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COVER
STORY (Pages: 29 :: File Size: 2.19 MB)
NATIONAL (Pages: 38 :: File Size: 3.94 MB)
- TAMIL NADU: Status of Dalits
- THE JUDICIARY: CBI & the States
- SOCIAL ISSUES: Haryana’s khap terror
- UPSC: Hints of change
- ESSAY: Kashmir: Accord and discord
- SPOTLIGHT: Kenneth Anderson: Hunter’s tales
- REPORTS: Youth and an indifferent state
- CLIMATE CHANGE: India yields ground
- CONTROVERSY: M.F. Husain: An artist’s alienation
- Shock and shame
- COMMUNALISM: Karnataka: Protest against Taslima’s article
- PLANNING: Eleventh Plan: A people’s appraisal
INTERNATIONAL (Pages: 32 :: File Size: 3.89 MB)
- INDIA & PAKISTAN: Rebuilding trust
- UPDATE: Ice on the moon
- UPDATE: Iran: Arrest of a terrorist
- UAE: Mossad murder in Dubai
- IRAQ: Election worries
- AFGHANISTAN: U.S’ technology spectacle
- TRAVEL: Minoan marvel
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FOCUS:
TOURISM IN WEST BENGAL (Pages: 7 :: File Size: 1.73 MB)
- Ideal destination
- Interview: Manabendra Mukherjee, West Bengal Tourism Minister
Union Public Service Commission
Scheme to increase state presence in civil services
To facilitate more representation of candidates in the Indian civil services
like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) or the
Indian Forest Service (IFS), the Maharashtra government is mulling introduction
of a Maharashtra Talent Search & Graduate Excellence Examination scheme.
The aim is to search for and nurture talent so that more students from the state
are able to crack the exams.
“The government is considering introducing this special training scheme to have
maximum representation at the national level. A team is currently preparing the
concept note. It should be ready in a week or so. We want to push more students
from Maharashtra for civil and defence services posts, engineering exams and
other central government jobs,” said Rajesh Tope, state higher and technical
education minister.
An aptitude test for civil service exam from 2011
For Prelims, Candidates Will Have
To Appear In Two Objective-Type Papers
Aspirants for the civil services will face a different pattern of
examination from next year as the government has approved a proposal to
introduce an aptitude test in place of the existing preliminary examination
to shortlist candidates for the main exam. Accordingly, the candidates will
have to appear in two objective-type papers having special emphasis on
testing their “aptitude for civil services” as well as on “ethical and moral
dimension of decision-making” under a Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).
Both these papers — having equal weightage — will be common to all
candidates in place of the one common paper (general awareness) and one
optional paper (any particular subject of choice) under the existing system
which lays greater emphasis on subject knowledge.
As of now, the change will be effective only for the first stage of the
Civil Services Examination (CSE) from 2011 onwards. The second and third
stages — CS (Main) Examination and interview respectively — may remain
the same till a committee of experts goes into various aspects of the entire
system and submits its report.
Confirming the change for the first stage of CSE, minister of state for
personnel Prithviraj Chavan told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the proposal for introduction of CSAT
in place of the existing CS (Preliminary) Examination. In his written reply,
he said: “CSAT is expected to come into effect from CSE, 2011.” The proposal
to this effect was sent to the PMO last year by the Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC) which conducts CSE every year to select candidates for
elite all-India services, including IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and others Group ‘A’
and Group ‘B’ central jobs.
UPSC overhauls recruitment process of Civil Services Exam
"With regard to the Civil Services Examination (CSE) the Prime
Minister has approved the proposal for introduction of Civil Services
Aptitude Test (CSAT) in place of the existing Civil Services (Preliminary)
Examination," said the minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances & Pensions, Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a
question in Lok Sabha today.
The CSAT is expected to come into effect from Civil Services Examination,
2011.
"The examination system of the Union Public S
Changes in the Recruitment Process of Civil Services Exam
The examination system of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is
updated from time to time to keep it in harmony with the changing environment.
In regard to the Civil Services Examination (CSE) the Prime Minister has
approved the proposal for introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in
place of the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. The CSAT is
expected to come into effect from Civil Services Examination, 2011.
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F.1/25/2009-R&S
Union Public Service Commission
Research and Statistics Section
Recruitment Results:
The following Recruitment Results have been finalized by the Union Public
Service Commission during the First Fortnight of the month of February, 2010.
The recommended candidates have been informed indiv
UPSC: Hints of change
A reformatting of the civil services examination will
hopefully increase transparency in the evaluation process.
AFTER years of dithering, the Government of India has finally
agreed to change the format of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil
services examination. The present format had come under severe criticism from
both members of the public as well as from parliamentary committees, and there
had been tremendous pressure on the government to review it. Its shortcomings,
which have come to light following queries made under the Right to Information (RTI)
Act, warranted urgent action.
To begin with, the Preliminary examination, which consists of
general studies and optional papers, may be replaced with an aptitude test, to
be called the Civil Services Aptitude Test. The test will comprise two
objective-type papers, which will be common for all candidates appearing for the
examination. A proposal to this effect has received the Union government’s
approval.
Confirming this, Shantanu Consul, Secretary, Department of
Personnel, Government of India, told this correspondent that the proposed
changes would come into effect next year as the notification for this year’s
examination had already come out. Refusing to disclose any other details about
the new format, he said it was the prerogative of the UPSC, which conducted the
examination, to notify the changes.
A senior UPSC official said that “some letter from the
government regarding proposed changes in the system of civil services
examination had indeed been received, but the exact nature of the changes
approved cannot be disclosed yet”. But going by the speech of the UPSC Chairman,
Prof. D.P. Agrawal, on the occasion of UPSC Foundation Day celebrations last
year, there will be a change in the Preliminary examination format, a
PIB: Special Recruitment Drive for IPS
The Government proposes to conduct a special recruitment drive, open to
serving junior ranking police officers from State and Central police forces,
for filling a large number of vacancies in the Indian Police Service(IPS)
To mitigate the shortage of Direct Recruitment quota of Indian Police
Service(IPS) officers, the Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed to fill
about 490 posts in that quota through the mode of Limited Competitive
Examination in a time span of 07 years. The said proposal has been sent to
the Department of Personnel and Training and the Union Public Service
Commission for consideration.
Download : Indian Forest Service Exam, 2009 Papers
Download : Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Exam, 2009
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Download : Civil Services (Main) Exam, 2009 Papers
English Weekly
DEVELOP INDIA, English Weekly -
Feb 28 to March 7, 2010
Contents:
- Current Affairs
- News And Events
- National And Political
- Finance And Economics
- International/Universe
- Science And Technology
- Sports
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For more information visit www.iitbmonash.org
Aspirants Times: CSE Pre Special 2010 (Polity,
Constitution And Social Issues)
Polity & Constitution
Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays
down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishing the
structure, procedures, powers and duties, of the government and spells out the
fundamental rights, directive principles and duties of citizens. Passed by the
Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, it came into effect on 26 January
1950.
The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the declaration of independence of
1930. It declares the Union of India to be a sovereign, democratic republic,
assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty and to promote among
them all fraternity. The words "socialist", "secular" and "integrity" and to
promote among them all "Fraternity"; were added to the definition in 1976 by
constitutional amendment. India celebrates the adoption of the constitution on
26 January each year as Republic Day. It is the longest written constitution of
any sovereign country in the world, containing 395 articles in 22 parts, 12
schedules and 94 amendments, for a total of 117,369 words in the English
language version. Besides the English version, there is an official Hindi
translation.
After coming into effect, the Constitution replaced the
Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India. Being the
supreme law of the country, every law enacted by the government must conform to
the constitution. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, as chairman of the Constitution
Drafting Committee, was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. The
majority of the Indian subcontinent was under British colonial rule from 1858 to
1947. This period saw the gradual rise of the Indian nationalist movement to
gain independence from the foreign rule. The movement culminated in the
formation of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947, along with the Dominion of
Pakistan. The constitution of India was adopted on 26 January 1950, which
proclaimed India to be a sovereign democratic republic.
It contained the founding principles of the law of the land which would govern
India after its independence from British rule. On the day the constitution came
into effect, India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown.
Evolution of the Constitution
(Acts of British Parliament before 1935)
After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British Parliament
took over the reign of India from the British East India Company, and British
India came under the direct rule of the Crown.
The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act of 1858 to this
effect, which set up the structure of British government in India. It
established in England the office of the Secretary of State for India through
whom the Parliament would exercise its rule, along with a Council of India to
aid him.
It also established the office Governor-General of India along with an Executive
Council in India, which consisted of high officials of the British Government.
The Indian Councils Act of 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of
the members of the Executive council and non-official members. The Indian
Councils Act of 1892 established provincial legislatures and increased the
powers of the Legislative Council.
These acts increased the representation of Indians in the government, but it was
limited in its powers. The Government of India Acts of 1909 and 1919 further
expanded the participation of Indians in the government.
(Government of India Act 1935)
The provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935, though never implemented
fully, had a great impact on the constitution of India. Many key features of the
constitution are directly taken from this Act.
The federal structure of government, provincial autonomy, bicameral legislature
consisting of a federal assembly and a Council of States, separation of
legislative powers between center and provinces are some of the provisions of
the Act which are present in the Indian constitution.
The Cabinet Mission Plan
In 1946, at the initiative of British Prime Minister Clement
Attlee, a cabinet mission to India was formulated to discuss and finalize plans
for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership and
providing India with independence under Dominion status in the Commonwealth of
Nations.
The Mission discussed the framework of the constitution and laid down in some
detail the procedure to be followed by the constitution drafting body. Elections
for the 296 seats assigned to the British Indian provinces were completed by
August 1946. The Constituent Assembly first met and began work on 9 December
1946.
(Indian Independence Act 1947): The Indian
Independence Act, which came into force on 18 July 1947, divided the British
Indian territory into two new states of India and Pakistan, which were to be
dominions under the Commonwealth of Nations until their constitutions were in
effect. The Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate states.
The Act relieved the British Parliament of any further rights or obligations
towards India or Pakistan, and granted sovereignty over the lands to the
respective Constituent Assemblies. When the Constitution of India came
into force on 26 January 1950, it overturned the Indian Independence Act. India
ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown and became a sovereign democratic
republic.
Constituent Assembly
The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly,
which was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies.
Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad,Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Nalini Ranjan Ghosh were
some important figures in the Assembly.
There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony
represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P.
Modi and R. K. Sidhwa.
The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a
distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians.
Ari Bahadur Gururng represented the Gorkha Community. Prominent jurists like
Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, B. R. Ambedkar, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi,
Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta,
Durgabai Deshmukh and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur were important women members.
The first president of the Constituent Assembly was Sachidanand Sinha later,
Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly. The members
of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in the year 1946 on 9
December.
Drafting
In the 14 August 1947 meeting of the Assembly, a proposal for
forming various committees was presented. Such committees included a Committee
on Fundamental Rights, the Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution
Committee.
On 29 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed, with Dr Ambedkar as the
Chairman along with six other members. A Draft Constitution was prepared by the
committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947.
The Assembly met, in sessions open to the public, for 166 days, spread over a
period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After
many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly
signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English)
on 24 January 1950.
Two days later, the Constitution of India became the law of all the Indian
lands. The Constitution of India has undergone 94 amendments in the less than 60
years since its enactment.
Structure
The Constitution, in its current form, consists of a
preamble, 22 parts containing 448 articles, 12 schedules, 5 appendices and over
109 amendments to date. Although it is federal in nature with strong unitary
bias, in case of emergencies it takes unitary structure.
Parts
Parts are the individual chapters in the Constitution,
focused in single broad field of laws, containing articles that address the
issues in question.
(Preamble)
» Part I- Union and its Territory
» Part II- Citizenship.
» Part III - Fundamental Rights
» Part IV - Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties.
» Part V - The Union.
» Part VI - The States.
» Part VII - States in the B part of the First schedule (Repealed).
» Part VIII - The Union Territories
» Part IX - Panchayat system and Municipalities.
» Part X - The scheduled and Tribal Areas
» Part XI - Relations between the Union and the States.
» Part XII - Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
» Part XIII - Trade and Commerce within the territory of India
» Part XIV - Services Under the Union, the States and Tribunals
» Part XV - Elections
» Part XVI - Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes.
» Part XVII - Languages
» Part XVIII - Emergency Provisions
» Part XIX - Miscellaneous
» Part XX - Amendment of the Constitution
» Part XXI - Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
» Part XXII - Short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi and
Repeals
» Part XXIII - Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
» Part XXIV - Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
Schedules
Schedules are lists in the Constitution that categorizes and
tabulates bureaucratic activity and policy of the Government.
First Schedule (Articles 1 and 4): States and Union Territories – This
lists the states and territories on of India, lists any changes to their borders
and the laws used to make that change.
Second Schedule (Articles 59, 65, 75, 97, 125, 148, 158, 164, 186 and 221) —
Emoluments for High-Level Officials – This lists the salaries of officials
holding public office, judges, and Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
Third Schedule (Articles 75, 99, 124, 148, 164, 188 and 219) — Forms of
Oaths – This lists the oaths of offices for elected officials and judges.
Fourth Schedule (Articles 4 and 80) – This details the allocation of
seats in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament) per State or Union
Territory.
Fifth Schedule (Article 244) – This provides for the administration and
control of Scheduled Areas[Note 1] and Scheduled Tribes[Note 2] (areas and
tribes needing special protection due to disadvantageous conditions).
Sixth Schedule (Articles 244 and 275) — Provisions for the administration
of tribal areas in Assam.
Seventh Schedule (Article 246) — The union (central government), state, and
concurrent lists of responsibilities.
Eighth Schedule (Articles 344 and 351) — The official languages.
Ninth Schedule (Article 31-B) - This covers land and tenure reforms; the
accession of Sikkim with India. It may be reviewed by the courts.
Tenth Schedule (Articles 102 and 191) — "Anti-defection" provisions for
Members of Parliament and Members of the State Legislatures.
Eleventh Schedule (Article 243-G) — Panchayat Raj (rural development).
Twelfth Schedule (Article 243-W) — Municipalities (urban planning).
Federal Structure
The constitution provides for separation of powers between
the Union and the States. It enumerates the powers of the Parliament and State
Legislatures in three lists, namely Union list, State list and Concurrent list.
Subjects like national defense, foreign policy, issuance of currency are
reserved to the Union list. Public order, local governments, certain taxes are
examples of subjects of the State List, on which the Parliament has no power to
enact laws in those regards, barring exceptional conditions.
Education, transportation, criminal law are a few subjects of the Concurrent
list, where both the State Legislature as well as the Parliament have powers to
enact laws. The residuary powers are vested with the Union.
The upper house of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, which consists of
representatives of States, is also an example of the federal nature of the
government.
Parliamentary Democracy
The President of India is elected by the Parliament and State
Legislative Assemblies, and not directly by the people. The President is the
Head of the State, and all the business of the Executive and Laws enacted by the
Parliament are in his/her name.
However, these powers are only nominal, and the President must act only
according to the advise of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers enjoy their offices only as long
as they enjoy a majority support in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the
Parliament, which consists of members directly elected by the people.
The ministers are answerable to both the houses of the Parliament. Also, the
Ministers must themselves be elected members of either house of the Parliament.
Thus, the Parliament exercises control over the Executive.
A similar structure is present in States, where the directly elected Legislative
Assembly enjoys control over the Chief Minister and the State Council of
Ministers.
Independent Judiciary
The Judiciary of India is free of control from either the
executive or the Parliament. The judiciary acts as an interpreter of the
constitution, and an intermediary in case of disputes between two States, or
between a State and the Union.
An act passed by the Parliament or a Legislative Assembly is subject to judicial
review, and can be declared unconstitutional by the judiciary if it feels that
the act violates some provision of the Constitution.
Constitutional remedy against any action of the government is available in a
High Court or the Supreme Court, if the action violates any of the fundamental
rights of an individual as enumerated in the Constitution.
Changing the constitution
Amendments to the constitution are made by Parliament.
However they must be approved by a super-majority in each house, and certain
amendments must also be ratified by the states.
The procedure is laid out in Article 368. Despite these rules there have been
over ninety amendments to the constitution since it was enacted in 1950.
The Supreme Court has ruled, controversially, that not every constitutional
amendment is permissible. An amendment must respect the "basic structure" of the
constitution, which is immutable.
In 2000 the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC)
was setup to look into updating the constitution of India.
Judicial review of laws
Judicial review is actually adopted in the Indian
constitution from the constitution of the United States of America. In the
Indian constitution, Judicial Review is dealt under Article 13. Judicial Review
actually refers that the Constitution is the supreme power of the nation and all
laws are under its supremacy. Article 13 deals that. All pre-constitutional
laws, after the coming into force of constitution, if in conflict with it in all
or some of its provisions then the provisions of constitution will prevail and
the provisions of that pre-constitutional law will not be in force until an
amendment of the constitution relating to the same matter. In such situation the
provision of that law will again come into force, if it is compatible with the
constitution as amended. This is called the Theory of Eclipse.
In a similar manner, laws made after adoption of the Constitution by the
Constituent Assembly must be compatible with the constitution, otherwise the
laws and amendments will be deemed to be void-ab-initio.
In such situations, the Supreme Court or High Court interprets the laws as if
they are in conformity with the constitution. If such an interpretation is not
possible because of inconsistency, and where a separation is possible, the
provision that is inconsistent with constitution is considered to be void. In
addition to article 13, articles 32, 124, 131, 219, 226 and 246 provide a
constitutional bases to the Judicial review in India.
Politics of India
Politics of India take place in a framework of a federal
parliamentary multi-party representative democratic republic modeled after the
British Westminster System.
The Prime Minister of India is the head of government, while the President of
India is the formal head of state and holds substantial reserve powers, placing
him or her in approximately the same position as the British monarch.
Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is
vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament of India.
The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
According to its constitution, India is a "sovereign socialist secular
democratic republic." India is the largest state by population with a
democratically-elected government.
Like the United States, India has a federal form of government, however, the
central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and its
central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system.
Aspirants Times: Award News |
Current Affairs
» N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindu
newspaper, has received the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Journalist
Award, 2010, which is conferred for excellence in journalism on a personality
making important contribution to the field of journalism at national level. Vir
Sanghvi of Hindustan Times was the recipient of the Tilak Award in 2009.
» Mridula Koshy's If It is Sweet, a collection of
short stories, has bagged the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, 2009 award. The New
Delhi-based author will get Rs 1 lakh and a citation.
In 2008, Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif's A Case of Exploding Mangoes had won
the award.
The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late
writer/editor's family to keep her memory alive.
» Ten young scientists have won this year’s NASI
Scopus Awards instituted by the National Academy of Sciences, India, and
Elsevier, a leading research publisher of scientific, technical and medical
information products and services.
The winners include Kaviyarani R. Prasad, Siddhartha Gadgil and Vijay B. Shenoy
of the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science; Tanmay Basak of IIT-Madras,
and Suresh Babu of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. The
other winners are Vinay Nandicoori of the National Institute of Immunology,
Ellora Sen of the National Brain Research Centre, Siddharth Pandey of IIT-Delhi,
S.N.Tripathi of IIT-Kanpur, and Pratap Ray Chaudhuri of the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
Science and Technology Minister Prithiviraj Chavan presented the awards here on
Friday. Each award carries a plaque, a citation and Rs.50,000 in cash.
Kok Keng Lim, managing director, Elsevier (Science and Technology), Asia Pacific
(Academic and Government), and A. Surolia, vice-president, NASI Council,
appreciated the efforts of the award winners to take science to newer heights.
» Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi has been
honoured with the Sahitya Akademi award , 2009 for his work, Hawa mein
hastakshar (Signature in the wind).
The other poets honoured with Sahitya Akademi award are: Praduman Singh
Jindrahia (Dogri), Jess Fernandes (Konkani), Raghu Leishangthem (Manipuri),
Vasant Abaji Dahake (Marathi), Phani Mohanty (Oriuya), Damayanti Beshra (Santhali)
and Puviarasu (Tamil).
Aspirants Times: Sport News |
Current Affairs
» India started their campaign
in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships with two golds, a silver and bronze
on Feb 19.
The first gold came in the 10-metre air rifle pairs men with Gagan Narang and
P.T. Raghunath shooting a total of 1193. Narang aggregated 599 while Raghunath
shot 594. In the finals, Narang (55) and Raghunath (47) shot a total of 102 to
bag the first medal of the tournament.
The silver went to the English pair of James Huckle (593) and Ken Parr jnr (592)
while Bangladesh duo Asif Hossain Khan (594) and Shovon Chowdhury (588) bagged
the bronze.
The second gold came in the women's 25-metre pistol pairs event where the Indian
duo of Annisa Sayyed (582) and Annuraj Singh (565) shot a total of 1147.
Australian pair of Linda Ryan (574) and Elena Galiabovitch (564) bagged the
silver with the total of 1138 while the bronze went to the English pair of
Georgina Geikie (571) and Julia Lydall (558) with a total of 1129.
In the men's 50-metre free pistol pairs, Indian pair of Bapu Vanjare (536) and
Viraj Singh (523) won the silver with a tally of 1059 while the gold was
clinched by England duo Michael Gault (545) and Nick Baxter (537) for a total of
1082.
Australia won the bronze with shooters Alfio (523) and Janek Janski (507)
shooting a total of 1030.
Indian's women rifle shooters ended the day by winning the bronze in the
50-metre 3 position pairs events. Lajja Goswami (prone 196, standing 187 and
kneeling 188) and Tejaswini Sawant (prone 195, standing 180, kneeling 189)
aggregated 1135 for the bronze.
The gold went to Scottish team of Jennifer Mcintosh (prone 196, standing 185,
kneeling 192) and Kay Copland (prone 198, standing 178, kneeling 187) for a
total of 1136. Welsh team of Jennifer Corish (prone 195, standing 186, kneeling
189) and Sian Corish (prone 196, standing 185, kneeling 184) for a total of
1135.
Both the Indian and the Welsh teams were tied after the qualifiers but in the
final, the wales duo shot 41 while the hosts were one point behind.
» Noted authors Keki N. Daruwalla and Amit Chaudhuri are among the four Indians
nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2010.
Besides Daruwalla's "For Pepper and Christ" and Chaudhuri's "The Immortals",
authors Rana Dasgupta and Chandrahas Chowdhury have also been nominated for
their books "Solo" and "Arzee the Dwarf", respectively.
While "Solo" and "Arzee The Dwarf" have been published by HarperCollins-India,
"For Pepper and Christ" has been published by Penguin-Books India and "The
Immortals" has been published by Picador-India.
"For Pepper and Christ" is a historic tale of sailors voyaging during the time
of Vasco Da Gama that weaves itself around the legend of Prestor John and spice
trade.
"The Immortals" is the story of two families in Mumbai of the 'eighties bound by
music.
"Solo" by England-born Dasgupta is an epic tale of the 20th and 21st centuries
told from the perspective of a one hundred-year-old Bulgarian man. Having
achieved little in his 20th-century life, he settles into a long and prophetic
daydream of the 21st century, where all the ideological experiments of the old
century are over, and a collection of startling characters - demons and angels -
live a life beyond utopia.
"Arzee The Dwarf", the debut novel of Chandrahas, a young author, is the story
of Mumbai told through the life and voice of a dwarf Arzee -- the head
projectionist of Noor, a Mumbai cinema. Arzee's personal joys, sorrows and an
unusual cast of friends encapsulate the spirit of Mumbai and the chaotic world
that he lives in.
Other nominees for best book in Europe and South Asia include "The Beijing of
Possibilities" by Jonathan Tel (Britian), "Heartland" by Anthony Catwright
(Britain) and "Another Gulmohar Tree" by Aamer Hussain (Pakistan), a communique
issued by HarperCollins said Friday.
Besides Chandrahas' "Arzee the Dwarf", the nominations for the best debut books
include "The Hungry Ghosts" by Anne Berry (Britain), "In Other Rooms, Other
Wonders" by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Pakistan), "Among Thieves" by Mez Packer
(Britain), "An Equal Stillness" by Francesca Kay (Britain) and "Tail of the Blue
Birds" by Nii Parkes (Britain).
In 2009, Christos Tsiolkas from Australia won the Commonwealth Prize for the
best book, while Mohammed Hanif of Pakistan won the best debut book award for
"The Case of Exploding Mangoes".
The year before Canadian author Lawrence Hill won the award for best book, while
Tahmima Anam of Bangladesh was honoured for her first book "Golden Age".
» Vitali Klitschko retained his BOXING WBC World
Heavy-weight title, winning a unanimous points decision against American
challenger Kevin Johnson. The 38-year-old Ukrainian spent the entire fight on
the offensive against previously unbeaten Johnson but could not find his
customary knockout as his opponent opted for survival.
» Asian champion Suranjoy Singh has become the
first Indian boxer to clinch a gold medal at the inter-continental President's
Cup. He out-punched Frenchman Nordine Oubaali 8-1 in the flyweight (51kg) final,
in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 22-year-old Manipuri's triumph also fetched him US
$3,000 at the prestigious season-ending event, where confederations from Asia,
America, Africa, Europe and Oceania are pitted against each other.
» India-A men’s team overwhelmed Sri Lanka to annex the gold in the Tata Steel
Asian Team Chess Championship which concluded at Kolkata. Vietnam took the
silver while Iran had to be content with the bronze. In the women’s section,
Vietnam crushed Nepal 4-0 to total 11 points and win the gold.
» Baskaran Adhiban won the title with a round to
spare in match against Abhijeet Gupta of PSPB. Adhiban also bagged his first
Grandmaster norm in the process, something which he had narrowly missed thrice
in the last two years.
» Australia survived a tense final session to force
a draw against the West Indies in an absorbing second Test at the Adelaide Oval
between Australia-West Indies Test series.
Australia triumphed over a never-say-die West Indies inside four overs on the
final day to win the third and final Test by 35 runs, and win the three-Test
series 2-0. The West Indies came into the final day requiring 51 more runs for
the unlikeliest of victories with Nos. 10 and 11 at the crease, but were
eventually dismissed for 323.
Aspirants Times: Current Relevant Facts |
Current Affairs
» Making an initial estimate of
economic growth at 8.2 per cent in 2010-11 and nine per cent in 2011-12, the
Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has listed a host of farm
sector measures that need to be put in place for a bounce-back in agricultural
GDP and avert the cascading effect of the current food price spiral on overall
inflation during the new fiscal.
The overall growth projections, however, are based on certain basic assumptions.
In its ‘Review of the Economy 2009-10’ the Council said that the growth
assessments of both these years assume a normal South West monsoon and absence
of any major calamity or setback at the international level, continuation of
strong expansion in industrial and service sector activity during the period,
along with the implementation of the government’s priorities and initiatives in
the creation of infrastructure with private sector participation along desired
lines.
Moreover, these growth estimates are based on the expectation that farm sector
growth would bounce back from the current fiscal’s projected decline of 0.2 per
cent. “The Council expects a bounce back in agricultural GDP in the next year
and maintenance of the desired trend growth of four per cent in 2011-12,” the
review said.
To achieve the projected farm growth target, the PMEAC has prescribed a number
of measures that need to be implemented over a period.
For the short term, while noting that the authorities should be alert in
pre-empting a food inflation spill-over to headline inflation through the
manufacturing sector during the coming months, the PMEAC said: “The RBI’s
monetary policy must remain alive to the danger that a significant transfer of
food price inflation to the general price level may occur in 2010-11.”
It also pointed towards the potential of commodities prices rising globally
owing to a revival in developing countries and the current unsettled financial
conditions.
While calling for better farm practices, soil research, irrigation and increased
productivity through the supply of quality high-yielding seeds to farmers during
the medium term, the PMEAC suggested urgent imports of sugar to the extent of
three to five million tonnes to bridge the demand-supply gap during the new
fiscal.
The PMEAC also urged the Centre to consider rice imports to build stocks if
procurement falls below 27 million tonnes in the current season.
» Less than one in three women know that a
condom can be used just once, and just one in six know that a condom cannot
disappear into a woman’s body.
These are some of the findings of “Youth in India: Situation and Needs,” a study
carried out by the Indian Institute of Population Sciences and the Population
Council.
The findings show that just 46 per cent of young men and 24 per cent of young
women were aware that a condom cannot disappear inside a woman’s body. Only 31
per cent of young men and 25 per cent of young women felt that condoms do not
reduce sexual pleasure.
Marital status affects condom consciousness, with 57 per cent married young men
compared to 44 per cent unmarried young men being aware that condoms cannot slip
off the man and disappear into a woman’s body; the corresponding percentages
among young women were 29 and 17 .
The findings also underscore the limited awareness young people have of most
sexual and reproductive matters with only 37 per cent of young men and 45 per
cent of young women being aware that a woman could get pregnant in her first
sexual encounter, and 19 and 15 per cent respectively of young men and women
reporting awareness of sexually transmitted infections other than HIV.
Leading sources of information on sexual matters, according to the study, were
friends and the media for both young men and women. In contrast, just 10 per
cent of young men and women cited teachers and 3-7 per cent cited health care
providers as a source of information; just 2 and 9 per cent of young men and
women respectively cited family members.
Teachers and health care providers were relatively infrequently reported as
sources of information on contraception.
The study further points out that only 15 per cent of respondents had attended
sex education programmes either in or outside the school setting,
notwithstanding the Adolescence Education Programme, the School AIDS Education
Programme, the Red Ribbon Clubs and special programmes for out-of-the-school
youth.
Speaking on the occasion, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen stressed the need for
education on sexual and reproductive matters. Basic schooling can be central to
human security as illiteracy and innumeracy are forms of insecurity themselves,
he said.
Problems
When people are illiterate, their ability to understand and invoke their legal
rights can be very limited. This can be a significant barrier for illiterate
women to make use even of the rather limited rights that they do actually have.
Importantly, it can also muffle the political voice, Prof. Sen said. “The
removal of survival disadvantages of women, the reduction of child mortality and
moderating influences on fertility rates are all among the basic issues involved
in removing the “downside risks” that threaten life and dignity,” he said.
The study was carried out in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in 2006-07, and is based on interviews of over 51,000
individuals.
» In what may be a broad prescription for the
government's economic policy road map ahead of the Budget for 2010-11, the Prime
Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) pitched for a partial roll-back of
stimulus measures to usher in fiscal correction by scaling up excise duties and
service tax and “adjusting” Central expenditure without hurting capital spending
on infrastructure.
After releasing the ‘Review of the Economy 2009-10' which projected a GDP (gross
domestic product) growth of over 7.2 per cent this fiscal, 8.2 per cent in
2010-11 and 9 per cent in 2011-12, PMEAC Chairman C. Rangarajan said that since
the expenditure stimulus was directed at augmenting consumption and not
investment, the corrective measures must also focus on adjusting expenditure.
“There is a case for adjustment of duties. Adjustments are possible both on the
revenue side and the expenditure side in order to bring down fiscal deficit,” he
said.
Noting that government finances have come under severe strain and the fiscal
imbalance “is now a matter of concern”, the PMEAC said: The Government cannot
continue with the kind of large revenue and fiscal deficits recorded in the last
two years and will have to initiate fiscal consolidation in the coming fiscal
year (2010-11) itself …in the forthcoming budget to ensure fiscal
sustainability, enable greater flexibility in monetary policy calibration,
contain interest payments and to avoid upward pressure on interest rates.”
Alongside, in pursuing the exit strategy, the Council noted that since more of
fiscal expansion was owing to an increase in expenditure than from tax cuts, the
Centre's expenditure would need to be curtailed. At the same time, while some
items of spending such as salaries and interest payments are committed and
cannot be reduced, infrastructure spending is critical and the government will
have to provide adequate viability funding. “Thus, there is no scope for
compressing capital expenditure while undertaking fiscal correction”.
On the revenue side, while the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is unlikely to be
implemented from the April 2010 deadline, the PMEAC suggested expansion of the
base of service tax “by converting the selective taxation of services into a
general taxation, unify the threshold and rate structure of CENVAT and service
tax to introduce GST at the Central level. This along with inflows from
disinvestment and spectrum auctions, it would be realistic to budget for a cut
in the Centre's fiscal deficit by 1-1.5 per cent in 2010-11 without any adverse
impact on economic growth.
Amplifying on the suggested roll-back of excise and service tax, PMEAC member
Govinda Rao said: “Partially, we need to roll back and if you partially roll
back, you need to unify (excise duty and service tax rates)…There is one
possibility that you unify both the rates at 10 per cent. There is another
possibility... that both be raised to 12 per cent.” Mr. Rao, however, made it
clear that it was for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to take a call on this
issue in the budget.
As part of the stimulus package to industry to tackle the impact of the global
meltdown, the government had reduced the excise duty from 14 per cent to 8 per
cent and service tax from 12 per cent to 10 per cent.
On the whole, Dr. Rangarajan noted that a cut in fiscal deficit during 2011-12
by one per cent by outlay rationalisation and another 0.5 per cent from the
revenue side would be a possibility.
On the issue of inflation, he said he would go by the overall projection of the
Reserve Bank of India that it would more or less come down to 8.5 per cent by
the end of the current fiscal.
However, the impact of food inflation, now hovering around 18 per cent, could
spill over to other sectors by the next fiscal if adequate steps are not taken.
In this regard, the PMEAC has advised the government to ensure timely release of
sufficient amount of foodgrains below prevailing market prices, plan for imports
at the first indication of production shortfalls and develop better distribution
channels. It also sought urgent steps to import white sugar (about 3-5 million
tonnes) to meet the shortfall next fiscal.
» A little-known rainforest in north-east India
could be home to the world’s largest number of wildcat species, with no less
than seven species photo-documented by a wildlife biologist at the end of her
two-year survey.
Kashmira Kakati’s camera-trap shots reveal that the wildcats share a relatively
small, 500 sq.km. patch of rainforest in the Jeypore-Dehing lowlands in Assam,
which includes the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.
Among the cats are the elusive and rare clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), the
marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) and the Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii),
besides the relatively more widely distributed tiger (Panthera tigris), the
leopard (Panthera pardus), the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), and the
jungle cat (Felis chaus).
The discovery comes in the backdrop of growing concern among environmentalists
over deforestation, poaching, crude oil and coal extraction and mega
hydro-electric projects that threaten the ecology of the eastern Himalayas.
However, new wildlife species continue to be discovered in this part of the
eastern Himalayas — listed as a “biodiversity hotspot” comprising Bhutan, parts
of northeast India and Nepal.
Twelve other carnivore species were also recorded in the Kakati survey, among
them the endangered dhole (Asiatic Wild Dog), the Malayan sun bear, binturong,
mongoose, otter and civets. And among the 45 mammals documented are six species
of primates, deer, porcupine, wild pig and rodents, which are prey for the
rainforest carnivores.
» The fundamental rights enshrined in the
Constitution are inherent and cannot be extinguished by any constitutional or
statutory provision, the Supreme Court held on feb 17.
Upholding the power to order a CBI probe without a State’s consent, a five-judge
Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, said: “Any law
that abrogates or abridges such rights would be violative of the basic structure
doctrine.”
The Bench was disposing of a batch of cases filed by the West Bengal government
and others, challenging CBI probe ordered by the High Courts concerned. Since
important questions of law were raised in these appeals, the matter was referred
to the Constitution Bench.
According to Bench “The State has a duty to enforce the human rights of a
citizen for fair and impartial investigation against any person accused of
commission of a cognisable offence, which may include its own officers.
“The power of judicial review being an integral part of the basic structure of
the Constitution, no Act of Parliament can exclude or curtail the powers of the
constitutional courts with regard to the enforcement of fundamental rights.
“In a federal Constitution, distribution of legislative powers between
Parliament and State Legislatures involves limitation on legislative powers and,
therefore, this requires an authority other than Parliament to ascertain whether
such limitations are transgressed.
“Judicial review acts as the final arbiter not only to give effect to
distribution of legislative powers between Parliament and State legislatures, it
is also necessary to show any transgression by each entity.”
The Bench noted that when the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act says that
subject to the consent by the State, the CBI can take up investigation in
relation to the crime that was otherwise within the jurisdiction of the State
police, the court could also exercise its constitutional power of judicial
review and direct the CBI to take up the investigation within the jurisdiction
of the State.
The Bench held that the power of the High Court under Article 226 could not be
taken away, curtailed or diluted by Section 6 of the DSPE Act. Irrespective of
there being any statutory provision acting as a restriction on the powers of the
courts, the restriction imposed by Section 6 of the Act on the powers of the
Union could not be read as restriction on the powers of the constitutional
courts.
The Bench directed that all individual cases be placed before the respective
Benches for disposal in terms of this judgment.
» India and Bangladesh have decided to set up a
joint-venture 1,320-megawatt power plant as a mark of co-operation. The two
neighbours have also agreed to a cross-border power grid.
The joint-venture power plant, to be constructed in southern Khulna in
Bangladesh, will be operational within two years.
The decisions were taken at the second meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint
Steering Committee on the power sector which was formed during Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to New Delhi.
Bangladesh Power Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, who led the host team in the talks,
said the two countries had finalised the details of the grid and reached a broad
agreement on building the coal-fired plant. The two-unit power plant (660mw
each) will cost about $1.8 billion.
The cooperation will facilitate Bangladesh's import of 250 mw to meet the power
demand. Power Secretary HS Brahma said India was offering “the cheapest rates” —
varying between Rs 2 and Rs 2.5 (Tk 3-3.5).
India's National Thermal Power Cooperation (NTPC) and the Bangladesh Power
Development Board (BPDB) signed the MoUs.
Mr. Brahma told journalists that the project required 130km grid connectivity
85km in India and 45km in Bangladesh. The grid costs will be shared
proportionately Tk 1100 crore by Bangladesh and about Tk 200 crore by India.
» The Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE)
took a “unanimous” decision to adopt a core curriculum for physics, chemistry,
biology and mathematics at the senior secondary level. The new curriculum will
come into effect from the 2011-12 academic year, Union Minister for Human
Resource Development Kapil Sibal said.
Mr. Sibal described the decision as a “milestone in the history of education.”
Though the meeting began with scepticism among some boards, the Minister claimed
that apprehensions were addressed, and now “there will be a core curriculum
which will be accepted by all stakeholders at the senior secondary level.”
“What it means is that in all schools of India affiliated to boards that are
members of COBSE, the core curriculum will be taught, so that all our children
have a level-playing field.” The core curriculum for these four subjects has
been finalised after consultations within COBSE.
While the boards will have to draw up the syllabi on the basis of the core
curriculum, they will have to work out how to tailor their examinations as per
the new regime. And, now that a beginning has been made with the pure sciences
and mathematics, COBSE has been asked to explore the possibility of replicating
this in the commerce stream.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 20 boards, including State
boards.
With the core curriculum agenda clinched, the Council has now been asked by the
Minister to work towards a single entrance examination by 2013 in each
discipline where entrance examinations are conducted for entering professional
courses. A task force will be set up to explore the possibility.
» A high-powered laser destroyed a target missile
in flight off the Central California coast in a milestone test of a futuristic
but troubled national defence system, the Air Force announced.
A laser weapon mounted on a Boeing jumbo jet tracked the missile as it
accelerated over the ocean off the Point Mugu Naval Warfare Center, then fired
an energy beam that heated the missile until it cracked and broke up, according
to statements from the Air Force and two aerospace companies involved in the
programme.
The test is a boost for a programme that has had billions in cost overruns and
saw its budget sharply cut last year by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who
called the concept “fatally flawed”.
Aspirants Times: United Nations Report on Toxic Electronic Waste
| Hot Topics
According to a United Nations report released recently
Developing countries face increasing environmental and health hazards from
electronic waste unless toxic materials are collected and recycled properly.
The report highlights the problem of recycling and salvaging procedures in
poorer countries, often in unsafe conditions by unregulated operators. Sales of
electronic devices are set to rise sharply in the next 10 years, particularly in
emerging economies such as China and India, the United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP) said.
According to report, titled Recycling - from E-Waste to Resources, the world
produces about 40 million tons of waste from electronic devices, known as
e-waste, every year.
Main Feature
Experts said exposure to toxic chemicals from e-waste - including lead, cadmium,
mercury, chromium and polybrominated biphenyls - can damage the brain and
nervous system, affect the kidneys and liver, and cause birth defects.
The report was launched in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. It used data from
11 developing countries to estimate current and future e-waste generation from
discarded computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, cameras, music players,
refrigerators, toys, televisions and other items.
China produces an estimated 2.3 million tons of e-waste annually, and though the
country has banned e-waste imports, it remains a major dumping ground for waste
from developed countries, the report said.
The UN research predicts that in South Africa and China, e-waste from old
computers may jump by 200 to 400 per cent from 2007 levels and by 500 per cent
in India.
E-waste from mobile phones in the same period is forecast to rise seven times in
China, and 18 times in India.
According to the report, over 1 billion mobile phones were sold in 2007
worldwide, up from 896 million in 2006.
The report said most e-waste in China was improperly handled, with much of it
incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover valuable metals like gold.
Jim Pucket of the Basel Action Network, a non-governmental organization fighting
the international trade in toxic wastes, said massive amounts of discarded
devices had been exported to China for years.
But China is not alone in facing the serious e-waste problem. India, Brazil,
Mexico and others may also face rising environmental damage and health problems
if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector.
Report urged governments to establish e-waste management centres, building on
existing organizations working in the area of recycling and waste management.
What is Electronic Waste
Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) describes loosely discarded, surplus, obsolete, broken, electrical or
electronic devices. The processing of electronic waste in developing countries
causes serious health and pollution problems because electronic equipment
contains some very serious contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium and
brominated flame retardants. Even in developed countries recycling and disposal
of e-waste involves significant risk to workers and communities and great care
must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaching of
material such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.
Problems
Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and planned obsolescence have
resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Dave
Kruch, CEO of Cash For Laptops, regards electronic waste as a "rapidly
expanding" issue. Technical solutions are available, but in most cases a legal
framework, a collection system, logistics, and other services need to be
implemented before a technical solution can be applied. An estimated 50 million
tonnes of E-waste is produced each year. The USA discards 30 million computers
each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year.
In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills comes from
discarded electronics, while electronic waste represents only 2% of America's
trash in landfills. The EPA states that unwanted electronics totaled 2 million
tons in 2005. Discarded electronics represented 5 to 6 times as much weight as
recycled electronics.
Aspirants Times: Korean President’s India Visit
| Hot Topics
Taking India’s ties with Republic of Korea (ROK) to a new
height, the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations (January 26) was
ROK President Lee Myung-bak. Lee’s India visit assumes significance as he is the
first Korean President to be Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day function.
Besides, his is third Korean presidential visit to India in a period of less
than 13 years. The discussions held and agreements reached during Lee’s visit
clearly signal that both countries are optimistic about further strengthening
India-ROK ties in several key areas.
Lee paid a state visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart President
Pratibha Devisingh Patil, from January 24 to 27. He was accorded a ceremonial
welcome on January 25 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. This was followed by his
meeting with Patil. The highlight of Lee’s visit was his summit meeting with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Welcoming Lee, in his opening remarks at the delegation level talks, Singh said:
“We are delighted that a friend of India is at the helm of affairs in Korea and
that together we will have the opportunity to realize your vision and our common
vision of a strong and vibrant India-Korea partnership. Your State visit today
reflects our mutual commitment to strengthen relations between our countries.
This is a relationship that rests on our shared values of democracy, rule of law
and respect for human freedoms.”
Ahead of his India visit, Lee projected it as a key part of Seoul’s “New Asia
Diplomacy” campaign, to improve ties with Asian countries. In his message, Lee
said: “I have tried to realize the vision of New Asia Diplomacy. This trip to
India marks a key point of such efforts.” He described India as a key player in
Asia taking center on the global stage in the 21st century. “Asia is developing
as a new growth engine in the world. Asia is expected to account for 35 percent
of the world’s GDP (gross domestic product) ten years from now,” he said. “I am
paying attention to India because of its potential,” Lee asserted.
With both the countries eager to push forward bilateral ties, during the summit
meeting, Singh and Lee discussed ways to develop them and also exchanged views
on regional and international issues. The joint statement released after the
summit meeting, stated that during the talks, the two leaders “expressed
satisfaction on the strong development of India-ROK relations based on the
‘Long-term Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity,’ established in
October 2004.” They “welcomed the steady growth in high level exchanges and
contacts between the two countries, and the expansion in various areas of
bilateral relations including defense, trade, science & technology, information
& communication technology, education, and culture.”
Aspirants Times: India-Britain Relation
(Declaration on Civilian Nuclear Cooperation)
India on feb 11 signed a “declaration” on civilian nuclear
cooperation with the U.K. which officials described as a “general umbrella
agreement.”
The two sides are expected to make a public announcement in
the coming days. The U.K. becomes the eighth country with which India has signed
a civilian nuclear pact since breaking out of restrictions imposed on it.
The agreement was signed by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee
and British High Commissioner Richard Stagg. The pact will provide a legal
framework for British companies that have expertise in supplying components.
According to the Nuclear Industry Association of the UK, 185
British companies in the island nation which include the nuclear plant
operators, those engaged in decommissioning, waste management, nuclear
liabilities management and all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. The
British nuclear industry exports nuclear goods and equipment worth over 1.11
billion dollars and can supply 70-80 per cent parts of a new nuclear reactor.
Since September 2008, when the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted the embargo on
India's participation in international nuclear commerce, India has signed civil
nuclear cooperation agreements with France, USA, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia,
Argentina and Namibia. India has also finalised a civil nuclear cooperation deal
with Canada, which is expected to be signed soon.
India-UK Bilateral Relations
India’s multi-faceted bilateral relationship with the UK has
intensified over the past few years. Recent dialogues at the highest level have
underlined the bilateral strategic partnership in all areas. The UK is an
important interlocutor in the bilateral, EU, G8 and global contexts.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited the UK on 19-20 September 2004 and met
PM Tony Blair. During the visit, the two Prime Ministers adopted a Joint
Declaration titled 'India-UK: Towards a new and dynamic partnership' which
envisages annual Summits and meetings between Foreign Ministers. It also
outlined areas for future cooperation in civil nuclear energy, space, defence,
combating terrorism, economic ties, science and technology, education and
culture.
The then PM Tony Blair mooted the idea of India joining G-8 discussions. At his
invitation PM visited the UK on 7-8 July 2005 for the “G-8 Plus 5” Gleneagles
Summit (India, China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico). He visited India on 6-8
September 2005 in his capacity as EU President for the EU/ India Summit on
September 7, and also for the bilateral Summit held on September 8 in Udaipur.
PM met the then PM Blair in St. Petersburg in July 2006 during the meeting of
the Outreach Countries with G8 leaders.
Prime Minister Dr. Singh visited UK from 9-11 October 2006 and held the third
annual India-U.K Summit. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to India (20-21
January 2008). The fourth India-UK Annual Summit was held in Delhi on January
21, 2008 during the visit of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Building on the
achievements of the two declarations (2002, 2004), the two sides issued a joint
statement on India-UK Strategic Partnership.
The two sides agreed
On the importance of more representative and effective
international institutions to address global challenges. The UK reaffirmed its
firm support for India’s candidature for a permanent membership in an expanded
UNSC.
To cooperate in developing collaboration between small and medium enterprises,
entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.To forge a closer partnership of two
knowledge societies in the field of higher education. In particular, it was
agreed to establish an Education Forum to work towards an early conclusion of an
education partnership agreement and to enter into a MoU on an Indo-UK Higher
Education Leadership Development programme to develop leadership skills in
higher education.
To establish a Science Bridge Initiative shall be established to build
institution to institution relationship on equal partnership with joint funding
under the principle of parity. To promote cooperation in civil nuclear energy
and would work towards a bilateral agreement for this purpose. The UK supports
the India-US civil nuclear cooperation initiative.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the announcement of UK-India agreement on
the second phase of UK-India Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation study aimed
at identifying the barriers to local carbon technology transfer. Remain
committed to build on existing cooperation on counterterrorism including
establishment of bilateral dialogue on terrorist financing.
Prime Minister met Prime Minister Brown on the sidelines on the UNGA Summit in
New York on 26 September 2008. The two leaders discussed the global economic
crisis, terrorism, and other bilateral and regional issues. Prime Minister of UK
Gordon Brown was on a half-day visit to New Delhi on 13th December 2008 as part
of his visit to the region following Mumbai terror attacks. He met the Prime
Minister and conveyed his condolences on the Mumbai terror attacks.
India-UK Round Table
The 11th India-UK Round Table was held in India in 2-5 May
2008 at Shimla. The issues discussed include prospects for the world economy,
the demographic dimension, health care, the dialogue of cultures & education,
research and innovation. The next round of India-UK RT will be held in Dichley,
UK on 3-5 July 2009 (both days inclusive). Economic and Commercial Relations
Bilateral economic linkages have strengthened through increased trade and
investment flows. Two-way bilateral trade in goods has crossed £ 8.11 billion in
2007-08 and is expected to cross £ 10 billion before 2010. Trade in Services is
estimated to be more than £3.5 billion in 2007-08 and thus the total bilateral
trade in goods and services amount to £ 11.6 billion in 2007-08. The export
basket from India has undergone substantial diversification and more than 50% of
India’s exports now constitute non-traditional and hi-tech goods like petroleum
products, engineering products and pharma products.
UK fourth largest investor in India
UK is the fourth largest investor in India and the cumulative
investment by UK from April 2000 till September 2008 was $ 5,058 million. For
the period April-September 2008, the total investment by UK was $ 695 million.
The UK is the most preferred nation for investments by Indian companies in 2008
so far, accounting deals worth $6 billion. (till August 08). India has emerged
as the third largest foreign investor in the UK and the second largest overseas
investor in London and Northern Ireland in terms of number of acquisitions /
investments. India is the second largest creator of jobs in the UK with opening
of offices by over 500 Indian companies. London Stock Exchange hosts 52 Indian
companies, with a combined market cap of £
Aspirants Times: India-Turkey Relation (Joint
Declaration on Scientific and Technological
Cooperation)
India and Turkey on February 9, 2010 desired to develop and expand
cooperation in science and technology and in other areas of common interest and
launched an Advanced Science and Technology Dialogue, besides offering to
actively study the possibilities of working together in mutually identified
projects in areas such as telecommunications, computerization, non-technology
space research, bio-technology and environmental technology and convene a joint
workshop in 2010.
On the occasion of the visit of the President of the Republic of
Turkey, Abdullah Gul, to India, a joint statement was issued in which both
sides:
Considering the importance of science and technology for the economic
and social development of both the countries have desired to develop and expand
cooperation in the field of science and technology in areas of common interest
besides noting that together with economic and commercial relations, cooperation
in science and technology offer great potential as a driver of bilateral
relations. The joint statement has recognized that cooperation in science and
technology will not only advance the state of science and technology to the
benefit of both countries but also strengthen the bonds of friendship and
understanding between people of both countries.
The statement also reaffirmed the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of
Science and Technology between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the
Government of the Republic of India signed on 17 September 2003,
It also declared that the two countries launch an Advanced Science and
Technology Dialogue, which will strive to promote the maximum use of the
opportunities that have risen for mutually beneficial interaction in the field
of science and technology, which would add to the strength of the two national
economies, and to the welfare and prosperity of the people of both the
countries.
The dialogue will also strengthen this interaction with special emphasis on
high-technology and frontier areas of research and application and will
encourage and support broadened and expanded relations between the scientific
and technological communities in both countries by creating favorable conditions
for cooperation.
Advanced Science and Technology Dialogue will also encourage cooperation through
exchange of ideas, information, skills and technologies; exchange of scientists
and technical experts; the onvening of joint seminars, scientific conferences,
and meetings; training and enhancing the skills of scientists and technical
experts; the conduct of joint research projects and studies and other forms of
scientific and technological cooperation as may be mutually agreed upon,
India and Turkey will actively study the possibilities of working together in
mutually identified projects in areas such as telecommunication, computerisation,
information technology, space research, biotechnology and environmental
technology.
Both sides will actively explore the possibilities for joint research and
development activities making use of best practices in this field and encourage,
facilitate and support the development of direct contacts and cooperation
between government agencies and organizations, universities, science and
research centers, institutes and institutions, private sector firms and other
entities of the two countries.
Aspirants Times: Indian Railway Budget 2010-11
(No Increase in the Passenger Fares)
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has presented the Rail Budget in the
Parliament on Feb 24,2010 . According to budget draft there will be no increase
in the passenger fares of any class or category of trains. Freight tariffs will
also remain the same for 2010-11.
Railway has proposed INR 41,426 crore, the highest ever plan investment to
provide efficient, customer focused and modern railway network. Out of this
allocation, INR 4,411 crore has been proposed to achieve the target of 1,000
kilometers for new lines and INR 1,302 crore for passenger amenities. The Plan
would be financed through gross budgetary support of INR 15,875 crore, Diesel
Cess of INR 877 crore, internal resources of INR 14,523 crore and EBR of INR
10,151 crore including market borrowing through IRFC of INR 9,120 crore.
Railway is committed to take up socially desirably projects connecting backward
areas of the country. Surveys for 114 projects for such areas will be updated
and surveys for 55 new lines will be taken up during the year. 800 kilometer
Gauge Conversion and 700 kilometers of doubling the rail line will be achieved
during the year besides a number of new projects on cost sharing with state
governments or through PPP route.
Target has been set to add 25,000 kilometers of new lines in next 10 years.
In order to bring more transparency in freight business, the Railway Minister
announced RFID technology will be introduced for tracking of wagons, allotment
of the rakes would be accessible through the web.
In order to upgrade railway infrastructure, the Minister said that a centre for
Railway Research will be set up at IIT, Kharagpur for research in key areas of
railway technology and a state-of-the art advanced loco pilot training centre at
Kharagpur and an advanced railway track training centre at Beleghata.
To overcome of the shortage of coaches, new coach factories are being set up at
Rae Bareilly, Kancharapara and Palakkad. A wagon repair shop will be set up at
Badnera and a new Rail Axle Factory will be set up at New Jalpaiguri through PPP
or Joint Venture mode. Besides 5 state-of-the-art wagon factories also through
joint venture and PPP mode at Sikandrabad, Barddhaman, Bhubneshwar/Kalahandi,
Guwahati and Haldia.
Proposing several new initiatives for freight business, the Minister said that
Railways will introduce a modified wagon investment scheme for high capacity
general purpose and special purpose wagons for carrying iron ore, coal and
cement. A scheme to run special freight train by private operators for
commodities such as automobiles, vegetable oil, molasses, chemicals and
petrochemicals will be notified.
Reiterating Railways’ commitment for time bound completion of dedicated
corridors, the Minister said preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic Surveys for
North-South, East-West, East-South and South-South corridors will be taken up
this year. She also said that Railways is also working on high speed passenger
rail corridors, a National High Speed Rail Authority will be set up for
planning, standard setting and implementing these projects.
In order to promote industrial activity, Kumari Mamata Banerjee said that
Railways would welcome investment through PPP mode for providing rail
connectivity to important ports. Additional 2,000 kilometers routes will be
electrified within two years.
Vision 2020
Following the Rs 14,00,000 crore investment requirement estimated in the Vision
2020 document for the next 10 years, the railway budget needs to contain
out-of-the-box measures for raising revenues on a much larger scale than
hitherto. Roughly, the required annual investment to meet this target is 3.5
times the highest amount of Rs 40,000 crore allocated in 2009-2010. Of the
total, 64% or Rs 8, 96,000 crore is to come from internal resources, supported
by prudent borrowing and PPP initiatives. And around 36% or Rs 5, 00,000 crore
is to come from the general revenues.
The figures are mind-boggling: the annual budgetary support has to increase over
three-fold from around Rs 9,000 crore in 2008-09, to Rs 28,000 crore; internal
resources have to go up over three-fold from Rs 28,000 crore to Rs 92,000 crore;
revenues need to be boosted three-fold from around Rs 90,000 crore to Rs
2,70,000 crore; and IR’s share in the GDP should rise to 3%. A number three
syndrome all round!
All these necessitate Indian Railways (IR) tackling a few crucial issues on
priority. The first of them is raising additional revenues through fare
collections. Now there is heavy cross-subsidisation of coaching services
(passenger and allied services) by the freight services. These social
obligations, which stood at Rs 4,875 crore in 2000-01, are expected to settle at
Rs13,958 in 2008-09. Since IR closes the annual operations with a profit, it is
obvious that the bulk of the social service burden is borne by the freight
service
And the rail users in the freight sector have been complaining, rightly, about
this overcharging. It also has an impact on inflationary pressures, since higher
freight charges inevitably get passed on to the consumers. Even on the basis of
the not-too-scientific costing procedures of IR, not more than 70% of the cost
is recovered from passenger services, while it is over 125% from freight
services. A 10 to 15% increase in the basic fare for second class, wi
Download Dialogue India Digital Magazine : March 2010
Aspirants Times: Union Budget 2010-11: An Effort to Boost Up Economy
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget for 2010-11 in
the Lok Sabha on Feb 26. Finance Minister said that Indian economy was facing
grave uncertainty. Growth had started decelerating when interim and full budget
for 2009-10 were presented. Also he said that at home there was added
uncertainty because of subnormal southwest monsoon. Indian economy now in a far
better position than it was eight years ago.
India weathered economic crisis well, said Mukherjee, adding, the first
challenge before the Government is to quickly revert to high GDP growth path of
9 per cent. According to him second challenge is to harness economic growth to
make it more inclusive and consolidate gains. Country has seen impressive
recovery in the past few months and can witness faster recovery in the coming
months. The Finance Minister added the focus shifted to non-governmental actors,
enabling the government to concentrate on supporting and delivering services to
the economically backward sections.
Admitting that financial year 2009-10 was challenging for the Indian economy,
Mukherjee said 18.5 per cent manufacturing growth in December was the highest in
two decades. He said figures for merchandise exports for January are encouraging
after turnaround in November and December last year. Reasoning the double digit
food inflation last year, the minister said it was due to bad monsoon and
drought-like conditions, though "we have strengthened food security".
He said the government is conscious of the situation of price rise and is taking
steps to tackle it. The Finance Minister also said there is need to review
stimulus imparted to the econony.
Analysing the price rise situation in the country, Mukherjee said there's a need
to ensure that the demand-supply imbalance is managed and stressed on the need
to make growth more broad-based. He saidPublic spending and mobilising resources
need to be reviewed. The government hopes to implement direct tax code and
General Sales Tax from April 2011.
Increase in Defence Budget
The government has allocated Rs 1,47,344 crore towards defence in 2010-11
budget, a paltry 4 per cent increase from last year's Rs 1,41,703 crore. Of the
allocation provided, Rs 60,000 crore would go for capital expenditure. The four
per cent increase in real terms would amount to only Rs 5,641 crore.
Last year, the government had provided a steep hike of about 34 per cent for the
defence working out to an increase of Rs 36,103 crore. Mukherjee, however, said
considering the importance of defence of the country, more funds would be
provided on the basis of requirements in the future.
The defence allocation continues to hover over 2.5 per cent of the GDP, though
there have been suggestions to increase it substantially in view of the
prevailing security situation.
Fiscal Deficit
The Finance Minister presented Union Budget with fiscal deficit of 5.5 per
cent of GDP as he pegged total expenditure at Rs 11.09 lakh crore while the
total tax and non-tax revenue estimated at Rs 6.82 lakh crore for the year
2010-11. The deficit is much lower than the budgeted estimate for the current
fiscal at 6.8 per cent, which, however, has been revised to 6.7 per cent.
To meet the shortfall, the government has estimated borrowing of Rs 3.81 lakh
crore for fiscal 2010-11, lower than the current fiscal's Rs 4.01 lakh crore.
The rolling targets for fiscal deficit are pegged at 4.8 per cent and 4.1 per
cent for 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Interest subvention scheme for home loans extended
Finance Minister extended by a year the one per cent interest subvention
scheme for housing sector and provided Rs 700 crore for it, in the Union Budget
2010-11.
Under the scheme, introduced last year, home buyers get one per cent interest
subsidy for banking loans up to Rs 10 lakh, provided the cost of house does not
exceed Rs 20 lakh.
Interest subsidy for exporters extended
The government has proposed to extend the concessional export finance regime
for select exporters for one more year till March 31, 2011, thus giving the
slowdown-hit sector further relief. The scheme was to expire on March 31.
With a view to insulate the employment-oriented sectors like handlooms,
handicrafts, carpets and leather from the impact of demand slowdown, the
government had extended the scheme for concessional export finance in the last
Budget till March 31.
After falling for 13 consecutive months since October 2008, exports turned
positive in November 2009. The exports grew 18.2 per cent in November and 9.3
per cent in December. Mukherjee also said that figures for merchandise exports
for January were encouraging after turnaround in November 2009 and December
2009.
2nd Symbiosis International Legal Essay Writing Competition 2010
Introduction: The Symbiosis
International Legal Essay Writing Competition envisages to promote and develop
the ability of a law student to think on a global scale. The competition is
unique in a way, in which any full-time law student in any degree
college/institution from around the world may participate. The topics of the
competition have been carefully chosen so that they possess global relevance as
well as encourage the participant’s freedom to analyze and convey their thoughts
and probable solutions on the same.
Topics: Participants may
author an essay on any one to the following topics:-
-
Health Care and Intellectual Property
-
Intellectual Property Laws Vs. Anti Trust
Laws
-
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Terrorism
-
Binding Nature and Enforcement Mechanism of
Different Types of Electronic Contracts
-
The North – South Divide in the world of
Intellectual Property Protection.
Prizes:
-
1st Prize – INR 10,000
-
2nd Prize – INR 5,000
-
3rd Prize – INR 3,000
-
Best Abstract – INR 2,000
-
Top 10 essays shall be published in the
journal of “Law and Innovation” by Symbiosis Law School, Pune.
Terms And Conditions:
Participants by submission of essays accepts all the terms and conditions
mentioned in entirety and shall abide by the same throughout the competition.
Eligibility: Participants must
be full – time law students in any degree college/institution/law school
recognised by the education board/authority/body of their respective country.
Language: The essays submitted
by the participants must be in ENGLISH language only.
Submission Date: The last date
for submission of the essays is 20th March, 2010.
Submission Procedure:
Participants must send their essays via email. The email must contain a covering
letter containing details of the participant such as Name, Date of Birth,
Address, Telephone Nos, Email, Name and Address of College/University, Student
Identification Number/Roll No, Course, Academic Year. The essay and the abstract
should be as attachments to the email. Participants must send their entries to
essay.symlaw@gmail.com before the last date of submission.
 
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