'The Cities and Biodiversity Outlook' report 2012

The "Cities and Biodiversity Outlook" (CBO) consists of a global assessment of the links between urbanization, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Combining science and policy, scientists from around the world analyze how urbanization and urban growth impacts biodiversity and ecosystems; deliver key messages on the conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources to decision-makers. With the world’s urban area set to triple during 2000 and 2030, growing urbanization will have significant implications on biodiversity if the current trend continues. According to a new assessment made by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, over 60 per cent of the land projected to become urban by 2030 is yet to be built. The assessment has been drawn by the contributions from more than 123 scientists’ worldwide. This presents a major opportunity to greatly improve global sustainability by promoting low-carbon, resource-efficient urban development that can reduce adverse effects on biodiversity and improve quality of life. The report states that urban expansion is occurring fast in areas close to biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and coastal zones. In rapidly urbanizing regions, such as large and mid-size settlements in sub-Saharan Africa, India and China, resources to implement sustainable urban planning are often lacking. The report made a strong argument for greater attention to be paid by urban planners and managers to the nature-based assets within city boundaries. Sustainable urban development that supports valuable ecosystems presents a major opportunity for improving lives and livelihoods, and accelerating the transition to an inclusive green economy. Cities are also increasingly recognized for their role in supporting plant and animal species and diverse ecosystems. For example, over 50 percent of Belgium’s floral species can be found in Brussels, while 65 percent of Poland’s bird species occur in Warsaw. Urban green spaces perform important ecosystem services, such as filtering dust, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and improving air quality. Data from the United Kingdom shows that a 10 percent increase in tree canopy cover in cities may result in a 3-4°C decrease in ambient temperature, thus reducing energy used in air conditioning. Urban biodiversity also delivers important health benefits. Studies have shown that proximity to trees can reduce the prevalence of childhood asthma and allergies. Sustainable urban planning, which addresses biodiversity issues along with other priorities such as poverty alleviation, employment, and housing, can bring positive effects for health and the environment. Cities need to learn how to better protect and enhance biodiversity, because rich biodiversity can exist in cities and is extremely critical to people’s health and well-being.

UN State of the World's Cities Report-2012

UN-Habitat has launched the State of World's Cities Report 2012/2013. Titled 'The Prosperity of Cities', the report recommends that those engaged in development work need to explore a more inclusive notion of prosperity and development. According to the report there was an urgent need for a shift in attention around the world in favour of a more robust notion of development. – one that looks beyond the narrow domain of economic growth that has dominated ill-balanced policy agendas over the last decades, and includes other vital dimensions such as quality of life, adequate infrastructures, equity and environmental sustainability. “In this Report, UN-Habitat advocates for a new type of city – the city of the 21st century – that is a good people centred city. CHARACTERISTICS OF CITY OF THE 21ST CENTURY: a) Reduces disaster risks and vulnerabilities for the poor and build resilience to adverse forces of nature. b) Creates harmony between the five dimensions of prosperity and enhances the prospects for a better future. c) Stimulates local job creation, promotes social diversity, maintains a sustainable environment and recognizes the importance of public spaces. d) Comes with a change of pace, profile and urban functions and provides the social, political and economic conditions of prosperity. In order to measure present and future progress of cities towards the prosperity path, UN-Habitat introduces a new tool - the CITY PROSPERITY INDEX- together with a conceptual matrix, the WHEEL OF PROSPERITY, both of which are meant to assist decision makers to design clear policy interventions. THE CITY PROSPERITY INDEX (CPI): a) Includes 5 dimensions of prosperity: productivity, infrastructure, quality of life, equity and environmental sustainability. b) Enables decision-makers to identify opportunities and potential areas along the path of prosperity. THE WHEEL OF PROSPERITY: a) Ensures the prevalence of public over any other kind of interest. b) Controls the direction and pace of city growth towards prosperity. INDIAN SITUATION Mumbai and Delhi figure among 95 world cities identified by the United Nations as those moving towards prosperity, but the two Indian metropolis are just "half-way" to achieving it with the reasons being poor infrastructure and environment conditions among others. The report places Mumbai at the 52nd position and New Delhi at 58th among the world cities, though two Chinese cities - Shanghai and Beijing - figure much above. Two Indian cities come under the Group 4 and they are in the medium level (of prosperity). Prosperity is not just the economic prosperity, but the kind of infrastructure and the quality of life in the city. Both the cities have been penalised for poor environment conditions, especially New Delhi. The report also praises the IT revolution that Bangalore has been able to achieve and calls Hyderabad as the pharmaceutical capital of India. On ICTs criteria in Asian cities Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai feature mobile telephone connection rates of 138 per cent, 112 per cent, 102 per cent and 143 per cent respectively. The report also noted that cities in India are fast expanding at the cost of rural areas and pitched for a policy for use of land in cities.

INDIA - NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION COUNCIL MEET

India and New Zealand signed five Memoranda of Understanding in the different fields of education. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal and New Zealand's Minister for Tertiary, Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce during the first meeting of the India-New Zealand Education Council. The Council has been constituted to draw up a framework and devise mechanisms of co-operation and set the agenda for improving educational relations between the two countries. India and New Zealand expressed their commitment to earmark US $ 1 million annually to enhance the cooperative activities through specific programmes designed by the India-New Zealand Education Council. The programmes will include joint research, student mobility, faculty development, qualifications framework as well as vocational education and training, among others. Six MoUs of cooperation between different institutions were signed during the meet: a) MoU between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of the Republic of India and Sport New Zealand of the Government of New Zealand on Cooperation in the field of Sports. The objectives of this MoU are to encourage and promote an exchange of programmes, experiences, skills, techniques, information and knowledge. b) Educational Partnership Agreement between University of Delhi, India and Massy University New Zealand. The MoU covers: Joint teaching (Including online, blended and distance education); Joint Quality Enhancement (Including benchmarking and academic development); Exchange of publications, academic material and students. c) Memorandum of collaboration between Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India and the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. Objectives of the partnership are: I. To establish a network of partnership for vocational education through distance education II. Sharing of experiences through communication of faculty III. Develop strategies for design development and implementation of Under Graduate and Post graduate programmes with entry and exit point. IV. Develop joint R&D project collaborations V. Create avenues for ICT enabled education VI. Establish interface learner space d) MoU between Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand and Jawahar Lal Nehru University of India to  Exchange of faculty members, students and conduct Joint Research activities and Joint Cultural Programmes. e) MoU between Waiariki Institute of Technology of New Zealand and Punjab Technical University, India for developing opportunities for fee paying  students to pathway onto Waiariki qualifications and/or obtain credit for courses towards a qualification at the Punjab Technical University The members of the Council recognized skill development, especially catering to the needs of the industry and keeping  pace with the exponential growth in global mobility of workforce, as one of the major challenges facing the two countries and pledged further collaboration. The mobility of students and workforce also necessitates parity in qualifications between various countries and therefore, the Council suggested early recognition of each other’s educational qualifications by India and New Zealand. The Council also noted the need to set up more institutions of excellence, for which enhancement of the quality of faculty is a key challenge. It was also agreed to collaborate in the Tribal Studies and preservation of languages, culture and traditional crafts.

APPSC POLYTECHNIC LECTURERS G.S. PAPER 2007

UPSC CIVILS 2012 ESSAY (COMPULSORY) QUESTION PAPER

Write an Essay  on any one of the following topics?    200 Marks



1.     In the Context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter,  explore on an evalutionary scale, the terms Swadhinata, Swaraj, and Dharmarajya. Critically  Comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian Democracy.


2.     Is the Criticism  that the ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model for development is more of  a bane that a boon in the Indian context, Justified?


3.     Science and Mysticism : Are they Compatible?


4.     Managing work and home - is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal?

CURRENT NEWS & EVENTS OCTOBER 2012

CURRENT NEWS & EVENTS SEPTEMBER 2012

British Writer Hilary Mantel won Booker Prize for Second Time

British Writer Hilary Mantel on 16 October 2012 won the prestigious literary prize, the Booker Prize for her novel Bring up the Bodies, the second in a historical trilogy set during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Hilary Mantel had earlier won the Booker prize in 2009 for "Wolf Hall," the first novel in the trilogy.

Hilary Mantel is the third author to win the prize twice, alongside South-African-born J.M. Coetzee and Australian Peter Carey. With this she also became the first British author, and the first woman, to achieve a double Booker Prize.

Bring Up the Bodies” is also the first sequel to win the prize. Bring up the Bodies and Wolf Hall are parts of a planned trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, the powerful and ambiguous chief minister to King Henry VIII.

Hilary Mantel beat five other shortlisted books to take the prize.  She was the Bookies favourite, although Britain's Will Self was also considered a strong contender for the century-spanning stream of consciousness "Umbrella."

Indian poet Jeet Thayil was also nominated for his first novel, "Narcopolis," set among heroin addicts in 1970s and 80s Mumbai, and Britain's Alison Moore for "The Lighthouse," about a middle-aged man's life-changing ferry trip to Germany.

Man Booker Prize:

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and success.

The selection process for the winner of the prize commences with the formation of an advisory committee which includes an author, two publishers, a literary agent, a bookseller, a librarian, and a chairperson appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation.

Sachin Tendulkar to be awarded Order of Australia membership

Sachin Tendulkar is set to another feather to his already crowded cap as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on October 16 announced that the iconic Indian cricketer will be conferred the membership of the Order of Australia, an honour “rarely” awarded to non-Australians.

Sachin Tendulkar will become only the second Indian after former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee to get the honour. Mr. Sorabjee was made an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for service to Australia-India bilateral legal relations” in 2006.

Tendulkar is not the first cricketer to be made an Order of Australia AM as in 2009, West Indies legend Brian Lara was also made an honorary member.

Another West Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, is an Honorary Officer in the Order of Australia, having been conferred the award way back in 1985.

The right-handed Tendulkar, considered the finest batsman in contemporary cricket, has 15,533 runs in 190 Tests besides a mammoth 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs.

US duo Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley win Nobel Prize in economics

Americans Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley were awarded the Nobel economics prize  for research that helps explain the market processes at work when doctors are assigned to hospitals, students to schools and human organs for transplant to recipients.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the two economists for "the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design".

Roth, 60, is a professor at Harvard University in Boston. Shapley, 89, is a professor emeritus at University of California Los Angeles.

"This year's prize concerns a central economic problem: how to match different agents as well as possible," the academy said.

Shapley made early theoretical contributions to the field of study, and Roth took it further by applying it to the market for US doctors. 

The economics prize was created by the Swedish central bank in Nobel's memory in 1968, and has been handed out with the other prizes ever since. Each award is worth 8 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million.  

Recent winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and their research: 

2012- Americans Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design.

2011- Americans Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims for their research on cause and effect in the macro economy.

2010- Americans Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides, of Britain and Cyprus, for their analysis of markets with search frictions.

2009- Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson for their analysis of economic governance.

2008- American Paul Krugman for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.

2007- Americans Leonid Hurwicz, Eric S. Maskin and Roger B. Myerson for laying the foundations of mechanism design theory.

2006- American Edmund S. Phelps for furthering the understanding of the trade-offs between inflation and its effects on unemployment.

2005- Robert J. Aumann, of Israel and the United States, and American Thomas C. Schelling, for their work in game-theory analysis.

2004- Finn E. Kydland, Norway, and Edward C. Prescott, United States, for their contribution to dynamic macroeconomics.

2003- Robert F. Engle, United States, and Clive W.J. Granger, Britain, for their use of statistical methods for economic time series.

2002- Daniel Kahneman, United States and Israel, and Vernon L. Smith, United States, for pioneering the use of psychological and experimental economics in decision—making.

2001- George A. Akerlof, A. Michael Spence and Joseph E. Stiglitz, United States, for research into how the control of information affects markets.

2000- James J. Heckman and Daniel L. McFadden, United States, for their work in developing theories to help analyze labor data and how people make work and travel decisions.

1999- Robert A. Mundell, Canada, for innovative analysis of exchange rates that helped lay the intellectual groundwork for Europe’s common currency.

1998- Amartya Sen, India, for contributions to welfare economics, which help explain the economic mechanisms underlying famines and poverty.

1997- Robert C. Merton and Myron S. Scholes, United States, for developing a formula for the valuation of stock options.

Global Hunger Report 2012 released- India ranked at 65th position

The report on Global Hunger Index for seventh year was released on 11 October 2012 by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide. The basic theme of the report for the 2012 Global Hunger Index -- The Challenge of Hunger: Ensuring Sustainable Food Security under Land, Water, and Energy Stresses.

IFPRI that calculated the global hunger Index analysed the measures based upon multidimensional angles. The published report have shown a proportional growth in hunger reduction of people worldwide but recorded the progress speed was tragically slow and alarming.

The report in its findings recorded twenty countries across the world mainly from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to be highly alarming and have highest level of hunger, and showcased the sufferings of millions of poor.

As per the report, the nations that had showcased an absolute progress between 1990 Global Hunger Index to 2012 Global Hunger Index were Bangladesh, Angola, Malawi, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Niger, and Vietnam. Whereas there are 15 countries that have managed to reduce it by 50 percent or more. As per the report, India instead of its fast paced economic growth in past two decades has lagged behind in improving its record in Global Hunger Index chart. In the list of 79 countries in the global Hunger Index, India was ranked 65th behind China that was placed at 2nd place position, Pakistan at 57th and Sri Lanka at 37th position.

The report also points out the three countries Bangladesh, India and Timor-Leste constitutes to the highest occurrence of underweight children under the age group of five years, which records to more than 40 percent in each country. India was ranked second with 43.5 percent of the children less than five underweight in the list of the 129 countries compared for underweight child, after Timor-Leste. Countries like Ethiopia, Niger, Nepal and Bangladesh followed the chart.

The report also complained about the lack and absence of an up-to-date data and information in case of India for the ineffectiveness of Indian Government’s nutrition relevant social programmes. India’s expenditure on Nutrition-related schemes for 2012-13 states that there is not a problem of resources in this case.

India’s investments in the schemes are:

•    Mid Day Meal - 11,937 crore rupees
•    Food Subsidy - 60, 573 crore rupees
•    ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) - 15,850 crore rupees
•    MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) - 33,000 crore rupees

Whereas the surveys done during 2005-06 proved the health indicators of India to be poor with 36 percent of Indian women during their child bearing age were underweight and 43.5 percent of the children under age of 5 were underweight.

European Union wins Nobel Peace Prize

The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to promote peace and democracy in Europe despite being in the midst of its biggest crisis since the bloc was created in the 1950s.

The Norwegian prize committee said the EU received the award for six decades of contributions “to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. 

The EU rose from the ashes of World War II, born of the conviction that ever-closer economic ties would make sure that century-old enemies never turned on each other again. It’s now made up of 500 million people in 27 nations, with other nations lined up, waiting to join.

The idea of a united Europe began to take on a more defined shape when, on May 9, 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed that France and the Federal Republic of Germany pool their coal and steel resources in a new organization that other European countries could join.

“Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners,” the committee said.

The citation also noted the democratic conditions the EU has demanded of all those nations waiting to join, referred to Greece and Spain when they joined the 1980, and to the countries in Eastern Europe who sought EU membership after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

The prize focused on the EU’s historical role as a builder of peace at a time when the union’s existence is under challenge from the financial crisis that has stirred deep tensions between north and south and when there are questions about the form in which the EU will survive.

“The EU is currently undergoing grave economic difficulties and considerable social unrest,” Jagland said. “The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EU’s most important result- the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for democracy and human rights.

Chinese author Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Chinese author Mo Yan has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature. The Swedish Academy praised his work which "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".Mo Yan is the first Chinese resident to win the prize. Chinese-born Gao Xingjian was honoured in 2000, but is a French citizen. Mo is the 109th recipient of the prestigious prize, won last year by Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer. Presented by the Nobel Foundation, the award - only given to living writers - is worth 8 million kronor (£741,000).

Born Guan Moye, the author writes under the pen name Mo Yan, which means "don't speak" in Chinese. He began writing while a soldier in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and received international fame in 1987 for Red Sorghum: A Novel of China. Made into a film which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988, the novella was a tale of the brutal violence in the eastern China countryside where he grew up during the 1920s and 1930s. Favouring to write about China's past rather than contemporary issues, the settings for Mo's works range from the 1911 revolution, Japan's wartime invasion and Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Mo's other acclaimed works include Republic of Wine, Life And Death Are Wearing Me Out and Big Breasts and Wide Hips. The latter book caused controversy when it was published in 1995 for its sexual content and depicting a class struggle contrary to the Chinese Communist Party line. The author was forced by the PLA to withdraw it from publication although it was pirated many times. After it was translated into English a decade later, the book won him a nomination for the Man Asian Literary Prize. Despite his social criticism Mo is seen in his homeland as one of the foremost contemporary authors, however critics have accused him of being too close to the Communist Party.

Americans Lefkowitz, Kobilka win Nobel chemistry prize for work on protein receptors

Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry on October 10 for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals. Such studies are key for developing better drugs.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the two researchers had made groundbreaking discoveries on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors.

About half of all medications act on these receptors, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs.

The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, which let it respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and vision.

Dr. Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Kobilka, 57, is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. 

The academy said it was long a mystery how cells interact with their environment and adapt to new situations, such as when adrenaline increases blood pressure and makes the heart beat faster. Scientists suspected that cell surfaces had some type of receptor for hormones.

Using radioactivity, Dr. Lefkowitz managed to unveil receptors including the receptor for adrenaline, and started to understand how it works. Dr. Kobilka’s work helped researchers realize that there is a whole family of receptors that look alike a family that is now called G-protein-coupled receptors. 

The Nobel Prizes were established in the will of 19th century Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Each award is worth 8 million kronor, or about $1.2 million. The awards are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896. 

Haroche, Wineland win Nobel prize for physics

Frenchman Serge Haroche and American David Wineland have won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics for inventing and developing methods for observing tiny quantum particles without destroying them.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the two scientists on Tuesday “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.”

“Their ground-breaking methods have enabled this field of research to take the very first steps towards building a new type of super fast computer based on quantum physics,” the academy said. “The research has also led to the construction of extremely precise clocks that could become the future basis for a new standard of time.”

This year’s Nobel Prize announcements got under way on Monday with the medicine prize going to stem cell pioneers John Gurdon of Britain and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka. Each award is worth 8 million kronor, or about $1.2 million. 

British, Japanese scientists win Nobel Prize for stem cell research

Two scientists from different generations won the Nobel Prize in medicine on October 8 for the groundbreaking discovery that cells in the body can be reprogrammed to become completely different kinds, potentially opening the door to growing customized tissues for treatments. 

The work of British researcher John Gurdon and Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka who was born the year Mr. Gurdon made his discovery has raised hopes of developing transplant tissue to treat diseases like Parkinson’s and diabetes. And it has spurred a new generation of laboratory studies into other diseases, including schizophrenia, that may lead to new treatments. The prize committee at Stockholm's Karonlinska institute said the discovery has “ revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop”

Sir John Bertrand Gurdon (JBG), Fellow of Royal Society (born 2 October 1933) is a British developmental biologist. He is best known for his pioneering research in nuclear transplantation and cloning.

Prof Gurdon used a gut sample to clone frogs and Prof Yamanaka altered genes to reprogramme cells. The Nobel committee said they had "revolutionised" science. When a sperm fertilises an egg there is just one type of cell. It multiplies and some of the resulting cells become specialised to create all the tissues of the body including nerve and bone and skin. It had been though to be a one-way process - once a cell had become specialised it could not change its fate. In 1962, John Gurdon showed that the genetic information inside a cell taken from the intestines of a frog contained all the information need to create a whole new frog. He took the genetic information and placed it inside a frog egg. The resulting clone developed into a normal tadpole. The technique would eventually give rise to Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal.

Shinya Yamanaka, born September 4, 1962 in Higashiosaka) is a Japanese physician and adult stem cell researcher. He serves as the director of Center for iPS Cell Research and Application and a professor at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University, as a senior investigator at the UCSF-affiliated J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, California, and as a professor of anatomy at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Yamanaka is also the current President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR).

Shinya Yamanaka used a different approach on stem cell research. Rather than transferring the genetic information into an egg, he reset it. He added four genes to skin cells which transformed them into stem cells, which in turn could become specialised cells. The Nobel committee said the discovery had "revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop. "The discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialized cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances.

APPSC LIBRARIANS EXAM G.S. SOLVED PAPER (EXAM HELD ON: 05-12-2010)

APPSC Extension Officer Grade-I (Supervisor) in A.P. Women Development and Child Welfare Sub-Ordinate Service Exam Key (Exam Held On: 29-04-2012)

Key for Notification No. 36/2011 , Extension Officer Women and Child Welfare : Paper-I  600 - G.S. & M.A.


Key for Notification No. 36/2011 , Extension Officer Women and Child Welfare :Paper-2 011 - HOME SCIENCE  

Key for Notification No. 36/2011 , Extension Officer Women and Child Welfare : Paper-2 012 - SOCIAL WORK 

West Indies Wins T20 World Cup

West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by 36 runs in the ICC World Twenty20 final at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on October 7. Chasing the West Indies’ 137 for six, Sri Lanka was a nervous-wreck and finished with a measly 101. 

The diverse challenges that a small target strangely evoke, were in full force once Ravi Rampaul cleaned up Tillakaratne Dilshan’s stumps. Mahela Jayawardene (33) had the onerous task of keeping his head and anchoring the chase while his nation, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Marlon Samuels (78, 56b, 3x4, 6x6) waged a lone-battle while the Sri Lankan spinners buzzed around and nearly ruined Sammy’s dreams of batting big on winning the toss.  

Scores:

West Indies: 137/6

Sri Lanka : 101/10 

Man-of-the-match: Marlon Samuels.

Player-of-the-tournament: Shane Watson.

Australian eves beat England to win Women’s World T20 championship

Australian women produced an impressive performance to edge out their English counterparts by four runs in an exciting final of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 here on October 7.

Put into bat, Australia put up a competitive 142 for four in 20 overs with almost all the batswoman getting runs.

Jess Cameron with 45 was the top scorer but openers Meg Lanning (25), Alyssa Healey (26) and Lisa Sthalekar (23 not out) all chipped in with useful contributions.

In reply England could manage 138 for nine as Australian bowlers got wickets at regular intervals.

Needing 16 of the last over, England managed only 11 runs off spinner Erin Osborne’s over. England needed an over boundary of the last delivery but could manage a single as girls in canary yellow celebrated enthusiastically.

In a big ground like Premadasa (although boundaries were shortened), chasing a target of 143 is an uphill task in women’s cricket.

Although skipper Edwards showed positive intent but once she was dismissed for 28, the other batswomen could hardly make any impact.

They did get the boundaries but couldn’t stay long enough to get a decisive result in their favour.

Players like Sarah Taylor, Aaran Brindle all got starts but couldn’t carry on as left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen turned out to be the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 25.

She could have taken four had she not dropped a sharp return catch offered by Jenny Gunn.

The main wicket of Edwards was however taken by veteran Lisa Sthalekar.

While batting, Australia had two significant partnerships that clinched the issue in their favour. The opening partnership of 51 runs between Lanning and Healy and another of 51 runs in six overs between Sthalekar (23) and Cameron.

Cameron hit five fours and a six during his 34-ball knock.

Brief scores:

Australia: 142 for 4 in 20 overs (Jess Cameron 45, Alyssa Healey 26, Meg Lanning 25; Holly Colvin 2/21).

England: 138 for 9 in 20 overs (Charlotte Edwards 28; Jess Jonassen 3/25, Lisa Sthalekar 2/16).

Amjad Ali among 11 to be honored by Sangeet Natak Akademi

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam are among 11 eminent personalities in the field of culture who will be awarded prestigious fellowships of the Sangeet Natak Akademi by President Pranab Mukherjee on 9th October.

Besides Khan and Subrahmanyam, the highest honour of Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) will be conferred on Mukund Lath, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman, Mohan Chandrasekaran, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, Kalamandalam Gopi, Chandrasekhar Basavanneppa Kambara and Heisnam Kanhailal.

                         

The fellowships will be awarded by Mukherjee at a function here on October nine.

They will receive purse money of Rs three lakhs, besides an angavastram and a tamrapatra.

The fellowship of the Akademi is an honour restricted to a limited number at a given time.

Presently, there are only 40 living fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in the field of music, dance and theatre, a total of 26 artists will receive the Akademi Award 2011, while another eight eminent personalities will be awarded for their contribution to other traditional, folk, tribal music and puppetry.

Shrivatsa Goswami will receive the Akademi Award 2011 for Overall Contribution and Scholarship to Performing Arts.

Alakhnandan (Theatre-Direction) and Sundari Krishnalal Shridharani (Overall Contribution) were also selected for Akademi Awards 2011.

Due to their demise, the said Award will be conferred on them posthumously.

Cabinet likely to approve 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The union cabinet  approve the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) that seeks an average annual economic growth of 8.2 percent and identifies infrastructure, health and education as thrust areas.

The growth rate has been lowered to 8.2 percent from the 9.0 percent projected earlier in view of the current slowdown in the economy and adverse international situation.

During the 11th Plan period, the average annual growth was 7.9 percent. A full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh September 15 endorsed the document which has fixed the total plan size at Rs.47.7 lakh crore.

The 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth during the five-year period "critical to achieve inclusive growth".

Highlights of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17):

• Average growth target has been set at 8.2 percent
• Areas of main thrust are-infrastructure, health and education
• Growth rate has been lowered to 8.2 percent from the 9.0 percent projected earlier in view adverse domestic and global situation.
• During the 11th Plan period, the average annual growth was 7.9 percent
•  A full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 15 endorsed the document which has fixed the total plan size at Rs.47.7 lakh crore
• The 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth during the five-year period
• Agriculture in the current plan period grew at 3.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent during the 10th plan period. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent
• On poverty alleviation, the commission plans to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percent. At present, the poverty is around 30 per cent of the population.
•  According to commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, health and education sectors are major thrust areas and the outlays for these in the plan have been raised.
• The outlay on health would include increased spending in related areas of drinking water and sanitation.
• The commission had accepted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilizers and petroleum be made by the end of the 12th Plan period
• After the cabinet clearance, the plan for its final approval would be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), which has all chief ministers and cabinet ministers as members and is headed by the Prime Minister

Agriculture

Agriculture in the current plan period has grown at 3.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent during the 10th plan period. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent.

Infrastructure

The document stresses the importance of infrastructure development, especially in the power sector, and removal of bottlenecks for high growth and inclusiveness. It also sets targets for various economic and social sectors relating to poverty alleviation, infant mortality, enrolment ratio and job creation.

Poverty

On poverty alleviation, the commission plans to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percent. At present, the poverty is around 30 per cent of the population.

Health and Education

According to commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, health and education sectors are major thrust areas and the outlays for these in the plan have been raised.

The outlay on health would include increased spending in related areas of drinking water and sanitation.

The commission had accepted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilizers and petroleum be made by the end of the 12th Plan period.

Direct cash transfers would bring down the government's subsidy burden as the money would go directly to the "genuine" beneficiaries and "plug leakages" in the implementation of these schemes.

After the cabinet clearance, the plan for its final approval would be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), which has all chief ministers and cabinet ministers as members and is headed by the Prime Minister.

Oldest Voter, Highest Polling Booth in Himachal Pradesh

The Election Commission has identified Sh. Shyam Saran Negi as oldest voter in Himachal Pradesh (HP). Sh. Negi, aged 95, lives in Kalpa Tehsil, District Kinnaur. H.P. Sh. Negi retired from Government Primary School in 1975 and his family includes wife, four sons and five daughters.

Sh. Negi was among the first to cast his vote in independent India’s first Election in October 1951, of H.P. State Legislative Assembly from 10- Chini Assembly Constituency later renamed as Kinnaur. At that time, election in snow-bound 10- Chini (now Kinnaur) was held ahead of other places in the State.

Interestingly, the world’s highest Polling booth will also be located in H.P. at the height of 15000 ft above sea level. This Polling Station will be at Hikkam in Lahaul & Spiti Assembly Constituency located on motorable road. The Hikkam Polling Station will serve 333 voters, comprising 180 male & 153 female voters.

Minister of Water Resources Released Atlas named Aquifer System of India

Minister of water resources and parliamentary affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal on 28 September 2012 in New Delhi had released Atlas for six states namely- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

The atlas comprises data on various aspect of ground water since its inception that was compiled and integrated by the Central Ground Water Board. The atlas was named as Aquifer System of India.

The atlas provides a country wide overview and summary of the most important information available for each principal and major aquifer systems and depicts aquifer wise ground water scenario. It also deals with major issues and challenges which need immediate attention for sustainable management of ground water resources.

In this process, a baseline data on GIS platform was created for initiating National Aquifer Mapping Programme and demarcating priority areas for aquifer wise management of ground water resources on scientific and sustainable basis. Attempt was also made to represent the correlations of various thematic layers such as climate, topographic settings on the occurrence, movement, and chemical quality of ground water in map forms.

The Atlas is going to be of immense use for Regional and National ground water resources planning by the policy makers and anyone who needs to understand ground water scenario in the country.

India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-10 launched

GSAT-10, the country's newest and heaviest satellite, was launched September 29th from the Kourou launchpad in French Guiana in South America. It will directly boost telecommunications and direct-to-home broadcasting among others.

The satellite, 9th in ISRO's present fleet, will be operational in November and add 30 transponders to the domestic INSAT system, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said soon after the launch.

The ISRO launched the 3.4-tonne spacecraft on the European Ariane 5 rocket as the agency cannot currently launch satellites of such mass on its own vehicles. The satellite and the launch fee cost the agency Rs. 750 crore.

The ISRO called its 101st mission "a grand success," adding that the satellite was in good health.

What the satellite brings:

It carries 30 communication transponders - 12 in Ku-band, 12 in C-band and six in extended C-band. The ISRO is currently leasing 95 foreign transpondes to meet domestic demand. The INSAT/GSAT system has 168 transponders.

The Ku band is vital for seven DTH TV operators and thousands of VSAT operators who provide phone and Internet broadband connections. Public and private telephone and television providers also use the C band.

GSAT-10 also has the second GAGAN payload which augments or finetunes the US GPS signals into far more accurate readings. GAGAN, a venture of the Department of Sapce and Airports authority of India, is primarily meant to benefit airlines and their aircraft flying into and out of India. GSAT-8, launched in May 2008, carried the first GAGAN payload.

The flight at 2.58 a.m. IST was preceded by a countdown lasting for 11.5 hours. By 3.19 a.m. it was visible to scientists waiting to capture its signals at Hassan.

"MCF took over command and control of the satellite immediately after the injection. Preliminary health checks on various subsystems such as power, thermal, command, sensors, control etc., have been performed and all parameters have been found to be satisfactory. The satellite has been oriented towards Earth and the Sun using the onboard propulsion systems," the agency said.

In the coming days, MCF scientists will perform routine manoeuvres to "raise" the elliptical orbit into a circular orbit with 24-hour rotation around the Earth and fixed at 83 degrees East slot over the Indian region at 36,000 km above ground. They will do this by firing the apogee motors on board the satellite in three steps.

Later the antenna, solar panels and other instruments will be deployed and switched on.

Built for 15 years, GSAT 10 will be co-located with InSAT-4A and GSAT-12.

Junior Assistants in Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education Result List

List of Candidates picked up for Verification of Original Certificates Notification No. 51/2011,Junior Assistants in Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education

India to Host COP – 11

India is hosting the eleventh Conference of the Parties (CoP-11) to the CBD in Hyderabad on 1-19 October, 2012. There will be three components of CoP-11: the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the Parties (CoP/MoP-6) to the CBD’s Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to be held from 1-5 October 2012; the CoP-11 to the CBD from 8-19 October 2012; and the High Level Segment of CoP-11 from 16-19 October 2012. These meetings will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). CoP-11 is expected to be the largest such conference to be held in the country, with participation of thousands of delegates from all countries of the world, including Ministers/Vice-Ministers, Ambassadors, senior Government officials, heads and senior officers of UN and multilateral agencies, private sector, academia, civil society organizations etc. 

India is a recognised megadiverse country rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge. With just 2.4% of the land area, India accounts for nearly 7% of the recorded species even while supporting almost 18% of human population as well as cattle population. The biotic pressure on our biodiversity is therefore immense. 

For India, conservation of its biodiversity is crucial not only because it provides several goods and services necessary for human survival, but also because it is directly linked with providing livelihoods to and improving socio-economic conditions of millions of our local people, thereby contributing to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. 

India is a Party to the CBD. The three objectives of the Convention are: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. CBD is the first comprehensive global agreement addressing all aspects relating to biodiversity. It is a framework agreement that provides for flexible country-driven approach to its implementation. The Convention has near universal membership with 193 Parties. USA is the only major country which is not a Party to the CBD. 

India ranked 111th in economic freedom list

India ranks very low at 111th position in terms of economic freedom, behind countries like China, Nepal and Bangladesh, a global study has claimed in a worldwide index of 144 nations.

The annual ranking, titled 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2012', is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland (8.24) and Australia in the top-five.

The index has been prepared by Canada-based public policy think-tank, Fraser Institute, in cooperation with independent institutes in 90 nations and territories, and claims to measure the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom.

India's ranking has fallen from 103rd last year, while Hong Kong has retained its top slot, the report said.

Canada is ranked sixth on the list, while others in the top-ten include Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland and Chile. The countries with lowest level of economic freedom are -- Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo and Angola.

India shares its 111th position with two other countries, Iran and Pakistan, while those ranked lower include Guyana, Syria and Nigeria.

India has scored an overall rating of 6.26 in the economic freedom index as against an average global scrore of 6.83.

In the economic freedom index, China is at 107th position with a score of 6.35, Bangladesh at 109th with a score of 6.34 and Nepal is at 110th position (6.33).

The report said that Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 8.90 out of 10, followed by Singapore (8.69), New Zealand (8.36), Switzerland (8.24), Australia and Canada (each 7.97), Bahrain (7.94), Mauritius (7.90), Finland (7.88) and Chile (7.84).

"Governments around the world embraced heavy-handed regulation and extensive spending in response to the US and European debt crises, reducing economic freedom in the short term and prosperity over the long term," the report noted.

"But the slight increase in this year's worldwide economic freedom score is encouraging. Impressively, all five continents are represented in the global top 10," it added.

The report noted that on an average, the poorest 10 per cent of people in the freest nations are nearly twice as rich as the average population of the least free countries.

Interestingly, the US, which is considered a champion of economic freedom among large industrial nations, continues its protracted decline in the global rankings. This year, the US plunged to its lowest-ever ranking of 18th, after being ranked at as high as second position in 2002.

The decline is attributed to higher spending and borrowing on the part of the US government.

The rankings and scores of other major economies include -Japan (20th), Germany (31st), Korea (37th), France (47th), Italy (83rd), Mexico (91st), Russia (95th) and Brazil (105th).

APPSC REVISED VACANCY POSITIONFOR THE POST OF JUNIOR ASSISTANT IN A.P. BOARD OF INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION NOTIFICATION NO. 51/2011

Revised Vacancy Positions-Noti.No 51/2011 Jr.Assistants in A.P. Board of Intermediate Education

FDI in multi-brand retail and aviation

India opened its retail, aviation, broadcasting and power sectors to foreign supermarkets on September 14, a major economic reform that has been stalled for months by political gridlock and came as part of a package of measures aimed at reviving growth.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India's largely unorganised retail sector will help curb inflationary pressure by easing supply side constraints and revive economic growth, analysts said.
However, some experts have the opinion that it could hamper firms hoping to set up shop in the world's second-most populous country.

key aspects of the policy:
States to decide on implementation
Individual state governments will decide whether to allow foreign supermarket chains to enter. The Congress party-led government hopes this will take the sting out of opposition from regional parties who say the policy will destroy jobs.
Opponents of the reform include Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and the most powerful ally in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
FOR: Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are in support of the UPA government’s move.
AGAINST:  Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha have formally stated their opposition.
Sourcing from small companies
Foreign retailers will have to source almost a third of their manufactured and processed goods from industries with a total plant and machinery investment of less than USD 1 million. Supermarket chains will certify compliance with this themselves.
The government will reserve the first right to procure food produce from farmers before companies do, in order to provide stocks for its food subsidy schemes for poor households.
Minimum investments
Foreign retailers will have to invest a minimum of USD 100 million, and put at least half of their total investment into so-called 'back-end' infrastructure, such as warehousing and cold storage facilities.
This requirement has to be met within three years of a retailer setting up shop.
The aim is to meet one of the key justifications for opening the supermarket sector to foreign players -- revamping the country's crumbling infrastructure and unclogging bottlenecks.
The bottlenecks fan inflation, which has proved a major headache for the government and the Reserve Bank of India.
Policymakers argue opening the sector will help ease prices for a country where hundreds of millions live in dire poverty.
Big cities
Foreign retailers will only be allowed to set up shop in cities with a population of more than 1 million. In states where there are no cities with such a big population, individual state governments can choose where to allow foreign chains to open.
Critics of the new retail policy, including from opposition parties and domestic traders, say opening the doors to the likes of Wal-Mart will wipe out the country's small, family-run neighbourhood stores and trigger mass unemployment.
By restricting foreign firms to cities, the government hopes the supermarkets will become accessible to the country's swelling middle class, while protecting the livelihoods of shopkeepers in smaller towns and rural areas.

Indian Economy: FACTBOX
According to the latest Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) data, the Indian economy grew at a sluggish 5.5 percent in the April-June 2012 period as compared to 8 percent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The GDP growth had slumped to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the quarter ended March.
The decision to push forward the reform process has come at a time when business sentiments have taken a beating, GDP growth is near decade low, inflation remained stubbornly high and the government was criticised for "policy paralysis".
India an ideal FDI destination
A recent UNCTAD survey projected India as the second most important FDI destination (after China) for transnational corporations during 2010–2012. India has seen an eightfold increase in its FDI in March 2012.
As per the data, the sectors which attracted higher inflows were services, telecommunication, construction activities and computer software and hardware.
Mauritius, Singapore, US and UK were among the leading sources of FDI for India.
According to Ernst and Young, foreign direct investment in India in 2010 was USD 44.8 billion, and in 2011 experienced an increase of 13 percent to USD 50.8 billion.


FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN INDIA

• 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail

• 49 percent FDI in civil aviation 

• FDI cap in broadcasting raised from 49 percent to 74 percent

• Sale of equities in four PSUs including Hindustan Copper Ltd (9.59 percent), Nalco (12.15 percent), Oil India Ltd (10 percent) and MMTC (9 percent) 

• Foreign investment in power exchanges

• Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are in support of the UPA government’s move

• Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha have formally stated their opposition

India ranks 7th in corporate governance in Asia-Pacific

 

India has been ranked in the seventh place in terms of corporate governance score in Asia Pacific region, says a report by global brokerage firm CLSA.
According to the CLSA Corporate Governance Watch 2012 list, produced in collaboration with the Asian Corporate Governance Association, India's corporate governance score has improved by 3 percentage points but ranking has remained the same. Among the market rankings, Singapore was at the top in 2012 followed by Hong Kong and Thailand in the second and third position respectively. In the fourth position there is a tie between Japan and Malaysia, the report said.
Others in the top include Taiwan at the 6th place, followed by India (7th), Korea (8th), China (9th), Philippines (10th) and Indonesia (11th). The report which analysed as many as 864 listed companies across Asia-Pacific markets, including Japanese and Australian firms, said that Infosys was the only Indian company that was featured in the top 20 corporate governance large caps. Moreover, there were just five Indian companies which got featured in the top 50 league table. Besides, Infosys the other four include HUL, Wipro, Titan Industries and Yes Bank.
The report, entitled "Tremors and cracks", noted that cracks in Asian corporate governance have become more apparent with corporate scores slipping since the previous CG Watch report was issued in 2010. Investors have faced issues ranging from relatively minor corporate transgressions to growing concerns about the reliability of financial statements and, at the extreme, outright fraud. "Corporate governance is largely about checks and balance," CLSA Head of Asia Research Amar Gill said in a statement, adding that "Investors will need to swerve and get a tighter grip when dealing with the cracks in governance and the tremors in Asian investing."

Barfi nominated as India's entry to Oscars 2013

Bollywood film "Barfi" has got an official entry to the Oscars, and actor Ranbir Kapoor said he has high hopes from the film even though at the moment it has not reached the nomination stage.

"So far in the history of Indian cinema, only three Bollywood films, including Mehboob Khan's "Mother India" (1957), Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" (1988) and Ashutosh Gowariker's "Lagaan" (2001), have made it to the nomination stage. Directed by Anurag Basu, "Barfi" features Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz among others.

APPSC Assistant Social Welfare Officers Exam 2011 Solved Papers

GAAR Report submitted by the Shome Committee to the Finanace Ministry

The GAAR report was submitted on 1 September 2012 to the finance minister of India by the Shome Committee constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, after the approval of Prime Minister of India. The committee in its report has tried to create a balance in between the investors being invited to the country and protection of the tax base from tax avoidance and evasion, using aggressive tax planning. The major findings of the GAAR’s committee to create a balance in between the investors and chances of tax avoidance and evasion includes:
1. Tax Evasion, Tax Mitigation and Tax Avoidance
2. Overcharging Principle Applicability of GAAR
3. Monetary Threshold
4. Arm’s Length Test
5. Test to Misuse or Abuse the Provisions of Act
6. Factors for determination of Commercial Substance
7. Grandfathering of existing Investments
8. GAAR will not override the CBDT circular 789 of 2000 with respect to the tax-treaty in between India and Mauritius
9. GAAR will not be applicable at places where so ever anti-avoidance provisions are in existence in the treaty of tax and any type of anti-avoidance rule exists in the Act
10. Impermissible Avoidance arrangements
11. Tax abolition in cases of gains that rises out by the transfer of listed securities
12. Foreign Institutional Investors
13. Corresponding adjustments
14. Implementation of the Onus on the revenue authority
15. Tax Withholding
16. Definition of the term Connected Person
17. Constitution of approval panel
18. Time limit for GAAR provisions
19. AAR to pass ruling within 6 months
20. Prescription of Statutory forms
21. Implementation issue
22. Reporting requirements

The committee in its findings has stated that the GAAR guidelines should be introduced in the country at the time of economic stability. Hence, it has recommended the postponement of its implementation by 3 years. Committee’s recommendation also states about the implementation of the findings with complete spirit and has laid emphasis on transition period of the taxpayers and preparedness of the administrators. To provide clarity on GAAR’s applicability provisions in different situations 27 illustrations were made and are mentioned under different conditions like:
1. Tax Mitigation- GAAR can’t be invoked
2. Tax Avoidance- SAAR is applicable hence GAAR is not invoked
3. Court Approved Amalgamations or demergers
4. Tax Avoidance- GAAR invoked
5. Tax Evasion can directly be dealt of law without invoking the GAAR
Following the Finance Act 2012, the introduction of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) was done into the Income Tax Act, 1961. The committee briefly analysed the provisions of GAAR as per the inputs available from stakeholders and following the recommendations made the amendments in the Act were made for finalization of the guidelines for the Income Tax Rules, 1962.

Shome’s Committee:
The expert committee on GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rules) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Parthasarsthi Shome with members, namely Shri N. Rangachary (Former Chairman of IRDA and CBDT), Dr. Ajay Shah (Prof. NIPFP) and Shri Sunil Gupta (Joint Secretary-Tax Policy and Legislation, Department of Revenue) for undertaking the consultations of stakeholders and finalization of guidelines for GAAR. The main objective of the committee was to get feedbacks from the stakeholders and prepare new guidelines or to amend the previous guidelines after examining the things finely.The committee was constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes after being approved by the Prime Minister of India.

The committee formed referred to following terms:
• To receive feedback from both public and stakeholders on the Guideline of GAAR mentioned on the website of Government of India.
• To rework on the guidelines following the feedback received and examining the same and then publish the same in form of second draft
• To find out and finalise, guidelines along with an road-map for implementation of GAAR and submit it to the government

Analysis of the GAAR provisions:
The provisions for the GAAR are mention in Chapter X-A (Section 95 to 102) of the Act. Presented provisions allow the authority of tax, despite of containing anything in the Act with clear declaration on the arrangements made for assesses (estimated value, nature or extent of amount of the fine) that has entered into the impermissible avoidance arrangement to face the consequences with regard to the tax liability determined by the arrangement.

Russia declassified the existence richest diamond field of the world

Russian government on 18 September 2012 declassified its diamond reserves formed after a 7 kilometer wide asteroid stroked the graphite rich area of Russia, about 35 million years ago. The most valuable secret of Russian Cold War was kept hidden from the rest of the world for more than five decades. The reserve was discovered by the Russians during the mid 1960s.

The huge deposits of hard diamond, which can fulfill the demands of the world for next 3000 years was discovered in the Popigoi crater in East Siberia in an asteroid with diameter of 120 kilometers. Russian scientists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Geology and Mineralogy claimed that the total quantity of the available diamond in the crater is more than 10 times of the total reserve of diamond that the world have.

These diamonds are an ideal material for industrial use and are twice harder than that of the technical diamonds generally used for industrial purposes. Declassification of the hidden reserves can’t be used as jewellery item, so will not have any impact in the jewel making industry of the world.