1 MAY 2014

Ø  Impressive to high voter turnout marked polling in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections. While Punjab recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 73 per cent, the day’s second highest after 81.35 per cent in nine seats in West Bengal, Gujarat witnessed a 62 per cent turnout, a quantum jump from 47.92 per cent in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Ø  Mr. Amar Sharma, an amateur astronomer from Bangaluru, gets his name among the few Indians after whom asteroids have been named. The others being mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, founder of Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Vainu Bappu, physicist from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research M.G.K. Menon, former director of IIA J.C. Bhattacharya, father of India’s space programme Vikram Sarabhai and his dancer-wife Mrinalini Sarabhai.

Ø  India replaced Japan as the third largest economy in 2011, say data released by the International Comparison Program, hosted by the Development Data Group at the World Bank Group. The U.S. remained the largest followed by China.

Ø  Sixty-seven-year-old Congress leader Digvijaya Singh took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce his relationship with a woman journalist (Amrita Rai) and his plans to marry her, after the issue went viral on the social media.

Ø  The Obama administration has retained India on the ‘Priority Watch List’ of nations in the U.S. Trade Representative’s ‘Special 301’annual report on global intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes, on the basis that there were “growing concerns with respect to the environment for IPR protection and enforcement in India.” Arguing that there were “serious questions” regarding the future of the innovation climate in India across multiple sectors, the USTR’s closely-watched report urged India to address concerns such as online piracy and ‘çamcording incidents’ affecting the film industry, to promote predictability in patent laws including the question of section 3(d) of India’s Patent Act and tackle “concerns” stemming from Section 84 of the Act and the Intellectual Property Appellate Board’s support for the grant of compulsory licenses. Three major U.S. companies — Boeing, Abbott and Honeywell — have come in support of India’s IPR regime, which has come under attack by American pharma sector for alleged violations of global norms.

Ø  Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) has signed an agreement with Yemen’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy for setting up solar photovoltaic (PV)-based power plants at different locations in the Gulf nation. The agreement was signed by BHEL Chairman and Managing Director B. Prasada Rao and Yemen’s Minister of Electricity and Energy Saleh Hassan Sumie. The move will help India’s flagship power equipment company to further consolidate its position in the overseas market. BHEL is presently executing a 400-MW gas turbine-based power plant, Marib Phase-II, in Yemen. Setting up solar PV plants in Yemen is a step in reinforcing BHEL’s commitment to providing green power solutions.