1)29th STATE JUST A SIGNATURE AWAY
With the Rajya Sabha putting its seal of approval on the Bill for creating Telangana amid bedlam, the birth of the 29th State of the Union is just a presidential signature away.The historic development was preceded by prolonged “labour pangs” beginning from July 30 last year, the day the Congress Working Committee (CWC) approved a resolution for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
2)2014 Lok Sabha polls will see most first-time voters
About 10 per cent of the voters during this Lok Sabha election are likely to be first-time voters, possibly the highest in any election, electoral data show.Summary revision data released by the Election Commission on Thursday show that 2.3 crore people in the 18-19 age bracket have been enrolled to vote, out of a total electorate of 81.5 crore.The Hindu ’s analysis of Census data show that there were 12 crore people in the 15-19 age group at the time of the 2011 Census.They were too young to vote in 2009, but will be eligible to do so in 2014. These potential first-time voters formed 10 per cent of the population. The electoral numbers, combined with demographic data, show that the highest number of first-time voters this election is unlikely to be surpassed in the near future as fertility begins to decline — faster in the south than in the north — reflecting the peak of India’s ‘demographic dividend.’In 2001, people aged 15-19 were 9.7 per cent of the population.The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs latest World Population Prospects shows that India’s 15-19 age cohort will peak in 2015 after which it will begin to decline as a proportion of the population.“The southern States reached replacement levels of fertility by 1995, but the northern States still have relatively high fertility. So the peak of the 15-19 age cohort will have already passed in the southern States, but in the northern States, this cohort could be at its peak,” P. Arokiasamy, demographer and Professor in the Department of Development Studies at the Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences, said .The Election Commission’s data show that the proportion of 18-19 year olds registered to vote is the highest in Jharkhand (9 per cent of total electors), Chhattisgarh (4.9) and Rajasthan (4.8) and the lowest in Himachal Pradesh (1.3), Maharashtra (1.4) and Kerala and Karnataka (1.8).
3)Who’s funding you, AAP asks BJP
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday demanded to know the source of the BJP’s Rs. 400-crore budget for “branding” the party and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
4)The Hindu reporters win awards
Two reporters of The Hindu — S. Vijay Kumar and Ramya Kannan — won the prestigious The National Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity 2012-13.S. Vijay Kumar won the best news report award for his article titled ‘Where protectors couldn’t transcend gender’ in the national category. Ramya Kannan won the best article award in the south region category.Laadli was a campaign launched by NGO Population First in 2005 to address mindsets that discriminate against women, promote inequalities and justify gender-based violence.The awards were presented by TATA and supported by the United National Population Fund (UNFPA).Suresh Shetty, Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare and Protocol, Maharashtra, was the chief guest along with Naseeruddin Shah, noted film personality. The jury comprised eminent personalities from the media and social sector namely Dilip D’souza, K.V. Sreedhar, Lynn de Souza, Sathya Saran, Satish Nandagaonkar, Shishir Joshi, Shobhaa De, Siddhart Bhatia, Monica Wahi, Mrinmayee Ranade, Nandini Sardesai, Ranjona Banerji and Vishwanath Sachdev.
5)‘Facebook deal may address security concerns’
If you are a user of WhatsApp and have been worried about the application being able to access your private data, Facebook’s acquisition of the mobile instant messaging app may be good news for you.The move to acquire WhatsApp is expected to help Facebook grab a bigger pie of the $100-billion global direct messaging business. Since WhatsApp will continue to function as a separate entity, experts feel, this may allay users’ fear over data security. WhatsApp, one of the most popular instant messaging apps, requires users to provide access to their entire address book, among other permissions.Saket Modi, CEO of Lucideus Tech, a Delhi-based cyber security firm, said, “The threat to data security actually comes down. Firstly, WhatsApp as an entity is a small one compared to Facebook. The sheer size of the company’s network adds the element of responsibility towards user’s data.” “While entire WhatsApp team is about 50 people, Facebook has more resources to securely manage the data,” he added.Akhilesh Tuteja, Partner, IT Advisory, KPMG, noted that while WhatsApp did not allow users to set privacy permissions in terms of restricting/not allowing the application to access phone book, location data and the like, Facebook did allow users to impose such restrictions.“Unlike WhatsApp, Facebook is a listed company. Hence, it is bound to be more responsible in handling its users’ data,’’ another expert said.
6)Infy’s Finacle is fine, says UBI
The United Bank of India and Infosys have, in a joint statement, refuted media reports that “inherent deficiencies” in Infosys’ core banking product used by the beleaguered state-run bank had misclassified assets as bad debt, resulting in inflated NPAs on its balance sheets.The media reports were based on the bank’s statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The joint release sent by Infosys quoted Deepak Narang, executive director, UBI, clarifying that the version of the NPA tool used currently needed “additional customizations to meet our specific needs, which are feasible and are being addressed now.” There were “no inherent deficiencies”, he clarified.
7)Asia Cup: Dhoni injured, Kohli named captain
M.S. Dhoni has been ruled out of the Asia Cup in Bangladesh with a side strain. Virat Kohli will lead India in his absence while Dinesh Karthik will don the wicket-keeper’s gloves.According to a BCCI release, Dhoni suffered a grade-one strain to his left side during the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington and will undergo rehabilitation for 10 days.In the team selected on February 11, Suresh Raina and Ishant Sharma were omitted even as Cheteshwar Pujara earned a recall.India opens its Asia Cup campaign against Bangladesh in Fatullah on February 26.The squad:Virat Kohli (capt.), Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma.
Dhoni to undergo rehabilitation for 10 daysDinesh Karthik to don wicketkeeper’s glovesIndia will open Asia Cup campaign on February 26
8)BCCI told no security possible for IPL
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the home ministry officials have told the BCCI that the government cannot provide security for the seventh edition of the IPL due to the general elections.
IPL-VII is scheduled to be held during April-May.
BCCI secretary Sanjay Pael and Rajiv Shukla, vice-president, BCCI and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning, met Mr. Shinde and other officials in New Delhi on Wednesday.
“They were very categorical that security cannot be spared during the elections. We are reviewing the situation and moving accordingly,” said a BCCI source.
Alternative venueRecently, top BCCI and IPL officials had hinted at South Africa being the alternative venue for a major part of this year’s IPL.
9)Sehwag to lead MCC against Durham
India Test discard Virender Sehwag has been roped in to lead the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) squad in a four-day Champion County match against Durham starting on March 23 in Abu Dhabi.
“Virender Sehwag and Muttiah Muralitharan have been confirmed as part of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) squad that will travel to Abu Dhabi next month,” the MCC said in a statement.
Muralitharan will lead the team in the preceding Emirates Twenty20 tournament.
Sehwag, who is also confirmed to appear in the MCC vs Rest of the World Lord’s Bicentenary match on July 5, said: “I was delighted to be asked to play in this match, and being able to captain the MCC side makes it even more of a privilege.
“We’re taking a very strong squad out to Abu Dhabi so I’m sure the standard of cricket on show will be very high. ” he added.
10)Facebook to buy Whatsapp for 19 billion $
No comments:
Post a Comment