Russia with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

The Narendra Modi government’s grand plans to bring in the private sector into the defence sector has received its first reality check with Russia refusing to sign up with a private sector partner for manufacturing helicopters, instead opting to go with the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).The move, confirmed by official sources and Russia’s Rostec on Tuesday, is contrary to the much-hyped claim about Russian willingness to partner an Indian private sector company to make over 200 Kamov-226T light utility helicopters in India under technology transfer. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence was seen as the front-runner to partner the Russians. The organisation for the manufacture of helicopters is provided by the creation of a Russian-Indian joint venture in India, which includes holdings of Rostec-JSC Rosoboronexport and Russian Helicopters, and on the India side – the corporation HAL”, CEO of the Rostec State Corporation, Sergei Chemezov said in a statement in Moscow. One of the key themes of the Modi government’s push for Make in India in defence sector is to facilitate the entry of the private sector into it, and the Anil Ambani group has been at the vanguard of this move. The group recently acquired the Pipavav Shipyard, has created a cluster of companies, applied for over a dozen manufacturing licences for submarines to UAVs and is involved in active discussion with several foreign companies.

New relations with West Asian region

India’s relation with the West Asian region is expected to be in focus during the first few months of 2016 as South Block appears set to host top Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Diplomatic sources that both Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, have been invited by India and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold talks with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during her January 16 to 19 trip to Israel-Palestine to firm up the dates for the visits. Diplomatic sources also informed that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moalem is expected to visit New Delhi soon. The Hindu had earlier reported that Ms. Swaraj and Mr. Moalem had invited each other during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The high power political engagement plan for West Asia by the South Block will be in line with Ms. Swaraj’s May 31 annual press conference when she had announced a first ever visit to Israel by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A visit by Mr Modi will be symbolically significant as Israel has not been visited by Indian Prime Ministers since both sides established full and normal diplomatic ties in January 1992. Analysts say that a visit by Prime Minister Netanyahu will also be symbolically significant as the last Israeli Prime Minister to visit India was Ariel Sharon in 2003. Ms. Swaraj had earlier cancelled her January visit plan for Israel due to Israeli election season. Subsequently, President Pranab Mukherjee visited Israel and Palestine in October re-starting the chain of high level engagements. “As a result of President Mukherjee’s visit to Israel, it is now the turn of Israel to reciprocate suitably. There is also a possibility that Israel might send President Reuven Rivlin to India later during 2016 as President Mukherjee had extended invitation to President Rivlin to visit Delhi. However, the diplomatic season will be kick-started a few days before Ms. Swaraj’s arrival in Israel by her colleague Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh who will hold discussion with his counterpart for greater Israeli scientific support for meeting Indian agricultural production goals. Preparation is also on to welcome Ms. Swaraj in Ramallah where her counterpart Riyad Al Maliki has been interacting with Indian diplomats to finalise commercial, educational and regional diplomatic plans for Ms. Swaraj. Ms. Swaraj had earlier told the media that Palestinians had been helpful in getting information about the 39 Indians kidnapped in Iraq.

Andhra Pradesh Government has signed a Memorandum with Microsoft

Andhra Pradesh Government has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with tech giant Microsoft India on various technology initiatives for governance. The MoU was signed after a meeting between the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella in Hyderabad, Telangana. The technology provided by the Microsoft would be utilized by state government to check school dropouts, improve agricultural productivity and providing better citizen services. Key features of MoU The MoU seeks to improve use of Information and communications technology (ICT) drive for digital inclusion and provide better IT-based services to citizens. For digital inclusion Microsoft India will provide technical knowledge to Andhra Pradesh Government and support building three proof-of-concept (PoC) solutions. PoC solutions would be supported by applying Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualization method in the fields of agriculture, eCitizen services and education. These solutions would use the lab method for data gathering, analysis, predictive analysis and policy planning which would be built and deployed to address specific problems within each of the fields to achieve better outcomes for the State. The company will set up a Centre for Excellence (CoE) in Visakhapatnam to train state Government’s key IT executives.

Start Up India, Stand Up India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio broadcast for the year 2015 was far less dramatic than his latest diplomatic flourish of dropping in to see Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. Apart from an exception in the case of the Land Ordinance, where he went into details of why he allowed it to lapse, and in 2014, the issue of black money, he has chosen not to speak about contemporary controversies, said an official source. Mr. Modi announced Jan. 16 as the date for the launch of his programme to encourage new business, ‘Start Up India, Stand Up India. The rest of his broadcastwas on reaching out to ordinary people and talking on his pet themes such as sanitation. In the last few days, the digital portal, MyGov.in, was flooded with suggestions on what people wanted to hear in his radio address. More than 3,000 suggestions, many of them after Mr. Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore on Christmas day, were received by the portal. Instead, Mr. Modi decided to frame a new nomenclature to refer to the differently abled people and lauded a mason in Madhya Pradesh for donating free labour for building more than 100 toilets in his district. When we look at the differently abled people, we see that while God takes one faculty away, He compensates them by making another more acute. It is like a divine plan, therefore rather calling them Viklang, let us call them Divyang or those with divine abilities. Sources say that while the Prime Minister continues to be the most digitally engaged world leader, sparking four times the number of conversations around his Facebook page than U.S. President Barack Obama, he is very clear about what he chooses for his radio broadcast.

Narendra Modi App

Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited people to connect with him by downloading the ‘Narendra Modi App. During his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the prime minister said: “Through ‘Narendra Modi Mobile App’ we can connect with each other. It gives me immense pleasure that people tell me a lot of positive things happening.

“Every citizen can connect with me by downloading ‘Narendra Modi App’ on his mobile phone. I would appeal to (you to) get connected through this,” he said. “I have to reach out to 125 crore citizens. How can I reach out to them without your help,” the prime minister added.

Model Agreement on exemption visa requirements for diplomatic

The Union Cabinet has given its nod to the Model Agreement on exemption from visa requirements for the holders of diplomatic and official passports. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This move would facilitate visa-free entry, stay up and transit for holders of diplomatic and official passports of either country to 90 days (or less) in any period of 180 days (or more) in India or signatory country for holders of diplomatic and official passports of either country. This decision was taken is part of India’s ongoing efforts to expand the envelope of visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic and official passports to other countries of the world.  So far, India has signed visa free agreements with 69 countries. There are still more than 130 countries with which India is yet to sign or enter into similar Agreements. Investment of Rs. 5,000 crore by ONGC Limited in ONGC Videsh Limited The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also has given its approval for investment of 5,000 crore rupees by Oil and Natural Gas Company Limited (ONGC) into the equity share capital of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL). This investment would be done through conversion of existing loan of equivalent amount into equity and will help strengthen the capital base of OVL. It will also enhance the ability of ONGC to undertake overseas Exploration and Production (E&P) business in turn contributing to improve the energy security of the country.

Payment of Bonus Bill, 2015

The Lok Sabha has passed The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to allow doubling of wage ceiling for calculating bonus of factory workers and establishments with 20 or more workers. The Bill seeks to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State (MoS) for Labour and Employment. Key provisions of Bill Eligibility of Employees: Seeks to raise the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from a salary of Rs 10,000 to Rs 21,000 a month. The parent Act mandates payment of bonus to employees’ whose salary or wage is up to Rs 10,000 per month. Calculation of bonus: The Bill seeks to raise this calculation ceiling of bonus to Rs. 7,000 per month from present from Rs 3500 per month ceiling or as per the minimum wage notified for the employment under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (whichever is higher). The parent Act clearly mentions that the bonus is payable to an employee in proportion to his or her salary or wage. Prior publication of rules: The Bill seeks to mandate prior publication of rules made by the Union Government in the Official Gazette to allow for more public consultation. Retrospective effect: The Bill will have retrospective effect and will come into force on April 1, 2015. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965: It provides for the annual payment of bonus to employees of certain establishments including factories and other. Under the Act, bonus is calculated on the basis of the employee’s salary and the profits of the establishment.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee

Air pollution in the national capital is of an “emergency nature,” the Delhi High Court on Monday observed and said this situation would not have arisen if the authorities had implemented laws and rules in place to prevent environmental degradation. A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva was of the view that while legislations were in place for ensuring maintenance of air quality levels, individuals and departments tasked to enforce the rules, “have not done their work”. It directed officers of all concerned authorities, including Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), that “all the rules have to be followed to the ‘t’ as the situation today is of an emergency nature”. The court, referred to particulate matter-PM 2.5 and PM 10-and said as per the statutory norms their levels are not to exceed 60 microgram per cubic meter per day and 100 microgram per cubic meter per day, respectively. However, as per DPCC monitoring stations, their levels are always far in excess of 400/500. It directed DPCC, represented by advocate Sanjeev Ralli, to “analyse data from 2011 onwards and to provide us a monthly average chart of each pollutant.” Another exercise the panel has been directed to carry out is to give a weekly chart of the pollutants during the months from October to February for all the years from 2011 to 2015. DPCC has also been asked to provide the court with details of action taken by it, against any violations, in the last five years. Meanwhile, on the issue of traffic management to reduce the timings of idling vehicles, the court observed that despite its direction for zero tolerance towards violation of rules, especially by people who jump onto other carriageways to get ahead during traffic snarls, police was doing nothing. “People in Delhineed to be disciplined. Send anyone who changes carriageways to turnaround and go in the opposite direction from which they came, as they do in Mumbai,” the bench said while hearing a PIL initiated by it on the issue of increasing air pollution in Delhi. Delhi Traffic Police, in an affidavit, told the court that it had identified 14 areas in the city which were heavily congested and that, in those places, it had observed zero tolerance for violation of rules.

Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Rajya Sabha cleared the Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Bill, 2015, lowering the age of a legally defined juvenile from 18 to 16 in the case of heinous crimes. Despite the fact that many parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and, till last week, the Congress favoured sending it to a select committee for consideration, neither Shantaram Naik of the Congress nor Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress moved a motion as had been decided by their parties earlier. The CPI(M) walked out once voting started. The presence of Nirbhaya’s parents in the visitors’ gallery and their protest in the last week or so seemed to have had an effect. Minister for Womenand Child Development Maneka Gandhi said: “We may not be able to do anything about the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case but we can deter many other boys from doing so.” “I do not want to tell you what to do, but please remember India is watching us and decide if you want to bring in a nuanced Bill which protects children. The Minister said no juvenile would be sent to jail directly. “If juveniles are sentenced to jail, they will be sent to a borstal until they are 21 years old, after which there will be a review.

General election of Spain 2015

Ruling conservative People’s Party (PP) of Spain led Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy by has won the 2015 general election of the country. In the general election, PP won the 123 seats by securing in the lower house of the 350-member Parliament and securing 28.7 percent vote share. However, it has fallen short of absolute majority which can be achieved by any party that wins minimum 176 seats.  Now the People’s Party has to form a coalition government with support of other political parties to govern for another four-year term. Results of other parties The Socialists which won 90 seats with 22 percent vote share. Anti-austerity Podemos Party along with its allies won 69 seats with 20.6 percent vote share. Liberal Ciudadanos party (LCP) won 40 seats with 13.8 percent vote share. In the earlier outgoing parliament People’s Party was having 186 seats in the lower house of the Parliament.

Liquefied natural gas ship

India has joined select club nations to build Liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships after state owned Cochin Shipyard has received certification in this regard. Cochin Shipyard also became first shipyard in India to get the nod to build LNG-transporting ships for any client world-wide. Key facts In this regard, Cochin Shipyard has signed a license agreement with French technology company Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT). GTT holds patented technology for LNG ships and provides the certification in design engineering and membrane-type containment systems for the transportation and storage of LNG. GTT would provide technology for the cryogenic containment and handling system which is most critical part of an LNG ship as the LNG is carried at a temperature of -163 degrees. This license agreement authorises Cochin Shipyard to use the membrane type technologies of GTT for any liquid gas carriers, more particularly the LNG carriers. With this India joins the league other nations including South Korea, Japan and China building LNG transportation ships. It also opens a new chapter in ship-building technology in India and marks a big step for Make in India.

Loon project

Union Government has given in principle approval to work on Loon project of internet search engine giant Google for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons. The announcement was made by Google CEO Sunder Pichai in New Delhi after meeting Union Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The project will be started on a pilot basis and state run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be partner with the project in order to expand Internet connectivity in the country. What is Google’s Loon project? It is Google’s ambitious research and development project that aims at providing low-cost Internet access to rural and remote areas. Under the project, high altitude floating telecom tower balloons are positioned at a height of 20 km, above earth’s surface for transmission of internet services. Each balloon can provide full wireless broadband internet coverage up to an area of 40 km. These balloons are mainly powered though solar panels. These balloons have transceivers which can connect to cell phone networks in order to fill the gaps in their networks especially in remote areas such as mountains and deserts. Google already has successfully tested this technology in New Zealand, California and Brazil. Apart from Project Loon, Google also has partner with the Common Service Centre (CSC) and Internet Sathi programme (ISP) to expand Internet reach in 3 lakh villages particularly for women training. Google is also focusing on bringing its various products in many more Indian languages.

अफगानिस्तान 164वाँ तथा सबसे नया सदस्य बन गया

अफगानिस्तान (Afghanistan) को WTO का सदस्य बनाने का निर्णय संगठन की केन्या की राजधानी नैरोबी (Nairobi) में आयोजित 10वें मंत्रीस्तरीय सम्मेलन (10th ministerial conference) में लिया गया। इस प्रकार विश्व भर में बहुपक्षीय व्यापार (multilateral trade) को बढ़ावा देने में संलग्न इस वैश्विक संगठन का अफगानिस्तान 164वाँ तथा सबसे नया सदस्य बन गया। इसके अलावा अफगानिस्तान विश्व सबसे कम विकसित देशों (least developed countries (LDCs) की श्रेणी से WTO का सदस्य बनने वाला 36वाँ देश बन गया है। उल्लेखनीय है कि इस संगठन का सदस्य बनने के लिए दोनों पक्षों के बीच पिछले लगभग 11 वर्षों तक वार्ता का दौर चला है। अब अफगानिस्तान इस संगठन का सदस्य बन कर देश के पुनर्निर्माण पर जोर देने की कोशिश करेगा।

नई लेंडिंग रेट प्रणाली

नई लेंडिंग रेट प्रणाली को “फण्ड्स की सीमांत लागत-आधारित लेंडिंग रेट” (‘Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending Rate’) का नाम दिया गया है तथा इसे 1 अप्रैल 2016 से प्रभाव में लाया जायेगा। इस नई प्रणाली में लेंडिंग रेट्स को वर्तमान में प्रयोग में लाई जा रही फण्ड्स की औसत लागत व्यवस्था (average cost of funds system) के बजाय बैंकों को ऋण हासिल करने के दौरान लगने वाली सीमांत लागत (banks’ marginal cost of borrowing) के आधार पर तय किया जायेगा। इस नई व्यवस्था को इसलिए लागू किया जा रहा है ताकि बैंकों पर ब्याज दरों में आ रही कमी का लाभ अपने ग्राहकों को पहुँचाने के लिए दबाव डाला जा सके। उल्लेखनीय है कि RBI ने जनवरी 2015 से रेपो दर (Repo Rates) में कुल 125 आधार अंकों की कमी की है लेकिन बैंकों ने अपने लेंडिंग रेट्स में मात्र 60 आधार-अंकों की कमी कर अपने ग्राहकों को इसका समुचित लाभ प्रदान नहीं किया है। वहीं जमा दरों (deposit rates) में 100 से अधिक आधार अंकों की कमी कर दी गई है जिसका अर्थ हुआ कि ग्राहकों के लिए बैंकों में धन जमा करना कम लाभकारी हो गया है जबकि उनके द्वारा लिए गए ऋण के लिए उन्हें ब्याज में कमी का बहुत कम लाभ मिल पाया है।

Parliament converting into a Constitutional Assembly

when SriLanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena will begin his second year in office, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will move a resolution in Parliament for converting the House into a Constitutional Assembly, marking the formal inauguration of the process of making a new Constitution in the place of the 1978 Constitution. As per the draft text of the resolution that has been hosted on the website of Prime Minister’s Office, the proposed Assembly, comprising all Members of Parliament, would seek the views and advice of the people on a fresh Constitution and prepare a draft one.  Once the Parliament adopts the draft Constitution Bill with two-thirds majority, the Bill will be sent to Provincial Councils for opinion and eventually, tested through referendum for the approval of people. Asked how long it would take for the new Constitution to be adopted, Rajitha Senaratne, Cabinet spokesperson, replied that “we have promised that the present system [Constitution] will continue till the present President is there [in office]. Before he exits, we have to change the Constitution.”  To a query whether this meant that the process would go on for four years?  Dr. Senaratne’s answer was: “You can’t say that. If people respond positively, then there is no problem.”

Red alert for air pollution

Beijing has issued its second red alert for air pollution in December as a new bout of smog is forecast to hit the capital. The red alert, the most serious level, will last from 7.00 a.m. (local time) Saturday to 12.00 p.m. Tuesday, limiting vehicles on roads according to odd-even license plate numbers, Xinhua reported. Fireworks and outdoor barbecue would be banned, the Beijing heavy pollution emergency response. Parts of north China will see the worst smog so far this year from Saturday, the National Meteorological Centre The air pollution will be worse than the spell between December 6 and 9 it forecast. Visibility in Beijing and some neighbouring regions will be reduced to less than one kilometre. The density of PM2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 mm used to measure air quality, in some of the regions will exceed 500 mg per cubic metre. The World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum is 25 mg per cubic metre. Citizens were advised to reduce outdoor activities and kindergartens, primary and middle schools were expected to suspend classes during the alert. Beijing issued its first ever red alert for air pollution on December 7, when PM 2.5 reached the top of the scale at 500.

उत्तर प्रदेश लोकायुक्त

सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने अनुच्छेद 142 (Article 142) के तहत संविधान द्वारा उसे प्रदत्त शक्तियों का प्रयोग करते हुए उच्च न्यायालय के पूर्व न्यायाधीश न्यायमूर्ति वीरेन्द्र सिंह (Justice Virendra Singh) को उत्तर प्रदेश का लोकायुक्त नियुक्त कर दिया। इससे पहले न्यायालय ने इस पद के लिए नामित व्यक्तियों की एक सूची को संज्ञान में लिया। सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के इस आदेश से उत्तर प्रदेश की समाजवादी पार्टी सरकार को शर्मिन्दगी झेलनी पड़ी। सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने अपना यह आदेश महेन्द्र कुमार जैन तथा राधाकांत त्रिपाठी द्वारा इस सम्बन्ध में दायर एक याचिका के परिप्रेक्ष्य में दिया जिसमें न्यायालय से प्रार्थना की गई थी लोकायुक्त नियुक्त करने के लिए सर्वोच्च न्यायालय प्रदेश सरकार को निर्देशित करे। यह आदेश देने वाली सर्वोच्च न्यायालय की पीठ ने इस बात पर खेद व्यक्त किया कि उसके बार-बार आदेश दिए जाने के बावजूद उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री, नेता प्रतिपक्ष तथा इलाहाबाद उच्च न्यायालय के मुख्य न्यायाधीश ने इस पद को भरने के लिए कोई गंभीरता नहीं दिखाई।

Gujarat Bureau of Investigation

Trinamool Congress batted for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Lok Sabha and hit out at the government over the Central Bureau of Investigation raids on his principal secretary’s office alleging that the agency had become Gujarat Bureau of Investigation (GBI) under the Modi government. TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the raids had “perturbed” them and rejected the government’s claim that CBI was an “independent body”, claiming that the agency could not have acted without the Prime Minister’s knowledge. The government dismissed his charge with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu saying that Parliament should be used to “strengthen” the fight against corruption and not to “obstruct” it. Insisting that the Delhi CM has not been raided, he said, “No wrong has been done. Law is taking its own course. It is not the duty of Parliament to take up such matter.” CBI should be free and need not take any permission, he added. Training his guns on the PM, Mr. Bandyopadhyay said senior Gujarat cadre officers had been deputed in CBI and one of them “shared” his name with Mr. Modi and the agency had turned into “GBI”.He also spoke about Mr. Kejriwal’s claim that the CBI officials were looking for “cricket-oriented” files relating to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and demanded setting up of a joint parliamentary committee to go into various aspect of the agency’s functioning. Dismissing the contention that Mr. Kejriwal should have been informed, Mr. Naidu said it would not be in accordance with law and read out an earlier Aam Aadmi Party’s statement welcoming a Supreme Court order which had struck down a provision of a probe agency intimating the government concerned while acting against an officer of joint secretary rank and above. Taking a dig at the AAP leader, he said he disapproved his remarks against the Prime Minister in which he had called him a “coward and psychopath“. TMC members later staged a walkout after party member Ratna Dey again sought to raise the issue and was disallowed.

Genesis Prize 2016

Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman (70) has been awarded 2016 Genesis Prize which is also known as Jewish Nobel prize. He has been bestowed with prestigious prize for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for the disabled and also for his commitment to his Jewish identity. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu will present the award to Mr. Perlman at the June 23, 2016 award ceremony to be held in Jerusalem. About Itzhak Perlman Perlman was born in Tel Aviv in 1945 in then British Mandate of Palestine now Israel. At age four he was contracted polio and his legs were permanently paralyzed. He uses crutches or an electric Amigo scooter for mobility and plays the violin while seated. He had played the violin solo in John Williams’ Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film Schindler’s List in 1993. He also has performed with or conducted the world’s top symphony orchestras, and has been a regular guest at White House events. He has won 16 Grammys award including a lifetime achievement award in 2008. In November 2015 he was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour. About Genesis Prize Genesis Prize also dubbed as Jewish Nobel prize was established in 2014. It is jointly run in between the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, Private Genesis Prize Foundation and Chairman’s office of the Jewish Agency. The Prize carrying 1 million US dollars is given annually to an individual who has achieved professional success, contributed to humanity and shown a strong commitment to Jewish causes and the state of Israel. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was first the recipient of the prize.

United Nations Development Programme

For just four per cent of its GDP, India could provide “a basic and modest set of social security guarantees for all citizens with universal pension, basic health care, child benefits and employment schemes”, the United Nations Development Programme said in its Human Development Report, 2015, on Monday. The annual report looks at the role of work in improving human development. In addition to national employment strategies, the report calls for a new social contract between governments, society, and the private sector to ensure that all members of society have their needs taken into account in policy formulation, a global deal among governments to guarantee workers’ rights and benefits around the world and a decent work agenda, that will help promote freedom of association, equity, security, and human dignity in work life. The report repeatedly singles out India’s Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee scheme for praise. Workforce participation rates for women have dropped globally, driven largely by declines in the last decade in India and China, the report finds. Women also consistently earn less than men and are less likely than men to be in leadership positions, the report finds. India ranked 130 of 188 countries on the Human Development Index in 2014, up marginally from 135 in 2013, and its index value had improved slightly over 2013. When inequality is factored in, however, India loses over one-fourth of its HDI value, with education registering the highest inequality in outcomes. There are also substantial gender differences in outcomes; if the women of India were their own country, they would rank 151 out of 188 countries in human development, while India’s men would come in at 120. The average adult man in India gets twice as many years of schooling as the average adult woman.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called the Paris climate agreement a “monumental triumph” for the earth that will set the stage for achieving an end to poverty and development for all.

“In the face of an unprecedented challenge, you have demonstrated unprecedented leadership,” he said of the deal involving 195 nations.

China termed the pact as “a new beginning in international cooperation.” The pact was fair in splitting responsibility between developed and developing countries, Foreign Ministry spokes-person Hong Lei said.

China’s Special Representative on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua said: “The Paris Climate Conference is a crucial point in the global climate governance process. The outcome has a bearing with the undertaking of climate change of the human being and our future of sustainable development.”

According to the Russian envoy at the climate talks, the accord marked a signi-ficant progress in tackling climate issues but the deal required a serious work on its implementation. “I want to confirm Russia’s determination to continue strengthening our actions to reduce the anthropogenic pressure on the environment in accordance with the agreement,” Alexander Bedritsky said.

The World Bank welcomed the “historic” accord, saying it reflected aspiration and seriousness to preserve the planet for future generations.

Festival of Losar has begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir

The festival of Losar has begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir to mark the beginning of New Year in this Himalayan region. 10 day long festival began with illumination of religious and residential places and by visiting monasteries for prayer. Losar is Tibetan word for ‘new year’ and this festival is an important social and religious celebration in Ladakh. Traditional Celebrations of festival Following the old tradition, people from Ladakh visit graveyards of ancestor family members and pray for peace for the departed soul. Special food items during the festival are prepared to mark the occasion including guthuk, the soup with nine ingredients, khura are being served. People visit each other for exchange of Losar greetings. On third day of the festival is people wait for the night to see the first moon of the New Year In India, Losar is also celebrated by Yolmo, Sherpa, Tamang, Gurung, and Bhutia communities residing in different regions in the country.

Make in India

Japan’s new and aggressive investment plans in India will not be limited to mega infrastructure projects such as bullet trains and will cover almost the full spectrum of prominent government schemes such as “Make in India” and Swachh Bharat. Expressing his government’s desire to invest in key sectors, Prime Minister Shinzo “Japan has decades of experience of doing business with India. It is this experience which will help us in India.” Mr. Abe delivered a brief speech at the Japan-India Innovation Seminar two hours after landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday. The seminar was attended by Hiroaki Nakanishi, CEO of Hitachi Ltd, Kaoru Yano, Chairman of the Board, NEC Corporation among several other top level officials and corporate heads who are also in town along with Mr Abe. Soon after his arrival Mr. Abe held a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the agenda for Saturday’s summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Abe will hold the summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, when key announcements on the bullet train, defence ties will be made. The broader regional issues will be discussed at the meeting. The bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and will be a showpiece of India-Japan collaboration. Japan has offered to finance 80 per cent of the cost of the project interest rate of less than 1 per cent. But the high point of Modi-Abe summit of Saturday will be expression of Japan’s support to India’s growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Nuclear cooperation

Following his summit meeting, Prime Minister Abe is expected to announce steps that will help in realising India-Japan civil nuclear cooperation. Japanese sources also told The Hindu that major defence cooperation agreements are expected during the visit to boost India’s defence production sector following the Make in India programme.

India, Pakistan foreign secretaries to meet next month

The foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India will meet next month in Delhi to work out the details of the newly-announced comprehensive bilateral dialogue after the two countries decided to re-engage.

Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, while making a statement in Parliament, said the secretaries will decide on the modalities and schedule. Sources said the meeting will take place in Delhi.

Mr. Aziz briefed Parliament about the recently held ‘Heart ofAsia’ conference and his meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during which it was decided that the two countries would engage in a comprehensive bilateral dialogue. Mr. Aziz said all issues, including Kashmir, would be part of the peace talks under the agreed formula for the fresh re-engagement with India. “It was decided that the two foreign secretaries will work out the details of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue and the level of interaction in various working groups,” Mr. Aziz said. “This dialogue includes all the subjects of the composite dialogue, with some additions,” he told Parliament.

MiG-29K carrier-variant fighter jets are ready to be shipped to India in two weeks depending on the weather, and the contract is on course to be completed by next year, officials of the MiG Corporation say. Two aircraft were delivered last week and were accepted by the Navy after testing.

“This month four more will be despatched. Next year, six more will be delivered and we will fulfil the contract,” Sergey Korotkov, General Director of Russian Aircraft Corporation-MiG said in an interaction with a group of journalists from India who were in Russia on the invitation of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).

India had contracted 45 MiG-29K carrier-based fighters from Russia in two batches — 16 fighters in 2004 along with the contact for acquiring aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and another 29 fighters in 2010. In fact, India is the first launch customer of the carrier variant of MiG-29 even before the Russian Navy. While 16 aircraft currently fly from INS Vikramaditya, the remaining Mi9-29K are to operate from the under-construction indigenous carrier Vikrant, scheduled to enter service in 2018.

With the first batch of six Mig-29s of the Air Force upgraded in Russia, the next phase of modernisation of the remaining fighters in India has began and is progressing on schedule. There are other fighter upgrade programmes running in parallel — Mirage and Jaguar. These are important for the Air Force as new inductions are delayed and existing fleets of Mig-21s and Mig-27s are retired.

National Waterways Bill, 2015

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to carry out official amendments in The National Waterways Bill, 2015. The amendments seek to add 106 additional inland waterways as the national waterways based on the recommendations Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and comments of State Governments. Key facts The National Waterways Bill, 2015 repeals the five Acts that declare the existing national waterways. These existing five national waterways are now covered under the Bill. The enactment of this Act (Central legislation) will pave way for the inclusion of 106 additional inlands waterways. Thus the total number of national waterways (NW) numbers will go up to 111 from existing five national waterways. The changes made in former bill include omission of 10 waterways from Kerala. While 17 waterways have been merged with the existing waterways. 18 new waterways have been added. 5 each from Karnataka and Meghalaya, 3 each from Maharashtra and Kerala, 1 each from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan). The declaration of these National Waterways would enable Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to develop the feasible stretches for Shipping and Navigation. Note: Union Government is empowered to make laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways which are classified as national waterways by Parliament by law as per Entry 24 of the Union List of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. Inland Waterways Waterways are the cheapest and environment friendly modes of Transportation. They are most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods. Existing five national waterways are (i) NW 1: between Allahabad and Haldia (1620 km) on Ganga River (ii) NW 2: between Sadiya and Dubri (891 km) (iii) NW 3: West Coast Canal (205 km) in Kerala (iv) NW 4: Kakinada–Pondicherry stretch River Godavari and Wazirabad–Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh (v) NW 5: Talcher–Dhamra (620 km) stretch on Mahanadi River.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Pakistan to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit likely to be held in September 2016. The disclosure of Mr. Modi’s visit was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Islamabad in yet another indicator of a positive turn in bilateral ties after recent chill. “He will be coming,” Ms. Swaraj told reporters when asked if Mr. Modi will visit Pakistan to attend the Summit. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had invited Mr. Modi for the SAARC Summit when they had met for a bilateral meeting in the Russian city of Ufa in July. Ms. Swaraj arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit to attend a multilateral conference on Afghanistan. In her address at the meet on Wednesday, she said it was time the two countries display “maturity and self-confidence” to do business with each other as the world was rooting for a change and offered to move cooperation at a pace Pakistan is comfortable with.

Real Estate Regulatory Authority on anvil

Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015, as reported by the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. The Bill will now be taken up for consideration and passing by Parliament. Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet gave the nod to the Bill, a pioneering initiative to protect the interest of consumers, promote fair play in real estate transactions and to ensure timely execution of projects. The Bill provides a uniform regulatory environment to ensure speedy adjudication of disputes and orderly growth of the real estate sector. It will boost domestic and foreign investment in the real estate sector and help achieve the objective of the government to provide housing for all by enhanced private participation, according to a release.

 The Bill ensures mandatory disclosure by promoters to the customers through registration of real estate projects as well as real estate agents with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The salient features of the Bill include provisions which are applicable to both commercial and residential real estate projects and the establishment of ‘Real Estate Regulatory Authority’ in States/UTs to regulate real estate transactions.

Parliamentary elections of Venezuela

Opposition Centre-right Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition has won the 2015 Parliamentary elections of Venezuela. The MUD coalition won at least 99 seats in the 167-seat legislature of the National Assembly by defeating ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) led by President Nicolás Maduro. In this election, PSUV won 46 seats and remaining candidates from different parties have won 22 seats. With this, the 17 years of socialist ruling regime came to an end which was founded by former President Hugo Chavez in 1999. Background 2015 Parliamentary election for the 167 members of the National Assembly of Venezuela was held on 6 December 2015 and was based on a mixed majoritarian system. Under this system, of the total 167 members, 113 members are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 87 constituencies. 51 seats are elected by closed list of proportional representation based on the 23 states and the Capital District and the seats are allocated using the d’Hondt method. The remaining 3 seats are reserved for indigenous peoples and are elected by the community. Venezuela: It is oil-rich Latin American country located on the northern coast of South America. Presently, the country is facing worst economic slowdown due to due to continuing low price of oil in the international market as it is its main export commodity. It also has the highest inflation rate around 100 per cent in 2015 in the South America.

High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2015

Lok Sabha has passed The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2015 The Bill amends the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958 and the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954. Key features of Bill The Bill aims at removing anomalies in pensionary benefits of High Court judges elevated from the bar. Seeks to bring uniformity and do away with the indiscrimination of salaries and pensions for judges elevated from the Bar Pension payable to HC judges: For the purpose of providing pension, a period of 10 years will be added from April 2004 to the service of a Judge. This provision would be applicable to a HC judge who has been an advocate of a HC for at least 10 years. Casual leave for SC and HC judges: The casual leave for SC and HC judges will be computed in a manner to be prescribed. The previous 1954 and 1958 Acts provided leave to judges on full allowances and half allowances respectively. Leave allowances of HC judges: Henceforth Judges would have the option of availing leave on partly full and partly half allowances or full allowances, half allowances specified in the 1954 and 1958 Acts. Joining time allowance for HC judges: Deletion of provision in 1954 Act that provides for an allowance at the rate of Rs.1110 per month instead of salary to HC judges in relation to joining time on his return from leave out of India.

“धुआँ-मुक्त गाँव” (first smokeless village)

व्याचाक्कुरहल्ली (Vyachakurahalli) गाँव कर्नाटक राज्य के चिक्कबल्लपुर जिले के गौरिबिदनूर तालुके में स्थित गाँव है, जोकि राज्य की राजधानी बेंगलूरू से लगभग 77 किलोमीटर दूर है। यह छोटा सा गाँव उस समय चर्चा में आ गया जब इसे केन्द्र सरकार ने  देश का पहला “धुआँ-मुक्त गाँव” (first smokeless village) घोषित कर दिया क्योंकि इस गाँव में अब परंपरागत चूल्हे को पूरी तरह से समाप्त कर प्रत्येक परिवार को एलपीजी (LPG) कनेक्शन प्रदान कर दिया गया है। यह तब संभव हुआ जब इण्डियन ऑयल कॉरपोरेशन (IOC) ने अपनी “मिशन स्मोकलेस विलेज” (‘Mission Smokeless village’) अभियान के तहत यहाँ के प्रत्येक 274 परिवारों को LPG कनेक्शन प्रदान कर दिया। उल्लेखनीय है कि दशकों से व्याचाक्कुरहल्ली में महिलाएं सिर्फ जलावन-लकड़ी (firewood) का प्रयोग एकमात्र ईंधन के रूप में कर रही थीं। इसके चलते जहाँ रसोईघरों में कालिख का राज था वहीं चूल्हे के खतरनाक धुएं में काम करते-करते तमाम महिलाएं खाँसी का शिकार को गईं थीं।

भारतीय पुरुष हॉकी टीम एफआईएच हॉकी वर्ल्ड लीग में काँस्य पदक हासिल कर लिया

भारत ने नीदरलैण्ड्स (Netherlands) को पेनाल्टी शूट आउट में 3-2 से हराकर न सिर्फ इस टूर्नामेण्ट में तीसरा स्थान हासिल किया बल्कि पूल मैच में नीदरलैण्ड्स के हाथों मिली 3-1 की शिकस्त का बदला भी चुका दिया। भारत की इस जीत से जुड़ा प्रमुख तथ्य यह भी था कि एक समय भारत 0-2 से पिछड़ा हुआ था लेकिन अंतिम 21 मिनट के दौरान उसने बाजी पलट दी।
तीसरे स्थान के लिए खेला जा रहा यह वर्गीकरण मैच (classification match) 60 मिनट के नियमित समय तक 5-5 से बराबर था। इसके बाद मैच का निर्णय पेनाल्टी शूट आउट के द्वारा लिया गया जिसमें भारत 3-2 से जीत गया। इस जीत में भारतीय गोलकीपर श्रीजेश (Sreejesh) की प्रमुख भूमिका रही जिन्होंने कुल तीन पेनाल्टी स्ट्रोक बचाए।

India-Russia joint naval exercise

The eighth edition of India-Russia joint naval exercise-INDRA NAVY-15 has begun in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. INDRA NAVY-15 is a bilateral maritime joint naval exercise between the Indian and Russian navies for epitomising the strategic relationship between the two countries. About INDRA NAVY-15 The primary aim is to increase interoperability between the navies of two countries and develop common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations. The scope includes wide- ranging professional interactions during the Harbour phase and spectrum of maritime operations during the Sea Phase. The Harbour Phase encompasses planning conferences ashore and table-top exercises prior to progressing to sea. The Sea Phase would include various facets of fleet operations. Indian Navy will be represented by: INS Sahyadri– an indigenous frigate, INS Ranvijay– a guided missile destroyer and INS Shakti-a Fleet Support Ship. It also is represented by INS Sindhuvir– a submarine, P81 Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Dornier Short Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer. Russian Federation Navy (RFN) will be represented by: 4 ships from Vladivostok based Pacific Fleet. They are Bystry-a destroyer, Varyag-a cruiser, Alatau-a rescue ocean going tug and Boris Butoma-a fleet tanker. INDRA NAVY-15 bilateral naval exercise was initiated in 2003. Since then, it has matured over the years with increasing scope, complexity of operations and level of participation. The eight edition of exercise will be another milestone in strengthening maritime security cooperation between the two navies. It will also serve to reinforce the long-standing bond of friendship between both countries.

BCCI to announce two new IPL teams

Two new teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be announced after a meeting of the tournament’s governing council (GC).

“The IPL GC will decide on the two new teams that will play in the IPL for the next two years,” BCCI said a statement.

The meeting will be followed by a press conference which will be presided over by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla and the owners of the two new teams for 2016 and 2017 will attend.

Swapnil on target in 50m rifle prone

Talented junior Swapnil Kusale beat Chain Singh and Gagan Narang to the gold in the men’s 50-metre rifle prone event in the 59th National shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Swapnil was a class act in the climax as he warded off the threat from two of the best rifle shooters who have won Olympic quota place for the Rio Games in prone and 3-position events.

Swapnil, who owes his rapid strides in recent times to coach Deepali Deshpande, said that he was happy with the way he shot, both in the qualification in which he won the junior gold ahead of Ishan Goel and Akhil Sheoran, with 623.8, and the final in the men’s event.

It was the National Games gold medallist Chain who was leading after 16 shots in the final, but Swapnil came up with shots of 10.5, 10.4 to get ahead by 0.9 point, which proved the difference in the end, as both the shooters had the same total of 20.1 on the last two shots.

Chain, trying a new kit, said that he was happy for the youngster and Gagan echoed the sentiments that it would motivate the junior for the future.

In fact, Gagan was happy with his qualification score of 627.2 which was close to his best of 627.8 shot in the World Cup in Fort Benning last year.

He had shot 626.3 on way to the bronze in the Fort Benning World Cup this year, and had shot 626.7 in the Gabala World Cup.

“It is just the beginning of the season. I didn’t have better ammunition. I am getting new rifles. Will be shooting the MQS in the Olympic quota competition next month,” said Gagan.

Defending champion Hariom Singh settled for the fourth place ahead of Ishan, Surendra Singh Rathod and Sushil Ghaley (628.7) who had topped qualification, and Shamsher Singh Bhandari.

Meanwhile, in the 25-metre rapidfire event, after the first stage, Neeraj Kumar and Aksha Suhas Ashtaputre ledwith 291, ahead of Wazeer Singh Rathee (287), Gurpeet Singh (286), HarpreetSingh (285), while Ronak Pandit (283) and Olympic silver medallist Vijay Kumar(282) followed further down the order.

India wins a thriller to take bronze

A spirited India broke a 33-year-old medal jinx in a major international tournament as it came back from two goals down to stun defending champion Netherlands in the shootout after both the teams were tied 5-5 at regulation time in a thrilling bronze medal play-off match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final here on Sunday.

India last won a medal in an international tournament way back in 1982 when it beat Pakistan 5-4 in the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam.

In the shoot-out, the Indians prevailed over the Dutch 3-2 at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium and the win avenged a 1-3 defeat in the pool stage here.

After starting the match on a slow note, India produced a fine show in the last two quarters to beat the World No. 2 with relentless attacks in the second half.

The Netherlands was quick to take a 2-0 lead in the first half, courtesy some sloppy defending from the Indians, through Mirco Pruisjer (9th minute) and Niek van der Schoot (25th)’s field goals.

It was a high intensity match which produced as many as six goals in the last 10 minutes, three each to India and the Netherlands.

The Indians got their acts together after the change of ends and Ramandeep Singh (39th minute) scored from a field strike before Rupinder Pal Singh Singh converted a penalty corner in the 47th minute to level the scores.

With the teams tied at 2-2, the fourth and final quarter produced some enthralling hockey as India attacked the Dutch citadel with more purpose and vigour and it resulted in another field goal for the host when Ramandeep (51st minute) scored his second of the day.

The last six minutes of the game produced as many as five goals with the Netherlands equalising three minutes later through Van der Weerden (54th) who converted a penalty corner.

But in the very next minuteRupinder scored his second of the day when he perfectly converted a penaltystroke.

Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train

Indian Railways has flagged off the first inaugural service of the Goa to Mumbai double-decker air-conditioned Shatabdi train. The fully air-conditioned double-decker train was the first of its kind in the country and was flagged off from Panaji by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. It would play important role in boosting tourism in Goa by bringing the tourists over to the coastal state during the peak tourist season. The train will run thrice a week between Margao Railway Station and the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Mumbai. It would cover the distance between two states in around 12 hours and has total eight compartments with a seating capacity of 120 in each compartment.

Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan passed away

Doyen music composer Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 87. The veteran musician had composed music for over a thousand films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam and was fondly called as the King of Light Music (Mellisai Mannar in Tamil). About MS Viswanathan He was born on 24 June 1928 in Elapulli in Palakkad district of Kerala. He had entered the film career as a child artist starring as the Bala Murugan in the film Kannagi. He had composed music for over 1700 films in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Some of his best films include Sumaithaangi, Paasamalara, Aayirathil Oruvan, Server Sundaram and Enga Veetu Pillai. He has the distinction of having worked with 4 chief ministers from the film world. They are MG Ramachandran, NT Ramarao, M.Karunanidhi and J.Jayalalithaa. Awards: Kalaimamani (A jewel for art) of Tamil Nadu Government and several other prestigious music awards. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has conferred the Thirai Isai Chakravarthy (in Tamil means The Emperor of Cine Music) title.

Carnatic flautist Dr. Natesan Ramani passed away

Renowned Carnatic flautist Dr. Natesan Ramani passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 82 and died due throat cancer. He was known for introducing the long flute in Carnatic music and had developed his own inimitable style in the field of flute music especially on Venu flute. About Dr. Natesan Ramani Ramani was born 15 October 1934 in Tiruvarur city of Tamil Nadu which is the birthplace of Trinity of Carnatic music. He had first learnt music from his maternal grandfather Sri Aazhiyur Narayanaswami Iyer who was a well-known flute artist and singer. Ramani had performed his first concert on All India Radio (AIR) in 1945. Later his talent had helped him to reach the highest point in his career and become an artist of international fame. Awards and Honours: Sangita Kalanidhi title (1996) of the Music Academy, Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award (2007) etc.

Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival

Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival has begun on a cultural fervor at Asanang near Tura town in Meghalaya. The three day-long started with the arrival of ten Wangala Dance Troupes from various parts of Garo Hills. Significance of Wangala Festival Wangala Festival is an annual post-harvest festival of the Garos tribes of North east India. Generally celebrated in the second week of November every year. It is a thanks giving ceremony to Misi Saljong, which is also known as Pattigipa Ra∙rongipa (The Great Giver) for blessing the people with rich harvest of the season. Events held on occasion: An inter-locality tug-of-war was also held on the first day along with District Industrial Exhibition. Indigenous sports and Ajea, Grika and Doroa competitions and Rugala ceremony are held on the second day. On concluding day Hundred Drums Dance competition is held.

E-Postal Ballot System

Union Government is going to allow e-Postal Ballot System and Proxy voting to Overseas electors as an alternative voting option. This information was given by Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Key facts The e-Postal Ballot System: It envisages providing blank ballots electronically to the Non Resident Indian (NRI) voters and thereafter after casting vote they can return it by normal post. Proxy voting: It would allow such overseas voters to appoint a proxy after following certain formalities and exercise his/her franchise. However to give legal status this proposal, amendment are to be made in The Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950 and 1951. But time frame to implement it will come after approval of amendment to RPA by both the Houses of the Parliament.

Chief Economist of Citibank for India

Samiran Chakraborty has been appointed as Chief Economist of global banking major Citibank for India. Prior to this appointment, he was Managing Director (MD) and head at Standard Chartered Bank for macro research in South Asia. Chakraborty has more than a decade of rich experience in conducting macro research and covering various asset classes including currency, credit markets and interest rates. Earlier, he had worked with India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI as chief economist and also as faculty for mathematical economics and open-economy macro-economics at Delhi School of Economics. About Citibank India Citibank India is an Indian private sector bank and subsidiary of US based Citigroup, a multinational financial services corporation. Established in 1902 in Kolkata. Presently, its headquarters are in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It operates in 44 full-service branches in 31 cities and has network of over 700 ATMs across the country. It employs around 7,500 people.

Fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review has maintained status status quo in key policy interest rate. The key policy interest rates were kept unchanged on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation in the country. The Key policy interest rates are Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF): unchanged at 6.75 per cent. Reverse repo rate under the LAF: unchanged at 5.75 per cent Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate has unchanged at 7.75 per cent. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks: Unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liability (NDTL). Continuation of liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate. Continuation of liquidity under 14-day term repos as well as longer term repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions.