Morsy proposes ‘E-BRICS’

March 26th, 2013

Egypt’s first elected President Mohamed Morsy who is on visit to India have expressed keenness to join the BRICS and hoped to see itself in the E-BRICS (E stands for Egypt).

EBRICS = Egypt + BRICS nations

Mr. Morsy expressed his strong opposition to the existence of a “unipolar world” and supported a stronger role for the Non Aligned Movement in order to “impart crucial balance and ensure comprehensive peace in today’s world.”

Abundant Active Bacteria Community Discovered In Deepest Spot of the Earth

Abundant Active Bacteria Community Discovered In Deepest Spot of the Earth

 A team of researchers, led by Ronnie Glud of University of Southern Denmark discovered that a huge community of bacteria grows in depths of the Mariana Trench off the coast of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Islands. It was found that the organisms live at the dentisities ten times higher than shallower ocean floor at rim of trench.

The deepest point on entire seafloor is called The Challenger Deep and it is situated in Mariana Trench off the coast of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Islands. This point is 36000 feet or 7.8 miles below the surface of the ocean.

How was the research done?

In order to explore the ecosystem that exists ultra-deep, the international team of researchers sent the specially-designed 1300 pound robot in the depth of the Mariana Trench in 2010. This robot was facilitated with thin sensors which could enter into the seafloor sediments in order to measure organic consumption of oxygen. Because all living organisms consume oxygen while respiration, therefore it is possible to find out the amount of microorganisms living in an area by checking the tallies on what quantity of ambient oxygen is missing from the sediments.

The team of researchers used the device for sampling the sediments at two sites with depths of 35476 and 35488 feet. It was found that large quantity of oxygen consumption took place. This indicated that there were ten times more bacteria at the ultra-deep site than the shallower site which was sampled just for reference around 37 miles away, at a depth of merely 19626 feet.

What did the specially-designed 1300 pound robot explore?

The robot brought out an overall 21 sediment cores from these two deep sites. The sediment cores were kept for analysis in the lab. Even though a lot of microorganisms died after being brought out to the surface, but it confirmed the finding that cores from Mariana Trench were habitat to higher densities of bacterial cells than the ones which existed in the reference site.

Also, the video recording of the ocean floor was done by making use of the lights for illuminating the dark environment. It was also discovered that certain life forms which were larger than the bacteria on the top of the sediment, existed. It was determined that these life forms were Hirondellea gigas, a species of amphipods. Amphipods are the small crustaceans which are just less than one inch in terms of length.

Importance of the research

The finding of abundant bacterial life at such a depth is very surprising because it was believed that at such depths, not enough nutrients can be found. The Photosynthetic plankton can act as a nutrient base for almost all the ocean food chain, but even these planktons are unable to survive in lightless seafloor. But this research has amused the scientists because ultra-deep trench was found to be the abode of so much bacterial activity than the shallower reference site just nearby.

Since 2010 exploration, the team of researchers has also sent this robot to sample Japan Trench which is roughly 29500 feet deep. The researchers now plan to sample the Kermadec-Tonga Trench which is 35430 feet deep.

China became the World's Fifth-Largest Arms Exporter

A Swedish think tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in the Month of March 2013 mentioned China as the world's fifth largest arms exporter.

The reason of China Being top most arms exporter is evident from the fact that the volume of Chinese weapons exports rose by 162 percent in the five years 2008-2012, compared to the previous five-year period.
Earlier the country was eighth in ranking and it climbed to fifth with an increase in international arms exports from 2 percent to 5 percent.

The report also revealed that the largest buyer of Chinese weapons was Pakistan, which accounted for 55 percent of the country's exports, followed by Myanmar with 8 percent and Bangladesh with 7 percent.

 A number of recent deals indicate that China is establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states. Such deals include the sale of three frigates to Algeria, eight transport aircraft to Venezuela and 54 tanks to Morocco.

The US with 30 percent of global export volume remains the world's top arms exporter during the 2008-2012 periods. Russia stands in Second Position with 26 percent export while at third and fourth is Germany and France with 7 and 6 percent export volume.

Another major evident as per the report is that Asia dominated the global imports of weapons, with the top five importers all located in that region.

The top 5 arms importers in 2008-2012 (share of international imports)

1. India -12 percent

2. China - 6 percent

3. Pakistan - 5 percent

4. South Korea -5 percent

5. Singapore -4 percent

Sugathakumari, the Malayalam Poetess Selected For Saraswati Samman 2012

 

Sugathakumari, the Malayalam poetess in the third week of March 2013 was chosen for the Saraswati Samman 2012 for the poetry collection Manalezhuthu, which means The Writing on the Sand in English. The Saraswati Samman is constituted by K. K. Birla Foundation.

79-year-old Sugathakumari was selected for Saraswati Samman by the 13-member jury. The head of this jury was former Chief Justice of India R. C. Lahoti. The jury considered works of the artists published in 22 different languages from 2002 to 2011. Saraswati Samman is awarded annually for outstanding literary work in any Indian language in past 10 years.

About Sugathakumari

• Sugathakumari has 15 volumes of poetry credited to her.
• She also has six collections of prose. Her career spans over a duration of five decades.
• The themes of her poems revolve around moral alertness, emotional empathy as well as humanist sensitivity. Her poems also include social themes such as women oppression, failures of the ideals which inspired India as well as ecological crisis.
• Sugathakumari is also the passionate environmentalist.
• She was also the head of Kerala’s State Women’s Commission.
• Manalezhuthu, the poetry collection for which she was chosen, is actually a collection of 27 different poems. This was published in 2006. The poetry collection is said to be a representation of best of contemporary Malayalam poetry.

About Saraswati Samman

• Saraswati Samman is constituted by K. K. Birla Foundation.
• The award carries cash prize of 10 lakh Rupees, a plaque as well as a citation.
• This award is given every year to the literary work in any Indian language which is the part of Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Apart from this award, K. K. Birla Foundation also constituted other two awards which include Bihari Puraskar for Hindi and Rajasthani writers and Vyas Samman for Hindi.

Xi Jinping assumes President’s office in China

current affair March 15th, 2013

Xi Jinping has assumed charge of President’s office in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He takes over outgoing president Hu Jintao.

Welspun Energy completes Asia’s largest solar project

Welspun Energy completes Asia’s largest solar project

currnet affair March 15th, 2013

Welspun Energy, India’s biggest developer of solar projects, has commissioned Asia’s largest solar power project of 50-MW in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
This is the largest solar project to be developed by Welspun Energy till date and is also the largest PV power plant in India.

• The PV project will generate total electricity of 90 million kWh or units annually and supply clean energy to power 25 million families.
• The project would also cut down an estimated 83,220 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

 

Central assistance of Rs. 41 Crore to protect Pashmina Goats

March 15th, 2013

The Union Government will provide a financial assistance of Rs 41.21 crore to protect Pashmina goat which produces world-famous fine luxury fibre.
The government is concerned over the recent deaths of thousands of Pashmina goats in the Ladakh region.
As per the assistance, there is plan which envisages a new Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with a special package and a financial allocation of Rs 41.21 crore.

Renowned painter Ganesh Pyne passed away

current affair March 15th, 2013

Legendary painter Ganesh Pyne (76) passed away in Kolkata. 
Described famously as ‘an artist’s artist, a philosopher’s philosopher and master fantasist of them all’, Pyne had received several awards and honors for his works. He blended romanticism, fantasy and free form and an inventive play of light and shade to create a world of ‘poetic surrealism’.
Awards and Honors:

• Raja Ravi Varma award by Kerala Government.
  Lifetime achievement award by Indian Chamber of Commerce.

SEBI Bill for appointing SAT head passed in Rajya Sabha

current affair March 15th, 2013

Rajya Sabha cleared a Bill envisaging for broadening the criterion for appointment of Presiding Officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). SAT is a statutory body that adjudicates on appeals against orders passed by SEBI.
The SEBI (Amendment) Bill, 2013, seeks to include the criterion of appointing a retired High Court judge having held the position for 7 years for heading the Tribunal.
The post of SAT chief has been vacant for over a year. The government has not been able to find a suitable judge who has dealt with commercial and capital market law. However, the SAT is not non-functional  as the other 2 members of SAT are disposing of cases.
What are the existing criteria for the appointment of SAT chief?

• As per the existing criteria, only a serving or retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court can head the Tribunal, but the Government is finding it difficult to fill the slot.

Google to build personal hardware devises to replace passwords

current  affair March 15th, 2013

Google is conducting a research to build a more secure personal hardware device which can be used to login to a computer or an online account, thus doing away with the need for a password.
Designed in the shape of rings that can be worn on fingers, these hardware devices will help in logging in to a computer or online account.

Curiosity finds key ingredients required to support life on mars

Curiosity finds key ingredients required to support life on mars

current affair March 15th, 2013

 

NASA’s Curiosity rover, which is exploring Mars, has identified sulphur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon – some of the key chemical ingredients required to support life – in the powder it drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater on the Red Planet. It indicated sulfides and sulfates like structures that indicate a possible chemical energy source for micro-organisms.
The Yellowknife Bay area, which the rover is exploring, was the end of an ancient river system or an intermittently wet lake bed that could have provided chemical energy and other supporting conditions for microbes.

It was found that the rock was made up of a fine grain mudstone containing clay minerals, sulfate minerals and other chemicals. The wet environment, unlike some others on Mars, was not harshly oxidising, acidic, or extremely salty. The presence of calcium sulfate along with the clay suggests the soil is neutral or mildly alkaline.

The Grey substance:

Scientists were astonished to find a mixture of oxidised, less-oxidised, and even non-oxidised chemicals providing an energy gradient of the sort many microbes on Earth exploit to live.  This partial oxidation was first indicated at when the drill cuttings were found to be grey rather than red.

Falkland islanders choose to stay with Britain

Falkland islanders choose to stay with Britain

current affair March 15th, 2013

In a referendum in which people of Falkland Islands were asked whether they wished to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, 99.8% of voters have chosen to stay as British Overseas Territory.
What is the issue?

Falkland Islands: it is an archipelago located in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The islands, a British Overseas Territory, enjoy a large degree of internal self-government with the UK guaranteeing good government and taking responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and only city is Stanley on East Falkland. Argentina calls these islands, Malvinas Islands.
There is controversy over the Falklands’ original discovery and subsequent colonization by Europeans. At various times there have been French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain asserted control of the south Atlantic islands by placing a naval garrison there in 1833. Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 after Argentina invaded the islands. The war ended with the surrender of all Argentine forces and the islands went back to British administration.

Argentina claims Malvinas Islands as its territory and wants UK to relinquish it. In reply to this claim UK has said that the future of the islands should be decided by the people who live there, through referendum.

Four regulators sign MoU to jointly supervise financial conglomerates

current affairs March 15th, 2013

The four financial sector regulators in the country- RBI, SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation in the field of consolidated supervision and monitoring of financial groups identified as financial conglomerates.

What is the need of such supervision? Financial conglomerates undertake a range of financial activities, including commercial banking, insurance, investment banking, equity broking, and pension business. Some examples of banking conglomerates are: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of India etc.

In normal times these conglomerates will be an important resource for other financial intermediaries and end-users as facilitators of financial transactions and as a channel or counterparty for mitigating risk. However, through their linkages with domestic financial institutions and their salient role in markets, they also have the potential to be a source of domestic financial instability. Due to emergence of complex group structures, the consolidated supervision of financial conglomerates has acquired special significance.
Consolidated supervision does not mean to supervise each and every entity within a group but to supervise the regulated entity as a part of the Group, so as to take into account the likely risks that may arise from various parts of the Group for the supervised entity.

It has been observed in past that large and established international banks failed on account of the operations of their subsidiaries which illustrates the magnitude of such risks, which has elevated the supervisory concerns.

• The Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), has approved the National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE). The NSFE has been revised in response to the feedback received from public consultations and from a global peer review.

Operation Lal Dora

 Operation Lal Dora

cuurrent affairs March 15th, 2013

 India planned ‘Operation Lal Dora’ in 1983 to prevent coup in Mauritius
India, during the regime of Indira Gandhi in 1983, had planned top secret military intervention-“Operation Lal Dora” to help the then Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth fight off a challenge from his radical rival Paul Berenger which New Delhi feared might take the form of an attempted coup. With this operation India wanted to ensure an Indian-origin Prime Minister remained in power there.
As per Operation Lal Dora, Indian Navy and Army were to land troops to the island nation to thwart any possible coup. The plan also included the deployment of major naval assets including as many as six destroyers with Alouette helicopters and MK 42C Sea Kings for slithering operations.
However, Mrs. Gandhi put on hold the military part of the operation due to differences between the the Navy and the Army over who would lead the intervention. Instead, she chose to task the Research and Intelligence Wing’s then chief, Nowsher F. Suntook, with supervising a largely intelligence-led operation to reunite the Indian community whose fracturing along ideological and communal lines had allowed Mr. Berenger to mount a political challenge. India’s overall intervention became successful and Anerood Jugnauth stayed as PM for more than a decade.
Though eventually aborted, Operation Lal Dora has a special significance today because of the Indian strategic community’s focus on promoting the Indian Navy’s role in the wider neighborhood, especially the Indian Ocean.
India’s other military interventions in the India Ocean:

• ‘Operation Flowers are Blooming’: India’s first military intervention in the Indian Ocean, first with INS Vindhyagiri helping to abort a coup in the Seychelles in 1986
  ‘Operation Cactus’:  In 1988 when commandos and naval ships were rushed to the Maldives after Sri Lankan Tamil militants sought to remove the then President, Abdul Gayoom.

Operation Lal Dora 2013

Operation Lal Dora 2013 

cuurrent affairs 2013

Operation Lal Dora 2013 The Top Secret ‘Operation Lal Dora’

President Pranab Mukherjee will be buttress a relationship with an Indian Ocean nation that is so central to India’s security interests that it went to the extent of planning military intervention to ensure an Indian-origin

Prime Minister remained in power there. The Top Secret ‘Operation Lal Dora’ which was conceived in 1983 with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s approval and called for the amphibious landing of troops from the 54th Division to help the Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth fight off a challenge from his radical rival Paul Berenger which New Delhi feared might take the form of an attempted coup. India’s military plans alsoincluded the deployment of major naval assets including as many as six destroyers with Alouette helicoptersand MK 42C Sea Kings for slithering operations. A measure of this ‘huge success’ was Mr. Jugnauth’s subsequent decision to request India Gandhi for an Indian as his national security adviser. General J.N. Tamini, who remained there for many years. India’s first military intervention in the Indian Ocean came four years later, first with INS Vindhyagiri helping to abort a coup in the Seychelles in 1986 (‘Operation Flowers are Blooming’) and then ‘Operation Cactus’ in 1988 when commandos and naval ships were rushed to the Maldives after Sri Lankan Tamil militants sought to unseat the then President, Abdul Gayoom.

Princess Lilian of Sweden passes away

Princess Lilian of Sweden passes away

March 15th, 2013

Princess Lilian (97) of Sweden passed away. She had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Her romance with husband Prince Bertil became one of Sweden’s best-known love stories.

China appoints Li Keqiang as new Premier

China’s Communist Party on Friday moved towards concluding its leadership transition with the expected appointment of second-ranked Politburo Standing Committee member Li Keqiang as the country’s next Premier.

Mr. Li (57), who was anointed as the successor of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao five years ago, will take over the reins of the world’s second-largest economy as the head of the State Council, or Cabinet, which sets economic policies.

The new Premier is seen in China as the protégé of former President Hu Jintao, who stepped down on Thursday. The new CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping, appointed as the head of the party and military last year, was formally selected as Mr. Hu's replacement on Thursday by the National People’s Congress (NPC), or Parliament. Mr. Li rose through party ranks in the Communist Youth League, where Mr. Hu has his power base.

Asia's biggest air show Aero India gets under way in Bangalore

Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Wednesday said the focus of the country is to achieve self-reliance in the defence sector.

He was speaking while inaugurating Asia's biggest aerospace exposition, Aero India 2013, which showcases the latest international technology in military and civil aircraft, avionics and sub-systems, as well as radars in the defence and aerospace sectors.

"Self reliance in defence area is our focus area," Antony said in his inaugural address at the biennial event at Yelahanka Airbase here.

"We want to create a strong defence industrial base in the country," he said at the event witnessed by a galaxy of officials, industry delegates, exhibitors and representatives from India and abroad.
He stated that India has put in place a road-map in the form of defence production policy and is encouraging the country's public and private sector industries to become active partners in such endeavours.
"There are big opportunities for major international aerospace companies to enter into new alliances and forge partnerships with Indian industry and set up bases in India", Antony said.
Aero India 2013 will project India's emergence as a fast-growing and an attractive market, as well as a key outsourcing hub for global aerospace firms, he added.

With the air show integral to the ceremony, the display began with three Mi-8 helicopters trooping the tricolour, Indian Air Force (IAF) ensign and the Aero India flag just before the event.
A scintillating display of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas flown by Group Capt S. Krishna was applauded by all.

The Tiger Moth aircraft resurrected recently as part of the IAF vintage flight flew for the first time in Aero India 2013.

The 'de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth is a two-seat, single bay biplane powered by a 145 HP Gypsy Major four-cylinder inverted air-cooled engine. It was the primary trainer aircraft for Royal Air Force during the Second World War and was also the basic trainer aircraft in the IAF right from 1940.
"Flying Bulls", considered one of the world's leading aerobatic display team from the Czech Republic, performed at the air show, enthralling the audience.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and several others were present at the inaugural ceremony.

The ninth edition of the biennial air show and aviation exhibition, organised by the defence ministry along with IAF, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Department of Space and Civil Aviation Ministry, aims at showcasing the range of products and services offered by the Indian defence industry in the international market.

It also provides an exposure to the Indian Armed Forces, research and development personnel and young engineers, to latest technologies and advancements in the aviation and aerospace industries.

More than 600 companies from India and overseas are participating in the event. Major participants are companies from the United States, Israel, Russia, France, the UK, Germany and Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Ukraine, Australia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, the UAE and Singapore.

The leader of the Indian representation with the largest indoor and outdoor area of about 2,561 square metres, is closely followed by HAL, BEL and TATA.

The largest international participation indoor (area-wise) is by USA, followed by Israel and Russia in this category. Maximum participants from any single country is from the USA, followed by France, the UK, Russia, Germany, Israel and Belgium.

A total of 27 countries are participating with 10 country pavilions namely Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Israel, Russia, Germany, France, USA, UK and Ukraine.

Cruise missile Nirbhay deviates from flight path

 India's first indigenously developed sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay today failed to hit the target in its maiden test-firing as it had to be terminated mid-way after deviating from the flight course.

However, the DRDO said the missile "successfully" met the basic mission objectives and performed some of the manouveres satisfactorily before being terminated mid way.

"Nirbhay was successfully launched today at 1150 hrs from launch complex, Chandipur, Odisha, meeting the basic mission objectives successfully.

"After travelling approximately mid-way, deviations were observed from its intended course. Further, flight was terminated to ensure coastal safety," DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta said in a release.

The surface-to-surface sub-sonic cruise missile has the capability of being launched from land, sea and air, they said, adding Nirbhay has good loitering capability, good control and guidance, high degree of accuracy in terms of impact and very good stealth features.

Nirbhay was developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory based in Bangalore in understood to have a strike-range of around 1,500 km.

India has the technology of super-sonic missile like BrahMos which is jointly developed by India and Russia.

New Pope: Jorge Mario Bergoglio takes “Francis” as name

New Pope: Jorge Mario Bergoglio takes “Francis” as name

March 14th, 2013

Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as new pope of the Catholic Church.

• 266th pope
• Native of Argentina.
• Became first pontiff from outside Europe in more than a millennium since Syrian-born Pope Gregory III, who died in 741. Thus, he is the first non-European pope since the 8th century.

He has chosen the name Pope “Francis”. He is now both the leader of the Catholic Church and sovereign ruler of the Vatican City State.

All eyes on Vatican chimney as world awaits new pope

 

VATICAN CITY: Cardinals prepared for a second day of conclave behind the Vatican's walls to elect a pope on Wednesday, with all eyes on a chimney that will signal when there is a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
The 115 cardinals held a first inconclusive vote in the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday as they began the process of finding a successor to Benedict XVI, who brought a troubled eight-year papacy to an abrupt end by resigning last month.
Black smoke billowed into the night air above the Vatican, indicating that no-one had gained the two-thirds majority needed to become the 266th Roman pope.
White smoke -- produced by mixing the smoke from burning ballots with special flares -- would indicate that a new head of the Roman Catholic Church has been chosen.
As they awaited the outcome of the first vote, suspense mixed with hopes among the tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square -- and in the Catholic Church worldwide, which is struggling in many parts with scandals, indifference and conflict.
Among the cardinals Italy's Angelo Scola, Brazil's Odilo Scherer and Canada's Marc Ouellet -- all conservatives like Benedict -- are the three favourites but there is no clear frontrunner and conclaves are notoriously difficult to predict.
Some analysts suggest that Benedict's dramatic act -- the first papal resignation in over 700 years -- could push the cardinals to take an equally unusual decision and that an outsider could emerge as a compromise candidate.
Hopes are high in the Philippines for the popular Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, and on the African continent for South Africa's Wilfrid Napier, the archbishop of Durban, but in practice their chances are very slim.
Two-thirds of the cardinals are from Europe and North America and the view among many experts is that only someone with experience of its inner workings can reform the scandal-tainted Vatican bureaucracy, the Roman Curia.
The cardinals on Tuesday filed into the chapel, chanting a Latin hymn to ask for divine guidance and swearing a solemn oath never to reveal the secrets of their deliberations on pain of excommunication.
The "Princes of the Church" are cut off from any contact with the outside world for the duration of the conclave. They eat and sleep in a Vatican residence where windows are locked shut and phones are for internal use only.
Modern-day conclaves normally last no more than a few days. Benedict's election in 2005 following the death of John Paul II took just two days.
-- 'Like an orphan' --
Dressed in their scarlet robes, traditionally symbolising the blood they are willing to spill in the service of the Church, the cardinals held a pre-conclave mass in St Peter's Basilica where they prayed for unity.
The cardinals burst into thunderous applause when the dean of the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano, in his homily thanked the "beloved and venerable" Benedict -- who has kept well away from the run-up to the conclave.
Pilgrims descended on Rome to attend what is usually an extremely rare landmark in the history of the Church and millions worldwide were following the smoke signals from the Vatican with religious devotion or simple curiosity.
"Without a pope I feel bereft, like an orphan," said French priest Guillaume Le Floch, 35.
"The Church needs a great leader now more than ever," he said.
What many cardinals want is a leader who can re-ignite Catholic faith -- particularly among young people -- in the way the charismatic John Paul II did.
At his last Sunday mass before the conclave, US Cardinal Sean O'Malley said the new pope should "make more visible the love of the Good Shepherd".
There have been calls too from within the Church for a rethink of some basic tenets such as priestly celibacy, the uniform ban on artificial contraception and even allowing women to be priests as in other Christian denominations.
The scandal of sexual abuse of children by paedophile priests going back decades -- and the cover-up of their actions by senior prelates -- also cast a long shadow on the Church that the next pope will inherit.
The tradition of holding conclaves -- literally "with key" in Latin -- dates back to 1268 when cardinals were locked into the papal palace in Viterbo near Rome by an angry crowd because they were taking too long to choose a pope.
Their conclave still dragged on for nearly three years, despite townspeople tearing off the roof of the palace and feeding them only bread and water.
The 85-year-old Benedict announced on February 11 that he no longer had the strength of body and mind to keep up with the modern world.
In a series of emotional farewells, the German-born pope said he would live "hidden from the world" and wanted only to be "a simple pilgrim".

World banks estimates Indian economy to grow over 6% by 2013-14

World banks estimates Indian economy to grow over 6% by 2013-14

March 12th, 2013

World Bank estimated India’s economy to grow by 6% in 2013-14.
This estimation was made by the World Bank Chief Jim Young Kim who was on his first visit to India after taking over as President of the World Bank Group July 2012.

President appoints Ashwani Kumar and S.C. Jamir as new Governors of Nagaland and Odisha respectively

President appoints Ashwani Kumar and S.C. Jamir as new Governors of Nagaland and Odisha respectively

March 12th, 2013

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday appointed former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar and senior Congress leader S.C. Jamir as Governors of Nagaland and Odisha respectively.

India’s First All Women Post Office

India’s First All Women Post Office

March 12th, 2013

Union Minister of Communications & IT Sh. Kapil Sibal inaugurated India’s First All Women Employees Post Office at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. All the counters of this Post Office will be staffed by Women employees only. The working hours: 9.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m.

• This office is a ‘Project Arrow’ Office

What is Project Arrow ?

• Introduced in 2008 by department of Posts
• Objective: To transform the existing India Post infrastructure across the country by upgrading key postal operations such as mail delivery, remittance and banking services.
• Under the project, the exterior and interior of the post offices have undergone a transformation. Service delivery has been upgraded through information technology-enabled procedures.

Pakistan Parliament passed Counter Terrorism Authority Bill

Pakistan’s parliament on 9 March 2013 passed a bill for the setting up of a new organisation that is supposed to integrate counter-terrorism efforts by different bodies in the wake of criticism of civilian law enforcement agencies by the powerful army.

The bill for establishing the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was passed by the National Assembly or lower house of parliament after incorporating some amendments suggested by lawmakers.

Roles and Functions of National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA)

• NACTA will be headed by the Prime Minister and will unify and coordinate national counter-terrorism and counter-extremism measures by several existing organisations.
• It would present strategic policy options to the government to be considered and implemented by stakeholders.
• The board of NACTA will include the Interior, Finance and Defence Ministers, the Chief Ministers of all provinces and the chiefs of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence and Federal Investigation Agency.
• The authority will be assisted by an executive committee headed by the Interior Minister, and a national coordinator and a deputy will execute the board’s policies and the government’s instructions NACTA will also be responsible for conducting scientific studies on extremism and terrorism.
• It will coordinate with law enforcement agencies for taking action against elements involved in terrorism and extremism and play a key role in preparing national counter-terrorism and extremism strategies.
• The authority will receive information and intelligence and disseminate the data to relevant stakeholders to formulate threat assessments with periodical reviews to be presented to the federal government for making adequate and timely efforts to counter terrorism and extremism.
The bill must be passed by the Senate or upper house of parliament to become law. NACTA will be established within 90 days of the bill receiving presidential assent.

Union govt approves Export of Additional 5 Million Tonnes of Wheat

March 10th, 2013

The Union Government approved export of extra 5 million tonnes of Wheat in its stocks. The additional quantity of 5 million tonnes of wheat shall be exported by the private traders. It was also decided that the public sector trading firms will not be a participant in export of the additional quantity of wheat.
Private traders would use bidding process to export the 2011-12 crop and the floor price decided for per quintal is Rs 1480.
For current fiscal, the allowed export of wheat from the godowns of the Food Corporation of India is at 9.5 million tonnes.

Our closest neighboring galaxy is 163,000 light years away

Our closest neighboring galaxy is 163,000 light years away

current affairs 2013

March 10th, 2013

It is for the first time that scientist have accurately calculated the distance to our nearest galaxy known as Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) located at 163,000 light years away or 49.97 kiloparsecs.
The LMC is a dwarf galaxy and it floats in space around the Milky Way – just like the moon revolves around the Earth.
The small and irregular galaxy includes the Tarantula Nebula – the brightest stellar nursery in our cosmic neighborhood.

How this determination of distance would prove helpful?
The new finding could hold the key to determining the scale of the universe – a puzzle that has graveled the world’s greatest minds for decades.
The current measure is accurate to 2.2% which is above the earlier measurements limited to around 5 to 10% accuracy.
It could aid in improving the Hubble Constant- the expansion rate of the universe.
It is named after astronomer Edwin P Hubble who is known for his discovery in 1929 that our universe has been expanding continuously since its birth.
Why determining the Hubble constant is so important?
Accurate determination of the Hubble constant is critical for precise estimation of the age and size of our universe, and the exact distance to the LMC is one of the largest uncertainties confusing past measurements.
This new measurement can be utilized to reduce the uncertainty in calculations of the Hubble constant to 3% with prospects of improving this to a 2% uncertainty in a few years.

Outstanding parliamentarian award to Jaitley, Karan Singh, Sharad Yadav

Outstanding parliamentarian award to Jaitley, Karan Singh, Sharad Yadav

current affairs

March 10th, 2013

The Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) has approved Outstanding Parliamentarian Award to three leaders viz. BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Congress MP Karan Singh and JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. The IPG had instituted the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in the year 1994. The award is given every year to an outstanding parliamentarian on the recommendations of the award committee and approved by the executive committee of the Indian Parliamentary Group.
The current awards committee is headed by Speaker Meira Kumar whose recommendations were accepted by the executive committee of the Indian Parliamentary Group.

Asia’s largest solar park is now in Gujarat

 

Asia’s largest solar park is now in Gujarat

 A 600 MW solar power park, touted as Asia’s first and largest, was dedicated to the people of India by the honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi in the State’s Patan district, in a boost to India’s efforts towards low carbon growth.

                 The solar power park with a power capacity of 600 MW, covering approximately 3,000 acres of wasteland bordering the Rann of Kutch, will generate two-third of India’s total 900 MW of solar power production.

                 According to the Gujarat government, the solar project will lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions to the tune of eight million tones and save 900,000 tones of natural gas annually.

                 Under its Solar Power Policy, the State government had signed memorandum of understanding for generation of 968.5 MW of solar power by the end of this year.

                 Other projects will be developed at Anand, Banaskantha, Jamnangar, Kutch, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Surendranagar.

The Union Cabinet of the Government of India approves an important Bill

  The Union Cabinet of the Government of India approves an important Bill

The Union Cabinet of the Government of India approves an important Bill to provide time-bound delivery of various key services like birth and death certificates, pensions and passports to the people of India.

The Union Cabinet gave its nod to the bill in a highly crucial close-door meeting, which was chaired by the honorable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh himself. The Bill is named as ‘The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011’.

The Bill comprises an irrevocable penalty of up to Rs 50,000 against any government employee irrespective of his level or status if he/she would fail to provide his/her responsibilities by delivering the services to the citizens in due time, official sources said.

Punjab’s First Shariat Panchayat to be inaugurated in March 2013

The first Shariat panchayat of Punjab scheduled to be inaugurated on 3 March 2013 will be first of its kind in the state. This will allow the Muslim community to deal with the cases. The first Shariat panchayat of the state would be inaugurated in Malerkotla, which is the Muslim town in Sangrur district.

The panchayat would deal with three main types of the disputes and these are inheritance, marriage and divorce. The Punjab Wakf Board chairman Mohd. Izhar Alam explained that the panchayat would ensure speedy and inexpensive settlement of these kinds of disputes in the Muslim community in Punjab. In case the litigants were unsatisfied with verdict of the panchayat, they would be free to move to civil court.

Once the feasibility as well as demand of this panchayat is judged, there would be an inauguration of more panchayats of this kind in Punjab.

Shariat panchayats were already opened in states like Karnataka, Orissa, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

President of India Released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi

(current affair)

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 8 March 2013 released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi on occasion of his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Sahir Ludhianvi died on 25 October 1980 and was a renowned Urdu poet. He was known among the young for his poetry on beauty and love. Sahir Ludhianvi had converged Urdu poetry into the film songs as well. Also, he fought for recognition of lyric writers through the Film Writers Association.

During the release of the stamp, various dignitaries were present and these included Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology as well as Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Who: President of India, Pranab Mukherjee
Where: Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi
What: Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi
When: 8 March 2013

current affair

World Bank Barred Larsen &Turbo for six Months over Forgery

The World Bank in the month of March 2013 barred Larsen & Toubro (L&T) from doing any business with it or the projects funded by it for a period of six months, as it found that a senior executive of the conglomerate indulging in fraud.

The debarment has made L&T ineligible for being awarded of any contract of the World Bank Funded projects and also from receiving any loan proceeds made by the Bank or participating in any Bank-financed project. The debarment is supposed to continue till 6 September 2013.

The World Bank in its sanction order dated 7 March 2013 mentioned the fraudulent practices of L& T as per the bank’s procurement guidelines against fraud and corruption.

Consequences of the Ban imposed on L&T

During the debarment period, L&T as well as any of the entities controlled directly or indirectly by it cannot be nominated even sub-contractor, consultant, manufacturer, supplier or even service provider to an otherwise eligible firm being awarded a World Bank-financed project.

Reason behind the Debarment

The debarment aroused due to the discrepancy in a bid submitted by L&T through the Regional Business Head of its Medical Equipment and Systems unit to a bank-financed project in Tamil Nadu in September 2008

Bangaladeh confers Liberation War Honour on Pranab Mukherjee

March 8th, 2013

Bangladesh has extended his gratitude by conferring Liberation War Honor Award on Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, for his "outstanding contribution" to the 1971 war even as the country sees a massive youth-led uprising for "justice" for those who died in the conflict.

• India, during the tenure of Indira Gandhi as PM, had fought the 1971 war against East Pakistan for the independence and creation of Bangladesh.
• Mukherjee, in his acceptance speech made on June 15, 1971 in Rajya Sabha for a discussion over India’s role in the war, had suggested that India should accord diplomatic recognition to the government of Bangladesh in exile in Mujibnagar.
• In 2011, Bangladesh had conferred its highest honor, the Bangladesh Freedom Honour, former Indian premier Indira Gandhi posthumously, for her contribution to the creation of Bangladesh.

The Union Government of India approved Export of Additional 5 Million Tonnes of Wheat

 The Union Government of India on 7 March 2013 approved export of extra five million tonnes of Wheat from its Godowns. The group of ministers in its meeting also decided that the added quantity of 5 million tonnes of wheat shall be exported by the private traders. It also cleared that the public sector trading firms will not be a participant in export of the additional quantity of wheat.

The GoM (Group of Ministers) have also decided that bidding process would be used by the Private traders to export the 2011-12 crop and the floor price decided for per quintal is 1480 rupees.

For the present fiscal, the permitted export of wheat from the godowns of the Food Corporation of India now stands at 9.5 million tonnes.

India Ranked Third on the List of Spam Spewing Nation in the World

 India ranked third on list of countries which distribute spam all over the world, after US and China, as per the new report of SophosLabs. SophosLabs is the Sophos’s global network of threat analysis centres.

In the study, US was single highest ranking country, but Asia ranked at number 1 position in the list of the continents with 36.6 percent of overall spam of the world. US sent 18.3 percent of the junk emails overall in the world. In last few months of 2012, India topped the spam spewing nations’ list, but eventually fell back to the third position. Second position was held by China.

In the study, the spam sent from December 2012 to February 2013 was tracked. China and India took second and third positions respectively with 8.2 percent and 4.2 percent of the spam of the world.

Other countries which ranked high included South Korea, France, Italy and Peru. Peru was ranked at fourth position with 4.0 percent of the spam. With 3.4 percent each, France, South Korea and Italy ranked fifth. Russia and Taiwan shared eighth position with 2.9 percent. At tenth, eleventh and twelfth position were Spain (2.8 percent), Germany (2.7 percent) and Iran (2.6 percent).

In order to prevent spamming, the PC users can keep the anti-virus software updated and regularly run the malware checks. Apart from this, updating passwords regularly can also help.

SEBI to review insider trading norms through a committee

SEBI to review insider trading norms through a committee

March 8th, 2013

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has formed a panel under the chairmanship of former chief justice of Karnataka High Court Justice N. K. Sodhi to review insider trading norms to curb the menace of insider trading.
Why this move?
The SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations were introduced in 1992 to deter the practice of insider trading in the securities of listed companies. Since then, several amendments to the Regulations and judicial paradigm through case laws have also evolved in India. It is necessary to incorporate these changes to ensure that the regulatory framework dealing with insider trading in India is further bolstered.

Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu visits India

March 8th, 2013

Nobel laureate and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is also regarded as South Africa Moral Conscience, made a visit to Kochi in India and expressed his gratitude for our freedom heroes.

International Women's Day 2013 Celebrated Across the World  

current affairs 2013

8 March 2013: International Women's Day

International Women's Day is celebrated across the world on 8 March 2013. The theme for 2013 International Women's Day is- A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.

On this day, the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee laid emphasis on the monumental role of women in designing the country.

Nirbhaya to be honoured posthumously

The Para-medical student, popularly called Nirbhaya, who was gang raped in Delhi on 16 December 2012, will be honoured posthumously with the Stree Shakti award on the occasion of International Women's Day.

It was decided by the Women and Child Development Ministry that fighting spirit of Nirbhaya should be honoured with Stree Shakti awards which are conferred upon outstanding women of India. Pranab Mukherjee will give away the award to Nirbhaya’s family.

In order to mark the International Women's Day, various seminars and events are conducted across India.

SEBI enables two-way fungibility of IDRs

SEBI enables two-way fungibility of IDRs

current affairs in 2013

 March 6th, 2013

Holders of Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) will now have an option to convert it into shares of the issuing company. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued detailed guidelines which will allow shareholders to convert their depository receipts into equity shares of the issuer company and vice-versa.
The issuer could provide exchangeability to IDR holders by converting IDRs into underlying shares; or converting IDRs into underlying shares and selling the underlying shares in the foreign market where the shares of the issuer are listed and providing the sale proceeds to the IDR holders.
Existing IDR issuers can follow the new framework, and have to provide the option of redemption/conversion within three months from the date of completing a year of listing.
What are IDRs?

• IDRs are generally instruments denominated in rupees and allow overseas companies to raise funds from the Indian market.

How this step would help India’s capital market?

• This move of allowing for two-way fungibility of IDRs will encourage greater foreign participation in the Indian capital market. 
• So far only the UK-based banking major Standard Chartered PLC was listed as an IDR.

Tags: Banking • March 2013 • SEBI

Impose monetary limit for overseas use of cards: RBI

March 6th, 2013

The RBI has asked banks to fix a monetary limit for international transactions on credit and debit cards.More directives by the RBI:

• Banks should refrain from issuing cards with global access unless specifically sought by the customer.
• A monetary limit of $500 should be imposed by the issuing bank on all global cards which had not been used in the past.
• There should be a threshold limit for international usage for all active international cards issued by banks.
• Banks should evolve a system that enables implementation of additional factor of authentication for cards issued in India and used internationally to make electronic modes of payment such as RTGS, and NEFT safer.
• Banks should introduce a system to put a limit to number of beneficiaries that could be added in one day by each account.

Why all these steps are needed?

• The RBI has notified this following cyber attacks which have become more unpredictable and electronic payment systems becoming vulnerable to new types of misuse.
• These initiatives are needed to ensure that transactions effected through electronic channels are safe and secure and not easily amenable to fraudulent usage.

Services defeat Kerala to win 67th Santosh Trophy

Services defeat Kerala to win 67th Santosh Trophy

current affairs in 2013

 March 6th, 2013

Services beat hosts Kerala in the final of the 67th Santosh Trophy football tournament played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. It was the third Santosh Trophy title for the Services.
Man of the Match: Services striker Lalian Mawia.

‘International Women of Courage Award’ to Delhi victim

‘International Women of Courage Award’ to Delhi victim

 current affairs in 2013

March 6th, 2013

United States to honor the 23-year-old Delhi braveheart with the International Women of Courage Award. The first lady Michelle Obama and the secretary of state John Kerry will present the award.
The secretary of state’s International Women of Courage Award annually recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk.

Rajasthani writer Hariram Meena chosen for Bihari Puraskar

Rajasthani writer Hariram Meena chosen for Bihari Puraskar

 current affairs in 2013

March 6th, 2013

Famous Rajasthani author Hariram Meena will be conferred with the Bihari Puraskar for 2012 for his Hindi novel ‘Dhooni Tape Teer’. The novel is based on sacrifices of scores of tribal people at Mangarh mountains near Banswara in Rajasthan on November 17, 1913 when British forces had resorted to gunfire to contain their revolt.
About Bihari Puraskar
Bihari Puraskar was instituted by the K K Birla Foundation in 1991 and is given annually to Rajasthani writers for outstanding literary works in Hindi or Rajasthani published in the past 10 years. The award carries a citation and a cash purse of Rs 1 lakh.  The Foundation also gives other prestigious awards — Saraswati Samman and Vyas Samman — for extraordinary literary works.

New format of civil services exams declared

New format of civil services exams declared

 current affairs in 2013

March 6th, 2013

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has notified fresh changes in the format of country’s prestigious exam- the Civil Services Exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The decision had come in the wake of recommendations of a committee headed by Prof Arun S Nigavekar, former Chairman, UGC.

Airtel starts HD voice service in Africa

Airtel starts HD voice service in Africa

 current affairs in 2013

March 6th, 2013

Bharti Airtel has launched high quality voice service for its subscribers in Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi and Nigeria in the African sub-continent.
What is HD voice and how is it better?
Mobile HD voice is high quality voice service which enables high quality voice calls as it cuts down the background noise often heard on a regular call. This service is based on AMR (Adaptive Multi Rate) wideband technology (W-AMR) which operates with nine different bit rates, providing high quality voice calls. Compared to the current narrow-band speech codec device, the W-AMR speech-compression algorithm doubles voice bandwidth and produces better results.

Mukul Manda Sangma Sworn-In As the Chief Minister of Meghalaya

 current affairs in 2013

 

Mukul Manda Sangma of Congress was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second term on 5 March 2013. He took oath for the second term as 26th Chief Minister of the state.

The Governor, R.S. Mooshahary administered him the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan premises in Shillong. 47-year old Mukul Sangma led the Congress with 29 seats, merely two seats short of the majority in a house of 60. He was sworn-in without the Council of Ministers. 

Venezuela's president died of heart attack

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez passed away

 current affairs in 2013

 

March 6th, 2013

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died of cancer. His death ended 14 years of his rule that made the socialist leader a hero for the poor but a hate figure to his opponents.

Neiphiu Rio sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland

 current affairs in 2013

 

Neiphiu Rio was sworn in for a third straight term as Chief Minister of Nagaland on Tuesday along with 11 ministers by the Governor at a glittering function at the Raj Bhavan in Kohima.

All the eleven ministers were from his own party, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), which had won 38 seats in the 60-member house.

The NPF is supported by two alliance partners, BJP and JD(U) with one MLA each, while it has the unconditional support of 7 Independents.

Governor Nikhil Kumar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 63-year-old chief minister, followed by his ministers, Noke Konyak, T. R. Zeliang, G. Kaito Aye, Imkong L. Imchen, Kuzholuzo Nienu, Kiyaneilie Peseyie, Yanthungo Patton, C M Chang, E E Pangteang, S Pangyuh Phom and R Merentoshi Jamir.

Largest Saltwater Crocodile of the World, Lolong Died in Philippines
 
The largest saltwater crocodile of the world, named Lolong died in Philippines on 10 February 2013 just 17 months after it was captured and put for tourists on display.
Lolong measured 6.17 metres or 20.24 feet. The largest crocodile of the world died because of illness that is not known. It is believed that Lolong was over 50 years old.
A hunting party that was sanctioned by the government captured Lolong in September 2011. The largest crocodile of the world became a source of tourist attraction.
Lolong was declared officially as the largest crocodile of its kind in captivity by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012. It beat the record of 5.48-metre crocodile named Cassius which was kept in park in an island off Queensland, Australia.
Lolong belonged to the family of species called Crocodylus Porosus, or the Indo-Pacific crocodile, which is said to be the largest reptile of the world.

Russia and US to sign agreement on defence co-operation

 current affairs in 2013

March 3rd, 2013

Russia and the United States have decided to sign an agreement envisaging cooperation of the two nations on missile defence systems and not to use them against each other. There is a standoff b/w the two countries on the U.S. global missile defence. Washington is providing security guarantees to Moscow that the system is not aimed at Russian nuclear deterrence forces.
U.S. will provide a “presidential agreement” that does not require legislative approval. President Vladimir Putin for his part will sign a memorandum of understanding confirming the agreement.

Hugo Chavez in chemotherapy but in 'good spirits', says Venezuela

 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in "good spirits" but fighting for his life as he undergoes chemotherapy in a Caracas military hospital, the vice president said, revealing new details about the leftist leader's treatment.

Nicolas Maduro, the leftist leader's political heir, rejected Friday a wave of rumors about Chavez's health and lashed out at the opposition, which accused him of lying about the president's condition.

Maduro disclosed for the first time that Chavez began chemotherapy following his fourth round of cancer surgery in Cuba in December and decided to continue the treatment in Caracas on February 18.