India and World: December 2010
Steady progress in border talks: Menon
• National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said the fourteenth round of boundary
negotiations between India and China had made “steady progress,” with both sides expressing
willingness to arrive at a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” solution.
• On the border talks, Mr. Menon said negotiations were still in the second of three stages,
focussing on arriving at a framework to settle the dispute in the western and eastern sections of
the border. The first stage, which involved coming up with political parameters, concluded in
2005 with an agreement signed during Mr. Wen's last visit to India.
• The third and final stage will involve the actual process of delineating the border on maps and
on the ground.
TAPI gas pipeline project poised for breakthrough
• The long-awaited Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is
heading for a breakthrough during a proposed four nation summit at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.
• The 1,640 km Asian Development Bank-backed pipeline will draw gas from Turkmenistan's
Daulatabad gas field. Once inside Afghanistan, it will run alongside the Herat-Kandahar
Highway before heading towards Multan in Pakistan via Quetta. The pipeline will terminate in
India at Fazilka in Punjab.
Sarkozy calls for permanent Security Council seat for India
• During his first stopover on his four-day visit to India, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called
for a permanent seat for India in the U.N. Security Council.
• The UNSC must be expanded to include new permanent members — India, Brazil, Germany
and Japan — and it must have representation from Africa and the Middle-East, he said, adding
India should join the Security Council as a permanent member so that it could assume its full
role in the G20.
• Nuclear energy would be the “focus” of Indo-French cooperation, he said, lauding the
“considerable environmental benefit” and “energy independence” that it brought. As much as 80
per cent of France's electricity came from the nuclear source.
• India's decision to expand its nuclear energy production from 4,000 to 62,000 megawatts in 20
years represented a “change of attitude.” With the completion of the nuclear power project at
Jaitapur, to be built in collaboration with the French company Areva, the six Indo-French EPR
plants would provide 10,000 megawatts, said Mr. Sarkozy.
India, France to sign pact on two nuclear reactors
• The final negotiating obstacles having been crossed, India and France will sign a framework
agreement for the construction of two 1,650-MWe French nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in
• The agreement between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) and the French
nuclear vendor, Areva, will be in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Russia's concern over liability law may delay new Kudankulam pacts
• Russian reservations about the implications of India's nuclear liability law may be delaying thecontracts for two nuclear power reactors to be built in Kudankulam, in the Tirunelveli district of
Tamil Nadu.
• Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of the State-owned nuclear company Rosatom, is building two
1,000 MW reactors in Kudankulam in a collaborations with the Nuclear Power Corporation of
India Limited (NPCIL), and is in negotiations to build more. Last year, an intergovernmental
agreement pledged that four new reactors would be built at Kudankulam.
• The first of the original reactors is undergoing final safety tests and is likely to start operations
early next year after numerous delays to the original schedule. Construction work is mostly
complete for the second reactor as well, which is likely to become critical within two years,
according to the Atomstroyexport officials.
• India's Civil Nuclear Liability Act, passed by Parliament earlier this year makes the supplier of
a nuclear reactor liable in case of an accident. These “stringent provisions” have been opposed
by the American companies, even while many Indian experts have argued against the Rs. 1,500
crore cap on financial compensation.
India, France to enforce curbs on terror outfits
• India and France decided to enhance their operational cooperation to expeditiously process
extradition requests, curb money-laundering for terrorism and enforce the international
sanctions regime against terrorist organisations.
• Both sides also reiterated the importance of adhering to the sanctions against the Al-Qaeda and
the Taliban, as established by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 and
subsequent resolutions, and the need to preserve the regime's credibility.
• The two countries also decided to remain united in reforming the Security Council, countering
the financing of terrorism and money-laundering, effectively combating climate change and
utilising diplomatic tools to resolve the Iranian issue.
• The two countries also expressed concern at the situation in the Korean peninsula and urged
North Korea to comply with international resolutions.
• Following India's enactment of a civil nuclear liability law, both countries were ready to further
exchange views on this issue to ensure an appropriate framework for the sound development of
their cooperation.
India, France ink two pacts on nuclear safety
• Besides the five agreements in the nuclear field that were announced on December 6 by the
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, two
more agreements between India and France were signed on the same date in the area of nuclear
safety. For some reason, these were not included in MEA's announcement.
• The first is an agreement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the French
Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). This is for exchange of technical information and cooperation
in regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection. It was signed by AERB Chairman S. S.
Bajaj, and ASN Chairman Andre Claude Lacoste.
• According to AERB Secretary R. Bhattacharya, the accord provides for exchange of
information in the development of nuclear plant safety review process. It also provides for
exchange of experts and technical and regulatory information relating to radiation protection
and safety of nuclear facilities.
• This agreement renews and updates the existing arrangement, which is in force since 1999 and
subsequently renewed in 2005.
• The second agreement is on technical cooperation between the AERB and the French Institutefor Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). Called the AERB-IRSN Framework
Agreement for general cooperation in nuclear safety, it was signed by Mr. Bajaj and Jacqus
Repussard, Director General of IRSN.
• The agreement covers areas such as exchange or secondment of staff, exchange of materials or
software, joint studies and joint projects in the area of nuclear safety.
• IRSN is the technical support organisation for the ASN just as the Bhabha Atomic Research
Center (BARC) is for the AERB. This agreement basically extends to the AERB the earlier
scientific and technical cooperation that was in existence for over 10 years between the IRSN
and the BARC.
Brussels summit one more step in strategic ties with EU
• The annual India-European Union (EU) summit that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
attending in Brussels is significant with negotiations nearing completion that are expected to
take India-EU trade to €100 billion.
• The summit will be the first post-ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by EU member countries. As
the contours of the EU itself expand and change, the India-EU relationship has also broadened,
elevated to strategic partnership since the first summit in 2000.
• Though V. Katju, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, was silent on the sticky points
in the ongoing Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations, reports
suggest the EU is dragging its feet on issues related to intellectual property rights, environment
and pollution and labour laws, especially child labour issues.
India-EU pact on movement of persons likely
• Hectic negotiations between India and the European Union in the last two weeks has resolved
the logjam on several issues, including the “bug-bear” intellectual property rights issue with
India saying there will be no compromise on our position that any agreement will have to be
within our existing legal statutes.
• In simple terms, this means that professionals would be able to move more easily between India
and the 27-member countries of the European Union countries once this comes through. This
was a problem at the negotiations that had been complicated by higher than normal rates of
unemployment in Europe following the global recession in 2008-09 and the collapse of
economies of some countries in the EU.
• Officials for the 11th India-EU Summit disclosed that an agreement on temporary movement of
“natural persons” would take place within the next few months.
• A huge problem that was worrying the Indian pharma industry was the seizure of generic drugs
at European ports although they were being exported to third countries outside the EU. Official
sources disclosed that this too has been resolved to the satisfaction of India.
• “The negotiations were on track, the decks had been cleared and there was expectation that the
Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) would be signed by March-April 2011 to
boost India's trade with EU, its largest trading partner, to a hundred billion euros,” officials said.
Terrorism cannot be used to solve political problems, says Merkel
• A brief but intensive dialogue on a whole range of subjects from reform of the United Nations
and the security situation in the Asian sub-continent were discussed at a bilateral summit
between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• There was every indication that Dr. Singh's Berlin stopover on the way back from the Brussels
India-European Union Summit was one more step forward in strengthening the India-Germany
strategic partnership.
Let's be sensitive to each other's concerns”
• The “stapled visa” issue could not be unstapled during the two rounds of talks Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao but India and China — which reiterated
their desire to cooperate and set an ambitious trade target of $100 billion by 2015 — have
agreed on a mechanism to address the matter. They also agreed to address the pause in highlevel
defence exchanges — suspended as a result of the Chinese policy of issuing distinctive
visas to Indian citizens domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir — by creating a basis for them to
“continue without constraints.”
• Beyond the visa issue, however, the two countries made progress by agreeing to a strategic
economic dialogue to enhance macro-economic policy coordination and address challenges in
economic development and cooperation. They also opened new areas for cooperation such as
maritime security. Despite the pause in defence exchanges at the senior level, India and China
agreed to work together in tackling piracy in the Gulf of Aden, where both sides have deployed
warships. They also agreed that freedom of navigation should be in line with international laws.
• There was forward movement on security cooperation, trans-border rivers and in addressing the
imbalance in trade.
• On the issue of dams on rivers, China changed its position slightly. Both sides agreed to further
discuss India's suggestion for increased cooperation on trans-border river issues over and above
the expert level mechanism for the Brahmaputra and the Sutlej.
• According to Indian officials, the two sides deadlocked on persuading Pakistan to abide by U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1267, which India interprets to mean that none under the terrorism
scanner should be allowed to roam free. China has resisted any addition of terrorist names on
the 1267 list in the past. India also drew attention to Chinese nuclear reactors being supplied to
Pakistan, but Mr. Wen simply reiterated his country's commitment to non-proliferation, officials
said.
Manmohan-Wen hotline becomes operational
• The much-awaited hotline between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao has become operational.
• It was also decided that from now on the Foreign Ministers of the two countries will meet
annually. Mr. Wen insisted that apart from attending the BRIC summit in Beijing next year, Dr.
Singh should pay a stand-alone visit to China as part of a new mechanism of regular exchange
of visits at the top level.
India, Mongolia hold joint military exercises
• The troops of India and Mongolia engaged in joint exercises, in counter-insurgency ending in
• Nearly 30 officers and personnel of the Mongolian armed forces participated in the workout
called “Nomadic Elephant” along with 50 officers and personnel of the Indian Army in counterterrorism
environment.
• The current engagement tapered and ended around the time the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
was in India and Pakistan.
• Defence cooperation and relations between the militaries of the two countries has seen a steady
growth over the last decade with the first joint exercise in 2004. For the last few years, the joint
drills are being held every year.
• In recent years, the exercises varied with the one in 2005 being held at the Counter Insurgency
and Jungle Warfare School at Vairnagte, Mizoram while another exercise held in Mongolia in
September 2008 was on peacekeeping operations.
Russia a ‘special partner': Manmohan
• Belying predictions of diplomatic fatigue, the last visit to India by the head of a P-5 country in
2010 turned out to be one of the most significant, with 30 agreements and a meeting of minds
on key political issues emerging from talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
• After 90 minutes of restricted talks between the two leaders and 40 minutes among the
delegations, Dr. Singh emerged to tell journalists that India's relationship with Russia was
“special and privileged” and would develop independent of its ties with other countries.
• The highlight of the 30 agreements was the consolidation and extension of strategic cooperation
in the civil nuclear, hydrocarbons and space sectors.
• Russia joined the U.S. and France in speaking of India and itself as “states possessing nuclear
weapons” and promised to quarterback India's bid for full membership at the Nuclear Suppliers
Group and other multilateral export control clubs. Russia reiterated its support to India for a
permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, but the formulation used was the same
as at the previous two summit meetings. There was also public acknowledgement of India's
imminent membership of the Russia-China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
civil nuclear sector
• In the civil nuclear sector, a firm agreement on setting up two more reactors at Kudankulam,
beyond the four already in the pipeline, was postponed pending the ongoing talks on the
liability issue. The Russian side, which wants a firm assurance from India for as many as a
dozen large units, essentially wants to wait and see whether New Delhi makes any concession
on the liability front to the United States. Moscow is also looking closely at the kind of pricing
structure that is emerging from French and American suppliers. Russian reactors are due to
come up at Haripur in West Bengal, besides Kudankulam.
Cooperation in nuclear energy at the global level
• Apart from these projects, India and Russia agreed to work together at the global level on
nuclear energy. In the first initiative of its kind to be taken by either of them, the two countries
agreed to consider cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with third countries and
said, “as supplier states, [they] support multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle at the
IAEA.” Both sides also identified joint research and development in reactor technology as an
area on which the two atomic energy establishments would hold detailed discussions.
Defence
• In defence, India and Russia marked the beginning of their first-ever collaboration in producing
a next-generation fighter aircraft, with the inking of the preliminary design contract agreement.
Trade and economic ties
• With both sides focussing greatly on improving their trade and economic ties, Moscow agreed
to smoothen travel procedures for business people and visitors, a long-standing Indian grouse
that had earlier led to an IT major CEO abandoning plans to invest in Russia. At the same time,
both sides agreed to discourage unwanted or overstaying visitors and thereby avoid subsequent
diplomatic wrinkles.
Collaborate in the hydrocarbons sector
• The intention to collaborate in the hydrocarbons sector was given a concrete shape by an intergovernmental
agreement that will evolve into an extensive road map largely modelled on the
Sino-Russia partnership in this sector. The Memorandum of Understanding between Sistema, a
telecom-petro giant with rights over two lucrative hydrocarbon fields, and ONGC Videshprogressed to a framework agreement on cooperation. Three agreements in the space sector will
give India access to the Russian satellite constellation, the Global Navigation Satellite System.
Partnership in the pharmaceuticals sector
• The two sides also gave a firm shape to a partnership in the pharmaceuticals sector, in which
India sees a $15-16 billion opportunity, with the joining of hands by the private sectors of both
countries for joint ventures in Russia.
India, Russia sign fighter aircraft pact
• The biggest defence programme in India's history — the contract for the preliminary design of
the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) — was signed between Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) and Russia's Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi. It will involve the production of
200-250 aircraft.
• The FGFA will have advanced features such as stealth, super-cruise, ultra-manoeuvrability,
highly integrated avionics suite, enhanced situational awareness, internal carriage of weapons
and network centric warfare capabilities.
• The aircraft would be called Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF). It draws upon the basic
structural and system design of the Russian FGFA Technology Demonstrator with modifications
to meet the Indian Air Force's specifications, which are much more stringent.
• Besides design and development, the project covers production and joint marketing of the
aircraft to third countries. The programme options include the design and development of a
twin-seater variant and the integration of an advanced engine with higher thrust at a later stage.
• The agreement is the first in a series of such contracts that will cover different stages of this
programme.
• The contract was signed by A. Isaykin, general director of Rosoboronexport and M. Pogosyan,
general director RAC MiG & Sukhoi from the Russian side and HAL chairman Ashok Nayak,
and N.C. Agarwal, Director (D&D), HAL from the Indian side.
With South Africa in, it will be BRICS
• The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) grouping will become BRICS with the inclusion of
• The third BRIC summit in China next year will see South African President Jacob Zuma present
as an observer.
• Membership of the soon-to-be five nation grouping will then be frozen for some time. This
means that aspirants for membership like Egypt and Indonesia will have to wait till the BRICS
stabilises.
• India is comfortable with the planned inclusion of South Africa as both countries consult each
other on a wide variety of international issues.
• The G-4 countries (Japan-India-Germany-Brazil) regularly have consultations with South
Africa on the expansion of the Security Council. “By most calculations and any yardstick,
South Africa has good credentials to represent Africa on the UNSC,” the sources said.
• The BRICS will add more muscle to the original four-nation team in pressing for reforms in
multilateral financial institutions and G-20 meetings based on the principle of multi-polarity.
This has led to the BRIC emerging as a symbol of gradual transfer of economic power from the
West to emerging economies.
• On climate change, with the exception of Russia, the others form the BASIC that pushes the
interests of developing countries and thwarts attempts by the West to impose its agenda. Theemerging countries consistently push for a fair and effective solution to the climate change
issue, while reflecting the charter of the U.N. Framework Convention, especially the principle
of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities.
• The stage for South Africa's inclusion will be set with the expected presence of its Foreign
Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane at the next BRIC Foreign Ministers' meeting that will be
held early next year in China. Before that the issue will be discussed during a RIC (Russia-
India-China) meeting scheduled in Russia, where Sergei Lavrov, S.M. Krishna and Yang Jiechi
have confirmed their attendance.
• Though South Africa's economy has faltered, its presence at a vital point on the world's global
commons makes its inclusion vital.
• Besides climate change and international economic crises, South Africa also has a common
view on other pressing problems such as Iran. It agrees with other emerging economies for a
diplomatic solution and does not believe the U.S. and the European Union strategy to keep on
tightening the sanctions screw is an answer.
Person In News: January 2011
Civil rights activist Kannabiran passes away
• Eminent civil rights activist and prominent lawyer K.G. Kannabiran (81) passed away in
Hyderabad after a brief illness.
• Born in 1929, Mr. Kannabiran obtained master's degree in Economics and a degree in law from
the Madras University before shifting to Hyderabad to set up legal practice in 1961. Since the
late 1960s, he began to defend political dissenters that eventually marked the beginning of his
over three-decade-long civil liberties and human rights work.
Sudhir Sopory, JNU VC
• President Pratibha Patil in her capacity as the Visitor of all Central Universities gave her assent
to the appointment of Sudhir K. Sopory as the new Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious
Jawaharlal Nehru University.
• He succeeds B.B. Bhattacharya, whose term ended in June 2010. Professor Sopory is a senior
scientist of molecular biology at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology (ICGEB). The Human Resource Development Ministry has already issued a
notification regarding his appointment.
• The three-member committee which shortlisted the names was led by K. Kasturirangan, the
former ISRO chief.
Suchitra Mitra dead
• Suchitra Mitra, the legendary exponent of Rabindra Sangeet (Rabindranath Tagore's songs),
died in her South Kolkata residence after a protracted illness. She was 86.
• Her death in the 150th birth anniversary year of Tagore, the Nobel laureate, did more than just
cast a gloom over the world of culture and art; it marked the end of an era.
Civil rights activist Kannabiran passes away
• Eminent civil rights activist and prominent lawyer K.G. Kannabiran (81) passed away in
Hyderabad after a brief illness on Thursday evening.
• He is survived by wife Vasanta, two daughters and a son. The last rites were performed later in
the evening in the presence of family members as per his wish. • Born in 1929, Mr. Kannabiran obtained master's degree in Economics and a degree in law from
the Madras University before shifting to Hyderabad to set up legal practice in 1961. Since the
late 1960s, he began to defend political dissenters that eventually marked the beginning of his
over three-decade-long civil liberties and human rights work.
• He was the president of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee between 1978 and 1994 and
went on to become the national president of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
• With Leftist leanings, he advocated a dialogue between the government and the banned
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) – People's War — later known as CPI (Maoist).
• Mr. Kannabiran was always at hand to negotiate during deadlock between the State and the
extremist organisation. He played a key role in the release of seven IAS officers and others held
hostage by the People's War extremists in East Godavari district in December 1987.
• The Andhra Pradesh government sought his help when P. Sudhir Kumar, Congress MLA and
son of former Union Minister P. Shiv Shanker, was kidnapped by Naxalites from Hyderabad in
1991. Again in January 1993, it was the help rendered by Mr. Kannabiran that ensured the
return of another Congress MLA P. Balaraju, IAS officer D. Srinivasulu and six others, after
they were taken hostage by Naxalites.
• He was a member of Concerned Citizen's Tribunal that inquired into the Gujarat carnage.
Earlier, he was appointed as senior counsel by the CBI in the prosecution of the accused in the
Shankar Guha Niyogi murder case in Madhya Pradesh.
• During the Emergency, he defended numerous political detainees and appeared in four major
conspiracy cases — three of them in Andhra Pradesh — that had been filed to suppress political
dissent.
• In 1971, he filed a writ petition successfully challenging the Andhra Pradesh Preventive
Detention Act, 1970, under which writers, poets and intellectuals had been arrested.
• He was a lover of classical Indian music. He authored a book ‘The wages of impunity: power,
justice and human rights'. Several political parties and people's organisation condoled his
untimely death. Among them were Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu, Lok
Satta Party chief N. Jayaprakash Narayan and CPI (M) State committee secretary B. V.
Raghavulu.
Sudhir Sopory, JNU VC
• President Pratibha Patil in her capacity as the Visitor of all Central Universities gave her assent
to the appointment of Sudhir K. Sopory as the new Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious
Jawaharlal Nehru University.
• He succeeds B.B. Bhattacharya, whose term ended in June 2010. Professor Sopory is a senior
scientist of molecular biology at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology (ICGEB). The Human Resource Development Ministry has already issued a
notification regarding his appointment.
• The three-member committee which shortlisted the names was led by K. Kasturirangan, the
former ISRO chief.
Suchitra Mitra dead
• Suchitra Mitra, the legendary exponent of Rabindra Sangeet (Rabindranath Tagore's songs), died in her South Kolkata residence after a protracted illness. She was 86.
• Her death in the 150 {+t} {+h} birth anniversary year of Tagore, the Nobel laureate, did more
than just cast a gloom over the world of culture and art; it marked the end of an era.
• Eminent personalities from different walks of life flocked to her residence to pay their last
respects on hearing of her passing away.
• President Pratibha Patil, in a condolence message from Goa, described Suchitra Mitra as a
“renowned exponent of Rabindra Sangeet, a great name in the field of the performing arts, a
creative genius and a versatile personality”. “Her death will create a void in the world of culture
and art”, she added.
• Suchitra Mitra, through her inimitable renditions of Tagore's songs, had enthralled music lovers
worldwide, not just Bengalis or those in the country, Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,
said in his condolence message.
• “The soul of Tagore's songs was well and deeply manifest in her own style of rendition…I was
acquainted with her for a long period….Along with her numerous admirers, students, close
relatives and the ordinary people, I too mourn her passing away”, he added.
• Recipient of the Padma Shri award in 1973, she was also presented the Tagore Hymn Prize in
1945 from the London Tagore Hymn Society, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986 and
several others including the ‘Desikottam' conferred on her by the Visva Bharati University.
From childhood, Suchitra Mitra cultivated her love for the songs and poetry of Tagore. She was
given her first lessons in Rabindra Sangeet by Pankaj Mullick.
Person In News: December 2010
A.P. Singh is new CBI chief
• Amar Pratap Singh, senior-most Special Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
took over as the new Director of the CBI. He succeeds Ashwani Kumar, who retired after
completing his 27 month-long tenure.
• Mr. Singh, of the Jharkhand cadre of the 1974 batch of IPS, has earlier held several positions in
the investigating agency between 1987-1995. He had been associated with the investigations of
a number of sensitive cases, including the Harshad Mehta scam in 1992. He has also served in
the Border Security Force (BSF) as Additional Director-General. He joined the CBI as Special
Director in April 2009.
T.E. Srinivasan passes away
• Cricket in the State, and in the country, lost a colourful personality in the death of T.E.
Srinivasan. Battling brain tumour for the past few years with exceptional equanimity, TE
succumbed to a massive heart attack. He was 60. TE is survived by wife Mala and daughter
Subha.
B.S. Ranga, veteran film director, passes away
• Veteran Kannada film director B.S. Ranga passed away at his residence following multipleorgan
failure. He was 93.
• The director-producer began his career as a cinematographer and had a brief stint at Gemini
Studios before starting his own studio and production company, Vikram Productions.
• At 17, his photographs were exhibited at the Royal Salon of London, and he was elected Fellow
of the Royal Photographic Society.
• Mr. Ranga won the President's Award for Tenali Ramakrishna and for Amarshilpi Jakanachari,
the first complete colour film in Kannada.
Satyanand Mishra is the new CIC
• Satyanand Mishra, one of six Information Commissioners and IAS officer of the 1973 batch,
has been selected to be the next Chief Information Commissioner.
• The selection was finalised by a panel comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Law
Minister Veerappa Moily and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj. Mr. Mishra will replace
A.N. Tiwari, who has held the post since October 1.
Richard Holbrooke passes away
• Richard Holbrooke (69), President Barack Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, died at George Washington University Hospital after undergoing two surgical
procedures for repairing a tear in his aorta.
• Mr. Holbrooke's career both began and ended in the service of American diplomacy trapped
within the perimeter of unrelenting wars of occupation. As a young Foreign Service officer he
was assigned to the U.S. embassy in Vietnam in 1962, where he served for six years and made
important policy contributions for economic development and local political reform. In this
posting he was most remembered, however, for lending his expertise to the Paris peace talks of
1968, which ultimately helped end the war.
Socialist leader Surendra Mohan passes away
• Renowned socialist thinker and activist Surendra Mohan passed away after suffering a cardiac
arrest in his sleep.Mr. Mohan was 84. He is survived by his social activist wife Manju Mohan, a
son and a daughter.
• Mr. Mohan, a veteran socialist leader, was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1978 to 1984. He
was also the former chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission. And, even
though he played a key role in the country's politics in 1977 when the Janata Party coalition
government was formed at the Centre, and in 1989, when the Janata Dal was born, he always
remained a behind-the-scenes party ideologue.
Amitabh Mattoo new VC of Jammu Central University
• President Pratibha Patil in her capacity as Visitor of all central universities approved the
appointment of Amitabh Mattoo as the first Vice Chancellor of the Central University at
Jammu. On the other hand Sudhir Kumar Sopory, a senior scientist in molecular biology at the
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, is all set to take over as Vice
Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
K. Karunakaran passes away
• The former Chief Minister of Kerala and veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran died at a
private hospital. He was 93 and is survived by daughter Padmaja Venugopal and son K
Muraleedharan.
• He was Home Minister in the C Achutha Menon Ministry from 1971-77. He took over as Chief
Minister in 1977, but had to resign a month later following an adverse court reference in the
infamous Rajan case. He came back into reckoning in 1982, when he patched up with his arch
rival A K Antony to begin his second term.
Sanjeev Tripathi to head RAW
• Sanjeev Tripathi, who heads the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), will be the new chief of the
country's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The ARC is a
part of RAW.
• Mr. Tripathi, who originally belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre of the 1973 batch of the Indian
Police Service, but was absorbed within RAW, will probably be the first RAW chief from the
RAS (RAW Allied Services) cadre to head the organisation, since it came to existence more
than four decades ago.
• He will take over on December 30 for a two-year term from the present chief, K. C. Verma, who
has expressed his desire to quit a month ahead of his tenure ending on January 31, 2011.
T.N. Ninan is president of Editors Guild
• The Chairman and Editorial Director of Business Standard, T.N. Ninan, has been elected
president of the Editors Guild of India which, in the wake of the Radia tapes, called upon
editors to place integrity above all other considerations.
• Commi Kapoor of Indian Express was retained as general secretary at the annual general body
meeting. Suresh Bafna of Nai Duniya was elected treasurer.
• Mr. Ninan succeeds Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN, while Mr. Bafna takes over from senior
editor Rohit Bansal. Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar thanked the outgoing team on behalf of the
guild members.
International Events January 2011
Strains in Egypt-Iran ties affect Gaza aid
• Strains in Egypt's ties with Iran have come in the way of the delivery of humanitarian aid that is
being ferried by Asian peace activists, the majority of whom are Indians, to the besieged
Palestinians residing in Gaza.
• However, the relief material that is to be shipped from the Syrian port of Latakia to Al Arish in
Egypt cannot be moved because of Cairo's refusal to grant visas to Iranian nationals who are
part of the caravan, said a statement from the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), the
organisers of this trans-Asia event.
• Egypt and Iran have a tense political relationship, which had once led Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to accuse the Egyptian government of being a “partner in crimes in
Egypt church blast kills 21
• A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Coptic church in Egypt, killing 21 people and
wounding 79 in an attack President Hosni Mubarak said was the work of “foreign hands”.
• Some 15 hours after the bombing, growing numbers of Christians were continuing to vent their
anger.
• By mid-afternoon, hundreds of youths in small groups in the neighbourhood of the church were
showering rocks and bottles on police, who responded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.
Dilma Rousseff takes charge in Brazil
• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff began her first full day in office after pledging to build on
the policies of her hugely popular predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
• The 63-year-old divorced grandmother, who was Mr. Lula's former Cabinet chief, assumed the
presidency. She is a left-wing former guerrilla who was tortured in prison in the 1970s for
opposing the then-military government.
Asian aid convoy arrives in Gaza
• More than 100 Asian activists calling for the lifting of the Gaza blockade and ferrying vital
humanitarian aid entered the Palestinian coastal strip.
• They are part of an Asian aid convoy, Asia1, which started on December 2 from Rajghat in New
Delhi and travelled by road to Syria, after crossing Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.
• Asian unity would be the first major step leading to the liberation of Palestine.
Governor of Pakistan's Punjab gunned down
• The outspoken Governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was gunned down,
allegedly by one of his own security guards.
• The guard, who surrendered to the police soon after, is said to have been upset with Taseer for
his support to a Christian woman charged with blasphemy.
• The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), to which Taseer belonged, has called for a fortnight-long
mourning, with its spokesperson Fauzia Wahab underscoring the point that yet another party
stalwart had made the ultimate sacrifice.
• Taseer angered the ‘religious' right wing after he visited Aasia Bibi — who was sentenced to
death by a sessions court in November last for allegedly committing blasphemy — in the
Sheikhupura jail. He also forwarded her mercy petition to President Asif Ali Zardari and stuck
to his guns despite threats from hardliners.
South Sudan set for referendum
• Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir arrived to a red-carpet welcome at Juba airport, on a rare trip
to the south just five days before it votes in a referendum on independence.
• The Sudanese President pledged to help build a secure, stable and “brotherly” state in the south
if it votes for independence, in a speech delivered in northern Gezira state.
• More than 3.5 million southerners are registered to participate in the referendum due to begin,
which will give them the chance to vote on whether to remain united with the north or secede.
• The vote is a key plank of the 2005 north-south peace deal that ended a devastating 22-year
civil war in which some two million people were killed and another four million displaced.
Ivory Coast rivals agree to meet: AU envoy
• Ivory Coast's political rivals Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara have agreed on a face-toface
meeting to try to resolve the country's political crisis, African Union envoy Raila Odinga
said.
• “We have broken the ice. They have agreed to meet face to face but under certain conditions,”
Mr. Odinga, Kenya's Prime Minister, told AFP by telephone from Abuja.
• Mr. Odinga was part of a four-member African delegation that held talks with the rival Ivory
Coast leaders in capital Abidjan.
Mystery over bird deaths
• New Year's revellers in a small Arkansas town were enjoying midnight fireworks when they
noticed something other than sparks falling from the sky: thousands of dead blackbirds
tumbling out of the darkness to the ground.
• The red-winged blackbirds rained onto rooftops and sidewalks and into fields. In all, more than
3,000 birds inexplicably dropped dead.
• Now scientists are investigating whether bad storms, fireworks or poison might have brought
the flock down, or if a disoriented bird simply led the group into the ground.
Chavez proposes envoy names to U.S.
• After weeks of diplomatic standoff between Venezuela and the United States, during which both
countries rejected the appointment of the other's Ambassador, Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez showed a way out of the stalemate by proposing that the U.S. appoint either former
President Bill Clinton, a Hollywood celebrity such as Sean Penn or Oliver Stone, or liberal
intellectual Noam Chomsky as Venezuelan Ambassador.
• Washington's fracas with Caracas began when U.S. Ambassador-designate to Venezuela, Larry
Palmer, made critical comments to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about low morale
in the Venezuelan military and concerns regarding Colombian FARC rebels finding refuge on
Venezuelan soil.
• In August, Mr. Chavez announced that he would not be willing to accept Mr. Palmer's
appointment, describing his Senate remarks about Venezuela as “blatantly disrespectful”. In
retaliatory action at the end of last month, the U.S. revoked the visa of Venezuelan Ambassador
Bernardo Alvarez.
China records a milestone in offshore oil, gas output
• China has joined the world's elite club of offshore oil producers after China National Offshore
Oil Corp (CNOOC) announced that its oil and natural gas output surpassed 60 million metric
tonnes in 2010.
• The country's largest offshore oil explorer's oil and gas production last year totalled 64.13
million metric tonnes of oil equivalent, of which 50 million was produced domestically, said its
president Fu Chengyu.
• China's surging energy demand has led the nation's foreign oil dependence ratio to reach a new
high of 55 per cent in 2010.
• He added that about 800 billion yuan ($121 billions) to 1 trillion yuan would be invested during
the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), with the majority going to offshore oil exploration.
Sudan vote sparks Africa balkanisation fears
• If south Sudan, why not south Nigeria, or north Ivory Coast, or multiple Congos? The Sudanese
vote to decide on independence for its southern regions has implications for all of Africa,
signalling that the borders drawn by colonial cartographers are no longer sacrosanct. Some fear
it may spur the balkanisation of the continent.
• The continent's arbitrary borders — blind to ethnic, cultural and political faultlines — were
drawn up by Britain and other European powers at the Berlin conference of 1884-85. When the
colonies gained independence 50 years ago, the Organisation of African Unity (now the African
Union) declared the borders immutable — because the alternative would look like a smashed
window pane of thousands of warring states.
• Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1993 after nearly 30 years of war, but it had already been a
separate entity in colonial times. So the sundering of Sudan, Africa's biggest country, would
represent an unprecedented challenge to the historical status quo.
• It is being watched closely in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, which has its own,
sometimes violent schism between a predominantly Muslim north and largely Christian, oil-rich
south
• But divisions in Ivory Coast are more complex than religion alone. The same is true in Sudan
and Nigeria, which has more than 250 ethnic groups. Tribalism, tradition, culture and language,
inequality, political marginalisation, access to resources, rural/urban rifts and the imprint of
colonialism can all be manipulated by leaders to inflame tensions.
Clashes disrupt voting in south Sudan oil state
• Clashes between renegade militiamen and south Sudanese troops disrupted voting in a landmark
independence referendum in part of a key oil state, the organising commission said.
• The new fighting came after clashes between the militia and southern troops in the state's
Mayom county and in which the Army said it killed six fighters and captured 32 without
sustaining any casualties.
• Unity state is the location of some of the south's main oil fields, which were one of the key
issues of conflict in the devastating 1983-2005 civil war with the north.
• Both U.N. and military sources said the earlier clashes may have been the work of loyalists of
Gatluak Gai, a renegade militia commander who rejected an amnesty offer from the southern
government and whose forces are active in the area.
ETA offer of ceasefire not sufficient: Spain
• Armed Basque separatists ETA announced a permanent, verifiable ceasefire after more than 40
years of bloodshed but Spain's government rejected it as insufficient.
• It was the first unilateral declaration of a permanent ceasefire in ETA's campaign of bombings
and shootings for a homeland independent of Spain, which has claimed the lives of 829 people.
Russia, U.S. enact nuclear pact
• Russia and the United States have enacted a historic nuclear cooperation pact that will enable
the two countries to collaborate in atomic technologies for the first time in the history of their
relations.
• The agreement entered into force after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and
U.S. Ambassador John Beyrle exchanged respective diplomatic notes in Moscow.
• “This key bilateral agreement provides the legal framework necessary for developing fullfledged
and effective cooperation in civilian nuclear power generation,” said the Russian
Foreign Ministry in a statement.
• The 123 agreement was signed in May 2008 but was frozen later the same year by Washington
over the Russia-Georgia war. U.S. President Barack Obama persuaded the Congress to ratify the
pact in December. The deal would allow Russia to store and reprocess U.S. spent fuel and
would give the U.S access to state-of-the-art Russian nuclear technologies. Experts said the
U.S., which has not built a single nuclear reactor in the past 30 years, is especially interested in
fast-neutron reactors, as well as in recycling nuclear fuel.
Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km to China
• China, which has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km, — the third-largest country in the
world — will get 1,000 sq km more; thanks to Tajikistan which agreed to cede a territory under
a 130-year-old dispute to the neighbouring giant.
• The Majlisi Namoyandagon, Tajikistan's lower chamber of Parliament, ratified a protocol on
demarcation of Tajikistan's common border with China.
• This was decided at a regular sitting of the second session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon,
presided over by Speaker Shukurjon Zuhurov, Tajikistan's news agency Asiaplus reported.
• The territorial dispute — at first between the Tsarist Russia and China, then between the Soviet
Union and China and later between sovereign Tajikistan and China — over some 28,500 square
kilometres in the Pamirs, rose in the second half of the 19th century.
• These disputable territories are nearly 20 per cent of Tajikistan's territory, while under theprotocol, only 1,000 square kilometres, or three per cent of the disputable territories, are ceded
Lebanese government falls
• Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman asked the outgoing Cabinet to continue in office in a
caretaker capacity after the government collapsed following the resignation of more than onethird
of the Ministers.
• Eleven Cabinet Ministers belonging to Hizbollah and its allies resigned over the international
investigation on the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.
• They said the Prime Minister had rejected their demand that an urgent Cabinet session be called
to discuss the government's withdrawal from all cooperation with the U.N.-backed Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The Hizbollah has for long been saying the STL would wrongly
indict it for Hariri's assassination. The indictments are expected to be released next week,
though a delay in this process cannot be ruled out, observers say.
Tunisia's government dismissed
• Caving under sweeping protests against spiralling food prices, Tunisia's government has been
dismissed and Parliament has been dissolved.
• The move comes despite Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's announcement during a
late night televised address that he would step down from his post in 2014 and push for greater
freedoms and reforms.
• The Tunisian opposition had welcomed the presidential address, but there were enough skeptics
among the country's opinion makers who either counselled a wait-and-see approach or called
for an escalation of protests. Despite Mr. Ben Ali's olive branch, fresh demonstrations erupted in
Tunis and in other parts. Police clashed heavily with angry protesters outside the Interior
Ministry headquarters in Tunis. Gunshots were heard and police struck with teargas grenades.
• Rioting has been rife in Tunisia for nearly a month after an unemployed educated youth driven
to selling vegetables set himself ablaze after officials prevented him from pursuing his trade.
Apart from surging food prices, the denial of civil liberties and tainted elections has left a deep
seated reservoir of discontent among various sections of the people, analysts say.
Rosneft, BP sign pact
• Russia's state-owned oil giant, Rosneft, has formed a strategic alliance with the British
Petroleum to develop Russia's energy-rich continental shelf in the Arctic Sea.
• Under a share swap partnership agreement signed in London, Rosneft would take a 5 per cent
stake in BP while BP would hold 9.5 per cent of Rosneft. The deal is worth about $7.8 billion.
• The two companies would explore Rosneft's three licence blocks on the Russian Arctic
continental shelf that may contain 5 billion tonnes of oil and 10 trillion cubic metres of gas, said
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
South Sudan votes for secession
• The once sleepy south Sudan town of Juba that hopes to become the world's newest national
capital opted 97.5 per cent for independence, preliminary results from a landmark vote showed.
• Full preliminary results from a number of the south's 10 states even showed landslides for
secession as high as 99 per cent.
2010 tied for warmest year on record
• The warmest year on record is a three-way tie- 2010, 2005 and 1998.
• So says the U.N. weather agency, providing further evidence that the planet is slowly but surely
heating up.
• Average temperatures globally last year were 0.53 Celsius higher than the 1961-90 mean that is
used for comparison purposes, according to World Meteorological Organisation.
• The Geneva-based global weather agency noted that last year's extreme weather — notably the
heat wave in Russia and monsoon flooding in Pakistan — has continued into the new year. It
also cited the heavy floods in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Brazil and Australia as examples.
• The year 2010 also was the wettest on record, according to the Global Historical Climatology
Network. But since rain and snowfall patterns varied greatly around the world, scientists say
more research is needed to establish a link between the warmer temperatures with the unusual
moisture.
Slew of U.S.-China commercial deals inked
• The state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to U.S.A.witnessed a slew of bilateral trade and
defence deals being inked across industries, with the White House noting that “China is a key
market for U.S. exports. Those exports are generating jobs in every corner of the U.S. and
across every major sector.”
Istanbul talks in “positive atmosphere”
• With both sides downplaying expectations of a breakthrough, Iran has said that its first round of
talks in Istanbul with the global powers had been held in a “positive atmosphere”.
• European Union foreign policy chief Catharine Ashton is leading a delegation, which has
representatives from the United States, Russia, China, Britain France and Germany. Earlier,
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington was “not expecting any big
breakthroughs”.
• He said the objective was to launch a “constructive process” which would see Iran “engaging
and addressing the international community's concerns about its nuclear programme”.
• On their part, the Iranians have said that they were inclined to cover a broader international
political agenda, rather than go into the nitty-gritty of their nuclear programme. Nevertheless,
analysts say that a possible nuclear fuel swap deal could be covered in some depth during the
current round of talks. The Tehran declaration of May 2010, which followed active mediation
by Turkey and Brazil, contains the broad parameters of a nuclear deal involving the transfers
abroad of Iran's lightly enriched uranium stocks, in return for 20 per cent enriched nuclear fuel
rods required to run a Tehran medical reactor.
Maoists hand over PLA to panel
• The Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) has come under the control of the statutory Special
Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of former combatants in Nepal. The
handover of the PLA from the Maoist party to the Special Committee took place at a formal
ceremony at the PLA third division cantonment in Chitwan district.
• Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Unified Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” signed a declaration marking the
handover. The national flag was hoisted at the cantonment, replacing the party flag.
Papers throw light on West Asia negotiations
• The Palestinian leadership was ready to give up most of East Jerusalem and substantially dilute
the demand for the return of the war displaced Palestinian refugees to their homeland to strike a
peace deal with Israel, leaked documents obtained by Al Jazeera television have revealed.
• The “Palestine Papers”— comprising nearly 1,700 files and thousands of pages of diplomatic
correspondence on the inner workings of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, also show that
Palestinian negotiators were ready to divide Jerusalem's Old City. Israel was offered control
over the Jewish Quarter, part of the Armenian Quarter and part of the Sheikh Jarrah
neighbourhood. In addition, Palestinian negotiators are said to have proposed formation of an
international committee that would take over Jerusalem's Temple Mount, where the Dome of
the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque — Islam's third holiest site is located.
• The papers throw light on the mindset of Israelis, who, backed by the Americans, wanted that
Palestinians give up their claims over prominent Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank,
apart from their East Jerusalem concessions.
• In 2008, the Palestinian Authority proposed that Israel could take control of all neighbourhoods
in Jerusalem except Har Homa. This was a much bigger advance over the Camp David summit,
where Palestinians had refused to make this concession.
• In a disclosure that could prove highly embarrassing to Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas, the papers allege that Israelis had “privately tipped off” Mr. Abbas, about
Israel's winter offensive against Gaza in 2008-09.
Mubarak faces calls to quit
• Thousands of anti-government protesters, some hurling rocks and climbing atop an armoured
police truck, clashed with riot police in the centre of Cairo in a Tunisia-inspired demonstration
to demand the end of Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30 years in power.
• Police responded with blasts from a water cannon and set upon crowds with batons and acrid
clouds of tear gas to clear demonstrators crying out “Down with Mubarak” and demanding an
end to the country's grinding poverty.
• The demonstration, the largest Egypt has seen for years, began peacefully, with police showing
unusual restraint in what appeared to be a concerted government effort not to provoke a
Tunisia-like mass revolt. As the crowds in downtown Cairo's Tahrir square continued to build,
however, security personnel changed tactics and the protest turned violent.
Medvedev signs New Start
• Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law the ratification of a landmark nuclear arms
cut pact with the United States, a day after the Upper House of the Russian Parliament
unanimously endorsed the pact.
• The treaty limits each country to 1,550 strategic warheads, down from the current ceiling of
2,200, and to 700 deployed carrier vehicles. It will enter into force after the two sides exchange
the instruments of ratification. This is likely to happen during the February 4-6 Munich Security
Conference to be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, according to Russian diplomatic sources.
• The ratification law approved by the Russian Parliament says Russia would pull out of the New
Start if the U.S. deploys a global missile defence that will impair Russian security.
