Inmates of Alipore Correctional Home to stage an English play

Inmates of Alipore Correctional Home presented the trailer of 'Begum Sumroo' an English play which is 

scheduled to be staged on 9th March at G.D.Birla Sabhagar. This is the first English play to be staged by 

the inmates of any correctional home ever in India.

Inmates have been training since last two months under Rohit Pombra, artistic director of Stagecraft 

renowned English language theatre group of Kolkata. In total 25 inmates are participating in the play of 

which four are women, of the 21 men, 20 are from Alipore Correctional Home and one from Presidency 

Jail.

IG Correctional Homes, Ranvir Kumar who was present on the event said "The way they picked English 

pronunciation is outstanding and they are completely ready for the show". He also said that other groups of 

inmates are rehearsing for another play 'Ashoka' and also a martial arts dance that will be staged soon.

He further said, "They might have fallen out of place may be because of certain reasons; they should be 

given an opportunity to understand that life has a meaning and that they are still useful to the society. We as 

correctional officers have duty to provide them the opportunity to integrate them into the societies and we 

expect and realise that the society at large is ready to accept them."

Capitalising Public Sector Banks

The Government has decided that the disinvestment proceeds with effect from the fiscal year 2013-14 will be credited to the existing “public account” under the head National Investment Fund (NIF) and will be used for subscribing to the shares being issued by the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) including Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Public Sector Insurance Companies (PSICs), on rights basis so as to ensure 51% ownership of the Government is not diluted; and for recapitalisation of PSBs and PSICs.

TRAI directs MSOs to implement Subscriber Management Systems in DAS areas

TRAI has issued Directions to multi system operators (MSOs) and their linked local cable operators (LCOs), providing cable TV services in the notified Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) areas, covered under the first phase of implementation of DAS, regarding implementation of Subscriber Management Systems. DAS is being implemented across the country in a phased manner, with the first phase from 1st Nov. 2012 and the fourth and final phase completing by 31st Dec 2014. 

As per the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations of TRAI, applicable for DAS areas, MSOs are required to establish a Subscriber Management System wherein all the details of the subscribers alongwith their choice of services (i.e. channels, bouquets etc.) are required to be maintained. This would bring in addressability and consequently, complete transparency in the whole system. This system enables the subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly and also facilitates the MSOs to effectively manage their accounting and billing of the services rendered. 

It has come to the notice of TRAI that this feature has not been implemented effectively by many MSOs. Also in many of the cases LCOs have not provided the completed subscriber application forms to their linked MSOs. Thus, the real benefits of digitization are not reaching to the subscribers. TRAI has directed all the registered MSOs and their linked LCOs to ensure, in accordance with their mutually agreed roles, that the Subscriber Management System is made fully operational, as envisaged in the QoS regulations of TRAI.

Probe reveals: Battery in ANA Boeing 787 were improperly wired

Source:AP

Japan’s transport ministry said that a probe into the overheating of the lithium-ion battery in All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 revealed it to be improperly wired. The Transport Safety Board said in a report that the battery of the aircraft's auxiliary power unit was incorrectly connected to the main battery that overheated, although a protective valve would have prevented power from the APU from doing damage. Flickering of the plane's tail and wing lights after it landed and the fact the main battery was switched off led the investigators to conclude there was an abnormal current traveling from the APU due to miswiring. The agency said that more analysis was needed to determine what caused the main battery to overheat and emit the smoke that prompted the January 16 emergency landing of the ANA domestic flight and the worldwide grounding of Boeing 787 jets. They said they are consulting Boeing about the issue. The Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in other countries grounded 787 fleets because of the ANA incident which followed a battery fire earlier in January in a 787 parked in Boston. The 787, dubbed the Dreamliner by Boeing, is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter weight, charge faster and contain more energy than conventional batteries similar in size. However, the batteries also are more prone to overheating and catching fire.

Kenya: Presidential candidates face off for final time before elections

Kenya's presidential candidates have faced off for a final time ahead of elections on March 4, with more than 14 million citizens registered to vote.The debate on Monday focused mainly on education and health care. The current president Mwai Kibaki is not seeking re-election.The top two contenders, who stood neck-and-neck in run-up polls, are Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta, the deputy premier who is also the son of Kenya's first president as an independent nation. It will be the first election since a disputed contest five years ago that sparked weeks of inter-tribal violence, reports Aljazeera.

The reports further said, Kenyatta, one of the country's richest men and a leader of the dominant Kikuyu tribe, chose to run for president despite facing trial at the International Criminal Court over allegations that he orchestrated revenge attacks against Odinga's supporters after losing the 2007 election. He faces charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution, over the violence that that left 1,200 dead. There are fears that violence may return again in this election season, says an Aljazeera report. 

Xi Jinping : Duty to pursue "peaceful means" with Taiwan

China's incoming leader has said the Chinese mainland will continue to pursue the peaceful development of relations with Taiwan during his term as president. Xi Jinping in a meeting with former Taiwanese premier Lien Chan, called it the duty of the new Chinese leadership to pursue "peaceful means" in its reunification efforts with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. "Safeguarding the interests of our Taiwan compatriots and expanding their well-being is the mainland's oft-repeated pledge and solemn promise of the new leaders of China's Communist Party central committee," Xi said, reported Aljazeera quoting China's Xinhua news agency.

In a separate statement, Lien said the 18 agreements signed with Taiwan in the past four years were a break from turmoil in relations, but he added that "core issues" were unresolved. For years, the strait between the communist mainland and the democratic island, a key US ally in the region, was seen as one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the communists, led by Mao Zedong, defeated the Kuomintang, forcing Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist alliance to flee to the island at the end of a bloody civil war in 1949. Beijing has not renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, says Aljazeera reports.

Prez:ISRO enjoys tremendous trust amongst countrymen

President, Pranab Mukherjee while addressing the scientists and engineers at the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV – C 20/SARAL Mission in Sriharikota, said that ISRO enjoys tremendous trust amongst our countrymen. This faith and confidence puts the onus back on the organization to raise the bar of its performance, scale greater heights and explore newer frontiers. For India to occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations, we must promote innovation and technological advancement. ISRO should be in the forefront of such a movement. He also said relevant uses of technology that meet country’s development goals are imperative to address the demands of population and that our endeavour must be to lower the cost of access to space through greater innovation and drive towards technology refinement. 

BHEL to set its MEMU manufacturing. facility in Rajasthan

A MOU was signed between Indian Railways and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for setting up of Greenfield MEMU coaches manufacturing facility by BHEL at Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Member Electrical Railway Board, Kul Bhushan, and CMD, BHEL, B. P. Rao signed the document in presence of Minister of Railways, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Praful Patel.

Main Line Electric Multiple Unit Trains, popularly known as MEMU trains, a mode of rapid transit system, have higher passenger carrying capacity and higher average speed as compared to conventional loco hauled passenger trains and to cater to non-suburban passengers, residing in small towns and villages surrounding urban and industrial centers. These rakes are now being manufactured with toilet facilities to take care of passenger needs. MEMU trains increase the line capacity utilization, and therefore are more suitable for running on high traffic density routes. 

These MEMU trains have gained rapid popularity over the years. Currently, there are about 160 MEMU services running. There are demands pouring in from all over the country for more MEMU trains. The demand for these coaches will further increase as Indian Railways have plans to electrify approximately 15000 route kilometer during the next 10 years, it is expected that the requirement of MEMU coaches will grow to nearly 9000 coaches by then. Setting up of factory for conventional MEMU coaches will go a long way in meeting this demand. The proposed facility for production of MEMU coaches will be set up by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) at Bhilwara in the State of Rajasthan. The entire cost will be borne by BHEL. Government of Rajasthan will provide land to Railways, for setting up the project. In order to make the project viable, Ministry of Railways will give Assured Off- Take orders to BHEL. 

Raul Castro to step down in 2018

Cuban President, Raul Castro has announced that he would step down from power in 2018, when his second term as president is set to end. During a nationally televised speech at the end of a session of the country's National Assembly, Castro made it clear that 'this will be his last term'. The announcement came shortly after lawmakers re-elected Castro to a second five-year term, CNN reports. According to the report, Castro also announced on Sunday that Esteban Lazo Hernandez, 68, would assume the role of president of the National Assembly.

Rahul to meet North-east Pradesh Congress leaders today

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to hold second part of the deliberations with the Northeast Pradesh Congress Chiefs as they couldn’t attend the first part of the consultations, which was held 10 days earlier due to assembly polls in three states of the region. The meetings are significant in backdrop of forthcoming assembly election in nine states including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.