upsc jan 13 current affairs

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1 Current Affairs NotesJTS Institute

7 January - 14 January 2013

CURRENT AFFAIRSCLASS NOTES: 7 Jan -14 Jan, 2013(Compiled from 11 Newspapers & 7 Magazines)

Issue-2/2013 (7 January to 14th January)

Moderate earthquake hitsNorth-east

An earthquake of moderateintensity on Wednesday rocked theentire north eastern region, but

there was no report of any injury topeople or damage to property.

The quake, measuring 5.9 on theRichter scale, hit the region ataround 7.12 AM with its epicentrebeing 89 km underneath theearths crust along the IndoMyanmar border, officials at theRegional Seismological Centrehere said.

The quake lasted a few secondsand rocked all major towns in theregion, they said. The epicentrewas in Phek district of Nagaland.

Dr.Lallenmawia said the technicalinformation about the quake wasreceived from the seismologicalcentre of the North East Institute ofScience and Technology, Jorhat inAssam.

Extra Terrestrial lifeKepler Mission ScientificObjective:

The scientific objective of theKepler Mission is to explore thestructure and diversity of planetary

systems. This is achieved bysurveying a large sample of starsto:

1. Determine the abundance ofterrestrial and larger planets inor near the habitable zone of awide variety of stars;

2. Determine the distribution ofsizes and shapes of the orbitsof these planets;

3. Estimate how many planetsthere are in multiple-star systems;

4. Determine the variety of orbitsizes and planet reflectivities,sizes, masses and densities ofshort-period giant planets;

5. Identify additional members of

each discovered planetary systemusing other techniques; and

6. Determine the properties ofthose stars that harbor planetarysystems.

The Kepler Mission also supportsthe objectives of future NASAOrigins theme missions SpaceInterferometry Mission (SIM)

andTerrestrial Planet Finder(TPF),

By identifying the commonstellar characteristics of hoststars for future planetsearches,

By defining the volume of spaceneeded for the search and

By allowing SIM to targetsystems already known to haveterrestrial planets.

The Transit Method ofDetecting Extrasolar

Planets:When a planet crosses in front ofits star as viewed by an observer,the event is called a transit.Transits by terrestrial planetsproduce a small change in a starsbrightness of about 1/10,000 (100parts per million, ppm), lasting for1 to 16 hours. This change must beperiodic if it is caused by a planet.In addition, all transits produced bythe same planet must be of thesame change in brightness andlast the same amount of time, thus

providing a highly repeatable signaland robust detection method.

Once detected, the planets orbitalsize can be calculated from theperiod (how long it takes the planetto orbit once around the star) andthe mass of the star using KeplersThird Law of planetary motion. Thesize of the planet is found from thedepth of the transit (how much thebrightness of the star drops) andthe size of the star. From the orbitalsize and the temperature of thestar, the planets characteristic

temperature can be calculated.Knowing the temperature of aplanet is key to whether or not theplanet is habitable (not necessarilyinhabited). Only planets with

moderate temperatures arehabitable for life similar to thatfound on Earth.

At least one in seven exoplanetsare flying close-in orbits aroundtheir suns much like Earths orbitaround its sun, the scientists say.And the groups leader says thenumber is probably more like halfwhich means there may be astaggering number of them withintheir stars so-called habitablezones, where temperatures wouldbe just right for water to exist.

Their analysis included onlyplanets roughly the size of Earth,and with orbits around their starsthat are closer than the orbit ofMercury to our sun. But by factoringin the exoplanets discovered byKepler to date, a team of scientistheaded by Francois Fressin of theHarvard-Smithsonian Centre forAstrophysics say there could be at

least 17 billion exoplanets in theMilky Way.

Unlike the comets of our own nightsky like Haleys, that fly around thesun and past the planets of oursolar system, objects are flyingpast stars where planets haventformed yet, although theingredients for planets do exist inclouds of gas and dust.

Like the comets in Earths nightsky, those objects that astronomersnow call exomets, are icyremnants of a timebillions ofyears agowhen all planets musthave formed from clouds of frozenrocky rubble.

Interstellar dust under theinfluence of gravity becomes blobs,and the blobs grow into rocks, therocks coalesce and become biggerthingsplanetesimals and cometsand finally, you get planets, saidMr. Welsh at a press conferenceduring a meeting of the AmericanAstronomical Society.

The discovery of exomets

suggests they are just as commonas exoplanets in other distantsolar systems, and that mightmean a staggering number ofplanets.

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Issue of hunting of rareIndia-bound birds inPakistan

1. A leading environmental groupworking for conservation of floraand fauna has sought interventionof the External Affairs Ministry to put

pressure on Pakistan to banhunting of rare birds, Houbarabustards, which has drasticallyreduced Indias share of theirannual winter migration andaffected the desert eco-system.

2. The hunting of Houbarabustards, taxonomically classifiedasClamydotisundulata, throughfalconry in Pakistan has led to analarming decline in their numbers.The poaching mainly in Sindhprovince along the internationalborder is not only a cause ofserious concern for India but also

in violation of wildlife protectionlaws and international conventions.The species has been declaredvulnerable due to a more than 60per cent decline in its globalpopulation even as Indias share inthe Houbaras migration isbagged in the neighbouringcountry.

3. The Arab royals also used tovisit Iran and Afghanistan forfalconry till late 1970s. Since thefall of the Shah of Iran and theprolonged war in Afghanistan,

Pakistan became a favouritedestination for the bird hunters.Though Pakistan banned huntingof birds in 1972, it is not enforcedagainst the royal guests from theWest Asian countries who believethat the Houbara meat has mythicalaphrodisiac qualities.

4. Even as Houbara bustard isregarded as the provincial bird ofBalochistan, the Federal authoritiesin Pakistan reportedly issuepermits during the huntingseason in Sindh province everyyear, with each permit allowing 100birds to be hunted by the holder.Most of the permits go to royalty,rulers and influential people fromcountries such as Qatar, Bahrain,the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia.

5. Named Taloor in Sindhilanguage, the Houbara bustardsmigrate from the cold northernregions of Siberia to the warmerregions of the world, including theIndian sub-continent. Bird-loversdescribe it as a beautiful bird with ablack stripe down the sides of itsneck. It is usually 60 cm long with a

140 cm wingspan and is brownabove and white below.

6. The Houbara bustard is listedin the Convention on Migratory

Species of Wild Animals, alsoknown as the Bonn Convention.Because of its increased huntingespecially in its winter habitats, theConvention of the InternationalTrade in Endangered Species hasclassified it as an endangeredmigratory bird.

Concepts:Bonn Convention

1. The Convention on theConservation of Migratory Speciesof Wild Animals (also known asCMS or the Bonn Convention, not tobe confused with the BonnAgreement) aims to conserveterrestrial, marine and avianmigratory species throughout theirrange. It is an intergovernmentaltreaty, concluded under the aegis ofthe United Nations EnvironmentProgramme, concerned with the

conservation of wildlife andhabitats on a global scale. Sincethe Conventions entry into force, itsmembership has grown steadily toinclude over 100 Parties fromAfrica, Central and South America,Asia, Europe and Oceania. TheConvention was signed in 1979 inBonn (hence the name) andentered into force in 1983

Houbara Bustard:

1. The Houbara bustards migratefrom the cold northern regions ofSiberia to the warmer regions of

the world, including the Indian sub-continent. Bird-lovers describe it asa beautiful bird with a black stripedown the sides of its neck. It isusually 60 cm long with a 140 cmwingspan and is brown above andwhite below.

2. Under IUCN it is classified asvulnerable.

Fitch Threatens todowngrade India

The Finance Ministry on Tuesdaysaid it is not worried about thethreat of ratings downgrade byglobal agencies like Fitch as it ismoving on the right track and willrestrict fiscal deficit to 5.3 percentof the GDP in 2012-13.

Reasons for downgrade:1. Low growth rate.2. High Fiscal deficit3. No policy initiatives4. High subsidies5. Political Logjam6. Diminishing exports7. Sluggish industrial sector

a) In view of rising expenditureand subdued growth in revenuecollection, the Finance Ministry hasalready raised the fiscal deficittarget to a more acceptable level of

5.3 percent of Gross DomesticProduct (GDP), as against 5.1percent estimated earlier.

b) Fitch as well as Standard &Poors have assigned the lowestinvestment grade rating to Indiaand any downgrade would push itto the junk grade making it difficult

for corporates to raise financesfrom overseas markets atcompetitive rates.

c) Indias economic growth during2012-13, according to RBI, isestimated to slip to around 5.8percent, which would be the lowestin the last decade.

d) The government is also lookinginto the various recommendationsof the Kelkar Committee which hadsuggested a road map for fiscalconsolidation.

e) The Committee had suggestedthat slew of measures like phasedelimination of LPG, kerosene,diesel and food subsidies to dealwith the deteriorating fiscalsituation.

f) The government has takenvarious tough measures such asraising diesel prices, cappingsubsidised LPG cylinders andpruning non-Plan expenditure witha view to curtailing governmentexpenditure and containing fiscaldeficit.

Credit Rating: An assessment ofthe credit worthiness of individualsand corporations. It is based uponthe history of borrowing and repay-ment, as well as the availa-bility ofassets and extent of liabilities.

WEF rates India lowest ontackling risks

WEF: The World Economic Forum(WEF) is a Swiss non-profitfoundation, based in Cologny,Geneva. It describes itself as anindependent international

organization committed to impro-ving the state of the world byengaging business, political,academic and other leaders ofsociety to shape global, regionaland industry agendas. The Forumis best known for its annualmeeting in Davos, a mountainresort in Graubnden, in theeastern Alps region of Switzerland.The meeting brings together some2,500 top business leaders,international political leaders,selected intellectuals andjournalists to discuss the most

pressing issues facing the world,including health and theenvironment.

India was ranked lowest among


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the worlds major economies for itspreparedness to tackle globalenvironmental risks and second-lowest for economic risks, whileSwitzerland is on the top, a reportsaid on Tuesday.

a. As per the annual Global RisksReport published by Geneva-based

World Economic Forum (WEF), thebiggest global risk in terms oflikelihood would be severe incomedisparity for the next 10 years andmajor systemic financial failurewill be the top-most risk before theworld in terms of impact.

b. The report said that Switzerlandis best placed among the worlds10 major economies for adaptingto or recovering from globaleconomic and environmental risks.While India is ranked ninth in termsof its ability to tackle global

economic risks and comes last attenth position for environmentalrisks. Italy is ranked lowest at tenthposition for economic risks.

c. The rankings of the 10 majoreconomic of the world-Brazil,China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan,Switzerland, Russia, the UK andthe US - are based on Global RisksPerception Survey of over 1,000experts from across the world.

d. India fared relatively better atsixth position in terms of thegovernments risk management

effectiveness, although it rankssecond-lowest in terms of itsglobal competitiveness indexscore.

e. The survey on risk manage-ment effectiveness found thatGermany, Switzerland and the UKare perceived by business leadersto have highest risk-managementeffectiveness, while Russia wasseen as having the least effectiverisk management. The US andChina were ranked fourth and fifthrespectively, while those positioned

below India on this metric includedItaly, Brazil, Japan and Russia.

f. Surveys were conductedacross a total of 139 countries.

g. Taking into account the scoresof all the countries, India wasranked 38th in terms of its riskmanagement effectiveness and32nd for its resilience to globalrisks. Singapore was ranked ontop in both these surveys.

Among the top-five global risks interms of likelihood are: severe

income disparity, chronic fiscalimbalances, rising greenhouseemissions, water supply crisesand mismanagement of ageingpopulation.

Health-related risks:

1. Greatest risk of hubris tohuman health comes in the form ofantibiotic resistant bacteria. Manypeople take for granted thatantibiotics will always be availablewhen we need them, but soon thismay no longer be the case. Every

dose of antibiotics gives anadvantage for those smallnumbers in a bacterial populationthat are resistant to the drug

2. The more a particular antibioticis used, the more quickly bacteriaresistant to that antibiotic will beselected and increased innumbers.

3. For India, the report said thatwithin four years (from 2002 to2006) the antibiotic-resistancebacteria went from 7 drugs to 21drugs. It further said the pharmacy

sales of strong antibiotics whichshould be a last line of defenceincreased nearly six-fold from 2005to 2010 in India.

4. A national task force in Indiahad recommended ending over-the-counter sales of antibiotics, butthe proposal was rejected as itwould deny access to antibiotics topatients in rural areas where thereare no physicians to prescribe thedrug, the WEF report said.

ShibuSoren-led

Jharkhand Mukti Morchaformally withdrawssupport from BJP-ledArjun Munda govt.

Deepening the political crisis in thestate, Jharkhands ruling coalitionpartner JMM submitted its letter toGovernor Syed Ahmed todayformally withdrawing support to the28-month-old ArjunMundagovernment pushing it to a minority.

The JMM action came even as theJharkhand Cabinet decided to

recommend dissolution of thestate assembly to prevent anyhorse trading-like situation.

Jharkhand Cabinet decision notbinding on Governor: Congress

New Delhi: Jharkhand Cabinetsdecision recommendingdissolution of the Assembly wasnot binding on the Governor as itwas done by the ArjunMundaGovernment after being reduced toa minority, Congress said today.

It is not binding on the Governor to

accept the recommendation of aminority government. It was crystalclear that the BJP-led governmenthad been reduced to a minorityafter withdrawal of support by the

JMM, senior leader ShakeelAhmed said.

Ahmed, who is in-charge ofCongress affairs in Jharkhand,said that the party would await thedecision of Governor Syed Ahmedbefore deciding its future course ofaction.

Earlier in the day, Munda submittedto the Jharkhand governor theCabinet decision recommendingdissolution of the Assembly andalso his resignation.

Concept regarding dissolution oflegislative assembly by thegovernor: Please refer to S.RBommais case

The language ofBommaiis plain.In all cases where the support ofthe Ministry is claimed to have beenwithdrawn by some legislators,

Justices Sawant and Kuldip Singhheld, the proper course for testingthe strength of the Ministry isholding the test on the floor of theHouse. The assessment of thestrength of the Ministry is not amatter of private opinion of anyindividual be he the Governor or thePresident (emphasis added).Justices Jeevan Reddy andAgarwal underlined the floor testprocedure: Whenever a doubtarises whether the Council ofMinisters has lost the confidence ofthe House, the only way of testing it

is on the floor of the House(emphasis as in the original). Thesole exception to this will be asituation of all-pervasive violencewhere the Governor comes to theconclusion - and records the samein his report - that for the reasonsmentioned by him, a free vote is notpossible.

FDI policy made morefriendly, rational: AnandSharma

Seeking to encourage foreign directinvestment (FDI) into the country,the policy has been made friendlier,rational and simple, Union Ministerfor Commerce and Industry AnandSharma said today.

Steps Taken:

1 Indias Growth: Greater Oppor-tunities, he said investment limithas been raised from Rs 600 croreto Rs 1,200 crore for projects thatneed cabinet approval.

2 At present, the national invest-ment rate is around 33-34 percent

and by the end of 12 th Plan, the aimwas to increase this to 36 percent,he said.

3. Market diversification was


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Indias strategic decision, he said,adding the country had success-fully found new markets in Africaand other neighbouring countries.

4. Encouraging long term FDIflows would be more fruitful as theGovernment had decided to borrowas little as possible, he said.

5. We have continued to receiveconsiderable remittances from theIndian Diaspora which is ourunderlying strength. In 2012, wereceived USD 80 billion leavingChina behind with USD 76 billion

Engineered bacteria makefuel from sunlight

1. In a bid to find a substitute tofossil fuels as raw material for thechemical industry, scientists haveengineered bacteria which couldhelp grow chemical precursors for

fuels and plastics.2. Most chemical feedstockscome from petroleum and naturalgas, and we need other sources

3. Biological reactions are good atforming carbon-carbon bonds,using carbon dioxide as a rawmaterial for reactions powered bysunlight,called photosynthesis, andcyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have been doing itfor more than 3 billion years.

4. The challenge is to get thecyanobacteria to make significant

amounts of chemicals that can bereadily converted to chemicalfeedstocks.

5. The researchers, working astep at a time, built up a three-steppathway that allows the cyano-bacteria to convert carbon dioxideinto 2,3butanediol, a chemical thatcan be used to make paint,solvents, plastics and fuels.

Rajiv Takru is new FinancialServices Secretary

Rajiv Takru, now AdditionalSecretary and Financial Advisor inthe Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare, has been appointed asFinancial Services Secretary in theFinance Ministry.

Structure of the Finance Ministry:

The ministry of Finance consists of5 departments, namely:

1. Department of Economic Affairs2. Department of Expenditure

3. Department of Revenue4. Department of Disinvestment;

and5 Department of Financial

Services.

Meerut scissorsregistered for GI tag

1. For the first time, a handmadetool from micro and small andmedium enterprises in India hasbeen registered for a geographicalindicator (GI) tag, an official of abody promoting this sector said onWednesday. The tool is a pair ofscissors made of metal scrap by acommunity in Meerut, which is theonly scissor cluster in India andwhich has been making theproduct for more than threecenturies.

2. The tag would enable thecrafters to make scissors ofstandard sizes and of high quality,he said. At present, the size varies,from six inches to 14 inches, andthe scissors are sold at a priceranging from Rs.20 to Rs.500.

3. Known for their sharpness, thescissors are used at home and byindustrial garment manufact-urers.They can be repaired, unlikeother scissors that are thrown outafter use.

4. The Meerut scissors are madeof carbon steel blades sourcedfrom scrap metal found in cars,buses, trucks and railways. Thehandles are made of plastic,aluminium or alloys, which aresourced from old utensils. All theparts are pre-used. The first pairwas made 360 years ago by AsliAkhun.

5. Meerut has 250 small-scalescissors-making units, employing70,000 people directly andindirectly. Both the Central andUttar Pradesh governments havehelped the industry.

6. While men make scissors,women do the tasks that requirehandwork and pack the products.

7. They are sent only to thedomestic markets, but the makers

find it tough to meet the demand athome.

8. Mr.Saluja said the GI tag wasgiven to products based on certaininformation submitted to theGeographical Indication Registry,Chennai: proof of origin, the GImap, the statement of case and thehistory of the product.

Concept: GEOGRAPHICALINDICATORS

Geographical Indications of Goodsare defined as that aspect of

industrial property which refer tothe geographical indicationreferring to a country or to a placesituated therein as being thecountry or place of origin of that

product. Typically, such a nameconveys an assurance of qualityand distinctiveness which isessentially attributable to the fact ofits origin in that defined geo-graphical locality, region or country.Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of theParis Convention for the Protectionof Industrial Property, geographical

indications are covered as anelement of IPRs. They are alsocovered under Articles 22 to 24 ofthe Trade Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights(TRIPS) Agreement, which waspart of the Agreements concludingthe Uruguay Round of GATTnegotiations.

India, as a member of the WorldTrade Organization (WTO), enactedthe Geographical Indications ofGoods (Registration & Protection)Act, 1999 has come into force with

effect from 15th September 2003.

Giant ring of gas and dustspotted around MilkyWays black hole

1. Researchers have capturednew images of a ring of gas anddust seven light-years in diametersurrounding the supermassiveblack hole at the center of the MilkyWay, using the StratosphericObservatory for Infrared Astronomy(SOFIA).

2. The telescope also capturedimages of a neighbouring cluster ofextremely luminous young starsembedded in dust cocoons.

3. Ryan Lau of Cornell Universityand his collaborators studied thegalaxys circumlunar ring (CNR),while Matt Hankins of the Universityof Central Arkansas in Conway islead author of the other paper,regarding the quintuplet cluster(QC).

4. The images were obtainedduring SOFIA flights in 2011 with

the FaintObject Infrared Camera forthe SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST)instrument built by a team withprincipal investigator Terry Herter ofCornell.

5. FORCAST offered astronomersthe ability to see the CNR and QCregions and other exotic cosmicfeatures whose light is obscured bywater vapor in Earths atmosphereand interstellar dust clouds in themid-plane of the Milky Way.

Saturns moon Titans

lakes covered withhydrocarbon ice blocks

1. Scientists on NASAs Cassinimission have claimed to have

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found blocks of hydrocarbon icedecorating the surface of existinglakes and seas of liquidhydrocarbon on Saturns moonTitan.

2. The presence of ice floes mightexplain some of the mixedreadings Cassini has seen in the

reflectivity of the surfaces of lakeson Titan.Titan is the only other bodybesides Earth in our solar systemwith stable bodies of liquid on itssurface.But while our planets cycleof precipitation and evaporationinvolves water, Titans cycleinvolves hydrocarbons like ethaneand methane.

3. Ethane and methane areorganic molecules, whichscientists think can be buildingblocks for the more complexchemistry from which life arose.Cassini has seen a vast network ofthese hydrocarbon seas coverTitans northern hemisphere, whilea more sporadic set of lakes be-jewels the southern hemisphere.

4. Up to this point, Cassiniscientists assumed that Titanlakes would not have floating ice,because solid methane is denserthan liquid methane and wouldsink.But the new model considersthe interaction between the lakesand the atmosphere, resulting indifferent mixtures of compositions,pockets of nitrogen gas, and

changes in temperature.

5. The result, scientists found, isthat winter ice will float in Titansmethane-and-ethane-rich lakesand seas if the temperature isbelow the freezing point of methaneminus 297 degrees Fahrenheit(90.4 Kelvins).

6. We now know its possible toget methane-and-ethane-rich icefreezing over on Titan in thin blocksthat congeal together as it getscoldersimilar to what we see withArctic sea ice at the onset of winter.

Titan:

Titan (or Saturn VI) is the largestmoon of Saturn. It is the onlynatural satellite known to have adense atmosphere, and the onlyobject other than Earth for whichclear evidence of stable bodies ofsurface liquid has been found.

Titan is the sixth ellipsoidal moonfrom Saturn. Frequently describedas a planet-like moon, Titan has adiameter roughly 50% larger thanEarths moon and is 80% more

massive. It is the second-largestmoon in the Solar System, afterJupiters moon Ganymede, and it islarger by volume than the smallestplanet, Mercury, although only half

as massive. Titan was the firstknown moon of Saturn, discoveredin 1655 by the Dutch astronomerChristiaan Huygens, and was thefifth moon of a planet apart from theEarth to be discovered.

Titan is primarily composed ofwater ice and rocky material. Much

as with Venus prior to the SpaceAge, the dense, opaque atmos-phere prevented under-standing ofTitans surface until newinformation accumulated with thearrival of the CassiniHuygensmission in 2004, including thediscovery of liquid hydrocarbonlakes in the satellites polarregions. The surface is geologicallyyoung; although mountains andseveral possible cryovolcanoeshave been discovered, it is smoothand few impact craters have beenfound.

The atmosphere of Titan is largelycomposed of nitrogen; minorcomponents lead to the formationof methane and ethane clouds andnitrogen-rich organic smog. Theclimateincluding wind and raincreates surface features similar tothose of Earth, such as dunes,rivers, lakes and seas (probably ofliquid methane and ethane), anddeltas, and is dominated byseasonal weather patterns as onEarth. With its liquids (both surfaceand subsurface) and robustnitrogen atmosphere, Titansmethane cycle is viewed as ananalogy to Earths water cycle,although at a much lowertemperature.

The satellite is thought to be apossible host for microbial extra-terrestrial life or, at least, as aprebiotic environment rich incomplex organic chemistry with apossible subsurface liquid oceanserving as a biotic environment.

Cassini:

CassiniHuygens is a Flagship-

class NASA-ESA-ASI roboticspacecraft sent to the Saturnsystem. It has studied the planetand its many natural satellitessince arriving there in 2004, alsoobserving Jupiter, the Heliosphere,and testing the theory of relativity.Launched in 1997 after nearly twodecades of gestation, it includes aSaturn orbiter and an atmosphericprobe/lander for the moon Titancalled Huygens, which entered andlanded on Titan in 2005. Cassini isthe fourth space probe to visitSaturn and the first to enter orbit,and its mission is ongoing as of2012.

It launched on October 15, 1997 ona Titan IVB/Centaur and entered

into orbit around Saturn on July 1,2004, after an interplanetary voyagewhich included flybys of Earth,Venus, and Jupiter. On December25, 2004, Huygens separated fromthe orbiter at approximately 02:00UTC. It reached Saturns moonTitan on January 14, 2005, when itentered Titans atmosphere and

descended to the surface.It successfully returned data toEarth, using the orbiter as a relay.This was the first landing everaccomplished in the outer SolarSystem.

900 foot-wide asteroidApophis to pass by Earth,may hit in 2036

Apophis, a 900 foot-wide asteroidnamed after an Egyptian demon isset to pass by Earth has nochances of a cataclysmic collision,according to scientists.

The asteroid will not get closer thanaround nine million miles to Earthtonight (January 10th, 2013).

Scientists will use this encounter toimprove their estimate of just howdangerous the space rock really is,the Daily Mail reported.

In 2029, Apophis is expected tocome uncomfortably close,brushing past the Earth at adistance of just 30,000 kilometres.That will put the asteroid inside the

orbit of communication satellites.

However, there remains a non-negligible chance of the asteroidsmashing into Earth in 2036.

Asteroids are a class of smallSolar System bodies in orbitaround the Sun. They have alsobeen called planetoids, especiallythe larger ones. These terms havehistorically been applied to anyastronomical object orbiting theSun that did not show the disk of aplanet and was not observed tohave the characteristics of an activecomet, but as small objects in theouter Solar System werediscovered, their volatile-basedsurfaces were found to moreclosely resemble comets, and sowere often distinguished fromtraditional asteroids. Thus the termasteroid has come increasingly torefer specifically to the smallbodies of the inner Solar Systemout to the orbit of Jupiter, which areusually rocky or metallic. They aregrouped with the outer bodiescentaurs, Neptune Trojans, and

trans-Neptunian objectsas minorplanets, which is the term preferredin astronomical circles.


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Temi Tea The Flavor ofSikkim

Amidst the backdrop of picturesqueand mighty Mt. Khanchan Dzongarefreshed by the gentle breeze ofriver Teesta brews the morning sipofSikkim the Temi tea. Spreadover 180 hectares of gentle slope

with altitude ranging from 4500 to6316 feet, the Temi tea gardenproduces one of the finest orthodoxtea that promises the appreciationof tea connoisseur.

The Temi Tea estate wasestablished in 1969 during theerstwhile regime of Chogyal andthe commercial production startedin the year 1977. In the year 1974Tea board was formed to governthe day to day functioning of theestate and later it went on tobecome the subsidiary of

Industries Department underSikkim government.Temi Teawhich apart from providing directemployment to over four hundredlabors and thirty personnel, also isa major employer in theGovernment sector.

The gentle slopes that originatefrom the Tendong hill range hasloamy soils condition with slope of3050% that suits best for teaplantation and produces nearly 100tons of tea annually. Although thequantity of produce may seem

insignificant in terms of major teaproducing estates, the quality andthe flavor it produces has beenable to win the heart of teaaficionados withinIndiaand theworld.

The tea produced by the Temi Teaestate is packaged under manybrand names like Temi Tea whichis of the best quality consisting ofpure tea golden flowery orangepekoe. The next in quality is thepopular brand of Sikkim Soljafollowed by Mystique andKanchanjunga Tea. It is also sold

in the form of Orthodox dust tea.While nearly 70 percent of theproduce is sold in public auction atKolkata through its authorizedbroker, the rest is converted intoretail packets and sold in the localmarket.

The geographical location and theyoung plantation supplemented byorganic method of production havefurther added to the value and flavorof tea leaves produced from thisestate. Temi Tea garden closelyfollowed the guidelines issued by

IMO,Switzerlandand with thecompletion of observation period;Temi Tea Estate was certified 100percent organic by IMO India, amember group of IMO Switzerland

in 2008. In addition, it is also aHACCP certified estate as per ISO -22000 standard under Food SafetyManagement System ensuringfinest of quality product reachingthe market. It may be noted thatTemiteagarden is also therecipient of AllIndia QualityAwardfromTeaBoardofIndiaforthetwo

consecutive years.

Educating Children inNaxal Affected Areas

One piece ofgood newson theeducational frontfrom left wingextremist affected(LWE)districtsin the countryis that many areashave witnesseda decliningtrendin the dropout ratessincethe inception of Sarv ShikshaAbhiyanaswas stated bytheMinister of State for HumanResource Development,

ShriShashiTharoor while replyingto a questionin Parliament duringthe just concluded winter session

A number of steps have been takenover the yearsby thecentreandthe concerned state governmentstoenrollchildrenin schools inLWEaffected areasandmostimportantlyto retain them inschools andthus arrest the highrate ofdrop outsthat these schoolshave been witnessing for manyyears .

Central Government Initiatives andAssistance

1. The opening of residentialschools has been quite effective inretaining children in schools. Accor-ding to official figures there are 77residential schools/ hostels in LWEdistricts with intake capacity of31650 children. 889 KasturbaGandhi Vidalaya residentialschools for girls have been openedin the affected districts for class VIto VIII.

2. Under the provisions of a

scheme of the Ministry for TribalAffairs100 percent central assis-tance is provided for construction ofall Scheduled tribe girls ashramschools and boys ashram schoolsinnaxal-affected districts identifiedby Ministry of Home Affairs fromtime to time.

3. The Coordination with AshramShalas and other SC/ST depart-ment schools by giving free textbooks, the mid-day meal, teachertraining school maintenance grantand teacher grant for teaching aidshas also helped.

4. Multi Lingual Education in earlygrades in tribal districts of Odisha,Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarhis another step that can improve

learning comprehension andretention of children in schools.

5. Thecentrehas also sanctionedspecial training for drop outs ornever enrolled children. Over 33280lakh rupees have been sanctionedfor 6,59,668 out of school childrenfor age appropriate admission in

regular schools.6. Transportation/ escort facility fortotal of 47,909 children has beenprovided in 2011-12 and 2012-13 inLWE districts.

7. LWE districts are treated asSpecial Focused districts for needbased planning and sanctions.

KG to PG EducationalHubs inMaharashtra

The Maharashtra government isplanning an initiative towards

starting KG to PG educationalhubs for tribal students in areasaffected by Naxalite violence. Theseresidential schools are meant toimpart education to students fromkindergarten to postgraduate leveland are aimed at letting tribalcommunities enter the main-stream.

Portable Cabin Schools inChhattisgarh

In Chhattisgarh the stategovernment there has installed

pre-fabricated structures,portacabin schools in all the districts ofBastar region. While it takes a longtime to build permanent infra-structure for schools, thePre-fabricatedstructures can be movedto areas whereNaxalites havedestroyed schools or where everthey are required. Theportacabinschool scheme in Chhattisgarhhas been implemented with thehelp ofUNICEFand the state ofJharkhand has also approvedfunds for such schools.

Balbandhu Programme ofNational Commission forProtection of Child Rights

An innovative Balbandhuscheme initiated by the NationalCommission for Protection of ChildRights (NCPCR) in strife torn areastwo years back too has startedmaking an impact. The schemehas been introduced in ninedistricts affected by civil strife inSukhma in Chhhatisgarh,Gadchiroli in Maharashtra,Khammam in Andhra Pradesh,

East Champaran, Sheohar,Jammui and Rohtas in Bihar andKokrajhar andChirangin Assam.Balbandhusare youngpeoplerecruitedfrom within the


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community to oversee the childreninsuch areasgo to school, returnto schools if they have droppedoutand trace and restore themissing children to their families.While these balbandhus may nothave the power toenforce imple-mentation butthey can putpressureon the authorities by

involving the community and thePanchayatstowards this end Anevaluation reporton the Balbandhuprogrammesays that these youngrecruits havegivena distinctconfidence to the childrenin theseareasspeciallythe school goingones.

Among many other suggestion,recommendations, that the Bal-bandhuprogramme should beextendedfor at least two yearsinthe same block anda new blockshould be opened up in the neigh

bouringdistrictwhere the existingresource personandbalbandhucangive basic operational training

The self-help groups and Bal-bandhu committee should monitorMidday meal schemeand sendregular reports.

Students should be encoura-ged to form self-help groups wherethe students good in studies couldhelp weak children.

National Electric MobilityMission Plan Launched

The Honble Prime Ministerunveiled the National ElectricMobility Mission Plan (NEMMP)2020.

The principal end objectives of theNational Mission for ElectricMobility (NMEM):

1. National energy security

2. Mitigation of the adverse impactof vehicles on the environment andgrowth of domestic manufacturingcapabilities.

3. The NEMMP 2020, the missiondocument for the NMEM that wasapproved by the National Councilfor Electric Mobility (NCEM) on 29thAugust, 2012, sets the vision, laysthe targets and provides the jointGovernment industry vision forrealizing the huge potential thatexists for full range of efficient andenvironmentally friendly electricvehicle (including hybrids)technologies by 2020.

The NEMMP 2020 is a well-researched document and relies

on in-depth primary data basedstudy conducted jointly by theGovernment and the Industry whichindicates that high latent demandfor environmentally friendly electric

vehicle technologies exists in thecountry. As per these projections,6-7 million units of new vehiclesales of the full range of electricvehicles, along with resultant liquidfuel savings of 2.2 2.5 milliontonnes can be achieved in 2020.This will also result in substantiallowering of vehicular emissions

and decrease in carbon di-oxideemissions by 1.3% to 1.5% in 2020as compared to a status quoscenario.

The NEMMP 2020 projections alsoindicate that the savings from thedecrease in liquid fossil fuelconsumption as a result of shift toelectric mobility alone will farexceed the support providedthereby making this a highly eco-nomically viable proposition.Therefore on all counts encoura-ging the faster adoption of hybrid &

electric vehicles and their manu-facture in India is a wise invest-ment for our future generations.

NMEM is amongst the mostsignificant interventions of theGovernment that promises totransform the automotive paradigmof the future by lessening thedependence on fossil fuels,increasing energy efficiency ofvehicles and by providing themeans to achieve ultimateobjective of cleaner transportationthat is compatible with sustainablerenewable energy generation. This

Intervention will also help encou-rage the Indian Automotive Industryto shift to newer, cleaner techno-logies so that it builds its futurecompetitive advantage aroundenvironmentally sustainableproducts, high end technologies,innovation and knowledge.

The implementation and roll out ofthe NEMMP 2020 will be donethrough various specific schemes,interventions, policies that arecurrently under formulation and willbe considered by the Governmentin the near future.

Industrial Clusters inNorth Eastern RegionThe Ministry of Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises (MSME) hasadopted the cluster developmentapproach as a key strategy forenhancing the productivity andcompetitiveness as well ascapacity building of Micro andSmall Enterprises (MSEs) and theircollectives in the country. Clust-ering of units also enablesproviders of various services to

them, including banks and creditagencies, to provide their servicesmore economically, thus reducingcosts and improving the availabilityof services for these enterprises.

Objectives of the Scheme:

i. To support the sustainabilityand growth of MSEs by addressingcommon issues such as improve-ment of technology, skills andquality, market access, access tocapital, etc.

ii. To build capacity of MSEs forcommon supportive action throughformation of self-help groups,consortia,upgradationof associ-ations, etc.

iii. To create/upgrade infrastruc-tural facilities in the new/existingindustrial areas/ clusters ofMSEs.

iv. To set up common facilitycentres(for testing, training centre,raw material depot, effluenttreatment, complementingproduction processes, etc).

Cluster Development Programme

has facilitated growth andpromotion of MSMEs in NER undervarious trades.A RegionalResource Centre (RRC) for clusterdevelopment has been set up atIndian Institute of Entrepreneurship(IIE),Guwahati, with 7 Sub-Centresin all the North EasternStates.4,135 enterprises havebeen created through clusters,besides scaling up of 1,760enterprises in developed clustersthrough efforts of IIE,Guwahati.

Recommendations of the

Conference of ChiefSecretaries and DGsP

The conference of the ChiefSecretaries and Director GeneralsPolice held in New Delhi onJanuary 04, 2013 has suggestedincrease in punishment for gangrape, setting up of Fast TrackCourts, National data base forsexual offenders and amendmentsto Cr PC, IPC and Juvenile JusticeAct. The conference also came outwith the suggestions for gendersensitization of police force, morerecruitment of women in police,deployment of women police inevery Police Station, single helpline for women across the country,strengthening of forensiccapabilities and communityPolicing.

Some of the important suggestionsmade by the participants at theconference are as follows:

CRIME PREVENTIONPrevention is most important.There should be zero tolerance for

petty offences as the offender canescalate in the crime ladder andespecially for cases u/s 509.Community policing should beintroduced. National data base of


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sexual offenders should beinitiated. Preventive sections of CrPC should be used more andcoordination between police andcitizens needs to be ensured.

CHANGES IN LAW

Cr PC needs to be amended to aimat speedy trials. Section 509 of IPC

needs to be amended. When thereis presumption of offence havingbeen committed, discretion in grantof bail should be done away with.Punishment for gang rape shouldbe higher. Amendment to JuvenileJustice Act to lower the age to 16years and grading based on themagnitude of offence is necessary.Placement agencies need to bebrought under law.

ORGANISATION

Accountability of police is essential.Gender sensitization to be made a

part of the curriculum, if not done inPolice Training Schools andColleges. Awareness programmesare necessary. Expansion of civilPolice is necessary and reluctanceof women to join should bereduced by reserving posts forthem in Police. Dy. SP should bethe nodal officer for crime againstwomen in every district. One Addl.DG of Police should be designatedas nodal officer in every state.

WOMEN SAFETY

There is a need to increase thenumber of response vehicles(PCR) and Women PCRs could bestarted. Mahila help desk need tobe established if not done in allPolice Stations. Women help lineshould be toll free. Security ofwomen in the trains should beensured. GPS system should befixed in transport buses. Thereshould be single helpline numberacross the country. More womenPolice Stations need to be opened.Care centers for women who haveno place to go at night should bestarted with the help of NGOs.

INVESTIGATION PROCESS

Investigation process is delayedmainly because of delay in forensicscience reports and hence forensiccapabilities needs to be streng-thened. There is need for moreStandard Operating Procedures(SOPs) for investigation.Dependingon the crime, investigation shouldbe completed within 30 to 90 daysand a time frame for filing chargesheet should be defined. Prose-cution needs to be supported.

Cases need to be registered asand when women reach a PoliceStation. Recording of informationshould be only by women and ifnecessary by audio/video

recording. Medical practitioner whoexamines a rape victim must be awoman. Police protection for thevictim till the trial ends should begiven.

TRIAL

Fast Track courts are necessaryand need to be supported. Courtprocedure should prevent humi-liation of the victim and characterassassination must be stopped.There should be no adjournmentsonce trial starts with day to dayhearing. Rights of the victimsshould be defined. Judges andprosecutors should be women.Discretion in grant of bail forheinous offences should beremoved. Prosecutor should be ofthe choice of the victim.

The one day conference wasattended by Union Home Minister

Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, UnionWomen & Child DevelopmentMinister Smt. Krishna Tirath, UnionMinister for Social Justice &Empowerment KumariSelja, UnionMinisters of State for Home ShriRPN Singh and Shri M Ramachandran and senior officers fromthe Center and State Governments.

National waterway

number 6, for northeastThe 121-km stretch of Lakhipur-Bhanga of the Barak River will soonbecome a national waterway, thesixth in the country.

Approving the proposal, the UnionCabinet on Thursday decided toenact a law for the purpose andcleared Rs. 123 crore for providinginfrastructure on this stretch.

The Inland Waterways Authority ofIndia will execute the project in twophases. The first will be completed

by 2016-17 and the second by2018-19, integrating the waterwaysin the northeast and helping cargotransport through Assam,Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur,Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.

Vernacular Report, 2012

According to the Vernacular Report,2012, of the Internet and MobileAssociation of India (IAMAI):

1. Ahigher percentage of ruralpeople are aware of regionallanguage content than urban

users.

2. In India, 45 million usersaccess content in the locallanguage. Around 64 percent of

rural Internet users (24.3 millionactive users out of a total 38million) use the Internet in the locallanguage. But only 25 per cent ofthe total 84 million urban usersbrowse the Net in regionallanguages (20.9 million).

3. By and large, the applications

that are most used by regionallanguage users include emails,search engines and news content,text chat, matrimonial services andonline banking services. In ruralareas, the report shows a bias infavour of sites offering governmentservices, land records and privateinitiatives such as eChoupal, whichprovides aggregated information ofinterest to farmers and facilitatessale of farm produce.

4. According to the IAMAI report,Internet non-users have mentionedthat lack of content in locallanguage as one of the majorreasons, along with lack of infra-structure.

5. With a low working knowledgeof English in India (according to theNational Readership Survey, 2006,only 18.2% of the population isEnglish-literate; 34.2% in urbanand 11.1% in rural areas), Internetpenetration in India is only 12%,since content is primarily availablein English.

6. The reading problem was

resolved long ago, at least forTamil, says N. Chokkan, one of thefirst-generation users of Tamil onthe Internet. With the introductionof Unicode to regulate the wayTamil is being used on the Net,things have changed dramatically.Today, there are about 15 applica-tions for the PC and five or sixmobile apps purely for typing.

7. The study covered the topmetros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennaiand Kolkata, the cities ofBangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmeda-bad, and Pune, and 12 smallercities. Five non-metro towns and 10small towns were also included inthe study. It was conducted by thee-Technology group of the IndianMarket Research Bureau and theIAMAI, an industry body represen-ting the online and mobile industryin India.

The Afghanistans turmoil

The Issue = American troops toleave Afghanistan by 2014, and theTaliban issue has still not beenresolved.

The Obama angle: Obama needsto show some concrete results thathave been achieved by the US-Afghan war; hence America is

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speeding up the politicaldialogues. The realisation, twoyears ago, that defeating theTaliban was impossible triggeredcautious efforts at exploring ways todeal with them politically. As 2014approaches, those efforts havepicked up speed, with the Obamaadministration keen to leave

behind an arrangement that canhelp it claim a semblance ofpolitical achievement from themilitary intervention.

Through the facilitation of a Frenchthink-tank, representatives of theKarzai governments High PeaceCouncil met Taliban represen-tatives in France last month.

The position that the Talibanrepresentatives took at themeeting contained:

1. They denounced the

Constitution.2. They do not want the 2014elections to be held, and

3. Believe their Islamic Emirate,ousted by U.S. forces after 9/11,was the best thing that happenedto Afghanistan.

4. There was no renouncing ofties with al-Qaeda. With theunderlying tone one of contempttowards the Karzai government.

Hence it is hard to escape theimpression that the Taliban are notso much interested in negotiationwith Kabul as a deal with the U.S.for a return to power.

Given this, the High CouncilsPeace Process Roadmap to 2015sounds unrealistic. It visualises adeal based on respect for theConstitutiona ceasefire with theTaliban and other armed groups bythe end of 2013, their transfor-mation into political parties andparticipation in the following yearselections. In reality, it makes ahuge pragmatic concession to theTaliban by envisaging non-elected

positions in the power structure.This has already raised concernwithin and outside Afghanistan, notleast because it is no secret thatPakistan has been working bothsides of the table. Pakistansstakes are understandable: post-2014, any instability in Afghanistanis most likely to first wash acrossthe Durand Line, adding to itsexisting woes. But it is not clear if itrealises that any attempt to use itsinfluence with the Taliban to createinstability in the neighbourhoodafter 2014 would rebound on it.

Locked out of the process after allthe talk of a regional solution,

The Indian Angle:Indias primary worry is Pakistans

intentions, as recently cross-bordertensions have increased. MoreoverIndia has invested its time, moneyand people in Afghanistan hence itwould be injurious to Indianinterests that Taliban regimecomes back into power.

Woman in Indian

workforce

The labour participation rate ofwomen = it is the number ofwomen in the labour force as aproportion of the total femalepopulation.

1. In 2008, the labour participationrate in India was only 33 percent forfemales as compared to 81percent for males.

2. By way of comparison, it was68 percent for females in China.

3. Among Indian States, thefemale labour participation rate isone of the lowest in Delhi, a regionalso known for its harsh treatmentof women.

The labour force includes not onlythe employed but also unemplo-yed persons who are activelyseeking jobs.

In India, substantial numbers ofwomen who are not counted in thelabour force are, as described inthe official statistics, attending todomestic duties in their own

households.

1. National Sample Survey reportstell us that, in 2009-10, out of every1,000 females (all ages) in Indiasrural areas, 347 were attending todomestic duties.

2. In the case of urban females,this number was even bigger: 465per 1000. Compare this to thenumber of rural and urban menwho were attending to domesticduties: only 5 per 1,000 and 4 per1,000 respectively.

A womans work in her ownhousehold is not counted as aneconomic activity, and does not getreported in the national incomestatistics. This is unlike the case ofservices by a paid domestic help,which is considered an economicactivity and is counted in thenational income. As is well known,womens domestic duties includechildbirth, caring for the young andold, cooking, and a range of otheractivities that are crucial for theupkeep of the family.

In rural areas, women periodicallyenter and exit from agriculturalwork. Quite often, womens partici-pation in agricultural activities asself-employed workers is to

supplement the falling incomes oftheir families during times ofagrarian distress. This is whatseemed to have happened in Indiabetween 1999-2000 and 2004-05.During this five-year period, thegrowth of agricultural incomes inthe country was stagnant, yet thenumber of self-employed female

workers engaged in agriculture andrelated activities increased by 17million, possibly indicatingdistress employment.

On the other hand, between 2004-05 and 2009-10, the number ofself-employed female workersengaged in agriculture and relatedactivities decreased by 19 million inIndia.

This decline in employment couldbe attributed to a modest revival inthe growth of agricultural incomesand to the positive impact on ruralemployment and wages created bythe MGNREGA (Mahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act). Thus, it appearsthat in India, during the 2000s,female employment in agriculturewas not driven by any real opportu-nities for income generation, butwas part of a last-ditch effort toescape impoverishment.

Urban, Educated Women

1. In India, social factors play asignificant role in reducingwomens labour participation.

2. In 2009-10, the proportion ofthose attending to domestic duties(and therefore out of the labourforce) was 57 per cent amongurban females with graduatedegrees or higher, compared tojust 31 percent among ruralfemales with primary or middleschool education.

3. What are the reasons for sucha massive withdrawal of educatedwomen from the work force? Lower

wages than men could be onereason. But then female-malewage disparities exist in Japan andSouth Korea as well, but femalelabour participation has been highin these countries.

4. Within Indian manufacturing,womens employment is increa-singly in the low-paid, vulnerablesectors. Between 1999-2000 and2004-05, women accounted for 3.7million of the 9.7 million newmanufacturing jobs created in thecountry. A large proportion of thesewomen were employed in theexport-oriented sectors such asgarment-making.

5. However, by 2009-10, Indiasmanufacturing sector was suffering


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from a variety of problems,includingpower shortage and a slowdown inexport demand from westerncountries. Between 2004-05 and2009-10, 3.7 million manufacturingjobs were lost in the country, andmore than 80 per cent of those wholost their jobs were women.

6. During the post-1990 years, themajor source of employment forwomen has been in the servicessector, mainly in low-paid servicessuch as domestic help.

In Myanmars transition,shades of Indonesia

There are many parallels betweenMyanmar and Indonesia as:1. The militaries of both nationsare inheritors of the legacies ofJapanese occupation, are obse-ssed with law, order, discipline,unity and territorial integrity

2. Gave high premium tointelligence agencies in main-taining regime survival; debilitatedtheir civil societies; acquiredstakes in the countrys economy,and legitimised the political role ofthe armed forces throughconstitutional provisions.

3. Both are multi-ethnic states arehaunted by the twin spectres ofracial tension and a separatistperiphery. And, both have inflatedviews of their importance tonational survival.

4. As in Indonesia, nationalismflowered in Burma during WorldWar II and Burmas post-indepen-dence leadership had been closelyassociated with the anti-colonialBurma Independence Army (BIA)recruited and trained by theJapanese.

5. In both Burma and Indonesia,the military had played a prominentpart in the achievement of indepen-dence. In both countries, havingintervened decisively, the militaryconsolidated its position by expan-ding into civilian administration andbusiness and by establishing amilitary-dominated political party.

Despite minor differences, thepathology, the ideological outlookand the experiences of the twocountries are so similar thatMyanmar is likely to follow thesame trajectory in its movementtowards democracya guidedpolitical system with a certain rolefor the armed forces till theeconomy grows to accommodateboth the security and economicinterests of the armed forces

through an expanded defencebudget, and creates a middle classdemanding greater transparencyand accountability from thegovernment.

Soon MSMEs can buy,sell licences for patentedproducts online

MSMEs will get concessional ratesfor trading on the portal

An online portal where micro, smalland medium enterprises (MSME)

can trade licences for patentedproducts will be launched in April,said Karamjeet Singh Saluja,Deputy Director, IntellectualProperty Rights (IPR), Federation ofIndian Micro and Small andMedium Enterprises (FISME),Intellectual Property FacilitationCentre (IPFC).

There are different IPRinstruments, and entrepreneursshould know which instrumentshould be used when, some ofthem are; patents, copyrights,

trademarks, geographicalindication (GI) tags.

Maharashtras SEZ exitpolicy may not besuccessful: CREDAI

Raising doubts about the successof the new industrial policy forMaharashtra, developers apexbody CREDAI on Wednesday saidintegrated industrial parks may notbe successful as Special Eco-nomic Zones have failed to takeoff.

The new policy allows an exit routefor special economic zone (SEZ)developers, whose projects havegot stuck due to issues like landacquisition or changes in tax lawsby the Union government.

It is heartening to note that stategovernment is trying to give someincentives to generate higheremployment. The new industrialpolicy is welcome in that sense.However, the policy on conversionof SEZ seems to be going no-

where. Government needs tounderstand as to why and howSEZs have failed.

Vitamin-D and itsimportance

1. Sunshine vitamin or Vitamin D,which is manufactured in our bodywhen our skin is exposed to thesun, is popularly known for itsmuscle strengthening and bonebuilding properties.

2. Getting appropriate Vit D (orsunlight) reduces risk of heart

diseases and diabetes, protectsagainst and betters prognosis forcolorectal cancer and TB, multiplesclerosis, schizophrenia and evenwards off the flu!

3. The 25-hydroxy Vitamin D bloodtest can tell you if you are deficientor not. Levels over 30 nanograms/millilitre are termed sufficient. (Onenanogram is one billionth of agram).

VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY

RISK GROUP1. Even though the body canmake Vitamin D from sunlight, veryfew people actually expose them-selves to direct sunlight, what withall the sunscreens, staying indoorsor covering up to protect the skinagainst the sun or harsh cold.

2. Those who are especiallyprone to deficiency are the elderly.People over 65 years make only aquarter of the vitamin than thosewho are in their twenties. Obesepeople who have BMI (body mass

index) of over 30 too dont makeenough.

3. Those with dark skin tones andthose who have fat malabsorptiondue to cystic fibrosis, celiac orCrohns disease, or bowelsurgeries are prone to Vit Ddeficiency. Patients with liver orkidney disease, those taking gluco-corticoids, who are home bound orlive in a/c rooms (glass panesblock UVB rays) and those who livein the northern latitude fall into therisk group. Vegetarians too run the

risk of deficiency as animal foodsare a major source of Vitamin D.

4. Just 10 to 15 minutes ofexposure to the direct sun on ourlimbs will provide us most of therequired Vitamin D. Unfortunately,pollution, cloudy sky and seasonswith less sunshine could actagainst acquiring sufficientultraviolet B (UVB) rays that createVitamin D in our body.

HOW VITAMIN D AFFECTS OURHEALTH

The Health Professional Follow upStudy of 50,000 healthy menmonitored the Vitamin D level overa span of 10 years. It was foundthat those who had low level hadtwofold the risk of heart diseasethan those with adequate levels.Separate studies on the samehave shown sudden cardiacarrests, stroke and death in peoplewith deficient levels of the vitamin.Children who play under the sunseem to have lesser incidence ofrespiratory infections. Adults whodont, seem to catch a cold more

often.A study on Finnish children over a

span of 30 years found that thosewith Vitamin D deficiency were 90


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per cent more at risk of developingType 1 diabetes. Vitamin D defici-ency is linked to both insulinresistance and impaired pancreaticsecretion of insulin.

Concept:There are 3 types of UV rays:

UVA: A stands for Aging.

UVA radiation penetrates deep intothe skin and is responsible forpremature aging of the skin andskin cancer. Tanning beds can emit2 to 5 times more UVA radiationthan the sun.

UVB: B stands for Burning.

UVB radiation is stronger than UVAradiation. It mainly affects the outerlayers of the skin, causingsunburns, premature aging of theskin, and skin cancer. These raysare strongest during the summer

months especially between 11am and 4 pm.

UVC: UVC radiation is the stron-gest, most dangerous form of UVlight. However, they are stopped bythe earths atmosphere and do notreach earths surface.

Criteria for SAT chief selectionmodified

The Union Cabinet, on Thursday,approved the modified norms forexpanding the eligibility criteria forpresiding officer of the SecuritiesAppellate Tribunal (SAT), a post thathas been lying vacant sinceNovember, 2011.

Under the modified norms, theeligibility criteria stands slightlydiluted in that a retired judge of aHigh Court with seven years ofexperience would now be eligiblefor appointment as SAT chief.

As per the earlier norms, only aretired judge of the Supreme Courtor a former Chief Justice of a HighCourt could be appointed as SATpresiding officer.

The post has been lying vacantsince November 2011 as the gover-nment could not find a willing judgemeeting the eligibility criteria.

NASA to send aircraft instratosphere to studyclimate change

1. NASA will send a remotelypiloted research aircraft 65,000 feetover the tropical Pacific Ocean thismonth to probe unexplored regionsof the upper atmosphere anddetect how a warming climate ischanging Earth.

2. The first flights of the AirborneTropical Tropopause Experiment(ATTREX), a multi-year airborne

science campaign with a heavilyinstrumented Global Hawk aircraft,will take off from and be operatedby NASAs Dryden Flight ResearchCenter at Edwards Air Force Basein California.

3. Water vapour and ozone in thestratosphere can have a large

impact on Earths climate. Theprocesses that drive the rise andfall of these compounds, especiallywater vapour, are not well under-stood.This limits scientists abilityto predict how these changes willinfluence global climate in thefuture.

4. ATTREX will study moisture andchemical composition in the upperregions of the troposphere, thelowest layer of Earths atmos-phere.The tropopause layerbetween the troposphere andstratosphere, 12 km to 17 km

above Earths surface, is the pointwhere water vapour, ozone andother gases enter the stratosphere.

5. Studies have shown even smallchanges in stratospheric humiditymay have significant climateimpacts. Predictions of stratos-pheric humidity changes areuncertain because of gaps in theunderstanding of the physicalprocesses occurring in the tropicaltropopause layer.

6. ATTREX will use the GlobalHawk to carry instruments to

sample this layer near the equatoroff the coast of Central America.

7. The ATTREX payload willprovide unprecedented measure-ments of the tropical tropopause,said Eric Jensen, ATTREX principalinvestigator at NASAs AmesResearch Center in Moffett Field,California.

Spacetime more like clearwhisky than frothy beer

Space-time continuum may be lesslike a frothy quantum beer andmore like a sipping Einsteinianwhiskey, a scientist has claimed.

a. Astrophysicist Robert Nemiroffof Michigan TechnologicalUniversity and NASA Goddard,reached this conclusion afterstudying the tracings of threephotons of varied wavelengths thatwere recorded by NASAs FermiGamma-ray Space Telescope inMay 2009, the Science Dailyreported.

b. The photons originated about 7

billion light years away from Earthin one of three pulses from agamma-ray burst. They arrived atthe orbiting telescope just onemillisecond apart, in a virtual tie.

c. Gamma-ray bursts are short-lived bursts of gamma-ray photons,the most energetic form of light.They can originate far across theuniverse, and astronomers believemany are caused by giant starscollapsing, often billions of yearsbefore Earth was formed.

d. Gamma-ray bursts can tell ussome very interesting things aboutthe universe, Nemiroff said.

e. In this case, those threephotons recorded by the Fermitelescope suggest that spacetimemay not be as bubbly as somescientists think.

f. Some theories of quantumgravity say that the universe is notsmooth but foamy made of funda-mental units called Planck lengthsthat are less than a trillionth of atrillionth the diameter of a hydrogen

atom.

g. Planck lengths are so smallthat theres no way to detect them,except via photons like those thatmake up gamma-ray bursts.

h. The reason the wavelengths ofthese photons are some of theshortest distances known toscience so short they shouldinteract with the even smallerPlanck length. And if they interact,the photons should be dispersed-scattered-on their trek throughPlanck length-pixelated spacetime.

i. In particular, they shoulddisperse in different ways if theirwavelengths differ, just as a pingpong ball and a softball might takealternate paths down a gravelyhillside.

j. Also, one wouldnt notice thescattering over short distances, butacross billions of light years, thePlanck lengths should disperse thelight. And three photons from thesame gamma-ray burst should nothave crashed through the Fermi

telescope at the same moment.FII inflows throughP-Notes rise toRs 1.77 lakh cr

1. Investments into Indian sharesthrough participatory notes (PNotes), a preferred route for HNIsand hedge funds from abroad, hit9month high of Rs 1.77 lakhcrore (about $32.4 billion) inNovember.

2. According to the latest data

released by the Securities andExchange Board of India (SEBI), thetotal value of PNote investmentsin Indian markets (equity, debt andderivatives) rose to 1,77,164 crore


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at the end of November after fallingto a near three year low of Rs1,28,895 crore in May.

3. The November figure hasreached highest level sinceFebruary, when the cumulativevalue of such investments stood atRs.1,83,151 crore.

4. PNotes, mostly used byoverseas HNIs (High NetworthIndividuals), hedge funds and otherforeign institutions, allow them toinvest in Indian markets throughregistered Foreign InstitutionalInvestors (FIIs), while saving ontime and costs associated withdirect registrations.

5. Market analysts say investmentthrough PNotes has been raisingin the past three months on policyreform measures taken by thegovernment and its initiatives to

address tax related issues.

6. Besides, value of PNotesissued with derivatives as under-lying, was at an Rs 94,658 crore atthe end of November.

7. The quantum of FIIs invest-ments through PNotes, however,declined to 13.7 percent inNovember, from 14.4 percent in theprevious month.

8. PNotes have been accoun-ting for mostly 1520 per cent oftotal FII holdings in India since

2009, while it used to be muchhigherin the range of 2540 percent in 2008. It was as high as over50 per cent at the peak of Indianstock market bull run during a fewmonths in 2007.

9. Their share has fallen afterSEBI tightened disclosure andother regulations for such invest-ments.

10. FIIs, the key driver of Indianmarkets, poured in $24 billion(around Rs 1.28 lakh crore) intoIndian equities in 2012second

highest net inflows since 1993when India opened up its door forforeign investors.

India not to be part ofextended IT pact of selectWTO members

India will not be party to the secondinstalment of the IT agreement thata number of World Trade Organi-sation members are negotiating asit would lead to zero import tariffson a number of sensitive electronicand consumer products including

mobile phones, i-pads, washingmachines and refrigerators.

New Delhi would be part of thetrade facilitation agreement that

seeks to upgrade infrastructure atports and customs stations on itsown terms, the official added.

The developed countries includingthe EU and the US are trying tocherry-pick areas where they wantto have plurilateral agreementstotally by-passing the Doha round

so that they can have some earlygains. We are fighting against it,the official said.

Developed nations are trying to usethe next ministerial meeting of theWTO scheduled in December inBali to sign a number of plurilateralagreements as the on-going Doharound of talks has not reapedresults.

India said that it had lost heavilyafter signing the first instalment ofthe IT agreement that involvedeliminating duties 217 items like

parts of microscope, semi-conductor equipment, sprayingappliances and still image videocameras.

KAU scientists challengestudies on impact ofendosulfan

Two scientists from KeralaAgricultural University (KAU) have

come out with a report highlightingserious flaws and inconsistenciesin two independent epidemio-logical studies carried out in theendosulfan-affected areas inKasaragod.

Authored by K.M. Sreekumar,entomologist at the College ofAgriculture, Padannakkad, and K.D.Prathapan of the College of Agricul-ture, Vellayani, the report,published in the latest onlineedition of the Current Sciencejournal of research, alleges major

lapses in the analysis of endo-sulfan residues, lack of clarity inthe incidence of physical disability,biased findings about change insex ratio, and absence of data tosubstantiate higher incidence ofcancer.

SOCIAL REALITIES

1. The report said the inferenceson reproductive health events inwomen had not taken socialrealities into account and there wasno statistical comparison betweenthe data generated during the

period of pesticide application(1980 to 2000) and the period after.

2. It also highlighted the inconsis-tencies in the data generated by the

two surveys on the prevalence ofmental retardation and cancer

3. The published report said nocriterion, clinical or biochemicalwas applied for the selection ofvictims of endosulfan spraying.Persons with all types of commondiseases and those living 10 to 15

km away from the cashew estatesare included in the list of victims toavail of free medical aid andfinancial benefits.

4. The report called for a compre-hensive, multidisciplinary study tobring out the true picture of theissue that shook the conscience ofthe whole world.

Sri Lankan parliamentimpeaches Chief Justice

The Sri Lankan parliament impea-ched Chief Justice Shirani Bandara

nayake on Friday, effectivelythrowing the judiciary into disarrayand signalling a breakdown of theConstitution.

A host of procedural issuesdelayed the debate on Thursday,and the vote on Friday. But SpeakerChamal Rajapaksa, a brother ofPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa,allowed the vote to go ahead lateon Friday. He later announced thatthe President will be informed thatthe impeachment motion waspassed with 155 votes for the

motion and 49 against.Despite the impeachment,Ms.Bandaranayake is still somedistance away from being thrownout. The President has to make aformal proclamation to this effect;and he has said that he would firstconsult a panel of eminent personsahead of taking such a decision.Also, since the PSC report itself isvoid, the judiciary cannot accept theimpeachment. In effect, Ms.Banda-ranayake can continue as CJ till theexecutive implements the orders of

the legislature.Concept: the judicial impeach-ment in India:

What is impeachment?

A member of the higher judiciary,which means the Judges and ChiefJustices of the Supreme Court ofIndia and the state High Courts,can be removed from service onlythrough the process of impeach-ment under Article 124 (4) of theConstitution on grounds of provenmisbehaviour or incapacity. In India,there is no other process by which

a Judge can be removed fromoffice before his term comes to anend. However, the process is verycumbersome.

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Who decides if a Judge should beimpeached?

As per the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968,a complaint against a Judge has tobe made through a resolutioneither by 100 members of the LokSabha or 50 Rajya Sabhamembers. After the MPs submit aduly signed motion to this effect totheir respective presiding officersChairman of the RajyaSabha orSpeaker of the LokSabhathepresiding officer constitutes athree-member committeecomprising two Judgesone fromthe Supreme Court and one ChiefJustice of a High Court if thecomplaint is against a HC Judge;and two Supreme Court Judges ifthe complaint is against a sittingJudge of the apex courtand ajurist to probe the complaint anddetermine if it is a case fit for

initiating the process of impeach-ment.

This team can involve any indepen-dent agency, either from the govern-ment or the private sector, toinvestigate the charges, beforemaking a recommendation to theHouse. Thereafter, if the committeehas concluded that impeachmentproceedings be launched, thematter is debated in both Housesof Parliament. The Judge who isfacing impeachment is also giventhe opportunity to rebut thecharges, either in person or

through his representative.However, the entire processdebate onwardshas to becompleted within a single sessionof the House, failing which themotion is deemed dropped andcan only be taken up if the entireprocess is repeated afresh in anysubsequent session.

What is the majority needed topass the impeachment motion?

After the debate ends and theJudge has been heard, if theHouse decides to put the motion to

vote, the resolution has to bepassed by two-thirds majority inboth Houses in the same session.The resolution is then sent to thePresident, who orders removal ofthe Judge.

Has any Judge ever beenimpeached since Independence?

None till date. The only time,Parliament came close to impea-ching a Judge was in the case offormer Punjab and Haryana HighCourt Chief Justice V Ramaswamifor corruption in 1991. However, the

move failed as the then Congressgovernment headed by RajivGandhi asked all Congress MPs toabstain from voting, thus defeatingthe motion.

Last year, 58 MPs of the RajyaSabha moved a motion forimpeachment of Calcutta HighCourt Judge SoumitraSen for hisinvolvement in financial misappro-priation before he was appointedas a Judge. The matter is pendingbefore a three-member committeeconstituted by the RajyaSabha

Chairman.

On Monday, 75 MPs of the RajyaSabha submitted a signed motionfor impeachment of controversialKarnataka High Court Chief JusticeP D Dinakaran on 12 counts. Oncethe signatures are verified, thematter will be referred to acommittee to be constituted by theChairman of the RajyaSabha.Among other things, Dinakaran isaccused of encroaching upongovernment and village commonland, amassing assets much

beyond his known sources ofincome and causing loss to theexchequer.

Is there any other way to punisherrant Judges?

No. In most cases, transfer is theonly course of action followed bythe Supreme Court collegium if itfeels that the offence of the Judgeis not so grave so as to attract thepenalty of impeachment. Ironically,in a large number of cases, thehighest court of the land has ruledthat transfer is no punishment.

Is the government mulling a newlaw to rein in and punish errantJudges?

Yes, Union Law Minister M Veera-ppa Moily has already announcedon the floor of the Parliament that anew law in this regard could beintroduced in the ongoing Sessionof Parliament itself.

Two judges are:

(1)Justice V. Ramaswami: Hewas the Punjab and Haryana highcourt chief justice of in the year1993 when he was impeached bythe LokSabha by 196 votesbecause of his incapacity to dowork; the supreme court hadcharged Justice V. Ramaswamiasfailed TO DO COMPLETEJUSTICE.

(2)Justice SoumitraSen: He wasthe Calcutta high court chief justice,the chief justice of India K.GBalakrishnam had recommendedhim for impeachment to theparliament because he had mis-appropriating Rs. 22.83 lakh .thanon 2009 a three members

commitee was set up and investi-gation was started and he wasfound guilty and finally on 17 August2011 he was impeached by RajyaSabha.

CONCLUSION:The impeachmentprocess is levied on the official whois unable to do his or her workproperly or who had done the un-constitutional work which harmsthe country.

The impeachment is the processto stop the corruption in the higher

level officials and to remove themfrom their offices because as wehad studied we were came to knowthat by impeachment only thehigher level officer is removed fromthe office.

Judicial over ActivismThe judgment delivered onSeptember 13, 2012 by JusticeSwatanter Kumar, on behalf ofhimself and Justice A.K. Patnaik,belongs to an impressive lineageof Supreme Court rulings whichcreate havoc and confusion in

institutionsand even in theconduct of examinationsof whichits judges were blissfully unaware.That this one called for a completeoverhaul of the system of theCentral Information Commission(CIC) and the many StatesInformation Commissions is theleast of its blemishes. What is ofgraver import and long-termconsequence is that it is a wantonand reckless assault onparliamentary democracy.

INTEMPERATE COMMENTS

Proceedings for its review had tobe halted because its authorJustice Swatanter Kumar retiredlast month and was immediatelyappointed Chairman of theNational Green Tribunal; but notbefore delivering intemperatecomments during the reviewproceedings.

Like almost all Supreme Courtjudgments, this one is rich in floridprose, disdainful of brevity and isanimated by a desire to legislate. Agood copy editor would havereduced its 107 pages to one-third.The issue before the court wassimple. Section 12 (5) and (6) oftheRight to Information Act, 2005prescribe, respectively, qualifica-tions and disqualifications of theCIC and Information Commissio-ners. S. 15 (5) and (6) replicatethem for their counterparts in theStates.

Briefly, the petition contended thatthe criteria for eligibility did notspecify the qualifications orconsultation with the judiciary. Theyperform judicial or quasi-judicial

functions and should, therefore,have judicial experience. The Actmust also prescribe a mechanismfor consultation with the judiciaryfor such appointments.


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S. 12 (6) of the Act which states thedisqualifications is simplicity itself.The Chief Information Commissio-ner or an Information Commissio-ner shall not be a Member ofParliament or Member of theLegislature of any State or UnionTerritory, as the case may be, orhold any other office of profit or

connected with any political party orcarrying on any business orpursuing any profession. Howanyone can possibly object tothese bars passescomprehension.

Judge Swatanter Kumarsobjection takes ones breath awayas does his reading down of itsterms.

He holds it to have an element ofuncertainty and indefiniteness. Itis difficult to say what the personeligible under the provision shouldbe doing and for what period. Thesection does not specify any suchperiod. Normally, the personswould fall under one or the otherunacceptable categories. To put itdifferently, by necessaryimplication, it excludes practicallyall classes while not specifying asto which class of persons iseligible to be appointed to thatpost. The exclusion is too vague,while inclusion is uncertain.

One would have thought that theexclusion of legislators, holders of

office of profit, politicians, busine-ssmen and professionals leavesopen an entire range of persons toselect from. The statute bookabounds with bars such as these.The judge says that it debars allpersons and asks if anyone, whois an elected representative, ingovernment service, or one who isholding an office of profit, carryingon any business or profession, isineligible in terms of Section 12 (6),then the question arises as to whatclass of persons would be eligible.The Section is silent on thatbehalf.

But the criteria for eligibility is setout in S. 12 (5) and disqualificationis S. 12 (6).

The judge finds a way out to saveS. 12 (6) from being struck down asbad in law by wrecking it. Wewould prefer to interpret theprovisions of Section 12 (6) asapplicable post-appointment ratherthan pre-appointment of the ChiefInformation Commissioner andInformation Commissioners. In

other words, these disqualifica-tions will only come into play oncea person is appointed as ChiefInformation Commissioner/Information Commissioner at any

level and he will cease to hold anyoffice or profit or carry any businessor pursue any profession that hedid prior to such appointment.

This perverse misreading of theprovision subverts the entirescheme of the Act and flouts the willof Parliament so clearly expressed.

By Judge Swatanter Kumars logic,it would be open to the governmentof the day to pack the InformationCommissions, Central and State,with legislators from the rulingparty, party officials, civil servantsand others, provided only that theyresigned from their jobs to fill theseplum postings. Such people do notturn Becketts. The object clearlywas to exclude this category, notinclude it after its purification byresignation.

The statute book abounds withsuch sensible bars. Parliamentwas justified in laying them down.Judges Kumar and Patnaik subvertits will and do so by a reasoningwhich is shockingly absurd. Thestrictures by Lord ChancellorSimonds on a similar excess byLord Demmings are apta nakedusurpation of the legislativefunction under the disguise ofinterpretation.

The ruling is no better on theprovision for eligibility. S. 12 (5)says: The Chief InformationCommissioner and Information

Commissioners shall be personsof eminence in public life with wideknowledge and experience in law,science and technology, socialservice, management, journalism,mass media or administration andgovernance.

UNCERTAIN TENOR

The Bench holds, however, that theterminology used by the legislature,such as mass-media oradministration and governance,are terms of uncertain tenor andamplitude. It is somewhat difficultto state with exactitude as to whatclass of persons would be eligibleunder these categories. Thelegislature in its wisdom haschosen not to provide any specificqualification, but has primarilyprescribed wide knowledge andexperience in the cited subjects asthe criteria for selection.

Indeed it holds that the

qualifications prescribed [S. 12 (5)]conflict with the disqualifications insub-section (6). To sustain their

constitutionality, the bar is thusjudicially modified to apply afterappointment, and the qualificationsthemselves are modified to plantjudges on the Commissions. The

right to do so is boldly stated: TheCourts can also bridge the gapsthat have been left by thelegislature inadvertently.

Gaps are detected where noneexist and are filled in by animproper exercise of judicial power,in breach of the fundamentals ofparliamentary democracy. Pilingerror upon error, the judgesthemselves venture to lay downqualifications a basic degree inthe respective field practice in lawfor 20 years and a procedure forconsultation with the Chief Justiceof India and the Chief Justices ofthe High Courts. Twelve directionsare given. The Almighty was contentwith 10.

Parliament could have laid downthat the CIC and the ICs bepresided over by judges. It choseconsciously and wisely not to do

so. What have the judges to showfor themselves as they ranCommissions of Inquiry and thePress Council? The KudalCommission on the Gandhi PeaceFoundation, the ThakkarCommission on Indira Gandhisassassination, the J.S. Verma andthe M.C. Jain Commissions ondifferent aspects of Rajiv Gandhisassassination, theRanganathMisra Commission onthe Delhi rots, the WadhwaCommission on the Stainesmurders and the Lieberhan

Commission on the demolition ofthe Babri Masjid?

Consultation with the CJI is nosafeguard. Justice R.S. Pathak,CJI, was consulted on theappointment of judges to theFairfax Commission. He opted forJudges M.P. Thakkar and S.Natarajan, a safe pair of hands.How have successive judges of theSupreme Court conductedthemselves on the Press Councilof India? At least six CJIs left officein the last quarter century under acloud.

On November 22, hearing thepetition for review, the bench ascorrespondents timidly reported,probably for Justice Kumar saidthat the CIC and ICs are personswho have been in the governmentsgood books. However, onSeptember 19, a day after theCentre moved to appoint JudgeSwatanter Kumar as head of theNational Green Tribunal, anotherBench comprising Justices G.S.Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhyayremarked that appointments to

tribunals, including the NGT, hadraised serious issues relating tointegrity of judges and that thereis a competition among the judgesto get those appointments.


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This is one aspect of theunfortunate ruling; another is itsobstruction of the democraticprocess. The crux of the matter isthat Parliament is entitled to laydown the criteria and thegovernment, accountable to it, isentitled to choose persons whomeet the criteria. The courts have

no business to impose their views.

IIP growth at 4-month low(Nov 2012)

Shaking the growing optimism overan on-going recovery while givingclear signals of a bottoming out,the growth in industrial outputcontracted to a four-month low of0.1 percent in November, 2012,mainly owing to poor shows bymanufacturing, mining and capitalgoods sectors, which have beenthe laggards for most part of the

year.

With the slump in industrial growth,as measured by the Index ofIndustrial Production (IIP), comingimmediately after a robust 8.3 percent expansion in October and waybelow the 6 per cent growthwitnessed in November, 2011, thedismal performance prompted theindustry chambers to clamour yetagain for a rate cut by the ReserveBank of India (RBI) in its quarterlyreview on January 29. The IIP datareleased here on Friday revealed

that the major culprit responsiblefor the contraction in overall growthwas the manufacturing sector,which makes up for over 75 percent of the index. It grew by a mere0.3 per cent in November last yearas compar

upsc jan 13 current affairs

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