21-22 feb 2015 eng

21 feb

Eminent filmmaker Nirad Mahapatra passed away

Eminent Odia filmmaker Nirad Mahapatra passed away on 19 February 2015 in Mumbai following a brief illness. He was 67.

As a film-maker, Mahapatra was best known for his cultural, ecological and industrial documentaries. He was an alumni of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.

Mahapatra gained international fame with his very first film Maya Miriga in 1984. The film was awarded Rajat Kamal at the National Film Awards. Later, it also won a special jury award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mahapatra was lecturer at FTII from 1972-1974 and had taught acclaimed directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Saeed Mirza and Ketan Mehta. He was also in the Board of Directors of FTII.

In 1974, he founded a Film Society called Cinexstasy at Bhubaneswar, Odisha which he ran till 1983. He made several exceptional documentaries and won many awards. Some of his famous documentaries are Pata Painting (1986), Aparajita (1991), A Ray of Hope (1996), Chilika- A Fragile Eco-System (2001), etc.

Nirad Mahapatra was born on born 12 November 1947 in Bhadrak, Balasore district of Odisha.

KVIC, RSETIS signed MoU to provide vocational training to unemployed youth

The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on 20 February 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Monitoring Cell for Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs).

KVIC is under the Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and RSETI is under the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

The MoU was signed by BH Anil Kumar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Commissioner for KVIC and KN Janardhana, Chief Project Co-ordinator of Monitoring Cell for RSETIs.

The MoU was signed to enhance the business skills and project-related skills of the beneficiaries under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and improve the viability of the PMEGP project which is being implemented by KVIC.

As part of the MoU
• RSETIs will carry out Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training of PMEGP beneficiaries.
• Monitoring Cell for RSETIs/RUDSETIs will ensure hand holding for trainees, project formulation and guidance up to a period of two years including arranging for bank loan sanction.
• Monitoring Cell for RSETIs will also prepare district-wise model project reports for benefit of beneficiaries.
• Monitoring Cell for RSETIs will utilize infrastructure of KVIC Departmental Training Centres for their skill development courses as per requirement on payment of charges.
• RSETIs will also organize workshop jointly with KVIC at district level for officials of Banks to sensitize them on PMEGP.

MoU was signed for an initial period of three years and the performance under the MoU will be reviewed after 2 years.

Further, trainees having undergone skill development programme at RSETIs & Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institutes (RUDSETI) will be provided a higher rating in District Level Task Force Committee (DLTFC) of PMEGP for their selection.

UNSC adopted Resolution 2201 demanding Houthis withdrawal from Yemen’s government institutions

United Nation Security Council (UNSC) on 15 February 2015 adopted the Resolution 2201 demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Houthis from the government institutions of Yemen.

The resolution was brought after the UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon had warned the 15-member UNSC that Yemen was collapsing under the weight of a protracted political crisis, widespread attacks by Al-Qaida, increasing secessionist tendencies in the south and an acute humanitarian crisis.

Main Highlights of the Resolution

The resolution demanded Houthis to safely release President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and all others from house arrest, and engage in good faith in UN-brokered negotiations designed to keep the fracturing Middle Eastern country on a steady path towards democratic transition.
The Council strongly deplored actions by the Houthis, who had gained control of the capital Sana’a in September 2014, to dissolve parliament and take over Government institutions.
The resolution urged all parties to agree upon and publicly announce dates for completing the constitutional consultation process, hold a referendum on the text and conduct elections under the new electoral law.
It strongly called on all parties, in particular the Houthis, to abide by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, as well as the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement, which provided for a Yemeni-led democratic transition.
The Council also demanded that all parties cease armed hostilities against the people and legitimate authorities of Yemen, and relinquish arms seized from military and security institutions.
Stressing the importance of the United Nations’ cooperation with international partners, the Council requested the Secretary-General to propose options for strengthening the office of the Special Adviser.
It also called on Secretary-General to propose options on UN assistance for finalizing and adopting the Constitution in Yemen, carrying out electoral reform and holding general elections.

Background

Yemen has been beset by unrest for months. The country has been marred by fights between Houthis militias and Yemen government.

The Houthis, who adhere to a branch of Shia Islam known as Zaidism, have staged periodic uprisings since 2004 in an effort to win greater autonomy for their northern heartland of Saada province.

They consolidated their control over Saada during the 2011 uprising that forced long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

In September 2014, they gained control of Sana'a, the capital of Yemen.

Houthis accuse President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and other leaders of putting their interests ahead of the Yemeni people. However, the opponents allege that the rebels ultimately hope to reinstall the Zaidi imamate, which ruled North Yemen for almost 1000 years until 1962.

Maheshwar Sahu appointed as Independent Director on board of RIL

Maheshwar Sahu was on 20 February 2015 appointed as an Independent Director on the board of Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). He is a retired IAS officer.

With this appointment, Sahu joins RIL as one of the eight independent directors on its 14-member board.

Sahu is famously known as the man behind the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brainchild event- Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

He holds more than 23 years of experience in civil service and 15 years of practical experience in industries including that of more than 5 years in Union Government.

Sahu was Additional Chief Secretary (Industries and Mining) in Gujarat government. He has also served as Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation.

He had also worked as Joint Secretary in Department of Telecom in Union Government and in Union Ministry of Environment & Forest as Joint Secretary.

Veteran CPI leader Govind Pansare died

Govind Pansare, leader of Communist Party of India (CPI), died on 20 February 2015 at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai. He was 82.

Pansare succumbed to bleeding in lungs after he was shot along with his wife Uma by unidentified persons near his house in Kolhapur on 16 February 2015.

Pansare was leading a campaign against the collection of toll in Maharashtra. He was threatened and abused for speaking against the glorification of Nathuram Godse at a gathering.

He was a Marxist intellectual, writer, public speaker, labour leader and an advocate. He wrote 21 books, most of them were commentaries on the wrong practices in the society.

His biographical sketch of Shivaji Maharaj in his book Shivaji Kon Hota has been translated in numerous Indian languages. The book is a commentary on how fundamentalists misused the image of Shivaji against Muslims. It drew strong opposition.

Born in 1933 in Kolhar, Ahmednagar district, Pansare was known for his advocacy for rights of people from the lower most strata of society.

Tapan Misra appointed as Chief of ISRO’s Space Application Centre

Eminent scientist Tapan Misra was on 20 February 2015 appointed as the Chief of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

He succeeded AS Kiran Kumar, who was appointed as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 12 January 2015.

Prior to this appointment, Tapan Misra was Deputy Director of Microwave Remote Sensing Area in SAC. He is also heading the Office of Innovations Management of ISRO at Bengaluru.

Tapan Misra
• Misra is an electronics and telecommunication engineering graduate from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
• He began his career at SAC as a digital hardware engineer responsible for the development of Quick Look Display System of X-Band Side Looking Airborne Radar in 1984.
• He was lead designer for the development of C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) of India’s Radar Imaging Satellite-1 (RISAT-1).
• He also led the team of SAC that had developed a special airborne radar system called DMSAR (SAR for Disaster Management).
• In 1990, he developed an important algorithm for real time processing of SAR data during his tenure as Guest Scientist in German Aerospace Agency (DLR).
• He also led the development of scatterometer payload of Oceansat-2 Satellite that was launched in 2009.
• He has also been honoured with various awards for his work including Hari Om Ashram Prerit Vikram Sarabhai research Award (2004), ISRO Merit award (2008), Sir JC Bose National Talent Search (JBNSTS) Scholarship (1981).
• He has 2 granted patents, 6 pending patents, 5 copyrights and many research papers to his credit.

Parliament of Thailand passed a law to ban commercial surrogacy for foreigners

Parliament of Thailand (National Legislative Assembly) on 19 February 2015 passed a law banning commercial surrogacy, putting a halt on foreign couples seeking to have children through Thai surrogate mothers. The parliament voted 160 to 2 to pass the law.

The legislation is aimed at ending rent-a-womb industry that made the Southeast Asian country a top destination for fertility tourism.

Provisions of law banning commercial surrogacy
• It completely bans foreign couples seeking to have children through Thai surrogate mothers.
• Only married Thai couples or couples with one Thai partner who have been married at least three years can seek surrogacy.
• It allows a Thai couple to seek a surrogate to carry the fetus only if they are able to prove that they and their relatives are infertile.
• It also forbids any middlemen or agencies, receiving any assets or benefits through the surrogacy process.
• It also says that anyone violating this law will face a maximum jail sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of 6100 US dollars. Agents will also face imprisonment, if caught.
• It puts a ban on advertising and promotions, shuts down surrogate agents and unregistered clinics.

Background
Earlier in November 2014, Thailand’s Parliament voted a draft bill to ban commercial surrogacy. This draft bill was formulated to regulate the illegal commercial surrogacy after outrage erupted over this unregulated industry.

This industry came under intense scrutiny after a series of surrogacy scandals broke in the country involving foreigners.

International Mother Language Day observed on February 21

International Mother Language Day 2015 was celebrated across the world on 21 February 2015. The theme for the year 2015 is Inclusive Education through and with Language - Language Matters.

The year 2015 is the 15th anniversary of International Mother Language Day.

The day is observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999.

The day, February 21, represents the date in 1952 when students from Bangladesh demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.

On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vides its resolution 61/266 called upon Member States to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.

By the same resolution, UNGA proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.