Monday, August 20, 2012

HEADLINES

• India demands that Pakistan crack the whip on those using social media networks to spread communal hate in several parts of India after the Assam incidents
• Julian Assange asks U.S. to renounce the witch-hunt against Wikileaks

NATIONAL NEWS

• Grid integration advanced to January 2014
  • The Union Power Ministry has decided to integrate the southern grid with the national grid in January 2014. He said it was scheduled earlier for December 2014, and the Ministry had now decided to advance it;
  • It would help the southern States receive power from the northern grids and other States. The Power Minister said the Centre would come out with a debt restructuring plan for the loss-making electricity supply companies in the States. But the companies would have to comply with conditions, to be laid down by the Centre, for availing themselves of the plan.
• Advanced figher jet to be unveiled in 2014
  • The initial version of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), jointly developed by India and Russia and tipped to be one of the most advanced in the world, will be unveiled in India in 2014. It is slated for induction in the Indian Air Force by 2022;
  • The two sides are close to signing a key contract, expected to be worth over $11 billion, for the research and development phase of the project. The aircraft will have stealth features and its size would be smaller than that of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI;
  • India plans to acquire 214 of these fighter planes, the prototypes of which have already been developed by Russia, by the end of 2030 at an estimated cost of over $30 billion. Besides the FGFA, India is also in the process of procuring 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft and around 140 Light Combat Aircraft to replenish the IAF’s dwindling squadron strength.
• Authority to address health issues of Mine workers
  • In the wake of references being made to investigate the health issues of mine workers, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) proposes to establish a statutory authority. Cancer, tuberculosis, silicosis, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and pulmonary function impairment such as asthma affect mine workers;
  • The proposed authority will coordinate with the Ministries and authorities concerned for taking administrative, legal and medical action. The ICMR has approached the State Govts to develop a framework for the proposal.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Thousands worship the Kapilavastu relics in Sri Lanka
  • Thousands of Sri Lankans stood in queue for long hours, close to Colombo, to offer worship to the Kapilavastu relics (bone fragments considered sacred by Buddhists). In the 3 days that the relics are on public display, almost all Buddhists in the Western Province, the most populous of Sri Lanka’s nine provinces, are expected to have darshan;
  • The relics discovered in 1898 are from a site believed to be the ancient city of Kapilavastu. The relics are from the National Museum in Delhi and were brought to Sri Lanka after three decades since their first exposition in 1978. They will travel back at the end of the display on September 4. You can read more about the artefacts in this article;
  • Earlier, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa received the relics at a ceremony at the Bandaranaike airport here. They were brought in a special Indian Air Force aircraft by a delegation from India led by Minister of Culture Kumari Selja. Ms. Selja handed them over to Mr. Rajapaksa;
  • After the exposition in Sri Lanka, they were put on display in Mongolia in August 1993, in Singapore in July 1994, in South Korea in 1995 and in Thailand in 1996. Taking into consideration their inestimable value and delicate nature, India decided that the relics would remain as a venerable object at the National Museum of India in New Delhi and not be taken outside India. An exception was made after Sri Lanka made a request in 2010.
• Tens of thousands of Chinese took to the streets in at least a dozen cities on Sunday in what appeared to be coordinated anti-Japan protests that saw Japanese cars smashed and restaurants attacked in several areas. The widespread protests — a rare occurrence in China — were sparked by news on Sunday that 10 Japanese activists had raised their flag on the disputed Diaoyu or Senkaku islands in the East China Sea
• Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday defended her decision to send asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Pacific islands, saying it was a “tough” policy but could save lives as it would deter incidents in the future

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article about the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace and the Bill which will be introduced in Parliament this week to deal with it
• If you have time, read this article on the recent ethnic displacement in India. Important for sociology students
• If you have time, read this article on the impact of the recent changes to the financial markets carried out by the SEBI