HEADLINES
- Lokpal Bill passed in the Lok Sabha but Constitution amendment for Lokpal defeated
- Anna Hazare continues fast in Mumbai; lukewarm response from public to the protest
- December 25 was the 150th Birth Anniversary of the educationist and freedom fighter, Madan Mohan Malaviya. He was the founder of Banaras Hindu University
NATIONAL NEWS
- Law to curb money laundering to go global
- The Govt tabled the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2011, in the Lok Sabha and introduced a new concept of 'corresponding law' to link the provisions of Indian law to those of other countries and to provide for transfer of the proceeds of foreign predicate offence committed in any manner in India;
- The bill enlarges the definition of money-laundering to include concealment, acquisition, possession and use of proceeds of crime or criminal activities and to remove the existing limit of Rs.5 lakhs in fine;
- The bill provides for attachment and confiscation of the proceeds of crime even if there is no conviction so long as it is proved that money-laundering has taken place and the property in question is involved in the crime. Appeals now would go to the Supreme Court and not the High Court as provided in the earlier act;
- The bill confers powers on the director of reporting entities such as banks, financial institutions and intermediaries, to call for records of transactions or any additional information that may be required for prevention of the crime or for making enquiries;
- The bill proposes to make the reporting entities and their directors and employees responsible for acts of commission and omission. The reporting entities need to maintain a record of all individual transactions. Files of identity of clients and beneficial owners as well as account files and business correspondence is also to be maintained;
- The amendment is necessitated by the fact that India is a member of the Financial Action Task Force and chairs its Asia Pacific Group and the practices needed to conform to international standards. The Act was passed in 2002 and amended in 2005 and 2009.
- Electronic Delivery of Services Bill tabled
- The Centre tabled the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill in the Lok Sabha to provide for electronic delivery of public services by the Govt to all persons to ensure transparency, efficiency, accountability, accessibility and reliability in the delivery of such services;
- As per the Bill, the Centre and the States and public authorities under them shall deliver all pulic services by electronic mode, except services which cannot be delivered electronically;
- The Bill allows for “delivery of public services through electronic mode, including the receipt of forms and applications, issue or grant of licence, permit, certificate, sanction or approval and the receipt and payment of money.” The Bill also provides a Grievance Redressal Mechanism.
- Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem, completes 100 years
- The song was penned by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 and was first sung at the second day of the annual conference of the INC in calcutta on December 27, 2011. It was sung by Sarala Devi Chowdhurani, Tagore's niece along with few other school students;
- Soon after the Congress Conference, in January 1912 te Song first appeared before the public under the title Bharata-Vidhata in Tottvo-Bodhini Patrika (official organ of the Brahma Samaj of which Tagore was the editor). Read more in this interesting article on the topic.
- Plan for Tiger Reserve at Sathyamangalam Forests near Erode, TN to be sent to MoEF for approval. Forest Dept has identified the core and buffer zones of the reserve
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- India and Thailand to accelerate extradition treaty; other issues as well
- After holding talks last week to step up defence cooperation, Thailand and India are aiming to accelerate pacts to ensure that Bangkok does not remain a haven for Indian fugitives;
- With several Indian gangsters known to have operated out of Bangkok and other cities of Thailand, the two sides are keen on accelerating negotiations on transfer of sentenced persons and an extradition treaty;
- The countries also held talks on connecting mega ports being build in Myanmar and Thailand with Indian ports. The also discussed increasing air connectivity. It is likely that all these issues will be further discussed when the Thai PM, Yingluck Shinawatra visits India next month as she is he chief guest at the Republic Day parade.
- China wins oil deal in Afghanistan
- China has struck a major oil deal in Afghanistan gaining access to about 87 millions of barrels in the strategically-located recource rich area. The Afghan cabinet has approved the deal to allow China National Petroleum Corporation for exploration and to develop oil blocks in the Amu Darya Basin and build a refinery in Sar-e Pul and Faryab provinces.
- Cuba liberalises its economy permitting certain services to be provided by individuals and to permit banks to give loans for such businesses
EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS
- Read this article on the issues with the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill and the impact it will have if it is passed by the Parliament
- Read this editorial on the proposals to control the number of road deaths in India
- Read this editorial on protecting our forests
ECONOMY & BUSINESS NEWS
- Telecom Panel for uniform licence fee of 8%
- The Telecom Commission, the decision-making arm of the DOT has recommended a uniform licence fee of 8% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue for all telecom services, as opposed to the current 6-8% which varies for different services. Further, the DOT may also impose a one time charge of additional 2G spectrum that operators are holding over the contractual 6.2Mhz limit.
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