7 MAY 2014

Ø  Minors above 10 can now open and operate savings bank accounts independently. Granting this permission, the Reserve Bank of India said the move would help financial inclusion and bring uniformity among banks in opening and operating minors’ accounts.

Ø  The Election Commission has directed Chief Electoral Officers to instruct Returning Officers (ROs) to provide a copy of the video CD of the entire process of counting of votes polled in the general election to candidates or their agents free of cost.

Ø  Weeks after India signed the agreement for building units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, New Delhi, at a meeting in Colombo, sought to allay fears in Sri Lanka over the safety of the project. The safety of the plant, among other issues, came up for discussion at the meeting on comprehensive civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries held in Colombo. According to government sources in New Delhi, the two countries discussed possible collaboration in the field of nuclear medicine. Sri Lanka reportedly also sought training in the field, covering certain specialisations. Indian High Commission officials in Colombo said Amandeep Singh Gill, Joint Secretary (Disarmament), Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation at the second round of talks, held as a follow-up to the initial round of discussions held in New Delhi in 2012.

Ø  The government has introduced a draft notification that bans India from importing animal-tested cosmetics. If the ban is implemented, India will become Asia’s first animal cruelty-free cosmetics zone.

Ø  The Obama administration signed a 20-year lease on its military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the only U.S. installation on the continent and a staging ground for counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Somalia.

Ø  A section of fertilizer companies has objected to a proposal by the fertilizer department for immediate stoppage of gas from KG-D6 to non-urea manufacturing units. The objection comes after reported move by the Department of Fertilizer Joint Secretary Satish Chandra writing to Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Joint Secretary P. K. Singh to stop supply of 0.5 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) gas to phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizer manufacturers and allocate all the sanctioned 31.5 mmscmd gas (for the sector) for manufacture of urea only. The affected companies include Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizer (RCF), Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC) and Deepak Fertilizer and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. (DFPCL).