Natural Intestine Bacteria as World’s Smallest Data Recorder

Natural Bacterial Immune System has been converted into the World’s Smallest Data Recorder by researchers at the Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC) in the U.S., laying the groundwork for a new class of technologies that use bacterial cells for everything from disease diagnosis to environmental monitoring. Scientists taking advantage of immune system ‘memory’ modified an ordinary laboratory strain of the ubiquitous human gut microbe Escherichia coli, enabling the bacteria to record their interactions with the environment and time-stamp the events.

Environmental Sensing and basic studies in Ecology and Microbiology could be the other applications, where bacteria could monitor otherwise invisible changes without disrupting their surroundings, according to a study published in Science by Harris Wang, PhD, assistant professor in the Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Systems Biology at CUMC.

Harris Wang and his team modified a specific strain of Escherichia coli, a kind of bacteria that naturally occurs in the intestines, to allow the organisms to record their interactions in their environment, and tell the specific dates and times such interactions occur. The team used the CRISPR-Cas gene-editing system to create a Biological Tape Recorder.

CRISPR-Cas system is a natural biological memory device. From an engineering perspective that’s actually quite nice, because it’s already a system that has been honed through evolution to be really great at storing information.
CRISPR-Cas functions as the database of the body, documenting all past pathogen attacks and then copies the DNA of invading viruses so that any new bacteria can more effectively fight pathogens.
CRISPR locus of the bacterial genome gathers and stores chronological records of the bacterial viruses that have survived, along with its ancestors and then becomes more efficient at recognizing and cutting down the same viruses, should they try to attack again.
When those same viruses try to infect again, the CRISPR-Cas system can recognise and eliminate them.

To build their microscopic recorder, the researchers modified a piece of DNA called a plasmid, giving it the ability to create more copies of itself in the bacterial cell in response to an external signal.

According to the researchers, when this hacked bacteria is swallowed by a patient, they can then record any changes that take place in the digestive tract, and document any and all unprecedented views of things that have been previously inaccessible. The modified bacteria may likewise monitor changes in the surrounding areas without any disruptions.

There has been a growing body of evidence linking gut bacteria with several body conditions. In 2016 a research showed an association between gut bacteria and Parkinson’s disease. Gut bacteria has also been linked to other conditions such as chronic fatigue and multiple sclerosis. Since there are so many possible connections between gut bacteria and diseases, these new tools and methods can analyse the complexity of the stomach and intestines in order to provide invaluable data for medical purposes.

Manushi Chhillar Crowning Miss World 2017 gives Credence to ‘India is Home to World’s Most Beautiful Women’

India’s Manushi Chhillar won the coveted Miss World 2017 title at a glittering event held at Sanya in China on Saturday, 18 November 2017; 17 years after Priyanka Chopra won the title in 2000. She competed against 118 contestants from various countries. Miss World 2016 winner Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Del Valle gave away the crown to the winner. Andrea Meza, Mexico was the 1^st runner up and Stephanie Hill, England the 2^nd runner up. Chillar also won the Beauty with Purpose award.

Born to Dr Neelam Chhillar & Dr Mitra Basu Chhillar on 14 May 1997 at Sonipat in Haryana, Manushi studied in St. Thomas School in New Delhi, a brilliant medical student at Government Medical College for Women in Sonepat was crowned Femina Miss India title in June 2017. Manushi is a trained Indian Classical dancer and enjoys painting.

In the question and answer round, Manushi was asked: “Which profession deserves the highest salary and why?” She replied: “I think a mother deserves the highest respect. I don’t think it’s just about cash but love and respect she gives to someone. She is the biggest inspiration in my life. Mother should get the highest respect.”

This is India’s Sixth Miss World title which was won for the first time by Reita Faria in 1966. Then Aishwarya Rai won it in 1994, Diana Haydon in 1997, Yukta Mookhey in 1999; and Priyanka Chopra in 2000 was crowned Miss World and Miss World Continental Queen of Beauty-Asia & Oceania.

Venezuela is the only other country to have won the six Miss World crown in 1955, 1981, 1984, 1991, 1995 and 2011.

Miss World is the oldest running international Beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley’s widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant.

India is home to World’s most beautiful women and had a hat-trick in the International Beauty Pageants in the year 2000 with three wins – with Dia Mirza winning Miss Asia Pacific, Priyanka Chopra winning Miss World and Lara Dutta winning Miss Universe.

Miss Universe title was won for the first time by an Indian Sushmita Sen in 1994 and then Lara Dutta won it 2000.

Miss Asia Pacific title was won by Zeenat Aman in 1970, Dia Mirza in 2000 and Tara Anne Fonseca in 1973.

Miss Earth title was won by Nicole Faria in 2001 and she is the first Indian to win the Miss Earth pageant since its inception in 2001. She won the crown in December 2010 and is the only holder of the title for India.

BrahMos Air Launch Missile Fired from Su-30 MKI Aircraft

BrahMos air version anti shipping missile was successfully fired on 22 November 2017 by Indian Air Force from its frontline Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft off the Eastern Coast. The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the ship target. Crew comprising Wg Cdr Prashant Nair and Wg Cdr KP Kiran Kumar test fired the missile while the chase aircraft was flown by Sqn Ldr Angad Pratap and Gp Capt Badrish N Athreya. With this test India has completed tests of the cruise missile triad for land, sea and air variants. IAF is the first Air Force in the world to have successfully fired an air launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category.

BrahMos missile, that was air launched, is a 2.5 ton supersonic air to surface cruise missile with ranges of more than 400 kms.
BrahMos missile provides Indian Air Force a much desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target be in sea or land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.
Capability of the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30 aircraft gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the ocean and the battle fields.
IAF was totally involved in the very complex integration on the aircraft including mechanical, electrical and software modifications on aircraft.
IAF engineers undertook software development of the aircraft while the HAL carried out mechanical and electrical modifications on aircraft.
Optimization of Transfer Alignment of the inertial sensors of the missile development was one of the major challenges overcome by scientists of RCI, DRDO.
IAF flight test crew with its rich experience ensured smooth integration.
IAF, DRDO, BAPL and HAL with their dedicated and synergetic efforts have proven the capability of the nation to undertake such complex integrations on its own.
Indian Navy with its dedicated support by way of ensuring availability of the target and a large number of monitoring ships to ensure range safety clearance made possible the successful firing of the missile.

BrahMos missile is named after two rivers, the Brahmputra and the Moskva. BrahMos Aerospace Limited, a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia under BrahMos Aerospace, is responsible for designing, developing and producing the missile.

APJ Abdul Kalam had initiated the signing of an agreement with Russia in 1998 for the BrahMos missile. The missile was inducted into the Navy on 28 June 2006; Army acquired it on 21 June, 2007 and the maiden flight of the submarine variant of BrahMos was successfully test-fired from a pontoon off Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal on 20 March 2013, marking a Global first in the Vertical Launch of the supersonic cruise missile from an underwater platform.

Manmohan Singh wins Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Development & a New International Economic Order

Dr Manmohan Singh, Born in 1932, Former Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Governor of Reserve Bank of India will be the recipient of 2017 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, as announced by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust on the eve of Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary. This year is Indira Gandhi’s birth centenary; she was born on 19 November 1917.

The international award named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, instituted in 1986, comprises of a cash prize of ₹25 lakh and a citation, is accorded annually by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust to individuals or organisations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom. The 1^st prize in 1986 was awarded to Parliamentarians for Global Action, the International Organisation of Parliamentarians. In 1987 Mikhail Gorbachev former Soviet Union Leader received this award; other previous recipients include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel, and organisations such ISRO; and in 2015 it was awarded to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

A jury headed by former President Pranab Mukherjee came to a decision on the award in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order.

According to a statement from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, “The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is awarded to Manmohan Singh for his leadership of the country and his achievements during the momentous 10 years from 2004 to 2014, for his contributions to the cause of economic and social development, for improving India’s stature in the world and its relationship with the neighbours and the leading nations of the world, and for his dedication to the security and well-being of ordinary citizens regardless of their faith, caste, region or language.”

Manmohan Singh had played a pivotal role as Reserve Bank of India, Governor, and Finance Minister in PV Narasimha Rao Government.

Pollution is a Winnable Battle

Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health released a report on 19 October 2017 on the first ever global analysis of impacts from all forms of pollution that include air, water, soil, and occupational pollutions; exploring economic costs and social injustice that aims to elevate pollution issue squarely into the international development agenda, ready for solutions. Input was provided under the umbrella of the Global Alliance on Health & Pollution by major global actors, including World Bank, UNEP, UNDP, European Union, and dozens of bilateral and international organizations. According to the analysis economic costs of pollution are enormous. The biggest increases in pollution related deaths have been recorded in India and Bangladesh and India tops the world in pollution-related deaths accounting for 2.5 million followed by China with 1.8 million deaths, of the total 9 million world-wide in 2015. The authors of the report aim to end neglect of the issue across the political spectrum, and mobilize the will, resources, and the leadership needed to confront it.

Key findings of the Lancet Commission report are:

Pollution is no longer an isolated environmental issue. It affects health and well-being and has immense economic and social implications.
Pollution is linked to an estimated nine million deaths each year worldwide, equivalent to one in six or 16% of all deaths – three times more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined; and fifteen times more than all wars and other forms of violence. It kills more people than smoking, hunger and natural disasters. In some countries, it accounts for one in four deaths.
Pollution causes most of these deaths due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Air pollution, including ambient air pollution which is outdoor air pollution comprised of gases and particulate matter; and household air pollution that results from the burning of wood, charcoal, coal, dung, or crop wastes indoors and ambient ozone, is the biggest contributor, linked to 6.5 million deaths in 2015.
Water pollution, such as unsafe sanitation and polluted water sources, is linked to 1.8 million deaths as a result of gastrointestinal diseases and parasitic infections.
Workplace pollution including exposure to toxins and carcinogens is linked to 0.8 million deaths from diseases such as such pneumoconiosis in coal workers, bladder cancer in dye workers, and asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other cancers in workers exposed to asbestos.
Finally, lead pollution is linked to 0.5 million deaths that result from high blood pressure, renal failure, and cardiovascular disease caused by lead in adults.
Almost 92% pollution-related deaths occur in low and middle income countries, and in rapidly industrializing countries, such as India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Madagascar and Kenya.
Children face the highest risks because small exposures to chemicals in utero and in early childhood can result in lifelong disease and, disability, premature death, as well as reduced learning and earning potential.
As countries develop and industrialize, the type of pollution and the related health problems they face, change. For example, water pollution and household air pollution are more common in early stages of industrial development, causing higher rates of pneumonia and diarrheal diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
Deaths associated with water and household air pollution, have reduced from 5.9 million deaths in 1990 to 4.2 million in 2015.
However, types of pollution associated with industrial development, such as ambient air pollution (including ozone), chemical, occupational pollution and soil pollution, have increased from 4.3 million (9.2%) in 1990 to 5.5 million (10.2%) in 2015 as countries reach higher levels of development.
The Report reveals pollution’s severe and underreported contribution to the Global Burden of Disease and uncovers the economic costs of pollution to low- and middle-income countries, and compares the costs of inaction to the costs of available solutions.
Report throws light on the burden that pollution places on health and economic development, and suggests cost-effective pollution control solutions and strategies.
Report stresses that human activities including industrialization, urbanization, and globalization, are all drivers of pollution.

Welfare losses due to deaths and disease from pollution equate to US$4.6 trillion each year, which is equivalent to 6.2% of global economic output. Proportionately, low-income countries pay 8.3% of their gross national income to pollution-related death and disease, while high-income countries pay 4.5%. In the United States, each dollar invested in air pollution control has returned an estimated $30 (USD) in benefits (range, $4 – $88) since 1970. Higher IQs and increased productivity from removing lead from gasoline has returned an estimated $200 billion (range, $110-$300 billion) each year since 1980 ($6 trillion total). The claim that pollution control stifles economic growth and that poor countries must pollute to grow is false.

Transition toward a circular economy will reduce pollution-related disease and improve health. Decoupling development from the consumption of non-renewable resources will minimize the generation of pollution and other forms of waste by recycling and reuse.

The report is a clear signal to governments to put pollution prevention high on the national priority and tackling pollution must be integrated into the planning process. Robust implementation of laws and regulations, and engagement with the private sector, supporting city-level initiatives, should be at the core of the effort to tackle pollution. Reducing pollution, improving people’s well-being and ensuring economic growth requires coordinated effort by all.

Despite all the above impacts of pollution, the report analyses that pollution is not the inevitable consequence of economic development, and applying similar legislation and regulation from high-income countries to low- and middle-income countries could help to improve and protect health as countries develop and is optimistic with the view that the pollution is a winnable battle.

Dragon & Elephant Should Dance Together

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping Summit held on Tuesday September 5, 2017; on the side-lines of BRICS Summit hosted by China in Xiamen city of China; was a turning point in positive trend in Sino-Indian relations. The two leaders had their first substantive, constructive and forward looking bilateral meeting; after the Doklam standoff, which had put ties between the two countries under strain. The two nuclear powers were engaged in a bitter, military confrontation in a disputed and strategically important area, Doklam, in the Himalayas during the period June 16 to August 28, 2017, after China’s People’s Liberation Army moved a large earthmoving unit on to the Doklam plateau and started constructing a road towards Doka La.

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had their first substantive, constructive and forward looking bilateral meeting on Tuesday September 5, 2017 on the side-lines of BRICS Summit hosted by China in Xiamen city of China; after the Doklam standoff, which had put ties between the two countries under strain. The two nuclear powers were engaged in a bitter, military confrontation in a disputed and strategically important area, Doklam, in the Himalayas during the period June 16 to August 28, 2017, after China’s People’s Liberation Army moved a large earthmoving unit on to the Doklam plateau and started constructing a road towards Doka La.

Indian Prime Minister Modi said that, “We held fruitful talks on bilateral relations between India and China”.
Chinese President Jinping called for putting its bilateral relationship with India on the “right track” during the meeting stating that, ‘healthy, stable’ China-India ties are necessary, as India and China are neighbours and also two of the world’s largest and emerging countries.
China is prepared to work with India to seek guidance from the five principles of Panchsheel: Jinping told PM Modi
Panchsheel treaty was a Jawaharlal Nehru-proposed agreement between India and China. It was signed on April 29, 1954. The five principles are:
Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Mutual non-aggression
Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs
Equality and cooperation for mutual benefit
Peaceful co-existence
“Peace and tranquillity are a pre-requisite for border security… Defence and security (personnel) must maintain strong contact and cooperation so that such differences don’t occur again,” informed India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, immediately after the above meeting.
“As agreed at Astana, we would not let differences become disputes. At a time the world was changing, we would ensure that India-China relations were a factor of stability.” The foreign secretary was referring to the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi on the side-lines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kazakhstan.
“It is natural that between large powers there would be areas of difference and it should be handled with mutual respect”.
Two leaders had “laid out a very positive view of the relationship and had a detailed discussion about the mechanisms to establish new ways to prevent such incidents from recurring which could help both countries really go forward in that direction”.
In China, there is a growing perception that a closure of the Doklam crisis has opened a fresh round of calibrated bonding between the two countries. China has become “more attentive to India’s concerns in the fight against terrorism,” as reflected in the BRICS joint statement of Monday September 4,2017; where, for the first time, China, at the highest level, did not object the listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e –Taiba as international terror groups.

This especially important meeting sent a critical message of reconciliation and cooperation to the world in a timely manner. The outcomes were beyond expectations. Both leaders agreed to start a new chapter. An important consensus has been reached to enhance mutual trust, focus on cooperation, and manage differences. Both leaders also agreed to conduct closer high-level exchanges, revitalise a series of dialogues and mechanisms, as well as promote youth and educational cooperation, according Luo Zhaohui, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to India, who had the privilege of participating in the meeting. President Xi emphasised that, “we should be each other’s development opportunities rather than be threats to each other”, “dragon and elephant should dance together”. PM Modi shared the same idea and believes that the political effects of “making one plus one eleven” can be achieved in China-India relations.

Interlocutor for Sustained Dialogue to Bridge Trust Deficit in J&K

Centre’s announcement of appointment of Dineshwar Sharma, a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, as a “Special Representative” or the Interlocutor to initiate “sustained dialogue process” with all stakeholders within Jammu and Kashmir is a welcome and a logical step forward in the Centre’s outreach to the people of the state that began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicating a change of track in his Independence Day declaration, “Na goli se na gaali se baat banegi gale-lagaane se”, which was followed up by Home Minister Rajnath Singh having extensive meetings with more than 80 delegations of various hues with an intent to reach out to the common people of the State during his four-day visit to the valley in September 2017. According to Rajnath Singh the government has gone for the Interlocutor as there had been suggestions from across the political spectrum that the government should hold dialogue with all cross-sections.

However, the Centre’s appointment of the interlocutor will not have an impact in the military operations in the troubled State, and it is clear that the government does not see talks as an alternative to cracking down on militancy. According to the Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat, the government’s policy on Kashmir has worked and the government is speaking from a position of strength. The situation in Kashmir has improved from the beginning of this year and “infiltration has come down.” This year, the Army had major successes in eliminating militants including the top leadership, among the highest in recent years. So far, 173 militants were killed by security forces this year and 29 were apprehended in comparison to 150 killed last year. At the same time the Army has also suffered significant casualties in Cease-Fire Violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control.

The interlocutor represents an option given to the separatist to sue for peace, if they find the pressure too hard to bear; not a policy shift to remove the pressure on them after ‘Operation All Out’ against militants and National Investigating Agency (NIA) raids on separatists and others to choke terror funding and hawala operations.

Having got the security situation under manageable control with a sustained and focused counter-insurgency, counter-terrorist operations, the Centre, in consultation with J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, felt the time was right to make the conciliatory move. Mehbooba finds in the move compliance with her own wish to have a political process rather than merely a military crackdown.

Interlocutor Sharma is known to be a low profile but effective official with wide-ranging experience in the security domain as well as knowledgeable about the core concerns in J&K. With the rank of Cabinet Secretary, he has been given the appropriate status and the requisite authority to deal with various government departments to initiate measures that would be required to signal the government’s commitment towards development of Jammu and Kashmir. His appointment is for a dialogue with the elected representatives, various organisations and concerned individuals in the state of Jammu and Kashmir to understand the legitimate aspirations of the wide cross sections of society, particularly the youth in Jammu and Kashmir and communicate them to the State government and the Centre. Sharma’s main task is to bridge the trust deficit that currently exists between the people and the state government in J&K.

Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram Sails with Indigenisation Initiatives

“Vikram”, Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS), Lead Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), entirely developed in-house by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and India’s first-ever such defence craft to be built in an Indian private shipyard in a record time frame, was launched by Smt. Jyoti Murthy in the presence of V S R Murthy, Additional Director General, Indian Coast Guard, Vice Admiral B. Kannan (Retd), MD & CEO L&T Shipbuilding, and other dignitaries; at a function at Kattupalli Shipyard near Chennai on Friday 27 October 2017. This is the first of a series of seven such OPVs for which Rs 1,432-crore contract had been awarded by the Ministry of Defence in March 2015. As per the contract, the first vessel was slated to be delivered in March 2018 and subsequent vessels at intervals of 6 months. “Vikram” is likely to be commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard in April 2018 after completion of extensive trials of equipment and machineries, and would be deployed for day and night surveillance patrol, search and rescue and in pollution response operations in exclusive economic zones of the country:

Vikram is equipped with modern weapon and state-of- the-art radars, navigation and communication systems capable of operating in tropical conditions
OPVs are long-range surface ships capable of coastal and offshore patrolling, policing maritime zones, control & surveillance, anti-smuggling & anti-piracy operations with limited wartime roles
About 60% components of the ship were sourced from domestic suppliers
Vikram will have Integral Twin Engine Helicopter which will enhance its operational, surveillance, search and rescue capabilities
The ship is fitted with one 30 mm automatic gun and two 12.7 mm guns with Fire Control System (FCS)
It has 3.6 m Draught, i.e. the distance between the surface of the water and the lowest point of the vessel
Vessel’s Displacement tonnage is 2,140 tonnes. It is the weight of the ship, measured indirectly by measuring the water displaced by the hull of the ship up to the waterline
Its Range is 5,000 NM. NM is the distance that can be covered by the ship without stopping for refuelling. NM or Nautical Mile is a unit of measurement defined as 1852 meters. Historically, it was defined as one minute of latitude, equivalent to one sixtieth of a degree of latitude.
Vessel is built to attain sustained Speed of up to 26 knots. Knot is the measurement of speed at sea. One knot is 1.852 km/hr
The vessel is 97m long &15m wide

The entire design and construction processes of the Vessel have undergone dual certification from the American Bureau of Shipping and Indian Registrar of Shipping and the project is being overseen by the Indian Coast Guard’s resident team at Kattupalli shipyard

Demonetisation a Decisive Battle & Multi-Dimensional Success

On the first anniversary of demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it a historic and multi-dimensional success. He tweeted: Demonetisation was a “decisive battle” 125 crore Indians fought against black money and won. He said the move formalised the Indian economy and ensured better jobs for the poor, while cleansing the financial system. Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister, stated that November 8, 2016 would be remembered as a watershed moment in the history of Indian economy. This day signifies resolve of this Government to cure the country from “dreaded disease of black money”. The country has moved on to a much cleaner, transparent and honest financial system. “The next generation will view post November, 2016 national economic development with a great sense of pride as it has provided them a fair and honest system to live in.”

According to Jaitley, One of the important objectives of demonetisation was to make India a less cash economy and thereby reduce the flow of black money in the system. The reduction in currency in circulation by Rs. 3.89 lakh crore from the base scenario reflects that this intended objective has been met. “With the return of Rs.15.28 lakh crore in the formal banking system, almost entire cash holding of the economy now has an address. It is no more anonymous”.

People have got multiple benefits from demonetisation like reduced rate of interest on loans, decrease in real estate prices and increase in income of urban local bodies etc., besides following impacts:

Increase in tax compliance:

New Taxpayers increased by 26.6% from 66.53 lakh in 2015-16 to 84.21 lakh in 2016-17.
Number of e-returns filed increased by 27.95% from 2.35 crore in 2016-17 to 3.01 crore in 2017-18.
56 lakh new individual tax payers have filed their returns till August 5, 2017 compared to about 22 lakh last year.

Cleaner, transparent and honest financial system:

The leads gathered due to data collected during demonetisation have led to the identification of 2.97 lakh suspect shell companies, of which 2.24 lakh companies struck off.
Many of these companies are found to have more than 100 bank accounts; one company had 2134 accounts.
58000 bank accounts belonging to 35000 companies caught transacting Rs. 17000 crore after demonetisation
Undisclosed income admitted and detected: Rs.29213 crore, close to 18 per cent of the amount involved in suspicious transactions
73 lakh cases where cash transactions did not match tax profile are under investigation of tax authorities. Suspicious transactions under the radar range from Rs 1.6 lakh crore to Rs 1.7 lakh crore.
Cash deposits of 3.68 lakh crore in 23.22 lakh accounts under suspicion
The tax administration and other enforcement agencies are using big data analytics to crack down on suspicious transactions.

Push towards formalisation and workers welfare:

Direct transfer of salary into bank accounts of workers
01 crore employees enrolled with Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
3 crore workers registered with Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) thus bringing social security and health benefits to them.

Cleaner economy for the nation:

High denomination notes brought down by about 6 lakh crore
In August 2017, number of digital transactions stands at 138 crore as against 87 crore in August 2016, an increase of 58%.
From having a total of 15.11 lakh POS machines till demonetisation, more than 13 lakh machines added just in 1 year.
110 crore transactions, valued at around Rs.3.3 lakh crore and another 240 crore transactions, valued at Rs.3.3 lakh crore were carried out through credit cards and debit cards.

Decisive blow to terrorism and naxalism due to lack of funds:

Stone-pelting, shooting & bombing incidents in Kashmir reduced by 75%
Incidents of Left Wing Extremism down by more than 20%
62 lakh counterfeit notes detected.

It is unambiguously clear that the decision has been a resounding political success. Jaitley termed the move as “historic”, being “ethically correct and morally correct,” adding that such a move “could not but be politically correct.” It sent out a clear message that the government is determined to clamp down on black money and is prepared to take unorthodox measures for that. The most impactful consequence of demonetisation is the significant formalisation of the economy. It has pushed the system towards the formal economy including the informal sectors. The formal economy GDP has gone up. There is a significant long-term trend. As we get more formal there will be two aspects, the formal economy will be more productive and by logic it will be more transparent. Also getting much better on the global indices like the World Bank Index, as transparency improves and the productivity levels improve the Indian economy’s positioning from a global basis improves.

The short-term gains have been in the destruction of huge amounts of black money overnight. Black money has never helped the economy. Also, since it is a parallel economy, the common man doesn’t benefit from it. Demonetisation provided the sure fire way to bring maximum cash into the tax net, as the only way the cash in hand could be saved was to deposit the same.

Demonetisation has also given the tax department a bird’s eye view of deposits based on which evaders can be investigated and penalised. Another short-term gain is the enhanced security our country is experiencing.

Nobel Prize in Literature to Kazuo Ishiguro a Citizen of the World

Nobel Prize in Literature for 2017 has been awarded by the Swedish Academy (Svenska Akademien) on Thursday 5 October 2017, to the British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, “who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world“.

According to Sara Danius, of the Swedish Academy, “If you mix Jane Austen and Kafka, you have Ishiguro, but you have to add a little bit of Marcel Proust into the mix, and then you stir, but not too much, and then you have his writings. He’s developed an aesthetic universe all his own. He is exploring what you have to forget in order to survive in the first place as an individual or as a society.”

Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan in 1954. Reaction to the news of his Nobel win in his native Japan has been celebratory.
His family moved to England in 1960 for his father’s work as an oceanographer.
Ishiguro is married to Lorna MacDougall, from Scotland. They have one daughter.
He earned a master’s degree in 1980 and became a British citizen in 1982, the year he published his first novel, “A Pale View of Hills,” which is set in Nagasaki after the atomic bombing.
Ishiguro is an admired fiction writer who sits comfortably alongside such Nobel Laureates as Toni Morrison* and Alice Munro** (See Notes below).
Ishiguro has been a finalist for the Man Booker Prize four times.
Ishiguro won the Booker in 1989 for “The Remains of the Day,” which in 1993 was adapted into a movie in the same name, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Movie was produced by Ismail Merchant & John Calley and nominated for eight Academy Awards.
Ishiguro plays the guitar and writes songs too!

Nobel Prize in literature, awarded since 1901, is now worth about $1 million. According to the terms set down by founder Alfred Nobel, the prize recognizes a writer who has “produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction.”

Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 was awarded to American musician Bob Dylan, a surprising decision that sparked criticism from some quarters. In 2015, the Belarusan investigative journalist Svetlana Alexievich won the prize. Ishiguro’s win marks the Nobel’s return to a more traditional literary author. Ishiguro said, “Bob Dylan was my creative hero when I was growing up. When he won the Nobel, I was ecstatic. It’s an added thrill that I follow directly in his footsteps.”

While some Nobel Prize winners have been known for works of arid intellectuality, Ishiguro is after something else entirely. “I’m not a message person,” he said. “It’s been important to me that my work works through the emotions. I went into this because I wanted to share emotions with people, rather than intellectual ideas. Yes, I use words, and ideas certainly go in there, but, for me, the reason I want to write novels instead of essays is because I want to say, ‘This is how this one person over here feels’, and you recognize it. That’s an important thing to do, a simple thing to do, to try to connect with each other.”

His work is marked by a sense of painful loneliness. Joyce Carol Oates has called Ishiguro “one of our most eloquent poets of loss.” Reviewing his most recent novel, “The Buried Giant,” former Book World editor Marie Arana wrote: “His sensibility is neither Japanese nor English; it stands apart from any one culture. If these books have anything in common, it is that an unspoken secret is entombed at each core, an elusive truth that is inferred, but that no one quite understands or can fully articulate.”

Jonathan Yardley, a Book Critic, wrote in 2005 about his novel, “Never Let Me Go”, as “the best Ishiguro has written since the sublime ‘The Remains of the Day.’ It is almost literally a novel about humanity: what constitutes it, what it means, how it can be honoured or denied.”

Sonny Mehta, Ishiguro’s editor at Knopf, said: “I’ve always thought that Ish is an amazing writer. The breadth of his work as a novelist is astonishing. We’ve had the good fortune of being his publisher since ‘The Remains of the Day,’ a book that readers around the world have come to cherish. This acknowledgment from the Swedish academy is the most wonderful news.”

Ishiguro remains very much a citizen of the world, conscious of the way people suffer alienation everywhere. “I love living in London,” he recently told the Guardian, “but if I had to write a ‘London novel,’ I’d portray the capital as a vampire sucking the blood out of the rest of the country. I’m amazed people in Britain accept so quietly this lack of regional balance.”

Notes:

*Toni Morrison, born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio, is an American novelist who won Nobel Prize in Literature 1993 and Pulitzer Prize 1988 for ‘Beloved’, a novel that was adapted into film of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey & Danny Glover in 1998. Morrison received PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement inn American Fiction in 2016. Among her other best known novels are ‘The Bluest Eye,’ ‘Song of Solomon’ and ‘A Mercy.’

**Alice Munro was born on 10 July 1931 in Wingham, Ontario in Canada; was the second Canadian-born, writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature for her work as “master of the contemporary short story” in 2013, after Saul Bellow, and the 13th woman. Munro won 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work.

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