Indian diplomat Abhay Kumar writes anthem for SAARC
In a bid to foster regional consciousness and bring member states closer, Kathmandu-based Indian diplomat Abhay Kumar composed an anthem for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SAARC Anthem by Kumar will be translated in Hindi, English, Nepali, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Sinhala, Dzongkha and Dhivehi, languages spoken in the South Asian region.
Who is Abhay Kumar ?
Indian poet, artist and diplomat.
First secretary, Press, Information and Communication, Indian Embassy.
The Earth Anthem written, produced and directed by him in eight languages.
Wrote first ever South Asian Anthem
Honoured with the SAARC Literary Award for his contribution to contemporary South Asian Poetry and nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2013.
2011: Gov2. award on behalf of the Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs.
Note - ‘ASEAN Way’ is ASEAN’s anthem , the European Union use ‘Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 (Ode to Joy)‘ and ‘Let’s All Unite and Celebrate Together’ is the anthem of the African Union.
Dabhol – Bangalore gas pipeline launched
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated to the Nation GAIL India Ltd’s 1,000 km long natural gas pipeline from Dabhol to Bangalore during the inaugural ceremony of the 8th Asia Gas Partnership Summit (AGPS).
About Dabhol-Banglore Gas Pipeline:
Constructed in a period of 19 months
Investment of 4500 crore (US$690 million)
Design capacity of 16 MMSCMD of natural gas which can produce 3,000 MW of clean energy
Starts at Dabhol in Maharashtra and passes through Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag, Bellary, Devanagere, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Ramanagaram, Bangalore Rural and Bangalore Urban districts.
Connects South India to the national gas grid for the first time.
Traverses via 18 National Highways, 382 roads, 20 railway tracks, 11 major rivers and 276 water bodies, including Asia’s largest river crossing in the rocky terrain at Ghatprabha.
Construction involved pipeline laying in some of the world’s steepest slopes of 60 to 70 degrees and sharp elevations of upto 700 meters in a 3.5 km stretch.
India’s CAD improves to $ 5.2 billion in second quarter
India’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) has improved significantly to $ 5.2 billion (1.2% of GDP) in the second quarter (July-September) of this fiscal mainly due to decrease in gold imports and increase in exports.
As per the RBI, the (CAD), the difference between outflow and inflow of foreign exchange, stood at $ 21 billion, or 5% of the GDP, in the second quarter of last fiscal. On a Balance of Payment (BoP) basis, there was a narrowing of foreign exchange reserves of $10.4 billion in second quarter as compared to that of USD 0.2 billion in the same period of last fiscal.
Improvement in trade deficit combined with a surge in net invisibles receipts resulted in a reduction of the CAD to $26.9 billion (3.1% of GDP) in H1 of 2013-14 from $37.9 billion (4.5% of GDP) in H1 of 2012-13.
The government has set a target to contain the CAD at $70 billion or 3.7% of GDP and the fiscal deficit at 4.8% of the GDP this fiscal (2013-14). At present, both the government and RBI are expecting the CAD to be below $56 billion in the current fiscal compared to the record high of USD 88.2 billion, or 4.8% of the GDP last fiscal.
In addition to rise in exports, a number of steps taken by the RBI paid off in improving the CAD. The central bank reduced the import of gold by hiking the import duty to 10% and restricting import of gold bars and medallions. During the period when rupee was depreciating, it took measures to boost exports.
As a result, gold imports have declined from 142 tonnes in April and 162 tonnes in May to 23.5 tonnes in October, 11.16 tonnes in September, 3.38 tonnes in August and 47.75 tonnes in July. In 2012-13, India imported an estimated 835 tonnes of gold, a key reason for the record CAD of $88.2 billion, or 4.8% of GDP.
India Post offers Express Parcel and Business Parcel services
India’s Department of Post (DoP) has launched two new parcel services namely ‘Express Parcel’ and ‘Business Parcel’. India Post aims to generate revenue of Rs 100 crore from these services.
Express Parcel: It is an air mail service for retail and bulk customers under which parcel will be shipped through airlines. India Post has fixed service charge for Express Parcels in the range of Rs.30 (local service) to Rs.80 (for delivery in other state) for items weighing up to Rs.500 gram. It will charge Rs. 8 to Rs.20 for additional 500 gram up to 5 kg and Rs.10 to Rs.22 for every additional 500 gm thereafter. This service will be initially available between 20 identified cities—Agra, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Patna, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Pune, Parwanoo, Shillong, Surat and Thiruvananthapuram.
Business Parcel: It is a contractual service, designed to suit requirement of business customers for an economical and reliable distribution solution. It will provide an economical distribution solution to its customers using surface transmission modes. Customers will have to pay in the range of Rs.45 to Rs.115 for items weighing up to 2 kg, Rs.12 to Rs.30 for additional 1 kg up to 5 kg and Rs.14 to Rs.32 thereafter for every 1 kg. This service will have nationwide coverage.
Parcels booked under both the services will be delivered at most in 72 hours.
NASA discovers signs of water in atmosphere five distant planets
NASA scientists have found signs of water in the atmospheres of five distant planets.
Though some previous studies have also reported the presence of atmospheric water on a few exoplanets orbiting stars beyond the solar system, but this is the first study to conclusively measure and compare the profiles and intensities of these signatures on multiple worlds.
Which are the five planets where NASA has found signs of water?
The five planets are:
WASP-17b
HD209458b
WASP-12b
WASP-19b
XO-1b e
Karnataka Assembly passes rigorous ESMA Bill
The Legislative Assembly of Karnataka passed a stringent Essential Services Maintenance Bill (ESMA), 2013 which will render striking work a non-bailable offence and empowers the police to arrest a striking employee without warrant.
Why Essential Services Maintenance Bill (ESMA), 2013?
The Essential Services Maintenance Bill (ESMA), 2013 aims to restrain employees working in water, power, health, transport and service sectors from going on strikes, inconveniencing people. The bill defines ‘Essential Services’ as any service connected with the production, generation, storage, transmission, supply or distribution of water or electricity and any transportation service for the carriage of passengers or goods by motor vehicles. It empowers the government to declare even those services that the State has powers to make laws for under List II of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, as essential services.
As per the bill, upon conviction, those who commence a strike or continue to go on strike or take part in any strike will be penalized with a sentence up to 1 year or with fine up to Rs 5,000 or both. Those inciting or funding strikes also face the same punishment. Those giving financial aid to illegal strike also will be booked under law.
The order will come into force for a period of 1 year from the date the government publishes the order. However, it can be extended up to 6 months.
India to be hub of oil demand growth after 2020: IEA
As per Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), India will become the largest single source of global oil demand growth after 2020.
Key predictions of IEA published in its World Energy Outlook:
The global oil demand is projected to touch 101 million barrels per day (mbpd) by year 2035 from today’s around 87 mbpd.
The centre of energy demand is shifting decisively in favour of emerging economies, particularly China, India and the Middle East, which drive global energy use 33% higher.
India’s oil consumption will exceed 8 mbpd by 2035, which is more than current consumption of Japan, Korea and Australia put together.
Currently, within Asia, China dominates the region, before India replaces it from 2020 as the principal engine of oil demand growth.
India’s energy demand are estimated to double by 2035 on back of economic growth and population increase.
By 2035, India is likely to be the largest importer of coal and will be second largest importer of oil next to China and will be number four in importing gas after European Union, China and Japan.
Although the energy demand will be two-fold, the consumption per capita in India will still be 1/4th of the OECD average.
China is predicted to become the largest oil-importing country by replacing US and India will become the largest importer of coal by the early 2020s.
India’s coal imports will surge primarily because India uses the fossil fuel for generation of electricity and 68% of electricity in India is generated from coal.
International Energy Agency (IEA)
The International Energy Agency was established by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a response to the oil shock of 1973-74. IEA advises its 24 member countries on issues related to energy security.
Government disinvest Power Grid Corp further with $1.1 billion FPO
Following its plan to achieve the Rs.40, 000 crore disinvestment target for this fiscal, the government issued Follow-on-Public Offer (FPO) of Power Grid Corporation which was fully subscribed.
The sale of 78.70 crore shares valuing $ 1.1 billion, or 17% stake, could fetch around Rs 7,083 crore at the upper end of the price band. .
With this offer, the government holding in the company will come down to 57.89% from the current level of 69.42%.
This is the second FPO from Power Grid, which sold a 10% stake along with a similar stake divested by the government in November 2010. The company hit the capital market with IPO in October 2007. So far in the current fiscal, the government has raised over Rs 1,300 crore through minority stake sale in PSUs. It has aims to fetch Rs 40,000 crore from disinvestment in the current fiscal.
RBI relaxes ECB norms for infrastructure firms
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms for companies raising foreign funds for infrastructure projects. As per the relaxation given by the central bank, firms can now raise funds through the ECB route for their infrastructure projects through their holding companies or core investment firms, which will facilitate them to arrange finances for these projects expeditiously.
As per RBI, such funds should be used in Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for a specific project. Currently, SPVs are permitted to raise ECB funds for infrastructure projects, while there were restrictions for parent firms in doing so.
However, the central bank has stipulated a number of conditions to avail this facility. For example, infrastructure projects are required to be executed by the SPV set up exclusively for the project. The SPV should give an undertaking that no other method of funding, such as trade credit, will be used for that portion of fresh capital expenditure funded through ECB proceeds.
What is External Commercial Borrowing (ECB)?
Any money that has been borrowed from foreign sources for financing the commercial activities in India are called External Commercial Borrowings.
The Government of India permits ECBs as a source of finance for Indian Corporates for expansion of existing capacity as well as for fresh investment
The ECBs are defined as money borrowed from foreign resources including the following:
Commercial bank loans
Buyers’ credit and suppliers’ credit
Securitised instruments such as Floating Rate Notes and Fixed Rate Bonds etc.
Credit from official export credit agencies and commercial borrowings from the private sector window of Multilateral Financial Institutions such as International Finance Corporation (Washington), ADB, AFIC, CDC, etc.
Objective of External Commercial Borrowing (ECB)
Government permits the ECBs as an additional source of financing for expanding the existing capacity as well as for fresh investments. The ECB policy of the Government seeks to emphasize the priority of investing in the infrastructure and core sectors such as Power, telecom, Railways, Roads, Urban infrastructure etc.
There is also emphasis on the need of capital for Small and Medium scale enterprises.
How ECB is different from FDI?
It must be noted that ECB means any kind of funding other than Equity. If the foreign money is used to finance the Equity Capital, it would be termed as Foreign Direct Investment.
The ECB should satisfy the ECB regulations stipulated by the Government or its agencies such as RBI. The Bonds, Credit notes, Asset Backed Securities, Mortgage Backed Securities or anything of that nature are included in ECB.
The following are not included in the ECBs
Any Investment made towards core capital of an organization such as equity shares, convertible preference shares or convertible debentures. We should note here that those instruments which can be converted into equity are called convertible. The convertible instruments are covered under the FDI Policy.
Any other direct capital is not allowed in ECB.
President inaugurates Hornbill Festival of Nagaland
President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Nagaland’s famous Hornbill Festival. Hornbill (name of a bird) Festival, considered one of the biggest events in the state, puts on display the rich tradition and cultural heritage of the Naga people. Nagaland is also observing the golden jubilee (50 years) of its formation as a state.
Hornbill Festival
Hornbill Festival is a festival celebrated in Nagaland every year in the first week of December. The festival showcases rich culture of Naga tribes which includes shows of music and dance. The festival is organized by the State Tourism and Art & Culture Departments, at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is about 12 km from Kohima the state capital.
The Hornbill Festival provides a colourful mixture of dances, performances, crafts, parades, games, sports, food fairs and religious ceremonies. The festival both exposes the culture and tradition of tribal peoples, and reinforces Nagaland’s identity as a unique state in India’s federal union.
India at 94th spot on Corruption Perception Index: Transparency International
According to a survey by corruption watchdog Transparency International, India is positioned at 94th place on corruption index which ranked 177 countries. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are viewed as the world’s most corrupt countries while Denmark and New Zealand have scored the best.
As per Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2013:
India, with a score of 36 out of 100, ranked 94 on the index, above Pakistan at rank 127 but below China which stood at the 80th position.
Globally, almost 70% of countries are found to have a “serious problem” with public servants on the take, and none of the 177 countries surveyed this year achieved a perfect score.
Performance of countries like Syria, Libya and Mali which are ridden with war and conflicts deteriorated the most on the index.
Bhutan ranked 31st, Sri Lanka 91, Nepal 116, Pakistan 127 and Bangladesh 136.
In 2012, Bhutan was ranked 33rd, Sri Lanka at 79, Nepal 139, Pakistan 139 and Bangladesh 144.
India remained stagnant at the same 94th spot both in 2013 and 2012.
Among BRICS group, India is behind China (80th), South Africa and Brazil (both 72nd). It is, however, better than Russia (127th).
Denmark and New Zealand have scored the best on the index.
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are categorized as the world’s most corrupt.
Top 10 least corrupt countries in the world, according to the CPI 2013:
Denmark
New Zealand (tied with Denmark for No. 1)
Finland
Sweden (tied with Finland for No. 3)
Norway
Singapore (tied with Norway for No. 5)
Switzerland
Netherlands
Australia
Canada (tied with Australia for No. 9)
India successfully test-fired nuke-capable Prithvi II missile
India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) successfully test-fired nuclear capable Prithvi II missile as part of a regular training exercise. The indigenously developed ballistic missile with a maximum range of 350 km was fired from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Balasore district, about 230 km from Bhubaneswar.
Prithvi-II
First missile developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP)
Medium: Surface-to-surface
Fuel Type: Single-stage liquid fuelled
Payload capacity: 500 to 1000 kg
Range: 350km
Variants: Prithvi I for Army, Prithvi II for Air Force and; Dhanush for the Navy
Inducted into the SFC in 2003
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