April 15-30 Current Affairs

NATIONAL UPDATES
India's first indigenous stealth warship INS Shivalik commissioned‎

It's a ship that is designed to escape detection by normal radars and surveillance equipment. Special aerodynamics, equipment and material used in designing and building these ships makes it very difficult to monitor their movements. That's why they are called 'stealth frigates.'It's called the INS Shivalik, and it's the first ship built by India designed to escape detection by normal radars and surveillance equipment. 

India has entered into an elite club of eight nations that build stealth warships with the commissioning of the first indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik, adding new fire power and muscle to its Navy.

Apart from India, only the US, Russia, UK, France, Sweden, Japan, Italy andChina have the capability to build stealth warships of this size and class.

Biometric database of all criminals

The government has launched a project to have a biometric database of all criminals across the country.

 The project — Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) — is currently being implemented in 21 states and two Union Territories including Delhi and Puducherry under the ongoing Crime & Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS), which is aimed at inter-linking all 14,000 police stations and 1,300 prisons in the country by next year. Police stations in the selected states have started taking fingerprints of all criminals and keeping them in a database, which could be used by various law enforcement agencies across the country. 

• AFIS is currently being implemented in 21 states and two UTs 

• Every police station in the country is proposed to be provided with a fingerprint reader 

• For this, Rs 15,000 per police station has been earmarked 

• States where AFIS has been introduced include Andhra, Arunachal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, J&K, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Bengal

Amitav Ghosh lands in controversy over Israeli literary award

Amitav Ghosh, known for his powerful and brilliant depictions of the brutality of colonial occupation and notable for having declined the Commonwealth Award some years ago for its colonial associations, is now in the eye of a storm over a literary award jointly shared by himself and Canadian author Margaret Atwood.  The current controversy erupted when Ghosh was announced co-winner of the Dan David award, a new and very rich literary prize awarded by the University of Tel Aviv. The prize money for the category in which Ghosh won is $1 million, presumably to be shared by Atwood and he. Ghosh is the third Indian to win the prize after chemist C.N.R. Rao (2005) and musician Zubin Mehta (2007).

17 members take oath in Rajya Sabha 

From lyricist Javed Akhtar, educationist Bhalchandra Mungekar and anthropologist Ram Dayal Munda to hardcore politicians like A K Antony, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Ashwani Kumar, 17 new, re-elected and nominated members took the oath in Rajya Sabha. Defence minister Antony (Kerala), sports minister M S Gill (Punjab), Silvius Condpan (Assam), Ashwani Kumar (Punjab) and Naresh Gujral (Punjab) were among the re-elected members. New members who took oath included Naznin Faruque (Assam), Bimla Kashyap Sood (Himachal Pradesh), K N Balagopal and T N Seema (both Kerala), Avinash Rai Khanna (Punjab), Jharna Das Baidya (Tripura) and Naresh Chandra Agarwal (UP).

UK allows Sikh docs to wear ‘karas’ 

The UK Health Department has relaxed its “no jewellery” rule for Sikh employees allowing them to wear karas, as long as they can be moved up the arm during direct contact with patients. They have also revised rules for Muslim doctors and nurses, allowing them to opt out of strict dress codes designed to tackle the spread of deadly infection on grounds of religion. The decision comes days after Christian nurse Shirley Chaplin lost her discrimination claim against the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital Trust, which banned her from wearing a crucifix.

PM gave green signal to  girls scheme panel

PM Manmohan Singh has approved setting up a group of ministers (GoM) headed by home minister P Chidambaram to address concerns raised by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on the scheme to provide nutrition and education to adolescent girls. The scheme — Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls — has been mooted by the ministry of women and child development. The other ministers in the GoM include health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge, rural development minister C P Joshi, minister for social justice and empowerment Mukul Wasnik, tribal affairs minister Kantilal Bhuria, WCD minister Krishna Tirath among others. 

UP to set up special tiger protection force

 Uttar Pradesh government will shortly enact a law to constitute a special tiger protection force with its office based at Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri district.  The force will be set up strictly under Union environment and forest ministry’s guidelines. The ministry plans to create 11 STPF companies for about a dozen of states including Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Uttarakhand.  The move has come as a big relief for the forest officials with state having a 960-km long border with Nepal. According to the 2007 census, the state’s tiger population was 109. The state witnessed death of four tigers in 2007, five in 2008 and three in 2009. In 2010, one tiger died in Kishanpur sanctuary.

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor quits

Due to his alleged involvement in the Kochi IPL cricket franchise bid, Shashi Tharoor resigned from the post. 

Amid mounting political pressure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh summoned the first-time Minister to his residence after a meeting of the Congress Core Group, and asked him to step down.

NREGA Better Implemented In Red Zones, Says Govt Report 

Maoists may be opposed to various development projects in their pockets of influence but they are not opposed to the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scheme — the government’s flagship programme of providing jobs to rural poor — leading to its better implementation in Red zone. This came to light when cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar reviewed the progress of the government’s ongoing development programmes in 33 most Naxal-affected districts across states at the 11th meeting of the task force comprising Union home secretary G K Pillai and secretaries of other ministries.

India to get $4.5 million US aid to fight terror 

Obama administration follows a request from India in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack and decided to render the amount of $4.5 million to India for the fiscal 2011. 

SMS ban revoked within hours in J&K

A ban imposed by the central government on SMSes in Kashmir has been revoked within a matter of hours, after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah protested strongly against it.

The Telecom Ministry had banned text messages for post-paid subscribers, or those who're billed monthly for their cellphones by telecom operators.  The Department of Telecom had asked the state's 12 operators, including state-owned BSNL and other private players like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, to withdraw text message service to their post-paid users in J&K altogether.

This is the second time since November that the government has issued and then withdrawn rules on cellphone usage in Jammu and Kashmir.

India to set up Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership

During the nuclear energy summit in Washington, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced setting up of a 'Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership' for conducting research and development of design systems that are secure, proliferation resistant and sustainable. Making the big-ticket announcement, Mr Singh in a statement at the summit said the centre would be a state-of-the-art facility with four schools dealing with different issues related to nuclear energy. The facility would be based on international participation from IAEA and other interested foreign partners. The Centre will consist of four schools dealing with advanced nuclear energy system studies, nuclear security, radiation safety, and application of radioisotopes and radiation technology in the areas of healthcare, agriculture and food.

Panel charge sheets Justice Sen

Justice Soumitra Sen, a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court facing an impeachment motion, has been served with a charge sheet by the inquiry panel set up the Rajya Sabha chairperson after it found, prima facie, that allegations of financial irregularities could be made out against him. The panel, headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, a judge of the Supreme Court, and comprising chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Mukul Mudgal and noted jurist Fali S Nariman, went through the documents relating to the scam alleged against Justice Sen. 

Tipu Sultan’s sword sells for record £500,000

A rare 200-year-old sword belonging to Tipu Sultan, the erstwhile ruler of Mysore, was auctioned for a record £505,250 here, ten times than its estimated price. The Tipu Sultan collection, comprised of seven lots, included weaponry and other rarities captured after the British stormed his palace in Srirangapatnam in Mysore in May 1799. Earlier reports had said the sword, which went under the hammer, was the one bought by Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya in 2003.

India’s 1st blood bank for dogs opens in TN

Tamil Nadu has opened the country’s first blood bank for dogs. The facility, started by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) and whose inauguration coincided with World Veterinary Day, holds out hope to owners of dogs who have found themselves in a fix when it came to their pets requiring blood urgently. 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

Thailand PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva under tremendous pressure to step down

Thailand's Election Commission recommended the embattled ruling party be dissolved, potentially handing victory to anti-government protesters who have demanded the Prime minister steps down. 

The ruling comes the same day that Thailand's influential Army Chief appeared to back a key demand of the protesters, saying Parliament might need to be dissolved to resolve the country's violent political standoff.

 Together, the comments by Gen Anupong Paochinda and the election body's decision could spell the end of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's rule, which the protesters say is illegitimate. But his control of security forces has increasingly been called into question over the past month as protesters repeatedly marched through the capital. The commission found the Democrat Party — Thailand's oldest — guilty of misusing campaign donations. The ruling will have to be endorsed by the Constitutional Court before the party of Abhisit is disbanded.  

What is happening in Thailand?

Thailand's government has declared a state of emergency in the capital, Bangkok, in order to control protesters demanding an early election. The "red shirt" protesters are mostly supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in self-imposed exile. They are confident of winning the next election. They see Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as a front for the establishment elite and military who came to power not through the ballot box but through a parliamentary stitch-up in December 2008 when the courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin ruling party.

Who are the Red Shirts?

They are the supporters of an increasingly organised group known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The UDD is largely backed by the rural poor, loyal to Thaksin because of his welfare and rural development policies while in office from 2001-2006. The latest rally has also shown sizable support among the lower classes in Bangkok.

They back Thaksin despite his conviction for corruption after he was ousted. In February this year the courts confiscated $1.4 billion of his assets, deemed to have been amassed through abuse of power.

Earthquake in China

A powerful earthquake on 13 april devastated China's remote north-western province of Qinghai, killing 400 people as it toppled houses, created cracks in dams and left over 10,000 injured, officials said.

The province of Qinghai is a remote region in northwest China; it borders Xinjiang to the northwest and Tibet on its southwest. Qinghai-Tibet railway lines run through the province

The trembler measuring 7.1-magnitude on Richter Scale hit the province in the Qinghai Tibetan plateau early today and almost flattened Jiegu township, where more than 85 per cent of the houses collapsed.

The quake's epicentre was located at 96.3 degrees east longitude and 33.3 degrees north latitude in Longbao Town, 60 km southwest of Yushu's prefecture seat Gyegu Town. But the tremor was felt strongly in Gyegu, said Xu Chuanjie, head of emergency rescue section at the provincial earthquake bureau.

Gyegu, also known as Jiegu, is the seat of the Yushu prefecture government with a population of 100,000. 

More than 80% of the houses in Gyegu are made of wood and mud resulting in their large scale destruction, sources said. The quake focus was 10 km below the earth's surface. 

4th IBSA Summit 2010

The 4th IBSA Summit was held on April 15th, 2010, in Brasilia. The Leaders highlighted that the three countries’ commitment to democratic values, inclusive social development and multilateralism constitutes the basis for their growing cooperation and close coordination on global issues. 

Origin of IBSA:  IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange. The Heads of State and/or Government of the IBSA countries met at the G-8 meeting for discussions that took place in Evian in 2003, and further following ongoing trilateral consultations, the Foreign Ministers of the respective countries met in Brasilia on June 6, 2003. At this meeting between Ministers Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma from South Africa, Celso Amorim from Brazil and Yashwant Sinha from India, the launching of the IBSA Dialogue Forum was formalized through the adoption of the "Brasilia Declaration".

Global Governance: The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increase participation of developing countries in the decision-making bodies of multilateral institutions. They also reiterated the urgent need for the reform of the United Nations (UN) to render it more democratic and consistent with the priorities of developing countries. They particularly emphasized that no reform of the United Nations will be complete without a reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC), including an expansion in both permanent and nonpermanent categories of its membership, with increased participation of developing countries in both. Such reform is of the utmost importance for the UNSC to reflect geopolitical realities and to have the representativeness and legitimacy it needs to face contemporary challenges. 

The Leaders stressed the need to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions in order to increase their effectiveness and enhance their accountability, credibility and legitimacy. They stressed the importance of increasing the role of developing countries in these institutions. 

Sustainable Development: The Leaders stressed the importance of promoting sustainable development. They welcomed the resolution of the UN General Assembly to convene a Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, in 2012. They called for a comprehensive preparatory process, to ensure that the Rio+20 Conference can adequately address existing implementation deficits and emerging issues in sustainable development, with a view to further strengthening international cooperation in this field.

IBSA Satellites: The Leaders decided to the early development of satellites in the areas of space weather, climate and earth observation. These satellites will address common challenges in climate studies, agriculture and food security. The IBSA micro satellites aim to promote and strengthen space programs amongst the three countries.

Disarmament and Non-Proliferation: The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons in a comprehensive, universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable manner. They underlined the need for reducing the role of nuclear weapons in strategic doctrines and expressed their support for effective international agreements to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The Leaders expressed support for an International Convention Prohibiting the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Nuclear Weapons, leading to their destruction.

Many issues like Trade, climate change, gender discrimination, Human rights, Intellectual property rights,  internet governance, overhaul of international institutions, problems of middle east, global financial and economic crisis, South-South cooperation were also discussed.

II BRIC Summit declares 2010 deadline for World Bank, IMF reform

BRIC Summit was held in Brasilia a day after IBSA Summit. 

The declaration issued by the BRIC nations, which account for about 40 percent of the world's population, at a summit meeting here — their second since 2009 — shows a collective assertiveness in world economic matters.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China on Thursday demanded the commitment to reform the Bretton Woods financial institutions that the advanced economies made at Pittsburgh during the G-20 summit be completed by this year itself.  

The IMF and the World Bank urgently need to address their legitimacy deficits, We call for the voting power reform of the World Bank to be fulfilled in the upcoming Spring Meetings, and expect the quota reform of the IMF to be concluded by the G-20 Summit in November this year” the BRIC summit declaration says.

On U.N. reform, Russia and China — both permanent members of the Security Council — baulked at endorsing the specific demand India and Brazil have made for permanent seats. But the declaration reaffirmed the need to make the world body more effective and representative.

The group is not expected to push for a new international reserve currency to rival the dollar, an idea that was discussed at their last summit. As a major holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, China is not keen to see the value of its investments diminish.

The BRIC leaders may have talks on bypassing the dollar by boosting inter-BRIC currency trade. 

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula said a Chinese pledge to build a steel plant at a Brazilian port was also likely and that it would be China's biggest investment ever in Latin America's largest economy.

Brazil, Russia and India appreciate the offer of China to host the III BRIC Summit in 2011.

For more read, visit II BRIC Joint Statement

China admits to Brahmaputra project

After several years of denying the existence of any river project on the Brahmaputra, China has finally admitted to India that they are indeed building a hydropower project on the river. The admission, made for the first time by Chinese officials to India during the recent visit by foreign minister S M Krishna to Beijing, has brought a measure of transparency between the two countries, but also focused Indian interest in China’s river activities, particularly Brahmaputra. Satellite pictures had picked up the construction of a dam in Zangmu, in the Lhokha prefecture of Tibet, but even as late as 2009, China denied that such a project was under way. China said it was constructing a hydropower project in Zangmu — there will be four more — on the Brahmaputra. But this would not involve storage of water and was a run-of-the-river project, all inside Chinese territory. The 510 mw project is being built by Gezhouba, one of China’s biggest dambuilding companies. 

 India and China have no water-sharing agreements, so it will be a first when next week, Indian and Chinese water experts ink an “implementation plan” to share hydrological data on the Sutlej and Brahmaputra rivers. These agreements were signed in 2005 and 2008, but China had refused to share anything because there was no “plan”. The first lot of data will flow from China to India later this year. 

Volcano eruption in Iceland

Presently, whole of world is partially affected by second huge volcanic eruption in Iceland within a month period. This volcanic eruption is so strong that it has forced large numbers of airlines to ground their flights leaving for Europe. The eruption is taking place under Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier, normally a popular hiking ground about 120 km (75 miles) southeast of the capital Reykjavik. Ash from the volcano is drifting southeast toward the European continent, 

Iceland is a small European island nation situated in North Atlantic Ocean just above England. Population of Iceland is slightly above 3 Lakh. 

Obama’s vision: Man on Mars in 30 yrs 

Scrapping the “Back to Moon” project of Nasa, US president Barack Obama gave a new mission to the country’s civilian space programme agency — a manned mission to Mars in three decades and sending astronauts to explore asteroids beyond the moon by 2025. 

In a speech at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Obama announced to increase its budget by $6 billion in the next five years. 

El Nino makes March 2010 the hottest ever 

Global temperatures fuelled by El Nino seasonal warming last month chalked up the hottest March on record, US weather monitors reported. Combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for March 2010 was the warmest on record at 13.5°C, which is 0.77°C above the 20th century average of 12.7°C, it said. Average ocean temperatures were the hottest for any March since record-keeping began in 1880, while the global land surface was the fourth warmest for any March on record.

UN report indicts Mush govt for Benazir’s assassination 

In a stunning 65-page report, a three member UN commission held Pakistan’s former government headed by Pervez Musharraf responsible for not adequately protecting Benazir Bhutto. 

Among the positions taken by Bhutto that touched the establishments of  concerns was “her independent position on the urgent need to improve relations with India, and its implications for the Kashmir dispute, which the military had regarded as its policy domain”, the probe said. 

Economy, Banking & Finance

Sebi bans 14 insurers from issuing ULIP and soon after removes Ban but Puts Spanner in Fresh Plans 

The tiff between IRDA and Sebi on the regulation of ULIPs turned ugly when the Sebi on Friday, issued a directive stating that 14 life insurance companies should stop selling ULIPs with immediate effect, till they obtain the requisite certificate of registration from Sebi. 14 life insurance companies which are banned, includes those belonging to Tatas, SBI, ICICI, HDFC and Reliance Anil Ambani group from raising funds through unit linked schemes, a move on which insurance regulator feels that the firms should take legal recourse. Sebi said that for the time being it was suspending the operative part of its Friday order banning the 14 insurers from dealing in ULIPs. 

Row over ULIPS and ELSS:

ULIP is a unit linked investment plan, a product sold by life insurance companies. It is a hybrid product serving dual need of insurance and investment. Whereas equity-linked savings schemes (ELSS) comprises mainly mutual fund which is purely market linked and does not attach any life cover or insurance.

While mutual funds face many restrictions, ULIPs face none. 

Last year, Sebi prohibited mutual funds to charge any fees from investors if they buy units of their schemes directly from them. Earlier, funds used to pay certain amount to agents to push the products. Now, agents have to charge it separately from the customer and funds do not pay any amount to agents. That means, if an investor puts in Rs 10,000 in a scheme directly, he will get the units for his entire amount. The Sebi order forced the funds not to give any incentive to push equity-linked schemes. On the other hand, insurance companies give very high incentives to its agents (go up to 35%) to sell ULIPs, which is a comparable to ELSS of mutual funds. And, up to 95% of premium paid by investors for their ULIPs are invested in the stock market. Because of the high incentives, agents and other distributing agencies are pushing ULIPs in the market very aggressively.

This can also be gauged from that fact that ULIPs constitute around 90% of the total portfolio of many life insurance companies. During April-February 2009-10, insurance companies mobilized Rs 44,611 crore from 16.7 lakh investors. As against this, mutual funds could raise only Rs 3,514 crore in 2009-10 under ELSS. 

A substantial portion of premium collected under ULIPs goes to the stock market. Under ULIPs, for an insurance cover of Rs 15 lakh, one has to pay Rs 1,50,000 for 10 years. Out of this, only Rs 3,000 is deducted for giving life coverage, the rest is invested in the stock market. So, only 2% of the premium is used to buy the life cover and the rest is used as investment. So, ULIPs should be subjected to regulation similar to that of mutual funds, says Sebi.

Sebi is of the opinion that because it has an investment component, it is akin to a mutual fund investment and hence needs to be regulated and registered with the market regulator. 

Industry posts 15.1% growth in February

with industrial growth at 15.1 per cent for the February  month, as measured by the index of industrial production (IIP) data released here, it is lower than 16.7 per cent growth achieved in January this year and a robust 17.6 per notched up in December last year. 

ADB pegs India’s growth at 8.2% in ’10 

The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday said India is poised for an economic growth of 8.2% in 2010 and 8.7 per cent in 2011. Although rising inflation would remain a concern in its report 'The Asian Development Outlook 2010'.

RBI tightens loan securitisation rules for banks

RBI has revised guidelines on securitisation, wherein it has proposed that the seller of the loan should at least hold the loan in its books for one year and retain a minimum 10% of the securitised amount if the loan is with original maturity of two years. The revised draft guidelines also says if the loan is for two years, the originator should hold the loan in its books for at least nine months and it should subscribe to at least 5% of the securitised amount. The two-year period will start from the date of full disbursement of loan or date of first instalment of loan if the loan is for two years. 

Securitisation, to put it simply, is one entity selling a part of its loans portfolio to another. Technically, it is pooling together of loans into standard marketable bonds, which helps banks free more capital which can then be used for its lending business. 

RBI has also made an effort to discourage securitisation of loans which have a poor credit rating. RBI has set a 20% limit on the amount of amount of total securisation that the originator can take on its books. In the revised guidelines, this 20% limit will also include the credit enhancement in a particular pool. So far, the originator could hold up to 20% of the securitised amount but this did not include credit enhancement. Since there is no limit of credit enhancement, the originator could better the credit rating by setting aside a huge portion in the form of cash, FDs and guarantees. 

In case the originator exceeds 20% limit because of devolvement of underwritten securities, the excess amount would be deducted from capital 50% from tier-I and 50% from tier-II capital. The tier-I (equity and reserves) and tier-II (subordinate debt) capital is part of the capital that banks have to maintain. 

Inflation at 9.9% on broad price rise

Inflation touched a 17-month high of 9.9% in March spurred by an allround increase in prices. Annual year-on-year inflation based on the wholesale price index stayed above the central bank’s year-end projection for the third straight month. In January the Reserve Bank raised its wholesale price inflation forecast to 8.5 % from 6.5 %. 

Infrastructure sector grows 7.2% in March

The infrastructure sector continues to grow at a healthy rate. In March, the six key sectors crude oil, petroleum refinery, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel posted an annual growth of 7.2%, boosting prospects of a robust overall industrial growth in the month. The six sectors had grown by 3.3% in March 2009. These six industries, which have a combined weightage of 26.7% in the overall industrial production index, showed a marked improvement in March — as against 4.7% in February 2010. For 2009-10, the infrastructure sector registered a growth of 5.5% against 3% in the same period last year. 

ITC Sonar first hotel to earn carbon credits

ITC Hotels has set a precedence by possibly becoming the first hospitality chain in the world to have earned carbon credits. Its luxury property, ITC Sonar in Kolkata, which switched to energy efficient CFL bulbs as part of its energy saving drive, has been issued 1,996 carbon credits per annum for a period of 10 years. The project has been registered as a clean development mechanism project (CDM) at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

The carbon credits earned by the hotel through its energy efficiency process can be capitalised to add to its revenues. One carbon credit is equivalent to reduction of one tonne of carbon-di-oxide. 

UID gets new name with ‘Aadhaar’ 

Government’s ambitious UID project was on renamed ‘Aadhaar’ and its new logo unveiled with chairman Nandan Nilekani underscoring that the scheme would lay the foundation for effectively delivering services especially to the poor. Nilekani, chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India, said Aadhaar translates into a ‘foundation’ or ‘support’ and the project, aiming to give a 16-digit number to all citizens of the country starting from February next year, will now be known by the new name. 

CBDT notifies the valuation rules for gifts

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified the valuation rules for gifts over Rs 50,000, and these will come into effect retrospectively from October 1, 2009. The transaction value of warrants, preference shares and other such instruments transferred to another individual or a company will now have to be certified by a category-I merchant banker according to CBDT’s new fair market value (FMV) norms for gifts.

Gifts from a relative for a marriage, under will or by way of inheritance, from any local authority, or from any fund or trust are exempted from tax. Spouses, siblings, and any lineal ascendant or descendant are defined as relatives under the Income-Tax Act.

According to the latest notification, the FMV of jewellery, archeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures or works of art shall be the price which they would fetch if sold in the open market on the valuationdate. For jewellery or artistic works bought on the valuation date from a registered dealer, its invoice shall be the FMV. If jewellery or art is received by any other mode and it’s the value exceeds Rs 50,000, the taxpayer will have to get the report of a registered valuer regarding the price it would fetch if sold in the open market on the valuation date.

For shares and securities of listed companies, the FMV will be that recorded on any reconised stock exchange. If these quoted shares and securities are transacted other than through recognised stock exchanges, their FMV shall be their lowest price quoted on the exchange on the valuation date. In the case of unlisted shares, book value will be the benchmark.

MCX scores as CCI probes NSE

THE Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an investigation into the alleged misuse of dominant position by the National Stock Exchange, the country’s largest bourse. CCI was set up last year to investigate unfair practices and abuse of market leadership. The regulator was acting on a complaint by the MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX), which alleged that NSE was indulging in unfair practices by waiving the transaction fee on currency derivatives.  The development is likely to worsen relations between the NSE, the undisputed leader in stock and derivatives trading, and MCX-SX, the upstart which is trying to make headway in the nascent market for currency derivatives. 

Direct tax collections miss FY10 target by Rs 12,000 cr 

Finance Bill goes through with minor sops to some

FINANCE minister Pranab Mukherjee’s budget proposals with the biggest deficit reduction in nearly two decades were passed barring token concessions to housing, air travel, planters and healthcare. 

INDIRECT TAX 

Service tax on air travel capped at Rs 100 for domestic and Rs 500 for international; travel to North-East exempt 

Service tax on construction to be levied on a lower 25% of gross value against 33% earlier. Overall incidence down to 2.5% from 3.3% 

Low-cost housing, Skill Development Initiative Scheme not to attract service tax 

Relief package for coffee growers A Rs 241-cr fresh coffee debt relief package, specifically for small growers 

DIRECT TAX 

New hospitals of more than 100 beds to get investment-linked tax benefits 

Slum development housing projects to get investment-linked tax incentives. 

Conversion from a corporate structure to a limited liability partnership not taxing Lower service tax on construction

FOOD INFLATION AT 17.2% 

Headline inflation rose to 9.9% in March and food inflation showed marginal cooling at 17.22% for the week ended April 3 from 17.70% in the previous week. 

PAN is mandatory 

Government has been making Permanent account number (PAN) mandatory for all financial transactions. Why it is necessary to have PAN card. Give a look at it:

If the interest income on a fixed deposit is in excess of 10,000 a year, banks deduct tax at source at the rate of 10%. But under the new provisions of the Finance (No 2) Act, 2009, effective April 1, 2010, if the depositor submits only Form 15 H and doesn't declare PAN, the tax deduction would be 20%.

Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a 10-digit alphanumeric number issued by an Assessing Officer of the Income Tax Department and is needed while conducting any kind of financial transaction in India, be it only paying the Income Tax. The applicant receives the PAN mentioned in a laminated plastic card. One can avail of only one PAN. Having more than one PAN is against the law.

New index to measure retail inflation next year

THE government will release new retail inflation indices for rural and urban India in February next year, as it looks to improve the accuracy of figures for informed decision making. Two indices will have 2004-05 as the base year. 

DEATHS

Rajasthan Governor Prabha Rau dead 

Rajasthan Governor Prabha Rau passed away. She had been a former PCC president and four-time minister in Maharashtra.

Radhakrishnan, CPM veteran, passes away 

Veteran CPM leader Varkala Radhakrishnan died. Radhakrishnan began his career in 1952 as a village council head of Varkala in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram. He was a member of the Kerala Assembly from 1980 to 1996. Between 1987 and 1991, he was the assembly speaker. Since 1998, he represented the Chiryankeezhu Lok Sabha constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district and was popularly known as "annan".  

AWARDS

Kohli wins EU inventor award

Sanjai Kohli and his partner Steven Chen have won the European Inventor Award 2010 in the category of inventors from non-European countries. The award has been instituted by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Commission, and is into its fifth year. 

Sports

Augusta Masters Tournament 2010

Golfer Phil Mickelson became the winner of Augusta Masters Tournament 2010. On the other hand, after a break of five months and dealing with injury and problems in his personal life, Tiger Woods finished the tournament at the fourth place. Here is the list of winners:

Phil Mickelson was winner, 

Lee Westwood was at second spot, 

Kim at third spot, 

Tiger at fourth place, 

Choi was fifth, 

Couples was at sixth spot, 

Watney at seventh, 

Yang at eighth, 

Mahan at ninth place,

Barnes at tenth spot,

and Poulter got the last position on the leader board.

Indian Tennis League by December

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has dreamed up a new concept — to create a league called Indian Tennis League (ITL) to generate greater popularity for tennis. Inspired by the IPL’s transformative power when it comes to the shorter version of cricket. The inaugural Indian Tennis League (ITL) slots two weeks in December starting this year on the Indian tennis calendar. For starters, five franchise-based teams will slug it out in 20 ties played on a home-away basis for a place in the final. The inaugural Indian Tennis League (ITL) slots two weeks in December starting this year on the Indian tennis calendar. For starters, five franchise-based teams will slug it out in 20 ties played on a home-away basis for a place in the final. The franchises will handle all financial aspects of their players, in addition to carrying out the the necessary infrastructure upgrades in their respective cities as per the required standards. The AITA will handle all the nitty-gritties of conducting the league.

The ITL will be overlooked by a six-member executive committee headed by Khanna, who’s even open to the AITA coming under the purview of the Right To Information (RTI) Act. To add to the transparency, no committee member has the privilege of owning a franchisee.

Chennai Super Kings won IPL

Chennai Super Kings were crowned Indian Premier League 3 champions after thumping Mumbai Indians by 22 runs. 

WISPA Indian Challenger squash tournament

Dipika Pallikal defeated Emma Beddoes of England 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 to win the WISPA Indian Challenger squash tournament at Calcutta Racket Club squash courts. it was her first WISPA title. 

Bodybuilding

Manipur's popular body builder Khundrakpam Pradipkumar won a silver medal in the 50th Senior National Bodybuilding Championship which concludes in Goa on Sunday. Pradipkumar’s placing is truly a feat as the 39-year-old has been living with HIV for a decade now. 

The first position goes to Ramnath of the host state.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Earth Day - April 22

World Health Day – April 7

Banks Annual Accounts Closure (India) - April 1