Pakistan Supreme Court; Musharraf cannot Leave Country

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on 8 April 2013 directed the authorities of the nation to not allow the former President, Pervez Musharraf to leave the country. The Court is hearing petitions against the former military ruler and President Pervez Musharraf for challenging the Constitution and declaring an emergency in 2007. 

The petitions against the ex-military ruler by a two-judge bench led by Justice Jawad S Khwaja and the petitioners have challenged Musharraf’s decision of obstructing access to Justice and detention of the Judges during the Emergency. The petitions have also targeted the decision of substituting the judges, who were appointed unconstitutionally.

Before the hearing was scheduled to begin, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikar Chaudhary withdrew his name from the bench of three-judge bench that was constituted for hearing up the petitions.  

Musharraf, returned back to Pakistan on 24 March 2013 after completing a self-declared exile of four years to lead his All Pakistan Muslim League Party for the elections set to be held on 11 May 2013.

Government of Gujarat Introduced Lokayukta Bill in State Assembly

The state government of Gujarat on 2 April 2013 introduced a bill in the Gujarat assembly which Places restrictions on the primacy of the chief justice of the state high court and the Governor in the matter of appointment of the Lokayukta.

The Lokayukta Aayog Bill, 2013 is put forward to give all the powers of the appointment to a selection committee headed by Chief Minister and wants state Governor to act on the recommendations of this committee.

It is important here to note that the Gujarat government on the one hand filed curative petition against the Supreme Court order and on the other, has brought this Bill in the Assembly.

Also, for the purpose of conducting investigations and inquiries in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Governor shall, by warrant under his hand and seal and, on the recommendations of a Selection Committee appoint a person to be known as the Lokayukta and not more than four other persons each to be known as Up-Lokayuktas," reads the proposed section 3 of the Bill.

Whereas in the existing Gujarat Lokayukta Act, 1986, power of selection and consequent appointment of new Lokayukta has been vested with the High Court Chief Justice and the Governor.

Section 3(1) of the 1986 Act says, "For the purpose of conducting investigation in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Governor shall, by warrant under his hand and seal appoint a person to be known as Lokayukta."

As per the Bill there is also a special provision which gives pivotal power to the state government in excluding any 'public functionaries' from the jurisdiction of the Lokayukta.

As per another significant provision (Sec 12(8)), whoever discloses to the public or to the press any information or publishes such information in contravention of the provisions of this section should invite two years' imprisonment and also a fine of two lakhs Rupees.

About Lokayukta Bill:-

The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states.

The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by Morarji Desai submitted a special interim report on "Problems of Redressal of Citizen's Grievances' in 1966. In this report, the ARC recommended the setting up of two special authorities designated as 'Lokpal' and 'Lokayukta' for the redressal of citizens' grievances.

The LokAyukta, along with the Income Tax Department and the Anti Corruption Bureau, mainly helps people bring corruption amongst the politicians and officers in the government service to public attention. Many acts of the LokAyukta have not resulted in criminal or other consequences for those charged.

Lok Sabha Member Prahlad Joshi appointed Karnataka BJP President

Lok Sabha member Prahlad Joshi on 21 March 2013 appointed state ruling BJP chief by national President Rajnath Singh to lead the 5 May 2013 Assembly polls.

The appointment of Joshi, representing Dharwad, was announced by Karnataka BJP just a day prior, after the Election Commission declared the poll schedule.

Prahlad Joshi defeated other contenders as he has a relatively wider appeal and hails from north Karnataka which the party considers as stronghold but where it is facing a threat to its prospects from former BJP strongman B S Yeddyurappa. Numerically powerful Lingayat community to which Yeddyurappa belongs has a strong presence in north Karnataka.

A second time Lok Sabha member from Dharwad, from where Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar also hails, 50-year-old Joshi, eclipsed former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Mangalore Lok Sabha member Nalin Kumar Kateel and Minister Govind M Karjol who were also in the race.

Parliament rejected Pakistan's Resolution on Afzal Guru and claimed it an Interference

The Parliament of India on 15 March 2013 rejected the resolution passed by the Pakistani National Assembly on execution of the 2001 Parliament Attack mastermind, Afzal Guru.

The resolution was unanimously passed by both the houses of the Parliament, which termed it interference in the Internal Affairs of India. India warned Pakistan, to keep itself away from such acts of supporting the extremists and terrorist groups. The resolution also cleared that Jammu and Kashmir along with its illegally occupied territories of Pakistan is and shall always be an integral part of India.

The nation also called off the bilateral Hockey series between the two nations that was supposed to be held from 5 April to 15 April 2013. The hockey series was called off following the instructions from the External Affairs Ministry.

Xi Jinping Took Over As the New President of China

Xi Jinping

The new leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping on 14 March 2013 was appointed as the President of China. It is important to note that Xi Jinping, 59, was also chosen as the General Secretary of CPC in November 2012. He overtook the office from Hu Jintao.

On 14 March 2013, Xi Jinping was approved by National People’s Congress (NPC), the Parliament of China, in the comprehensive election process at Great Hall of the People. Out of 2963 delegates of NPC, there were 2956 delegates present. Out of the present delegates, 2952 voted for Xi Jinping. Only one vote was cast against him, while three representatives did not vote.

Politburo member Li Yuanchao (63) was also chosen as the Vice President of Xi Jinping on the same day with 2839 votes in favour of him.

Li Keqiang, 57, was appointed as the Prime Minister of China. He replaced Wen Jiabao.

President of China: Xi Jinping

Vice President of China: Li Yuanchao

Prime Minister of China: Li Keqiang

Soumitra Bhattacharya elected as the Chairman of CII Karnataka

Soumitra Bhattacharya, the Joint Managing Director, Bosch Ltd, and Sandeep Kumar Maini, the director of Maini Precision Products Pvt Ltd, in the third  week of March 2013 elected as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of CII Karnataka for 2013-14.

A Brief Insight into Soumitra Bhattacharya’s Career:-

• Soumitra Bhattacharya is a Chartered Accountant by profession from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and completed his articleship from Price Waterhouse.
• He has 28 years of professional experience in the corporate world in the areas of systems, materials, finance, accounts and entire commercial functions including HR, Legal, Tax, etc.

About Sandeep Kumar Maini:-

Sandeep  Maini is the Director of Maini Precision Products since 2007. He is also the Chairman of Maini Group of Companies since 2007.

What is Maini Group?

The group consists of companies that have domestic and international operations in the fields of automotive & aerospace, plastics & composites, material handling equipment, storage systems, electric vehicles and all terrain vehicles.

Khil Raj Regmi to Head the Interim Government of Nepal; Sworn-In As the Prime Minister

Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal on 14 March 2013. Khil Raj Regmi will be the head of interim government which will have its elections by 21 June 2013. He took over the office from Baburam Bhattarai.

Regmi will be the head of 11-member electoral government. Khil Raj Regmi, 63, took oath of the office and secrecy from the President Ram Baran Yadav after the top leaders of four main parties- the United Democratic Madhesi Front, Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), reached the 11-point understanding.

In the meanwhile, Madhav Ghimire was chosen as the Home Minister as well as the External Affairs Minister. Hari Prasad Neupane was chosen as the Law and Justice and Labour Minister. The other eight ministers would be nominated by the aforementioned political parties. As per the agreement, all ministers need to be retired civil servants from special class. No active politician would be included in cabinet.

It is for the first time in the political history of Nepal that any sitting Chief Justice was named as Head of the Government.

Economic Survey of India 2012-13: Industry and Services Sector

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 February presented the Economic Survey 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. Economic Survey is presented every year, just before the Union Budget. It is a flagship annual document of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Industrial Sector:-

After recovering to a growth of 9.2 percent in 2009-10 and 2010-11, growth of value added in industrial sector, comprising manufacturing, mining, electricity and construction sectors, slowed to 3.5 percent in 2011-12 and to 3.1 percent in 2012-13.

The manufacturing sector, the most dominant sector within industry, also witnessed a decline in growth to 2.7 percent in 2011-12 and 1.9 percent in 2012-13 compared to 11.3 percent and 9.7 percent in 2009-10 and 2010-11, respectively.

The growth in electricity sector in 2012-13 has also moderated. The growth of the mining sector in 2012-13 is estimated at 0.4 percent, though it showed an improvement over a negative growth of 0.63 percent recorded in 2011-12.

India is one of the top ten manufacturing countries though its share in total manufacturing value added (MVA) is only about 1.8 percent. The growth rate of world MVA had declined from 5.4 percent in First quarter of 2011-12 to 2.2 percent in second quarter of 2012-13. The latest competitive industrial performance index (CIP) compiled by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), ranks India 42nd out of 118 countries the same as in 2005.

The initiatives taken for boosting the manufacturing sector included National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), DMIC Project, FDI Policy initiatives and setting up of the e-Biz Project to promote ease of doing business.

Services Sector:-

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) analysis of the sector-wise performance of services activities based on firm-level data show that the performance of sectors such as transport logistics, aviation and construction in the year 2012-13 is subdued in comparison to with the previous year.

High negative PAT (profit after tax) in hotel sector continued. The health services and telecom sectors were projected to have rebounded in the year 2012-13. Overall the year 2013-14 is projected to be better for most of the sectors, except retail trading, which is projected to have negative growth in profitability.

FDI in multibrand retail trading has been permitted subject to specified conditions.

The IT and ITeS sector has started facing competition from many developing countries. While the EU has the highest share in computer and information services exports, followed by India and the USA, many new competitors like China, Israel and the Philippines have emerged in recent years.

Between 2005 and 2011, the annual average growth of computer services was 69 percent in the Philippines, 28 percent in Sri Lanka, 59 percent in Ukraine, 27 percent in the Russian Federation, 37 percent in Argentina and 35 percent in Costa Rica.
One major issue in services is the domestic barriers and regulations. Domestic regulations in strict WTO terms include licensing requirements, licensing procedures, qualification requirements, qualification procedures, and technical standards but here other restrictions and barriers are also considered.

An indicative list of some important domestic regulations in India which need to be examined for suitable policy reforms in the services sector include Trade and Transport services, Construction, Accountancy services, Legal services and Education Services.

Economic Survey of India 2012-13: Human Development

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 February presented the Economic Survey 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. Economic Survey is presented every year, just before the Union Budget. It is a flagship annual document of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

In the economic survey 2012-13, the government's targeted policies for the poor, with the prospect of fewer leakages, can help better translate outlays into outcomes.

Fifteenth Quarterly Survey Report on Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in India April to June 2012:-

Overall employment in June 2012 over June 2011 increased by 6.94 lakh, with the highest increase recorded in IT/BPO (4.44 lakh) sector followed by 1.70 lakh in Textiles including Apparels, 0.45 lakh in Transport, 0.26 lakh in Metals, 0.19 lakh in Gems and Jewellery and 0.11 lakh in Automobiles sectors during the period. On the other hand, employment in handloom/powerloom and leather sectors marginally declined during this period.

In export oriented units, employment at the overall level increased by 5.81 lakh whereas in the non-exporting units, it increased by 1.10 lakh during the period June 2012 over June 2011.

The results of the15th quarterly survey revealed that there was a sustained and consecutive increase in employment in the sectors covered at overall level during the last eleven quarters with a total addition of 30.73 lakh employment during this recovery period.

Socio-Economic Profile of States and Inter-State Comparisons:-

• Bihar has the highest decadal (2001-11) growth rate of population (25.07 percent), while Kerala has the lowest rate (4.86 percent).
• In 2011, Kerala has the highest sex ratio with 1084 females per 1000 males, followed by Tamil Nadu (995), while Haryana is at the bottom (877).
• The best performers in terms of growth during 2011-12 are Bihar (16.71 per cent) followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• In terms of growth in per capita income, the best performer is Bihar (15.44 per cent) followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra due to high growth in gross state domestic product (GSDP) in 2011 12.
• The poverty estimates indicate that the highest poverty headcount ratio (HCR) exists in Bihar at 53.5 per cent as against the national average of 29.8 per cent.
• Bihar has the lowest MPCE both in rural and urban areas at 780 Rupees (with 65 percent food share) and 1238 Rupees (with 53 percent food share) respectively. In comparison, Kerala has the highest in both rural and urban areas at 1835 Rupees (with 46 percent food share) and 2413 Rupees (with 40 percent food share) respectively.
• The unemployment rate (per 1000) among the major states is the lowest in Gujarat (18) and highest in Kerala (73) and Bihar (73) in urban areas and the lowest in Rajasthan (4) and again highest in Kerala (75) in rural areas.
• Infant mortality rate (IMR) in 2011 is the lowest in Kerala (12) and highest in Madhya Pradesh (59) against the national average of 44.
• Birth rate is lowest in Kerala (15.2) and highest in Uttar Pradesh (27.8) against the national average of 21.8.
• Death rate is lowest in West Bengal (6.2) and highest in Odisha (8.5) against the national average of 7.1.
• In terms of decadal growth rate in bank branches, Haryana (59.5 percent) has the highest growth and Bihar the lowest (14.4 percent). Even a north-eastern state like Assam (16.5 percent) is better placed than Bihar.

Some important poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes:-

Mahatma Gandhi NREGA: This flagship programme of the government aims at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work with the stipulation of one-third participation of women.

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY): The annual budgetary provision for the SJSRY for the year 2012- 13 was 838 crore Rupees and of this 516.77 crore Rupees had been released up to 7 February 2013. A total of 406947 people benefited from this scheme during 2012-13.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY): The scheme provides smart card-based cashless health insurance cover of ` 30,000 per family per annum on a family floater basis to BPL families in the unorganized sector with the premium shared on 75:25 basis by central and state governments.

The Unorganized Workers Social Security Act 2008 and National Social Security Fund: A National Social Security Fund with initial allocation of 1000 crore Rupees to support schemes for weavers, toddy tappers, rickshaw pullers, beedi workers, etc. has been established.

Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY): The Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) has now been merged with the AABY to provide better administration of life insurance cover to the economically backward sections of society.

Status of certain Health Indicators is as follows:-

• Crude Birth Rate (CBR) (per 1000 population): 21.8 (2011)
• Crude Death Rate (CDR) (per 1000 population): 7.1 (2011)
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (per woman): 2.5 (2010)
• Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) (per 100000 live births): 212 (2007-09)
• IMR (per 1000 live births) - Rural: 48 (2011)
• IMR (per 1000 live births) - Urban: 29 (2011)
• Child (0-4 years) Mortality Rate (per 1000 children): 13.3 (2010)
• Life Expectancy at Birth (Total): 66.1 (2006-10)

Welfare and Development of SCs, STs, OBCs, and Other Weaker Sections:-

• The amount of subsidy admissible is 50 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of 10000 Rupees per beneficiary. During 2012-13, the physical target is to cover over 12 lakh beneficiaries.
• For the welfare and development of STs, an outlay of 4090 crore Rupees has been made in the Annual Plan for 2012-13.
• For economic empowerment of STs, financial support is extended through the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) in the form of loans and micro-credit at concessional rates of interest for income-generating activities.
• The corpus of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) had been enhanced from 100 crore Rupees in 2005-6 to 750 crore Rupees till March 2012.
• The five communities--Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis- notified as minority communities, constitute 18.42 percent of the total population of the country. The plan outlay for the development of minorities was raised from 2850 crore Rupees in 2011-12 to 3135 crore Rupees in 2012-13.
• Central assistance is provided to states for educational development of OBCs. Under the Pre- Matric Scholarship for OBCs Scheme, against an allocation of 50 crore Rupees during 2012-13, 35.45 crore Rupees was released to states up to December 2012.
• Some important schemes for the welfare of disabled persons include: Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/ Appliances (ADIP) and Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS).
• The Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP), aimed at covering 64000 beneficiaries during 2012-13. During 2012-13 (up to December 2012), 8.06 crore Rupees had been released against a revised allocation of 17 crore Rupees.

Jagat Singh Negi Elected As the Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly of Himachal

Jagat Singh Negi, the Congress legislator from Kinnaur was elected as the Deputy speaker of Legislative Assembly of Himachal on 12 March 2013.

The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh announced Negi’s name for the post of Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly. Jagat Singh Negi was therefore elected unanimously as the Deputy Speaker.

U.S. expels two Venezuelan diplomats

In a similar response, two Venezuelan diplomats were asked to leave by the United States after Caracas expelled two American diplomats on March 9.

In a similar response, two Venezuelan diplomats were asked to leave by the United States after Caracas expelled two American diplomats on March 9.

Orlando Jose Montanez Olivares and Consular Officer Victor Camacaro Mata were expelled in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Article 23 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, adding both the diplomats have now departed the country.

The decision came in response to the “Venezuelan government’s actions against two of our personnel”, she said.

“We’ve also said all the way through this that we do hope for better relations with Venezuela,” she said.

Ms. Nuland said U.S. would like to work together with Venezuela, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism, anti-narcotic, economics and energy needs, but it’s going to take a “change of tone” from Caracas, she said.

Foreign Minister of Portugal, Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas VisitedIndia

Foreign Minister of Portugal

The Foreign Minister of Portugal, Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas visited India from 3 March 2013 to 8 March 2013. This was his first official visit.

Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas was accompanied by Minister of State for Culture of Portugal and a business delegation. The minister visited Goa and Mumbai with the delegation.

During his visit, the Foreign Minister of Portugal held discussions with the India’s External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid. India and Portugal discussed bilateral, regional and global issues during the visit.

It is important to note that Portugal is home to the third largest population of Indian origin people in Europe. The visit held importance because it would strengthen the friendly ties between India and Portugal.

India and Bhutan signed Currency Swap Agreement worth 100 million Dollars

India and Bhutan on 8 March 2013 signed a currency swap agreement for up to 100 million US dollars to strengthen economic co-operation between both the countries.

The currency swap arrangement was signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB).

Effects of the Agreement signed:-

• It enables RMAB (Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan to make withdrawals of US dollar, euro or Indian rupee in multiple tranches up to a maximum of 100 million dollars or its equivalent.
• The swap agreement is intended to provide a precaution line of funding for SAARC member countries to meet any balance of payments and liquidity crisis till longer term arrangements are made or if there is need for short-term liquidity due to market turbulence.
• The arrangement would be for a three-year period and would help bring financial stability in the region.

Earlier, In May 2012, RBI had announced it would offer swap facilities aggregating 2 billion dollars, both in foreign currency and Indian rupee, to SAARC member countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Kenya Election: Uhuru Kenyatta won Kenya Presidency

Uhuru Kenyatta, the Deputy Prime Minister who faces trial for alleged crimes against humanity, clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency, on 9 March 2013.

Uhuru Kenyatta needed over 50% of the national vote to avoid a run-off. He received 50.07% to win the elections but the victory is being disputed by his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has now unsuccessfully sought the presidency three times.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is a controversial figure as he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity from his alleged role in the country's 2007-2008 election.

Kenya would become the second African country after Sudan to have a sitting president indicted by the ICC.

With the win Uhuru Kenyatta will become the fourth president of Kenya.

Former CBI Director Ashwani Kumar appointed Nagaland Governor

62 year old Former CBI Director, Ashwani Kumar on 9 March 2013 appointed as Governor of Nagaland.

Ashwani Kumar was the Director of the agency from August 2008 to November 2010. He will be the first head of the agency to be appointed as a Governor.

With the appointment of Ashwani Kumar Former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who was serving as Governor of Nagaland, has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Kerala for the remainder of his tenure. 72-year-old Nikhil Kumar is a 1963-batch IPS officer, who was appointed as Governor of Nagaland on 15 October 2009.

A brief insight into Aswani Kumar life:-

• He has worked in various positions in CBI and elite SPG(Special Protection Group)
• He completed his doctorate from Himachal Pradesh University.

Other appointments:-
 
• With the appointment of Ashwani Kumar as governor of Nagaland, President Pranab Mukherjee also transferred Governor of Tripura D Y Patil to Bihar and shifted Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar to Tripura for the remainder of their five-year terms,
• Four time Chief Minister of Nagaland and former Governor of Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, 81-year-old SC Jamir was appointed as Governor of Odhisa.
• SC Jamir succeds 84-year-old M C Bhandare who had been appointed as Governor in August 2007 and was continuing even after his term had expired last year.

Pakistan Parliament passed Counter Terrorism Authority Bill

Pakistan’s parliament on 9 March 2013 passed a bill for the setting up of a new organisation that is supposed to integrate counter-terrorism efforts by different bodies in the wake of criticism of civilian law enforcement agencies by the powerful army.

The bill for establishing the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was passed by the National Assembly or lower house of parliament after incorporating some amendments suggested by lawmakers.

Roles and Functions of National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA):-

• NACTA will be headed by the Prime Minister and will unify and coordinate national counter-terrorism and counter-extremism measures by several existing organisations.
• It would present strategic policy options to the government to be considered and implemented by stakeholders.
• The board of NACTA will include the Interior, Finance and Defence Ministers, the Chief Ministers of all provinces and the chiefs of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence and Federal Investigation Agency.
• The authority will be assisted by an executive committee headed by the Interior Minister, and a national coordinator and a deputy will execute the board’s policies and the government’s instructions NACTA will also be responsible for conducting scientific studies on extremism and terrorism.
• It will coordinate with law enforcement agencies for taking action against elements involved in terrorism and extremism and play a key role in preparing national counter-terrorism and extremism strategies.
• The authority will receive information and intelligence and disseminate the data to relevant stakeholders to formulate threat assessments with periodical reviews to be presented to the federal government for making adequate and timely efforts to counter terrorism and extremism.

The bill must be passed by the Senate or upper house of parliament to become law. NACTA will be established within 90 days of the bill receiving presidential assent.

C J George elected as the Chairman of CII Kerala State Council

C J George the Managing Director of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd, on 9 March 2013 elected chairman, CII Kerala State Council for 2013-14.

About CJ George:-

• He  has been closely associated with the CII and was the Vice Chairman and Convenor of the Membership Services Panel of Kerala State Council for the year 2012-13
• He was involved in many activities and initiatives of CII.

With his appointment, Shyam Srinivasan, Managing Director & CEO, The Federal Bank Ltd has been elected Vice Chairman of CII.

About CII Kerala State Council:-

CII Kerala State Council sassists member companies towards preparation of Project Proposals using the Company Project Profile (CPP) Software developed by UNIDO for associations. It covers all the critical parameters that are required in a project proposal that are sought by the evaluators. It is a tool standardized by UNIDO after long years of experience in the international market.

 CII offers Feasibility Analysis and Reporting Services for MSMEs to enable MSMEs to prepare proposals for funding or Joint Ventures.

Indian Financial Regulators signed pact to Monitor Conglomerates

The country's top four financial regulators on 8 March 2013 signed an agreement among each other for co-operation on consolidated supervision and monitoring of financial groups identified as financial conglomerates- large banks and other key players.

The decisivenesses were taken at a sub-committee meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) held in the Reserve Bank.

The regulators who signed the pact were the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

The FSDC(Financial Stability and Development Council) meeting, chaired by RBI Governor D Subbarao also approved formulating a national strategy for financial education by incorporating the feedback received from public consultations and from a global peer review, RBI said without providing details.

RBI had on 22 February 2013 released rules on allowing companies to start banks in India and such coordination among regulators is needed for effective supervision.

Nicolas Maduro sworn in as the Interim President of Venezuela

Venezuelan Vice- President Nicolas Maduro on 8 March 2013 was sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president, despite the Opposition resistance as it is being considered to the violation of the country’s constitution.

Late President Hugo Chavez who died on 5 March 2013 after two year long fight against cancer named Maduro as his successor before undergoing the latest surgery in December 2012. He picked Nicolas Maduro  as the presidential candidate of Chavez’s socialist party.

As per the country's 1999 constitution, the National Assembly speaker becomes interim president in the event of a president-elect's death or inability to be sworn in. The constitution also says new elections should be called within 30 days.

Leader of opposition Angel Medina boycotted the swearing-in ceremony, with the vast majority of opposition legislators who haven’t attended the ceremony.

The earlier interim president of Venezuela was Ramón José Velásquez who served as acting president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994 as a result of the crisis produced by the impeachment of president Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Arun Jaitley, Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav Selected For Outstanding Parliamentarian Award

The Parliamentary Award Committee selected BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Congress MP Karan Singh and JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav for Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Arun Jaitley and Karan Singh are the members of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat and Delhi respectively. Sharad Yadav, on the other hand is a member of Lok Sabha from Madhepura, Bihar.

The Award Committee which was headed by the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, recommended these names, which were accepted by executive committee of the Indian Parliamentary Group on 6 March 2013.
 
Outstanding Parliamentarian Award:-

• Outstanding Parliamentarian Award was instituted by the Indian Parliamentary Group in 1994.
• This award is conferred every year on the outstanding parliamentarian, who is recommended by award committee as well as approved by executive committee of the Indian Parliamentary Group.