15-16 May 2015 Hindi
15 may
Bengali Writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away
Eminent Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away on 12 May 2015 following a cardiac arrest in Kolkata, West Bengal. She was 55. She was one of the most popular and powerful novelists of contemporary Bengali literature.
Her writings were based on contemporary social issues mainly affecting the urban middle class and also highlighted the pains and sufferings of women in contemporary society.
In her writing career, she had written around 24 novels and had composed a large number of short stories. Some of her famous novels are Dahana (Charred), Kachher Dewal (Wall of Glass), Kachher Manush (Close to Me), Aleek Shukh (Heavenly happiness) and Gabhir Ashukh (A Grave Illness).
Her writings have also been translated into a number of languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Oriya and English.
She was bestowed with various awards for her work including Nanjanagudu Thirumalamba National Award (1996), Tarashankar Award (2000), Sharat Puroshkar (2002), Bharat Nirman Award and Sahitya Setu Award.
Suchitra Bhattacharya was born on 10 January 1950 in Bhagalpur district of Bihar.
15 may
MHRD Gave Nod For Setting Up IIIT in Nagpur, Maharashtra
Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on 14 May 2015 gave an in-principle approval for setting up an IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology) in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
It will be the first IIIT to be set up in the state.
The IIIT will join a batch of national institutes which are set to come up in the city, namely the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)and Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
The setting up of these higher educational institutions in Nagpur is aimed at improving educational infrastructure in the backward Vidarbha region.
About Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)
Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) are a group of specialized institutes providing higher education in Information Technology (IT).
The MHRD took a decision in 2008 to set up 20 such institutions during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) to serve the human resource and technical needs of the Indian IT Industry.
In December 2014, the Parliament has passed the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) Bill, 2014 to grant four existing IIITs situated in Uttar Pradesh, Tami Nadu and Madhya Pradesh independent statutory status. It proposes to declare them as institutes of national importance and enables them to grant degrees to their students.
Union Government approved Gujarat State Climate Change Action Plan 2015-2020
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on 14 May 2015 approved the Gujarat State Climate Change Action Plan 2015-2020. The plan was submitted in August 2014.
In the action plan, the state government proposed to invest more than 21000 crore rupees to create environment-friendly water resource management, public health projects, forest and environment improvement projects and agriculture improvement projects by 2020.
The plan also suggests radical changes in the functioning of government in nine sectors including agriculture, water resource management, healthcare, forest and biodiversity, renewable energy, coastal infrastructure, urban development, vulnerable community and green jobs.
The plan was prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Background
Gujarat was the first state to set up first climate change department, but was amongst the last states to get approval for its action plan from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The plan raised serious concerns about the socio-economic and environmental impact of climate change.
Moreover, it suggested huge investments in building new infrastructure to mitigate the impact of climate change and also stressed upon radical policy changes in governance, industries and other sectors.
RBI allowed Tap And Pay without PIN for transactions up to 2000 rupees
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 14 May 2015 allowed Tap And Pay without PIN for transactions up to 2000 rupees. For amounts higher than that, the customer must be given the option of contact payment and would require pin authentication.
RBI decided to relax current guidelines on the needs for additional factor authentication (AFA) for small value card present transactions only using contact-less cards.
The move is expected to hasten acceptance of tap and pay electronic payments at retail outlets, in transport services and for toll payments.
Tap and pay refers to the use of near field communication technology in payment cards where instead of the traditional swiping of the card and punching in payment details, all the customer needs to do is wave a card in front of an acceptance device for the bill to be settled.
One of the preconditions set out by RBI is that the contactless card should also incorporate the latest EMV Chip technology for enabling payment beyond 2000 rupees.
Also, Banks must give customers the option to choose to pay using the regular swipe method without using NFC irrespective of the amount involved.
In most countries where payment technology has advanced NFC cards are used for payment of metro or bus fares or in electronic toll collection.
Union Ministry of Minority Affairs launched USTAAD Scheme for Traditional Artisans
The Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on 14 May 2015 launched USTAAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) Scheme in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Features of USTAAD Scheme
• The objective of the scheme is to preserve rich heritage of traditional arts and crafts of minorities and build capacity of traditional artisans and craftsmen.
• Its purpose is to establish linkages of traditional arts and crafts with the national and international market and ensure dignity of labour to artisans and provide employment opportunities and a better future to the youths belonging to the minority community.
• It will be funded by the Central Government and will prepare skilled and unskilled artisans and craftsmen to compete with major companies in terms of quality of products.
• It will be administered by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs across the country.
The scheme was launched in Varanasi to improve sordid conditions of weavers of world famous Banaras Saree, belonging to minority communities.
SBI launched contact-less card called sbiINTOUCH
State Bank of India (SBI) on 14 May 2015 launched contact-less credit and debit cards calledsbiINTOUCH.
These cards are based upon the latest near-field technology (NFC). With these cards, a customer can transact by just tapping or waving it against the reader of the point-of-sale machine.
These cards are more secure and hassle-free. These cards come with a fraud liability cover of 1 lakh rupees. SBI has issued 1.08 lakh new cards to its customers in the eight largest metros and the remaining customers will get the cards in the following months.
Private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have already launched such NFC cards.
The move could boost the acceptance of SBI’s tap and pay cards. These cards are especially targeted towards fast-food outlets, coffee shops and supermarkets where customers make quick transactions
India and China Signed 24 Agreements To Enhance Bilateral Co-operation
India and China on 15 May 2015 signed 24 agreements to augment bilateral co-operation between the two countries.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi andChinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, China.
The details of agreements covering the fields of Education, Railways, People-to-People exchanges, skill development, Security among others were outlined in the Joint Statement issued by the two leaders after the conclusion of bilateral talks.
Some of the important agreements are
Both the countries agreed to establish State/Provincial Leaders’ Forum to enhance relations among the provinces (China) and states (India). The first meeting of the Forum was held in Beijing on 15 May 2015, with the participation of Prime Minister Modi and Premier Li.
An additional Consulate General shall be established in each other’s country. India shall open a new Consulate General in Chengdu, while China shall open a new Consulate General in Chennai. These new consulates will facilitate and promote greater cultural, tourism, economic and people-to-people engagement between the two countries.
The fifth joint counter-terrorism training between the two armies will be held in China in 2015. The two sides will exchange visits of naval ships and hold PASSEX and SAR exercises.
Both the countries agreed to abide by the three-stage process for the settlement of the boundary question, and continuously push forward negotiation on the framework for a boundary settlement based on the outcomes and common understanding achieved so far, in an effort to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution as early as possible.
Both sides agreed to optimally exploit the present and potential complementarities in identified sectors in the Five Year Trade and Economic Development Plansigned in September 2014, including Indian pharmaceuticals, Indian IT services, tourism, textiles and agro-products.
It was agreed to conduct the next meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, co-chaired by Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog of India and Chairman of NDRC of China in India during the second half of 2015.
Both the countries agreed on an Action Plan outlining the next steps to enhance the partnership in the Railway Sector. It is in continuation of the ongoing initiatives including the projects on speed raising on the existing Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysore line, the proposed feasibility studies for the Delhi-Nagpur section of high speed rail link, the station redevelopment planning for Bhubaneswar & Baiyappanahalli, heavy haul transportation training and setting up of a railway university.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to institute a dialogue mechanism between the NITI Aayog of India and the Development Research Centre of the State Council of China.
Both the countries agreed to enhance cooperation between the financial regulators and enterprises of the two countries in support of the building of the Closer Developmental Partnership.
The International Yoga Day will be organised jointly on 21 June 2015 in collaboration between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Yunnan National University.
Agreement on expanded Educational Exchange Programme to promote student exchanges in higher education.
The two sides will have the annual exchange of 200 youths from each side in the second half of 2015 as part of the India-China Cultural Exchange Initiative.
Agreements related to establishing provincial partnership between Karnataka and Sichuan and sister-city relationships between Aurangabad – Dunhuang, Chennai – Chongqing and Hyderabad – Qingdao were signed.
India-China Think Tanks Forum will be established to foster closer dialogue and mutual understanding between the two countries. The forum will meet annually, alternately in India and China.
It was agreed to institutionalize the High Level Media Forum and tasked the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the State Council Information Office of China to convene it on an annual basis, alternately in India and China.
Action Plan on the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi National Institute for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship at Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad in Gujarat was signed.
It was agreed to initiate cooperation in development of smart cities with identification of GIFT City in India and Shenzhen in China as pilot smart cities for joint demonstration projects.
The 2015-2020 Space Cooperation Outline was signed between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) of the Republic of India and China National Space Administration of the People’s Republic of China to reinforce the cooperation in the field of Satellite Remote Sensing, Space-Based meteorology, Space Science, Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Satellite Navigation, Space Components, Piggy-back Launching Services, and Education and Training.
It was agreed to further strengthen cooperation through the Expert-Level Mechanism on the provision of flood-season hydrological dataand emergency management.
The two sides agreed to hold negotiation on augmenting the list of traded commodities and expand border trade at Nathu La, Qiangla/Lipu-Lekh Pass and Shipki La passes to transform the border into a bridge of cooperation and exchanges.
China agreed to allow Indian pilgrims to use the Nathu La Pass (Sikkim) route for Kailash Manasarover Yatra (Gang Renpoche and Mapam Yun Tso Pilgrimage) in 2015.
They agreed to further strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral forums including RIC (Russia, India and China), BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and India) and G20 to promote the interests of developing countries and the building of a better world. India agreed to support China in hosting the G20 summit in 2016.
A bilateral consultative mechanism on WTO (World Trade Organisation) related issues will be launched for enhancing coordination in the context of global trade talks.
The two sides agreed to work together with relevant parties to accelerate the preparation for establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to promote regional infrastructure and economic development.
A Joint Statement on Climate Change was issued which underscored the importance of working together and with other countries to conclude an ambitious, comprehensive, universal, balanced and equitable climate agreement at the forthcoming CoP (Conference of Parties) 21 to UNFCCC to be held in Paris in late 2015.
Indian-American boy Karan Menon won 2015 National Geographic Bee Championship
Karan Menon, a 14-year-old Indian-American student, on 13 May 2015 won the 2015 National Geographic Bee championship. Menon answered all questions correctly related to places like Tashkent, Telangana and the Oresund Strait.
In addition to winning the title of National Geographic Bee champion, Menon received a 50000 US dollars college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an expedition for two to the Galapagos Islands aboard the Lindblad ship National Geographic Endeavour.
Menon competed against 10 finalists from across the US to win the championship. Out of the 10 finalists, seven were of Indian-origin.
The first-runner up and recipient of a 25000 US dollars college scholarship was 11-year-old Shriya Yarlagadda of Michigan. The third place and a 10000 US dollars college scholarship went to Sojas Wagle of Arkansas, a 13-year-old eighth grader.
Seven other finalists who won 500 US dollars were Kapil Nathan; Nicholas Monahan; Patrick Taylor; Abhinav Karthikeyan; Lucy Chae; Shreyas Varathan and Tejas Badgujar.
Indian Scientists found a rare plant with anti-cancer properties in Western Ghats
Indian Scientists on 14 May 2015 found a rare plant named Miquelia dentate Bedd with anti-cancer properties in Western Ghats. The plant could open up possibilities for cancer treatment.
The plant is a small climbing shrub producing anti-cancer alkaloid Camptothecine (CPT). It occurs sparsely in Madikeri Forests in Kodagu in Karnataka.
The team of scientists from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, Bengaluru and University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru and Dharwad has found the plant.
Camptothecine is an important anti-cancer compound extracted from several plant species belonging to Asterid clade. It is a potent inhibitor of the intra-nuclear enzyme topoisomerase-I, which is required in DNA replication and transcription.
Several semi-synthetic drugs such as Hycamtin (topotecan) and Camptostar (irinotecan or CPT 11) are derived from CPT and are currently in clinical use against ovarian, small lung and refractory ovarian cancer.
Several plant species producing CPT have been found in India. But the demand for CPT has resulted in extensive felling of the woody trees and plants like Nothapodytes nimmoniana, which is now on the verge of extinction and declared vulnerable.
Riley B. King, the King of Blues, passed away
Riley B. King, the king of blues, passed away on 14 May 2015 in his sleep in Las Vegas. He was 89. He was known by his stage name B B King.
He was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was known for his hits Lucille, Sweet Little Angel and Rock Me Baby. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname The King of Blues.
King began performing in the 1940s, going on to influence a generation of musicians, and working with Eric Clapton and U2.
He was ranked as the third greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003 and at no. 6 in 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. He was also ranked No. 17 in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.
He was born in Mississippi. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He was also inducted into 2014 class of the R&B Music Hall of Fame.
Union Government launched kayakalp Award Scheme to improve cleanliness in Public Health Facilities
The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda on 15 May 2015 launched kayakalp Award Scheme.
The scheme is intended to encourage and incentivize Public Health Facilities (PHFs) in the country for maintaining the facilities clean and hygienic.
Features of Kayakalp Award Scheme
The objectives of the award scheme are
• To promote cleanliness, hygiene and infection control practices in public health care facilities
• To incentivize and recognize such public healthcare facilities that show exemplary performance in adhering to standard protocols of cleanliness and infection control
• To inculcate a culture of ongoing assessment and peer review of performance related to hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation
• To create and share sustainable practices related to improved cleanliness in public health facilities linked to positive health outcomes
Cleanliness does not apply only to physical cleanliness, but to develop and put in place systems and procedures for activities such as bio-waste disposal or protocols etc.
Five awards will be given under this scheme viz., best two District Hospitals (DH) in each state (only one best district hospital in small states), best two Community Health Centres (CHC) or Sub District Hospitals (SDH) (limited to one in small states) and one Primary Health Centre (PHC) in every district.
Award winners will receive a cash award with a citation. First rank and second rank awardees at DHs will get 50 lakh rupees and 20 lakh rupees respectively. While 15 lakh rupees and 10 lakh rupees are proposed for CHC or SDH, the winner in the PHC category will get 2 lakh rupees under this scheme.
Certificate of Commendation plus cash award would also be given to such facilities that score over 70 percent but do not make it to the list of top two or one in a particular year, which is proposed as 3 lakh rupees for DH, 1 lakh rupees for CHC or SDH and 50000 for PHC.
The awards would be distributed based on the performance parameters including sanitation and hygiene, infection control, hospital upkeep, waste management, community participation.
Assessment of the performance would be done sequentially through a three tier system - internal assessment followed by peer assessment and then external assessment.
Maharashtra government banned digging of borewells deeper than 200 feet
Maharashtra Government on 14 May 2015 banned the digging of borewells beyond 200 feet in the state with a view to check the steep decline of groundwater-level. The decision came in wake of increase in the digging of new borewells by farmers and private players due to water scarcity during the summers.
Those who will be found guilty, will face a fine ranging from 10000 rupees to 25000 rupees or even imprisonment of up to six months in case of repeated offences.
The decision is part of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ water conservation project Jalayukta Shivar Yojana which aims to make 5000 villages in state drought-free in one year.
Background
The rampant and uncontrolled digging of borewells in various parts of state had led to depletion of ground-water level. The Marathawada region and Buldhana & Amravati districts of Vidarbha region are worst hit due to depletion of ground-water level.
In these districts, borewells have been dug almost up to 1000 feet underground in search of ground water with no success.
President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil
President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 May 2015 conferred the Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13. The award was conferred on scholars who have made outstanding contribution to the development of Classical Tamil language and literature.
Awardees:
• Tolkappiyar Award for lifetime achievement in Classical Tamil was given to SV Shanmugam for year 2011-12 and R Krishnamurthi for year 2012-13.
• Kural Pitam Award was given to Eva Maria Wilden of Germany for 2011-12.
• Young Scholar Awards was presented to E. Ezhilvasanthan, K. Jawahar and K. Iyyappan for 2011-12.
• Young Scholar Award for the year 2012-13 was given to R. Venkatesan, A. Sathish, M.R. Devak, U. Alibava and B. Jaiganesh.
About the Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil
The Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil were instituted by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD). The award carries a citation and shawl apart from a cash award of 5 lakh rupees for Tolkappiyar Award and Kural Peedam awardees.
While, the award money of 1 lakh rupees is bestowed on Young Scholar Awardees.
Islamic clothing company East Essence tied up with Snapdeal
Islamic clothing company East Essence on 14 May 2015 tied up with Snapdeal. The partnership aimed to set up store on their portal. The company will make its debut in June 2015 by launching an online store at e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal.
East Essence is the world's largest Islamic clothing company. The company plans to turn India into a global centre of Islamic fashion. The US firm has presence in 68 countries and has annual sales of about 256 crore rupees.
India is the world's second largest Muslim-majority country, with the community representing 14.2% of total population. That's nearly 170 million potential consumers, completely catered by unorganised players at present.
East Essence has also opened a manufacturing facility in Noida, which will cater to the Indian market and also become a hub to meet global demand.
Japanese Scientists discovered new state of matter called Jahn-Teller-metal
Japanese Scientists on 14 May 2015 discovered a new state of matter called the Jahn-Teller-metal. The matter resembles an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all rolled into one.
The study led by Kosmas Prassides, Scientist at Tokohu University made the discovery by studying a superconductor made from carbon-60 molecules or buckyballs.
The research was described in Science Advances. It involves caesium fulleride (Cs3C60) in a face-centred-cubic lattice with a Cs3C60 molecule at each lattice site. The research could help develop new molecular materials that are superconductors at even higher temperatures.
The study shows that the material has a rich combination of insulating, magnetic, metallic and superconducting phases - including the otherwise unknown state, dubbed as Jahn-Teller metal.
The research provides important clues about how the interplay between the electronic structure of the molecules and their spacing within the lattice can strengthen interactions between electrons that cause superconductivity.
Superconductors are a large and diverse group of materials that offer zero resistance to electrical currents when cooled below a critical temperature (TC). Superconducting lattices of fullerides - C60 plus three alkali-metal atoms - have been studied for more than two decades, and provide an interesting test bed.
16 may
Union Government decided to implement NERS for women in distress
Union Home Ministry on 15 May 2015 decided to implement the NERS (Nationwide Emergency Response System) to save women in distress. In this regard, the Ministry invited proposals from IT service providers to implement it.
NERS was the brainchild of the Congress-led UPA government which envisaged it in response to Delhi gang rape case of December 2012.
The NERS seeks to make the police immediately respond to any call by a woman in distress anywhere in India. It will revolutionalise the existing Police Response systems which are limited to a city and different cities use different systems and only a handful of cities use technology in any form.
How it will operate?
NERS resembling the 911 number system of the United States (US) is designed to have at least one Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in each state. The PSAP basically is a call center where all calls originating in that state will land and will be answered.
The Call Taker with access to case management software and a GIS map of the state will first mark the location of the caller. It will then evaluate the emergency situation and forward the case to a Call Dispatcher.
The Call Dispatcher will then identify all the available police vehicles close to the incident with the aid of the GIS based Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software and dispatch the nearest available Police Personnel.
Further, the IT enabler system will automatically detect caller's location if call is coming from landline, mobile apps and sensors.
To make the system more robust, even the police vehicles will have a GPS based Mobile Data Tablet (MDT) installed that will continuously broadcast their location to a central data server.
ISRO announced to commission MOTR in June 2015
MOTR: Multi-Object Tracking Radar
The term Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) was in news on 15 May 2015 as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced its plans to commission the radar in June 2015.
It has been entirely designed and built indigenously by the ISRO in collaboration with 22 private entities except the Radome, the dome structure which protects the radar antenna and related equipment from environment. Radome was imported from USA.
Key Features of Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR)
• It is capable of tracking 10 different objects at a time including 50 cm X 50 cm object size at a slant range of 1000 kilometer long range and 30 cm X 30 cm size at a slant range of 800 kilometer in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• Unlike the disc radars that keep spinning, the 35-tonne radar is a stationary, 12-metre-long, 8-metre-tall and contains 4068 individual radiating elements.
• It emits radio-frequency waves that combine to form a single beam. The beam can be electronically steered so that a third of the sky is scanned. Since the radar’s base can be rotated to three positions, the entire sky can be covered.
• It was built at a lower cost when compared to other space agencies in the world which developed similar technologies for around 900 crore rupees. The MOTR was developed for around 245 crore rupees only.
Importance of MOTR
• The existing radars, which ISRO has six in its control, are capable of tracking single objects only and are limited in their utility by covering only larger objects. The induction of MOTR will help the ISRO in its future missions including the space capsule recovery, reusable launch vehicle and human space programmes and tracking space debris.
• Regular tracking of space debris is required to update the space debris catalogue and to protect the country's space assets from any possible collision with them.
• The MOTR will help in achieving self-reliance in similar enedeavours. Between 2010 and 2015 ISRO changed and re-aligned the position of at least 12 satellites to avoid collision with debris. These operations were done by utilizing the resources of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
• It can also be used in Airports, meteorology related operations, vertical wind profiling and in defense.
The project received the approval in 2012 and was completed in the scheduled time which ended on February 2015. At present it is in the testing stage.
By commissioning the technology India will join the elite league consisting of USA, Canada, Japan, Israel and European Union (EU) which have the similar capabilities.
PM Narendra Modi announced e-Visa facility for Chinese Tourists
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 May 2015 announced electronic tourist visa (e-Visa) facility for Chinese nationals.
The decision was announced in Beijing, China during his three day visit starting from 14 May 2015.
It is in tune with the Joint Statement issued by Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after conclusion of bilateral talks during the visit which called for development of tourism sector and increasing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
Incidentally, India designated 2015 as Visit India Year in China to augment Chinese tourist arrivals and tourist revenues.
The above steps by the Indian Government are aimed at attracting a bigger chunk of about 100 million Chinese tourists who visited abroad in 2014.
India, despite having huge tourist potential for Chinese by virtue of having many Buddhist holy places, it attracts less travelers (2 lakh during 2014) when compared with that of our smaller neighbours like Maldives (4 lakh), Nepal (1.4 lakh) and Sri Lanka (1.3 lakh).
Union Government launched Road Asset Management System for National Highways
Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping on 15 May 2015 launched Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for National Highways. The system will compile information on road assets, condition of the pavements and traffic through use of laser technology.
The outcome of this integrated data collection system will assist in developing an accurate and scientific maintenance planning mechanism, finalizing road safety measures and development of the National Highways network in India.
The data collected will be stored and managed through a web based application, which will be hosted in the public domain. The application, when fully developed, can also be accessed by smart phones.
Information collected from this project will be useful for Transport Ministry, Finance Ministry, NHAI, State PWDs, Police departments, funding agencies, developers and citizens.
The software will be equipped to interface with the indigenous Bhuvan satellite images. The survey vehicle is equipped with three cameras including pavement view, 15 advanced Lasers and GPS connected to Gagan satellite.
The development of Road Asset Management System (RAMS) is a part of the Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative.
Askme acquired BestAtLowest.com for 10 million US dollar
Internet firm Askme on 15 May 2015 acquired grocery marketplace BestAtLowest.com for about 10 million US dollar.
As part of the agreement, BestAtLowest.com will become part of Askme. The acquisition will further expand the company’s search plus capabilities and enable near real-time inventory sync between online and physical stores.
Bestatlowest.com is a marketplace working in the hub-and-spoke model. It has tied up with retailers and supermarket stores to acquire food and groceries to supply to its hub, which are then delivered across locations.
BestAtLowest.com has over 7000 products across categories spread in the FMCG and non-FMCG sectors.
Brick-and-mortar retail in India is expected to grow three times to 180 billion US dollar in 2020 from 60 billion US dollar in 2015. E-commerce is expected to quadruple in the same time to become a 60-70 billion US dollar market.
DD, CCTV signed agreement for exchange of art, culture programmes
Doordarshan and China Central Television (CCTV) on 15 May 2015 signed an agreement for exchange of art, culture and development television programmes. The agreement was signed by Prasar Bharathi CEO Jawhar Sircar on behalf of India in Beijing during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China.
This agreement will enable both Doordarshn and CCTV to share programmes on their networks at free of cost. Under the agreement, Doordarshan will offer programmes pertaining to art, culture and tourism while CCTV in turn will exchange human interest, development programmes and success stories.
The exchange of programmes will begin by the end 2015 and both networks will also take up co-production works for this initiative.
IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) adopted environmental section of Polar Code
The 68th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) held between 11 May and 15 May 2015 adopted provisions of the Polar Code related to environmental norms.
The meeting was held at the IMO Headquarters in London, the UK.
While the recent provisions are related to discharges of ships operating in the Polar Waters (Arctic and Antarctic seas), the safety regulations related to ship design, equipment, crew training and search-and-rescue issues were adopted the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in December 2014.
Both of these regulations are part of the Polar Code aimed at protecting the environment of Polar Waters from pollution causing ships operating in the region.
Environmental Provisions of the Polar Code
• Prevention of pollution by oil: Discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from any ship are prohibited and Oil fuel tanks must be separated from outer shell.
• Prevention of pollution by noxious liquid substances: Discharge into the sea of noxious liquid substances or mixtures containing such substances are prohibited.
• Prevention of pollution by sewage: Discharge of sewage is prohibited unless performed in line with MARPOL Annex IV and requirements in the Polar Code.
• Prevention of pollution by garbage: Discharge of garbage is restricted and only permitted in accordance with MARPOL Annex V and requirements in the Polar Code.
While, the code will apply to all new vessels constructed after 1 Jan 2017 and the vessels constructed prior to it must comply by 1 Jan 2018.
The MEPC meeting gave its approval to MARPOL Annex I amendmentsalso which are related to oil tankers.
The adoption of the Polar Code and associated MARPOL amendments completed the process to make the Code mandatory under both the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and MARPOL treaties.
Bengaluru airport signed a contract with SITA to allow self check-in from June 2015
The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) on 15 May 2015 signed a seven-year multi-million dollar contract with the global aviation IT firm SITA.
The contract will enable the airport to implement the new Common Use Self Service kiosk (CUSS) platform that allows passengers to print their own boarding passes as well as baggage tags from June 2015.
The contract includes SITA's passenger processing platform AirportConnect Open, the latest self-service check-in kiosks and baggage reconciliation service BagManager.
In total, 180 common-use workstations and 30 new CUSS kiosks will run on the SITA AirportConnect Open platform. All 31 airlines using the airport can access their respective IT applications in real-time on shared equipment.
They can also use any airport desk, gate or self-service kiosk for passenger check-in and boarding. This will ensures maximum flexibility and convenience for the airlines as well as for the airport and passengers.
SITA's baggage reconciliation service BagManager would provide the airport with comprehensive baggage management, delivering real-time information on baggage status and helping resolve issues quickly and efficiently.
In addition, BagMessage service ensures on-time departures with a fully managed and secure baggage message distribution system.
BIAL is a 74:13:13 joint venture with GVK-led consortium as the majority partner while state-owned airport operator Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Karnataka Government each having 13 per cent stake. The airport had handled 15 million passengers in the fiscal, ended in March 2015.
Palestinians observed 67th Nakba Day
Palestinians on 15 May 2015 observed the 67th anniversary of the 1948 Palestinian Nakba Day. As part of it, dozens of Palestinians staged a march in southern Gaza Strip and vowed to return to their ancestral Homeland.
The march was organised by Hamas near the Israeli border in the town of Al-Qarara in eastern Khan Younis.
On 15 May every year, Palestinians mark Nakba Day, the day when the state of Israel was founded. They observe it to reaffirm their right to return to the land from which their ancestors were forcibly displaced by Israel in 1948.
The term Nakba in Arabic means catastrophe and is used by Palestinians to denote their mass expulsion and displacement from their ancestral homes and land in historical Palestine in 1948.
On the other hand, Jews in Israel celebrate this day as Independence Day.
Opah, the world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species, discovered by researchers
Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discovered the world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species named Opah. These fishes are found in the deep waters off the US, Australia and several other countries.
The finding of the researchers was published on 15 May 2015 in the journal Science.
How the Opah conserves its warmth?
According to the finding, the Opah fish has developed an internal heat exchange system within its gills to conserve the warmth and it raises its temperature by flapping its fins.
This adaptation means warm blood that leaves the opah’s body core helps heat cold blood returning from the surface of the gills where it absorbs oxygen, maintaining an average body temperature of about 4 degree Celsius to 5 degree Celsius.
This system is more akin to a car radiator and is similar to that used by mammals and birds, which are known as endotherms for their ability to maintain body temperature independent of the environment.
While tuna and some sharks can warm certain parts of their bodies, such as their brains and eyes, fish are generally classed among cold-blooded animals, known as ectotherms.
Characteristics of Opah fish
• Opahs are more effective predators by virtue of being a warm-blooded species.
• It swims faster, reacts more quickly and sees more sharply than the other marine life
• It can dwell 50 meter to 400 meter underwater.
• It can weigh up to 90kg and are oval-shaped roughly the size of a car tyre.
• It has fatty deposits around the gills, heart and muscle tissue in order to provide insulation from the cold water.
Anurradha Prasad conferred with Pt. Haridutt Sharma Award for Journalism and Social Services
Anurradha Prasad, the Editor-in-Chief of News 24 Channel, on 15 May 2015 was conferred with the Pt. Haridutt Sharma Award for Journalism, Writing and Social Services.
She was conferred with the award by Vice- President Hamid Ansari in New Delhi.
The award is given in the memory of Pt. Haridutt Sharma who was a renowned journalist and eminent writer. The award is given annually in the field of Journalism, Writing and Social Services for the outstanding contribution in their respective field.
The Award comprises of Cash prize of 51000 rupees, Citation, Trophy, Shawl and Souvenir.
UNESCAP released Survey titled Making Growth More Inclusive for Sustainable Development
United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) 2015 survey titled Making Growth More Inclusive for Sustainable Development was released on 14 May 2015.
The survey analyzes the economic growth performance of the region, along with its outlook and challenges countries face in sharing the benefits of growth with all people.
Highlights of the Survey
• Economic growth in Asia and the Pacific continues to fare well in the global context, but is expected to increase only slightly to 5.9% in 2015 from 5.8% in 2014.
• Unlike other sub-regions, North and Central Asia is facing low economic growth but high inflation.
• Weighed down by lower global oil prices and geopolitical tensions, the economy of the Russian Federation barely grew in 2014; it is expected to contract over 2015 and 2016.
• As the country accounts for 80% of the output in North and Central Asia, sub-regional growth performance and prospects are also bleak. Inflation has also increased in several economies as declining commodity prices led to subdued foreign exchange earnings and the weakening of currencies.
• Economic growth in South and South-West Asia edged up in 2014, mainly led by stronger macroeconomic performance in India, but it remained far below its pre-crisis pace. The consumption-led growth was fuelled by favourable farm incomes, workers’ remittances and monetary easing.
India’s Economic Growth
• The survey has predicted Indian Economy growth at 8.1 per cent in the current financial year 2015 and 8.2 per cent in 2016, spurred by strong consumer spending amid low inflation, infrastructure projects and government's reform measures.
• Investment is also expected to rebound, although unevenly, given the still low capacity-utilisation rate at about 70 per cent.
• Volatile capital flows that may follow monetary policy normalisation in the US remain the downside risk.
Pakistan’s Economic Growth
• Economic growth in Pakistan picked up to 4.1% in 2014 from an average of 3.7% in the previous three years and growth was expected to rise to 5.1% in 2015.
• The report said that inflation was on the decline and budget deficit was being contained and foreign exchange reserves have significantly improved and market confidence in Pakistan’s outlook seems to have improved.
6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy held in New Delhi
6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy was held in New Delhi on 15 May 2015. The Conference was organised by ASSOCHAM with the theme Nuclear Energy: a Clean Energy option.
This conference is unique in many ways as 2015 happens to be the year of diamond jubilee celebrations of the setting up of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
The conference discussed the issue related to the status of Nuclear Energy in India. India is on course to double its nuclear power generation capacity to more than 10,000 mega watts (MW) over the next five years i.e. 2020.
Nuclear power plants account for 3.5% of India’s current electricity generation, and its share in India’s future electricity generation will be less than 10% even if the installed capacity is tripled. However, along with other sources of energy such as hydropower and solar-power, it will play a role in reducing India’s reliance on coal for generating electricity.
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