National Perspective

Economic
New move to strengthen rupee To increase dollar inflows in the wake of a widening current account deficit (CAD), the GOI has allowed the unlisted companies to directly list on stock exchanges abroad without prior or simultaneous listing on Indian bourses. The new guidelines are as such: The companies would be permitted to list abroad only on exchanges in International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)/Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant jurisdiction or countries with which SEBI has signed bilateral pacts. While raising resources abroad, the listing company shall be fully compliant with the FDI Policy in force. The capital raised abroad may be utilised for retiring outstanding overseas debt or for operations abroad, including for acquisitions. Companies will have to remit the money back to India within 15 day if the raised fund are not utilised abroad. The scheme is to be implemented for two years on pilot basis.

India cant make full rupee payment for oil imports Iran has rejected Indias request for accepting full rupee payment for oil imports. It came as a major setback for Indias plan to cut down the current account deficit (CAD), through containing the outflow of dollars. With this India has to continue its previous payment method. Besides this, Iran has also informed that it was also withdrawing the offer of Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the development of Frazad-B gasfields to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL)-led consortium. Since July 2011, India had been paying Iran through the Ankara-based Halkbank in euro for 55 per cent of its oil purchases. The rest was remitted in rupee in the accounts of the National Iranian Oil Company in UCO Bank. Economic review of first quarter (2013-14) April-June quarter Current Account Deficit (CAD) has widened to 4.9% of GDP. High imports of gold and oil pushed CAD up. Merchandise exports declined by 1.5% and imports recorded increase of 4.7%. Net inflows under capital account rose by 25.2%. This was mainly because of increase in FDI. There was a slight draw down in foreign exchange reserves.

India ranked at 78th

 India has been placed at 78th position on a global Human Capital index. Switzerland has topped the list of total 122 countries. India has been ranked lower than three of its BRICS partners China (43rd), Russia (51st) and Brazil (57th). South Africa is placed at 86th place. India has scored well on the parameters like workforce and employment and scored poorly for health and wellness of its labour force. HCI ranks countries on the basis of economic potential of their labour force and released by Geneva based World Economic Forum (WEF).

Health
Avahan India project In an evaluation of the Avahan (the Indias AIDS Initiative) published in Lancet Global Health, researchers estimate that it may have prevented over 6 lakh HIV infections in India over 10 years. The programme is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The evaluation was based on data from 24 districts in south India in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative, was launched in 2003, aimed to prevent HIV transmission in the general population through a comprehensive HIV prevention programme in the six Indian states with the highest HIV rates.

Global Perspective
International Relations
Indo-US Indian PM and US president met in Washington. The Indian PM is in US to attend 68th session of UN General Assembly. The released joint statement showcased following discussed areas:

India particularly welcomed the U.S. offer of membership in its Global Entry Trusted Traveler Network programme. Both the nations welcomed that Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and U.S. nuclear company Westinghouse had concluded a Preliminary Contract to develop a nuclear power plant in Gujarat. The nations remained committed to implement a timely and full bilateral civil nuclear agreement. The leaders agreed to undertake more cooperation in intelligence sharing homeland security cooperation and condemned the September 26 terrorist attack in Samba in Jammu and Kashmir.

They called upon Pakistan to work toward bringing the 2008 Mumbai terror perpetrators to justice. U.S. welcomed Indias decision to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise, which will be hosted by U.S. Pacific Command in 2014. The both nations decided to convene the India-U.S. Task Force on Hydrofluorocarbons to discuss options based on economically-viable and technically feasible alternatives.

The U.S. offered India to open talks to extend its Global Entry programme to Indian citizens. The membership is valid for five years. The scheme is only offered to selected countries. It will expedite the entry of approved Indian travellers at the U.S. border. The programme facilitates quick entry to travelers and reduces immigration hassles. Indo-US relations: in retrospection For nearly five decades following Indian independence in 1947, the United States and India struggled to find common ground for a fruitful relationship. Prevailing geopolitical conditions during the Cold War undermined the potential for sustained bilateral engagement. Dramatic geopolitical changes after the fall of the Soviet Union opened diplomatic space for major new collaborative initiatives between the United States and India. Symbolic of these changes, the two countries have since 2004 been pursuing a strategic partnership that incorporates numerous economic, security, and global initiatives. This transformation in Washingtons perception of India as a key strategic partner was undergirded by four major U.S. security interests: Establishing a stable a balance of power in Asia; Reducing the threat posed by terrorism and religious extremism; Curtailing nuclear proliferation in Asia. Protecting U.S. economic and political interests in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past decade, the U.S. and Indian governments have dramatically revised and expanded their understanding of and familiarity with one another. U.S.-India coordination on Afghanistan provides one example: Only recently there has been a more concerted U.S. effort to involve India in supporting stability and development efforts in Afghanistan. Much of the potential for such cooperation arguably remains unexplored and unfulfilled. The unrealized potential is to a large extent a result of divergent strategic perspectives that presently limit the depth of the bilateral partnership, as in the case of Pakistan. Nevertheless, both governments are working to narrow their differences where possible, even on strategically significant issue-areas such as Iran. India Pakistan Prime Minister of India and Prime Minister of Pakistan met in Manhattan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The issues discussed are as such:
Indian PM made it clear that peace on LoC was a precondition for improvement in relations. India pressed for significant action by Pakistan on terrorism emanating from its territory. Both nations agreed to task the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the two armies to prepare an effective road map to ensure ceasefire along the LoC.

India asked to speed up progress on the trial in Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to book. Both sides appeared cautious to make any commitments on key outstanding issues between the two countries whether on Sir Creek, Siachen and Kashmir.

International/National Summits and Reports

Resolution on Syria passed U.N. Security Council unanimously passed the U.S.-Russia backed resolution to destroy Syrian chemical weapons by mid 2014. The resolution is result of negotiations between U.S. and Russia, held in Uruguay. The passed resolution contains same provisions which were the outcome of Uruguay negotiations except there will be new vote on possible measures if the U.S.-Russia plan is breached. Food Insecurity Report by WFP,FAO & IFAD Thereportestimatedthat842millionpeopleweresufferingchronichungerin201113. Thenewfigurewaslowerthanthelastestimateof868millionin201012. Many countries were unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goal to halve the prevalenceofhungerintheworldby2015. Avastmajorityofhungrypeoplelivedindevelopingregions. The developing regions have made a significant progress towards reaching the Millennium DevelopmentGoals(MDG). Africa has highest prevalence of undernourishment, with more than one in five people estimatedtobeundernourished.

The report is released by U.N. food agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), everyyear. IPCC Report on climate change UNOs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its new report concluded that human caused climate change is real and green house gas emissions are causing changes to the planet. It could trigger dangerous consequences by the turn of the century. The findings are part of the summery for policy makers on the physical science of climate change. The major findings of the report are: Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earths surface than any preceding decade since 1850. Ocean warming dominates the increase in energy stored in the climate system, accounting for more than 90% of the energy accumulated between 1971 and 2010.

 Over the last two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass, glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease. The rate of sea level rise since the mid-19th century has been larger than the mean rate during the previous two millennia. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years. The ocean has absorbed about 30% of the emitted anthropogenic carbon dioxide, causing ocean acidification. The global ocean will continue to warm during the 21st century. Heat will penetrate from the surface to the deep ocean and affect ocean circulation. It is very likely that the Arctic sea ice cover will continue to shrink and thin and that Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover will decrease during the 21st century as global mean surface temperature rises. Global glacier volume will further decrease. The last such report was brought out in 2007. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific intergovernmental body, set up at the request of member governments. It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution. Its mission is to provide comprehensive scientific assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences, and possible options for adapting to these consequences or mitigating the effects. It is chaired by Rajendra K. Pachauri.

Science and Technology

Propylene found on Saturns moon A report by NASA revealed that its Cassini spacecraft has found Propylene on Saturns moon Titan. Propylene is a chemical used to make household plastic containers. The small amount of the chemical was identified on Titans lower atmosphere by Cassinis composite infrared spectrometer. This is the first definitive detection of the plastic ingredient on any moon or planet other than earth.

Miscellaneous
Miss world pageant The 2013 Miss World pageant has been won by Miss Philippines, Megan Young. It was hosted by Indonesian island of Bali. Miss France, Marine Lorphelin, came second in the contest and Miss Ghana, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, took third place. Panjab University Indias highest ranked institution The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2013-14 placed Panjab university in the 226-250 ranking band, way ahead of four IITs Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee that are

 in the 351-400 band. Panjab is a new entrant in the league table of the worlds top 400 universities. California Institute of Technology retains top spot with Harvard and Oxford sharing second place. The US remained the dominant force in the rankings with 77 institutions in the top 200, UK is second with 31 institutions.

Personalities
Sania mirza She is a Indian tennis player. Recently has claimed the doubles title at the WTA Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo with her partner Cara Black of Zimbabwe. Sri Srinivasan Sri Srinivasan the first Indian American to be on the bench of the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Srinivasan was previously the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. Vidit Gujrathi He has won the bronze medal in the world junior chess championship after a quick draw with winner Yu Yangyi of China in the final round in Kocaeli (Turkey). Rafiq Kathwari He is an Indian-American poet has become the first non-Irish person to have won the prestigious 2013 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for the collection of his unpublished poems "In Another Country". Mr. Kathwari is a Kashmiri by descent. The Kavanagh award, which is now in its 41st year is given for a first unpublished collection of poems in English and is open to poets born in Ireland, of Irish nationality, or long-term resident in Ireland. Ranjan Mathai He is Indias former foreign secretary and has recently been appointed Indias High Commissioner to U.K. He will replace Jamini Bhagwati. Tom Clancy He has died recently, was an American author known for his technically detailed espionage and militarysciencestorylinesthataresetduringandintheaftermathoftheColdWar.

Sports
8th Asia cup hockey tournament

 India won bronze medal in the 8th Womens Asia Cup 2013 after defeating China in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India had to win this tournament to qualify for the 2014 World Cup at The Hague, Holland. Japan defeated Korea in the final to win the Asia Cup and secure a place in next year's World Cup. Sultan of Johar hockey tournament India won the 3rd Sultan of Johor Cup title with a victory over hosts Malaysia in the Under-21 hockey tournament. Womenomics1

1 Womenomics: A theory that asserts that the advancement of women in society is directly correlated with the society.