging economies on these indicators. For instance, India produced

three times the science output of China in the 1990s wi th a comparable GERD. Today, China has overtaken

India by more than three times. It i s the same in the case of patents. Why have we fal len behind so much?

Thi s i s not unrelated to massive R&D investments by China in the last decade. The continuing pol icy paralysi s

in science and technology i s vi sible across various segments of S&T.

According to research studies, just 25 per cent of the future nuclear budget for renewable energy sources

(wind, solar, biomass etc) wi l l generate almost double the energy planned in a more sustainable manner. Ninety

per cent of water in India i s consumed by agricul ture, yet we have no inclusive energywater pol icy.

R&D in higher education has been the prime victim of pol icy paralysi s.

Pol icy measures to increase research intensi ty in universi ties and nurture them to attain world-class standards

in China, South Korea, Singapore and Japan were a part of thei r respective national innovation strategies since

the 1990s. Such pol icies enabled two to six universi ties in these countries to be l i sted in the Worlds Top

100 Universi ty Rankings in recent years. India could not regi ster even one. Just four to five universi ties figure

in the l i st of 400 or 500. STIP 2013 i s si lent on strengthening research in higher education. Ninety per cent ofthe National Knowledge Commi ssions recommendations remain unimplemented as much as the proposal to

create 14 innovation universi ties.

Innovation After the President of India declared 20102020 the Decade of Innovation, STIP 2013 proposed new

schemes such as the Ri sky Idea Fund and Smal l Idea Smal l Money. The government launched the India

Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF) under the Publ ic-Private Partnership (PPP) model , wi th the government chipping

in wi th just two per cent of the budget.

The pol icy paralysi s in science and technology innovation can be seen from the di smal amount of money al

located to a dozen innovation schemes under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the

Department of Scienti fic and Industrial Research (DSIR).

There i s hardly any serious pol icy perspective or thinking to create insti tutional avenues for vocational

training to infuse ski l ls to labour in the informal sector. There are about 7,500 Industrial Training Insti tutes

(ITIs) wi th the overal l intake capaci ty of 75,000. Wi th the growing demand for technicians and an expanding

informal sector, one can imagine the task ahead.

If resources l ike water are degraded and depleted, envi ronmental refugees wi l l fol low. Sana'a ci ty in Yemen

ri sks becoming the fi rst capi tal ci ty to run out of water. If Bangladesh bears the main impact of Chinas

damming of the Brahmaputra, the resul ting exodus of thi rsty refugees wi l l compound Indias securi ty chal

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lenges. Internal resource confl icts are often camouflaged as civi l wars. Sudans Darfur confl ict, for example,

arose from water and grassland scarci ty.

The Uni ted Nations in 2010 recogni sed access to safe, affordable water and sani tation as a human right. Yet

the real i ty remains stark

The seriously water-stressed economies, stretching from South Korea and India to Iran and Egypt, are paying a

high price for thei r water problems. The yearly global economic losses from water shortages are conservatively

estimated at $260 bi l l ion. South Korea i s encouraging i ts corporate giants to produce water-intensive i tems

from food to steel for the home market in overseas lands. China, facing growing water pauci ty in i ts arid

north, ri sks sl ipping into the category of water-stressed states

Diet change impacts Compounding the diet-change impacts on the global water si tuation i s the increasing body

mass index (BMI) of humans in recent decades, wi th the prevalence of obesi ty doubl ing since the 1980s. Obes

ty rates in important economies now range from 33 per cent in the U.S. and 26.9 per cent in Bri tain to 5.7 per

cent in China and 1.9 per cent in India.

Heavier ci ti zens make heavier demands on natural resources, especial ly water and energy. They also cause

much greater greenhouse-gas emi ssions through thei r bigger food and transport needs. For example, greater

car use i s common among the overweight.

i f the rest of the world had the same average BMI as the U.S., i t would be equivalent to adding nearly an extra

bi l l ion people to the global population, wi th major impl ications for the worlds water, food and energy si

tuations.

The point to note i s that a net population increase usual ly translates into greater human capi tal to create

innovations, power economic growth, and support the elderly. But a net increase in body weight only contributes

to state l iabi l i ty and greater water stress.

Looking ahead, water shortages are not only going to intensi fy and spread, but users also wi l l have to

increasingly pay more for thei r water supply.

Space research

Not only do space agencies pay f or themselves directly, they create jobs and are boosting the global

economy by US$300 billion annually through private industry

To say space research i s a waste of money i s wrong. For every US$1 put into US space agency, i ts ci ti zens get

US$10 as payback; in Japan and the European Union that amount i s more than US$3.

The thousands of inventions and innovations spun out from space research have become an integral part of our

dai ly l i fe: weather forecasting, satel l i te televi sion and communications, di saster rel ief, traffic management,

agricul tural and water management, and global posi tioning system (GPS), are but just a few.

Space i s cool. It inspi res the new generation of kids.

The Apol lo mi ssions inspi red a generation. The number of US graduates in the science, technology, engineering

and maths (STEM subj ects), from high-school through to PhD, has doubled.

Space research has opened our eyes to real ri sks we face as a species: global warming, asteroids impacts,

vulnerable ozone layer, and even warning about how our electronics would be affected by the sun.

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Mars has al l of the resources requi red for a technological civi l i sation. Wi th a 24.6 hour day, ferti le soi l , a

CO 2 rich atmosphere, and an abundance of water, the introduction of flora i s a real near-term possibi l i ty.

Transformation of the atmosphere into something more hospi table may not remain science fiction.

Castle Bravo

U.S. embarked on a series of nuclear tests in which i t vapori sed several atol ls of the Marshal l Islands in the

Paci fic Ocean, in the process destroying the habi tation, l ivel ihood and cul ture of the unsuspecting Marshal lese

people.

America i s at once a demon and an ideal , a land of diversi ty and prejudice, of rapid advancement and advanced

myopia.

National AIDS Control Programme.

To reduce mother-to-chi ld transmi ssion of HIV, three southern States and Maharashtra have adopted a new drug

regimen

The new Option B Plus brings down transmi ssion levels from 30 per cent to just two per cent, the World Heal

th Organi sation says. Other advantages are the mother need not compulsori ly undergo a C-section and she canbreastfeed the baby wi thout fear of transmi tting the vi rus.

The Union government last week announced implementation of Option B Plus in India under the fourth phase of

the AIDS control programme. States other than Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tami l Nadu have

yet to launch i t because of inadequate drug stocks and lack of training of the implementation personnel .

Earl ier, HIV-posi tive mothers had to undergo C-section to avoid transmi tting the vi rus. Wi th thi s drug

regimen, they have the option of a normal del ivery. Since the infant i s also put on medication, the mother can

breastfeed i t wi thout fear,

Vitamin D deficiency

is clearly associated with diabetes, blood pressure and obesity

According to them, 75 to 80 per cent of the bodys Vi tamin D supply i s met when the skin i s exposed to sunl

ight, which seldom happens in ci ties.

weakness of bones, nerve-related di sorders

The ideal dai ly need of Vi tamin D for human body i s between 1,000 and 2,000 IU (International Uni ts) per day

Vi tamin D helps body retain calcium. It i s di rectly l inked to knee pains and osteoporosi s

Sufficient vi tamin D levels assi st the body to reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, besides

helping in the essential repai r and maintenance activi ties in the body,

Which elements are permitted to undergo nuclear fusion? Technical ly any two l ight nuclei below i ron [in the

Periodic Table] can be used for fusion, al though some nuclei are better than most others when i t comes to

energy production.

Like in fi ssion, the energy in fusion comes from the mass defect (loss in mass) due to the increase in

binding energy [that holds subatomic particles inside an atom together]. The greater the change in binding

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energy (from lower binding energy to higher binding energy), more the mass lost, resul ts in more output

energy.

steps of a nuclear fusion reaction?

extremely high temperatures (100 mi l l ion degrees Celsius) are requi red to overcome the electrostatic force of

repulsion that exi sts between the l ight nuclei , popularly known as the Coulomb's barrier [due to the protons'

posi tive charges].

Fusion reactions are intrinsical ly safe as the reaction terminates i tsel f in the event of the fai lure of any sub-

system.

India is one of the seven countries committed to the ITER program in France. Could you tell us what its status is?

ITER proj ect has gradual ly moved into construction phase. Therefore, Fusion i s no more a dream but a real i ty.

Construction at si te i s progressing rapidly. Various cri tical components are being fabricated in the seven

parties through thei r domestic agencies. The fi rst plasma i s expected in the end of 2020 as per the 2010 basel

ine. Indian industries are also involved in producing various subsystems. R&D and prototyping of many of the

high tech components are progressing as per

plan. India i s commi tted to del iver i ts share in time

l i thium-ion (Li ) batteries

thermal runaway. In a Li battery, during every charge-di scharge cycle, there i s a smal l amount of charge

lost, l ike an electron that evades the desi red electrochemical reaction. The amount of loss i s a geometric

progression. It starts off very low, but bui lds up fast over thousands of cycles

Because that charge goes away into another reaction, i t generates heat. So wi th each cycle, the battery

becomes hotter and performs worse. As the temperature increases, any flammable components start burning.One such i s the electrolyte, the substance responsible for transporting electric charges inside the battery.

Alkyl carbonates are the conventional electrolytes in Li batteries, and they are highly flammable

The National I gnition Facility, USA, has breached an important milestone on the road to achieving

sustainable nuclear f usion.

Frank Wi lczeks time crystals

In 2014, the only Earth-bound candidate

in a posi tion to lay claim to thi s honour i s nuclear fusion.

Atoms of hydrogen are heavi ly compressed inside a very smal l capsule unti l they fuse together to form

atoms of hel ium, releasing large amounts of energy. Thi s i s how a nuclear fusion reaction i s triggered.

The contents being made to implode are a mixture of deuterium (D) and tri tium (T)both i sotopes of

hydrogen. They are coated as a fine patina on the insides of the capsule, which i s made of gold. When laser

pulses strike the gold, i t emi ts X-rays that then driven the i sotopes inward at such energy and speed (almost

1.12 mi l l ion km/hr) that they are forced to fuse.

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The other fusion projects

The biggest operational one wi th more funding and international participation cal led the International

Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, i s based out of Cadarache, France. Because of i ts prodigious scale and

relatively lesser research cohesion among participants, i ts reactor i s expected to be bui l t only by 2019. Once

operational , i ts magnetic containment (tokamak) reactor wi l l make i t the largest experimental fusion faci l i

ty of i ts kind in the world. The European Union i s forking out 45 per cent of i ts $21.87-bi l l ion cost whi le six

other countries, including India and the USA, are footing 9 per cent each.

Gender Sensi ti sation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibi tion

and Redressal ) Regulations, 2013 may make a complaint in wri ting of sexual harassment at Supreme Court of

India precincts to the GSICC through i ts Member Secretary

Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam had formed GSICC which i s headed by the Supreme Courts woman judge,

Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai , and has six other women members.

There are two members who are outsiders and not connected wi th the apex court in any manner. The panel i s

in consonance wi th the guidel ines laid down by the apex court in i ts judgement in Vi shaka case for deal ing

wi th complaints of sexual harassment at workplace. Under the guidel ines, i t i s requi red that the panel has a

majori ty of women members and two members of civi l society nominated by the Chief Justice of India.

Milan

The ninth and the largest edi tion of the Mi lan series of naval engagements, which saw the participation of 16

foreign navies,

The exerci se, said a naval spokesperson, gave a gl impse of the level of engagement the Indian Navy had wi th

friendly navies and helped reval idate communication procedures and standard operating procedures for

interoperabi l i ty among ships of participating navies.

Mau l an a Az ad

made ex t en si v e observ at i on s on t h e edu cat i on sy st em an d sy l l abi i n t h e con t ex t of h i s

own edu cat i on i n t h e l at e 19t h Cen t u ry .

the idea of an undivided India where Musl ims could l ive happi ly wi th the Hindu majori ty. Musl ims made India

thei r home centuries ago, and according to Azad, they had a huge stake in the idea of India. However, Azads

idea received a jol t in 1947 as the violence of parti tion ravaged India. Azad went on to l ive for another ten

years, helping in heal ing and rebui lding the scarred and brui sed new India.

hi s Islam remained qual i tatively di fferent. And i t i s on thi s count that Azad stands di stinctly apart from

everyone else. He was himsel f conscious of the fact that not many people went along wi th him when he said:

In rel igion, in l i terature, in pol i tics, on the paths of phi losophy, wherever I went, I went alone.

He refused to accept the canoni sed Islam; instead he cal led for independent reasoning or ij tihad to interpret

the fai th. He also warned against reading more than what was intended to be conveyed in the Quran. Thi s

sounds so prophetic in the contemporary context where Islam i s invoked by many to speak what they want

the Book

to speak

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Reforms in education

Islamic madrasas

was an outdated system of education which had become barren from every point of view teaching methods

defective, worthless subj ects of study, deficient in the selection of books, defective way of reading and cal l

igraphy. If thi s i s what Azad fel t about the Islamic madrasas more than hundred years ago, we can wel l

imagine the urgency and necessi ty of radical reform in the contemporary system of education.

Just imagine i f I had stopped there and had not gone in search of new knowledge wi th a new curiosi ty, what

would be my pl ight! Obviously my early education would not have given me anything except a stagnant mind, a

total stranger to real i ty.

Azads Islam was much more accommodative than the contemporary rigid and combative Islam.

That i s why, at times l ike these, when rel igious faul t l ines threaten