Monday, November 19, 2012

NATIONAL NEWS

• Kudankulam power likely by December 15 this year
  • The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project is likely to be commissioned by December 15, said V. Narayanasamy, Union Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office. Addressing a press conference, he said the trial run of the first reactor was in progress after an inspection by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board;
  • The fuel was loaded in the reactor in October. Almost 95 per cent of the work in the second unit of the plant was complete, he added. Denying reports in a section of the media that he had urged the Prime Minister to give the entire power generated from the plant to Tamil Nadu, Mr. Narayanasamy said the power would be given as per the agreement between Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka and Kerala;
  • Meanwhile, the State unit of Congress would take efforts to ensure that the first tranche of entire 1,000 MW of power generated at Kudankulam goes to Tamil Nadu.
• Government says it will face any challenge in the Parliament
  • The government on Sunday questioned the rationale of the Opposition’s intent to force it to put to vote, in the coming Parliament session, its decision on opening up the multibrand retail sector to foreign investors;
  • Never in post-independent parliamentary history had an executive decision been put to vote, asserted Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. While the Left has already given notice to move a motion in the Lok Sabha against the government decision under Rule 184, which entails voting, other parties are still debating the pros and cons of moving a motion which requires voting or a mere motion;
  • Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has held out the threat of a no-confidence motion, but there are not many takers as the Opposition lacks the numbers to see it through. In fact, no party has yet responded to her announcement.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• The World's poorest president
  • Uruguay’s left-wing president Jose Mujica who has shunned the luxurious presidential house to live on his wife’s modest farm outside the capital Montevideo. The 77-year-old charismatic former revolutionary, who has been dubbed the world’s “poorest president”, gives away 90 per cent of his monthly salary — equivalent of $12,000 — to charity;
  • In 2010, a year after he came to power, he declared a personal annual wealth of just $1,800 — about two-third of Vice-President Danilo Astori’s declared wealth, and a third of the figure declared by his predecessor, Tabare Vasquez;
  • He says - “I’m called ‘the poorest president’, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more. This is a matter of freedom. If you don’t have many possessions then you don’t need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself.” A soft-spoken grey-haired figure, Mr. Mujica shrugs off criticism that he is “eccentric”.
• Obama says he backs Israel's right to defend itself
  • U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday said it was “preferable” for the Gaza crisis to be ended without a “ramping up” of Israeli military action, as fears mounted of a new invasion of the Hamas-run territory;
  • “Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory”, said Mr. Obama, adding, “If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that is preferable”;
  • Mr. Obama spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready to “significantly expand” its operation against militants in the Gaza Strip, sparking fears of a new invasion;
  • The U.S. president said the “precipitating event” of the Gaza crisis was a string of extremist rocket attacks on Israeli territory, which he said no nation in the world would tolerate. He also backed the Jewish state’s right to self-defence on a day in which the crisis deepened, with two rockets shot down over Tel Aviv and the Palestinian death toll from retaliatory strikes reaching 56;
  • Obama said - “There is no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders.” Mr. Netanyahu has expressed deep appreciation for U.S. investment in the Iron Dome rocket and mortar defence system, which he said has stopped hundreds of incoming rockets from Gaza.

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article on why India should focus more on relations with the ASEAN grouping
• Read this editorial on the escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza
• Read this article on the Russian approach to India-Pakistan dialogue on nuclear disarmament
• Read this article by Justice Katju on why the tribute for Bal Thackeray is excessive. You can also read this editorial on the passing of Thackeray and his legacy

ECONOMY & BUSINESS NEWS

• Finance Minister says GAAR Amendments finalised
  • Amendments to the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR), the controversial law against tax avoidance through foreign investments, have been finalised, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said;
  • The GAAR, proposed in the Union budget for 2012-13, evoked sharp reactions from foreign and domestic investors who feared that conferring unbridled powers on taxmen would result in harassment. The government later appointed a committee headed by tax expert Parthasarthi Shome to look into their concerns.