Current Affaires 27-28 Dec 2014 Eng
Noted Hindi poet Nand Chaturvedi died
27-DEC-2014
Noted Hindi poet and a litterateur Nand Chaturvedi died on 26 December 2014 following a brief illness. He was 91.
Nand Chaturvedi
• Born in 1923 in Jhalawar, Chaturvedi done his Master of Arts in Hindi from Rajasthan University.
• He retired as Professor of Hindi from Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute.
• Apart from teaching, he wrote poems and essays including Yeh Samai Mamuli Nahin, Shabd Sansar ki Yayavari- a collection of essays, Imandar Dunya Ke Liye.
• He was given Bihari Puraskar of K K Birla Foundation for his poem Yeh Samai mamuli nahin in 1996 and he also received Prasaran Sanmaan by Prasar Bharati.
• He was also honoured with Mira Puraskar, the highest literary honour of Rajasthan Government.
Trevor Bull appointed as CEO and MD of Aviva India Life Insurance
27-DEC-2014
Trevor Bull was on 26 December 2014 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Aviva India Life Insurance Ltd.
He succeeded TR Ramachandran who led Aviva India since October 2008. Bull will take charge of the post from January 2015.
Trevor Bull
• Bull has more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry across Asia and Europe.
• He was also the head of Philam Life insurance company in the Philippines.
• He served as the Managing Director of Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited from February 2006 to June 2009.
• Bull was the Chief Executive Officer and President of The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company from July 2009 to June 2011.
• Bull served as a Director of Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad from June 2013 to February 2014.
Malayalam Film Actor Narayanan Lakshmi Balakrishnan Died
27-DEC-2014
Malayalam film actor Narayanan Lakshmi (NL) Balakrishnan died on 25 December 2014 following a prolonged illness. He was 72.
Narayanan Lakshmi Balakrishnan
• Being a diploma-holder in painting, Balakrishnan began his career as a still photographer and later turned to acting.
• He was associated with over 180 films as still photographer and appeared in major and minor roles in around 100 movies.
• His performances in movies like Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thadikal, Pattanapravesham and Joker won him appreciation.
• He worked as a photojournalist in Kerala Kaumudi for eleven years from 1968 to 1979.
• Balakrishnan has also published a book titled Black and White in 2011.
Archaeologists discovered Buddhist sculptures and Kushan-era coins in Pakistan
27-DEC-2014
Archaeologists discovered ancient Buddhist sculptures and precious coins during ongoing excavation at an ancient Buddhist Stupa in northwest Pakistan. The findings were revealed by Press Trust of India in the fourth week of December 2014.
During excavation, precious coins of Kushan period were also unearthed around the Stupa. These coins and sculptures date back from second to fifth century BC.
The sculptures were discovered at Bhamala Buddhist complex in Haripur district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during an excavation work.
Background
Bhamala archaeological site had earlier been declared as national and world heritage site located near Khanpur dam on the Haro river.
The stupa situated near Khanpur dam is cross-shaped and looks like an Aztec Pyramid.
Earlier, the Bhamala site was partially excavated in early 1930s.
Oldest litigant in Babri Masjid case Mohammad Farooq died
27-DEC-2014
The oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid case Mohammad Farooq passed away on 24 December 2014 due to old age-related ailments. He was 100.
Farooq, a resident of Ayodhya, was one of the seven main litigants from Muslim side in the 1949 Babri Masjid case regarding placing of Lord Rama idols in the premises.
Now, the eldest son of late Farooq, Mohammad Saleem will inherit his legacy of the case and may become litigant in place of his father as per Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Advocate General and convener of Babri Masjid Action Committee Zafaryab Jilani.
Background
On the night of 22 December 1949, an idol of Lord Rama mysteriously appeared inside Ayodhya's Babri Masjid. This incident had set in motion a chain of events in the Indian politics.
Farooq was one of the seven main litigants from the Muslim side who filed civil suits pledging their respective claims to the site. The rest of the six main litigants are Hashim Ansari, Ashhad Rashidi, Maulana Mahfuzurur Rahman, Mufti Hasbullah, Mahmud and Sunni Central Waqf Board.
Farooq’s father Mohammad Zahur was one of the original complainants regarding the placing of the idols of Lord Rama in the Babri Masjid.
Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited tied up with NYK Auto Logistics to set up Ro-Ro terminal
27-DEC-2014
Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (APM Terminals Pipavav) on 26 December 2014 tied-up with NYK Auto Logistics (India) Ltd to set up a dedicated Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) automobile terminal at Pipavav port in Gujarat.
Highlights of the agreement
• Gujarat Pipavav Port sub-leased 85000 square meters of land for 10 years inside its premises to NYK Auto to develop a dedicated common user integrated Ro-Ro terminal.
• The facility will also have a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) unit and a vehicle processing centre (VPC).
• The terminal will be commissioned in mid-2015. It will have an annual designed capacity of 2.50 lakh vehicles.
• Gujarat Pipavav Port will provide all the port and related facilities for ensuring smooth and seamless flow of automobile cargo.
About APM Terminals Pipavav
• Located in Gujarat, APM Terminals Pipavav is the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) port in India.
• APM Terminals Pipavav is part of an integrated Global Terminal Network of 56 ports and 154 inland facilities in 63 countries.
• Port Pipavav is managed and operated by APM Terminals, the ports and terminals company of the maritime giant the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.
• It has two facilities in India currently- India's largest container terminal, APM Terminals Mumbai in JNPT at Nhava Sheva, Mumbai and Port Pipavav in Gujarat.
NYK Auto Logistics (India) Ltd
NYK Auto Logistics (India) is a part of automotive ocean transportation and logistics major NYK Group of Tokyo. NYK group operates 18 Ro-Ro terminals globally, including seven in China, Thailand and Singapore.