The Indian government plans to plant 200 crore trees along the entire 1 lakh km National Highways network across the country to employ jobless youth.
Indian scientist Rasik Ravindra has been unanimously elected as member of the UN's body focussed on oceans and law of the sea.
India became a permanent member of the Washington Accord, which would enable global recognition of Indian degrees and increase the mobility of engineers to the USA and other countries for jobs.
BJP leader Amit Shah was elected as the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) president.
India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp is planning to enter Brazil by 2016 as it looks to consolidate position in the fast growing South American market.
India may not have played a Test match for more than three months now but off-spinner R Ashwin held on to his eighth spot in the ICC Test bowlers' rankings led by South African paceman Dale Steyn.
Norwegian telecom firm Telenor said it will take complete ownership of its Indian unit Uninor by acquiring the 26 per cent stake held by Lakshdeep Investments for Rs 780 crore.
State-owned power equipment maker Bhel commissioned 68 MW unit at the Rampur Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh.
National:
Operation ‘X’ was “successfully completed
In a top
secret operation, 25-year-old Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving
gunman of the 26/11
Mumbai terror
attacks, was hanged in Pune’s Yerwada Central Jail. Kasab was buried on the
jail premises.
The only
terrorist to be caught alive, out of the 10 men who attacked the city on November
26, 2008, Kasab
was sentenced
to death by the special court on May 6, 2011, after a trial that lasted for
more than 14 months.
The Supreme
Court upheld the capital punishment on August 29, 2012. ‘X,’ the codename, was
set in motion
on November
12, after President Pranab Mukherjee turned down Kasab’s mercy petition on
November 5.
Kasab was
shifted from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail to Pune on November 19. Yerwada is one
of the two jails
in Maharashtra
the other being Nagpur Central Jail which houses facilities for hanging.
Kakodkar panel to study effects of GM crop
field trials
In a possible
attempt to push field trials of genetically modified crops, the Maharastra
government has
decided to set
up an advisory committee headed by scientist Anil Kakodkar. The 10-member panel
will
consider
proposals from companies who want to conduct such tests. The committee is
expected to give a
detailed
opinion explaining effect of the trials on environment, humans, animals and
biodiversity. Bt Cotton
crop, failed
in large parts, triggering a spate of suicides in the country, particularly in
Vidarbha region of the
state.
Bar-coded ration cards soon, state tells
High Court
The Maharastra
government told Bombay High Court (HC) it will soon issue bar-coded ration
cards to curb
fraud. B B
Narayankar, deputy secretary in the food and civil supplies department (FCSD),
said in an affidavit
FCSD carried
out three special drives and deleted 54.07 lakh bogus ration cards in the state
in the past
seven years.
42.76 lakh were held by above poverty line families, 6.36 lakh by below poverty
line families
and the
remaining 2.15 lakh by beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana. The bar-coded
cards would have
photographs of
heads of families. After new ration cards are issued, names and other
information would be
put up online.
Now, Defence Secy-headed panel to monitor
delayed aircraft carrier project
An apex
committee headed by the Defence Secretary will regularly monitor the pace of
construction of the
first
indigenous aircraft carrier which is running at least three years behind
schedule adding to cost
escalation.
The initial estimated cost was about `12,000 crore without cost of aircraft and
helicopter fleet. The
40,000-ton ship
is under construction at Cochin Shipyard and the delivery schedule is already
late by three
years. The
ship was to be ready for sea trials by 2015 and various issues like
non-availability of special steel
and
specialised gear boxes has now pushed the launch date to 2018. The ship will be
capable of operating
an aircraft
mix of Russian MiG-29K, Kamov-31 helicopters and indigenously designed and
developed Tejas
light combat
aircraft (LCA).
Remission no more easy for lifers
Giving full
meaning to the punishment of life imprisonment, the Supreme Court held that
life sentence was
for entire
life and for any State Government to grant remission it would require an
opinion from the trial judge
or high court
judge which dealt with the case. The decision has come as a blow to attempt by
certain State
Governments to
grant wholesale remissions coinciding with festive occasions. This not only
resulted in
abuse of CrPC
Section 432 granting State power to remit or suspend sentence, but even made a
mockery of
the criminal
justice system and the administration of criminal justice delivery system by
courts. The Bench of
Justices KS
Radhakrishnan and Madan B Lokur held, “the grant of remissions is statutory.
However, to
prevent its
arbitrary exercise, the legislature has built in some procedural and
substantive checks in the
statute. These
need to be faithfully enforced.”
Ajmal Kasab was 'C-7096'
Ajmal Kasab's
identity remained 'C-7096' throughout his prison term and even when an official
dossier was
written for
his hanging. The movement and activities of Kasab, who was hanged in a prison
in Pune, was
always kept
very secretive and when official documents were moved regarding his hanging
after the
President
rejected his mercy plea, he was identified by this number. The number was
tagged to Kasab by the
authorities at
the Arthur Road jail and only top officials in the security establishment had
access to files
related to
inmate number 'C-7096'.
International:
Indian-American Autar Kaw named Professor
of the Year
An
Indian-American professor of mechanical engineering at the University of South
Florida, has been named
US Professor
of the Year by an influential think-tank. Autar Kaw, 52, is among the four
recipients of the 2012
US Professor
of the Year award, who was recognised as "an engaging instructor who uses
a variety of
teaching
techniques, including social media and learning assessments that are informed
by his research to
reach, encourage
and challenge a diverse student population." Kaw has been awarded by the
Carnegie
Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education.
Gaza: Israel, Hamas agree to
Egypt-brokered ceasefire
Israel and Hamas
agreed to a ceasefire after eight days of lethal fighting over the Gaza Strip,
the United
States and
Egypt said after intensive negotiations in Cairo. The cease-fire, was formally
announced by
Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr of Egypt. It
appeared to avert
an escalating
battle between Palestinians and Israelis that had threatened to turn into wider
war. Mohamed
Morsi, who
played a pivotal role in the negotiations.
U.N. calls for swift action on climate
World
Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reported a record increase of earth-warming
gases in the
atmosphere,
while the World Bank warned of the planet-wide devastation a rise of four
degrees Celsius
would cause.
U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) said swift action could still see the world
get back on
track, but it
would mean increasing pledges and slashing emissions by 14 per cent to about 44
billion tonnes
in 2020 from
an estimated 50.1 billion tonnes per year now. Scientists say global
temperatures have already
risen by about
0.8 degrees Celsius on average. More than 190 countries will meet in Qatar
seeking to draft a
work programme
leading to a new, global climate deal to be signed by 2015 and enter into force
by 2020.
They will also
seek to put in place a follow-up phase for the Kyoto Protocol which binds rich
nations to
greenhouse gas
emission cuts but runs out on December 31.
Three Indians figure in DSC 2013 shortlist
Three Indian
writers Amitav Ghosh, Jeet Thayil and Uday Prakash are among the six authors
shortlisted for
$50,000 DSC
Prize for South Asian Literature 2013 announced. They are pitted against
Pakistani novelists,
Mohammed Hanif
and Jamil Ahmad, and Bangladesh’s Tahmima Anam. The only contender from outside
the
Indian
subcontinent is Jason Grunebaum, an American academic, writer and translator.
Mr. Ghosh has been
selected for
'River of Smoke' ; Mr. Thayil for his debut novel 'Narcopolis' ; and Mr.
Prakash for 'The Walls of
Delhi' , a
collection of short stories in Hindi translated into English by Mr. Grunebaum.
Announcing the list,
the noted
litterateur K. Satchidanandan, who chaired the jury, said it represented the
diversity of South Asian
fiction.
Bangladesh to honour Pranab, other
foreigners
Bangladesh
will honour President Pranab Mukherjee along with 152 foreigners for their
contribution to the
country’s
Independence in 1971, coinciding with its 42nd Victory Day celebrations in
December 2012.
President
Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are to confer them with the
honour on December
15 (a day
ahead of the Victory Day).
India pushes for stiffer steps against
terrorist financing
India, as
chairman of the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, has called
for resolute action
by all
member-countries against the continuing threats posed by terrorist financing.
Although a great deal of
progress has
been made in recent years through stringent financial curbs, terrorists
continue to exploit
advances in
technology for raising and moving funds, said India’s Permanent Representative
Hardeep Singh
Suri. The UNSC
panel, recognizing that combating terrorist financing is a complex and highly
technical
undertaking,
supports all efforts to assist member-countries implement the UN instruments
designed to
tackle this
threat.
M23 vows to capture Kinshasa
Thousands of
Congolese soldiers and policemen defected to the M23 rebels, as rebel leaders
vowed to take
control of all
Congo, including the capital Kinshasa. More than 2,100 troops and 700 police
turned in their
weapons,
according to M23’s Col. Seraphin Mirindi. They piled up their arms and
ammunition in the stadium.
In Bukavu
people are already demonstrating against the Kinshasa government and in support
of the rebels.
In
neighbouring Uganda, Congo President Joseph Kabila met Rwanda President Paul
Kagame, for talks
prompted by
the fall of Goma and the progress of the M23 rebels. Rwanda is blamed for
backing the M23 by
Congo and by
the United Nations.
Business & Economy:
India to get $70bn in remittances in 2012:
World Bank
India will
receive $70 billion in remittance flows in 2012, followed by China with $66
billion, a new World Bank
report, but it
said that the high cost of sending money was acting as an obstacle to growth of
such flows.
Remittance
flows to the developing world are expected to exceed earlier estimates and
total $406 billion
in2012, an
increase of 6.5% over the previous year. Remittances to developing countries
are projected to
grow by 7.9%
in 2013, 10.1% (2014) and 10.7% (2015) to reach $534 billion in 2015. According
to the report
the top
recipients of officially recorded remittances for 2012 are India ($70 billion),
China ($66 billion), the
Philippines
and Mexico ($24 billion each), and Nigeria ($21 billion). Other large
recipients include Egypt,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Lebanon.
LIC, EPFO to fully subscribe to bond issue
of Air India
Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC) and the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
have
decided to
fully subscribe to the Rs.7,400 crore bond issue of Air India, thus giving a
lifeline to the national
carrier. While
LIC has agreed to subscribe to bonds worth Rs.3,000 crore, EPFO will pump in
the balance
Rs.4,400
crore.
RBI advisory panel preferred rate-cut
Five of the
six external members of the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory
Committee on Monetary
Policy (TAC)
had suggested that the central bank reduce the policy rate prior to its
half-yearly review of the
monetary
policy on October 30. The RBI, however, kept the indicative policy rate
unchanged while reducing
the Cash
Reserve Ratio (CRR) the portion of deposits that banks keep with the central
bank by 25 basis
points from
4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent which was expected to pump in around Rs.17,500
crore liquidity into
the banking
system. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the central
bank.
Subir Gokarn gets extension till Dec 31
The Government
has extended the term of Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn till
December 31,
2012. His term
was due to end on November 24. He was appointed in November 2009 for three
years. Subir
Gokarn got extension
up to December 31 this year, Financial Services Secretary D. K. Mittal told.
Technology:
DNA measurement can predict how long you
will live
Researchers
have claimed that biological age and life expectancy of a person can be
predicted by
measuring an
individual's DNA. Scientists at the University of East Anglia studied the
length of chromosome
caps - known
as 'telomeres' - in a 320-strong wild population of Seychelles Warblers on a
small isolated
island. The
research shows that individuals differ radically in how quickly their telomeres
shorten with age,
and that
having shorter telomeres at any age is associated with an increased risk of
death. Telomere length
is a better
indicator of future life-expectancy than actual age and may, therefore, be an indicator
of biological
age. The
20-year research project is the first of its kind to measure telomeres across
the entire lifespan of
individuals in
a wild population. Telomeres are found at the end of chromosomes. They act as
protective
caps to stop
genes close to the end of the chromosome degenerating ¿ like the hard plastic
ends of a boot
lace.
Sport:
Lifetime achievement award for Sunil
Gavaskar
Sunil
Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and V.V.S. Laxman were felicitated at
the BCCI annual awards
function
2011-12 in Mumbai. Sunil Gavaskar received the Lifetime Achievement award that
carried a
citation,
trophy and a cheque for Rs. 25 lakh. Tendulkar was honoured with a gold-plated
bat for scoring a
century of
centuries in international cricket and Kohli was chosen as the best Indian
international cricketer of
the year. The
award winners: Col. C.K. Nayudu lifetime achievement award: Sunil Gavaskar:
citation and
cheque for Rs.
25 lakh. Polly Umrigar award: Virat Kohli: Trophy & cheque for Rs. 5 lakh.
Lala Amarnath
award for best
all-rounder in Ranji Trophy: Stuart Binny (KSCA): Trophy & cheque for Rs.
2.5 lakh. Lala
Amarnath award
for best all-rounder in domestic limited overs: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (CAB):
Trophy & cheque
for Rs. 2.5.
lakh. Madhavrao Scindia award for highest scorer in Ranji Trophy: Robin Bist
(RCA): Trophy &
cheque for Rs.
2.5 lakh. Madhavrao Scindia award for highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy:
Ashok Dinda
(CAB): Trophy
& cheque for Rs. 2.5 lakh. M.A. Chidambaram trophy, best under-16 player:
Mohd. Saif
(UPCA): Trophy
& cheque for Rs. 50,000. M.A. Chidambaram trophy, best under-19 player:
Vijay Zol
(Maharashtra
CA): Trophy & cheque for Rs. 50,000. M.A. Chidambaram trophy, best under-22
player:
Satyam
Choudhary (MPCA): Trophy & cheque for Rs. 50,000. M.A. Chidambaram trophy,
best woman
cricketer
(sr): Anagha Deshpande (Maharashtra CA): Trophy & cheque for Rs. 50,000.
Best umpire in
domestic
cricket: S. Ravi: Trophy & cheque for Rs. 50,000
Nuthaki Priyanka crowned by Gary Kasparov
Nuthaki Priyanka
was bestowed with the rare honour for any Indian chess player of being
presented the gold
medal by none
other than former world champion Gary Kasparov. Class V student from
Viswabharati School
in Vijayawada
won the World Under-10 chess championship in Slovenia with 9.5 points from 11
rounds.
IPL gets new sponsor for next 5 years
Pepsi beat
Bharti Airtel to become the new title sponsors of the Indian Premier League
with a whopping
winning bid of
` 396.8 crores for the next five seasons, starting 2013. Airtel had offered
`316 crores, in the bid
for the title
sponsorship of the Twenty20 tournament, owned by the Indian Cricket Board
(BCCI). Farooq
Abdullah, the
Chairman of the BCCI’s Marketing Committee, announced that the rights had been
won by
PepsiCo over
the next five seasons. DLF paid 200 crore in the first five seasons of the IPL.
DLF were giving
40 crores per year and Pepsi
will be giving us on an average `79 crores per year.
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