12 March 2014

National:
Sahitya Akademi awards presented
Famous poets Javed Akhtar (Urdu), Subodh Sarkar (Bengali) and Ambika Dutt (Rajasthani) were among
the literary giants who were felicitated by the Sahitya Akademi at the ongoing annual Festival of Letters
in New Delhi. Novelists Mridula Garg (Hindi), Manmohan (Punjabi) and R.N. Joe D Cruz (Tamil) were
among those who accepted the awards from the Sahitya Akademi president Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.
The award winners included Rabindra Sarkar (Assamese), Anil Boro (Bodo), Sita Ram Sapolia (Dogri),
Temsula Ao (English), Chinu Modi (Gujarati), C.N. Ramachandran (Kannada), Mohi-ud-Din Reshi
(Kashmiri), Tukaram Ram Shet (Konkani), Sureshwar Jha (Maithili), M. N. Paloor (Malayalam),
Makhonmani Mongsaba (Manipuri) and Satish Kalsekar (Marathi).
Human development indicators on the upswing in BIMARU States
Human development indicators across the poorer States with a high concentration of marginalised groups
are catching up with the national average, according to the latest figures released by the Institute of
Applied Manpower Research (IAMR) under the Planning Commission. The eight poorer States Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are
home to nearly 48 per cent of all the SCs, 52 per cent of all the STs and 44 per cent of all Muslims in the
country. The report, an updated version of the Human Development Report-2011: Towards Social
Inclusion ranks Delhi, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab among the best performing
States in human development indicators, while Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Odisha are the worst performers. Most other States, including Gujarat, have more or less remained the
same.
Kannada translation gets Sahitya Akademi award
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule , the Kannada translation of a biography on the 19th century social reformer, by
J.P. Doddamani has been chosen for the Sahitya Akademi award 2013. The award carries a purse of Rs.
50,000 and a copper plaque that will be presented to the writer at a function in August 2014.
Maoists kill 16 in Chhattisgarh
Fifteen security personnel were killed in a Maoist ambush in Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh. One
civilian, Vikram Nishad, also died in the crossfire, while three were injured. The incident took place when
a joint team of the CRPF and the police about 50 personnel divided into two platoons were moving
from Tongpal village to Jeeram Ghati, the same area where a Maoist ambush had killed 27 people in May
2013. The team was engaged in an area domination exercise to sanitise the area for troop movements
and also to provide security to road construction workers. About 100 Maoists surrounded them and
opened fire.



12 March 2014
International:
Poland: law to reduce reliance on Russian gas
Polands government has adopted a draft law designed to speed up shale gas exploration and reduce
dependence on Russian supplies. Poland, which imports about 70 per cent of its gas from Russia, is
seeking to exploit its shale gas deposits, but complicated legislation has been an obstacle and
discouraged some foreign energy firms.
Crimea Parliament proclaims independence
The Parliament in pro-Russian Crimea declared independence from Ukraine as a first step towards
joining Russia. Lawmakers overwhelmingly adopted a declaration of independence of the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea that will take effect if voters say yes to Crimea becoming part of Russia in a
referendum. The referendum will ask the people of Crimea to choose between joining Russia and staying
with Ukraine as a self-governed autonomy.
Luxembourg blocks EU tax evasion law
European Union finance ministers failed once again to agree on a sweeping new policy to fight tax
evasion because of resistance from Luxembourg, a tiny country that long has prospered from a secretive
banking culture. Luxembourg was able to shelve the legislation for the 28-nation bloc because the
decision required unanimous approval in Brussels. Luxembourg has insisted for years it would support
the proposed law only if non-EU banking hubs within Europe, particularly Switzerland, also sign up.
Business & Economy:
IRDA asks SBI Lifeto refund Rs.275 cr to policyholders
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), has asked SBI Life Insurance company to
refund Rs.275.29 crore to the policyholders as the amount was collected from them in violation of norms.
SBI Life Insurance, a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif, has been asked
to refund the amount within six months. The order was issued after an enquiry that revealed SBI Life
Insurance was charging the second year premium along with the first year premium on its Dhanaraksha
Plus Limited Premium Paying Term (LPPT), a group insurance policy.It relates to polices issued during
2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
CBDT provides tax clarity on M&As
An internal instruction by the foreign tax division of the Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT) will put an
end to litigation relating to the tax to be withheld at source in India by the Indian payer in cross-border
transactions, including mergers and amalgamations (M&A) deals. Under India's tax laws, when any
payment is made to a non-resident or a foreign company - say for purchase of goods or services, or
purchase of shares in an M&A deal - tax is required to be deducted at source (TDS) by the Indian payer
at the applicable rate. If this is not done, the Indian payer is treated as an 'assessee in default' and is
subject to penal interest and stiff penalties.

12 March 2014
China to set up five private banks on trial basis
China will set up five private banks on a trial basis before the practice is extended to more places. The
first batch of the five banks will be in Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang Province and Guangdong Province,
Shang Fulin, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said. Ten private companies,
including Internet firms Alibaba and Tencent, have been selected to take part in the preparation work for
setting up the banks.
Airbus appoints Dwarakanath as India CEO
Aircarft maker Airbus, said it had appointed Srinivasan Dwarakanath as Airbus India CEO and Charles
Champion, who is EVP Airbus Engineering and member of the companys Executive Committee, as
Chairman. Airbus is bringing all its Indian activities under one roof through the creation of a fully-owned
subsidiary called Airbus India to manage the companys significant footprint spread across several sites in
the country. Airbus also has plans to set up a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) capability, which
will be established.
Bharatiya Mahila Bank opens branch in Goa
Bharatiya Mahila Bank Limited, the first womens bank and a wholly-owned government institution,
proposes to open 55 more branches in Tier 4, Tier-5 and Tier-6 cities in 2014-15. Chairman and
Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian inaugurated the banks 14th branch in Panji, Goa. The
bank will open its 15th branch in Jaipur.
Sports:
Pardew gets seven-game ban
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has been given a seven-match suspension and a 60,000 fine
for head-butting Hull City midfielder David Meyler, the Football Association (FA) announced. An
Independent Regulatory Commission ruled the first three matches imposed are a stadium bans with the
remaining four a touchline ban. Pardew was also fined 60,000 and warned as to his future conduct.
Prashant wins Youth Olympics quota place
Prashant missed a medal by 0.3 points but managed to clinch a Youth Olympic Quota place in air rifle in
the seventh Asian air gun championship in Kuwait. There were four quota places available for Asia in the
youth men's air rifle category, for the Youth Olympics to be staged in Nanjing, China, and each country
could win only quota one per event. Pratik Borse, who won the team silver along with Gaurav Kumar and
Prashant, placed sixth in the final. The seventh placed Shao-Chuan Liu of Chinese Taipei also bagged a
quota place as the top six had three Chinese and two Indians apart from gold winner Vadim Skorovarov
of Uzbekistan.