Civil Services' Surgicals

Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi won the Asian Continental Chess Championship at Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. He is the youngest international grandmaster in Chess.

GPS aided Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN) : A satellite-based facility aimed at enhancing safety and efficiency of aircraft operations Expected to be installed in all airports in the country by June 2013. Joint venture b/w AAI and ISRO. Will improve air traffic management via timely information on aircraft movement. Once it is implemented, India would be the 4 th nation in the world to have a satellite-based navigation system after USA, Japan and European Consortium. Human intervention will be minimized or eliminated for navigational leading both at Air Traffic Control room and aircraft cockpit, by virtue of this system. The system would raise safety and effectiveness of aircraft operations via better situational cognizance and safety alerts/tools for the Air Traffic Controllers. Under ISRO's guidance, AAI had installed ground reference stations in 15 strategic locations all over India and all airports would be networked via them. The national GAGAN Centre wou...

With two young sports stars dying suddenly, Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is in the news. DR VIJAY SURASE explains what it's all about. Can happen to the fittest too...Photo: AFP Football is often seen as the sport of the absolutely fit. After all, running across a field for more than over two hours needs the best of human ability and strength. But recently there have been a few shocking incidents on the field that are beyond comprehension. Former Italy Under-21 midfielder Piermario Morosini died after collapsing on the pitch and suffering a cardiac arrest during a match. He was 25. Indian football player D. Venkatesh (27) died after collapsing on the field during a local league game in Bangalore last month. These events have left us wondering: can a heart attack or Sudden Cardiac Arrest target even the fittest?

‎*MEGASTHENES(Greek) -ambassador of Selecus I of Syria   - came to court of Sandrokattes (Chandragupta maurya) - Described Social and administrative conditions under the Mauryas

Summary of Economic Survey  2011-12 Ø  Indian economy…estimated to grow by 6.9% in 2011-12…due to weakening industrial growth….indicates a slowdown compared not just to the previous two years….when the economy grew by 8.4%/….but also from 2003 to 2011...except 2008-9 economic downturn, when the growth rate was 6.7 percent. Ø   The Economic Survey 2011-12, presented by the Finance Minister, Sh Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha, however predicts 7.6% GDP growth in 2012-13 and 8.6% in 2013-14    Ø   With agriculture and services continuing to perform well, the slowdown can be attributed almost entirely too weakening industrial growth.

( Swapnil Patil & IAS OUR DREAM to be credited for this great work... ) What is FII? FII is nothing but Foreign Institutional Investors. Below entities are called FIIs 1. Pension  Funds 2. Mutual Funds 3. Insurance Companies 4. Investment Trusts 5. Banks 6. University Funds 7. Endowments 8. Foundations 9. Charitable Trusts 10.  Asset  Management  Companies 11. Institutional  Portfolio  Managers 12. Trustees 13. Power of Attorney Holders Advantages Enhanced flows of equity capital FIIs have a greater appetite for equity than debt in their asset structure. The opening up the economy to FIIs has been in line with the accepted preference for non-debt creating foreign inflows over foreign debt. Enhanced flow of equity capital helps improve capital structures and contributes towards building the investment gap. Managing uncertainty and controlling risks. FII inflows help in financial innovation and development of hedgin...

The Union Cabinet cleared the Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, which will bring the microfinance industry under the regulatory ambit of RBI. As per the Bill all microfinance institution (MFIs) will now have to be registered with the RBI, which will decide the interest rate that MFIs can charge. Also it would be mandatory for micro finance institutions (MFI) to be registered with the Reserve Bank and have a minimum net-owned funds of Rs 5 lakh. A Micro-Finance Development Council will be set up to advise the government on formulation of policies, schemes and other measures required in the interest of orderly growth and development of the sector with a view to promote financial inclusion. The bill has gone soft on the issue of interest rates charged by the MFIs though the MFI sceptics were expecting the capping of the rates. The Bill will be now sent to Parliament for consideration. Why a need for this Bill? The Bill was drafted in the backdrop of...