17-18 MAY 2016
South Korean author Han Kang wins 2016 Man Booker International Prize for 'The Vegetarian'
South Korean author, Han Kang, on 16 May 2016 won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel 'The Vegetarian'.
The prize ceremony was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London Han is the first South Korean to win the prize. The writer and her British translator will share the 72000 Dollar prize money. The book was translated by Deborah Smith.
About the novel 'The Vegetarian'
• The novel tells a story of a wife who decides to become a vegetarian.
• Her decision provokes cruelty from her husband and her father.
• She also faces obsession from her sister’s husband, as the woman, Yeong-hye, dreams obsessively about becoming a tree.
Han Kang
• Han Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea, and moved to Seoul at the age of ten.
• She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University.
• Her writing has won the Yi Sang Literary Prize, the Today's Young Artist Award, and the Korean Literature Novel Award.
• The Vegetarian, her first novel to be translated into English, was published by Portobello Books in 2015.
• Human Acts was published by Portobello books in 2016.
• She currently teaches creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts.
The novel was picked unanimously by the panel of five judges, beating six other novels including "The Story of the Lost Child" by Italian sensation Elena Ferrante and "A Strangeness in My Mind" by Turkey's Orhan Pamuk.
Judging panel chairman Boyd Tonkin said Han Kang's work was unforgettably powerful and original.
Survey commissioned by the Man Booker International prize in first week of May 2016 found that translated literary fiction is selling better on average in the UK than literary fiction originally written in English.
The Man Booker Prize
• The Man Booker Prize was established in 1969.
• The Man Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world.
• The winner receives 50000 pound as well as the 2500 pound awarded to each of the shortlisted authors.
• Both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus an increase in book sales.
• It has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades.
Justice Deepak Gupta sworn-in as Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court
Justice Deepak Gupta on 16 May 2016 was sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
Chhattisgarh Governor Balram Das Tandon administered the oath of office to Justice Gupta at a function at Raj Bhawan in Raipur.
Justice Gupta earlier served as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court.
Who is Justice Deepak Gupta?
•Justice Deepak Gupta was born on 7 May 1955 in Nurpur in Kangra District in a family of lawyers.
•He received his Law degree from the Delhi University in 1978.
•He started practicing in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh from 1978 and continued till 2004.
•He was elevated as Judge of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and was administered the oath of office on 4 October 2004.
•He remained Acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court twice.
•He took oath as the first Chief Justice of Tripura High Court on 23 March 2013.
India, US held first Maritime Security Dialogue
India and the United States (US) on 16 May 2016 held the first round of discussions under the recently-constituted Maritime Security Dialogue. The dialogue was held between the officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries and their US counterparts.
The Indian side was represented by Shambhu Kumaran, Joint Secretary in-charge of Planning and International Cooperation (PIC) and Munu Mahawar, Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary, Americas (AMS).
While, David Shear, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs; Manpreet Anand, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and Vice Admiral Aucoin, Commander, US Seventh Fleet, were the officials from the American side.
Highlights of the Maritime Security Dialogue
• Both the sides discussed various issues including Asia-Pacific maritime challenges, naval cooperation, and multilateral engagement.
• They also agreed for the white shipping technical arrangement to improve data sharing on commercial shipping traffic.
• Navy-to-Navy discussion on submarine safety and anti-submarine warfare was also undertaken.
When was the Dialogue constituted?
• The dialogue was one of the several new initiatives agreed between Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter during the latter’s visit to India in April 2016.
• It was created as a part of the maritime security objectives under the India-US Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.
Comment
The newly constituted Maritime Security Dialogue between India and US is a sign of the growing relations between our two countries.
The dialogue comes as India and the US are cautiously eyeing the rise of China. The US wants its regional allies to adopt a more united stance against China over the South China Sea, where tension has spiked since China's construction of artificial islands with facilities for military use.
Even though US wants it, India had flatly refused to conduct joint naval patrols in areas including the South China Sea where Beijing has maritime disputes with several neighbours.
Women Archers Deepika, Bombayla, Laxmirani named for 2016 Rio Olympics
A three-member Indian women's archery team comprising Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi was on 16 May 2016 named for the Rio Olympics.
The women's trio will compete in the individual events as well as team event at the Rio Games in August 2016.
India's women archers earned three individual berths and a team quota by virtue of the team's performance at the World Championships in Copenhagen in 2015.
Process of selection for Rio Olympics
• Archery Association of India (AAI) selected Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi to represent India in the games.
• During a series of selection trails, they underwent rigorous six stages of selection trials and training.
• The selection process was started in January 2016 in Jamshedpur, then at Delhi and finally in Bengaluru.
Apart from this, the AAI also announced a three-member men’s team consisting Jayanta Talukdar, Atanu Das, Mangal Singh Champia for the third stage World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, to be held from 12 June to 19 June 2016. This selection was done in order to have a shot at Olympic berths. India has earned one individual spot for the Olympics in men's archery during the World Championships in 2015.
5 Indians posthumously awarded with Dag Hammarskjold Medal of UN
The United Nations in the third week of May 2016 announced that four Indian peacekeepers and a civilian will be honoured along with other 124 personnel with a prestigious U.N. medal.
Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik,Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh Kumarand Gagan Punjabiwill be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal awarded posthumously.
The 124 personnel will be honoured on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The day, observed annually on 29 May, will be commemorated this year on 19 May.
About Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav
•Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav served in the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
•He made the supreme sacrifice in April 2015.
About Rifleman Manish Malik
•Rifleman Manish Malik also served in the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
•He died in August 2015 during the mission.
About Havildar Amal Deka
•Havildar Amal Deka served in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
•He died in June 2015.
About Naik Rakesh Kumar
•Naik Rakesh Kumar served in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
•He died in January 2015.
About Gagan Punjabi
•Gagan Punjabi was serving in MONUSCO in a civilian capacity under the U.N. Volunteers programme and died in an incident in January 2015.
About Dag Hammarskjöld Medal
•The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal is a posthumous award given by the United Nations to military personnel, police or civilians who lose their lives while serving in a UN peacekeeping operation.
•The medal is named after Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in September 1961.
•On 22 July 1997, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1121, in which it established the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal.
•The first medals were awarded in October 1998.
World Bank approved 625 Million US dollars support for Rooftop Solar Program in India
The World Bank Board on 13 May 2016 approved a 625 million US dollars loan to support the India’s program to generate electricity from widespread installation of rooftop solar photo-voltaic (PV).
The Board also approved a co-financing loan of 120 million US dollars on concessional terms and a 5 million US dollars grant from Climate Investment Fund’s (CIF) Clean Technology Fund.
Highlights of IBRD-CIF loan of World Bank
• This IBRD-CIF loan has been designed to tackle a number of these barriers.
• It will support a number of solar PV business models, to expand the reach of rooftop PV systems to a variety of customer groups.
• The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 19.5 year grace period, and a maturity of 20 years.
• Loan from CIF’s Clean Technology Fund has a 10 year grace period and a maturity of 40 years.
Highlights of India's Rooftop Solar Project
• The project will finance the installation of at least 400 MW of Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (GRPV) across India.
• The solar PV installations will provide clean, renewable energy and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing thermal generation.
• The project will be implemented by the State Bank of India (SBI). SBI will on-lend funds to solar PV developers/aggregators and end-users.
• Financing will be provided to those with sound technical capacity, relevant experience and creditworthiness as per SBI standards.
Why there is the need of Rooftop Solar PV systems in India?
Frequent energy shortages and high cost of backup supply in India are the reasons behind the need of rooftop solar PV systems.
Until now, those who wanted to install solar rooftop PV systems had to pay the full cost up-front. Aided by government policy and declining costs, rooftop solar has the potential to transform the energy sector. The overall potential demand for rooftop solar is estimated at about 124000 MW.
Position of Electricity grid of India
• India is one of the lowest per capita consumers of electricity in the world.
• Over 200 million people remain unconnected to the electricity grid, and those who are, they continue to face frequent disruptions.
• Power shortages also affect industrial output with many industries and manufacturers relying on expensive and polluting diesel-based back-up power supplies.
Justice Tinlianthang Vaiphei sworn in as acting Chief Justice of Tripura High Court
Justice Tinlianthang Vaiphei on 16 May 2016 was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Tripura High Court. He was administered the oath of office by the Governor Tathagata Roy at the Raj Bhavan in Agartala.
At present Vaiphei is the Acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. He replaced Deepak Kumar Gupta, who was transferred as the chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
Vaiphei was appointed as an Additional Judge in the Gauhati High Court in July 2003. He was elevated as the Chief Justice (Acting) in October 2015.
About Tripura High Court
• It is the High Court of the state of Tripura. It was established in March 2013.
• Prior to the establishment, a bench of the Gauhati High Court used to have jurisdiction over the state.
• The seat of the High Court is at Agartala, the capital of Tripura.
• Deepak Gupta worked as the first Chief Justice of the court.
Article 223 of the Constitution
• This article empowers the President of India to appoint acting Chief Justice to a High Court.
• Appointment of acting Chief Justice takes place when the office of Chief Justice of High Court is vacant.
• Such an appointment also takes place when any such Chief Justice is, by reason of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office.
IIT student Nandini Bhandaru wins Young Scientist Award of European Material Science Research Society
Nandini Bhandaru, a doctoral researcher at IIT-Kharagpur, bagged the European Materials Research Society’s (EMRS’s) Young Scientist Award at the EMRS 2016 Spring Meeting Lille France.
She was awarded for her outstanding contribution to material science and nano technology, particularly nano patterning of soft films and surfaces.
She is working at Instability and Soft Patterning laboratory of IIT-Kharagpur. Her area of doctoral research is on nanofabrication including soft-Lithography, thin film dewetting, polymer blend films and self-assembly.
Innovation proposed by Nandini on nanofabrication
• She proposed an innovation through which possibility of fabricating nano scale patterned surfaces can be done at an extremely low cost and using an inherently simple methodology
• With this technique, the fabrication costs of these surfaces can be reduced to one tenth of the current Photolithography or Electron Beam Lithography based methods which require high end expensive instrumentation.
• Part of the work has already been patented and published. One more paper and a patent are under preparation based on this work.
• The technique developed has been fully stabilized and patented and can be commercialized with minimal capital investment.
Nanofabrication and its application
Nanofabrication is the design and manufacture of devices with dimensions measured in nanometers. It is the driver technology in fields such as information technology, computers, the Internet, and bio-medical technology.
It acts as the “mother board” for many of the devices and applications listed below
• Organic electronics organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)
• Optoelectronic devices, thin film transistors (TFTs)
• Plastic solar cells
• Biological sensors microfluidics
• Smart and super adhesives
• Data storage media
• Lab-on-a-chip devices
• Surfaces for nano-biotechnology applications such as patterned substrates for probing of cell behavior, including stem cell scaffolds for tissue engineering, DNA stretching, and so on.
2016 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day observed with theme ICT entrepreneurship for social impact
May 17: World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
The 2016 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) was observed on 17 May 2016.
This year, WTISD focused on the theme ICT entrepreneurship for social impact. The theme was in accordance with Resolution 68 and as endorsed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council 2015.
The theme for WTISD-16 was in line with ITU’s work in unlocking the potential of ICTs for young innovators and entrepreneurs, SMEs, and others.
Background
•The purpose of WTISD is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies can bring to societies and economies.
•17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Conventionand the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.
• World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.
•In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17 May as World Information Society Day.
•The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 stipulating that World Information Society Day will be celebrated every year on 17 May.
•In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
British Royals launched Heads Together campaign to tackle stigma of mental health
Heads Together: A campaign launched by British Royals to tackle stigma of mental health.
British Royals Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry on 16 May 2016 launched the Heads Together campaign at Queen Elizabeth Park in East London.
The campaign aims to change the national conversation on mental health and wellbeing.
About Heads Together campaign
• It will be executed the Royal Foundation in partnership with eight charities that have decades of experience in tackling stigma and raising awareness.
• It is the single biggest project the three British Royals have undertaken together so far.
• Funds for the campaign will be raised through the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon.
• Each of the three royals will focus on a different component of mental well-being.
• Prince William will target young men at risk for suicide and Kate will focus on childhood mental health.
• Prince Harry will focus on military members and veterans and help them cope with the mental health challenges.
UNICEF, EU launch #EmergencyLessons campaign on Education in Crisis Zones
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union (EU) on 16 May 2016 announced the launch of #EmergencyLessons campaign on education in crisis zones.
The campaign is a social media-driven public awareness campaign. It is aimed at reaching 20 million Europeans and highlighting the importance of education for children affected by emergencies.
Key highlights of #EmergencyLessons campaign
• The campaign specifically targets people 25 year old and younger peoples.
• For the next seven months, the stories of the children affected by emergencies will be shared on social media.
• It covers countries like Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.
• It seeks to inspire these nations to raise their voices on behalf of millions of children and adolescents whose education has been interrupted by emergencies.
• It draws on the real-life experiences of children living through emergencies in countries such as Guinea, Iraq, Nepal and Ukraine.
• The campaign celebrates the other benefits of going to school like the friends made, the teachers who support children through trauma, and the stability found in the routine of attending classes.
A number of celebrities are lending their support to the campaign. These include Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian European Space Agency astronaut; Bostjan Nachbar, Slovenian basketball player; Kriszta D. Toth, Hungarian news presenter and media personality; and Jaro Bekr, Slovakian dancer.
Comment
Nearly one in four of the world's school-age children – 462 million – now live in 35 countries affected by crises, including an estimated 75 million children who are in desperate need of educational support.
Apart from missing out on education, and the benefits it yields for them and for their societies, out-of-school children are more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and recruitment by armed forces, the agency said.
Living Library, a project that helps displaced people and communities to live together
Living Library: A UNDP project to turn testimonies of displaced persons in Ukraine into “books”
The project Living Library was in news in May 2016. It is a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project for the displaced people in Ukraine.
Under the project, the testimonies of displaced persons are turned into books in a so-called Living Library.
Key points of Living Library project
• Goal: To ensure everyone starts “feeling a little bit more comfortable with each other.
•It hosts the therapeutic stories of displaced people of different communities of Ukraine.
•It provides stories of displaced person and records them and brings them all together into a library that other people can consult.
• It provides support in conflict areas like Ukraine to promote dialogue and reconciliation between communities.
•It contains stories of different communities collected from throughout the country, including the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.
•The project is implemented in partnership with the European Forum for international Mediation and Dialogue (MediatEUr).
Agenda for Humanity
The project Living Library is in line with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Agenda for Humanity, which includes:
I. Respecting the rule of war
II. Leaving no one behind
III. Working differently to end need
IV. Investing in humanity
New fund Education Cannot Wait to be launched at UN World Humanitarian Summit
A new fund “Education Cannot Wait” will be launched at UN World Humanitarian Summit. It aims at assisting millions of children whose education has been disrupted by conflicts and natural disasters.
The two-day World Humanitarian Summit will be held from 23 to 24 May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey.
The programme will see participation of more than 100 of the world’s leading countries, companies and philanthropists. The plan of launch of Education Cannot Wait was announced by UN envoy for education on 6 May 2016.
Key highlights of Education Cannot Wait fund
• The fund is the global first and seeks to raise 3.85 billion dollars in next five years from governments and business.
• It is designed to cater the needs of 30 million displaced girls and boys, of which 20 million have no choice at the moment and are unable to go to school.
• This is the largest population of girls and boys uprooted since 1945.
• This fund will seek to bridge the gap between humanitarian aid and development aid first.
• The fund can be used to save a generation lost to war, child marriage, forced labour and the recruiters for violent extremism.
What the fund will offer?
As per the records of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), education aid receives less than two percent of emergency funding. The new fund is expected to:
• Offer up to five years of educational emergency, recognizing that the average time a refugee is out of his or her country is more than 10 years.
• Have private sector, foundation and philanthropic windows and will be the first comprehensive education public partnership in humanitarian aid.
• Engage philanthropic companies in innovative solutions to deliver education, including bold experiments in online education to help refugees in camps and those holed up in hovels, huts and tents.
• The UN has stressed that the ultimate aim for Education Cannot Wait is to transform humanitarian aid for the future.
Where the new fund will be used?
• The new fund will build on the recent Syrian initiative promising one million Syrian refugees schooling in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan
• It will be used in Nepal where 900000 children are out of school because of the earthquake emergency
• It will be used in South Sudan where one third of children are denied schooling and in Nigeria where Boko Haram have closed 5000 schools.
China launches Yaogan-30 remote sensing satellite
China on 15 May 2016 launched the Yagoan-30 remote sensing satellite. It was placed in the sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) by using the Long March 2-D rocket.
The satellite was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in Gobi desert in northwest China’s Gansu Province.
Features of Yaogan-30 satellite
• It will be used for scientific experiments, land survey, crop yield assessment and disaster monitoring.
• It has high resolution optical sensors that have a resolution of between one to three meters.
• The satellite was placed in the SSO so that it provides favorable illumination for the imaging missions.
• It has two deployable solar arrays along with batteries. It uses the CAST-2000 platform, which has a dry mass of about one metric ton.
• The first satellite in the Yaogan series, Yaogan-1, was launched in 2006.
Features of Long March 2-D rocket
• It was the 227th mission for the Long March rocket family.
• Long March 2-D is a two-stage rocket developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.
• The rocket is mainly used for launching satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and SSO. It can launch up to 1300 kg cargo in a 645 km SSO.
• It is characterized by high reliability, wide application and mature technology.
Australian researchers built world’s first scanning helium microscope
Australian researchers built the world’s first scanning helium microscope (SHeM). An announcement in this regard was made by the scientists belonging to the University of Newcastle in the third week of May 2016.
Features of SHeM
• It would enable scientists to study human, animal and plant samples, as well as pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips in their true state.
• It is expected to provide new insights into structures at a microscopic level.
• It will be useful in major industries such as solar energy, defence, explosives and information technology.
• It will help with the clean-up of toxic or even radioactive spills, without harming the surrounding flora or fauna.
Conventional microscopes Vs SHeM
The conventional electronic microscopes use light to penetrate samples and this can damage them. The SHeM is an imaging technology based on a scanning helium ion beam.
SHeM possesses very high source brightness and the short De Broglie wavelength of the helium ions. Due to this, it is possible to obtain qualitative data not achievable with conventional microscopes which use photons or electrons as the emitting source
NTPC tied-up with Coal India Limited to foray into Fertilizer Sector
State-run power producer NTPC Limited on 16 May 2016 signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with state-run miner Coal India limited to foray into the Fertilizer Sector and revive plants of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
The JVA was signed by NTPC's General Manager (BD) Arun Kumar Gupta and Coal India's General Manager (Coal Videsh) T Bandopadhyay.
Highlights of the Joint Venture between NTPC and Coal India Limited
• The JV company would initially be incorporated with 50:50 equity participation from both.
• It will also contain the provision of inducting strategic partners at a later date depending upon business requirement of JV company.
• The joint venture company will take up the revival of FCIL plants at Sindri in Bihar and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
• It will set up an ammonia urea plant at each location.
FAO Port State Measures Agreement on Illegal Fishing to enter into force on June 5
Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) of the Food and Agriculture Organnisation (FAO) will enter into force on 5 June 2016. The agreement seeks to ensure sustainable fisheries and responsible fish stock management globally.
The agreement is world’s first-ever international agreement specifically targeting illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) championed by FAO.
This became possible after 29 countries and the European Union formally deposited their instrument of adherence to the PSMA.
Main highlights of the Agreement
• The new agreement requires that parties designate specific ports for use by foreign vessels, making control easier.
• Those ships must request permission to enter ports ahead of time, and provide local authorities with information, including on the fish they have on board.
• The ships must also allow inspection of their log book, licences, fishing gear and actual cargo, among other things.
• It calls on countries to deny entry or inspect vessels that have been involved in illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, and to take necessary action.
• To support the implementation, it includes the obligation for parties to share information regionally and globally, regarding any vessels discovered to be involved in such fishing.
• It applies to any use of a port, so even vessels that are just refuelling will have to comply with inspection requirements.
Implementation of the Agreement
In order to support the implementation of the agreement by developing coastal countries and Small Island developing States, FAO has
a) invested substantially in capacity-building projects to support the application of port state measures; and
b) launching a series of national, regional and inter-regional initiatives, including a global programme on capacity development for implementation of the agreement.
Parties to the Agreement
The following States and regional economic integration organizations are Parties to the agreement:
Australia, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, European Union – Member Organization, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iceland, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palau, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, United States, Uruguay and Vanuatu.
Comment
The implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement will help make IUU fishing difficult across the globe.
It is because the 30 countries which are party to the agreement account for more than 62 percent of worldwide fish imports and 49 percent of fish exports, which were 133 billion dollars and 139 billion dollars respectively, in 2013
According to FAO, each year IUU fishing is responsible for annual catches of up to 26 million tons, with a value of up to 23 billion dollars.
World’s first robot lawyer ROSS hired by US law firm BakerHostetler
US-based law firm BakerHostetler in May 2016 hired the world’s first robot lawyer ROSS to assist the company and its various teams in legal research.
The law firm will licence artificial lawyer ROSS for use in its Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights team.
Key characteristics of ROSS
• ROSS has been built by ROSS Intelligence and is built upon IBM cognitive computer Watson.
• With the support of Watson’s, lawyers can ask ROSS their research question.
• The ROSS reads through the law, gathers evidence, draws inferences and returns highly relevant, evidence-based answers.
• ROSS also monitors the law around the clock to notify users of new court decisions that can affect a case.
• The programme continually learns from the lawyers who use it to bring back better results each time.
Background
ROSS Intelligence in 2014 began its research at the University of Toronto with the goal of building an artificial intelligence legal research assistant which would allow lawyers to enhance and scale their abilities. Just ten months after they began teaching ROSS bankruptcy law, the company is commercialising its first offering.
NK Singh committee formed to review and give recommendations on FRBM roadmap
The Union Government on 17 May 2016 constituted a five member committee to comprehensively review and give recommendations on the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) roadmap for the future.
The committee will be headed by former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary NK Singh. It has been asked to submit its report by 31 October 2016.
Other members of the Committee are Sumit Bose, former Finance and Revenue Secretary, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Urijit Patel, Deputy Governor, RBI and Rathin Roy, Director, National Institute Public Finance and Policy, NIPFP.
Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee are:
• It will review the working of the FRBM Act over last 12 years and suggest the way forward, keeping in view the broad objective of fiscal consolidation and prudence and the changes required in the context of the uncertainty and volatility in the global economy
• It will look into various aspects, factors, considerations going into determining the FRBM targets.
• It will examine the need and feasibility of having a ‘fiscal deficit range’ as the target in place of the existing fixed numbers (percentage of GDP) as fiscal deficit target; if so, the specific recommendations of the Committee thereon
• It will also examine the need and feasibility of aligning the fiscal expansion or contraction with credit contraction or expansion respectively in the economy.
• It will make its assessment and provide its views on the expected impact of its recommendations on the General Government deficit and other FRBM parameters.
• It will examine and give recommendations on any other aspect considered relevant in relation to the determination and implementation of the FRBM roadmap.
The Committee may be entrusted with additional ToR, if considered necessary. In this context, the Committee may consult Departments/Agencies of Government, experts and institutions, as considered necessary, and determine its own procedures.
Background
The plan to constitute a committee was announced by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech for 2016-17.
World Hypertension Day observed across the world
17 May: World Hypertension Day
The World Hypertension Day(WHD) was observed across the world on 17 May 2016 with the theme Know Your Numbers.
The theme know your numbers is related with the goal of increasing high blood pressure awareness in all populations around the world. The WHD 2016 challenge is to screen three million adults.
About World Hypertension Day
• World Hypertension Day (WHD) is an annual initiative of the World Hypertension League (WHL), an affiliated section of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH).
• The WHD was first inaugurated in May 2005 and has become an annual event ever since.
• The purpose of the WHD is to promote public awareness of hypertension and to encourage citizens of all countries to prevent and control this silent killer, the modern epidemic.
What is Hypertension?
• Hypertension or High blood pressure is very common indeed and hence a major public health issue. It is the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
• In 2002, it was named as the number one killer by the World Health Organization (WHO) in The World Health Report.
• The risk of stroke is four times greater and the risk of myocardial infarction (a heart attack) two times greater if you have high blood pressure.
How Hypertension has effected people worldwide?
• Nearly one billion people are estimated to be affected by hypertension worldwide, and this figure may increase to 1.5 billion by 2025.
• In 90% of people with hypertension, the cause of high blood pressure is not known and is referred to as primary or essential hypertension.
• One person out of every three persons in India is having high-blood pressure in India. High blood pressure or Hypertension is a big danger for health. Its impact is felt on the whole body.
• However, right treatment and lifestyle can help in containing hypertension.
Andre Brahic, discoverer of Neptune's rings, dies
Andre Brahic, one of the discoverers of Neptune's rings, died on 15 May 2016 in Paris, France. He was 73.
In 1984, Brahic with US astronomer William Hubbard launched a program that led to the discovery of the rings around the gaseous planet Neptune.
About Andre Brahic
•Andre Fernand Brahic was a French astrophysicist.
•He was a member of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and a professor at the University of Paris.
•He was also on the imaging team for the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft.
•In 1990, the asteroid 3488 Brahic was named in his honour.
•In 2001, he was given the Carl Sagan Medal.
Rings of Neptune
•The rings of Neptune consist primarily of five principal rings and were first discovered in 1984 in Chile.
•The rings were eventually imaged in 1989 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
•At their densest, they are comparable to the less dense portions of Saturn's main rings such as the C ring and the Cassini Division. However, much of Neptune's ring system is tenuous, faint and dusty.
•Neptune's rings are named after astronomers who contributed important work on the planet: Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, AragoandAdams.
•The rings of Neptune are made of extremely dark material, likely organic compounds processed by radiation.
•The proportion of dust in the rings (between 20% and 70%) is high, while their optical depth is low to moderate, at less than 0.1.
•The Adams ring includes five distinct arcs, named Fraternité, Égalité, Liberté (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity), the national motto of France.
Draft National Policy for Women, 2016 unveiled
Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on 17 May 2016 unveiled 2016 Draft National Policy for Women for comments and consultation.
It will replace National Policy for Empowerment of Women, 2001. It will also guide Government action on Women’s issues over the next 15-20 years.
The drafted policy shifts the focus from entitlements to rights and from empowerment to creating an enabling environment.
The Salient features of the policy are as follows:
• It seeks to create a society in which women attain their full potential and participate as equal partners in all spheres of life.
• It also emphasises the role of an effective framework to enable the process of developing policies, programmes and practices which will ensure equal rights and opportunities for women.
• It seeks to create conducive socio-cultural, economic and political environment to enable women enjoy de jure and de facto fundamental rights and realize their full potential.
• It describes emerging issues such as making cyber space safe place for women, redistribution of gender roles, for reducing unpaid care work, review of personal and customary laws in accordance with the Constitutional provisions and many more.
• It wants to review of criminalization of marital rape within the framework women’s human rights etc. relevant in the developmental paradigms.
Priority Areas
•Health including food security and nutrition:Focus on recognizing women’s reproductive rights, shift of family planning focus also to males, expansion of health insurance schemes and addressing the intergenerational cycle of under-nutrition.
• Education: Improve access to pre-primary education, enrolment and retention of adolescent girls, and address disparities with regard to ICTs.
• Economy: Raising visibility, engendering macro-economic policies, generate gender-disaggregated land ownership database, skill development and equal employment opportunities with appropriate benefits related to maternity and child care services.
•Governance and Decision Making: Increasing women’s participation in the political arena, administration, civil services and corporate boardrooms.
• Violence Against Women: Address all forms of violence against women through a life cycle approach, Improve Child Sex Ratio (CSR), and prevention of trafficking at source, transit and destination areas for effective monitoring of the networks.
• Enabling Environment:Gender perspective in housing and infrastructure, gender parity in the mass media & sports, and support services for all women especially the vulnerable, marginalized, migrant and single women.
•Environment and Climate Change: Addressing gender concerns during distress migration and displacement in times of natural calamities due to climate change and environmental degradation. Promotion of environmental friendly, renewable, non–conventional energy, green energy sources for women in rural households.
Operational strategies
• Enabling safety and security of women:With initiatives such as One Stop Centres, Women Helpline, Mahila Police Volunteers, Reservation of women in police force, creating immediate response mechanism through panic buttons in mobiles, public and private transport, surveillance mechanisms in public places.
• Creating eco-systems to encourage entrepreneurship amongst women: Through platforms like Mahila E-Haat, dedicated theme based exhibitions, focussed skill training, mentoring through Women Entrepreneurship Council, availability of easy & affordable credit and financial inclusion.
• Training and capacity building of all stakeholders:Through Gender Champion initiative, frontline workers, women sarpanches and all officials dealing with policy and delivery systems impacting women.
•Facilitating women in workplace:Through gender friendly work place, flexi timings, increased maternity leave, provision of child care/creches at workplace, life cycle health care facilities.
Union Government opened Tatkal Window to expedite examination of patent applications
The Union Government on 17 May 2016 opened up a Tatkal Window to expedite examination of patent applications by start-ups as well as entities choosing India for the first filing of patent. The move came in the backdrop of 2.37 lakh patent applications pending in the country.
The government is aiming to bring down the time period for initial examination of patent applications from the present 5-7 years to 18 months by March 2018.
The move will popularise India as a patent filing hub so that more companies file applications in India.
Highlights of the Tatkal Window for Expedited examination
• Under the tatkal-like system, applicants can opt for the Expedited Examination Route on the grounds that they have chosen India as International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority.
• The expedited examination route is also available to all entities that qualify as a start-up as per the definition for start-up provided in the Patent Rules.
• Under the expedited examination route, the fees for individuals and start-ups have been fixed at 8000 rupees, while for small firms it is 25000 rupees and for large companies, the fee is 60000 rupees.
• The applications for this route have to be filed only electronically.
Sudha Singh breaks 3000m steeplechase national record
Steeplechase athlete Sudha Singh on 14 May 2016 set a national record in women’s 3000m steeplechase event to finish eighth at the IAAF World Diamond League held at Shanghai.
Sudha clocked 9 minutes, 26.55 seconds to finish a eighth in the second leg of the prestigious IAAF Diamond League Meet.
Who is Sudha Singh?
•Born on 25 June 1986, Sudha Singh is an Indian athlete in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.
•She has been a consistent performer in the 3000m steeplechase event, holding the National record in the same event for nearly 7 years.
•In the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, she won the gold medal with a time of 9:55.67.
•In June 2012, she qualified for Olympic Games 2012 after she broke her own 3000m steeplechase national record with a timing of 9:47.70 secs.
•In the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, she finished fourth, one place behind Lalita Babar. Babar also broke Sudha's national record, clocking 9:35.37 in the process. However, when the gold medallist Ruth Jebet from Bahrain was disqualified on account of stepping inside the track before crossing the line, Sudha was promoted and won the bronze medal.
•In August 2015, she sealed her spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a 19th-place finish in the women's marathon event.
SBI to merge 5 subsidiaries, Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself
The SBI on 17 May 2016 informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that it is seeking in-principle sanction of the Union Government to enter into negotiation with its 5 subsidiaries and Bharatiya Mahila Bank for acquisition.
Beside, the boards of State Bank of India (SBI) and the subsidiary banks met individually in Mumbai and decided to begin merger talks with the parent.
As per the developments, India’s largest lender is planning to acquire the businesses including assets and liabilities of the following 5 subsidiary banksand the Bharatiya Mahila Bank –
1. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
2. State Bank of Hyderabad
3. State Bank of Mysore
4. State Bank of Patiala
5. State Bank of Travancore
All the above six banks are Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and among these, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed.
SBI first merged associate State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, in 2010, State Bank of Indore was merged.
Outcomes of the merger
Though there are apprehensions that the proposed consolidation will result in job losses, the following positive outcomes are expected from the merger.
• It will resolve the non performing assets (NPAs) issue to a large extent. As per an estimate, publicly traded banks in India added nearly 1 trillion rupees in bad loans between October and December 2015.
• The new entity will help in leveraging the synergies among the banks. As a result, it will pave the way for lot of cost benefits and expansion of financial services to remote areas.
• It would create a banking behemoth with a balance sheet size of 37 trillion rupees. Its size would be more than 5 times the 7.2 trillion rupees worth ICICI Bank Ltd., which is India’s second largest lender.
• In terms of assets, the combined entity will help India to figure in the top 50 largest banks in the world. In 2015, SBI was at the 52nd place in the world in terms of assets. Post-merger, it will be figured at the 45th position.
HDFC Bank launches SmartUp for start-ups
HDFC Bank Ltd. on 16 May 2016 launched SmartUp solution. It is a first-of-its-kind dedicated platform for start-ups to fulfill all their banking needs.
The SmartUp is tailored to meet all the requirements of a start-up, offering banking and payment solutions, along with advisory and forex services.
It was launched in association with Zone Startups India, a start-up accelerator in Mumbai.
Zone Startups India is a collaboration between BSE Institute (a subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange), Ryerson University’s accelerator Digital Media Zone, Ryerson Futures Inc. and Simon Fraser University.
The benefits of SmartUp include
• Enhanced transaction limit with no minimum balance requirement for first six months
• Customized Salary Account offering coupled with best-in class services and largest suite of product range
• PayZapp for Business - for providing invoicing, delivery and collection solutions and secure money transfer
• Dedicated Relationship Manager for taking care of all banking needs as well as investment advisory
• Recommendation of a Chartered Accountant for Tax, Regulatory and Compliance issues
FC Barcelona wins La Liga Champions Parade 2016
Barcelona FC on 15 May 2016 retained the Spanish league title La Liga with 3-0 score against Granadain the final match.
Luis Suárez finished as top scorer, being the first player apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to do so since the 2008–09 season.
The football club finished the tournament with 91 points in total. It is Barcelona FC's fifth straight win and eighth league title in 12 seasons.
Football Club Real Madrid finished second with a 2-0 win over Deportivo.
About FC Barcelona
•FC Barcelona is a football club founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper.
•It is the second most valuable sports team in the world, worth 3.56 billion US dollar.
•It is also the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of 560.8 million euro.
•Barcelona's players have won a record number of Ballon d'Or awards (11), as well as a record number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards (7).
•In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League.
About La Liga
•La Liga is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system.
•It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Segunda Division and replaced by the top two teams in that division plus the winner of a play-off.
•Real Madrid had won the title for a record 32 times and Barcelona has won it 24 times.
Indian artist Anjali Chandrashekar wins award at UN Poster for Peace Contest
Indian artist Anjali Chandrashekar on 3 May 2016 won the third prize in UN Poster for Peace contest presented by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) to raise awareness of the need for nuclear disarmament.
Her poster titled ‘Cutting Barriers through Peace’ featured a peace dove slicing through a nuclear weapon.
Winners of UN poster contest on N-disarmament
• The first prize was won by Ivan Ciro Palomino Huamani from Peru for his poster titled ‘Spinning Peace’.
• Second prize was won by Michelle Li for her poster titled ‘Peace in our Hands’, which had featured a shadow puppet of a peace dove above a broken nuclear weapon.
• Apart from the three winners, nine honourable mentions were chosen from among more than 4100 entries representing 123 countries.
About Anjali Chandrashekar
• She is a New York-based designer and activist.
• At the age of 10, She founded Picture It, a non-governmental organisation.
• Her NGO uses imagery to raise awareness and funds for various health, humanitarian and environmental causes.
Background
The UN Poster for Peace contest was organised to commemorate the anniversary of the very first UN General Assembly resolution adopted in 1946 establishing a Commission to deal with problems related to the discovery of atomic energy.
Indian-American Syamantak Payra wins Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award
Indian-American Syamantak Payra, a 15-year-old from Friendswood, Texas, in May 2016 won Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards of 50000 US dollar. He was awarded for developing a low-cost electronically aided knee brace that allows an individual with a weakened leg to walk more naturally.
He shared the 50000 US dollars award with Kathy Liu of Salt lake City, Utah who was awarded for developing an alternative battery component that could significantly improve battery performance and safety.
The first prize in the form of Gordon E. Moore Award of 75000 US dollars went to Han Jie (Austin) Wang. He was awarded for developing microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that more efficiently convert organic waste into electricity.
The award was given by Intel Corporation and the Society for Science & the Public at the 2016 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair on 13 May 2016 at Phoenix, a city in Arizona.
These Awards were given in 22 different categories of which someinclude among others:
• Rajeev Jha from Honolulu, Hawaii: Was awarded in the field of Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Swetha Revanur from San Jose, California:Was awarded in the field of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
•Tiasha Joardar from Plano, Texas:Was awarded in the field of Energy: Physical
• Translational Medical Science Prashant Godishala and Brennan Clark from Golden Valley, Minnesota: Were awarded in the field of Translational Medical Science
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is the world’s largest high school science research competition. It honours the world’s most promising student scientists, inventors and engineers.
Finalists are selected annually from hundreds of affiliated fairs. The 2016 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair featured more than 1700 young scientists selected from 419 affiliate fairs in 77 countries, regions and territories. The Intel Foundation also awarded a 1000 US dollar grant to each winner’s school and to the affiliated fair they represent.
Brown Bears sighted for the first time in Kargil after 1999 War
The J&K Wildlife Department in 2016 spotted a group of eight Himalayan brown bears in Kargil’s Drass Sector. These brown bears were last seen in the zone, which is their natural habitat, before the 1999 Kargil War.
The eight beers comprised of three adult females and five grown-up cubs and were seen in Drass area of Ladakh with mountain ranges of 16000 to 21000 feet.
About the Himalayan Brown Bears
• Generally found in Ladakh region, these Himalayan brown bears are found in the four major wildlife zones namely Suru, Zanskar, Drass and Kargil.
• To survive they need about 100 square kilometer area as its territory
• Human intervention disturbs their ecology
• They are listed among the vulnerable animals list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources'.
• In India, brown bears exist in 23 protected areas in the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal, but they are regarded as fairly common in only two of these.
• It is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal and Tibet
• Its scientific name is Ursus arctos
• They are also known as the Himalayan red bear, Isabelline bear or Dzu-The
• It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to 2.2 m (7 ft) long while females are a little smaller.
• These bears are omnivorous and hibernate in a den during the winter.
Why they escaped?
• Their natural habitat was damaged during the 1999 war.
• The heavy artillery shelling for almost three months, forced them to go into a hide or leave the zone, destroyed their habitat.
• The movement of troops during the war had an impact on the behavior and ecology of these beers.
The first ever sighting of a group of Himalayan brown bears in Kargil’s Drass Sector was reported in a News Paper.
UTMB scientists genetically engineered world’s first Zika virus infectious cDNA clone
A multidisciplinary research team from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) on 13 May 2016 announced that it genetically engineered world’s first clone of the Zika virus strain.
The development of cDNA clone, as it is called, is expected to speed up many aspects of Zika research, including vaccine and therapeutic development.
Read More: What, Why & How of Zika Virus
It will also unlock scientists’ ability to more quickly develop countermeasures and explore whether or how the Zika virus has evolved to spread more quickly and cause more severe diseases in people.
In addition to the cDNA clone, the scientists developed mosquito infection models and the Zika mouse model which will help the researchers deciphering why the virus is tied to serious diseases.
India successfully test fires indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile
India on 18 May 2016 successfully test fired indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile from the Chandipur, off Odisha coast.
As part of a user trial, the surface-to-surface missile was fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range.
The launch activities were carried out by the Strategic Force Command and monitored by the DRDO scientists.
Features of Prithvi-II Missile
• It weighs 4600 kilogram and has a strike range of 350 kilometer.
• It is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines.
• It is the first missile to be developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
• IGMDP was started in early 1980 and ended in 2008.The missiles developed under the program were Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag.
• Prithvi-II Missile was inducted into India's armed forces in 2003.
• The naval operational variant of Prithvi-II class missiles are known asDhanush. It was already inducted into Indian navy.