23-24 feb 2015 eng

23 feb

Anil Kumble and Betty Wilson inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

Former India captain Anil Kumble and Australian legend Betty Wilson on 22 February 2015 were inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia.  

Kumble and Wilson became the 77th and 78th inductees into the Hall of Fame. 

The 44-year-old Kumble is the fourth Indian to be included in the elite group other three includes Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Bishan Bedi. Wilson is the second Australian woman in the Hall of Fame behind Belinda Clark. Wilson was given the honour posthumously.

About Anil Kumble
• He had played 132 Tests for India and captured 619 wickets
• A right-arm leg spin (leg break googly) bowler, Kumble with 619 wickets is the third-highest wicket taker in Test cricket, only behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708)
• He is the second man in history of cricket to take 10-wickets in an innings. He dismantled Pakistan in 1999 to finish with figures of 10 for 74

Betty Wilson
• Wilson is considered as one of the greatest female cricketers of all-time 
• She played 11 tests between 1947 and 1958 and scored 862 runs and claimed 68 wickets
• In 1957 against England, she became the first cricketer (male or female) to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test 
• Wilson passed away on 22 January 2010, aged 88

29th Surajkund International Crafts Mela celebrated

The 29th Surajkund International Crafts Mela was celebrated from 1 February 2015 to 15 February 2015 at Surajkund, Faridabad.

The Mela showcased the richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms and the cultural heritage of India.

The Mela was jointly hosted by Haryana Tourism Corporation and Surajkund Mela Authority in collaboration with the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.

Chhattisgarh was selected as the Theme State while Lebanon was Partner Nation for the Surajkund Mela. Sri Lanka was chosen as Partner Nation for 28th Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2014 while Goa was the Theme State for the Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2014.

The idea of hosting the Mela is to recreate a pristine rural ambience for foreign and domestic tourists, to show the patrons of arts and crafts of the skills involved in creative arts, to introduce crafts persons directly to the buyers, and to identify, nurture and preserve the languishing crafts of the country.

Every year a theme State and a Partner Nation is chosen. Theme State is chosen with a view to promote and focus the art, craft and cuisine of the theme State whereas Partner Nation is chosen to showcases the best of that nation’s art, culture, traditions and heritage.

For the first time in 2009, Egypt became the Focus Nation and the idea of introducing a country/nation as a Partner Nation was mooted. Thailand was introduced as the first Partner Nation during the 26th Surajkund Crafts Mela 2012.

Anirban Lahiri won Indian Open title of Golf

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri on 22 February 2015 won the Indian Open title at the Delhi Golf Club. To clinch the title, Lahiri defeated SSP Chowrasia on the first playoff hole. 

Chowrasia finished as runner-up for the fourth time in the tournament.
Lahiri who started the final day seven strokes behind Chowrasia and five shots off defending champion Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman found himself tied at seven-under with Chowrasia who bogeyed the 16th hole. Pars followed for both players and the tie at seven-under 277 led to a playoff.

Earlier on 8 February 2015, Lahiri had won Malaysian Open title.

Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed arrested in Male under anti-terror law

Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed was arrested on 22 February 2015 in Male. He was arrested under anti-terrorism laws after a court said that he might flee the country to avoid hearings on terrorism charges.

He is facing criminal charges over his order to arrest a Criminal Court judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.
Although his original charges were withdrawn by the prosecutor-general in third week of February 2015, however, later an arrest warrant was issued under new charges of terrorism relating to the same incident of the arrest of the judge. 

Nasheed is a leader of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and was the first democratically elected President of Maldives. He stepped down as the President of Maldives in 2012.

Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar

Janatal Dal (United) leader NItish Kumar on 22 February 2015 was sworn in as the 34th Chief Minister of Bihar. 

He succeeded Jitan Ram Manjhi, who resigned from his office on 20 February 2015 before the trust vote wherein he was supposed to prove majority in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Kumar’s oath of the office and secrecy was administered by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at the Raj Bhawan in Patna. 

With this, Nitish Kumar took oath as the state’s chief minister for the fourth time. His previous three terms are enumerated below:
•First term – 3 March 2000 and 10 March 2000. He resigned after he failed to prove majority.
•Second term– 24 November 2005 and 24 November 2010
• Third term – 26 November 2010 and 17 May 2014. He resigned from his office on 17 May 2014 after his party performed poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. 

Ministers in Nitish Kumar’s Government
Besides Kumar, 22 ministers including three women were also administered the oath of office. Out of these 22 ministers, 20 ministers were in Jitan Ram Manjhi government.

The ministers who took oath of their offices include Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Ramai Ram, Damodar Raut, Narendra Narayan Yadav, P.K. Shahi, Shyam Rajak, Awadesh Kushwaha, Lesie Singh, Dulal Chand Goswami, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, Shrawan Kumar, Ramlashan Ram Raman, Ramdhani Singh, Jai Kumar Singh, Manoj Kumar Singh, Javed Iqbal Ansari, Bima Bharti, Ranju Geeta, Baidyanath Sahni, Vinod Singh Yadav and Naushad Alam.

Nitish-led JD(U) government in Bihar has been asked to prove his majority in the Bihar Assembly by 16 March 2015. 

Present situation in Bihar Assembly 
Bihar Assembly is a house of 243-seats and it needs 117 seats in support for formation of the government. 

At present Nitish Kumar led JD(U) has 109 MLAs beside the Speaker in the House, while BJP have 87 MLAs and is supported by four Independent candidates. However, Nitish Kumar claims that he has support of 128 MLAs.

Earlier in the first week of February 2015, JD(U) had suspended Jitan Ram Manjhi along with seven other MLAs who supported his decision to not quit from his office. 

The seven suspended Ministers were: Narendra Singh, Brishen Patel, Shahid Ali Khan, Samrat Chaudhary, Nitish Mishra, Mahachandra Prasad Singh and Bhim Singh.

Union Government launched portal MADAD to redress consular grievances

Union Government on 20 February 2015 launched an online grievances monitoring system called MADAD to redress consular grievances. It was launched by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.

MADAD seeks to help Indian citizens living abroad to file consular grievances online on the services offered by the Indian Missions, Posts, Consulates and Embassy abroad.

The logo of MADAD depicts two persons with a letter M in-between them and MADAD is written underneath.

The tagline is Because You Are Us, means we are helping you because you are us.

All the stakeholders involved in MADAD are tightly linked to the portal, including Missions and Posts abroad and MEA's Branch Secretariats in Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

Characteristic Features of MADAD

• MADAD is a joint effort of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Overseas Indians Affairs (MOIA) and it is not a general helpline.
• It allows direct registration of the grievances by the members of the public and effective monitoring of the grievance handling process thereafter, until it is redressed.
• The portal ensures that entire history of the complaints or grievances registered is maintained online.
• It incorporates flexible architecture to handle a variety of grievances, linking of similar grievances on the basis of passport number to avoid duplication and automatic escalation and enhancement of priority.
• It will also help to speed up forwarding and handling of complaints, improve tracking and redressal and escalate unresolved cases.
• To track the complaints and grievances, the portal employs a colour-coded system of red-amber-green pattern. The green colour indicates cases are cleared, while the pending cases will be indicated in red colour.
• To ensure accountability, accessibility and responsiveness of officials in various Consulates or Embassy of India, colour code will change its colour automatically. For instance, if the response is not given in a stipulated time it will change its colour to red and escalate the issue to higher officials.

In all, MADAD seeks to promote healthy intra-department competition which would act as a deterrent for officials and respond with greater accountability to ultimately benefit people.

Earlier, MEA had launched the portal as a pilot project for seven countries. These included the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, and Malaysia.

10th Aero India show concluded in Bengaluru

10th Aero India show concluded on 22 February 2015 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The five-day long show had started on 18 February 2015 and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the 10th Aero India show, audience witnessed the performance of Sarang aerobatic team from the Indian Air Force (IAF) flying the Dhruv helicopters.
Audiences also witnessed the aerobatic performances of the aerobatic teams from Sweden, England, Czech Republic and Open Sky Jump team from US.

Highlights 10th Aero India show

• The 10th edition of Aero Show was focused on Make in India campaign of the Union Government. It is aimed at encouraging small and medium industries to invest in defence manufacturing base.
• Delegates from 109 countries participated in the event and over 700 companies from India and abroad took part in the exhibition.
• In the exhibition, India showcased its indigenously made Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, radars, missiles, satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) .
• Moreover, the foreign military aircraft also were displayed that included F-15C Eagle, Lockheed F-16C, Boeing KC-135, Boeing C-17, Rafale and Embraer EMB-145I etc.
• The United States with 64 companies had the biggest presence at the event.

About Aero India show

• Aero India Show is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition which is held in Bangaluru at the Yelahanka Air Force Station.
• The exhibition provides a single platform to many manufacturers and service providers from the Indian aerospace and abroad to meet the potential buyers for their products.
• The Union Ministry of Defence, Indian Air Force, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Department of Space, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry join hands to organize the Aero India show.
• The first edition of the air show was held in 1996. Since then, the event has earned international recognition.

Purnendu Dasgupta won the J. Calvin Giddings Award 2015 of American Chemical Society

An Indian-American Purnendu Dasgupta on 20 February 2015 was awarded with the 2015 J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Education. The award is given by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Analytical Chemistry.

Dasgupta, a Jenkins Garrett professor of chemistry at the University of Texas at Arlington, was awarded for his contribution in the field of analytical chemistry. 

He had developed an environment friendly field analyser for checking toxic arsenic levels in water

Dasgupta will receive a plaque and cash prize as an award at the ACS national conference in August 2015 in Boston. He will address the conference and participate in an awards symposium on education in analytical chemistry. 

About Purnendu Dasgupta
Dasgupta is an author of more than 400 scientific papers and book chapters and holds 25 US patents. His work has earned more than 18 million US dollars in research grants. His research area includes
• Methods for environment-friendly analysis of arsenic in drinking water
• Rapid analysis of trace heavy metals in the atmosphere
• Iodine nutrition in women and infants and the role of the chemical perchlorate
• The development of a NASA-funded ion chromatograph for testing extraterrestrial soil, such as on a trip to Mars

About American Chemical Society's J. Calvin Giddings Award
The award is named after J. Calvin Giddings, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Utah, US. Giddings is credited with the invention of field flow fractionation.

The award recognises, a scientist, who has enhanced the professional development of analytical chemistry students, developed and published innovative experiments, designed and improved equipment or teaching labs and published influential textbooks or significant articles on teaching analytical chemistry.

Somdev Devvarman retained the Delhi Open title of Tennis

Somdev Devvarman on 22 February 2015 retained the Delhi Open title of tennis. The Delhi Open was held in New Delhi.

He won the title by defeating Yuki Bhambri by 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. With this, he won the 100000 US dollar ATP Challenger Delhi Open title for second time in a row.

The doubles title was won by Egor Gerasimov of Belarus and Alexander Kudryavtsev of Russia. They defeated Riccardo Ghedin of Italy and Toshihide Matsui of Japan 6-7(5) 6-4 10-6 in the final.

Centre for Science and Environment released a report titled Heat on Power

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on 22 February 2015 released a report titled Heat on Power. The report claims that Indian coal-based thermal power plants are one of the most inefficient in the world. 

The report was released by MS Swaminathan, the father of India’s Green Revolution. It was released after a two-year-long research study conducted under CSE’s Green Rating Project (GRP). 

This study on coal sector in India, which evaluates its environmental performance and compliance, is first of its kind in India. The study was conducted with an aim to give a clear picture of the environmental performance of the coal sector.

Findings of the study 
• Inefficient resources use and technological backwardness lead to high levels of pollution. There is immense scope for improvement
• Plants are operating at 60-70 percent capacity only, if capacity utilisation is improved, sector can meet additional power requirement without building new plants
• Delhi- based NTPC’s Badarpur plant one of the most polluting in the country
• 55 percent of the units were violating air pollution standards which are already extremely lax – Particulate Matter (PM) norms are at 150-350 mg/Nm3 (milligram per normal metre cube) compared to Chinese norms of 30 mg/Nm3.
• Fly ash disposal is the major problem, as 50 to 60 percent of 170 million tonnes of fly ash that is produced by this sector is ustilised while the rest is dumped into poorly managed ash ponds, resulting in polluting land, air and water 
• River and reservoirs of 20 plants were found to be polluted by ash slurry, which is a toxic heavy metal 
• 40 percent of plants do not meet the basic Total Suspended Solid (TSS) norms for effluents discharged by them
• 60 percent of plants had not installed effluent and sewage treatment plants
• 36 of the 47 plants were unable to meet the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) mandated target of utilising 90 percent of the solid waste (ash) generated – average use was only 54 percent.

On the occasion of release of the report, three top power plants were awarded for their environmental performance, while two others received awards for their efficient use of resources such as energy and water.

Top performers included West Bengal-based CESC-Budge Budge, JSEWL-Toranagallu (Karnataka), Tata-Trombay (Maharashtra) and JSW-Ratnagiri (Maharashtra). They scored between 45-50 per cent. 

Tata-Mundra (Gujarat) received an award for having the highest energy efficiency, while Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd (GIPCL), Surat, won an award for lowest water use.

Green Rating Project
Green Rating Project is one of the very few public-disclosure projects in the world in which a non-governmental, non-industry organisation rates the environmental performance of industries and makes the results public. 

The project was started in 1997 and till date has rated five major industrial sectors of India including pulp and paper, iron and steel, chlor-alkali, cement and automobiles. The coal-based power sector is the sixth it has rated.

Oscar Awards 2015

87th Academy Award, popularly called Oscar Awards, was conferred on 22 February 2015. The award ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

The Oscar Awards for the year 2015 were presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 24 categories.

The awards were produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actor Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony for the first time.

The list of winners of 87th Academy Awards

• Best Picture: Birdman
• Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman
• Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
• Best Actress: Julianne Moore for Still Alice
• Best Supporting Actor: JK Simmons for Whiplash
• Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
• Achievement in Costume Design: Milena Canonero for The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier for The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Best Foreign Language Film: Ida directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
• Best Live Action Short Film: The Phone Call
• Best Documentary Short Subject: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
• Original Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo for Birdman
• Achievement in Sound Mixing: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley for Whiplash
• Achievement in Sound Editing: Alan Robert Murray Bub Asman for American Sniper
• Achievement in Visual Effects: Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley and Paul Franklin for Interstellar
• Best Animated Short Film: Feast directed by Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
• Best Animated Movie: Big Hero Six 6
• Achievement in Production Design: Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock for The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Achievement in Cinematograph: Emannuel Lubezki for Birdman
• Achievement in Film Editing: Tom Cross for Whipalsh
• Best Documentary Feature: Citizen Four directed by Laura Poitras
• Best Original Song: John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn for Glory
• Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Graham Moore for The Imitation Game

WHO approved ReEBOV Antigen rapid test kit to identify Ebola-infected patients

World Health Organisation (WHO) in the fourth week of February 2015 approved the ReEBOV Antigen rapid test kit for Ebola virus disease (EVD) which can give the result in 15 minutes.

The test kit developed by Corgenix in the United States (US) has been approved for use in West African nations.

The key feature of the rapid test kit is that it can correctly distinguish Ebola infected patients from non-Ebola infected patients. It can identify about 92 percent of Ebola-infected patients and 85 percent of those patients not infected with the virus.

Characteristic Features of ReEBOV Antigen rapid test kit

• It is quick and easy test which can be used in rural African settings
• The test simply detects the Ebola protein instead of testing for the genetic material of the virus – its nucleic acid.
• It is less definitive, but it can correctly identify about 92 percent of Ebola-infected patients and 85 percent of those not infected with the virus.
• The test is small, cheap and portable but is less sensitive than the gold-standard test that is used to diagnose early-stage Ebola.

Ebola virus disease since its outbreak in Western Africa has claimed more than 6000 lives. The main reason of so many deaths was untimely detection of EVD.

The current available tests takes around four to six hours to detect EVD but delays in transporting samples to labs and getting results back can mean a diagnosis takes several days.

Even though the numbers of cases have fallen but still the rapid test can help in the drive to identify Ebola-infected patients and lead to timely treatment.

24 feb

Indian Army and State Bank of India inked MoU on Defence Salary Package

The Indian Army and State Bank of India (SBI) on 23 February 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Defence Salary Package. 

The MoU is tailor-made to suit the requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families. The revised MoU has incorporated a number of additional facilities and basic features of the MoU include
• Number of free/concessional services like free drafts, free cheque books, free funds transfers to any bank in India through RTGS / NEFT, free ATM cards and others
• The provision also includes the Nepal Express Remittance Scheme which enables instant fund transfers to Nepal for the benefit of the Nepali Domicile Gorkha Soldiers serving in the Indian Army.
• Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) was enhanced and was linked to the Savings account instead of the debit card.
• Exemption percentage of margin money for house and car loans was enhanced while the processing charges on the loans were waved off.

The revised MoU will benefit 19.5 lakh pensioners and 10 lakh serving personnel who hold Pay or Pension accounts with SBI. The beneficiaries will be provided an opportunity to access modern banking facilities. 

The signing ceremony was chaired by the Adjutant General, Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma and was attended by top dignitaries of SBI Bank, headed by Dr Vaidyan MG, Dy MD (Retail Strategy).

The first MoU between the Indian Army and SBI was signed in 2011 and was valid for a period of three years.

Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran VIII started in Nepal

The Eighth India-Nepal Battalion level Combined Military Training named Exercise Surya Kiran-VIII, commenced on 23 February 2015 at Integrated Army Training Centre, Saljhandi, Nepal. The exercise will end on 7 March 2015. 

The two week long exercise started with unfurling of the National Flags of the two countries. The Nepalese Contingent was represented by a Battalion from an Infantry Division of Nepalese Army while Indian side was represented by an equivalent strength from a Mountain Brigade.

Objective of Exercise Surya Kiran-VIII include
• To carry out Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorist Operations in mountainous and jungle terrain
• To practice facets of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief including actions to be taken during pandemic, epidemic and various other humanitarian assistance situations
• The scope of exercise also includes aviation aspects and environmental conservation 
• The two sides will look forward to exchange ideas and concepts and hone the tactical and technical skills of each other 

During the exercise, the two sides will train, plan and execute a series of well developed combined tactical drills and neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in Counter Insurgency or Counter Terrorism Operations.

Union Ministry of Youth Affairs revised the National Sports Awards Schemes

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on 23 February 2015 revised the National Sports Awards Schemes. The ministry revamped the Schemes of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Award and Dronacharya Awards.

Amendments made in Arjuna Award scheme
• Selection Committee for Arjuna Award will now be headed by the Retired Judge of Supreme Court/High Court. 
• A sportsperson of eminence or sports administrator or a sports expert belonging to Para sports will be a member in Selection Committee for Arjuna Awards. 
• Not more than one sportsperson of eminence or a coach from a particular sports discipline shall be a member of the Selection Committee to avoid any bias in favour of a particular discipline. 
• Nomination agencies are expected to send nominations of most deserving sportspersons and coaches irrespective of whether sportspersons/coaches have applied to them for awards. 

Amendments in other National Sports Awards Schemes
• For Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards and Dronacharya Awards, the weightage for performance in sports events has been reduced from 90 percent to 80 percent.
• The weightage of marks to be given by the Selection Committee for factors like profile and standard of sports events has been increased from 10 percent to 20 percent. This will increase say of the Selection Committee in the process of selection.
• In the marks criteria, more marks will be given for medals won in individual events. For team events, marks will be computed taking into consideration strength of the team. 

Other decisions
• From now onwards, the proceedings of Selection Committee will be videographed. 
• Detailed internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be prepared to deal with nominations received from NSFs. 
• Views of discipline experts will be obtained for shortlisted nominations in team games.

These amendments were based on the recommendations made in 2014 by Selection Committee for Arjuna Awards headed by Kapil Dev. Most of the suggestions were accepted by the Union Government.

Chris Gayle became first cricketer to score Double Century in Cricket World Cup

Chris Gayle, the Cricketer of West Indies on 24 February 2015 became the first person to make double century in any Cricket World Cup. He struck 202 off 138 balls in a match against Zimbabwe in World Cup 2015.

The match was played at Canberra's Manuka Oval and by the end of match Gayle scored 215 off 147 balls. Bowlers of Zimbabwe who bowled in the match included Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Kamungozi and Hamilton Masakadza.

This is the fastest double century in any ODIs, the previous record was held by Virender Sehwag of India who scored a double century off 140 balls. Sehwag scored a double century in a match played against West Indies at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore in December 2011.

Apart from this, Gayle is the first cricketer outside India to smash a double-century in ODIs. The three Indians to score a double century in ODIs include Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma. The first-ever ODI double ton was scored by Sachin Tendulkar against South Africa in Gwalior.

Pioneer of mobile theatre in Assam Adya Sharma passed away

Adya Sharma, a cultural icon and pioneer of mobile theatre in Assam, passed away on 23 February 2015 in Nalbari town, Assam following a brief illness. He was 86.

Adya Sharma was famously known for bringing innovation in the technical aspects of mobile theatre which made it more attractive and capable of staging more complex themes.

He was born in 1929 and was known as Guruji in Assam among the artist circles. He made his debut  into mobile theatre in 1966 through Purbajyoti Theatre. 

He was awarded Bishnu Prasad Rabha Award by Assam Government and Pranab Barua Award for his contributions to the cultural world. Moreover, the Assam government had honoured him with artiste’s pension.

He was the founder of Ranghar, an organisation dedicated to promote painting in Nalbari. He was also a well known painter and sculpture artist in Assam.

Rana Bhagwandas, the first Hindu Chief Justice of Pakistan died

Rana Bhagwandas, the former acting Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan died on 23 February 2015 in Karachi, Pakistan. He was 72. 

Bhagwandas was the first Hindu and second non-Muslim to head the Supreme Court of Pakistan. First non-Muslim Chief Justice was Alvin Robert Cornelius (a Christian).

About Rana Bhagwandas
• He studied law and carried a postgraduate degree in Islamic Studies. 
• He was considered as an expert on Constitutional law.
• He was appointed as a judge in 1967, two years after he started practicing as an advocate.
• In 1994, he was appointed as a judge of Sindh High Court. 
• He was appointed as an acting Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) in 2005 and 2006 during the absence of the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. 
• He acted as an acting Chief Justice in 2007, the year when the country was going through judicial crisis.
• After retirement from Supreme Court, he was appointed as the chairman of Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) of Pakistan.
• He was born on 20 December 1942 in a Hindu Sindhi Rajput family in Naseerabad, Larkana District (now Qambar Shahdadkot District) in Sindh.

Supreme Court of Pakistan is mentioned in Constitution of Pakistan in Part VII: The Judicature, while the acting Chief Justice is defined under Article 180. 

Article 180: Acting Chief Justice.
At any time when-
(a) The office of Chief Justice of Pakistan is vacant; or
(b) The Chief Justice of Pakistan is absent or is unable to perform the functions of his office due to any other cause, the President shall appoint [one of the judges of the Supreme Court who have not previously held the office of Chief Justice of Pakistan otherwise than under this Article.] to act as Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Ram Niwas Goel elected as Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Ram Niwas Goel was on 23 February 2015 unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. While AAP legislator Bandana Kumari was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the House.

In the Delhi Assembly election 2015, Ram Niwas Goel was elected from Shahdara constituency of Delhi. He defeated Bhartiya Janta Party’s Jitender Singh Shunty by a margin of over 11000 votes.

Bandana Kumari is an AAP MLA from Shalimar Bagh constituency. In Delhi assembly election 2015, she defeated BJP’s Rekha Gupta by a vote margin of 10978. 

Their appointment was announced by pro-tem Speaker Fateh Singh who presided the session of assembly for electing Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

TRAI issued Regulation on domestic carriage charges

The telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 24 February 2015 issued the regulation on Telecommunication interconnection usage charges.

The regulation prescribed a revised domestic carriage charges. The regulation will particularly benefit users of fixed-line phones. The move aimed to promote investment in wireline networks, so that they may become an effective vehicle for the delivery of high-speed Internet in the country.

Highlights of the regulation

•The regulation has removed charges that a landline service provider has to pay to the other service providers for transmitting its customers' phone calls.

•The termination charge from fixed-line phones has been reduced from 20 paise per minute to zero, in case of mobile phones it has been slashed by 30 percent to 14 paise from 20 paise per minute.

•The regulation has decided to prescribe FTC (fixed termination) as well as MTC (mobile termination charge) for wireline to wireless calls as zero.

Yaduveer Raj Urs adopted as heir to Wadiyar dynasty

Mysuru’s erstwhile royal family on 23 February 2015 formally adopted Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs as the heir to the Wadiyar dynasty. Yaduveer is a grandson of Princess Gayathri Devi, the eldest daughter of last Maharaja of Mysuru Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.

In the hour-long adoption ceremony, twenty two-year-old Yaduveer was rechristened as Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar. He is son of Tripura Sundara Devi and Swarup Anand Gopal Raj Urs.

He will ascend the throne after coronation by October 2015. He will succeed Srikanatadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar who died in Bengaluru on 10 December 2013, at the age of 60. Srikantadatta and Pramoda Devi had no children and thus Yaduveer was adopted to be a new scion. 

At present, Yaduveer is pursuing his BA at Boston in United States.

Wadiyar dynasty
The Wadiyar dynasty was an Indian Hindu dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947. Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar XI (1940 - 1947) was the last ruler of the Kingdom before the kingdom was incorporated into the authority of India.

The kingdom was incorporated into the authority of India after its independence from British rule. 

The dynasty was established in 1399 by Yaduraya Wodeyar, who ruled Mysore under the Vijayanagara Empire until 1423. After Yaduraya, the Mysore kingdom was succeeded by the Wadiyar rulers. The Wadiyars of Vijaya's dynasty belong to the ArasuWadiyar community of Karnataka, which includes many of the noble clans of the region.

Takahiro Hachigo appointed as President and CEO of Honda Motor Co Limited

Takahiro Hachigo was on 23 February 2015 appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. Limited with effect from June 2015.

He will succeed Takanobu Ito, who resigned from his post on 23 February 2015. Prior to this appointment, Hachigo was Managing Officer of Honda Motor Co. Limited.

Hachigo joined Honda in 1982 by working as an engineer in its automobile Research & Development (R&D) operations. Later, he worked in the different areas including vehicle design, production and purchasing in several countries like United States, China and United Kingdom.

About Honda Motor Co Limited
• Headquartered at Minato in Tokyo, Japan, Honda Motor Co was established in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa.
• It is Japan’s third largest automaker after Toyota and Nissan. It is primarily a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment.
• Honda has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959. It is also world’s largest manufacturer of internal combustion, producing 14 million internal combustion engines every year.

Maria Golovnina, Reuters bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan, found dead

Maria Golovnina, Reuters bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan on 23 February 2015 found dead in Islamabad. She was 34.

She was found collapsed and unconscious in the bureau and was rushed to hospital, but medical teams were unable to save her.

However, the cause of Golovnina's death could not be determined immediately and the authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain the facts of the case.

She had joined Reuters in Tokyo in 2001 and subsequently worked in London, Singapore and Seoul as part of the graduate trainee program. She was posted to Russia from 2002 to 2005. She became Chief Correspondent in Central Asia in 2005.

She moved to the London editing desk in 2010. Maria spent much of 2011 covering the war in Libya, putting her hand up to travel to Tripoli despite the attendant risks.

National Green Tribunal banned plying of Vintage cars on Delhi roads

National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 23 February 2015 directed that no Vintage cars will be permitted to ply on the roads of Delhi. This order was issued by bench of NGT headed by Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.

Moreover, no fitness certificates to the vintage cars will be issued by any authority without specific permission of the tribunal.

NGT’s order was issued on a plea filed by Madan Mohan, director of 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally, who had moved the tribunal seeking permission for the rally.

Background
In November 2014, NGT in its judgment held that vehicles which are more than 15 years old are banned to run on the city roads.

NGT also had directed the concerned authorities to take appropriate steps in accordance with law including seizure of these vehicles it they are found running on road.

About National Green Tribunal
• The National Green Tribunal was established on 18 October 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection. 
• The Tribunal is mandated to make endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the case. 
• New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal.

Veteran Tamil director RC Sakthi passed away

Popular Tamil director R.C. Sakthi passed away on 23 February 2015 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu following a brief illness. He was 76. Sakthi is survived by two daughters and a son.

He was mentor of the famous actor Kamal Haasan and had launched him as lead role in his Tamil directorial debut Unarchigal in 1972.

Sakthi started his career as an assistant to theatre artist Subbhu Arumugam and worked with him on several plays. In 1970, he joined the Tamil film Annai Velankani as an assistant director.

RC Sakthi
• Born in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, Sakthi started his career in film industry as a theatre artist and later shifted to cinema.
• He began his directorial career as an assistant director for the Tamil film Porsilai (1969) and Annai Velankanni (1970). In his two decade long career, he had directed 17 films.
• In 1972, Sakthi launched Kamal Haasan in his directorial debut Unarchigal. It was released in 1976.
• Some of his critically acclaimed films are Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala (1978), Dharma Yuddham (1979) which starred Rajinikanth and Amma Pillai (1990).
• His last directed Tamil film Pathini Penna (1993) was awarded with two Tamil Nadu state awards- Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film and State award for Best Dialogue Writer.

Ranchi Rays crowned Champions of Hero Hockey India League 2015

Ranchi Rays on 23 February 2015 crowned champions of Hero Hockey India League 2015 (HHIL) by defeating Jaypee Punjab Warriors.

The HHIL 2015 was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi from 22 January 2015 to 22 February 2015. The Grand Finale was witnessed by the eminent personalities. This is the third season of the professional field hockey tournament, Hockey India League.

Ranchi Rays defeated Punjab Warriors in the final by a 3-2 scoreline in the penalty shootout after the regular time yielded a 2-2 tie.

Ranchi Rays was awarded 2.50 crore rupees, while Jaypee Punjab Warriors was awarded 1.25crore rupees for finishing in the second position. Delhi Waveriders received 75 lakh rupees for securing third position.
Barry Middleton of Ranchi Rays received Hero Goal of the Match Award. Tyler Lovell of Ranchi Rays became Man of the Match. 

About Ranchi Rays

The city franchise earlier called Ranchi Rhinos had also grabbed the inaugural title in 2013. Despite the overhaul in stakeholders, the team has almost maintained the same squad as earlier. India Cricket Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni co-owns the franchise with Sahara Group.

3rd Tortoise Festival organised at Hajong Lake in Assam

3rd Tortoise Festival was organised at Hajong Lake in Dima Hasao district of Assam on 21 February 2015. The festival was organised to create awareness among people on the endangered tortoise species by Environment and Forest Department of Dima Hasao. 

The day-long festival saw various activities like discussions, presentation and others aimed at protection of the species. 

About Hajong Lake
• The lake is a unique tortoise habitat and is situated in the Langting Mupa forest reserve at a distance of around 300kilometres from Guwahati 
• The lake is the only natural tortoise home in Assam 
• Hajong Lake that is popularly known as the tortoise lake is a habitat of few varieties of Hill Terrapins (a rare species)
• At present, around 400 to 500 tortoises are dwelling in the Hajong Lake