13 December 2014
National:
Indians hold Rs. 4,479
crore abroad
The Government said that
of the list of 628 Indians who could be holding black money overseas, 201 are
either non-traceable or non-residents, while 289 have no balance left in their
accounts. There are 427 actionable cases that collectively hold a sum of Rs
4,479 crore in bank accounts overseas, which the official release said had been
calculated using an exchange rate of Rs 45 to a dollar. The release said 339
have balance in their accounts. The Income Tax Department initiated action
against 79 of the account holders. The disclosure is as per the direction of
Special Investigation Team (SIT) which submitted a report to the Supreme Court
on black money. India had received the list of 628 Indians who hold accounts in
HSBC’s Geneva branch from the French government. Earlier, Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley said that proceedings in the cases on the HSBC list would be completed
by March 31, 2015.
INS
Kolkata to fire long range missile in 2015
Stealth destroyer INS
Kolkata, the largest warship built in India, will fire a long-range
surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) for the first time in 2015. The vertical launch
units of the LR-SAM, also called Barak 8, have been built into the vessel and
the MF-STAR (multifunction surveillance and threat alert radar) is in place for
missile guidance. All you need to do is take delivery of the missile, load it
and fire. The ship, commissioned in August in Mumbai, has just finished its
maiden work-up, during which the vessel and its crew were put through their
paces by the Flag Officer Sea Training. The ship will carry 32 SAMs, with an
enhanced range of up to 70 km, for missile defence. The first flight of the
LR-SAM, jointly developed by the Israeli Aerospace Industry and the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), took place in Israel in November
2014.
U.P.
tops in attacks on journalists
Uttar Pradesh accounted for 72 per cent of the
total cases relati'ng to attacks on journalists in the country, according to
the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). According to official data, 85 police
cases were registered for attacks on journalists across the country this year,
with 15 of them resulting in an arrest. The NCRB data pertains to registered
cases of attacks on scribes, and arrests made therein till October 2014. U.P recorded
62 cases of attacks on scribes till June this year, while neighbouring Bihar
came in second with 8 cases till August. The highest number of arrests was made
in Madhya Pradesh, which has a thriving and proactive journalism environment.
Against the six cases of attacks on journalists registered in Madhya Pradesh
till July, eight persons were arrested. No data were available for Chhattisgarh
and Karnataka while Gujarat and Maharashtra recorded two cases and two arrests
each.
Dahi Handi declared adventure sport
The Maharashtra government has declared Dahi Handi
(forming of human pyramids and breaking the earthen pot on the occasion of
Krishna Janmashtami) an “adventure sport.” Citing fatal accidents at the event,
the Bombay High Court banned the participation of children below 18 years of
age in August. The Supreme Court, however, reduced the age limit to 12 years
and asked the organisers to take safety measures.
Purab
Kohli starrer 'Jal' in the Oscar race for Best Film category
After winning the
coveted National Award for its visual effects, the Girish Malik directorial
film Jal has now find place in the race for the Oscars. The film which stars
Purab Kohli, Kirti Kulhari and Tannishtha Chatterjee is in the contention for
nominations in the Best Film category. The filmmaker is elated with the news
and is very proud of such an achievement. Given that this is Malik's first
film, the entire team and the director deserve an overwhelming applause. Also,
the film has been inducted into the Oscar library. Jal released on April 4,
2014. Cinematographer Sunita Radia captured the Rann of Kutch beautifully and
the movie is a visual treat and the music marked the debut of Sonu Nigam and
Bickram Ghosh Jodi as music directors.
International:
Mauritius names new Prime
Minister Anerood Jugnauth
Mauritius' president has
named veteran politician Sir Anerood Jugnauth as prime minister, after the
84-year old won a landslide victory taking nearly three-quarters of seats in
Parliament. Jugnauth, a former president and prime minister, was handed his
letter of appointment from the office of President Kailash Purryag. Jugnauth's
centre-right Alliance Lepep swept up 47 out of 62 seats in the Indian Ocean
nation's parliament, after voters rejected the ruling party's bid to boost presidential
powers. The coalition of the outgoing ruling Labour Party (PTR) and the former
opposition Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) of ex-prime minister Paul
Berenger, took just 13 seats. Jugnauth, previously prime minster between
1982-1995 and again between 2000-2003, has promised he will boost the economy.
Defeated Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam handed in his resignation to the
president.
Haiti PM resigns amid
political discontent
Prime Minister Laurent
Lamothe announced that he was resigning along with several ministers in the
wake of violent anti-government protests and a commission's call for him to
step down. President Michel Martelly said earlier he accepted the findings of
the commission that had recommended Lamothe's replacement. Martelly appointed
Lamothe as prime minister in 2012, and some political analysts believe Lamothe
might seek the presidency in upcoming elections.
Business & Economy:
Assam tops in pulses
production
Assam has been selected as the “Best Performing
State” in production of pulses. It was chosen for the Krishi Karman award for
2013-14. This was the third consecutive year that Assam has been selected for
Krishi Karman award of the Government of India for its achievement in
production of pulses.
Union govt. approves
trade centre in Manipur
The Union Government has
approved the proposal to construct a trade centre at Behang in Churachandpur
district of Manipur. Manipur Commerce and Industries minister Govindas
Konthoujam said that the agreement between India and Myanmar is likely to be
signed in January. Villagers in Behang have made 2,500 hectares of land
available for the construction of the trade centre. The Union government shall
foot the bills for all construction works. The Manipur government has to
repair, improve and maintain the road from Behang to Imphal. The earlier plan
was to construct such a centre at Moreh, the entrepôt of the two countries
after the legalisation of the border trade in 1995.
Alstom T&D bags
Rs.246-cr contract
Alstom T&D India
said it has bagged a contract worth Rs. 246.20 crore from state-run
transmission company Mahatransco for setting up grid substations at three
locations — Kudus, Alkud, and Kondhwa — in Maharashtra. These substations will
strengthen the 220 kV transmission network. Alstom will construct on a turnkey
basis, 400/220kV air-insulated substations at Kudus and Alkud including power
transformers, substation automation system and other auxiliary equipment.
Swiss
gold exports to India near Rs 1 trillion in 2014
Amid concerns of bullion
trade being used for routing of black money, Switzerland's gold export to India
have risen further and is fast approaching Rs 1 trillion mark for the entire
2014. The Swiss gold exports to India stood at over 2.8 billion Swiss francs
(over Rs 18,000 crore) in October, up from about 2.2 billion Swiss francs in
the previous month. This has taken the total Swiss gold exports to India since
January 2014 to 14.2 billion Swiss francs (nearly Rs 93,000 crore), as per the
data compiled by Switzerland's cross-border trade monitoring agency.
Sports:
Indians
just behind Brazilians in goal-scorers’ list
Indian players have scored 23 goals, only three
less than Brazilian imports from all teams, in the Indian Super League football
tournament that has entered the knockout phase now. Brazilian players, led by
eight strikes from Chennaiyin FC’s sharp shooter Elano Blumer, have notched up
26 goals overall. Indian players — led by FC Goa’s Romeo Fernandes and
Chennaiyin FC’s Jeje Lalpekhlua who have found the target thrice each — have tallied
23 in all. Players from France and Spain are tied with 11 goals apiece. A total
of 121 goals have been scored from 56 games in the round robin phase of the
football event.
