This is a list of major agricultural revolutions in India.

This is a list of major agricultural revolutions in India.

Revolution	Production
Black Revolution	Petroleum production
Blue Revolution	Fish production
Brown Revolution	Leather/non-conventional(India)/Cocoa production
Golden Revolution	Overall Horticulture development/Honey Production
Golden Fiber Revolution	Jute Production
Green Revolution	Food grain (Cereals, Wheat &Leguminous plant) production
Grey Revolution	Fertilizer production
Pink Revolution	Onion production/Pharmaceutical (India)/Prawn production
Red Revolution	Meat & Tomato production
Round Revolution	Potato production
Silver Fiber Revolution	Cotton production
Silver Revolution	Egg/Poultry production
White Revolution	Milk/Dairy production
Yellow Revolution	Oil Seeds production

INDIA'S NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The plan identifies eight core "national missions" running through 2017 and directs ministries to submit detailed implementation plans to the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change by December 2008.

Emphasizing the overriding priority of maintaining high economic growth rates to raise living standards, the plan "identifies measures that promote our development objectives while also yielding co-benefits for addressing climate change effectively."  It says these national measures would be more successful with assistance from developed countries, and pledges that India's per capita greenhouse gas emissions "will at no point exceed that of developed countries even as we pursue our development objectives."

National Missions

National Solar Mission:  The NAPCC aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based energy options. The plan includes:

Specific goals for increasing use of solar thermal technologies in urban areas, industry, and commercial establishments;
A goal of increasing production of photovoltaics to 1000 MW/year; and
A goal of deploying at least 1000 MW of solar thermal power generation. 
Other objectives include the establishment of a solar research center, increased international collaboration on technology development, strengthening of domestic manufacturing capacity, and increased government funding and international support.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: Current initiatives are expected to yield savings of 10,000 MW by 2012.  Building on the Energy Conservation Act 2001, the plan recommends:

Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy-consuming industries, with a system for companies to trade energy-savings certificates;
Energy incentives, including reduced taxes on energy-efficient appliances; and
Financing for public-private partnerships to reduce energy consumption through demand-side management programs in the municipal, buildings and agricultural sectors.

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: To promote energy efficiency as a core component of urban planning, the plan calls for:

Extending the existing Energy Conservation Building Code;
A greater emphasis on urban waste management and recycling, including power production from waste;
Strengthening the enforcement of automotive fuel economy standards and using pricing measures to encourage the purchase of efficient vehicles; and
Incentives for the use of public transportation.

National Water Mission: With water scarcity projected to worsen as a result of climate change, the plan sets a goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency through pricing and other measures.

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: The plan aims to conserve biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in the Himalayan region, where glaciers that are a major source of India's water supply are projected to recede as a result of global warming. 

National Mission for a "Green India": Goals include the afforestation of 6 million hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest cover from 23% to 33% of India's territory.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The plan aims to support climate adaptation in agriculture through the development of climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms, and agricultural practices.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: To gain a better understanding of climate science, impacts and challenges, the plan envisions a new Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate modeling, and increased international collaboration.  It also encourage private sector initiatives to develop adaptation and mitigation technologies through venture capital funds.

Other Programs

The NAPCC also describes other ongoing initiatives, including: 

Power Generation: The government is mandating the retirement of inefficient coal-fired power plants and supporting the research and development of IGCC and supercritical technologies.
Renewable Energy: Under the Electricity Act 2003 and the National Tariff Policy 2006, the central and the state electricity regulatory commissions must purchase a certain percentage of grid-based power from renewable sources.
Energy Efficiency: Under the Energy Conservation Act 2001, large energy-consuming industries are required to undertake energy audits and an energy labeling program for appliances has been introduced.

Implementation

Ministries with lead responsibility for each of the missions are directed to develop objectives, implementation strategies, timelines, and monitoring and evaluation criteria, to be submitted to the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. The Council will also be responsible for periodically reviewing and reporting on each mission's progress. To be able to quantify progress, appropriate indicators and methodologies will be developed to assess both avoided emissions and adaptation benefits.

MGNREGS gets mixed review from World Bank

The government's flagship rural job guarantee scheme is innovative and has achieved quite high coverage but faces challenges like uneven implementation across states and "some evidence" of leakage of funds, a new World Bank report says.

The study 'Social Protection for a Changing India' also says ensuring higher degree of awareness among people about the process of applying for work under the scheme and a strong monitoring and evaluation system will help in more successful implementation of the programme.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has significantly higher coverage compared to previous public works programmes and "impressive inclusion" of scheduled castes (31 per cent), scheduled tribes (25 per cent) and women (50 per cent), it said, adding that MGNREGA serves as a model for future reforms in other safety net programmes.

But the report also pointed to "uneven implementation" of MGNREGA across States. While about 90 per cent rural households reaped benefits of the scheme in Rajasthan and the coverage was between 60 to 80 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the percentage was less than 20 per cent in States like Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and Gujarat.

The report, the first comprehensive review of India's anti-poverty initiatives which was started in 2004 after a request from the Planning Commission, used data from ministries, national sample surveys and World Bank studies.

It said there is "widespread unmet demand" for work and employment generated is still less than the 100-day guarantee.

"Localised studies also point to some evidence of leakage of funds and delay in fund transfers to panchayats," World Bank lead economist of social protection, John Blomquist says.

According to the report, field studies report ways through which accountability mechanisms are being subverted, including through fudged muster rolls, misuse of job cards and account passbooks.

"In addition, the capacity of PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) to conduct their intended functions is very weak," it said. A range of functions - including planning, execution and monitoring - are expected to be performed by them but it is a difficult challenge, the report says.

It also pointed out that field studies indicate "poor adherence to transparency safeguards".

"In practice, unavailable and fudged master rolls continue to be a serious issue. Job card entries are rarely made. In fact, job cards are not always in the possession of the household; instead the Sarpanch or other local official may hold it. The problems are exacerbated by low awareness of processes as well as high levels of illiteracy among MGNREG workers," the report says.

India to host 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

• India is hosting the eleventh Conference of the Parties (CoP-11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the Parties (CoP/MoP-6) to the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety to be held on 1-19 October, 2012. 
• The period 2011-2020 has been proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as the UN Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB) to raise awareness about the importance of and threats to biodiversity. The Decade coincides with the duration of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 adopted by CoP-10 to the CBD held in Nagoya, Japan in October, 2010. It contains 20 targets to help achieve the three objectives of the CBD and the Millennium Development Goals. 
• CoP-11 to be held in India would be the first CoP in the UNDB. The year 2012 when CoP-11 would be held is also significant because that would be the year of 40th anniversary of Stockholm Conference, 20th anniversary of Rio Earth Summit (Rio + 20) and 10th anniversary of Johannesburg Summit. The event provides India with an opportunity to consolidate, scale up and showcase our initiatives and strengths on biodiversity. 

Biosphere reserves in India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_reserves_of_India

http://cpreec.org/pubbook-biosphere.htm

Name of Reserve	Date of Establishment	Area (in Sq.hm)	State
Nilgiri	01-09-1986	5,520	Karnataka, Kerala & Tamil Nadu
Nanda Devi	18-01-1988	5,860	Uttaranchal
Nokrek	01-01-1988	80.00	Meghalaya
Great Nicobar Islands	06-01-1989	885	Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Gulf of Mannar	18.02.1989	10,500	Tamil Nadu
Manas	14-03-1989	2,837	Assam
Sunderbans	29-03-1989	9,630	West Bengal
Simlipal	22-06-1994	4,374	Orissa
Dibru-Saikhowa	28-07-1997	765	Assam
Dehang-Debang	02-09-1998	5,111	Arunachal Pradesh
Pachmarhi	03-03-1999	4,926	Madhya Pradesh
Khangchendzonga	07-02-2000	2,619	Sikkim
Agasthyamalai	12-11-2001	1,701	Kerala

Governor Generals of British India

Governor Generals of British India

Warren Hastings Plan 1772 – 1785 :

• Brought the Dual Govt, of Bengal to an end by the Regulating Act, 1773.
• Deprived zamindars of their judicial powers and Civil and Criminal courts were established.
• Maintenance of records was made compulsory.
• The First Anglo – Maratha War (1776 – 82), which ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), and the Second Anglo – Mysore War (1780 – 84), which ended with the Treaty of Mangalore (1784), were fought during Hasting's period.
• As a great patron of oriental learning, he founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal with William Jones in 1784. He wrote introduction to the first English translation of "The Gita" by Charles Wilkins.
• Impeachment proceedings started against him when he returned on the charges of taking bribe. After a trial of 7 years, he was finally acquitted.

Note : Sir John MacPherson was made the acting Governor – General from 1785 to 1786.

Lord Cornwallis India (1786 – 1793) :

• Did the Permanent Settlement of Bengal (also called Zamindary System).
• First person to codify laws. The code separated the revenue administration from the administration of justice.
• Police Reforms : Each district was divided into 400 sq. miles and placed under a police superintendent assisted by constables.
• The civil service was brought into existence.

Sir John Shore History (1793 – 1798)

Lord Wellesley in India (1798 – 1805) :

• Adopted the policy of Subsidiary Alliance a system to keep the Indian rulers under control and to make the British the paramount power.
• He defeated the Mysore force under Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo – Mysore War in 1799.

Subsidiary Alliance in India :

• The Subsidiary Alliance System was used by Weilesley to bring Indian Slates within the orbit the British political power. The system played a very important part in the expansion of ll Company's dominionsand many new territories were added to the Company's possessions.
• There were four stages in it. In the first stage, the Company undertook to lend its, friendly Indian prince to assist him in his wars, in the second stage, the Company's troops tot the field on their own account with the assistance of an Indian ally who made common; them.

The next stage was reached when the Indian ally was not to supply men but money. The company undertook to raise, train and equip an. army under English officers and rende to the ally a fixed number of troops on receiving a sum of money towards the cost of these troop Tire final stage was the next logical step.

The Company undertook to defend the territories of an Indian ally and for that purpose stationed a subsidiary force in the territory of the state. 11 Indian ally was asked not to pay money but surrender territory from the revenue of which tl expenses of the subsidiary force were to be met.

• The Indian states were to conduct negotiations with other states through the Company. The ste was to accept a British Resident at its headquarters. The Alliance enabled the Company maintain a large standing army at the expense of Indian princes. It disarmed the Indian states ai threw British protectorate over them.
• The states that accepted this policy were the Nizam of Hyderabad, the ruler of Mysore, the Raja Tanjore, the Nawab of Awadh, the Feshwa, the Bhonsle Raja of Berar, the Scindia, the Rajputs Jodhpur, Jaipur, etc.

Land Revenue System in India :

Permanent Settlement (The Zamindari System) :

• Introduced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and districts of Banaras and Northern districts of Madras by Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
• John Shore planned this.
• It declared Zamindars as the owners of the land. Hence, they could keep 1/11th of the revenue collected to themselves while the British got a fixed share of 10/11th of the revenue collected. The Zamindars were free, to fix the rent.
• Assured of their ownership, many Zamindars stayed in towns (absentee landlordism) and exploited their tenants.

Ryotwari System in India :

• Introduced in Bombay, Madras and Assam. Lord Munro and Charles Reed recommended it.
• In this, a direct settlement was made between the govt, and the ryot (cultivator).
• The revenue was fixed for a period not exceeding 30 years, on the basis of the quality of the soil and the nature of the crop. It was based on the scientific rent theory of Ricardo.
• The position of the cultivator became more secure but the rigid system of revenue collection often forced him into the clutches of the money – lender.

Mahalwari System in India :

• Modified version of Zamindari settlement introduced in the Ganges valley, NWFR parts of Central India and Punjab. Revenue settlement was to be made by village or estate with landlords. In Western UR a settlement was made with the village communities, which maintained a form of common ownership known as Bhaichara, or with Mahals, which were groups of villages.
• Revenue was periodically revised.

George Barlow (1805 – 1807)

Lord Minto I Governor General of India (1807 – 1813) :

• Concluded the treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1809).
• Charter Act of 1813 was passed.

Lord Hasting India (1813 – 1823) : The Anglo-Nepal War (1814 – 16) was fought during his reign which ended with the Treaty of Sagauli (1816).

Lord Amherst (1823 – 1828)

Lord William Bentinck History (1828-1835) :

• Carried out the social reforms like Prohibition of Sari (1829) and elimination of thugs (1830).
• Made English the medium ofhighereducation inthe country (Afterthe recommendations of Macaulay).
• Suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.
• Charter Act of 1833 was passed; made him the first Governor General of India. Before him, the designation was Governor General of Bengal.

Sir Charles Mercalfe History (1835 – 1836) : Abolished all restrictions on vernacular press (called Liberator of the Press).

Lord Auckland 1842 (1836 – 1842) : The most important event of his reign was the First Afghan War, which proved to be a disaster for the English.

Lord Ellenborough (1842 – 1844)

Lord Hardinge I (1844 – 1848)

Lord Dalhousie Reforms (1848 – 1856) :

• Opened the first Indian Railway in 1853 (from Bombay to Thane).
• Laid out the telegraph lines in 1853 (First was from Calcutta to Agra).
• Introduced the Doctrine of Lapse and captured Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambhalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1854) and Nagpur (1854) through it.
• Established the postal system on the modern lines through the length and breadth of the country, which made communication easier.
• Started the Public Works Department. Many bridges were constructed and the work on Grand Trunk Road was started. The harbors of Karachi, Bombay and Calcutta were also developed.

Lord Dalhousie Doctrine of Lapse : The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy devised by Lord Dalhousie. According to the Doctrine, any princely state or territory under the direct influence (paramountcy) of the British East India Company, as a vassal state under the British Subsidiary System, would automatically be annexed if the ruler was either "manifestly incompetent or died without a direct heir".

The company took over the princely states of Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambalpur (1849), Nagpur and Jhansi (1854) and Awadh (Oudh) (1856) using the Doctrine. The Doctrine is thought to be one of the major driving forces behind the Revolt of 1857.

• Made Shimla the summer capital.
• Started Engineering College at Roorkee.
• Encouraged science, forestry, commerce, mineralogy and industry.
• In 1854, "Wood's Dispatch' was passed, which provided for the properly articulated system of education from the primary school to the university.
• Due to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's efforts, remarriage of widows was legalized by Widow Remarriage Act, 1856).

Subsidiary alliance

The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by Marquess Wellesley, British governor-general of India from 1798 to1805. In the beginning of his governorship Wellesley adopted a policy of non-intervention but later he adopted the policy of subsidiary alliance. By the late 18th century, powerful emperors had disappeared from the Indian subcontinent. and it was left with numerous weaker smaller states. Many rulers accepted this offer of protection by Lord Wellesley.

Its main principles were:

a) Any Indian Ruler accepting subsidiary Alliance with the British had to keep British forces within their territory and agreed to pay for their maintenance.In lieu of the payments, some of the ruler's territory was ceded to the British.

b) He would allow a British Resident to stay in his state.

c) An Indian ruler who entered into a Subsidiary Alliance would neither enter into any alliance with any other power, nor would he declare war against any power without the permission of the English.

d) He would not employ any Europeans other than the English and if there was already any, he would dismiss them.

e)In case of any conflict with any other state he would agree the decision of the English.

f) He would acknowledge the British Company as the paramount power.

g) In return for accepting all these conditions the Company undertook to protect him from external dangers and internal disorders.

If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment then part of their territory was taken away as penalty Under this doctrine, Indian rulers under British protection suspended their native armies, instead maintaining British troops within their states. They surrendered control of their foreign affairs to the British. In return, the East India Company would protect them from the attacks of their rivals.

The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to enter into this alliance. Tipu Sultan of Mysore refused to accept it but after the British victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Mysore was forced to become a subsidiary ally. Nawab of Awadh was the next to accept the Subsidiary Alliance in 1801. Later the Maratha ruler Baji Rao II also accepted subsidiary alliance in theTreaty of Bassein.

NAC draft Communal Violence Bill focusses on accountability of officials

The draft Communal Violence Bill, prepared by a Working Group (WG) of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), goes beyond the existing legislation in four significant ways: it recognises identity-based or targeted crimes and organised mass violence as special offences, while placing accountability of public officials at the heart of the law, with varying penalties for dereliction of duty. Finally, it provides for the creation of a National Authority and the State authorities to ensure both accountability of public officials as well as to ensure justice and reparation once in the wake of violence.

After months of discussions among civil society groups, and with government representatives, the NAC placed the draft Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Repatriation) Bill, 2011 on its website on Friday for public comment. Simultaneously, it has been sent to the Union Ministries of Home Affairs and Law and Justice for their comments.

Addressing lacunae

The NAC's WG draft Bill seeks to address the lacunae in the government's draft bill, while taking on board criticism by government officials that the NAC — and the civil society groups it represents — were encroaching on government turf, trying to disempower the existing administrative and justice mechanisms.

The Bill, therefore, stresses that the proposed National Authority/ State authorities are not intended to supersede the existing law enforcement machinery; neither will their advisories and recommendations be binding on any state government. What they will do is to monitor, inquire into complaints, receive or suo motu seek information, and issue advisories and recommendations only when there is alleged inaction or malafide action by public officials and governments. The object is to create a mechanism to make the administrative and criminal justice system work, free from favour or bias ormalafide intent, and prepare a 'paper trail' to ensure accountability of public officials in a court of law.

Covering Pandits

The NAC's WG wants the new law to cover religious and linguistic minorities as well as the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and, if possible, extend it to Jammu and Kashmir, so that its protection may extend to Kashmiri Pandits, a religious minority in that State. Regional minorities such as migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in Maharashtra will also be covered as linguistic minorities.

Communal and targeted violence has been defined as "any act or series of acts, whether spontaneous or planned, resulting in injury or harm to the person and or property, knowingly directed against any person by virtue of his or her membership of any group, which destroys the secular fabric of the nation…." In Indian law, so far, only the SC and ST Atrocity Act recognises that certain groups can be targeted.

The draft bill specifically defines acts that could create an intimidating or hostile environment against members of groups, including economic boycott, denial of public services, and forced migration. It, therefore, mandates that public servants must identify the creation of such a 'hostile environment' and prevent any communal and targeted violence against such members of groups.

Penalties for dereliction

While recommending a set of penalties for dereliction of duty by officials on the ground, it recognises that often those higher up in a chain of administrative or political command are responsible for failure to perform their duties. This Bill, therefore, seeks to ensure that the power of holding command over the actions of others is upheld as a sacred duty, and that there is culpability for those who are 'effectively in-charge' through the doctrine of command responsibility, which could go right up to, for instance, the Chief Minister.

Interestingly, the offence of breach of command responsibility is also extended to non-state actors and any association. This means that the head of a communal organisation could be punished for the acts committed by the foot soldiers.

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee for members (including Chairperson) of the National Authority will consist of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister and leaders of all recognised national political parties in the Lok Sabha. Of the seven members to be selected, at least four will be women, and no more than two can be retired civil servants, to provide greater space for civil society members.

New index for industrial output

Production trend in 100 new items, including ice cream, fruit juices and mobile phones, will weigh on measuring the pace of industrial production, as per the new index series approved by the government. The new Index of Industrial Production, which will come into effect from June 10 with base year 2004-05, had been approved by the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), an official said.

The new items in the IIP would also include computer stationery, newspapers, chemicals such as ammonia and ammonia sulphate, electrical products, gems and jewellery and molasses.

On the other hand, obsolete articles like typewriters, loud speakers and VCRs would be taken off to make the series representative of the present-day industrial production and demand scenario. The base year for the new series will be changed to 2004-05 from 1993-94. The IIP for April would be based on the new model of measuring the country's factory output. The April data would be released on June 10

Mega satellite GSAT-8 successfully put into transfer orbit

Country's mega geo-stationary satellite GSAT-8 was successfully deployed in an elliptical geo-synchronous transfer orbit on early Saturday by the Ariane-VA-202 rocket  from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana off the South American coast with two other payloads.

Ariane-V of Arianespace belongs to the European Space Agency consortium.

The Indian spacecraft carries 24 high-power Ku-band transponders for direct-to-home (DTH) services provided by state-run and private broadcasters.

The space agency's master control facility (MCF) at Hasan, about 180 km from Bangalore, started receiving the signals from GSAT-8 within minutes after it entered the geo-synchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The MCF also took command and control of the heavy satellite.

The satellite will be gradually put into the 36,000-km geosynchronous orbit over the next couple of days and its antenna and solar panels will be deployed.

"The MCF will test and monitor the health parameters of the payloads by June 1. It will be available for DTH services from July 1," ISRO director S Satish said.

Along with GSAT-8, the space agency sent the global position system (GPS) aided geo augmented navigation (Gagan) as an additional payload to improve the accuracy of the US' GPS.

India, Uzbekistan sign 34 pacts

India and Uzbekistan, the energy-rich Central Asian nation, Wednesday signed 34 pacts in diverse areas, including pharmaceuticals and hydrocarbons, and agreed to cooperate closely in stabilising Afghanistan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with Uzbek President Islam Abduganievich Karimov, who is here on a two-day visit, on a wide range of issues, including economic ties and closer cooperation in areas ranging from education, health and human resource development to energy, science and technology, tourism and culture.

"Both leaders agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a long-term and strategic partnership based on equality and mutual understanding," the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

The two leaders "condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations".

"The leaders had a detailed discussion on the continuing unstable situation in Afghanistan and underlined the importance of early establishment of peace and stability in the country," the ministry said.

Manmohan Singh, who visited Kabul last week, shared his perspectives on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and reiterated India's resolve to assist in the development of that country.

More than 30 bilateral agreements were concluded at the government level and between business entities in areas such as information technology, pharmaceuticals, standardisation, small and medium enterprises, coal, oil and gas, science and technology, banking and tourism.

Uzbekistan reaffirmed support for India's candidature for permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council.

The two sides also resolved to expand their cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

India is currently an observer at the SCO and is keen to become a member of the six-nation Central Asian organisation.

Ports in India

The classification of Indian ports into major, minor and intermediate has an administrative significance. Indian government has a federal structure, and according to its constitution, maritime transport falls under the "concurrent list", to be administered by both the Central and the State governments. While the Central Shipping Ministry administer the major ports, the minor and intermediate ports are administered by the relevant departments or ministries in the nine coastal states—West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Several of these 185 minor and intermediate ports are merely "notified"; little or no cargo handling actually takes place. These ports have been identified by the respective governments to be developed, in a phased manner, a good proportion of them involving public–private partnership.

Major ports as below

PORTS                       Location
KOLKATA              Bengal
PARADIP              Orissa
VISAKHAPATNAM   Andhra Pradesh
ENNORE              TamilNadu
CHENNAI              TamilNadu
TUTICORIN              TamilNadu
COCHIN                     Kerala
NEW
MANGALORE           Karnataka
MORMUGAO             Goa
MUMBAI             Maharashtra
JNPT
(Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust)   Maharashtra
KANDLA            Gujrat
Port Blair                   Andaman Nicobar

India ratifies U.N. Convention against Corruption

• India has ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption — a politically correct move that ought to take some heat off a government battling serious corruption charges and seen as unwilling to crackdown on black money stashed away abroad.
• Indeed, in recent days a question often asked was why India had not ratified the Convention when asset recovery is stated explicitly as a fundamental principle of the Convention. Besides, member-countries are bound by the Convention to render mutual legal assistance towards prosecution of offenders as well in tracing, freezing, and confiscating the proceeds of corruption.
• The Prime Minister's explanation for the delay was that the ratification had been under active consideration since September 2010 and a Group of Ministers was deputed to oversee the process. 
• The text of the United Nations Convention against Corruption was negotiated during seven sessions between January 21, 2002 and October 1, 2003. The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly by Resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003 and it entered into force on December 14, 2005.

India signs tax treaty with Colombia

• India signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Colombia for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income emanating from either country. Apart from enabling close monitoring of tax evaders, the provision of the agreement will help in preventing money laundering and deal with other tax-related offences.
• The DTAA, provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state if the activities of an enterprise constitute a permanent establishment by way of a branch or factory in that state.
• As per the provisions of the agreement, profits of a construction, assembly or installation project is to be taxed in the source state if the project continues in that state for more than six months. Profits derived by an enterprise from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable in the country of residence of the enterprise.
• Dividends, interest and royalty income will be taxed both in the country of residence and in the country of source. However, the maximum rate of tax to be charged in the country of source will not exceed 5 per cent in the case of dividends and 10 per cent in the case of interest and royalties. Capital gains from the sale of shares will be taxable in the country of source. 
• More importantly, the DTAA incorporates provisions for effective exchange of information and assistance in collection of taxes between tax authorities of the two countries in line with internationally accepted standards. 
• This includes exchange of banking information and also incorporates anti-abuse provisions to ensure that the benefits of the agreement are availed of by genuine residents of the two countries. "The agreement will provide tax stability to the residents of India and Colombia and facilitate mutual economic cooperation as well as stimulate the flow of investment, technology and services" between the two countries, the statement said.

Angela Merkel chosen for Nehru Award

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been chosen for the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for her enormous efforts toward sustainable and equitable development, it was announced here on Monday.
The jury, chaired by Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, has decided to confer the award for 2009 on Dr. Merkel, an External Affairs Ministry release said here on Monday.
The 57-year-old German leader is known for her efforts for good governance and understanding and for the creation of a world better positioned to handle the emerging challenges of the 21st century, it said.
She has been sympathetic to developing countries and our own developmental imperatives and has led the search for a balanced solution based on principles of equity and sensitivity to the interests of the developing world, it said.
Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding is an international award presented by the Government of India. It was founded in 1965 and is administered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to people "for their outstanding contribution to the promotion of international understanding, goodwill and friendship among people of the world". The money constituent of this award is 1 crore rupees.

The award carries prize money of Rs.1 crore besides a trophy and citation.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Mother Teresa, Kenneth Kaunda, Aung San Suu Kyi, Hosni Mubarak, Josip Broz Tito and Nelson Mandela are some of past recipients of the award.

India, Pakistan resume talks on Tulbul project

• After a gap of four years, India and Pakistan will on Thursday resume talks in Islamabad on the Tulbul navigation project, also known as the Wular Lake project, in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Work was suspended in October 2007 after Islamabad imposed it as a pre-condition for talks at the government-level. Before that, the matter was being handled at the level of the Permanent Indus Commission.
• According to informed sources, India will seek an early resolution so that it can resume work on the project, which is located on the Jhelum river in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramullah district.
• The Tulbul navigation project is located just below the exit of the Wular Lake, a natural lake. India envisages controlled release of water from the lake during the lean-season months of October to February to facilitate year-round navigation for commercial trade, employment and tourism.
• New Delhi maintains that the regulating structure is permitted under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 for the non-consumptive use of navigation. Moreover, it holds that the project is beneficial for Pakistan as well as to firm up lean-season water supplies for its proposed projects and the Mangala dam in the PoK region.
• Pakistan, however, contests it as a "storage project" and charges India with violation of the provisions under the Treaty. In 1986, Pakistan threatened to resolve the issue through a neutral expert as was done in the case of the Baglihar dam, or through an arbitration court as in the Kishanganga project.
  

Environmental appraisal authority being set up

• The Union government is in the process of setting up a National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA) as part of efforts to bring in institutional reforms and improve environmental governance
• Mr. Ramesh said that as a professional, science-based and autonomous entity tasked with environmental appraisals and monitoring of compliance, NEAMA would mark a major improvement over the current system wherein the Ministry did appraisal and approval of projects.
• While NEAMA would be more effective in addressing conflict of interest issues through separation of the processes of appraisal and approval, the appraised projects would require his final approval to ensure the principle of executive accountability, he said.
• The Minister said a beginning was being made to move to a market-friendly system of regulation with the launch of a pilot project in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra to implement regulations for air pollutants.
  

ISRO unveils supercomputer--- SAGA-220

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has built a supercomputer, which will be India's fastest in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 TeraFLOPS (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second).

Named Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility, it is located at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

The new graphic processing unit (GPU)-based supercomputer, which has been named SAGA-220 (Super-computer for Aerospace with GPU Architecture-220 TeraFLOPS), would be used for solving complex aerospace problems, said an ISRO press release.

The supercomputer was fully designed and built by the VSSC, using commercially available hardware and open source software components. Its total cost was about Rs.14 crore.

Stockholm Convention approves recommendation for ban on endosulfan

• The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention in Geneva on Friday approved the recommendation for elimination of production and use of endosulfan and its isomers worldwide, subject to certain exemptions.
• The decision will not be binding on India unless specifically ratified by the country. However, the Indian delegation to the Convention concurred with the decision after its concerns about exemptions and financial assistance were addressed, according to information reaching here.
• The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Convention, which recommended the ban last year, will work with parties and observers to come up with alternatives to endosulfan. The Convention will also approve financial assistance to developing countries for replacing endosulfan with alternatives.
• Endosulfan is the 22nd chemical to be listed in the Convention.