Current Affaires 21-22 December 2014 English

Union Government released Calendar for the year 2015 with theme Clean India Green India

22-DEC-2014

Union Government released Calendar for the year 2015 with the theme Clean India Green India. The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley launched the calendar and its mobile app on 17 December 2014.
The calendar highlights the societal work of the union government through the visuals of Swachch Bharat or Clean India Programme with picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wielding the broom on the first page of the calendar.
The calendar also contributes to the union government’s Digital India programme with its mobile calendar app.
The mobile app will display all gazetted and restricted holidays and also date-wise events. It will also provide information on Press Information Bureau events and releases, the latest five tweets by the Prime Minister’s Office, All India Radio news, Doordarshan news, a list of government websites and link to the ministry on YouTube.
At present, the mobile app being developed for Android platforms and in future the app will be available on other mobile platforms.
Union Government released Calendar for the year 2015 with the theme Clean India Green India. The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley launched the calendar and its mobile app on 17 December 2014.
The calendar highlights the societal work of the union government through the visuals of Swachch Bharat or Clean India Programme with picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wielding the broom on the first page of the calendar.
The calendar also contributes to the union government’s Digital India programme with its mobile calendar app.
The mobile app will display all gazetted and restricted holidays and also date-wise events. It will also provide information on Press Information Bureau events and releases, the latest five tweets by the Prime Minister’s Office, All India Radio news, Doordarshan news, a list of government websites and link to the ministry on YouTube.
At present, the mobile app being developed for Android platforms and in future the app will be available on other mobile platforms.

News Corp acquired Indian start-up firm BigDecisions.Com

22-DEC-2014

Rupert Murdoch-led News Corp on 21 December 2014 acquired India's financial advisory start-up firm BigDecisions.Com for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition of BigDecisions.Com includes the site's parent company, FinDirect Services Pvt Ltd.
BigDecisions.Com started in 2013 by Manish Shah and Gaurav Roy help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data.
With the acquisition, now Shah and Roy both will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.
The acquisition forms the part of News Corp’s strategy to expand its presence in digital media.
Earlier in November 2014, News Corp acquired 25 percent stake in Indian realty portal PropTiger.Com for 30 million US dollar. It picked up the stake in Singapore-based Elara Technologies Pte Ltd, the parent firm of PropTiger.Com.
About News Corp
News Corporation or News Corp. was an American multinational mass media corporation headquartered in New York City. It was the world's second-largest media group in 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world’s third largest in entertainment in 2009.
In June 2012, Rupert Murdoch announced to split the company into two publicly traded companies, one oriented towards media, and the other towards publishing.
The split formally took place in June 2013 where the present News Corp. was renamed 21st Century Fox comprising primarily of media outlets, while a new News Corp was formed to take on the publishing and Australian broadcasting assets.

Shiva Keshavan won Silver at 17th Asian Luge Championships

22-DEC-2014

Shiva Keshavan on 21 December 2014 won Silver at the 17th Asian Luge Championships. He clocked 49.934 seconds to cover the 1326 metre long ice track in the men's luge competition at the Spiral Olympic Sliding Centre in Nagano, Japan.
The Gold was won by Japan's Hidenari Kanayama with a time of 49.791 seconds while Kim of Korea bagged the bronze with a timing of 50.178. Hidenari had also won gold in 2011 and 2022 Asian Luge Championships.
However, Keshavan’s Asian records remain intact. He has the start record of 3.191 seconds and speed record of 134.3 kmph in the Asian Luge Championhips.
On the other hand, in the Class B of the Asia Cup also saw India's Murlidhar Negi finish ninth.
In the Ladies' Class B section, India's Yuvavanti Negi, Nikita Thakur and Jahnavi Rawat finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

News Corp acquired Indian start-up firm BigDecisions.Com

22-DEC-2014

Rupert Murdoch-led News Corp on 21 December 2014 acquired India's financial advisory start-up firm BigDecisions.Com for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition of BigDecisions.Com includes the site's parent company, FinDirect Services Pvt Ltd.
BigDecisions.Com started in 2013 by Manish Shah and Gaurav Roy help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data.
With the acquisition, now Shah and Roy both will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.
The acquisition forms the part of News Corp’s strategy to expand its presence in digital media.
Earlier in November 2014, News Corp acquired 25 percent stake in Indian realty portal PropTiger.Com for 30 million US dollar. It picked up the stake in Singapore-based Elara Technologies Pte Ltd, the parent firm of PropTiger.Com.
About News Corp
News Corporation or News Corp. was an American multinational mass media corporation headquartered in New York City. It was the world's second-largest media group in 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world’s third largest in entertainment in 2009.
In June 2012, Rupert Murdoch announced to split the company into two publicly traded companies, one oriented towards media, and the other towards publishing.
The split formally took place in June 2013 where the present News Corp. was renamed 21st Century Fox comprising primarily of media outlets, while a new News Corp was formed to take on the publishing and Australian broadcasting assets.

Shiva Keshavan won Silver at 17th Asian Luge Championships

22-DEC-2014

Shiva Keshavan on 21 December 2014 won Silver at the 17th Asian Luge Championships. He clocked 49.934 seconds to cover the 1326 metre long ice track in the men's luge competition at the Spiral Olympic Sliding Centre in Nagano, Japan.
The Gold was won by Japan's Hidenari Kanayama with a time of 49.791 seconds while Kim of Korea bagged the bronze with a timing of 50.178. Hidenari had also won gold in 2011 and 2022 Asian Luge Championships.
However, Keshavan’s Asian records remain intact. He has the start record of 3.191 seconds and speed record of 134.3 kmph in the Asian Luge Championhips.
On the other hand, in the Class B of the Asia Cup also saw India's Murlidhar Negi finish ninth.
In the Ladies' Class B section, India's Yuvavanti Negi, Nikita Thakur and Jahnavi Rawat finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Sachin Tendulkar appointed as ambassador of Cricket World Cup 2015

22-DEC-2014

Sachin Tendulkar was appointed as the ambassador of Cricket World Cup 2015. The decision was announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 22 December 2014.
He was appointed as ambassador of Cricket World Cup of ICC for the second successive time. Tendulkar in the role of ambassador will promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of the tournament.
Cricket World Cup is the third biggest sporting event in the world and 2015 World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March 2015.
In 2013, Sachin retired from international cricket after representing India in 200 Tests, 463 One-Day International and one Twenty20 International. In his 24 years of career he scored a total of 34357 international runs and 100 centuries. He is the all-time leading run-getter in World Cup history with 2278 runs in 45 matches at an average of 56.95.
In World Cup 2003, he was awarded player of the tournament for his 673 runs in the tournament.

BHEL bagged 16.96 million euro contract in Turkey for a thermal power project

22-DEC-2014

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) on 22 December 2014 bagged a 16.96 million Euro (approximately 130.8 crore rupees) contract for a thermal power project in Turkey. This is BHEL’s maiden entry in the Turkish Power Market.
The contract was placed by Electricity Generation Company (EUAS) which is the largest electric power company in Turkey and it aims at reducing the emission levels drastically.
Details of the Contract
BHEL needs to rehabilitate 3 units of Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) for the 430 MW Tuncbilek Thermal Power Project in Turkey on EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) basis.
It envisages dismantling, supply, civil works and erection & commissioning of the Electrostatic Precipitators
The Electrostatic Precipitators will be manufactured and supplied by BHEL’s Ranipet unit, Motors and other auxiliaries by its Bhopal facility and Controls by the BHEL’s Bangalore unit.
About EUAS
EUAS owned by the Turkish government generates and supplies electricity throughout the country. It was founded to generate electricity in compliance with the energy and economic policies of the state and in accordance with the principles of efficiency and profitability.

Jyotsna Suri elected as the President of the FICCI

22-DEC-2014

Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson of Bharat Hotels, on 20 December 2014 was elected as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
She was elected as the President at the conclusion of the FICCI 87th annual general meeting.
She succeeded Sidharth Birla, Chairman of Xpro India Limited and Digjam Limited.
Also, Ambuja Neotia group Chairman Harshavardhan Neotia was elected Senior Vice President and Zydus Cadila Chairman Pankaj R. Patel as Vice President.
About Jyotsana Suri
Jyotsana Suri has been the Chairperson of the FICCI tourism committee since last five years and is the only Indian member on the International Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
Under her direction, FICCI introduced The Great India Travel Bazaar in the year 2008 and The Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar in the year 2011.
She has won many awards and accolades. Few among them includes
• Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the Warwick University, the UK
• World Travel Market Global Award (2011)
• Asia’s Leading Woman in Hospitality Award at the Women in Leadership (WIL) Asia Awards 2012
About Harshavardhan Neotia
Harshavardhan Neotia is the Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group. He was conferred with Padma Shri by the President of India in 1999 for his outstanding initiative in social housing. He was also honoured with YPO Legacy of Honour Award in 2005.
About Pankaj R. Patel
Pankaj R. Patel is the Chairman and Managing Director of Zydus Cadila - Cadila Healthcare Ltd. He is the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, IISER, Kolkata.

About FICCI
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is an association of business organizations in India. The organisation was established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by GD Birla and Purushottam Das Thakurdas.
It is the largest, oldest and the apex business organisation in India

Losar, the New Year festival of Ladakh region, began

22-DEC-2014

Losar, the Buddhists festival of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, started on 22 December 2014. The festival marks the beginning of New Year in Ladakh.
The festival is celebrated by people of the area with traditional and religion fervor. The festival begins with illumination of religious and residential places.
Buddhists of Ladakh celebrate Losar as their new year. Before the rule of Jamiang Namgyal (1955 to 1610) this day was celebrated on the first day of Ladakhi Buddhist Year which is based in the moon and sun (quite similar to Hindus). However, the day was advanced by two days after Jamiang Namgyal decided to invade Skardu before the New Year.
Since then, Losar is celebrated on the last two days of the 10th Bodhi month that coincides with December of Christian calendar.
During this, people of Ladakh specially remember ancestors of their family. On this day, people visit graveyards of their family members and pray for peace of the departed soul. Apart from this, people also visit each other houses for exchange of Losar greetings.

India observed National Mathematics Day to commemorate birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan

22-DEC-2014

India on 22 December 2014 celebrated National Mathematics Day. The day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
The declaration to observe 22 December as National Mathematics Day was made by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 26 February 2012 at Madras University on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Ramanujan.
It was also declared to observe year 2012 as the National Mathematics Year.
About Srinivasa Ramanujan
• Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887 in Erode district of Tamil Nadu.
• He died on 26 April 1920
• Ramanujan did wonders in number theory, infinite series, mathematical analysis, and making formulas and equations.
• He compiled more than 3900 mathematical results and equations, and his discoveries namely Ramanujam Prime and Ramanujam theta inspired further research on the subject.
• He along with a British Mathematician Godfrey Harold Hardy discovered the smallest number represented as sum of two cubes 1729 which came to be known as Hardy-Ramanujan number.
• Ramanujan was said to be a natural genius, in the same league as mathematicians such as Euler and Gauss.

Actress Billie Whitelaw of England died at age of 82

22-DEC-2014

Actress Billie Whitelaw of England died in London on 21 December 2014. She was 82. She was famous for her roles as Mrs Baylock in horror film The Omen.
Billie Whitelaw was famous for her roles on both stage and screen. She played a starring role as Violet Kray in The Krays and recently she appeared in comedy Hot Fuzz.
About Billie Whitelaw
• Whitelaw was born in Coventry, England in 1932.
• She made her first stage appearance in Bradford in a performance of Pink String and Sealing Wax at age 18 in 1950.
• She made her film debut in The Sleeping Tiger (1954) and performed roles in Carve Her Name With Pride (1958) and Hell Is a City (1960).
• She won BAFTA award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Charlie Bubbles in 1967 and also another BAFTA award for her role as sensuous mother of college student Hayley Mills in Twisted Nerve in 1969.
• She also won a BAFTA award as Best Actress for her performance in The Sextet in 1972.
• She acted in films the Last, Start the Revolution without Me, Gumshoe and the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Frenzy.
• She also appeared in many television series includes long-running BBC1 police series, Dixon of Dock Green (1955), as Mary Dixon, daughter of George (Jack Warner).

Surat Municipal Corporation partnered with Microsoft to transform Surat into smart city

22-DEC-2014

The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on 19 December 2014 announced that it had partnered with Microsoft India to transform Surat into a smart city.
The city will be transformed into a smart city under Microsoft’s CityNext Program, a plan that will make citizen services more responsive, transparent, efficient and productive.
Under the partnership, Microsoft and its partners will help SMC to bring solutions for water management and urban planning, including building plan approvals.
In past, Surat had partnered with Microsoft technologies to implement several e-governance schemes. These includes
• Property tax payments
• Birth and death registration
• Grievance redressal system
• Vaccination alert system
• Application tracking systems
• Solid waste management system
Earlier, Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after coming into power in May 2014, announced the setting up of 100 smart cities across the country.

About Surat
• Surat a city with population of about 50 lakh people
• It is the fourth fastest growing city in the world
• It is a place where 80 percent of world’s diamonds are processed
• 40 percent of India’s demand for textiles is met by the city
Surat Municipal Commissioner - Milind Torawane

Maharashtra government made e-tendering mandatory for projects over 3 lakh rupees

22-DEC-2014

State Government of Maharashtra on 18 December 2014 decided to make e-tendering compulsory for projects over 3 lakh rupees. The step was taken to bring transparency and curb irregularities in the state administration.
It will become compulsory from 1 April 2015. Till then, people have the choice of using the e-tendering facility or not.
However, for bids over 10 lakh rupees e-tendering has been made compulsory with immediate effect.
These norms will be applicable to all the departments of the state government, urban and rural local self-government bodies like gram panchayats and zilla parishads and corporations.
E-tendering in Maharashtra
The e-tendering process has been in Maharashtra since 2010. The state government started the process after receiving flak for corruption in the manual tendering process. But earlier, the process was applicable only for schemes and projects of 50 lakh rupees and above. Later, in 2013, the amount was brought down to 10 lakh rupees.

EXACTO: The bullet that can change direction mid-air

22-DEC-2014

EXACTO: Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance

Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) is a 0.50 caliber round bullet that can change direction mid-air to reach its target.
It was in news recently as it was revealed recently that Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense concluded the Phase-II of the technology development.
The phase-II involved testing of design, integration and demonstration of aero-actuation controls, power sources, optical guidance systems, and sensors.
Aim and Objective of EXACTO
It seeks to improve sniper effectiveness and enhance US military troop safety by allowing greater shooter standoff range and reduction in target engagement timelines.
To revolutionize rifle accuracy and range by developing the first ever guided small-caliber bullet.
How it Works?
The EXACTO technology uses a combination of manoeuvrable bullet and a real-time guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target. This allows the bullet to change path mid-air to compensate for any unexpected factors that may drive it off course.
The bullet uses optical sighting technology to greatly extend the day and nighttime range over current state-of-the-art sniper systems.
The next phase of the program includes a system-level live-fire test and technology refinement to enhance and improve performance.

India won Men and Women title of Kabaddi World Cup 2014

22-DEC-2014

India on 20 December 2014 won the Men and Women title of Kabaddi World Cup 2014. This was the fifth Kabaddi World Cup.
In Men, India defeated Pakistan while in women, India defeated New Zealand to win the title for the fourth consecutive time.
The final match of the cup was played at Guru Gobind Singh Multipurpose Stadium in Jalandhar, Punjab, India.
Final match report

Men’s Kabaddi team

Women’s Kabaddi team

Indian men's team defeated Pakistan 45-42 for the fourth time

Indian Women’s team defeated New Zealand 36-27 for the second time in a row

Awards
Awards in Men’s section
The winner of men section, India, bagged prize money of 2 crore rupees and first runners up, Pakistan won 1 crore rupees. Iraq that stood third won prize money of 51 lakh rupees.
• Best raiders: Sandeep Surakhpur (India) and Shafiq Ahmad Chishti (Pakistan)
• Best stopper: Yadwinder
They were awarded with Preet Tractors each.
Awards in Women’s section
The winner of women section, India, bagged prize money of 1 crore rupees and first runners up, New Zealand, won 51 lakh rupees. Pakistan that stood third won prize money of 25 lakh rupees.
• Best raiders: Ram Bateri (India), Priyanka (India), Lani Perese (New Zealand)
• Best stopper: Anu Rani (India) and Tito (New Zealand)
Both best raider and stopper were awarded with a case prize of 1 lakh rupees each.
Participants of the Kabaddi world Cup

Section

Number of team

Participant countries

Men

11 teams

India, Pakistan, Argentina, United States of America, England, Canada, Australia, Iran, Denmark, Spain and Sweden

Women

8 teams

India Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Mexico, New Zealand, United States of America, England and Denmark