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Environment News

The Environment Ministry Constituted

Committee to Examine Legal Cover for

Elephant Habitats

The Environment Ministry in the third week of February

2013 constituted a committee that will review better

legal protection to elephant reserves as well as the

corridors in India under the green laws which are

already present.

The committee was constituted after National Board for

Wildlife raised concerns about absence of any legal

cover for the elephant corridors and reserves.

The central government has already identified two-third

elephant reserves which cover 69582 sq km of area. The

size of these reserves varies from 450-6724 sq km.

These reserves not just include the forest patches of

various kinds but also the tea plantations, revenue land,

agricultural land, villages and townships.

As of now, these elephant reserves are identified as the

programme of the environment ministry for facilitating

more funds under Project Elephant central scheme.

However, it does not facilitate better legal protection

against the changes to demarcated landscape like that is

case of tiger reserves. The government does not face

many difficulties in safeguarding the tiger reserves,

national parks and sanctuaries, but in case of elephant

reserves, there are certain difficulties faced by the

government.

This is so because the elephants travel hundreds of

kilometres in a year and they run through the forest

and, cities and villages as well. Members of the

committee

•The committee which was set up by the environment

ministry will be headed over by retired senior forest

officer, Vinod Rishi.

•The director of Project Tiger will be the member

convener of the committee.

•Other members will include Member of National Board

for Wildlife M D Madhusudan, elephant conservation

expert Ajay Desai, chief wildlife warden of Odisha J D

Sharma and Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Upadhayaya.

Purpose of the committee

•The committee will have a one year time for examining

the existing networks of elephant corridors and

reserves. The committee will inspect whether these

reserves and corridors sufficiently cover the habitat of

elephants and that what other legal cover can be

provided to these reserves and corridors under the

green laws recommended by Elephant

Task Force.

•The committee will also assess impact of wildlife

protection regulations on the population that lives on or

uses the land that falls inside elephant corridors and

reserves.

Hydro Projects Worth 2500 MW accorded

Clearance by the Ministry of Environment &

Forest

The Hydro Projects worth 2500 MW across

various states were accorded clearance by the Forest

Advisory Committee (FAC) of Ministry of Environment &

Forest (MoEF) on 5 February 2013. The projects include

Tawang-II H.E. Project (800 MW) in Arunachal Pradesh,

Teesta-IV H.E. Project (520 MW) in Sikkim to be

executed by NHPC Limited and Luhri H.E. Project (775

MW) in Himachal Pradesh to be executed by Satluj Jal

Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited. The National Board for

Wild Life (NBWL) has accorded wild life clearance to

Vishnugad Pipalkoti H.E. Project (444 MW) in

Uttarakhand to be executed by THDC India Limited

subject to clearance by the State Board of Wild Life.

The clearances were pending for a long time. The way is

straight clear in tapping the hydro potential of the

country to meet the country’s power needs. Separately,

the MoEF has recently granted Stage-I forest clearance

to eight transmission projects and Stage-II forest

clearance to two transmission projects of the Power

Grid Corporation of India Ltd.

The MoEF, through an order exempted certain linear

projects including transmission lines from the

requirement of obtaining consent of the concerned

Gram Sabha (s) unless recognised rights of Primitive

Tribal Groups/Pre-Agricultural Communities are being

affected. However, all other conditions as prescribed in

the MoEF`s earlier order would apply. This would help

transmission projects obtain clearances faster.

The Union Government of India approved

setting up of NPCA: National Plan for

Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 7

February 2013 approved the proposal for the

merger of National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP)

and National Wetlands Conservation Programme

(NWCP) to develop a new scheme named National

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Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems

(NPCA).

The formation of the NPCA was done with the

objective of conserving aquatic ecosystems (lakes

and wetlands) by implementing sustainable

conservation plans.

To govern the implementation uniform policy and

guidelines will be framed.

The estimated cost to bring this plan into

operations during the 12th Plan Period is 900 crore

rupees. The Government of India and the State

Governments would be sharing the costs in a ratio

of 70:30 and in case of the North-Eastern states

the ratio is 90:10.

Union Cabinet of India gave its nod to

decrease head counts in areas covered under

PMGSY

The Union Cabinet of India on 6 February 2013

gave its nod to the proposal of decreasing the

headcounts to 100 in habitations under the

government's flagship programme, Pradhan

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, PMGSY. Under this

program (PMGSY) habitation with population of

100 tribals and more in eighty-two naxal-hit would

be connected via all weather roads.

Earlier, under the PMGSY program the tribal areas

with a population graph of more than 250 people

in the naxal-affected reasons were covered. The

decision of decreasing the head counts in different

area came after it was pointed out by Kishore

Chandra Deo, the Tribal Affairs Minister that

maximum habitations in these areas had a

population graph of less than 250 people.

India and World Bank signed a Deal for

Karnataka Watershed Development Project II

The Government of India and the World Bank on

11 February 2013 signed a 60 million US dollars

credit agreement for the Karnataka Watershed

Development Project II (KWDP II) to further

improve watershed planning and management in

project areas. The Project will improve

government watershed operations in 930 micro-

watersheds covering 465000 across 7 districts of

Karnataka.

This project builds on the successful experience of

earlier Bank-supported Karnataka Watershed

Development Project I, also known as Sujala,

which helped improve the lives of 230000 farmers

by increasing crop yields by about 25 percent, and

raising household incomes of small and marginal

farmers by 40 percent.

KWDP II will focus on improving the performance

and results of IWMP by introducing new tools and

approaches for integrated watershed planning,

incorporating more information about water

resources into the planning process, facilitating

better convergence of IWMP with other

government programs such as NREGS, and helping

farmers increase agricultural productivity. The

project will cover about 465000 ha and 160000

farmer households in 7 districts.

Consequently, a primary focus of the project is on

supporting the implementation of IWMP in the 7-

selected districts of Karnataka through better

planning, capacity building, monitoring and

evaluation, and post-harvest value addition.

Focus will also be on understanding local needs,

like location‐specific soil‐crop‐water interactions;

expanding the scope of rainwater harvesting and

groundwater recharge, by partly converging the

NREGS with the IWMP and developing

agro‐climatic zone specific technology to enable

rural communities to better adapt to the effects of

climate change.

Among the other components of the project,

horticulture is expected to play a major role in

raising income of farmers even in dry tracks. The

Project will support activities for promoting dry

land production for annual and perennial crops;

crop diversification; help farmers in carrying out

soil, water and leaf analysis to identify nutrient

deficiencies; create facilities for testing, training

and demonstrations; facilitate farmers in availing

quality seed and planting material; and support

farmers to improve post-harvest handling and

marketing of the produce among others.

Karnataka’s dry regions are among the states’

poorest, have low agricultural productivity, and

are susceptible to drought and deepening

environmental stress and degradation. The project

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area has 39400 landless families. Annual normal

rainfall varies from 600 to 800 mm with 43 rainy

days in a year. Rain fed agriculture in 278000 ha of

project area, experiences at least two water deficit

years in a five year cycle due to prolonged dry

spells during crop season and/or delayed onset of

monsoon rains. The project will be financed by a

credit from the International

Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s

concessionary lending arm – which provides

interest-free loans with 25 years to maturity and a

grace period of five years. The Closing Date of the

Project is 31 December 2018.

India and Neighbors

Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of

Bhutan visited India

Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y.

Thinley was on the home visit to India from 7

February to 9 February 2013. During his visit to

India he met with President of Indian Union-

Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vice-

President of India-Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister-

Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance-P

Chidambaram and Foreign Secretary-Ranjan

Mathai. His visit was aimed at improving India-

Bhutan bilateral relationship.

Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley is the Prime Minister of

the Royal Government of Bhutan from 2008, after

Bhutan became a democratic country. Bhutan

became the youngest democracy of the world on 6

November 2008.

• He was the secretary in the Ministry of Home

Affairs in 1992

• In 1994 was appointed as the Deputy Minister

of Home Affairs

• In 1994 he became Bhutan's Permanent

Representative to the office of United Nations and

other international organizations in Geneva

• Lyonchhen served as the Prime Minister of

Bhutan twice before introduction of Democracy in

the nation and the period included July 1998 to

July 1999 and August 2003 to August 2004.

India and Bangladesh signed MoU on Health.

The Health Ministers of India and Bangladesh

signed a MoU on Health in New Delhi on 12

February 2013.The salient features of the MoU

between India and Bangladesh are as following:

The main areas of cooperation between the two

Governments will include the following:

• Exchange of medical doctors, other health

professionals and experts:

• Development of human resources.

• Exchange of information on health.

• Medical and health research development.

• Regulations of pharmaceuticals, medical devices

and cosmetics.

• Health promotion and disease prevention.

• Fostering cooperation for the development of

culturally sensitive and effective public and

professional awareness campaign including clinical

are practices and best practices guidelines for

healthcare providers and caretakers to benefit

individuals and families touched by Autism

Spectrum Disorders and Developmental

Disabilities

• Any other area of cooperation as may be

mutually decided upon.

Moreover, the cooperation between India and

Bangladesh in the fields of health and medical

sciences will be promoted through the following

means:

• Exchange of scientific materials and information.

• Joint collaboration in the area of research in

medical science.

• Institution level cooperation in the field of

medical treatment, scientific research and training.

• Exchange of health specialists and professionals.

• Participation of specialists / professionals in

seminars, workshops, conferences and meetings

to be organized by both the parties.

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• Training for doctors and health workers by both

the parties in the areas where they have relevant

expertise and excellence.

• Other areas of cooperation in the fields of

health and medical sciences as mutually agreed

upon.”

Presidential Election in Maldives scheduled

in September 2013

Election Commission of Maldives on 6 February

2013 announced that the Presidential Elections in

Maldives would be held on 7 September 2013. This

would be the first election scheduled to take place

in Maldives after the former President Mohamed

Nasheed was replaced by the vice-President

Mohamed Waheed, on 7 February 2012.

Nepal Started Census of Endangered Species

Tigers in Five Conservation Areas

Nepal started a three-month-long census of the

tigers on 4 February 2013. Tigers were declared as

the endangered species by International Union for

Conservation of Nature in 2010.

The census includes five main conservation areas

in Nepal which include two wildlife reserves

namely, Parsa and Shuklaphanta as well as three

national parks namely Bardiya, Banke and

Chitwan. All the conservation areas where census

began lie in the Terai plains of the country. First

counting of the tigers started in Shuklaphanta

reserve which is situated in far-west region. The

census was jointly started by the World Wide Fund

for Nature and the National Trust for Nature

Conservation. 50 cameras were installed in

Shuklaphanta reserve for counting the number of

tigers.

Nepal is said to be the abode of Royal Bengal Tiger

that primarily dwells in dense forests of the Terai

plains. Royal Bengal Tiger was declared as the

endangered species by International Union for

Conservation of Nature in 2010.

As per the initial census, there were a total of 200

tigers in Nepal. However, poaching remains a

threat to tigers in Nepal.

Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Mauritius

Visited India

Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Republic of

Mauritius visited India from 3 January 2013 to 10

January 2013. He was accompanied by Aneetah

Purryag as well as the Ministers of Arts & Culture

and of Social Integration and Economic

Empowerment, and senior officials.

Key highlights of his visit:

•Rajkeswur Purryag was the Chief Guest at the

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013 from 8 January 2013

to 9 January 2013.

•President Purryag was honoured with the Pravasi

Bharatiya Samman Award.

•President Purryag met President Pranab

Mukherjee and also held talks with PM Manmohan

Singh in New Delhi on 4 January 2013.

•President Purryag also visited Patna, Tirupati as

well as Kochi during the visit. He visited ancestral

village, Bojeetpore near Patna in Bihar.

King of Bhutan visited India as Republic Day

function Chief Guest

The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar

Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema respectively

visited India from 23 January to 30 January 2013.

King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

was invited by the Indian President to be the Chief

Guest for the Republic Day Celebrations of India.

The visit of the King of Bhutan and his acceptance

to be the chief guest for the Republic Day

celebration would contribute to further

strengthening and expansion of the bilateral

relation and ties between Bhutan and India.

During his visit, the King of Bhutan met with

President of India, the Vice-President, Prime

Minister, UPA Chairperson, Leader of Opposition in

Lok sabha, Foreign Secretary, National Security

Advisor.

Indian Defense

The 9th edition of Aero India 2013, a five-day

aviation show organised by the Defence Exhibition

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Organization of the Ministry of Defence ended at

the Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bangalore on 10

February 2013.

Defence Minister of India, A K Antony inaugurated

the Air Show on 6 February 2013.

During the inauguration ceremony of the 9th

Edition of Aero India show, Aero Space Policy of

Karnataka state was unveiled by the Defence

Minister of India, A K Antony.

The Show was opened for general public on 9

February 2013. The ended after displaying its

magnificent aerobatic skills and belongings that

created a chance of winning potential business tie-

ups and networking.

To make the show the largest Air Show of Asia

different bodies namely Defence Ministry of India,

Indian Air Force, Defence Research and

Development Organization (DRDO), Department of

Space, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and few

more comes together to organize the show.

The first Edition of the show was organised for the

first time in 1996. In the previous 2011 edition of

the show Boeings F/A-18 Super Hornet, Jaguars,

Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, Saab Gripen and Dassault

Rafale were the main highlights of Aero India

2011.

The next Aero India show is scheduled to be held

from 18 February to 22 February 2015 at

Bangalore.

The Exhibition aimed at creating good scopes of

public-private partnership model following the

provisions available in the Defence Procurement

Policy of 2010 that provides Indian aerospace

industry a chance to turn up as a hub for world

class products and technologies for Indian

aerospace industry in the sub-continent.

Union Cabinet approved DRDO for

developing AWACS for IAF

The Union Cabinet of India on 6 February 2013

gave approval to Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) for developing

an indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control

System (AWACS) for IAF.

AWACS allows IAF to keep a close watch on the

enemy territory. The government granted an in-

principal approval to the proposal for developing

an indigenous AWACS. The approval was granted

in the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security.

DRDO officials announced that DRDO would work

for finalisation of further details of the

programmes as well as the number of aircrafts

that IAF would need for giving overall coverage to

India’s boundaries. At present, India has a fleet of

three AWACS aircraft.

Indian Economy

Exports of India Increased By 0.8 Per Cent in

January 2013

The exports of India increased by 0.8 percent in

the month of January 2013 to 25.58 billion US

dollars, comparatively; exports in January 2012

were 25.37 billion US dollars.

Imports on the other hand, increased by 6.12

percent to 45.5 billion US dollars. During April to

January 2012-2013, the overseas shipments of

India dropped by 4.86 percent to 239.6 billion US

dollars. The main concern for the country is

however to widen the trade deficit.

As a cumulative result, the exports depicted an

arrest in decreasing exports. Now, the result is -4.9

percent.

Import of crude oil was growing at a faster pace.

Oil imports in January 2013 increased by 6.91

percent to 15.89 billion US dollars in comparison

to 14.87 billion US dollars in January 2012.

India's Trade Deficit for April - January, 2012-

13 was estimated at 167168.12 Million US

Dollars

As per the data released by Union Ministry of

Commerce and Industry on 13 February 2013,

India’s performance in export and import are as

following:

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EXPORTS

Exports during January, 2013 were valued at

25587.24 million US dollars. (138981.70 crore

rupees) which was 0.82 per cent higher in Dollar

terms (6.67 per cent higher in Rupee terms) than

the level of 25379.05 million US dollars

(130294.02 crore rupees) during January 2012.

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-

January 2012 -13 was 239687.01 million US dollars

(1305420.39 rupees) as against 251930.14 million

US dollars (1196962.33 crore rupees) registering a

negative growth of 4.86 per cent in Dollar terms

and growth of 9.06 per cent in Rupee terms over

the same period 2011-12.

IMPORTS

Imports during January, 2013 were valued at

45583.25 million US dollars (247593.63 crore

rupees) representing a growth of 6.12 per cent in

Dollar terms and 12.28 per cent in Rupee terms

over the level of imports valued at 42952.47

million US Dollars ( 220514.54 crore rupees) in

January 2012. Cumulative value of imports for the

period

April-January 2012-13 was 406855.13 million US

dollars (2215115.46 crore rupees) as against

406820.28 million US dollars (1934946.96 crore

rupees) registering a positive growth of 0.01 per

cent in Dollar terms and growth of 14.48 per cent

in Rupee terms over the same period 2011-12.

CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

Oil imports during January, 2013 were valued at

15899.3 million US dollars which was 6.91 per

cent higher than oil imports valued at 14871.2

million US Dollars in the corresponding period last

year. Oil imports during April-January, 2012-13

were valued at 140420.1 million US dollars which

was 11.56 per cent higher than the oil imports of

125874.2 million US dollars in the corresponding

period last year.

Non-oil imports during January 2013 were

estimated at 29684.0 million US dollars which was

5.71 per cent higher than non-oil imports of US

28081.3 million in January 2012. Non-oil imports

during April – January 2012-13 were valued at

266435.0 million US dollars which was 5.17 per

cent lower than the level of such imports valued at

280946.1 million US dollars in April - January 2011-

12.

Economic Growth of India Estimated to Fall

To 5 Percent in 2012-2013 FY

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 7 February

2013 revealed that the economic growth of India is

estimated to fall to 5 percent in 2012-2013

financial year, which is a lowest figure in 10 years.

A fall in the economic growth is because of the

poor performance of the services, agriculture and

manufacturing sectors.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its advance

forecast of the national income chopped off the

gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate to

5 percent for financial year which will end on 31

March 2013. This is much less than the GDP of 6.2

percent in 2011-2012 financial year. This is said to

be the worst performance of economy of India

since 2002-2003 when the economic growth was 4

percent.

The major share of India’s GDP comes from the

services sector. The services sector is estimated to

record a growth of 5.2 percent in 2012-2013 fiscal

year against 7 percent of 2011-2012 fiscal year.

As far as the industry sector is concerned, it is

expected that the growth would decrease to 1.9

percent in 2012-2013 FY. The farm sector growth

will fall down to 1.8 percent.

It is important to note that the official projection

of the economic growth of India is much lower

than budgetary estimate as well as projections of

the central bank of India and other organisations.

In the union budget for financial year 2012-2013

which was presented in March 2012, the

government pegged India’s economic growth at

7.6 percent.

Also in the quarterly monetary policy review which

took place in the first week of February 2013, the

Reserve Bank of India projected the growth of 5.5

percent for 2012-2013 financial year.

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In the meanwhile, Finance Minister P.

Chidambaram had projected the economic growth

of 5.7 percent.

In first half of 2012-2013 FY, the economy of India

grew by 5.4 percent. However, as per the latest

estimate, the growth would be around 4.6 percent

in second half of 2012-2013.

Industry bodies in the meanwhile asked the

government to press for the reform process in

order to revive the economic growth.

Flight safety International Entered India

through Agreement with Aviators India

Flight Safety International, which is said to be one

of the biggest aviation training companies

promoted by Warren Buffett's Berkshire

Hathaway, entered India through licensing and

consultancy agreement with the Bangalore-based

Aviators India.

Flight Safety International is a 60-year old

company based in New York and it offers more

than million hours of flight training to the aviation

professionals, pilots, cabin attendants and

technicians every year. It also additionally supplies

visual systems, flight simulators and displays to the

military, commercial and governmental

organizations across the length and breadth of the

world. India operations of Flight Safety will start by

June 2013. In its early stage, FlightSafety would

start with the training of cabin attendant for

corporate and commercial flight operators.

Flight Safety will address two main kinds of market

training in India and these are initial market and

recurrence market training.

Bangalore-based Aviators India announced that

there will be more than 10000 flight attendants in

India for corporate and commercial operators.

Also, in next five to seven years, there would be a

growth of 100 percent in this vertical. Aviators

India has remained in business of aircraft charter

services as well as sales of corporate jets to Indians

for around 20 years.

BHEL and GAIL Granted Maharatna Status by

the Union Government of India

The Union Government of India gave the

Maharatna status to two PSUs- BHEL and GAIL on

1 February 2013. Granting Maharatna status to

BHEL and GAIL will provide them with better

functional and financial freedom and will also

guarantee them with better valuation of the

shares.

Ideally any Maharatna firm has a capacity to take

investment decision of around 5000 crore Rupees

without taking assistance from the government.

On the other hand, forms with Navratna status

have the capability of 1000 crore Rupees.

However, both BHEL and GAIL do not have enough

non-official directors on the board, which is why

they cannot exercise their Maharatna powers.

Even though all other conditions of Maharatna

status were met by both these PSUs but their

boards do not have requisite number of board

members. While GAIL is short of 4 independent

directors, BHEL, on the other hand is short of 6

non-official directors.

In terms of turnover, networth as well as net

profit, both these companies meet all the eligibility

criterions.

Eligibility of a company to get a Maharatna status

•For any company to qualify for Maharatna status,

the annual turnover should be over 25000 crore

Rupees in past three years, as per the guidelines

issued by Department of Public Enterprises.

•The net worth of the PSU should be more than

15000 crore Rupees in past three years.

•The net profit should be over 5000 crore Rupees

during past three years.

At present, there are seven Maharatna companies,

after inclusion of BHEL and GAIL and these

companies are - ONGC, Indian Oil, SAIL, NTPC and

CIL. Also, there are 14 Navratna companies,

including Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and

NMDC.

SEBI ordered freezing of accounts and

attachment of properties of two companies

of Sahara

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Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) the stock

market regulator of India on 13 February 2013

ordered freezing of bank accounts and attachment

of properties of two Sahara group firms Sahara

India Real Estate Corporation Ltd., and Sahara

Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. and its

Chairman Subrata Roy as well as top executives

Vandana Bhargava, Ravi Shanker Dubey and Ashok

Roy Choudhary after it failed to refund more than

24,000 crore rupees to investors.

The decision from the market regulator came after

the Supreme Court of India granted it the freedom

to freeze the accounts of the two companies and

attach the properties of the defaulting groups.

The market regulator gave 21 days time to Sahara

Firms to submit the details of the investments

done and not listed in an order. SEBI’s orders

restricts the Sahara India Estate Corporation from

operating its demat accounts and redeeming the

mutual fund units held by it as well as from

transferring the shares controlled by it to any

other body or company.

Sahara Housing was asked to furnish details

related to the development rights along with the

special puprpose vehicles as well as stakes. The

orders to submit the details of movable and

immovable properties to Subrata Roy and the

three executives have restrained them from

alienating, disposing or encumbering the

properties on their names.

Authorized Capital of NABARD raised from

5000 crore rupees to 20000 crore rupees

The Union Cabinet of India on 7 February 2013

approved raise in the authorized capital of

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development, Nabard to 20000 crore rupees from

5000 crore rupees.

The authorized capital was increased with the aim

to enlarge the operations and broadening the

activities of NABARD.

Science and Technology

Asteroid 2012 DA14 to Pass through Earth

poses no threat

The Asteroid 2012 DA14, a 150-foot asteroid

would fly above the earth at a distance of about

17000 miles on 15 February 2013, inside the ring

of geosynchronous weather and communications

satellites. The asteroid would be visible across Asia

including India and can be seen with the help of a

binocular or telescope.

This would be the first encounter of the scientists

with an object so close to earth. This encounter

will bring chances of studying the closet near earth

object. NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office

that have predicted the path of the asteroid had

cleared that there exist no chances of asteroid

collision with earth.

Astronomers Discovered Six Speeding Stars

Racing Through Milky Way

Astronomers in the third week of January 2013

discovered six speeding stars which were racing

through the space at a speed of 3.2 million

kilometers per hour. These stars were ejected

from the huge black hole which sits in the middle

of Earth’s galaxy, Milky Way.

These stars represented the first-known

hypervelocity stars that have mass just like that of

Earth’s Sun. The discovery is said to be very

important because it would reveal how stars were

formed in the dust-cloaked core of Milky Way.

The core of Milky Way is actually cloaked in dust

which makes all stars unclear from telescopes of

the astronomers, except the brightest stars. But

these hypervelocity stars were useful in providing

a peep into how star formation took place in the

depths of Milky Way.

This is so because it is believed that the

hypervelocity stars form when the black holes in

the centre of Milky Way consume one star in

binary system and ejects other (its twin), throwing

it through the space at extremely high speed.

The astronomers explained that these stars were

highly fast-moving objects which were

gravitationally unbound to Earth’s galaxy. Even

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though these stars were in proximity to black

holes, but they were not cloaked by dust and so

they could be identified using telescopes easily.

Identifying these stars could help in revealing the

kind of star formation that took place in galactic

centre.

Astronomers at University of Hawaii in their study

made use of the data from Palomar 5-metre

telescope in California. In their study they

discovered 130 stars in Milky Way which were

traveling at a fast pace. Then the astronomers

narrowed down the group of stars which were

traveling at extremely fast speed with ejection

from centre of Milky Way galaxy. Six of the stars

met this criterion.

Seismologists Declared Life on Earth Was

Facing Threat Due to Catastrophic Super-

Volcano

Seismologists in the second week of February 2013

declared that life on our planet was facing threat

because of the catastrophic super-volcano which

would erupt anytime in 200 million years.

The seismologists explained that around two

heaps of rocks which are like the size of

continents, were crashing against each other as

they shift under the mantle of the Earth, i.e., 2900

km below Pacific Ocean.

Seismologists also explained that beginning of any

of huge eruptive events could lead to gigantic

destruction on the Earth. This mechanism would

lead to huge plume eruptions but these would

happen somewhere in 100 million to 200 million

years time duration.

The study conducted revealed that the activity

created zone of partly molten rock which was that

of the size of Florida and this would cause massive

eruptions in the times to come.

Hotspot plume super-volcano eruptions during

previous 2 million years at Yellowstone caldera of

Wyoming led to huge landforms. For example,

gigantic flood basalt eruptions created huge

provinces such as Pacific Northwest’s Columbia

River basalts some 17 to 15 million years ago.

Since early 1990s, scientists knew about existence

of thermochemical piles, which were that of the

size of continents, sitting on top of the Earth’s core

and below most of the volcanic hotspots of the

Earth.

First Complete Bionic Man of the World

Unveiled at London's Science Museum

First bionic man of the world called Rex was

unveiled on 7 February 2013 at London's Science

Museum. The bionic man was created using 1

million US dollar limbs as well as organs.

Prosthetic legs and ankle came from MIT, synthetic

blood from Sheffield University, spleens, pancreas

and artificial kidneys from University College

London, retinas from Oxford University and

artificial lungs came from Swansea.

Rex has a human face with brown eyes and a

height of 6.5 feet. It was designed jointly with

assistance from 18 universities and companies.

Rex gave a hope that it was possible to replace the

body parts with the artificial alternatives, for the

very first time.

The internal organs of Rex such as artificial lungs,

bladder and pancreas were in line of development.

It is important to note that it is not possible for

certain technology to function without the help of

human input. For example bionic hands require

signals from brain and muscles to work properly.

Other parts however, such as pancreas and heart

can be designed to work automatically.

Rex would remain in display at London's Science

Museum from 7 February 201 to 11 March 2013.

Sir Issac Newton’s 300-Year-Old Textbooks

Discovered in UK School

A box of books said to be that of Sir Isaac Newton,

in the school physics laboratory of Newcastle-

under-Lyme School, Staffordshire in UK were

discovered in the first week of February 2013. The

textbooks are over 300 years old and contain

works of Sir Issac Newton who is credited with

discovery of gravity.

The auctioneers estimated that the discovery

could be worth thousands of pounds. The books

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were discovered by the sixth-form physics student

Will Garside while working on the artefacts from

the school site.

The books contained Newton’s Laws of Motion as

well as the account of principles of gravity spread

across over 1000 pages. The discovered books are

a set of three volumes and are said to be the

property of first headmaster, Francis Elliot

Kitchener, who was a keen scientist. The three

books are known as Philosophiæ Naturalis

Principia Mathematica, meaning mathematical

principles of natural philosophy. They were first

published on 5 July 1687.

The work of Sir Issac Newton was translated in

English in 1728. Sir Newton was leading scientist in

subjects such as alchemy, theology, natural

philosophy and astronomy. He was born in 1642

and died in 1727.

Japanese Scientists Filmed the Thoughts of a

Fish for the First Time

The Japanese scientists from the Saitama

University in the first week of February 2013

filmed for the first time, the thoughts of a fish

while it tracks the prey, revealing about the

precision of the brain activity that governs its

hunting behaviour. The study is a first of its kind

and it led to real-time recording of the precise

brain processes in the animal.

In the similar studies conducted earlier, the

patterns of the brain activities while making use of

MRI scans were studied. These MRI scans were

used to find out when the different regions of a

brain switched on and off. However, this new

study used a very different approach for recording

which individual cells were being used at a

particular moment.

The filmed thoughts are very important because

this technology can be used for understanding the

thought process of the animals as well as the

humans. Also, it could be used for learning about

the abnormalities which lead to increase in

diseases of a brain.

In the study, the scientists demonstrated the map

in a brain of the Zebra fish. This map was also

present in human brain. This could greatly help in

interpreting the behaviour of an animal which

includes understanding their anger, joy, memory,

learning and much more.

In their study, the scientists modified the larvae of

the Zebra Fish genetically so that the neurons in

their optic tectum emitted a fluorescent green

light when being used. The larvae of Zebra Fish

have transparent bodies which meant that the

activities of brain cells could be easily filmed in a

real-time with the help of a microscope and a high-

resolution camera.

NASA launched a New Communication

Satellite called TDRS

NASA on 31 January 2013 launched a new

communication satellite to stay in touch with its

space station astronauts and relay more Hubble

telescope images. An unmanned Atlas V rocket

blasted into the starry night sky carrying the

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) from Cape

Canaveral. This is the 11th TDRS satellite to be

launched by NASA. The space agency uses the

orbiting network to communicate with astronauts

living on the International Space Station. The first

TDRS spacecraft flew in 1983.

This newest third-generation TDRS carries the

letter K designation. Once it begins working, it will

become TDRS-11. It will take two weeks for the

satellite to reach its intended 22300-mile-high

orbit. Testing will last a few months. NASA

estimates the satellite costs between 350 and 400

million US Dollars. Another TDRS spacecraft, L in

the series, will be launched in 2014.

NASA Satellite Data Found Freshwater Losses

in Middle East

A new study using data from a pair of gravity-

measuring NASA satellites found on 12 February

2013 that large parts of the arid Middle East region

lost freshwater reserves rapidly during the past

decade.

Scientists at the University of California at Irvine

found that during a seven-year period beginning in

2003, parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran along the

Tigris and Euphrates river basins lost 117 million

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acre feet (144 cubic kilometers) of its total stored

freshwater. That is almost the amount of water in

the Dead Sea. The researchers attribute about 60

percent of the loss to pumping of groundwater

from underground reservoirs.

Since obtaining ground-based data in the area is

difficult, satellite data, such as that from NASA's

twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

(GRACE) satellites, are essential. GRACE is

providing a global picture of water storage trends

and is invaluable when hydrologic observations are

not routinely collected or shared beyond political

boundaries.

GRACE is like having a giant scale in the sky.

Within a given region, rising or falling water

reserves alter Earth's mass, influencing how strong

the local gravitational attraction is. By periodically

measuring gravity regionally, GRACE tells us how

much each region's water storage changes over

time.

The team calculated about one-fifth of the

observed water losses resulted from soil drying up

and snowpack shrinking, partly in response to the

2007 drought. Loss of surface water from lakes

and reservoirs accounted for about another fifth of

the losses. The majority of the water lost

approximately 73 million acre feet (90 cubic

kilometers) was due to reductions in groundwater.

When a drought reduces an available surface

water supply, irrigators and other water users turn

to groundwater supplies. For example, the Iraqi

government drilled about 1000 wells in response

to the 2007 drought, a number that does not

include the numerous private wells landowners

also very likely drilled.

Water management is a complex issue in the

Middle East, an area that already is dealing with

limited water resources and competing

stakeholders said Kate Voss, lead author of the

study and a water policy fellow with the University

of California's Center for Hydrological Modeling in

Irvine, which Famiglietti directs.

GRACE is a joint mission with the German

Aerospace Center and the German Research

Center for Geosciences, in partnership with the

University of Texas at Austin.

National

Giuseppe Orsi held on Bribe Charges in

Indian Defence Helicopter Deal

Giuseppe Orsi, head of an Italian defence and

aerospace giant Finmeccanica was arrested in

Milan on 11 February 2013 on the charges of his

alleged involvement in the bribery activity to

secure an Indian defence helicopter deal of 3600

crore rupees. He was arrested in relation to the

probe of the international corruption.

The Deal

The contract signed with Italian defence giant

Finmeccanica in February 2010 involved supply of

12 VVIP three-engine

AW-101 choppers from AgustaWestland for the

Indian Air Force’s elite Communication Sqadron.

By now, three choppers have already been

delivered to India.

As per the reports on the bribe scam, it’s expected

that about 362 crore rupees that is equivalent to

about 10 percent of the final deal was given back

to help the Italian firm in winning the contract.

About Finmeccanica

The Finmeccanica is an Italian defence Giant

company that entered into a deal to supply 12

three-engine AW-101 helicopters to India in

February 2010.

Giuseppe Orsi, now the CEO of Finmeccanica and

the then head of its Helicopter Unit was arrested

on the charges of the bribe scandal that surfaced.

Mohan Parasaran Appointed As the Solicitor

General of India

Mohan Parasaran, the Additional Solicitor General

was on 13 February 2013 appointed as the

Solicitor General of India after senior advocate

Rohinton Nariman resigned from his designation.

Mohan Parasaran will serve as the Solicitor

General of India for a term of three years. The

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Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

cleared his name for Solicitor General of India.

Rohinton Nariman resigned from his post in Early

February 2013.

Mohan Parasaran is a senior advocate of the

Supreme Court. He was appointed by first UPA

Government as Additional Solicitor General (ASG)

in July 2004.

Government of Haryana abolished VAT on

Wheat

The State Government of Haryana exempted Value

Added Tax (VAT) on Wheat that is given to the

beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)

under Public Distribution System (PDS) on 13

February 2013. It’s expected that this exemption

would tune up about 1.50 crore Rupees in a year.

The State Government of Haryana was offering a

subsidy benefit of 6.35 crore rupees on wheat to

the beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana.

The State Government also offered a VAT free

distribution of Kerosene under Public Distribution

System. The decision of exempting wheat from

VAT for the Beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna

Yojana was taken in conformation of the directions

provided by the Union Government of India that is

2 Rupees per Kilogram.

Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty Appointed As the

Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee

appointed Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty as the

chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi on 12 February

2013. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty is the IAS officer

of 1970 batch and retired from the designation of

Secretary to Government of India.

Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty will retain his position

till 31 December 2017. Chakravarty also served in

Madhya Pradesh government. He had also

remained member-secretary of Indira Gandhi

National Centre for the Arts and director general

of the National Museum, New Delhi apart from

vice chancellor of the National Museum Institute.

Lalit Kala Akademi

Lalit Kala Akademi or the National Academy of Fine

Art is fine art institution of Government of India

with an objective to promote, develop as well as

spread the culture of Indian fine art. It receives

funds from Ministry of Culture.

Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to Minorities

Crossed 15 Percent Mark in 2012-2013

Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to Minorities

increased considerably from 10.60 percent of total

PSL in 2007-2008 to 15.01 percent in 2012-2013.

Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to minorities belongs

to one of the schemes which are covered under

the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for

Welfare of Minorities.

An increase was observed because of lending of

171960.71crore Rupees as on September 2012 to

the minorities.

Self-employment initiatives were created and

sustained because of bank credit. The increase was

observed because of sustained efforts of

government of India.

In order to increase credit flow to the minorities,

various steps were undertaken by the

Government. These included:

•Reserve Bank of India issued directions on Priority

Sector Lending in order to improve credit facilities

to the minorities.

•From 2007-2008 to 2011-2012, 5954 branches of

bank were opened in those areas where there was

substantial minority population.

•Regular monitoring of Public Sector Banks was

done for checking disposal of loan applications for

the minorities.

•14244 awareness campaigns were organised by

Public Sector Banks in 15466 towns and blocks

which covered minority population.

Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to Minorities in the

absolute terms increased from 58662.67 crore

Rupees in 2007-2008 to 171960.71crore Rupees as

of September 2012.

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Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for

Welfare of Minorities

The President on 25 February 2005 announced

that Government of India would recast the 15

Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities for

including certain programme specific

interventions.

The objectives of this programme were as follows:

•Enhancing opportunities for education.

•Ensuring an equitable share for minorities in

economic activities and employment, through

existing and new schemes, enhanced credit

support for self-employment, and recruitment to

State and Central Government jobs.

•Improving the conditions of living of minorities by

ensuring an appropriate share for them in

infrastructure development schemes.

•Prevention and control of communal disharmony

and violence.

Afzal Guru’s Secret Hanging Was Called

Operation Three Star

Operation Three Star: Code name given to secret

plan for executing Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist

Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail on 9 February 2013.

Operation Three Star started on 4 February 2013,

just a day after the President of India Pranab

Mukherjee rejected mercy plea of Afzal Guru. A

few top officials of Home Ministry were aware

about secret Operation Three Star.

Afzal Guru was hanged on 9 February 2013 at 8

AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi. Afzal Guru was guilty

of conspiring as well as providing shelter to

terrorists who attacked Indian Parliament on 13

December 2001.

Hanging of Mumbai terror attack militant Ajmal

Kasab was called Operation X. he was hanged at

Yerwada Central Jail on 21 November 2012.

Allahabad Stampede: Several Injured and

Killed at Allahabad Railway Station

Stampede took place at the Allahabad railway

station on 10 February 2013. On 11 February 2013,

the death toll reached to 36 people. The death toll

is likely to increase. The injured were being treated

at SRN hospital in Allahabad and railway hospitals.

Victims included 9 men, 26 women and one child.

Bodies of 20 deceased people were identified. The

stampede took place at Platform number 5 and 6

where a number of passengers, most of which

were Maha Kumbh devotees, were returning after

they took dip in the Holy Sangam on the occasion

of Mauni Amavasya.

The government of Uttar Pradesh ordered inquiry

into this matter. The government also asked

Railways to sanction ex-gratia of 5 lakh Rupees to

families of deceased.

Azam Khan resigned as in-charge of Kumbh after

the Allahabad stampede

Following the stampede that tolled 36 lives,

Mohammad Azam Khan, the UP minister resigned

as an in-charge of ongoing Kumbh Mela, owing to

the moral responsibility.

Pandit Ravi Shankar Honoured With

Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy

Award

Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar legend was

honoured with the posthumous Lifetime

Achievement Grammy award. His daughter sitarist

Anoushka Shankar accepted the award on his

behalf on 9 February 2013 ahead of the Grammy’s

show that took place in Los Angeles on 10

February 2013.

Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones attended the

pre-Grammy ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell

Theatre for accepting the honour which was given

to their deceased father. Pandit Ravi Shankar died

on 11 December 2012 at 92 years of age.

Pandit Ravi Shankar was in the list of seven other

artistes named for Lifetime Achievement Award

honourees and this also included Carole King and

the Temptations. The Indian sitar legend also won

best world music album Grammy for The Living

Room Sessions Part 1. Pandit Ravi Shankar’s

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daughter Anoushka Shankar was also nominated in

this category for album Traveller.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram launched

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in

Mumbai

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 9 February

2013 launched the much-awaited Rajiv Gandhi

Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai. The move will

encourage new investors to put their money in the

stock market. The scheme, which was announced

in the Budget 2011-12, seeks to provide tax

benefits to first-time investors in stock market.

Under the

scheme, an individual with an income of less than

10 lakh rupees would get tax incentives for

investing up to 50000 rupees in the stock market.

As per the notification issued by the Securities and

Exchange Board of India on the scheme, there

would be a lock-in period of one year on

investments made under the scheme.

Ministry of Civil Aviation launched Monthly

Bi-lingual Shubh Yatra Magazine

Ministry of Civil Aviation on 8 February 2013

released Shubh Yatra, an exclusive monthly bi-

lingual (Hindi & English) inflight magazine of Air

India. It covers travel, lifestyle, culture and

entertainment in all colour and spice.

This is the new name of the inflight magazine.

I&B Ministry launched MyIndia Initiative-A

Digital Volunteer Programme to reach

Citizens

The Information and Broadcasting Minister,

Manish Tewari on 7 February 2013 launched the

MyIndia Initiative-A Digital Volunteer Programme

to reach out the people in the social media space.

The initiative from the I&B Ministry is aimed

towards disseminating and delivering the

messages of development to the citizens by

registering them as volunteers them on the social

media platforms. The initiative is an effort to make

the citizen contribute positively towards nation

building and this would initiate a principle of

participative governance across the nation.

The I&B Ministry on 8 February 2013 also tried to

reach out the citizens for the first time via Live

Twitter Conference on the eve of 3rd Community

Radio Conference. This was the first ever

conference of such type by any of the Ministry’s of

Government of India. Community Radio: Road

Travelled & way forward was the topic for

community radio conference and it lasted for a

period of 30 minutes from 4 pm to 4:30 pm.

Afzal Guru, the convict of Parliament Attack

2001 hanged after rejection of Mercy Plea

Mohamammed Afzal Guru, the convict of 2001

Parliament attack was hanged on 9 February 2013

at 8 AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi.

The Supreme Court of India pronounced the death

Sentence for Afzal Guru in 2004 for masterminding

the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13

December 2001.

The decision of hanging him came after the mercy

petition filed was cancelled by the President of

India, Pranab Mukherjee on 23 January 2013.

The 2001 Parliament Attack

The terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-

Mohammad managed to attack on the Parliament

of India, leading to the death of about a dozen of

people including the security persons as well as

civilians.

More mercy plea’s rejected by the President,

Pranab Mukherjee

Before rejection of Afzal Guru’s mercy plea, two

more mercy pleas were rejected by the President

in the recent past and they include the mercy

pleas of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks convict,

Ajmal Kasab and Saibanna Ningappa Natikar, the

person convicted for murdering his daughter and

wife and was sentenced to death.

Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist caught during the 26/11

attacks in Mumbai, was hanged in a Yerwada Jail,

Pune in a top-secret operation on 21 November

2012.

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Saibanna Ningappa Natikar currently lodged in the

Central Prison at Hindalga, Belgaum, Karnataka

and his plea was rejected by the President on 4

January 2013.

Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram launched

in Thane, Maharashtra

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on 6 February 2013

launched a new health initiative called Rashtriya

Bal Sawsthya Karyakram at Palghar town in Thane

district of Maharashtra. The Rashtriya Bal

Swasthya Karyakram, is a part of the National

Rural Health Mission of the Union Ministry of

Health and Family Welfare.

The Main Features of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya

Karyakram are as following:

• The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram is aimed

at improving overall quality of life of children

through early detection of birth defects, diseases

and deficiencies, which are among key factors for

child mortality.

• The new initiative would assure a package of

health services for all children up to 18 years of

age. The programme will also prove economical

for poor and marginalized.

• The services will be provided through dedicated

mobile health teams placed in every block. The

scheme, which will be implemented in a phased

manner, is expected to benefit approximately 27

crore children across the country.

Birth defects account for 9.6 per cent of all new-

born deaths and 4 per cent of under-five mortality.

According to the programme, a set of thirty

common conditions have been identified for

screening and further management of child health.

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is an Indian

health program for improving health care delivery

across rural India. It was launched on 12 April 2005

for a period of 7 years.

I&B Ministry Constituted Expert Committee

to Review Functioning of Prasar Bharti

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on 29

January 2013 constituted an Expert Committee to

review the institutional frame work of Prasar

Bharati as well as its relationship with

Government, its role in continuance as a public

broadcaster and the measures that needs to be

taken to ensure technical upgradation of the

organization. Sam Pitroda is the Chairperson of the

committee.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Committee are as

follows:

• To suggest measures to sustain, strengthen and

amplify Prasar Bharati`s role as a Public

Broadcaster with special reference to its

relationship with Government in the emerging

context.

• The committee is responsible for reviewing the

status of implementation of the

recommendations, which were made by different

committees after undertaking the study of Prasar

Bharati, mainly, the Sengupta committee, the

Bakshi Committee and the Narayanamurthy

committee. It is also responsible to suggest a road

map ahead to enhance the reach and potential of

Prasar Bharati.

• The committee is responsible for identifying the

ways for digitization of the archived material

available with Doordarshan (DD) and All India

Radio (AIR), which includes digitization of the

materials of the Independence Movement. As well

suggest the measures for development of

infrastructure data centre, digitalization system

and networks

• The committee is responsible to find the ways

offer suggestions to use the new media for

delivering digital content; both in broadcast mode

(DTH) and in a demand-based mode (Free on social

media like You-Tube and on payment through

IPTV).

• Identify the ways and develop strategy to

create a network of domestic and overseas

business partners to ensure wider reach to a

worldwide audience that includes creation of an

exclusive overseas service.

• Any other statutory issue that the Committee

may like to consider.

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Members appointed by the government in the

Expert Committee are:

• Sam Pitroda is appointed as the Chairperson of

the committee. At present he is the advisor to the

Prime Minister of India on Public Information

Infrastructure & Innovations

• Asha Swaroop (member of the committee), he

is a retired IAS and former Secretary to the Govt.

of India

• Dr. B.K. Gairola (member of the committee), he

is the Mission Director of e-Governance

• Shekhar Kapur (member of the committee), he

is the Member of the National Innovation Council

• Prof. M.P. Gupta(member of the committee),

he is from IIT Delhi - Member

• Jitendra Shankar Mathur (member of the

committee), he is the Additional Secretary and

nominated member on Prasar Bharati Board

• Shri Jawhar Sircar (Convenor member of the

committee), at present he is the Chief Executive of

Prasar Bharati

SC directed Government to notify Cauvery

Water Disputes Tribunal Award

The Supreme Court of India on 4 February 2013

directed the Union Government of India to notify

the six-year-old final award of the Cauvery Water

Disputes Tribunal by 20 February 2013. A bench

headed by Justice RM Lodha expressed displeasure

over the government not notifying the award even

after the warring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had

agreed before it on 4 January 2013 that they had

no objection if the award was notified. The Centre

had earlier assured the apex court that it would

notify the tribunal’s award by 31 December 2013.

The apex court also directed Karnataka to release

2 Thousand Million Cubic feet, of Cauvery water to

Tamil Nadu and directed the Central Water

Commission to file a report on the water

requirement of the two states. It asked the

Commission to form a three-member expert body

which will visit the states and directed it to file

report within two days. The court posted the

matter for further hearing on 7 February 2013.

The court was hearing Tamil Nadu's petition

seeking the immediate release of 12 TMC of water.

Rohinton F Nariman Solicitor-General of

India resigned from his office

Rohinton F Nariman, the Solicitor-General of India

resigned from his office on 4 February 2013. He

was appointed at the second highest law official of

India on 23 July 2011 after Gopal Subramanium

resigned from his office on 14 July 2011 following

the issues with Government in context to the 2G

Spectrum Allocation Scam.

Nariman was designated as a senior advocate at

the age of 37, when M.N. Venkatachaliah, the

Chief Justice of India amended the rules and

reduced the age from 45 years for designating a

lawyer as a senior advocate.

In the history of last four decades, only three

Solicitor Generals have been successful in

completing his five year term in the office and they

are - L N Sinha from 1972-77, Dipankar Gupta from

1992-97 and G E Vahanvati from 2004-09.

Panel to Examine issues of Certification

under Cinematograph Act 1952 Constituted

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 4

February 2013 constituted a panel for examining

the issues of certification under Cinematographer

Act 1952. Shri Mukul Mudgal, the retired Chief

Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court was

appointed the Chairman of the Panel.

Role and Responsibilities of the panel:

I) The Panel would be responsible for reviewing

the mandate and functioning of CBFC and

recommend measures that includes constitutional

changes for enabling CBFC to deal with

contemporary requirements of certification with

increased transparency/efficiency. The issues,

inter alia, may include:

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a) The process of certification under the Act and

Rules, including the mechanism followed by

Examining and Revising Committees

b) Categories of certification, existing and

proposed, under the Cinematograph (Amendment)

Bill, 2013

c) Requirement of special categories of

certification for the purposes of broadcasting on

television channels and radio stations

II) It will be responsible for reviewing the mandate

and functioning of Film Certification Appellate

Tribunal (FCAT) in order to make it a more

efficacious appellate body

III) It will be responsible towards examining the

role of Central Government regarding sanctioning

of cinematograph films for exhibition under Entry

60, List I of the Seventh Schedule to the

Constitution of India with reference to Entry 33,

List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution

of India

IV) The Panel will also be responsible for

suggesting measures for carrying on more

effective legal remedies and penal provisions in

the Act, particularly with reference to making of

the unlawful copies, camcording in cinema halls,

interpolation/insertion of clips after certification

and such similar issues

V) It will be responsible for the issues that the

Panel may find fit to deliberate upon

Members of the Panel constituted to examine

issues in Cinematographer Act 1952 by I&B

Ministry includes:

• Mukul Mudgal is appointed as the chairperson

of the panel. He is the retired chief justice of high

court of Punjab and Haryana

• Lalit Bhasin, at present is the Chairperson of

FCAT

• Sharmila Tagore, she was the former

Chairperson of CBFC

• Janab Javed Akhtar, renowned music composer,

writer and lyricist

• Leela Samson, she is the Chairperson of CBFC

• L Suresh, he is the Secretary of South Indian

Film Chamber of Commerce and former President

of Film Federation of India

• Rameeza Hakim, is the Advocate in Supreme

Court of India

• Raghvendra Singh, he is the Joint Secretary

(Films) and I&B-Member and Convenor

The constituted Panel is responsible for submission

of report within two months period from the day

of its constitution.

President of India Pranab Mukherjee Gave

Assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2013

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 3

February 2013 agreed to the Criminal Law

(Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 for sharpening the

laws against sexual assault. The President

mandated harsher punishment such as death

penalty for the offenders in such cases where the

victim either dies or lands into the vegetative

state. The amended law would come into force

almost immediately.

Features of the Criminal Law (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2013:

This Ordinance may be called the Criminal Law

(Amendment) Ordinance, 2013. It shall come into

force at once.

•Insertion of new section 166A to the Indian Penal

Code: Public servant disobeying direction under

law.

•Insertion of new sections 326A and 326B to the

Indian Penal Code: Voluntarily causing grievous

hurt by use of acid, voluntarily throwing or

attempting to throw acid.

•Insertion of new sections 354A, 354B, 354C and

354D to the Indian Penal Code: Sexual harassment

and punishment for sexual harassment, Assault or

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use of criminal force to woman with intent to

disrobe, voyeurism, stalking.

•Substitution of new sections 370 and 370A for

section 370 to the Indian Penal Code: Trafficking of

person, employing of a trafficked person.

•Substitution of new sections for sections 375,

376, 376A, 376B, 376C and 376D to the Indian

Penal Code: Sexual assault, punishment for sexual

assault, punishment for causing death or resulting

in persistent vegetative state of the victim, sexual

assault by husband upon his wife during

separation, sexual intercourse by a person in

authority, sexual assault by gang and punishment

for repeat offenders.

•Insertion of new section 198B of the Code of

Criminal Procedure: Cognizance of offence

•Insertion of new section 53A of the Indian

Evidence Act, 1872: Evidence of character or

previous sexual experience not relevant in certain

cases.

•Substitution of new section for section 114A of

the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Presumption as to

absence of consent in certain prosecution for

sexual assault.

•Substitution of new section for section 119 of the

Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Witness unable to

communicate verbally.

What does the Criminal Law (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2013 include?

•The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013

was given assent by the President and it includes

stalking, voyeurism, acid attacks as well as

disrobing of women. These crimes were given the

status of specific offences under the Indian Penal

Code. The ordinance was approved by Union

Cabinet of India on 1 February 2013.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013

comprises of various recommendations from the

JS Verma committee as well.

•The ordinance is an impact of the Delhi gangrape

which took place on 16 December 2012 in a

moving bus. The ordinance brought changes to the

clauses of already-existing criminal law by making

amendments in Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC),

Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Evidence Act.

Part V the Union CHAPTER III of the Constitution of

India grants legislative powers to the president to

pass the ordinance. Article 123 includes power of

president to promulgate ordinances during recess

of parliament.

Article 123 of the Constitution of India

(1) If at any time, except when both Houses of

Parliament are in session, the President is satisfied

that circumstances exist which render it necessary

for him to take immediate action, he may

promulgate such Ordinances as the circumstances

appear to him to require.

(2) An Ordinance promulgated under this article

shall have the same force and effect as an Act of

Parliament, but every such Ordinance-

(a) shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament

and shall cease to operate at the expiration of six

weeks from the reassembly of Parliament, or, if

before the expiration of that period resolutions

disapproving it are passed by both Houses, upon

the passing of the second of those resolutions; and

(b) May be withdrawn at any time by the

President. Explanation - Where the Houses of

Parliament are summoned to reassemble on

different dates, the period of six weeks shall be

reckoned from the later of those dates for the

purposes of this clause.

(3) If and so far as an Ordinance under this article

makes any provision which Parliament would not

under this Constitution be competent to enact, it

shall be void.

Duration of the ordinance

An ordinance once passed by the President of

India remains into force for a time period of six

months. Within this period, the Parliament needs

to pass the ordinance.

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P.R. Vasudeva Rao Appointed As the Director

of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic

Research

P.R. Vasudeva Rao became the Director of the

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR)

at Kalpakkam on 31 January 2013. He succeeded

S.C Chetal, who has now retired.

Dr. Rao was earlier the Director, Chemistry Group

in IGCAR and is also a specialist in the field of

actinide chemistry as well as a few areas of

chemistry of nuclear fuel cycle. In IGCAR, Dr. Rao

led various R&D programmes related to the field

of chemistry.

About Dr. Rao

• Dr. Rao did graduation from Sri Ramakrishna

Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai in 1972.

• He later became a part of the Department of

Atomic Energy after he graduated from Bhabha

Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Training School,

Trombay.

• He got his Ph.D. degree in actinide chemistry

from Bombay University.

• In 1978, after resigning from BARC, he joined

IGCAR. He played a crucial role in establishing

Radiochemistry Laboratory in IGCAR.

• Various awards were bagged by him which also

include Indian Nuclear Society award in 2007.

• Dr. Rao’s specialty is designing and developing

breeder reactors.

Immediate Medical Treatment to be given to

Criminal Offence Victims: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on 31 January 2013 ordered

the Government of Delhi to issue guidelines to all

hospitals, including the private hospitals in the

capital not to refuse treatment to the victims of

criminal offences, mainly those of road accidents

and rapes.

A bench which was headed by Chief Justice D

Murugesan ordered the Delhi government that

victims of gangrape and other crimes, including

road accidents should immediately be given first

aid treatment, as per the condition of the victim.

The directions of Delhi High Court were a result of

the Delhi gangrape which took place on 16

December 2012 in a moving bus. The court also

said that Police Commissioner of Delhi will issue

directions with immediate effect after the order is

passed by the Government of Delhi to abide by the

orders of the Delhi High Court.

India dropped to 140th Rank in the Latest

World Press Freedom Index

India dropped nine places to 140th rank in the list

of 179 countries in the latest World Press Freedom

Index 2013, which is the lowest since 2002. India

got this lowly rank because of increasing impunity

for violence against journalists and internet

censorship. Netherlands, Norway and Finland

topped the list. The Press Freedom Index was

released by world Press Freedom index for the

year 2013. China got 173rd rank. Turkmenistan,

North Korea and Eritrea were placed at the bottom

of the list as has been in the last three years.

As per the Press index report, there has been a

decline in freedom of information in South Asia

and the Indian subcontinent among Asia witnessed

the sharpest deterioration in providing freedom

and security for those involved in news reporting

in 2012. In India considered as the world's biggest

democracy, the authorities insist on censoring the

Web and impose numerous kinds of restrictions,

while violence against journalists was not punished

and the regions like Kashmir and Chhattisgarh are

getting increasingly isolated.

The Maldives crashed to 103rd place (-30) because

of violence and threats against journalists in state

television and private media regarded as Nasheed

supporters by the coup leaders. Bangladesh more

or less faces the same situation. Its journalists are

targets of police violence frequently. They are not

protected by authorities in case they face violence

against them.

Pakistan which ranked 159th is one of the world’s

most dangerous nation for reporters. Nepal ranked

118th position.

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Reporters without Borders also published an

annual global indicator of worldwide media

freedom which coincided with the release of its

2013 Press Freedom Index. This new analytic tool

is helpful in measuring the overall level of freedom

of information in the world and the performance

of the world's governments in their response to

Press freedom.

Parle-G Became the First Indian FMCG Brand

to Cross 5000 Crore Rupees Mark

Parle-G in February 2013 became the first Indian

FMCG brand that crossed 5000 crore Rupees mark

in terms of retail sales in one year. Parle Products

were launched in 1939 when the British ruled

India. Factually, Parle Products in

2012 sold 5010 crore rupees worth glucose

biscuits at the retail price, surpassing the domestic

sales of Godrej products and Dabur, while at the

same time also selling thrice more products than

Maggi.

This means that Parle Products sold over 100 crore

packets of the glucose biscuits every month, or

14600 crore biscuits in 2012. Parle-G that has less

than 1 billion dollar sales in a year, but even then it

has good lead over its rivals such as Hindustan

Unilever's Wheel and Ghari Detergent.

Parle-G’s share increased from 67 percent in 2002

to 79 percent in 2012. Comparatively, shares of

Britannia's Tiger and ITC's Sunfeast brand fell

down.

World News

North Korea conducted its third Nuclear Test

and defied UN Regulations for World Peace

North Korea on 12 February 2013 announced

success of its underground Nuclear Test. The

country cleared that the miniaturized nuclear

device was detonated successfully and it also

announced that the test was an act of self-defence

from the US Hostility and also threatened stronger

steps in future.

This was the third test conducted by the country

since 2006 that had defied the UN regulations in

existence. The test is reported to have conducted

in the North Hamgyeong Province nearby the

Punggye-ri nuclear complex, the place where the

tests of 2006 and 2009 were conducted. Due to

the past two nuclear tests of 2006 and 2009, North

Korea is already facing many sanctions over it

imposed by the United Nations Security Council.

This is the first test conducted in North Korea

under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.

World Response

The Western Nations termed this act to be highly

provocative act of North Korea and claimed it to

be a threat to the stability of the region. Whereas

Asian countries like, China, Japan and Russia

criticized the test and announced it to be a threat

beyond tolerance. The international bodies like UN

and NATO claimed this test as irresponsible and

threat to the world peace.

World Radio Day was observed to raise

Awareness about the Importance of Radio

World Radio Day was observed on 12 February

2013 to raise awareness about the importance of

radio, facilitate access to information through it

and enhance networking among broadcasters. On

the 18th of December, 2012, the United Nations

General Assembly endorsed the 2011 resolution

adopted by the UNESCO General Conference,

proclaiming the 13th of February as World Radio

Day, the day United Nations Radio was established

in 1946.

Since its invention more than a century ago, the

radio serves as a channel for information and

entertainment. The multi-purpose medium is an

important source of information in those areas

which are sometimes too remote to get a

newspaper delivered.

Across the world, the number of radio stations is

increasing and the cost of broadcasting is

decreasing. More than ever, the radio remains an

effective means to bring social change, by sharing

knowledge and providing a platform for inclusive

debate.

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Pope Benedict XVI announced his

Resignation because of Poor Health

Pope Benedict XVI announced on 11 February

2013 that he would resign at the end of the

month. He reasoned that he was too infirm to

carry on. He is the first pontiff to do so in nearly

600 years. The decision set the stage for the

election of a new Pope before the end of March

2013.

Pope Benedict XVI is 85 years old. He had become

the Pope in 2005. The last Pope to resign was Pope

Gregory XII, who took this step in 1415 to put an

end to the Great Western Split among competing

papal claimants.

Largest Saltwater Crocodile of the World,

Lolong Died in Philippines

The largest saltwater crocodile of the world,

named Lolong died in Philippines on 10 February

2013 just 17 months after it was captured and put

for tourists on display.

Lolong measured 6.17 metres or 20.24 feet. The

largest crocodile of the world died because of

illness that is not known. It is believed that Lolong

was over 50 years old.

A hunting party that was sanctioned by the

government captured Lolong in September 2011.

The largest crocodile of the world became a source

of tourist attraction.

Lolong was declared officially as the largest

crocodile of its kind in captivity by the Guinness

Book of World Records in 2012. It beat the record

of 5.48-metre crocodile named Cassius which was

kept in park in an island off Queensland, Australia.

Lolong belonged to the family of species called

Crocodylus Porosus, or the Indo-Pacific crocodile,

which is said to be the largest reptile of the world.

Education Minister of Germany Annette

Schavan Stripped of Doctorate for plagiarism

Annette Schavan the Education Minister of

Germany on 6 February 2013 was stripped of her

doctorate degree by the committee of academics

at Duesseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University. The

University took the action after the committee

considered the allegations of plagiarism done by

Schavan in different parts of the thesis submitted

to the University.

The allegations were made against the Education

Minister by an anonymous blogger in 2012

claiming the Annette Schavan failed to cite the

passages properly of the thesis in philosophy

submitted to the University in 1980.

Before this, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the

former Defence Minister of Germany resigned

from his office in 2011 after it was confirmed that

a major portion of doctoral thesis submitted by

him to avail the doctorate was copied.

World Cancer Day observed across the world

4 February: World Cancer Day World cancer day

was observed on 4 February 2013 in order to raise

awareness about this illness as well as to promote

the measures, early detection, prevention and

treatment of the disease. The theme for World

Cancer Day, 2013 was Cancer - Did you know? The

theme focused on dispelling the misconceptions

associated with the disease.

Various functions on the day were organised by

Union for International Cancer Control, which is

the leading organisation for cancer fighting.

Facts related to cancer

•Cancer accounts for 7.6 million death in a year

across the world.

•Most of the cancer deaths occur because of

stomach, lunch, colon, liver and breast cancer.

•Around 30 percent cancer deaths occur because

of dietary and behavioral risks.

•22 percent of the cancer deaths occur because of

tobacco use. Tobacco use also accounts for 71

percent of worldwide lung cancer deaths.

•Around 70 percent of deaths due to cancer occur

in low and middle income countries.

•Deaths because of cancer across the world are

rising continuously and it is estimated that there

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might be 13.1 million deaths because of cancer in

2030.

Report: India accounts to 86 percent Oral Cancer

Figure across the World

Experts of National Institute of Health and Family

Welfare (NIHFW) in first week of February released

a report on the harmful effects of gutka. It

reported that 86 percent of the total oral cancer

figure across the world accounted to India. A total

of 75000 to 80000 new cases of cancer were

diagnosed in India itself.

In case of India the maximum number of cancer

was a result of tobacco chewing, because Indians

chew tobacco more than smoking. India consists of

14 percent smoking tobacco users and 26 percent

chewing tobacco users.

As per the report tobacco is responsible for

creating 1.5 lakh cancer patients, 4.2 million heart

diseases and 3.7 million lung diseases in India

every year, making India an oral cancer capital.

The statistics released by the Health Ministry 65

percent cancers in India are caused due to the use

of tobacco. Other data released reveled that a

third of the annual 5.6 million cancer deaths in

India occurs due to the excessive use of tobacco.

The rate of oral cancer reported in India is about

twice the global average.

In 2008 cancer was the cause of 7.6 million deaths

worldwide. In case of men from South-East Asia

Region, oral and lung cancers are the most

prevalent ones and breast and cervical cancers are

mainly found in women.

The Government of India invests a sum of 300

billion rupees per year approximately on

treatment of tobacco related illness via both

private and public spending. It accounts to one-

fourth of the total spending on health issues in the

country. About 2500 persons die every day in India

due to diseases related to tobacco.

Mo Yan and Jackie Chan Selected As

Members of Chinese Parliament

Mo Yan, the winner of Nobel Prize for literature,

2012 and Jackie Chan, the movie star were given a

political role in China by being selected as

members of the Chinese People's Political

Consultative Conference, one of the houses of

Chinese parliament.

Mo Yan and Jackie Chan were among 2237 people

selected by China's new leaders led by Xi Jinping as

the members of CPPCC National Committee. Out

of 2237 people, 399 are women. Xi Jinping is the

new general secretary of the Communist Party. He

will become the President of China after two

Houses of Parliament have meeting in March 2013.

Apart from Mo Yan and Jackie Chan, other known

face to be given a seat in this political party

includes former NBA star and popular basket ball

player Yao Ming.

CPPCC comprises of the members from different

fields and they were selected without any election

process. The party includes 893 members of the

Communist Party. The chosen officials include

members of non-Communist parties, military

officers, officials, representatives from

environmental, social, cultural, political and

economic fields.

Sports

India maintained their Number One Spot in

the ICC ODI Championship Table

India maintained their number one spot in the ICC

ODI Championship table in the latest rankings

issued in Dubai on 11 February 2013. Both India

and England have same 119 rating points, but

England lags behind on the basis of decimal points.

Australia and South Africa follow the top two

teams closely with 116 and 112 points

respectively.

Among the batsmen, South African run machine

Hashim Amla is at number one followed by fellow

countryman AB Devilliers. India’s Virat Kohli is at

number three followed closely by the skipper

Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Among the bowlers,

Pakistan off spinner Saeed Ajmal maintains his top

billing followed by Mohammad Hafeez. In the All

rounder’s category, Pakistan skipper Mohammed

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Hafeez is the leader followed by Bangladesh’s

Shakib Al Hasan.

Zhuang Zedong, Three-Time World Table

Tennis Champion Died At 72

Zhuang Zedong, the table tennis legend died in

Beijing on 10 February 2013 following lengthy fight

with cancer. He was aged 72 years.

Zhuang Zedong is a three-time world table tennis

champion. He won a range of events in 1960s. He

was renowned for chance meeting with Glenn

Cowan, the US table tennis player during 31st

World Table Tennis Championships in 1971.

Zhuang Zedong and Ping-Pong Diplomacy

Zhuang Zedong remained a crucial figure in ping-

pong diplomacy of 1971 and is popularly also

called the Architect of Ping-Pong Diplomacy. Ping-

pong diplomacy means exchange of the table

tennis (ping-pong) players between China and US.

This was done to normalise relations between

these two countries.

Sachin Tendulkar equaled Sunil Gavaskar’s

record of 81 Centuries in First Class Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar on 8 February 2013 equaled the

record of Sunil Gavaskar of 81 first class hundreds

in first class cricket at Mumbai. He managed to

equal Gavaskar’s record after scoring an unbeaten

140 runs in Irani Trophy against Rest of India in the

first innings of the tournament of Mumbai team.

Centuries of Sachin in first class cricket

• 51 in Test matches

• 18 in Ranji Trophy

• 2 in Irani Cup

• 3 in Duleep Trophy

• 1 in county cricket for Yorkshire

• 6 in other games

India Returned With 46 Medals in 2013

Pyeongchang Special Olympics World Winter

Games

The 2013 Pyeongchang Special Olympics World

Winter Games finished on 5 February 2013 after a

week of competition among differently-abled

athletes. The games took place from 29 January

2013 to 5 February 2013. Almost 200000

spectators witnessed the games in venues-

Pyeongchang and Gangneung. India returned with

46 medals in 2013 Special Olympics World Winter

Games at Pyeong Chang, South Korea.

The differently-abled athletes of India won 46

medals in all- 13 gold, 17 silver and 16 bronze from

mentally-challenged 2200 athletes participating

from more than 120 nations in the games. The

medal tally of India doubled from World Winter

Games 2009.

These games were completed in eight categories

of sports- alpine skiing, cross-country skiing,

snowboarding, snowshoeing, figure skating, short

track speed skating, floor hockey and floorball.

Various celebrities participated in the games to

support these athletes. Some of the popular faces

were former NBA

All-Star Yao Ming and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.

In its closing ceremony, figure skating superstars

Kim Yu-na and Michelle Kwan were also present.

Allan Border Medal 2013: Michael Clarke

Won the Medal Fourth Time

Michael Clarke, the Australian cricket captain won

the fourth Allan Border Medal in Melbourne on 4

February 2013. 31-year old Clarke had won the

medal earlier in 2005, 2009 and 2012. Apart from

Clarke, the only other player to win this medal four

times is Captain Ricky Ponting.

Michael Clarke also won the Test cricketer of the

year award for the second consecutive time after

he scored 1080 runs in nine tests from 25 February

2012 to January 28 2013.

List of Awardees of Allan Border Medal in different

categories:

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•Domestic Player of the Year: Phil Hughes

•Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: Joe Burns

•T20 Player of the Year: Shane Watson

•ODI Player of the Year: Clint McKay

•Test Player of the Year: Michael Clarke

•Women's International Player of the Year: Jessica

Cameron

•Allan Border Medal: Michael Clarke

About Allan Border Medal

Allan Border Medal is a prestigious award given

away in the Australian cricket. It was first awarded

in 2000. The Allan Border Medal is named after the

former captain of Australia, Allan Border.

ICC Rankings for Test Cricket released in Dubai,

South Africa achieved the top Spot

International Cricket Council, ICC rankings for test

cricket was released on 4 February 2013 in Dubai.

South Africa emerged as the world number one

team in the category and is followed by England,

Australia, Pakistan and India.

In the latest rankings released by the ICC Hashim

Amla, the South African batsman has emerged as

the best batsman in the category and with this he

became the first batsman to hold the number one

dice in both Test and One-day format of the game

since 2007, before this Ricky Pointing was the

cricketer to hold this position. Michael Clarke, the

Australian batsman was racked at second position

in the ranking.

Dale Steyn, the South African bowler holds the top

position in the bowling ranking and is followed by

his teammate, Vernan Philander. South African,

Jacques Kallis has retained his position as the

number one test all-rounder with versatile

performance.

Pragyan Ojha is the only Indian to feature among

the top ten bowlers in the test rankings released.

Glenn McGrath and Charlie Turner Joined

Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

Glenn McGrath and Charlie Turner, the renowned

fast bowlers were unanimously chosen to be

inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

on 3 February 2013. Hall of fame chairman David

Crow declared that these two pace bowlers were

inducted officially at Allan Border Medal

ceremonies on 4 February 2013.

McGrath has a test career spanning 14 years over

124 matches. The highest tally of McGrath is 563

wickets at 21.64. This is the fourth highest tally of

all times. McGrath was also the winner of Allan

Border Medal in 2000. He was inducted in ICC Hall

of Fame in December 2012.

Charlie Turner, on the other hand, took 6-15 on

test debut at Sydney in 1887. He died in 1944.

Turner took 101 wickets at 16.53 in 17 test

matches between the time period of 1887 and

1895.

Other Hall of Fame inductees

The other Hall of Fame inductees include Keith

Miller, Arthur Morris, Bill O'Reilly, Bill Ponsford,

Bob Simpson, Warwick Armstrong, Richie Benaud,

Lindsay Hassett, Ian Healy, Hugh Trumble, Victor

Trumper, Bill Woodfull, Rod Marsh, Stan McCabe,

Allan Border, Sir Donald Bradman, John Blackham,

Charles Macartney, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh,

Doug Walters, Glenn McGrath, Graham McKenzie,

Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Neil Harvey, Clem Hill,

Ray Lindwall, Fred Spofforth, Mark Taylor, Alan

Davidson, George Giffen, Dennis Lillee, Clarrie

Grimmett, Monty Noble and Bill Lawry.

MS Dhoni Named As the Vice-President of

India Cements

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Indian

cricket team was appointed as the vice-president

of India Cements on 1 February 2013. India

Cements is headed by BCCI President N Srinivasan.

It is important to note that Dhoni resigned from

Air India team recently and now is expected to

play for India Cements in the BCCI Corporate

Trophy which started on 1 February 2013. India

Cements owns IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings,

the captaincy of which lies in the hands of Dhoni

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since 2008. The Managing Director-cum-vice-

chairman of India Cements is Srinivasan.

Including MS Dhoni’s name in the India Cements

team for Corporate Trophy starting from 1

February 2013 to 8 February 2013 was actually a

surprise, especially because the captain had

declared to take rest for some time.

Earlier, Dhoni played in the Corporate Trophy for

the team of Air India, but later he resigned. The

Corporate Trophy will be taking place in four main

cities- Nagpur, Raipur, Indore and Pune.

Angelo Mathews appointed Captain of the

Sri Lankan Test and One-Day Cricket Team

Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan all-rounder

cricketer was appointed the Captain of the test

and one-day cricket team of Sri Lanka on 14

February 2013 for a period of one year. Mathews

replaced Mahela Jayawardene, who announced to

quit captaincy after Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia.

Dinesh Chandimal, the wicket-keeper batsman was

appointed as the vice-captain in the test and one-

day format of the game and will lead the country

as a captain in the T20 format of the game. Lasith

Malinga was appointed as the vice-captain for the

T20 team.

Angelo Mathews

• Angelo Mathews is a Sri Lankan all-rounder

cricketer, who made his debut in the international

cricket in a One Day International match against

Zimbabwe in November 2008.

• In 31 test matches Mathews have scored 1668

runs since making his debut in 2009 and recorded

his first and only test century against Australia

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