1 . Where were organized the 18th Safety Olympics?
A. Berlin
B. London
C. Seoul
2 . As per a report published by World Bank , what percentage of Indian Population lives below the new International line of Poverty?
A. 30%
B. 62%
C. 42%
3 . In order to augment credit flow to small and poor borrowers, commercial banks are required to provide how much percentage of the their priority sector advances to weaker sections of the society?
A. 15%
B. 25%
C. 35%
4 . Recently , large number of children fell sick due to imported melamine contaminated milk & other dairy products from a country , followed by barring import from this country by many countries like Japan, Singapore, etc.
A. Pakistan
B. Bangladesh
C. China
5 . As per recommendations of the 12th Finance Commission, what will be the share of the state governments in total sharable proceeds of Central Taxes?
A. 30.5%
B. 20.5%
C. 15.5%
6 . Which among the following does not come under UN Millennium Goals?
A. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
B. Develop a global partnership for development
C. Make World Nuclear Free
7 . Which of the following agencies has asked all the foreign funds to come forward and register itself as Foreign Institutional Investments (FII) prior to any investment?
A. RBI
B. SEBI
C. IBA
8 . When was First National Forest Policy issued by the Government of India?
A. 1940
B. 1952
C. 1962
9 . Which among the following is not a plantation crop?
A. Wheat
B. Oil Palm
C. Rubber
10 . Which among the following country is related to Darfur Humanitarian Crisis?
A. Uganda
B. Somalia
C. Sudan
11 . Which among the following is not a Public Sector Schedule Bank in India?
A. Vijaya Bank
B. Syndicate Bank
C. Bank of Punjab Ltd
12 . Robert Webster is known for his work associated with which among the following?
A. Cardiology
B. Influenza Virus
C. HIV
13 . Laissez Faire is represented by which of the following economies?
A. Free Enterprise Economy
B. Government Controlled Economy
C. Mixed Economy
14 . The Theory of 'Invisible hands' in Management was given by which among the following ?
A. Adam Smith
B. Philip Kotler
C. C K Prahald
15 . Where are the headquarters of Central Plantation Crops Research Institute?
A. Kasaragod, Kerala
B. Dehradun Uttrakhand
C. Shillong, Meghalaya
16 . Which among the following is not the primary function of Commercial bank in India?
A. Acceptance of Deposits
B. Merchant Banking
C. Advancing of Loans
17 . Which among the following are referred often as "Factories of Credit " in India?
A. NGOs
B. Commercial Banks
C. Corporate
18 . After the Narsimham committee recommendations in early 90s , there were several mergers in Indian Banking sector. With which of the following banks, Century Finance merged with?
A. Centurion Bank
B. Union Bank of India
C. Punjab National Bank
19 . Which among the following has recently become the principal growth driver for commercial banks recently ?
A. Development banking
B. Foreign Exchange
C. Retail Banking
20 . Which among the following countries refused to ratify over " Lisbon Treaty" ?
A. Russia
B. Poland
C. Italy
Scheduled Commercial Banks In India
Posted by adlokam | 6:30 AM | Scheduled Commercial Banks In India | 0 comments »The commercial banking structure in India consists of: Scheduled Commercial Banks in India & Unscheduled Banks in India
Scheduled Banks in India constitute those banks which have been included in the Second Schedule of Reserve Bank of India(RBI) Act, 1934. RBI in turn includes only those banks in this schedule which satisfy the criteria laid down vide section 42 (6) (a) of the Act.
"Scheduled banks in India" means the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955 (23 of 1955), a subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 (38 of 1959), a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970), or under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 (40 of 1980), or any other bank being a bank included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934), but does not include a co-operative bank".
"Non-scheduled bank in India" means a banking company as defined in clause (c) of section 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949), which is not a scheduled bank".
Source: RBI
The following are the Scheduled Banks in India (Public Sector):
- State Bank of India
- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
- State Bank of Hyderabad
- State Bank of Indore
- State Bank of Mysore
- State Bank of Saurashtra
- State Bank of Travancore
- Andhra Bank
- Allahabad Bank
- Bank of Baroda
- Bank of India
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Canara Bank
- Central Bank of India
- Corporation Bank
- Dena Bank
- Indian Overseas Bank
- Indian Bank
- Oriental Bank of Commerce
- Punjab National Bank
- Punjab and Sind Bank
- Syndicate Bank
- Union Bank of India
- United Bank of India
- UCO Bank
- Vijaya Bank
The following are the Scheduled Banks in India (Private Sector):
- ING Vysya Bank Ltd
- Axis Bank Ltd
- Indusind Bank Ltd
- ICICI Bank Ltd
- South Indian Bank
- HDFC Bank Ltd
- Centurion Bank Ltd
- Bank of Punjab Ltd
- IDBI Bank Ltd
The following are the Scheduled Foreign Banks in India:
- American Express Bank Ltd.
- ANZ Gridlays Bank Plc.
- Bank of America NT & SA
- Bank of Tokyo Ltd.
- Banquc Nationale de Paris
- Barclays Bank Plc
- Citi Bank N.C.
- Deutsche Bank A.G.
- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
- Standard Chartered Bank.
- The Chase Manhattan Bank Ltd.
- Dresdner Bank AG.
National Biofuel Policy 2008
Posted by adlokam | 6:29 AM | National Biofuel Policy 2008 | 0 comments »In a bid to reduce the country’s huge oil import bill, the government after much deliberation had given its nod to National Policy on Biofuels besides giving approval for setting up of National Bio-fuel Coordination Committee and Bio-Fuel Steering Committee in September 2008.
Under this policy , the country aims to raise blending of biofuels with petrol and diesel to 20% by 2017. The Biofuel Steering Committee would be chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, which, along with the National Biofuel Coordination Committee would be serviced by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Besides, the Panchayati Raj ministry would also be included as member in the Steering Committee. A sub-committee, comprising the department of biotechnology and the ministries of agriculture, new and renewable energy and that of rural development under the Steering Committee would aid research on bio-fuels.
India's foreign trade policy has been formulated with a view to invite and encourage FDI in India. The process of regulation and approval has been substantially liberalized. The Reserve Bank of India has prescribed the administrative and compliance aspects of FDI. FDI can be divided into two broad categories: investment under automatic route and investment through prior approval of Government.
Procedure under automatic route
FDI in sectors/activities to the extent permitted under automatic route does not require any prior approval either by the Government or RBI. The investors are only required to notify the Regional office concerned of RBI within 30 days of receipt of inward remittances and file the required documents with that office within 30 days of issue of shares to foreign investors.
Procedure under Government approval
FDI in activities not covered under the automatic route, requires prior Government approval and are considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Approvals of composite proposals involving foreign investment/foreign technical collaboration are also granted on the recommendations of the FIPB.
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.
They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences and summits, world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets - with a deadline of 2015 - that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals.
The 2005 World Summit, held from 14 to 16 September at United Nations Headquarters in New York, brought together more than 170 Heads of State and Government. It was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold decisions in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations. The agenda was based on an achievable set of proposals outlined in March 2005 by Secretary- General Kofi Annan in his report “In Larger Freedom”.
The Millennium Project was commissioned by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2002 to develop a concrete action plan for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to reverse the grinding poverty, hunger and disease affecting billions of people. In 2005, the independent advisory body headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, presented its final recommendations to the Secretary-General in a synthesis volume “Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
The NSEA would be based on the lines of the Exon-Florio Act of USA, 1988 that empowers the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US, to prohibit takeover of any American company likely to cause a threat to the country's security. Such legislations are very common to countries viz. England (Golden Share), Mexico (Foreign Investment Law), Canada, Australia, Thailand and China who have enacted similar laws to block anti-national activities through FDI.
The proposed legislation is expected to be implemented in a phased manner by NSC under the supervision of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). At the outset, security guidelines would be formulated by virtue of which a security screening of FDI on the basis of sensitive locations, sectors and foreign firms known to have dealings with anti-national elements etc. would be conducted.
The areas that would come within the realm of FDI screening would include Jammu and Kashmir, the North Eastern States and other sensitive locations in close proximity to vital nuclear, space and defence installations and border areas. Further, the sectors where security concerns are being expressed include inter alia aviation, ports, shipping and telecom. Subsequently, in all Government contracts, tenders, agreements, the National Security Exception Clause would initially be introduced and consequently NSEA would be brought into force, empowering the Government to suspend or prohibit any foreign acquisition, merger or takeover of an Indian company prejudicial to national interest in the abovementioned sensitive areas. The implementation of NSEA is expected to provide an effective scrutiny of MNCs proposing to invest in the Indian market. Further, such legislation is expected to bring about transparency and adoption of a non-discriminatory mechanism in approving FDI proposals.
source : mondaq.com
Free Enterprise Economy or Government Controlled Economy?
Posted by adlokam | 6:24 AM | 0 comments »Free Enterprise Economy or Laissez Faire system
This economic system works on the principle of Laissez Faire system, i.e., the least interference by the government or any external force. The primary role of the government, if any, is to ensure free working of the economy by removing obstacles to free competition.
A free Enterprise Economy is characterized as follows:
• Means of production are privately owned by the people who acquire and posses them
• Private gains are the main motivating and guiding force for carrying out economic activities
• Both consumers and firms enjoy the freedom of choice; consumers have the freedom to consume what they want to and firms have the choice to produce what they want to
• The factor owners enjoy the freedom of occupational choice, i.e., they are free to use their resources in any legal business or occupation;
• There exists a high degree of competition in both commodity and factor markets and
• There is least interference by the government in the economic activities of the people; the government is in fact supposed to limit its traditional functions viz, to defence, police, justice, some financial organizations and public utility services.
Government Controlled Economy
The government-controlled economies are also called as Command, Centrally planned or Socialist economies. Such economies are, in contradistinction to the free enterprise economies, controlled, regulated and managed by the government agencies.
The other features of a pure socialist economy are:
• Means of production are owned by the society or by the state in the name of the community – private ownership of factors and property is abolished;
• Social welfare is the guiding factor for economic activities – private gains, motivations and initiatives are absent,
• Freedom of choice for the consumers is curbed to what society can afford for all, and
• The role of market forces and competition is eliminated by law.
Plantation Crops:
A plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops that are not consumed for food are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption . Such crops include cotton, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, sisal, and various oil seeds and rubber trees. Farms that produce alfalfa, Lespedeza, clover, and other forage crops are usually not called plantations. The term "plantation" has usually not included large orchards, but has included the planting of trees for lumber. A plantation is always a monoculture over a large area and does not include extensive naturaly occurring stands of plants that have economic value.
Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod , Kerala
The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) wss established in 1916 and later brought under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during 1970. The initial mandate of the institute was on crop husbandry of coconut, arecanut, cocoa, oilpalm, cashew and spices. The restructuring process during VII and VIII Plan resulted in the establishment of separate Research Institute/Centres for Spices, Cashew and Oilpalm, but the institute continue to maintain strong linkage with these Institutions. At present the Institute has a countrywide research network of four regional stations, four research centres and 17 Centres under AICRP on palms. Besides, the institute also hosts the headquarter of Indian Society of Plantation Crops.
First National Forest Policy of India:
Appreciating the necessity of developing forests, the government of India declared its first forest policy in 1952. According to this policy, it was decided to raise steadily the area under forests to 100 million hectares or 33 % for the country as a whole. The target area was to provide green cover over two thirds of the land area in the hills and mountains. The main objectives of forest policy under the Five-Year Plans were:
• To increase the productivity of forests
• To link up forest-development with various forest-based industries and
• To develop forests as a support to rural economy.
New Forest Policy, 1988
The 1952 forest policy had failed to stop the serious depletion of forest wealth over the years. Accordingly, it became imperative to evolve a new strategy of forest conservation. The government of India announced its new forest policy in December 1988. The important features of this policy are:
• Role of tribal in forests recognized: The new policy enunciates that all agencies responsible for forest management, including forest development corporations should associate tribal people closely in the protection, regeneration and development of forests.
• Depletion of forest area and the target for green cover The new policy reiterates that green cover should be extended to over two-thirds of that land area in the hills and mountains and that the total forest area in the country should be raised to 100 million hectares or 33 % of the total geographical area in the country.
• Discouragement to forest-based industries The new forest policy states that no forest based enterprises except at the village or cottage level will be set up in the future, unless it is first cleared, after a careful study of the availability of raw materials.
• End the system of private forest contractors The new forest policy advocates an end to the system of contractors working the forests. The contractors will be replaced by institutions such as tribal cooperatives, government corporations, etc.
• Forest land not to be diverted to non-forest uses The forest department used to assign forestland to individuals or nongovernment agencies for the purpose of reforestation.
• Participatory Forest Management System This new strategy involves rural people, particularly women and tribal community who have intimate knowledge of plant species, their growth characteristics, utility and medicinal value, etc. They also know the specific requirements of fuel, fodder, timber and other non-food products.
The adoption of the new strategy has led to several positive outcomes, such as:
• Change in the attitude and relationships of local communities and forest officials towards each other and the forests
• Improvement in the condition of forests
• Reduction in encroachments
• Increase in the income of local people and
• Involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in forest research, tree planting, promotion of productivity, etc.
BANK PO MODEL PAPER -General Knowledge
Posted by adlokam | 6:18 AM | Bank PO, General Knowledge | 0 comments »Suitable for Federal Bank PO Exam
1 . Where were organized the 18th Safety Olympics?
A. Berlin
B. London
C. Seoul
2 . As per a report published by World Bank , what percentage of Indian Population lives below the new International line of Poverty?
A. 30%
B. 62%
C. 42%
3 . In order to augment credit flow to small and poor borrowers, commercial banks are required to provide how much percentage of the their priority sector advances to weaker sections of the society?
A. 15%
B. 25%
C. 35%
4 . Recently , large number of children fell sick due to imported melamine contaminated milk & other dairy products from a country , followed by barring import from this country by many countries like Japan, Singapore, etc.
A. Pakistan
B. Bangladesh
C. China
5 . As per recommendations of the 12th Finance Commission, what will be the share of the state governments in total sharable proceeds of Central Taxes?
A. 30.5%
B. 20.5%
C. 15.5%
6 . Which among the following does not come under UN Millennium Goals?
A. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
B. Develop a global partnership for development
C. Make World Nuclear Free
7 . Which of the following agencies has asked all the foreign funds to come forward and register itself as Foreign Institutional Investments (FII) prior to any investment?
A. RBI
B. SEBI
C. IBA
8 . When was First National Forest Policy issued by the Government of India?
A. 1940
B. 1952
C. 1962
9 . Which among the following is not a plantation crop?
A. Wheat
B. Oil Palm
C. Rubber
10 . Which among the following country is related to Darfur Humanitarian Crisis?
A. Uganda
B. Somalia
C. Sudan
11 . Which among the following is not a Public Sector Schedule Bank in India?
A. Vijaya Bank
B. Syndicate Bank
C. Bank of Punjab Ltd
12 . Robert Webster is known for his work associated with which among the following?
A. Cardiology
B. Influenza Virus
C. HIV
13 . Laissez Faire is represented by which of the following economies?
A. Free Enterprise Economy
B. Government Controlled Economy
C. Mixed Economy
14 . The Theory of 'Invisible hands' in Management was given by which among the following ?
A. Adam Smith
B. Philip Kotler
C. C K Prahald
15 . Where are the headquarters of Central Plantation Crops Research Institute?
A. Kasaragod, Kerala
B. Dehradun Uttrakhand
C. Shillong, Meghalaya
16 . Which among the following is not the primary function of Commercial bank in India?
A. Acceptance of Deposits
B. Merchant Banking
C. Advancing of Loans
17 . Which among the following are referred often as "Factories of Credit " in India?
A. NGOs
B. Commercial Banks
C. Corporate
18 . After the Narsimham committee recommendations in early 90s , there were several mergers in Indian Banking sector. With which of the following banks, Century Finance merged with?
A. Centurion Bank
B. Union Bank of India
C. Punjab National Bank
19 . Which among the following has recently become the principal growth driver for commercial banks recently ?
A. Development banking
B. Foreign Exchange
C. Retail Banking
20 . Which among the following countries refused to ratify over " Lisbon Treaty" ?
A. Russia
B. Poland
C. Italy
1. US Economy
He emphasized on the task of rescuing the stricken economy, drawing up a $787bn economic stimulus plan, bailing out banks and offering help to struggling homeowners. The stimulus package should reduce the severity of the recession. But critics say it is too costly, contains too few tax cuts, is too slow to direct money where needed, will not create jobs quickly enough and will pile up future debt.
2. Climate Change
He puts climate change on the Top of his priority list. The stimulus plan includes $23bn for renewable energy and He is backing a draft Democratic-led energy bill designed to slash greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to regulate CO2 emissions, in a major shift from the Bush era.
3. National Security
Obama has put in place good teams for national security and economic policy - though there are concerns about competing lines of authority in each area. It is also a concern that the Treasury, a key department, has still not had appointments made to key posts immediately below the Secretary. The Daschle affair* was also a significant embarrassment.
4. Guantanamo
He promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp quickly. Within days of taking office, he signed an order demanding closure "as soon as practicable".
Dozens of detainees have been cleared for release. But the administration faces big legal and diplomatic hurdles as it deals with the remaining 245 men held.
5. Interrogation Method
He stated his opposition to the harsh interrogation methods of the post-9/11 Bush era - such as sleep deprivation and water-boarding - in his inaugural address. He was quick to ban them, and released memos detailing how they were used under the Bush administration. He has absolved CIA interrogators, but officials who approved the techniques may yet be prosecuted.
6. Iraq
He promised the withdrawal of most US troops by the end of May 2010. That timetable slipped just a little when he took office - he now says the US "combat mission" will officially end by August 2010, with up to 50,000 of 142,000 troops now there staying until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests.
7. Afganistan
He promised to step up the battle against the Taliban, and has sent an extra 17,000 troops to join the 38,000 already there. He has also proposed a big spending programme on infrastructure projects, and pledged 4,000 troops to train Afghan security forces. But his efforts to persuade European Nato allies to shoulder more of the burden have yet to bear much fruit.
8. Iran
He promised to engage with Iran and - possibly - to meet its president. A shift in tone was immediately clear: he talked of extending a hand if Iran "unclenched its fist", and sent a video message to the people of Iran offering a "new beginning". The US will now play a full part in international talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made clear that if dialogue fails, the US will seek tougher sanctions. No results so far.
9. Middle East
He promised that peace in the Middle East would be a top foreign policy aim "from day one". Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian leaders have been invited to the White House for peace talks; seasoned negotiator George Mitchell has been appointed envoy to the Middle East; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the region herself. US officials have also made diplomatic overtures to Syria, long out in the cold.
10. Nuclear Disarmament
He has outlined an ambitious vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. He has called for a global summit on nuclear security, and pledged to reduce the US nuclear stockpile. He and his Russian counterpart have agreed to seek a new arms control treaty. He has already stopped funding for a new US nuclear warhead. But he has made clear that the US will keep its arsenal while others have one.
1 . In India Public Sector is Most Prominent in which sector ?
A. steel
B. transport
C. finance
2 . Where was set up the first steel factory in India?
A. Jamshedpur
B. Durgapur
C. Burnpur
3 . In which industry among following the largest number of workers employed in India?
A. jute
B. sugar
C. cotton textile
4 . Which region has largest share of India's exports?
A. EEC
B. ESCAP
C. OPEC
5 . What is India's rank in production of Sugar?
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
6 . In how many zones Indian Railway has been divided?
A. 14
B. 16
C. 18
7 . Life Insurance Corporation of India is a …?
A. department of Govt. of India
B. corporation established by a special Act of Parliament,
C. Independent Body
8 . Sometimes, a consumer is motivated to buy some commodity not because it has become cheaper or the income has increased, but
A. Neighbor Effect
B. Demonstration Effect
C. Snob Effect
9 . While calculating Price Elasticity of demand , which among following should be constant?
A. Price
B. Demand
C. Consumer's Income
10 . In calculating cross elasticity of demand, the change in demand and price is taken for how many commodities?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
11 . Colgate and Pepsodent are …….to each other?
A. Substitutes
B. Compliments
C. Unrelated
12 . If two goods have no relationship with each other , what would be cross elasticity among them?
A. 1
B. 0
C. infinite
13 . Demand of which among the following will be called as Direct Demand?
A. Weaving Machine
B. Sweater
C. Wool for Factory
14 . Sales from Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) to SEZs are to be treated as ..?
A. Exports
B. Imports
C. Domestic Sales
15 . EPCG scheme is ….?
A. Export Promotion of Consumer Goods
B. Export Promotion of Capital Goods
C. Export Products for Capital Gains
16 . Under which scheme export performance and incremental export performance of states are being taken into account for enhancing
A. ASIDE
B. MPEDA
C. MDA
17 . A market situation in which there are many
A. Monopoly
B. Oligopoly
C. Monopolistic Competition
18 . From which among the following one can judge the size and composition of assets and liabilities of a company?
A. Ledger Account
B. Balance Sheet
C. Profit & Loss Account
19 . Which among the following has the first position in FDI in India?
A. USA
B. England
C. Mauritius
20 . Which among the following is major export of India?
A. Tea
B. Jute
C. Cotton
March 2, 2009 : Reliance Industries is 13th Largest Oil Refining Company in the world
March 4, 2009 : Indian Young Guns Make world's first six-core microchip!
March 8 , 2009 : Inflation goes to 30 year Low
March 9, 2009 : World's 10 most admired companies by Fortune Magazine:
March 10, 2009 : India's 10 most trustworthy companies by Equitymaster
March 10, 2009 : The 24 richest Indians in Forbes' list of world's richest people.
March 16, 2009 : LIC Agreement with Punjab National Bank
March 21, 2009 : M& M sign Mou with Bank of Baroda:
March 21, 2009 : MOU between Nasscom and ACTI of Chile
March 23, 2009: Govt issues oil bonds worth Rs 10,000 cr :
March 23, 2009 : Tata Nano, the much-awaited 'People's Car' from Tata Motors, was launched in Mumbai
March 23, 2009 : GE Hitachi signs MoUs with NPCIL, BHEL for nuclear reactors
March 25, 2009: Govt okays BRPL merger with IOC
March 26, 2009: IPL Signed Rs 8200-Crore Deal With MSM
March 26, 2009 : ICICI Prudential ties up with PNB:
March 27, 2009 : RIL signed gas sale-purchase deal with 12 Fertilizer Firms
March 27, 2009 : Govt clears 26 FDI proposals worth over Rs 1,000 cr
March 31, 2009 : BHEL gets Rs 345 crore order for Steam Generators from NPCIL
April 1, 2009 : World Economy Growth Projected 2.1%
April 1, 2009 : Huge Turmoil in Streets of London and across Europe against G-20
April 1, 2009 : What did our Prime Minister Say in G-20, "Shun protectionism"
April 2, 2009 : HCC gets 688.06 crore order for Punatsangchhu-I Hydro Electric Project in Bhutan:
April 10, 2009 : India, Asia's 4th most corrupt nation
April 13, 2009: How Tech Mahindra won the Satyam bid
April 15, 2009 : RBI knows banking better than US Fed: Says Nobel laureate Stiglitz
April 16, 2009 : Inflation 0.18%
April 20, 2009: Top 10 Fortune 500 companies
April 21, 2009 : RBI cuts short-term rates
April 23, 2009 : 15 women CEOs of Fortune 500 majors
Reliance Industries displaces American energy major Chevron Corp becomes the 13th largest oil refining company in the world after its board approved plans to absorb its Reliance Petroleum unit. The board of directors of Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries approved a scheme of amalgamation of its subsidiary Reliance Petroleum with the parent company under the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956.
March 4, 2009 : Indian Young Guns Make world's first six-core microchip!
India's brilliant young innovators who are also winners of the latest Nasscom Innovation Awards, Ravishankar (Ravi) Kuppuswamy and a team of professionals have helped the Intel design team develop the world's first six-core microprocessor. Hailed as the first made-in-India microprocessor, this has been developed by Intel's design team at Bangalore.
In September 2008, Intel Corporation introduced the new Intel Xeon Processor 7400 Series, formerly code-named 'Dunnington'. The 7400 Series is the combination of the Penryn microarchitecture and 45nm Hi-k process technology to the Expandable (MP or multi-processor) segment with scaling up to 16 sockets. With up to six processing cores per chip and 16MB of shared cache memory, applications built for virtualised environments and data demanding workloads, such as databases, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and server consolidation, experience dramatic performance increases of almost 50 per cent in some cases. Intel India Development Center has 2,500 employees from across various groups, but we don't break down the group numbers. The design and product development took about two years.
March 8 , 2009 : Inflation goes to 30 year Low
Inflation in India drastically fell to a two-decade low of 0.44 per cent in the first week of March as food and fuel items turned cheaper, prompting analysts to say that rate of price rise would soon turn negative. Wholesale price-based inflation declined by 1.99 percentage points from 2.43 per cent during the week ended February 28, fuelling expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would cut interest rates to spur the economic growth.
Inflation fell to a 30-year low of 0.27 per cent during the second week of March even as prices of some essential commodities like cereals and vegetables rose during the period. This will give room to the Reserve Bank of India to take further monetary steps to spur the economy. The index for primary food articles rose by 0.1 per cent as fruit and vegetables, rice, some varieties of pulses, barley, bajra, and maize turned expensive. The food index in the category of manufactured items also rose because maida, sooji, oil cakes, imported edible oil, gur, and cottonseed oil became costlier. Inflation is close to negative territory, something that was witnessed only in the 1977-78.
March 9, 2009 : World's 10 most admired companies by Fortune Magazine:
Apple is the world's most admired company, as per the Fortune magazine. Of the 363 companies mentioned in Fortune's list, 273 are from the United States, 19 are from Japan, and 17 from Germany. Unfortunately, not a single Indian company is on the list. The rankings are based on innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness long-term investment, quality of products or services and global competitiveness.
Rank 1. Apple : CEO Steve Jobs
Rank 2. Berkshire Hathaway : Chairman Warren Buffett : Berkshire Hathaway tracks its origin to a textile manufacturing company established by Oliver Chace in 1839. In 1962, Buffett began buying stocks in Berkshire Hathaway. By 1967, he expanded into the insurance industry. Berkshire Hathaway now deals with insurance, including property and casualty insurance, reinsurance and specialty non-standard insurance.
Rank 3. Toyota : Fujio Cho is the chairman of the company.
Rank 4. Google : founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Rank 5. Johnson & Johnson : Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886 by Robert Wood Johnson, inspired by a speech by antisepsis advocate Joseph Lister. He was joined by brothers James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson.
Rank 6. Procter & Gamble : Procter & Gamble Co is a Fortune 500 multinational corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Known for a wide range of consumer goods, P&G is also the 8th largest corporation in the world by market capitalisation. The company was founded by William Procter, a candlemaker and James Gamble, a soapmaker who settled in Cincinnati.
Rank 7. FedEx Corporation : FedEx Corporation, is a logistics services company based in the United States. The company's oWorld's 10 most admired companies
Rank 8. Southwest Airlines : Southwest Airlines is an American budget airline. It is the largest airline in the United States by number of passengers carried domestically per year. It is also the 6th largest US airline by revenue. Southwest operates about 3,500 flights daily. Headquartered in the Love Field area of Dallas, Southwest Airlines is one of the world's most profitable airlines. The company is headed by Gary C Kelly. Kelly has served as the airline's CEO since 2004. Original name was Federal Express. The CEO of the company Frederick W Smith has set an example by taking a pay cut of 20 per cent this year.
Rank 9. General Electric: The General Electric Company, or GE, is a multinational technology and services giant based in New York. GE is the world's twelfth largest company in terms of market capitalisation. GE's divisions include GE Capital (including GE Commercial Finance and GE Money and GE Consumer Finance, GE Technology Infrastructure (including GE Aviation, the former Smiths Aerospace and GE Healthcare), GE Energy Infrastructure, and NBC Universal, an entertainment company.)
Rank 10. Microsoft : Software giant Microsoft is one of the world's largest software firms. It develops, manufactures, licenses, a wide range of software products for computing devices. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft's best selling products are the Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software. Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, the company is now facing trouble.
March 10, 2009 : India's 10 most trustworthy companies by Equitymaster
The Tata Group has emerged as the most trustworthy Indian company/business group on financial reporting in a poll conducted among domestic investors. The poll was carried out by equity research firm Equitymaster, in the wake of the accounting fraud at Satyam Computer, to gauge whether there was considerable doubt in the financial statements of Indian companies after the scam at Satyam came to light in January this year.
Other Top Trustworthy Companies are:
2. Infosys
3. HDFC Group
4. Larsen & Toubro
5. Aditya V Birla Group
6. Bharti Airtel
7. Sundaram/TVS Group
8. ICICI Bank
9. Reliance (Mukesh Ambani's)
10 Reliance (Anil Ambani's)
March 10, 2009 : The 24 richest Indians in Forbes' list of world's richest people.
The world's richest are getting poorer. Last year there were 1,125 billionaires in the world. This year the number has fallen to 793. When it comes to the India, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and NRI steel baron Lakshmi Mittal lead the dwindling number of Indians in the Forbes' list of world's richest people. China has beaten India with a maximum number of billionaires from Asia, it has 28 richest people in the list. Last year India had the largest number of billionaires from Asia in the Forbes list. Many lost their billionaire status as India's stock market crashed last year. About 29 Indians are out of the billionaires' list, says Forbes magazine.
1. Mukesh Ambani (Global rank 7 with $19.7 billion)
2. L N Mittal (Global Rank 8 with $19.3 billion. He was the world's 4th richest person last year)
3 : Anil Ambani (Global Rank 34th with total wealth of $10.1 billion) He was last year's biggest billionaire gainer and this year's biggest loser, the Forbes magazine said, adding that his fortune is down $32 billion, as shares in Reliance Communications fell by two-thirds.
4 : Sunil Mittal (Global Rank 59 with $7.7 billion)
5 : Azim Premji (Global Rank 83 with $ 5.7 billion )
6 : Shashi and Ravi Ruia ( Global Rank 86 with $ 5.6 billion )
7 : K P Singh (Global Rank 96 with $ 5 billion)
8 : Kumar Mangalam Birla (Global Rank 124 with $4.2 billion)
9 : Adi Godrej (Global rank 183 with $3.3 bilion)
10 : Dilip Shanghvi (Global Rank 205 with $3 billion)
11 : Savitri Jindal (Global Rank 234 with $2.7 billion )
12 : Malvinder and Shivender Singh ( Global Rank 246 with $2.6 billion )
13 : G M Rao : Global Rank 318 with $ 2.2 billion
14 : Micky Jagtiani : Global Rank 334 with $ 2 billion
15 : Gautam Adani : Global Rank 397 with $ 1.8 billion
March 16, 2009 : LIC Agreement with Punjab National Bank
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has entered into a strategic agreement with Punjab National Bank (PNB) to enable the bank’s customers to have access to the wide range of products of LIC. The agreement was signed in the presence of LIC Chairman T. S. Vijayan and the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director K. C. Chakrabarty at a function on March 16, 2009. LIC has so far tied up with 31 banks through corporate agency model and with banks through referral model for developing banc assurance.
March 21, 2009 : M& M sign Mou with Bank of Baroda:
Mahindra & Mahindra has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bank of Baroda for vehicle finance. Customers can avail themselves of a loan up to 85 per ent of the on-road price of the vehicle with a tenure of up to five years, says a release.
March 21, 2009 : MOU between Nasscom and ACTI of Chile
Information technology trade bodies of India and Chile, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and ACTI (The Chilean Association of Information Technology Companies )groups information and communication technologies companies in our country., signed a memorandum of understanding here on March 21, 2009 to further business opportunities and facilitate mutually beneficial partnerships.
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, who recently visited India , described the IT revolution in India as a result of the country finding and developing talent. Chilean and Indian companies could work together in Chile to create “global products with a Chilean identity” and wanted Indian companies to “take advantage” of the strengths of that country. Chile had “one of the most open economies in Latin America.”
Making it clear that the Chilean delegation here was on furthering ties across a cross section of business and civil society outfits, Dr. Bachelet said that the delegation that had accompanied her was “not a typical delegation.” The number of government functionaries was small and comprised entrepreneurs, persons from across the political divide and elected representatives.
March 23, 2009: Govt issues oil bonds worth Rs 10,000 cr :
The government has issued bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore to oil marketing PSUs to compensate them for selling some petroleum products at below the cost price. While Indian Oil Corporation will get the highest Rs 5,817.27 crore of special bonds, Bharat Petroleum Corporation will receive Rs 2,144.32-crore bonds and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation will be issued bonds worth Rs 2,038.41 crore. The bonds will carry an 8 per cent coupon rate and will mature in 2026, the government said in a statement. The investment in these bonds will not be counted as statutory investment which banks have to make in government and other securities
March 23, 2009 : Tata Nano, the much-awaited 'People's Car' from Tata Motors, was launched in Mumbai
Tata Motors on March 23, 2009 commercially launched its people's car, Nano, promising to stick to the Rs 100,000 price tag for the base model. The promise that has been made to sell the car at around Rs 1-lakh would be kept despite the fact that commodity prices had shot up, Ratan Tata said, adding that the fall in commodity prices now may provide some cushion. The delivery of the first lot of Nano cars will begin in early-July, he said, adding that applications for booking of the car would be available in 30,000 locations in 1,000 cities across India. The four-door car, Nano has a 623cc engine and a mileage of 23.6 km per litre. It is available in 3 different versions, including one with air-conditioning. Contrary to the criticism it faced pre-launch, Tata Nano meets safety standards and emission laws. As promised by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, the base version of the Nano has been priced at Rs 100,000 or about $2,000. This price, however, will be for the first 100,000 cars. Thereafter the price might rise.Note : Other Least Expensive Cars of the World:
Chery QQ3: Chery Automobile, the Chinese car manufacturer, is a name to reckon with in the Chinese passenger car industry. Its Chery QQ3 is a city car that hit the market in 2003. In China, it is sold for 29,000-50,000 Remnibi, while internationally it is priced at $5,000.
Maruti 800 : The most popular entry in the small car segment in India since 1983, Maruti 800 has wooed Indians for over two decades. Manufactured by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Maruti 800 came as a breath of fresh air after Ambassador and Fiat. This four-seater has an 800cc engine, great fuel efficiency and low maintenance cost. Tagged at $5,200, it is available in both AC and non-AC versions. Maruti 800 has great fuel efficiency and very low maintenance cost. The small size and low turning radius of the car makes it easy to drive in the heavy traffic of big cities. It is also exported to a number of countries in South
Merrie Star : Made by China-based Geely Automobile, Merrie Star is a four-door sedan. Priced at $5,500, it was launched in 2005 and is popular amongst the middle-income families and first time buyers in China. It is produced in Geely's Ningbo, Zhejiang factory, China. It has an engine size ranging from 1.0 to 1.3 litres. Geely exports this model to Southeast Asia and Africa.
March 23, 2009 : GE Hitachi signs MoUs with NPCIL, BHEL for nuclear reactors
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced on march 23, 2009 about the signing of two agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) . GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is a world-leading nuclear technology and services provider, and has signed separate agreements with Mumbai-based NPCIL, Indias only nuclear utility operating 17 reactors, and New Delhi-based BHEL, the countrys leading manufacturer and supplier of power generation equipment and components. The two government-owned companies are helping Indias efforts to expand power generation from nuclear energy in the worlds largest democracy more than tenfold over the next two decades-from 4.1 GW today to 60 GW by 2032. Under the preliminary agreements, GEH will begin planning with NPCIL and BHEL for the necessary resources in manufacturing and construction management for a potential multiple-unit Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) nuclear power station. The 1,350-MW ABWR technology is the worlds only commercially proven Generation III reactor design, with the first two of the four units entering service in 1996 and 1997 and four additional units under construction today. The MOUs were signed after GEH executives recently led a US nuclear industry trade delegation to India to explore potential opportunities to partner with local companies on future nuclear plant projects.
March 25, 2009: Govt okays BRPL merger with IOC
The government has approved the merger of Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (BRPL) with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).BRPL shareholders to get four shares of IOC for every 37 held Currently, IOC holds 74.46% equity in BRPL.
March 26, 2009: IPL Signed Rs 8200-Crore Deal With MSM
IPL (Indian Premier League) has signed a new nine-year agreement with Multi Screen Media (MSM, formerly Sony) and World Sport Group (WSG), declaring the two as the Official Broadcast Partners of the Indian Premier League, up to 2017. The deal was closed at a whopping sum of Rs. 8,200 crore. With the second season of DLF-IPL starting from April 18, in South Africa, all the 59 scheduled matches would be brought live on SET Max, by MSM.
March 26, 2009 : ICICI Prudential ties up with PNB:
Indian private life insurance company ICICI Prudential Life tied up with the state-run Punjab National Bank (BSE:532461) to collect premium from the policy holders. The tie-up will allow the policy holders to pay premiums at the 4,600 branches of PNB. ICICI Prudential has already sold 9 million policies since inception and was expecting to cross the 10 million mark in the next three to four months.What is ICICI Prudential ?
ICICI Prudential is a joint venture between ICICI Bank holding 74 per cent and UK-based financial services group Prudential Plc with 26 per cent stake.
26 March 2009: Tata Tea to buy 51 per cent in a Russian packaging and distribution company Grand
Known for its acquisition-led strategy, India’s second-largest branded tea company, Tata Tea, has tied up with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to buy 51 per cent in a Russian packaging and distribution company called Grand. Russia is the world's largest tea market by volume after the UK and India. Grand is Russia's second-largest tea importer, accounting for 15 per cent of imports. The size of the deal was not disclosed.Tata Tea will take a 33.2 per cent stake in Grand through one of its overseas subsidiaries and EBRD 17.8 per cent. The remaining 49 per cent will stay with the founding promoters led by Alexander E Borisov. The acquisition is subject to several conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to be complete in the first half of 2009.
March 27, 2009 : RIL signed gas sale-purchase deal with 12 Fertilizer Firms
On March 27, 2009, Reliance Industries Limited,signed a gas sale-purchase deal with 12 fertilizer firms. These fertilizer firms are going to receive the first produced gas from the offshore Krishna-Godavari (KG) D6 fields. The field is situated on the east coast and within few days, oil and gas extraction from the field will start. The twelve fertilizer firms include: Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (Iffco), Krishak Bharti Cooperative (Kribhco), Tata Chemicals, Indo Gulf Fertilizer, National Fertilizer, Chambal Fertilizer, Gujarat State Fertilizer, Rashtriya Chemical Fertilizer, Nagarjuna Fertilizer and Sriram Fertilizer.
March 27, 2009 : Govt clears 26 FDI proposals worth over Rs 1,000 cr
The government On march 27, 2009 cleared 26 FDI proposals worth Rs 1,042.91 crore, including one by broadcaster Neo Sports, which will bring in Rs 258.53 crore worth of foreign investment. According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, Neo Sports Broadcasting’s FDI will be in uplinking and broadcasting ‘non-news and current affairs’ television channels. The company will issue fresh equity or equity-linked instruments to bring in foreign funds on recommendations of the FIPB. However, the government has rejected three proposals, including that of Bank of Nova Scotia of Canada, which was to undertake wholesale trading and hedging in precious metals.
March 31, 2009 : BHEL gets Rs 345 crore order for Steam Generators from NPCIL
It was a significant breakthrough in the Nuclear Power Segment for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) when they got the first-ever order for Steam Generators for New Rating 700 MWe Nuclear Sets. This order has been placed on BHEL by Nuclear Power Corporation of India limited (NPCIL) for Kakrapara Atomic Power Project (KAPP) in Gujarat. It reinforces BHEL’s market leadership in the supply of indigenously-developed state-of-the-art equipment for nuclear power projects.
BHEL is also presently executing several contracts for NPCIL for equipment supply and erection, which are in various stages of progress. This includes a prestigious contract for supply, erection and commissioning of the complete conventional island for the first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) of 500 MW rating, being set up by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.
BHEL has been a major partner in NPCIL’s vision to achieve self-reliance in nuclear energy. Its association with NPCIL began in 1970 with the development of technology and manufacture of prototype channel covers and heavy water headers. Over the years, BHEL has supplied various types of critical equipment on the primary side for several Nuclear Power Projects in India. The development of indigenous vendors has ensured long term support to Nuclear power stations in case of problems and to facilitate easy availability of spares for the life of the plants.
These Steam Generators shall be manufactured at the Trichy plant of BHEL. The Steam Generators are to be designed, manufactured and tested according to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME Sec.III Standards). The detailed design including design analysis like Thermo Hydraulics, Stress Analysis etc. are to be carried out by BHEL
April 1, 2009 : World Economy Growth Projected 2.1%
The GDP growth in the developing world will slow to a projected 2.1 percent in 2009 from 5.8 percent in 2008, according to the latest World Bank estimates. The Bank has more than halved its November 2008 projection of 4.4 percent growth in developing countries in 2009, reflecting the rapid deterioration of global financial and economic conditions. The new Global Economic Prospects update also notes that global growth is expected to contract by 1.7 percent this year. This would be the first decline in world output since World War II. The GDP is projected to decline by 3 percent in OECD countries and by 2 percent in other high-income economies.
April 1, 2009 : Huge Turmoil in Streets of London and across Europe against G-20
Anti-capitalist demonstrators kicked off a 6-day-long protest from against G-20 summit started from April 4, 2009. The protests attempt to express their anger and helplessness over financial mismanagement that led to the global meltdown. A group of more than 150 organisations are taking part in the protests to demand against job cuts, poverty and more control on the finance sector and revive the economy. Anti-capitalist and environmental protestors conducted a 'mass street party' dubbed as 'Financial Fools Day'. The protest organized by a group called 'G-20 Meltdown', featured carnival parades against the financial culprits. There were scuffles between protesters and the police in London. 'Hang a Banker' and 'Storm the Banks' are some of the slogans of the G20 protestors.
April 1, 2009 : What did our Prime Minister Say in G-20, "Shun protectionism"
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged the world economies to continue with stimulus packages till 2010 and avoid all kinds of protectionism, including in the financial sector, to battle the global economic slowdown.
April 2, 2009 : HCC gets 688.06 crore order for Punatsangchhu-I Hydro Electric Project in Bhutan:
HCC (Hindustan Construction Company Ltd), India’s leading construction and infrastructure company has bagged Rs.688.06 crore order for Package MC3 of 1200MW Punatsangchhu-I Hydro Electric Project in Bhutan. The Punatsangchhu-I Hydro Electric Project is located on river Punatsangchhu in Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhag in Western Bhutan.
The project involves the construction of a Head Race Tunnel (From Surge Shaft end), Surge Shaft, Butterfly Valve Chamber, Pressure Shafts, Power House and Tail Race Tunnel including Hydro-Mechanical Works. The project will be completed in 66 (Sixty Six) months.
HCC has successfully constructed over 23 per cent of India’s hydel power generation capacity, including several challenging hydel power projects in the Himalayan regions. HCC has constructed Head Race Tunnel & Surge Shaft for India’s largest commissioned Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Electric Project (1500MW); Underground Powerhouse & Tunnel for Chamera Hydro Electric Power Project, Stage I. HCC is currently executing nine Hydro Electric Power Projects including four Hydro Electric Projects in J&K, two in Himachal Pradesh and one each in Uttarakhand, Sikkim and West Bengal.HCC is a leading construction and infrastructure development company with a rich heritage of experience. The company specializes in large-scale infrastructure development and developing new age construction technologies. The Company has
managed and executed several technically complex and high value projects across segments like transportation, power generation infrastructure, marine projects, oil & gas pipeline constructions, irrigation & water supply, utilities and urban infrastructure.Mr. Vinayak Deshpande is President & Chief Operating Officer of HCC.
April 10, 2009 : India, Asia's 4th most corrupt nation
Corruption has gripped countries across the world. India is no execption. Many bribery and corruption scandals have tarnished India's image over the years. Across Asia, several countries still see rampant corruption at all levels exposing the nexus between political parties and corporate houses. India, with a score* of 7.21 on the corruption index, is the fourth most corrupt nation in Asia, according to a survey by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).
Following are the other Rank Holders:
Rank 1. Indonesia
Rank 2: Thailand
Rank 3: Cambodia
Rank 4 : India
Rank 5 : Vietnam
Rank 6: Philippines
April 13, 2009: How Tech Mahindra won the Satyam bid
Ending the three-month ordeal of about 50,000 employees, Tech Mahindra on April 13, 2009 emerged as a top bidder with an offer of Rs 58 a share for a 31 per cent stake in beleaguered Satyam Computer, beating a strong rival Larsen & Toubro. Tech Mahindra would acquire the stake in an all-cash deal, followed by an open offer for a 20 per cent stake to take management control of the company. No immediate comment could be obtained from either Tech Mahindra or L&T. After evaluating the bids, the government-appointed board of Satyam Computer on April 13, 2009 announced that "its board of directors has selected Venturbay Consultants Private Limited, a subsidiary controlled by Tech Mahindra Limited as the highest bidder to acquire a controlling stake in the company, subject to the approval of the Company Law Board.
April 15, 2009 : RBI knows banking better than US Fed: Says Nobel laureate Stiglitz
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz complimented the Reserve Bank of India last week for resisting pressures to deregulate the banking sector. Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University, said one reason India is "one of the least dark spots" in the gloomy global economic scenario is that its central bank has resisted such moves. Stiglitz said India had largely averted a crisis that felled the United States because India's central bank did not act like its counterpart in the United States.
April 16, 2009 : Inflation 0.18%
Inflation eased to 0.18 per cent, a new low in over 30 years, although vegetables cost 25 per cent more than it did a year ago and so did other food items - making it a political scoring point in Parliamentary polls underway from April 16, 2009. Inflation fell by 0.08 percentage points during the week ended April four against 0.26 per cent in the previous week, but a number of food articles such as pulses, cereals, processed fish, common salt, tea, coffee, tobacco, soft drinks and liquor turned dearer, besides vegetables.
April 20, 2009: Top 10 Fortune 500 companies
Exxon Mobil tops the Fortune magazine's list of the 500 biggest publicly traded companies with a whopping revenue of $442.85 billion. As a result of the financial crisis that is sweeping countries across the globe, overall earnings of the Fortune 500 companies fell by 85 per cent to $99 billion in 2008. While Exxon was the world's most profitable company earning $45.2 billion in profit in 2008, recession-hit financial services companies Citigroup and Bank of America were out of the top 10 list this time. From a regional marketer of kerosene in the US to becoming the largest publicly traded petroleum company in the world, Exxon has come a long way. Exxon's brands are Exxon, Esso and Mobil. Rex W. Tillerson is the chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil. Fortune's report was based on based on overall revenue earned by these companies.
April 21, 2009 : RBI cuts short-term rates
Reserve Bank of India on April 21, 2009 cut short-term lending (repo) and borrowing (reverse repo) rates by 25 basis points. In its annual credit policy for 2009-10, the RBI reduced the repo rate to 4.75 per cent and reverse repo to 3.25 per cent with immediate effect, while retaining other key rates like the cash reserve ratio, the percentage of deposits that banks keep with the central bank. In view of the ongoing global economic slowdown, the central bank has pegged the economic growth rate forecast for the current fiscal to 6 per cent, against 6.5-6.7 per cent estimated for 2008-09.
April 23, 2009 : 15 women CEOs of Fortune 500 majors
This year the Fortune magazine lists 15 women CEOs up from 12 in 2008. The list includes PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi and three newcomers -- Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz, Dupont CEO Ellen Kullman, and BJ's Wholesale Club CEO Laura Sen. According to the Fortune magazine, "From healthcare to food to retail to technology, these 15 women show what it takes to lead some of the world's biggest companies." Patricia Woertz, President and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland Company Ranks 27 in Fortune List
Know more about Government of India Development Programs & Schemes
Posted by adlokam | 8:57 AM | 0 comments »1. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY)
2. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
3. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
4. Rural Housing Schemes
5. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
6. Drought Prone Areas Program (DPAP)
7. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
8. Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)
9. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)
10.Food For Work Programme FFWP
11. National Social Assistance Programme
12. Annapaurna
13. District Rural Development Agency Administration (DRDA)
14. The Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART)
15. Bharat Nirman
16. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
17. Accredited Social Health Activist ASHA
18. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
19. Mid-Day Meal Scheme
20. Integrated Child Development Services Scheme ICDS
PMGY was launched in 2000-2001 in all States and Union Territories (UTs) in order to achieve the objective of sustainable human development at the village level. The PMGY envisages allocation of Additional Central Assistance (ACA) to the States and UTs for selected basic minimum services in order to focus on certain priority areas. PMGY initially had five components viz., primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and nutrition. Rural electrification was added as an additional component from 2001-02. For 2002-03 as well as 2003-04, the allocation of ACA for PMGY was Rs.2,800 crore. Both financial and physical monitoring of the programme is being carried out by the Planning Commission.
2. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
After a review and restructuring of the erstwhile Integrated Rural Development Program and allied schemes, SGSY was launched in April, 1999 and is the only self employment Programme currently being implemented. The objective of the SGSY is to bring the assisted Swarozgaris above the poverty line by providing them incomegenerating assets through bank credit and Government subsidy. The Scheme is being implemented on a 75:25 cost sharing of between the Centre and the States. Since its inception, and up to April 2004, a total allocation of Rs. 6,734 crore was made available by the Centre and States. Rs. 4,980 crore, have been utilized up to April 2004, benefiting 45.67 lakh Swarozgaris.
3. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
The SGRY was launched in September 2001, by merging the ongoing Schemes of Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) and Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS). The objective of the programme is to provide additional wage employment in the rural areas as also food security, along with the creation of durable community, social and economic infrastructure in rural areas. The SGRY is open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment and desire to do manual and unskilled work in and around the village/habitat. The Scheme is implemented through Panchyati Raj Institutions. The scheme envisages generation of 100 crore man-days of employment in a year. The cost of each component of the programme is shared by the Centre and States in the ratio of 75:25. During the year 2003-04 an amount of Rs. 4,121 crore as cash component and 49.97 lakh tones of food grain were released to the States/UTs and 76.45 crore man-days (Provisional) have been generated as reported by the States/UTs. Under the Special Component of the SGRY, 65.84 lakh tonnes of foodgrain have been released to 12 calamity affected States during 2003-04.
4. Rural Housing Schemes
Rural housing schemes such as Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) aim at providing dwelling units, free of cost, to the poor families of the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), freed bonded laborers and also the non- SC/ST persons Below Poverty Line (BPL) in the rural areas. The Scheme is funded on a cost-sharing basis of 75:25 between the Center and States. Till the end of 2003-04, the ceiling on construction assistance under IAY was Rs. 20,000/- in plain areas and Rs. 22,000/- in hilly areas, which has been increased to Rs. 25,000/- per unit for plain areas and Rs. 27,500/- for hilly areas from April 1, 2004. Twenty per cent of the allocation is allowed for upgradation of unserviceable Kutcha houses for which ceiling of Rs. 12,500 per unit applies since April 2004. Credit-cum-Subsidy Scheme for rural housing targeting rural families having annual income up to Rs.32, 000 was launched on April 4, 1999. An amount of Rs. 10 crore as equity support was provided to Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) during 2003-04 by Ministry of Rural Development. In addition, the innovative scheme of Rural Housing and Habitat Development and Rural Building Centres (RBCs) was introduced to encourage innovative, cost effective and environment friendly solutions in building/housing sectors in rural areas. A National Mission for Rural Housing and Habitat has also been set up to address the critical issues of housing gap and induction of science and technology inputs into the housing/construction sector in rural areas. Since inception (up to June 1, 2004) 113.96 lakh houses have been constructed/upgraded by incurring an expenditure of Rs. 19,869 crore. During 2003-04, against the target of 14.84 lakh, 12.54 lakh (provisional) houses have been constructed/upgraded.
5. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
The PMGSY, was launched in December, 2000, to provide road connectivity to 1.6 lakh unconnected habitations with population of 500 persons or more (250 in case of hilly, desert and tribal areas) in the rural areas by the end of the Tenth Plan period. It is being executed in all the States and six UTs. Although the initial estimates indicated a requirement of Rs. 60,000 crore for the program, the present indications are that about Rs.1,30,000 crore will be needed for achieving the intended connectivity. As per the Budget announcements of 2003-04, the diesel cess which is the source for funding the programme, was increased from Re. 1 per litre to Rs. 1.50 per litre, in order to provide additional funds for the programme. Since the inception of the program, project proposals for Rs. 14,417 crore have been cleared and 88,685 Kms. of rural roads have been taken up under this program. 20,740 road works had been completed till March 2004, and an expenditure of over Rs. 6,547 crore has been incurred by the States/UTs. The National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA), registered under the Societies Registration Act, provides Operations and Management support for the program. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to support the development of rural roads in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which have been identified as recipient States for the first tranche. The ADB Board has approved a loan of $400 million (in a project size of $571 million). The States of Assam, Orissa and West Bengal have been identified for the second tranche of ADB assistance, of the order of US $500million. A first tranche of $400 million for funding projects in Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is likely to be available from the World Bank by the end of 2004-05
6. Drought Prone Areas Program (DPAP)
Desert Development Program (DDP) and Integrated Wastelands Development Program (IWDP) are being implemented for the development of wastelands / degraded lands. DPAP was launched in 1973-74 to tackle the special problems faced by those areas constantly affected by drought conditions. DDP was launched in 1977-78 to mitigate the adverse effects of desertification. IWDP has been under implementation since 1989-90. These programs were implemented on a sectoral basis till 1994-95. Since April 1995, these programs are being implemented on watershed basis. For the project DPAP, total number of the projects sanctioned were 2,535, with funds released by the Centre at Rs 295 crore. Under DDP, 1,562 projects have been sanctioned with funds of amount Rs.215 crore; and under IWDP, 190 projects with funding of Rs. 306 crore, were sanctioned. The cost norms for all the three schemes have been revised to Rs.6,000 per hectare. Under DPAP and DDP, the cost is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25, while in the case of IWDP, Rs.5,500 is borne by the Central Government and Rs.500 is shared by the States.
7. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
AAY was launched in December 2000. Under the scheme 1 crore of the poorest among the BPL families covered under the targeted public distribution system are identified. Twenty five kilograms (kg) of food grains were made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidized rate of Rs. 2 per kg for wheat and Rs.3 per kg for rice. This quantity has been enhanced from 25 to 35 kgs with effect from April, 2002. The scheme has been further expanded in June 2003 by adding another 50 lakh BPL families. Under the scheme, during 2002-03, against an allocation of 41.27 lakh tonnes of foodgrain, 35.39 lakh tonnes have been lifted by State Governments, and during 2003-04, 38.24 lakh tonnes of food-grain have been lifted against an allocation of 45.56 lakh tonnes.
8. Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)
The Urban Self-Employment Program and the Urban Wage Employment Program are two special schemes of the SJSRY initiated in December 1997, which replaced various programs operated earlier for urban poverty alleviation. Between the Centre and the States, SJSRY is funded on a 75:25 basis. During 2002-03, the full allocation of Rs.105 crore provided for various components of this program was released. For 2003-04, an allocation of Rs.94.50 crore plus Rs. 10.5 crore for North East and Sikkim was provided for various components of this program. The expenditure during 2003-04 was Rs. 105 crore.
9. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)
The VAMBAY was launched in December 2001 to ameliorate the conditions of the urban slum dwellers living below the poverty line without adequate shelter. The scheme has the primary objective of facilitating the construction and up-gradation of dwelling units for slum dwellers and providing a healthy and enabling urban environment through community toilets under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, a component of the scheme. The Central Government provides a subsidy of 50 per cent, the balance 50 per cent being arranged by the State Government. There are prescribed ceilings on costs both for dwelling units and community toilets. During 2003-04, Central subsidy to the extent of Rs. 239 crore has been released. Since inception up to May 2004, Rs. 522 crore have been released as Government of India subsidy for the construction/upgradation of 2,46,035 dwelling units and 29,263 toilet seats under the scheme.
10.Food For Work Programme: FFWP
The Food for Work Programme was started in January, 2000-01 as part of the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) in eight drought affected States viz. Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal. The Food for Work Programmes (FFWP) was later expanded to form a part of any wage employment scheme of the Central or State Governments being implemented in the notified districts during periods
of natural calamities, such as drought, flood, cyclone or earthquake. Now the programme is in operation in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan. For the States/Areas which are formally notified natural calamities affected, the programme will continue up to 31st of March 2002.
In this programme the cash component of the wage and material is met from the Scheme under which it is being implemented. The cost of transportation of foodgrains from FCI godowns to the worksites/PDS and its distribution is the responsibility of the State Government.Government of India makes available appropriate quantity of foodgrains to each of the affected States. Foodgrains are supplied to the States as an additionality and free of cost. The cost is borne by the Government of India with a view of enabling the State Governments to provide adequate wage employment opportunities to the needy rural poor.
11. National Social Assistance Programme:
The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) which came into effect from 15th August, 1995, is a 100 % Centrally Sponsored Programme. It has three components namely, National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). The NMBS has since been transferred to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare w.e.f. 1-4-2001. The NSAP aims at providing social security in case of old age, death of primary breadwinner andmaternity. The main objectives and features of the two schemes, NOAPS and NFBS are given below:The Programme aims at ensuring a minimum national standard of social assistance in addition to the benefit that States are already providing. The Central assistance is not to
displace expenditure by States on social protection schemes. However, the States/UTs are free to expand their own coverage of social assistance whenever they wish to do so.
12. Annapaurna:
The Annapurna Scheme has been launched with effect from 1st April, 2000. It aims at providing food security to meet the requirement of those senior citizens who, though eligible, have remained uncovered under the National Old Age Pension Scheme(NOAPS). The Scheme is targeted to cover, 20% (13.762 Lakh) of persons eligible to receive pension under NOAPS.The Central assistance under the Annapurna Scheme is, thus, provided to the beneficiaries on fulfilling the following criteria :
1. The age of the applicant ( male or female) should be 65 years or above.
2. The applicant must be a destitute in the sense of having little or no regular means of substance from his/her own source of income or through financial support from family members or other sources. In order to determine destitution , the criteria, if any, in force in the States/UTs may also be followed.
3. The applicant should not be in receipt of pension under the NOAPSor State Pension Scheme.
4. The beneficiaries are given 10 Kg. of foodgrains per month free of cost.
Funds are currently released to the State Departments of Food & Civil Supplies (F&CS) in one instalment . This Department then ties up with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), to release foodgrains districtwise on payment of the cost of Foodgrains at CIP rates directly to the FCI offices. Initially the foodgrains were supplied at economic cost ( Rs.9.80 per Kg.). However, w.e.f. 1.11.2000, foodgrains are supplied at the CIP rates for BPL families( Rs.4.90 per Kg.) The beneficiaries under the scheme are selected in the Gram Sabhas and the Gram Panchayat distribute the entitlement cards to the beneficiaries.
13. District Rural Development Agency Administration (DRDA)
Over the years the District Rural Development Agencies have emerged as the principal organs at the district level to oversing the implementation of different poverty alleviation programmes. Since inception, the administrative costs of the DRDAs were met by setting apart a certain percentage of the allocation for each Programme. Of late, while the number of programmes increased, not all Programmes provided for the administrative cost of the DRDAs.
Keeping in view the need for an effective agency at the district level to co-ordinate the poverty alleviation efforts, a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme for strengthening the DRDAs was introduced w.e.f. 1st April, 1999.
The primary objective of the DRDA Administration Scheme is to professionalise the DRDAs so that they are able to effectively manage the poverty alleviation programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development and interact purposively with other agencies. The DRDAs are expected to (effectively) coordinate with the Panchayati Raj Institutions. DRDAs are to maintain their separate identity under the guidelines even though the Chairman of the Zilla Parishad is also the
Chairman of the governing body of DRDA.
14. The Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART)
The Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) was set up as a pioneer organisation in September, 1986, as a supporting and funding agency for the Voluntary Organisations (VOs) by merging two organisations, namely, People’s Action for Development (India) and Council for Advancement of Rural Technology (CART) with the mandate to promote voluntary action and propagate appropriate rural technologies for the benefit of the rural masses. Since then, CAPART has been contributing towards the rural development and poverty alleviation through the work of VOs at the grassroots level and by supplementing Government’s efforts.
The Minister for Rural Development, Government of India, is the President of the Council and also the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council.
The General Body comprises, not exceeding, 100 members representing voluntary agencies, Central and States Government, institutions engaged in activities connected with rural development, rural technology and individuals possessing experience/expertise relevant to the furtherance of the aforesaid objectives of CAPART. They are nominated by the President of the Council.The Executive Committee of CAPART comprises a maximum of 25 members nominated by the President of CAPART from amongst the members of the General Body. There is also a Standing Committee on Finance and Appointments which is chaired by the Director.
15. Bharat Nirman:
Bharat Nirman is a a time-bound plan for rural infrastructure by the Government of India in partnership with State Governments and Panchayat Raj Institutions.
Tasks Under Bharat Nirman:
1. Every village to be provided electricity: remaining 1,25,000 villages to be covered by 2009 as well as connect 2.3 crore households
2. Every habitation over 1000 population and above (500 in hilly and tribal areas) to be provided an all-weather road: remaining 66,802 habitations to be covered by 2009
3. Every habitation to have a safe source of drinking water: 55,067 uncovered habitations to be covered by 2009. In addition all habitations which have slipped back from full coverage to partial coverage due to failure of source and habitations which have water quality problems to
be addressed
16. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme:
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA, also known as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, NREGS) is Indian legislation enacted on August 25, 2005. The NREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living below poverty line in rural India. It attempts to bridge the gap between the rich and poor in the country. Roughly one-third of the stipulated work force must be women.The act was brought about by the UPA coalition government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh. The promise of this project was one of the major factors that gained UPA victory in the Indian general election, 2004. Dr. Jean Drèze, a Belgian born economist, at the Delhi School of Economics, has been a major influence on this project.
Central Government shall meet the cost towards the payment of wage, 3/4 of material cost and certain percentage of administrative cost. State Government shall meet the cost towards unemployed allowance, 1/4 of material cost and administrative cost of State council.
Adult members of rural households submit their name, age and address with photo to the Gram Panchayat. The Gram panchayat registers households after making enquiry and issues a job card. The job card contains the details of adult member enrolled and his /her photo. Registered person can submit an application for work in writing (for at least fourteen days of continuous work) either to panchayat or to Programme Officer.
The panchayat/programme officer will accept the valid application and issue dated receipt of application, letter providing work will be sent to the applicant and also displayed at panchayat office. The employment will be provided within a radius of 5 km: if it is above 5 km extra wage will be paid.
If employment under the scheme is not provided within fifteen days of receipt of the application daily unemployment allowance will be paid to the applicant.
17. Accredited Social Health Activist ASHA:
ASHA is a new band of community under National Rural Health Mission, which serves as first port of call for any health related demands of deprived sections of the population, especially women and children, who find it difficult to access health services. The main objective is to provide every village in the country with a trained female community health activist – ‘ASHA’ or Accredited Social Health Activist. Selected from the village itself and accountable to it, the ASHA will be trained to work as an interface between the community and the public health system.
Key Components:
2. She should be a literate woman with formal education up to class eight. This may be relaxed only if no suitable person with this qualification is available.
3. ASHA will be chosen through a rigorous process of selection involving various community groups, self-help groups, Anganwadi Institutions, the Block Nodal officer, District Nodal officer, the village Health Committee and the Gram Sabha.
4. Capacity building of ASHA is being seen as a continuous process. ASHA will have t undergo series of training episodes to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence for performing her spelled out roles.
5. The ASHAs will receive performance-based incentives for promoting universal immunization, referral and escort services for Reproductive & Child Health (RCH) and other healthcare programmes, and construction of household toilets.
6. Empowered with knowledge and a drug-kit to deliver first-contact healthcare, every ASHA is expected to be a fountainhead of community participation in public health programmes in her village.
7. ASHA will be the first port of call for any health related demands of deprived sections of the population, especially women and children, who find it difficult to access health services.
8. ASHA will be a health activist in the community who will create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilise the community towards local health planning and increased utilisation and accountability of the existing health services.
9. She would be a promoter of good health practices and will also provide a minimum package of curative care as appropriate and feasible for that level and make timely referrals.
10. ASHA will provide information to the community on determinants of health such as nutrition, basic sanitation & hygienic practices, healthy living and working conditions, information on existing health services and the need for timely utilisation of health & family welfare services.
11. She will counsel women on birth preparedness, importance of safe delivery, breast-feeding and complementary feeding, immunization, contraception and prevention of common infections including Reproductive Tract Infection/Sexually Transmitted Infections (RTIs/STIs) and care of the young child.
12. ASHA will mobilise the community and facilitate them in accessing health and health related services available at the Anganwadi/sub-centre/primary health centers, such as immunisation, Ante Natal Check-up (ANC), Post Natal Check-up supplementary nutrition, sanitation and other services being provided by the government.
13. She will act as a depot older for essential provisions being made available to all habitations like Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORS), Iron Folic Acid Tablet(IFA), chloroquine, Disposable Delivery Kits (DDK), Oral Pills & Condoms, etc.
14. At the village level it is recognised that ASHA cannot function without adequate institutional support. Women’s committees (like self-help groups or women’s health committees), village Health & Sanitation Committee of the Gram Panchayat, peripheral health workers especially ANMs and Anganwadi workers, and the trainers of ASHA and in-service periodic training would be a major source of support to ASHA.
website of ASHA : http://www.mohfw.nic.in/eag/accredited_social_health_activis.htm
18. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan:
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations. The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.
Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl's education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide.
Website: http://www.ssa.nic.in/
19. Mid-Day Meal Scheme:
The Mid-day Meal Scheme involves provision of lunch free of cost to school-children on all working days. The key objectives of the programme are: protecting children from classroom hunger, increasing school enrolment and attendance, improved socialisation among children belonging to all castes, addressing malnutrition, and social empowerment through provision of employment to women. The scheme has a long history especially in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and has been expanded to all parts of India after a landmark direction by the Supreme Court of India on November 28, 2001. The success of this scheme is illustrated by the tremendous increase in the school participation and completion rates in the state of Tamilnadu. Allocation for this programme has been enhanced from Rs 3010 crore to Rs 4813 crore (Rs 48 billion, $1.2 billion) in 2006-2007. This program is being run by Akshaya Patra Foundation and is the world’s largest school meal programme being implemented across seven states in India and covering about ten lakh students in over 4,800 schools. The allocation was of Rs 8000 crore for the Mid-Day meal schemes in the interim budget 2009.
About Akshaya Patra Foundation
Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit, Bangalore-based secular trust, evolved the free meal programme in schools in the year 2000. It is one of the most successful public-private partnership which has successfully proved that the government in association with the private sector can achieve much if they get together. The mid-day meal provided by Akshaya Patra is funded equally by Government mid-day meal grants and by the generosity of the private sector.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-profit, Bangalore-based secular trust, evolved the free meal programme in schools in the year 2000. What started as a pilot project in five schools in Bangalore, feeding 1,500 children, has now grown into a mammoth endeavour covering over 9,83,000 children in over 4,500 government, government aided schools and anganwadis (day care centers) in 17 locations spread across seven states in India, day after day. This is amongst the largest school meal NGO run programme in the world. The foundation expects to reach a magical figure of five million children by 2020.
Six days a week, without a stop, the foundation provides unlimited, nutritious, hygienically cooked noon meals in government schools and government-run day-care centres (anganwadis), Ushering in a technology-intensive operating model that ensures high-quality, hygienic food on the one hand and increases internal efficiencies on the other, the programme has brought about policy changes at the state government levels and created a new image for mid-day meals in India. Akshaya Patra is an eloquent demonstration of public private partnership as it is run with part subsidies from the government, besides financial support from corporates and individual philanthropists.
The programme is independently governed by a Board of Trustees, an Advisory Panel consisting of professionals from the corporate world and bureaucracy, dedicated employees and a team of volunteers. The programme is advised in rigorous accounting standards and services by KPMG to ensure transparency and accountability to all its donors.
A study in the year 2006 by AC Nielsen Org Marg, has vouchsafed for the efficacy of the program in increasing attendance in schools, improving nutritional status of these children, enhancing their learning abilities and reducing drop out rates. The foundation’s work has been praised by all quarters and a recent feather in its cap has been the study conducted by Harvard Business School.
20. Integrated Child Development Services Scheme ICDS
The Integrated Child Development Sevices Programme aims at providing services to pre-school children in an integrated manner so as to ensure proper growth and development of children in rural, tribal and slum areas. ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme.
Launched on 2nd October 1975 in 33 Community Development Blocks, ICDS today represents one of the world’s largest programmes for early childhood development. ICDS is the foremost symbol of India’s commitment to her children – India’s response to the challenge of providing pre-school education on one hand and breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition, morbidity, reduced learning capacity and mortality, on the other.
It is an inter-sectoral programme which seeks to directly reach out to children, below six years, especially from vulnerable and remote areas and give them a head-start by providing an integrated programme of early childhood education, health and nutrition. No programme on Early Childhood Care and Education can succeed unless mothers are also brought within it ambit as it is in the lap of the mother that human beings learn the first lessons in life.
Objectives:
-To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 0 to 6 years.
-To lay the foundations for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child.
-To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school drop-out.
-To achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development.
-To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.