Kathmandu : India today gifted 40 ambulances and eight buses to different organisations in Nepal on the occasion of its 67th Republic Day.
India’s Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over keys of 33 ambulances and six buses to different charitable organisations and schools during a function held inside the Indian Embassy premises.
The remaining seven ambulances and two buses were gifted by the Consulate General of India in Birgunj to different organisations.
The function was attended by over 2,500 people including diplomats, journalists, social activists, business community leaders and government staff.
The ambassador also gifted books to 52 libraries, schools and training institutes of Nepal.
The widows and dependents of Ex-servicemen and disabled Ex-servicemen were handed over cash incentives and blankets by the Ambassador.
Ambassador Rae after hoisting the Indian national flag read out President Pranab Mukherjee’s address, which stressed that India today is a rising power fast emerging as a global leader in science, technology, innovation and start ups and whose economic success is the envy of the world.
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New Delhi : Indian economy is less vulnerable to external shocks as it is mainly driven by household consumption and government spending, and not dependent on hot money which can move out quickly, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services said today.
The US-based rating agency expects the current account deficit (CAD), which is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, to remain at a modest level of 1.4 per cent at the end of current fiscal and would continue at similar level till 2018.
“We see India as having limited vulnerability to external economic or financial shocks. This is because growth in the economy is mainly driven by domestic factors, such as household consumption and government spending.
“At the same time this is a country that has low reliance on external savings to fund its growth. In other words, the banks are mainly deposit funded and don’t rely on wholesale funding to grow their loan books,” S&P Rating Services India Sovereign Analyst Kyran Curry told PTI.
He said India’s capital markets are diversified and deep enough for companies to raise funding.
“Another favourable aspect of India external settings is that it is generally not subject to hot money inflows that can turn into outflows with shifts in investor sentiment. As such we see the external risks for India to be relatively contained,” Curry said.
He said while export growth may be disappointing, the current account deficit likely to be a modest 1.4 per cent in 2015, with similar levels through 2018.
“Our forecasts are partly informed by our view of increased monetary credibility, which dampens the demand for monetary gold imports. In addition, we expect India to fund this deficit mostly with non-debt, creating inflows,” Curry added.
The CAD in the first half of current fiscal stood at 1.4 per cent of GDP, lower than 1.8 per cent in the same period last fiscal. For full 2014-15 fiscal, the CAD stood at 1.3 per cent of GDP.
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New Delhi : Police have set up a Wireless Integrated Public Address (WIPA) system to enhance security at crowded places and popular markets in the city amid a high security alert ahead of the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
“WIPA is a centralised public address system now installed at 31 crowded places and markets in Delhi, and also in 13 major metro stations.
“Through this system, announcements can be made centrally from the police control room to be heard at all the places simultaneously, or even selectively, with a provision to make announcements if the situation warrants,” a senior Delhi Police official said.
Police have also been conducting a series of mock drills to check their preparedness in dealing with terror situations. This week, two massive drills were conducted jointly with NSG commandos at south Delhi’s Hauz Khas village and Khan Market in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, all police stations, offices of the assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners have been instructed to keep one emergency team in reserve. The teams shall comprise specially trained personnel who shall only act in cases of emergency and not engage in routine law and order affairs till January 26, the official said.
Crime mapping for the entire city was recently conducted by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, who have been tasked with keeping an eye on criminal elements, especially the ones associated with small-time gangs in Delhi-NCR or with previous involvement in gunrunning, said the official.
Also, the Special Cell has been asked to keep an eye out for operatives of terror outfits and their movements.
The national capital was put on high alert following inputs about the presence of some terrorists after the Pathankot incident.
Delhi police this week arrested four youths with alleged IS links from Haridwar district in Uttarakhand. They had allegedly planned to attack Haridwar-bound trains and strategic locations in the national capital.
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MUMBAI: Nila Vikhe Patil, a person of Indian descent, has been named political advisor in the Swedish Prime Minister’s Office. Ms.Patil, 30, is the daughter of a leading educationist in Maharashtra Ashok Vikhe Patil.
She would be working with Kjell Stefan Lofven, the Prime Minister of Sweden. She holds a Bachelors’ degree and MBA from Gothenburg School of Business, with Economics and Law and also studied MBA in University de Complutense in Madrid.
Nila has been a member of the Board of the Green Party, Swedish Young Greens, Green Party Gothenburg, Green students of Sweden, and also a member of the executive committee of the Green Party Stockholm.
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Kathmandu : Nepals agitating Madhesis today rejected a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament to resolve the ongoing political crisis and blockade of key trade border points with India, calling it “incomplete” as it did not address their concerns over redrawing federal boundaries.
The amendment, endorsed with a two-thirds majority yesterday, addresses two key demands of the Madhesis – proportionate representation to the minority community largely of Indian-origin and seat allocation in the Parliament on the basis of population.
The lawmakers of the agitating parties had boycotted the voting, saying the amendment was “incomplete”, as it fell short of addressing their concerns, including redrawing of federal boundaries.
Rajendra Shrestha, co-chair of the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal – one of the constituents of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM), said that the proposal by Nepali Congress leaders Minendra Rijal and Farmullah Mansoor was progressive than the original bill that was filed in Parliament on December 15.
As many as 24 proposals were filed by more than 100 lawmakers of different parties, seeking to amend the bill, which was endorsed in the House after incorporating the proposal registered by Rijal and Mansoor.
The agitating Madhes-based parties said the revision proposal, in line with which the Constitution Amendment Bill was endorsed, was “incomplete” despite being progressive, The Kathmandu Post reported.
Morcha leaders said that they would make further comments after thoroughly “studying the text”.
“But it will be too early to make any comment, as we are yet to go through the amendment proposal,” Shrestha said, adding that Morchas protests would continue unless “there is an agreement on redrawing federal boundaries”.
Madhesis, who are inhabitants of the Terai region, are opposed to the new Constitution that divides their ancestral homeland under the seven-province structure and have led an ongoing blockade of key border trade points with India.
The agitating community that shares strong cultural and family bonds with India is demanding demarcation of provinces, fixing of electoral constituencies on the basis of population and proportional representation, and have launched a protest for months that has claimed at least 55 lives.
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New Delhi : India has started a probe into alleged dumping of a chemical, used as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries.
Acting on a joint complaint by National Peroxide Ltd and state-owned Hindustan Organic Chemicals, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has started a probe into imports of ‘Hydrogen Peroxide’ originating in or exported from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand.
The move is aimed at protecting domestic players in the automobile sector against cheap imports.
In a notification, the DGAD said there was sufficient prima facie evidence of the ‘injury’ being suffered by the domestic industry caused by dumped imports from the countries to “justify” initiation of an anti-dumping investigation.
“….the Authority (DGAD) hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry…to determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the ‘injury’ to the domestic industry,” it said.
After the probe, DGAD, if needed, would recommend to the Finance Ministry for imposition of the duty.
Hydrogen peroxide has strong oxidising properties and is therefore a powerful bleaching agent that has found use as a disinfectant, as an oxidiser, and in rocketry and in bipropellant systems.
It also finds application in odour control, corrosion control, disinfection/ bio-control, paper and pulp bleaching, therapeutic uses as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent, among others.
The anti-dumping duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters resorting to dumping of goods at below-cost rates.
Commercially, the product is produced and sold in 35 per cent, 50 per cent, 60 per cent and 70 per cent concentration.
Applicants, the DGAD said have submitted that 90 per cent concentration of the product is used by ISRO and the product is not produced by the domestic industry and hence the scope of product under consideration should be restricted and defined as ‘Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) below 90 per cent concentration’.
The DGAD said the request of the applicant for restricting the product to 90 per cent concentration could be examined during the course of the investigation and considered at the stage of final finding.
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Tolouse, France : A team led by atmospheric scientist Jean Ricard of the National Centre for Meteorological Research in Tolouse, France, has identified twelve rainbow ‘flavors,’ each with its own distinct characteristics.
For a rainbow to form there has to be sunlight and rain. As the white rays of the sun encounter the raindrops, they bend because of a phenomenon called refraction. Since the seven colors that make up white light have different wavelengths, they bend at different rates and disperse, resulting in a rainbow.
The team began by identifying the four characteristics that can encompass all rainbows. There is, of course, the classic rainbow with the red band on top and the blue-violet on the bottom. Then there are the ones with the Supernumerary bows – Bright bands either at the top or bottom. In between some rainbows, you might notice Alexander’s bands, dark areas caused by less light being reflected. And finally on occasion, one may be lucky enough to witness a ‘double rainbow’ – One that features a normal bow and a second, fainter bow above, except with the colors reversed. Armed with this knowledge the team began analyzing hundreds of rainbow photos and grouping them in one of the four categories.
In addition to identifying 12 distinct rainbows, Ricard and his team also stumbled upon another discovery. They found that while the angle and size of raindrops do matter, the biggest determinant of rainbow colors is the sun’s distance from the horizon. If the sun is further up in the sky, the colors will be largely blue and green. If it is closer to the horizon, only the red and orange will be visible.
Chandigarh : French architect Le Carbusier is being remembered when French President Francois Hollande commences his three-day visit to India this afternoon from Chandigarh. Chandigarh is well known for its unique architecture , well planned landscaping and town planing. Francois Hollande will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
The dignitaries, who will arrive here separately, will visit the three popular tourist attractions of the city–Rock Garden, Capitol Complex and Government Museum and Art Gallery, official sources said.
After paying a visit to the tourist spots, Modi and Hollande will attend the ‘India-France Business Summit’ at a local hotel here, before flying to New Delhi separately in the evening, the sources said here.
According to the sources, the French President will arrive at the Chandigarh Air Force Station in the afternoon today and head to a private hotel.
Hollande will visit ‘Rock Garden’ where he will be received by Modi.
Rock Garden was built by late artist Nek Chand who made articles from waste and unused material.
The next stop of the leaders will be the Capitol Complex, described as the most spectacular work of French architect Le Corbusier. The Complex comprises Legislative Assembly, Punjab and Haryana High Court and Secretariat.
Later in the afternoon, Modi and Hollande are scheduled to visit Government Museum and Art Gallery, where the dignitaries will be shown fossil discovered from the Shivalik Hills by French and Indian archaeologists.
The leaders will also attend a forum of select CEOs to be followed by the India-France Business Summit, the sources added.
A thick security blanket has been thrown in and around the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana that is hosting a President from a foreign country for the first time.
A heavy posse of security personnel from Punjab, Haryana, UT Chandigarh and Central Para Military Forces, including ITBP, has been deployed at all vital installations in the city.
Hollande will be the fifth French leader to be a Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26–the maximum number from any country. French leaders had earlier attended the Republic Day celebrations in the national capital in 1976, 1980, 1998 and 2008.
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