NEWSLINE 16th SEPTEMBER, 2009

NATIONAL NEWS

50% seats for Women

The Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved a proposal to provide 50 per cent reservation for women in all three tiers of Panchayats, a major decision to ensure greater representation of women in the decision making process at the local level. They also cleared the proposal to amend Article 243D of the Constitution to enhance reservation for women from the current 33 per cent to at least 50 per cent. The move will apply to the total number of seats filled by direct election, the office of chairpersons and seats and offices of chairpersons reserved for SCs and STs.

A mission to Mars by 2013

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said that India would launch a mission to Mars by 2013. The ISRO has begun the preparations for sending a spacecraft to Mars.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy no more

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others were killed when their helicopter crashed on a hillock, about 49 nautical miles east of Kurnool . Finance Minister Konijeti Rosaiah (77) was sworn in Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh at a hurriedly organised and low-key ceremony, by Governor N.D. Tiwari at the Raj Bhavan. 

Mission over! India loses Chandrayaan-I

ISRO's scientists and engineers have lost radio contact with the country's first moon mission Chandrayaan-I orbiting about 200 Km above the moon's surface. ISRO was neither able to transmit data to the spacecraft nor receive information. 95% of Chandrayaan's scientific goals had already been accomplished in less than a year. 

MCI to be scrapped, single body to regulate Medical Education

In a complete overhaul aimed at cleansing the medical education system in the country, a task force of the Union Health Ministry has decided to scrap all regulatory bodies, including the Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Pharmacy Council and the Nursing Council,. There will instead be a single regulatory body?National Council for Human Resources in Health? which will oversee seven departments related to medicine, nursing, dentistry, rehabilitation and physiotherapy, pharmacy, public health/ hospital management and allied health sciences. The move now needs a government notification. The new council will also carry out assessment and accreditation of medical and health institutions across India . 

Rs 5K cr bailout for AI, subject to cost cutting

The government has decided to infuse Rs. 5000 crore equity in the cash-strapped national carrier, Air India , over the next three years to prevent it from shutting down. But the bailout, the government says, is subject to the airline improving performance and cutting costs. 

Class X Boards to go from '11

There will be no Class X board examination in CBSE schools in 2011. While there will be a board exam for class X in 2010, a grading system, based on continuous and comprehensive evaluation by schools, will kick in this year itself. Students in schools with classes only till X will have to take an "online/offline/on demand" as assessment test for seeking admission in class XI in another school. Students of schools with classes till XII need not take such an assessment test. It will be optional for students of these schools to take the on-demand test. 

Transfer of 10 High Court Judges cleared

The Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, has cleared the elevation/transfer of 10 High Court judges for being appointed Chief Justices of various High Courts to fill the vacancies arising from the elevation of five Justices as Supreme Court Judges. Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court Jasti Chelameswar is being shifted to the Karnataka High Court, following the elevation of its CJ P.D. Dinakaran to the Supreme Court. Justice Kurian Joseph, senior-most judge of the Kerala High Court, will take over from Mr. Justice Chelameswar. Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya of the Madras High Court, is being elevated as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court following the elevation of its Chief Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan to the Supreme Court. Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, the senior most judge of the Madras High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. Justice Syed Rafat Alam, senior judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He will succeed Justice A.K. Patnaik, who has been elevated to the Supreme Court. Justice Mukul Mudgal, the senior-most judge of the Delhi High Court, is being elevated as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, after its Chief Justice T.S. Thakur has been recommended for appointment as Supreme Court Judge. Justice Bilal Nazki of the Bombay High Court has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. Justice Dipak Misra of the Madhya Pradesh High Court is being appointed Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. He will succeed Justice S.S. Nijjar, who is moving to the Supreme Court. Justice M.S. Shah of Gujarat High Court is being appointed Chief Justice in Patna . Justice J.S. Khehar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will become Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court.

Examination Boards not liable under consumer law

The Supreme Court held that Secondary Boards conducting examinations for lakhs of students across the country every year would not be liable under the Consumer Protection Act for bungling in admit cards, roll numbers and results even if it meant loss of an academic year to a student. This SC judgment set aside a concurrent finding of a District Consumer Forum, the state panel and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), all holding that the boards were liable under the consumer law. The Supreme Court ruled that the examination board is not a service provider and a student who takes an examination is not a consumer.

Law Ministry clears Bill legalizing organ swaps

The Union Law Ministry has cleared the long-pending amendments to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, and will send the draft Bill to the cabinet secretary. The Bill, which is scheduled to be introduced in the next session of Parliament, seeks to legalise swapping of vital organs between willing but incompatible donors. At present, transplants can take place only between blood relatives (father, mother, son, daughter, etc.), relatives and those emotionally close to the patient. Under the system proposed in the Bill, when a donor's organ isn't compatible with his own relative but is suitable for another, two families, unknown to each other, can exchange the organs.

Southern Films Bag Top Honours

The 55 th National Film Awardees for 2007 are:

• Best Feature - Film Kanchivaram (Tamil)
• Best Actor - Prakash Raj (Kanchivaram)
• Best Actress - Umashree (Gulabi Talkies)
• Best Director - Adoor Gopalkrishnan (Naalu Pennugopal, Malayalam)
• Best film on family Welfare - Taare Zameen Par
• Best Lyricist - Prasoon Joshi (Taare Zameen Par)
• Best Playback Singer - Shankar Mahadevan (Taare Zameen Par)
• Best Film in overall entertainment - Chak De! India
• Best Screenplay - Feroz Abbas Khan (Gandhi My Father)
• Special Jury Award - Anil Kapoor (Gandhi My Father)
• Best Supporting Actor - Darshan Zariwala (Gandhi My Father)
• Best Supporting Actress - Shefali Shah (The Last Lear)

International News

Landslide win for Japan Opposition

For only the second time in postwar history, Japanese voters cast out the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party in elections, handing a landslide victory to an untested opposition. Voters flocked to the main opposition Democratic Party, a broad coalition of former socialists and ruling party defectors who promised to ease Japan 's growing social inequalities and reduce its traditional dependency on US. After the vote, PM Taro Aso conceded defeat. Yukio Hatoyama will be the new Prime Minister.

South Korea launches first Rocket

South Korea 's first rocket blasted off into space, the rocket lifted off from the country's space center on Oenaro Island , about 290 miles (465 kilometers) south of Seoul . It is South Korea 's first launch of a rocket from its own territory. Since 1992, it has launched 11 satellites, all on foreign-made rockets sent from overseas sites. The rocket, built with Russian help, was carrying a domestically built satellite aimed at observing the atmosphere and ocean.

First Special Envoy for humanitarian affairs for Pakistan

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed French UN ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert as the first Special Envoy in charge of humanitarian affairs for Pakistan . Mr. Ripert would assist the Pakistan Government and the international community to respond to the current humanitarian crisis in the country.

Nissan to shift production of small car from UK to India

Japanese major Nissan has decided to shift the entire production of its small car, Micra, from the UK to India . The move underlines the rush among automakers to rationalize production costs and move to locations that offer the best value and quality. Nissan will manufacture the Micra at the upcoming factory at Orgadam, near Chennai. Nissan will thus emulate companies like Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki, which make small cars in India to export to Europe .

China to unveil five new generations of missiles

Amid global concern over China 's massive defence modernisation, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will unveil five new generations of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles and other weapon systems to mark the 60th National Day parade in Beijing on October 1.

Sarko levies CO 2 tax to fight warming

French President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a new carbon tax to help combat global warming, calling it a "fiscal revolution" and overriding strong public opposition to the plan. The new levy on oil, gas and coal consumption by households and businesses will come into effect next year, making France the biggest economy yet to impose a straight-up carbon tax.

Sports Snippets

India wins Compaq Cup

India defeated Sri Lanka in the finals to win the Compaq Cup played in Colombo . Sterling performances by Man of the Match and Man of the Series- Sachin Tendulkar (138 runs) and Harbhajan Singh (5for 56) in the final helped India 's cause. New Zealand was the third team in the event.

India wins Nehru Cup

Indian goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the man of the moment as he pulled off three spectacular saves in the penalties which enabled the 'Men in Blue' to win their second consecutive Nehru Cup 5-4. India beat Syria in the final of the ONGC Nehru Cup after a nail-biting finish which saw the match decided on penalties.

UEFA Player of the Year

The Argentina forward Lionel Messi (Barcelona FC) was voted the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year by coaches of the 15 other teams who reached the knockout rounds of the 2008-09 tournament.

SL Sweep Series

Sri Lanka clinched second spot behind South Africa in the official rankings as they swept aside New Zealand by 96 runs in the final cricket Test on 30 th August, 2009 to sweep the series 2-0.

Italian Fisichella Steers force India to 2 nd Place finish at Belgian GP

Force India 's Giancarlo Fisichella created history by giving India at Spa-Francorchamps ( Belgium ) their first ever Formula One race point, finishing a sensational second in the Belgian Grand Prix, even as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen won the race. Force India is partly owned by Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya.

Pankaj Advani wins World Professional Billiards Crown

Pankaj Advani, the 24 year old Bangalorean scripted a brilliant win over Mike Russell to win his maiden World Professional Billiards title at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds . Advani is the second Indian to win the professional crown after Geet Sethi. He is now also the first to own all the titles one can think of in billiards. He is the reigning IBSF World Champion in both formats (time and points), Asian champion and the National champion.

Vijender rewrites history again

Vijender Singh broke the ceiling with his power-packed punch in Beijing last year, giving the country its first boxing medal in the Olympics. In the World Championship played at Milan ( Italy ), the Bhiwani bomber once again went where no Indian has gone before. He rewrote history, entering the semifinals of the middleweight category where he eventually lost and was awarded a bronze medal.

News and Views

• Renowned educationist and Law Teacher N.R. Madhava Menon was on 4 th September, 2009 conferred the Best Law Teacher 2009 award on completion of 50 years of teaching law, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the growth of legal education in the country. He was the founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law Schools at Bangalore and Kolkata.
• Satnam Singh, CMD, PFC has been conferred "Distinguished Fellowship Award-2009". He received the award from Dr. Madhav Mehra, President, World Council for Corporate Governance.
• The Walt Disney Co is buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse.
• ISRO Chief G Madhavan Nair was elected President of the International Academy of Astronautics, becoming the first non-American to head the half-a-century-old organization of world's foremost Space Scientists.
• The Centre has sanctioned 29 new police stations in Delhi to improve law and order situation in the Capital. This takes the number of police stations in Delhi to 155.
• Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General P.K. Bhardwaj will be the new Vice-Chief of Army Staff.
• The Supreme Court has ended the jurisdiction of consumer courts to hear disputes relating to telecom services. These will now be resolved through arbitration under Section 7B of the over-100 year-old Indian Telegraph Act.

Science and Technology

Stem Cells, Lithium for Spinal Injuries

Scientists at a prominent US University are soon going to start human trials on chronic spinal injury patients using stem cells from Umbilical Cord blood along with Lithium, a common drug for depression and bipolar disorders.

Drilling Tool for Coronary Artery Diseases

A driller of the size of a rice grain, which rotates at 2,00,000 revolutions per minute, is now proving to be a boon for the country's aged, suffering from coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is the process of narrowing of the coronary arteries. This eventually causes heart attack and heart failure. Medications are sometimes used to reverse the process but they work slowly. That's why stenting or bypass surgery is required but now a tiny drill with a diamond-studded burr is inserted from the groin until it reaches the heart. It is guided by a thin, long catherter. The burr drills at 2,00,000 rotations a minute and clears the really tough plaque for the stent to be put.