Monday, August 27, 2012

HEADLINES

• BJP states that it would not allow Parliament to function until its demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is met
• Police in Delhi crackdown on India Against Corruption's protest against the coal scam as they try to gherao the residences of Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Nitin Gadkari
• Fresh violence in Lower Assam districts

NATIONAL NEWS

• Japan to invest in Chennai, Bangalore industrial corridor
  • Japan and India have held several rounds of talks regarding Japan's investment in multi-billion Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC). It was during a spell of upswing in bilateral ties two years ago that the Prime Minister's of both countries, agreed on the concept of an industrial corridor in south India that would mirror the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor taking shape in northwestern India;
  • The idea has generated considerable enthusiasm. Andhra Pradesh has sought inclusion by the CBIC’s extension to the Krishnapatnam port. Karnataka wants the corridor to be extended to Chitradurga and the State has already commissioned a pre-feasibility study to set up a manufacturing city between Chitradurga and Tumkur;
  • The plan includes a dedicated rail freight corridor besides solutions to the private sector’s complaint of bad roads, poor access to ports and frequent blackouts. The key projects will include Phase II of the Chennai Outer Ring Road and the Chennai-Bangalore Expressway, the upgrade of airports in Chennai, Bangalore and Sriperumbudur and ports in Chennai and Ennore, a high-speed rail between Chennai and Bangalore and the Avadi rail link.
• Law Ministry clear's deck for Boeing Dreamliners
  • The Law and Justice Ministry is understood to have approved the compensation settlement package between Air India and U.S. plane-maker Boeing, paving the way for delivery of Dreamliners to India in the next few weeks. There has been a four-year delay in the handing over of the aircraft;
  • A team comprising officials from Air India, pilots and engineers has left for the South Carolina facility of Boeing to finish the formalities for smooth delivery. They are just awaiting a green signal from the Indian Govt and then the delivery schedule will be worked out and things will start rolling. With the Law Ministry giving a go-ahead and the Cabinet having already given its nod, things will start moving at a fast pace. The entire delivery schedule of 27 aircraft is likely to be completed by 2016.
• India evaluating Chinese military exercises in Tibet
  • Even as the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is contemplating the Army’s plan to raise an exclusive strike corps for the China border in the eastern sector, the Army is evaluating the recent ground-air combat military drill by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the Tibetan plateau. The PLA has carried out four exercises in Tibet since March 2012;
  • Initially, the Army proposed raising three divisions — comprising nearly 45,000 troops — at an estimated cost of about Rs. 7,000 crore. It was proposed to have the corps headquarters at Panagarh in West Bengal;
  • Keen to get at least the Air Force also on board, the CCS is learnt to have asked the armed forces to further work out finer details and come up with a compact proposal for raising a strike corps. Discussions on planning a strike corps as well as two additional divisions for defence of Arunachal Pradesh began about six years ago and continued at various levels before the proposal was sent to the CCS in the form of a note a year ago;
  • The proposed strike corps will draw support from IAF fighters operating from renovated bases in the northeast. Sukhoi-30s have been posted at bases in Tezpur and Chhabua. In addition, Jorhat, Bagdogra, Hashimara and Mohanbari bases are also being upgraded;
  • On infrastructure-building by China along the border, Defence Minister A.K. Antony told Parliament last week that the government was regularly monitoring all developments in “our neighbourhood,’’ which have a bearing on national security. “Required measures have been initiated through development of infrastructure and operational capabilities to achieve desired levels of defence preparedness to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India,’’ he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• The diplomatic stand-off over Julian Assange’s extradition appeared to be easing on Sunday after Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Britain had “given up its threat” to storm his country’s embassy in London to seize the WikiLeaks founder for breaching his bail conditions. Britain said it was open to constructive discussions on the issue.
• The Hamas Premier has not been invited to the summit of Non-Aligned Movement leaders in Tehran, said Iran on Sunday, heading off a threatened boycott by the Palestinian President.
• Hundreds of anti-nuclear demonstrators marched in Tokyo on Sunday, calling for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to abandon the atomic energy programme following last year’s Fukushima accident.
• Portugal faces a financial risk
  • Dwindling tax revenues brought on by record joblessness and deep recession will force Portugal to seek breathing space, much like Greece has, on commitments to EU-IMF creditors, analysts say;
  • The Portuguese budget office said 2012 first half tax receipts dropped 3.5% compared with the same period last year, hit by a fall in consumption as the economy shrank and unemployment reached 15%;
  • As things stand, the government, which had forecast an increase in revenue of 2.6% this year, is set to miss this year's deficit target of 4.5%, several analysts agreed, if it cannot come up with an extra € 2-3 billion euros.

EMINENT PERSONS IN THE NEWS

• Read this article on Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, who died on Saturday

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article on the proxy war that is taking place in Syria and how history is repeating itself
• Read this article on how sporting events like the Olympics and the Paralympic games can be a unifying force in diversity