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Elephant to be National Heritage Animal and National Elephant Conservation Authority to be setup
(National) |
31-08-10
Ministry of Environment and Forests has announced that it will declare the Elephant as a National Heritage Animal. The ministry has also said that a National Elephant Conservation Authority will be setup, to give same degree of visibility, importance and criticality similar to that of National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The annoucement was made while releasing the Report of the Elephant Task Force in New Delhi today, by Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests.
The ministry had setup a specialized task force under the Chairmanship of Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan to address the problems related to the Asian Elephant.
Ramesh appreciated the way the Task Force has addressed the main concerns of the issue. The report includes elephant corridors in context of mining, power and irrigation projects, of protection of elephant corridors, elephant in captivity, institutional changes in order to put elephant conservation on high, sound footing and give same degree of visibility as Project Tiger gets.
The Task Force recommends a new system of assessment at three tiers. Crisis of elephant is not a crisis of extinction but a crisis of attrition. The crisis has to be looked into the conservation of habitat. |
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Supreme Court reitirates its order - distribute foodgrains instead of letting it rot
(General) |
31-08-10
The Supreme Court took strong exception to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's statement in press that it was not possible to implement the Supreme Court "suggestion" in which the country's apex court had asked the government to distribute foodgrain for free to the hungry poor instead of allowing it to rot.
The Supreme Court told the Additional Solicitor General, today that its instructions about free distribution of foodgrains was an order and not a suggestion.
While hearing a PIL about the foodgrains rotting in the godowns of Food Corporation of India, earlier this month a Supreme Court bench had ordered the government to give it to the hungry poor instead of it going down the drain. The bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma had also asked the government to take urgent steps to ensure that food grains are not wasted.
The Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar had taken the order casually saying that it was not possible to distribute grains for free.
Later in the day, when the opposition tried to corner Sharad Pawar in Lok Sabha on the matter, Sharad Pawar said that he would be able to comment only after seeing the orders of the court. |
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SEBI asks media to disclose stake in companies reported
(General) |
27-08-10
Press Council of India accepted suggestions made by SEBI asking media companies to disclose their interest in the companies that they cover in their media.
SEBI had taken up with the Press Council of India, its concerns on practice of many media groups entering into agreements, such as "Private Treaties", with companies. Typically, such arrangements are with companies which are listed or which proposes to come out with public offerings. These, in general, entail a company giving stake in it (shares, warrants, bonds etc.) in return for media coverage through advertisements, news reports, advertorials etc. in the print or electronic media.
Press Council of India informed SEBI that in its meeting held on 22.02.2010 at New Delhi, it has accepted the following suggestions of SEBI and has mandated the following:- Disclosures regarding stake held by the media company should be made in the news report/ article/ editorial in newspapers/television relating to the company in which the media group holds such stake.
- Disclosure on percentage of stake held by media groups in various companies under such 'Private Treaties' on the website of media groups should be made.
- Any other disclosures relating to such agreements such as any nominee of the media group on the Board of Directors of the company, any management control or other details which may be required to be disclosed and which may be a potential conflict of interest for media group, should also be mandatorily disclosed.
There are prescribed norms of Journalistic Conduct that require journalists to disclose any interest that they may have in the company about which they are reporting. However, now equivalent requirements have been introduced in the case of media companies holding a stake in the company which is being reported / covered. |
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Boeing's Dreamliner 787 delivery further delayed to 2011
(Business) |
27-08-10
Delivery of the 787 Dreamliner - Boeing's latest development in passenger transportation - has been delayed once again.
Boeing has attributed the delay in the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight test later this year.
Boeing said last month that the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays, could push first delivery of the 787 a few weeks into 2011. The delay in engine availability has extended that estimate to mid-first quarter 2011.
Boeing is working closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability.
The 787 is a family of airplanes in the 200- to 300-seat class that will be able to carry passengers on routes between 3,500 and 8,500 nautical miles (6,500 to 16,000 kilometers). The 787 is expected to allow airlines to offer passengers more of what they want: affordable, comfortable, nonstop, point-to-point travel to more destinations around the world.
Boeing says that 787 is the first commercial airplane to make the change from metal to composite structure. The majority of the 787's major structure is made out of composite material. The Dreamliner is the first commercial airplane to be built with a one-piece fuselage. |
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US GDP growth revised downward to 1.6%
(Business) |
27-08-10
The Bureau of Economic Analysis has revised downward by 0.8% the GDP growth number for the second quarter (April to June 2010) in its second estimate released today compared to the first estimate for the same period, released earlier by BEA, growth of 2.4%.
The second estimate of GDP growth for the second quarter is 1.6%.
Compared to the real GDP growth of 3.7% in the first quarter (January to March 2010), growth has declined by sharply, once again fueling recession fears.
According to BEA, the slower GDP growth primarily reflected a surge in imports compared with the previous quarter and a slow-down in inventory investment. These contributions to the slowdown in GDP growth were partly offset by an upturn in residential investment, an acceleration in business investment, an upturn in state and local government spending, and a pick up in federal government spending.
The skeptical stock markets fell into negative territory in reaction to the revised 1.6% growth number, but returned to positive territory with sharp gains when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the American central bank would do all it could to ensure a continued economic recovery.
He said that the committee was prepared to provide additional monetary accommodation through unconventional measures if required. |
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Direct Tax Code - What does it mean for you and me?
(Business) |
27-08-10
Direct Tax Code is the buzz-word in the Indian media today. The cabinet has approved a bill to implement the new direct tax code, the bill will now go to parliament to become a law.
The government had announced its intention to revamp the tax code that has been in use in the country for the last 50 years, and the new Direct Tax Code is a result of the deliberations that followed.
So, the question that comes to mind is - What does it mean for you and me?
Tinkering with the rates of taxes is something that the government does every year, there is nothing new in it. So why is the government spending crores for getting the new DTC up and alive.
Overhauling of the DTC will decide how the government will go about calculating and collecting its tax revenue.
The objective of new DTC is to bring together all direct taxes like income-tax, dividend distribution tax, fringe benefit tax and wealth-tax to "establish an economically efficient, effective and equitable direct tax system which will facilitate voluntary compliance and help increase the tax-GDP ratio".
To achieve this objective the government is updating and rewriting the outdated rules. It is designed to provide stability in the tax regime as it is based on well accepted principles of taxation and best international practices. It will eventually pave the way for a single unified taxpayer reporting system. |
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Jnaneshwari Train mishap key accused Uma Kant Mahato killed
(General) |
27-08-10
Maoist Uma Kant Mahato, a key accused in the Jnaneshwari Express mishap of 28 May 2010 that killed 148 passengers, has been killed in a gunbattle with security forces.
The incident occurred early morning on Friday 27 August 2010 at Jhargram, about 150 kms from Kolkata.
Uma Kant Mahato was a member of the tribal body People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). He was wanted in connection with Jnaneshwari sabotage and the CBI had annouced a reward of Rs. 1 lakh for him.
The security forces had mounted an operation to corner him and some of his associates on the basis of a tip-off. Gun-fire was exchanged from both sides for more than 4 hours.
CBI had announced awards ranging from Rs.50,000/- to Rs. 2,00,000/- for arrest of eleven absconding accused persons in the Jnaneshwari Train case. |
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Hyundai Motors India Ltd. announces hike effective from 1 Sept 2010
(Business) |
26-08-10
Hyundai Motors India Ltd. has announced a price hike of upto 1.2% across all models with effect from 1st September 2010. It has attributed the increase to the rising input costs.
The price hike was announced by the company's Director, Marketing and Sales, Arvind Saxena. He said "There has been an increase in the input costs for car manufacturers. We have tried to absorb as much of the cost as we can, to cause as less inconvenience as possible to our valued customers."
Hyundai Motors India is the wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea. It is the second largest passenger car manufacturer in the India.
The models of the company include the Santro, i10, i20, Accent, verna and Sonata. |
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State Bank of Indore merges into State Bank of India
(Business) |
26-08-10
State Bank of India, the biggest bank of India just got bigger. It has formally acquires State Bank of Indore today (26 Aug 2010) as per the Gazette Notification issued on 28th July 2010 by the Department of Financial Services.
From today, all branches of State Bank of Indore have started working as branches of State Bank of India.
State Bank of India will issue a maximum of 116052 shares of face value of Rs.10 each to the minority shareholders of State Bank of Indore. The shareholders as on record date of 11 Aug 2010 will receive 34 shares of State Bank of India fore every 100 shares of State Bank of Indore, which is the approved Share Exchange Ratio.
This is the second merger of an associate State Bank into SBI. Earlier, State Bank of Saurashtra had been similarly merged in August 2008. The other associate banks still functioning independently are - the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur,
- the State Bank of Hyderabad,
- the State Bank of Mysore,
- the State Bank of Patiala and
- the State Bank of Travancore
O. P. Bhatt, the Chairman of State Bank of India has indicated that he awaits approval from the government to take these into SBI's fold. |
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US Markets jittery on record low new-home sales
(International) |
25-08-10
New home sales in US hit a record low in July this year. The sales of new single-family houses in July 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 2.76 lakh according to estimates released jointly today by US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This is 12.4% ((±10.8%) below the revised June rate of June 3.15 lakh and 32.4% ((±8.7) below the July 2009 estimate of 4.08 lakh.
This report has come a day after American National Association of Realtors released figures indicating a slow down in existing home sales. According to NAR, existing home sales are at a 15 year low with supply of 12.5 months.
The indicators are pointing to an economic slow down in the US with a lack of jobs leading to a drop in confidence.
Ever since the US Economy has move out the recession last year, experts have been waiting for what they call a double-dip recession and such reports work like ammunition in their arsenal.
The next big number awaited is the GDP number due on 27 August 2010. |
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