International Solar Alliance headquartered in

India with United Nations as Strategic Partner

 

27-JAN-2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the President of France François Hollande, on 25 January 2016 laid the foundation stone of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquarters in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gwalpahari, Gurgaon.

They also inaugurated the interim Secretariat of the ISA at the same place.

India dedicated 5 acre land at NISE to ISA for hosting its Secretariat and also contributed 175 crore rupees for ISA corpus fund for an initial period of five years. Thereafter it is expected to generate its own resources and become self-financing.

 

About International Solar Alliance

 

• It was jointly launched in Paris by India and France on 30 November 2015 during the United Nations climate change conference (COP21).

• It is the India’s first international and inter-governmental organization of 121 Countries to have headquarters in India with United Nations as Strategic Partner.

• It creates a collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies to enhance energy security and sustainable development.

• It improves access to energy and opportunities for better livelihoods in rural and remote areas and to increase the standard of living.

• It will work with partner countries to formulate projects and programmes to accelerate development and deployment of existing clean solar energy technologies, the potential for which largely remaining untapped.

• It develops innovative financial mechanisms to reduce cost of capital and builds a common knowledge e-Portal.

• It also facilitates capacity building for promotion and absorption of solar technologies and Research and Development among member countries.

• It will encourage multilateral bodies like IRENA, REEEP, IEA, REN21, UN bodies, bilateral organizations, corporates, industry, and other stakeholders to contribute towards the goal of increasing utilization of solar energy in the member countries.

• It’s governance structure consists of an Assembly, a Council and aSecretariat.

• The Assembly will provide guidance, direction and advice to the Secretariat for undertaking the activities.

 

Cottalango Leon selected for 2016 Technical

Achievement Award of Academy of Motion

Pictures

 

27-JAN-2016

ottalango Leon, a person of Indian origin, was on 22 January 2016 selected for the 2016 Technical Achievement Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Leon won the award under the Scientific and Technical Achievements category for the design, engineering and continuous development ofSony Pictures Imageworks Itview along with his two team members J Robert Ray and Sam Richards. It is a tool used only within Sony Imageworks.

Dubbed as itview, the software makes review of movie segments by artists at various levels a lot easier during film making.

He joined another person of Indian origin Rahul Thakkar who also was named as one of the winners of Scientific and Technical Awards 2016 of Academy Awards.

About Cottalango Leon

• Born in Thoothukudi, Leon grew up in Coimbatore and did his schooling from there itself. 
• He did BE at PSG College of Technology during 1988 to 1992 and got his Master’s degree at Arizona State University in 1996.
• He began to work on Sony Pictures Imageworks Itview as his first project in 1996. 
• Cottalango has several hit films to his credit including names like Spiderman' series, Men In Black series, Hotel Transylvania, The Smurfs, Cloudy With The Chance of Meatballs, Open Season and Stuart Little.

About the Technical Achievement Awards

Technical Achievement Awards are given annually for accomplishments that contribute to the progress of the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

The academy presents 10 scientific and technical achievements every year. The winners get a printed certificate detailing the achievement and listing the names of all of the individuals who contributed to its development at an annual award ceremony.

 

West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul retired

from international cricket

 

27-JAN-2016

The West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 22 January 2016 announced his retirement from international cricket almost 22 years after making his debut.

Chanderpaul had not played for West Indies since May 2015. The West Indies selectors dropped him after a weak performance during the three-Test series at home against England.

 

About Shivnarine Chanderpaul

 

• Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the first Indo-Caribbean to play 100 Tests for the West Indies.

• He captained West Indies cricket team in 14 Tests and 16 One Day Internationals.

• His debut match for West Indies was against England in March 1994, in his native Guyana, where he made a half-century on debut.

• A left-handed batsman, he is well known for his unorthodox batting stance, which has been described as crab-like.

• He has scored 20000 runs in international cricket.

• In 2008, he was named as one of the five Cricketers of the Year by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, and as the Player of the Year by the International Cricket Council.

• His highest score in Tests was 203 not out and he finished with an average of 51.37, and he also posted a top score of 150 in ODIs, finishing with an average of 41.60.

• He was affectionately known as Tiger.

 

French President Francois Hollande concluded

three-day visit to India

 

27-JAN-2016

French President Francois Hollande visited India from 24 January to 26 January 2016. He was on a three-day visit to India as the Chief Guest at India's 67th Republic Day celebrations.

This was President Hollande's second state Visit to India. This is the fifth time that a French Head of State was invited as the Chief Guest on India's Republic Day celebrations making France the only country with the highest number of times so far.

On his arrival to Chandigarh in India, President Hollande was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 January 2016.

 

Major Highlights of the Visit

• He inspected the Guard of Honour during the Ceremonial Reception in New Delhi
• He witnessed the 67th Republic Day Parade at New Delhi
• He attended the Home Reception by the President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi
• Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a joint visit to the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Rock Garden and Capitol Complex in Chandigarh. Chandigarh was designed by French architect Le Corbusier.
• Hollande and Modi jointly inaugurated the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Secretariat in Gurgaon.
• President and Prime Minister attended the India-France Business Summit and Indo-French CEOs Forum in Chandigarh.
• 30 Agreements and MoUs were inked during the visit of which 16 were exchanged at the India-France Business Summitin Chandigarh while the other 14 were inked in New Delhi. 
• French military contingent participated in the republic day parade of India making France the first country to receive such an honour.
The visit took place nine months after Prime Minister Modi's successful visit to France in April 2015.

Comment

The visit of French President Hollande for the second time to India and France becoming the country whose head of state has been Chief Guest at Republic Day parade for highest number of times is of great strategic and economic significance for both the countries.

The strategic significance rises from the fact that India has often look towards France for furthering its goal of strategic autonomy as it’s the only Western country which understands India’s political aspirations and with whom India shares similar values.

Also strategic involvement with other major powers means compromise as the US drives very tough bargain; Russia lacks technology, capital and diplomatic heft; China has adopted Pakistan as an “all-weather ally” to contain India.

It is also an occasion for both the countries to reflect on republics as systems of government and how they continuously learn from each other.

 

President Pranab Mukherjee announced 2016

Padma Awards

 

27-JAN-2016

President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2016 announced the winners of the Padma Awards 2016. The list comprises of 10 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri Awardees.

19 of the awardees in the list are women and the list also includes 10 persons in the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and 4 posthumous awardees.

 

List of Padma Vibhushan Awardees

 

Sl. No	Name	Field	State
1	Yamini Krishnamurthi	Art- Classical dance	Delhi
2	Rajinikanth	Art-Cinema	Tamil Nadu
3	Girija Devi	Art-Classical Vocal	West Bengal
4	Ramoji Rao	Literature & Education-Journalism	Andhra Pradesh
5	Viswanathan Shanta	Medicine-Oncology	Tamil Nadu
6	Shri Shri Ravi Shankar	Others-Spiritualism	Karnataka
7	Jagmohan	Public Affairs	Delhi
8	Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
9	Avinash Dixit (Foreigner)	Literature & Education	USA
10	Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous)	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra

About Padma Awards

Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian Awards of India. The awards are conferred in three categories namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. 

The Awards are given in various disciplines or fields of activities including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. 

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. While, they are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial function at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March every year.

 

India-France signed 14 Agreements including

36 Rafale Aircraft deal

 

27-JAN-2016

India and France on 25 January 2016 inked 14 Agreements/MoUs in Delhi. The agreements including MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts were signed during the State Visit of President Francois Hollande of France to India.

Hollande was the Chief Guest at the 67th India’s Republic Day (26 January 2016) celebrations. He was the fifth French leader to be a chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, maximum number from any country so far.

 

The 14 agreements/MoUs are

• MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Centre National D'études Spatiales (CNES) Implementation Arrangement on hosting Argos-4 Payload onboard India’s Oceansat-3 satellite
• ISRO and CNES Implementation Arrangement on a future joint Thermal Infrared earth observation mission
• Letter of Intent on CNES, France participation in ISRO’s next Mars Mission
• Shareholding Agreement on JV between Alstom and Indian Railways for production of 800 electric locomotives in Madhepura Bihar
• Agreement between Indian Railways and SNCF, French Railways for joint feasibility study for the renovation of Ludhiana and Ambala railway stations
• MOU between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India and Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation (ANSES) in food safety
• Partnership Agreement on Cooperation in Public Administration between Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances and French 
• Declaration of Intent for conducting next round of Namaste France (Indian festival) in 2016 and Bonjour India (French festival) 2017
• Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 2016-2018
• Arrangement for establishment of an Indo- French Ministerial level Joint Committee on Science & Technology
• MoU for Industry Sponsored PhD Fellowship between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes Aeroportes
• Cooperation Agreement between IISER, Pune and ENS de Lyon (France) for joint research, teaching, exchange of personnel etc.
• Agreement of Cooperation between CNRS, TB, UBO, UBS, ENSTA Bretagne, ENIB (French Universities) and IIT Mumbai in the field of Higher Education & Research.

These 14 agreements were inked a day after the two nations exchanged16 agreements at the India-France Business Summit in Chandigarh on 24 January 2016.

 

Rekha honoured with 3rd National Yash Chopra

Memorial Award

 

27-JAN-2016

Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha on 25 January 2016 was honoured with the third Yash Chopra Memorial Award in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao presented the award to the actress in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry.

 

About Rekha

 

• The actress was born on 10 October 1954 as Bhanu Rekha Ganesan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

• She started her career in 1966 as a child actress in the Telugu filmRangula Ratnam.

• Her film debut as a lead happened with Sawan Bhadon in 1970.

• She has won three Filmfare Awards, two for Best Actress and one for Best Supporting Actress, for her roles in Khubsoorat, Khoon Bhari Maang and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, respectively.

• Her portrayal of a classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan won her the National Film Award for Best Actress.

• In 2010, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

 

About National Yash Chopra Memorial Award

 

• The National Yash Chopra Memorial Award was instituted by the TSR Foundation of T Subbarami Reddy in the memory of the producer-director Yash Chopra, who died in 2012.

• The Foundation annually honours a distinguished senior film personality for outstanding contribution to film industry with a Gold Medal and a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees.

• Previous recipients of the award include Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

 

Ashok Chakra awarded posthumously to Lance

Naik Mohan Nath Goswami

 

27-JAN-2016

President Pranab Mukherjee, on 26 January 2016, awarded India’s highest peacetime gallantry award Ashoka Chakra,posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of 9 Para (Special Forces) of the Rashtriya Rifles.

 

Why was he selected for Ashoka Chakra award?

 

• For making a supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

• He exhibited the most outstanding gallantry in personally killing two terrorists and also assisted in neutralizing another two and saved the lives of three of his wounded colleagues in a fierce encounter with four terrorists at Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

What is Ashoka Chakra award?

 

• It was established as Ashoka Chakra, Class I by the President of India on 4 January 1952 which came into effect from 15 August 1947.

• It is the highest Indian peacetime gallantry award which was constituted on similar lines of the British Awards of the George Cross.

• It was constituted as Ashok Chakra Class I along with Ashok Chakra Class II and III. These awards were renamed as the Ashoka, Kirti and Shaurya Chakras in 1967.

• It is awarded for valor, courageous action or self sacrifice away from the battlefield.

• Each recipient of the award will get 2800 rupees per month.

 

Denmark Parliament approved law on seizing

valuables from refugees

 

27-JAN-2016

Danish Parliament, Folketing, on 26 January 2016 voted on a proposal to confiscate asylum seekers’ personal possessions in order to pay their upkeep. 

The minority Liberal Party government's bill was adopted by 81 votes to 27, with the support of the opposition Social Democrats and the anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DPP). One politician abstained and 70 others were absent.

The policy says that the police will be able to seize valuables worth more than 1340 euros (10000 kroner or 1000 Pound) from refugees to cover housing and food costs. MPs also approved plans to delay family reunions for asylum seekers.

The government said that the policy brings refugees in line with unemployed Danes, who also face having to sell assets above a certain level to claim benefits. Denmark received more than 21 thousands asylum seekers in 2015.

Reactions on the decision 
• A spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon criticised the decision, saying refugees deserved compassion. 
• The bill has been widely criticised by human rights groups. 
• The proposed policy was condemned by liberal and left-wing EU parliamentarians by saying that the policy aims at delaying the family reunification of the migrants for up to three year.

 

President Rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh

 

27-JAN-2016

President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2016 approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for the imposition of President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh. 

He gave the assent after hosting the traditional ‘At Home’ or reception at Rastrapati Bhavan for French President Francois Hollande as part of the Republic Day celebrations.

The Union Cabinet approved the imposition of President Rule on the state after expiration of six month deadline under which the Assembly was supposed to meet. The six month deadline for the meet expired on 21 January 2016.

Other reasons for the decision on imposition of the President Rule included multiple reports by the Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa that there was no law and order in the state and even the Raj Bhawan was not safe as it was seized by Congress MLAs. 

Besides, the Ministry of Home Affairs also appointed two retired civil servants, GS Patnaik and YS Dadwal as advisers to the Governor.

Constitutional Provision of Presidential Rule
The President imposed the Rule on the state following the provisions of imposition of President’s Rule on a state mentioned under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, after the failure of Constitutional Machinery in the state.

Article 356 of the Constitution of India under

the emergency provisions says

If the President, on receipt of a report from the Governor of a State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the Government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, the President may by Proclamation-
(a) Assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or anybody or authority in the State other than the Legislature of the State
(b) Declare that the powers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament
(c) Make such incidental and consequential provisions as appear to the President to be necessary or desirable for giving effect to the objects of the Proclamation, including provisions for suspending in whole or in part the operation of any provisions of this Constitution relating to anybody or authority in the State: Provided that nothing in this clause shall authorise the President to assume to himself 

any of the powers vested in or exercisable by a High Court, or to suspend in whole or in part the operation of any provision of this Constitution relating to High Courts.

 

Background

Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a political crisis after 14 Congress MLAs were suspended by Speaker Nabam Rebia in June 2015. Later in December 2015, the Deputy Speaker TN Thongdok cleared animpeachment motion against the Speakerowing to his personal relationship with Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

 

Hollywood actor Abe Vigoda passed away

 

27-JAN-2016

Actor Abe Vigoda, known for his work in The Godfather and on the television series Barney Miller, passed away on 26 January 2016 in New Jersey following natural causes. He was 94.

He was best known for his roles as mobster Tessio in the movie The Godfather.

 

About Abe Vigoda

 

• Born in New York, Vigoda made appearances in very early television episodes of Suspense and Studio One in Hollywood in 1949.
• He made his debut in the cinema through Marcel Carne’s 1965 effort Three Rooms in Manhattan, but he got his fame when he was cast in The Godfather in 1972.
• On the big screen, he appeared in the 1973 mob drama The Don Is Dead and 1974 crime drama Newman’s Law and he reprised his role as Tessio in a flashback in The Godfather: Part II.
• In 1974, he was cast as the aged, malady-laden and slow-moving cop Phil Fish in TV series Barney Miller. His character was so popular that the network launched a spinoff, simply titled Fish in 1977. 
• He also appeared as a guest on series including Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, The Bionic Woman, The Rockford Files and Eight Is Enough.
• He also remained a popular character actor in films including Cannonball Run II, Look Who's Talking, Joe Versus the Volcano and North.

 

Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy honoured with

Order of Australia

 

27-JAN-2016

A Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy settled in Melbourne on 26 January 2016 was honoured with the highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia.

Koshy was given the award for his service to dentistry in Victoria, Australia. He was honoured on the Australia Day Awards 2016, by the Governor General of Australia.

 

Who is Sajeev Koshy?

 

• Koshy has served as the president of the Kerala Dental Council and president of the Indian Dental Association.

• He is currently the head of the endodontics at the Royal Melbourne Dental Hospital, which is the teaching hospital for the University of Melbourne.

 

About Order of Australia

 

• The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.

• It is awarded to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.

• Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens would receive British honours.

 

Union Government approved to set up solar

energy panels over 10000 EWS houses in Tamil

Nadu under PMAY (Urban)

 

 

27-JAN-2016

Union government on 25 January 2016 approved fitting of roof top solar energy panels over 10000 houses belonging to Economically Weaker Sections in Tamil Nadu at a cost of 253 crore rupees.

This is first of its kind under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY)(Urban).

Under this Scheme, The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation will provide an assistance of 150000 rupees per house while the State Government will contribute 60000 rupees and the beneficiary’s contribution will be 43000 rupees

About Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY)(Urban).

• Housing Scheme for All 2022 was renamed to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

• This scheme was launched on 25th June 2015 by PM Narendra Modi.

• It aims to construct about 2 crore houses in the country within 7 years that is from 2015 to 2022.

• People who will be benefited through this scheme will be homeless ones, poor urban people and belonging to EWS and LIG categories.

• Union Government will focus on creating housing units under three different phases

Phase 1: It will continue from April 2015 to March 2017. In this phase 100 cities will be selected.

Phase 2: This will take place from April 2017 to March 2019 .This Scheme will cover 200 more cities

Phase 3: The final phase of the Scheme will take place from April 2019 to March 2022. This final phase will cover all remaining cities.

• The main beneficiaries of this latest housing for all scheme 2022 will be

• Women
• People belonging to Scheduled Casts(SC)
• People belonging to Scheduled Tribes(ST)
• Economically weaker section (EWS)

• Union Government planned to grant subsidy for these beneficiaries to buy home.

• The subsidy amount will be from 1 lakh rupees to Rs. 2.30 lakh rupees.

• Under this Scheme Eco Friendly and sustainable technologies will be used during the construction process.

 

Transparency International released Corruption

Perceptions Index 2015

 

27-JAN-2016

Transparency International on 27 January 2016 released the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2015. The Index measured the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 168 countries and territories across the world.

The CPI 2015 showed that although corruption is still rife globally, more countries improved their scores in the edition than declined. The index further suggested that people working together can succeed in the battle against corruption.

While Denmark, with rank 1, was adjudged as the most corruption-free country among the surveyed countries, India was placed at the 76th place with 38 points. India was at the 85th position among the 175 countries surveyed in the CPI 2014.

 

Highlights of the Index

 

• The index was topped by Denmark with a score of 91. It was followed by Finland and Sweden with a score of 90 and 89 respectively. While New Zealand was at the fourth place, Netherlands and Norway shared the fifth place with 87 points.
• At the bottom of the list were Angola (163), South Sudan (163), Sudan (165), Afghanistan (166) and North Korea and Somalia shared the last place at 167 with a score of 8 each.
• Overall, two-thirds of the 168 countries on the 2015 index scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean).
• Yet in places like Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Ghana, citizen activists in groups and on their own worked hard to drive out the corrupt, sending a strong message that should encourage others to take decisive action in 2016.
• Top performers share key characteristics: high levels of press freedom; access to budget information so the public knows where money comes from and how it is spent; high levels of integrity among people in power; and judiciaries that don’t differentiate between rich and poor, and that are truly independent from other parts of government.
• In addition to conflict and war, poor governance, weak public institutions like police and the judiciary, and a lack of independence in the media characterise the lowest ranked countries.
• The big decliners in the past 4 years include Libya, Australia, Brazil, Spain and Turkey. The big improvers include Greece, Senegal and UK.
• Brazil was the biggest decliner in the index, falling 5 points and dropping 7 positions to a rank of 76. The unfolding Petrobras scandal brought people into the streets in 2015 and the start of judicial process may help Brazil stop corruption.

 

Key trends

 

• More than 6 billion people live in countries with a serious corruption problem. The scale of the issue is huge. 68 per cent of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem and half of the G20 are among them.
• Poor countries lose 1 trillion US dollars a year to corruption.
• Five of the 10 most corrupt countries also rank among the 10 least peaceful places in the world.
• In Afghanistan, millions of dollars that should have gone on reconstruction have been reportedly wasted or stolen, seriously undermining efforts to sustain peace.
• Many “clean” countries have dodgy records overseas. For example, Sweden came third in the index, yet the Swedish-Finnish firm TeliaSonera – 37 per cent owned by the Swedish state – is facing allegations that it paid millions of dollars in bribes to secure business in Uzbekistan, which was at the 153rd in the index.

 

BRICS economies

 

Corruption and money laundering are also problems for the other BRIC countries. South Africa was the highest ranked country in the BRICS. It is ranked 61 with a score of 44. Next among the BRICS were Brazil and India which shared the 76th position, with a score of 38. While China ranked 83, Russia was at the 119th place in the index with score 29.

 

SAARC Countries

 

Among the SAARC countries, Bhutan was ranked highest and Afghanistan was at the bottom. Bhutan was ranked 27 with a score of 65, whereas Afghanistan was ranked 166 with a score of 11. Ranks of the other SAARC countries were India (76), Sri Lanka (83), Pakistan (117), Nepal (130) and Bangladesh (139).

 

About Corruption Perceptions Index

 

•o It is prepared by Transparency International (TI) which is a global coalition against corruption and The CPI 2015 is the 21st edition of the annual index.

• It is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption and countries are ranked on the basis of corruption perception score measured on the scale of 0 – 100. A score of 0 means highly corrupt country whereas a score of 100 means very clean country.

• At present, TI is running a campaign called Unmask the Corrupt, urging European Union, United States and G20 countries to follow Denmark’s lead and create public registers that would make clear who really controls, or is the beneficial wner, of every company.

 

FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2015 announced

 

27-JAN-2016

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on 26 January 2016 announced the winners of its Hockey Stars awards for 2015.

The Netherlands' Robert Van der Horst and Lidewij Weltenwon the men's and women's FIH Player of the Year awards, respectively, for their performances in 2015.

 

Other winners of the awards are:

 

Award	Winner
Goalkeeper of the year (Women)	Joyce Sombroek (The Netherlands)
Goalkeeper of the year (Men)	David Harte (Ireland)
Rising Star of the Year (Women)	Lily Owsley (Great Britain)
Rising Star of the Year (Men)	Chrisopher Rühr (Germany)

 

About FIH Player of the Year Awards

 

• The FIH Player of the Year Awards are awarded annually by the International Hockey Federation to the male and female field hockey players adjudged to be the best in the world.

• The awards were established in 1998 and have been awarded annually ever since.

• In 2001, the FIH Young Player of the Year award was created, to be awarded to the best young field hockey player of the year.

 

Union Government and Chhattisgarh

Government signed MoU on UDAY Scheme

 

27-JAN-2016

Union Government and Chhattisgarh Government on 25 January 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) under the SchemeUjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana(UDAY) for operational and financial turnaround of the CSPDCL.

 

Features of the MoU

 

• The Chhattisgarh Government will take over 75 percent of the outstanding debt of CSPDCL as existing on 30 September 2015

• The balance 25 percent debt will be re-priced or issued as State guaranteed DISCOM bonds, at coupon rates around 3 percent less than the average existing interest rate.

• Through UDAY, Chhattisgarh government and CSPDCL would bring about operational efficiencies through compulsory feeder and Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing and increased power supplies in areas with reduced Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses among others.

• Chhattisgarh government committed to improve the Billing efficiency from 79.27 percent in financial year 2016 to 85.28 percent in financial year 2019.

• Similarly, the gap between Average Cost of Supply (ACS) and Average Revenue Realization (ARR) of 0.35 rupees per unit in financial year 2015 would also be eliminated.

• Chhattisgarh government would extend a graded Operational funding requirement (OFR) support of 450 crore rupees in financial year 2016 and 350 crore rupees in the financial year of 2017 to CSPDCL, to ensure smooth cash flow, till the DISCOM achieves turnaround.

• Union government would provide incentives to the DISCOMs and the State government, aimed at improving Power infrastructure growth in the State and lowering the cost of power.

• Chhattisgarh government would get additional/priority funding through the Central schemes such as DDUGJY, IPDS, Power Sector Development Fund or such other schemes of MOP and MNRE, if they meet the operational milestones outlined in the scheme.

 

Benefits for the People of Chhattisgarh

 

Increased demand for power from DISCOM would mean higher plant load factor of generating units and therefore, lesser cost per unit of electricity thereby benefitting consumers.

The scheme would allow speedy availability of power to around 885 villages and 9.88 lakh households in Chhattisgarh that are still without electricity.

Availability of 24X7 power to hitherto unconnected villages/households etc. would increase the economic activity and improve employment opportunities, which would reduce the influence of extremist and maoist ideologies in the State, restoring normalcy of life and further accelerate the economic growth of the State.

 

About UDAY

 

The Scheme UDAY was launched by the Union government on 20 November 2015 to ensure a sustainable solution to enable the distribution utilities across the country to break out of a long standing debt of almost 4.3 Lakh crore rupees.

Sustainability of operational and financial performance is at the COREof UDAY.

Demand Side interventions in UDAY such as usage of energy- efficient LED bulbs, fans & air-conditioners and efficient industrial equipment through PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) would help in reducing peak load, flatten load curve and thus help in reducing energy consumption in the States.

 

Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of Artificial

Intelligence, died

 

27-JAN-2016

Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial intelligence, died on 24 January 2016 at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital due to cerebral hemorrhage. The mathematician and the computer scientist died at the age of 88. 

Minsky, a professor emeritus at the MIT Media Lab, helped in work that helped inspired the creation of the personal computer and the Internet.

 

About Professor Marvin Minsky

 

• In 1959, he co-founded the MIT Artificial Intelligence Project (AIT) with John McCarthy, who is credited with coining the term “artificial intelligence.” Now AIT is known as Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
• Minsky, a native New Yorker entered Harvard University after returning from service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
• He was an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) created robotic hands that can manipulate objects, developed new programming frameworks and wrote several texts on AI and philosophy. Some of his books 
a) The Society of Mind: The book is considered a seminal exploration of intellectual structure and function, advancing understanding of the diversity of mechanisms interacting in intelligence and thought. 
b) The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind
c) Perceptrons: Written with Seymour Papert became the foundational work in the analysis of artificial neural networks. 
d) A framework for representing knowledge: The book created a new paradigm in programming. 
• Some of his inventions include
a) He developed first head-mounted graphical display (1963) 
b) He developed the confocal microscope, a predecessor to today’s widely used confocal laser scanning microscope). 
c) He developed, with Seymour Papert, the first Logo turtle. 
d) In 1951, he built the first randomly wired neural network learning machine, SNARC.

Awards

• Minsky won the AM Turing Award - the highest honor in computer science - in 1969
• The Japan Prize in 1990
• The IJCAI Award for Research Excellence in 1991
• The Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute in 2001
• In 2006, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum "for co-founding the field of artificial intelligence, creating early neural networks and robots, and developing theories of human and machine cognition
• In 2011, he was inducted into IEEE Intelligent Systems' AI's Hall of Fame for the "significant contributions to the field of AI and intelligent systems"
• In 2014, he won the Dan David Prize in the field of "Artificial Intelligence, the Digital Mind"
• He was also awarded with the 2013 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Information and Communication Technologies category

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

 

The term Artificial Intelligence coined by John McCarthy in 1955 defines the science and engineering of making intelligent machines. In other words AI is the field that studies the synthesis and analysis of computational agents that act intelligently.

It is also the name of the academic field of study which studies how to create computers and computer software that are capable of intelligent behavior. Major AI researchers and textbooks define this field as "the study and design of intelligent agents", in which an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success.

 

ICC released Test, ODI, and T20I Rankings

 

27-JAN-2016

(ICC) on 26 January 2016 launched the official ICC men’s Team Rankings from Test, One Day International (ODI) and T20I cricket. 

India returned to the summit of the Test rankings for the first time since August 2011. India is the new leader with 110 rating points followed by Australia and the South Africa.

India had moved to the second of the Test rankings in December 2015 when they defeated South Africa 3-0 on home soil.

 

Top 10 teams in ICC Test Rankings

 

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	India	32	3535	110
2	Australia	40	4376	109
3	South Africa	34	3703	109
4	Pakistan	28	2977	106
5	England	45	4610	102
6	New Zealand	36	3578	99
7	Sri Lanka	35	3123	89
8	West Indies	33	2504	76
9	Bangladesh	22	1026	47
10	Zimbabwe	10	53	5

Top three teams in ICC ODI Rankings

 

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	Australia	49	6283	128
2	India	61	6871	113
3	South Africa	57	6362	112

Top three teams in ICC T20I Rankings

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	West Indies	19	2249	118
2	Australia	17	2006	118
3	Sri Lanka	19	2242	118

Besides men team rankings, ICC also released the ICC Women’s rankings. Top three teams

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	Australia Women	42	5545	132
2	England Women	39	4851	124
3	New Zealand Women	45	5023	112

 

31 countries signed MCAA to boost

transparency in international tax matters

 

28-JAN-2016

31 countries on 27 January 2016 signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) to boosttransparency in the functioning of multinational enterprises (MNEs) by allowing automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports by tax administrators.

The signing of the agreement marks an important milestone towards implementation of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project.

 

Features of the Multilateral Competent

Authority Agreement

 

• Under this multilateral agreement, information will be exchanged between tax administrations, giving them a single, global picture on the key indicators of multinational businesses.
• With Country-by-Country reporting, tax administrations will get aggregate information annually, starting with 2016 accounts, relating to the global allocation of income and taxes paid, together with other indicators of the location of economic activity within the MNE group.
• It will enable consistent and swift implementation of new transfer pricing reporting standards developed under Action 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan.

• The 31 signatory countries are the parties of or territories covered bythe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters or have signed or expressed their intention to sign the convention.

• The signatories are - Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

 

About OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit

Shifting Project

 

• The project refers to tax planning strategies that exploit the gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid.
• It sets out 15 key actions to reform the international tax framework and ensure that profits are reported where economic activities are carried out and value created.
• It was jointly developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 to provide governments with solutions for modernising international tax rules.
• The project assumes significance as estimates conservatively indicate that BEPS problem causes annual losses of anywhere from 4 to 10 percent of global corporate income tax (CIT) revenues that is 100 to 240 billion US dollars.

 

Widest Planet System comprising of lonely

planet 2MASS J2126 and its distant star TYC

9486-927-1 discovered

 

28-JAN-2016

 

A team of astronomers of UK, USA and Australia discovered the widest planet system so far comprising of lonely planet named 2MASS J2126 in a huge orbit around its star TYC 9486-927-1. The discovery was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on 26 January 2016.

 

Key Characteristic of 2MASS J2126

 

• The planet 2MASS J2126 is about 1 trillion (1 million million) kilometres from its parent star, or about 7000 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

• It takes roughly 900000 years for the planet to complete one revolution of the parent star.

• TYC 9486-927-1 and 2MASS J2126 are moving through space together and are both about 104 light years from the Sun.

• The planet discovered in an infrared sky survey is a possible member of a 45 million year old group of stars and brown dwarfs known as the Tucana Horologium Association.

• Based on estimated age, the mass of 2MASS J2126 would be between 11.6 to 15 times the mass of Jupiter. This placed it on the boundary between planets and brown dwarfs.

• It has a similar mass, age and temperature to one of the first planets directly imaged around another star, beta Pictoris b but unlike Pictoris b is more than 700 times further away from its host star.

 

Background

 

In the last five years a number of free floating planets have been found but these were gas giant worlds like Jupiter as they all lacked the mass for the nuclear reactions that make stars shine, so cool and fade over time.

Measuring the temperatures of these objects is relatively straightforward, but it depends on both mass and age. This means astronomers need to find out how old they are, before they can find out if they are lightweight enough to be planets or if they are heavier 'failed stars' known as brown dwarfs.

 

India successfully test fired Akash missile at

Chandipur

 

28-JAN-2016

India on 28 January 2016 test fired its indigenously-built surface-to-air Akash missile from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR).at Chandipuri in Odisha. It was as part of a user trial mission.

Three rounds of test were carried out by Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel aiming at para-barrel targets.

 

About Akash Missile

 

• The Akash (sky) is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.

• It is developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India under the integrated guided-missile development programme (IGMDP).

• IGMDP is also involved the development of the Nag, Agni and Trishul missiles and Prithvi ballistic missile.

• The first missile was delivered to the IAF in March 2012. The missile was formally inducted into the IAF in July 2015.

• The missile can fly at supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5 and can engage aerial targets up to a range of approximately 25 kilometers.

 

UNICEF launched 2.8 billion US dollar

humanitarian appeal for children

 

28-JAN-2016

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) launched a 2.8 billion US dollar appeal to reach 43 million children in humanitarian emergencies worldwide on 26 January 2016. It included the 54.3 million US dollar appeal to help conflict-affected children in eastern Ukraine in 2016.

It is for the first time ever that the largest portion of the appeal, that is, 25 per cent is dedicated towards educating children in emergencies.

It planned to increase the number of children in crises who are given access to education from 4.9 million at the beginning of 2015 to 8.2 million in 2016.  More than half of 5 million will be Syrian children inside the country or in neighbouring countries.

 

UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children

2016

 

• Its appeal targets a total of 76 million people in 63 countries.

• The largest section of the appeal 1.16 billion US dollars are allocated to life-saving aid needed for Syria and the Syrian refugee crisis in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Key needs include safe water, immunizations, education and child protection.

• 30.8 million US dollars are being requested by UNICEF to respond to the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe.

• It is appealing for 180 million US dollars for children in Yemen where almost 10 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian aid in a conflict which is heading towards its first anniversary.

• It is appealing for 25.5 million US dollars to help protect children in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world and to provide aid to Burundian refugees who have fled to Rwanda and Tanzania.

• It is asking for 188.9 million US dollars to respond to the humanitarian needs in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, including addressing the consequences of the violence in northeast Nigeria.

• The other appeals of UNICEF covers severely underfunded emergencies including protracted crises in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan which were all less than 40 per cent funded in 2015.

 

Polygamy made mandatory in Eritrea

 

28-JAN-2016

Eritrea’s Department of Religious Affairs in the fourth week of January 2016 issued a law that makes it mandatory for men of the nation to marry at least two wives. Failing to adhere by the orders will lead to life imprisonment with hard labour. 

The law also says that women who attempt to prevent their husbands from exercising the law would spend the rest of their lives in jail. 

According to documents available on internet, the order was passed in lieu of the country facing a shortage of male population caused due to the civil war with Ethiopia. In order to bridge this shortage, the law also intends to cover the necessary wedding and accommodation expenses.

The memo is yet to receive official verification or be re-produced in the country’s other national languages.

Earlier in the similar way, Polygamy was legalised by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014, with no limit on the number of wives that a man can marry. Other African countries where polygamy remains illegal include Ghana, Ethiopia, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Angola, Tunisia, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Eritrean-Ethiopian Civil war

The Eritrea and Ethiopia, two of the world’s poorest countries, were at a war between May 1998 and June 2000 forming one of the bloodiest conflicts in the Horn of Africa. The war ended with a peace deal which was signed by the governments in December 2000. The deal was signed after the two parties in June 2000 agreed to a comprehensive peace agreement and binding arbitration of their disputes under the Algiers Agreement.

The war was a result of dispute over borders and according to a ruling by an international commission in The Hague, Eritrea broke international law and triggered the war by invading Ethiopia. 

The war led to causalities of tens of thousands and wastage of hundreds of millions of dollars. This death and wastage of money led to minor changes in border.

 

Rod Laver honoured with Companion of the

order of Australia

 

28-JAN-2016

Rodney George Laver honoured with the Companion of the order of Australia on 26 January 2016 on the occasion of the Australia Day.

He was conferred with the award for eminent service to tennis as a player, representative and mentor, at the national and international level, and as a role model for young sportsmen and women.

With this honour, Rod Laver became the third sportsman to be named a Companion of the Order of Australia. Earlier, the honour was bestowed upon Don Bradman and Herb Elliott who dominated cricket and middle-distance running respectively.

 

Contributions of Rodney George Laver

 

• He remains the only man to win the Grand Slam of all four major singles titles in the same year. He achieved this feat in 1962 before repeating it in 1969, the first full season of the Open era.
• He won 11 Grand Slam singles titles and 20 Grand Slam titles in total.
• With 200 titles, he won the most singles titles in the tennis history.
• In his professional career between 1963 and 1976, he ranked world number 1 for the 1964-1970 period.
• He was the representative of Australia in the Davis Cup and part of the 5 winning teams, 1950, 1960-62 and 1973.
• At present, he is a volunteer and mentor at the Australian Tennis Foundation.

 

Previous awards and recognitions

 

• Australia's premier tennis stadium was named 'Rod Laver Arena' in his honour in 2000.
• He was inducted into Hall of Fame, Tennis Australia in 1993.
• He was inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and elevated to Legend of Australian Sport in 2002.
• He was inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981 and at present, he is its life trustee.
• In 1970, he became a member of the British Empire in recognition for services to tennis in the Queen’s Honours List 1970.

 

Significance of Companion of the order of

Australia

 

In the Australian honours system appointments to the Order of Australia confer the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service.

The Companion of the Order of Australia is awarded for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or humanity at large.

The Order of Australia has five levels

• Knight/Dame of the Order (AK/AD)
• Companion of the Order (AC)
• Officer of the Order (AO)
• Member of the Order (AM)
• Medal of the Order (OAM)

 

International Day of Commemoration in

memory of the victims of the Holocaust

observed

 

28-JAN-2016

27 January: International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust

International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust was observed on 27 January 2016 across the world. The day was proclaimed so by the United Nations General Assembly.

The theme for the Holocaust remembrance and education activities in the year 2016 including the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony is The Holocaust and Human Dignity.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrate the day every year.

The day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet troops in 1945.

 

Background

 

• UNESCO believed that it is necessary to learn about the history of the Holocaust.

• To have a better understanding of the causes of societies descent into genocide.

• To raise awareness about the need to nurture peace and human rights.

• To prevent mass violence in present world.

• The International Day is an opportunity to reach out to Member States and the public at large in a common endeavour to commemorate the victims and their legacy and in a global effort.

• It would alert young generations about the dangers of racist and fanatic ideologies.

 

The Holocaust

 

• It was a defining moment in the history of humanity and was driven by a fundamentally racist ideology.

• The Nazi regime and its allies systematically murdered about six million Jewish men, women and children during the World War II, in a continent-wide programme of destruction of all Jewish communities that would fall within its grasp.

• It persecuted and killed millions of other people like Roma and Sinti because of political, ideological or behavioural reasons and also killed some of the Slavic and the disabled people because they were considered as racially inferior.

 

Ishika Shah won 12th Sub-Junior National

Snooker championship title

 

28-JAN-2016

14-year old Ishika Shah on 26 January 2016 won the 12th Sub-Junior National Snooker championship title in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. To win the title, she defeated Anushi Seth by 50-2, 50-33 in the final match.

To reach the finals, she defeated the defending champion Doyel Dey in the semi-final. Incidentally, Ishika lost the title to Doyel in the summit clash held in Kolkata in 2015.

However, Doyel retained the sub-junior billiards title. The title was awarded to her when the original winner, Lahiri Sinapara, was found two months over-aged than the prescribed 18 years age limit.

Both the snooker and billiards championship were held as part of the 20-day long National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2016 that began on 12 January 2016 in Indore.

 

IPS officer Aparna Kumar became India's first

civil servant to scale Mount Vinson Massif

 

28-JAN-2016

Aparna Kumar, IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, on 17 January 2016 became India's first civil servant to scale Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctica.

She hoisted the Tricolour and the flag of the Uttar Pradesh Police Service on Mount Vinson Massif.

She set out on the Antarctic expedition on 5 January 2016, accompanied by a 10-member team of mountaineers from various countries.

About Aparna Kumar

• Aparna is currently posted as DIG telecom in Lucknow.
• She has till now scaled 5 of the 7 summits considered the most challenging for mountaineers in the world. 
• She scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in August 2014, the highest peak in Africa. 
• In November 2015, she climbed the Carstensz Pyramid peak in West Papuan province of Indonesia, the highest peak in Australia and Oceania region.
• In March 2015, she was conferred the Rani Lakshmi Bai Puraskar by UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for her achievements and for being a role model to women.

 

Intelsat 29e, the first of Intelsat EpicNG

Satellites, launched into Orbit

 

28-JAN-2016

Intelsat, the commercial satellite giant, on 27 January 2016 announced that Inteslat 29e, the first of the Intelsat EpicNG high throughput satellites, was successfully launched. The satellites were launched from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle.

The high throughput platform should provide customers with superior connections at a lower cost.

Designated Intelsat 29e will be placed into service at 310° east and replace Intelsat 1R. Intelsat 29e will bring high throughput capacity in both C-band and Ku-band to North and Latin America and the North Atlantic region. At least six more Epic spacecraft will follow, to cover other regions and to provide back-up.

 

About the Intelsat 29e

 

• Intelsat 29e is the first satellite of Intelsat’s next generation, all digital EpicNG satellite platforms, which combines wide beams and spot beams with frequency reuse technology and the sector’s most advanced digital payload.  
• The digital payload will provide customers with unprecedented security and flexibility, enabling customers to seamlessly access and shift capacity to match their usage needs in a particular region or timeframe.  
• Intelsat EpicNG is optimized to provide satellite connectivity for applications including the Internet of Things, enterprise, wireless infrastructure, aeronautical and maritime mobility, and government, which are expected to provide a combined 3 billion dollar incremental opportunity by the year 2020. 
• It is manufactured by Boeing and is equipped with the most advanced digital payload on a commercial spacecraft.
• Intelsat 29e is the 56th Intelsat satellite launched by Arianespace.  

Besides, Intelsat has plans to launch the second Intelsat EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 33e, which will serve Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, in the third quarter of 2016, also aboard an Arianespace launcher.

 

Olympic gold medalist Matthew Mitcham retired

from diving

 

28-JAN-2016

Olympic diving gold medalist, announced his retirement from the sport on 28 January 2016. 

Mitcham won the 10m platform at the 2008 Beijing Games, and also claimed gold in the 10m synchro platform at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

His final dive at the Beijing Games remains the highest individual score in Olympic diving history. In the competition judges gave him perfect 10 in four out of seven 10m platform.

He became the first Australian male to win Olympic gold in diving since Dick Eve at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

The 27-year-old Mitcham who was aiming to compete at Rio Olympics 2016 said that now he intends to focus on his media and entertainment career.

 

Cognizant acquired US-based KBACE

Technologies

 

28-JAN-2016

Cognizant Technology Solutions on 27 January 2016 acquired the privately-held KBACE Technologies Inc., a US-based global consulting and technology services company specialising in cloud strategy, implementation and integration.

However, the terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As part of the acquisition, around 400 KBACE consultants and implementation experts across industry and business functions will become part of Cognizant.

The acquisition expands Cognizant’s digital capabilities, as more clients are moving critical business applications to cloud-based IT infrastructures.

The combined capabilities will further enable Cognizant to help clients become intuitively digital by using the cloud to derive new insights, unlock new opportunities and lower costs through a subscription-based business model.

 

About KBACE Technologies

 

• KBACE Technologies is a global consulting and technology services company dedicated to helping customers maximize their investment in Oracle Software.

• It has one of the largest reference bases of Oracle Cloud Applications customers in the world, and is a leading Oracle Cloud partner.

 

About Cognizant

 

• Cognizant is an American multinational corporation that provides custom information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services.

• It was founded on 26 January 1994.

• Over two thirds of its employees are based in India.

• It was the first software services firm listed on the Nasdaq.

• It became a Fortune 500 company in 2011.

• In 2015, the Fortune magazine named it as the world's fourth most admired IT services company.

 

1st Ministerial Meeting of Arab-India

Cooperation Forum held in Manama

 

28-JAN-2016

He 1st Ministerial Meeting of Arab-India Cooperation Forum was held on 24 January 2016 in the Bahraini capital Manama.

The meeting, which was opened by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, was attended by Minister of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs Sushma Swaraj, foreign ministers of Arab States, and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Nabil Elaraby.

The meeting reviewed the achievements of the Arab-Indian cooperation since the establishment of the Arab-Indian Co-operation Forum in New Delhi in 2008 and adopted the Manama Declaration.

The declaration called for enhanced cooperation on bilateral, regional and global issues including terrorism, Palestine, Syria, Arab-Israeli conflict and reforms in the UNSC by expanding its permanent and non-permanent membership.

 

Highlights of the Manama Declaration

 

• Arab-Israeli conflict: A comprehensive and permanent solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict should be achieved on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions 242 of 1976 and 338 of 1973, Madrid Peace conference of 1991 and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative in Beirut.
• Palestine issue: It called on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian Arab territories it seized in 1967 and implementation of the two-state principle on the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestine State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
• Arab-Iran conflict: They further emphasized the importance that cooperative relations between Arab States and the Islamic Republic of Iran be based on the principles of good neighbourliness, non-interference in internal affairs, and resolution of disputes through peaceful means.
• Israel-Lebanon conflict: It called upon Israel to withdraw from the remaining occupied Lebanese territories and to immediately end all its violations of the Lebanese sovereignty by land, sea and air.
• UAE-Iran conflict: The sides expressed their support to all peaceful efforts, including the efforts of the United Arab Emirates, to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the Islands of Greater Tunb, Smaller Tunb and Abu Musa with Iran through bilateral negotiations and in accordance with international law.
• Terrorism: They supported the efforts of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee [CTC] and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism [CCIT], at the earliest.
• Syria: Both sides affirmed the need for the establishment of a transitional governing body in Syria in  accordance with the Vienna Statements of October and November 2015 issued by the International Syrian Support Group and the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).
• Iraq: It strongly condemned crimes committed by all terrorist organizations, especially those committed by ISIS terrorist organization against all Iraqi people.
• Libya: The leaders welcomed the Sokhirat Agreement on political solution to the crisis in Libya that was initiated by most Libyan political forces in July 2015, and appreciated the efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco in facilitating this agreement.

• Yemen: The leaders supported the legitimate Government in Yemen represented by the President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and condemned the unilateral procedures by the Houthi group as it undermines the transitional political process in Yemen.

• Sudan: They welcomed the National Dialogue Conference which was launched in Khartoum and called upon the armed movements to stop fighting and engage in this National Dialogue, in response to the initiative of Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, the President of Sudan.
• Somalia: Both sides supported the African Union’s effort to assist Somali’s peace and security through the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISON), as well as the Somali National Army. They supported the State of Kuwait's orientation to organize a Donors’ Conference for education in Somalia in 2016.
• They welcomed the granting of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding Award to Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the king of Bahrain, in recognition of his contributions in promoting meaningful dialogue in the region.

 

Chennupati Jagadish, Jay Chandra honoured

with Order of Australia

 

28-JAN-2016

Chennupati Jagadish and Jay Chandra, Indian-origin persons, were on 26 January 2016 honoured with the Order of Australia, highest civilian honour of Australia on the occasion of the Australia Day. They were awarded for their contribution in the fields of physics, engineering and medicine.

Chennupati Jagadish is an eminent professor at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. He was conferred with the award for his eminent service to physics and engineering, particularly in the field of nanotechnology.

While, Jay Chandra is an eye doctor in New South Wales. He received the award for his significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology as a clinician and for his service to the international community through eye care programs.

They were awarded along with Sajeev Koshy, a Kerala dentist settled in Melbourne.

About Order of Australia

• The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.
• It is awarded to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.
• Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens would receive British honours.

 

Union Government launched National Job Portal

for Persons with Disabilities

 

28-JAN-2016

The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot on 27 January 2016 launched the National level Job portal www.disabilityjobs.gov.in for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

The Ministry aims to carry out skill training programme for 5 lakh Persons with Disabilities in next 3 years.

 

Highlights of the job portal

• It was developed by the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC). 
• The PwDs can avail the different facilities like self employment loan, education loan, skill training, link to scholarships and information about jobs at this portal. 
• It will empower persons with disabilities by providing them all desired information for employment opportunities on single window platform.

Indian activist Henri Tiphagne selected for Amnesty International Human Rights Award 2016

28-JAN-2016

ndian lawyer and human rights defender Henri Tiphagne on 26 January 2016 was selected for the 8th Human Rights Award by Amnesty International Germany.

The award is a recognition of Tiphagne’s exceptional commitment to human rights. He will be conferred with the award at an official ceremony on 25 April 2016 at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin, Germany.

 

Who is Henri Tiphagne?

 

• Henri Tiphagne is the founder of the organization People’s Watch, one of the most notable human rights organizations in India.

• People’s Watch has been researching and documenting human rights violations, as well as providing legal representation to those affected, for over 20 years. The organization also actively supports human rights education.

• In 1997, Tiphagne founded an institute offering training for teachers as well as mentoring around school human rights education programmes.

• He was formerly a member of the National Core Group of NGOs of the National Human Rights Commission of India as well as the State Representative for the State of Tamil Nadu for Right to Education Act of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

 

About Amnesty International Human Rights

Award

 

• The Human Rights Award is presented by Amnesty Germany every two years in recognition of individuals or organizations campaigning for human rights under very difficult conditions.

• Through the award, Amnesty International aims to honour and support the awardees’ exceptional human rights commitment and raise awareness of their work amongst the German public.

• The award comes with 10000 Euros, provided by Amnesty Germany’s foundation Stiftung Menschenrechte, Förderstiftung Amnesty.

• Former award recipients include: Monira Rahman from Bangladesh (2006), Women of Zimbabwe Arise from Zimbabwe (2008), Abel Barrera from Mexico (2011) and Alice Nkom from Cameroon (2014)

 

Snow Leopard spotted for the first time in

North Sikkim

 

28-JAN-2016

WWF-India on 27 January 2016 claimed that they spotted the endangered snow leopards for the first time in the North Sikkim Plateau. The elusive snow leopard was found during its pilot project in which they installed camera traps in the region to understand the occurrence of snow leopards in the region.

The camera traps helped them to yield results with the first photos of the species at four different locations in North Sikkim. 

Earlier, presence of snow leopards in the high altitudes of North Sikkim area were provided only by the yak herders, known as‘Dokpas’, but these pictures have provided the first tangible evidence of their existence.

Besides capturing the snow leopard, the pilot project also helped in capturing other mountain wildlife like rare pallas cat, blue sheep and the Tibetan argali. It has also provided visual documentation on free-ranging dogs and the areas they move in.

WWF-India’s work on snow leopard

To understand the snow leopard’s status and distribution in India, WWF-India has been working in Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim since 2006. The work was started to fill the vast gaps in knowledge on snow leopards from this important snow leopard habitat.

Its work of setting camera traps in Sikkim began in 2015 under the project Conservation and Adaptation in Asia's High Mountains. The project aims at developing climate smart snow leopard conservation plan. Large part of the project is funded by USAID in six Asian snow leopard range countries.

About Snow Leopard

• Commonly referred as ‘Ghost of the Mountains’, these species are the undisputed monarch of the high altitudes.
• The snow leopard, a flagship species of the high altitudes, is a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of India.
• The animal is listed as endangered by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
• Information on its distribution is scanty because its current range is poorly mapped mainly due to the high and inhospitable terrain.
• Snow Leopard, scientific name Uncia uncia or Panthera uncial, is the state animal of Himachal Pradesh.

 

What’s making snow leopards scarce?

Habitat loss, poaching and increasing conflict with communities have seen over a fifth of the world’s snow leopards disappear in the last 16 years. And climate change is now putting the future of their mountain home at even greater risk.

 

Pakistan Cricketer Imran Farhat retired from

International Cricket

 

28-JAN-2016

Pakistan Opener Imran Farhat on 27 January 2016 retired from international cricket. He made the announcement after getting No-Objection Certificate from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

With this, he would be eligible to play a T20 tournament for retired cricketers called Masters Champions League (MCL).

It is the PCB’s policy that players who sign for the MCL have to completely retire from International Cricket. However, they can play the domestic cricket.

 

About Imran Farhat

 

• He made his international debut as an 18-year old in 2001 against New Zealand.

• He last represented Pakistan in June 2013 against South Africa.

• He played 40 Tests with three centuries, 58 One Day Internationals with one century and seven T20 Internationals.

• He played 181 first-class matches and 191 List A matches

• He signed with the Sagittarius Strikers in MCL and joins former team-mates Abdul Razzaq, Saleem Elahi, Mohammad Yousuf, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rana Naved, Taufiq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Azhar Mehmood, Hasan Raza, Humayun Farhat, Mohammad Khalil in the tournament.

 

Australian batsman David Warner won Allan

Border Medal 2016

 

28-JAN-2016

Australian batsman David Warner on 27 January 2016 defeated captain Steve Smith for the prestigious Allan Border Medal for 2016.

Warner polled 240 votes from players, umpires and media representatives to beat 2015 winner and skipper Steve Smith on 219. Pace bowler Mitchell Starc was third on 183 votes.

Warner also won the Test Player of the Year Award with 30 votes ahead of Smith on 24.

 

Other winners announced in the award

ceremony are:

 

Award	Winner
Test Player of the Year	David Warner
One Day International Player of the Year	Glenn Maxwell
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year	Alex Ross
State Player of the Year	Adam Voges (Western Australia)
Women's International Cricketer of the Year (Belinda Clark Award)	Ellyse Perry

 

About David Warner

 

• David Andrew Warner is a left-handed opening batsman for Australia.

• He is the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without experience in first-class cricket.

• He currently plays for New South Wales, the Sunrisers Hyderabadand the Sydney Thunder.

• He became vice-captain of Australia across Test & ODI formats of the game in August 2015.

• The batsman has scored 4467 runs in 49 Test, 2289 runs in 68 One Day International (ODI) and 1465 in 54 T20 International matches.

 

About Allan Border Medal

 

• The Allan Border Medal is considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in Australian cricket.

• The medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and umpires.

• Votes are cast after each game on a 3–2–1 basis, with a weighting applied to give both One Day International and Test players an equal chance of winning the award.

• It was first awarded in 2000.

 

Parrikar presented Rakshamantri Award for

excellence for 2012-13 and 2013-14

 

28-JAN-2016

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 27 January 2016 presented the Raksha Mantri awards for excellence for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 in New Delhi. 

The awards are presented in recognition of exemplary performance amongst Ordnance Factories and the nine Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). 

The awards were given in three major categories, Institutional Awards, Best Performing Division, Factory, Shipyard Awards and Group and Individual Awards.

 

List of awardees

For the year 2012-13

 

(a)INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS
(i)Excellence in performance	HAL
(ii) Best performance in Exports	BEML
(b)DIVISION /FACTORY /SHIPYARD AWARDS
(i)Best Performing Division of DPSUs	BEL,(S&CS), Bengaluru
(ii) Best performing Factory of OFB	Ordnance Factory, Kanpur
(iii) Best performing Shipyard	GRSE
(c) GROUP /INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
(1) Indigenisation
(i)Design & Development of Retrofit   Security Solutions for ‘Shakti’	Network Communication System-BEL, Bengaluru
(ii)Indigenisation of AK 630 Gun Drive Units	AK 630 GUN Drive Indigenisation Group – D&E Division, BEL, Chennai
(iii) Indigenisation of Special Tools Test Equipments & fixtures for Milan-2T warhead	Milan Group, BDL, Hyderabad
(2) Design Effort
(i)L-70 Gun Upgradation	Gun upgrades Group – BEL, Chennai
(ii)Systems of IACCS Networks	BEL, Ghaziabad
(3) Innovation (Jointly)
(i)Electro-Plasticity Assisted Incremental   Forming (EPAIF) (ii)Deployable Flight Data Recorder System	Transport Aircraft Division, HAL, Kanpur Avionics Division, HAL, Korwa

For the year 2013-14

(a)INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS
(i)Excellence in performance	BEL
(ii) Best performance in Exports	BEL
(b)DIVISION /FACTORY /SHIPYARD AWARDS
(i) Best Performing Division of DPSUs	HAL, Avionics Division, Hyderabad
(ii) Best performing Factory of OFB	Ordnance Equipment Factory, Kanpur
(iii) Best performing Shipyard	GRSE, Kolkata
(c) GROUP /INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
(1) Indigenisation
(i)Floating Deck High Voltage (FDHV) Module for PAR 2080 C	SLRDC, HAL, Hyderabad
(ii)Configuration, Developing and Engineering Weapon Control Modules (WCM 176) for AK 176 Gun Mount	D&E, FCS/SBU-NS (Radar & FCS) Group – BEL, Bengaluru
(iii) BHARANI RADAR	BEL, Ghaziabad
(2) Design Effort
(i)EOFCS – U1 for Control of Medium Calibre 76 mm Gun Mount and High Rate of Fire AK 630 Gun Mount	D&E, FCS/SBU-NS (Radar & FCS) Group – BEL, Bengaluru
(ii)Design & development of 50 knots Interceptor Boat	Ship Design Group – Goa Shipyard Ltd (Under own initiative)
(3) Innovation
(i)Development of composite Armour Panels for MI-17 Helicopters	MI-17 Team – MIDHANI, Hyderabad.

 

Union Cabinet approved increase in Authorized

Share Capital of NSFDC

 

28-JAN-2016

The Union Cabinet on 27 January 2016 approved increase in the Authorized Share Capital of the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC).

The target of NSFDC for the year 2015-16 is to cover 63000 beneficiaries.

 

Benefits of the increase in Authorized Share

Capital

• With this, the Authorized Share Capital of NSFDC is increased from 1000 crore rupees to 1200 crore rupees. 
• The approval will enlarge the quantum of funds available for economic activities, better coverage and enhanced outreach to double the Below Poverty Line (DPL) Scheduled Caste beneficiaries. 
• Enhancement of share capital would expand its ambit of coverage and increase disbursement of funds to larger sections of the economically deprived scheduled caste population. 

Reason behind increase in the Authorized Share

Capital of NSFDC

The Union Government had almost exhausted its contribution of authorized share capital of 1000 crore rupees by paying 998.13 crore rupees to NSFDC. Hence, it became essential to enhance the Authorized Share Capital of the Corporation to expand its ambit of work.

About National Scheduled Castes Finance and

Development Corporation (NSFDC)

National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) working under Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

It provides loans through its Channelizing Agencies at concessional interest rates for self-employment & economic development activities to its target group. It also sponsors skill training programmes to assist the unemployed members of scheduled castes in wage-employment

 

Former India basketball captain Ranbir Chopra

died

 

28-JAN-2016

he captain of the champion Indian basketball team in the first Asian Games in 1951, Ranbir Chopra, died on 25 January 2016 in Kapurthala, Punjab. He was 86.

Chopra had been part of the Punjab team that won the national title in 1951 in Ludhiana. He was also the coach of the Indian team that toured Pakistan in 1962.

Chopra later became a sports administrator. From 1958 to 1963, he served as the secretary general of the Punjab Basketball Association. During this period, the sport saw massive progress in the state and Punjab produced many international players such as Narinder Singh, Om Prakash, Dharam Paul, Rameshwar Lal and Arjuna award winners Sarabjit Singh and Gurdial Singh.

 

India and Armenia signed a protocol to amend

Double Taxation Avoidance Convention

 

28-JAN-2016

India and Armenia on 27 January 2016 signed a protocol to amend the India-Armenia Double Taxation Avoidance Convention.

 

Silent features of the Protocol

 

• It amends the convention between these countries that has been in existence since 9 September 2004.

• It amends the article on exchange of Information for tax purposesto bring it in line with the updated provisions in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model.

• It will enable the two countries to exchange information related to financial and banking transactions under the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention, and thereby facilitate them in addressing tax evasion.

• It is also expected to further strengthen the efforts of Union Government in curbing the generation of black money.

 

CCEA approved hybrid annuity model for

highway projects

 

28-JAN-2016

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 27 January 2016 gave its approval for the Hybrid Annuity Model as one of the modes of delivery for implementing the Highway Projects.

The main object of the approval is to revive highway projects in the country by making one more mode of delivery of highway projects.

Under this model, the government will provide 40 percent of the project cost to the developer to start work while the remaining investment has to be made by the developer.

 

Key highlights of hybrid annuity model

 

• By adopting the model as the mode of delivery, all major stakeholders in the PPP arrangement - the Authority, lender and the developer, concessionaire - will have an increased comfort level.

• The increased comfort level will result in revival of the sector through renewed interest of private developers/investors in highway projects and this will bring relief thereby to citizens/travellers in the area of a respective project.

• It will facilitate uplifting the socio-economic condition of the entire nation due to increased connectivity across the length and breadth of the country leading to enhanced economic activity.

• An important feature of the Hybrid Annuity Model for highways development is the rational approach adopted for allocation of risks between the PPP partners - the Government and the private partner i.e. the developer/investor.

 

Background

 

• The decision taken on 11 September 2014 by the CCEA has delegated the authority for deciding on the mode of delivery of highway projects to Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.

• The erstwhile Planning Commission developed the first version of the Model Concession Agreement (MCA) for highways in 2006. This was done considering the need to standardize documents and processes for the PPP framework in the country for ensuring uniformity, transparency and quality in development of large-scale infrastructure projects including highways.

• Since the need for improved road connectivity was a continuing imperative, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways including its implementing agencies like the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had to increasingly resort to the public funded Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC).

 

Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel

set up to safeguard integrity in Tennis

 

28-JAN-2016

Tennis’s governing bodies on 27 January 2016 constituted the Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel (IRP) to safeguard integrity in tennis.

An announcement in this regard was made by the Chairmen and CEOs of the Governing Bodies of International Tennis – Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women's Tennis Association (WTA), International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Grand Slam Board.

The IRP was formed to review the functioning of the existing anti-corruption mechanisms and suggest measures to further safeguard the integrity of the game.

 

The panel will review and report on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) and suggest recommendations for change.

It will also address issues including

• How the Tennis integrity Unit (TIU) can be more transparent without compromising the TIU’s need for investigative confidentiality
• Additional resources for the TIU both within the unit and at tournaments
• Structural and/or governance changes that enhance the independence of the TIU
• How to extend the scope and reach of the tennis integrity education program

 

Background

 

The panel was formed against the backdrop of reports on corruption allegations in the international tennis arena by the BBC and Buzzfeed News. The reports surfaced in the third week of January 2015 before the begging of the Australian Open grand slam tournament.

The reports further criticized the effectiveness of the TIU in dealing with the reported corruption instances.