17-18 August 2016
Renowned Punjabi writer Gurdial Singh passes away
Prominent Punjabi writer and Jnanpith awardee Gurdial Singh passed away on 16 August 2016 in Bathinda, Punjab. He was 83.
Singh was known as a Spartan who has taken it all in his stridein the literary world.
About Gurdial Singh
•Gurdial Singh started his literary career in 1957 with a short-story titled Bhaganwale, which was published in Panj Daryamagazine.
•He became known as a novelist when he published the novel Marhi Da Deevain 1964.
• After Amrita Pritam, he is the second Punjabi writer to receive the Jnanpith Award.
•He has written ten novels, including Anhoe, Addh Chanani Raat, Anhe Ghore Da Daan,Parsaamong others.
•His novels Marhi Da Deevaand Addh Chanani Raathave been translated into English asThe Last Flickerand Night of the Half Moonrespectively.
•He was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975.
•In 1998, he was honoured with the Padma Shri.
•In 2000, he was awarded with the Jnanpith Literary Award 2000.
Prominent Malayalam script writer TA Rasaq passes away
Prominent Malayalam script writer TA Rasaq passed away on 15 August 2016 in Kochi following a brief illness. He was 58.
He had worked for more than thirty films in Malayalam beginning from 1991.
About TA Rasaq
• He was born in Thurakkal near Kondotty town in Malappuram in April 1958.
• He started his career with the film Vishnulokam directed by noted filmmaker Kamal in 1991.
• He won the state film award for best screenplay and story in 1996 for the film Kanakkinavu.
• He also won state film awards for best stories in 2002 and 2004 for the films Ayirathil Oruvan and Perumazhakkalam respectively.
• Rappakal, Bus Conductor , Vesham Nadodi, Gazal, Thalolam, Sneham Saphalayam, etc are other major screen writings by Rasaq.
A R Rahman honoured with Tamil Ratna Award
Noted music composer A.R. Rahman on 15 August 2016 was honoured by the Tamil Ratna Award.
The award was presented by New York based Tamil Sangam.
Rahman was bestowed with the honour after his concert at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) chamber.
Rahman was invited at the UNGA to perform a concert to honour M.S. Subbulakshi, the doyen of Carnatic music. The concert was sponsored by India's UN Mission and Sankara Nethralaya, a Chennai-based charity organisation.
The previous recipients of Tamil Ratna Award include Tamil movie director Bharathi Raja, Bharatha Natyam exponent Kamala Lakshman and Srinivasa Varadhan, the winner of the Abel Prize for mathematics.
About A.R. Rahman
•A.R. Rahman's works are noted for integrating Eastern classical music with electronic music, world music and traditional orchestral arrangements.
•His body of work for film and stage has earned him the nickname of the Mozart of Madras.
•In 2009, Time included him on its list of the world's most influential people.
•The UK-based world-music magazine Songlines named him one of Tomorrow's World Music Iconsin August 2011.
•In 2009, he won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Original Song, the latter shared with Gulzar) at the 81st Academy Awards.
•He has also won two Grammy Awards: Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for Visual Media.
•His work in 127 Hours won him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations (Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song) in 2011.
Union Government launched Smart Ganga City Scheme in 10 cities
Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti and Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on 13 August 2016 launched Smart Ganga City Scheme.
The scheme was launched in 10 ten important cities through video conference. These cities are –
1.Haridwar
2. Rishikesh
3. Mathura-Vrindavan
4. Varanasi
5. Kanpur
6.Allahabad
7. Lucknow
8.Patna
9.Sahibgunj
10.Barrackpore
These cities were chosen as part of the Phase-I of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for infrastructure development for sewage treatment.
The projects in these selected cities will be executed on hybrid annuity mode based on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Unilever Plc acquires Swedish firm Blueair
Unilever, the parent company of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), on 16 August 2016 acquired Swedish firm Blueair for an undisclosed sum. Blueair is a leading player in mobile air purification technology.
With this deal, Unilever will make its foray in air purification, a move that will complement its existing water purification business.
However, Blueair will continue to operate under its existing brand name in all its markets in Sweden, China, the U.S., Japan, South Korea and India. This acquisition will help widen the reach of Blueair purifiers.
About Blueair
• Blueair is one of the largest makers of premium air purifiers in China, the US, Japan, South Korea and India.
• Blueair was unveiled 20 years ago with the mission to start a clean air revolution by bringing people the world’s best air purifiers.
• Blueair’s air purifying products remove up to 99.97 percent of all contaminants from the air, including hazardous sooty particles, allergens and viruses.
• It launched its operations in India in May 2015 and aims to make India one of its top three markets globally in five years.
India’s first bio-CNG plant inaugurated in Pune
India’s first bio-CNG plant was on 13 August 2016 inaugurated in Pune, Maharashtra.
The plant was jointly inaugurated by Union Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari and Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Key features of the plant
• It was commissioned by the city-based Primove Engineering Private Limited.
• It will use agricultural residue to generate compressed natural gas (CNG) that can be used in automobiles as fuel.
• The technology involves treating the waste with a special bacterial solution, after which the gas so generated is cleaned and compressed for use in vehicles.
• It was set up as a Proof of Concept (PoC) which can be replicated elsewhere.
• It was built at a cost of 4.5 crore rupees. Further it needs investment to the tune of 15 crore rupees to complete the 5-tonne standalone plant.
• There are examples of use of bio-CNG as automobile fuel in Europe but this would be for the first time such a technology will be deployed in India.
• This technology solves the twin problem of disposal of agricultural waste and dependence on imported transport fuels.
Shashi Shekhar Committee on World Culture Festival of AOL submitted report to NGT
The Shashi Shekhar Committee was in news in the third week of August 2016 as the NGT directed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AOL) to submit its response within three weeks on the inspection report.
The report of the expert committee dealt with the damage caused to the Yamuna flood plains due to the World Culture Festival.
The festival was organised by the AOL in March 2016 along the River Yamuna in New Delhi.
The inspection report of the committee concluded that the event has caused damage to the riverbed.
Background
• The 5-member committee was formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the wake of allegations that the festival caused extensive damage to the biodiversity and aquatic life of Yamuna.
• The committee is headed by Shashi Shekhar, Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and consisted of expert members from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
• The committee was asked to quantify the damage and furnish a tentative cost for restoration of the area within 45 days.
• So far, the AOL foundation had deposited 4.75 crore rupees as "environment compensation" with Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as directed by NGT for damaging Yamuna's biodiversity during the festival.
CLRI scientist P Shanmugam awarded with APJ Abdul Kalam award
Central Leather Research Institute's (CLRI) Principal Scientist P Shanmugam on 15 August 2016 bagged the APJ Abdul Kalam Award for his meritorious services in the Higher Education Department of Tamil Nadu.
The award consists of a certificate, 5 lakh rupees cheque and a 8 gram gold medal.
Other Awards and Awardees
• The state government also bestowed the Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise to Jayanthi from Namakkal District.
• On the other hand, Chief Minister's Best Practices Award was presented to Thanjavur District Collector N Subbaiyan and Superintendent of Police Mayilvahanan.
• Tamil Nadu Rural Development Minister S P Velumani and Principal Secretary of Rural Development Hansraj Verma received the award for solid waste management in rural areas.
• State Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar and Revenue Department, Prinicipal Secretary B Chandramohan received the award in the field of online patta transfer.
• Dindigul Corporation received the Best Corporation Award.
• Pattukottai Municipality received the Best Municipality First Prize while Perambalur Municipality bagged the second prize.
• The Chief Minister's State Youth Award was presented to K Masha Nazeem in women's category while in Men's category, P Ruban Santhosh bagged the award.
Najma Heptullah appointed as Governor of Manipur
Former Union Minister Najma Heptullah was on 17 August 2016 appointed as the Governor of Manipur. With this, Heptullah will be the 18th Governor of the state.
Before her appointment, V Shamuganathan, the Governor of Meghalaya, was looking after the state of Manipur since September 2015.
Heptullah had resigned from the Union Ministry on 12 July 12 2016 as she completed 75 years of age.
Other Appointments
• Banwarilal Purohit was appointed as the Governor of Assam.
• VP Singh Badnore was made the Governor of Punjab.
• Prof Jagdish Mukhi was named Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in place of Lt Gen (Retd) AK Singh.
18August
Simone Biles wins gold in Floor Exercise event at Rio Olympics
Simone Biles of USA on 16 August 2016 won gold in the Floor Exercise event at Rio Olympics.
The 19-year-old gymnast performed a tumbling routine on the floor, scoring an incredibly high score of 15.966.
With this, Biles has captured her fourth gold in the Olympics. She has also become one of five women to win four medals at a single Olympics in gymnastics.
American Alexandra Raisman won silver with 15.500 Great Britain’s Amy Tinkler won bronze with a score of 14.933 in the event.
On 9 August 2016, Biles won her first Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics team event. On 11 August 2016, she won the gold medal individual all-around. In the women's vault, she won her second individual gold medal with a score of 15.966. In the women's balance beam final, she grabbed bronze.
About Simone Biles
• Simone Biles is an American artistic gymnast.
• She is a three-time world all-around champion from 2013 to 2015), three-time world floor champion from 2013 to 2015, two-time world balance beam champion from 2014 to 2015, four-time United States national all-around champion from 2013 to 2016.
• She ranks as the most decorated American gymnast.
• She is the first female gymnast since Ecaterina Szabo in 1984 to win four Olympic gold medals at one Games and only the fifth overall, after Larisa Latynina, Agnes Keleti, Vera Caslavska and Szabo.
• She is the first female gymnast since Lilia Podkopayeva in 1996 to win an all around gold and an event final gold.
• She is the first American gymnast ever to win the grand slam of all-around titles: U.S. National Championships, World Championships, World Cup (American Cup) and Olympics.
Purav Raja and Divij Sharan win Los Cabos Open Men’s Doubles title
India's tennis doubles pair of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan on 16 August 2016 clinched the Abierto Mexicano Los Cabos title in Mexico.
The duo defated Israel's Jonathan Erlich and England's Ken Skupski by a score of 7-6(4), 7-6(3).
Individually, Raja was appearing in his third career ATP World Tour final, while Sharan was contesting his second. They earn 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split 38940 US dollar in prize money.
About Los Cabos Open
• The Los Cabos Open is a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts.
• It is a part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour.
• The year 2016 marks the inaugural edition of the Los Cabos Open.
• Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic is the winner of the Los Cabos Open Singles title. He defeated Spain’s Feliciano Lopez by a score of 7–6(5), 6–2.
Assam Assembly passes Assam Amusements and Betting Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016
The Assam Assembly on 13 August 2016 passed the Assam Amusements and Betting Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
This bill will reduce the service charge of cinema tickets with an aim to boost to the local film industry. The government, however, raised the entertainment tax on cinema tickets by up to ten percentile points.
Provisions of the Bill
• The government proposed to make service charge 8 rupees per ticket for the halls without air conditioning system and 12 rupees for the halls with air conditioning system with back-up generator.
• The government also advised to increase the entertainment tax to 20 per cent from 15 per cent at present for entry charges between 5 rupees and 20 rupees per ticket.
• There will be no entertainment tax if the entry charge is 5 rupees or less.
• It raised the government tax to 30 percent on service charge from the existing 20 percent.
• It proposes to fix the service charge at a maximum of 12 rupees per ticket, which is as high as 40 rupees at present.
• A cess of 1 rupee will be levied on each ticket for creating a welfare fund for film and theatre sectors.