Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

HEADLINES

• Amicus Curiae report lays the ground for charge sheeting Narendra Modi
• Pakistani LeT operative suspect in Delhi High court blast
• Yeddyurappa denied bail.Judicial custody extended till november 3^rd.
• Deadline over, West Bengal still open to talk with the Maoists

NATIONAL NEWS

• NDC endorses GDP target of 9%.
  • The NDC endorsed a target of 9% for the 12^th five year plan (2012 – 2017) despite the current economic slow down and global financial conditions.
  • The prime minister, while expressing concern over the current economic slow down, exhorted the nation to guard against the prevailing mood of negativism, as the ongoing weak phase is a short term phenomenon reflecting the highly unsettled conditions in the world economy.

• Kerala state tops in literacy rate, health services.
  • The Indian human development report 2011, has said that kerala has achieved the highest literacy rate, providing quality health services and on the subject of consumption expenditure of people
  • Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Goa have secured second, third and fourth positions.
  • The HDI in the country has grown by 21%.
  • The report also has said, Chattisgarh, Orissam M.P, UP, Jharkand, Rajastan and Assam continue to lag behind in HDI
  • Compared to China, India has 9 hospital beds for 10,000 people whereas China has 30 beds.
    
    
• Second India – Oman joint excersises end
  • The Indian Air force completed its second joint exercise with Oman.
  • This is a part of India's efforts to build strategic relationship with Oman whose ports have been utilized by the Indian Navy frigates for anti piracy duty off the Gulf of Aden.
  • Oman is the first Arab state to have formalised defence ties with India.
  • India is currently examining the viability of undersea pipeline from Oman and is planning to invest more in oil and gas exploration.
    
    
• India's diversity astounds French Parliamentarians.
  • French Parliamentarians planning to send a delegation to study the Indian democracy at work.
  • They were astounded by the way Indian democracy has been working with 714 million people and various divisions based on culture, religion and castes.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• South Pacific rocked as 7.6 magnitude earthquake stuck far off the coast of South Pacific Island nation of Tonga
  
  
• Cross border terror issue raised in the house of lords.
  • Members of Indian descent at the House of Lords have urged Britain to show greater “Sensitivity” to India's concerns over cross – border terrorism and be more supportive of its efforts to fight it.
  • With more than one billion people, India represented a distinct voice in the global conversation and its claim to a seat on the top table was perhaps weightier than Britain's or that of France, said a member
    
    
• Tibetan Plateau's glaciers melting rapidly.
  • Glaciers in the Qinghai – Tibet Plateau, the source of many rivers of Indian subcontinent and China is melting faster than ever, according to a study by Chinese researchers.
  • The researchers has focussed the study on the head waters of Yangste, Yellow and Lancang rivers.
  • The melting of rivers could lead to a water storage and even dry up of rivers in the long run.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS NEWS

• NTPC synchronises second 500 MW unit of Jhajjar plant.
  
  
• Fundamentals intact – Pranab
  • finance minister Pranab Mukerjee has maintained that despite the euro zone conflict and the deepening debt crisis and the slow down in the US, the countries medium term growth prospects remain buoyant as the Country's fundamentals are intact.
  • But he also stressed on the fact that because of increasing globalization the slow down is bound to affect India
    
    
• Montek for higher revenues and cut in subsidies.
  • Mr. Ahuluwalliah has pitched for a cut in subsidies and higher revenue generation to generate increased funding of priority areas, like education, health, infrastructure and skill development.
  • He also said that the power distribution losses stood pegged at 70,000 crores
  • Water management, due to serious shortages and unsustainable withdrawal of ground water is also made a priority area.