17-18 feb 2015 eng
17feb
Tsunami advisory issued in Japan after 6.9 earthquake
The Japan Meteorological Agency on 17 February 2015 issued a tsunami advisory for a possible 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami along the coast of Iwate prefecture.
The tsunami advisory was issued following a 6.9-magniture earthquake that struck the northern part of the country.
The meteorological agency said that the quake struck in the Pacific some 210 kilometres (130 miles) east of Miyako, Iwate at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles).
Earlier in 2011, large areas of the coastline were damaged by the quake and tsunami that killed more than 18000 people and triggered a nuclear accident in Fukushima.
India, Sri Lanka signed agreements on Civil Nuclear Cooperation, Cultural Cooperation
India and Sri Lanka on 16 February 2015 signed bilateral agreements on civil nuclear cooperation, cultural cooperation and cooperation in the field of Agriculture. Besides, an agreement was also signed for Sri Lanka's participation in the Nalanda University Project.
India and Sri Lanka also agreed to expand defence and strategic cooperation, including a trilateral format with the Maldives.
The agreement was signed during Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena four-day visit to India.
Agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation
• This agreement will facilitate the transfer and exchange of knowledge, expertise and resources in peaceful use of Nuclear energy between both nations.
• India will assist Sri Lanka in developing its civil nuclear energy infrastructure including training of personnel in peaceful use of nuclear energy, use of radioisotopes, nuclear safety, radiation safety and nuclear security.
• It will also facilitate cooperation in radioactive waste management and nuclear and radiological disaster mitigation and environmental protection.
• This is the first such agreement signed by Sri Lanka.
Other Agreements
• The agreement on Cultural cooperation was signed between both the nations for the years 2015-18. It seeks to enhance cooperation in different fields like arts, visuals arts, cultural documentation, archaeology, handicrafts, etc.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on establishment of Nalanda University. It will enable Sri Lanka to participate in India’s Nalanda University project.
• Another MoU was signed between both the nations on cooperation in the field of Agriculture. It will facilitate bilateral cooperation in Agro Processing, Agricultural extension, horticulture, agricultural machinery, training in farm mechanization, livestock diseases, etc.
Comment
The agreement on civil nuclear cooperation between India and Sri Lanka may prove to be a game changer in the South Asia region and is a sign of a closer strategic partnership between Sri Lanka’s government led by Srisena and India.
Also, Srisena making his first official visit to India after becoming the President signifies the importance which the new government in Sri Lanka attaches to India as a regional ally following years of uneasy relations with India.
Further, this is a good sign for stronger and healthy ties between the two countries, especially given India's growing fear of China's proximity to Sri Lanka, which is perceived as a security threat for India.
Punit Renjen appointed as CEO of Deloitte’s Global Operations
Punit Renjen was on 16 February 2015 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited's Global Operations with effect from 1 June 2015.
Renjen will succeed Barry Salzberg. Currently, he is serving as Deloitte group's US business Chairman and CEO.
With this appointment, Renjen will be the first Indian-origin person to head a Big-Four audit firm. The other three firms in Big-Four group are PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and KPMG.
Renjen has rich and wide experience of 27 years with Deloitte and has held a number of leadership positions, including chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Renjen will join a growing rank of Indians who head global corporations and financial institutions including PepsiCo Inc’s Indra Nooyi, Microsoft Corp’s Satya Nadella, Deutsche Bank’s Anshu Jain and MasterCard Inc’s Ajay Banga.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited is US based accounting giant which is present across 150 countries including India and employs over two lakh people.
• Deloitte is one of the Big-Four professional services firm that provides audit, tax, consulting, enterprise risk and financial advisory services.
• In India, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited operates through offices in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Pune.
UNSC approved resolution targeting sources of financing for ISIS, Al-Nusrah Front
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 12 February 2015 unanimously adopted a resolution to choke off the source of financing for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Nusrah Front (ANF).
ISIS and ANF earn millions of dollars from oil smuggling, antiquities trafficking and ransom payments.
The resolution was sponsored by Russia and was adopted unanimously by all the 193 member states.
Main Highlights of the Resolution
• The resolution adopted by the Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which authorizes the use of force, condemned any engagement in direct or indirect trade, in particular of oil and oil products, and modular refineries, with ISIL, ANF and Al-Qaida affiliates.
• The resolution calls for sanctions against individuals, groups, undertakings and entities that trade in oil these groups.
• The resolution also condemned the destruction and smuggling of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria by ISIS and ANF.
• It called all Member States to take appropriate steps to prevent the trade in such properties illegally removed from Iraq since 6 August 1990 and from Syria since 15 March 2011.
• The resolution also called on the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assist the member states in such efforts under UNESCO’s 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
The resolution was called on in the wake of a spate of some vicious killings which includes beheading of a Japanese journalist and the immolation of a Jordanian pilot by ISIL in the past two weeks.
France signed an agreement with Egypt for sale of 24 Rafale fighter plane
France on 16 February 2015 signed a 5.2-billion-euro (5.9 billion US dollar) agreement with Egypt for the first foreign sale of its Rafale fighter plane. As per the deal, France will supply 24 Rafale fighters to Egypt.
The deal was signed at the Presidential palace in Cairo in presence of French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The deal will enhance the Egypt’s military capability to tackle the jihadists more efficiently and add more fire power to the air strikes conducted by Egypt following the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by ISIS in Libya.
The deal to supply 24 Rafale fighter planes is part of overall deal that includes three contracts with Egypt. The other two contracts are supplying an FREMM multi-mission frigate from naval group DCNS, and missiles.
Besides, the two countries also issued a joint statement calling for a UN Security Council meeting on the threat from Libya and urging the international community to take new measures. The joint statement was issued by France’s President Francois Hollande and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The signing of deal is a show of support by France for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew his Islamist predecessor in 2013 and wants to break a US monopoly over Egypt's arms supplies.
Sale of Rafale fighter planes to get a boost
The deal is also expected to act as a catalyst to unblock sale of Rafale fighter planes to other countries. This is because attempts to sell the Rafale jets to countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Morocco, Switzerland and Brazil did not fructify as Rafale lost to its foreign competitors.
The deal with India for 126 Rafale jets worth 12 billion euros is going at a slow pace because India wants some of the jets manufactured at home in a bid to boost manufacturing.
French actor Louis Jourdan passed away
French actor Louis Jourdan passed away on 14 February 2015 in Los Angeles, United States following a brief illness. He was 93.
Louis Jourdan began his acting career in French films and later acted in the Hollywood films. However, his early career in France was interrupted by Second World War as he had refused to star in Nazi propaganda films and joined the resistance.
He was best known for his roles in several Hollywood films including The Paradine Case (1947), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), The Best of Everything (1959), The VIPs (1963) and Octopussy (1983).
He was famously known for his role in the multi-Oscar winning musical film Gigi of 1958. Jourdan had sang title tune of film Gigi. He also played the role of evil villain in many films including in the 1983 Bond film Octopussy.
Saurav Ganguly awarded Honorary Life Membership of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on 13 February 2015 awarded Honorary Life Membership to the former Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly. He has been a member of the MCC World Cricket committee since July 2014.
Ganguly, affectionately called Dada and the Prince of Calcutta, retired from all forms of international cricket in 2012 after playing for India for 16 long years.
He debuted for India in 1996 at the Lord’s against England and went on to score 131-run in first innings of his test debut. The knock at the Lord’s helped him to etch his name on the famous Lord’s Honours Board in process.
His captaincy during Nat-West series Final at Lords in 2002, in which India defeated England to win the series, is regarded as the greatest ever match played at Lord’s.
About Saurav Ganguly
• Ganguly in his 16 years of play made 7212 runs at an average of 42.17 in Tests and 11363 runs at an average of 41.02 in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
• He also took 132 wickets across 424 matches in both Tests and ODIs
• He captain Indian cricket team in 195 international matches between 2000 and 2006 and led India into the 2003 World Cup final, where India was defeated by Australia
• He retired from ODIs in 2007, Tests in 2008 and from all formats of International cricket in 2012.
• He was awarded with the Padma Shri in 2004 and Banga Bibhushan Award of West Bengal government in 2013.
Other Indian cricketers to receive Honorary Life Membership of MCC
There are now more than 300 Honorary Life Members of MCC out of a total Full Membership of 18000. Other Indian cricketers who have received the Honorary Life Membership include N.J. ontractor (1969), RF Surti (1978), MV Chandgadkar (1978), AL Wadekar (1978), CG Borde (1981), FM Engineer (1981), RG Nadkarni (1981), BS Bedi (1982), BS Chandrasekhar (1982), EAS Prasanna (1984), S Venkataraghavan (1988), GR Viswanath (1990), M Amarnath (1993), SM Gavaskar (1993), DB Vengsarkar (1993), Kapil Dev (1995), SMH Kirmani (1995), RJ Shastri (1995), J Dalmiya (1997), KS More (1999), Rahul Dravid (2008), Anil Kumble (2008), Sachin Tendulkar (2010) and Saurav Ganguly (2015).
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is the world’s most active cricket club and is owned by the owner of Lord’s Ground and the guardian of the Laws of the game. It was founded in 1787 and is recognised as the sole authority on the Laws of Cricket since its foundation and it moved to its current home at Lord’s in 1814.
Honorary Life Membership is awarded by the MCC Committee to individuals in recognition of the service they have given to the cricket and projects surrounding the game, often over a very long period.
India signed Grant Agreement of 8 million US dollars with World Bank for funding SLACC Project
India on 13 February 2015 signed grant agreement of 8 million US dollars with World Bank (WB) for funding Sustainable Livelihoods and Adaptation to Climate Change (SLACC) Project.
The amount will be used to implement special projects under SLACC to improve adaptive capacity of the rural poor engaged in farm-based livelihoods to climate change in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
This grant is in addition to National Adaptation Fund(NAF) set up by the Union government in 2014 for which 100 crore rupees were set aside for taking up agriculture adaptation measures.
Besides, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had started the process of selecting agencies for implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation projects using the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
GCF is a global fund set up under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010. The fund targets to be 100 billion US dollar by 2020. It is meant to assist developing countries in promoting low-emission and climate-resilient development.
About SLACC Project
SLACC project aims to improve the adaptive capacity of the rural poor to climate variability and change affecting farm based livelihoods, through community based interventions.
The key beneficiaries of SLACC project will be the rural-poor supported by the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) including, self-help groups of women and their federations, common interest/producer groups such as farmers’ groups, livestock rearers’ groups, and their higher order collectives such as producer companies.
NRLM under the Union Ministry of Rural Development is the implementing agency of the SLACC Project.
Ancient Vishnu idol found in Punjab's Tran Taran
An ancient idol of Lord Vishnu dating back probably to the 7th century AD was unearthed in a field at Algon Kothi village in Bhikhiwind town of Tarn Taran district of Punjab on 14 February 2015.
The statue is surrounded by 21 other deities on a lotus flower base. It also showcases Demi-goddesses Ganga and Yamuna from its head and lions are depicted near its feet.
The idol was discovered during digging a field by a local resident Suba Singh.
It seems that the four feet high and weighing around 400 kilogram idol belongs to the era of King Harshvardhana (590-647AD).
After discovery, the idol was handed over to the authorities of the local Shiva temple, who placed it inside the place of worship.
Ministry of Urban Development partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies for Smart Cities Initiative
Union Ministry of Urban Development partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies to advance the Smart Cities Initiative of the Union Government.
The partnership was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg on 16 February 2015.
Under the partnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide funds and other assistance on continuous basis to the Union Ministry of Urban Development to implement the Smart Cities project in select cities.
Prime Minister’s Smart Cities Initiative
The Smart Cities Initiative is a historic effort undertaken by the Union Government to promote economic growth, improve governance, and deliver more effective and efficient public services to urban residents of India by involving stakeholder's participation.
This approach is different from the conventional approach wherein Detailed Project Reports were prepared and thereafter it required appraisal and approval by the Union Government.
The approach is different in the sense that it will make happen the engagement of real citizens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualize the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism.
Dosmoche festival celebrated in Ladakh
Dosmoche festival was celebrated with religious and traditional fervor in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir in the third week of February 2015. The festival was celebrated with a week-long period of prayers and ritual at Liker monastery.
It is celebrated to mark the victory over evil forces and also to evade any natural disaster in the year ahead.
Dosmoche festival is a social and religious fair and was instituted by the Kings of Ladakh on the pattern of the famous Mon-Lam or Great Prayer ceremony of Lhasa. The festival is widely celebrated at the majestic Leh palace in Leh town and Liker monastery in lower Ladakh.
Dosmoche that is celebrated in half of February is one of the two New Year festivals of Ladakh region, the other is Losar.
Former Home Minister of Maharashtra Raosaheb Ramrao Patil died
Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, former Home Minister of Maharashtra and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, died on 16 February 2015 at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai after suffering from oral cancer. He was 57. Patil is survived by his mother, wife and two children.
Patil, popularly known as Aaba and RR in political circles, was originally from the Congress Party and had shifted to the NCP when his political mentor Sharad Pawar broke away to form a new party in 1999.
He was considered to be the eyes and ears of NCP founder-leader Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra, especially when the latter concentrated his efforts on strengthening the party at the national level.
Raosaheb Ramrao Patil
• Patil was a member of Sangli Zillah Parishad from 1979 to 1990 from Savlaj constituency.
• He was elected to the Maharashtra legislative assembly for consecutive 6 times in 1990, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 from Tasgaon-Kavthe Mahakal Constituency of Sangli district.
• He was the Chief Whip of the Congress Party in the Maharashtra legislative assembly as well as the chairman of the public accounts committee of the assembly in 1996-97 and 1998-99.
• He was Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from November 2004 to December 2008 during the NCP-Congress coalition government.
• He served twice as the Home Minister of Maharashtra, for the first time in December 2003-December 2008 and for second time in October 2009-September 2014.
• In 2005, he was instrumental in imposing the ban on dance bars in Maharashtra.
• He was the Maharashtra’s Home Minister when the the 26/11 terror attacks took place in Mumbai in 2008.
• He was also known for his pet project Sant Gadge Baba Swachata Abhiyan, which he undertook as Rural Development Minister in the State.
• He was born on 16 August 1957 in Anjani village of Sangli district in Maharashtra.
Faisal Siddiqui appointed as South Asia President of HTC
Faisal Siddiqui was on 16 February 2015 appointed as South Asia President of High-Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), Taiwanese smartphone maker. He succeeded Jack Yang, who left the company citing personal reasons.
With this, Siddiqui will lead the company in the region which includes India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and other emerging markets in Asia.
Currently, Faisal Siddiqui is Vice President and Head of HTC India. Siddiqui will continue to retain this position along with the new one.
Faisal Siddiqui has more than 18 years of experience in the industry and has been leading HTC’s India operations since 2011.
High-Tech Computer Corporation (HTC)
• Founded in 1997 by Cher Wang, H.T. Cho, and Peter Chou, HTC is a Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones and tablets headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
• HTC built its reputation as the designer and manufacturer of most popular OEM-branded mobile devices on the market.
• After initially making smartphones based mostly on Windows Mobile, HTC expanded its focus in 2009 to devices based on the Android and Windows Phone.
Cyclist Alberto Contador of Spain announced to retire from Cycling after 2016 season
Alberto Contador, the two-time Tour de France winner, on 16 February 2015 announced that he will retire from professional cycling after the 2016 season.
He announced his plan to retire at the presentation of the junior and under 23 Fundación Alberto Contador (Alberto Contador Foundation) at the Hotel Princess Eboli in his hometown of Pinto, Spain.
The 32-year-old Contador of Spain has won six Grand Tours in all during his career. He won the Tour de France in 2007 and 2009, the Giro d’Italia in 2008 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
Before retirement, Contador wants to win the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia in the same year. So far only seven cyclists have achieved the feat of winning both the tour in the same year.
The seven cyclists include Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Stephen Roche and Miguel Indurain. The last to win was Marco Pantani who won the two grand tours in 1998.
Creator of chocolate-like spread Nutella Michele Ferrero died
Billionaire Michele Ferrero died on 14 February 2015 in Monte Carlo, Monaco following a prolonged illness. He was 89.
Michele Ferrero was Italy’s richest man and the owner of a global chocolate and confectionery empire that was built on the popular Nutella spread.
It was Ferrero’s father Pietro Ferrero who laid the groundwork for the Nutella recipe by adding hazelnut to the mix to save money on cocoa. But it was Michele Ferrero who turned the paste into the Nutella now known across the world.
Ferrero group now produces around 365000 tonnes of Nutella every year in 11 factories around the world. The biggest market of Nutella is in Germany followed by France and Italy.
Other confectionary and chocolate brands that are produced by Ferrero Group include Mon Cheri, Kinder Chocolate, Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tacs and Kinder Eggs.
According to Forbes, Ferrero and his family were estimated to hold Italy’s biggest fortune at 23.4 billion US dollars, making him the 30th richest man in the world.
Union Ministry of Finance imposed Anti-dumping duty on imports of graphite electrodes
Union Ministry of Finance on 16 February 2015 imposed the anti-dumping duty on imports of graphite electrodes for five years. The imposed duty ranges between 278.19 US dollars and 922.03 US dollars per tonne.
With this move, government aims to protect the domestic industry from below-cost shipments of graphite electrodes. The graphite electrodes are used in melting of steel.
The decision was taken following the recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping Duty (DGAD).
Earlier, DGAD had conducted investigation into dumping following the petition filed by domestic manufacturers like HEG Limited and Graphite India Limited.
It said that the production, sales and capacity utilisation of the domestic industry declined in January 2012-December 2012 after a healthy growth during the previous years. While the imports increased substantially over the period from April 2009 to December 2012.
About Anti-Dumping Duty
Anti-Dumping Duty is the duty imposed by government on imported products which have prices less than their normal values or domestic price. It is imposed under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime and varies from product to product and from country to country.
In India, anti-dumping duty is recommended by the Union Ministry of Commerce while it is imposed by the Union Ministry of Finance.
Government is expected to be a responsible litigant: Central Information Commission
Central Information Commission (CIC) on 17 February 2015 ruled that the Governments, at both the Centre and State level, are expected to be a responsible litigant and not treat a citizen as opposite party or its rival.
The ruling was given by the Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu while hearing an appeal on disclosure of information on implementation of the National Litigation Policy 2010.
The Main Highlights of the Decision
- CIC questioned the Union Government whether it has any mechanism to examine each case before appealing against judgements given in favour of a citizen.
- Noting that State has become the biggest litigant over a period of time, CIC directed the Union Law Ministry to prepare a comprehensive note on status of implementation of National Litigation Policy 2010 and make it public.
- CIC also directed the ministry to provide the RTI applicant the certified copies of the relevant papers regarding progress of implementation of the policy and also periodical updating of this note after collecting necessary inputs from the states.
Commission’s view on responsible litigant
According to CIC, a responsible litigant means that
- litigation will not be resorted to for the sake of litigating;
- false pleas and technical points will not be taken and shall be discouraged;
- ensuring that the correct facts and all relevant documents will be placed before the court; and
- nothing will be suppressed from the court and there will be no attempt to mislead any court or tribunal.
Why the State has become the biggest litigant?
CIC opined that over a period of time State has become the biggest litigant because of State either fighting a citizen or its own department or taking every case into appeal instead of performing the duty of addressing development and welfare of the people, who challenged its actions.
18 feb
Veteran cartoonist Rajinder Puri passed away
Veteran cartoonist, columnist and political activist Rajinder Puri passed away on 15 February 2015 in New Delhi following a brief illness. He was 80.
Rajinder Puri was famously known for his cartoons that critiqued and assessed political events through amazing perception. He was associated with various newspapers including The Hindustan Times and The Statesman as a cartoonist and writer.
Recently, his column appeared in Outlook magazine.
Rajinder Puri
• Initially, Rajinder Puri drew cartoons for international daily The Statesman in 1956-57. Later he drew cartoons briefly for international newspapers like The Guardian and The Glasgow Herald (1958–59).
• Later, he was associated with Hindustan Times from 1959 to 1967. From 1972 to 1977, he was the editor and proprietor of Stir Weekly.
• Rajinder Puri authored many books which includes India 1969: a crisis of conscience (1971), India the wasted years: 1969-1975 (1975), Government that works and how! (1989), Recovery of India (1992), Bull’s Eye (2004).
• Rajinder Puri moved into politics in 1977 when he was General Secretary of the then Janata Party. Later he became the founder General Secretary of Lok Dal. Since 1988, he has not been attached to any political party.
• He was born on 20 September 1934 in Karachi (in undivided India) which is now in Pakistan.
India-US Relations Post-Obama Visit to India
The President of United States of America (USA) Barack Obama visited India from 25 January to 27 January 2015. He became the first American President to witness the Republic Day Parade 2015 as Chief Guest and also the first American sitting President to visit India twice.
The visit of the US President on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in September 2014 have created important positive momentum in the relations between the oldest and largest democracies of the world.
The visit saw signing of a series of bilateral agreements with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On 25 January 2015, both the countries released the Joint Statement titled Shared Effort; Progress for Alland pledged to translate their commitment of Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go of September 2014 into action throughSanjha Prayaas; Sab Ka Vikaas: Shared Effort; Progress For All.
Further they also released the Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region to promote peace, prosperity and stability in Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
Analysis of important outcomes from the Obama’s visit
Energy Cooperation and Climate Change
Ahead of this visit, the US made it clear that both energy cooperation and climate change would be on the agenda. Unsurprisingly, the first outcome was that the two countries had reached an agreement on climate change.
India had previously resisted the notion that developing countries who had contributed little to global greenhouse gas production in the past should place caps on current emissions at the behest of developed countries.
However, under the Narendra Modi-led NDA government the position of India seems to have partly revised.
India will expand its use of renewable energy and move toward joining an international deal on global warming that would see developed and less-developed countries alike cap emissions. Thus, under the agreement, the US will provide funding for renewable energy development in India.
The development is a coup for the United States, which had similar success with China late in 2014.
Alignment of India’s Act East Policy and the United States’ rebalance to Asia
This was embedded in the declaration of Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region. The strategic vision highlights the potential opportunities for India, the United States, and other Asia-Pacific countries to work closely to strengthen regional ties and promote peace and security in the region.
This was different from the joint statement of September 2014. In September 2014, both the countries had officially pronounced their joint support for the principle of the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and for resolving territorial disputes under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In the 2015 joint statement, neither the South China Sea nor UNCLOS makes an appearance. Rather the Joint Strategic Vision emphasises on promoting peace, prosperity and stability in Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
However, combined with the symbolism of Obama being the chief guest at Republic Day Parade and highlighting of the importance of the US – India – Japan trilateral relationship in the joint statement sends a particularly strong message to China.
Defence Technology Transfers
In September 2014, the two countries had agreed to treat each other at the same level as their closest partners on issues including defence technology transfers, trade, research, co-production, and co-development.
In this regard they unveiled the US – India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) which is poised to increase co-production, co-development and partnership in U.S.-India military-industrial matters.
The initiative is line with the Modi government’s plans to increase India’s defence self-sufficiency and increase the share of India’s military hardware that is manufactured on Indian soil.
Some of the hardware deals that were reached during the Obama visit to India includes the joint production of parts and systems of the Lockheed C-130 (which India operates), and RQ-11 Raven drones. India will take delivery of six additional C-130s through 2017.
Nuclear Energy and Civil Nuclear Liability
This issue had been on back burner for some time but it came to fore during the Obama’s visit. The US and India concluded a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2006 and, in 2008, India received a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, making it the only non-nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) compliant state to engage in normal nuclear commerce while maintaining an active nuclear weapons program.
However, India is yet to attract US suppliers to set up nuclear facilities on its soil due to civil liability regime in the form of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
To address this, Obama and Modi are exploring the possibility of an insurance pool that will, in theory, moderate the risk exposure for US suppliers and bring US nuclear suppliers into India.
Conclusion
Overall, this visit is a strong indicator that India-US ties will follow a positive trajectory over the course of this year. It’s been clear for some time now that the United States and India are strategically converging.
However, given India’s low standing on the list of US foreign policy priorities and latent skepticism about U.S. intentions in India, the pace of that convergence was sluggish. If Obama’s visit and Modi’s 2014 US visit are any indication, both countries are serious about making up for lost time.
Jawed Usmani sworn-in as Chief Information Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh
Former IAS officer Jawed Usmani was on 17 February 2015 sworn-in as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The oath of office and secrecy was administered by UP Governor Ram Naik at Raj Bhavan, Lucknow.
He was sworn-in to the office after he took voluntary retirement as Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Revenue.
Jawed Usmani was appointed as UP Chief Information Commissioner in November 2014. But during this appointment, he was the Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Board of Revenue which was not in conformity with the Right to Information Act, 2005.
According to the Right to Information Act, 2005, any person cannot be appointed to this statutory post while he/she is in government service.
Jawed Usmani is a 1978 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and he had served as Secretary in Union Coal Ministry and also served as Joint Secretary to several Prime Ministers including HD Deve Gowda, IK Gujral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.
In 2012, he had served as Chief Secretary in Uttar Pradesh.
Appointment of State Chief Information Commissioner
As per Chapter IV of Right to Information Act, 2005, the State Chief Information Commissioner is appointed by the Appointments Committee headed by the Chief Minister of the state.
The other members of the committee include the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and one Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.
The State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance.
They shall not be Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of any State or Union territory, as the case may be, or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
5th India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee meet held in Nay Pyi Taw
The 5th India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar on 17 February 2015.
India’s Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman co-chaired the meet with Myanmar’s Union Minister of Commerce U Win Myint.
During the meeting, the two nations committed towards strengthening mutually beneficial relationship especially in field of promoting two-ways investment, infrastructure development particularly to promote border trade, connectivity, agriculture, energy, skill and entrepreneurial development, pharmaceutical and people-to-people contacts.
Important Highlights of the Meeting
• Both the countries agreed to work together to remove the bottlenecks that hampers the bilateral trade and investment. The bottlenecks identified were lack of good connectivity, lack of banking arrangement both for regular and border trade.
• In context of bottlenecks, India offered to support Myanmar to develop infrastructure at the border trade points, upgrade trade training institutes in Yangon and provide training to Myanmar officials on World Trade Organisation (WTO) and international trade related issues.
• To promote bilateral trade, India offered to support subsidised direct shipping links between the two countries
• The two ministers also agreed to jointly inaugurate the land custom station in Zawkhatar, Mizoram at a mutually convenient date.
• Both sides also agreed to meet more often to ensure enhancement of bilateral trade and mutual cooperation to impart further momentum to overall strengthening of bilateral relations.
The next Joint Trade and Investment Forum will be held in Chennai. During this forum, Myanmar would organise a roadshow showcasing investment opportunities in Myanmar especially in the special economic zones.
3 Indians in the shortlisted 100 applicants for the one-way trip to Mars
Three Indian, two women and one man were among the shortlisted 100 applicants who were chosen for one-way trip to Mars under Mars One mission in the third week of February 2015. These Indians are Ritika Singh, Shradha Prasad and Taranjeet Singh Bhatia.
29-year-old Taranjeet Singh Bhatia is studying Doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. 29-year-old Ritika Singh an adventure sports lover who lives in Dubai and 19-year-old Shradha Prasad is from Palakkad, Kerala.
These 100 applicants (fifty men and fifty women) were selected from a pool of 202586 candidates who were looking for a one-way trip to Mars in 2024. The 100 selected candidates are from the US (39), Europe (31), Asia (16), Africa (7) and Oceania (7).
These shortlisted candidates will now appear in the next and third round of the Mars One Astronaut Selection Process to be conducted by the Netherlands-based non-profit organisation Mars One.
The third round will focus on composing team that can endure all the hardships of the permanent settlement on Mars. These selected candidates will receive their first shot at training in the copy of the Mars Outpost on Earth and will demonstrate their suitability to perform well in a team.
About Mars One Project
Mars One Project aims to set up a human colony on Mars and under the plan around 40 selected people will be sent to the red plant on a permanent basis. The finalists of the plan will be trained for seven years before being sent on the planet. The Mars One will start sending out four people at a time from 2024. The first troop will reach the red planet in 2025.
Before sending off humans on the planet in 2018, an initial unmanned lander will be sent to Mars with payloads including soil extractor and thin film solar demonstrator.
Reliance Communications and Twitter partnered for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCom) on 17 February 2015 inked a deal with micro blogging site Twitter to allow its subscribers to access it for free and stay connected and engaged during the six-week ICC World Cup 2015.
As per the deal, RCom customers can engage with players, commentators and celebrities, watch exclusive pictures and videos, remain updated with the latest scores without incurring any data charges.
Further the deal will allow customers without twitter accounts to access cricket-related tweets by logging on to www.rcom.co.in/cricket on their mobile phones throughout the duration of this global event between 13 February and 31 March 2015.
Apart from this, RCom also launched an exclusive Cricket Portal, ICCCWC2015.rcom.co.in. Reliance customers can download content related to the event like match highlights, commentary and behind the scene images from the portal.
First Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo, RE-Invest 2015, held in New Delhi
The first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo, also called RE-Invest 2015, was held in New Delhi from 15 February 2015 to 17 February 2015. The meet was organised by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as a follow-up to the Make in India initiative of the Prime Minister.
The central theme of RE-Invest is to attract large scale investments for the renewable energy sector in India.
The aim of the meet is to evolve innovative financial models for funding and to ensure the partnership of states and the Centre in harnessing renewable energy. Germany is the partner country for Re-Invest 2015.
Key highlights of Re-Invest 2015
• It showcased the Union Government’s commitment in the development and scaling up of renewable energy in a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable manner to meet the national energy requirement.
• It provided single platform to attract large scale investments for solar and wind power generation in India.
• On the occasion, 14 banks and financial institutions, 8 PSUs and private manufacturers, 15 private sector companies gave their Green Energy Commitments to the Ministers.
• Green Energy Commitments worth 266000 MW were received during the conference. 2800 delegates from 42 countries participated in the event.
• 200 global investors providing financing and investment solutions also participated. 9 states showcased their policy initiatives in the renewable energy sector.
Renewable Energy in India
At present, renewable energy contributes over 6 percent of the total power generated in India. Union government is planning to double its share to 12 percent with an investment of 100 billion US dollar over the next four-five years.
To increase the share of renewable energy, Union Government has revised the target of solar power generation from 20000 MW by 2022 to 100000 MW by 2020.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic sworn-in as President of Croatia
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was on 15 February 2015 sworn in as the President of Croatia. She is Croatia’s first female President and overall fourth President since Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
In January 2015 election run-off, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic defeated her left-wing predecessor Ivo Josipovic. In the election she had secured 50.5 percent of the votes while her predecessor Ivo Josipovic secured 49.5 percent votes.
The Croatian president has a largely ceremonial role and has a five-year term.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
• Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is member of Croatia’s politically conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.
• She was the first woman appointed as Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at North Atlantic Treaty organisation (NATO) and was in office from 2011 to 2014.
• Kitarovic was also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia from 2005 to 2008 and Croatia’s Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011.
Bihar State Cabinet approved the inclusion of Dusadh caste in Mahadalit category
Bihar State Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on 14 February 2015 approved a proposal of state SC/ST welfare department to include the Dusadh (Dhari and Dhadi) caste in the Mahadalit category.
With this approval, there is no Dalit community in Bihar as all Dalits are now categorised as Mahadalits in the State.
Dusadh caste is now eligible for welfare schemes meant for Mahadalits.
Census 2011 reports that Dalits constitute nearly 16 percent of Bihar’s 104 million population and had identified 21 of the 22 Dalit sub-castes as Mahadalits. Some of the mahadalit castes include Musahar, Bhuiyan, Dom, Chamar, Dhobi, Nat and others.
However, Dusadh was not included into the Mahadalit category in the census and was left behind from the Mahadalit category during the former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar when he constituted a Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission (Mahadalit commission) in 2007 and announced a special welfare programmes for them.
Present Chief Minister of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi is a Mahadalit and belongs to the Musahar community.
The State Cabinet, in addition to above proposal, also approved 8 other proposals. Some of them are:
• Nod to Bihar Journalists Pension Scheme 2015
• Sanction for over 300 crore rupees for Bailey Road flyover, a project started during Nitish Kumar’s tenure as CM.
Bollywood Actor Ashraful Haque passed away
Bollywood actor Ashraful Haque passed away on 17 February 2015 at a private hospital in Andheri East, Mumbai after suffering from Myelodysplastic Syndrome. He was 46. Haque is survived by his wife and a son.
Ashraful Haque was famously known for his roles in the movies Delhi Belly and Fukrey. The actor performed more than 30 Indian plays and acted in over approximately 30 films apart from his Telly Serials and Ad films.
He acted in movies like Company, Jungle, Calcutta Mail, Deewaar, Black Friday, Delhi Belly, Paan Singh tomar, Fukrey, etc. Haque graduated in Dramatics with specialization in Acting from National School of Drama, New Delhi in 1997.
He played the lead role in the national award-winning film The Lost Behrupiya in 2013.
RUAG Aerostructures, Tata Group signed a pact to supply components for Airbus 320
Europe-based RUAG Aerostructures and Tata Group firm TAL Manufacturing Solutions on 17 February 2015 signed a multi-year contract worth over 150 million US dollar.
Under the agreement, both the companies joined hands for the production and supply of aero structural components and sub-assemblies for Airbus 320 programme.
As part of the contract, TAL will manufacture and supply over 550 sheet metal components, machined parts and sub-assemblies to RUAG for Airbus A320 programme.
TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, is in commercial and defence aerospace manufacturing.
RUAG is a global supplier and integrator of components for civil and military aerospace applications and is based in Germany and Switzerland.
Lupin signed an agreement with Celon Pharma for developing generic version of asthma drug
Mumbai-based drug major Lupin on 17 February 2015 signed an agreement with Poland-based Celon Pharma to jointly develop a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair Diskus, a drug used to treat asthma.
Under the agreement, both the companies will jointly develop fluticasone/salmeterol dry powder inhaler (DPI) product which is a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair Diskus. But Celon will supply the product to Lupin for its commercialisation in the US, Canada, Mexico, and other key markets.
The collaboration is an important milestone in Lupin’s efforts to evolve its global inhalation pipeline. Lupin’s expertise in inhalation product development and commercialisation in the US and other markets will accelerate the development of generic Advair Diskus for global markets.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair Diskus had global sales of over 7 billion US dollar in fiscal year 2014-15.
For the development of inhalation product, Lupin has set up a dedicated centre of excellence for inhalation research in Florida and has been ramping up investments in niche and speciality therapies.
Celon Pharma’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director is Maciej Wieczorek whereas Lupin’s CEO is Vinita Gupta
Rahul Kaiche became first cardiac surgeon in Maharashtra to use titanium plates for coronary surgery
Dr Rahul Kaiche on 17 February 2015 became first cardiac surgeon in Maharashtra and second surgeon in India to use titanium plates for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) surgery. He is a cardiac surgeon at Wockhardt hospital in Nashik.
He used the titanium plates instead of the traditionally used wires for sternal closure in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) surgery. The surgery was performed at the charitable Saibaba hospital in Shirdi.
He used the innovative technique of using titanium plates for closing the mamory sternum bone on a 64 years patient Bashir Sayyed Noor. For this, he used 2 H shaped and one U shaped titanium plates fitted with titanium screws.
Advantages of titanium plates in sternal closure
• This modern technology already in use in the USA was introduced in India since the past three months. The technology has numerous advantages over traditional method.
• The H shaped titanium plates sustain the pressure due to coughing or weight of the patient in a better manner over the traditionally used wires.
• Titanium plates give more stability to chest bone as compared to routine wires or bands.
• The incidence of sternal infection is also reduced with this technique.
• Also the titanium plates are Magnetic Resource Imaging (MRI) friendly and the patient can undergo an MRI if needed, a limitation in case of steel wires.