November 2014

China’s Yan Bingtao Becomes Youngest Player to Win World Snooker Title

November 30, 2014

Yan Bingtao, the 14-year-old prodigy from China, has created history by becoming the youngest player to win the men’s title in the IBSF World Snooker Championship. He defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Sajjad 8-7 in the final match held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Earlier, Yan had defeated 12 time World titles holder Pankaj Advani by 6-4 to storm into the men’s semi-finals.

PM flags off Meghalaya’s first train

November 30, 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged-off the first train from Mendipathar, Meghalaya, to Guwahati. This was an important occasion in the history of Indian Railways, as Meghalaya was being added to the rail network of India for first time. He also unveiled the plaque for a new rail line from Bhairabi to Sairang.

WCCB develops app to track wildlife crimes across country

November 30, 2014

For the first time, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) under Environment Ministry in coordination with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have developed Android based smartphone application that will enable users to report wildlife crimes, from any part of the country using their mobile phones
Features of applications

• This application provides a secure platform for real time exchange of wildlife crime related information between WCCB and relevant stakeholders
• The app allows an individual to report a wildlife crime quickly and efficiently as the lead will be automatically delivered to a designated email id of WCCB.
• The user who reports crime can also remain anonymous and WCCB will be the sole custodian of the collected information.
• Further, no details of the person reporting the crime will be shared without the prior consent of the individual.
• This interactive app has a simple user interface replacing the written reporting and records.
• It is also integrated with digital version of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The updated version will provide regular wildlife crime news alerts and updates on any amendments/notifications related to the Act.

Further, WTI is in consultation with its partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is also trying to develop an application for identification of wild animals which is expected to be integrated in the next version of the present app.
Thus this application may contribute greatly in improving wildlife crime enforcement in India.

Renowned Crime novelist PD James passes away

November 29, 2014

Renowned Crime novelist Phyllis Dorothy James has passed away in Oxford, UK. She was 94. She was referred as queen of crime fiction and well-known for her series of detective novels starring the policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.
About Phyllis Dorothy James 

• Phyllis Dorothy James usually known as PD James was born in Oxford, UK was acclaimed British writer.
• She began her writing career in the 1950s.
• Her first novel ‘Cover Her face’ was published in 1962 which featured the investigator and poet Adam Dalgliesh named after a teacher at Cambridge High School.
• She had held a job in the forensic science department and then the criminal law department until 1979.
• She had gained international recognition in 1980 after the publication of her eighth book, Innocent Blood.
• Many of her detective novels were adapted by television in the UK in 1980s.
• She was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association’s Diamond Dagger award in 1987 for lifetime achievement, and had also received the Medal of Honour for Literature in 2005 by National Arts Club.
• She has over 20 novels to her credit.
• She was British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) governor from 1988 to 1993.

RBI releases final guidelines for the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)

November 29, 2014

Reserve Bank of India issued the final guidelines for the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). It is an integrated bill payment system offering inter-operable and accessible bill payment service to customers through a network of agents, enabling multiple payment modes, and providing instant confirmation of payment.

Key Facts

• It will help consumers pay multiple bills like electricity, telephone and school fees at a single point of transaction.
• The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has been appointed as the nodal body which will set the standards, and also take care of clearing and settlement as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU).
• In the two tiered BBPS set-up, there will be authorised operational units called Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs) with an agent network under the BBPCU.
• RBI has set a Rs 100-crore networth and domestic registration as qualifying conditions for those seeking to be authorised collection agents.
• Participants in the BBPS will include authorised entities such as BPCU, BBPOUs as well as their authorised agents, payment gateways, banks, billers and service providers, and other entities, including authorised prepaid payment instrument issuers.

Thus, BBPS will help track all the payments being made in economy, including cash payments to utilities, schools, and telcos among others.

Mount Aso erupts in Japan

November 29, 2014

Mount Aso, a volcano in southern Japan has erupted. It is the first such eruption in 22 years, causing flight cancellations and prompting warnings to stay away from its crater. This eruption has spewed out lava debris and smoke, shooting plumes of ash a kilometre into the sky.
Earlier, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had reported earthquakes and other seismic activity in late August on Mount Aso.

About Mount Aso

Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It is located in Aso Kuju National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on Kyushu Island. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Mount Aso has one of the largest calderas in the world (25 km north-south and 18 km east-west). The caldera has a circumference of around 120 km.

Centre grants Rs. 444 crore for Sabarmati Riverfront Project

November 29, 2014

The Union Government has granted Rs. 444 crore for the Phase-2 work of the Sabarmati River Conservation Project.  This fund will help to beautify Sabarmati Riverfront Project.
The National River Conservation Director (NRCD) has also given nod for the purification of the Sabarmati River.
As per the approval

• 70 per cent of the cost i.e. Rs. 311.72-crore would be borne by the Centre.
• Remaining 30 per cent i.e. Rs. 132.72-crore will be jointly borne by Government of Gujarat (GOG) and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

This project will be executed as per the provisions of Central Public Health Engineering Environment Organisation’s (CPHEEO) Revised Guidelines.
After the completion of Phase-2 of the River Conservation Project, no untreated or half-treated sewage water could be released into the Sabarmati.
Similarly, industrial waste waters could also be released into the sewage line only after primary treatment as per the provisions.
Earlier, Centre had earlier granted Rs. 90-crore for the Phase-1 of the project under which 22-km of sewage network, two terminal pumping stations and two sewage treatment plants, besides two crematoria and five toilets were constructed.

Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014 passed in Lok Sabha

November 29, 2014

The Lok Sabha has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014. It was passed by a voice vote. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Sikkim) Scheduled Castes Order, 1978.
Amendments

• The bill includes certain communities in the list of Scheduled Castes from Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Tripura. They are

1. Kerala: Pulluvan, Thachar (other than ‘Carpenter’).
2. Madhya Pradesh:
3. Odisha: Amata, Amath, Bajia, Jaggili, Jagli, Buna Pano.
4. Tripura: Chamar-Rohidas, Chamar-Ravidas, Dhobi, Jhalo-Malo.

• This amendment Bill removes a Majhi (Nepali) community from the list of Scheduled Castes in Sikkim.

The bill was first tabled in 2012 but lapsed after the previous Lok Sabha was dissolved and the NDA government again had introduced it August, 2014 in Lok Sabha.

Uttar Pradesh becomes first state in the country to take E-governance route to provide pensions and scholarships

November 29, 2014

Uttar Pradesh has become the first State in the country to take the route of e-governance to provide pension and scholarships to 15 million beneficiaries. Besides, UP has also made commercial taxes department consumer friendly by making almost all payments and registration online.
UP is the first state to integrate the state treasury with the Centre’s Public Financial Management System (PFMS) through. In PFMS the entire pension and scholarship amount are being directly sent to the bank account of the beneficiaries. In PFMS system, the beneficiaries are also alerted about the payment through SMS.

Africa’s first electronic ballot used in Namibia

November 29, 2014

Namibia has become first country in Africa to use electronic voting in their presidential election. For the first time 1.2 million Namibian’s are expected to cast their votes electronically in the country’s 5^th election since independence.
Around 3400 India-made Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for this elections.
In April 2014, Namibian government had purchased these EVM form India’s public sector unit, Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL), Bangaluru.
This purchase was done after, the seven-member delegation from the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) were impressed by the EVM system after they had visited polling stations in Karnataka including Bengaluru, during Lok Sabha polls in April, 2014 17.
Other countries using Indian made EVM’s: Asian countries Nepal, Bhutan have purchased India-manufactured EVMs and using it. Fiji is expected to use Indian EVMs.

India and Mozambique sign MoU for cooperation in oil & gas sector

November 29, 2014

India and Mozambique have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the oil and gas sector for a period of five years.
This MoU seeks cooperation in oil and gas in both upstream and downstream sectors in the areas of enhancing capacity-building, forging closer cooperation between research and training centres and intensifying technology transfer, among others.
The MoU was signed at a meeting held at New Delhi between Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Mozambique’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Oldemiro Julio Marques Baloi.

Background

Earlier, Union cabinet had given their nod on 29^th October 2014 for the MoU between both countries.
Mozambique is strategically located near India and is ideally suited for bringing Liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India at market-determined price. Participation of Indian energy companies in the project will facilitate access to LNG for the growing Indian gas market. This project plans to produce 34 million tonnes of LNG annually from its biggest gas field – the Rovuma Area 1 offshore block of Mozambique.
State-run ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India and Bharat Petroleum Corp already have bought 30 percent stake and will also participate in the LNG project.

70 crore Aadhaar cards generated so far

November 29, 2014

Government has announced that as many as 70.43 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as on November 15, 2014.
It was notified by Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
As per Government

• The Aadhaar saturation level is more than 90 per cent in 9 states and union territories (UTs).
• Between 75 per cent and 90 per cent in another 8 states/UTs.
• In the remaining 12 states/UTs, the Aadhaar saturation level is under 50 per cent.
• Government has allocated 24 states/UTs to UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment and the remaining 12 states/UTs to Registrar General of India (RGI) for enrolment under National Population Register (NPR) process.
• At present, Aadhaar enrolments in the state/UTs not allocated to UIDAI are being undertaken by Registrar General of India under NPR process.

Thailand Parliament votes to ban commercial surrogacy

November 29, 2014

Thailand’s parliament has voted to ban commercial surrogacy. This decision was taken by Thailand’s military Junta which came to power in May, 2014.
A voted draft bill has provision which mentions that anyone profiting off surrogacy will be given a maximum ten year prison sentence. The bill also forbids any middlemen or agencies, receiving any assets or benefits through the surrogacy process
This decision was outcome of outrage that had erupted over the largely unregulated commercial surrogacy industry following allegations that an Australian couple abandoned a baby with Down’s syndrome.
In 1997, commercial surrogacy was supposedly banned by Thailand’s Medical Council. But, the booming surrogacy industry had sprung up in Thailand which had attracted many foreigners.
This industry came under intense scrutiny after a series of surrogacy scandals broke involving foreigners.

WTO approves trade facilitation agreement (TFA)

November 28, 2014

The World Trade Organization (WTO) approved the first world-wide trade deal- Trade Facilitation agreement (TFA). It was approved by WTO’s 160 member nations in Geneva after months of deadlock.
This announcement comes after India and the US earlier had resolved their differences over public stockholding of food in November 2014.
The approval of TFA deal will possibly help to meet a permanent solution for the public stockholding of food in the WTO’s Ministerial Conference 2015 as 160 members agreed to make all efforts to find a permanent solution to the issue.

Summary

The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is the WTO’s first-ever multilateral accord. It was outcome of 9^th Ministerial Conference of WTO for broader reform to boost global trade held in Bali, Indonesia in December, 2013.
The agreement includes provisions for

• Lowering import tariffs and agricultural subsidies: It will make it easier for developing countries to trade with the developed world in global markets.
• Abolish hard import quotas: Developed countries would abolish hard import quotas on agricultural products from the developing world and instead would only be allowed to charge tariffs on amount of agricultural imports exceeding specific limits.
• Reduction in red tape at international borders: It aims to reduce red-tapism to facilitate trade by reforming customs bureaucracies and formalities.

Implications

If this agreement is properly implemented, it may create US$1 trillion worth of global economic activity which may add 21 million new jobs and lower the cost of doing international trade by 10–15 percent.

Centenary Celebrations of Shiksha Mandal Wardha begins

November 28, 2014

On 26^th November 2014, centenary celebrations of national institution- Shiksha Mandal Wardha began. President Pranab Mukherjee was Chief Guest of the celebration function.
Governor of Maharashtra, C Vidyasagar Rao  was also present along with Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways in the Central Government (and a Shiksha Mandal Alumni) Nitin Gadkari .

About Shiksha Mandal

Shiksha Mandal is a pioneer national institution in higher education in Central India. It was founded in 1914, by Jamnalal Bajaj and Shrikrishnadas Jajoo, associates of Mahatma Gandhi, at Wardha for educating the youth of India.
During Independence, this Mandal was a part of the national movement and received support for several national leaders including Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Shri PC Ray etc.
During pre-Independence time, some of its students and faculties were involved in the Quit India movement and for few months during this movement its buildings were seized by the British.
It was also the first institute in India to prepare text books and conduct examinations in Hindi and Marathi at the graduate level.

Government revises target of opening of accounts under PMJDY

November 28, 2014

Government has revised the target for opening of accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) from 7.5 crore to10 crore by 26th January, 2015.
It was announced by Finance Ministry in order to open one account bank account for each household in the country.
According to Finance Ministry

• Till 18^th November 2014, 7.64 crore bank accounts have been opened under PMJDY.
• Out of 7.64 crore bank accounts, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have opened 6.15 crore accounts, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have opened 1.28 crore accounts and private sector banks have opened 0.20 crore accounts.
• In terms of deposits, Rs. 6015 crore has been collected up to 18th November, 2014 under PMJDY. Out of 7.64 core accounts opened, 5.74 crore accounts opened are zero balance accounts.
• Under PMJDY scheme, Madhya Pradesh has achieved more than 90% of the target of opening of accounts and is likely to achieve the target of 100% soon.

Finance Ministry, is also seeking to connect Aadhar card numbers with bank accounts which will help in directly transferring the subsidies to the bank accounts of the desired sections of the society under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana(PMJDY)
PM of India, Narendra Modi had launched the ambitious PMJDY which aims to achieve comprehensive financial inclusion. It provides ‘universal access to banking facilities’ starting with Basic Banking Accounts and RuPay Debit card with inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh and RuPay Kisan Card.
The slogan for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan mission is “Mera Khata – Bhagya Vidhaata”.

India launches E-Visa facility for 43 countries

November 28, 2014

India has launched the tourist visa on arrival facility (VoA) enabled by electronic travel authorization i.e. E-Visa facility. It was launched by Home Ministry and Tourism Ministry.
This system will be applicable for 43 countries and will make travel seamless and hassle-free for foreign tourist in India.
The addition of 43 countries is the first phase of this facility and more countries will be added soon.

Key Facts

• In order to get e-visa facility, foreign tourists will have to apply online at the Web site by uploading their photo and passport and pay a fee online.
• Within 72 hours, the applicant will receive an Electronic Travel Authorization, ETA by an e-mail.
• It will be 30-day permit which will include sightseeing, visiting friends and family, recreation, short duration medical treatment, and casual business visit.
• This facility will be available to tourist twice a year.
• Through this facility, foreign tourists will be allowed to enter and depart from nine airports. They are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa.
• In the first phase e-visa facility will be provided to countries like Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, UAE, Jordan, Kenya, Fiji, Finland, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Oman and Philippines, US, Germany and Israel.
• But Government has barred a few countries from e-Visa Facility like Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Thus, government has changed the current procedure of Visa approval from manual system to IT based system which will benefit of tourists and will bring the revolution in the tourism sector and boost the economy.

Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes dies after head injury

November 28, 2014

Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died after he had suffered a severe head injury due to a bouncer during a match. He was 25. He was in coma for three days following the injury sustained while playing in a Sheffield Shield game in Sydney Cricket Ground.
After this incident, Hughes had undergone emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain after being struck on the head by a ball. The cricket fraternity across the world today reacted with shock and sadness at the sad demise of Phil Hughes.
About Phillip Hughes
Phillip Joel Hughes was an Australian Test and One-Day International (ODI) cricketer. He had played for domestic cricket for South Australia and Worcestershire. He was a left-handed opening batsman who played for two seasons with New South Wales before making his Test debut in 2009 at the age of 20.

Punjab government bans flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes

November 28, 2014

Punjab government has banned the sale of flavoured tobacco and e-cigarettes with immediate effect throughout the state. This decision was taken in at a state-level coordination committee held in Chandigarh  as various firms were bypassing Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 by selling flavoured, scented tobacco and e-cigarettes in the state.
Under the new notification, even e-commerce companies can be booked as e-cigarettes contain nicotine in chemical form.
State-level coordination committee had expressed concern over sale of cigarettes near educational institutions, especially colleges and coaching institutes. They have strictly imposed ban on sale of tobacco within 200 metres of educational institutions.
Thus, Punjab has become the first state in the country to ban e-cigarettes and users of any other electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS). Under these new regulations, promoters will be prosecuted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act for selling unapproved drugs and could end up serving a year in jail.

E-cigarette

It is a battery-powered vaporizer which has the feel of tobacco smoking.  They do not produce smoke like regular cigarette but rather an aerosol (mist), which is inaccurately referred to as vapor. They have a heating element that atomizes a liquid solution known as e-liquid. E-liquids are usually a mixture of propylene glycol, glycerin, nicotine, and flavorings. Using an E-cigarette is called Vaping.

Boxer Manoj Kumar receives prestigious Arjuna Award

November 27, 2014

Boxer Manoj Kumar was awarded prestigious Arjuna Award by Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi. He was awarded this award after winning a High Court case against Sports ministry. Manoj Kumar is 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist.

Case

Earlier, Kapil Dev-led award selection committee had denied Manoj this award, due false belief that he was involved in a doping case.  Instead of Manoj, the committee had recommended name of another boxer Jai Bhagwan for this award.
After this denial, Manoj had approached the Sports Ministry who had assured him that his name would be added to the list in a review meeting. But he was again sidelined by the Sports Ministry.
After he was sidelined, he took the legal route and filed a case in the Delhi High Court against the ministry. He won this case and that led to the ministry accepting his nomination for the award.

About Arjuna Award

• The Arjuna Awards are given by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to sportsperson for their recognition and outstanding achievement in National sports. It was instituted in 1961.
• The award carries a monetary prize of Rs. 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll.
• From the year 2001, the award is given only in disciplines falling under the following categories:

1. Olympic Games / Asian Games / Commonwealth Games / World Cup / World Championship Disciplines and Cricket.
2. Indigenous Games.
3. Physically Challenged Sports

93rd birth anniversary of Dr.Verghese Kurien observed as National Milk Day in Gujarat

November 27, 2014

National Milk Day was observed in Gujarat to mark 93^rd birth anniversary of Dr.Verghese Kurien. It was the first of its kind initiative organized by all dairy majors to celebrate November 26 as National Milk Day in the memory Dr Verghese Kurien.
The idea of celebrating Indian Milk Day was first mooted by Indian Dairy Association (IDA).
Events organized on National Milk Day

• National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), IDA along with around 22 state level milk federation’s including Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul took part in this initiative.
• 200 lakh milk pouches of Amul will carry the National Milk Day’s logo featuring Dr Kurien for a week across the country.
• District level milk unions who are part of Milk federation had organized district level celebrations which were attended by around 10,000 milk producers.
• Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel addressed mega gathering of farmers in a programme organized by Banas Dairy in Palanpur district.
• In Anand district, all institutes founded by Mr Kurien i.e. Amul, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Anandalaya and NDDB participated to celebrate this day.

About Dr.Verghese Kurien
Verghese Kurien was renowned social entrepreneur. He was best known as the “Father of the White Revolution”.
Operation Flood: His ‘billion-litre idea’-Operation Flood which was the world’s largest agricultural development programme, helped to transform India from a milk-deficit country into the world’s largest milk producer.
Milk Co-operatives Movement: He had founded around 30 institutions of excellence (like AMUL, GCMMF, IRMA, NDDB) which are owned, managed by farmers and run by professionals. As the founding chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Kurien was responsible for the creation and success of the Amul brand of dairy products.
Milk powder: Under his chairmanship, Amul achieved key invention of milk powder processed from buffalo milk.
Awards conferred to Verghese Kurien for his contribution are

• 1963- Ramon Magsaysay Award.
• 1989- World Food Prize by World Food Prize, USA.
• 1965- Padma Shri.
• 1966- Padma Bhushan.
• 1999- Padma Vibhushan.

World Milk Day: Globally, 1^st June is annually celebrated as World Milk Day. In 2001, this day was designated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO).
It aims to publicize activities related to milk and milk industries and raise public awareness about the importance of milk and milk products for everyone throughout life.

Lok Sabha passes Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014

November 27, 2014

Lok Sabha has passed the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014. The Bill was passed by voice vote.
The Bill amends the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 for the changing the provision related to appointment of Director of CBI.
The Bill amends the provision in relation to the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and states that where there is no LoP, the Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in that House would be part of the committee for appointment of Director of CBI.
In the present Lok Sabha there is no LoP in Lok Sabha, since no party have the numbers to get the post. Now Congress is the largest Opposition party.
Summary

• Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 constitutes a special investigation police force known as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• Earlier the Act had provision for a three member committee to make recommendations to the central government for appointment of the Director of CBI.
• This committee comprised of Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge nominated by him, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Thus this amendment bill, will pave the way for the appointment of a new CBI Director in December as incumbent CBI Director Ranjit Sinha is to retire on 2^nd December 2014.

Anoop Mishra to be the new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha

November 27, 2014

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Anoop Mishra, will be the new Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha. It was announced by the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. He will have the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary with effect from 1^st December 2014 to 30^th November 2016 or until further orders.

About Anoop Mishra

Mr. Mishra is a former IAS officer of the 1978 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre. He has held several important positions at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
He was the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh for a year with overall responsibility of the State administration, superintendence of law and order and development and infrastructure schemes.
At Centre he has held several important posts like Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, with the responsibility of strategic Ministries of Home, Defence, External Affairs, Atomic Energy and Space and the economic Ministries of Finance and Commerce, besides the Planning Commission.

Supreme Court opines to terminate IPL team Chennai Super Kings

November 27, 2014

Supreme Court while hearing on the Mudgal report Committee probe on IPL spot-fixing case has opine to terminate Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
This hearing was given by two member special bench headed by Justice T S Thakur and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla.
SC hearing

• Disqualification of CSK: The bench mentioned that being Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief and by owning CSK, Srinivasan had breached the provision of conflict of interest. So, CSK needs to be disqualified.
• BCCI not taking any action: The bench has also questioned that BCCI over not taking any action against CSK, Rajasthan Royals -the other team whose owner Raj Kundra was allegedly involved in betting, and their officials on the basis of findings of Mudgal Committee report.
• Fresh Elections of BCCI: The court also suggested there must be fresh election process for the Board. In these elections the people whose names are mentioned in the Mudgal report should not take part. Afterwards newly elected board should decide what actions are to be taken on the basis of findings of the report.

Earlier SC hearing:  SC while hearing on the IPL spot-fixing case probed by the Justice Mudgal Committee had disclosed names of few persons those who had alleged links with this case. They were

• Srinivasan- Former President of BCCI and owner of CSK
• Sunder Raman- BCCI chief operating officer (COO).
• Raj Kundra- Rajasthan Royals co-owner.
• Gurunath Meiyappan- Chennai Super Kings team principal and son-in-law of N. Srinivasan.

About Mudgal Committee
In 2014, SC has constituted Justice Mukkul Mudgal Committee to conduct an independent inquiry over allegations of corruption, betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches.
Members of committee:  Retired Justice Mukkul Mudgal (Head), former Solicitor-General of India L.Nageshwara Rao, former Umpire Nilay Dutta, Deputy DG of Narcotics Control Bureau B.B.Mishra and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
They had submitted its findings in the form of a final Report to the SC in a sealed cover on November 3, 2014.

Labour Laws Amendment Bill, 2011 passed in Rajya Sabha

November 26, 2014

Rajya Sabha has passed Labour Laws Amendment Bill, 2011 which simplifies labour law procedures for establishments employing up to 40 workers. This bill amends the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1988.
The Amendment Bill, proposes to change the original Act of 1988 by

• Increasing the number of laws under which small establishments are exempted from furnishing returns and maintaining registers.
• Amending the definition of “small” establishments to cover units employing between 10 to 40 workers as against the limit of 19 workers at present.
• The seven Acts that are added to the list includes

1. Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.
2. Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
3. Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979
4. Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
5. Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966.
6. Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986.
7. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

• The Bill also adds that the employer may maintain the returns filed and the registers on a computer, computer disk or other electronic media.

Background

• The Act of 1988, defines “small establishments” as any place which employs between 10 and 19 people on any day of the preceding 12 months.  A “very small establishment” is a place that employs nine or less people.
• Under it, these small and very establishments are exempted from furnishing returns and maintaining registers under certain labour laws.
• Small establishments were also exempted from furnishing returns and maintaining registers under certain laws.
• Under the Act of 1988, the establishments were required to furnish returns and maintain registers in a specified format.

Thus this Amendment Bill seeks to widen the earlier Act to more establishments and adds more laws from which these establishments were exempted earlier.

Government approves revival of 7 sick central PSU’s

November 26, 2014

The government has approved revival of 7 sick central PSUs through disinvestment or joint venture route.  These companies have been chosen for revival based on the recommendations of Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE). The sick CPSEs which will be revived include HMT Machine Tools and Tyre Corporation, Tungabhadra Steel Products, HMT Bearings, Richardson & Cruddas Ltd, Central Inland Water Transport Corp and Hoogly Docks & Port Engineers Ltd.
Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) was established in 2004. It is as an advisory body to advise the Government on the strategies, measures and schemes for strengthening, modernizing, reviving and restructuring of public sector enterprises. The Board comprises a Chairman in the rank of Minister of State, three Non-official Members, three Official Members and three Permanent Invitees.  The Board has a Secretary in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.

India and Nepal sign USD 1 billion Power Deal

November 26, 2014

India and Nepal signed an agreement to construct a USD one billion hydropower plant on Arun River.  It aims to generate 900-megawatt of electricity.
Key facts

• India’s state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam will construct the mega power plant.
• It will start generation of power by 2021.
• Nepal will receive around 22 per cent of the power generated from the plant free.
• This project will help to meet some part of Nepal’s power demand as it is grappling with severe power shortage.

Thus by signing this agreement shows that India is has great interest in exploiting the abundant untapped hydropower resources of Nepal as it has vast network of fast-flowing rivers.

Haryana government reduces retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58 years

November 26, 2014

Haryana government has reduced retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58 years.
This decision was taken in cabinet meet headed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. It was also announced that the upper age limit for fresh recruitment will remain 42 years. Earlier, Congress-led Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana had announced to increase retirement age for government staff from 58 to 60 years.
It was a populist decision announced by then Congress government just before the 15^th October 2014 assembly election in the state.

Pakistani writer Bilal Tanweer wins 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize

November 26, 2014

Pakistani writer, Bilal Tanweer has won the 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for his novel “The Scatter Here Is Too Great”. The award carries a cash component of Rs. 2 lakh.
This year’s judges for Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize were authors Amit Chaudhuri, Aatish Taseer and Mridula Koshy (2009 winner of the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize).
For 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, six books were shortlisted. They are

• A Bad Character by Deepti Kapoor .
• The Scatter Here Is Too Great by Bilal Tanweer.
• The Vanishing Act by Prawin Adhikari.
• a cool, dark place by Supriya Dravid.
• The Competent Authority by Shovon Chowdhury.
• The Smoke Is Rising by Mahesh Rao.

All the six books including Tanweer’s have been published by Indian publishers.
About Bilal Tanweer

• Bilal Tanweer was born and raised in Karachi. He is Lahore-based author.
• He has published fiction, poetry and translation in various international journals. In 2011, he was selected for “Granta New Voice”.
• His book “The Scatter Here Is Too Great” underlines the crucial importance of literature in larger cultural landscape. It balances the universality of existential torment with the often horrifying nitty-gritty realities of its location, Karachi.

About Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize
The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize is an award named after journalist Shakti Bhatt, who passed away in 2007. It was set up in 2008 to encourage authors from the Indian sub-continent. 2014 was seventh year of this prize and the prize money was increased to Rs 2 lakhs with support from Priti Paul and the Apeejay Trust.
Other Pakistani writers who have won this prize:

• In 2008- Mohammed Hanif.
• In 2011- Jamil Ahmad.

Government launches Swachh Bharat Kosh

November 26, 2014

Government recently launched the ‘Swachh Bharat Kosh’- a fund that will be utilised to build toilets in schools, rural and urban areas to achieve the objective of cleanliness across the country.
It will seek to attract donations under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from Corporate Sector and contributions from individuals and philanthropists to achieve the objective of Clean India (Swachh Bharat) by the year 2019.

Key facts about ‘Swachh Bharat Kosh’

• Objective: Funds will be used for improving cleanliness levels in rural and urban areas, including in schools. As a top priority, funds will be used to bring out innovative projects and girl toilets.
• Governing Council: It will be under the Ministry of Finance and will be managed by a Governing Council headed by Expenditure Secretary.
• Monitoring: Its functioning will be monitored on quarterly basis by the Finance Minister and by the Prime Minister from time-to-time.
• Activities:

Projects under it will be implemented and carried out by the existing institutions at the state, district, and sub district level and no new institutions would be created.
These funds will finance activities such as construction of new toilets as well as repair and renovation of dysfunctional toilets in rural areas, urban areas, elementary, secondary and senior secondary government schools, aanganwaadis.
It will be also used for constructing water lines to the toilets, training and skill development to maintain hygiene in the toilets as well as other activities to improve sanitation.
Prime Minister himself will acknowledge contributions of over Rs 1 crore made by individuals and of over Rs 20 crore by corporates.

Kathak legend Sitara Devi Passes away

November 26, 2014

Kathak queen and legend Sitara Devi passed away. She was 94. She was living legend and a renowned exponent of the classical Indian dance Kathak and was well known for her own niche style of Kathak.
About Sitara Devi

• Sitara Devi was born in Kolkata in 1920. After her birth she was named as Dhanalakshmi, and called as Dhanno.
• She was renamed as Sitara-the star by her father after she impressed her teachers and the local media with her Kathak performance in a dance drama, ‘Savitri Satyavan’ in Kolkatta.
• Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore described her as Nritya Samragini- the empress of dance, after watching her performance when she was just 16 years old.
• Bollywood career: At the age of 12 she started performing dances in various Bollywood films. She has danced in Bollywood films like Usha Haran, Nagina, Roti, Vatan, and Anjali. In 1957, she performed her last dance in Mother India. She stopped performing dances in movies as it was adversely affecting her passion for excelling in the classical dance Kathak.
• International performances: She has given performances in several parts of India, and in several other countries, including at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1967 and at the Carnegie Hall, New York in 1976.
• Blending the elements of two schools of Kathak: She played important role in blending the elements of two schools of Kathak, one which was developed in Banares (east Uttar Pradesh) and one from Lucknow (Oudh or north Uttar Pradesh) and represented a forgotten era of Kathak.
• Personnel life: She was married to K. Asif, director of Bollywood epic Mughal-e-Azam and then to Pratap Barot.
• Awards: Over the years, she has been conferred a number of awards for her life-time contribution to Kathak. They are

1. 1969- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
2. 1973- Padma Shree.
3. 1995- Kalidas Samman.
4. Nritya Nipuna.
5. 2011- Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the classical dance genre for over six decades.

Kathak, which literally means ‘katha’, is a narrative drama which has evolved out from ancient times. It is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dance.

Indo-China joint military exercise Hand in Hand 2014 concludes in Pune

November 26, 2014

The “Hand-in-Hand 2014”- joint military exercise of India and China for Counter Insurgency (CI) and Counter Terrorism (CT) concluded in Pune, Maharashtra. In the concluding ceremony, defence establishments of both countries agreed to continue such friendship efforts in future.
This joint military exercise provided platform for both nations to join of hands which will help at the global level not only for peace, but also for prosperity.
The exercise had started in Aundh Camp, Pune on 16^th November 2014. It was 12 days exercise between both countries.

 Some facts

• The exercise was planned at the company level with respective battalion headquarters controlling the training. It was supervised by a Joint Directing Panel comprising senior officials of both the nations.
• The training and manoeuvres, were conducted at Aundh Military Cantonment, College of Military Engineering and firing ranges at Dighi, Pune
• In this exercise, Chinese counterpart performed wrestle skills and traditional Chinese martial arts including swordsmanship, sabre-play and Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, while the Indian detachment performed traditional martial arts and saber dance and physical exercise.
• Helicopters of Indian Air Force (IAF) also took active part in the various maneuvers of the exercise.
• On the last day of the session, a joint tactical exercise was conducted where a cordon and search operation was carried out by troops.
• The joint teams of Indian and Chinese army men fought dummy terrorists using modern weaponry, helicopters and water boats.

First Commonwealth Science Conference is inaugurated in Bengaluru

November 25, 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated First Commonwealth Science Conference (CSC) held in Bengaluru. It is organised for the first time in nearly after 50 years. Special guest at the inaugural event was Duke of York Prince Andrew.
This four-day conference is being organised by Royal Society, London and is supported by the Union Government, Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and Bengaluru based Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCAR).
Indian scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Prof C N R Rao, is co-chair of the steering committee of the conference.
Key highlights of summit

• The summit will witness about 500 delegates, including 300 top scientists and 70 research scholars from 30 commonwealth nations.
• In this summit topics covered will include physical sciences, life sciences, mathematics, engineering, climate change, global health as well as science policy.
• Keynote lectures will be delivered by Nobel laureates Sir Paul Nurse and Sir Martin Rees from Britain’s Astronomer Royal. Paul Nurse is president of the Royal Society in London.
• At a special session, Former Indian space agency (ISRO) chairman and Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan, Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy and Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw will share their vision on ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation in India’.
• From India around 300 science graduates and faculty will get an opportunity to participate in the event and listen to renowned scientists and experts presenting their papers and research findings on diverse topics.

Background

• Royal Society: It is science academy of the Commonwealth nations. It promotes development of science and scientific temper among the stakeholders, including policy makers, governments, academia and industry.
• Commonwealth Science Conference (CSC): It aims to

1. Celebrate excellence in Commonwealth science.
2. Provide opportunities for cooperation between researchers in different Commonwealth countries.
3. Inspire young people.
4. Build scientific capability in developing nations within the Commonwealth.

Earlier in 1967, the last CSC took place at Oxford in Merton College. It was small conference and about 80 people had participated in it. Among them half were from Britain and other half from rest of the Commonwealth counties.

Delhi-Kathmandu bus service flagged off

November 25, 2014

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari flagged off the Delhi-Kathmandu bus service from Delhi. This bus service aims to boost trade and tourism and will also strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Nepal.

Key Facts

• The bus will run between Delhi and Kathmandu daily. It will cover the distance of 1,250 km in around 30 hours.
• The bus will travel via the Yamuna expressway to Agra, Firozabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Sunauli and thereafter will enter Nepalese territory to reach Kathmandu.
• This bus service will be a direct one and not pick up and drop passenger anywhere in between the route.
• There is a provision of advance booking for this bus service. The passengers will have to carry proof of identification while purchasing the ticket.

It is the second international bus service by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). First international bus service was Delhi-Lahore service, launched in 1999. In future, Indian Government is also planning to start similar bus services to every neighboring country.

Sarjubala Devi gets Silver medal in World Women’s Boxing Championships

November 25, 2014

Indian Women Boxer, Sarjubala Devi has won Silver medal in the World Women’s Boxing Championships held in Jeju City, Korea.   In the final match of the 48kg division, she lost to Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan by 0-3.
About Sarjubala Devi

• Sarjubala Devi is from  Manipur. She was born in farmer’s family.
• In 2005, she started her boxing career after getting inspired from the success stories of famous Indian boxer Mary Kom.
• She joined boxing at school in 2005. In 2007 she joined a Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centre for boxing in Imphal, India.
• In 2011, she won gold medal in Youth World Women Boxing Championship organised in Turkey.
• She also has won medals in Sub-Junior, Junior Women National Championships and National Boxing Championships.
• In 2012, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) had announced to support her to prepare for 2016 Olympics as she isexpected to be serious medal prospect.

Iran and six world powers extend deadline for nuclear talks

November 25, 2014

The deadline to reach a comprehensive agreement for a Iran’s Nuclear Programme deal with six world powers i.e. P-6  or P-5 +1 countries has been extended to the end of June, 2015 after recent talks in Vienna, Austrian failed.
P-6 countries include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council viz., USA, Russia, China, UK, France and non- permanent member Germany.
Failure in the talks came after intensive five-day diplomatic push in Vienna involving the foreign ministers of Iran, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
It is the second extension this year as Iran and P-6 nations failed to reach any agreement over Iran’s Nuclear Programme deadlock.
Now they have agreed to extend discussions, with the aim of reaching a high-level political agreement by 1 March, 2015 and confirming the full technical details of the agreement by 1 July, 2015.
Summary Background
There is decade long deadlock between Iran and Western countries over the issue of Iran’s Nuclear Programme and safety concerns of uranium enrichment.

• Western Countries allegations: Western countries especially US is alleging Iran, that their Nuclear Programme may be used by them to produce enriched uranium to develop nuclear warheads.
• Iran’s response:  However, Iran has refused the allegations of western countries and has clearly mentioned that it is its sovereign right to continue its nuclear programme to their energy demand. Even they had mentioned that their Nuclear programme is completely peaceful and not for defence purpose.

P-6 countries want Iran to reduce its uranium enrichment programme to make sure it cannot produce nuclear warheads.

UK Government unveils new package of counter-terror measures

November 25, 2014

The UK Government has unveiled new package of counter-terror measures. This new package is part of UK’s new Counter Terrorism and Security Bill.
The counter-terror package includes tough new measures, including a ban on insurance companies covering the cost of terrorist ransoms and stripping teenage jehadis of their passport, to counter the growing threat of terrorism.

Key facts about UK’s Counter Terrorism and Security Bill

• It will ban, UK-based insurance companies covering the cost of terrorist ransoms. The Government hopes that insurance firms and families will be deterred from paying ransoms if the money cannot be claimed back. This will make ransom payments to terrorists, illegal under UK and international law.
• It includes barring jehadists from returning for at least two years in UK and stripping teenage jehadists of their passport.
• Internet companies will be required to store details linking individual users with internet protocol (IP) addresses, and hand them over to police when asked to assist in identifying suspected terrorists and paedophiles.
• Thus, it will also allow the police to force internet service providers to hand over data showing who is using a computer or smartphone at any particular time.
• More than 6,000 people at schools, universities, airports, shopping centres, cinemas and farms across the UK will be briefed by counter-terror officers.

NSA Ajit Doval to be Special Representative (SR) for boundary talks with China

November 25, 2014

NDA Government has named National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval as India’s Special Representative (SR) for boundary talks with China. NSA Ajit Doval role of SR will be to conduct boundary negotiations and strategic consultations with China. This arrangement will be part of NSA’s overall assignment.

Background

• In 2003, India and China had established the mechanism of Special Representatives (SR) to thrash out a resolution to the vexed boundary question and work out a settlement over the disputed 3,500-km border.
• Under it two sides have so far held 17 rounds of talks, making some progress. Indian side is represented by NSA, while Chinese side is represented by a vice minister-level official.
• The last round was held in February, 2014 in New Delhi between the then NSA Shivshankar Menon and Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi.

Earlier in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi during their first meeting on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in Brazil had pledged to resolve the border dispute at the earliest accepting that this has hampered economic ties between the two countries.

Key facts on Border dispute

• India’s stance: India has clearly mentioned that China occupies 38,000 square km of its territory on the Aksai Chin plateau in the west. India has even claimed that Chinese border patrols have been intruding deeper into its side of the border. Many times Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a face-off in the Ladakh sector and other parts.
• China’s stance: China claims more than 90,000 sq km disputed land in the eastern sector of the Himalayas is acquired by India.

India is planning to beef up defences and improve infrastructure along the border with China in eastern and western sectors. But China has expressed concern about India’s plan to build roads and border outposts in Arunachal Pradesh.

Former Union Minister Murli Deora Passes away

November 25, 2014

Former Union Minister and Senior Congress leader Murli Deora passed away after prolonged illness. He was 77. Mr. Deora, had held several important portfolios at local and national level politics during his decades-long political career.

About Murli Deora

• Murli Deora was popularly known as Murli bhai. He was an economics graduate, industrialist and social worker-turned-politician.
• He started his political career after contesting for the civic elections in Mumbai in 1968 and was elected as corporator . He was Mayor of Mumbai from 1977 to 1978.
• Later he was elected to the Lok Sabha four times from Mumbai South, a seat later held by his son, Milind, who is also a former MP and ex Union minister. Currently, he was serving his third term as a Rajya Sabha MP. For 22 years, he was President of Mumbai Congress.
• He was Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas during the UPA-1 regime.
• In 2006, he joined the Union Cabinet shortly before he turned 70 and led oil diplomacy in Myanmar, Algeria and Egypt, and held talks with ministers from Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia and Comoros.
• In November 2007, as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, he successfully hosted the first India-Africa Hydrocarbon Conference and Exhibition.
• After 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he retained the portfolio of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the UPA-2 government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

India and UNESCO ink Letter of intent (LoI) to cooperate in reducing disaster risks

November 25, 2014

India and the UNSECO have signed a letter of intent (LoI) for better cooperation in the field of reducing disaster risks and capacity-building In Earth Sciences. The LoI was signed between Ministry of Earth Sciences and UNESCO in the presence of Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO.

Key facts

• The cooperation between India and UNSECO has been going on for several years now in reducing disaster risks.
• This LoI is considered as historic moment and will help to open up of new vistas of cooperation in not only the ocean-related studies but other areas of cooperation in different fields of scientific activities.
• It will help India to upgrade tsunami warning system and improve the capacity to alert nations about it.
• India has done a considerable research in the field of oceanography and also in terms of disaster management.
• The cooperation is also at the level of universities and institutions. Such cooperation helps in risk reduction especially in situation like tsunami and other natural disaster.

The Winter Session of Parliament begins today: A look at key bills

November 24, 2014

Winter Session of Parliament began on 24^th November 2014. It will continue till 23^rd December 2014 and will have 22 sittings.
In the month-long winter session, NDA government which has promised big reforms in its first budget is looking to push the Insurance Bill as well as the Goods and Service Tax Bill.
A look at key bills

• The Coal Mines (Special Provisions Bill), 2014 – To replace an Ordinance.
• The Textile Undertakings (Nationalization) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2 014 – To replace an Ordinance.
• The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
• The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) Bill, 2014.
• The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
• The Anti Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010
• The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 -With Select Committee
• The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014 as passed by Lok Sabha
• The Labour Laws (Exemption from furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by certain Establishements) Amendment Bill, 2011
• The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2013
• The Merchant Shipping (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013
• The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013
• The National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
• The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
• The Biomedical and Health Research (Regulation) Bill, 2014.
• The Recognition of New Systems of Medicine Bill, 2014.
• The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2014.
• The School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014.
• The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Bill, 2014.
• The Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2014.
• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
• Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014.
• The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2014.

Magnus Carlsen defeats Anand: Retains World Championship

November 24, 2014

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen retained his title of World chess champion by defeating Indian opponent Viswanathan Anand in the 11th round of their title match held in Sochi, Russia.
Carlsen scored 6.5 points after the final match to retain the title by defeating his challenger Viswanathan Anand who had held this championship title from 2007 to 2013.
About Magnus Carlsen

• Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster, No. 1 ranked player in the world and reigning World Chess Champion in classical, rapid, and blitz.
• His peak rating is 2882, the highest in history.
• He became Grandmaster in 2004, at the age of 13 years, 148 days, making him at that time the second youngest grandmaster in history, although he has since become the third youngest.
• On 1^st January 2010, at the age of 19 years, 32 days, he was the youngest chess player in history to be ranked world No. 1.
• In 2013, he was named in the Time magazine list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.

Government to open three new Child helpline Centres

November 24, 2014

Government has decided to open three new child helpline centres in Kolkata, Gurgaon and Chennai which will cover 500 cities and towns to provide prompt help to distressed children across the country.
In 1996, Childline-the 24-hour helpline was started in Mumbai. Currently, it reaches out to 282 locations across India with the help of 543 partners, among which are the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Tata Consultation Services (TCS).
But, it is becoming difficult for the Mumbai centre to attend to all the calls made to the helpline, resulting in many calls getting abandoned. It only covered calls from North and West (India) effectively.
Now by introducing 3 more centres, will help to reduce burden of Mumbai centre and help to cater all calls from children in the South and East. Thus, help to cover entire country effectively.
The three new centres would be nodal bases providing service to the rest of the locations. The service reach of the new centres will be expanded to 500 cities and towns in next two years.
This Childline, can be reached on the number-1098 and so far this year received 38,22,081 calls of which 4 per cent were about missing children.
With all the regional centres in place, the service would become more prominent as anyone can immediately contact the nearest NGO to reach out to the child to provide prompt help.

Two Indians from Kerala conferred Sainthood at Vatican

November 24, 2014

Two Kerala-born Indian Catholics Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Sister Euphrasia have been canonised by Pope Francis at St Peter’s Square in Vatican.
Pope Francis pronounced them as saints at a special mass held at St Peter’s Square, Vatican. The ceremony included a Latin hymn and a recommendation by a representative of the Congregation for the Saints. Earler, in April this year, Pope had cleared their names for sainthood.
With these canonisation of sainthood, the centuries-old Syro Malabar Church, Kerala now has three Saints, the first being Sister Alphonsa, who was declared a saint in 2008 by the Vatican.

About Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara

• Father Kuriakose Chavara lived in the 19^th He was a visionary priest and social reformer whose contributions spread across education, media and social justice.
• He fought for appointing Kerala priests as bishops instead of foreign missionaries and had founded the first Catholic religious congregation for men and women in the country.
• As a social reformer, he believed that intellectual development and education of women was the first step towards overall social welfare.
• He was first to start schools for f weaker sections and introduce the system called “A school along with every church”, which was successful in making free education available for everyone.
• He died in on 3 January, 1871, aged 65.

About Sister Euphrasia

• Sister Euphrasia led a more secluded life, devoted to prayers.
• She was known as a ‘praying mother’ and a ‘saint among nuns’, who, according to followers, had several miracles to her credit.
• She had been a member of the congregation Carmelites of Mother Carmel (CMC), founded by Chavara.
• She died on Aug 29, 1952 at the age of 75 and is buried at Ollur, Thrissur.

To celebrate their sainthoods, prayers and masses were held at churches across Kerala. Christians constitute 23 percent of Kerala’s 33 million population and 50 percent of them are Catholics.

Martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur observed on 24 November

November 24, 2014

Martyrdom Day of 9th Sikh guru, Guru Teg Bahadur was being observed on 24^th November 2014. It was on this day in 1675, Guru Teg Bahadur had sacrificed his life in Chandni Chowk, Delhi on the orders of the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Events organised to observe Martyrdom Day of Guru Teg Bahadur

• In Punjab, main religious congregations were being organised at Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district where Guru’s head was cremated and in the Gurudwaras which are related to the memory of Guru.
• Community kitchens have been set up at many places. Devotees visited the Gurudwaras since morning and continuous gurbani recitation took place.
• A special journey known as “Rin Uttar Yatra’ to pay gratitude to great guru has started from Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar district, Punjab on 23^rd November 2014 and it will conclude at Gurudwara Sis Ganj Delhi.
• Seminars were organized at many places in Punjab and Haryana by the Sikh scholars to apprise younger generation about guru’s sacrifice.

About Guru Tegh Bahadur

Guru Teg Bahadur is also known as Hind Di Chadder- Protector of India. He had sacrificed his life for the unity of the society of that period and to stop religious tyranny under the rule of sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He became the 9th Guru of Sikhs on 16 April 1664, a position earlier occupied by his grand-nephew, Guru Har Krishan.
He had travelled in different parts of the country, including Dhaka and Assam, to preach the teachings of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for resisting the forced conversions of Hindus in Kashmir.

Defence minister inaugurates Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurgaon

November 24, 2014

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has inaugurated the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) located in Gurgaon. It is a joint initiative of Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Bharat Electronics Ltd to improve coastal surveillance and to provide coastal security to avert incidents like the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai.
Key facts about Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC)

• IMAC will be the single point centre interlinking the newly formed coastal radar chain of India. It will be manned by the Navy and function under the National Security Adviser (NSA).
• It is the nodal centre of the National Command Control Communications and Intelligence Network (NC3I Network) and National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA).
• The NC3I will link 20 naval and 31 Coast Guard monitoring stations with IMAC to generate a real-time picture of the nearly 7,500-km long coastline.
• The system currently comprises 46 radars and 30 additional radars are planned to fill all the gaps in coastline security.
• In this system the remote hubs are linked with the centre by high speed optical fibre networks and satellite links- for backup in case of emergency.
• Apart from coastal radars and optical sensors, it also draws information from automatic identification systems fitted on merchant ships and has a comprehensive shipping database of world registers of shipping for analysis of traffic.
• The software on which the coastal surveillance will be carried out incorporates hi-tech features like data fusion, correlation and decision support features thus facilitating better decision making.

Thus, Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) project would go a long way in beefing up the maritime surveillance, thereby, enhancing the National Maritime Domain Awareness Project.

Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh to be declared as Tiger Reserve

November 24, 2014

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given in-principle approval for creation of Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh. The NTCA in this regard has sought a final proposal from the Chhattisgarh state administration.
Guru Ghasidas national park lies between two important tiger reserves- Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh) and Palamau (Jharkhand) and is also contiguous with the Sanjay-Dubri tiger reserve (Madhya Pradesh).
Background

• In June 2011, the proposal to declare Guru Ghasidas National Park as a tiger reserve was proposed by the then Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.
• The proposal was made after the area was surveyed by the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010.
• The survey had clearly mentioned that, though the prey population in the habitat is low at present, it has considerable diversity. Therefore, with good management and protection under Project Tiger, the area has a potential for supporting a viable tiger population along with the Sanjay-Dubri tiger reserve.

At present, Chhattisgarh has three tiger reserves- Indravati, Udanti-Sitanadi and Achanakmar. According to an NTCA, these reserves have 26 tigers as per Tiger census of 2010.

China starts partial construction of Zangmu Hydropower Station

November 24, 2014

China has partly commissioned its Zangmu Hydropower Station- largest hydropower station in Tibet, built on Yarlung Zangbo River- local name of Brahmaputra River. The first generating unit of the Zangmu Hydropower Station went into operation. Its reaming five generating units will start operation after completion this project next year i.e. 2015. China is also planning to build similar type of projects on Yarlung Zangbo River.

Key Facts about Zangmu Hydropower Station

• The Zangmu Dam is a gravity dam currently under construction on the roaring Yarlung Zangbo River.
• It is located 9 km northwest of Gyaca in Tibet- Autonomous Region of China and 3300 metres above sea level on the “roof of the world”.
• The purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production using run-of-the-river technology.
• It is designed to generate 2.5 billion kilowatt hours of power annually and will have a total installed capacity of 510,000 kilowatts upon completion.

India’s concern over these projects

• India fears that these projects could restrict the flow of water in the major river in the riparian regions in India and Bangladesh.
• India also raises concern over these projects as China may control the ability to release the water at times of conflict, hampering flow of Brahmaputra River.
• However, China has mentioned that these are running river projects and not designed to hold water.

Deepak Gupta is new UPSC Chairman

November 24, 2014

Government has appointed former IAS officer Deepak Gupta as a new chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He took over as the chairman of UPSC on 22^nd November 2014 after the tenure of then UPSC chairman Rajni Razdan came to an end.
He is the first chairman of UPSC, appointed by breaking away from the tradition of appointing the top post from the serving members of the Commission.
As per convention, the UPSC chairman is appointed from among the members of the Commission. This time it was the turn of former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Alka Sirohi, to be appointed UPSC Chairman who is working as member in the Commission but instead non-member of commission Deepak Gupta was appointed.

About Deepak Gupta

• Deepak Gupta is a retired IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre of 1974 batch. He is younger brother of former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta.

About Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)

UPSC is constitutional body which conducts the prestigious civil services examination to select IAS, IFS and IPS officers among others. It has been established under Article 315 of the Constitution and consists of a Chairman and ten Members; appointed and removed by President. The chairman and members of the Commission hold office for a term if six years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

At present there are 10 members in UPSC

Alka Sirohi former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, academician David R Syiemlieh, retired IFS officer Manbir Singh, former CBI Director Amar Pratap Singh, former Navy Vice Chief D K Dewan, former Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal, educationists P Kelimsungla and Hem Chandra Gupta, and former IAS officer Chhatar Singh are members of the Commission.

Government clears procurement of 814 artillery guns under buy and make in India policy

November 23, 2014

Defence Ministry has cleared the proposals for acquiring 814 long-range mounted artillery guns in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s buy and make in India policy. The final nod was given by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired for the first time by the new Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Key decisions taken by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

• Out of 814 long-range mounted artillery guns, Army will buy 100 guns off-the-shelf from vendor. The remaining guns will be manufactured within the country.
• DAC also gave nod to addition of 4 more nodes to Indian Air force’s (IAF) Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS). At present, India has 5 IACCS nodes. This system integrates air sensors and radars to protect Indian airspace. The additional four more nodes will help to cover isolated islands thereby providing a security umbrella to the entire country.
• DAC has postponed the decision on a Tata-Airbus joint venture for manufacturing 60 light transport aircraft to replace similar number of ageing Avros. The main reason for postponing Tata-Airbus joint venture was due single vendor has bided for the project.  As per Indian rules, the deal cannot be inked in such a situation.
• DAC has refrained from taking a call on the IAF requirement for 106 more Pilatus trainer aircraft. The IAF has already bought 75 Pilatus aircraft to train new fighter pilots and needs 106 more.

As per the ‘Make in India policy’ the Indian manufacturer will have to tie up with the selected foreign vendor for building the defence artillery guns and other defence related equipment’s in the country.
Some Indian companies like Tata, Kalyani and Larsen & Toubro besides public sector Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have manufactured prototypes of 155mm 52 calibre guns and they are likely to take part in the bid in future for this project.
Three projects under the ‘Make in India’ category have been already cleared by NDA Government. They are

• Six conventional submarines project.
• Light transport aircraft deal.
• 197 light utility helicopter deal.

66th anniversary of NCC observed on 23 Nov, 2014

November 23, 2014

National Cadet Corps (NCC) is celebrated its 66^th anniversary on 23^rd November 2014 with traditional fervour.
23^rd November is traditionally celebrated as the ‘NCC Day’ to mark the function of raising the first NCC Unit at Delhi which was presided over by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru held in 1948.

Event marking this 66^th anniversary

• At headquarters level, the raising day function was marked by paying homage at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate to the martyrs of the Indian Defence forces who made the supreme sacrifice.
• Wreaths were laid on behalf of 17^th Directorate of the NCC, Cadets, Associated NCC Officers and the three services.
• A tree plantation drive was undertaken by the NCC Cadets along with 132 TA Battalion (Eco) Rajput at Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, Chattarpur.
• The NCC raising day is also celebrated in the state capitals, where cadets participate in march past, cultural activities and social development programmes.

About National Cadet Corps (NCC)

The NCC is the Indian military cadet corps with its Headquarters at New Delhi.It is the largest uniformed youth organisation in the world and is open to school and college students on voluntary basis.
In 1948, NCC came into existence after National Cadet Corps Act was accepted by the Governor General.
It is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.
It is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and Universities all over India. The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades.
The officers and cadets have no liability for active military service once they complete their course but are given preference over normal candidates during selections based on the achievements in the corps.
NCC always has been at the forefront of contribution towards social causes and community development activities.

2015 to be celebrated as Year of Water Conservation in India 

November 23, 2014

The year 2015-16 will be observed as water conservation year in India.  Recently, it was announced by the Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti while inaugurating an international seminar on water risk and water stewardship held at New Delhi.
To mark this conservation year, a public movement will be launched. The cooperation of state governments, NGOs, civil society, youth and retired personnel will be taken to meet efforts aimed at conserving water.
As per minister, public movement has become a necessity for conservation of water and river in the country as it is an important element of development

Environment Ministry approves waiver of mandatory green clearances for strategic border roads

November 22, 2014

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given in-principle approval to Union Home Ministry and Ministry for Road Transport and Highways for waiver of mandatory forest and environment clearances for construction of strategic roads and bridges along border.
This in-principle approval by MoEF was granted in order to expedite strategic border projects under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of forest land for creation of border security related infrastructure within five kilometres aerial distance from the International Border.
Earlier, Union Home Ministry had requested MoEF to exempt environment clearance for infrastructure projects falling within 100 km from Line of Control (LoC), Line of Actual Control (LAC) and International Border (IB).
In response to this request, MoEF has allowed diversion of land for setting up of surveillance equipment within 5 km from the International Border and 100 km from LAC.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways also had requested MoEF to give environment and forest clearances at their respective state level in order to expedite these infrastructure projects along the States having borders.
The states mentioned were: Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat.
MoEF gave approval to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways under Forest (Conservation) Act for creation of security related installations for all states having international border except to the state of  Jammu & Kashmir as this Act do not extend to it.

Implications of this decision on strategic border projects

• Paramilitary organisations like Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) are the first line of defence along the IB. This approval will help them to meet their most of installations requirements such as border roads, fencing, Border Outposts, floodlights, surveillance and power infrastructure are required to be created along or near the IB.
• Due to the inhospitable terrain along the LAC, installations of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police deployed along the LAC as first line defence, are required to be created at far away distance from the LAC. Now they can construct strategic installations within 100kms of LAC.
• These strategic projects will help to tackle repeated incursions along LoC, LAC and IB.

US President Barak Obama to be chief guest on Republic Day

November 22, 2014

US President Barack Obama will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on 26^th January 2015. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited him for this occasion. By accepting PM Narendra Modi’s invitation, Mr. Barack Obama has become the first US President to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guest.
This visit of US President to India will help to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership.
This will be US President Obama’s second visit to India during his tenure as the US President.
Last time Mr Obama had visited India in November 2010 during the UPA Government’s regime when Dr Manmohan Singh was the PM.
In 2010, Mr Obama’s stay in India was one of his longest foreign trips, during which he addressed a joint session of Parliament, declared a major policy shift and the support of United States for India’s permanent membership of an expanded UN Security Council.
Earlier Chief guests of Republic Day parade

• 2014- Shinzo Abe (Japanese Prime Minister).
• 2013- Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (King of Bhutan).
• 2012- Yingluck Shinawatra (Then Prime Minister of Thailand).
• 2011- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono(Then President of Indonesia).

India to launch E-Visa Facility for 40 countries

November 22, 2014

Visitors from over 40 countries, including Germany, the US, Israel and Palestine, will soon be able to avail the electronic visa (E-Visa) facility of India. The tourism ministry along with the home ministry will launch the facility on 27^th November 2014.

Key Facts

• In order to get an e-Visa, foreigners/tourists would need to apply on the designated website along with the required fees.
• Within 96 hours of applying on designated website, foreigners will be granted an electronic version of the visa.
• The software arrangements needed for providing e-Visa Facility are now ready and would become operational at nine international airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa.
• As per the government decision, all countries, except a few in the prior list, would be brought into the e-visa regime over the next two years. But Government has barred a few countries from e-Visa Facility like Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
• The countries which currently have Visa on Arrival (VOA) facility in India will also be covered under the new scheme.
• All countries will be included under this facility in a phase-wise manner by 2015. Russia, Brazil, Germany, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, Jordan, Norway and Mauritius, among others, would be getting the e-visa facility in the first phase.

e-Visa facility is expected to give a big boost to foreign tourist arrivals in India and help to trap full potential tourism industry.

India clinches third South Asian Football Federation Women’s Championship

November 22, 2014

India has clinched their third South Asian women’s football (SAFF) championship. This hatric win for India comes after defeating Nepal by 6-0 goals in a one-sided final match held in Islamabad. This is the first time that India has won SAFF Women’s Championship in Pakistan.
Ngangom Bala Devi of India was the star of the match as she scored 4 goals in the final match.
This win cements India’s place as the dominant force in women’s football in the region as they have won all three editions of the championship since it was launched in 2010. In all last three finals of this Championship, Nepal was been India’s companion and was defeated by India.

About South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Cup

The SAFF Women’s Championship is the association football competition of the women’s national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).  SAFF Women’s Championship was established in 2010. The championship is held every two years. In this Championship 8 members compete in the tournament. The SAFF 8 members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha ousted from 2G probe

November 21, 2014

The Supreme Court has removed CBI Director Ranjit Sinha from 2G case investigation and ruled that CBI’s senior most officer will now oversee 2G probe after removal of Sinha from the case.
This judgment was given three members SC bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu and comprising justices M B Lokur, A K Sikri on a plea filed by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation.
However while ruling this decision the SC refused to pass an elaborate order on the issue saying that it would tarnish the image and reputation of the India’s premier investigative agency. After the court’s decision to ousted CBI Director from 2G probe, Additional Director of CBI Rupak Kumar Dutta will now head the CBI probe in the 2G spectrum scam.
R K Dutta is a 1981-batch IPS officer from the Karnataka cadre, and now he is the overall incharge of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the CBI which is probing the 2G cases.

Kotak mahindra Bank to acquire ING Vaisya Bank

November 21, 2014

Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced that it would acquire Bengalaru-headquartered ING Vysya Bank in an all-stock deal. The deal will be final after regulatory approvals, including those from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Competition Commission of India (CCI). The management of the banks expects that the new merged entity will be operational by April 1, 2015.
The acquisition will help Kotak Mahindra Bank to widen its reach in South Indian market and also help in acquiring SME customers as ING Vysya Bank was having stronghold in SME customers. After merger the combined banking entity will have a widespread network of 1,214 branches across pan India.
The deal will make Kotak the fourth-largest private bank in the country in terms of total business. The biggest three private banks are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.

Union Cabinet approves three big power schemes

November 21, 2014

The Union cabinet has approved three major projects for the power sector. They are Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Integrated Power Development Scheme and the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project.

Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS)

• It aims to strengthen the transmission and distribution (T&D) networks, 100 per cent metering urban areas and smarten it with information technology.
• In this scheme IT enablement will help in reduction in AT&C losses, establishment energy accounting /auditing system, improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and improvement in collection efficiency.

Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana(DDUGJY)

• DDUGJY project is based on the Gujarat model of power reforms for feeder separation of agricultural and domestic usage and strengthening of T&D infrastructure in rural areas.
• This scheme aims to help in improving in hours of power supply in rural areas, reducing peak load, improving in billed energy based on metered consumption and providing access to electricity to rural households.

North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP)

• NERPSIP is for six north eastern states viz Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland. It is meant for strengthening of the Intra State Transmission and Distribution System.
• This project will be taken up under a new Central Sector Plan Scheme of Ministry of Power (MoP) and implemented with the assistance of World Bank loan and the budget of MoP.
• Implementation of this project will create a reliable State power grid and improve its connectivity to the upcoming load centres, and thus extend the benefits of the grid connected power to all the consumers.
• It will also provide the required grid connectivity to such villages and towns of the six states, where development of distribution system at the downstream level has been taking place under previous Government of India’s (Gol) sponsored electrification schemes.

These projects are considered as major step towards meeting the NDA government’s national objective of “Power to All” by enhancing access of consumers to grid connected power supply through improving its availability and reliability.  Power to All aims facilitating inclusive growth.

Union Cabinet approves SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation

November 21, 2014

Union Cabinet has given its final nod for signing of SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity) among the SAARC Member States during the forthcoming 18^th SAARC Summit. This Union Cabinet meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
The 18^th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held at Kathmandu, Nepal on 26-27 November, 2014.

Key facts of SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity)

• It will enable greater cooperation in the power sector among SAARC countries.
• It is expected to improve the power availability in the entire SAARC region.
• It would facilitate integrated operation of the regional power grid among member States.

Implications of this framework

• This agreement will boost the implementation of common power grid between SAARC members. Thus help them to share the hydroelectric power generated in North East India to Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries.
• Excess electricity from India and Pakistan can be supplied to electricity deficient Afghanistan.
• Offshore wind projects could be set up in Sri Lanka’s coastal borders to power southern part of India and Sri Lanka.

Background of SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation

In 2000, the process of regional cooperation in energy sector began between SAARC Member States with the establishment of a Technical Committee on Energy. Thereafter, the Islamabad Declaration at the 12^th SAARC Summit in 2004 constituted, Ministerial level Energy Forum for regional cooperation in energy sector. Later on, 5^th SAARC Energy Ministers Meeting finalized the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity). This has been a significant achievement of the Ministers’ meeting, as this Agreement has been pending since 2010 and is a crucial step towards developing a SAARC Market for Electricity (SAME) on a regional basis.
India’s Stance: India in this meet had called for building SAARC power grid so that excess production of power in one region can easily be used to meet deficit elsewhere.

45th International Film Festival of India kicks in Panaji

November 21, 2014

45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2014, kicked-off at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee indoor stadium, Panaji, Goa. During the opening ceremony two of the biggest stars of the Indian film industry, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, came together. Amitabh Bachchan was the chief guest for the ceremony while Rajinikanth was honoured with the Centenary Award for the Film Personality of the Year.

Key Facts: 

• The 11-day festival began with screening of Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s ‘The President’ film.
• The Hong Kong-based director Wong Kar-wai, film will be also screened in the festival. He is going to receive the lifetime achievement award on the last day of the film festival.
• This edition of festival will screen around 179 films from 75 countries across different categories which include World Cinema (61 films), Masterstrokes (11 films), Festival Kaleidoscope (20 films), Soul of Asia (7 films), Documentaries (6 films), and Animated Films (6 films).
• The Indian Panorama section will include 41 feature and non-feature films.
• As part of special package, seven films from the India’s North-Eastern region will also be screened at the event.
• Other attractions this year festival is: retrospective sections on Gulzar and Jahnu Baruah, special homage films on Richard Attenborough, Robin Williams, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen, and special tribute to Farooq Sheikh.
• A special section of films that focus on dance, personality based retrospectives, and masterclasses or specialised workshops conducted by master artistes will also form a part of IFFI 2014

About International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

IFFI was founded in 1952. It is held annually in the state of Goa.
It is the biggest state-backed film festival and conducted jointly by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Directorate of Film Festivals and the Government of Goa.
This film festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to

• Project the excellence of the film art.
• Contribute to create awareness for understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos.
• Promote friendship and cooperation among people of the world.

SEBI approved new Insider trading rules

November 21, 2014

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has revamped the rules related to the Insider trading for the protection of the smaller investors. Insider trading refers to the trade of a company’s stocks or other securities and making unethical profits with access to the non-public information. This is detrimental to the other / small investors who don’t have such information.
The new rules align the insider trading rules to current international practices. The key changes are as follows:

• The biggest problem under the current rules is that the burden of proof (whether a person indulged into insider trading) was on SEBI. It was very difficult to prove that someone was insider. In the new rules, the burden of proof is on the accused and not the regulator.
• In the new rules, the definition of the term “insider” has been broadened. The new rules say that anyone who is in contractual, fiduciary or employment relations with the promoters will be presumed to be ‘insiders’. Thus, the new rules include the immediate relatives of promotes, directors and employees who are in possession or have access to such information, within the scope of insiders.
• The new rules make it mandatory that the perpetual insiders such as promoters and directors will have to disclose their future trading plan in advance to the stock exchanges. They are required to trade strictly as per that plan.
• The definition of the “price sensitive information” has been broadened. Earlier, it has reference to only to company but now, it will have reference to company as well as securities.

The menace of Insider trading is not among the small firms but in big companies as well. It is a known fact that most of the profits are earned by the promoters and for SEBI it was very difficult to prove if someone was really an insider. The new rules give more teeth to SEBI to crack down on insider trading.

India announces $80 m assistance and VoA for Fiji

November 20, 2014

During his recent visit to Fiji, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced Lines of Credit and development assistance of around USD 80 million for Fiji and. The Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme has also been announced for all the 14 Pacific Island countries. A number of measures have also been announced to strengthen India’s relationships with Pacific Islands.

• Narendra Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit these Pacific countries after Indira Gandhi who visited in 1981.

Summary of Measures Announced: 

Visa on arrival (VoA) to Pacific Island Countries

• The VoA scheme has been extended to the nationals of all the 14 Pacific Island countries. These countries include:  Cook Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Republic of Nauru, Republic of Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Niue, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Forum of India-Pacific Island Cooperation

• A Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) is to be held on a regular basis.

Trade Office in India

• India has announced to set up  Trade Office at an existing diplomatic representation in New Delhi to promote trade between India and Pacific Island Countries.

Special Adaptation Fund of 1 million US dollars for Climate change

• Money from this fund has to be used for adaptation to Climate change. Climate change is a major concern in Pacific Island Countries.India can also use this fund to provide technical assistance and training for capacity building to Pacific Island Partners.

Pan Pacific Islands Project

• Akin to the Pan-Africa Project, India has decided to formulate Pan Pacific Islands Project for telemedicine and tele-education in the Pacific Island countries.

Solar energy project

• India will also work on a solar energy project with the Pacific Islands at the community level. The regional hubs will be developed in the pacific Islands

Joint research in traditional medicine

• India looks forward to do joint research in traditional medicine and explore options of developing healthcare facilities for the benefit of people in the region.

Deputation of experts

• India has proposed to depute technical experts to share experience and expertise with pacific Island countries in the fields of agriculture, healthcare and IT.

Training to Diplomats from Pacific Island Countries

• Foreign Service Training Institutes of India will organise training programmes for the Diplomats of Pacific Island countries. These training will be held in both the countries (respective country and India).

Distinguished Visitors Programme

• India has proposed a Distinguished Visitors Programme to organise seminars and invite friends from the region. This will help to explore new ideas to strengthen the mutual beneficial economic cooperation.

Space Cooperation

• India proposed cooperation in use of Space technology applications for improving the quality of life of people and communications in this region. India may help these nations by sharing data that could be used for monitoring climate change, disaster risk reduction and management, resource management.

Sri Lanka frees fishermen on death row

November 20, 2014

Sri Lanka has released five Indian fishermen, who were sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking. The release was secured after  diplomatic intervention by India’s Prime Minister, Ministry Of External Affairs (MEA), Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.
Background
Five fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested in November 2011 on charges of smuggling narcotics from India to Sri Lanka after they crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line. High court of Sri Lanka sentenced three Sri Lankans and five Indian fishermen death penalty in this case. These fishermen were caught from Rameswaram by Sri Lankan Navy in November 2011 on charges of drug smuggling in Sri Lankan waters. They were sentenced to death by Colombo High Court on 30^th October 2014.

Nanavati Commission submits final report

November 20, 2014

Justice Nanavati Commission has submitted its final report on the 2002 Gujarat riots to state chief minister Anandiben Patel. The final report of the commission on the 2002 riots, in which more than 1,000 people, mostly of minority community, were killed, comes after extensive investigation which ran over a period of more than 12 years and has more than 2,000 pages.
The commission members:
Retired d Supreme Court justice G T Nanavati and Retired High Court Justice Akshay Mehta.
In 2008, the inquiry panel had submitted one part of its finding with regard to the Godhra train burning incident.
In the part one report, the commission had concluded that the burning of S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station was a planned conspiracy.
Initially, the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the commission were to inquire into the facts, circumstances and course of events that led to the burning of the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express.

About Nanavati Commission

On 3^rd March 2002, Gujarat government under the Commission of Inquiry Act had constituted commission comprising of Justice K G Shah in the wake of the Godhra train carnage on February 27, 2002, and the subsequent communal riots across the state.
In May 2002, the state government appointed retired Supreme Court justice G T Nanavati as the chairman of the commission and the TOR were further amended in June 2002, as per which the panel was also asked to inquire the incidents of violence that took place after the Godhra incident.
In 2008, after the death of justice K G Shah, retd high court Justice Akshay Mehta was appointed to the panel. The commission was given 24 extensions of around six months each to complete its investigations.
The commission investigated roles of then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as per the TOR, his Cabinet colleagues of that time, senior government and police officers along with functionaries of some right wing organisations during the period of 2002 riots.

International Toilet Festival inaugurated in Delhi

November 19, 2014

On 19^th November 2014, three-day International Toilet Festival began on the eve of World Toilet Day with an aim to spread the message of total sanitation and to put an end to the scourge of open defecation.

About the Event

On inauguration day around 900 students from nine Delhi schools; delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan; a group of former manual scavengers and about 100 widows from Vrindavan took part in the event organised by Sulabh International at New Delhi’s Central Park.
Following a walkathon, the students, carrying placards, came together to form a human chain; they were later administered a pledge of cleanliness.
Celebrating this day will help to spread Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of having a toilet built in every household by 2019.
As per Census 2011, over 67 per cent rural households of the country do not have access to toilets, leading to large scale open defecation.

About World Toilet Day

World Toilet Day is observed annually on 19 November. This international day of action aims to break the taboo around toilets and draw attention to the global sanitation challenge and to raise global awareness of the daily struggle for proper sanitation that a staggering 2.5 billion people face.
World Toilet Day was introduced in 2001 and now has become an important platform to demand action from governments and to reach out to wider audiences by showing that toilets can be fun as well as vital to life.
Its vision is to grow as a collective campaign uniting everybody on 19 November who is passionate about toilets to ensure that access to proper sanitation, which has been declared a human right, becomes a reality for all.
It brings together different groups, such as media, the private sector, development organisations and civil society in a global movement to advocate for safe toilets.

Dilip Vengsarkar selected for C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014

November 19, 2014

Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar has been selected for Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award as part of Board of Control for Cricket in India’s annual awards. He has been conferred with this prestigious Lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Indian cricket.
Vengsarkar will be felicitated at BCCI’s annual awards on November 21, 2014. The award comprises a citation, trophy and cheque for Rs 25 lakhs. Vengsarkar is the 19th recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Last year, former Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev was conferred with this award. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Ajit Wadekar, Salim Durrani and others have received this award in the past.

About Dilip Vengsarkar

• Dilip Vengsarkar is also known by the nickname ‘Colonel’.
• He was a member of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1983 and the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. He had led India in ten Tests in 1987-89.
• He was Chairman of the BCCI’s Talent Research Development Committee for three years, and the Chairman of the All-India Senior Selection Committee for the period, 2006-08.
• For Test matches played in India, he has one of the highest batting averages.

Neha Gupta wins International Children’s Peace Prize

November 19, 2014

Indian American Neha Gupta, 18 has been awarded with the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2014. Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu the patron of the Dutch children’s rights organization presented her with the award in The Hague, Netherlands.
She was awarded this award for her exceptional work to raise money for underprivileged children around the world. Her work has helped orphans in India and other vulnerable children.
She is the first American to be awarded with this prize.
About Neha Gupta

• Neha is a citizen of the United States of America, born in New Zealand to Indian parents
• She was inspired to the work for underprivileged children during a visit to India with her grandparents. After this visit she founded Empower Orphans, an organization designed to support orphaned and abandoned children in India and the US.
• Through her own organization, she has helped more than 25000 vulnerable children by raising over 1.3 million US dollar. She started working for underprivileged children of the world at the age of nine.
• The list of projects of her includes opening libraries, developing paths to health care, and promoting education.
• She has also won numerous awards including the 2011 World of Children Award, the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Congressional Award, and also the national Prudential Spirit of Community award.

About International Children’s Peace Prize

The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children’s rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with HIV/AIDS.
The prize is an initiative of Marc Dullaert, Chairman and Founder of the Amsterdam-based children’s rights organization, KidsRights.
The first Children’s Peace Prize was launched in November 2005 during the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, an annual meeting of Nobel Peace Prize winners and international organisations such as UNICEF and Amnesty International.
Since then, the prize has been presented every year by a Nobel Peace Laureate.
In 2006, Om Prakash Gurjar from India was conferred with this award for setting up network of child friendly villages which aims to give all children a birth certificate as a way of helping to protect them from exploitation.
In 2013, the award was conferred on Malala Yousufzai, who went on to win this Nobel Peace Prize 2014.

In a historic move, Church of England allows women to become bishops

November 18, 2014

Church of England has broken the centuries-old tradition by paving the way for the appointment of female bishops. It is considered as a historic move towards widening female participation in the Church. Final seal of approval to this legislation which was passed by UK Parliament in October 2014 was given by the vote at the general synod meeting held at Westminster Church House in central London.
The general synod is the law-making body of the Church of England. As per this new legislation, the first female bishop is expected to take her seat in 2015.
The amendment to Canon 33 of the Church of England, now clearly mentions that a man or a woman may be consecrated to the office of bishop. The legislation comes 20 years after the women were ordained as priests.
The new legislation also includes some safeguards to manage dissent, such as the introduction of an independent reviewer who will oversee arrangements for parishes who want oversight from a male bishop.
There are women bishops in countries like Australia, Canada, Cuba, India, New Zealand, Swaziland, South Africa and the USA.

Background

Women priests were ordained in 1994 but to date they have not been able to take on the Church’s most senior roles. Divisions remain between Anglicans who feel it is consistent with their faith and traditionalists who disagree.
Earlier in 2012, a prior move to allow women to stand as bishops was defeated in 2012 by six votes cast by lay members of the general synod.
In 2014, General Synod was asked for the second time to give final approval to legislation introducing women bishops.

Government re-launches Kisan Vikas Patra

November 18, 2014

On 18^th November 2014, Union Government re-launched Kisan Vikas Patra scheme (KVP) in New Delhi to encourage the habit of small savings among the citizens. The scheme will soon be made available through designated branches of nationalized banks across the country.
The previous KVP was discontinued in 2011. The scheme was very popular among the investors and the percentage share of gross collections secured in KVP after its launch in 1988 was in the range of 9-29 per cent against the total collections received under all National Savings Schemes in the country.
Key facts of the relaunced Kisan Vikas Patra scheme (KVP)

• Investment: The KVP will be available to the investors in the denomination of 1000, 5000, 10000 and 50000 rupees with no upper ceiling on investment. The scheme will provide facility of unlimited investment by way of purchase of certificate from post office in various denominations.
• Liquidity feature: Kisan Vikas Patra scheme has unique liquidity feature, where an investor can encash his certificates after the lock-in period of 2 years and 6 months and thereafter in any block of six months on pre-determined maturity value.
• KVP certificates: The certificates can also be issued in single or joint names and can be transferred from one person to any other person. The investment made in the certificate will double in 100 months. The facility of transfer from one post office to another anywhere in India and of nomination will also be available under the scheme.
• Maturity period: With a maturity period of 8 years 4 months, the collections under the scheme will be available with the Union Government for a fairly long period to be utilized in financing developmental plans of the Centre and State Governments.

Earlier Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) Scheme
Earlier Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)- a certificate savings scheme was launched by the Union Government on 1^st April 1988. This scheme provided facility of unlimited investment by way of purchase of certificates from post offices in various denominations.
The maturity period of the earlier scheme when it was launched, was 5 years and six months and the money invested doubled on maturity.
The gross collections under the scheme in the year 2010-11 were 21631.16 crore rupees which was 9 per cent of the total gross collections during the year.
In the year of its closure, the scheme secured gross collections of 7575.95 crores rupees (April 2011 to November 2011).
Implications of new KVP

• KVP would serve two purposes: Firstly, it would help poor gullible investors to channelise their savings towards trusted government scheme instead of some ponzi schemes. Secondly, it would help to meet the urgent need to raise savings in the country. These savings then would be used for nation building. Thus such saving instrument will not only earn interest but also help in development of the country.
• Encourage people to save more: In the last 2-3 years, savings rate in country has declined from a record high of 36.8 per cent to below 30 per cent due to slowdown in the economy. So it will encourage people to save more.

Queensland clears Adani Group’s coal mining project

November 18, 2014

Australia’s Queensland state has cleared Adani group’s proposed plan to build a 7 billion dollar Carmichael coal mine. Queensland State has also announced a major investment in rail infrastructure to support the Indian conglomerate’s mega project.
This announcement comes after State Bank of India (SBI) approved US $ 1 billion loan for Adani Mining to develop Carmichael coal mine project near Clermont in Central Queensland, Australia. Adani Group has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SBI in the third week of November 2014 for clearing this loan.
About Adani group’s Project
Adani group’s Carmichael coal, railway and port project includes building Australia’s largest thermal coal mine in the north Galilee Basin. It is approximately 160km north-west of Clermont in Central Queensland and will be linked by a new 388 km standard gauge rail line to a new terminal at Abbot Point Port near Bowen.
This project will be implemented by Adani Mining -subsidiary of the Adani Group in Australia. The CEO and Australia head is Jeyakumar Janakaraj. The company aims to build the project by end of the year 2017 and the produced coal from the region will be sent 400 km by rail to Australia’s east coast. This project, which is evincing interest from private and public financiers in India and abroad, will deliver 10,000 jobs and 22 billion dollars in taxes and royalties to Queensland. In addition it will help Adani group to deliver cost-efficient power in the Indian market.

Rajarhat is the new HQ of Coal India

November 18, 2014

State-owned Coal India Ltd will move its headquarters from heart of Kolkata to its outskirts, some 25 km away at Rajarhat, West Bengal. Its previous headquarter was the 109-year-old building. The new headquarters will be built over 15 acres at an investment of Rs188 crore, by the end of this year.
About Coal India Limited (CIL)
Coal India Limited (CIL) is an Indian state-controlled coal mining company. It was headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal.  It is the largest coal producer company in the world and contributes around 81% of the coal production in India. Union Government of India owns 90% of the shares in CIL and controls the operations of CIL through Ministry of Coal. In April 2011, CIL was conferred the Maharatna status by the Union Government of India. It is India’s 5th most valuable company in terms of market value.

India, China ‘Hand-in-Hand’ joint exercise begins in Pune

November 17, 2014

On 17^th November 2014, Fourth edition of India-China Joint Training Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2014 began at Aundh Military Station in Pune, Maharashtra. This exercise will continue till 25^th November 2014.
The Chinese contingent for the exercise comes from 13^th Group Army of People’s Liberation Army i.e. Chengdu Military Region and comprises an infantry company along with supporting staff. The opening ceremony was followed by both contingents displaying their weapons which included assault rifles, grenade launchers and other sophisticated equipment.
The aim of the 12 day Indo-China joint exercise is to

• Share the drills and practices learnt while tackling insurgency and terrorism.
• Promote healthy military to military relations between the two armies.
• Develop joint strategies of conducting operations in a counter terrorism environment.

Implications of this joint exercise

• It will enhance confidence and trust between the two armies that may be called upon to grapple with anti-terrorism operations even under the UN regulations and mandate.
• It will uphold the values of Peace, Prosperity and Stability in the region by jointly eradicating terrorism with helping each other.
• It will develop mutual understanding and respect for each other’s military.

Previous editions of military Hand-in-Hand Joint Training exercises between Indian and Chinese Army

• 1^st edition was held in 2007 in China.
• 2^nd edition was held in 2008 in Belgaum, Karnataka.
• 3^rd edition was held in 2013 in China.

Akash missile test fired successfully

November 17, 2014

Akash- surface-to-air missile was test fired by Indian Air Force (IAF) from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near Balasore, Odisha.  It was test fired as part of user trial by the Air Force. In the test flight, the missile flew at a supersonic speed over a distance of 14 km and destroyed a target called Para flare at a low altitude of 1.2 km. The dummy target Para-flare was dropped by a MiG-27 aircraft of IAF.

About Akash missile

• Akash missile is India’s first indigenously designed and developed missile by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
• It is a  is a medium range surface-to-air anti-aircraft defence system with a strike range of 25 km and can carry a warhead of 60 kg.
• It has the capability to target aircraft up to 30 km away and is packed with a battery that can track and attack several targets simultaneously
• At present, the Air Force version of Akash missile has already been inducted, the Army version is in the final stage of induction.

India, South Korea sign MoU on railway technical cooperation

November 17, 2014

India and South Korea have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate technical cooperation in Railway sector between the two countries. The MoU was signed in Seoul (South Korea’s Capital) between the Ministry of Railways, Government of India and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) of the Government of Republic of Korea (South Korea).
The MoU will facilitate technical assistance and cooperation between the Railways of the two countries on areas such as High Speed Rail, Modernisation of Rolling Stock, Railway Operations, Modernisation of Signalling, Construction & Maintenance technologies and in development of Logistics Parks/Terminals.

Rajya Sabha question hour shifted from 11am to 12 noon

November 16, 2014

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has decided to shift Question Hour in Rajya Sabha from 11 a.m. to 12 noon for the upcoming Winter Session. Thus, Question Hour in Rajya Sabha will be between 12 PM and 1 PM instead of 11 am. As per new rules, the proceeding of the Rajya Sabha will start with ‘Zero Hour’ which will be between 11am to 12 noon. The move aimed to ensure disruption-free proceedings during this segment.
Rules Committee of Parliament had given final nod to the change these timings. Rajya Sabha Secretariat has issued the notification to this effect and it has been communicated to all Ministries.

Reason for shift in timing of Question Hour

Question Hour, which marks the beginning of a day’s proceedings of a House of Parliament, is often witness to disruptions by members who want to raise issues.
Normally, no issues can be raised during the Question Hour except those related to the questions listed for the day. Other issues can be raised during the Zero Hour.
Earlier in 2011, the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha was shifted for a few days to 2-3 pm so that the House could function normally in the first half. But, it was subsequently discontinued and the Question Hour switched back to its usual timing of 11 am.

• Question Hour: During this time, the members of Parliament ask questions and the ministers usually give answers. There are three kinds of question which can be asked during Question Hour. They are starred, unstarred and short notice. Question Hour is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.
• Zero Hour:  It is a period during which Member of Parliament (MPs) get chance to raise matters of public importance that need immediate attention of the government without any prior notice. It is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of Parliament and Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedure since 1962.

 

China launches new Yaogan-23 remote sensing satellite

November 16, 2014

China has launched remote sensing satellite Yaogan-23 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre. It was carried by a Long March-2C rocket, marking the 198th mission for the Long March rocket family.
It was also the 49th successful orbital launch from the Taiyuan Satellite launch Center, the 4th launch from this space center in 2014 and the 10th orbital launch for China this year.
Yaogan-23 satellite will mainly be used for scientific experiments, natural resource surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster relief.

Yaogan Satellite series

• In 2006, China launched the first satellite in the Yaogan series that is Yaogan-1.
• In future, China planned to launch about 70 remote sensing satellites to detect the near-Earth space environment and predict extreme events.
• China will also launch about 20 communication satellites to meet communication demand in national security and public services.
• Besides, China will launch about 30 navigation satellites to provide accurate and reliable global positioning and navigation services.

Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth Win China Open Titles

November 16, 2014

Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth have won women’s and men’s singles title of China Open Super Series Premier of Badminton in Fuzhou, China.
Kidambi Srikanth of India defeated two-time Olympic champion and five time world champion Lin Dan of China in straight game 21-19, 21-17 in the men’s singles final. This was maiden Super Series title for Srikanth.
This is the first time that any Indian male shuttler has won a Super Series Premier event since the Super Series and Premier tournaments were introduced.
Indian Olympic bronze-medalist Saina Nehwal defeated Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the women’s singles final. In her sixth appearance in the prestigious tournament, World No. 5 Saina prevailed over the Akane 21-12, 22-20 in the women’s singles final.

Senior Congress leader of Odisha Mohan Nag passes away

November 16, 2014

Senior Congress leader and former Odisha Minister of Health & Family Planning Mohan Nag died at Bhubaneswar. He was 89. Mohan Nag had joined Congress party and active politics after leaving Government job.
He was the Deputy Minister of Health & Family Planning of Odisha in 1976. He had been General Secretary of District Congress Committee Sambalpur and General Secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee Orissa in 1979-80.
He was elected to the State Assembly from Bhatli constituency in Bargarh district of Odhisa for four times. He also had represented Bhatli and Bijepur constituencies in the Odhisa state assembly.

Ratan Tata appointed to the board of Interpol Foundation

November 15, 2014

Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has been appointed to the board of Interpol Foundation to contribute to its two new global initiatives aimed at combating organised crime and terrorist activities by the international police organisation.
He will be on its board of trustee and contribute to the success of two new global initiatives of Interpol – Protecting Cultural Property and Modernising Channels of International Judicial Cooperation initiatives.
The two initiatives are among the five global initiatives backed by Interpol, aimed at combating organised crime and terrorist activities.
The board of Interpol Foundation will be headed by Prince Albert II of Monaco and ex-Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Elias Murr.
Along with Ratan Tata, HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver, Credit Agricole Chairman Jean-Marie Sander, Abraaj Capital Chairman and CEO Arif Naqvi and Renault-Nissan Alliance Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn will be the members of the board.
The other initiatives taken up by the International foundation are

• I-Chekit – for protecting airlines hotels and banks from threats of identity fraud.
• INVEX -fight against transnational vehicle crime and theft headed by Ghosn.
• Protecting banks and financial institutions.

About Interpol:
The International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, is a non-governmental organization facilitating international police cooperation.  The organization’s headquarters is in Lyon, France. It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in 1923 and adopted its telegraphic address as its common name in 1956. The idea of Interpol was born in 1914 at the first International Criminal Police Congress that was held in Monaco. Interpol has an annual budget of around €78 million, most of which is provided through annual contributions by its membership of 190 countries. It is the second largest international organization after the United Nations.
 

 

Farhan Akhtar named UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia

November 15, 2014

Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar has been appointed as UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia. He has become the first male to be appointed as Goodwill Ambassador in UN’s history. As UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia, he will dedicate his efforts towards the empowerment of women and girls and will serve as an advocate for UN Women’s newly launched ‘HeForShe’ campaign in advocating for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Key Notes: 

• Farhan Akhtar, as an accomplished and well-respected actor-filmmaker-singer has raised the voice on the important issue of gender equality and violence against women and girls in India through his Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD) campaign.
• His own MARD campaign is for sensitizing men and creating awareness about the safety of women.
• The MARD campaign successfully had encouraged many actors to join this campaign and spread awareness.
• In this campaign, he has asked all men and boys to participate in eradicating gender inequality.

UN Women’s other Goodwill Ambassadors include British actor Emma Watson, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman and Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand.

About UN Women

UN Women was established in 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. It is the UN’s entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. It was established for accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. Its main functions include:

• To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, for formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
• To help Member States to implement these standards and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
• To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

HRD Ministry decides to replace German as third language in KV’s with Sanskrit

November 15, 2014

Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has decided to replace German as a third language in schools of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KVs) with Sanskrit right away instead of waiting for the new academic session to effect the changes. The decision to discontinue German was taken on 27^th October 2014, after the meeting of Board of Governors of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) headed by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
HRD ministry has preferred gradual phasing out of German as the third language by 2017-18.
HRD Ministry has mentioned that not teaching Sanskrit as third language in KV schools is the violation of the Constitution and National Policy on Education.
They even have launched an investigation on the MoU signed between KV’s and Goethe Institute in 2011.

Why this decision was taken?

• As per HRD ministry, the MoU between KV’s and the Goethe-Institut of Max Mueller Bhawan, which was signed in 2011, was against the national education policy and the National Curriculum Framework which allows only an Indian language to be taught as a third language in schools.
• Earlier in 2014, Sanskrit Shikshak Sangh (SSS) had opposed this decision of teaching German in KV’s. SSS had moved to Delhi High Court alleging that KV’s had introduced German as a third language in place of Sanskrit against the education policy.

Impact of this decision on

• Student of KV’s: This decision is expected to affect over 70000 students across 500 KVs from classes 6 to 8, who have to switch from German to Sanskrit. However, students will be given an option to pick any Indian language of their choice as annual exams are barely three months away.
• Higher Studies: From 2008, the number of Indian students going to Germany for higher studies has risen by 114 per cent. Germany is one of the top destinations for Indian students, particularly those studying engineering, science and technology, for affordable higher education and possible employment. It will have negative impact on those who are eager to pursue Higher Studies in Germany.

German as a third language

In 2011, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between KV’s and Goethe Institute-Max Mueller Bhawan for teaching German as third language in KV’s across country. Thereafter, German was taught as a third language from classes 6 to 8 in KV’s. However, this MoU was not referred to HRD Ministry at any stage. The decision to teach German at the KV’s was taken by then UPA government in view of the fact that children from Indian schools need to know foreign languages in a globalised world,  in order integrated into the global economy.

Two states, three UTs achieve 100% inclusion under PMJDY

November 14, 2014

Union Finance Ministry has announced that Goa and Kerala became the first states in the country to achieve 100 percent Financial Inclusion under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
Union Finance Ministry also announced that three Union Territories (UTs) namely Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep achieved 100 percent financial inclusion under PMJDY.
According to official data available till 5^th November, 11.26 lakh bank accounts were opened in Kerala, followed by 77, 485 accounts in Goa, 1.36 lakh accounts in Chandigarh, 69819 accounts in Puducherry and 3588 accounts in Lakshadweep under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
Finance Ministry has declared States of Kerala and Goa, union territories of Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep and three districts of Gujarat- Porbandar, Mehasana, Gandhinagar as 100 per cent saturated in terms of coverage of all households with at least one bank account.

According to Finance Ministry

• PMJDY so far managed to bring over 5000 crore rupees into the formal banking system as account holders have started depositing cash. A large chunk of this money would have been kept at home in the absence of accounts, with little or no productive use.
• According to the initial results, on an average about 80% of the households surveyed have now got at least one bank account.
• As in the first week of November 2014, 7.24 crore accounts have been opened under PMJDY of which 4.29 crore in rural and 2.95 crore are in urban areas. RuPay Cards have been issued in case of 3.97 crore accounts.
• At the time banks had been given a target of opening 7.5 crore accounts under the scheme.
• Each of the accounts come with a debit card, 1 lakh rupees accidental insurance policy and 30000 rupees free medical insurance cover.

About Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

On 28^th August 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the scheme with the goal of eradicating financial untouchability of the poor by opening at least one bank account for every family in the country in less than six months.

India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile

November 14, 2014

India has successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile, from Chandipur test range in Odisha.
It was fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of Integrated Test Range. In the test, missile’s trajectory was tracked by DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.
This test was part of a regular training exercise of Strategic Force Command of Defence (SFC) and monitored by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
The purpose of the test was clearly to indicate India’s operational readiness to meet any eventuality and also establishes the reliability of this deterrent component of India’s Strategic arsenal.

Facts about Prithvi-II Missile

Prithvi-II is indigenously developed nuclear-capable missile.  It has a strike range of 350 km. It is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads. It is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. It was the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). Prithvi II was inducted into the SFC in 2003.
The last user trials of Prithvi-II were successfully carried out from the same base on 7^th January, 2014 and 28^th March, 2014.
 

 

Government launches National Bal Swachhta Mission

November 14, 2014

On 14^th November 2014, Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smt. Maneka Gandhi launched the National Bal Swachhta Mission in New Delhi. It was launched on 125th birth anniversary of first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. On this occasion, Minister also released a book on Bal Swachtta Mission prepared by NIPCCD.

About Bal Swachhta Mission

The Bal Swachhta Mission is a part of the nationwide sanitation initiative of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ launched by the Prime Minister on 2nd October, 2014.
The nationwide Bal Swachhta Mission will have the following six themes:-

• Clean Anganwadis .
• Clean Surroundings e.g. Playgrounds.
• Clean Self (Personal Hygiene/Child Health).
• Clean Food.
• Clean Drinking Water.
• Clean Toilets.

Under this mission, Bal Swachhta Week will be observed from 14th to 19th November and one of the above themes would be covered at each Anganwadi Centre in all states. The Women and Child Development Departments of various states will implement the Bal Swachhta Mission with the help of Departments of School Education, Urban Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Information and Publicity.

Rosetta mission’s Philae probe landed on Comet 67P

November 13, 2014

Rosetta mission of European Space Agency (ESA) has landed its Philae probe on the surface of Comet 67P/ Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Philae probe landing on Comet 67P made a Space history, as for the first time probe has landed on a comet.
The landing site of Philae probe has been named as Agilkia and is located on the head of the bizarre double-lobed object of Comet.  Name Agilkia was chosen by ESA in honour of Agilkia Island, in a public contest.

Philae’s mission:

Philae’s mission is to transmit data about composition of the comet after landing on its surface. It will provide elemental, isotopic, molecular and mineralogical composition of the cometary material.
The lander is named after Philae Island in the Nile River, Egypt where an obelisk (a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument) was found and used, along with the Rosetta stone, to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.

About Spacecraft Rosetta and Comet 67P

67P was first discovered in 1969 by Soviet astronomers Ivanovych Churyumov and Svetlana Ivanova Gerasimenko. It is also known as Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
The spacecraft has been named after the Rosetta Stone, the discovery of which in 1799 provided the key to translating Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic script into Ancient Greek (and thus any other language).

Mission

The 1 billion pound (1.58 billion US dollars) Rosetta mission blasted off from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in March 2004, for a long journey involving loops around the Sun as it aimed to get onto the same orbit as 67P.
Rosetta has traversed over 6 billion n km, passing by Earth three times, Mars once, and flew by two asteroids, using the gravitational pull of those bodies to change velocity and catch up with 67P.It had travelled through the Solar System before reaching at orbit of Comet 67P on 6^th  August 2014. The mission aims to know mysteries of comets made from ancient material that predates the origin of the solar system.

Rohit Sharma breaks record for highest one-day international score ever

November 13, 2014

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has made history by scoring the highest ODI score of 264 runs.  He achieved this distinction during the 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka played at Kolkata. Rohit surpassed several records including Virender Sehwag’s 219 and his own 209 – scored against Australia in Bangalore in November 2013.
He made this record score in 173 which included 33 fours and 9 sixes. He got to his 50 off 72, 100 off 100, 150 off 125, 200 off 151 and 250 off 166.
He also became only the fifth Indian batsman after Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar to post two or more scores in excess of 150 in ODIs.
Indian cricketer’s to reach Double century milestone:
Sachin Tendulkar was the first Indian cricketer to reach double century landmark against South Africa in 2010. The second one to do so was Virendra Sehwag who scored 219 against West Indies in the year 2011. Third one was Rohit Sharma to score 209 runs against Australia in 2013.

Fadnavis Government wins trust vote in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

November 12, 2014

BJP Government led by Devendra Fadnavis has won the trust vote in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly through voice vote. The decision of voice vote was made by newly elected speaker Haribhau Bagde. The confidence motion by the voice vote was moved by senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar.
Earlier on that day, BJP’s leader Haribhau Bagde was elected unanimously as speaker of Maharashtra assembly, after Shiv Sena and Congress withdrew the nominations of their candidates.
On the same day, Speaker Haribhau Bagade had announced that Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde will be the opposition leader of the house.
Speaker’s decision of voice vote was criticised by Shiv Sena and Congress. Congress has decided to meet the Governor and demand to take the trust vote again through division vote instead of voice vote.

Voice Vote versus Division vote

When a motion is put to voice vote the speaker says, ‘Those in the favour of the motion say Aye and those opposing it say No.’ According to the voice vote, the Speaker decides whether the motion/Bill is accepted or negated by the House. If a member is not happy with a voice vote, it can be challenged and a division vote can be asked for.
Division vote is a process in which legislators press buttons on Automatic Vote Recording machine to record their votes, which are then counted. No voting record of individual MLA’s/MPs is available in Division vote. When a division is asked for, there is a record of total number of votes for and against, but no details of individual votes are maintained. Most motions and legislation are passed through voice-votes.

 

 

Haribhau Bagde of BJP elected as new Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

November 12, 2014

Senior BJP legislator Haribhau Bagde was unanimously elected as new Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. His name was announced by Protem Speaker Jiva Gavit in the newly-constituted Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He was elected unanimously after Shiv Sena and Congress withdrew their candidates.
Bagde is the MLA from Phulambhari in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. He had held several important posts in the BJP as well as the Sena-BJP government in 1995.

Constitutional provision for Speaker of State Legislative Assembly

Article 178 of Constitution: Speaker will preside over the sessions of the Legislative Assembly of an Indian State. The Legislative Assembly in a State, at its very first session shall elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, from among its members. The Speaker remains in office till the next Speaker is sworn in.

Noted Producer and Director Ravi Chopra Passes away

November 12, 2014

Ravi Chopra, best known for directing the classic television series Mahabharata has died in Mumbai. He was 68. He was suffering from lung cancer from last few years. He was born on 27^th September 1946 and was the son of legendary film producer & director B R Chopra and nephew of producer & director late Yash Chopra. Aditya Chopra and Uday Chopra are his cousins.
He started his career in film industry by assisting his father B R Chopra in films like, Dastaan (1972) and Dhund (1973). He also assisted his uncle Yash Chopra in Ittefaq (1969).
He made his independent directorial debut with Zameer (1975), produced under the family banner, B.R. Films.
Films Directed by him

• Zameer (1975).
• The Burning Train (1980).
• Aaj Ki Awaz (1984).
• Mazdoor (1983).
• Dahleez (1986).
• Baghban (2003).
• Baabul (2006).
• Banda Ye Bindaas Hai (2009).

TV Serials Directed by him

• Mahabharata (1988-1990).
• Ramayana (2002).
• Vishnu Puran(2003).
• Ma Shakti (2007).

He was expected to come back to television with another mythological series, Vasudev Krishna in 2014-15. In 2009, he was taken to the court by a Hollywood company, 20^th Century Fox over the remaking of 1992 Oscar Award winning comedy film My Cousin Vinny into Bollywood film Banda Ye Bindaas Hai. Thus, he was first Bollywood filmmaker who was taken to court for remaking movie by a Hollywood company. In this case, Fox had sought US 1.4 million dollars in damages.

Sri Lanka Supreme Court gives nod to Mahinda Rajapaksa for third time contest

November 12, 2014

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has given nod to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest for third term as President. Sri Lankan President’s decision to go for a third term was publicly questioned by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Sarath Silva, on the grounds that he was elected President for the second term before the enactment of the 18th constitutional amendment, which removed the cap on the number of times an incumbent President could contest.
Retired Justice Silva’s contention was that Rajapaksa had contested and won the election on January 27, 2010, prior to the enactment of the 18th Amendment, at a time when there was a limit of two terms. And a President’s term begins on the day he gets elected. Therefore, Rajapaksa could not bid for a third term.
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court decision
The Court in its decision mentioned that there is no legal barrier preventing the President to stand for a third six-year term.
Background
Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected asSri Lanka President on 27 January 2010 before the Constitutional amendment which limited term for President to two. The 18th Amendment was enacted on 9^th September 2010, while, Rajapaksa took his oath as President on 19^th November 2010 and his second term of office began only on the day he took his oath.

Newton-Bhabha Fund announced by UK and India

November 12, 2014

India and United Kingdom (UK) have announced a “Newton-Bhabha Fund programme”  to scale up their bilateral research & innovation relationship to a greater level. This new initiative was announced during a meeting between Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the UK Minister for Universities, Science and Cities Greg Clark, who co-chaired the 4^th UK-India Science and Innovation Council (SIC) held at new Delhi.
The Newton-Bhabha Fund is a programme which aims to build up strong interdisciplinary dimension that will further strategise the science, research and innovation cooperation between the UK and India. For this programme UK will provide 50 million pounds over 5 year’s period and India will provide similar matched efforts.

Key Features: Newton-Bhabha programme

• Joint PhD student mobility programme: It aims to pave the way for the next generation of researchers in the UK and India to interact with each other and build long-term R&D linkages and collaborations. This mobility programme will be administered by British Council India and the Department of Science and Technology. It will start from March 2015 to sponsor UK and Indian PhD students to spend a period of their study (3 to 6 months) in Premier Indian and UK higher education institutions.
• New research projects in Mental Health and Substance Abuse: These new projects will be joint initiative of Medical Research Council (MRC) of UK and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).  ICMR will fund the Indian component for this project while UK will provide up to 2 million pounds.
• Setting up Centres for research in Renewable Energy: These centres will be jointly co-funded by RCUK Energy programme and Department of Science and Technology (DST) of India. UK and the Department of Science & Technology of India will provide support to business-led research and development aimed at tackling societal challenges.
• Centre Partnerships in Cancer Biology, Translational Regenerative Medicines in Neuroscience and Antimicrobial Resistance: It will be funded jointly up to 7 million pounds by Medical Research Council (MRC) of UK and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India.

 

Lee Chong Wei provisionally suspended for anti-doping regulation violation

November 12, 2014

Badminton World Federation (BWF) has provisionally suspended Malaysian badminton player and World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei due to an apparent anti-doping regulation violation. BWF, world-governing body for has Badminton has imposed this suspension due to an adverse analytical finding of a sample taken at the World Championships in August, 2014.
The provisional suspension means the athlete is barred temporarily from participation in any competition prior to the Doping Hearing Panel’s decision. The BWF has referred this matter to its Doping Hearing Panel and, in due course, the chair of the panel will set the time, date and location of a hearing. The panel will determine whether or not the athlete has committed an anti-doping regulation violation.

About Lee Chong Wei

Lee Chong Wei is a Malaysian Chinese professional badminton player.
As a singles player, he was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012.
Achievements: He has won 55 career tittles and was named the BWF player of the year four times. He has won silver at 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics.  He is a four time Commonwealth Games gold Medalist, 2 each in singles and men’s team events. He has won three silver medals and a bronze at the World Championships. He was part of the Silver medal winning Malaysian team at the 2014 Thomas Cup.

Russia and Iran sign agreements to build nucelar reactors in Iran

November 12, 2014

Russia and Iran have signed an agreement to build two nuclear reactors in Iran, which will be followed with another six. The agreement was signed by CEO of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Sergey Kirienko and head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi in Moscow, Russia.
Key facts of the agreement

• Nuclear officials from the two countries signed the contract for building two reactors at Bushehr. Bushehr is the first nuclear plant built by Russia in Iran.
• The construction of the new reactors will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as it was done in case of Busherhr’s first reactor, which became operational in 2013.
• Russia will supply uranium fuel and then take it back for reprocessing and this provision is intended to prevent any possibility of Iran using the spent fuel to build atomic weapons.
• Both nations will cooperate in the field of the nuclear fuel cycle and ecology.
• The location of remaining four plants which are expected to be constructed elsewhere in Iran under this agreement has not been determined yet.

This deal comes less than two weeks before the 24 November deadline for Iran to sign an agreement on its nuclear programme with six world powers i.e. P-6 countries. P-6 countries include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council viz., USA, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany.
As per the deadline, Iran has to agree to limit its uranium enrichment to a level that it could not be able to convert them to build nuclear weapons. It is expected that this deal would relax western sanctions against Iran.

K C Reddy appointed in United Nations (UN) probe panel on Gaza

November 12, 2014

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed a former Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer K C Reddy as the member of United Nations (UN) probe panel on Gaza. KC Reddy is only Indian to be part five-member panel to investigate Israeli attacks on UN shelters during the Gaza war and the discovery of Hamas weapons at UN sites.
The inquiry panel will be headed by retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert. Other members of the panel include Maria Vicien-Milburn of Argentina, Lee O’Brien of America, Pierre Lemelin of Canada and K.C. Reddy of India.

About United Nations (UN) probe panel on Gaza

• The UN probe panel was set up by UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon to probe the presence of arms on UN premises in the Gaza strip and the damage to its facilities during the conflict between Israel and Palestinian factions.
• The five-member board will look into contentious incidents during the confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian organisation, Hamas, in July and August 2014.
• The fighting raged in this time period saw entire neighbourhoods in the Gaza strip flattened and almost one-third of the area’s population uprooted.
• In one incident in July, 15 Palestinians were killed and 200 injured by an Israeli rocket strike on a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
• The overall violence had killed more than 2100 Palestinians and destroyed over 100000 homes.

About KC Reddy
KC Reddy belonged to the Meghalaya cadre of the IPS. He was awarded the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service. Reddy was formerly the chief security adviser to the secretary-general for the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).

Kerala became first state with bank accounts for all families

November 12, 2014

Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani has announced that Kerala has become the first state in the country to have bank accounts for all families under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY). This formal declaration was by minister at the State-Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
Under the PMJDY, Kerala has opened about 13 lakh new accounts and has mobilised 326 crore rupees through intensive financial literacy campaigns launched under the support of the State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC).
Kerala was able to achieve this target under PMJDY ahead of schedule because of Financial Literacy Centres which are active in all the 152 blocks of state. Under this scheme, 5.25 lakh rupees debit cards have been issued by all banks.
State government is also opening a second account separately for the woman in each household under PMJDY.

 

 

Government bans Kamatapur Liberation Organisation

November 11, 2014

Central Government has banned Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), which operates in West Bengal and Assam. An official gazette notification of Union Home Ministry mentioned that under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, it has proposed to add KLO and all its formation and front organisations as a terrorist organisation.  With this notification, KLO is listed in the First Schedule of Act and has joined other 37 militant organizations.

About Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO)

KLO came into existence in 1993 to achieve the objective of a separate sovereign Kamatapur state.
It has been consolidating its position in the 14 districts in Assam and 6 districts in West Bengal both organisationally and in terms of weapons and cadres.

Reasons for formation

It was formed to address problems of the Koch Rajbongshi community and perceived neglect of Kamtapuri language, large-scale unemployment, land alienation, identity and grievances of economic deprivation of the community.

Demand

The group has emerged as a major threat and is demanding an independent county Sovereign Kamatapur State of ten districts in West Bengal and Assam. The 10 districts demanded by them includes six districts of North Bengal namely Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Malda and four of lower Assam, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara.
It is alleged that the KLO is having links with other North-east militant groups such ULFA and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

India-Israel joint venture LRSAM missile successfully tested

November 11, 2014

Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) co-developed by India and Israel, was successfully test-fired from a range in Israel. The test fire was carried by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in the presence of DRDO scientists and officials of the Indian Armed Forces.
The successful test marked a milestone in bilateral cooperation of the two countries in developing advanced weapon systems.
Test: The missile successfully intercepted a maneuvering target mimicking an attacking combat aircraft. The test also validated all the elements related to the naval and land-based variants of the missile including the phased array radar, battle management system, communications and the interceptor.

Importance of Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM)

• LRSAM will be deployed on the newly commissioned INS Kolkata, which had to be inducted without the weapon system due to delays in testing.
• It would also be deployed on other naval ships including recently commissioned INS Kamrota.

About Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM)

LRSAM is called Barak 8 missile in Israel. Barak is the Hebrew word for Lightning.
It is designed to counter a wide variety of air-borne threats such as anti-ship missiles, aircraft, UAVs and drones as well as supersonic cruise missiles.
Barak 8 is an advanced, long-range missile defence and air defence system with main features being:

• Long Range
• Active Radar Seeker Missile
• Vertical Launch
• Multiple Simultaneous Engagements.

Prime Minister Launches Jeevan Pramaan: Digital life certificate for pensioners

November 11, 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Jeevan Pramaan scheme- an Aadhar based Digital Life Certificate for pensioners. This digital life certificate scheme will benefit over 1 crore pensioners who have to produce Life Certificates each year to receive pension.
Earlier, pensioner either personally presented himself before the Pension Disbursing Agency or used to submit a Life Certificate issued by authorities specified by the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO).
Through this certificate, a pensioner now can digitally provide proof of his existence to authorities for continuity of pension every year instead of requiring presenting himself physically or through a Life Certificate issued by specified authorities.

Key Facts about Jeevan Praman

• The Department of Electronics and IT has developed a software application which will enable the recording of the pensioner`s Aadhar number and biometric details from his mobile device or computer by plugging in a biometric reading device.
• Key details of the pensioner including date, time and biometric information will be uploaded to a central database on real-time basis.
• It will enable the Pension Disbursing Agency to access a Digital Life Certificate. This will conclusively establish that the pensioner was alive at the time of authentication.
• This software application system will be made available to pensioners and other stakeholders on a large scale at no extra cost.
• It can be operated on a personal computer or a smartphone along with an inexpensive biometric reading device.

This facility will also be made available at Common Service Centres being operated under the National e-Governance Plan for the benefit of pensioners residing in remote and inaccessible areas

Jnanpith award 2013 conferred on Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh

November 10, 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 49^th Jnanpith Award (for year 2013) to eminent Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh for his outstanding contribution towards Indian literature.  He was conferred this award at a function held at Balyogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building in New Delhi.
Kedarnath Singh as a poet has offered a rare assimilation of rhymes and lyrical prose, exploring both the realms of reality and fantasy with equal felicity. His poetry presents a collage of meaning, colours and acceptance.
He is the 10^th Hindi writer to receive the award.
About Kedarnath Singh

• Kedarnath Singh was a celebrated teacher who had taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
• He was born in Balia of Uttar Pradesh and is known for his work Abhi bilkul abhi and Yahan se dekho.
• He is also an eminent critic and essayist. He was also awarded Sahitya Akademi Award (1989) in Hindi for his poetry collection, Akaal Mein Saras.
• He became famous with a book entitled Teesra Saptak edited by Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan whose pen name was Agyeya.

About Jnanpith Award

• The Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, it is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country.
• The name of award is taken from Sanskrit words, Jnana and Pitha (knowledge-seat).
• The award includes 11 lakh rupees and a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Saraswati.
• The award was instituted in 1961. It is presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith trust founded by the Sahu Jain family.
• The award is given to any Indian citizen who writes in any 22 official languages of India mentioned in VIII Schedule of Constitution.
• Prior to 1982, the awards were given for a single work by a writer; since then, the award has been given for a lifetime contribution to Indian literature.

Virat Kohli became fastest cricketer to reach 6000 ODI runs

November 10, 2014

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has become the fastest cricketer in the history to reach 6000 one-day international run mark.
He achieved this run mark during his 53-run knock in India’s third ODI against Sri Lanka. He overtook legendary West Indian Vivian Richards’ record. Virat Kohli made this debut, while playing his 144^th match and 136^th innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal, Hyderabad.
Vivian Richards had reached the milestone in 1989 by playing 141 innings in 156 matches.  He is the eighth Indian cricketer to have scored 6000 or more runs and 47^th overall.

DRDO develops herbal drug Lukosin for Leucoderma

November 10, 2014

Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed herbal drug Lukosin, for treatment of leucoderma (white patches on skin). This drug is developed from medicinal plants. The scientists of Defence Bio-Energy Research (DIBER), Haldwani in Uttarakhand, a laboratory of DRDO of the Defence Ministry, have developed this drug. DIBER has transferred the technology of the drug to AIMIL Pharmaceuticals India for its commercial production and sale.
Leucoderma is generally considered an incurable disease, but Lukosin has been extremely effective against it.
During the clinical trials, it has been proved that there are no side-effects to persons consuming Lukoskin with dietary advice like avoiding acidic foods, citrus fruits, non-vegetarian and fast foods, beverages like cold drinks, detergents and soaps etc.
While success rate among women under the age of 40 years during clinical trial was 81.25 per cent within 90 to 250 days of medication, it was 60 per cent among women above 40 years of age.  Maximum recovery was found among women below 40 years.
About Leucoderma
Leukoderma is a cutaneous condition. It is an acquired condition with localized loss of pigmentation of the skin that may occur after any number of inflammatory skin conditions, burns, intralesional steroid injections, postdermabrasion, etc.
It is largely a cosmetic problem, and is neither infectious nor contagious.

Gujarat becomes first state to make voting compulsory in local body polls

November 10, 2014

In first week of November 2014, Gujarat Governor O P Kohli gave his assent to the controversial Gujarat Local Authorities Laws Bill, 2009 and gave his sanction for implementation.
This bill has the provisions of compulsory voting and 50 per cent reservation for women in the institutions of local self-governance.
Once the Act comes into effect, Gujarat will be the first state to have the provision of compulsory voting in local body polls.

Key provision of Gujarat Local Authorities Laws Bill

• The Bill encompasses municipal corporations, municipalities and the district, taluka and village panchayats of Gujarat.
• 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies, raising the quota from 33 per cent.
• A person, who does not vote in the local body polls, will be liable for penal action and punishment. However, the nature of penalty that would be taken against defaulters has not mentioned.
• The new rule applies to the elections to all seven municipal corporations, 159 municipalities, 26 district panchayats, 223 taluka panchayats and in 13,713 village panchayats of the state.

Background of the Bill

The Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill 2009 has amended the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corp Act 1949, the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963 and the Gujarat Panchayat’s Act 1993.
The bill was passed by the legislative assembly twice in 2009 and 2011 when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of the state.
Earlier, then Governor Dr. Kamla Beniwal had withheld the bill by saying that the provision of compulsory voting is violation of Article 21 of the Constitution and forcing voter to vote is against the principles of an individual liberty. However, in December 2009, the Bill was again cleared by the House and was returned for reconsideration to Governor in April 2010. It was again passed in March 2011, but didn’t succeed in getting assent of then Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal.

Communist Leader M V Raghavan Passes away

November 10, 2014

Communist Marxist Party (CMP) founder in Kerala and leader Melathu Veettil Raghavan died on 9^th November 2014. He was 81. He died after a prolonged illness due to Parkinsons disease. He had served as Minister for Co-operation of Kerala for two terms in 1991-1996 and 2001-06 in United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition government.

About Melathu Raghavan

• Melathu Raghavan is also known as MVR was born in Kannur, Kerala in 1933.
• At the age of 15, he became part of the communist movement and then became the trade union leader. He was considered as a firebrand and inspiring leader of the Left mass.
• In 1967, he was the CPI (M) party state secretary at Kannur and later became the state secretariat member of the party.
• In 1986, he was expelled from the CPI (M) party due to difference in opinion with the leadership.
• After he was expelled from the CPI (M) party, he founded the Communist Marxist Party (CMP) and later formed an alliance with Congress to form UDF.
• He was seven time legislator in Kerala Assembly and served as a minister for two terms.
• He was the founder of the Pariyaram Co-operative Medical College in Kannur District which was first medical college under co-operative sector in India.
• He was also credited for setting up the cooperative establishments like Pappinissery Visha Chikilsa Kendram (Snake-venom removal centre), Snake Park and the Ayurvedic Medical College in Kerala.

India test fires Agni-II missile

November 9, 2014

On 9^th November 2014, India test fired nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile. This successful test was conducted from Wheeler Island, Odisha. The test was a part of training exercise to the Army with logistic support provided by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Key facts of Agni-II missile

• Agni-II missile is part of India’s strategic forces arsenal for nuclear deterrence with a range of over 2000 km and can carry a payload of 1000kg.
• It is a two stage surface-to-surface missile, equipped with an advanced high accuracy navigation system and guided by a novel state-of-the-art command and control system.
• It is powered by a solid rocket propellant system and already been inducted into the army.
• Agni-II weighs 17 tonnes and the range of the missile can be increased to 3000 km by reducing the payload.
• It can be fired from both rail and road mobile launchers and it takes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing.
• The Agni-II missile is developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) and integrated by the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad.

Laxmikant Parsekar sworn-in as Chief Minister of Goa

November 9, 2014

Goa Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar was sworn-in as 18^th Chief Minister of Goa on 8th November. He succeeded Manohar Parrikar who resigned on 8^th November 2014 in order to take charges of Union Defence Minister. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha. Along with Parsekar, seven other BJP ministers were also sworn-in.
They are: Francis D’Souza, Dayanand Mandrekar, Ramesh Tawadkar, Mahadev Naik, Dilip Parulekar, Milind Naik, and Alina Saldanha.
Two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) ministers Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar and Pandurang Deepak Dhavalikar were also sworn-in.

About Laxmikant Parsekar

Laxmikant Parsekar is the three-time MLA from Mandrem constituency in North Goa. Parsekar started as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party worker. His political career started in 1988 after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the instructions of the RSS.

Silver Jubilee of fall of Berlin Wall observed

November 9, 2014

On 9^th November 2014, Germany marks 25 years since the euphoric fall of the Berlin Wall.  A great festival was organized to celebrate to mark this peaceful revolution which ended Europe’s Cold War division on November 9, 1989. On the occasion, white balloons marking a small stretch of the wall were released to symbolize the disappearance of the wall.

About Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall separated the city of Berlin into communist East Berlin and democratic West Berlin in Germany from 1961 to 1989. It was constructed by German Democratic Republic (GDR) or East Germany starting on 13 August 1961. Many people thought it was a symbol of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was about 168 km long of which only 3 kilometer is in existence now also.
It was built to prevent people from escaping from the eastern half of Berlin.
The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart by GDR authorities, implying that the NATO countries and West Germany in particular were fascists. The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the Wall of Shame (term coined by Mayor Willy Brandt) while condemning the Wall’s restriction on freedom of movement.
East German guards had shot and killed more than 100 people who tried to escape communist control by climbing the wall or tunneling beneath it. Its fall in 1989 became a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War.

China pledges $40 billion for Silk Road plan

November 9, 2014

On 8^th November 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping committed $40 billion to give a push for reviving the ancient Silk Road of China and break the connectivity bottleneck in Asia. This sum was announced at a summit attended by leaders of neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
The summit was hosted by China in order to strengthen its connectivity and improve cooperation neighbouring country and firming up support for its mega 21st Century Silk Road Economic Belt and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Key facts: 

• Silk Road Fund will be open and welcome investors from Asia and beyond to actively take part in the project.
• The neighbouring countries must strengthen connectivity and boost cooperation.
• China’s plans to build the 21st Century Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road besides Beijing’s push for creation of the AIIB.
• Representatives of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation also took part in the event.

The summit was organised ahead of the 10^th November 2014 meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders.
Chinese President had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the summit during their first meeting in Brazil. However, Indian PM could not make it to the summit due to his commitments to attend next week’s East Asia Summit in Myanmar followed by G-20 leaders meeting in Australia.
About Silk Road
The idea of re-establishment of maritime Silk Road was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. The main aim is China is to gain easier access to global markets. The plan incorporates both a land route and a sea route. The land-based Silk Road is expected to start at Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, located in northwest China, eventually heading southwest across Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Maritime Silk Road is planned to start near Guangdong on the South China Sea and move to the Malacca Strait and the Indian Ocean. From there it will traverse the Horn of Africa, heading into the Red Sea and Mediterranean. The project shows China’s newfound desire to invest in projects outside of mainland China.

Manohar Parrikar resigns as Goa CM

November 9, 2014

On 8^th November 2014, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar resigned from his position to take up post of Defence minister in the Union Cabinet.  With the resignation of Parrikar, entire state cabinet comprising of 12 ministers was dissolved. The fresh cabinet would be sworn-in along with the new Chief Minister.

About Manohar Parrikar

• Parrikar was born on 13 December 1955.
• He did his graduation in metallurgical engineering from IIT Bombay in 1978.
• He was Chief Minister of Goa first from 2000 to 2005 and later from March 2012 to November 2014.
• Manohar Parrikar is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and represented the Panaji constituency in the Legislative Assembly of Goa.

India and Bhutan sign MoU on establishment of Nalanda University

November 8, 2014

India and Bhutan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the noble objectives of the establishment of Nalanda University in Bihar to develop the institution as an international centre of excellence. Both countries signed a MoU in this regard in Thimphu after President Pranab Mukherjee held talks with the Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
Key facts of the MoU

• Nalanda University will be located at Rajgir in Bihar and will have the power to confer degrees, diplomas and certificates.
• Objectives and functions of Nalanda University includes the establishment of an international institution of learning that will bring together the brightest and the most dedicated students from all countries irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability, ethnicity or socio-economic background.
• India will provide appropriate visa to students, faculty, and staff for travel to India to study or work in the University.
• The funding for the establishment and operations of the University will be on a voluntary basis.

World’s tallest hybrid wind turbine installed in Kutch

November 8, 2014

Wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy has installed the world’s first and tallest hybrid wind generator turbine in Kutch, Gujarat. This installation was part Gujarat’s focused approach on enhancing Renewable Energy Portfolio in order to meet the dual objective of Sustainable Development and ensuring India’s Energy Security.
In 2008, the Suzlon Energy had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat Government to set up 2000 MW of wind energy capacity in the state.
Key features of Suzlon’s tallest hybrid wind generator turbine

• The turbine will generate 12-15 percent more energy.
• Hybrid wind turbine will be 120-metre in height. It is taller than conventional wind turbine towers by 40 metres.
• With this new turbine, the installed wind energy capacity at the Kutch region of Gujarat has gone up to 1100 MW. It makes it the Asia’s biggest wind energy park at one location.
• This tower is ideal for low wind areas and the potential is huge. In the next three years, this region will have 2000 MW of wind energy capacity.

About Suzlon Energy
Suzlon Energy is a leading wind power products and services company with a global footprint. It was established in 1995. Suzlon is credited with developing one of the world’s largest wind farms in the western Indian state of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The company has presence across six continents: North and South America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. The Suzlon Group has built its presence in over 31 countries and has achieved a milestone by crossing over 25000 MW of wind power installations globally.

Canine Distemper Virus pushing tigers towards extinction

November 8, 2014

According to a new study from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), canine distemper virus (CDV) has the potential to be a significant driver in pushing the tigers towards extinction. This deadly virus is adding a new threat to tiger populations along with to the existing pressures of habitat loss, poaching and depletion of prey species.
Researchers have evaluated these impacts on the Amur tiger population in Russia’s Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik (SABZ), where tiger numbers declined from 38 individuals to 9 in the years 2007 to 2012.
How the study took place?

• The scientists used computer modeling to simulate the effects of CDV infection on isolated tiger populations of various sizes and through a series of transmission scenarios.
• These included tiger-to-tiger transmission and transmission through predation on CDV-infected domestic dogs or infected wild carnivores (such as foxes, raccoon dogs and badgers).
• High and low-risk scenarios for the model were created based on variation in the prevalence of CDV and the tigers’ contact with sources of exposure.

A key finding of this study

• Modeling shows that smaller populations of tigers were found to be more vulnerable to extinction by CDV.
• Populations consisting of 25 individuals were 1.65 times more likely to decline in the next 50 years when CDV was present.
• The results are profoundly disturbing for global wild tigers as in most sites wild tigers are limited to populations of less than 25 adult breeding individuals.

About canine distemper virus (CDV)
Canine distemper is a viral disease that affects animals. The disease is highly contagious (via inhalation) and fatal 50% of the time, thus making it the leading cause of infectious disease death. The virus infects the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, the brain, and spinal cord of animals.
Common symptoms can include: 1) High fever, 2) Watery discharge from the eyes and nose, 3) Vomiting and diarrhea, 4) Hardening of the footpads and nose, 5) Seizures of any part of the body 6) Paralysis.
It is most commonly associated with domestic animals such as dogs and ferrets, but it can infect wild animals.

Kerala’s Ashtamudi clam fishery to first in India to receive MSC certification

November 8, 2014

Clam fishery in the Ashtamudi estuary in Kolam district of Kerala is the first in India to receive Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. This certification will help to boost sustainable fisheries while protecting the ecosystem in this Wetland area.
It has become the third in Asia to receive this recognition.
It is a joint effort of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi, the Kerala State Fisheries Department and the World Wildlife Fund, along with the local fishing community.

What is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification programme?

• The MSC programme is the world’s most rigorous, science-based standard criteria for sustainable seafood.
• MSC certification is basically ecolabel used to monitor the health of the world’s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood, and working with partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.
• This certification implies the implementation of measures that will ensure that the resource is not overfished at the cost of the eco-system.
• When buyers choose to purchase MSC certified fish, fisheries are rewarded for sustainable practices.
• Thus MSC programme helps to harness market forces to incentivise positive environmental change.
• Globally, over 11 per cent of the annual global harvest of wild fisheries is engaged in the MSC programme. Globally more than 19,500 seafood products are certified and eco-lebeled by MSC.

Implications

• It also opens up the scope for other fisheries in India to work towards MSC certification that will enhance conservation and sustainability of the resource while providing greater economic returns.
• This may be set an example by showcasing the world that development and environment protection go hand in hand and participatory approach at the local level in managing biodiversity is an important aspect of it.

About Ashtamudi estuary

Ashtamudi estuary is a Ramsar Wetland of international importance and second largest in Kerala. Clam fishery in this estuary dates back to 1981 and supports livelihood of around 3,000 fishermen involved in collection, cleaning, processing and trading of clams. In 1993, clam commercial fishery had declined due overfishing in order to meet its demand in South Asian countries.
In order to stop overfishing strict guidelines were introduced which included closed season fishing, mesh restrictions for nets, minimum export size and banning mechanical clam fishing.

Indian-origin politician Keith Vaz named as Labour MP of the Year

November 8, 2014

Indian-origin British politician Keith Vaz was named as the Labour MP of the year 2014. He was choosen for this award for his valuable work for underrepresented, deprived and minority sections in the United Kingdom. Speaker of the house John Bercow announced the Patchwork Foundation MPs of the Year 2014 at Speakers House.
The awards were announced for those who have represented and worked with underrepresented, deprived and minority communities across the country.
The MP of the Year Awards not only highlights the work MPs are doing to better understand their diverse communities but also applauds those MP’s who are encouraging greater civic and political engagement.

About Keith Vaz

• His full name is Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, but popularly known as Keith Vaz
• He is a British Labour Party politician. He is Member of Parliament for Leicester East since 1987. He is the longest-serving Asian MP in United Kingdom and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July 2007.
• He was appointed as a member of the Privy Council in June 2006. He has also been named among the most influential Asians in Britain. Before his political career, Vaz was a practicing solicitor.

Jet Airways bans shipment of shark fins to protect declining shark population

November 7, 2014

As per press release from Human Society International (HSI) India, Jet Airways Cargo has instituted a policy to ban the shipment of shark fins. Jet Airways by instituting this policy has joined group of major international carriers committed to protect declining shark populations and marine ecosystems.
Other growing league of environmentally conscious airlines are  Emirates, Philippines Airlines, Korean Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Qantas and Air New Zealand, all of whom have made a public commitment to stop carrying shark fins
Why there is need to ban the shipment of shark fins?

• Sharks are top predators and important for survival and maintenance of healthy marine ecosystem.
• Shark fin trade is one of the main reasons for the decline in the shark population globally.
• Shark finning: It is the process of removal and retention of shark fins. This removal of fins doesn’t allow shark to move effectively resulting in sinking to bottom of the ocean and die.
• Shark finning has increased since 1997 largely due to the increasing demand for shark fins for shark fin soup and traditional cures, particularly in China and its territories.
• This environment friendly decision of HSI along with international carriers will help to stop Shark fin trade by cutting off supply chain.

India and Shark finning
Some research reports suggests that India is the world’s second-largest shark catching nation and one of the world’s largest exporters of shark fins. As per trade reports and undercover investigations, the shark fins are commonly transported from India to places like Hong Kong, Dubai and China as cargo on airlines.

Government to launch modified direct cash subsidy transfer for LPG consumers from January 1, 2015

November 7, 2014

NDA government is launching, the modified version of Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG ( DBTL) scheme in 54 districts from 15^th November 2014 and all over the country from 1^st January 2014.
The petroleum ministry is working on this in order to ensure that there is coordination between the oil companies and banks so that consumers smoothly get the LPG subsidy in their bank accounts,
Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme is expected to save the government upto Rs 14,000 crores in subsidies and aims curbing leakages, preventing black-marketing and sending gas subsidy to the consumers’ bank accounts.
How Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme will work?

• All LPG consumers who join the modified DBTL scheme can receive the LPG cash subsidy either by linking their Aadhaar number to the LPG and bank database as the primary option.
• Else, they will get the subsidy directly into their accounts without linking it with Aadhaar as a secondary option.
• Under the scheme, LPG consumers will get cash subsidy in their bank accounts so they can buy a cooking gas cylinder at market price.

The Prime Minister’s Office has directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the National Population Register (NPR) to complete the Aadhaar enrolment of the entire population by March, 2015r. UIDAI has already issued over 70 crore Aadhar numbers across the country.
The main intention for Aadhaar enrolment is to implement social schemes with Aadhaar.

World Chess Championship 2014 begins at Sochi, Russia

November 7, 2014

The World Chess Championship 2014 will be a match between the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, and challenger Viswanathan Anand, to determine the 2014 World Chess Champion.
It will be held from 7 November to 28 November 2014, under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) in Sochi, Russia.
In this tournament, eight players will compete against Carlsen in the World Chess Championship.
Some rules of this championship

• Drawing of colours: The draw will be conducted during the opening ceremony and will be reversed in Round 7. (The player getting the white in game 1 shall play game 7 with the black).
• Time Control: The game will be played using the electronic clock approved by the FIDE. Each game will be of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves. From the 61st move, there will be an increment of 30 seconds per move.
• Point System: A player who wins the game will be awarded 1 point and no point will be awarded in case of a defeat. If the game ends in a draw, both players will share half point

APJ Abdul Kalam is honorary professor in top Chinese University

November 7, 2014

Former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was formally conferred the title of Honorary Professor by the Peking University, one of the oldest Chinese universities.
On 5^th November 2014, President of the University Enge Wang presented the Honorary Professor certificate to Kalam. The ceremony was also attended by Indian Ambassador Ashok K Kantha and other officials.
Then he delivered lecture on ‘sustainable development system and creative leadership’ to a group of students drawn from different disciplines of the university.
He was formally invited to teach at the University by its Chairman Zhu Shanlu when he visited China for the first time in 2012.
Key facts of Lecture

• He called for Sino-Indian joint space collaboration and interface between universities of the two countries on development themes.
• He mentioned that if universities of the world work together, it will be a major factor in better understanding of the different cultures and contribute significantly to the peace and prosperity of the world.
• China and India should have research and academic interfaces in development themes in order to address the development challenges.
• Both countries should jointly take up the challenge to build satellites that could generate round-the-clock solar power and connect the world with clean power.

Dr. Kalam will address two more classes in the university, on sustainable model for rural development and harnessing space and solar power.

Government to launch separate drug controller for traditional medicines

November 6, 2014

On 6^th November 2014, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan announced that government has decided to set up a separate Central drug controller for traditional medicines on the lines of that for the allopathy medicines to ensure quality production standards.
He made this announcement after inaugurating the four-day 6^th Arogya Expo organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the World Ayurveda Congress in New Delhi.

Why there is need for separate drug controller for traditional medicines?

• India’s experience and strength in the traditional medicine has not yet translated into market shares in the global traditional market.
• The traditional medicines global worldwide market is estimated at about $100 billion, but India’s share is negligible because quality standards are not maintained to international specifications.
• Thus it can be said that India being experienced in the field of traditional medicine has not trapped it potential.
• India’s neighbour China has captured huge share of the traditional medicines world market whereas India’s presence is considered as non-existent.
• Institutionalisation of a regulatory authority for traditional medicine backed up by Central and State laboratories will ensure that traditional and indigenous medicines get their pride of place in mainstream healthcare world-wide.

Current drug controller for traditional medicines

• Presently, Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) or traditional medicinal products are being governed under the Drug and Cosmetic Act supervised by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
• But DCGI is short-staffed and is not able to do justice to the Indian traditional medicine system compared to the growing allopathy sector.

Implications of this decision

• It will help to regulate traditional medicines in terms of international standards.
• Thus, focus on building up a brand value for Ayurvedic drugs manufactured in the country at international market.
• It will benefit rural India where people largely rely on local herbal doctors.
• It will further add traditional medicines in export basket of country.
• Through National AYUSH Mission, the government will focus on building up brand value for Ayurvedic drugs.

Madhya Pradesh becomes first state to formulate defence products investment policy

November 6, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, Madhya Pradesh state government approved its ambitious Defence Products Investment Policy. Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to formulate such a policy in the country. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Key facts of the policy

• This policy will help those investors who are willing to invest Rs 500 crore or more for setting up public and private sector defence manufacturing units near Katni, Itarsi, and Jabalpur.
• 50-acre undeveloped government land will be provided and even land belonging to the closed down and sick units would be purchased for setting up defence equipment manufacturing units.
• Subsidy will be provided for creating infrastructure and dedicated escort officers would be provided for special units, besides offering a special package to those units making a permanent investment of Rs 500 crore.
• Besides, vendor units of defence manufacturing plants will be allotted land on sub-lease. Facilities like mother units will be provided to vendor units of big industries if vendor units sell 75 per cent of their products to mother units.
• Subsidy: Provision for providing subsidy for transporting goods and raw material to and fro the ports.

Under the policy, 50 per cent subsidy will be given on expenditure on power, water and road infrastructure to be created on undeveloped land by defence equipment manufacturing units.

• Units making permanent investment of Rs. 500 crore will be exempted from entry tax and 2 years exemption from power tariff. They will be given benefits under investment promotion assistance scheme.
• Road and power to these units will be developed and made available by government.
• Stamp duty will be reimbursed on purchase of closed, sick or acquired units for setting up defence manufacturing units.

Sajid Javid is first Indian-origin Cabinet Minister in Britain

November 6, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, Sajid Javid Britain’s secretary of state or cabinet minister for culture, media and sport, has disclosed that his father was from India and his mother from Pakistan. So it makes him half-Indian and the first person of Indian origin to be a cabinet minister in Britain.
He made this announcement at British Asian dinner, which released a ‘Power 101 Britain’s Most Influential Asians 2015′ list which had him at top position. Earlier, he was always been described as being of Pakistani origin, which he partially is, but his Indian connection was unknown publicly.
Previously, Indian origin MP, Keith Vaz was a minister of state in a Labour government. But no one of Indian descent has ever been appointed a cabinet minister in Britain until now.
In 2010, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who is of Pakistani origin, became a cabinet minister, the first Asian to be thus elevated.

About Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bromsgrove since 2010. Currently he is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Equalities since 2014.
He previously had served as Economic Secretary from 2012 to 2013 and as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 2013 to 2014.

Key facts of ‘Power 101 Britain’s Most Influential Asians 2015′ list ranking

Top five positions:

1. Sajid Javid- Britain’s secretary of state or cabinet minister for culture, media and sport
2. Malala Yousafzai- Nobel Peace Prize winner
3. Keith Vaz-Indian-origin Labour MP
4. Lakshmi Mittal- Indian steel tycoon
5. Hinduja brothers.

NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and son Angad, chairman and CEO of Caparo Group of Industries, curry king Lord Gulam Noon and Deutsche Bank’s Indian-origin CEO Anshu Jain also find their place in the Power 101.
Power 101 has been compiled by The Asian Media and Marketing Group (AMG) and features the top 101 most influential Asians in the UK, ranging from all walks of life

Torpedo Recovery Vessel of Indian Navy sinks off the Visakhapatnam

November 6, 2014

On 6^th November 2014, a Torpedo Recovery Vessel, TRV-72 of Indian Navy sank within 10-15 kms off Vizag port, near Visakhapatnam coast during a naval exercise.
One sailor was killed in the incident while three others went missing. At the time of incident there were 28 personnel on board of which 24 were rescued by naval ships and rescue operation was launched for the missing.

About The Incident

TRV 72 sank due to flooding in one of its compartments. The flooding happened when the vessel was on its way back after collecting the “dummy” torpedo that was used in the exercise.
Preliminary reports suggest that a recess in the hull for intake of water developed a crack leading to flooding, while the exact cause is not known. A Board of Inquiry has been instituted to investigate the accident.
About the Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV)-72
Sunken TRV-72 was of an Astravahini Class. The ship was 23 meters long and 6.5 meters at the beam and weighed 112-tonne. It was built by Goa Shipyard in 1983 and commissioned into the Navy on 23 February 1983. It has served the Indian Navy for the last 31 years.
The Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV) is an auxiliary vessel which is used to recover practice torpedoes fired by fleet ships and submarines.

ICC Test and ICC ODI Team of the Year : Key Facts

November 6, 2014

Sri Lankan cricket captain Angelo Mathews has been named as captain of the ICC Test Team of the Year 2014. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as the captain of ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014. He has been selected in the ICC ODI team of the year for the eight time (seventh year in a row), while fifth year as a captain of the team.

Selection Process for ICC Test and ICC ODI team of the Year

• The ICC Test team of the Year was chosen by a specially appointed selection panel chaired by the ICC’s Cricket Committee chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble.
• The selection panel also included Jonathan Agnew, a former England international and now a respected broadcaster/journalist, ex-Sri Lanka opener Russel Arnold, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, and Betty Timmer, former Chair of the ICC Women’s Committee.
• The selected team was announced at the ICC Headquarters in Dubai, where ICC Chief Executive David Richardson also announced the short-lists for the LG ICC Awards 2014.
• The team was selected on the basis of their 12-month performance between 26 August 2013 and 17 September 2014.
• The panel selected the team after discussing various combinations and took into account several scenarios like opposition, pitch conditions and match situations.

Selected ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014 (in batting order)

1. David Warner (Australia)
2. Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
3. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
4. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
5. Joe Root (England)
6. Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) (captain)
7. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
8. Stuart Broad (England)
9. Dale Steyn (South Africa)
10. Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)
11. Tim Southee (New Zealand)
12. Ross Taylor (New Zealand) (12th man)

 Selected ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014 (in batting order)

1. Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)
2. Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
3. Virat Kohli (India)
4. George Bailey (Australia)
5. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
6. MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper) (captain)
7. Dwayne Bravo (West Indies)
8. James Faulkner (Australia)
9. Dale Steyn (South Africa)
10. Mohammad Shami (India)
11. Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)
12. Rohit Sharma (India) (12th man)

About ICC Test and ICC ODI Team of the Year

The ICC Test and ICC ODI Team of the Year is an honor awarded each year by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It recognizes the top players from around the world. The teams do not actually compete, but exists solely as an honorary entity.

Japanese reality firm TamaHomes to invest in India

November 6, 2014

Japanese real estate company TamaHomes Corporation has entered into a joint venture agreement with Developer Group India Pvt. Ltd to create townships in India.
Both real estate companies will jointly build three housing projects, including two townships, having about 3,500 housing units, in Ludhiana, Visakhapatnam and Chennai.
Developer Group India Pvt. Ltd is a Japanese investor-promoted real estate company in India backed by leading Japanese corporates and institutions.
It will bring and promote eathquake-proof technology into the Indian realty market.
TamaHomes entry into India comes a week after Japanese telecom group SoftBank buying a major stake in Snapdeal.com for USD 627 million.
A number of Japanese companies are already present in India across sectors like automobiles and consumer goods, while financial services from there have also began evincing interest to open up business here.
Developer group and TamaHomes will together develop about 12-18 projects in the next five years at a cost of about Rs 6,000 crore.
Developer Group India Pvt Ltd is buying land for upcoming projects as well as partnering land owners to build projects. They are going to outsource the construction activities related to these projects to local contractors.
In future, the joint venture firm is also looking into possibilities of developing smart cities, commercial, hospitality projects in India.

Government to revive District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) in four states

November 6, 2014

The NDA Government has decided to launch scheme in order to infuse Rs 2,375.42 crore to revive 23 District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) in 4 states, which were on the verge of closure.
Of the total amount, state governments will contribute Rs. 1,464.59 crore, Centre Rs. 673.29 crore and NABARD Rs. 237.54 crore.

Why Government want to save these DCCBs?

• There are 23 unlicenced DCCBs at district in four states. Among 23 unlicenced DCCBs, 16 are in Uttar Pradesh, 3 each in Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra and 1 in West Bengal.
• These banks were on the verge of closure.
• They have deposits base of about Rs 6,839 crore and loan book of around Rs 3,774 crore.
• These deposits are of People from lower strata of society and small businessmen.
• So, in order to protect interest of these people, government is planning to stop them from verge of closure.

How will government infuse this amount?

• For the purpose of implementation of the scheme, a tripartite agreement in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), stipulating conditionalities and deliverables, will be signed between the Centre and state and NABARD.
• Centre’s share of Rs 673.29 crore would be released through NABARD as interest-free loan and would be converted into grant on fulfilment of conditionalities/deliverables outlined in the scheme.

Conditionalities are:

1. Bringing the NPAs to at least half of the current levels by 31^st March, 2017.
2. Making 15 percent growth rate of deposits for next two years.
3. Drawing up of a monthly Monitorable Action Plan.
4. Placement of competent CEOs fulfilling ‘Fit & Proper’ criteria.
5. Putting Corporate Governance Systems in place.

• The assistance from NABARD would be in the form of loan to the respective state governments under Section 27 of NABARD Act, 1981.
• During the implementation of the scheme, operations of these 23 unlicensed DCCBs would be closely monitored by NABARD and RBI, so that they meet the licensing requirement within the time frame as prescribed in the scheme

Implications of this decision

• The scheme will help in revival of these cooperative banks.
• It will result in protecting the interests of depositors and catering to the credit needs of farmers.
• Once revived, these cooperative banks would become eligible for obtaining licenses from RBI for continuing their operations in rural areas and would also be able to meet CRAR (Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio) requirement prescribed by RBI.

Cabinet approves treaty on transfer of sentenced prisoners between India, Nigeria

November 6, 2014

Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing a treaty on transfer of sentenced persons between India and Nigeria. The treaty will facilitate Indian prisoners imprisoned in Nigeria or Nigerian prisoners in India to be near their families, for serving the remaining part of their sentence and shall facilitate their social rehabilitation.
This treaty for the transfer of prisoners was approved under the Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003 passed by the Union government to send foreign prisoners back to their country and bring back Indian from foreign jails.

Background of Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003

Prior to 2004, there was no domestic legislation under which foreign prisoners could be transferred to the country of their origin to serve the remaining part of their sentence, nor was there a provision for the transfer of prisoners of Indian origin convicted by a foreign court to serve their sentence in India.
In 2003, India enacted Repatriation of Prisoners Act to provide for the transfer of prisoners from India to country or place outside India and reception in India of certain prisoners from country or place outside India.
So far India has singed such agreements with 35 countries including Nigeria.
Some countries which have singed such Agreements with India are United Kingdom, Mauritius, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Turkey, Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Israel, Russia and Vietnam.
The same kind of negotiations has also been concluded with the Governments of Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Spain.

Prime Minister adopts Jayapur village of Varanasi under the ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’

November 5, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted Jayapur village in Varanasi under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of PM Narendra Modi.

About Jayapur village

It is located 32 km from Varanasi city centre in the Rohaniya assembly segment. The village has a population of 4000. Of them, 2700 are voters. The village is dominated by Bhumihars and Patels.
PM is scheduled to visit the village on 7^th November 2014. This will be Narendra Modi’s first visit to his constituency after being sworn in as the prime minister.
The village was already adopted by the Rashtriya SwayamSevak Sangh (RSS) under its ideal village scheme in 2002. Sangh has formed three categories for villages and focused on planting trees, promoting animal husbandry.

About Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)

The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, is a program launched for the development of model villages.
Under the Yojana, Members of Parliament (MPs) will be responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024.
Key objectives of the Yojana include:

• The development of model villages, called Adarsh Grams, through the implementation of existing schemes, and certain new initiatives to be designed for the local context, which may vary from village to village.
• Creating models of local development which can be replicated in other villages.

Under this SAGY, the first Adarsh Gram must be developed by 2016, and two more by 2019.
From 2019 to 2024, five more Adarsh Grams must be developed by each MP, one each year.  This implies that a total of 6,433 Adarsh Grams, of the 2,65,000 gram panchayats, will be created by 2024.

Government reconstitutes Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change

November 5, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, Union government reconstituted the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change.
The new Council on Climate Change will be headed by Prime Minister. It will formulate and coordinate the National Action Plan for Assessment, Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change.
The council will have 18 members, which includes 13 government representatives and 5 non-government members. Among 13 government representatives, 8 will be ministers.
The council will focus on the following tasks:

• The new council will coordinate the action plan and advise the government on proactive measures that can be taken to deal with the challenge of climate change.
• It will facilitate inter-ministerial coordination and guide policy in relevant areas.
• The council will evolve a coordinated response to issues relating to climate change at the national level.
• It will provide oversight for formulation of action plans in the area of assessment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change and periodically monitor key policy decisions.

The composition of the re-constituted Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change:

1. Prime Minister(Head of Council)
2. Minister for External Affairs
3. Union Finance Minister
4. Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change: It will assist the Prime Minister’s Office in facilitating the work of the council.
5. Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
6. Union Minister for Agriculture.
7. Union Minister for Urban Development.
8. Union Minister for Science and Technology.
9. Union MoS of Power, Coal and NRE.
10. Principal Secretary to PM (Member-convener of this panel)
11. Cabinet Secretary.
12. Foreign Secretary.
13. Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

Retained members from previous council

4. R. K. Pachauri, Chairperson ofIPCC and TERI.
5. Nitin Desai.
6. Chandrasekar Dasgupta

Newly added members

7. Ajay Mathur, Chairperson, BEE
8. M. Mouskar, retired IAS officer.

Previous Council
The first and previous was formed in 2007. It was chaired by then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It included government representatives and non-government members. But this council had not met for over three years.
Sunita Narain, Raj Chengappa, R.Ramachandran,Prodopto Ghosh and RatanTata were the members of this council who are dropped from this year’s council.
The country’s National Action Plan on Climate Change was framed by this Council.
 

 

First annual Budget of Telangana: Key Highlights

November 5, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, newly formed Telangana State’s first annual Budget of Rs 1,00,637 crore was presented in the State Assembly by Finance Minister Etela Rajinder.
This Budget presentation was considered as a historical occasion for the people of Telangana as they take control over their own resources and fate after bifurcating from Andhra Pradesh.
Key Highlights of the Telangana Budget

• This Budget has proposed an expenditure of Rs 1,00,637 crore for the 10 months of financial year 2014-15, including a plan expenditure of Rs 48,648 crore and non-plan outlay of Rs 51,989 crore.
• The Budget also highlighted fiscal deficit of Rs 17,398 crore and the estimated revenue surplus is Rs 301.02 crore.
• Upliftment of the weaker section: Budget announced sub-plans for the scheduled castes and schedule tribes by earmarking Rs 7,579 crore and Rs 4,559 crore respectively.
• Scheduled caste welfare: Rs 1,000 crore was allocated in order to provide three acres of cultivable land to each landless family of the scheduled caste, develop it with irrigation and provide total cost of cultivation for the first year as a grant.
• Agriculture: In the Budget start government allocated Rs 7,099 crore for agriculture.

For loan waiver scheme for farmers, state government has paid the first installment of Rs 4,250 crore.

• Market Intervention Fund: Rs 400 crore is allocated for establishing Market Intervention Fund to ensure farmers get stable and remunerative prices.
• Seed bowl of India project: Rs 50 crore funds were allocated to develop Telangana in to seed bowl of India.
• Irrigation: Government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the restoration of 9,000 irrigation tanks and rejuvenates 45,000 tanks in coming five years.

Rs 6,500 crore is allocated for irrigation and complete four lift irrigation schemes during the current year in order to bring 2.97 lakh acres of land under irrigation.

• Water grid project: Rs 2,000 crore were allocated for the ambitious water grid project. This project with a total estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore will envisages the supply of drinking water to every household in three years.
• Power generation projects: Government plans to add 20,000 MW of power generation to its capacity over the next five years

It includes 4,000 MW power plant of NTPC at Ramagundam and 6,000 MW thermal power plant by BHEL for which a memorandum of understanding was signed.
The State Government will also spend Rs 3,000 crore to provide free electricity to the farmers.

• Financial assistance for the families of martyrs: Allocation of Rs 100 crore towards financial assistance for the families of people who laid down their lives for the separate State.

The Government has identified families of 459 martyrs who will get Rs 10 lakh each.

• The Budget also announced setting up of a health university at Warangal.
• Provision under constituency development fund has been increased from Rs 1 crore per constituency to Rs 1.5 crore and an amount of Rs 234 crore was earmarked in the Budget.

India Russia sign pact to set up a Smart City on DMIC

November 5, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, India and Russia signed agreement to set up a Smart City on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
The agreement was signed by Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during the 20^th session of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).
Russian company AFK Sistema will help in establishing the Smart City in India.
The IRIGC-TEC reviewed the progress on a broad spectrum of bilateral issues including trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation.
This meeting also reviewed the preparations for the forthcoming visit of the Russian President Putin to India for the 15th India-Russia Annual Summit next month.

Other key highlights of 20^th session IRIGC-TEC

• Lighting equipment plant: Approval for setting up a manufacturing of lighting equipment plant in Karnataka by Russian firm MGK Lighting Technologie.
• Telecommunication satellites: A project by the group of companies Dauria Aerospace and Aniara Communications Private Limited for unrolling of a group of telecommunication satellites `NextStar’ on geostationary orbit of the Earth on the basis of low budget platform was approved.
• Joint Study Group: Setting up a Joint Study Group for the proposed agreement between India and the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation for trade in goods and services.
• Bilateral trade: To enhance bilateral trade through the International North South Corridor Project (INSTC) by freight forwarders and exporters particularly to bolster trade in agriculture and food processing industry.
• Momentum of cooperation: India and Russia will maintain the momentum of cooperation in some priority areas such as hydrocarbons, coking coal, fertilizers, mining, civil aviation, infrastructure and trade in rough diamonds.
• A joint cooperation between the Indian company National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and the Russian firm ACRON. It will look into development of potassium and magnesium deposits in Talitsky mine in Perm region of Russia and Partomchorr apatite-nepheline ore deposit (Murmansk region).
• Proposal for setting up of a 200-250 MW Power Plant project at Ulan-Ude by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
• Establishment of a JV in India for production of Cold-Rolled Grain Oriented silicon steel (CRGO) grade steel by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) in collaboration with NLMK of the Russian Federation.
• Joint Supercomputer Center: Proposal for establishing Joint Supercomputer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JSCC RAS), collaboration on various applications of High Performance Computing (HPC), supercomputing and
• Technology sector: Establishment of an India-Russia joint investment fund for supporting joint projects in high technology sector including transfer of technology.

Cabinet decides to withdraw Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014

November 5, 2014

On 5^th November 2014,  Union Cabinet decided to withdraw the Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014 which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by the then UPA Government in February 2014.

Reason’s for withdrawal of Bill

• The NDA Government’s withdrawal decision comes in the wake of certain judgments of the Supreme Court and the Lucknow Benchof Allahabad High Court.
• The Government had also received several representations against the bill.
• The Government feels that, the Bill needs to be further amended after taking into account the judgments of the courts, representations and other recent developments.

Cabinet also notified that, this Bill will be introduces after fresh set of amendments and detailed examination of court judgments and several representations.
Fresh set of amendments will be finalised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Background of withdrawn Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014

• The objective of the Bill was to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) to regulate the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food items.
• The Bill had specified that the chairperson shall guide and oversee the FSSAI, preside over its meetings and exercise any other powers of the FSSAI as may be assigned to him.
• Under withdrawn Bill, the FSSAI consisted of a chairperson and twenty-two members.
• The Bill had proposed to add the Chief Executive Officer as a member of the FSSAI.

Narendra Modi enters into Forbes List of Powerful People 2014

November 5, 2014

On 5^th November 2014, Forbes magazine released the list of ‘World’s 72 Most Powerful People’. The list gives the annual ranking of the World’s 72 Most Powerful People on the basis of their financial resources, scope and use of power and the number of people they impact.
Some key facts from this year’s Forbes list of World’s Most Powerful People

• For the consecutive second year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named the world’s most powerful person in the list.
• US President Barack Obama took the second spot on Forbes’ list for the second consecutive year.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is new comer in this list, ranked 15^th.
• Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was the highest ranked Indian last year at 21, was omitted from the list this year.
• Newcomers: This year there are 12 newcomers on the list, including Indian PM Narendra Modi and Egypt President Abdel el-Sisi.

Alibiba founder and China’s richest person, Jack Ma also made a first appearance on the list, ranked 30^th.
Terror group Islamic State’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is also new comer to the list, ranked 54^th.

• The list also included names Indian businessmen’s. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani at 36th, ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal at 57th and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella at 64th.
• Women who are in the list: For the first time, two women German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Head of US Federal Reserve System, Janet Yellen, reached the top 10.

This year there are nine women on the list, representing 12 per cent of the world’s most powerful list.

• The list features 17 heads, who run nations with a combined GDP of around 48 trillion US dollars.

10 most powerful people in the world
Rank	Name	Designation
1	Vladimir Putin	President of Russia
2	Barack Obama	President of US
3	Xi Jinping	President of China
4	Pope Francis	Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Vatican City
5	Angela Merkel	Chancellor of Germany
6	Janet Yellen	Head of US Federal Reserve
7	Bill Gates	Chairman of Bill & Melinda Foundation
8	Mario Draghi	President of the European Central Bank
9	Sergey Brin Larry Page	Google founders
10	David Cameron	Prime Minister of UK
Indian’s in this list
15	Narendra Modi	Prime Minister of India
36	Mukesh Ambani	Chairman of  Reliance Industries
57	Lakshmi Mittal	Chairman and CEO ArcelorMittal
64	Satya Nadella	CEO Microsoft

About the Forbes list of World’s Most Powerful People list
It was stated in 2009. The list has one slot for every 100 million people on Earth, it means in 2009 there were 67 slots on the list, in 2010 there were 68, in 2011 there were 70, and in 2012 there were 71 slots.
Slots are allocated based on the amount of human and financial resources as well as their influence on world events.
The list seeks to answer a straight yet complex question that- What is the true nature of power and can we really compare and rank heads of state with religious figures and outlaws?
 

 

 

New York’s World Trade Center reopens for business

November 4, 2014

The World Trade Centre (WTC) in New York has been reopened for business. The 104 storey building was rebuilt at a cost of $4.2 billion, thirteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Though no official opening ceremony was conducted, businesses will be able to operate from the World Trade Centre. The reopening of WTC was an emotional moment for all New Yorkers, and the structure marks the resilient spirit of the people of New York.

One Trade Centre is now open to commercial tenants. Publishing giant, Conde Nast, became the first commercial tenant to begin work at One WTC. The eight year long construction of the 541 m high building was completed after years of political, financial and legal infighting that threatened to derail the project. The construction of One WTC was on strong footing only as construction of two other towers started going up on the southeast end of the site. 4 WTC is now completed, and its anchor tenant is the Port Authority, and 3 WTC is slowly rising.
One WTC has leased 58% of its 2,78,000 sq. m. of space. Other tenants are also expected to move into the building, which authorities are calling the most secure office building in America.

Justice Mukkul Mudgal Committee submits final report to Supreme Court

November 4, 2014

The Justice Mukkul Mudgal Committee, which was constituted to conduct an independent inquiry over allegations of corruption, betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches, submitted its findings in the form of a final Report to the SC in a sealed cover on November 3. The next hearing of the SC is on the 10th of November, when the Court will deliberate upon the findings of the Committee, and take a final decision on the matter.
The SC will also determine if N.Srinivasan can seek re-election as President of the BCCI. In February 2014, the Mudgal panel had presented a sealed envelope to the SC containing the names of 13 individuals who needed to be probed further. N.Srinivasan is one of the persons named on the list.

IPL Scandal

S.Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were the three prominent IPL cricketers who were arrested on allegations of spot-fixing. The former Chennai Super Kings Team Principal, Gurunath Meiyappan, and actor Vindoo Dara Singh are accused of engaging in betting during the sixth edition of the IPL.

Mudgal Committee

The Justice Mukkul Mudgal Committee was constituted by the SC in 2014. It is headed by retired Justice Mukkul Mudgal and includes former Solicitor-General of India, L.Nageshwara Rao, former Umpire Nilay Dutta,  Deputy DG of Narcotics Control Bureau B.B.Mishra and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.

Justice Mukul Mudgal

Justice Mudgal had started his career as an advocate at the SC and Delhi HC. After which he became a judge of the Delhi HC. He was later the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana HC between 2009 and 2011. He retired on January 3, 2011

Darjeeling Zoo wins International Earth Heroes Award

November 4, 2014

The Darjeeling Zoo won an award at the International Earth Heroes Awards. It is the first Indian zoo to have received this prestigious honour. Apart from being the only specialized zoo in India, it is internationally recognized for its conservation breeding programmes of endangered animals of Eastern Himalayas. The Zoo is also well-known for its efforts in educating, motivating and initiating awareness about the importance of conservation of Himalayan eco-system.

The ceremony for the RBS Earth Heroes Awards 2014 was announced at an awards function held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi on 4th November.
The finalists for each award were selected by a jury comprising of experts from the field of conservation, bio-diversity, science, government, media, The Royal Bank of Scotland, the National Biodiversity Authority and the Bombay Natural History Society.

Award Winners of the 2014 Prize

The recipients of the RBS Earth Heroes Award, 2014 are as follows:-

• RBS Earth Hero Award – Dr. Erach Bharucha
• RBS Earth Guardian Award – The Kenneth Anderson Nature Society (KANS)
• RBS Save The Species Award – Pangti Village Council & Dr. Goutam Narayan
• RBS Inspire Award – Mr. Dhritiman Mukherjee
• RBS Green Warrior Award – Mr Sujoy Banerjee & Shri. P. S Somashekhar
• Special Mention was given to the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park or the Darjeeling Zoo.

 Earth Heroes Award

The Earth Heroes Awards is an Award that ‘recognises and honours individuals and institutions who work exceptionally hard to preserve and protect critical eco-systems.’ The Awards were instituted by the Royal Bank of Scotland in association with WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) in 2011.
The categories for the RBS Earth Heroes awards include:-

• RBS Earth Hero Award (Felicitation) to be awarded to an Individual
• RBS Earth Guardian Award with Prize money of INR 1,50,000 that is to be awarded to an Institution
• RBS Save The Species Award with Prize money of INR 1,50,000 that is to be awarded to 2 Individuals
• RBS Inspire Award for Prize money with Prize money of INR 1,50,000 that is to be awarded to an Individual or Institution
• RBS Green Warrior Award with Prize money of INR 1,50,000 each that is to be awarded to 2 individuals

 About Darjeeling Zoo

The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is India’s largest high altitude zoo. It was established on 14^th August 1958. Some other details about the zoo are as follows:-

• The zoo is named after Padmaja Naidu, who is the daughter of Sarojini Naidu
• It was established in 1958 by the Department of Education of the Government of West Bengal. It became a registered society in 1972. And in May 1993, it was transferred to the West Bengal Department of Forests.
• Its first Director and Founder was Dilip Kumar Dey, an officer of the Indian Forest Service
• It is a 56 acre zoo located in Darjeeling, West Bengal, and falls under the ‘small zoo’ classification of the Zoo Authority of India
• It has an average elevation of 7,000 feet or 2,134 m
• It was initially established with the goal of studying and preserving Himalayan fauna. The zoo now specializes in breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions, and has successfulcaptive breeding programs for the snow leopard, the critically endangered Himalayan wolf, Himalayan salamander and the red panda. It also provides a home to gorals (mountain goats), Siberian tigers and many endangered birds.
• Additionally, the zoo serves as the central hub for the Zoo Authority of India’s red panda program and is a member of WAZA
• The zoo attracts about 300,000 visitors every year.

Veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar dies at 64

November 4, 2014

Veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar passed away due to complications from a lung infection at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. Amrapurkar is known for his stellar performance in Sadak, Ishq and Ardh Satya. He was especially well known for his villainous roles, and later his comedic roles. He has done roles in mainly Marathi and Hindi movies, though he established his presence in various other regional movies. He was very active during the 1980s and 1990s. Since the 2000s, he has starred only in one movie, Bombay Talkies. He has also been a recipient of multiple Filmfare Awards.
Some other key facts about Amrapurkar are:-

• Amrapurkar was born as Ganesh Kumar Narwode in Ahmednagar on 11 May 1950
• While completing his Masters in History at Pune University, he was already pursuing his passion in theatre. He adopted the stage name Sadashiv Amrapurkar in 1974.
• Initially, he worked in theatre as well as the silver screen.
• He began his acting career in theatre where he directed and acted in nearly fifty plays.
• He made his movie debut in a Marathi film ‘22 June 1897’ where he portrayed Bal Gangadhar Tilak. His Bollywood debut was in Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya.
• Since then, he has acted in over 300 movies in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, and Telugu languages.
• He was the first actor to receive the newly instituted Filmfare Award for ‘Best Performance in a Negative Role’ for his portrayal of Maharani, an evil eunuch, in the movie Sadak in 1991. His other Filmfare Award includes Best Supporting Actor for Ardh Satya in 1984. He was also nominated for Best Villain for Kaal Chakra in 1988 and Best Villain for Ishq in 1998.
• His last onscreen appearance was in Bombay Talkies where he did a cameo in the portion filmed by Dibakar Banerjee.
• He is survived by his wife, Sunanda Amarapurkar, three children and three grandchildren.

 

Central Zone wins Duleep Trophy

November 3, 2014

The Central Zone team defeated the South Zone team to win the 2014 edition of the Duleep Trophy. The Central Zone team was led by Piyush Chawla, who helped clinch the narrow win. Of the total 13 games played by the five teams, the South Zone dominated 10 , but the 3 dominated by the Central Zone changed the game. The Central Zone beat the South Zone by a very small margin of 9 runs to claim the Trophy at the Ferozshah Kotla Ground in New Delhi.
The South Zone were chasing the Central Zone set-target of 301. On the last day of the match, the South Zone needed 117 runs with nine wickets intact. However, South Zone lost 7 wickets for just 39 runs, giving an easy win to the Central Zone

 About Duleep Trophy

The Duleep Trophy is a domestic cricket competition which is played in India. The country is divided into five teams on the basis of geographical zones of India.
The Tournament was instituted in 1961-62 by BCCI. There are five teams: North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone and Central Zone. The game follows the format of a 5 team knockout tournament.

 K.S.Duleepsinhji

The Duleep Trophy is named after Duleepsinh, who was an cricketer playing for England.
He was educated at Rajkumar College in Rajkot and later in Cheltenham College, Gloucestershire, England. While at Cheltenham, Duleepsinh was a popular batsman. He later went on to successfully play for Cambridge University, Sussex and the England team. However, his cricketing career was cut short due to recurrent illnesses.
Duleepsinhji’s uncle is Ranjitsinhji, after whom the Ranji Trophy is named. He also played cricket for England.

Government to set up National Cultural Audio-Visual Archives at Jodhpur

November 3, 2014

The Ministry of Culture will be setting up a National Cultural Audio-Visual Archives in Jodhpur in an effort to preserve India’s cultural heritage. The project will involve collaboration between the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) under the Ministry of Culture and the Rupayan Sansthan. A MoU for the pilot project has been signed between the two bodies. The project aims to digitise and make 10,000 hours of digital audio and video accessible by March 31, 2017. A committee of experts in audio-visual archiving will guide the IGNCA in this endeavor

Objective

The project aims to create digital archives in India that are up to international standards. The project will see IGNCA and its partnering and collaborating institutions work to achieve this goal. The project seeks to conserve and preserve India’s archives, and create awareness of their importance and proper upkeep.
The current phase of the project has the following short-time goals:-

• Devise a scheme of standards with respect to digitisation and metadata
• Carry out the actual digitization of material stored in audio-visual form with various government institutions, NGOs and in private collection
• Provide access to approximately 10,000 hours of audio-visual material
• Build capacity in the domain of audio-visual archiving

Collaboration

The IGNCA identified the  Jodhpur-based Rupayan Sansthan as a partnering institution. The two bodies will work together to develop a digital audio-visual repository and disseminate content sourced by both bodies from multiple partnering institutions.
Under the project, main focus would be on identifying and preserving the cultural heritage of India available in audio-visual form in governmental and non-governmental institutions across the country through digitisation and making the material accessible in the public domain.

Rupayan Sansthan

Rupayan Sansthan was established by ethno-musicologist and folk artist late Komal Kothari, and folk storyteller and writer, Vijaydan Detha in 1960. Their initial goal in establishing the foundation was to collect folk tales and folk songs to bring out the richness of Rajasthan. The foundation later evolved and was active in community development in Rajasthan.

Rajani Sankaran appointed BHAVINI chief

November 3, 2014

Senior IAAS (Indian Audits and Accounts Service) officer Rajani Sankaran has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI). She was the Director of Finance at BHAVINI  and has been given a temporary posting for three months on the former CMD Prabhat Kumar’s retirement. She will occupy the position till a CMD is finalized. Despite the temporary nature of the position she is set to hold, Sankaran will be the first woman to head an atomic power company in India.

BHAVINI

BHAVINI is a fast breeder reactor power company. It is involved in the setting up of India’s first indigenously designed 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam. The project is at a crucial stage and is expected to go on stream in 2015.

Rajani Sankaran

Sankaran is a 1989 batch IAAS officer. She has been a Fellow of International Auditing in the General Accountability Office, USA. She was held multiple positions in the government such as Accountant General (Commercial and Receipt Audit), Tamil Nadu and Principal Director of Audit (South Central Railway) and Southern Railway.

Breeder reactor

India’s PFBR was designed by IGCAR (Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research).
A breeder reactor breeds more material for nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. The PFBR will be fuelled by a blend of plutonium and uranium oxide, called MOX fuel. While the reactor breaks up plutonium for power production, it also breeds more plutonium than it consumes. The original plutonium broken down for power production comes from natural uranium.

United Nations sets up panel to review peacekeeping operations worldwide

November 3, 2014

 On the insistence of countries like India, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has constituted a blue-ribbon panel to recommend changes to international peacekeeping to enable it to cope with increasingly complex and dangerous conflicts worldwide. The Security Council takes a call on deployment of UN Peacekeeping Forces (UNPKF), and the last year has seen a spike in violence against the UNPKF with an increased death toll, the brunt of which is borne by countries like India which contribute greatly to the UNPKF soldiers or ‘blue helmets’. A wave of attacks on blue helmets in Mali, Darfur and the Central African Republic left 14 dead in a span of two weeks in October this year. Other than the blue helmets, the UN also has 1,30,000 troops, police and civilian staff serving in missions worldwide.
The report will be laid in front of the UNGA in September 2015.

Membership of the Panel

The independent panel will be chaired by former East Timor President, Jose Ramos-Horta. The Panel will also include 13 other experts from a wide range of countries who will undertake a major review of peace operations. This will be the first such review in 15 years. The Panel will also include an Indian, Lt. General Abhijit Guha, who is a retired Indian Army officer who now holds a UN post.

Objective of the Panel

The Panel will assess UN’s 16 currently active peacekeeping operations. It will also attempt to determine the needs of the future on a variety of issues from ever-changing warfare to administrative arrangements of missions and the protection of civilians.

India’s role

India is the third largest contributor of UNPKF with 8,132 of its soldiers deployed on UN missions. India is preceded only by Bangladesh and Pakistan as far as contribution to the UNPKF goes.
India has lost three Indian peacekeepers in South Sudan and 39 peacekeepers in the Congo. With an estimated 157 Indian soldiers having lost their lives in peacekeeping operations since 1950, India has suffered the highest number of casualties. This has caused India to call for a greater role in the decision making about peacekeeping operations, especially in areas of internal political conflict, and has raised this issue with UNPKF officials.

UNPKF

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations was established in 1948. It has a total number of 1,11,512 active personnel, with 90,905 of them being uniformed forces.
The United Nations Charter gives the UNSC the power to take collective action in the interest of international peace and security. Hence, the UNSC generally authorizes peacekeeping operations. All UN member nations are obligated to make necessary armed forces and facilities available to the UNPKF. Since 1948, approximately 130 nations have contributed military and civilian police personnel to peace operations. As of 30^th April 2014, 122 countries were contributing a total of 97,729 personnel in Peacekeeping Operations.

 

 

 

Government to launch year of Bal Swachhta on 125th Birth Anniversary of Nehru

November 2, 2014

The Central Government is set to celebrate Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125^th birth anniversary this year by undertaking various initiatives aimed at creating awareness of Nehru and his work. The initiatives aim to increase awareness about Nehru among the younger generation. It also aims to involve the common man in the celebrations. The government is expected to use the celebrations to further the cause of cleanliness in the country.

 Events Planned to mark the celebration

Some of the initiatives announced by the Government as of now are:-

• Organising ‘Year of Bal Swachhta’
• Release of commemorative coins on Nehru
• Organising ‘Bal Swachhta Mission’ in schools across the country between November 14 and 19
• Launch of a website dedicated to Nehru
• Release of a Rs. 10 cr grant for the modernization/upgradation of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
• Roll-out of a special grant for scholars studying Nehru

 Committee for Commemoration

The initiatives for the celebration were agreed upon at a meeting of the recently reconstituted National Committee for Commemoration of the 125^th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Committee headed by PM Modi also has Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Shripad Naik, Arun Jaitley and Prakash Javadekar.

Jashne Bachpan: ‘Special’ children’s theatre festival begins at National School of Drama

November 2, 2014

The National School of Drama (NSD) has announced that it will be conducting the 12th edition of its children’s theatre festival, Jashne Bachpan. The event this year coincides with the silver jubilee year of NSD, and will focus on bringing children from underprivileged sections of the society to watch the plays free of cost.
The 14 day-long festival began on November 2. It is organized by NDS’s TIE (Theatre In Education) Company. Jashne Bachpan will include 30 plays from 18 States in 12 Indian languages. The plays of Jashne Bachpan will be presented by over 30 groups from across the country, of which 14 consist of only children. Some of the plays, involve revival of the old method of adults playing for children. A puppet play and a play for special children will also be enacted.

Seminar

This year during Jashne Bachpan, TIE will also have a three day seminar entitled ‘Who needs Children’s Theater’, which will see the coming together of over 30 known personalities associated with theatre. Ten observers will also be invited to participate in the open forum.

Jashne Bachpan

Jashne Bachpan is an event to showcase the work of different theatre groups, representing multiple regions and languages, that work with and for children. Emerging and prominent theatre directors and theatre groups alike participate in this event.

Bal Sangam

Bal Sangam is a national festive organized every alternate year by the Theatre in Education company. It is a cultural mela with an education objective. It involves an ‘ensemble of various performing traditional art forms that are presented by children belonging to traditional performing families, guru-paramparas and Institutions. The main objective of Bal Sangam is to encourage children to continue traditional performances so as to preserve our cultural heritage in this rapidly changing world. While presenting a spectacular and unique confluence of performances by children of various folk & performing traditions, the Festival also includes art and craft workshops of activities like Origami, Pottery, Puppet-making, , Recycling, etc.

Government extends the term of 14th Finance Commission

November 2, 2014

The Cabinet has approved the extension of the deadline for the submission of the Report of the 14^th Finance Commission by two months to December 31, 2014. The Commission had sought extension of its earlier deadline of October 31 in order for it to ‘examine financial projections and carry out consultations with the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.’ The Commission was to submit its report on the basis of its terms of reference by October 31, 2014 covering a period of five years from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2020.

New Mandate

The mandate of the 14^th Finance Commission was expanded to include an additional term of reference to make recommendations for the successor states on reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh in accordance with Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. It is on this ground that the Finance Commission has asked for an extension, so that it may carry out the necessary consultations.

14^th Finance Commission

The 14^th Finance Commission is a five member commission under the chairmanship of former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy. The other members of the Commission are former Finance Secretary Sushma Nath, NIPFP (National Institute of Public Finance & Policy) Director M.Govinda Rao, Planning Commission Member Abhijit Sen and Former Acting Chairman of National Statistical Commission Sudipto Mundle.
The mandate of the 14th Finance Commission includes:-

• Distribution of taxes/sharing of tax proceeds between the Centre and states
• Suggest measures for maintaining a stable and sustainable fiscal environment
• Suggest steps for pricing of public utilities such as electricity, power, public transport, irrigation and water in an independent manner
• Look into issues like disinvestment, GST compensation, sale of non-priority PSUs and subsidies.

Government cuts import tariff on Gold and Silver

November 2, 2014

The government cut the import tariff value on gold to US $391 per 10 gm and the tariff on silver to US $551 per kg. Last fortnight, the tariff on imported gold was fixed at $401 per 10gm and on silver at $575 per kg. Tariff values on gold and silver are notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs. Tariff values on other items such as crude oil, palm oil, soyabean oil etc have also been cut.
Gold is the second largest import after petroleum for India. The government has imposed several restrictions to curb imports in an attempt to contain the current account deficit. Last year, it raised gold import duty to 10%, and made it mandatory for the importing parties to export back 20% of the imported gold.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been pitching for easing of the gold import restrictions since it will boost gems and jewellery exports, which declined by 10.31% in August 2014.
Import Tariff Value
The import tariff value is the base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. It is revised every fortnight to account for the volatile global prices.

Jet fuel price reduced by 7.3%

November 2, 2014

The price of ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) of Jet fuel declined by 7.3%. The price of jet fuel now stands at Rs. 64,414.98 per kilolitre (kl) in Mumbai, against Rs. 69,610.50 earlier, while the price fell by Rs. 4,987.7 per kl to Rs. 62,537.93. The rates vary between states because of differences in local sales tax or VAT.
This is the fourth reduction in jet fuel prices since August this year. The latest reduction was on 1^st October when the rates were cut by almost 3%. Three fuel retailers, namely, IOC, HPCL and BPCL revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first of every month. This monthly revision is based on the average international prices in the preceding month.

Mechanics of the price reduction and its Implications

The price reductions have been triggered by declining international oil prices. The reduced oil prices led to cheaper imports which has led to the price reduction.
Since jet fuel constitutes 40% of an airline’s operating costs, the price cut is expected to ease the financial burden of cash-strapped airline carriers. Also, the continuous price reductions may lead to a reduction in passenger fares also in the near future.

Other price reductions

Oil companies also cut petrol price by Rs. 2.41 per litre and diesel by Rs. 2.25 per litre. This was the sixth price reduction since August this year. Also, the price of LPG was cut by Rs. 18.5 to Rs. 865 per 14.2 kg cylinder. This was the fourth price reduction of LPG gas since August.

First Rashtriya Ekta Diwas observed on October 31, 2014

November 1, 2014

First Rashtriya Ekta Diwas observed, people across India participate in ‘Run for Unity’
On 31^st October 2014, Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was observed nationwide to commemorate the 139^th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The decision to observe 31 October as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Integration Day was taken by the Union Government.
The day was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who paid floral tributes at the statue of Sardar Patel and also flagged off the Run For Unity in New Delhi.
‘Run for Unity’ campaign

• The Run for Unity campaign, a nationwide marathon took place on the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
• It was organized in cities, towns and villages all over India.
• This campaign was to pay tribute to the efforts made by Sardar Patel to unite India.
• During flagged off occasion, the PM Narendra Modi praised Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and requested the people to work towards creating Shresth Bharat (Foremost India).

Objective of the Commemoration Rashtriya Ekta Diwas
This day will create awareness among the people about Sardar Patel’s contribution towards India’s freedom struggle and ensuring national integration in India.
Sardar Patel played a pivotal role in the merger of princely states with British ruled India to form a sovereign united country called India
It will reaffirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of our country.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

• Sardar Patel was born on 31 October, 1875 at Karamsand, Gujarat.
• He was a barrister with a successful law practice, before he left the law to join the Indian national movement under Gandhi.
• He played a major role in organizing peasants’ movements in Kheda and Bardoli in Gujarat, and during the Quit India movement.
• His biggest contribution to India was his role in the integration of the over 500 princely states with India during 1947-49.
• He is known as the Iron Man of India or Bismarck of India.
• He is also remembered as the Patron Saint of India’s civil servants for establishing modern all-India services.

Chairman of Union Carbide Warren Anderson dies at 92

November 1, 2014

Former Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation, Warren M Anderson died on 29^th September 2014 at a nursing home in Vero Beach, Florida. He was 92. Anderson was blamed for the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy as he was Chairman and CEO of the Union Carbide Corporation at the time of the disaster.
His death was not announced by his family in public but it was confirmed from public records.
About Warren M Anderson

• Warren M Anderson was an American businessman.
• He had served as Chairman and CEO of the Union Carbide Corporation at the time of the Bhopal disaster in 1984.
• Four days after the accident, he was immediately arrested. But after quickly paying bail, he never ran away and never returned to face trial in India.
• He was officially labeled as a fugitive by Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on 1^st February 1992 Bhopal disaster.
• The judge also called him an absconder for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case.
• Union government had requested the US government to extradite him several times but it was always denied since the first extradition request in 2003 due to lack of evidence.

Bhopal gas tragedy

• The Bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leak incident in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It is considered as the world’s worst industrial disaster.
• It occurred on the night of 2-3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• Over 500,000 people in Bhopal and surrounding area were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals after gas leak incident.
• The government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh confirmed 3,787 deaths as a result of gas leakage. Unofficial estimates exceeded 10,000.
• More than a half-million people were injured, with many dying from illnesses including lung cancer, kidney failure and liver disease.
• In 1989, Union Carbide paid $470 million to the Indian government to settle litigation stemming from the disaster.
• In 2010, eight low-level Indian executives of Union Carbide’s Bhopal subsidiary were convicted of negligence in this tragedy.

Names of 12 cities in Karnataka changed

November 1, 2014

On 31^st October 2014, NDA government cleared the proposal of renaming 12 cities and towns of Karnataka.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh gave his approval to the proposal of the Karnataka government made on October 27, 2006 to change the names of the 12 towns and cities.
The home minister’s nod came after Survey of India, Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts, Ministry of Science and Technology and Intelligence Bureau have given their No Objection and clearance for the change in the nomenclature of the identified cities.
List of renamed cities with their new names

• Bangalore- Bengaluru
• Mangalore- Mangaluru
• Bellary- Ballari
• Belgaum- Belagavi
• Bijapur- Vijapura
• Hospet- Hosapete
• Hubli- Hubballi
• Chikmagalur- Chikkamagaluru
• Mysore- Mysuru
• Tumkur- Tumakuru
• Gulbarga- Kalaburagi
• Shimoga- Shivamogga

Background for renaming cities
The Karnataka government had taken the decision to rename these cities on the occasion of the golden jubilee of formation of the state of Karnataka on 1^st November 2006.
The main reason was to change names of these cities was in consonance with their pronunciation in Kannada language.
 

 

FASTag Electronic toll collection across 45 toll plazas started

November 1, 2014

On 31^st October 2014, Central government started FASTag Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) across 45 toll plazas on the Mumbai-Delhi corridor on the Golden Quadrilateral.
Government is aiming to install this system on 300 more toll plazas on national highways across the country by December 31 this year.
FASTag ETC is an advanced programme for making the payment electronically on highway tolls without stopping the vehicle at the toll plazas.
This system will remove logistic inefficiencies at toll plazas and has the potential of saving Rs 60,000 crore in terms of time and fuel bills.
Centre has asked state governments to come forward and adopt this system and use it free of charge.
How FASTag Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system works?

• Under ETC system, vehicles will be affixed with a prepaid ‘Radio Frequency Identification Device’ tag known as FASTag. It will be fixed on the wind shield of the vehicle.
• The RFID Tag on windshield will be read by the readers fitted in the dedicated ETC lanes of toll plazas after vehicles passes through toll plazas.
• After the entry of vehicle passing through toll plaza is done, ETC will deduct an appropriate amount depending upon the class of vehicle from the account of the user. Thus, complete process of payment will be automated.
• The prepaid accounts will be created at the Central Clearing House set up by banks and their franchises or agents and at point of sales near the toll plazas.

Similar highway tag brands are available in developed countries with different names like

• Eazee Pass, SunPass in the US.
• e-Passin Australia.
• Salik in Dubai.

Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra

November 1, 2014

On 31^st October 2014, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis, was sworn-in as the 18^th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is the first BJP leader from Maharashtra to become CM.
Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Fadnavis.
Along with CM Fadnavis, the Cabinet ministers were also sworn.
These Cabinet ministers were sworn: Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde and Pankaja Munde, Prakash Mehta, Vishnu Sawra, and Chandrakant Patil. Besides, Dilip Kamble and Vidya Thakur were sworn in as ministers of state.
The oath ceremony took place in public function at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, Maharashtra and was witnessed by over 30000 people.
Fadnavis was appointed as CM of the State after he was elected by the elected legislative assembly members of the BJP.
About Devendra Fadnavis

• Fadnavis is a fourth-term MLA from Nagpur. He has been elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra State, representing Nagpur South West, since 1999.
• He is the fourth politician from Vidarbha region to become CM.
• At the age of 44, he is the second youngest person to become CM of Maharashtra.
• He was the second youngest mayor elected in India, when he served as the Mayor of Nagpur at the age of 27, in 1997.

Maharashtra State Assembly 2014 election results:

• The State Assembly elections were held in October 2014.
• In this election, BJP had emerged as the single largest party in the 288-member Maharashtra state assembly by winning 122 seats.
• But at present BJP has 121 MLA’s as one of its MLA Govind Rathod died.
• The Shiv Sena finished second with 63 seats.
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which emerged victorious in 41 seats, has offered the BJP external support to form the government in the state.

ISRO to Launch GSLV MK III in December

November 1, 2014

On 30^th October 2014, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced that the experimental mission of Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-MK III) will take place in the first half of December.
Date of the launch is not yet fixed because of the three reasons:

• Preparedness of the vehicle.
• Certain analysis and reconfirmation is yet to be done for the new vehicle.
• Weather: from October middle to first week of December the weather conditions are not good because of the cyclonic storms are so frequent.

About Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mark-III)

• ISRO has developed the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark I-III) with indigenous cryogenic engine
• The main function of GSLV Mark-III is for Mid-Heavy Lift Launch System.
• Objective: To launch heavy satellites weighing more than two tonnes into geostationary orbit 36,000 km above Earth.
• It will allow India to become less dependent on foreign rockets for heavy lifting.
• GSLV Mark-III comprises of three stage vehicle with a first stage consisting of two identical large solid boosters strapped onto the second liquid stage. The third stage is a cryogenic stage.

ISRO’s flight development plans

• First development flight (GSLV MK III D1) with an operational cryogenic stage is planned in between 2016 to 2017.
• Second development flight (GSLV Mk-III D2) is planned after one year of GSLV Mk-III D1 flight in 2017 to 2018.
• Successful flight development will help in India’s manned mission to space.
• The 630-tonne GSLV-MK III will carry a crew module of 3.65-tonne. ISRO plans to send astronauts into space eventually.

New austerity measure by government, announces 10% cut in non-plan expenditure.

November 1, 2014

On 30^th October 2014, Finance Ministry has announced new mandatory austerity measures.
Government aims to restrict fiscal deficit to 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2014-15 and hence, have taken up such steps. Thus it will lead to10 per cent cut in the Centre’s non-Plan expenditure for 2014-15.
Austerity measures taken up by the ministry are:

• The main objective of the fiscal prudence and economy measures was the need to rationalise expenditure and optimise available resources.
• It bans ministers from holding meetings in five-star hotels and traveling in first class of airlines.
• Ban on fresh appointments and filling of posts that have been vacant for over a year.
• Officials have been advised to exercise economy in booking air tickets and have been encouraged to use video-conferencing instead of making trips where ever possible.
• Officials would also not be permitted to get free companion tickets for domestic or international travel.
• All departments must avoid bunching up expenditure in the last quarter to ensure that there is no wasteful spending
• Subsidies part of the non-plan expenditure will face the brunt of the cuts in the new measures.
• However, other components of the non-plan expenditure as interest payment, repayment of debt, defence capital, salaries, pension or Finance Commission grants to States will not face the cut.