1-2 feb 2015 eng

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.

Serena Williams of US won the women’s single title of Australian Open 2015

Serena Williams on 31 January 2015 won the women’s single title of Australian Open of Tennis. In the summit clash, the world number one American defeated Maria Sharapova, the world number two from Russia 6-3, 7-6(5) in Melbourne, Australia.

With this win, 33- years and 127 days old Williams became the oldest winner of the Australian Women’s title in the Open era.

This was the 19th Grand Slam title and the sixth Australian Open title for Williams.

The win enabled Williams to join the fellow American Helen Wills Moody at third place on the all-time list of women winning Grand Slams.

The other two women holding the record of more Grand Slam singles title than Williams are Australia's Margaret Court (24) and Germany's Steffi Graf (22).

Serena’s 19 Grand Slams include

Tournament	Titles	Years of winning
Australian Open	6	2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015
French Open	2	2002, 2013
Wimbledon	5	2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012
US Open	6	1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014

Rajni Kothari, Political Scientist and Former Planning Commission member, died

Political Scientist Rajni Kothari died on 19 January 2015. He was 86. He was suffering from urinary tract ailment.

He was a member of the Planning Commission during the National Front Government led by VP Singh during 1989 and 1990.

He founded Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in 1963 which is a social sciences and humanities research institute based in New Delhi.

He had also floated Lokayan in 1980 which is a forum for interaction between activists and intellectuals.

He was also associated with number of prestigious institutions like Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), International Foundation for Development Alternatives and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

He was the author of number of books like Politics in India, Caste in Indian Politics and Rethinking Democracy, In Search of Humane World Order Poverty: Human Consciousness and the Amnesia of Development and Communalism in Indian Politics.

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 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.

Railway Minister launched Wi-Fi broadband services at Ahmedabad station

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 31 January 2015 inaugurated the Wi-Fi facility at Ahmedabad Railway Station. With this, Ahmedabad Railway station joined the Wi-Fi enabled Railway stations like Bangalore, New Delhi and CST-Mumbai.

Railway Ministry has set a target to provide Wi-Fi facility at 400 A-one and A category Railway Stations at the earliest.

On the same occasion, he also flagged off two new long distance trains from Ahmedabad, namely Ahmedabad - Chennai Express and Ahmedabad - Darbhanga Jansadharan Express.

National Awards for e-Governance announced

National Awards for e-Governance was announced on 31 January 2015 by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

The awards were announced during the 18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gandhinagar from 30 January to 31 January 2015.

The awards were given by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances to recognizes and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance initiatives.

The purpose of the award is to
• Recognize achievements in the area of e-Governance
• Disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable e-Governance initiatives
• Encourage incremental innovations in successful e-Governance solutions
• Promote and exchange experiences in solving problems, Mitigating risks, resolving issues and planning for success.

National Awards for e-Governance was announced on 31 January 2015 by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

The awards were announced during the 18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gandhinagar from 30 January to 31 January 2015.

The awards were given by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances to recognizes and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance initiatives.

Canada announced an anti-terror law criminalising public terror threats, strengthening CSIS

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

MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed in Gujarat’s Jamnagar

Bed village in Jamnagar, Gujarat: Fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 crashed

A fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG 21 crashed at Rasoolnagar area near Bed village of Jamnagar district of Gujarat on 31 January 2015. No casualty was reported in the crash as the pilot managed to eject himself safely.

This was the second MIG fighter crash within a week, a MiG-27 also crashed in Barmer district of Rajasthan on 27 January 2015.

Earlier in 2012, two IAF choppers collided and crashed near the same spot between Bed and Samrath villages in which nine personnel were killed.

Japan successfully launched the Information Gathering Satellite

Japan on 1 February 2015 successfully launched the Information Gathering Satellite, a spy satellite. The Satellite was launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in the Kagoshima Prefecture in the south of Japan.

The satellite was taken into orbit by the H-2A (H-IIA) carrier rocket. The satellite carries a sophisticated radar payload designed to survey the globe night and day in all weather conditions from an orbit about 300 miles above Earth.

The Satellite was scheduled to be launched on 29 January 2015. However, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries delayed the planned launch due to the possibility of lightning during lift-off.

Background
Japan began putting spy satellites into operation in the early 2000s after its neighbour North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile over the Japanese mainland into the western Pacific in 1998.

Following this, Japan began the Information Gathering Satellite program. Although the program was initially aimed at monitoring North Korea, but the satellites could take pictures of nearly any place on Earth each day.

Under the program, Japan had launched various spy satellites. This is the fifth spy satellite that Japan has launched into the Earth’s orbit on 1 February 2015. The other four Japanese satellites that are orbiting the Earth include two optical imaging spacecrafts and two radar satellites.

Australian 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 Foginidefeated French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut6-4, 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 women’s doubles title at Melbourne Park since 2005
• Mixed Doubles title: Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes (India) andMartina Hingis (Switzerland) defeated Canadian-French team ofDaniel 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.

Australia defeated England to win Tri-Nation ODI Series

Australia won the tri-nation Carlton Mid Series on 1 February 2015. It won the series by defeating England by 112 runs in the final played at Perth, Australia.

Glenn Maxwell who scored 95 and took 4 for 46 helped Australia to an emphatic win.

The tri-series tournament was played between Australia, India and England from 16 January 1 February 2015.

Final Match report
• Australia scored 278 for 8 wickets in 50 over
• England while chasing were bundled out for 166 in 39.1 overs
• Man of the match: Glenn Maxwell
• Man of the Series: Mitchell Starc

Series Report

Match with Date	Match Details	Played at	Man of the Match
Match 1 played on 16 January 2014	Australia vs England, Australia won by 3 wickets	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Mitchell Starc, Australia
Match 2 played on 18 January 2014	Australia vs India, Australia won by 4 wickets	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Mitchell Starc, Australia
Match 3 played on 20 January 2014	England vs India, England won by 9 wickets	The Gabba, Brisbane	Steven Finn, England
Match 4 played on 23 January 2014	Australia vs England, Australia won by 3 wickets	Bellerive Oval, Hobart	Steven Smith, Australia
Match 5 played on 26 January 2014	Australia vs India, No result	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	No Result
Match 6 played on 30 January 2014	England vs India, England won by 3 wickets	W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth	James Taylor, England
Match 7 (final) played on 1 February 2014	Australia vs England, Australia won by 112 runs	W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth	Glenn Maxwell

Ashok K Agarwal appointed as General Manager of Southern Railway

Ashok K Agarwal was on 1 February 2015 appointed as General Manager of Southern Railway, Chennai with immediate effect. His appointment was approved by Union Ministry of Railways.

Agarwal succeeded Rakesh Misra who retired from service on 31 January 2015. Ashok K Agarwal will continue to hold the post of General Manager, Integral Coach Factory.

Agarwal belongs to 1977 batch of Indian Railways Service (IRS) of Mechanical Engineers. Earlier, Agarwal served as Chief Administrative Officer of Indian Railways Organisation for Alternate Fuels, New Delhi.

He has nearly 37 years of experience in the Indian Railways in the field of Man & Asset Management, Workshop Management, Railway Operations, Materials Management, Investment & Budgetary Control, Transfer of Technology and Planning.

Prasanth Kumar appointed as CEO of MindShare South Asia

Prasanth Kumar was on 1 February 2015 appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MindShare APAC South Asia with effect from 1 March 2015. He will succeed the current CEO Ravi Rao.

Prasanth Kumar will report to Srinivas, CEO of GroupM South Asia and Gowthaman Ragothaman, COO of MindShare Asia Pacific.

He is currently the head of GroupM's Central Trading Group and is a member of GroupM's South Asia executive committee. Earlier, Kumar has worked with PepsiCo, The Hindu and Rediffusion Mumbai before joining GroupM.

About MindShare
• Mindshare is a global media agency and is a part of GroupM, which oversees the media investment management sector for WPP, the world’s leading communications services group.
• It has network of more than 7000 employees in 116 offices across 86 countries spread throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.
• Each office is dedicated to forging competitive marketing advantage for businesses and their brands based on the values of speed, teamwork and provocation.

Mithileshwar awarded with Shrilal Shukla Sahitya IFFCO Award 2014

Hindi novelist Mithileshwar was on 31 January 2015 awarded with Shrilal Shukla Sahitya IFFCO Award 2014. He is the fourth recipient of this literary award.

Mithileshwar belongs to Bhojpur district and is known for his insight into the rural heartland of India. He began writing during his student period.

Some of his novels include Prem na Badi Oopjai, Surang me Subah, Yah Ant Nahin, Jhunia (1980), Yuddh Sthal (1981). He has accumulated many awards in his career including Akhil Bhartiya MuktiBodh Puraskar in 1976, Yashpal Puraskar by UP Hindi Sansthan in 1981.

About Shrilal Shukla Sahitya IFFCO Award
The award was instituted by the fertilizer cooperative firm IFFCO in the memory of the great Hindi novelist and writer Shrilal Shukla in the year 2011. Shrilal Shukla’s literary creations such as Rag Darbari and some of his other works received national acclaim.

The previous winners of the Shrilal Shukla Sahitya IFFCO Award are Vidya Sagar Nautial, Shri Shekhar Joshi and Shri Sanjeev.

The Award consists of prize money of 11 lakh rupees, highest in the field of literature.

India and China jointly launched Visit India Year in China

India and China on 2 February 2015 jointly launched the Visit India Year in China in Beijing during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to China.

The initiative is aimed at enhancing the flow of tourists from China to India and to strengthen the people to people bond. China will support the promotion of Indian tourist resources in its country.

Background
The idea of Visit India Year was endorsed by the two countries during the visit of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping to Delhi in September 2014.

At that time, it was agreed to designate 2015 as Visit India Year in China and designate 2016 as Visit China Year in India.

Under this, the two countries will carry out a series of promotional activities to boost two-way tourism inflow and strengthen people to people bonds.

10th century sculpture of Buddha discovered in Thanjavur

A headless sculpture of Buddha dating back to 10th century AD was discovered at Manalur village in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu in January 2015.

Both the head and the right hand of the granite statue of Buddha were missing when it was excavated. The findings of Buddha sculptures in and around the area show the existence of a Buddhist temple in Thanjavur.

The three-foot long sculpture of Buddha was discovered by Buddhist scholar B Jambulingam and heritage enthusiast Mani Maaran during their search in the region.

Jambulingam's search for Buddha idols began with an ordinary visit to a remote village in Thanjavur in the 1980s. He has so far identified 67 Buddha idols in Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts during his field study.

Background
Buddhism came to Tamil Nadu during the 3rd century BC and prevailed in the Chola country up to the 16th century AD.

In Thanjavur, Buddha sculptures were found in various places and the prominent among them are those in Vayyacheri, Cholanmaligai, Kumbakonam, Madagaram, Manganallur, Pattiswaram, Perandakottai and Vikramam.

Of these, only the head of the Buddha were found in Vayyacheri and Perandakottai.

Arvind Kumar Jain appointed as Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh

Arvind Kumar Jain was on 31 January 2015 appointed as the Director General (DG) of Police of Uttar Pradesh (UP). He will serve the post for just two months as he is due to demit the office on 31 March 2015.

Jain succeeded Arun Kumar Gupta who retired as the DG Police of Uttar Pradesh on 31 January 2015. During the time of appointment, Jain was the Director General, Police Training Headquarters in Lucknow.

Jain is the sixth DG Police to be appointed in the Samajwadi Party regime in UP in about three years. Amir Chand Sharma was the first DG to be appointed by UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. He was followed by Devraj Nagar, Rizwan Ahmed, Anand Lal Banerjee and Arun Kumar Gupta.