GENERAL NEWS INDIA – JANUARY 2009

Friday, January 02nd 2009
Blasts in Guwahati leaves 5 dead
Three serial blasts in Guwahati, Assam has left five people dead and around 60 injured. The Ulfa militants are believed to be behind these attacks. The explosions took place at Birubari, the Bhutnath market and at the Bhanghar area in Guwahati.

Friday, January 02nd 2009
MAC and NIA start functioning
The Multi-Agency Centre which was set up as a nodal agency within the Intelligence Bureau to optimise intelligence flow and coordination between different agencies has finally become functional, after serious questions regarding the sharing and flow of intelligence information were raised in the wake of the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. An executive order has been issued under which the MAC will be obliged to share intelligence with all other intelligence agencies, including agencies of the state government and Union Territories. The overall functioning of the agency will be supervised by Home Minister P Chidambaram. President Pratibha Patil has also given the final nod to the law for setting up the National Investigation Agency for tackling the menaces of terror and insurgency; the NIA came into being from January 1 and will be headed by a police officer at the director-general level. Cases taken up by the NIA would be decided by a committee of two judges, who would decide the merit of each case within seven working days and the government would also have to take a decision in as many days. The evidence provided by the agency would also be vetted by an independent committee comprising two retired judges.

Monday, January 05th 2009
India signs billion-dollar defence deal with the US
The Government has signed the biggest ever defence deal with the US. The $2.1 billion contract would allow the Navy to acquire eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft. The government has however been keeping such defence deals under wraps. Media reports have stated that the P-8I contract was a direct commercial agreement with Boeing. The deal was signed on January 1, 2009.

Tuesday, January 06th 2009
India hands over evidence dossier on terror attack to Pakistan
India has handed over a document which contains information regarding the proof of the 26/11 terror attacks to Pakistan. The Dossier contains the confession of the sole terrorist who is in custody, Ajmal Kasab, details of his family, the LeT training camps etc. It also contains the identities of the 9 dead attackers, the GPS readings of Karachi-Mumbai route and the Sat phone details of the LeT handlers of the entire operation. The hard evidence was also presented to the US, UK, Israel and other countries who lost their citizens in the attacks. 

Thursday, January 08th 2009
J &K gun battle continues
The encounter between the army and the holed up terrorists in the Bhati Dhar forest in Poonch District of Jammu and Kashmir has entered its seventh day .The encounter has been termed as one of the longest running ones in recent times. The armed forces have laid siege over several of the terrorist's hideouts and terrorists continue to fire at the troops in what seems to be a tactic to divert attention. The army had deployed around 1,500 soldiers and Special Forces commandos to smoke out terrorists from their hideouts. Around four terrorists have been killed so far and another 6 to 10 LeT and Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) actors are still reported to be holed up. 

Friday, January 09th 2009
Fuel crisis across the country as strike enters day three
The indefinite strike launched by the oil Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) executives has entered its third day. The effects of the strike were being felt across the country as petrol pumps run out of automobile fuel. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed a committee of ministers to look into the demands of the officials who are on strike. Many of the state run oil refineries are operating at low capacities. Indian Oil Corporation refineries are running at 25-30 per cent capacity. The crisis management group is considering the option of calling in the army to move petroleum product cargoes from the refineries to the petrol pumps if the fuel crisis worsens. No firm decision has been taken yet. 

Tuesday, January 13th 2009
US' FAA to downgrade India's airline safety rating
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a US agency which was in Delhi to run checks on the safety standards followed by airlines in India may downgrade the safety ratings from a category 1 to category 2. India was found not to adhere to the safety norms set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Downgrading of the safety ratings would mean that airlines like the Jet Airways and Air India which operate to and from the US would have to undergo stringent security checks. According to media reports the director general of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been lobbying with the FAA for more time in order to fall in line with the ICAO norms.

Wednesday, January 14th 2009
India, Canada sign Mou on cooperation in agriculture
India and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further cooperation between the two countries in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The MoU provides for setting up of working groups to address specific areas dealing with sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies, agricultural marketing and animal development and is expected to be beneficial for both the countries. 

Monday, January 19th 2009
France takes the first bit of the Indian Nuke deal
France has planned to have a deal for six nuclear reactors with India taking a lead ahead of countries like US, Russia and the UK. It also plans to deliver 300 tonnes of enriched uranium to India over the next few months. Areva, the top French vendor of reactors and technology, was selected to enter into a contract with India's Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) which would be able to generate electricity from these reactors within eight years.

Tuesday, January 20th 2009
President's rule in Jharkhand
For the first time for the state of Jharkhand, the Centre imposed President's rule on Monday. The move ended the two week long drama that ensued after Chief Minister Shibu Soren was forced to resign following his defeat at the Tamar bypoll elections on January 8. The state has already had six CMs in its eight years of existence. State elections are due in 2010; till then the state assembly will remain in suspended animation. 

Wednesday, January 21st 2009
ATS files charge sheet for Malegaon blast case
The Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed a 4,528 page charge sheet under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) even as defence advocates disagreed strongly about the MCOCA. According to the charge sheet the 11 accused in the blast case, which includes two serving members of the army, were involved in the 10 month long conspiracy which resulted in the blast at Malegaon on 29th October 2008 that left six people dead.

Tuesday, January 27th 2009
India orders for 4,100 French anti-tank missiles
With mounting border tensions and the indigenous Nag missile still not operational, the Indian army has ordered for 4,100 French-origin Milan-2T anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The Rs 592-crore order had been awaiting clearance for quite some time. Post 26/11 terror attacks, the defence ministry has been on a fast track to clear several military procurement plans.

Wednesday, January 28th 2009
India makes its appeal for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka
Union External Affairs minister of India Pranab Mukherjee who is on an emergency visit to Sri Lanka has expressed his concern over the security of the Tamil civilians trapped in the high intensity war zones. He said that India and Sri Lanka would work together to ensure that both Sri Lankans and Tamil civilians who have been affected by the war would be able to lead normal lives soon. The UN has also expressed its concern over the safety of civilians in the war zones in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan army has been closing in on the LTTE rebels in an ongoing military operation. 

Thursday, January 29th 2009
Govt reduces fuel prices
The UPA government has announced a fuel price cut as part of its warm up towards the coming Lok Sabha elections. On Wednesday petrol prices were reduced by Rs 5 per litre, diesel by Rs 2 and cooking gas by Rs 25. The fuel cuts are now effective at all petrol pumps. While the price cut may work further towards lowering inflation and boosting demand, it will reduce the margins of the public sector oil companies which are already in deep trouble. The government has also decided not to raise excise and customs duties at this stage and will effectively issue more oil bonds to the public sector oil marketing companies.