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ARTICLES:8 Corruption in India Rooted Deeply

India in Space : A Bag Full of Success8

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8 National Issues8 International Issues8 Economy8 India & The World8 Science & Technology8 Sports8 Awards & Prizes 8 In the News8 Bank PO Practice Set

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CONTENTS

ARTICLES:

Corruption in India Rooted Deeply 8

India in Space: A Bag Full of Success8

CURRENT AFFAIRS:

National Issues 128

International Issues 168

Economy 218

India & The World 318

Science & Technology 348

Sports 438

Awards & Prizes 508

In the News 538

Bank PO Practice Set 648

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One would say thecorruption in Indiahas an ancientlinkage,and it isdeeply rooted in ourtradition. The authorof the Arthasastramade some remarks

on government officials of his time which are relevanteven today: “Just as it is impossible not to taste thehoney or the poison that finds itself at the tip of thetongue, so it is impossible for a government servantnot to eat up at least a bit of the king’s revenue. Thesein the post-war world became only bolder while eatingup government money and accepting bribes. A corruptperson is termed immoral, dishonest and unscrupulousin his dealings. His disregard for honesty,righteousness and truth results in his alienation fromsociety. He is treated with contempt. But as erosionof values leads to decadence, remedies for the socialmalaise remain elusive, and so no amount of contemptcan eradicate corruption which is a symptom ofdecadence.When we ask a question to ourselves that why Indiais still not a developed nation even after 60 years ofindependence? Why there is not enough developmentwhen India is having immense potential and talent atpar with any developed nation have? The answer isvery simple. The main culprit behind this situation iswidespread corruption in every field. To get anadmission in a college…to get a legal paper from aGovernment office…to get an approval for the

construction of a house…to get an electricityconnection…to do an urgent surgery for lifesaving……. Thus not even nook and corner of thedaily life is spared from this evil. Now, people soadapted and well familiar with the situation and readyto give bribe without any hesitation and accepted asa part of the system. They also will demand bribewhen they are sitting in a decisive position. This isthe epicenter of this deadly evil which spread overthe entire system from executive to class IV level. Theonly motive to become a people’s representative, acivil servant or even an attender is how to get theundeserved money.The more dangourous fact…bribes and corruption gotreputation in society. If there is an official who dosentaccepts bribe…he will be isolated even in public andwill have an image of usless person. In today’s Indiathese officials representing all governmentdepartments are very close to the most corruptbusinessmen who are too unscrupulous to let anyopportunity of amassing profits slip. This collusionbroadens the base of the vicious circle and corruptionspreads ‘like wild fire to engulf the entire society. Thepolitical and social guardians depend only too muchon the richer communities and they look indulgentlyon while these communities hold the entire societyand the government to ransom.Corruption starts at thetop and percolates down to the whole society. Suchcorruption cannot be confined to the towns alone. Itis as widespread in the villages where the dishonestofficials and the traders carry the germs of the disease.Economic need and exposure to western luxuries are

CORRUPTION IN INDIA ROOTED DEEPLY



tempting factors in society for the youth. They try tofind means and ways to make money, howeverdeceptive or defective these methods may be. It ismeaningless to blame the system, it is the defect ofpeople who handle the same.A number of reasons likelack of stringent legislation, slow and delayed judicialsystems, poverty, illiteracy, lack of faith in “Dharma”or righteousness, greedy mind and a tendency to besmart are responsible behind corruption. It is notprevalent in India only but Corruption is today aworld-wide phenomenon.It is shameful that the officials meant for administeringpublic welfare themselves provide enough scope tothe offenders to commit the offence and go scot-free,for equal compensation that they get from theoffenders. Here, if the statute provides severepunishment (more than the one provided to theoffender) to the erring official, perhaps, corruptioncould be minimised. Society itself has had a drasticchange in its behaviour today, to what it was earlier.The need to be morally upright is irrelevant, underthe speed of its activity.

REMEDIES

Corruption can not be abolished overnigh, first,political parties should take the responsibility andhighly principled & determined personalities have tolead the executive. With persistent efforts, the mindsetof the public has to change. Cant say how much timeit will take… this evil spread over and established bytaking 50 years…any way let us transfer the hope andluck to next generation. There are many legal as wellas illegal means and methods with which one cancome out unscathed after committing any offence. Itrequires only a management skill to convince the rightforums. Therefore, if society has to be cleansed frombeing immorality and illegal doings, just legislation,however stringent will not help. The resistance tocommit offences should be developed from one’sconscience or heart and it can never be created fullyby legislation. Hence, inculcating moral values inpeople right from infancy could provide the remedyover a period of time. If the economic levels of the

society could be improved, so that luxuries becomebasics and the value for them also become affordable,corruption would be unnecessary.Democratic spirit can flourish only in an environmentof openness and trust. Every citizen should know whatthe administrators, working under the overall controlof people’s representatives, are doing. Sinceadministration in a democracy serves the publicinterest, there is no need or justification for hidingthe decision making process from the public scrutinyTransparency in public administration will bring abouta fundamental change in the attitude of people. Tenetsof transparency will require the civil servants topublicly display the names of beneficiaries of adevelopment scheme along with selection criteria andthe procedure for making the selection. Therequirement for public disclosure will ensure that civilservants take correct and defensible decisions. Theywill, henceforth treat all the citizens as their mastersand they will have to keep them in good humour ifthey have to retain their jobs and privileges.Government agencies are financed by taxes and leviesimposed on citizens. They are, therefore, answerableand accountable to the public for their acts of omissionand commission. Freedom of Information Act will putpremium on probity and integrity in the functioningof the civil servants. Since all their activities subservethe public interest they have nothing to hide.They willreadily supply all the information about governmentpolicies and decisions to the people wheneverapproached by them. People will then give themrespect and recognition that they rightly deserve. It isonly the dishonest and the devious that would be hardpressed to hide their partisan decisions.In a modern welfare and development administration,the government provides a large number of servicesto the citizens. If these services are indifferently orinefficiently performed, people can rightfully protestand complain. They can insist on optimum utilizationof the taxes and service charges paid by them tofinance the civic services like water supply, powersupply, sanitation and public health care. Derelictionof duty by public servants will be immediately



detected and publicized and criticized by the public.It will put a tremendous pressure on the civil servantsto perform or lose their face or even their jobs.Theadvancement of Information technology is very muchconducive to the successful implementation of theRight to Information if enacted by the governmentnow. The storage, retrieval and dissemination of vastamount of information have been greatly facilitatedby the successive improvement in computers. Sincethe enforcement of Right to Information requires anenabling Freedom of Information Act, the existinggovernment can always formulate the provisions ofthe Act in such a way as to leave for the government

sufficient leeway to conceal many decisions ordecision making processes from public scrutiny. TheFreedom of Information Bill, which has beenpresented to the Parliament, has a very long list ofexceptional situations wherein it is not incumbentupon the government agencies to part withinformation. It is, however, expected that once thepeople get used to obtain information contained in thegovernment files, their appetite for information willbe whetted and they will ask for more information.Lokpal can be another milestone towards abolishingcorruption from india.

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The space activities in thecountry were initiated withthe setting up of IndianNational Committee forSpace Research(INCOSPAR) in 1962. Inthe same year, the work onThumba EquatorialRocket Launching Station,

(TERLS) near Thiruvananthapuram was alsostarted. The Indian space programme wasinstitutionalized in November 1969 with the formationof Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). TheGovernment of India constituted the SpaceCommission and established the Department of Space(DOS) in June 1972 and brought ISRO under DOSin September 1972. Department of Space (DOS) hasthe primary responsibility of promoting developmentof space science, technology and applications towardsachieving self reliance and assisting in all rounddevelopment of the nation. Both the DOS and ISROHeadquarters are located at Bangalore. Thedevelopment activities are carried out at the Centresand Units spread over the country.

FIRST FEW STEPS TOWARDS SPACE

India launched its first experimental satellite,Aryabhatta, in 1975 this was followed by a series ofexperimental satellites like Bhaskara , Rohini,stretched Rohini satellite series, SROSS. The firstIndian experimental satellite, APPLE, was launched.Indian space programme reached the new stage withthe launch of the series of INSAT (Indian National

INDIA IN SPACE :A BAG FULL OF SUCCESS

Satellite) in1983, we have entered the fourthgeneration of these satellites. The first generations ofINSAT satellites were imported from United States.

DEVELOPMENT OF INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGY

India has indigenously developed the subsequentgeneration of INSAT satellites. The INSAT satellitesystem was jointly owned by the departments ofTelecommunications, Space, All India Radio,Doordarshan, Indian Meteorology department. Thesuper cyclone of Orissa has highlighted the limitationof Indian space programme. This led to thedevelopment of exclusive satellites. The first everexclusive satellite for weather monitoring calledMETSAT was launched. This was named Kalpanaafter the Indian born American astronaut KalpanaChawla who died in Colombia crash.India hadlaunched an exclusive satellite for education calledEDUSAT. This has revolutionized the fields ofeducation and health too. The tele education and telemedicine projects got further boost with thesuccessful launching of this exclusive satellite. Indialaunched the series of remote sensing satellites in1988. The latest in this series was RESOURCE SAT.Apart from satellites and satellite launch vehicles,India developed an impressive space infrastructure.For instance, the Vikram Sarabai Space Centre-VSSCat trivendrum, National Remote Sensing Agency inHyderabad, Space Application Centre-SAC, inAhmedabad., Thumba Equatorial Rocket LaunchingStation - TERLS at Thumba in Kerala. PhysicalResearch laboratories - PRL in Ahmedabad , and ahost of satellite tracking ground stations in India and



Abroad. Several universities, research institutions arealso actively associated with the development of spaceprogramme in India.

OBJECTIVES & SPECIALITIES OF

INDIAN SPACE PROGRAMMES

The Space Commission formulates the policies andoversees the implementation of the Indian spaceprogramme to promote the development andapplication of space science and technology for thesocio-economic benefit of the country. The specialityof Indian space programme is that it is dedicated tothe socio economic development of our country. Evenbefore India had its first experimental satellite, Indiaconducted the Satellite Instructional TelevisionExperimen t- SITE in 1975-76. The American satelliteATS-6 was leased out for this purpose. As a part ofthis experiment, television programmes were beamedto 2500 villages using satellite. This experiment pavedthe way for the development of television in India. In1977-79, India successfully conducted SatelliteTelecommuni-cation Experimental Project - STEP.The Franco German satellite, Symphony was takenon lease for this purpose. The INSAT satellitesprovided benefits ranging from televisionbroadcasting to weather prediction.Telecommunication, tele education, tele medicineprojects are carried out with the help of INSATsatellites. The myriad hour multi channel televisionboom would not have been possible without theINSAT satellite system. The information revolutionand telecommuni-cation revolution were also theresult of the INSAT satellites. Indian National Satellite(INSAT) programme for telecommunications, TVbroadcasting, meteorology, developmental education,etc. Remote Sensing programme for application ofsatellite imagery for various developmental purposes.Indigenous capability for design and development ofspacecraft and associated technologies forcommunications, resources survey and space sciences.Design and development of launch vehicles withindigenous technology for access to space and orbitingINSAT, IRS spacecraft and space science missions.

Research and development in space sciences andtechnologies as well as application programme fornational development.

REMOTE SENSING SATELITES

The Remote Sensing satellites provide a range ofbenefits. They include the Exploration of naturalresources, flood zone mapping, drought assessment,desert land identification and reclamation, estimatingthe forest cover, assessing the extent of smokegenerated by thermal power stations, estimating thecrop yield and crop acreage, providing locationspecific development information, monitoring ofcommand areas, etc. India is conducting NationalNatural Resources Management Systems- NNRMSusing remote sensing data provided by these satellites.We are also conducting Integrated Mission forSustainable Development-IMSD, with the serviceprovided by these satellites. The Vanjuvankawatershed in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh isalso part of IMSD. These satellites are the mostadvanced and sophisticated satellites making usleaders in the area of remote sensing. For instance,the OCEAN SAT can measure the oxygen quantityin the algae underneath the oceans thereby giving anaccurate estimate of marine resources. Biennial forestsurveys are conducted using the data provided byremote sensing satellites. Our remote sensing satellitescan provide reasonably accurate data about the extentof crops sown helping us to undertake agriculturalplans. These remote sensing satellites can estimate thepossible crop yield one month before harvest.Monitoring of command areas using these satelliteswould ensure supply of irrigation water to the tail endfarmers. The very small aperture terminals VSATswere set up to support the national information andcommunication network.

INDIA IN ELITE LEAGUE & MARKETING PROCESS

Apart from satellites, India developed capabilities inlaunch vehicle technology too. Starting with asimple Satellite Launch Vehicle-SLV, India went onto develop the Augmented Satellite Launch vehicle-



ASLV, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-PSLV,the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-GSLV . India has also indigenously developed theVIKAS engine used in the PSLV. The PSLV is usedfor the launching of remote sensing satellites in earth’spolar orbit. The PSLV was also used in theChandrayan, India’s first ever Lunar Mission. TheGeo Synchronous satellite launch vehicle is used in the launching of communication satellites in earth’sGeo Synchronous orbit. India has also indigenouslydeveloped the cryogenic engine used in the GSLV.India is not only self sufficient in space programme,but infact attained international recognition. Thishelped us to enter into highly competitive global spaceproducts market. A special agency called ANTRIXCorporation was set up for this purpose within theDepartment of Space. India’s INSAT- 2 Etransponders were leased to INTELSAT, InternationalTelecommunication Satellite. India has also enteredinto an agreement with the European space agencyAERIAN space for the marketing of its LaunchVehicle Technology. We have also reached anagreement with the American Remote SensingCompany SIO SAT for marketing its remote sensingdata. India conducted a programme called sharing ofexperience in space, shares to train the third worldspace personnel. India is also becoming part of Russias GLOSNOS project. Indian Space Programmedeveloped many products which are now used inindustry. The space programme has several spin offbenefits which include production of low weightmaterial used in creation of artificial limbs.Againstthis impressive background, India has now embarkedupon the ambitious programme of lunar mission. Thesuccess of Chandrayaan-1 revealed to the world, India’s capability in one of the highly sophisticatedareas of science and technology.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF ISRO SO FAR IN BRIEF

So far, 51 Indian Satellite Missions, and 27 Launchesfrom Sriharikota have been conducted.Namely theyare as follows:-

2011

♦ PSLV-C16 successfully launches ThreeSatellites–RESOURCESAT-2, YOUTHSAT,X-SAT from Sriharikota (April 20, 2011).

2010

♦ GSLV-F06 launched from Shriharikota (Dec25, 2010). GSAT-5Pcould not be placed intoorbit as the GSLV-F06 mission was notsuccessful.

♦ PSLV-C15 successfully launches Five Satellites– CARTOSAT-2B, ALSAT-2A, twonanosatellites-NLS-6.1 & 6.2 and a pico-satellite-STUDSAT from Sriharikota (July 12,2010).

♦ GSLV-D3 launched from Sriharikota (Apr 15,2010). GSAT-4satellite could not be placed inorbit as flight testing of the IndigenousCryogenic Stage in GSLV-D3 Mission was notsuccessful.

2009

♦ PSLV-C14 successfully launches SevenSatellites – OCEANSAT-2, Four CUBESATSatellites and Two RUBIN-9 from Sriharikota(Sept. 23, 2009).

♦ PSLV-C12 successfully launches RISAT-2 andANUSAT from Sriharikota (April 20, 2009).

2008

♦ PSLV-C11 successfully launchesCHANDRAYAAN-1 from Sriharikota(October 22, 2008).

♦ PSLV-C9 successfully launches CARTOSAT-2A, IMS-1 and 8 foreign nano satellites fromSriharikota (April 28,2008).

♦ PSLV-C10 successfully launches TECSARsatellite under a commercial contract withAntrix Corporation (January 21, 2008).



2007

♦ Successful launch of GSLV (GSLV-F04) withINSAT-4CR on board from SDSC SHAR(September 2, 2007).

♦ ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C8, successfully launched Italian astronomicalsatellite, AGILE from Sriharikota (April 23,2007).

♦ Successful launch of INSAT-4B by Ariane-5from Kourou French Guyana, (March 12,2007).

♦ Successful recovery of SRE-1 aftermanoeuvring it to reenter the earth’s atmosphereand descend over the Bay of Bengal about 140km east of Sriharikota (January 22, 2007).

♦ ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C7 successfully launches four satellites –India’s CARTOSAT-2 and Space CapsuleRecovery Experiment (SRE-1) and Indonesia’sLAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina’sPEHUENSAT-1 (January 10, 2007).

2006

♦ Second operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F02)from SDSC SHAR with INSAT-4C on board.(July 10, 2006). Satellite could not be placedin orbit.

2005

♦ Successful launch of INSAT-4A by Ariane fromKourou French Guyana, (December 22, 2005).

♦ ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, successfully launched CARTOSAT-1 andHAMSAT satellites from Sriharikota(May 5,2005).

2004

♦ The first operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) successfully launched EDUSAT fromSDSC SHAR, Sriharikota (September 20,2004)

2003

♦ ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C5, successfully launched RESOURCESAT-1(IRS-P6) satellite from Sriharikota (October17, 2003). Successful launch of INSAT-3E byAriane from Kourou French Guyana,(September 28, 2003).

♦ The Second developmental launch of GSLV-D2 with GSAT-2on board from Sriharikota(May 8, 2003).

♦ Successful launch of INSAT-3A by Ariane fromKourou French Guyana, (April 10, 2003).

2002

♦ ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C4, successfully launched KALPANA-1satellite from Sriharikota(September 12, 2002).

♦ Successful launch of INSAT-3C by Ariane fromKourou French Guyana, (January 24, 2002).

2001

♦ ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C3,successfully launched three satellites —Technology Experiment Satellite (TES)ofISRO, BIRD of Germany and PROBA ofBelgium–into their intended orbits (October 22,2001).

♦ The first developmental launch of GSLV-D1with GSAT-1 on board from Sriharikota (April18, 2001).

2000

♦ INSAT-3B, the first satellite in the thirdgeneration INSAT-3 series, launched by Arianefrom Kourou French Guyana, (March 22,2000).

1999

♦ Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P4(OCEANSAT), launched byPolar Satellite



Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with KoreanKITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT fromSriharikota (May 26, 1999). INSAT-2E, the lastsatellite in the multipurpose INSAT-2 series,launched by Ariane from Kourou FrenchGuyana, (April 3, 1999).

1998

♦ INSAT system capacity augmented with thereadiness of INSAT-2DTacquired fromARABSAT (January 1998).

1997

♦ INSAT-2D, fourth satellite in the INSAT series,launched (June 4, 1997). Becomes inoperableon October 4, 1997. (An in-orbit satellite,ARABSAT-1C, since renamed INSAT-2DT,was acquired in November 1997 to partlyaugment the INSAT system).

♦ First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1Don board (September 29, 1997). Satellite placedin orbit.

1996

♦ Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3, on board (March 21, 1996). Satellite placedin polar sunsynchronous orbit.

1995

♦ Launch of third operational Indian RemoteSensing Satellite, IRS-1C(December 28, 1995).INSAT-2C, the third satellite in the INSAT-2series, launched (December 7, 1995).

1994

♦ Second developmental launch of PSLV withIRS-P2, on board (October 15, 1994). Satellitesuccessfully placed in Polar SunsynchronousOrbit.

♦ Fourth developmental launch of ASLV withSROSS-C2, on board (May 4, 1994). Satelliteplaced in orbit.

1993

♦ First developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-1E on board (September 20, 1993). Satellitecould not be placed in orbit

♦ INSAT-2B, the second satellite in the INSAT-2series, launched (July 23, 1993).

1992

♦ INSAT-2A, the first satellite of theindigenously-built second-generation INSATseries, launched (July 10, 1992).

♦ Third developmental launch of ASLV withSROSS-Con board (May 20, 1992). Satelliteplaced in orbit.

1991

♦ Second operational Remote Sensing satellite,IRS-1B, launched (August 29, 1991).

1990

♦ INSAT-1D launched (June 12, 1990).

1988

♦ INSAT-1C launched (July 21,1988).Abandoned in November 1989. Seconddevelopmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-2on board (July 13, 1988). Satellite could notbe placed in orbit.

♦ Launch of first operational Indian RemoteSensing Satellite, IRS-1A(March 17, 1988).

1987

♦ First developmental launch of ASLV withSROSS-1 satellite on board (March 24, 1987).Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

1984

♦ Indo-Soviet manned space mission (April1984).

1983

♦ INSAT-1B, launched (August 30, 1983).



Second developmental launch of SLV-3. RS-D2 placed in orbit (April 17, 1983).

1982

♦ INSAT-1A launched (April 10, 1982).Deactivated on September 6, 1982.

1981

♦ Bhaskara-II launched (November 20, 1981).APPLE, an experimental geo-stationarycommunication satellite successfully launched(June 19, 1981). RS-D1 placed in orbit (May31, 1981)First developmental launch of SLV-3.

1980

♦ Second Experimental launch of SLV-3, Rohinisatellite successfully placed in orbit. (July 18,1980).

1979

♦ First Experimental launch of SLV-3 with RohiniTechnology Payloadon board (August 10,1979). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

♦ Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earthobservations, launched (June 7, 1979).

1977

♦ Satellite Telecommunication ExperimentsProject (STEP) carried out.

1975–1976

♦ Satellite Instructional Television Experiment(SITE) conducted.

1975

♦ ISRO First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata,launched (April 19, 1975).BecomesGovernment Organisation (April 1, 1975).

1972–1976

♦ Air-borne remote sensing experiments.

1972

♦ Space Commission and Department of Spaceset up (June 1, 1972). ISRO brought underDOS.

1969

♦ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)formed under Department of Atomic Energy(August 15, 1969).

1968

♦ TERLS dedicated to the United Nations(February 2, 1968).

1967

♦ Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station setup at Ahmedabad.

1965

♦ Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC)established in Thumba.

1963

♦ First sounding rocket launched from TERLS(November 21, 1963).

1962

♦ Indian National Committee for Space Research(INCOSPAR) formed by the Department ofAtomic Energy and work on establishingThumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station(TERLS) started.

Source : Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO)



MORE MLAS RESIGNED IN APNow 27 MLAs announced their resignation fromAndhra Pradesh State Assembly landing the Stategovernment in a political crisis. All these MLAs arethe supporters of YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Amongthese MLAs, there are 24 Congress, two TDP rebels,and one PRP MLA. These Congress MLAs resignedin protest against the inclusion of late chief ministerYS Rajashekhar Reddy’s name in CBI Charge Sheet.Though, YS Rajashekhar Reddy’s name is notmentioned in the CBI FIR or Charge Sheet, asaccused, but, his name figures in the details about thecase. The YSR Congress leaders claim that there aremore Congress MLAs to follow.

BIHAR TO BECOME AN ORGANIC STATE BY 2015Organic farming has the potential to generate over 20lakh jobs in the state according to independentresearch study by The Associated Chambers ofCommerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) titled‘Organic Bihar – Way to Agricultural Prosperity.’Promotion of organic farming in Bihar can raiseincome of farmers and lead to wealth accumulationof over Rs 1,000 crore besides generating exportsworth Rs 500 crore, according to apex industrybody.Around seven lakh additional jobs can also begenerated if on-farm storing, processing, valueaddition, packaging and marketing facilities areincluded, considering organic farms provide over 30per cent more jobs per hectare as against non-organicfarms.” This will also arrest migration of people fromBihar to other states in search of jobs”.Bihar is an

ideal state for organic farming as it is home to uniquecommodities such as jute, litchi and cosmetic rawmaterials like herbals, aromatic plants and makhana.Besides, the state has the potential of being India’sexport hub for certified organic food to different worldmarkets, said the ASSOCHAM study.Regional action plans should be developed for organicfarming stating direction and target for adoption andcombination of specific measures including directincome support, marketing and processing support,certification support, consumer education andinfrastructure support, said the ASSOCHAM study.The state government should promote a concept toset up an organic village in each district to encourageusage of organic fertilisers to protect the land fromresidual affect of chemical fertilisers.

SUPREME COURT TAKECOGNIGANCE OF

LOKAYUKTA REPORT

The Supreme Court decision banning both mining andmovement of ore in Bellary district in Karnataka,following the LokAyukta report, is excessive. Theblanket ban penalises even those who did nothingwrong. While the outrage over the illegal profiteeringof over Rs 12,000 crore by a politician-operator-bureaucrat combine is understandable, applying thebrakes on all mining and related activity in the districtis an undifferentiated response. The court was ofcourse responding to the evidence of large-scale andcontinuing flouting of mining leases and rules, butwould it ban all agriculture on the grounds thatfarmers were drawing too much groundwater andendangering underground aquifers?

NATIONAL ISSUES



KARNATAKA LOKAYUKTA REPORT

The 25,228-page report of the Karnataka LokayuktaSantoshHegde on illegal mining in the state has, asexpected, stirred the political establishment from itsusual torpor. Among other things, the report holdsMrYeddyurappa responsible for his ‘failure’ to curbillegal mining and for supporting corrupt ministers,especially the Reddy brothers. Moreover, theinvestigators found that a private company paid Rs20 crore for a piece of land to a member of the chiefminister’s family, an amount far above the land’sactual value of Rs 1.4 crore.

GORKHALAND HILLS TREATY

THE treaty for constituting a new “GorkhalandTerritorial Authority” (GTA) in Darjeeling hillsin West Bengal has given rise to deep concern and fearof more turmoil in the state. The treaty has been signedbetween state and central government and GorkhaJanamukti Morcha, the organisation leading themovement for a separate state. No other political partyin the state, even in the hills, was consulted eitherbefore or after the treaty was signed. Nothing wasreported in the assembly or in the all party meeting.The state government under Mamata Banerjee refusedto reveal the agreement, not only before the signingbut also after that. The central government alsoradically changed its position within days. The newtreaty has arranged for a high power committee toexamine demands of including Terai, Dooars andSiliguri in the authority. GJM will have four membersin the five member committee. This has enraged largesections of people in these areas. Another pertinentpoint is the constitutional provision for such anauthority or administration. There is no mention ofsuch a provision in the treaty. Even union homeminister P Chidambaram, while attending the signingceremony, consciously avoided this importantquestion in his speech

TELENGANA MLA’S RESIGNATIONS REJECTED

Andhrapradesh Assembly speaker Nadendla Manoharrejected the en masse resignations of MLA’s from

Telangana region speaker reportedly took this decisionstating that MLA’s have submitted their resignationsen masse under emotional circumstances. In all, 101MLAs from Telangana region, including 12 ministersof the state cabinet, drawn from different partiessubmitted their resignations on July 4 demanding thatthe central government immediately createTelanganastate. The Speaker noted that he wasrejecting the resignations after examining them andascertaining the circumstances in which they weretendered. “Resignations submitted in an emotioncannot be accepted,” Manohar reportedly noted.

NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY FUND (NSSF) FOR

UNORGANISED SECTORS

The Union Cabinet of India gave its approval forsetting up a national level security fund (NSSF) forunorganized sectors named as National SocialSecurity Fund. The fund is likely to benefit 43.3 croreworkers in the unorganized sector. The fund will beadministered by the National Social Security Board.The fund was announced during the budget 2010-11by the Union Finance minister Pranav Mukherjee. TheMinistry of Labour & Employment will be the nodalMinistry for the operation of the Fund.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF N.C. SAXENA COMMITTEE

Dr. N.C. Saxena Committee was set up by the Ministryof Rural Development to advise it on the suitablemethodology for BPL Census and not for estimationof poverty. However, in the Report submitted by theExpert Group on 21st August 2009 it is mentionedthat the percentage of people entitled to BPL statusshould be revised upwards to at least 50%. Thecommittee has suggested proportionate increase in thestate level poverty estimates also. The recommen-dations of the Expert Group and other alternativemethodologies are being tested through a pilot socio-economic survey and a Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA) exercise in order to finalize the methodologyfor the final BPL Census.



NOTICE TO CENTRE ON A PIL SEEKING EXCLUSION OF

CREAMY LAYER AMONG SC & STThe Supreme Court of India issued a notice to theCentre and the States on a PIL seeking to bringadvanced and affluent Scheduled Caste and ScheduledTribes out of the purview of reservation. The benchheaded by Justice RB Raveendran and AK Patnaikpassed the order on a petition filed by a retired officerof Indian Legal Services OP Shukla. He was seekingthe court’s direction to exclude advanced and affluentScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from theambit of reservation in job and education.

NATGRID WAS SET UP BY THE

UNION GOVERNMENT

The union government of India has set up a NationalIntelligence Grid (NATGRID) to access allintelligence data. It is to function as a tool forstrengthening the capability of the existing intelligenceand law enforcement agencies. It aims at improvingaccess to information and its sharing. NATGRID hasbeen formed to link databases for inputs to combatterrorism. It is meant to improve India’s capability tocounter threats to its internal security.

TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN ORGANS

(AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011The Lok Sabha of Indian Parliament approved theTransplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Bill,2011. The bill entails stringent punishment for thoseinvolved in organ trade. The amended bill will alsomake swapping of vital organs between willing butincompatible donors legal. Henceforth, when adonor’s organ is not compatible with his own relativebut is suitable for the other, the two families (unknownto each other) can go ahead and exchange the organs.At present, rules restrict organ transplant to betweenblood relatives (father, mother, daughter, son, sisterand brother) and between married couples. The billwill help in curbing the country’s illegal organ trade.The bill also allows uncles and aunts and grandparentsto donate their organs with the approval ofauthorization committee.

INDIAN COMMUNITY WELFARE FUND

(ICWF) WAS SET UP

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has set up theIndian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF), which isoperationalised in the Indian Missions in all theCountries with effect from 24 March 2011 forsafeguarding the welfare and protection especially ofIndian workers going abroad. The fund aims toprovide on-site emergency assistance for the OverseasIndian Citizens, who are in distress. The welfareservices provided by the ICWF includes boarding andlodging for distressed household/domestic workersand unskilled labourers, emergency medical care tothe overseas Indians in need, providing air passageto stranded overseas Indians in distress, providinginitial legal assistance to the overseas Indians indeserving cases and incurring expenditure onincidentals and for airlifting the mortal remains toIndia or local cremation/burial of the deceasedoverseas Indians in cases where a sponsor is unableor unwilling to do so as per the contract and the familyis unable to meet the cost. At present there is no suchproposal to increase the fund meant for that purposeas it is felt that the existing fund being operated byIndian Missions abroad are sufficient for the welfareof the overseas Indians.

THE FOOD SAFETY AND

STANDARDS ACT OF 2006 BECAME EFFECTIVE

The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 becameeffective in India from 5 August 2011 making it atpar with the international standards. The Act waspassed in Parliament in 2006. It includes several actslike Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954,Fruit Products Order of 1955, Meat Food ProductsOrder of 1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control)Order of 1947, Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order of 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Mealand Edible Flour (Control) Order of 1967, Milk andMilk Products Order of 1992 and also any orderissued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955relating to food. The Food Safety and StandardsAuthority of India (FSSAI) was established in 2008



under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 as astatutory body for prescribing science based standardsfor articles of food and regulating manufacturing,

processing, distribution, sale and import of food toensure safe and wholesome food for humanconsumption.

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US CREDIT RATING DOWNGRADED TO AA+FROM AAA BY STANDARD& POOR’S

The US credit rating was downgraded to AA+ fromAAA by Standard and Poor’s on 5 August 2011. Thiscan increase the cost of borrowing for the US andsetting off more panic selling in stock markets. Thisis the first time that Standard and Poor issued anegative outlook on the US government since itstarted rating the credit-worthiness of railroad bondsin 1860. The rating may be cut to AA within two yearsif spending reductions are lower than agreed to,interest rates increase or new fiscal pressures resultin higher government debt.

THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO

INVESTIGATE CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS IN

SYRIA

The UN Human Rights Council ordered aninvestigation into violations committed by the Syrianregime during its crackdown on popular protests. Thecouncil passed a resolution to send an independentinternational commission of inquiry and demanded anend to the violence by Syrian security forces againstprotesters. There were 33 votes in favour, four against-reportedly including China, Russia and Cuba- andnine abstentions. The commission will investigateviolations of international human rights law in Syriasince July 2011. The UN says more than 2200 peoplehave died in the violence.The UN high commissioneron human rights, Navi Pillay, opened an emergency

session of the UN Human Rights Council in Genevaon 22 August 2011. A UN humanitarian missionvisited the central city of Homs on 22 August 2011,but was advised to leave for security reasons whenprotests started. The mission was sent to assess suchneeds as food and medicine.

SONIA WORLD’S 7TH MOST POWERFUL WOMAN:FORBES

Forbes magazine on Wednesday named GermanChancellor Angela Merkel the world’s most powerfulwoman, calling her the “undisputed” leader of theEuropean Union and head of its only “real globaleconomy.” Merkel, who has topped the list of theworld’s 100 most powerful women in all but one ofthe years since she became chancellor in November2005, beat out US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonand, in 3rd place, Dilma Rousseff, who becameBrazil’s first woman president on January 1 2011.”German Chancellor Angela Merkel is head of the onereal global economy in Europe and is the ‘undisputed’leader of the EU,” Forbes said.Congress presidentSonia Gandhi figures as the seventh most powerfulwoman of the world in theForbes list which is toppedby German Chancellor Angela Merkel and USSecretary of State Hillary Clinton. 64-year-old SoniaGandhi, who is recouping from an unspecified surgeryin a US hospital, is ranked seventh jus ahead of USFirst Lady Michell Obama in a list of 100 mostpowerful women of the world released bythe Forbesmagazine.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES



Rank Name Age Country Category

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Angela MerkelChanceler

Hillary ClintonSecretary of State

Dilma RousseffPresident

Indra NooyiChief Executive, Prpsi Co

Sheryl SandbergCOO, Facebook

Melinda GatesCofounder, Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Sonia GandhiPresident, India National Congress Party

Michelle ObamaFirst Lady

Christine LagardeManaging Director, International Monetary Fund

57

63

63

55

41

47

64

47

55

Germany

United States

Brazil

United States

India

France

United States

United States

United States

Politics

Politics

Politics

Business

Business

Non-profit

Politics

Non-profit

Politics

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ANNOUNCED

MEASURES FOR HONK KONG COMPANIES

China on 17 August 2011 announced measures tomake it easier for Hong Kong companies to invest inmainland securities, the latest step in a continuingdrive to make the yuan an international currency. VicePremier Li Keqiang announced an initial quota ofmore than three billion dollars for foreign investorsbased in Hong Kong seeking to purchase yuan-denominated securities. China has long been usingHong Kong as a test bed for a loosening of its strictcurrency controls. Hong Kong is one of two specialadministrative regions (SARs) of the People’sRepublic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. Acity-state situated on China’s south coast and enclosedby the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is

renowned for its expansive skyline and deep naturalharbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi)and a population of seven million people, Hong Kongis one of the most densely populated areas in theworld. Hong Kong’s population is 95 percent ethnicChinese and 5 percent from other groups. HongKong’s Han Chinese majority originate mainly fromthe cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in theneighbouring Guangdong province.

GOOGLE’S TAKEOVER OF MOTOROLA MOBILITY

IS THE COSTLIEST IN THE LAST 12 YEARS

Google’s $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola Mobility,priced at 32 times the latter’s earnings, is the costliesttakeover in the last 12 years. It could also be the mostsignificant game changer in the rapidly evolving world



of high speed Internet that you can carry around withyou. So far, Google was content to be an Internet andmobile phone operating system (OS) software player,supplying its Android OS to companies like Samsung,LG, Sony Ericsson and HTC, besides Motorola itself,which decided to make Android its sole OS in 2008.Now, the phone makers might start viewing Google-Motorola as a rival, although Google has been quickto address this apprehension, saying that it willcontinue to run Android as an open platform and runMotorola as a separate business. This makes sense.The main reason, then, to do the deal is to get to ownMotorola’s impressive array of more than 17,000existing patents, and 7,500 more that are pending, inmobile technology.

THE POLITICAL PARTIES IN NEPAL FAILED TO

SELECT A CONSENSUS CANDIDATE FOR THE POST

OF PRIME MINISTER

In Nepal, the political parties have failed to meet thedeadline for selecting a consensus candidate for thepost of the Prime Minister. President Dr. Ram BaranYadav has sent a letter to Parliament under Article38(2) of the interim constitution to begin the processfor forming a majority government. Following theresignation of Prime Minister JhalaNath Khanal on14th August 2011, the President had directed thepolitical parties to form a national consensusgovernment within four days. While the main politicalparties had emphasized the importance having aconsensus government they failed to come to anagreement on who should lead the next government.The CPN_UML and smaller parties have repeated thestand of the nepali congress that it was difficult toaccept the leadership of the maoist while they stillhave to give up arms and weapons. Nepal will haveto wait for some time before the next government isformed. Nepal’s major political parties stakedcompeting claims on the prime minister’s postplunging the Himalayan nation back into the years-long political squabbles that have left it without aconstitution or stable government.The country’s latestPrime Minister, Jhalnath Khanal, resigned on 14

August 2011 after failing to make progress towardadopting a constitution during his six months in office.It took 17 votes in parliament over seven months toget him elected in February 2011.None of the parties have a parliamentary majority,making it necessary for any new prime minister toform a coalition government. The lawmakers havetwice extended the deadline for writing the newconstitution and face a third deadline at the end ofthe month, which they are expected to miss. Khanal,who was chosen to help break the deadlock, faceddemands that he step down from the opposition NepaliCongress party, which accused him of failing to liveup to his promises to move forward the peace processin Nepal. The opposition had blocked parliament sincelate last month demanding Khanal’s resignation.Khanal also faced turmoil from within his own partyand the main coalition partner — the Maoists — sincethe day he took office. They were not satisfied withthe distribution of ministerial portfolios. ThoughMaoist guerrillas gave up their armed revolt in 2006to join mainstream politics, thousands of formerfighters still live in camps and their future is yetundecided. Khanal had promised he would resolve theissue but failed to do.

NORTH KOREA AGREED TO START

INTERNATIONAL TALKS ON DENUCLEARISATION

OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA

North Korea on 24 August 2011 agreed to go aheadwith international talks on denuclearisation of theKorean peninsula. North Korea expressed itsreadiness to impose a moratorium on tests of weaponsof mass destruction and resume the stalled six-partytalks on its nuclear programme. North Koreaexpressed its inclination to resume the six-party talkson the settlement of the nuclear problem in the KoreanPeninsula without pre-conditions. North Koreanleader Kim Jong II who was on a visit to Russia, heldcrucial talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedevat a secret military facility Sosnovy Bor in EastSiberia. Secret Soviet-era military facility Sosnovy



Bor is situated near the capital of the Republic ofBuryatia, Ulan-Ude.The two leaders also discussed the settlement of NorthKorea’s 11 billion US Dollars debt to Russia. It wasfirst visit of Kim Jong II to Russia in nine years. NorthKorea is facing economic hardship because of theeconomic sanctions imposed on it by the USA andother western countries.The six-party talks, suspended in 2008 wereannounced on 22 July 2011 in Bali, Indonesia, duringthe ASEAN security forum. ASEAN security forumis only regular international occasion, in which bothKoreas participate. The six-party talks were initiatedin 2003, after North Korea declared its withdrawalfrom the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).The following six nations are part of the six-partytalks:

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (NorthKorea)Republic of Korea (South Korea)People’s Republic of ChinaUnited States of AmericaRussiaJapan

THE OPPOSITION GROUP IN YEMEN ELECTED AN

UMBRELLA COUNCIL

The opposition group in Yemen elected an umbrellacouncil on 17 August 2011 to take over power fromPresident Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is in Riyadh. Hehas been there for the past 10 weeks recovering froma bomb balst. The umbrella council consists of 143members and it is named National Council for theForces of the Peaceful Revolution. The council waselected by around 800 representatives of diverseopposition groups.Those elected will choose 20 members to make upan executive committee. The National Council willlead the forces of the revolution, determined to remainthere until Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure. The councilgroups the parliamentary parties of the Common

Forum, which comprises the influential Islamist partyAl-Islah (reform), with the young protesters at theforefront of anti-regime protests since January 2011.In addition to those groups, the new council alsocomprises representatives of civil society, membersof the secessionist Southern Movement, the northernShiite Huthi rebels and independent activists.

CHINA LAUNCHED ITS FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER

ON MAIDEN SEA TRIAL

China launched its first aircraft carrier for a maidenrun on 10 August 2011. The aircraft carrier is about300 meters long. It will be used for training and as amodel for future carriers. The launch of the aircraftcarrier is considered a part of Chinese naval strategyfor expanding eastwards for the next 30 years.Chinabought its aircraft carrier from Russia. The aircraftwas known as Varyag in Russia.

NEW ZEALAND BANNED SYNTHETIC CANNABIS

PRODUCTS INCLUDING KRONIC

New Zealand government imposed a 12-month banon Synthetic cannabis products which becameeffective on 5 August 2011. The government said theuse of 43 artificial cannabis products could cause heartproblems. Among the prohibited substances is apopular brand known as Kronic, which has been alegal alternative to marijuana for many years. Kronicis smoked like marijuana and has been available inshops.

RECORD LOW IN ROAD DEATHS

INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM PUTS FIGURE

AT LESS THAN 150 000 FOR FIRST TIME EVER

For the first time ever the number of people killed inroad accidents has fallen below 150 000 in the 52member countries of the International TransportForum (ITF), excluding India.According to datareleased by the Paris based organization, which is partof the OECD family, road fatalities recorded thebiggest decrease since 1990 with a drop of 8.9% in2008 compared to 2007. Preliminary data for 2009



shows a continuing significant reduction in thenumber of road deaths for most ITF membercountries, recording a drop of almost 10%.”Themoderating effects of the economic crisis on roadtraffic appear to be one reason for this favourabletrend”, said Jack Short, Secretary General of theInternational Transport Forum. “But manygovernments can also take credit for road safetypolicies that are now starting to produce results.” TheITF is holding its annual global mobility summit on“Transport and Innovation: Unleashing the Potential”in Leipzig, Germany, from May 26-28.

USA PASSED DRAFT RESOLUTION FOR TOUGHER

UN SANCTIONS AGAINST SYRIAN PRESIDENT

BASHAR AL-ASSAD

US and European nations has passed draft resolutionfor tougher UN sanctions against Syria’s PresidentBashar al-Assad and other top regime leaderships fortheir deadly crackdown on opposition protests. Thedraft resolution strongly condemns what it sayscontinued grave and systematic human rightsviolations by the Syrian authorities. The draftresolution also demands an immediate end to theviolence. It says that Western delegations hope to put

the draft resolution to a vote in the 15-nation SecurityCouncil as soon as possible.

USA AND OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS CALLED

FOR THE RESIGNATION OF SYRIAN PRESIDENT

President Barack Obama and the leaders of severalmajor European countries have called for theresignation of the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.It is the first explicit call from the US and its alliesfor President Assad to step down although Washingtonpreviously said Syria would be better off without him.The United States has also ordered the freeze of allSyrian Government assets in the US and a ban on oilimports from Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assadtold UN chief Ban Ki-moon that military operationsagainst the protesters have stopped. The UN said in astatement that Mr. Assad was responding to a demandfrom Mr. Ban during a phone call that all militaryoperations and mass arrests must cease immediately.Mr. Assad has come under mounting internationalpressure to end his violent crackdown ondemonstrators. Syria is a country in Western Asia,bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to theWest, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, Turkey tothe north and Israel to the southwest.






DAMODARAN PANEL’S SUGGESTIONS

The report on Customer Service in Banks by acommittee chaired by M. Damodaran, formerChairman of the Securities and Exchange Board ofIndia (SEBI) was released on 3 July 2011. TheReserve Bank of India panel recommended anincreased deposit insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh so asto encourage individuals to keep all their deposits inbanks. The Damodaran panel mentioned that in caseof sick banks, a possibility to enable customers toimmediately avail themselves of a part of their insureddeposits before the final fate of sick banks is decidedshould be explored.The recommendations were made in 3 broadcategories:

Home Loans:The panel recommended that banks should not imposeexorbitant penal rates towards foreclosure of homeloans. A policy should be devised to ensure thatcustomers are not denied of opportunity to enhancetheir economic welfare by making choices such asswitching to other banks/financial entities to enjoy thebenefits conferred by market competition. Measuresto stop practices of discriminating between new andold customers with identical risk profiles on the basisof interest rate offers were to be initiated.

Senior Citizens:There should be prioritised service to senior citizens,physically handicapped persons by effective crowd/people management available at all branches. Thepanel suggested introduction of provision of the SMS

alerts service about balance in the account at periodicintervals and about due dates for submission ofimportant documents. Automatic updation of thecustomers to the senior citizen category based on thedate of birth would be introduced. Pensioner may beallowed to submit the annual life certificate at any ofthe (linked) branches and not necessarily at the homebranch.

Rural Areas:According to the panel banks should ensure propercurrency exchange facilities and also the quality ofnotes in circulation in rural areas. Branches shouldbe made functioning at a time convenient to thecustomers (agricultural labourers, workers andartisans).

INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK SURVEY

The Reserve Bank of India launched its IndustrialOutlook Survey for the July-September 2011 period.The Industrial Outlook Survey provides for an insightinto the perception of non-financial public and privatelimited companies that are engaged in manufacturingactivities about their performance and futureprospects. The responsibility for conducting theresearch on behalf of the central bank was bestowedon Centre for Research Planning and Action(CERPA). The CERPA is to get in touch with severalmanufacturing companies during the quarter July-September for seeking their valuable feedback so thatit can be included in the survey. The survey is to covernon-financial private and public limited companieswith a good size/industry representation. Those

ECONOMY



manufacturing companies which are not approachedby CERPA can also participate in the survey bydownloading the survey schedule from RBI’s officialwebsite.

WHAT IS CERPA ?CERPA was established in 1972 and conducts socialscience research, provides consultancy ondevelopmental issues, helps planners andpolicymakers and provides charitable services to thedisadvantaged and poor sections of the country.

BY 2015 CLOUD MARKET IN INDIA WILL BE

$ 4.5 BILLION

According to a study Private Cloud Landscape inIndia released by EMC Corporation and ZinnovManagement Consulting, a management consultingfirm, total cloud market in India will reach a marketvalue of $ 4.5 billion by 2015. The cloud marketcurrently stands at $ 400 million. According to thestudy private cloud adoption will dominate andaccount for $ 3.5 billion in revenues, growing at over60%. The study estimated that private clouddeployments could result in potential savings of upto 50% on the IT investments on average, whencompared with a legacy IT model, with costoptimization in areas such as telecom and networking,facilities and fabric, hardware, software, internallabour and external IT services. The study based ona comprehensive survey of over 100 CIOs and ITdecision makers in India across industry verticalspointed out that there is an increased preference ofcloud adoption over the next five years in India. Incloud computing, a company can store applicationsand information in its data centers, rather than on thelocal servers. The information stored and processedon computers in the data centers, can be tappedremotely through a personal computer, cellphone orother device. Cloud computing is expected to reshapethe Indian IT market by generating new opportunitiesfor IT vendors and driving changes in traditional ITofferings.Private cloud market is likely to create 1 lakhjobs by 2015 from 10000 today thereby providing anopportunity for students and the workforce.

IT COMPANIES TO

GROW GLOBALLY AT 16-18%The National Association of Software and ServiceCompanies (NASSCOM estimated that IT companieswould continue to grow globally at 16-18 per cent in2011-12 despite the economic crisis in the U.S. andEuropean markets.Nasscom has been helping IndianIT industry to find newer markets for their productsand no to remain over-dependant on the U.S. and theEuropean markets. The U.S. and European nationsaccount for over 85 per cent of the revenues of theover $70 billion Indian IT sector.Nasscom had in thebeginning of 2011 presented a conservative outlookof 16-18 per cent growth in IT exports in 2011-12 inthe wake of the slow economic recovery in the U.S.and uncertainty in the European region. Nasscomestimated the growth in software and services exportto be 16-18 per cent and the sector is slated to bringin revenues of $68-70 billion.

INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY TO BE 3RD LARGEST

IN THE WORLD BY 2025A study titled “Being five star in productivity:roadmap for excellence in Indian banking” was releasedFICCI-IBA-BCG, the eve of IBA-FICCI annualbanking conference. The theme for the bankingconference was decided to be ProductivityExcellence.India’s gross domestic product (GDP)growth will make the Indian banking industry thirdlargest in the world by 2025, According to the study.The report chalked out an action agenda for banks,based on insights from an extensive productivitybenchmarking exercise conducted across 40 banks.The report highlighted that banks have to strive forexcellence on five dimensions: branch sales andservice, new channels, lean operations, organisationdesign and bad debt management. The report statedthat branches of banks can generate higher levels ofrevenue for the banks. Indian banks deploy 62 per centof staff in customer facing roles as against thebenchmark of 82 per cent observed by BCGglobally.Indian banks, the report mentioned were to



be doing well overall with industry cost-income ratiobelow 50 per cent. However, there remained plentyof scope for betterment. On an average, Indian bankshave about 20 per cent of staff deployed in back-officeprocessing (for some banks, as high as 40 per cent)as against a global best of 10 per cent observed byBCG. Process re-engineering and operating modelchange if employed could help reduce costs, improveservice, and contain operating risks.Public sectorbanks were found to be under-investing in technologywith spends at about 25 per cent of globalbenchmarks. The banking industry was holding lowheadcount in HR and finance roles.

DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF HYDROCARBON WILL

BE MORE TRANSPARENT

The oil ministry accepted an Ashok ChawlaCommittee’s recommendation to make functioning ofthe Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH) moretransparent to prevent corruption charges. Theministry however firmly rejected the panel’ssuggestion to transfer the government’s regulatorypowers to an independent body. The ministry did notapprove of the panel’s demand to carve out DGH’sregulatory functions into an independent regulator.The ministry also decided to accept the panel’srecommendation to adopt disclosure norms related toinvestment audits and post-bid monitoring in tune withthe best practices existing elsewhere in the world. Theregulatory and contract management roles of the DGHare under scrutiny amid allegations that it did notsafeguard the government’s interests while dealingwith private energy firms - such as Cairn India,Reliance Industries, and BG. The Comptroller &Auditor General had criticised the DGH’s role in itsdraft report and the CBI registered a case against theformer head of DGH, VK Sibal and six others officialsof the directorate.

CPI NUMBERS FOR AGRICULTURAL & RURAL

LABOURERS RELEASED

The All-India Consumer Price Index (CPI) Numbersfor Agricultural Labourers (AL)and Rural Labourers

(RL) (Base: 1986-87=100) for July 2011 increasedby 6 and 7 points respectively Agricultural Labourersand Rural Labourers to stand at 604 (Six hundred andfour) points for both the series. In case of AgriculturalLabourers, it recorded an increase between 2 to 15points in 19 States and a decrease of 14 points in 1State. Haryana with 669 points topped the index tablewhereas Himachal Pradesh with the index level of 492points stood at the bottom. In case of Rural Labourers,it recorded an increase between 2 to 15 points in 19States and a decrease of 11 points in 1 State. Haryanawith 663 points topped the index table whereasHimachal Pradesh with the index level of 515 pointsstood at the bottom.The Consumer Price Index (CPI) Numbers forAgricultural and Rural Labourers in respect ofHaryana State registered the maximum increase of15 points each mainly due to increase in the prices ofrice, wheat atta, gram dal, goat meat, milk, onion,vegetables & fruits and bidi. On the other hand, theConsumer Price Index Numbers for AgriculturalLabourers and Rural Labourers in respect of TamilNadu State recorded a decline of 14 and 11 pointsrespectively mainly due to decrease in the prices ofrice, jowar, fish fresh and pan leaf. Point to point rateof inflation based on the CPI-AL and CPI-RLdecreased from 9.32% and 9.14% respectively in June2011 to 9.03% in July 2011 for both the series.Inflation based on food index of CPI-AL and CPI–RL stood 6.39% and 6.38% respectively in July 2011.

FOOD INFLATION FALLS TO 9.03 %According to the WPI (wholesale price index) datareleased, food inflation eased to 9.03 per cent for theweek ended 6 August 2011 from 9.90 per cent in theprevious week even as prices of all edibles, barringpulses, continued to rise. The marginal easing couldalso be attributed to a week-on-week moderation ininflation even as prices continued to move up. Forinstance, the rate of price rise during the week endedJuly 30 in items such as vegetables, potatoes, milk,egg, meat and fish was higher on an annual basiscompared to the first week of August. The inflation



data for the week under supervision showed thatexcept pulses which turned 5.63 per cent cheaper ona year-on-year basis, onion prices were up 37.62 percent as were fruits by 26.46 per cent. Eggs, meat andfish were more expensive by 9.93 per cent, so wasmilk by 9.76 per cent. Cereals and vegetables werealso dearer by 6.23 per cent and 2.59 per cent,respectively.The economic analysts pointed out that the volatiletrend in food inflation is likely to continue. Foodinflation was at over 14 per cent during the weekended 6 August 2010. Overall, however, whileinflation in primary articles stood pegged lower at11.64 per cent against 12.22 per cent in the previousweek, inflation in non-food articles rose to 16.07 percent from 15.05 per cent earlier. Inflation in fuel andpower was also higher at 13.13 per cent for the weekended 6 August against 12.19 per cent a week ago.

GOVERNMENT’S DEBT ROSE 6% IN THE

FIRST QUARTER

According to the public debt management reportreleased by the finance ministry, the Centre’s debt rosenearly 6% in the first quarter (April - June) of thecurrent fiscal 2011-12 but dropped as a percentageof GDP because of the revision in GDP estimates. Thetotal public debt of the government was Rs 31.5 lakhcrore at that end of June 2011 against Rs 29.7 lakhcrore at the end of March 2011. Internal debtconstituted 90.3% of the total public debt. The internaldebt figure increased marginally from 89.7% at theend of the January to March quarter.India’s highsavings rate allows a larger share for internal debt vis-a-vis other countries. A small share of external debtis likely to improve the credibility of government debtand increases sustainability. The report pointed outthat the overall 30.9% of outstanding stock has aresidual maturity of up to 5 years, which implies thatover the next five years, on an average, 6.2% ofoutstanding stock needs to be rolled over annually.The rollover risk in the debt portfolio therefore isexpected to remain low.

REVIVAL OF THE SINDRI UNIT OF FERTILISER

CORPORATION

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairsapproved SAIL’s proposal for revival of the Sindriunit of Fertiliser Corporation of India at an investmentof nearly Rs 35000 crore. SAIL was selected onnomination basis for allocation of land to set up asteel, power and fertiliser plants at the site. Theproposed revival plan included setting up of a 5.6million tonnes per annum (mtpa) greenfield steelmaking plant at an investment of Rs 26000 crore. Therevival plan also included setting up of 1.15-mtpafertiliser plant with investment of Rs 4450 crore. Inaddition, the plan envisaged setting up of a Rs 4000-crore power plant. The total land available with FCILat Sindri is 6652.6 acres, out of which about 5,481.6acres will be made available for the project proposedby SAIL.The entire project will be spearheaded through aspecial purpose vehicle (SPV) with a PSU character.Three subsidiaries will cater to the proposed steel,fertiliser and power plants. The Sindri project willcreate direct/indirect employment potential for morethan 5000 people. Cabinet’s approval to the revivalplan decision paved the way for SAIL’s plan to expandits production capacity in Jharkhand. The UnionCabinet decision will provide significant strategicadvantage to SAIL. Under the plan, the proposed steelplant will have a diversified flat product-mix cateringto the highend steel market. With major growthexpected from steel-using sectors like oil & gas, autoand power, SAIL will produce new products like auto-body grades.Apart from the steel unit, a 1.15 mtpagas-based urea plant is to be set up after dismantlingand disposing of the existing urea plant at the site.

SEBI PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)proposed to create regulations for alternativeinvestment funds under the title SEBI (AlternativeInvestment Fund) Regulations. These alternative



investment fund (AIF) raise capital from a number ofhigh networth investors (HNIs) with an objective ofinvesting in accordance with a defined investmentpolicy for the benefit of those investors.The fundswhich would come under the proposed regulationinclude-Venture Capital Funds, PIPE Funds, PrivateEquity Fund, Debt Funds, Infrastructure Equity Fund,Real Estate Fund, SME Fund, Social Venture Funds,Strategy Fund. SEBI made it mandatory for all typesof private pools of capital or investment funds to seekregistration with SEBI. The funds could be formedas companies, trusts or body corporate including LLPstructure. The fund manager/asset managementcompany or trustees of the fund is required to bespecified, and change of such entities is to be reportedto SEBI. The fund at the time of application wouldspecify the category under which it is soughtregistration, the targeted size of the proposed fund andits life cycle and the target investor. SEBI proposedthat the funds would be close-ended.

INDIA NEEDS 55 MILLION ADDITIONAL JOBS BY

2015According to a report from CRISIL Research, anindependent research house, India needs at least 55million additional jobs by 2015 to maintain the currentratio of employed people to total population at 39 percent. Twice the number of jobs created during 2005-2010 would be required to maintain the mark. TheCRISIL Research study is based on recently releasedNational Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) dataon employment in India.CRISIL, after considering thenumber of people retiring or losing their jobs by 2015,new job hires would have to exceed 55 million tomaintain the current ratio of employed people to totalpopulation. Total employment is the sum of peoplein jobs and self-employed.Job creation could not keeppace with GDP growth. The GDP growth increasedto 8.6 per cent during 2005-10 from 6 per cent during2000-05, but the net addition to jobs remained almostflat at around 27 million during the two timeperiodsThe CRISIL report pointed out that theemployment potential emanating from faster growth

in manufacturing and services could not be fullyexploited due to lack of policy support. Inmanufacturing, employment declined by 7 per cent,despite a faster growth in manufacturing output. Incontrast, employment grew by almost 70 per cent inthe construction sector.

RBI ANNUAL REPORT: CHALLENGES TO

INDIAN ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank of India in its Annual Report for2010-11 released included discussion on (i) theassessment of the macroeconomic performance during2010-11 and the prospects for 2011-12, and (ii) theworking and operations of the Reserve Bank and itsfinancial accounts.The central bank presented it greatdetail an analysis of the challenges faced by the Indianeconomy. The RBI considered that the immediatechallenge to sustaining high growth lay in bringingdown inflation, growth sustainability over medium-term depends on addressing the structural bottlenecks.The Annual Report for 2010-11 discussed themeasures adopted by the RBI to deal with thechallenges that threatented to lower the economicgrowth.

THE REAL ECONOMY

The RBI in its Annual Report presented a broaderpicture of the real economic scenerio in Inida.

♦ Following the US sovereign rating downgradeby S&P, oil prices fell. The August price of theIndian basket of crude was 25 per cent higherthan its average during 2010-11. Empiricalexercise revealed that a 10 percentage pointincrease in oil price would lead to a reductionin real GDP growth by about 0.3 percentagepoint. It would also raise WPI inflation by 1.0percentage point through direct impact and 2.0percentage points in total impact.

♦ Preliminary estimates based on latest availableinformation showed that financial savings ofthe household sector moderated to 9.7 per centof GDP in 2010-11 from 12.1 per cent in 2010-



11. The decline in the financial savings rate ofthe household sector reflected the lower growthin their bank deposits and life insurance as wellas decline in investment in shares anddebentures.

PRICE SITUATION

♦ Inflation became generalized since December2010 with significant price pressures in non-food manufacturing commodities. Drivers ofinflation were found to have changed duringthe course of 2010-11.

♦ Global commodity prices recovered faster thanthe global economy as a result of surfeit ofliquidity which resulted in creating pressure onheadline inflation in India during 2010-11.

MONEY AND CREDIT

♦ Money growth was moderate during 2010-11,but it had picked up during the last quarter of2010-11. Currency expansion was strong during2010-11. The growth in currency demand wasexplained by high GDP growth, high inflationand low deposit rates initially.The RBI hadobserved that the rate of decline in velocity hadaccelerated. Accentuated liquidity preferenceand slack credit demand in the aftermath of thecrisis were reflected in sharp fall in velocity.

FINANCIAL MARKETS

♦ International financial markets witnessedfrequent re-pricing of risks during 2010-11,reflecting persisting uncertainties. Sovereignrisk concerns, particularly in the Euro Area,affected the financial markets. Monetary policytransmission across the various segments of thefinancial markets strengthened during 2010-11and till mid 2011-12 with liquidity conditionshifting to a deficit mode from June 2010.

GOVERNMENT FINANCE

♦ Combined GFD/GDP for Centre and States fellfrom 9.3 per cent in 2009-10 to 7.7 per cent in

2010-11. The budgets of the Central and Stategovernments envisaged further fiscalconsolidation during 2011-12. The reportreccomended concerted efforts to avoid fiscalslippages in 2011-12, especially arising fromhigher expenditure on subsidies if globalcommodity and fuel prices continue at anelevated level.

EXTERNAL SECTOR-AN OVERVIEW

India’s balance of payments improved to 2.6 per centof GDP during 2010-11 from 2.8 per cent during2009-10 led by a pick-up in exports during the secondhalf and a higher invisibles surplus. Capital flows to India improved during 2010-11.However the composition and volatility of capitalflows posed concern Overall, the BoP situation wasbelieved to manageable, though continuousmonitoring due to the global uncertainties would berequired for the same.

RBI ANNUAL REPORT :PROSPECTS OF INDIAN ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank of India released its Annual Reportfor 2010-11. In the Annual Report the Central Boardof the RBI discussed (i) the assessment of themacroeconomic performance during 2010-11 and theprospects for 2011-12, and (ii) the working andoperations of the Reserve Bank and its financialaccounts.Apart from providing for an assessment ofthe Indian economy for the year 2010-11, the reportalso discuused the economic prospects for 2011-12.The RBI opined that global uncertainty, stickyinflation, hardening interest rates and high base,especially for agriculture is likely to have amoderating effect on growth in 2011-12. Also,inflation would be elevated in near term and fall onlytowards the later part of the fiscal.Growth Outlook

♦ Growth was estimated to come down but remainclose to the trend of about 8.0 per cent in 2011-12. However if global financial problems



increase and slow down global growthmarkedly, it would impart a downward bias tothe growth projection of around 8.0 per centindicated in the Monetary Policy.

♦ According to the RBI report growth prospectsfor the year 2011-12 would be subduedcompared to 2010-11. The slowdown inperformance of the economy could be attributedto high global oil and commodity prices,persistent inflationary pressures, rising inputcosts, rise in cost of capital due to monetarytightening and slow project execution.

♦ Crop prospects remain good, though on a highbase the growth is likely to turn out to be lessthan last year. The monsoon up to August 17,2011 was 1 per cent below the Long PeriodAverage. RBI’s overall foodgrains productionweighted rainfall index was 101 till August 17,2011 (88 in the corresponding period last year).Sowing up to August 12, 2011 was marginallyhigher than in corresponding period of theprevious year.

♦ In 2011-12 risks to the industrial growth wasbelieved to be arise from falling businessconfidence. However robust growth of theservices sector would continue to support thegrowth process.

Private consumption could be expected to decelerate.In face of moderating demand, expenditure-switchingfrom government consumption expenditures to publicinvestments was likely to help.

OUTLOOK ON TWIN DEFICITS

♦ The twin deficits required close monitoring inthe backdrop of weakening global economy andthe likelihood of some spillovers to thedomestic economy.

♦ According to the report, the fiscal deficit in2011-12 is expected to be more than thebudgeted projections. If the economy slowsdown beyond what is currently anticipated, the

consequent revenue erosion woulod furtherincrease the fiscal deficit. The fiscal space tosupport any counter-cyclical policies is limitedthan what existed at the time of the global crisisof 2008.

♦ CAD was expected to remain at a sustainablelevel in 2011-12. Estimates of sustainable CADsuggest a threshold of 2.7-3.0 per cent of GDP.Prospects for external sector for 2011-12remain uncertain as global uncertainties couldadversely impact commodity prices andexchange rate movements.

♦ The robust performance of exports in 2010-11and 2011-12 currently faces downside risks asper the report. The impact of growth slowdownin the advanced economies could partly bemitigated by continued diversification ofexports.

♦ With the US and Europe constituting the bulkof Indian software exports, some impact froma slowdown in advanced economies is to beexpected.

Capital flows, the RBI mentioned could surge ordiminish, depending upon the degree of risk aversion.If global crisis turned deep, capital flows wouldmoderate. On the other hand, capital flows to Indiacould increase in spells on relative returns basis anddue to large interest differentials. FDI to India inquarter 1 of 2011-12 was found to have doubled.

INFLATION OUTLOOK

♦ Inflation, the RBI believed would remain highand moderate only towards the latter part ofthe year to about 7 per cent by March 2012. Incase the the global recovery weakened in thelatter part of the year, commodity prices woulddecline further. The declining of the commodityprices would go on to have a salutary impacton domestic inflation. Near zero rate policy atleast till mid-2013 will be pursued. This policystance is expected to keep the commodity priceselevated.



♦ Given that the global oil prices stay at currentlevel, further increase in prices of administeredoil products will become necessary to containsubsidies. Fertiliser and electricity prices willhave to be revised upward in view of sharp risein input costs.

The report mentioned that the monetary policy hasan important role to play in curbing the effects ofsupply-led inflation.

SINGLE-WINDOW CLEARANCE SYSTEM FOR

APPROVAL

Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board ofIndia (SEBI) approved a single-window clearancesystem for market entities like stock brokers, for grantof prior approval for change in control of theirmanagement structures.SEBI approved of the single-window system with an objective to expedite theprocess of granting prior approval (in case of changeof control).In case an applicant holds multipleregistrations with the regulator, it shall make only oneapplication to SEBI providing certain informationabout itself and the acquirer and its directors orpartners. The information sought relates to whetherany application was made in the past to Sebi seekingregistration in any capacity which was not granted andits details, and what kind of action was initiated onthe application and its current status.The applicant isalso required to furnish details on any investorcomplaint pending against it, details of litigation,payment of due fees to SEBI, and a guarantee thatthere will be no change in the Board of Directors ofthe firm, till the time prior approval is granted.SEBI’snotification noted that any prior approval grantedunder the single-window system shall be valid for aperiod of 180 days from the date of communication.

FDI INTO INDIA UP TO 5.65 BILLION USDOLLARS

Foreign Direct Investment into India grew 310 percent to 5.65 billion US dollar in June 2011 as per thegovernment data. The increase is highest in the past11 years and it indicates revival of investor confidence

in the Indian economy. FDI inflows in India in June2010 amounted to 1.38 billion dollars only. In theApril-June quarter of the current fiscal, the FDI wentup by a massive 133 per cent to 13.44 billion dollars.In the last financial year 2010-11, FDI inflow intoIndia had declined to 19.43 billion US dollars. Butthe inflows have maintained a positive outlook so farin the financial year 2011-12, according to the data.

GOLD CROSSED 28000 RUPEES MARK

Gold prices breached the Rs 28000-level for the firsttime ever in history. Gold set an all-time record of28230 rupees per 10 grams in India on 20 August2011. Because of the financial uncertainty in themarkets, gold appealed to investors as a safer option.The heavy buying by stockists and investors in tandemwith rising global trend mainly resulted into the pricestouching record level. In addition, some local buyingahead of marriage season also boosted theprice.Following downgrading of US’ credit rating byStandard and Poor’s (S&P), investors shifted fundsfrom other options like equities and dollar to gold.

SHOW-CAUSE NOTICE TO NSEThe capital market regulator, the Securities andExchange Board of India (SEBI) in a first issued ashow-cause notice to the country’s leading stockexchange, National Stock Exchange, following aprobe into alleged client code modifications by itsbroker members.The bourse was asked to explain thelarge number of client code modifications. NSE alsohas to justify why action should not be taken againstit for not exercising caution over such transactions.SEBI was alerted about the dealings by the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes, which noticed that a largenumber of trades were reversed by changing clientcodes for tax evasion. The tax department came acrossseveral instances where brokers transferred gains orlosses from one individual to another by modifyingclient codes in the guise of rectifying an error. SEBIindependently verified the information given by theincome-tax authorities and found it to be true.A show-cause notice is not an indictment; it however contains



allegations of violation. A show-cause notice requiresthe entity to which it is served to explain its side ofthe story.Stock exchanges allow client code modifications butonly to rectify a genuine error that could haveoccurred at the time of placing or modifying the order.Every client is given a code which is registered withthe stock exchanges. The broker is allowed to changeit between 3.30 pm and 4 pm to rectify a genuine errorthat may have occurred while entering the code. Thefacility ensures smooth functioning of the system andis expected to be used more as an exception ratherthan routine. SEBI instructed bourses to impose amonetary penalty of 1% of the value of the transactionwhere the client codes were modified.

DEMAND FOR EMPLOYMENT UNDER

MGNREGA GROWS

A total of 5.49 crore households was providedemployment under Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Scheme, MGNREGS, during2010-2011 as against 5.26 crore households theprevious year, thus marking an increase in the numberof persons given jobs in rural areas under the scheme.But the persondays generated in 2010-2011 was257.15 crore as compared to 283.59 crore in 2009-2010, showing a decline in average persondays perhousehold.The employment is provided on demand and themajor reasons for the decline by some StateGovernments are good monsoon, higher wage rate inopen market, other employment opportunitiesavailable, greater transparency and accountability andlocal disturbances and agitations. So far, theparticipation of SCs, STs and Women underMGNREGA is concerned, there was no decline thisyear in comparison to 2009-2010. The participationof SCs, STs and Women was 30%, 21% and 48%respectively out of total persondays generated in2009-2010, while it was 31%, 21% and 48%respectively in 2010-2011.

AGGRESSIVE LENDING BY

PSBS BEHIND RISING NPAS

The country’s largest lender SBI has seen its NPAsgrow to 3.52% in the last quarter against 3.14% on aquarter-on-quarter basis. It is not alone. In contrast,private sector banks are sitting pretty. Unlike theirpublic sector brethren, they were able to use theircommercial judgment (read, be conservative in theirlending during the downturn). It is no surprise,therefore, that the problem of rising NPAs is largelylimited to PSBs.Nonetheless, given their dominancein the banking sector, the overall level of NPAs isbound to increase as rising interest rates andincreasing input costs take their toll. Add to that theprospect of a slowdown in GDP growth – the baselineprojection is now 8.2% compared to 8.5% in theprevious year–and you have a recipe for a furtherincrease in NPAs. Inevitably, the Bankex (stockmarket index of banks’ shares) has fallen more thanSensex, reflecting fears that banks will be relativelymore severely affected by any slowdown in growth.The Gross Non-performing Assets (NPA) of PublicSector Banks (PSBs) for the period ending March,2011 stood at Rs. 71,047 crore.The Gross NPA ofState Bank of India for the period ending March, 2011was Rs. 23,074 crore which constitutes 32% of totalGross NPAs of the PSBs.

PREPAID PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS TO

LISTED CORPORATES

In a circular issued the RBI declared that prepaidpayment instruments such as smart cards, magneticstripe cards, mobile wallets paper vouchers, gift cardsand travel cards could be issued by banks only tocorporates listed in India. Prepaid paymentinstruments could be issued only to corporate entitieslisted in any of the stock exchanges in India. Thecorporate entities would have to verify the identity ofthe employee to whom the card would be issued, alongwith copies of photograph and a proof of identity.Also, the corporate are required to provide details ofbank accounts of the employee to the bank.RBI



mentioned that the maximum value of an individualprepaid payment instrument should not exceedRs.50000. The money in the prepaid instrumentswould be loaded by debit to the bank account afterfulfilling all know-your-customer (KYC) norms.Corporates usually avail themselves of this facilityfrom the bank for onward issuance to their employees.Prepaid payment instruments facilitate purchase ofgoods and services against the value stored in it andthe value The central bank directed the banks to transfer fundsfrom such prepaid instruments to a regular bankaccount of the employee if the same has beenrequested for.

1200 CRORE INTO AIR INDIA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)approved equity infusion of Rs.1200 crore into thecash-strapped national carrier Air India. Air India hadso far received financial assistance amounting to Rs2000 crore in the last two financial years while itscumulative loss and debt burden is around Rs 67000crore. The equity induction would not only ease thecash flow situation of the company Air India whichis passing through critical financial crunch. The cashflow would also preclude borrowings from themarkets at high costs.The airline has a debt of Rs.4695crore on an equity base of Rs.2145 crore.

FINANCE MINISTRIES STEPS TO

COMBAT BLACK-MONEY MENACE

The Finance Ministry under pressure to unearth blackmoney modified the format for reporting suspicioustransactions to help enforcement and regulatoryagencies take prompt action to deal with the menace.The new reporting formats such as SuspiciousTransaction Reports (STRs), Cash TransactionReports (CTRs), Counterfeit Currency Reports(CCRs) and Non-Profit Organisation TransactionReports (NTRs) — were introduced after the

Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) made operational itsambitious intelligence network project sanctioned in2006.The earlier prescribed multiple data filesreporting format is set to be replaced by a new XMLfile format. Three new formats -account-basedreporting, format and transaction-based reportingformat for filing STRs, CTRs and NTRs and aseparate reporting format to file CCRs wereintroduced and notified to RBI , SEBI and IRDA andother relevant entities. The new network, calledFINnet (Financial Intelligence Network)deployed totackle the menace of black money is a technology-based secure platform for bringing togetherinvestigative and enforcement agencies to collect,analyse and disseminate valuable financialinformation for combating money laundering andrelated crimes. The civil society in the recent paststepped up pressure on the government to unearthblack money and introduced various measures tocrack down on financial scams, frauds and large-scaletax evasion.

PSBS TO BOOST CREDIT TO

SMALL INDUSTRY & FARMERS

The Union government suggested the state-run banksto focus on traditionally-credit starved areas, such assmall industry and agriculture, while credit demandfrom big industry moderates. Reserve Bank of Indiarevised the credit growth target to 18% from 19% in2011-12 after it raised the key rates by sharp 0. 5percentage points in its monetary policy review on 26July 2011. The RBI raised the repo rate for theeleventh time since March 2010 to curb runawayinflation. Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee alsoraised the issue of increased lending in the agriculturesector. Currently, the banking system only covers 50%of the farmers in India. The government set a targetof Rs. 475000 crore bank credit for the farm sectorin 2011-12. Banks that did not meet the targets foragriculture lending in the last three years were askedto step up their loan portfolios.



AGREEMENT BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA INDIA ON

HAJ PILGRIMEGE

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announcedadditional quota of 10000 seats for the Haj Season2011 for use by India. The entire lot of these 10000seats have been transferred to Haj Committee of India,Mumbai. The seats will be distributed to the States/Union Territories that have received applications inexcess of originally allotted quota on the basis ofproportionate Muslim population of the State/ UTconcerned. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in theMiddle East by land area, constituting the bulk of theArabian Peninsula, and the third-largest Arab country.It is bordered by Jordan and Iraq on the north andnortheast, Kuwait, Qatar and the United ArabEmirates on the east, ,Yemen on the south and Omanon the southeast.

DOUBLE TAXATION AVOIDANCE AGREEMENT

BETWEEN INDIA & GEORGIA

The Government of India signed an Agreement forAvoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention ofFiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income andon Capital (DTAA) with Government of Georgia. TheAgreement was signed by M.C. Joshi, Chairman,Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on behalf ofthe Government of India and Zurab Katchkatchishvili,Ambassador of Georgia to India on behalf of theGovernment of Georgia. The DTAA provides thatbusiness profits will be taxable in the source state ifthe activities of an enterprise constitute a PermanentEstablishment (PE) in the source state. The Agreement

provides for fixed place PE, building site, construction& installation PE, service PE, insurance PE andagency PE. The Agreement incorporates para 2 inArticle concerning Associated Enterprises. This wouldenhance recourse to Mutual Agreement Procedure torelieve double taxation in cases involving transferpricing adjustments. Dividends, interest and royalties& fees for technical services income will be taxed bothin the country of residence and in the country ofsource. The low level of withholding rates of taxationfor dividend (10%), interest (10%) and royalties &fess for technical services (10%) will promote greaterinvestments, flow of technology and technical servicesbetween the two countries.The Agreement incorporates provisions for effectiveexchange of information between tax authorities ofthe two countries in line with best internationalstandards, including exchange of banking informationand supplying of information without recourse todomestic interest. The Agreement also provides forsharing of information to other agencies with theconsent of supplying state.

MOU SIGNED BETWEEN UGC &BRITISH COUNCIL

Chairman of University Grants Commission VedPrakash and Director of British Council RobLynesformally signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) to support all activities andprogrammes agreed under Phase Two of the UKIERIprogramme relating to the University sector across thefour strands. The MoU was signed in the presence of

INDIA & THE WORLD



Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human ResourceDevelopment and Sir Richard Stagg, British HighCommissioner to India. This MoU aims to work withUGC for implementation of strand programmes andactivities in the Higher Education Institutions in India.This MoU is in continuation to the MoU signedbetween Ministry of Human Resource Developmentof the Government of India and the Department forBusiness, Innovation and Skills on behalf of theGovernment and the Devolved Administrations of theUK including Northern Ireland, which sets out theframework for UKIERI from 2011-2016.The UGC British Council MoU will be the guidingdocument for overall collaboration and the followingtype of activities will be supported–

♦ Collaboration between Higher EducationInstitutions in India and the UK to work withkey partners and stakeholders in both countrieswith the aim of providing opportunities toteachers, faculty members, senior staff andstudents from universities, colleges and othereducational institutions to build capacity.

♦ Programmes that aim to provide opportunitiesfor the UK and Indian universities to collaborateon thematic partnerships on mutually agreedareas.

♦ Activities and strand programmes that aim tofoster mobility of students across the twocountries.

♦ Activities and programmes that work towardsthe transferability and equivalence ofqualifications through recognition of learningand achievements between the two countries.

♦ Activities and strand programmes for jointlysupported scholarships and fellowships.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN IRCON AND

SRI LANKA RAILWAYS

IRCON and Sri Lanka railways signed an agreementfor supply and installation of the signaling andtelecommunication system for railway network in

Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The cost of theproject is 86.5 million dollars.The project will coverthe Anuradhapura-Medawachchiya andKankasanthurai-Tallai Mannar sections. The totalroute length will be 341 km and the project will have28 stations. The signaling work includes provision ofcentralized control panel, interlocking colour lightsystem with electrically operated points and trackdetection system. All the level crossings will beinterlocked with new signaling system, which wouldensure safety at level crossings. The work ontelecommunication comprises provision of opticalfiber communication system throughout the section.Besides, public address system will also be providedat major stations. The project is a part of Indian Lineof Credit of 800 million dollars, which was extendedby India at concessional terms. Moreover, the creditline was extended at an interest rate of LIBOR plus0.5 percent with LIBOR capped at 3 percent. Therepayment period is 20 years with a five yearmoratorium. IRCON is a specialized Constructionsorganization covering the entire spectrum ofconstruction activities and services in theinfrastructure sector.India Should Take Lead in Energizing BIMSTECWith a gloomy economic scenario in the United Statesand the European Union, India should take lead andprovide a new meaning to the BIMSTEC engagementthat has potential of generating trade worth 43 to 59billion dollars under a proposed free trade agreement(FTA), apex chamber ASSOCHAM .The Bay ofBengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical andEconomic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) brings together1.3 billion people or 21 percent of the worldpopulation, a combined GDP of 750 billion dollarsand a considerable amount of comple-mentarities, saidThe Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industryof India (ASSOCHAM). The sub-regional groupcomprises of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand,Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. BIMSTEC has a tradenegotiating committee which is working on the listof goods regarding a framework agreement signed in



2004. An FTA is yet to be finalised.”India is requiredto play a lead role by integrating trade and investmentswhile promoting economic cooperation,”. “TheBIMSTEC member countries could jointly developinfrastructure and technology in enhancing renewableenergy.” Financial cooperation through currency swapagreements, pooling of reserves among central banksand evolving an exchange rate coordinationmechanism are essential requirements for enhancingregional trade and investments. In the era ofcompetitive globalisation, innovative trade andbusiness strategies are required to lock in consumers.India needs to give new meaning to the BIMSTECeconomic engagement at three levels.One, the countrycould adopt a philosophy of preferential sourcing fromthe BIMSTEC region. Two, Indian investmentproposals need to project counter-trade in the formof buybacks and export obligations, switching ortransfer of export obligations. Three, the country maypromote value neutral transactions (swap trade /switch export obligations) which encourage bilateraland multi-lateral trade and significant reduction in

transportation costs.Seven members of the BIMSTECzone cover 13 priority sectors – trade and investment,technology, energy, transport and communication,tourism, fisheries, agriculture, cultural cooperation,environment and disaster management, public health,people-to-people contacts, poverty alleviation, andcounter-terrorism and transnational crimes.InMyanmar, India can focus on agriculture and alliedactivities, mining and related products, hydro power,chemicals, upstream and downstream oil and gasoperations, renewable energy, gems and jewellery. InBangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, it can aim at skillintensive sectors like light engineering goods,consumer durables, food processing and informationtechnology. In Thailand, India can focus onknowledge intensive sectors like bioscience and nanoscience applications in agriculture, industry andconstruction, automobiles and parts, renewableenergy, fashion industry, multimedia, petrochemicals,engineering plastics and speciality chemicals.Focusing in these areas, India will need a singlemarket plan by developing a regional productionnetwork through backward and forward integration.






URANIUM RESERVES IN INDIA

The Atomoic Minerals Directorate for Explorationand Research (AMD) has established the presence of1,71,672 tonnes of Uranium (U3O8) as on last monthof June. This is a constituent unit of the Departmentof Atomic Energy Commission. The indigenousUranium resources are adequate to fuel reactors ofthe capacity of about 10,000MWe.At present AMDis exploring uranium deposits at Tumallapalle-Rachkun-tapalle, Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh,Rohil, Sikar district in Rajasthan, Wahkut andUmthungkut in Meghalaya, Gogi, Gulburga districtin Karnataka, Sinridungari–Banadungri andBangurdih, Singhbhum district in Jharkhand. Out ofthese deposits, 63,269 tonnes of uranium (U3O8) havebeen established during the XI Plan Period. In Rohil,the Exploratory Drilling done till date has established5,100 tonnes of uranium (U3O8). In About 19,738tonnes .4,682 tonnes and 50,987 tonnes of of uranium(U3O8) has been established in Meghalaya, Gogi andJharkhand respectively. There are number of smallerdeposits in Chhattisgarh, UP and Katnataka.

LOW TEMPERATURE THERMAL DESALINATION

TECHNOLOGY

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had launcheda program for development of Low TemperatureThermal Desalination (LTTD) technology forconversion of seawater into potable water, suitable forinstallation in the island territories and near the coastalPower Plants. The National Institute of OceanTechnology (NIOT) an autonomous body of the

Ministry of Earth Sciences has been responsible fordesign, develop, demonstrate and commission theLTTD plants in selected coastal locations. Till date,4 LTTD plants have been successfully commissionedin the country, one each at Kavaratti, Minicoy, Agattiof Lakshadweep and one at Northern ChennaiThermal Power Station (NCTPS), Chennai. Out ofthese four plants, the Minicoy and Agatti plants wereestablished in April 2011 and July 2011, respectively.The capacity of each of these LTTD plants is 1 lakhliter per day of potable water. The water is usedlocally. Besides, the ministry is working to set up 6more plants being funded by the LakshadweepAdministration, one each in the islands ofLakshadweep viz., Amini, Chetlet, Kadamath,Kalpeni, Kiltan and Andrott plants.The ReverseOsmosis, a membrane process, is globally acceptedtechnology suitable for desalination of saline water,which is quite different from LTTD technologydeveloped by the ministry. The LTTD is a processunder which the warm surface sea water is flashevaporated at low pressure and the vapour iscondensed with cold deep sea water. The LTTDtechnology does not require any chemical pre andpost-treatment of seawater and thus the pollutionproblems are minimal and suitable for islandterritories. Since no effluent treatment is required, itgives less operational maintenance problemscompared to other desalination processes. The LTTDtechnology is completely indigenous, robust andenvironment friendly.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY



RADIATION EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTRES

The governments has set up twenty EmergencyResponse Centres (DAE-ERCs) at the Department ofAtomic Energy (DAE) locations. These have beendeveloped to be in preparedness for response to anynuclear and radiological emergencies affecting thepublic domain. The ERCs are also meant to provideappropriate advice to the administration and localsecurity agencies regarding the counter or rescuemeasures required in the event of any radiation field,contamination in public domain either due to anyaccident or by deliberate acts. It is proosed to establish10 more ERCs, 2 more at DAE sites and 8 at NationalDisaster Response Force (NDRF) Sites.

NATURAL PRESERVATIVE BISIN

Scientists discovered a natural preservative that couldspell the end of rotting food. Researchers at theUniversity of Minnesota identified the substance,called bisin, which destroys the bacteria that makemeat, fish, eggs and dairy products decompose. Theresearchers said the preservative could extend thefood’s life for several years. They claimed that it caneven work for opened bottles of wine and saladdressing.

CHICKEN WITH CROC-LIKE SNOUT CREATED

Scientists have tweaked chicken DNA to createembryos that grow alligator-like snouts instead ofbeaks, a process they say has enabled them to rewind65 million years of evolutionary history. It’s claimedthat the breakthrough could pave the way for alteringDNA in the other direction and use the same processto create species better able to adapt to Earth’s climate.It could also help eliminate birth defects in humans,the researchers at the Harvard University said. A team,led by evolutionary biologist Arkhat Abzhanov,changed the DNA of chicken embryos in the earlystage of their development which enabled them to givethe creatures snouts.

DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID IN METEORITES

Scientists found components of DNA in meteoriteswhich confirms the theory that some of the materialsrequired to make early life forms came to Earth fromspace. The study was funded by NASA and waspublished in the Proceedings of the National Academyof Sciences. Scientists used advanced mass spectrometryinstruments to scan 11 organic-rich meteorites calledcarbonaceous chondrites and one ureilite. Ureilite isa very rare meteorite with a different chemicalcomposition. They discovered three nucleobases-purine, 6, 8-diaminopurine and 2, 6-diamino-purine-that are widely distributed in carbona-ceouschondrites. Scientific research done in the past hadrevealed a range of building blocks of life inmeteorites, such as the amino acids that form proteins.This was the first time all but two of these meteoriteshad been analysed for nucleobases. Findingnucleobase compounds not usually found in Earth’sbiochemistry strongly supports an extraterrestrialorigin. This shows that meteorites were molecular toolkits, which provided the necessary building blocks forlife on Earth.

2ND VERSION OF ARJUN TANK

Limited technical trials with some major and minorimprovements on Main Battle Tank (MBT) ArjunMark-I, as part of MBT Arjun Mark-II, have beencarried out by the Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) in the deserts of Rajasthan.Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared theproposal for placement of indent for 124 Nos. of MBTArjun Mark-II on Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF),Avadi, Chennai. Placement of indent by the Army onOrdnance Factory Board (OFB) is being furtherprocessed. The likely estimated cost of each MBTArjun Mark-II with ail major/minor improvementswill be approximately Rs.37 crore.The first batch ofMBT Arjun Mark-II is likely to be productionised by2015.



CRITTERS HEADING NORTH FROM

GLOBAL WARMING

Animals across the world are fleeing global warmingby heading north much faster than they were less thana decade ago, a new study says. About 2,000 speciesexamined are moving away from the equator at anaverage rate of more than 15 feet per day, about a mileper year, according to new research publishedThursday in the journal Science which analyzedprevious studies. Species are also moving upmountains to escape the heat, but more slowly,averaging about 4 feet a year. The species — mostlyfrom the Northern Hemisphere and including plants— moved in fits and starts, but over several decadesit averages to about 8 inches an hour away from theequator. Included in the analysis was a 2003 study thatfound species moving north at a rate of just more thana third of a mile per year and up at a rate of 2 feet ayear. Camille Parmesan of the University of Texas,who conducted that study, said the new researchmakes sense because her data ended around the late1990s and the 2000s were far hotter. Federal weatherdata show the last decade was the hottest on record,and 2010 tied with 2005 for the hottest year on record.Gases from the burning of fossil fuel, especiallycarbon dioxide, are trapping heat in the atmosphere,warming the Earth and changing the climate in severalways, according to the overwhelming majority ofscientists and the world’s top scientific organizations.As the temperatures soared in the 2000s, the speciesstudied moved faster to cooler places, Parmesan said.She pointed specifically to the city copper butterflyin Europe and the purple emperor butterfly in Sweden.The comma butterfly in Great Britain has moved morethan 135 miles in 21 years, Thomas said.

TRES-2B: DARKER THAN ANY PLANET OR

MOON

Astronomers discovered that the planet named TrES-2b was darker than any planet or moon in our solarsystem. This planet reflects less than one percent ofthe sunlight falling on it. NASA’s Kepler spacecraft

was used by the astronomers to make thisobservation.TrES-2b was discovered in 2006 by theTrans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey. It orbits its star ata distance of only three million miles. The star heatsTrES-2b to a temperature of more than 1800 degreesFahrenheit. TrES-2b orbits the star GSC03549, whichis located about 750 ligh-years away. It can beobserved near the constellation Draco.

ENDO BARRIER TO CURE DIABETES

British scientists developed an implanted sleeve whichcan cure diabetes. The implanted sleeve looks like agiant sausage skin. It’s two feet long device which canreverse diabetes. The sleeve is made from a thinplastic.The new device is called the EndoBarrier. Itis designed to have the same effects as the surgerybut far safer. It is a plastic sleeve that lines theduodenum, meaning food can only be absorbed lowerdown the intestine.The sleeve is inserted through themouth and passed into the digestive tract using a thintube. The implant also decreases cholesterol levels andblood pressure.

ANTIBODY CH65 ACTS AGAINST INFLUENZA

US scientists found an antibody called CH65 that actsagainst 30 of 36 strains of influenza, according to astudy published on 8 August 2011. The antibody,CH65, can stick to the surface part of the flu virusknown as hemagglutinin which mutates every season.CH65 was found in cells from a man who was giventhe flu vaccine for 2007. It shows that the humanimmune system can modify its response to the flu andactually produce antibodies that neutralise a wholeseries of strains. The goal of the scientists is tounderstand how the immune system selects forantibodies and use that information to get better atmaking a vaccine.

EFFECTIVE WAY TO

PREVENT TRANSMISSION OF DENGUE

Scientists in Australia say they have discovered acheap and effective way to prevent transmission ofdengue fever, which kills more than 12000 people a



year. Writing in the journal Nature the researchers saidthey infected mosquitoes, which spread the disease,with bacterium that blocks development of the denguevirus. When the resistant insects were released, theysuccessfully interbred with wild mosquitoes andhalted their ability to transmit dengue. The researchersare hopeful that this could be a viable control forDengue that affects more than 50 million people allover the world every year. According to the WorldHealth Organization, around one third of the world’spopulation is at risk from dengue fever. The incidenceand severity of the dengue are increasing in manyparts of the world. Pesticides that kill the specific typeof mosquitoes that carry the virus have been the mosteffective method of control. However, the resistanceto this method is rising. Now a team of Australianscientists say that a simple bacterium called Wolbachiathat only infects insects could prevent dengue in itstracks. Within months, a wave of infection by thebacterium had spread to almost all the wildmosquitoes rendering them incapable of passing ondengue. The data suggests that the presence ofWolbachia strengthens the immune system and helpsthe mosquito resist the effects of dengue. Theresearchers say that further experiments are requiredin nations like Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil andIndonesia where the disease is endemic.

NEW DRUG FOR HEREDITARY BREAST AND

OVARIAN CANCERS TESTED

The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and theOxford Biomedical Research Centre, is looking at adrug called 6-mercaptopurine, or 6MP. The drug isalready used to treat leukaemia and is often givenalongside another chemotherapy drug calledmethotrexate.Around 15 out of every 100 women withbreast and ovarian cancers have cancers likely to becaused by inherited faults in BRCA1 or BRCA2genes. Genetic testing for faulty BRCA genes isavailable on the NHS for women with a very strongfamily history. Treatments for these cancers caninclude platinum-based chemotherapy drugs such ascisplatin or a newer class of drugs called PARP

inhibitors. But, even with these new drugs, resistancecan develop meaning some women stop respondingto treatment.Previous laboratory studies suggest thata class of drugs called thiopurines, which includes6MP, are effective at killing cancer cells lackingBRCA – even after they have developed resistanceto treatments like PARP inhibitors and cisplatin.‘PARP inhibitors are a powerful new class of drugsdeveloped specifically to target tumours caused byBRCA 1 and BRCA2 faults, but drug resistanceremains a problem,’ explains Shibani Nicum, agynaecology specialist based at the OxfordExperimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC), anda researcher in Oxford University’s Department ofOncology. ‘We hope that the very encouraging resultswe have seen in early laboratory studies involving6MP will lead to increased treatment options for thesepatients in the future.’

TARGETED TREATMENTS IN CANCER CARE

The trial is one of a growing number looking atmatching patients to the most appropriate treatmentbased on their genetic makeup and that of theircancer–an approach known as personalised medicine.Trial participant Suzanne Cole, 54, from Newbury, hasa strong history of ovarian cancer in her family, withher sister, mother and grandmother all having beendiagnosed with suspected cases of the disease at arelatively young age. But it wasn’t until many yearslater, after she herself was diagnosed with cancer, thatdoctors were able to trace the cause of this back to aBRCA1 mutation in her family. The Oxford studyaims to recruit 65 patients at 10 centres around theUK, all with advanced breast or ovarian cancer andhaving either BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. Ifsuccessful, the results would pave the way for a largerclinical trial, which would determine whether the drugcould become an important extra treatment option forthis patient group.

ANTI-MATTER AROUND EARTH DISCOVERED

Planetary scientists claim to have for the first timespotted a thin band of anti-matter particles, called anti-



protons, enveloping the Earth. The find, published inthe “Astrophysical Journal Letters”, confirmstheoretical work that predicted the Earth’s magneticfield could trap antimatter, according to a team ledby the University of Bari. The astronomers say that asmall number of anti-protons lie between the VanAllen belts of trapped “normal” matter. The anti-protons were spotted by the Pamela satellite launchedin 2006 to study the nature of high-energy particlesfrom the Sun and from beyond our Solar System– so-called cosmic rays, the ‘BBC’ reported. These cosmicray particles can slam into molecules that make upthe Earth’s atmosphere, creating showers of particles.Many of the cosmic ray particles or these “daughter”particles they create are caught in Van Allen belts,doughnut-shaped regions where the Earth’s magneticfield traps them. The new analysis shows that whenPamela passes through a region called the SouthAtlantic Anomaly, it sees thousands of times moreanti-protons than are expected to come from normalparticle decays, or from elsewhere in the cosmos.

CELLS THAT CAN DESTROY LEUKEMIA

US Scientists recently developed cells that can destroyleukemia within three weeks. It could lead to new andeffective treatments for the fatal blood cancer. A newtechnique was engineered that involved leukemiapatients being treated with their own T cells. T cellsare a type of white blood cell that was geneticallymodified to attack and destroy tumours within thebody of the patient. White blood cells are unable todistinguish tumour cells from healthy tissue, whichallows the cancer to spread unchecked.To overcomethis problem, scientists inserted a protein called achimeric antigen receptor in the white blood cells toenable them to attack tumour cells. The insertedprotein will bind with another protein called CD19which is present in Leukemia tumour cells. It resultsinto the multiplication of T cells.

GENE ACTIVITY MAPPED OUT IN

MOUSE BRAIN

The map shows which genes are switched on where

in the cerebral cortex of mice. It covers all genes fromacross the whole genome in unprecedented detail.The findings are published in the journal Neuron andthe data obtained has been made freely available asan online research resource. The resource is expectedto assist future studies seeking to understand the waythe mammalian brain is organised. ‘The brain is themost mysterious of organs. If we are to understandthe way it works, we must understand its complexstructure,’ says Professor Chris Ponting of the MRCFunctional Genomics Unit at Oxford University, wholed the work with Professor Zoltán Molnár, also atOxford, and Dr Elliott Margulies of the NationalHuman Genome Research Institute. ‘Cells in differentlayers of the brain do different things, and thisorganisation contributes to our levels of cognition.We’ve completed a massive sequencing effort to mapout which genes are active and in which layers of thecortex. In doing so, we’re shining a light on tocognitive processes.’

CONNECTING BRAIN ANATOMY AND GENETICS

The cerebral cortex is the largest part of mammals’brains and is where memory, sensory perception,language and higher-order cognitive functions areunderstood to reside. It’s been known to have alayered structure since the 19th century, with each ofthe six layers differing in the types of neurons andconnections seen there. By determining the geneactivity in the six layers, it should be possible to startconnecting brain anatomy, genetics and diseaseprocesses with much greater precision. The researchteam found that over half of the genes expressed inthe mouse brain showed different levels of activity indifferent layers. This is likely to indicate the areas ofthe brain in which these genes play an important role.

NEW TECHNIQUE WAS CRUCIAL

The researchers used a new sequencing technologycalled RNAseq, a technology related to the latest DNAsequencers used to decode our genomes, to map geneactivity in the different layers of the mouse cerebralcortex. The brain is the most mysterious of organs. If



we are to understand the way it works, we must under-stand its complex structure. RNAs are similarmolecules to DNA, but are only produced in a cellwhen a gene is active. The DNA code for that gene isthen read off and an equivalent RNA molecule isproduced. So the RNAseq technique works – not bysequencing DNA to read our static genetic code – butby sequencing all the RNA molecules in a tissuesample to detect which genes are active. Which genesare active can indicate which biological processes areoccurring and are important in those cells. ‘In the past,we might have looked in the lab at a few select RNAs,or used microarray chips to look at the activity ofmany genes that may be of interest. Here we use thelatest techniques to look at absolutely everythingwithout making any presuppositions about what weshould be looking at.’ A previous project, the AllenMouse Brain Atlas, has sought to create gene activitymaps for the mouse brain using microarraytechnology, not sequencing. It started in 2003, wellbefore this work, and has been a significantundertaking involving many research groups. Yet todate, it has not succeeded in mapping all known genes.

NEW INSIGHTS

The findings make it possible to look at where genespreviously associated with susceptibility to differentdiseases act. Genes linked to Parkinson’s disease, forexample, are particularly active in layer 5. This is justa correlation, and does not necessarily implycausation, but it does indicate the new researchavenues that are opened up by the study. Thetechnique is also able to detect ‘noncoding RNAs’,ie RNAs produced from DNA in between knowngenes that doesn’t code for proteins but may play acritical role in regulating genes and controllingbiological processes.

NEXT STEPS

The researchers now hope to do similar studies withhuman brain tissue samples. Studies in mouse modelsof human diseases like Parkinson’s could also pinpointdifferences in gene activity which are important for

understanding the biological processes behind thoseconditions. The study can be seen as an example ofhow new techniques and approaches can lead to areduction of the number of animals used in research.This bank of data, made available to all online, wasobtained from eight normal adult male lab mice.Previous methods would have required dedicatedwork in many laboratories over a long period to getdata that approached the same level of coverage ofthe genome, potentially using many times the numberof animals.

SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED TINY CHIPS TO PREVENT

HIV AND AIDSScientists at the University of Columbia in New Yorkdeveloped a portable blood test device which candiagnose an infection within minutes. The devicecould be used effectively to prevent HIV and AIDS.The device is in the form of mChip, costing 1 dollarand looks like a credit card.

ARTIFICIAL SKIN SPUN FROM SPIDER SILK

The secret to creating artificial skin might bespider silk, researchers now suggest.Skin grafts arevital for treating burn victims and other patients. Forinstance, chronic wounds such as bedsores inhospitalized patients afflict 6.5 million in the UnitedStates alone for estimated costs of $25 billionannually.Instead of using skin from a body for a graft,scientists are investi-gating artificial skin. Ideally sucha graft would be of a material tolerated by the body,have skin cells embedded within it to replace losttissue, degrade safely over time as the new skin growsin and be strong enough to withstand all the rigorsordinary skin experiences. Materials investigated untilnow did not seem strong enough for the task, saidtissue engineer Hanna Wendt at Medical SchoolHannover in Germany. Now Wendt and her colleaguessuggest silk might be up for the job. Spider silk is thetoughest known natural material. Moreover, there isabody of folklore dating back at least 2,000 yearsregarding the potential medical value of webs—forinstance, in fighting infections, stemming



bleeding, healing wounds and serving as artificialligaments. The extraordinary strength and stretchinessof spider silk “are important factors for easy handlingand transfer of many kinds of implants,” Wendt said.In addition, unlike silk from silkworms, that fromspiders apparently does not trigger the body’srejection reactions.To test spider silk’s usefulness, firstWendt and her colleagues essentially milked goldensilk orb-weaver spiders by stroking their silk glandsand spooling up the silk fibers that came out. Theynext wove meshes from this silk onto steel frames.The researchers found that human skin cells placedon these meshes could flourish, given proper nurturingwith nutrients, warmth and air. They were able tocultivate the two main skin cell types, keratinocytesand fibroblasts, into tissue-like patterns resemblingepidermis, the outermost layer of skin, and dermis,the layer of living tissue below the epidermis thatcontains blood capillaries, nerve endings, sweatglands, hair follicles and other structures.

TUMOUR-SHRINKING DRUG PACLITAXEL (TAXOL)The research offers several new targets for developingfuture drugs to boost the success rate of the tumour-shrinking drug paclitaxel (Taxol). Paclitaxel is achemotherapy drug commonly used to treat breast andovarian cancer, but some tumours can becomeresistant over time and start growing again. The drugblocks the growth of cancer by interfering withmicrotubules – structures that help chromosomes toseparate during cell division. The international teamof researchers found that blocking certain proteinsstabilised the microtubules and made ovarian cancercells more sensitive to paclitaxel. The findings arepublished in the journal Cancer Research. Leadresearcher Dr Ahmed Ahmed of the University ofOxford said: ‘Our work provides further evidence forthe important link between the stability ofmicrotubules, the backbone of the cell, and sensitivityto paclitaxel.‘ And because the proteins we’veidentified share the same target as paclitaxel, it raisesthe prospect of developing more specific drugs thatsensitise cancer cells to paclitaxel without damaging

the surrounding tissues.’ Previous research by DrAhmed and colleagues in the Nuffield Department ofObstetrics and Gynaecology found that the loss of aprotein called TGFBI – which sends messages thatstabilise the microtubules – caused paclitaxel to fail.So to test the theory that microtubule stability maybe essential for paclitaxel response, the researcherssystemati-cally blocked other signalling proteins inovarian cancer cells growing in the lab, to see whichmight alter paclitaxel response.

BENEFITS OF GENOME RESEARCH

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) isimplementing a major programme in the area ofHuman Genetics & Analysis since 1990-91.Department has established 21 genetic diagnosis cumcounselling units to provide patient services acrossthe country. The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting &Diagnostics of DBT in collaboration with Nizam’sInstitute of Medical Science, Hyderabad is alsoproviding genetic diagnosis cum counselling servicesto the affected families. The Department has recentlyestablished National Institute of BiomedicalGenomics (NIBMG) in Kalyani, West Bangal. Theinstitute is devoted to research and training ingenomics in health and disease and to promotegenomics based services in West Bengal.TheDepartment is supporting over 200 projects ingenomic and genetic research related to health. Centreof Excellence have been supported in leadinginstitutes including All India Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Banaras HinduUniversity, Varanasi; Christian Medical College &Hospital, Vellore etc. India is a major participant inthe International Cancer Genomics Consortium withfocus on oral cancer.The Department has drawndetailed plans to support research, education andtraining under the 11th Plan, which is underimplementation. The Department in consultation withDepartment of Health Research, Indian Council ofMedical Research and Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare is involved in planning and execution ofmajor projects in the area of human genetics and



genomics including the Asian Indian Donor MarrowRegistry (AIDMR) for organ transplant at AIIMS,New Delhi. Close cooperation between the Ministryof Science & Technology and Health & FamilyWelfare would potentially benefit the larger massesin terms of health care etc.

FAST BREEDER REACTOR TO BE READY BY 2012A 500 Mwe prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)is an advanced technology reactor designed and builtindigenously. The plant is expected to becommissioned in 2012. It is being built at Kalpakkamnear Chennai in tamilnadu with a project cost of Rs.3492 crore. A proposal for upward revision of cost isunder conside-ration. Further Rs. 250 crore have beenallocated for pre-project activities of two more unitsat the same site. The project is delayed due to theinitial setback in construction activities due toTsunami and in later stages due to technologicalcomplexities in manufacturing several first of a kindequipment.

INDIA’S FIRST-EVER NUCLEAR GALLERY

India’s first-ever permanent exhibition on nuclearpower, called ‘Hall of Nuclear Power’ has beendedicated to the nation at Nehru Science Centre inWorli, Mumbai on Saturday. The exhibition, titled“Hall of Nuclear Power”, is spread over an area of7500 sq. ft. and covers almost all the aspects ofnuclear energy, which include extensive informationabout nuclear power generation, its basics,productions, fuel processing, transportation, safety,security, nuclear waste and its management. Also, ittalks about the non-power application which includesnuclear medicines, food irradiation technology, etc.A major attraction in the gallery is the state-of-the-art virtual tour of a nuclear power plant in whichvisitors can learn about nuclear energy through touch-screen computer kiosks, video terminals, as well asinteractive exhibits and informative panels.While the informative panels and photographsprovided relevant answers to queries most visitors hadabout nuclear power and power plants, the virtual tour

of a nuclear plant was an instant hit. It is India’s first-ever permanent exhibition on nuclear power and aproud addition to the Nehru Science Centre in itssilver jubilee year. The exhibit explains in simpleterms the energy scenario in India and the importantrole nuclear energy is playing in the energy mix. Thegallery has come in a nice way to educate people aboutvarious safeguards put in place as well as variousapplications of nuclear energy in a innovative andinteresting way. This will help people to know andunderstand about the safety of Indian nuclear powerplants. Particularly after Fukushima accident, peoples’concern will be addressed to dispel the myths andmisconceptions associated with nuclear energy. Thegallery has been set up at the cost of about Rs 1.70crores by NPCIL jointly with National Council ofScience Museums (NCSM), the apex organisationengaged in the popularisation of science through its26 science centres spread all over the country. NPCILis responsible for design, construction, operation andmaintenance of nuclear power plants in India. TheNehru Science Centre at Worli, one of the largestscience centers in Asia, is a constituent unit of NCSM.

THE OLDEST FOSSILS ON EARTH

The Earth’s oldest fossils have been found in Australiaby a team from the University of Western Australiaand Oxford University. The microscopic fossils showconvincing evidence for cells and bacteria living inan oxygen-free world over 3.4 billion years ago. TheEarth was still a hot, violent place at this time, withvolcanic activity dominating the early Earth. The skywas cloudy and grey, keeping the heat in despite thesun being weaker than today. The water temperatureof the oceans was much higher at 40-50 degrees – thetemperature of a hot bath – and circulating currentswere very strong. Any land masses were small, orabout the size of Caribbean islands, and the tidal rangewas huge.Significantly, there was very little oxygenpresent as there were no plants or algae yet tophotosynthesise and produce oxygen. The newevidence points to early life being sulphur-based,living off and metabolising compounds containing



sulphur rather than oxygen for energy and growth.‘Such bacteria are still common today. Sulphur bacteriaare found in smelly ditches, soil, hot springs,hydrothermal vents – anywhere where there’s littlefree oxygen and they can live off organic matter. Themicrofossils were found in a remote part of WesternAustralia called Strelley Pool. They are very wellpreserved between the quartz sand grains of the oldestbeach or shoreline known on Earth, in some of theoldest sedimentary rocks that can be found anywhere.The microfossils satisfy three crucial tests that theforms seen in the rocks are biological and have notoccurred through some mineralisation process. Thefossils are very clearly preserved showing precise cell-like structures all of a similar size. They look like wellknown but much newer microfossils from 2 billionyears ago, and are not odd or strained in shape. Thefossils suggest biological-like behaviour. The cellsare clustered in groups, are only present in appropriatehabitats and are found attached to sand grains. Shouldthere be life elsewhere in our solar system – on Marsor on the moons of Titan or Europa – it is likely to besimilar sorts of bacteria and cells living in similarenviron-ments. So any fossils in rocks from theseplanets and moons ought to look like these Australianmicrofossils and pass the same evidence tests.

ARCHAEOPTERYX DETHRONED

The discovery of Archaeopteryx, the most primitivebird fossil, in 1861, just two years after the publicationof Charles Darwin’s great work, On the Origin ofSpecies, could not have been better timed. Exhibitingboth dinosaur features and typical bird-like ones suchas feathers, wishbone, and three-fingered hands, the150 million-year-old transitional fossil became the

first textbook specimen with the fundamental traits ofevolution in progress. The discovery, which played avital role in our understanding of bird origin, providedthe much-needed boost to palaeontologists forunearthing other vital links in the dinosaur-birdevolution chain, and other transitional forms. But evenas scientists are celebrating the sesquicentennialanniversary of its discovery, the iconic specimen hasbeen robbed of glory by a paper published recentlyinNature (“An Archaeopteryx-like theropod fromChina and the origin of Avialae,” by Xing Xu et al.).The Xiaotingia zhengi species reported in the paper,which has morphological features similarto Archaeopteryx and other confirmeddeinonychosaurs — bird-like dinosaurs that areoutside the avian lineage — has dethroned the iconicfossil from its high pedestal and clubbed it along withother non-avian dinosaurs. Indeed, the discovery of afew non-avian dinosaur fossils during the last decadeserved as a harbinger of things to come. These fossils,exhibiting the same avian morphological features seenin Archaeopteryx, raised serious doubts about thebasal fossil’s very presence in the evolutionary treeof birds. Clinching evidence from the latest find hasonly confirmed these doubts.

ACTINIDES IN SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL

The actinides contained in the spent nuclear fuel arepotentially a valuable resource.There are major andminor Actinides present in the nuclear fuel. The majoractinides include Uranium and Plutonium and theminor actinides include Neptunium, Americium andCurium. Major actinides are most valuable resourcesfor our nuclear power programme and for strategicapplication whereas minor actinides have medical,industrial and strategic application.



ATHLETICS

13TH WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONS

At the 13th World Athletics Championships in Daegu,South Korea, USA won gold in three events out ofthe total six events held on 1 September 2011.Lashinda Demus in the 400 metres hurdles, 1,500metres runner Jenny Simpson and high jumper JesseWilliams won the gold medals and lifted the UnitedStates to the top of the medals table. Simpson’swinning time of four minutes 05.40 seconds washowever the slowest to win a world title.Demus ran52.47 seconds in the 400 metres hurdles, beatingdefending champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica intosilver with Russian Natalya Antyukh bronze. Williamscompleted a hat-trick of golds for the United Stateswhen he won the men’s high jump with his firstattempt at 2.35 metres, the first U.S. gold in the eventin 20 years.

WOMEN’S 20KM WALK TITLE

In the 13th World Championships in Athletics thatstarted in Daegu, South Korea, olympic championOlga Kaniskina won her third consecutive Worldwomen’s 20km walk title on 31 August 2011. TheRussian completed the race in 1hr 29min 42sec, 18secahead of her nearest rival, China’s Liu Hong. LiuHong won silver and Anisya Kirdyapkina of Russiawon bronze (1:30.13). Silver medallist Liu had wonbronze in Berlin (2009 worldchampionship).Kaniskina’s three consecutive world titles matched the

feat of Jefferson Perez of Ecuador, who won the men’s20km titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

110M HURDLE

In the 13th World Championships in Athletics thatstarted in Daegu, South Korea on 27 August 2011,Jason Richardson (USA) won gold in the 110m hurdleon 29 August. Liu Xiang of China and Andrew Turnerwon silver and bronxe respectively. Olympicchampion Dayron Robles was disqualified for pullingrival Liu Xiang in the 110-meter hurdles on 29 August2011 therby handing victory in one of the mostanticipated races of the world championships toAmerican outsider Jason Richardson.PawelWojciechowski of Poland won gold in the pole vaultevent. Lazaro Borges of Cuba and Renaud Lavillenieof France was placed second and third. While inHammer throw Koji Murofushi of Japan won gold.He was followed by Krisztian Pars (silver) of Hungaryand Primoz Kozmus (bronze). In the Women’s 100m,Carmelita Jeter (USA) won the gold. VeronicaCampbell-Brown and Kelly-Ann Baptiste won thesiver and bronze medals respectively. In the 400mevent of the women’s category, Amantle Montsho waspalced first followed by Allyson Felix and AnastasiyaKapachinskaya. While in shot put New Zealand’sValerie Adams won gold. Nadzeya Ostapchuk andJillian Camarena-Williams won silver and goldrespectively.

MEN’S MARATHON TITLE

Kenyan runner Abel Kirui retained his world title inthe men’s marathon here Sunday after finishing the

SPORTS



42.195-kilometer race in two hours, seven minutes and38 seconds. His fellow Kenyan Vincent Kipruto, anewcomer to the world championships, crossed theline second 2:28 minutes behind, which is the biggestmargin in the World Championships history.Ethiopia’s debutant Feyisa Lilesa, losing the silvermedal battle in the final 1km, prevented a Kenyanmedal sweep by taking the bronze medal in 2:10:32.The first final in Daegu last Saturday had seen theKenyan women making the first ever marathon medalsweep in the Champion-ships history. Kirui pulledaway early from a leading pack of three Kenyans andone Ethiopian after the halfway mark and ran all theway alone to finish home with his seasonal best time.Kipruto, the world’s third fastest man this year, whoclocked 2:05:33 when finishing runner up at theRotterdam Marathon in April, said he was happy tosecure a 1-2 finish for Kenya.With the two medals,Kenya has temporarily moved to the second place inthe tally with 16 medals in total while their previousbest in the championships was 13 in Osaka 2007.

800M

David Rudisha of Kenya took the gold medal in themen’s 800m race clocking 1min 43.91sec at the WorldAthletics Championships here Tuesday. AbubakerKaki of Sudan took the silver clocking 1:44.41.Russia’s Yuriy Borzakovskiy collected the bronze forhis effort of 1:44.49, Xinhua reported. Rudisha, 22,is already a big name in the men’s 800m. He set thecurrent world record of 1:41.01 in the Italian city ofRieti last August.With the victory, he added anothergold medal for the African nation which swept all thesix medals on the opening day of the Championships.

PORTLAND ANNUAL ATHLETIC MEET

Ace Indian discus thrower Krishna Poonia won theGold medal on 14 August 2011 in the Annual AthleticMeet at Portland in the United States. Taking part inthe first competition of her training stint in the USA,she hurled the discus to 58.88 metres to bag the yellowmetal.

VOLLEYBALL

FIVB WORLD JUNIOR VOLLEYBALL TITLE

Russia defeated top-ranked Argentina 25-19, 23-25,21-25, 25-18, 15-12 to win the FIVB World juniorvolleyball title in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 11 August2011. It was the second-seeded Russia’s eighth titlein the under-21 event. Russia’s Leonid Shchadilov,the championship’s best spiker, was adjudged as themost valuable player and his teammates Igor Filippov(best blocker) and Aleksey Kabeshov (best libero)won special prizes for their performance in thetournament.Serbia on the other hand defeated the USA25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13 and won the bronzemedal.

CHESS

SUNITA SINGH MEMORIAL NATIONAL YOUTH

CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

Top-seeded International Master Rahul Sangma ofDelhi won the Sunita Singh Memorial National youth(under-25) chess championship at Indore on 27August 2011. The championship was a 50-playerevent. Sangma scored a final round victory with blackover Sai Agni Jeevitesh of Andhra to reach sevenpoints. Sriram Sarja of Karnataka defeated secondseed C.R.G. Krishna to tie for the first place. Of thetwo undefeated players, Sangma’s Buchholz tie-breakcount was higher and he was declared winner. Sriramgained about 10 Elo for finishing second. Sangmapicked up Rs. 20000 from the prize fund of Rs.75000.The event was organised by S.K.M. ChessAcademy and J.J. Public School, Indore, from 21 to27. August 2011. Pranesh Yadav of Shivamogga,Karnataka was the chief arbiter.

FOOTBALL

BAICHUNG BHUTIA RETIRES

Veteran Indian footballer Baichung Bhutia announcedhis retirement from international soccer on 24 August



2011. He however will continue to play for his clubthat he is currently associated with, Sikkim United.The decision to retire was prompted by constantinjuries in the past year. He was picked for theupcoming tour of England.However calf-muscle injury caused him to retire.Baichung Bhutia made his debut as a substitute in the1995 Nehru Cup in Calcutta. In his career spread over16 years he scored 42 goals in 107 internationalappearances. Nicknamed the Sikkimese Sniper, he iscurrently contracted by the club he owns, UnitedSikkim. He has thrice in the past been named IndianPlayer of the Year.Bhutia had four spells at I-League football team EastBengal Club, the club where he started his career.When he signed up to play for the English club BuryF.C. in 1999 he became the first Indian footballer toplay professional football in Europe. He played forJCT Mills, which won the league once during histenure as well as Mohun Bagan, which failed to winthe league once during his two spells, in his nativeIndia. His international footballing honours includewinning the Nehru Cup, LG Cup, South AsianFootball Federation (SAFF) Championship (threetimes) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)Challenge Cup.He is also India’s most capped player, and in the 2009Nehru Cup he received his 100th international cap.He has a stadium named after him- Baichung Stadiumin Namchi, the district headquarters of South Sikkimdistrict in the state of Sikkim, India. He was honouredwith the Arjuna award in 1995 and Padma Shri in2008.

TENNIS

CINCINNATI MASTERS

World No. 4 Andy Murray won the ATP’s CincinnatiMasters title for the second time after defeating WorldNo. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-0. Murray made themost of Djokovic’s sluggish start, opening the matchwith a service break. Murray had won the Cincinnati

Masters title last in 2008. Djokovic who was hinderedduring the match by a sore right shoulder concededjust his second defeat of 2011 against 57 victories.Fourth-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova defeatedSerbia’s Jelena Jankovic to win the women’s title. With the victory Sharapova earned her second titleof 2011 after a triumph in Rome.In the doubles final, Leander Paes and MaheshBhupathi won their third title of 2011 and first atCincinnati after 10 years, following a hard-fought winover French-Serbian combination Michael Llodra andNenad Zimonjic.The third seeds edged past the fourth-seeded French-Serbian combination 7-6(4), 7-6(2) after battling forone hour and 41 minutes. This is the third title of theseason for the Indian Express as they are referred.They had earlier won titles at the Sony Ericsson Openand Chennai Open.

MONTREAL MASTERS

Novak Djokovic defeated American Mardy Fish 6-2,3-6, 6-4 to win the Montreal Masters on 14 August2011 thereby winning his ninth ATP title of 2011.Djokovic became the first man to win five Masters1000 titles in the same season having also claimedtrophies at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome.He stands a phenomenal 53-1 in 2011, with his onlyloss coming against Roger Federer in the French Opensemi-finals. The win also made him the first to capturean ATP tournament on debut as number one since PeteSampras in 1993.

ATP WASHINGTON CLASSIC

Radek Stepanek on 7 August 2011 defeated GaelMonfils of France 6-4, 6-4 to win the ATP(Association of Tennis Professionals) WashingtonClassic. With this win, Stepanek became the ATP’soldest champion since France’s Fabrice Santoro at 35,won at Newport in 2008.Radak is 32 years old andfrom Czech Republic. He also became the oldestwinner of the ATP Washington Classic since JimmyConnors in 1988.



CRICKET

INDIA SLIPPED TO NO 3 POSITION IN

TEST RANKINGS

England under the captaincy of Andrew Straussdefeated India 4-0 in the test series that concluded inOval on 22 August 2011. The hosts won the last Testat oval by an innings and 8 runs. Team India, afterfollowing on in the fourth and last Test was bundledout at 283 on the final day of the match. Swann themost successful English bowler took 6 wickets in thefinal test. Broad took 2 wickets while Anderson andBresnan took 1 wicket each. England bowler StuartBroad was named man of the series for his side.Seamer Broad excelled with the ball, taking a totalof 25 wickets across the four Tests. He was alsobrilliant with the bat scoring unbeaten 74 in the firstTest at Lord’s to set an imposing target for India. Inthe second Test Broad scored a total of 110 in twospells at the crease to help England to a 319-runvictory. India’s man of the series was named as RahulDravid, who averaged 76.83 in his eight innings ofthe series, his three centuries were the only hundredsscored by IndiansWith this emphatic victory, England officiallycrowned themselves the number one team in Testrankings with 125 points followed by South Africawith 118 points. The Indians, who started the seriesas the number one Test team, surrendered the numberone tag after losing the third Test in Birmingham andlater slipped to the number three position followingthe 4-0 defeat.India’s World Cup victory was precededby a tour of South Africa and less than a week afterwinning the World Cup in Mumbai, Dhoni and hismen played in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A tourof the West Indies followed and by the time theylanded in England, most of the players were eitherjaded or injured.

RAHUL DRAVID-SECOND HIGHEST SCORER IN

TEST CRICKET ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT

Veteran Indian batsman Rahul Dravid announced hisretirement from both the versions of the game- Test

and ODI. His announced his retirement after he waschosen for the ODI and T20 series in England. Hewas recalled to the Indian squad for the one-offTwenty20 and five match One-Day Internationalseries against England two years since his lastappearance in an ODI. Dravid decided to play in thefive-match ODI series against England beginning on3 September 2011 and the one-off T20 match on 31August 2011 before retiring.Dravid had last playedan ODI match against the West Indies during the 2009Champions Trophy in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hebecame the second highest run-getter in Test cricket-12576 runs from 155 matches during the India-England test series. Dravid also equalled SunilGavaskar’s record of 34 Test tons during the ongoingTest series against England. Dravid has to his creditover 10000 runs in both the Test and ODI cricket, with10765 runs in 339 one-dayers which is the seventhhighest scorer in that format. Dravid has made 10765runs in 339 ODIs with an average of 39.43 with 12hundreds and 82 fifties.

ENGLAND BEAT INDIA BY SIX WICKETS INTWENTY20England beat India by six wickets in their Twenty20international match at the Old Trafford hereWednesday. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had won the tossand opted to bat first. Opener Ajinkya Rahane scored61 from 39 balls for India to power his team towardsa total of 165. England scored 169 for 4 (Morgan 49).Needing 10 from the final over from Vinay Kumar,Samit Patel squeezed a pair of fours, and then sealedthe match with a lofted drive over extra cover withthree balls of the contest remaining.India: Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid,Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MahendraSingh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Praveen Kumar,Ravichandran Ashwin, R. Vinay Kumar and MunafPatel. England: Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter(wicketkeeper), Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, RaviBopara, Samit Patel, Jos Buttler, Tim Bresnan, StuartBroad (captain), Graeme Swann and Jade Dernbach.



MAHARASHTRA LIFT BUCHI BABU TROPHY

Maharashtra snatched a thrilling two-wicket victoryagainst Kerala in the final to lift the All-India BuchiBabu cricket tournament trophy here Tuesday.Chasing a target of 320 in 90 overs, openers AshokKhadiwale (55, 87b, 5×4, 1×6) and Chirag Khurana(82, 133b, 8×4) provided Maharashtra a sound startwhile Rohit Motwani (46, 87b, 1×4) and AnkitBhawne (59, 75b, 4×4, 1×6) added 75 for the fourthwicket to have Kerala on the ropes. However, a flurryof wickets reduced Maharashtra from 300 for four to307 for eight before Ajinkya Joshi (13 not out) andDominic Joseph Muthusamy (6 not out) guided theirteam home amidst mounting tension.For Kerala, off-spinner K.R. Sreejith picked up five wickets, but bledruns and his effort eventually went in vain asMaharashtra coasted home with 3.2 overs to spare.

FOOTBALL

INDIA’S UNDER-16 FOOTBALL TEAM DEFEATED

BY PAKISTAN IN SAFF CHAMPIONSHIP

India’s under-16 football team coached by India coachThomas Joseph was defeated by Pakistan 1-2 in thetitle clash of the SAFF Championship on 10 August2011. Mohammed Zaseen put Pakistan ahead whenhe found the back of the net in the 25th minute. Indiadrew level through Daniel Lalhlimpuia’s strike at thestroke of half-time. Lalhlimpuia restored parityscoring off a goal-mouth melee as both teams wentto the breather with the scoreline reading 1-1.However, Pakistan took the lead again whenMohammed Mansoor scored early in the second half,a strike which eventually decided the fate of thematch.Indian was shocked as Mansoor sealed the dealfor Pakistan off a corner four minutes from the changeof ends. From there on India desperately looked foran equaliser, but Pakistan’s defence stood tall.

MESSI IN KOLKATA

Football magician Lionel Messi arrived in Kolkata on31st of August amid stringent security for Friday’s first

ever FIFA official international friendly in the Indiansub-continent featuring Argentina and Venezuela.However, the large number of people, who werewaiting for hours at the Netaji Subhas Chandra BoseInternational Airport to welcome the Argentinesuperstar, were left heartbroken as the organiserspacked him into a vehicle from the tarmac and drovehim out of the airport through a sidegate.Messi wasaccompanied by his Barcelona FC teammate JavierMascherano. The duo reached the eastern Indianmetropolis after playing the club’s La Liga game withVillareal Monday. Messi scored twice in the secondhalf as Barca cantered to a 5-0 victory.

SPAIN WON THE TENTH EDITION OF THE UEFAEUROPEAN UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Spain won the tenth edition of the UEFA EuropeanUnder-19 Championship title in Romania beating theCzech Republic 3-2 on 1 August 2011. Spain becomethe first country to hold both u-19 and u-21 title inthe same year. Spain which is European and Worldchampion at senior level defeated Switzerland 2-0 inthe under-21 final on 25 June 2011. Paco Alcácer whocame off the bench to score twice in the final 12minutes played a significant role in helping Spainattain the title.Spain was Champion in EuropeanUnder-19 Championship in the years 2002, 2004,2006 and 2007. The victory achieved on 1 Augustmarked the fourth for their coach, the irrepressibleGinés Meléndez.

GOLF

INDIAN GOLF TEAM WON BRONZE

An amateur Indian golf team won bronze in a teamevent at the 48-year old Nomura Cup in Fiji on 19August 2011. The competition witnessed participationby teams from 18 countries. The Indians edged pastgolf power-house and defending champions Korea byfive strokes for the third place on the final day. Theyfinished at a four-day total of 865, and 5-under onthe final day. India’s Khalin Joshi, who also finishedtied third in the individual category, saved the day for



his team with a 4-under 68 as teammates Faldo SeriesAsian champion Abhijeet Chaddha, reigning All-Indiawinner S Chikkaran-gappa and Angad Cheema shotaverage scores. The best of three scores were countedevery day for the team total. The victory at Fiji camea fortnight after Indian golfers bagged silver at theAsia-Pacific Junior Championships. Australia andNew Zealand won gold and silver.

SNOOKER

NATIONAL SNOOKER TITLE

Aditya Mehta claimed his maiden National snookertitle by defeating Alok Kumar 6-2 (66-6, 29-69, 72-65, 67-41, 67-10, 74-58, 43-52, 82-5) in the best-of-eleven frame final at the Hash10 World Simchampionships on 9 August 2011. Successive breaksof 24, 14 and 21 gave Aditya Mehta the first framebut Alok Kumar soon levelled the frame-score with a69-29 verdict in the second. Leading 51-16 in thethird, Alok Kumar’s slightly heavy touch on the cueball directed it into one of the pockets after havingpotted a colour (he later admitted to his touch ‘beingeither too heavy or too light’ all match) to let Mehtaback into the frame again.Alok Kumar is a 13-timeNational champion.

VARIOUS

SIX CITIES BID FOR 2020 OLYMPICS

Six cities have officially lodged bids to host the 2020Olympic Games, the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) said Friday. The cities that haveshown interest are Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid,Rome and Tokyo. The deadline for bidding was atmidnight Thursday. The IOC will vote on the host cityfor the 2020 edition on Sep 7, 2013 in Buenos Aires,Argentina.The cities will now undergo a technicalreview leading to the IOC drawing up a shortlist inMay next year, the Xinhua reported. In January 2013,the candidate cities should submit bid documents tothe IOC which will then send its evaluation committeeto each city between February and April 2013 to

assess their respective merits.The 2012 Olympics willbe staged in London and the 2016 edition in Rio deJaneiro.

INDIAN COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORTS TO

SETTLE SPORTS DISPUTE

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) set up an eightmember Indian Court of Arbitration for Sports(ICAS). ICAS was set up under the Chairmanship ofDr. AR. Lakshmanan, former Supreme Court Judgeand former Law Commission chairman to resolve allsports related disputes in India. The other Membersof ICAS include M.R. Culla and retired judges,Justices R.S. Sodhi, B.A. Khan, Usha Mehra,Lokeshwar Prasad and S.N. Sapra.All sports relateddisputes in the whole world are settled by theInternational Court of Arbitration for Sports situatedat Lausanne, Switzerland through a panel of eminentexperts in the field of law, medicine, sports and others.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) hadgiven directions to the IOA to constitute the Indiancourt of Arbitration for Sports in order to resolve allsports related disputes within the territory of India.All disputes in relation to sports under the IndianOlympic Association will therefore be decided by theIndian Court of Arbitration for Sports.

CABINET REJECTS PROPOSED SPORTS BILL

The union cabinet Tuesday rejected the proposedNational Sports Development Bill aimed at bringingmore transparency and accountability in thefunctioning of the National Sports Federations (NSF),saying the legislation needs to be reworked. Thecabinet decided not to table the bill in this session ofparliament and asked Sports Minister Ajay Maken torework it. At the cabinet meeting chaired by PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh, five cabinet ministerswere present – Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, C.P. Joshi,Farooq Abdullah and Vilasrao Deshmukh. Under thecurrent version of the bill, all sports federations wouldhave been covered by the Right to Information (RTI)Act and would need to submit their audited reportsto parliament.A clause in the bill also aimed at making



the Board of Control of Cricket India a publicorganisation like other sports federations and bringingit under the purview of the RTI. The sports ministry’smove to include the BCCI in the bill drew supportfrom most of the former Indian cricketers earlier inthe day.Former India captain Kapil Dev, who led the team to1983 World Cup win, acknowledged the good workdone by the BCCI but said it should work with thegovernment. ‘It is a vast issue and we can’t talk aboutit off-hand but in my opinion every organisationshould come under a uniform system. At the sametime, BCCI is doing well as a private organisation andwe should respect that. But at the end of the day,

everything should come under the government,’ Kapilsaid on the sidelines of a seminar of the Confederationof Indian Industries (CII) here Tuesday. Anotherformer captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, now aCongress MP, hoped the bill will improve sports inthe country. ‘BCCI has done a good job in runningthe sport but nobody is above the law. When agovernment passes a law, you can’t look at oneindividual or one body. And if they are going to comeout with a bill covering sports bodies, I don’t seeanything wrong in that,’ he said.On BCCI comingunder the RTI, Jadeja added: ‘There is nothing wrongif they fall under the RTI. But you have to leave outkey things like players’ selection away from publicscrutiny.’

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NATIONAL AWARD OF MINISTRY OF

EARTH SCIENCES CONFERRED

The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)conferred its national awards for outstanding lifetimecontributions on the foundation of MoES which is.The award was conferred upon the former Directorof the Hyderabad-based National Remote SensingAgency, B. L. Deekshatulu, and the former Directorof the Pune-based Indian Institute of TropicalMeteorology, R.N. Keshavamurthy. Dr. Deekshatuluwon the award for his work in ocean science andtechnology while Dr. Keshavamurthy received it forhis contributions in atmospheric science andtechnology. The awards conferred by Union Ministerfor Earth Sciences Vilasrao Deshmukh carry a cashprize of Rs.1 lakh each and a citation.The nominationsfor the award are normally recommended by headsof universities, national institutes and scientificdepartments of the Centre. A high level committee ofdistinguished scientists then selects the winners. TheMinister also presented certificates of merit to eminentscientists and engineers like P. John Kurian of theNational Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research(Goa), C. Patanjali Kumar of the Indian NationalCentre for Ocean Information Services (Hyderabad),R. Saravanan of the National Institute of OceanTechnology (Chennai), John P. George of the NationalCentre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (Delhi),C. Gunaseelan of IITM and D. R. Pattanaik, A. D.Tathe and Ravi Kant Singh of the IndiaMeteorological Department.

MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS 2011The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards was held atNokia Theatre in Los Angeles to honour the bestmusic videos from 2010. Britney Spears was honoredwith the MTV Video Vanguard Award for hercontribution to the recent history of MTV.Lady Gagawas the recipient of a new award, Best Video With AMessage for Born This Way.

LIST OF WINNERS AT THE MTV VMAS 2011 ISAS FOLLOWS:

Video of the Year: Katy Perry - FireworkBest New Artist: Tyler, The Creator - YonkersBest Hip-Hop Video: Nicki Minaj - Super BassBest Male Video: Justin Bieber - U SmileBest Female Video: Lady Gaga - Born ThisWayBest Pop Video: Britney Spears - Till TheWorld EndsBest Rock Video: Foo Fighters - WalkBest Collaboration: Katy Perry FeaturingKanye West - E.T.Best Art Direction: Adele - Rolling in the DeepBest Choreography: Beyonce - Run TheWorld (Girls)Best Cinematography: Adele - Rolling in theDeepBest Direction: Adele - Rolling in the DeepBest Editing: Adele - Rolling in the Deep

AWARDS & PRIZES



Best Special Effects: Katy Perry featuringKanye West - E.T.Best Video With A Message: Lady Gaga -Born This Way

RAJIV GANDHI MANAV SEVA AWARD FOR THE

YEAR 2010Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for the year, 2010was announced. The Selection Committee chose MiraKagti (Assam), Dr. S.A. Thasleem Sulthana (AndharaPradesh) and for Dr.Mallika Nadda (HimachalPradesh) for conferment of the prestigious award.Mira Kagti established Shishu Sarothi in 1987 forproviding education, rehabilitation and trainingservices to the children suffering from Cerebral Palsyand persons with disability. Dr. S.A. ThasleemSulthana renders service to the orphaned and mentallyhandicapped children and works for the welfare,rehabilitation of mentally retarted, hearing impaired,visually challenged and physically challengedchildren. Dr. Mallika Nadda is a leading social activistin Himachal Pradesh. She founded Chetna, at Bilaspura civil society initiative with a vision to integratephysically and mentally challenged children. Sheprovides voluntary services and, material in kind,equipments, surgery intervention support, clothing etc.to the children.

ABOUT THE RAJIV GANDHI MANAV SEVA AWARD

The Award was instituted on 20 August1 994, the 50thBirth Anniversary of the late Prime Minister, RajivGandhi who had deep love and concern for children.In pursuance of the Government of India’s policy tosupport and promote voluntary action in the area ofChild Development/Welfare, the Ministry of Womenand Child Development, Government of Indiainstituted the Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award forService to Children in 1994 to honour individuals whohave made outstanding contribution towards the causeof children.The Award carries a cash prize of RupeesOne lakh and a citation to each awardee.

KENDRA SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD 2011Six novels, five collections of short stories, sevenbooks of poetry and one book of folk tales and playsin 24 Indian languages were selected for the 2011Kendra Sahitya Akademi Awards for Children’sLiterature. The awards comprise a prize purse of Rs.50000 and a copper plaque. Five writers have beenchosen for the Akademi’s Bala Sahitya Puraskar forlifetime contribution to children’s literature: SailenGhosh (Bengali), Shyam Dutt Parag (Dogri), RameshParekh (Gujarati), Harikrishna Devsare (Hindi) andMaheswar Mohanty (Oriya). Gh. Nabi Aatash(Kashmiri), Snehalata Rai (Nepali), Darshan SinghAsht (Punjabi), Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra (Sanskrit),Nuhum Hembram (Santali), M.L. Thangappa (Tamil)and Aasil Aseer Dehlavi (Urdu) won the award forpoetry.The short-story writers selected included MaheswarNarzary (Bodo), Mayanath Jha (Maithili), DileepPrabhavalkar (Marathi), Harish B. Sharma(Rajasthani) and M. Bhoopal Reddy (Telugu).BanditaPhukan (Assamese), Siddhartha Sarma (English),Hundraj Balwani (Sindhi), N. D’souza (Kannada),Gajanan Jog (Konkani) and K. Pappootty(Malayalam) were the novelists selected for the award.Shantibala Devi (Manipuri) was chosen for her bookof folk tales and plays.

SENA MEDAL FOR GALLANTRY

Three Army doctors were awarded the Sena Medalfor gallantry for taking on terrorists and saving thelives of their colleagues during an attack on Indiansin Kabul in 2010. A total of 114 Army personnel wereawarded the Sena Medal for gallantry onIndependence Day, 15 August 2011 for their acts ofvalour in different operations across India.LieutenantColonel Sanjiv Kumar Kakkar, Major Sumit Aroraand Major Sibashish Metia of the Army MedicalCorps were part of the Indian medical mission inKabul when the terrorists carried out a suicide attackon the hotel where the Indian team was staying.Lieutenant Colonel Sanjiv Kumar Kakkar of the ArmyMedical Corps was heading the Indian medical



mission in Kabul. The officers displayed exceptionalbravery, rushed into a hail of bullets to take on theterrorists and herded their colleagues to safety. Forfighting militants bare—handedly in the same attack,Major Laishram Jyotin Singh was posthumouslyconferred the highest peacetime gallantry awardAshok Chakra on Republic Day 2011.Major Atul Garje and Major Bhanu Chander were

awarded the Sena Medal posthumously formanoeuvring their helicopter away from civilianhabitat and ensuring no loss of civilian life on 2February 2011. The helicopter was manoeuvred awayfrom civilian habitat and ensured no loss to civilianlife and property. In the process of recovery, thehelicopter impacted the ground and crash landedwhich resulted in the loss of their lives.

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APPOINTED

NAOTO KAN

Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan announced hisresignation after almost 15 months in office amiddipping approval ratings over his government’shandling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis.Kan steeped down as chief of the ruling DemocraticParty of Japan that effectively ended his tenure asleader of the country. Kan had in June 2011 promisedto quit once lawmakers passed three key pieces oflegislation. The final two bills cleared the parliamenton 26 August 2011.Kan had finally achieved a seatin the lower house in 1980 as a member of SocialistDemocratic Federation after losing elections in 1976,1979 general elections and 1977 Upper Houseelection. He had gained national wide popularity in1996 while serving as the Minister of Health andWelfare, admitting government’s responsibility for thespread of HIV-tainted blood in 1980s and directlyapologized to victims. On 6 January 2010, he waspicked by Yukio Hatoyama to be the new FinanceMinister, assuming the post in addition to deputyprime minister.

YOSHIHIKO NODA

The Japanese parliament’s lower house voted inYoshihiko Noda as the nation’s sixth prime ministerin five years. Yoshihiko Noda won the runoff voteagainst Banri Kaieda in the leadership election. Hesucceeded outgoing Prime Minister of Japan NaotoKan who resigned on 26 August 2011 after almost 15

months in office. Japan’s new Prime Minister is facedwith the task of rebuilding from the massive March2011 tsunami that devastated the northeast coast andending the nuclear crisis it triggered. He also has toto address a myriad of economic ills including a strongyen and a ballooning public debt.

BABURAM BHATTARAI

Maoists Vice-Chairman Baburam Bhattarai waselected Nepal’s 35th prime minister marking thecountry’s attempt to form a stable government afterextended political uncertainty. The vice chairman ofMaoist party, Bhattarai won the vote after securingthe support of the Samyukta Loktantrik MadhesiMarcha, a loose alliance of five regional parties fromthe country’s southern plains. Bhattarai completed hisPhD degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University (NewDelhi)in 1986. His Ph.D. thesis was later publishedas a book- The Nature of Underdevelopment andRegional Structure of Nepal- A Marxist Analysis. Heis a senior Standing Committee Member and vicechairperson of Unified Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist), which began fighting a revolutionaryPeople’s War in Nepal in 1996 that ultimately led tothe change of the political system in Nepal from amonarchy into a republic. He was elected to theConstituent Assembly from Gorkha in 2008 andbecame Finance Minister in the Cabinet formed afterthe election.

TORY TAN

Former Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tanwon the presidential election in Singapore to become

IN THE NEWS



the country’s seventh President. The results weredeclared. Tan received 35 percent of about 2.1 millionvotes in the election. Tory Tan was backed by theruling People’s Action Party (PAP). The election wasSingapore’s first contested vote for President since1993. The post of President in Singapore is mainly aceremonial position in the country’s parliamentarygovernment.

NEW GOVERNORS APPOINTED

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah wasappointed as the new Governor of Tamil Nadu.Rosaiah replaced Surjit Singh Barnala who had takenover as Tamil Nadu Governor in 2006. Rosaiah wasthe finance minister in the Y S Rajashekhara ReddyCabinet and was appointed Andhra Pradesh chiefminister after the death of Reddy in a helicopter crash.However, he was removed after the demand for aseparate state of Telangana resulted in violent protests.The President also appointed former Uttar Pradeshchief minister Ram Naresh Yadav as Governor ofMadhya Pradesh. Ram Naresh Yadav (83) fromAzamgarh in Uttar Pradesh was the chief minister ofthe state from 1977 to 79 as Janata Party MLA. Hehad contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections fromAzamgarh on the Congress ticket but had lost.

LIST OF GOVERNORS APPOINTED

Ram Naresh Yadav: Madhya PradeshVakkom Purushothaman: MizoramM O H Farook: KerelaSyed Ahmed: Jharkhand

ROHIT NANDAN

Rohit Nandan, a joint secretary in the civil aviationministry was appointed as Chairman and ManagingDirector (CMD) of Air India for a three-year term on12 August 2011. Nandan was appointed after removalof Arvind Jadhav from the position of Chairman andCMD. Nandan was one of ten IAS officers selectedby the cabinet secretary to monitor and expedite thecompletion of venues in the run-up to last year’sCommonwealth Games.

NEW HEADS OF ITBP, BSF & SSBThe appointments committee of the Cabinet clearedthe names of three senior Indian Police Service (IPS)officers as the head of three paramilitary organisationsnamely the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP),Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal(SSB). Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministryof Home Affairs, U K Bansal was named as the nextDirector General of the Border Security Force (BSF).Bansal who is a 1974 batch IPS officer of UttarPradesh cadre is to replace Raman Srivastava. Thegovernment has also appointed Secretary (Security)in the Cabinet Secretariat, Pranay Sahay, as the nextDirector General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).Sahay is set to succeed Y S Dadwal. Ranjit Sinha, theformer director general of the Railway ProtectionForce (RPF), was selected to head the Indo-TibetanBorder Police (ITBP) which guards India’s borderswith China. A 1974 batch officer, Sinha earlier hadstints in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) andthe ITBP.

ANIL KUMAR CHAUDHARY

State-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) announcedthe appointment of Anil Kumar Chaudhary as itsdirector, finance. He succeeded Soiles Bhattacharya.Prior to being appointed as Director (Finace), heserved as the Executive Director (Finance &Accounts) at SAIL’s Bokaro Steel Plant. Aftercompleting his graduation in commerce from DelhiUniversity, Chaudhary joined SAIL Corporate Officein New Delhi in 1984 as Junior Manager (F&A), androse to the rank of Executive Director (F&A).Chaudhary made significant contributions in the areasof treasury and banking operations, foreign exchangemanagement, capital budgeting, cost & operationsbudget, financial concurrence and administration ofcentralised gratuity and superannuation funds duringhis tenure. An Associate Member of the Institute ofCost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) &Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI),Chaudhary is an alumni of Faculty of Law Studies



(FLS), from where he completed his bachelor’s degreein law.

M.P. VEERENDRAKUMAR

Chairman and managing director of theMathrubhoomi group of newspapers, M.P.Veerendrakumar, was elected chairman of the Boardof Directors of Press Trust of India (PTI).Veerendrakumar had twice before served as the PTIchairman.He succeeded Vineet Jain, ManagingDirector of the Times of India Group. Former UnionMinister, Veerendrakumar also served as president ofthe Indian Newspaper Society (INS). He has written18 books in Malayalam, one of which won the KendraSahitya Akademy Award in 2010.R Lakshmipathy,Publisher of the Tamil daily Dinamalar, was electedvice-chairman. He has been president of the INS,chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and amember of the Press Council of India. He runs severaleducational institutions.

R A MEHTA

Gujarat governor Dr Kamla appointed former justiceof the Gujarat High Court, R A Mehta, as the newGujarat Lokayukta. The governor’s order was basedon the recommendation of the chief justice of GujaratHC.Section 3 of the Gujarat Lokayukta Act,1986,provides for the appointment of a Lokyukta inthe state. The position for Lokayukta in Gujarat layvacant for seven years prior to the appointment ofMehta. The last Gujarat Lokayukta SM Soni hadretired in 2003.Narendra Modi’s government had senta proposal to the governor that a committee consistingof three ministers, the leader of opposition and chiefjustice should suggest a panel of three judges and oneof them be selected on the basis of a majority vote.The Modi government moved the Gujarat High Courtseeking quashing of the governor’s order.

DEATH

SHAMMI KAPOOR

Veteran actor and leading star of Bollywood of the1960s, Shammi Kapoor died in Mumbai on 14 August

2011. Shammi Kapoor was known to be an extremelyversatile actor. He debuted in Bollywood in 1953 withthe film Jeevan Jyoti, and went on to deliver hits likeTumsa Nahin Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Junglee, DilTera Diwana, Professor, China Town, Rajkumar,Kashmir Ki Kali, Janwar, Teesri Manzil, An Eveningin Paris, Bramhachari, Andaz and Vidhaata.Born totheatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni Mehra.Kapoor, he had started out with serious roles but itwas with Nasir Hussain directed Tumsa Nahin Dekha(1957) opposite Ameeta and Dil Deke Dekho (1959)with Asha Parekh that he attained the image of a light-hearted, stylish playboy. His new image was cementedwith Junglee (1961).He received the first Filmfare Best Actor award ofhis career for the film Bramhachari in 1968. Hereceived the Filmfare Award for Best SupportingActor for Vidhaata in 1982 and in 1995 he receivedthe Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002he was honoured Invaluable Contribution To IndianCinema at the IIFA. He went on to receive the LifetimeAchievement Award for his contribution to Indiancinema at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF)in 2008. Phalke Legend Actor Award by theDadasaheb Phalke Academy was conferred upon himin 2009. He was also the recipient of the prestigiousLiving Legend Award by the Federation of IndianChamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) inrecognition of his outstanding contribution to theIndian entertainment industry. Shammi Kapoor wasthe founder and chairman of Internet UsersCommunity of India (IUCI). He had also played amajor role in setting up internet organisations like theEthical Hackers Association.

P C ALEXANDER

Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander, a former IASofficer who served in Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’sstaff died of cancer in Chennai.Born in 1921, atMavelikkara in Kerala, Alexander post-graduatedfrom the then Travancore University and joined theIndian Administrative Service in 1948. He served inthe then Madras and Travancore-Cochin states before



moving to the Central Government in 1955.P.C.Alexander was at different times Principal Secretaryto two Prime Ministers- Indira Gandhi and RajivGandhi, Indian High Commissioner in the UnitedKingdom, Governor of Tamil Nadu and, Maharashtra,a United Nations civil servant and even a Rajya SabhaMP.A 1948 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, Alexander waspicked by Indira Gandhi in 1980, she had to becomePrincipal Secretary and, in the process, he became herpolitical adviser, conscience keeper and administrativetrouble-shooter. After her assassination in 1984, RajivGandhi, who succeeded his mother kept him on in thesame post. However in 1985, he was forced to quitafter a spy scandal surfaced. He also served as thehigh commissioner in London. He had held seniorposts in the UN civil service for 10 years. He was aSenior Adviser to the UN in New York during 1963-66. He served as principal secretary from 1981-85.He also served as Indian High Commissioner to theUK in 1985-88. He was instrumental in acquiringGandhi’s 260-odd letters to Herman Kallenbach.Alexander authored several books, including MyYears with Indira Gandhi and The Perils ofDemocracy and Through the Corridors of Power.

RS SHARMA

Noted historian and indologist RS Sharma died.Sharma who was born in a village near Barauni inBihar ’s Begusarai district, was a historian ofinternational repute. He taught ancient and earlymedieval history of India at Patna University, DelhiUniversity and the University of Toronto. He wrote115 books which have been published in 15 languagesaround the world. He was the first historian whocritically studied the various aspects of early Indiansocial, economic and political structure and broughtinto focus the exploitation of weaker sections ofIndian society. He was particularly known for histrenchant observations on institutions in ancient Indiansociety and his report on the Bihar-Bengal boundarydispute.

He was the founding chairman of the Indian Councilof Historical Research (ICHR) in 1972. He alsoserved as President of the Indian History Congress in1975. He was a recipient of the prestigious JawaharlalNehru Award in 1989 and was earlier awarded theCampbell Memorial Gold Medal by the BombayAsiatic Society in 1987.

KALYAN K. CHAUDHURI

Veteran journalist Kalyan K. Chaudhuri died. He wasa Special Correspondent for Frontline magazine fromAugust 1991 till retirement in December 2003.Chaudhuri was known for his informed journalisticwriting. As a journalist he focussed primarily onpolitical developments in the eastern region. He waspresident of the Indian Journalists’ Association in1988.He was a man of varied interest. He translatedThe Scalpel, the Sword, the story of Doctor NormanBethune, by Ted Allan and Sydney Gordon; andPlatero Y Yo, a prose work of Spanish poet JuanRamon Jimenez, into Bengali. Along with his wife,Kajal Chaudhuri, he had founded the theatre groupBhoomika in the late-1970s.

MADHUKAR KASHINATH PANDHE

Veteran trade unionist and Communist Party of India-Marxist Politburo member Madhukar KashinathPandhe died of cardiac arrest in New Delhi. Pandhewas the senior-most leader of the trade unionmovement in India. He had joined the CommunistParty in 1943.He completed his post-graduation fromPune University from where he earned a doctoratefrom the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.Pandhe, who was the Secretary of the Sholapur CityCommittee of the CPI, later took an active part in theGoa liberation struggle.

NANCY WAKE

Australian Nancy Wake, who worked as a spy and hadgone on to become the Allies’ most decoratedservicewomen for her role in the French resistanceduring World War II, died in London on 8 August2011. Nancy was code named The White Mouse bythe Gestapo during the war. Nancy Wake was a



woman of exceptional courage and resourcefulnesswhose daring exploits saved the lives of hundreds ofAllied personnel and helped bring the Nazi occupationof France to an end. Born in 1912, Nancy was trainedby British intelligence in espionage and sabotage.Wake lead 7000 resistance fighters in weakeningGerman defences before the D-Day invasion in thelast months of the war. She evaded capture during thedistribution of weapons. She had reached the top ofthe Gestapo’s wanted list. France had honoured herwith its highest military honour, the Legiond’Honneur. Her biography was penned down by PeterFitzsimons.

USTAD AZIZUDDIN KHAN

Exponent of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (school of music),Ustad Azizuddin Khan passed away. Affectionatelycalled as Baba among his disciples, Azizuddin Khanalong with his father Bhurji Khan who founded theJaipur-Atrauli Gharana had settled down in Kolhapurat the insistence of Chhatrapati Shhahu Maharaj. Heoriginally hailed from Uniara of Rajasthan. Khan wasinitiated in Khyal-based singing style of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana by legendary vocalist and hisgrandfather Ustad Alladiya Khan who trained him forover 12 years. Khan will be remembered for hisselfless attitude and zeal to popularise the singing styleof the gharana. Some of his disciples includedMallikarjun Mansur, Dhondutai Kulkarni, ShrutiSadolikar-katkar among others.

SYED HABIB

Former Indian No 2 snooker player Syed Habibpassed away.Habib was India No.2 in snooker forthree years from 1980. Syed reached the semifinalsof the National billiards championships twice in 1987and 1988.He entered the billiards when he defeatedthe then World billiards champion Michael Ferreirain the Pune Nationals in 1987.

R. NARASIMHAN

Veteran journalist and advertising professional, R.Narasimhan passed away. He was 86. Narasimhanjoined The Hindu as a sub-editor in 1950. After

working for seven years, he shifted to The HindustanTimes before becoming an editor of the Tamil eveningdaily, Navamani. He was responsible for the formationof The Hindu Office and National Press EmployeesUnion and held the posts of vice-president and generalsecretary of the Madras Union of Journalists.

SHIV KUMAR VERMA

The founder member of the Nehru Hockey Society,Shiv Kumar Verma died. He was associated with withthe activities of the Nehru Hockey Society for 47years. He was at the helm of affairs and led from thefront when a group of people came together to formthe Nehru Hockey Society following India’s defeat inthe hockey final of the 1960 Olympics. Verma laterbecame the honorary secretary and administrator ofthe s Nehru Hockey Society. He was instrumental inensuring the inclusion of junior, sub-junior andchampion college tournaments. Verma wasresponsible for bringing the junior, sub-junior,women’s and college tournaments under the NehruSociety fold.

SUMANT MISHRA

Former Davis Cupper and secretary of the All-IndiaLawn Tennis Association Sumant Misra. Mishra whowas India’s first national tennis champion was calledGrandfather of Indian tennis. He represented thecountry at the Davis Cup between 1947- 1956 andalso played in the Wimbledon and US Nationals inthe pre-Open era in world tennis. Misra was one ofthe only three Indians to win the national title. Misrawas the member of India’s Davis Cup squad for adecade, captaining it in 1952-53. He went on tobecome the secretary of the All-India Lawn tennisAssociation (AILTA) in 1963-66 when formerpresident of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI)MA Chidambaram was its president. Misra becamethe first men’s singles champion when the national wassplit into grass and hard court championships in 1946-47 at Calcutta’s South Club. He won the singles titleagain in 1952-53.He entered the men’s doublesquarterfinals twice at Wimbledon in 1947-48 and the



US championships in 1947, partnering Jimmy Mehta.He had won both the Ceylon and Malay nationalchampionships in 1958-59 and 1959 respectively.

RESIGNATION & ACCUSED

SOUMITRA SEN

Calcutta judge Soumitra Sen resigned from theposition of judge. He submitted his resignation to thePresident prior to impeachment process scheduled inthe Lok Sabha and after the upper House hadoverwhelmingly voted to declare him guilty offinancial misconduct. To complete the impeachmentprocess began against Sen the Lok Sabha had to passa motion, which was to taken up on 5 and 6 September2011.The Rajya Sabha on 18 August 2011 had passeda motion overwhelmingly to impeach the judge, whowas accused of misappropriating Rs 33.23 lakh underhis custody as a court-appointed receiver andmisrepresenting facts before a court in a 1983 case.Sen became the first judge to be impeached by theRajya Sabha.After his elevation as judge in 2003, Senhad failed to declare that he had collected an amountof Rs 33 lakh earlier as a receiver in a case. Hereturned the money with interest only after the HighCourt in 2006 directed him to do so. He turned downthen Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan’s advicein 2008 to step down because of the controversy. Evenafter the Rajya Sabha voted in favour of hisimpeachment he had refused to step down.Justice Sen was found guilty of misappropriating saleproceeds to the tune of Rs 24 lakh in a case in 1984where he was appointed as receiver by the CalcuttaHigh Court. He was an advocate at that time. He waslater directed to deposit Rs 52 lakh by the High Court.He had allegedly unauthorisedly taken out Rs 25 lakhfrom another account and invested it elsewhere. Anin-house committee in its 6 February 2008 report hadfound him guilty of breach of trust and mis-appropriation of receiver’s funds for his personalgain. A three-member committee headed SupremeCourt judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy in its report

of September 2010 found Justice Sen guilty ofmisbehaviour.

M RAMADOSS

The Union government suspended New IndiaAssurance chairman M Ramadoss for allegedviolations in issuing insurance cover to an airlineduring his stint as head of another state-run insurer.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) examinedRamadoss’ role in irregularities in granting creditinsurance cover to Paramount Airways when he waschairman and managing director of general insurancefirm Oriental Insurance. The government startedlooking into the affairs of New India Assurance, thecountry’s largest general insurance firm, after it posteda net loss of Rs 421 crore last fiscal, the first time in90 years of operations. This is the second instance ofaction being taken against a head of a public sectorinsurance firm. Earlier, TS Vijayan, the chairman ofthe country’s largest insurer, Life InsuranceCorporation was denied an extension after complaintsagainst him surfaced.

RANJIT KUMAR BHATIA

Ranjit Kumar Bhatia, Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police retired. He had taken over asDirector General on 31 January 2010. During his 19-month-long tenure in ITBP, the much needed re-structuring of the force was done. The ITBP got fourtraining centers, one high altitude medical trainingschool and one mountain driving school during histenure. A separate water wing was established andintelligence set-up was reorganised to suit thechanging security scenario. Ranjit Sinha, a Bihar cadreIPS officer of the 1974 batch was selected to be thenext director-general of the Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice, a paramilitary force that guards the borderswith China. Sinha had earlier served the force asadditional director-general.

AMAR SINGH

The former Samajwadi Party general secretary, AmarSingh was chargesheeted for allegedly bribing MPs



for their votes during the confidence motion in theLok Sabha over the India-U.S. nuclear deal in 2008.BJP leader L.K. Advani’s former aide, SudheendraKulkarni, two former BJP MPs were alsochargesheeted. The charge sheet submitted by theDelhi Police Crime Branch alleged that Kulkarni wasthe brain behind the conspiracy to conduct the stingoperation showing that the MPs had been approachedand bribed to vote in favour of the trust motion. Heremained in touch with the other conspirators whenbribes were paid to the former BJP MPs- PhaganSingh Kuleste and Mahaveer Singh Bhagoda, and theincumbent MP Ashok Argal. The police soughtsanction for prosecution from the Lok Sabha Speakerto initiate proceedings against Argal for havingreceived bribe.

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN

The sexual-assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn was dismissed bringing an abrupt end to whathad been a three-month criminal investigation. Thedismissal order was issued by Justice Michael J. Obusof State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Former IMFchief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused ofsexually assaulting an immigrant hotel housekeeperafter she entered his suite to clean it. Strauss-Kahnwas taken into custody on 14 May 2011 aboard anAir France jet at Kennedy International Airport.Nafissatou Diallo, an African immigrant had accusedMr Strauss-Kahn of chasing her in his luxury hotelsuite in New York on 14 May and subsequentlyforcing her to perform oral sex on him. Strauss-Kahnalso faces charges over a claim by French writerTristane Banon that he tried to rape her during a 2003interview.

MOHAMMAD ARIF ALIAS ASHFAQ

The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence forMohammad Arif alias Ashfaq in connection with the2000 Red Fort attack case. A division benchcomprising justice VS Sirpukar and justice TS Thakurdismissed Ashfaq’s appeal which had challenged thedeath penalty awarded to him for the attack carried

out on Delhi’s historic 17th century Red Fort by thesessions court and upheld by the Delhi high courtwhile six others sentenced for various jail terms hadbeen acquitted. The high court had previouslydismissed Ashfaq’s appeal against a trial court verdictawarding death penalty to him for waging war againstIndia and killing an army soldier and an army barberand a civilian working for the army in the 22December 2000 attack on the Red Fort.The HighCourt had reversed the trial court findings against sixconvicts including the father-son duo Nazir AhmedQasid and Farooq Ahmed Qasid, sentenced to lifeimprisonment, and Ashfaq’s Indian wife Rehana YosufFarooqui, a Pakistani national.

MOHAMMED AL-FORTIYA

Rebels have closed in on Muammar Gaddafi’shometown of Sirte from both east and west, in Libya.The rebel commander in Misrata, Mohammed al-Fortiya said that that rebel forces moved within 30kmof Sirte from the west and captured Bin Jawad, 100kilometres to the east. Rebel fighters have capturedMuammar Gaddafi’s heavily fortified Bab al-Aziziyacompound and headquarters in Tripoli after a day offierce fighting, an Agence France-Pressecorrespondent witnessed. Libya is a country in theMaghreb region of North Africa Bordered by theMediterranean Sea to the north, Libya faces Egypt tothe east, Sudan to the south east, Chad and Niger tothe south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.

VARIOUS

AGRINDIA WILL BE LAUNCHED

The Union Cabinet approved the proposal of Ministryof Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Research& Education (DARE) for setting up of a newcompany, called AGRlNDIA. The AGRlNDIA will bea registered company under the Companies Act, fullyowned by Government of India in the Department ofAgricultural Research and Education (DARE) with ashare capital of Rs.100 crore and initial paid up capitalof Rs.50 crore.



AGRlNDIA would undertake the following majoractivities:

♦ Protection and management of intellectualproperties generated in the system and itscommercialization / distribution for publicbenefit.

♦ Production, marketing and popularization ofICAR‘s products, processes and technologiesin agriculture and allied sectors.

♦ Providing skilled services from ICAR, such asconsultancies, contract research, contractservice, customized capacity building, technicalsupport for turnkey project etc.

♦ Setting up research and development farms andassist in setting up production units outsideIndia, especially in Africa and in the Asia-Pacific region and perhaps other regions of theworld such as Latin America.

♦ Foster public-private partnerships in research,education and other capacity building inagriculture and allied sectors.

AGRlNDIA would promote spread of R&D outcomesthrough IPR protection, commer-cialisation andforging partnerships both in the country and without.The farmers of the country would benefit from theformation of the company because of the following:

♦ The company would provide a model for qualityseed availability in the country.

♦ The company would enable manufacturing andmarketing models of good quality vaccines anddiagnostic kits etc.

♦ It would establish ICAR‘s R&D presence inother countries/region, such as in Africa andthe Asia Pacific region.

♦ Intellectual Property Rights in ICAR would beefficiently managed for their protection andconsequent commercialization.

SEX TAX METRES IN GERMANY

The German city of Bonn introduced sex tax metresfor street prostitutes with the objective of taxing theworld’s oldest profession. Prostitutes in Bonn wouldnow have to buy a ticket from converted roadsidevending machines. Prostitution is legal in Bonnbetween 8.15 pm and 6 am. A night’s ticket will set asex worker back 5.30 pounds, irrespective of thenumber of clients they have. If a cop catches a sexworker without ticket, she will be fined or bannedfrom working. The ticket machine is intended to bringstreet prostitutes into fiscal line with their peers inregistered sex establishments.

ACHEULIAN TOOLS DISCOVERED IN KENYA

New geological study reported in the journal Naturementioned the recovery of rare haul of picks, flakesand hand axes from ancient sediments in Kenya. Thestone tools are believed to be the oldest remains ofadvanced stone tools yet discovered. Archaeologistsunearthed the implements while excavating mudstonebanks on the shores of Lake Turkana in the remotenorth-west of the country. American researchers at theLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of ColumbiaUniversity, established the age of the Turkana toolsby dating the surrounding mudstone with apaleomagnetic technique.The largest of the tools are around 20 cm long andhave been chipped into shape on two sides, a hallmarkof more sophisticated stone tool making techniquesprobably developed by Homo erectus, a long-deadancestor of modern humans. Known as Acheuliantools, they are larger, heavier and have sharp cuttingedges that are chipped from opposite sides into thefamiliar teardrop shape. Researchers dated thesediments where the tools were found to 1.76 millionyears old. Until now, the earliest stone tools of thiskind were estimated to be 1.4m years old and camefrom a haul in Konso, Ethiopia. Others found in Indiaare dated more vaguely, between 1m and 1.5m yearsold.



JULIUS BAER FORECASTS

According to the forecast of Swiss wealth manager,Julius Baer, Asia will add 1.66 million dollar-millionaires by 2015, taking the total number ofwealthy to 2.82 million. According to the report, thewealth of high networth individuals (HNIs), those with$1 million or more in investable assets, would nearlytriple to $15.8 trillion in the five years to 2015. Chinaalone would be home to nearly half of the millionairesin Asia with combined wealth of $8.8 trillion. Theworld’s most populous nation would have 502,000million HNIs with investable assets totaling $2.6trillion. India would more than double the number ofHNIs to 403000 by 2015, while Indonesia would seethe highest growth rate in the number of wealthy, upby a quarter to 99000.As per the forecast that Chinaand India would collectively contribute 40 percent toglobal growth for 2011 and 2012.

T-50 STEALTH FIGHTER

T-50 stealth fighter which is being jointly developedby Russia and India made its first international publicappearance at the MAKS air show in Moscow. Duringthe air show Moscow also unveiled its newest spaceshuttle, armed drones and a new range of upgradedweapons. The T-50 was making test flights sinceJanuary 2010. However it is the fighter’s firstappearance at an air show. Even after thedemonstration flight, the fighter jets are classified andare not displayed on the ground. Two prototypes ofthe single seater jet, estimated to cost USD 6 billion,are expected to fly over Zhukovsky air field on theoutskirts of Moscow. The T-50 resembles Russia’sbest-selling Su-30 fighter jet but will have all itsweapons hidden inside its body and wings to avoidradar detection and will fly at supersonic cruisingspeeds. The aircraft also boasts of ultra-maneuver-ability and high-technology avionics.

JAYA HEY, THE COMPLETE NATIONAL ANTHEM

LAUNCHED

The complete national anthem, Jaya Hey, with fouradditional and barely known stanzas was launched.

The full anthem was sung by India’s top artists, fromGirija Devi, M Balamuralikrishna to ShankarMahadevan, Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan. Thepresentation features five verses, sung and played by39 celebrated Indian artists. The audio-visualpresentation was brought out on poet RabindranathTagore’s 150th birth anniversary. The limited editionwas produced by Saregama and is being unveiled byTimes Now channel.

HIMAYAT FOR EMPLOYMENT

The Union ministry of Rural Development in Srinagarlaunched the programme called Himayat, for givingtraining and placement to over one lakh youth frompoor families in Jammu and Kashmir. The ProgrammeHimayat will be implemented in five years. The UnionCabinet has already approved 235 crore rupees forthis programme.

IRENE SLAMMED NEW YORK

Tropical storm Irene slammed New York with strongwinds and heavy rain after battering the eastern coastof the US where it left at least 14 people dead andmillions without power. An emergency was declaredin eight affected states on the eastern coast even asthe hurricane monitors said wind speeds havediminished as the storm moved north. America’seconomic nerve centre New York virtually shut downas New Yorkers prepared for the onslaught of violentwinds and flooding. Irene means peace.

CLOSEST YOUNG STAR TO EARTH

Planetary scientists have discovered the closest youngstar to Earth. An international team carried out aresearch and showed that the star, named APColumbae, is the closest so-called pre main sequencestar. Scientists used the telescopes in Coonabarabran,Chile, Hawai and California to show that the red-dwarf star AP Columbae is the closest to the Earth.Scientists added that for decades it was believed thatyoung stars only resided in vast star-forming regionslike Orion Nebula. These regions are usually hundredsof light years away from Earth. Scientists have carried



out accurate, all sky surveys to find young stars muchcloser to home.

DEBARSHI DUTTAGUPTA

A Kolkata photographer, Debarshi Duttagupta wasdeclared the Grand Prix winner among 60,000 entriesin the 33 year old Nikon Photo Contest International.Debarshi Duttagupta won the award for his picturetitled Learning to Fly. The picture was shot at a ghatin Varanasi and captured a moment that conveys thestory of a small fishing community. The success ofthe photograph lay in its capturing that magicalmoment of beauty as evening slips into the night. The33-year-old contest attracted 60000 entries this year,the highest in its history, from over 23000 applicantsin 153 countries. The winning photograph will beshowcased at exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka and Londonin late 2011.

SURENDRA NATH JAUHAR

Minister for Communications & IT and HRD, KapilSibal released a commemorative Postage Stamp onSurendra Nath Jauhar, noted freedom fighter, socialworker, industrialist and philanthropist. Jauhar bornin 1903 joined the freedom struggle at the age of 16in response to a call to the youth of the country byMahatma Gandhi. As a leading Congressman of Delhi,he was thrown behind the bars several times, two ofthe longest spells being 15 months for reading thePurna Swaraj pledge in 1930, and for participatingin the Quit India Movement from 1942 to 1944. Hebecame an ardent devotee of Sri Aurobindo and theMother in 1939. He gave away his land to establishthe Sri Aurobindo Ashram – Delhi Branch in 1956,and also became the founder of Sri AurobindoEducation Society, under which he started TheMother’s International School in 1956 and Mirambikain 1982.

35 INDIAN COMPANIES IN FORBES ASIA’S LIST

Thirty-five Indian companies are included in the top200 Asia-Pacific corporations in Forbes Asia’s BestUnder a Billion list for 2011 released. The number

of Indian companies was second only to the 65 firmsfrom both China and Hong Kong that found a placein the list. Among the Indian companies that made thegrade were SRF which manufactures chemical-basedindustrial intermediates, Polyplex, which makespolyester film and Glodyne Technoserve, an ITservices company. However, India’s largest storage-battery producer, Exide Industries which was presentin the list in 2010 grew too big to be included in the200-company list for 2011 since it breached the USD1 billion sales mark in the past 12 months.

MELBOURNE IS WORLD’S MOST LIVEABLE CITY

According to the economic intelligence unit’s newGlobal Liveability Survey, Australian city Melbournewas found to be the world’s most liveable city, whileIndia’s business capital Mumbai was placed at 116thposition. The annual survey assessed living conditionsin 140 global cities. Melbourne surpassed Vancouverto become the best city in the world to live. TheCanadian capital city, Vancouver had topped thesurvey since 2002. However vancouver fell to thirdplace in 2011 behind Vienna which was at the secondplace. According to the report, India’s commercial hubMumbai is ranked 116th, one place up from itsprevious year‘s ranking. In 2010, Mumbai was ranked117th while Delhi was at 113th position.Other Australian cities in the top 10 included Sydney,placed at 6th, while Perth and Adelaide ranked 8thand 9th. The top 10 cities included Toronto at (4th),Calgary (5th), Helsinki (7th) and Auckland (10th).London was ranked 53, while at 26 Honolulu was thetop US city.The worst to live in among the 140locations were Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea,Bangladesh’s Dhaka and Zimbabwe’s Harare.

ISA KHAN’S TOMB

Restoration work on Isa Khan’s tomb in New Delhiled to the discovery of the country’s oldest sunkengarden. Restorers at the Isa Khan’s tomb in theprecincts of the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Sitediscovered that the Isa Khan’s tomb stood within ahitherto unknown sunken garden. The sunken garden



predates the famed gardens that the Mughals built andpopularised. Pieces of underlying archaeology werealso uncovered at the site. The sunken garden IsaKhan’s Tomb site predates the Humanyun’s Tombgarden by two decades. Isa Khan’s garden tomb is theearliest example of a sunken garden in India attachedto a tomb. The concept of a sunken garden attachedto a tomb was later found manifestation at Akbar’sTomb and at the Taj Mahal.

The discovery is significant as it shed light on thegrandeur of the tombs, rising above the gardens andoverlooking the trees and the landscaping. Over theyears gardens have come up at the level of themonuments, however the garden at Isa Khan’s tombrevealed that originally gardens used to be three tofour feet below the monument with the tomb sittinghigh.

UPSCPORTAL’S

INDIA 2011Comprehensive Coverage on

India General Studies

Coming Son



TEST– I: GENERAL AWARENESS

1. Russia, in May 2010, announced plans to opennaval bases in __ in response to NATO’seastward expansion.(1) Turkmenistan (2) Uzbekistan(3) Belarus (4) Ukraine(5) None of these

2. The International Monetary Fund, on May 14,2010, approved immediate disbursement of$1.3 billion of financial assistance to _.(1) Greece (2) Turkey(3) Pakistan (4) Afghanistan(5) None of these

3. Iran, on May 16, 2010, freed Clotilde Reiss,___ lecturer charged with spying following June20009 disputed presidential elections.(1) German (2) Italian(3) Swiss (4) French(5) None of these

4. Egypt, in May 2010, objected to an agreementsigned by four Nile Basin countries in _ forchanging the way the river waters are shared.(1) Kenya (2) Algeria(3) Morocco (4) Uganda(5) None of these

5. On which date in 2010 did President BarackObama sign the Daniel Pearl Freedom of thePress Act into law?(1) May 17 (2) May 16(3) May 18 (4) May 21(5) None of these

6. Iran, in May 2010, agreed to swap a major partof its low enriched uranium stocks on Turkishsoil for an equivalent amount of uraniumenriched to per cent.(1) 12.5 (2) 15.0(3) 19.75 (4) 22.55(5) None of these

7. On which date in 2010 did Thailand’s militaryand civilian leaders assume “full control of thesituation” after crushing a two-month protest?(1) May 17 (2) May 18(3) May 19 (4) May 20(5) None of these

8. Social networking website _ was, on May 19,2010, blocked in Pakistan following protestsover an ‘Everybody Draw Mohammad Day’contest.(1) MySpace (2) Facebook(3) Orkut (4) Twitter(5) None of these

9. Which European country, on May 20, 2010,pledged to impose an annual cap onimmigration from non-European Unioncountries?(1) France (2) Britain(3) Germany (4) Italy(5) None of these

10. __born Scot John ShepherdBarron, inventorof the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), diedafter a short illness in London on May 20, 2010.(1) India (2) South Africa(3) USA (4) France(5) None of these

BANK PO PRACTICE SET



11. Nicolaus Copernicus was reburied as a hero inFrombork, northern - in May 2010, nearly 500years after he was laid to rest in an unmarkedgrave.(1) Romania (2) Slovenia(3) Poland (4) Belarus(5) None of these

12. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ForeignMinisters at their meeting in _, on May 22,2010, approved draft rules for admitting newmembers into the security grouping.(1) Beijing (2) Moscow(3) New Delhi (4) Tashkent(5) None of these

13. On which date in 2010 did the United Statesand South Korea agree to explore raising theirdefence posture to deter future military threatsfrom North Korea?(1) May 24 (2) May 25(3) May 26 (4) May 22(5) None of these

14. On which date in 2010 did Nepal politicalparties agree to extend the term of theConstituent Assembly by one year?(1) May 28 (2) May 31(3) May 27 (4) May 30(5) None of these

15. The United Nations, on May 28. 2010, asked_. to join NPT and CTBT without further delayand pre-conditions.(1) India (2) Pakistan(3) Israel (4) All of the above(5) None of these

16. —, the premium apparel brand from MaduraGarments, a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo,announced its foray into footwear on May 1,2010.(1) Louis Philippe (2) Benetton(3) Zodiac (4) Peter England(5) None of these

17. On which date in 2010 did the InsuranceRegulatory and Development Authority issue

further modifications on guidelines related tounit linked products?(1) May 1 (2) May 2(3) May 3 (4) May 4(5) None of these

18. __ was, on May 4, 2010, barred from doingany business with the World Bank for violating“procurement guidelines”, for three years,beginning January 11. 2010.(1) LG Electronics(2) Videocon Industries(3) Samsung India(4) Maruti Udyog Ltd.(5) None of these

19. On which date in 2010 did India and Australiarelease the Feasibility Study report on India-Australia Free Trade Agreement?(1) May 4 (2) May 1 1(3) May 21 (4) May 29(5) None of these

20. The SEBI, on May 4, 2010, permitted stockexchanges to introduce Index options contractson the Sensex and the Nifty for a longer tenureof years.(1) Two (2) Three(3) Four (4) Five(5) None of these

21. HCL Technologies, in May 2010, signed a five-year $500 million agreement with MSD (alsoknown as Merck & Co of__., a global research-driven pharmaceutical company.(1) USA (2) U. K.(3) France (4) Italy(5) None of these

22. The Finance Ministry, on May 5, 2010, agreedto give Rs. 14,000 crore to oil marketingcompanies _ to make up for the losses incurredon sale of fuel and cooking gas.(1) Indian Oil Corporation(2) Bharat Petroleum Corporation(3) Hindustan Petroleum Corporation(4) All of the above(5) None of these



23. On which date in 2010 did the board of directorsof Tata Tea Ltd (TTL) approve the name changeto Tata Global Beverages Ltd?(1) May 5 (2) May 4(3) May 6 (4) May 9(5) None of these

24. EIH Ltd., which runs the _ group of hotels, onMay 6, 2010, acquired the 45.38 per centinterest of Amex Investment of Hong Kong.(1) Taj (2) Ashoka(3) Oberoi (4) All of the above(5) None of these

25. On which date in 2010 did shares of EssarEnergy Plc, begin formally trading on theLondon Stock Exchange, after its 1.3-billionpound public offer?(1) May 7 (2) May 8(3) May 11 (4) May 19(5) None of these

26. India and _, on May 11, 2010, decided to doubletheir trade in the next five years from $16 billionto $32 billion.(1) Japan (2) Taiwan(3) Singapore (4) Japan(5) None of these

27. On which date in 2010 did the Reserve Bankof India allow infrastructure finance companiesto raise money from overseas markets throughthe automatic route?(1) May 12 (2) May 11(3) May 18 (4) May 21.(5) None of these

28. Industrial growth slipped marginally to - percent in March 2010 from a robust expansion of15.1 per cent in February 2010.(1) 13.5 (2) 14.2(3) 12.6 (4) 11.3(5) None of these

29. Wipro Infotech, on May 14, 2010, won threeState mission mode projects for data centresfrom _.(1) Maharashtra (2) West Bengal

(3) Gujarat (4) All of the above(5) None of these

30. North America’s SunEdison, on May 15, 2010,announced its entry into India with thedevelopment of a photovoltaic solar powerplant in __(1) Goa (2) Kerala(3) Maharashtra (4) Gujarat(5) None of these

31. ___on May 17, 2010, called on India to providean open investment environment, in its firstresponse to the reported restrictions on theimport of its telecom equipment.(1) Japan (2) Malaysia(3) China (4) Indonesia(5) None of these

32. The Union Cabinet, on May 19, 2010, approvedhike in the price of natural gas supplied underAPM by __ doubling it to $4.20 per m Btu.(1) GAIL (2) ONGC(3) Oil India Limited(4) Only 2 and 3(5) None of these

33. Exports registered a share rise of 36.2 per centat $16.9 billion, while imports also registereda - per cent surge at $27.3 billion in April 2010.(1) 43.3 (2) 37.9(3) 33.6 (4) 49.6(5) None of these

34. SBI Funds, the joint venture between StateBank of India, and Societe Generale AssetManagement __, in May 2010, announced thelaunch of its PSU Fund.(1) Norway (2) Sweden(3) Denmark (4) France(5) None of these

35. Naveen Jindal-owned Jindal Steel and PowerLimited, on May 20, 2010, announced theacquisition of _based Shadeed Iron and SteelCo for $464 million.(1) Qatar (2) Saudi Arabia(3) Oman (4) Kuwait(5) None of these



36. The Hinduja Group, on May 21, 2010,announced to acquire European private bank___epb, one of the largest onshore privatebanking groups.(1) MHL (2) KBL (3) SVP(4) DEN (5) None of these

37. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, onMay 29. 2010, said the country is poised toachieve a growth rate of __ per cent during thecurrent year.(1) 8.5 (2) 8.9 (3) 9.3(4) 9.7 (5) None of these

38. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on May 26,2010, asked industry leaders, including RatanTata and Mukesb Ambani, to reach out to the_.(1) Downtrodden(2) Women and children(3) Rural economy(4) All of the above(5) None of these

39. The Lok Sabha, on May 3, 2010, passed thePayment of Gratuity Bill, 2010, to raise theceiling of gratuity for employees in privatesector to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs._ lakh.(1) 2.5 (2) 3.5(3) 4.5 (4) 5(5) None of these

40. On which date in 2010 were top 13 cities in thecountry announced to adopt stricter BharatStage-III emission norms for two and three-wheelers with retrospective effect?(1) May 11 (2) May 28(3) May 31 (4) May 14(5) None of these

41. __,, on May 21, 2010, became the first Indianin 13 years to qualify for the men’s singles eventof the French Open after defeating AdrianMannarino in Paris.(1) Manish Mathur (2) Ajit Solanki(3) Somdev Dewarman(4) Kirpal Tyagi(5) None of these

42. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares of-, on May22, 2010, defeated Rohan Bopanna andAisamul-Haq Qureshi in the doubles final ofthe Nice Open.(1) Mexico (2) Argentina (3) Peru(4) Brazil (5) None of these

43. __, in May 2010, won the discus title in theTucson Elite Throwers Classic at Tucson,Arizona, US, with a throw of 62.87 metres.(1) Vikas Gowda (2) Vijay Dubey(3) Saurabh Mishra (4) Mohnish Saxena(5) None of these

44. Joshna Chinappa, on May 23, 2010, won theGerman ladies’ Open beating Swissopponent___in the final of the WISPA WorldTour event in Saarbrucken.(1) Rachael McAdams(2) Michelle Rosario(3) Gaby Schmohl (4) Annie Skinner(5) None of these

45. Lewis Hamilton, on May 30, 2010, claimed the12th victory of his career when he won theGrand Prix.(1) Brazilian (2) Turkish(3) Chinese (4) Japanese(5) None of these

46. __, Chairman and Managing Director of RuralElectrification Corporation, took over as newSecretary, Union Power Ministry, on May 1,2010.(1) P. Uma Shankar(2) A. Swaminathan(3) D. Kasturirangan(4) S. Chelliar(5) None of these

47. __, CMD, Indian Bank, was appointed ex-officio director on the board of United IndiaInsurance Company by the Central Governmenton May 7, 2010.(1) T. M. Bhasin (2) Anil Aggarwal(3) Prakash Tiwary (4) Suresh Thakkar(5) None of these



48. Australia’s former World motocross No. 2 diedin a crash at the country’s Nationalchampionship in Melbourne on May 2, 2010.(1) Andrew McFarlane(2) John Nolan (3) Andrew Zwick(4) Ron Williams (5) None of these

49. U.S. ___star Shawn Crawford, an Olympic goldmedallist, was named as the Event Ambassadorfor the Sunfeast World 10k Bangalore 2010 inMay 2010.(1) Swimming (2) Tennis(3) Sprint (4) Soccer(5) None of these

50. Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia wasgiven an honorary lifetime membership by thefootball players’ association in May 2010.(1) British (2) Portugal(3) The Netherlands(4) Spain (5) None of these

TEST II: QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE

Directions (Q. 51-55): What approximate valueshould come in place of question mark(?) in thefollowing questions? (You are not expected tocalculate the exact value.)

51. 561204 × 58 = ? × 55555(1) 606 (2) 646 (3) 556(4) 716 (5) 586

52. 459.008 + 3.0056 × 88.862=?(1) 738 (2) 725 (3) 695(4) 752 (5) 666

53. (444% of 531) ÷ 972 = ?(1) 4.5 (2) 0.5 (3) 2.5(4) 8.5 (5) 6.5

54. (9321 + 5406 + 1001) ÷ (498 + 929 + 660) =?(1) 13.5 (2) 4.5 (3) 16.5(4) 7.5 (5) 10.5

55. (621.52)2 =?(1) 386300 (2) 379300(3) 398300 (4) 365300(5) 356300

Directions (Q. 56-60): What should come in placeof question mark(?) in the following number series?

56. 444 467 513 582 674 789 ?(1) 950 (2) 904 (3) 927(4) 881 (5) 973

57. 23 25 53 163 657 3291 ?(1) 16461 (2) 13169 (3) 9877(4) 23045 (5) 19753

58. 13 13 65 585 7605 129285 ?(1) 2456415 (2) 2235675(3) 2980565 (4) 2714985(5) 2197845

59. 1 16 81 256 625 1296 ?(1) 4096 (2) 2401 (3) 1764(4) 3136 (5) 6561

60. 12 12 18 45 180 1170 ?(1) 12285 (2) 10530 (3) 11700(4) 12870 (5) 7605

Directions (Q. 61-70): What should come in placeof question mark (?) in the following questions?

61. 4 + 4.44 + 0.4 + 44.04 + 444 =?(1) 497.24 (2) 487.66 (3) 496.88(4) 469.88 (5) None of these

62. [(130)2 = 25 × 15]–30=?(1) 352 (2) 314 (3) 326(4) 338 (5) None of these

63. 38 + 16 × 0.8=?(1) 43.2 (2) 50.8 (3) 44.8(4) 1.9 (5) None of these

64. (?)2 + (65)2 = (160)2 – (90)2 – 7191(1) 75 (2) 77 (3) 79(4) 81 (5) None of these

65. 398 × ? × 7 = 47362(1) 15 (2) 13 (3) 17(4) 19 (5) None of these

66. 1485 × ? = 594

(1) (2) (3)

(4) (5) None of these



67. 2116 + 692 – ? = 1111(1) 1667 (2) 1677 (3) 1687(4) 1697 (5) None of these

68. 6.896 + 3.753 – 2.005 + 1.004 = ?(1) 9.486 (2) 9.648 (3) 9.864(4) 9.846 (5) None of these

69. (6.5% of 375)– (0.85% of 230)=?(1) 23.42 (2) 24.24 (3) 21.64(4) 25.76 (5) None of these

70. (13)54 × (13)5 =?(1) 2197 (2) 39 (3) 169(4) 130 (5) None of these

Direcitons (Q. 71-75): Study the table carefully toanswer the questions that follow:

Sale (in crores) of number of units by six differentcompanies over the years

Year →Company ↓ 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

A 110 118 143 126 152 195

B 91 93 85 99 69 35

C 103 153 100 1289 6 56

D 112 166 78 83 135 198

E 72 169 154 98 140 192

F 64 56 120 70 176 54

71. Number of units sold by Company B in the year2003 is what per cent of the total number ofunits sold by all the companies together in thatyear?(1) 12.76 2) 15.5 (3) 12.5(4) 20 (5) None of these

72. What is the average number of units sold (incrores) in the year 2005?(1) 130 (2) 133 (3) 127(4) 121 (5) None of these

73. What is the difference between the number ofunits sold by Company D in the year 2001 andthat in the year 2003?

(1) 3400000 (2) 3400000000(3) 34000000 (4) 340000000(5) None of these

74. Which company has sold the minimum numberof units over the years ?(1) A (2) B (3) D(4) E (5) None of these

75. Which company has sold the maximum numberof units over the years?(1) A (2) C (3) E(4) F (5) None of these

Directions (Q. 76-80): Study the table carefully toanswer the questions that follow :

Price in Rs per kg of Products over the years.Year →

Product ↓ 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

A 11 14 14 20 22 32B 25 37 45 53 63 72C 9 10 12 15 17 20D 100 120 135 160 172 200E 25 32 37 46 62 68F 14 21 25 29 34 40

76. Per cent increase in the price of which product isthe highest in the year 2006 from the year 2002?(1) A (2) C (3) E(4) F (5) None of these

77. If in the year 2005, a shopkeeper wished to buyonly those products whose price was above theaverage price per kg of all the products togetherin that year, how many products could theshopkeeper have bought?(1) One (2) Two (3) Three(4) More than three(5) None of these

78. If in the year 2003, 3475 kg each of products Band F was sold, what was the difference in themoney earned from their sale?(1) Rs 55,600 (2) Rs 58,700(3) Rs 61,600 (4) Rs 69,500(5) None of these



79. Which product shows the least change in priceper kg in the year 2004 from the year 2002?(1) B (2) C (3) D(4) E (5) None of these

80. If a shopkeeper bought 25 kg of product F inthe year 2002 and then sold 22 kgs of it in theyear 2005, what was the approximate percentprofit earned by him, considering he will notbe able to sell the remaining 3 kg?(1) 39% (2) 51% (3) 35%(4) 48% (5) 42%

Directions (Q. 81-85): Study the following graphcarefully to answer the questions that follow:

Profit earned by a company over the years

81. What is the percent profit of the company inthe year 2004, if the income of the companywas Rs 120 cr?(1) 100% (2) 120% (3) 133%(4) 125% (5) 140%

82. The expenditure of the company in the year2005 was Rs 85 cr. What is the ratio of incometo expenditure of the company in that year?(1) 23: 17 (2) 5 : 4 (3) 11 :8(4) 21:16 (5) None of these

83. What is (the approximate) average (in Rscrores) profit made by the company over theyears?(1) 50 (2) 48 (3) 53(4) 57 (5) 61

84. The income of the company in the year 2001was Rs 950000000. What was the expenditures(in Rs) of the company in that year?

(1) 50000000 (2) 550000000(3) 40000000 (4) 350000000(5) None of these

85. What is the percent increase in the profit of thecompany in the year 2004 from the previousyear?(1) 43% (2) 46% (3) 50%(4) 40% (5) None of these

86. 15 men can do a piece of work in 6 days. Howmany men would be required to do the samework in 7.5 days?(1) 10 (2) 16 (3) 12(4) 20 (5) None of these

87. The average age of a class of 65 boys was 14years, the average age of 20 of them was 14years, and that of another 15 was 12 years. Findthe average age of the remaining boys.(1) 16 years (2) 13 years(3) 17 years (4) 15 years(5) None of these

88. The profit earned after selling an article for Rs522 is the same as the loss incurred after sellingthe article for Rs 378. What is the cost price (inRs) of the article?(1) Rs 460 (2) Rs 490 (3) Rs 520(4) Rs 550 (5) None of these

89. A sum of money is divided among A, B, C andD in the ratio 3 : 5 :7: 11. If the share of C is Rs1,668 more than the share of A, then what isthe total amount of money of B and D together?(1) Rs 6,762 (2) Rs 6,672(3) Rs 7,506 (4) Rs 6,255(5) None of these

90. Which number should replace both the questionmarks in the following equation?(1) 204 (2) 214 (3) 216(4) 224 (5) None of these

91. What is 30% of 70% of 5 of 3500?(1) 400 (2) 441 (3) 361(4) 484 (5) None of these

92. Keshav spent Rs 55,475 on his birthday party,Rs 28,525 on buying home appliances and the



remaining 25% of the total amount he had ascash with him. What was the total amount?(1) Rs 1,05,000 (2) Rs 1,00,000(3) Rs 1, 12,000 (4) Rs 1,24,000(5) None of these

93. Pankaj started a business investing Rs 42,000.After 4 months Nitin joined him with a capitalof Rs 57,000. At the end of the year the totalprofit was Rs 26,000. What is the differencebetween the share of profits of Pankaj andNitin?(1) Rs 1,200 (2) Rs 1,400(3) Rs 1,600 (4) Rs 1,800(5) None of these

94. One-fifth of a number is 19. What will 42% ofthat number be?(1) 38 (2) 41.1 (3) 39.9(4) 43 (5) None of these

95. In a class of 80 students, each student got sweetsthat are 15% of the total number of students.How many sweets were there?(1) 1200 (2) 850 (3) 900(4) Cannot be determined(5) None of these

96. The simple interest accrued on an amount ofRs 15,500 at the end of three years is Rs 5,580.What would be the compound interest accruedon the same amount at the same rate in the sameperiod?(1) Rs 6726.348 (2) Rs 6276.3 84(3) Rs 6267.834 (4) Rs 6627.438(5) None of these

97. By how much is 3 of 93 lesser than 4 of 104?(1) 22 (2) 28 (3) 18(4) 16 (5) None of these

98. The ages of Sachin and Jatin are in the ratio 8 :11. After 10 years the ratio of their ages will be13 :16. What is the difference in their ages?(1) 16 years (2) 3 years(3) 8 years (4) 6 years(5) None of these

99. Mr Sinha invests 12% of his monthly salary, ieRL 3,660 in Insurance Policies. Later he invests

16% of his monthly salary on Family MediclaimPolicies; also he invests another 3% of his salaryon NSCs. What is the total annual amountinvested by Mr Sinha?(1) Rs 1,13,460 (2) Rs 1,22,440(3) Rs 1,06,540(4) Cannot be determined(5) None of these

100. If the numerator of a fraction is increased by400% and the denominator is increased by

500%. The resultant fraction is . What was

the original fraction?

(1) (2) (3)

(4) (5) None of these

TEST – III: REASONING

101. How many meaningful words can be made fromthe letters ‘AINTS’ using each letter only once?(1) None (2) One (3) Two(4) Three (5) More than three

102. Four of the following five are alike in a certainway and so form a group. Which is the one thatdoes not belong to the group?(1) Tree (2) Plant (3) Shrub(4) Creeper (5) Farm

103. In a certain code BAKE is written as 5796 andFIRE is written as 3146. How is FEAR writtenin that code?(1) 3564 (2) 3674 (3) 3574(4) 3654 (5) None of these

104. If it is possible to make only one meaningfulword from the second, the sixth, the seventh,the eight and the tenth letters of the wordPERFORMANCE, using each letter only once,first letter of the word is your answer. If no suchword can be formed your answer is X and if



more than one such word can be formed youranswer is Y. (1) C (2) R (3) M(4) X (5) Y

105. If the first and second digits are interchangedin each number from the following set ofnumbers, and then the numbers are arranged indescending order, which number will besecond?376 438 476 389 567(1) 376 (2) 438 (3) 476(4) 389 (5) 567

106. How many such pairs of letters are there in theword EDUCATION, each of which has as manyletters between them in the word, as they havein the English alphabet?(1) None (2) One (3) Two(4) Three (5) More than three

107. Five friends P, Q, R, S and T went to collegeindependently. Each one of them reached at adifferent time. If only Q reached after R and S,who was the last person to reach?(1) P (2) T (3) Q(4) Cannot be determined(5) None of these

108. If ‘+’ means ‘–’, ‘–’ means ‘×’, ‘×’ means ‘÷’,‘÷’ and means ‘+’, then what is the value of 40÷ 360 × 24 – 4 + 18 = ?(1) 118 (2) 82 (3) 72(4) 90 (5) None of these

109. If in the word PROJECTING, all the vowelsare first arranged alphabetically and then all theconsonants are arranged alphabetically, whichletter will be fifth from the left ?(1) C (2) N (3) J(4) G (5) None of these

110. Four of the following five are alike in a certainway and so form a group. Which is the one thatdoes not belong to the group?(1) Sharpener (2) Calculator(3) Eraser (4) Pencil(5) Stapler

111. If the digits of the number 375486 are arrangedin ascending order, how many digits will remainat the same position?(1) None (2) One(3) Two (4) Three(5) More than three

112. Four of the following five are alike in a certainway and so form a group. Which is the one thatdoes not belong to the group?(1) 17 (2) 19 (3) 23(4) 27 (5) 29

113. If in the word LUBRICATOR the positions ofthe first and the sixth letters are interchanged,similarly the positions of the second and theseventh letters are interchanged, and so on,which letter will be second to the right of sixthletter from the right?(1) B (2) T(3) A (4) O(5) None of these

114. In a certain code DURATION is written asVEBSJUOP, how is FORECAST written in thatcode?(1) PGSFBDTU (2) PGFSUTBD(3) PGSFUTBD (4) PGFSBDT UT(5) None of these

115. If ‘A $ B’ means ‘A is father of B’, ‘A # B’means ‘A is daughter of B’, ‘A @ B’ means ‘Ais sister of B’, then how is K related to M in H@ K $ L # M ?(1) Husband (2) Uncle (3) Father(4) Cannot be determined(5) None of these

Direcations (Q. 116-122): Study the followingarrangement carefully to answer these questions.

5 H I 7 $ K J 4 % L A T 3 8 @ F 6 U # V P I E * 9 D 2

116. Four of the following five are alike in a certainway on the basis of their positions in the abovearrangement and so form a group. Which is theone that does not belong to the group?(1) J%4 (2) H71 (3) T38(4) E9* (5) FU6



117. What will come in place of the question mark(?) in the following series based on the abovearrangement?H7$ K4% LT3(1) F 6 # (2) 8 @ 6 (3) 8 F 6(4) F U # (5) None of these

118. How many such vowels are there in the abovearrangement, each of which is immediatelyfollowed by a symbol?(1) None (2) One (3) Two(4) Three (5) Four

119. Which element is sixth to the right of fourteenthfrom the right end ?(1) # (2) P (3) U(4) 1 (5) None of these

120. If from the above arrangement, all the digitsare dropped which element will be tenth fromthe left end?(1) F (2) @ (3) T(4) U (5) None of these

121. How many such digits are there in the abovearrangement each of which is immediatelyfollowed by a symbol which is immediatelyfollowed by a consonant?(1) None (2) One (3) Two(4) Three (5) More than three

122. How many such consonants are there in theabove arrangement each of which. isimmediately followed by a vowel but notimmediately preceded by a symbol?(1) None (2) One (3) Two(4) Three (5) Four

Direcations (Q. 123-130): In each of the questionsbelow are given three statements followed by twoconclusions numbered I and IL You have to takethe given statements to be true even if they seem tobe at variance with commonly known facts. Readall the conclusions and then decide which of thegiven conclusions logically follow from the givenstatements disregarding commonly known facts.

Give answer (1) if only Conclusion I follows.Give answer (2) if only Conclusion II follows.

Give answer (3) if either Conclusion I or IIfollows.Give answer (4) if neither Conclusion I nor IIfollows.Give answer (5) if both Conclusions I and IIfollow.

123. Statement: All books are magazines.Some magazines are note-books.Some notebooks are papers.

Conclusions: I. Some books are notebooks.II. Some magazines are papers.

124. Statements: Some pearls are stones.All stones are bricks.All bricks are walls.

Conclusions: I. Some pearls are bricks.II. Some pearls are walls.

125. Statements: Some apples are oranges.Some oranges are grapes.All grapes are bananas.

Conclusions: I. Some apples are bananas.II. Some oranges are bananas.

126. Statements: All mobiles are phones.All phones are computers.All computers are scanners.

Conclusions: I. All mobiles are computers.II. All phones are scanners.

127. Statements : Some boxes are bags.All bags are trunks.All trunks are drawers.

Conclusions: I. All bags are drawers.II. All trunks are bags.

128. Statements: All cars are buses.Some buses are scooters.No scooter is a train.

Conclusions: I. No bus is a train.II. Some buses are trains.

129. Statements: Some chairs are wheels.Some wheels are sofa sets.All sofa sets are cupboards.

Conclusions: I. Some wheels are cupboards.II. Some chairs are sofa sets.

130. Statements: Some coins are notes.All notes are cards.All cards are plastics.



Conclusions: I. Some coins are cards.II. All notes are plastics.

Directions (Q. 131-135): These questions are basedon the following information:

Eight persons L, M, N, P, Q, R, S and T are sittingaround a circular table facing the centre. Q is not theneighbour of P or R. M is second to the left of T andthird to the right of P. R is third to the left of N, whois to the immediate left of T. L is second to the rightof P.131. Which of the following pairs of persons

represents the neighbours of T?(1) MN (2) QS (3) RP(4) ML (5) None of these

132. Which of the following is definitely true?(1) Q is to the immediate right of S.(2) R is to the immediate right of P.(3) M is between N and Q.(4) R is between P and S.(5) None of these

133. Who is to the immediate right of T?(1) R (2) S (3) N(4) Q (5) None of these

134. Who is to the immediate left of P?(1) S (2) R (3) Q(4) L (5) None of these

135. In which off the following pairs of persons thesecond person is to the immediate left of thefirst person?(1) QS (2) NT (3) ML(4) RL (5) None of these

Directions (Q. 136-140): In these questions symbols@, #, $, % and ©are used with different meaningsas follows:

<‘A @ B’ means ̀ A is smaller than B. > À # B’ means À is greater than B.’< ’A $ B’ means À is either smaller than orequal to B.’>’A % B’ means À is either greater than orequal to B.

= ‘A © B’ means ̀ A is neither greater than norsmallerthan B.

In each question, three statements showingrelationships have been given, which are followedby two conclusions I & II. Assuming that the givenstatements are true, find out which conclusion(s)is/are definitely true.

Mark answer (1), if only conclusion I is true;mark answer (2), if only conclusion II is true;mark answer (3), if either conclusion I or II istrue; mark answer (4), if neither I nor II is trueand mark answer (5), if both conclusions I andII arc true.

136. Statements: L$K, K@M, J%MConclusions: I. L @ M

II. K @ J137. Statements: E$W, W@Q, Q%H

Conclusions: I. E$QII. ECH

138. Statements: JOT, T#W, W%RConclusions: I. J#R

II. T%R139. Statements: T # R, R%H, H@F

Conclusions: I. H @ TII. F © T

140. Statements: FOD, D#V, V@PConclusions: I. F©P

II. V#F

Directions (Q. 141-145): In each of these questionsa group of digits is given followed by fourcombinations of letter/ symbol codes numbered (1),(2), (3) & (4). The group of digits is to be coded asper the following scheme and conditions. The serialnumber of the combination that represents thegroup of digits is your answer. If none of thecombinations is correct, your answer is 5), ie ‘Noneof these’.

Digit: 5 1 4 8 9 3 6 2 7 0Letter/Symbol: Q T%# E F $ L W@Conditions:

i. If the first digit is odd and the last digit is even,their I,codes are to be swapped.



ii. If the first as well as the last digit is even bothare to be coded by the code for first digit.

iii. if the first digit is even and the last digit is odd,both are to be coded by the code for odd digit.

141. 431068(1) %FT@$# (2) %FT$@#(3) %FT@$% (4) #FT@$#(5) None of these p

142. 803279(1) E@FLWE (2) #@FLWE(3) #@FLW# (4) E@FLW#(5) None of these

143. 765984(1) W$QE#% (2) W$QE#W(3) %$QE#% (4) %$QE#L(5) None of these

144. 584632(1) Q#%$FL (2) L#$%FQ(3) L#%$QF (4) L#%$FQ(5) None of these

145. 384695(1) F#%$EF (2) F#%$EQ(3) Q#%$EQ (4) Q#%$EF(5) None of these

Directions (Q. 146-150): Study the followinginformation carefully to answer these questions.Seven friends H, I, J, K, V, W and X study differentdisciplines, viz. Arts, Commerce, Science,Engineering, Architecture, Management andPharmacy, not necessarily in the same order. Each ofthem belongs to a different state, viz Andhra Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala,Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, but not necessarily inthe same order.J studies Engineering and does not belong to eitherUttar Pradesh or Punjab. The one who belongs toMadhya Pradesh does not study Architecture orPharmacy. H belongs to Maharashtra. V belongs toKerala and studies Science. The one who belongs toAndhra Pradesh studies Commerce. K studiesManagement and X studies Arts. I belongs to

Karnataka and does not study Architecture. The onewho studies Arts does not belong to Punjab.

146. Who studies Architecture?(1) V (2) X (3) W(4) Cannot be determined(5) None of these

147. Which of the following combination of stateand subject is correct?(1) Uttar Pradesh-Arts(2) Uttar Pradesh-Science(3) Kerala-Management(4) Punjab-Science(5) None of these

148. Which subject is studied by I?(1) Arts (2) Commerce(3) Pharmacy (4) Management(5) None of these

149. Who belongs to Madhya Pradesh?(1) W (2) J (4) X(4) X (5) None of these

150. W belongs to which state?(1) Kerala(2) Madhya Pradesh(3) Uttar Pradesh(4) Andhra Pradesh(5) None of these

Directions (Q. 151-155): Below in each questionare given two statements (A) and (B). Thesestatements may be either independent causes or maybe effects of independent causes or a commoncause. One of these statements may be the effect ofthe other statement. Read both the statements anddecide which of the following answer choicescorrectly depicts the relationship between these twostatements.Mark answer (1) if statement (A) is the cause and

statement (B) is its effect.Mark answer (2) if statement (B) is the cause and

statement (A) is its effect.Mark answer (3) if both the statements (A) and (B)

are independent causes.Mark answer (4) if both the statements (A) and (B)



are effects of independentcauses.

Mark answer (5) if both the statements (A) and (B)are effects of some commoncause.

151. A. The State Education Board has decided todo away with preparing merit lists for SSCand HSC examinations.

B. A large number of students scored very highmarks in the recently held SSC examination.

152. A. The State Government decided to grantpermission for opening more junior collegesin the state.

B. Percentage of qualified students in SSCexamination was higher this year comparedto the past few years.

153. A. Increase in rainfall and rising flood situationsare regular phenomena for past few years.

B. People avoid going out in heavy rains.154. A.The health department has advised people

to drink boiled and filtered water andmaintain hygiene during the monsoon.

B. The health department has instructed the civichospitals to equip themselves with adequatestock of medicines during monsoon.

155. A.The Government has made it compulsory towear a helmet for the riders of two-wheelers.

B. The number of cases of road accidentinvolving two-wheelers has been increasingevery year.

Directions (Q. 156-160): In making decisions aboutimportant questions, it is desirable to be able todistinguish between “strong” arguments and“weak” arguments. “Strong” arguments must beboth important and directly related to the question.“Weak” arguments may not be directly related tothe question and may be of minorimportance or maybe related to the trivial aspects of the question.Each question below is followed by two argumentsnumbered I and II. You have to decide which of thearguments is a “strong” argument and which is a“weak” argument.Give answer (1) if only argument I is strong.Give answer (2) if only argument II is strong.

Give answer (3) if either argument I or II isstrong.

Give answer (4) if neither argument I nor IIis strong.

Give answer (5) if both arguments I and II arestrong.

156. Should the major part of school examinationsbe made objective-type?Arguments: I. No, objective-type exami-

nation does not test thestudents’ ability to express.

II. Yes, this is the best methodof assessing one’s abilityand knowledge.

157. Should the Government service in rural areasat least for two years after completion ofgraduation be made compulsory for the studentsof medicine?Arguments: I. Yes, it is everyone’s duty to

serve the people in ruralareas and contribute to theirupliftment.

II. No, it cannot be appliedonly to the medicinestudents since anyways theyare contributing during theirstudies and particularly inthe period of internship.

158. Should all the factories in the cities be shiftedto the outskirts, far away from the main city?Arguments: I. Yes, this is an essential step

for controlling pollution inthe city.

II. No, such a step will lead tolot of inconvenience to theemployees of the factoriesand their families as well.

159. Should the practice of rewarding high scoresbe stopped to handle frustration among themoderate scorers?Arguments: I. No, it is necessary to

motivate the high scorersand reward is one of the bestways of motivating.



II. Yes, too much appreciationfor high scores affects themoderate students advers-ely at times leading toextreme situations.

160. Should there be a total ban on use of plasticbags?Arguments: I. No, instead the thickness of

plastic bags, which can beused without much damageto the environment, shouldbe specified.

II. Yes, use of plastic bagscauses various problemslike water pollution andwater-logging and hence itis necessary to ban it.

Directions (Q. 161-170): For recruitingManagement Trainees in an organisation, thefollowing criteria have been laid down. Thecandidate must:

(a) be a first-class graduate in Commerce with atleast 65% marks.

(b) have secured at least 70% marks in SSC.(c) be not more than 26 years and not less than 21

years of age as on 1.8.2007.(d) have secured at least 60% marks in selection

test. (e) have secured at least 50% marks inselection interview.

However, if a candidate fulfils all the above-mentioned criteria except

(i) at (a) above but is an Economics graduate withat least 70% marks, the case may be referredto the GM of the organisation.

(ii) (n) at (e) above but has secured at least 40%marks in selection interview and at least 70%marks in selection test, the case may be referredto the President of the organisation.

In each of the questions below, information of onecandidate is given. You have to take one of thefollowing five decisions based on tho information

provided and the criteria and conditions givenabove. You are not to assume anything other thanthe information provided in each question. All thesecases are given to you as on 1.08.2007. You have toindicate your decision by marking answers to eachquestion as follows:Give Answer (1) if the candidate is to be selected.Give Answer (2) if the candidate is not to be selected.Give Answer (3) if the case is to be referred to GM.Give Answer (4) if the case is to be referred to

President.Give Answer (5) if the data is inadequate to decide

the course of action.161. Abhishek has passed degree examination in

Commerce with Economics as one of thesubjects in first class with 68% marks in 2006at the age of 22 years. His marks ‘n SSC was73%. He has cleared the selection test with 64%marks and selection interview with 62% marks.

162. Sharad Bhatia has passed B Com in first classwith 69% marks and SSC with 78% marks. Hejoined a private organisation as an Officer inJun 2005 immediately after completing 23 yearsof age. He has scored 65% marks in selectiontest and 48% marks in selection interview.

163. Priyanka Ghate has passed graduation in Artswith specialisation in Economics in first classwith 75% marks. Her date of birth is 8.7.1985.She had scored 89% marks in SSC, 63% inselection interview and 61% marks in selectiontest.

164. Rakesh has passed SSC with 85% marks andgraduation in Arts with specialisation inEconomics with 72% marks. His date of birthis 12.6.1985. He has scored 65% marks inselection test as well as in interview.

165. Sarita Dere is a postgraduate in Commercepassed in first class with 62% marks. Her scorein SSC was 75%. She completed 23 years ofage on 23rd December, 2006. She has scored64% marks in selection test and 55% marks inselection interview.



166. Ashish Gharpure is a Commerce graduatepassed out in Jun 2006, at the age of 21 yearswith 72% marks and first class. Presently he ispursuing his postgraduation in Economics. Hehad scored 82% marks in SSC. He has clearedthe selection test with 67% marks and selectioninterview with 56% marks.

167. Radhika has passed BA examination withspecialisation in Economics securing 76%marks and first class. She had topped her classin SSC examination with 82% marks. She hascompleted 24 years of age on 25th May, 2007.She cleared the selection test with 66% marksand the selection interview with 54% marks.

168. Ashwini is a B Com passed in first class with68% marks. She had scored 75% marks in SSC.Her date of birth is 14.9.1984. She had clearedthe selection test with 74% marks and selectioninterview with 45% marks.

169. Rajesh is a graduate and postgraduate inCommerce and has passed both theseexaminations in first class. He had scored 75%marks in SSC. He completed 23 years of ageon 23rd Jun 2007. He has scored 65% marks ininterview as well as selection test.

170. Rashmi is B Com in first class with 62% marksand M Com also in first class with 67% marks.He marks in SSC were 85%. She completed 24years of age on 3rd October 2006. She hasscored 66% marks in selection test and 56%marks in interview.

Directions (Q. 171-175): In each of the questionsgiven below which one of the five answer figureson the right should come after the problemfigures on the left, if the sequesce werecontinued?

171.

.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

172.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

173.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

174.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

175.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

TEST IV: ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Directions (Q. 176-185): Read the following passagecarefully and answer the questions given below it.Certain words/phrases are given in bold to help youlocate them while answering some of the questions.We arne well into the 21th century yet half the world’spopulation live in squatter settlements and work inshadow economies, which generate more than one-third of the developing world’s GDP. Slums are notcaused by the poor but by governments denyingpeople the right to own and exchange property. When



people own their own property they have incentivesto invest time, money and energy to improve itbecause they know that they will be able to benefitfrom any such improvements, ie the ability to obtainmortgages etc. In short, property rights beget capital,which begets is innovation, which begets wealth.Sadly, the poor typically don’t have secure title to theirland as there are bureaucratic restrictions ontransferring title or there is no clear system for titling.Without legal deeds they live in constant fear of beingevicted by landlords or municipal officials. Illiteracyis a major a reason poor people often choose not toseek the protection of local courts since in so manycountries laws established under colonial rule havenever been translated into local languages. Whenentrepreneurs do set out to legally register businessthey are discouraged by red tape and costly fees.In Egypt, starting a bakery takes 500 days, compliancewith 315 laws and 27 times the monthly minimumwage. The proprietors of such businesses cannot getloans, enforce contracts or expand a personal networkof familiar customers and partners. As a result the poorhave no choice but to accept insecurity and instabilityas a way of life.In India severe restrictions on free transfer of propertyin most rural areas inhibit investment and encourageurban flight. Planning policies however discouragebuilding homes for these migrants as numerous homesare destroyed if they do not comply with planningrules, essentially forcing people to live in slums andperversely blaming it on population growth. UNHabitat, the UN agency for housing the poor, hasimplemented more plans to stabilise the unplannedaspects of urban growth but grandiose plans like UNSchemes and government housing projects simplyignore or worsen the underlying problems. It is whengovernments grant people legal means to control theirassets that they empower them to invest and planahead. In Buenos Aires, economists studied theexperience of two Argentine communities. One hadreceived legal title to its land in the 1980s andsurpassed the other group which had not, in a rangeof social indicators including quality of house

construction and education levels. The Commissionon Legal Empowerment of the Poor - a UN - affiliatedinitiative made up of two dozen leaders - is exploringideas to extend enforceable legal r ights toimpoverished members of society and is seeking tobring about a consensus on incentives for national andlocal leaders. As the growth of illegal settlementsamply demonstrates, the poor are not helpless, all theyneed is governments to grant them fundamentalhuman rights of freedom and responsibility.

176. What did the Argentine study indicate?(A) Argentina’s economy is booming and the

percentage of poor has fallen.(B) When the government gives people the

legal means to control their assets theyplan for the future.

(C) The Government succeeded in wideningthe gap between the rich and the poor.

(1) Only (A) (2) Both (A) & (B)(3) Only (B) (4) All (A), (B) &C) (5) None of these

177. According to the author, which of the followingfactors is responsible for the creation of a slum?(1) Migration of landless labourers to cities(2) Municipal authorities building low-cost

housing for the poor(3) Unchecked population growth(4) Government failure to secure property

rights for citizens(5) Exorbitant cost of living in cities

178. The author’s main objective in writing thepassage is to(1) exhort the UN to play a greater role in

rehabilitating slum-dwellers.(2) praise government initiatives for migrant

slum-dwellers.(3) convince governments to empower the

poor.(4) enlist the aid of developed countries to

tackle the issue of slums.



(5) chastise slum-dwellers for illegal activitiesthat they engage in.

179. What benefit does the author see in providingland ownership rights to the poor?(1) Steady increase in GDP(2) Gaining independence from colonial

rulers(3) Municipal services afforded to the poor

will improve.(4) It will be an inheritance for future

generations.(5) None of these

180. Which of the following is TRUE in the contextof the passage?(1) Additional UN projects will exacerbate the

plight of slum-dwellers.(2) Although the government allocates land

for them the poor choose net to invest inbuilding houses.

(3) With the spread of slums populations aredrifting back to rural areas.

(4) In order to accumulate profit slum-dwellers avoid legally registering theirbusiness.

(5) UN has declared the right to housing as afundamental right.

181. What impact do planning policies have on thedevelopment of slums?(1) They encourage the poor to invest in land

thereby perpetuating slums.(2) They focus on developing rural rather than

urban areas so people have to live in slums.(3) They offer alternative practical

suggestions for construction of low-costhousing.

(4) They advocate demolishing homes whichviolate planning rules, encouraging slums.

(5) None of these182. What is the objective of the Commission on

Legal Empowerment of the Poor?

(1) Coerce international leaders to implementhousing projects

(2) Bring sanctions against countries denyingtheir citizens the right to housing

(3) Selecting experts to recommend ideas todo away with poverty

(4) Establish practical ways for governmentsto empower the underprivileged

(5) None of these183. Which of the following difficulties do

unregistered businesses face?(A) Banks do not give loans in the absence of

security.(B) They are unable to earn the loyalty of any

customer.(C) They cannot enforce contracts.(1) Only (A) (2) Both (A) & (C)(3) Both (A) & (B) (4) Only (B)(5) None of these

184. What does the growth of illegal settlementsindicate?(1) The Government needs to implement more

restrictions on property transfer.(2) Capital earned from underground

economies is beneficial to a country’seconomy.

(3) The poor are capable of investingresources in their development.

(4) UN housing projects are not properlyimplemented.

(5) None of these185. Which of the following prevents the poor from

obtaining a business license?(1) They do not want to make an effort.(2) Government officials are discourteous.(3) They lack funds to bribe government

officials.(4) They do not want to pay taxes.(5) They are intimidated by bureaucratic

procedures.



Dirctions (Q. 186-188): Choose the word which ismost nearly the SAME in meaning as the wordprinted in bold as used in the passage.

186. severe(1) acute (2) dangerous(3) bad (4) flexible(5) demanding

187. beget(1) lead (2) produce(3) happens (4) effect(5) result

188. surpassed(1) excel (2) matched(3) outshone (4) won(5) competed

Directions (Q. 189-190): Choose the word which ismost OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printedin bold as used in the passage.

189. perversely(1) reasonably (2) stubbornly(3) conveniently (4) formally(5) helpfully

190. stabilise(1) insecure (2) fixed(3) weaken (4) unsure(5) unreliable

Directions (Q. 191-200): Read each sentence to findout if there is any error in it. The error, if any, willbe in one part of the sentence. The number of thatpart is the answer. If there is no error the answer is5). (Ignore errors in punctuation, if any).

191. The company has launched/a creative1 2

marketing campaign/to reach for/its rural3

4customers. No error

5192. After her retiring / she established many /

1 2

institutions to train / underprivileged but 3 4talented children. No error

5193. Against his family’s wishes/Rajesh plans to

1 2/ take up a job / as a journalist. No error 3 4 5

194. The candidate has appealed / for donations1 2

from younger voters,/who will be used/to 3 4defray campaign expenses. No error

5195. Most of that country’s/hilly land is not only

1 2 / unsuitable for building / but also for

3 4agriculture. No error

5196. It is now/possible for customers/to handle

1 2 3nearly all/their transactions online. No error

4 5197. The minister has / recently announced /

1 2a detail insurance plan to/meet the needs 3 4the poor. No error 5

198. In the circumstance/the manager has/no1 2

option / except to resign. No error3 4

199. On account of / its new investment rules / 1 2more companies are planning/for open its

3 4business in China. No error

5



200. He deserves a lot/of praise for all/the 1 2records he achieves / during his career.

3 4No error. 5

Directions (Q. 201-205): Which of the phrases (1),(2), (3), (4) given below each sentence shouldreplace the phrase printed in bold type to make thesentence grammatically correct? If the sentence iscorrect, mark (5). ie ‘No correction required’, asthe answer.

201. For honour to the social worker on her tenthdeath anniversary the government has planneda series of events.(1) In honouring of (2) With honour(3) The honouring of(4) To honour(5) No correction required

202. He is decided to build a luxury hotel for theconvenience of tourists visiting the ancientmonument.(1) Having decided to(2) He has decided to(3) His decision to(4) Deciding to(5) No correction required

203. Except another restaurants this one offers nodiscounts.(1) Unlike other (2) Beside other(3) Without another (4) Unless other(5) No correction required

204. He made it a rule to arrive early in order toavoid no delay in the presentation.(1) to no delay (2) not to avoid(3) to avoid any delay(4) without avoiding(5) No correction required

205. The so serious challenge to companies face isto retain its younger staff.(1) more serious of challenge to(2) very serious challenge for

(3) most serious challenge(4) quite serious challenge against(5) No correction required

Direcations (Q. 206-210): In each of the followingsentences there are two blank spaces. Below eachfive words have been denoted by numbers (1), (2),(3), (4) and (5). Find out which pair of words canbe filled up in the blanks in the sentence in the samesequence to make the sentence meaningfullycomplete.

206. The___business trips though___at times gavethe executive a unique chance to meetinteresting people.(1) demanding .... memorable(2) frequent .... monotonous(3) crucial .... regular(4) prolonged... .exhausted(5) significant .... influential

207. In order to put an end to the___that existregarding the implementation of the policy thecompany should issue___ guidelines.(1) ambiguities .... clear-cut(2) differences... .cautious(3) burden .... stringent(4) inhibition .... appropriate(5) reservations .... fundamental

208. The government has______that theinfrastructure for the new project must becompleted_____the next six months.(1) stipulated .... for(2) sanction .... by(3) assurance .... in(4) mandated .... within(5) envisage .... during

209. The official not only_____the renewal of thecontract but also_____the information about itsstatus.(1) revealed .... classified(2) withdrawn .... leaked(3) delayed .... withheld(4) interfere .... refused(5) impeded .... excluding



210. To______any tensions in the minds of theemployees and investors alike the company haspromised to consider job cuts as a last______.(1) erase .... effort(2) rid .... hurdle(3) overcome .... decision(4) address ....phase(5) ease.... resort

Directions (Q. 211-215): Rearrange the followingsentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) into ameaningful paragraph and then answer thequestions given below it.

(A) According to conventional wisdom, no amountcan suffice.

(B) In the process of seeking it is money whichunfortunately gets a bad name.

(C) How much money is enough?(D) The modern reasoning is that money coming

in should cover our basic needs.(E) The real culprit, however, is a living thing called

desire, which although it is difficult to, can becontrolled.

(F) However, from the basics of food, clothing andshelter we gradually seek luxury cars andholidays.

211. Which of the following is the FIRST sentenceafter rearrangement?(1) (A) (2) (B) (3) (C)(4) (D) (5) (E)

212. Which of the following is the SIXTH (LAST)sentence after rearrangement?(1) (A) (2) (B) (3) (C)(4) (D) (5) (E)

213. Which of the following is the FIFTH sentenceafter rearrangement?(1) (A) (2) (B) (3) (C)(4) (D) (5) (F)

214. Which of the following is the SECONDsentence after rearrangement?(1) (A) (2) (B) (3) (C)(4) (D) (5) (E)

215. Which of the following is the THIRD sentenceafter rearrangement?(1) (A) (2) (B) (3) (C)(4) (D) (5) (E)

Directions (Q. 216-225): In the following passagethere are blanks each of which has been numbered.These numbers are printed below the passage andagainst each five words have been suggested, oneof which fills the blanks appropriately. Find out theappropriate word in each case.At just (216) midnight on July 1, 1997 in a glitteringand poignant ceremony, Hong Kong passed frombeing a jewel of the British empire to a (217) of anew global power. Hong Kong people (218) theircity’s handover from the UK to China with (219)feelings: apprehension over the future, joy at a freshstart, sadness at seeing the British go, pride overreturning to their motherland. On the eve of thehandover, the stock market index, a key barometer ofHong Kong’s wealth, (220) at a record 15,200 pointsand today it (221) near the 21,000 mark. Being a partof a booming China almost guarantees that HongKong will remain (222). But mainland China is a(223) as well as a partner. China’s new ports, forexample, will siphon trade (224) from Hong Kong andits lower labour costs will impact the jobs. However,there is little doubt that Hong Kong is fortunate tohave become a part of China at a time when mainlandChina can provide (225) opportunity.216. (1) recorded (2) near

(3) close (4) past(5) quite

217. (1) component (2) premises(3) captive (4) merger(5) list

218. (1) encounter (2) decided(3) viewed (4) restraine(5) told

219. (1) flexible (2) emotional(3) mixed (4) changed(5) negative



220. (1) plunged (2) rose(3) valued(4) climbed(5) stood

221. (1) follows (2) pauses(3) fell (4) hovers(5) measure

222. (1) marginalised (2) prosperous(3) orderly (4) friendly(5) poor

223. (1) competitor (2) representative(3) adversary (4) colleague(5) member

224. (1) against (2) away(3) illegally (4) moving(5) through

225. (1) full (2) risky(3) lucky (4) unfair(5) immense

ANSWERS

1. (4) 2. (3) 3. (4) 4. (4) 5. (1) 6. (3) 7. (3) 8. (2) 9. (2) 10. (1)11. (3) 12. (4) 13. (3) 14. (1) 15. (4) 16. (1) 17. (3) 18. (2) 19. (b) 20. (4)21. (1) 22. (4) 23. (d3) 24. (3) 25. (1) 26. (3) 27. (2) 28. (1) 29. (4) 30. (4)31. (3) 32. (4) 33. (1) 34. (4) 35. (3) 36. (2) 37. (1) 38. (3) 39. (2) 40. (4)41. (3) 42. (4) 43. (1) 44. (3) 45. (2) 46. (1) 47. (1) 48. (1) 49. (3) 50. (2)51. (5) 52. (2) 53. (3) 54. (4) 55. (1) 56. (3) 57. (5) 58. (4) 59. (2) 60. (1)61. (3) 62. (4) 63. (2) 64. (5) 65. (3) 66. (1) 67. (4) 68. (2) 69. (5) 70. (1)71. (3) 72. (5) 73. (4) 74. (2) 75. (1) 76. (1) 77. (2) 78. (4) 79. (2) 80. (5)81. (5) 82. (1) 83. (3) 84. (2) 85. (4) 86. (3) 87. (4) 88. (5) 89. (2) 90. (1)91. (2) 92. (3) 93. (5) 94. (3) 95. (5) 96. (2) 97. (4) 98. (4) 99. (1) 100. (1)

101. (4) 102. (5) 103. (2) 104. (1) 105. (3) 106. (5) 107. (3) 108. (2) 109. (4) 110. (2)111. (3) 112. (4) 113. (5) 114. (4) 115. (1) 116. (3) 117. (3) 118. (3) 119. (5) 120. (2)121. (4) 122. (2) 123. (4) 124. (5) 125. (2) 126. (5) 127. (1) 128. (3) 129. (1) 130. (5)131. (5) 132. (2) 133. (4) 134. (1) 135. (3) 136. (5) 137. (4) 138. (1) 139. (1) 140. (2)141. (3) 142. (1) 143. (5) 144. (4) 145. (2) 146. (5) 147. (1) 148. (3) 149. (2) 150. (4)151. (2) 152. (2) 153. (4) 154. (5) 155. (2) 156. (1) 157. (4) 158. (1) 159. (1) 160. (5)161. (1) 162. (2) 163. (3) 164. (3) 165. (5) 166. (1) 167. (3) 168. (4) 169. (5) 170. (2)171. (4) 172. (4) 173. (5) 174. (1) 175. (3) 176. (3) 177. (4) 178. (3) 179. (5) 180. (2)181. (1) 182. (4) 183. (2) 184. (3) 185. (5) 186. (1) 187. (2) 188. (3) 189. (1) 190. (1)191. (3) 192. (1) 193. (1) 194. (3) 195. (3) 196. (5) 197. (3) 198. (4) 199. (4) 200. (3)201. (4) 202. (2) 203. (1) 204. (3) 205. (3) 206. (2) 207. (1) 208. (4) 209. (3) 210. (5)211. (3) 212. (5) 213. (2) 214. (1) 215. (4) 216. (4) 217. (1) 218. (3) 219. (3) 220. (5)221. (4) 222. (2) 223. (1) 224. (2) 225. (5)



HINTS & SOLUTIONS

51.×

= ≈ × ≈

52. ? = 459.008 + 3.0056 × 88.862 ≈ 459 + 3 × 89 = 459 + 267 = 726

53. ? = (444% of 531) ÷ 972≈ (440 % of 531) ÷ 972≈ (4.4 × 531)+ 972≈ 2300 ÷ 970 ≈ 2.5

54. ? = (9321 + 5406 + 1001) ÷ (498 + 929 + 660)= 15728 + 2087 ≈ 7.5

55. ? = (621.52)2 ≈ (621.5)2

≈ 386.262 ≈ 386 30056. The series is : +23, +46, +69, +92, +...57. The series is:

23 × 1 + 2 = 2525 × 2 + 3 = 53

53 × 3 + 4 = 163163 × 4 + 5 = 657657 × 5 + 6 = 32913291 × 6 + 7 = 19753

58. The series is:×l, ×5, ×9, ×13, ×17, ×21

59. The series is:14, 24, 34, 44, 54, 64, 74

(= 2401)60. The series is:

12 × 1 = 1212 × 1.5 = 1818 × 2.5 = 4545 × 4 = 180180 × 6.5 = 11701170 × 10.5 = 12285Note that each multiplier is the sum of the twoprevious multipliers.

61. [(130)2] ÷ 25 × 15] ÷ 30

= ×

= = =×

63. 38 + 16 × 0.838 + 12.8 = 50.8

64. (?)2 = 25600 – 8100 – 7191– 4225 = 6084

∴ ? = = 78

115. = =×

66. ? = ÷ ÷

= = = =÷ ÷

67. ?=2116 + 692 – 1111 = 169768. ? = 9.64869. ? = 6.5% of 375 – 0.85% of 230

= 6.5 × 3.75 – 0.85 × 2.3 = 24.375 – 1.955= 22.42

70. ? = (13)54 – 51 = (13)3 = 219771. Required %

= ×

× = =

72. Required average

= + + + + +

= =

73. Required diff = (112 – 78) crores= 34 crores = 34 × 107

76. Two products (A and E) are showing more-than-double price in 2006 as compared to 2002.Clearly, the percentage increase is more forproduct A.

77. Average price

= + + + + +

=



= 61.67So, the shopkeeper bought products B and Donly.

78. Required difference = Rs(45 – 25) × 3475 =Rs 69,500

79. Product ‘C’ shows the least change (Rs 5 perkg) from 2002 to 2004.

80. % profit =× − ×

××

= −

× ≈

81. Expenditure of the company= 120 – 70 = 50 cr

∴ % Profit = × =140%

82. Reqd ratio = (85 + 30) : 85 = 15:85 = 23:17


+ + + + + = ≈ cr

84. Reqd exp= 95 cr – 40 cr = 55 cr= 55 × 107

85. Reqd % = −× =

86. Reqd men = =


= ( ) ( )

( )× − + + ×

− +

= −

= =

88. Cost Price = Rs + = Rs 450

89. Total share of B and D together

= Rs ( ) + = −

90. ? = × = × ×

= × = × =

91. 30% of 70% of of 3500

92. 75% of total amount= 55, 475 + 28525 = 84000

Total amount = 8400

= Rs 1,12,000

93. Ratio of their shares= 42×12:57 × 8= 14 × 12:19 × 8= 21:19Required difference in shares

= ( )× −+

= Rs 1300

94. The number = 19 × 5 = 95

Reqd answer = 42% of 95 = ×

= 39.995. Total no. of sweets

= (15% of 80) × (80) = × × = 960

96. Rate of interest = ×

=×

After compounding 12% for 3 years, theequivalent rate of simple interest = 40.4928%Now, (12 × 3 =) 36% = 5580

∴ 40.4928% = ×

= Rs 6276.384Note: Remember that at the rate of 12% thedifference in SI and CI after 3 years= 40.4928 – 36 = 4.4928% of Principal



97. × − × = − =

98.+

=+

⇒ 128x + 160 = 143x + 130101. SAINT, SATIN and STAIN.102. All others are forms of vegetation.103. B A K E F I R

5 7 9 6 3 1 4∴ FEAR ⇒ 3674

104. The letters are E, R, M, A and C. And the onlymeaningful word obtained from these letters isCREAM.

105. Given set: 376 438 476 389 567 Afterinterchanging digits: 736 348 746 839 657 Indescending order: 839 746 736 657 348

107. Since only Q reached after R and S, he must bethe last person to reach.

108. 40 ÷ 360 × 24 – 4 + 18⇒ 40 + 360 ÷ 24 × 4 – 18= 40 + 60 – 18 = 82

110. All others are stationery items that workmechanically.

111. Given number:3 7 5 4 8 6Rearranged number: 3 4 5 6 7 8

112. All others are prime numbers.113. 2nd to the right of 6th from the right

= (6 – 2 =) 4th from the right in CATORLUBRI = U

116. In all others the third element precedes thesecond in the given arrangement.

117. The corresponding element in each term is fourpositions after that in the previous term.

118. UandE.119. 6th to the right of 14th from the right _ (14 – 6

= ) 8th from the right = V

120. Dropping the digits, the arrangement becomesH I $ K J % L A T @ F U # V P E * D

121. 7, 4 and 8.123. All books are magazines + Some magazines are

notebooks = A + I = No conclusion. Hence Idoes not follow. Some magazines are notebooks+ Some notebooks are papers = I + I = Noconclusion. Hence II does not follow.

124. Some pearls are stones + All stones are bricks= I + A = I = Some pearls are bricks. Hence ifollows. Again, Some pearls are bricks + AI Ibricks are walls = I + A = I = Some pearls arewalls. Hence II follows.

125. Some oranges are grapes + All grapes arebananas = I + A = I = Some oranges are bananas.Hence 11 follows. Again, Some apples areoranges + Some oranges are bananas = I + I =No conclusion. Hence I does not follow.

126. All mobiles are phones + All phones arecomputers = A + A = A = All mobiles arecomputers. Hence I follows. All phones arecomputers + All computers are scanners = A +A =A= All phones are scanners. Hence IIfollows.

127. All bags are trunks + All trunks are drawers =A + A = A = All bags are drawers. Hence Ifollows. All bags are trunks (A) → conversion→ Some trunks are bags (I). Hence II does notfollow.

128. Some buses are scooters + No scooter is a train= I + E = 0 = Some buses are not trains. Fromthis I or II does not follow. However, they forman E-I complementary pair. Hence either I or IImust follow.

129. Some wheels are sofa sets + All sofa sets arecupboards = I + A = I = Some wheels arecupboards. Hence I follows. Some chairs arewheels + Some-wheels are sofa sets = I + I =No conclusion. Hence II does not follow.

130. Some coins are notes + All notes are cards = I +A = I = Some coins are cards. Hence I follows.



All notes are cards + All cards are plastics = Allnotes are plastics. Hence II follows.

136. L:5 K ... (i); K < M ... (ii); J > M... (iii)Combining all, we get L S K< M!9 J. Hence L <M and I follows. Again, K < J and II follows.

137. E s W ...(i) ; W< Q ... (ii); Q > H ...(iii).From (i) and (ii), E 5 W < Q or E < Q ... (iv).Hence I does not follow. Again, from (iv) and(iii), E and H can’t be compared. Hence II doesnot follow.

138. J = T ... (i); T > W ... (ii); W > R ...(iii)Combining all, we get J = T > W ? R. Hence J> R and so I follows.Also, T > R and so II does not follow

139. T > R ... (i); R > H ...(ii) ; H < F ...(iii)From (i) and (ii), T > R 2 H or H < T. Hence Ifollows.But from I and (iii) F and T can’t be compared.Hence II does not follow.

140. F = D ... (i); D > V ... (ii); V < P ...(iii) From (i)and (ii), F = D > V or V < F. Hence II follows.But from II and (iii) F and P can’t be compared.Hence I does not follow.

151. High marks have become so commonplace thatmerit lists have lost their meaning.

152. The large number of SSC qualifiers has necessitatedthe opening of more junior colleges.

153. A is the effect of some climate change. But B issomething that has been happening since timeimmemorial.

154. Both the statements have been necessitated bya common cause: the fear of outbreak ofdiseases during monsoon.

155. The increase in accidents again and again hasled the govt to strike a cautionary note.

156. 1 is strong: the ability to express givesroundness to one’s education. II is weakbecause to call a method “the best” withoutgiving any reason is a simplistic assertion.

157. I is weak because it is not true. You can’t sweep“everyone” with the same brush. II isambiguous. It first says,” it cannot be appliedonly to the medicine students.” But theremaining part of the argument has got nothingto do with this only.

158. I is strong because pollution control is highlydesirable. II is weak. There may be someinconvenience initially but in fact their familieswould live better lives in the outskirts.

159. I is strong as motivation is a desirable action.II is weak as it is superfluous. It is simplyrestating the question.

160. I is strong as it takes a wise, reconciliatoryapproach to the problem. II is also strongbecause water pollution, etc may severely harmmankind.

Q.No. Name a/(i) (b) (c) (d) (e)/(iii)

161. Abhishek ü ü ü ü ü

162. Sharad ü ü ü ü ×

163. Priyanka (ü) ü ü ü ü

164. Rakesh (ü) ü ü ü ü

165. Sarita — ü ü (ü) ü

166. Ashish ü ü ü ü ü

167. Radhika (ü) ü ü ü ü

168. Ashwini — ü ü ü (ü)

179. Rajesh ü ü ü ü ü

170. Rashmi × ü ü ü ü

171. In the first step the left-column elementsinterchange places. The element coming tolower left rotates by 90° ACW while the right-column elements remains static. In the nextstep upper-row elements interchange placesand the element coming to the upper-leftposition rotates by 90° CW. The lower-rightelement gets inverted in alternate steps.



172. In each step one of the end elements alternatelyon each end remains static while others shiftone step towards the other end in cyclic order.The line of orientation itself rotates by 45°ACW.

173. In each step the elements shift half-a-side ACWwhile a new element is added on ACW end.The CW-end element is also replaced by a newone.

174. The whole figure rotates by 90° and 45° CWalternately while the shifting takes place shiftsfrom corner to centre and then to next ACWcorner.

175. In each step three elements shift one stepACW in cyclic order while the fourth one isreplaced by a new one. The process isrepeated twice with the same set of elements.

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