National:

Manipur bans smokeless tobacco products Having banned smoking at public places, Manipur has prohibited the manufacture, display, stocking, sale and consumption of smokeless tobacco products, becoming the second State in the north-east to do so, after . A notification, issued by Principal Secretary Ram Muivah, who is also the Commissioner of Food Safety, says those who violate the ban, imposed under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Regulation on sales) Regulation, 2011, are liable to punishment, including a fine of up to Rs. 2 lakh.

Maharashtra women can now choose their surname Women and children in Maharashtra will now have the freedom to use any surname of their choice, the government has said in the draft of the State’s women’s policy released. In another first, the draft also includes policy changes for the treatment of transgenders. The first women’s policy of the State was introduced in 1994 and amended in 2001. Maharashtra will also use 10 per cent of the State and Central funds for the “women-focused gender budget,” the draft states. It has also recommended legalising marriage between transgenders and their rights to have and adopt children. The State also announced a new toll-free number 1091 for all the districts which women can call and report any kind of assault and harassment.

The Top Secret ‘Operation Lal Dora’ President Pranab Mukherjee will be buttress a relationship with an Indian Ocean nation that is so central to ’s security interests that it went to the extent of planning military intervention to ensure an Indian-origin Prime Minister remained in power there. The Top Secret ‘Operation Lal Dora’ which was conceived in 1983 with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s approval and called for the amphibious landing of troops from the 54th Division to help the Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth fight off a challenge from his radical rival Paul Berenger which New Delhi feared might take the form of an attempted coup. India’s military plans also included the deployment of major naval assets including as many as six destroyers with Alouette helicopters and MK 42C Sea Kings for slithering operations. A measure of this ‘huge success’ was Mr. Jugnauth’s subsequent decision to request India Gandhi for an Indian as his national security adviser. General J.N. Tamini, who remained there for many years. India’s first military intervention in the Indian Ocean came four years later, first with INS Vindhyagiri helping to abort a coup in the Seychelles in 1986 (‘Operation Flowers are Blooming’) and then ‘Operation Cactus’ in 1988 when commandos and naval ships were rushed to the Maldives after Sri Lankan Tamil militants sought to unseat the then President, Abdul Gayoom.

Ashwani Kumar and Jamir appointed new Governors of Nagaland, Odisha President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar and senior Congress leader S.C. Jamir as Governors of Nagaland and Odisha respectively. Mr. Ashwani Kumar, who led the CBI from August 2008 to November 2010, is the first head of the premier investigating agency to be appointed as Governor. On the other hand, Mr. Jamir, who has been Chief Minister of Nagaland four times, has earlier served as Governor of Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. He succeeds M.C. Bhandare who was in the Odisha Raj Bhawan since August 2007. The President also transferred Governor of D.Y. Patil to and shifted Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar to Tripura. Similarly, former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who was serving as Nagaland Governor, has been shifted to Kerala.

International:

Kenyatta wins Kenya presidency Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first Prime Minister and President Jomo Kenyatta, has won the presidential election after days of anxious waiting as technical glitches delayed the announcement of the results. Mr. Kenyatta won just over 50 per cent of the vote compared to approximately 43 per cent polled by his rival, incumbent Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. Under Kenyan law, the winning candidate must win at least 50 percent of the total vote and 25 per cent of the vote in each county to win the presidency. Mr. Kenyatta’s victory is likely to pose difficult questions for the international community as the International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted him for his role in the violence that marred the previous election in 2007. More than 1, 200 Kenyans were killed that year, when Mr. Odinga accused the government of the time of rigging the vote, prompting widespread ethnic violence. Page 1 of 2 10th March 2013

‘World’s best restaurant’ to reimburse poisoned diners The “world’s best restaurant” said it would reimburse dozens of diners who came down with a nasty case of food poisoning after savouring its delights. The two-Michelin-star Noma restaurant said it would alternatively offer them a free meal if they “dared” to return to the eatery in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The diners at Noma, which grabbed the number one spot in Restaurant magazine’s prestigious annual ranking in 2010, 2011 and 2012, fell sick over a five-day period. Noma said that tests had shown that the poisoning was caused by the highly contagious stomach bug norovirus that was brought into the restaurant by a staff member.

Business and Economy:

RBI rules out revision in inflation goal The Reserve Bank of India has ruled out any revision in its inflation goal. While admitting that the average inflation rate in India over the last three years ‘has tended up,’ RBI Governor D. Subbarao, however, asserted that “the context presents neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition” for the apex bank to revise its inflation goal.

RBI launches fresh survey on inflation expectations The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to have first hand information on inflation from the general public, has launched the 31st round of Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) with January-March 2013 as the current reference period. The RBI has been conducting such quarterly surveys since September 2005. The results of this survey will be used by the RBI as one of the important inputs for the formulation of the monetary policy. The apex bank has engaged Mumbai based agency Beaumont Consultancy Services to conduct this round of the survey.

United Bank ties up with SIDBI United Bank of India (UBI), which has recently eased loans for the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector, has now signed a memorandum of understanding with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to ensure smooth credit flow to the MSME sector under the programme Collaboration for facilitating Enterprise Loans (COFEL). By this scheme, both the institutions will work to leverage each others’ strengths. SIDBI, as a facilitator of the small and medium enterprises, will work with the MSMEs by sponsoring investment-grade proposals to United Bank and the latter will look at the credit linkage part under its various products.

Page 2 of 2 10th March 2013