Policy for Induction of Women in Armed Forces

The policy regarding induction of women in Armed Forces is laid down in Government letter dated 11November 2011 which has been issued after considering the policy paper submitted by a High Level Tri-Service Committee with the approval of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), keeping in view role and responsibility of the Armed Forces in defending the nation and protecting the territorial integrity of the country. As per ibid Government letter, women are inducted as Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) in the following Branches of the three Services:

Fundamentals of IT industry are still strong, feels Som Mittal

With the world economy still “uncertain”, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), on Tuesday, said that the fundamentals of the industry remained strong, although there was a need to monitor its performance over the next two quarters.“We will watch the next two quarters before revising any forecast as the global economic environment is uncertain. The fundamentals of our industry, however, are very strong,” said Som Mittal, President of Nasscom.

Facebook’s e-mail switch draws flak

Social networking website Facebook yet again succeeded in angering a large section of its 900 million privacy-conscious users over the weekend when it surreptitiously switched many of their profile e-mail addresses with a @facebook.com domain address.Many users who had e-mail addresses from Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, would have discovered on Monday that their profile now showed a @facebook.com address instead. While the option to revert to the external e-mail address exists, it requires tweaking of their profile information display settings. Users also have the option to hide the @facebook.com address.

Monsoon keeps Centre on tenterhooks

Delayed and low intensity rain in parts of the northwest, central and southern regions has got the Agriculture Ministry worried and it is ready with a contingency plan. Minister Sharad Pawar has asked Maharashtra and Karnataka — parts of which are the worst-hit so far — to be prepared for any eventuality. The other affected States include Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

E-voting must for listed firms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Tuesday, made electronic voting mandatory for all listed companies — in respect of those businesses to be transacted through postal ballot — which would help shareholders participate in decision-making without being physically present in the meetings.

Infrastructure Debt Fund

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies during the past decade. However, infrastructure development has not kept pace with the growth in the rest of the economy. Realizing this, India initiated an ambitious reform programme in all infrastructure sectors. The Government has taken several initiatives to promote private sector participation in the infrastructure sector as a result of which the share of GDP going into infrastructure investment has increased from 5% in 2007 to 7% during 2009-10 and has increased to more than 8% in 2011-12. For the XII Five Year Plan (2012-2017), the target of infrastructure investment has again been doubled to US $ 1 trillion 50% of which is envisaged from the private sector.

Hacking into Hawking’s brain

Scientists are working with Stephen Hawking to test a groundbreaking device to allow them to ’hack’ into the brain of the world-famous British physicist, who has been unable to speak for the last 30 years.Seventy-year-old Hawking has been working with scientists at Standford University of the US who are developing iBrain — a tool which picks up brain waves and communicates them via a computer, the Daily Mail reported.