Centre finalising urban health mission
The Centre is in the process of finalising the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) to provide better healthcare facilities to urban slumdwellers. The ambitious Rs.33,000-crore scheme is expected to bring within its purview domestic helps, vegetable vendors, vulnerable populations such as migrants, rag-pickers and street children.
ISO certification for Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rashtrapati Bhavan was presented with an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 14001:2004 Certificate for having emerged as the country's first urban habitat with excellent environmental management systems. President Pratibha Patil initiated a project, “Roshni Programme,” which was aimed at making the President's Estate a plastic-free zone and pushed for introduction of energy-efficient practices.
Model village scheme a success in Rajasthan
A two-year-long pilot project launched in 2008 by a commercial group working in the renewable energy sector under its corporate social responsibility initiative to develop 14 model villages covering 1,000 marginalised and poor households in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan has helped build up local sources of livelihood for the target population.
The project involved appointment of village development committees (VDCs) with focus on livestock development, health care, solar energy lighting and water security. The selected villages have turned self-sufficient with the creation of livelihood opportunities, empowerment of rural communities and enhancement of water and food security.
World Bank to aid India’s coastal project
The Government of India and the World Bank today signed two loan agreements, one for the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Project and another for Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPMP), which aims to remediate ten highly polluted sites in the country.
The ICZM loan will provide assistance to implement the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project with overall cost of Rs.1155.63crore, in which, the World Bank will contribute an amount of Rs.897crore (77.7%), GOI Rs.177.49crore (15.5%) and the States Rs.80.02crores (6.9%).
The CBIPMP project will aim to remediate ten highly polluted sites, two in Andhra Pradesh and eight in West Bengal on a pilot basis, develop a National Plan for rehabilitation of polluted sites and build human and technical capacity in selected Pollution Control Boards for undertaking environmentally sound remediation of polluted sites. The estimated cost of the project, to be implemented for a period of five years, is Rs. 339.26 crores.
Retirement age of HC judges at 65, same as SC
Union Cabinet cleared a constitutional amendment bill that aims to raise the retirement age of high court judges from 62 to 65, putting them on a par with Supreme Court judges.
India, Switzerland ready new tax draft
THE government has concluded the renegotiation of the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) between India and Switzerland for widening the ambit of its tax treaty to access information on Swiss bank accounts, a big step towards tracing Indian money stashed away overseas. The tax treaty has been amended on the lines of the OECD Model Tax Convention. And the revised agreement is expected to be taken up by the Cabinet shortly.
The new treaty will be notified by India immediately after it is signed, but the Swiss authorities will be able to put the agreement into effect only after it is ratified by their Parliament.
India’s income-tax authorities will be able to access information on Swiss bank accounts of Indians more easily, but only in specific cases where they have a prima facie evidence of wrongdoing. For example, I-T sleuths can now source data on bank accounts used to acquire stakes in some Indian Premier League franchisees. The availability of information would help the I-T department in its investigation.
Switzerland has also amended tax treaties with the US, France and Italy.
Arundhati Roy, Indra Nooyi among 30 most inspiring women
India-born head of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi and writer and activist Arundhati Roy have been named by Forbes among the world's 30 most inspiring women, a list that also features Mother Teresa, media mogul Oprah Winfrey and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
India agrees to buy 57 Hawk jets worth about $800 million
British Aerospace has won a Rs. 3,640 crore ($800 million) order to provide the Indian Air Force and Navy
The final terms and conditions for the contract were signed in the presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is in India on an official visit.
IAF to deploy mountain radars along LAC
IAF is finally going in for specialized, rugged mountain radars which can be deployed in high-altitude areas bordering China to ensure air intrusions by spy drones, helicopters and aircraft are detected in realtime. This comes in the backdrop of continuing intrusions by the People’s Liberation Army all along the unresolved 4,056-km Line of Actual Control, from Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh to the ‘‘finger area’’ in Sikkim.
India to generate 1,000mw solar power by 2013
India will generate 1,000mw of solar power by the year 2013 with financial assistance from Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corp, under the government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.
Govt readies list of sick PSUs
THE government has for the first time officially carved out a list of sick public sector units in a move aimed at determining the future course of action for these financially troubled units. The department of public enterprises ––the nodal body for policy formulation for state-owned firms –– has listed 46 central public sector enterprises as sick and loss making. Another 26 subsidiaries of these firms are also included the list. These include National Aviation Co, National Textile Corp, British India Corp, Cement Corporation of India, Indian Drug and Pharmaceuticals, Konkan Railways Corp and MECON.
The list was prepared as part of the Centre’s revised format for categorising central public sector units on the basis of their performance and respective field of operation. The new classification, which broadens the existing grouping of firms into 12 categories, will be made applicable from the year 2011-12.
Indian states and their Multidimensional Poverty Index
A comparison of state-level and country-level data from the newly released multi-dimensional poverty index shows that while Kerala and Goa are at a similar level of development as ‘middle-income countries’ like Indonesia, Jharkhand and Bihar are similar to ‘least-developed countries’ like the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A comparison of the MPIs for various Indian states the MPIs of the 103 other developing countries in the report has been shown
Decline in Birth Rate
Crude birth rate — the number of live births per 1,000 population — dipped from 26.4 to 22.8 for the whole country between 1998 and 2008. That’s a 14% decline. But in eight major states, the decline was much more.
The crude death rate, or the number of deaths per 1,000 population, came down by 18% in a decade.
Subtracting deaths from births gives the natural growth rate of the population. For India, this key indicator declined by 11%.
There has been a significant decline in the infant mortality rate (number of babies up to one year of age dying per 1,000 live births) in India from 72 in 1998 to 53 in 2008.
These astonishing figures are computed from the annual Sample Registration System (SRS) survey done by the government’s Census office for the years 1998 and 2008. The survey for 2008, the latest available, covered a sample of 7.1 million people spread across the country.
As of 2008, Kerala had the lowest birth rate of 15 per thousand, followed by Tamil Nadu (16), Punjab (17) and West Bengal (18). Death rates are lowest in W est Bengal (6.2 per thousand) followed by Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana, (all around 7). Natural growth rate was lowest in Kerala (8 per thousand) closely followed by Tamil Nadu (about 9).
India tests missile shield
India tested its fledgling ballistic missile defence (BMD) system once again, taking another small step towards building a fully operational missile shield for vital areas and installations in the country.
This was the fifth test of the two-tier BMD system, designed to track and destroy incoming hostile missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth’s atmosphere.
General Than Shwe visit to deepen ties
senior General Than Shwe, Leader of Myanmar , visited India to strengthen its ties with India. India’s engagement of Myanmar is all about fundamental interests of security, good neighbourliness and balance of power politics. As Myanmar heads towards elections later in the year, India wants to help out its southeastern neighbour.
After the Kaladan multimodal transport system, India will announce the building of yet another new road, the Rhi-Tiddin and Rhi-Falam road connecting Mizoram to Myanmar. The next stage of feasibility on the Tamanthi hydel project will also be announced.
Manmohan to set up sub-committee on urbanisation
Going beyond the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he would set up a sub-committee of the National Development Council (NDC) to go into the complex challenges of urbanisation. The NDC approved the mid-term appraisal of the 11th Plan, scaling down the annual average growth target to 8.1 per cent from 9 per cent targeted earlier.
The sub-committee would be headed by Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy. Mr Reddy's report, which would be submitted within a year, would then be an input into the Twelfth Plan.
Karnataka bans export and transport of iron ore
Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa banned iron ore exports from 10 ports in the state and the issuance of permits for its transportation. This move to prevent the illegal transport and export of iron ore will stay in force until Lokayukta justice N Santosh Hegde completes his probe into illegal mining in the state and submits a report.
Kargil Vijay Diwas
Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed throughout the country on 26 July marking the Indian victory in the Kargil war back in 1999. Kargil conflict was took place at Kargil district between Pakistan armed forces and India. The war was first waged by the Kashmiri militants soon joined by the Pakistan army. Pakistan denied its army involvement in Kargil war, but their involvement was openly accepted by Pakistan president and Army major of that time.
UIDAI, Petroleum Ministry sign MoU on AADHAR
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to facilitate close coordination and cooperation on the latter's ambitious AADHAR project, which is primarily aimed at curbing pilferage of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG. As per the MoU, oil marketing companies IOCL, BPCL and HPCL will act as registrars for the UIDAI on behalf of the Ministry for implementation of the project.
The 12-digit unique number that the UIDAI will generate will be combined with the smart card project of the Ministry for distribution of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG through biometric identification of beneficiaries.
UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani said Rs.50 would be given to the oil companies for every enrolment done. At present, there were more than 11.5 crore LPG customers in the country and it is envisioned that by the year 2015, there would be 16 crore LPG customers.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
China overtakes Japan as No. 2 economy
CHINA has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. Japan's nominal GDP was worth $1.286 trillion in the April-to-June quarter compared with $1.335 trillion for China. The figures are converted into dollars based on an average exchange rate for the quarter. Depending on how fast its exchange rate rises, China is on course to overtake the United States and vault into the No.1 spot sometime around 2025, according to projections by the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and others. And The International Monetary Fund is forecasting growth of up to 10.5 percent this year for China.
Japan's people still are among the world's richest, with a per capita income of $37,800 last year, compared with China's $3,600. So are Americans at $42,240, their economy still by far the world's biggest.
East Asia Summit to include U.S., Russia
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has decided to expand the East Asia Summit (EAS) to include the United States and Russia. India is an EAS member.
The 16-nation EAS, “a leaders-driven forum,” now consists of all 10 ASEAN members and six of their “dialogue partners” — Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
US records on Afghan War leaked
The website Wikileaks.org released over 75,000 secret US military reports covering the war in Afghanistan. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the US military, and Pak's hand in aiding the insurgency against the US. Wikileak's founder is Julian Assange. Read some highlights of this leak
1st black elected as councillor in Russia
Jean Gregoire Sagbo became the first black to be elected to office in Russia.
UN drops 5 Taliban biggies from blacklist
The UN Security Council has dropped five prominent Taliban members from its sanctions blacklist, backing Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s ambitious national reconciliation plan to bring peace and stability in his war-torn country. The five were identified as Abdul Satar Paktin, Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad Awrang, a former Afghan envoy to the UN, Abdul Salam Zaeef, Abdul Samad Khaksar and Muhammad Islam Mohammadi. In January, another five members were also taken off the list.
Austria chairs the UNSC panel that maintains a blacklist of individuals and groups linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The list has 137 Afghan nationals under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 adopted in 1999.
China plans air and rail network to boost infrastructure
The Chinese government has kick-started a large-scale effort to upgrade air and rail infrastructure, as well as surveillance capabilities, in its Tibet and Xinjiang regions. The government will pour billions of dollars into the two autonomous regions with a dual focus of speeding up development in restive areas and enhancing the Army's mobilisational capacities to bring troops to remote border regions from military commands in other parts of the country.
The additional infrastructure, which includes 8,000 km of railway lines and seven new airports, will further widen the asymmetry in border infrastructure between China and India.
Economy, Banking and Finance
RBI raises policy rates fourth time this year
The central bank raised the reverse repurchase rate at which it drains resources from banks to 4.5% from 4%,
And the repurchase rate at which it lends to banks to 5.75% from 5.5%.
The cash reserve ratio, or the portion of deposits that banks have to set aside, remained at 6%.
There would be 8 policy announcements in a year instead of 4. The next review is planned during 16th September followed by the one in 2nd November.
Policy Rates
Repo Rate – 5.75%
Rev. Repo Rate – 4.50%
Bank Rate – 6%
Reserve Ratios
CRR – 6%
SLR – 25%
PSBs bad loans jumped 30% to 57,301 crore
Non-Performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of scheduled commercial banks rose to 74,685 crore at the end of March 2010. A major portion of these NPAs — around 57,301 crore — were in the public sector banks, which grew over 30% from the corresponding period last year. In the case of private banks, the NPAs were at 17,384, an increase of around 3%.
In FY09, state owned banks’ bad loans were pegged at 44,039 crore as against 39,749 crore in the fiscal ended March 2008.
Infrastructure growth slips to 3.4% in June
The six core sector industries grew 3.4% in June from a year ago, the slowest in the last 11 months, confirming the moderation in industrial growth that began last month. These industries have a combined 26.7% weight in the IIP.
PFC gets NBFC-IFC tag
The Power Finance Corporation has received the NBFC ‘Infrastructure Finance Company’ status from the Reserve Bank of India, a development that would enable it to lend more to core sector projects. PFC can now take up additional lending exposure, up to 5% of its owned funds, in the case of a single borrower as well as group of borrowers in the private sector.
RBI earlier classified Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) under three categories: asset finance companies, loan companies and investment companies. It recently introduced a fourth category, of an IFC.
It has extended some benefits in lending/borrowing exposure, risk weight and raising ECB (external commercial borrowing) to an NBFC classified as an IFC. An NBFC-IFC may also apply for issuance of infrastructure bonds. PFC, a non-deposit accepting/holding NBFC, had requested RBI for this status.
Food inflation dips to 9.6%
For the first time this year, food price inflation dropped to single digit 9.67% in the week ended July 17, as compared to 12.47% in the previous week.
Banks get 4868 cr for crop loan
THE government decided to release Rs 4,868 crore to public sector banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), cooperative banks and NABARD for refinance to RRBs at concessional rates for providing short-term crop loans to farmers at a concession of up to 4% to lending rates. Those farmers who pay back loans within 12 month are eligible for 4% subsidy, while others get 2% subsidy. The decision is aimed at bringing more farmers under the net of institutional credit and raising farm productivity.
The banks provide farm loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 5-7% interest per annum and the government gives 2-4% subsidy to these banks and NABARD.
Noel set to take over as Tata International MD
the 53-year-old Noel Tata, who grew the retail business more than 10-fold in less than a decade, will be managing director at Tata International, a leather and engineering trading company with presence in 10 African nations, a region where it wants to double revenues to $1 billion in two years.
Canara Bank branches come under CBS platform
Canara Bank has brought all its 3,057 domestic branches under Core Banking Solution (CBS) platform, which will provide seamless banking experience to about 37.5 million customers across India and abroad. All the branches of the bank are now National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)-enabled, which make the fund transfer easy, faster and straight through and among several other benefits, CBS offers e-payment of excise and service tax, direct tax and customs duty.
Deaths
Ravi Baswani dies of a heart attack
The 63-year-old actor Ravi Baswani has passed away. He used to be a comedian in Bollywood.
I.M. Mahajan passes away
The former president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), Inder Mohan Mahajan, passed away
SPORTS
German Grand Prix
Spaniard Fernando Alonso won the German Grand Prix. Button is second with 143 points while Webber and Vettel are third equal with 136 points.
National Youth Women’s Boxing Championships
Manipur dominated the proceedings to clinch the sixth National Youth Women’s Boxing Championships with three gold medals.
Bindra, Saina are CWG brand ambassadors
Names like Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, India’s badminton queen and world No. 2 Saina Nehwal and Olympic boxing bronze winner, Vijender Singh made the grade as ambassadors. The other three brand ambassadors are Samaresh ‘Goldfinger’ Jung, who was athlete of the CWG 2006 in Melbourne, Olympic bronze wrestler Sushil Kumar and four-time world boxing champion, MC Mary Kom.
UK probes payout by Kalmadi-headed Organizing Committee to small London firm
The Indian High Commission has alerted the Centre about investigations launched by UK authorities into cash transfers of £2,47,469 (about Rs 1.68 crore) in October 2009 from Suresh Kalmadi-headed Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee to a UK-based company, AM Films UK Ltd. The money was transferred in lieu of services obtained from the UK company during the Queen’s Baton Relay function in London in October last year. The British Revenue and Customs Department has now written to the Indian High Commission, saying there are discrepancies in the payment of this money by the OC.
India finish with 31 medals in Asian All Star Athletics
Indian athletes continued to dominate the Asian All Star Athletics clinching six gold to finish the competition with 31 medals.
The gold medalists were Juana Murmu in 400m hurdles, Sinimole Paulose in women’s 1500m women, Renjith Maheswary in men’s triple jump, Krishna Punia in women’s discus throw, Sandeep Batham in men’s 5000m and Om Prakash in men’s shot put. India’s final tally in the competition was 12 gold, 9 silver and 10 bronze.
Manipur girls win national title
Manipur defeated Haryana 6-1 to win the ninth junior national football championship for girls.
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