May 2013

Rohinton F Nariman

Rohinton F Nariman, the Solicitor-General of India resigned from his office. He was appointed at the second highest law official of India on 23 July 2011 after Gopal Subramanium resigned from his office on 14 July 2011 following the issues with Government in context to the 2G Spectrum Allocation Scam. Nariman was designated as a senior advocate at the age of 37, when M.N. Venkatachaliah, the Chief Justice of India amended the rules and reduced the age from 45 years for designating a lawyer as a senior advocate. In the history of last four decades, only three Solicitor Generals have been successful in completing his five year term in the office and they are - L N Sinha from 1972-77, Dipankar Gupta from 1992-97 and G E Vahanvati from 2004-09.

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI announced on 11 February 2013 that he would resign at the end of the month. He reasoned that he was too infirm to carry on. He is the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years.

The decision set the stage for the election of a new Pope before the end of March 2013. Pope Benedict XVI is 85 years old. He had become the Pope in 2005. The last Pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who took this step in 1415 to put an end to the Great Western Split among competing papal claimants.

Doraemon

Bangladesh banned the Japanese cartoon Doraemon in the third week of February 2013 because of the fears that children watching the Hindi-dubbed version were struggling to cope up with their native language- Bangla. Information Minister of Bangladesh Hasanul Haque Inu declared that all television channels which screened Doraemon were sent official notifications in which it was ordered that all the series should be taken off-air.
The minister declared that the Government of Bangladesh did not want the educational atmosphere of the children to be disturbed by this Japanese cartoon. It was demanded by the lawmakers that television channels should be permitted to air only those foreign cartoons which were dubbed in Bengali. Doraemon is a Japanese cartoon character created by manga artist Fujiko F. Fujio. The character is actually a robotic cat to help pre-teen boy named Nobita.

Sanjay Dutt

The Supreme Court of India, on 21 March 2013 sentenced Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt to a sentence of 5 years in jail because of his association with the 1993 bombings in Mumbai. The decision was given by a bench of Justice PS Sathasivam and BS Chauhan. Sanjay Dutt, 53, was held for acquiring illegal weapons for Mumbai bombings in 1993 which killed 257 people.

The Apex Court upheld his conviction under the Arms Act, but brought down the 6-year imprisonment given by TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act) court to 5 years. He has already served 18 months in a jail in Pune, which means that he will have to serve remaining three-and-a-half year sentence. In 2007, he was found guilty of acquiring AK-56 rifle as well as a pistol illegally. He was one of the high profile people among 100 who were found associated with the bombing trial. Mumbai bombings took place in 1993. India’s most wanted Dawood Ibrahim was responsible for the bombings.

About Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act(TADA)

The TADA was an active Indian Law from 1985 to 1995. The aim of the Act was to prevent the terrorist activities primarily taking place in Punjab. The Act came into force in 1985 and was renewed in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Because of allegations of abuse of TADA, the Act was lapsed in 1995.

Giuseppe Orsi

Giuseppe Orsi, head of an Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica was arrested in Milan on the charges of his alleged involvement in the bribery activity to secure an Indian defence helicopter deal of 3600 crore rupees. He was arrested in relation to the probe of the international corruption.

The Deal

The contract signed with Italian defence giant Finmeccanica in February 2010 involved supply of 12 VVIP three-engine AW-101 choppers from Agusta Westland for the Indian Air Force’s elite Communication Sqadron. By now, three choppers have already been delivered to India. As per the reports on the bribe scam, it’s expected that about 362 crore rupees that is equivalent to about 10 percent of the final deal was given back to help the Italian firm in winning the contract.

About Finmeccanica

The Finmeccanica is an Italian defence Giant company that entered into a deal to supply 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters to India in February 2010. Giuseppe Orsi, now the CEO of Finmeccanica and the then head of its Helicopter Unit was arrested on the charges of the bribe scandal that surfaced.

Agusta Westland

AgustaWestland is an Anglo-Italian helicopter company that is owned by Italy’s Finmeccanica. The company is a total capability provider in the vertical lift market.

Afzal Guru

Mohamammed Afzal Guru, the convict of 2001 Parliament attack was hanged on 9 February 2013 at 8 AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi. The Supreme Court of India pronounced the death Sentence for Afzal Guru in 2004 for masterminding the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001.

The decision of hanging him came after the mercy petition filed was cancelled by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 23 January 2013.

The 2001 Parliament Attack

The terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad managed to attack on the Parliament of India, leading to the death of about a dozen of people including the security persons as well as civilians.

BOOKS

Reinventing Leadership

The First Woman President of India, Reinventing leadership, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil written by

Professor Sunaina Singh. The Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari on 19 March 2013 released a book titled The First Woman President of India, Reinventing leadership, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil. The book is written on the former President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil by Professor Sunaina Singh. The book is not just a biography of the former President, Pratibha Devisingh Patil but also highlights various kinds of issues in India.

Walking With Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past

The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari released a book titled Walking with Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past, written by K. Natwar Singh, the former Union Minister for External Affairs on 1 March 2013. In the book, experiences of Natwar Singh have been described in interesting approach. The book will enlighten the readers. In the book, K. Natwar Singh.

Indian Saga of Steel

The Union Minister for Steel, Beni Prasad Verma released a Coffee Table Book titled Indian Saga of Steel in New Delhi on 4 March 2013. The book which is brought out by the Ministry of Steel depicts about the progress of the Indian Steel Industry as well as its milestones from initial years to the present. The book- Indian Saga of Steel includes nine chapters. Apart from the milestones and development of the steel industry, names as well as brief profiles of some of the major steel companies in India can also be found. Areas of R&D, New Technologies, Environment and CSR can also be found in the book. Other details of the book include photos of various units of plants. On the release occasion of the book, a film based on Indian Steel Industry was screened as well. On the occasion of release of the book, Member of Parliament and Chairman, JSPL Naveen Jindal; the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, D.R.S. Chaudhary and certain senior officials from Ministry of Steel were also present.

Netaji Subhash  Chandra Bose and Germany

First copy of the book titled Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Germany by Professor Anita B. Pfaff was given to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 6 February 2013.
The book was brought out by the Federation of Indo-German Societies in India. The book is a collection of the records shared by Professor Anita Pfaff as well as other known biographers and writers. The book depicts interesting facts about the life of Netaji and his contribution to freedom struggle of India. The President described the book as a tribute to Netaji.

John Kerry

John Kerry was sworn-in as the 68th Secretary of State of the United States. With the consent of the Senate, John Kerry was appointed as the Chief Foreign Affairs Adviser of the President. John Kerry succeeded Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Secretary of State has the role of carrying out the foreign policies of the President through the State Department that encompasses Civil Service, Foreign Service and U.S. Agency for International Development. Under the Article II of US Constitution, the President has an authority to nominate any candidate for the Cabinet posts. The Senate thereafter, accepts or rejects the candidate. John Kerry was appointed with the consent of the Senate.

About John Kerry

• John Kerry was born in Colorado on 11 December 1943.

• He was elected as the Lieutenant Governor in 1982.

• In 1984, he was elected to the United States Senate. He won re-election for four times since then.

• At present, John Kerry is the 10th most senior Senator in US as well as the second longest serving Senator in the office.

• He held senior positions in the Senate in Commerce, Finance as well as Small Business Committees.

• In 2004, John Kerry contested in the Presidential elections against George Bush. John Kerry was the nominee of the Democratic Party and he lost closely in the Presidential Elections.

David Cameron

David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was on a visit to India. During his three day visit to India, the Prime Minister met the President of India Pranab Mukherjee as well as the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Major Agreements Reached and Announced

• Agreement on more cooperation to combat with the cyber attacks, which included police training exchanges and research into online security, was reached between the two nations

• Agreement on doubling the overall trade to 23 billion Euro’s by 2015 was reached

• David Cameron promised that his country will respond to any request for information in relation to the corruption allegations over India’s procurement of helicopters from the Anglo-Italian company AgustaWestland

• Cameron outlined a same-day visa scheme to make the process easier for India’s business community in his country

• Cameron invited the Indian students to come up the United Kingdom to pursue higher studies in the country

During his stay in India, David Cameron visited the Golden Temple, Amritsar and the Jallianwala Bagh Public Gardens. He described the shootings as a Deeply Shameful event, but defended to deliver a formal British apology for the event, where more than 379 innocent Indians were killed at the orders of the then Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer. He is the first serving British prime minister to visit the site of 1919 Jallianwala Bagh shootings.

Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley

Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley was on the home visit to India. During his visit to India he met with President of Indian Union-Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vice-President of India-Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister-Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance-P Chidambaram and Foreign Secretary-Ranjan Mathai. His visit was aimed at improving India-Bhutan bilateral relationship.

He is the Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan from 2008, after Bhutan became a democratic country. Bhutan became the youngest democracy of the world on 6 November 2008.

• He was the secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1992

• In 1994 was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs

• In 1994 he became Bhutan’s Permanent Representative to the office of United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva

• Lyonchhen served as the Prime Minister of Bhutan twice before introduction of Democracy in the nation and the period included July 1998 to July 1999 and August 2003 to August 2004.

Delhi Counted Among Five Indian Hotspots of Illegal Trade of Tigers

As per the joint report by Global wildlife trade monitoring Network TRAFFIC and WWF Tigers Alive Initiative, titled Reduced to Skin and Bones Revisited, Delhi, Sunderbans and the Western Ghats emerged as the hotspots of illegal trade of tigers their parts and products. The report which was released in Bangkok in Second week of March 2013 laid claim that tigers were being poached in most of the 13 tiger range countries including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Based on the information with regard to India, five hotspot locations have been identified. The other four hotspots were close to protected areas in different parts of the country — Ramnagar in Uttar Pradesh which lies along to the entrance of Corbett National Park, the towns of Balgahat and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh where the Kanha and Pench National Park is located, Kolkata and areas spanning south to the edge of the Sunderbans in Bengal and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats. Also as per the report, the National Capital Region is an exception among the hot spots as it is not located in or near to any tiger landscapes. The shocking part of the report concluded after an examination on trade of leopard parts and products is that Delhi accounts for more than 26 per cent of all leopards seized, making it the most important hub of illegal trade in the country.

The Other major outcome of the Reports

• On Sundarbans hotspot, the report says that seizures on the Bangladeshi side have been at a much lower rate in comparison to India, the most recent seizure there was in 2011 when a suspect was found in possession of three tiger heads, four tiger skins, and 24 kg of bones.

• As per the report Corbett and the adjacent Ramnagar Forest division have healthy tiger populations, they remain a prime target for poachers and in 2012 a poaching group was found hiding out in the protected zone of the park with traps.

• As per the latest analysis of arrogations, which includes new data for 2010-2012, it aws revealed that parts of more than 1400 tigers have been seized across Asia in the past 13 years.

• The report has also arrived at a conclusion with its finding that parts of at least 1425 tigers had been seized from twelve of 13 tiger range countries between 2000 and 2012. Cambodia was the only exception from where no seizures were recorded at all during the period.

• A Prominent finding in the report was the high rate of seizures of live tigers . 61 individuals were seized in the three-year period since the last full CITES meeting took place in 2010, representing 50 per cent of overall numbers (123) recorded since 2000, it says.

• Thailand was the most significant location for interdiction of live tiger trade (30), followed by Lao PDR (11) and Indonesia (9) and Vietnam (4).

A total of 654 seizures of tiger parts ranging from skin to bones, to teeth, claws and skulls took place during this period, an average of 110 tigers killed for trade per year or just over two per week. The report was launched on 8 March 2013 at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok.

The Prime Minister of India Visited South Africa

The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Durban, South Africa for the 5th BRICS Summit which took place from 25 March 2013 to 28 March 2013. The central area of discussion was under the overarching theme, BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation. As the current BRICS Chair, India received the unstinted support of its partners in successfully implementing the ambitious agenda adopted at the New Delhi Summit in March 2012.

The 5th BRICS Summit in Durban gave an opportunity to India for making progress on initiatives which were launched in Delhi. This would enable deepening of intra-BRICS cooperation. During the visit, the PM held bilateral meetings with other BRICS leaders. During his visit, the PM met with the leaders of BRICS nations, i.e., leaders from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.

Retd. Justice Bhatt to Conduct Judicial Probe in Allahabad Railway Station Stampede

The State Government of Uttar Pradesh appointed Onkareshwar Bhatt, the retired Justice of Allahabad High Court to conduct Judicial Probe into the Allahabad Railway Station Stampede that occurred during Kumbh Mela. The constituted committee that will probe into the matter is a one-man committee and was directed to submit its report in two months. The State Government ordered a Judicial Probe into the incident that occurred on the day of Mauni Amawasya 10 February 2013 at the Allahabad Railway Station during Kumbh Mela.

Other Two Committees conducting Inquiry on the Case

• Earlier, the state Government appointed Jagan Mathuews, Chairman of the UP Board of Revenue to conduct an inquiry and submit its report within one month.

• Railways have also appointed an Inquiry Committee being headed by the Additional member traffic Railway Board, to look into the matter

An inquiry committee that was constituted by the Railways to look into the matter; the committee is being headed by the Additional member traffic Railway Board.

May 2013

Justice Usha Mehra Commission

Justice Usha Mehra Commission submitted its report to on the 16 December 2012 Delhi gang-rape incident to the Union Government of India. The report was received by the Union Minister of Law and Justice Ashwani Kumar and the Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh.

Major findings of the Usha Mehra Commission

• Lack of Coordination between the Police and the transport department

• Lack of cooperation between the police of National Capital Territory and National Capital Region plays a great role in escape of the criminals from one place to another

• Lack of PCR vans and public transport facility in Delhi

Usha Mehra Commission

The Usha Mehra Commission was constituted by the Union Government on 26 December 2012 to inquire into the different aspects of the brutal rape and assault incident of the girl on 16 December 2012 on the streets of Delhi. The commission was asked to submit the report within three months. Retired Delhi High Court Judge, Usha Mehra was the head of this commission.

UN Human Development Report 2013

The UN Human Development Report 2013 was released on 14 March 2013, according to which India has poor Gender Inequality Index, apart from the overall poor Human Development Index (HDI). Apart from Afghanistan that got a rank of 147 in comparison to 132 of India, all the countries in the region of South Asia were ranked higher on Gender Inequality Index. China was also ranked very high on Gender Inequality Index. This Gender Inequality Index measures the inequality in terms of achievements between males and females in three main aspects namely, labour market, reproductive health and empowerment.

Women Representation in Parliament

Women representation in Parliament in India is only 10.9 percent. The only worse country than India is Iran with 3.1 percent. The country that has best representation of women in Parliament is Nepal with 33.2 percent.

Maternal Mortality Ratio

India ranks badly on the Maternal Mortality Ratio as well. Maternal Mortality Ratio measures the ratio of the number of maternal deaths to the number of live births in a given year. It is expressed per 100000 live births. In India, for every 100000 births, 200 women die during the childbirth or due to complications in childbearing. The only countries to have higher Maternal Mortality Ratio than India are Bangladesh (240), Pakistan (260) and Afghanistan (460). The countries with lowest Maternal Mortality Ratio are Sri Lanka (35) and Iran (21).

What is Human Development Index (HDI)?

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a combined index which measures the average achievements of the countries in three main human development dimensions. These dimensions are decent standard of living, knowledge and long and healthy life.

In the 2013 Human Development Index (HDI) report, analysis of the 40 developing countries in South Asia was done.

Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani retained his title as the richest person of India for the sixth consecutive year with the net worth of 21.5 billion US Dollars, according to the annual rankings published by Forbes on 4 March 2013. The richest man in the world for fourth time in a row was Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim with the net worth of 73 billion US Dollars. In the overall list of the billionaires of the world, Mukesh Ambani was ranked at number 22. Lakshmi Mittal, on the other hand was ranked at 41st position with the net worth of 16.5 billion US Dollars. The first in the list was Carlos Slim, followed by Bill Gates with the net worth of 67 billion US Dollars, Spain’s Amancio Ortega with net worth of 57 billion US Dollars, Warren Buffett with the net worth of 53.5 billion US Dollars and Larry Ellison with the net worth of 43 billion US Dollars. A total of 55 billionaires from India appeared on the list of 1426 people from the world who have a minimum net worth of 1 billion US Dollars. Among Indians, Mukesh Ambani as well as Lakshmi Mittal were followed by Azim Premji, Dilip Shanghvi, Shashi & Ravi Ruia, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Savitri Jindal, Sunil Mittal, Shiv Nadar, K P Singh and Anil Ambani.

Durban, South Africa

The fifth BRICS Summit took place in Durban, South Africa from 25 March 2013 to 28 March 2013. This was the first time that BRICS Summit took place in South Africa. The most important theme for Durban Summit was Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialization between the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Heads of these five countries along with around 2000 conference delegates, international media-persons and international and South African business people attended the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban.

Universal Periodic Review Report on Human Rights in Lanka adopted by UNHRC

The Universal Periodic Review Report on Human Rights in Sri Lanka was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva after a short debate on 15 March 2013. The report was prepared by a group of three countries that was chaired by the India. Serious concerns were expressed by the international fraternity including United States and United Kingdom for non-implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report in true spirit.

Environmental Performance Index

The National Capital of India, Delhi emerged as worst place in terms of key parameters of environment in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) was started by the Planning Commission. In 2011, Delhi ranked at number 26 and now slipped down to number 32 in 2012. EPI Project was started three years ago, but its results were published for the first time as per the analysis of data which was supplied by 35 states as well as union territories. EPI was developed to measure the environmental well being of states. The rankings of EPI reflect the performance of the states depending upon 16 green indicators which are divided under five main categories- water quality, air quality, waste management, measures undertaken for climate change adaptation as well as state of the forests. All the states in India were asked to submit their detailed report on these parameters. Delhi’s cumulative score was 0.4246 in comparison to 0.7696 of the top ranker, Andhra Pradesh. Delhi’s rank was 32 among various states and union territories. The state that achieves the score 1 reflects cleaner environment, adherence to environmental standards, implementation of necessary legislation as well as conduction of efforts for the conservation of natural resources.

The best performing states with their scores are as follows:

• Andhra Pradesh: 0.7696

• Sikkim: 0.7478

• Himachal Pradesh: 0.7414

• Madhya Pradesh: 0.7334

• Maharashtra: 0.7167

UNDP Report

The United National Development Programme (UNDP) on 14 March 2013 at Georgetown Club, United States released its UNDP Human Development Report 2013. The report in its findings revealed that South Asia leads the world in improvements in human development. The report clarified that the South Asian Countries achieved widespread gains in terms of human development across the developing world from 2000 to 2012. The report titled The Rise of the South Human Progress in a Diverse World also identified investment in Education and taking care of the environment as the two key factors that can contribute in the making of the healthy development. It also indicated that although Afghanistan experienced several rapid gains but it lagged far behind in the race of development. The progress in human development in context of India, Bangladesh and the other South Asian nation helped in driving a historic shift in global dynamics due to which millions of people have raised themselves out of poverty and billions are at the edge of joining the fast growing middle class.

The growth in Human Development achieved by different Nations

• Afghanistan and it was 3.9 percent (fastest)

• Pakistan achieved 1.7 percent

• Indian 1.7 percent

• Sri Lanka 0.7 percent (least growth achieved)

The findings of the report are based on the analysis of more than 40 developing countries that achieved striking human development gains in recent past. The term South and North in the report is used to denote developing countries and developed countries respectively.

National Commitments that are attributed to be the reason for the achievements made by the developing countries included

• Better public health and education services

• Innovative poverty eradication programs

• Strategic engagement with the world economy

The report in its findings also defined that the speed and scale with which the South had risen was dramatic and stressed that never in the history, living conditions of the people changed in such a dramatic condition and have driven the global economic growth and societal change for the first time in centuries.

Significance of the Changes

• The economic take-offs of China and India started with about 1 billion people in each of these countries and within 20 years the output per capita of these doubled, which means that an economic force have affected a much larger section of the population, than that happened after the industrial revolution

• The report also summed up that the combined economic output of the three nations namely Brazil, India and China will cross the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the

United StatesReport Findings in Context of India

India’s investments on the world-class tertiary education, openness to trade and investments, building of human capabilities allowed India to develop technology enabled industries that are supported by a huge support of its skilled labour. The automobile, pharmaceutical, chemical and service industry of India also grew at a fast pace and allowed it to tap into thje world market.

Results of such Policies for India

• India’s trade output ratio increased to 46.3 percent in 2010 from 15.7 percent in 1990

• FDI in GDP went up to 3.6 percent from 0.1 percent in 1990

• Eight World’s largest fortune 500 listed corporations were Indian in 2011

• India’s stand to offer affordable capital goods that suits to the requirements of the people in south than form the goods from the west also offered India a chance to be a global economic power

Lolong

The largest saltwater crocodile of the world, named Lolong died in Philippines, 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.

King of Bhutan

The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema respectively visited India. King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was invited by the Indian President to be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day Celebrations of India.

The visit of the King of Bhutan and his acceptance to be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebration would contribute to further strengthening and expansion of the bilateral relation and ties between Bhutan and India. During his visit, the King of Bhutan met with President of India, the Vice-President, Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson, Leader of Opposition in Lok sabha, Foreign Secretary, National Security Advisor.

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme

Finance Minister P Chidambaram launched the much-awaited Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai. The move will encourage new investors to put their money in the stock market. The scheme, which was announced in the Budget 2011-12, seeks to provide tax benefits to first-time investors in stock market. Under the scheme, an individual with an income of less than 10 lakh rupees would get tax incentives for investing up to 50000 rupees in the stock market.

As per the notification issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on the scheme, there would be a lock-in period of one year on investments made under the scheme.

Hyderabad

Two bomb blasts took place in Dilsukhnagar, the busy shopping area of Hyderabad, the Capital City of Andhra Pradesh. 14 people were reported dead and 119 were critically injured in the serial blasts that rocked the city around 6:50 pm. Investigations were ordered by both the Central Government and the State Government to find out the group involved in the blast. The State Government of Andhra Pradesh appointed a probe team into the matter. The blasts were triggered using the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), which were placed on two different bicycles at a distance of 100 meters from each other near Konark and Venkatadri theatres. The area of blasts lie on the Hyderabad-Vijaywada National Highway within Cyberabad police limits.

Dilsukhnagar

Dilsukhnagar is a commercial and educational hub of Hyderabad. The market of Dilsukhnagar is packed with shops, restaurants, educational institutions, exam preparation centers and theaters.

Blasts in recent past in Hyderabad

A bomb blast occurred at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad in May 2007 claiming lives of 9 people.
Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi
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.

Rajkeswur Purryag

Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Republic of Mauritius visited India. He was accompanied by Aneetah Purryag as well as the Ministers of Arts & Culture and of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, and senior officials.

Key highlights of his visit:

• Rajkeswur Purryag was the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013 from 8 January 2013 to 9 January 2013.

• President Purryag was honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award.

• President Purryag met President Pranab Mukherjee and also held talks with PM Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on 4 January 2013.

• President Purryag also visited Patna, Tirupati as well as Kochi during the visit. He visited ancestral village, Bojeetpore near Patna in Bihar.

Commemorative Postal Stamp at XXXIII Convocation of PGIMER

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 15 March 2013 released a commemorative postal stamp at XXXIII Convocation of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) at Chandigarh. The President attended the 33rd Convocation of PGIMER. The President announced that for the future of India, progress in health sector was crucial. The stamp was released as the part of Golden Jubilee Celebrations of PGIMER. It is important to note that PGIMER includes doctors, students, facultuy members as well as officials of UT Administration, Punjab and Haryana.

Shubh Yatra

Ministry of Civil Aviation released Shubh Yatra, an exclusive monthly bi-lingual (Hindi & English) inflight magazine of Air India. It covers travel, lifestyle, culture and entertainment in all colour and spice. This is the new name of the inflight magazine.

NIPFP Report

A 1000 page report submitted by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) to the finance ministry estimated that unlawful wealth would exceed 10 percent or more of GDP, i.e., above 10 lakh crore Rupees as per the size of the economy. The study was commissioned by NIPFP in last week of December 2012 in order to quantify the black money that was generated in India. The study conducted by NIPFP was headed by the head of NIPFP’s tax policy and research and also included former director general of income tax investigation. The report presented a sector-wise division of the scope of black money in India, for example, telecom sector, mining sector and real estate sector. A similar study like this was conducted last time by NIPFP in 1984 where it was estimated that black money generated in India was 19 percent to 21 percent of GDP, i.e., up to 36000 crore Rupees. The government, in order to combat this had also selected three thinking tanks in March 2011 in order to estimate the quantum of black money. These three thinking tanks were- National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCEAR) and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). Before this, NIPFP had also carried out the studies in 1976 and 1981 where it was estimated that black money in India was around 15-18 percent of GDP and 18-21 percent of GDP respectively.

The previous estimated of black money generated in India, as per the study of NIPFP are as follows:

• 1975-76: 15-18 percent of GDP, i.e., 9958 to 11870 crore Rupees

• 1980-81: 18-21 percent of GDP, i.e., 20362 to 23678 crore Rupees

• 1983-84: 19-21 percent of GDP, i.e., 31584 to 36784 crore Rupees

About National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)

• National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) is the centre for research in public finance and public policy. It was established in 1976.

• Primary aim of NIPFP is contributing to policy making in areas which are related to public economics.

• The annual grant-in-aid is received by NIPFP from Ministry of Finance, Government of India and from various State Governments.

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