Indian-American, Neeraj Sahai, Appointed President of S&P

A top Indian-American executive at Citigroup has been appointed president of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services , the world's largest ratings firm.

Neeraj Sahai, 56, will assume his new role at S&P from January 6, 2014, financial intelligence company McGraw Hill Financial said in a statement in New York.

                                                           

While leading SFS since 2005, Mr. Sahai significantly grew the business, which offers securities services to investors, issuers and intermediaries with an on-the-ground presence in more than 95 countries. From 2002 to 2005 he was chief financial officer of Citi's Global Transaction Services. Before that, Mr. Sahai was head of audit and risk review for Citi's Capital Markets and Banking businesses. He has served in a range of other roles with Citi in the U.S. and early in his career he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility with Citi in India. Mr. Sahai began his career at Citi in 1984, managing relationships with and serving as credit officer for clients in the Corporate Bank and Financial Institutions group click here for more information about Sahai, Appointed President of S&P .


Mr. Sahai holds a bachelor's degree in economics with honors and a master's degree in economics from the University of Delhi, an M.B.A. from Clarkson University and completed the Wharton Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Further evincing his excitement to assume the responsibility Sahai was quoted saying "I am eager to get started, to work alongside S&P's deeply talented employees and to build on the progress Doug and the management team have achieved".

Sahai has "significant experience serving global capital markets. His insights, leadership and background in driving growth, as well as in risk, control and governance will be enormously valuable to Standard & Poor's Rating Services, to market participants and to credit markets", Peterson said.

Raheel Sharif Appointed As New Army Chief of Pakistan

Lt General Raheel Sharif, Pakistan’s newly appointed chief of army staff, will take charge on Friday and is considered as a soldier’s soldier by some for his family background and as a thinking soldier by others because of his emphasis on training and operational thought. He is said to be the man behind the doctrinal response of the Pakistan Army to the Indian Army cold start doctrine.                                                    

         
He will be the country’s fifteenth army chief and comes from a decorated army family which includes an elder brother, Major Shabbir Sharif who was awarded a Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan’s highest military award for valour against Indian forces. Shabbir Sharif was earlier given the Sitara-e-Jurrat and that makes him Pakistan’s highly decorated military officer. General Raheel’s uncle was Major Aziz Bhatti, another receipant of the Nishan-e-Haider.

Born in Quetta, Raheel Sharif Appointed is the son of Major Sharif, an army officer who at the time was serving at the Command and Staff college there. While the Sharif family is originally from Gujrat city in Punjab, it traces its roots to Kashmir. But for most part of his education, General Raheel sharif spent time in Lahore.

He attended the Government College Lahore, the alma mater of PM Sharif. Prior to his appointment as COAS,  Lt Gen Sharif was working as the Principal Staff Officer to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as well as the Inspector General Training and Evaluation.

Talking about PM’s new choice, Professor Shaun Gregory, Chair in International Security, School of Government and International Affairs of University of Durham said, “I think the choice of COAS is not unexpected, but it does indicate Nawaz Sharif reaching beyond the seniority order of succession to the younger man, as he did before with Musharraf (let’s hope that is not a precedent!). Indeed I understand the new COAS was a Musharraf protege at one point.” “His roles in leading education and training in the Pak Army have also kept him out of the more difficult theatres (FATA/KPK/AFG, Kashmir, etc) but may suggest some creative thinking by Nawaz Sharif about the future evolution of the Pakistan Army,” Gregory added.

Pakistan Launches operation Near Afghan Border

Backed by helicopter gunships, the Pakistani military launched a new operation in a strategic tribal area that juts into Afghanistan and has become an important militant sanctuary, officials said Tuesday.

The operation in Kurram follows reports that one of the most feared militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, the Haqqani network, had reached a truce with local militants to use the area as transit point to launch attacks against NATO forces across the border.
                                                                 

But the military is more likely focused on Pakistani Taliban militants who have declared war against the state and have staged attacks against Pakistani security forces. Many analysts believe Pakistan Launches operation is hesitant to target the Haqqani network – as demanded by the US – because of historical ties to the group.

"A military operation in Kurram Agency has been launched to clear the area of terrorists involved in all kinds of terrorist activities, including kidnapping and killing of locals, suicide attacks and blocking the road connecting Lower with upper Kurram,'' said Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas.

The military has used helicopters to clear three areas of Kurram, but has not received much resistance or suffered any casualties, said Javed Ullah, one of the top government officials in Kurram.

"Today is the third day of this operation, which was launched on Sunday,'' said Ullah.

At least 400 families in central Kurram, where the operation is focused, have fled the area and registered with a government-run camp in lower Kurram, said Ullah. He estimated that thousands of families may have left the region, but many of them opted to stay with relatives rather than go to the camp.

The road through Kurram that the military is trying to clear is the only one connecting the remote tribal area to the main city in Pakistan's northwest, Peshawar. It has been blocked by rival Sunni Muslim militant groups.

India, Malaysia Sign MoU to Boost Co-operation

India and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday to strengthen co-operation in public administration and governance as part of the efforts to enhance their strategic partnership.

The MoU covers eight areas of co-operation including human resource management, e-governance, public delivery system, accountability and transparency, skills and capacity building and quality results.
                                           

                     
The MoU was signed by Malaysia's Public Service Department Director-General Mohamad Zabidi Zainal and the Secretary of India's Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Sanjay Kothari.

Zabidi said the MoU was a strategic cooperation and collaboration to strengthen ties between the two countries. He added that apart from that it could also assist in socio-economic development through an efficient, accessible, transparent and accountable civil service.

The MoU envisages cooperation via tours, workshops and conferences, sharing of public administration and governance information and expertise, common project implementation mechanisms and exchange of publications, state-run news agency Bernama said. 

Delhi Government Issued Guidelines to Rely Only on ELISA Test For Dengue Confirmation

The Government of Delhi on 23 Sept 2013 advised all the city hospitals to rely only on the ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immune Sorbent Assay) Test for confirmation of dengue, in order to put an end on any kind of confusion. The doctors explained that any person arriving in the hospital within 5-6 days of seeing dengue symptoms, should be tested for antigens’ presence for confirmation of dengue. In case a person arrives after a week, then there should be the test of presence of the antibodies against the virus. In both the cases, ELISA test should be performed.
                                                     

                                               
Without the proper guidelines, various city hospitals in Delhi conducted the cheaper Rapid Diagnostic Kits (RDKs). However, Rapid Diagnostic Kits (RDKs) gave improper and false results. As per the guidelines of the Delhi Government, the tests carried out by RDKs will remain invalid. The cost of ELISA Test is 2000-2500 Rupees in comparison to 1000-1500 Rupees for RDKs.

The Municipal Authorities in Delhi explained that the antibody test reports will remain valid only if they have been done using the ELISA Test. According to the World Health Organization’s guidelines, IgG and IgM are the two antibodies which are produced against virus and these two should be considered as test for checking the dengue virus. The municipal health officer of the South Corporation, Dr N K Yadav explained that only ELISA-based tests will be considered valid and will be accepted.

About the ELISA Test

• ELISA stands for enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay.

• Dengue is detectable by isolation of the virus through serological tests or molecular methods.

• Diagnosis of the on-going or recent dengue infection can be confirmed by checking the serum samples during first 5 days or early convalescent phase (i.e., more than 5 days) of dengue symptoms.

• IgM antibody capture ELISA (MAC-ELISA) format is widely used in various diagnostic laboratories as well as diagnostic kits. Apart from this, IgG ELISA, which is used for detection of past dengue infection makes use of same viral antigens like the MAC ELISA.

Nisha Desai Biswal Sworn in As US Asst. Secretary of State For South And Central Asia

Nisha Desai Biswal was on 21 November 2013 sworn in as the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.

United States Secretary of State John K Kerry administered the oath to Nisha Desai Biswal as she was sworn in as the US Assistant Secretary of State at the George Marshall East Auditorium of the White Hous
                                         

 
Nisha Desai Biswal took over charge from Robert Blake, who moved recently to Indonesia as ambassador.Before her appointment to this position, Biswal was assistant administrator for Asia at the US Agency for International Development.

Nisha Desai Biswal will oversee the US Foreign Policy and relations at the State Department for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This is the first time an Indian-American is heading the South Asia Bureau, a new milestone for the Indian community.

About Nisha Desai Biswal

• Nisha Desai Biswal worked at the American Red Cross from 1993 to 1995 in the Washington headquarters, and as an overseas delegate in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

• From 1999 to 2002, she worked as a Hill staffer with the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee.

• From 2005 to 2010, Biswal was the Majority Clerk for the State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on the Committee on Appropriations in the House of Representatives.

• Nisha Desai Biswal held the post of assistant administrator for Asia at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), since September 2010.

ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Sent First Pictures of Earth

CHENNAI: The severe cyclonic storm "Helen" hurtling towards Andhra Pradesh coast has been captured by India's Mars orbiter in the first image of the country beamed back in its maiden mission to the red planet. " Mangalyaan" has beamed back the first set of pictures of Earth, capturing the Indian subcontinent and parts of Africa, Isro said here on Thursday.
                                                             

             
The storm, captured on Tuesday, is expected to hit the southern Andhra coast tomorrow. "We are checking the equipment on board the spacecraft. This picture is from Mars Color Camera, fitted on ISRO’s Mars orbiter spacecraft taken on Tuesday at 1.50pm from over 67,975km altitude with a resolution of 3.53km," Isro sources told.

Asked whether the picture was planned since the mission is to Mars, the sources said this was part of checking the equipment on board the spacecraft. Though the national space agency has received more than one picture, it has released only one on its official website.

The picture has captured the Indian subcontinent and parts of Africa, especially Cyclone Helen, hovering off the Andhra Pradesh coast. This is the first time after launch that an instrument on board has been checked for its operation. The India Meteorological Department(IMD) said "Helen" will cross the AP coast on Friday and bring very heavy rainfall under its influence.

Earlier, Isro had performed all five orbit raising manoeuvres planned on the Mars orbiter and raised the apogee of the spacecraft to over 192,000km. After the successful completion of these operations, the Mars Orbiter Mission is expected to take on the "crucial event" of the trans-Mars injection around 12.42am on December 1.

It will reach the red planet's orbit by September 24, 2014 after an over 10 month voyage. Isro's PSLV C 25 successfully injected the 1,350kg "Mangalyaan" orbiter (Mars craft) into the orbit around the earth some 44 minutes after a text book launch at 2.38pm from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on November 5, marking the successful completion of the first stage of the Rs 450 crore mission.

First All-women 'Bharatiya Mahila Bank' Inaugurated in Mumbai

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated India's first all-women "Bharatiya Mahila Bank" (BMB) in Mumbai's Nariman point. The initiative was announced in the Budget 2013-14 with the aim of taking banking facilities to women and empower through it.

• an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 cr was allocated in the budget to start up

• Due to biasedness at individual as well as institutional level only 26% of women in India have bank accounts ; no bank accounts no loans and therefore per capita credit for women is currently 80% lower than that for men -: Finance Ministry                                                                                  

                                                                 
Board Members of the BMB

• are all women : first all women bharatiya mahila Bank board of a PSU bank in country

• CMD : Usha Ananthasubramanian

• eight board of Directors : Priya Kumar (government nominee) ; Chhavi Rajawat (a sarpanch from Rajasthan); Nupur Mitra (former CMD ,Dena bank) ; Tanya Dubash (Executive Director and President (Marketing), Godrej group) ; Renuka Ramnath (of Multiples Alternate Asset Management); Kalpana Saroj (CEO: Kamani Tubes).

Though primarily meant to serve women from all parts of the country it will function as a universal bank (for everyone). However the focus would remain the 'women' from all walks of life (high net worth individuals to lower middle class women to rural women, self help groups) and would try to make available all regular banking products as well as specially designed products tailor made to needs of these women.

Headquartered in New Delhi

• Mumbai branch is first of its proposed seven branches for now.

• The other branches are scheduled to come up at : Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Guwahati.

• Additional branches in Delhi and Indore would be inaugurated in December 2013 following elections in these states (so as not to violate "model code of conduct").

• By April 2013 it aims to establish 25 branches, atleast one in every state capital.

• Later it aims to expand to Tier II and III cities through a network of 770 branches by 2020, covering even rural areas and unbanked areas.

• plans are even to reach offshore markets later

• target by 2020 : Rs. 60,000 cr total business (deposits plus advances) .

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Launched By Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi Jointly inaugurated India’s first all-women bank, Bharatiya Mahila Bank in Mumbai on 19 November 2013,marking the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The main objectives of the bank will be to focus on the banking needs of women and to promote their economic empowerment. The India’s first all-women bank will commence operations with an initial capital of one thousand crore rupees.
                                                       

The Union Government on 12 November 2013 appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian as the first chairperson and managing director of public sector Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB).

About Bharatiya Mahila Bank

1.The Mahila bank aims to service women and women-run businesses, support women’s self-help groups and their livelihoods and promote further financial inclusion.

2.An only-for-women bank first time in India.

3.Bhartiya Mahila Bank will be a universal bank and will provide every banking service and facility that is provided by comparable Public and Private sector banks. It will establish branches all over the country and, in due course, some branches in abroad.

4.The Union Cabinet cleared the proposal for setting up of all-women bank on August 2013.

5.The Reserve Bank of India gave its in-principal approval for the Bharatiya Mahila Bank in June 2013 and the banking company was set up.

6.The Union government approved 1000 crore Rupees seed capital for the women-focused public sector bank, announced by Union finance minister P. Chidambaram in his 2013-14 budget speech.