THE PRIEST

The Bangladesh Parliament has passed a crucial amendment to the Constitution, scrapping the caretaker government system for holding polls and restoring secularism but retaining Islam as the state religion. Under the caretaker system, introduced in 1996, general elections are overseen by non-partisan caretaker governments. The Constitution (15th Amendment) Bill, 2011 also brings in some other fundamental changes in the context of the liberation war against Pakistan, bringing back some principles which were deleted during military-rule. The Constitution now also acknowledges the country's Independence War hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of The Nation.   However, amendments moved by two ruling alliance leaders opposing Islam as the state religion and religion-based politics were rejected. The Constitution, however, upholds equal rights and dignity for people of all religion. To prevent the misuse of religion, a ban has been imposed on terrorism and militancy. The Bill was pa

In the tenth quarterly quick employment survey, the sample establishments covered in the previous survey have been revisited to assess the changes in employment. During the survey, the information has been collected from 2,406 units / establishments by covering 21 centres spread across eleven States /UT.   The results about effect on employment in the eight selected sectors i.e. textiles including apparels, leather, metals, automobiles, gems & jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom / power loom are briefly summarized as below: - It may be observed from the enclosed statement that the upward trend in employment has been continuously observed since July 2009. During the quarter January to March 2011, the employment has increased in respect of all sectors except Textiles including apparels, Leather, Gems & Jewellery and Handloom / Powerloom and the overall employment has increased by 1.74 lakh during the quarter. - At the sectoral level, the maximum increase of 2.87 lakh

This editorial which i found on indian express articulated it very well taking cue from wht Jayalalithaa has said Jayalalithaa has articulated what no one else in politics has managed to do so far — explain precisely and firmly why the Lokpal bill’s proposals are untenable. The prime minister cannot be under the Lokpal, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said in an interview with television channel Times Now, because it could seriously destabilise his position — even if no charges stick, it would be a blow to his authority, particularly in times of round-the-clock news coverage where any slander would be amplified and repeated. Any foreign force with an agenda could seek to implicate the PM, and leave his office preoccupied with responding to frivolous or motivated accusations rather than concentrating on their own critical duties. The PM, she pointed out, is answerable to the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act anyway, and that the Lokpal would end up being a parallel government

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday said that his country was aiming to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) with India by March 2012. The visiting New Zealand Prime Minister, along with a 25-member strong business delegation, participated in bilateral talks with his counterpart Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and addressed industry captains here on Tuesday. At the end of delegation-level talks, two agreements for further initiatives in filming and education were signed between the two countries. These agreements are 1)       Agreement between the two Governments on Audio-Visual Co-Production 2)      Protocol for Cooperation between the two Governments on Science and Innovation Addressing the industry captains, Key sought greater cooperation in the areas of IT, agriculture, food processing and dairy farming. He also emphasised the need to increase people-to-people contact and invited more Indian students to New Zealand. Speaking on the occasion, Commerce and Industry Minister An

The India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) will come into effect on 1 July 2011. India-Malaysia CECA is India’s fourth bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, after Singapore, South Korea and Japan. The CECA envisages liberalisation of trade in goods, trade in services, investments and other areas of economic cooperation. Trade between India and Malaysia has reached US$ 10 billion in 2010-11, an increase of 26% from the previous year. It is expected that the implementation of this agreement will boost bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2015. The trade in goods package under India-Malaysia CECA takes the tariff liberalization beyond the India-ASEAN FTA commitments, which were implemented by both countries on 1 January 2010. Under India-Malaysia CECA, the items on which India has obtained market access from Malaysia include basmati rice, mangoes, eggs, trucks, motorcycles and cotton garments, which are all items of considerable export int

सिंहासन हिल उठे राजवंशों ने भृकुटी तानी थी, बूढ़े भारत में आई फिर से नयी जवानी थी, गुमी हुई आज़ादी की कीमत सबने पहचानी थी, दूर फिरंगी को करने की सबने मन में ठानी थी। चमक उठी सन सत्तावन में, वह तलवार पुरानी थी, बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी, खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।। छिनी राजधानी दिल्ली की, लखनऊ छीना बातों-बात, कैद पेशवा था बिठुर में, हुआ नागपुर का भी घात, उदैपुर, तंजौर, सतारा, करनाटक की कौन बिसात? जबकि सिंध, पंजाब ब्रह्म पर अभी हुआ था वज्र-निपात। बंगाले, मद्रास आदि की भी तो वही कहानी थी, बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी, खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।। रानी रोयीं रिनवासों में, बेगम ग़म से थीं बेज़ार, उनके गहने कपड़े बिकते थे कलकत्ते के बाज़ार, सरे आम नीलाम छापते थे अंग्रेज़ों के अखबार, 'नागपूर के ज़ेवर ले लो लखनऊ के लो नौलख हार'। यों परदे की इज़्ज़त परदेशी के हाथ बिकानी थी, बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी, खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।। कुटियों में भी विषम वेदना, महलों में आहत अ

A special class of investors — Qualified Foreign Investors — that would include individuals and bodies such as pension funds and are separate from Foreign Institutional Investors has been created. They will be permitted to invest  in domestic mutual funds through Unit Confirmation Receipts or depository participant route and   all investments from the two routes would be under the purview of market regulator Sebi.  The new class of foreign investors will be allowed to invest up to $10 billion in domestic mutual funds from August 1 However, only those QFIs that are compliant with know-your-customer (KYCs) norms will be eligible to invest. Depository participants (DPs) as well as the mutual funds would have to ensure that the QFIs have followed proper KYC guidelines. Further, only those QFIs that are compliant with FATF (Financial Action Task Force) norms would be eligible to invest. Under the scheme, each such investor would be allowed to open only one account in one of the qualif

A good article from Indian express on effect of direct tax code The Direct Tax Code (DTC) is expected to be rolled out from April 1, 2012 and the proposed bill is likely to be tabled soon before the Parliament. In this article, we discuss how the proposed changes can impact your taxation under the DTC regime. Salary Income The limit for medical reimbursement is proposed to be enhanced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000. But the exemptions in relation to Leave Travel Assistance, children education allowance and hostel allowance are missing in the DTC. Salaried class, in fact, would need to wait to know the real impact as rules for valuation of perquisites have still not been rolled out. Rental Income Those having rental income will have to pay little more under DTC as the standard deduction is proposed to be reduced from 30 per cent to 20 per cent. The concept of taxing income from house property on notional basis has been done away and it is the income from actual letting which would be tax

Various radioactive substances that can be emitted because of a nuclear meltdown , their properties and side effects Radioactive ntirogen(N 16) ·   Nitrogen 16 is formed when fast nuetrons from reactor core hit oxygen molecules in coolant water ·   Hence even under normal circumstances radioactive nitrogen in small quantities is released ·   However it has a short half life of  7 secs Tritium ·   Radioactive form of H ·   Known as  heavy hydrogen ·   Half life: 12 years ·   Weak form of radiation, cant penetrate skin Iodine ·   Iodine 131 isgenerated in active core of nuclear reactor ·   Acctive core  is where splitting of atoms takes place which results in producing Lots of energy   and Highly radioactive radiations ·   When there is a meltdown it is emitted out else under normal circumstances it remains within reactor ·   It can accumulate in thyroid glands which are endocrine glands that produce hormones to regulate growth ·   This can lead t

This was the first-ever Prime Ministerial visit (13th to 16th of June) from either side and it coincided with 20th anniversary of Slovenian independence. The Prime Minister and his Slovenian counterpart H.E. Mr. Borut Pahor discussed global issues like reform of the UN Security Council, the global financial situation and international terrorism. Prime Minister Pahor reaffirmed the support of Slovenia for a permanent seat for India in expanded Security Council. The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of the BIPPA(   Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement)  by Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherji and the Economy Minister of Slovenia Ms. Darja Radiæ.  An agreement between the Indian Bureau of Indian Standards and its Slovenian counterpart was also signed and is expected to boost bilateral trade by facilitating a better mutual understanding of standards and norms of traded goods. Another Agreement was signed between the University of Nova Gorica and the India

On November 24, 1961, as a consequence of the first French nuclear test in the dessert of Western Sahara, in the territory of today’s Algeria, the General Assembly appealed the United Nations Member States to stop these tests carried out in the densely populated territories of North Africa. Three years after, the African Heads of State and Government gathered at the Summit Conference of the African Unity (OAU) solemnly declared by means of an international treaty that they were ready to achieve a treaty prohibiting the production and the absolute control over nuclear weapons in their region.  This proposal had not made any progress till the Cold War was over.It was since 1991 that South Africa, the African continent’s only country that had developed technological capacity for making nuclear weapons, became an integrant of the NPT, when real prospects for establishing a nuclear weapon free zone in Africa opened. The African Treaty bears the name of Pelindaba in honor of the Sout

This project also came into news during India-Africa Summit The Green Wall initiative was conceived and first proposed by Nigeria's ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005. While the idea was met enthusiastically, the African nations have lacked funding to begin work on the project. In late 2007 however, the European Union pitched in with help in designing the plan. The EU has promised further support with i mplementation, as well.  The 25-member African organization CEN-SAD (Community of Sahel-Saharan States) has initiated in 2008 a project to build a Great Green Wall across the continent from Mauritania in West Africa to Djibouti in the East. This initiative, which is linked to sustainable development, reflects a strong political will to conduct in well delineated regions of the Sahelian and Saharan countries a set of concerted and coherent interventions with the aim of achieving simultaneously the three  following goals: 1) natural resource conservation, development and mana

The Ezulwini consensus has been reffered in recent Adis Ababa declaration of India – Africa 2 nd summit .This consensus adopted in 2005 represents the common position of African nation on the issue of reform in United Nations . The detail of the consensus can be read @ http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/files/AU_Ezulwini%20Consensus.pdf

During first summit in 2008 in Delhi a “Delhi Declaration” was adopted for enhanced cooperation . It has been decided to enhance our partnership with new initiatives for the mutual benefit of Africa and India, In recent years, this has included substantial financial flows from India to Africa in terms of grants, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and concessional loans that continue to contribute to capacity building in the socio-economic sectors, particularly in the human resource development, the development of the private sector, increasing support to infrastructure, agriculture and SMEs, leading to a substantial expansion of Indian investment in Africa and of trade between Africa and India. Climate change Developed countries have been urged to take steps towards reducing the green house gas effect . Stressing upon the importance of Bali action plan 2007 , the declaration appealed to the developed counties to operationalise all the institutional arrangements included in the Ca

The relevance of accounting has to be looked at from the overall perspective of public financial management. It covers a broad spectrum of activities including budget preparation and execution, internal controls, accounting and financial reporting, internal audit, audit by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India, monitoring and reporting arrangements. Moreover, accrual accounting has to be assessed against the prevalent accounting practices, for improving the effectiveness of planning, policy making and budgeting process of public resources. At the heart of the any fiscal management system is the accounting system, which maintains the basic records of government transactions. A robust, comprehensive and transparent accounting system is a must for any government. The 12th finance commission has recommended, both state and central government, to shift from cash based accounting to accrual based accounting which has been accepted by central government in principle. It is belie

Recently during angela merkel’s visit to india Saha Insitute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) has signed an agreement with Deutsches Elektronen-Sunchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, to access a high energy synchrotorn light source PETRA III. PETRA   III : PETRA   (Positron-Electron Tandem Ring Accelerator) is high energy intensity source for synchrotron radiation . High energy beams of a synchrotron light source provides intense light from infrared to X-rays, which can be used in various areas of basic and applied research.   They are particularly used in material research, protein crystallography for disease biology and nano science and nanotechnology. A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator where electrons are made to rotate at a very high speed as that of light. When there is a bend in the path of electrons, photons are emitted from an optical window, which can be used at a beamline.

The visit of german chancellor  to India  took place on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries Merkel received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding Former German Federal President Köhler went to India on a state visit from February 1 to 7, 2010. He inaugurated the Indo-German Max Planck Centre at IIT Delhi During the first official visit to Germany by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Indian prime minister signed a "Joint Declaration" on April 23, 2006. It emphasised the strategic partnership of both countries, focusing on future cooperation in the fields of energy, science and technology and defence. Above MOUs include an agreement between Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) that will allow researchers in India access to PETRA III, the world's best high energy synchrotron light source, and also help