1.India to see 6.1 % economic growth this year: UN
i. Indian economy is projected to grow at a slower pace of 6.1 per cent this year even as exports and capital investments are likely to be much better than in 2012, according to the United Nations.
ii. The UN has trimmed its growth forecast from 7.2 per cent estimated in June 2012.iii. "GDP growth in India will accelerate to 6.1 per cent in 2013 and 6.5 per cent in 2014 as a result of stronger growth of exports and capital investment..
iv. However, the forecast of 6.1 per cent growth for this year is much better than 5.5 per cent expansion seen in 2012, as per the UN 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013' report.
NOTE: i. Indian economy accounts for almost three-quarter of South Asia's overall GDP.
ii. Economic growth in South Asia fell to its lowest in 10 years in 2012.
iii. UN ESCAP's (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) Chief Economist Nagesh Kumar today said that India has huge growth potential in the long term. India and China are playing a major role in the growth of world economy.
2.Govt raises cap on supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to 9:
i. The government on Thursday raised the cap on supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to nine bottles from six per year and allowed oil companies to hike diesel prices by a "small quantum" periodically.
ii. There will be no change in LPG and kerosene rates, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said on Thursday after the meeting on Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).
NOTE: Consumers will get a quota of five subsidised cylinders between September 2012 and March 2013 and from 1st April, 2013, they will be entitled to nine cylinders per annum.
3. World Bank slashed the Global Growth Forecast to 2.4 Percent:
i. The World Bank on 15 January 2013 projected that the world economy would expand 2.4 percent in 2013, little higher than the 2.3 percent achieved in 2012.
ii. In June 2012, the Bank forecasted the growth up to 3 percent, but due to the slow growth rate, high unemployment rate and less confidence in businesses across the developing nations it managed to revise the forecast earlier made.
NOTE: The report from the lead author of the Bank’s Global Economic Prospects Andrew Burns describes that the predicted recoveries of the bank in 2012 would be carried forward towards the end of the first quarter and second quarter of 2013.
4. China appointed Wei Wei, a Career Diplomat as Ambasador to India:
Wei Wei would be the successor of Zhang Yan in India…
Chinese President Hu Jintao on 16 January 2013 appointed the career diplomat and its current envoy to Singapore Wei Wei as its new Ambassador to India.
He has served as a diplomat of China in countries like, Ethopia, Brunei, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
5. India and Bangladesh Decided Increasing Rail Link Projects:
i. India and Bangladesh decided in the third week of January 2013, to speed up its rail link projects in order to increase the contact among the people of two neighbouring nations.
ii. Railway delegations from India and Bangladesh discussed about the operational, technical as well as financial matters as well.
iii. Delegations from India and Bangladesh also agreed in the meanwhile to increase frequency of the Maitree Express as well as introduction of the system of return tickets.
NOTE: As of now, there are four ongoing rail link projects and these are Chilahati (Bangladesh)-Haldibari (India), Birol (Bangladesh)-Radhikapur (India), Akhaura (Bangladesh)-Agartala (India) and Shahbazpur (Bangladesh)- Mahishashan (India).
6. The Union Cabinet Sanctioned Appointment of 2000 Judges for the Fast-Track Courts:
i. The Union Cabinet, in its letter sent on 9 January 2013, to the high courts as well as the state governments asked them to enhance strength of the subordinate judiciary from 18000 at present to 20000.
ii. The Law Ministry approved 80 crore Rupees for recruiting these 2000 additional judges in the country for the fast track courts.
NOTE: i. This happened in light of the gang rape of the 23-year-old Para-medical student on 16 December 2012, after which lawyers, officials as well as jurists discussed how long trials put the victims at a disadvantage.
ii. Inspite of all such efforts, there are over 3.20 crore cases pending in the various courts of the country. Out of these, a total of 2.76 crore cases were pending in the subordinate courts and 44 lakh were pending in the high courts, as per the Law Ministry.
7. Patiala House Became First District Court to Use Complete E-Stamping Facility:
i. Patiala House court complex in New Delhi on 16 January 2013 completely switched over to the e-stamping facility. Patiala House court complex is one of the six district courts in New Delhi.
ii. E-stamping arrangement in Patiala House court complex was inaugurated by the district judge of Patiala House court, I S Mehta.
iii. With the complete e-stamping facility at the Patiala House, it became the first ever district court to make use of this facility completely, while doing away with the stamp papers.
iv. This action will help in making sure hassle-free transactions as well as keeping fraudulent practices under check.
NOTE: E-stamping was first introduced in April 2008 and is now also accessible in all the denominations. The city government, on an average collects 200 crore Rupees revenue in a month through this facility.
8.Parl panel recommends 5 kg of foodgrain entitlement per person:
i. A Parliamentary panel has recommended five kilograms of foodgrain entitlement per person, a month under the National Food Security Bill awaiting passage in Parliament.
ii. The Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution in its report submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker today, has agreed to the proposed coverage of 75 per cent of the population in rural and 50 per cent in urban areas.
iii. Committee Chairman, Vilas Muttemwar said, the rice will be available at three rupees a kilogramme, wheat two rupees and millets one rupee.
NOTE: The total quantity of foodgrains required to be distributed will be about 568 lakh tonnes, a year. He said the committee did not favour cash transfer in lieu of foodgrain entitlements before banking infrastructure and accessibility facilities are in place in all parts of the country.
9. Special Mobile Court awarded One Year Sentence on Corruption Charges in MGNREGS:
i. A Special Court constituted for trial of the corruption cases in implementation of the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) on 16 January 2013 awarded one year sentence along with 40000 rupees as penalty to the assistants of the field.
ii. This was first ever event in India where judgment related to the corruption charges in MGNREGS was delivered by a Special Court.
iii. The sentence awarded also carries a term that failure in payment of the penalty imposed would lead the accused to jail for another eight months.
NOTE: The State Government of Andhra Pradesh in January 2012 constituted a Special Mobile Court for carrying on the trials of the cases of the MGNREGS in Karimnagar and Medak districts of the state.
The Case:
The public prosecutor of the mobile court G. Venkata Ramulu filed a case against a field assistant B. Praveen Goud, in Karnalpally village of Chegunta mandal for misuse of the funds. Based on the complaints the Judge of the special court, K. Venkateswara Rao delivered his judgment after Praveen’s involvement in the corruption charges was proved.
10. Union Cabinet recommends President’s Rule in Jharkhand:
i. The government on Thursday decided to recommend to President Pranab Mukherjee to impose central rule in Jharkhand, where Chief Minister Arjun Munda has resigned after his government was reduced to a minority.
ii. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, discussed the report of Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed who has favoured imposition of President’s rule while keeping the 82-member state Assembly in suspended animation.
iii. The Chief Minister had sought dissolution of the Assembly after ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha withdrew support to his government.
NOTE: Jharkhand, which was created in 2000, has been placed under President’s rule twice.
11.MTNL launches video telephony in Delhi & Mumbai:
i. Government Telecom Service Provider MTNL today launched its video telephony service in Delhi and Mumbai, the first by any service provider in these two cities.
ii. Inaugurating the service in New Delhi, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said that this service will change the way people communicate with each other without travelling and will improve their quality of life in many ways.
iii. The Minister said that the service is ideal for communication and applications like tele-medicine, tele-education and e-governance adding that the service would save time, cost and will improve productivity.
NOTE: Using this service, calls can be made within India on MTNL/BSNL HD-Voice and video telephony network and the video call charges would be Rs. 2.50 per minute.
12.Maharatna status for BHEL:
The Committee of Secretaries led by Cabinet Secretary has cleared the proposal to grant Maharatna status to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.
Addressing a gathering of BHEL employees in Tiruchirapalli, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel said this.He urged BHEL to tap all opportunities including new business sectors like solar energy.
NOTE: i. BHEL had a long and glorious tradition of contribution to the development of the nation and it is one of the finest companies in the world.
ii. The 49,000-strong technical and committed workforce of BHEL hailing from all parts of the country, was one of the biggest assets of the country.
13.Saina rises to 2nd, Kashyap in top-10 of BWF rankings
i. Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal attained a new high as she climbed to a career-best second in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.
ii. Saina gained a rung to be second with 80091.7444 points.
iii. The Indian, who is currently competing in the Malaysia Open Super Series, is a distant second to top-placed Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China who has 94626.7153 points.
iv. In the men's list, Olympic quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap also headed northwards as he reached a career-high 10th.
v. Kashyap, who was 11th in the previous rankings, has 51986.6900 points and is the only Indian in the top-25 of the BWF list.
14.Golf: First major Tournament of year-Abu Dhabi Ch'ship begins;
i. The first major Golf major tournament of the year begins in Abu Dhabi today.
ii. World Number One and two, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will be among the top players to fight it out for the $2.7million prize purse at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championships..
iii. The tournament also features four times Champion Martin Kaymer, last years’ winner Robert Rock, Justin Ross, Paul Casey, Jason Dufner among others. Indian challenge in the tournament is led by Jeev Milkha Singh.
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