3-4 October 2015
3 october
Laureates of 2015 Right Livelihood Awards announced
Laureates of 2015 Right Livelihood Awards were announced on 1 October 2015. Tony de Brum & the People of the Marshall Islands, Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Canada), Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (Uganda) and Gino Strada & his organisation ‘Emergency’ (Italy) were chosen for the prestigious award that is also known as Alternative Nobel Prize.
While Tony de Brum & the People of the Marshall Islands is the honorary recipient, the other three awardees will share the 200000 euro prize money.
Contributions of Awardees
Tony de Brum & the People of the Marshall Islands
The award was conferred in recognition of their vision and courage to take legal action against the nuclear powers for failing to honour their disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Tony de Brum, as Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands, took the unprecedented step of filing lawsuits against all nine nuclear weapons states in the International Court of Justice in 2014, seeking to hold them to account for their failure to abide by the provisions of NPT.
He was also architect of the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership, adopted in September 2013, under which commitment of Pacific Island States to adopt concrete measures to combat climate change was secured.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
The Canadian was recognised for her lifelong work to protect the Inuit of the Arctic and defend their right to maintain their livelihoods and culture, which are acutely threatened by climate change.
Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.
As an elected representative of her people, administrator and advocate, Watt-Cloutier significantly contributed to an overhaul of the education system in Nunavik in Northern Quebec to make it more effective in meeting the needs of Inuit communities.
She was an influential force behind the adoption of the Stockholm Convention to ban persistent organic pollutants, which accumulate strongly in Arctic food chains.
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera
The Ugandan was selected for her courage and persistence, despite violence and intimidation, in working for the right of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people to a life free from prejudice and persecution.
Operating within a hostile and repressive environment, Nabagesera has shed light on human rights violations, and has successfully used the judicial system to advance LGBTI rights.
Gino Strada & Emergency
The Italian was selected for his great humanity and skill in providing outstanding medical and surgical services to the victims of conflict and injustice, while fearlessly addressing the causes of war.
From Afghanistan to Sudan, EMERGENCY, the organisation that he co-founded in 1994, runs over 60 hospitals, clinics and first aid posts, operating with the aim of transferring medical knowledge and expertise to local health service professionals.
He also played a leading role in the successful campaign that resulted in Italy banning the production and use of antipersonnel landmines in 1997.
About Right Livelihood Award
• It was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, and is presented annually in early December in Swedish Parliament.
• The award was given to honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today.
• The prize money is shared among the winners, usually numbering four, and is 200000 euros. Very often one of the four laureates receives an honorary award, which means that the other three share the prize money.
• Though they are called as Alternative Nobel they do not have any organizational ties to the awarding institutions of the Nobel Prize or the Nobel Foundation.
International Day of Non-Violence observed across the world
October 2: International Day of Non-Violence
The International Day of Non-Violence was observed on 2 October 2015 across the world. It was celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.
On this occasion, governmental and nongovernmental organizations conducted awareness activities and special talks on the significance of Non-violence as a political as well as a social practice.
The International Day of Non-Violence was created by the United Nations by a resolution of the General Assembly on 15 June 2007.
The resolution was aimed at reaffirming the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.
The creation of the day has much significance for India, as it was at the frontrunner in the adoption of the resolution that was co-sponsored by 140 member-countries in the United Nations.
Dr Anup K Pujari assumed additional charge as CMD of Steel Authority of India Limited
Dr Anup K Pujari on 1 October 2015 assumed additional charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
At present, he is the Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME).
Besides as the CMD of SAIL, he was also given additional charge of the post of Secretary in Ministry of Steel.
About A K Pujari
• He is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.
• He has the experience of public sector management in the State of Karnataka for several years.
• He served in Union Government in various capacities including the Director General of Foreign Trade in the Department of Commerce.
• Before the present portfolio as the secretary of MSME, he served as the Secretary in the Ministry of Mines.
Forbes India Leadership Awards-2015 presented in Mumbai
Forbes India Leadership Awards-2015 was presented on 30 September 2015 in Mumbai.
Transformational leadership, which the 2015 edition of the Forbes India Leadership Awards seeks to honour, includes individuals and organisations who have achieved success through their vision, foresight, and business ethics.
List of winners of Forbes India Leadership Awards-2015
• Outstanding Start-up for the Year: Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati of Ola
• Nextgen Entrepreneur for the Year: Siddhartha Lal of Eicher Motors Ltd
• Entrepreneur with Social Impact: Samit Ghosh, Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd
• Conscious Capitalist Company for the year: Godrej Consumer Products Ltd and Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul)
• Best CEO – Multinational Company: Uday Shankar, Star India Pvt. Ltd
• Best CEO - Public Sector: Arundhati Bhattacharya, State Bank of India
• Best CEO - Private Sector: CP Gurnani, Tech Mahindra Ltd
• Lifetime Achievement Award for the Year: RC Bhargava of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
• Entrepreneur for the Year: Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
About Forbes India Leadership Awards
• These awards were instituted in 2011 by the American business Magazine-Forbes.
• It objective is to recognize and honour outstanding entrepreneurs in the country.
• Every year, awards will be to individuals and organizations in nine categories.
Sarat Kumar Acharya assumed office as CMD of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
Sarat Kumar Acharya on 1 October 2015 assumed office as Chairman and Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC).
He succeeded B Surender Mohan who relinquished the office on 30 September 2015 on his superannuation.
Prior to the present elevation, Acharya was the Director (Human Resource) in NLC.
He has a rich and varied experience of over 35 years of working in BHEL, NTPC, NTPC—SAIL Power Company.
He hails from Odisha and had his studies in institutions like Ravenshaw College and Utkal University, Odisha.
Abuot Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
• It is a Navratna Government of India Enterprise, under the administrative control of Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOC).
• It was established in 1956 and its headquarters is in Chennai.
• It operates three opencast lignite mines of total capacity of 28.5 Million tonnes per Annum at Neyveli and one open cast lignite Mine of capacity 2.1 million tonnes per Annum at Barsingsar, Rajasthan.
• It also operates three thermal power stations with a total installed capacity of 2490 Mega Watt at Neyveli and one thermal power station at Barsingsar, Rajasthan with an installed capacity of 250 Mega Watt.
India submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to UNFCC
India on 2 October 2015 submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These INDCs are for the period between 2015 and 2030.
With the presentation of its INDCs, India set its tone for the Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) in Paris that is scheduled to meet in December 2015 to adopt an environmental new protocol for post-2020 (post Kyoto Protocol) scenario.
So far, 119 parties to the UNFCCC, out of 192 member countries, have formally submitted their INDCs.
Some of the salient points of the INDCs are
• To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation.
• To adopt a climate-friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto by others at corresponding level of economic development
• To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level
• To achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030, with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund
• To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 that will translate into increase of about 680 - 817 million tonne of carbon stock
• To better adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health and disaster management.
• To mobilize domestic and new and additional funds from developed countries to implement the above mitigation and adaptation actions in view of the resource required and the resource gap
• As per preliminary estimates, 2.5 trillion US dollars (at 2014-15 prices) required for meeting India's climate change actions between 2015 and 2030
• To build capacities, create domestic framework and international architecture for quick diffusion of cutting edge climate technology in India and for joint collaborative R&D for such future technologies.
• India also pledged to adopt a climate friendly and a cleaner path to development than the one followed hitherto by others at corresponding level of economic development
In addition to the above commitments, the submission also delineated India’s ongoing eco-friendly programmes and schemes-Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, Cleaning of River projects including National Mission for Clean Ganga, etc.