19-20 june 2015
19 june
Indian paddlers won team titles at South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships
India's junior boys and cadet girls on 18 June 2015 won the team championship titles at the South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.
To retain the title in junior boys section, the Indian paddlers won all the four matches without dropping a set. Similarly, cadet girls won all their matches without a hiccup.
Silver and Bronze medals in the two categories
In Junior Boys category
• Sri Lanka's Junior Boys won Silver
• Pakistan, who finished third and Maldives behind them, got the bronze
In Cadet Girl’s category won silver
• Sri Lanka’s Cadet Girl’s won Silver
• Nepal, who finished third and Pakistan behind them, got the bronze
Union Government launched weather alert service NOWCAST
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on 18 June 2015 launched a weather alert service named NOWCAST.
NOWCAST will be used to send SMS alerts on extreme weather data like hailstorm, thunderstorm and squall originated by India Meteorological Department (IMD) to over one crore farmers whose mobile numbers are registered on government’s mKisan portal.
Further, the mKisan portal will send warning SMSs to farmers located in affected district/blocks. These warnings will help the farmers to take precautionary measures as needed and feasible. The SMS will be sent in English, Hindi and regional languages as per farmers’ request.
This technological break-through is a collaborative effort between mKisan Portal developed by DAC, weather technologies adopted by IMD and GIS Portal of NIC.
Besides, Radha Mohan Singh also launched Insurance Web-Portals for Farmers(www.farmer.gov.in/insurance)that will enable farmers to insure their crops under three schemes.
CCEA approved Minimum Support Prices for Kharif Crops of 2015-16 season
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 17 June 2015 gave its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for Kharif Crops of 2015-16 season.
All the approved MSPs were based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for the Price Policy for Kharif Crops for the Marketing Season 2015-16except for pulses.
The CCEA decided to givea bonus of 200 rupees per quintal for pulsesover and above the recommendations of the CACP in view of a huge deficit of pulses in the country.
The approved MSPs of pulses per quintal, inclusive of bonus, are: Tur (Arhar) – 4625 rupees against 4350 rupees during the 2014-15 season; Moong- 4850 rupees against 4600 rupees; and Urad 4625 rupees against 4350 rupees during the previous season.
The increase in prices expected to give a strong price signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of pulses.
The prices of pulses have increased by over 50 per cent during the 2014-15 season due to inclement weather that subsequently resulted in import of 5000 quintals of imports by the government.
The MSPs for the common variety of paddywas increased to 1410 rupees per quintal against 1360 rupees during 2014-15 season and for Grade A variety the MSP was fixed at 1450 (increase of 50 rupees).
Hybrid and Maldandi varieties of jowar were raised by 40 rupees per quintal to 1530 and 1550 respectively.
Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty International India
Journalist and writer Aakar Patel appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty International (AI) India on 18 June 2015. He will head AI India’s operations and its efforts to end human rights abuses in India and worldwide.
Patel as the organization’s chief political advisor, strategist and spokesperson will give direction to its goal of being an independent, effective, and deep-rooted organization in India.
Patel’s previous work includes
• India: Low Trust Society (2015)
• Rights and Wrongs, a report on the 2002 Gujarat riots which he co-authored
• Worked as a columnist with publications in India and Pakistan
• Television and radio work as an independent expert
Union Ministry of Finance formed two committees for facilitating implementation of GST
Union Ministry of Finance on 17 June 2015 formed two committees for facilitating implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1 April 2016.
These committees are intended to speed up the process of establishing necessary administrative infrastructure to implement the GST.
Terms of Reference of Committee on GST rate:
• It will recommend possible tax rates under GSTthat would be consistent with the present level of revenue collection of the Union and States.
• It will be headed by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA), Ministry of Finance. The present CEA is Arvind Subramanian.
• While making recommendations, it would take into account expected levels of growth of economy, different levels of compliance and broadening of tax base under GST.
• It would also analyse the Sector-wise and State-wise impact of GST on the economy.
• It is expected to give its report within two months.
Terms of Reference of Steering Committee on GST
• It will monitor the progress of IT preparedness of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)/ the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)/Tax authorities.
• It will monitor the finalisation of reports of all the Sub-Committees constituted on different aspects relating to the mechanics of GST and drafting of Central GST, Interstate GST and State GST laws/rules.
• It will monitor the progress on consultationswith various stakeholders like trade and industry and training of officers.
• It will be Co-Chaired by Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue and Member Secretary, Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers.
• It has members from Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise & Customs, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and representatives of State Governments.
About Goods and Services Tax (GST)
GST will subsume present indirect taxes like excise, services tax, sales tax, octroi, etc. and is touted as the biggest tax reform since the Constitution of India came into force.
The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014 was approved by the Lok Sabha and is pending with the Rajya Sabha.
China and Australia signed Free Trade Agreement
China and Australia on 17 June 2015 signed the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA)at Canberra in Australia.
The agreement was signed by China's Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and Australia's Trade Minister Andrew Robb.
The ChAFTA will ensure 85 percent of all exports of Australia to China tariff-free that will rise to 93 percent by 2019.
Features of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA)
• It gives Australian dairy farmers, wine-makers and other sectors tariff-free access to the huge market of China within a few years.
• It will put eventual removal of tariffs on dairy products, live animal exports, resources and energy products.
• Tariffs on all resources and energy products will be removed by 2017.
• Beef and sheep farmers will benefit from the abolition of tariffs ranging from 12-25 percent.
• Lock in zero tariffs on major exports like iron ore, gold, crude petroleum oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
• All tariffs on horticulture and live animal exports will be eliminated, while tariff on wine will be cut up to 14-30 percent.
• Wool producers will be able to export another 30000 tonnes of clean wool on top of existing quotas.
• Cotton, wheat, sugar, rice and oilseeds industries were kept out of the agreement.
Comment
The chAFTA will open up markets worth billions of dollars and create jobs for both the countries. With this agreement Australian farmers will enjoy the same benefits possessed by New Zealand, Chile and ASEAN competitors who have similar free trade agreements with China.
SoftBank teamed up with Alibaba, Foxconn to market Pepper robot
Japan’s SoftBank Corp on 18 June 2015 announced that it has set up a joint venture with Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba and electronics supplier Foxconn Technology to sell its human-like robot Pepper around the world.
The company in its statement said that the robot will go on sale to general consumers from 20 June 2015 for 198000 yen (1610.54 dollars) each plus monthly fee and insurance. These waist-high peeper robots will serve as baby-sitters, medical workers or even party companions.
At present, these robots which can learn and express human emotions are used in stores including SoftBank’s mobile phone shops.
SoftBank will have a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, while Alibaba and Foxconn each will spend 14.5 billion Yen ($117.94 million) for 20 per cent stakes
Exercise Ajeya Warrior -2015
Exercise Ajeya Warrior -2015: Joint exercise between the armies of India and UK
The term Exercise Ajeya Warrior was in news on 17 June 2015 as few soldiers of the Indian Army sustained injuries that were in UK to participate in the military exercise.
The soldiers belong to the Kumaon Regiment.
Exercise Ajeya Warrior is a joint exercise between the armies of India and UK.
Its aim is to build and promote positive military relations between Indian and UK Army and to enhance their ability to undertake joint tactical level operations in Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism Environment under the United Nations Charter.
It is held biannually in both the countries, alternatively.
In 2015, the 16 day exercise began on 13 June 2015 at Westdown Camp in Salisbury Plains Training Area, UK.
Hong Kong lawmakers rejected Beijing-backed election reform package
Hong Kong lawmakers on 18 June 2015 rejected Beijing-backed election reform package. The proposal was voted down by 28 votes to eight in the Legislative Council (known as legco) of 70 members.
The proposal labeled as a package of fake democracy required support from two-thirds of the assembly to pass.
The package would have granted all Hong Kong citizens the right to vote for their Chief Executive for the first time in 2017 and elect him directly. But they would only be able to vote for candidates that had been vetted by a pro-Beijing committee.
Rejection of the package means that the next chief executive of city in 2017 will be chosen by 1200 members of the pro-Beijing committee who will select their leader.
Present System
The Executive Council of Hong Kong is headed by the Chief Executive (CE) who is elected by the Election Committee and then appointed by the Central People’s Government. The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college whose members are elected by People.
WB State Assembly passed West Bengal Tea Plantation Employees Welfare Fund Bill, 2015
The West Bengal (WB) State Assembly on 18 June 2015 passed West Bengal Tea Plantation Employees Welfare Fund Bill, 2015. The bill is aimed at ensuring welfare and provision of basic amenities for tea plantation workers in the state.
Provisions of the Bill
• It will provide interest subvention and matching grants to the employers of tea gardens as soft loan which they may take for undertaking social welfare schemes, medical facilities, housing, primary education, potable water supply, sanitation and child care.
• It will provide other basic amenities for the families of tea plantations employees.
• It will provide scholarships to the children of tea garden employees for undergoing training in technical institutes and polytechnics.
• It creates a 100 crore rupees corpus aimed at prodding owners to modernise closed and sick tea gardens.
• It will have representations from trade unions and will ensure compliance of welfare measures by the estates.
West Bengal is the second largest Indian tea-growing State after Assam, accounting for a quarter of India’s 1100 million kg tea output. There are 283 registered gardens in Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai. Several Central and state-sponsored welfare schemes are now being run in these gardens.
UNHCR released Global Trends: World at War report on forced displacement
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on 18 June 2015 released a report titled Global Trends: World at War. It delineates worldwide trends in forced displacement by the end of 2014.
The report declared that ongoing refugee crisis due to wars, conflicts and persecution is the worst in recorded history and over half of the world's refugees are children.
Highlights of Global Trends: World at War report
• The number of people forcibly displaced at the end of 2014had risen to a staggering 59.5 millioncompared to 51.2 million by 2013 and 37.5 million by 2005.
• The increase represents the biggest leap ever seen in a single yearand the situation is likely to worsen in future.
• Globally, one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. If this were the population of a country, it would be the world's 24th biggest.
• Since early 2011, the main reason for the acceleration has been the war inSyria, now the world's single-largest driver of displacement.
• Every day in 2014, on average 42500 people became refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced, a four-fold increase in just four years.
• In the past five years, at least 15 conflicts have erupted or reignited: eight in Africa(Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, northeastern Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi); three in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, and Yemen); one inEurope (Ukraine) and three inAsia(Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Pakistan).
• In 2014, only 126800 refugees were able to return to their home countries -- the lowest number in 31 years.
• There has been dramatic growth in the numbers of refugees seeking safety through dangerous sea journeys, including on the Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, and in Southeast Asia.
• In 2014 alone 13.9 million people became newly displaced – four times the number of the previous year.
•Syria is the world's biggest producer of both internally displaced people (7.6 million) and refugees (3.88 million) at the end of 2014. Afghanistan (2.59 million) and Somalia (1.1 million) are the next biggest refugee source countries.
• Almost nine out of every 10 refugees(86 per cent) are in regions and countries considered economically less developed.
• Forced displacement numbers inEurope totaled 6.7 million at the end of the year, compared to 4.4 million at the end of 2013, and with the largest proportion of this being Syrians in Turkey and Ukrainians in the Russian Federation.
• Syria's ongoing war, with 7.6 million people displaced internally, and 3.88 million people displaced into the surrounding region and beyond as refugees, has alone made the Middle East the world's largest producer and host of forced displacement.
• Sub-Saharan Africa saw 3.7 million refugees and 11.4 million internally displaced people, 4.5 million of whom were newly displaced in 2014.
• Ethiopia replaced Kenya as the largest refugee-hosting country in Africaand the fifth largest worldwide.
• The number of refugees and internally displaced people in Asia grew by 31 per cent in 2014 to 9 million people.
• Continuing displacement was also seen in and from Myanmar in 2014, including of Rohingya from Rakhine state and in the Kachin and Northern Shan regions.
•Iran and Pakistan remained two of the world's top four refugee hosting countries.
• In Americas, the number of Colombian refugees dropped by 36300 to 360300 in 2014.
• With more people fleeing gang violence or other forms of persecution in Central America, the United States saw 36800 more asylum claims than in 2013, representing growth of 44 per cent.
Indiaas a country of origin had 10433 refugees and 16709 asylum seekers with pending cases in 2014; and 199937 refugees and 5074 pending cases of asylum seekers as country of asylum for 2014.
Keith Vaz re-elected as chairman of UK Parliament committee
Britain’s longest-serving Indian-origin MP, Keith Vaz on 18 June 2015 was re-elected as chairman of Parliaments Home Affairs Select Committee for the third time.
Vaz, a senior leader of Labour Party was elected as the chairman after receiving 412 votes in a secret ballot to all of the 25 select committees of the commons.
About Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz
Keith Vaz born on 26 November 1956 is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East since the 1987 election. He has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July 2007.
He was appointed as a member of the Privy Council in June 2006.
Between October 1999 and June 2001 he served as a Minister for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Micromax launched world’s slimmest 4G phone Micromax Canvas Sliver 5
Micromax on 18 June 2015 launched the world’s slimmest and lightest 4-Generation (4G) phone named as Micromax Canvas Sliver 5. As per Micromax, it is the first smartphone to weigh below 100 grams.
Highlights of the Micromax Canvas Sliver 5
• The 97-gram device comes in a 5.1 mm thick body, the lightest one yet.
• It comes with a 4.8 inch AMOLED touchscreen with high definition (1280x720 pixels) resolution.
• The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection as well.
• The handset is armed with the Android Lollipop operating system that runs on the 64 bit, 1.2 GHz quad core Snapdragon 410 processor and 2GB DDR3 RAM.
• The smartphone comes with only one SIM slot but offers 4G connectivity.
• For photography enthusiast, it offers an 8 megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX219 and CMOS sensor and Blue glass filter. In the front, there is a 5 megapixel camera.
• It has a 2000 mAh battery Li-Po battery which Micromax claims offer 8 hours of talktime and 345 hours of standby.
Chinese Version of Bhagavad Gita launched in China
The Chinese Version of the sacred ancient Indian scripture Bhagavad Gita was on 17 June 2015 launched in China during an international yoga conference. The book was released by Indian Ambassador to China Ashok K. Kantha.
The book was translated by Chinese Professor Wang Zhu Cheng and Ling Hai of the Zhejiang University in Shanghai and was published by the Sichuan People’s Publications.
The foreword to the book was written by K. Nagaraj Naidu, who was the Consul-General at the Indian Consulate in Guangzhou.
This is perhaps the first time that a well known Hindu ancient religious text has been published in China. Last year, scholars from India and China published an Encyclopedia on the age-old cultural contacts between the two countries, tracing back their history to over 2000 years.
Antani, Joshi appointed to the board of Future Majority Project of US Republican Party
Two Indian-Americans Niraj Antani, an Ohio State legislature and Janak Joshi, a Colorado State legislature, were on 18 June 2015 appointed to the board of the 2015-2016 Future Majority Project of the United States (US) Republican Party.
Niraj Antani is a student at the University Of Dayton School Of Law, having previously graduated from Ohio State University with Bachelors degree in political science. He became the youngest member of the House of Representatives in 2014 at the tender age of 23.
While on the other hand, Joshi has been serving as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives since 2011. He practiced internal medicine, nephrology, and occupational medicine from Gujarat University in India.
The Board of FMP is chaired by TW Shannon, Chairman and former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
About Future Majority Project (FMP)
The Future Majority Project (FMP) seeks to recruit, train and elect Republican candidates from diverse communities on the state level who better represent the full diversity of America.
In 2013-2014, FMP recruited hundreds of new candidates and elected 43 new leaders to office. With this cycle, FMP aims to recruit 250 new, diverse candidates and see 50 of those candidates appointed or elected to office.
Wealth-X released World’s Wealthiest Self-Made Billionaires List
Wealth-X on 17 June 2015 released the World’s Wealthiest Self-Made Billionaires List. It included world’s top 25 richest self-made billionaires.
The list was topped by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with a personal fortune totaling nearly 86 billion US dollars.
American entrepreneurs dominate the list claiming 14 of the 25 spots. The list features numerous notable American billionaires who are responsible for building some of the most successful companies in the world including Berkshire Hathaway, Oracle and Google.
The combined wealth of the 14 Americans on the Wealth-X list is 514.2 billion US dollars, which is greater than the GDP of Norway.
The technology sector has proved yet again to be an incubator of great fortunes with many on the list such as Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba, China’s e-commerce giant, amassing significant wealth by founding and building technology-based companies.
List of world’s top 10 self-made billionaires
|
Rank |
Name |
Nationality |
Estimated Net Worth (billion US dollars) |
|
1 |
William Gates III |
United States |
85.7 |
|
2 |
Warren Buffett |
United States |
70.1 |
|
3 |
Amancio Ortega |
Spain |
65.0 |
|
4 |
Lawrence Ellison |
United States |
51.5 |
|
5 |
Ingvar Kamprad |
Sweden |
48.1 |
|
6 |
Jeffrey Bezos |
United States |
39.8 |
|
7 |
Carlos Slim |
Mexico |
35.4 |
|
8 |
Mark ZUckerberg |
United States |
35.3 |
|
9 |
Wang Jianlin |
China |
35.2 |
|
10 |
Michael Bloomberg |
United States |
33.7 |
Jharkhand Government banned sale of thermocol plates
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghuvar Das on 19 June 2015 imposed a ban on sale of thermocol plates in entire state. The decision was taken with an aim to promote leaf plates and generate employment for the poor and tribal people of the state, who are engaged in making leaf plates.
The Chief Minister, who is on a two-day visit to West Singhbhum district including naxal-affected Saranda, also announced one lakh rupees to the villages which will become liquor-free.
Besides, the Chief Minister also directed officials to provide electricity in the Saranda area through solar power.
Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen won Denmark’s Parliamentary Elections
Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen of right-wing Venstre party on 19 June 2015 won the parliamentary elections of Denmark. Blue opposition bloc, also called Centre-Right coalition, won 90 seats in the 179-member parliament.
Red Bloc or Centre-Left ruling coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Social Democratic Party won 85 seats. Thorning-Schmidt, the first woman Prime Minister of Denmark, conceding defeat quit as the head of Social Democrat Party.
The final results are as follows
Red bloc
• The Social Democrats – 47
• Radikale, the Danish Social Liberal party – 8
• Socialist People’s party – 7
• Red-Green Alliance – 14
• The Alternative –9
Blue bloc
• Venstre – 34
• Danish People’s party – 37
• The Liberal Alliance – 13
• The Conservative People’s party – 6
Former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen is set to become Denmark’s next Prime Minister. He took over as the country’s youngest-ever prime minister in 2009 but was ousted by the leftist coalition in 2011 after voters rejected his government’s austerity policies.
Comment
Although incumbent prime minister’s Social Democratic party is still the single largest party but right-wing, anti-immigrant Danish People's Party of Blue bloc emerged as the biggest force in 2015 elections. It won over 21 percent of the vote to become the second largest party in parliament.
The decision to call early elections by incumbent PM Thorning-Schmidt in a hope to capitalize on an economic recovery boomeranged. On the other hand, Danish People’s Party win means a tougher immigration laws.
India, Tanzania signed six MoUs during the visit of President of Tanzania to India
India and Tanzania on 19 June 2015 signed six MoUs in the field of tourism, education and hydrography to deepen bilateral cooperation.
The agreement was inked in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. President of Tanzania is on a five-day tour to India from 17 June to 21 June 2015.
List of inked MOU/Project signed/Exchanged with Tanzania
• MOU on establishing a collaborative program in official statistics:It was inked between the East Africa Statistical Training Center (EASTC) in Tanzania and the National Statistical System Training Academy (NSSTA) in India and will include capacity building for Staff of EASTC and other African Countries in Official Statistics.
• MOU on cooperation in Agricultural Statistics, Computer Applications and Bio-informatics: It was inked between EASTC and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) for capacity building of Staff
• MOU on Cooperation in the field of Tourism: To enhance bilateral cooperation in Tourism and hospitality sectors.
• Loan agreement to operationalise the LoC:The agreement was signed between Exim Bank and Government of Tanzania on LOC for 268.35 million US dollar for extension of Lake Victoria pipeline project.
• Agreement for appointing the former as PMC:The agreement was signed between WAPCOS (PSU under M/o Water) and Government of Tanzania for preparation of DPR for Lake Victoria pipeline project
• MOU for Cooperation in the field of Hydrography & Protocol on exchange of Hydrographic Data: To promote development and cooperation in the field of Hydrography through conducting surveys, exchange of data, capacity building and infrastructure strengthening.
Besides, the President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete held delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agreed to set up a joint working group to combat terrorism. Kikwete also sought Indian investment for his country and assured Indian investors of investment friendly environment in his country.
CBRE Research released Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey
The CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE) Research on 18 June 2015 released the Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey. CBRE is an American commercial real estate company based in Seattle.
The survey listed out top 50 expensive office market spaces by surveying 127 markets around the globe.
In the survey, while London’s West End continued to be the world’s highest-priced office market, Connaught Place (CP) –Central Business District (CBD) in New Delhi was the fifth costliest office market in the world.
The cost of office space represents office rents and occupancy costs that include rent, plus local taxes and service charges per square feet per year as of 31 March 2015.
Highlights of Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey
• London West End’soverall prime occupancy costs of 267 US dollars per sq. ft. per year topped the most expensive list.
• Hong Kong(Central) followed with total prime occupancy costs of 254 US dollars per sq. ft., Beijing(Finance Street) (196 US dollars per sq. ft.),Beijing (Central Business District (CBD)) (188 US dollars per sq. ft.) and New Delhi(Connaught Place –CBD) (157 US dollars per sq. ft.) rounded out the top five.
• Hong Kong (Central) remained the only market in the world—other than London’s West End—with a prime occupancy cost exceeding 200 US dollars per sq. ft per year.
• Of the top 50 most expensive markets, 19 were in EMEA, 20 were in Asia Pacific and 11 were in the Americas.
• Global prime office occupancy costs rose 2.0 percent year-over-year, with the Americas up 2.9 percent, Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) rising 1.5 percent and Asia Pacific up 1.4 percent. The report said the change in prime office occupancy costs mirrored the gradual recovery of the global economy.
• Asia dominated the list accounting for four of the top five markets
• Asia Pacific had 20 markets ranked in the top 50 most expensive, including six of the top 10—Hong Kong (Central), Beijing (Finance Street), Beijing (CBD), New Delhi (Connaught Place - CBD), Hong Kong (West Kowloon) and Tokyo (Marunouchi Otemachi).
Indian cities in the Survey
• Connaught Place (CP) –Central Business District (CBD) in New Delhi was the fifth costliest office market in the world.
• CP-CBD moved up a spot in the rankings due to rupee depreciation when compared to the previous list of semiannual survey.
• Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), the alternative business district in Mumbai, was at the 15th position with a cost of 102 US dollars per sq. ft per annum) and Mumbai’s CBD of Nariman Point(76 US dollars per sq. ft per annum) was at 30th position.
Ricoh India Ltd. launched Picasso for improved access to medical images
Ricoh India Ltd. on 18 June 2015 launched Picasso solution in Hyderabad. It is combination of healthcare and information technology and based on the Ricoh cloud.
Features of Picasso
• It provides anytime anywhere access to medical images to doctors, diagnostic centres and patients on mobile phones, laptops and tablets.
• It is a web-based, cloud-enabled solution to help improve access to medical images and user efficiency.
• It is based upon PACS (picture archival and communication system) solution.
• It is a subscription-based model targeted primarily at diagnostic centres and hospitals in the country.
• It use will reduce the turnaround time, minimise cost of clinical imaging (make printed imaging redundant), optimise image compression and provide remote access to doctors.
• It can be integrated with any existing hospital information system or radiology information system to ensure consolidated patient data.
Ricoh India Ltd is a part of the 18.5 billion US dollars Tokyo-headquartered Ricoh Group.
IAMAI released Social Media in India 2014 report
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in collaboration with IMRB International on 17 June 2015 released the Social Media in India 2014 report.
The report analysed the trends in using social media across the countrybetween March 2014 and April 2015.
Highlights of Social Media in India 2014 report
• There are 143 million social media users in India as on April 2015.
• For many people accessing the Internet for the first time, social media was the reason they embraced Internet.
• Usage of social media in rural Indiahas grown by an impressive 100 percent to reach 25 million users during April 2014 and March 2015.
• Urban India registered a relatively lower growth of 35 percent with the total number of users at 118 million as on April 2015.
• The top 4 metros continue to account for almosthalf of the social media users in urban India.
• College going students and young men still form the 60 percentof the social media users in urban India.
• Facebook was leading social media website with 96 per cent of users in urban areas accessing it, followed by Google Plus (61 per cent), Twitter (43 per cent) and LinkedIn (24 per cent).
• The largest segment accessing social media consists of the college going students with 34 percent followed by young men at 27 percent.
• School going children constitute 12 percentof the social media users.
• 61 percent of users access social mediaon their mobiledevice.
• Maintaining a profile on social networking sites are a top activity of users followed by updating status.
• Commenting on a blog site is the third most popular activity among users in social networking sites.
Department of State of USA released Country Reports on Terrorism 2014
The Department of State of USA on 19 June 2015 released a report titled Country Reports on Terrorism 2014. The report delineated violence caused by terrorist activities across the world during 2014.
According to the report, in 2014, nearly 33000 people were killed in almost 13500 terrorist attacks around the world. That's up from just over 18000 deaths in nearly 10000 attacks in 2013.
Main highlights of the report
• Rise in attacks in 2014 were due to increased terror activity in Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
• Attacks were largely at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
• Boko Haram, militant group based in Nigeria, raised the number of terror acts by more than a third, nearly doubled the number of deaths and nearly tripled the number of kidnappings.
• There were 20 attacks that killed more than 100 people each in 2014, compared to just two in 2013.
• Among the 20 mass casualty attacks in 2014 were the December attack by the Pakistani Taliban on a school in Peshawar that killed at least 150 people, and the June attack by ISIL fighters on a prison in Mosul, Iraq, in which 670 Shia prisoners died.
• Terror attacks took place in 95 countries in 2014, but were concentrated in the Middle East, South Asia, and West Africa.
• Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria accounted for more than 60 percent of the attacks and, if Syria is included, they accounted for 80 percent of the fatalities.
• There has been rise in the number of so-called lone wolf attacks in the West and the use of more extreme methods of violence by fighters to repress and frighten communities under their control.
Report with respect to India
• India continued to be a major target for a range of terrorist groups; in 2014, around 400 people were killed as a result of terrorist attacks in India.
• Ineffective implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorist financing (CFT) laws, especially with regard to criminal convictions.
• India is restricting its enforcement of anti-hawala prosecutions to non-financial businesses only.
• United States investigators have had limited success in coordinating the seizure of illegal proceeds with their Indian counterparts.
350th foundation day of Shri Anandpur Sahib celebrated
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) celebrated the 350th foundation day of Shri Anandpur Sahib from 17 June to 19 June 2015 at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib located in Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. The holy city was founded by the 9th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1665.
Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib situated amid Shivalik hills on the bank of River Satluj is the birthplace of the Khalsa. It is the place that commemorates the miracle of 'celebrating the scum of humanity' and a wonder of the divine and transcendent guru-disciple matrix.
Guru Teg Bahadar was father of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who was the 10th Guru of Sikhs. Later, Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 created Khalsa Panth.
Anandpur Sahib is the new name of Chak Nanki, the name designated by Guru Tegh Bahadur after he purchased land of Makhowal.
Union Ministry of Finance constituted a Task Force headed by D Swarup on Financial Redress Agency
Union Ministry of Finance on 5 June 2015 constituted a Task Force on Financial Redress Agency (FRA). The 10-member task force will be headed by Dhirendra Swarup who served as the first chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in 2004.
The Task Force was set up to begin the preparatory work for FRA that was recommended by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC). FRA would act as a unified redress agency for financial consumers across the country.
Terms of Reference of the Task Force
- Review the international best practices in consumer grievance redress, including ombudsman and other dispute resolution mechanisms, with a focus on the financial sector.
- Review the present practices of management of financial consumer redress in India.
- Support the Ministry of Finance in procuring the services of competent consultants to operationalise the FRA.
- To undertake cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of alternatives/options while making recommendations.
The expenditure related to Task Force activities would be met from the budget of NIPFP-DEA research programme, which also will provide appropriate research assistance to the Task Force
The Task Force will complete its task in one year.
About Financial Redress Agency (FRA)
FRA was envisaged in the draft Indian Financial Code (IFC) and was recommended by the FSLRC. It would act as the first forum of independent grievance redress which a financial consumer can access. It will entertain grievance against all financial service providers. It would also handle a large number of relatively low value complaints on a pan-India basis and run a large scale, customer-centric process to deliver efficient and effective outcomes.
First-ever indigenously developed VRF ACs launched by Blue Star
Blue Star, India's largest central air-conditioning company, on 19 June 2015 launched VRF (variable refrigerant flow) IV Plus air conditioning (AC) system. This is the first-ever locally-developed-and-produced VRF ACs in India.
This VRF IV Plus AC system that is powered by inverter-driven compressor was designed after two years of indigenous R&D work. Its development work was spearheaded by a Japanese expert on VRF technology.
This new system of Blue Star will replace its existing VRF products, which were sourced from global manufacturers
A VRF AC system are used to cool large multi-zone spaces like hotels and restaurants, hospitals, educational institutions, residential and official spaces with varying different cooling and heating needs through smart controls.
About Blue Star
Blue Star is India's largest central air-conditioning company with an annual turnover of 2800 crore rupees. It works with a network of 32 offices, 7 modern manufacturing facilities, over 2000 dealers and around 2500 employees.
Union Ministry of Finance released Draft Outline of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
The Union Government on 19 June 2015 released the Draft Outline of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme. The government invited comments till 2 July 2015 on it.
The scheme is aimed at reducing the demand for physical gold and to shift part of the estimated 300 tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for investment into demat gold bonds.
Features of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
• Bonds will beissued on payment of money and would be linked to the price of gold.
• The sell would be restricted to resident Indian entitiesand each entity cannot buy more than 500 grams per person per year.
• The bonds will be issued in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 grams of goldor other denominations.
• The bonds will be issued with a nominal rate of interest (which will be linked to international rate for gold borrowing).
• The rate of interest on the bonds will be payable in terms of grams of gold. The interest will be calculated on 10000 at a certain per cent say 2 or 3 percent.
• On maturity, theinvestor receives the equivalent of the face value of gold in rupee terms.
• Bonds will be issued on behalf of the Government of India by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The bond will be marketed through post offices and by various brokers/agents who may need to be paid a commission (like for Kisan Vikas Patra).
• The price of gold may be taken from National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) / London Bullion Market Association/RBI and the rupee equivalent amount may be converted at the RBI reference rate on issue and redemption.
• Banks/ Non-bank financial companies (NBFCs)/Post Offices may collect money / redeem bonds on behalf of government (for a fee, the amount would be as decided).
• Capital gains tax treatment will be the same as for physical gold. This will ensure that an investor is indifferent in terms of investing in these bonds and in physical gold- as far as the tax treatment is concerned.
• The tenor of the bond could be for a minimum of 5 to 7 yearsso that it would protect investors from medium term volatility in the gold prices.
• These Bonds will be easily sold and traded on commodity exchanges
• Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The Loan to Value ratio can be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by RBI from time to time.
• During 2015-16 financial year gold bonds equivalent of 50 tonnes of gold would be issued. Since the amount, around 13500 crore rupees, is not very high, it can be accommodated within the market borrowing programme for 2015-16.
• Since these bonds are part of the sovereign borrowing, these would need to be within the fiscal deficit target for 2015-16 and onwards.
Comment
The announcement of Draft Outline of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme is in tune with the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s 2015-16 budget speech.
Jaitley, on 28 Februay 2015, announced three major initiatives viz., Gold Monetisation Scheme, Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and Indian Gold Coin to curb demand for physical gold there by reducing dependence on gold imports.
Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), for which the draft outline was released on 19 June 2015, is intended to replace both the gold deposit and gold metal loan scheme and to allow depositors to earn interest on their gold metal accounts jewelers to obtain loans.
Indian Gold Coin, which will carry the Ashok Chakra on its face, would help reduce the demand for gold coins and also help recycle the gold available in the country.
Brightest Galaxy in Early Universe named after Cristiano Ronaldo as CR7
Scientists in third week of June 2015 named a newly discovered galaxy after Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo. The galaxy was labeled as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7).
30-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo is also known as CR7 after his initials and jersey number.
CR7 is three times brighter than the brightest distant galaxy known till now, called Himiko. This brightest galaxy was discovered in the early universe that contains the first generation of stars.
First generation of stars, known as Population III stars, which were born out of the primoridial material from the Big Bang has been theorised by astronomers but physical proof of their existence had been inconclusive.
According to theories, these Population III stars would have been enormous, several hundred or even a thousand times more massive than the Sun, blazing hot, and transient, exploding as supernovae after only about two million years.
The Galaxy in the ancient Universe (period known as reionization), which existed 800 million years after the Big Bang was discovered by a team led by David Sobral from the University of Lisbon in Portugal, and Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. For this discovery, they used ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).
FSSAI set up an Expert Group on Salt, Sugar and Fat in Indian Food Products
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 12 June 2015 set up an Expert Group on Salt, Sugar and Fat in Indian Food Products. The 11-member Expert Group will be headed by Dr. D Prabhakaran, Director, Centre for Chronic Conditions and Injuries and Vice-President, Public Health Foundation of India.
The Group will examine Foods with High in Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS), also calledJunk Food, on the health of consumers, especially on school going children. The decision to set up the group was taken after the Delhi High Court asked the FSSAI to issue guidelines in this regard.
The Expert Group will advise FSSAI on potential health risks to vulnerable groups from consumption of Foods products with HFSS.
Further, it will also recommend FSSAI on prescription of regulations for display of fat, sugar and salt on food products sold and served in eating joints or catering facilities besides labelling requirements for packaged food.
China launched world’s first electric passenger aircraft BX1E
China on 19 June 2015 launched the world’s first electric passenger aircraft named BX1E that could be used in pilot training, tourism, meteorology and rescue operations.
The aircraft was designed together by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General Aviation Academy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of China.
The first two BX1E aircrafts were handed over to Liaoning Ruixiang General Aviation Co. Ltd. Each aircraft is priced at about 163000 US dollars. They will be used for training the pilots.
The plane participated in the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province in November 2015.
Highlights of the BX1E
• BX1E Electric Passenger aircraft has a 14.5-meter wingspan and a maximum payload of 230 kg.
• It can fly at an altitude of 3000 meters.
• If fully charged, the aircraft can have flight time of 45 minutes to 1 hour with a maximum speed of 160 km per hour. It can charge within two hours.
New series of Atithi Devo Bhava TV commercials launched
The Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on 19 June 2015 launched the new edition of Atithi Devo Bhavatelevision (TV) commercials starring Aamir Khan as brand ambassador.
The four films, made on the theme of Atithi Devo Bhava, will spread awareness about ways to extend hospitality to tourists visiting India by adopting an honest and helpful attitude, as well as maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.
Veteran actor Aamir Khan is the brand ambassador for these impressive films and these films have been directed by the eminent ad maker Prasoon Joshi. These four films will be telecasted on various television channels to spread the message of Atithi Devo Bhava across the country.
Other announcements:
• Launched a brochure titled India- The Land of Yoga, that gives details of Yoga destinations and will help to promote Yoga as a tourism product.
• Setting up of a National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board to boost medical tourism. The Board will help to bring together the various streams of medicine available in India including Ayurveda, Yoga, naturopathy, Unani and low cost allopathic treatments.
• Development of four new tourist circuits on the themes of Wildlife, Spiritual, Desert and Ramayana under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. These four circuits will be in addition to the five circuits already being developed by the Union Ministry of Tourism.
France announced ban on earphones for Drivers and Cyclists
France on 18 June 2015 announced a ban on wearing earphones while driving a vehicle and riding a cycle. The ban will come into effect from 1 July 2015.
The ban was announced with an aim to reduce deaths due to accidents.
Those found using earphones while driving a vehicle or riding a cycle will be fined 135 Euro (214 US dollar) and lose three license points. However, use of phone while having the caller on loud speaker will be allowed.
The announced ban was initially proposed in January 2015 to cut down death toll on the roads in France and to improve driver’s attention while driving. The officials said that one in 10 deaths was linked to mobile phone use while driving.
Justice Gian Parkash Mittal resigned from the Office of the Judge of Delhi High Court
justice Gian Parkash Mittal on 19 June 2015 resigned from the Office of the Judge of Delhi High Court with effect from the afternoon of 8 July 2015. However, the reason behind his resignation was not disclosed
Mittal tendered his resignation from the office of the Judge of Delhi High Court, in pursuance of provision (a) to clause (1) of article 217 of the Indian Constitution.
Article 217 of the Constitution of India
Article 217 of Indian Constitution states appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court. As per clause (1) of article 217, every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State.
And as per provision (a) to clause (1) of Article 217 of the Indian Constitution, a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.
Former Turkey President Suleyman Demirel died
Former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel died on 17 June 2015 following a heart failure and a respiratory tract infection. He was 90. Demirel was one of the dominant figures in Turkey's politics for over half a century.
He served as the President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000, but before that he also held the post of Prime Minister of the country several times in the 1960s and 1970s.
Demirel launched his political career in the aftermath of the 1960 military coup that deposed the Government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. He came to power with a landslide win in 1965 as the Prime Minister of Turkey.
However, when the ideological conflict started to turn violent in the Turkey, Demirel was forced out of office in 1971 through a military coup. Demirel was back in power in 1975, but his Coalition Government including Islamists and nationalists again failed to halt Turkey's slide into chaos.
As president, Demirel fostered ties with the Turkic republics of the former Soviet Union and took credit for brokering the removal of an Islamist government from power under pressure from the secular-minded military in 1997.
Demirel was a trained civil engineer. He oversaw many hydroelectric projects and became Director General of the State Hydraulic Works where he looked after the construction of dams. He was born to a farming family in the western Turkish province of Isparta in November 1924.