41% drop in FDI inflows in April

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has slumped by 41 per cent to $1.85 billion in April this year as compared to $3.12 billion in April, 2011.Officials in the Commerce and Industry Ministry attributed the decline in FDI inflows to the overall poor global economic scenario but said there was a crying need to initiate big-ticket reforms in various sectors to send across a positive signal to investors that Indian economy was a safe and attractive destination for investments. Reforms such as allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and 49 per cent in domestic air carriers; and opening up pension and insurance sectors have been hanging fire for long.India’s growth has already slipped to a nine-year low of 6.5 per cent, and is likely to go down further in the absence of any substantial reforms. The growth in the January-March quarter was merely 5.3 per cent.

Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Gilani as PM

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday disqualified Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister with retrospective effect from April 26 when it held him in contempt of court. The verdict was announced by the three-member bench hearing multiple petitions against the National Assembly Speaker's decision not to disqualify Mr. Gilani after the Court convicted him for contempt of court.

A disappointed lot - People who are trying hard to have a home and car of their own too sounded disappointed that the short-term bank rates did not come down.

Expectations of industrial fraternity and retail loan borrowers in Tirupur district for a cut in short-term bank rates have fallen like a symbolic pack of cards as RBI kept Repo rate (rate at which banks borrow from RBI) unchanged in the mid-quarter monetary police review unveiled on Monday.

CAPA, Vittal Innovation City to promote Aerospace City in Bangalore

Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) India and Vittal Innovation City (VIC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-promote CAPA-VIC Aerospace City, a high-technology aviation manufacturing, research and knowledge park in Bangalore.

PM sets tone for G-20 meet: World economy is in deep trouble

Setting the tone for the crucial G-20 Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the world economy is in "deep trouble" and hoped the grouping of developed and developing countries will come up with constructive proposals to pull the world out of this crisis. With anxiety over the global economic woes being reflected at the seventh summit of the four-year-old grouping, Singh's suggestion that the G-20 should focus on the need on investment in infrastructure as a means of stimulating global growth was significantly well received at the deliberations. "The world is in deep trouble, I hope the G-20 will come up with constructive proposals to get the world out of this crisis," Singh told newsmen ahead of the summit at this Mexican coastal resort town, meeting against the backdrop of a faltering global economy and the burgeoning Eurozone crisis.

Law and the age of innocence

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2012, currently awaiting Presidential assent is a welcome step for many reasons.The penal code does not take into account the reality of many different acts of sexual violence committed on children and the range of sexual contexts according to the extent of coercion, injury, age and incapacitation of the child. The concept of relationship with the child, crucial in such cases, is completely absent in the existing law; there are no separate provisions to address sexual violence committed by family members, friends or those in positions of authority. The Indian Penal Code also does not specifically address sexual violence against the boy child except under Section 377 that criminalises homosexual behaviour. The new Bill addresses these concerns and defines various categories of sexual acts that are offences when perpetuated against children. It is gender neutral, which is progressive. But in its definition of a child as below 18 years of age, it gives cause for concern.

World powers begin talks with Iran over Teheran’s nuclear program

Six major world powers- USA, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany began the crucial third round of talks with Iran in Moscow over Teheran’s controversial nuclear program. Iran's 20 percent uranium enrichment is the priority issue in the Moscow round of talks. Ahead of the talks, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said that Teheran is ready to suspend its enrichment of uranium to 20 percent if Europe guarantees delivery of nuclear fuel for its reactors. The statement was posted on his official website.

‘Desertification is nearly as critical as climate change’ - Interview with Dr. Mansour N'Diaye, Chef De Cabinet of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification secretariat

The sands across the world are crawling, turning vast stretches of land into desert each year. Their relentless march, invading villages, farmlands and water bodies, has made millions of people ecological refugees across the world. Desertification is not just an ecological issue but also one of shrinking food and water supplies, a loss of jobs and mass migration. June 17 is annually observed as World Day to Combat Desertification. Dr. Mansour N'Diaye, Chef De Cabinet of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) secretariat, spoke to K.P.M. Basheer onthe need for setting a sustainable development goal of “zero net land degradation by 2030” at the Rio+20 meet. The interview took place during a visit organised by the UNCCD to Chifeng, a city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. A large part of Inner Mongolia's territory is desert. The desert storms emerging from there reach up to Beijing. Excerpts:

The quest for ingenious ideas

Engineering is meant to be a field that offers unlimited scope for innovation and creativity. But to what extent this is true in our engineering colleges is debatable.When aspiring engineers watched the movie ‘3 Idiots’, they fully identified themselves with the clash of intentions — the faculty members emphasising on examination scores while the students would rather apply skills they picked up during the course to create fascinating possibilities to aid the future generations.