CURRENT AFFAIRS: JANUARY 2010

CURRENT NATIONAL AFFAIRS Decline in oilseeds

production, appreciation
AGRICULTURE of rupee against dollar
Bt Brinjal controversy and zero import duties
Faced with vehement protests by farmer groups during most of 2009 has
and the green lobby, as also some States, the Union made India the largest
government has decided to freeze the introduction edible oil importer in
of Bt Brinjal in the country till independent 2009, a slot it took
scientific studies established health and surpassing China. Import
environment safety of the product to the of crude edible oil to
satisfaction of both public and experts. India saw a huge jump of
35% to a record 8.4
Although India’s biotechnology regulator, the million tonne (mt) in
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), 2009. India's edible oil
has cleared Bt brinjal for regular agriculture imports comprise almost
purposes, the detractors say that the variety may 80% of palm oil.
have passed the yield test and the pest-resistance
analysis, but its edibility is yet to be confirmed. Reserve Bank of India,
along with the Securities
Three major brinjal producing States, West Bengal, and Exchange Board of
Bihar and Orissa, which account for nearly 60 per India (SEBI) has allowed
cent of the produce, have also refused to endorse recognised stock
the product. The governments of Madhya Pradesh exchanges to launch
and Chhattisgarh also specified that they would not futures currency trading
have Bt Brinjal in their States. in euro-rupee, pound
sterling-rupee and yen-
The variety has been developed by Maharashtra rupee. Futures trading in
Hybrid Seeds. It has been created by inserting gene dollars-rupee was already
from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis into allowed.
brinjal, which is said to give the plant resistance
against insect pests. With an economic
freedom score of 53.8,
BANKING & FINANCE India has been rated the
RBI monetary policy review 124th freest economy in
There is a shift in RBI’s monetary policy stance to the world, according to
managing the revival of the economy from the 16th Annual Index of
managing the crisis. In its review on January 29, Economic Freedom,
2010, the central bank has accepted a 7.5% growth released by The Heritage
with 8.5% inflation. Foundation and The Wall
Street Journal. Hong
RBI is worried about the high inflation rate but its Kong and Singapore
governor D. Subbarao pointed out that it is mainly finished 1st and 2nd in
on account of supply side constraints. The the rankings for the 16th
condition could further deteriorate. "With growth straight year. With
accelerating in the second half of 2009-10 and Australia in 3rd place and
expected to gain momentum over the next year, New Zealand moving up
capacity constraints could potentially reinforce
to number 4, the Asia-
supply side inflationary pressure," the review
Pacific region boasts a
document said.
clean sweep at the top.
 Europe registered three
Therefore, the Reserve Bank's new shift in the top 10 placements:
policy stance from managing the risk to managing Ireland, Denmark and
the recovery made it to take a relatively milder Switzerland. The United
action to increase the cash reserve ratio by 0.75 Kingdom dropped out of
percentage point to take out Rs 36,000 crore from the top 10 for the first
the system. Besides that, it did not take any harsh time in Index history. The
measure. United States also
dropped significantly, to
On the food inflation front, the central bank 8th place.
pinned its hope on good rabi crop and good
monsoon in 2010. Assuming a normal monsoon, it The fiscal deficit for
expected inflation to moderate from July 2010 2009-10 was budgeted at
onward. a 16-year high of 6.8% of
GDP. The high fiscal
At the same time, RBI expressed its worry over the deficit is blamed on the
industrial growth, as it is not broad based, and measures the
underlined the need for consolidating it. The RBI's government took to
document on macro-economic development showed address the demand
that while industries like food products, beverages, slump that followed the
tobacco and related products showed a negative global financial crisis. The
growth, industries like basic metals & alloys and high fiscal deficit is a
paper & paper products were still decelerating. On concern as high
the other hand, the RBI document showed government borrowing to
industries like transport equipment, rubber, meet the expenditure in
petroleum, textile products and a host of other excess of revenues
industries were growing. creates competition for
funds and interest rates
PLANNING & ECONOMY going up due to this. High
Rural poor estimated at 42% interest rates hurt rate
Agriculture sector in India continues to suffer, save sensitive sectors such as
for sharp growth in some years. The expert group autos, real estate and
to review the methodology for estimation of
consumer goods.
poverty, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, has now
Investment activity also
suggested that the poverty ratio at the all India
then slows down,
level was actually 37.2% in 2004-05.
depressing the overall
economy. At macro level,
Rural poverty was projected at 41.8% and urban at
inflation goes up,
25.7% by the committee, as against official
currency weakens and
estimates of 28.3% and 25.7% for rural and urban
growth is depressed.
population, respectively.
Increased interest
payments leave less
In the past, the poverty line was defined in terms
money with the
of per capita consumer expenditure at 1973-74
government to make
market prices and adjusted over time and across
productive expenditure.
States for changes in prices keeping unchanged the
original 1973-74 reference poverty line baskets of
goods and services. The all-India rural and urban He Pingping of China, at
poverty line baskets were derived separately, 2 feet 5 inches is the
assuming per capita daily calorie intake of 2,400 world’s shortest man and
for rural people and 2,100 for urban population. Sultan Kosen of Turkey,
at 8 feet 1 inches is the
tallest man.
The Tendulkar panel has made four major
departures from the past practices. It moved away The International Lunar
from the calorie intake criteria for determining Geographic Society, a
poverty line. Instead, it tests for adequacy of New York-based
actual food expenditure near the poverty line to organization devoted to
ensure aggregate nutrition, rather than just the study of the moon,
calories. has declared that a lunar
crater in the moon's Sea
Two, it has recommended adoption of uniform PLB of Tranquillity has been
for the urban and rural population, breaking away christened after Shah
from the past practice of two separate baskets. Rukh Khan. This has been
This has been done to get rid of the problem of approved by the
outdated PLB, a major criticism of the existing International
poverty line. Astronomical Union,
which has a final say with
Three, it has suggested a new price adjustment regard to the naming of
procedure based in the same data set as the one craters on the moon.
used for poverty estimation, rejecting the earlier With a crater named after
practice of using price indices that are generated him, Shah Rukh now
externally, specific to population segments and joins the ranks of
were outdated. eminent personalities like
Nobel laureate C.V.
And four, it incorporates explicit provision in the Raman, father of the
price expenditure on health and education, which Indian space programme
in any case has been rising. The official poverty Vikram Sarabhai, father
estimate, in contrast, assumes basic health care of the Indian nuclear
and education services would be provided by the programme Homi Bhabha
State, and although the 1973-74 base takes note of and other luminaries like
the private expenditure on these items, it does not Meghnad Saha after
take into account the increase in the proportion for whom craters have been
total expenditure over the years. named.
The Tendulkar panel has also recommended that
India and China rank
365-day mixed reference period be used to collect
123rd and 121st in
data instead of the past practice of using 30-day
pollution control,
uniform reference period. The advantage of using
respectively, reflecting
MRP is that data integrity is better when
the strain rapid economic
respondents are asked about their expenditure in
growth imposes on the
the 365 days prior to the survey, particularly on
environment, according
items of low frequency consumption such as
to the 2010
clothes, footwear and durables, than when they
Environmental
are questioned on expenditure on the preceding 30
Performance Index (EPI).
days.
Iceland leads the world in
addressing pollution
Nutrient-based subsidy policy cleared
control and natural
The Union government has approved the Nutrient
resource management
Based Fertiliser Subsidy (NBS) plan with effect from
April 1, 2010. This is likely to have positive challenges, according to
sentimental impact on share prices of fertiliser the index produced by a
companies. Under the new policy, the companies team of environmental
can fix retail fertiliser prices. However the urea experts at Yale University
prices will be increased by Rs 483 per tonne or 10 and Columbia University.
The EPI ranks 163
per cent. countries on their
performance across 25
“The hike in urea prices is not going to impact the metrics aggregated into
bottom-line or EPS of fertiliser companies as extra ten categories including
10 per cent will go from farmer’s pocket directly. environmental health, air
However, looking at the shift in policy, it’s a big quality, water resource
positive for the industry,” said an analyst. management, biodiversity
and habitat, forestry,
Fertilisers are sold at government-fixed prices, fisheries, agriculture, and
which are lower than their costs of production or climate change.
import. The difference is met through subsidy. The Occupying the bottom
NBS does away with maximum retail price. It five positions are Togo,
proposes to replace the current system of giving Angola, Mauritania, the
subsidy to the industry with direct assistance to Central African Republic,
farmers. and Sierra Leone—
countries that lack basic
Solar Mission launched environmental amenities
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched India’s and policy capacity. The
Solar Energy Mission (named Jawaharlal Nehru US ranks 61st,
National Solar Mission) on January 11, 2010. The significantly behind other
main aim of the mission is to help generate 20,000 industrialised nations like
MW of solar power by 2022. Britain (14th), Germany
(17th), and Japan (20th).
The Prime Minister urged the industry to create
‘Solar Valleys’ on the lines of Silicon Valleys and President of South
asked business houses to view the Solar Energy Korea Lee Myung-bak
Mission as a business opportunity. He added that was the Chief Guest of
the success of the mission had the potential of the Republic Day, 2010.
transforming India’s energy prospects while
contributing to national and global efforts to The Pravas Bharatiya
combat climate change. Divas was celebrated in
New Delhi on January 6,
The solar mission assumes important because it
2010. The theme this
holds the centre-stage of the country’s activities to
year was: “Engaging the
combat climate change. The mission is an
Diaspora: The way
important part of the country’s National Action
forward”.
Plan on Climate Change and is trying to establish
the country as a global leader in solar energy, not
Ashok Leyland has
just in terms of solar power generation but also in
launched India’s first
solar manufacturing and generation of this
electric plug-in CNG
technology.
hybrid bus, named
Hybus.
The mission targets 1,100 MW grid solar power, 7
million sq meter solar collectors and 200 MW off
Recovery from the
grid solar applications in first phase by 2013, and
global economic
20,000 MW grid solar power, 20 million sq m solar
downturn is faster in
collectors and 2,000 MW off grid solar applications
by the year 2022. India compared with
other countries in the
New adult literacy mission gets under-way world as consumers here
The Union government has chosen 19 States to are more willing to
start adult literacy classes under the all-new spend, according to the
Nielsen Global Consumer
Sakshar Bharat Mission, which the Prime Minister Confidence survey. India
launched in September 2009. ranked second with 117
points in the fourth
The mission, with a whopping budgetary support of quarter of 2009, behind
$1 billion, seeks to educate 70 million illiterates by Indonesia, which has 119
2012; 60 million being women. Its first phase began points. Globally consumer
on January 15, 2010 in 167 districts of 19 States, confidence has remained
which have, in the past, displayed commitment to stable at 87 per cent.
adult literacy. Apart from India and
Indonesia, Hong Kong,
The selected States are the ones that continued to China, Singapore and
stress adult literacy even after the old National Brazil are where recovery
Literacy Mission (NLM) was disbanded. Some States is accelerating. About 17
like Punjab and Himachal neglected the sector, per cent Indians think
with none having any ongoing adult literacy that job prospects in the
component or programme. country would be
'excellent' and 66 per
The mission aims to achieve 100 per cent literacy cent think that it would
in 365 low literacy districts where adult female be 'good' in the next 12
literacy rate is 50 per cent less as per the 2001 months.
census. The final goal, however, is to take national
literacy level from 64 per cent to 80 per cent by Jawaharlal Nehru
2017, and reduce the gender gap from 21 to 10 per National Solar mission
cent. In the first phase, Rajasthan has clinched the has been set-up to create
maximum number of projects for 31 districts. Close an enabling policy
behind is Uttar Pradesh with projects for 26 framework for the
districts, Andhra Pradesh 18, Gujarat 13 and deployment of 20,000
Uttarakhand five. MW of solar power in
2020. The other
The focus will be on learning beyond reading, objectives are: (a)
writing and arithmetic to include life skills and Promote programmes for
employment as part of adult literacy. The idea is to off-grid applications,
retain learners and not lose them to lack of post-
reaching 1000 MW by
literacy avenues.
2017 and 2000 MW by
2020; (b) to create
Another thing that sets the Sakshar Bharat Mission
favourable conditions for
apart from the NLM is its complete ownership with
solar manufacturing
the Gram Panchayat. The past programme was
capability for indigenous
controlled by districts, which used to get
production and market
certificates for compliance. Now the programme
leadership; (c) to achieve
will be run and monitored by Panchayats and
15 million sq metres solar
learners will be the king.
thermal collector area by
2017 and 20 million by
Social Situation Report
2022; (d) to deploy 20
With over 40 per cent of people in India still living
million solar lighting
on less than $1.25 (around Rs 60) a day, India now
systems for rural areas
stands third in terms of the highest proportion of
extremely poor people in South Asia, next only to by 2022.
Nepal and Bangladesh, with corresponding
percentages at 54.7 and 50.5, respectively. Army Day is celebrated
on January 15.
The latest UN Report on the World Social Situation
India’s human and
2010, places India below Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri gender development
Lanka in terms of extreme poverty. Pakistan is the record is improving, with
only nation in the sector to have achieved the the latest government
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting report showing a
poverty by half between 1990 and 2015. It had 73 significant increase in
per cent of the people in ‘extreme poverty’ 15 country’s position on
years ago; it now has 22.6 per cent as against its human (HDI) and gender
MDG target of 29.3 per cent. related development
indices. India’s HDI,
India is lagging on the front, and must have an which was 0.530 in 1996,
annual poverty reduction rate of 4.7 per cent rose to 0.605 in 2006,
(between 2005 and 2015) against 1.4 between 1990 while GDI score improved
and 2005 if it wants to meet the MDG target of 27 from 0.514 in 1996 to
per cent; so far it has touched only 41.6 per cent. 0.590 a decade later. A
Rural India has 43.8 per cent of the people in concern, however, is the
extreme poverty as against 36.2 per cent in urban country’s Gender
areas. Empowerment Measure
(GEM) score, which
This underlines the need for inclusive growth in judges women’s
India, as stated by the UN report, which credits participation in politics
China, and to some extent India, for reduced global and decision-making,
poverty in the past two decades when the number their representation in
of people living on less than $1.25 a day came Parliament and
down from 1.9 billion to 1.4 billion. legislatures and their
control over economic
EDUCATION resources. Gendering
Forty four deemed universities to be de- Human Development
recognised Index in India, released
The HRD Ministry has decided to de-recognize as by Women and Child
many as 44 "Deemed Universities", spelling Development Ministry,
uncertainty for nearly two lakh students who are claims GEM score of
enrolled with them. The Ministry's decision 0.497 in 2006 against
amounts to an acknowledgement of irregularities in
0.416 in 1996. Delhi has
conferring the "deemed" tag to these institutions
the highest GEM score
under the first UPA government in which Arjun
and Nagaland the lowest.
Singh was the HRD minister.
The highest GEM scorers
in India are Andaman and
These deemed Universities were found deficient on
Nicobar, Puducherry,
many grounds—ranging from lack of infrastructure
Goa, Andhra and
to lack of evidence of expertise in disciplines they
Himachal. The best
claim to specialize in.
performers on political
participation of women
The HRD Ministry emphasized that the affected
are Punjab, Andaman and
students would be taken care of. The Ministry's task
Nicobar, Himachal and
force has recommended that institutions not found
Haryana. On economic
fit for deemed University status "revert to status
empowerment of women,
quo ante as an affiliated college of the State
University of jurisdiction so that students would be Chandigarh, Goa, Delhi
able to complete their ongoing courses and obtain and Punjab are the best,
degree from the affiliating University." Similarly, but in terms of control of
medical and dental colleges not found suitable can economic resources,
affiliate to State University or State medical Meghalaya stands on top.
University.
The Indian School of
In case, the institution is unable to obtain Business (ISB) is the only
affiliation, efforts would be made to facilitate the one from India to find a
migration/re-enrolment of the affected students in place on the list of top 20
other institutions. Doctoral students will have to B-schools in the world,
re-register in affiliating Universities and those in published by the Financial
distance education should either go to IGNOU or Times. ISB has improved
State open Universities. While these safeguards its position to bag the
have been recommended, the students are 12th spot on the list of
nonetheless likely to go through a phase of top 100 B-Schools across
uncertainty as they move from one University to the globe in 2010. The
another. London School of
Business topped the list,
Tamil Nadu has the distinction of having 16 of the followed by the University
44 de-recognized deemed Universities, 15 of them of Pennsylvania and
private and one government-sponsored. Harvard Business School.
Stanford University GSB
Karnataka has six de-recognized deemed and Insead have been
Universities; Uttar Pradesh four; Haryana, ranked at the fourth and
Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Maharashtra three fifth positions,
each; Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, respectively.
Bihar, one each. The three government-run
institutions to be de-recognized are: Nava Nalanda The revised estimates of
Mahavira in Bihar, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute the national income that
of Youth Development, Tamil Nadu, and National took into account 2004-
Museum Institute of the History of Art, 05 prices have calculated
Conservation and Musicology, New Delhi. the per capita income of
India at Rs 40,14,1 in
National Knowledge Network 2008-09. The old method
The Union government has approved the setting up of income calculation had
of a National Knowledge Network (NKN) that will pegged per capita at
connect all major educational institutions like the
37,490 for 2008-09. On
IITs, the IIMs and top universities for exchange of
an annual basis the new
information and research.
per capita income rose
13.3 per cent compared
One of the important recommendations of the
to the previous year
National Knowledge Commission (NKC) is to inter-
(2007-08). The new
connect all knowledge institutions through high
series of calculating the
speed data communication network. This would
national income changed
encourage sharing of knowledge, specialised
the base year to 2004-05
resources and collaborative research. The
from 1999-2000 earlier.
government’s decision to set up such a network
was announced in 2008-09 and an initial amount of
Rs.100 crore was allocated to the Department of
Information Technology, Ministry of
Communications and IT for this.

The architecture of the NKN will be scalable and

the network will consist of an ultra-high speed core
(multiples of 10Gbps and upwards) to provide a
nationwide ultra high-speed data-network highway.
The IT mesh will connect around 1,500 institutions
and the setting up of core network is expected to
be completed in a span of two years.

The network will enable scientists, researches and

students from diverse spheres across the country to
work together for advancing human development in
critical and emerging areas.

Health, education, grid computing, agriculture and

e-governance are the main applications identified
for implementation and delivery on NKN.

Model rules for RTE Act

On January 30, 2010, the Union government
approved model rules for the Right to Education
Act 2009, which requires State governments to
make free and compulsory elementary education a
right of every child between 6 and 14 years of age.

The model rules, list priorities for States, which

would have to conform to the standards under the
Act within three years of its commencement; non-
conformation could bring de-recognition. The Act,
passed by the Parliament in August 2009, is yet to
be officially notified though.

To begin with, the rules ask school management

committees or the local authorities to identify
children, who have never been to school or not
managed to complete elementary education, and
arrange for their special training in appropriate
classes so that they can ultimately be integrated
into the system. Any child above 6 years of age will
be entitled to free special training either at school
or residential facility, before he/she is ready to
enter school at a convenient level. Such children
would be allowed to complete elementary
education even after they have attained 14 years,
for the obvious reasons that they enter the school
late.

At least one primary school (class I to V) must be

located within a km of walking distance of the
neighbourhood; for schools with classes VI to VIII,
this distance would be three km. States need to
provide more neighbourhood schools in highly
populated areas and ensure safety of students in
areas with tough terrains.

But before a school comes up, the States would

have to undertake a mapping to identify all
children in remote areas, including those from
disadvantaged groups. This must be done in a year
and the data updated every year.

For the first time, the law mandates maintenance

of records of all children from birth to 14 years of
age through a household survey to be updated
every year. The rules further prescribe strict norms
for non-segregation of students and safe transport
for disabled children to ensure that they attend
school.

Also, there is flexibility on birth certificate for

admission. If formal birth record is not available,
an affidavit would suffice, so would a hospital/ANM
or anganwari record.

Adequate qualification for teachers has been

stressed upon, with the academic authority (to be
set up under the Act) to enlist the qualifications for
teachers, who would get five years to upgrade their
skills. An important part of the rules pertains to
specifications on recognition of elementary level
schools. The Act will, for the first time, mandates
recognition of such schools within three years of
the commencement.

ENVIRONMENT
India submits proposed carbon cuts to UN
On January 30, 2010, India submitted its proposed
emission intensity cut targets by 20-25 per cent by
2020 to the UN, a day before the world body’s
January 31 deadline for submitting the climate
change mitigation steps under the Copenhagen
Accord.

However, it made it clear to the Secretariat of the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) that all its domestic mitigation
actions were entirely voluntary in nature and not
legally binding, a position India had maintained at
Copenhagen Summit in Denmark.

Though agriculture sector contributes around 14

per cent of the total GHG emissions, India has kept
it out of the purview of the mitigations actions in
its blueprint submitted to the UN to ensure food
security.

LAW POINT
CJI comes under RTI ambit, says Delhi HC bench
In an unusual display of checks and balances within
the judiciary, the Delhi High Court, on January 12,
2010, rejected the contention of the Supreme
Court that the office of the Chief Justice of India
was beyond the ambit of the Right to Information
Act.

A full bench of the High Court, comprising Chief

Justice A.P. Shah, Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice
S. Muralidhar, unanimously dispelled the fear
raised by the apex court that the extension of RTI
to the CJI’s office would undermine judicial
independence.

Referring to a resolution adopted by Supreme Court

judges in 1997, a resolution adopted by a
conference of Chief Justices in 1999 and the UN-
sponsored 2001 Bangalore principles of judicial
conduct, the HC said, ‘‘Well defined and publicly
known standards and procedures complement,
rather than diminish, the notion of judicial
independence.’’

The HC verdict came in the context of the

prolonged controversy over whether the
declarations of assets made by judges should be
put in the public domain.

Free to criticize religions but without hate

In a significant ruling, a three-judge bench of the
Bombay High Court has held that in India criticism
of any religion—be it Islam, Hinduism, Christianity
or any other—is permissible under the fundamental
right to freedom of speech and that a book cannot
be banned on those grounds alone.

However, the criticism must be bona fide or

academic, said the Court, as it upheld a ban issued
in 2007 by the Maharashtra government on a book
titled “Islam—A Concept of Political World Invasion
by Muslims.” The book contained an “aggravated
form of criticism made with a malicious and
deliberate intention” to outrage the feelings of
Muslims, the Court said.

Delivering the landmark verdict, the Court upheld

the State’s ban on a book but at the same time
brought joy to civil rights activists when it held
that, “in our country, everything is open to
criticism and religion is no exception. Freedom of
expression covers criticism of religion and no
person can be sensitive about it.”
The Court also found “totally unacceptable” the
author’s argument that banning the book in the age
of the internet is passe and pointless.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
India-ASEAN trade treaty gets operational
The Union government has notified the rules to
operationalise the India-ASEAN free trade
agreement, which came into effect from January 1,
2010. The rules specify that products having more
than 35 per cent of local content will get
preferential tax treatment under the free-trade
treaty.

The rules also specify the methodology for

calculation of the cost of products to be traded
between India and the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN).

New Delhi had signed the an agreement on August

13, 2009, in Seoul with ASEAN for duty-free import
and export of as many as 4,000 products ranging
from steel to apparel to sugar and tobacco over a
period of eight years.

While the pact opens the 1.7-billion consumer

market to each other, it also eliminates duties on
80 per cent of goods traded between the two
regions by 2016.

Visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister

On January 11, 2010, India committed one billion
dollars line of credit for developmental projects in
Bangladesh and transformed its bilateral ties by
signing five accords, including three key security
pacts to expand counter-terror cooperation, during
the visit of Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina.

“This visit has opened a new chapter in India-

Bangladesh relations, reflecting the unity of minds
and hearts,” Manmohan Singh told Sheikh Hasina.

The one-billion dollar line of credit is the largest

ever one-time bilateral financial assistance India
has provided to any country. This will be used for
construction of railway bridges and lines, supply of
coaches and locomotives and buses, and assistance
in dredging, an issue of pressing concern to Dhaka.

India also agreed to supply 250 MW of electricity

through its central grid. The two sides also took
major steps to improve connectivity, including the
start of the Akhara-Agartala rail link.

The ties between the two nations had suffered

under the previous regime in Dhaka over a host of
tricky issues, including the alleged sheltering of
insurgents from India’s north-eastern States in
Bangladeshi territory.

The three security-related pacts signal a major

step forward in expanding counter-terror
cooperation and in addressing India’s concerns over
this issue that had earlier strained their ties. The
pacts will help New Delhi press Dhaka for the
extradition of suspected insurgents from its north-
eastern States who have taken shelter in
Bangladeshi territory over the years.

During her visit, Sheikh Hasina was also conferred

the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,
Disarmament and Development.

Visit of Prime Minister of Malaysia

On January 20, 2010, India and Malaysia y signed an
extradition treaty and two other accords during the
visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun
Abdul Razak. The extradition treaty will enable
India to seek the transfer from Malaysia of Indians
who commit crime on the Indian soil and take
refuge in the South East Asian nation.

A Malaysia-India capital market collaborative

agreement was signed between the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Security
Commission of Malaysia. The third agreement was
in the field of higher education.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Malaysian

leader discussed a wide range of issues, including
bilateral ties as well as international
developments. India’s ties with ASEAN were also
discussed at length. Mr Razak strongly pitched for
the early conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two
countries.

With bilateral trade exceeding $10.5 billion in

2008-09, Malaysia is India’s second largest trading
partner (after Singapore) among the 10 ASEAN
members. Infrastructure, IT, biotechnology, energy
and education have emerged as promising areas of
cooperation between the two countries.
Nepal assures of no anti-India activity from its
soil
Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna visited
Kathmandu on January 15, 2010. During his
meetings with his counterpart Sujata Koirala he
gave positive gesture to Nepal to the latter’s long-
standing proposal to review the Nepal-India Peace
and Friendship Treaty-1950.

In return, Nepal sought to address India's concerns

with regard to fake currency being smuggled from
here, pledging that it would not allow its territory
to be used against its neighbour.

India and Nepal also agreed to “cooperate closely”

to end the menace of terrorism and extremism,
including human trafficking, smuggling of arms and
fake Indian currency.

During the meeting, Nepal raised serious concerns

over the highly controversial issues on border
encroachment from the Indian side whereas the
Indian officials urged Nepal to cooperate with India
by signing the much-awaited Extradition Treaty
that Nepal had been dilly dallying to sign.

Five MoUs regarding the construction of Terai roads

with Indian assistance at an estimated cost of Rs
805 crore, a project worth Rs 9.2 crore for the
Nepal Stock Exchange Ltd and Central Depository
Services (India) Ltd, Rs 6.3-crore electrification
project, and construction of a Science Learning
Centre with India’s assistance of Rs 16.6 crore,
were signed during the visit.

During his meeting with Unified Communist Party of

Nepal-Maoists chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias
Prachanda, Mr Krishna expressed disappointment
on their ongoing anti-India movement.

However, just a day after he met with Krishna

when he had said he received positive response
from him to address their concerns, Prachanda, in
his address to party cadres in Khotang district,
criticised India and said it has played negative role
by backing up other political parties to uphold
civilian supremacy in Nepal.

Visit of Korean President

Cooperation in the civilian nuclear energy field was
high on the agenda during the meeting between
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak, on January 25, 2010.
Presdent Myung-bak was also the chief guest at the
Republic Day.

During the visit the two countries signed accords in

diverse areas, including IT and civilian space,
following the talks between the two leaders.

President Lee Myung-bak began his four-day visit to

India with a visit to the Hyundai factory near
Chennai to meet Korean businessmen living in the
city before reaching New Delhi.

Regional and global issues, including the

intensification of economic ties and cooperation in
sphere of civilian nuclear cooperation and space
technologies, figured prominently during talks
between the two sides. Closer cooperation in
combating global financial recession was also
discussed in the context of the G-20 summit to be
held in Seoul later in 2010.

Apart from the civilian nuclear sector, the two

sides also agreed to look at the possibility of joint
venture co-operation in research and development,
and manufacture of military equipment including
through transfer of technology, the joint statement
said. The two leaders also agreed to work towards
a revised double taxation avoidance convention
before the end of 2010.

The Posco steel project in Orissa was also discussed

with both sides agreeing that there was a need to
expedite the project, which has been facing delays
for three years. The two leaders also recognised
the need to expedite the implementation of the
POSCO project in Orissa,’’ the joint statement said.
The Indian side assured South Korea the
government is doing its best to expedite the
project, which continues to be entangled in land
acquisition issues. The Indian side further hoped
that South Korean investment would expand in the
infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

CONFERENCE
Commonwealth Speakers’ Conference, 20th
The 20th Commonwealth Speakers’ Conference was
held in New Delhi from January 5, 2010. It was
inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Describing the growth of regional parties as a
challenge for governance and conduct of
parliamentary democracy, Mr Manmohan Singh
said: “Though the aspirations of smaller parties
may often be anchored in narrow considerations,
they carry great weight for their constituents. In
the end, democracy must respond to everyday
concerns of the common man and Parliament
should be the forum to address such concerns.”
The remark was in obvious reference to the
growing influence of sub-regional parties in
coalition politics and Parliament.

Presiding officers from 42 Commonwealth nations

were present (some in traditional Speaker robes).
The Conference discussed, among other things, the
Speaker’s role as a mediator and administrator of
Parliament and use of technology in disseminating
information on Parliamentary proceedings.

The forum also saw India voicing the aspirations of

developing nations on climate change.

AFGHANISTAN
London Declaration
A one-day international conference on Afghanistan
was held on January 27, 2010 in London. Seventy
Foreign Ministers and officials of international
organisations attended the convention at the 185-
year-old Lancaster House.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, hosting the

conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, announced in
his opening address the establishment of a $500
million 'trust fund' to buy "peace and integration"
with warriors who are engaged in violence for
economic rather than ideological reasons. A
whopping $140 million has been pledged already
for 2010.

During his pre-conference discussion with the

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, External
Affairs Minister of India, S.M. Krishna, specifically
said, “there should be no distinction between a
good Taliban and a bad Taliban.” But this clearly
fell on deaf ears. The participants rejected India's
argument that there were no degrees of
Talibanism.

It was also unclear whether remnants of

Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, once cultivated by
India, would be accommodated in any way. There
was also no reference to the erstwhile Foreign
Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, who put up a spirited
fight in the first round of the recent controversial
Presidential election and exposed fraud before
withdrawing from the contest.

Pakistan supports a differentiation between Taliban

segments, including being generally soft towards
the Afghan Taliban, which was sponsored by the
Pakistani Army's Inter-Services Intelligence.

As a goodwill gesture, the conference was

preceded by a lifting of United Nations sanctions on
five leaders of the obscurantist Taliban regime,
which was ousted by armed forces led by the
United States after the 9/11 attack on New York by
the Afghanistan-based Al Qaida. Among the
beneficiaries is a former foreign minister Wakil
Ahmad Muttawakil.

In keeping with United States President Barack

Obama's plan to start withdrawing American troops
in a little over 18 months, Brown also declared that
to fill the breach the strength of the Afghan army
would be increased to 134,000 by October 2010 and
to 171,600 by October 2011. Corresponding
enlargements would also occur in respect of the
Afghan police. The template for Afghanistan is
similar to the one utilised in Iraq.

The Taliban central leadership rejected the London

declaration on Afghanistan while several top
Pakistani leaders said they support dialogue with
the Taliban to end the conflict.

The statement by the Leadership Council of the

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan issued in Pashto
said: “The US and its allies should have freed all
prisoners from jails in Guantanamo Bay,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, removed the
names of all Taliban members from the UN
‘blacklist’ and refrained from sending more troops
if they really meant to take the proper steps for
ending the Afghan conflict.”

The statement argued that the ‘Mujahideen’ were

not fighting for money or to grab power. Describing
as baseless that most Taliban fighters were not
ideologically committed, it claimed that nobody
compelled the ‘Mujahideen’ to take up arms and
fight the invaders.

Accusing President Obama and Prime Minister

Brown of trying to deceive their people by
organising conferences on Afghanistan like the one
in London to win public support for a failed war,
the statement reminded that such conferences did
not work in the past and would not succeed this
time as well.
Arguing that the only solution of the conflict was
the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan,
the Taliban statement also tried to reassure the
West and rest of the world about their future plans
in case they returned to power.

SRI LANKA
Rajapaksa re-elected President
On January 27, 2010, Mahinda Rajapska emerged
victorious in the bitterly-fought first post-LTTE era
Presidential elections. He won fighting against
former army chief Sarath Fonseka, securing nearly
60 per cent of the total votes polled.

On 59-year-old Fonseka's charges of poll rigging,

the sources said it was "absolutely untrue" and
pointed out that even former Prime Minister and
opposition UNP chief Ranil Wicremasinghe had
given a clean chit on the issue.

ENVIRONMENT
Biodiversity protocol divides rich and developing
world
An international protocol on biodiversity has
become the new bone of contention between the
developed and developing countries. The rich
countries are opposing an international legal
framework for use of biological resources.

The agreement will deal with the issue of bio-

piracy, which is a cause of concern for countries
like India. Negotiations are on to finalise the
protocol that is expected to be adopted at Nagoya,
Japan, in October 2010.

India and other developing countries are pushing

for a protocol on access and benefit sharing (ABS).
Bio-piracy is an important issue for India, which is
keen on the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol.

The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted at

the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, is the
first comprehensive global agreement addressing
all aspects of biodiversity. The convention
reaffirms sovereign rights of nations over their
biological resources. It has three main goals — the
conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use
of its components and fair and equitable sharing of
the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

While an international legal framework appears to

be a distant possibility, India has been taking steps
at the national and bilateral level to protect its
biodiversity. Besides the Biological Diversity Act,
2002, and the national Biodiversity Authority, India
has also put in place a traditional knowledge
database — the Traditional Knowledge Digital
Library (TKDL). Managed by the CSIR, TKDL is a
computerised database of documented information
available in Indian texts, relating to Indian systems
of medicine. Over 10 years, more than 2 lakh
formulations of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Yoga
have been documented under the TKDL.

Natural disasters not linked to global warming

The United Nations climate science panel,
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
faces a new controversy for wrongly linking global
warming to a rise in natural disasters such as
hurricanes and floods. It based the claims on an
unpublished report that had not been subjected to
routine scientific scrutiny and ignored warnings
from scientific advisers. The report's author later
withdrew the claim because the evidence was too
weak.

The link was central to demands at Copenhagen

climate summit by African nations for
compensation of $100 billion from the rich nations
blamed for creating the most emissions. According
to The Sunday Times the IPCC knew in 2008 that
the link could not be proved but did not alert world
leaders.

The latest criticism came less than a week after

IPCC was forced to retract claims that the
Himalayan glaciers would be largely melted by
2035. It turned out the claim had been lifted from
a news report published in 1999 by New Scientist
magazine.

Two scientific reviewers who checked drafts of the

IPCC report urged greater caution in proposing a
link between climate change and disaster impacts,
but were ignored.

The paper at the centre of the latest questions was

written in 2006 by Robert Muir-Wood, head of
research at Risk Management Solutions, a London
consultancy, who became a contributing author on
the IPCC report on climate change impacts. In the
research, Muir-Wood looked at a wide range of
hazards, including tropical cyclones, floods and
hurricanes. He found from 1950 to 2005 there was
no increase in the impact of disasters once growth
was accounted for. For 1970 to 2005 he found a 2%
annual increase that "corresponded with a period of
rising global temperatures," but said almost all of it
was due to strong hurricane seasons in 2004 and
2005. Despite such caveats, the IPCC report used
the study in its section on disasters and hazards,
but cited only the 1970-2005 results.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Google, China face-off over Internet
On January 13, 2010, Google threatened to shut
down its operations in China after uncovering
“highly sophisticated” hacking attempts into e-mail
accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

“These attacks and the surveillance they have

uncovered, combined with the attempts over the
past year to further limit free speech on the web,
have led us to conclude that we should review the
feasibility of our business operations in China,”
David Drummond, senior V-P of corporate
development and chief legal officer, said in a blog
post.

“We have decided we are no longer willing to

continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so
over the next few weeks we will be discussing with
the Chinese government the basis on which we
could operate an unfiltered search engine within
the law, if at all,” he said.

Evidence indicated that the attackers were trying

to get access to mail accounts of Chinese human
rights activists, according to Drummond. At least
20 other large companies, including finance,
Internet, media and technology were similarly
attacked, according to Google.

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
Taliban attack on match in tribal Pakistan
A northwest Pakistani village that tried to resist
Taliban infiltration mourned on January 2, 2010 the
victims of an apparent revenge suicide bombing
that killed 96 residents during a volleyball game.
The attack on the outskirts of Lakki Marwat city
was one of the deadliest in recent Pakistani history
and sent a bloody New Year’s message to Pakistanis
who dare take on the armed Islamic extremists.

Lakki Marwat district is near South Waziristan, a

tribal region where the army has been battling the
Pakistani Taliban since October 2009.

Across Pakistan’s north-west, where the police

force is thin, underpaid and under-equipped,
various tribes have taken security into their own
hands over the past two years by setting up citizen
militias to fend off the Taliban. The government
has encouraged such “lashkars”, and in some areas
they have proven to be a key to reducing militant
activity. Still, tribal leaders who face off with the
militants do so at high personal risk. Several suicide
attacks have targeted meetings of anti-Taliban
elders, and militants also often go after
individuals. One reason militancy has spread in
Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt is because
insurgents have slain dozens of tribal elders and
filled a power vacuum.

Af-Pak strategy unveiled

In a candid assessment of the fragile relationship of
USA with Pakistan, a US State department policy
paper has admitted that there is a degree of
mistrust between Washington and Islamabad, but
democratic rule in Pakistan has created a window
of opportunity. The report makes a point of noting
that while the US military presence in the region is
not open-ended, its non-military commitment
would be a long-term one.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled the

Obama administration's strategy to stabilise
Pakistan and Afghanistan, noting that the challenge
in both countries is immense.

US officials have expressed concern over Pakistan's

selective war on extremists within its borders,
noting the Pakistani army's offensive ignores deadly
terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network,
responsible for attacks against US troops in
Afghanistan.

The State department report outlines US objectives

in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "While our combat
mission in Afghanistan is not open-ended, we will
remain politically, diplomatically and economically
engaged in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the long-
term to protect our enduring interests in the
region," it says. On Pakistan, it lays out the
intention of USA to lead the international
community in helping Pakistan overcome the
political, economic and security challenges that
threaten its stability, and in turn undermine
regional stability. "And we seek to build a long-
term partnership with Pakistan based on common
interests, including a recognition that we cannot
tolerate, a safe haven for terrorists whose location
is known and whose intentions are clear," it added.

"Achieving progress will require continued sacrifice

not only by our military personnel, but also by
more than the 1,500 US government civilians
serving in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Clinton said,
pointing out that for the first time since this
conflict began, the US has a true whole-of-
government approach. She said the Obama
administration's policy, rather than being an
exercise in nation-building, was aimed to achieve
realistic progress in critical areas, and that Afghan
and Pakistani governments had endorsed this
strategy.

WORLD TRADE
Asia free-trade zone
On January 1, 2010, China and 10 South-east Asian
nations ushered in the world’s third-largest free-
trade area. While many industries are eager for
tariffs to fall on things as diverse as textiles,
rubber, vegetable oils and steel, a few are
nervously waiting to see whether the agreement
will mean boom or bust for their businesses.

Trade between China and the 10 countries that

make up the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, also known as ASEAN, has soared to $192.5
billion in 2008, from $59.6 billion in 2003. The new
free-trade zone, which will remove tariffs on 90%
of traded goods, is expected to increase that
commerce still more.

The zone ranks behind only the European Economic

Area and the North American Free Trade Area
(NAFTA) in volume. It encompasses 1.9 billion
people. The free-trade area is expected to help
ASEAN countries increase exports, particularly
those with commodities that resource-hungry China
desperately wants.

The China-ASEAN free trade area has faced less

vocal opposition than the European and North
American zones, perhaps because tariffs were
already low and because it was unlikely to alter
commerce patterns radically. However, some
manufacturers in Southeast Asia are concerned that
cheap Chinese goods may flood their markets, once
import taxes are removed, making it more difficult
for them to retain or increase local market shares.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DECEMBER 2009

CURRENT NATIONAL AFFAIRS

DEFENCE
Army doctrine being reviewed
The Army’s military doctrine is being reviewed and it will now include an added thrust
in five key areas that will propel the doctrine. This includes wars in faraway lands,
besides strategy on how to face future challenges posed by China and Pakistan.

The key areas include preparation for a two-pronged war with China and Pakistan. Both
countries will have to be looked at separately and also collectively. The nature of
conflict, if ever, with both countries will vary greatly in terms of terrain and use of
weapons and fire-power.

The Army, which is involved in fighting insurgency in J&K and the North-East, is also
looking to optimise capabilities to fight asymmetric war waged by both State and non-
State actors, such as terror attacks and proxy wars. This will include cyber and
electronic warfare.

The doctrine will look at ways to enhance the strategic reach of the Army and joint
operations with the Navy and the Air Force. Countries like the USA already have
airborne division while China has capability of rapid induction of troops. The reviewed
doctrine will also touch upon space-based capability and methods to achieve
technological edge over the enemy. The doctrine is reviewed every five years by the
Army’s Shimla-based Training Command.

PLANNING & ECONOMY

13th Finance Commission Report
The 13th Finance Commission, which makes recommendations on sharing of tax
revenues by the Centre and States, has suggested a new path for fiscal prudence in its
report submitted to President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil on December 30, 2009.

The Commission was headed by Vijay Kelkar. Other members of the Commission were
B.K. Chaturvedi, Indira Rajaraman, Atul Sarma and Sanjiv Misra.
The government had consigned the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management
(FRBM), the self-imposed fiscal prudence guidelines, to the back-burner in 2008 when it
stepped up official spending beyond its means in order to insulate the economy from
the global financial meltdown. The country’s fiscal deficit, a reflection of government
borrowings, is estimated to touch 6.8 per cent in 2009-10, up from 6.2 per cent in the
previous fiscal, mainly on account of the stimulus measures.

The recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission, Finance Minister Pranab

Mukherjee said “would get reflected in the 2010-11 Budget”.
The report, Kelkar said, dealt with the sharing of tax revenue between the Centre and
States, distribution of funds among States and support to local bodies. The Finance
Commission report assumes significance in view of the ongoing reforms in indirect and
direct taxes, which will have a bearing on the tax collections.

Currently, the States and Union Territories get Rs 1.64 lakh crore in a year, or around
30 per cent of the shareable taxes collected by the Centre. The 12th Finance
Commission had recommended that 30.5 per cent of the shareable Central taxes should
be shared among the States and Union Territories. The shareable central taxes include
corporation tax, income tax, wealth tax, customs, excise duty and service tax.

Among other things, the Commission has suggested steps to deal with the growing off-
budget expenditure, especially, oil bonds. The report is based on the 2008-09 tax
collections and does not talk on post-GST scenario. However, implementation of the
new indirect tax regime in 2010 would not be a concern as suggestions are based on
revenue neutral rates.

China’s iron ore find can hit India’s exports

China has found a one-billion tonne iron ore deposit, which is the biggest discovery of
the mineral since 1980’s. This is bound to cause some worries in India as iron ore
accounts for nearly half of Indian exports to China.

The latest discovery is a 6-km long deposit with thickness ranging between 41.43 and
108.95 meters. It lies 100 to 600 meters deep underground in Luannan County in the
northern province of Hebei.

It will be some time before the new deposit will begin to yield iron ore, but the
discovery will definitely enable China to make long-term plans on steel production and
strengthen its hands in price negotiations. The discovery gives a new boost to China’s
ongoing efforts to reduce its dependence on major world suppliers and avoid getting
caught in price fluctuations of the spot market. Indian suppliers mostly deal in the spot
market and refuse to enter into long-term supply contracts.

EDUCATION
Scholarship scheme for minority students
The Union government has launched the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad National Fellowship
Scheme for minority students and another one to computerise State Wakf Boards.

Under the scheme, 756 fellowships (30 per cent to be reserved for women) will be
offered per year to minority students wishing to pursue higher studies. The objective is
to grant integrated five-year fellowships in form of financial assistance to students from
minority communities as notified by the Central government to pursue MPhil and PhD.
The scheme will cover all universities or institutions recognised by the UGC under
Section 2 (f) and Section 3 of the UGC Act and will be implemented by the Ministry of
Minority Affairs through UGC for students belonging to minorities.

The fellowships will be on the pattern of UGC fellowships awarded to research students
pursuing regular and full time MPhil and PhD courses. Holders of the new fellowship will
be called MoMA scholars.

ELECTIONS
Soren forms government in Jharkhand
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren has been elected as the Chief Minister of
Jharkhand after successful conclusion of the
Assembly pools in December 2009. The JMM, which won 18 seats, garnered the support
of the BJP-JD(U), the All Jharkhand Students Union and Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch
led by Bandhu Tirkey, taking up the tally to 44 MLAs in a house of 80.

The BJP won 18 seats and the JD(U) 2 seats, All Jharkhand Students Union has 5 MLAs
and the Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch has one MLA.

The decision by JMM to enter into a coalition with the BJP-JD(U) combine brought to a
close the hectic lobbying that marked the three days since the Jharkhand elections
threw up a hung Assembly.

The Congress attacked the post-poll alliance between the BJP and the JMM as “the high
point of unprincipled and unethical politics”. “Till yesterday, Arun Jaitley and BJP were
crying hoarse about Shibu Soren’s criminal past but today they have no compunction
about aligning with a man who is being tried in three murder cases, including one which
is coming up for hearing as early as January 5, 2010,” party spokesman Manish Tewari
said.

This is the third time the Mr Soren has occupied the post of Jharkhand Chief Minister.
As per the ministry-sharing formula worked out among the alliance partners, JMM and
BJP will have five ministers each in the team while AJSU will have a quota of two. BJP,
which has also been allowed to have its own man as the Assembly Speaker, has decided
to part with one ministerial berth from its share for its alliance partner JD(U).

Mr Soren, who was a Lok Sabha member before taking over as the Chief Minister, will
have to become an MLA within six months. Wiser from the humiliation suffered in
January 2009, when he had to quit the post after losing the by-election to the Tamar
seat, the JMM chief is likely to enter the fray from his family backyard Dumka. His son
Hemant, had won the constituency in the Assembly polls, is likely to vacate the seat in
favour of his father, and retain the Rajya Sabha membership.

Jharkhand Assembly ‘Safe Haven’ For Criminals

The politician-criminal nexus in India is alive and kicking. Proof of this was provided by
the profile of the newly elected MLAs in Jharkhand. As many as 31 of the 45 legislators
backing the JMM-BJP-AJSU coalition government have criminal cases pending against
them.

Its not just the ruling coalition which is afflicted with this malaise. The Opposition
benches in the State too have several MLAs with criminal antecedents, making it clear
that the process of criminalisation of politics is proceeding unhindered. Chief Minister
Shibu Soren, who had to quit the Union Council of Ministers a few years ago after being
convicted in a murder case, leads the contingent. Besides him, 16 of the 18 JMM MLAs
have criminal cases against them. The only party MLA who starts with a clean slate is
Sita Soren, daughter-in-law of Mr Shibu Soren and widow of the late Durga Soren.

BJP and AJSU have eight and four MLAs, respectively, with criminal cases against them.
One JD(U) legislator and the lone JJM legislator Bandhu Tirkey also has criminal cases
against him. Mr Tirkey, a former minister, in fact, is presently languishing in jail as he’s
one of the key accused in the great Jharkhand loot undertaken by the Madhu Koda
government.

JMM’s Dumri MLA Jagannath Mahato has been booked in 14 criminal cases while Mr
Shibu Soren’s son Hemant has six cases against him.

BJP’s Jharkhand unit president Raghubar Das also has criminal cases against him while
C.P. Singh, the fourth-term MLA from Ranchi, has nine cases against him.

As many as 11 of the 14 Congress MLAs also have cases against them, while eight JVM
(P) and four RJD MLAs have cases lodged against them.

Gujarat Assembly passes mandatory voting Bill

The Gujarat Assembly has passed a landmark Bill which makes, for the first time in the
country, voting mandatory in local body polls. The Gujarat Local Authorities Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2009, which also seeks to raise the reservation of seats for women in
local self governance bodies from 33 to 50 per cent, was passed by voice vote. Under
the Bill, if a voter fails to vote for the reasons other than prescribed in the rules, he
may be declared a “defaulter voter” and would face consequences for which rules will
be framed and placed before the Assembly for its approval later.

LEGISLATION
Authors can now claim royalty
Authors of musical, cinematographic and literary works may now be entitled to royalty
in case their works are used for commercial purposes, a benefit denied to them so far.
This can be possible because of certain amendments in the Copyright Act of 1957,
which has been approved by the Union Cabinet for introduction in Parliament.

The amendment is proposed to give independent rights to authors of literary and

musical works in cinematography of films, which were hitherto denied and wrongfully
exploited by producers and music companies.

Another amendment ensures that the authors of the works, particularly songs included
in the cinematography of films or sound recordings, receive royalty for commercial
exploitation of such work.

The News Broadcasters Association had been apprehensive about the amendments and
asked the government to ensure that nothing was done to hurt the “well-established
and understood rights of broadcasters to fair use of material, including broadcast
reproduction rights”.

POLITICAL
Advani steps down as Leader of Opposition
The curtain came down on L.K. Advani’s tenure as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha on
December 18, 2009. And while he made way for Sushma Swaraj, the 82-year-old
veteran BJP leader said he saw a new chapter opening in his political career.

After a meeting of BJP parliamentary party amended its constitution, Advani was
elected chairman, a post that has been created for him. The assembled party MPs then
elected Swaraj as leader of the party in LS, the first woman to hold the post in BJP.

The next act in the generational change was played out on December 19, when Rajnath
Singh stepped down as BJP President and Maharashtra unit chief Nitin Gadkari took
charge. The change of guard completed a process that had been in the works since the
party lost its bid for power in 2009 national elections.

Sushma Swaraj, at 57, clearly marks a generational change as does 52-year-old Gadkari.
Advani is expected to play a role as mentor and the amended constitution says he will
appoint the two leaders of Opposition.

Nitin Gadkari is the youngest BJP president. His elevation marks the culmination of the
exercise to effect a generational shift at the top in the party hierarchy—both in its
organisational and parliamentary wings.

Mr Gadkari assumes his new responsibility at a very crucial time. After tasting defeat in
a series of electoral battles, cadre morale is low. The party was also bogged down by a
debilitating infighting among the so-called second generation leaders. The BJP has also
failed to keep pace with the changing times, and lost the trust of the youth and the
burgeoning urban middle class in the process.

Mr Gadkari, who hails from Nagpur and over the years cultivated the image of an
honest, hard-working leader who has toiled his way to the top, thus has task cut out.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
India-Bangladesh pacts to tackle terrorism
On December 2, 2009, India expressed its gratitude to Bangladesh for taking speedy
action to foil a conspiracy by the LeT to attack the Indian mission in Dhaka recently as
the two countries finalised three key agreements to combat terrorism. The agreements
were signed during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi.

The two sides arrived at an agreement on: Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters,
combating international terrorism, organised crime and illicit drug trafficking; and
agreement on transfer of sentenced persons. However, the two sides have not yet been
able to resolve differences over a bilateral extradition treaty.

The finalisation of the three accords marks a major confidence-building measure (CBM)
to address the issue of Indian insurgents taking shelter in Bangladesh, which had marred
ties between the two nations in recent years. New Delhi, however, is quite happy over
the manner in which the Sheikh Hasina government has been cooperating with it in
checking the activities of these insurgents.

Visit of Bhutanese King

Increasing the pace of cooperation in the hydro-power sector, India and Bhutan have
signed four agreements to conduct technical surveys for hydro-power projects. The four
MoUs related to the hydro-power sector were part of 12 agreements that were signed
after discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Bhutanese King
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who was on his first foreign visit in December 2009,
since his coronation in 2008.

India and Bhutan have decided to prepare detailed project reports for the Kuri Gongri,
Chamkharchhu-1 and Kholongchhu hydro-power projects and Amochu reservoir project.
The Kuri Gongri project is proposed to generate 1,800-mw power, the Chamkharchhu-1
670 mw and the Kholongchhu 670 mw. Further, the two sides have also agreed to
conclude implementation agreements for Punatsangchhu-2 project

Bhutan uses 400 mw and has an installed capacity of 1,500 mw of power. The entire
surplus comes to India which is helping Bhutan increase its capacity to 10,000 mw till
2020.

Apart from the MoUs on the hydro-power projects, the two sides also signed eight other
agreements in areas ranging from agriculture to health to civil aviation. The two sides
also signed an agreement to set up the Bhutan Institute of Medical Sciences in Thimphu
and an agreement on an IT project, which plans to make nearly half of Bhutan’s
population e-literate.

Visit of Japanese Prime Minister

Prime Minister Yokio Hatoyama of Japan visited New Delhi in end-December 2009.
During the high-level talks, Japan urged India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT), but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put the onus for its ratification on
China and the US.

The issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation were discussed with both sides
agreeing to the need for an early start to the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty
negotiations. But on the issue of the non-proliferation treaty both sides agreed that
there was a difference of perception. Mr Singh reiterated that India is “deeply
interested in working with Japan and other like-minded countries to promote the cause
of universal, verifiable and non-discriminatory disarmament”.

Even though Mr Singh highlighted India’s “impeccable record” in non-proliferation and

explained the country’s nuclear history, the Japanese Prime Minister remained non-
committal on civilian nuclear cooperation between India and Japan. Keeping the matter
pending, Mr Hatoyama said nuclear energy would be an item on the agenda for future
discussions.

In the absence of an agreement on nuclear cooperation, the Japanese Prime Minister,

however, indicated that Japan is willing to relax restrictions on hi-tech trade and said
there was a “positive conclusion” on the issue of hi-tech trade. During talks, Mr Singh
assured his Japanese counterpart that Indian companies would not divert hi-tech
imports from Japan for weapon’s purposes or to a third country and sought
liberalisation in this area.

The economic partnership, however, remained the “bedrock” of relationship, with both
sides discussing a range of economic issues, including Japanese investment and trade
agreement. The two Prime Ministers have decided to push their negotiators to expedite
negotiations into the comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Mr Hatoyama pointed out that bilateral trade between India and Japan is far less than
that between Japan and China. Mr Singh, however, said he had conveyed to the
Japanese Prime Minister that India welcomes Japanese investments into the country
and pointed out that India’s growing economy offers huge opportunities for Japan.

The two sides also discussed the liberalisation of visa regime on both sides, with the
Japanese Prime Minister raising the issue saying that it was important as there were
several major projects being undertaken in India for the benefit of both countries.

The two leaders also vowed to push for an early conclusion of an economic partnership
agreement to scale up trade and investment and cooperate on a range of global issues,
including the UN reforms, climate change and nuclear disarmament

India, Japan sign agreements on Rs 360-kcr DMIC project: India and Japan signed two
agreements on December 28, 2009 for implementing the ambitious Rs 3,60,000-crore
Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project that seeks to create integrated
investment regions and industrial areas across six States. The agreements include
collaborating in the development of eco-cities, that is cities that are environmentally
and ecologically sustainable, along the corridor and setting up of a project
development fund to undertake activities like master planning and feasibility studies,
preparing project reports and obtaining approvals and bid process management for
projects.

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Cooperation has signed the

memorandum of understanding with Jetro (in cooperation with Japan Bank for
International Cooperation) for facilitating collaboration between Japanese and Indian
companies from environment-related sectors and providing expertise in development
and promotion of DMIC projects.

The DMIC project development fund will be set up with equal contribution from the
governments of India and Japan. India has approved a grant of Rs 330 crore
(approximately $75 million) as the country’s contribution. The Japanese component of
$75 million is being provided in the form of untied loan from JBIC.

Visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Russia

On December 7, 2009, during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan singh to Moscow,
relations between India and Russia experienced more than a thaw on a range of
interests encompassing N-trade, shared Af-Pak perceptions and a plan to boost
commerce to $20 billion by 2015.

The discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitri
Medvedev yielded a rich cache of agreements which included establishing a credit line
of $100 million and a nuclear agreement that allows India to reprocess fuel and
virtually guarantees unhindered supply of nuclear fuel.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after signing a crucial nuclear deal with Russia, said
there would be an addition to the two reactors being developed at Kudankulam in
Tamil Nadu, while a site was being considered at Haripur in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, Russian President Medvedev stressed that Moscow did not support any
addition to the club of N-weapon States, which has implications on the country’s
position in Iran, and that N-weapons should not be "held hostage to terror", in a fairly
direct reference to Pakistan.

Medvedev also made it clear that the G-8 statement at La Aquila did not impact on ENR
(enrichment and nuclear reprocessing) related agreements with India.

The continuing global slowdown and a decline in oil prices have made Russia more open
to reaching out to an old friend while the change of guard in US has seen India reaffirm
ties, with Singh describing Russia as a “global world power”. The two nations also share
concerns over the rise of China.

With the meeting with Medvedev having set the mood, Manmohan Singh’s interaction
with Prime Minister Putin, still very much the “real” power centre in Moscow, saw a
detailed exchange of assessments.

The two sides signed a total of six agreements but the Russians were clearly pleased
with the civil nuclear cooperation pact. The reactors, which cost about $1.5 billion
each, will certainly be welcome for a Russian economy that is simply not doing too
well.

India and Russia signed a path-breaking broad-based agreement in civil nuclear field
that will ensure transfer of technology and uninterrupted uranium fuel supplies to its
nuclear reactors and inked three pacts in the defence sector.

The Indo-Russian pact on atomic cooperation is a significant document and goes much
further than the 123 agreement between India and the US. The pact also has provisions
for transfer of enrichment and nuclear technology, which is denied in the 123
agreement with the US.

The two countries also reviewed their cooperation in the United Nations and in
multilateral fora and their role towards successful conclusion of the Copenhagen
Summit on climate change.

RESERVATIONS
Ranganath Commission report on Religious and Linguistic Minorities
Two years after it was submitted to the government, report of the National Commission
on Religious and Linguistic Minorities is ready to be tabled in the Parliament.

Constituted to assess the status of minorities and suggest ways of improving their lot,
the Commission, headed by Justice Ranganath Misra, has recommended 15 per cent
reservation in non-minority educational institutions and Central and State government
jobs for all religious and linguistic minorities.

Out of the 15 per cent earmarked seats in education institutions, Muslims should be
given 10 per cent reservation (commensurate with their 73 per cent share in the total
minority population in India) and the remaining 5 per cent to other minorities, states
the report.

It adds that if Muslim candidates are not available to fill 10 per cent seats, the
remaining vacancies should go to other minorities and in “no case to the majority
community.”On employment front, the report argues that since the minorities,
especially Muslims, are much under-represented in government jobs, “we recommend
they should be regarded as backward in this respect within the meaning of that term as
used in Article 16 (4) of the Constitution.”

Accordingly, the recommendation is to reserve 15 per cent of posts in all cadres and
grades under the Central and State governments for the religious and linguistic
minorities. Of this, 10 per cent quota is recommended for Muslims and the rest for
other minorities.

The report, co-authored by Tahir Mahmood, also recommends the inclusion of Muslim
and Christian Dalits in SC list, something the National Commission for Minorities has also
been supporting.

TERRORISM; LAW & ORDER

ULFA chief held in Bangladesh
In the most serious setback that has been suffered by the banned United Liberation
Front of Assam (ULFA) in recent times, its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa was arrested by
Bangladeshi agencies somewhere near Dhaka in Bangladesh on December 2, 2009.

The arrest which came close on the heels of November 5 arrest of another two top
leaders of the outfit, Sashadhar Choudhury and Chitrabon Hazarika, in Dhaka indicated
that the outfit’s sanctuary in Bangladesh was in serious danger.

With Rajkhowa’s arrest, only two major leaders of the outfit, self-styled commander-
in-chief Paresh Barua and deputy commander in chief Raju Baruah, are now at large.
Another top leader, general secretary Anup Chetia, alias Golap Barua, is lodged in a jail
in Bangladesh.

Arabinda Rajkhowa (53) whose real name is Rajib Rajkonwar, has been the chairman of
the ULFA since early 1980s and was one of the founder leaders of the ULFA. He studied
up to Class XII, and is the second of three sons of freedom fighter Umakanta Rajkonwar
who passed away three years ago at the age of 101 years. He hails from Lakwa in
Sivasagar district of Upper Assam.

Rajkhowa also has an Interpol red corner notice against him, issued on June 4, 1997 for
his involvement in several heinous crimes. Out of India since 1992, Rajkhowa is known
to keep travelling to Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, Bhutan, Pakistan and other countries
on fake identity and fake passports.

He was trained under Kachin Independence Army in Myanmar and National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (NSCN). He can handle all types of arms. He is also the vice-
president of the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front (IBRF).

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

PAKISTAN
Law catches up with leadership
On December 16, 2009, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the National
Reconciliation Order (NRO) null and void. Lawyers termed the decision as a landmark
judgement and demanded that President Asif Ali Zardari step down from his post. The
Court ruled that the decree protecting Zardari and his allies against charges of
corruption was illegal and against the constitution.

The Supreme Court further ruled that all cases under investigation or pending enquiries
and which had either been withdrawn or where the investigations or enquiries had been
terminated on account of the NRO shall also stand revived and the relevant and
competent authorities shall proceed in the matter in accordance with law.
The NRO, issued by former President Pervez Musharraf, had scrapped all corruption
cases against politicians and bureaucrats filed between January 1986 and October 1999,
on the grounds that they may have been politically motivated. The ordinance had
allowed Benazir Bhutto and her husband Zardari to return to Pakistan.

In the first fallout of the Supreme Court ruling arrest warrants were issued against
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar
on December 18, 2009. Both were also barred from going abroad on an official visit.

The National Accountability Bureau, Pakistan’s main anti-corruption agency, also

banned 250 other officials from going abroad following the order.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY
Japan unveils new $81 billion stimulus plan
Japan’s government has unveiled $81 billion of new stimulus spending to keep the
world’s second-biggest economy from lurching back into recession.

Despite shrinking tax revenue, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet agreed
to 7.2 trillion yen ($80.6 billion) in new spending after days of negotiations with
coalition partners.

The largesse underlines that the world’s biggest economies are still too fragile to get by
without government life support even as a recovery from the global recession takes
shape. In export-reliant Asia that’s partly because demand from Europe and the US is
improving only tepidly and efforts to reduce dependence on trade by boosting consumer
spending will take several years to fully bear fruit.

Japan also faces falling prices while brand-name exporters like Toyota Motor and Sony
are losing record amounts of money as a galloping yen adds to their woes.

ENVIRONMENT
A face-saver in Copenhagen
The Copenhagen Accord, the first global agreement of the 21st century to
comprehensively influence the flow and share of natural resources, was agreed upon by
26 most influential countries in the wee hours of December 19, 2009, in the capital of
Denmark. The US led the pack of architects with the BASIC four—China, India, Brazil
and South Africa (in that order)—working as sometimes reluctant and sometimes
willing, but always key partners in framing the agreement.

The accord demands that increase in global temperatures be kept below 2 degrees on
the basis of equity. It requires global emissions as well as all national emissions to peak
at a certain time but is mindful of concerns of economic development. It asks
industrialized countries, except the US, to take emission cuts in future, but not
necessarily under the Kyoto Protocol. It lays out up to $30 billion of quick-start finance
and $100 billion starting 2020, using all the routes of transfer possible. It requires
mitigation actions from developing countries for the first time to be listed in an
international agreement.

The rules of multilateral engagement got re-written as new alignments created a

coterie of the powerful that brokered deals in closed rooms: each working at the end to
preserve, if not improve its immediate economic status.
The pact they forged did cause heartburn as less powerful economies felt left out.
Tuvalu and Sudan said it was too weak, while Venezuela and Bolivia were upset because
it had not been negotiated in the open by all the 192 countries attending the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference. The low-ambition
deal was seen as a triumph of the US which defied estimates to influence the outcome.
But the negotiations also saw the Chinese leveraging their clout in the resource-rich
African continent, at a multilateral forum.

For India though, the Accord came out of hard bargaining lasting almost 20 hours among
Heads of governments of some of the most influential countries in the world. At the
end of the day, when the battle was over, India appeared to have ceded ground on
some issues but blocked intrusion on other red lines.

With stakes too high and the rich countries making abjectly clear that they were not
playing to the rules, but to change the rules altogether, the four emerging economies
decided to instead scratch up a low-ambition deal—a pact that would lower the
pressure on them by lowering the demands off the rich countries in parallel.

Finally the Copenhagen Accord take a morphed form of the US-backed schedules
approach of ‘pledge and review’. The Copenhagen Accord is not what the US or Europe
would have wanted it to be, but it still contains some elements India would have to, at
best, fight to defend again in coming years or those that could be titled a lost battle by
the end of the talks.

India, along with the other three emerging countries, fought hard and won the battle to
retain the reference principle of common but differentiated responsibility which
creates the firewall between the commitments of the rich countries and the actions of
rest. India was also able to wrest the creation of a green climate fund as well as fight
back the attempt to force emission cuts through the back-door.

But fighting a defensive battle, evidently wanting not to be labelled obstructionist by

the US, India, along with the other three partners loosened up its stance on some key
issues. This loosening of stance may not hit home immediately but it left the window
open for growing inequitable burden falling on India’s head to prevent climate change.

Major Highlights

• The final draft after the Copenhagen summit has agreed to cuts in emissions
and hold increase in global temp below 2°C.
• A proposal attached to the accord calls for a legally binding treaty by the end-
2010.
• Developed countries to provide adequate financial resources and technology to
support developing countries. A goal of mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020 to
address the needs of developing countries has been set.
• Details of mitigation plans are included in separate annexure, one for
developed countries and one for voluntary pledges from developing countries.
These are not binding, and describe the current status of pledges—ranging from
‘under consideration’ for the United States to ‘adopted by legislation’ for the
European Union.
• Emerging economies have been asked to monitor their efforts and report the
results to the United Nations every two years, with some international checks
 to meet transparency concerns of West but ‘ensure that national sovereignty is
respected’.
• The accord agrees to provide positive incentives to fund afforestation with
financial resources from developed world
• Carbon Markets are mentioned in the accord, but not in detail. The deal
promises to pursue various approaches, including opportunities to use markets
to enhance the cost-effectiveness and promote mitigations actions.

US takes giant leap on climate

The US Environmental Protection Agency has cleared the way for regulation of
greenhouse gases without any new laws being passed by Congress, reflecting President
Barack Obama’s commitment to act on climate change. The agency can now begin to
make rules to regulate emissions from vehicle tailpipes, power utilities and heavy
industry under existing laws.

The EPA ruling applies to six gases scientists say contribute to global warming, including
the main one, carbon dioxide.

The UN climate summit finally passed the Copenhagen accord Saturday after two days
of intense negotiations and back-room manoeuvres. The accord, proposed by India and
four other countries, is now “operational”, a relieved UN chief, Ban Ki-Moon, said. The
accord that is meant to be a first step towards fighting the climate change that is
affecting millions worldwide was still held up for hours by four countries.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Siberia pipeline to reach APAC markets
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inaugurated the East-Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil
pipeline on December 28, 2009, which will enable Moscow to enter markets in Asia-
Pacific region and reduce dependency on European customers.

The project is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels (220,000 tonnes) of crude per
day from Siberia to Russia’s far east and then on to China and the Asia-Pacific region.
The project’s first leg envisages the construction of a 2,757-kilometre section with
annual capacity of 220.5 million barrels of crude. It will link Taishet, in East Siberia’s
Irkutsk Region, to Skovorodino, in the Amur Region, in Russia’s far east. The second
stretch will run 2,100 kilometres from Skovorodino to the Pacific Ocean.

Currently the crude beyond Skovorodino goes by rail to China and the Pacific coast.

India moots trans-SAARC container train

India has floated a concept paper among the SAARC countries to start a container train
on a pilot basis, running from Bangladesh to Pakistan via India and Nepal, in a bid to
give a big boost intra-regional trade. The possible corridor for running the train is from
Chittagong Port in Bangladesh to Katihar in India, Birgunj in Nepal and to Lahore in
Pakistan.

The proposal being considered could unify the entire region and will lead to a seamless,
border-less trade.

At present, India operates one passenger train each to Pakistan and Bangladesh for the
benefit of the citizens on the either side of the border. While the train to Pakistan
operates between Delhi and Lahore, the other to Bangladesh operates between Kolkata
and Dhaka.

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
FBI indicts Headley for 26/11
David Coleman Headley aka Daood Gilani, has been formally charged for conspiracy in
the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. After an intensive probe, the FBI has said
that Headley delivered, placed, discharged and detonated explosives and other lethal
devices in, into, and against places of public use in India.

The FBI has indicted Headley on six counts. Significantly, the FBI has also formally
charged a retired Major of the Pakistan army, Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, for the plot
against a Danish newspaper that Headley wanted to attack for the publication of
cartoons of Prophet Mohammad. Indian officials said Rehman was closely linked to the
ISI. He has been arrested by Pakistan; if the charges are upheld during the trial, it
would be the first smoking gun that the ISI is involved in exporting terror.

New Af-Pak policy of USA

US President Barack Obama, who unveiled his administration’s Af-Pak policy on
December 2, 2009, ordered a surge of 30,000 US troops in Afghanistan and a “transfer
of forces out” to begin in July, 2011.

The strategic and security communities are uneasy over the President’s withdrawal
plans. While The Washington Post called it a “surge, then leave” policy, security
experts are of the view that withdrawal decisions must be determined by the conditions
on the ground and not by arbitrary deadlines. “The Obama administration has no exit
strategy, it has only exit timeline,” said Republican opponents.

As the speech clearly rejected the counter-insurgency principle of “clear, hold and
build,” there are fears that any setback would only invigorate the jihadist cause and
put untenable pressure on Pakistan and India. But President Obama appears to be keen
on winding down the war when he enters the political build up to the 2012 Presidential
election.

In his address, President Obama described Pak-Afghan border as the epicentre of the
violent extremism practised by Al-Qaeda. “It is from here that we were attacked on
9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak. “The people
and governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan are endangered. And the stakes are
even higher within a nuclear-armed Pakistan, because we know that Al Qaeda and other
extremists seek nuclear weapons, and we have every reason to believe that they would
use them.”

In his address, President Obama said the US will deny Al Qaeda a safe haven and will
reverse the Taliban’s momentum and crush its ability to overthrow the government.
“We’re in Afghanistan to prevent a cancer from once again spreading through that
country. But this same cancer has also taken root in the border region of Pakistan.
That’s why we need a strategy that works on both sides of the border,” he said
justifying inclusion of Pakistan in his Afghan policy.

Stating that this was an international effort, President Obama sought the same war
escalation measures from his allies. “Some have already provided additional troops, and
we are confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead.
Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. Now, we must
 come together to end this war successfully. For what’s at stake is not simply a test of
NATO’s credibility; what’s at stake is the security of our allies, and the common
security of the world,” he said.

Scare aboard Delta Airliner

On December 27, 2009, US Federal officials brought criminal charges against a Nigerian
man suspected of trying to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft on December 25, 2009
as it approached the airport in Detroit, Michigan.

The US Department of Justice said that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, had boarded
the plane in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and tried near the end of the nine-hour-flight to
set off an explosion using PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive.

Fellow passengers rushed to subdue the terror suspect after they heard popping sounds
and saw smoke and fire coming from Abdulmutallab's seat.

Even though the US authorities are yet to confirm the Yemen connection of the 23-
year-old Nigerian man's plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, they
see Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's account that Al-Qaida had supplied explosive powder
to him in Yemen "highly plausible."

The suspect, reportedly, told US investigators that he had obtained explosive chemicals
and a syringe that were sewn into his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen
associated with Al-Qaida, as part of a "mission to bring down a jet on US soil".

London: Terror capital of the West?

Britain has now emerged as the "terror capital of the West" as whenever a major
terrorist attack is attempted, suspicion swings on this country, according to a media
report.

“It comes as no surprise to learn that the Nigerian accused of blowing up the US airliner
is said to have been living here. We have become the number one source of terrorism in
the Western world. We shelter foreign jihadis, and even grow our own… For years now,
Islamic extremists wanted on terror charges in their own country have taken sanctuary
in Britain… Our judges (not our politicians) say it would be cruel to send them back to
their own countries, in case they're tortured,” the 'News of the World' quoted the
Editor of Spectacle, Fraser Nelson, as saying.

Years ago, the CIA had a name for it: "Londonistan".

India’s total external debt rose by 8.1% to $242.8 billion at the end of September
2009, from $224.6 billion at March-end 2009. The long-term debt increased by
10.6% to $200.4 billion, while short-term debt declined by 2.3% to $42.4 billion.
Most of the increase in the debt ($8.3 billion or 45.6%) is due to depreciation of
dollar against major global currencies, out of total increase of $18.2 billion, according
to a Finance Ministry statement.

There are 12 full moons most years but every two or three years there is an extra
full moon which is called a “Blue moon”.

Year 2009 was designated by UN as the International Year of Astronomy, to

commemorate 400 years of Galileo’s theory about the solar system.
Government of India has introduced for the first time ‘visa on arrival’ scheme for
tourists from five countries—Singapore, Finland, New Zealand, Luxembourg and
Japan.

The Clementiny is the world’s smallest citrus fruit with size of 4 cm wide and 2 cm
high.

East and South-East Asian countries have decided to launch a $120-billion

emergency fund in March, 2010, the first such alliance in the region, to shield
themselves from a financial crisis. Under the scheme— known as the Chiang Mai
Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM)—Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong and the
10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can swap their
own currency into US dollars in case of a liquidity crunch.

India’s share in the global flow of FDI almost doubled to 2.45% in 2008 compared
to the previous year, according to Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. Among
developing countries, India ranked fourth in terms of FDI inflows in 2008 as per
figures published in UNCTAD World Investment Report (WIR) 2009. During 2008-09,
India attracted FDI inflows worth $35.17 billion.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was founded by the G-7 countries in 1989 to
develop and promote national and international policies to combat money laundering
and terror financing. The membership of the FATF is limited to 35 countries at
present. India has an observer status. India is a member of the Asia-Pacific Group, a
FATF-style regional body. Membership of FATF will allow India easy access to real-
time information on money laundering and terror financing and help to raise the
diplomatic pitch against perpetrators. It will also make India more attractive in the
eyes of global investors.

Every third Indian is living below poverty line, says an expert group headed by
Suresh Tendulkar, former chairman of PM’s Economic Advisory Council. The report
puts the incidence of poverty in India at a high 37% of population, 10 percentage
points more than estimated earlier. Among the States, Orissa and Bihar are at the
bottom, while Nagaland, Delhi and J&K have the least number of poor. As much as
41.8% of the rural population survives on a monthly per-capita consumption
expenditure of Rs 447, spending only so much on bare necessities such as food, fuel,
light, clothing and footwear. Among urban population, 25.7% are poor, who spend
only Rs 578.8 on essential needs. The expert group was set up following criticism of
the existing official estimates of poverty released by the Planning Commission in
2007.

India's Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa will be honoured on a US postage
stamp on her birth centenary. The postage stamp honouring Mother Teresa is
scheduled to go on sale on August 26, 2010, on the occasion of her 100th birthday.

With a sale of 107 million newspapers daily, India is the biggest newspaper market
in the world. Together with China and Japan, it accounts for over 60 per cent of the
global newspaper sales. Interestingly, the USA accounts for only 14 per cent of the
total newspaper sales. Globally, 1.9 billion people read newspaper every day, which
is 34 per cent of the world population, while 24 per cent use the Internet. The WAN-
IFRA survey showed that newspaper circulation grew, on a global scale, by 1.3 per
cent in 2008 and almost 9 per cent over five years. The data shows consistent
 newspaper growth in Africa, Asia and South America, and a long-term slowdown in
the US and European markets.

CURRENT GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: JANUARY 2010

ABBREVIATIONS
NKN: National Knowledge Network

AWARDS
Jeevan Raksha Padaks, 2010
Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak: Braveheart Rukhsana Kauser and Delhi’s
Narender Kaushik (posthumously) have been selected for Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha
Padak for their conspicuous courage in saving life under circumstances of very great
danger to the life of the rescuer.

Rukhsana, 22, had killed a top Pakistani militant and injured another at Kalsian village
in Rajouri district on the night of September 27 2009.

Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak: The winners include Syed Areef Sujauddin from
Andhra Pradesh, Umman Antony from Kerala, Rajan Kamble from Maharashtra (all
posthumously), besides Karanbir Singh Kang from Maharashtra and Prachi Santosh
Sen from Madhya Pradesh.

Kang, who lost his wife and two children in the 26\11 Mumbai attacks, had rescued
many from Taj hotel and never dithered from doing his duty.

Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are meant for meritorious act of humane nature
in saving the life of a person in three categories: Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak,
Uttam Jeevan Raksha PAdak and Jeevan Raksha Padak.

Golden Globe Awards, 2010

Best Director: James Cameron for Avatar
Best Motion Picture (Drama): Avatar
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): The Hangover
Best Actor (Motion Picture Drama): Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Best Actor (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy): Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock
Holmes
Best Actress (Motion Picture Drama): Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Best Actress (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy): Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia
Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture): Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress (Motion Picture): Mo’nique for Precious.
Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up In The Air
Best Original Score: Michael Giacchino for Up
Best Original Song: “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart
Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band - Eine Deutsche
Kindergeschichte) from Germany
Best Animated Film: Up
Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2008
V.K. Murthy, the ace cinematographer of Guru Dutt’s films who is best known for his
camera work in Chaudvin ka Chand and Pakeezah, has been honoured with the award.
He is the first cinematographer to get the award.

National Film Awards, 56th

Best Film: Antaheen (Bengali)
Best Direction: Bala for Naan Kadavul (Tamil)
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Best Children’s Film: Gubbachigalu (Kannada)
Best Film on Family Welfare: Little Zizou (English, Gujarati)
Best Actor: Upendra Limaye for Jogwa (Marathi)
Best Actress: Priyanka Chopra for Fashion (Hindi)
Best Supporting Actor: Arjun Rampal for Rock On!! (Hindi)
Best Supporting Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Fashion (Hindi)
Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director: A Wednesday (Hindi)
Nargis Dutt Award (for Best Feature Film on National Integration): Aai Kot Nai
(Assamese)
Best Child Artist: Shams Patel
Best Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhyay for Antaheen (Bengali)
Best Screenplay: Sachin Kundalkar for Gandha (Marathi)
Best Art Direction: Gautam Sen for Firaaq
Best Make-up Artist: V. Moorthy for Naan Kadauul (Tamil)
Best Costume Design: Neeta Lulla for Jodhaa Akbar
Best Music Direction: Ajay Atul for Jogwa (Marathi)
Best Lyrics: Antaheen (Bengali)
Best Male Playback Singer: Hariharan for Jogwa (Marathi)
Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal for Antaheen (Bengali)
Best Choreography: Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash for Jodha Akbar
Best Audiography: Pramod J. Thomas for Gandha (Marathi)
Best Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad for Firaaq (Hindi)
Best Special Effects: Govardhan (Tata Elxsi) Mumbai Meri Jaan (Hindi)
Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Feature Film): Bioscope

Republic Day Awards, 2010

Padma Vibhushan: Nobel laureate of Indian origin Venkatraman Ramakrishnan,
Apollo Hospitals chief Pratap Reddy, former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, Zohra Segal,
Ebrahim Alkazi and noted Mridangam Carnatic artist Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman.

Padma Bhushan: Music maestro A.R. Rahman, Music maestro Illaiyaraaja, Bollywood
actor Aamir Khan and controversial Indian origin businessman Sant Singh Chatwal,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cardiac surgeon R.M. Panda, eminent neurosurgeon
Satya Paul Agarwal, prominent industrialist from Punjab S.P. Oswal, Manvinder Singh
Banga, eminent journalist Fareed Zakaria and real estate czar K.P. Singh were among
the 43 winners.

Padma Shri: Cricketer Virendra Sehwag, hockey player Ignace Tirkey, Formula One
driver Narain Kartikeyan, badminton star Saina Nehwal, boxer Vijender Singh, Sachin
Tendulkar's 'guru' Ramakant Achrekar, Yesteryear Bollywood diva Rekha, Oscar winner
sound recordist Resul Pokutty and actor Saif Ali Khan were among 83 winners.

Bravery Awards, 2010

Kirti Chakra: Rukhsana Kausar and her brother Aijaz Ahmad have been awarded the
second highest gallantry award in peacetime, for their act of bravery in killing a
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander in their Morha Kalsi village in Jammu and Kashmir
in 2009.

Tagore Literature Award, 2009

Noted Kashmiri poet Naseem Shafai has been conferred the prestigious “Tagore
Literature Award” by the Sahitya Akademi for her outstanding contribution in Kashmiri
literature, especially poetry.

The award has been instituted by the Akademi at the initiation of the Korean
government and the Embassy of Korea in Delhi.

Nasem was selected for this honour for her poetic collection, “Na Thsay Na Aks”
(Neither shadow nor reflection). She has become the first women poet from Kashmir
to be honoured by the Akademi. This was the second collection of Naseem’s poetry
after “Derche Machrith” (open windows) in 1999.

CYBER SPACE
Gmail adopts new protocol to encrypt data
Google has introduced a mandatory secure encryption for all users of its free email
service Gmail, which will make it more difficult for hackers to break into the email
accounts.

Gmail will now be accessible through what is known as the hypertext transfer protocol
secure or HTTPS on internet, instead of the HTTP protocol which it was using earlier.

Under the new protocol, email data travelling between a user’s browser and Google
computer server will be encrypted, making it tougher for the hackers sitting on
unprotected Wi-Fi to break into the user’s accounts.

For users, the new encryption would result in higher level of security, similar to an
online banking transaction. Hackers would also find it more challenging to steal credit
card and bank statements stored by Gmail users in their mailboxes.

Thousands of users in the government departments and corporate sector across the
world use Gmail for transferring official emails or storing bank confidential information.
With this enable-ment, loss of such information or hacking of Orkut or Gmail accounts
is likely to become less frequent. Many government of India documents also get
exchanged through Gmail. The ministry of external affairs has, however, banned use
of such private email providers for official use.

DEFENCE
India planning to buy C-17 Globemaster-III strategic aircraft from USA
India is set to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic aircraft, each of which
comes for about $220 million. The four-engine C-17 is capable of carrying payload of
up to 78 tonnes, transport tanks and air-drop more than 100 combat-ready
paratroopers directly into a battle-zone.

It can cover 2,400 nautical miles at a stretch and with mid-air refuelling it can go even
longer distances. The plane has the capability to take off and land on 3,000 feet or less
runway, as also on a semi-prepared runway.

EXPEDITIONS
Climate expedition to Antarctica
On January 11, 2010, an Indian team set sail on the first Southern Ocean expedition
after the Copenhagen meet — the fourth to be taken up by the National Centre for
Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa — to study, among other things, climate
change and its impact on life.

It will also be the first time Indian scientists will be crossing the 55 degrees South
latitude to go almost up to the polar region on an Indian vessel.

Sagar Nidhi, the only Indian vessel that can cut through ice, left Goa with 25 scientists
for Mauritius and head farther southwards on a voyage that will last till April 2010.

The scientists will take up about 20 studies in the ocean between 35 and 66 degrees
South latitudes. Prominent among them would be paleo-climatic studies that involve
collecting samples from the ocean bed at a depth of up to six kilometres.

Changes in sediment formation, water mass and other parameters would be compared
with previous data to ascertain the impact of climate change.

PERSONS
Basu, Jyoti
The CPM patriarch and former Chief Minister of West Bengal, he died on January 17,
2010 at the age of 95. The “colossus of Indian politics” left behind a void that will be
hard to fill, not only in the Left but also national politics.

He was born on July 8, 1914 in Kolkata. In 1935 he graduated from the Presidency
College of Kolkata with honours in English. Then he went to London to study law and it
was here that he was influenced by Communism. In 1940 he joined the then undivided
Communist Party of India.

He was one of the founder-members of CPM in 1964. In 1977 he became the Chief
Minister of West Bengal and continued to hold the office for 23 straight years, making
him the longest-serving Chief Minister in India. He quit as Chief Minister in November
2000. His major achievements as Chief Minister of West Bengal were rural land
reforms and entrenching of the Panchayati Raj institutions.
Jyoti Basu played a major role in formation of coalition governments at the Centre in
1989, 1996, 1997 and 2004. In 1996, he narrowly missed out on becoming Prime
Minister of India after his party’s veto.

Murthy, V.K.
V. K. Murthy is the first cinematographer, and second Kannadiga after Kannada movie
icon Dr Raj Kumar, to get the Dada Saheb Phalke award for his contribution to the film
industry. He is known for his work in most Guru Dutt films like Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam,
Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa.

Besides Guru Dutt, Murthy also worked with Pramod Chakravarthy (Naya Zamana,
Jugnu), Kamal Amrohi (Pakeezah) and Shyam Benegal (Bharat Ke Khoj, a television
series).

He also shot India’s first cinema-scope movies, Kagaz ke Phool and is also one of the
pioneers of colour cinematography.

Singh, Gen Vijay Kumar

He has been appointed as the chief of Indian Army. He was born on May 10, 1951, in
Bapada village of Haryana. His grandfather—Mukh Ram—was also a soldier, who rose
to the rank of Risaldar Major. His father Jagat Singh also joined the Army and retired
as a Colonel.

Gen V.K. Singh, an infantry man, was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment in 1970.
During his long career he has participated in the 1971 operations against Pakistan and
the IPKF operations in Sri Lanka in 1988. His last posting before taking over as army
chief was as the Eastern Army Commander, Kolkata. Prior to that, he commanded vital
Ambala-based 2 Strike Corps of the Army.

He is also an honours graduate of the US Army Infantry School, Georgia. He studied at

the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the US Army War
College, Carlisle.

PLACES
Bengaluru
The Electronic Warfare India Conference (EWIC) was held in Bengaluru. This was the
first international conference on electronic warfare to take place in India.

Burj Khalifa
On January 4, 2010, blazing fireworks and dazzling lights marked the opening of the
world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, formerly known as Burj Dubai. The $1.5 billion, 818
metres (2,684 feet) high structure is an “unprecedented” engineering marvel.

Burj Khalifa has been designed to be the centrepiece of a large-scale, mixed-use

development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 7.4 acres of parkland, at
least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 30-acre man-made Burj Khalifa
Lake.

With more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records:
• Tallest building in the world
• Tallest free-standing structure in the world
• Highest number of stories in the world
• Highest occupied floor in the world
• Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
• Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
• Tallest service elevator in the world

Not only is Burj Khalifa the world’s tallest building, it has also broken two other
impressive records: tallest structure, previously held by the KVLY-TV mast in
Blanchard, North Dakota, and tallest free-standing structure, previously held by
Toronto’s CN Tower. The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(CTBUH) has established three criteria to determine what makes a tall building tall.
Burj Khalifa wins by far in all three categories.

The building has returned the location of Earth's tallest free-standing structure to the
Middle East — where the Great Pyramid of Giza claimed this achievement for almost
four millennia before being surpassed in 1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.

Davos
Over 2500 global leaders in business and politics gathered in Davos, Switzeraland, for
the World Economic Forum. Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss
Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range. At 1,560 meters, it is the highest city in
Europe.

Haiti
The capital of this tiny island nation, Port-au-Prince, was hit by an earthquake
measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale on January 13, 2010. More than three lakh people
perished in the tragedy.

The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements
in the region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or
destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-
au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of Port-au-
Prince Joseph Serge Miot, and opposition leader Micha Gaillard. The headquarters of
the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital,
collapsed, killing many, including the Mission’s Chief, Hédi Annabi.

Jaipur
Who’s who of the literature world descended on Jaipur in January 2010 to attend the
Jaipur Literature festival.

RESEARCH
Super lozenge as cure for cold to H1N1
In a breakthrough, Australian scientists have developed a drug that prepares the
immune system to effectively fight all cold and flu infections, including swine flu virus.
The Veldona lozenge, which tastes like a sweet and dissolves in the mouth, prepares
the immune system to attack every cold and flu virus.

The drug, that could be taken once a day before breakfast, would prevent everyday
sniffles in otherwise healthy people and life-threatening infections in the elderly.

The lozenge contains tiny amounts of interferon alpha—a protective protein that the
body naturally makes when attacked by a virus. When the lozenge dissolves in the
mouth, the protein is released, tricking the immune system into thinking there is a
virus in the body and gets ready for a fight.

Once the trial results are positive, the drug can be made available over-the-counter in
the next two years. It would cost just around Rs 9 a pill.

SPACE RESEARCH
NASA’s WISE probe
Nasa has published the first images from its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or
WISE, which has been scanning the skies since January 2010.

The images include a comet, a "star factory" 20,000 light years away in our Milky Way
galaxy and our nearest large neighbour, the Andromeda spiral galaxy.
Wise will search on until October when its supplies of frozen coolant for chilling
instruments will run out.

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (Wise) had blasted off from Vandenberg Air
Force Base in December 2009. The probe is expected to uncover objects that have
never seen before, including some of the coolest stars and the most luminous galaxies.
The $320m mission will do this by scanning the entire sky in infrared light with
sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before.

Indian scientists discover a large cave on the Moon

Human habitation or a permanent base on the Moon could soon be a reality. After the
discovery of water, scientists analysing the data of Chandrayaan-I have now found a
large cave on the lunar surface, which could possibly act as a natural shelter for
humans.

This is an empty volcanic tube, measuring about two kilometre in length and 360
meters in width. Such wide tunnels could sustain underground lunar outposts, while
the ceilings could help protect astronauts from space radiation, meteoroid impacts and
wild temperature fluctuations (up 300 degree centigrade) that is commonplace on the
lunar surface.

There are similar lava tubes on Earth. They are formed when molten rock, flowing
from a volcanic eruption, cools and hardens on top while the lava underneath
continues to flow. If the lava drains completely, a cavern is left. Scientists had long
suspected that such rock formations existed on the moon, but lacked evidence until
now.

The findings happened while the data from the TMC (Terrain Mapping Camera) was
being analysed. The TMC was one of the five Indian payload that was on-board
Chandrayaan-I.

MISCELLANEOUS
Algorithm trading
The rising number of brokerages with algorithm, or computer programme-driven
trading, may turn out to be a second turning point in Indian markets after the
introduction of electronic trading a decade-and-a-half ago, which closed about 20 stock
exchanges and many local brokerages, but expanded the trading community and
volumes by leaps and bounds.

The National Stock Exchange, which controls more than three-fourths of the trading
volumes, has approved applications of 200 of its members, roughly a fourth, to trade
using algorithms.

Algorithmic trading refers to automated trades executed through software programs

which do not require humans to place orders. There could be thousands of programs
written to buy or sell a security, currency or commodity at a particular level when one
or more factors emerge. Those programs are so fast that people who look at various
developments and decide trade would be left way behind because a machine has done
it in milliseconds.

For example, a program could be to sell the stock futures of a particular company and
buy the stock if the futures price is x% higher than the stock price. Also, it could be to
compare a set of variables—if rupee is more than 45 to the dollar, and crude oil is less
than $60 per barrel—then the software would sell Infosys futures and buy HPCL
shares.

Other than investors who buy for a long term and traders who buy and sell on a daily
basis to profit from minor movements, there’s a section, called arbitrageurs, which
looks to benefit from distortions in prices despite public information.
Profits from arbitrage have slumped in the past decade as investors across the country
have access to same stock prices unlike in the past where various cities had different
prices at a given time for the same share. Also, the common trading cycles between
the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange shrank arbitrage.

Now, with software programs taking over trading, it may well just disappear.

While trading volumes could surge as fat-cat brokerages hire maths wizards from the
best of institutions, it could lead to severe disturbances in the market as was the case
during the credit crisis. Some experts have said the credit crisis was accentuated by
algorithmic trading which triggered millions of trades due to fast-evolving
developments. However, some like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, with superior
programs, have reportedly benefited through trading even during the crisis.

Algorithmic trading can create a class conflict too between haves and have-nots of
technology. There could be charges of discrimination if two members of the same
exchange are not on an equal footing. Even some US legislators are planning to
restrict high-speed trading.

In India it may not immediately lead to a surge in volumes since Indian markets still
don’t have the depth of the western markets and related markets, such as
commodities and currency are controlled.

Indian invention Infibeam Pi to give competition to Amazon’s Kindle

On January 28, 2010, Vishal Mehta announced the Infibeam Pi, an e-book reader that
looks like the Amazon Kindle, has the same e-Ink screen that the Kindle sports, and
has a rights architecture that is more open than the Kindle. The Infibeam Pi, which can
be ordered online and is priced at Rs 10,000. The Amazon Kindle, when shipped to
India, costs about Rs 18,000. The Pi reader has no wireless connectivity, however.

The Pi supports 13 Indian languages and has a micro USB port to connect to a PC.
Users will need to create an account with Infibeam.com, register the device and then
download the ebooks. The ebooks can be read on the PC as well as on the Pi.

The Pi can also be used to read any document (word or pdf, for instance). It can store
about 600 ebooks in its internal memory. It also has space for a 4GB card—that means
about 3,000 ebooks can be carried around.

Pi can play music as well.

Copenhagen Wheel
Reinventing the wheel was not exactly what Myshkin Ingawale had in mind when he
set out from NIT-Bhopal towards MIT-Massachusetts, with a stop-over at IIM Calcutta.
The 27-year-old’s Copenhagen Wheel, named after the Danish capital after it was
unveiled during the climate summit in December 2008, could be about to do just that.

A smart disc that can be retrofitted on any bicycle, the device can boost the cycle’s
power and can also keep track of friends, fitness, smog and traffic. And if someone
tries to steal the bike while its owner happens to be away, the device will send out an
alert via a text message.

The Danish capital is set to embrace it whole-heartedly in its attempt to become the
world’s first carbon-neutral capital city by 2025.

Ingawale began working on the device in 2003, when he started fitting bicycles with
electric motors. An early version of the device was made during his time at the
National Institute of Technology campus in Bhopal, where he studied for a B.Tech in
electrical engineering.

The big leap for the device and Ingawale came about when he got in touch with a
team from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US,
which was working on ways to make bikes efficient and green.

“From the days of the horse-drawn carriage, all we have done is replaced the horse
with a beast of a different kind. Can we be creative, can we make something that
radically improves things for the better? This was the motivation and thought process
of the team,” he says.

Tricolour to tower over nation

Naveen Jindal, MP from Kurukshetra who fought a long legal battle to ensure that
individuals can hoist the national flag too, will put up monumental flag poles with flags
about 3,500 square feet in size and hoisted on 206-feet-high steel poles—all across
the country.

After putting up five monumental flag poles in his own constituency, Jindal now has
plans to set up many more to create awareness and generate respect for the national
flag in every Indian.

Jindal's Flag Foundation of India, set up after he won the legal battle in 2005 against
the government diktat that only institutions can hoist the national flag, will work with
local bodies to set up these poles. He has even had the government amend the Flag
Code to allow these massive flags to fly even at night, with proper illumination.

The first monumental flag pole outside Kurukshetra will come up in Angul, a tribal
district in Orissa, followed by Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kanyakumari. Each project will
cost Rs 40 lakh, with the pole, made of high tension steel, weighing 12.5 tonnes, and
the flag, made of knitted polyester, weighing 28 kg and costing Rs 60,000.

National Martyr Register

Sixty years after it became a Republic, India is about to share with its people the first
authenticated list of martyrs, who helped it realise the dream of freedom. The list
would, for the first time, cover the martyrs of 1857, recognised now as the watershed
in the struggle for India’s Independence.

Also, the list’s focus would be the nation to avoid accusations that the existing works
on martyrs are heavily tilted in favour of the North.

Till date the country had no National Register of Martyrs which could be taken as the
basis of future historical research on the subject. Names that do exist in scattered
works, including “Who’s Who of Indian Martyrs’ published by the Education Ministry in
1969, are the ones that figured in the national movements of the late 19th and 20th
centuries.

However, the existing names of martyrs lacked historical referencing and could be
dismissed as claims unless proved otherwise by evidence in primary sources like
judicial records and jail files.

But now, thanks to experts under the Indian Council of Historical Research which is in
charge of the project, India will soon have its first historically-tested list of martyrs.

India’s first aero sports centre

Narnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of Haryana has got India’s
first aero sports centre, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda, at the local airstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil Aviation,
Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.