RBI's Q2 Monetary Policy Review for 2012-13

The RBI on Tuesday Oct 30,2012 cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR)by 25 basis points to 4.25%, but kept the key policy rates including the repo rate unchanged.
This reduction will be with effect from November 3,2012.
The CRR reduction cut is meant to inject Rs 17500 crore into the banking system. It is intended to pre-empt prospective liquidity crunch.
RBI preferred not to reduce the policy rates as it was not seeing easing of inflation in the near future. Inflation turned up again in September, reflecting a partial pass-through of adjustment of diesel and electricity prices, and elevated inflation in non-food manufactured products.

While announcing the review of its monetary policy for 2012-13 -
RBI revised downwards the projection of GDP growth for 2012-13 from 6.5 % to 5.8%
RBI raised projection for headline WPI inflation for March 2013 to 7.5 per cent from 7 per cent indicated in July 2012

2012 Pakistan Tour of India - Dec 2012-Jan 2013

India's Home Ministry has cleared the way for Pakistan to play its first cricket series in India for five years.The Home Ministry has given permission for a short limited-overs tour in December and January 2013.

 Pakistan's cricketers are scheduled to arrive in India on Dec 22,2012

The series in India will feature 3 ODIs and 2 Twenty20s

T20 Matches Schedule
Date         Venue
Dec 25     Bangalore
Dec 27     Ahmedabad

ODI Schedule
Date                 Venue
Dec 30             Chennai
Jan 03              Kolkata
Jan 06              Delhi

The clearance was given at a meeting between Indian ministry officials and senior cricket representatives from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The last series between India and Pakistan in either country was in 2007-2008 when Pakistan visited India.Ties between the two countries' cricket authorities were hit by the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which 175 people died.

October 31 - Remembering Indra Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi(Nov 19, 1917 – Oct 31, 1984)was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India and served as the 3rd PM of India  for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term (1980–84)

Indra Gandhi was the 2nd Female Head of Govt  in the World(first being Sirimavo Bandaranake of Sri Lanka)  and  remains as the world's 2nd longest serving female Prime Minister as of 2012

Indra Gandhi  was the first woman to become prime minister in India.

Indra Gandhi was also the only Indian Prime Minister to have declared 'State of Emergency' in order to 'rule by decree' during 1975-77 and the only Indian Prime Minister to have been imprisoned after holding that office

Assassination of Indra Gandhi

 

On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's bodyguards,Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, shot her with their service weapons in the garden of the Prime Minister's residence at 1 Safdarjung Road, New Delhi as she was walking past a wicket gate for an interview by the British actor Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television. Beant Singh shot her three times using his side-arm, and Satwant Singh fired 30 rounds. 

Beant Singh and Satwant Singh dropped their weapons and surrendered. Afterwards they were taken away by other guards into a closed room where Beant Singh was shot dead.Kehar Singh was later arrested for conspiracy in the attack. Both Satwant and Kehar were sentenced to death and hanged in Delhi'sTihar Jail 

Indra Gandhi was cremated on 3 Nov 03,1984 near Raj Ghat and her funeral was televised live on domestic and international  TV's including BBC

 

 

 

Note

The day before her death Indira Gandhi visited Orissa on Oct 30,1984 where she gave her last speech -

"I am alive today, I may not be there tomorrow. I shall continue to serve till my last breath and when I die every drop of my blood will strengthen India and keep a united India alive."


Books about Indra Gandhi
                                                                        

 

' Mayilu '

Cast - Shri, Shammu, Vidharth

Directed by Jeevan

Produced by Prakash Raj

Music Composed by Ilaiyaraja

' Mayilu ' released on Oct 26,2012

Storyline
The story centers around 'Mayilu',bold and fiesty, and of her love for the village elder’s son Chellathambi (Shammu, Shri)

People's Choice Awards India

The People's Choice Awards India is the Indian version of the American awards show recognizing Indian Film, TV, Music and Sports.
An adaptation of the US version, the Indian edition is licensed and produced by Bulldog Media & Entertainment, sponsored by Procter & Gamble and the Nominees will be voted on by the general public.

The awards have four categories - Movies, TV, Music and Sports. Within Movies there are further sub-categories including Favorite Movie, Favorite Action Movie.
TV awards include subcategories for Favorite TV Comedy, Favorite TV Drama and ten other popular show genre from TV in India.
Music awards include subcategories for Favorite Song of the Year, Favorite Movie Album of the Year, Favorite Male Singer, Favorite Female Singer and Favorite Lyricist.
Sports Category select Favorite Sportsperson award 


2012 People's Choice Awards India
The event was held for the first time in Mumbai on October 27, 2012 and aired on Colors TV.

Bollwood Celebrities Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Darsheel Safary, Rakhi Sawant, Ayushmann Khurrana, Parineeti Chopra, Chitrangda Singh, Ekta Kapoor, Bhagyashree, Prabhu Deva, Hema Malini and Sameera Reddy
attended the show.

Amitabh Bachchan won the Best Host award for Kaun Banega Crorepati? – a quiz show that he first hosted way back in 2000. 

Award Winners
Yash Raj Films took home the Favourite Film Award for Ek Tha Tiger – a blockbuster 
Ranbir Kapoor -Favourite Youth Movie Icon Award
Priyanka Chopra’s first single In my city got her the best debut award

Katrina Kaif got the Best Actress award
Ek The Tiger hot number Mashallah was adjudged the Best Song.

' Wreck-It Ralph '

Wreck-It Ralph is an American 3D Computer Animated Comedy Film Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures

Wreck-It Ralph features the voices of John C Reilly,Sarah Silverman,Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch

The film was Directed by Rich Moore

Wreck-It Ralph had its world premiere on October 29, 2012, and is due for release on November 2, 2012 in the United States.

No Helmet, No Petrol Rule in Uttar Pradesh,India

In a move aimed at ensuring road safety, the Uttar Pradesh government has directed petrol pump owners to not give fuel to two-wheeler riders without helmets.

The directives were issued on Tuesday Oct 30,2012 at the behest of state Transport Minister Raja Aridaman Singh.

'Skyfall' breaks James Bond's previous UK box office records

'Skyfall' set the record for the biggest UK weekend box office takings of any James Bond film, its producers said on Monday. The 23rd official cinematic adventure of the suave, but brutal 007, earned 20.1 million pounds after opening last Friday Oct 26,2012 at 587 cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

 

The film opens in the United States on Nov 9, 2012 bringsDaniel Craig on his third outing on Her Majesty's secret service and introduces Spanish Oscar-winnerJavier Bardem as a flamboyant villain complete with dyed blond hair.

Skyfall gives James Bond his biggest opening weekend in UK

Skyfall has had the biggest Bond opening weekend of all time, according to figures from film company Sony Pictures.It took £20.1m following its release on Friday making it the biggest UK opening of 2012 so far and the third biggest UK opening of all time.

Skyfall failed to smash the record set by last year's Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2.
The final film in the wizard franchise, in 3D, took £23m in its first weekend.
It is also just behind Toy Story 3, which took £21.2m in its openingweekend.

Skyfall Tops UK All-time Box Office

The latest James Bond film, Skyfall has become the highest-grossing movie in UK box office history after just 40 days.

To date, the 23rd Bond Film has earned £94.3m in the UK, beating the previous record holder, Avatar, which grossed £94m in 11 months.

 

 

Cyclone Nilam

The cyclonic storm, ‘Nilam,’ which remained virtually stationary on Tuesday Oct 30,2012 is likely to cross the coast near Chennai by Wednesday Oct 31,2012 evening. It is about 320 kilometres south east from Chennai's coast and is expected to move to region between Cuddalore Tamil Nadu and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.










Schools and colleges in nine districts including Chennai will remain shut on Wednesday. Five coastal districts in Andhra which are in Nilam's path are on alert. Fishermen have been advised against venturing out to sea till the storm passes. Rescue teams are also on standby and shelters being prepared in case evacuation becomes necessary.











Round-the-clock control rooms have been set up in all the districts and in Chennai, the room can be contacted at 1070.

With the cyclone approaching the coast, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in south coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and north interior Tamil Nadu over the next 48 hours.The cyclone is expected to reach wind speed of up to 90 kilometres per hour at the time of landfall.

 Fishing boats are anchored at the Bay of Bengal coast in Chennai

A water-logged Dr Besant road following heavy rains due to Cyclonic Storm Nilam in Chennai

 

Waves pound the waterfront at Kasimedu in Chennai

A View of  the Rough Sea in Chennai

People gather to see ‘Pratibha Cauvery’ that ran aground near Elliots Beach on Wednesday Oct 31,2012

 Cyclone Nilam Spares Chennai

Cyclonic storm Nilam, which threatened to hit the Chennai coast, spared the city, but made landfall near Mamallapuram, about 60 km south of Chennai, on Wednesday Oct 31,2012 evening where the storm crossed the coast between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
At the time of crossing the coast, Chennai recorded the maximum wind speed of 75 km per hour and Kalpakkam 65 km per hour.
A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges in all coastal districts, including Chennai, on Thursday Nov 01,2012.

CA who created mid-air hijack scare gets life term

A Delhi court on Tuesday Oct 30,2012 awarded life term to a chartered accountant (CA) who was last week found guilty of enacting a mid-air hijack drama in February 2009 on a Goa-Delhi Indigo flight.

Jitender Kumar Mohla(45) had threatened the crew and passengers of the plane by saying that he was carrying infected needles and gun and triggered a hijack alert. He was convicted under Section 3(1) (D) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, which deals with offences on board an aircraft, apart from various IPC Sections.

Dar es Salaam(Tanzania) launches first commuter trains

The first-ever commuter train service in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, has been launched on Monday Oct 29,2012 to ease congestion on roads.

 

Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe boarded a train, along with passengers, for the maiden journey.
The trains will run on two routes, mostly during peak hour.One track covers a 25km (15.5 miles) journey between Dar es Salaam's Mwakanga and Tazara railway stations and the second track runs for 20km (12.4 miles) between Ubungo-Maziwa and City railway stations.

Trains will operate during the morning and evening - not in the afternoon and late at night.

A one-way ticket costs 400 Tanzanian shillings (about $0.25, £0.15), which compares favourably to daladala fares which range between 500 shillings and 1,000 shillings - depending on the journey.

Private commuter minibuses, known as "daladalas", are the main mode of transport in Dar es Salaam, one of the world's fastest-growing cities.

Bosnian walks 5,650km (3,503 miles) to Mecca via Syria

Senad Hadzic(47),a Bosnian Muslim man has walked 5,650km (3,503 miles) to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and says God kept him safe in war-torn Syria.He walked across seven countries, two deserts, 5,650 kilometres, without money, only with a rucksack weighing 20 kilograms.

Hadzic set off from a town near the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and his first ordeal was to brave minus 35C cold in Bulgaria last December 2011.

"There wasn't a single easy day, every day has been difficult. But at the same time it's been exciting," he said.

UK's first 4G mobile service launched - Tuesday Oct 30,2012

The UK's first fourth generation (4G) mobile service has gone live in 11 cities, namely,London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and Southampton.The said cities will have access to network EE's 4G from Tuesday morning.

Network EE, formerly known as Everything, Everywhere and which owns Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, has promised speeds of between 8 to 12Mbps - up to five times faster than third generation mobile technology, known as 3G.