Oscar nomination ends Indonesia’s amnesia
1.The Academy Awards are most closely associated with expensive, red carpet dresses and banal acceptance speeches. There is rarely space for the edgy, politically meaningful, or foreign. This year, however, one Oscar nominee for best documentary feature, “The Act of Killing,” resurrects one of the great “forgotten” mass murders, some would say genocide, of 20th Century Asia.
2.The murderous Khmer Rouge in Cambodia is well known to have killed up to three million people. Estimating the death toll of Communist Party misadventures in China continues to produce internationally acclaimed books with figures as high as 45 million for the famine that resulted from the Great Leap Forward. And yet, while killings by communists are well publicised, the killing of communists, has received far less attention.
3.However, between 5,00,000 and three million communists, or people branded as communists, were slaughtered in Indonesia between 1965-67, a massacre that has been airbrushed out of Indonesian history textbooks and the world’s consciousness at large.
4.“The Act of Killing” — co-directed by American filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, and produced by Errol Morris and Werner Herzog — examines this little documented, or even acknowledged, part of Indonesian history, to deeply disturbing effect.
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CCEA approves CAD plan for women’s safety
1.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish an Integrated Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) platform. This is an emergency response system for women and other vulnerable groups who may face violence. The Geographical Information System (GIS) based call-taking and Geographical Positioning System (GPS)-based police vehicle dispatch system will be able to respond to distress calls and ensure speedy assistance to women.
2.Distress or emergency alarms generated by panic buttons, landlines, mobiles through individual devices pioneered by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) or mobile phone applications would be tracked and Emergency Response (ER) units will be dispatched to attend the call. It will be integrated with the existing Dial 100 system for seamless operation and coordination between the two systems.
3.This project would obtain funding from the Nirbhaya Fund. The project involves a total expenditure of Rs. 321.69 crore which includes an implementation cost (one time) of Rs.204.25 crore, recurring expenditure (operational cost for 5 Years) of Rs.102.12 crore and expenses for the central monitoring and evaluation project management unit of approx Rs.15.32 crore.
4.The initiative will provide 24 hours and 24X7 helpline service to women in distress and an efficient and effective response system to attend to their calls as well as for alarms related to other emergency services such as medical and disaster (fire etc.) by other responders in an integrated manner. It will also help in providing speedy assistance for helpless women/children of a defined area, who face any form of violence, such as eve teasing, dowry demands, sexual assault, molestation or any other abuse either in public or at home.
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The call-and-cut strategy to win over customers
1.Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Olacabs, used to get a number of missed calls from friends during his college days. Back then in 2008, nobody would have guessed that a simple missed call would emerge as a powerful business tool.
2.“We had introduced it as a customer service initiative,” Aggarwal said about Olacabs’ tracking mechanism. In response to a missed call, the radio cab firm would send an SMS to the customer informing him of the time the vehicle would take to reach him.
3.Now firms from sectors such as insurance and brokerages to telecom and technology companies are using missed calls to win clients. Banks (ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of India for account balances and statements), multiplexes (for show timings), retailers (for loyalty programmes), advertisers (for feedback) and political parties, among others, are making use of the missed call.
4.“This is the march of technology…. This has been possible after the advent of the calling-party-pays regime (free incoming calls) and caller line identification protocols (caller ID),” says Rajan S. Mathews, Director-General of the GSM operators’ body Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI). Moving a step ahead, EasyCabs, another radio cab operator, launched a service that enables customers to book rides through a missed call.
5.It now gets about 400-500 missed calls a day while on the booking front, there has been a 30 per cent rise since the introduction of the initiative a week ago.
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Ranbaxy says Toansa unit ban will hit US business by 10-12%
1.Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Wednesday the recent ban on its Toansa plant in Punjab from exporting drugs to the US, its largest overseas market, will hit company’s American business by 10 to 12 per cent.
2.While announcing the results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, CEO Arun Sawhney said the drug-maker, majority-owned by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, recorded sales of ₹910 crore during the December quarter in the US. Only 10-12 per cent of Ranbaxy’s US business was dependent on the Toansa facility in 2013, he told investors. The company saw a rebound in its financial performance during fourth quarter – net loss fell to ₹158.9 crore from ₹492.4 crore a year ago. (Ranbaxy follows calendar year for reporting results). Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an import alert against the Toansa plant, raising questions about the company’s manufacturing practices.
3.Sawhney said 85 per cent of its total sales do not come from the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) manufactured at the Toansa facility. However, industry experts estimate that the ban on Toansa could hit Ranbaxy’s sales in the US by as much as 35-40 per cent over the next three to four quarters. The CEO added “the internal investigation” into the circumstances that led to the US ban is “still going on and stringent action will be taken” against those found responsible.
Income rises
1.The company’s total income increased to ₹2,929.2 crore during the December quarter from ₹2,787.8 crore a year ago.
2.Net sales also rose to ₹2,858.9 crore from ₹2,670.8 crore.
3.On Wednesday, the company’s stock rose 5.69 per cent on the BSE following the announcements to close at ₹340.05
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Hindustan Power plans ₹32,000-cr investment
1.Hindustan Power Projects Private Ltd, formerly known as Moser Baer Projects Pvt Ltd, is embarking on ₹32,000-crore investment plan to have 5,300 MW of capacities in its portfolio in the next three years.
2.The Delhi-based company has already made an investment of around ₹14,500 crore across its projects in solar, coal-thermal and hydro power, Ratul Puri, Chairman of the company told Business Line. Of this, the company has borrowed about ₹10,000 crore mostly from domestic banks and financial institutions.
3.The remaining investment would be made in a debt to equity ratio of 75:25, Puri said.
4.Hindustan Power targets to commission first phase of power plant in Madhya Pradesh for 1,200 MW by July-August.
5.The plant has coal linkage from South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. It has long-term power purchase agreements with utilities in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The company’s another coal fired project of 1,320 MW in Chhattisgarh will be operational by 2016-17. Puri said that the company wants to maintain a balanced portfolio comprising both renewable and conventional projects.
Solar power
In the renewable business, Hindustan Power eyes to have 1,000 MW solar power capacity. Currently, it has about 430 MW of operational or about to commission solar projects.
Of this, nearly 320 MW are in India, while 120 MW are spread across Germany, Italy and the UK. Another 270 MW of solar capacity would be commissioned in the next 12-18 months, said Puri, adding India, UK and Japan would be its focus markets.
Currently, the solar business is generating revenues of around ₹550 crore annually, which is expected to touch ₹2,500 crore in three years, Puri said.
Hydro projects
The company is also working on two hydro projects – 440 MW and 120 MW – in Himachal Pradesh.
According to Puri, the company has received all requisite clearances and would soon start construction of these two hydropower plants.
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India beat Pakistan for second win in a row in Fed Cup
1.India secured the tie against Pakistan for the loss of just seven games as Prarthana Thombare and Ankita Raina scored easy victories in Fed Cup Group II competition, on Wednesday.
2.Prarthana provided India a rollicking start by trouncing Ushna Suhail 6-0 6-1 in the opening singles.
3.Ankita, who did not play singles yesterday against Iran, then thrashed Sara Mansoor 6-1 6-2 to clinch the issue.
4.Prarthana and Rishika Sunkara then made it a second consecutive 3-0 result for India by comfortably beating the combination of Mansoor and Suhail 6-2 6-1.
5.India had on Tuesday thrashed Iran 3-0 and will now take on New Zealand in their last Pool D match.
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Pietersen’s international career ended by ECB
1.Maverick England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s international career on Wednesday came to an abrupt end after he was dumped from the team for the upcoming tour of the West Indies and the subsequent World Twenty20 Championships in Bangladesh.
2.The 33-year-old swashbuckling batsman, who played 104 Tests and 136 ODIs, is set to end as England’s highest run-scorer in all formats of the game after a career spanning nine years.
3.“Playing cricket for my country has been an honour. Although I am obviously very sad the incredible journey has come to an end, I’m also hugely proud of what we, as a team, have achieved over the past nine years,” Pietersen said in a joint statement with the ECB after what was being seen as a forced retirement.
4.Pietersen has 8181 Test runs at an average of 47.28 and 4440 ODI runs at 40.73 under his belt. The right-hander has 1176 runs in the 37 Twenty20 Internationals he has played so far.
5.“I feel extremely fortunate to have played at a time of great success for England cricket alongside some of the best cricketers the country has ever produced. I want to thank everyone for their fantastic support and I wish the team the very best of success going forward.
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US Congressman Crowley honoured by Indian-Americans
1.Indian-Americans here have honoured US Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley for his work for the community, particularly his efforts in getting the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs and Hindus.
2.Crowley, who serves as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in the US House of Representatives, said it is "high time" that India becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
3."I am going to be focusing my efforts on that," he said, adding that he was "humbled" for the recognition.
4.Crowley, the Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, was honoured on January 30 by the Jackson Heights and broader Queens Indian American community for his efforts on behalf of Sikh-Americans and the broader Indian American community.
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North, South Korea agree to first reunions since 2010
1.North and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to hold a reunion later this month for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War -- the first such event for more than three years.
2.The agreement marked a rare moment of cooperation between the two rivals, especially coming just weeks before the South kicks off joint military exercises with the United States that have been vehemently denounced by Pyongyang.
3.Officials from both sides meeting in the border truce village of Panmunjom, decided the reunion would be held February 20-25 at the North's Mount Kumgang resort, the South's Unification Ministry said.
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