Aspirants Times Magazine Vol7 Com - October 2009

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INDEX Editorial • Self Confidence Brings Success…............................................................................03 SECTION - 1: Articles • Moon Mission Chandrayaan-I ................................................................................04 • Doha Talks ...............................................................................................................19 • Hindi Article: ( ¤ÉɱÉ

¸É¨É =x¨ÉÚ±ÉxÉ )..................................................................................26

SECTION - 2: Hot Topics PSLV-C14 Successfully Launched Oceansat-2 ............................................................32 SECTION - 3: Current Relevant Facts.....................................................................36 SECTION -4: Sports ...............................................................................................50 SECTION -5: Awards...............................................................................................55 SECTION - 6: Mains Special • Science & Technology ..............................................................................................58 • Social Problems & Welfare Schemes........................................................................85 • Economy ...............................................................................................................103

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Self Confidence Brings Success… Now that you may be sitting for the IAS mains examination this year, I am sure all of you must have read many books, notes, magazines etc; and must have made very good plan for your studies. But still many of you feel, a certain type of unprepared-ness, fear and memory-wash.

You need self-confidence!

Through self-confidence, you can keep all your studies with you and utilize all your potential in the examination. No doubt, during your long preparation, you have gained a lot, learnt a lot, But now you have to keep all your treasure intact and utilize them fully in the examinations. At this juncture self-confidence is vital. Forget all negative points and enhance only and only positive things. You need to choose optimism! You need to rectify your fears and surround yourself with positive people. It will provide you a positive state of mind, self-confidence and ultimately success. We are doing our best to provide you important materials for Mains Examinations. In the seventh volume, you will find Science & Technology, Social Problems & Welfare Schemes and Economy under the IAS (main) Special Column. If you read them carefully, I am sure you will gain your confidence. There are articles on Moon Mission Chandrayaan-I, Doha Talks and ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É =x¨ÉÚ±ÉxÉ (in Hindi). PSLV-C14 Successfully Launched Oceansat-2 is written as the hot topic of month. Besides all these, you will have usual columns like Current Affairs and Sports & Awards. I have full confidence in you and your ability and you will also keep it on. We are sure many of our members will emerge as a winner. Keep up the Hard Work...

Editor: R. K. Pandey with UPSCPORTAL.COM Team

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

Moon Mission Chandrayaan-I End of Task with Affirmative Approach

By R. K. Pandey

Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at on August 29, 2009 while India’s space agency ended an $82 million mission to map the surface of the moon after failing to restore contact with its unmanned Chandrayaan I craft on Aug. 31,2009. It may be recalled that Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota on October 22, 2008 .The Spacecraft has completed 312 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors like Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc., meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

space science mission the Indian agency had even done.

India’s space program has come a long way since it was established in 1962 as the Indian National Committee on Space Research (INCOSPAR). Its successor, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was set up in 1969, and six years later their first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched. Since then ISRO has matured into one of the “Big Three” Asian space agencies, alongside China’s CNSA and Japan’s JAXA. It is a significant partner in many international space projects.

Chandrayaan 1 represented a major break from that tradition. It incorporated instrument packages from Britain, Germany, Russia, Sweden, and the US, as well as from India itself. This represented a major step forward in India-US cooperation. Overcoming the bureaucratic and political obstacles that have long stood in the way of such bilateral programs was a major achievement for all involved. On the US side breaking through the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions was only accomplished with a lot of hard work on the part of both NASA and the State Department. It would never have been possible without a commitment from the highest levels of government: former President George W. Bush and former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee deserve a lot of credit in this regard.

The first ISRO Moon probe, Chandrayaan 1, was an important step away from ISRO’s previous focus on practical space technology applications, such as remote sensing, communications, distance learning, telemedicine, and security. These efforts were all aimed at supporting India’s national development goals. For many years the feeling was that everything they did had to have a direct payoff for the people and particularly for the impoverished masses. The mission was the first pure

The Insat series of communications satellites and the unique weather sensors that they carry are a good example of ISRO’s traditional approach. These satellites were at first launched mostly by Europe’s Ariane and are now being put into orbit by India’s own Geosynchronous Space Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The technology for the spacecraft themselves was almost entirely homegrown. ISRO’s policy was to use as little foreign input as possible, both in order to develop their own industrial base and-so they claimed-to hold down costs.

Chandrayaan 2, scheduled for launch in 2011, is a lander/rover mission that ISRO is developing with some technological input from Russia. This

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

summer they plan to ask the international scientific community for proposals for sensors and experiments to include on the rover. This may be a difficult because the final configuration of the mission has not yet been determined. The rover may weigh anywhere from 30 to 100 kilograms. Obviously there is quite a bit of “trade space” so the proposals, or at least the early ones, will have to include more than a bit of guesswork.

has revolved the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

To meet the anticipated launch date India and its partners will have to work within some serious time constraints. By space mission standards 2011 is right around the corner and system integration has got to start as soon as possible. The Indian government has approved funding for the mission and for the advanced version of the GLSV launcher needed to get the probe onto the lunar surface.

An Indian-built launcher carrying the one-anda-half-tonne satellite blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

Along with their recently announced independent manned space exploration program the Chandrayaan series of science missions show that India is determined to be a space power in the full sense of the term. This flows naturally from India’s emergence as a global economic and political power. Over many decades hundreds of thousands of high-quality scientists and engineers have been trained in Indian universities. These men and women have helped propel India to its new status, and giving them challenging and fascinating new space projects is a way for the Indian government to keep this talent at home and busy. It will be interesting to see how ISRO uses the Russian technology that they are getting for Chandrayaan 2. We should also keep an eye on the laser imaging system that is being developed for the rover. Integrating these systems into the mission is not going to be easy, but if India pulls it off it will be an even more impressive achievement than Chandrayaan 1.

Unmanned Chandrayaan 1 The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration on 22 oct 2008. The robotic probe

The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

Competitive Mission

One key objective was be to search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the Moon, especially at the poles. Another was be to detect Helium 3, an isotope which is rare on Earth, but is sought to power nuclear fusion and could be a valuable source of energy in future. Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 Watts, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) probe carried five Indianbuilt instruments and six constructed in other countries, including the US, Britain and Germany. The mission is expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m), considerably less than Japanese and Chinese probes sent to the Moon last year. The Indian experiments included a 30kg probe that will be released from the mothership to slam into the lunar surface. The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) has record video footage on the way down and measured the composition of the Moon's tenuous atmosphere. It was also dropped the Indian flag on the surface of the Moon. The country's tricolour was painted on the side of the probe and, if successful, India has become the fourth country after the US, Russia and Japan to place its national flag on the lunar surface. C1XS mapped the abundance of different elements in the lunar crust to help answer key questions about the origin and evolution of Earth's only natural satellite.

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

The relative abundances of magnesium and iron in lunar rocks could help confirm whether the Moon was covered by a molten, magma ocean early on in its history.

scheduled to land a rover to retrieve soil and rock samples in 2012 and, like the U.S., plans to send astronauts there by 2020. Russia aims to follow with a manned mission five years later.

The instrument has to look for more unusual elements on the Moon's surface, such as titanium. This metallic element has been found in lunar meteorites, but scientists know little about its distribution in the lunar crust.

South Korea intends to send a probe to orbit the moon by 2020, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The nation carried out its first space rocket launch last week in an unsuccessful attempt to put a satellite into orbit. The satellite probably burned up in the atmosphere after falling back to Earth, according to the government.

Chandrayaan (the Sanskrit word for "moon craft") also investigated the differences between the Moon's near side and its far side. The far side is both more heavily cratered and different in composition to the one facing Earth. The spacecraft took about eight days the reach the Moon. During its lunar encounter, Chandrayaan fired its engine to slow its velocity allowing it to be captured by the Moon's gravity. Chandrayaan then slipped into a near-circular orbit at an altitude of 1,000km. After a number of health checks, the probe has drop its altitude until it is orbiting just 100km above the lunar surface.

Next Step The next step in the lunar mission, the Chandrayaan II, which aims to land an unmanned rover on the moon’s surface to prospect for chemicals, won’t be delayed. India will launch a mission to Mars within four to six years. The craft was designed to orbit the moon for two years at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles). It will take 1,000 days to hit the lunar surface and is being tracked by the U.S. and Russia.

Moon Atlas India launched its first rocket in 1963 and first satellite in 1975. The country’s satellite program is one of the largest communication systems in the world. Japan launched its first lunar explorer, Kaguya, in September 2007 and landed a probe on the moon’s surface in June this year. China is

Chandrayaan 2 The Indian space program got another shot in the arm with the initial design phase of the Chandrayaan 2 being completed. While this is just the beginning of what is arguably India's most ambitious space project ever, the success of the design phase in itself is an achievement mainly because of its inherent complexity. The Chandrayaan 2 mission will consist of a lunar rover that will be dropped on to the lunar surface once the craft reaches the lunar orbit. The main duty of the rover would be to collect and analyze lunar soil and transmit the data back to the data centers on earth. Pertinent to note here is the fact that while the spacecraft would be indigenously made, the lunar rover will be made by Russia. The Chandrayaan 2 is expected to be operational in the next two years. India had launched the Chandrayaan 1 in October 2008. Already a successful mission, it had been recently hit by a technical snag that jeopardized its operations. However, the Chandrayaan 1 has already accomplished 95 percent of the objectives assigned to it. Another thing to note is that the Chandrayaan 1 will augment the Lunar landing of the rover as the scientists are using data obtained from the Chandrayaan 1 to decide on the perfect landing schedule for the lunar rover.

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Mission to Mars After 2015 India will embark on an unmanned mission to Mars to explore the red planet in quest of its space ambitions but such a mission will be feasible only after 2015 as the space agency will be pre-occupied with its second lunar mission (Chandrayaan2) in 2013 and a manned mission to space by 2015. As the fourth planet from the sun in the solar system, the distance between earth and Mars varies from 36 million miles when nearest, to 250 million miles when farthest in its elliptical orbit around the sun.

manned mission to Mars by 2030, using the International Space Station (ISS) as a launch-pad to the red planet.

Indian space vision 2025

»

Satellite based communication and navigation

systems for rural connectivity, security needs and mobile services

»

Enhanced imaging capability for natural re-

source management, weather and climate change studies

Progress Though the government Aug 13,2009 sanctioned Rs.100 million (Rs.10 crore) as seed funding for the Mars mission, a lot of ground work has to be done for preparing the project report. The mission to Mars is being conceived as low-cost planetary missions. For instance, Chandrayaan-1 is the finest example of a low-cost mission, as at a cost of $80 million (Rs.380 crore) while such missions by other space agencies are considered low-cost at $500 million. To prepare a project report for government approval, the space agency will elicit the opinion of the scientific community on the viability of such a mission and evolve a concept paper. The space agency plans to use the powerful geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) Mark-III for the Mars mission, as the spacecraft had to be first put in the earth's orbit and raised up to Martian orbit, using ion thrusters and liquid engines. Though the US and Russia had launched missions to Mars, other space-faring nations such as China and Japan are planning to join the Martian race as part of their planetary expeditions. Even the European Space Agency (ESA) is mulling a joint mission to Mars in the coming decade. The US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aug 29 proposed to Russia for a

» Space science missions for better understanding of solar system and universe

» Planetary exploration » Development of Heavy lift launcher » Reusable Launch Vehicles - Technology demonstrator missions leading to Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO)

A Brief History of Indian Space Program Space activities in the country started during early 1960s with the scientific investigation of upper atmosphere and ionosphere over the magnetic equator that passes over Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram using small sounding rockets Realising the immense potential of space technology for national development, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the visionary leader envisioned that this powerful technology could play a meaningful role in national development and solving the problems of common man. Thus, Indian Space programme born in the church beginning, space activities in the country, concentrated on achieving self reliance and developing capability to build and launch communication satellites for television broadcast, telecommunications and meteorological applications; remote sensing satellites for management of natural resources.

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

The objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national tasks. ISRO has established two major space systems, INSAT for communication, television broadcasting and meteorological services, and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) system for resources monitoring and management. ISRO has developed two satellite launch vehicles, PSLV and GSLV, to place INSAT and IRS satellites in the required orbits. Accordingly, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully operationalised two major satellite systems namely Indian National Satellites (INSAT) for communication services and Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites for management of natural resources; also, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for launching IRS type of satellites and Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for launching INSAT type of satellites. The Space Commission formulates the policies and oversees the implementation of the Indian space programme to promote the development and application of space science and technology for the socio-economic benefit of the country. DOS implements these programmes through, mainly Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), North EasternSpace Applications Centre (NE-SAC) and SemiConductor Laboratory (SCL). The Antrix Corporation, established in 1992 as a government owned company, markets the space products and services sensing satellites for management of natural resources. The Indian Space Program may be divided in two major categories. One is the Satellite Program and the another is the Launcher Program. The Satellite program involves putting the satellites in the space and managing the same. The satellites may be lifted by Indian made launchers or it may involve the commercial launch vehicles.

The Satellites are also of two different categories, communication satellites and remote sensing satellites. The launcher program involves the design, fabrication and launching of launch vehicles. India has also developed a series of launch vehicles, after a long research and development through the painstacking ways of successes and failures.

Satellites Program For the past four decades, ISRO has launched more than 50 satellites for various scientific and technological applications like mobile communications, Direct-to-Home services, meteorological observations, telemedicine, tele-education, disaster warning, radio networking, search and rescue operations, remote sensing and scientific studies of the space. ISRO has established two major space systems, the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) series for communication, television broadcasting and meteorological services which is Geo-Stationary Satellites, and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) system for resources monitoring and management which is Earth Observation Satellites. ISRO has launched many Experimental Satellites which are generally small comparing to INSAT or IRS and Space Missions to explore the space.

Launch Vehicles Program Launch Vehicles are used to transport and put satellites or spacecrafts into space. In India, the launch vehicles development programme began in the early 1970s. The first experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) was developed in 1980. An Augmented version of this, ASLV, was launched successfully in 1992. India has made tremendous strides in launch vehicle technology to achieve self-reliance in satellite launch vehicle programme with the operationalisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

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PSLV represents ISRO's first attempt to design and develop an operational vehicle that can be used to orbit application satellites. While SLV-3 secured for India a place in the community of space-faring nations, the ASLV provided the rites of passage into launch vehicle technology for ISRO. And with PSLV, a new world-class vehicle has arrived. PSLV has repeatedly proved its reliability and versatility by launching 30 satellites / spacecrafts (14 Indian and 16 for international customers) into a variety of orbits so far. ISRO also makes the Rohini series of sounding rockets used by the Indian and international scientific community to launch payloads to various altitudes for atmospheric research and other scientific investigations. These rockets are also used to qualify some of the critical systems used for advanced launch vehicles.

Indian National Satellite (INSAT) System

Indian Remote Sensing Satellites System (IRS) The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite system is one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation in the world today. The IRS programme commissioned with launch of IRS1A in 1988 and presently includes Nine satellites that continue to provide imageries in variety of spatial resolutions from 1 metre to 180 metres. 1. RISAT-2 Launched on Apr 20, 2009 by PSLV-C12 2. CARTOSAT-2 A Launched on Apr 28, 2008 by PSLV-C9 3. IMS-1 Launched on Apr 28, 2008 by PSLV-C9 4. CARTOSAT - 2 Launched on Jan 10, 2007 by PSLV-C7 5. CARTOSAT-1 Launched on May 05, 2005 by PSLV-C6

The INSAT series, commissioned in 1983, has today become one of the largest domestic satellites systems in the Asia, pacific region comprising Eleven satellites in service.

6. RESOURCESAT-1 Launched on Oct 17, 2003 by PSLV-C5

1. INSAT-4CR

Launched on Sep 02, 2007

2. INSAT-4B

Launched on Mar 12, 2007

8. OCEANSAT-1 Launched on May 26, 1999 by PSLV-C2

3. INSAT-4A

Launched on Dec 22, 2005

4. EDUSAT

Launched on Sep 20, 2004

5. INSAT-3E

Launched on Sep 28, 2003

6. GSAT-2

Launched on May 08, 2003

7. INSAT-3A

Launched on Apr 10, 2003

8. KALPANA-1

Launched on Sep 12, 2002

9. INSAT-3C

Launched on Jan 24, 2002

10. INSAT-3B

Launched on Mar 22, 2000

7. TES Launched on Oct 22, 2001 by PSLV-C3

9. IRS-1D Launched on Sep 29, 1997 by PSLV-C1

Satellite Applications Space has become the mainstay of national infrastructure providing vital services. INSAT with more than 210 transponders, is providing telecommunications, television broadcasting, weather forecasting and societal application services such as tele-medicine and tele-education IRS System with Nine satellites in operation is providing data for a variety of application programmes such as Groundwater Prospects Mapping, Crop Acreage and Production Estimation, Potential Fishing Zone Forecast, Biodiversity Characterisation etc., In order to reach space-based services directly to the

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rural population, nearly 500 Village Resource Centres (VRCs) have been set up in association with NGOs, Institutes and Government Agencies.

INSAT Applications The telephone circuit devices through INSAT connect remote inaccessible areas to major cities in India. The launch of INSAT-4A during December 2005, INSAT-4B in and INSAT- 4CR in 2007 have ushered in Direct To Home (DTH) television services in the country. Television reaches 85 percent of India's population via INSAT. Over 200 AIR stations are linked via INSAT network. In the recent years, Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) have revolutionised our telecommunications sector. INSAT supports over 20,000 VSATs for e-commerce and e-governance. National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange use VSAT technology across the country for instantaneous transactions. Today exclusive channels are provided for interactive training and Developmental communication including distance learning. India has an exclusive meteorological satellite Kalpana - 1. The imaging instruments (VHRR) & (CCD) collect meteorological data and provide timely warnings on impending cyclones. The data relay transponder in the INSAT system is used for collect real time hydro meteorological data for river monitoring flow forces. The launch of EDUSAT on September 20, 2004 heralded new era in the field of distance education and today, about 35,000 class rooms are in the EDUSAT network providing services at primary, secondary and university levels. The satellite based telemedicine network has expanded its network connecting 375 hospitals (305 remote and rural hospitals including those in Jammu & Kashmir, North Eastern region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 13 mobile units and 57 super specialty hospitals in major cities).

IRS Applications Imagery taken by Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellite System has found application in diverse fields ranging from agriculture to urban planning. Crop health monitoring, crop yield estimation and drought assessment are the significant areas of application in the agriculture and the allied fields. Soil mapping at different scales with relative ease has become a reality. IRS data has also been used for Ground Water potential zone mapping and mineral targeting tasks. The ocean applications of IRS data include potential fishing zone identification and coastal zone mapping. Forest cover mapping, biodiversity characterisation and monitoring of forest fire is now carried out using IRS imagery. IRS spacecraft provide timely inputs to Flood and earthquake damage assessment thereby providing the necessary supportive strength to disaster management. Even in the field of Archaeological survey, the utility of IRS imagery has been well established. The judicious combination of information derived from space based imagery with the ground based socio economic data is leading to a holistic approach for resource monitoring and its management.

Village Resource Centre (VRC) Combining the services offered by INSAT and IRS satellites, a new concept namely Village Resource Centre (VRC) to provide information on natural resources, land and water resources management, tele-medicine, tele-education, adult education, vocational training, health and family welfare programmes has been established. Nearly 500 such VRCs have been established in the country.

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

Remote Sensing Satellites The data from Indian Remote Sensing Satellites are used for a variety of applications towards natural resources monitoring and management. Remote sensing applications in the country have graduated from demonstrative phase to operational phase and expanding their scope to several new areas. Vital applications such as identifying zones which could yield ground water, suitable locations for recharging water, monitoring command areas, estimating crop areas and yields, assessing deforestation, mapping urban areas for planning purposes, delineating ocean areas with higher fish catch potential and monitoring of environment etc., are being pursued actively by users using space based data. The remote sensing application projects at national, regional and local levels are being carried out through NRSC, Hyderabad, SAC, Ahmedabad, five Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres (RRSSC) located at Bangalore, Dehradun, Jodhpur, Kharagpur, and Nagpur as well as North-Eastern Space Application Centre (NE-SAC), Shillong. State and central government departments, state remote sensing centres and others are also associating in execution of the projects. Major application activities using satellite remote sensing data in the country include:

» Natural Resources Census » Forecasting of Agriculture outputs through Satellite, Agrometeorology and Land based observations (FASAL)

and impact assessment

» Topographic Mapping of Indian Coast » Web enabled land use/land cover information system BHOOSAMPADA

» National Urban Information System (NUIS) » Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program (AIBP) » Flood Management Information System » Evaluation of Irrigation Tanks » Natural Resources Data Base (NRDB) » Programme on Climate change Research In Terrestrial environment (PRACRITI)

» Precision Farming » Forest inventory & management » Biodiversity characterization at landscape level » National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring (NADAMS): The near real time information on agricultural drought situation, from June to November, covering national/state/district is an input to plan for effective drought management of the country

» Potential Fishing Zones(PFZ) » Irrigation management and command area development

» Snow and Glacier Inventory, Snow pack Characterization and Mass balance modeling

» Desertification status mapping Forthcoming Satellites

» Groundwater Prospects Mapping

( RISAT - 1)

National Wastelands Monitoring

» National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) for emergency response management in times of natural and man-made disasters

»

Watershed development for Watershed

prioritization, characterization, development plans

Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) is a microwave remote sensing satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) The satellite is planned to be launched on board PSLV in 2009-10. The new technology elements in RISAT include 160 x 4 Mbps bit rate data han-

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dling system, 0.3 Nm reaction wheels, SAR antenna deployment mechanism, 70 V power bus, thermal control of SAR antenna and phased array antenna with dual polarization.

( RESOURCESAT-2 ) Resourcesat-2 is a follow on mission to Resourcesat-1 to provide continuity of data. Compared to Resourcesat-1, LISS-4 multi-spectral swath has been enhanced from 23 km to 70 km based on user needs. Suitable changes including miniaturization in payload electronics have been incorporated in Resourcesat-2. Resourcesat-2 is slated for launch during 2009-10.

( Megha-Tropiques ) ISRO and French National Space Centre (CNES) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2004-05 for the development and implementation of Megha-Tropiques (Megha meaning cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques meaning tropics in French). The launch of Megha-Tropiques is planned by 2009-2010. Megha-Tropiques is aimed at understanding the life cycle of convective systems and to understand their role in the associated energy and moisture budget of the atmosphere in the tropical regions. The satellite will carry an Imaging Radiometer, a six channel Humidity Sounder and GPS Radio Occultation System.

( GSAT-4 ) GSAT-4 is envisaged as a technology demonstrator. The communication payload consists of multibeam Ka-band bent pipe and regenerative transponder and navigation payload in C-band, L1 and L5 bands. GSAT-4 will also carry TAUVEX-II, a scientific payload comprising three Ultra-Violet band telescopes developed by Tel Aviv University and Israel space agency, ELOP, for surveying a large part of the sky in the 1400-3200 Å wavelengths.

( INSAT - 3D ) INSAT-3D is a meteorological satellite planned to be launched in the 2010. The satellite has many new technology elements like star sensor, micro stepping Solar Array Drive Assembly (SADA) to reduce the spacecraft disturbances and Bus Management Unit (BMU) for control and telecomm and/telemetry function. It also incorporates new features of bi-annual rotation and Image and Mirror motion compensations for improved performance of the meteorological payloads.

( SARAL ) The Satellite for ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint ISRO-CNES mission, being slated for launch on board PSLV for the third quarter of 2009. The Ka band altimeter, ALTIKA, provided by CNES payload consists of a Ka-band radar altimeter, operating at 35.75 GHz. A dual frequency total power type microwave radiometer (23.8 and 37 GHz) is embedded in the altimeter to correct tropospheric effects on the altimeter measurement. Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) on board enables precise determination of the orbit. A Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) helps to calibrate the precise orbit determination system and the altimeter system several times throughout the mission.

( ASTROSAT ) ASTROSAT is a multi-wavelength space borne astronomy satellite to be launched during 200910. This will be the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission. ASTROSAT has wide spectral coverage extending over visible, UV, soft X ray and hard X ray regions. This spacecraft would enable observations on the celestial bodies in both X-ray and UV spectral bands simultaneously. The scientific payloads cover the Visible (3500-6000 Å), UV (1300-3000 Å), soft and hard X-ray regimes (0.5-8 keV; 3-80 keV).

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( GSAT-5 / INSAT-4D ) It is a C-band and Extended C-band satellite, carrying 18 transponders. Of these, 12 transponders will operate in the Normal C-band with wider coverage in uplink and downlink to cover Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe/Zonal coverage. 6 transponders will operate in Extended C-band and have India coverage. The option of incorporating L-band is under consideration. It will be launched onboard GSLV during 2010 and positioned at 82 deg E longitude.

( GSAT-6 / INSAT-4E ) The primary goal of GSAT-6/INSAT-4E which is a Multimedia mobile S-band satellite is to cater to the consumer requirements of providing entertainment and information services to vehicles through Digital Multimedia consoles and to the Multimedia Mobile Phones. The spacecraft will be positioned at 83 degree East longitude with a mission life of 12 years. The satellite is planned to be launched during 2010 by GSLV.

( GSAT-7 / INSAT-4F ) GSAT-7/INSAT-4F is proposed as a multi-band satellite carrying payloads in UHF, S-band, C-band and Ku-band

( GSAT-8 / INSAT-4G ) GSAT-8/INSAT-4G is proposed as a Ku-band satellite carrying 24 transponders similar to that of INSAT-4A and INSAT-4B. It will also carry the second GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload. The satellite is expected to be launched during 2010 and positioned at 55 degree E longitude.

Top Launch Vehicle/Forthcoming Launches ( PSLV-C14 ) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C14) carrying Oceansat- 2 satellite (OCEANSAT-2) is scheduled to be launched during second quarter of 2009-10.

( GSLV-D3 ) Preparations for the next flight Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) carrying GSAT-4 is in advanced stage. The GSLV-D3 is expected to use indigenous cryogenic engine and will place the GSAT-4 in geosynchronous transfer orbit. GSLV-D3 is scheduled for launch during 2009.

( GSLV-F06 ) Preparations for the next flight Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06) carrying INSAT-3D is in advanced stage of realisation. The GSLV-F06 is expected be launched during 200910.

( GSLV-Mk III ) GSLV-Mk III is envisaged to launch four tonne satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. GSLVMk III is a three-stage vehicle with a 110 tonne core liquid propellant stage (L-110) and a strapon stage with two solid propellant motors, each with 200 tonne propellant (S-200). The upper stage will be cryogenic with a propellant loading of 25 tonne (C-25). GSLV Mk-III will have a lift-off weight of about 629 tonne and will be 42.4 m tall. The payload fairing will have a diameter of 5 metre and a payload volume of 100 cubic metre.

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

Top Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) As a first step towards realizing a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable launch vehicle, a series of technology demonstration missions have been conceived. For this purpose a Winged Reusable Launch Vehicle technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) has been configured. The RLV-TD will act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies viz., hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion. First in the series of demonstration trials is the hypersonic flight experiment (HEX).

Human Space Flight Mission Programme The department has carried out a detailed study on the feasibility of undertaking indigenous human space flight mission with an aim to build and demonstrate the capability for carrying humans to low earth orbit and their return to earth. The programme envisages development of a fully autonomous orbital vehicle carrying two or three crew members to 275 km low earth orbit and their safe return. It is planned to realise the programme in about seven years time frame.

Top Space Science Missions Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-II) The main objective of SRE II is to realize a fully recoverable capsule and provide a platform to conduct microgravity experiments on Micro-biology, Agriculture, Powder Metallurgy, etc.

Objectives: To study the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and consequently the crucial physical parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc. Provide completely new information on the velocity fields and their variability in the inner corona having an important bearing on the unsolved problem of heating of the corona would be obtained.

( YOUTHSAT ) A joint scientific mission between India and Russia with participation of youth from both the countries to celebrate the golden Jubilee of the satellite era. The second satellite in the micro satellite series proposed is YOUTHSAT which will carry payloads of scientific interest with participation of youths from Universities at graduate, post graduate and research scholar level. Youth from universities will participate from testing of the payloads in laboratory up to utilization of the data from payloads. Participation of youth will inculcate interest in space related activities and provide opportunities for realization of future payloads for scientific experiments. The micro satellite bus is planned and designed to carry different kinds of payloads like earth imaging, atmospheric applications, weather monitoring, stellar observations, scientific experiments etc. YOUTHSAT is planned to be launched as auxiliary satellite along with any remote sensing satellite planned for launch during 2009-10 in a polar sun-synchronous orbit of local time of around 0900 to 1030 hrs.

( Aditya-1 ) The First Indian space based Solar Coronagraph to study solar Corona in visible and near IR bands. Launch of the Aditya mission is planned during the next high solar activity period - 2012 Copyright © 2009 | WWW.UPSCPORTAL.COM

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

Top Satellite Navigation ( GAGAN ) The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to implement an indigenous Satellite-Based Regional GPS Augmentation System also known as SpaceBased Augmentation System (SBAS) as part of the Satellite-Based Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS)/Air Traffic Management (ATM) plan for civil aviation. The Indian SBAS system has been given an acronym GAGAN - GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation. A national plan for satellite navigation including implementation of Technology Demonstration System (TDS) over the Indian air space as a proof of concept has been prepared jointly by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and ISRO. TDS was successfully completed during 2007 by installing eight Indian Reference Stations (INRESs) at eight Indian airports and linked to the Master Control Center (MCC) located near Bangalore. The first navigation payload is being fabricated and it is proposed to be flown on GSAT-4 which is expected to be launched in 2009. Two more payloads will be subsequently flown, one each on two geostationary satellites GSAT-8 and GSAT-12. A brief chronology of the events are presented below:

»

PSLV-C12 successfully launches RISAT-2 and ANUSAT from Sriharikota (April 20, 2009).

» PSLV-C11

successfully launches CHANDRAYAAN-1 from Sriharikota (October 22, 2008).

» PSLV-C9 successfully launches CARTOSAT-2A,

IMS-1 and 8 foreign nano satellites from Sriharikota (April 28,2008).

»

PSLV-C10 successfully launches TECSAR satellite under a commercial contract with Antrix Corporation (January 21, 2008).

»

Successful launch of GSLV (GSLV-F04) with INSAT-4CR on board from SDSC SHAR (September 2, 2007).

»

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLVC8, successfully launched Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE from Sriharikota (April 23, 2007).

»

Successful launch of INSAT-4B by Ariane-5 from Kourou French Guyana, (March 12, 2007).

» Successful recovery of SRE-1 after manoeuvring

it to reenter the earth’s atmosphere and descend over the Bay of Bengal about 140 km east of Sriharikota (January 22, 2007).

»

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLVC7 successfully launches four satellites - India’s CARTOSAT-2 and Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) and Indonesia’s LAPANTUBSAT and Argentina’s PEHUENSAT-1 (January 10, 2007).

» Second operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F02) from SDSC SHAR with INSAT-4C on board. (July 10, 2006). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

» Successful launch of INSAT-4A by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (December 22, 2005).

»

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLVC6, successfully launched CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT satellites from Sriharikota(May 5, 2005).

» The first operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) successfully launched EDUSAT from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota (September 20, 2004)

»

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLVC5, successfully launched RESOURCESAT-1(IRSP6) satellite from Sriharikota(October 17, 2003).

» Successful launch of INSAT-3E by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (September 28, 2003).

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

» The Second developmental launch of GSLV-D2 with GSAT-2on board from Sriharikota (May 8, 2003).

» Successful launch of INSAT-3A by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (April 10, 2003).

»

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLVC4, successfully launched KALPANA-1 satellite from Sriharikota(September 12, 2002).

» Successful launch of INSAT-3C by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (January 24, 2002).

»

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLVC3,successfully launched three satellites -- Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) of ISRO, BIRD of Germany and PROBA of Belgium - into their intended orbits (October 22, 2001).

»

The first developmental launch of GSLV-D1 with GSAT-1 on board from Sriharikota (April 18, 2001).

»

INSAT-3B, the first satellite in the third generation INSAT-3 series, launched by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (March 22, 2000).

»

October 4, 1997. (An in-orbit satellite, ARABSAT1C, since renamed INSAT-2DT, was acquired in November 1997 to partly augment the INSAT system).

» First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1D on board (September 29, 1997). Satellite placed in orbit.

» Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-

P3, on board (March 21, 1996). Satellite placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit.

» Launch of third operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1C (December 28, 1995).

»

INSAT-2C, the third satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched (December 7, 1995).

» Second developmental launch of PSLV with IRSP2, on board (October 15, 1994). Satellite successfully placed in Polar Sunsynchronous Orbit.

»

Fourth developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C2, on board (May 4, 1994). Satellite placed in orbit.

» First developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-

Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (May 26, 1999).

1E on board (September 20, 1993). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

»

INSAT-2E, the last satellite in the multipurpose INSAT-2 series, launched by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (April 3, 1999).

» INSAT-2A, the first satellite of the indigenously-

»

INSAT system capacity augmented with the readiness of INSAT-2DT acquired from ARABSAT (January 1998).

»

» INSAT-2D, fourth satellite in the INSAT series,

»

launched (June 4, 1997). Becomes inoperable on

» INSAT-2B, the second satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched (July 23, 1993).

built second-generation INSAT series, launched (July 10, 1992). Third developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-Con board (May 20, 1992). Satellite placed in orbit. Second operational Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1B, launched (August 29, 1991).

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Section -1 (Article : Moon Mission Chandrayaan - I)

» INSAT-1D launched (June 12, 1990). » INSAT-1C launched (July 21,1988). Abandoned in November 1989.

» First Experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini Technology Payload on board (August 10, 1979). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

»

»

Second developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-2 on board (July 13, 1988). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

» Launch of first operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A (March 17, 1988).

»

Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earth observations, launched (June 7, 1979).

»

Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (STEP) carried out.

»

Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) conducted.

First developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board (March 24, 1987). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

» ISRO First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, launched

» Indo-Soviet manned space mission (April 1984).

»

» Second developmental launch of SLV-3. RS-D2

» Air-borne remote sensing experiments.

INSAT-1B, launched (August 30, 1983).

placed in orbit (April 17, 1983).

» INSAT-1A launched (April 10, 1982). » Deactivated on September 6, 1982.

(April 19, 1975).

Becomes Government Organisation (April 1, 1975).

» Space Commission and Department of Space set up (June 1, 1972). ISRO brought under DOS.

»

» Bhaskara-II launched (November 20, 1981).

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed under Department of Atomic Energy (August 15, 1969).

»

» TERLS dedicated to the United Nations (Febru-

APPLE, an experimental geo-stationary communication satellite successfully launched (June 19, 1981).

» RS-D1 placed in orbit (May 31, 1981) » First developmental launch of SLV-3. » Second Experimental launch of SLV-3, Rohini »

satellite successfully placed in orbit. (July 18, 1980).

ary 2, 1968).

»

Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station set up at Ahmedabad.

» Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC) established in Thumba.

» First sounding rocket launched from TERLS (November 21, 1963).

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Section -1 (Article : Doha Talks)

Doha Talks

Aiming to Unlock Global Trade Barriers By- Avadhesh Pandey Author is an Expert of Economic and political Issues and working as a Freelance Editor

Negotiators from key trading nations agreed on sept 15, 2009 a new work plan aimed at concluding the long-stalled Doha Round of WTO global trade negotiations in Geneva. Everybody had a calendar and now our calendar is full until the end of the year, said Swiss WTO ambassador Luzius Wasescha, who also chairs the negotiating group on industrial goods. Senior officials will also come to Geneva for a week every month to advance negotiations, with the first such session to take place around October 19, said Indian ambassador Ujal Singh Bhatia following a meeting with his counterparts at the World Trade Organisation. Since an aborted attempt to organise a small ministerial meeting in December last year, the Doha Round of negotiations that began in 2001 has been restricted to low-level contacts in Geneva. However, during a ministerial meeting in New Delhi early September, ministers pledged to resume high-level talks. As a result, discussions have been scheduled at the WTO, while the European Union also hosted a separate session with some ambassadors. Ambassadors said however that it was still too early to tell if the latest talks will yield concrete results. The Doha round of WTO negotiations began in 2001 with the aim of creating a new free-trade pact that would boost global commerce to help developing countries. Deadlock between the major trading blocs has dashed repeated attempts to forge a new pact. The last push in July last year in Geneva ended in failure but with a new government installed in Washington since then, there is renewed hope for another drive for success sometime next year. What is the Doha Round? The WTO launched this round of negotiations at its November 2001 ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar. The aim is to unlock global trade in areas where many barriers still exist, in sectors such as agriculture, services and manufacturing. The Doha declaration placed particular emphasis on correcting distortions that have effectively barred poor, rural nations from a share in world agricultural markets. Many developing countries have a comparative advantage in delivering farm goods to market, and seek a sharp reduction in rich-country trade barriers on agricultural goods, as well as textile and apparel tariffs. As part of a grand bargain, rich countries want to increase their access to non-agricultural manufacturing and service sectors in robust developing countries like China, India, and Brazil. They are especially eager to capitalize on their strong financial, transportation, and telecommunications services. A much-cited world bank study says the abolition of agricultural tariffs and subsidies would increase global exports by nearly $300 billion per year by 2015. These kinds of targeted trade liberalizations could help lift many states out of poverty. Why is Doha in trouble? Agriculture is the main stumbling block. Despite some initiatives in the past year—including a U.S. offer to make modest cuts in farm subsidies there has been little substantive progress. The United States and a negotiating bloc of developing states called the Group of Twenty (G-20)—including China, India and Brazil—have criticized proposed European Union (EU) tariff cuts as insufficient; at the same time, some countries are skeptical of the sincerity of the U.S. offer. The EU wants pledges from Brazil and India to cut tariffs on industrial goods before it risks justifying trade concessions to the entrenched EU farm lobby. Copyright © 2009 | WWW.UPSCPORTAL.COM

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Section -1 (Article : Doha Talks)

Particularly in Europe, many farmers would be uncompetitive without high government subsidies. Leading U.S. congressional figures have said prospects are slim for completing the Doha round before presidential trade-promotion authority expires in July 2007. This authority allows the president to negotiate trade deals without the need for congressional review. Given the rise of protectionist sentiment in general, and particularly since the Democrats retook both houses of Congress in November 2006, some experts say fast track authority is highly unlikely to be renewed. Without it, controversial farm subsidy reforms would need to be passed by both houses of Congress tall order. What are the most divisive issues? The dispute over agriculture hinges on the active role the United States and the EU take to support their agricultural sectors with subsidies and tariffs. Last fall, the United States offered to cut its agricultural subsidies by an average of more than 50 percent, but conditioned the offer on major market-access proposals from the EU and G-20 states. The EU has offered to cut its tariffs by an average of 40 percent, but it also wants to identify up to 160 of its agricultural products as “sensitive” and preserve tariff protections for them. The Economist says 17 and 54 are the two “magic numbers” to meet if renewed talks this spring are to succeed: the U.S. will need to limit its farm subsidies to $17 billion (its lowest offer thus far is $22 billion), and EU countries must make cuts in their agricultural tariffs in the vicinity of 54 percent. The EU and United States are calling on developing nations like India and Brazil to improve their offer to open up their markets to industrial goods. But an open embrace from the developing world is highly unlikely if the United States refuses to give up its significant farm subsidies. After decades of trade negotiations, most of the rich countries have liberalized a great deal, with tariffs on many goods in the single digits. Which countries are the stumbling blocks? Experts say blame can be widely distributed. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is under

pressure by states such as France to stick more closely to a mandate set by EU governments. He says he cannot offer increased concessions unless he sees a more attractive offer from Brazil, India and other developing countries on non-agricultural goods. But United States and Europe are failing to provide a proper example to developing nations considering a drop in barriers. These countries are very worried about an influx of cheap manufactured goods from China if they open up their markets, and are watching U.S.-EU policy toward China with interest. Both the United States and Europe are actively considering or pursuing trade restraints against China on one product to the next. This has always been an issue of U.S. and European leadership on lowering barriers to world trade, and now you need some push from other places. G-20, now a major actor in the trade talks, needs to provide more leadership. China should be more engaged in the talks rather than contenting itself to benefit from what the EU and United States gain through negotiations. China is particularly reluctant to open up its highly protected services markets, such as telecoms and banking. Which issues have been agreed on in the round? The WTO's Hong Kong ministerial meeting in December 2005 produced an agreement by wealthy nations to end export subsidies in agriculture by 2013. That date is conditioned on agreements being reached to avoid hidden export subsidies in credit, food aid, and the sales of exporting state enterprises. There are also agreements calling for developed countries to eliminate all forms of export subsidies for cotton as early as the end of 2006. Another important commitment made during the round is the introduction of duty and quota-free access for most exports from the thirty-two leastdeveloped countries by 2008. What happens if Doha fails? The Doha talks are seen as a major test for the 149-member WTO. Elliott worries countries like the United States will turn their back on WTO

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Section -1 (Article : Doha Talks)

multilateral trade talks and focus instead on bilateral agreements with stronger developing states. This poses problems to businesses worried about a “spaghetti bowl” [when multiple bilateral agreements overlap, causing complex and un-integrated regulatory requirements], but it has even more serious implications for poor nations. The round's failure would be a setback to global poverty-reduction efforts such as the UN millennium development goals, the World Bank's move to cancel debt for very poor countries, and increasing efforts to improve foreign aid. But trade experts often point out that previous trade rounds in the post-World War II period have often gone down to the wire, emerging nonetheless with agreements that have steadily liberalized world trade. What is the World Trade Organization? The World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the rules of trade between nations at a global or near-global level. But there is more to it than that. There are a number of ways of looking at the WTO. It’s an organization for liberalizing trade. It’s a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. It’s a place for them to settle trade disputes. It operates a system of trade rules. (But it’s not Superman, just in case anyone thought it could solve — or cause — all the world’s problems!) Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. The first step is to talk. The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations. The bulk of the WTO's current work comes from the 1986-94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations, under the “Doha Development Agenda” launched in 2001. Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to liberalize trade. But the WTO is not just

about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.

WTO Agreements WTO agreements negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. These documents provide the legal ground-rules for international commerce. They are essentially contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives. The system’s overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible — so long as there are no undesirable side-effects — because this is important for economic development and well-being. That partly means removing obstacles. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have to be “transparent” and predictable. Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Agreements, including those painstakingly negotiated in the WTO system, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation. That is the purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the WTO agreements. The WTO began life on 1 January 1995, but its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system. (The second WTO ministerial meeting, held in Geneva in May 1998, included a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the system.)

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Section -1 (Article : Doha Talks)

It did not take long for the General Agreement to give birth to an unofficial, de facto international organization, also known informally as GATT. Over the years GATT evolved through several rounds of negotiations. The last and largest GATT round, was the Uruguay Round which lasted from 1986 to 1994 and led to the WTO’s creation. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements now cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property).

Trade Without Discrimination Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) ( Treating Other People Equally ) Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. Grant someone a special favour (such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products) and you have to do the same for all other WTO members. This principle is known as mostfavoured-nation (MFN) treatment. It is so important that it is the first article of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which governs trade in goods. MFN is also a priority in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (Article 2) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Article 4), although in each agreement the principle is handled slightly differently. Together, those three agreements cover all three main areas of trade handled by the WTO. Some exceptions are allowed. For example, countries can set up a free trade agreement that applies only to goods traded within the group — discriminating against goods from outside. Or they can give developing countries special access to their markets. Or a country can raise barriers against products that are considered to be traded unfairly from specific countries. And in services,

countries are allowed, in limited circumstances, to discriminate. But the agreements only permit these exceptions under strict conditions. In general, MFN means that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods or services from all its trading partners — whether rich or poor, weak or strong. National treatment (Treating foreigners and locals Equally ) Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. This principle of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the three main WTO agreements (Article 3 of GATT, Article 17 of GATS and Article 3 of TRIPS), although once again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these. National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market. Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax.

Lowering trade barriers Lowering trade barriers is one of the most obvious means of encouraging trade. The barriers concerned include customs duties (or tariffs) and measures such as import bans or quotas that restrict quantities selectively. From time to time other issues such as red tape and exchange rate policies have also been discussed. Since GATT’s creation in 1947-48 there have been eight rounds of trade negotiations. A ninth round, under the Doha Development Agenda, is now underway. At first these focused on lowering tariffs (customs duties) on imported goods. As a result of the negotiations, by the mid-1990s industrial countries’ tariff rates on industrial goods had fallen

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Section -1 (Article : Doha Talks)

steadily to less than 4%. But by the 1980s, the negotiations had expanded to cover non-tariff barriers on goods, and to the new areas such as services and intellectual property. Opening markets can be beneficial, but it also requires adjustment. The WTO agreements allow countries to introduce changes gradually, through “progressive liberalization”. Developing countries are usually given longer to fulfil their obligations. Predictability (Through Binding And Transparency) Sometimes, promising not to raise a trade barrier can be as important as lowering one, because the promise gives businesses a clearer view of their future opportunities. With stability and predictability, investment is encouraged, jobs are created and consumers can fully enjoy the benefits of competition — choice and lower prices. The multilateral trading system is an attempt by governments to make the business environment stable and predictable. In the WTO, when countries agree to open their markets for goods or services, they “bind” their commitments. For goods, these bindings amount to ceilings on customs tariff rates. Sometimes countries tax imports at rates that are lower than the bound rates. Frequently this is the case in developing countries. In developed countries the rates actually charged and the bound rates tend to be the same. A country can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which could mean compensating them for loss of trade. One of the achievements of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade talks was to increase the amount of trade under binding commitments. In agriculture, 100% of products now have bound tariffs.

The Result Of All This (A Substantially Higher Degree Of Market Security For Traders And Investors) The system tries to improve predictability and stability in other ways as well. One way is to discourage the use of quotas and other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports — administering quotas can lead to more red-tape and accusations of unfair play. Another is to make countries’ trade rules as clear and public (“transparent”) as possible. Many WTO agreements require governments to disclose their policies and practices publicly within the country or by notifying the WTO. The regular surveillance of national trade policies through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism provides a further means of encouraging transparency both domestically and at the multilateral level.

Promoting Fair Competition The WTO is sometimes described as a “free trade” institution, but that is not entirely accurate. The system does allow tariffs and, in limited circumstances, other forms of protection. More accurately, it is a system of rules dedicated to open, fair and undistorted competition. The rules on non-discrimination MFN and national treatment are designed to secure fair conditions of trade. So too are those on dumping (exporting at below cost to gain market share) and subsidies. The issues are complex, and the rules try to establish what is fair or unfair, and how governments can respond, in particular by charging additional import duties calculated to compensate for damage caused by unfair trade. Many of the other WTO agreements aim to support fair competition: in agriculture, intellectual property, services, for example. The agreement on government procurement (a “plurilateral” agreement because it is signed by only a few WTO members) extends competition rules to purchases by thousands of government entities in many countries. And so on.

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Section -1 (Article : Doha Talks)

Encouraging development and economic reform The WTO system contributes to development. On the other hand, developing countries need flexibility in the time they take to implement the system’s agreements. And the agreements themselves inherit the earlier provisions of GATT that allow for special assistance and trade concessions for developing countries. Over three quarters of WTO members are developing countries and countries in transition to market economies. During the seven and a half years of the Uruguay Round, over 60 of these countries implemented trade liberalization programmes autonomously. At the same time, developing countries and transition economies were much more active and influential in the Uruguay Round negotiations than in any previous round, and they are even more so in the current Doha Development Agenda. At the end of the Uruguay Round, developing countries were prepared to take on most of the obligations that are required of developed countries. But the agreements did give them transition periods to adjust to the more unfamiliar and, perhaps, difficult WTO provisions — particularly so for the poorest, “least-developed” countries.

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A ministerial decision adopted at the end of the round says better-off countries should accelerate implementing market access commitments on goods exported by the least-developed countries, and it seeks increased technical assistance for them. More recently, developed countries have started to allow duty-free and quota-free imports for almost all products from least-developed countries. On all of this, the WTO and its members are still going through a learning process. The current Doha Development Agenda includes developing countries’ concerns about the difficulties they face in implementing the Uruguay Round agreements.

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Section -1 (Article : Child Labour)

¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É =x¨ÉÚ±ÉxÉ

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By Dr. Divya Author is Currently Working as Assistant Professor for Home Science

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26

Section -1 (Article : Child Labour)

SÉÒVÉ JÉÓSÉxÉä Eä ‡±ÉB +ƇiÉ¨É n ¨É iÉE VÉÉä® ±ÉMÉÉxÉä, MÉxn ä ´É ¤Én ¤ÉÚn É® E ɪÉÉç Eä E É® hÉ =xÉE Ò +xÉÖ¨ÉɇxÉiÉ +ɪÉÖ BE -‡iɽ É<Ç ® ½ VÉÉiÉÒ ½ è * JÉÉxÉÉå B´ÉÆ JÉn ÉxÉÉå ¨Éå ¤ÉSSÉÉå E Éä ¦ÉäVÉxÉä E Éä |ÉÉlɇ¨ÉE iÉÉ <ºÉ‡±ÉB n Ò VÉÉiÉÒ ½ è ‡E =xɨÉå ´ÉªÉºE xɽ Ó PÉÖºÉ ºÉE iÉä * VÉ¤É ´Éä ¤Écä ½ ÉäiÉä ½ é iÉÉä =xÉE Ò U Æ] xÉÒ E ® n Ò VÉÉiÉÒ ½ è * „ÉÉä® E ® xÉä ´ÉɱÉÒ ¨É„ÉÒxÉÉå {É® E É¨É E ® xÉä ´ÉɱÉä ¤ÉSSÉä |ÉɪÉ& ¤É½ ® ä ½ Éä VÉÉiÉä ½ é +Éè® vÉÚ±É Eä E É® hÉ xÉVɱÉÉ ½ Éä VÉÉiÉÉ ½ è *

¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1986 E ä ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É (‡xɹÉävÉ +Éè® ‡xɪɨÉxÉ) +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É E ä +xÉÖºÉÉ® 13 JÉiÉ®xÉÉE ´ªÉ´ÉºÉɪÉÉå iÉlÉÉ 57 VÉÉä‡JÉ¨É ´ÉɱÉÒ |ɇG ªÉÉ+ÉäÆ ¨Éå 14 ´É¹ÉÇ ºÉä E ¨É +ɪÉÖ E ä ¤ÉSSÉÉå E Éä E É¨É {É® ±ÉMÉÉxÉÉ ´ÉÌVÉiÉ ½è* ‡¡ ® ¦ÉÒ nä„É ¨Éå ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É ‡E ºÉÒ xÉ ‡E ºÉÒ ° {É ¨Éå ¨ÉÉèVÉÚn ½è, E äxp, ®ÉVªÉÉå ´É E äxp-„ÉɇºÉiÉ IÉäjÉÉå E ä {ÉÉºÉ ‡´É‡¦ÉxxÉ E ÉxÉÚxÉÉå E Ò ¤ÉɱÉ-¸É¨É ºÉƤÉÆvÉÒ ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉBÆ ±ÉÉMÉÚ E ®xÉä E ä ºÉÉvÉxÉ ¨ÉÉèVÉÚn ½é* ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É E Ò ºÉ¨ÉºªÉÉ E Ò |ÉEÞ ‡iÉ +Éè® <ºÉE ä +ÉE É® E Éä vªÉÉxÉ ¨Éå ®JÉiÉä ½ÖB ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É‡¨ÉE Éå E ä {ÉÖxÉ´ÉÉÇºÉ E ä ‡±ÉB G ¨É¤Ér +Éè® {ɇ®hÉɨɨÉÚ±ÉE oι]E ÉähÉ +{ÉxÉɪÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è* <ºÉE Ò „ÉÖ° +ÉiÉ JÉiÉ®xÉÉE ´ªÉ´ÉºÉɪÉÉå ¨Éå E É¨É E ®xÉä ´ÉɱÉä ¤ÉSSÉÉå E ä ºÉÉlÉ ½ÉäiÉÒ ½è* ¨ÉÉä]® ´ÉE Ç„ÉÉì{É +Éè® MÉ®ÉVÉ, ¤ÉÚSÉcJÉÉxÉÉå, f±ÉÉ<Ç E É®JÉÉxÉÉå ¨Éå E É¨É E ®xÉÉ, ‡´É¹Éè±Éä ªÉÉ V´É±ÉxÉ„ÉÒ±É iÉi´ÉÉå E Ò ½é‡b˱ÉMÉ, ½lÉE ®PÉÉ ªÉÉ ‡´ÉtÖiÉ E ®PÉÉ =tÉäMÉÉå, JÉÉxÉÉå ´É E ÉäªÉ±ÉÉ JÉnÉxÉÉå, {±ÉÉκ]E <EÒÉ<ªÉÉÅ span ¨Éå ½è*>< E Ò iÉlÉÉ +ÉiÉÉ ¸ÉähÉÒ ´ªÉ´ÉºÉɪÉÉå JÉiÉ®xÉÉE E ®xÉÉ E É¨É E É®JÉÉxÉÉå M±ÉÉºÉ ¡ É<¤É®> VÉÉä‡JÉ¨É ´ÉɱÉÒ E ɪÉÇ |ɇG ªÉÉ+ÉäÆ ¨Éå „Éɇ¨É±É E ɪÉÇ <ºÉ |ÉE É® ½é- ¤ÉÒ‡cªÉÉÆ ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ, E ɱÉÒxÉ ¤ÉÖxÉxÉÉ, +MÉ®¤É‡kɪÉÉÆ ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ, ¤É½Ö¨ÉÚ±ªÉ xÉMÉÉå E Ò E ]É<Ç +Éè® {ÉÉ쇱ɄÉ, iÉɱÉä ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ, SÉÚ‡cªÉÉÆ ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ, {ÉÒiÉ±É E ä ¤ÉiÉÇxÉ ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ +Éè® WÉ®Ò iÉèªÉÉ® E ®xÉÉ*

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Section -1 (Article : Child Labour)

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Section -1 (Article : Child Labour)

=ºÉä E ¨É ºÉä E ¨É iÉÒxÉ ¨Éɽ ºÉä ±ÉäE ® BE ´É¹ÉÇ iÉE E É E É® É´ÉÉºÉ ªÉÉ E ¨É ºÉä E ¨É 10,000 ¯ {ɪÉä ºÉä ±ÉäE ® 20,000 ¯ {ɪÉä iÉE E É VÉÖ¨ÉÉÇxÉÉ ªÉÉ n ÉäxÉÉå n Æb ‡n ªÉÉ VÉÉ ºÉE iÉÉ ½ è * <ºÉEä +É® Éä{É ¨Éå {ÉE cä VÉÉxÉä {É® ‡E ºÉÒ ¤ÉSSÉä E Éä xÉÉèE ® ® JÉxÉä {É® U ½ ¨É½ ÒxÉä E Ò Eè n ªÉÉ 20,000 ¯ {ɪÉä iÉE E É VÉÖ¨ÉÉÇxÉÉ ªÉÉ n ÉäxÉÉå ºÉVÉÉBÆ ½ Éä ºÉE iÉÒ ½ é * n ںɮ Ò ¤ÉÉ® ªÉ½ +{É® ÉvÉ E ® xÉä {É® ºÉVÉÉBÆ n ÖMÉÖxÉÒ E Ò VÉÉ ºÉE iÉÒ ½ è * Eä xp ºÉ® E É® xÉä E ÉxÉÚxÉ E Éä |ɦÉÉ´ÉÒ ° {É ºÉä ±ÉÉMÉÚ E ® ÉxÉä +Éè® ¤ÉSSÉÉå Eä {ɇ® ´ÉÉ® Éå Eä {ÉÖxÉ´ÉÉÇºÉ Eä ‡±ÉB Eä xp xÉä ® ÉVªÉ ºÉ® E É® Éå ºÉä ¦ÉÒ ¨Én n ¨ÉÉÆMÉÒ ½ è *

¤ÉÉMÉÉxÉ ¸É¨É +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1951, JÉnÉxÉ +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1951, JÉnÉxÉ +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1952, ¡è C] ® Ò (ºÉÆ„ÉÉä‡vÉiÉ) +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1954, ´ªÉÉ{Éɇ® E Vɽ ÉVÉ® ÉxÉÒ +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1958, ¨ÉÉä] ® ] ÅÉƺÉ{ÉÉä] Ç ¨ÉVÉn Ú® +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1961, ¤ÉÒb Ò B´ÉÆ ‡ºÉMÉÉ® ¨ÉVÉn Ú® (ºÉä´ÉÉ „ÉiÉæ) +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1966,¤Éɱɮ ÉäVÉMÉÉ® (ºÉÆ„ÉÉä‡vÉi) +‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1978 B´ÉÆ ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É (=x¨ÉÚ±ÉxÉ iÉlÉÉ ‡xɪɨÉxÉ)+‡vɇxÉªÉ¨É 1986 ¨ÉÖJªÉ ½ é * <ºÉEä ¤ÉÉn 1987 ¨Éå ® ɹ] ÅÒªÉ ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É xÉÒ‡iÉ ¨Éå ¦ÉÒ ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É =x¨ÉÚ±ÉxÉ Eä ‡±ÉB +xÉäE |ÉÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ‡E B MÉB *

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¦ÉÉ® iÉÒªÉ ºÉƇ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ¨Éå ¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É {É® ® ÉäE ±ÉMÉÉ<Ç MÉ<Ç ½ è * ½ ¨ÉÉ® ä ¨ÉÉ臱ÉE +‡vÉE É® Éå Eä +vªÉÉªÉ 3 ¨Éå +xÉÖSU än 23 Eä +ÆiÉMÉÇiÉ ¤ÉäMÉÉ® {É® ‡xɹÉävÉ ±ÉMÉÉ ‡n ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½ è, +lÉÉÇiÉ E Éä<Ç ¦ÉÒ ´ªÉ‡H ‡E ºÉÒ n ںɮ ä ´ªÉ‡H ºÉä ¤É±ÉÉiÉ E É¨É xɽ Ó ±Éä ºÉE iÉÉ * +xÉÖSU än 24 ¨Éå |ÉÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ‡E ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½ è ‡E SÉÉèn ½ ´É¹ÉÇ ºÉä E ¨É =ƒÉ Eä ‡E ºÉÒ ¤ÉSSÉä E Éä ‡E ºÉÒ E É® JÉÉxÉä ªÉÉ JÉn ÉxÉ ªÉÉ +xªÉ ‡E ºÉÒ JÉiÉ® xÉÉE ® ÉäVÉMÉÉ® ¨Éå ‡xɪÉÉä‡VÉiÉ xɽ Ó ‡E ªÉÉ VÉÉBMÉÉ * +xÉÖSU än 39 (<Ç) ¨Éå ªÉ½ |ÉÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ½ è ‡E ® ÉVªÉ BäºÉÒ ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ E ® äMÉÉ ‡VɺɺÉä {ÉÖ¯ ¹É +Éè® ºjÉÒ ¨ÉVÉn Ú® Éå Eä º´ÉɺlªÉ B´ÉÆ „ɇH iÉlÉÉ ¤ÉSSÉÉå E Ò xÉÉVÉÖE =ƒÉ E É n Ö° {ɪÉÉäMÉ xÉ ½ Éä +Éè® ¦ÉÉ® iÉ Eä xÉÉMɇ® E +ɇlÉÇE Vɯ ® iÉ ºÉä ¨ÉVɤÉÚ® ½ ÉäE ® BäºÉÉ E ɪÉÇ ({Éä„ÉÉ) xÉ E ® å VÉÉä =xÉE Ò =ƒÉ ªÉÉ iÉÉE iÉ Eä |ɇiÉEÚ ±É ½ Éä * +xÉÖSU än 39 (B¡ ) ¨Éå |ÉÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ½ è ‡E ® ÉVªÉ BäºÉÒ ºÉÖ‡´ÉvÉÉ+ÉäÆ B´ÉÆ +´ÉºÉ® Éå E Ò ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ E ® äMÉÉ ‡VɺɺÉä ¤ÉSSÉä º´ÉiÉÆjÉiÉÉ B´ÉÆ ºÉ¨¨ÉÉxÉ Eä ºÉÉlÉ iÉlÉÉ º´ÉºlÉ iÉ® ÒEä ºÉä ‡´ÉE ‡ºÉiÉ ½ Éå iÉlÉÉ =xÉE É ¤ÉSÉ{ÉxÉ B´ÉÆ VÉ´ÉÉxÉÒ „ÉÉä¹ÉhÉ ´É xÉè‡iÉE iÉlÉÉ ¦ÉÉè‡iÉE {ɇ® iªÉÉMÉ ºÉä ºÉÖ® ‡IÉiÉ ½ Éä * +xÉÖSU än 45 ¨Éå |ÉÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ½ è ‡E ® ÉVªÉ ¦ÉÉ® iÉÒªÉ ºÉƇ´ÉvÉÉxÉ ±ÉÉMÉÚ ½ ÉäxÉä Eä n ºÉ ´É¹ÉÉç Eä +Æn ® 14 ´É¹ÉÇ E Ò =ƒÉ iÉE Eä ¤ÉSSÉÉå E Éä ¨ÉÖH B´ÉÆ +‡xÉ´ÉɪÉÇ ‡„ÉIÉÉ n äxÉä E Ò E Éä‡„É„É E ® äMÉÉ *

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Section -1 (Article : Child Labour)

¤ÉÉ±É ¸É¨É =x¨ÉÚ±ÉxÉ Eä ={ÉÉB ¤ÉÉ±É ¨ÉVÉn Ú® Ò |ÉlÉÉ Eä E <Ç E É® hÉ ½ é ±Éä‡E xÉ ¨ÉÖJªÉ E É® hÉ MÉ® Ò¤ÉÒ, ´ÉªÉºE Éå E Ò ¤Éä® ÉäVÉMÉÉ® Ò iÉlÉÉ E ¨É ¨ÉVÉn Ú® Ò n ® ½ è * <ºÉ‡±ÉB ‡´É‡¦ÉzÉ ‡´É¦ÉÉMÉÉå Eä ºÉ¨Éx´ÉªÉxÉ ºÉä ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ B´ÉÆ E ±ªÉÉhÉ E ɪÉÇG ¨ÉÉå E É ºÉÒvÉÉ ±ÉÉ¦É ¤ÉÉ±É ¨ÉVÉn Ú® Éå Eä {ɇ® ´ÉÉ® Éå E Éä ‡¨É±ÉxÉÉ SÉɇ½ B ‡VɺɺÉä =xÉ {ɇ® ´ÉÉ® Éå E Éä ¤ÉÉ±É ¨ÉVÉn Ú® Éå Eä Vɇ® B ‡¨É±ÉxÉä ´ÉɱÉÒ +ÉªÉ E É ´ÉèE ‡±{ÉE »ÉÉäiÉ ‡¨É±É ºÉEä *
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Section -2 (Hot Topics)

PSLV-C14 Successfully Launched Oceansat-2 Steps Towards World Space Market Three days after its 16th birthday, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Sep 23, 2009 roared its way to success from the Sriharikota spaceport and put in orbit India’s Oceansat-2 and six foreign nano satellites. This was the 15th successful flight of the launch vehicle in a row. The first PSLV flight took place on September 20, 1993. It was a spectacular mission. Everything went all right for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as the countdown was smooth and the lift-off perfect at the appointed time of 11.51 a.m. Then the first stage of the PSLV-C14 came alive and the vehicle galvanised itself as it climbed into the sky. The three other stages too ignited and separated on time and the satellites were precisely injected into orbit. At the end of 18 minutes of flight, the PSLV’s fourth stage injected Oceansat-2 into orbit at a velocity of 25,000 km an hour at an altitude of about 728 km. Thereafter, springloaded action mechanisms catapulted four nano satellites called Cubesat 1, 2, 3 and 4 into orbit one after the other. The other two nano satellites, Rubinsat 9.1 and 9.2, remained attached to the fourth stage. It implies that the fourth stage went into orbit. The satellite’s solar panels had been deployed. A ground station at Antarctica had tracked it. The spacecraft, which was built at the centre, was pointing towards the earth in the right direction. While two of Oceansat-2’s three payloads were designed and developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, the third one came from Italy. The satellite would provide data about plant life in the oceans. It would help in locating schools of fish and monitoring algal blooms that were harmful to fish life.

ISRO Has Challenges Ahead Although the PSLV-C14 mission was a success, there are challenges ahead for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). These include launching a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) with an indigenous cryogenic stage from Sriharikota in December 2009 and the PSLV-C15 ahead of December. The GSLV-D3 launch would be a landmark in indigenous technology. It would put a communication satellite called GSAT-4 in orbit. The first stage had moved to Sriharikota. Its indigenous cryogenic stage would undergo tests at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. Then it would be moved to Sriharikota and integrated with the other stages. In the case of the PSLV-C15, it would put Cartosat-2B in orbit. ISRO had completed the preliminary design of Chandrayaan-2, which would boast of a landercum-rover. The rover would go about on the moon and pick up samples, which would be analysed in situ. Its launch would take place in 2012-13.

Oceansat-2 Oceansat-2 satellite mainframe systems derive their heritage from previous IRS missions and launched by PSLV-C14. It carries three payloads:

» Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM)

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Section -2 (Hot Topics)

» Ku-band Pencil Beam scatterometer (SCAT) developed by ISRO

»

Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmosphere

(ROSA) developed by the Italian Space Agency. Oceansat-2 is envisaged to provide continuity of operational services of Oceansat-1(IRS-P4) with enhanced application potential.

» Launch Date: Sept 23, 2009 » Launch Site: SHAR, Sriharikota » Launch Vehicle: PSLV - C14 » Orbit: Polar Sun Synchronous » Altitude: 720 km » Inclination: 98.28° » Period: 99.31 minutes » Repetitivity Cycle: 2 days » Playloads: OCM, SCAT and ROSA » Mass At Lift Off: 960 kg » Power: 15 Sq.m Solar panels generating

Winds are important for weather forecasting and how the cyclones are generated. Data from both these sensors would be available to the national and international community. The ROSA would study the temperature and humidity in the atmosphere. These three payloads will help in monitoring many of the phenomena [related to the oceans and the atmosphere] and help in predicting the weather. The six nano satellites put in orbit were educational satellites from abroad, meant to test new spacecraft technologies. Of the six, four were Cubesats weighing one kg each. They were from Ecole Polytechnique federale de Lausanne in Switzerland, Technical University of Berlin and University of Wurzburg, both in Germany, and Istanbul Technical University. The Rubinsats, weighing eight kg each, were from Luxembourg and Germany.

CUBESATs & RUBIN Four CUBESATs and Two RUBIN are the foreign satellites launched by PSLV-C14 along with the main satellite - Oceansat-2.

1360W, Two 24 Ah Ni-Cd Batteries

CUBESATs

» Mission Life: 5 years For the PSLV-C14 flight, George Koshi was the Mission Director and P. Kunhikrishnan the Vehicle Director. M. Venkata Rao was the Project Director of Oceansat-2 and Mr. Prasad the Range Operation Director. While the rocket costs Rs. 75 crore, the Oceansat-2 costs Rs. 160 crore. The 960-kg Oceansat-2 had three important payloads. They were the ocean colour monitor, a scatterometer (both designed by the SAC) and Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies (ROSA) built by the Italian Space Agency. The ocean colour monitor would gather data about plant life in the oceans and the scatterometer would measure the sea surface winds.

The four CUBESATs are educational satellites from European universities, each weighing around one kg. and developed to perform technology demonstration in space. The satellites are launched inside a Single Picosatellite Launcher (SPL) also weighing one kg., which is a dedicated European launch adaptor to deploy a CubeSat. CUBESAT-1: UWE-2, from the Universität Würzburg, Germany UWE-2 is a pico satellite, with the mission objective of demonstration of a newly developed Attitude Determination and Control system (ADCS) and the technology demonstration of a GPS on a Cubesat.

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Section -2 (Hot Topics)

CUBESAT-2: BeeSat, from the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany BeeSat is a pico satellite project of the Technical University of Berlin with the main objective of on-orbit verification of newly developed micro reaction wheels for pico satellite applications and will demonstrate the use of coin sized micro reaction wheels for attitude control of pico satellites in orbit as one of the key elements. CUBESAT-3: ITU-pSAT1, from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey The primary mission of the satellite is to examine the performance of an on-board passive stability system consisting of a magnet which will align the satellite to the magnetic field of the Earth with an error of about 15 degrees according to simulations, and to verify this figure. A secondary objective is to download photographs taken using a camera with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. CUBESAT-4: SwissCube, from Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne, Switzerland The SwissCube mission objective is to house a science payload and take optical measurements and characterize the airglow intensity over selected latitudes and longitudes thereby demonstrating that the airglow emissions are strong enough to be measured by an off-the-shelf detector and validating the concept for the development of a lowcost Earth sensor.

RUBIN-9 RUBIN-9 consists of two Spacecrafts Rubin-9.1 and Rubin-9.2 weighing 8kg each and will primarily be used for the Automatic Identification System (AIS) for Maritime applications. These are non-separable payloads that will be mounted at an angle of 45deg to the PSLV EB deck. Rubin-9.1 is developed by Luxspace and has a mission objective of providing an insight into the issue of message collisions that limit detection in areas of dense shipping.

The main purpose of the Rubin-9.2 spacecraft is to test and qualify nano technologies from Angstrom company Sweden and to continue space based maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver experiments (started with Rubin-7 and Rubin-8 missions). Rubin-9.2 is similar to the Rubin-8 launched on PSLV-C9 in April 2008

PSLV-C14 PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle employing both solid and liquid propulsion stages. PSLV is the trusted workhorse launch Vehicle of ISRO. During Sep. 1993 - Apr. 2009 period, PSLV had fifteen launches of which fourteen were consecutively successful. PSLV has repeatedly proved its reliability and versatility by launching 39 spacecrafts (17 Indian and 22 for international customers) into a variety of orbits so far. It may be recalled that during its previous mission, PSLV had successfully launched RISAT-2 and ANUSAT spacecrafts on April 20, 2009. In its standard configuration, the 44 m tall PSLV has a lift-off mass of 295 tonne. It is a four-stage launch vehicle with the first and the third stages as well as the six strap-ons surrounding the first stage using HTPB based solid propellant. PSLV's first stage is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world. Its second and fourth stages use liquid propellants. This mission is unique for PSLV as this is the first time that new AMC/ATS based avionics is being used for a typical SSPO mission. A Core Alone configuration of the vehicle with PS4 L2.5 stage is being employed to put the satellites in orbit. This is the fifth mission of PSLV in Core alone configuration.

Major changes

» PS4 to use L2.5 stage » First time use of ECI frame and Quaternion based computation for SSPO mission

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»

Introduction of a 45° inclined deck to mount Rubin spacecrafts on EB

» CUBESATs are separated using a separation system SPL supplied along with S/C by the user.

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Section -3 (Current Affairs)

Current Affairs Current Relevant Facts

»

United States continued to lead the global IT industry competitiveness ranking in an annual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, followed by Finland, Sweden and Canada. The prominence of Finland, Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands in the index's top tier was helped most by their robust IT infrastructure and strong support for technology research and development, the survey said. An improving R&D environment and also human capital helped lift China's ranking to 39th and Russia's to 38th. The IT Industry Competitiveness Index of 66 countries assesses and compares the quality of the local technology infrastructure, the availability and quality of IT talent, the innovation environment, the legal regime, the business environment, and government technology policies, the EIU said. India stands at 44th rank among global IT competitiveness index.

»

The Union Cabinet on Sep 17, 2009 approved amendments to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, to prevent illegal organ trade and provide for stringent punishment to those indulging in such practices. The amendments will allow transplantation of tissues that include bones, skin, and tendons.

Organ swapping The definition of the word ‘relative’ has been revised to incorporate grandparents and grandchildren as donors. Further, organ swapping will now be allowed.

While organ transplanting in India will be made stringent for foreign nationals, the penalty provisions have been strengthened, with erring doctors liable to 10-year imprisonment and touts or middlemen up to seven years. The amendments were approved in view of illegal trade, particularly in kidneys, which often involves the exploitation of economically weaker sections by some clinicians, managers of clinical centres and middlemen.

Patient-friendly The objective was to prevent commercial dealings and make the system transparent and patientfriendly. There was an increasing perception in civil society that while the Act had not been effective in curbing commercial transactions in transplantation, it thwarted genuine cases what with the complicated and long-drawn process involving organ donation. The Act came into force on February 4, 1995 in Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. It was subsequently adopted by all States except Jammu and Kashmir, where Central legislation have to be endorsed by the Assembly. The purpose of the Act is to regulate the removal, storage and transplantation of organs for therapeutic use and to prevent commercial dealings. Organ transplantation has been under a cloud for long, with even the National Human Rights Commission voicing concern over it. Subsequently, a committee was set up on the directions of the Delhi High Court to review the Act, and it submitted its report four years ago.

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The Union Cabinet on Sep 17, 2009 approved the setting up of nine new National Institutes of Technology (NITs), taking their number to 29 across the country. While the process of establishing the new NITs will get under way immediately, the first round of admissions will begin in the next academic year and classes will be held in mentor NITs or campuses taken on lease. The new NITs will be set up in Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Goa, Puducherry, Sikkim, Delhi, and Uttarakhand. The Goa NIT will cater to the Union Territories of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep, while the Puducherry NIT will cover the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Chandigarh will come under the Delhi NIT. Barring the Delhi and Uttarakhand NITs, all other new NITs will be established at a cost of Rs.250 crore each. In the case of the Delhi and Uttarakhand NITs, the cost estimate is higher at Rs.300 crore. Work for the construction of the new campuses will begin as soon as the State governments provide land free-of-cost. By setting up these new NITs, the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry hopes to cover all the States and Union Territories which till date have remained uncovered by the NIT network. This will locally address some of the demand for engineering education in these States, as 50 per cent of the seats have to be filled from within, while the remaining seats are to be filled on an all-India merit basis. Of the 20 existing NITs, 17 used to be Regional Engineering Colleges. They were taken over as fully funded institutes of the Central government, granted deemed university status, and rechristened NITs in 2003 by the Murli Manohar Joshi regime in the HRD Ministry.

» The HRD Ministry has issued a fresh notifica-

tion on the revision of pay for teaching and other staff in the Centrally Funded Technical Institutions, following protests by some faculty members. As per the new notification, the post of lecturer-cum-post doctoral fellows will be re-desig-

nated as assistant professors, to be recruited on contractual basis. Also, assistant professors in Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and in Indian Institutes of Management on completion of three years of service will move to pay band-4, with an academic grade pay of Rs.9,000. Their designation will remain the same.

» An additional weightage of 10 per cent for each

year of rural service will be given to doctors applying for postgraduate entrance examinations from the next academic year. Announcing this on Sep 17, 2009 at a press conference, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said this weightage will be subject to a maximum of 30 per cent for three years, though a doctor could serve in rural areas for as many years as he chose to after completing the internship . Similarly, 50 per cent of seats in postgraduate diploma courses have also been reserved for medical officers in government service who have served for at least three years in remote and inaccessible areas. In order to facilitate the increase in the number of medical specialists, the government has also decided to increase the enrolment of postgraduate students. The existing 1:1 ratio will be enhanced in broad specialities for professor and in super specialities to 1:2. The rise in the number of postgraduate doctors will automatically increase the number of teachers due to the multiplier effect. Thus, without substantive additional resource and infrastructure requirement, the number of postgraduate specialists would dramatically increase annually by almost 5,000 from the existing 13,000 . Further, Mr. Azad said land requirement for setting up medical colleges was also being relaxed from the current 25 acres to 20 acres throughout the country. However, with respect to hill States, northeastern States, Empowered Action Group (EAG) States under the National Rural Health Mission and Union Territories of Andaman and

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Nicobar Islands, Lakshdweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, two parcels of land separated by a distance of not more than 10 km will be allowed.

Russia’s Ioffe Physics Institute, the CSIR will test in its laboratories prototype photo-material developed by Russian scientists, Prof. Brahmachari said.

Due to non-availability of land in the metropolitan and A grade cities, medical colleges could have multi-storied buildings with the required floor area. In such cases the land requirement would be 10 acres instead of 20 acres.

In another major development, the Department of Atomic Energy is negotiating for India to become a member of the international Dubna Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, a top-notch Russian nuclear centre. India already has a cooperation agreement with the Kurchatov Institute, another Russian nodal centre for nuclear research.

State governments will also be allowed to enter into private partnerships to set up medical colleges where district hospitals can be used as public components. Now, companies registered under the Companies Act will also be allowed to establish medical colleges as against the existing rules that allowed only universities, autonomous bodies, registered societies and religious and charitable trusts to establish medical institutions.

» Renewable energy, health care, drug discovery

and nanotechnologies will be among thrust areas of cooperation in science and technology between India and Russia under a new bilateral programme for 2010-2020. The new programme to be signed next year will be a renewal of the Integrated LongTerm Programme (ILTP) of Cooperation in Science & Technology that the two countries first signed in 1987. Over the past 20 years more than 500 projects have been successfully accomplished under the ILTP title and another 80 projects are in the pipeline. As a first step, India and Russia plan to set up a joint venture for large-scale production of silicon wafers in Russia using abundant hydropower in Siberia, which is substantially cheaper than electricity generated in India. This is a third time in a decade that India plans to tie up with Russia for silicon production. Earlier India could not spare at least $200 million to invest in the project and did not feel such urgency for alternative energy. India also hopes to source from Russia new non-silicon technologies for utilising solar energy. Under an MoU with

»

U.S. President Barack Obama shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defence plan that has been a major irritant in U.S. relations with Russia. He said a redesigned defensive system would be cheaper, quicker and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles. New missile defence architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter and swifter defences of American forces and America’s allies. It is more comprehensive than the previous programme; it deploys capabilities that are proven and cost effective, and it sustains and builds upon our commitment to protect the U.S. homeland. The missile defence system, planned under the Bush administration, was to have been built in the Czech Republic and Poland. Mr. Obama phoned Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Wednesday night and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday to alert them of his decision. Mr. Obama said the plan was scrapped in part because, after a review, the U.S. has concluded that Iran was less focused on developing the kind of long-range missiles for which the system was originally developed, making the building of an expensive new shield unnecessary. New technology also had arisen that military advisers decided could be deployed sooner and more effectively. But later Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. still aimed to deploy missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic in 2015, even though Iran’s

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long-range missile programme was further off than thought. The second phase about 2015 will involve fielding upgraded land based SM-3s about hosting a land based version and other components of the system

»

Former president of the Indian cricket board Raj Singh Dungarpur died in Mumbai on Sep 12,2009 after a protracted illness, leaving the entire cricket world in mourning. He was 73. Raj Bhai, as he was fondly known, was the man who never hesitated to take bold decisions. As chief selector he picked Sachin Tendulkar after first watching him play for Cricket Club of India (CCI). Hailing from the erstwhile royal family of Dungarpur in Rajasthan, he was the youngest son of Lakshman Singhji, the ex-ruler. A right-arm medium-fast bowler who represented and led Rajasthan successfully in the Ranji Trophy in the 1960s, Dungarpur took 206 wickets in 86 first-class matches. He dedicated his post-retirement life to cricket administration and rose to become the board president 1996-99. Dungarpur’s capabilities as a visionary were also evident in the form of the critical role that he essayed in the institution of the National Cricket Academy at Bangalore in 2000.

»

Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Prize winning scientist whose work on disease-resistant wheat is credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives, has died at the age of 95 on 13 sept,2009. The acclaimed agriculturalist, often credited with sparking the Green Revolution, died late on Saturday in Dallas, Texas, due to complications from cancer, according to Texas A&M University, where Borlaug served since 1984. Borlaug was best known for his work developing high-yield disease-resistant "dwarf" wheat, which dramatically increased food production in Asia and Latin America. Norman E. Borlaug saved more lives than any man

in human history. His total devotion to ending famine and hunger revolutionized food security for millions of people and for many nations. Borlaug began his career in the pre-war years at the US forestry service, after earning an undergraduate degree at the University in Minnesota. Like many in America's midwest, Borlaug traced his roots back to Europe's Nordic region, which he referred to as "the land of my fathers." Born in Iowa in March 1914, "his childhood days were spent on an Iowa farm, influenced by his Norwegian grandfather's lessons on common sense. That common sense led him to focus on one of the fundamentals of human existence, food. Beginning in 1944 he worked for two decades with Mexican scientists to develop new wheat varieties, which was were later introduced to India and Pakistan, helping to feed what he described as the "population monster." The dwarf wheat yielded two to three times as much as the normal crop. According to his own figures, the new strain nearly doubled Indian and Pakistani wheat production between 1965 and 1970, a leap of over 11 million tons. The success, at a time when mass famines were widely predicted, spread his fame across the globe and his dwarf wheat throughout Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1970, when he pledged to serve with "an army of hunger fighters... for a lifetime term." In the United States he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the US Congressional Gold Medal, the country's two top civilian honors. He has also earned a slew of honorary universities degrees from around the world, from India's Punjab to Bolivia. As biotechnology developed apace with the advent of genetic modification, Borlaug was an avid supporter.

» The U.S. Food and Drug Admin-

istration (FDA) has approved a swine flu vaccine, keeping officials on track to begin a mass vaccination campaign by next month. It has approved applications for vac-

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cine for the 2009 H1N1 virus for four of the (five) manufacturers of the U.S. licensed seasonal influenza vaccine. The U.S. government purchased 195 million doses of the vaccine and would make shots available free of charge “for the American people” starting next month. Providers might charge a fee to administer them, she said. Vaccination would be voluntary, with priority given to five groups deemed at particular risk from the novel swine flu virus. Clinical trials were under way to determine if there was “any harm” in having a seasonal flu vaccine, already available, at the same time as this one.

»

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on Sep 17, 2009 notified tariff regulations for green power generated from renewable energy sources in an effort to attract new investments in this sector. The regulations have been finalised keeping in view the statutory mandate to Electricity Regulatory Commission for promoting cogeneration and generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy. These regulations assumed special importance in view of the National Action Plan on Climate Change which stipulated that minimum renewable purchase standards might be set at 5 per cent of the total power purchases in the year 2010 and thereafter should increase by one percentage point each year for ten years. Specifying capital cost norms and fixing tariff upfront for the whole tariff period are the two main features of the new regulations. The regulations provide normative capital costs for projects based on different renewable technologies. These capital costs are to be revised every year for incorporating the relevant escalations. The tariff permitted to a project under these regulations would apply for the whole tariff period which is 13 years. The tariff period for solar power has been kept as 25 years and for small hydro below 5 MW,

it has been kept as 35 years. The Forum of Regulators has also agreed to implement Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) mechanism which will be an alternative route for fulfilling renewable purchase obligations.

» From August 7 to 8, the 13th Meeting between

the Chinese and Indian Special Representative on Boundary Question was held in New Delhi, India. Chinese Special Representative, State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with his counterpart, Mr. Narayanan, India’s National Security Advisor. During his stay in India, State Councilor Dai also met with Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Indian Congress Party and Prime Minister Singh. In a friendly and candid atmosphere, the two Special Representatives had an in-depth exchange of views on resolving the boundary question. Both agreed to press ahead with the framework negotiations in accordance with the agreed political parameters and guiding principle so as to seek for a fair and reasonable solution acceptable to both. Prior to that, both should work together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. During the talks, the two sides exchanged in-depth views on the further development of China-India Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, as well as regional, international and global issues of mutual interest. The Chinese side pointed out that the Chinese Government and people value the strategic and cooperative partnership between China and India, the largest two developing nations with a combined population accounting for 40 percent of the world’s total. Friendly coexistence, mutual beneficial cooperation and shared progress between the two neighbours will contribute not only to the people of the two countries but also Asia and the whole world. China and India have no other option than living in peace and developing side by side. China stands firmly committed to working with India to press ahead with the bilateral ties. The Chinese side believes that both countries need

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to promote the relationship with a higher and strategic perspective and continue to uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China and India should endeavor to build the strategic mutual trust. Both need to expand the common interests and cooperation bilaterally and on regional and global affairs. Both should take concrete steps to enhance people-to-people and cultural interactions so as to nurture the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. For the questions left over from history,the two countries should work to seek for a fair and reasonable mutually acceptable solution through peaceful and friendly negotiations.

being manufactured at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF).

For the future development of the bilateral ties, the Chinese side made the following suggestions. The two countries need to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, well celebrate the 60th anniversary marking the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, especially the China Festival and India Festival in each other’s country in 2010. Both countries should strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic field and trade, fully tap the potential for cooperation and properly handle frictions and questions thereof and stand side by side against trade protectionism so as to ensure the sustained and healthy development of bilateral economic ties. The two neighbours should enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, those between the youth, academic institutions, media and localities in particular, and deepen defence cooperation and continue the defence and security talks. China and India should also intensify the coordination and cooperation on major international issues, especially the global efforts in response to world financial crisis, climate change, energy and food security so as to promote evolution of international system that is in favor of developing nations. The two sides also exchange views on the situation in South and Northeast Asia.

It is equipped with 125 mm smooth bore gun, 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun and 7.62 mm coaxial Machine gun supported with high accuracy sighting systems, and automatic loader for higher firing rate. The induction of the tanks is an important milestone for the Indian army and a step towards attaining self-sufficiency in its preparedness.

» The first batch of India’s indigenously built state-

of-the-art T-90 main battle tanks, named Bhishma, with features like protection from nuclear attack, were handed over to the army on August 24, 2009 at a function in Avadi, Tamil Nadu. The tanks are

HVF plans to produce 100 tanks per year. Indian army has already around 700 of these frontline tanks in service and contract has been signed for purchase of another 400 off the shelf. The tanks have features like capability to fire guided missile, in addition to the conventional ammunition, using the same main gun barrel and guided weapon system and ballistic computer facilities to ensure accurate firing of both conventional ammunition and guided missiles.

» A team comprising only lady officers of the Indian Army scaled the Siachen glacier on August 15, 2009, making it the first ladies team to have reached the highest battlefield in the world. Located in north-eastern J&K, Saichen glacier is totally snow- bound throughout the year and is one of the treacherous stretches of land with deep crevices and steep walls of ice.

The lady officers, led by Major Meghna Aktadikar, are from the corps of engineers. The expedition comprised the following officers: Major Neha Bhatnagar, Major Pradiya Kulkarni, Major Meghna R, Capt Shalini Datta, Capt Pushpa Kumari, Capt RP Parashar, Lt Namrata Rathore, Lt Girija Mohalkar, Lt Vijay Laxmi Thakur, Lt Garima Pal and Lt Neelam Rathore.

» Sixty- three-year-old social activist Deep Joshi

has been decorated with the 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as Asia’s Nobel Prize. He has been recognised for “his vision and leadership in bringing professionalism in the NGO move-

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ment in India”. He has been working to transform the lives of over a lakh families covering as many as 3,000 villages, many of them in Naxalite-affected areas. His activities are spread over the Naxalite-affected belt of Jharkhand, Bankura and Purulia regions of West Bengal and the Maoist-dominated Chhattisgarh and Orissa. Joshi founded in 1983 the Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), an NGO, along with one Vijay Mahajan. The NGO recruited university-educated youth from campuses across the country and groomed them for grass-root work through a rigorous year-long apprenticeship which combined formal training and guided practice in the field. Living and working directly with India’s poorest communities, PRADAN staff empowered village groups with technical, project implementation, and networking skills that increased both their income-generating capabilities and their actual family earnings. A Masters in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Masters in Management from the Sloan School, MIT, Joshi worked with the Systems Research Institute, the Ford Foundation and has nearly 30 years of experience in the field of rural development and livelihood promotion. He also advises the government on poverty alleviation strategies.

»

Yukio Hatoyama has been elected as the Prime Minister of Japan. He is a fourth-generation politician and grandson of a former Prime Minister and belongs to a rich family that founded tyre giant Bridgestone. He has a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University in the US and is married to a former musical actress who has also published several cook books. He was elected to the lower house for the first

time in 1986 on a LDP ticket. In 1993 he walked away from LDP and floated New Party Sakigake, which ousted LDP in elections later that year. The pro-reform coalition, however, fell after eight months over a funding scandal. In 1996-99, he helped found the Democratic Party of Japan and became its leader. In 200 he stepped down as DPJ leader over criticism of his plan for a merger with some opposition groups. In 2009 he again tookover the helm of DPJ and led it to victory. Mr Hatoyama wants to improve people’s lives through increased welfare spending. He is known less for economic policies than for his stance on security and diplomacy. He has advocated revising the pacifist constitution to acknowledge Japan’s right to defend itself and maintain a military for that purpose.

» The Mangala oil fields of Cairn India in Barmer,

Rajasthan were inaugurated by Prime minister Manmohan Singh on August 29, 2009. The fields will help India curtail its oil import bill, which is to the tune of $20 billion, to a large extent. Mangala’s peak production of 1.25 lakh barrels per day (bpd) will be reached in the first half of 2010. Along with two other fields—Bhagyam and Aishwarya—the aggregate peak production of Cairn India will be 1.75 lakh bpd, which is 20 per cent of India’s domestic production. The three fields are expected to save the country $1.5 billion annually as import bill over the next 10 years. It would also earn the government $30 billion through taxes, royalties and profit petroleum.

» Twenty-five years after it established Dakshin

Gangotri, the first permanent research station in the South Polar Region, India is all set to build the third such centre in Antarctica to take up cutting-edge research in various fields. The new station, tentatively named Bharti, is scheduled to be operational by 2012, making India a member of an elite group of nine nations that have multiple stations in the region. Argentina, Australia, Chile, China, France, Russia, the UK and US have multiple stations in Antarctica.

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Dakshin Gangotri, set up in 1984, was buried in ice and had to be abandoned in 1990, a year after India set up Maitri, the second station. The National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, will set up the new station on Larsmann Hill, 3,000 km from Schirmacher Oasis, where Maitri stands. While Maitri was more than 100 km from the Antarctic Sea, Bharti will be on a promontory by the sea. Bharti, like Maitri, will also conduct research on seismic activity, climate change and medicine. The station will be a compact structure of 30x50 metres, accommodating 25 scientists. While living in Antarctica, where temperatures range from -89 degrees Celsius in winter to -25 degrees Celsius in summer, can be tough, constructing a permanent structure is a huge challenge. Experiments in extreme cold climates, as in the polar region, have contributed immensely to scientific developments. India was admitted to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), an international body that coordinates scientific activities in the region, on October 1, 1984. India holds the vice-chairman’s post in the panel.

» The government has given its clearance for the

development of a communications satellite that would have a GPS-based navigation system. The approval came at the meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The design and development of GSAT-10 spacecraft would cost Rs 735 crore with a foreign exchange component of Rs 634 crore, the government said. The 3.3-tonne satellite, one of the heavier spacecrafts to be developed by space agency ISRO, will replace INSAT 2E and INSAT 3B, an official release said. The GSAT-10 satellite will have 12 high power Ku-band transponders, 12 C-band and 12 extended C-band India coverage transponders that would create additional capacity for direct-to-home like operations.

» India has completed the design of Chandrayaan-

2, its next mission to the moon—this time in collaboration with Russia—that would have a Lander and Rover which can collect samples of the lunar soil and analyse them and send back the data. The Chandrayaan-2 mission would have an orbital flight vehicle, constituting an Orbital Craft (OC) and a Lunar Craft (LC), which would carry a soft landing system up to Lunar Transfer Trajectory (LTT). The target location for the Lander-rover would be identified using data from instruments of Chandrayaan-1.While ISRO will be developing the orbiter, it will be Russia's job to make the Lander and Rover. Additional scientific payloads would be acquired from international scientific community.

»

The abrupt end of the moon mission Chandrayaan-I on August 29, 2009, has temporarily buried India’s dream of bettering China in the field of moon exploration. While the Indian mission was called off 10 months after it was launched and 14 months before its scheduled termination, the Chinese mission Chang’e 1 (launched on October 24, 2007), after having completed its original tenure of one year, was given a four months extension and was finally terminated on March 1, 2009. Importantly, Japan, the other Asian space faring nation, has also done well in the field of moon exploration. Kaguya, the Japanese probe launched on September 14, 2007, successfully orbited the moon for 20 months before it was made to crash on the lunar surface on June 10, 2009. Chandrayaan-I was launched on October 22, 2008. It had to be called off due to snapping of radio link.

»

India will host World Tiger Summit in 2010 where wildlife experts from various countries are expected to congregate to deliberate on conservation of diminishing striped cats in the wild.

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"Rajasthan will be hosting the World Tiger Summit at Ranthambore in October or November. About 200 experts from across the countries are to participate in the summit, including those from the world renowned organisation, Global Tiger Initiative. With over 44 royal big cats, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve will be showcased as a role model to delegates attending the summit being held for the first time in the country which is home to around 1,400 endangered species.

» Sonia Sotomayor is the first

Hispanic to be sworn-in as the US Supreme Court judge. She also became the first high court member to have her oath-taking made available to TV cameras.

» The Pakistan government has decided to confer

its highest civilian award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, posthumously on Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande for working towards peace, harmony and cordial relations between India and Pakistan. It is for the first time that services of any Indian woman to public life and her contribution to building amity in the region had been acknowledged by the Pakistan government.

»

Stefania Fernandez has won the Miss Universe pageant 2009. Miss Dominican Republic Ada Aimee De la Cruz was first runner-up and Miss Kosovo Gona Dragusha was second runner-up. The pageant was held at Nassau, Bahamas.

»

Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan’s most feared terrorist commander who established the Taliban as a force in huge swathes and unleashed attacks across the country, is killed in a US missile attack on the house he was hiding in on aug 7,2009.

»

C. Rangarajan has been appointed as the head of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council

(PMEAC). The other members of PMEAC are: M. Govinda Rao, V.S. Vyas, Suman Bery and Saumitra Chaudhari.

»

Dr V.K. Saraswat has been appointed as the Director-General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He will also be the new Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development, besides being the Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister.

» U.D. Choubey has taken over as Director Gen-

eral of Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), the apex body of public sector units.

» Just six months after the Indian Navy was given

charge of the country’s entire coastal security, it announced a revised maritime policy on August 28, 2009. The Navy will now have an even sharper focus on the neighbourhood of the country. This means securing the trade routes in the Indian Ocean region; extending the reach of the Navy to project India as a major force and also preventing Mumbai-style sea-borne invasions by terrorists. The 2009 edition of the Indian Maritime doctrine was released by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Suresh Mehta. The original doctrine was published in 2004 to provide a common understanding of universally applicable maritime concepts, not only for the forces but also for the public at large. This revision was needed on account of the rapidly changing geo-strategic environment and transformational changes in the maritime domain.

» As per a WHO study, India ranks 171 out of the

175 countries in the world in public health spending. This is less than some of the sub-Saharan African countries. For a country of one billion, India spends 5.2% of the GDP on healthcare. While 4.3% is spent by the private sector, the government continues to spend only 0.9% on public health. When the economic growth index is moving forward, the wellness index is dipping.

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While India ranks among the top 10 countries for communicable disease, it is, today, world leader of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease. One of the key findings of the commission was that by improving the health condition, the economy of the country will improve. But it has been reverse in India. There is growth in GDP but there has been no increase in healthcare spending. This inadequate public health spending has forced the public to depend on private sector. India’s health scenario currently presents a contrasting picture. While health tourism and private healthcare are being promoted, a large section of Indian population still reels under the risk of curable diseases that do not receive ample attention of policy-makers.

» Making the process of paying taxes simpler for

the common man has always been on top of the UPA’s agenda. This was amply demonstrated today with the government initiating radical tax reforms by releasing the direct tax draft code that aims to moderate tax rates and at the same time tries to make it easier for a layman to understand and calculate his tax liability.

» The Centre, West Bengal government and the

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) have agreed to scrap the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) and bring in its place an alternative administrative framework for the hill district to be finalised through mutual consultation and agreement. At a tripartite meeting of representatives of the Centre, led by Union home secretary G.K. Pillai, of West Bengal government led by chief secretary A.K. Chakrabarty and of GJM led by Anmole Prasad, it was decided that the DGHC Act, 1988 would be repealed and the proposal for establishment of a hill council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution be dropped. The press statement, however, makes no reference to the GJM’s central demand for a separate Gorkhaland: a pointer to such a drastic concession being almost ruled out. The alternative administrative framework to be worked out by the yet-to-be-named interlocutor for the Gorkha talks will have due constitutional status and will be supported by a full-fledged Act. It is also likely to be given more powers than DGHC. However, working out its terms is likely to be a long-drawn affair, and, in all probability, the new framework may come well after installation of the new government in West Bengal.

The reform of the tax regime introduced in 1961 is based on the objective of having a tax system that is simpler, fairer, and easy to administer. The specific objectives of the measures are to improve the responsiveness of the tax system, that is, to enhance the automaticity in the increase in tax revenues with increases in economic activity; improve tax administration by simplifying the tax system; and, lastly, promote tax compliance objective as to reduce the scope for disputes and minimize litigation.

» In a major success in its ‘Look East' policy, In-

The goal of the new tax code is to consolidate and amend all direct taxes and simplify language to ensure that the law can be reflected in the return form. The aim is also to reduce scope for litigation and provide flexibility in accommodating changes without need for frequent amendments.

The agreement was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Economic Ministers of ASEAN in Bangkok. Considered as a major breakthrough, the pact comes after six years of intense negotiations. The FTA would bring down tariffs on electronics, chemicals, machinery and textile goods.

dia, on August 13, 2009, signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) bloc that would eventually eliminate duty on 80% of the goods traded at present by 2016. The two sides have set an ambitious target of achieving an increase of $10 billion worth of trade in the first year after the agreement comes into force from January 2010. India's current bilateral trade with the ASEAN bloc is worth $40 billion.

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However, talks on software and information technology services have been postponed for December 2009. This is one area where Indian exporters of services could have brought in good business and also offset setbacks received in the European and US markets during the downturn. Of the total $936 billion worth of ASEANn imports, services import account for $180 billion which is the primary focus of Indian industry. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Lobbying from the domestic industry has led to India excluding 489 items from the list of tariff concessions and 590 items from the list of tariff elimination to address sensitivities in agriculture, textiles, auto, chemicals, crude and refined palm oil, coffee, tea, pepper, etc.

»

Defence Minister A.K. Antony went on a three-day official visit to Maldives from August 20, 2009. He led a high-level delegation comprising Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar; DG, Armed Forces Medical Services, Lt Gen N.K. Parmar; DG, Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Anil Chopra and Deputy Chief of Navy Staff Vice Admiral D.K. Joshi. During his visit, Mr Antony held bilateral discussions with his counterpart Ameen Faisal on ways of expanding defence cooperation between the two countries. He also attended the closing session of the India-Maldives Friendship function, besides paying a visit to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, the most visible symbol of IndoMaldives cooperation and friendship.

» Amid an uncertain political situation back home,

Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr Madhav Nepal arrived in New Delhi on August 7, 2009 on a fiveday visit to India—his first to the country since he assumed office nearly three months ago.

Several important bilateral issues, including the proposed revision of the friendship and trade treaties and the finalisation of a revised extradition treaty figured prominently in the discussions between the two sides. Besides meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Nepalese Prime Minister also meet President Pratibha Patil, UPA chief Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh extended India’s full support to the peace process in Nepal and also discussed the broad contours of a proposed revised trade treaty between the two countries. The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting lasting about an hour during which they discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations as well as international issues. Intensifying economic partnership between the two countries remained at the centre of the discussions with the focus on investment in hydro power sector. The issue of the misuse of Nepal's territory by anti-Indian forces also came up during the talks. Nepalese Prime Minister also addressed captains of the Indian industry, inviting them to invest liberally in the Himalayan Nation in various sectors. He assured them of conducive atmosphere for industrial growth. The visiting dignitary identified hydro power, roads, bridges, infrastructure construction, tourism, agro-processing and financial services as potential areas of investment. Political events in Nepal since May this year had shaken the confidence of Indian entrepreneurs after attacks by militant trade unions on a few firms, including a well-known fast moving consumer goods firm. With India-Nepal trade expected to touch Rs 15,000 crore ($3 billion) in 2009-10, the commerce ministers of the two countries discussed the proposed revised treaty to widen the scope of bilateral trade.

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Section -3 (Current Affairs)

» On August 4, 2009, India and Singapore signed a joint action plan on tourism cooperation. Minister of Tourism Kumari Selja and Singapore Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education S. Iswaran witnessed the signing by tourism officials of India and Singapore. The plan reiterates provisions of cooperation enshrined in the bilateral agreement on tourism signed between India and Singapore on January 24, 1994. India and South Korea have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement which will make Korean consumer products and auto parts cheaper in India. The deal excludes fully built-up vehicles and provides for easier movement of contractual service providers and professionals between the two countries and treatment of investments from one another’s country on a par with domestic investments. This is the second CEPA signed by India, the other being with Singapore. This is also India’s first bilateral trade agreement with an OECD country. As per the agreement, South Korea will eliminate duties on 93% of its industrial and agricultural products and India will do the same on 85% of its goods. India has excluded sensitive items such as farm products, textile items and built-up automobiles from tariff elimination commitments. Duties will be phased out on most products in the next eight years.

»

Japanese voters swept the opposition to a historic victory in an election on August 30, 2009, ousting the ruling conservative party and handing the untested Democrats the job of breathing life into a struggling economy. The win by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ended a half-century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and breaks a deadlock in Parliament, ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats. Democratic Party leader Hatoyama, grandson of

a former Prime Minister, will take over as the new Prime Minister. The ruling party loss ended a three-way partnership between the LDP, big business and bureaucrats that turned Japan into an economic powerhouse after the country’s defeat in World War II. That strategy foundered when Japan’s “bubble” economy burst in the late 1980s and growth has stagnated since. The Democrats will have to move fast to keep support among voters worried about a record jobless rate and a rapidly ageing society that is inflating social security costs. The Democrats have pledged to refocus spending on households with child allowances and aid for farmers while taking control of policy from bureaucrats. The Democrats also want to forge a diplomatic stance more independent of the United States, raising concerns about possible friction in the alliance.

»

Lt Gen Chhatraman Singh Gurung, who received training at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, was appointed to head the Nepal Army on August 9, 2009, after his controversial predecessor General Rukmangad Katawal went on a month-long leave ahead of his retirement in September. Gurung is the first from the rank of commoners to head the army, which has been led by the country’s elite and the aristocracy. The change of guard at the helm of 95,000-strong Nepal Army came amid a continued blockade of Parliament by the Maoists demanding Katawal’s removal. The Maoists, whose eight-month-old government fell in May 2009 after the reinstatement of Katawal, had sought his dismissal and a debate in Parliament on the issue of “civilian supremacy” in the country.

» The world has earmarked a staggering $11.9 tril-

lion to wriggle out of the financial crisis, the sum which is enough to finance a $1,779 handout for every person living on the planet, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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Section -3 (Current Affairs)

Most of the cash has been handed over by developed countries, for whom the bill has been $10.2 trillion, while developing countries have spent only $1.7 trillion the majority of which is in central bank liquidity support for their stuttering financial sectors. The whopping total cost of crisis is equivalent to around a fifth of the entire globe's annual economic output and includes capital injections pumped into banks in order to prevent them from collapse, the cost of soaking up so-called toxic assets, guarantees over debt and liquidity support from central banks.

» India and China have agreed to jointly fight any attempt by Western nations to link trade with climate change and impose trade-related penalties on developing countries that fail to meet environmental standards.

India and China have agreed to coordinate their views on different aspects of climate change before every major international meeting on the subject. These are expected to be spelt out in form of an agreement. Both countries want to negotiate with West for higher levels of financial assistance and technology transfer in return for promises to do their best to tackle environmental problems. But they would not agree to any legal binding on reducing emission norms because it would come in the way of their development goals. India and China will also not agree to the creation of any trade barriers on the excuse of climate change. India has also suggested China to consider reducing carbon dioxide levels in power plants supplied by it to India. This would be part of the mitigation activities that the two countries expect to carry out jointly. In a first, China has surpassed US to become Japan's largest trading partner. The move is expected to have a softening effect on China-Japan disputes over an island and have wide implications in Asian region including India. Japan's trade with the US accounted for just 13.7% of its total world trade in the January-June period. Its trade with China accounted for 20.4% of the total trade volume giv-

ing Beijing tremendous clout over its neighbour's economy. South Korea, another neighbour, accounted for 6.1%.

»

The Solar Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change has got an in-principle nod from the Prime Minister with an ambitious target of 20,000 MW solar power by 2020 being accepted.

» Australia has decided to provide more than 80

lakh dollars to set up Australia India Institute in Melbourne. A joint project of the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales, the new Institute will help Australians to know and understand India better.

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Section -4 (SPORTS)

Sports »

Indian Billiards prodigy Pankaj Advani eased through defending champion Mark Russel to win the World Professional Billiards Championship2009 September 6, 2009. Advani won 2030-1253 against defending champion Mark Russel. With this win, Advani has now become only the second Indian to claim the World Professional Billiards Championship title in 139 years of its history. Indian legend Geet Sethi earlier won the title back in 1992.

»

Advani was awarded with the prestigious Padma Shri in 2009, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2006, the Rajyotsava Award in 2007, Vision of India's "International Indian" Award in 2005, Senior Sportsperson of the Year 2005, the Sports Writers' Association of Bangalore's, the Bangalore University ' Sportsperson of the Year in 2005, the Hero India Sports Award (HISA) in 2004, the Rajeev Gandhi Award in 2004, the Arjuna Award in 2004, the Indo-American Young Achiever's Award - 2003, and the Sports Star Sportsperson of the Year 2003.

» The 12th IAAF World Championships in Ath-

letics were held in Berlin, Germany from Auguast 15–23, 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate. United States, with 10 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze medals, topped the medals tally, followed by Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Poland and Germany.

»

Sprint king Usain Bolt proved lightning does strike twice as he smashed his own 100m world record, exactly one year after setting the previous benchmark at the Beijing Olympics. Bolt took 33 strides down the track at Berlin’s Olympic Sta-

dium and sliced the largest chunk off the world record since electronic timing was introduced. Bolt pushed himself and the result was a stunning time of 9.58 seconds in the men's 100-metre final: eleven-hundredths of a second better than his game-changing mark of 9.69 in Beijing. His world record performance was all the more remarkable as the 22-year-old was involved in a car crash in Jamaica in April 2008 when his car overturned in a ditch off a highway. Bolt had a small operation on his left foot, but his lightning strides showed nothing to be wrong with his feet. Jamaica’s sprinting dominance continued in sizzling style when Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser clocked 10.73 seconds to win the women’s world 100 metres. Now, only Florence Griffith-Joyner and Marion Jones remain among those who have run faster than Fraser. Usain Bolt also shattered his own 200 metres world record to win gold at the world championships in a breathtaking 19.19 seconds and secure his place as the greatest sprinter ever seen.

»

Olympic champion Lin Dan has become the first badminton player to clinch a hattrick of world titles, beating fellow Chinese Chen Jin in straight games to win the men's singles title of this mega event held at the Gachibowli stadium, Hyderabad. Lin had won the earlier World Championship in 2006 and 2007, apart from winning four All-England titles in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. In all-Chinese women’s singles final Lu Lan beat Xie Xingfang in straight sets to win the world title.

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Section -4 (SPORTS)

Danish mixed pair Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl thrashed the two times World Champions from Indonesia, Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir to win the mixed-doubles title. The Chinese pair of Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun defeated Koreans Lee Young Dae and Jung Jae Sunge to win the men’s doubles title. China’s Zhao Tingting and Zhang Yawen won the women’s doubles final against Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei, also of China.

» V. Diju overcame a back strain and Jwala Gutta

battled a stiff left (playing) arm to create history by becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold. The third-seeded Indians pulled off a stunning 24-22, 21-18 win over Indonesians Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa in the final of the Chinese Taipei Gold Grand Prix and walked home with $11,560 as prize money.

»

Vijender Singh has been ranked second in the 75 kg category by the International Boxing Association. Akhil Kumar (57 kg) and Jitender (51 kg) are placed 9th and 13th in their respective categories. In the 48 kg category, Thokchom Nanao Singh is at fifth spot.

»

England regained the Ashes with a sweeping 197-run victory over Australia in the fifth test at the Oval, despite a battling century from Michael Hussey which threatened to take the game into a fifth day. Australia, who needed at least a draw to retain the Ashes they won back by crushing England 50 in 2006-7, were dismissed for 348 in their second innings after being set a record 546 for victory. The series was tied 1-1 after Australia won the fourth test at Headingley within three days.

Earlier, Australia had batted with grim determination through the final day to earn a draw in the third Ashes Test against England. Centurion Michael Clarke and Marcus North shared a partnership of 185 and Shane Watson and Michael Hussey also made patient half-centuries in a total of 375 for five which ensured they would go into the fourth test only 1-0 down in the series. Australia completed a crushing victory over England in the fourth test to level the Ashes series at 1-1. The touring side ended England’s entertaining lower order resistance 20 minutes after lunch on the third day, Mitchell Johnson bowling Graham Onions to dismiss the hosts for 263 and seal victory by an innings and 80 runs.

»

An illness-depleted New Zealand were bamboozled in the face of pace and spin as Sri Lanka cruised to a 202-run victory in the first Test to lead the two-match series. The Kiwis, set an improbable target of 413 runs, collapsed to 210 all out in their second innings before tea on the fifth and final day at the Galle International Stadium.

»

Sri Lanka clinched second spot behind South Africa in the official rankings as they swept aside New Zealand by 96 runs in the final cricket Test to sweep the series 2-0. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed five wickets as the Kiwis, set an improbable victory target of 494 runs, were bowled out for 397 in their second innings just before tea on the fifth day.

»

Teenager Umar Akmal smashed an unbeaten 102 off 72 balls as Pakistan won the fourth one-dayer by 146 runs to record their first win on a dismal tour of Sri Lanka. Umar's maiden international century and a dogged 89 from skipper Younus Khan lifted Pakistan to 321-5 after the tourists elected to bat in the day-night match at the Premadasa stadium.

»

Pakistan clinched a 52-run victory over Sri Lanka in a one-off Twenty20 international to fin-

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Section -4 (SPORTS)

ish their losing tour on a high on Wednesday. Pakistan, who lost the test series 2-0 and the oneday series 3-2, dominated the match with skipper Shahid Afridi guiding his team to a competitive 172 for five in 20 overs.

» Bangladesh raced to a five-wicket defeat of Zim-

babwe in the fifth match to win the series 4-1. Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry equalled the highest individual One-day International score, but it also became the highest ODI score in a losing cause. Coventry’s big-hitting party was gatecrashed by Tamim Iqbal, who helped Bangladesh wrap up the five-match series. Coventry blasted an unbeaten 194 to equal former Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar’s 12-year record as Zimbabwe piled up 312-8 in their 50 overs. But Bangladesh opener Tamim then hit his country’s highest individual score of 154 as the tourists took victory with 13 balls to spare.

»

Subrata Paul was hero and saviour rolled into one for India. The mercurial goalkeeper made three brilliant saves in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout as India overcame a strong Syria 6-5 to retain the ONGC Nehru Cup. The tournament was held at New Delhi.

»

Tiger Woods cruised to a bogey free, final round three-under 69 and a three shot victory to lift the Buick Open title for a third and possibly final time. The troubled Detroit auto-maker is expected to pull out its sponsorship which will lead to the tournament disappearing from the PGA Tour calendar in 2010.

»

Tiger Woods created history on the par-70 greens of Firestone Country Club clinching the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational for a record seventh time at Akron in Ohio (USA). India’s Jeev Milkha Singh tumbled down the ladder playing his worst card of the event (six over 76) to finish tied 64.

»

Y.E. Yang, a 37-yearold South Korean who was in PGA Tour qualifying school nine months ago, has become the first Asian-born player to capture a major title. Even more memorable was that he beat Tiger Woods to win the title.

»

After 29 false starts, the Vijay Mallya-owned Force India finally nixed the hoodoo and scored their maiden Formula One points with Giancarlo Fisichella finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Italian driver, rumoured to have one foot in Ferrari, shunned extravagance to run a flawless race and trailed Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari, which had snatched the lead using the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, all the way for a podium finish and earns eight valuable points. The Italian finished less than a second behind Raikkonen.

»

Juan Martin del Potro ended Roger Federer’s run of dominance at the U.S. Open on Sep 14, 2009 stunning the top-ranked Swiss great in five sets to win in his first Grand Slam final. The 20-year-old Argentine prevailed 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 to snap Federer’s streak of five straight U.S. Open titles. The sixth-seeded del Potro had not beaten Federer in their six previous encounters.

»

Federer had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He was seeking to become the first man since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win the American championship six straight times and the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three straight Majors in a season. He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall

»

Del Potro is the first man from Argentina to win the U.S. Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

» The 26-year-old Belgian Kim Clijsters won the

US Open Singles title for women, beating Caroline

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Section -4 (SPORTS)

Wozniacki in the final on September 13, 2009. Clijsters won in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. She had earlier beaten Venus Williams and Serena Williams in the quarterfinal and semifinal. This is Kim's second Grand Slam title, as she had won the US Open in 2005.Kim Clijsters also became the second mom to win a Grand Slam title. Earlier, Evonne Goolagong Cawley had won Wimbledon in 1980. Kim made a comeback into tennis world after a two-year retirement. She was an wild-card entry at the US Open and was unseeded. She also became the first US Open women’s champion from outside the top 10.

the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Sania Mirza at the start of the season.

»

Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles continued their rampaging form to lift their fourth ATP title together, beating seventh seeds Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram in straight sets in the finals of $ three million Rogers Cup. The third seeds won 6-4, 6-3 to clinch their first title at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament.

» Fourth seeded US tennis players, Serena Will-

iams and Venus Williams, took over top seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the United States in straight sets of 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the women’s doubles title at US Open on 200909-14.This win will be the 10th Grand Slam doubles crown for the Williams sister with the prize money of 420,000 dollars. This is the third Grand Slam for Williams sister this year, after the clinched the crowns at Wimbledon and Australian Open. The Williams sisters had clinched the US Open title back in 1999.

» Leander Paes clinched his 10th Grand Slam title

after winning his sensational battle against estranged friend Mahesh Bhupathi in the US Open men’s doubles final. Fourth seeds Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy scripted a thrilling 3-6 6-3 6-2 win over third seeds Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahamas in the championship match on September 13, 2009. This is for the first time that Paes and Bhupathi faced each other in the title clash of a Grand Slam.

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» For Paes it is his fifth men’s doubles Grand Slam

crown, second with Dlouhy and 41st overall in his career. It was also second title of the year for the seasoned Paes, who won French Open in June along with Dlouhy. The defeat for Bhupathi means that he has not won a men’s doubles Grand Slam crown in seven years. Interestingly, his last victory came at the US Open only when he triumphed with Max Mirnyi in 2002. He had won Copyright © 2009 | WWW.UPSCPORTAL.COM

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Section -5 (AWARDS)

AWARDS » Major Amit Oscar Fernandes of Maratha Light

Infantry, Major Deepak Tewari of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers, Naik Rishikesh Gurjar of Rajput Regiment have been awarded Kirti Chakra for exceptional gallantry shown during anti-insurgency operations in J&K, along with paratrooper Shabir Ahmad Malik of 1 Para Regiment, who laid down his life in gun-battle in Kupwara.

»

Indian sanitation expert Bindeshwar Pathak has been awarded the Stockholm Water Prize, 2009, the most prestigious award for outstanding achievement in water-related activities. The founder of Sulabh Sanitation Movement in India, Pathak is known around the world for his wide-ranging work in the sanitation field. He has worked to improve public health, has advanced social progress, and has improved human rights in his home nation and other countries.

»

The Stockholm Water Prize, which was first presented in 1991, includes a $150,000 award and a crystal sculpture. It honours individuals, institutions or organisations whose work contributes broadly to the conservation and protection of water resources and improves the health of the planet's inhabitants and ecosystems.

» The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay

Award Foundation (RMAF) has selected six individuals from Burma, China, India, the Philippines, and Thailand to receive Asia’s premier prize. The Awardees are:» Krisana Kraisintu, from Thailand. She is being recognized for “her placing pharmaceutical rigor at the service of patients, through her untiring and fearless dedication to producing much-needed generic drugs in Thailand and elsewhere in the developing world.”

» Deep Joshi, from India. He is being recognized

for “his vision and leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India, by effectively combining ‘head’ and ‘heart’ in the transformative development of rural communities.” Yu Xiaogang, from China. He is being recognized for “his fusing the knowledge and tools of social science with a deep sense of social justice, in assisting dam-affected communities in China to shape the development projects that impact their natural environment and their lives.”

» Antonio Oposa, Jr., from the Phil-

ippines. He is being recognized for “his path-breaking and passionate crusade to engage Filipinos in acts of enlightened citizenship that maximize the power of law to protect and nurture the environment for themselves, their children, and generations still to come.”

» Ma Jun, from China. He is being recognized for

“his harnessing the technology and power of information to address China's water crisis, and mobilizing pragmatic, multi-sectoral, and collaborative efforts to ensure sustainable benefits for China's environment and society.”

» Ka Hsaw Wa, from Burma. He is being recognized for “his dauntlessly pursuing non violent yet effective channels of redress, exposure, and education for the defence of human rights, the environment, and democracy in Burma.”

» The RMAF confers the award annually for those

in Asia, who have achieved excellence in six categories, viz government service; public service; community leadership; journalism, literature and creative communication, arts; peace and international understanding; and emergent leadership. Actually, there were only the first five categories in the beginning and only from 2000 the category

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Section -5 (AWARDS)

of emergent leadership was added using a grant received from the Ford Foundation.

»

Major Mohit Sharma, who laid down his life fighting militants infiltrating from Pakistan into J&K in March 2009, has been awarded with Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award of the country, along with Major D. Sreeram Kumar. Major Sharma of Ghaziabad belonged to the Elite 1 Para special forces of the Army. He was deputed to Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir. He along with four others was killed while fighting terrorists in the Hafruda forest of Kupwara district. This was one of the biggest attempts to infiltrate by militants even before the snow in the high mountain passes had melted. The militants were heavily armed and it led to a fierce gun-battle. Four terrorists were killed, two of them by Major Sharma despite being fatally injured.

» Major D. Sreeram Kumar of Artillery regiment

is presently serving in Assam Rifles. He was awarded in recognition of his service in the Operation Hifazat in Manipur. He eliminated 12 and apprehended 23 terrorists and recovered 12 weapons. He has also created a vibrant intelligence network.

»

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Eminent Sanskrit poet Satya Vrat Shastri has been presented the prestigious 42nd Jnanpith Award. The award was conferred to him by the Princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, for his “outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature.” He is the first Sanskrit poet to be conferred the award since its inception.

» The award recognises Dr. Shastri for introduc-

ing a number of new genres in Sanskrit writing such as autobiography, diary and collections of letters in verse. His magnum opus, “The Ramayana: A Linguistic Study”, is the first ever linguistic appraisal of the Valmiki Ramayana and also of any existing Sanskrit work.

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Section -6 (IAS Mains Special : Science And Technology)

Science & Technology International Year of Astronomy 2009 UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) launched 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy under the theme "The Universe, Yours to Discover". The IYA2009 is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with events at national, regional and global levels throughout the whole of 2009. Now, halfway through 2009, much has been achieved and even more can be expected in the future. Objectives: The Galileoscope project headlines the IYA2009. With the aim of providing low-cost telescopes that offer views far better than those obtained by Galileo Galilei some 400 years ago, the venture has picked up significant pace since the IYA2009 began. By the end of July, the first 60 000 Galileoscopes have been shipped, and a further 100 000 are currently in production. More than 4000 Galileoscopes have been generously donated by the IYA 2009 and individuals to organisations and schools in developing countries. This gesture aptly demonstrates the commitment of astronomy enthusiasts to the IYA2009 goal of making the skies accessible to all. But perhaps the most impressive figures for the IYA2009 have come from the national activities that have brought together hundreds of thousands of people in many countries for astronomy-themed events. For example, more than 400 000 people gathered for the Sunrise Event on New Year’s Day in Busan City, South Korea.

IAU (International Astronomical Organisation) The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together almost 10 000 distinguished astronomers from all nations of the world. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world’s largest professional body for astronomers.

SCOSTA (OS Standard for Smartcards) In order to standardise and secure the data for identity and related applications, Govt. of India is deploying the smart card technology in various applications such as Indian Driving Licences, Vehicle Registration Certificates, National Identity, Electronic Passports etc. The first major application of this standard is the e-Passport that was launched in India on June 25, 2008. The SCOSTACL standard is upward compatible to old SCOSTA standard. Smart cards are secured electronic devices that are used for keeping data and other information in a way that only "authorized" users are permitted to see or write the data. A technical Sub-committee was set up to draw operating system specifications for the smart card based Indian Driving Licences (DL) and Vehicle Registration Certificates (RC) on in June 2001. The SCOSTA specifications were defined primarily by IIT Kanpur alongwith this committee. The SCOSTA specification is largely compliant with the international ISO 7816 standard (parts 4 to 9) for smart cards. Subsequently, the standards were

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Section -6 (IAS Mains Special : Science And Technology)

enhanced to support secure messaging, which is necessary in many applications involving contactless communications. The enhanced standard (SCOSTA-CL) was defined by IIT Kanpur and was released to public in July 2006. SCOSTA can be implemented on any microprocessor based smart card. The applicatons specify the memory requirement for the card. Usually, 4KB permanent storage (EEPROM) on the microprocessor is sufficient for DL and RC applications, 16KB for the national ID and 64KB for the e-Passport. The use of any other media (such as optical stripes) for additional data storage is not prescribed by these application specifications. Objectives: The SCOSTA project was initiated with the following principal objectives.

Standardization of Information The card layout, data fields and other relevant information stored on the card and the back-end have been standardized to ensure that information on all cards (issued wherever in India) is uniform and can be read and written all over India. Inter-operability Since the Indian applications are to be deployed nationwide, it is essential for the standards to be interoperable and therefore, SCOSTA specifications deal fully with this aspect. All noninteroperable features are discouraged and are therefore non-compliant and do not form part of SCOSTA specifications

plication data stored in the card. SCOSTA supports both password based and key based authentication of users. Additionally, the SCOSTA-CL also supports the secure messaging and session keys for communication between the reader and the card. The application specifications include secure key management systems that ensure that only officials authorized to change the card data can do so and that it is not possible to create forged identity.

Common Services Centre (CSC) The Government has approved a Common Services Centres (CSCs) Scheme for providing support for establishing 100,000 Common Services Centers in 600,000 villages of India. The Scheme, as approved by the Government of India, envisions CSCs as the front-end delivery points for Government, private and social sector services to rural citizens of India, in an integrated manner.

Objective & Implementation The objective is to develop a platform that can enable Government, private and social sector organizations to align their social and commercial goals for the benefit of the rural population in the remotest corners of the country through a combination of IT-based as well as non-IT-based services.

Keeping in view the need for future up-gradation, multi vendor support and the critical requirement of the specifications and product to be non-proprietary, it is essential to have the operating system specification to be open and standard. Security and Integrity of Data

The Scheme has been approved at a total cost of Rs 5742 Cr. over 4 years, of which the Government of India is estimated to contribute Rs 856 Cr. and the State Governments Rs 793 Cr. The balance resources would be mobilized from the private sector. The Common Services Centres would be designed as ICT-enabled Kiosks having a PC along with basic support equipment like Printer, Scanner, UPS, with Wireless Connectivity as the backbone and additional equipment for edutainment, telemedicine, projection systems, etc., as the case may be.

A microprocessor based smart card can ensure that only authorized persons can read or write the ap-

The Scheme is to be implemented through a Public Private Partnership. CSCs are the primary

Multi Vendor Support / Non-Proprietary

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physical front-end for delivery of Government and private services to citizens. They are one of the three pillars of the core and support infrastructure of the National e Governance Plan for enabling anytime anywhere delivery of government services, the other two being (a) the State Wide Area Network (for Connectivity) which has already been approved by the Government for Rs 3334 Cr. and (b) the State Data Centre Scheme (for secure hosting of data and applications) for which the draft guidelines are under preparation. Implementation of a mission-oriented project of this size and scope would pose significant challenges of project management at the national level as also in exploiting opportunities to achieve significant economies of scale in the identification, customization and implementation of the physical and digital infrastructure required for the project. Further, many of the potential citizencentric services would lend themselves to aggregation at the national level. To serve the above objectives and to enable the State-specific implementation plans to benefit from such economies of scale, aggregation of best practices, content providers, etc. DIT has appointed a National Level Service Agency (NLSA) with defined Terms of Reference to coordinate the entire activity. The CSC Scheme has a 3-tier implementation framework:

» At the first (CSC) level would be the local Vil-

lage Level Entrepreneur (VLE- loosely analogous to a franchisee), to service the rural consumer in a cluster of 5-6 villages.

» At the second/middle level would be an entity

termed the Service Centre Agency (SCA loosely analogous to a franchiser) to operate, manage and build the VLE network and business. An SCA would be identified for one or more districts (one district would cover 100-200 CSCs).

»

At the third level would be the agency designated by the State- the State Designated Agency (SDA) - to facilitate implementation of the Scheme within the State and to provide requisite policy, content and other support to the SCAs.

State Wide Area Networks (SWAN) The SWAN Scheme for 29 States & 6 Union Territories, at an estimated outlay of Rs. 3334 Crores, was approved by Govt. of India, in March 2005 to set up State Wide Area Networks (SWAN), interconnecting each State / UT Head Quarter with District Head Quarter and below each District Head Quarter with the Block Head Quarters with minimum 2 Mbps leased line. The objective of the Scheme is to create a secure close user group (CUG) government network for the purpose of delivering G2G and G2C services. The duration of project is 5 years with a pre-project implementation period of 18 months. The project is being implemented as a Central Sector Scheme with Rs. 2005 Crores as Grant-in-aid from Department of Information Technology and balance fund from the State Plan fund under Additional Central Assistance (ACA) allocation.

Nano Mission Nano Technology is a knowledge-intensive and "enabling technology" which is expected to influence a wide range of products and processes with far-reaching implications for national economy and development. The Government of India, in May 2007, has approved the launch of a Mission on Nano Science and Technology (Nano Mission) with an allocation of Rs. 1000 crore for 5 years.

Nodal Agency The Department of Science and Technology is the nodal agency for implementing the Nano Mission. Capacity-building in this upcoming area of research will be of utmost importance for the Nano Mission so that India emerges as a global knowledge-hub in this field. For this, research on fundamental aspects of Nano Science and training of large number of manpower will receive prime attention. Equally importantly, the Nano Mission will strive for development of products and processes for national development, especially in areas of national relevance like safe drinking water,

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materials development, sensors development, drug delivery, etc. For this, it will forge linkages between educational and research institutions and industry and promote Public Private Partnerships. The Nano Mission has been structured in a fashion so as to achieve synergy between the national research efforts of various agencies in Nano Science and Technology and launch new programmes in a concerted fashion. International collaborative research efforts will also be made wherever required. The Nano Mission is an umbrella programme for capacity building which envisages the overall development of this field of research in the country and to tap some of its applied potential for nation’s development. In brief, the objectives of the Nano-Mission are: Objectives: Basic Research Promotion: Funding of basic research by individual scientists and/or groups of scientists and creation of centres of excellence for pursuing studies leading to fundamental understanding of matter that enables control and manipulation at the nanoscale. Infrastructure Development for Nano Science & Technology Research: Investigations on the nano scale require expensive equipments like Optical Tweezer, Nano Indentor, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (MALDI TOF MS), Microarray Spotter & Scanner etc. For optimal use of expensive and sophisticated facilities, it is proposed to establish a chain of shared facilities across the country. Nano Applications and Technology Development Programmes: To catalyze Applications and Technology Development Programmes leading to products and devices, the Mission proposes to promote application-oriented R&D Projects, estabsish Nano Applications and Technology Development Centres, Nano-Technology Business Incubators etc. Special effort will be made to involve the industrial sector into nanotechnology R&D directly or through Public Private Partnership (PPP) ventures.

Human Resource Development: The Mission shall focus on providing effective education and training to researchers and professionals in diversified fields so that a genuine interdisciplinary culture for nanoscale science, engineering and technology can emerge. It is planned to launch M.Sc./ M.Tech. programmes, create national and overseas post-doctoral fellowships, chairs in universities, etc. International Collaborations: Apart from exploratory visits of scientists, organization of joint workshops and conferences and joint research projects, it is also planned to facilitate access to sophisticated research facilities abroad, establish joint centres of excellence and forge academia-industry partnerships at the international level wherever required and desirable.

Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the engineering of tiny machines, the projected ability to build things from the bottom up inside personal nanofactories (PNs), using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, highly advanced products. Ultimately, nanotechnology will enable control of matter at the nanometer scale, using mechanochemistry. Shortly after this envisioned molecular machinery is created, it will result in a manufacturing revolution, probably causing severe disruption. It also has serious economic, social, environmental, and military implications. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, roughly the width of three or four atoms. The average human hair is about 25,000 nanometers wide. Integrated Guided Missile Development Program The Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) was an Indian Ministry of Defence program for the development of a comprehensive range of missiles, including the intermediate range Agni missile (Surface to Surface), and short range missiles such as the Prithvi ballistic missile (Surface to Surface), Akash missile (Surface to Air), Trishul missile (Surface to Air) and Nag Missile (Anti Tank). The program was headed by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO),

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with former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, being one of the chief engineers involved in the project. The project was started in early 1980s and resulted in the development of several key strategic missiles. The last major missile developed under the program was Agni 3 intermediate-range ballistic missile which was successfully tested on 9 July 2007. On 8 January 2008, and the third test on 7 May 2008, the DRDO announced that it will be closing the missile program formally since most of the missiles in the program are developed and inducted into Indian armed forces. According to statement by Dr. S Pralhada, head controller of DRDO, new missile and weapons systems will be developed within a five-year time frame at low costs, with foreign partners and private industries. DRDO has independently carried out further development work on Nag and Surya missile. In 2008, India noted that the strategic integrated guided missile program was completed with its design objectives achieved. Follow on strategic projects are being either pursued singly (e.g. Agni project) whereas tactical systems could involve joint ventures with even foreign partners. In September 2008 Indian scientists developed a path-breaking technology that has the potential to increase the range of missiles and satellite launch vehicles by at least 40%.The enhanced range is made possible by adding a special-purpose coating of chromium metal to the blunt nose cone of missiles and launch vehicles. This would add-up on the stated range. India’s top missile scientist (Dr VK Saraswat), revealed for the first time that the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was likely to close down on 31 December 2008.

Development In the twentieth century, the government of independent India embarked on a number of plans to develop missiles which would strengthen India’s defences. In 1958, the government constituted the

Special Weapons Development Team which would later become the Defence Research and Development Laboratories (DRDL), to undertake the development of first-generation anti-tank missiles. In the 1970s, the Indian government decided to manufacture anti-tank missiles under license from France. At the same time, DRDL was entrusted with two other projects: Project Valiant, which involved the development of a longrange ballistic missile; and Project devil, which was aimed at reverse engineering the Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile. Both projects were terminated prematurely; Project Valiant was terminated in 1974 and Project Devil met the same fate in 1980. However, by this time, DRDL had developed some infrastructure and facilities to undertake the design and development of missiles. In 1983, under the experience and leadership of Dr. Abdul Kalam, who had previously been the project director for the SLV-3 programme at ISRO, the Indian government revived the missile program as an Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). As part of this program, the Interim Test Range at Balasore in Orissa was developed for missile testing. India on Tuesday 07, 2008 announced the scrapping of the strategic integrated guided missile programme, and said the development and production of most of futuristic weapons systems would henceforth be taken up with foreign help. The main aim of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program was to develop, a missile in five different categories simultaneously, namely: a short-range surface-to-air missile (codenamed Trishul), a medium-range surface-toair missile (codenamed Akash), a third-generation anti-tank guided missile (codenamed Nag), a shortrange surface-to-surface missile (codenamed Prithvi), and an intermediate-range surface-tosurface missile (codenamed Agni). There were a number of failures and successes, which led to an expansion of the program in the 1990s, to develop the long range Agni missile, a ballistic missile (codenamed Sagarika), which

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would be the naval version of the Prithvi, and an inter-continental-ballistic-missile (codenamed Surya) with a range of 8,000-12,000 km. In 1998, the Government of India, signed an agreement with Russia to design, develop, manufacture and market a Supersonic Cruise Missile System which has been successfully accomplished by 2006. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world’s fastest cruise missile and is about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. BAPL is contemplating a hypersonic Mach 8 version of the missile, named as the BrahMos II. BrahMos II will be the first hypersonic cruise missile and is expected to be ready by 2012-13. The laboratory testing of the missile has started.(codenamed BrahMos).

AWACS Aircraft AWACS aircraft was inducted into Indian Air Force on May 28,2009. Earlier the AWACS aircraft landed at Jamnagar air base in Gujarat. The aircraft will operate from the Agra air base under the Central Air Command as part of the extended fleet of the IL-76s family. India became the first country in South Asia to own an AWACS, popularly called ‘an eye in the sky’. The aircraft being looked as a replacement for the IL-76 include Embraer and Gulfstream 550, which can carry out flying missions of over nine hours at a stretch. Indian scientists clone first buffalo in the world The buffalo clone named Samrupa is the first time some animal has been cloned in India on February 14th 2009. ‘Samrupa’ is a Hindi word meaning some one who is exactly same as some one else. So, samrupa was exactly same as her mother buffalo. This is a milestone for Indian science and technology. Dr. S K Singla a scientist at the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana and his biotechnologist team had been working on the cloning of the calf for the last four years. This milestone came to Indian science 13 years

after the first animal Dolly was cloned from her mother sheep. Samrupa’s mother is a one year old buffalo of the famous Murrah variety of Haryana that gives 35 Kgs of milk per day.

Global Meeting on Water Crisis Government ministers from 120 countries, scientists and campaigners met in Istanbul from March 16, 2009 to discuss how to avert a global water crisis and ease tensions between States fighting over rivers, lakes and glaciers. The world’s population of 6.6 billion is forecast to rise by 2.5 billion by 2050. Most of the growth will be in developing countries, much of it in region where water is already scarce. As populations and living standards rise, a global water crisis looms unless countries take urgent action, the international body said. The agenda for the talks included how to avert catastrophic floods and droughts as climate patterns change, and how the global financial crisis threatens to hit large scale water infra-structure projects within the next several years.

International Mobile Equipment Identity International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is a unique 15-digit code that can identify a mobile to a GSM network. It prevents stolen handsets from being used to make calls and allows lawful interception to prove that a particular device was used for making calls.

India’s First Biodegradable Bags Biobin, India’s first biodegradable bags meant as an alternative to non-bio-degrable plastic bags, a main source of environment pollution, has been introduced in Tamil Nadu. This is the first time in India that bio-degradable bags with disinfectant properties and fragrance have been launched. These bags have special characteristics that help them degrade faster. The Sunstar Trading Corporation, jointly with Exnora International, has designed and launched the biobin bags.

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The Indigenous Missile ‘Shaurya’ The indigenous missile ‘Shaurya’ was launched from an underground facility with an in-built canister from Complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Balasore (Orissa) in 2008. The sophisticated tactical medium-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaurya is capable of carrying conventional warheads with a payload of about one tonne. It has 600-km range and is capable of hitting targets deep inside Pakistan and China.

Y (4140) Scientists has found evidence of an unexpected particle whose curious characteristics may reveal new ways that quark can combine to form matter. The new particle was temporarily designated as Y (4140). It has a mass equivalent to 4140 million electron volts (MeV) of energy – in the sense of Einstein’s mass-energy relation – and the symbol Y is indicative of its as yet unconfirmed and ill-understood status. At present, it is not clear what exactly Y (4140) is made of.

Primate Fossil Ida A new 47-million year old primate fossil Ida, found in Germany was unveiled to the world at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on May 19,2009. It may be a key link to explaining the evolution of early primates and, perhaps, telling them about developments that led to modern human beings. Dr. Jorn Hurum of the University of Oslo, who led the two-year effort to determine the fossil’s importance, nicknamed it ‘Ida’ after his own six-year-old daughter. Ida, the fossil of a young female that probably resembled a modern-day lemur was described as the most complete primate fossil ever found.

Tropical Cyclone Aila Tropical cyclone Aila wreaked havoc in Kolkata, its suburbs and across south Bengal. Aila also hit Bangladesh’s southern coastlines with wind-

driven tidal surged inundating residential areas and breaching embankments. Many people died on both sides.

Oldest Evidence of Leprosy A team from Appalachian State University and Deccan College Pune analyses 4000- year-old skeleton from India and found the evidence of leprosy. The skeleton represents both the earliest archaeological evidence for human infection with Mycobacterium larvae in the world and the first evidence for the disease in prehistoric India. The study demonstrates that leprosy was present in human populations in India by the end of the mature phase of the Indus Civilisation (2000 BC) and provides support for one hypothesis about prehistoric transmission routes for disease.

Swine Flu New cases of the deadly swine flu virus have been confirmed in April 2009 as far afield as New Zealand and Israel, as the UN warned it can not be contained. The US, Canada, Spain and Britain confirmed cases earlier but no deaths have been reported outside Mexico, where the virus was first reported. Mexico has raised the number of probable deaths to 152, with 1,614 suspected sufferers under observation. UN inspectors examined reports pig farms may have spread the virus. The UN’s health agency, the World Health Organization (WHO), confirmed that the flu had been transmitted between humans. Countries with suspected cases: Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia, and South Korea, and seven EU states is being transmitted from human to human.

What is Swine Flu Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A, which infects pigs. There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing. Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing. The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least some of the hu-

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man cases are a never-before-seen version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A. H1N1 is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis. But this latest version of H1N1 is different: it contains genetic material that is typically found in strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine. Flu viruses have the ability to swap genetic components with each other, and it seems likely that the new version of H1N1 resulted from a mixing of different versions of the virus, which may usually affect different species, in the same animal host. Pigs provide an excellent ‘melting pot’ for these viruses to mix and match with each other.

Symptoms Symptoms of swine flu in humans appear to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu. These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue. Most cases so far reported around the world appear to be mild, but in Mexico lives have been lost. When any new strain of flu emerges that acquires the ability to pass from person to person, it is monitored very closely in case it has the potential to spark a global epidemic, or pandemic. The World Health Organization has warned that taken together the Mexican and US cases could potentially trigger a global pandemic, and stress that the situation is serious. However it is still too early to accurately assess the situation fully. Nobody knows the full potential impact of a pandemic, but experts have warned that it could cost millions of lives worldwide. The Spanish flu pandemic, which began in 1918, and was also caused by an H1N1 strain, killed millions of people. The fact that all the cases in the US and elsewhere have so far produced mild symptoms is encouraging. It suggests that the severity of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an unusual geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus circulating in the community - which would be unlikely to come into play in the rest of the world. Alternatively, people infected in Mexico may have sought treatment at a much later stage than those

in other countries. It may also be the case that the form of the virus circulating in Mexico is subtly different to that elsewhere - although that will only be confirmed by laboratory analysis. There is also hope that, as humans are often exposed to forms of H1N1 through seasonal flu, our immune systems may have something of a head start in fighting infection. However, the fact that many of the victims are young does point to something unusual. Normal, seasonal flu tends to affect the elderly disproportionately. The virus appears already to have started to spread around the world, and most experts believe that containment of the virus in the era of readily available air travel will be extremely difficult. According to World Health Organization that restricting flights will have little effect. It argues that screening of passengers is also unlikely to have much impact, as symptoms may not be apparent in many infected people.

Project Snow Leopard India has launched Project Snow Leopard to conserve the endangered species (Uncia uncia) across its habitat in the five Himalayan states in the country on Jan 20,2009 .The project is a manifestation of the government of India’s resolve to conserve biodiversity with community participation. Government has launched the project to give the specie the same status of importance in the high altitude as that of tiger in the terrestrial landscape. The project will be undertaken in five Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh with support from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Mysore based Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). Snow leopard is globally endangered specie and an important flagship species of the mountain region. They are at the apex of ecological pyramid and suffer the most on account of relatively smaller population size and also due to man-animal conflict. This situation gets further aggravated due to the hostile landscape forming its habitat. Snow

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leopard has been included in the list of species under the Recovery Programme to be funded through the umbrella scheme of integrated development of wildlife habitats.

leased in the wild. The WII will soon be starting a pilot project in this regard.

There are more than 26 protected areas in the Himalayan landscape where specie is reported. However, areas outside the protected areas are equally important for long-range species like snow leopard. India is endowed with the unique wildlife assemblage of global importance in the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan zones. Thus, implementation of Project Snow Leopard will give an opportunity for the conservation of this unique biodiversity.

The 96th Indian Science Congress concluded on 3-7 jan, 2009 with the scientific community making specific recommendations for a tangible and substantial action to be taken in future to strengthen Science and Technology scenario and Science Education in the country. In his address at the concluding session at NEHU in Shillong, the President of the ISC2009, Dr. T Ramasami summed up the final recommendations as follows:

Securing of landscape for conservation, capacity building of staff, research on wildlife and human activities in snow leopard habitat, grazing and management policies, and education awareness, among others, would be vital for long-term conservation of the species. The Himalayan region is home to at least 350 mammal species, 1,200 bird species, besides a large number of amphibians and reptiles, and numerous plants including with medicinal properties.

Radio Collaring to Save Gharials Fast vanishing crocodiles from Chambal wildlife sanctuary have forced the Department of Science and Technology to use science to monitor the endangered species in the area spread over three states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Close to 2,500 captively bred crocodiles have been released into the Chambal since 1983 but less than 1,000 are estimated to be surviving in the river. The department has asked the WII and forest departments of the three states to use radio collaring to monitor the crocodiles released into the river from captive centers.

Radio Collaring Radio collaring is a technology, which uses Global Positioning Response System to record movements of the animal on a daily basis after it is re-

96th Indian Science Congress

1. Science Education systems at various levels must be reviewed and special schemes for attraction of talent for excellence in research though the newly launched INSPIRE must be strengthened though the participation of the community. 2. HRD initiatives for space, agriculture, industrial research must be further strengthened. 3. Further strengthening of ongoing Indian initiatives on mega science, astronomy and astrophysics, women in science is supported. 4. New models for PPPs in science education as well as research and development. 5. Teacher motivation and enabling systems including in-service training, teaching tools from local examples, project-based learning systems and implementation of some recommendations of the Inter-academy panel on new educational models. 6. Formation of scientific advisory councils to the states in the NER for promotion of science and technology in the region. ISCA recommends that such councils may be formed by other states as well. 7. A special package for relating science education and promotion of research in the NER may be developed and resources made available through a special grant.

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8. Approaches for an evidence-based budgeting and policy building. 9. Right sizing and expansion of R&D base in both public and private sector. 10. Increased career opportunities in S&T sector for the youth; and 11. Introduction of Performance Related Incentive Systems for the S&T staff

Biotechnology Biotechnology is technology based on biology, agriculture, food science, and medicine. Modern use of the term usually refers to genetic engineering as well as cell- and tissue culture technologies. However, the concept encompasses a wider range and history of procedures for modifying living things according to human purposes, going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants and "improvements" to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. By comparison to biotechnology, bioengineering is generally thought of as a related field with its emphasis more on mechanical and higher systems approaches to interfacing with and exploiting living things. Biotechnology draws on the pure biological sciences (genetics, microbiology, animal cell culture, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology, cell biology) and in many instances is also dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology (chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, information technology, biorobotics). Conversely, modern biological sciences (including even concepts such as molecular ecology) are intimately entwined and dependent on the methods developed through biotechnology and what is commonly thought of as the life sciences industry.

Biotechnology Biotechnology has applications in four major in Industrial areas, including health care (medical),

crop production and agriculture, non food (industrial) uses of crops and other products (e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses. For example, one application of biotechnology is the directed use of organisms for the manufacture of organic products (examples include beer and milk products). Another example is using naturally present bacteria by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treat waste, clean up sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and also to produce biological weapons. A series of derived terms have been coined to identify several branches of biotechnology, for example:-Bioinformatics

» Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field which

addresses biological problems using computational techniques, and makes the rapid organization and analysis of biological data possible. The field may also be referred to as computational biology, and can be defined as, "conceptualizing biology in terms of molecules and then applying informatics techniques to understand and organize the information associated with these molecules, on a large scale."[6] Bioinformatics plays a key role in various areas, such as functional genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics, and forms a key component in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.

» Blue biotechnology is a term that has been used to describe the marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.

» Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied

to agricultural processes. An example would be the selection and domestication of plants via micropropagation. Another example is the designing of transgenic plants to grow under specific environmental in the presence (or absence) of chemicals. One hope is that green biotechnology might produce more environmentally friendly solutions than traditional industrial agriculture.

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An example of this is the engineering of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby ending the need of external application of pesticides. An example of this would be Bt corn. Whether or not green biotechnology products such as this are ultimately more environmentally friendly is a topic of considerable debate.

» Red biotechnology is applied to medical processes. Some examples are the designing of organisms to produce antibiotics, and the engineering of genetic cures through genomic manipulation.

» White biotechnology, also known as industrial

biotechnology, is biotechnology applied to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an organism to produce a useful chemical. Another example is the using of enzymes as industrial catalysts to either produce valuable chemicals or destroy hazardous/polluting chemicals. White biotechnology tends to consume less in resources than traditional processes used to produce industrial goods. The investments and economic output of all of these types of applied biotechnologies form what has been described as the bioeconomy.

Medicine In medicine, modern biotechnology finds promising applications in such areas as: » Drug production;

» Pharmacogenomics; » Gene therapy; and » Genetic testing;

Pharmacogenomics results in the following benefits: Ø Development of tailor-made medicines. Using pharmacogenomics, pharmaceutical companies can create drugs based on the proteins, enzymes and RNA molecules that are associated with specific genes and diseases. These tailor-made drugs promise not only to maximize therapeutic effects but also to decrease damage to nearby healthy cells. Ø More accurate methods of determining appropriate drug dosages. Knowing a patient’s genetics will enable doctors to determine how well his/ her body can process and metabolize a medicine. This will maximize the value of the medicine and decrease the likelihood of overdose. Ø Improvements in the drug discovery and approval process. The discovery of potential therapies will be made easier using genome targets. Genes have been associated with numerous diseases and disorders. With modern biotechnology, these genes can be used as targets for the development of effective new therapies, which could significantly shorten the drug discovery process. Ø Better vaccines. Safer vaccines can be designed and produced by organisms transformed by means of genetic engineering. These vaccines will elicit the immune response without the attendant risks of infection. They will be inexpensive, stable, easy to store, and capable of being engineered to carry several strains of pathogen at once.

Pharmaceutical products

Pharmacogenomics Pharmacogenomics is the study of how the genetic inheritance of an individual affects his/her body’s response to drugs. It is a coined word derived from the words "pharmacology" and "genomics". It is hence the study of the relationship between pharmaceuticals and genetics. The vision of pharmacogenomics is to be able to design and produce drugs that are adapted to each person’s genetic makeup.

Most traditional pharmaceutical drugs are relatively simple molecules that have been found primarily through trial and error to treat the symptoms of a disease or illness. Biopharmaceuticals are large biological molecules known as proteins and these usually target the underlying mechanisms and pathways of a malady (but not always, as is the case with using insulin to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus, as that treatment merely addresses the symptoms of the disease, not the un-

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derlying cause which is autoimmunity); it is a relatively young industry. They can deal with targets in humans that may not be accessible with traditional medicines. A patient typically is dosed with a small molecule via a tablet while a large molecule is typically injected.

Genetic testing Genetic testing involves the direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. A scientist scans a patient’s DNA sample for mutated sequences. There are two major types of gene tests. In the first type, a researcher may design short pieces of DNA ("probes") whose sequences are complementary to the mutated sequences. These probes will seek their complement among the base pairs of an individual’s genome. If the mutated sequence is present in the patient’s genome, the probe will bind to it and flag the mutation. In the second type, a researcher may conduct the gene test by comparing the sequence of DNA bases in a patient’s gene to disease in healthy individuals or their progeny. Genetic testing is now used for: » Carrier screening, or the identification of unaffected individuals who carry one copy of a gene for a disease that requires two copies for the disease to manifest;

» Confirmational diagnosis of symptomatic individuals;

» Determining sex; » Forensic/identity testing; » Newborn screening; » Prenatal diagnostic screening; » Presymptomatic testing for estimating the risk of developing adult-onset cancers;

» Presymptomatic testing for predicting adult-onset disorders.

Gene therapy

Gene therapy may be used for treating, or even curing, genetic and acquired diseases like cancer and AIDS by using normal genes to supplement or replace defective genes or to bolster a normal function such as immunity. It can be used to target somatic (i.e., body) or gametes (i.e., egg and sperm) cells. In somatic gene therapy, the genome of the recipient is changed, but this change is not passed along to the next generation. In contrast, in germline gene therapy, the egg and sperm cells of the parents are changed for the purpose of passing on the changes to their offspring.

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") that aims to generate a high-quality reference sequence for the entire human genome and identify all the human genes. The DOE and its predecessor agencies were assigned by the U.S. Congress to develop new energy resources and technologies and to pursue a deeper understanding of potential health and environmental risks posed by their production and use. In 1986, the DOE announced its Human Genome Initiative. Shortly thereafter, the DOE and National Institutes of Health developed a plan for a joint Human Genome Project ("HGP"), which officially began in 1990. The HGP was originally planned to last 15 years. However, rapid technological advances and worldwide participation accelerated the completion date to 2003 (making it a 13 year project). Already it has enabled gene hunters to pinpoint genes associated with more than 30 disorders.

Cloning Cloning involves the removal of the nucleus from one cell and its placement in an unfertilized egg cell whose nucleus has either been deactivated or removed. There are two types of cloning: 1. Reproductive cloning. After a few divisions,

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the egg cell is placed into a uterus where it is allowed to develop into a fetus that is genetically identical to the donor of the original nucleus. 2. Therapeutic cloning. The egg is placed into a Petri dish where it develops into embryonic stem cells, which have shown potentials for treating several ailments. In February 1997, cloning became the focus of media attention when Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Institute announced the successful cloning of a sheep, named Dolly, from the mammary glands of an adult female. The cloning of Dolly made it apparent to many that the techniques used to produce her could someday be used to clone human beings. This stirred a lot of controversy because of its ethical implications.

Agriculture However biotechnology has little to do with preventing starvation or malnutrition. The main purpose of biotechnology is to increase profits for a small group of companies by privatizing natural resources. Starvation is not caused by inadequate food supplies or crop varieties, but rather the economic and power inequalities which biotechnology reinforces.

Crop yield Using the techniques of modern biotechnology, one or two genes(Smartstax from Monsanto will use 8, starting in 2010) may be transferred to a highly developed crop variety to impart a new character that would increase its yield. However, while increases in crop yield are the most obvious applications of modern biotechnology in agriculture, it is also the most difficult one. Current genetic engineering techniques work best for effects that are controlled by a single gene. Many of the genetic characteristics associated with yield (e.g., enhanced growth) are controlled by a large number of genes, each of which has a minimal effect on the overall yield. There is, therefore, much scientific work to be done in this area.

Reduced vulnerability of crops to environmental stresses Crops containing genes that will enable them to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses may be developed. For example, drought and excessively salty soil are two important limiting factors in crop productivity. Biotechnologists are studying plants that can cope with these extreme conditions in the hope of finding the genes that enable them to do so and eventually transferring these genes to the more desirable crops. One of the latest developments is the identification of a plant gene, AtDBF2, from thale cress, a tiny weed that is often used for plant research because it is very easy to grow and its genetic code is well mapped out. When this gene was inserted into tomato and tobacco cells (see RNA interference), the cells were able to withstand environmental stresses like salt, drought, cold and heat, far more than ordinary cells. If these preliminary results prove successful in larger trials, then At-DBF2 genes can help in engineering crops that can better withstand harsh environments. Researchers have also created transgenic rice plants that are resistant to rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV). In Africa, this virus destroys majority of the rice crops and makes the surviving plants more susceptible to fungal infections.

Increased nutritional qualities &quantity of food crops Proteins in foods may be modified to increase their nutritional qualities. Proteins in legumes and cereals may be transformed to provide the amino acids needed by human beings for a balanced diet. A good example is the work of Professors Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer on the so-called Golden rice.

Improved taste, texture or appearance of food Modern biotechnology can be used to slow down the process of spoilage so that fruit can ripen longer on the plant and then be transported to the consumer with a still reasonable shelf life. This alters

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the taste, texture and appearance of the fruit. More importantly, it could expand the market for farmers in developing countries due to the reduction in spoilage. However, there is sometimes a lack of understanding by researchers in developed countries about the actual needs of prospective beneficiaries in developing countries. For example, engineering soybeans to resist spoilage makes them less suitable for producing tempe which is a significant source of protein that depends on fermentation. The use of modified soybeans results in a lumpy texture that is less palatable and less convenient when cooking. The first genetically modified food product was a tomato which was transformed to delay its ripening. Researchers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are currently working on delayed-ripening papaya in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and Zeneca. Biotechnology in cheese production: enzymes produced by micro-organisms provide an alternative to animal rennet – a cheese coagulant – and an alternative supply for cheese makers. This also eliminates possible public concerns with animalderived material, although there are currently no plans to develop synthetic milk, thus making this argument less compelling. Enzymes offer an animal-friendly alternative to animal rennet. While providing comparable quality, they are theoretically also less expensive. About 85 million tons of wheat flour is used every year to bake bread. By adding an enzyme called maltogenic amylase to the flour, bread stays fresher longer. Assuming that 10–15% of bread is thrown away as stale, if it could be made to stay fresh another 5–7 days then perhaps 2 million tons of flour per year would be saved. Other enzymes can cause bread to expand to make a lighter loaf, or alter the loaf in a range of ways.

Reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals Most of the current commercial applications of modern biotechnology in agriculture are on re-

ducing the dependence of farmers on agrochemicals. For example, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a soil bacterium that produces a protein with insecticidal qualities. Traditionally, a fermentation process has been used to produce an insecticidal spray from these bacteria. In this form, the Bt toxin occurs as an inactive protoxin, which requires digestion by an insect to be effective. There are several Bt toxins and each one is specific to certain target insects. Crop plants have now been engineered to contain and express the genes for Bt toxin, which they produce in its active form. When a susceptible insect ingests the transgenic crop cultivar expressing the Bt protein, it stops feeding and soon thereafter dies as a result of the Bt toxin binding to its gut wall. Bt corn is now commercially available in a number of countries to control corn borer (a lepidopteran insect), which is otherwise controlled by spraying (a more difficult process). Crops have also been genetically engineered to acquire tolerance to broad-spectrum herbicide. The lack of cost-effective herbicides with broadspectrum activity and no crop injury was a consistent limitation in crop weed management. Multiple applications of numerous herbicides were routinely used to control a wide range of weed species detrimental to agronomic crops. Weed management tended to rely on preemergence that is, herbicide applications were sprayed in response to expected weed infestations rather than in response to actual weeds present. Mechanical cultivation and hand weeding were often necessary to control weeds not controlled by herbicide applications. The introduction of herbicide-tolerant crops has the potential of reducing the number of herbicide active ingredients used for weed management, reducing the number of herbicide applications made during a season, and increasing yield due to improved weed management and less crop injury. Transgenic crops that express tolerance to glyphosate, glufosinate and bromoxynil have been developed. These herbicides can now be sprayed on transgenic crops without inflicting damage on the crops while killing nearby weeds. From 1996 to 2001, herbicide tolerance was the most dominant trait introduced to commercially

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available transgenic crops, followed by insect resistance. In 2001, herbicide tolerance deployed in soybean, corn and cotton accounted for 77% of the 626,000 square kilometres planted to transgenic crops; Bt crops accounted for 15%; and "stacked genes" for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance used in both cotton and corn accounted for 8%.

Production of novel substances in crop plants Biotechnology is being applied for novel uses other than food. For example, oilseed can be modified to produce fatty acids for detergents, substitute fuels and petrochemicals. Potatoes, tomatoes, ricererere tobacco, lettuce, safflowers, and other plants have been genetically-engineered to produce insulin and certain vaccines. If future clinical trials prove successful, the advantages of edible vaccines would be enormous, especially for developing countries. The transgenic plants may be grown locally and cheaply. Homegrown vaccines would also avoid logistical and economic problems posed by having to transport traditional preparations over long distances and keeping them cold while in transit. And since they are edible, they will not need syringes, which are not only an additional expense in the traditional vaccine preparations but also a source of infections if contaminated. In the case of insulin grown in transgenic plants, it is well-established that the gastrointestinal system breaks the protein down therefore this could not currently be administered as an edible protein. However, it might be produced at significantly lower cost than insulin produced in costly, bioreactors. For example, Calgary, Canada-based SemBioSys Genetics, Inc. reports that its safflower-produced insulin will reduce unit costs by over 25% or more and approximates a reduction in the capital costs associated with building a commercial-scale insulin manufacturing facility of over $100 million, compared to traditional biomanufacturing facilities.

Criticism There is another side to the agricultural biotechnology issue. It includes increased herbicide usage and resultant herbicide resistance, "super weeds," residues on and in food crops, genetic contamination of non-GM crops which hurt organic and conventional farmers, damage to wildlife from glyphosate, etc.

Biological engineering Biotechnological engineering or biological engineering is a branch of engineering that focuses on biotechnologies and biological science. It includes different disciplines such as biochemical engineering, biomedical engineering, bio-process engineering, biosystem engineering and so on. Because of the novelty of the field, the definition of a bioengineer is still undefined. However, in general it is an integrated approach of fundamental biological sciences and traditional engineering principles. Bioengineers are often employed to scale up bio processes from the laboratory scale to the manufacturing scale. Moreover, as with most engineers, they often deal with management, economic and legal issues. Since patents and regulation (e.g., U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation in the U.S.) are very important issues for biotech enterprises, bioengineers are often required to have knowledge related to these issues. The increasing number of biotech enterprises is likely to create a need for bioengineers in the years to come. Many universities throughout the world are now providing programs in bioengineering and biotechnology (as independent programs or specialty programs within more established engineering fields).

Bioremediation and Biodegradation Biotechnology is being used to engineer and adapt organisms especially microorganisms in an effort to find sustainable ways to clean up contaminated

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environments. The elimination of a wide range of pollutants and wastes from the environment is an absolute requirement to promote a sustainable development of our society with low environmental impact. Biological processes play a major role in the removal of contaminants and biotechnology is taking advantage of the astonishing catabolic versatility of microorganisms to degrade/convert such compounds. New methodological breakthroughs in sequencing, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and imaging are producing vast amounts of information. In the field of Environmental Microbiology, genome-based global studies open a new era providing unprecedented in silico views of metabolic and regulatory networks, as well as clues to the evolution of degradation pathways and to the molecular adaptation strategies to changing environmental conditions. Functional genomic and metagenomic approaches are increasing our understanding of the relative importance of different pathways and regulatory networks to carbon flux in particular environments and for particular compounds and they will certainly accelerate the development of bioremediation technologies and biotransformation processes. Marine environments are especially vulnerable since oil spills of coastal regions and the open sea are poorly containable and mitigation is difficult. In addition to pollution through human activities, millions of tons of petroleum enter the marine environment every year from natural seepages. Despite its toxicity, a considerable fraction of petroleum oil entering marine systems is eliminated by the hydrocarbon-degrading activities of microbial communities, in particular by a remarkable recently discovered group of specialists, the socalled hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria (HCCB).

Arihant Class Submarine The Arihant class submarines are nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines of the Indian navy. The lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant, was launched on July 26, 2009. The Arihant Class of submarines may carry the Sagarika submarine-

launched ballisitic missile (SLBM) or the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The Arihant class vessels were designed as a part of the Advanced Technology Vessel project, India’s US$2.9 billion project to design and build nuclearpowered submarines. The Arihant class is India’s first indigenously designed and built submarine. 3 submarines of the class are expected to be in commission with the Indian navy by 2015.

Development The Arihant class submarines were designed and constructed as a part of the Indian navy’s Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project. The ATV project started with the intent to design nuclear-powered fast attack submarines, though over time the project was re-aligned towards the design of a ballistic missile submarine in order to complete India’s nuclear triad. The vessels are powered by an 80 MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) with enriched uranium fuel. The initial design of the miniaturized navalversion of the reactor developed by the Bhabha atomic research centre (BARC) had technical challenges, after which Russian help was sought to resolve the design glitches. The final production version of the reactor was built at the Indira Gandhi center for atomic research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam. The hulls for this class are built by L&T’s Hazira shipbuilding facility. Tata power built the control systems for the submarine. The systems for the steam turbine integrated with the PWR were supplied by Walchandnagar Industries. Reports have suggested that the hulls for two more vessels were completed at the L&T facility at Hazira and will be transported to Visakhapatnam as INS Arihant has been moved from the dry dock.

Description A nuclear-powered submarine is a much more complex platform than any other vessel and India

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building one on its own is a great achievement. What enhances the scale of the achievement is that INS Arihant, India’s nuclear-powered submarine, will be fitted with India’s own K-15 ballistic missiles that can be launched from under water. The K-15 missiles, which are already under production, can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. They have a range of 700 km. They are 10.4 metres tall and weigh 6.3 tonnes each. It means India can launch missiles with nuclear warheads from ground, drop nuclear bombs from air and also fire them now from under water.A nuclear-powered submarine bestowed on India the status of a nation possessing a blue-water navy because the boat can travel far and wide. In a nuclear-energy system used in a submarine, there is no emission of carbon-dioxide. It is a clean form of energy. The turbine operating on enriched uranium in INS Arihant is a clean system. But a diesel-generator emits carbon-dioxide. It is can not discharge it into the water. So the submarine has to be brought up to the surface every day to eject the carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere. India now joined a select group of five countries, which possess the capability to build a nuclearpowered submarine. That the construction of a submarine was a highly demanding task in itself was known, but for a country to develop its first nuclear submarine was a special achievement. The formal launch for sea trials of the platform called a cryptic ‘S2’ lifted the secrecy around the Advanced Technology Vessel Project cleared for implementation by Indira Gandhi in 1984 and whose first step in steel cutting commenced in 1998. To date the project is estimated to have cost Rs. 30,000 crore.

India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions India’s per capita emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) will continue to be low until the year 203031. In fact, it is estimated that India’s per capita emissions in the year 2031 will be lower than the

per capita global emission of GHG in the year 2005. These significant findings were contained in a Report "India’s GHG Emissions Profile: Results of Five Climate Modelling Studies" released on September 02, 2009 by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The Minister of Environment & Forests Shri Jairam Ramesh presided over the function. The Chairman of Unique Identity Authority of India, Shri Nandan Nilekani was also present on the occasion.

What Said Report As per the estimates of the five different studies, India’s per capita GHG emissions in 2030-31 would be between 2.77 tonnes and 5.00 tonnes of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide equivalent). Four of the five studies estimated that even in 2031, India’s per capita GHG emissions would stay under 4 tonnes of CO2e which is lower than the global per capita emissions of 4.22 tonnes of CO2e in 2005. This would mean that even two decades from now, India’s per capita GHG emissions would be well below the global average of 25 years earlier. In absolute terms, estimates of India’s GHG emissions in 2031 vary from 4.0 billion tones to 7.3 billion tones of CO2e, with four of the five studies estimating that even two decades from now, India’s GHG emissions will remain under 6 billion tones. The key drivers of the range of these estimates are the assumptions on GDP growth rates, penetration of clean energy, energy efficiency improvements etc. All the five studies show evidence of a substantial and continuous improvement in India’s energy efficiency of GDP. India’s energy use efficiency has been steadily improving over the years which is reflected in the decline of its energy intensity of GDP from 0.30 kgoe (kilogram of oil equivalent) per $ of GDP in 1980 to 0.16 kgoe per $ GDP in PPP (purchasing power parity) terms. This is comparable to Germany and only Japan, UK, Brazil and Denmark have lower energy intensities in the world. An Enhanced Energy Efficiency Mission has recently been approved in principle un-

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der the National Action Plan on Climate Change. Of the five studies on GHG emissions profile in India, three were conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)Jadavpur University, The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) with the support of the Ministry of Environment & Forests. Two other studies by TERI and Mckinsey and Company were conducted with support from other agencies. What is Greenhouse Gases Greenhouse gases naturally blanket the Earth and keep it about 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would be without these gases in the atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse Effect. Over the past century, the Earth has increased in temperature by about .5 degrees Celsius and many scientists believe this is because of an increase in concentration of the main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons. However, some scientists argue that the global warming we are experiencing now is a natural phenomenon, and is part of Earth’s natural cycle. Presently, nobody can prove if either theory is correct, but one thing is certain; the world has been emitting greenhouse gases at extremely high rates and has shown only small signs of reducing emissions until the last few years. After the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the world has finally taken the first step in reducing emissions.

Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is the heating of the Earth due to the presence of greenhouse gases. It is named this way because of a similar effect produced by the glass panes of a greenhouse. Shorterwavelength solar radiation from the sun passes through Earth’s atmosphere, then is absorbed by the surface of the Earth, causing it to warm. Part of the absorbed energy is then reradiated back to the atmosphere as long wave infrared radiation. Little of this long wave radiation escapes back into space; the radiation cannot pass through the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases selectively transmit the infrared waves, trapping some and allowing some to pass through into

space. The greenhouse gases absorb these waves and reemit the waves downward, causing the lower atmosphere to warm.

Government’s Stance India is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and falls under the non-Annexe I countries, or developing countries group. This implies that India does not have any binding commitments to reduce the level of its carbon emissions. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities." This said India is currently one of fastest growing emitters of green house gasses (GHG) with a 65% increase in emissions between 1990-2005 and projected increase of another 70% by 2020. Added to that India is presently the fifth largest GHG emitter (absolute terms) and contributes 5% of global emissions. The Government of India has committed itself to vastly improving the country’s human development indices by 2031-2032. In order to do so, the country must average economic growth of at least 8 percent per annum for the next twenty-five years. According to a report released by the Planning Commission of India, if India is to sustain an 8 percent level of growth, then it will need to increase its primary energy supply by at least 3 or 4 times and its electricity supply by a factor of 5 to 7 by 2031-2032. Likewise, power generation capacity will have to increase from 120,000 MW to 780,000 MW. The energy sector is already the biggest contributor to GHG emissions in India and the above demands, while being a legitimate and necessary to improve the quality of life of vast sectors of the Indian public and ensure economic and social development, will lead to an inevitable increase in GHG emissions in coming years. This is especially as the majority of the energy needs will be met through fossil fuel based sources and coal in particular.

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Given this rapid growth in emission rates and the magnitude of likely future emissions The United States of America and other countries from the West are pressurizing rapidly developing countries like India and China to accept binding emission reduction targets. They claim that these countries will soon overtake the developed world in carbon emissions and hence should also shoulder the burden of reducing these emissions. They want India and China to take on such commitments in the post-Kyoto regime. The arguments India uses to support this position are centered around the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities (as is with the UNFCCC) and equity. These arguments can be categorized under three broad heads as Historical Responsibility, Per-capita emissions, Technology transfer

Government Policies This does not mean that the Indian Government is not doing anything about climate change. India is a signatory to both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol and takes active part in multi-lateral negotiations on climate change. An example is India’s membership of the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate 2005. Under this partnership Foreign, Environment and Energy Ministers from partner countries agreed to cooperate on development and transfer of technology, which enables reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Ministers agreed to a Charter, Communiqué and Work Plan that outline a "private-public taskforces to address climate change, energy security and air pollution." In addition, India has submitted its first National Communication on Climate Change (NATCOM I) and is currently working on NATCOM II. Some key policies are: Remote Village Electrification Programme (RVE) 2001: Electrify all the remote villages and remote hamlets through nonconventional energy sources such as solar energy, small hydro-power, biomass, wind energy, hybrid systems, etc. The Programme aims at bringing the benefits of electricity to people living in the most

backward and deprived regions of the country. Energy Conservation Act 2001: The Indian Parliament passed The Energy Conservation Act 2001, in September 2001. This Act requires large energy consumers to adhere to energy consumption norms; new buildings to follow the Energy Conservation Building Code; and appliances to meet energy performance standards and to display energy consumption labels. The Act also created the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to implement the provisions of the Act. Integrated Energy Policy 2006: Released in August 2006 it addresses all aspects of energy, including energy security, access and availability, affordability and pricing, efficiency and the environment. In relation to renewable energy, the policy proposed: » The phase-out of capital subsidies by the end of the 10th Plan linked to creation of renewable grid power capacity;

» Requiring power regulators to seek alternative

incentive structures that encourage utilities to integrate wind, small hydro, cogeneration and so on into their systems, and the linking of all such incentives to energy generated as opposed to capacity created;

» Requiring power regulators to mandate feed-in laws for renewable energy, where appropriate, as provided under the Electricity Act 2003.

Labelling Programme for Appliances 2006: A star rating based labeling programme has been introduced for four commonly used consumer goods that indicate their energy efficiency. The goods covered as of now are; fluorescent tube-lights, air conditioners, refrigerators, distribution transformers. Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2007: The ECBC was developed in 2006 and issued May 2007. It is not mandatory the first three years, and will become so in 2010, to allow the

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necessary implementation capacity to be developed. The code will be mandatory for all new buildings (commercial buildings or complexes) with a connected load of 500kW or more, or a contract demand of 600 kVA or greater. It will also apply to buildings with a conditioned floor space of 1 000m2 or greater. Solar Power Generation Based Incentive 2008: In January 2008, the federal minister responsible for renewable energy announced that the Indian government would provide a subsidy for solar power plants to help develop renewable energy infrastructure. The incentives, for a period of 10 years, will be over and above any financial assistance provided by the states. Generation based incentives for wind power 2008: In July 2008, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a new generation-based incentive scheme for wind power production. The scheme is designed to promote investment in new and large independent wind power producers, to fulfil a target of securing 10 500 MW of new wind power capacity by 2012.

energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as improved research capacity on climate change issues. Other missions target water efficiency, agriculture, forestation, and ecosystem conservation. World’s First Market for Trading Credits for Energy Savings India has planned to create the world’s first market for trading credits for energy savings. Government expects to set mandatory energy-savings targets by the end of 2009 for energy-intensive sectors such as cement, aluminum, steel, power, textiles, fertilizers, railway, paper and pulp. The country’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency is working on a program to establish credits for industrial plants that save energy beyond the government requirement. The plan has been modeled after emissions-trading markets at work in the EU.

Futures trading in carbon credits

Energy Conservation Awards: The Ministry of Power instituted National Energy Conservation Awards, coordinated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, to recognize industrial units that have made special efforts to reduce energy consumption. In the first five years, the participating industrial units collectively saved 2397 million units of electrical energy; 9067 kilo litre of furnace oil; 2.76 Mt of coal and 11,585 million cubic metre of gas per year, resulting in substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

In January 2009, Mumbai, India-based Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) launched futures trading in carbon credits in India. Under the energysavings plan, separate targets would be established for each large industrial unit and plant in order to take into account the different sizes and type of companies in each sector. The mandatory reductions would then go into effect three years later. Companies surpassing energy savings requirements would get credits that can be sold through existing power exchanges to companies that fail to meet their targets. Companies failing to meet targets that do not buy credits would then be penalized by the government. The energy-savings market must be approved by the prime minister’s climate council.

National Action Plan on Climate Change: On 30 June 2008, India released its first National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlining existing and future policies and programmes directed at climate change mitigation and adaptation. The plan outlines eight "national missions" running up to 2017, and ministries are directed to submit detailed implementation plans to the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change by December 2008. Several target energy use, promoting

The move is part of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. Because the country has lower emissions than industrialized countries, India has decided one of its best contributions could be to use less energy from polluting sources. India has generated about 30 million carbon credits and is one of the largest beneficiaries in the carbon credit trade, according to MCX. Under the plan, private companies would be responsible for measuring energy reductions.

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Carbon Trading Scenario Parties with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Parties) have accepted targets for limiting or reducing emissions. These targets are expressed as levels of allowed emissions, or "assigned amounts," over the 2008-2012 commitment period. The allowed emissions are divided into "assigned amount units" (AAUs). Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, allow countries that have emission units to spare - emissions permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets. Thus, a new commodity was created in the form of emission reductions or removals. Since carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas, people speak simply of trading in carbon. Carbon is now tracked and traded like any other commodity. This is known as the "carbon market."

Emissions Trading and CDM An emission trading is a way of introducing flexibility into a system where participants have to meet emissions targets. These participants may be countries (as in the case of the Kyoto Protocol), or companies (as in the case of a domestic emissions trading scheme). Participants can buy units to cover any emissions above their targets, or sell units if they reduce their emissions below their targets. The presence of a market for these units creates a value for emissions reductions, which stimulates investment in the most cost-effective areas. Emissions trading leads to a reduction in compliance costs compared to meeting the same target through domestic/internal means only. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol allows projects in developing countries to generate emission credits if they result in emission levels lower than would otherwise be the case; these credits can be marketed and eventually counted against a developed country’s emission obligation. The IEA provides analysis on the effectiveness of the different emissions trading scheme options, both at international and domestic level.

RISAT-2 and ANUSAT Successfully Placed in Orbit In its fifteenth mission carried out from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota on April 20, 2009 ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C12) successfully placed two satellites - RISAT-2 and ANUSAT in the desired orbit. RISAT-2 is a Radar Imaging Satellite with the capability to take images of the earth during day and night as well as cloudy conditions. At the time of launch, RISAT-2 weighed about 300 kg and was realised by ISRO in association with Israel Aerospace Industries. The satellite was placed in an orbit of 550 km height with an inclination of 41 deg to the equator and an orbital period of about 90 minutes. This satellite will enhance ISRO’s capability for earth observation, especially during floods, cyclones, landslides and in disaster management in a more effective way.

First Experimental Communication Satellite Built by an Indian University The 44 metre tall PSLV-C12 weighing 230 ton was launched from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) at SDSC SHAR in the Core Alone configuration without the use of six solid strap-ons. In this mission, in addition to RISAT-2, PSLV also carried A 40 kg micro satellite named ANUSAT, built by Anna University, Chennai. ANUSAT is the first experimental communication satellite built by an Indian University under the over all guidance of ISRO and will demonstrate the technologies related to message store and forward operations. In this flight, PSLV carried the indigenously developed Advanced Mission Computers and Advanced Telemetry System, which guided the vehicle from lift-off till the injection of the two satellites in the desired orbit. The main payload, RISAT-2, was the first satellite to be separated in orbit at 1100 seconds after lift-off at an altitude of 550 km. With this suc-

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cessful launch, the versatility and the reliability of PSLV has been proved again underscoring its importance as the workhorse launch vehicle of India. This launch was the fourteenth consecutive success for PSLV. In these launches, PSLV has placed a total of sixteen Indian satellites and sixteen foreign satellites into Polar, Geosynchronous Transfer and Low Earth Orbits. It may be recalled that during its previous mission on October 22, 2008, PSLV had successfully launched Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which is now exploring the moon from lunar orbit.

Features of PSLV, RISAT-2 and ANUSAT PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle employing both solid and liquid propulsion stages. PSLV is the trusted workhorse launch Vehicle of ISRO. During 1993-2008 period, PSLV had fourteen launches of which thirteen were consecutively successful. PSLV has repeatedly proved its reliability and versatility by launching 32 spacecrafts (16Indian and 16 for international customers) into a variety of orbits so far. It may be recalled that during its previous mission on October 22, 2008, PSLV had successfully launched Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which is now exploring the Moon from lunar orbit. In its standard configuration, the 44 m tall PSLV has a lift-off mass of 295 tonne. It is a four-stage launch vehicle with the first and the third stages as well as the six strap-ons surrounding the first stage using HTPB based solid propellant. PSLV’s first stage is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world. Its second and fourth stages use liquid propellants. PSLV-C12 was launched without the six strapons in its ‘core alone’ configuration. PSLV-C12 weighs about 230 tonnes at lift off. It may be recalled that PSLV in its core alone configuration had launched AGILE and TECSAR during 2007 and 2008 respectively.

RISAT-2 is a Radar Imaging Satellite with all weather capability to take images of the earth. This Satellite will enhance ISRO’s capability for Disaster Management applications, ANUSAT (Anna University Satellite) is the first satellite built by an Indian University under the over all guidance of ISRO and will demonstrate the technologies related to message store and forward operations

ASTROSAT India’s Astronomy satellite, ASTROSAT, which would facilitates study of a range of astrophysical objects, is likely to be launched in mid-2010.The scientists have completed the developmental phase of complex science payloads and have just begun integrating them before delivery for the 1650 kg satellite.

Salient Features The challenges in the design of payloads and Attitude Control System have been overcome and in a recent review committee meeting, it was decided that the delivery of the payload to ISRO satellite Centre will begin from the middle of this year and continue till early next year to enable the launch ASTROSAT in 2010 using ISRO workhorse PSLV. The ASTROSAT will be in an equatorial orbit with inclination of about eight degrees or less. Two star trackers and gyros will be used for the pointing control of the satellite. Orbiting at 600 km above the earth’s surface, the ASTROSAT satellite costing about Rs 200 crore, will have a lifespan of at least five years. This would facilitate study of astrophysical objects ranging from nearby solar system objects to distant stars and objects at cosmological distances. ASTROSAT project is a collaborative effort of a number of research institutions, including the Mumbai-based TIFR. Out of the five science payloads for this multi-wavelength satellite observatory, three X-ray instruments are developed by TIFR.

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The Ultra-Violet Imaging Instrument has been developed jointly by Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore and Inter-university canter for astronomy and astrophysics, Pune with the involvement of TIFR. The photon counting detectors of this instrument have been developed jointly by the Indian team and the Canadian Space Agency as a science collaboration. The fifth instrument namely X-ray Sky monitor is being made by ISRO Satellite Center and is in advanced stages of fabrication and assembly. The X-ray CCD used in X-ray imaging telescope is not readily available and very expensive to procure. Hence, instead of buying the costly X-ray CCD for ‘ASTROSAT’, the Indian side has opted for a scientific collaboration with the British University of Leicester.

ballistic missile in the exo-atmosphere at 48-km altitude. The second test was carried out on December 6, 2007 against a target missile at 15-km altitude in endo-atmosphere, intercepting the ‘’enemy’’ missile at an altitude of 70-80 km. The ground tests of the missile have been done on the directional warhead

Notable Points

»

It was for the first time the test was done on flight.

» Intercepting a missile at a higher altitude of 80

km has the advantage as the debris will take longer to fall through the atmosphere before it hits the ground.

» In a typical war scenario, this would reduce the

Interceptor Missile India has successfully conducted the test of an interceptor missile to establish a ballistic missile defence (BMD) shield as part of the network-centric warfare on march 6,2009. The test was carried out from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from the Wheeler Island near Dhamra off Orissa coast. The modified version of ‘’Dhanush’’ missile, known as naval version of Prithvi, a surface-tosurface missile acting as an enemy missile was test fired from a naval ship INS Rajput anchored inside the Bay of Bengal at 1620 hours.When it zeroed in on the wheeler island of Dhamara coast, a Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile, a ballistic missile with a range of 1,500 km, similar to Pakistan’s Ghauri, test fired from the Wheeler Island intercepted the incoming missile at an altitude of 7080 kms. DRDO sources said the ‘’crucial test’’ conducted for the third time proved the efficacy of a host of new technologies. The interceptor PAD missile has for the first time used the gimballed directional warhead which has so far been used only in the United States and Russia. The first interceptor missile test was conducted on November 27, 2006 and waylaid an incoming

effect of any fallout of nuclear debris and the risk associated with radiation.

» The third test would be part of India’s plan to deploy a two-layered ballistic missile defence (BMD) system in the coming years.

Wildlife Conservation in India Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems, Deserts, rain forests, plains, and other areas including the most developed urban sites all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around the world is impacted by human activities.

Indian wildlife The wildlife of India is a mix of species of diverse origins. The region’s rich and diverse wildlife is

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preserved in numerous national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country. Since India is home to a number of rare and threatened animal species, wildlife management in the country is essential to preserve these species. According to one study, India is home to about 60-70% of the world’s biodiversity. India, lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, is home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species. Many ecoregions, such as the shola forests, also exhibit extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic. India’s forest cover ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak- dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain. Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies. The papal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded the Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.

Various Projects

Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only existent habitation for the nearly extinct Asiatic Lions in India. The Kaziranga Sanctuary in Assam is a major example of good effort to save the endangered Rhinoceros. Similarly, Periyar in Kerala is doing a great job to preserve the wild Elephants and Dachigam National Park is progressing rapidly to save Kashmiri Stag. Wildlife Conservation in India occupies a total area of about 3.29 million sq. km. that contains floral and faunal species, mammals, reptiles, insects and birds. The Wildlife Conservation in India has become the most popular holiday destinations because of its diverseness. In India there are 571 sanctuaries and reserve parks that are protected by the Indian Government, mainly meant for the protection of the extinct species of animals and birds. Predators, Carnivores and Herbivores, - all are equally important to maintain the vital ecological

processes as nutrient and water cycling. India has over 500 animal sanctuaries, referred to as Wildlife Sanctuaries (IUCN Category IV Protected Area). Among these, the 28 Tiger reserves are governed by Project Tiger, and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger. Some of the important wildlife sanctuaries in India are: » Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh » Corbett National Park in Uttar Pradesh » Gir National Park & Sanctuary in Gujarat » Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh » Kaziranga National Park in Assam » Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala » Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan » Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal » Dachigam National Park in Jammu & Kashmir » Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam

National Parks of India India’s first national park (an IUCN category II protected area) was established in 1935 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett national park. By 1970, India only had five national parks. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard the habitats of conservation reliant species. Further federal legislation strengthening protections for wildlife was introduced in the 1980s. As of April 2007, there are 96 national parks. All national park lands encompass a combined 38,029.18 km², 1.16% of India’s total surface area. A total of 166 national parks have been authorized. Plans are underway to establish the remaining scheduled parks.

Biosphere Reserves The term ‘Biosphere Reserve’ should denote an area: » Which is, set aside for the conservation of the resources of the biosphere and for the improvement of the relationship between man and the environment;

» Which is, to serve as sites for long term scien-

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tific research as well as education all over the world. The programme of Biosphere Reserve was initiated under the ‘Man & Biosphere’ (MAB) programme by UNESCO in 1971. Biosphere Reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are internationally recognized, nominated by National Governments and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Biosphere Reserves serve in some ways as ‘living laboratories’ for testing out and demonstrating integrated management of land, water and biodiversity.

Biosphere Reserve Objectives Each Biosphere Reserve is intended to fulfill three basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing: » A conservation function - to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation;

»

A development function - to foster economic and human development which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable;

List of Biosphere Reserves

» Achanakmar-Amarkanta- Madhya Pradesh & Chhattishgarh » Agasthyamalai- Kerala » Dehang-Debang- Arunachal Pradesh » Dibru-Saikhowa- Assam » Great Nicobar- Andaman and Nicobar » Gulf of Mannar - Tamil Nadu » Khangchenjunga – Sikkim » Manas- Assam » Nanda Devi-Uttaranchal » Nilgiri -Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka » Nokrek-Meghalaya » Pachmarhi -Madhya Pradesh » Simlipal-Orissa » Sunderbans-West Bengal

» A logistic function - to provide support for re-

search, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development. The Indian government has established 15 Biosphere Reserves of India, (categories roughly corresponding to IUCN Category V protected areas), which protect larger areas of natural habitat (than a national park or animal sanctuary), and often include one or more National Parks and/or preserves, along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses.

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Social Problems & Welfare Schemes Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan The CCEA on January 02, 2009 approved the implementation of a centrally sponsored scheme to universalise access to and improve quality of education at Secondary stage, called Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) during the 11th Five Year Plan. As regards the Financing pattern and fund flow, Union Government shall bear 75% of the project expenditure during the 11th Five Year Plan, with 25% of the cost to be borne by State Governments. Sharing pattern will be 50:50 for the 12th five year plan. For both the 11th and 12th Plans, funding pattern will be 90:10 for North Eastern States. Rs.20,120 crore has been allocated for the Scheme during the 11th Five Year Plan.

The Objective of the Scheme

» To achieve a General Enrolment Ratio (GER) of

75% for classes IX-X within 5 years by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every habitation;

»

To improve quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms;

» To remove gender, socio-economic and disabil-

ity barriers, Universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e. by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and Universal retention by 2020. Broad physical targets include improving the enrolment ratio for classes IX-X to 75% within 5 years from 52.26% as in 2005-06, providing facilities for estimated additional enrolment of 32.20 lakh by 2011-12 through, strengthening of about 44,000 existing secondary schools, opening 11,188 new secondary schools, appointment of 1.79 lakh

additional teachers and construction of 80,500 additional classrooms. Interventions approved include providing infrastructure in schools such as new classrooms with furniture, library, science laboratory, computer room, disabled friendly provisions etc, recruitment of additional teachers with emphasis on Science, Mathematics and English teachers, in service training of teachers, teaching aids such as ICT and special focus on SC/ST/Minorities Girls. Steps such as priority for opening or upgradation of schools in areas of SC/ST/minority/weaker section concentration and enrolment drives and special coaching classes in those areas are also envisaged under the scheme.

Implementation The Scheme will be implemented in a Mission mode, with a National Mission headed by the Union Minister for HRD and a Project approval Board headed by Secretary (School Education and Literacy) to appraise and approve state plans. Similarly, State Missions under Chief Ministers of the States/UTs will be set up. The Scheme envisages development of State-specific norms and District will be the unit of planning. The district plan will be appraised and consolidated at the State level and the State plan will be appraised by the technical support group attached to the National Mission. The civil construction will be through School Management and Development Committee with representation from parents, Panchayati Raj Institutions and civil society.

Saakshar Bharat Mission The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh launched on September 08, 2009, SAAKSHAR BHARAT, one of the major new initiatives that form part of the Government’s agenda for the next 5 years as announced by the President in her ad-

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dress to the joint session of the Parliament. This programme will strive to create a Literate Society through a variety of teaching learning programmes for non-literate and neo-literate of 15 years and above. The Saakshar Bharat Mission has 70 million targeted beneficiaries, of which 60 Million will be women and nearly 50% of the target group will comprise of SCs/STs and minorities. Since illiteracy is far more widespread in rural areas, as compared to urban areas, the programme will concentrate on rural areas, especially in the districts that have low (50% and below) female literacy rate. Nearly 1.70 lakh Gram Panchayats in 365 districts will be covered. Residual illiteracy in urban areas will be addressed through innovative partnership with NGOs, private sector convergence etc. The total estimated cost of the Mission is Rs. 6502.70 crore of which 4993.02 crore would be central share. The sharing between the Centre and the State would be 75:25 except for the North-east where it will be 90:10. Prime Minister said that the launch of this mission reaffirms national commitment to literacy. The Prime Minister underlined the importance of literacy, especially female literacy. He said that Government has started a number of progressive programmes and legislations for the empowerment and welfare of the common person, the aam aadmi. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Right to Information Act, the Rural Health Mission, the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and the National Mid-day Meal Programme are all efforts in that direction. Literacy is central to the success of all these programmes and initiatives Female literacy is especially so. Female literacy is a force multiplier for all action for social development. This is self-evident and does not require any elaboration. In fact, many observers have seen infrastructure development in the economic sector and female literacy in the social sector as two very critical factors that impede India’s steady climb to a higher and sustainable level of growth and development. Female literacy is also absolutely necessary to empower the Indian woman in her every day struggle in dealing with multiple deprivations on the basis of class, caste and gender.”

The Prime Minister expressed the sincere hope that the Saakshar Bharat Mission will fully involve the local community in its implementation, and utilize the potential and promise of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and the women’s Self Help Groups. Expressing his happiness that the implementation of this programme has been entrusted to the Gram Panchayats, he said he would also expect the mission to make use of innovative strategies and technology to impart sustainable literacy to millions of non-literates in a reasonable period of time.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 The “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009” has been notified, after receiving the assent of President. Article 21-A, as inserted by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such manner as the State may, by Law, determine. Consequently, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, has been enacted by the Parliament. The Act received the assent of the President on 26th August, 2009. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which makes education a fundamental right of every child in the age group of six to 14 years, has come into force with the Presidential assent. The Bill was passed in both Houses of Parliament during the Budget session. The Act, one of the flagship programs in the 100day agenda of the UPA government, earmarks 25 per cent seats to weaker sections in neighborhood schools. The government would reimburse the money at government rate towards these seats. The law prohibits payment of donations or capitation fees or interviewing the child or parents as part of a screening procedure. The financial burden to implement the Act will be shared between states and Center. A school can be fined up to Rs 100,000 if not recognized by a regulating body.

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State of Education India now has lesser number of single-teacher schools than it had a year ago. The latest government study on the state of elementary education in India shows that percentage of single-teacher schools in the country has declined from 11.76 in 2006-07 to 10.13 in 2007-2008, an improvement of 1.63 per cent. Among the States, Puducherry is ranked first in both primary and elementary education, while Bihar, Arunachal, West Bengal and Jhar-khand are at the bottom. Kerala is the first in upper primary education, while Delhi and Chandigarh are fourth and fifth, respectively. The government also lists Muslim students as a separate category saying the percentage of Muslim enrolment in primary classes increased to 10.49 in 2008 as against 9.39 the previous year.

Pension Schemes for Widows and Severely Disabled Indian government on Feb 19, 2009 launched the pension scheme for widows, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme in the age group of 40 to 64 and severely disabled persons, Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme above 18 but below 65 and below the poverty line. While the Centre will provide Rs. 200 a month, the States have been requested to contribute at least a similar amount to the beneficiaries, for a monthly assistance of Rs. 400. 44,04,289 widows and 15,56,004 disabled persons with at least 40 per cent severity would benefit from the two new schemes that would entail an expenditure of Rs. 1057.03 crore and Rs. 373.44 crore respectively. Government issued directives that the responsibility of identifying beneficiaries, enrolling and opening bank accounts would be that of the authorities. As in the case of disabled persons, a team of doctors would have to be deputed at the block level to issue necessary certificates immediately. The Centre has formulated two schemes, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme

to cater to these two categories in addition to the existing Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, under which those who attained the age of 65 are given a monthly pension of Rs. 200. Initiatives in Interim Budget-2009-2010 The UPA Government has launched many new schemes to provide steady monetary assistance to weak and downtrodden people of society. Emphasis has also been given to the empowerment of women as an abiding objective of the UPA Government. To strengthen social and economic inclusion of minority communities, Government has also announced the Prime Minister’s 15 point programme for the welfare of the minorities. Adequate allocations are being made to support this initiative. The authorized capital of the National Safai Karamchari Finance and Development Corporation has raised from Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore to enable it to effectively carry out its mandate. The scope of the pre-matric scholarship for children of those engaged in unclean occupations has been expanded and the rates of scholarships have been doubled in 2008-2009. The annual adhoc grant has also been substantially increased by almost 50 percent as compared to the earlier rates. Efforts of the Government and the financing institutions have led to rapid growth of credit linked Women Self Help Groups now numbering over 29 lakh. To give further fillip, the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh will be strengthened by enhancing its authorized capital. Referring to the “Priyadarshini Project”, a rural women’s empowerment and livelihood programme launched in U.P. with assistance of IFAD in December 2008, Government announced that the project will be implemented as a pilot in the district of Madhumani and Sitamarhi in Bihar and Shravasti, Bahraich , Rai Bareli and Sultanpur in U.P. So far, 146 lakh persons belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households have benefited from the revised and modified scheme “Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme”, which was launched on November 19, 2007. In order to empower young widows in the age group of 18-40 and equip them to stand on their own feet it is proposed to give them priority in

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admissions to ITIs, Women ITIs and National/ Regional ITIs for Women. Government will bear the cost of their training and provide stipend of Rs 500 per month. In the 22 States and Union Territories have initiated the process to implement Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for BPL families in the Unorganised Sector and 60.32 lakh persons have been covered for death and disability under Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana.

State of World’s Children Report- 2009 UNICEF released the State of World’s Children Report- 2009 with some shocking findings regarding maternal mortality status in India. Avoidable complications during child birth are killing 78,000 women in India every year. One woman dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth every seven minutes. One million children born in India are dying every year even before they become 28 days old. A child born in India is 14 times more likely to die during the first 28 days than one born in the US or UK.The maternal mortality rate of India stands at 301 per 100,000 births. It is highest in Uttar Pradesh at 517 and lowest in Kerala at 110.For Bihar it is 371. An Indian woman is 350 times more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy –related complications than women in America or England. For every mother who dies, 20 others suffer pregnancy related illness. Around 10 million women annually experience such adverse outcomes. Despite an increase in institutional deliveries, 60% of pregnant women still deliver their babies at home. In India more than 2/3 of all maternal deaths occur in a handful of states- UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkand, Orissa, MP, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Assam. In UP one in every 42 women faces risk of maternal death compared to 1 in 500 women in Kerala. The main medical causes of maternal deaths are: » Abortion: 8% » Obstructed labor: 5% » Hypertensive disorders: 5% » Sepsis: 11% » Hemorrhage: 38%

» Other conditions: 34% In India the states with the top five neonatal mor tality rates are: » Orissa- 52 deaths /1000 live births » Madhya Pradesh- 51/1000 live births » Uttar Pradesh- 46/1000 live births » Rajasthan- 45 /1000 live births » Chattisgarh- 43/1000 live births

Child Marriages One more example of alertness of Indian administrative machinery is evident with the report of UNICEF, which said that more than 40 per cent of the world's child marriages take place in India, even though the legal age for wedding is 18. A report by UNICEF highlighted India's high rate of child marriage as a major reason for the large number of maternal and infant deaths. UNICEF report also revealed shocking figures about how India is still living the curse of child marriages, one of the major causes of the high maternal mortality rate. High rate of child marriages in India is perhaps one of the reasons why women in developing countries like ours are 300 times more likely to die during childbirth than those in the developed world. Evidence shows that those who become mothers in their teens are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. Though India has emerged as a key economic power globally and has even reached the moon, more than half of its population is struggling for basic facilities like safe childbirth and care after delivery - simple measures that the state has failed to provide.

World’s Sanitation Report Over 250 crore people across the world lack access to improved sanitation, with nearly 120 crore practising open defecation, the riskiest sanitary practice of all. According to a report released jointly by World Health Organisation (WHO) and

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UNICEF, the poor sanitation situation is a big threat to children's survival as the faecal-contaminated environment is directly linked to diarrhoeal disease, one of the biggest killers of infants under the age of five. The report is part of the WHO-UNICEF monitoring programme for water supply and sanitationthe official UN mechanism tasked with monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Target 7c on drinking water supply and sanitation. Worldwide, the number of people who lack access to an improved drinking water source that is protected from faecal and chemical contamination has fallen below one billion for the first time since data were first compiled in 1990.

Report Summary According to the report, presently 87 per cent of the world population has access to improved drinking water sources, with current trends suggesting that more than 90 per cent will do so by 2015.The number of people practising open defecation dropped from 24 per cent in 1990 to 18 per cent in 2006. The report also highlights disparities within national borders, particularly between rural and urban dwellers. Worldwide, there are four times as many people in rural areas-approximately 74.6 crore-without improved water sources, compared to some 13.7 crore urban dwellers. The report, however, said that the situation has improved with more people now using improved sanitation facilities, which ensures that human excreta is disposed of in a way that prevents them from causing disease by contaminating food and water sources. "Though the practice of open defecation is on the decline worldwide, 18 per cent of the world's population, over 120 crore people, still practise it, " the report said. In southern Asia, some 77.8 crore people still rely on this risky sanitation practice, it added.

Progress on drinking water and sanitation The report, Progress on drinking water and sanitation-special focus on sanitation, that comes halfway through the International Year of Sanitation assesses-for the first time-global, regional and country progress using an innovative "ladder" concept. This shows sanitation practices in greater detail, enabling experts to highlight trends in using improved, shared and unimproved sanitation facilities and the trend in open defecation. "Improved sanitation" refers to any facility that hygienically separates human waste from the environment. Similarly, the 'drinking water ladder' shows the percentage of the world population that uses water piped into a dwelling, plot or yard, and other improved water sources such as hand pumps, and unimproved sources.

Alcoholism It is now generally recognized that alcohol like the opium products is a narcotic. But alcoholism constitutes a special problem because of the wider use of alcohol and because of its entrenchment in the social customs. Alcoholism is a condition in which the individual has lost control over his alcohol intake in that he is constantly unable to refrain from drinking once he begins.

Definition According to Adolf Meyer alcoholism is the development of an insistent craving for alcohol and its effects. It is also defined as that condition characterized by a relatively permanent, persistent desire for alcohol for the sake of its anticipated effects upon body and mind. For Keller and Efron alcoholism is characterized by the repeated drinking of alcoholic beverages to an extent that exceeds customary use or compliance with the social customs of the community and that interferes with the drinker’s health or his social or economic functioning.

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Broadly speaking alcoholism has been characterized by four factors: » Excessive intake of alcoholic beverages » Individual’s increasing worry over his drinking » Loss of the drinker’s control over his own drinking » Disturbance in his functioning in the social world Studies have been made only to throw scientific light upon the question as to why people are addicted to the immoderate use of alcohol. In the study of chronic alcoholics it was found that a certain percentage of inebriates are pathological individuals referred as constitutional alcoholics. The industrialization of society and the mechanization of the industry have put strains upon individuals to which the previous experience of the race has not adapted. The social conventions in cite the formation of alcoholic habits. The pressure of social customs has exerted an important influence in the production of alcoholism. There are certain persons who are unable to face the harsh realities of life and start drinking to overcome their inadequacy. Men engaged in manual work have long been deluded in the belief that alcohol furnishes added strength and vigour with which they can pursue their labour. Men drink because their occupation has completely exhausted them. They look forward eagerly to the respite which intoxication affords after the heat of the blast furnace or the stench of the dockyards. Excessive consumption of alcohol can make a person addicted to it. An addict is one whose drinking habit causes several problems in one or more areas of his life for instance his family relationships, jobs, financial status etc. And in spite of all these problems, he will continue to drink alcohol because his body gets so accustomed over a period of time to the presence of alcohol that if its use is stopped suddenly he will develop withdrawal symptoms like tremors, fits etc. Such a state is called physical dependence. Alcohol becomes so central to his thoughts, emotions and activities that he is simply unable to think of anything else. This condition is called psychological dependence. Alcoholic addiction is a disease rather than lack of will power

or moral weakness. Unless the person stops drinking, his/her condition will become worse over a period of time. A drinker passes through various stages to become an alcoholic. These are: 1. Blackouts in which the individual is not able to find a solution to his individual problems. 2. Sneaking drinks in which he takes alcohol without being observed. 3. Increased tolerance, in which he tolerates the increased effects of drinking. 4. Loss of control in which he fails to control the desire of not taking alcohol. 5. Development of an alibi system in which he gradually starts neglecting his social roles. 6. Going on periodic benders 7. Regular drinking in which he starts taking alcohol in the morning. The problem of alcoholism in terms of personal misery, family budget, discord, and loss of wages, failure of health, accidents and cost in damage claims, cost of hospital treatment, cost in custodial treatment, inducement to crime are almost disastrous. A good number of persons arrested for crimes like rape, burglary, murder and theft are those who committed them under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is a major factor in the highway accidents. Since alcoholism affects the family members, friends and even the community, it affects millions of people in the country. Drinking reduces one’s operational activities and efficiency to below the minimum level necessary for social existence. There are various programmes and measures for alcohol treatment: » Detoxification in hospitals: Alcohols need medical care and medical supervision. Tranquilizers are used for treating their withdrawal symp-

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toms like hallucinations. Vitamins and electrolyte balance are used for physical rehabilitation.

» Involving an alcoholic’s family in his treatment

and rehabilitation enhances the chances of success by 75 to 80%.

» One of the effective social therapies, which use

group interactions, is Alcoholics Anonymous. It is an organization of ex-alcoholics, which started in USA in early 1940s. In this, the members share, their experience with other alcoholics and give them strength and hope in an attempt to solve their common problems and recover from alcoholism. These associations are located in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata etc.

»

Treatment centres: These centres are developed as alternative centres to hospital treatment having 10-12 residents. Counselling and antidrinking rules are observed.

» Changing values through education: Some vol-

untary organizations undertake educational and information programmes to alert the alcoholics to the danger of excessive drinking. Social workers help the drinkers in coping with life and changing the social values and attitudes about drinking.

Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Programme The govt has launched a Programme called the Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Programme under National Rural Health Mission as a part of RCH. This focus on ARSH and special interventions for adolescents was in anticipation of the following expected outcomes: Delay age of marriage, Reduce incidence of teenage pregnancies, meet unmet contraceptive needs and reduce the number of maternal deaths, reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and reduce the proportion of HIV positive cases in the 10-19 years age group.

Problems One of the main problems during this phase of growth is the inadequate calorie intake. Studies have shown that girls in rural areas take a mean of 1355K.Cals/day in the 13-15 years and 1292 K.Cals/day in the 16-18 years, which is much below the recommended age groups. The commonly observed health problems are vaginal discharge, hair lice, headache, painful menstruation, irregular and excessive bleeding, dental problems and short sight. Silent urinary tract infection, poor menstrual hygiene is some other additional problems. Psychological problems also arise like emotional disturbances, depression, low self esteem, anxiety over inadequate or excessive secondary sexual development etc. Some of the specific strategies undertaken by various govts are Kishori Balika scheme under ICDS by Dept of Women and Child Development. Weekly once 100 mg iron Folic Acid supplementation of all adolescent girls through schools and anganwadi centers. Peer education and life skill development through education dept in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP etc. There is need for a service for providing counseling for adolescents within the district hospital and the CHC.In primary health centers and subcentres the skills to provide counseling both to adolescents and also to newly weds must be available. Peer educator network is also one of the key strategies to meet adolescents especially in marginalized groups like migrants ,rag pickers and certain occupational categories, street children and even larger socially under privileged groups like the urban slums or in tribal areas.Helplines and internet are some of the other way through which educated adolescent can access information. This is the period of life when there is maximal need for nutrition.

What is Adolescence The 11 to 19 year old age is called adolescence. This is the period of rapid change and maturation

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when the child grows into the adult. This is one of the most enjoyable stages of one’s life and it has to be experienced with joy and friendship paving the way for building a healthy society with good social relationships. The National Population Policy 2000 identified adolescents as an under served group for which health needs and within this reproductive and sexual health interventions are to be designed. The National Youth Policy 2003 recognizes 13 to 19 years as a distinct age group which had to be covered by special programmes in all sectors including health. The National Curriculum Framework 2005 for school education highlights the need for integrating adolescent reproductive and sexual health messages into school curriculum. Based on this the National Adolescence Education Programme of NACO along with the Ministry of Human Resources Development is developed.

India Registers 2 Million Tuberculosis Cases The number of people infected with both tuberculosis (TB) and HIV is twice what researchers previously thought. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual report on TB, presented in Rio, indicates that there were 1.37 million cases of people with both TB and HIV in 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available. Asia registered the most TB cases in 2007, with 55%, while Africa had 31%. Among nations, India had the most cases with two million; China had 1.3 million and Indonesia 530,000.

Public Health System in India Public health system in India suffers from many problems which includes insufficient funding, shortage of facilities leading to overcrowding and severe shortage of trained health personnel. There is also lack of accountability in the public health delivery mechanisms. These are some of the reasons, which have placed India at the lowest rank in the Human Development Index.

India however holds top position in migration of physicians to developed countries like UK and the US. According to Planning Commission the country has a shortfall of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and two lakh dental surgeons. This has led to a dismal patient-doctor ratio in the country. For every 10,000 Indians, there is just one doctor.

National Urban Health Mission The much publicized National Urban Health Mission is yet to see the light of day. The scheme plans to monitor and improve the health of 22 crore people living in urban slums in 429 cities and towns. It was to be launched mid 2008 but the mission is yet to become functional. NURM is aimed at providing accessible, affordable, effective and reliable primary health care facilities especially to urban poor. Even for NHRM there is limited progress due to lack of standardization of medical facilities. India has banned tobacco consumption in public places but only 12 states have started implementing the ban. More than 10 lakh people at present die in India every year due to tobacco consumption. At present more than 57% male and 10.9% female consume tobacco while 15% children consume tobacco. Female feticide continues to tarnish India’s image.The child sex ratio (0-6 years) was 945 (1991 census) and this declined to 927 girls per thousand boys (in 2001 census).The figures are alarming in prosperous states like Punjab(798),Haryana (819),Chandigarh (845),Delhi (868),Gujarat (883) and Himachal Pradesh (896).

The Third Edition of the Tobacco Atlas The third edition of the Tobacco Atlas released in Dublin by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation says that more women in India are turning smokers and oral users of tobacco. India has the third highest number of female tobacco users in the world. Of the estimated 11.9 million female consumers of tobacco in India 5.4 million smoke it and rest chews the leaves. To-

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bacco in any form is life threatening and is considered health hazard. According to the report world wide tobacco consumption could kill six million people in 2010 and one third of those people would die of cancer. About 25% of smokers die or become ill during their most productive years, adversely impacting families as well as economies. Earlier Tobacco killed more men than women but this is slowly changing as smoking rates are increasing among women in many countries including India and particularly among young women. The gap between tobacco death rates between men and women is closing. Female smokers in India are dying eight years earlier than their non-smoking peer group. Smoking creates health problems among women especially reproductive health .It not only adversely affect the health of eggs produced ;it could compromise the health of the expectant mother and the foetus.It is true for passive smokers as well. Tobacco consumers are more vulnerable to disease especially cancer and particularly lung cancer. There are many factors leading to increase in women smoking. Smoking dulls the appetite and is seen as convenient and easy way of following diet plan to help weight loss. In rural areas by default women catch the smoking habit as they are required to light their husband’s hukkas .Some women smoke beedis as past time. Indian government should do more public awareness campaigns. The other ways would be more stringent legislation, high pricing and pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. On current trends the goal of halving hunger would not be until 2035, 40 countries would have equal enrolments for boys and girls until after 2025 and current progress in cutting maternal mortality rates was less than 1/5th of what was needed to meet the goal. The total number of HIV/AIDS infections in 2007 was 33 million-the highest ever. According to Action Aid discussions at the UN

and this year’s meeting of the G-8 industrial nations in Japan would only succeed if they started with the recognition that the development emergency is first and foremost an emergency for women and girls. The lack of progress on maternal health shows people lives are at stake.

SD Tendulkar Report on Poverty According to a recent Indian government committee constituted to estimate poverty, nearly 38% of India’s population (380 million) is poor. This report is based on new methodology and the figure is 10% higher than the present poverty estimate of 28.5%.

Different Methodology The committee was headed by SD Tendulkar has used a different methodology to reach at the current figure. It has taken into consideration indicators for heath, education, sanitation, nutrition and income as per National Sample Survey Organization survey of 2004-05.This new methodology is a complex scientific basis aimed at addressing the concern raised over the current poverty estimation. Since 1972 poverty has been defined on basis of the money required to buy food worth 2100 calories in urban areas and 2400 calories in rural areas. In June this year a government committee headed by NC Saxena committee estimated 50% Indians were poor as against Planning Commission’s 2006 figure of 28.5%.

Poverty is Biggest Problem Poverty is one of the main problems which have attracted attention of sociologists and economists. It indicates a condition in which a person fails to maintain a living standard adequate for his physical and mental efficiency. It is a situation people want to escape. It gives rise to a feeling of a discrepancy between what one has and what one should have. The term poverty is a relative concept. It is very difficult to draw a demarcation line between affluence and poverty.

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Even after more than 60 years of Independence, India still has the world's largest number of poor people in a single country. Of its nearly 1 billion inhabitants, an estimated 260.3 million are below the poverty line, of which 193.2 million are in the rural areas and 67.1 million are in urban areas. More than 75% of poor people reside in villages. Poverty level is not uniform across India. The poverty level is below 10% in states like Delhi, Goa, and Punjab etc whereas it is below 50% in Bihar (43) and Orissa (47). It is between 30-40% in Northeastern states of Assam, Tripura, and Mehgalaya and in Southern states of TamilNadu and Uttar Pradesh. Agreement with World Bank on Health Project India has signed a Financing Agreement of National Vector Borne Disease Control and Polio Eradication Support Project with the World Bank on February 13th, 2009. The agreement is for a total assistance of approximately 518 million dollar as part of IDA allocation to India. The agreement was signed by Dr. Alok Sheel, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of Government of India and. Rachid Benmesssaoud Operations Adviser, World Bank (India), signed on behalf of the World Bank.The closing date of the project is December 31, 2013.

Objective The project aims at enhancing the effectiveness of government response to control malaria, eliminate Kala Azar and eradicate polio. This will be achieved by increasing the number of people benefiting from effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for malaria and Kala Azar, and vaccination against polio. The project will have four components including., “Improving Access to and Use of Services for Control of Malaria”, “Improving Access to and Use of Services for Elimination of Kala Azar”, “Policy and Strategy Development, Capacity Building and Monitoring and Evaluation” and “Improving Polio vaccine availability”.

Supreme Court on Anti-Rragging Norms The Supreme Court on 9 May 2009 added teeth to its earlier stringent anti-ragging directions by making the head of the institution and the local police chief liable for disciplinary action if any ragging incident takes place within their jurisdiction. The fresh directives were added to its earlier guidelines, which among other punishments also provided for rustication of the errant senior if he indulged in ragging, as the ragging-related death of Amann Kachroo exposed the chinks in their implementation. Pronouncing the elaborate measures, most of which were suggested by the SC committee headed by former CBI director R K Raghvan, a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and A K Ganguly directed a national level committee to suggest remedial measures in the school curriculum to limit the ragging menace by studying the impact of this physical abuse on students.

Major anti-ragging directions Penal consequences and departmental proceedings against institutions and departmental heads who show apathy towards complaints of ragging Freshers to be divided into small groups and affiliated to a teaching staff who would keep constant vigil on their welfare and protect them from seniors

Round-the-clock vigil on hostel premises Departmental action against principal of Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), where Amann Kachroo died after ragging SHO/SP, within whose jurisdiction a particular college falls, shall be responsible for ensuring that

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Female Foeticide

no ragging takes place on the campus of the concerned colleges Amann's father Rajendra Kachroo to assist Raghvan Committee to provide a linkage between committee's efforts and the NGO anti-ragging movement De-addiction measures in RPGMC where alcoholism is rampant

Raghavan Committee The Raghavan Committee on ragging, constituted by the apex court to monitor implementation of its omnibus order banning ragging in colleges, submitted its 'not so happy' latest status report on 12 August 2008 to a Bench comprising justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukandakam Sharma. Summarising its view after scanning of ragging incidents across the country till August 5, the committee through additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam told the Bench that "overall progress in the matter was slack, and more effort needed to be shown by regulatory bodies in the form of regulations and directions" to achieve zero tolerance towards ragging. Expressing displeasure over the helplessness shown by regulatory bodies like UGC, AICTE, MCI and DCI, the committee said unless the financial grant to the institutions was linked to their action against ragging, it would not be possible to completely stamp out the menace from the campus. The Bench, taking the suggestions on record, said it would pass appropriate orders for effective implementation of its order on the ban on ragging in educational institutions. The committee stressed the need to "give exemplary punishment, as directed by the Supreme Court, to students found guilty of ragging" so that the seriousness with which the offence was viewed by the authorities should sink in among students.

Terming female foeticide as a "shame" on Indian society, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said to nation from the Red Fort on the 63rd Independence Day that the country cannot progress unless women become equal partners in growth. The Prime Minister announced the launch of a National Female Literacy Mission with an aim to reduce female illiteracy by half. He said special care would be taken of needs of women and children and added that the Government has decided to extend the benefit of ICDS to every child below the age of six years by March 2012.

Female Foeticide Scenario The 2001 census of India reveals a decline in the overall child sex ratio for the age-group 0-6 years from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001.Contrary to the belief that the malaise is typical to rural ,backward areas, urban centers more literate and liberal have shown a drop from 935 in 1991 to 906 in 2001. In Delhi, the national capital, the child sex ratio is an alarming 868.While the reasons for this vary from higher female mortality at a younger age as a result of neglect to infanticide and foeticide; the dismal numbers are a telling comment on the educated society that refuses to rid itself of its regressive male bias. The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Regulations and Prevention of Misuse Act came into force in 1994 to curb selective sex determination. With rapid improvements in diagnostic technology the Act was amended in 2003 in order that it became more comprehensive and was renamed the Preconception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. To monitor the implementation of the PC & PNDT Act, the ministry of Health and Family Welfare has set up a Central Supervisory Board as well as state-level supervisory committees. A ministry report indicates that there are 420 ongoing court/

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police cases for violations of the law. Of these only 65 cases relate to identification and revelation of the sex of the foetus, 43 are against people who have advertised facilities for sex selection and the rest are for non-registration of clinics/facilities. Apart from the nature of the Act, government inaction in most cases is due to the fact that the patient, her family and the violators of the law are hand-in-glove. The Annual Report (2006) of the PC &PNDT division also identifies the nonavailability of evidence or witnesses as the chief hindrance to implementing the law. The unscrupulous doctors and patients have developed their own sex determination code language to circumvent the law. For an instance if a doctor says collect the report on Monday the family is meant to infer that the unborn child is a boy. Friday connotes the girl child. Also signing a report in blue ink indicates a boy while red ink is meant for baby girls. The Annual Report mentions the fact the CMO or CS is usually not empowered enough to bring violators to book. Also abortions to limit family size add to the difficulty of nabbing guilty. Despite the loopholes the government has exerted itself to advocate the girl child's right to live. A new website has been launched www.pndt.gov.in with the facility to file a complaint online against doctors, maternity homes and clinics. The organizations like Sonological Society of India are also supporting the government initiatives.

sectors with decline in the employment for each sector being 0.48 lakhs, 0.23 lakhs and 1.52 lakhs respectively. In fact there seems to be a steady decrease in employment rates on a monthly basis in the IT/BPO sector i.e. 0.24 lakhs loss of jobs increasing upto 0.33 lakhs in May.

Decrease in Employment Rate in India

A trend developing these days has been attributed to the decline in the employment rate. It is the increase in contract employment which has replaced regular employment. This can be particularly noticed in banks as all labour has been turning computerised. This has been proved by the 0.40 lakh increase in employment in contractual employment. Another important observation in the report by the Labour Bureau was that migrant workers returned to their hometowns during this particular period resulting in the decline in employment in export sectors.

The Centre's estimates have revealed a decline in overall employment rate by more than a lakh in the first quarter of the calendar year 2009 contradicting its own claims of insulating the economy from the global meltdown. There was a decline in employment by 1.31 lakhs during the months of April to June 2009. Om a monthly basis, the employment rate in April dropped by .38 lakhs and 1.57 lakhs in May but fortunately saw a slight rise of 0.64 lakhs in June.

The Labour Bureau, on analysis of 3003 establishments which were previously covered in an analysis, disclosed estimates which made a report on the effect of the global meltdown on employment rates in India for the months April to June 2009. The report said that the government of India has been keeping a close watch on the dwindling employment rates due to the slowdown in economy in all basic sectors. There has been however reason to cheer in some departments such as the leather and automobiles sectors as there was a slight increase in employment during this particular period. The worst hit among all sectors though was the textiles sector which was down by 1.54 lakhs during this quarterly period. An important observation is the increase in employment in nonexporting sectors as compared to the simultaneous decline in the exporting sector as there has been an increase of 0.35 lakhs in the non exporting sector.

Contract Employment Replaced Regular Employment

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UNESCO Listed 196 Languages as Endangered With 196 of its languages listed as endangered, India, a nation with great linguistic diversity, tops the UNESCO's list of countries having maximum number of dialects on the verge of extinction. India is closely followed by the US which stands to lose 192 languages and Indonesia, where 147 are in peril. Among the 196, 84 fall in the unsafe category where children speak the language but it's restricted to certain domains some of these include Tulu, Konkani, Gharwali and Kumaoni. 103 are endangered as they're only spoken by grandparents and the older generations sometimes partially and infrequently and nine are extinct where no speakers are left. The facts were revealed in the latest Atlas of World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing unveiled by the UN's cultural agency UNESCO on the eve of International Mother Language Day. The atlas classifies around 2,500 of the 6,000 languages spoken worldwide as endangered. It further adds that nearly 200 languages have fewer than 10 speakers and 178 others have between 10 and 50 speakers. It reveals that over 200 languages used in the world have died out over the last three generations, 538 are critically endangered, 502 severely endangered, 632 definitely endangered and 607 unsafe. The language of Manx in the Isle of Man died in 1974 with the death of Ned Maddrell while Eyak in Alaska met its demise last year when Marie Smith Jones passed away. According to the database, nearly one-third of all of the world's languages are spoken in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is estimate that 10 per cent of them will disappear during the course of the next century. However, the situation of languages is not equally dire worldwide. For example, Papua New Guinea, the most linguistically diverse with over 800 languages believed to be spoken there, has 88 relatively few endangered languages.

Some languages classified as extinct, including Cornish in the UK and Ssh in New Caledonia, are being actively revitalised and could potentially become living again. Still there is disheartening news. There are 199 languages in the world spoken by fewer than a dozen people, including Karaim which has six speakers in Ukraine and Wichita, spoken by 10 people in the US state of Oklahoma. The updated data represents a multi-fold increase from the last atlas compiled in 2001 which listed 900 languages threatened with extinction. More than 30 linguists worked on the Atlas, which highlights how the phenomenon of disappearing languages is evident in every region and in varying economic conditions. The database, which is continually supplemented, corrected and updated on user contributions, ranks the dying languages as unsafe, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered and extinct.

Grading System in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) The Government on Aug 31, 2009 announced that it will introduce grading system in all Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools and make Class X board exams optional from coming academic year (2010-11). Union Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal said that Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) supports making Class X examination optional in CBSE system. The Class X board exams will become optional in all CBSE schools from the coming academic year (2010-11). The CBSE has prepared the format of an aptitude exam which schools can use to test Class X students on their level of understanding in each subject. The emphasis, however, will be on continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) through the year instead of a single public exam at the end of Class X.

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12 New Central Universities The government will issue an ordinance to create 12 new central universities, it was announced on jan 12,2009. The new universities will be established in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. In addition, the Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya at Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, the Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University at Srinagar in Uttarakhand would be converted into central universities. These institutions currently function as state universities. The proposed ordinance would contain all the provisions of the Central Universities Bill, 2008 pending in the Lok Sabha, with such changes as may be necessary to implement the accepted recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee, which include, among others, dropping of the conversion of Goa University into a central university. The conversion of Goa University was included in the bill on a specific request of the state government.

Number of Female Post Graduates in Urban India Rises According to the latest report of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), the number of post graduates in every 1,000 males surveyed has increased from 28 in 2001-02 to 35 in 2006-07 in urban India. The number of female post graduates has increased from 19 to 26 during the same period. The number of male and female graduates during the same period has increased from 97 and 67 to 111 and 82, respectively. The incidence of illiteracy in rural areas has declined from 39.5% in 2001-02 to 34.9% in 2006-07. In urban sector, the same has declined from 19.4% to 16.5% during the same period. What is significant is that in both urban and rural sectors, the illiteracy rate of

female has declined at a higher rate than that of the male. Female illiteracy rate has declined by 4.6 percentage points in rural areas and 3.4 percentage points decline of the male illiteracy rate in rural and urban sector respectively, during 2001-02 to 2006-07.

India Tops World Hunger Chart India is failing its rural poor with 230 million people being undernourished the highest for any country in the world. Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths in India as every third adult (aged 15-49 years) is reported to be thin (BMI less than 18.5). According to the latest report on the state of food insecurity in rural India, brought out by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), more than 1.5 million children are at risk of becoming malnourished because of rising global food prices. The report said that while general inflation declined from a 13-year high exceeding 12% in July 2008 to less than 5% by the end of January 2009, the inflation for food articles doubled from 5% to over 11% during the same period. India ranks 94th in the Global Hunger Index of 119 countries, the report said. More than 27% of world’s undernourished population lives in India.

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh gram Yojana Government on sept 7, 2009 has proposed to take up a new scheme on a pilot basis, called “Pradhan Mantri Adarsh gram Yojana” (PMAGY) for integrated development of 1,000 villages, each having more than 50% SC population. The scheme aims to implement various development projects in these villages, with an additional fund of Rs 10 lakh per village to meet those requirements that cannot be met from existing schemes. If the pilot scheme is successful, it may be expanded.

National Mission on Education The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a scheme, National Mission on Education, to use the Information Communication Tech-

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nology (ICT) to provide personalized and interactive knowledge modules to students. The scheme will cost Rs 4,612 crore in the 11th Plan. Over 18,000 colleges across India will get computer infrastructure and connectivity, including all departments in 419 universities, deemed universities and institutions of national importance. In another decision, the Cabinet approved the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan to increase enrolment rates in secondary education from 52.56 per cent at present to 75 per cent in 2012. Under the scheme 11,188 new schools will be built and 44,000 existing schools strengthened and 1.79 lakh additional teachers will be appointed.

and the associated factors which influence them. The report examined the effectiveness of some of the important food-based interventions like the Public Distribution System, the Integrated Child Development Services and the Mid Day Meal Scheme and recommends measures for improved performance.

Use of Auto Disable Syringes made Mandatory

The United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA), launched the 2008 State of World Population Report in the Philippines in 2008 at EDSA Shangrila Hotel.

The Directorate General of Health Services has made it mandatory for all states to use Auto Disable (AD) syringes in all Government hospitals and health centres with reference to April 1, 2009. The action came in the wake of a national study conducted by the Indiaclen Programme Evaluation Network on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Government of India, and World Bank, entitled 'Assessment of Injection Practices in India' in 2002 - 2005 which brought to light that in India nearly two thirds of the injections are administered in an unsafe manner and also all the injections administered in India, one third carry a potential risk of transmitting blood borne virus. AD syringes eliminate the possibility of reuse and hence the risk of infection through blood.

UNWFP Report The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) said that most rural Indians are victims of malnutrition, despite the introduction of several government schemes to end the problem on Feb 21st, 2009. A UNWFP with MS Swaminathan Research Foundation report said that 40 per cent of children under the age of three are underweight and a third of all men and women suffer from chronic energy deficiency. It also stressed nutritional outcomes

A survey by the Indian health ministry, backed by UNICEF, had found that almost 46 percent of children under the age of three are undernourished.

2008 State of World Population Report

The theme of the report is ‘Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights’. The report, which coincides with 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is based on the concept that the international human rights framework has universal validity. Human rights express values common to all cultures and protect groups as well as individuals. The report endorses culturally sensitive approaches to development and to the promotion of human rights, in general, and women's rights, in particular. Cultural sensitive approaches are essential for reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the fifth goal namely to improve maternal health. The Constitution (109th Amendment) Bill 2009 Parliamentary approval was accorded to a constitutional amendment bill extending the reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in parliament and state assemblies for another 10 years, with the Lok Sabha passing the measure on August 4th, 2009. The Constitution (109th Amendment) Bill 2009 had been adopted by the Rajya Sabha. The measure also extends nomination of members of the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha

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and the state assemblies by another 10 years. The bill, moved by Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily passed in a division vote with 385 of the members present voting in favour, while one voted against and one abstained.

The scheme will help meritorious students belonging to poorer sections of the society to meet their day-to-day expenses while pursuing college/university education, who are not benefited by any other scholarship scheme.

Out of 543 Lok Sabha seats, 79 have been reserved for SCs and 42 for STs and out of 3,961 assembly seats, 543 are reserved for SCs and 527 for STs.

As part of the second package, the committee gave its approval for introduction of a new centrally sponsored scheme of 'Inclusive Education of the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS)' at an expenditure of Rs.12.6 billion.

New Pension Scheme (NPS) The New Pension Scheme (NPS) has been launched on ‘Labour Day’ on May 1st, 2009 for all the citizens. This followed the confirmation by the National Interim Pension Regulator of the scheduled launch of the Mega Pension Plan. According to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the necessary infrastructure for the roll out of the NPS is now ready and it will be available to all the citizens. Under this scheme, the Central Government employees who joined on or after Jan 1, 2004 are also covered under this. Besides the government employees, bank branches and post offices will be used to collect contributions for all the citizens. Six pension fund managers will plan schemes and manage funds. A central record-keeping agency has also been appointed. All these institutions will be regulated by an independent regulator, PFRDA.

Rs 22.6 Billion for Poor, Disabled Students Indian government has approved two schemes worth Rs.22.6 billion to provide scholarship to needy meritorious students and help 520,000 disabled students to pursue education at the secondary level on Sep 18,2008. In the first scheme, the cabinet committee on economic affairs gave its approval for implementation of central sector scheme of scholarships for college and university students worth Rs.10 billion during the 11th Five Year Plan period.

All disabled children passing out of the Class VIII stage (middle school) in government, local body and government-aided schools will be identified for enrolment in the secondary stage (Class IX to XII). As part of this initiative an estimated 520,000 disabled children will be provided education during the 11th Plan period.

Urban-India Led in Unemployment Unemployment rates are much higher among educated individuals, especially the ones in urban areas, according to the Indian Labor Market Report 2009 published by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) 07 April 2009. Among emerging sectors, the retail sector is the largest employer, followed by construction, the report says. While the segments including hospitality, transport, communication and wholesale and retail trade, have witnessed temporary recruitment. The case of temporary recruits is far less pronounced in the segments such as financial intermediation, mining and quarrying and real estate. The report is based on the survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). While Goa has the highest unemployment rates of 11.4 percent, followed by Kerala at 9.1 percent, states, which enjoy the lowest unemployment rates, are Uttaranchal and Chattisgarh - 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, shows a statewise analysis of the trend.

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Gender-wise, urban women have the highest unemployment rates (9.2 percent) while the lowest is accounted for by rural women at 7.31 percent. It is desirable that the existing pattern of the Indian labor market - a dichotomy in gender, region, social security, and education - must undergo significant changes to favor more human development. The percentage of urban women, who are not part of the labor force, is higher than that of their rural counterparts. While in most states, the percentage of rural women, not part of the labor force, is nearly 6070 percent, the corresponding figure for their urban counterparts is close to 80 percent.

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Economy

ASEAN and India Sign the Much Awaited Free Trade Area The much-awaited ASEAN-India Trade in Goods (TIG) Agreement was concluded in Bangkok on 13 August 2009 after six years of negotiations. The signing of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement paves the way for the creation of one of the world’s largest free trade areas (FTA) - market of almost 1.8 billion people with a combined GDP of US$ 2.75 trillion. ASEAN-India FTA will see tariff liberalisation of over 90 percent of products traded between the two dynamic regions, including the so-called “special products,” such as palm oil (crude and refined), coffee, black tea and pepper. Tariffs on over 4,000 product lines will be eliminated by 2016, at the earliest. The ASEAN-India TIG Agreement will enter into force on 1 January 2010 once India and at least one ASEAN Member State notify completion of their internal ratification process. The ASEAN-India FTA is the fifth ASEAN-wide FTA. The signing marks the end of protracted negotiations that spanned almost six years following the signing of the ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation in 2003. The Economic Ministers from ASEAN Member States and India signed the following agreements to effect the free trade in goods among them when theymet for their 7th AEM-India Consultations in Bangkok, Thailand on 13 August 2009: a) Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and India; b) ASEAN-India Trade in Goods (TIG) Agreement; c) Memorandum of Understanding on the Basel

Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Disposal; and d) ASEAN-India Agreement on Dispute Settlement Mechanism.

India-ASEAN Economic Relations India-ASEAN relations have deepened and intensified significantly in recent years. India desires to build on our centuries old historical, cultural, religious and economic ties with ASEAN to fashion a dynamic relationship that not only encompasses trade and economic relations but all aspects of human endeavour, bringing together our synergies in a mutually beneficial manner. India has been following a conscious “Look East Policy” since early 1990s. India’s interaction with ASEAN is integral to this approach. There has been steady progress in the India-ASEAN relationship since the policy was initiated in 1991. We became sectoral dialogue partners of ASEAN in 1992. In 1996, this was upgraded to full dialogue partnership.

India-ASEAN functional cooperation India-ASEAN functional cooperation includes cooperation in sectors such as Science & Technology, Human Resource Development, Health and Pharmaceuticals, Space Sciences, Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, Transport and Infrastructure, Tourism and Culture, and Small and Medium enterprises etc. ASEAN side specifically sought close collaboration with India in sectors such as S&T, ICT, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, Health and Disaster Management. They have also expressed the need to cooperate in developing traditional medicines and in the manufacturing of affordable drugs, particularly anti-retroviral drugs for Avian Influenza. The need was also expressed for India and ASEAN to work together on the critical issue of climate change.

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Towards the new building blocks for the evolving regional architecture for cooperation, we proposed several new measures. Among these are: realizing India-ASEAN trade target of US $ 50 billion by 2010, simplification of visa regime for businesspersons travelling from India to ASEAN and vice-versa, launching of an India-ASEAN Health Care Initiative with a focus to provide basic drugs at low cost, setting up of an India-ASEAN Green Fund for undertaking pilot projects to tackle issues associated with Climate Change, an expanded Open Skies Policy with ASEAN, and a target of 1 million tourists to India from ASEAN region by the year 2010. Our thrust remains to create an “arc of advantage” linking India with South East Asia. Recently, India finalized text of Trade-in-Goods Agreement under a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN block, which will ensure lowering of duties and free flow of trade in goods. This Trade-in-goods (TiG) agreement is likely to be signed in near future. The agreement will create a market of over 1.5 billion people in the region. India and ASEAN will also negotiate Agreement in Trade-in-Services and Investment as a single undertaking as soon as possible. India has a stake in ASEAN’s stability in deepening economic integration and community building. In this regard PM has announced operationalisation of the India-ASEAN Science and Technology Fund with an initial corpus fund of 1 million US dollars.

India-Egypt MoU for cooperation in trade and economic fields Picking up the threads of a relationship that had gone dry for almost a quarter of a century, India and Egypt on November 18, 2008, took the high road, setting up a strategic dialogue and signing a rash of agreements during President Hosni Mubarak’s first visit to India in 25 years. India and Egypt signed five agreements, including an extradition treaty and one on cooperation in outer space and an MoU for cooperation in trade and economic fields.

Economic and Commercial Relations Egypt has traditionally been one of India’s most important trading partners in the African continent. The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since March 1978 and is based on the Most Favoured Nation clause. India emerged as Egypt’s third largest trading partner behind the US and Italy in 2006. In 2007, India’s rank was fourth behind the US, Italy and Saudi Arabia. Both in 2006 and in 2007, India was the largest importer of Egyptian products, mainly on account of oil and gas. India’s rank among the top countries to Egypt improved from 19th in 2005 to 14th in 2006 to 11th in 2007 and 9th in 2008. Major Egyptian exports: oil and gas, coking coal, raw cotton, rock phosphate, and marble Major Indian exports: frozen meat, cotton yarn and synthetic yarn, rice, diesel, tobacco, electrical machinery, soybean, chemicals, automobiles and components, sugar, pharmaceuticals and tea.

Bilateral Investment India and Egypt signed the BIPA in April 1997, which entered into force in November 2000. According to Egyptian sources, India is the 12th largest foreign investor in Egypt with a total investment of approximately US$ 750 million in close to 40 projects. Egyptian investments in India are limited to a 10% stake of Orascom Telecom in the then Hutchison-Essar which has since been bought by Vodafone

Indian Projects in Egypt Alexandria Carbon Black (ACB) set up by Grasim India Limited with TRENCO and ATC as Egyptian partners has been the leading successful joint venture. Established in 1994 in Alexandria with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes, its capacity has since been increased to 180,000 tonnes. It exports 93% of its product generating foreign exchange revenue or savings of close to US$ 100 million for Egypt annually.

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A new acrylic fibre plant, Alexandria Fibre Co. was also set up in Alexandria by the Aditya Birla Group in February 2006 with an initial investment of $ 60 million and a capacity of 18,000 tonnes per year. Other major investments include the JV between Asian Paints and SCIB Chemical, (Orascom Group); in October 2004, HDFC facilitated the setting up of EHDC (Egyptian Housing Development Company) by acquiring 10% equity and providing technical as well as management assistance; IFFCO has signed an agreement with Al Nasr mines to establish a phosphoric acid plant in Upper Egypt entailing an investment of over $ 550 million; the Oberoi Group has been managing a hotel and Nile cruises; ESSEL of India has set up a JV for manufacturing laminated tooth paste tubes for Proctor and Gamble in Egypt; Dabur India Ltd. has established a 100% owned facility for the production of its cosmetics line; Niletex, a 100% Indian company manufactures PVC water-storage tanks; M/s. Auto Tech Engineering, another 100% Indian company, manufactures auto valves; Kirloskar Brothers assemble diesel engines and irrigation pump sets in Egypt; Ranbaxy has an Egyptian subsidiary for manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations; Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra are marketing their vehicles in Egypt, and Bajaj Auto dominated the three-wheelers market. Marico, an Indian consumer goods company acquired ‘Fiancee’, a cosmetics line and ‘Hair Code’’, a hair care brand from Egypt’s Ready Group. The Sanmar Group completed acquisition of a caustic soda unit of Trust Chemicals of Egypt, located at Port Said in 2007, at a cost of US$ 250 million. In June 2007, an agreement was signed between South Asia Petrochemicals Ltd. of India and ECHEM of Egypt to set up the first PET resin plant in Egypt with a total investment of USD 100 million. In November 2008, Kernex Microsystems were awarded a US$ 17.5 million contract by the Egyptian National Railways for modernization of 136 level crossings. In December 2008, KEC International Ltd. bagged an order valued at US$ 135 million awarded by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company

for a turnkey project for the design, supply and construction of 196 km long 500 kV double circuit line. The project is funded by the European Investment Bank.

Oil and Gas Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has equity and management stake in two gas distribution ventures in Fayoum and Cairo as well as in Natgas. OVL and its partner IPR Red Sea Inc. have announced two oil field discoveries in the North Ramadan Concession in the Gulf of Suez. GSPC of Gujarat has bagged two oil and gas exploration blocks in Egypt, one in the Mediterranean offshore and the other in the Western Desert. IT: The Global Solutions Centre (GSC) of Satyam Computer Services was inaugurated in Cairo on 5 March 2008. WIPRO has established a similar facility in Cairo. TCS is also in negotiations with theEgyptian Ministry of IT for setting up operations in Egypt.

India and South Korea signed a CEPA After more than three years of negotiations, India and South Korea signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on August 9, 2009, covering trade in goods, services and investment, and international property rights. Both countries agreed to gradually lower tariffs over a 10-year period, once the South Korean National Assembly ratifies the agreement. The CEPA negotiations had started in March 2006 and were concluded in September 2008. The Cabinet had approved the pact in July 2009. Under the CEPA, India will eliminate duties on 75 percent of products imported from South Korea on a custom-value basis during the eight years after the CEPA becomes effective. South Korea will remove duties on 93 percent of products from India during the same period. South Korea first time made such deal with an emerging economy and India signed first time with a major developed country. India’s agreement with South Korea also allows for protection of vulner-

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able industries, such as farming and forestry, which both countries have conceded to establish a lower level of market opening.

Mukherjee urged industry leaders and the African continent to seek benefits from this opportunity.

The CEPA comprises six agreements relating mainly to opening up of trade in goods, services and customs. It would give a boost to the more than USD 10 billion bilateral trade.

The External Affairs Minister also laid emphasis on agriculture and food security for cooperation between India and Africa, and said that Indian companies have started exploring opportunities in the production of pulses, cereals and oil seeds. This will directly affect the farming communities by providing partnerships to undertake contracts in this sector.

South Korea expects that agreement on CEPA will increase exports and diversify investment, and also pave the way for future agreements with other South Asian nations. India, a more service-driven country, will benefit from the possibility of greater human resource exchange, including allowing Indian software experts and engineers easier access to the South Korean market. Trade between the two countries has been growing: it reached US$15.6 billion in 2008, and should grow by another US$3.3 billion in 2010 after the deal is signed. In 2007-08, India exported USD 2.85 billion worth of goods to South Korea, posting a rise of 13.5 per cent over the previous year.

CEPA The CEPA is similar to a free trade agreement (FTA), with a comprehensive coverage of trade in goods and services and investments, as well as intellectual property rights.

India-Africa Business Partnership Summit A two-day India-Africa Business Partnership summit in New Delhi on January 19-20, 2009 has ended successfully in which External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee called for increased cooperation and dialogue with African nations on crucial global issues, including Jihadi terrorism. Mukherjee also referred other issues like climate change, food and energy security, health, marine piracy and democratization of financial institutions. Addressing the global financial crisis, he said that the model of international financial architecture has come into question. He, however, gave an optimistic statement saying that India will grow at seven percent and continue the upward trend.

Mukherjee further advised the two regions to create a deep and wide economic engagement with a focus on investment and technical tie-ups. Describing India’s huge manpower as its biggest strength, he called for cost effective and intermediate technologies at par with the human recourses. He informed that the trade between India and Africa has reached 30 billion US dollars and there is a huge capacity to reach to greater heights. Mukherjee also finalized the framework agreement for professional trading with South African Customs Union. On the other hand, Rwandas President, Mr. Paul Kagame stressed on the need to have a comprehensive strategy on Africas development challenges. He agreed with Indias view to reform International financial institutions. He urged the African business community to utilize financial support for effective strengthening of economic relations. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath also expressed his hope that India will come out of the global financial meltdown unharmed and will continue growing. He said the inflow of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) is satisfactory and it is expected to cross 30 billion dollars this year. The business partnership conference includes more than 250 delegates and 30 African countries, which has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

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Pan-African E-Network Project One more significant and shining chapter in the history of India-Africa relationship was added, when the Pan-African e-Network Project was inaugurated on 26th Feb 2009 by Hon'ble Shri Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister at the TCIL Bhawan in New Delhi, amidst the presence of High Commissioners and Ambassadors of African countries. With the commissioning of the Pan-African eNetwork Project, former president Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam vision of connecting India with all 53 countries of the African Union with a satellite and fibre optic network for sharing India's expertise in education and health care, has been translated into reality. Describing the Pan-African e-Network Project as a shining example of South-South Cooperation, the External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that under this project India has gifted a dedicated satellite hub for e-connectivity in Africa to help bridge the digital divide. The Project aims to create significant linkages for teleeducation and tele-medicine, making available the facilities and expertise of some of the best universities and super-specialty hospitals in India to the people of Africa. The Minister added that the project is also equipped to support e-governance, e-commerce, infotainment, resource mapping and meteorological and other services in the African countries, besides providing VVIP connectivity among the Heads of State of the African countries through a highly secure closed satellite network. He said that thirty three countries have already joined this Project and more are expected to join in the course of the coming months. Eleven countries have been covered in the first phase where both the Learning Centres for tele-education and Patient-end Hospitals for tele-medicine are ready. These include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Seychelles. The External Affairs Minister assured that nine more countries namely Botswana, Burundi,

Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Uganda would be covered in the second phase by March 2009. Another nine countries, namely Comoros, Cote Dvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia, would be covered by the network as part of Phase-III by 30th June 2009. The Pan-African e-Network Project was approved by the Union Cabinet on 5th July 2007 at a budgeted cost of Rs. 542.90 crores which covers the cost of supply, installation, testing and commissioning of hardware and software, end-to-end connectivity, satellite bandwidth, O&M support, and providing the tele-education and tele-medicine services to 53 African countries for 5 years. The Ministry of External Affairs is the nodal ministry for the project while Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) is implementing the project on a turnkey basis. The Project aims at providing tele-education services to 10,000 African students to undertake PostGraduate, Under-Graduate, PG Diploma and Diploma and skill enabling certification courses in subjects such as Business Administration, IT, International Business, Tourism and Finance. The following seven leading universities and educational institutions of India have been associated with the Project: Amity University, Noida; University of Madras, Chennai; Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi; Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani; University of Delhi; IIT Kanpur and Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) Benguluru. As part of the tele-medicine services, online medical consultation will be provided for one hour every day to each participating African country for a period of 5 years in various medical disciplines such as cardiology, neurology, urology, pathology, oncology, gynecology, infectious diseases/HIVAIDS, ophthalmology, pediatrics etc. Twelve leading Indian Super Specialty Hospitals have been associated with the Project. These are: Apollo Hospital and Sri Ram Chandra Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai; AIIMS, Escorts

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Heart Institute and Moolchand Hospital in New Delhi, Fortis Hospital in Noida, KEM Hospital in Mumbai, Care Hospital in Hyderabad, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi; Manipal Hospital and Narayan Hrudayaylaya, Benguluru and Santosh Hospital, Ghaziabad. With the commencement of the tele-medicine services, some of the best medical specialists of India would be available for consultations online for the African patients. Another important element of tele-medicine services is the Continuing Medical Education (CME) in various specialties which is intended to update the knowledge and upgrade the clinical skills of the practicing physicians and paramedical staff in the African countries. TCIL has established the network with a data centre in TCIL Bhawan, which acts as a gateway to the hub station in Dakar for connectivity of Indian institutions to the African sites. Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with SACU South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia have formed the South Africa Customs Union (SACU) with a common Custom Tariff Policy. A Joint Working Group (JWG) consisting of Government representatives from both sides was set up to examine the proposal to prepare a draft. Frame Work Treaty for the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between India and SACU countries. In a meeting of JWG held in Namibia on 6th-7th September 2004, the draft Framework Agreement was finalized. In the sixth session of the India-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission Meeting held in New Delhi on 5-6 Dec. 2005, both sides agreed that a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement within a reasonable time, and in the interim, a limited scope agreement providing for exchange of tariff concession on select list of products between India and SACU, would give further impetus to bilateral trade. India and Southern African Custom Union (SACU) commenced negotiations for Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) at Pretoria, South Africa on 5th6th October, 2007. The 2nd round for PTA with SACU was held at Walvis Bay, Namibia on 21st22nd February, 2008.

CECPA with Mauritius During the visit of PM of India to Mauritius from March 30-April 2, 2005 both the countries agreed for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) to boost bilateral trade, investment and general economic cooperation. Accordingly an Empowered Negotiation Team consisting of representatives from both the sides for working out the necessary modalities were constituted. Seven Round of talks on CECPA have been held so far. The 7th round of talks was recently held in New Delhi on the 7th July 2006. During the visit of the Prime Minister of Mauritius to India in October 2005 the following bilateral agreements/MoUs were signed between two countries : i. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters; ii. Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons; iii. MoU for cooperation in the field of Hydrography; iv. MoU for Harmonisation of Standards between concerned agencies; 160 India 2009 v. MoU for Cooperation on Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology; vi. MoU between Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and Government of Mauritius; vii. MoU on Preferential Trade Agreement.

Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting with Ethiopia The Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meting is an institutional arrangement under the aegis of Trade Agreement to review the implementation of Trade Agreement and to identify bottlenecks is promoting trade between the countries. The 4th JTC

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meeting with Ethiopia was held on 5th June 2006 at New Delhi. Sh. Jairam Ramesh, Hon'ble Minister of State for Commerce, Govt. of India and the H.E. Mr Ahmed Tusa, State Minister of Trade and Industry, Govt. of Ethiopia co-charied this JTC meeting.

Social Security Agreement to Enhance Cooperation India and Switzerland signed a Social Security Agreement on September 03, 2009 in New Delhi, in presence of theVice-President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of Economic Affairs, Ms. Doris Leuthard. The Agreement was signed by Shri. K.Mohandas, Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry and Mr. PhilippeWelti, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in India. On the occasion, Shri. Mohandas said that this is an important agreement, which will further boost the friendly relationship between the two countries. This Social Security Agreement will enhance cooperation on social security between the two countries. It will facilitate the movement of professionals between the two countries. The detached workers sent by Switzerland- based companies to their Indian subsidiaries, or those sent by Indian companies to their branches in Switzerland will be exempt from social security contribution in the host country for a period of 72 months. While working abroad, these employees will only be subject to the social security regulations of their home country. The Agreement provides that an employed or selfemployed person, other than detached workers shall be subject only to the legislation of the host country. The Agreement provides for refund of the contributions at the time of relocation. In so far as Switzerland is concerned, the person will be refunded the contributions in accordance with the Swiss legislation. In so far as India is concerned, the person will be paid the withdrawal benefit or the pension in Switzerland or a third country, as the case may be, in accordance with the Indian legislation at the time of relocation. The Agreement will come into effect after the fulfillment of the national requirements. There are over 11,000 In-

dians in Switzerland and there are over 800 Swiss nationals working in India. There is potential for greater movement of workers between the two countries in future. This bilateral Social Security Agreement will enhance trade and investment between the two countries. India has signed similar agreements with Belgium, France and Germany in the recent past.

Economic Scenario Switzerland and India continue to be natural partners constantly working together to strengthen their relationship in various fields. In the recent years, economic relations between the two countries have been hoisted to a higher level of importance. This is reflected in the pace at which our total bilateral trade has increased from Swiss Francs 1.16 billion in 2002 to Swiss Francs 2.62 billion in 2006, reflecting an increase of 125 per cent in four years. This positive trend in the last years is set to continue: In the first eleven months of 2007, Swiss exports to India have gone up by 30 per cent whilst Indian exports to Switzerland have increased by 25 per cent, as compared to the same period of the previous year. In terms of foreign direct investments, Switzerland has remained amongst the top 10 foreign investors in India. About 150 Swiss companies have formed joint ventures or subsidiaries, and many more have representatives or agents in India. The Swiss technology-driven companies, including small and medium businesses, play a major role in the trade and investment flows to India. As more and more Indian companies are now venturing abroad, Switzerland is offering many attractive advantages as a business and investment location, especially for those Indian companies which would like to cover their European business activities from within Switzerland. The Swiss Business Hub India (SBHI) which is part of Osec Business Network Switzerland and which is located in the Consulate General in Mumbai and the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi offers a wide range of services to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Switzerland and

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Liechtenstein in their efforts to penetrate the Indian market. The Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC) is a key actor in promoting Swiss-Indian bilateral trade and investment. SICC is a bi-national, nonprofit association with over 320 Swiss and Indian members. It has offices in Zurich, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai. The Chamber provides members in Switzerland and India access to firsthand information and expertise thanks to the reservoir of know-how offered by its board and extensive partner network in both countries. Recent years have also seen exchange of high-level visits, and intensification of the dialogue between the two governments to ensure that together they can explore new ways and means to further strengthen the trade and investment ties. Notably, India has been identified as a country of high importance in the framework of Switzerland's Foreign Economic Strategy. The EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and India will soon launch negotiations for a broad-based agreement on trade and investment. The Indo-Swiss joint economic commission meeting that used to be held every four years will now be held every year. The instruments mentioned above and our bilateral agreements on the Double Taxation Avoidance, Promotion and Protection of Investments and an MOU on Intellectual Property Rights, will ensure that an increasing number of Swiss and Indian companies will find a shared interest in doing business together. The future looks very bright, and both sides are continuing their efforts to deepen and widen the bilateral trade and economic ties.

India will Get the Equivalent of About $4.78 Billion India will get the equivalent of about $4.78 billion as its share of International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) worth $250 billion to provide liquidity to the recession hit global economic system.

IMF will make the general SDR allocation on Aug 28 following formal approval by its board of governors last week of the proposal to allocate SDRs equivalent to $250 billion to provide liquidity to the global economic system by supplementing the Fund's member countries' foreign exchange reserves. The SDR allocation was requested as part of a $1.1 trillion plan agreed at the G20 summit in London in April and endorsed by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) to tackle the global financial and economic crisis by restoring credit, growth and jobs in the world economy. The equivalent of nearly $100 billion of the general allocation will go to emerging markets and developing countries, of which low-income countries will receive over $18 billion, IMF said Thursday. The allocation will provide each participating country with SDRs in amounts equivalent to approximately 74 percent of its quota, and could increase Fund members' total allocations to an amount equivalent to about $283 billion, from about $33 billion (SDR 21.4 billion). Separately, the fourth amendment to the IMF articles of agreement providing for a special onetime allocation of SDRs has now entered into force. The special allocation will be made to IMF members on Sep 9, 30 days after the effective date of the fourth amendment, and will raise the ratios of members' cumulative SDR allocations to quota using a common benchmark ratio as described in the amendment. The total of SDRs created under the special allocation would amount to SDR 21.5 billion (about $33 billion). The special allocation will make the allocation of SDRs more equitable and correct for the fact that countries that joined the Fund after 1981 -- more than one fifth of the current IMF membership -had never received an SDR allocation, IMF said. The fourth amendment, which was proposed in September 1997, required approval by three fifths

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of the IMF membership with 85 percent of the total voting power. This threshold has been reached following the recent approval by the US. The special and general allocations will bring Fund members' cumulative total of SDR allocation to SDR 204 billion (about $316 billion).

FDI equity inflow to India from the US during the period April 2000- June 2008 was US$ 5.4 billion. Trade and economic cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of India-US relations – evident in the rising bilateral trade volume and an enhanced interest to strengthen this trend.

The general SDR allocation is a key example of a cooperative multilateral response to the global crisis, offering significant support to the Fund's members in this challenging period, IMF said.

India is one of the faster growing export destination for US exports. In 2007, the growth rate was 75%. It has slowed down in the first six months of the current year but is still a healthy 26%. Our main imports from the U.S. are aircraft and aviation machinery, other machinery, precious stones and metals, organic chemicals, optical and medical instruments. In 2008, export of fertilizers from the US has increased significantly.

India-Singapore ink pact on tourism On August 4, 2009, India and Singapore signed a joint action plan on tourism cooperation. Minister of Tourism Kumari Selja and Singapore Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education S. Iswaran witnessed the signing by tourism officials of India and Singapore. The plan reiterates provisions of cooperation enshrined in the bilateral agreement on tourism signed between India and Singapore on January 24, 1994.

India-US Economic Partnership The growing economic partnership between the US and India has been one of the pillars of the transformed bilateral relationship. The USA happens to be India’s largest export destination and also one of the leading foreign investors in India. The complementarities between the two economies have made the two sides to seek a strong economic engagement to leverage the advantages available with each other. Bilateral Trade and Investment: The India-US bilateral trade stood at US$ 33.9* billion in 200708.During the year 2007-08, merchandise exports from India to US increased by 9.81% to US$20.7 billion as compared to US$ 18.8 billion in 200607 and merchandise exports from US to India increased by 12.57% to US $ 13.2 billion in 2007-08 as compared to US$11.7 billion in 2006-07. Indian IT and IT enabled services including R&D and Engineering services exports to the US were approximately US$ 24 billion in 2007. The total

India’s exports to United States, though still significantly larger than our imports, are growing at a much slower pace. India’s major export products include gems and jewelry, textiles, organic chemicals and engineering goods. The rise in the value of rupee, hike in transport costs, competition from Bangladesh, Vietnam as well as some Latin American countries that have some duty advantages in textiles and apparel sector and the continuous bonding requirement imposed on shrimps since 2004 are the major factors contributing to the decline. US-bound investment from India has increased significantly since 2002, growing by about 75% on average per year. The value in 2006 is estimated to be about $2 billion and in 2007, the increase has been very rapid with announced Indian investments in US estimated at about $13 billion. The trend seems set to continue in 2008 with deals reported upto May 31 totalling more than $ 8 billion.

Trade Missions and Business Events

» High level trade Missions led by the Governor of Minnesota and the Governor of Utah visited India in Sept-Oct 2007.

» An Infrastructure Summit was organized by the

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CEOs forum in Mumbai in Oct 2007.

» Launch of Initiative- "Investing in America: The Indian Story"

»

September 2007 – New York, USA by FICCIUS India Business Council (USIBC)with support of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

»

An Indo-US SME Summit: Leveraging Global Supply Chains and Integrating the SME Community was held in Chicago in February 2008.

» An Indo-US Biopharma Summit was organized in Boston in June 2008.

»

A US pharma and medical devices delegation visited Indian in September 2008.

»

A renewable energy delegation from the USA led by Mr. David Bohigan, Deputy Assistant Secretary, and Department of Commerce visited India in January 2008 and in September 2008.

India as the most promising overseas investment destination for Japan Japan is currently India’s third largest source of foreign direct investment; Japanese companies have made cumulative investments of around $2.6 billion in India since 1991. The 2007 annual survey conducted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation ranked India as the most promising overseas investment destination for Japanese companies over the long term. In recent years, Japan has assisted India in infrastructure development projects such as the Delhi Metro Rail Project. Both sides are also discussing the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project and Dedicated Freight Corridor Projects on the Mumbai-Delhi and the Delhi-Howrah routes. In October 2008, Japan signed an agreement with India under which it would provide the latter a low-interest loan worth US$4.5 billion to con-

struct a railway project between Delhi and Mumbai. This is the single largest overseas project being financed by Japan and reflect ed growing economic partnership between the two. India is also one of the only three countries in the world with whom Japan has security pact, the other two being Australia and the United States.As of March 2006, Japan was the third largest investor in India with an estimated total investment of US$2.12 billion.

Brazil–India trade in 2007 nearly tripled to US$ 3.12 billion Brazil and India are large continental sized countries with social diversity, democratic governments, a multiethnic society, and a large population base. Both possess advanced technologies. The two countries share similar perceptions on issues of interest to developing countries and have cooperated in the multilateral level on issues such as international trade and development, environment, reformof the UN and the UNSC expansion. In recent years, relations between Brazil and India have grown considerably and co-operation between the two countries has been extended to such diverse areas as science and technology, pharmaceuticals and space. The two way trade in 2007 nearly tripled to US$ 3.12 billion from US$ 1.2 billion in 2004. Global software giant, Wipro Technologies, also set up a business process outsourcing centre in Curitiba to provide shared services to AmBev, the largest brewery in Latin America.

Britain lifts ban on N-exports to India On November 10, 2008, Britain announced the lifting of a ban on exporting sensitive nuclear technology to India for civilian projects giving momentum to resumption of global atomic cooperation with New Delhi after the end of its over threedecade nuclear apartheid. The change in the position of the British government, a strong supporter of the Indo-US nuke deal, followed the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver in September 2008, that brought India back into the nuclear mainstream.

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Bilateral Trade Britain imports most of its tea from India, and there are a number of words of Indian origin in the English language. The UK has an ethnic Indian population of over 1 million. Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations. India is the second largest foreign investor in the UK after the USA, and the UK is also a significant investor in India. There are many bi -lateral trade agreements between the two nations designed to strengthen ties. For example, in 2005, the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was inaugurated in New Delhi aimed at boosting twoway bilateral investments.

India–Russia Economic Relations Bilateral trade turnover is modest and stood at US $ 3 bn in 2006-07, out of which Indian Exports to Russia were valued at US $ 908mn. Main Indian exports to Russia are pharmaceuticals; tea, coffee & spices; apparel & clothing; edible preparations; and engineering goods. Main Indian imports from Russia are iron and steel; fertilizers; non-ferrous metals; paper products; coal, coke& briquettes; cereals; and rubber. Indo-Russian trade is expected to reach US$10 billion by 2010. The India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC) has had 13 sessions so far and is co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister from the Indian side and a Deputy Prime Minister from the Russian side. There are six Joint Working Groups under the IRIGC, namely, WG on Trade and Economy, WG on Energy, WG on Metallurgy and Mining, WG on Science & Technology; WG on Communication and Information Technology; and WG on Culture and Tourism. The 13th of the IRIGC was held in Moscow on 12 October 2007. The two countries have set-up India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment at the level of the two Commerce Ministers to promote trade, investment and economic co-

operation. The first Forum was held in New Delhi on 12-13 February 2007 which was attended by the Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, apart from a large number of business representatives from both sides. The Minister of Commerce& Industry, Shri Kamal Nath participated in the 11th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on 9-10 June 2007. In February 2006, India and Russia also set-up a Joint Study Group to examine ways to increase trade to US $ 10 bn by 2010 and to study feasibility of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). The Group finalized its report after its fourth meeting in Moscow in July 2007. It has been agreed that a Joint Task Force would monitor the implementation of the recommendation made in the Joint Study Group Report, including considering CECA.

Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation The ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in New Delhi has broken the impasse and the Doha trade talks will resume in Geneva on September 14. Even as the 2010 deadline remains a stretch, trade ministers re-affirmed the need for development oriented talks.WTO members' chief negotiators will meet in Geneva from September 14, in the run-up to the Pittsburgh G20 summit, to grapple with outstanding issues in the talks, now in their eighth year, with the aim of completing the round by 2010. Political leaders have called repeatedly in recent months to conclude the Doha round, launched in 2001 to help developing countries grow by opening trade, to help pull the world out of the economic crisis and fight protectionism. The Delhi meeting did not look at any of the specific issues that remain open, such as a safeguard to help farmers in poor countries cope with a flood of imports, or proposals to eliminate duties entirely in some industrial sectors.That will be up to the negotiators, but India expressed confidence that such issues could be resolved around the negotiating table if countries were willing.The talks

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will resume on the basis of the draft negotiating texts issued in December 2008.

cal Sciences (AIIMS) on January 24, and has since been recuperating.

That should provide comfort to WTO members from Brazil to the European Union who had feared that the United States wanted to unpick what has already been agreed over the past seven years, jeopardizing the emerging deal.Ministers also reiterated that the talks had to be multilateral, since any deal must be signed off by all 153 WTO members.

Fact Sheet Name and capital: Republic of Benin, Porto Novo (Administrative Capital) Cotonou (site of most of the Administration and Ministries, economic capital)

Agreement in the Fields of Small-Scale Industries

Languages Spoken: French (official), Fon, Ge, Bariba, Yoruba, Dendi

India and the West African nation of Benin signed five agreements on march 4,2009 in the fields of small-scale industries, cultural and scientific cooperation and diplomatic exchange. The agreements were signed after delegation level talks headed by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the visiting President of Benin, Boni Yayi.

Significant Economic A ctivities: Benin’s economy is chiefly based on agriculture with cotton accounting for 40% of GDP and about 80% of export receipts. Other products include cashew, palm oil, high quality marble limestone and timber.

New Delhi also offered Benin a liberalised line of credit for its developmental needs. Earlier, Yayi was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Talking to media, Yayi extended his support to India in the fight against terrorism. He also favoured New Delhi’s inclusion in the reformed United Nations Security Council to have a democratic world order. Yayi is scheduled to meet President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani. During his five-day visit to India, he will also visit Agra, Mumbai and Bangalore. Wednesday’s engagement was Dr. Singh first official one after undergoing by pass surgery five weeks ago. Dr. Singh underwent a ”redo” coronary artery bypass surgery to remove five blockages in his heart at the All India Institute of Medi-

Population: 7.1 million (2005)

Cotonou port is a major transit market for many West and Central African countries.

Global Trade and Investment India is among the biggest export markets (cotton and cashews) while China is the main source of imports. Total imports with major exporting countries: US$ 866 million (2004) China, France, UK, Thailand, Belgium, India Total exports with major destinations of exports: US$ 670.9 million (2004) India, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Italy

ASSOCHAM –KCCI set up Groups to Promote Bilateral Trade Welcoming the resumption of talks between India-Pakistan, The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and its counterpart Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) have set up Special groups in respective countries to strengthen institutional links

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for formulating concrete action plan to boost bilateral trade.

kistan for specialized treatment in India under a new scheme

The Chamber has already been invited by KCCI, Pakistan for holding business-to-business initiatives and a small group comprising its SAARC Committee Chairman Mr. Ravi Wig and Secretary General D.S. Rawat are scheduled to visit shortly to carry on negotiations further.

vii. Draw a new scheme of scholarship to fixed number of Pakistani students and researchers for higher courses, with minimum one-year duration.

Sajjan Jindal, President, ASSOCHAM said, “the Chamber strongly believes that relations between the two neighbours must improve and beginning has to be made – both countries cannot afford to continue to carry past baggage at the cost of their mutual growth and well being”.

Concrete Items identified by ASSOCHAM & KCCI are : 1. India could source commodity supplies, Sugar being prime item. Pakistan wheat cold be explored in view of apprehended shortage of same in India this year.

In the past, ASSOCHAM has been participating in Pakistan’s trade fair in Karachi every year, hosting Pakistani business delegations, undertaking special market survey and business studies on Indo-Pakistan trade ties and in March hosted former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during his visit to India.

2. Tea : (Pakistani annual demand of 140 million kg can be better met from India – current tea exports from India only 5 million kg).

The proposed roadmap of ASSOCHAM–KCCI Group contains: i. Creation of a dedicated freight transshipment facility along with the land route through Wagah border – at present passenger traffic and freight traffic is handled at single terminal leading to delays for goods traffic. ii. Reduce overheads and delivery period to create attractive possibilities and incentives for the businesses on both sides to trade in many nontraditional items. iii. People-to-people contacts need to be facilitated which may create conditions of cordiality and goodwill in the first instance leading ultimately to more trading opportunities. iv. Advocate relaxation in travel restrictions, more for bona fide travelers v. Increase frequency of train and bus services vi. Explore possibility for more patients from Pa-

viii. Allow more cultural groups from Pakistan : literary figures, musicians ghazal singers.

3. Medicines : India products most competitive in Pakistan. 4. Gems and Jewellery : Pakistani businessmen are keen to source these items from India, currently being done via Dubai. 5. Indian Nano and other models would be very good buy for average Pakistani customers in terms of (a). price (b) quality (c) after-sales-service. 6. Joint venture proposal could be submitted for assembly and manufacture of such vehicles in Pakistan. 7. From Pakistan : Apart from Sugar, cement wheat, dryfruits which are traditionally-identified items for exports to India, ASSOCHAM feels that footwear, leather products, sports goods, plastic wares could also be sourced from Pakistan. 8. New areas of cooperation could include Education The educational institutions should enter into mutually beneficial tie-ups as Indian institutions are doing with several institutions abroad. 9. There should be common understanding on issues like Environment, especially when it comes

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to protecting our interests in international fora and multilateral negotiations. According to Chamber, Indo-Pak trade during last four years (2004-05,2005-06, 2006-07 and 200708) record growth of 74% , 39%, 97% and 19% respectively and the total volume reached $ 2 billion in 2008 and therefore, tremendous potential yet to be tapped. ASSOCHAM study (2008) predicted 40-50% rise in bilateral trade as possible target. Presently, more than 25% of total Pakistani imports of Indian origin goods take place through Dubai and Singapore. Facilitating direct trade would be mutually beneficial to both sides, and the trade level would jump dramatically.

India-France agreed to liberalise visa regime The Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Nicolas Sarkozy held a bilateral summit in Paris on September 30, 2008 at which they reaffirmed the importance attached by both countries to their strategic partnership and their commitment to further strenghthening bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas. Both sides reiterated their intention to keep up the momentum of regular high level exchanges. India and France agreed on the need for greater international cooperation to deal with challenges facing mankind. Both countries are committed to international peace and security, nuclear non-proliferation, the fight against terrorism and the need to ensure food security and energy for all countries. Both countries recognised the need to promote the development of stable sustainable, efficient and affordable energy sources, including nuclear energy. In this context, they welcomed the agreements adjusting the international civil nuclear cooperation framework to enable collaborations with India. India and France welcome the signature of a bilateral agreement for civil nuclear cooperation, which will form the basis of wide-rang-

ing bilateral collaborations in energy and research. India appreciates French support for permanent membership of India in the UN Security Council. Alongwith other developing countries India is committed to continue dialogue and collaboration with the G8. France also believes the G-8 needs to be expanded over time to G-13 including India. India and France agree on the need for improved global economic governance to ensure that globalization and interdependence work for the benefit of all. Both countries are fully committed to consolidating their relationship in the field of defence by increasing the range, level and frequency of their military exchanges, joint exercises, joint programmes and prospects in the fields of defence industry, research and technology. This commitment is well evidenced between the two countries by the possibility of joint development, as early as feasible, of Short Range Surfaceto-Air Missiles (SRSAM) and of the Kaveri engine for Light Combat Aircraft. Discussions concerning the upgradation of Mirage-2000 aircraft are also well under way and are expected to be finalised by next year. Bilateral trade to reach 12 billion Euros by 2012 In accordance with the commitment agreed upon by the two countries during President Nicolas Sarkozy’s State visit to India in January 2008, to double bilateral trade to reach 12 billion Euros by 2012, both sides will make sustained efforts in this vital area of bilateral cooperation. Small, medium and micro enterprises of both countries need to be further encouraged to increase their cooperation. The two sides also agreed to further liberalise their visa regime to facilitate issuance of visas for business purposes, particularly concerning students and young people working as trainee or as volunteer in French companies and for peopleto-people contacts. An agreement on Social Security for the benefit of business enterprises and professionals of the two countries has been concluded. This constitutes an important step forward in facilitating two way investments. The two sides welcome the creation of the High Level CEOs

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Forum which would have its first meeting by the end of the year. The two countries have agreed to hold dialogue on environmental issues and have set up a joint working group on climate change and technology transfers and their financing. The group should hold its first meeting by the end of the year. Following the agreement of 25 January 2008 establishing the Agence Française de Développement (AFD - French Development Agency) in India, both sides welcome the signature of the MoU between the AFD and the Department for Economic Affairs of the Indian Ministry of Finance which will allow the AFD to start its operations in India. It was agreed to work towards concluding a visa free agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders. The Agreements and MoUs signed reflect the wide range of bilateral interaction between India and France and will provide significant impetus to realising the full potential of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

India Week and Food Festival” in Astana and Almaty The Embassy of India in Kazakhstan has organized an “India Week and Food Festival” in Astana and Almaty from September 8 to 18,2008 in collaboration with the Rixos President Hotel Astana, Intercontinental Hotel Almaty and Air Astana as part of its continued efforts to promote people-topeople contacts and strengthen bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan. India’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ashok Sajjanhar, Kairat Sarybai, Assistant to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Akan Bizhanov, Member of Parliament (Senate) addressed the gathering of about 100 specially invited guests. In his inaugural address, Ambassador Sajjanhar informed the gathering that the week-long Food

Festival in Astana and Almaty are initiatives by the Indian Embassy to further strengthen relations between India and Kazakhstan and increase understanding and cooperation between the two peoples through the wonderful medium of good food. He underlined that this year has been eventful and momentous in India-Kazakhstan bilateral relations. Ambassador Sajjanhar expressed confidence that relations between the two countries will improve significantly as a result of these initiatives. He also welcomed a delegation of 12 leading tour operators from India who are presently in Kazakhstan through the courtesy of Air Astana to promote relations in the area of tourism between the two countries. Kairat Sarybai underlined the importance of further improving the growing bilateral relations between the two countries. He fondly recounted his visit to India with President Nazarbayev in January 2009. Senator Akan Bizhanov underlined the cultural relations between India and Kazakhstan. A graceful Odissi dance performance by Ms. Nurgul Amirbekova, a Kazakhstani artiste who studied Indian classical dance in Delhi for three years under scholarship from the ICCR added colour and splendour to the event. The Embassy also displayed Indian Objects d’Arts, tourist information materials, and Indian books including recipe books at the venue. After the conclusion of the official function the guests were treated to a variety of exotic Indian food delicacies. The Embassy has invited a team of four leading chefs headed by Mr. Marut Sikka to organize the Indian Food Festival in Kazakhstan. They will be delighting gourmands and connoisseurs of authentic Indian delicacies during the five-day long Food Festival, both in Astana and Almaty. The inaugural event was widely covered in the Kazakh media.

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The inauguration of India Week and Indian Food Festival in Almaty will be held on September 14 at Intercontinental Hotel and will last till September 18.

India Expo-2009 in Kazakhstan Business ties between India and Kazakhstan are set to receive a further fillip with captains and representatives of Indian industry took part in three international business expos in Astana and Almaty which held on May 21-23, 2009. The purpose of India Expo-2009 was to demonstrate India’s industry and seek long-term private-to-private cooperation. The India Trade Promotion Organisation and the Indian Embassy in Kazakhstan has organised the event. Small and medium businesses representing different sectors - energy, oil and gas, nuclear industry, auto-industry, IT-technologies, pharmacy, jewelry, agriculture, metallurgical and steel-making will showcase their products and conducts meeting with their potential Kazakh partners. Cooperation between India and Kazakhstan has intensified over the years. Bilateral trade turnover has risen from 120 million dollars in 2005 to 368 million dollars in 2008. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev visit to India in January 2009 has given a fresh impetus to bilateral relations in political and commercial spheres.

Recent Developments A fresh impetus to bilateral trade and commercial relations has been given as a result of the visit of President Nazarbayev to India in January 2009. An agreement between ONGC Videsh Ltd. and KazMunaiGaz on Satpayev oil block and MoU between NPCIL and Kazatomprom envisaging cooperation including supply of uranium to India among others was signed during the visit. A memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of Space; extradition treaty between

both countries and the protocol on the accession of Kazakhstan to WTO was also signed during the visit. In the joint declaration adopted during the visit both sides agreed that the trade volume between the two countries is far below potential and urged that the Governments and business enterprises of the two countries should address the issue. Both sides also recommended a joint study by designated agencies to identify products and projects, which would deepen economic engagement. Diversification of the areas of cooperation in the fields of Health and Medicine, space activities, Information Technology and Education was also discussed during the visit. A large business delegation accompanied the President representing various spheres and discussions between Indian counterparts were held extensively. This was followed by a visit of MoS(Industry) Dr. Ashwani Kumar to Astana with a Business delegation and the visit of Sh. Murli Deora, MoPNG for the 7th IGC meeting both in March 2009. Discussions are currently underway for cooperation in fields of fertilizers production, setting up of petrochemical complex, thermal power plants, Entrepreneurship Development center etc. Agreements in the fields of Agriculture, Health, Culture, S & T, and Education etc are currently under consideration by both sides.

India-Bahrain pact to protect workers India and Bahrain have inked a key agreement to ensure protection for Indian workers against unscrupulous employers. The agreement included housemaids who were not covered by Bahrain’s Labour Law and was signed during the visit of Overseas Affairs minister, Vayalar Ravi in June 2009. As per the agreement, a committee will be constituted to ensure that directives in the agreement are implemented and will consist of officials from Bahrain’s Labour Ministry and Indian Overseas Affairs Office. Employers who want to recruit Indian workers will now have to specify the nature of the work they will be doing and the required professional skills. Other required details include the duration of contract, an agreed salary

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and end-of-contract benefits, health services and holidays.

India to get Boeing’s maritime recce aircraft The US administration has cleared the $2.1 billion contract for US aviation major Boeing to supply eight P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to India, the largest American arms sale to India to date. The deal surpasses an earlier $1 billion Lockheed sale of six C-130J Super Hercules military transport planes to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Indian Navy is Boeing’s first international customer for the P-8, a long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft capable of broad area, maritime and littoral operations. The first flight test is scheduled in 2009 and initial operational capability is slated for 2013. Boeing will deliver the first P-8I around 2013 and the remaining seven by 2015. India to seek additional $5.2b from World Bank As a contra-cyclical measure, India proposes to seek an additional assistance of $5.2 billion from the World Bank for recapitalisation of Stateowned commercial banks and infrastructure projects. India, at present, receives $3.2 billion annually from the World Bank. India also plans to increase its share in the quotas of multilateral development banks like the International Monetary Fund and Asian Deve-lopment Bank after major stakeholders in these institutions bring forward the issue of quota review and expanding in accordance with current realities that will give proper representation to the emerging economies. However, there is no proposal to commit any additional resources towards the overall fiscal stimulus of $1.1 trillion announced by the G-20 summit. South Asia doing better due to India’s resilience India’s economy is estimated to have grown by 7.1 per cent in 2008, providing an anchor of economic stability in the region, concludes the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2009. It predicts 6 per cent economic growth for India in 2009. The ESCAP notes India’s

measures to improve the liqui-dity of the financial sector and its relaxed monetary policy, and predicts that the fiscal stimulus packages offered by the government would soften the economic downturn and further strengthen domestic demand.

Rs 10,000 crore project deal with Israel The Union government has inked the Rs 10,000 crore project deal with Israel to develop new-generation medium range surface to air missile systems, capable of detecting and destroying hostile aircraft and spy drones at a range of 120 km.

India, US ink $2.1 bn defence deal The Union government has signed the biggestever defence deal with US—a $2.1 billion contract for eight Boeing P-8I Long-Range mari-time Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft for Navy. India will get the first P-8I towards end 2012 or early 2013, with the other seven following in a phased manner by 2015-2016. The contract also provides an option for India to order four to eight more such planes. Armed with torpedoes, depth bombs and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, the P-8I will also be capable of anti-submarine warfare and antisurface warfare. They will replace the eight ageing and fuel-guzzling Russian Tupolev-142M turboprops currently being operated by Navy. India to attend meeting on Turkish pipeline project India has decided to attend a trilateral meeting along with Turkey and Israel to join a pipeline project that may help it access crude supplies from Central Asia and the Caspian region. The first leg of the proposed pipeline will supply crude from the Caspian region to Ceyhan port on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. After the crude reaches the Ceyhan port, it will be transported through an undersea pipeline to Israel from where it would be connected to the Ellat port on the Red Sea. It is from here that India could take crude through tankers and avoid the choke points of Suez Canal.

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India-Oman $100-million fund for financing multi-sector projects On November 8, 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left on a three-day visit to the Sultanate of Oman and Emirate of Qatar to further boost the bilateral ties between the countries. India and Qatar signed two agreements on defence and security during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit. Accelerating efforts to prop up growth as the global slump is threatening their ascending economic trajectory, India and Oman put together a $100-million fund for financing multi-sector projects in the two countries.

Australia India Institute in Melbourne Australia has decided to provide more than 80 lakh dollars to set up Australia India Institute in Melbourne. A joint project of the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales, the new Institute will help Australians to know and understand India better.

Global Development Finance 2009: Charting a Global Recovery World Bank has published a report on global economy “Global Development Finance 2009: Charting a Global Recovery” on June 22, 2009.According to report amidst global economic recession and financial-market fragility, net private capital inflows to developing countries fell to $707 billion in 2008, a sharp drop from a peak of $1.2 trillion in 2007. International capital flows are projected to fall further in 2009, to $363 billion. Global Development Finance 2009: Charting a Global Recovery, warns that the world is entering an era of slower growth that will require tighter and more effective oversight of the financial system. Developing countries are expected to grow by only 1.2% this year, after 8.1% growth in 2007 and 5.9% growth in 2008. When China and India are excluded, GDP in the remaining developing countries is projected to fall by 1.6%, causing continued job losses and throwing more

people into poverty. Global growth is also expected to be negative, with an expected 2.9% contraction of global GDP in 2009. Global GDP growth is expected to rebound to 2% in 2010 and 3.2% by 2011. In developing countries growth is expected to be higher, at 4.4 % in 2010 and 5.7 % in 2011, albeit subdued relative to the robust performance prior to the current crisis. Global integration and the expanding role of private actors in international finance have brought huge benefits, but have also widened the scope for turmoil. Today, developing countries rely heavily on private flows and many countries are being hit by a collapse in corporate finance, with big companies and banks that were powering growth now in distress. The risk of balance-of-payments crises and corporate debt restructurings in many countries warrant special attention, the report cautions. Charting a worldwide recovery will require quick implementation of detailed reforms and an eventual shift away from governments having high stakes in the financial system to a resumption of private sector control of the banking system, the report says. In addition, the big expansion of the money supply in advanced countries will need to be unwound and fiscal deficits will need to be cut in the medium term, to maintain debt sustainability and avoid another debt crisis as seen in the 1970s and 1980s.

Outlook for the Developing Regions East Asia and Pacific The East Asia and Pacific region has felt the full brunt of the crisis because of its close trade links with high-income countries and because of declining investment as well as a drop in exports and industrial production. Growth for the region is projected to be 5% this year, although several EAP countries are projected to see GDP decline. Recovery across the region is expected to begin in the second half of 2009 and into 2010, reflecting substantial fiscal stimulus in

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China and a modest recovery of export demand in rich countries. However, the turnaround is expected to be gradual, with regional GDP forecast to increase by 6.6 percent in 2010 and 7.8 percent by 2011. Europe and Central Asia has been the region most adversely affected by recent developments, in large part because many countries in the region entered the crisis period suffering from substantial imbalances. Large current account deficits and domestic overheating made many countries vulnerable to the abrupt reversal of capital flows and weaker export demand that the crisis generated. GDP is projected to fall by 4.7 percent in 2009, recovering to grow by about 1.6 percent in 2010. Latin America and the Caribbean entered the crisis supported by stronger fiscal, currency, and financial fundamentals than in the past. However, it too is feeling the crisis in part because of falling commodity prices, but also on the financial side as foreign funds were withdrawn quickly. Flexible exchange rates in many countries in the region were able to absorb much of the initial shock and avoid systemic problems even as equity markets tumbled. Regional GDP is expected to decline by 2.3 percent in 2009, and to reach 2 percent growth in 2010. The Middle East and North Africa region has been less directly affected by the credit crunch than other regions, but local equity and property markets have come under intense pressure, and developing countries in the region have suffered from much weaker conditions in the high-income countries in the region. Remittances, services exports and FDI flows from these countries and high-income Europe are expected to fall in 2009 – cutting into incomes. Growth is projected to halve to 3.1 percent in 2009, then edge up to 3.8 percent in 2010 and 4.6 percent in 2011, partly because the slowdown has been less pronounced in MENA than in other regions and oil demand and prices are expected to remain low. South Asia has witnessed considerably diminished capital inflows and a falloff in investment growth.

GDP is projected to expand 4.6 percent in 2009, down from 6.1 percent in 2008. Regional output is then expected to increase by 7 percent in 2010 and 7.8 percent in 2011. However, threats to longterm growth include the possibility of heightened fiscal pressures if the global recession is prolonged, and large fiscal deficits. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit hard by reduced external demand, plunging export prices, weaker remittances and tourism revenues, and sharply lower capital inflows, notably FDI. Growth is expected to decelerate sharply this year to 1 percent, down from 5.7 percent on average over the past three years. By 2010, growth is forecast to rise by 3.7 percent. Sharp cuts in remittances and official aid flows also represent a risk for the region, because many Sub-Saharan countries rely on aid flows for budget support and because remittances are a vital cushion against poverty.

SEBI unveils norms for pledging of shares The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has spelt out the reporting norms for companies whose promoters have pledged shares to a third party. The market regulator has asked companies to disclose details of the promoters’ pledged shares within seven days of the date of receiving information from the promoters. In a circular dated January 28, 2009, SEBI said the promoters, who have pledged shares, have to disclose the details to the company within seven days of such a transaction. Further, the market regulator said that companies should disclose all the details pertaining to the promoters’ share pledge, if at the end of any quarter, the total number of such pledged shares exceeds 25,000 or one percentage of the total shareholding, whichever is lower.

Government fiddle opens floodgates to FDI The Union government has relaxed guidelines on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for companies owned and controlled by Indian citizens. This ef-

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fectively means foreign investment in FDI-restricted sectors like telecom, defence production and single-brand retail can cross set limits. The new guidelines also say that an investment made by a non-resident entity into an Indian company would be counted as foreign investment. Under the existing norms, if a firm with, say, 40% foreign equity and 60% Indian equity had invested Rs 100 crore in another firm, Rs 40 crore of this amount would be treated as FDI. Under the revised norms it will now be treated as zero FDI. Relaxation in foreign direct investment (FDI) norms would not apply to sectors such as multibrand retail, gambling, atomic energy and lottery where the government prohibits foreign investment.

Green energy investments in developing nations rise 27% The global economic crisis hasn’t deterred the developing countries from their green energy investments, which surged 27% in 2008 to $36.6 billion. According to a recent report of United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) on Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment, 2009, global investment in clean energy witnessed a four-fold increase in 2008, compared to 2004. Of the $155 billion invested in 2008 in clean-energy companies and projects worldwide, China, India, Brazil and African countries, among others, contributed almost a third of the amount. While China led investments in Asia with an 18% increase over 2007 to $15.6 billion, green energy investments in India grew 12% to $4.1 billion in 2008. However, growth in clean energy sectors stalled in developed countries, said the report, which is being jointly prepared by the UNEP and global information provider New Energy Finance. The total transaction value in the sustainable energy sector—including corporate acquisition, asset refinancing and private equity buyout— during 2008 was $223 billion, an increase of 7% over 2007. However, the capital raised via stock markets fell 51% to $11.4 billion as share prices of

clean energy companies lost 61% of their value during 2008. According to UNEP estimates, the world needs $750 billion to finance a sustainable economic recovery by investing in the greening of five key sectors: buildings, energy, transport, agriculture and water.

One billion go hungry world over One in six people in the world or more than one billion are now hungry, a historic high due largely to the global economic crisis and stubbornly high food prices, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Compared with 2008, there are 100 million more people who are hungry, meaning they receive fewer than 1,800 calories a day, FAO said. Almost all the worlds undernourished live in developing countries, where food prices have fallen more slowly than in the richer nations, the report said. Poor countries need more aid and agricultural investment to cope, it said. The silent hunger crisis, affecting one-sixth of all of humanity, poses a serious risk for world peace and security, said the Director-General of FAO, Jacques Diouf. Soaring prices for staples, such as rice, triggered riots in the developing world in 2008. Hunger increased despite strong 2009 cereal production, and a mild retreat in food prices from the highs of mid-2008. However, average prices at the end of 2008 were still 24% higher in real terms than in 2006. Globally there are now about 1.02 billion people hungry, up 11% from 2008’s 915 million. The estimates are based on analysis by the US Department of Agriculture. Asia and the Pacific, the world’s most populous region, has the largest number of hungry people at 642 million. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest hunger rate, with 265 million under-nourished, representing 32% of the region’s population.

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Third stimulus package The Union government, on February 25, 2009, unveiled a Rs 30,000-crore stimulus package, the third in a row to boost demand in an economy that has been feeling the heat of the global meltdown. The package includes a cut in the median excise duty and service tax rates by 2%. All products that attracted an excise rate of 10% will now be subject to only 8% while service tax on all products is down to 10%. On the other hand, this means the fiscal deficit of the government in 200910 will increase to Rs 3,61,935 crore, from Rs 3,32,835 crore estimated in the interim budget announced on February 16, 2009, provided all other estimates remain the same. So, fiscal deficit will again cross 6% of GDP as in 2008-09. The policy brief for a Global Green New Deal, developed by economist and the UN ahead of the G-20 meeting of world leaders in London on April 2, 2009, highlights the benefits of investing a significant amount of the $ 3 trillion-worth of global stimulus packages in five areas. The UN Environment Programme said these areas include raising the energy efficiency of old and new buildings, and more emphasis on renewable energy sources. The three other areas are: sustainable transport, including hybrid vehicles, high-speed rail and bus rapid transit systems; the planet’s ecological infrastructure, including freshwaters, forests, soils and coral reefs, and sustainable agriculture, including organic production.

New Direct tax code

specific objectives of the measures are to improve the responsiveness of the tax system, that is, to enhance the automaticity in the increase in tax revenues with increases in economic activity; improve tax administration by simplifying the tax system; and, lastly, promote tax compliance objective as to reduce the scope for disputes and minimize litigation. The goal of the new tax code is to consolidate and amend all direct taxes and simplify language to ensure that the law can be reflected in the return form. The aim is also to reduce scope for litigation and provide flexibility in accommodating changes without need for frequent amendments.

Gains Deduction (the popular section 80C) increased to Rs 3 lakh from present Rs 1 lakh. Thus, a person with taxable income of Rs 10,00,000 is likely to save approx Rs 1,20,000 annually.

» Corporate tax rates, including for foreign companies, reduced to 25% from 34%.

» Net wealth tax exemption limit increased to Rs 50 crores from Rs 30 lakhs.

» Wealth tax rate cut to 0.25% from 1%. » Indefinite carry forward of tax losses. »

Making the process of paying taxes simpler for the common man has always been on top of the UPA’s agenda. This was amply demonstrated today with the government initiating radical tax reforms by releasing the direct tax draft code that aims to moderate tax rates and at the same time tries to make it easier for a layman to understand and calculate his tax liability. The reform of the tax regime introduced in 1961 is based on the objective of having a tax system that is simpler, fairer, and easy to administer. The

Deduction for donation towards scientific research @ 125%.

» Agriculture income stays outside tax net. » Deductions for Royalty income of authors who are individual residents up to Rs three lakhs and deduction for Royalty income on patents for individual residents up to Rs three lakhs.

» STT to be abolished.

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»

Cost inflation adjustment to be available for transfers anytime after one year from end of year in which asset is acquired (earlier 3 yrs, except for shares).

» Base date for capital gains tax shifted from April 1, 1981 to April 1, 2000—capital appreciation up to 2000 not taxable.

»

(k) Cost of acquisition/improvement nil if not determinable. (l) Roll over benefits for capital gains tax exemption trimmed to only one residential house. (m) Profits on sale of business capital assets/undertaking no longer treated as capital gains, but as business income.

Maximum penalty down to two times tax amount (from three times tax)

(n) Loss on sale of business capital assets not allowable, to be only depreciable.

Key pains (a) Branch profit tax to be introduced @ 15%.

(o) Presumptive rent to be calculated at 6% p.a. of rateable value when higher than contractual rent to compute income from house property.

(b) Reintroduction of capital gains tax on listed shares & MF units.

(p) For self occupied property, no deduction for interest and principal loan repayment.

(c) Tax saving schemes like PPF and retirement benefit schemes to be taxed on withdrawal time on “Exempt, Exempt, Tax” (EET) methodology of taxation, for savings done after introduction of the new code.

(q) Income from letting of machinery, plant, furniture included if letting of building is inseparable from the same.

(d) Deduction for rent paid restricted to Rs 2,000 per month. (e) Profit-linked incentives dropped. (f) Period consumed in recovering all capital and revenue expenditure same as tax holiday.

(r) Rent free accommodation to govt employees made taxable. (s) MAT linked to gross assets rather than book profit @ 0.25% for banking companies and 2% for others. (t) No carry forward credit for MAT in later years.

(g) Area based exemptions given earlier to continue.

(u) In case of conflict between double tax treaty and code, the one that is later in point of time shall prevail

(h) Definition of income to include all accruals and receipts of revenue and capital nature unless otherwise specified.

Some new concepts have also been added to the code. These are: (a) Tests for residency changed.

(i) Receipt of LIC policy taxable except for pure life insurance policy.

(b) Foreign companies, even if partly held/managed from India, will become “resident”.

(j) Distinction between short term and long term assets done away with.

(c) Concept of ‘resident but not ordinarily resident’ dropped. (d) Income from business to be computed sepa-

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rately for each business. (e) Income-expense model based on US, Canada, Australia and most Asian countries. (f) Three types of biz expenses allowed: Operating expenditure, permitted financial charges and capital allowances. (g) Scope of weighted deduction of 150% to be extended to all industries. (h) ‘Scientific research’ to be defined. (i) Presumptive taxation for certain business to continue. (j) Separate income determination regimes provided for hospitals, SEZ, infrastructure, etc. (k) MF, VCF, Pension Fund etc. To be taxed as pass through entities. (l) New tax regime for trusts, institutions carrying on charitable activities.

New Foreign Trade Policy India has extended tax holiday and duty refund for exporters, while allowing duty-free capital goods import under its Foreign Trade Policy to insulate them from protectionism induced by recession abroad. The new five-year policy was released on August 27, 2009 by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. It sets a target of $200 billion worth exports for 2010-11, a feat that India failed to achieve in 2008-09 due to a slump in global demand in the face of financial crisis. Extension of income tax holiday for export units for one more year and continuance of duty refund scheme till December 2010 and enhanced assistance for the scheme for development of markets are among the measures in the FTP. The aim of the policy, which would be reviewed after two years, would be to "arrest and reverse declining trend of exports”.

Exports have been on a decline for the past 10 months. Exports in FY'09 amounted to $168 billion and the country hopes to maintain the same level in 2009-10. The government would encourage exports through a “mix of measures including fiscal incentives, institutional changes, procedural rationalisation and efforts for enhance market access across the world and diversification of export markets”. The policy would provide a special thrust to the employment-oriented sectors which have witnessed job losses in the wake of recession, especially in the fields of textiles, leather and handicrafts.

Highlights

» Aims annual growth of 15 pc in 2010-11. » Double India’s exports of goods and services by 2014.

» A high-level panel to look into dollar needs of exporters.

» Six 'Made in India' shows to promote Brand India.

» Directorate of Trade Remedy Measures to safeguard exporters.

»

Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme extended till December 2010.

»

A single window system for export of perishable agri produce. Value addition norm for tea halved to 50 per cent.

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International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2009 According to recently released International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2009 by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), the share of developing countries in the world’s manufacturing value-added output has almost doubled in the last 18 years due to the shift of production units and outsourcing of services from developed nations. Developing countries produced almost 30% of world manufacturing value added (MVA) at the end of 2008 as compared to 16% in 1990. The per capita MVA doubled as early as 2006, while the industrialised world achieved merely 30% increase. Among industrialised countries, Japan accounts for most MVA per capita, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, USA, Germany and Austria. Luxemburg, Republic of Korea, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Belgium, United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, Italy and France come lower down the list. For India, the growth rate of MVA output rose from 6.9% in 2000-2005 to 12.3% in 2005-2007. The MVA per capita grew 10.6 % in 2005-2007 compared to 5.2% in 2000-2005. The share of MVA in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 14.8% in 2006 compared to 13.8% in 2001. Manufacturing still contributes around 15% of GDP in India. International Yearbook 2009 ranks India among the world’s leading 12 producers of textiles (ranked 4th after China, the U.S. and Italy); electrical machinery and apparatus (5th); basic metals (6th); chemicals and chemical products (7th); leather, leather products and footwear (10th); coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel (10th); machinery and equipment (12th); and motor vehicles (12th), based on 2007 figures. Among the leading developing countries, India figures among the top five.

RBI Policy Review Announcing the first quarter policy review for Financial Year 2009-10, RBI Governor D. Subbarao said the apex bank’s status quo on policy

rates would anchor interest rate expectations that could spur investment demand. With concerns over rising inflation, the RBI has decided to leave Cash Reserve Ratio at 5 per cent and the repo and reverse repo rates at 4.75 per cent and 3.25 per cent, respectively. The RBI has projected inflation at 5 per cent from the 4 per cent forecast earlier. India’s GDP is projected to grow to 6 per cent in March 2010 “with an upward bias”. Export demand remains weak. The services sector is sluggish on lagged impact of weak industry growth, but the business outlook has turned positive. According to the RBI, its policy initiatives since mid-September 2008 aimed at providing ample rupee liquidity and ensuring continued flow of credit to all productive sectors has shown results. These actions have resulted in augmentation of actual/potential liquidity of over Rs 5,61,700 crore. The liquidity situation has remained comfortable since mid-November 2008 as evidenced by the LAF window where the Reserve Bank has been absorbing nearly Rs 1,20,000 crore on a daily average basis during 2009-10.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) had launched on aug 15,2008 a new credit linked subsidy programme called Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) by merging the two schemes that were in operation till 31.03.2008 namely Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) for generation of employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises in rural as well as urban areas. PMEGP will be a central sector scheme. The subsidy levels, the cost limit of projects or units that could be established under PMRY which was extended to rural areas as well in 1994-95, were quite low and unattractive compared to those available to the beneficiaries in REGP. While the maximum subsidy admissible was Rs.12500 and

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the maximum cost of project that could be established was Rs.5 lakh under PMRY, the maximum subsidy that was admissible was Rs.4 lakh and the maximum cost of project that could be established was Rs.25 lakh under REGP for a beneficiary belonging to General category.

which will place the funds of Government subsidy with the participating banks which in turn will disburse the same to the beneficiaries on receipt of applications and their own contribution ‘upfront’ in accordance with the guidelines of the scheme.

There were more attractive programmes for creation of self employment opportunities being operated by many State Governments. Recovery rates of loans under PMRY were also considerably less than those under REGP.

Budget Estimates 2008-09 have provided Rs.823 crore for PMEGP which includes Rs.83 crore towards Backward and Forward linkages including EDP training, publicity, marketing support, etracking of applications, physical verification of projects and so on. An estimated 6.17 lakh additional employment opportunities are targeted to be generated in 2008-09. The estimated total outlay for subsidy under PMEGP is Rs.4485 crore in addition to Rs.250 crore earmarked for providing Backward and Forward linkages to the micro enterprises between 2008-09 to 2011-2012 leading to an estimated generation of around 37.38 lakh additional employment opportunities. The scheme will be got independently reviewed after two years of its implementation.

PMEGP improves upon the subsidy levels and cost limits of projects compared to those available so far under PMRY and REGP, while simultaneously strengthening the selection process, implementation and monitoring mechanism. Higher levels of subsidy have been proposed for beneficiaries belonging to marginalized sections of the society like Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities, Women, Physically Handicapped, etc. to ensure inclusive growth. The upper limit of the cost of project that could be setup in the manufacturing sector is Rs.25 lakh while that in the business/service sector is Rs.10 lakh. There are no ceiling limits of annual income in respect of beneficiaries while a minimum educational qualification of VIII standard pass will be required for beneficiaries in respect of projects costing more than Rs.10 lakh in manufacturing sector and more than Rs.5 lakh in business/service sector. The beneficiaries would be identified, inter alia, with the help of Panchayats, Special Awareness Camps and will be provided with a mandatory Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training of a duration of two to three weeks. The scheme envisages electronic tracking of applications, 100 per cent verification of projects/ units that will be established and model project profiles have been updated in association with banks. The scheme will be implemented at the national level through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), an organization created under an Act of Parliament reporting to MoMSME

Lean Manufacturing Scheme The government on July 29, 2009 launched 'Lean Manufacturing Scheme' for the micro, small and medium units to enhance the manufacturing competitiveness of the sector, battling the global demand recession.

Objective The objective of this scheme is to enhance the manufacturing competitiveness of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by applying lean techniques to identify and eliminate waste in the manufacturing process. The scheme would be implemented initially in 100 clusters (in the industries having potential for improvement in competitiveness and productivity) on pilot basis in one year. Initially, under this scheme the government has made a provision of Rs 31 crore. The clusters, each a group of about 10 units, would

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be selected from different parts of the country and would undergo lean interventions for about a year. During the end of the first year, an impact assessment study would be carried out for these 100 clusters and the outcome of the report will form the basis for upscaling this programme to cover another 300-500 clusters in the subsequent year. Consultants would be deployed to identify cluster- specific needs who will suggest specific lean techniques for intervention in the selected miniclusters. As engaging consultants is quite expensive for MSME units, the government will contribute up to 80 per cent of this fee while the remaining charge will have to be borne by the beneficiary units as part of the scheme. The purpose of the lean techniques would be to assist MSME units in reducing their manufacturing costs through proper personnel management, better space utilisation, scientific inventory management, improved process flows and reduced engineering time. Lean Manufacturing Programme will also lower costs and improve the quality of products, which will enable these products to compete in national and international markets. There are about 13 million MSME units in the country which employ over 42 million people. The sector contributes over 45 per cent to the country's industrial production and 40 per cent to the total exports.

C. Rangarajan committee on savings and investment A high-level panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP and former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan, has suggested a holistic overhaul of the methods used to arrive at national savings and investment aggregates, in a report submitted to the Centre on march 16,2009. Among the most significant changes mooted is to

use the online compliance facility launched by the ministry of corporate affairs for all registered firms, the MCA-21, to calculate the actual savings and capital formation in the private sector. Currently, savings and investment estimates of the corporate sector are estimated by culling out the savings, capital investments and paid up capital of the 5,000 biggest firms and ‘blowing these up’ to arrive at overall aggregates. Companies are already complying under the MCA21 programme, but are currently filing their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts by simply scanning them and uploading them. The gross domestic savings rate shot up from 29.8% in 2003-04 to 37.7% in 2007-08 largely thanks to corporate savings almost doubling over the period. So a move to reflect India Inc’s savings and investment numbers accurately is significant at a time when experts believe India’s savings and investment rate will be hit hard by the current global slowdown. The domestic investment rate as a proportion of GDP increased from 27.6% in 2003-04 to over 39% in 2007-08. The Rangarajan Committee, appointed in December 2007, has segregated its recommendations to capture better savings and investment data from the private sector, public sector and households. The idea is to capture the rapid structural changes in the income levels and saving behavior in the Indian economy in recent years. To calculate household savings better, regulators like the Insurance Development Regulatory Authority, the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority, Securities Exchange Board of India and the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development have been asked to furnish data with as little time lag as possible on savings deposits under their ambit from life insurance savings, pension funds, stocks and mutual funds and co-operative banks. Most importantly, to get a clearer asset-liability profile of Indian households, the Rangarajan committee has asked the CSO to present total household savings differently. Currently, only the net

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financial savings are reported by deducting gross financial liabilities from gross financial assets and physical assets. To get more data on deposits with non-banking finance companies, the panel has suggested that a census be undertaken by the MCA and the RBI every five years. At the same time, unregistered firms’ deposits need to be estimated through sample surveys.

Global Innovation Index 2008 The Second Global Innovation Index 2008 (GII) jointly published by Confederation of Indian Industry and INSEAD Business School, has once again placed United States at the top of the Global Innovation Rankings on Jan.7,2009. India, on the other hand, is ranked a lowly 41.The GII that has studied 130 countries has ranked Germany in the second position, followed by Sweden, the United Kingdom and Singapore. The European economies including the Nordic ones continued to do well in 2008. Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands figured in the top 10 apart from Germany, Sweden and UK that figure in the top 5. However, France was the biggest loser slipping from the 5th to 19th position. Singapore and South Korea are two Asian countries figuring in the top 10. However, Japan has slipped to the 9th position from the 4th and India its last year’s ranking of 23rd to the 41st position. With China ranked at 37th, most BRIC countries have been ranked lower than last time. Israel and Qatar from West Asia and Middle East find places in the top 25. There are other countries from the Middle East just below this quartile. The GII results have revealed that innovation is correlated with income levels in a country. For example, the innovation levels in the OECD countries are much more than non-OECD countries. There are few countries from Africa that are included in the rankings with only South Africa coming in at the 43rd position. Over the years, through its own research, INSEAD has examined the many factors enabling national economies to achieve sustained and higher innovation capabili-

ties. The goal has been to provide benchmarking tools for business leaders and policymakers to identify obstacles to improved innovation and competitiveness and stimulate discussion on strategies to overcome them. This time and earlier in 2007, INSEAD based its innovation analysis on the Global Innovation Index (GII) and Framework, a highly comprehensive index for measuring global innovation, which captures the microeconomic and macroeconomic parameters and variables. CII has over the years, taken a pioneering role in building a culture of innovation in Indian industry and society. It is CII’s belief that the only way for Indian industry to have sustainable and inclusive growth is to adopt innovation as a business strategy. With this belief, a number of initiatives have been taken by CII in the area of innovation. To make a successful plan and roadmap for action, there is a need for India to align the measurement gauge with similar benchmark practices adopted globally. Innovation is no longer restricted to the vertical structures of R and D laboratories and universities. Therefore an approach that goes beyond the number of patents registered, number of articles published in research journals and percentage of GDP spending on R and D measuring innovation is needed. This is the key assumption behind the approach used in this study. The GII while arriving at the results has made a distinction between inputs and outputs while measuring innovation in an economy. Inputs are aspects that enable an economy to stimulate innovative and outputs are the results of innovative activities within the economy. The input pillars include Institutions and Policies, Human Capacity, General and ICT Infrastructure, Market Sophistication and Business Sophistication. The output pillars that provide evidence of the results of innovation within the economy are Knowledge Creation, Competitiveness and Wealth Creation.

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The data for the GII was collected from reputed international organizations such as the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the International Telecommunications Union. In particular, a combination of qualitative and quantitative data is used for the computation of the GII. The qualitative data is obtained from the Executive Opinion Survey, a global CEO survey conducted by the World Economic Forum.

Challenge Fund A Challenge fund for Export Promotion Activities by Indian Missions abroad, has been set- up with a corpus of Rs. 5 crore, under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme on 14 Jan 2009. The MAI scheme of the Department of Commerce is an export promotion scheme envisaged to act as a catalyst to promote India's export on a sustainable basis. Since, Indian Missions abroad are also eligible for assistance under the scheme, a "Challenge Fund" has been created under the same. The MAI will focus on the markets which in turn will focus upon product export promotion activities including innovative market promotion projects to showcase the Indian export capabilities. Projects relating to only market promotion activities shall be considered; export promotion of new items in India's export baskets by way of market development and market penetration and export promotion initiatives for Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME) with a stress on regions and countries where India has a small bilateral trade profile (Africa and Latin America), shall be given priority; duplication of projects already implemented under the MAI/ MDA scheme of the Commerce Ministry is prohibited. The fund shall be used to finance specific export promotion schemes and projects which envisage introduction of new items of export towards diversification of the Indian export basket in the host country. These projects shall be proposed by Indian Missions abroad. Each individual project has been assigned a budget of Rs. 10 lakh. Priority shall be given to focused, specific projects with tangible results. The project proposals received shall be

subjected to compete for funding on their merits.

Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) is soon going to begin the second phase of the PACS Programme. The second phase of PACS will be a five year programme and will build on the momentum of the first phase. This phase, to be launched later in 2009, will focus on the poorest areas across seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Orissa. It aims to enhance the rights and entitlements of poor, particularly the most excluded groups, in the implementation of Government’s policies and programmes. The first phase of the programme, which ended in April 2008, covered over 19,564 villages in 94 districts of 6 states. It reached over 6 million people and helped poor access benefits from government programmes estimated Rs.106 crores. It strengthened and improved panchayati raj (Local Government) institutions, making them more responsive to the needs of the poor and increased representation of women. The Indian Forum for Inclusive Response and Social Transformation (IFIRST), a consortium of civil society organisations led by Christian Aid, along with the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, Caritas, Financial Management Services Foundation and ACCESS Development Services, has been selected by DFID to manage the second phase of the PACS programme.

India’s population may touch 2 billion by 2101 India’s future population could be much more than what is currently estimated. The latest demographic projections by the Population Foundation of India (PFI) and the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), USA, predict that India may have a population of two billion by 2101, posing huge challenges in terms of distress migration, pressures

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of the numbers on land, employment and environment, prolonged poverty and changes in the demographic balance. The study makes two more alarming conclusions: the population of 60 plus would exceed that of those aged between 0 and 14 years, leading to substantial future ageing in India by 2051. Further, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan would account for almost half of the country’s population by 2101. These four States, with their high fertility rate, currently account for 40 per cent of the country’s numbers, and are characterised by low literacy levels and low health indicators such as high infant and maternal mortality. There is, however, a difference between population projections of India by the Registrar General of India (RGI) and those by the PFI/PRB. Contrary to the RGI’s projection of 1,399 million population of India by 2026, the PFI/PRB projections indicate 1,464 million by the said year. The new demographic study puts the country’s population at 1825 million in 2051, reaching up to 2181 (crossing the two billion mark) by 2101. These differences stem mainly from the assumed total fertility rates (TFRs) in the country’s four most populous States—UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan. Whereas the PFI study concludes that TFR of 2.1 will be achieved in UP between 2051-56; Bihar (2061-66); MP (2041-46) and in Rajasthan between 2051-56, the RGI assumes these States would achieve the TFR targets much earlier. As per the PFI, India, with the final TFR of 1.85, will achieve two billion population by 2101; growth will peak in 2081-2086, after which the population decline will start. The population of Kerala and Tamil Nadu would start declining in 2041-2051; that of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal would do so around 2061. The study adds: “The priority for India should be to contain the unacceptably high numbers of maternal and infant deaths, improve quality health services for institutional deliveries; meet the unmet needs of family planning services and focus on adolescents and youth (10 to 34 years) to make them productive through gender-sensitive education.” Global Gender Gap Report 2008 released by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2008. With 113th position among 130 countries in the annual list, India among the 20 countries where the gender gap is the widest, while the country is sixth in economic inequality between men and women. Though, India has improved its overall ranking by one position from 114th in 2007, primarily due to improvement in better than average performance in political empowerment space. Norway moved to the top from its third position in 2007. The rankings are based on four parameters-economic participation and opportunity, education attainment, political empowerment and health and survival. Norway, replaced Sweden at the first position, is followed by Finland, Sweden, Iceland, New Zealand, Philippines, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands and Latvia in the top ten. The Nordic countries have occupied all the four top positions in the list. Copyright © 2009 | WWW.UPSCPORTAL.COM

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In its overall ranking, India is ranked lowest among the four BRIC countries. The neighbouring China has jumped 17 places to 57th rank in 2008 on the back of narrowing gender gaps in educational attainment, economic participation and political participation. Nepal ranked 120, Pakistan 127, Bangladesh 90 and Sri Lanka 12 in 2008. The Philippines at 6 and Sri Lanka 12 remain distinctive for being the only Asian countries among the top 20. In terms of economic participation and opportunity, India has been ranked 125th. The country is placed at 25th rank in terms of political empowerment, while it is ranked 116th and 128th in terms of educational attainment and health and survival, respectively.

nearly 99 per cent of the world’s population. The report said that in an age of uncertainty, society globally needs a new compass to set it on a path of real progress. The Happy Planet Index (HPI) provides that compass by measuring what truly matters to us, our well-being in terms of long, happy and meaningful lives and what matters to the planet, our rate of resource consumption.

Happy Planet Index

Visit India 2009

India is way ahead of many developed economies, including the US and the UK, in terms of happy lives and eco-friendliness, with the country cornering the 35th spot among 143 nations. The ‘Happy Planet Index (HPI)’ compiled by UK-based New Economics Foundation has placed India at the 35th position while the list is topped by Costa Rica.

In an effort to boost the confidence of visitors and tourists after the Mumbai attacks, the Union Ministry of Tourism, India has launched a new scheme 'Visit India 2009' offering various incentives to foreign tourists and tourism industry. These value addition services will be offered to tourists visiting the country during the period April 2009 March 2010.

Going by the report, the US is at the 114th spot while the UK is better placed at 74th position. Among the BRIC nations, Brazil and neighbouring China are ranked higher at ninth and 20th places, respectively. Russia is a distant 108th.

The incentives would offer one complimentary international air passage for traveling companion, one night complimentary stay in the hotel booked by the traveler, complimentary sightseeing in any one city of their choice and a complimentary rural eco holiday. The idea is to provide one additional service for every service paid for, by the tourists with the help of top airlines and organizations like Hotel Association of India (HAI) and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).

The survey noted that “the countries that are meant to represent successful development are some of the worst-performing in terms of sustainable well-being. The index provides a measure of the ecological efficiency with which happy and healthy lives are supported. According to the report, ecological footprint of a person is a measure of the amount of land required to provide for all the resource requirements for that person, plus the amount of vegetated land required to absorb his CO2 emissions and the CO2 emissions embodied in the products he consumes. The survey covered the countries that account for

The survey noted that there is actually a negative correlation between GDP growth and change in HPI scores between 1990 and 2005. The index is based on high life expectancy, high life satisfaction and ecological footprint a measure which takes into account carbon emissions by individuals.

All three major airlines of the country — Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher —have joined this endeavor of the government by providing the additional air passage for traveling companions. Furthermore, all member hotels of the HAI will be offering the service of complimentary night stay in the hotel booked by the tourist. Members of the IATO, an organization recognized by the Ministry of Tourism, will offer one complimentary

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local sightseeing tour in any one of the cities visited by the tourist. The Department of Tourism also has plans to organize road shows in countries like Singapore, Canada, UK, Japan and Australia, in joint venture with the IATO. The ongoing year will see a rise in the advertisements and marketing through trade fairs and exhibitions to draw the attention of foreign tourists from across the world. Moreover, there are possibilities of constructing helipads in various places to introduce the helicopter services for the tourists.

Report of the Task Force for Exports of Pharmaceutical Products The Task Force to recommend measures for increasing exports of pharmaceutical products was constituted in July, 2006.This Task Force submitted its report on December 12, 2008.The Task force enunciated a vision for Indian pharmaceutical R&D as: To provide intellectual capital to make available safe, cost-effective, contemporary, quality therapeutics to the people of India and help reduce percentage of mortality and morbidity while emerging as a significant player in the global market place." In consonance with this vision, a grand dream for production, export and investment in pharmaceutical R&D was evolved. This report suggests the measures by which such a dream and vision could be realised. Priority areas for Indian pharmaceutical R&D have been identified. India’s expertise in developing new and innovative processes for known molecules needs to be exploited in a greater measure. While India forged ahead in conventional pharmaceutical technologies, it lagged behind in complex technologies, specialty pharmaceuticals and new drug delivery systems. Investment impetus required in these areas has been specified. Priority needs to be given for initiation of new drug development for diseases of relevance to the

Indian population, while at the same time seizing opportunities to become a global player by introducing globally competitive products based on new molecules. Currently India is at a nascent stage in drug discovery and the industry is focusing on strategies to earn while learn. Key building blocks in the value chain could be focused to facilitate the drug discovery. These have been discussed. A key factor to retain competitiveness is low cost of innovation and process management. In the current context of rapidly rising wages for select skilled population, efforts to widen the skill base and strategies to generate the skill base have been discussed. To achieve such objectives, the existing human resources in conventional methods of drug discovery need refurbishing alongside acquisition of newer tools of drug discovery. A larger team of experts comprising chemistry, biology, biotechnology, etc., need to find select viable strategies for India in drug discovery. Drug discovery is a product of strong efforts at universities, public institutions and industry. The direction of effort has been specified. Citing the unique opportunity for India to become a leading centre for clinical trials, the report suggests basic changes in the legislation allowing import of animals, contract research and a legal status for institutional animal ethics committee. Establishment and operationalisation of a cGMP, GLP and GCP monitoring authority has been recommended.

The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009 A Bill aimed at effectively combating money-laundering, terror financing and cross-border economic offences was passed by Parliament and has come into force with effect from June 01, 2009. The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) act, 2009 seeks to ensure a legal framework to check such crimes. The new law seeks to check use of black money for financing terror activities.

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Financial intermediaries like full-fledged money changer, money transfer service providers such as Western Union and International Payment gateways, including VISA and MasterCard have also been brought under the ambit of The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act. Consequently, these intermediaries, as also casinos, will be brought under the reporting regime of the enforcement authorities. It would also check the misuse of promissory notes by FIIs, who would now be required to furnish all details of their source. The Act would check misuse of “proceeds of crime” be it from sale of banned narcotic substances or breach of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) act will enable India’s entry into Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that has the mandate to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The Act will address India’s international obligation and empower the enforcement directorate to search the premises immediately after the offences are committed and police have filed a report.

Satyam Scam Ramalinga Raju, the politically-connected promoter-chairman of Hyderabad headquartered Satyam Computers was lying for years to shareholders, employees and the world at large, building up to India’s largest corporate fraud of over Rs 7,000 crore. India’s fourth largest IT company— after TCS, Infosys and Wipro—was for years cooking its books by inflating revenues and profits, thus boosting its cash and bank balances; showing interest income where none existed; understating liability; and overstating debtors position (money due to it). This wasn’t some fly-by-night operator that had been caught out. Satyam is listed on the NYSE, boasts 185 Fortune 500 companies and the US government among clients and employs 53,000 people. The Union government has entrusting the probe to the Serious Fraud Investigations office, or SFIO.

Cabinet okays Rs 25,000 cr for NBFCs The government has set in motion the process of providing liquidity support of up to Rs 25,000 crore to cash-strapped Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) to enable them to pay existing liabilities as was announced in the second stimulus package to spur sagging economic growth. A Stressed Asset Stabilisation Fund, set up for acquiring the stressed assets of IDBI, would function as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to provide money to non-deposit taking systemically important NBFCs. The SPV would issue government guaranteed securities, subject to a total amount of securities not exceeding Rs 20,000 crore with an additional Rs 5,000 crore, if needed. The funds will be used by NBFCs only to repay existing liabilities he said, adding the RBI would issue guidelines for pricing and lending in consultation with the Department of Financial Services.

Maha-navratna status The Planning Commission had recommended Maha-navratna status to BHEL, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil, NMDC, Power Grid Corporation, REC and SAIL. Maha-navratna status would give these companies freedom to make investments up to 50% of their net worth, while the investment cap on a single project would go up to 25% of their net worth. The tag will also have given them greater functional autonomy for forming joint ventures.

Union government to infuse capital in three PSU banks In order to strengthen the Public Sector Banks, the Union government has decided to infuse Rs 3,800 crore into three State-run banks—Central Bank of India will get Rs 1,400 crore, while UCO Bank and Vijaya Bank will get Rs 1,200 crore each. The capital infusion would be done in two tranches—the first tranche would be made available during 2008-09 and the remaining in 200910. The capital infusion will help these banks to

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raise capital adequacy over 12%, much above the Basel II norms of 9%. The government holding in Central Bank of India currently stands at 80.2% cent, in UCO bank 76%, while in Vijaya Bank it is 53%.

Steps to boost exports During 2008-09, India did achieve an export growth of 30.9 per cent till September 2008, but since then there has been a setback due to the global recession. The following sops have been announced by the Union government to boost exports: Customs duty under export promotion capital goods scheme cut to 3 per cent from 5 per cent; Special incentive of Rs 325 crore for various sectors like handmade carpets, leather and technical textiles from April 1, 2009; Threshold limit for recognition as premier trading house reduced to Rs 7,500 crore; Benefit of 5 per cent under “focus product, focus market scheme for export of handmade carpets; Authorised persons of gems and jewellery units can personally carry imported gold of up to 10 kg; Obligation under export promotion capital goods scheme extended till 200910 for sops availed during 2008-09; Opening of an independent office of DGFT at Srinagar.

Unique ID project Marking the beginning of the Herculean task of providing every Indian citizen with a National Identity Card, the UPA government has earmarked Rs 100 crore for setting up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) in the annual plan of 2009-10. The project is aimed at establishing citizenship, addressing security-related issues and containing frauds, especially in government run schemes. The UIAI will be responsible for creating and maintaining the core database and laying down all necessary procedures for issuance and use of the unique ID card, including arrangements for collection, validation and authentication of information, proper security of data and rules for sharing and access of data. Initially, the UID number will be assigned to all voters by building on current electoral roll data. Progressively, other persons, including those below

18 years, will be added to the list.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and stamp duty Developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will now get a blanket exemption from stamp duty on land purchases within the notified area for noncore activities such as building hotels, housing complexes, shopping malls and golf courses. For the developers of the 500-odd SEZs in the country, slated to bring in investments of over Rs 100,000 crore, this ends the uncertainty that had cropped up after some States had voiced their opposition. The exemption, however, will be available only after formal approval of the zone. For land bought after in-principle approval, the State government may either give the exemption upfront or collect the duty and refund it after the zone has been set up. If under some circumstances, notification of a zone is cancelled, the State government will be entitled to withdraw the concession and recover the same from the developer.

India ranks low in public health spending As per a WHO study, India ranks 171 out of the 175 countries in the world in public health spending. This is less than some of the sub-Saharan African countries. For a country of one billion, India spends 5.2% of the GDP on healthcare. While 4.3% is spent by the private sector, the government continues to spend only 0.9% on public health. When the economic growth index is moving forward, the wellness index is dipping. While India ranks among the top 10 countries for communicable disease, it is, today, world leader of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease. One of the key findings of the commission was that by improving the health condition, the economy of the country will improve. But it has been reverse in India. There is growth in GDP but there has been no increase in healthcare spend-

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ing. This inadequate public health spending has forced the public to depend on private sector. India’s health scenario currently presents a contrasting picture. While health tourism and private healthcare are being promoted, a large section of Indian population still reels under the risk of curable diseases that do not receive ample attention of policy-makers.

Best E-Governed State Tamil Nadu is the best e-governed State in India, according to a study by IDC India. Apart from its high IT spends, the southern State has also scored high on parameters such as citizen and business satisfaction. The other States in the top five include: Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.

India’s per capita income Rising by almost 60 per cent since 2003-04, India’s per capita income, which indicates what an average person earns, has increased to Rs 33,283 in 2007-08, as per the quick estimates of national income released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). The per capita income, increased by 12.7 per cent (at current prices) during 2007-08, while country’s population inched up by 1.4 per cent to 1.38 billion by the end of the fiscal.

from overall sectoral ceilings. The decision to change the FDI policy guidelines was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). According to new guideline foreign investment through investing Indian company would not be considered for (calculating) the indirect foreign investment in case of Indian companies 'owned and controlled' by resident Indian citizens and Indian companies owned and controlled ultimately by resident Indian citizens. In another amendment, the CCEA decided that government approval would be required for transferring the ownership of an Indian company that has a joint venture with a foreign firm in any sector covered by FDI caps. The CCEA approval of changes in FDI norms follows the recommendations of a group of ministers headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

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Change in base year of the Wholesale Price Index

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FDI Norms for Foreign Firms

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