21st Nov- 22nd Nov 2014

Time Magazine released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014

22-NOV-2014

  • Time Magazine on 20 November 2014 released list of 25 Best Inventions 2014. Mangalyaan has been named among the best inventions of 2014 which described it as a technological feat that will allow India to flex its interplanetary muscles.
  • The list also includes two inventions of Indians for developing an exercise space for prisoners in solitary confinement called Blue Room and a tablet toy for kids called Osmo.

List of 25 Best Inventions 2014
• The Real-Life Hoverboard- a type of skateboard that levitates like a magic carpet
• The Supersmart Spacecraft- Mangalyaan went into orbit around the Red Planet, a technological feat by ISRO of India
• A Reactor that Could Realize Nuclear Fusion - nuclear fusion reactors small enough to fit on the back of a truck and the design uses magnetic mirror confinement to control the reaction
• Wireless Electricity- Witricity is a technology that involves a plug-in coil that creates a magnetic field, which in turn powers objects as far away as 8 feet
• 3-D-Printed Everything- 3-D printer devices that can build objects from digital blueprints, usually by layering plastic or other materials
• Watches that Redefine Smart- Apple’s Watch reimagines the computer for the wrist, using a novel interface that combines a touch screen and physical buttons
• The Smartphone that Puts Privacy First- smartphone designed to put data privacy  with software that encrypts calls, texts and browsing history at levels far beyond normal smartphones
• The Cooler that Powers Your Party- world’s smartest all-purpose party cooler which stores food and drinks. It also touts a blender, an LED lid light, a USB charger, a Bluetooth speaker and big wheels designed to navigate many terrains.
• The Chip that Stops Your Slouching- Lumo Lift is a chip like gadget can be inserted in their shirt, it analyzes neck and spinal positions and vibrates when they’re less than ideal position.
• The Car that Makes Electric Enticing- BMW i3- it drives 70 to 110 miles (113 to 177 km) on a single three-hour charge, its novel design allows drivers to use a single ­pedal to both accelerate and brake which is a  more energy-efficient driving
• The Tablet that Replaces Laptops- Microsoft Surface Pro 3- Microsoft’s latest hybrid bundles the power of a laptop into a svelte 12-in. tablet and can run desktop apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• The Pillbox that Gets Personal
• Bananas that Prevent Blindness- developing a vitamin-A-enriched superbanana
• The Wheel that Gives Bikers a Boost- Copenhagen Wheel is a standard-size wheel which can be attached to the back of most bicycles—that boasts a rechargeable, battery-powered motor
• The Seamless Sign-Language Translator- MotionSavvy uni is a tablet and attachment that leverages motion-sensing cameras and voice recognition to translate American Sign Language into spoken words—and spoken words into text—in real time for deaf people
• The Filter that Fights Ebola- Hemopurifier is a specially designed cartridge that attaches to a dialysis machine, can tip the balance back in the body’s favour: its lectin filter attracts Ebola viruses and sucks them from the blood as it flows through.
• The Selfie Stick- the selfie stick enables users to position their smartphone beyond arms’ reach to get better photo angles
• The AC that Lowers Your Energy Bills- Quirky + GE aros is a provocative departure from the familiar window unit. For one thing, it’s elegant, with a sleek white exterior that’s almost Apple-esque.
• The Prison Room that Helps Inmates Relax- Blue Room is an exercise space where a projector plays video of open deserts, streaming waterfalls and other outdoor scenes
• The Tablet Toy that Gets Physical– Osmo is a virtual play and its reflective AI attachment enables the iPad camera to interpret physical objects—allowing kids to mimic an onscreen pattern with colored tiles, for example, and get rewarded for doing it correctly
• The Coaching Basketball– 94fifty smart sensor  comes embedded with nine sensors and a Bluetooth chip that sends performance data to a mobile app—allowing players to measure, say, the arc of their jumpshot
• Wrappers You Can Eat- Wikipearls is a paired shell is made of particles of dried fruit or other natural substances that are tiny enough to be electrically attracted to one another; they are combined with calcium and sugar to strengthen the form
• Screens that Showcase Digital Art- Electric object contains flat screens are wired specifically to display art. Their brightness dims in tandem with sunlight, and their matte finish blocks glare so they resemble actual paintings.
• Action Figures that Empower Girls- IAmelemental is women figures designed and commissioned to build series of action figures, meant to portray women as heroes with strong personalities. Each figure embodies a different element of heroism, like persistence or honesty

Maharashtra Government set up all-party committee to review issue of Maratha reservations

22-NOV-2014

  • The Maharashtra Government on 21 November 2014 set up an all-party committee to review the issue of Maratha reservations.
  • The appointment of committee came up after Bombay High Court stayed 16 percent reservation to Maratha community and 5 percent to Muslims in education and jobs.
  • The committee is headed by state Education Minister, Vinod Tawde will study the court order thoroughly and point out discrepancies. It will be corrected by amending the law in the upcoming winter session of Maharashtra Assembly.

The other members of the committee includes 
• State Cooperatives Minister, Chandrakant Patil
• Leader of opposition, Eknath Shinde
• Former deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar
• Senior congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and other legal experts

  • The state government of Maharashtra decided to challenge the Bombay High Court order to stay the reservations of Maratha community and Muslims in the Supreme Court.

World Fisheries Day observed across the world on 21 November

22-NOV-2014

  • World Fisheries day on 21 November 2014 was observed across the world by the fisher folk communities. The day will remind the world to ensure sustainable stocks of fisheries and healthy oceans ecosystems.
  • The day also helps to highlight the problems like over fishing and mechanization and moves towards finding solutions to the increasingly inter-connected problems that world facing and in the longer term, to sustainable means of maintaining fish stocks.
  • Fishing communities across the world celebrated through rallies, workshops, public meetings, cultural dramas, exhibition, music show, and demonstrations to highlight the importance of maintaining the fisheries of world.
  • As a part of World Fisheries Day celebrations, Union Government of India announced to launch Blue Revolution to increase in fish production and productivity in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Fiji

22-NOV-2014

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited to Fiji on 19 November 2014. He had a meeting with Pacific Island Leaders and announced measures to strengthen partnership with Pacific Islands.
  • He is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the Pacific countries after Indira Gandhi who visited in 1981. He met the Prime Minister of Fiji, Bainimarama and he is also first Indian Prime Minister to address the Fiji Parliament.

The following are the measure 
• A Special Adaptation Fund of 1 million US dollars
• Pan Pacific Islands Project
• Indian Visa on arrival to all the fourteen Pacific Island Countries
• Increased Grant-in-Aid to Pacific Island Countries
• Establish Trade Office in India
• Deputation of ITEC experts
• Distinguished Visitors Programme
• Space Cooperation

During his visit three MoUs were also signed
• MoU on Cooperation on exchange of information on structure and content of training programs for diplomats.
• MoU on earmarking of land for the Diplomatic Missions in respective capitals.
• MoU for extending 70 million US dollars Line of Credit for establishing a Co-Generation Plant at Rarawai Sugar Mills in Fiji

India won 3rd SAFF Women's Championship in Islamabad

22-NOV-2014

  • India on 21 November 2014 won the 2014 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad. Indian team won 6-0 over Nepal to register their first series win on Pakistan soil.
  • With this win, the Indian team has won all the three SAFF women finals against Nepal. These two teams played all the three finals of the championship since its inception in 2010.
    Ngangom Bala Devi was the star of the game as she scored 4 goals to take her overall tally to 16, the highest scored in a single edition of the championship. Kamala Devi and Prameshwori Devi were the other goal scorers.
    • Indian captain - Oinam Bembem Devi
    • Nepal captain - Anu Lama.

UN adopted resolution calling on governments to stop child marriages

22-NOV-2014

  • The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) rights committee on 21 November 2014 adopted the first-ever resolution calling on governments to stop child marriages.
  • The resolution was presented by Canada and Zambia. The 118 countries sponsored the resolution that includes Mali, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, which are among the 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage
  • The resolution urges all the states to enact laws to end child, early and forced marriages that is to end about 15 million girls worldwide become child brides every year and more than 700 million women are married before the age of 18 globally.
  • According to the resolution, early marriage is also a serious threat to the physical and psychological health of girls who are not physically mature enough as it increases the risk of unintended pregnancy, maternal and newborn mortality and sexually transmitted infections.
  • At the UNGA rights committee, Britain took the floor to express disappointment on behalf of some 20 countries over the failure of earlier resolution to address girl’s education about their sexuality.
  • According UN statistics, child marriage among girls is most common in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa especially in Niger, Bangladesh and India countries.

• In Niger, West Africa has the highest overall rate that is 77 percent of women between 20 and 49 were married before the age of 18.
• Bangladesh has the most girls who married under 15 and India is home to one third of all child brides worldwide.
The resolution will go to the full UN General Assembly for formal approval in December 2014 and then the resolution is not legally binding but can increase political pressure on countries

Dilip Vengsarkar received Col CK Nayudu Lifetime achievement award

22-NOV-2014

  • Former Indian cricket captain Dilip Vengsarkar on 21 November 2014 received the prestigious BCCI-instituted Colonel C K Nayudu Lifetime achievement award. He was conferred with the award for his contribution to Indian cricket.
  • The 58-year-old Vengsarkar who was a member of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1983 received a citation, trophy and cheque for Rs 25 lakh. He was also a member of the World Championship of Cricket in 1985 and led India in ten Tests in 1987-89.
  • Apart from this, Indian medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma were also rewarded for their stupendous performance. Bhuvneshwar Kumar received the Polly Umrigar award and a cheque of Rs 5 lakh for his superb display with the ball and bat. Rohit Sharma received a special award for slamming a world record 264 in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka in the recent series.


Other prominent awardees at the eighth annual BCCI Awards ceremony were

• Parvez Rasool received the Lala Amarnath Award for the Best All-Rounder in this season’s Ranji Trophy 
• R. Vinay Kumar was awarded for his all-round performance in domestic limited-overs competitions
• The Maharashtra Cricket Association and Railway Sports Promotion Board shared the honours for Best Overall Performance in 2013-14

About Dilip Vengsarkar 
• He was also known by the nickname Colonel
• He was a key player in the Indian batting line up in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 
• He went on to play till 1989
• He represented Bombay in the Ranji Trophy
• For Test matches played in India, he has one of the highest batting averages
• He made his international cricket debut against New Zealand at Auckland in 1975-76, as an opening batsman 

Between 2006 and 2008, he was the Chairman of the All-India Senior Selection Committee
He was Chairman of the BCCI's Talent Research Development Committee for three years

US President Barack Obama to be the Chief Guest of India’s Republic Day 2015

22-NOV-2014

  • The US President Barack Obama will be the Chief Guest at 66th India’s Republic Day celebrations 2015. The White House on 21 November 2014 accepted the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • Obama will participate in the Republic Day celebrations of India, which will be held in New Delhi on 26 January 2015. He will be the first US President to attend the Republic Day Parade of India.
  • Obama will also meet the Prime Minister and Indian officials to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership.
  • Obama will be the first US President to travel to India twice. Earlier, he had visited India at the invitation of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010. During his visit, he also addressed a joint session of Parliament and students in Mumbai.

UNGA Committee passed resolution refering North Korea to ICC for human rights abuses

22-NOV-2014

  • The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Committee on 18 November 2014 adopted a resolution condemning North Korea human rights abuses and referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
  • The resolution was passed with 111 accepted votes, 19 rejected   and 55 abstentions. The resolution will go to the full UN General Assembly for formal approval in December 2014.
  • The resolution also linked the alleged abuses to the policies of leadership of North Korea and called on the UN Security Council to consider targeted sanctions against those responsible for human abuses.
  • Cuba voted down and proposed amendment to scrap the key provisions on referring North Korea to the ICC and look the issue in reasonable grounds to committed crimes against humanity.
  • In February 2014, UN human rights commission of Inquiry report detailing wide-range of abuses in North Korea which includes prison camps, systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities.

Analysis:

  • The vote on resolution will increase political pressure on North Korea but it is largely symbolic. China would probably use its Security Council veto power to stop any ICC referral and its stance would likely be supported by Russia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia

21-NOV-2014

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited to Australia from 15 November to 18 November 2014. He visited Australia as part of G-20 summit and bilateral summit with Australia. He became the first Indian Prime Minister to address the Australian Parliament.
  • During the summit, he met all the G-20 leaders of the world. He attended the Business Breakfast with the economic leaders of Queensland that was hosted by Premier of Queensland Newman.
  • During the visit he reconstituted the CEO Forum and both the leaders agreed to speed up negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
  • He visited the Australian War Memorial with Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott to strive together for a better world. He also addressed the Indian diasporas in Australia.

During his visit the following agreements were signed by the both the countries 
• The Social Security Agreement
• Agreement concerning Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners
• MoU on Combating Narcotics Trafficking and Developing Police Cooperation 
• MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Arts and Culture
• MoU in the Field of Tourism

Scientists at IIT-B developed hollow-fiber membrane to cut dialysis cost, time by half

21-NOV-2014

  • Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) on 20 November 2014 have developed a hollow-fiber membrane that cuts the cost and time required in dialysis procedure by almost 50 per cent.
  • The research was conducted under the leadership of Jayesh Bellare at the Chemical Engineering Department of (IIT-B).
  • The product has completed laboratory tests and awaits pre-clinical trials. The researchers are expecting that their product will be available in market in the next three years.
  • The newly discovered membrane is a key component of the filter and removes impurities from the blood during the dialysis process. The hollow-fiber membrane provides faster, efficient dialysis with less side affects at low cost.
  • Each dialysis session lasts two-three hours and a patient requires the treatment two-three times in a week.
  • The process of dialysis involves artificially removing excess water and waste from blood in a patient.
  • Experts say that filter developed in India will indeed help decrease the cost and more people will be able to afford it.
  • Scientists claimed that they have formulated a special material which improves performance and permitting faster treatment. They also claimed that the membrane shows superior biocompatibility.
  • The treatment is often, according to a study conducted by AIIMS, very costlier and thus around 90 per cent kidney related patients in India die within months because of lack of proper treatment.
  • Annually two lakh people in India develop advanced kidney failure. A recent study stated that the number of Indians with diabetes is predicted to reach 101 million by 2030.

Giriraj Singh assumed charge as Minister of State at MSME Ministry

21-NOV-2014

  • Giriraj Singh on 11 November 2014 assumed charge as the Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME).
    Giriraj Singh is a Bharatiya Janata Party politician from Barahiya, Bihar, India. He is the BJP MP from the Nawada constituency in the 2014 Indian general election.
    He is a former minister in the cabinet of Nitish Kumar.
    He had served the Cabinet of Bihar as co-oprative minister from 2005-2010 & Animal Husbandry minister from 2010 to 2013.
  • He was among the eleven BJP ministers who were dismissed by Nitish Kumar as a result of breaking of JDU-BJP alliance. 
    He is presently member of Bihar State Bharatiya Janata Party's 16-member state election committee.

Jignesh Shah resigned as Managing Director and CEO of FTIL

21-NOV-2014

  • Jignesh Shah on 20 November 2014 resigned as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL). The decision was taken at the Board meeting of FTIL where the board was reconstituted.
    Jignesh Shah handed over the position of CEO and MD of the company to Prashant Desai. With this, Jignesh Shah will no longer hold any executive or managerial position. However, he continues to hold 45 percent stake in FTIL.
    The re-constituted board of 12 members will have five non-executive and independent directors, four Executive Directors and three non-Executive Directors.

Other announcements

  • The company also expanded its Board by hiring Nisha Dutt, a Silicon Valley veteran; Sunil Shah, founder of Gujarat Innovation Society and Miten Mehta, a Kellogg’s product.
  • The company also announced appointment of two executive directors (EDs) Jigish Sonagra as Director, new ventures and Rajendra Mehta as Director of member technologies.
  • The board unanimously approved establishment of JS Digital Innovator Award to honour the contribution of Jignesh Shah.


Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) 

  • Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) is a global leader in creating and operating technology-centric, next-generation financial markets that are transparent, efficient and liquid, across multi asset classes, including equities, commodities, currencies and bonds.
  • Founded by Jignesh Shah, the Financial Technologies group began its operations in 1988. FTIL is the only company to set up 6 exchanges connecting fast-growing economies of Africa, Middle East, India and South East Asia.

Mathematician Alexander Grothendieck died

21-NOV-2014

  • Mathematician Alexander Grothendieck died in France on 13 November 2014. He was 86. He was one of the greatest mathematical minds in algebraic geometry of the twentieth century.
  • He received the Fields medal, the most prestigious honour in mathematics, in 1966. The Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch theorem was one striking result to emerge in 21st century.

About Alexander Grothendieck 
• He was born in Germany in 1928.
• His early work was on Functional analysis later he became interested in algebraic geometry in the mid-1950s. 
• His work laid the foundation for many important results, including the solution of the Weil conjectures and Fermat’s last theorem and applications in diverse fields as robotics and cryptography.
• In 1988, he was named winner of the prestigious Swedish Craaford Priz but he rejected the award insisting that he was fine on his professor's salary.
• He was a visionary who set up several ideas in algebraic geometry for mathematicians who followed.

Deutsche Bank won Custodian of the Year 2014 award

21-NOV-2014

  • Deutsche Bank on 15 November 2014 won Custodian of the Year 2014 award.  The bank was awarded the ‘Channel Islands Custodian of the Year 2014’ title, with the award being presented to Lisa Haggarty, Head of Custody and Fund Solutions for Deutsche Bank Channel Islands.
  • The award has been recognized for the third consecutive year at the Custody Risk European Awards. The award ceremony was held in the London.
  • The Custody Risk European Awards are organised by the Incisive Media Group. The award aims to identify the best companies in custody, fund administration and technology across Europe.
  • Selected for the award by a highly experienced independent judging panel, Deutsche Bank's custody business has been established for 42 years in the Channel Islands and caters for institutional clients, including regulated funds, and private individuals.

Pakistan and Russia signed Defence Cooperation Agreement

21-NOV-2014

  • Pakistan and Russia on 20 November 2014 signed a defence and military cooperation agreement aimed at bringing peace and stability in the region.
  • The pact was signed by Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and his Russian counterpart General Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu in Islamabad, Pakistan.
  • The defence agreement covered wide range of subjects including Pakistan’s plans to acquire Mi-35 gunship helicopters and other military equipment from Russia.
  • The agreement was signed during the visit of the Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu to Pakistan. The visit was the first visit of a Russian Defence Minister in Pakistan in 45 years. The last visit took place as far back as 1969, when USSR Defence Minister Andrey Grechko visited Pakistan.
  • Besides, the two ministers also held talks focusing on strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries and stressed the need for continuation of momentum gained during the Moscow conference.

Other highlights of the visit

  • Pakistan sought to enhance bilateral trade ties with Russia and added that Russian companies can take advantage of investment opportunities in infrastructure and energy sectors in Pakistan.
  • It also sought Russian cooperation in Pakistan getting full-fledged membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.


Pakistan-Russia relations

  • The Soviet Union (Russia) and Pakistan first established the diplomatic and bilateral relations on 1 May 1948. For the most of the Cold War, the Soviet Union relations with Pakistan have seen ups and downs during the different periods of Pakistan.
  • In 1947-50s, Soviet Union enjoyed relatively healthy and strong relations with Pakistan when it was under the civilian control but the relations went ultimately cold soon after the U.S.-backed 1958 military coup. In the mid 1970s, the relations were quickly improved and warmed.

Comment

  • This first ever visit of the defence minister from Russian Federation came at a very critical juncture when US-led NATO forces are drawing away from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and points towards the gradual improvement in ties between the former Cold War adversaries.

Pledging Conference of Green Climate Fund pledged 9.3 billion US dollars to fight climate change

21-NOV-2014

  • The High-level Pledging Conference of Green Climate Fund on 20 November 2014 pledged to contribute 9.3 billion US dollars towards the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to help developing countries cut emissions and prepare for climate change.
  • The decision to contribute towards the fund was taken during the Conference’s meet at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Office (BMZ) in Berlin, Germany. The Conference was attended by 30 rich nations.
  • The fund pledged by 30 rich nations falls short of 10 billion US dollars target set for the climate conference scheduled to be held in Lima, Peru on 1 December 2014. The mobilised fund will be disbursed over four years from 2015.
  • The fund is seen as a step toward the goal set at the Copenhagen climate summit five years ago. It set the goal of mobilising 100 billion US dollars a year for broader climate finance by 2020.
  • The money will be spent equally on climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially for the most vulnerable nations that include small island nations and Africa's poorest countries.


Country-wise contribution to GCF

About Green Climate Fund

  • At the 16th session of Conference of the Parties (COP 16) held under the aegis of UNFCCC in Cancun, Mexico, it was decided to establish a Green Climate Fund (GCF) as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism of the Convention.
  • The GCF will support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing country Parties. The Fund will be governed by the GCF Board.
  • GCF Board sits in South Korea and its Executive Director is Hela Cheikhrouhou.
  • The fund was agreed by developed countries because they have caused the majority of global warming so far and their CO2 emissions stay in the atmosphere for 100 years.

SEBI de-recognised Delhi Stock Exchange

21-NOV-2014

  • Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 19 November 2014 announced to de-recognise Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) on the allegations of serious irregularities in its functioning. 

    The order of de-recognition will be applicable with immediate effects.
  • SEBI observed that the activities of DSE were carried out in a manner contrary to the interest of the investors. The regulator will take all necessary steps consequential to de-recognition.
  • Further, SEBI acclaimed that for completing the demutualisation process the erstwhile board of DSE had overlooked the due transfer of shares in the demat accounts and receipt of the funds by the appointed date.
  • Also, DSE acted in an irregular manner in releasing the funds to the merchant banker, without receipt of the application money, allotment of shares to media companies and in turn awarding them media contract etc, without any corresponding utilisation of media space.
  • Among others, SEBI rules pertaining to demutualisation requires every stock exchange to sell brokers' 51 per cent equity to separate their trading and ownership rights.
  • Present governing board of DSE admitted that a false certificate of completion of demutualisation process has been submitted by the erstwhile management of the exchange.

Delhi Stock Exchange 

  • The Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) is located in New Delhi, India. It was incorporated in 1947. The exchange is an amalgamation of Delhi Stock and Share Brokers' Association Limited and the Delhi Stocks and Shares Exchange Limited. It is India's fifth exchange. The exchange is one of the premier stock exchanges in India. The Delhi Stock Exchange is well connected to 50 cities with terminals in North India.

Union Cabinet approved signing of three SAARC agreements

21-NOV-2014

  • The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 November 2014 approved the signing of three SAARC agreements. These three SAARC agreements will be signed at the 18th SAARC Summit that is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 26 – 27 November 2014.

The three agreements include

  • SAARC Regional Railways Agreement (RRA)
  • SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity)
  • SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement
  • These three agreements were introduced on the behest of India and were included as one of the objectives in the Addu Declaration issued at the 17th SAARC Summit at Addu, Maldives in 2011.

SAARC Regional Railways Agreement (RRA)

  • The SAARC RRA seeks to permit free movement of people, goods and services within SAARC region in the Road and Rail sector.
  • The RRA was drafted by India for SAARC countries in 2008. The text of the Agreement was finalised at the 5th -Governmental Group on Transport (IGGT) held in New Delhi on 30 September 2014.

Benefits of the SAARC Regional Railways Agreement:

  • It will strengthen transport connectivity in the SAARC Region
  • It will not only provide stimulus to the economic development in the region as a whole but also promote social and cultural contact and encourage tourism amongst the Member States
  • The Agreement will also enable low cost, energy efficient and environmentally sustainable transportation in the SAARC region
  • It will provide trade and economic links for the land locked countries and semi isolated regions

SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity)

  • The agreement will enable greater cooperation in the power sector among SAARC countries. It is expected to improve the power availability in the entire SAARC region. It would facilitate integrated operation of the regional power grid

SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement

  • The agreement provides for the member- states allowing their vehicles to ply in their territories for transportation of cargo and passengers subject to various terms and conditions.
  • It will result in closer regional economic cooperation and integration through enhanced regional connectivity by allowing movement of goods and passengers in the region through road transport

Apart from this, the Union Cabinet also cleared other agreements:

  • It approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Nepal for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism, which is proposed to be signed during Modi's visit to Nepal beginning 25 November 2014.
  • It authorised the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to sign similar bilateral agreements and protocols with other SAARC member-states.

Rajinikanth conferred with Indian Film Personality of the year 2014 award at IFFI

21-NOV-2014

  • Tamil superstar Rajinikanth was on 20 November 2014 honoured with the centenary award for Indian Film Personality of the year 2014 at the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
    • The award consisted of a cash prize of 10 lakhs rupees, a certificate and the Silver Peacock Medal. The award for Indian Film Personality of the year category was instituted in 2013 to commemorate 100 years of Indian Cinema.

45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

  • IFFI 2014 was inaugurated on 20 November 2014 by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley.
  • Around 178 films from 79 countries across different categories are scheduled to be screened during this 11-day long festival.
  • The festival will also pay homage to departed talents Robin Williams, Richard Attenborough, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen and Farooq Shaikh by screening some of their films.

Gujarat Government announced Home-Stay scheme for tourists

21-NOV-2014

  • Gujarat Government announced a Home-Stay scheme for tourists visiting the state. The scheme was announced by State Tourism Minister Saurabh Patel on 20 November 2014.
  • Residents of Gujarat who are interested can apply for Home-Stay facility and they will need to get police clearance.

About Home–Stay scheme
• Under the scheme, the standards of services offered to tourists will be divided in two classes – Gold and Silver.
• Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) will decide and grant particular category after scrutiny of properties and residents who applied to offer Home-stay facility. 
• TCGL will provide short-term training and offer help for marketing. 
• Residents registered under Home-Stay facility will continue to pay electricity bill, municipal tax, property tax and water tax at regular domestic rates.
• Home-Stay provider will be permitted to offer maximum 6 rooms and provider no need to pay luxury tax and value added tax

Democrat Ami Bera re-elected to the US House of Representatives

21-NOV-2014

  • Democrat Ami Bera was on 20 November 2014 re-elected to the US House of Representatives in the United States House of Representatives elections 2014. He defeated his Republican rival Doug Ose by almost 1400 votes.
    Bera got 92394 votes against Ose's 90962 votes. Ami Bera is the lone Indian-American lawmaker in the US Congress.

Ami Bera

  • Ami Bera is an American physician who has been the US Representative for California's 7th congressional district that includes parts of Sacramento since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
  • He was elected to US Congress for the first time in United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012

Uninor appointed Vivek Sood as CEO

21-NOV-2014

  • Uninor on 19 November 2014 announced the appointment of Vivek Sood as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The appointment will come into effect from 1 December 2014. Uninor is the local arm of Norwegian telecom operator Telenor.
    He will replace the Present CEO Morten Karlsen Sorby. Present CEO Morten Karlsen Sorby has announced to resign due to some personal issues but he will remain as an advisor to the Uninor top management until 1 January 2015.
    Vivek Sood is currently serving as the CEO of the Bangladesh subsidiary of Telenor – Grameenphone. Under his guidance, Grameenphone crossed the 50 million customer milestone in Bangladesh. 
    Earlier, he had served as the Chief Financial Officer at Uninor.
  • Moreover, he has 20 years of experience with companies such as Tata AIG Life Insurance, Hutchison Telecom, Tupperware India and Hindustan Lever Limited (Unilever).
    Also, Uninor has appointed new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Upanga Dutta, replacing Rajeev Sethi, who will take over as the CEO of Grameenphone.

Oscar award winner Mike Nichols died at 83

21-NOV-2014

  • Oscar award winner Mike Nichols died on 19 November 2014. He was 83.  He was an US director, pioneering comedian and an outstanding theater director.
  • He was one among the few people to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award.  His best movies are The Graduate (1967), Silkwood (1983), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Working Girl and The Birdcage (1996).
  • His first film as director was Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966 which won five Oscars awards and last film was Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman in 2007.
  • He was the director of the musical Annie (1977), which was one of Broadway's longest-running musicals.

About Mike Nichols 
• Nichols was born in Berlin, Germany in 1931 and he immigrated to the United States in 1939.
• He was a film director, theatre director, producer, actor and comedian.
• His movie Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) starred by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, won five Oscar wards and three BAFTA Awards.
• For The Graduate movie (1967) he won the Academy Award for Best Director.
• He directed many theater plays like Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Apple Tree, The Real Thing, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Monty Python's Spamalot , Plaza Suite,  Death of a Salesman and Second Avenue
• He won Oscar award for Working Girl in 1988.
• He won 10 Tony Awards for his stage work including as director for plays as Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Death of a Salesman and Annie and The Real Thing

OECD raised India growth forecast to 6.6 percent for 2015-16

21-NOV-2014

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on 19 November 2014 raised India growth forecast to 6.6percent for the financial year 2015-2016.
  • OECD maintained that to achieve 6.6 percent growth, India needs to revive manufacturing activities.
  • Earlier in May 2014, OECD had forecasted the growth of Indian economy at 5.7 percent.
  • In its key recommendations the OECD said India should

• Improve the macroeconomic framework by introducing flexible inflation targeting, pursuing fiscal consolidation, implementing a national value-added tax and strengthening banking oversight.
• Boost manufacturing jobs by simplifying labour laws, improving access to education, accelerating approvals for infrastructure projects and improving the business climate.
• Increasing female economic participation by ensuring equal work opportunities for women and expanding access to education and skills training for female entrepreneurs
• Improve access to, and the quality of, healthcare

• To achieve 8% growth, India needs to reduce subsidies, spend more on social and physical infrastructure, bring a Goods and Services Tax and free up funds for infra. India also needs to improve the quality of fiscal consolidation at the Central and state level

18th Duchess of Alba of Spain Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart died

21-NOV-2014

  • Spain’s 18th Duchess of Alba, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart died on 20 November 2014. She passed away at her Duenas Palace in the southern city of Seville, Spain. She was 88.
    She was one of the nation’s richest women and has more titles than any other aristocrat in the world. Now she is survived by her husband to whom she married in 2011, Alfonso Diez, who is 25 years, her junior.
  • Her principle title was Duchess of Alba de Tormes. According to the Guinness World Records, she had more than 40 other principle titles due to a complex series of marriages by her ancestors, which made her the noble with the most officially recognised titles in the world. She was five times a duchess, 18 times a marchioness, 18 times a countess, 14 times a Spanish grandee and once a viscountess.

About Duchess of Alba, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart
• Duchess of Alba de Tormes was born on 28 March 1926 at Liria Palace in Madrid, Spain.
• Her godmother was the Queen Consort of Spain, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, King of Spain Alfonso XIII de Borbón’s wife.
• She also claimed the title of Duchess of Berwick as she was a direct descendant of the King James II of Great Britain, through his illegitimate son James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick by his mistress Arabella Churchill
• She owned palaces and an extensive property portfolio as well as paintings by Goya and Velazquez
• Her wealth is estimated between 600 million euro and 3.5 billion euros which is expected to be shared among her six children.
• The Duchess of Alba was the head of one of Spain's oldest noble families
• She was the head of the House of Alba and the third woman to carry the title in her own right

Cipla Europe NV tied up with Serum Institute of India to distribute vaccines in Europe


21-NOV-2014

  • Cipla Europe NV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cipla Ltd on 20 November 2014 tied up with Serum Institute of India Ltd (SII) to distribute vaccines in Europe.
    Under the agreement, SII will develop and manufacture paediatric vaccines. On the other hand, Cipla will seek European Medicines Agency approval and market the products in Europe.

Serum Institute of India Ltd (SII)

  • Serum Institute of India was founded in 1966 with the aim of manufacturing life-saving immuno-biologicals, which were in shortage in the country and imported at high prices.
  • Today, Serum Institute of India Ltd is the World's largest producer of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines.
  • Vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute are accredited by the World Health Organization and are being used in around 140 countries across the globe in their national immunization programs.

Chintan won Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award for the year 2014

21-NOV-2014

  • Chintan, a non-government organisation was conferred the Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award, 2014 on 15 November 2014.
  • The award was given for cleaning the New Delhi railway station. Chintan is a non-government organisation working with waste pickers.
  • The winners were chosen by an independent jury. The winner will receive 50000 US dollar.
  • The award was conferred by Deutsche Bank co-chair, Anshu Jain. Chintan was one of the nine shortlisted organisations among 135 in contention for the award.
  • The Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award is presented to initiatives that utilize partnerships to improve the quality of life and the quality of the urban environment.

Why the award was given?

  • The Chintan Material recovery Facility (MRF) project at the New Delhi Railway station manages tonnes of unsorted garbage from the numerous trains that arrive at the railway station every day. The garbage, which would otherwise end up in landfill dumps outside the city, is sorted into organic and non-organic waste by trained workers at the center.
  • The jury commended this project to stress the need to better manage waste in Indian cities and to highlight the potential for self-organisation through the creation of recycling centres.
    The award is associated with the Urban Age project, a worldwide investigation into the future of cities jointly initiated by Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society, and LSE Cities at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
  • The Urban Age Award is given to the best urban initiatives in various cities across the world. In the past, projects in Istanbul, Mexico City, Cape Town, Rio de Janerio, Sao Paolo, and Mumbai have been awarded.

Union Government approved launch of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana

21-NOV-2014

  • mUnion Government on 20 November 2014 approved launch of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DUGJY) to provide access of electricity to rural households across the country. A decision in this regard was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 
    The Union Cabinet also decided to merge the ongoing Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) with DUGJY schee.

Components of the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) includes 

  • • To separate agriculture and non agriculture feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in rural areas
  • • Strengthening and augmentation of sub transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers
  • The two components of the scheme will be implemented at an estimated cost of 43033 crore rupees which includes required budgetary support of 33453 crore rupees from Union Government over the entire implementation period.
  • Apart from this, the balance work related to rural electrification as per CCEA’s approval of August 2013 with the norms of the ongoing scheme of RGGVY in the 12th and 13th plans will be subsumed in DDUGJY as a distinct component for rural electrification. For this purpose the CCEA has already approved the scheme cost of 39275 crore rupees including budgetary support of 35447 crore rupees.
  • This outlay will be carried forward to the new scheme of DDUGJY in addition to the outlay of 43033 crore rupees.

The scheme would help in
• Improvement in hours of power supply in rural areas
• Reduction in peak load
• Improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and
• Providing access to electricity to rural household

  • As per the cabinet decision, the process of sanction of projects will commence immediately and for execution, the projects will be awarded by States Discoms/Power Departments. The projects shall be completed within 24 months from date of award.
  • Apart from this, the Cabinet also approved a North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project for six north eastern states for strengthening of the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution System. These states are Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tnpura and Nagaland.
  • The project will be implemented at an estimated cost of about 5111 crore rupees. The project is a major step towards meeting the national objective of Power to All. It will also increase the per capita power consumption in these States.
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