14th Among 100 Countries: Survey

Mumbai: India enjoys a high rating when it comes to budget transparency practices. It ranks 14th among the 100 countries that were surveyed. Its open budget index score of 68 out of 100 is much higher than the average score of 43 for all countries covered in the Global Open Budget Survey 2012.

The results of the survey were released on Wednesday by The International Budget Partnership (IBP). According to IBP, India’s current score indicates that the government provides significant information on its budget and financial activities during the year, enabling Indian citizens to hold the government accountable for management of public money.

As Gujarat readies itself to hold an event to showcase its business-friendly environment, there is some good news for the state. A report released today shows it replaced Tamil Nadu in terms of freest state in 2011.

The report, co-published by the Cato Institute, Academic Foundation, Indicus Analytics and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, says on a scale of 0 to 1 points, Gujarat scored 0.64 points, followed by Tamil Nadu at 0.56. Tamil Nadu was the freest state in 2009.

Comparing the state-sponsored Global Trade Show 2013 which began on Tuesday as 'Kumbh Mela' of development, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said that six-day mega-trade fare would benefit the future generation of entrepreneurs.

The trade show, which is part of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit (VGGIS) 2013, is spread across an area of more than 1, 00,000 square meters and has participation from more than 1000 companies from 16 countries and various Governments. More than 1.5 million people are expected to visit the Global Trade Show, which is double than its previous edition held in 2011.

The Central Government should act quickly to raise diesel rates to bring them in line with global prices in order to reduce its subsidy bill, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Ranagarajan has said.

“I think we need to cut subsidies’ proportion of GDP... Therefore, there is an imperative need to reduce the diesel subsidies,” Dr. Rangarajan told PTI in an interview.

A leading environmental group working for conservation of flora and fauna has sought intervention of the External Affairs Ministry to put pressure on Pakistan to ban hunting of rare birds, Houbara bustards, which has drastically reduced India's share of their annual winter migration and affected the desert eco-system.

The hunting of Houbara bustards, taxonomically classified as Clamydotis undulata , through falconry in Pakistan has led to an alarming decline in their numbers. The poaching mainly in Sindh province along the international border is not only a cause of serious concern for India but also in violation of wildlife protection laws and international conventions.

London: Rise in sea levels in the future due to the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could be substantially larger than IPCC estimates, according to a new first-of-its-kind study. Researchers from the University of Bristol found that the future rise in sea levels predicted by the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be even greater.

The ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland contain about 99.5% of Earth’s glacial ice which would raise global sea level by some 63m if they were to melt completely.