Today's Hot Stories - March 24, 2014

Today's Hot Stories - March 24, 2014

10 Headlines for Today

(1) Maoists call for poll boycott in Odisha
(2) Bombay HC allows Dabholkar kin to intervene in PIL
(3) Ebola detected in Guinea victims, 50 dead
(4) Infosys' Finacle looks for a new global head
(5) RIL eyes extra gains from gas pricing
(6) US eyes bankruptcy link in General Motors ignition defect probe: Report
(7) Anand in command and a likely contender for Carlsen
(8) World T20: Amit Mishra leads India's bowling revival
(9) Tendulkar to attend Bahrain Grand Prix with family
(10) Health benefits of coconut water

5 Stories for Today

(1) Army running low on ammunition
(2) 529 Muslim Brotherhood members sentenced to death
(3) Flexi-staffing becomes a boon for women on career breaks
(4) IMF’s chief Lagarde says can’t do much about reform without US support
(5) FIIs invest nearly Rs.9,600 cr in Indian equities in March

(1) Army running low on ammunition


The world's second-largest standing Army is fast running out of ammunition. Tanks and air defence units, artillery batteries and infantry soldiers are all facing the crunch. The Army is, obviously, tight-lipped on the ammunition shortage. But a simple calculation reveals that at present, it may not have enough ammunition reserves to sustain a full-fledged war for even 20 days.

The norm is that war wastage reserves (WWR) should be adequate for 40 days of intense fighting, with 21 days earmarked for ammunition with shorter shelf-life. But according to a recent statement by Army chief General Bikram Singh, if there is proper budgetary support for the new ammunition roadmap, the Army should have 50 per cent WWR and three years of training ammunition by 2015.

In other words, the Army is at not even 50 per cent WWR right now, which means it does not have adequate reserves to fight a war for even 20 days. It is expected to reach 100 per cent WWR only by 2019.

With the huge shortages adversely impacting both operational readiness and training, the 1.18-million strong Indian Army is desperate that the new government which takes charge in May actively supports its new ammunition roadmap of around Rs 19,250 crore, both in terms of fund allocations and timelines.

This becomes all the more crucial since the Army has kick-started the raising of the new XVII Mountain Strike Corps, which will come into full force with over 90,000 soldiers over the next seven years, to add some much-needed teeth to its deterrence posture against China. This alone will see the raising of 32 new infantry battalions, apart from armoured, artillery and air defence units.

The Army already has 13 corps, which includes the three "strike" ones headquartered at Mathura (I Corps), Ambala (II Corps) and Bhopal (XXI Corps). They add up to 382 infantry battalions, 281 artillery, 63 armoured, 44 mechanized and 56 air defence regiments, apart from other support arms like signals, engineers, ordnance and the like.

Plans didn't take off

On one hand, almost none of its critical modernization projects for new howitzers, helicopters, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) or air defence guns have materialized till now. On the other, operational hollowness or "critical" deficiencies in ammunition and fuses for existing weapon systems have built up over the last decade.

"There is a glaring mismatch between operational and training requirements vis-a-vis budget allocations, imports and the inadequate production capacity of our 39 ordnance factories," said a senior officer.

The Army holds ammunition, which is costly and also has shelf-life, at three levels. The "first line" of operational and training ammunition is held at the battalion level in the shape of "on weapon and unit reserves", while the "second line" is with higher formations like brigades and divisions.

Finally, there is the WWR, held in a dispersed manner.

With defence minister AK Antony sanctioning the roadmap, the next government will have to take it forward.

Source: The Times of India

(2) 529 Muslim Brotherhood members sentenced to death


A court in southern Egypt has convicted 529 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsy, sentencing them to death on charges of murdering a policeman and attacking police.

The court in Minya issued its ruling on Monday after only two sessions, in which the defendants’ lawyers complained they had no chance to present their case.

Those convicted are part of a group of 545 defendants on trial for the killing of a police officer, attempted killing of two others, attacking a police station and other acts of violence.

More than 150 suspects stood trial, the others were tried in absentia. Sixteen were acquitted.

The defendants were arrested after violent demonstrations that were a backlash for the police crackdown in August on pro-Morsy sit-ins in Cairo that killed hundreds of people.

Source: The Hindu

(3) Flexi-staffing becomes a boon for women on career breaks


Taken a long break from work and now looking to get back on the job but finding it difficult? Flexible staffing may be your answer.

Flexi jobs give you a chance to work for major employer brands on short-duration projects that yield experience. They also help when you want to make a lifestyle choice to bring up a baby.

Garima Khamesra, 34 (see box) took a seven-year hiatus from loan provider CitiFinancial India in Jaipur to bring up a child but found it a struggle to get back into a career despite her past achievements. But she found a way out when she joined the prestigeous Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, as a research associate on a six-month contract.

“Soon I realised the attractive options in flexible employment segments, which actually gave me the opportunity to hone my skills,” said Khamesra.

The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) says many women who took a break to spend more time at home are back looking for jobs as the current slowdown and high inflation pinch family budgets. This is especially true of the metros, where about 41% of women are getting back with flexible working options compared to 16-22% in smaller cities.

“Flexi jobs may not help in earning what a woman was earning before but she would become highly employable in six months,” said Rituparna Chakraborty, president, ISF.

The salary begins upwards of Rs. 20,000 a month and can go up depending on the job profile.

The specific job segments that are flexi-friendly include software application development, content curation and online teaching.

“Flexi jobs are no more about cheap data-entry skills. It’s much more evolved and skill oriented,” said Sairee Chahal, founder, Sheroes, an organisation that works with over 1,000 companies to shape a culture to help women build careers.

“We have designed a programme specifically for stay-at-home women between the age group of 20-45,” said Deep Kalra, founder, MakeMyTrip.com, one of the 700 firms Chahal works with.

Multinationals are also joining the culture. Flexi-staffing helps them hire skilled, experienced staff at cost-effective budgets.

Some companies like Hindustan Unilever offer career breaks of up to five years to help objectives such as child rearing, studies or following a spouse who shifts location. It also offers a part-time work policy that supports job splits and job sharing.

“We have introduced policies to make our employees meet professional and personal requirements at their convenience and without any compromise,” a HUL spokesperson said.

“Consideration is given to women in case of any special need pre- and post-delivery,” said V Krishnan, executive vice president (HR), at Dabur India, which offers its employees extra time off after a 90-day maternity leave.

Source: Hindustan Times

(4) IMF’s chief Lagarde says can’t do much about reform without US support


International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday that there was not much she should could to push reform at her organization and give emerging economies a bigger say without the support of the United States. China in January called on IMF member nations to stick to a commitment to give emerging markets more power at the global lender after US lawmakers set back historic reforms that would give developing countries a greater say.

The remarks by China's foreign ministry were an indirect criticism of the United States, the biggest and most powerful IMF member, where lawmakers that month failed to agree on funding measures needed for the reforms to move forward.

The US Congress must sign off on the IMF funding to complete 2010 reforms that would make China the IMF's third-largest member and revamp the IMF board to reduce the dominance of western Europe.

Speaking at Beijing's elite Tsinghua University, Lagarde said this was a matter for the United States to complete the process and ensure that the relevant legislation can be passed.

"This is not something I can do much about," she told students.

She added that she hoped emerging economies could have a bigger voice within the institution.

The reform of the voting shares, known as quotas, cannot proceed without the United States, which holds the only controlling share of IMF votes.

After putting off the request in 2012 because of the US presidential election, the US treasury has sought to tuck the provision into several bills since March of last year.

The administration's requests, however, have been met with skepticism from some Republicans, who see them as tantamount to approving fresh funding in a tight budget environment.

Some US lawmakers have also raised concerns about how well the IMF is helping struggling economies in Europe and the risks attached to IMF loans, suggesting Congress is in no hurry to approve any changes.

Developing nations have long viewed the IMF with suspicion for promoting disastrous privatizations that complicated the transition from communism for some emerging nations in the early 1990s, and for pushing budget cuts that exacerbated debt crises in Asia and Latin America a few years later.

That suspicion has been compounded by a power structure that dates to IMF's founding in 1944. The structure was shaped by the victors of World War II — the United States and other Allied nations.

Source: The Economic Times

(5) FIIs invest nearly Rs.9,600 cr in Indian equities in March


Foreign investors have poured in a whopping Rs 9,600 crore in the stock market so far this month, mainly on the hopes of a stable government in general elections starting next month.

bought shares worth Rs 59,296 crore and sold stocks to the tune of Rs 49,699 crore till March 21, resulting in a net inflow of Rs 9,597 crore (USD 1.56 billion), according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India data.

FIIs also infused Rs 12,816 crore (USD 2 billion) in the debt market during the period.

According to market analysts, there has been some narrowing in the country's Current Account deficit and a stability in the rupee value against the US dollar, but focus has shifted to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

They said FIIs are betting on Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, headed by Narendra Modi, at the Centre.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said earlier this month that both current account and fiscal deficits are under control and the economy is more stable than it was 18 months ago.

That apart, marketmen said foreign investors have sidelined their concerns of further tapering by the US Federal Reserve.

FIIs, the major drivers of the Indian stock market, have helped push the benchmark BSE Sensex almost 635 points, or 3 per cent so far this month.

Overseas investors have purchased a net Rs 11,716 crore worth of stocks so far in 2014. They had invested a net Rs.1,404 crore in equities in February, and Rs.714 crore in stocks in January.

As of March 21, there were 1,715 registered FIIs in the country and 6,318 sub-accounts.

Source: The Indian Express

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