42% workers are now ‘middle-class’: ILO report

The middle class is rising in a big way, especially in developing countries. About 42 per cent of workers, or nearly 1.1 billion, are now ‘middle-class’, living with families on over Rs 225 ($4-13) per person per day, says a new ILO report.

By 2017, the developing world could see the addition of 390 million more workers in the middle class, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report says.

“Over time, this emerging middle-class could give a much needed push to more balanced global growth by boosting consumption, particularly in poorer parts of the developing world,” said Steven Kapsos, one of the authors of the Global Employment Trends 2013.

Employment growth

However, the report raises a red flag for employment growth in 2013-14, even if there is a moderate pick-up in output growth.

It estimates that the number of unemployed worldwide may rise by 5.1 million to more than 202 million in 2013 and by another 3 million in 2014, half-a-million of which will be youth.

“The indecision of policy-makers in several countries has led to uncertainty about future conditions and reinforced corporate tendencies to increase cash holdings or pay dividends rather than expand capacity and hire new workers,” says the report.

GDP growth

The ILO report noted that in India, growth in investment contributed 1.5 percentage points to the overall GDP growth over the past year, down from 1.8 percentage points in 2011, while the contribution from consumption declined to 2.8 per cent versus 3.2 per cent the previous year.

Job creation, labour productivity

For countries such as India, the report called for focus on both employment creation and labour productivity.

It noted that in India, even where jobs were created, a large number of workers remained in agriculture (51.1 per cent), in the urban informal sector or in unprotected jobs (contract) in the formal sector.

The share of workers in manufacturing was just 11 per cent in 2009-10, no higher than a decade earlier.

Like many regions, growth has failed to deliver a significant number of better jobs in the formal economy.

Formal employment

Most notably in India, the share of formal employment has declined from around 9 per cent in 1999-2000 to 7 per cent in 2009-10, in spite of record growth rates, it said quoting a study.

Using a comparable definition for the latest year available, the report said the share of workers in informal employment in the non-agricultural sector stood at 83.6 per cent in India (2009-10), 78.4 per cent in Pakistan (2009-10) and 62.1 per cent in Sri Lanka (2009).

Significantly, the report noted that unemployment rates increased rapidly for high-skilled workers, especially women.

“Indians with a diploma suffer particularly, with unemployment rates reaching 34.5 per cent for women and 18.9 per cent for men during 2009-2010,” it added.

RBI hikes FII limit in Govt securities, corporate bonds by $5 billion

The Reserve Bank today hiked FII investment limits in Government securities and corporate bonds by $5 billion each, taking the total cap in domestic debt to $75 billion, with a view to bridging the current account deficit.

Further liberalising the norms, the three-year lock-in period for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchasing Government securities (G-Secs) for the first time has been done away with, RBI said.

The sub-limit of $10 billion for investment by FIIs and long-term investors in G-Secs stands enhanced by $5 billion, it said.

The limit in corporate debt, other than infrastructure sector, stands enhanced from $20 billion to $25 billion, RBI said.

With an increase of $5 billion in each of the two categories, FIIs and long-term investors can now invest $25 billion in G-Secs and $50 billion in corporate debt instruments, taking the total to $75 billion.

The earlier FII investment limit in G-Secs was $20 billion and for corporate debt it was $45 billion, including a sub-limit of $25 billion for infra bonds.

RBI further said: “Residual maturity condition shall not be applicable for the entire sub-limit (in G-Secs) of $15 billion but such investments will not be allowed in short-term paper like Treasury Bills, as hitherto”.

The overall FII limit of domestic debt is distributed through a host of categories across Government, corporate and infrastructure debt.

Long-term investors include sovereign wealth funds, multilateral agencies, pension funds and foreign central banks.

Government, which is battling a high current account deficit (CAD) — the gap between inflows and outflows of foreign funds — is trying to attract more foreign funds into the country.

The CAD touched a record high of 5.4 per cent in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal.

In order to check the outflow of foreign currency, the Government recently hiked the import duty on gold and also took steps to encourage mutual funds to park their gold in deposit schemes offered by banks.

As a measure of further relaxation, the RBI added that it had dispensed with the one-year lock-in period on holding infrastructure bonds.

Developing nations top global FDI index for first time in 2012: UN

Developing countries overtook their traditionally wealthier counterparts in attracting foreign direct investment for the first time last year, as industrialised nations bore the brunt of an 18 per cent plunge in FDI flows, the UN’s trade and investment think tank Unctad has said.

Last year, global foreign direct investments — when a company in one country invests for instance in production facilities or buys a business in another country — came in at $1.3 trillion, down from $1.6 trillion in 2011, Unctad’s Global Investment Trend Monitor showed.

In a dramatic shift on the global investment scale, developing countries reaped $680 billion of that, or 52 per cent of the total.

“For the first time in history, developing countries have attracted more investment than developed countries,” James Zhan, who heads UNCTAD’s investment and enterprise division, told reporters in Geneva.

The shift was largely prompted by evaporating investments in crisis-hit developed economies like the United States, European nations and Japan, which accounted for 90 per cent of the $300 billion-decline in global FDI last year, Zahn said.

“We thought we were on the way to a steady recovery, (but) the recovery has derailed,” added Zahn, who pointed out that global investment figures had turned upwards in 2010 and 2011. But amid growing market uncertainty, they fell last year to near the historic low of $1.2 trillion which came during the worst of the global financial crisis in 2009.

The US, which remains the world’s largest recipient of foreign direct investment, saw its FDI inflows slip more than 35 per cent to $147 billion, while Germany saw its net investment level plunge from $40 billion in 2011 to just $1.3 billion last year, mainly due to large divestments there.

“Developing countries also suffered from the global decline,” Zhan said, “but the decline was much more moderate.”

Asia, which raked in 59 per cent of all FDI to developing countries, saw its inflows dip 9.5 per cent, with China, the world’s second-largest recipient of such investments, registering a 3.4-per cent drop in 2012 to $120 billion.

South America and Africa meanwhile registered positive growth in FDI flows last year.

Last year’s overall drop in investments came despite the fact that the global economy grew 2.3 per cent in 2012, while worldwide trade was up 3.2 per cent.

Going forward, Unctad expects FDI flows to rise to just $1.4 trillion this year and to $1.6 trillion in 2014 — still far below the 2007 pre-crisis level of some $2.0 trillion in investments.

IMF: World Economic Growth Rate would be 3.5 percent in 2013

nternational Monetary Fund (IMF) in at update to World Economic Outlook (WEO) on 23 January 2013, projected that the global economic growth rate would be 3.5 percent in 2013. The update mentioned that the global economic growth would strengthen gradually as the limitations of the economic activities have seen a positive note with the start of the year.

Some of the major projections of IMF are

•    Global growth would reach 3.5 percent in 2013, from 3.2 percent in 2012
•    Crisis risks would narrow down but the downside risks will remain crucial
•    Main sources of growth would be the emerging markets, developing countries and the United States

Reasons that may be beneficial in betterment of the economic growth

•    The actions taken in policy making have been responsible in reducing the risk of the acute crisis situation faced in the area and the United States.
•    Actions in terms of plans taken by Japan would also be beneficial in pulling it out from a short-lived recession kind of condition.
•    The policies made by the emerging economies of the world in terms of policy making is has also shown positive outcomes with a good start in the year

The report also described that if the risks of crisis doesn’t materialize, then the expected targets of growth may be crossed and can be stronger then that is projected.

Thing that can show an impact, the growth or result into the downfall

•    Fiscal tightening, if crosses an excessive limit in United States it may have an adverse impact on the economic growth
•    Long-term stagnation of the euro-area would also have an adverse impact

Situations that hinted towards improvement in economic conditions

The economic conditions of the world had shown a positive movement in the third quarter of the 2012 and this was change brought by the performance displayed on the economic front by the emerging economies of the world as well as United States. The borrowing cost of the countries in Euro Zone was marginally better than expected but it also identified some of the weaknesses in the core Euro area. Japan was under the effect of recession in the second half of 2012, which had shown positive signs of improvement in the running year.

Forecasts and the Expected Changes

•    In terms of Euro Zone, IMF managed to downgrade its forecast as this economic situation of the region may contract a bit n 2013.
•    The report also observed slight improvement in the financial conditions of the banks and governments of the Periphery economies, occurred due to the policy actions undertaken by them but these economies has yet not improved in terms of the borrowing conditions in private sector.
•    In terms of United States, the forecast remained broadly unchanged to that of the of October 2012 WEO to 2 percent, but predicted that the support offered to the financial market would support the growth in consumption in the country
•    In terms of Japan, the near-term outlook has also remained unchanged regardless of the recession witnessed by the country in recent past and it’s expected that the monetary easing and incentive package would boost the growth in the country
•    The report projected that the developing economies and the emerging market of the world would grow by 5.5 percent in 2013 and it will remain almost same as it was predicted in October 2012 WEO.
•    In case of China, the IMF has forecasted a growth rate of 7.8 percent, 8.2 percent and 8.5 percent in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. In 2011, it witnessed a growth rate of 9.3 percent.

Findings of the report and threats

•    Following the findings of the report in detail, it’s projected that the Euro Area is one of the biggest threat to the Global Economic Outlook as it poses a downside risk to the economy. If the momentum of reforms is not maintained in the Euro Area than the risk of prolonged stagnation would increase
•   To move ahead of the risk factor, adjustment programs from the periphery countries should continue and be supported by the firewall developments for prevention of the contagion and take steps towards banking union and fiscal integration, the report stated.
•   In case of United States, excessive fiscal consolidation in short term should be avoided and it should raise the debt ceiling and should move ahead to identify a credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan, that focuses towards entitlement and tax reform.
•    In context of Japan, the report identified that it should find out a medium-term fiscal strategy as lack of such an strategy can bring risks to the stimulus package to it
•  The developing nations and emerging economies need to make fine policies to tackle the of rising domestic imbalances

The overall decrease in the forecast for the global economic growth rate is the result of the economic slowdown witnessed by the world due to the Euro Zone Crisis in existence. The Euro Zone crisis had an adverse impact on the export and import of the world, leading to great set-backs to the emerging economies of the world as well as the developed economies. Before, Euro Crisis the world also suffered from the recession that hit the United States of America in 2009. Japan also witnessed an economic slowdown after the Tsunami that hit the country in 2011 and affected the Fukushima nuclear Plant.

IMF forecasted Indian Economic Growth Rate to be 5.9 percent in 2013

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 23 January 2013 projected that the economic growth rate of India in 2013 would be 5.9 percent. The IMF also projected an increased growth rate of 6.4 percent for 2014 looking forward towards the gradual strengthening of the global expansion in India’s context.

In its update at the World Economic Forum (WEO), the IMF also forecasted that the global economic growth rate would be 3.5 percent, little higher than the 3.2 percent estimated earlier. As per the report of IMF, uncertainty in policy making and supply bottlenecks were one of the most visible causes that hampered the growth aspects of the economies like India and Brazil. It also stated that the scopes of easing the policy to any further extent have also gone down in these countries.

About International Monetary Fund (IMF)  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 188 countries that works for fostering the global monetary cooperation, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, facilitate international trade, secure financial stability and reduce poverty around the world. Since the end of World War II, the IMF had been playing a major role in shaping the global economy. The IMF has played a part in shaping the global economy.

Inventory Control Methods

There are many methodologies used for inventory control, here are those methods, along with their benefits and limitations:

Min-Max System: In this method, after a careful examination of you inventory needs, you set two lines – one at the top and one at the bottom of how much of each product you must keep on hand. When you reach the bottom line, you order enough of that product so you won’t go above the top line. As long as you’re somewhere in the middle, you’re okay.

Benefit: This method is simple and it makes the task of balancing inventory fairly straightforward.

Limitation: Its simplicity could lead to trouble because you might order too many products or run out before they arrive.

Two-Bin System: In this system, you have a main bin and a backup bin of products. You normally use the main bin, but once you run out and need to reorder, you use the backup bin to fill orders until the new products are received.

Benefit: You’ve always got spare products for emergencies and sudden rises in demand.

Limitation: The products in the backup bin could spoil or become obsolete unless they are cycled into the main bin every now and then. Also, you need to keep an eye on your carrying costs.

ABC Analysis: Separate your products into three groups: A, B and C. Expensive items go into A, less-expensive items go into B, and small parts and other inexpensive items go into C. This way, you can organize your data and know how long it will take to order different parts and products, based on which group they’re in.

Benefit: Now this is more like it. This system doesn’t set rigid standards on how many products to keep on hand; it simply tells you how long it will take to order those products. You can do the rest with the help of inventory control software.

Limitation: It still requires a lot of work to maintain healthy inventory levels.

Order-Cycling System: Forget constantly checking your inventory. This system lets you do inventory checks at set intervals (e.g. 30 days) and reorder products that are likely to run out by the next check.

Benefit: If you’re REALLY good at inventory management, you might be able to pull this off. It certainly doesn’t require as much time as other methods.

Limitation: This system is risky and costly! Doing a physical inventory check every 30 days or so will get expensive quickly. And there’s no margin for error on ordering the right amount of products at each check.

There you go! Now you can decide which of these inventory control methods will work best for your organization, depending on your size, products and needs.

GREENING RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

PSU banks advised to boost pace of recovery and manage NPAs

What Government's Advice to PSU?
PSU banks advised to boost pace of recovery and manage NPAs The Government has advised public sector banks to take new initiatives to boost the pace of recovery and manage their non-performing assets (NPAs), Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena revealed.

Responding to a question in Lok Sabha on Friday, Meena said that public sector banks were facing an emergency situation due to a substantial increase in their NPAs.

NPA FLUCTUATION:
Bad loans of these lenders jumped to Rs 1.70 lakh crore as of September 2012, from Rs 94,000 crore in 2011.

Meena said that the all public sector lenders had been directed to constitute a board level committee for monitoring recovery of loans.

Speaking on the topic, he added, "The government has recently advised PSU banks to take new initiatives to increase the pace of recovery and manage NPAs."

India's ongoing macro-economic situation is being held responsible for the increase in public sector banks' NPAs.

On actions taken by the government to arrest soaring NPAs, the Minister of State for Finance said that nodal officers were being appointed for recovery of loans, special drives were being conducted for recovery of loss assets, the system of post-dated cheques was being replaced with electronic clearance system, and early warning systems were being put in place.

WHO Recommendation on Health Sector

As per sample registration system (SRS) report 2010, Under-five mortality rate is 59 per 1000 live births which translates into 1.5 million deaths of the children below age of 5 years and Neo-natal mortality rate stands at 33 per 1000 live births which translates into 0.87 million neonatal deaths in the country.

India does not rank lowest in public health care spending. As per World Health Statistics 2012 of WHO, India ranks 17th among 194 member states in ascending order of General Govt. Expenditure on health as a percentage of total expenditure on health. Public expenditure on Core Health (both plan and non-plan and taking the Centre and States together) was about 1.04 per cent of the GDP during 2011–12.

There is no specific WHO recommendation in this regard. However, draft 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) document envisages increasing total public funding, plan and Non-Plan on core health from 1.04% of GDP in 2011-12 to 1.87% of GDP by the end of the 12th Plan. 

Increase in Diabetic Patients

According to diseases burden study on Non Communicable disease by ICMR in 2006, the prevalence of Diabetes was 62.47 cases per thousand. Under National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) launched in 2010, screening of 1.29 crore persons has been done of which 9.67 lakh persons (7.48%) are suspected for diabetes. As per the programme, opportunistic screening of persons above the age of 30 years for diabetes & hypertension in various health care facilities viz. District Hospitals, Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Sub-Centres is being undertaken in 100 Districts in 21 States. Each district in the programme is being supported with Rs.50,000/- per month for essential drugs and consumables for Diabetes and Hypertension. Diabetic patients are treated in the Government healthcare delivery system through Community Health Centres and District Hospitals besides Government Medical Colleges and Tertiary Health Care Institutions. NPCDCS, in addition to early diagnosis of persons and their referral to higher facilities for appropriate management also promotes awareness generation for behaviour and life style changes. Drugs are also made available through other Central and State Government programmes/ schemes. Needy persons are also supported through Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant. Extension of the NPCDCS programme to cover all districts in the country in a phased manner is envisaged during the 12th Five Year Plan. Government of India is also giving support for strengthening /upgradation of Medical colleges/ District Hospital which includes services for non communicable diseases including diabetes. 

Data on Girl Child Sex Ratio

The Ministry has noted with concern the continuing decline in Child sex ratio as per Census 2011. Although the overall sex ratio has increased from 927 in 2001 to 940 in 2011, child sex ratio (0-6 years) has declined from 927 females per thousand males in 2001 to 914 females per 1000 males in 2011 as per Census 2011. The data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation also points to a decline in child sex ratio in the ( 0-6 yrs) group.

As per UNICEF’s Coverage Evaluation Survey-2009 (CES-2009), 39% of children between 12-24 months in the country are not fully vaccinated with all vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme.

Reasons for partial or no immunization include the following: (i) Did not feel need (ii) Not knowing about vaccine (iii) Not knowing where to go for immunization (iv) Time not convenient (v) Fear of side effects (vi) Do not have time (vii) Vaccine not available (viii) Place not convenient (ix) ANM absent (x) Long waiting time (xi) Place too far (xii) Service not available.

The Government of India has declared year 2012-13 as the year of intensification of Routine Immunization. Various steps have been taken under Immunization programme to increase coverage and these include need based Central funding and commodity assistance to States, support for logistics such as Alternate Vaccine Delivery (AVD), capacity building of service providers at all levels, strengthening reporting and management of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), Strengthen supportive supervision at all levels, involvement of ASHAs for social mobilization of children, carrying out immunization weeks in North Eastern States, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Intensified IEC/Behaviour change Communication, increasing community participation and strengthening the follow up of children through mother and child tracking system etc. 

Scheme for Providing free Sanitarypads in Rural areas

Use of sanitary napkins during monthly periods is poor in rural areas.  Links are clear between poor menstrual hygiene and urinary & reproductive tract infections.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene among adolescent girls in the age-group of 10 to 19 years in rural areas in 2010. The key objectives of the scheme are to increase awareness among adolescent girls on Menstrual Hygiene, to increase access to and use of quality sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in rural areas and to ensure safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environmentally friendly manner.

In the first phase, the scheme has been initiated as a pilot to cover 25% of the country’s adolescent girl population (aged 10 to 19 years), i.e., 1.5 crore girls in 152 districts across 20 States, with centralised supply by the Government of India in 107 districts and through Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the remaining 45 districts. Implementation has currently started in 107 districts, covered under central supply. Under the scheme, sanitary napkins are sold to adolescents girls at the rate of Rs. 6 per pack of six napkins, i.e. Re. 1/- per sanitary napkin by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) every month under NRHM’s brand, ‘Freedays’. 

Drop in Child Sex Ratio

As per Census 2011, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) has declined from 927 females per thousand males in 2001 to 914 females per 1000 males in 2011.

The State/UT Government have the key responsibility to effectively implement the PC & PNDT Act. Government of India on its part, is committed to strengthen effective implementation of the PC & PNDT Act to address the declining child sex ratio in the country and has been providing technical, financial and IEC support to the States. Further Government has been regularly monitoring the progress of implementation of the Act.

As an outcome of increased efforts by the Government, Quarterly Progress Reports are now reflecting an improved compliance of the provisions of the Act by States/ UTs. So far, a total of 556 cases have been registered against violation of the PC & PNDT Act in last two years as against only 739 cases between 1995 and 2010. There are 111 convictions secured so far and medical license of 33 convicted doctors have been suspended by respective State Medical Councils.

The measures include the following:

1. Regular meetings of Central Supervisory Board and other statutory bodies under the PC & PNDT Act

2. Scaling up of inspections of ultrasound facilities by the by National and State Inspection Committees and action against violations of the Act

3. Comprehensive awareness generation activities through print and electronic media, community mobilization by Non Governmental Organizations, involvement of religious leaders, women achievers etc in the campaign against discrimination of the girl child.

4. The Government is rendering financial support to the States and UTs for Information, Education and Communication campaigns and for strengthening structure for the implementation of the Act under the National Rural Health Mission.

5. Sex Ratio to ascertain the causes, plan appropriate Behaviour Change Communication campaigns and effectively implementation provision of the PC & PNDT Act.

Government of India accords high priority to the issue of missing children on account of sex determination and will continue to implement a multi-pronged strategy to curb female foeticide in the country. The steps include awareness generation and legislative measures as well as programmes for socio-economic empowerment of women. The Government will continue to take necessary steps for effective implementation of the PC & PNDT Act with the co-operation of the states. 

Rise in Part-Time Work

The World Bank in its World Development Report 2013 has pointed out that part time and temporary wage employment are now major features of industrialised and developing countries and that in India, the number of temporary workers that employment agencies recruit grew more than 10 percent in 2009 and 18 percent in 2010. Part time work is also on rise in India with the share of informal workers in total employment in organized firms grew from 32 per cent in 2000 to 52 per cent in 2005 to 68 per cent in 2010. The propensity of firms to hire contract workers has increased over time for all firms employing 10 or more workers.

The World Development Report 2013 has also pointed out that when workers move from low-to-high-productivity jobs, output increases and the economy becomes more efficient. Stringent regulations that obstruct such labour reallocation do not sit on the efficiency plateau and affect economic efficiency. Government has taken several steps to provide decent opportunities of livelihood to all those who seek employment. A provision under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 has been made to provide at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled work. Government is taking all necessary steps to enhance the employability and employment in the country by promoting growth of labour intensive sectors such as Construction, Real Estate and Housing, Transport, Tourism, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Information Technology Enabled Services and a range of other new services. Besides, Government is also providing self employment opportunities in the rural areas through National Rural Livelihood Mission.

Approach Paper to the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) suggests focus on faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth for creating adequate livelihood opportunities. Such job opportunities could come from faster expansion in agro-processing, supply chains, steady modernization in farming, maintenance of equipment & other elements of rural infrastructure and the services sector.  

Nationalised Bank for EPF Deposit

Provident Fund contribution of private sector labourers covered under the Employees` Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 is deposited in the State Bank of India.

As per the provision of Para 52(1) of the Employees` Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, all monies belonging to the Fund shall be deposited in the Reserve Bank of India or the State Bank of India or such other Scheduled Banks as may be approved by the Central Government from time to time. No other Scheduled Bank has been approved by the Central Government for this purpose. 

Rural /Urban Unemployment gap

Reliable estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Last quinquennial labour force survey was conducted during 2009-10. As per the most recent survey, estimated unemployment rate on usual status basis in rural areas was 1.6 percent for rural areas as compared to 3.4 percent for urban areas in the country during 2009-10. Unemployment rate is found to be higher in urban areas than in rural areas in the country.

In order to tackle the problem of rural and urban unemployment, Government of India has been making constant efforts to provide gainful employment through normal growth process and implementing various employment generation programmes, such as, SwaranaJayantiShahariRozgarYojana (SJSRY); Prime Minister`s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP); National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) besides entrepreneurial development programmes run by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. 

Poland to host next round of UN climate talks

Poland will host the next round of UN climate talks in 2013.

The decision to hold the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Warsaw, capital of Poland, in 2013 was adopted by negotiators from over 190 countries here in the capital of Qatar, Doha, at the 18th session of the COP.

Poland was chosen on the basis of geographical rotation as next year marks the turn of East European countries to host the annual UN event.

Poland, which relies on carbon-intensive coal for nearly all its power needs, has already voiced concern that greater action on climate will harm its economy.

At the latest UN climate conference in Doha, negotiators extended the Kyoto Protocol, the only internationally binding treaty on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, to the end of 2020.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

5 banks launch Aadhaar-linked bank account

Five banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank,  launched Saral Money bank account product which allows customers to open an account using Aadhaar card as address as well as identity proof.

The RBI has recently directed banks to accept Aadhaar letter as the proof of both identity and address if the address provided by the account holder is the same as that on the Aadhaar card.

“Through a product like Aadhaar-enabled KYC (Know Your Customer), we are bringing down the cost of account and that makes a product lot more attractive. And it will definitely further the cause of financial inclusion,” Axis Bank Managing Director and CEO Shikha Sharma said during the launch of Saral Money’, which is jointly launched by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and Indian Overseas Bank.

Customers would be able to open a Saral Money banking account by providing Aadhaar letter as the proof of identity and address at any of these banks and the BC (business correspondent) outlets.

“Both for address proof and identity, Aadhaar can be used. To me of course, all of us would change our process and will not require a separate address proof (for opening an account). We needed it because of the regulatory requirement,” Sharma said.

The Visa payment settlement-based Saral Money account would enable the customer to make purchases, send money or receive government disbursements at the existing ATMs, point of sale terminals and proposed micro ATMs.

The service targets currently enrolled 210 million Aadhaar holders. The UIDAI plans to bring 600 million people under Aadhaar fold by 2015.

The first phase of the Saral Money rollout will include Delhi and National Capital Region and others parts of the country would be covered by the end of next year.

“This initiative will not only help the financially undeserved to access formal banking processes, but will also serve as a forerunner for the inclusive applications which we hope to see emerge on the Aadhaar foundational platform,” UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani said.

Visa Group Country Manager of India and South Asia Uttam Nayak said this payment solution specifically targets India’s financially excluded regions and will support cash transfer of subsidies, scholarships and other government disbursements.

Population size and Sex Ratio in 30 most Populated Countries

Country or area	Year	Population (in thousands)			Sex ratio
		Total	Women	Men	Women/100 men
China	2011	1 347 565	647 934	699 631	93
India	2011	1 241 492	600 477	641 015	94
United States of America	2011	313 085	158 524	154 562	103
Indonesia	2011	242 326	121 507	120 819	101
Brazil	2011	196 655	99 910	96 745	103
Pakistan	2011	176 745	86 937	89 808	97
Nigeria	2011	162 471	80 199	82 271	97
Bangladesh	2011	150 494	74 338	76 155	98
Russian Federation	2011	142 836	76 773	66 063	116
Japan	2011	126 497	64 888	61 609	105
Mexico	2011	114 793	58 181	56 612	103
Philippines	2011	94 852	47 285	47 567	99
Viet Nam	2011	88 792	44 886	43 906	102
Ethiopia	2011	84 734	42 562	42 172	101
Egypt	2011	82 537	41 095	41 442	99
Germany	2011	82 163	41 870	40 293	104
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	2011	74 799	36 866	37 933	97
Turkey	2011	73 640	36 916	36 724	101
Thailand	2011	69 519	35 361	34 157	104
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2011	67 758	34 057	33 701	101
France	2011	63 126	32 401	30 725	105
United Kingdom	2011	62 417	31 683	30 734	103
Italy	2011	60 789	31 024	29 764	104
South Africa	2011	50 460	25 458	25 002	102
Republic of Korea	2011	48 391	24 270	24 121	101
Myanmar	2011	48 337	24 517	23 819	103
Colombia	2011	46 927	23 847	23 080	103
Spain	2011	46 455	23 507	22 947	102
United Republic of Tanzania	2011	46 218	23 125	23 094	100
Ukraine	2011	45 190	24 403	20 787	117
SOURCE: UNSD (Upto December 2011)

Female Employees in Central Government

Year	No. of Employees		Percentage of Female employees
	Female	Total
	(Figures in Lakh)
1	2	3	4
1971	0.67	26.99	2.51
1975	0.84	29.70	2.83
1980	1.17	33.21	3.53
1981	1.24	34.07	3.64
1982	1.32	34.78	3.80
1983	1.37	35.42	3.86
1984	1.42	36.14	3.93
1988	2.39	36.99	6.46
1989	2.47	37.48	6.60
1990	2.83	37.74	7.51
1991	2.89	38.13	7.58
1995	2.96	39.82	7.43
2001	2.92	38.76	7.53
2002	NA	NA	NA
2003	2.51	31.33	8.01
2004	3.06	31.64	9.68
2005	2.44	29.39	8.30
2006	3.20	31.16	10.28
2007	2.41	28.00	8.61
2008	3.14	31.12	10.09
2009	3.11	30.99	10.04
Source: Census of Central Government Employees, Directorate General of Employment and Training, Ministry of Labour.                  NA: Not Available.