Countdown for PSLV-C16 mission on

The stage has been set for the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) from the first launch pad at Sriharikota on April 20 at 10.12 a.m. The PSLV-C16 will put in orbit three satellites — India's Resourcesat-2, an Indo-Russian satellite called Youthsat and a micro-satellite named X-Sat from the Nangyang Technological University of Singapore.

• The Launch Authorisation Board (LAB), which met at Sriharikota, cleared the rocket's lift-off.
• Resourcesat-2, built by ISRO, is the primary satellite in this mission. It is an advanced remote-sensing satellite, weighing 1,206 kg. An important feature of Resourcesat-2 is that it carries three cameras — with high, medium and coarse resolutions — on a single platform. The images taken by the cameras will be useful for estimating the health of crops, locating ground water, keeping a surveillance on deforestation, and monitoring the level of water in reservoirs and lakes and the snow-melt in the Himalayas and the consequent receipt of water in the rivers.
• The 92-kg Youthsat has been built by India and Russia, with one payload from Russia and two from ISRO. The satellite will be used for stellar and atmospheric studies, including watching the activities in the sun and their effect on the earth's upper atmosphere. The 106-kg X-Sat will be used for imaging applications.

Vice-Admiral Joshi to head Western Naval Command

Vice-Admiral D.K. Joshi will be the new Chief of the Western Naval Command. He will take charge from Vice-Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, who attains superannuation on April 30.

• Vice-Admiral Joshi had assumed charge as the Chief of the Integrated Staff Committee last December in New Delhi after having served as the head of the Tri-Services Command at Port Blair.
• The appointment of Vice-Admiral Joshi as Chief of the prestigious Western Command came after the government rejected the claim of Vice-Admiral K.N. Sushil, who heads the Kochi-based Southern Naval Command.
• Vice-Admiral Sushil filed a ‘statutory complaint' with Defence Ministry, stating he should be appointed as head of the Western Command since he is the senior most three-star officer after Vice-Admiral Bhasin.

SC bans employment of children in circuses

The Supreme Court banned the employment of children in circuses and directed the government to rescue children employed in the sector and formulate a rehabilitation programme for them.

A bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari said that in order to protect the fundamental rights of children, it is imperative that the government issues notification to prohibit employment of children in this sector.

The court also directed the government to conduct raids to rescue children working in circuses and formulate a proper rehabilitation programme for them.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan seeking its direction to the government for rescue and rehabilitation of children below 14 years of age working in circuses.

Diplomatic row between China,Nepal over Tibetan minister

A diplomatic row has erupted between China and Nepal asBeijing expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment of a minister of Tibetan ethnic origin by the communist party-led government of Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal said.

• Chinese embassy officials in Kathmandu have expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment Lharkyal Lama as State Minister for Finance who is allegedly connected with the 'freeTibet movement,' a CPN-UML party source said.
• China is miffed with appointment of Lama who alleged holds two passports Nepali and Indian and also an identity card of Tibetan refugee, the CPN-UML party source was quoted as saying by Nagarik daily, a local newspaper.
• According to a report in nepalnews online, it prompted Chinese officials to express their displeasure during informal conversations with the Prime Minister and other top communist party leaders.
• Lama holds the nationality Chof Nepal, Tibet and India, according to a formal complaint filed against him at the home ministry six years ago.

Jonathan wins Nigeria's presidential elections

President Goodluck Jonathan has won Nigeria's presidential election by securing 60.02 percent of the vote, results showed, he will be sworn-in on 29th May to serve a four-year tenure after which he is free to go for a second term.

• Jonathan, 64, beat his main rival Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) by a wide margin, with Bukhari capturing only 30 percent of the vote, the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
• Jonathan - a Christian from the oil-producing Niger Delta - was the clear front-runner among several candidates going into the race. His main opponent Buhari, a former military ruler, is from the Muslim north.
• Jonathan came to power last year when his predecessor died in office following a lengthy illness.
• The former governor of southern Bayelsa state was born to a family of canoe makers in the riverine town of Otuoke situated in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
• He is the first president to come from the Southern minority group that has been agitating for resource control since petroleum exploration started in the early seventies.
• Jonathan will be sworn-in on 29^th May to serve a four-year tenure after which he is free to go for a second term.
• Nigeria with a population of 150 million is divided between a largely Muslim North and mostly Christian South.
• The oil-rich country returned to democratic system in 1999 after several years of military rule. It has conducted elections every four years since then.
• It is the third time general elections are being held in Nigeria since military rule ended.
• The previous ones - in 2003 and 2007 - were marred by allegations of widespread rigging, voter intimidation and ballot vote snatching.

Consumer price index rose marginally to 106 pts in March

The new Consumer Price Index, introduced earlier this year, rose marginally by 1 point in March against 105 points in February this year.

While the Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to the new series unveiled in January this year, and has increased to 106 in March against the base of 100 in 2010, the exact inflation figures would only be released from next year.

As per the data released by the government, the General Indices for rural and urban stood at 107 and 104 points, respectively, in March.

In February, CPI overall had stood at 105, while the indices for rural and urban were reported at 107 and 104.

The new CPI is intended to reflect the actual movement of prices at the micro-level and help policymakers like the RBI in better framing of decisions.

The new consumer indices cover five major groups - food, beverages and tobacco; fuel and light; housing; clothing, bedding and footwear; and miscellaneous items.

CMIE projects 8.8 pc GDP growth for FY 12

India's GDP is projected to grow at a brisk pace of 8.8 percent in 2011-12 (FY 12), a leading economic think-tank has said.

The domestic environment is conducive for growth and private final consumption expenditure is projected to grow by a healthy 7.5 percent and gross fixed capital formation by 14.6 percent, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its latest monthly review of the country's economy

In FY 11, the performance of India's economy has been robust, it said, adding that the real GDP is estimated to have grown by nine percent during the fiscal.

In FY 12, the agricultural and allied sector is projected to grow by 3.1 percent, on top of the 5.1 percent growth estimated in 2010-11. This will be the third consecutive year of positive growth, it said.

The industrial sector, including construction, is likely to grow by 9.4 percent during 2011-12, as compared to 8.5 percent estimated in 2010-11.

Growth in industrial production will be driven by a rise in consumption demand and investment demand, it added.

India among world's top 7 economies under G-20 scanner

The G-20 announced that International Monetary Fund (IMF) would review policies of the world's seven largest economies, including India and China, with the objective of rectifying flaws before they imperil growth.

The US, Japan, Germany, France and Britain are the other five countries that influence the global economy.

The seven countries would be examined for economically destabilizing policies, such as large -government budget deficits and debt, high personal saving rates and debt, or big trade surpluses or deficits, the G-20 club said after taking the decision at a meeting of member finance ministers and heads of their central banks.

Mixed response to getting GBG enhanced artificially

Having been described over the years as the best-laid natural garden in Asia and a “Botanist's Paradise”, the over 150-year-old Government Botanical Garden (GBG) here is now in the process of getting its natural beauty enhanced artificially.

In keeping with a beautification plan drawn up by the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops under its Development of Parks and Gardens programme, four massive stone structures were brought to the GBG. Made in Mahabalipuram, the structures were look-alikes of a monkey, fish, elephant and a fountain.

The proposal to add new features like stone structures has evoked mixed reactions among various sections of society here.

Powerful asteroid whizzes past earth

An asteroid as powerful as 15 atomic bombs has whizzed past the earth at a distance about 10 times that of the moon.

• Astronomers first spotted the cigar—shaped object, identified as Asteroid 2011 GP59, spinning through space a week ago and tracked its movement, the Daily Mail reported.
• The 50-metre-long rock that could have destroyed a small country, however, went barely noticed as it passed earth at a distance of some 2,085,321 miles, the report said.
• The asteroid, which was recorded with an 11-inch telescope, was around 2,085,321 miles away from the earth — about 10 times the distance of the moon, which is 238,857 miles.
• It was picked up by astronomers at the Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca in Andalusia, Spain, who have since determined that it's heading towards the earth.