13-14 june 2015

13 june

Moldova's Prime Minister Chiril Gaburuci resigned

Moldova's Prime Minister Chiril Gaburuci on 12 June 2015 resigned from his post after he was questioned about the authenticity of his high school and university degrees.

Gaburuci became the Prime Minister of Moldova in February 2015. He headed a pro-European government that relies on the Communist Party of Moldova. Earlier, he had been Chief Executive Officer of Azerbaijan’s mobile telecom company Moldcell until January 2015.

Gaburuci has earlier also expressed his will to resign, saying that he lacked the tools to reform financial and judicial institutes such as the central bank and prosecutor’s office.

About Moldova's political scenario
Moldova is a small country of 3.5 million people, lying between Ukraine and Romania. It has been ruled since 2009 by pro-Western parties which have negotiated a political and free trade deal with the European Union to take the country into mainstream Europe.

However, the economic mismanagement and trade pressure from Russia and the failure of successive governments to tackle corruption remains high among large sections of the population.

Moldova came more into focus since Russia seized neighbouring Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014. Russian troops are stationed in a strip of Moldova since the breakup of the Soviet Union, protecting a self-proclaimed independent state-let called Transdniestria.

Telangana Government unveiled Telangana Industrial Policy 2015

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on 12 June 2015 unveiled the Telangana Industrial Policy 2015 in Hyderabad. The policy is intended to boost industrial activity and employment opportunities in the state.

Highlights of Telangana Industrial Policy 2015
• Industrialists are accorded with Right to timely clearances from the state government in order to set up industries.
• Clearances will be given in 2 weeks for mega projects.
• A system of self certification has been put in place for industrialists backed by the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System (TS-iPASS) Act, 2014.
• A single window clearance system will be established.
• Entrepreneurs need to fill only a single common online application form.
• Industries categorized as Green (non- hazardous), Orange (less hazardous) and Red (more hazardous) will be accorded approval within 15 days, 21 days and 30 days respectively.
• Fifteen sectors were identified as focus areas including Life Sciences, Automobiles, Gems and Jewellery and IT & Hardware.
• All the industries will be given power supply round the clock.
• A Chasing cell will be set up in the Chief Ministers Office (CMO).
• A nodal officer will be appointed to oversee matters related to industrial approval and establishment under the policy.

Telangana Government unveiled Telangana Industrial Policy 2015

Dromedary camels are key source of MERS Virus: Study

Dromedary camels aged less than four years might a major source of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, as per a recent study. The findings of the study were published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in June 2015.

The research study was carried out by international team who had looked for evidence of current or past MERS infection in more than 800 dromedary camels or Arabian camels. Changes in animal husbandry may reduce the occurrence of human MERS infections.

Findings of the Study
• Dromedaries (Camels) across the Arabian Peninsula and parts of eastern and northern Africa have MERS-CoV antibodies. These antibodies are likely to be caused by infection with the same virus strains that infect humans.
• More than 90 percent of camels were infected by MERS virus at the age of two and virus shedding was more common in calves than in adults.
• Dromedary camels that are living in the Middle East have antibodies that recognised MERS virus protein which is a strong sign of past infection.
• However the spread of MERS virus in humans is still unknown but it might spread due to direct contact with body fluids from infected camels.
• Alternatively, it might have spread by drinking unpasteurised camel milk and possibly by transfer through the contaminated virus present in the saliva of an infected calf to their mothers.

The Study
• The team investigated dairy, racing and breeding dromedaries from 3 flocks on farms 20–40 km apart. The blood and nasal swab specimens were obtained from all camels in the flocks during March–June 2014. Samples were grouped according to the camels’ ages.
• Serologic testing yielded evidence of MERS-CoV antibodies in more than 96 percent of all dromedaries of more than 2 years of age.
• In order to understand MERS-CoV infection in dromedary calves, the team investigated 24 mother–calf pairs from the breeding flock. The investigations were all conducted in May 2014. At the time of sampling, mother camels were at 12–15 years of age and calves were 4–6 months of age.
• They sequenced genomes of 9 virus isolates, representing 3 different phylogenetic lineages, from dromedaries on the 3 farms. Phylogeny of full genomes showed that all viruses were clustered according to their place of origin.

About Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
MERS virus was discovered in 2012 and has mostly been centred in Saudi Arabia. It belongs to the family of coronaviruses that includes the common cold and SARS, and can cause fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.

The virus is thought to be primarily acquired through contact with camels, but it can also spread from human fluids and droplets. There have been 1167 cases of the virus worldwide and 479 of the patients have died, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

RBI issued final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year Interest Rate Futures

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 12 June 2015 issued the final guidelines for the 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) on government securities with residual maturity of 4-8 years and 11-15 years respectively under the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015.

For this purpose, RBI amended the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2013 dated 5 December 2013.

For the 6-year cash settled IRF contracts, the underlying shall be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100 rupees and the residual maturity of 6-year IRF is between 4 and 8 years on the expiry of futures contract.

For the 13-year cash settled IRF contracts, the underlying can be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual maturity will be between 11 and 15 years on the expiry of futures contract.

Moreover, the RBI also expanded the residual maturity for the existing 10-year cash settled IRF from 9-11 years to 8-11 years to provide market participants a greater choice and flexibility to hedge their interest rate risk across different tenors.

Sangeet Natak Akademi announced awardees for 2014 Akademi Awards and fellowships

Sangeet Natak Akademi on 12 June 2015 announced the names of recipients of Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships (Akademi Ratna) 2014 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) 2014.

The list of names selected for Sangeet Akademi Fellowships:
• R. Janakiraman (Musicologist)
• S. Sathyu (film-maker)
• Vijay Kichlu (Classical singer)
• Tulsidas Borkar (Musician)

The Fellowship of the Akademi carries a cash prize of 3 lakh rupees and is the most prestigious and rare honour which is restricted to a very limited number at a given time. Presently there are only 40 Fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Recipients of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the year 2014:
•In the field of music For Hindustani vocal- Ashwini Bhide Deshpande Nath Narelkar, Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan
• Hindustani instrumental music- Pandit Nayan Ghosh (tabla) and Ronu Majumdar (flute)
•Carnatic instrumental music- Neyveli Santhanagopalan (Carnatic vocal), TA Kaliyamurthy (Thavil), Sukanya Ramgopal (Ghatam) and Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao (violin)
• In the field of dance- Adayar Janardanan, Amusana Devi, Uma Dogra, Sudhakar Sahoo, Vedantam Radhesyam, Jagru Mahto, Anita Sharma, Varanasi Vishnu Namboothiri and Navtej Singh Johar
•In the field of drama-Asgar Wajahat, Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Chidambar Rao Jambe, Debshankar Haldar, Ramdas Kamath, Amod Bhatt, Manjunath Bhagwat Hostota and Amardas Manikpuri.
• In the field of Traditional/tribal music/folk/theatre/dance and puppetry-Puran Shah Koti, KKalamandalam Ram Mohan, Kesavasamy, Abdul Rashid Hafiz, Reba Kanta Mohanta, Ramdayal Sharma, K. Shanathoiba Sharma and Thanga Darlong

The award recognizes sustained individual work and contribution to the practice and appreciation of the arts through award prize of 100000 rupees along with Tamrapatra and Angavastram.

About Sangeet Natak Akademi
• Established in 1953, the Akademi is responsible for preservation and promotion of the performing arts in India.
• It recognizes the contribution of outstanding musicians, dancers and theatre artists by bestowing them the Fellowships and Awards on yearly basis. Its aim is to create benchmarks in the practice of the performing arts.
• It has been bestowing Akademi Fellowship since 1954 and Akademi Award since 1952.

Sangeet Natak Akademi announced awardees for 2014 Akademi Awards and fellowships

Sangeet Natak Akademi on 12 June 2015 announced the names of recipients of Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships (Akademi Ratna) 2014 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) 2014.

Sir Wesley Winfield Hall inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of fame

Veteran West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was on 12 June 2015 inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. With this, he becomes 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th from West Indies itself.

Sir Wesley Hall had played a total of 48 Tests in his one decade career spanning from 1958 to 1969. In his Test career, he took 192 wickets which included five wickets in an innings for 9 times and 10 wickets in a match on one occasion.

In 170 first-class matches, Hall claimed 546 wickets at an average of 26.14. In 1964-65, his 16 wickets were instrumental in guiding the West Indies to its first series win over Australia. In 1968-69, Hall took retirement at the end of the tour of Australia and New Zealand.

After retiring from cricket, he entered into politics and served in Barbados Senate and also as Minister of Tourism in 1987. He had also served as President of West Indies Cricket Board from 2001 to 2003.

In year 2012, Hall was knighted with the Knight Bachelor for his services to sports community.