V.S. Ramadevi passes away

The former Governor of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, V.S. Ramadevi, died here on April 17  following a massive cardiac arrest. She was 79.

“She had lunch and spoke to some relatives over the phone before she suffered the cardiac arrest,” family sources said. She also served as Chief Election Commissioner. She was Governor of Himachal between July 26, 1997 to December 1, 1999, and thereon, of Karnataka till May 20, 2002.

Agreement (DTAA) and Protocol Signed Between India and Malta

The Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and the Protocol between the Republic of India and Malta for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income is in force since 8th February, 1995. Both India and Malta have renegotiated the Agreement to bring in line with international standards, change in domestic laws and changed economic scenario. 

On 08th April, 2013, India and Malta had signed the new DTAA at Valetta, Malta. The Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) was signed by the Smt. Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs of India and Dr. George Vella, Foreign Minister of Malta. Once the DTAA enters into force, it will stimulate the flow of capital, technology and personnel between both the countries and will further strengthen the economic relationship. It also provides tax stability and reduces any obstacles in providing mutual cooperation between India and Malta. 

Mahatma Gandhi figured among the Top Three Leaders of the World

As per the 16th Annual Global CEO survey, Mahatma Gandhi figured among the top three most admired leaders of the world. An accountancy firm, PwC surveyed 1400 CEOs around the world.Winston Churchill topped the list of 10 most admired leaders, while Mahatma Gandhi figured in the third position after Steve Jobs.

Other leaders included: warriors; Napoleon and Alexander the Great, reformers; Jack Welch, leaders though adversity; Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, leaders who caught the imagination of the masses; (Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela) and consensus builders like Bill Clinton.

Winston Churchill was the most popular choice of all CEOs while Steve Jobs admired in the most number of nations, 37. Churchill got wide appeal and popularity across Western Europe. He came top in France ahead of Charles de Gaulle and beat Niccolo Machiavelli to get the same position in Italy. Winston Churchill served as British Prime Minister twice; in 1940-45 and 1951-55.
As per the PwC survey, Nelson Mandela, Jack Welch and Abraham Lincoln, were at the 4th, 5th and 6th positions, respectively. Among women Margaret Thatcher was the only woman to make it to the top ten (7th position).

Former US Presidents Ronald Reagan, John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton were at 8th, 9th and 10th positions. French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte was at the 10th position along with Clinton.

Indian-Origin Economist Raj Chetty Won John Bates Clark Medal For 2013

Delhi-born Raj Chetty, the professor in the Department of Economy at the Harvard University won John Bates Clark medal for 2013, also called Baby Nobel. Raj Chetty’s work was also cited by the US President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address. 

John Bates Clark medal is conferred upon the American economist whose age is below 40 years and the one who has made crucial contribution to economic knowledge and thought. Baby Nobel is one of the most prestigious awards of economy. Infact, it is second only after Nobel Prize in economic science. 

Raj Chetty, 33, is the first Indian-origin person to win this high honour. His areas of work include social insurance, tax policy as well as education policy. 

American Economic Association Honors and Awards Committee described that Raj Chetty’s contributions assimilate evidence by making use of various methodological perspectives in order to find out answers of public policy questions. 

Raj Chetty graduated from Harvard University in 2000. He completed the PhD from Harvard University in 2003. 

India and Finland to Explore Solar Energy Applications for Oil and Gas Projects

A fourteen member Delegation from Finland led by Marja Rislakki, State Secretary Ministry of Employment & Economy of Finland met with an Indian delegation led by Lakshmi Panabaka, Minister of State, MoPNG Government of India on 15 April 2013. 

The delegation from both countries during their meet identified several ideas of collaboration in sustainable development between the two countries for mutual benefits in the Oil and Gas Sector. 

Some of the basic areas identified include
•  Projects on Solar Energy applications for Oil & Gas Projects
•  Projects on Solar Energy applications for Biofuels & Algae based biofuels research and water and waste water management
•  Carbon capture & reformation
•  Finland`s Green Growth & Groove programme for suitable application to Indian Scenario and Academic Institutions/Universities for collaborative R&D projects in areas of low carbon growth technologies and sustainable development.

Following the conclusions reached after the meet of the delegations it’s likely that a Memorandum of Understanding can be taken up between the Governments of the two countries in the near future. The collaboration between the two MoPNG and Finland Government can be in the areas of sustainable development for mutual benefits in accordance to the agreement, respective laws and regulation of the two nations.

UNICEF report on nutrition

The UNICEF report, ‘Improving Child Nutrition: The achievable imperative for global progress’ shows that progress has been made in recent years in addressing stunting in children, and calls for increased efforts to accelerate a response to a condition that affects some 165 million children across the world.

One in four of all children less than five years of age is stunted because of chronic under-nutrition in crucial periods of growth. The damage done to a child's body and brain by stunting is irreversible. It drags down performance at school and later at work, and puts children at a higher risk of dying from infectious diseases. Thus a key to success against stunting is focusing attention on pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life.

An estimated 80 per cent of the world’s stunted children live in just 14 countries. The report highlights successes in scaling up nutrition and improving policies in 11 countries: Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam.

Stunting is reduced through a series of simple and proven steps such as improving women’s nutrition, early and exclusive breastfeeding, providing additional vitamins and minerals as well as appropriate food – especially in pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life.

Some examples:

In the Maharashtra state in India, the percentage of stunted children dropped from 39 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2012 largely because of support to frontline workers who focus on improving child nutrition.

In Peru, stunting fell by a third between 2006 and 2011 following a Child Malnutrition Initiative that lobbied political candidates to sign a ‘5 by 5 by 5’ commitment to reduce stunting in children under 5 by 5 per cent in 5 years and to lessen inequities between urban and rural areas. Peru drew on its experience of successful smaller projects and integrated nutrition with other programmes. It also focused on the most disadvantaged children and women and decentralized government structures.

Ethiopia cut stunting from 57 per cent to 44 per cent and under-5 mortality from 139 deaths per 1,000 live births to 77 per 1,000 between 2000 and 2011. Key steps included a national nutrition programme, providing a safety net in the poorest areas and boosting nutrition assistance through communities.

The report says that existing solutions and the work of new partnerships represent an unprecedented opportunity to address child under-nutrition through countries accelerating progress through national projects coordinated with donor support and measurable targets.

Indian scientist discovers super-giant star

An Indian scientist and his Taiwanese colleague have discovered a blue super-giant star located in the constellation Virgo, far beyond our Milky Way Galaxy. Over 55 million years ago, the star emerged in an extremely wild environment, surrounded by intensely hot plasma (a million degrees centigrade) and amidst raging cyclone winds blowing at four million kilometres per hour. Research using the Subaru Telescope, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), and the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope (CFHT) revealed unprecedented views of the star formation process in this intergalactic context and showed the promise of future investigations of a possibly new mode of star formation, unlike that within our Milky Way.About one thousand galaxies reside in a cluster filled with million-degree hot plasma and dark matter. The Virgo cluster, the nearest cluster of galaxies located about 55 million light years from Earth in the constellation Virgo, is an ideal laboratory to study the fate of gas stripped from the main body of galaxies falling into the intra-cluster medium. The astronomer duo Dr Ananda Hota from UM-DAE Centre for Excellence in the Basic Sciences, India, and Dr Youichi Ohyama from Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica or ASIAA, Taiwan focused on the trail of IC 3418 to explore a potentially new mode of star formation. Hota has been collecting data from multiple telescopes since 2006 to understand this galaxy, which he first spotted in the GALEX data during his research.

Union Government approved 285.75 Crore Rupees to Himachal Pradesh under PMGSY

The Union Government accorded approval of 285.75 crore rupees to Himachal Pradesh under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana). This amount would be provided under World Bank’s Rural Road Project to the state.

As per an estimate, 19 new roads and three bridges would be constructed besides mettaling and tarring of 122 roads.The state government was giving top priority to the construction of roads under various schemes especially in the rural areas and about 80 villages would be provided road connectivity during financial year 2013-14.

Adam Scott won the 77th Version of Augusta Masters Golf Tournament

Adam Scott won the Augusta Masters Golf championship on 14 April 2013. He beat Angel Cabrera in the play-off for the title. It was his maiden major title. He became the first Australian to win Augusta Masters. Australian Jason Day, runner up with Scott in 2011, was third at seven under with Tiger Woods (70) and another Australian Marc Leishman (72) tied for fourth at five under.

Adam Scott is 32 years old. He turned professional in 2000. His ranking at present is 7. He has 9 US PGA tour wins and an equal number of European PGA tour wins to his credit.

Dr Hilary Koprowski, Developer of First Successful Oral Vaccination for Polio Died

Dr Hilary Koprowski, a Polish researcher who developed the first successful oral vaccination for polio died on 11 April 2013 in Philadelphia. He was 96 years of age.

Sania Mirza Became One of the Four Vice-Presidents of Indian Tennis Players Association

The Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) Secretary, Karti P Chidambaram on 14 April 2013 announced that the tennis star player, Sania Mirza became one of the Vice-Presidents of ITPA.
  
Sania Mirza now became one of the four Vice-Presidents of Indian Tennis Players Association, which is a newly-formed body. Other three Vice-Presidents of the body are Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. 

Former Davis Cup captain Jaideep Mukherjea is the President of the Association. 

Sania Mirza is the first female player from India who won a Grand Slam. She now plays in doubles only.

Veteran Film Actor Pran conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2012

Pran Krishan Sikand, popularly known as Pran, the veteran film actor, has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2012. He is the 44th Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winner. The award is conferred by the Government of India for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs and a shawl. The award is given on the basis of recommendations of a Committee of eminent persons.

Pran has given sterling performances in many films along with Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor in 1950s and 60s. Pran’s performanceshave received acclaim in films like Azaad, Madhumati, Devdas, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram Aur Shyam and Aadmi, Ziddi, Munimji, Amar Deep, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Aah, Chori Chori, Jagte Raho, Chhalia, Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai. The list is long. 

Pran is a recipient of a number of film awards including the Filmfare Award. He was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan. 

Competition Commission of India amended the Combination Regulations

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) amended the Combination Regulations with a view to further simplify the filing requirements and bring about greater certainty in the application of the Act and the Regulations. The provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 relating to regulation of combinations have been in force with effect from 1 June 2011.

These were subsequently amended on 23 February 2013 with a view to relax certain requirements in regard to filings by corporate entities for combinations that are unlikely to raise adverse competition concerns. 

The highlights of the major changes in the Combination Regulations are as following: 
• The Regulations now do not require a notice to be filed for acquisition of shares or voting rights of companies if the acquisition is less than five percent of the shares or voting rights of the company in a financial year, where the acquirer already holds more than twenty five percent but less than fifty percent of the shares or voting rights of the company.
• In a step which would significantly reduce compliance requirements, the provision for giving notice is now dispensed for mergers/amalgamations involving two enterprises where one of the enterprises has more than fifty per cent (50%) shares or voting rights of the other enterprise. Similarly, the requirement of giving notice is also dispensed for merger or amalgamation of enterprises in which more than fifty per cent (50%) shares or voting rights in each of such enterprises are held by enterprise(s) within the same group. 
• To provide clarification on the nature of intra-group acquisitions for which notice has to be given, Item 8 of Schedule I is amended to state that the relaxation would not apply where the acquired enterprise is jointly controlled.
• To avoid repetition and to have one category of exemption for acquisition of certain current assets like stock-in-trade, raw materials etc., Item 5 and Item 9 of Schedule I are clubbed and provided as one category under Item 5.

Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh Visited Germany

Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh visited Germany from 10 April 2013 to 12 April 2013. He visited for participating in second round of Inter Governmental Consultations with Germany.

He was accompanied by delegation including Ministers and senior officials. During his visit, certain documents were signed. 

The documents were signed during the official visit of Prime Minister to Germany for the 2nd India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations. Also, the documents were signed on the sidelines of 2nd round of India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations.

AP Government launched GPS-GIS based Emergency Response System Dial 100

State Government of Andhra Pradesh on 11 April 2013 launched a GPS-GIS based Central Emergency Response System Dial 100 in Hyderabad. The emergency response system is designed to enable police reach the area of complaint within minutes of receiving the complaint. The project with state-wide network was launched by the states Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. The project is jointly being exercised by State Police and a Private Firm that will operate the GPS-GIS based state of the art emergency response system that will operate on a single command and control centre for complete state. The same centre of Dial 100 will coordinate in cases of other emergencies like fire, medical as well as the disaster related response. This facility will enable citizens of the state to Dial 100 and register the complaints via mobile or landline phone.