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| Subhaditya News Post In Animated Form |
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| Subhaditya NewsWeek 33 Post |
Science
News This Week:
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| Science News |
1) Sea
Lamprey Genome Mapped:
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| Sea Lamprey Genome Mapped |
Beginning
in 2004, a group of scientists from around the globe, including two University
of Oklahoma faculty members, set out to map the genome of the sea lamprey. The
secrets of how this jawless vertebrate separated from the jawed vertebrates
early in the evolutionary process will give insight to the ancestry of vertebrate
characters and may help investigators more fully understand neurodegenerative
diseases in humans.
David
McCauley, associate professor in the Biology Department in the OU College of
Arts and Sciences, and Sandra W. Clifton, with the OU Center for Advanced
Genome Technology, collaborated with scientists from Japan, Germany, the United
States, Canada and Great Britain.
McCauley
isolated and prepared the liver tissue from the single adult female sea
lamprey, from which genomic DNA was isolated for sequencing. Clifton was
involved in management of the sea lamprey sequencing project at the Genome
Institute at Washington University in St. Louis until her retirement in 2010.
The project then was taken over by Patrick Minx. Clifton participated in the
discussions regarding the paper preparation, and she is a senior author on the
paper. Sequencing was performed at the Genome Institute and the project was
directed by Weiming Li at Michigan State University with funding provided by
the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of
Health.
"The
sea lamprey is a primitive jawless vertebrate that diverged from other jawed
vertebrates early in the vertebrate ancestry," writes McCauley.
"Because of its early divergence from other living vertebrates, the sea
lamprey genome can provide insights for understanding how vertebrate genomes
have evolved, and the origins of vertebrate character traits. Several important
findings arise from sequencing the sea lamprey genome: Vertebrates have
undergone two 'whole-genome' rounds of duplication, resulting in multiple
copies of many genes present in vertebrates. One outstanding question has been
the timing of these duplications in vertebrate history. Results from this
project suggest that two rounds of duplication predated the divergence of the
ancestral lamprey from modern jawed vertebrates. This result is important for
understanding how vertebrate genomes have evolved, and in particular, for
understanding if the organization of the genome is common to all vertebrates.
"Most
vertebrates contain an insulating layer of cells that surround nerve cells.
Cells that wrap around a nerve fiber, or axon, are enriched in a protein known
as myelin. The insulating properties of myelin allow signals to be conducted
rapidly along the nerve fiber, and the loss of myelin results in numerous
neurodegenerative diseases in humans."
McCauley
adds that lampreys lack these "wrapped" neurons, suggesting the
insulated neurons are specific to jawed vertebrates. "Somewhat surprisingly,
the sea lamprey genome contains multiple proteins involved in the synthesis of
myelin, including its basic protein. This important finding suggests the origin
of myelin predated the divergence of lampreys from the lineage leading to jawed
vertebrates, but the role of these proteins in lampreys is not known. Other
important findings shed light on evolution of the vertebrate adaptive immune
system, and the evolution of paired appendages, such as fins in fish and
fore-limbs and hind-limbs in tetrapod vertebrates such as humans and
animals."
2) New
Dinosaur Species: First Fossil Evidence Shows Small Crocs Fed On Baby
Dinosaurs:
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New Dinosaur Species: First Fossil Evidence Shows Small Crocs Fed On Baby Dinosaurs:
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A South
Dakota School of Mines & Technology assistant professor and his team have
discovered a new species of herbivorous dinosaur and today published the first
fossil evidence of prehistoric crocodyliforms feeding on small
dinosaurs.Research by Clint Boyd, Ph.D., provides the first definitive evidence
that plant-eating baby ornithopod dinosaurs were a food of choice for the crocodyliform,
a now extinct relative of the crocodile family. While conducting their
research, the team also discovered that this dinosaur prey was a previously
unrecognized species of a small ornithopod dinosaur, which has yet to be named.
The
evidence found in what is now known as the Grand Staircase Escalante-National
Monument in southern Utah dates back to the late Cretaceous period, toward the
end of the age of dinosaurs, and was published today in the online journal PLOS
ONE. The complete research findings of Boyd and Stephanie K. Drumheller, of the
University of Iowa and the University of Tennessee, and Terry A. Gates, of
North Carolina State University and the Natural History Museum of Utah, can be
accessed online (see journal reference below).
A large number
of mostly tiny bits of dinosaur bones were recovered in groups at four
locations within the Utah park -- which paleontologists and geologists know as
the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Kaiparowits Formation -- leading
paleontologists to believe that crocodyliforms had fed on baby dinosaurs 1-2
meters in total length.Evidence shows bite marks on bone joints, as well as
breakthrough proof of a crocodyliform tooth still embedded in a dinosaur femur.
The
findings are significant because historically dinosaurs have been depicted as
the dominant species. "The traditional ideas you see in popular literature
are that when little baby dinosaurs are either coming out of a nesting grounds
or out somewhere on their own, they are normally having to worry about the theropod
dinosaurs, the things like raptors or, on bigger scales, the T. rex. So this
kind of adds a new dimension," Boyd said. "You had your dominant
riverine carnivores, the crocodyliforms, attacking these herbivores as well, so
they kind of had it coming from all sides."
Based on
teeth marks left on bones and the large amounts of fragments left behind, it is
believed the crocodyliforms were also diminutive in size, perhaps no more than
2 meters long. A larger species of crocodyliform would have been more likely to
gulp down its prey without leaving behind traces of "busted up" bone
fragments.Until now, paleontologists had direct evidence only of "very
large crocodyliforms" interacting with "very large dinosaurs."
"It's
not often that you get events from the fossil record that are
action-related," Boyd explained. "While you generally assume there
was probably a lot more interaction going on, we didn't have any of that
preserved in the fossil record yet. This is the first time that we have definitive
evidence that you had this kind of partitioning, of your smaller crocodyliforms
attacking the smaller herbivorous dinosaurs," he said, adding that this is
only the second published instance of a crocodyliform tooth embedded in any
prey animal in the fossil record.
"A
lot of times you find material in close association or you can find some
feeding marks or traces on the outside of the bone and you can hypothesize that
maybe it was a certain animal doing this, but this was only the second time we
have really good definitive evidence of a crocodyliform feeding on a prey
animal and in this case an ornithischian dinosaur," Boyd said.The high
concentrations of tiny dinosaur bones led researchers to conclude a type of
selection occurred, that crocodyliforms were preferentially feeding on these
miniature dinosaurs. "Maybe it was closer to a nesting ground where baby
dinosaurs would have been more abundant, and so the smaller crocodyliforms were
hanging out there getting a lunch," Boyd added.
"When
we started looking at all the other bones, we starting finding marks that are
known to be diagnostic for crocodyliform feeding traces, so all that evidence
coming together suddenly started to make sense as to why we were not finding
good complete specimens of these little ornithischian dinosaurs," Boyd
explained. "Most of the bites marks are concentrated around the joints,
which is where the crocodyliform would tend to bite, and then, when they do
their pulling or the death roll that they tend to do, the ends of the bones
tend to snap off more often than not in those actions. That's why we were
finding these fragmentary bones."
3) Zeroing
in On Heart Disease: Innovative Strategy Pinpoints Genes Underlying
Cardiovascular Disease Risk:
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| Zeroing in On Heart Disease: Innovative Strategy Pinpoints Genes Underlying Cardiovascular Disease Risk |
Studies
screening the genome of hundreds of thousands of individuals (known as
Genome-wide association studies or GWAS) have linked more than 100 regions in
the genome to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Researchers from
the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of
Heidelberg, through the joint Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU), are
taking these results one step further by pinpointing the exact genes that could
have a role in the onset of the disease.
Their
findings are published today in the online journal PLoS Genetics.
The
scientists used a technology called "RNA interference" that can
selectively decrease the level of expression of targeted genes. By observing
what changes, if any, this decrease causes in cells, researchers can identify
the function of the genes and, on a larger scale, objectively test the function
of many genes in parallel.
Cholesterol
levels in the blood are one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular
disease. They are controlled by the amount of cholesterol that cells can take in
-- thus removing it from the blood -- and metabolise. The researchers used RNA
interference to test the function of each of the genes within 56 regions
previously identified by GWAS as being linked with cardiovascular disease. They
selectively decreased their action and measured what, if any, changes this
induced in cholesterol metabolism. From this they could deduce which of the
genes are most likely to be involved in the onset of the disease.
"This
is the first wide-scale RNA interference study that follows up on GWAS. It has
proven its potential by narrowing down a large list of candidate genes to the
few with an important function that we can now focus on in future in-depth
studies," explains Rainer Pepperkok at EMBL, who co-led the study with Heiko
Runz at the University of Heidelberg.
"In
principle, our approach can be applied to any disease that has an observable
effect on cells," adds Heiko Runz. "The genes identified here may
further our understanding of the mechanisms leading to cardiovascular disease
and allow us to improve its prediction and diagnosis."
4) New
Marine Species Discovered in Pacific Ocean:
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| New Marine Species Discovered in Pacific Ocean: |
When Jim
Thomas and his global team of researchers returned to the Madang Lagoon in
Papua New Guinea, they discovered a treasure trove of new species unknown to
science.This is especially relevant as the research team consisted of
scientists who had conducted a previous survey in the 1990s.
"In
the Madang Lagoon, we went a half mile out off the leading edge of the active
Australian Plate and were in 6,000 meters of water," said Thomas, Ph.D., a
researcher at Nova Southeastern University's National Coral Reef Institute in
Hollywood, Fla. "It was once believed there were no reefs on the north
coast of Papua New Guinea since there were no shallow bays and lagoons typical
of most coral reef environments. But there was lots of biodiversity to be
found."
Thomas
and his team discovered new species of sea slugs (nudibranchs), feather stars
(crinoids) and amphipods (genus Leucothoe). There was more variety of these
indicator species found than there is in the entire length of Australia's
1,600-mile Great Barrier Reef.
"This
was an astonishing discovery," Thomas said. "We returned to our labs
and began to formally assess our collections. We had no idea this lagoon's
bounty was so profound."
The
international team Thomas led included researchers from and the Scripps
Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, the California Academy of Sciences and
the National Botanical Gardens of Ireland. Their 3-week expedition ended late
last year. While in Madang, they joined a large French contingent of scientists
from the Paris Museum of Natural History.
The
NSU-led research team's findings will be shared with the local villagers, as
well as regional and federal governments. It will also be published in
peer-reviewed journals.The Madang Lagoon faces many environmental threats by
land-based pollution from a recently opened tuna cannery whose outfall is very
close to the lagoon's reefs."Hopefully, our discoveries will strongly
encourage governing bodies to recognize the environmental importance of the
lagoon and work to stop the pollution," Thomas said.
5) Brain
Pathway Triggering Impulsive Eating Identified:
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| Brain Pathway Triggering Impulsive Eating Identified: |
New
research from the University of Georgia has identified the neural pathways in
an insect brain tied to eating for pleasure, a discovery that sheds light on
mirror impulsive eating pathways in the human brain.
"We
know when insects are hungry, they eat more, become aggressive and are willing
to do more work to get the food," said Ping Shen, a UGA associate
professor of cellular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
"Little is known about the other half-the reward-driven feeding
behavior-when the animal is not so hungry but they still get excited about food
when they smell something great.The fact that a relatively lower animal, a fly
larva, actually does this impulsive feeding based on a rewarding cue was a
surprise."
The
research team led by Shen, who also is a member of the Biomedical and Health
Sciences Institute, found that presenting fed fruit fly larvae with appetizing
odors caused impulsive feeding of sugar-rich foods. The findings, published
Feb. 28 in Cell Press, suggest eating for pleasure is an ancient behavior and
that fly larvae can be used in studying neurobiology and the evolution of
olfactory reward-driven impulses.To test reward-driven behaviors in flies, Shen
introduced appetizing odors to groups of well-fed larvae. In every case, the
fed larvae consumed about 30 percent more food when surrounded by the
attractive odors.
But when
the insects were offered a substandard meal, they refused to eat it."They
have expectations," he said. "If we reduce the concentration of sugar
below a threshold, they do not respond anymore. Similar to what you see in
humans, if you approach a beautiful piece of cake and you taste it and
determine it is old and horrible, you are no longer interested."Shen's
team also tried to further define this phenomenon-the connection between
excitement and expectation. He found when the larvae were presented with a
brief odor, the amount of time they were willing to act on the impulse was
about 15 minutes."After 15 minutes, they revert back to normal. You get
excited, but you can't stay excited forever, so there is a mechanism to shut it
down," he said.His work also suggests the neuropeptides, or brain
chemicals acting as signaling molecules triggering impulsive eating, are
consistent between flies and humans. Neurons receive and convert stimuli into
thoughts that are then relayed to the downstream mechanism telling the animals
to act. These signaling molecules are required for this impulse, suggesting the
molecular details of these functions are evolutionarily tied between flies and
humans.
"There
are hyper-rewarding cues that humans and flies have evolved to perceive, and
they connect this perception with behavior performance," Shen said.
"As long as this is activated, the animal will eat food. In this way, the
brain is stupid: It does not know how it gets activated. In this case, the fly
says 'I smell something, I want to do this.' This kind of connection has been
established very early on, probably before the divergence of fly and human. That
is why we both have it."
Impulsive
and reward-driven behaviors are largely misunderstood, partially due to the
complex systems at work in human brains. Fly larvae nervous systems, in terms
of scheme and organization, are very similar to adult flies and to mammals, but
with fewer neurons and less complex wirings."A particular function in the
brain of mammals may require a large cluster of neurons," he said.
"In flies, it may be only one or four. They are simpler in number but not
principle."
In the
fly model, four neurons are responsible for relaying signals from the olfactory
center to the brain to stimulate action. Each odor and receptor translates the
response slightly differently. Human triggers are obviously more diverse, but
Shen thinks the mechanism to appreciate the combination is likely the same. He
is now working with Tianming Liu, assistant professor of computer science at
UGA and member of the Bioimaging Research Center and Institute of
Bioinformatics, on a computer model to determine how these odors are
interpreted as stimuli."Dieting is difficult, especially in the
environment of these beautiful foods," Shen said. "It is very hard to
control this impulsive urge. So, if we understand how this compulsive eating
behavior comes about, we maybe can devise a way, at least for the behavioral
aspect, to prevent it. We can modulate our behaviors better or use chemical
interventions to calm down these cues."
Movie
Release This Week:
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| Movie-News |
"Jack
the Giant Slayer" tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when
a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome
race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the
giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack
(Nicholas Hoult) into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a
kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face
with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend—and gets the
chance to become a legend himself.
Starring
Antonio Banderas (Desperado), Mark Strong (Zero Dark Thirty), Freida Pinto
(Slumdog Millionaire) and Tahar Rahim (The Eagle), Day of the Falcon is a
soaring epic of honor, greed, betrayal and love from award-winning director
Jean-Jacques Annaud (Enemy at the Gates). After years of bloody conflict, the
leaders of two rival kingdoms reluctantly agree to end the fighting. But when
oil is discovered between their territories, the war is re-ignited. Now it is
up to their children - young lovers who have married in hopes of bringing the
families together - to find a way to end the violence and bring peace to the
land.
I Me Aur
Main is an upcoming Hindi film starring John Abraham who plays the role of
Ishaan- a charismatic, good-looking music producer from Mumbai. He lives a
sheltered existence, is the centre of his life, the apple of his mother's
(Zarina Wahib) eye, always protected by his elder sister Shivani (Mini Mathur)
and stays at his girlfriend Anushka's (Chitrangda Singh's) house. He takes them
all for granted!
One day
his life falls apart like a house of cards. At this point, his new neighbour
Gauri (Prachi Desai) comes into his life and from her he learns the importance
of relationships. He starts taking initiatives towards mending and maintaining
his past relationships.
Ishaan
begins to truly fall in love with Gauri. There comes a point when he has to
make a choice between his love that made him a better person or being a better
person by taking responsibility of the actions he has done in the past.
Ed Harris
plays the captain of a Cold War Soviet missile submarine who has recently been
suffering from seizures that alter his perception of reality. Forced to leave
his wife and daughter, he is rushed into a classified mission, where he is
haunted by his past and challenged by a rogue KGB group (led by David Duchovny)
bent on seizing control of the ship’s nuclear missile. With the fate of
humanity in his hands, Harris discovers he has been chosen for this mission in
the belief he would fail. PHANTOM is a suspense submarine thriller about
extraordinary men facing impossible choices.
What if
the most chilling novel of all time was actually based on a true account of a
horrific experiment gone awry? When he is suspended from his university job for
his outlandish ideas, Professor John Venkenheim leads a documentary film crew
to the rim of the Arctic Circle in a desperate effort to vindicate his academic
reputation. The object of his ridicule? His obscure theory that Shelley's
literary classic is, in fact, a work of non-fiction disguised as fantasy. In
the vast, frozen wilderness, Venkenheim and his team search for the legendary
monster, a creature nearly three hundred years old and still cloaked in
mystery. What they find is an unspeakable truth more terrifying than any
fiction.
OscarAward 2013 : King of All Movie Awards
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| Oscar Award 2013 : King of All Movie Awards : Click here to Read Oscar-2013 Details |
The Oscar Award For Mainly English Movies was announced today with lots of Glamour
Quotient and Red Carpet Celebration. George Cloony , Anne Hathaway , Jennifer
Garner , Jamie Foxx, Halle Berry , Adele Adkins, Daniel Day Lewis , Kristen
Stewart grace the Red Carpet Celebration of Oscar 2013. Heavenly Beauties of
Hollywood Movie Industry make the occassion as a show of the Century.
Host, Seth Macfarlane
beautifully organise the Oscar Award Ceremony with His Perfect sense of Wit and
Comedy. Much Acclaimed and Publisized Movie named Lincoln By renowned Director
Steven Spielberg only grab only two
Oscars for Best Actor and Best
Production Design on the Other hand Inspirational Movie Like Life of Pi grab Four Oscars In Main
Categories Like Best Director, Best Visual Effect, Best Cinematography and
Original Score.
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| Jaenifer Garner and Ben Afflec On oscar 2013 Red Carpet |
Surprisingly Argo
Grab the Best Movie Oscar Over other
Eight Equally Beautiful Movies. Oscar Ceremony 2013 Will Be remembered Always
because The First Lady
Michelle Obama announced the Oscar Award for the Best Movie Argo Directly from
White House With great actor Jack Nicholson. Two Beautiful Lady From Hollywood
Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway grab
the Oscar For Best Actress (Silver Linings Playbook movie)and Best Supporting
Actress(Les Miserables) respectively. Oscar For Best Actor in a supporting role
was Christoph Waltz from movie Django Unchained was announced first. Brave
was the Best Animated Feature Film in Oscar. Best Director Ang Lee and His
Movie Life of Pi steal the Oscar Show 2013 with his immense talent and Simplicity. Intellectual , Philosophical approach toward
Nature, Religion and Interconnecting web of relation among the creatures of
Earth Is the main subject in the Movie Life of Pi.
Political
News This Week:
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| Political News |
1) Income Tax
No over
all changes in Income tax Slab. There are very Few Changes in Income tax
Structure which are given Below:
a) Income
Upto 2 lacs : No Tax
b) Income
more than 2 to 5 Lacs : Tax slab 10% ( Rs 2000 Tax Rebate from
total tax payable)
c) Income
more than 5 to 10 Lac : Tax slab 20%
d) More than 10 Lacs : Tax
slab 30%
e) Super Rich group whose
annual Income one Crore have to give additional 10 % surcharge.
2) Agriculture Sector:
More than 58% of the
population in India rely on farm for livelihood
1) the total plan outlay
for agriculture has been increased by 22 per cent from Rs Rs 20,208 crore to
27,049 crore.
2) 1000 crore rupees
alloted for Green Revolution in India . Like Increase fertility in the
agriculture field, Increase food production by inclusion of Modern Agriculture Technique.
3) 3458 Crore alloted for
Agricultural research and Development.
4) 7 Lacs crore alloted
for agriculture loan.
5) The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana is intended to mobilise higher investment in agriculture and the
National Food Security Mission is intended to bridge yield gaps.In Budget 2013
it was proposed to provide Rs 9,954 crore and Rs 2,250 crore, respectively, for
these two programmes,”
6) Allocation for the
integrated watershed programme from Rs 3,050 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 5,387
crore.
7) “A pilot scheme to
replant and rejuvenate coconut gardens that was implemented in some districts
of Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be extended to the entire
state of Kerala, and I propose to provide an additional sum of Rs 75 crore in
2013-14,”
Rural Development:
5) 80,194 crore alloted
for Rural Development Mantralaya for development of road ,irrigation, farming
etc for rural areas.
MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) will get Rs 33,000 crore, PMGSY
(Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) will get Rs 21,700 crore, and IAY (Indira
Awaas Yojana) will get Rs 15,184 crore. Allocation of Rs 15,260 crore to the Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation.
Allocation of Rs 1,400
crore was also made to set up water purification plants in the arsenic and
fluoride-affected rural habitations.
Industry Sector:
Products More Costlier:
1) Price increase in
Silver.
2) Television viewing is
going to get expensive; only because the finance minister has posed a duty hike
on set top box negative for DTH players.
3) Sports Utility Vehicle
: Excise duty on these vehicles has been increased to 30 percent from 27
percent earlier. However, SUVs registered as taxis have been spared.
4) Mobile Phones Price increased whose MRP more than Rs 2000/- .
5) Cigarette : The finance minister has raised specific
excise duty on cigarettes and cigars raised by 18 percent.
6) Air Conditioned
restaurants : levying service tax on all air conditioned restaurants
7) Luxury Vehicles: Raised
Import duty on luxury cars from 75 percent to 100 percent.
Products More Cheaper:
1) Readymade Garments :
Exice Duty on readymade garments exempted positive for textile sector
2) Leather Footware : The
finance minister has lower customs duty on leather and footwear that will make
leather shoes and belts cheaper.
3) Gems and Jewellery :
deciding to spare further import duty on gold, and actually introducing taxes
on gems and jewellery, the commodity will surely be more pocket-friendly.
4) One Lac rupees worth
gold can be imported by a single women and Fifty Tousand rupees worth gold can
be imported by a single men from foreign countries
5) Hand Made Carpets,
Marbles etc.
1) No strong steps have been taken to recover Black Money From
Foreign swiss Banks and other banks.
2) No steps have been
taken to save public money from the uncertain and Volatile equity market.
3) No proper security
measure have been taken before large scale privatization in Insurance and
Banking Sector.
4) No practical Measure
have been taken to reduce Price hike of
necessary commodities like Food,
oil, medicine.
5) Government delibarately
wanting that All Public Money should be invested into Uncertain and Volatile
Equity Share markets and mutual funds to Make Richer More Rich and Poor People
get more poorer. Saving Fixed Deposit
Intererst in Banks and Post office are continually low but these
investment are most safest mode of
Public Saving.
6) No Strict measure have
been taken to secure our Natural Resources and Minerals like Coal, Oil , Iron
,Natural Gases etc from Money Mongering Private Sectors which causing artifitial Price Increasing
around the Indian Market.
So ultimately this Union
Budget is Bad, Baseless and with lots of faults.
2) UPA has put heavy
economic burden on people, says BJP:
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| UPA has put heavy economic burden on people, says BJP: |
ccusing the UPA government
of putting the common man under unprecedented economic burden and and failing
to tackle price rise, the BJP Saturday demanded a rollback of hike in prices of
petroleum products and steps to bring down fertilizer prices.It warned of a
nation-wide agitation if its demands were not met.
In the economic resolution
moved at its national council meeting here, the party attacked Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, saying the "the country has to suffer the ignominy of
experiencing economic downslide under leadership of an economist prime minister".
It said every economic
parameter had steadily declined under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government led by Manmohan Singh.
The resolution said UPA
government had inherited a robust 8.25 percent growth rate from National
Democratic Alliance government in 2004 but it had now declined to around five
percent."Instead of working towards a 10 percent growth rate with five percent
inflation, in its nine years, the UPA has achieved the exact opposite - a 10
percent inflation rate and five percent growth rate. ..The mess of economic
mismanagement under the Congress-led UPA government has taken the country many
decades backward," the resolution said.It said that instead of seeking
efficiency in revenue generation, the UPA has solely depended on raising taxes
and prices which is burdening the common man.The BJP accused the UPA government
of being synonymous with corruption and said it was a factor for price rise.
"Corruption is also
an important trigger for inflation, a dampner for honest investment and a
reason for growing fiscal deficit," it said.The UPA government was also
charged with offering "jobless growth" and policies that were against
interest of farmers.
The BJP demanded adoption
of Swaminathan Committee formula for remunerative prices, minimum income
guarantee scheme for farmers and waiver of loans of farmers."The BJP
demands roll back of all hikes in administered prices of petrol, diesel and
capping of gas cylinders and bringing down prices of all essential commodities
by necessary policy revamp," the resolution said, also demanding immediate
steps to bring down fertilizer prices.
EXPLORE RELATED CONTENT
3) NE Election Results 2013:
CPI-M, NPF, Congress win big in Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya :
 |
| NE Election Results 2013: CPI-M, NPF, Congress win big in Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya : |
Counting of votes began in
the Northeastern states of Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland amidst unprecedented
security on Thursday. The Assembly elections in the three states, having 60 seats
each, were held February 14 and February 23.
Tripura
 |
| Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 64, who has ruled Tripura since 1998, |
Tripura's ruling Left
Front stormed back to power in Tripura for the fifth straight term, delivering
a humiliating blow to the Congress. The Left Front led by the Communist Party
of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also increased its vote share compared to 2008,
election officials said. The Congress and its allies, the Indigenous
Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and the Nationalist Conference of Tripura
were crushed, for the fifth consecutive time since 1993. The CPI-M on its own
won 49 seats out of the total 60 seats.
The Communist Party of
India (CPI) won one seat. However, the CPI suffered humiliation on one seat.
The Left Front won 50 seats overall. The Congress could managed to get only 10
seats. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, 64, who has ruled Tripura since 1998, won
from Dhanpur by a margin of around 5,000 votes. It was Sarkar's sixth win.
Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury posted the highest winning margin of 12,450
votes. Commerce Minister Jitendra Chowdhury, School Education Minister Tapan
Chakraborty, Information Minister Anil Sarkar, Tribal Welfare Minister Aghore
Debbarma and all cabinet colleagues retained their seats by huge margins.
Teacher-turned-politician
Anil Sarkar, 75, who is also a poet and writer, was re-elected on CPI-M ticket
from Pratapgarh in western Tripura for a record ninth time.
Congress leader Ratan Lal
Nath was also re-elected from Mohanpur while state Congress president Sudip Roy
Barman retained his Agartala seat -- for the fourth time. Former Tripura
Assembly speaker Jitendra Sarkar, who this time contested on Congress ticket,
wrested Barjala seat from the CPI-M. Sarkar won by 254 votes defeating Jitendra
Das. In a significant development, CPI-M's Ratan Das wrested Ramnagar after a
gap of 25 years. He defeated former state Congress chief and ex-minister
Surajit Datta by just 15 votes.
"This is a great
victory for the Left Front and shows its popularity and public support. Good
governance is one of the key factors for the thumping victory," gloated
CPI-M spokesperson Gautam Das. "People voted for the Left to establish
peace and development in all sectors," Das said. Tripura made electoral
history when a record 93.57 percent of the 2.3 million voters exercised their
franchise Feb 14 to pick a 60-seat assembly. There were 249 candidates in the
fray.
The Left Front has ruled
Tripura since 1978 barring one term (1988-93). In 2008, the Left registered a
thumping victory. The CPI-M alone won 46 seats and partners CPI and RSP secured
one and two seats respectively. The Congress bagged 10 seats and the INPT one.
Meghalaya
The Indian National
Congress here has won 29 seats in the election to the 60-member Meghalaya
Assembly with Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, his wife DD Shira and his brother
Zenith Sangma winning with huge margins. Lone woman legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh
retained her urban 16 East Shillong seat edging out her nearest rival and
former deputy chief minister B M Lanong of the UDP by over 4000 votes. Cabinet
Ministers HDR Lyngdoh and Prestone Tynsong retained their Sohiong and Pynursla
seats respectively.
Lyngdoh won by a margin of
over 3000 votes over his lone rival and UDP candidate B Kharphuli while Tynsong
is leading over his nearest rival and UDP candidate B Khongwar by almost 2000
votes. The PA Sangma led National Peoples Party won two seats.
The UDP, which had an
alliance with the Congress in the outgoing Assembly, has won 8 seats while
others clinched 21 seats. The NCP managed to win 2 seats only. Carved out of
Assam in 1972, Meghalaya has seen 23 chief ministers in a span of 41 years.
Captain Williamson Sangma, who led the government for the first time, was the
only one to ever lead a single-party government in the state. Since then,
Meghalaya has seen fractured mandates, leading to volatile coalition
governments. The Congress fielded candidates in all 60 constituencies while the
United Democratic Party (UDP) contested 50 seats.
 |
| Ruling Naga Peoples Front combine returned to power with an absolute majority in Nagaland |
Nagaland
Ruling Naga Peoples Front
combine returned to power with an absolute majority in Nagaland winning 39
seats in the 60-member Assembly. After an impressive show, the ruling NPF-led
Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) alliance will form government for a third
consecutive term. Congress managed to win eight seats. The NCP has won four
seats. Independent and others have won 10 seats.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu
Rio won from Northern Angami II seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival
Kevise Sogotsu of Congress by 12,671 votes. Nagaland Congress PCC President SI
Jamir also tasted success from Dimapur II seat by defeating his nearest
Independent rival Savi Liegise by 1,615 votes.
Among other prominent
candidates who won are - NCP candidate A Imtilemba Sangtam who defeated
Congress rival Thrinimong in Longkhim Chare by 1459 votes. NPF EE Pangteang
defeated Congress candidate Longang by 5281 votes in Moka constituency. NPF
candidate P Longon defeated Congress candidate H Haiying by 3305 votes in
Noklak seat. NPF candidate CM Chang defeated NCP candidate Lima Onen Chang by
1092 votes from Noksen seat. NPF candidate R Tohanba defeated JD(U) candidate K
Yimso Yimchunger by 2914 votes. NPF candidate Vikho O Yhoshu defeated Congress
candidate Nagakul by 4492 votes.
NPF candidate Kropol Vitsu
defeated Congress rival KV Pusa by 5451 votes. NPF candidate CL John defeated
Congress rival W Wangyuh by 7891 votes. NCP candidate L Khumo Khiamniungan
defeated NPF candidate S Heno by 1307 votes. BJP candidate P Paiwang Konyak
defeated NPF candidate Aloh by 3076 votes.
The NPF had a pre-poll
alliance with the BJP and JD-U and the strength of DAN in the outgoing assembly
was 35. In the 2008 polls, the NPF won 26 seats on its own while the Congress
won 23. A total of 2,600 electronic voting machines were used to conduct the
polls in 2,023 polling stations. Re-polling was held at nine polling stations.
4) West Bengal: Congress
retains Rejinagar seat, loses Nalhati:
 |
| Krishnendu Choudhury |
The Congress, Trinamool
Congress and Left Front shared the results for the by-poll to three Assembly
constituencies in West Bengal with each winning one seat.
Congress took a sweet
revenge by defeating its former MLA Humayan Kabir, who is now a TMC minister in
the state Government, from Rejinagar seat in Murshidabad district.The election
results served a blow to the TMC which stood third in Nalhati in Birbhum
district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district, both of which the ruling party
has expected to win.Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Choudhury won from Rejinagar
constituency against his nearest rival Left Front candidate Sirajul Islam
Mandal by a margin of 11,722 votes.
Left Front candidate Dipak
Chatterjee won from Nalhati in Birbhum district over Congress’ Abdur Rahman by
a margin of 7,742 votes.TMC’s Biplab Ojha also stood third in the Nalhati
Assembly by poll.The saving grace for Trinamool Congress was, however, its win
from English Bazar in Malda district when its minister Krishnendu Narayan
Choudhury won by a margin of 20,452 votes over Kaushik Mishra of the Left
front.During the 2011 Assembly elections, Congress had won all the three seats
when it had an alliance with the TMC.
 |
| Humayun Kabir |
But after Congres and
Trinamool parted ways over FDI in retail, both the parties decided to fight
polls separately.The Nalhati Assembly seat fell vacant after its MLA Abhijit
Mukherjee, son of President Pranab Mukherjee, quit his seat to fight the Lok
Sabha by-election from Jangipur.Elections to English Bazar and Rejinagar seats
were necessitated by resignation of Congress MLAs Krishnendu Choudhury and
Humayun Kabir following their switch-over to the TMC.
5) Rail Budget 2013: Pawan
Bansal’s railway budget makes a break from populism:
 |
| Pavan Bansal :Rail Budget 2013: Pawan Bansal’s railway budget makes a break from populism |
The rail budget gets its
overall strategy right, aims to make the organisation solvent and to kick-start
stalled investment in the economy. It allows freight rates to move with fuel
costs. This is welcome. What is not is the decision not to do likewise with
passenger fares, due to political compulsions. The practice of freight rates
cross-subsiding passenger fares should end. Bansal correctly says the Railways
must run on sound economic principles, but has not gone the whole hog on
reforms. Underpricing of services creates artificial shortages. People would
much rather pay the full commercial value for transport services including
train seats. A tariff authority for automatic freight and fare adjustments is
welcome, provided the government does not dither on the proposal. A slowing
economy has lowered passenger and freight revenues, this fiscal year. However,
the Railways' operating ratio — the share of gross traffic revenues that goes
to meet ordinary working expenses and provisions for pensions and depreciation
— has dropped to 88.8% in 2012-13 compared to 94.9% in 2011-12 due to a tight
leash on spending. This is commendable. The Railways expects to lower the
operating ratio further to 87.8% in the coming fiscal year, through a 9% growth
in freight revenues and a modest 5% increase in revenue from passenger fares.
The Railways' performance will hinge on how well the economy grows.
Plan funds will be used to
step up investment in the dedicated freight corridors, boosting the economy.
More funds invested in automatic signalling, track renewal, electrification and
new rolling stock will enhance safety and amenities. This would increase track
utilisation, expand capacity and make operations more efficient. Better
linkages to coal mines will enable faster coal movement to power plants and
boost railway revenues. Involving the private sector in a big way to augment
investment and step up freight volume and revenue is also welcome. So is the
move to use its land bank for public-private partnership projects. The Railways
has also identified 347 projects for priority funding and completion. The
unfinished agenda is to market railway reforms better.
Sports News This Week:
 |
| Sports News |
1) India secure dominant
eight-wicket win over Australia:
 |
| India secure dominant eight-wicket win over Australia: |
First Test, Chennai (day
five, close): India (572 & 50-2) beat Australia (380 & 241) by eight
wickets :-
India needed a little less
than a session to wrap up an eight-wicket victory over Australia on the fifth
morning in Chennai.Australia debutant Moises Henriques was left stranded on 81
as his side were bowled out for 241 this morning, leaving India chasing just 50
to win the first Test.That simply was not enough to cause any jitters for
India, even when the wickets of Murali Vijay and Virender Sehwag fell to Nathan
Lyon, and there was time for Sachin Tendulkar to delight the home crowd with
maximums off his first two deliveries.
Vijay perished for six -
all of which came via a straight, flat six down the ground off Lyon - as he
picked out Henriques at short mid-off when he mistimed a drive off James
Pattinson.Sehwag followed in unusually tame fashion, edging to Michael Clarke
at first slip as he defended the spinner.
Few in the Chennai crowd
were disappointed, though, as that brought Tendulkar to the crease - and he
gave them what they wanted by heaving his first two balls off Lyon for six.He
could not make it a hat-trick to win the game, but an edge for a single from
Cheteshwar Pujara did the job just as well.Earlier, Lyon could not help
Henriques reach a debut century as Australia could only add nine to their
overnight score.Lyon's stout defence helped to repel the Indian bowlers for
around 20 minutes this morning before he was finally caught by Vijay at
short-leg off Ravindra Jadeja.The second of four Tests begins on Saturday in
Hyderabad.
Australia captain Michael
Clarke admitted his team had been "outplayed"after the
defeat."Full credit has to go to India," Clarke said. "They
played outstandingly, especially Dhoni. That innings changed the game completely.
And Ashwin's bowling."Moises' debut is a positive, but we have got to turn
things around. Work hard in the nets and get ready for the next Test match. The
pitch looked a lot worse than it played."Second innings, it played
tougher, but that's what you expect in the subcontinent. No excuses, we got
outplayed."
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