17-18 April

17 April

Vikram Patel named among the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World List 2015

A well-being warrior, as described by the TIME magazine, Professor Vikram Patel on 16 April 2015 appeared in 2015 Time 100 Most Influential People in the World List.

He is a Goa-based psychiatrist and one of the three persons along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CEO and MD of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar to appear in the list.

Achievements of Vikram Patel
• He is a Professor of International Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
• He is a co-founder of Sangath, a mental health research NGO based in Goa. Its research focus is on evolving mechanisms to bring better mental health care to low-resource communities, where around 90 per cent of people affected by mental illness go untreated because of scarcity of psychiatrists.
• He was the founding Joint Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health, a partnership between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Kings Health Partners.

Union Government decided to relax the quality norms for procurement of wheat in Haryana

Union Government on 14 April 2015 decided to relax the quality norms for procurement of wheat in Haryana. The orders were issued by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution with immediate effects.

It was decided to procure wheat in Haryana during the Rabi Marketing Season 2015-16 with following relaxations:

(i) The limit of shrivelled and broken grains is relaxed upto 9% against the existing limit of 6% under uniform specifications with half value cut imposed in such a manner that for every relaxation of 2% or part thereof, one full value cut at 14.50 rupees per quintal will be applied.

(ii) Lustre lost wheat containing up to 10% affected kernels may be purchased without value cut.

(iii) Lustre lost wheat containing more than 10% and up to 50% affected kernels may be purchased with 1/4th of one full value cut on flat basis at 3.63 rupees per quintal.

The decision of Union Government will for some instance reduce the hardship of farmers and will avoid distress sale of wheat.

Earlier, the State Government had approached the Union Government as untimely rains and hailstorms in March 2015 widely damaged wheat crop in Haryana.

Based on the request of the State Government, Food Corporation of India (FCI) collected samples of wheat from the Mandis in association with the State Government and after examining the test results of these samples, the Union Government decided to relax the quality norms.

SC declared fundamental right to speech cannot be misused to abuse nationally revered figures

The Supreme Court of India (SC) on 16 April 2015 declared that the fundamental right to speech and expression as provided by the Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constitution should not be misused to abuse nationally revered figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose.

The SC further stated that, one cannot resort to abusive language against historical figures in the guise of artistic expression to accentuate sensationalism.

The judgment was delivered by a SC bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C Pant while hearing a plea of Vasant Dattatraya Gujar, who was facing criminal charges for writing an objectionable poem on Mahatma Gandhi.

The marathi poem, Gandhi Mala Bhetla Hota (I Met Gandhi), was published in the in-house magazine of the Bank of Maharashtra Employees Union in 1994. The poem depicts Gandhi as the narrator, who uses obscene language in the poem.

Satya Nadella honoured with the White House Champions of Change

Microsoft’s Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella was honoured with the White House Champions of Change on 16 April 2015. He is one of the 12 local Champions of Change who were honoured for their exemplary leadership.

Champions of Change honour is given to those who support working families and help make change in their companies or communities

Satya Nadella is the first Indian-origin Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft. He was named as one of the Champions of Change for his employee-friendly initiative. For instance, recently Microsoft announced that from 2016 onwards all the suppliers that do business with Microsoft in the US will have to provide at least 15 days of paid leave each year to their employees who handle Microsoft work.

Other Champions of Change
Melissa Broome: She is Acting Executive Director of the Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF). JOTF develops and advocates for policies and programs to increase the skills, job opportunities, and incomes of low-skill, low-income workers and job seekers.

David Deary: He is a physician assistant in Providence, Rhode Island. David has been an advocate for and a beneficiary of the Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) law.

Netsy Firestein: She is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley and a consultant on work and family, child care, women and labor issues.

Analilia Mejia: She serves as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, a statewide nonpartisan organization that seeks to promote and defend the interest of New Jersey’s working families.

Randy George: He founded The Red Hen Baking Company in Duxbury, VT that is best known around Vermont for its line of certified organic, hearth baked breads which are baked and delivered daily throughout the state since 1999.

Fatima Hasan: She is the Owner and Director of Places and Spaces for Growth Learning Center, an early childcare center that prepares children for Kindergarten, providing high quality care at affordable prices

Rose Marcario: She is President and CEO of Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company based in Ventura, Calif. Patagonia’s mission is to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. The company contributes 1 percent of net sales annually to grassroots environmental organizations around the world – totaling more than 61 million US dollar to date.

Andrea Paluso: She is co-founder and Executive Director of Family Forward Oregon and Family Forward Action, the organization that has led the paid sick days campaigns throughout Oregon.

Renee Stromme: She is the Executive Director of the North Dakota Women’s Network (NDWN), a statewide women’s advocacy organization. Prior to founding the NDWN in 2006, Renee worked for a domestic violence shelter, a domestic violence legal clinic, and the ND Council on Abused Women’s Services.

ReShonda Young: She is the owner of Popcorn Heaven, a gourmet popcorn store headquartered in Waterloo. She has been an active voice on Working Family issues, advocating for pay equity, healthcare reform, an increase in the minimum wage, and many other issues that will benefit working families.

Coraminita Mahr: She is Vice President of 1199-United Healthcare Workers East/ SEIU, the largest local union. Coraminita has served as the Chair of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, an organization which promoted human rights covenants within local, state, federal and global institutions.

Tennessee House voted to make Bible as official state book

The Tennessee House of Representatives on 16 April 2015 voted to make Andrew Jackson's Bible as the official book of Tennessee, a US state. Now, the Bill will go to Senate for being passed and if it is passes in Senate then it will become an Official book of the state.

The lawmakers voted 55-38 in favor of Republican Rep. Jerry Sexton's original Bill, despite questions of constitutionality of the Bill.

House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, was one of 20 Republicans to vote against the GOP-led effort. Only six Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 6 people including House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh abstained from voting.

PM of India, Canada paid tributes to victims of 1985 Kanishka incident at Humber Bay Park

Humber Bay Park, Toronto: Kanishka Air India Memorial site

Humber Bay Park in Toronto, Canada was in news on 16 April 2015 as Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tributes to the victims of the Air India Flight 182 bombings at the Kanishka Air India Memorial site situated there.

The memorial was unveiled on 22 June 2007 in the memory of victims of the 23 June 1985 terrorist attack on Air India Flight 182 or Emperor Kanishka.

The memorial features a sundial, the base of which consists of stones from all provinces and territories of Canada, as well as the countries of the other victims.

The sundial is designed in such a way that its shadow touches a precise spot at 8.13 am on 23 June every year, indicating the time of the attack.

The memorial also includes a wall, oriented towards Ireland and bearing the names of all the 329 victims and two baggage handlers killed at the same time by an associated bomb at the Narita Airport in Japan.

The memorial is built in Toronto because majority of the bombing victims were the residents of the city.

About the Kanishka Incident
The Air India Flight 182 or Emperor Kanishka was gunned down in the Ireland air space over the Atlantic Ocean when it was flying from Montreal to London en route to New Delhi killing all the 329 people on board. It was Canada’s worst terror incident in the recent history. Out of 329 people killed in the incident 268 were citizens of Canada of which majority were of Indian descent, 27 Britons, and 24 Indians.

Russia lifted ban on delivery of S-300 Missile System to Iran

Russia on 13 April 2015 lifted its earlier ban on delivery of S-300 Missile System to Iran. The S-300 Missile System is a surface-to-air missile defense system that can be used against multiple targets including jets and enemy missiles.

Russia lifted the ban in the back drop of an informal agreement reached on 2 April 2015 between P5+1, the EU and Iran to prepare the final draft of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by 30 June 2015.

Under the agreement, Iran agreed to stop developing nuclear weapons in return for lifting economic sanctions imposed on it by the international community.

This was the only sanction imposed by Russia on Iran since Iran had announced its nuclear programme in 2010.

Russia stayed the execution of 800 million US dollar worth deal after the international community raised apprehensions that the missile system would be used to protect Iran’s nuclear installations from air strikes.

India, Canada issued Joint Statement titled New Vigour, New Steps

India and Canada issued Joint Statement title New Vigour, New Steps (नयाउत्साह, नएकदम) to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership. The joint statement was issued on 15 April 2015 during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Canada from 14 April to 16 April 2015. Modi’s visit to Canada is the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 42 years.

Details of the Joint Statement

Bilateral Relations

The two nations signed agreements covering the fields of uranium, visas, terrorism, foreign investment promotion and protection, Canada-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) free-trade deal, culture and people-to-people ties, regional and global issues and others.

Economy, Trade and Investment

MoU was signed on Cooperation in Rail Transportation between India’s Ministry of Railways and Transport Canada, dealing with technical cooperation.
MoU was signed on Civil Aviation between Transport Canada and India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, which will establish a Joint Working Group to bring together key industry and Government stakeholders to advance opportunities for cooperation in civil aviation.
The two sides agreed to establish a Finance Ministers Dialogue for the purpose of deepening the India-Canada economic and financial relationship.

Civil-Nuclear Cooperation

Agreement signed between the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India and Cameco of Canada for long-term supply of uranium to India to meet its energy needs. The agreement would impart a new significance to India-Canada Civil Nuclear Cooperation.
They agreed to encourage a collaborative programme to leverage their industries’ respective strengths in the field of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor technology for mutual benefit, as well as for the benefit of global nuclear energy needs.
They agreed to explore mutually beneficial partnerships in the application of radio-isotopes for societal benefits.
They welcomed the setting up of the India Nuclear Insurance Pool with potential participation of foreign companies as a positive step towards facilitating such cooperation.
They agreed to exchange experiences and developments on safety and regulatory issues. To take this forward, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission have finalised an arrangement for regulatory cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety regulation.

Energy

They agreed to further collaboration in areas such as energy efficiency and innovation, oil and gas development, exchange of regulatory best practices, renewable energy, and nuclear energy.
To advance cooperation in this important sector, the two countries welcomed the convening of the next Ministerial meeting of the India-Canada Energy Dialogue by the end of 2015.
Prime Ministers of both the countries also welcomed the decision by Indian Oil Corporation to invest in a proposed new liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia.

Education and Skills Development

Both the countries welcomed the Canada’s partnership in the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) of India to enable Canadian researchers to cooperate in learning, research and teaching in select Indian educational institutions.
First co-funded student exchange programme through the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme and Canada’s Mitacs Globalink Program set up
13 MoUs between the National Skill Development Council of India and 13 Canadian colleges, institutes, and Sector Skills Councils signed
They leaders agreed to renew the Canada-India MoU on Higher Education on a rolling basis

Agriculture

MoU on agriculture cooperation to promote trade in plants, plant products and other regulated articles by facilitating science-based discussions related to sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues.

Defence and Security

They agreed to deepen their continuing cooperation in countering terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism through joint efforts, and greater cooperation between their relevant government departments
Signing of the MoU between the Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada on Cooperation in the Area of Cyber Security
They agreed to explore cooperative possibilities in diverse fields including cold climate warfare, peacekeeping, and participation in respective Defence Staff College training.
They also agreed to explore further cooperation in enhancing naval linkages, and staff exchanges.
Statement of Intent between Defence Research and Development Organisation of India and Defence Research and Development Canada, aimed at exploring potential cooperative initiatives in defence and security science and technology was inked.

Science, Technology, Innovation, and Space

Agreed to convene biennial meeting of the 5th Canada-India Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee in June 2015
Committed to joint industrial research and development projects through the International Science and Technology Partnership Program, and endorsed the annual contribution of 1 million dollar by both countries.
Agreed to include Canadian and Indian startups in the Canadian Technology Accelerator initiative
Canada welcomed India’s offer to be a Partner Country in the 2017 Technology Summit to be hosted by India.
Welcomed an investment of 2.5 million dollar in five health innovations in India by Grand Challenges Canada and its Indian partner - the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
They agreed to support further joint projects on Safe and Sustainable Infrastructure and Integrated Water Management and public health.
The two countries agreed to accelerate ongoing efforts towards the elimination of Visceral Leishmaniasis in India by jointly supporting an existing Grand Challenges Canada project.
MoU on Space Cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Canadian Space Agency was renewed.
Proposed collaboration between the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) of India, and the Stem Cell Network of Canada in stem cell research, including possible research student exchanges
Agreed to establish a dialogue between relevant federal departments of the two countries in order to facilitate cooperation in therapeutic products

Culture and People-to-People Ties

MoU on Cultural Cooperation between Canada and India was renewed and Canada’s proposal to hold the Year of Canada in India in 2017.
They looked forward to the entry into force of the Canada-India Social Security Agreement on 1 August 2015.
They agreed to encourage further reciprocal visits by parliamentary delegations.

Narendra Modi gifted Miniature Painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Stephen Harper

Miniature Painting titled Guru Nanak Dev: painted by Virendra Bannu, a Jaipur-based artist

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 April 2015 gifted a miniature painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Modi was on an official visit to Canada from 14 April to 16 April 2015.

The miniature paintings composition that shows Guru Nanak Dev with his two disciples Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala, sitting beside him is painted in the traditional Indian miniature style. It is painted on handmade paper with mineral colours and carries background of pristine landscape which adds to the tranquility around the painting encased in intricately painted borders.

The painting is the work of Virendra Bannu, a Jaipur-based artist, who is the seventh generation artist in his family. Bannu has been taking forward the legacy of his family in specialized miniature art form.

Pakistan Supreme Court stayed executions by Military Courts

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on 16 April 2015 suspended death sentences issued by the recently established Military Courts. The suspension will remain until it rules on the legality of the death sentences given to prisoners by the military courts early in April 2015.

The Court’s order came on a petition filed by the country’s Supreme Court Bar Association seeking a stay in executions ordered by military courts. The petition was filed by Asma Jahangir, a rights activist and lawyer.

The petition challenged the trials by the military courts and questioned whether prisoners were provided with a fair hearing under them. It also said that the recent trials of military courts are neither public nor transparent, and military courts do not ordinarily observe the principle of due process.

Background
Pakistan on 19 December 2014 ended a seven-year moratorium on executions, after militants killed about 150 students and staff at an Army school in Peshawar. The Parliament also passed a constitutional amendment empowering the military to try those suspected of being terrorists in a parallel system of courts, which operate swiftly compared with the slower-paced civilian judiciary. After this amendment, nine military courts were set up in January 2015.

Since the end of the moratorium on executions about 60 death-row inmates have been executed on the orders of civilian courts. Human Rights groups say more than 8000 people have been sentenced to death in Pakistan. In March 2015 the government announced that all of those who had exhausted the appeals process and pleas for clemency would be executed.

Haryana Government notified forests in Aravalli range are not a forest

The Haryana Government on 14 April 2015 issued a notification that forests in Aravalli ranges are not a forest. According to the latest order, the vast tracts of forests of Aravalli range, including Mangarbani grove, would now be recorded as not forest.

Mangarbani grove is often considered as the last remaining virgin forest in Delhi NCR and held sacred by local villagers.

The notification states that, only recorded forests will be shown/marked as forests while carrying out ground truthing exercise in Aravalli region. Areas other than recorded forests will be shown or marked as not forest, which is the present status.

Consequently after this order, the forest clearance regulations which currently prevent the lands from being diverted for any other activity would not apply on these lands, making it a cake walk for real estate and other industries to chop the forests to use the lands.

This latest decision of Haryana government to free up about 80000 hectares of land is seen by activists and local villagers as a result of constant lobbying by builders.

Earlier in March 2015, it was decided to record the entire Aravalli range as forest while carrying out ground surveys of natural conservation zones in NCR.

Stanislav Gross, Former Czech Republic Prime Minister, died

Former Czech Republic Prime Minister Stanislav Gross on 16 April 2015 died after a long illness. He was 45.

He was the youngest Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2005 at the age of 34.

A member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), he served as Minister of the Interior from 2000 to 2004.

Less than a year later, he left office amid a scandal over the source of funds he used to buy a Prague apartment.

Gross later returned to law and also invested in a Czech electricity company, raising more questions from the media over his finances, although an anti-corruption probe found no wrongdoing.

In recent months Czech media have reported that Gross was battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Time Magazine released list of 100 most influential people in the world

Time Magazine on 16 April 2015 released a list of 100 most influential people in the world. The list was topped by American rapper and singer Kanye Omari West.

The oldest person on the list is Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, who at 88 finds himself the steward of the Arab world's youngest democracy.

For the third straight year, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, is the youngest person on the list.

The list includes four Indian-origin persons namely Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Vikram Patel, co-founder of the NGO Sangath.

Chanda Kochhar has been described as a banker with vision and reach. She has brought India's largest private bank a global vision and impressive returns, while also reaching out to the nation's masses with branches in remote villages where banks simply didn't exist.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is billed as the turnaround artist who is setting Microsoft up for greatness again. Changes that once would have been considered blasphemous -- releasing open-source software, building on iOS and Android and even making Windows free in some cases -- are turning Microsoft around.

Vikram Patel, co-founder of the NGO Sangath and the Centre for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is described as a Well-being warrior. He helps spread the simple yet profound idea of mental health for all. He provides hope that mental illness and trauma make us neither weak nor unworthy of love and respect.

18 April

SC: Can’t issue guidelines to CBFC on how to assess a movie before allowing its release

The Supreme Court of India (SC) on April 17 2015 declared that it cannot issue guidelines to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on how to assess a movie before allowing its release.

The SC declined to issue guidelines because of the following reasons
• The CBFC is an apex body consisting of experts from the film industry who are eligible to assess a movie.
• Any aggrieved person is always at the liberty to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) against the order of the CBFC under the Section 5C of Cinematograph Act, 1952.

The verdict was delivered by a SC bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) HL Dattu while hearing a plea filed by the Dharmaprachar Sabha appealing for revocation of the certificate issued by the CBFC to Singham Returns movie.

The litigants contended that the movie maligned certain religious and spiritual places while glorifying certain other religions.

World Hemophilia Day 2015 observed globally with theme Building a family of support

17 April: World Haemophilia Day
World Haemophilia Day was observed globally on 17 April 2015 with theme Building a family of support. The day provides an opportunity to talk to your extended family and friends, colleagues, and caregivers to raise awareness and increase support for those living with an inherited bleeding disorder.

Hemophilia day was established in 1989 with the support of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). The date of 17 April was chosen to honor Frank Schnabel the founder of WFH, whose birthday falls on the same date.

Haemophilia
It is the oldest known genetic bleeding disorder and is caused by a deficiency in the genes and impairs the body’s ability to control blood clotting, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. It is a disease that transmits at birth from an affected father to daughter, who then becomes a carrier of the hemophilia cells who is at higher risk of passing the defective gene on to her children.

Types of hemophilia
There are two types of hemophilia and each type is linked to a low level of a certain clotting factor.
• Hemophilia A: It is the more common type and is linked to low levels of clotting factor VIII (8). The disease is present in about 1 in 5000 to 10000 male births.
• Hemophilia B: It is rarer and is associated with low levels of clotting factor IX (9). The disease occurs in around 1 in about 20000–34000 male births.

Hemophilia is diagnosed by taking a blood sample and testing the levels of clotting factor VIII & IX. The disease is not curable, but with proper knowledge and treatment it can be handled.

Causes of Acquired Bleeding Disorders
• Deficiency of Vitamin K
• Malfunction of Liver
• Inability of Bone marrow in producing enough platelets
• Excessive Blood transfusion
• Intake of a specific drugs (sulfa antibiotics or quinine may decrease number of platelets)
• Platelet count may diminish due to the presence of medical conditions like leukemia, HIV, kidney failure, liver disorder, multiple myeloma and others

Vankadarath Saritha joined as first woman bus driver of the DTC

Vankadarath Saritha was in news as on 17 April 2015 she became the first woman bus driver of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

She is a 30-year-old driver from Nalgonda in Telangana. She has been posted in day-time duty at the Sarojini Nagar depot and will start working officially from 20 April 2015.

Saritha started her career as an autorickshaw driver and has worked as a bus driver earlier in Hyderabad too. Before getting selected for the DTC, she was working as a taxi driver in Delhi.

The recruitment of Saritha into DTC will lessen the gap of gender inequality.

Indian economy to grow at 7.5 per cent in 2015: Moody's

Global Rating Agency Moody's on 17 April 2015 forecasted that Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2015. This growth rate is marginally higher compared with 7.2 percent in 2014.

As per the report, India's economy is on a cyclical upswing and forward-looking indicators suggest domestic demand is gathering momentum.

Also, low inflation has enabled the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates by 50 basis points easing pressure on the private sector.

Lower rates as well as the government's infrastructure and disinvestment programs should provide a boost to domestic-oriented industries.

On the issue of foreign investment, it said that though foreign investment in India has been weak because of significant red tape and taxes but government is taking encouraging steps to reduce these burdensome regulations to entice more foreign investment.

On the disinvestment front, it said the government has begun selling public sets as it plans to raise 70000 crore rupees in fiscal 2015-2016.

However, lower government spending is a downside risk to forecast over the coming year because if revenues fall short, the government is expected to cut expenditure to meet its 3.9 percent deficit target for 2015-2016.

The growth projections come soon after Moody’s on 9 April 2015 had revised India’s sovereign ratings outlook to positive (Baa3) fromstable. Another ratings agency, Fitch, had reaffirmed its stable outlook on India.

Earlier on 14 April 2014, International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook April 2015 update projected that India will overtake China as the fastest growing emerging economy in 2015-16 by clocking a growth rate of 7.5 percent, helped by its recent policy initiatives, pick-up in investments and lower oil prices.

Also, World Bank in its South Asia Economic Focus report released on 13 April 2015 projected that Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2015-16 and could reach 8 percent in 2017-18.

Supreme Court appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to lead the probe on IPL scandal

The Supreme Court of India (SC) on 17 April 2015 appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to head the team probing the Indian Premiere League (IPL) scandal. The decision was taken by a SC bench headed by Justice TS Thakur.

At present he is working as a Superintendent of Police (SP) in Central Bureau of India’s (CBI) anti corruption unit.

He succeeds BB Mishra as the head of the probing team who was retired on 31 March 2015.

The bench took the decision on the recommendation of a three member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha. The panel was appointed by the SC in January 2015 to decide action against Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra who were found to have indulged in betting during the T20 league.

PM Narendra Modi concluded his three-nation visit to France, Germany and Canada

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 April 2015 returned to India after his three-nation visit to France, Germany and Canada.

During his nine-day visit, which took place from 9 April to 17 April 2015, he met leaders of the three nations namely French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The visit concluded with some major agreements which would boost Modi’s vision of Clean India, Make in India and others.

Some major agreements include purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets with France, agreement for supply of uranium with Canada for nuclear power plants in India and Airbus plan to come to India and be a part of Make in India initiative.

MoUs and agreements signed with France and Germany covered areas like Defence and Nuclear Energy, Space, Economic relations, Railways, Energy, Tourism, Science and Technology, Skill Development, Ayurveda, manufacturing, urban development, environment, railways, cleaning of rivers, language and science & technology.

Agreements with Canada covered the areas of uranium, visas, terrorism, foreign investment promotion and protection, Canada-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) free-trade deal, culture and people-to-people ties, regional and global issues and others.

The other major highlights of the visit were the gifts presented by PM Modi to the leaders of the respective countries. The gifts included
• A miniature painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The painting on handmade paper with mineral colours had Guru Nanak Dev with his two disciples Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala, sitting beside him is painted in the traditional Indian miniature style.
• A painting titled Tree of Life was gifted to French President Francois Hollande. Tree of Life: A painting that reflects traditional societal respect for nature in India.
• Some reproductions of Sir CV Raman’s manuscripts and paperswere gifted to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. CV Raman had strong connection with Germany.

Besides, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented ancient Indian sculpture Parrot Lady to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parrot Lady is a life-sized, sandstone sculpture and is said to be around 900 year old and was carved for placement in one of the Khajuraho temples that form a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Madhya Pradesh. It was returned to India in line with the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

TERI, FNI, INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE signed MOU to further Climate & Development Agenda

TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) on 16 April 2015 signed an agreement with two global research institutes, namely Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) and INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group. The agreement was signed for exchange of knowledge and cooperation on issues related to climate change.

As part of MoU, the three institutes will work together to promote research and development, including policy analysis in the areas of green growth, climate change, sustainable energy, natural resource management, capacity building and knowledge exchange.

The nine areas of mutual interest identified by these three organisations were:
• Co-benefits of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
• Green Growth and Resource Efficiency
• Environment and Development
• Low Carbon Strategies
• Institutions and Governance
• International Cooperation
• South-South Knowledge Exchange
• Capacity Building
• National, Regional and Global Policy Advocacy

Why the partnership is significant?
The partnership assumes significance because it will help to further global partnerships for Post-2015 Climate and Development Agenda as it will require innovation, new partnerships, knowledge-sharing and implementation.

About TERI
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is an independent institution, committed to every aspect of energy, environment and sustainable development at. TERI has more than 40 years of excellence in research and innovation.

About FNI
The Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) is an independent Norwegian institution is engaged in research on international environmental, energy, and resource management politics.

About INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group
INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group is a not-for-profit organization with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. It has offices in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and Europe.

Union Government decided to transfer training and apprentice divisions to Skill Development Ministry

Union Government on 17 April 2015 decided to transfer training and apprentice divisions of the Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET) from the Union Labour Ministry to Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

The DGET comprises 12000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country. With this, the plan for setting up 25 new Advanced Training Institutes for skill development under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode will also come under the Skill Development Ministry.

This transfer has given a mandate to bring everything under the National Skills Qualification Framework, a national standard for all institutions, for all skill training across the country. This would amalgamate the certification process under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

As a result of this decision, the Ministry will not only oversee the skill development activities of all ministries and departments, but actually implement schemes.

The Labour Ministry has a target of skill-training 100 million people by 2022, second only to the target for the National Skill Development Corp. (NSDC), which must train 150 million by the same period. The NSDC comes under the Skill Development Ministry.

According to data collated by the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), part of the Skill Development Ministry, 21 departments and ministries were supposed to train 10.5 million people in 2014-15, but only 5.1 million people were trained.

Among the bigger ministries, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has done relatively better, achieving more than 89% of its 1.62 million-plus annual target.

TRAI issued recommendations on delivering Broadband

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 17 April 2015 issued recommendations on broadband growth. It released recommendations on Delivering Broadband Quickly: What do we need to do?

The Authority in its recommendations raised concerns about the slow penetration and adoption of broadband in the country.

The recommendations were following

Institutional revamping

•WPC should be converted into an independent body by de-linking it from the present Department of Telecommunications (DoT) hierarchy and either converting it into a statutory body responsible to Parliament or transferring it to an existing statutory body.

Spectrum

•Align spectrum bands with globally harmonized bands to achieve interference-free coexistence and economies of scale. Current availability of spectrum is about 40% of that available in comparable countries elsewhere.
•There is a need to lay down a clear roadmap for spectrum management which should state the requirement and availability of spectrum for each LSA as well as for the whole country. This roadmap should be made available publicly to ensure transparency.
•There is an urgent need for audit by an independent agency of all allocated spectrum both commercial as well as spectrum allocated to various PSUs/Government organizations. This ought to be a national priority and must be undertaken within 3 months.

Right of Way (RoW)

•Single-window clearance is an imperative for all Right of Way (RoW) proposals at the level of the States and in the Central Government.
•All such clearances have to be time-bound so that Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and infrastructure providers can move rapidly to project execution.
•There is a need for enunciating a National RoW Policy to ensure uniformity in costs and processes.

National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN)

•Project implementation on Centre State Public-Private Partnership (CSPPP) mode by involving State Governments and the private sector
•Award of EPC (turnkey) contracts by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) to private parties through international competitive bidding needs to be planned. Such contracts can be given region-wise with clear requirements for interconnection with other networks, as well as infrastructure sharing with other operators who would like to utilize this network. A commercial model around this will need to be suitably deployed.

Towers

•Single-window, time-bound clearance should be encouraged for installation of towers to ensure the rapid development of national networks.
• Extensive consumer awareness and education programmes should be organized so that consumers fully understand the latest scientific information on EMF radiation and its potential impact on health.

Fixed line Broadband

•To promote fixed line Broadband (BB), the license fee on the revenues earned from fixed line BB should be exempted for at least 5 years.
•The infrastructure of PSUs is lying unutilized and thus they should be mandated to unbundle their network and allow sharing of outside plant (OSP).

Cable Television (CATV)

•Cable operators should be allowed to function as resellers of ISP license holders to enable them to take advantage of their cable network to provide BB.
•Implementation of digitization of cable services to tier 2 and tier 3 cities in a time-bound manner.

Satellite

•Separation of Licensor, Regulator and Operator functions in the satellite space domain to conform to best international practices of free markets.
•The issue of coordination of additional spectrum in the 2500-2690 MHz band with Department of Space (DoS) needs to be addressed urgently, so that this band can be optimally utilized for commercial as well as strategic purposes.

Hosting of Content in India

•The Government needs to encourage local and foreign companies to build ‘Data Centre Parks’ on the lines of industrial parks, SEZs etc. by providing them land, infrastructure and uninterrupted power supply at affordable rates.

Universal Adoption

•Governments, both Central and State shall have to act as model users and anchor tenants through delivery of e-Government services including e-education, e-governance, m-health, m-banking and other such services.
•Schools are the ideal and convenient point for early initiation to BB services. Government schools in the rural and remote areas can be provided subsidy from the USOF for BB connectivity.
•Cost of CPE (desktop/laptop/tabs etc.) are major barriers to the adoption of BB services. TSPs may be allowed to offer CPE bundled tariff schemes. Revenues from such offers ought to be exempted from the applicable license fee at least for a certain number of years (say for three years).

Broadband penetration and adoption of broadband in India

•India ranks 125th in the world for fixed broadband penetration with only 1.2 per 100 inhabitants having access to fixed broadband; the global average is 9.4 per 100 inhabitant.
•In terms of household penetration within developing countries, India is ranked 75th with a penetration of 13%.
•In the wireless broadband space too, India is ranked 113th with a penetration of 3.2 per 100 inhabitants.
•In terms of ICT access, ICT use and ICT skills, India ranks 129th out of total 166 countries. Indonesia (106), Sri Lanka (116), Sudan (122), Bhutan (123), Kenya (124) are ranked above India.
•India is categorized in the Least Connected Countries Group of 42 countries that fall within the low IDI group.
•Also, Ministry of Information Technology and Broadcasting has a target of 175 million broadband connections by 2016 and 600 million by 2020.

World Heritage Day 2015 observed globally

18 April: World Heritage Day
World Heritage Day was observed across the world on 18 April 2015. The day is observed with an aim to create awareness among the people to conserve and protect the valuable assets and cultural heritage across the world.

The day marks the necessity of protecting the historical monuments and sites located in every part of the world by making collective efforts at international level.

About the World Heritage Day
The first world Heritage Day was celebrated on 18 April 1982 by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in Tunisia and was approved in 1983 by UNESCO.

The 2015 World Heritage Day also marked 50th anniversary of ICOMOS.

ICOMOS was created at the Second Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings, held in Venice in 1964, which adopted 13 resolutions, the first being the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, better known as the Venice Charter, and the second, put forward by UNESCO.

Maharashtra Government decided to discontinue Guard of Honour to ministers

The State Government of Maharashtra on 18 April 2015 decided to discontinue the colonial-era practice under which police guard of honour was given to ministers and top officials. Government termed the practice as a waste of time and resources.

The directive will apply to all ministers and senior state officials. The guard of honour was given to ministers and officers during their district-level visits.

This practice of providing the guard of honour was reserved for the Governor Generals and Viceroys during the British age.

AP Government inked MoU with IISL Company to replace streetlights in 13 municipalities

Andhra Pradesh (AP) government on 17 April 2015 entered into a MoU with IISL Company. Under the MoU, IISL will replace the existing streetlights in 13 municipalities with LED lights and maintain them for seven years.

The agreement was signed by sate’s minister for municipal administration and urban development P. Narayana and representatives of the company at Amaravati, the new capital area.

All streetlights in all the municipal corporations and municipalities would be changed to LED lights in a phased manner. This move would help the state to reduce power consumption by 50 percent.