29-31 October 2015

29 October

Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Games Secretariat of 12th SAF Games in Shillong

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal on 28 October 2015 inaugurated Games Secretariat of the 12th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games 2016 at Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex, Polo Ground in Shillong, Meghalaya.
The Secretariat would oversee the smooth functioning of the SAF Games.

This is the first time that such a mega event of International level is taking place in North East India. 
The 12th SAF Games will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from 6 February to 16 February 2016. Out of 23 sports disciplines in the 12th South Asian Games 2016, 8 disciplines will be held in Shillong while the other 15 disciplines will be held at Guwahati.

India, France signed MoU to conserve and publicize written heritage

India and France on 28 October 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conserve, develop and publicize written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata.

The MoU was signed by Sreya Guha, Joint Secretary (Library) in the Union Ministry of Culture and Bruno Racine, President of the National Library of France.
This MoU will entail development of digital co-operation, sharing of technical and other expertise, competency, skill-building and cultural co-operation between the two countries. The MoU will assist a programme on digitization of old manuscripts and documents that began in France seven years ago.
National Virtual Library in India
The Union Ministry of Culture also announced the project of building a National Virtual Library in India which will store and share numerous manuscripts, archives, artworks etc and this co-operation will go a long way in efficient implementation of this project. 
The National Virtual Library will link and share all knowledge resources lying within the possession of various government institutes and other organizations of both the countries.

Madhya Pradesh Government declared 33 percent quota for women in government jobs

The Madhya Pradesh Government on 28 October 2015 decided to provide 33 percent reservation to women in government jobs in the state. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting headed by the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

With the decision, the reservation for women in government jobs in the state increased from the present 30 percent to 33 percent.

In addition, the state Cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal providing compensation to farmers. As per the proposal, the farmers will only have to repay 90 thousand rupees on a loan of one lakh rupees.

It was announced that the government will seek permission from the Election Commission as by-polls are slated to be held in Jhabua-Ratlam Parliamentary Constituency and Dewas Assembly constituency in November 2015.

Freedom on the Net 2015 Report released

Freedom House, a non-government watchdog, on 28 October 2015 released the Freedom on the Net 2015 report. The report was released on the theme-Privatizing Censorship, Eroding Privacy.

As per the annual report, global online freedom declined for a fifth consecutive year as governments, including some advanced democracies, continue to clamp down on dissidents using social media platforms on the internet.

With respect to India, the report found that freedom on the internet is partly free with a total score of 40 on a 0 to 100 scale with 0 representing the best level of freedom on the net progress and 100 the worst.

Key findings of the report

Top & Bottom 3 countries: While citizens of Iceland (score-6), Estonia (7) and Canada (16) enjoy the most freedom in the online space, in Syria (87), Iran (87) and China (88) the freedom is sparse.

Decline in online freedom: Internet freedom around the world in decline for a fifth consecutive year as more governments censored information of public interest while also expanding surveillance and cracking down on privacy tools.

Content removals increased: Authorities in 42 of the 65 countries assessed required private companies or internet users to restrict or delete web content dealing with political, religious, or social issues, up from 37 the previous year.

Arrests and intimidation escalated:Authorities in 40 of 65 countries imprisoned people for sharing information concerning politics, religion or society through digital networks.
Surveillance laws and technologies multiplied: Governments in 14 of 65 countries passed new laws to increase surveillance since June 2014 and many more upgraded their surveillance equipment.

Governments undermined encryption, anonymity: Democracies and authoritarian regimes alike stigmatized encryption as an instrument of terrorism, and many tried to ban or limit tools that protect privacy.

About the report

The report was prepared by Freedom House with the donations from Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter. The 2015 ratings reflect the period 1 January 31 December 2014.

 

Internet freedom is partly free in India: FOTN 2015 Report

Internet freedom is partly free in India. It was revealed by the Freedom on the Net (FOTN) Report 2015 that was released on 28 October 2015 by Freedom House.

As per the report, India tied with African countries like Malawi and Zambia with 40 points overall on a 0-100 (Best-Worst) scale to retain the partly free status. However, compared to the FOTN Report 2014 it lost two points as the institutional curbs on internet freedom on rise amidst growing social tensions.

 

India’s performance in three key areas-obstacles to access, limits on content and violations of user rights-is as follows

Obstacles to access:The score was 12 on a 0-25 scale, wherein 25 represent the worst, as only 18 percent of 1.29 billion Indians are connected to the internet.

Though mobile penetration, reaching 77 percent, once again playing a critical role in improving access, infrastructure continues to remain a significant barrier to access.

However, various governmental and nongovernmental initiatives such as the Digital India Initiative have been introduced in 2015 to address the inadequacies.

Further, India’s future in this segment looks bright which is evident from the Global Information Technology Report 2015 that ranked India first out of 143 countries for affordable internet access, with per minute cellular and fixed broadband tariffs among the lowest in the world.

Limits on content:The score was 10 on a 0-35 scale wherein 35 represent the worst.

Content blocking increased in 2014 with various instances of overbroad blocking and copyright restrictions. However, the striking down of Section 66A of the IT Act, which had been the cause of several arrests for online speech, by the Supreme Court is a welcome step.

Violations of user rights: The score was 18 on a 0-40 scale wherein 40 represent the worst.

The number of criminal complaints regarding online content filed were quite high. Further, intimidation and violence against women was especially prevalent as a result of online activity and online activity also led to an increase in religious tensions in recent times.

About the report

• The report was prepared by Freedom House with the donations from Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter. 
• Freedom House is a USA-based non-governmental organisation. 
• The 2015 ratings reflect the period 1 January through 31 December 2014.

IBM and TASK signed MoU to ensure cloud technology in Telangana colleges

US based global technology company IBM and the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) on 28 October 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for provision of technology platforms and services in cloud computing for academia in Telangana.

The agreement aims at making the IBM cloud available to colleges in Telangana for faculty and students to utilize it for practicals and project work.

As per the agreement, IBM and Task will together work upon bringing the IBM cloud experience to the engineering colleges in the state.

Faculty and students will also get access to the IBM cloud, which will provide them with an opportunity to develop their cloud skills that is desirable in the IT industry.

Najib Shah appointed as Chairman of CBEC

Senior IRS officer Najib Shah was on 28 October 2015 appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), apex body on Indirect Taxes. His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC).

Shah will serve the office till 11 March 2017, when he will attain the age of superannuation that is 60 years. Shah is a 1979 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise). Prior to this appointment, he has been working as Member of the CBEC since May 2015.

He was also the Interim Chairman of the CBEC after retirement of Kaushal Srivastava in June 2015. Shah had also been the Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

Hockey India signed three years partnership with Sports Authority of India

Hockey India (HI), the top body governing the sport in the country, on 28 October 2015 signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sports Authority of India (SAI) to help regain hockey its position as the top sport of the country.

As per the terms of agreements, SAI will promote hockey, which is amongst the world’s most popular sports, as a tool for youth development and excellence in sports.

In addition, both the entities will work towards creating a lasting legacy for the sport by developing hockey coaching system, talent identification and infrastructure for inculcating positive values in today’s youth through hockey, education, health and other allied areas.

SAI will also help Hockey India strengthen its coach development program by providing domestic coaches with internationally recognized hockey coaching courses and license certification to the National Institute of Sports (NIS) students.

As per the agreement, dedicated SAI coaches will become hockey scouts at pre-identified areas and scouting trials by HI national team coaches will be organised for various youth age groups at select SAI centres.

SC reinforced its earlier view of No Reservation in Super Specialty Courses in Medicine

The Supreme Court (SC) on 28 October 2015 reinforced its earlier view that there should really be no reservation in super specialty courses in medicine. 
Echoing the observations made the SC in 1988, the bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice PC Pant said that an objective assessment of situation is required keeping national interest in mind.
In its 1988 judgment, it had said that the Union and the State Governments should seriously consider the issue without delay and appropriate guidelines shall be evolved by the Indian Medical Council to keep Super Specialties in medical education unreserved, open and free.

The observations came while hearing a batch of appeals challenging the domicile-based reservations in super specialty medical courses in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
While, the bench refused to interfere with the admission process in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana since a Presidential Order has created an exception and the constitutionality of this order had not been challenged. 
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have put reservation in place through a special privilege granted to it under Article 371-D of the Constitution and the Presidential Order. Article 371 of the Constitution provides special provisions to protect the interests of people and resources of the state. 
However, the court agreed to hear the case of Tamil Nadu that asks whether it could do the same and allow this form of reservation in post-graduate courses. It posted the case of Tamil Nadu on 4 November 2015.

Amaravati-Next milestone in India's Urbanisation

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s laying of foundation stone of Amaravati, a new chapter has begun in India’s quest for developing smart and world-class cities.

The yet to be born city will reside on the banks of river Krishna and is set to demonstrate a state government’s ability in executing large-scale eco-friendly infrastructure projects involving multiple stakeholders from the national and international arena.

Amaravati is not only the fifth planned capital city in Independent India, next to Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Gandhi Nagar and Naya Raipur, but it is also the country’s first green-field smart city.

Area wise, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region (APCR), in which Amaravati lies at the core, with a spread of 8352 sq. km. is the second largest administrative region in the country next only to the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT-Delhi) that is spread across 51109 sq. km. in three states and one union territory.

On the resources front,the project adopts the Public-Private-People partnership modelwhich is nothing but a logical extension of the ubiquitous PPP model. Collecting around 33000 acres of land under the pooling method is itself an achievement for the government.

By leveraging its geographical proximity and cultural linkswithSingapore and Japan respectively, the state government signed memorandums with both of them to attract cheap financial resources and best of technologies.

Further, nine specialised cities- knowledge city, financial city, health city, tourism city, government city, sports city, electronics city, justice city and education city- of Amaravati is a microcosm of our future economy.

Last but not least, envisioning such a futuristic capital city is necessary for the new-born state to economically sustain amidst highly competitive neighboring states in which the capital cities-Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai-are the engines of domestic economies.

However, on the flip side, mobilization of resources at low-cost is a mammoth task for the state as it is already borrowing around 1000 crore rupees per month from the market to meet the day-to-day expenses.

The success of Amaravati is not only relevant for Andhra Pradesh but to India as a whole as the Union Government embarked upon large-scale urbanization process with an investment of one lakh crore rupees under the Smart City and AMRUT initiatives.

Nepal signed MoU with China to ease fuel crisis

Nepal on 28 October 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China in order to ease fuel crisis in the country by importing all kinds of fuel. The MoU was signed between Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and China National United Oil Corporation (PetroChina) in Beijing.

This will be the first time that China is commercially supplying petroleum to Nepal. Moreover, China has also agreed to donate 1.3 million litres of petrol to Nepal earlier. 
With this, the long-held monopoly of India in supplying fuel to Nepal ended. Annually, Nepal used to buy around 1.3 billion dollars of gasoline from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

Background
Nepal completely relied on India for its trade due to favourable geographic conditions which eased the transportation links with India compared to the mountainous terrain of the northern routes bordering China. 
But the movement of cargo has slowed to a crawl in recent weeks, with hundreds of protesters blocking a bridge crossing in the town of Birgunj, around 90km south of Kathmandu since 24 September 2015. Scores of trucks have been stranded at a key India-Nepal border for more than a month.

191 UNGA-members voted a resolution condemning US embargo on Cuba

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 27 October 2015 overwhelmingly approved the Resolution condemning an economic embargo imposed by the US on Cuba. It stated that existence of such restrictions undermines multilateralism and credibility of the UN.
191 countries from the 193 member states demonstrated a concerted and international stand with Cuba and voted in favour of the resolution. The United States and Israel were the only two countries that voted against the resolution.

This is the 24th time that the UNGA has adopted the resolution that seeks ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, despite resumption of relations between the two countries. 
The Assembly, however, welcomed the resumption of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba announced on 20 July 2015 and the willingness of US President Barack Obama to work towards the lifting of the economic, financial and trade embargo against Cuba.
India’s Stand on the Resolution
India's Ambassador to the UN Asoke Mukerji said the continued existence of the embargo not only multilateralism and the credibility of the Organization itself but it also had a negative impact on the Cuban economy which was forced to bear considerable costs in sourcing products, technology and services and by discouraging investment into the country. He also said that the international community needs to re-double its efforts to promote an environment free from sanctions and embargoes.
Mukerji associating himself with the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement also welcomed the positive steps in bilateral relations between Cuba and the United States.

Narendra Nayak appointed as Managing Director of BlackBerry India

Narendra Nayak was on 27 October 2015 appointed as Managing Director of BlackBerry India operations to steer the restructuring efforts of Blackberry. Nayak succeeded Sunil Lalvani, who resigned from company in June 2015.

Nayak will be responsible for driving BlackBerry’s software and services business through all channels in India including direct enterprise customers, network operators, distribution partners. He will also be responsible for managing growing ecosystems like Value-Added Reseller (VAR), systems integrator and reseller partners.

Prior to this appointment, Nayak was working in venture-funded software company Linguanext Technologies, where he was responsible for growing the business in India and across South East Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Nayak has also served executive roles at CSC, IBM, Motorola and Digital Equipment India.

India-Africa Forum Summit 2015 held in New Delhi

India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) 2015 was held for four days between 26 October and 29 October 2015 at Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex in New Delhi.

Besides PM Narendra Modi, the summit was attended by top leaders of 40 African nations.

The purpose of the meeting was to enable consultations at the highest political level between 54 nations across Africa and the Indian government.

It was the third IAFS since its inception. The previous summits were held in 2008 and 2011 in New Delhi and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) respectively.

Few takeaways from the Summit

• India announced 10 billion US dollars of credit at concessional rate over 5 years. It is in addition to about 7.4 billion US dollars that India has already pledged since 2008.
• A grant assistance of 600 million US dollars was announced that will include an India-Africa Development Fund of 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of 10 million US dollars.
• India will provide 50000 scholarships to African students to avail higher education in our country.

30 October

Amit Kumar won silver in men's club throw F51 event of IPC Athletics World Championships

Indian para-athlete Amit Kumar Saroha on 28 October 2015 won silver medal in men's club throw F51 event in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha. With this, Amit sealed a berth for 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
Amit clinched silver with an effort of 25.44m, behind Serbia's Zeljko Dimitrijevic who won gold in a championship record of 26.29m. Milos Mitic of Serbia bagged the bronze in 25.40m.

Amit’s medal helped the 15-member Indian team to end the campaign with two silvers. Devendra Jhajharia had won silver in men's javelin throw F46 event on 27 October 2015.

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships held in Doha, Qatar from 21 October to 31 October 2015 was one of the last major competitions ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The competition featured around 1300 athletes from 90 countries and was held in the 12000 capacity Qatar Sports Club’s - Suhaim Bin Hamam stadium.

 

John Pombe Magufuli won the Presidential Elections of Tanzania

John Pombe Magufuli, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party's candidate, on 29 October 2015 won presidential elections of Tanzania. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) said that Magufuli won the election with 58.46 percent of votes.
Magufuli’s closest rival Edward Lowassa of Chadema party won 39.9 percent votes in total. Lowassa is the former Prime Minister of Tanzania.

This win cements Chama Cha Mapinduzis (Party of the Revolution) firm grip on power, after ruling Tanzania since 1977 when two independence-era parties, namely Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), were merged. CCM is one of the longest-reigning ruling parties in Africa. 
Before merging, Tanganyika African National Union and the Afro-Shirazi Party were the sole operating parties in mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar, respectively.

Defence Acquisition Council cleared military projects worth over 12000 crore rupees

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) presided by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 29 October 2015 cleared new military modernisation proposals worth over 12000 crore rupees.

The proposals include the acquisition of two additional regiments of the indigenous Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systemsto the upgrade of 26 Ilyushin transport aircraft by Russia.

The DAC also modified the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN)granted for the production of 363 BMP-II infantry combat vehiclesby the Ordnance Factory Board under licence from Russia at a cost of 1800 crore rupees. The amended AoN is currently for the acquisition of 149 BMP-IIsat a cost of 924 crore rupees for the Army.

In addition, two more Pinaka MLRSregiments for the Army at a cost of 3306 crore rupees were cleared by the DAC. The Pinaka MLRS, which comes with a strike range of 40-km, is manufactured by the Tatas and L&T based on technology developed by DRDO.

The DAC also extended AoN for the long-pending 1500 crore rupees project to purchase two deep-submergence rescue vessels (DSRVs).

Besides, the council granted 1800 crore rupees for digitization of 25 firing units of the Pechora surface-to-air missile system.

WCD Ministry launched initiative to spread awareness about Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development on 29 October 2015 launched a new initiative to spread awareness about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme.

The initiative was launched in partnership with Celltick Mobile Media India Pvt. Ltd.to generate awareness about BBBP Scheme to an estimated 100 million mobile users in India.

Keeping in mind the steady decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) across India, with 918 females born per 1000 males, as per the Census of 2011, Celltick will work towards improving the Child Sex Ratio in India and will promote the issue of gender equality and significance of educating daughters to mobile users in India.

Through the Celltick managed mobile services based on its patented Live Screen platform, available to over 100 million users in India, the users will get interactive messages on their device’s homescreen, which will enable ease of use in accessing information about BBBP. The platform will make sure to reach users based on their location as well as their language of preference.

The BBBP campaign will be the first time that Celltick teamed up with the Government of India for a social initiative.

The BBBP launched on 22 January 2015 aims at improving the Child Sex Ratio CSR through multi-sectoral interventions including prevention of gender biased sex selection and promoting girls’ education and her holistic empowerment.

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi awarded 2015 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi on 29 October 2015 awarded Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for the year 2015.

An announcement in this regard was made by the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz atEuropean Parliament assembly in Strasbourg, France; Subsequently, Schulz appealed to Saudi King Salman to free him, so he can accept the prize.

Badawi was one of three nominees for the prize along with assassinated Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and the Venezuelan opposition movement Mesa de la Unidad Democratica.

Badawi, author of the website Free Saudi Liberals, was convicted of insulting Islam in 2012 and was sentenced to 10 years in jail and 1000 lashes.

He received the first 50 lashes of his sentence in January 2015, but subsequent floggings have been postponed.

In early October 2015, he also wonthe Pen Pinter Prize for championing free speech in honour of the late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.

About Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

• It has been awarded by the European Parliament since 1988 to individuals or organisations for their contribution to the fight for human rights and democracy.
• It is named after the Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
• While the prize in 2014 was conferred on Denis Mukwege of DR Congo for treating gang rape victims, Nelson Mandela (1988), Aung San Suu Kyi (1990) and Malala Yousafzai (2013) were the previous winners.

HCL Technologies acquired CRM services firm PowerObjects for 299 crore rupees

Global IT services company HCL Technologies on 29 October 2015 acquired PowerObjects, a leading North American provider of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, for approximately 299 crore rupees.

The acquisition will bolster HCL’s global applications business, which offers transformational programs and complex application management for a multitude of clients’ technology landscapes.

The total consideration for the transaction includes contingent payments which are subject to certain financial targets.

About PowerObjects

Founded in 1993, PowerObjects is a professional services firm which is 100 percent focused on providing service, support, education and add-ons for Microsoft Dynamics Customer Resource Management (CRM).

The company won 2015 Cloud Customer Relationship Management Partner of the Year, and has also been a winner of 2012 Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner of the Yearaward.

Global Tuberculosis Report 2015 released by WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) on 28 October 2015 released Global Tuberculosis Report 2015 in Washington. This is the twentieth global report on tuberculosis (TB) that started in 1997. 
The 2015 edition focuses on whether 2015 global TB targets set in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were achieved worldwide and at regional and country levels.
According to the report, globally the prevalence of TB was reduced by half than what was in 1990.

Moreover, effective diagnosis and treatment saved 43 million lives between 2000 and 2015 and resulted in fall in TB incidence by 1.5 percent per year since 2000, for a total reduction of 18%.

India with 23 percent of TB cases has the largest number of cases in the world and it accounted for 27 percent global TB notifications in 2014.

Highlights of the report
• Globally, TB prevalence in 2015 was 42% lower than in 1990. 
• The target of halving the rate compared with 1990 was achieved in three WHO regions, namely the Region of the Americas, the South-East Asia Region and the Western Pacific Region
• The TB prevalence also halved in nine high-burden countries, namely Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Uganda and Viet Nam.
• In 2014, there was a marked increase in global TB notifications for the first time since 2007. The annual total of new TB cases, which had been about 5.7 million until 2013, rose to slightly more than 6 million in 2014 (an increase of 6%).
• About 1.5 million people (890000 men, 480000 women and 140000 children) died from TB in 2014, of which most of the deaths could have been prevented. 
• Of the 1.5 million people killed by TB in 2014, 400000 were HIV-positive. The disease ranks alongside HIV as a leading killer worldwide. 
• About 4400 people are dying every day due to TB, at least in the era when the disease can be diagnosed and cured.
• More than half of the world’s TB cases (54%) occurred in China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan. 
• India, Indonesia and China had the largest number of cases: 23%, 10% and 10% of the global total, respectively.
• Among new cases, an estimated 3.3% have multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), a level that has remained unchanged in recent years.
• If all of the TB cases notified in 2014 had been tested for drug resistance, an estimated 300000 would have been found to have MDR-TB, with more than half of them (54%) occurring in India, China and the Russian Federation
• Of the 9.6 million people who fell ill with TB in 2014, 6 million (62.5%) were reported to national authorities. That means that, worldwide, more than a third (37.5%) of the cases went undiagnosed or was not reported to national authorities. 
• Domestic funding accounts for more than 90% of the total funding in 2015 in three country groups: Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa (BRICS); upper-middle-income countries; and regions outside Africa and Asia.

Highlights about India
• India was part of the nine high-burden countries where all three of the 2015 targets for incidence, prevalence and mortality were met.
• India accounted for 27% of global TB notifications in 2014.
• India that followed the introduction of a policy of mandatory notification in May 2012 saw a rise of 29 percent TB notifications. 
• India with 23 percent of TB cases has the largest number of cases in the world.
• India is among the group of countries wherein more than half of the world’s TB cases occurred.
• India is one of three countries wherein more than half (54%) TB cases that were notified in 2014 had Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) – TB. 
Suggestions of the Report
The report says that if the world wants to end this epidemic than it needs to scale up services and investment in research, that is,  to reduce TB’s overall burden, detection and treatment gaps need to be closed, funding shortfalls should be filled and new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines should be developed. 
This shortfall in funding in 2015 amounted to 1.4 billion US dollars of the 8 billion US dollar needed to fully implement interventions. In addition, an annual funding gap of at least 1.3 billion US dollar must be filled for research that would include the development of new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.
Comment
The report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and progress in implementing and financing TB prevention, care, control and research global, regional and country levels using data reported by over 200 countries that account for more than 99 percent of the World’s TB cases. 
From 2016, the global goal will shift from controlling TB to ending the global TB epidemic. The End TB Strategy, adopted by all WHO Member States, serves as a blueprint for countries to reduce TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90% and to eliminate catastrophic costs for TB-affected households by 2030.
Ending the TB epidemic is now part of the Sustainable Development Goal agenda.

RBI allowed NRIs to subscribe to National Pension System

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 October 2015 allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS). 
RBI took the decision in consultation with the Union Government to enable National Pension System (NPS) as an investment option for NRIs under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.
NRIs may subscribe to the NPS governed and administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), provided such subscriptions are made through normal banking channels and the person is eligible to invest as per the provisions of the PFRDA Act.

The subscription amounts shall be paid by the NRIs either by inward remittance through normal banking channels or out of funds held in their NRE/FCNR/NRO account. There will be no restriction on repatriation of the annuity/ accumulated savings.
The decision is in accordance with the amendment to Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 which was notified on 6 October 2015. 
The directions were issued under section 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
About New Pension System
The National Pension System (NPS) was launched on 1 January, 2004 with the objective of providing retirement income to all the citizens. NPS aims to institute pension reforms and to inculcate the habit of saving for retirement amongst the citizens.
Initially, NPS was introduced for the new government recruits (except armed forces). With effect from 1 May, 2009, NPS has been provided for all citizens of the country including the unorganised sector workers on voluntary basis.

Bombay HC asked NEERI to study River Godavari’s pollution during Kumbh Mela

The Bombay High Court on 29 October 2015 asked the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to study the pollution of River Godavari caused by the `Shahi Snaan' (royal bath) events during the Kumbh Mela that began at Nashik on 24 July 2015.
The division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oak asked the NEERI to form a committee for this purpose and submit a report before 11 December 2015.

The High Court also directed the authorities not to release the water from Godavari any further as it might have been polluted after the Shahi Snaan. 
The Court said that Maharashtra government and the Nashik Municipal Corporation shall take immediate measures to clean the water of Godavari. 
The directions were given while hearing a PIL filed by Pune resident HM Desarda. The PIL alleges that pollution of river water during the Shahi Snaan days, which are considered auspicious to bathe in the river. It also challenges the government's decision to release 1TMC water from upstream reservoirs for every Shahi Snaan.

Activist Bindeshwar Pathak selected for New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award

Sociologist and founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak on 29 October 2015 was selected for the prestigious New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award for his contribution to sanitation and improving the quality of life for millions of manual scavengers.

Pathak will be presented with the award on 12 April 2016 in New York, US.

The activist first understood the plight of manual scavengers in 1968 when he joined the Bhangi-Mukti (scavengers’ liberation) Cellof the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee.

He founded the Sulabh International Social Service Organization in 1970, combining technical innovation with humanitarian principles.

Born on 2 April 1943, Pathak obtained his bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1964. He completed his post graduation in 1980 from the University of Patna. He earned his PhD in 1985.

China abandoned its decades old 'One Child Policy'

China on 29 October 2015 allowed all couples to have two children and scrapped its decade-long One Child Policy. The decision is intended to balance population development and address the challenge of an ageing population. 
The announcement was made through a communiqué issued by the ruling communist party after a four-day Communist party summit in Beijing. 
The summit participated by China’s top leaders saw debate on financial reforms and how to maintain growth at a time of heightened concerns about the economy.

One Child Policy was introduced in 1980 as a way to curb the population and limit demands for water and other resources. The controversial policy restricted most couples to only a single offspring, and for years’ it was debated that the policy resulted in China’s economic boom. 
As an active response to an ageing population and to manage the demography of the country, China has been relaxing the family planning laws. Earlier on 28 December 2013, it allowed minority ethnic families and rural couples whose firstborn child was a girl to have one more child. 
It seems that the decision will help China in reducing its gender imbalance. As the previous decision of 1980s led to forced sterilizations, infanticide and sex-selective abortions, causing a dramatic gender imbalance which meant millions of men will never find female partners.

Ministry of Civil Aviation released Revised Draft National Civil Aviation Policy

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on 30 October 2015 released Revised Draft National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP 2015).

The policy aims at providing a favourable environment and a level playing field to various aviation sub-sectors, such as Airlines, Airports, Cargo, Maintenance Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) services and so on.

Besides, the scheme also intends to create an eco-system to enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027.

Highlights of the NCAP

•Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), airlines will not be allowed to charge more than 2500 rupees for one hour flight between two small cities. The RCS will become effective from 1 April 2016.

•Indian carriers will be free to enter into code-share agreements with foreign carriers for any destination within India on a reciprocal basis. Indian carriers need to simply inform Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) 30 days prior to starting the code-share flights.

•The Government will encourage use of private security agencies at airports for non-core security functions. The private security agencies will comprise retired personnel from military and para-military forces.

•Proposes building no-frills airports at a cost of 50 crores rupees.

•Proposes Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for scheduled commuter airlines indexed to ATF prices and inflation and it will be shared between Centre and State at 80:20.

•Proposes creation of Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) for VGF which will be created by levy of 2% on all domestic and international tickets on all routes, other than CAT IIA and RCS.

•Under Scheduled Commuter Airlines (SCA), eligibility criteria in terms of paid-up capital will be kept at 2 crore rupees.

•Service-tax on output services of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility will be zero-rated so as to develop India as an MRO hub in Asia.

•The government invited suggestions before taking a final call on 5/20 Rule, which only allows local airlines to fly overseas when they have five years operational experience and at least a fleet of 20 aircraft.

•Under Bilateral Traffic Rights, open skies for countries within 5000 kilometres will be considered with effect from 1 April 2020.

•Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic airlines will be hiked to over 50 percent in open skies policy, which is currently 49 percent.

•Airport Authority of India (AAI) will continue to modernize airports and upgrade quality of services.

•There will be at least three Ground Handling Agencies (GHA) including Air India’s subsidiary/JV at an airport.

•Advanced Cargo Information system will be implemented by 1 April 2016.

•There will be a revival of under-served airstrips and construction of no-frills airports at a cost of 50 crore rupees under RCS.

•MoCA will be nodal agency for developing commercial aero-related manufacturing and its eco-system in India in line with Aeronautical Make in India.

•Government will support growth of helicopters for remote area connectivity and separate regulations for helicopters will be notified by DGCA by 1 April 2016.

BRICS nations signed Moscow Declaration for supporting Multilateral Science Projects

BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on 30 October 2015 signed Moscow Declaration for co-investment of resources for supporting multilateral Research and Development (R&D) Projects in mutually agreed areas.

The Moscow Declaration was signed during the third meeting of the BRICS Ministers for Science, Technology and Innovation that was held in Moscow, Russia. Indian delegation to this meeting was led by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. 
The declaration reflects BRICS partnership in addressing common global and regional socio-economic challenges, utilising such drivers as science, technology and innovation (STI).  It calls for collaboration in:

• Co-operation for large research infrastructures, including mega-science projects along with coordination of the existing large-scale national programme of member countries.
• Implementation and development of a BRICS Framework Programme for funding joint multilateral research projects, innovation and technology commercialization.
• Establishment of BRICS Research and Innovation Networking Platform.

BRICS Action Plan 2015-18
The BRICS nations meeting also endorsed a BRICS Action Plan 2015-18 on BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation cooperation. 
The Work Plan outline detailed modalities of BRICS collaboration such as Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters led by Brazil; Water resources and pollution treatment led by Russia; Geospatial technology and its application for development led by India; New and renewable energy, and energy efficiency with focus on Solid-state lightning led by China. 
This Work Plan also includes BRICS STI collaboration in Material science led by India and Russia; Biotechnology and Biomedicine led by Russia or Brazil; Information Technologies and High Performance Computing led jointly by China and South Africa; Ocean and Polar Science and Technology led jointly by Brazil and Russia.

National Unity Day observed across India

31 October: National Unity Day in India
The National Unity Day was observed across India on 31 October 2015 to commemorate the birthday of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. On this occasion of 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, PM Narendra Modi flagged off Run for Unity at Rajpath in New Delhi.

Moreover, on this day, all ministries and departments of the government and all the state governments and administrators of all the Union Territories organise programmes including the Pledge-taking Ceremony, Run for Unity involving people from all sections of society.
The day was observed in various states as well. Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan too flagged off the Run for Unity from State Central Library in Shillong where more than one thousand people including students took part in the run organized by Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills District Administration. 
Background
The Modi government in October 2014 declared 31 October as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day to mark the birth anniversary of country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Born in 1875, Patel served as the Home Minister of India from 15 August 1947 till his death on 15 December 1950. He played key roles in organising peasants' movements in Kheda, Borsad and Bardoli in Gujarat and promoting the Quit India Movement against the British regime.

Shaktikanta Das nominated on RBI Central Board of Directors

Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das was on 30 October 2015 nominated as a Director to the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The nomination of Das is effective from 30 October 2015 and until further orders.

Shaktikanta Das is presently working as a Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under the Union Ministry of Finance. Das is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre officer. 
About Central Board of Directors of RBI
• The Central Board of Directors of RBI govern the Reserve Bank's affairs and is also responsible for its general superintendence and direction. 
• The board is nominated by the Union Government in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India Act for a period of four years.
• There are 21 members in the board of RBI including a Governor, 4 Deputy Governors, 10 Directors, two government Official, 4 directors are from local boards of RBI which are headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi.

Sanjeev Mohanty appointed as CEO and MD of Jabong

Former Benetton India MD Sanjeev Mohanty was on 30 October 2015 appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of fashion focused e-tailer Jabong with effect from December 2015.

With his appointment, for the first time the Indian e-commerce would witness a CEO from a traditional retailer heading an online venture in India. Mohanty served United Colors of Benetton Indian unit for 11 years, during which he made the Italian giant the largest international fashion brand in the country.
Under Mohanty’s leadership, United Colors of Benetton India was listed as one of the Top 50 firms to work for in the retail sector consecutively for three years from 2012 to 2014. He was the youngest business head ever when he took over as head of India business in November 2004. 
He managed three Italian fashion retail labels Benetton, Sisley and Undercolors in India, during his tenure as Managing Director of Benetton India Pvt Ltd.

Paul Ryan elected as 54th Speaker of US House of Representatives

Republican Paul Ryan was on 30 October 2015 elected as the 54th speaker of the US House of Representatives after fetching the votes of 236 members by the full House of Representatives. Only nine House Republicans voted against Ryan on the House floor. He succeeds John Boehner of Ohio.

Following his election, Ryan was sworn in as Speaker of the House. He took the oath on his own copy of the New American bible and kept the gavel he wielded as Chairman of the powerful tax writing committee. 
With this, Ryan, the nine-term congressman from Wisconsin, becomes the third Catholic in a row in the position, after John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi. He first worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide in 1992 and won his House seat in 1998 when he was 28.
During his tenure in the House, Ryan became known as a policy wonk and attracted national attention for his sweeping proposals to overhaul Medicare and restructure the tax code.

European Parliament gave status of whistle-blower to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden

The European Parliament on 29 October 2015 gave status of whistle-blower and human rights defender to former contractor of NSA Edward Snowden.

A resolution in this regard was approved by the parliament by 285 votes to 281.

The non-binding resolution urged 28 member states of the European Union (EU) to drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties.

The resolution was passed in accordance with a April 2014 resolution of the Committee of Ministers on protection of whistleblowers. The resolution offers legal protection to workers who reveal illegal and unethical practices taking place at workplace.

Snowden is facing felony charges in USA for leaking classified information that he gathered while working as National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and at present, he is under Russia’s asylum