Current Affairs - 27 October 2014

Centre likely to give fresh affidavit on black money in Supreme Court today

• NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to file an additional affidavit in the Supreme Court in the black money case on Monday, explaining its "misunderstood" stand on not revealing the names of those foreign bank account holders who were not being prosecuted for any illegality under the income tax law.
  
  The Centre will reveal the names of three Indians in the affidavit against whom prosecution has been launched for stashing black money in foreign banks. The other names which have been doing the rounds, including politicians linked to the previous UPA government, would be revealed only if prosecution is launched against them.
  
  The government feels revealing all names without scrutiny about illegalities committed by them would be a violation of the right to privacy as any Indian under the RBI rules can legitimately deposit $125,000 in a foreign bank per year.

Already down, Congress fears it will be marginalized in J&K, Jharkhand

• NEW DELHI: After losing its forts of Maharashtra and Haryana, Congress faces the challenge of twin states of Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand where it has a marginal presence but which paradoxically fell in its kitty for the last few years owing to UPA's clout.
  
  The two states, in the aftermath of Congress's rout, pose an existential crisis for the party. Insiders concede there is a real fear of the party getting squeezed between entrenched regional outfits and a resurgent BJP.
  
  The November elections are likely to have implications beyond the state boundaries to impact the national scene. With BJP trying to consolidate its recent gains, the polls could not have come at a worse time for Congress. A defeat would only add to its dwindling stock nationally.
  
  But there is the big picture worrying Congress. The J-states may indicate the fate that awaits the party on turfs where it is third or fourth force - like West Bengal and Bihar.
  
  Congress all along hoped that favourable conditions in future would help it revive in these states and put it in the power matrix. Its failure to achieve the target during UPA's ascendancy has left the space open for a fourth party to rush in. In Jharkhand, BJP is a strong player anyway.

Guess the Internet speed at Prime Minister's Office?

• CHENNAI: The Prime Minister's Office uses a comparatively speedy Internet connection. While an average Internet connection speed in India is 2Mbps (megabytes per second), that of the PMO is 34Mbps, an RTI application has revealed.
  
  In a reply to the RTI application filed by Vinoth Ranganathan, co-founder of onlinerti.com, the PMO has said the National Informatics Centre (NIC) is providing an average of 34Mbps speed to the PMO office.
  
  "There is nothing wrong for our PM to have 34Mbps speed Internet. As the Prime Minister, he should have a better connectivity. Google fibre in the US provides 1 Gbps (Gigabytes per second) connectivity to ordinary citizens," said Ranganathan.

Alongside gunfire, India-Pakistan track-II talks continued in Dubai

• NEW DELHI: Even as India and Pakistan were exchanging fire across LoC and the international border in J&K earlier this month, the two countries had track-II diplomacy going simultaneously in a tony Dubai locale.
  
  Attended by former ambassadors and? prominent members of the civil society from both sides, the track-II Dubai Dialogue Group discussed ways to deal with any fallout of another 26/11 type of terror strike in India with assistance from any Pakistani state or non- state actor. They also focused on what the two governments could do to keep dialogue going despite the recent cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks.
  
  The meeting took place with the knowledge of the Indian government. "We discussed all issues including J&K, terrorism and Afghanistan. The MEA (ministry of external affairs) was kept informed and we will soon give a report to them (about the dialogue output)," Gen Ashok K Mehta, the convener of Dubai dialogue, told this newspaper.

HMT watches may be ticking back to life

• Over the last few weeks, Shubhadeep Banerjee has been searching for an HMT Pilot watch in Mumbai, but with no luck. Delhi's Ranjan Katara was more fortunate — all he had to do was dig out an HMT Vijay that was gifted to him at his wedding. He's now proudly sporting it.
  
  After news that HMT Watches was winding up made headlines, there has been an unprecedented demand for timepieces manufactured by the country's first watch-maker. The nostalgia-driven clamour has led the government to rethink its decision to close the loss-making public sector company.
  
  "There has been heavy demand since it became known that we are shutting down the company. So we are looking to keep one of the plants operational so that people can continue to buy watches, at least for old time's sake," says an official privy to discussions.
  
  In fact, the wait-list for wristwatches today is reminiscent of the 1960s, when designs were sold on the black market, and the company is tying up with e-tailers to sell the existing inventory.

Companies with women board members make more money

• MUMBAI: Have more women on board. Not because it is good for your public image. Not because you have to meet government norms. But because it makes good business sense. Boards with women provide better financial returns than those without.
  
  That's the defining finding of a TOI-commissioned study on the relation between companies with women on their boards and profitability. An analysis of return on equity (ROE) data of top 100 Indian companies (BSE 100) by Randstad, a leading HR services provider, says that companies with women on their boards have a positive impact on ROE.
  
  The study reveals that the board of a private sector company, run by a professional CEO with a mix of both men and women, helped ROE rise by 4.4% in 2014 over the last year. In contrast, a similar company with a men-only board saw its ROE rise by a mere.1.8% in the same period.

NSA Ajit Doval to visit Burdwan blast site today, may meet CM

• KOLKATA: The country's seniormost security expert will make a first-hand assessment of the probe into the October 2 Khagragarh blast in Burdwan when he visits the site on Monday along with a battery of top intelligence officials. 
  
  National security adviser Ajit Doval is likely to be accompanied by the home ministry's special secretary (internal security) Prakash Mishra, National Security Guard DG Jayanta Narayan Choudhury and Intelligence Bureau director Syed Asif Ibrahim. 
  
  The day-long visit will focus on Bengal turning into the latest terror hot spot and the conspiracy to jeopardise peace both in India and Bangladesh through the handiwork of the Jamaatul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JuM-B) network, suspected to be behind the blast.

Cyclone Nilofar to bring heavy rainfall in Kutch region

• NEW DELHI: After Hudhud that hit India's eastern coast on October 12, it's now turn of another cyclonic storm 'Nilofar' to keep the Met department on toes for the next four days. Its impact is likely to be felt mid-week in Kutch area of north Gujarat and adjoining Pakistan coast. 
  
  The new cyclonic storm, formed in Arabian Sea, will, however, not be as intense as Hudhud. Nilofar is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rains in coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch area of north Gujarat on Thursday. 
  
  The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted that the 'Nilofar' will intensify further into a "severe" cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours and advised fishermen to return to the coast as the conditions off Gujarat coast will be "rough to very rough". 
  
  It will turn into a "very severe" cyclonic storm on Tuesday night with touching the peak wind speed of 145 kilometer per hour (kmph). The conditions will persist till Wednesday night. 
  
  In its 'cyclone watch for north Gujarat coast' bulletin, IMD said, "The deep depression over west-central and adjoining southwest Arabian Sea moved slightly northwards, intensified into a cyclonic storm Nilofar."