21-22 October 2015
Sehwag retired from all forms of International Cricket, IPL
Indian cricketer Virender Shewag on 20 October 2015 retired from all forms of international Cricket and Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sehwag revealed his decision after signing up to play in 2016 Masters Champions League Twenty20 tournament in Dubai. Masters Champions League, a UAE-based Twenty20 tournament requires its participants to have retired from all international formats.
Virender Sehwag
An aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler, Sehwag played his debut One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian Test team in 2001. He was also the part of two World Cup winning teams under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership, 2007 World T20 in South Africa and the ICC ODI World Cup in India.
Details of his Cricket career
Test: Batted in 180 innings of 104 matches and scored 8586 runs of which 319 was his highest score. He also bowled in 91 innings and took 40 wickets.
ODI:Batted in 245 of 251 matches and scored 8273 runs of which 219 was his highest score. He also bowled in 146 innings and took 96 wickets.
T20Is: Batted in 18 of 19 matches and scored 394 runs of which 68 was his highest score.
In April 2009, Sehwag became the only Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009.
• Nicknamed Veeru, Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319 against South Africa at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai), which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls).
• He holds the record of fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai).
• His other innings of 309 and 293 are also the second and third best by any Indian player.
• Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul.
• On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark.
• His score became the highest individual score in ODI cricket – 219 off 149 balls which was later bettered by Rohit Sharma – 264 off 173 balls on 13 November 2014.
• He is one of only two players in the world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket, the other being Chris Gayle.
Justice Vaiphei appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 19 October 2015 appointed Justice Tinlianthang Vaiphei, senior-most Judge of Gauhati High Court, as the acting Chief Justice for the Gauhati High Court. The President appointed Vaiphei by exercising the powers conferred by article 223 of the Constitution of India.
Justice Vaiphei will perform the duties with effect from 21 October 2015 consequent upon the retirement of Justice Karanam Sreedhar Rao, Acting Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court.
On 15 September 2000, Vaiphei was appointed as an additional Advocate General, Mizoram, and was also designated as a Senior Advocateon 22 February 2001. He was then elevated to the Bench asAdditional Judge, Gauhati High Courton 17 July 2003, and was madePermanent Judgeon 28 February 2005.
Born on 1 March 1956, Justice Vaiphei obtained his bachelor’s degree from Nowrosjee Wadia College, University of Poona in 1976. He completed his LLB degree from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi in 1979.
Tinlianthang Vaiphei was enrolled in the Bar Council of Assam on 22 August 1980. He started law practice in the Courts of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Munsiff and Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate in the Churachandpur district of Manipur in 1980.
Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports constituted All India Council of Sports
Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 19 October 2015 constituted All India Council of Sports to advise the ministry on matters relating to the promotion and development of sports and games in the country. It will headed byProf V K Malhotra.
Members of All India Council of Sports
• Sachin Tendulkar, MP (Rajya Sabha)
• P T Usha (Athletics)
• Limba Ram (Archery)
• N Kunjarani Devi (Weightlifting)
• I M Vijayan (Football)
• P Gopichand (Badminton)
• Baichung Bhutia (Football)
• Uday Shankar, CEO Star India
• Vishwanathan Anand (Chess)
• Sandeep Pradhan, Director General, Sports Authority of Gujarat
• Secretary (Sports), Government of Madhya Pradesh
• Secretary (Sports), Government of Assam
• President/Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association
• Secretary, Department of Sports, Government of India
• Director General, Sports Authority of India (SAI)
• Director General, National Anti Doping Agency
• Vice Chancellor, Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education (LNIPE)
• Joint Secretary, Department of Sports, Government of India
Secretary, SAI (Member secretary of the council)
Other members of the Council will be nominated in due course.
AB de Villiers named brand ambassador of MRF
Tyre manufacturing giant MRF Limited on 20 October 2015 named South African batsman AB de Villiers as its brand ambassador. As per company norms, the association is for a period of three years.
AB de Villiers, the ODI captain of South Africa team, in his new role will endorse the company’s products and services through advertising campaigns and other such promotional programmes during the term of the agreement.
AB de Villiers who captains the South African One Day International (ODI) team is regarded as the current best batsman in the world and one of the greatest of all time. He holds the record for most Test innings without registering a duck (78), before being dismissed for nought against Bangladesh in November 2008. He also holds the second-highest individual score by a South African batsman in an innings, with 278 not out.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting reconstituted Central Press Accreditation Committee
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 19 October 2015 reconstituted the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB)cards to journalists.
Post reconstitution, PIB director general Frank Noronhawill be the ex-officio chairman of the committee.
Renowned journalists included in the the committee are:
•Pramod Kumar of National Union of Journalists (India), International Federation of Journalists
•Surendra Verma of Association of Accredited News Cameraman
•Shyam Babu of Indian Federation of Working Journalists
•Rabi Rath from Association of Small and Medium Newspapers of India
•Meenakshi Pandit from All India Journalists Welfare Association
The nominated members for the committee are:
•Navika Kumar from Times Now
•Diwakar Asthana from The Times of India
•Coomi Kapoor from Indian Express
•Jayanto Ghoshal from ABP
•Amitabh Sinha from IBN-7 TV
•Akhilesh Sharma from NDTV
•Kalyan Barua from Assam Tribune
•Iftikhar Geelani from DNA
•Nistula Hebbar from The Hindu
•Shekhar Iyer from Deccan Herald
The tenure of the CPAC will be for a period of two years from the date of its first meeting.
Anil Kumble named Brand Ambassador of Champions Tennis League team Raipur Rangers
Former Indian captain and leg spinner Anil Kumble on 20 October 2015 was named as the brand ambassador of the Raipur Rangers – one of the franchises of Champions Tennis League (CTL).
Raipur Rangers is co-owned by Abhishek Mishra and Chinmay Tiwari and will comprise players like Thomas Muster, Alize Cornet and Ramanathan Ramkumar.
The Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium in Raipur will be the team's home stadium. The team will also be accompanied by two Indian juniors.
The Champions Tennis League was conceptualised by Vijay Amritraj in 2014.
Snapdeal appointed Anup Vikal as CFO
E-commerce firm Snapdeal on 20 October 2015 appointed Anup Vikal as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Vikal replaced Aakash Moondhra, who had quit the company in October 2015.
Before joining Snapdeal, Vikal was working as the CFO of Aircel since January 2013. Before Aircel, he worked as the group-CFO & head of strategy and IT with budget carrier IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Enterprises, wherein he handled multiple responsibilities like incubating and developing new business, mergers and acquisitions and portfolio management. He also served as a part of Bharti Airtel's finance team for around seven years before joining Colt, where he worked for a few years.
Anup Vikal learned mechanical engineering from NIT, Surat. He obtained his MBA degree from South Gujarat University.
Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India by Sam Pitroda
Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India: Sam Pitroda
The book Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India was launched on 19 October 2015. It is the auto biography of Sam Pitroda written with the help of David Chanoff, an American author.
The book describes the journey of Satanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, considered as the ‘father of Indian telecom revolution.
It starts with 1964 when he embarked on a long journey to the USA from Titilagarh in Odisha.
Further, the book delineates his success in the technology space, his return to India to assist the former Rajiv Gandhi to assure in telecom revolution in the country and important incidents in his life post the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Noted criminologist K Chockalingam won Paul H Appleby Award
Noted criminologist K Chockalingam was in fourth week of October 2015 conferred with the prestigious Paul H Appleby Award given by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). He was awarded for his distinguished services to public administration and IIPA, where he was a member.
Chockalingam has served as a professor and a researcher in criminology in University of Madras and is Vice President of World Society of Victimology. He also worked as Chair Professor of criminal law at the National Law University (NLU) in Delhi from 2012-14.
• He is an author of four books and more than 75 research papers.
• He won many awards like
a) Senior Social Scientist Award of Indian Society of Criminology 1994
b) Distinguished International Scholar Award of American Society of Criminology 1996.
• He is also the founder and president of
a) Indian Society of Victimology since 1992
b) International Advisor of Tokiwa International Victimology Institute, Japan since 2003
Paul H Appleby Award is conferred by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). The award is a tribute to Paul Appleby, a noted author of works in the field of public administration who helped in developing the vision of the institute in the early years of its founding.
Russia, US signed deal to avoid clashes between their air forces over Syrian skies
Russia and United States on 20 October 2015 inked a Memorandum of Mutual Understanding (MoU) on preventing incidents and providing for aviation flights during operations in Syria. It was signed between the Defense Ministries of Russia and the United States.
The agreement was signed to avoid clashes between their air forces in the skies over Syria and provide smooth operation of the two nations’ aircrafts and for mutual aid in critical situations.
The agreement included coalition aircraft; coalition members include Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Russian began air strikes in Syria on 30 September 2015, saying it was targeting Islamic State militants. The US said that in the third week of October planes of both nations entered the same battle space and came within miles of each other.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the text of the deal would remain secret at Moscow's request, but that it laid out means for both sides to communicate and establish a hotline on the ground. The two countries would not, however, share intelligence on their targets.
Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said the memorandum contains a number of rules and restrictions aimed at preventing incidents between American and Russian planes.
Renowned marine biologist Syed Zahoor Qasim died
Renowned marine biologist Syed Zahoor Qasim died on 20 October 2015 in New Delhi. He was 88.
He is considered as the founder of Polar Biology in India and was part of the first Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1981-82.
After the first expedition, he successfully organized and guided the next the seven expeditions till 1988 and made pioneering contributions in the field of fisheries biology, mari-culture, estuarine ecology and environmental pollution.
Based on his research, he also published around 200 original research papers in national and international journals.
He was also a member of Planning Commission (1991-96) and served as the vice-chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi.
In recognition of his contributions, he was honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Union Government and Life Time Achievement Award by the Indian Science Congress in 2008.
He was born on 31 December 1926 at Allahabad in the present day Uttar Pradesh.
Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day observed on 21 October
21 October 2015: Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day
Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Prevention Day was observed on 21 October 2015 across the world to create awareness of the need to prevent iodine deficiency.
Almost one-third of world’s population is exposed to the risk of iodine deficiency disorders. Iodine deficiency is also the world’s single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation.
A diet low in iodine is the main cause of iodine deficiency. It usually occurs among populations living in areas where the soil has been depleted of iodine because of flooding, heavy rainfall or glaciations.
Around 71 million people in India suffer from Iodine Deficiency Disorders. A mapping of the risk showed that neither any state nor any union territory is completely free of the IDD risk with Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar being the worst hit.
Iodine deficiency can lead to enlargement of the thyroid, hypothyroidism and mental retardation in infants and children whose mothers were iodine deficient during pregnancy.
India’s Contribution
In 1984, the Government of India adopted a policy decision with the goal of Universal Iodization of Salt. The sustained efforts of Salt Commissionerate over the last two decades in implementing the policy initiatives and the cooperation of the salt manufacturers have resulted in significant progress on Salt Iodisation Status in the country.
UN released The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics report
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations on 20 October 2015 released a report entitled The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics.
The report provides an update of the statistics and indicators on the situation of women and men around the world covering gender-specific information on eight key areas-population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty.
Findings of the report in eight key areas
Population and Families
• There are about 62 million more men than women worldwide. In younger age groups, men outnumber women; in older age groups, women outnumber men.
• Child marriage has declined; still, almost half of women aged 20 to 24 in Southern Asia and two fifths in sub-Saharan Africa marry before age 18.
• Adolescent birth rates declined almost everywhere but are still high in many African and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Health
• Life expectancy over the past 20 years has risen for both sexes—reaching 72 years for women and 68 years for men in 2010–2015. The gender gap tends to widen as life expectancy increases.
• Men are at a higher risk than women of the same age of dying from cardiovascular disease, but more women than men die from the disease since they tend to live longer.
Education
• Despite progress, only one in two children in developing regions receive pre-primary education compared to nine in 10 in developed regions.
• An estimated 58 million children of primary school age—31 million of whom are girls—are out of school.
• Nearly two thirds of the world’s 781 million illiterate adults are women, and almost all of them live in developing regions.
Work
• Globally, about three quarters of men and half of women participate in the labour force; the gender gap in participation has narrowed in only some regions and remains widest in Northern Africa, Western Asia and Southern Asia.
• Vulnerable employment—that is, own-account and contributing family work—constitutes half of women’s and men’s employment globally, but is most common in Africa and Asia, especially among women.
• Women earn less than men across all sectors and occupations, with women working full-time earning between 70 and 90 per cent of what men earn in most countries.
Power and decision-making
• The number of female Heads of State or Government reached 19 in 2015, only seven more than in 1995.
• Around 30 per cent of electoral candidates in lower or single houses of parliament are women.
• The glass ceiling appears to be most impenetrable in the world’s largest corporations; less than 4 per cent of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are women and the gender composition of executive boards of private companies is far from parity.
Violence against women
• Women across the world, regardless of income, age or education, are subject to physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence.
• At least 119 countries have passed laws on domestic violence, 125 have laws on sexual harassment and 52 have laws on marital rape.
Environment
• About half of population in developing regions lack access to improved drinking water on the premises; and the burden of water collection falls mostly on women.
• The number of deaths from diarrhoea due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in developing regions was 0.8 million in 2012; the majority of such deaths in some parts of Asia were among women and girls.
Poverty
• On average 1 in 3 married women in developing countries have no say about major household purchases, and 1 in 10 are not consulted on how their own cash earnings are spent.
• Globally, 47 per cent of women have an individual or joint account at a formal financial institution compared to 55 per cent of men.
About the report
The report is based on eight critical areas of policy concern as identified by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that was adopted by the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.
The Beijing Declaration seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women throughout their life cycle.
Union Cabinet approved agreement between India and Egypt on Maritime Transport
The Union Cabinet on 21 October 2015 gave its nod to sign an agreement between India and Egypt on Maritime Transport.
The agreement will be signed on a mutually convenient date and venue.
Highlights of the agreement
•It will help both the nations to encourage and facilitate the development of their maritime relationship.
•It will help both the nations to cooperate in the task of enhancing and stimulating steady growth of maritime traffic.
•Both the nations will exchange and train staff and students from various maritime establishments.
•Both the nations will exchange-of information necessary for accelerating and facilitating the flow of commercial goods at sea and at ports.
•Both the nations will establish joint ventures in the fields of maritime transportation, shipbuilding and repairs, maritime training, information technology including development of simulators, port facilities and related maritime activities, etc.
Union Cabinet approved amendments to Payment of Bonus Act 1965 hiking bonus for Industrial workers
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 October 2015 approved amendment in the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 for the Industrial workers.
According to the decision
• The bonus ceiling under the legislation was increased from 3500 rupees to 7000 rupees per month.
• The wage ceiling for getting bonus has also been increased from existing 10000 rupees per month to 21000 rupees per month.
The decision will make workers eligible for the reward. The amendment bill concerning this will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament likely to start in November 2015.
The amendment in the Act to increase wage ceiling and maximum amount of bonus was one of assurances given by the Union Government after 10 Central Trade Unions went on one-day strike.
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 is the principal act for the payment of bonus to the employees which was formed with an objective for rewarding employees for their good work for the organization. It is a step forward to share the prosperity of the establishment reflected by the profits earned by the contributions made by capital, management and labour with the employees.
Union Cabinet approved treaty between India and Maldives on Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters
The Union Cabinet on 21 October 2015 gave its approval for signing of aMutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)in Criminal Matters between India and the Maldives.
The treaty aims to boost the efficiency of both the countries in investigation and prosecution of crime, through cooperation and mutual legal assistance in terrorism, transnational crime and criminal matters.
The proposed treaty will offer a broad legal framework for bilateral cooperation with Maldives in investigation and prosecution of crime as well as in tracing, restraint and confiscation of proceeds, and instruments of crime as well as funds meant to finance terrorist acts.
What is Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)?
A mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) is an agreement between two or more countries for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information in an effort to enforce public laws or criminal laws.
This assistance may take the form of examining and identifying people, places and things, custodial transfers and providing assistance with the immobilization of the instruments of criminal activity.
Indian Women facing inequality at all stages of Life Cycle: UN Study
A study of the United Nations released on 20 October 2015 observed that Indian women are facing inequality at all stages of life cycle-from birth to old age-and in all places whether at home or in larger society.
The observation was made in the report entitled The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics which is an update of the statistics on the situation of women and men around the world.
While sex-selective abortions have been technically illegal since 1996, the law has had little effect so far on the sex ratio at birth.
Key findings of the report
• In absolute terms, India is home to largestsurplus of men in the world with 43 million, next only to China that has 52 million surplus men.
• India has the lowest sex ratio in under-5 mortality with a ratio of 93 that is 93 boys die before age 5 for 100 girls that die by that age; India is also the only country with an under-5 mortality sex ratio under 100.
• India alone accounted for 21 per cent of all under-5 deaths in 2013.
• Higher mortality among girls can be closely related to a general preference for sons that is expressed in special treatment for boys in terms of parental investment in nutrition, vaccinations, access to health treatment and parental care in general.
• Between 1995 and 2013, women’sparticipation in the labour forcedeclined from 35 to 27 per cent.
• More than 70 per cent of men working in the non-agriculture sector were employed informally who are vulnerable to unemployment.
• While female panchayat headstend to prioritize issues surrounding the provision of drinking water, male heads tend to place more emphasis on irrigations systems.
• As per data available for 2005-06, in around 99 percent instances,sexual violence is perpetrated by an intimate partner of women.
• India accounts for one third of the global total of child marriages.
• About 47 per cent of ever-married girls and women aged 15 to 49 belonging to Scheduled Tribes reported experiences of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands, compared to 40 per cent of the total population.
• Sex of a child influences care-seeking, including delayed hospitalization that results in lower rates of hospitalization among girls than boys.
• Delays in seeking treatment are generally associated with longer travel distances to health facilities, poverty, lower levels of education and lack of a health card by the mother.
• India is the biggest contributor to global electricity access deficit where306.2 million people are without electricityout of 1.2 billion people on the planet.
• Women are most vulnerable during disasters evident from female mortality during 2004 tsunami and 2010 heat wave in Gujarat.
• India, along with Nepal, stands as an example to showcase greater participation by women in forest governance is linked to stronger efforts to overcome fuel shortages, and improved conservation practices and resource regeneration.
• The proportion of women with an account at a formal financial institution was lower than 17 percentage points compared to women.
About the report
The report is based on eight critical areas of policy concern- population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty.
These parameters were identified by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995 as crucial to achieve gender equality across all segments of life cycle.
The Beijing Declaration was adopted by the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women throughout their life cycle.
Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2015 held in Mexico City
The Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2015 was held between 18 October and 21 October 2015 in the Mexico City.
It was a technical meeting focused on accelerating progress towards effective and sustainable coverage of maternal and newborn interventions at scale.
It provided a forum to identify, understand and respond to the most urgent health needs of mothers and newborns, focusing on quality care, integration and equity.
It was attended by technical implementers, policymakers, researchers and practitioners from over 50 countries including India.
It was convened by USAID’s flagship Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), among others, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Erstwhile Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Areas divided into two Separate Headquarters
The Ministry of Defence on 21 October 2015 divided the erstwhile Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Areas into two separate headquarters. It was divided into two under Flag Officer Maharashtra Area and Flag Officer Gujarat Naval Area.
This was done with an objective to enhance operational and administrative structure of the organisation.
The charge of Flag Officer Maharashtra Area was assumed by Rear Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade from Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar who now will officiate as Flag Officer Gujarat Naval Area.
Rear Admiral SN Ghormade is an alumnus of National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla and his career spans over 31 years. During this period he has been through a myriad of operational and staff appointments.
His operational appointments include commands of the Guided Missile Frigate INS Brahmaputra, Submarine Rescue Vessel INS Nireekshak, and Minesweeper INS Allepey.
He is the recipient of the Nau Sena Medal in 2007 by the President of India and Commendation by Chief of Naval Staff in 2000.
Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea won 17th International Frederic Chopin Piano competition in Poland
Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea, aged 21, won the 17th international Frederic Chopin Piano competition in Warsaw, the capital of Poland on 20 October 2015. With this, he also won the prize money of 33600 US dollars.
The winning of this competition opens the way for Seong-Jin to performances in some of the world's best-known concert halls.
Charles Richard-Hamelin of Canada won the second prize while third place went to Kate Liu of the United States (US).
Apart from this, Seong-Jin also won the Fryderyk Chopin Society Prize for best performance of a polonaise.
The competition began on 3 October 2015 and saw participation of 78 pianists from 20 countries.
About the Frederic Chopin Piano competition
The competition is held every five years and is one of the few in which pianists play pieces by a single composer. It has been a launching pad for many internationally renowned Pianists.
According to the rules, only the pianists from across the world born between 1985 and 1999 can apply for the competition.
The competition is held under the Honorary Patronage of the President of Poland and the organizer of the competition is the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.