january 2015 current affairs - jagran josh

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Current Affairs

January 2015 | www.jagranjosh.com

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Current Affairs


PREFACE 32

PICK OF THE MONTH 33

India-US Relations: Defining 21st Century 33

Joint Statement: Shared Effort; Progress for All 33

India-US released Delhi Declaration of Friendship 39

India-US announced to set up a task force to develop three Smart Cities 40

India-US Business Summit 41

Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific & Indian Ocean Region 42

NITI Aayog constituted to replace Planning Commission 43

Left-wing SYRIZA Party won the Greece General Election 2015 46

Alexis Tsipras sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece 48

Sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15 49

Teixobactin, a new antibiotic discovered 51

Status of Tigers in India, 2014 52

Periyar Tiger Reserve won NTCA biennial award 53

Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or Award 54

Legendary cartoonist R K Laxman died 55

INTERNATIONAL 60

Canada announced an anti-terror law strengthening CSIS 60

UNCTAD released Global Investment Trends Monitor Report 61

Shirani Bandaranayake reinstated as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka 63

Former Thailand Premier Yingluck Shinawatra impeached 64

EU decided to lift ban on import of mangoes from India 66

EU decided to appeal a decision by ECJ to remove Hamas from terror list 67

Haiti president announced formation of new government under Prime Minister Evans Paul

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Current Affairs


Parliament of Europe adopted resolution on two Italian marines 69

The US and UK announced cooperative measures in combating cyber threats 70

China to launch construction of five new nuclear reactors with total capacity of 5 Giga-

watts in 2015 71

China Food and Drug Administration approved new vaccine to treat Poliomyelitis 72

Union Government identified five areas for Varanasi-Kyoto partnership 73

Japan approved its largest ever Defence Budget for 2015 74

Pope Francis cannonised Joseph Vaz, the first saint of Sri Lanka 75

India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion US dollars in 2014 77

First Border Haat of Tripura opened at Srinagar-Feni border 77

Madagascar Government led by Prime Minister Kolo Roger resigned 78

Australia launched Online Visa Pilot Programme for Indian business and tourism visitors79

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic won the 2015 Presidential elections of Croatia 80

US House of Representative passed legislation approving construction of Keystone XL Oil

Pipeline 81

Maithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka 82

Australian airline Qantas named world’s safest by AirlineRatings.com 84

China included potatoes as staple diet after rice, wheat and corn 85

Pakistan-India Dosti bus service operation restricted up to Wagah border 86

India to provide 69 million rupees assistance to Nepal for goitre control 87

French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office attacked by terrorists 88

Russian President issued decree to enable foreign soldiers to serve in Russian Military 89

Pakistan Parliament passed 21st Constitutional Amendment, Army Act Amendment Bills

90

Israel stopped transfer of tax collected from Palestinians to Palestinian Authority Govern-

ment 91

China launched official website for military weapons procurement 92

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Current Affairs


Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track restored by IRCON in North Sri Lanka inaugurated 93

Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as President of Tunisia 94

NATIONAL 95

Committee on Infrastructure Development approved development of no-frill airports at

Ajmer, Belgaum 95

20th Law Commission submitted 253rd Report titled Commercial Courts Bill 2015 to Un-

ion Government 96

Union Government launched Website, Logo, Vision, Mission of NHIDCL 98

66th Republic Day celebrated across the Nation 99

PM Narendra Modi launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana 100

100

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Programme 101

Union Government launched HRIDAY 102

Union Government banned mobile handsets with fake, duplicate identity numbers 103

Union Government launched two schemes to support Scheduled Castes 104

Union Government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group 106

Supreme Court sought assistance of Premier institutes to find missing children 107

Union Ministry of Health proposed COTPA (Amendment) Bill 2015 109

Supreme Court issued notice to Union Government on voting rights for inter-state mi-

grants 110

Ministry of Railways inaugurated India’s first CNG powered train 111

President signed Ordinance to amend Mines and Minerals Development & Regulation Act,

1957 112

Union Government launched National Toll Free Helpline to assist the drug dependent per-

sons 114

Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers approved 100 percent production of Neem-

Coated Urea 115

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President signed Ordinance to amend Citizenship Act, 1955 116

Union Petroleum ministry launched LPG schemes for benefitting BPL families 117

PM launched National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting 118

Union Government accepted Bezbaruah panel report on safety of North East people 120

Union Government launched integrated women safety mobile app called Himmat 122

President signed National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 123

ECONOMY 125

Union Government divested 10 percent stake in Coal India Limited 125

RBI constituted High Powered Committee headed by R Gandhi on Urban Cooperative

Banks 126

CCEA approved HDFC Bank’s proposal to raise foreign holding limit to 74 per cent 128

CCEA approved mandatory packaging of food-grains, sugar in Jute material for the Jute

Year 2014-15 129

RBI signed an MoU on Supervisory Cooperation with Banco Central do Brasil 130

RBI simplified procedure for External Commercial Borrowings Policy 130

Shanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring submitted its report to the Prime Minister

131

ONGC inked MoC in Hydrocarbons and Energy with Pan-IIT 133

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report released by UNESCAP 134

CCEA approved revised buffer norms of foodgrains for better management of food stocks

135

Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low in December 2014 137

RBI issued final guidelines for banks to act as Insurance brokers 138

Wholesale price Index-based Inflation raised 0.11 percent in December 2014 140

RBI relaxed Forex Hedging Norms for Exporters and Importers 141

NFL, EIL and FCIL signed agreement to form Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd

142

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SEBI proposed easier norms for domestic mutual fund managers 143

CSO released Quick Estimates of Index for Industrial Production for November 2014 145

Nomura forecasted Indian Economic growth at 5.5 percent for FY 2015-16 147

Union Government aligned FDI policy with NIC 2008 147

Union Cabinet approved 2G telecom spectrum auction targeted to fetch 64840 crore ru-

pees 148

RBI relaxed KYC rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies 150

ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY 152

PETA announced to create India’s first fenced elephant sanctuary near Bengaluru 152

DRDO received approval to build missile launch testing facility in the Krishna Delta Com-

plex 153

Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans got a fresh start with expert assistance 154

Scientists developed two new global maps to provide help in search for fresh farmland156

Year 2014 ranked as Earth’s hottest year since 1880 157

Critically endangered Forest Owlet sighted in Betul, Madhya Pradesh 159

NGT gave directions to clean Yamuna under Maily se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalization Plan

2017 160

Sultanpur National Park shut down after migratory birds found dead 161

Rare plant species Chlorophytum palghatense found in Palakkad district of Kerala 162

Tropical forests absorb more Carbon Dioxide than thought: NASA 163

ICRISAT launched GreenPHABLET for small farmers 164

Excessive concentration of antibiotics found in three Chinese rivers 166

Chrysopelea taprobanica, the Sri Lankan flying snake, sighted in Seshachalam Biosphere

Reserve 167

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CORPORATE 169

S Lakshminarayanan appointed as Chairman of Shriram Transport Finance Co Ltd 169

Zomato Media Pvt Ltd acquired Turkey-based firm Mekanist 169

Hanumanthu Purushotham took charge as CMD of NRDC 170

ErosNow tied up with RailTel to provide Streaming Services to Rail Passengers 170

Kunal Jeswani appointed as CEO of Ogilvy & Mather India 171

Steve Easterbrook appointed as CEO of McDonald’s Corporation 171

Apple Inc recorded the highest-ever profit of 18 billion US dollars in corporate history

worldwide 172

SBI signed a loan agreement for 100 million Euro with European Investment Bank 173

WhatsApp unveiled a new service for sending messages from a Web browser 173

CII and Alibaba signed agreement to provide global platform to Indian SMEs 174

Twitter appointed Taranjeet Singh as Head of Sales for its India operation 175

HDFC Bank featured among world’s 50 most valuable banks in 2014 176

Eicher Motors appointed Rudratej Singh as President of Royal Enfield 177

Siddhartha Chatterjee appointed as CTO of Persistent Systems Ltd 177

Tarun Rai appointed as CEO of J Walter Thompson South Asia 178

Sandip Das resigned as MD of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to join Reliance Retail Ltd 179

DGFT imposed 100 crore rupees fine on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion for violation of RBI norms

179

Google launched Flight Search Tool in India 180

Deepak Parekh appointed as Chairman of BAE Systems India (Services) Private Limited

181

Adani Enterprises & SunEdison signed JV to build solar park in Mundra 182

Tech Mahindra signed definitive agreement to acquire Swiss firm SOFGEN Holdings Lim-

ited 182

Kotak Mahindra Bank secured shareholders approval for merger with ING Vysya Bank 183

Quikr launched instant messenger Quikr Nxt to enable seamless transactions 184

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Hike Messenger acquired Zip phone to launch free voice calling 184

ICCI Bank launched Contactless credit and Debit cards 185

CCI cleared PepsiCo India’s proposal to sell its bottling plants to franchisee Varun Bever-

ages 185

US firm Digipas launched smart luggage lock called eGeeTouch 187

Nilesh Shah resigned as MD & CEO of AXIS Capital Limited 187

Avijit Ghosh took over the charge of CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation 188

Tencent Holdings Limited launched China’s first online bank WeBank 189

Facebook Inc acquired voice recognition startup company Wit.ai 190

Forbes released its fourth annual The 30 Under 30 List 190

Android App SnoopSnitch launched to detect International Mobile Subscriber Identity 193

Jubiliant Life Sciences got USFDA approval for selling its generic drugs in US market 193

RBI allowed FIIs to buy up to 49% paid-up capital in Bajaj Corp 194

SRF Limited acquired DuPont’s pharma business brand Dymel 194

ICICI Bank launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat 195

SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY 197

India successfully test-fired canister-based ICBM Agni-5 missile 197

Churches in England opposed Mitochondria Donation Technique to produce babies 197

Scientists discovered hybrid insecticide-resistant mosquito in Mali 199

Chinese scientists published first genetic map of Tibetan Highland Barley 200

NASA Kepler Space Telescope made 1000th Exoplanet Discovery 201

Whole plant therapy can beat malaria parasites’ drug resistance: Study 201

Union Cabinet approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observatory in TN 202

Project LettuceOnMars: To grow lettuce on Mars in 2018 203

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SPORTS 205

Australia Open 2015 205

Paul van Ass appointed as coach of National Men’s Hockey team 206

Union Sports Ministry revised the Scheme of Special Awards to medal winners 206

ICC lifted the five-year ban imposed on Pakistan’s fast bowler Mohammad Amir 207

India to host ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2016 208

Sean Abbott of Australia named as the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year 2015 209

Saina Nehwal won women’s single of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament

2015 210

Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme retired from Football 211

Ayonika Paul, Annu Raj Singh won gold at 4th Gun for Glory Shooting Championship 212

ONGC won 10th Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament 213

Viktor Troicki won Men’s Single title of Sydney International Tennis Tournament 214

Jimjang Deru created national record in weightlifting in 56-kg category 214

Pankaj Advani won National Billiards title for seventh time 215

South Africa’s AB de Villiers hit fastest century in ODIs 215

Petra Kvitova won women’s single title of Sydney International Tennis tournament 216

Mark Knowles, Ellen Hoog named FIH Player-of-the-year 2014 217

Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands won women’s doubles title of Sydney International

218

Andrey Baryshpolets won the 13th Parsvanth International Grandmasters Chess Tourna-

ment 218

Stephen Constantine appointed as head coach of India’s men football team 219

Brett Lee announced his retirement from all forms of cricket 220

Bhakti set world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in the Antarctic Ocean 221

Bengaluru FC beat Dempo to lift Football Federation Cup 221

Golfer Anirban Lahiri voted Asian Tour’s 2014 Players’ Player of the Year 222

Australia won 4-match Border-Gavaskar Test series, 2-0 223

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Roger Federer won Brisbane International Tennis title 224

Misbah-ul-Haq announced to retire from ODIs after Cricket World Cup 2015 225

Stanislas Wawrinka won Chennai Open title of Tennis 225

New Zealand won Test series 2-0 against Sri Lanka 226

India to host World Bridge Championships 2015 226

Russian Popov Ivan won 7th Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title 227

Indian Junior weightlifters ended their campaign by bagging 14 medals 228

Ishpreet Singh Chadha won National Sub-Junior Snooker title 2015 229

BCCI announced 15-man Indian cricket team for World Cup 2015 229

S Shrikrishna won the National Sub-Junior Billiards title 2015 230

Union Sports Ministry recognised Boxing India as national federation for representing

Boxing 230

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara became fastest to score 12000 Test runs 231

STATE 232

GTU launched e-Raksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime 232

Maharashtra approved field trials for GM food 232

Union Government approved a rehabilitation package of 1102-crore rupees for J&K 233

AP Government decided to file a defamation suit against the State Bank of Hyderabad234

Karnataka Government decided to amend Karnataka Compulsory Primary Education Act,

2012 234

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel launched Taluka Planning Atlas 236

World Bank released a report on Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in

Himachal Pradesh 237

Maharashtra government decided to buy a house in London where BR Ambedkar stayed

239

Chandigarh launched a smart city app named Smart Chandigarh 239

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Kerala to get first International Institute of Music 240

17 Skill Development Centres launched by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh 240

NHRC issued notice to UP Government over Hooch Tragedy 241

Paladugu Venkata Rao, former Minister of Andhra Pradesh, died 242

J & K selected for the National Award of e-Governance for Best District Level initiative 242

Baba Ramdev appointed as state brand ambassador of Haryana Government 243

Maharashtra Cabinet decided to disburse aid to drought-hit farmers by 26 January 2015

244

Dima Hasao District of Assam got its first broad gauge railway track 245

Election Commission of India announced dates of Delhi Assembly Elections 2015 245

Andhra Pradesh constituted Fourth State Finance Commission 246

Governor Rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir 247

DMRC launched first public bicycle sharing scheme for Delhi Metro users 248

Haryana Government appointed Yash Pal Singhal as Haryana DGP 249

Jharkhand Assembly adopted resolution on opening High Court bench in Dumka 250

President signed ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 250

Dinesh Oraon of BJP unanimously elected Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly

251

Amitabh Bachchan named as the Brand Ambassador of AP health sector 252

Bihar Government increased maternity leave period to 180 days from 135 days 253

Union Government nominated 17 Telugu personalities as brand ambassadors of Swachh

Bharat campaign 254

Gujarat government announced new industrial policy for 2015 254

Maharashtra government launched online RTI application filing facility 255

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NEWS CAPSULE 256

PERSON IN NEWS 256

Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service Guard of

Honour 256

Indian Novelist Vikram Chandra named among the finalists of NBCC awards 256

Former PM Manmohan Singh adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat under Sansad

Adarsh Gram Yojana 258

Leela Samson resigned as Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification 259

Chief Election Commissioner Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath demitted his office 260

Amitabh Bachchan presented with Social Media Person of the Year award 2015 261

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan’s chief Maulana Fazlullah designated as global terrorist by US

261

Union government sacked DRDO Chairman Avinash Chander 263

Maithiripala Sirisena sworn-in as 7th President of Sri Lanka 264

Larry Page named Business Person of the Year 2014 265

Koppillil Radhakrishnan retired as ISRO chief 267

Person Appointed 269

Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan sworn-in as 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka 269

Krishna Chaudhary appointed as the Director General of ITBP 269

Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi 270

UN Secretary–General appointed Saraswathy Menon in peace-building panel 271

R V Easwar appointed as Interim Chairman of DDCA 272

Jasjit Ahluwalia appointed as Dean of School of Public Health at Rutgers University 273

Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani appointed as Chairman of CBFC 274

Deep Kumar Upadhyay appointed as Nepal’s ambassador to India 275

Hari Shankar Brahma appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner 276

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Appointment Committee of Cabinet approved Anupam Shrivastava as CMD of BSNL 277

Arvind Panagariya took charge as Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog 278

Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar appointed as Chairman of ISRO 278

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha appointed as 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh 279

Sindhushree Khullar appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI 280

Modibo Keita appointed as the Prime Minister of Mali 281

K K Paul sworn in as sixth Governor of Uttarakhand 281

Atul Khare appointed as the UN Under-Secretary-General 282

Raosaheb Patil Danve appointed as the Maharashtra BJP President 283

P Krishnamurthy appointed as Private Secretary of Union Defence Minister Manohar Par-

rikar 283

Prime Minister appointed economist Arvind Panagariya as the Vice Chairman of NITI

Aayog 284

Sutirtha Bhattacharya took charge as CMD of Coal India Limited 285

R. Koteeswaran took charge as new CMD of Indian Overseas Bank 286

Kiran Bhai Vadodaria elected as INS president 287

A.K. Mittal appointed as Chairman of Railway Board 287

Science | Space 289

Vaccine Raksha Blu for bluetongue disease launched 289

Person on Visit 291

Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited India 291

Person Died 292

Subhash Ghising, the President of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), died 292

Australian golfer Kelvin David George Nagle died 294

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Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan died 294

Hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput died 295

Telugu comedian Mailavarapu Surya Narayana passed away 295

Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died 296

Veteran freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away 297

Legendary Odia actor Hara Patnaik died 297

Swedish actress Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg died 298

Actor and comedian Taylor Negron died 298

Actor Rodney Sturt Taylor passed away 299

Former Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Rajkumar Manisana passed away 299

Freedom fighter Perin Romesh Chandra died 300

Former MCA office-bearer Ramesh Kosambia died 300

Veteran Chinese sports administrator He Zhenliang died 301

Gujarati film actor Upendra Jethalal Trivedi died 302

American country music singer Little Jimmy Dickens died at 94 302

Mario Matthew Cuomo, former New York Governor, died at 82 303

Former ISRO Chairman V R Gowarikar died in Pune 304

Awards | Honours 306

Union Ministry of Defence announced 2015 Republic Day Parade Awards 306

Arundhathi Subramaniam won Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry 307

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe 2014 308

Padma Awards 2015 309

Major Mukund Varadarajan, Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh posthumously awarded with Ashok

Chakra 312

Prime Minister presented National Bravery Awards 2014 to 24 awardees 313

HAL Chairman R K Tyagi conferred with JGBS-Top Rankers’ Excellence Award 315

21st Screen Awards announced 316

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Noted RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal conferred with Giraffe Hero award 2015 319

Prabhu Nath Dwivedi named as the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2014 for San-

skrit 319

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission Team won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award 320

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan received Governor of the Year Award for 2015 322

72nd Golden Globe Awards presented in California 323

SDSC-SHAR director MYS Prasad chosen for Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2015 325

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari presented Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards

2015 327

Yu Min honoured with State Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014 328

Indians awarded with Queen’s New Year Honours 2015 329

Places in News 332

Maoist attacked CRPF personnel in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh 332

Militants attack Nigerian city Maiduguri and Damaturu 333

Books | Authors 334

Pakistan’s Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri penned a book titled Neither a Hawk

nor a Dove 334

Hindi Novel Farishta authored by Kapil Isapuri 334

Book on Sonia Gandhi titled The Red Sari written by Javier Moro released in India 335

Tamil Novel Madhorubhagan written by Perumal Murugan 336

The Indian Parliament – A Critical Appraisal written by Sudha Pai and Avinash Kumar re-

leased 337

Accident | Incident 338

Flash floods in Malawi; hundreds killed 338

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Defence | Security 339

Four ICG vessels commissioned at Mormugao Port of Vasco 339

Indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas handed over to IAF 339

First set of RIC readers handed over to Chiefs of Indian Navy and Coast Guard 341

Indian Army launched Operation All Out against Bodo militants in Assam 342

DAC approved proposals to buy military equipment worth 4444 crore rupees 343

IAF launched second phase of air combat game called Guardian of the Skies 344

Advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket successfully test-fired from Chandipur in Odi-

sha 345

Sikorsky Corp bagged 6000 crore rupee deal to supply S-70B Seahawks to Indian Navy

346

Border Security Force celebrated 49th Raising Day 347

Nuclear-capable missile Agni-IV test fired from Wheeler Island 348

Report | Survey 349

Oxfam released study tittled Wealth: Having it All and Wanting More 349

ILO released report tittled World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015 352

WHO released Global Status Report on Non-communicable Diseases 2014 354

Summit | Conference 357

18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gujarat 357

National Conclave on ending Under-nutrition among Tribal Children concluded 357

NGO Pratham released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014) 358

Seventh Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 held in Gandhinagar 360

13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2015 concluded in Gujarat 361

102nd Indian Science Congress held in Mumbai 362

New Jersey to host International Hindi Conference in April 2015 363

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Committees | Commissions 365

Union Cabinet reconstituted Empowered Committee on setting up of Semiconductor Wa-

fer FAB projects 365

Subramanium committee recommended single window system for environment projects

366

Abbreviations | Terms 368

Purple Tea can be produced in Assam: Experts 368

Charlie Hebdo: a French satirical weekly magazine 368

AMCA: India’s own fifth generation fighter aircraft 369

ICG Rajratan: The Inshore Patrol Vehicles 372

Art | Culture 374

Goa to host Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest 374

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Dandi Kutir museum 374

The Lunchbox nominated for BAFTA 2015 under Non-English Best Film Category 375

Inventions | Discoveries 376

Chinese archaeologists discovered Buddhist relics in Hubei Province of Central China 376

Scientists discovered two Earth-like planets Kepler 438b and Kepler 442b 377

Exhibition | Fare 378

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated IITF 2014 in New Delhi 378

Border haat opened in Tripura 379

Biggest electronics trade exhibition of Japan CEATEC concluded 379

Union MNRE announced the organisation of the first RE-INVEST Promotion Meet & Expo

380

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Day | Week | Year 382

Anti-Leprosy Day observed to focus Attention on Disease 382

National Girl Child Day observed on 24 January 384

National Immunization Day for the year 2015 observed on 18 January 386

67th Army Day observed on 15 January 386

National Youth Day observed across India on 12 January 387

Miscellaneous 389

Union Government released Commemorative Postage stamps with Swachh Bharat Mis-

sion as theme 389

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna made it to Guinness World Records 389

Indian-Americans Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri and Deven J Parekh nominated to key

posts in US 390

Kailash Satayarthi dedicated his Nobel Peace Prize to the Nation 391

Kailash Satayarthi on 7 January 2015 dedicated his Nobel Peace Prize to the Nation. 391

Commemorative Postage Stamps released to mark 100 Years of Mahatma Gandhi’s Re-

turn to India 391

Dubai’s Maze Tower listed in Guinness World Records 392

All-women contingent of Indian defence to march past for the first time on 2015 Republic

Day parade 393

Prime Minister released commemorative coin to mark 175th birth anniversary of Jamsetji

Tata 394

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 January 2015 released a commemorative coin to mark

the 175th birth anniversary of Tata group founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. 394

WORLD DAIRY January 2015 395

INDIA DAIRY January 2015 403

News Snippets January 2015 414

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The Current Affairs January 2015 eBook covers the current events that happened in the month of January. Current

Affairs is a crucial component of any competitive exams including IAS/PCS, SSC, Banking, MBA. The lack of preparation

for current affairs by the aspirants and candidates often is a main cause of their failure. Even though the candidates know

it but they are often confused about how to prepare the current affairs section of the different competitive exams. It is to

clear such doubts and confusion, Jagranjosh.com has come up with eBook concept. Although current affairs section per

se is very wide to be covered, yet we have tried to cover all the possible current affairs for the month of January 2015.

The Current Affairs January 2015 eBook provides a snapshot of India-US relations and all the important documents and

joint statements unveiled during the visit of the US President Barack Obama to India from 25 January to 27 January 2015

as a Chief Guest on the 2015 Republic Day Parade.

The Current Affairs January 2015 eBook is divided into different section keeping in mind the need of various exams.

The sections covered namely are International, National, Economy, Ecology and Environment, Science & Technology,

Corporate, Sports, States, and News Capsule. Every news item in each section is arranged date wise with the most recent

news being covered first and so on. Although there might be some deviations but that is solely to give priority to the most

important current affairs in each section.

Presentation of the given current affairs has been planned meticulously. It has been planned in such a way that it remains

in the minds of readers for a longer duration. Wherever necessary each news item is presented along with a background

and analysis so as to help candidates contemplate all the important current events at the time of exam in an effective way.

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PREFACE

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PICK OF THE MONTH

India-US Relations: Defining 21st Century

The United States President Barack Obama visited India from 25 January to 27

January 2015 as a Chief Guest on the 2015 Republic Day Parade. The visit of Obama

has infused new vitality into the India-US relationship which has the potential to

define the 21st century global world order.

Joint Statement: Shared Effort; Progress for All

India and the United States on 25 January 2015 released the Joint Statement titled

Shared Effort; Progress for All. The Joint Statement was released during the US

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President Barack Obama’s three day visit to India as the Chief Guest at India`s 66th

Republic Day celebrations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama appreciated the

significant efforts undertaken by both sides in recent months to re-energize the

strategic partnership, and affirmed expanding the substantive underpinnings of

our diversified bilateral strategic partnership including through expanded strategic

consultations, stronger defence, security, and economic cooperation.

The two leaders pledged to translate their commitment of Chalein Saath Saath:

Forward Together We Go of September 2014 into action through Sajha Prayaas;

Sab Ka Vikaas: Shared Effort; Progress For All.

Economic Growth

• In this regard, both the countries agreed to continue to strengthen their broad-based

partnership for development through stronger trade, technology, manufacturing,

and investment linkages between the two countries and triangular cooperation

with partner countries.

• They also committed to continue efforts to maintain labour standards as per

domestic law and agreed international norms will make these linkages more

durable.

• The two sides also committed to continuing to cooperate on the finalization of the

Post-Bali Work Programme in the spirit of the Doha mandate.

• Both the leaders instructed their officials to assess the prospects for moving

forward with high-standard bilateral investment treaty discussions given their

respective approaches.

• The two sides agreed to hold a discussion on the elements required in both

countries to pursue an India-US Totalisation Agreement.

• Both the leaders committed to explore areas of collaboration in skill development

ranging from establishing quality assurance systems for skilling certification

standards, setting up of skill development centres, nurturing and promoting

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social entrepreneurship and strengthening the innovation and entrepreneurship

ecosystem.

• Both the countries agreed to collaborate in the implementation of India`s ambitious

Digital India programme and expand commercial cooperation by encouraging

investment engagement in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

sector.

• The two sides agreed to hold public-private discussions in early 2015 under the

aegis of the India-US Commercial Dialogue for a period of two years, until March

2016, on mutually agreed areas of cooperation.

• Both the Leaders looked forward to enhancing engagement on Intellectual Property

Rights (IPR) in 2015 under the High Level Working Group on Intellectual Property,

to the mutual benefit of both the countries.

• Both the Leaders agreed to facilitate U.S. Trade and Development Agency and

Indian Railways technical cooperation that will assist Indian Railways’ efforts to

modify its leasing and public-private partnership frameworks to attract private

sector funding.

• The two leaders also pledged to collaborate through India`s Global Initiative

of Academic Networks (GIAN), to facilitate short-term teaching and research

programs by up to 1000 visiting US academics in Indian universities.

High Technology, Space and Health Cooperation

• To this end, both the countries agreed to continue to develop cooperative efforts in

many areas of science, technology, and innovation, including studying the impacts

of water, air pollution, sanitation and hygiene on human health and well-being.

• They also agreed to continue India-US collaboration in hydrology and water

studies and monsoon modelling and noted the need to expeditiously work towards

launching an Indo-U.S. Climate Fellowship to facilitate human capacity building.

• The two leaders also reaffirmed the importance of ongoing efforts to strengthen

women`s participation in science, technology, engineering, and math through

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networking and mentoring programs.

• Both the leaders agreed to further promote cooperative and commercial relations

between India and the United States in the field of space.

• Both the Leaders announced specific actions at home and abroad to prevent the

spread of infectious diseases, including a CDC-Ministry of Health Ebola and GHSA

preparedness training, expansion of the India Epidemic Intelligence Service, and

development of a roadmap to achieve the objectives of the GHSA within three

years.

• The two leaders also committed to multi-sectoral actions countering the emergence

and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and cooperation in training of health

workers in preparedness for infectious disease threats.

• The two leaders agreed to focus science and technology partnerships on countering

antibiotic resistant bacteria and promoting the availability, efficacy and quality of

therapeutics.

• Both the leaders also agreed to expand the India-U.S. Health Initiative into a

Healthcare Dialogue with relevant stakeholders to further strengthen bilateral

collaboration in health sectors

• The two Leaders also agreed to accelerate joint leadership of the global Call to

Action to end preventable deaths among mothers and children through a third

meeting of the 24 participating countries in India in June 2015.

Defence and Homeland Security Cooperation

• Prime Minister Modi and President Obama welcomed the efforts made by both

sides to expand bilateral defence cooperation in areas of mutual interest and

reaffirmed their commitment to continue to work towards deepening the bilateral

defence relationship.

• To this end, they emphasized the ongoing importance of the Defence Technology

and Trade Initiative (DTTI) in developing new areas of technology cooperation in

the defence sector including through co-development and co-production.

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• The two leaders committed to undertake efforts to make the U.S.-India partnership

a defining counter-terrorism relationship for the 21st Century by deepening

collaboration to combat the full spectrum of terrorist threats and keep their

respective homelands and citizens safe from attacks.

• Both the leaders agreed to continue ongoing efforts through the Homeland

Security Dialogue as well as the next round of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group

on Counter Terrorism in late 2015 to develop actionable elements of bilateral

engagement.

• They also agreed to enter discussions to deepen collaboration on UN terrorist

designations, and reiterated their call for Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the

November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai to justice.

Clean Energy Goal and Cooperation

President Obama and Prime Minister Modi emphasized the critical importance of

expanding clean energy research, development, manufacturing and deployment,

which increases energy access and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

To this end both the leaders announced actions to advance India`s transition to low

carbon economy. India intends to increase the share of use of renewable in electricity

generation consistent with its intended goal to increase India`s solar target to 100

gigawatts by 2022.

The United States intends to support India`s goal by enhancing cooperation on clean

energy and climate change. These include

• A renewed commitment to Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research

(PACE-R), including extending funding for three existing research tracks of solar

energy, building energy efficiency, and biofuels for an additional five years and

launching a new track on smart grid and grid storage.

• Both the countries intended to expand our current Partnership to Advance Clean

Energy Deployment (PACE-D) through increased bilateral engagements and further

joint initiatives to expand cooperation in support of India’s ambitious targets in

renewable energy.

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• Accelerating Clean Energy Finance consistent with its policies, to support private

sector involvement for those entities in contributing to India’s clean energy

requirements

• Implementing EPA’s AIR Now-International Program and megacities partnerships,

focused on disseminating information to help the urban dwellers to reduce their

exposure to harmful levels of air pollution, and enable urban policy planners to

implement corrective strategies for improving Ambient Air Quality in the cities

keeping in view health and climate change co-benefits of these strategies.

• Jointly Initiating Climate Resilience Tool Development that will work to downscale

international climate models for the Indian sub-continent to much higher resolution

than currently available.

• Demonstrating Clean Energy and Climate Initiatives in the areas of space cooling,

super-efficient appliances, renewable energy storage, and smart grids

• Both countries concluded negotiations on a five year MoU on Energy Security,

Clean Energy and Climate Change.

Climate Change

The United States of America and the Republic of India recognize that global climate

change is a profound threat to humanity and to the imperatives of sustainable

development, growth and the eradication of poverty. To this end, they plan to

cooperate closely over the next year to achieve a successful agreement in Paris in

2015.

Global Issues and Regional Consultations

Both the leaders agreed to expand their efforts to assist other developing countries

and address global development challenges for the benefit of the wider region and

the world and they lauded ongoing triangular assistance, which may involve India-US

collaboration to address development challenges in third countries in areas including

health, energy, food security, disaster management, and women’s empowerment.

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In a further effort to strengthen global non-proliferation and export control regimes,

both the leaders committed to continue to work towards India’s phased entry into the

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the

Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Australia Group.

India-US released Delhi Declaration of Friendship

India and the United States on 25 January 2015 released the Delhi Declaration of

Friendship. The declaration is titled Chalein Saath Saath; Forward Together We Go.

The Delhi Declaration builds upon the vision statement that was endorsed by the US

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in September

2014.

Through this Declaration of Friendship and in keeping with national principles and

laws, both countries pledged to respect

• Equal opportunity for all the people of both the country through democracy,

effective governance, and fundamental freedoms;

• An open, just, sustainable, and inclusive rule-based global order;

• The importance of strengthened bilateral defense ties;

• The importance of adapting to and mitigating the impact of climate change through

national, bilateral and multilateral efforts;

• The centrality of economic policies that support the creation of strong and

sustainable jobs, inclusive development, and rising incomes; and

• Transparent and rule-based markets that seek to drive the trade and investment

necessary to uplift all members of society and promote economic development.

As part of this Declaration of Friendship, both countries committed to

• old regular Summits with increased periodicity;

• Elevate the Strategic Dialogue to a Strategic and Commercial Dialogue

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• Strategic Dialogue would be chaired by the External Affairs Minister of India and

the U.S. Secretary of State;

• The Commercial Dialogue would be led by India’s Minister of Commerce and

Industry and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce;

• Establish secure hotlines between the Prime Minister of India and the President of

the United States of America and National Security Advisors;

• Cooperate to develop joint ventures on strategically significant projects;

• Build meaningful security and effective counter-terrorism cooperation;

• Hold regional and multilateral consultations;

• Consult and hold regular consultations in multilateral forums; and

• Leverage the talents and strengths of our people to enhance sustainable, inclusive

development around the globe.

India-US announced to set up a task force to develop three Smart Cities

India and the US on 26 January 2015 announced to set up a task force to develop three

Smart Cities. These three cities are Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, Ajmer in Rajasthan

and Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The Task Force comprising of officials from the Union Government, State Governments

and USTDA has been mandated to prepare the roadmap till April 2015.

The decision to form the task force was taken at a meeting between Urban Development

Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and the US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

Both the countries signed the pact for developing smart cities with the help of United

States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

The initiative for the development of Smart Cities was taken during the visit of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US in September 2014. The development of

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Smart cities was announced by US Government in the Joint Statement declared in

September 2014.

India-US Business Summit

India-US Business Summit was held in New Delhi on 26 January 2015. The Business

Summit was chaired by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the US

President Barack Obama.

The Summit was attended by 500 business leaders from the two countries.

The Summit was organized by the US – India Business Council (USIBC) in partnership

with Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), the Confederation of Indian

Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Main Highlight of the Summit

• US to help in digitalising Jan Dhan accounts

• US to partner India in solar energy and sustainable energy solutions

• US to earmark 4 billion US dollars in investment and lending deals to India

• Exim Bank of US to commit 1 billion US dollars for project financing

• The Overseas Private Investment Corporation will lend 1 billion US dollars to small-

and medium-sized enterprises in underserved rural areas of India

• Another 2 billion US dollars will be committed by the U.S. Trade and Development

Agency for renewable energy

• India assured U.S. investors of a transparent and predictable business environment

and tax regime, protection for their intellectual property

Bilateral trade between the two countries had increased 60 percent in the past couple

of years to a record 100 billion US dollars, but India’s exports to the U.S. were still

less than 2 percent of all American imports.

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The new vigour found will help both the countries increase the share of bilateral trade

in the world trade.

Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific & Indian Ocean Region

India-US on 25 January 2015 declared Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and

Indian Ocean Region. The joint vision was signed during the visit of US President

Barack Obama.

Joint Strategic Vision aimed to promote peace, prosperity and stability in Asia-Pacific

and Indian Ocean region.

Both the countries agreed to work together to

• Promote accelerated infrastructure connectivity and economic development in a

manner that links South, Southeast and Central Asia.

• Enhanced energy transmission and encouraging free trade and greater people-to-

people linkages.

• Affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of

navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea

as regional prosperity depends on security.

• To promote the shared values that have made both the countries countries great,

recognizing their interests in peace, prosperity and stability are well served by

their common commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

• To strengthen the East Asia Summit on its tenth anniversary to promote regional

dialogue on key political and security issues, and to work together to strengthen it.

• The countries oppose terrorism, piracy, and the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction within or from the region.

• The countries call on all parties to avoid the threat or use of force and pursue

resolution of territorial and maritime disputes through all peaceful means, in

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accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including

the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

• To achieve this regional vision, both sides will develop a roadmap that leverages

their respective efforts to increase ties among Asian powers, it will enable both

nations to better respond to diplomatic, economic and security challenges in the

region.

• Also, over the next five years, both sides have committed to strengthen regional

dialogues, invest in trilateral consultations with third countries in the region more

robust, deepen regional integration, strengthen regional forums, explore additional

multilateral opportunities for engagement, and pursue areas where we can build

capacity in the region that bolster long-term peace and prosperity for all.

NITI Aayog constituted to replace Planning Commission

Union Government on 1 January 2015 set up the National Institution for Transforming

India (NITI) Aayog. NITI Aayog that replaced the 65 year old Planning Commission

will be headed by Prime Minister. It will have a governing council comprising Chief

Ministers of all the states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.

Apart from this, the NITI Aayog will also have a Vice-Chairperson and a Chief Executive

Officer (fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India), who will be

appointed by the Prime Minister.

The NITI Aayog’s functions have been described as the Bharatiya approach to

development. The Aayog has been tasked with a role of formulating policies and

direction for the government and serving as a think-tank, it will provide a national

agenda for Prime Minister and Chief Ministers. It will also provide relevant strategic

and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy, like economic

matters of national and international importance.

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Functions that will be undertaken by the NITI Aayog

• It will develop mechanisms for formulation of credible plans to the village level and

aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government

• Special attention will be given to the sections of the society that may be at risk of

not benefitting adequately from economic progress

• It will also create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system

through a collaborative community of national and international experts,

practitioners and partners

• It will offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues

in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda

• It will also monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes, and focus on

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technology upgradation and capacity building.

Other members of the NITI Aayog will be

Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special

invitees nominated by the Prime Minister

• Members - Full-time

• Part-time members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities research organizations

and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part time members will be

on a rotational basis.

• Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to

be nominated by the Prime Minister.

• Secretariat as deemed necessary

Difference between the NITI Aayog and Planning Commission

Under the Planning Commission centre-to-state one-way flow of policy existed,

whereas, the NITI Aayog has planned a genuine and continuing partnership of states.

Now, state governments can play an active role in achieving national objectives, as

they have been empowered to provide with strategic and technical advice across the

spectrum of policymaking.

Background

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has been created in accordance

to the announcement made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 August

2014. On the Independence Day, he announced that the government will replace the

Planning Commission which was established on 15 March 1950 through a Cabinet

Resolution. Further to revamp the Planning Commission, the Prime Minister met with

Chief Ministers and Governors of various States on 7 December 2014 and discussed

their opinions on the same to separate the process of governance from the strategy

of governance.

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Left-wing SYRIZA Party won the Greece General Election 2015

The results of General Election of Greece were declared on 26 January 2015. The

results saw the emergence of left-wing SYRIZA Party led by young Alexis Tsipras

as the winning party. The election to the 300-member Parliament of Greece called

Hellenic was held on 25 January 2015.

SYRIZA Party, the radical leftists, who fought the elections with the pledge to roll

back austerity and renegotiate Greece’s mammoth debt, won the majority. It won 36

percent of the total votes polled and won 149 seats falling two seats short of 151

seats required to form the government in Greece.

With the formation of coalition with the Independent Greeks party which won 13

seats, Alexis Tsipras was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Greece.

On the other hand, chief rivals of SYRIZA Party, the New Democracy Party only won

28 percent of the total votes polled. New Democracy Party is led by incumbent Prime

Minister of Greece Antonis Samaras.

The far-right Golden Dawn party led by Nikolaos Michaloliakos came third in election

whereas the cenre-left To Potami led by Stavros Theodorakis came fourth in the

election.

About Elections in Greece

The Greek Parliament has 300 members, elected for a four-year term by a system of

proportional representation. Seats are determined by constituency voting, and voters

may select the candidate or candidates of their choice by marking their name on the

party ballot.

However, the party receiving the largest number of votes receives a 50-seat premium,

which is filled by candidates of that party not declared elected on the lower rungs.

Greek citizens aged 18 and over on the year of the election are eligible to vote, and at

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the age of 25 and over are also eligible to be elected to Parliament. Women’s suffrage

was adopted in 1930.

Electoral system of Greece

The electoral system used is referred to as reinforced proportionality, a form of semi-

proportional representation with a majority bonus. The party that wins a plurality of

votes cast is awarded an extra 50 seats. Small parties on the other hand need to

reach an electoral threshold of 3% in order to be represented in parliament.

These provisions help the party or coalition that wins a plurality to achieve an absolute

majority.

By constitutional provision, the electoral law can be changed by simple parliamentary

majority, but a law so changed comes into effect in the next-but-one election, unless

a two-thirds parliamentary supermajority is achieved. Supermajority can be achieved

only by winning more than 200 seats.

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Comment

Greece general elections were the most awaited and watched in the European Union

(EU) especially Germany as it would have determined the future course of austerity

programme of Greece under which EU in collaboration with International Monetary

Fund (IMF) bailed out Greece economy from the recession it had entered after the

2008 financial crisis.

However, with the winning of SYRIZA Party, the anti-austerity party, it is for sure

that austerity programme would roll back. As Tsipras said his party’s victory marked

an end to the “viscious cycle of austerity”……….The verdict of the Greek people

renders the troika (IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank )

a thing of the past for our common European framework.”

Further, leftwingers across Europe have hailed SYRIZA win. Spain’s anti-austerity

party Podemos said Greece finally had a government rather than a German envoy.

Britain’s Green Party said Syriza’s victory was an inspiration.

Alexis Tsipras sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece

Alexis Tsipras on 26 January 2015 sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece. He is the

head of Greece’s far-left Syriza party.

He became the first prime minister in Greek history to be sworn in without the

traditional oath on a Bible and blessing of basil and water from the Greek Archbishop.

He became first to take a civil rather than a religious oath of office.

He became the youngest Prime Minister of Greece since 1865. He won 149 seats in

the 300 seat parliament with its campaign of Hope is coming.

His party is just two seats short of an outright majority and in need of a coalition

partner. The Independent Greeks won 13 seats.

The parties, at the opposite end of the political spectrum, share only a mutual hatred

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of the 240-billion-euro bailout program keeping Greece afloat at the price of budget

cuts.

Its for the first time in more than 40 years, neither the New Democracy party nor the

center-left PASOK will be in power. The two forces had dominated Greek politics

since the fall of a military junta in 1974.

About Alexis Tsipras

He is born in 1974 in Athens, Greece. He joined the Young Communists in the 1980s,

and in 1991 organised a highly publicised occupation of his high school, during which

students slept and ate together.

He went on to study civil engineering at university and continued his political rise.

He took over leadership of the Syriza party in 2008 at the age of 34. The party is an

amalgam of left wing groups, ranging from Maoists to Greens, who came together

in 2004. Given the fractiousness of the far left and its love of internecine feuds, it

is a tribute to Tsipras’s leadership that he has held the party together and made it

currently the single most powerful force in Greek politics.

Sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 January 2015 announced sixth Bi-Monthly

Monetary Policy Statement. RBI in its bi-monthly monetary policy statement cut its

main lending rate (Repo Rate) by 0.25 per cent with immediate effect. This is the first

rate cut from the RBI since 2013.

With this, repo rate will now prevail at 7.75 percent from previous 8 percent. The

RBI rate cut comes just two weeks before its scheduled policy review on 3 February

2015.

Based on the assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situ-ation, the following changes has been taken

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• Repo Rate: Reduced Repo rate under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) by 25

basis points from 8.0 percent to 7.75 percent with immediate effect

• Reverse Repo Rate under the LAF: Stands adjusted to 6.75 percent

• Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): Kept unchanged at 4.0 percent of net demand and

time liabilities (NDTL)

• Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate: 8.75 percent

• Bank Rate: 8.75 percent

Why the rate cut was necessitated?

• Inflationary pressures (measured by changes in the consumer price index) have

been easing, since July 2014

• The path of inflation, while below the expected trajectory, has been consistent

• Inflation has been lower than expected due to sharp decline in prices of vegetables

and fruits since September 2014 and receded pressures in respect of cereals and

the large fall in international commodity prices, particularly crude oil

• It seems that the crude prices is expected to remain low over the year due to geo-

political shocks

About Policy Rates

• BasisPoints:Itistheincreaseininterestratesinpercentageterms.Forinstance,if

theinterestrateincreasesby50basispoints(bsp),thenitmeansthatinterestrate

hasbeenincreaseby50%.

• RepoRate:ItistherateatwhichcommercialbanksborrowfromtheRBIbyselling

theirsecuritiesorfinancialassetstotheRBIforashort-periodoftime.Thereporate

isusedbythecentralbanktoincreaseliquidityinthesystem.

• ReverseRepoRate:Itistherateofinterestatwhichthecentralbankborrowsfunds

fromotherbanks for a short duration. Thebanksdeposit their short termexcess

fundswiththecentralbankandearninterestonit.Thisrateisusedbythecentral

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banktoabsorbliquidityfromtheeconomy.Generallyitisonepercentagelessthan

theReporate.

• BankRate:Theonlywaythebankrateisdifferentfromthereporateisthatthebank

rateistherateatwhichbanksborrowmoneyfromthecentralbankwithoutanysale

ofsecurities.Itisgenerallyforalongerperiodoftime.

• CashReserveRatio:CRRistheminimumpercentageofcashdepositsthatbanks

mustkeepwith thecentralbank.Thecurrent rate is4%,whichmeans foracash

depositof100rupees,thebankhastopark4rupeewiththecentralbank.

• MarginalStandingFacility:TheReserveBankofIndiainitsmonetarypolicyfor2011-

12introducedthemarginalstandingfacilityunderwhichbankscouldborrowfunds

fromRBIwhenthere isaconsiderableshortfallof liquidity.Thismeasurehasbeen

introducedbyRBItoregulateshort-termassetliabilitymismatchesmoreeffectively.

Underthisfacility,bankscanborrowupto1%oftheirnetdemand.

• LiquidityAdjustmentFacility:Underthisfacility,banksborrowfromthecentralbank

bypledginggovernmentsecurities.ReporateandReversereporatearepartofit.

• StatutoryLiquidityRatio:Thisisthepercentageofdepositsthatbanksmustmandatorily

holdintheformofgovernmentbonds.SLRbondsareliquidassetsthatcanbesold

atashortnoticetomeetanyunexpecteddemandfromdepositors.

Teixobactin, a new antibiotic discovered

New antibiotic named Teixobactin was discovered by a team of scientists from

Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Discovered for the first time after

about three decades, this antibiotic is capable of fighting infections that kill hundreds

of thousands of people each year.

The discovery was published online in the journal Nature on 7 January 2015.

Feature of Teixobactin

• Teixobactin inhibits cell wall synthesis by binding to a highly conserved motif of

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lipid II (precursor of peptidoglycan) and lipid III (precursor of cell wall teichoic acid).

• Any mutants of Staphylococcus aureus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant

to teixobactin has been obtained

• Properties of this compound suggest a path towards developing antibiotics that

are likely to avoid development of resistance

How Teixobactin was obtained?

The antibiotic Teixobactin was obtained from uncultured bacteria by cultivation in situ

or by using specific growth factors. Uncultured organisms were used for creation of

the antibiotic as the team believed that approximately 99% of all species in external

environments are an untapped source of new antibiotics.

Why this discovery is essential?

The first antibiotic Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 and since

that discovery more than 100 compounds have been found. The heyday of antibiotic

discovery was in the 1950s and 1960s, but no new class has been found since 1987.

Need of introduction of new antibiotic or drug became essential as diseases like

Malaria and MDR TB (Tuberculosis) has became incurable as they have developed

resistance against the class of antibiotics available at present, causing a public health

crisis. This discovery can be beneficial in the fight against the growing resistance to

drugs.

Status of Tigers in India, 2014

The latest report on Status of Tigers in India, 2014 showed 30 percent increase in

tiger population to 2226 from 1706 in 2010. India now has 70 per cent of the tiger

population in the world. The report was released by National Tiger Conservation

Authority (NTCA).

The largest increase was recorded in the Western Ghats Landscape complex

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comprising Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Tamil Nadu with 776 tigers (up from 402 in

2006).

In 2006, the number of tigers in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka were 76, 46 and

290 respectively. In 2014, the number of tiger increased to 229, 136 and 406 in Tamil

Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka respectively.

The Mudumalai-Bandipur-Nagarahole-Wayanad complex holds the world’s single

largest tiger population currently estimated at over 570 tigers.

Goa now has a persistent tiger presence with three to five animals. The tiger population

had increased in Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Odisha reported a fall in number.

The population had increased at the rate of six per cent per annum in India from 2006

while the world lost 97 per cent tigers in the last 50 years in 13 countries. The main

reasons for this increase were effective tackling of poaching, and the positive attitude

of the wildlife services.

The latest round of assessment used state-of-the art technology of double sampling,

using camera traps to estimate the assessment and distribution of tigers in 47

reserves in 18 States.

Periyar Tiger Reserve won NTCA biennial award

The Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala on 20 January 2015 won the National Tiger

Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award. It was awarded for encouraging local

public participation in managing the reserve.

People participation in managing Periyar Tiger reserve

People participation in the reserve started with setting up of India Eco-Development

project (IEDP) in 1996. This was followed by setting up of Periyar Foundation in

2006 which involved participation of 75 communities including 15 tribal groups in the

reserve in eco-development programmes.

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The eco-development programmes were carried on by development committees

formed under the Periyar foundation. This resulted in boosting community-based

eco-tourism in Periyar reserve.

The foundation acted as a model for other reserves in biodiversity conservation

and community participation in managing natural resources. As a result, the Wildlife

Protection Act 1972 was amended to ensure that each tiger reserve sets up a

Foundation, similar to Periyar Foundation.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or Award

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo on 12 January 2015 won the 2014 FIFA Ballon

d’Or award for the best footballer of the year in the world. It is the third time that

Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or award following the previous triumphs in the years

2008 and 2013.

Ronaldo defeated Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper

Manuel Neuer by bagging 37.66 percent of votes.

Lionel Messi was at the second position with 15.76 votes and Manuel Neuer stood at

the third place with 15.72 percent votes.

181 national team coaches, 182 national team captains and 181 media representatives

submitted their votes for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. The entire electoral procedure

was overseen and monitored by PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland (PwC).

Other Awardees

1. Nadine Kessler won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award 2014.

2. Joachim Low won the FIFA World Coach of the Year 2014 for Men’s Football award.

3. Ralf Kellermann won the FIFA World Coach of the Year 2014 for Women’s Football

award.

4. James Rodriguez won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.

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5. FIFA Team of the Year 2014: FIFPro World XI includes Manuel Neuer, David Luiz,

Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva in defence; Angel Di Maria, Andres

Iniesta and Toni Kroos in midfield and Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Arjen

Robben in attack.

FIFA Ballon d’Or Award

• The FIFA Ballon d’Or award is an annual association football award given by FIFA

to the male player who has performed the best in the previous calendar year.

• It is awarded based on the votes from national team coaches and captains, as

well as journalists from around the world.

• The award began in 2010 after France Football’s Ballon d’Or and the men’s FIFA

World Player of the Year award were merged.

• The winner of the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or was Lionel Messi who then won the title

for the following two years 2011 and 2012.

Legendary cartoonist R K Laxman died

Eminent Cartoonist Rasipuram

Krishnaswamy Laxman died on

26 January 2015 due to cardiac

arrest at Deenanath Mangeshkar

hospital of Pune in Maharashtra.

He was 93.

Maharashtra Government decided

to give a state funeral to Laxman,

who will be cremated at Vaikunth

Crematorium in Pune.

He is survived by his wife Kamala

Laxman and son Srinivas Laxman

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who is a journalist.

One of the post-Independence India’s greatest caricaturists was the creator of The

Common Man which was published in Times of India newspaper. He also was an

illustrator, humorist and novelist.

His Common Man, created in 1957 in the coloumn You Said It, was the symbol of

trials and tribulations of India’s ordinary people. His cartoons also reflected little joys

and sorrows of the Common Man and the mess they found themselves in thanks to

the political class and bureaucracy.

Laxman had no formal training in cartooning and was denied admission to J.J. School

of Art, Bombay, but the work he put out over decades was a sheer genius. He was

greatly influence by caricatures of New Zealand born Sir David Low.

About Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman

• He started his career with Free Press Journal where he remained for a brief period

• He joined Times Group in 1947 and with the Group till the end of his life

• He created the popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called Gattu in 1954

• His sketches were included in television adaptation of Malgudi Days, which was

written by his elder brother RK Narayan and directed by Shankar Nag

• He was born in the then Mysore State (now part of Karnataka) on 24 October 1921

• Popular comedy programme for the national television Wagle Ki Duniya’s characters

were created by R K Laxman which narrated the issues of common middle-class

Indian man

Books and Novels written by R K Laxman

• Autobiography: Tunnel of Time; Lakshmanrekha published in Marathi

• 50 Years of Independence through the eyes of R K Laxman

• The Best of Laxman series: The Common Man Seeks Justice published in 2003

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• R. K. Laxman: The Uncommon Man: Collection of Works from 1948 to 2008

published in 2009

• Best of Laxman: Common Man Stands in Queue published in 2003

• A Vote for Laughter published in 2003

• The Messenger published in 1993

• Best of Laxman: Common Man Goes to the Village published in 2003

• The Best of Laxman published in 1993

• The Hotel Riviera published in 1989

Awards and honours conferred on him

• Padma Bhushan in 1971

• Padma Vibhushan in 2005

• The Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative

Communication Arts in 1984

• Pune Pandit Award (Scholar of Pune Award) by the Art & Music Foundation for

excellence in Creative Communication in 2012

• Honorary Doctorate awarded from the University of Mysore in 2005

• There is a chair named after R. K. Laxman at Symbiosis International University

Some famous Indian Cartoonists

• Harish Chandra Shukla:HeisaforemostHindilanguagecartoonistinIndiawhose

pennameisKaak

• Sudhir Dhar:HeisanIndiancartoonistofKashmiridescent,whobeganhiscareer

with theStatesman in1960afterwhichhemovedtoHindustanTimes.Hisworks

havebeenpublishedinseveralnewspaperslikeTheIndependent,NewYorkTimes,

WashingtonPost,DelhiTimes,Thepioneerandothers

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• Sudhir Tailang: HewasawardedthePadmaAwardin2004forhiscontributionto

theartofcartooning.Hemadehisfirstcartoonin1970andthenstartedhiscareer

in1982withtheIllustratedWeeklyofIndia,Mumbai.HejoinedNavbharatTimesin

1983andalsohadstintswiththeHindustanTimes,theIndianExpressandTimesof

India.Atpresent,heisassociatedwiththeAsianAge.Herecentlylaunchedabook

ofcartoonstitledNo,PrimeMinister

• Abu Abraham: HedrewcartoonsunderthepennameAbu.Hewasassociatedwith

severalnationalandinternationalnewspaperslikeTheObserver,TheGuardian,The

BombayChronicle,Shankar’sWeekly,Blitz,TribuneandTheIndianExpress

• O V Vijayan:HewasanIndianauthorandcartoonistandwasknownforhisnovel

KhasakkinteItihasam.HisbooksofcartoonscalledIthirineramboke,IthiriDarshanam

(ALittlePastime,AlittleVision)waspublishedintheyear1990

• Puthukkody Kottuthody Sankaran Kutty Nair:HewasanIndianPoliticalcartoonist

who sketchedwith pen nameKutty.His first cartoon appeared in theMalayalam

humormagazine Viswaroopam in 1940 and since then his cartoons appeared in

severalnewspapersandmagazinelikeHindustanStandard,AnandaBazarPatrika,

Desh,HindustanTimes,TheIndianExpress,AajKaalandParivarthan.

• Vijay Narain Seth: AcartoonistandillustratorwasthefirstIndiancartoonisttobe

appointedinReader’sDigestMagazine.Hisworksarepartofapermanentcollection

attheInternationalCartoonMuseumandtheKarikatur&CartoonMuseuminBasel

Switzerland.HeconsideredMarioMirandaashismentor

• Paresh Nath:He is thefirst Indiancartoonist to receivemultipleawards fromthe

UnitedNationsformersecretarygeneralKofiAnnanforbestpoliticalcartoons.His

cartoonswerepublishedinmorethanhundredcountriesandaresyndicatedbythe

NewYorkTimesandCagle.Atpresent,heisworkingforthedailynewspaperKhaleej

TimesthatispublishedinEnglishinDubaiandUnitedArabEmiratessince2005.

• Mario Miranda:HisworksinTheIllustratedWeeklyofIndiagotaccoladestohim.The

respectedcartoonistofIndiawasposthumouslyawardedthePadmaVibhushanin

2012.HisworksappearedintheTimesofIndia,EconomicTimesandotherMumbai-

baseddailies

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• K. Shankar Pillai: CreditedasthefatherofpoliticalcartooninginIndiadrewwithpen

nameShankar.HestartedShankar’sWeekly,India’sPunchin1948andalsosetup

Children’sBookTrustandShankar’s InternationalDollsMuseum.Hewasawarded

thePadmaVibhushanin1976

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Canada announced an anti-terror law strengthening CSIS

The Government of Canada on 30 January 2015 announced an anti-terror law to

criminalise public terror threats and giving more teeth to Canadian Security Intelligence

Services (CSIS). The anti-terror measures were announced by the Prime Minister

Stephen Harper in Toronto, Canada.

The anti-terror law was introduced in the House of Commons and is the second

piece of legislation which the Stephen Harper government has introduced since the

October 2014 terrorist attack in Ottawa and Quebec.

Main Features of the Anti-terror Law

• It allows anyone suspected of being involved in a terror plot to be detained without

charge for up to seven days from the present three days.

• It empowers Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS), the spy agency of

Canada, to thwart attacks directly in a significant expansion of their powers.

• Further, it allows CSIS to directly approach terror suspects in order to disrupt their

plans as against the current practice of only collecting intelligence and passing

the information on to police.

• CSIS will also be able to cancel plane or other travel reservations made by

Canadians suspected of being involved in terrorism. However, the new activities

by CSIS will require approval by a judge.

• It makes it a crime for a person to call for terror attacks on Canada generally or

to promote or advocate others to carry out terrorism elsewhere. At present, it is a

INTERNATIONAL

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crime to make a specific threat.

• The penalty for giving public threat will be a maximum of five years in prison.

• Authorities will be able to remove terror-related material from any Canadian

website.

The new law still has to be passed in the Parliament but Harper’s Conservative

government has a majority of the seats so passage is all but ensured.

UNCTAD released Global Investment Trends Monitor Report

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 29 January

2015 released Global Investment Trend Monitor Report. The report provides the

global investments trend in 2014 and prospects of global investments in 2015.

The report highlights that Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by

8 percent in 2014 to an estimated 1.26 trillion US dollars due to the fragility of the

global economy, political uncertainty and geopolitical risks.

In 2014, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow in India increased by 26 percent to an

estimated 35 billion US dollar with maximum growth in the services sector, despite

the decline in global FDI inflows.

Main Highlights of the Report

• FDI flows to developed countries dropped by 14 percent to an estimated 511

billion US dollar, which was significantly affected by large divestment in the United

States

• FDI flows to the European Union (EU) reached an estimated 267 billion US dollar,

which was 13 percent increase on 2013, but is still only one-third of the 2007 peak

• FDI flows to transition economies more than halved to 45 billion US dollar, this

happened due to regional conflict, sanctions on the Russian Federation. The

negative growth prospects deterred foreign investors (especially from developed

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countries) from investing in the region

• FDI inflows in developing economies reached a new high of more than 700 billion

US dollar, which was 4 percent higher than 2013, with global share of 56 percent

• At the regional level, flows to developing Asia were up, to Africa remained flat,

while FDI to Latin America declined

• Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) rose by 19 percent, driven mainly

by restructuring deals.

• In 2014, Greenfield investment projects rose by 3 percent

Top five FDI recipients’ country of 2014

In 2014, China was the largest recipient of FDI with an increase of 3 percent FDI. As

largest recipient of FDI, China replaced the US, a position that was held by it since

1980s.

Among the top five FDI recipients in the world, four are developing economies, the

rankings is:

• China with 128 billion US dollar

• Hong Kong with 111 billion US dollar

• The United States with 86 billion US dollar

• Singapore with 81 billion US dollar

• Brazil with 62 billion US dollar

Report in context of India

In 2014 FDI flow in India increased by 26 percent to an estimated 35 billion US dollar

with maximum growth in the services sector, despite the decline in global Foreign

Direct Investment inflows.

Maximum growth was witnessed in services sector especially in electricity, gas,

water, waste management and information and communication. This figure is one of

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the highest in recent years, though in 2008 FDI peaked in India with 47 billion dollars

followed by 35.6 billion dollar in 2009.

FDI prospects in 2015

According to the report, FDI flows in 2015 will be negatively influenced, due to

subdued global economic outlook, volatility in currency and commodity markets and

elevated geopolitical risks.

The report also says FDI flows will be favoured by the strengthening of economic

growth in the United States, the demand-boosting effects of lower oil prices and

proactive monetary policy in the Eurozone, coupled with increased liberalization and

promotion measures.

Shirani Bandaranayake reinstated as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka

Shirani Bandaranayake, the former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, was reinstated on

28 January 2015 by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on a special cabinet

approval.

With the reinstatement of Bandaranayake, the appointment of Mohan Peiris as Chief

Justice of Sri Lanka by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was cancelled and

termed as illegal appointment.

The appointment of Peiris was termed illegal because, according to President’s office,

the Rajapaksa government had not followed the proper constitutional procedure.

Peiris was appointed as successor of Bandaranayake.

Earlier, Bandarnayake, the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, was impeached and

removed by the Parliament of Sri Lanka during the regime of former President Mahinda

Rajapaksa in January 2013.

She was removed on the allegations of failure to disclose financial assets, abuse of

power and disregarding the constitution. The charges were leveled against her after

some of her legal rulings went against Rajpaksa’s government.

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Constitutional Provision for Judiciary in Sri Lanka

Independence of Judiciary in Sri Lanka is mentioned Article 107 of the Constitution of

Sri Lanka but the article also allows the Parliament to exercise considerable control

over the judiciary.

According to Article 107(7) of Sri Lanka’s Constitution:

• Every such Judge shall hold office during good behaviour, and shall not be

removed except by an order of the President made after an address of Parliament,

supported by a majority of the total number of Members of Parliament [including

those not present], has been presented to the President for such removal on the

ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity

• No resolution for the presentation of such an address shall be entertained by

the Speaker or placed on the Order Paper of Parliament, unless notice of such

resolution is signed by not less than one-third of the total number of Members of

Parliament and sets out full particulars of the alleged misbehaviour or incapacity.

Former Thailand Premier Yingluck Shinawatra impeached

Former Thailand Premier Yingluck Shinawatra was impeached on 23 January 2015

by an army-backed parliament. The impeachment was followed by the ban of the

Yingluck Shinawatra from politics for five years.

Yingluck is the first Prime Minister to be impeached by parliament in Thailand’s

history. The impeachment was a result of an allegation for failing to stop corruption

in rice-pledging scheme.

The motion for impeachment was started in National Legislative Assembly. 190 of

the 219 members present for the secret ballot voted in favor of impeaching Yingluck

Shinawatra. 18 members voted against the impeachment, 8 abstained, and 3 votes

were spoilt.

Yingluck was accused of dereliction of duty in her government’s rice-pledging

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scheme, which Thailand’s national anti-graft agency said cost the country 500 billion

baht in damages due to mismanagement and corruption.

Rice-pledging program

Under the rice-pledging program, the Thai government bought rice from farmers

at above-market prices, but then struggled to sell the paddies on the international

market, accumulating stockpiles and resulting in huge financial loses. It is a flagship

program of Yingluck’s administration.

The impeachment is the latest in a series of legal punishments handed down to

Yingluck and her government. In May 2014, she was ousted from her office by the

Constitutional Court on an abuse of power charge for transferring the head of the

national security agency in 2011.

Procedure of Impeachment

The Constitution allowed individual justices to be the subject of impeachment

proceedings with the vote of one fourth of the members of the House or with 50000

approvals of petitioners. A vote of three fifths of the Senate is required for impeachment.

Earlier drafts had required votes of only 10% of the combined House and Senate to

call for a vote of impeachment, and votes of three fifths of the combined Parliament

to dismiss a justice.

About Yingluck Shinawatra

Yingluck Shinawatra is a Thai businesswoman and politician. She is a member of the

Pheu Thai Party, and the 28th Prime Minister of Thailand following the 2011 general

election.

Yingluck was Thailand’s first female Prime Minister at the time and its youngest Prime

Minister in over 60 years.

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EU decided to lift ban on import of mangoes from India

European Union (EU) on 20 January 2015 decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on

the import of mangoes from India. The proposal to lift the ban was voted unanimously

by the European Commission’s standing committee on plant health.

India will be able to start the export again after a new EU legislation is formally adopted

and published by the European Commission.

The decision to lift the ban was made after India, the world’s biggest producer of

Mangoes made significant improvements in plant health controls and certification

system.

The Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office in India in September 2014 carried

out an audit and showed significant improvements in the phytosanitary export

certification system.

However, imports of four other products namely aubergines, bitter gourds, snake

gourds and patra leaves, remain suspended subject to sustained improvements in

plant pest control.

Why Indian mangoes were banned in European Union?

European Union issued a temporary ban on import of Indian mangoes on 1 May

2014 after fruit flies and other quarantine pests were found in 207 consignments. The

consignment infested with fruit flies were found by authorities in Brussels. The ban

was supposed to be effective till December 2015.

The ban was imposed as they feared that the fruit flies could damage European salad

crops of tomato and cucumber.

The EU accounts for more than 50 percent of total exports of fruits and vegetables

from India. The UK is the main destination, followed by the Netherlands, Germany

and Belgium.

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EU decided to appeal a decision by ECJ to remove Hamas from terror list

The European Union (EU) on 19 January 2015 decided to appeal a decision by the

European Court of Justice(ECJ) to remove Hamas from its official terrorist organization

blacklist. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini decided to appeal in a meeting

with other foreign ministers from the 28 EU-member states.

ECJ announced its decision in December 2014. It came in for sharp criticism for

removing Hamas from the list, with both the US and Canada condemning the move

and urging Hamas to be put back on the terrorist list.

EU claimed that ruling was clearly based on procedural grounds and did not imply

any assessment by the court of the merits of designating the Hamas as a terrorist

organisation.

Further, the decision to remove Hamas from the list was said to have been the result

of a technicality, with it being claimed that the group’s inclusion in the list was against

EU procedures and without sufficient evidence.

According to the court, Hamas’s inclusion was based largely on articles in the press

as opposed to legal judgments.

The cause for Hamas’s removal was due to EU terror list rules requiring new information

every six months to reevaluate terrorist standing. Apparently classified intelligence

had not been used as proof due to fears of tipping off Hamas, and instead news

reports were submitted.

Hamas was added to the terror list in 2003 following a push by Israel and the US to

have the radical Islamist terror group - whose charter pledges to destroy Israel and

calls for a genocide against the Jewish people - recognized as such in Europe.

About European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), is the highest court in the European Union in

matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European

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Union it is tasked with interpreting EU law and ensuring its equal application across

all EU member states.

The court sits in Luxemburg.

Haiti president announced formation of new government under Prime Minister Evans Paul

Haitian President Michel Martelly on 18 January 2015 announced the formation of

new government that will be led by newly elected Prime Minister Evans Paul.

Martelly appointed 18 ministers and 16 secretaries of state to the new cabinet of

Haiti. Carel Alexandre was appointed as the head of public security. The new planning

minister is Yves Germain Joseph.

Despite promising a new government, Martelly kept several current cabinet members

in their posts including the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Health, Tourism,

Education and Public Works and appointed his allies to the key positions of Planning

Minister and Secretary of State for Public Security.

The new cabinet was announced amid the political unrest against Martelly’s rule on

the impoverished Caribbean country. Martelly has been in power since 2011, but he

has failed to end Haiti’s long-running political turmoil and protesters have called on

street protests aimed at resignation of Martelly.

In order to end the street protests, Martelly on 16 January 2015 announced to build

a broad-based government. Martelly urged anti-government demonstrators to keep

street protests peaceful as he tries to steer the country toward new elections.

Haiti’s parliament was dissolved in the second week of January 2015 after the last-

minute negotiations to extend the terms of the members of Haiti Parliament collapsed.

Former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe was also forced to resign on 14 December

2014.

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Background

Haiti has a long history of coups, uprisings and dictatorships and now the dissolution

of parliament raised fears that the nation is again on a way to violent unrest. Washington

fears that a political collapse can spark mass migration of Haitians to the United

States.

Haiti remains heavily dependent on US financial aid. It is the poorest nation of the

America and is still recovering from a devastating earthquake in January 2010 that

destroyed large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

There have been no legislative or municipal elections in the country for three years.

However, the elections could be held in 2015 but President Martelly must first form

an Electoral Council first.

Parliament of Europe adopted resolution on two Italian marines

Parliament of Europe on 14 January 2015 adopted a resolution calling on India to

allow the return of two Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.

The resolution was adopted by majority during the plenary session of European

Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Details of the Resolution

• Member of European Parliament (MEPs) expressed great sadness at the tragic

death of the two Indian fishermen, but also grave concerns about the detention

without charge of the Italian marines

• They also stressed that restrictions on the marines’ freedom of movement represent

a serious breach of their human rights and ask for their repatriation.

• They also backed the positions stated by Italy on the 2012 incident and therefore

hope that jurisdiction will fall to the Italian authorities and/or international arbitration.

• They finally asked Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union

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for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to take all necessary steps to protect the

two Italian marines and state their support for the efforts of all parties involved to

work towards a mutually acceptable solution.

India’s reaction

The resolution drew sharp reaction from India and it termed the step as not well

advised as the matter was sub judice.

Earlier, Supreme Court on 14 January 2015 granted three months extension to the

Italian marine, Massimiliano Latorre, for his stay in Italy on health grounds. The other

marine, Salvatore Girone is living in the Italian Embassy in New Delhi.

Background

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, were arrested on murder charges after in

an anti-piracy they killed two Indian fisherman off the coast of Kerala on 15 February

2012. The two maintain that they fired at the fishermen after mistaking them for

pirates while guarding the ship Enrica Lexie.

The shooting incident sparked a diplomatic row between India and Italy over conflicting

opinions on jurisdiction and immunity.

The US and UK announced cooperative measures in combating cyber threats

The US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced

cooperative measures in combating cyber threats. Both the countries announced the

measures during the bilateral summit between the two countries held in Washington

DC, US on 16 January 2015.

The measures include better threat information sharing and the creation of a new

joint cyber task force.

The measure on better threat information sharing will bring together Internet security

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experts from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Security

Service MI5 of the UK and the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau

of Investigation (FBI) of the US.

On the other hand, the formation of a joint cyber task force will have a physical

presence in both the countries.

The US and UK also agreed that the cyber threat was one of the most serious economic

and national security challenges for both the countries and required cooperation

between governments and the private sector.

Both the countries also agreed on encryption of online service by private companies

to maintain people privacy and help track down terrorists. They also recognised that

the international nature of cyber threats requires that governments around the world

work together to confront the cyber threats.

It was also agreed to strengthen efforts to enhance the cyber security of critical

infrastructure in both the countries and support new educational exchanges between

the US and the UK.

China to launch construction of five new nuclear reactors with total capacity of 5 Gigawatts in 2015

China will launch the construction of at least five new nuclear reactors with a total

capacity of more than 5 Gigawatts in 2015. The decision was announced by the

Deputy Secretary General of Nuclear Society of China, Shen Lixin on 15 January

2015.

At Present, China has 22 nuclear reactors in operation and 26 under construction.

China launched the construction of five nuclear reactors in 2014 and had planned to

keep up the pace of construction of nuclear reactors in 2015.

According to the World Nuclear Association, four new reactors started operating in

Fujian, Liaoning and Guangdong provinces of China in 2014.

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In 2012, State Council of China outlined the current nuclear reactor construction goals

and approved the 12th Five-year Plan for Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Pollution

Prevention and Vision for 2020. It is aimed to triple China’s atomic energy capacity to

at least 58 gigawatts by 2020.

China allocated 13 billion US dollars to improve safety at nuclear reactors of China

and also to decrease severe air pollution caused by coal fired plants.

China Food and Drug Administration approved new vaccine to treat Poliomyelitis

Chinese drug regulator China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) on 15 January

2015 approved a new vaccine S-IPV to treat the Poliomyelitis.

The vaccine S-IPV is known as Ai Bi Wei in China. It is manufactured by the Institute

of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences located in Kunming,

southwest China’s Yunnan province.

The vaccine will be given to Chinese children as part of routine disease prevention

and will help the global fight against the polio virus. The World Health Organisation is

also considering use of this new vaccine in its global polio treatment program.

Background

Poliomyelitis is a highly contagious disease caused by the poliovirus, which attacks

the nervous system and can cause lifelong paralysis or even death.

China technically eradicated polio in 2000, but there have been outbreaks of the

disease in the country since then. In this case, the S-IPV is a breakthrough for China

to keep the polio-free status.

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Union Government identified five areas for Varanasi-Kyoto part-nership

Union Government in the second week of January 2015 identified five areas for

rejuvenating the holy city under the Kyoto-Varanasi partnership deal signed between

India and Japan in August 2014.

Japan will extend its expertise to help in rejuvenating Varanasi under the Kyoto-

Varanasi partnership deal.

The identified areas include

• Solid-liquid waste management

• Transport management

• Developing the Buddhist tourist circuit in and around Varanasi

• Industry-university interface

• Setting up of a convention centre on public-private partnership basis for giving a

fillip to the cultural activities in the city

Earlier in 2014, Union government had sanctioned a sum of 80 crore rupees for

Varanasi under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (Hriday).

Background

The Varanasi-Kyoto partnership deal is a part of Sister City Cooperation that was

signed between India and Japan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five-day visit

to Japan in August 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a Member of Parliament

from Lok Sabha seat of Varanasi.

Varanasi and Kyoto are one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world.

Varanasi on the one hand is called the cultural capital of India and is the oldest living

city in the world. On the other hand, Kyoto is a place of ancient temples and shrines

and practically called the cultural centre of Japan. It has been the Capital of Japan till

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the end of Nara Period (794 AD) after which the emperor moved to Tokyo.

Japan approved its largest ever Defence Budget for 2015

The Cabinet of Japan headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved its largest

ever defence budget for 2015 on 14 January 2015. The defence budget includes

plan to buy surveillance aircraft, drones and F-35 fighter jets to help counter rising

assertiveness of China.

The main aim of increasing the defence spending is to boost capacity of Japan to

defend uninhabited islands in the East China Sea where Japan controls it and china

also has claiming for the island.

Highlights of Defence Budget

• Japan endorsed a nearly 5 trillion trillion yen (42 billion US dollars) defence budget

for the year beginning in April 2015 as part of a record 96.3 trillion yen (814 billion

US dollars) total budget.

• The defence budget is designed to achieve seamless and mobile defence capability

that can respond to various contingencies.

• The budget will provide effective deterrence and contribute to stability in the Asia-

Pacific region and improvement of the global security environment.

• The increase of defence budget mainly includes new equipment, including P-1

surveillance aircraft, F-35 fighter jets and amphibious vehicles for a new unit

similar to the US Marine Corps.

• The budget also covers the cost of purchasing parts of Global Hawk drones,

planned for deployment in 2019, two Aegis radar-equipped destroyers and missile

defence system development with the US.

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Why Defence Budget raised?

Chinese patrol boats often visit waters near the islands, which are known as the

Senkakus in Japan and as the Diaoyu islands in China. To counter china, Japan

revised the defence guidelines in 2013 and increased the defence budget.

Prime Minister favoured a stronger role of Japan military despite a commitment to

pacifism enshrined in the US- inspired constitution drawn up after the Japan’s defeat

in World War II.

Comment

The increase in Japan’s defence budget comes at a time when the economy of Japan

is in recession. However, the Shinzo Abe government has forecasted growth at 1.5

percent for the financial year 2015, after an estimated 0.5 percent contraction in

2014.

Further, the population of Japan also is ageing quickly raising the welfare cost and

social security spending.

Also, the debt of Japan is the highest, proportionately, among industrialized countries.

Thus, Japan must tread a fine line between spending enough to support economic

growth and defence and slowing the rise in debt of Japan.

Pope Francis cannonised Joseph Vaz, the first saint of Sri Lanka

Pope Francis on 14 January 2015 cannonised Joseph Vaz, the first saint of Sri Lanka.

Joseph Vaz was beatified by Pope John Paul in 1995. Pope Francis cannonised Saint

Joseph Vaz in presence of hundreds of thousands of people packed on a Colombo

oceanfront during his visit to Sri Lanka.

The Pope told the hushed crowd that Vaz was an example of religious tolerance

relevant to Sri Lanka.

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About Saint Joseph Vaz

He was born in 1651 in Goa. He was captured as a suspected spy after he crept into

the tropical island in disguise.

Vaz spent five years secretly preaching in the lush lowlands before making his way to

the Kingdom of Kandy in the highland rainforests.

He was detained for nearly a year until he convinced the powerful Buddhist king that

he was a priest.

King Vimaladharmasuriya II protected him from the Dutch and Vaz’s reputation was

further bolstered when he was said to have made rain during a drought.

Vaz remained in Kandy until his death aged 60 in 1711, by which time the Church

says he had converted 30000 people and created a network of priests, almost single-

handedly re-establishing Catholicism in Ceylon.

Process of Cannonisation

Cannonisation is the act by which the Catholic Church or Eastern Orthodox Church

declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is

included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints.

Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process. Later,

different processes, such as those used by the Roman Catholic Church and the

Eastern Orthodox Church were developed.

There are four steps to canonization that the saints have to go through:

Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint

Five years after a person dies, a bishop can request that he or she be considered for

canonization. The first step is to collect the testimony of witnesses who can recount

facts about the person’s exercise of Christian virtues. At that point the person can be

given the title of Servant of God, or Venerable.

After more investigation the Congregation for the Cause of Saints can recommend

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to the pope that the person be beatified. This means that the person can be honored

in public worship limited to a specific diocese or area. After beatification the person

receives the title Blessed.

Finally the Congregation can recommend canonization. When the pope canonizes a

person, he declares that the person can be looked on as a model of Christian virtue

and can be honored in the public worship of the universal church. After canonization

the person who was named Blessed acquires the title of Saint.

India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion US dollars in 2014

India –China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion US dollars in 2014 despite the

increase in bilateral trade by 7.9 percent. The annual trade figures were released by

General Administration of Customs (GAC) of China on 13 January 2015.

The total bilateral trade volume increased to 70.59 billion US dollars in 2014 from

65.57 billion US dollars in 2013 registering an increase of 5.02 billion US dollars amid

increasing exports of China to India.

India-China trade increased all time high of 73.9 billion US dollars in 2011 but declined

to 66.57 billion US dollars in 2012 and 65.49 billion US dollars in 2013.

China’s export to India surged to 54.2 billion US dollars, posting a 12 percent increase

while India’s exports to China decelerated to 16.4 billion US dollars, posting a decline

of 3.5 percent. Total export of India to China stood at 17.04 billion US dollars in 2013.

India and China had fixed a trade target of 100 billion US dollars for the year 2014.

First Border Haat of Tripura opened at Srinagar-Feni border

The first Border Haat (market) along Tripura-Bangladesh frontier was opened on 13

January 2015. This haat is located at Srinagar (Tripura, India) - Purba Madhugram

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(Feni, Bangladesh).

It was inaugurated by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Commerce and

Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and her Bangladeshi counterpart Tofaile Ahmed by

opening the plaque of the border haat.

This is the third border haat on India-Bangladesh Border. The other two cross border

haats with Bangladesh are located on the Meghalaya - Bangladesh border at Kalaichar

(India) - Baliamari (Bangladesh) and Balat (India) - Dolora (Bangladesh).

Similar fourth border haat facility is being developed at Tripura’s Kamlasagar, bordering

Bangladesh’s Tarapur Kashba in Brahmanbaria district.

Background

India and Bangladesh on 23 October 2010 signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) on Border Haats and Border Trade along the India-Bangladesh border. The

MoU permits traders of border communities of both India and Bangladesh to trade in

local produce and transact business worth 100 US dollar per day.

Madagascar Government led by Prime Minister Kolo Roger re-signed

Madagascar Prime Minister Kolo Roger and his government on 12 January 2015

resigned from their position. The resignation was accepted by Madagascar President

Hery Rajaonarimampianina on 13 January 2015.

However, the reason for the resignation was not disclosed by the government. This is

the first change of government in Rajaonarimampianina’s Presidency.

The resigning government members will continue to work as Caretaker Government

until the creation of the new government. The government led by Kolo Roger consists

of 30 ministers and one Secretary of State.

Kolo Roger was elected as Prime Minister of Madagascar in April 2014.

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Background

Madagascar, a large Indian Ocean island famous for its wildlife and its minerals, has

struggled hard to revive its economy since a coup in 2009 that plunged the nation

into prolonged crisis.

The island country was undergoing severe electricity failures as only 15 percent of

the island is on the electricity grid. Amidst the turmoil, Roger Kolo’s government was

not able to handle the electricity failures.

Moreover, Madagascar Energy Minister Richard Fihenena was fired in November

2014 for his inability to solve the problem.

Australia launched Online Visa Pilot Programme for Indian busi-ness and tourism visitors

Australia on 12 January 2015 launched Online Visa Pilot Programme to make it easier

for Indian business and tourism visitors to apply online visa for travelling Australia.

The pilot programme has been launched on a trial basis. It covers online lodgement

of subclass 600 visas for Indian business and tourism visitors. It will be rolled out

through selected travel agents across India.

As per the Tourism 2020 programme of Australian Government, India has the potential

to contribute between 1.9 billion US dollars and 2.3 billion US dollars annually to

tourism industry by 2020.

This is the reason that the Australian Government has rolled out a trial of online visa

applications to capitalize this rapidly growing visitor market and create jobs.

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Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic won the 2015 Presidential elections of Croatia

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on 11 January 2015 won the 2015 Presidential elections of

Croatia. Kolinda belongs to the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party

and is a former Assistant Secretary General at NATO and former Croatian ambassador

to the United States.

She will take charge of the President office on 19 February 2015 thus becoming the

first female President of Croatia.

In the presidential elections held on 28 December 2014, she bagged 50.4 percent

of votes in the second round of voting. She defeated the incumbent President Ivo

Josipovic of Social Democrat Party who got 49.6 percent votes.

Second round of voting was held after no candidate received 50 percent of the vote

in the first round.

Capitalising on popular discontent

She won the elections by a slight margin of about 21000 votes which were fought in

the backdrop of popular discontent over economic decline in Croatia.

After six years of recession, unemployment is running at 19 percent which joined

the European Union July 2014. High taxes and poor administration have hampered

business and the economy is not expected to grow in 2015.

The results are a sign that Croatia may be shifting to the right after the centre-left

coalition’s failure to end six years of downturn.

Political Implications

Even though the presidency in Croatia is a largely ceremonial position, but the results

are considered an important test for the main political parties before the parliamentary

elections expected late 2015.

Further the victory for Grabar – Kitarovic greatly boosts the chances of her centre-

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right Croatian Democratic Union to win back power.

The HDZ ruled Croatia from its first democratic election in 1990 until its founder,

President Franjo Tudjman, died in December 1999. Since then it has alternated in

power with the Social Democrats, but has never regained the presidential post.

About the Croatian President

Croatia’s presidency is largely ceremonial. The President of the Croatia is the head of

state and the commander in chief of the armed forces.

The Croatian president also has a say in foreign policy but running the country is

primarily left to the government.

It is the president who has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister of

country with the consent of the parliament.

US House of Representative passed legislation approving construction of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

House of Representatives of the United States on 9 January 2015 passed a legislation

that approves construction of a controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. The bill was

passed by 153 votes in the 266-member House of Representatives. Now the bill will

go to the Senate for approval.

The lower house of the US took the decision after Nebraska Supreme Court in its

ruling removed a major obstacle that delayed project till now.

The obstacle was over the issue of constitutionality of Governor’s decision to bypass

regulatory procedures and approve the pipeline route himself. In 2012, former

governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman had granted TransCanada Corp a pipeline

route to cross the State.

In its decision, four judges of the Nebraska court said that the Governors’ decision

was unconstitutional but state law required five judges to reach that conclusion. As a

result, the deadlock over the issue in the court amounted to ruling in the company’s

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favour.

With the court decision in the favour of the pipeline, it is now supposed that US

President Barack Obama will have to sign the controversial bill who so far had refused

to sign the bill on the grounds that the case was pending in Nebraska court.

Debate on the Keystone XL oil pipeline

Republicans and some Democrats

Environmentalists and other Democrats Energy policy experts

They support the

pipeline as they feel

that the pipeline will

create jobs and promote

economic growth

They oppose the pipeline

because they feel that the

process of extracting the oil

sands petroleum will create

more planet-warming carbon

emissions than the process for

conventional oil

They say that the

practical impact of the

project, both on the

environment and the

economy, is limited

About Keystone XL oil pipeline

The 2000-kilometer Keystone XL oil pipeline would carry 830000 barrels of oil per

day from the oil sands of western Canada to the ports and refineries of the Gulf Coast

of Mexico. The pipeline will be built by TransCanada Corp. which had submitted

its permit application in 2008 to the State Department, which has jurisdiction over

Cross-Border Pipelines.

Maithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lan-ka

Mithripala Sirisena, Health Minister in Rajapaksa government, won the 2015

Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka. The Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya

announced the results on 9 January 2015.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa from United People’s Freedom Alliance got

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47.6 percent and Opposition candidate Maithripala Samisen from United National

Party got 51.3 percent of the votes polled in the Presidential elections held on 8

January 2015.

Rajapaksa conceding defeat moved out of Templetrees, the official residence of the

Sri Lanka President after ruling for ten years.

The results of elections were unexpected and dethroning of incumbent President

Rajapaksa, South Asia’s longest serving leader, has come as a surprise to the world

community.

Moreover, the results came as a shock to Rajpaksa who had called for snap elections

in November 2014 and amended the Constitution of Sri Lanka to stand for a third term.

In September 2010, under President Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka passed the eighteenth

amendment to the Constitution and removed the two term limit on Presidents.

According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka normal term for President is six years

although an incumbent may call an election at any time after four years in office.

Further, the result ends a decade of rule that critics said had become increasingly

authoritarian and marred by nepotism and corruption. The election results are seen as

the most significant for decades in the island nation and a last chance for democracy.

Election Results and relations with India vis-à-vis China

The winning of Sirisena is seen by many as advantage to India as during the Rajapaksa

rule; he had opposed the infrastructure related contracts between the island nation

and China.

Moreover, he has announced to scrap many of the contracts between Sri Lanka and

China including a new city proposed to be built on reclaimed land off Colombo at a

cost of 1.5 billion US dollars.

However, if moderation in Tamil Nadu is not observed, the new government could

become a plaything in the hands of the Buddhist clergy.

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Australian airline Qantas named world’s safest by AirlineRat-ings.comAustralia’s national airline Qantas was named as the world’s safest airline by

AirlineRatings.com on 6 January 2015. The airline was lauded for amassing an

extraordinary record of firsts in safety history and operations over its 94-year history.

Qantas was praised for the way it monitors the engines of its aircraft using satellite

communications and had a fatality free record in the jet era.

The website said that the Australian airline Qantas has been a leader in development

of the Future Air Navigation System, Flight Data Recorder to monitor plane and later

crew performance, automatic landings using Global Navigation Satellite System as

well as precision approaches around mountains in cloud using RNP.

The website announced its top ten safest airlines and top ten safest low cost airlines

for 2015 from 449 it monitors.

Top ten safest airlines include

• Qantas of Australia

• Air New Zealand of New Zealand

• British Airways of the UK

• Cathay Pacific Airways of Hong Kong

• Emirates of UAE

• Etihad Airways of UAE

• EVA Air of Taiwan

• Finnair of Finland

• Lufthansa of Germany

• Singapore Airlines of Singapore

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Top ten safest low cost airlines include

• Aer Lingus of Ireland

• Alaska Airlines of the US

• Icelandair of Iceland

• Jetblue of the US

• Jetstar of Australia

• Kulula.com of South Africa

• Monarch Airlines of Britain

• Thomas Cook of Britain

• TUI Fly of Germany

• Westjet of Canada

About AirlineRatings.com

It is world’s only safety and product rating website and was launched in June 2013.

To rate the airlines it takes into account a range of factors related to audits from

aviation’s governing bodies such as the FAA and ICAO as well as government audits

and the airline’s fatality record. It also examines each airline’s operational history,

incident records and operational excellence.

China included potatoes as staple diet after rice, wheat and corn

Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) of China on 7 January 2015 announced to include

potatoes as staple diet after rice, wheat and corn.

The decision was based upon an attempt to ensure food security, ease the pressure

on the environment and increase the income of farmers.

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The addition of potatoes as another staple food was consistent with the government’s

policy of adjusting the agriculture structure to achieve sustainable development.

The officials claimed that almost 50 per cent of annual production of potatoes will be

consumed as a staple food by 2020 in China to improve the food security.

To maintain the food security, China will turn potatoes into noodles, steamed bread

and other staple food products. They will convert potatoes to a series of manufactured

food items which lead to a healthier diet.

As potato is easy to grow even in barren lands, it would also guarantee food supply.

The potato is of higher nutritional value compared with rice and wheat flour, which

lose considerable dietary fiber and nutrients during processing.

To meet the increasing demand the techniques of processing potatoes will also be

improved. They also called for a campaign to promote the consumption of potatoes.

Popularising the consumption of potatoes would not compromise the existing

cultivated land for wheat, rice and corn.

Comment

Many potato-lovers supported the policy, while others doubted if the policy was a

result of inadequate production of traditional staple food in China.

China is under pressure with a huge population but limited farmland, which makes

potatoes a perfect supplement to the present staple food system of China.

The decision would encourage the increased planting of potatoes and bring some

improvements to the food processing industry, but this would require greater

government support.

Pakistan-India Dosti bus service operation restricted up to Wa-gah border

Pakistan restricted the movement of Dosti bus services on New Delhi – Lahore and

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Amritsar-Lahore-Nankana Sahib route up to Wagah border.

The decision was announced by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation

(PTDC) on 1 January 2015 and came into effect from 2 January 2015 onwards.

With this, now the passengers from Pakistan leaving for New Delhi and Amritsar

will have to catch the bus at Wagah. Similarly, passengers from India will arrive and

disembark at Wagah.

Pakistan decided to restrict the services in wake of growing terror threats especially

after the Taliban militants killed 150 people at an army-run school in Peshawar on 16

December 2014.

Restrictions in recent past

For the first time the bus services on Delhi – Lahore route was suspended in the

aftermath of the Indian Parliament attack in 2001 but the bus service was resumed in

July 2003 when bilateral relations had improved between India and Pakistan.

In 2009, the movement of Indian buses was restricted up to Wagah when there was

a terrorist attack on the cricket team of Sri Lanka in Lahore.

The bus service between Delhi and Lahore was started in February 1999 by the then

Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz

Sharif. It operates six days a week with no service on Sunday.

The bus service on Amritsar – Lahore – Nankana Sahib Route was started in 2006

during the tenure of PM Manmohan Singh. The buses on this route ply four times in

a week.

India to provide 69 million rupees assistance to Nepal for goitre control

Indian Government on 8 January 2015 decided to provide 69 million rupees to Nepal

as assistance to launch the Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (IDDCP)

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for goitre control across the country.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over a cheque of 17.25 million rupees

as an advance payment to the secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Nepal

for launching the programme.

Background

The IDDCP, earlier known as Goitre Control Programme, was signed under the

financial assistance of Government of India on 3 August 2014 during the visit of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal.

India had so far provided grant assistance of 686 million Rupees to Nepal for the

control of Goitre and other iodine deficiency disorders during 1973-1998, 2004-07,

2009-14 in the form of subsidy for re-iodisation of salt, packing, transportation and

advocacy.

French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office attacked by terrorists

The French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office was attacked by

three masked gunmen on 7 January 2015. At least 12 persons were killed in the

attack.

The killed persons include Editor-in-Chief Stephane Charbonnie (known as Charb)

and cartoonists Jean ‘Cabu’ Cabut (known as Cabu), Tignous and Wolinski, as well

as Charlie Hebdo contributor and French economist Bernard Maris.

This was the deadliest terror attack of France since 1961, when right-wingers bombed

a train, killing 28 people.

Why Charlie Hebdo was attacked?

The organization was attacked for its satire edition of 2011 in which it listed the

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Prophet Mohammed as editor-in-chief and featured cartoons. In retaliation, the office

was burned in firebombing in November 2011 and its website was hacked.

Charlie Hebdo was a target of Islamist extremists since 2006, when they published

cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, the holiest figure of Islam.

History of Charlie Hebdo’s Controversies

Charlie Hebdo, a weekly French satirical news magazine that is being published

since 1970 (had break between 1981 and 1992) is mainly known for its controversial

provocative cartoons and caricatures. In past, its articles have targeted the extreme

right, Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, politics, culture and others. The magazine has

also targeted former Pope Benedict XVI and Orthodox Jews.

In 2012, editor of the magazine, Stephane Charbonnier described the newspaper as

left-wing, secular and atheist and pushed free speech limits until his death due to his

believe in freedom of expression in France.

Russian President issued decree to enable foreign soldiers to serve in Russian Military

Russian President Vladimir Putin on 6 January 2015 issued a decree to enable foreign

soldiers to serve in Russian Military for at least five years. The foreigners can serve

in Russian Military only if they can speak Russian.

Earlier, they were required to get Russian citizenship to serve in Russian Military,

or a paper granting them Russian citizenship rights, but now they can serve legally

without Russian citizenship.

Decree on recruiting foreign soldiers is part of move to professionalise the Russian

armed forces. However, this decree does have diplomatic implications for Russia’s

relations with ex-Soviet republics.

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Comment

Russian military experts Pavel Felgenhauer and Alexander Golts both told that the

new decree would legalise a situation that had already existed for several years in

areas where Russian troops were deployed beyond Russia’s borders.

Already, there are about 300 foreigners in the Russian forces. Earlier, thousands of

Tajiks had served under Russian officers during unrest in Tajikistan in the 1990s.

In the Caucasus, Russia still operates a military base in Armenia and has troops in

two breakaway parts of Georgia - Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

It would make it easier for Russian forces to recruit locals in parts of Central Asia,

the Caucasus and in Trans-Dniester, the pro-Russian breakaway territory in Moldova.

Pakistan Parliament passed 21st Constitutional Amendment, Army Act Amendment Bills

Pakistan Parliament on 6 January 2014 passed the 21st Constitution Amendment Bill

2015 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2015. Clearance of these two bills has

cleared the way for establishment of military courts in the country.

The two bills will now be sent to the President for his assent.

The two Amendments were unanimously passed in both the houses National

Assembly (Lower House) and Senate (Upper House).

Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed in the Lower House with 237 votes

without any opposition, whereas, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill was passed

unanimously. Both the bills were unanimously adopted in the Upper House, as none

of the lawmakers voted against them.

For secure passage, the constitution amendment bill required a two-third majority

in the 342-seat National Assembly and 104-seat Senate. On the other hand, the

Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill for passage needed a simple majority in both the

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Houses.

21st Constitution Amendment Bill 2015

It states that the provisions of Article 175 of the Constitution will have no application

in cases of trial of persons under the Pakistan Army Act 1952, the Pakistan Army Act

1953, the Pakistan Navy Act 1961 and the Protection of Pakistan Act 2014.

Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2015

It amends Pakistan Army Act 1952 and adds a new sub-section (4), which will have

the power to transfer any proceedings in any court in respect of any person accused

of falling under any offence in jurisdiction of the Pakistan Army Act to a special court.

Israel stopped transfer of tax collected from Palestinians to Pal-estinian Authority Government

Israel on 3 January 2015 decided to stop the transfer of about 500 million shekels

(127.6 million US dollars) of taxes to the Palestinian Authority Government. The taxes

were collected on behalf of the Palestinians for the month of December 2014.

The decision to withhold the Palestinian tax receipts was made at a meeting chaired

by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel’s step comes in retaliation against Palestinians move to join the International

Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour on 2 January 2014 had

submitted the Palestinian application to the ICC to the UN’s top legal affairs official,

Stephan Mathias, at the UN headquarters in New York.

Under the application, the envoy had requested to grant retroactive jurisdiction to the

court to cover war crimes allegedly committed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)

during Operation Protective Edge.

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China launched official website for military weapons procure-mentChina on 4 January 2015 launched an official military weapons procurement website

www.weain.mil.cn to guarantee transparency in arms procurement.

The website will be operated by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of General

Armament Department of China. It aims to break down barriers for private companies

seeking to enter the market.

Highlights of the website

• The website www.weain.mil.cn provides information on the country’s weapon

and armament needs, relevant policies, procurement notices, enterprise lists and

technology.

• Around 350 items that can be procured have been listed on the website.

• The procurement information will be released on the website on the first working

day of every January and July.

• Private enterprises, military procurement departments, and military industry

groups and personnel can register on the website.

Background

The website was launched amidst the huge outrage on some of the top PLA officials

who are accused of indulging in corruption in the procurement of supplies.

Several top PLA officials including General Xu Caihou and the overall supervisory

authority over the military under previous President Hu Jintao faced anti-corruption

probes in the extensive anti-graft campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track restored by IRCON in North Sri Lanka inaugurated

18 kilometer long Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track in North Sri Lanka was inaugurated

on 2 January 2015 by Sri Lanka’s Transport Minister Kumara Welgama. To mark the

inauguration, famous Yal Devi Express was flagged off.

The restoration work of the commercial rail service covering a distance of 18 kilometers

has been completed by Indian Railway’s construction company (IRCON).

The track corridor has two crossing stations at Kondavil and Chunnakam and five

halt stations at Kokuvil, Inuvil, Mallakam, Tellipalai and Mavittapuram.

The rail track that connects Colombo and Kankesanthurai passes through the high

security zone which was freed from the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

The complete 252 km railway track will be completed by IRCON in collaboration with

Sri Lanka Railways in four segments of which three have been completed and are

operational. The fourth segment will be completed by March 2015. Three completed

segments covering a distance of 215 kilometer track length include

• Omanthai to Jaffna - 129 km

• Medawachchiya to Thiruketheeswaram - 69km

• Jaffna to Kankasanthurai - 18 km

Fourth segment will cover 37 km long stretch between Thiruketheeswaram and Talai

Mannar Pier.

India is rebuilding the 252 km railway track on this route by providing a line of credit

of 800 million US dollars. In late 1980s, the entire rail line between Colombo and

the North was destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the

prolonged ethnic war conflict.

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Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as President of Tunisia

Beji Caid Essebsi on 31 December 2014 was sworn in as the President of Tunisia. He

became the first freely elected leader of Tunisia since it gained independence from

France in 1956.

Essebsi won the Presidential election with 55.68 percent against incumbent Moncef

Marzouki, who had served as interim president of Tunisia since the Tunisian Revolution

in 2011.

In October election 2014, his Nidaa Tounes party won the most seats and formed a

coalition government in Tunisia. The interim Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa remained

as the Prime Minister of the new government.

Beji Caid Essebsi

• Essebsi was 88-year-old lawyer and politician, who studied law in Paris.

• He was a speaker of parliament under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

• He served as foreign minister under Habib Bourguiba, first President of Tunisia

after independence 1957.

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Committee on Infrastructure Development approved development of no-frill airports at Ajmer, Belgaum

The Expert Appraisal Committee on Infrastructure Development on 31 January 2015

approved the development of no-frill airports at Kishangarh, Ajmer in Rajasthan

and Belgaum in Karnataka. The committee was constituted by Union Ministry of

Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

However, committee did not approve Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) proposal to

have a greenfield airport at Holongi river plain in Arunachal Pradesh.

The committee viewed that the entire approach area of the proposed project falls in

Holongi river plain and no construction is allowed in flood plain.

It also viewed that if these areas are washed away during floods, the airstrip will not

be fit for operation.

Airport at Belgaum, Karnataka

• Currently, the Belgaum airport handles ATR-72 aircraft only. The area of the

existing airport is 360.34 acres and additional land having 370 acres area has

been provided for the expansion phase by the State government.

• The estimated cost of the project is 293.35 crore rupees. The airport is currently

handling 13778 passengers annually and is expected to increase to 92590

passengers by 2022-23.

• The airport will be developed with a new runway and a terminal building to handle

200 peak hour passengers, apron, air traffic controller, runway end safety, fire

NATIONAL

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fighting equipments, rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment plant.

• Earlier, AAI approached the Environment Ministry to modernise the existing Belgaum

airport to facilitate operations of four flights of A-321 aircrafts per day. An MoU

was signed between the Karnataka government and AAI for the modernization of

Belgaum airport.

Airport at Kishangarh, Rajasthan

At Rajasthan’s Kishangarh, the airport with 2152 meters long runway will be developed

in 441.7 acres of land. It is aimed at giving air connectivity to the Ajmer, famous for

Pushkar fair and dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.

The airport will be developed for operation of DASH-8Q 400 type of aircraft.

Approximately five flights will operate in a single day.

20th Law Commission submitted 253rd Report titled Commer-cial Courts Bill 2015 to Union Government

20th Law Commission of India headed by Justice (retd) A P Shah on 29 January 2015

submitted its 253rd report entitled Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate

Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015 to Union Government.

In its report, the Law Commission sought to set up commercial courts in India to

settle any dispute in a time-bound manner so that no dispute shall be dragged over

years without conclusion of arguments.

These commercial courts will ensure speedy disposal of high-value cases in which

delays can discourage foreign investors. It will help to boost Narendra Modi’s Make

in India campaign and will encourage foreign investments as well.

The draft bill on Commercial Courts will be introduced in the Parliament in the Budget

Session that is scheduled to start from February 2015 and will end in May 2015.

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Provisions of the Commercial Courts Bill, 2015

• It defines a commercial dispute as dispute arising from agreements ranging from

those of shareholders, franchising, joint venture agreements and subscription and

investment agreements in the service industry to technology, intellectual property

and insurance.

• It also clarifies that disputes from such agreements with the Union and State

governments and bodies performing public functions will still constitute a

commercial dispute.

• It also noted that pending commercial cases in five high courts of Delhi, Bombay,

Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh stood at 16884, which was 51.7 percent

of all civil cases pending in these courts.

• It suggested for creating specialized commercial courts across the country based

on the London and Singapore commercial courts to reduce time spent in court for

litigating companies.

• The Bill proposes to set a time limit of 90 days for delivery of judgment after

conclusion of arguments besides powers to the courts to impose exemplary costs

against defaulting parties for wilful failure to disclose all documents.

• It proposes to set up at least 60 commercial courts across the country or about

two to three courts in each state.

• It suggested revamping the commercial dispute resolution mechanism system by

separating it from other civil disputes. This will ensure speedy disposal of high-

value commercial cases.

• It seeks to give courts the discretion to make a company involved in litigation pay

court fees and other expenses based on court hours used by it.

• It suggested that appeals from the commercial courts will go to the commercial

appellate division of two judges and appeals against interim orders shall be barred.

• Commercial courts will have judges with expertise and experience in commercial

disputes and may get a fixed tenure of two years so that continuity is maintained.

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• It also provides for training and continuous education of judges by the national

and state judicial academies.

Union Government launched Website, Logo, Vision, Mission of NHIDCL

Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) on 28 January 2015

launched Website, Logo, Vision and Mission of National Highways and Infrastructure

Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

These were launched by the Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and

Shipping Nitin Gadkari.

Website: www.nhidcl.com

Logo: Building Infrastructure - Building the Nation

Vision: To be an instrument for creation and management of infrastructure of the

highest standard in the country with focus on the North East and Border areas and

contribute significantly towards nation building.

Mission: To be a professional company which works in most efficient and transparent

manner and designs, develops & delivers infrastructure projects in a time bound

basis for maximizing benefits to all stakeholders.

Besides, the Ministry also floated first tender for upgrading 2-lane Akajan-Likabali-

Bame Road in Arunachal Pradesh at a cost of 272 crore rupees.

About NHIDCL

The NHIDCL as a fully owned company of the Union Ministry of Road Transport &

Highways, Government of India was incorporated on 18 July 2014.

Vijay Chhibber, Secretary in the MoRTH, is the ex-officio Chairman of the Company.

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The company billed as the first e-PSU aims to fast-track road construction in the

northeast and border areas by using IT solutions.

66th Republic Day celebrated across the Nation

Republic Day 2015 was celebrated on 26 January 2015 across the nation. This was

the 66th Republic Day of India. First Republic Day was celebrated on 26 January

1950 when India became a Republic with Constitution of India coming into force on

this day.

Main theme of 2015 Republic Day Parade was Women Empowerment (Nari Shakti).

US President Barack Obama was the Chief Guest at the 66th Republic Day parade.

Main Highlights of 2015 Republic Day Parade

• For the first time the Republic Day parade witnessed an all-women contingent of

Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

• For the first time, the President of United States attended the parade as Chief

Guest.

• For the first time, the President of India Pranab Mukherjee and the chief guest,

US President Barack Obama arrived in different motorcades, a departure from the

standard practice of arriving together.

• US President was honoured by the Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Guard of Honour was led by Wing Commander Puja Thakur who became the

first woman to give Guard of Honour to a visiting major foreign dignitary at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Facts about Republic Day

• The first Chief Guest of Republic Day Parade was President of Indonesia Sukarno

in 1950.

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• During 1950–1954, Republic Day celebrations were organised at different venues.

From 1955, the parade was started at Rajpath.In 1955,the then Governor General

of Pakistan Malik Ghulam Muhammad became the chief Guest of Republic Day

Parade.

• Parade starts when prime minister of the India offer garland at the Amar Jawan

Jyoti at the India Gate. It is done to commemorate all the sacrifices of the Indian

army soldiers while saving their country.

• The military salute is taken by the President of India during the parade whereas

military salute is taken by the state governors in the state capitals.

PM Narendra Modi launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 launched a small deposit scheme

Sukanya Samridhi Yojana for girl child under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)

campaign.

The scheme will ensure equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of a

family in which she is generally discriminated against a male child.

Sukanya Samridhi Yojana will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls who are

under 10 years of age.

About the Sukanya Samridhi Account

• Sukanya Samridhi Account will fetch an interest rate of 9.1 percent and provide

income tax rebate.

• Sukanya Samridhi Account can be opened at any time from the birth of a girl child

till she attains the age of 10 years with a minimum deposit of 1000 rupees.

• A maximum of 1.5 lakh rupees can be deposited during the financial year. The

account can be opened in any post office or authorised branches of commercial

banks.

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• The account will remain operative for 21 years from the date of opening of the

account or marriage of the girl child after attaining 18 years of age.

• To meet the requirement of higher education expenses, partial withdrawal of 50

percent of the balance amount will be allowed after the girl child has attended 18

years of age.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Programme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 launched Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

(Save girl child-Educate girl child) programme in Panipat, Haryana. The programme

is aimed at empowering the girl child and improving the child sex ratio (CSR).

On this occasion, the Prime Minister also flagged off 72 campaign vehicles that will

make people aware about the need to save the girl child in areas where the sex ratio

is adverse.

Also, Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit was named as the Brand Ambassador of this

ambitious Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign.

Main highlights of the programme

• It will be initially launched in 100 districts with worst sex ratio

• It has been piloted by the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development.

• An allocation of 100 crore rupees has been made for the programme.

• It will sensitize people about the safety and education of the girl child, skewed sex

ratio, prevention of female foeticide and women empowerment

• It proposes a slew of measures to address declining child sex ration in the country.

These measures include providing incentives to pregnant mothers to register

during the first trimester to giving rewards to informers to help identify unregistered

clinics indulging in illegal sex selection tests.

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Why the campaign was launched from Haryana?

The campaign was launched from Haryana as the State has the worst sex ratio

(number of females per 1000 males) and child sex ratio in the country.

According to the Census 2011, the sex ratio of Haryana stands at 879 as against the

national sex ratio at 940. Out of the 100 worst districts in India for sex ratio, Haryana

accounts for 12 districts. The sex ratio in districts ranges between 875 and 837

which means the female foeticide rate is high.

The child sex ration in Haryana, as per Census 2011, stands at 832 compared to

national average of 919. The national average of 919 is the lowest since 1961.

Union Government launched HRIDAY

The Union Ministry of Urban Development on 21 January 2015 launched the National

Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) that seeks to preserve

and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Highlights of HRIDAY

• HRIDAY seeks to promote an integrated, inclusive and sustainable development

of heritage sites, focusing on maintenance of monuments and on advancement

of the entire ecosystem.

• In the initial phase of HRIDAY, 12 heritage cities have been identified which will be

rejuvenated and developed. Union Government will provide 500 crore rupees to

these 12 cities.

• The scheme will be completely funded by union Government to create infrastructure

and provide facilities around the heritage sites to attract more tourists.

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Amount allocated to 12 cities based on city population:

Cities Amount

Varanasi 89.31 crore rupees

Amritsar 69.31 crore rupees

Warangal (Telangana) 40.54 crore rupees

Ajmer 40.04 crore rupees

Gaya 40.04 crore rupees

Mathura 40.04 crore rupees

Kanchipuram 23.04 crore rupees

Vellankini 22.26 crore rupees

Amaravati (AP) 22.26 crore rupees

Badami (Karnataka) 22.26 crore rupees

Dwaraka (Gujarat) 22.26 crore rupees

Puri 22.54 crore rupees

Union Government banned mobile handsets with fake, duplicate identity numbers

Union Government on 19 January 2015 prohibited imports of all kind of mobile

handsets with fake or duplicate Unique Identity Numbers. The decision will help the

security agencies to track callers using different SIM (Subscriber Identity Module)

cards.

Director General of Foreign Trade in its notification added GSM mobile handsets

with duplicate or fake IMEI and CDMA mobile handsets with duplicate or fake ESN

(Electronic Serial Number)/MEID (mobile equipment identifier) to the list of Prohibited

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items for import.

Earlier, import of mobile phones with or without 00…00 IMEI numbers were banned

but this order places bans on duplicate handsets as well.

International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number

IMEI number is a unique 15-17 digit number which is used by GSM network to identify

validity of the devices on a cellphone or mobile. These numbers are helpful in tracking

the mobile phones.

Electronic Serial Number (ESN)

Electronic serial numbers (ESNs) is a unique identification number that every cellular

phone has and is assigned by the specific manufacturer. It helps in authenticating the

validity of the phone in respect to the cellular service the phone is attempting to use.

These numbers are used in CDMA phone sets.

Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID)

MEID is a unique number that identifies a wireless handset. This system replaced the

electronic serial number (ESN) system in 2006 this helps to activate a phone with a

carrier that requires your phone’s unique identifier in a specific format.

Union Government launched two schemes to support Scheduled Castes

Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 16 January 2015 launched

two schemes to support the Scheduled Castes (SC). These schemes are Venture

Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes and Green Business scheme.

The scheme was launched by Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social

Justice and Empowerment.

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Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes

The Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes scheme was launched with an initial

capital of 200 crore rupees. Under the scheme, financial assistance of 15 Crore

rupees for a period of 6 years will be provided to 30 SC entrepreneurs in a year.

IFCI Limited will be the Sponsor, Settler and Asset Management Company or Nodal

Agency to operate the scheme. It will contribute 50 crore rupees which would

comprise 5 crore rupees as sponsor and 45 crore rupees as investor.

The objectives of the Venture Capital Fund scheme are:

• To promote entrepreneurship amongst the Scheduled castes who are oriented

towards innovation and growth technologies.

• To provide concessional finance to the Scheduled Caste (SC) entrepreneurs, who

will create wealth and value for society and at the same time will promote profitable

businesses.

• To develop SC entrepreneurs economically.

• To enhance direct and indirect employment generation for SC population in India.

Green Business Scheme

Under this Scheme, loan for unit cost up to 1 lakh rupees at concessional rate of

interest will be provided to Scheduled Castes for activities such as e-rickshaw, Solar

Pump and Solar energy powered implements, poly house etc.

Green Business Scheme for providing financial assistance has been launched keeping

in focus climate change.

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Union Government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Work-ing Group

Union government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group to simplify

procedures to get consent certificates and categorisation of industries. The working

group was reconstituted on 13 January 2015.

The Working Group comprising of 11 members will be headed by the Chairman of

the Karnataka SPCB Dr. Ayi Vaman N Acharya.

Terms and References of Working Group

• The group has been asked to submit a report by February 2015, prior to the 59th

conference of SPCBs and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).

• The working group will look into self-declaration or self-regulation of green

compliances by industries, increase penalty in case of violation, among other

issues.

• The group will develop standard operating procedure and inspection process

relating to granting of consent to establish and consent to operate including

validity of consents and implementing common consent application forms.

• The group has also been asked to its views on whether to supplement inspection

activities of SPCBs or PCCs with third party audit inspection and synchronise

multiple inspection under various regulations.

• Besides, it will look into inspection frequency, granting of consents and

harmonisation of red, orange and green categories of industries.

The original working group had dealt with same issues but could not submit the

report.

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Supreme Court sought assistance of Premier institutes to find missing children

The Supreme Court on 13 January 2015 sought assistance of Premier institutes to

find missing children every year and expressed deep concern over the failure of the

Union Government to put in place a proper mechanism to trace missing children.

A bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice U U Lalit sought assistance of premier

institutes - Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) of Delhi University and Tata Institute

of Social Sciences, Mumbai to trace thousands of missing children every year.

The Court asked the Director of FMS of Delhi University, to appoint a competent

faculty to study government website www.trackthemissingchild.gov.in and suggest

ways by which it can be made effective in tracking missing children.

The court asked TISS director to set up a group which will study standard operating

procedure (SOP) followed by different states and also the procedure suggested by

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). It also asked the TISS institute to frame

comprehensive guidelines which will be uniformly followed by all states.

The apex court slammed the Union government for not appointing Chairperson and

other members to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

and asked the government to take a decision for appointments to the NCPCR by 12

February 2015.

The court also directed Secretary to the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development

to coordinate with their state counterparts in evolving a mechanism for tracking

missing children.

The court requested National Police Academy (NPA) director to consult police

authorities across India and to evolve a training module for police officers who handle

such cases to sensitize them towards child rights.

The court also said that officials including police personnel need to be given proper

training to prevent cases of missing children and to trace and rehabilitate the children.

Idukki in Kerala became first District of India to have Complete Rural Broadband

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Coverage

Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology on 12 January 2015

linked Idukki district in Kerala to the National Optic Fiber Network (NOFN). The district

was linked to the NOFN as part of the Digital India project of the Union government.

The district was commissioned with the first high speed rural broadband of India. With

this, Idukki district became first district of India to have complete rural broadband

coverage.

As part of it, 8 Block Offices & 52 Gram Panchayats of the Idukki district were

connected on Optical Fiber and one Gram Panchayat, namely Edamalakudy, was

connected through VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal).

The rural broadband connectivity to the Gram Panchayat of Idukki is being provided

by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). For the first time the villages under this

Panchayat would be connected through Mobile phones and internet.

Benefits

• The establishment of NOFN would open up new avenues for Access service

providers such as Telecom Service Providers, Internet Service Providers, and

Cable TV operators, Content Providers etc.

• The project would offer internet at a bandwidth of 100 Mpbs.

• This will also enable delivery of various services such as local planning, management,

monitoring and payments under Government schemes at panchayat level.

About National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN)

The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is a project to provide broadband

connectivity to over two lakh Gram panchayats of India at a cost of 20000 crore

rupees.

A special purpose vehicle Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) was created

as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Companies Act of 1956 for the

execution of the project.

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The project provides internet access using existing optical fiber and extending it to

the Gram panchayats. The project was intended to enable the government of India

to provide e-services and e-applications nationally.

The project is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) and was

estimated to be completed in 2 years.

Union Ministry of Health proposed COTPA (Amendment) Bill 2015

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 13 January 2015 proposed the

Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation

of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Amendment) Bill 2015

(COTPA).

The bill seeks to amend some provisions of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

(Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production,

Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.

The Draft Bill has been put out in the public domain by the Ministry for inviting

suggestions from stakeholders by 15 February 2015.

Provisions of the COTPA (Amendment) Bill 2015

• The bill proposes to ban on-site advertising of tobacco products and shops selling

cigarettes and other tobacco products will no longer be able to display the brand

names.

• It proposed scrapping of designated smoking areas from hotels, restaurants and

airports making an exception only for international airports to prevent exposure of

non-smokers to harmful emissions.

• The penalty for smoking in restricted areas has been raised from 200 to 1000

rupees.

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• Anyone found producing tobacco products without the specified warning will be

liable for imprisonment for up to two years for the first offence or fine up to 50000

rupees or both.

• For the second and subsequent offences, the imprisonment can be up to five

years with a fine of up to 1 lakh rupees.

• Selling products without warning will incur a fine of up to 10000 rupees or a jail

term of up to one year or both and subsequent offence will draw a fine of up to

25000 rupees and a jail term of two years.

• Tobacco products and cigarettes in approved packaging will now be sold only to

those above 21 years of age. The proposed age limit will be revised after evaluating

the impact of raising the minimum age.

• The draft Bill also proposes a ban on spitting of tobacco products, pointing it out

as the biggest cause of spread of diseases like Tuberculosis, Avian Flu and H1N1

virus.

• It has also been proposed to extend the ban on sale of cigarettes and tobacco

products from 100 yards of an educational institution to 100 metres.

• The bill proposes to set up a National Tobacco Control Organisation (NTCO) that

will implement and monitor the provisions of COTPA, 2003.

Supreme Court issued notice to Union Government on voting rights for inter-state migrants

The Supreme Court on 12 January 2015 issued notice to the Union Government on

voting rights for inter-state migrants.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India H L Dattu gave four weeks time to Union

to respond on the application by V P Shamsheer, a native of Kerala, who is based in

UAE.

The Shamsheer had filed an application to allow inter-State migrants the same voting

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privileges, like postal ballot, accorded to government servants.

Further, it sought the Supreme Court intervention to set up a method for in-country

migrants – who leave their constituency for reasons of work or employment, business,

education, marriage, etc., and to vote from their current place of residence.

The Representation of the People Act, 1950 of section 20(music) (d)-reading along

with Section 60 (beer) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 allows government

servants and certain other class of persons to vote via postal ballot following the

consent of Election Commission.

Ministry of Railways inaugurated India’s first CNG powered train

Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu on 13 January 2015 inaugurated India’s

first compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered train on the Rewari – Rohtak link of

Northern Zone.

This is a milestone in adoption of green fuel in Indian Railways which will help reduce

greenhouse gas emission and also the consumption of diesel.

Characteristic Feature of CNG-powered train

• The CNG Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) is based on dual-fuel that is diesel

and CNG.

• The train has been manufactured by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF)

through fumigation technology.

• It will help in reducing the operating cost of locomotives by over 50 percent with

an advantage of eco-friendly operations.

• It will also helps cut carbon monoxide emissions by 90 percent, carbon dioxide by

25 percent, nitrogen oxide by 35 percent and non-methane hydrocarbon emissions

by 50 percent.

Union Railway Ministry also planned to run more such CNG trains in due course

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to reduce diesel consumption. Once India has substantial reserves of natural gas

in the form of conventional natural gas, shale gas and gas hydrates then the new

technology would come in handy in India.

President signed Ordinance to amend Mines and Minerals De-velopment & Regulation Act, 1957

President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 January 2015 gave his assent to an ordinance

that amends the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act,

1957. The ordinance paves way for introduction of competitive bidding for allocation

of mines of iron ore and other non-coal minerals.

Earlier, the promulgation of ordinance to amend the MMDR Act, 1957 was approved

by the Union Cabinet on 5 January 2015. The ordinance route was taken by the Union

government after it was not able to introduce the Mines and Minerals (Development

and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in the winter session of the Parliament in

December 2014.

Objective of the MMDR (Amendment) Bill, 2014

• Improved transparency in the allocation of mineral resources

• Obtaining for the government its fair share of the value of such resources

• Attracting private investment and the latest technology

• Eliminating delay in administration, so as to enable expeditious and optimum

development of the mineral resources of the country

Main Provisions of the MMDR (Amendment) Bill, 2014

• It seeks to differentiate between bulk, surficial minerals and difficult to access

minerals and prescribe different procedures for the same.

• Bulk minerals such as Iron ore, Limestone, Manganese, Bauxite etc., have been

proposed to be notified, will account for 85 per cent or more of the value of mineral

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production in India.

• On the other hand, deep seated and difficult to access minerals have been

proposed to be non-notified minerals.

• As far as non-notified minerals are concerned, the Bill seeks to grant a combined

Prospecting Licences-cum-Mining Lease for these minerals through a competitive

bidding process. The scheme envisages that the successful bidder will conduct

the exploration and prospecting work at his own risk and cost.

• It seeks to increase the maximum areas permitted for prospecting licences and

mining leases up to the extent specified in the lapsed MMDR Bill, 2011.

• It provides for competitive bidding by auction as the method to be followed for

allocation of Mining Leases (MLs) in respect of notified minerals so as to bring

both transparencies in allocation as well as to ensure a fair share of the value of

minerals for the government.

• It proposes that there need not be any Reconnaissance Permits (RPs) or Prospecting

Licences (PLs) issued for notified minerals.

• In case there are any gaps in the required knowledge related to notified minerals,

they will have to be filled up by the State agencies themselves. This procedure

is in line with recommendations of the High-level Committee on National Mineral

Policy (Hoda Committee).

• It seeks to provide authority to the Union Government to pass orders even in cases

where authorities entrusted with the powers under the Act fail to pass orders

within the time limits prescribed therefore.

• It also empowers the Union Government to issue directions to State Governments

for the conservation of mineral resources, on any policy matter in the national

interest, and for the scientific and sustainable development and exploitation of

mineral resources.

• It seeks to make the offence of illegal mining in respect of notified minerals a

cognizable offence so as to deter illegal mining.

• The Bill also enable State Governments to set up special courts for trial of offences

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under the Act, if felt necessary.

• It empowers Union government to prescribe the Terms and Conditions for conduct

of auctions both in respect of notified minerals as well as non-notified minerals.

• It also empowers Union Government to prescribe different Terms and Conditions

for auctions of different types of minerals and their application to different States.

• It proposes to set up a District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in every district affected

by mining

About District Mineral Foundation (DMF)

• It will be set up by State Government as a non-profit body in every district affected

by mining.

• It will be funded by an additional levy related to royalty, the rate of which will

be prescribed by the Central Government in case of minerals other than minor

minerals

• In case of other minerals, the DMF shall be funded by such percentage of the royalty

paid during the financial year as may be prescribed by the State Government

• The aim of DMF is to earmark funds for benefit of persons affected by mining as

also for the rebuilding of infrastructure in mining affected areas

• The composition and functioning of the District Mineral Foundation shall be

regulated in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government

Union Government launched National Toll Free Helpline to as-sist the drug dependent persons

Union Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment on 7 January 2015 launched National

Toll Free Helpline (1XXX-XX-0031) to assist the alcoholic and drug dependent persons.

The helpline was launched by the Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment

Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

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Main characteristics of the Helpline

• It has been made with technical support from M/s TCIL, a Government of India

undertaking.

• It will operate from 9.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and will be

upgraded to 24x7, based on the number of calls and the response in this regard.

• It will help in order to mitigate the problems of drug abuse and create public

awareness.

The helpline was launched after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the National

programme Mann ki Baat on 14 December 2014 show his desire of setting up of a

Toll Free Helpline to assist the alcoholic and drug dependent persons, their family

members and community at large.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal Ministry for drug

demand reduction and rehabilitation of victims of alcoholism and drug abuse.

Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers approved 100 per-cent production of Neem-Coated UreaThe Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on 7 January 2015 allowed fertiliser

firms to produce 100 percent Neem-Coated Urea. The decision is aimed at boosting

income of the farmers and reducing subsidy bill by up to 6500 crore rupees.

Neem coated urea

• Neem coated urea also works as insecticide and it costs 5 percent more than the

cost of normal urea which is about 260 rupees per tonne.

• The use of Neem coated urea will not only increase crop yields but also lower

input cost of the farmers.

• It will also reduce imports of precious fertilizers as well as reduce ground and soil

pollution.

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• It reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10 percent thereby gaining a net savings of

13.5 rupees per bag for farmers.

Background

India produces about 22 million tonnes of urea and imports about 8-9 million tonnes

to meet the shortfall. About 20-25 percent of indigenous urea is neem-coated.

Earlier, production of neem-coated urea was allowed only up to 35 percent of the

total capacity of the plant. But the removal of this 35 percent cap will help India to

become self-sufficient in urea in next five years.

President signed Ordinance to amend Citizenship Act, 1955

President Pranab Mukherjee on 6 January 2015 signed the Ordinance that amends’

Citizenship Act, 1955. The ordinance provides life-long Indian visa facility to Person of

Indian Origin (PIO) and exempts them from appearing before the local police station

on every visit.

Earlier, Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister had approved the promulgation of

ordinance to amend the Act. The ordinance was promulgated after the Citizenship

(Amendment) Bill, 2014 was not passed in either House of Parliament during the

winter session of Parliament in December 2014. It was introduced in Lok Sabha on

23 December 2014.

Main Provisions of the Ordinance

• It merges Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), thus

making PIO eligible for life-long visa and bringing them on equal footing with OCI.

• It relaxes the requirement of 12 months in cases related to citizenship by

registration and naturalization. Instead it allows for breaks up to 30 days if the

Union government is satisfied that special circumstances exist, and has recorded

them in writing.

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• It provides certain additional grounds on which a person may register for overseas

citizenship card. Additional grounds covered are:

a) A minor child whose parent(s) are Indian citizens

b) Spouse of an Indian citizen or an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder or a person

of Indian origin subject to certain conditions

c) Great grandchild of a person who is a citizen of another country, but who meets

one of several conditions required for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act,

1955.

• It allows the Union government to cancel overseas citizenship where it is obtained

by the spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI cardholder or PIO, if:

a) The marriage is dissolved by a court, or

b) The spouse enters into another marriage even while the first marriage has not been

dissolved

Background

This ordinance was the ninth ordinance promulgated by Narendra Modi-led

government since it came to power in May 2014.

The ordinance is in-line with the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to

Indian diaspora at Madison Square Garden in New York during his September 2014

visit. During his visit, he assured the Indian diaspora that the government will merge

the two schemes. He also announced that PIOs will be granted lifetime visa to India.

Union Petroleum ministry launched LPG schemes for benefit-ting BPL families

The Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 5 January 2015 launched the

sale of subsidised 5 kg cooking gas cylinders under Free Trade LPG (FTL) Scheme to

benefit Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, students and migrant labourers.

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Under the facility, BPL families will get 500 rupees subsidy while purchasing 5kg

cylinder. Those who do not have address proof due to acquiring residence on

temporary basis can buy 5 Kg LPG cylinder at market price.

The 5 Kg LPG cylinders will be available at 9 retail outlets in Bhubaneswar and at

4 retail outlets in Cuttack. Subsequently, the sale of cylinder under FTL scheme is

proposed at various locations of Udyan Fresh outlets in Bhubaneswar.

The scheme is aimed at increasing the usage of LPG, a cleaner cooking fuel, by

households.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Scheme

The Union Petroleum Ministry also launched the expanded Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) Scheme to cover BPL families living in urban areas. Under the

scheme, all BPL families will be getting LPG connection without paying the security

deposit for cylinder and pressure regulator.

The scheme provides concession of 1600 rupees to BPL families. The move is aimed

to make cooking gas easily available to consumers.

The scheme is available upto 31 March 2015.

PM launched National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on 5 January 2015 launched a National Programme

for LED-based Home and Street Lighting in New Delhi to reduce energy consumption.

Other Launches

• A scheme for Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulb distribution under the Domestic

Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) was also launched.

• The Prime Minister also launched a web-based system to enable consumers in

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Delhi to register requests for procuring LED bulbs under Domestic Efficient Lighting

Programme (DELP). Consumers can register either through the programme website

(www.eeslindia.org/Delhi-Launch) or by sending an SMS to a designated number.

Highlights of the programme

• LED bulbs will be distributed in a phased manner from March 2015 onwards.

• The entire project of installing LED bulbs for domestic and street-lighting in 100

cities is targeted for completion by March 2016.

• In Delhi, LED bulbs will be provided to all domestic consumers at an initial payment

of 10 rupees each and the balance amount of 120 rupees each will be recovered

from their electricity bill.

• Therefore, the cost for an LED bulb to domestic consumer will be 130 rupees

through this programme due to bulk procurement, compared to the current open

market retail price in the range of 350-600 rupees for LED bulbs.

• The estimated annual savings for households in Delhi per LED bulb will be 162

rupees. The LED bulbs will have a warranty of 3 years.

• It will result in annual saving of energy by about 24 crore units every year.

Background

The initiatives are the part of the Government’s efforts to spread the message of

energy efficiency in the country. The LED based lights will help in reducing energy

consumption by 88 percent compared to a normal bulb.

LED bulbs have a very long life, almost 50 times more than ordinary bulbs, and 8-10

times that of CFLs. These LEDs provide both energy and cost savings in the medium

term.

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Union Government accepted Bezbaruah panel report on safety of North East people

Union Government on 2 January 2014 accepted the recommendations of the Bezbaruah

committee. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the recommendations will

be implemented in next 6 months.

The Bezbaruah committee of five members was set up under chairmanship of M P

Bezbaruah in February 2014 to look into the concerns of the people of the North East

living in other parts of the country.

The committee was constituted after the killing of Arunachal Pradesh student Nido

Tania in a Delhi market. The report was submitted to the Home Ministry in July 2014.

Main recommendations of the committee

• It has recommended immediate, short term and long term measures to be

implemented in certain time periods

a) Immediate – to be implemented within 6 months to 1 year

b) Short Term – to be implemented within a period of 1 to 1.5 years

c) Long Term – to be implemented within a period of 1.5 years to 3 years

Immediate measures:

• The committee has recommended amendment of Section 153 of the Indian Penal

Code (IPC) as the second alternative

• Insertion of a new law in Indian Penal Code to deal with the rising against people

of this region. The new law should include among others

a) Any offence against them should be made cognizable and non-bailable.

b) It also says that the investigation of the FIR should be completed in 60 days

c) A Special Prosecutor should be appointed to handle all such cases atrocities

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d) The trail should be completed within 90 days

• Legal awareness training for the North East Representative from eight North East

States

• It also recommended for setting up Relief Corpus Fund for helping heinous crime

victims

Short Term Measures:

• Use of information technology to reach large number of people from North East

India

• Sensitising law enforcement agencies about the culture and needs of the North

East people

• Comprehensive computer database to keep tab on people from North East

• Promotion of Sports from North East India to establish bond with rest of India

Long Term Measures:

• Committee had recommended the Union Government to initiate debate on anti-

racial laws

• Establishment of North East Centre in Delhi

Measures announced by Union Government

Any derogatory remark relating to race, culture or physical appearance of people of

North Eastern states can land a person in jail for up to five years.

Apart from this, the Union Government has decided to provide legal assistance to

people of North East by Delhi Legal State Services Authority. For the purpose a panel

of seven lawyers including five women members has been constituted.

To increase representation of people of North Eastern states in force, the government

has advised to Delhi police to recruit 20 police personnel to recruit 20 police personnel

from each Northeastern States. The government has also decided that the Delhi

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Government will provide compensation and financial assistance to people of the

reason who fall prey to violence.

Union Government launched integrated women safety mobile app called Himmat

Union Government on 1 January 2015 launched integrated women safety mobile

app called Himmat. The app was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

in Delhi.

Himmat is a mobile application of Delhi Police that will allow women to send a distress

call to Police Control Room and their relatives in case of any emergency.

About Himmat App

• The app can be downloaded free of cost from the Delhi Police website - www.

delhipolice.nic.in and also from the Google Play Store.

• The app is available on Android platform of smart phones and who put up in Delhi.

• A new user has to register with the Delhi Police website by sharing their name,

mobile number and that of a minimum of two relatives or friends after the

downloading the App.

• Once the User registers, the user will get a SMS on mobile number given at the

time of registration with a download link and registration key. User has to enter

this key in the registration window in the application, which is a one-time process.

• In case of an emergency, the user can send an alert by shaking her phone or by

pressing the power button/soft button.

• Once the distress button is pressed, the app will start a 30-second audio and

video recording on the phone which will be relayed to the Police Control Room

(PCR) and the victim will get a call back from the PCR.

• An SMS alert will also be sent to minimum of five friends and relatives of the user

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and a status will be posted on his Facebook and Twitter timeline which will be

connected to the App.

• All the details of the victim, including location and time will be transmitted

simultaneously by the Police Control Room to the Police Patrol cars in the area

and the local Station House Officer (SHO) through the Delhi Police Cyber Highway.

• It also has a help section that helps users how to use each section of the app and

also has Safety Tips section, and First aid tips for women to help them in times of

crisis.

• The app is to be used only when there is a threat to Life and Limb. Any false alerts

will lead to cancellation of the registration after 3 such (False SOS alerts) incidents.

Besides, an advertisement was unveiled educating street vendors to report any kind

of harassment by police officials on 1064 and 9910641064 on which a complaint in

the form of an audio video clip can also be sent.

President signed National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014

The President Pranab Mukherjee on 31 December 2014 signed National Judicial

Appointments Commission Bill, 2014. With this, National Judicial Appointments

Commission Act, 2014 has come into effect.

The Bill also called the 121st Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2014 will set up National

Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) replacing collegiums system to appoint

judges of higher judiciary.

The NJAC Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament in August 2014. Till

December 2014; it was ratified by the Legislatures of 16 States, thus crossing the 50

percent ratification needed by the States in case of a Constitutional Amendment Bills

as per Article 368 of the Constitution.

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Main Features of the NJAC Act, 2014

• It gives NJAC a Constitutional status for appointment of judges to the Supreme

Court and the High Courts.

• It also gives the executive an equal role in the appointment of judges to the highest

judiciary, as a constitutional body.

• It specifies amendments to Articles 124 (2) and 217 (1) that deals with the

appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and the High Courts, respectively.

• Now the judges in the Supreme Court and the High Courts will be appointed by

the President in consultation with the NJAC.

• Once the NJAC is in place then Union government has to intimate NJAC within 30

day about the vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts. Vacancies to

come up within the next six months should also be intimated to the commission

in advance.

Composition of NJAC

The NJAC has the Chief Justice of India as Chairperson and two senior-most judges of

the Supreme Court as members, apart from the Union Law Minister and two eminent

personalities, one of whom would be nominated from among the Scheduled Castes,

the Scheduled Tribes, minorities, the Other Backward Classes or women.

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Union Government divested 10 percent stake in Coal India Lim-ited

Union Government on 30 January 2015 divested 10 percent of its stake in Maharatna

Coal India Limited (CIL). With this, government’s share in CIL came down to 79.65

percent.

Government divested 63.16 crores shares (10 percent) of CIL through offer for sale

(OFS) at a floor price of 358 rupees per share and realized an amount of 22557.63

crore rupees through the disinvestment process.

The offer of CIL was oversubscribed by a magnitude of 5 percent of the total shares

offered for sale. That is, CIL received a total bid for 67.5 crore shares as against the

63.16 crore shares offered for sale.

This was the largest ever disinvestment among Central Public Sector Enterprises

(CPSEs) and the stake sale exceeds the previous record of over 15000 crore rupees

realized in 2010 through the initial public offering (IPO) of CIL.

Comment

With this huge collection of disinvestment, the government is now all set to meet its

fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP which it set in the Union Budget 2014-15.

Government in its Union Budget 2014-15 had set a target of 43425 crore rupees

through disinvestment of government-owned firms.

In the first disinvestment of the financial year 2014-15, the government collected

1700 crore rupees through the sale of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) stocks, which

ECONOMY

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was largely picked up by State Bank of India (SBI) and Life Insurance Corporation

(LIC).

RBI constituted High Powered Committee headed by R Gandhi on Urban Cooperative Banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 30 January 2015 constituted a High Powered

Committee to re-examine and recommend appropriate set of businesses, size,

conversion and licensing terms for the Urban Cooperative Banking (UCB) Sector.

The eight-member committee will be chaired by R Gandhi, the Deputy Governor of

Reserve Bank of India. It will submit its report within three months from the date of

its first meeting.

The composition of the High Powered Committee will be

• R Gandhi, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India - Chairman

• MA Narmawala, Commissioner for Co-operation & Registrar of Cooperative

Societies, Gujarat

• MV Tanksale, Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association

• Dr. ML Abhyankar, President, National Federation of Urban Co-operative Banks

(NAFCUB)

• SK Banerji, Managing Director, Saraswat Cooperative Bank Ltd

• D Krishna, Former Chief Executive, NAFCUB

• Suma Varma, Principal Chief General Manager, DCBR, Reserve Bank of India will

be the Member Secretary

• Joseph Raj, Joint Legal Adviser, Legal Department, Reserve Bank of India shall be

a permanent invitee

• The Terms of Reference of the High Powered Committee

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• It will examine the lines of businesses that UCBs may be permitted to undertake

and their benchmark in terms of business, capital requirement, regulatory regime

and others

• Examine the limited legal powers and resolution options available to know the

appropriate size up to which a UCB may be able to grow without undue risk to the

system, under the current regulatory framework

• To suggest the criteria (legal framework) for allowing voluntary conversion by a

UCB and what should be the benchmarks for mandatory conversion of UCB to a

Joint Stock Bank.

• Examine whether the time is opportune to give license to new UCBs as per the

recommendations of the Expert Committee on Licensing of New UCBs, (Malegam

Committee) and if so the modalities of taking forward the recommendations of

Malegam Committee

• To assure that confidence regarding proper management is generated among

investors

• To determine the modalities of implementing the suggestion of the Malegam

Committee that 50 percent in value of deposits should be held by voting members.

Alternatively propose a feasible structure that puts majority voting in the hands of

contributors of funds

Background

The Committee was formed in accordance to the recommendation made by the

Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) on UCBs in its meeting held on 20 October

2014.

SAC is an advisory body that is periodically convened by the RBI. It is chaired by

DG-in-charge of the Department of Cooperative Bank Regulation (DCBR) and has

representatives from the co-operative sector, Registrars of Co-operative Societies of

select States and IBA as its members.

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CCEA approved HDFC Bank’s proposal to raise foreign holding limit to 74 per cent

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 28 January 2015 approved a

proposal of HDFC Bank to raise the foreign holding limit to 74 per cent. The decision

will enable inflow of around 10000 crore rupees into the country from overseas

investors.

HDFC Bank would raise the fund through issuing of equity shares to non-resident

Indians (NRIs) or foreign institutional investors (FIIs) or foreign portfolio investors

(FPIs) subject to aggregate foreign shareholding not exceeding 74 per cent of the

post issue paid up capital.

Earlier in November 2014, Foreign Investment promotion Board (FIPB) had cleared

the proposal of HDFC Bank to hike the foreign holding limit to 74 percent.

Total foreign investment in HDFC Bank was 73.39 percent at the end of June 2014. It

had come down to 73.2 percent at the end of September 2014.

Besides, CCEA also allowed drug maker Lupin to raise the limit of Foreign Institutional

Investor (FII) holding to 49 percent. This would facilitate an inflow of 6099 crore

rupees.As per the norms, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) can only

take up FDI proposals up to 1200 crore rupees. Beyond that, they are sent to CCEA

for approval.

Also, Banks can have up to 49 percent foreign investment without regulatory approval

but require approval from the RBI and FIPB if they want to increase the foreign

investment limit to 74 percent.

While India allows FDI in most of the sectors through automatic route, FIPB in the

Union Finance Ministry is required in certain sectors like pharmaceutical and defence

which are considered sensitive for the economy.

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CCEA approved mandatory packaging of food-grains, sugar in Jute material for the Jute Year 2014-15

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 28 January 2015 approved

mandatory packaging of food-grains and sugar in Jute material for the Jute Year

2014-15 with certain exemptions.

This decision will preserve and promote the jute sector. The minimum percentage of

food-grains and sugar reserved for packaging in Jute for the Jute Year 2014-15:

• Food-grains: 90 percent of the production

• Sugar: 20 percent of the production

In case of food-grains, the indents for the whole requirement will be placed for the

jute bags. However, if jute mills will not be able to provide the jute bags as per the

demand, then a dilution of 10 percent will be permitted by the Department of Food in

consultation with the Union Ministry of Textiles.

Following exemptions will be allowed under Jute Packaging Materials Act, 1987:

• Sugar that is packed for export but could not be exported may be exempted from

the operation of the Order on the basis of an assessment by the Department of

Food and Public Distribution.

• Following will be out of the purview of the reservation including sugar fortified

with Vitamins, packaging for export of the commodities, small consumer packs

of below 10 kg for food-grains and below 25 kg for sugar and bulk packaging of

more than 100 kg.

• In case of any shortage or disruption in supply of jute packaging material, the

Ministry of Textiles may relax these provisions up to a maximum of 30 percent of

the production of food-grains.

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RBI signed an MoU on Supervisory Cooperation with Banco Cen-tral do Brasil

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

on Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazil’s

Central Bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) on 26 December 2014.

The information related to MoU was announced by RBI through its notification

released on 27 January 2015.

The MoU was signed by Anthero de Moraes Meirelles, Deputy Governor for

Supervision, BCB and SS Mundra, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.

The Reserve Bank has been signing the Memorandum of Understanding/ Exchange

of Letters/Statement of Co-operation with supervisors of other countries to promote

greater co-operation and sharing of supervisory information among the authorities.

With this the Reserve Bank has signed 23 such MoUs, one Letter for Supervisory

Cooperation and one Statement of Cooperation (SoC) with regulators/supervisors of

other countries.

RBI simplified procedure for External Commercial Borrowings Policy

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 23 January 2015 simplified procedure for External

Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy.

The directions have been issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign

Exchange Management Act, 1999. Changes are effected during the tenure of the

ECB.

The directions are as follows

• Under the simplified procedure, the RBI has delegated powers to the banks to

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make changes/modifications in the draw-down and repayment schedules of the

ECB raised both under the automatic and approval routes. FCCBs will, however,

not be covered within these provisions.

• It has simplified the existing procedure for rescheduling/restructuring of external

commercial borrowings (ECBs). It also delegated more powers to banks to deal

with cases related to change in draw-down and repayment schedules.

• The above mentioned changes/modifications could either be associated with

change/no change in the average maturity period and/or with changes (increase/

decrease) in the all-in-cost.

• Banks can allow reduction in the amount of ECB (irrespective of the number of

occasions) along with any changes in draw-down and repayment schedules,

average maturity period and all-in-cost. They can also permit increase in all-in-

cost of ECB, irrespective of the number of occasions.

• Banks can permit changes/ modifications in the draw-down and repayment

schedules of the ECB provided the revised average maturity period and/or all-in-

cost is/are in conformity with the applicable ceilings/guidelines.

• Banks may also allow the cases requiring transfer of the ECB from one company

to another on account of re-organisation at the borrower’s level in the form of

merger/demerger/amalgamation/acquisition after satisfying themselves that the

company acquiring the ECB is an eligible borrower and ECB continues to be in

compliance with applicable guidelines.

Shanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring submitted its re-port to the Prime Minister

Shanta Kumar Committee on 21 January 2015 submitted its report on restructuring

of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Prime Minister asked the Department of Food and Public Distribution to give its

comments on the report so that the recommendations can be implemented in a time-

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bound manner.

Recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee

• FCI procurement should focus on eastern belt, where farmers do not get minimum

support price.

• FCI should hand over procurement of wheat and rice to six States which include

Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

• Grain storage needs to be outsourced to private and government agencies

like state-owned Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), State Warehousing

Corporations (SWCs) and private organisations.

• Proposed uniform tax of minimum 3 percent and maximum 4 percent on wheat

and rice and the same to be included in the minimum support price (MSP). In

Punjab, this tax rate on wheat and rice as of now is 14.5 percent.

• To strengthen distribution of foodgrains, there needs to be end-to-end

computerisation and a vigilance committee needs to be set up. At present, the

leakage in Public Distribution System is estimated at 13.7 percent.

• Recommended cash transfer in 52 cities having 1 million or more population in

two years and also asked the government to give deficit states the option of either

supplying grain or cash transfer.

• Called for encouraging private investment in logistics in next two-three years and

suggested bulk handling of foodgrains through grain trains.

Background

The eight-member High Level Committee on FCI restructuring chaired by Shanta

Kumar was set up in August 2014.

The members of the committee are FCI Chairman-cum-Managing Director C Viswanath,

Electronic and IT Secretary Ram Sewak Sharma, Former Chairman of Commission

for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Ashok Gulati, Chief Secretaries of Punjab

and Chhattisgarh; and Academicians G Raghuram and Gunmadi Nancharaiah of IIM-

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Ahmedabad and Hyderabad University respectively.

The Terms of Reference of the Committee were:

• To examine the present day administrative, functional and financial structure of

FCI

• To examine the modus operandi of its various operations

• To suggest a model for restructuring FCI to improve its operational efficiency and

financial management

• To suggest measures for overall improvement in management of foodgrains by

FCI.

ONGC inked MoC in Hydrocarbons and Energy with Pan-IIT

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on 19 January 2015 inked a Memorandum

of Collaboration (MoC) with Pan-IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) to work towards

a collective R&D Programme for Developing Indigenous Technologies to enhance

Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons and Alternate Sources of Energy.

Pan IIT is a consortium of seven premier Indian Institutes of Technology namely,

IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Madras, IIT-Mumbai, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Guwahati and IIT-

Roorkee.

The agreement was signed in Delhi in presence of Union Minister of Human Resource

Development Smriti Irani and the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas,

Dharmendra Pradhan. The MoC is a response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s

Make in India initiative.

The two institutes have identified seven thematic areas and sub-topics under the

MoC. The identified thematic areas includes

• Geological and Geophysical studies

• Reservoir characterization, modeling and simulation

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• Oil and Gas Production and Recovery Enhancement

• Software Development

• Unconventional Energy Resources

• Engineering solutions/tools and technology development

• Alternate Energy researches have been identified by both

The programme will be funded by the ONGC and shall take advantage of the available

infrastructure and manpower of the IITs and ONGC. The two institutes have agreed to

• Develop indigenous technologies

• Engage in sustained research

• Capacity building aimed at a multi-pronged approach

• Transform their experiential based learning in this core sector

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report released by UNESCAP

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

on 19 January 2015 released World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2015

report. The report projects that the regional growth will pick up in 2015-16, as average

GDP growth will accelerate from 5.0 percent in 2014 to 5.3 percent in 2015 and 5.7

percent in 2016.

The report has highlighted that the South Asia’s economic growth is set to reach a

four-year high in 2015. The average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of South

Asia accelerated from 3.7 percent in 2013 to 4.9 percent in 2014, and is projected to

strengthen further to 5.4 percent in 2015 and 5.7 per cent in 2016.

It expects that the recovery will be led by a pick-up in growth in India, which accounts

for about 70 percent of regional output.

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The report in context of other Asian countries like Bangladesh and the Islamic Republic

of Iran said that they will also see growth in the forecast period.

It says that growth supported by the robust external demand is expected to be

underpinned by a moderate strengthening of domestic consumption and investment.

Report in context of India

WESP 2015 report said that India will see gradual growth acceleration in its GDP

which is expected to reach 5.9 percent in 2015 and 6.3 percent in 2016. It says that

it is expected that the recovery will be led by India.

India’s economy expanded in 2014 estimated by 5.4 percent, which improved from

growth of 5.0 percent recorded in 2013.

The report said that the recovery is partly the result of improved market sentiment

and plans to reform the bureaucracy, labour laws and public subsidies after the new

administration took office in the second quarter of 2014.

About United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) re-port

WESP report is published annually at the beginning of the year by the UN Department

of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), the UN Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD), the five UN regional commissions and the World Tourism

Organization (UNWTO).

CCEA approved revised buffer norms of foodgrains for better management of food stocks

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 16 January 2015 approved

revision in buffer norms of foodgrains in the Central Pool. The revision was approved

to ensure better management of food stocks in the country.

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Revised buffer norms of food grains

Now the Food Corporation of India will have to maintain higher buffer stock in different

quarters as compared to the existing norms of 2005, they are as follows

As on Existing since April 2005 Revised

1April 21.2 million tonnes 21.04 million tonnes

1 July 31.9 million tonnes 41.12 million tonnes

1 Oct 21.2 million tonnes 30.77 million tonnes

1 Jan 25.0 million tonnes 21.41 million tonnes

Apart from this, the CCEA also approved that the Department of Food and Public

Distribution can offload excess stock in the domestic market through open sale or

through exports, in case the stock of food grains in the Central Pool is more than the

revised buffer norms.

An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) has also been constituted to implement the decision.

It will comprise of Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution, Secretary,

Expenditure and Secretary, Consumer Affairs and will be responsible for managing

the food stock.

Why the need to revise buffer norms?

The buffer norms were increased in light of significant increase in the off take of

foodgrains under Targetted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and also in light of the

increased foodgrains requirement necessitated by the implementation of National

Food Security Act, 2013 from 5 July 2013.

The Food Security Act, 2013 promises 5 kg of grains per person every month at 3

rupees and 2 rupees per kg for rice and wheat respectively. The scheme will cover

two-third of the population.

However, the revised buffer norms are lower than what was suggested by the then

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UPA government. UPA government led by Manmohan Singh had proposed to increase

the buffer norms by 60 percent.

Narendra Modi-led government increased the buffer norms only by 50 percent. This

suggests that government is keen to better target the subsidies and maintain the

fiscal deficit within the limits provided by Union Budget 2014-15.

This is because in order to meet the increased requirements of foodgrains necessitated

by Food Security Act, the FCI will have to incur expenditure of 25-32 crore rupees as

carrying cost to hold 1 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice annually.

Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low in December 2014

Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion US dollars in December

2014. The data was released by the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry on 15

January 2015.

The trade deficit in December 2014 was narrowed by 44 percent from November

2014 due to fall down of global oil prices and fall of demand for gold.

Highlights of Trade deficit of India

• Imports of India declined by 4.8 percent to 34.8 billion US dollars in December

2014 as compare to 36.6 billion US dollars in December 2013.

• Exports of India fell by 3.8 percent to 25.4 billion US dollars and outbound

shipments were valued at 26.4 billion US dollars in December 2014.

• The cost of oil imports was 9.94 billion US dollars in December 2014, down 28.6

percent as compare to 13.92 billion US dollars in December 2013.

• Gold imports at 1.34 billion US dollars in December 2014 were 7.4 percent higher

than as compare to the December 2013. However, it is a sharp decline from

November 2014 when inbound shipments stood at 5.6 billion US dollars.

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• Exports of India from April to December 2014 at 241.15 billion US dollars, a growth

of 4.02 percent as compare to 231.8 billion US dollars in April-December 2013.

• The imports of India from April to December 2014 at 351.2 billion US dollars, a

growth of 3.63 percent as compare to 338.9 billion US dollars.

• The trade deficit from April to December 2014 at 110 billion US dollars compared

to 107 billion US dollars in April – December 2013.

• The last low in trade deficit was 8.13 billion US dollars in February 2014.

RBI issued final guidelines for banks to act as Insurance brokers

Reserve Bank of India on 15 January 2015 issued final guidelines for banks to act as

insurance brokers.

Earlier, the banks were allowed to undertake insurance business as agents of

insurance companies on fee basis with an aim to increase insurance penetration in

the country. The banks were allowed to look forward for participation in insurance

business in accordance to Union Government’s notification in which it allowed banks

to do business of insurance under Section 6(1)(o) of the Banking Regulation Act,

1949.

Banks were allowed to undertake referral business through their network of branches

on 29 October 2002.

RBI issued guidelines for both types of banks, who are setting JV or are undertaking

insurance broking and they are

• Banks setting up a subsidiary or joint venture (JV) for undertaking insurance

business with risk participation: they will not be allowed to undertake insurance

business with risk participation departmentally and may do so only through a

subsidiary/JV set up for the purpose. These banks can approach RBI to set JV

or subsidiary for undertaking insurance business with risk participation, if in case

they satisfy the eligibility criteria as on 31 March 2014. The criteria is

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a) The net worth of the bank should not be less than 1000 crore rupees

b) The CRAR of the bank should not be less than 10 percent

c) The level of net non-performing assets should be not more than 3 percent

d) The bank should have made a net profit for the last three continuous years

e) The track record of the performance of the subsidiaries, if any, of the concerned

bank should be satisfactory

• Banks undertaking insurance broking/corporate agency through a subsidiary or

joint venture: they require prior approval of RBI for setting up a subsidiary or JV.

Those banks may approach RBI for approval for setting up the subsidiary or JV

if in case they satisfy the eligibility criteria as on 31 March 2014. The criteria are

a) The net worth of the bank should not be less than 500 crore rupees after investing

in the equity of such company

b) The CRAR of the bank should not be less than 10 percent

c) The level of net non-performing assets should be not more than 3 percent

d) The bank should have made a net profit for the last three continuous years

e) The track record of the performance of the subsidiaries, if any, of the concerned

bank should be satisfactory

Background

Earlier, Reserve Bank of India on 29 November 2013 issued draft guidelines on Entry

of Banks into Insurance Business - Insurance Broking Business for public comments.

The guidelines were placed for comments in accordance to the budget speech 2013-

14 presented by Finance Minister in which he said that banks will be permitted to act

as insurance brokers.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) formulated and notified

the IRDA (Licensing of Banks as Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2013. These

regulations were notified to enable banks to take up the business of insurance broking

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departmentally.

Earlier, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1999 was

passed to permit banks to enter into insurance business.

The above mentioned guidelines are in accordance to the process that was followed

to finalise the guidelines that will allow banks to enter into Insurance Business.

Wholesale price Index-based Inflation raised 0.11 percent in December 2014

The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation raised marginally to 0.11 percent in

December 2014 from zero percent in November 2014. Union Ministry of Commerce

and Industry released the data on 14 January 2015.

The marginal rise in WPI based inflation was mainly on account of an increase in

prices of food items, particularly fruit. The inflation in manufactured products has the

highest weight on WPI was declined on low demand and global cues. Fuel prices

also declined as global crude oil rates fell.

However, overall inflation remained moderate though it is slightly higher than

November 2014.

Highlights

• The WPI based inflation in pulses, vegetables and fruits were higher in December

2014 as compare to November 2014 whereas the inflation eased in wheat, milk

and other protein rich items like egg, meat and fish.

• The rate food inflation raised to 5.22 percent in December 2014 from 0.63 percent

of November 2014. The food inflation has fallen for four consecutive months till

November 2014.

• Inflation in fruit prices stood at 17.87 percent, compared with 14.78 percent in

November 2014, while the rate of inflation in milk dropped marginally to 9.72

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percent in December 2014 from 10 percent of November 2014.

• The prices of non-food items within the primary group declined by 3.06 percent as

compared to declined of 3.65 percent in November 2014.

• The rate of price rise or prices themselves declined for other food items during

December 2014. For instance, overall vegetable prices fell 4.78 percent in December

2014 though the rate of contraction in November 2014 was much higher at 28.57

percent.

• The fuel and power category saw a contraction of 7.82 percent in prices as

compared to 4.91 percent in November 2014. Within this segment, petrol turned

11.96 percent cheaper, against 9.96 percent of November 2014.

• Diesel was 6.31 percent less expensive in December 2014 when compared with

2.97 percent in November 2014, which may further reduce inflation due to its

impact on cost of transportation.

• Inflation in manufactured items declined to 1.57 percent as against 2.04 percent

in November 2014.

• The inflation in beverages and tobacco also declined in December 2014 and same

in the case of machinery and machine tools.

• The inflation eased in cotton textile and man-made textiles segments.

• The retail inflation measured on consumer price index (CPI) had inched up to 5

percent for December 2014 while the inflation was 4.38 percent in November

2014.

RBI relaxed Forex Hedging Norms for Exporters and Importers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 14 January 2015 relaxed the Forex Hedging

Norms for exporters and importers.

The norms were relaxed under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange

Management Act, 1999.

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Relaxed Forex Hedging Norms

• Now, the exporters and importers can book forward foreign exchange contracts

in excess of 50 percent of the eligible limit. This will give them greater operational

flexibility.

• However, approval of these contracts is subjected to some conditions including

the submission of a declaration that all guidelines have been adhered to while

utilising the facility.

• The declaration has to be signed by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the

Company Secretary (CS).

• In the absence of a company secretary (CS), the Chief Executive Officer or the

Chief Operating Officer shall co-sign the undertaking of the customer along with

the Chief Financial Officer.=

• Moreover, a certificate of import or export turnover of the customer during the

past three years has to be attached.

• All other operational guidelines, terms and conditions shall remain unchanged.

NFL, EIL and FCIL signed agreement to form Ramagundam Fer-tilizers and Chemicals Ltd

National fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Fertilizer

Corporation of India (FCIL) on 14 January 2015 signed an agreement to form a Joint

Venture Company (JVC) Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited.

The agreement is aimed at setting up new Ammonia and Urea plants at the existing

site of Ramagundam Fertilizer plant in District Karimnagar in Telangana.

Execution of construction activities is expected to start in early 2016. The new plant

at Ramagundam will be a boon for the farmers of newly created state of Telangana.

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Highlights of the joint venture agreement

• The Joint Venture will be primarily responsible for setting up Gas based Ammonia-

Urea plants. NFL and EIL will each have 26 percent equity in the venture company.

• EIL will take up the project construction under EPC model. NFL’s expertise will be

utilised for the operation and maintenance of the plant

• FCIL will hold a stake in the company, being the provider of existing infrastructure

of Ramagundam Project.

• The project comprises of 2200 MTPD Ammonia plant and 3850 MTPD Urea plant.

• Total investment in the project by the PSU promoters is estimated to be in the

range of 5000 crore rupees.

Background

Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCIL), Ramagundam was the first major industry in

Karimnagar district. This project work started in 1971 and commercially began in

1980. However, after a few years, the project was completely closed and production

was stopped from 31 March 1999.

Consequently, thousands of employees were forced to take Voluntary Retirement

Scheme (VRS). The unit was practically abandoned.

The FCI plant is built in 1500 acres and the township is of 2600 acres. The township

had turned into a ghost town following the closure of the plant.

SEBI proposed easier norms for domestic mutual fund manag-ers

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 12 January 2015 proposed easier

norms for domestic mutual fund managers. SEBI has sought comments from public

till 2 February 2015 on these proposals.

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The proposed norms aimed to make it easier for domestic mutual funds to manage

offshore pooled assets.

The norms proposed by SEBI

20:25 Rule

It proposed to drop 20-25 rule requiring a minimum of 20 investors and a cap of

25 per cent investment by an individual investor in a particular scheme, for certain

foreign entities.

Criteria of 20 investors with no single investor holding over 25 per cent may not be

applicable to funds managed by local fund managers in regard to Category I and

Category II FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors).

Category I FPIs includes government and government related entities and Category

II FPIs includes both broad based entities such as mutual funds, investments trusts

and persons such as portfolio managers, investment managers, asset management

companies, banks among others.

Separate fund manager

It proposed to do away with the rule that requires appointment of separate fund

manager for managing an offshore fund

Currently, for managing an offshore fund it is allowed to appoint the same fund

manager who is managing domestic scheme, only if

• The investment objective and asset allocation of such scheme and offshore fund

are same

• The portfolio is replicated (at least 70 percent) in both the funds managed by that

fund manager

• Such offshore fund is broad based fund i.e. the fund has at least 20 investors and

no single investor accounts for more than 25 percent of corpus of the fund.

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Why the need for such norms?

• Challenges faced by the local fund managers in managing offshore pooled assets

• Introduction of FPI Regulations has rationalized the investment routes and

monitoring of foreign portfolio investments and also streamlined categories of

overseas investors.

Currently, there are 45 mutual fund houses, which together manage 11 lakh crore

rupees investor assets.

CSO released Quick Estimates of Index for Industrial Production for November 2014

Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation on 12 January 2015 released the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial

Production (IIP) for the month of November with base year 2004-05.

Main Highlights

• The IIP for November 2014 stood at 169.8, which is 3.8 percent higher than the

level measured in November 2013.

• The cumulative growth for period April-November 2014 was 2.2 percent higher

compared to the period April – November 2013

• The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity

sectors for November 2014 stood at 127.9, 177.0 and 174.3 respectively

• IIP growth rates for Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors were 3.4 percent,

3.0 percent and 10.0 percent as compared to November 2013.

• The cumulative growth in these three sectors during the period April-November

2014 over the corresponding period April-November 2013 has been 2.5 percent,

1.1 percent and 10.7 percent respectively

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• In terms of industries, sixteen (16) out of the twenty two (22) industry groups (as

per 2-digit NIC-2004) in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth

during the month of November 2014 as compared to the corresponding month of

the previous year

• As per Use-based classification, the growth rates in November 2014 over

November 2013 were 7.0 percent in Basic goods, 6.5 percent in Capital goods

and 4.3 percent in Intermediate goods.

• The Consumer durables and Consumer non-durables recorded growth of (-) 14.5

percent and 6.0 percent respectively, with the overall growth in Consumer goods

being (-) 2.2 percent.

• Some important items that displayed high positive growth during November

2014 over the November 2013 include Conductor, Aluminium (115.0 percent),

Air Conditioner (Room) (53.8 percent), Sugar (49.5 percent) and Three Wheelers

(Including passenger & goods carrier) (42.5 percent) among others

• Some important items showing high negative growth are Telephone Instruments

(incl. Mobile Phones & Accessories) (-) 67.3 percent, Ship Building & Repairs (-)

41.1 percent, Wood Furniture (-) 41.1 percent, Sugar Machinery (-) 40.9 percent

among others.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

IIP is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of

production of a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to

that in a chosen base period.

The current IIP is published by CSO with 2004-05 as base period.

The weightage of Manufacturing, Mining and Electricity production in overall Index

IIP is 75.53 percent, 14.16 percent and 10.31 percent respectively.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is compiled by using data received from 16 source

agencies.

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Nomura forecasted Indian Economic growth at 5.5 percent for FY 2015-16

The global financial services firm Nomura on 5 January 2015 forecasted that Indian

Economy will grow at 5.5 percent during the financial year (FY) 2015-16 and 6.6

percent during FY 2016-17.

The firm also forecasted that Indian Economy will also recover in FY 2015-2016. The

recovery is likely to get support from easing inflationary pressures and measures

towards economic reforms.

On Inflation, the report noted that input costs have moderated due to lower commodity

prices, which along with still-subdued demand, has kept output prices stable.

However, the report noted that the period of a positive base effect on CPI inflation

is over and CPI inflation is expected to rise from 4.4 percent in November 2014 to

5.5-6.0 percent in the next three months, before moderating back towards 5 percent

after March 2015.

About Nomura

Nomura Holdings Inc. is a Japanese financial holding company and a principal

member of the Nomura Group. It provides investment, financing and related services

to individual, institutional and government customers on a global basis with an

emphasis on securities businesses.

In October 2008, the company acquired Lehman Brothers Holdings’ investment

banking and equities unit in Asia and Europe.

Union Government aligned FDI policy with NIC 2008

Union Government on 5 January 2015 aligned the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

policy with the upgraded National Industrial Classification (NIC) - 2008. This was

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done with an aim to improve the ease of doing business.

The code will classify business activities and allow the industry to seek policy

approvals for specific activities.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said that the action has been

undertaken to map the activities of the Consolidated FDI Policy, 2014 with the National

Industrial Classification, 2008.

In India all economic activities are classified in accordance to NIC code and

classification is necessary for seeking industrial licenses and submitting industrial

entrepreneurs’ memorandum.

DIPP, functional under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is the nodal agency

on FDI policy. This agency compiles all policies related to India’s FDI regime into a

single document to make it simple and easy for investors to understand.

Union Cabinet approved 2G telecom spectrum auction targeted to fetch 64840 crore rupees

The Union Cabinet on 5 January 2015 approved the largest ever auction of Second

Generation (2G) telecom spectrum that is targeted to fetch around 64840 crore rupees

from the sale.

The last date for submission of application for the auction is 2 February 2015 and

bidders will be pre-qualified by 13 February 2015. The auction will start on 23 February

2015.

Any company holding a universal service licence to provide telephony services or

eligible to obtain the services can bid in the auction.

The government had generated about 62162 crore rupees from the last auction of

the 2G spectrum in February 2014.

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Three Bands of 2G spectrum Auction

• The government will sell 380.75 megahertz of 2G spectrum in three bands- 800

MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz.

• In 800 MHz band, 103.75 MHz in all service areas will be put on auction while

177.8 MHz in 900 MHz band will be sold in 17 telecom circles or service areas.

99.2 MHz will be auctioned in 15 circles in 1800 MHz band.

• There are total 22 telecom service areas in the country and the price of spectrum

in each circle is different.

• The 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz band are used for providing GSM based mobile

services by companies like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Uninor. The 800 Mhz band is

used for CDMA based mobile services by companies like MTS, Tata Teleservices

and Reliance Communications.

Reserve price

The Cabinet approved a reserve price of 3646 crore rupees pan-India per MHz in

800 MHz band, 3980 crore rupees for 900 MHz band pan-India excluding Delhi,

Mumbai, Kolkata, and Jammu & Kashmir and 2191 crore rupees pan-India (excluding

Maharashtra and West Bengal) in 1800 MHz band.

The reserve or auction start price is the same as recommended by the Telecom

Commission, except in the case of 900 MHz. The Telecom Commission had proposed

a reserve price of 3695 crore rupees for each MHz in 900 Mhz.

Procedure of making payments

The Centre has given two options to successful bidders to make the payment:

• Full Upfront Payment: Bidders can make a full upfront payment within 10 days of

declaration of final price.

• Deferred Payment: Bidders can make the deferred payment through an upfront

payment of 33 percent in the case of 1800 MHz band and 25 percent in the case

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of 900 MHz and 800 MHz within 10 days of declaration of successful bidders and

final price.

There will be a two-year moratorium for payment of balance amount of one-time

charges for the spectrum, which will be recovered in 10 equal annual instalments.

Auction of 3G Spectrum

Regarding the auction of 2100 MHz or 3G spectrum, Union Cabinet decided that

2100 MHz may also be put on auction simultaneously in February 2015 along with

auction of other bands.

However, the reserve price for 2100 MHz was not announced. The decision to auction

3G spectrum simultaneously was taken to increase the availability of the scarce

resource.

Meanwhile, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a reserve

price of 2720 crore rupees per mHz for 2100 MHz. However, the Telecom Commission

is yet to arrive at a final price.

RBI relaxed KYC rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies

Know-Your-Customers (KYC) rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)

were relaxed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 January 2015.

The KYC rules were amended for NBFC’s due to practical difficulties and constraints

being faced by them in getting KYC documents at frequent intervals.

As per RBI notification, the KYC exercise will be required to be done in three ways

and they are

• For high-risk individuals and entities – in at least every 2 years

• For medium risk individuals and entities - in at least every 8 years

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• For low risk individuals and entities – in at least every 10 years

These time limits will be adjusted by taking into account whether and when client due

diligence measures have previously been undertaken and the adequacy of data were

obtained. However, physical presence of clients may not be insisted at such periodic

updations.

Previous norms said that the NBFC’s should undertake KYC once in every 5 years

for low risk category customers and once in two years for both high and medium risk

categories.

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ENVIRONMENT | ECOLOGY

PETA announced to create India’s first fenced elephant sanctu-ary near Bengaluru

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on 29 January 2015 announced

to create India’s first fenced elephant sanctuary within the Bannerghatta Biological

Park in Karnataka. The forested space will allow elephants to move around freely

within the secure area.

The model of the sanctuary was designed by the PETA consultant and elephant expert

Carol Buckley and it will come up in an area of 49.5 hectare within the Biological Park

which is an extension of the Bannerghatta National Park.

The sanctuary will allow the herd to roam and bathe in ponds freely without being

restricted by chains or without any human interference and to allow elephants to live

naturally.

PETA will train local caregivers in the principles of protected contact. Protected

contact is a method of ensuring safe interaction between human beings and elephants

by keeping them separated by a sturdy barrier and using positive reinforcement

techniques instead of the age-old routine of physical punishment to manage the

elephants.

Further, there is a provision for the elephant and mahout training facilities and safety

measures.

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DRDO received approval to build missile launch testing facility in the Krishna Delta Complex

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on 29 January 2015

received the approval to build a missile launch testing facility at a site adjacent to the

Krishna Delta Complex in Andhra Pradesh. The site is a nesting site of Olive Ridley

turtles, an endangered species.

The approval was granted by the Standing Committee of the National Board for

Wildlife chaired by Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and

Climate Change.

However, the proposal was cleared with certain conditions. These include:

• Activities should be restricted at the test site to daytime only

• No activity should be performed during the turtles’ nesting season

• Regeneration of mangroves should be done

Further, DRDO would be able to build the missile launch testing facility only after

receiving a final clearance from the Supreme Court (SC) of India. SC’s approval is

required as some part of the land needed to build the facility falls inside the Krishna

Wildlife Sanctuary.

The project of DRDO seeks diversion of around 155 hectares of forest land. This land

will be used for setting up test site, technical facility, a road connecting the test and

technical facility.

Opposition to the Testing Facility

The testing facility proposed by DRDO has been opposed by the Andhra Pradesh’s

wildlife officials who are not in favour of the project coming up at the site.

They argue that, the testing site is a mangrove forest with rivulet estuaries. It is a

habitat for various endangered and threatened species such as Olive Ridley turtles

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which is a protected animal under Schedule 1 of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

and a vulnerable species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Besides, it is home to smooth Indian otter, painted stork, spot-billed pelican, oriental

white ibis and others.

Thus, according to environmentalists, the project will adversely affect nesting habits

of Riddle turtles and will also damage the habitat along with food chain and food web

of the area.

Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans got a fresh start with expert assistance

The Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans was in news in January 2015.

It was in news because it got a fresh start with the help of renowned experts in

herpetology who introduced global best practices in crocodile conservation.

The project was started in mid-1970s with an aim to increase the number of saltwater

crocodiles, a Schedule-I species under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The project

is situated next to the uninhabited Lothian Island, far from the mainland in the

Sunderbans archipelago.

Why expert assistance was needed?

In past few years, the project did not see a significant increase in the number of

salt-water crocodiles. The eggs to hatching ratio also declined to 40 per 100 eggs

collected. This decline in hatching ratio raised questions over their future.

The reason for the decline in eggs to hatching ratio was supported with increase

in temperature caused by the global warming. This in turn created a challenge in

maintaining sex ratio of crocodiles.

Thus it called for expert assistance to give a fresh start to the project.

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Expertise provided by experts to boost the project

The forest officials of the Sunderbans delta were provided inputs by the experts,

which included among others

• How to collect crocodile eggs

• How to distinguish between fertile and infertile eggs

• How to create the ideal hatching environment using mother nest substrate and

artificial substrate

Apart from this, the experts also trained the forest officials on field training. The

process of training started in December 2013 and continued for a year.

Results

The inputs and training provided by the experts helped in raising the eggs to hatching

ratio, which is now over 70 from previous 40. Also in the last one year, nearly 75

sub-adult crocodiles in the Sunderbans have been released. Out of this at least 50

crocodiles have been tagged to keep a check on their condition in the wild.

Saltwater Crocodile

The saltwater crocodile (scientific name Crocodylus porosus) is estuarine crocodile

has been kept under least concern category of IUCN. It is the largest of all living

reptiles, as well as the largest terrestrial and riparian predator in the world.

These crocodiles are found in India, Bangladesh, Australia, Brunei Darussalam,

Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,

Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Vietnam. It is believed that the animal has

possibly extinct from Thailand, while has regionally extinct in Singapore.

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Scientists developed two new global maps to provide help in search for fresh farmland

Scientists from International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) developed

two new global maps to provide help in search for fresh farmland.

The maps were released in the third week of January 2015 in the journal Global

Change Biology. It offered two types of data that experts argue is essential for the

search. Now, two new global maps may provide some help in the search for fresh

farmland.

The first map was created using a great deal of international and vetted crowd-

sourced data, showing global cropland percentages at one kilometer resolution for

the year 2005.

This data, cross-checked for accuracy and combined with pre-existing large-scale

maps, created something researchers are claiming is more intergraded than anything

else seen before.

A second map, based entirely off crowd-sourced data through the Geo-Wiki project,

helps verify the rate of change that cropland goes through.

This map was produced after a global network of citizen scientists looked at thousands

of high-resolution images of land cover to determine whether cropland was present

or not in regions that likely had land back in 2005.

This can help them determine where and when cropland remained, and if it is still in

use.

Comment

Current sources of information on cropland extent are not accurate enough for most

applications. With the world growing increasingly warmer, the global cropland map is

a low cost solution to fill this need

However, finding this land so that it can quickly be put to use remains a challenge.

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The trouble with being certain about farmland distribution is that there are not many

detailed records in developing countries, especially when smaller lands often look no

different that the surrounding vegetation from planes or satellites.

However, where maps agree there is cropland, there is a higher likelihood that cropland

is actually present.

Year 2014 ranked as Earth’s hottest year since 1880

The year 2014 was ranked as the Earth’s hottest year since 1880 as per the two

separate analyses done by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

scientists and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists.

The findings of NASA and NOAA were released on 16 January 2015.

Both NASA and NOAA conducted independent analyses based on satellite and

ground readings, but they arrived at similar conclusions.

The global average temperature for 2014 was roughly 1.24°F (or 0.69°C) warmer than

the 20th-century average that included record heat in the western United States,

Europe, Australia, and much of the Pacific Ocean.

Rankings of 10 warmest years

1. 2014

2. 2010

3. 2005

4. 2007

5. 1998

6. 2002

7. 2013

8. 2009

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9. 2003

10. 2006

Findings

As per GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP), since 1880, Earth’s average

surface temperature has warmed by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees

Celsius), which was caused by the increase in carbon dioxide into the planet’s

atmosphere.

The 2014 temperatures were the warmest ones, but scientists still expect to see

year-to-year fluctuations in average global temperature caused by phenomena such

as El Nino or La Nina.

The phenomena El Nino and La Nina in the Pacific Ocean played an important role

in the flattening of the long-term warming trend over the past 15 years. Moreover,

2014’s record warmth occurred during an El Nino-neutral year.

Regional differences in temperature are more strongly affected by weather dynamics

than the global mean temperature.

Study Process

The scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York

mapped the five-year global temperature averages from 1880 to 2014.

The GISS analysis incorporated surface temperature measurements from 6300

weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures

and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations.

This raw data was analyzed using an algorithm that measures the varied spacing of

temperature stations around the globe. The result is an estimate of the global average

temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.

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Critically endangered Forest Owlet sighted in Betul, Madhya Pradesh

Critically endangered forest owlet (Athene blewitti) was sighted in Betul district of

Madhya Pradesh. The bird was traced in a new location by a Pune-based conservation

society in second week of January 2015.

Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti or Heteroglaux blewitti) is an owl and is endemic to the

forests of central India. The species that belongs to the typical owls’ family, Strigidae

is on the verge of extinction.

How this critically endangered species was spotted?

A team of a Pune-based Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS) sighted

the owlet during their course of extensive research in Khandwa in the adjoining district

of Betul. At present, the society is carrying out a long-term ecological study on the

Forest Owlet in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh.

Past Evidences of Forest Owlet in India

The species was first discovered in 1872 (Chhattisgarh), however it was not seen for

113 years and was believed that it has become extinct.

It was rediscovered in 1997 in Toranmal Reserve Forest in the Satpura ranges and

was once again sighted in 2004 in Toranmal of Nandurbar district of Maharashtra.

The most recent evidence of the bird happened in October 2014 in the Tansa wildlife

sanctuary of Western Ghats. It was spotted by naturalist Sunil Laad of the Bombay

Natural History Society (BNHS).

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NGT gave directions to clean Yamuna under Maily se Nirmal Ya-muna Revitalization Plan 2017

National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 13 January 2015 gave directions to clean River

Yamuna under Maily se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalization Plan 2017.

The directions were given by the principal bench of NGT presided over by Chairperson

Justice Swatanter Kumar. The tribunal’s judgment came on a petition by Manoj Misra

of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan against pollution in the Yamuna and covering of drains in

Delhi.

Directions given by bench are

• Impose a fine of 5000 rupees on individuals for throwing waste or religious items

into the river

• Banned the dumping of construction material into the Yamuna while imposing a

fine of 50000 rupees on the violators

• Restrained real estate developers from carrying out any construction work on the

floodplains

• It also directed states where Yamuna and its tributaries flow to come up with an

action plan to ensure environmental flow to revive the Yamuna stretch in Delhi.

• The bench directed that 4000 crore rupees, as estimated by the expert committee

be made available from the 20000 crore rupees Budget of Delhi Government.

Constitution of a committee to implement the directions

The bench decided to constitute a principal committee which will be responsible for

implementation of the judgment.

The committee will consist of the Special Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and

Forests (MoEF), joint secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, chief secretary of

Delhi, vice-chairman DDA, commissioners of all corporations and the state secretaries

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of Haryana, UP, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Members of the expert committees earlier constituted by NGT — including professor

emeritus of DU C R Babu, former professor of JNU Brij Gopal and IIT Delhi professor

A K Gosain — were also made members of the principal committee.

The Union government has been implementing Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) for cleaning

of Yamuna River with assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency,

without much success.

Sultanpur National Park shut down after migratory birds found dead

Forest and wild life department on 11 January 2015 shut down the Sultanpur National

Park for one week. The park was shut down after 47 migratory birds were found dead

in the park on 10 January 2015.

The dead birds included Eurasian coots (36) and common moorhen (9) and one each

of spot-billed duck and jungle babbler.

Deaths of these birds had triggered fears of bird flu outbreak in the park but real

cause of their death is not clear. The real cause is not known because the common

feature of flu was not spotted in any of these birds. In case of bird flu, the legs of birds

develop red spots.

To know the real cause, samples of the dead birds have been sent to the National

Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal to verify the real cause of deaths.

About Sultanpur National Park

Sultanpur National Park, a bird sanctuary on Gurgaon-Farrukh Nagar Road is a

seasonal wetland that attracts around 200 species of migratory birds every year

between October and March from Europe, Siberia and Central Asia. The park is also

a home of several species of insects, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

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The park is located on the Sultanpur Jheel (an area of 1.21 sq. Km.) and the jheel

was accorded Sanctuary status on 2 April 1971 under section 8 of the Punjab Wildlife

Preservation Act of 1959. The decision of granting the Sanctuary status was taken

after the 1969 Conference of the International Union of Conservation of nature and

Natural resources (IUCN) in New Delhi.

The status of the park was upgraded to National Park under Section 35 of the Wildlife

(Protection) Act, 1972 on 5 July 1991. Simultaneously the area was increased to 1.42

sq. Km.

The National Park has been carved out of the land of Sadhrana, Chandu, Sultanpur

and Saidpur villages.

Rare plant species Chlorophytum palghatense found in Palak-kad district of Kerala

The Scientists at the Centre for Medicinal Plants Research, Kottakkal in Kerala

discovered a rare plant species named Chlorophytum palghatense at the Dhoni hills

in Palakkad district of Kerala. The findings were published in the journal Phytotaxa

on 17 December 2014.

The researchers led by scientist Konickal Mambetta Prabhu Kumar came across this

new species in the grasslands of the Palamala hills in the Dhoni mountain range during

an expedition to study the floristic diversity of the high mountains in the southern

regions of the Western Ghats.

Besides, another team of scientists from the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi

also found the this species of plant in the Elival hills of Muthikulam in Palakkad.

About Chlorophytum palghatense

• The plant belongs to the genus Chlorophytum of the Asparagaceae family. The

Chlorophytum genus is represented by 17 species in India, of which 15 occur in

the Western Ghats.

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• It was named Chlorophytum palghatense after the place of discovery- Palakkad

district of Kerala.

• The plant is a perennial herb endemic to the grassland ecosystem of the Dhoni

and Muthikulam forests at a height above 6000 feet.

• The plant flowers and fruits from September to November.

• The plant shows affinities with C. sharmae that is widespread in Munnar, but shows

many morphological differences.

Tropical forests absorb more Carbon Dioxide than thought: NASA

A new study of NASA highlighted that tropical forests may absorb more carbon

dioxide (CO2) in response to rising atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gases than

earlier thought by scientists.

The new research was published online on 28 December 2014 in the Proceedings

of National Academy of Sciences. Lead author of the paper of the research is David

Schimel.

Main Finding of the Study

The study suggests that the tropical forests absorb 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon

dioxide out of a total global absorption of 2.5 billion, which is more than that absorbed

by forests in Canada, Siberia and other northern regions, called boreal forests.

In other words, carbon absorption by boreal forests has slowed down, while in case

of tropical forests, it may continue to take up carbon for many years.

What’s New in the Study

The new study is the first to devise a way to make head-to-head comparison of

carbon dioxide estimates from many sources at different scales.

It reconciles results at every scale from the pores of a single leaf, where photosynthesis

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takes place, to the whole Earth, as air moves carbon dioxide around the globe.

The findings are advancement over the theory of carbon fertilization which says that

as human-caused emissions add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, forests

worldwide use it to grow faster, reducing the amount that stays airborne.

All else being equal, the carbon fertilization effect is stronger at higher temperatures,

meaning it will be higher in the tropics than in the boreal forest.

Comment

Forests and other land vegetation currently remove up to 30 percent of human

carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. If the rate of

absorption were to slow down, the rate of global warming would speed up in return.

The findings have big implications for understanding whether global terrestrial

ecosystems might continue to offset carbon dioxide emissions or might begin to

exacerbate climate change.

ICRISAT launched GreenPHABLET for small farmers

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) on 29

December 2014 launched GreenPHABLET for small farmers. GreenPHABLET is a

customised low-cost combination of phone and tablet computer. The device was

powered by GreenSIM.

The GreenPHABLET is dust- and shatter-proof, readable under bright sunlight;

operates from -20°C to +60°C.

The device has been developed by the ICRISAT Centre of Excellence in ICT Innovations

for Agriculture in collaboration with NUNC Systems.

Features of GreenPHABLET

The GreenPHABLET will allow information to be precisely targeted to individual

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smallholder farmers. This will help farmers purchase inputs at lower price, get a better

price for their produce, and link them to markets.

The device will act like a mobile village knowledge centre/common service centre

which enables farmers to benefit from contemporary information and communication

technologies and expanding Internet connectivity in remote rural regions.

The device will enable to share real time information between farmers and researchers

which would help to improve crop productivity and researchers to collect accurate

data in real time.

Apart from regular phone services developing world smallholder farmers receive free

messages about the weather and pest problems while sharing the most competitive

agricultural input and crop prices.

About GreenSIM

The GreenSIM is a special SIM card that can be used with any mobile phone. The

GreenSIM was created under partnership between ICRISAT, mobile phone service

provider Airtel, and the IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative) Kisan Sanchar

Limited (IKSL).

Through the GreenSIM, a farmer will be entitled to receive five voice messages. These

messages are in Telugu, covering various fields like agriculture, animal husbandry,

horticulture, insurance, government policies and schemes, mandi prices, weather

forecast, sericulture, pisciculture, crop loans, plant protection and health.

About International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (IC-RISAT)

ICRISAT is a non-profit agricultural research organization headquartered in Patancheru

in Hyderabad, Telangana.

It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organisations convened by the Ford and

the Rockefeller Foundations. Its charter was signed by the Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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Excessive concentration of antibiotics found in three Chinese rivers

An excessive amount of antibiotics was found in Chinese rivers namely Yangtze,

Huangpu and Pearl Rivers. The situation threatens to cause widespread antibiotic

resistance.

The report related to this was released by China Central Television in the last week

of December 2014.

Main Findings of the Report

• High concentration of antibiotics in the rivers was caused by illegal discharges by

Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical, one of China’s largest drug producers, and

the abuse of antibiotics by poultry farmers.

• The Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical has been discharging polluted water

containing over 50000 nanograms of antibiotics per litre, which is 10000 times

above the level of antibiotics in untainted water.

• In a water sample taken randomly, two types of antibiotics were detected. The

concentration of amoxicillin, a drug that is used to treat ear or bladder infections,

was 8 nanograms per liter.

• In rivers like the Pearl, which empties into the South China Sea, and Shanghai’s

Huangpu River, every liter of sampled water was found to contain several hundred

nanograms of antibiotics, compared with less than 20 nanograms in water in

developed countries.

Effects of excessive antibiotics in groundwater

• The antibiotics traced in rivers can enter the food chain through soil and groundwater

and lead to resistance to treatment of even common ailments.

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• The drugs can cause bacterial resistance to antibiotics in humans and damage

ecological systems.

• Excessive amounts of antibiotics in water will cause drug resistance and reduce

the effectiveness of drugs.

Comment

Seventy percent of all drugs produced in China are antibiotics, compared with 30

percent in Western countries. At least 15000 tons of drugs expire and end up in trash

bins every year.

According to a report published in science journal Chinese Science Bulletin in May

2014, China’s surface water contains 68 kinds of antibiotics.

Chrysopelea taprobanica, the Sri Lankan flying snake, sighted in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve

Chrysopelea taprobanica, the flying snake of Sri Lanka was sighted in Seshachalam

Biosphere Reserve of Andhra Pradesh, India. This was the first time that the snake

was sighted outside the island nation.

Previously it was considered that the snake is epidemic to the dry and intermediate

zones of Sri Lanka.

This discovery was published in Check List, a Journal of Biodiversity Data. The study

was conducted by researchers Bubesh Guptha, Nimmakayala Venkata Sivaram

Prasad, Simon T. Maddock and V. Deepak.

This discovery of the Chrysopelea taprobanica extends the known range of distribution

of the species. This discovery also highlights that probably the species moved to

India when the dry zones of peninsular India and Sri Lanka were connected, about

17000 years ago.

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Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve

Seshachalam Hills the hilly ranges part of the Eastern Ghats in southern Andhra

Pradesh was designated as the 17th biosphere reserve by the Union Ministry of

Environment and Forests on 20 September 2010.

Seshachalam Hill Ranges covers parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts and contain

seven peaks namely, Anjanadri, Garudadri, Narayanadri, Neeladri, Seshadri,

Venkatadri and Vrishabhadri. These hills were formed during the Precambrian era

(3.8 billion to 540 million years ago).

These hills are a home of many endangered animals and are also rich in plant diversity.

A study suggests that the region is a home of an estimated minimum 1700 species of

plants that belongs to 178 families of vascular plants.

178 species of birds have been identified in the region, like globally-threatened

Yellow-throated Bulbul Pcynonotus Xantholaemus, Pompadour Green Pigeon Treron

Pompadora (a bird generally found in the Himalayan region) and the large Hawk-

Cuckoo Hierococcyx Sparverioides.

Apart from this, the famous Asian Elephant maximus was discovered in the southern

parts of Chittoor district in the year 1984. Before its re-discovery, this species of

elephants were not seen for nearly 300 years.

Other species of animals residing in the reason includes leopard, hyena, wild dog,

golden jackal, Indian fox, jungle cat, sloth bear, spotted deer, mouse deer, four-horned

antelope, Indian giant squirrel and small Indian civet.

Reptiles of the region includes the Gliding Lizard (primarily inhabits evergreen biotopes

in the Westren Ghats), the Golden Gecko Calodactylodes Aureus and others. The

area also houses 63 species of butterflies belonging to five families.

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CORPORATES Lakshminarayanan appointed as Chairman of Shriram Trans-port Finance Co Ltd

S Lakshminarayanan was on 29 January 2015 appointed as Chairman of Shriram

Transport Finance Co. Ltd (STFC), India’s largest truck financing company.

The decision to appoint S Lakshminarayanan as Chairman of STFC was taken during

a board meeting of the company held at Colombo on 24 January 2015.

Lakshminarayanan is a retired IAS officer. He has been Independent Director of

Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd since September 2009. During his career in the

civil services, he held several senior positions such as Secretary of Union Ministry of

Home Affairs.

Zomato Media Pvt Ltd acquired Turkey-based firm Mekanist

Online restaurant search service provider Zomato Media Pvt Ltd on 29 January 2015

acquired Turkish company Mekanist for an undisclosed sum.

With the acquisition of Mekanist in an all cash deal, Zomato’s restaurant coverage

will increase to more than 75000 across Turkey from about 27500 now.

The Mekanist team will integrate into Zomato and all of Mekanist’s traffic and

restaurant-related content will move to Zomato. Moreover, Mekanist app users will

be able to use the Zomato app.

Turkish restaurants will be able to make use of Zomato’s hyper-local advertising

model to reach out to target customers that are searching for restaurants in and

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around their location.

This is Zomato’s seventh acquisition in six months. Earlier, it acquired US-based firm

Urbanspoon for about 50 million US dollars.

Zomato has also recently acquired local dominant restaurant search players in New

Zealand, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Italy.

Hanumanthu Purushotham took charge as CMD of NRDC

Eminent scientist Hanumanthu Purushotham took charge as Chairman and Managing

Director (CMD) of National Research Development Corporation (NRDC). He took over

the charge in the fourth week of January 2015.

Earlier, he was Scientist-G and Head of Knowledge Management Centre at

International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials

(ARCI), Department of Science and Technology at Hyderabad.

With about 30 years of diverse experience across the innovation value chain in

different industry verticals, he had served as scientist in various capacities in various

CSIR laboratories of the country.

ErosNow tied up with RailTel to provide Streaming Services to Rail Passengers

The entertainment platform of Eros International Media, ErosNow on 28 January

2015 tied-up with RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RailTel) to provide Streaming

Services to Rail Passengers through Eros broadband.

With the help of this tie-up, the railway passengers will soon have access to movies,

television content, music videos and audio tracks.

The broadband streaming services will enable passengers at railway stations to

download and view their favourite entertainment content from ErosNow on their

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smart-TVs, PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

RailTel also launched high-speed Wi-Fi network on key railway stations and the

passengers will be informed about this exclusive service on arrival at stations.

In 2014, the Wi-Fi service was successfully launched by RailTel at New Delhi and

Bangalore railway stations for providing high speed internet to passengers.

Kunal Jeswani appointed as CEO of Ogilvy & Mather India

Kunal Jeswani was on 27 January 2015 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of Ogilvy & Mather India with effect from 1 March 2015. The post of CEO was

lying vacant since 2008 when the then CEO Pratap Bose resigned.

Currently, Kunal Jeswani is Chief Digital Officer of the Ogilvy India and he will retain

this responsibility with his new role.

Other appointments

• Hufrish Birdy, who is currently the Executive finance director, was appointed as

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Ogilvy India with effect from 1 March 2015.

• Hephzibah Pathak will assume the role of Global Clients’ Director of the company

with effect from 1 March 2015.

• Kawal Shoor was appointed as National Planning Director with effect from 1 March

2015.

Steve Easterbrook appointed as CEO of McDonald’s Corporation

Steve Easterbrook was on 28 January 2015 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of McDonald’s Corporation with effect from 1 March 2015.

Steve Easterbrook will succeed Don Thompson who decided to retire as President

and Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s on 1 March 2015 after spending nearly 25

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years in the company. Thompson was the first African-American to head the company

since it was founded in 1955.

Easterbrook was also elected to the Board of Directors to fill the vacancy created by

Thompson. He is currently Chief Brand Officer of the company.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s gave no reason for the abrupt retirement of the Thompson.

However, the change in management came after two years of worsening sales of

McDonald’s in US market.

Other Appointments

• Pete Bensen was appointed as the Chief Administrative Officer of the company

with effect from 1 March 2015. Bensen is currently Senior Executive Vice President

and Chief Financial Officer of McDonald’s.

• Kevin Ozan, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller,

will succeed Bensen as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with

effect from 1 March 2015.

Apple Inc recorded the highest-ever profit of 18 billion US dol-lars in corporate history worldwide

Apple Inc on 27 January 2015 recorded highest quarterly profit of 18 billion US dollar.

The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.

According to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt, the profit of 18 billion US dollar was

the largest profit ever made by a public company in the corporate history worldwide.

The revenue of the Apple Inc rose to 74.6 billion US dollar in 2014 from 57.6 billion

US dollar in 2013. Apple now has a cash pile up of 178 billion US dollar which is

enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to pay 556 US dollar to every American.

The success of Apple in the competitive Chinese market can be attributed to its

partnership with China Mobile Limited the largest global mobile carrier, and the

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appeal of the larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The big-screen iPhone 6 and 6 plus drove revenues in China which increased by 70

percent in the quarter ending December 2014 compared to quarter ending December

2013. Also, the sale of iPhone doubled in Singapore and Brazil.

SBI signed a loan agreement for 100 million Euro with European Investment Bank

State Bank of India (SBI) on 19 January 2015 signed a loan agreement for 100 million

Euro with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

EIB is a long-term lending institution of the European Union. The agreement was

facilitated by SBI Capital Markets.

The loan will be utilised to support the private sector’s development—in particular

small and medium-sized enterprises, social and economic infrastructure as well as

climate change mitigation and adaptation in India. The EIB funds will be earmarked

for financing projects across a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, as

well as wholesale and retail trade and services.

This is third tranche of a total sanction of 200 million Euro by EIB. A first tranche of

55 million Euro and second tranche of 45 million Euro were signed in June 2014 and

November 2014 respectively.

WhatsApp unveiled a new service for sending messages from a Web browser

The mobile messaging application WhatsApp on 21 January 2015 unveiled a new

service for sending messages from a Web browser.

WhatsApp’s Web service will require your phone to stay connected to the internet to

work with the web browser. Moreover, the web service can be availed only through

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the latest version of WhatsApp on your phone.

WhatsApp’s Web service

• This web service is simply an extension of the smartphone service.

• The Web browser mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device.

• All your messages will be still live on your phone.

• The new messaging service currently only works with Google’s Chrome browser

and will not be available to iPhone users due to Apple platform limitations.

About WhatsApp

• WhatsApp Messenger is a mobile messaging application which allows you to

exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.

• WhatsApp was co-founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009, both former

Yahoo executives.

• In February 2014, Social media giant Facebook Inc acquired WhatsApp for 19

billion dollars in a cash and stock deal.

CII and Alibaba signed agreement to provide global platform to Indian SMEs

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba on 20

January 2015 signed an agreement to provide global platform to Indian small and

medium enterprises (SMEs).

The agreement will facilitate greater economic engagement between Indian and

Chinese SMEs.

Alibaba.com and CII will collaborate and develop various trade opportunities and

online promotions to facilitate greater economic engagement between Indian and

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Chinese small and medium enterprises (SMEs). CII and Alibaba.com will also work

jointly towards providing trainings, promoting Industry clusters for SMEs in some key

business sectors.

Alibaba will work with CII to run their e-certificates programmes in India. The

agreement is a step forward in forging greater partnerships, engagement between

Indian and global business especially among SMEs.

India’s manufacturing and services sector will be able to achieve the objectives of

building greater India-China SME engagement by benefiting with the expertise of

Alibaba.com in the digital space.

The agreement will help to support the transfer and expansion of knowledge and

technology for forging strategic partnerships, collaborations, joint ventures, joint

research and development leading to new innovations and help Indian SMEs build

brand image at B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) levels leading to increased

trust, confidence and business engagement.

Twitter appointed Taranjeet Singh as Head of Sales for its India operation

Microblogging site Twitter on 19 January 2015 appointed Taranjeet Singh as Head of

Sales for its operation in India.

As Head of Sales, his responsibilities would include increasing commercial

opportunities for Twitter in India and to work closely with brands and agencies to

maximise value of real-time marketing.

Earlier, Taranjeet served as the Sales Director (South Asia) for BBC Advertising and

was responsible for revenue and business strategy of BBC World News.

Prior to joining the BBC, he held various positions at Outlook Publishing Pvt Ltd,

including heading its advertising sales and business development in Northern India.

The appointment of Taranjeet is aimed at enhancing revenues for Twitter from India,

one of the biggest Internet market in the world. India is one of the fastest growing

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markets for the social networking platform.

According to Research firm eMarketer, India will become Twitter’s third-largest market

with 18.1 million users in 2014.

HDFC Bank featured among world’s 50 most valuable banks in 2014

HDFC bank was named among 50 most valuable banks in 2014 with a market

capitalisation of 41.58 billion US dollar. It was ranked at 45th position.

The list of 66 largest banks in the world by market capitalisation as on 31 December

2014 was compiled and released in January 2015 by Relbanks. The top ten banks

include 4 US banks, 4 Chinese banks, 1 bank of each United Kingdom (UK) and

Australia. These top ten banks are

• Wells Fargo & Co. of US with market cap of 284.39 Billion US dollar

• Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) of China with market cap of 269.70

Billion US dollar

• JP Morgan Chase & Co. of US with market cap of 233.94 Billion US dollar

• China Construction Bank of China with market cap of 213.18 Billion US dollar

• Bank of America of US with market cap of 188.14 Billion US dollar

• Agricultural Bank of China with market cap of 187.34 Billion US dollar

• HSBC Holdings of UK with market cap of 181.24 Billion US dollar

• Bank of China with market cap of 177.65 Billion US dollar

• Citigroup Inc of US with market cap of 163.93 Billion US dollar

• Commonwealth Bank of Australia with market cap of 112.37 Billion US dollar

Apart from HDFC two other banks of India were listed in the list and they are

• State Bank of India was ranked 51 with market cap of 36.40 Billion US dollar

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• ICICI Bank Limited was ranked 55 with market cap of 33.42 Billion US dollar

Eicher Motors appointed Rudratej Singh as President of Royal Enfield

Eicher Motors on 19 January 2015 appointed Rudratej Singh as President of Royal

Enfield. He will report to Eicher Motors Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

Siddhartha Lal.

Earlier, he was based in Singapore with Unilever as Vice-President — South Asia,

HPC & Foods Marketing Operations.

As President, he will be responsible for building thought leadership for the brand and

leading the commercial business for Royal Enfield.

It would include global sales and after-sales, brand and marketing, new product

strategy and creating and growing new business opportunities such as apparel,

accessories, and other adjacencies.

His experience in marketing mix development and managing brand equity along with

global perspective will help the company’s objective of becoming leaders in the mid-

sized motorcycling segment.

Royal Enfield is the Chennai-based arm of the company. It currently sold various

models including Bullet, Classic and Thunderbird.

Siddhartha Chatterjee appointed as CTO of Persistent Systems Ltd

Siddhartha Chatterjee was on 14 January 2015 appointed as the Chief Technology

Officer (CTO) of Persistent Systems Ltd with effect from 14 January 2015 itself.

Chatterjee will be based at the United States branch of the company.

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Persistent Systems Ltd

• Persistent Systems Ltd was founded in 1990 by IIT Kharagpur alumnus Anand

Deshpande.

• The company develops software solutions in next-generation technology areas,

including analytics, Big Data, cloud computing, mobility and social.

• With over 7000 employees on board, the company has offices and delivery centres

across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

• In India, Persistent Systems Ltd operates at the offices in Bangalore, Nagpur, Goa

and Hyderabad.

Tarun Rai appointed as CEO of J Walter Thompson South Asia

Tarun Rai was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of J Walter Thompson

South Asia. The appointment was announced on 14 January 2015 by the J Walter

Thompson (JWT) company. JWT is an advertising agency.

He replaced Colvyn Harris who has been elevated to the role of Executive Director,

Global growth and Client development. Both will report to Gustavo Martinez, Global

CEO of JWT.

Rai in his role of CEO of South Asia will look after India, Sri Lanka and Nepal region as

well as Indian companies of J Walter Thompson which includes Contract Advertising,

Hungama Digital Services, J. Walter Thompson Mindset, Encompass and Social

Wavelength.

Prior to this appointment, Rai served as CEO of Worldwide Media since 2008. Before

2008, he was associated with JWT wherein he helped build brands like Hindustan

Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Pizza Hut, De Beers, Tata Steel, Nestlé, Hero,

Godrej and Kellogg’s.

Rai is an alumnus of London School of Economics and has been associated with

advertising and media for more than 25 years.

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Sandip Das resigned as MD of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to join Reliance Retail Ltd

Sandip Das on 13 January 2015 resigned as the Managing Director (MD) of Reliance

Jio Infocomm Ltd to join the board of Reliance Retail Ltd. However, Reliance Jio’s

other Managing Director Sanjay Mashruwala will continue to head the firm.

Reliance Retail Ltd is developing a long-term evolution (LTE) device ecosystem for

Reliance Jio’s growth in the telecom space by building sales and distribution channels

including retail stores. Das will mentor the Jio division of Reliance Retail.

Sandip Das’ appointment came at the time when Reliance Jio is preparing to launch

4G telecom services in 2015. The company has not been able to launch its 4G services

despite winning the spectrum in 2010.

DGFT imposed 100 crore rupees fine on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion for violation of RBI norms

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on 14 January 2015 imposed a

penalty of 100 crore rupees on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) for violation of

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms. The order was issued by Kavita Gupta, additional

director general of foreign trade, Mumbai.

The order also cancelled its nominated agency certificate (NAC). NAC is the mandatory

document needed for direct import of precious metals.

Why the fine was imposed

The DGFT had issued a showcause notice to the bullion trader in October 2014.

According to the order, RSBL had obtained NAC in April 2013 for direct import of

bullion. In FY14, RSBL had imported 550 kg gold and, according to the RBI circular,

this entire quantity should have been exported back.

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However, the company had shipped back only 350 kg while remaining 200 kg was

supplied to the domestic market, violating NAC norms.

About Riddi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL)

Riddi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) was established by Prithviraj Kothari and started

its operations in the financial year 1997-1998.

RSBL is also the only company to be an authorised participant of all gold traded

exchange funds (ETFs) in India. That is it acts as an online bullion trading platform

for jewellers, wholesalers, jewellery manufacturers, hedgers and investors, which is

crucial for jewellers in India.

Gold Exchange Traded Funds

A gold exchange-traded fund (or GETF) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that aims

to track the price of gold. These units are traded on the Exchange like a single stock

of any company.

Google launched Flight Search Tool in India

Search Engine Google on 13 January 2015 launched its Flight Search Tool in India.

The tool allows you to search directly for flights within Google to quickly find, compare

and book flights from your mobile device, tablet or desktop.

The Google Flight Search Tool redirects users to the concerned airline’s booking

page which cuts out the expense paid to the travel agents.

Google’s venture into flight search dates back to 2010, when it acquired Massachusetts-

based flight information software company ITA software for 700 million US dollars.

Flight search tool of Google was initially launched in the US and then in parts of

Europe.

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About the Google’s Flight Search Tool

• The flight search gives options to search for round trip, one way and multi-city

flights.

• It also allows users to use the lowest fares graph below the calendar to see how

prices may fluctuate based on the season, holidays or other events.

• After selecting the departure and return dates, users get a list of Best flights which

shortlists flights based on the best combination of convenience and price.

• or selecting Show longer or more expensive flights.

• Users can also save itineraries or share them with others.

Impact of Google’s flight search tool on online travel agencies

Google’s flight search tool competes with other top online travel agencies in India

including Cleartrip.com, Makemytrip.com, Yatra.com, ezeego1.co.in and Goibibo.

com. Google’s presence in the travel space can reduce the traffic on their portals.

Moreover, airline websites are not optimised for mobile and this can lead to degradation

of experience for people who book tickets on airline website.

Meanwhile, Goibibo has partnered with Google Flight Search to display results from

its own portal along with options shown by Google search from airline websites.

Deepak Parekh appointed as Chairman of BAE Systems India (Services) Private Limited

Deepak Parekh was on 12 January 2015 appointed as a Non-Executive Director and

Chairman of BAE Systems India (Services) Private Limited with effect from 1 January

2015.

Presently, Deepak Parekh is the Chairman of Housing Development Finance

Corporation (HDFC).

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Adani Enterprises & SunEdison signed JV to build solar park in Mundra

Adani Enterprises and US-based SunEdison on 11 January 2015 signed an agreement

to form joint venture (JV) to build the solar park at Mundra, Gujarat in India. The

agreement was signed by the both companies during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in

Gandhinagar.

The JV will build the largest vertically integrated solar photovoltaic manufacturing

facility with an investment of around 4 billion US dollars (around 25000 crore rupees).

The facility will be set up in three years time to create ultra-low cost solar panels. It

will create 20000 new jobs and make India into a solar production powerhouse.

This facility will vertically integrate all aspects of solar panel production in Mundra,

including Polysilicon refining, ingots, wafers, cells and panels production with a broader

ecosystem involving extended supply chain for raw materials and consumables.

SunEdison and Adani will complete a comprehensive analysis of the joint venture

opportunity and business plan by mid-2015.

Besides, Adani Group also signed another agreement with Woodside, energy major

of Australia -for sourcing of LNG as well as cooperation in oil and gas exploration

and production.

Tech Mahindra signed definitive agreement to acquire Swiss firm SOFGEN Holdings Limited

Tech Mahindra on 10 January 2015 signed definitive agreement to acquire the Swiss

firm SOFGEN Holdings Limited. Company did not disclose the details of the deal.

The deal is aimed at boosting the financial services offering by Tech Mahindra so as

reach the top line target of 5 billion US dollar by 2015.

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With this acquisition, Tech Mahindra will have the capability to offer a unique

combination of change the bank and run the bank services to retail banking, private

banking and wealth management customers globally.

This is the third deal Tech Mahindra has struck since November 2014. In November

2014, it had announced the acquisition of Lightbridge Communications for 240 million

US dollar. In first week of January 2015, it formed a joint venture with Avion Systems,

in which it will hold a minority stake.

SOFGEN offers solutions related to core banking. It has the second largest pool of

Avaloq consultants globally and is Temenos’ most prolific partner. It has offices in

Geneva, Chennai, Singapore, London and New York and it employs 450 people.

The Chairman of the SOFGEN is Alexander Dembitz.

CP Gurnani is Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tech

Mahindra.

Kotak Mahindra Bank secured shareholders approval for merg-er with ING Vysya Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank secured its shareholders approval for amalgamation with ING

Vysya Bank. It was announced by the Kotak Mahindra Bank on 8 January 2015.

The extraordinary General Meeting of Kotak Mahindra Bank approved a share

exchange ratio of 725 equity shares of the bank for every 1000 equity shares of ING

Vysya Bank.

The amalgamation was approved by 99.30 percent in number representing 99.93

percent in value of the shareholders present of Kotak Mahindra Bank. With this

amalgamation, Kotak Mahindra Bank will become the fourth largest private sector

bank.

In November 2014, Kotak Mahindra Bank had announced the takeover of ING Vysya

Bank in an all-stock deal valued at 15000 crore rupees.

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Quikr launched instant messenger Quikr Nxt to enable seam-less transactions

Online Classifieds Company Quikr on 7 January 2015 launched instant messenger

Quikr Nxt to enable seamless transactions between its users. The product was

launched by Quikr CEO and founder Pranay Chulet.

The messenger will allow users to chat using the website or mobile app. The messenger

has been integrated into Quikr’s mobile app, mobile site and website.

The company claimed the new product is the world’s first instant messenger by a

classifieds company.

With the Quikr Nxt, buyers/sellers do not need to share their contact number or e-mail

address and the only point of reference is the Quikr ID. This prevents bombarding by

multiple e-mails and phone calls and safeguards the user’s privacy.

About Quikr

Quikr was launched in July 2008. Quikr has more than 30 million active users. Quikr

operates in over 13 categories and 170 sub-categories including mobile phones,

household goods, cars, real estate, jobs, services and education.

Quikr raised over 900 crore rupees in 2014 from investors, including Tiger Global

Management, Kinnevik, Matrix Partners, eBay Inc, Warburg Pincus among others.

Hike Messenger acquired Zip phone to launch free voice calling

Chat application Hike messenger on 8 January 2015 acquired US-based free voice-

calling company Zip Phone to launch free voice calling. However, the details of

acquisition were not disclosed.

The acquisition is aimed at expanding product range of Hike Messenger in the internet-

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based communication space. Zip Phone’s technology will allow Hike to introduce free

voice calling to the market much faster, which is one of the top requested features

from the users.

ICCI Bank launched Contactless credit and Debit cards

ICICI Bank on 7 January 2015 launched contactless credit cards and debits cards

called Coral Contactless Credit Card and Expressions Wave Debit Card respectively.

These cards will enable customers to make electronic payments by waving the cards

near a merchant terminal instead of dipping or swiping the cards.

These cards are powered by MasterCard contactless and Visa payWave technologies.

These cards are based on the near-field communication technology that provides

customers improved speed to complete a transaction and enhanced security.

The key advantage of these two cards is speed and security. The speed of transactions

will add momentum to high value payments and the level of security is higher since

the card doesn’t leave the customer during the transaction process.

CCI cleared PepsiCo India’s proposal to sell its bottling plants to franchisee Varun Beverages

Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 6 January 2015 cleared the proposal of

beverages and snacks firm PepsiCo India to sell its bottling plants in North India to

Varun Beverages.

PepsiCo India and Varun Beverages entered into the deal on 15 November 2014

following which they had approached CCI for its approval.

Proposed Deal

• PepsiCo India’s franchisee bottler Varun Beverages would acquire the beverage

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maker’s four bottling plants in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar

Pradesh on a going concern on a slump sale basis

• Varun Beverages, which is an arm of RJ Corp, would also have the rights to

distribute and sell Pepsi products in the territory of Chandigarh.

• Besides, Varun Beverages would also buy an undertaking in Punjab from Aradhana

Drinks and Beverages Private Ltd-a group company of PepsiCo India-on a going

concern on a slump sale basis.

CCI Order on Proposed Deal

• In its order dated 29 December 2014 but released on 6 January 2015, CCI said

that the proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effort

on competition in India.

• Further it noted that PepsiCo India and Varun Beverages are not competitors but

have an existing vertical relationship with each other.

• Also, it noted that the proposed combination involves transfer of ownership of

the bottling plants/factories, certain distribution rights and an undertaking to an

existing bottler/ franchisee (Varun Beverages).

• Further, post combination, PepsiCo India will continue to own, maintain and

promote the Pepsi brand in India and thus there will be no significant change in

the market structure as a result of the proposed combination.

About Varun Beverages

• Varun Beverages is PepsiCo’s largest independent bottler in India.

• It currently operates PepsiCo bottling operations across parts of Haryana, Uttar

Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, North East, Goa, West Bengal and

Delhi with nine plants in India.

• It also handles PepsiCo bottling operations in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Morocco

and Mozambique.

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US firm Digipas launched smart luggage lock called eGeeTouch

US company Digipas on 4 January 2015 launched the first smart luggage lock

eGeeTouch at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2015.

The digital lock allows users to open or lock a suitcase with just a swipe of their

smartphone. It offers hassle free security of luggage for the highly mobile worldwide

travellers.

About eGeeTouch

• Approved by the US Transport Security Administration, eGeeTouch is waterproof

and can handle both extreme hot and cold weather.

• The lock can be accessed with just a tap of a Near field communication (NFC)-

enabled smartphone, tablet or smartwatch.

• If the user does not have an NFC-enabled device, he can access the lock by using

a pre-paired NFC smart tag or sticker.

• The lock runs on battery power, but can be recharged with an external USB

portable power source.

Nilesh Shah resigned as MD & CEO of AXIS Capital Limited

Nilesh Shah on 5 January 2015 resigned as Managing Director and Chief Executive

Officer (MD &CEO) of Axis Capital Limited.

Shah with over 20 years of experience in capital markets has worked with the

investment bank for nearly four years.

Shah joined Axis Bank as President, Strategic Initiatives—Corporate Banking in

March 2011. He took over as MD & CEO of Axis Capital in November 2013.

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Prior to joining Axis, he was the Deputy-MD at the ICICI Prudential Asset Management.

At ICICI he quit after serving for seven years when assets more than quadrupled.

ICICI Prudential’s Discovery, Dynamic and Infrastructure schemes under his watch

delivered higher-than-average returns between 2007 and 2010.

About Axis Capital Limited

In 2001, AXIS Capital Holdings Limited was founded in Pembroke, Bermuda. In

February 2014, the company formed a Healthcare unit providing professional liability

insurance.

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited is the holding company for AXIS group of companies.

It offers various risk transfer products and services through subsidiaries and branch

networks.

Current President and CEO of Axis Capital is Albert A. Benchimol.

Avijit Ghosh took over the charge of CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation

Avijit Ghosh on 1 January 2015 took over the charge of Chairman-cum-Managing

Director (CMD) of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC). He is the 21st CMD of HEC

which is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU).

He succeeded R. Misra whose tenure of three year ended on 31 December 2014.

His appointment was confirmed by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB)

under the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. The board

had recommended his name on 26 June 2014.

Prior to this, he was serving as the Director (Mining) of Hindustan Copper Limited.

He also served as the Assistant Vice-President of Jindal Steel and Power Limited

and was posted in Ranchi before he joined Hindustan Copper Limited as its Director

(mining) in 2010.

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Ghosh also held key managerial positions in a number of private and public sector

companies. He was adjudged Eminent Mining Engineer by the Institution of Engineers

(India) in 2012. He is a pass out from St John’s School in Ranchi and an alumnus of

Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad.

About Heavy Engineering Corporation

HEC was established in the year 1958 as one of the largest Integrated Engineering

Complex in India. Headquartered in Ranchi, it manufactures and supplies capital

equipments and machineries and renders project execution required for core sector

industries.

Tencent Holdings Limited launched China’s first online bank WeBank

Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited on 6 January 2015 launched China’s

first online bank named WeBank to boost small businesses.

The online bank aims at lowering costs for delivering practical benefits to small

businesses, while forcing traditional financial institutions to accelerate reforms.

WeBank’s first loan amounting to about 5600 US dollars was availed by a truck driver

at the bank’s opening ceremony.

Background

Tencent and Alibaba were among ten private investors that received a nod from the

Chinese government in 2014 to launch five private banks.

The pilot program is aimed at making credit more easily available to small businesses,

that often face disadvantage when it comes to availing loans from state-owned banks.

This program is part of Chinese government’s attempt to combat criticism of the

current banking system, which is dominated by state-owned banks and has been

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accused of favouring private enterprise.

Facebook Inc acquired voice recognition startup company Wit.ai

Facebook Inc on 5 January 2015 acquired startup company Wit.ai in an attempt to

develop voice recognition. However, the details of acquisition were not disclosed by

the firms.

The Wit.ai platform will remain open and will be available entirely free for everyone

even after the acquisition.

Through this acquisition, Facebook aims to connect everyone and build amazing

experiences for the over 1.3 billion people on its platform.

Wit.ai

• Wit.ai is a Y Combinator startup founded in 2013 by Alexandre Lebrun.

• Wit.ai has created an API for building voice-activated interfaces. Now, it has 6000

developers on its platform who have built hundreds of apps.

• Wit.ai has built an incredible yet simple natural language that has helped developers

turn speech and text into actionable data.

Forbes released its fourth annual The 30 Under 30 List

Forbes Magazine on 5 January 2015 released its fourth annual The 30 Under 30 List in

New York, US. The list features 600 young disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs

from 20 industries who are transforming the world.

The list has been prepared by a panel of expert judges in their respective fields.

Some of the judges include Steve Ballmer in Sports, Daniel Ek in Technology, Sara

Blakely and Tommy Hilfiger in Retail & E-commerce.

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As per the 30 Under 30 list of 2015, around 16 percent of the 600 young disruptors

are either dropped out or never attended college, 19 percent are immigrants and 83

percent have a middle-class or low-income background.

Further, the average age of young innovators on the 30 Under 30 List who knew

exactly what they wanted to be is 14 years.

Some of the names on the 30 Under 30 List

• Palmer Luckey: 22-year-old, founder of Oculus VR, who at 21, sold his company

to Facebook for 2 billion US dollars, netting himself over 500 million US dollars in

the process.

• Blake Lively: 27-year old actress and entrepreneur

• James Harden: NBA All-Star at the age of 25

• Michelle Phan: 27-year old Digital entrepreneur

• Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin: 28-year old co-founders of TheSkimm

• Ryan Israel: 29-year old Pershing Square Capital Management Partner

• Emily Weiss: 29-year old Glossier founder

• Sam Altman: 29-year old Y Combinator President

• Austin McChord: 29-year old founder of Datto

• Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre: 29-year old co-founders of Ecovative cofounders

• Emma Watson: Harry Potter actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador

Indians on the 30 Under 30 List

44 Indians and people of Indian-origin, including technology wizards, inventors and

policymakers, have been named in the list. Some of them include:

• Ishveen Anand: 29-year-old founder of OpenSponsorship, which is the first online

platform to facilitate sponsorship agreements by connecting brands with pro-

sports rights holders like leagues and teams. The group currently includes Indian

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cricket captain M S Dhoni and F1 team Force India.

• Vijay Chudasama: 28-year old who is working in one of the hottest areas for new

biotechnology drugs of combining antibodies with other medicines.

• Vinith Misra: 27-year old who is working on the Chef Watson machine, which

applies artificial intelligence to create new recipes.

• Vivek Ravisankar: 27-year old co-founder of HackerRank, a service company that

can use coding challenges to find new engineering talent.

• Deepika Kurup: 16-year old who invented an inexpensive method of purifying

water that utilises sunlight and a photo-catalytic composite of titanium dioxide

and silver nitrate.

• Nitesh Banta: 28-year old cofounder of Rough Draft Ventures that helps student

entrepreneurs receive up to 25000 US dollars to start a company.

• Ankur Jain: 24-year old co-founder of Humin’, an app that organises contacts,

social networks and calendars into a neat, searchable interface

• Avinash Gandhi: 26-year old who is making waves in Hollywood as an agent for

talent agency William Morris Endeavour

• Partha Unnava: 22-year old CEO of Better Walk which develop a better set of

crutches that do not hurt people’s armpits.

• Aman Advani: 26-year old co-founder of Ministry of Supply, a men’s fashion

company that has developed shirts that use NASA-developed technology to

manage heat and moisture.

• Nikhil Agarwal: 28-year- old, Assistant professor at MIT

• Vikrum Aiyer: Deputy Chief of Staff for the Under Secretary of Commerce for

Intellectual Property

• Niraj Antani: 23-year old Ohio state representative

• Rahul Rekhi: 23-year-old, who is currently working to develop an UN-level treaty

on antibiotic resistance policy.

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Android App SnoopSnitch launched to detect International Mo-bile Subscriber Identity

A new Android app called SnoopSnitch was launched in last week of December 2014

during the Chaos Computer Congress’ annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany.

The app can detect International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers so as to

inform a person that someone is spying on him. IMSI catchers are eavesdropping

devices used for intercepting mobile phone traffic and tracking the movement of

smartphone users.

The android app has been created by Security researchers Alex Senier, Karsten Nohl

and Tobias Engel from SRLabs in Berlin due to their concerns to public privacy.

Features of the App SnoopSnitch

• SnoopSnitch can detect IMSI catchers and warn smartphone users in case their

devices are giving up their personal information and connecting to fake base

stations (IMSI catchers), user tracking, and SS7 attacks

• This app lets a user to know that there is surveillance in a certain area, but it can’t

prevent a smartphone from connecting to stingrays

• At present, the app works with Android handsets that have Qualcomm chips inside

such as Sony and Samsung Galaxy models.

Jubiliant Life Sciences got USFDA approval for selling its ge-neric drugs in US market

Bangalore-based drug firm Jubilant Biosys Ltd on 5 January 2014 received

final approval of the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its generic drugs

Mycophenolate Mofetil and Rizatriptan. With this, Indian pharma major will now be

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able to sell these generic drugs in the American market.

Mycophenolate Mofetil, an immuno-suppressant, is a generic version of Roche’s

Cellcept whereas tablets of Rizatriptan, used for treatment of migraine, are generics

of Merck’s Maxalt tablets.

The strengths for which the approvals were given by the USFDA include

• Mycophenolate Mofetil – in strengths of 250 mg capsules and 500 mg tablets

• Rizatriptan tablets - in strengths of 5 mg and 10 mg

Mycophenolate Mofetil capsules and tablets are manufactured by the company’s

US arm Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals Inc and Rizatriptan tablets are made at

Jubilant Generics Ltd, Jubilant Life Sciences.

RBI allowed FIIs to buy up to 49% paid-up capital in Bajaj Corp

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 5 January 2015 allowed the Foreign Institutional

Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) to buy up to 49 percent

of the paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp Ltd. The investments will be made under the

Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).

Till September 2014 (BSE data), FIIs held 15.21 percent in the company.

Foreign shareholding hike decision was taken after passage of a resolution by the

Board of Directors and special resolution by shareholders, in which they agreed to

enhance the limit for purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by

FIIs/RFPIs.

SRF Limited acquired DuPont’s pharma business brand Dymel

Specialty chemicals firm SRF Limited on 1 January 2015 acquired the pharmaceutical

propellant business brand Dymel of American chemical firm DuPont for 20 million US

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dollars.

Highlights of the acquisition

• SRF will own the DuPont Dymel brand and will also receive the technology for

setting up its own current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) facility for

manufacturing HFC 134a Pharma grade.

• DuPont will supply SRF with the product from its existing facility till SRF’s production

facility is approved.

• This transaction provides immediate access to SRF on DuPont’s technology, brand

and customers, thus enabling its instant entry into the pharmaceutical segment at

a global level.

ICICI Bank launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat

The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank on 2 January

2015 launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat.

The project was launched in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ICICI

Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochar.

The project aimed to provide services ranging from cashless banking to digitised

school teaching. The digital village has three themes i.e. cashless, comprehensive

and connected.

The project embarked the 60 year celebration of the ICICI group’s existence since the

erstwhile ICICI Ltd was set up in 1955.

Features of Project

• providing cash-less banking services to every villager.

• Banking was digitized in all offerings of bank ranging from opening an account to

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sale of goods to purchase of products including milk from the vendor or kirana

stores.

• At the same time, the school records were digitized alongwith the Gujarat syllabus

and even teaching methods and tools.

• The project aimed to ensure that all villagers must have access to all the required

data and information in a digital format.

• The villagers will get SMS in Gujarati for their transactions and other digital services.

• Besides ATMs and other digital banking services, the bank has set up e-health,

e-milk producer group, Wi-Fi connectivity and schools with digital black boards in

the village, along with a host of other digital facilities.

Earlier, the village named Akodara in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat gained fame

when the then CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi started Gujarat’s first animal hostel in

2011.

The animal hostel is a concept conceived by Modi. Animal Hostel is a place where

the cattle of the village are kept and maintained together and have all necessary

infrastructure facilities to take care of them.

About ICICI Bank

The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) was originally set up

as an Indian financial institution at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government

of India and representatives of Indian industry to provide project financing to Indian

businesses. It later got merged with ICICI Bank, which was set up in 1994.

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India successfully test-fired canister-based ICBM Agni-5 missile

India on 31 January 2015 successfully test-fired indigenously developed canister-

based inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-5 from Wheeler’s Island off

Odisha coast. Agni-5 is a surface-to-surface nuclear capable missile.

Agni-5 missile is a three stage solid propellant missile with strike range of over 5000

kilometer and capable of carrying nuclear warhead of over one tonne. It is about 17

meters long, 2 meters wide and has a launch weight of around 50 tonnes.

The missile reached the target point within few meters of accuracy with the help of

very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and the

most modern and accurate Micro Navigation System (MINS).

This launch was the third developmental trial of the long range missile. The first and

second tests were conducted on 19 April 2012 and 15 September 2013 from the

same base. Agni-5 will be inducted into the services after few more trial.

At present, India in its armoury of Agni series have Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni-2

with 2000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2500 km to more than 3500 range.

Churches in England opposed Mitochondria Donation Technique to produce babies

The Churches of England in fifth week of January 2015 opposed the proposed

changes to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, 1990 that would allow IVF

babies to be born with DNA from three different people. This would be done through

SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY

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a technique called mitochondrial donation.

The Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales are opposing

the technique because they are not sure that the technique of adding a donor woman’s

mitochondria to another woman’s egg was safe or ethical.

They are concerned about the safety of the technique as it has not been allowed in

any other country and the international scientific community is also not convinced

that the procedure is safe and effective.

In terms of ethicality, they say that the procedure involves the destruction of human

embryos.

However, a group of scientists have urged Members of Parliament of the UK to

approve the technique as it will help stop the deadly mitochondrial diseases.

What is Mitochondrial Donation Technique?

The proposed mitochondrial donation technique developed in Newcastle University

involves addition of healthy mitochondria from donor women to an egg from another.

Then it is fertilized with one man’s sperm. In this process, mitochondria are passed

to a child from the mother.

The technique in practice since 2007 is admired internationally and has affected

families by providing healthy children.

About Mitochondria

Mitochondria are tiny compartments found within cells within the body and create

energy rich molecules for the cells. These are known as the powerhouse of the cell

as their most crucial role is to convert energy locked in food into energy the cell can

use. Currently, about one baby in every 6500 is born with mitochondrial disease.

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Scientists discovered hybrid insecticide-resistant mosquito in Mali

A team of researchers led by Gregory Lanzaro of University of California-Davis have

discovered a super mosquito hybrid in the West African country of Mali that is resistant

to insecticide-treated bed nets.

The findings of the discovery were published in the journal Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on 6 January 2015.

Findings

• The study revealed the evolution of a new mosquito species that is resistant to the

insecticides.

• The new hybrid species is also the result of a kind of gene-swapping known as

adaptive introgression that occurred with the increased usage of insecticide-

treated bed nets.

• The findings are strong evidence that man-made changes such as an introduction

and use of nets can alter evolution of species.

• There is an urgent need to develop new and effective malaria vector control

strategies.

Study Process

Anopheles gambiae, one of the mosquito species most heavily responsible for the

spread of malaria in West Africa, has been mating with the other species Anophele

coluzzii for a long time.

It is the result of this mating between two existing species that a new Super mosquito

evolved and has proven itself to be resistant to bed nets treated with malarial

insecticide.

The growing resistance was observed by the researchers for some time. But, recently

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it reached a level where it is resulting in the failure of the nets to provide meaningful

control.

Chinese scientists published first genetic map of Tibetan High-land Barley

Scientists from a genomics organisation in south China’s Shenzhen City on 13

January 2015 published the first genetic map of Tibetan highland barley. Highland

barley, known in Tibetan as Ne, is being grown on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for

nearly 4000 years.

The draft genome was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences (PNAS).

The research by Chinese scientists assembled 3.89 billion of the estimated 4.5 billion

base pairs of the chemicals that make up DNA in the barley genome, and included

39197 protein coding genes.

Earlier scientists have genetically mapped wheat genome and soybean genome. The

wheat genome has about 17 billion base pairs and whereas soybean genome has

about 1.1 billion.

Significance of gene mapping of Tibetan Barley

Highland Barley consists of up to 70 per cent of all cereal crops in southwest China’s

Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the home to the world’s leading barley production

base and centre for barley diversity research.

Genetic map of Tibetan barley will help to cultivate better strains of the Himalayan

region’s staple food and increase yield. Also, it could help explain adaptation to

extreme environmental conditions and increase yields.

What is a genome?

A genome is the full complement of an organism’s DNA, complex molecules that

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direct the formation and function of all living organisms. The size of an organism’s

genome is measured by the number of bases it contains -- base pairs being the

building blocks of DNA.

NASA Kepler Space Telescope made 1000th Exoplanet Discov-ery

NASA Kepler Space Telescope on 6 January 2015 made 1000th Exoplanet Discovery.

Using Kepler data, scientists reached this millenary milestone after validating that

eight more candidates spotted by the planet-hunting telescope are, in fact, planets.

Three of the newly-validated planets are located in their distant suns’ habitable zone,

the range of distances from the host star where liquid water might exist on the surface

of an orbiting planet. Of the three, two are likely made of rock, like Earth.

Two of the newly validated planets, Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, are less than 1.5

times the diameter of Earth.

Kepler-438b, 475 light-years away, is 12 percent bigger than Earth and orbits its star

once every 35.2 days. On the other hand, Kepler-442b, 1,100 light-years away, is 33

percent bigger than Earth and orbits its star once every 112 days.

Both Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b orbit stars smaller and cooler than our sun, making

the habitable zone closer to their parent star, in the direction of the constellation Lyra.

Besides, the Kepler team led by Ames also has added another 554 candidates to

the roll of potential planets, six of which are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable

zone of stars similar to our sun.

Whole plant therapy can beat malaria parasites’ drug resist-ance: Study

A new study has found that whole plant therapy can beat malaria parasites’ drug

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resistance. The study was published online in the latest issue of Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences in first week of January 2015.

Scientists from University of Massachusetts Amherst microbiologist Stephen Rich

and his research team conducted the study.

Researcher said that the new treatment is based on a use of the whole plant (WP)

Artemesia annua, from which the current pharmaceutical drug artemisinin (AN) is

extracted.

The researchers found that the whole plant treatment withstands the evolution of

resistance and remains effective for up to three times longer than the pure drug

and also found the whole plant therapy effective in killing rodent parasites that have

previously evolved resistance to pure AN.

This is especially important given the recent reports of resistance to artemisinin in

malaria -endemic regions of the world and drug longevity is crucial since new drugs

are costly to develop, not only in dollars but in the cost of lives lost.

The authors point out that consuming the whole plant may be more effective than

the single purified drug because the whole plant may constitute a naturally occurring

combination therapy that augments artemisinin delivery and synergizes the drug’s

activity.

Union Cabinet approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observa-tory in TN

Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 January 2015 approved

to set up the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu.

The INO laboratory will host experiments such as the neutrino-less double beta decay

and the search for dark matter.

The INO project will be set up near Pottipuram village in the Bodi West Hills of Theni

district in Tamil Nadu. The project is at an estimated cost of 1500 crore rupees.

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INO is an underground laboratory with a rock cover of approximate 1200 metre for

non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India. The project

also includes Inter-Institutional Centre for High Energy Physics (IICHEP) and Iron

Calorimeter Detector (ICAL).

The project will be jointly supported by the Department of Atomic Energy and the

Department of Science and Technology. The infrastructural support will be given by

the State Government of Tamil Nadu since the project is located in Tamil Nadu.

IICHEP will be established in Madurai that is about 110 km from the proposed site

of the neutrino observatory. The construction of 50000 tonne magnetised ICAL is to

study the properties of the neutrino especially the mass hierarchy among different

types of neutrino.

The goals of INO are:

• To Study neutrinos which are fundamental particles belonging to the lepton family.

Neutrinos come in three flavours, one associated with electrons and the others

with their heavier cousins the muon and the Tau.

• Development of detector technology and its varied applications.

The INO Project Director is Naba Mondal who is a Senior Professor at Tata Institute

of Fundamental Research, Mumbai and was earlier associated with the pioneering

experiments at the underground laboratory at Kolar Gold Fields.

Project LettuceOnMars: To grow lettuce on Mars in 2018

Scientists at University of Southampton, UK are planning to grow lettuce on Mars in

2018 under the Project #LettuceOnMars. Under the project the team will grow small

plants with gases obtained from the Martian atmosphere, with a minimum of material

imported from Earth.

The aim of the project is to prove that plant life can thrive in the controlled greenhouse

environment and that the resources on Mars can be appropriately managed to

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establish a permanent human settlement.

The scientists led by Suzanna Lucarotti will demonstrate their project via a payload

in the form of lettuce that will be carried by Mars One Lander in 2018.

Mars One Lander will be launched by Mars One which is a not-for-profit foundation

that aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars by 2026.

How lettuce will be grown on Mars?

The greenhouse of the project would be launched from the Earth with lettuce seeds,

water, nutrients and systems for atmospheric processing and monitoring.

As per the plans, on its way to Mars, the greenhouse will be powered down while the

lettuce seeds will be frozen and will be reactivated again after Mars One Lander lands

on the Red Planet. The activated powers will help in heating elements to maintain a

temperature between 21°C and 24°C.

Whereas, Carbon Dioxide which is essential for the plants life will be extracted from

the Martian atmosphere and will be processed before entering the growth chamber.

Further, the lettuce will be grown without soil and water and nutrients will be sprayed

on it on a regular interval.

When suitable environment will be created, the plants would start growing. On

completion of the mission, the heaters would be switched to full power, exterminating

all life in the payload.

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Australia Open 2015

Australian Open 2015 came to an end on 1 February 2015 at Melbourne, Australia.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Serena Williams of the US won the men’s and women’s

single title, respectively.

In the final clash for the title, Novak Djokovic won his fifth Australian Open title by

defeating Andy Murray of Britain 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0. On the other hand, Serena

Williams defeated Maria Sharapova (Russia) 6-3, 7-6(5) to claim her sixth Australian

Open and 19th Grand Slam title.

With this win, World Number 1 Djokovic became the most decorated Australian Open

champion of the Open era, surpassing Andre Agassi and Roger Federer’s quartet

of titles. Now only Roy Emerson, with six, stands above him in the men’s all-time

records.

Results of other categories at Australian Open

• Men’s Doubles title: Italian pair Simone Boleli and Fabio Fogini defeated French

pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4. Boleli and Fogini is the

first all-Italian team to win a Grand Slam Men’s Doubles title in more than 50 years.

The last Italians to win a men’s doubles title at a major were Nicola Pietrangeli and

Orlando Sirola at the 1959 French Open.

• Women’s Doubles title: American-Czech pair Bethanie Mattek-Sands (the US) and

Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) defeated Chinese-Taiwan pair Zheng Jie (China)

and Chan Yung-jan (Taiwan) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). This was the first grand slam women’s

title for Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and was the first new pairing to win the

SPORTS

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women’s doubles title at Melbourne Park since 2005

• Mixed doubles title: Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis

(Switzerland) defeated Canadian-French team of Daniel Nestor (Canada) and

Kristina Mladenovic (France), in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. This was Leander’s third

Mixed Doubles title at the Australian Open and 15th overall. For Martina, it was the

ninth title at Melbourne.

Paul van Ass appointed as coach of National Men’s Hockey team

Former Dutch National Hockey team coach Paul van Ass was on 30 January 2015

appointed as the head Coach of Indian men’s hockey team. He succeeded Terry

Walsh of Australia.

He was appointed as the head coach during a special selection committee meeting

of Sports Authority of India (SAI) headed by Secretary, Ministry of Sports and interim

Director General of SAI Ajit Sharan.

Besides, New Zealand’s Anthony Thornton was appointed as the coach of National

women’s hockey team. She replaced Neil Hawgood of Australia.

Both Van Ass and Thornton were awarded a three-year contract till 2018. India will

host the 2018 men’s Hockey World Cup.

The Indian Men’s hockey team was playing without a Coach since November 2014

when the then Head Coach Terry Walsh resigned under controversial circumstances.

Union Sports Ministry revised the Scheme of Special Awards to medal winners

Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports on 29 January 2015 revised the Scheme of

Special Awards to medal winners in international events and their coaches. In the

revised scheme, the Ministry has enhanced the award money.

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The amount of award money for medal winners in Olympic Games (summer and

winter) has been enhanced from existing 50 lakh rupees (gold medal), 30 lakh rupees

(silver medal) and 20 lakh rupees (bronze medal) to 75 lakh rupees, 50 lakh rupees

and 30 lakh rupees respectively.

The amount of award money for medal winners in Asian Games and Commonwealth

Games has been enhanced from existing 20 lakh rupees (gold medal), 10 lakh rupees

(silver medal) and 6 lakh rupees (bronze medal) to 30 lakh rupees, 20 lakh rupees and

10 lakh rupees respectively.

In the category of the World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth

Championships, three separate categories of award money have been provided

depending on whether the championships is held once in four years, once in two

years or held annually.

Amount of award money for medalists of Paralympic Games (summer & winter), Para-

Asian Games and Commonwealth Games (Para-Athletes) have been fixed at par with

medalists of Olympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

IBSA World Championship of Blind, Deaflympics and Special Olympics (summer &

winter) have been included in the revised scheme of special awards.

Under the revised scheme, the number of days of training/coaching imparted by

coaches to medal winners preceding the event to be taken into account for deciding

eligibility of coaches for award money have been reduced from existing 240 days to

180 days.

ICC lifted the five-year ban imposed on Pakistan’s fast bowler Mohammad Amir

International Cricket Council (ICC) on 29 January 2015 lifted the five-year ban imposed

on Pakistan’s fast bowler Mohammad Amir. With this, Amir can now play in domestic

cricket under the auspices of the Pakistan Cricket Board with immediate effect.

This decision to lift the five-year ban, which was due to end on 2 September 2015,

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was taken during two-day board meeting of ICC in Dubai.

The decision to lift the ban was taken after Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Chairman of Anti-

Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) exercised his discretion to allow Mohammad

Amir to return to domestic cricket.

He exercised his discretion under Article 6.8 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code with

prior approval of the ICC Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board.

He exercised this power after being satisfied that Amir had cooperated with the ACSU

by fully disclosing his part in the matters that led to his disqualification, admitting his

guilt, showing remorse and cooperating with the Unit’s ongoing investigations and by

recording messages for the ACSU education sessions.

Background

Mohammad Amir was jailed and banned for a spot fixing scam that he committed

during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010. He was jailed and banned along with

Mohammad Asif and the then Captain of Pakistan Salman Butt.

The trio was convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker to under-perform in a Test

match at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.

Asif was banned from cricket for seven years (two suspended) and Butt for 10 years

(five suspended) after both were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London.

India to host ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2016

International Cricket Council (ICC) in its board meeting in Dubai on 29 January 2015

announced that India will host the Twenty20 World Cup in 2016. The Twenty20 World

Cup will be held in India from 11 March 2016 to 3 April 2016.

The meeting was chaired by N Srinivasan in the presence of all the full-member and

associate representatives.

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Besides this, the ICC board took some major decisions. These include

• Reinstatement of the use of a Super Over in the event of a tie in the ICC Cricket

World Cup 2015 final.

• Approved changes in ICC Code of Conduct offences relating to slow over-rates in

ICC events so that captains do not carry any prior minor over-rate offence strikes

or over-rate suspensions from other series into an ICC event.

• Any over-rate strikes incurred prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be

carried forward to the first bilateral series after the event.

• The 2017 Champions Trophy will be hosted by England from 1 June to 19 June

2017 The 2017 Women’s World Cup will be held in England from 4 August 2017

to 27 August 2017.

• The 2018 Women’s Twenty20 World Cup will be organised in the West Indies from

2 November to 25 November 2018.

• England will host the 50-over World Cup in 2019 from 30 May to 15 June 2019.

Sean Abbott of Australia named as the Bradman Young Crick-eter of the Year 2015

Fast bowler Sean Abbott of Australia on 27 January 2015 was named as the Bradman

Young Cricketer of the Year 2015 at the Allan Border Medal ceremony held in Sydney.

Other winners at the ceremony includes

• Allan Border Medal: Steve Smith, Captain of Australia

• Test Player of the Year 2015: Steve Smith

• One Day International Player of the Year 2015: Steve Smith

• Twenty20 International Player of the Year 2015 – Glenn Maxwell

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• Women’s International Cricketer of the Year (The Belinda Clark Award) – Southern

Stars Captain Meg Lanning

• Australian Cricket Hall of Fame – Adam Gilchrist and late Victorian all-rounder

Jack Ryder

Steve Smith became third player to win all the three awards namely Allan Border

Medal, Test and ODI player of the year award after Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson.

About Allan Border Medal

The Allan Border Medal is considered as the most prestigious individual prize in

Australian cricket. The medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border

and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season.

The first award was given in 2000 and the first recipient was Glenn McGrath.

The Allan Border Medal is decided by votes cast by players, umpires and media

representatives at international matches.

Only three cricketers have won the award more than once. Ricky Ponting and Michael

Clarke won the award four times, sharing the award in 2009. Shane Watson had won

the award twice.

Saina Nehwal won women’s single of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015

Saina Nehwal of India on 25 January 2015 won the women’s singles of Syed Modi

Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015. She defeated World Champion

Carolina Marin of Spain 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 in the finals played at Babu Banarasi

Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

With this win, Saina retained her title which she had won in 2014 and also maintained

her 100 per cent win record against Carolina in three career meetings.

Saina Nehwal is ranked third in the world whereas Carolina Marin is ranked seventh

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in the world.

Apart from this, third seeded Parupalli Kashyap beat World Number five K Srikanth to

win men’s singles of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton.

However, in the mixed doubles, Indian pair of Manu Attri and K Maneesha went down

to top seeded Indonesian pair of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 17-21, 17-21

to finish runners-up.

About Syed Modi International India Open Grand Prix championship

• It is named after a famous Indian badminton player Syed Modi, an eight-time

National Badminton champion.

• The championship is hosted every year and the award money in each category is

120000 US dollars.

Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme retired from Foot-ball

Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme retired from football on 26 January

2015. 36-year-old legendary Argentine represented his country in 2006 World Cup in

Germany.

He debuted for Argentina’s national team in 1996 against Colombia and went on

to represent Argentina 51 times and scored 17 goals. He also was the Captain of

Argentina’s football team that won the Gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

He made his professional debut in 1996 with Boca Juniors at the age of 18 and went

on to become one of the greatest players of the club apart from Diego Maradona. He

later on played for another domestic club Argentinos Juniors where Maradona also

started out.

He also played for Spanish clubs Villarreal and Barcelona.

As a professional footballer, he won three Copa Libertadores titles (South America’s

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equivalent of the Champions League) and an Intercontinental Cup for Argentine giants

Boca Juniors in his career.

In his career, he played nearly 600 games for four different clubs and Argentina and

scored nearly 150 goals.

He was named as South American Player of the Year and Argentine Player of the Year

four times.

Ayonika Paul, Annu Raj Singh won gold at 4th Gun for Glory Shooting Championship

Ayonika Paul of Railways and Maharashtra’s Annu Raj Singh won a gold medal each

in their respective events at the 4th Gun for Glory (GFG) Shooting Championship.

The championship was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in

Balewadi in Pune from 15 January 2015 to 21 January 2015.

Ayonika won the gold in 10m Rifle Women and Annu Raj Singh won it in 10m Pistol

Women.

Ayonika shot 206.8 to defeat Pooja Ghatkar with a difference of 1.3. Pooja, who

scored 205.5, grabbed the silver medal. The bronze went to Railway’s Priya Agarwal

who scored 183.5.

Annu Raj Singh shot 199.2 and was followed by Pune’s Amita Gawate, who scored

191.6. The bronze was won by Priyanka Survirkar, who scored 171.2. The difference

between Annu Raj and Amita was 7.7.

About Gun for Glory Shooting Championship

The championship was established in January 2011 by the Gagan Narang Sports

Promotion Foundation.

Gun for Glory is a not-for-profit enterprise operating out of the Shooting Range at

the Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji Stadium, Balewadi, Pune. India’s first privately managed

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shooting facility with world class infrastructure, training, coaches, staff made

accessible to talented shooters via scholarships and fee subsidies.

ONGC won 10th Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Dehradun on 19 January 2015 won the 10th

Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament. In the final clash played at Don Bosco

School court in Matunga, Mumbai, ONGC defeated Indian Overseas Bank (IOB),

Chennai 63-53.

Best scorers of the match

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)

• Vishesh Bhriguvanshi – 17 points

• Anoop M. – 10 points

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)

• Prasanna Venkatesh – 11 points

• Amjyot Singh – 10 points

• Mihir Pandey - 10 points

ONGC as the winner of the tournament received the Savio Cup and a cheque of 1.3

lakh rupees while IOB as the runners-up received prize-money of 70000 rupees.

Apart from this, Chhattisgarh won the title in women’s category by defeating Southern

Railway. With this win, the winner received a trophy and prize amount of 50000 rupees

while the runners-up received a cash award of 25000 rupees.

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Viktor Troicki won Men’s Single title of Sydney International Tennis Tournament

Viktor Troicki of Serbia on 18 January 2015 won Men’s Single title of Sydney

International Tennis Tournament. He won the title by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin of

Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3 in the final.

With this win, Troicki jumped to rank 54 from his current ranking of 92. His carrier

best rank was 12. The Sydney win was the second ATP career title for Troicki.

On the other hand, despite losing the final, Kukushkin jumped to rank 51 from his

current ranking of 66. His career best rank was 48.

The Sydney International also called Apia International Sydney is a tune-up event

before Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament on the tennis calendar.

Jimjang Deru created national record in weightlifting in 56-kg category

Weightlifter Jimjang Deru of Arunachal Pradesh on 17 January 2015 created national

record in weightlifting by lifting 238 kilograms under the 56 kilograms category. He

created the record at the 10th Youth National Weightlifting Championship held in

Yamuna Nagar, Haryana.

He lifted 103 kilograms in snatch and 135 kilograms in Clean & Jerk to clinch the

Gold.

Earlier in the first week of January 2015, he became the Asian Youth Champion in the

56-kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championship in Doha, Qatar.

Deru is the national champion in the 56-kg category for past three years. He broke

his own record set in 2014 at the 9th Youth National Weightlifting Championship held

at Guwahati.

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Other winners from Arunachal Pradesh were

• Yukar Tachack – he clinched the Silver for 62 kg weight category by lifting a total

of 220 kilograms. He lifted 100 kilograms in Snatch and 120 kilograms in Clean

and Jerk.

• Dampi Umpai – he won the Bronze medal in the Under-56 kilograms weight

category by lifting 204 kilograms. He lifted 90 kilogram in Snatch and 114 kilogram

in Clean & Jerk

Pankaj Advani won National Billiards title for seventh time

Cueist Pankaj Advani on 17 January 2015 won National Billiards Championship at

the Bengal Rowing Club in Kolkata. He defeated his PSPB mate Dhruv Sitwala 5-0.

This was his seventh Senior National Billiards Championship. Advani, the 12-time

world champion has won the previous six titles in 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007 and

2005.

Third and fourth position of the tournament was notched by Siddharth Parikh (RSPB)

and B. Bhaskar (Karnataka), respectively.

Final placing: 1) Pankaj Advani (PSPB); 2) Dhruv Sitwala (PSPB); 3) Siddharth Parikh

(RSPB); 4) B. Bhaskar (Karnataka); 5) Rupesh Shah (PSPB); 6) Dhvaj Haria (PSPB); 7)

Brijesh Damani (PSPB); 8) Jaiveer Dhingra (Maharashtra).

South Africa’s AB de Villiers hit fastest century in ODIs

South Africa’s cricketer AB de Villiers on 18 January 2015 hit the fastest century in

One-Day International (ODI) cricket. The 30-year-old South African captain scored

the century in just 31 balls.

He achieved the feat in second ODI match of the 5-match ODI series played at the

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Wanderers in Johannesburg against West Indies.

The previous record was held by New Zealand’s Corey Anderson who scored a

century in 36 balls against the West Indies on 1 January 2014.

On the way to make the world record of fastest century, Villiers went to fifty off 16

balls, one ball less than Sanath Jayasuriya’s 19-year old record of the fastest ODI

half-century. Jayasuriya scored the fifty in 17 balls for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in

1995-96.

Apart from this, Villiers 149 off 44 balls that included 16 sixes helped South Africa to

score 439, the second highest total in one-day internationals. South Africa went past

their own previous highest total-the 438 for nine they scored in a record run chase

against Australia on the same ground in 2005-06. Sri Lanka holds the world record of

443 for nine, made against the Netherlands in 2006.

Fastest ODI centuries

• AB de Villiers of South Africa – in 31 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg on

18 January 2015

• Corey Anderson of New Zealand – in 36 balls against West Indies in Queenstown

on 1 January 2014

• Shahid Afridi of Pakistan – in 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi on 4 October

1996

• Mark Boucher of South Africa – in 44 balls against Zimbabwe in Potchefstroom on

20 September 2006

• Brian Lara of West Indies – in 45 balls against Bangladesh in Dhaka on 9 October

1999

Petra Kvitova won women’s single title of Sydney International Tennis tournament

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Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic on 16 January 2015 won the women’s single title of

Sydney International Tennis tournament. She won the title defeating Karolina Pliskova

of Czech Republic 7-6, 7-6 in the final.

This is the 15th career title won by former Wimbledon Champion and World No 4

Kvitova. She won the Wimbledon Championship twice in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

Pliskova, on the other hand, finished her 2014 season with more aces than any other

player apart from Serena Williams of the US. With this win she was ranked 22 and

this is the first she was in the top 20.

The Sydney International also called Apia International Sydney is a tune-up event

before Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament on the tennis calendar.

Mark Knowles, Ellen Hoog named FIH Player-of-the-year 2014

Australian captain Mark Knowles and midfielder of the Netherland Ellen Hoog on 15

January 2015 were named as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the

Year 2014 in men and women category, respectively.

Other names to be honoured include

• Goalkeepers-of-the-year (Men): Jaap Stockmann of the Netherlands

• Goalkeepers-of-the-year (Women): Joyce Sombroek of the Netherlands

• Rising-stars-of-the-year (Men): Gonzalo Peillat of Argentina

• Rising-stars-of-the-year (Women): Florencia Habif of Argentina

• Women’s Coach-of-the-year: Argentine Max Caldas, Coach of the Netherlands

team

• Men’s Coach-of-the-year: Australian Ric Charlesworth, Coach of Australia team

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Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands won women’s doubles ti-tle of Sydney International

Sania Mirza and her partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US on 16 January 2015

won the women’s doubles title of the Sydney International Tennis Tournament.

The unseeded Indo-American pair defeated top-seeded Americans Abigail Spears

and Raquel Kops-Jones 6-3, 6-3 in the summit clash played in Sydney. With this win,

the duo earned 470 ranking points each and split 39000 US Dollar as prize money.

This was the fifth WTA title for Sania and Bethanie together, while it was the first title

of the season for Sania. This was 23rd career title for Sania.

The 2015 Sydney International Tennis Tournament was held from 12 January to 17

January 2015 at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, Australia.

Sydney International Tennis Tournament

Sydney International tennis Tournament also known as Apia International Sydney is

one of the oldest professional tennis tournaments of the world. It started in 1885. The

tournament was used by colonial officials as a means to select the Davis Cup team.

Currently, the tournament is conducted annually a week prior to the Australian Open,

the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis calendar.

Andrey Baryshpolets won the 13th Parsvanth International Grandmasters Chess Tournament

Ukrainian Grandmaster Andrey Baryshpolets won the 13th Parsvanth International

Grandmasters Chess Tournament on 16 January 2015. He defeated Deepan

Chakkravarthy of India in the 10th and final round of the Tournament that was held

in New Delhi.

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Baryshpolets went home richer by winning 300000 rupees in the 3000000 rupees

prize money festival. Baryshpolets was followed by Ivan Popov of Russia who finished

second and Alberto David of Italy who finished third. All the three got 8 points each.

Apart from this, the C category of the Tournament was won by Vardan Nagpal who

won a cash prize of 1.25 lakhs rupees for his efforts. The second place in this section

was won by Rishabh Jain who won 100000 rupees.

India’s performance at 13th Parsvanth International Grandmasters Chess Tournament

• Deepan Challravarthy finished as the best performing Indian as he finished tenth

on seven points despite losing the last round game.

• Abhijeet Gupta won his last round game against Himal Gusain to end 11th on

seven points.

• As many as five International Master Norms were secured in the tournament.

These were C R G Krishna, Aniruddha Deshpandey, Abhishek Kelkar, M Kunal

and S Ravi Teja.

Stephen Constantine appointed as head coach of India’s men football team

Stephen Constantine was appointed as the head coach of Indian men’s football team

on 16 January 2015. He will supervise both the senior and under-23 football teams.

Constantine of England replaced Wim Koevermans of Netherlands, who resigned in

October 2014 after India faced a 3-2 defeat against Palestine in a friendly match. It is

expected that he will take charge of the team by first week of February 2015.

This is the second time that 52-year-old Constantine has been appointed as the

coach of Indian football team. He served as India’s coach from 2002 to 2005, during

which the team achieved its best-ever ranking of 109. During that tenure India won

the LG Cup in Vietnam and finished runners-up in the Afro-Asian Games.

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Current world ranking of the Indian football team is 171.

Constantine was the head coach of Rwanda’s national team before joining the Indian

team. He guided Rwanda to their highest-ever world ranking of 68 in FIFA’s ranking

of December 2014.

Brett Lee announced his retirement from all forms of cricket

Australian cricketer Brett Lee on 14 January 2015 announced his retirement from all

forms of cricket after a 20-year career. Lee is currently playing in the Australia Big

Bash League for Sydney Sixers team.

Lee will retire from cricket at the end of Big Bash League 2015. Earlier, Lee retired

from international cricket in 2012, but he continued to play Twenty20 in both the

Australian Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League.

Brett Lee

• Lee has played in 117 Twenty20s in which he has taken 105 wickets at 30.27 since

making his debut in 2005.

• Lee played 76 Tests for Australia, where he took 310 wickets and he also played

221 one-dayers with 380 dismissals.

• His fastest delivery cracked the 161 kilometres per hour mark (100 miles per hour),

with consistently bowling at 150kph over 20 years.

• He was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders team that won the Indian Premier

League (IPL) in 2012.

• In his 20-year career, Lee got several awards including 2009 Champions League

Twenty20 Player of the Series, 2008 Australian Test Player of the Year, 2006 Wisden

Cricketer of the Year and 2000 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.

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Bhakti set world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in the Antarctic Ocean

Indian open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma on 14 January 2015 set a world record by

swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean.

She is the first Indian women as well as to achieve this feat.

She broke the record of British open water swimming champion Lewis Pugh and

American swimmer Lynne Cox.

The 24-year old is now the first Asian girl and youngest in the world to have achieved

this feat and now has conquered all the five oceans of the world.

Bhakti’s quest was sponsored by Hindustan Zinc.

About Bhakti Sharma

• She is pursuing open water swimming for last 10 years

• She has conquered all the five oceans of the world, eight channels and seas,

which itself is a world record

• In 2010, she was awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award

Bengaluru FC beat Dempo to lift Football Federation Cup

Bengaluru FC on 11 January 2015 lifted their maiden football Federation Cup. In the

final clash for the title Bengaluru defeated Goa’s Dempo Sports Club 2-1.

The final match was played at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda of Margao, Goa.

Scorer of the final game

Bengaluru FC

Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh

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Dempo Sports Club

Tolgay Ozbey

This is the second major title for Bengaluru FC in their two years of existence. They

had won the I-League tournament in 2014.

Dempo Club was appearing in the final for the fifth time, has bagged the coveted title

only once, in the Year 2004.

Golfer Anirban Lahiri voted Asian Tour’s 2014 Players’ Player of the Year

Anirban Lahiri, an Indian professional golfer on 12 January 2015 was voted as the

2014 Players’ Player of the year in Asian Tour. He was voted for his successful exploits

on the Asian Tour, wherein he won two titles and finished second on the Asian Tour

Order of Merit.

His exploits on Asian Tour in 2014 included

• Won first title outside India in the form of CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters

• His second win of 2014 came at the Venetian Macau Open

• Stood second in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, which was won by David Lipsky of

the United States

• He helped Team Asia to secure a dramatic 10-10 tie against Team Europe at the

inaugural EurAsia Cup

Apart from him, Australia’s Cameron Smith was also named as the Rookie of the Year

for a commendable season where he finished fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

He claimed seven top-10 finishes including a tied fifth result at the CIMB Classic in

Malaysia which was sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and Asian Tour.

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About the Asian Tour

The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA

Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. It leads the

development of golf across the region and it enhances careers of its members.

Its features position it at the pinnacle of professional gold in Asia and provide Official

World Ranking status to its events.

Australia won 4-match Border-Gavaskar Test series, 2-0

Australia on 10 January 2015 won the 4-match Border-Gavaskar Test series played

against India by 2-0. India, who lost the first two matches of the game, was successful

in drawing the third and fourth matches of the series.

Series Report

• 1st Test Match - played at Adelaide Oval between 9 December and 13 December

2014, Australia won by 48 runs and Nathan Michael Lyon of Australia was declared

as the Player of the match

• 2nd Test Match - played at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

between 17 December and 20 December 2014, Australia won by 4 wickets and

Steven Smith of Australia was declared as the Player of the match

• 3rd Test Match - played at Melbourne Cricket Ground between 26 December and

30 December 2014, the match was drawn and Ryan James Harris of Australia was

declared as the Player of the match

• 4th Test Match - played at Sydney Cricket Ground between 6 January and 10

January 2015, the match was drawn and Steven Smith of Australia was declared

as the Player of the match

Player of the series - Steven Smith (captain) of Australia

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Some facts of the Border-Gavaskar Test series 2014-15

• The first test was considered as a tribute to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes. As

a tribute each player wore a black band with 408 written on it. 408 was the cap

number of Hughes.

• Virat Kohli captained the Indian team in the first and last match of the series

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from International Test Cricket

on 30 December 2014 after the Third Test Match ended in a draw

• Karn Vinod Sharma of India made his Test debut during the 1st match of the series

• Josh Reginald Hazlewood of Australia made his Test debut during the 2nd match

of the series

• Kannaur Lokesh Rahul of India and Joseph Anthony Burns of Australia made their

Test debut in the 3rd match of the series

Roger Federer won Brisbane International Tennis title

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer of Switzerland on 11 January 2015

won the Brisbane International Tennis title. He won the Brisbane title for the first time.

In the finals played at Brisbane in Australia, he defeated third seeded Milos Raonic of

Canada 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4.

With this he became the third tennis player in open era to win 1000 ATP titles. The

other two players are Jimmy Connors of the US (1253) and Ivan Lendl of the US

(1071).

At the presentation, he was awarded the trophy by Roy Emerson of Australia and a

special award for 1000 wins by Australian legend Rod Laver.

Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player and he is currently ranked world

No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

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Misbah-ul-Haq announced to retire from ODIs after Cricket World Cup 2015

Captain of Pakistan’s cricket team Misbah-ul-Haq announced to retire from One Day

International (ODI) and T20 after the Cricket World Cup 2015. The decision was

announced on 11 January 2015 so as to focus on Test Cricket only.

Misbah started his ODI career in 2002. He has played 153 ODIs and scored 4669

runs at an average of 42.83. He has played 29 Twenty20 internationals. He has been

the captain of Pakistan in 78 games, out of which Pakistan won 41 games.

He has played 39 T20s for Pakistan and his last T20 for Pakistan was in 2012. Later

he continued to play domestic T20 cricket and also had stints in the Indian Premier

League, and the Caribbean Premier League.

At present, he holds the record for most ODI runs without a century.

Apart from him, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also announced to retire from ODIs

after the World Cup to concentrate on T20 cricket.

Stanislas Wawrinka won Chennai Open title of Tennis

Stanislas Wawrinka on 11 January 2015 won the Chennai Open title of tennis.In the

summit clash at Nungambakkam tennis stadium in Chennai, the Swiss world number

four defeated the Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4.

This was second consecutive ATP Chennai Open title for Wawrinka and third time

since 2011. With this win, Wawrinka pocketed 73400 US dollar and 250 ranking

points.

In the 20-year history of the tournament, Bedene was the first qualifier to reach the

final, winning seven matches en route to his maiden ATP Tour final. He pocketed

38650 US dollars and 150 points for winning three qualifying matches and four more

in the main draw.

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New Zealand won Test series 2-0 against Sri Lanka

New Zealand on 7 January 2014 won the 2-match Test series played against Sri Lanka

by 2-0. In the second and final test match played at Basin Reserve in Wellington from

3 January 2015 New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 193 runs.

New Zealand won the first test by 8 wickets. The match was played from 26 December

2014 to 30 December 2014 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

• Man of the match of first match - Brendon McCullum for his 134-ball 195

• Man of the match of second match - Kane Williamson for scoring 69 and 242* in

the match

Some important facts of the series

• Kane Williamson became the fastest batsman of New Zealand to reach 3000 Test

runs. He took 71 innings to reach the landmark

• Williamson and Watling unbeaten partnership of 365-run is the highest ever for the

6th wicket in Tests

• Sangakkara in the series scored his 11th double hundred, and now is just one

short of Sir Don Bradman’s record of 12

• Kumar Sangakkara became the fastest batsman to reach 12000 Test runs, and

surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record

New Zealand from 11 January 2015 will play a seven match ODI series against on

Sri Lanka at home before the World Cup campaign kick-off from 14 February 2015.

India to host World Bridge Championships 2015

India will host the 42nd World Bridge Championships that will be held in Chennai

from 26 September 2015 to 10 October 2015. The information was announced by

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Bridge Federation of India (BFI) president N R Kirubakaramoorthy on 7 January 2015.

It is for the first time that World Bridge Championships are being held in Asia. This

year, 660 players from 66 teams representing over 40 countries will take part in the

15-day long event.

India comes under Asia and Middle East zone which is consist of 14 countries. This

zone has two qualifiers for the World Bridge Championships. As India has got the

direct entry, only one qualifying slot is left from this zone.

World Bridge Championships

• The World Bridge Championships consist of several sets of championships

organized under the World Bridge Federation.

• The World Bridge Championships are contested at every odd-numbered year.

• It is comprised of three events including Bermuda Bowl trophy in the open category,

Venice Cup for Women teams and D’Orsi Trophy for seniors (above 60 years) and

Transnational Open teams.

• The World Transnational Open Team Championship was added to the program in

1997.

• The first World Bridge Championship was held in 1950 in Bermuda. In 2013, the

41st World Bridge Championship was held in Bali, Indonesia.

Russian Popov Ivan won 7th Chennai International Open Grand-master Chess title

Popov Ivan of Russia on 6 January 2015 won 7th Chennai International Open

Grandmaster Chess title. He clinched the title via super tie-breaker after eight players

ended with 7.5 points each.

The winner Popov Ivan was awarded the cash purse of two lakhs rupees, while

Runner-up Dzhumaev Marat of Uzbek GM got one lakh fifty thousand rupees and

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third placed GM Mozharov Mikhail of Russia secured a cash award of one lakh fifteen

thousand rupees.

For the first time in the history of Chennai Open, there was an eight way tie and it was

resolved on quotient.

Among others, who shared the top spot were Dzhumaev Marat (Uzbekistan), Mozharov

Mikhail (Russia), Ramnath Bhuvanesh R, Swapnil S Dhopade, Ravichandran Siddharth

(all Indians), Gasanov Eldar (Ukraine), Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vietnam).

Also, Chennai Open saw granting of Grandmaster norms to Ramnath Bhuvanesh &

Swapnil S Dhopade and International Master Norm on Rakesh Kumar Jena. Pratyusha

Bodda was granted the Woman International Master Norm.

Indian Junior weightlifters ended their campaign by bagging 14 medals

Indian weightlifters on 5 January 2015 ended their campaign by bagging a total of 14

medals including 6 Gold Medals in the 17th Asian Youth (boys & girls), 22nd Junior

Women and 29th Junior Men Asian Weightlifting Championships 2015 at Doha, Qatar.

Those six weightlifters, who failed to make it to the podium, got the top six positions

in their respective body weight categories.

Highlights of the 17th Asian Youth (boys & girls), 22nd Junior Women and 29th Junior

Men Asian Weightlifting Championships 2015

• India won maximum number of gold in Youth Boys division in all the three categories.

• The other three gold medals came through Youth Girls, Junior Men and Junior

Women sections.

• India won a silver on the last day of the competition as Swapna Priya Baruah

ended second in the Junior Women 69kg division.

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• Ragala Venkat Rahul clinched a gold medal in Junior Men 85kg with a total lift of

324kg-143kg in snatch and 181kg clean & jerk.

• Two Junior Women lifters- S Thasana Chanu (58kg) and Punam Yadav (63kg)

fetched bronze medals.

• Kh Nungshiton got the third spot in Youth Girls 58kg.

Ishpreet Singh Chadha won National Sub-Junior Snooker title 2015

Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Maharashtra on 6 January 2015 won his maiden National

Sub-Junior Snooker title 2015 at the BRC Gloster National Billiards & Snooker

Championship 2015. He defeated Shobhit Sethi of Punjab by 3-0 in a final match.

Ishpreet reached the finals by deafeating Mandeep Singh of Uttar Pradesh while

Shobhit Sethi reached the finals by beating Rohan Sahani of Maharashtra.

In the Quarterfinals, Shobhit defeated Johnson Narsidani of Gujarat by 59-0, 71-41

and Ishpreet defeated Hritik Jain of Madhya Pradesh by 62-29, 58-37.

Ishpreet Singh Chadha was trained under former Asian champion Yasin Merchant.

BCCI announced 15-man Indian cricket team for World Cup 2015

Board of Control for Cricket in India on 6 January 2015 announced the 15-man squad

for the Cricket World Cup 2015. The Indian team was announced during the meeting

of the selection committee of BCCI.

The 15-member Indian cricket team led by Captain-cum-Wicket Keeper Mahendra

Singh Dhoni comprises of:

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati

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Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,

Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav.

However, the Man of the Series of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Yuvraj Singh was not

able to make the cut due to his below the mark performance since last world cup in

2011.

Cricket World Cup 2015 is scheduled to be held from 13 February to 14 March 2015

in New Zealand and Australia. The first match of the one-month extravaganza will be

played between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

S Shrikrishna won the National Sub-Junior Billiards title 2015

S Shrikrishna on 5 January 2015 won his maiden National Sub-Junior Billiards title

at the BRC Gloster National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2015. He defeated

Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Maharashtra by 326-283 in an hour-long final play.

Shrikrishna reached the finals by defeating Suraj Rathi of Maharashtra as he won

334-198 in the play. While, Chadha defeated Hritik Jain of Madhya Pradesh to reach

the finals.

In Pre-quarters, S Shrikrishna (TN) defeated Abhinav Singh of Uttarakhand. Ishpreet

Chadha reached in Pre-quarters after getting a walkover from Tanurag Gautam of

Chandigarh.

Union Sports Ministry recognised Boxing India as national fed-eration for representing Boxing

Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 2 January 2015 recognised Boxing

India (BI) as the governing body for representing boxing in India.

In this regard, the Ministry allowed Boxing India to use the name under the Emblems

& Names (Prevention of Improper use) Act, 1950 for all its future correspondence.

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BI already has been recognised as national federation by International Boxing

Association (AIBA) to represent boxing in India and registered it as permanent member.

The registration is a stepping stone in expediting the administrative formalities and

streamlining the overall functioning and activities of Boxing India.

The President of Boxing India is Sandeep Jajodia and it has been constituted with

the support of 32 state boxing associations. The federation will held its first Elite

Men’s National Championship at Nagpur from 8 January 2014 to 14 January 2014.

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara became fastest to score 12000 Test runs

Kumar Sangakkara, former Sri Lankan cricket captain, on 3 January 2014 became

the fastest cricketer to reach 12000 Test runs. The left-handed batsman reached

the milestone in his 224th innings played during the Sri Lanka’s second Test match

against New Zealand played in Wellington.

Players in 12000 runs Club include

• Sachin Tendulkar: 15291 Runs at an average of 53.78 in 247 innings

• Ricky Ponting: 13378 Runs at an average of 51.85 in 247 innings

• Jacques Kallis: 13289 Runs at an average of 55.37

• Rahul Dravid: 13288 Runs at an average of 52.31

• Kumar Sangakkara: 12028 Runs (playing) at an average of 58.00

Sangakkara who launched his Test career in Cricket has made an impressive average

of over 58.00, which include 37 centuries in 130 tests. His highest score was 319

against Bangladesh. Earlier on 3 December 2014, Sangakkara became the fourth

player to score 13000 runs in ODI cricket. Other three players to score 13000 runs in

ODIs are Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Sanath Jayasuriya.

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GTU launched e-Raksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime

Gujarat Technological University (GTU) on 28 January 2015 launched e-Raksha

Research Centre to fight cybercrime.

The centre was launched to curb rising menace of cybercrimes. Centre will encourage

research and enhance capability to provide solution for issues related to cyber

security.

GTU is collaborating with Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF) with the goal of establishing

a peaceful and harmonious cyber space through research. The research centre will

train students in areas of cyber security and enhance their capability to provide

solution for issues related with cyber security.

It will also support the government in protecting critical infrastructure and mission

critical services. The centre will research on malwares such as botnet and will be

setting up malware analysis test bed.

The centre will also support Make in India concept by manufacturing routers, switches,

firewalls, UTMs (Unified Threat Management) and other network appliances.

Maharashtra approved field trials for GM food

Maharashtra Government on 31 January 2015 granted No Objection Certificates

(NOC) for open field trials of genetically modified (GM) lines of rice, chana (chickpeas),

maize, brinjal and cotton.

With this permission, Maharashtra became the fourth state after Punjab, Delhi and

STATE

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Andhra Pradesh to approve open field trials in GM crops.

The decision to grant the no-objection certificates to the GM crops was given on the

basis of the recommendations of a state-level committee, headed by Anil Kakodkar,

the former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. The committee submitted its

recommendations after considering individual crop applications.

Union Government approved a rehabilitation package of 1102-crore rupees for J&K

The Union Government on 31 January 2015 approved a rehabilitation package of

1102.56 crore rupees for the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The fund was

approved in view of devastating flood of September 2014.

The fund has been sanctioned from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)

and it will be used for rehabilitation of flood victims and for restoration of public

infrastructure in the State.

Besides, for restoration of drinking water systems in the State, an additional fund of 20

crore rupees was also approved under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme

(NRDWP).

The decision on rehabilitation package was taken at a meeting between Union Home

Minister Rajnath Singh and J&K Governor NN Vohra in New Delhi.

During the meeting, the two also reviewed the utilisation of the Special Plan Assistance

of 1000 crore rupees that was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister during his visit to flood-ravaged J&K had announced a grant of 765

crore rupees from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and a further 1000 crore

rupees as Special Assistance for the reconstruction of damaged public infrastructure.

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AP Government decided to file a defamation suit against the State Bank of Hyderabad

State Government of Andhra Pradesh on 30 January 2015 decided to file a defamation

suit against the State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH). The decision was taken after the

account of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) amounting

to 25 crore rupees was freezed by the SBH.

The accounts of APSCHE were frozen after Telangana State Council of Higher

Education (TSCHE) sent a letter to various banks asking them to freeze the accounts

of APSCHE.

TSCHE asked the banks to freeze the accounts as it accused APSCHE of illegally

siphoning off the money that was to be shared between the two states. TSCHE also

alleged that APSCHE is purposely delaying the bifurcation of assets of the council.

At present, the APSCHE has deposits and cash worth 120 crore rupees in Andhra

Bank, Canara Bank, State Bank of India and State Bank of Hyderabad.

Karnataka Government decided to amend Karnataka Compul-sory Primary Education Act, 2012

State Government of Karnataka on 29 January 2015 decided to amend the Karnataka

Compulsory Primary Education Act (KCPEA), 2012. The KCPEA will be amended to

impart primary education in Kannada language in the State.

The State government decided to amend the Section 19(2) of the Act by inserting

words Mother Tongue Kannada. This insertion guarantees that Kannada language

will become compulsory for children from Class I to V.

The amendment to the KCPEA 2012 was decided to strengthen Karnataka’s case

before the Supreme Court (SC) where a related case is pending.

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Supreme Court of India on 6 May 2014 held that the government cannot impose

mother tongue on linguistic minority for imparting primary education.

The order was passed by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice

RM Lodha on petitions that challenged two Karnataka government orders of 1994

making mother tongue or regional language compulsory for imparting education from

Class I to IV.

Use of language in Karnataka’s school

Karnataka as a state is witnessing the demand of Kannada to be used as the first

language in schools since 1980s, when it saw a people’s movement called Gokak

Agitation.

The agitation was named after a committee headed by VK Gokak which in report

recommended that Kannada should be made the medium of instruction in all

government, aided, unaided and private schools up to Standard 4 in the State. This

report was submitted to the State Government led by the then Chief Minister R Gundu

Rao.

Formal action on the report was taken in April 1994 after the state government headed

by the then Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily issued a notification to implement the

recommendation. The notification gave just two options as medium of instruction

and they were:

• Mother tongue of the child, which covered eight languages; and

• Kannada

With this notification, State government gave permission only to those to open

schools which have Kannada or any one of the eight languages as the medium of

instruction. The eight languages included Tamil, Urdu and Telugu.

Following this notification, the Karnataka Unaided Schools Managements Association

(KUSMA), an umbrella organisation, along with several others, filed writ petitions in

the Karnataka High Court and termed it illegal as per the Constitution of India.

The plea argued that that the parents of the child had a right to decide what language

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should be used for study and language cannot be compulsorily imposed on a child.

This notification was cancelled by the three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court

on 2 July 2008.

The State government challenged the high court’s verdict in the Supreme Court (SC).

The five-judge bench of SC unanimously upheld KUSMA’s petition on 6 May 2014.

On 9 September 2014, a review petition of the state was also dismissed.

At present, the state has filed a curative petition in the court.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel launched Taluka Plan-ning Atlas

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on 29 January 2015 launched the Taluka

Planning Atlas (TPA) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The TPA seeks to enable the local administration in taking effective decisions about

the development in respective regions by providing precise information about the

current status of various facilities and schemes.

The TPA has been prepared by the Gujarat Planning Department with the help of

Director of Economics and Statistics of Gujarat and Bhaskaracharya Institute for

Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG).

Characteristics Features of the TPA

• It leverages Geographic information system (GIS) technology to empower taluka

level development, speed up rational decision making process and improve

transparency.

• It is an online system with details on 300 indicators of development which can be

utilised and shared to prepare village level atlas.

• It comprises of 100 maps that showcase various facilities as well as government

schemes at village level in each taluka.

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• It provides information on number of facilities such as number of primary and

secondary schools, health centres, dairies, cold storages, post offices dairy,

veterinary clinics, cold storage, drinking water and banks in each taluka.

• It has scope for further updates of details. This would strengthen the decision

makers at taluka and district level.

Background

In 2010, Gujarat Government began the process of preparing a village profile based

on 300 indicators of development.

Then, the government prepared Atlas for one taluka each in 33 districts and showed

it on state government portal GSWAN for district, taluka and panchayat officials.

Finally all the data was reorganized and Taluka Planning Atlas was made on 1 April

2014.

World Bank released a report on Social Inclusion and Sustain-able Development in Himachal Pradesh

World Bank on 28 January 2015 released a report titled Scaling the Heights: Social

Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Himachal Pradesh.

It is the first report of its kind for Himachal Pradesh. It is a macro-social account

of the state’s achievements over the past several decades. Simultaneously, it is an

interdisciplinary attempt to understand the confluence of factors that allowed the

state to move toward social inclusion and sustainable development.

Main highlights of the Report

• Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is the second highest in the country – an

impressive achievement given that more than 90 percent of its residents live in

rural areas.

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• Educational attainment is among the highest in the country, and the share of

women in the workforce is larger than in most other states.

• Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to have banned the use of plastic

bags. The state is also a trail-blazer in sanitation and is the first among its north

Indian neighbours to come close to becomingopen defecation free.

• Cultural factors have also led to strong women’s participation in development

programs, helping the state reach high levels of sanitation, immunization and

school attendance.

• The policies adopted and the quality of their implementation is the foremost

propeller of inclusive development in the State

• Poverty headcount is nearly one-third the national average. Rural poverty showed

an impressive four-fold decline, falling from 36.8 percent in 1993–94 to 8.5 percent

in 2011, benefitting all social groups in both rural and urban areas.

• Educational attainment is among the highest in the country, particularly among

excluded groups. More members of SC and ST groups have completed secondary

or higher levels of schooling, both in rural and urban areas compared to other

states, including southern states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

• The big success story is in female labour force participation which stands second

in the country after Sikkim. More than 60 percent women in rural areas were in the

labor force in 2011–12, significantly higher than the all-India average of 27 percent

• Although fewer women worked in urban areas yet 28 percent of women in the

State were in labour force. These levels were on par with Kerala and Tamil Nadu

and double that of neighboring states.

• Urban areas in Himachal Pradesh lag behind rural areas in human development

outcomes. Therefore, as urbanization levels increase, the state will have to ensure

that urban growth is well-planned, enabling its residents to access key services

and partake in the new economic opportunities that cities and towns have to offer.

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Maharashtra government decided to buy a house in London where BR Ambedkar stayed

Maharashtra Government on 24 January 2015 decided to buy a house in London

where Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar lived in the 1920s. The state government after

buying the house will convert it into a memorial-cum-museum.

Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, lived in the 2050 square feet three-

storey house on 10, King Henry Road, NW3 of London while pursuing his higher

studies in the London School of Economics during 1921-22.

The deal to buy the house was finalised and announced by Maharashtra Education

Minister Vinod Tawde who visited London for a global academic conference. The

deal has been finalised at a sum of 35 crore rupees.

The house will be open for public from 124th birth anniversary of Ambedkar on 14

April 2015 and would provide Ambedkar’s life, works and contribution to the country’s

freedom struggle and subsequent public life.

Chandigarh launched a smart city app named Smart Chandigarh

Chandigarh on 27 January 2015 launched a Smart city app named Smart Chandigarh.

The app was launched to create awareness on consumer rights and responsibilities

and provide all types of citizen-centric and public utility services and information to

the residents.

The Android-based mobile application is the first and official mobile application of

Chandigarh that would act as an interface between residents and officials.

The app was launched by Vijay Dev, Adviser to the Administrator of Chandigarh. It

is a single e-window to all information related to the department and various citizen-

centric services.

The app is now available free at Google Play store for Android phone users. Its iOS

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and Windows Phone versions would be released soon.

The various departments would be directed to route all information and updates

through the app and appoint a link officer for the work. The app would become an

important platform for redressing grievances.

Kerala to get first International Institute of Music

Kerala Culture Minister K C Joseph on 22 January 2015 announced setting up of the

International Institute of Music in Kerala. It will be the first international institute in

India that is dedicated to music.

A Trust headed by Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has been entrusted with the

responsibility to set up the Institute. The government will provide only land and all

other infrastructure facilities will be built by a trust managed by Khan’s family.

Moreover, Kerala Government also identified the land for setting up the school in

Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi or Kozhikode. Now, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will decide

one location out of these.

The school will be under the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi but would have

a separate body to govern it. All kinds of music, musical instruments and musical

systems will be taught at the Institute.

17 Skill Development Centres launched by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 19 January 2015 launched

17 Skill Development Centres (SDC) across the state. SDCs aimed at imparting

training and honing skills of youth was launched electronically from Vijayawada.

These SDCs are being set up by the Skill Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh

at various educational institutes.

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Apart from this, a committee of experts will be constituted to guide students in selection

of course at the time of entering college and to provide the source of information

for employment. The proposed panel along with SDC would provide counseling to

students on selection of course and on combination of subjects from class XI.

NHRC issued notice to UP Government over Hooch Tragedy

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 19 January 2015 issued notice to

Uttar Pradesh Government over hooch tragedy in Malihabad near Lucknow and its

bordering Unnao district.

Terming Hooch Tragedy as a serious issue of human rights violation, the panel issued

notices to Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan, Inspector General of Police Subhash Chandra

and District Magistrate Rajshekhar.

The notices were issued after the Commission took suo motu cognizance of media

reports on hooch tragedy.

Hooch Tragedy

The hooch tragedy occurred on 12 January 2015 in Kharta and other villages in

Malihabad area of Lucknow and Talasarai village in Hasanganj area of Unnao district.

The hooch tragedy has so far claimed 49 lives and more than 100 people are still

undergoing treatment in various hospitals. The condition of over a dozen patients,

who consumed spurious liquor, continues to remain serious and they have been put

on life support systems.

Many victims have also lost their eyesight permanently. The state government ordered

a magisterial enquiry into the incident and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also ordered

the suspension of 20 officials including Administrative, Police and Excise Officials.

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Paladugu Venkata Rao, former Minister of Andhra Pradesh, died

Paladugu Venkata Rao on 18 January 2015 died. He was 75. He was a former Minister

of Andhra Pradesh and a senior Congress leader.

At the time of his death, he was serving as Member of Legislative Council for second

time. His term was to end in 2017.

Born in November 1940 in Krishna district, he joined active politics as Youth Congress

leader in 1968 and made his electoral debut as a Member of Legislative Assembly

from Nuzvid constituency in 1978.

He went on to serve as Minister for Rural Water Supply (1980-82), Agriculture Minister

(1982) and Marketing Minister (1982-83).

After a brief gap, he returned to the Assembly and won the Nuzvid seat for the second

time in 1989.

After the revival of the Legislative Council during Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime, he

was elected from the Assembly quota as an MLC in 2009. He was re-elected again

in 2011 for a six year term.

The veteran leader is also known for donating his residential building in Nuzvid to

Andhra Pradesh Horticulture University to start a Rythu Seva Kendram. The building

was used as an agriculture research centre and has been named after his late parents

Paladugu Lakshmaiah and Nagaratnamma.

J & K selected for the National Award of e-Governance for Best District Level initiative

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on 16 January 2015 was selected for the National Award

for e-Governance for the best district-level initiative in Citizen-Centric Service Delivery

through ICT.

The Department of Administrative Reforms, Ministry of Personnel and Prime Minister

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Office has selected e-Panchayat of Jammu and Kashmir for the award.

J & K for the first time will be awarded since the institution of awards in 1997. The award

will be presented by Ministry of Personnel at National Conference on e-governance

to be held in Gujarat from 30 January to 31 January 2015.

About e-Panchayat

The e-Panchayat project was launched in 2013-14 in Jammu and Kashmir to

strengthen 147 Panchayats. Under the project, a decentralised regime of Panchayats

has been established with service delivery shifted from block level to Panchayat level.

Baba Ramdev appointed as state brand ambassador of Haryana Government

Baba Ramdev was appointed as state brand ambassador of Haryana Government.

Minister of Sports and Health of Haryana, Anil Vij announced the decision on 15

January 2015.

The appointment was a part of government of Haryana’s ambitious plans to promote

yoga and ayurveda in Haryana state.

Haryana government‘s plan to promote Yoga and Ayurveda

• Krishna Ayurvedic college of Haryana will be developed into an Ayurvedic University

whereas a yogic centre of international standards will be built in Panchkula.

• An herbal forest will be developed over thousands of acres of land in Haryana

state where plants of 25 thousand species of ayurvedic herbs will be grown under

the supervision of Ramdev.

• Yoga will be made a compulsory subject in schools of Haryana. Vyayamshalas

and yogshalas will be constructed in all the towns and about 6500 villages of

Haryana for this purpose under the guidance of Ramdev.

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• Zero period in all schools of Haryana will be yoga period and the PT teachers will

have to undergo a training in yoga under the guidance of Ramdev.

• An ayush wing was being established in all the hospitals of Haryana where 550

doctors will have to do a refresher course under the supervision of Ramdev. And

also Anaganvadi teachers will be imparted training in yoga.

Maharashtra Cabinet decided to disburse aid to drought-hit farmers by 26 January 2015

Maharashtra Cabinet on 13 January 2015 decided to disburse 2000 crore ruppes

aid to drought-hit farmers by 26 January 2015. The aid is the compensation to the

farmers affected by drought during the 2014 kharif season.

The decision to provide 2000 crore rupees as aid to drought-affected farmers was

taken by the Maharashtra Cabinet on 7 January 2015.

Further, it was also decided that the amount shall be deposited in the farmers’ bank

accounts and no cash will be given to them. If the farmers do not have bank accounts,

a zero balance account will be opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana and the money will

be deposited in it.

Out of the 2000 crore rupees, 4500 rupees a hectare will be given for rainfed areas,

9000 rupees a hectare for irrigated areas and 12000 rupees a hectare for horticultural

crops.

The aid will be distributed as 845.55 crore rupees for Aurangabad division, 386.62

crore rupees for Nasik division, 7.5 crore rupees for Pune division, 500.93 crore

rupees for Amravati division and 259.40 crore rupees for Nagpur division.

The aid is applicable to all land-holding farmers. Those owning big plots will get a

compensation for one hectare of affected land only. Farmers with non-irrigated land

will get 4500 rupees, those with irrigated land will get 9000 rupees, and 12000 rupees

for orchard farmers. Those affected who own less than one hectare will get 1000

rupees.

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The natural calamities like drought, unseasonal rains and hailstorms have resulted in

major crop loss during the rabi season in around 24000 villages. It affected crops of

on 1.12 lakh hectares in October 2014. It has also led to suicides in parts of Vidarbha

and Marathwada.

Dima Hasao District of Assam got its first broad gauge railway track

Dima Hasao District of Assam got its first broad gauge railway track on 12 January

2015. A goods train with 43 wagons reached the main railway station of the Dima

Hasao district using this broad gauge track.

The train in its first ever journey covered 98 km from Patharkhula station to New-

Haflong station while crossing 9 tunnels, 15 stations, 15 major bridges and 135 minor

bridges.

The passenger trains will also be commissioned on the route from Pathakhula to

New-Haflong on the track that is extended up to Silchar after the approval of Railway

Safety Commission.

Election Commission of India announced dates of Delhi Assem-bly Elections 2015

Election Commission of India on 12 January 2015 announced dates of Delhi Legislative

Assembly elections 2015. Voting for Delhi Assembly Elections will be held in a single

phase on 7 February 2015 and counting of the votes will be held on 10 February

2014.

The elections will be held a week ahead of the scheduled termination of President’s

rule.

Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath announced the dates of election for 70

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seats of Delhi Assembly at the Nirvachan Sadan. With this announcement the Model

Code of Conduct has come into force.

The commission in its notification said that last date for nominations is 21 January

2015 while last date for withdrawal of nominations is 24 January 2015.

Background

Since 17 February 2014, Delhi, the national capital was under President Rule. The

national capital fell under the President rule after the then Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal (leader of Aam Aadmi Party, AAP) resigned from the office on 14 February

2014. He served his resignation within 49 days of coming into power.

In 2013, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 31 MLAs, followed

by AAP which got 28 MLAs. AAP formed the government with outside support of 8

congress MLAs and lone JDU MLA and an independent.

Andhra Pradesh constituted Fourth State Finance Commission

Andhra Pradesh government constituted the Fourth State Finance Commission

under the Chairmanship of M L Kantha Rao, the Professor of Economics and Dean

S K University.

The notification with respect to this was released on 4 January 2015 by Governor E

S L Narasimhan.

The Commission will submit its report for the period of reference 2015-2020

Other members of the Commission

• Kankala Munirathna Naidu

• Rokkam Sudarshana Rao

• Gudipadu Sandhya Rani

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• C Venkateswara Rao: Member Secretary

About State Finance Commission

Article 243I of the Constitution, inserted by Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment)

Act, 1992, prescribes for the appointment of a State Finance Commission by the

Governor of a State.

The Commission shall be constituted at the expiration of every fifth year to review the

financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor

regarding

• The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the

taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State;

• The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned as,

or appropriated by, the Panchayats;

• The grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State;

• The measures needed to improve the financial position of the Panchayats;

• Any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the Governor in the

interests of sound finance of the Panchayats.

Article 243Y of the Constitution further provides that the Finance Commission

constituted under Article 243 I shall make similar recommendation vis-a-vis

municipalities.

Governor Rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir

Governor rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir (J &K) on 9 January 2015. President

Pranab Mukherjee approved the recommendation of the Governor of Jammu and

Kashmir N N Vohra.

Governor N N Vohra had recommended for Governer Rule in light of deadlock over

the formation of the new government continued in J & K.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election were held in five phases in

December 2014. In the Assembly election, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won

28 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 and National Congress (NC) won 15

seats.

The political parties failed to form government after no party was able to muster the

majority of 87 seats required to form the government. Even the attempts of PDP and

BJP to cobble up a coalition did not fructify.

Hence Governor Rule was recommended by the Governor after Caretaker Chief

Minister Omar Abdullah requested Governor Vohra to relive from his duties.

Constitutional Provision of Presidential Rule

Article 356 of the Constitution empowers the President to issue proclamation; if he is

satisfied that situation has arisen in which the government of state cannot be carried

on in accordance with the provisions of constitution.

However, in case of Jammu and Kashmir, for the imposition of President Rule, Section

92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution is invoked. Governor’s rule proclamation is

issued by Jammu & Kashmir State Governor after obtaining consent of the President

of India.

If it is not possible to revoke Governor’s rule before within six months of imposition,

President’s Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution of India is imposed. But for all

practical purposes, there is no difference between the two provisions.

DMRC launched first public bicycle sharing scheme for Delhi Metro users

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on 7 January 2015 launched first public bicycle sharing

scheme for Delhi Metro users. The scheme will help the commuters to seamlessly

reach their destination via the metro rail.

The scheme aims to provide pollution free last-mile connectivity to DMRC commuters.

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The eco-friendly project was inaugurated from the Saket Metro Station in south Delhi.

As part of the scheme, three bicycle shelters have been opened at Saket, Hauz Khas

and Akshardham metro stations.

Commuters willing to use the service need to either register online or visit the nearby

metro station where the facility is available and deposit their forms, following which

a smart card will be issued to them.

As part of its last-mile connectivity, DMRC has been running 200 metro feeder buses

and about 300 more such buses will soon be added to its fleet.

The DMRC has already been running a hire-a-cycle scheme from its Vishwavidyalaya

metro Station in last six years in partnership with city-based private firm Greenolution.

Such bicycle schemes are quite popular in European and Scandinavian countries

and our idea is also to promote eco-friendly policies.

Haryana Government appointed Yash Pal Singhal as Haryana DGP

Haryana Government on 8 January 2015 appointed Yash Pal Singhal as Director

General of Police (DGP). His appointment was confirmed by the Haryana Chief

Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

He took over the post with immediate effects. He succeeded S N Vashisht who has

been posted as Director General of State Vigilance Bureau.

Earlier, Singhal was working as Director General of Vigilance Bureau.

He is the IPS of 1983 batch. Singhal will have two-year tenure and he will retire in

March 2017.

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Jharkhand Assembly adopted resolution on opening High Court bench in Dumka

Jharkhand Assembly on 8 January 2015 unanimously adopted a resolution urging

state government to send a proposal to Union Government for setting up a bench of

the Jharkhand High Court in Dumka.

Dumka is the sub-capital of Jharkhand.

The resolution was initiated by Parliamentary Affairs Minister C P Singh after JMM

MLA Stephen Marandi raised the demand.

Speaker Dinesh Oraon adopted the resolution. The state will submit a proposal to the

Union Government with a request for necessary action.

President signed ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

President Pranab Mukherjee on 7 January 2015 signed an ordinance to amend the

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The ordinance paves the way for plying of e-rickshaws on

roads of the National Capital Region (NCT).

Earlier, the Union Cabinet, on 24 December 2014 approved promulgation of the

ordinance as a bill in this regard was not passed in the Parliament during the winter

session of Parliament in December 2014. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on

18 December 2014 but got stuck in the Rajya Sabha.

E-rickshaws or battery-operated three-wheeler vehicles had gone off roads after

Delhi High Court banned their plying on roads in July 2014 on safety concerns.

Main Provisions of the Ordinance

• The e-rickshaws will be allowed to carry four passengers and 40 kgs of luggage

while e-carts would transport goods up to 310 kgs

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• No person can be granted a learner’s licence to drive a transport vehicle unless

he held the driving licence for light motor vehicle for a period of at least one year

has been removed

Background

Union Government in October 2014 notified the rules for plying of e-rickshaws making

driver’s licence mandatory for operating them and limiting maximum speed to 25 km/

hr.

The Central Motor Vehicles (16th Amendment) Rules, 2014 sought to remove

difficulties in granting licence to drivers of e-rickshaws and e-carts by amending

Section 7(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and add the definition of e-rickshaw and

e-cart in the Act.

Dinesh Oraon of BJP unanimously elected Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly

Dr. Dinesh Oraon of Bharatiya Janata Party was elected as the Speaker of Jharkhand

Legislative Assembly on 7 January 2015. Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi announced

Oraon’s election as unanimous.

His name for the post was proposed by the Chief Minister Raghubar Das and

seconded by the Social Welfare Minister Louis Marandi.

He is the 10th Speaker of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly since the State came

into being on 15 November 2000.

List of Speakers of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly

• Inder Singh Namadhari: 22 November 2000 - 29 March 2004

• Baagun Sumbrai (Acting): 29 March 2004 - 29 May 2004

• Inder Singh Namadhari:4 June 2004 - 11 August 2004

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• Mrigendra Pratap Singh: 18 August 2004 - 11 January 2005

• Saba Ahmad: 12 January 2005 - 1 March 2005

• Inder Singh Namadhari:15 March 2005- 4 September 2006

• Alamgir Alam: 20 October 2006 - 26 December 2009

• Chandreswar Prasad Singh: 6 January 2010 - 19 July 2013

• Shashank Sekhar Bhokta: 25 July 2013 - 23 December 2014

• Dinesh Oraon: 7 January 2015 to

Amitabh Bachchan named as the Brand Ambassador of AP health sector

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on 6 January 2015 named as the Brand

Ambassador of Andhra Pradesh (AP) health sector. His appointment was announced

by the AP Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas in Hyderabad.

Being the brand ambassador of AP health sector, he will be participating in various

health-related campaigns of AP government. However, Bachchan will not take

any remuneration for the services he would be rendering to the state as its health

ambassador.

Health Sector of Andhra Pradesh

The AP health sector was the severely affected by the bifurcation of AP and Telangana

as major corporate hospitals and medical and health institutions were all located in

Hyderabad.

The State government was seeking the help of experts and renowned medical doctors

and specialists in various fields to promote health facilities from primary health centres

to tertiary hospitals in public sector and offer latest treatment for diseases like cancer.

Moreover, the government released funds to Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences of

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Andhra Pradesh for rejuvenating the health sector.

Bihar Government increased maternity leave period to 180 days from 135 days

State Government of Bihar on 6 January 2015 increased the duration of maternity

leave to 180 days and also made provisions for 730 days of child care leave. Earlier,

duration of maternity leave was 135 days only.

The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Jitan

Ram Manjhi.

The state government took the decision for well-being of its women employees as

there was no provision for child care leave for women government employees in the

Bihar Service Rules.

The 730 days child care leave will help women to attend children during their illness,

examinations and to raise them up.

Limitation of the maternity and child care leave

These leaves will be granted to any women government servants for two children

only during their entire service period.

Other decision made during the Cabinet meet

The state cabinet approved setting up a liquor distillation and a bottling unit at

Devadi village in Bhojpur district. The units will be established by Chandigarh-based

company Bihar Distillers and Bottlers at a cost of 160 crore rupees. For setting-up

of two liquor units, the government also arranged 29 acres of land. These projects

would provide direct employment to 320 skilled and unskilled workers.

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Union Government nominated 17 Telugu personalities as brand ambassadors of Swachh Bharat campaign

Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu on 5 January 2015 nominated 17

Telugu personalities as brand ambassadors of Swachh Bharat campaign. The Telugu

personalities are nominated from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to carry forward the

Swachh Bharat programme.

The personalities include cricketer VVS Laxman, chess player Koneru Humpy, singer

SP Balasubrahmanyam, actor Pawan Kalyan, BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav,

actor Nitin, actress Amala Nagarjuna, MP Kavitha, MP Jayadev Galla, Badminton

player P Gopichand, Industrialist Mohan Reddy, Industrialist JA Chowdary, Industrialist

Rameshwara Rao, Industrialist GS Rao, Dr Gopi Chand, lyricist S Ashok Teja and

Media personality V Radhakrishna.

Union Government announced 20 crore rupees for Telangana and 10 crore rupees

for Andhra Pradesh as token allocation for undertaking the Swachh Bharat campaign

Gujarat government announced new industrial policy for 2015

Gujarat government on 1 January 2015 announced its new industrial policy for the

year 2015. The policy was announced by the Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

The industrial policy aims to make the State a global manufacturing hub by playing a

pivotal role in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India dream.

Highlights of industrial policy for 2015

• The policy aims to create a business friendly environment and motivate people

to start-ups, to start their own businesses instead of merely looking for job

opportunities.

• It will provide opportunities to around 60 percent of population between the age

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group of 15 years and 59 years in Gujarat.

• The policy will focus on key areas like infrastructure development, simplification of

labour laws and motivation of new innovations through technology transfer.

• Besides, it will also focus on incentives for youth, women, scheduled castes,

scheduled tribes and handicapped entrepreneurs.

• It will provide assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector

as well as assistance for upgrading technology.

• It focuses to reduce pollution by promoting use of clean and green energy as well

as setting up zero-effluent discharge plants.

• The policy also provides special incentives to set up new businesses in sectors

like garments, apparel, agro and food proccessing.

• It seeks to boost value addition in these existing resources, which will create new

jobs and reduce imports as industries like auto components, engineering, drugs,

cement and chemicals already have flourished in state.

Maharashtra government launched online RTI application filing facility

Maharashtra government on 1 January 2015 launched online Right to Information

(RTI) application filing facility. The e-filing facility will be available from 1 January 2015

on a trial basis.

The e-filing facility is available in both English and Marathi. It has an option status to

inform applicants about the status of progress of their pleas.

The fee for the application can be paid via internet banking or debit or credit cards.

Once the application is submitted a unique registration number will be used via SMS

and email for the future reference of applicant.

At present, online filing of RTI application or first appeal is available only for the

Mantralaya departments and not field offices of Maharashtra.

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NEWS CAPSULE

PERSON IN NEWS

Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service Guard of Honour

Wing Commander Pooja Thakur on 25 January 2015 became the first lady officer to

lead the Inter-Service Guard of Honour for a major visiting dignitary at the Rashtrapati

Bhavan (presidential palace). The Guard of Honour was inspected by the US President

Barack Obama.

Thakur leading the Inter-Service Guard of Honour was in line with the theme of Nari

Shakti (Women Power) chosen for the 2015 Republic Day parade. The 2015 parade

also saw all women contingents of the army, air force and navy walking down the

Rajpath for the first time.

Thakur joined Indian Air Force in 2000 and belongs to administrative branch. She

is currently posted at DISHA, the publicity cell under the Directorate of Personnel

Officers at the Air Force Headquarters. Her father retired as a Colonel from the Indian

Army.

Indian Novelist Vikram Chandra named among the finalists of NBCC awards

Novelist Vikram Chandra on 20 January 2015 was named among the finalists for

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prestigious National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards. He was nominated for the

American literary awards for his work about culture of computer programming and

classical Indian aesthetics.

Delhi-born Vikram Chandra of 53 is a finalist in the criticism category for his non-

fiction work Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty.

Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty has been published thrice

but with different titles, namely

• In 2013 as Mirrored Mind: My Life in Letters and Code

• In 2014 as Geek Sublime: Writing Fiction, Coding Software

• In the US as Geek Sublime: The Code of Beauty, the Beauty of Code

Some other acclaimed works of Chandra who at present teaches creative writing at

the University of California, include

• Red Earth and Pouring Rain published in 1995. The book won the Commonwealth

Writers Prize for Best First Book and the David Higham Prize for Fiction

• Sacred Games published in 2006. The book won the Hutch Crossword Award for

English Fiction for 2006 and a Salon Book Award 2007

He is also the co-writer of Bollywood film Mission Kashmir that starred Sanjay Dutt,

Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, and Jackie Shroff.

Besides, the NBCC also announced its 30 finalists in six categories, namely

autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, general nonfiction, and poetry-for the

best books of 2014. The awards will be presented on 12 March 2015. Some other

nominated novelists are

• For being a powerful catalyst in reshaping literary culture over the past half

century, American novelist Toni Morrison, 83 will receive the ‘Ivan Sandrof’ Lifetime

Achievement Award

• To recognise outstanding first books in any genre, American writer Phil Klay’s

short story collection Redeployment will receive the John Leonard Prize, which

was established in 2014

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Former PM Manmohan Singh adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 17 January 2015 adopted Pachim Bekeli

Gaon Panchyat under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY). Pachim Bekeli Gaon

Panchyat is located in Kamrup district of Assam.

Manmohan Singh represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.

Almost 125 MPs have adopted a village under SAGY since the announcement of the

Yojana by PM Narendra Modi on 15 August 2014. Some of the MPs and the villages

adopted by them are:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Jayapur village in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

• Hema Malini: Raval village, Uttar Pradesh

• Sachin Tendulkar: Puttamraju Kandrika village, Andhra Pradesh

• Kaushalendra Kumar: Nanand village in Nalanda, Bihar

• Narendra Sawaikar: Cola village, Andhra Pradesh

• Avinash Rai Khanna: Adamwal village in Hoshiarpur, Punjab

• Rajendra Agrawal: Bhagwanpur Chatawan village in Rajpura, Punjab

Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, MP Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party,

AK Antony of the Indian National Congress, JD-U’s Sharad Yadav are among others

who have each chosen a village to adopt in their respective constituencies.

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 August 2014 announced Sansad Asarsh Gram

Yojana. It aims to cover 2500 villages by 2019. Under the project, each Member

of Parliament (MP) will take up the responsibility of providing infrastructure and

developing three villages by 2019.

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The objective of the project is to create a holistic development of all adopted villages

by the MPs in all aspects —human, personal, social, economic and environmental

development, including provision of basic amenities, services, security and good

governance.

Leela Samson resigned as Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification

Leela Samson on 16 January 2015 resigned as Chairperson of Central Board of Film

Certification, (CBFC).

She was appointed as the Chairperson of CBFC on 1 April 2011.

About Leela Samson

• She is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor and writer

• She taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi for many

years

• From August 2010 to October 2014 she was the chairperson of Sangeet Natak

Academy

• From April 2005 to April 2012, she served as a director of Kalakshetra

• Awards conferred in Samson includes Padma Shri which was given in recognition

of her contribution to the art of Bharatanatyam

Central Board of Film Certification

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory body under Union Ministry

of Information and Broadcasting. It regulates the public exhibition of films under the

provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.

Any film can be exhibited in India only after being certified by the Central Board of

Film Certification. At present CBFC certifies films under 4 categories, namely

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• U: Unrestricted Public Exhibition

• UA: Unrestricted Public Exhibition - but with a word of caution that Parental

discretion required for children below 12 years

• A: Restricted to adults

• S: Restricted to any special class of persons

Chief Election Commissioner Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath de-mitted his office

Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath demitted his office as Chief Election Commissioner

on 15 January 2015. He demitted the office after he turned 65, the upper age limit to

hold the post as per the Constitution of India.

He will be succeeded by Hari Shankar Brahma.

Sampath during his 6-year tenure in the Election Commission conducted two Lok

Sabha elections and at least one round of Assembly polls in all the states. Sampath

also presided over the conduct of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections in 2012.

About Veeravalli Sundaram Kamath

• He stepped in as a Commissioner in Election Commission in March 2009

• Sampath an IAS officer of a 1975 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre started his career

as a district collector

• He served the Union Government as Secretary, Rural Development and Power

• The election commission under Sampath undertook several initiatives, like

a) Distribution of voter identity slips with photos at the door steps of the voters

b) Permission to vote for 11 hours, the longest-ever in the Lok Sabha elections

c) To conduct awareness campaigns among people to participate in voting, he

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started the process of appointing awareness observers from the Indian Information

Service officers

d) Verifiable Voter Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was introduced in seven Lok Sabha

constituencies

e) Social media was brought under the ambit of media laws and regulations

Amitabh Bachchan presented with Social Media Person of the Year award 2015

Actor Amitabh Bachchan was on 13 January 2015 presented with the Social Media

Person of the Year Award 2015 by the Internet and Mobile Association of India

(IAMAI).

The award ceremony was scheduled to be held on 15 January 2015 in New Delhi

but as Amitabh Bachchan was not be able to make his presence there, so he was

honoured in advance.

Amitabh Bachchan was awarded for being an active blogger and user of different

social networking sites. He makes the most use of social media to communicate with

his fans and well-wishers.

He has over 12.5 million followers on Twitter and more than 18857196 likes on his

Facebook page.

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan’s chief Maulana Fazlullah designated as global terrorist by US

The United States (US) Department of State on 13 January 2015 designated Tehrik-e

Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) chief Maulana Fazlullah, also known as Mullah Fazlullah, as

a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

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He was designated as a global terrorist under Executive Order (EO) 13224 that targets

terrorists and people who provide support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

Reason for designating Fazlullah as a Global terrorist

He was designated as a global terrorist after Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) under

Fazlullah’s leadership claimed the responsibility of 16 December 2014 attack on the

army school of Peshawar, Pakistan. The attack claimed lives of about 148 individuals

including 134 students.

Effect of this designation

• It prohibits any US person from engaging in transactions with Fazlullah

• It freezes all property and interests of Fazlullah that are in the United States, or

come within the United States or the possession or control of US persons

About Maulana Fazlullah

• In November 2014, he was elected as commander of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan

(TTP) after death of former TTP leader 1 November 2013

• Before becoming the leader of TTP, he was involved in several terrorism activities

like

a) Killing of Pakistani Army Major General Sanaullah Niazi in September 2013

b) In 2012, he ordered shooting of schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousafzai, the winner

of Nobel Peace Prize 2014

c) He was responsible for the beheading of 17 Pakistani soldiers after an attack in

June 2012

d) He ordered the targeted killings of elders who led peace committees against the

Taliban

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Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also known as Pakistani Taliban is an alliance of

militant groups which was formed in 2007. It was formed to unify groups fighting

against the Pakistani military in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. TTP maintains close ties to senior al-

Qa‘ida leaders, including al-Qa‘ida’s former head of operations in Pakistan.

• TTP was designated as the Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially

Designated Global Terrorist on 1 September 2010 by the US Department of State

• TTP was also listed as terrorist organisation at the United Nations 1267/1989 Al-

Qaida Sanctions Committee on 29 July 2011.

Previous Chief’s of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan

• 1st Chief - Baitullah Mahsud who was killed in an explosion on 5 August 2009

• 2nd Chief - Hakimullah Mehsud who died on 1 November 2013 in a drone strike

Union government sacked DRDO Chairman Avinash Chander

Union Government on 13 January 2015 removed Avinash Chander, the Chairman

of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). He was removed 16

months before his contract was to end.

The appointments committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

approved the termination of the contract of Chander with effect from 31 January

2015.

Chander who was the secretary, Defence Research and Development cum Director

General, DRDO and scientific advisor to the defence minister had retired from the

post on 30 November 2014 after attaining the age of 64 but he was given a contract

for 18 months till 31 May 2016.

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About Avinash Chander

• Chander is the chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missile systems

• He was behind the successful development of 5000-km range Agni-V, which

enabled India to join the elite club of five advanced nations

• He pioneered research in innovative energy management guidance system that

enabled utilisation of solid propulsion, the main thrust and the backbone of the

long-range missile system

• DRDO developed critical technologies like composite rocket motors and advanced

high accuracy navigation system, under his leadership

• He laid the technology road map for missile complex laboratories and led the

R&D in the advanced navigation systems, onboard computers, servo valves and

seekers

• He joined DRDO in 1972 after completing graduation in electrical engineering from

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi

• He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers

• He is a recipient of Padma Shri

Maithiripala Sirisena sworn-in as 7th President of Sri Lanka

Pallewatte Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (Maithiripala Sirisena) was on 9

January 2015 sworn-in as the 7th President of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Judge K Sri Pawan administered the oath of office to

Maithiripala Sirisena at a oath taking ceremony held at the Independence Square in

Colombo.

Before the swearing-in ceremony of President Maithripala Sirisena, the leader of the

United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickramasinghe took the oath as Prime Minister

of Sri Lanka.

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Maithripala heads a rainbow coalition of several parties including United National

Party and the Buddhist Monk party.

Maithiripala Sirisena

• Born on 3 September 1951, Sirisena earned a Diploma in Political science at the

Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Russia.

• Sirisena joined mainstream politics in 1989 by contesting the parliamentary

elections as an Sri Lankan Freedom Party candidate in Polonnaruwa district and

was elected to Parliament.

• In 2001, Sirisena became the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

• In 2004, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Mahaweli, River Basin &

Rajarata Development.

• He was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaweli

Development in 2005. Later in 2010, he was appointed as Cabinet Minister of

Health.

Larry Page named Business Person of the Year 2014

Larry Page, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Google was named as the

Business person of the Year for 2014 on 6 January 2015 by Fortune magazine.

Page came on the top in the list of global corporate leaders’ by surpassing people

like Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The list

was compiled by the magazine on the basis of various factors including company’s

performance, leadership style and total shareholder returns.

Top twenty people included in the list were

• Larry Page – CEO and Co-Founder of Google

• Tim Cook – CEO of Apple

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• John C. Martin – Chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences

• Montgomery Moran and Steve Ells – co-CEOs of fast food chain Chipotle

• Denise Ramos – CEO and President of ITT

• Bob Iger - Chairman and CEO of Walt Disney Co.

• Ken Hicks – CEO and President of Foot Locker

• Mary Dillon – CEO of Ultra Beauty

• George Scangos – CEO of Biogen

• Jack Ma – the co-founder of Alibaba

• Fred Smith – Chairman and CEO of Fedex

• Carol Meyrotwiz – CEO of TJX Cos

• Mark Zuckerberg – CEO of Facebook

• Elizabeth Holmes – Founder and CEO of Theranos

• Brad Smith – President and CEO of Intuit

• Gary Kelly – Chairman, President, and CEO of Southwest Airlines

• Elon Musk – Chairman, Product Architect, and CEO of Tesla

• Walt Bettinger – President and CEO of Charles Schwab

• Kevin Plank – CEO and Chairman of Under Armour

• Laura Alber – President and CEO of Williams-Sonoma

Other parameters which were included to prepare the list included financial results

of the company including 12-month and three year growth in profits and revenues,

company’s stock performance and total shareholder returns over the same periods.

Several non-financial elements like business influence, leadership style and strategic

initiatives played a part in evaluation were also included.

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Koppillil Radhakrishnan retired as ISRO chief

Koppillil Radhakrishnan retired as the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) on 31 December 2014. He was appointed as the Chairman of the organization

in October 2009 as successor of G. Madhavan Nair.

Earlier, Radhakrishnan’s tenure as ISRO chief, Secretary, Department of Space and

Chairman, Space Commission was extended by four months in August 2014 till 31

December 2014.

Shailesh Nayak, a Secretary, Union Earth Sciences Ministry, will hold additional and

interim charge as Chairman for a month or until a regular chief is named.

Radhakrishnan spearheaded ISRO through several milestones like low-cost (74 million

US dollars) Mangalayaan, the Indian mission to the red planet, Mars. The mission

was named among the best inventions of 2014 by TIME magazine which described

it as a technological feat that will allow India to flex its interplanetary muscles. Some

other milestones include five consecutive successful PSLV missions. Some major

feats include

• The PSLV-C11 that lofted Chandrayaan-1, India’s unmanned mission to the Moon

• GSLV-MK-III that carried a human crew module to the space

About Koppillil Radhakrishnan

• Radhakrishnan is an Indian scientist who is also a recipient of Padma Bhusan

(2014), the third highest civilian award of India

• On 18 December 2014, he was named as one of the top ten scientific personalities

in 2014 by Nature Science Journal

• Graduated in Electrical Engineering from Kerala University, he joined Vikram

Sarabhai Space Centre in 1972

• He had served as Director of National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and Director

of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)

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• He was handpicked by Prof. Satish Dhawan - the then Chairman of ISRO, to

control and monitor the Budget and Economic Analysis activities at the ISRO

headquarters

• From 2000 to 2005, he served at the Ministry of Earth Science during which he

established the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

and India’s Tsunami Warning Centre

• He is a life fellow of the Indian Geophysical Union (IGU) and is also an accomplished

vocalist (Carnatic music) and Kathakali artist

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Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan sworn-in as 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka

Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan was on 30 January 2015 sworn in as 44th Chief Justice

of Sri Lanka. His appointment was approved by Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala

Sirisena.

Justice Sripavan succeeded Shirani Bandaranayake who resigned on 29 January

2015. She resigned one day after she was reinstated as Chief Justice by the Sri

Lankan President on 28 January 2015.

Bandaranaike, the first woman Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, was purportedly impeached

and removed by the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2013.

Sripavan is the second Tamil to be the Chief Justice of the Sri Lankan Supreme

Court. The first Tamil to hold this highest judicial post in Sri Lanka was Suppiah

Sharvananda, who served between 1984 and 1988.

Krishna Chaudhary appointed as the Director General of ITBP

Krishna Chaudhary was appointed as the Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan

Border Police (ITBP) on 30 January 2015. Chaudhary, an IPS officer of 1979-batch

Bihar cadre will be in office till June 2017.

At the time of appointment, he was working as the Director General of the Railway

Protection Force.

PERSON APPOINTED

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His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC)

headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chaudhary succeeded Subhas Goswami who retired on 31 December 2014. CRPF

DG Prakash Mishra was holding the additional charge of the ITBP since the retirement

of Subhas Goswami.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

Indo-Tibetan Border Police was raised on 24 October 1962. Initially, it was raised

under the CRPF Act, 1949 however the Parliament in 1992 enacted the Indo-Tibetan

Border Police Force Act, 1992 and rules there under were framed in 1994.

ITBP is a specialized mountain force and most of the officers and men are professionally

trained mountaineers and skiers.

Being the first responder for natural disaster in the Himalayas, ITBPF has been

carrying out numerous rescue and relief operations.

Currently, ITBP is deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh

to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of Indo-China Border. It is also

present on the manning Border Outposts on altitudes raging from 9000 feet to 18700

feet in the Western, Middle and Eastern Sector of the Indo-China Border.

Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi

Renowned music composer and actor Shekhar Sen was on 29 January 2015

appointed as the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA). He was appointed

for a term of 5 years with immediate effect.

Shekhar Sen will succeed Leela Samson who resigned from the position on 5

September 2014. The post was lying vacant since October 2014.

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Shekhar Sen

• Born and brought up in Chhattisgarh, Sen began to learn music from his parents

who were renowned classical singers of Gwalior Gharana & Musicologists.

• Sen established himself as a singer with a different style by singing the medieval

poets like Raskhan, Raheem, Lalitkishori, Bhooshan Bihari and many more.

• He is famous for his mono act musical plays Tulsi, Kabeer, Vivekananda, and

Soordas.

• Sen’s performances are acclaimed in India, US, UK, Belgium, Surinam, Singapore,

Jakarta, Hong Kong, South Africa, UAE, Mauritius and Trinidad.

• Shekhar Sen has received prestigious awards including Padam Shri Award in

2015, Safdar Hashmi Puraskar in 2001 for his contribution in field of theatre and V.

Shantaram Lalit Kala Puraskaar in 2008.

About Sangeet Natak Akademi

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi was created by the then Union Ministry of Education

through a resolution dated 31 May 1952 notified in the Gazette of India of June

1952.

• The Akademi was inaugurated on 28 January 1953 by India’s first President,

Rajendra Prasad to promote performing arts such as dance, drama and music

across the country.

• SNA has established several institutions over the years including Manipur Dance

Academy in Imphal, Sattriya Centre, Kathak Kendra in New Delhi and Centre for

Kutiyattam in Thiruvananthapuram.

UN Secretary–General appointed Saraswathy Menon in peace-building panel

United Nation (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 24 January 2015 appointed

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Indian sociologist Saraswathi Menon in peace-building panel. This panel will review

peace building activities.

The others on the seven-member panel, formally known as advisory group on the

review of the peace-building architecture, include a retired Pakistani major general,

Anis Bajwa and Charles Petrie of France, who headed an internal review panel on UN

actions in Sri Lanka.

The appointment was made in accordance with the Terms of Reference endorsed by

the General Assembly and the Security Council.

On 15 December 2014, the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security

Council asked the Secretary-General to nominate up to seven experts to form an

advisory group on the review of the peacebuilding architecture.

The advisory group will undertake country studies in Burundi, Central African

Republic, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Timor-Leste and will conduct a policy and

institutional review of the peace-building architecture. It would also develop findings

and recommendations based on this work.

About Saraswathy Menon

Before joining UNDP, she taught at Madras University in India. She has extensive

experience in women’s and development issue. She has been the director of the Policy

Division of UN-Women, the UN body for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of

Women, and the director of the UN Development Program’s Evaluation Office. Her

other UNDP assignments included postings in Mongolia and Nepal.

She has a doctorate in sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New

Delhi.

R V Easwar appointed as Interim Chairman of DDCA

Former High Court judge Justice R V Easwar was on 22 January 2015 appointed as

Interim Chairman of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA).

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Easwar was appointed by Delhi High Court following the plea of DDCA treasurer

Ravinder Manchanda who challenged the 16 January 2015 order of trial court that

directed the cricket body to not to convene any meetings till Bansal’s plea is heard.

Easwar will preside over the DDCA’s executive committee meetings till a trial court

decides on the controversy over suspension of its President Sneh Bansal. DDCA will

also pay 110000 rupees as fees of per executive meeting to Easwar.

The court also allowed the suspended President of DDCA Sneh Bansal and General

Secretary of DDCA Anil Khanna to attend the meetings as members of the Executive

Committee till the hearing of Bansal’s plea challenging his removal before a trial court.

The High Court’s order came after both Manchanda and Bansal agreed to the interim

arrangement of appointing a retired judge to head meetings of DDCA.

Background

Earlier, Manchanda submitted a plea before the High Court that the entire working of

DDCA has come to a standstill as no work can be done without convening meeting of

the executive committee. Manchanda is also a defendant in the plaint filed by Bansal

challenging his removal.

Meanwhile, Bansal’s counsel Gautam Dutta maintained that his client was illegally

suspended and was not being permitted to participate in the meetings.

Jasjit Ahluwalia appointed as Dean of School of Public Health at Rutgers University

Jasjit Ahluwalia, an eminent Indian-origin researcher and academician, was on 20

January 2015 appointed as the Dean of School of Public Health at the Rutgers

University in the US state of New Jersey.

He will assume the office as Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health from April

2015. Currently, Ahluwalia is a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the

University of Minnesota Academic Health Centre.

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Jasjit Ahluwalia

• An alumnus of New York University and Harvard University, Ahluwalia is a nationally

recognised researcher in the field of health disparities and minority health and

nicotine addiction.

• He was the Vice-Chairman and director of research for the Department of Preventive

Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas Medical Centre in 1997.

• He was recruited as the founding executive director of the Office of Clinical

Research at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Centre in 2005.

• Ahluwalia recently completed his term as Chair of the National Advisory Council

for Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani appointed as Chairman of CBFC

Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani on 19 January 2015 was appointed as the Chairman of

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Nihalani, known for the 1990s blockbusters Shola aur Shabnam and Aankhen will

succeed Leela Samson who resigned from her office on 16 January 2015.

Nihalani is also known for producing a fan-song for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in

2014 titled Har Ghar Modi-The Power House of India.

Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry who reconstituted the complete Board

also appointed nine new members in it. The tenure of the Chairperson and the

members of the CBFC will be of three years.

The Chairman and the members were appointed in accordance with the sub-section

(1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Rule 3 of the Cinematograph

(Certification) Rules, 1983.

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Appointed members of the board are

• Film director Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi – he is known for his epic TV serial

Chanakya and critically acclaimed national award winning film Pinjar

• BJP leader Vani Tripathi Tikoo - she acted in films like Chalte Chalte and Dushman

• Kashmiri activist and filmmaker Ashoke Pandit - he is known for films like And the

World Remained Silent and Sheen

• Dalit RSS activist Ramesh Patange – he authored Me, Manu anee Sangh (I, Manu,

and Sangh)

• Gujarat Central University Vice-Chancellor Syed Abdul Bari

• Bengali actor George Baker

• Tamil actor Sattanathapuram Venkataraman Shekhar

• Telugu actor Jeevitha

• Writer Mihir Bhuta

Deep Kumar Upadhyay appointed as Nepal’s ambassador to In-dia

Nepali Congress leader Deep Kumar Upadhyay was on 16 January 2015 appointed

as Nepal’s ambassador to India. The post was lying vacant since 2011.

The decision to appoint Deep Kumar Upadhyay was taken at the cabinet meeting

headed by Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Kumar Koirala. He is a Central Working

Committee member of the Nepali Congress party.

Earlier, Upadhyay has served as an assistant finance minister of Nepal. However, he

does not have experience in foreign affairs as he had never served any diplomatic

position earlier.

The post was lying vacant for more than 3 years when the Maoist-led government

called back its ambassador to India Rukma Shukshere Rana in August 2011. She

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was called back after she was found serving as the Managing Director of Indian joint

venture Dabur Nepal.

Hari Shankar Brahma appointed as the Chief Election Commis-sioner

Hari Shankar Bramha was appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)

by President Pranab Mukherjee on 15 January 2016.

Brahma, the senior-most Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India

succeeds V.S. Sampath.

Sampath demitted the office on 15 January 2015 after attaining the age of 65, the

upper age limit under the Constitution for holding the post.

Brahma (64) will assume the charge of the office of Chief Election Commissioner with

effect from 16 January 2015. He will have a small tenure of three months till 19 April

2015, when he turns 65, the upper age limit for the post.

About Harishankar Brahma

• He is a 1975 IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre

• He hails from Assam and has served as the former Union power secretary

• He was appointed as an Election Commissioner on 25 August 2010

After J.M. Lyngdoh, Brahma is the second officer from northeast to be appointed to

this post.

About Election Commission

Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body. It was established

in accordance with the Constitution on 25 January 1950.

Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner, but now it is a

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three-member body, including the CEC and two election commissioners.

For the first time two additional Commissioners were appointed on 16 October 1989

but they had a very short tenure till 1 January 1990. Later, on 1 October 1993 two

additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The concept of multi-member

Commission has been in operation since then, with decision making power by

majority vote.

Appointment Committee of Cabinet approved Anupam Shrivas-tava as CMD of BSNL

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on 14 January 2015 approved

appointment of Anupam Shrivastava as CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) of

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Currently, he is serving as Director - Consumer

Mobility at the BSNL.

BSNL’s Director Enterprises A N Rai is currently handling the additional charge of

CMD.

His appointment was pending from long. The Public Enterprise Selection Board

(PESB) had shortlisted Anupam Shrivastava for the post of CMD of BSNL in 2013.

His tenure as CMD was to begin from 1 May 2013 but the then Union Telecommunication

Minister Kapil Sibal held back the recommendation and granted extension to R K

Upadhyay till 30 June 2013.

Further, change in the government at the Centre delayed the decision to appoint the

head of BSNL.

Anupam Srivastava joined BSNL Corporate Office as Director (CM) on 1 May 2013

and is responsible for the growth of mobile business of GSM / CDMA / WIMAX in

BSNL, including all activities related to Sales & Marketing, VAS, Tariff finalization &

revenue.

As Zonal Director for North Zone he is responsible for monitoring growth and

maintenance of Telecom Network in 8 Circles.

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Arvind Panagariya took charge as Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog

Arvind Panagariya took charge as Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog on 13 January 2015.

He became the first vice-chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India

(NITI) Aayog, which replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015.

NITI Aayog comprises of Prime Minister as chairperson, one vice-chairman, two full-

time members, four ex-officio members (Union ministers) and three special invitees.

About Arvind Panagariya

• Panagariya, 62, is an Indian-American economist.

• He has been a professor of Economics at the Columbia University.

• He also served as the Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank.

• He served as a Professor of Economics and Co-director, Centre for International

Economics, University of Marylan at College Park.

• He has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade

Organisation, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD) in various capacities.

Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar appointed as Chairman of ISRO

Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar was on 12 January 2015 appointed as Chairman of Indian

Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Kiran Kumar became eighth Chairman of ISRO

after succeeding K Radhakrishnan who retired on 31 December 2014.

He was re-employed on contract basis for a tenure of three years from the date

of assumption of the charge of post. Kiran Kumar will also be the Secretary of the

Department of Space and also the Chairman of Space Commission.

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His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Background

Former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan had retired on 31 December 2014. Following

his retirement, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences Shailesh Nayak was given

the additional charge of ISRO till the appointment of a new head.

Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin

• A Physics graduate from the National College of Bangalore University, Kumar

started his ISRO career with the Space Application Centre in 1975.

• He played a crucial role in developing image sensors for Bhaskara, India’s first

remote sensing satellite launched in 1979.

• He was appointed as the Director of Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad in

2012 for Space borne Electro-optical imaging systems.

• Credited with developing key components of India’s Chandrayaan-1 and

Mangalyaan missions, Kumar was awarded the Padma Shree in 2014.

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha appointed as 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was on 12 January 2015 appointed as the 21st chief

justice of Bangladesh. His appointment was confirmed by the Bangladesh President

Abdul Hamid as per Article 95(1) of the Bangladesh Constitution.

Surendra Kumar Sinha will succeed incumbent Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain

who will retire on 16 January 2015.

The swearing-in ceremony of Justice Sinha will take place on 17 January 2015 at the

Bangabhaban presidential palace, Bangladesh. Justice Sinha will be the first non-

Muslim to take charge of the office of Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

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Surendra Kumar Sinha

• Born in 1951, Justice Sinha was enrolled as an advocate of the High Court Division

in 1978.

• He became an advocate of the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court

in 1990.

• He was elevated as judge of the High Court Division in 1999 and as judge of the

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in 2009.

• Justice Sinha is known for a number of landmark judgments including the killing of

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 5th and 13th amendments to the

Bangladesh constitution.

Sindhushree Khullar appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI

Senior bureaucrat Sindhushree Khullar was on 10 January 2015 appointed as the

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI)

Aayog with effect from 1 January 2015. She will serve the position for one year.

Her appointment was approved by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet.

Sindhushree Khullar

• Sindhushree Khullar is 1975-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service’s

(IAS) Union Territories cadre.

• She became the Member-Secretary of Planning Commission in April 2012 by

replacing SudhaPillai.

• In March 2013, she was appointed as Secretary of the Planning Commission on

contract basis for two years.

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Background

Union Government on 1 January 2015 replaced the decades old Planning Commission

with a new institution named National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog).

The institution will be chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Noted Economist Arvind Panagariya was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the

NITI Aayog. Economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO chief V K Saraswat were

appointed as full-time members of NITI Aayog.

Modibo Keita appointed as the Prime Minister of Mali

Modibo Keita was on 8 January 2015 appointed as the Prime Minister of West African

nation Mali. His appointment was confirmed by Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar

Keita.

Modibo Keita succeeded Moussa Mara who resigned on 8 January 2015 under

pressure from the President due to the strife-torn condition of the nation.

Modibo Keita

• Modibo Keita had previously served as the Secretary General of the Presidency

of Mali.

• In 2002, Modibo Keita was appointed as the Prime Minister of Mali under the

regime of President Alpha Oumar Konare.

• Keita in April 2014 was named as Mali’s state representative for inter-Malian

inclusive dialogue to bring together the government and rebels based in northern

Mali.

K K Paul sworn in as sixth Governor of Uttarakhand

Krishan Kant Paul on 8 January 2015 was sworn in as the sixth Governor of

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Uttarakhand. Chief Justice of Uttarakhand Justice V K Bisht administered the oath of

office and secrecy to him at the Raj Bhavan.

He succeeded Governor Aziz Qureshi who was appointed as the Governor of Mizoram

on 30 December 2014.

Prior to this, he was the Governor of Meghalaya and held additional charge Governor

of Manipur and Mizoram.

Paul joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1970 of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh–

Goa–Mizoram–Union Territories) cadre.

He was Delhi Police commissioner from February 2004 to July 2007, thus becoming

the longest serving commissioner of Delhi Police.

After retirement, he became a member of Union Public Service Commission in July

2007.

Atul Khare appointed as the UN Under-Secretary-General

Atul Khare was on 7 January 2015 appointed as the United Nations (UN) Under-

Secretary-General, Department of Field Support (DFS). He will succeed Ameerah

Haq of Bangladesh.

His appointed was announced by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Khare is currently providing charitable medical advice in India.

Atul Khare

• Khare joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1984 and has served Indian diplomatic

missions in France, Mauritius, Senegal, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

• Khare has been serving the UN since years, most recently as Assistant Secretary-

General leading the Change Management Team in 2011-2012.

• He was the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and

Deputy Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York from

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2010 to 2011.

• He was previously the Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-

Leste (UNMIT) at the level of Under-Secretary-General in 2006.

Raosaheb Patil Danve appointed as the Maharashtra BJP Presi-dent

Raosaheb Patil Danve, was appointed as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President

of Maharashtra on 6 January 2015. He is the Union Minister of State for Consumer

Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in Narendra Modi-led NDA government.

He was appointed as the Party President for the Maharashtra Unit by BJP’s National

President Amit Shah.

59-year-old, Danve succeeded Devendra Fadnavis who at present is serving

Maharashtra as its Chief Minister. Earlier, he had served the party as vice-president

in Maharashtra.

About Raosaheb Patil Danve

• Danve is the Member of Parliament from Jalna Parliamentary constituency of

Maharashtra

• He has been an MLA (twice) from Bhokardan assembly constituency

• He was actively associated with the cooperative movement of the state

P Krishnamurthy appointed as Private Secretary of Union De-fence Minister Manohar Parrikar

IAS officer P Krishnamurthy was on 5 January 2015 appointed as Private Secretary

of Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. He is appointed for a five-year period or

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on co-terminus basis with the minister’s tenure.

Krishnamurthy is presently working as Resident Commissioner at Goa Sadan and

State’s finance secretary.

P Krishnamurthy

• Krishnamurthy is a 1997 batch IAS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram

Union territories (AGMU) cadre.

• He has also worked as secretary to Parrikar when the latter was Goa chief minister.

• He served as Deputy Commissioner of North Division of Revenue Department,

Delhi from 2008 to 2009.

• He was the Director of the Education Department of National Capital Territory of

Delhi from 2009 to 2011.

• He served as the Director of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) from

2011 to 2014.

Prime Minister appointed economist Arvind Panagariya as the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 January 2015 appointed economist Arvind

Panagariya as the Vice-Chairman of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI)

Aayog. He is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia

University.

Panagariya is an Alma matter of Rajasthan University and holds a Ph.D. degree in

Economics from Princeton University.

He has written around 10 books, the latest being India: The Emerging Giant, which

was published in March 2008 by the Oxford University Press, New York.

Besides Arvind Panagariya, PM also appointed other members of the newly

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constituted NITI Aayog that came into existence on 1 January 2015 replacing 65 year

old Planning Commission.

The other members appointed are:

Full-Time Members

• Bibek Debroy, Economist

• Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Former Secretary Defence Research & Development

Ex-officio members

• Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Home Affairs

• Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information &

Broadcasting

• Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways

• Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture

Special Invitees

• Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping

• Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment

• Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister of Human Resource Development

Sutirtha Bhattacharya took charge as CMD of Coal India Lim-ited

Sutirtha Bhattacharya on 5 January 2015 took charge as Coal India Limited’s full-time

Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). The post was vacant for over six month.

Prior to taking the charge of Coal India, Bhattacharya, a 1985 batch IAS officer of

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Andhra Pradesh cadre was the CMD of the state-owned Singareni Collieries Company.

Bhattacharya’s name was recommended for the CMD of Coal India Limited (CIL) by the

Public Enterprises Services Board (PESB) on 19 November 2014. Later in November

2014, his named was cleared for the top post by the Appointments Committee of the

Cabinet.

Coal India was without a full-time head since May 2014 when S Narsing Rao resigned

from the post to join Telangana government. But it was being handled by additional

secretary, coal, AK Dubey who was given the additional charge as CMD of CIL from

26 June 2014.

R. Koteeswaran took charge as new CMD of Indian Overseas Bank

R. Koteeswaran on 2 January 2015 took charge as new Chairman and Managing

Director (CMD) of public sector Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).

He succeedded M Narendra. He is appointed for a period of three years or till the

date of superannuation, whichever is earlier.

Earlier, Koteeswaran was serving as Executive Director of Bank of India.Koteeswaran

began his career in 1976 in Bank of Baroda and later joined Bank of India as its

Executive Director.

R. Koteeswaran served as General Manager of Information Technology & Projects at

Bank of Baroda and served as its General Manager. Koteeswaran has been Executive

Director of Bank of India since August 2013.

His appointement was confirmed by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under

the Union Ministry of Finance on 31 December 2014, along with the appointment of

three others chiefs of Public Sector Bank (PSB).

They were appointed on the recommendations of Appointments Board chaired by

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan.

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Kiran Bhai Vadodaria elected as INS president

Kiran Bhai Vadodaria on 2 January 2015 was elected as President of the Indian

Newspaper Society (INS) for 2014-15. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of

Gujarati newspaper Sambhaav Metro.

He succeeded Ravindra Kumar of The Statesman. The appointment was announced

at the 75th annual general meeting of the organization in New Delhi.

PV Chandran of Grihalakshmi was elected Deputy President of the INS while Somesh

Sharma of Rastradoot was made Vice President.

Mohit Jain of Economic Times and V Shankaran were appointed as Treasurer and

Secretary General of INS.

Among the 41-member Executive Committee, the notable members include Mahendra

Mohan Gupta (Dainik Jagran), Sanjay Gupta (Dainik Jagran), Shailesh Gupta (Mid-Day),

Vijay Kumar Chopra (Punjab Kesri), Viveck Goenka (The Indian Express, Mumbai), R

Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar) and Jayant Mammen Mathew (Malayala Manorama).

About INS

The society was founded in 1939. Its headquarter is located in New Delhi.

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) acts as the central organization of the Press of

India. It is an independent body authenticating circulation figures of newspapers and

periodicals in India. It is an organization which plays a major role in protecting and

promoting the freedom of press in India.

A.K. Mittal appointed as Chairman of Railway Board

A.K. Mittal was appointed as the Chairman of Railway Board on 31 December 2014.

He succeeded Arunendra Kumar who superannuated from Railway Services on 31

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December 2014.

At the time of this appointment, Mittal was Member Staff, Railway Board and ex-

officio Secretary to the Government of India. He had also served as General Manager

of South Western Railway-SWR (Headquarters Hubli) and was also looking after the

additional charge of General Manager, South Central Railway- SCR (Headquarters

Secunderabad).

Apart from this, other 11 appointments including eight General Managers were done.

The eight general managers were appointed by Railways Minsiter Suresh Prabhu to

head different zonal railways and departmental organizations. Some appointments in

Railways include

• Pradeep Kumar – succeeded Mittal and became new Member Staff. At the time

of being appointed in as member staff, he was serving as a Genral Manager of the

North Central Railway and was also holding additional charge of Northern Railway,

• Navin Tondon – appointed as the Member Electrical and at the time of appointment

he was serving as a General Manager of South Eastern Central Railways

• V.K. Gupta, Member Engineering - given additional responsibility of Member

Mechanical at the Board

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SCIENCE | SPACE

Vaccine Raksha Blu for bluetongue disease launched

To counter the deadly bluetongue disease, Raksha Blu vaccine was launched on

8 January 2015 by Gachibowli facility of Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) in

Hyderabad, Telangana.

The vaccine was launched with an aim to minimise the economic loss of the animal

farming community that occurs due to bluetongue disease.

This is India’s first vaccine for bluetongue disease. This viral disease has about 24

strains prevalent across the world of which five are mostly prevalent in India.

The vaccine has been developed to protect the animals against five strains of the

‘bluetongue’ virus prevalent in the country. Per dose of the vaccine will be available

for farmers at an expense of 5 rupees.

The vaccine is the result of collaborative efforts of IIL, TANUVAS (Tamil Nadu University

of Veterinary and Animal Sciences) and ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research).

The vaccine was developed in three years.

This vaccine will be developed at Hyderabad facility of ILL, which has produced the

first batch of three million doses.

This vaccine will be given to four-year-old cattle population and will be followed by a

booster dose three months and onwards one dose will be given every year.

Bluetongue Disease

Bluetongue disease is a non-contagious, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants

which affects lakhs of sheep, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedaries and antelope across

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the country. It is caused by the pathogenic virus, Bluetongue virus (BTV), of the

genus Orbivirus, of the Reoviridae family and is transmitted by the midge Culicoides

imicola, Culicoides variipennis and other culicoids.

The symptoms include fever and blue tongue.

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PERSON ON VISIT

Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited In-dia

Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited India from 10 January to

18 January 2015. He visited along with his spouse Aum Tashi Doma, Foreign Minister

Rinzin Dorji and Economic Affairs Minister Norbu Wangchuk.

As a part of his visit, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held wide-ranging

discussions on bilateral relations as well as on regional and international issues of

mutual interest and concern.

Both the leaders agreed that cooperation in the field of hydropower was mutually

beneficial and a win-win situation for both countries. They reiterated their commitment

to the 10000 MW hydro power plant initiatives and also committed for early

implementation of the four JV-model projects, totaling 2120 MW.

He also met President of India Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister of Home Affairs

-Rajnath Singh, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Union Minister of Finance

Arun Jaitley, Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel and many other leaders.

He also attended the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 and also visited a number of very

successful projects in Gujarat such as the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City

(GIFT), Solar Park, Kaushal Vardhan Kendra (Skill Development Institute), Sabarmati

river front, Garima Park and Kids City. Further, Prime Minister also visited the Buddhist

sites in Vadnagar, Gujarat.

The visit of the Prime Minister of Bhutan to India reinforced the tradition of regular visits

at the highest levels, and extensive exchange of views between the two counties.

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PERSON DIED

Subhash Ghising, the President of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), died

Subhash Ghising, the President and Founder of Gorkha National Liberation Front

(GNLF), died on 29 January 2015 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi following

prolonged illness. He was 79.

He was the person who gave birth to the Gorkhaland movement (GNLF) in the 1980s

for a creation of a separate Gorkhaland State by carving out North Bengal’s Darjeeling

district. For the first time, he raised the demand for a separate State in Aril 1979 and

formed GNLF in 1980 to achieve the objective. The movement reached its peak

around 1985–1986.

His demand led to formation of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), a semi-

autonomous governing body for the hills. DGHC was formed after Union, State

Government and GNLF signed an agreement on 23 August 1988.

GNLF administered the DGHC with Subhash Ghising as the Chairman of the Council

from 1988 to 2004. From 2005 to 2008 he was appointed as the sole caretaker of the

DGHC as no election for the DGHC was held since 2004.

Ghising born on 22 June 1936 at Manju Tea Estate, near Mirik in Darjeeling, set up a

political outfit named Nilo Jhanda (Blue Flag) to support the cause of people of hill in

1968.

Decline in the popularity of Ghising

His popularity as a leader of Gorkhaland movement declined with the formation of

Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) in October 2007 by his most trusted aide Bimal

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Gurung.

The fall of Ghising was not a sudden one rather it was the result of growing

disenchantment of people of Hills since 1988, when the DGHC was established, until

2005 when DGHC was wounded up with the GNLF demanding a fresh Gorkha Hill

Council.

In 2011, he contested the State Assembly Elections from Darjeeling, Kalimpong and

Kurseong in the Darjeeling hills but lost all the three seats.

Since then, he was living a life of a recluse in Siliguri in the foothills, occasionally

making day trips to the hills.

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC)

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was set up under The Darjeeling Gorkha

Hill Council Act, 1988. The Act was notified by the West Bengal government on 15

October 1988.

The Act was enacted pursuant to the Memorandum of Settlement (Darjeeling Accord)

signed between Union Home Minister, West Bengal Government and Subash

Ghisingh, President of GNLF on 23 August 1988.

The hill areas under DGHC comprised of the three hill Sub-Divisions of Darjeeling

District. These are Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and 13 mouzas of Siliguri

Sub-Division of that District.

However, Subash Ghisingh was not satisfied and demanded for Constitutional Status

for the DGHC because, according to him, the DGHC could not fulfill the aspirations

of the people of Darjeeling. This led to several round of tripartite talks between Union

government, GNLF and West Bengal government.

As a result of these meetings, it was agreed in principle to create a self-governing

body for the Darjeeling hill areas in West Bengal.

Pursuant to this, Union government presented the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution

(Amendment) Bill, 2007 and The Constitution (107th Amendment) Bill, 2007 which

was passed by the Lok Sabha on 28 February 2008 and presented to the Rajya

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Sabha.

However, in Rajya Sabha the Bills were not passed and referred to the Department-

related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs headed by Sushma

Swaraj, the current External Affairs Minister. The present status of the bills is lapsed

status.

Australian golfer Kelvin David George Nagle died

Australia’s former golfer Kelvin David George Nagle died on 29 January 2015 in

Sydney’s Mona Vale Hospital after battling poor health. He was 94.

Born in North Sydney on 21 December 1920, Nagle was the winner of the British

Open (the Open Championship) at St. Andrews in 1960. He held a record of winning

61 tournaments on the Australasian PGA tour after turning professional in 1946.

He had the incredible record of winning a tournament every year from 1949 to 1975.

Nagle’s first big win came at the 1949 Australian PGA championship, which he went

on to win further five times.

In November 2007, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan died

Malayalam actor and comedian Mala Aravindan died on 28 January 2015 following

cardiac arrest in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He was 76.

Born in 1941 at Vadavucode in Ernakulam, Mala Aravindan began his career as a

tabla artist. He began his acting career in the plays of National Theatres, Kottayam

and went on to associate with theatre groups such as Natakasala and Suryasoma.

Mala began his stint in films with the 1968 film Sindhooram, directed by Balakrishnan

and went on to act in over 400 films. These include Mimics Parade, Kanmadam,

Aalorungi Arangorungi, Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, Venkalam, Uppukandam Brothers,

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Joker, Pattalam, Sandhesam, etc.

He won the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi’s award for the best actor for his role

in Sooryasoma’s play Nidhi.

Hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput died

Hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput died on 28 January 2015 following a

prolonged illness. He was 88.

He was part of Indian hockey team that won gold medal in 1948 London and 1952

Helsinki Olympics.

He played at centre-half and left-half position and formed a lethal foursome with

Leslie Claudius, Keshav Dutt and Meldric Daluz.

Born in Delhi, he shifted to Kolkata to pursue his career in hockey and played for

Bhowanipore Club. Later in 1952, he moved to Mohun Bagan and helped them to

win the Beighton Cup.

Telugu comedian Mailavarapu Surya Narayana passed away

Tollywood Actor and comedian Mailavarapu Surya Narayana passed away on 23

January 2015 following multi-organ failure. He was 63.

Mailavarapu Surya Narayana

• Narayana was born in Nidamarru village near Bhimavaram in West Godavari

District on 16 April 1951.

• Beginning his career as a lecturer, MS Narayana began acting in films in 1997. He

has starred in more than 700 films.

• His other prominent films include Badshah in 2013, Cameraman Gangatho

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Rambabu in 2012, Julayi in 2012 and Dookudu in 2011. His latest film is Manam

(2014).

• Narayana won five Nandi awards presented by Andhra Pradesh Government as

Best male comedian for the flims Maa Nanna ki Pelli, Ramskkanodu, Sardukupodam

Randi, Sivamani and Dookudu.

Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died

Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passed away on 23 January 2015 following

a brief illness. He was 90.

After the death of Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, his brother and Crown Prince Salman bin

Abdulaziz Al Saud was named as the new king. The new crown prince is Muqrin bin

Abdulaziz Al Saud. Both Salman and Muqrin are younger brothers of Abdullah.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz

• Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924 and was one among the dozens of sons of

Saudi Arabia’s founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.

• Abdullah was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his half-brother Fahd

ascended the throne. He became de facto ruler in 1995 when a stroke incapacitated

Fahd.

• Abdullah ascended to the throne as King in 2005. Abdullah’s biggest priority was

to confront Iran, the Shiite powerhouse across the Gulf.

• One of his most ambitious projects was a Western-style university that bears his

name, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology which was opened

in 2009.

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Veteran freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away

Legendary social activist and freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away on 16

January 2015 following a brief illness in Dang District, Gujarat. He was 90.

Ghelubhai Naik

• Ghelubhai was close to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and started his activity in Dang

District as a Sarvodaya worker in 1948.

• He was famously known for his Gandhian acts and had also set up Swaraj ashram

for pioneering the education activity for the upliftment of the tribal people.

• Naik was also known for changing the names of thousands of tribal people, who

were earlier bearing names like Ravio, Thagio, Nariyo etc.

Legendary Odia actor Hara Patnaik died

Veteran Odia actor and director Hara Patnaik passed away on 13 January 2015

following a brief illness in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. He was 56.

Hara Patnaik

• Hara Patnaik was born on 12 October 1958 in the city of Cuttack, Odisha.

• Patnaik started his acting career with the movie Sahari Bagha in 1985.

• He made his directorial debut in Daiba Daudi in the year 1990.

• As a director, he gave several upcoming actors their first break including Anubhav

Mohanty, Sabyasachi Mishra and Babushaan.

• During his 20 years tenure, Patnaik did over 50 films and directed around 20 films.

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Swedish actress Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg died

Swedish-born actress Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg died on 11 January 2015

following a brief illness in Italy. She was 83.

Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg

• Born in Malmo, Sweden in 1931, Ekberg won the Miss Sweden title in 1951.

• Ekberg’s first film was Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) in which she played

a role of guard on the planet Venus.

• Anita Ekberg was best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film

La Dolce Vita that also won the Golden Palm at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.

• Ekberg’s famous movies were Paris Holiday (1957), Call Me Bwana (1963), Blood

Alley (1955), Boccaccio 70 (1962) and Hollywood or Bust (1956).

Actor and comedian Taylor Negron died

Actor and comedian Taylor Negron died on 10 January 2015 after battling with the

cancer for long time. He was 57.

Taylor Negron

• Negron got his first role in 1982 in the Young Doctors in Love Television show.

• Negron did a series of films including Angels in the Outfield, Punchline, and Stuart

Little.

• He also made cameo appearances in shows like Hill Street Blues, The Fresh Prince

of Bel-Air, The Ben Stiller Show, Seinfeld, ER, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

• In 2008, Negron wrote the play The Unbearable Lightness of Being Taylor Negron-

A Fusion of Story and Song. Business | Industry News

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Actor Rodney Sturt Taylor passed away

Australian actor Rodney Sturt Taylor died on 7 January 2015 following a brief illness

in Los Angeles. He was 84.

Rodney Sturt Taylor

• Born in Sydney in January 1930, Taylor studied art at East Sydney Technical

College.

• He got his first leading role in the 1960 adaptation of HG Wells’ science-fiction film

The Time Machine.

• He appeared in over 50 films including leading roles in The Time Machine, Seven

Seas to Calais, The Birds, Sunday in New York, Young Cassidy, Dark of the Sun,

The Liquidator and The Train Robbers.

• In 2009, he made a cameo as ex-UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Quentin

Tarantino’s film Inglourious Basterds.

• His famous Australian films were King of the Coral Sea in 1954, Daddy-O and

Welcome To Woop Woop.

Former Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Rajkumar Manisana passed away

Retired Gauhati High Court Chief justice Rajkumar Manisana passed away on 8

January 2015 following a brief illness. He was 82.

Rajkumar Manisana

• Rajkumar Manisana started his career as a lawyer in 1956 and became an advocate

on 15 July 1958.

• He was the advocate cum public prosecutor of the Manipur Government from

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October 1972 to October 1974.

• In November 1979, he was appointed as the Advocate General of Manipur and

became a justice of the Gauhati High Court in November 1984.

• Manisana became the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on 24 January

1994.

• He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission

in January 2002.

Freedom fighter Perin Romesh Chandra died

Freedom fighter Perin Romesh Chandra died on 8 January 2015 following a prolonged

illness. She was 96.

Perin Romesh Chandra

• Chandra was born as Perin Bharucha in Chaman, Pakistan on 2nd October 1918.

• Apart from being a veteran Communist, she served in the peace movement of

international communism and was part of its Indian leadership.

• Perin was a leader and stalwart of the All India Peace & Solidarity Organisation

(AIPSO).

• The greater part of her life was spent in the peace and solidarity movements

including the movement against the US occupation of Vietnam, the struggle to

free South Africa from apartheid, caste discrimination and for people-to-people

contacts between Indians and Pakistanis.

Former MCA office-bearer Ramesh Kosambia died

Former office bearer of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Ramesh Kosambia

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died at his residence in Borivli on 5 January 2015. He was 87.

Kosambia who was part of the Bal Mahaddalkar group which swept the MCA elections

in the late 1980s is survived by three sons and a daughter.

Ramesh Kosambia

• He served MCA as the Joint Secretary of Mumbai Cricket Association for 7 years

from 1989 to 1994 & 2005 to 2007

• He served MCA as Treasurer for 9 years from 1988 to 1990 & 1998 to 2005

• He also served the Association as the Managing Committee member

• He was associated with the Association for more than 60 years

Veteran Chinese sports administrator He Zhenliang died

The former International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and Vice President He

Zhenliang died on 4 January 2015 in Beijing following a brief illness. He was 85.

He Zhenliang

• He Zhenliang began his career in 1955 as an international communication official

in National Sports Commission of China.

• In 1964, he became the Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Gymnastics

Association and later served as the Secretary General of the Chinese Table Tennis

Association.

• In 1979, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary General of the all-

China Sports Federation and the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC).

• Zhenliang was elected as a member of the IOC from the People’s Republic of

China in 1981 and was elected as IOC Vice President in 1989.

• He became IOC Honorary Member in 2010 and served on the IOC Executive Board

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three times in 1985, 1994 and 1999.

• He was the Honorary Member of the Commission for Culture and Olympic

Education from 2009 to 2015.

Gujarati film actor Upendra Jethalal Trivedi died

Veteran Gujarati actor Upendra Jethalal Trivedi passed away on 4 January 2015 in

Mumbai following respiratory arrest. He was 79.

Upendra Jethalal Trivedi

• Born in Kukadia village of north Gujarat, Upendra began working as a labourer in

Mumbai.

• In 1971, Upendra began his career as an actor in Gujarati films with the movie

Jesal Toral directed by Ravindra Trivedi.

• Upendra is well-known as Abhinay Samrat due to his brilliant performance in the

Gujarati play Abhinay Samrat.

• Upendra has directed National Award winning Gujarati film Manvini Bhawai and

is also the recipient of Padma Shri in 1989 and Pandit Omkarnath Thakur award.

• He was also an active member in the Gujarat political arena and had won the

Gujarat legislative assembly election from Bhiloda in 1980s.

American country music singer Little Jimmy Dickens died at 94

Little Jimmy Dickens, an American country music singer famous for his humorous

novelty songs died on 2 January 2015 at Nashville. He was 94.

James Cecil Dickens born on 19 December 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia was best

known for his self-deprecating sense of humor, small size (4’11”) and his rhinestone-

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studded outfits. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and few grandchildren.

Mario Matthew Cuomo, former New York Governor, died at 82

Mario Matthew Cuomo, former New York Governor on 1 January 2015 died due to

heart failure in Manhattan, New York City. He was 82.

Mario Matthew Cuomo was an American politician and member of the Democratic

Party. He served as the 52nd Governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to

1994, Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1979 to 1982, and Secretary of State of

New York from 1975 to 1978.

Cuomo was known for his liberal views and public speeches, particularly his keynote

speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention where he criticized Ronald

Reagan’s policies.

The speech brought him to national attention, and he was widely considered a front-

runner for the Democratic nomination for President in both 1988 and 1992, but he

declined to seek the nomination in both instances.

His Books

• He was the author of Why Lincoln Matters. The book was published in 2004.

• He was the co-editor of Lincoln on Democracy, an anthology of Abraham Lincoln’s

speeches.

• In 1996, Cuomo wrote Reason to Believe.

• He also wrote a narrative essay titled Achieving the American Dreamabout his

parents’ struggles in coming to America and how they prospered.

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Former ISRO Chairman V R Gowarikar died in Pune

Senior Scientist and former Chairman of ISRO Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar died

after a brief illness in Pune, India on 2 January 2015. He was 82.

Chiefly known as the Father of the Indian Monsoon Model, Gowarikar was the

first scientist to develop first indigenous weather forecasting model that predicted

monsoon correctly. Between 1991 and 1993, he served as Scientific Advisor to late

Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.

He was Protégé of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, and was a part of the band of scientists who

initiated India’s satellite research programme. Some other scientists in the team were

A. P. J. Kalam, E. V. Chitnis, Pramod Kale, U. R. Rao and others.

His collaboration with Dr. F.H. Garner helped in creation of the Garner-Gowarikar

theory, a novel analysis of heat and mass transfer between solids and fluid. It was

under Garner’s supervision, he pursued his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from

the University of Birmingham, UK.

About Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar

• He made valuable contributions in the fields of space research, weather forecasting

and others

• He was associated with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as Chief and

the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre as Director between 1979 and 1985

• He had also served as Secretary to Department of Science and Technology

• In 1967, he joined the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in Kerala as

Head of Propellant Engineering Division. He pioneered solid propellant development

• He was Chairman of the Marathi Vidnyan Parishad between 1994 and 2000.

• Between 1995 and 1998, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of Pune University and

was associated with several other varsities in different capacities

• In 2008, he along with his associates compiled The Fertilizer Encyclopedia that

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featured 4500 entries detailing the chemical composition of fertilizers

• He was born on 25 March 1933 in Maharashtra

• He also worked with the UK Atomic Energy Authority

• Awards conferred on him include

a) Padma Shri (1984)

b) Padma Bhushan (2008)

c) The Fie Foundation Award

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AWARDS | HONOURS

Union Ministry of Defence announced 2015 Republic Day Pa-rade Awards

Union Ministry of Defence on 29 January 2015 announced the Awards of the 2015

Republic Day Parade.

The awards were announced by three panels of judges. The panels was appointed

by the Defence Ministry for assessing the marching contingents from three Services,

Para-Military Forces and tableaux from various States/ Ministries/Departments and

School Children items from Schools of Delhi as well as outside Delhi.

The awards were announced in the following category:

Services category: Brigade of Guards Regiment and Sikh Regiment jointly adjudged

the best marching contingents in the Republic Day Parade 2015.

Para-Military Forces: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) contingent was awarded

the best contingent.

Tableaux Category: First position won by Maharashtra Tableau, which depicted Wari

to Pandharpur (the pilgrimage to Pandharpur). While Jharkhand tableau on Maluti

Temples won the second best and the third position went to Karnataka Tableau based

on famous Channapatna Toys.

Competitive category of school children items: Daang Dance of Gujarat presented by

West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur (Rajasthan) won the award. A Consolation Prize

was awarded to South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur (Maharashtra) for their

beautiful portrayal of Lezim Dance of Maharashtra.

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The Tableau presented by the CPWD giving a majestic floral depiction of Gaumukh

was also selected for a Special Prize by the Jury.

Arundhathi Subramaniam won Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry

Poetess Arundhathi Subramaniam on 24 January 2015 won the inaugural Khushwant

Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry at Jaipur Literature Festival. She was awarded for

her work When God is a Traveller.

Subramaniam’s name was chosen from a list of 5 shortlisted names which were

announced on 10 October 2014. Other shortlisted works were

• Escape Artist by Sridala Swami

• Central Time by Ranjit Hoskote

• Fire Altar by Keki N Daruwalla

• Selected Poems by Joy Goswami translated by Sampurna Chattarji

Arundhathi Subramaniam

• She is a poet and a writer on spirituality and culture

• She has worked as a poetry editor and curator and as a journalist on literature,

classical dance and theatre

• She is the author of numerous books, namely

a) Where I Live published

b) Sadhguru: More Than a Life

c) The Book of Buddha

d) On Cleaning Bookshelves

e) She edited Pilgrim’s India, an anthology of essays and poems on sacred journeys

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f) She has co-edited Confronting Love, an anthology of contemporary Indian love

poems titled

Awards and honours on Subramaniam

• The Raza Award for Poetry in 2009

• The Charles Wallace Fellowship for a 3-month writing residency at the University

of Stirling in 2003

• The Visiting Arts Fellowship for a poetry tour of the UK (organized by the Poetry

Society) in 2006

• The Homi Bhabha Fellowship in 2012

Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry

The award was instituted in 2014 by Suhel Seth in memory of the late Khushwant

Singh. The award is open for Indian poets writing in English or Indian language

translation to English. The award carries a cash prize of 2 lakh rupees.

The award was instituted during the annual Khushwant Singh Literature Festival, set

in the hills of Kasauli.

The inaugural award was given for the poetry by a single author published between

15 September 2013 and 15 September 2014.

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe 2014

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe 2014. She was crowned

at the final of 63rd edition of Miss Universe held in Miami, US on 25 January 2015.

Vega, a 22-year-old student of business administration from Barranquilla, Colombia

was crowned by Miss Universe 2013 winner Gabriela Isler of Venezuela.

With this, Vega became the second beauty queen from Colombia to win the title. Luz

Marina Zuluaga was the first Colombian to win the crown in 1956.

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The first runner-up was Miss USA Nia Sanchez and the second runner-up was

Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha. The other two finalists in the top five were Miss the

Netherland Yasmin Verheijen and Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell.

The 63rd edition of Miss Universe witnessed 87 contestants 87 from across the world.

The crown is valued at 300000 US dollars and is designed to resemble the skyline of

New York City.

India’s Noyonita Lodh from Bengaluru, Karnataka, 21, failed to reach the top five

finalists although she was one of top 15 semi-finalists. The last time an Indian won

the Miss Universe title was Bollywood actress Lara Dutta in 2000. The first Indian to

win the Miss Universe title was Sushmita Sen in 1994.

Padma Awards 2015

The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2015 approved the conferment

of Padma Awards 2015 on 104 persons from the fields of activities including art,

social work, public affairs, science, trade, medicine, literature and education, sports,

civil service, etc.

The 2015 list of Padma Awardees comprises of 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma

Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees. Out of these 104 awardees, 17 of the

awardees are women.

The awards will be given in March/April 2015 at a ceremonial function in Rashtrapati

Bhavan in New Delhi.

Padma Vibhushan

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S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile

1 Lal Krishna Advani Public Affairs Gujarat

2 Amitabh Bachchan Art Maharashtra

3 Prakash Singh Badal Public Affairs Punjab

4 Dr. D Veerendra Heggade Social Work Karnataka

5 Mohammad Yusuf Khan alias

Dilip Kumar

Art Maharashtra

6 Jagadguru Ramanandacharya

Swami Rambhadracharya

Others Uttar Pradesh

7 Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan Science and

Engineering

Tamil Nadu

8 Kottayan K. Venugopal Public Affairs Delhi

9 Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan

(Foreigner)

Trade and Industry France/UK

Padma Bhushan

S. No. Name of the AwardeeS Discipline State/Domicile

1 Shri Jahnu Barua Art Assam

2 Dr. Vijay Bhatkar Science and Engineering Maharashtra

3 Swapan Dasgupta Literature and Education Delhi

4 Swami Satyamitranand Giri Others Uttar Pradesh

5 N. Gopalaswami Civil Service Tamil Nadu

6 Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap Public Affairs Delhi

7 Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji

Maharaj

Art Madhya

Pradesh

8 Dr. Ambrish Mithal Medicine Delhi

9 Sudha Ragunathan Art Tamil Nadu

10 Harish Salve Public Affairs Delhi

11 Dr. Ashok Seth Medicine Delhi

12 Rajat Sharma Literature and Education Delhi

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Padma Awards

• Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian Awards of the country that are

conferred in three categories Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

• The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The

Awards are given in various fields of activities including art, social work, public

affairs, science, trade, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

• Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma

Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri is

awarded for distinguished service in any field.

13 Satpal Sports Delhi

14 Shivakumara Swami Others Karnataka

15 Dr. Kharag Singh Valdiya Science and Engineering Karnataka

16 Professor Manjul Bhargava

(NRI/PIO)

Science and Engineering USA

17 David Frawley (Vamadeva)

(Foreigner)

Others USA

18 Bill Gates (Foreigner) Social Work USA

19 Melinda Gates (Foreigner) Social Work USA

20 Saichiro Misumi (Foreigner) Others Japan

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Major Mukund Varadarajan, Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh posthu-mously awarded with Ashok Chakra

Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh were on 26 January 2015

posthumously awarded with the highest peacetime military honour the Ashok Chakra

by President Pranab Mukherjee. The awards were received by their wives at the 66th

Republic Day celebrations.

Both the army men sacrificed their lives while battling groups of militants in separate

operations in Shopian and Kupwara districts of Kashmir.

In April 2014, Major Mukund Varadarajan had killed three terrorists in an encounter in

Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. He was an officer in the 44th Battalion of the

Rashtriya Rifles (22 Rajput) of the Indian Army. However, he died after being severely

hurt in the operation.

In August 2014, Naik Neeraj Singh died after heavy fire from terrorists. He was leading

a search operation in general area Gurdaji of Kupwara district. He was serving in the

57th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles.

About Ashok Chakra

• Ashok Chakra is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor,

courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.

• The decoration is awarded either to military or civilian personnel and can be

awarded posthumously.

• The Ashok Chakra medal is circular gold gilt with the chakra (wheel) of Ashoka in

the center surrounded by a lotus wreath and with an ornate edge.

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Prime Minister presented National Bravery Awards 2014 to 24 awardees

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 January 2015 presented National Bravery

Awards 2014 to 24 awardees.

8 girls and 16 boys were conferred with National Bravery Awards. Four of them have

been awarded posthumously. The awardees receive a medal, certificate and cash

incentive. Also, they will participate in the Republic Day parade.

In addition, Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) provides financial assistance

under its Indira Gandhi Scholarship Scheme to those undertaking professional

courses such as engineering and medicine. For the others, this assistance is provided

till they complete their graduation. The Government of India has reserved some seats

for the awardees in medical and engineering colleges and polytechnics.

The selection was made by a high powered committee comprising representatives

of various Ministries/Departments, non-governmental organisations as well as Office

Bearers of ICCW.

The lists of awardees are

Sanjay Chopra Award

• Devesh Kumar

Bapu Gaidhani Award

• Monika

• Rumoh Meto

• Riya Chaudhary

Geeta Chopra Award

• Gunjan Sharma

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Bharat Award

• Resham Fatma

General National Bravery Award

• Aqil Mohammad N K

• Anjith. P

• Gaurav Kumar Bharti

• Hiral Jitubhai Halpati

• Midhun P P

• Ripa Das

• Zeal Jitendra Marathe

• Rajdeep Das

• Stevenson Lawriniang

• Ashwini Bandu Ughade

• Gaurav Kumar Bharti

• L. Brainson Singh

• Labhanshu

• G. Tooldev Sharma

• Mhonbeni Equng

• Mesak K. Remnalalnghaka

• Sahanesh R

• Balram Dansena

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About the National Bravery Awards

The National Bravery Award was initiated by the ICCW to give due recognition to the

children who distinguish themselves by performing outstanding deeds of bravery

and meritorious service and to inspire other children to emulate their examples.

It was in 1957 that two children – a boy and a girl – were first rewarded for their

presence of mind and courage. Since then ICCW decided to confer national awards

on children every year.

In 1987-88 ICCW instituted the Bharat Award for an exceptionally outstanding,

meritorious and gallant deed. The other special awards include the Geeta Chopra and

Sanjay Chopra awards (instituted by ICCW in 1978) and the BapuGaidhani Awards

(instituted in 1988-89).

Since the inception of the scheme in 1957, the ICCW has given awards to 895 brave

children - 634 boys and 261 girls.

HAL Chairman R K Tyagi conferred with JGBS-Top Rankers’ Ex-cellence Award

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi was on 16 January 2015

conferred with the JGBS-Top Rankers’ Excellence Award for CEO of the year 2014.

Tyagi played a key role in 2014 being a successful year for HAL through series of

initiatives. The year was dedicated for Integrity, Customer Focus and Quality (ICQ).

The award has been instituted by Jindal Global Business School (JGBS) and Top

Rankers’ Management Consultants.

JGBS is part of O P Jindal Global University, Delhi whereas Top Rankers’ Management

Consultants is a Delhi based executive search company which provides recruitment

and HR solutions to various organizations.

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HAL’s performance under R K Tyagi in 2014

• HAL was rated as Excellent with a score of 1.08 for the year 2013-14 which is the

best among all Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

• The company emerged in top six public sector companies out of over 180 PSEs

assessed by Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

• HAL designed and developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Technology

Demonstrator TD-3 that showcased Company’s approach for design and

development.

• The Ground Test Vehicle (GTV) run of Light Utility Helicopter was another important

milestone.

• The first ROH Su-30 aircraft was recently handed over to the Indian Air Force in

Nashik by the company.

• On Research and Development front, HAL did extremely well during 2014 by

focusing on patents and Intellectual Property Rights. The number of patents filed

by HAL increased from 71 in 2012-13 to 209 in 2013-14 and to 773 in 2014-15.

• HAL also contributed to the success of Mars Orbiter Mission and GSLV Mk III

launch in 2014.

21st Screen Awards announced

21st Screen Awards were announced on 15 January 2015 at Mumbai. Shahid Kapoor

and Priyanka Chopra won the Best Actor Award for Male and Female category

respectively.

Shahid won the Best Actor (male) award for Haider and Priyanka won Best Actor

(female) award for Mary Kom. Best Film award was given to film Queen, while its

Director Vikas Bahl won the Best Director award.

Hema Malini was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Other awards declared on the occasion includes

• Best Actor (male) in the popular choice category - Shah Rukh Khan for Happy

New Year

• Best Actor (female) in the popular choice category - Deepika Padukone for Happy

New Year

• Hero of the Year (male) - Shahid Kapoor

• Hero of the Year (female) - Alia Bhatt

• Best Supporting Actor (female) – Tabu for Haider and Seema Pahwa for Ankhon

Dekhi

• Best Actor Supporting Role (Male) – Inamul Haq for Filmistaan

• Best Actor in a Negative Role award (male) - Tahir Raj Bhasin for role of villain in

Mardanni

• Best Actor in a Negative Role award (female) - Huma Qureshi for Dedh Ishqiya

• Best Jodi award – Shahid with Tabu for Haider

• Best Actor in Comic Role (male/female) – Sharib Hashmi for Filmistaan

• Entertainer of the Year – Sajid Nadiadwala

• Ramnath Goenka Award – Manjunath

• Best Ensemble Cast – Ankhon Dekhi

• Best Child Actor – Parth Bhalerao for Bhoothnath

• Best Playback Singer (male) – Arijit Singh for song Muskurane Ki Wajah of Citylights

• Best Playback Singer (female) – Jyoti and Sultana Nooran for song Pattakha Guddi

of film Highway

• Best Music – Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari for Ek Villain

• Best Lyrics – Kausar Munir for song Suno Na Sangemarmar of Youngistan

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• Most Promising Debut Director – Nitin Kakkar for Filmistaan

• Best Promising Newcomer (male) – Tiger Shroff for Heropanti

• Best Promising Newcomer (female) – Patralekhaa for Citylights

• Best Animation – Char Sahibzade

• Best Dialogue – Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi for PK

• Best Screenplay – Sandeep A Varma for Manjunath

• Best Story – Rajat Kapoor for Ankhon Dekhi

• Best Editing – Sanjib Datta for Mardaani

• Best Production Design – Haider

• Best Cinematography – Bobby Singh for Queen

• Best Action – Heropanti

• Best Film Marketing – 2 States

• Best Choreography – Ahmed Khan for Kick’s song Jumme Ki Raat

• Best Costume – Manoshi Nath and Rishi Sharma for PK

The awards were also announced for Marathi films and the winnersinclude

• Best Actor (male) - Dilip Prabhavkar for Vitti Dandu and Nandu Madhav for Tapal

• Best Actor (female) - Usha Naik for Ek Hazarachi Note

• Best Marathi Film -Vitti Dandu produced by Leena Devre, Ajay Devgn and Kajol

• Best Director - Laxman Utekar for Tapal

• Best child actor – Nishant Bhavasar for Vitti Dandu

In 2014, Deepika Padukone for Ram-Leela and Farhan Akhtar for Bhaag Milkha

Bhaag won the Best Actress and Best Actor awards at the 20th Screen Awards.

Best Director Award was won by Shoojit Sircar for Madras Cafe while the Best Film

Award was won by Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

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Noted RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal conferred with Gi-raffe Hero award 2015

Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal was on 15 January 2015

conferred with the Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes

Project. The award will be presented to him on 22 January 2015.

Agrawal was awarded for his bravery in utilising the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005

for public good despite innumerable challenges. Agrawal also holds the Guinness

record of filing highest number of published letters to the editors.

His RTI applications has delivered some important orders in India like declaration of

assets by Supreme Court judges, bringing political parties under the RTI act among

others.

About the Giraffe Hero award

The Giraffe Heroes Project is a non-profit group which honours the risk-takers, people

who are largely unknown, people who have the courage to take risks for the common

people in the US and around the world.

Earlier, the following people from India were honoured with the Giraffe Hero award

including Baba Amte, Mabelle Arole, Jaya Arunachalam, C P Bhatt, Sunitha Krishnan,

Usha Narayane, Bunker Roy, Vijay Saluja and G Venkatasamy.

Prabhu Nath Dwivedi named as the winner of the Sahitya Aka-demi Award 2014 for Sanskrit

Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi was on 14 January 2015 named as

the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2014 for Sanskrit language.

He was awarded for his work Kanakalochanaha, a collection of 16 short-stories

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based on various social issues. His name was selected by a three-member jury of

the Sahitya Akademi.

The award will be presented to him in March 2015 during the Festival of Letters that

will be organised by the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi.

Backround

In December 2014, Sahitya Akademi announced names of 22 poets and authors that

will be honoured with prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award 2014.

But it had not announced the winners of Sahitya Akademi Award 2014 for Manipuri

and Sanskrit language.

About Sahitya Akademi Award

Sahitya Akademi Award is conferred every year on writers who have shown outstanding

works in one of the twenty-four major Indian languages.

These twenty-four major Indian languages are Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri,

English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri,

Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthan, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu,

and Urdu.

The award prize consists of engraved copper plaque, a shawl and a cheque of 1 Lakh

rupees.

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission Team won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Team of Indian Space Research Organization

(ISRO) on 12 January 2015 won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the Science and

Engineering category.

The award will be presented to an ISRO representative during the National Space

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Society’s 2015 International Space Development Conference (ISDC) that is scheduled

to be held in Toronto, Canada from 20 May 2015 to 24 May 2015.

The Mars Orbiter Mission team is located in Bangalore and is headed by Mylswamy

Annadurai.

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission was launched on 5 November 2013 and it reached the

Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. The Indian spacecraft has gone into orbit around

Mars on the very first attempt and no other country has been able to do this till now.

Moreover, very few full disk images of Mars have ever been taken in the past, mostly

by approaching the planet as most imaging is done looking straight down in mapping

mode.

But, with the placing of Indian spacecraft in an elliptical orbit with a high apoapsis, it

has become possible to take full-disk colour imagery of Mars with the high resolution

camera available on the spacecraft. These images will aid planetary scientists.

About the Space Pioneer Award

• The Space Pioneer Award was instituted in 1988 to recognize those individuals

and teams whose accomplishments have helped to open the space frontier. The

award is divided into thirteen categories.

• The 13 Space Pioneer Award categories include Corporate, Entrepreneur,

Compelling Art, Education, Government Service (Non-legislative), Government

Service (Legislative), Mass Media, Public Awareness, Scientist/Engineer, Service

to the Space Community, Space Development, Special Merit, Wide Media.

• Every year, only three number of Space Pioneer awards are presented so not

every category is awarded each year. The Space Pioneer awards consist of a cast

globe of the Moon.

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RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan received Governor of the Year Award for 2015

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan received the Governor of the Year Award for 2015.

The award recognises the Governor of a Central Bank who has demonstrated strong

leadership during the period under review.

The Central Banking Awards for 2015 were announced by the Central Banking

Publications on 12 January 2015.

Central Banking Awards for 2015

• Governor of the Year Award: Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor

• Central Bank of the Year award: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Jacques de Larosiere former Governor of the Banque

de France (1987–1993)

• Economics in Central Banking (inaugural award): Claudio Borio, head of the

monetary and economic department at the Bank for International Settlements

Why Raguram Rajan awarded?

He was awarded for his disciplined and focused approach to tackling macroeconomic

instability. His insights combined with his strong leadership skills made Rajan an

inspirational figure in the central banking community. Rajan took over as RBI governor

in September 2013 for a three-year term.

In 2014, Rajan was conferred with the Central Bank Governor award for 2014 by the

Euromoney magazine for his tough monetary stance to combat the ravaging deficit-

ridden economy and battling vested interests to arouse a sleepy financial system of

India.

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72nd Golden Globe Awards presented in California

72nd Golden Globe Awards were presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press

Association in Beverly Hills, in California, US on 11 January 2015. These annual

awards were honoured the best in film and television for the year 2014.

Boyhood proved the biggest winner at 72nd Golden Globe Awards of Hollywood

that won Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director for Richard Linklater, and Best

Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette.

Category Name Film

Best Motion Picture- DramaIFC Productions and

Detour FilmproductionBoyhood

Best Performance of an

Actor in a Motion Picture-

Drama

Eddie Redmayne The Theory Of Everything


Actress in a Motion Picture-

Drama

Julianne Moore Still Alice

Best performance of

Supporting Actor in a

Motion Picture- Drama

JK Simmons Whiplash

Best performance of

Supporting Actress in a

Motion Picture- Drama

Patricia Arquette Boyhood

Best Director-Motion Picture Richard Linklater Boyhood

Best Motion Picture-

Comedy or Musical

American Empirical

Picture; Fox Searchlight

Pictures

The Grand Budapest

Hotel

Best Performance by an

actor in a Motion Picture-

Comedy or Musical

Michael Keaton Birdman

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actress in an Motion Picture

–Comedy or Musical

Amy Adams Big Eyes

Best Television Series–

Drama

Showtime Presents,

Sheleg, HiglewaterThe Affair


actor in a Motion Picture-

Comedy or Musical

Amazon Studios Instant

VideoTransparent

Best Miniseries or Motion

Picture made for Television

FX Productions & MGM

TelevisionFargo


Actress in a Mini-series or

Motion Picture made for

Television

Maggie Gyllenhaal The Honorable Woman


Actor in a Television Series-

Drama

Kevin Spacey House Of Cards


Actor in a Television Series–

Comedy or Musical

Jeffrey Tambor Transparent


Actress in a Television

Series–Drama

Ruth Wilson The Affair


Actor in a Supporting Role

in a Series, Miniseries or

Motion Picture Made for

Television

Matt Bomer The Normal Heart


Actress in a Supporting

Role in a Series, Miniseries

or Motion Picture Made for

Television

Joanne Froggatt Downton Abbey

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SDSC-SHAR director MYS Prasad chosen for Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2015

The director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota Range (SHAR) MYS

Best Miniseries or Motion

Picture made for Television

FX Productions & MGM

TelevisionFargo


Actor in Motion Picture

made for Television

Billy Bob Thornton Fargo


Actress in a Television

Series- Comedy or Musical

Gina Rodriguez Jane The Virgin

Best Original Score-Motion

PictureJohann Johannsson The Theory Of Everything

Best Original Song- Motion

PictureGlory Selma

Best Animated Feature Film

DreamWorks Animation

LLC; Twentieth Century

Fox

How To Train Your

Dragon 2

Best Screenplay-Motion

Picture

Alejandro Gonzalez

Inarritu, Nicolas

Giacobone, Alexander

Dinelaris, Armando Bo

Birdman

Best Foreign Language Film

Non-Stop Production,

Ministry of Culture of

the Russian Federation

of the Cinema Funds,

RuArts Foundation; Sony

Pictures Classics

Leviathan

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Prasad was on 10 January 2015 selected for the Vikram Sarabhai memorial award

2015. The award will be presented to MYS Prasad by the Indian Science Congress

Association (ISCA).

Prasad was selected for his outstanding contribution to Research and Development in

the field of space science in his long career at the Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO).

Generally, the ISCA awards are presented at the inaugural function of the Indian

Science Congress but this award will be presented in a separate function that will be

organised by ISCA.

MYS Prasad

• MYS Prasad did his Doctorate in Satellite Communications field from Birla Institute

of Technology and Sciences (BITS).

• He is the Chairman of Launch Authorization Board including for MARS Orbiter

Mission since January 2013.

• He established Satellite based 24 hour connectivity between Indian Research

Station Maitry at Antarctica to NAOCR in Goa for Data transfer facilities.

• He was the Director of Master Control Facility (MCF) of ISRO which controls all

GSO Satellites of India from 1998 to 2005.

• He was Vice-President of International Astronautical Federation (IAF) for four years

from 2006 to 2010.

Vikram Sarabhai memorial award

• The Vikram Sarabhai memorial award was instituted by the Indian Science

Congress Association in 1997-98. The award carries a Gold Medal and is given in

every alternate years.

• The award is given to distinguished Scientist of the Country in recognition of their

outstanding contributions.

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• The award is presented at the inaugural function of the Annual Session of the

Indian Science Congress Association.

• The previous awardees of Vikram Sarabhai memorial award are former ISRO

chairmen Dr Satish Dhawan, K. Kasturi Rangan, G. Madhavan Nair and K.

Radhakrishnan.

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari presented Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2015

Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari on 9 January 2015 presented the

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2015 to sixteen personalities. The awards were

presented during the occasion of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The awardees were:

1. Mala Mehta from Australia

2. President Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar from Guyana

3. Dr Rajaram Sanjaya from Mexico

4. Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi from New Zealand

5. Rajamal Parakh from Oman

6. Duraikannu Karunakaran from Seychelles

7. Essop Goolam Pahad from South Africa

8. Bharat Kumar Jayantilal Shah from UAE

9. Ashraf Pellarkunnmal from UAE

10. Mahendra Nanji Mehta from Uganda

11. Nathuram Puri from the United Kingdom

12. Satyanarayan Nadela from USA

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13. Kamlesh Lulla from the US

14. Nandani Tandon from US

15. Lord Raj Lumba from the United Kingdom

Apart from these fifteen awardees, Senator Liza Singh from Australia also received

the award as he could not accept the award in 2014

About the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award was constituted by the Union Ministry of

Overseas Indian Affairs to honour the contributions of Non-Resident Indians in their

respective profession. The award is given by the President of India.

Organized annually since 2003, the award is presented to a Non-Resident Indian

(NRI), Person of Indian Origin or an organization established and run by the NRIs.

Yu Min honoured with State Preeminent Science and Technol-ogy Award 2014

Chinese nuclear physicist Yu Min was on 9 January 2015 presented with the State

Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. He

was awarded for his involvement in research into nuclear weapons since the 1960s.

Yu Min is presently an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Yu Min

• Born in Tianjin, China in 1926, Yu began serving as a researcher at the Modern

Physics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1951.

• Yu Min was behind China’s first successful hydrogen bomb test in the Cold War

era in 1960s.

• He was part of the miniaturization of nuclear weapons, technological breakthroughs

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in the neutron bomb and the theory of atomic nucleus.

• He was also the recipient of the Two Bombs, One Satellite Achievement Medal in

1999 for his contributions to China’s first satellite project.

About State Preeminent Science and Technology Award

• The State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was set up in 1999. It is

awarded to the top two scientists of China every year.

• The award includes a cash prize worth 5 million-yuan (805200 US dollars), 10

percent of which is given to the awarded scientist.

• The first State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was given to Yuan

Longping in 2000. So far, 25 Chinese scientists have won the award including

Zhang Cunhao and Wu Liangyong.

Indians awarded with Queen’s New Year Honours 2015

Queen’s New Year Honours for the year 2015 were given on 1 January 2015. The

honours were conferred on more than thousand persons, which included several

persons of Indian-Origin from various field.

Indians conferred Queen’s New Year Honours

Knighthood

• Nilesh Jayantilal Samani (an Indian-origin professor at the University of Leicester)

- his contribution to Cardiovascular Sciences changed scientific thinking and

impacted on clinical practice in the field

Medallist of the British Empire

• Fauja Singh (world’s oldest Marathon runner at age 103) – for athletic achievements

and charity.

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Title of Commander of the British Empire was awarded to

• Meera Syal (Actor and author) - for services to drama and literature

• Shakuntala Michaela Ghosh - for services to Venture Philanthropy and the Voluntary

Sector, particularly to the homeless and disadvantaged young people in London

• Uma Mehta (chief community services lawyer in the London borough of Islington)

– for services to children

Title of Officers of the Order of the British Empire was awarded to

• Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia - for services to interfaith and community cohesion

• Venugopal Karunakaran Nair - for services to Science

• Dilip Nathwani - for services to treatment of infectious diseases

• Surat Singh Sangha - for services to entrepreneurship

• Jatinder Kumar Sharma - for services to further education

Title of Members of the Order of the British Empire was awarded to

• Subhash Chander Chaudhary - for services to biotechnology manufacture in North

East England)

• Surinder Kaur Ghura - for services to interfaith understanding and to the community

in Newcastle upon Tyne

• Gurmel Singh Kandola (chief executive, National Sikh Museum, Derby) - for

services to the community

• Surinder Pal Singh Khurana - for services to the community in North East

Lincolnshire

• Atul Maru - for services to law enforcement

• Vanita Parti - for services to the beauty industry and to street children in India

• Ushma Patel - for services to public administration and to the community through

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the Dharmaj Society of London

New Year Honours

The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system and is given annually

on New Year’s Day, i.e. 1 January. It is marked by naming new members of orders of

chivalry and recipients of other official honours. These awards are presented by or in

the name of the reigning monarch, at present by Queen Elizabeth II. The honours are

being given since 1890.

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PLACES IN NEWS

Maoist attacked CRPF personnel in Sukma district of Chhattis-garh

Chintagufa area of Sukma district: Maoist killed dozen CRPF personnel

Chintagufa area of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh on 1 December 2014 was in news

as Maoists killed more than dozen CRPF personnel in an attack. Several others were

injured in the attack. The victims of the attack were from the 223 battalion of the

CRPF.

CRPF personnel were inside the forest for an operation when the Maoists ambushed

them.

This Maoist-attack is being considered as one of the biggest single-day casualty of

2014 in Chhattisgarh area of Sukma district.

The incident took place in the same region where seven personnel were injured in

a Maoist attack on 21 November 2014, when they also attacked the IAF helicopter

Mi17 that was sent to evacuate the injured.

The CRPF in November 2014 launched massive operations in the interior areas of

Sukma against Maoists. Under the operation about 5000 CRPF personnel were

deployed in the forests of Bastar. Might be possible, this ambush by Maoists is a

response to CRPF operation.

The attack took place around nine km from Chintagufa, where 76 jawans were killed

in 2008 in one of the worst Maoist attacks ever.

The attack also comes a day before the People’s Liberation of Guerrilla Army of the

CPI (Maoist) is set to begin its foundation week from 2 to 8 December 2014.

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According to Home Ministry, the Maoists are one of the biggest internal security

threats to the nation, as they are operational in 20 of the India’s 29 states. They have

several thousands of fighters.

Militants attack Nigerian city Maiduguri and Damaturu

Maiduguri & Damaturu, Nigeria: Attacked by Boko Haram militants

Maiduguri and Damaturu city in Nigeria were in news as Boko Haram militants on 1

December 2014 attacked the cities killing at least 5 people and wounding more than

40 people. Suicide attacks were made by two female bombers.

Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states in Nigeria’s northeast have been the main targets

of Boko Haram militants fighting for five years to carve a radical Islamist state out of

Africa’s top oil-producing and most populous country.

Two state capitals are located in north-east Nigeria. In Damaturu, explosions and

gunfire were heard as militants rampaged through the city.

Maiduguri was the headquarters of Boko Haram, until it was driven out of the city by

the security forces and vigilante groups.

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BOOKS | AUTHORS

Pakistan’s Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri penned a book titled Neither a Hawk nor a Dove

Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri

Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, Ex-Foreign Minister of Pakistan, authored a book titled

Neither a Hawk nor a Dove.

The book will be published by Penguin in India at the end of January 2015. The book

is based upon the relations between India and Pakistan.

Kasuri in his book writes that the two countries have no option but to go for a just

and peaceful solution to Jammu and Kashmir and other contentious issues between

them. He further writes that he knew on the basis of his experience that both the

countries have major fault lines and that both are equally capable of destabilizing the

other.

Thus both the countries are left with no option but to act in a responsible manner

since the fate of almost 1.5 billion people of the two countries depended on that.

The book contains update till November 2014 including the advent of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and the current policies of the new Indian government.

Hindi Novel Farishta authored by Kapil Isapuri

Farishta: Kapil Isapuri

Hindi novel Farishta was in news in the fourth week of January 2015 after its author

Kapil Isapuri accused the makers of film PK of plagiarism. The book was published

in 2013.

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The novelist Isapuri approached the Delhi High Court and claimed that certain portions

of the film like characters, expression of ideas and sequences were stolen from his

novel Farishta and was used in the film.

He sought punitive damages of 1 crore rupees from the filmmakers along with the

credit of his work.

About film PK

PK is Indian satirical comedy-drama film that raises questions on religious dogmas

and superstitions. The film was directed by Rajkumar Hirani and was produced by

Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi.

Lead actors of the film are Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma and the other actors

include Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, and Sanjay Dutt in

supporting roles.

Book on Sonia Gandhi titled The Red Sari written by Javier Moro released in India

The Red Sari: written by Spanish author Javier Moro

The Red Sari, an unauthorized biography of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi,

was released by Roli Books in India on 16 January 2015. The book has been written

by Spanish author Javier Moro.

The book describes about how Sonia Gandhi’s courage, honesty, and dedication

have made her a leader in the eyes of one-sixth of humanity that is from her idyllic

childhood to her passionate love affair, and from her days as a docile daughter-in-

law to her current status of being the only Indian politician to have refused Prime

Ministership.

This book also examines the lives of the famous Nehru-Gandhi family set against

the backdrop of the Bangladesh War, the Emergency, Operation Blue Star, and other

events that have shaped modern Indian history.

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The controversy related to book

Originally, the book was written in Spanish language and was titled El Sari Rojo. It

was first published in 2008.

The English version of the book was not allowed to release in India in 2010 because it

was argued by the Congress Party and Sonia Gandhi’s lawyers that the book is full of

untruths, half-truths, falsehoods, defamatory statements, completely imaginary and

invented conversations.

Tamil Novel Madhorubhagan written by Perumal Murugan

Madhorubhagan: Perumal Murugan

Tamil Novel titled Madhorubhagan authored by Perumal Murugan was in news in the

second week of January 2015. It was in news as some organisations have demanded

to ban the book and jail the author.

The threat from organisations has led the author Murgan to give up writing.

The book, though written four years back, came into limelight after its English

translated version One Part Woman was published by Penguin India on 1 December

2015. It has been translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan.

The book lays bare with unsparing clarity a relationship caught between the dictates

of social convention and the tug of personal anxieties, vividly conjuring an intimate

and unsettling portrait of marriage, love and sex.

The book unfolds the complexity of social convention by telling the love story of Kali

and Ponna who faced problems in conceiving a child. To conceive child they did

prayers, penance, potions and pilgrimages.

Their hopes and apprehension came to converge on the chariot festival in the temple

of the half-female god Ardhanareeswara and the revelry surrounding it.

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The Indian Parliament – A Critical Appraisal written by Sudha Pai and Avinash Kumar released

The Indian Parliament – A Critical Appraisal: Sudha Pai and Avinash Kumar

Book titled The Indian Parliament – A Critical Appraisal was released by Vice President

Hamid Ansari on 8 January 2015. The book is authored by Prof. Sudha Pai and

Avinash Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

The book examines the credibility and legitimacy of the Indian Parliament and has

scrutinised various aspects of its functioning. It also provides a broad-ranging analysis

of the relationship between the functioning of Parliamentary institutions and the rapid

changes that has been witnessed by the Indian society, particularly the onset of

coalition politics and the initiation of economic reforms.

The book has been divided into three parts, namely

• Examines the institutional standards of performance of the Parliament

• Focuses on different forms of parliamentary control, as well as the evolving

relationship between the legislature and the executive in a period of unstable

coalition formations

• Analyses the external factors which affect and determine the internal functioning

of Parliament

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ACCIDENT | INCIDENT

Flash floods in Malawi; hundreds killed

Malawi in the third week of January 2015 witnessed flash floods due to heavy torrential

rain. The floods swept away several houses and have killed at least 170 people.

Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries.

Vice-President Saulos Chilima said more than one lakh people have been displaced

from their homes, mostly in the south. The government has declared a third of the

country as disaster zone and appealed for help.

Effects of the flash floods

• It swept away roads and bridges and destroyed thousands of hectares of crops

• It had raised fears if cholera outbreak in the southern half of the country

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DEFENCE | SECURITY

Four ICG vessels commissioned at Mormugao Port of Vasco

Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 19 January 2015 commissioned four

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels at Mormugao Port of Vasco in Goa. The launched

vessels include two fast patrol vessels namely ICG Amogh and ICG Ameya and two

interceptor boats Charlie 413 (C-413) and Charlie 414 (C-414).

These boats will be mainly used for patrolling and interception and will also be used

for the purpose of research and rescue by the agency.

The two fast patrolling vessels have been built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd and have

a displacement of 290 tons and can hit maximum speed of 33 knots. On the other

hand, the smaller interceptor boats have been built by Larsen & Turbo shipyard Ltd.

Hazira and have a displacement of 106 tons and can hit a maximum sped of 45 knots.

Indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas handed over to IAF

The first of the indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Series Production-1

(SP1) was handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 17 January 2015. Defence

Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over Tejas to IAF in the presence of Air Chief

Marshal Anup Raha at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.

LCA Tejas was handed over to the Air Force after Initial Operational Clearance-II,

which signifies that the aircraft is irworthy in different conditions. It received its Initial

Operational Clearance-I in January 2011, after being built by state-owned HAL. It is

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expected that the aircraft will receive its Final Operational Clearance by December

2015.

Characteristics of Tejas

• Tejas is a Light Combat Aircraft that uses fourth generation technologies

• It is built from CFC materials and has unstable aerodynamics

• It is equipped with a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system to ease

handling by the pilot

• It incorporates an advanced glass cockpit that comprises all the round dialed

electro-mechanical instruments

• It is fitted with the coherent pulse-Doppler Multi Mode Radar that is designed to

operate equally effectively in the Air to Air and Air to Surface domains.

• It is fitted with Open Architecture Computer (OAC)

LCA Tejas

LCA Tejas is a lightweight multi-role jet fighter developed by India under a project

that commenced in 1983 and had cost 17000 crore rupees to the exchequer. It is a

tailless, compound delta wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the

LCA programme that was initiated to replace the ageing MiG-21 fighters in Indian Air

Force’s combat.

Timeline of LCA Project

• LCA project was approved with an initial budget of 560 crore rupees in August

1983

• Its first fighter prototype flew in January 2001

• It received initial operational clearance (IOC) in December 2013

• 1st fighter (in IOC configuration) was handed over in January 2015

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• It will receive Final Operational Clearance (FOC) in December 2015

• 20 jets will be delivered for 1st IOC squadron by 2017-18

• 2nd squadron with 20 Tejas in FOC configuration will be created after 2018

• IAF will begin 80 Tejas Mark-II inductions for 4 squadrons by 2021-2022

First set of RIC readers handed over to Chiefs of Indian Navy and Coast Guard

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh handed over the first set of Resident Identity

Card (RIC) readers to Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan and Coast Guard Director

General Vice-Admiral A G Thapliyal on 14 January 2015.

These RIC readers will be used by maritime security agencies to check identity cards

of the residents of coastal area issued under RIC Scheme.

As per RIC Scheme under the National Population Registrar, government had issued

these identity cards to more than 65 lakh residents of coastal villages. Apart from

this, the Union government is also preparing the National Population Registrar (NPR)

in 3331 coastal villages under the said scheme.

Resident Identity Card (RIC) and Scheme

• The scheme aims at strengthening coastal security measures in 9 states and 4

Union Territories that shares their borders with sea-line

• The scheme of preparing RICs for residents of coastal areas is being implemented

by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, an office under the Union

Home Ministry

• Cards issued under the scheme will help the coastal security agencies to

authenticate an individual’s demographic and biometric authentication without

using Internet services

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• These RIC cards are manufactured indigenously by Indian technology firms-- Ms

ITI Limited and Ms Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL)

• These cards can be read only when the key present in the RIC is authenticated by

the Verification Authentication card

• RIC reader is temper-proof and self-destructs itself if it is opened in an unauthorized

manner

Initially, these card readers are issued to the Navy and Coast Guard but later they will

be issued to the Maritime Police stations and State Governments as well.

Indian Army launched Operation All Out against Bodo militants in Assam

Operation All Out: launched by Indian army to flush out Bodo militants

Union Government in the fourth week of December 2014 decided to launch Operation

All Out against Bodo militants. The decision to launch the operation was taken during

the meeting of Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and Union Home Minister

Rajnath Singh in Delhi.

The meeting was to review the security situation in Assam after National Democratic

Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants’ on 23 December 2014 massacred at least 81

tribal people in two districts of Assam, Kokrajhar and Sonitpur.

The two-tier armed operation will be carried on by about 9000 soldiers of Indian

Army and paramilitary troopers on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border to flush out

militants of the NDFB (Songbijit Brahma group).

Apart from this, authorities have also mulled coordinated action with armies of Bhutan

and Myanmar to hunt the NDFB(S) militants, as the group has its bases in the two

countries. Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has assured its support to India

in its action against the Bodo militants.

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DAC approved proposals to buy military equipment worth 4444 crore rupees

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

on 17 December 2014 approved proposals to buy military equipments worth 4444

crore rupees.

These proposals include

• Purchase of four helicopters for survey vessels for the Indian Navy would cost

2324 crore rupees.

• Upgradation of Indigenous Samyukta Electronic Warfare systems (EWS) would

cost 1682 crore rupees. EWS would be modernised along with a maintenance

contract for the next 10 years. Samyukta consists of vehicles with equipment

for surveillance, interception, monitoring and jamming of all communication and

radar signals

• Proposal relating to purchase of P-7 Heavy Drop Platform and the naval survey

vessels would cost 402 crore. This will extend the life of airbags fitted under the

platform for damage free touchdown of payload weighing less than 7 tonnes from

eight to fifteen years.

• Proposal to acquire propeller engine for offshore patrol vessel of the Coast Guard

would cost 36 crore rupees.

However, DAC could not reach on a conclusion on the joint bid of Tata Sons Ltd and

Airbus to replace the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Avro transport fleet though the tender

floated by IAF was cleared by DAC in its meeting on 19 July 2014.

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Airbus Defence and Space had made a joint

bid for 56 medium-transport aircraft of IAF valued at 20000 crore (3 billion US dollars).

Avro transport fleet is a twin-turboprop tactical military aircraft of six to eight tonne

class which has a cruise speed of 800 kms per hour and a range of 2500-2800 kms.

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Earlier on 22 November 2014, DAC had cleared a proposal to buy 814 artillery guns

for the army at a cost of 15750 crore rupees to fill gaps in India’s defence capabilities.

The army has not bought a single artillery gun since the Bofors scandal exploded in

the late 1980s.

The artillery guns would be bought under the government’s “Buy and Make” procedure

introduced in 2013 to strengthen the indigenous defence sector. The plan is to go in

for off-the-shelf purchase of 100 guns and manufacture the remaining in the country.

With the passage of this 4444 crore rupees proposal and including the 15750 crore

rupees proposal of November 2014, NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi had cleared defence projects of more than 140000 crore rupees since it was

voted into power in May 2014.

IAF launched second phase of air combat game called Guardian of the Skies

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 11 December 2014 launched the second phase of its 3D

mobile air combat game, Guardians of the Skies (GOTS). The game will be available

on all three popular mobile platforms - Android, iOS and Windows.

In the game, IAF focused on getting a realistic picture of its flying operations, which is

also a first of its kind effort by any Air Force in the world on a mobile based platform.

About Guardians of the Skies

• The game puts players into a stimulated world where players become IAF pilots

and battle it out with a fictitious country called Zaruzia.

• In the game, the player undergoes flying training and subsequently gets engaged

in combat missions in various aircraft types of the IAF fighters, transport and

helicopter fleet.

• Apart from a single player campaign, the game will also have multiplayer mode in

which players will be able to carry out simulated combat against each other over

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a WiFi network.

• The game is optimized to run on devices with as less as 512 MB RAM.

Earlier in July 2014, the first phase of the game with teaser missions was released to

attract generation-next youth to pursue a career in the force especially in Air force.

The game received an enthusiastic response from gamers in the age group of 15-25

years and has been complimented for its realistic graphics and game play. The game

has won the prestigious Best Indian Game award from Microsoft on its windows

application store.

The game has been developed by Threye Interactive in accordance with the strict

concept and guidelines laid down by the IAF.

Advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket successfully test-fired from Chandipur in Odisha

The advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket was successfully test fired on 9

December 2014 from the Proof & Experimental Establishment (PXE) at Chandipur,

about 15-km from Balasore in Odisha. It was test-fired using a multi-barrel launcher.

The tests were conducted by the Pune-based Armament Research and Development

Establishment (ARDE) of DRDO with logistical support from the PXE labs.

Advance version of Mark-II rocket has a range of more than 60-km and capable of

acting as a force-multiplier. It was developed to supplement artillery guns.

Pinaka is the unguided rocket system meant to neutralise large areas with rapid

salvos. It has undergone several tough tests since 1995. It has been inducted into the

Army and the present trials were conducted with some improvements.

Characteristic feature of Pinaka

• The Pinaka rocket is also known as the Weapon Area System (WAS) and it can fire

rockets with a range of 40-65 km

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• With a battery of six launchers, the Pinaka system can fire a salvo of 12 rockets

with 1.2 tonne of high explosives in 44 seconds

• It can neutralise a target area of 3.9 sq. km and is meant as a supplement to the

existing artillery system at a range beyond 30 km.

• It can be fitted with a variety of warheads ranging from blast-cum-pre-fragmented

high explosives to anti-tank mines.

Sikorsky Corp bagged 6000 crore rupee deal to supply S-70B Seahawks to Indian Navy

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp of the US on 5 December 2014 bagged the 6000 crore rupees

deal for supply of 16 Multi-role Helicopters (MRH) to the Indian Navy with an option

for eight additional aircraft. The company will also provide complete logistics support

and training program.

Sikorsky was selected for the deal after it won the commercial bids that were opened

on 4 December 2014.

As per the deal, Sikorsky will supply S-70B Seahawk to India. The S-70B aircraft

is part of Sikorsky’s SEAHAWK helicopter family (including the SH-60 and MH-60

models) and can be used both for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

The proposed Indian Navy S-70B variant will include avionics and flexible open

architecture Weapons Management Systems that will integrate advanced sonar, 360

degree search radar, modern air-to-surface missiles, torpedoes for the ASW role, and

a blade and tail fold capability will facilitate shipboard storage.

Background

Earlier in 2008, Indian Navy had floated a tender for 16 helicopters with an option

for another eight and had selected Finmecccanica’s NH-90 and Sikrosky’s S-70B

helicopters for evaluation.

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But European company Finmeccanica, which is the parent company of AgustaWestland

was banned in August 2014 due to 3550 crore rupees VVIP helicopter scam leaving

Sikrosky as the sole bidder.

Border Security Force celebrated 49th Raising Day

The Border Security Force (BSF) celebrated its 49th Raising day on 1 December

2014. The force was raised on 1 December in 1965. Home Minister Rajnath Singh

also participated in the celebrations.

BSF will celebrate its Golden Jubilee year from 1 December 2014 to 30 November

2015.

The motto of BSF is Jeevan Paryant Kartavya. BSF was raised with role to provide

a sense of security among the people living in the border areas, to prevent trans-

border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India and to prevent

smuggling and any other illegal activity.

BSF was established under KF Rustamji as first Director General to guard the Indo-

Pak and Indo-Bangla international borders.

Currently, DG of BSF is Devendra Kumar Pathak, IPS.

About Border Security Force

The BSF is being extensively utilised on internal security duties in several states.

Besides, it is manning 3323 kms length Indo-Pakistan border, which runs through the

states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

The force is also deployed over 288.95 km in the Line of Control (LoC) bordering

Pakistan.

It is also entrusted with the duty of manning 4096.70 kms long India-Bangladesh

border, which runs along the states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram

and Tripura.

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Nuclear-capable missile Agni-IV test fired from Wheeler Island

Nuclear capable missile Agni-IV was test fired on 2 December 2014 from Integrated

Test Range in Wheeler Island, Odisha. The test fired was conducted by Strategic

Force Command (SFC) of Indian Army.

This was the fourth successful trial in a series. The long range Radars and Electro-

Optical Tracking systems (EOTS) located all along the coast tracked and monitored

all the parameters throughout the flight.

The missile carrying one tonne war head splashed down near its pre-designated

target point in Indian Ocean.

Agni-IV is a surface-to-surface missile with 4000 km range and 20 meter-long

indigenously developed missile.

The missile is a two-stage, weighing 17 tonne and 20-metre tall. Agni-IV is equipped

with state-of-the-art avionics, a fifth generation on-board computer and distributed

architecture. It also has the latest features to correct and guide itself for in-flight

disturbances.

The missile’s most accurate Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS)

and supported by highly reliable redundant Micro Navigation System (MINGS),

ensures the vehicle reach the target within two digit accuracy.

Agni-IV has already been inducted into the Army. Agni-I (700 Km), Agni-II (2000km)

and Agni-III (3000 km) and Prithvi II (350 km) are already in the arsenal of armed

forces.

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REPORT | SURVEY

Oxfam released study tittled Wealth: Having it All and Wanting More

Anti-poverty charity Oxfam on 19 January 2015 released study tittledWealth: Having

it all and wanting more.

The study highlighted that the wealthiest 1% will soon own more than the rest of the

world’s population by 2016. Currently, 85 billionaires have the same wealth as the

bottom half of the world’s population.

The study show that the share of the world’s wealth owned by the richest 1% increased

from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014.

These wealthy individuals have generated and sustained their vast riches through

their interests and activities in a few important economic sectors, including finance

and insurance and pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Main Highlights of the study

Global wealth is increasingly being concentrated in the hands of a small wealthy elite

In 2014, the richest 1% of people in the world owned 48% of global wealth, leaving

just 52% to be shared between the other 99% of adults on the planet. Almost all of

that 52% is owned by those included in the richest 20%, leaving just 5.5% for the

remaining 80% of people in the world.

The very richest of the top 1%, the billionaires on the Forbes list, have seen their

wealth accumulate even faster over this period. In 2010, the richest 80 people in the

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world had a net wealth of $1.3tn. By 2014, the 80 people who top the Forbes rich

list had a collective wealth of $1.9tn; an increase of $600bn in just 4 years, or 50%

in nominal terms.

Wealthy individuals have generated and sustained their riches through in-terests and activities in a few important economic sector

There are a few important economic sectors that have contributed to the accumulation

of wealth of billionaires. In March 2014, 20 percent of them were listed as having

interests or activities in, the financial and insurance sectors,the most commonly cited

source of wealth for billionaires on this list.

Since March 2013, there have been 37 new billionaires from these sectors, and six

have dropped off the list. The accumulated wealth of billionaires from these sectors

has increased from 1.01tn US dollar to 1.16tn US dollar in a single year; a nominal

increase of 150 billion US dollar or 15%.

Between 2013 and 2014 billionaires listed as having interests and activities in the

pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors saw the biggest increase in their collective

wealth.

Companies from the finance and pharmaceutical sectors spent millions of dollars in 2013 on lobbying

During 2013, the finance sector spent more than 400 million US dollar on lobbying in

the USA alone, 12% of the total amount spent by all sectors on lobbying in the US

in 2013.

The number of US finance billionaires increased from 141 to 150, and their collective

wealth from 535 billion US dollar to 629 billion US doolar. It is an increase of 94 billion

US dollar, or 17% in a single year.

In the EU, an estimated 150 million US dollar is spent by financial sector lobbyists

towards EU institutions every year. Between March 2013 and March 2014, the number

of billionaires in the EU with activities and interests in the financial sector increased

from 31 to 39, an increase in collective wealth of 34 billion US dollar to 128 billion US

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dollar.

The most prolific lobbying activities in the us are on budget and tax issues

In the US, the two issues which most lobbying is reported against are the federal budget

and appropriations and taxes. These are the public resources, which companies

are aiming to directly influence for their own benefit, using their substantial cash

resources.

Lobbying on tax issues in particular can directly undermine public interests, where a

reduction in the tax burden to companies results in less money for delivering essential

public services.

Oxfam suggestion for reducing inequality

• Make governments work for citizens and tackle extreme inequality

• Promote women’s economic equality and women’s rights

• Pay workers a living wage and close the gap with skyrocketing executive reward

• Share the tax burden fairly to level the playing field

• Close international tax loopholes and fill holes in tax governance

• Achieve universal free public services by 2020

• Change the global system for research and development (R&D) and pricing of

medicines so that everyone has access to appropriate and affordable medicines

• Implement a universal social protection floor

• Target development finance at reducing inequality and poverty, and strengthening

the compact between citizens and their government

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ILO released report tittled World Employment and Social Out-look – Trends 2015

International Labour Organisation (ILO) on 20 January 2015 released a report tittled

World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015 (WESO).

The report warned that unemployment will continue to rise in the coming years, as

the global economy has entered a new period combining slower growth, widening

inequalities and turbulence.

By 2019, more than 212 million people will be out of work, up from the current 201

million.

Main Highlights of the report

• The employment situation has improved in the United States and Japan, but

remains difficult in a number of advanced economies, particularly in Europe.

Vulnerable employment

• Two regions, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, accounted for three quarters

of the world’s vulnerable employment. East Asia is among the regions that are

likely to make the biggest dent in vulnerable employment, which is expected to be

reduced in the region from 50.2 per cent in 2007 to 38.9 per cent in 2019.

• The employment situation has not improved much in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite

better economic growth performance. And in the Arab region and parts of Latin

America and the Caribbean the employment outlook has deteriorated.

• The steep decline in oil and gas prices may improve the employment outlook

somewhat in many advanced economies and several Asian countries according

to some forecasts.

• Young workers aged 15-24 are particularly hit by the crisis, with a global youth

unemployment rate of almost 13 per cent in 2014 and a further increase expected

in coming years. By contrast, older workers have fared relatively well since the

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start of the global financial crisis in 2008.

Middle classes in developing countries on the rise

• In developing countries, the middle class now makes up more than 34 per cent

of total employment. The biggest progress has been in emerging and low-income

countries.

Income inequality, unemployment and social unrest

• The report explained growing and persistent inequality and uncertain prospects

for enterprise investment, has made it difficult for countries to rebound from the

crisis.

• Income inequality in some advanced economies now approach levels observed

among emerging economies. By contrast, the emerging economies made some

progress in reducing their high levels of inequality.

• The report said income inequality will continue to widen, with the richest 10 per

cent earning 30 to 40 per cent of total income while the poorest 10 per cent will

earn between 2 and 7 per cent of total income.

• Social unrest is particularly acute in countries and regions where youth

unemployment is high or rising rapidly.

• In line with the global unemployment rate, social unrest shot up since the beginning

of the crisis in 2008, and has now reached levels almost 10 per cent higher than

before the crisis.

• Only developed economies and countries in South-East Asia and the Pacific

region have seen a reduction in social unrest – after peaks before or around the

global crisis. But even there, levels of social unrest are significantly above historical

averages.

Challenges ahead

• Other factors include major shifts in demand for skills. At the global level, the

share of both low-skilled, non-routine jobs, such as security personnel and some

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personal care workers, and high-skilled non-routine cognitive jobs, such as lawyers

and software engineers, has increased.

• By contrast, routine middle-skilled jobs – like book-keepers and clerical workers

– are declining.

WHO released Global Status Report on Non-communicable Dis-eases 2014

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 19 January 2015 released the Global Status

Report on Non-communicable Diseases 2014.

As per the report, every year, 16 million people die prematurely before the age of 70

from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Most of these deaths are

preventable.

WHO estimated the cost of reducing the global non-communicable diseases (NCD)

burden is 11.2 billion US dollars a year. From 2011-2025, cumulative economic losses

due to NCDs in low and middle-income countries is estimated at 7 trillion US dollars.

With an investment of only 1-3 US dollars per person per year, countries can

dramatically reduce illness and death from non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The report provides the most current estimates based on NCD mortality (2012) and

risk factors in 194 countries. The report outlines 9 global voluntary targets in the

action plan that address key NCD risk factors including tobacco use, salt intake,

physical inactivity, high blood pressure and harmful use of alcohol.

The 9 global NCD targets are:

1. 25 percent relative reduction in risk of premature mortality from cancer, diabetes,

chronic respiratory diseases.

2. At least 10 percent relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol within the

national context.

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3. A 10 percent relative reduction in prevalence of insufficient physical activity.

4. A 30 percent relative reduction in mean population intake of salt.

5. A 30 percent relative reduction in tobacco use in persons aged 15+ years.

6. A 25 percent relative reduction in the prevalence of raised blood pressure

according to national circumstances.

7. Halt the rise in diabetes and obesity.

8. At least 50 percent of eligible people receive drug therapy to prevent heart

attacks and strokes.

9. 80 percent availability of the affordable basic technologies and essential

medicines to treat major NCDs in both public and private facilities.

Highlights of the report

• Out of the 38 million lives lost to NCDs in 2012, 16 million or 42 percent were

premature and avoidable, this was 14.6 million in 2000.

• Premature NCD deaths can be significantly reduced through government policies

reducing tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical

inactivity, and delivering universal health care.

• The report calls for more action to be taken to curb the epidemic, particularly

in low and middle-income countries, where deaths due to NCDs are overtaking

those from infectious diseases.

• The WHO report provides the baseline for monitoring implementation of the Global

action plan for NCDs 2013-2020 aimed at reducing the number of premature

deaths from NCDs by 25 percent by 2025.

• Though some countries are making progress towards the global NCD targets, but

the majority are off course to meet the 2025 targets. Till December 2013, only 70

countries had operational national NCD plan in line with the Global NCD action

plan.

• High rates of death and disease, particularly in low- and middle-income countries,

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are a reflection of inadequate investment in cost-effective NCD interventions.

Regional cost-effective successes listed in the report:

Turkey was the first country to implement all the best-buy measures for tobacco

reduction. In 2012, the country increased the size of health-warning labels to cover

65 percent of the total surface area of each tobacco product. There is currently a

total ban on tobacco advertisement.

Hungary passed a law to tax food and drink components with a high risk for health

such as sugar, salt and caffeine. Around 40 percent of manufacturers changed their

product formula to reduce the taxable ingredients.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Mexico and the USA have promoted salt reduction

in packaged foods and bread. Argentina has already achieved a 25 percent reduction

in the salt content of bread.

In 1993, Finland introduced mandatory salt labelling and products containing

particularly high levels of salt were also required to carry warning labels. Daily salt

intake in Finland dropped from approximately 12 g/day in the late 1970s to as little

as 6.8 g/day among women by 2002.

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SUMMIT | CONFERENCE

18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gujarat

18th National Conference on e-Governance was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from

30 January 2015 to 31 January 2015.

The main Theme of the Conference was Digital Governance – New Frontiers. The

focus sector was Skill Development & Employability.

The conference was organised jointly by Department of Administrative Reforms

& Public Grievances (DARPG) under Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances &

Pensions and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) under

Ministry of Communications & Information Technology.

The conference explored the benefits of the use of Information and Communication

Technology (ICT), how e-Governance leaders can act as the agents of change,

integrated service delivery and use of mobile platform for expanding access rapidly.

Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel and the Minister of State in the Prime

Minister Office and Personnel distributed National e-Governance Awards for the year

2014-15 in 12 different categories concerning various aspects of e-Governance.

National Conclave on ending Under-nutrition among Tribal Chil-dren concluded

National Conclave on ending under-nutrition among tribal children concluded on 16

January 2015. The two-day conclave was organized by ST and SC Development

Department of Odisha government, SC & ST Research and Training Institute, Union

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Ministry of Tribal Affairs and UNICEF.

At the conclave participants reaffirmed their commitment to end chronic under-

nutrition of tribal children across nine Schedule V States.

The conclave ended with eight-point agenda to end the under-nutrition in these States. These are:

• Making nutrition of tribal children a political and bureaucratic priority to stir policy

dialogue and coordinated action

• Setting up mechanisms for coordinating actions for nutrition, health, drinking water

and sanitation and livelihoods at the highest level at both State and Central levels

• Universalisation of public funded crèches in tribal areas

• Disaggregated data on tribal nutrition through surveys

• Institution of weekly haat should be tapped to deliver services and take messages

• Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) has relevance and requires

strengthening with more representation from all concerned departments

• Community nutrition and day care centres can provide meals to pregnant women

and breastfeeding mothers, counselling and linkage to savings groups and

livelihoods options

• Civil society and faith-based organizations with established grassroots presence

and credibility can increase outreach of services and information on government

schemes and generate community demand

NGO Pratham released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014)

NGO Pratham on 13 January 2015 released 10th Annual Status of Education Report

(ASER 2014). The report noted that overall situation with basic reading continues to

be extremely disheartening in India.

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The report is based on the survey in 577 districts and 16497 villages covering 341070

households and about 569229 children in the age group 3-16.

The report reveals that for six years in row school enrolment in India was 96 percent

or above for the 6-14 age group and India is close to universal enrollment in this age

group.

Nationally, the percentage of children out of school in the age group 6-14 remains at

3.3 percent. This is the same as was in 2013.

Highlights of the Report

• The 25 percent of Class 8 students cannot read a Class 2 level text.

• Only one-fourth of all children in Class 3 can read a Class 2 text fluently in 2014.

This number rises to just under half in Class 5.

• Close to 75 percent of Class 8 children can read Class 2 level text, which implies

still 25 percent children, cannot read.

• The proportion of Class 5 children who can at least read a Class 2 level text has

raised from 46.8 percent in 2012 to 47 percent in 2013 and to 48.1 percent in 2014.

• 38.7 percent of Class 3 children can read at least a Class 1 level text in 2012,

which is slightly higher at 40.2 percent in 2014.

• Tamil Nadu has shown major gains in reading over 2013 for Class 5.

• 30.8 percent of children of age group 6-14 in rural India were enrolled in private

schools in 2014, which has increased in number slightly from 29 percent in 2013.

• However, Mathematics continued to be a serious and major source of concern.

• All India (rural) figures for basic arithmetic have remained virtually unchanged over

the last few years.

• 26.3 percent of Class 3 children could do two digit subtractions in 2012 and this

number is at 25.3 percent in 2014.

• For Class 5 children, the ability to do division has increased slightly from 24.8

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percent in 2012 to 26.1 percent in 2014.

• The percentage of children in Class 2 who still cannot recognize numbers up to

nine has increased from 11.3 percent in 2009 to 19.5 percent in 2014.

Seventh Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 held in Gandhinagar

The Seventh Vibrant Gujarat Summit was held from 11 January to 13 January 2015

in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The summit was organised by the Government of Gujarat.

The sixth Vibrant Gujarat summit was held in 2013.

During the summit, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced that the MoUs

singed includes as many as 1225 strategic partnerships. The companies that have

disclosed their investment committments include Reliance Industries, Adani Group,

Aditya Birla Group, Suzlon and Videocon, and also some foreign players like Rio

Tinto, Suzuki and CLP Holdings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Chief Minister of

Gujarat Anandiben Patel, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Union Finance Minister

Arun Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was attended the summit.

Highlights of the Summit

• The various leaders and experts from across the world also called for greater

reforms in India.

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced that Gujarat has become a

global business hub.

• John Kerry was highly inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of Sabka

Saath, Sabka Vikas. He said that the US wants to promote co-operative federalism

in India with a competitive element among the states.

• World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said that World Bank raised targeted growth

of India to 6.4 percent. And also, he said that tax and subsidy reforms are essential

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for inclusive growth in India.

• Prime Minister Modi called for sustainable, inclusive growth and said that

fluctuations in the global economy are the biggest concern. He also said that India

wants to work with global leadership on issues ranging from poverty to ecology

with various countries that are coming forward to work with India.

• Adani Group committed 20000 crore rupees investment in port sector in Gujarat

and also another investment of 25000 crore rupees power sector plan.

• Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani had announced one lakh crore rupees

investment and Birla Group has committed 20000 crore rupees in 12- 18 months

across businesses.

• Among foreign companies, Mining giant of Australia Rio Tinto announced 30000

jobs in diamond cutting industry in Gujarat, and Australia is looking forward to

Gujarat as a promising business destination.

13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2015 concluded in Gujarat

13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) 2015 concluded on 9 January 2015 in Gujarat.

PBD is the flagship event of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA).

The event concluded with giving away Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to 15

members of the Indian Diaspora by the Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

The chief guest of the 13th PBD was Guyana President Donald Ramotar. The theme

of 2015 PBD was Bharat ko jano and Bharat ko mano.

PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003 and are celebrated on 9th

January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the

development of India.

The 13th edition of PBD marked the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India

from South Africa.

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So far, twelve PBDs have been held in various places of India as follows:

Year Venue Chief Guest

2014 New Delhi Datuk Seri. G. Palanivel, President of the Malaysian Indian Congress

2013 Kochi Rajkeswur Purryag, President, Mauritius

2012 Jaipur H.E. Ms. Kamla Persad Bissessar, Trinidad and Tobago

2011 New Delhi Sir Anand Satyanand, Governor General, New Zealand

2010 New Delhi Dr. Khalid Hameed, Chairman, Alpha Hospital Group, UK

2009 Chennai Dr. Ramdien Sardjoe, Vice President, Suriname

2008 New Delhi Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister, Mauritius

2007 New Delhi Prof. S. Jayakumar, Dy. Prime Minister, Singapore

2006 Hyderabad Ahmed Kathrada, Political Activist and a Contemporary of Nelson

Mandela

2005 Mumbai J.R. Ajodhia, Vice President, Suriname

2004 New Delhi Bharrat Jagdeo, President, Guyana

2003 New Delhi Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister, Mauritius

102nd Indian Science Congress held in Mumbai

The 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held from 3 January to 7 January

2015 in Mumbai. The theme of the ISC was Science and Technology for Human

Development.

The 102 ISC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ISC was

organized by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) in association with

University of Mumbai.

Nobel Laureates, eminent scientists, technology experts and research students from

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India and abroad were participated the Indian Science Congress.

Ancient sciences through Sanskrit, Ancient Indian aviation technology, Biodiversity

conservation, Space application, clean energy systems and other topics were

discussed. Science and Technology in SAARC Countries and issue of Genetically

Modified (GM) crops in India were also discussed.

Besides, Children’s Science Congress, Women’s Science Congress and Science

Exhibition were also organised. The Children’s Science Congress was inaugurated

by the former President APJ Abdul Kalam.

101th Indian Science Congress was held in Jammu with the theme: Innovations in

Science & Technology for Inclusive Development in February 2014.

About Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)

ISCA was established in Kolkata in 1914. ISCA was conceived with an objective of

advancing, promoting and furthering the cause of science in India, thus stimulating

scientific research in India.

New Jersey to host International Hindi Conference in April 2015

The International Hindi Conference will be hosted by New Jersey in April 2015. The

announcement was made on 4 January 2015.

The theme of the International Hindi Conference 2015 is Expanding World of Hindi:

Possibilities and Challenges.

Highlights of the International Hindi Conference 2015

• The conference will be attended by Hindi scholars from various parts of the world,

in particular from the United States and India.

• The participants of the International Hindi Conference will discuss the current

status of the teaching and learning of Hindi among other things.

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• The participants are also expected to discuss individual and organisational

partnerships and leadership and field capacity building and infrastructure building

skills and topics.

• Topics such as Hindi in higher education, Expanding the use of Hindi in businesses

and commerce, Community support for Hindi and Current status of the teaching

and learning of Hindi will be taken up in the conference.

• This conference will provide a forum for participants to get together and identify

challenges and find solutions for the advancement of the Hindi language in North

America and the Caribbean region.

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COMMITTEES | COMMISSIONS

Union Cabinet reconstituted Empowered Committee on setting up of Semiconductor Wafer FAB projects

The Union Cabinet on 28 January 2015 reconstituted the Empowered Committee

on setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in

the country. The reconstituted committee will be headed by NITI Aayog member V K

Saraswat.

The members of the Committee include:

• K. Radhakrishnan, former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation

• M.J. Zarabi, former Chairman of Semiconductor Complex Limited

• Narendra Krishna Karmarkar, Visiting Professor of IIT-Bombay

• Ratan P. Watal, Secretary of Department of Expenditure,

• Amitabh Kant, Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

• R.S. Sharma, Secretary of Department of Electronics and Information technology

The setting up of FAB units will promote Electronics System Design and manufacturing

in India which will stimulate the flow of capital and technology.

Besides, these units will also create employment opportunities, help higher value

addition in the electronic products manufactured, reduce dependence on imports

and lead to innovation.

Background

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Earlier on 20 April 2011, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government

constituted an Empowered Committee headed by the then adviser to Prime Minister

to identify technology and investors and recommend incentives for semiconductor

manufacturing.

The committee submitted its recommendations in March 2013. In September 2013,

the Union Government approved the setting up of two such units including:

• Jaiprakash Associates Ltd teamed up with International Business Machines

Corporation (IBM) and Israel-based TowerJazz to set up a 29000 crore rupees

unit in Greater Noida.

• Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. in partnership with

STMicroelectronics (STM) Limited and Silterra Limited decided to set up 34000

crore rupees facility in Prantij near Gandhinagar.

Subramanium committee recommended single window system for environment projects

High-level committee (HLC) headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanium

submitted its report to Union Government in first week of January 2015. In its

recommendation, the committee suggested single window clearance mechanism for

green nods.

The four member high-level committee (HLC) was appointed by the Union Ministry of

Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Climate Change (CC) to review environmental

laws.

The committee submitted its reports with recommendations after studying six environment laws. Some recommendations include

• To evaluate project clearance in a time bound manner, it has asked for setting a

full-time expert body, National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) at

the Centre and State Environmental Management Authority (SEMA), which will be

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the pivotal authorities to process applications for green clearance. Existing Central

Pollution Control Board and corresponding State agencies will be subsumed under

these agencies

• To benefit community at large as well as power and mining projects and projects

of national importance, it had recommended fast tracking procedure for linear

projects

• Use of national GIS enabled environmental information data base which would

assist both the project proponent and the scrutinising agency in obtaining authentic

data vital for decision making on an application.

These recommendations were suggested after the committee observed that the

corporate seek short cuts to get clearance for their environment projects.

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ABBREVIATIONS | TERMS

Purple Tea can be produced in Assam: Experts

Purple Tea: The health-rich variety of tea grown in Kenya

Purple Tea that is grown only in Kenya was in news in January 2015. It was in news

because experts at Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI) Assam claimed that Longai

area of Cachar district in the Barak Valley and the hilly forested areas of Karbi Anglong

district of Assam have potential to produce Purple Tea.

Till date, Kenya is the only known place in the world that produces this health-rich

purple tea. This tea is three to four times expensive in comparison to black tea.

Purple tea is a rare variety of tea that is grown around Mt Kenya region in very selective

gardens. It is known for its medicinal properties and is rich in anthocyanins and

contains lower catechins and caffeine. It is high in antioxidants and provides anti-

cancer benefits and improves vision, lowers cholesterol and blood sugar metabolism.

According to a team of scientists and researchers at TTRI, the purple tea of Kenya

originally belonged to Assam as the wild bushes of the tea can still be found in these

areas of Assam.

Assam is the largest producer of tea in India, while China is the largest producer of

tea in the world and is followed by India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

Charlie Hebdo: a French satirical weekly magazine

Charlie Hebdo: a French satirical weekly magazine featuring cartoons, reports and

jokes

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Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports,

polemics, and jokes was in news in first week of January 2015.

It was in news after masked gunmen on 7 January 2015 attacked its Paris office

killing at least 12 people. The killed ones included five of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoonists,

including the editor Charbonnier.

The magazine has been under threat since 2006, the year when it published cartoons

on Prophet Mohammad under title Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists

(Mahomet débordé par les intégristes). Earlier, it was firebombed in 2011.

History of Charlie Hebdo

• Charlie Hebdo first appeared in 1970 as a successor to the Hara-Kiri magazine,

which was banned for mocking the death of former French President Charles de

Gaulle.

• Hara-Kiri magazine was launched as a monthly magazine in 1960 by Georges

Professeur Choron Bernier and François Cavanna

• In February 1969, Hara-Kiri launched its weekly issue named Hara-Kiri Hebdo

focusing current affairs. It was later in May 1969 renamed as L’Hebdo Hara-Kiri

• In 1970, the Hara-Kiri magazine was renamed as Charlie Hebdo deriving its name

from a monthly comics magazine called Charlie which had been started by Bernier

and Delfeil de Ton in 1969

• In 1981 publication ceased, but the magazine was resurrected in 1992

• The magazine’s current editor is Gérard Biard who took over the role after

Charbonnier, who had been editor since 2009, was killed on 7 January 2015

AMCA: India’s own fifth generation fighter aircraft

AMCA: Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft

AMCA was in news in the first week of January 2015. It was revealed by the sources

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from Defence Ministry that the preliminary design stage of the futuristic fighter aircraft

is over and the development work on the project is expected to start in 2015.

The main purpose of the AMCA is to replace the aging SEPECAT Jaguar & Dassault

Mirage 2000.

Features of fifth generation fighter aircraft AMCA

• Single seat, twin engine with a diamond-shaped planform and an internal weapons

bay

• High maneuverability which tends to include short-field capabilities

• Advanced avionics

• Networked data fusion from sensors and avionics

• Multirole capabilities

• Complement HAL Tejas, the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI and the

Dassault Rafale

• AMCA would be powered by K 9 or K 10 Engine with Super cruise capability

without after burner.

Genesis of AMCA

The seed for developing the indigenous fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) was

sowed in 2008 but its finalised form was unveiled during Aero India 2013.

The aircraft will be developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in collaboration

with Indian Air Force (IAF), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).

The amount required for the initial design and development phase is 4000 crore

rupees and the initial design of AMCA is expected to be ready by 2018. The first flight

of the AMCA though will only be possible by 2025.

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Difference between Sukhoi-T50 and AMCA

It will be unlike the joint HAL –Sukhoi initiative between India and Russia to produce

FGFA. This multi-role fighter aircraft is expected to be two-seater derivative of the

in-development Russian Sukhoi T-50.

Fifth Generation Fighter Aircrafts (FGFA)

It is a fighter aircraft classification encompassing the most advanced jet fighter

generation. FGFAs are designed to incorporate numerous technological advances

over the fourth generation jet fighter.

Main features of FGFA

• Low Probability of Intercept Radar (LPIR)

• High-performance air frames

• Advanced avionics features

• Highly integrated computer systems capable of networking with other elements

within the theatre of war for situational awareness

Top 10 FGFA

• Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor – USA: The only currently combat-ready fifth-

generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, entered service with the U.S.

Air Force in 2005.

• Chengdu J-20 (Black Eagle) – China: Expected to be operational in 2017–2019

• Sukhoi PAK FA (T-50) – Russia: The T-50 prototype performed its first flight 29

January 2010

• Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II – USA: Is under development

• KAI KF-X – South Korea

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• Mitsubishi ATD-X (Shinshin) – Japan: The aircraft’s first flight is scheduled for 2014

• TAI TFX / F-X – Turkey

• HAL Sukhoi PMF/FGFA – India & Russia: The first aircraft is to begin testing in

India in 2014, with introduction into service expected by 2022.

• Shenyang J-31 (F-60) – China: It is nicknamed Gyrfalcon

• HAL AMCA – India: Initial design expected to be ready by 2018

Generations of Fighter jets

• First Gen jet fighters (1940-1950): used turbojets for propulsion instead of earlier

piston-driven aircraft (Messerschmitt-Me262, Mystere-IV, MiG-15)

• Second Gen fighters (1950-1960): integrated new technologies, swept or delta

wings & guided missiles for BVR (Beyond Visual range)

• Third Gen fighters (1960-1970): inducted improved radars, missiles & avionics

(Mirage –III, MiG-25, F-4 Phantom-II)

• Fourth Gen fighters (1970-1990): incorporated fly-by-wire controls & multi role

capabilities (Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Sukhoi-27, Tornado, F-16 Fighting Falcon)

• 4.5 Gen fighters (1990s – onwards): use more advanced avionics & electronics,

with some stealth. (Sukhoi-30MKI, Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16F Desert

Falcon, F/A-18 Super Hornet)

ICG Rajratan: The Inshore Patrol Vehicles

ICG Rajratan: The Inshore Patrol Vehicles

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Rajratan, the fifth ship in the series of eight Inshore Patrol

Vessels (IPVs) ordered after the 26/11 attack, was in news in the first week of January

2015.

The ship was deployed in 48-hour search operation at and around the site where the

Pakistani terror boat sank after its crew set it ablaze on 1 January 2015.

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However, the ship could neither gather the debris of the fishing boat nor traced any

survivors of bodies of the boats suspected terrorist crew.

The only evidence of the incident that occurred now lies in the footage shot by sailors

onboard ICGS Rajratan.

Specifications of ICG Rajratan

• The ship has been indigenously built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers,

Kolkata.

• The ship is 50-meter long and can achieve a maximum speed of 34 knots

• It has an endurance of 1500 nautical miles at an economical speed of 16 knots

• It is equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and

navigational equipments.

• It provides an ideal platform for undertaking multifarious close-coast missions

such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and medical evacuation.

• It is fitted with Integrated Bridge Management System (IMBS), Integrated Machinery

Control System (IMCS) and an integrated gun mount with indigenous Fire Control

system (FCS).

• It is based in Porbandar and is commanded by Commandant (JG) C S Joshi and

has a complement of five Officers and 30 other ranks

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ART | CULTURE

Goa to host Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest

Goa will host Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest from 24 January 2015 to 25

January 2015 at Candolim beach. The musical festival will witness a confluence of

Russian and Indian music.

The festival will host various world’s best DJs and bands like Alisa, Dolphin, Parikrama

and DJ sets by Karsh Kale, Mara, Kohra, Janux, XP Voodoo, Christ Burstein FT,

Victoria Bourke, Bhavishyavani Future Soundz FT. M. Mat.

The festival will be a soulful confluence of music, energy, food, sea, shells and

everything and will serve music lovers a quality time with friends and family.

The festival will present a dichotomous mix of a classic all-round music festival that

has Live and DJ performances at the same time starting a new trend in the Indian

festival environment.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Dandi Kutir museum

PM Narendra Modi on 8 January 2015 inaugurated a state-of-the-art museum Dandi

Kutir opposite Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on the occasion of the 13th

Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD).

The 13th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) is marking the 100th anniversary of

Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa.

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Dandi Kutir

• Dandi Kutir is located inside a 41-metre high salt-mound as a symbol of Gandhi’s

famous Dandi march against the salt tax provisions imposed by the British regime

in March 1930.

• The museum displays each and every aspect of Mahatma Gandhi’s life in the form

of sculptures that depict his childhood, early life, his return to India and his role in

the country’s freedom struggle.

• Key concepts of Gandhian thoughts like Satyagraha, non-violence, self reliance,

Gram Swaraj are elaborately explained through a number of exhibits.

• There is also an audio-visual presentation of milestone incidents of the Indian

Independence Movement.

The Lunchbox nominated for BAFTA 2015 under Non-English Best Film Category

The Lunchbox on 8 January 2015 was nominated for British Academy of Film and

Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards 2015 under non-English best film category. The film

is the only Indian film to be nominated for 2015 BAFTA Awards.

The Lunchbox, starring Nimrat Kaur and Irrfan Khan is directed by Ritesh Batra.

The film is competing with Polish-Danish drama film Ida, Russian drama Leviathan,

Brazilian-British adventure drama thriller film Trash, and Belgian drama Two Days,

One Night.

BAFTA awards will be hosted by Stephen Fry. The award ceremony will be held on 8

February 2015.

The Lunchbox revolves around a misplacement of a Tiffin in Mumbai’s efficient

lunchbox delivery system. This wrong delivery of a lunchbox connects a neglected

housewife to an about to retire government servant.

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INVENTIONS | DISCOVERIES

Chinese archaeologists discovered Buddhist relics in Hubei Province of Central China

Chinese archaeologists on 13 January 2015 discovered Buddhist relics in Hubei

province of Central China. These relics are believed to be from the cremated ashes

of Buddhist masters.

The relics were discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Chen Qianwan, Head

of the archaeology institute of Xiangyang City.

The rare Buddhist relics called sariras were discovered on the top of a tomb belonging

to an official from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) at the foot of the Xianshan Mountain

in Xiangyang.

The objects were found in late December 2014 and later identified by monks and

researchers as sariras (relics). The researchers claimed that it is very rare to find

sariras in a tomb, as they are usually unearthed at Buddhist temples. They believe

the owner of the tomb was a Buddhist.

About Sarira

Sarira, meaning body or corpse, is a generic term used by Buddhists to refer to the

remains of spiritual masters after their death. These holy relics are generally found in

bead-shaped form.

The largest of the sariras has a diameter of about 3 centimetres. They vary in colour

from red, purple, blue, cyan and orange in the light.

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Scientists discovered two Earth-like planets Kepler 438b and Kepler 442b

The Scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics have discovered

two Earth-like planets Kepler 438b and Kepler 442b. The findings of the discovery

were published in The Astrophysical Journal on 5 January 2015.

The planets were spotted by Nasa’s Kepler space telescope which detects planets

as they move across the faces of their stars. Kepler collected the data for four years.

The Harvard-Smithsonian team led by Guillermo Torres used a computer program

called Blender to confirm that the planets were real.

Kepler-438b

• Kepler 438b is 475 light years away. It gets about 40 percent more heat from its

red sun than Earth gets from the Sun.

• With a diameter just 12 percent bigger than Earth, Kepler-438b has a 70 percent

chance of being rocky.

• The planet completes an orbit around its star every 35 days, making a year on the

planet pass 10 times as fast as on Earth.

• Its proximity to its star places it in the Goldilocks or habitable zone where the

temperature is appropriate for liquid water to flow.

• The mean temperature of Kepler 438b is expected to be 60 degrees Celsius.

Kepler-442b

• Kepler-442b is 1100 light-years away. It is 33 percent bigger than Earth and orbits

its star once every 112 days. has a 60-percent chance of being rocky.

• There is 97 percent chance that Kepler-442b has water on its surface.

• The mean temperature of Kepler-442b is expected to be 0 degree Celsius.

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EXHIBITION | FARE

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated IITF 2014 in New Del-hi

President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 November 2014 inaugurated India International

Trade Fair (IITF) 2014 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

The fair will be held from 14 November 2014 to 27 November 2014. The fair is

conducted by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

In its 34th edition, the theme of the fair is Women Entrepreneurs. Partner country

of the trade fair is South Africa. Focus Country of the fair is Thailand while the focus

state is Delhi.

About IITF

IITF was started in 1980. IITF is the largest integrated trade fair with B2B and B2C

components. It has emerged as the largest consumer goods fair in the Indian sub-

continent.

The format of IITF has Business, Social, Cultural and Educational Dimensions

that are weaved together where visitors and exhibitors, media persons, marketing

professionals, social activists, NGO’s come together to explore their objectives.

A number of Government Organisations use this platform to spread awareness about

their programmes and policies among the public. As such almost all States and

Union Territories of the Federal Government of India participate in this event.

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Border haat opened in Tripura

The first border haat (market) facility on zero line on the Indo-Bangla international

border in Tripura was inaugurated on 20 October 2014. The facility was opened to

boost bilateral trade by Union Minister of Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman and her

Bangladesh counterpart Tofil Ahmed at Srinagar in south Tripura.

This hatt on the Srinagar-Ramgarh border is second in North-East after Meghalaya.

Selected commodities from both countries would be trade during, the border hatt

period. As per notification, people residing living within a distance of 5 km from the

border are entitled to do business at the haat. Business in haat would take place

once in a week initially.

It is anticipated that the haat would cater the livelihood option to more than thousand

of marginal income families and small traders of both the countries. It would be

beneficial for people of the region as no tax would be imposed on the items to be

sold in the haat and currencies of both the countries will be allowed.

Biggest electronics trade exhibition of Japan CEATEC concluded

The biggest electronics trade exhibition of Japan CEATEC concluded on 11 October

2014 at Makuhari Messe International convention complex in Chiba prefecture of

Japan. CEATEC stands for Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies. The

five-day exhibition had started on 7 October 2014.

The main highlight of the exhibition was the introduction of sign and display technology

solutions by Japanese companies like Fujifilm which provides total solutions for wide-

format print system.

The technology will come handy for the outdoor advertising industry in India and

ASEAN region where the trend of outdoor advertising on billboards and POP is fast

catching up.

The technology mainly uses graphics based on Ultra-Violet (UV) inks. UV inks are

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used because they remain protected in outdoor climate and do not evaporate, so the

system can be installed in one room.

On the other hand, the harmful VOC - solvent based ink systems are used to the

conventional wide-format printing machine, which required the separate forced

exhaust facility.

About CEATEC

CEATEC provides a platform for companies and organizations from all over the world

to showcase their cutting-edge products, services and technologies. The event

also serves as key industry networking and information-gathering opportunity, with

numerous seminars and other activities offered during the fair.

Union MNRE announced the organisation of the first RE-INVEST Promotion Meet & Expo

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE) on 30 September 2014

announced the organisation of the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet &

Expo (RE-INVEST). The meet is scheduled to be held on 15 February 2015 in New

Delhi.

The central theme of the meet is to attract large scale investments in the renewable

energy sector in India. The event, which is the follow-up to the Make in India initiative,

is proposed to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It will be the first major platform for investment promotion in the renewable energy

sector at the level of Government of India.

Highlights of the RE-INVEST Promotion Meet & Expo

• RE-INVEST will be jointly organised by Indian Renewable Energy Development

Agency (IREDA), Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) and Federation of Indian

Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

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• Moreover, other leading industrial and sector specific Associations including

ASSOCHAM and PHDCII will also be closely associated.

• RE-INVEST will enable the global investment community to connect with renewable

energy stakeholders in India. Over 1000 delegates are expected to attend the

Meet.

• The event is expected be attended by over 200 investors including domestic and

international.

• RE-INVEST will be the culmination of a conference and exhibition of manufacturers,

project developers, investors and other players in the renewable energy space to

showcase manufacturing capabilities, latest technologies, financing options and

investment opportunities.

• International companies in the renewable energy space from different countries

will also have the opportunity to exhibit and showcase at the Expo to a wide

Indian audience.

Renewable Energy Sector in India

Renewable Energy Sector is contributing about 6.5 percent in the electricity mix of the

country. FDI up to 100 percent under the automatic route is permitted in Renewable

Energy Sector.

Major initiatives by the Government including accelerated depreciation, generation

based incentive, feed-in-tariff, viability gap funding is expected to add massive

investments in the renewable energy sector.

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DAY | WEEK | YEAR

Anti-Leprosy Day observed to focus Attention on Disease

Anti-Leprosy Day was observed on 30 January 2015 nationwide to focus attention on

the disease which is also known as the Hansen’s disease. On this occasion President

of India extended his best wishes to the Indian Leprosy Association.

The day is celebrated in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi in order to re-memorize his

selfless efforts and care for the people affected by the infectious disease leprosy.

Objectives of Celebrating Anti-Leprosy Day

• To raise the leprosy awareness among people

• To offer help to those affected by disease through the regular and free of cost

treatment they need

• To make the diseased person psychologically strong and help them to cope up

with physical impairments of skin sores and nerve damage

• To ascertain that all affected persons are getting the necessary treatment,

rehabilitation and care or not

• To estimate the marked decrease or increase in the rate of spreading disease

About Leprosy Disease

Leprosy also known as Hansen’s disease (HD), is a chronic infection caused by the

bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Initially, infections

are without symptoms and typically remain this way for 5 to as long as 20 years.

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Symptoms that develop include granulomas of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and

eyes. This may result in a lack of ability to feel pain and thus loss of parts of extremities

due to repeated injuries. Weakness and poor eyesight may also be present.

A drug Chaulmoogra oil was used for leprosy treatment until Dapsone was discovered

with anti-leprosy effects during 1940s.

It was in 1970s when multi drug therapy (MDT) consisting of Rifampicin, Clofazimine

and Dapsone were identified as cure for leprosy which came into wide use from 1982

following the recommendations of WHO.

Facts about Leprosy in India

• 55 percent of the leprosy cases in world are in India. 127000 new cases of leprosy

were reported in India from 2010-2011.

• Leprosy is particularly prevalent among the poorest and most marginalised

communities due to their lack of access to healthcare, poor sanitation and

congested living spaces.

• 14.31 percent of new cases were found among Scheduled Tribes and 18.69 percent

among Scheduled Castes between 2010-11 although these groups accounted for

only 8.2 percent and 16.2 percent of the population respectively in 2001.

• As on 1 April 2013, 33 out of 35 States/Union Territories have eliminated leprosy,

that is, the prevalence rate is below one case per 10000 populations. Also as of

March 2013, 528 districts (81.4%) out of total 649 districts achieved the elimination

target.

• At present Chhattisgarh has the highest prevalence rate of leprosy in India followed

by Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

India’s success story in eliminating Leprosy

• 1955: National Leprosy Control Programme launched

• 1983: National Leprosy Eradication Programme launched

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• 1983: Introduction of Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) in phases

• 2005: Elimination of Leprosy at National level achieved on 31 December 2005 with

prevalence rate of 0.95 per 10000 populations. Less than one case per 10000

populations is the globally-accepted level of elimination.

• March 2011: Prevalence rate stood at 0.69 per 10000 populations

• 2012 - Special action plan for 209 high endemic districts in 16 States/UTs

National Girl Child Day observed on 24 January

National Girl Child Day is observed on 24 January 2015 across the nation.

This celebration was started to offer more supports and new opportunities to the girls

in the country. It is celebrated to increase the awareness among people about all the

inequalities faced by the girl child in the society. This day is being observed every

year on 24 January since 2008.

Ministry of Women and Child Development has been taking a multi pronged approach

to address and reverse the trend of declining child sex ratio in the country. The

objective of all these initiatives is to work towards ensuring that girls are born, loved

and nurtured and grow up to become empowered citizens of this country with equal

rights and opportunities.

Government of India has started National Girl Child Day as a national girl’s development

mission. The mission raises the awareness among people all over the country about

the importance of girls’ promotion. It helps in enhancing girls’ meaningful contribution

in decision making processes by active support of the parents and the community

members.

Girl Child Rights in India

Government of India has taken various steps by declaring variety of schemes to

make the girl child status better. Some of are:

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• Sex determination during pregnancy through the clinics has been blocked by the

government.

• Child marriages of the girls have been restricted.

• Antenatal care has been made necessary for all the pregnant women to fight with

the malnutrition, high illiteracy, poverty and infant mortality in the society.

• Save the Girl Child scheme has been introduced by the government to save the

girl child.

• Girl child education status in India has been improved through the free and

compulsory primary school education for both boys and girls till 14 years of age.

• To improve the status of the girl child in India, the government of India has reserved

1/3 seats in the local government for women.

• Anti-MTP, anti-sati laws, anti-dowry Act has also been introduced by the legislature

to enhance the women status and employment opportunities.

• Five Year Plan has been implemented to pay attention towards the education

status in the backward states of the country.

• School children are well availed with the uniforms, noon meal and educational

materials and repayments to the SC and ST caste girl’s families.

• Balwadi-cum-creeches have been implemented for caring the girl babies and

attend the primary school.

• Operation Blackboard including other programmes has been organized for the

teacher’s education to make the school services advance.

• The Open Learning System has been established for easiness to the girls of

backward areas.

• It has been declared for the girl child that girls must be given equal treatments and

opportunities from the very beginning to expand the opportunities for them.

• The SHG means Self-Help Groups has been introduced by the government as the

main policy in order to make better the livelihood of rural areas girls.

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National Immunization Day for the year 2015 observed on 18 January

National Immunization Day for the year 2015 was observed on 18 January 2015. As

a part of this, Children below 5 years of age were given polio drops as part of the

government’s drive to sustain polio eradication in India.

Earlier on 17 January 2015, President Pranab Mukherjee launched the Pulse Polio

Programme for the year 2015 by administering polio drops to children in New Delhi.

Every year, India observes National Immunisation Day in January to mark the launch

of pulse polio programme.

India has been implementing the Pulse Polio Programme since 1995. In India, the last

case of wild polio was reported on 13 January 2011.

On 27 March 2014, India was certified as polio free country along with other 11

countries of South-East Asia Region of World Health Organisation (WHO). These

countries were Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

67th Army Day observed on 15 January Army Day: 15 January

India on 15 January 2015 observed the 67th Army Day. The day is celebrated to

commemorate the day, when Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa

on 15 January 1949 became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army

post Independence. He had succeeded General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British

Commander-in-Chief of India.

To mark the day, all three service chiefs, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Chief

of Naval Staff Admiral Robin K Dhowan and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha paid tributes

at the Amar Jawan Jyoti here at India Gate by laying floral wreath and remembering

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the martyred soldiers. Thereafter they also signed the record book at the India Gate.

Various parades and military shows were organized in national capital New Delhi and

all army headquarters to mark the day.

National Youth Day observed across India on 12 January

12 January: National Youth Day

National Youth Day was observed across India on 12 January 2015. The day is

observed annually to mark the birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and

thinker Swami Vivekananda.

This is the 152nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and his birth anniversary

is being celebrated as National Youth Day in India since 1985.

The Union Government in 1984 had declared that 12 January, the birthday of Swami

Vivekananda will be observed as the National Youth Day.

Swami Vivekananda’s lectures and writings are a source of inspiration for youth and

have motivated numerous youth organisation.

His writings derive their inspiration from Indian spiritual tradition and the broad outlook

of his Master Sri Ramakrishna.

All his teachings can be found in The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, in nine

volumes, published by Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.

Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 as Narendra Nath Datta and

regarded as a patriotic saint of India.

He was the key figure who introduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga

to the Western world and was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and

contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India.

He is best known for his inspiring speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions

in Chicago in 1893 in which he introduced Hinduism, his words began with words,

Sisters and brothers of America.

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Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission and died

at an early age of 39 on 4 July 1902 at Belur in Maharashtra.

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MISCELLANEOUS

Union Government released Commemorative Postage stamps with Swachh Bharat Mission as theme

The Commemorative Postage stamps on the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission were

released on 30 January 2015 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi to mark the Martyrdom

Day of Mahatma Gandhi.

The stamps were released by the Union Ministry for Communications & Information

Technology. The Department of Posts issued a set of three Commemorative Postage

Stamps.

The design of the stamps was selected through a competition among the children on

the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission.

The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on

2 October 2014, on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna made it to Guinness World Re-cords

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna(PMJDY) on 20 January 2015 made it to Guinness

Book of World Records.

Indian Banks opened 11.50 crore accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan

Yojana in a short span of five months. The feat was commended by the Guinness

Book of World Records.

Out of the total account opened, 5.68 crore accounts belonged to male and 5.82 crore

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account belonged to females. In percentage terms, 49.37 % accounts belonged to

male while 50.63% accounts belonged to females.

6.84 crore accounts were opened in rural areas which is 59.49% of the total accounts

opened while in urban area 4.66 crore accounts were opened which is 40.51%.

In August 2014, Indian Government set a target of opening up 10 crore accounts to

pass on benefits of various social security schemes to the account holders.

Now, Government will transfer annual subsidy of around 51029 crore rupees directly

to bank accounts of 15.45 crore beneficiaries, plugging system leakages.

PMJDY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2014. The scheme

was launched for opening the most bank accounts—about 1.80 crore— in one week

as part of the financial inclusion campaign.

Indian-Americans Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri and Deven J Parekh nominated to key posts in US

US President Barack Obama on 14 January 2015 nominated two Indian-Americans

Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri and Deven J Parekh to key posts in US.

Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri was nominated as Chairman of the National Indian

Gaming Commission (NIGC) whereas Deven J Parekh was nominated as the Member

of the Board of Directors of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

At present, Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri is serving as acting Chairman of NIGC

which is responsible for regulating and ensuring the integrity of more than 420 Indian

gaming facilities. In 2012, he was named senior counsellor to the Assistant Secretary

for Indian affairs in the Department of the Interior.

Deven J Parekh, on the other hand, is currently the Managing Director (MD) at

Insight Venture Partner. Since 2011, he has been also serving as a Member of the

Technological Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission.

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Kailash Satayarthi dedicated his Nobel Peace Prize to the Na-tion

Kailash Satayarthi on 7 January 2015 dedicated his Nobel Peace Prize to the Nation.

The medal was presented by Satyarthi to the President at a ceremony held at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Medal will be put up on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan

museum.

Visitors to the Rashtrapati Bhavan will now be able to see the Nobel Peace Prize

received by child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. The medal is made of 18-carat gold

and weighing 196 gram.

He became the second indian to dedicate his noble prize to nation after CV Raman.

CV Raman received his Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930.

Satyarthi and Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 10

December 2014 for their pioneering work on promoting child rights.

His Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Bachpan Bachao Andolan claimed to have

rescued over 83000 children from bonded labour and slavery since its inception in

1980.

President Pranab Mukherjee said this was an unusual gesture because most former

winners of the award kept the same in their respective institutions, including Tagore,

whose medal was housed at Viswa Bharati at Santiniketan.

Commemorative Postage Stamps released to mark 100 Years of Mahatma Gandhi’s Return to India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 January 2014 released Commemorative Postage

Stamps to mark 100 Years of Mahatma Gandhi’s Return from South Africa to India.

A set of two Commemorative Postage Stamps were released during the 13th Pravasi

Bharatiya Divas in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

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The coins are of denomination of 100 rupees and 10 rupees, while the stamps are of

value of 25 rupees and 5 rupees.

The coins and stamps show two pictures of Gandhi, one when he was a young

barrister and another one when he came to be known as Mahatma by people across

the globe.

Mahatma Gandhi arrived in South Africa at a young age of 24 years as the legal counsel

of Indian traders based in the city of Pretoria. He spent more than two decades in

South Africa, where he developed the concept of Satyagraha while fighting against

the gross injustice, discrimination and racism prevailing in South Africa.

In 1915, Gandhi returned to India with a formidable reputation to lead the Indian

masses struggling for freedom from colonial domination through civil disobedience

and non-violence, which proved to be highly effective moral weapon in the struggle

for Independence in India.

Dubai’s Maze Tower listed in Guinness World Records

Dubai’s Maze Tower was on 21 January 2015 listed in the Guinness World Record for

being the world’s largest vertical maze. The maze tower was built by Al Rostamani

Group of Dubai.

The 55-storey tall Maze Tower is located near the Sheikh Zayed Road in the Dubai

Financial District.

About The Maze Tower

• The building features an eye-catching front and rear front elevation of balconies

that make up an intricate maze.

• The maze itself is not just a random pattern but a real puzzle. The maze pattern

can also be lit up in different colours.

• The design uses the changing level of natural light and shadow during the day.

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• It also features natural Brazilian Verde Bahia stone to create a striking facade. The

stone is used throughout the exterior.

• The dark greenish hue of the building corner posts is attained using a water jet

treatment which creates an even matt surface.

• A light colour is used in the building to emphasise the Maze and is achieved

using a flame technique that roughens the surface and creates a lighter and more

reflective surface.

• The tower shows the Maze Eye, an 8 metre circular video wall at the top of the

building which can beam images at great distances.

• There is also a garden floor in the middle of the building and a roof top maze

garden.

All-women contingent of Indian defence to march past for the first time on 2015 Republic Day parade

All-women contingent of Indian army will march for the first time on 2015 Republic

Day (RD) parade. The chief guest of 2015 Republic Day will be the US President

Barack Obama.

The decision to have all-women contingent was taken by the Indian armed forces in

the first week of January 2015 following an order from Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to display Nari Shakti as a theme for the 2015 RD Parade.

The all-women contingent would comprise of 150-odd women army officers who will

give a salute to the President of India.

Women and Indian Armed forces

In 1992 for the first time, Indian Army allowed women as officers. They were introduced

as Special Entry Group for four years, which extended up to 14 years in 2004.

However, the extended service cannot promote a woman officer up to the rank of a

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Colonel, which is mandatory to be the commanding officer of the unit.

At present, women can join the army as short service commission officers and get

posted in less-critical branches such as Judge Advocate General Branch, Army

Medical Corps and Military Nursing Service.

In 2012, for the first time in history of RD parade, the Indian Air Force contingent was

led by women. Flight Lieutenant Sneha Shekhawat from Sikar in Rajasthan led the

IAF contingent at the 63rd Republic Day parade.

Recently in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government cleared the

Indian Army’s proposal to offer permanent commission to women officers. With this

women will get bigger role in units like Intelligence Corps, Signals Corps, Ordinance

Corps, Army Service Corps and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corps.

However, still women in Indian armed forces are not allowed into combat fields unlike

the countries like the US, Israel, Australia, Sri Lanka and Sweden, where women

officers serve in combat roles.

Prime Minister released commemorative coin to mark 175th birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 January 2015 released a commemorative coin

to mark the 175th birth anniversary of Tata group founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata.

The reverse face of the coin bears the image of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata in the

centre, with the inscription 175 वा जन्मदिवस in Devnagri script.

With this, he became the first industrialist to be felicitated by a commemorative coin.

PM launched the coin in the presence of Minister of State (Finance) Jayant Sinha and

Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry.

Jamsetji Tata founded the Tata group in 1868. The translation of his vision led to

creation of India’s first integrated steel plant (Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant—1907),

hydroelectric power plants that service Mumbai’s needs till today (Tata Power’s

Khopoli plant—1910), and the Indian Institute of Science (1909).

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WORLD DAIRY January 2015

1 January 2015

• Indians awarded with Queen’s New Year Honours 2015

• Mario Matthew Cuomo, former New York Governor, died at 82

2 January 2015

• Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track restored by IRCON in North Sri Lanka inaugurated

• Jiaolong, the Chinese deep sea submersible, began exploration in Indian Ocean

• American country music singer Little Jimmy Dickens died at 94

3 January 2015

• Israel stopped transfer of tax collected from Palestinians to Palestinian Authority

Government

• Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara became fastest to score 12000 Test runs

4 January 2015

• Andy Murray won ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi

• China launched official website for military weapons procurement

• Veteran Chinese sports administrator He Zhenliang died

• New Jersey to host International Hindi Conference in April 2015

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5 January 2015

• Tropical forests absorb more Carbon Dioxide than thought: NASA

• Excessive concentration of antibiotics found in three Chinese rivers

6 January 2015

• Russian Popov Ivan won 7th Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title

• Tencent Holdings Limited launched China’s first online bank WeBank

• Australian airline Qantas named world’s safest by AirlineRatings.com

• Russian President issued decree to enable foreign soldiers to serve in Russian

Military

• Pakistan Parliament passed 21st Constitutional Amendment, Army Act Amendment

Bills

• NASA Kepler Space Telescope made 1000th Exoplanet Discovery

7 January 2015

• Teixobactin, a new antibiotic discovered

• French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office attacked by terrorists

• New Zealand won Test series 2-0 against Sri Lanka

• ICC announced Associate & Affiliate panel of umpires for the year 2015

• China included potatoes as staple diet after rice, wheat and corn

8 January 2015

• India to provide 60 million dollar LoC to Guyana for road infrastructure projects

• The Lunchbox nominated for BAFTA 2015 under Non-English Best Film Category

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• Egypt to hold Parliamentary elections in March 2015

9 January 2015

• Maithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka

• Yu Min honoured with State Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014

• US House of Representative passed legislation approving construction of Keystone

XL Oil Pipeline

10 January 2015

• Australia won 4-match Border-Gavaskar Test series, 2-0

• Misbah-ul-Haq announced to retire from ODIs after Cricket World Cup 2015

11 January 2015

• Stanislas Wawrinka won Chennai Open title of Tennis

• US to host international Anti-terror Summit on 18 February 2015

• Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic won the 2015 Presidential elections of Croatia

• Roger Federer won Brisbane International Tennis title

12 January 2015

• Madagascar Government led by Prime Minister Kolo Roger resigned

• Australia launched Online Visa Pilot Programme for Indian business and tourism

visitors

• Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or Award

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13 January 2015

• World Bank Group released Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report, January

2015

• India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion US dollars in 2014

• India and Australia signed MoU for skill and infrastructural development in sports

• First Border Haat of Tripura opened at Srinagar-Feni border

• Chinese scientists published first genetic map of Tibetan Highland Barley

14 January 2015

• Japan approved its largest ever Defence Budget for 2015

• Pope Francis cannonised Joseph Vaz, the first saint of Sri Lanka

• Brett Lee announced retirement from all forms of Cricket

• Parliament of Europe adopted resolution on two Italian marines

15 January 2015

• China to launch construction of five new nuclear reactors with total capacity of 5

gigawatts in 2015

• China Food and Drug Administration approved new vaccine to treat Poliomyelitis

• Petra Kvitova won women’s single title of Sydney International Tennis tournament

• Mark Knowles, Ellen Hoog named FIH Player-of-the-year 2014

16 January 2015

• Japan committed 2620-crore rupees Overseas Development Assistance loan to

India

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• Andrey Baryshpolets won the 13th Parsvanth International Grandmasters Chess

Tournament

• Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands won women’s doubles title of Sydney

International

• Year 2014 ranked as Earth’s hottest year since 1880

17 January 2015

• The US and UK announced cooperative measures in combating cyber threats

• Scientists discovered hybrid insecticide-resistant mosquito in Mali

18 January 2015

• Viktor Troicki won Men’s Single title of Sydney International Tennis Tournament

• South Africa’s AB de Villiers hit fastest century in ODIs

19 January

• EU decided to appeal a decision by ECJ to remove Hamas from terror list

• India signed MoU with South Africa for developing Youth Enterprises

• World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report released by UNESCAP

• Scientists developed two new global maps to provide help in search for fresh

farmland

• Doctors successfully performed the first organ transplant on a newborn baby in

Britain

• Oxfam released study tittled Wealth: Having it All and Wanting More

• WHO released Global Status Report on Non-communicable Diseases 2014

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20 January

• EU decided to lift ban on import of mangoes from India

• India signed an agreement on transfer of sentenced persons with Hong Kong

• ILO released a report titled World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015

• Indian Novelist Vikram Chandra named among the finalists of NBCC awards

21 January

• Dubai’s Maze Tower listed in Guinness World Records

22 January

• R V Easwar appointed as Interim Chairman of DDCA

23 January

• Former Thailand Premier Yingluck Shinawatra impeached

• Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died

24 January

• Pakistan’s Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri penned a book titled Neither a

Hawk nor a Dove

25 January

• India-US declared Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean

Region

• Famous Greek Singer Demis Roussos Died

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• Miss Colombia Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe 2014

26 January

• RBI signed an MoU on Supervisory Cooperation with Banco Central do Brasil

• Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme retired from Football

• Alexis Tsipras sworn in as PM of Greece

27 January

• Sean Abbott of Australia named as the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year 2015

• Apple Inc recorded the highest-ever profit of 18 billion US dollars in corporate

history worldwide

28 January

• Steve Easterbrook appointed as CEO of McDonald’s Corporation

• Union Cabinet approved MoU on Tourism between India and Oman

29 January

• UNCTAD released Global Investment Trends Monitor Report

• ICC lifted the five-year ban imposed on Pakistan’s fast bowler Mohammad Amir

• Malaysia declared MH370 flight disappearance an accident

• Australian golfer Kelvin David George Nagle died

• Zomato Media Pvt Ltd acquired Turkey-based firm Mekanist

30 January

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• Churches in England opposed Mitochondria Donation Technique to produce

babies

• Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan sworn-in as 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka

31 January

• Serena Williams of US won the women’s single title of Australian Open 2015

• Canadian Government announced to criminalize public terror threats

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INDIA DAIRY January 2015

1 January 2015

• Union Government formed NITI Aayog to replace Planning Commission

• Gujarat government announced new industrial policy for 2015

• Maharashtra government launched online RTI application filing facility

• Union Government launched integrated women safety mobile app called Himmat

2 January 2015

• R K Srivastava took over as Chairman of AAI

• Union Government accepted Bezbaruah panel report on safety of North East

people

• RBI relaxed KYC rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies

• Union Sports Ministry recognised Boxing India as national federation for

representing Boxing

• Kiran Bhai Vadodaria elected as INS president

• Former ISRO Chairman V R Gowarikar died in Pune

• R. Koteeswaran took charge as new CMD of Indian Overseas Bank

3 January 2015

• T Anilkumar won 7th Chennai Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament (Category B)

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4 January 2015

• Chrysopelea taprobanica, the Sri Lankan flying snake, sighted in Seshachalam

Biosphere Reserve

• Transgender Madhu Kinnar won Mayoral election from Raigarh Municipal

Corporatio

• Gujarati film actor Upendra Jethalal Trivedi died

5 January 2015

• Union Cabinet approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observatory in Tamil Nadu

• S Shrikrishna won the National Sub-Junior Billiards title 2015

• Indian Junior weightlifters ended their campaign by bagging 14 medals

• PM launched National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting

• Union Cabinet approved promulgation of ordinance for amending MMDR Act,

1957

• Union Petroleum ministry launched LPG schemes for benefitting BPL families

• Nomura forecasted Indian Economic Growth at 5.5 percent for FY 2015-16

• Union Government aligned FDI policy with NIC 2008

• Union Cabinet approved 2G telecom spectrum auction targeted to fetch 64840

crore rupees

• Union Government nominated 17 Telugu personalities as brand ambassadors of

Swachh Bharat campaign

6 January 2015

• BCCI announced 15-man Indian cricket team for World Cup 2015

• Ishpreet Singh Chadha won National Sub-Junior Snooker title 2015

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• Bihar Government increased maternity leave period to 180 days from 135 days

• President signed Ordinance to amend Citizenship Act, 1955

• Amitabh Bachchan named as the Brand Ambassador of AP health sector

7 January 2015

• Jharkhand Assembly adopted resolution on opening HC bench in Dumka

• Atul Khare appointed as the UN Under-Secretary-General

• India to host World Bridge Championships 2015

• Union Government launched National Toll Free Helpline to assist the drug

dependent persons

• Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers approved 100 percent production of

Neem-Coated Urea

• DMRC launched first public bicycle sharing scheme for Delhi Metro users

• President signed ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

• Dinesh Oraon of BJP unanimously elected Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative

Assembly

8 January 2015

• Vaccine Raksha Blu for bluetongue disease launched

• K K Paul sworn in as sixth Governor of Uttarakhand

• Kotak Mahindra Bank secured shareholders approval for merger with ING Vysya

Bank

• Commemorative Postage Stamps released to mark 100 Years of Mahatma

Gandhi’s Return to India

• Haryana Government appointed Yash Pal Singhal as Haryana DGP

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• Jharkhand Assembly adopted resolution on opening High Court bench in Dumka

• Kotak Mahindra Bank secured shareholders approval for merger with ING Vysya

Bank

9 January 2015

• Presidential rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir

• Vistara airline started domestic flight operation in India

• Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari presented Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

Awards 2015

10 January 2015

• Sindhushree Khullar appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog

• Tech Mahindra signed definitive agreement to acquire Swiss firm SOFGEN

Holdings Limited

11 January 2015

• Sultanpur National Park shut down after migratory birds found dead

• Adani Enterprises & SunEdison signed JV to build solar park in Mundra

12 January 2015

• CSO released Quick Estimates of Index for Industrial Production for November

2014

• RBI and ECB signed MoU on cooperation in Central Banking

• SEBI proposed easier norms for domestic mutual fund managers

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• Idukki in Kerala became first District of India to have Complete Rural Broadband

Coverage

• Supreme Court issued notice to Union Government on voting rights for inter-state

migrants

• President signed Ordinance to amend Mines and Minerals Development &

Regulation Act, 1957

• Union Government identified five areas for Varanasi-Kyoto partnership

13 January 2015

• Union Government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group

• Supreme Court sought assistance of Premier institutes to find missing children

• Union Ministry of Health proposed COTPA (Amendment) Bill 2015

• Ministry of Railways inaugurated India’s first CNG powered train

• Golfer Anirban Lahiri voted Asian Tour’s 2014 Players’ Player of the Year

• NGT gave directions to clean Yamuna under Maily se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalization

Plan 2017

14 January 2015

• RBI relaxed Forex Hedging Norms for Exporters and Importers

• NFL, EIL and FCIL signed agreement to form Ramagundam Fertilizers and

Chemicals Ltd

• Wholesale price Index-based Inflation raised 0.11 percent in December 2014

• Bhakti Sharma set world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in the

Antarctic Ocean

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15 January 2015

• RBI issued final guidelines for banks to act as Insurance brokers

• RBI cut Repo Rate by 0.25% in sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-

15

• Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low in December 2014

• Indian cricket team’s new ODI kit launched

• Critically endangered Forest Owlet sighted in Betul, Madhya Pradesh

16 January 2015

• Union Government launched two schemes to support Scheduled Castes

• CCEA approved revised buffer norms of foodgrains for better management of

food stocks

• Stephen Constantine appointed as head coach of India’s men football team

• J & K selected for the National Award of e-Governance for Best District Level

initiative

17 January 2015

• Former PM Manmohan Singh adopted Pachim Bekeli Gaon Panchyat under

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

• Jimjang Deru created national record in weightlifting in 56-kg category

• Pankaj Advani won National Billiards title for seventh time

• HDFC Bank featured among world’s 50 most valuable banks in 2014

• Indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas handed over to IAF

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18 January 2015

• National Immunization Day for the year 2015 observed on 18 January

• Paladugu Venkata Rao, former Minister of Andhra Pradesh, died

• Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited India

• Hyderabad to host World Congress on Information Technology in 2018

19 January

• Union Government banned mobile handsets with fake, duplicate identity numbers

• ONGC inked MoC in Hydrocarbons and Energy with Pan-IIT

• Ayonika Paul, Annu Raj Singh won gold at 4th Gun for Glory Shooting Championship

• ONGC won 10th Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament

• 17 Skill Development Centres launched by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

• NHRC issued notice to UP Government over Hooch Tragedy

• Four ICG vessels commissioned at Mormugao Port of Vasco

• Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani appointed as Chairman of CBFC

20 January

• NTCA released report on Status of Tigers in India, 2014

• Periyar Tiger Reserve won NTCA biennial award

• Netherlands, Thailand inked MoU with Sikkim to help in development of floriculture

• Jasjit Ahluwalia appointed as Dean of School of Public Health at Rutgers University

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna made it to Guinness World Records

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21 January

• Union Government launched National Heritage Development and Augmentation

Yojana (HRIDAY)

• Shanta Kumar Committee on FCI restructuring submitted its report to the Prime

Minister

22 January

• PM Narendra Modi launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana under BBBP campaign

• Kerala to get first International Institute of Music

• Hindi Novel Farishta authored by Kapil Isapuri

23 January

• RBI simplified procedure for External Commercial Borrowings Policy

• Telugu comedian Mailavarapu Surya Narayana died

24 January

• Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans got a fresh start with expert

assistance

• Maharashtra government decided to buy a house in London where BR Ambedkar

stayed

• Arundhathi Subramaniam won Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry

• Prime Minister presented National Bravery Awards 2014 to 24 awardees

• National Girl Child Day observed on 24 January

• UN Secretary–General appointed Saraswathy Menon in peace-building panel

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25 January

• Saina Nehwal won women’s single of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton

Tournament 2015

• Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service

Guard of Honour

• Divya Prakash Sinha appointed as Security Secretary in the Union Cabinet

Secretariat

• Goa to host Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest

26 January

• Purple Tea can be produced in Assam: Experts

• Hanumanthu Purushotham took charge as CMD of NRDC

• 66th Republic Day celebrated across the Nation

27 January

• Chandigarh launched a smart city app named Smart Chandigarh

• K Durga Prasad appointed as the Special DG of CRPF

• Kunal Jeswani appointed as CEO of Ogilvy & Mather India

28 January

• CCEA approved HDFC Bank’s proposal to raise foreign holding limit to 74 per cent

• Union Government launched Website, Logo, Vision, Mission of NHIDCL

• CCEA approved mandatory packaging of food-grains, sugar in Jute material for

the Jute Year 2014-15

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• World Bank released a report on Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in

Himachal Pradesh

• Union Cabinet reconstituted Empowered Committee on setting up of Semiconductor

Wafer FAB projects

• ErosNow tied up with RailTel to provide Streaming Services to Rail Passengers

• GTU launched e-Raksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime

29 January

• DRDO received approval to build missile launch testing facility in the Krishna Delta

Complex

• Karnataka Government decided to amend Karnataka Compulsory Primary

Education Act, 2012

• 20th Law Commission submitted 253rd Report titled Commercial Courts Bill 2015

to Union Governments

• Union Sports Ministry revised the Scheme of Special Awards to medal winners

• India to host ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2016

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel launched Taluka Planning Atlas

• Union Ministry of Defence announced 2015 Republic Day Parade Awards

• Subhash Ghising, the President of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), died

• Shekhar Sen appointed as Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi

• S Lakshminarayanan appointed as Chairman of Shriram Transport Finance Co Ltd

30 January

• AP Government decided to file a defamation suit against the State Bank of

Hyderabad

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• Union Government released Commemorative Postage stamps with Swachh

Bharat Mission as theme

• Krishna Chaudhary appointed as the Director General of ITBP

• Anti-Leprosy Day observed to focus Attention on Disease

• Union Government approved a rehabilitation package of 1102-crore rupees for

J&K

31 January

• India successfully test-fired canister-based ICBM Agni-5 missile

• Railway Minister launched Wi-Fi broadband services at Ahmedabad station

• Commemorative Postage Stamp on Swachh Bharat released

• Maharashtra approved field trials for GM food

• 35th National Games began in Kerala

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News Snippets January 2015

T Suvarna Raju took charge as Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

T Suvarna Raju took charge on 31 January 2015 as chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics

Limited (HAL). He replaced R K Tyagi. He is credited with securing the first patent for

HAL, in January 2002.

Earlier, he served as the Chairman of the Aeronautical Society of India, Bangalore.

He is an engineering graduate. He joined HAL in June 1980 as a management trainee.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Chennai and National Defence

College, he was also part of an academic programme on intellectual property rights

at National Law School of India University.

Charles Hard Townes, Nobel prize-winning inventor of LASER, died

Charles Hard Townes, the American Nobel prize-winning inventor of LASER, died

at the age of 99 in Oakland, California, USA on 27 January 2015. LASER stands for

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

He was known for his work on the theory and application of the MASER (Microwave

Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), on which he got the fundamental

patent, and other work in quantum electronics connected with both MASER and

LASER devices.

He jointly won the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to the field of

LASERS. He invented the MASER, the predecessor of LASER. He shared his Nobel

Prize with two Russians Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov and Aleksandr Mikhailovich

Prokhorov.

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Current Affairs


Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned

Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi along with Prime Minister resigned on

22 January 2015. He resigned over the issue of Houthi rebels taking over the Sanaa,

the capital of Yemen.

Parliamentary speaker Yahya al-Ra’i, who comes from Saleh’s General People’s

Congress party, took office for an interim period until new elections are organized as

per the Constitution.

His resignation startled the Arabian Peninsula country of 25 million, where the Houthis

have emerged as the dominant faction by seizing Sanaa in September 2014 and

dictating terms to a humiliated Hadi.

Some Houthi officials have welcomed Hadi’s resignation but the group said an official

position had yet to be taken. It urged the army to uphold its responsibilities and called

on Houthi fighters to be on alert.

India’s foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of 322.14 billion dol-lar

RBI data released in the fourth week of January 2015 said that India’s foreign exchange

reserves jumped by 2.66 billion US dollars for the week ended 16 January 2015 to

reach an all time high of 322.135 billion US dollars.

The previous life-time high in the foreign reserves was recorded for the week ended

2 September 2011 when it went up to 320.79 billion US dollars.

Strong FII inflows and reduction in import burden due to a record fall in oil prices have

led to accumulation of the record forex reserves.

4th Annual Employment -Unemployment Survey Report 2013-14 released by Labour Bureau

4th Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey Report 2013-14 was released by

Labour Bureau under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on 7 January

2015.

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The results of the survey is based on the survey conducted in all the States and

Union Territories (UTs) covering all the districts and a total of 136395 households

comprising of 83385 in rural areas and 53010 in urban areas respectively.

Main Highlights of the Survey

• Unemployment rate in India rose to 4.9 percent in 2013-14, mainly on account of

increase in joblessness in rural areas despite the government’s flagship employment

scheme MGNREGA.

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is estimated to be 52.5 percent at all-India

level whereas the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) is estimated to be 49.9 percent

in 2013-14.

• The unemployment rate increased to 4.9 percent at all-India level in 2013-14 from

4.7 percent in 2012-13.

• The unemployment rate dropped in urban areas to 5.5 percent in 2013-14, from

5.7 per cent in 2012-13.

• Although 93 percent of the households in rural areas benefited from MGNREGA,

the unemployment rate increased to 4.7 percent in 2013-14 as compared to 4.4

percent in 2012-13.

• Unemployment rate among men increased to 4.1 percent in 2013-14, from 4

percent in 2012-13 whereas among women the unemployment increased to 7.7

percent in 2013-14 from 7.2 percent in 2012-13.

• The unemployment rate among women came down to 12.4 percent in urban areas,

from 12.8 percent in 2012-13.

• As many as 49.5 percent people are estimated to be self employed, followed by

30.9 per cent as casual labour, 16.5 percent as wage or salary earners and the rest

3 percent as contract workers.

• About 60.5 percent of people aged 15 years and above, who were available for

work for all the 12 months during the period were able to get work throughout the

year. In rural and urban sectors, this proportion was 53.2 percent and 78.5 percent

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respectively.

Parupalli Kashyap won the men’s singles of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Bad-minton Tournament 2015

Parupalli Kashyap on 25 January 2015 won the men’s singles of Syed Modi Grand

Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015.

In the finals played at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh,

the third seeded Kashyap defeated world number five Kidambi Srikanth 23-21, 23-

21.

With this, he won the prize money of 120000 US dollars.

MHA decided to launch Security Web Portal, MySecurity.in

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 21 January 2015 decided to launch a security

web portal MySecurity.in.

The web portal will be a platform for innovation in the field of security related web

applications. It will enable the general public to get access to a large number of

security related applications.

The main objective of launching the web portal MySecurity.in is to promote innovation

in developing security related applications as well as offer to the people safe and

trusted applications for their security needs.

Goa hosted Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest

Goa hosted Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest from 24 January 2015 to 25

January 2015 at Candolim beach. The musical festival will witness a confluence of

Russian and Indian music.

The festival will host various world’s best DJs and bands like Alisa, Dolphin, Parikrama

and DJ sets by Karsh Kale, Mara, Kohra, Janux, XP Voodoo, Christ Burstein FT,

Victoria Bourke, Bhavishyavani Future Soundz FT. M. Mat.

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Current Affairs


Supreme Court asked Union Government to monitor State funds to provide shelters to homeless

The Supreme Court on 16 January 2015 asked the Union Government to monitor

as to whether the States are using the funds appropriately to provide shelters to

homeless persons across the country.

The two-judge Social Justice Bench of SC headed by Justice Madan B Lokur opined

that the Union Ministry of Housing and Union Ministry of Urban Poverty Alleviation is

under an obligation to monitor the use of funds given to all the states.

The bench further opined that the Union government should ensure that the funds

are used and develop a mechanism to check the implementation of schemes.

The Court also observed that many States have not even constituted the executive

committees as provided under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission.

The bench said that around 10860 crore rupees has not been used so far and it has

to be spent by the States by March 2015. It also asked the Union to not release the

funds further and it seeks audit report for utilization of funds.

The court gave the directions to the union government on a PIL filed by E R kumar

seeking direction to governments to build shelter homes as many homeless people

die due to cold weather.

Union government decided to allow NRIs to vote in elections through e-post-al

Union Government on 12 January 2015 decided to accept the recommendation of

Election Commission (EC) to allow Non- Resident Indians (NRIs) to vote from overseas

through e-postal ballots or proxy voting.

The decision was informed by the Union Government to the three-judge bench of

Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India H L Dattu.

The SC gave eight weeks of time to Union Government to inform about further steps

to implement the modalities of the EC recommendations.

The decision will remove the restriction posed by Section 20(a) of the Representation

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of the People (Amendment) Act of 2010, which requires overseas electors to be

physically present in their constituencies to cast their votes.

Earlier, EC had recommended for NRI voting through e-postal ballots instead of

postal ballot and internet voting. EC termed postal ballot and internet voting fraught

with the danger of manipulation.

EC recommendations were made after Supreme Court passed an order while hearing

two separate petitions filed UAE-based V P Shamsheer and Nagender Chindam,

Chairman of Pravasi Bharat in London.

Consequences

The decision to allow NRIs to vote can set the stage for expatriates to emerge as a

decisive force in electoral politics of India.

Actually, there are 10 million Indian citizens staying abroad, and with 545 Lok Sabha

seats, this means an astonishing average of 18000 votes per constituency may get

polled from abroad. If these additional votes are polled then it will obviously play a

crucial role in state and general elections.

IARI developed super absorbent polymer to improve water use efficiency in agriculture

The Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) on 14 January 2015 developed a

super absorbent polymer to improve water use efficiency in agriculture. The polymer

will help farmers in using water with utmost efficiency in agriculture practices in arid

and semi-arid regions of the country.

The polymer involved a Novel Superabsorbent Hydrogels technology. The use of

polymer will help farmer in getting high productivity by using much less quantity of

water, since hydro-gel has capacity to absorb a minimum of 350 times its weight of

pure water at 50 degree Celsius.

Agriculture scientists claimed that its use will also improve physical properties of soil

such as porosity, aggregate stability and hydraulic conductivity.

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Key Characteristics

• Less affected by the presence of salts in its immediate environment

• Improves physical properties of soils and the soil less media

• Improves seed germination and the rate of seedling emergence

• Improves root growth and density

• Helps plants withstand prolonged moisture stress

• Reduces nursery establishment period

• Reduces irrigation and fertilization requirements of crops with improved input use

efficiency

• No undesirable effect on the crops raised in the fields treated with hydrogel has

ever been observed or reported by the experimenters or the end users, the farmers.

After successfully testing its potential, the National Research Development

Corporation (NRDC) and the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) signed an agreement

for commercialization of this novel super absorbent hydro-gel technology.

(NRDC) is an enterprise under the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research

under Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India.

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january 2015 current affairs - jagran josh

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