Surge in the cases of Leptospirosis

Surge in the cases of Leptospirosis

A rise in the number of cases of leptospirosis has been reported in Thiruananthapuram even as the district is focusing its efforts on curbing the dengue fever. Dengue has eclipsed the fact that the incidence of leptospirosis has been on the rise in all districts of the state after the rain began.
What is Leptospirosis?
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by bacteria Leptospira that affects both humans and animals. Humans become infected through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with a urine-contaminated environment. The bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes. Person-to-person transmission is rare. The disease has also been known to trigger abortions in cattle.
How does the transmission take place?
Leptospirosis is transmitted by the urine of an infected animal and is contagious as long as it is still moist. Although rats, mice, and moles are important primary hosts, a wide range of other mammals including dogs, deer, rabbits, hedgehogs, cows, sheep, raccoons, opossums, skunks, and certain marine mammals are able to carry and transmit the disease as secondary hosts.
What are the symptoms?
In the early stages of the disease, symptoms include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, chills, redness of the eyes, abdominal pain, jaundice, haemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash.
Who are most vulnerable?
Although the disease can occur to anyone who comes in contact with the urine of infected with Leptospira, its prevalence is seen in cleaning workers, manual labourers and farm workers are most vulnerable. The number of infection increases in rainy season as people wade through waters contaminated with garbage and animal excreta which contain the bacteria.
How is it controlled?
To counter leptospirosis vulnerable sections are put on Doxycycline prophylactic treatment. Care is taken to distinguish the disease from other diseases like Malaria and Dengue as these too show similar symptoms and spread in the same season.

Three Indian projects to receive U.N. public service awards

Three Indian projects to receive U.N. public service awards

June 29th, 2013

U.N. Public Service Awards will be given to three Indian projects for the year 2013. The awards are given for projects that fight poverty and promote sustainable development.
What are these Projects?
The projects are:
1. Project Mass Contact Programme of Kerala:

Launched in 2011 by Kerala government
Aim:  Combating red tape and bureaucracy in administration
Key Achievements: Enables interaction b/w the people and the government by encouraging them to approach the government directly to get their concerns addressed without delay or corrupt practices. Under this programme, The CM visits each town and organizes massive events where people can address their queries personally. The programme has facilitated in improving accountability in the State. It has reduced the time usually taken to respond to complaints and actions and has expedited problem solving.
2. Project Swavalamban of District Administration of Dhanbad in Jharkhand:
It is an initiative of Dhanbad administration.
Aim : To improve disbursement of pensions in the district.
Key Achievements: Replaced the manual process of disbursement in the payment of pensions, particularly registration of new pensioners by automating payment and creation of direct cash transfers into pensioners’ bank accounts. It reduced the time from three months to three days. Payment through Business Correspondent in remote rural areas has dramatically improved the delivery of services. Besides, the database of all pensioners was digitized with the help of new software.
3. Graamin Haat programme of Department of Cottage and Rural Industries in Madhya Pradesh:
Aim: Women Empowerment
Key Achievements: The Haat Development Committee that operates weekly markets (haats) is setting up Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) that operate its own haats. Women now not only had an important place in the haat and thus in society but also control over resources. Now, there are 1,775 shops in 36 haats benefiting almost 1,800 sellers and 4,15,000 villagers from 217 villages. This endeavor has provided women an opportunity to acquire management skills, operate a business on their own and improve overall living conditions in their communities. This in turn imbued a new sense of self-confidence and earned them respect in the family and society. It has also allowed women to gradually become part of the governance of their community.

Train service linking Banihal in Jammu to Qazigund in Kashmir launched

Train service linking Banihal in Jammu to Qazigund in Kashmir launched

June 29th, 2013

PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi flagged off the first train connecting Banihal in Jammu region with Qazigund in Kashmir Valley.
It was the first train to pass through 11 km tunnel through Pir Panchal Range.
About Banihal-Qazigund Rail Service:
The 18-km Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km long Pir Panchal Range tunnel, the country’s longest, reduces the 35 km distance to 18 km. It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore. The Udhampur-Banihal section is expected to be completed by 2017 connecting the Valley to the rest of the country round-the-year without any hindrance. The Banihal-Baramulla -Banihal train will make five trips daily beginning from June 27, 2013.
Train service is already operational within Kashmir Valley on the 118-km-long route b/w Qazigund and Baramulla in north Kashmir.
Pir Panchal Tunnel:
It is 11-km tunnel b/w tunnel Banihal-Qazigund section. It is the longest tunnel in the country and has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method, which has been used for the first time on such a large scale in India. This method optimises the tunnel design by mobilising the inherent ground strength in adopting a curved section, providing primary support system immediately after excavation and monitoring the ground behaviour while allowing it to develop its inherent strength. The tunnel also has a 3 metre wide road for maintenance and emergency rescue and relief operations. The tunnel has been made water-proof by providing continuous PVC membrane b/w primary and secondary lining.

White Label ATMs

White Label ATMs

June 29th, 2013

RBI gives nod to Muthoot Finance to set up White Label ATMs
Indian gold loan company Muthoot Finance Ltd has obtained the RBI’s in-principle approval to set up the white label ATMs,as the government seeks to take financial services to the remote regions of the country.
What are White Label ATMs?
ATMs set up and run by non-banking entities are called White Label ATMs (WLAs). Earlier, only banks were allowed to establish and operate ATMs. RBI had allowed the company under the guidelines it released in June 2012 which set certain minimum net worth and obligation for permitting independent non-banking firms to operate such ATMs, as per three different schemes.
The Muthoot Finance has been given approval as per Scheme A under which Muthoot Finance will set up WLAs, a minimum of 1,000 WLAs have to be installed in the first year; a minimum of twice the number of WLAs installed in the first year have to be installed in the second year; and a minimum of three times the number of WLAs installed in the second year have to be installed in the third year.
What is the purpose of this move?
The fundamental objective of permitting non-banks to operate WLAs is to enhance the penetration of the machines in semi-urban and rural areas, where bank-run ATMs are a few or none. The move is in line to the governments objective of achieving financial inclusion.

Government bans sale of Analgin, Pioglitazone and Deanxit

Government bans sale of Analgin, Pioglitazone and Deanxit

June 28th, 2013

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has banned the sale of three widely popular medicines - painkiller Analgin, anti-diabetes drug Pioglitazone and anti-depressant Deanxit in the wake of health adversities associated with these drugs.

What is the reason behind the ban?

Under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act 30-B, sale of any drug, the use of which is prohibited in the country of origin, is banned in India until clinical data substantiate that it is risk free.

The ministry has been the postponing the withdrawal of Analgin and Deanxit, which are not marketed globally, for many years despite pressure from a parliamentary panel.  The government has thus taken a stand on banning the sale of drugs that have been prohibited in US, UK, Canada, Japan, European Union or Australia.
What are the risks with the use of these drugs?

• Analgin: It use can cause complications in patients suffering from chronic pulmonary infections and bronchial asthma. It can also decrease in the count of white blood cells, which can be fatal.
• Pioglitazone:  Though generally used in against type 2 diabetes and hyperglycemia, there has been higher occurrence of fractures hands and feet in female diabetics given this drug and is also associated with bladder cancer and congestive heart faliure.
• Deanxit: It is a mix of Flupenthixol and Melitracenis, considered a harmful combination.

India, Hungary sign pact for ‘Gas Monitoring System’

India, Hungary sign pact for ‘Gas Monitoring System’

June 27th, 2013

Following the MoU signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2013, for a gas monitoring system b/w Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Cason Engineering Plc, Hungary, both have inked a pact in pursuant to the same.
How would this pact help?
Cason brings with it experience in developing, manufacturing and implementing systems for gas distribution network monitoring. It will share its expertise with the Indian company to provide automation services for gas and oil companies in India. The joint technical solutions generate easy and fast accessibility to the latest leading technologies for the rapidly developing city gas distributor industry.
What are the advantages of Gas Monitoring System?
The key benefits are:

• To provide tool to control the procurement and sales procedures of daily purchased gas volume and to provide access for stakeholders to the relevant daily business data with technology reports and alarms via Web-based applications.
• It will also provide a pipeline monitoring system and leak detection to leading oil pipeline operators to reduce the number of accidents and incidences such as thefts and pilferages caused by third parties in the pipelines.
• To provide solutions for disaster management and security issues of cross-country pipelines.

SEBI tightens buyback rules

SEBI tightens buyback rules

June 27th, 2013

SEBI has released new buyback norms and a number of other market friendly measures.

Under the new rules:

• It is mandatory for companies selling shares to purchase at least 50% of the offer size. If they fail to do so, the amount in the escrow account will be forfeited, subject to a maximum of 2.5% of the total amount earmarked.
• Companies will have to create an escrow account towards security for performance equivalent to at least 25% of the amount earmarked for buyback.
• Companies are prohibited to come out with another buyback offer within one year from the date of closure of the preceding offer, and the promoters of the company are not allowed to execute any transaction, either on-market or off-market, during the buyback period.
• Maximum buyback period has been reduced to 6 months from current 12 months.
• Start-ups and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) can be listed in Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) without making an Initial Public Offering (IPO). However, these companies in ITP will be able to raise capital only from investors such as Angel Investors, VCFs (Venture Capital Funds) and PEs (Private Equities). They will not be permitted to raise capital. However, they can continue to make private placements.
• Incorporating the recommendations of the K. M. Chandrasekhar Committee on ‘Rationalisation of investment routes and monitoring of foreign portfolio investments’ to simplify the norms for foreign institutional investors, SEBI has relaxed entry rules for offshore portfolio investors to attract more foreign capital into the country at a time of currency weakness and worries over a record high current account deficit.
• Foreign investors will now be permitted to trade in Indian stocks without any prior registration with SEBI.

Foreign Portfolio Investors: Different categories of investors like Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), sub-accounts (or an investment vehicle) and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) have been clubbed under a new category called Foreign Portfolio Investor (or FPI).

Six Forts of Rajasthan get entry into World Heritage List

Six Forts of Rajasthan get entry into World Heritage List

June 26th, 2013

The World Heritage Committee which recently held its meeting in Cambodia has announced the international recognition to six Forts of Rajasthan by including them in the list of World Heritage Site of UNESCO.

The six majestic forts include:

1. Amber (Jaipur)
2. Kumbhalgarh
3. Chittorgarh
4. Jaisalmer
5. Ranthambhore (Sawai Madhopur)
6. Gagaron (Jhalawar)

What is their importance, according to UNESCO?

As per UNESCO, these forts enclosed within them major urban centres, palaces, trading centres that often predate the fortifications within which developed a refined courtly culture. Some of these urban centres have survived, as have many of the site’s temples and other sacred buildings. The forts use the natural defenses offered by the landscape – hills, deserts, rivers, and dense forests. They also feature extensive water harvesting structures, largely still in use today. The hill forts of Rajasthan are strategically built and located on the oldest mountain range of the Aravallis or the Vindhyan range. They stand as testimony to the formation of princely states, development of Rajput ideologies and Rajput architectural style over successive periods, myriad political conflicts, battles and alliances between the ruling Rajput clan vis-a-vis the Sultanate period rulers and Mughal Emperors of Central India. The hill forts represent the genius of Rajput Military architecture – built in local stone masonry tracing the development of the fort typology and evolution of Rajput architectural style from the 15th to the 19th century. The Rajput Forts of Rajasthan reflect the continuity of the Hindu Architectural tradition in secular structures.

UNESCO allows 19 new additions to World Heritage List

UNESCO allows 19 new additions to World Heritage List

June 26th, 2013

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has recognized 19 sites to be added into the World Heritage List.  The new additions have brought the grand total of World Heritage Sites to 981 in 160 nations. Of those, 759 sites are cultural, 193 natural and 29 mixed properties.
The new additions are:
Natural sites:

1. Xinjiang Tianshan (China)
2. Mount Etna (Italy)
3. El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (Mexico)
4. Namib Sand Sea (Namibia)
5. Tajik National Park (Tajikistan)

Cultural sites:

1. Red Bay Basque Whaling Station (Canada)
2. Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces (China)
3. Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong (Democratic People’s Reublic of Korea)
4. Levuka Historical Port Town (Fiji)
5. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (Germany)
6. Hill Forts of Rajashtan (India)
7. Golestan Palace (Iran)
8. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany (Italy)
9. Fujisan or Mount Fuji, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration (Japan)
10. Historic Centre of Agadez (Niger)
11. Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine (Poland / Ukraine)
12. University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia (Portugal)
13. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site (Qatar)
14. Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora (Ukraine)

Beyond adding new sites to its growing list, Unesco has another weapon in its conservation arsenal: World Heritage in Danger. This year, it placed Syria’s six world heritage sites – including the ancient city of Damascus and the ruins of Palmyra — on the danger list in order to draw attention to the risks they face amid political instability. The world’s largest raised coral atoll, Rennell Island in the Solomon Island group, also joined World Heritage in Danger due to the threat of logging. Iran’s ancient Bam Citadel was removed following “sound management.”

RBI auctions Inflation Indexed Bonds

RBI auctions Inflation Indexed Bonds

June 26th, 2013

The government has announced the sale of 1.44% ‘Inflation-Indexed government stock 2023’ for a notified amount of Rs.1,000 crore through price-based auction on June 25, 2013. The results of the auction, to be conducted using the uniform price method by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai, will be announced on the same day.

Up to 20% of the notified amount of bonds on sale will be allotted to eligible individuals and institutions as per the scheme for non-competitive bidding facility in auction of government securities.

Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction are to be submitted in electronic format on RBI’s Core Banking Solution (e-Kuber) system.

What are IIBs?

Inflation-Indexed Bonds or IIBs are are bonds where the principal is indexed to inflation. They are thus designed to cut out the inflation risk of an investment. These bonds will be linked to the inflation index of the country (Wholesale Price Index or WPI) and serve as a better investment option as compared to physical assets like real estate and gold. Higher the inflation, higher the returns.

Why this step?

The step is being taken to de-motivate investments in gold as bulging imports of the yellow metal has been adversely affecting the country’s Current Account Deficit (CAD), which had surged to a historic high of 6.7% in the third quarter of 2012-13. Last month, imports of gold and silver soared by 138% on an annual basis to $ 7.5 billion.

How would IIBs help?

As per RBI, IIBs would help in:

• Boosting domestic savings and reversing the declining savings-to-GDP ratio.
• Providing households and other investors a competitive option against gold and real estate. In the wake of rising inflation last year, there was considerable flow of investments from financial savings to safe-haven assets like gold that resulted into higher imports of the metal. This led to current account deficit or CAD widening to 4.9% of GDP at the end of September 2012.
• Giving investors choice to use IIBs as good hedging instruments against inflation.

How will the Index ratio be determined?

The IR (index ratio) will be computed by dividing reference index for the settlement date by reference index for the issue date, and the final inflation data based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) will be used for providing inflation protection. Besides, in case of revision in the base year for WPI series, base splicing method would be used to construct a consistent series for indexation.

‘Diaspora Bonds’

‘Diaspora Bonds’

June 25th, 2013

India thinks over ‘Diaspora Bonds’
India is examining to introduce “Diaspora Bonds” to attract investment from NRIs (Non-Resident Indians), to facilitate greater inflow of funds in the infrastructure sector. The government is examining longer-term investment instruments for overseas Indians so that the NRI community could participate and benefit from India’s growth.
Current Status: At present most of the diaspora investments are in portfolio investments of a short-term nature.
Plan of Govt: The government is considering the option of ‘diaspora bonds’ for longer-term investment instruments to provide opportunities for overseas Indians and thus facilitate greater inflow of funds in the infrastructure sector.
What are Diaspora Bonds (DBs)?

• A sovereign bond that targets investors that have emmigrated to other countries and the relatives of those emmigrants. For example, the Government of India tries to sell a government bond to Americans of Indian origin. Diaspora bonds are marketed to members of the diaspora.

Attraction for issuing countries:

• “Patriotic discount” - Diaspora investors sometimes offer what is called a “patriotic” discount to governments in their country of origin/ancestry. As per George Washington University’s Liesl Riddle, when diaspora members invest in their homelands, they are motivated by more than just profit: “Social and emotional motivations also play a role.”
• Stable source of finance, especially in bad times
• Support to sovereign credit rating
• Diaspora investors might be willing to accept a lower rate of return and have a greater tolerance for uncertainty when buying diaspora bonds than a mainstream investment.
• Diaspora investors might partially view the purchase of a diaspora bond as an act of charity and might also have a greater understanding of a country’s level of risk than other foreign investors.

Attraction for investors:

• Patriotism & desire to do “good” in the country of origin
• Risk management – Diaspora investors are likely to view the risk of receiving debt service in local currency with much less apprehensions.

What is difference b/w Foreign Currency Deposits (FCDs) and  DBs ?

Foreign Currency Deposits (FCDs) are also used by countries to attract foreign currency inflows.

• But, Diaspora bonds are typically long-dated securities to be redeemed only upon maturity. FCDs, in contrast, can be withdrawn at any time.
• FCDs are likely to be much more volatile, requiring banks to hold much larger reserves against their FCD liabilities, thus decreasing their ability to fund investments. Diaspora bonds, on the other hand are a source of foreign financing that is long-term in nature.

What is India’s Experience in DBs?
Diaspora bonds are not yet widely used as a development financing instrument. Diaspora bonds issued by the government-owned State Bank of India (SBI) have raised over $11 billion to date.
3 separate occasions on which the Indian government has tapped its diaspora base of non-resident Indians (NRIs) for funding on –

1. India Development Bonds (IDBs) following the balance of payments crisis in 1991 ($1.6 billion)
2. Resurgent India Bonds (RIBs) following the imposition of sanctions in the wake of the nuclear explosions in 1998 ($4.2 billion)
3. India Millennium Deposits (IMDs) in 2000 ($5.5 billion).

Features of the IDBs, RIBs and IMDs:

• Opportunistic issuance in 1991, 1998 and 2000
• Balance of payments support
• Fixed rate bonds
• Maturitiy: 5 year bullet maturity
• Limited to diaspora
• No SEC registration
• Non-negotiable
• SBI distribution in conjunction with international banks. The conduit for these transactions was the government-owned State Bank of India (SBI). Thus, the proceeds from such bonds can be used to finance investment.
• Issues were done  in multiple currencies – US dollar, British pound, Deutsche Mark/Euro.

UNESCO world heritage status to Mount Fuji and Mount Etna

UNESCO world heritage status to Mount Fuji and Mount Etna

June 24th, 2013

The World Heritage Committee of the UNESCO, which recently held a meeting in Cambodia, has granted World Heritage status to Japan’s cone-shaped, snow-topped volcano, Mount Fuji. The mountain has been selected as a “cultural” rather than a “natural” heritage site. As per UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”.
Italy’s 3,300-meter (10,900-foot) Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, has also been conferred the World Heritage status for its natural assets. As per UNESCO, Mount Etna has “notoriety, scientific importance and cultural and education value of global significance.”
About Mount Fuji:

• Japan’s highest mountain at 3,776m (12,460 ft)
• Located in south-west of Tokyo
• Last erupted 300 years ago, visible from Tokyo.
• Finds prominent mentions in Japanese art works.
• One of the traditional “Three Holy Mountains” – other two are Mount Tate and Mount Haku, both in central Japan.

India far behind in cyber security compared to US and China

India far behind in cyber security compared to US and China

June 23rd, 2013

Despite being world-known as an Information Technology superpower, India, lags far behind when it comes to official cyber security workforce which comprises a mere 556 experts deployed in various government agencies. If we compare the figures with China, the US and Russia, China has 1.25 lakh experts, the U.S. 91,080 and Russia 7,300.
As per National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), the current strength of cyber experts in India is grossly inadequate to handle cyber security activities in a meaningful and effective manner. To strengthen the sector the government has decided to recruit 4,446 experts to be deployed in six organisations that would take care of India’s cyber security infrastructure.
What are the major organizations which constitute India’ cyber security infrastructure?
These are the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITy), which includes Indian-Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and the National Informatics Centre (NIC); the Department of Telecom (DoT); the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO); the Ministry of Defence; the Intelligence Bureau (IB); and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
What is the status of cyber security in China and the US?
China:
China has “Information Support and Safeguarding Base” to serve as People’s Liberation Army cyber command to address potential cyber threats and safeguard national security. China also has hackers who work for the government. Its cyber workforce is composed of various components of military, national security, public security, propaganda militia and academia. It now has an estimated strength of 1.25-lakh personnel which includes regular troops (30,000), specialists from various universities, research institutes and states enterprises (60,000), and militia (35,000).
The U.S.:
It has 91,080 experts in its cyber security workforce, of whom 88,169 are in the Department of Defense alone. The recent revelations has shown that how the US has been carrying out its clandestine electronic surveillance world over including, India, through its PRISM programme being run by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the US.
The U.S. has also established a 24×7 National Cyber Security and Communications Integration Centre (NCCIC)that is responsible for generating a common operating picture for cyber and communications across the federal, state and local governments, intelligence and law enforcement communities and the private sector. In the event of a cyber or communications incident, the NCCIC functions as the national response centre able to bring to bear the full capabilities of the federal government in a coordinated manner.
What is India doing to address its cyber security concerns?
As per a study conducted by NSCS, all major countries have set up mechanism and organizations dedicated to cyber security, a field where India has performed poorly. To address this concern, India has decided to establish its own ‘cyber security architecture’ that will comprise the National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) for threat assessment and information sharing among stakeholders, the Cyber Operation Centre that will be jointly run by the NTRO and the armed forces for threat management and mitigation for identified critical sectors and defence, and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) under the NTRO for providing cover to ‘critical information infrastructure’. The government is also coming up with a legal framework to deal with cyber security.

Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) on non-farm products

Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) on non-farm products

June 23rd, 2013

Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) on non-farm products from July 1, 2013

As per an announcement made by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), from July 1, 2013, the Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) shall be levied on the derivative contracts of non-agricultural commodities which are transacted via recognized commodity bourses.

What is Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT)?

• Proposed in Finance Bill, 2013 for enhancing financial resources.
• A tax which shall be levied on non-agricultural commodities futures contracts at the same rate as on equity futures that is at 0.01% of the price of the trade.
• CTT would tax trading of non-farm commodities like gold, silver and non-ferrous metals such as copper and energy products like crude oil and natural gas in India.
• CTT exempts 23 specified agricultural commodities which include wheat, turmeric, soya bean, red chilli, mustard seed, potato, pepper, cotton, cotton seed, coriander, copra, channa, castor seed, cardamom, barley and almond.
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• All the processed agricultural items such as guar gum, soya oil and sugar are subject to the CTT on future contracts.
• Here both parties—buyer & seller of contract—will be taxed depending on the amount of contract size.
• Similar to the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) levied on the purchase and sale of equities in the stock market.
• So far, commodity transactions have been exempted from any levy.

What are the Advantages of levying CTT?

• It will open up new resources for the augmentation of government finances.
• CTT would generate revenues of around Rs.45 billion to government.
• It is also aimed at bringing transparency in the commodity exchange market.

What could be the disadvantages of CTT?

• CTT has been opposed by the experts and the PMEAC had also suggested against levying such a tax.
• CTT will increase the transaction cost because traders already pay brokerage, deposit margin, brokerage, stamp duty and transaction charges.

VMS system for security inspection in State

VMS system for security inspection in State

June 23rd, 2013

The latest Visitor Management Systems (VMS) will be installed at key public facilities such as the Government Secretariat, in order to check undesirable elements and to strengthen security. The Home Department will now depend on the State Police Special Branch to offer it “protocol advice” in advance on functions hosted by private persons to which its top functionaries are invited.

How will it work?

Visitors to the offices of Ministers, for instance, will be required to insert their driver’s licence or Aadhaar cards (which contain biometric info.) into the card reader kept at the VMS kiosk. The proposed system will compare the information with the State’s database on its citizens, take the visitor’s photo and issue him a temporary identification badge. After authentication, the visitor will be guided to the Minister’s or bureaucrat’s office. The visitor will be required to hand over the badge when he exits the facility. The Special Branch will also prepare a “lookout index” of “undesirables” to assist the Secretariat security.

Why this step?

The move comes in the wake of a series of “stinging” revelations of its top functionaries, including Ministers, former Ministers, bureaucrats and certain District Police Chiefs, having attended functions hosted by dubious persons, including unscrupulous operators accused of serious financial crimes.

To curb this, the government will inform the Intelligence Wing at least one week in advance of private functions to which its representatives are invited. The Intelligence Wing will preempt “undesirable elements and private profiteers” from exploiting the “openness and easy accessibility” of the State’s political executive for their private ends. The police officials will need to get the clearance from the Intelligence Wing in advance before “endorsing” private functions, excluding social events such as marriages and funerals, by their attendance. The Special Branch will verify the background of the organizers, check the host’s intentions and find who else is on the list of invitees apart from the VIP.

Cabinet approves IWMP as a flagship programme

Cabinet approves IWMP as a flagship programme

June 23rd, 2013

In order to make Centrally-sponsored programmes condensed, the Cabinet has approved Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) as a flagship programme of the government.
Why IWMP?
Around 60% of cultivated area across India is rain-fed. Besides, these areas are also blighted by poverty, water scarcity, low productivity, malnutrition and prone to severe land degradation. The watershed development programme has been adopted as a tool to address problems of the rain-fed or degraded areas in the country.
Key Points of IWMP:
Launched in 2009-10 by the integration of various area development programmes of the Department of Land Resources, including the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), the Desert Development Programme (DDP) and the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP).

• The 12^th Plan allocates the programme an additional Rs. 29,296 crore.
• Cost sharing ratio of Central Government : State Government = 90 : 10
• 9% of the project cost is earmarked for development of livelihoods for asset-less people
• 10% of the project cost is for productivity enhancement and development of micro-enterprises for small & marginal farmers.
• An average size of project under the IWMP is about 5,000 ha which is cluster of micro-watersheds.
• A portion of institution &capacity building (5% of the total project cost) has been provided to set up institutional mechanism at State, District, Project and Village levels and to build capacities of stakeholders.
• It also entails involvement of primary stakeholders in the form of grassroots community organisations.

Expected Benefits of IWMP:
The benefits include increase in availability of surface water & groundwater, changes in cropping pattern from one to two crops annually, increase in fodder availability and increase in milk yield, increase in agriculture
What are Flagship Programmes?
Flagship programmes derive their origin from the term flagship which is the main or most important ship of a country’s navy and is symbolic of the main thrust of the nation’s developmental policy. Major Flagship programmes of the Government of India are:

•   Bharat Nirman: The objective of the Bharat Nirman Programme is to give top priority to rural infrastructure by setting time-bound goals under various schemes to develop rural housing, rural roads, irrigation, rural drinking water and rural electrification. The Programme imposes a responsibility on sub-national governments to create these facilities in a transparent and accountable manner.
• National Rural Health Mission: The main aim of NRHM is to provide accessible, affordable, accountable, effective, and reliable primary health care, especially to poor and vulnerable sections of the population. The programme sets standards for rural health care and provides financial resources from the Union Government to meet these standards.
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme: The Act was notified on 7 September 2005 and is aimed at providing livelihood security through employment for the rural poor.
• Sarva Siksha Abhigyan: This programme was started with the objective of providing elementary education for all children in the age group of 6–14 years by 2010.
• Mid-day meal Scheme: The MDM Scheme launched in 1995 aims to give a boost to universalization of primary education by increasing enrolment, retention, and attendance and
• simultaneously impacting upon nutritional status of students in primary classes.
•  Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP)

Study finds significant role of platelets in immune system

Study finds significant role of platelets in immune system

June 20th, 2013

Scientists from the University of Calgary, Canada, have found through a study a new type of surveillance mechanism linked with immune system taking place in the liver of mice. It was noticed that platelets, which are conventionally known to play a significant role in the clotting of blood and are crucial to wound healing, while flowing across the blood stream in the liver of mice, were making frequent short-lived “touch-and-go” interactions with specialized immune cells called Kupffer cells. Kupffer cells are present in the liver and protect us from infection by capturing and eventually killing bacteria that pass by.

As per scientists, the touch-and-go mechanism was how platelets were scanning for captured bacteria. But when platelets detected a Kupffer cell bound to bacteria, the platelet-Kupffer cell interaction sustained much longer, which led to the killing of the bacteria.

How does it happen?

As per researchers, two receptor proteins on the surface of platelets — GpIb, and the GpIIb-GpIIIa complex have an affinity towards a protein (von Willebrand factor (vWF)) found on the surface of Kupffer cells. The GpIb receptor binds to the vWF long enough to scan for any captured bacteria. If they detect nothing, the platelet comes off and continues along the bloodstream in a touch-and-go interaction. However, when platelets found a Kupffer cell with captured bacteria the second receptor binds to the Kupffer cell resulting in a more prolonged interaction eventually leading up to the killing of the bacteria. Scientists are yet to examine the helpfulness of this binding in fighting infection.

This platelet-mediated surveillance mechanism has been shown to be vital for the mice because most (80-100%) mutant mice lacking platelets or GpIb receptors died within four hours of infection, whereas more than 90% of wild-type mice survived.

What about Humans?

Although the presence of same kind of mechanism in humans is yet to be confirmed, there is good evidence that human platelets can kill malaria infected red blood cells and in sepsis platelets appear to also be involved so they likely do play a role in immunity.

Efficacy of Aspirin questioned

The findings also question the efficacy of drugs like aspirin, which are known platelet inhibitors. If aspirin by its platelet-inhibitory role allows bacteria to survive longer in blood it could help bacteria become more resistant. There may be a need to reconsider aspirin use in immunosuppressed patients.

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill

June 5th, 2013

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill gets Cabinet’s nod
With the aim to bring uniformity in the regulation of realty sector, the Union Cabinet has cleared the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill.
What does the Bill hold?
The bill seeks to:

• Set up a regulator for the real estate sector with provisions for a jail term for the developer for putting out misleading advertisements about projects.
• Provide a uniform regulatory environment to the real estate sector.
• Make it mandatory for developers to launch projects only after acquiring all statutory clearances from relevant authorities.
• To deter builders from putting out misleading advertisements related to the projects carrying photographs of the actual site.
• Slap a penalty of up to 10% of the project cost to the first time offenders and a repeat offence could land the developer in jail.
• Make it mandatory for a developer to maintain a separate bank account for every project to ensure that the money raised for a particular task is not diverted.
• Provide for clear definition of ‘carpet area’ and would prohibit private developers from selling houses or flats on the basis of ambiguous ‘super area’.
• Builders will be able to sell property only after getting all necessary clearances.
• Forbid developers from collecting money from buyers before completing all necessary permits to start construction on the project.