Friday, 3rd Feb, 2012

HEADLINES

• Supreme court scraps UPA's illegal 2G sale.
• Oil firms strike at defaulting Air India, flights delayed.
• Justice Ganguly retires

NATIONAL NEWS

• A blessing in disguise for government and old operators
  • The government would reap rich dividends by auctioning spectrum while the old operators would benefit from adding more subscribers and boosting its earnings.
  • The fresh auction of over 500 Mhz of 2G spectrum (cumulative in all 22 circles) would help the exchequer earn massive revenue.
  • The old operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL that have not been affected by the judgment and would benefit by adding those subscribers that will exit their operators who got licences in 2008. Thanks to the mobile number portability (MNP), over 7-crore subscribers of these eight operators can now move to any other operator.
  • Among the 122 licences in January 2008, Uninor was allotted pan-India licence (22 circles), while Loop, Videocon and Sistema-Shyam got 21circles, Etisalat-DB 15, Idea Cellular nine, S Tel six, and Tata Telecom three
  • But one worrying factor would be loss of jobs if any of these companies decide to shut shop.
  • The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will now have some cushion while finalising two crucial points – exit policy for operators and merger and acquisitions (M&A) since the non seious players will quit by themselves and this will reduce the mergers and aquistions urgency.

• HAL to investigate cause of technical snag
  • The wreckage of the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft ‘Kiran-Mk 2' that crashed into a lake near Urapakkam would be sent to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for further investigation.
  • Though preliminary enquiry revealed that an engine failure led to the accident, the exact cause of the snag could only by ascertained by HAL engineers.
    
    
• Dhaka book fair release's Taslima's Nirbasan
  • A day after the organisers of the 36{+t}{+h}Kolkata International Book Fair refused to release the seventh volume of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen's autobiographical series Nirbasan(Exile), the book was launched at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka.
    
    
• Buxa tiger reserve to update facilities
  • Buxa Tiger Reserve are formulating plans for a major overhaul of the tourist facilities in accordance with the guidelines given by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
  • The project is to be implemented by the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation
  • Apart from guest houses, the reserve will also provide tents as accommodation for tourists.
  • A greater emphasis on the educating visitors will be given by upgrading the nature interpretation centre and organising nature study tours.
    
    
• India has vital stake in evolving climate change response: Manmohan
  • “As a developing country in the frontlines of climate vulnerability, India has a vital stake in the evolution of a successful, rule-based, equitable and multilateral response to climate change,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the inauguration of the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) 2012 organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
  • In its 12th edition, DSDS will focus on the theme “Protecting the Global Commons: 20 Years Post-Rio.
  • This year marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Rio Earth Summit of 1992, which sets out the concept of sustainability and its importance as a critical parameter of human development
    
    
• Ahead of Hu-Jintao visit Krishna to tour China
  • External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will be in China as part of the move by both countries to frequently exchange high-level visits in order to resolve pinpricks that bedevil relations.
  • the leader will also touch upon substantive issues including climate change, the situation in Afghanistan and the role of neighbours in stabilising the country and, above all, the western squeeze on Iran, which is a substantial supplier of crude to both India and China.

• Law ministry to challenge CIC order on RTI plea
  • The Union Law and Justice Ministry has decided to challenge the Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing it to disclose the 2007 advice tendered to A. Raja by the then Solicitor- General, Goolam E. Vahanvati

• NHRC notice to Odisha
  • The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice, returnable in four weeks, to the Odisha government seeking a report on the alleged destruction and burning of 30 houses of Dalits by some upper caste persons in Lathore village of Bolangir District

• Decline in the number of feathered guests in himachal wetlands
  • The number of birds visiting Pong Dam wetland, one of the largest manmade wetlands in North India, has declined by about 10 per cent this year.
  • During a two-day census of the waterfowl species (birds that depend on water bodies for roosting and feeding), 119,500 birds of the 103 species were spotted in the wetland in Kangra district
  • The largest influx is of the bar-headed goose (25,000), common coot (17,750), northern pintail (13,200), common pochard (10,200), tufted pochard (7,600), common teal (7,400) and little cormorant, (6,800) while pied avocet (12) — a wading bird species 
  • The falcated duck, the silvery plumage species predominantly found in China, has been spotted for the first time at the dam, while the common shelduck (30), rarely seen in the country, was also seen with other prominent species like great-crested grebe, graylag goose, red-crested pochard, ferruginous pochard, common merganser, Eurasian spoonbill, greater white-fronted goose, garganey, sarus crane, western marsh harrier and osprey.
  • The bird count is 12,500 less than last year's 132,000.
  • Some of the species of ducks have migrated to nearby wetlands mainly in Punjab due to continuous rains for many days in January and are likely to come back to Pong Dam.
  • The Pong wetlands are also home to many native birds like the red jungle fowl, large Indian parakeet, Indian cuckoo, bank myna, wood shrike, yellow-eyed babbler, black ibis, paradise flycatcher, crested lark and the crested bunting.
  • The Pong wetlands occupy an area of at least 18,000 hectares and extend up to 30,000 hectares in the peak monsoon season. An area of about 20,000 hectares within a radius of five kilometres has been notified as a buffer zone dedicated to wildlife.
  • The Pong sanctuary supports wildlife, including barking deer, sambar, fox, boar, fishing cat, blue bull, porcupine and leopard, and a variety of reptiles.

INTERNATIONAL

• Merkel calls on China to use influence on Iran
  • Ms. Merkel has pressed China for more support for strong United Nations Security Council measures to deal with both Iran and Syria, she has also sought greater Chinese assistance for the debt-hit eurozone
  • China has recently voiced opposition to further sanctions as well as to a ban on the import of Iranian oil backed by the U.S. and European Union. Iran is China's third biggest source of foreign oil.

• US plan to end afgan mission by 2013
  • NATO allies discussed on Thursday U.S. plans to end combat operations in Afghanistan in 2013 and shift to a training mission, as the alliance seeks to wind down a war that has dragged on for a decade.

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

• If you have time and really want to know the supreme court verdict on 2G do go through this
• A nice article on how and what India can do to unleash its soft power
• Editorial on the right to expression
• A good record of the what happens inside the Hizbul Mujayideen

BUSINESS/ECONOMICS

• New mines bill referred to the house panel
  • The New Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill has been referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee with the hope that it would be taken up for passage during the budget session of Parliament.
  • Once the law is enacted, it would help bring more transparency and boost foreign direct investment in the space