Today's Editorial 27 June 2014

  Time for a ministry of logistics

Source: By Michael Pinto: The Financial Express
So the first, hesitant steps to combine subjects that should not have been separated in the first case have been taken. In the new government’s Cabinet, corporate affairs has been brought under the finance ministry; culture and tourism are under one minister; overseas Indian affairs moves into the foreign ministry; power, coal and renewable energy will all come under one massive umbrella and the roads and shipping ministries get back together as they were in the past.

The importance of clubbing ministries that have organic links with each other and that should never have been separated at all can hardly be over-emphasised. Somehow, the impression has gathered ground that it is only coalition governments that increase the number of jobs needed to keep the boys happy. But ironically enough, it was T Anjaiah who—as the head of a single-party, Congress government in Andhra Pradesh many years ago—formed the country’s earliest jumbo cabinet with more than 60 ministers. The joke at the time went: In his desperation to find jobs for his ministers, he was all for splitting animal husbandry into two portfolios—one for animals, the other for husbandry—so that it could accommodate two ministers.

To be fair, the tendency to expand cabinet size to the maximum permitted under law was seen in both the UPA governments that ruled for the last 10 years as well as in the first NDA government. It was also the first NDA government that decided that the ministry of surface transport be bifurcated with roads and highways becoming a separate ministry.

The move to bring these departments and the shipping department back into one ministry must be applauded. Indeed, they should never have been separated in the first case. It was the mistaken belief that only a separate ministry could successfully handle the huge investment of more than R60,000 crores in the Golden Quadrilateral Project that led to the split. But a country’s road network is intimately linked with the development of its airports and seaports and its ability to move cargo in and out of such ports with speed and precision. Roads act as the vital link for the efficient movement of raw material at the lowest cost from the point of import to factories where they are used. They are equally crucial in the movement of finished products from the place of manufacture to the place where they will ultimately be consumed.

If this has now been recognised, it is a pity that the new government did not go a step further and bring other related service providers under the same ministry. More and more, it is being accepted that one important key to the revival of growth in the country is the need to reform our appalling record in the field of logistics. That India has still a great distance to go in this respect is beyond doubt. Reliable statistics show that logistics costs in the country stand at roughly 13.5% of GDP. The corresponding figure for advanced countries is 8%. And this when the secondary sector accounts for barely 15% of GDP. When that figure rises substantially—which it must if growth is to rise to 9-10%—the cost of logistics will only be higher and its effects on efficiency even more pronounced.

How can we control the spiraling costs of logistics in the country? Several things will have to be done but the first and most important is to bring some coherency in policy-making in this field. Today, logistics, as a subject, is dealt within several ministries, each with its own ideas of how to deliver transport solutions. Thus, decisions on roads were, till recently, taken in one ministry while decisions in respect of seaports were taken elsewhere. While that will now change, construction of vital rail links will be still be decided without reference to either roads or ports. Policy decisions on the movement of cargo by air, an essential aspect of logistics, will remain with the ministry of civil aviation.

This is not all. Containerised exim cargo must be handled in container freight stations (CFS) or inland container depots (ICD) located at different parts of the country. Since more and more cargo is being containerised, the role of CFSs and ICDs has gained in importance. Transactional costs rise or fall depending on how efficiently these agencies perform. But to get permission to set up a CFS you have to approach the ministry of commerce. They, in turn, will place your request before an empowered committee with members drawn from different ministries for decision. There is no fixed periodicity for meetings of this committee. Why a purely investment decision taken by a private company should require the approval of government is not clear; but what is even less clear is why this committee should be located in yet another ministry.

In every exercise to improve the policy framework, within which exim trade is conducted, Customs is the elephant in the room. While it is true that Customs must be closely involved in the business of import and export, the skill and innovativeness it brings to the handling of the entire operation is vital to the efficient movement of cargo. But Customs comes under the finance ministry and so another player comes into the reckoning.

How will we integrate decision-making in the complex task of moving exim cargo within the country if decisions regarding such movement are taken at several different places by separate independent authorities? There seems little doubt that the best solution would be to have a ministry for logistics, charged uniquely with this responsibility.

The problem with this solution is that it involves closing down a significant number of ministries and this is neither practical nor doable. But is it really necessary to wield the scalpel with such rigour? The nucleus of the logistics ministry will, of course, be the ministry of roads and shipping, but the railway ministry for instance, would continue to exist, looking after passenger transport, rolling stock, catering, safety, etc. It will be the limited area related to handling of cargo and the infrastructure thereof that will shift to the new ministry. Similarly, the ministry of civil aviation will look after passengers, airports, safety and the civil aviation administration in the form of the DGCA. Only matters relating to movement of cargo by air will go to the new ministry. The logistics ministry will frame policies for CFSs but everything else will remain with the commerce ministry.

The problem will arise with Customs which must remain with the ministry of finance. Here, also a formula could be worked out to lay down procedures at airports and sea-ports for cargo transport. Customs officers posted at such ports could be considered to be on deputation to the civil aviation or shipping ministry for the period of their stay there.

Implementing a radically new scheme could throw up other problems as well and perhaps the greatest of them will be resistance to such a major change. But all reform involves some re-vamp of the existing order and this must necessarily result in some pain. Brave rulers who are convinced of the merit of a proposal will bite the bullet.

Today's Editorial 26 June 2014

                         Standing with Shias

Source: By M K Bhadrakumar: Deccan Herald
The security and stability of West Asia always affects Indian interests, because it is a region where millions of Indians live and work and it constitutes a dynamic export market for Indian goods and services and it’s a region, which plays a pivotal role in India’s energy security. While the Indian mission in Baghdad couldn’t have been unaware of Iraq’s steady slide into ethnic and regional polarisation, the job of evacuating the Indians trapped in the conflict zone has become daunting because of the eruption of civil-war like conditions almost overnight.

Delhi seems to have some idea of the location where the abducted Indians are held, and presumably, a sense of who to deal with. While the layman’s impression could be that the Islamist militants belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is responsible for the turmoil in northern Iraq, the situation is actually more complicated than that and the Islamists are only one among many sub-plots. To be sure, there has been an insurrection in the areas of northern Iraq, which constitute the homeland of Sunni Iraqis.

Disparate elements have joined the revolt, bringing together radical Islamists to secularists, who include erstwhile Ba’athist factions, army officers who served under Saddam Hussein, tribal chieftains, ulema and so on, and some of these alienated Sunnis would appear to have taken help from the Takfiri groups operating in the region such as the ISIL.

Since multiple centres are calling the shots, our efforts to get the kidnapped Indian nationals released to safety get complicated. To compound matters, the insurrectionists come under the influence of foreign masters – some of them, at least. Friendly capitals such as Ankara could tell us about the leads to follow in northern Iraq. The Kurdistan and Mosul regions and the Sunni heartlands of northern Iraq are a hunting ground for Turkey. The ousted Sunni vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi lives in exile in Turkey and he hailed last week’s ‘Iraqi Spring’.

Another friendly country with influence with the Islamists could be Saudi Arabia – although it will never display it. Jordan too has a vast intelligence network inside Iraq. In the ultimate analysis, however, much will depend on how wide the Indian diplomats have been casting their net in Iraq. In countries such as Iraq (or Afghanistan), which has been in stages of fragmentation, it is wiser always to cast our net wide, but then, that is easier said than done.

Delhi needs to evaluate the developing Iraqi situation from several angles. The prominent BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has reportedly called on the Modi government to offer military and economic support to prime minister of Iraq Nouri Al-Maliki. Swamy also urged the government to “formulate a policy to deal with the long-term issue arising from the imminent Sunni-Shia attrition war”.

Fair enough, in principle. But the alarming thing is Swamy’s estimation that Hindus and Shias are natural allies because the latter has acquiesced with the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, and reciprocally, therefore, the Modi government should “stand with Shias in the emerging Shia-Sunni attrition war in Iraq.

Explosive thesis

This is an explosive thesis. While a good foreign policy is always an extension of the government’s domestic policies, to orientate India in terms of a sectarian Sunni-Shia war would be extremely dangerous and actually unwarranted. The Shia-Sunni mutual antipathies in history have never stained India’s social fabric or disfigured its political tapestry – unlike in the case of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia – and why should we import into our country such abhorrent cultural strains?

With regard to Iraq’s sectarian politics, on the other hand, India has no reason to play a partisan role. While government-to-government ties with Baghdad will continue, it must be borne in mind that it is not due to financial difficulties or lack of military potential that the Iraqi armed forces melted away at the sight of the ISIL fighters, but there has been a colossal breakdown of the country’s leadership.

Suffice to say, Shia empowerment and the politics based on confessional affiliations in Iraq, bequeathed to that country by the Americans during the period of occupation, need not necessarily have led to widespread Sunni alienation. Even Iraqi Shia leaders voice criticism of the manner in which Maliki repeatedly adopted an ambivalent stance toward accommodating legitimate Sunni aspirations, which although a minority, used to be the ruling class until a decade ago.

There are three or four key templates where Iraqi developments may impact on India’s regional and global interests. First and foremost, Iraq’s turmoil can lead to rise in oil prices, which would mean more burdensome import bill for the struggling Indian economy. Second, if the current Iraqi events morph into a US-led ‘War on Terror 2’, it could almost certainly lead to a seamless radicalisation of the West Asian region and the fire could spread sooner than we may expect to the Persian Gulf countries, which have a huge Indian diaspora.

Two, don’t ask for whom the bell tolls, because it is always a bad thing to happen – be it Yugoslavia and, now, Iraq or Syria and Afghanistan – when pluralistic societies fragment or are partitioned, as the history of our subcontinent testifies. Simply put, such wounds take time to heal and it debilitates regional security.

Finally, what exacerbated the contradictions in Iraqi politics has been external intervention beginning with the US invasion in 2003. The US intervention tapped into the old imperial strategy of ‘divide-and-rule’ by playing on Iraq’s sectarian fault lines – not only Sunni-Shia but also the Arab-Kurdish divide. The result is plain to see.

Ironically, the only good thing here, from Indian perspective, could be that the preoccupations in West Asia just might hold back the US from accelerating its ‘pivot’ to Asia, which also emanates out of its strategies of global hegemony and thrives on fuelling regional tensions.

Today's Editorial 25 June 2014

      Betrayal of understanding

Source: By Kuldip Nayar: Deccan Herald
Democracy and personal liberty should never be taken for granted. This is a warning that the imposition of the Emergency gave 39 years ago when the then prime minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, furtively extinguished the Lights of freedom on the night of June 25-26 to save her skin. The Allahabad High Court had disqualified her as an MP for six years for using official machinery during her election campaign.

Instead of stepping down, she suspended the constitution, imposed Press censorship and constricted personal freedom. More than 100,000 people were detained without trial and all the opposition members, including Jayaprakash Narayan who had led the movement against her corrupt government, were put behind bars. The worst was that she destroyed the institutions which still have not regained their health.

The lesson to learn is to have a transparent government which can rule within the precincts of the constitution. A strong government means an effective government, not one person rule, which negates the very parliamentary democracy that we have preferred to the presidential form. People are the masters and anything done to silence their say goes against the very grain of our republic’s democratic, pluralistic and egalitarian ideals. Those who violated these principles were punished when elections were held in 1977.

Even a tall person like Mrs Gandhi was defeated at the polls. To know all this is important so that it does not happen again. Yet some signs are starting to be visible to remind us of those days when we see the working of the governments. One of its wings, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has leaked out certain passages of a report which alleges that the activities of Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) have brought down the rate of growth by two to three per cent.

I cannot blame prime minister Narendra Modi’s government because the report was obviously prepared during the Congress rule of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. But top bureaucrats are responsible in putting across such information that tarnishes the image of those who are working at the grassroots. Some of the names mentioned in the report are people of integrity and I, as an activist, know them personally.

Their defence that the government has circulated “a cock and bull story” is understandable because they have given years of their lives to work for the welfare of people in rural areas. Disparagingly, they are called ‘jholawalas’. This tag has been linked with them because they carry shoulder bags which have grams, a frugal meal for their long sojourns in remote parts.

The allegation against them that their protests or agitations have stalled economic growth carries no conviction because they are conscientious objectors against big dams, nuclear power stations and the likes.

Opposition to the dam
Take Medha Patkar who is associated with the opposition to the Narmada Dam. No doubt she had the World Bank loan for the project cancelled, but her objection was that you could not displace people without giving them alternative accommodation. The opposition to the dam became so strong at one time that the government appointed the Narmada Tribunal which said in its judgment that the people should be given an equivalent site of land and a rehabilitation grant six months before they are uprooted.

Gujarat, which is the main beneficiary, took the responsibility of rehabilitating the displaced persons. Initially land was given for land, but subsequently cash awards were offered. Many took it but today they are mere labourers because the cash has not lasted for long. The new announcement that the Narmada Dam would be built to its original height and that the gates would be installed amounts to the betrayal of the understanding given that until the uprooted were rehabilitated the dam’s height would not be raised.

Prime minister Modi, hailing from Gujarat, may not have anything to do with the decision that the Narmada authorities have made. But he is bound to be accused of giving his blessing for the additional work. I recall that when the agitation against the dam was at its height several Gujaratis told me that the dam was their Kashmir. “If you do not allow the dam to come up, we shall be forced to take up guns as the separatists in Kashmir are doing.”

The point which emerges from such projects is that the government cannot take people for granted and that there is more to life than ends justifying the means as they did in Communist China or Communist Russia. But Mahatma Gandhi’s India was different. Of course, development is important but it has to be balanced against the adverse fallout affecting every individual.

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, did point out that there were two ways available to build the future India: communist dictatorship or democratic transparency and accountability. He said that India had chosen the path of consensus, which is an essential ingredient of a democratic system.

I personally think that the costs of the project go up and the delay in completion takes place because of red tapism and corruption at every tier of government, right up to the minister. The effort to put the blame on NGOs is bound to go awry because the media today is vigilant to expose the scams even at the highest level. The Manmohan Singh government was notorious for that. One scandal after another would tumble out of its cupboard. All the guilty have escaped punishment because there is no accountability in the system.

In fact, my fear is that the atmosphere of paranoia is being built because some undemocratic steps are in the offing. I hope they do not end up with another Emergency, another era where dissent would be construed as anti-national.

Current Affairs March (25th- 31st) compilation

DATE	NEWS HEADLINE	INFORMATION
March 25,2014	1)HINDI Writer  Mr. Govind Mishra selected for SARASWATI SANMAN 2013	·        The renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra will receive Sarawasti Samman for the year 2013. ·        He will receive this Samman for his book Dhool Paudho Par which was published in 2008.  ·        First novel of Govind Mishra was Wo Apna Chehra published in 1969. Important to note :  ·        Harivansh Rai Bachchan is the only Hindi author who have received this title in 1991. ·        Saraswati Samman is an annual award which was established in 1991 by K. K. Birla Foundation and carries a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees along with a certificate and is given in recognition of outstanding prose or poetry literary works in Indian languages. ·        Saraswati Samman is given for the literary works of last 10 years.
	2)TCPSL Rolls out first White Label ATMs	·        TCPSL (Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd.) roll out first white label ATMs on 20th March 2014 under the brand name of Indicash. ·        Very first White Label ATM was inaugurated at Chandrapada in district Thane. ·        For this project TCPSL has tied up with Federal Bank. ·        Federal Bank is sponsor bank of care of cash operations, dispute resolutions and regulatory reporting. ·        TCPSL has a target to deploy 15000 Indicash ATMs by 2016.  Important to note :  What are White Label ATMs :   ·        White Label ATM's are also like normal ATM's but they are owned and operated by Non Bank entities. ·        From such White Label ATM customer from any bank will be able to withdraw money by giving service fee for that.
	3)Instant Money Transfer Scheme Launched by Bank Of India	·        Bank of India (BOI) launched a new scheme on 24th March 2014 in Mumbai. ·        Name of the scheme is Instant Money Transfer (IMT) scheme. ·        Unique feature of this scheme is that it will enable customers to withdraw cash without using credit or debit card at Bank of India's IMT enabled ATM's. ·        It is first of its kind innovation by any public sector bank.  Features of IMT Scheme:  ·        IMT Scheme allows the customer to send money to a receiver only by using the receiver's mobile number using Bank ATM and Retail banking facility. ·        One can withdraw money from a Bank of India ATM without using any card. ·        The monthly withdrawal limit is 25000 rupees for receiver, and per transaction limit of 10000 rupees. ·        IMT will be valid for 14 days from the date of issuing. ·        You may remember that RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan announced earlier in February 2014 that RBI is currently working on a new system that will allow users to withdraw cash from ATMs even if the recipient doesn't have a bank account.
March 26,2014	1) India’s First Revolver Nirbheek, designed for Women launched	·        A light weight revolver named Nirbheek was launched by Indian Ordinance factory on 25th March 2014 which is especially designed for women to defend themselves from assault. ·        Nirbheek that weighs is very less around 500 gm and it is a .32 bore revolver which can be easily carried by women in their purses or handbags.  ·        Nirbheek revolver is made of titanium alloy and is priced Rs. 122360. ·        The revolver is capable of firing six rounds loaded in a revolving chamber. Important to note :  ·        Nirbheek is India's first Firearm designed for women.  ·        Neerbheek name is derived from of the paramedical student Nirbhaya, who was a victim gang rape in Delhi on 16 December 2012.
	2) “Lal Bahadur Shashtri: Lessons in Leadership “ book by Anil Shastry and Pawan  Choudhary released	·        Book titled "Lal Bahadur Shastri: Lessons in Leadership" was released on 23rd March 2014 in New Delhi by spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  ·        Book is authored by Anil Shashtri and Pawan Choudhary. ·        This book covers all stages of his life and book also highlights his virtues of simplicity, integrity, tenacity, wisdom and leadership. ·        Former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri has left behind a legacy that is hard to match. ·        This book also touches the points of 1965 war.  *Anil Shashtri is Son of Shri Lal Bahadur Shashtri.  !! Important Points about Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji : ·        He was born on 2nd October, 1904. ·        He passed away on 10th January, 1966. ·        He was second Prime Misiter of India. ·        Outstanding Slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" is given to India by Lal Bahadur Shashtri. ·        He was Prime minister from 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966.
	3) The HAUGE hosted the 3rd Nuclear Security Summit 2014	·        The Third Nuclear Security Summit was held in The Hague, Netherlands, from 24th to 25th March 2014.  ·        This summit was attended by the 58 World leaders. ·        At this summit all the leaders reached to an agreement to prevent terrorists getting access to nuclear material that could be used to make a nuclear weapon which will be very dangerous to mankind. ·        So this will further reduce the threat of a nuclear attack.  !! Important to note :  ·        Under this initiative 35 countries has agreed to incorporate the guidelines of IAEA in their national legislation. ·        These guidelines will be binding and also engage IAEA teams to assess the security of nuclear materials.  ## These 35 countries are :  Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Vietnam.
	4) Japanese architect Shigeru Ban won the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2014	·        World's most prestigious architecture award "Pritzker Architecture Prize" won by a Japanese architect Shigeru Ban on 25th March 2014. ·        Shigeru Ban has bagged this prize for his creative and inexpensive designs for disaster relief shelters. @@ Pritzker Architecture Prize: ·        Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international prize which is awarded annually to living architects who have contributed to humanity by their excellence in built work. ·        This prestigious prize was instituted by Hyatt Foundation in 1979. ·        It carries $ 100000 grant, a citation and a bronze medallion. !! Shigeru Ban : ·        Shigeru Ban is 56 years old and as told earlier he is a Japanese architect. ·        He started his involvement in disaster relief structures in 1994. ·        He have worked for many countries like Sri Lanka, India, Haiti, Italy and New Zealand. ·        He also participated in Bhuj earthquake relief work in 2001. ·        His objective is to build inexpensive, easy-to-construct structures.
	5) RBI panel headed by Aditya Puri submitted its report	·        A RBI panel which was headed by Aditya Puri, submitted its report. ·        The report was submitted on 22nd March 2014. ·        The Report is titled as "Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information Companies (CICs)".  ·        This committee has made many recommendations relating to credit information, best practices to be followed by credit institutions etc. @@ Highlights of recommendations : ·        The Committee has suggested to provide customers with a free copy of their Credit Information Report (CIRs). ·        It would help create awareness about the need to have credit discipline and help detect identity theft at an early stage.  ·        The committee also recommended a common Data Quality Index that could assist credit institutions in determining the gaps in their data and also help move towards improving their performance over a period of time. ·        It was also recommended to use a common data format that includes additional information in the formats, such as, dispute codes, consumer comments on dispute, details of collateral and a continuing mechanism for making changes to data formats that could help improve data quality.  ·        The committee has showed its concern that low usage of credit information by member institutions and other specified users needs to be addressed. ·        It can be addressed by increasing the coverage of credit information in terms of membership (all credit institutions should be members of all CICs) and products and by creating awareness about Credit Information Reports (CIRs). ·        CICs should have a common classification of Credit Scores so that it would be easier to understand and interpret them. ·        CICs may provide a single CIR for a borrower even if there are multiple addresses, using a unique identification number (PAN/Aadhaar No.). ·        CICs may have link with the database of Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI) which has data on mortgages so that CIRs can also provide information on property mortgages.
March 27,2014	1) SEBI to issue guidelines for FATCA compliance fiscal year 2014-15	·        On 25th March 2014 SEBI announced to release FATCA compliance norms in the next fiscal year 2014-15. ·        It will help combat possible tax evasion by Americans through Indian entities. ·        FATCA is a law with deals with withholding tax on illicit activities by some individuals who use offshore accounts to evade millions of dollars in taxes. ·        For the complete implementation of FATCA US government is required to sign Inter Government Agreement (IGA) with countries including India. ·        With 22 countries US has already signed IGA's, while to sign IGA with India negotiations has been going on. ·        Once this new Act come into effect, all financial institutions in India would need to carry out a detailed due diligence on all their clients and report details of their US clients to the US tax department. ·        Any non-compliance of the FATCA provisions would result in penal withholding of 30% of the total US-source income of such financial institutions. ·        FATCA became a law in 2010. ·        It has now emerged as a global standard for detecting offshore tax evasion by people.  !! Important to note  : FATCA : Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
	2) EPFO to provide Universal Account Number	·        EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) on 24th March 2014 said to provide Universal Account Number (UAN) to its five crore subscribers from 1st October 2014. ·        Permanent or Universal Account Number (UAN) will be beneficial for its users to avoid filing Provident Fund (PF) account transfer claims on changing jobs. ·        After getting UAN, a user will only have one account number for PF and will not have to change it after changing the employer. ·        Thus it can also be used for various other schemes. ·        It will also reduce the workload of the EPFO. ·        During 2012-13, EPFO received over 12 lakh claims for transfer of PF account on changing of jobs by its subscribers.
	3) Ancient caves discovered in Andhra Pradesh	·        Ancient caves discovered in Andhra Pradesh by Researcher K Ramakrishna Reddy. ·        These caves are depicting 7000-year-old civilisation. ·        These were inhibited by ancient humans in Akkampalli of Andhra Pradesh. ·        This site is considered to be contemporary to the rock sites that exist at Ketavaram and Chintakunta of the state. ·        This is important discovery as it represent the civilisation and culture of 7000 year ago.  ·        Total fives caves and found, out of which 3 are natural and 2 are rock cut. ·        Their artworks provide an insight of variuos prospects. ·        As per the artwork, Musalla Gunda (boulder of crocodile) name is given to caves, because there artworks which depict the presence of crocodiles, but at present there is no water, may be at that time there would be water and crocodiles.
March 28,2014	1) Super Hercules aircraft of IAF C-130 J crashed in Rajasthan	·        In a major set back to IAF, the most modern military transport aircraft C-130J Super Hercules crashed on friday around Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border. ·        By this accident five IAF personnel on board also killed. ·        The aircraft took off from Agra at 10 a.m. for a routine flying training mission when this accident happened on the way. ·        Court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of accident.  @ Important to note :  ·        India has inducted six C-130J Super Hercules Aircrafts, which were brought from the US at a cost of around 6000 crore rupees. ·        Now India is left with 5 such aircrafts. ·        This aircraft can carry a weigh up to 20 tonnes and has the capability to land and take-off from short runways.
	2) All States and UTs directed to implement Manual Scavengers Act by Supreme Court	·        All the States and Union Territories were directed by Supreme Court of India on 27th March 2014 to implement Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. ·        Bench comprised of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice N V Ramana ordered a series of directions to abolish the practice of manual scavenging. ·        The Apex court also deprecated the practice of manually removing night soil with bare hands, brooms or metal scrappers. Guidelines by Supreme Court :  ·        At least one member of their family shall be given, subject to eligibility and willingness, training in livelihood skill and shall be paid a monthly stipend during rehabilitation period. Besides, one adult member of the family is given subsidy or concessional loan for taking up an alternative occupation. ·        To address sewer deaths, it suggested that entering sewer lines without safety gears should be made a crime even in emergency situations. And for such death, a compensation of 10 lakh rupees should be given to the family of the died. ·        The people who were employed as scavengers should be allotted residential plots or constructed houses or money for such construction according to their eligibility and willingness. ·        Persons released from manual scavenging should not have to cross hurdles to receive what is their legitimate due under the law.  ·        Safai karamchari women should be provided support for dignified livelihood in accordance with their choice of livelihood schemes. ·        The Railways should take time-bound strategy to end manual scavenging on the tracks and persons released from manual scavenging should not have to cross hurdles to receive what is their legitimate due under the law. Important to note :  In the year 2002-03, there were 676009 identified manual scavengers in the country.
	3) All banks are required to comply with the Basel III norms by 31 March 2019	·        On 27th March 2014 RBI announced that it has extended the deadline for Indian banks to meet capital requirements under the so-called Basel III norms by a year to 31 March 2019. ·        RBI offering relief to an industry burdened by bad loans in the face of slower economic growth. ·        As per RBI, In view of the implementation of Basel III Capital Regulations, banks need to improve and strengthen their capital planning processes.  What is Basel III ? Basel III is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector.
	4) India certified as Polio Free country by WHO	·        The World Health Organisation (WHO) certified India as a Polio free Country officialy. ·        This news was out many days back but its official now. ·        By this India became among the 11 countries of South East Region to hold a tag of polio free country. ·        The Union Health Minister of India Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad received official certificate in New Delhi. ·        The polio was eradicated from the country with the help of technological innovations and combined efforts.  Important to note :  ·        India introduced the oral polio vaccine in 1985. ·        India's first national polio immunization campaign to stop polio was launched in 1995. ·        That time on an average 50000 children were getting affected by polio every year. ·        Now after 2011 there is not even a single case reported of polio. ·        Polio is a disease that can be prevented only but there is no cure for it.
	5) Former PM of Norway Jens Stoltenberg appointed as new NATO chief	·        Former PM of Norway Mr. Jens Stoltenberg appointed as new NATO chief. ·        This announcement was mande by North Atlantic Council in Brussels in Belgium on 28th March 2014. ·        Mr. Jens Stoltenberg was also appointed as Chairman of the North Atlantic Council. ·        He will be taking the charge of Secretary General of NATO from 1st October 2014. ·        He will be succeeding former Prime Minister of Denmark Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen who is current Secretary General of NATO. What is NATO ? ·        Full form of NATO is North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). ·        It was established in 1949. ·        It is headquarterd in Belgium, Brussels. ·        In actual it is an inter governmental military alliance of North Atlantic Countries which has 28 members mainly from Europe and America. ·        Oh ! you must be thinking the names of 28 countries, let me list them for you :) These are :  ·        Albania  ·        Belgium ·        Bulgaria ·        Canada ·        Croatia ·        Czech Rep ·        Denmark ·        Estonia ·        France ·        Germany ·        Greece ·        Hungary ·        Iceland ·        Italy ·        Latvia ·        Lithuania ·        Luxembourg ·        Netherlands ·        Norway ·        Poland ·        Portugal ·        Romania ·        Slovakia ·        Slovenia ·        Spain ·        Turkey ·        United Kingdom ·        United States
	6) Astronomers discovered miniature planet with two rings	Astronomers from Niels Bohr Institute have discovered a miniature planet “Charkilo” with two rings of ice and pebbles between Saturn and Uranus in theKuiper Belt. Miniature planet “Charkilo”        ·        A Giant asteroid i.e. a celestial body known as a Centaur or Minor Planet. ·        Located between Saturn and Uranus. ·        Originated in the Kuiper belt. ·        Diameter: 250 km. ·        Centers of the two rings are 14 km and the gap between them is 9 Km. ·        Have two rings of ice particles and pebbles. The Rings of the celestial body are not more than few hundred meters thick and are only three and seven km wide. Kuiper Belt is a collection of thousands of dwarf planets and comets in orbit beyond Neptune on the edge of our solar system. What is special about this discovery of “Charkilo”? Till now, rings have only been observed around giant planets viz. Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and especially Saturn. This is the first time that such a small celestial body (miniature planet “Charkilo” ) with rings has been observed.
	7) International Monetary Fund agreed to provide 18 billion dollars fund to Ukraine	·        The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed on 27 March 2014 to provide loan to Ukraine worth 18 billion dollars for next two years. ·        Under the IMF deal Ukraine will have to cut the budget deficit, raise taxes, shift to a flexible exchange rate and increase retail energy tariffs toward their full cost. ·        The Ukrainian Parliament needs to pass a set of reforms to accept the package of IMF.   ·        Then IMF board will revive the deal in April 2014. ·        It may also provide an opportunity to receive the loans from United States and the European Union which brings in total 27 billion dollars for two years.