3 october

China blocks tributary of Brahmaputra in Tibet

China on 30 September 2016 blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra River in Tibet. According to Chinese state run Xinhua news agency, China is constructing a hydro project on Xiabuqu River, a tributary of Brahmaputra in Xigaze in Tibet, closely located to Sikkim.

The blockade of the Brahmaputra river tributary may impact water flows into the lower riparian countries like India and Bangladesh.

This blockade of the tributary comes at a time when India has decided to suspend talks with Pakistan under Indus Water Treaty as part of its efforts to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack. Like the Brahmaputra, the Indus also originates in the Tibetan plateau in China.

Earlier in 2015, China operationalised its 1.5 billion dollar Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet, built on the Brahmaputra river, which raised concerns in India.

The most important fact is that India and China have no water treaty similar to Indus water treaty between India and Pakistan. But they have established an Expert Level Mechanism on the trans-border Rivers. In October 2013, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border Rivers and as per the agreement, Beijing will provide data on water flows to India.

Chinese Project

The Chinese Lalho Project in Xigaze of Tibet on the Xiabuqu river, which is a tributary of Yarlung Zangbo (it is the Tibetan name for River Brahmaputra), involves an investment of 4.95 billion Yuan (about 740 US dollars). The project that started in 2014 will be completed by 2019.

As per reports, China in its 12th five year plan has plans of three more hydropower projects on the mainstream of Brahmaputra, which have been approved for implementation.

How Chinese dams on Brahmaputra will affect India?

Chinese ambitious efforts to redraw its water map will have its affect on India because the vast densely populated region of North-east India depends on water from Brahmaputra and its tributaries. The river is a lifeline of the region and blockade of water due to any cause will adversely affect the environment as well as the economy of the region.

If in any situation, China blocks the water of Brahmaputra from flowing into India, then it may lead to feminine in North-East states of India.

China will have its control on the water of the River after it completes its work of the dams on River Brahmaputra. This means that this is direct attack on India by China, which is also a violation of International norms of sharing river waters.

Comment

Although China says that it is constructing the dams just to generate power and these constructions will not affect the flow of river but who knows it has a plan to use water as a political weapon to blackmail India.

River Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river in Asia that originates in Angsi Glacier located on the northern side of the Himalayas in Burang County of Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo River. It is also one of the major rivers of Asia that cuts through 4 countries namely China, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh it is known as Jamuna River. The Manas River that runs through Bhutan joins it at Jogighopa in India.

In the vast Ganges Delta, it merges with the Padma, the popular name of the river Ganges in Bangladesh, and finally the Meghna and from here it is known as Meghna before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. It is the tenth largest river in the world by discharge, and the 29th longest.

River Brahmaputra, which flows about 1625 kilometers inside the Tibet Autonomous Region of China enters India into Arunachal Pradesh from Xigaze and flows about 918 kilometers inside India.

Daniel Ricciardo wins 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo on 2 October 2016 won the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix held at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia.

Max Verstappen finished second while Nico Rosberg ended at the third position.

About Malaysian Grand Prix

• The Malaysian Grand Prix is a round of the Formula One World Championship.

• It has been held at the Sepang International Circuit since 1999.

• The FIA-sanctioned racing in Malaysia has existed since the 1960s.

• Since 2011, the race has been officially known as the Malaysia Grand Prix.

About Daniel Ricciardo

• Daniel Ricciardo is an Australian racing driver who is currently competing in Formula One for Red Bull Racing.

• He won the British Formula 3 Championship in 2009.

• After Mark Webber announced his retirement from Formula One, Ricciardo was confirmed as his replacement at Red Bull Racing for 2014.

• In his first season with Red Bull, he finished third in the championship with his first three Formula One wins, in Canada, Hungary and Belgium.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince to be chief guest on Republic Day in India

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2017. The Crown Prince has accepted the Indian invitation.

 

His visit will give a strong boost to the bilateral ties between the two nations in key areas like trade and security. This is his second visit to India, earlier he came on a three-day-visit in February 2016.This acceptance of the invitation by Sheikh Al Nahyan, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE armed forces, sends out an important message at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are escalating. This can be treated as the masterstroke of the government, which is trying to isolate diplomatically over the issue of cross-border terrorism.

UAE is one of the closest allies of Pakistan and once the two nations along with Saudi Arabia recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

Earlier during PM Modi’s visit to UAE in August 2015, the two countries condemned the act of terrorism that originates from one country to trouble the other. In a joint statement, the two countries rejected extremism and any link between terrorism and religion.

Apart from this, the Crown Prince will be the first leader from Gulf to be the Chief Guest of the Republic Day parade since 2006. In 2006, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud was the chief guest on Republic Day.

In 2016 French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest on the occasion and in 2015 US President Barack Obama was the chief guest.

 

Colombian voters rejected FARC peace plan in a referendum

Colombian voters in a referendum rejected the peace deal with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels. With votes more than 99 per cent of polling stations counted, 50.2 per cent opposed the accord while 49.8 per cent supported it - a difference of less than 63000 votes out of 13 million ballots.

The deal was earlier signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez in fourth week of September 2016 after nearly four years of negotiations. But, it needed to be ratified by Colombians in order to come into force.

FARC rebels had agreed to lay down their weapons after 52 years of conflict in order to join the political process. President Santos had said that there is no plan B for ending the war.
The result is being seen as a major setback to President Santos, who since his election in 2010, had pledged to end a conflict which has killed over 2 lakh 50000 people and displaced about eight million.

Background

The formal peace talks for the deal were started three years ago, in October 2012, in the Cuban capital. Core area of Peace Talks

The peace talks between the government and the rebels were hosted by the Cuban president, Raul Castro. Venezuela that had the observer status played an important role in encouraging FARC to the negotiating table.
The core area of discussion focused on five main areas that is land reform, the rebels' future role in political life, a definitive end of hostilities, fighting the illegal drug trade and the situation of the victims.

About FARC

• The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army (FARC-EP) is a left wing militant organization established in 1964.

• It is Colombia's largest rebel group and Latin America's oldest left-wing insurgency. It is active in Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador.

• Like any left-wing militant organisation, its aim is to overthrow the government in power.

• It was established as a communist-inspired peasant army fighting for land reform and to reduce the gulf dividing rich and poor in the Andean country.

• It resulted in killing of an estimated 2.2 lakh people and displaced almost seven million.

Timeline of Columbian Conflict The 50+years of Columbian conflict between the government and leftwing guerrillas like FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN) started in 1964 with a group of nearly 50 guerrillas. Slowly with time, the number of these guerrillas, who waged war on the state in the name of revolution, turned up to be a strong fighting force of thousands. Here follows a timeline of their being into existence and becoming strong. May 1964: This historically rooted conflict of a group of communist guerrillas and peasants is known as La Violencia, which was triggered in 1948 after assassination of populist political leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. In the month of May 1964, a group of guerrillas that rose under the leadership of Manuel Marulanda was attacked by the Colombian army in the tiny community of Marquetalia. This gunning down helped them those who escaped the event to turn up to be a rebel fighting force. They formed National Liberation Army (ELN) with an aim to replicate Cuba’s revolution. May 1966: Marulanda along with other guerrilla leaders created the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The aim behind creation of FARC was to call for land reforms and militant resistance. 1970s: FARC, who earlier acted in some government roles, setting up training camps, medical services and few more, began events like kidnappings for ransom, often targeting politicians and wealthy landowners. This helped them in raising funds that in return helped them to pay for its militant camps and ersatz social services. 1980s: To resist the actions of FARC rebels, rightwing paramilitary groups were created. 1982: FARC name was modified by addition of words People’s Army to its name and planned a ceasefire with an aim to reintegrate into society. 1986: FARC’s political wing, the Patriotic Union, won a series of elections at local and federal government levels. But the elected party members were attacked or killed by the rightwing forces. 1997: United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) came into existence by three brothers whose father was killed by FARC. Its formation allowed other paramilitaries under a banner. In the first year of formation, the group killed thousands of FARC guerrillas along with its sympathizers. Rebel group FARC and ELN and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia were declared terrorists groups by the US state department. 1999: around 3000 people were kidnapped by the guerrillas during a war between the FARC and Bogotá. These kidnappings led to No Más protests in cities around the country. This war forced the government to come up with a plan of peace talks. 2000: Around 24 revel leaders were assassinated in a covert programme by the CIA and NSA. The programme was started after US president George W Bush expanded Bill Clinton’s military aid to Colombia in a 9 billion dollar package to bolster the army in its drug war. Between February 2002 to July 2008: Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by FARC, and this kidnapping ended the peace talks. This action forced president, Alvaro Uribe to began a new campaign against the group. This action that included modernized army and the US aid resulted in decrease of the number of rebels to 8000 from 16000 in 2001. Later, the FARC leader Marulanda due to heart attack after which Betancourt was freed along with other hostages. February 2012-2014: Programme of kidnappings was closed by the FARC and enters into the peace talks again with Juan Manuel Santos’s new administration. But it continued ceasefire never came into effect. June-September 2015: Unilateral ceasefire was declared by FARC and the talks continued in Cuba under President Castro regime. June 2016: The peace talks hosted by Castro resulted in signing of a bilateral ceasefire between Colombian government and FARC leaders in Havana.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bihar government notified Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Bihar government on 2 October 2016 notified Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. This new liquor ban could land drinkers in jail for up to 7 years with a fine of at least 1 lakh rupees.

The notification came two days after the Patna High Court quashed its order on banning alcohol consumption. The High Court quashed it by terming its provisions as ultra vires of the Constitution.

The decision of notification was taken in a special cabinet meeting which was chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Chief Minister said that after imposition of ban on liquor in the state financial condition of the people has been strengthened and behavioural social change across the state is being seen.

As per reports, the state government has decided to approach the Supreme Court against the Patna High Court’s order that quashed the state’s April 5 notification related to amendments in the old Excise Act.

Some provisions of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

• The act creates a framework for the levy of excise duty and imposes a prohibition on alcohol in Bihar.

• Prohibition on the manufacture, sale, storage and consumption of alcohol was imposed in Bihar earlier in 2016, by amending the Bihar Excise Act, 1915.  The Bill replaces the 1915 Act and the Bihar Prohibition Act, 1938.

• It imposes a prohibition on the manufacture, bottling, distribution, transportation, collection, storage, possession, sale and consumption of alcohol or any other intoxicant specified by the state government.  However, it also allows the state government to renew existing licenses, or allow any state owned company to undertake any of these activities (such as manufacture, distribution, etc.).

• It calls for at least 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of at least one lakh rupees to the family members and occupants of a land or a building as offenders.

Constitutional provisions that seems to be violated by the Act are

The provisions of the Act violate Article 12 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Article 14 talks of the equality before law. It protects individuals from any arbitrary actions of the state. One may argue that imposition of criminal liability on family members and owner or occupants of the building, for the action of another person is arbitrary in nature.

Article 21 talks of about the protection of life and personal liberty in which no person should be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The meaning of the same interpreted by the Courts is that any procedure established by law should be fair and reasonable. It needs to be examined whether presuming that family members of an offender, and owner or occupant of the building knew about the offence, and making them criminally liable, is reasonable.

The interesting fact about the Act is that it calls for at least 10 years of imprisonment. But under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 the imprisonment of at least 10 years is attracted in crimes such as use of acid to cause injury, or trafficking of a minor. Other states where a prohibition is imposed calls for a lower imprisonment terms for offences of alcohol. Gujarat calls for at least seven years and Nagaland calls for maximum three years of imprisonment.

SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya gets one year extension

The Union Government on 1 October 2016 gave a year extension to Arundhati Bhattacharya as the Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), first time in the history of the country's largest lender.

The extension will come to effect from 7 October 2016. The extension will help in smooth transition at a time when SBI's consolidation with its associate banks is underway.

Arundhati Bhattacharya

• She is an Indian banker and currently the Chair-Managing director of the State Bank of India (SBI).

• She is the first woman to be the Chairperson of State Bank of India.

• She joined SBI in September 1977 as a probationary officer at the age 22.

• During her 36-year career, she held several positions with the bank, including working in foreign exchange, treasury, retail operations, human resources and investment banking.

• She is the first woman to lead an India-based Fortune 500 company.

• In 2016, she was listed as the 25th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

• She was named the 4th most powerful women in Asia Pacific by Fortune.

 

Tamil Nadu tops list of endemic flowering plants

Botanical Survey of India (BSI) in the last week of September 2016 announced that almost one of every four species of flowering plants found in India is endemic to the country. Of these,Tamil Nadu garners the highest number of species with 410.

Tamil Nadu is followed by Kerala with 357 and Maharashtra with 278.

Key highlights

• As per scientific data in a recently released book, Endemic Vascular Plants of India, of the 18259 flowering plants reported in the country, 4303 are found only in India.

• When it comes to the geographical distribution of endemic plants, the Western Ghats tops the list with about 2116 species, followed by the Eastern Himalayas with 466 species.

• At least 37 species of Black plum Syzyguim (Jamun), 10 varieties of Musa (banana), along with 274 species of orchids are found only in India.

• Four different varieties of roses, two herbs and two climbers and 12 species of jasmines are exclusively found in India.

• When it comes to spices, 45 species belong to the common black pepper family, 19 species of ginger and 13 different kinds of large cardamom.

• There are also 40 species of bamboos, which are endemic to India.

• Further some of these endemic species are restricted to only certain areas of the country, like Nepenthes khasiana, an insectivorous plant only found in the Khasi hills of Meghalaya.

• A total of 58 generea of flowering plants have been found to be endemic to India.

• As far as endemism regarding vascular plants in India is concerned, the publication reveals that of the 19635 vascular plants found in the country, 4381 are endemic. This includes 4303 angiosperms or flowering plants, 12 gymnosperms and 66 ferns and fern allies which come under the group Pteridophytes.

• Among the most widely exploited endemic plants in country is Pterocarpus santalinus, commonly known as red sandal wood, which is found only in the southern parts of the Eastern Ghats. This plant is classified as critically endangered under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category.

About Botanical Survey of India

• The Botanical Survey of India is an institution set up by the Government of India in 1890 to survey the plant resources of the Indian empire.

• The Botanical Survey was formally instituted on 13 February 1890 under the direction of Sir George King, who had been superintendent of Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta since 1871.

• King was the first ex-officio Director of BSI.

 

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates India Sanitation Conference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 September 2016 inaugurated the India Sanitation Conference (INDOSAN) in New Delhi.

During his inaugural address at INDOSAN, PM Modi said that Swachhta Abhiyan is touching people’s lives. He added that a healthy competition is now developing among cities and towns, for promoting cleanliness. He also emphasized that cleanliness is not something to be achieved by budget allocations. Rather, it is something that should become a mass movement.

During the conference, Prime Minister Modi also gave away cleanliness awards to Sindhudurg District (Maharashtra), Mandi district (Himachal Pradesh), Pune, Chandigarh and Mysore Municipal Corporations, Gangtok city (Sikkim), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Surat railway station, PGIMER Chandigarh,  heritage site Rani ki vav in Gujarat and Kendriya Vidyalaya FRI Dehradun.

About India Sanitation Conference (INDOSAN)

• INDOSAN is envisaged as an annual national event, that brings together all stakeholders working in sanitation government, NGOs, academicians, researchers, partner agencies, corporates on one platform for a shared vision.

• The conference aims at bringing together all such stakeholders, will create an opportunity for collective vision, collective understanding of the key elements of the Swachh Bharat Mission programme.

• The conference will discuss on the steps to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2019 by construction of individual, cluster & community toilets and by keeping villages clean via solid and liquid waste management through Gram Panchayats.

• It is the platform where each state will share their approaches most suitable to them to reach ODF.

 

S Sivakumar appointed as full-time member of 21st Law Commission of India

S. Sivakumar, professor at Indian Law Institute (ILI), in the last week of September 2016 was appointed as full-time member of the 21st Law Commission of India.

Earlier, Rajkot-based lawyer Abhay Bhardwaj, who had represented the accused in the 2002 Gulbarg Society Massacre case, had been selected as part-time member of the 21st Law Commission of India.

In March 2016, former Supreme Court judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan was appointed as the new Chairman of Law Commission of India.

Former Gujarat High Court judge Justice Ravi R Tripathi was also appointed as a member of the Commission.

In June 2016, Bimal Patel, Director, Gujarat National Law University was appointed as a part-time member of the 21st Law Commission of India.

About Law Commission of India

• The Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India.

• Its major function is to work for legal reform.

• Its membership primarily comprises legal experts, who are entrusted a mandate by the Government.

• The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.

• The 21st Law Commission was constituted for a period of three years from 1 September 2015.

• The commission will have its tenure only till 31 August 2018. The present Law Commission has not submitted any report till date.

• The Law commissions since 1955 have submitted 262 reports so far to the government on various subjects.

• The last report, submitted on 31 August 2015, by previous chairperson Justice AP Shah, had recommended immediate abolition of death penalty for all purposes, except terrorism-related cases.

New species of Pika discovered in the Sikkim Himalayas

Researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru have recently identified a new species of Pika named Ochotona sikimaria high up in the Sikkim Himalayas.

The Findings were published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution as a paper titled Genetics, morphology and ecology reveal a cryptic Pika lineage in the Sikkim Himalaya on 15 September 2016.

The team of researchers including Dr Uma Ramakrishnan and her collaborators probed the genetic origins of the little mammal Pika to discover an entirely new lineage, with a unique evolutionary past. 

Highlights of the Study
• Researchers used genetic tools in order to understand the origin and evolution of the Pika species commonly found in the Sikkim Himalayas and worked with Pika droppings to obtain DNA samples. 
• By comparing DNA sequences from these samples with those of commonly known Pika sequences from across the world, they concluded that there were clear differences. 
• Gaining a deeper understanding of the evolutionary history of this species, the researchers chose to compare the Sikkim Pika to its close relatives in China. 
• This analysis confirmed the fact that the new species is indeed distinct and not merely a subspecies of the Moupin Pika, as was previously believed. 
• Multiple lines of evidence, including genetics, ecology and morphometrics, were used clarify the origins of the Sikkim Pika and to establish that it is indeed a distinct species.

About Pikas

• Pikas are members of the rabbit family and live either high up in the mountains or in cold (temperate) places as they are highly cold-adapted. 
• This feature of their biology makes them sensitive to habitat loss from increasing global temperature.
• The majority of Pika species described to date are of Asian origin. 
• Pikas are particularly important because they are considered indicators of climate change based on studies in North America. 
• Unlike other mammalian species inhabiting such harsh environments, Pikas do not hibernate.
• They prepare for winter by collecting and storing hay piles for their winter food.

 

Indian-origin Kiara Nirghin wins Google Science Fair prize 2016

Indian-origin South African girl Kiara Nirghin on 1 October 2016 won the Google Science Fair prize 2016. She won this grand prize of 50000 US dollars scholarship for using orange peel to develop a cheaper super-absorbent material that helps soil retain water.

Kiara Nirghin is a Grade 11 student at St Martin’s private school. She did a project titled No More Thirsty Crops which was aimed at tackling the severe drought plaguing South Africa. Her solution to the problem of drought uses orange and avocado fruit peel, which are normally discarded.

The Google Science Fair is a programme for budding scientists between the ages of 13 to 18, who are invited to solve the world’s biggest challenges using science and technology.

Highlights of the Nirghin's Project
• The fruit peel serves perfect alternative to super-absorbent polymers (SAPs), which absorb and carry about 300 times their weight in liquid relative to their own mass.
• These SAPs are not biodegradable, are costly and full of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals. 
• It was after 45 days of experimentation that Nirghin was successful in creating a low-cost super-absorbent polymer, made out of waste products from the juice manufacturing industry. 
• This polymer can retain large amounts of water, keep soil moist and improve crop growth without regular water supplements.

 

World Habitat Day 2016 observed across the world

First Monday of October: World Habitat Day

The World Habitat Day was on 3 October 2016 observed across the world with the theme Housing at the Centre.

The 2016 World Habitat Day campaign aims to raise awareness about the need for affordable housing for all in urban areas, towns and cities.

Focus of the theme

• Access to adequate housing is a global challenge growing fast with urbanization. Around one quarter of the world’s urban population continues to live in slums and informal settlements.

• An increasing number of urban dwellers, especially the poor and vulnerable groups (women, migrants, persons with disabilities and HIV, elder, youth and LGBT) are living in precarious conditions, addressing their housing needs informally, lacking access to basic services and living space, isolated from livelihood opportunities and vulnerable to forced evictions or homelessness.

• Every day, as people are born in or move to urban centres in search of opportunities, the demand for housing grows.

• Globally, a billion new houses are needed by 2025 to accommodate 50 million new urban dwellers per year.

Background

• World Habitat Day is observed every year on the first Monday of October throughout the world.

• It was officially designated by the United Nations and first celebrated in 1986.

• The purpose of the day is to reflect on the state of our cities and towns and the basic human right to adequate shelter.

• It also aims to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the habitat of future generations.

Nobel Prize in Medicine 2016 awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet on 3 October 2016 decided to award the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Yoshinori Ohsumi.

Ohsumi is bestowed with the prize for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy. He discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.

What is autophagy?

• Autophagy is the natural, destructive mechanism that disassembles, through a regulated process, unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components.

• It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components.

• During this process, targeted cytoplasmic constituents are isolated from the rest of the cell within a double-membraned vesicle known as an autophagosome.

• The autophagosome then fuses with a lysosome and the contents are degraded and recycled.

• Three different forms of autophagy are commonly described as macroautophagy, microautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy.

• The name autophagy was coined by Belgian biochemist Christian de Duve in 1963.

Who is Yoshinori Ohsumi?

• Yoshinori Ohsumi is a Japanese cell biologist specializing in autophagy.

• He is a professor in Tokyo Institute of Technology's Frontier Research Center.

• He received the Kyoto Prize for Basic Science in 2012.

About Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

• The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the fields of life sciences and medicine.

• It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will.

• As of 2015, 106 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to 198 men and 12 women.

• The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 to the German physiologist Emil von Behring for his work on serum therapy and the development of a vaccine against diphtheria.

• The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was Gerty Cori, who received it in 1947 for her role in elucidating the metabolism of glucose.

• The 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for discoveries concerning novel therapies against river blindness, lymphatic filariasis and malaria to William C. Campbell, Satoshi Omura and Youyou Tu.

 

Jharkhand becomes first state to implement Direct Benefit Transfer in Kerosene

Jharkhand on 1 October 2016 became India’s first state to implement Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Kerosene. The scheme is being implemented in four identified districts of the State namely Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti and Jamtara.

In a statement, Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said that under the DBT Scheme, PDS kerosene is being sold at non-subsidised price and the subsidy is being transferred to consumers directly into their bank accounts. This initiative is aimed at rationalising subsidy and plugging the leakages.

Aim: The scheme aims at eliminating subsidised Kerosene from the supply chain for targeting the beneficiaries and end pilferage and black-marketing. It also aims at cutting down adulteration of cheap cooking and lighting fuel with diesel.

DBT Scheme for Kerosene

The government had plans to implement the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Kerosene in 33 districts identified by 9 State Governments by 1 April 2016. The identified states were namely, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

But the date of its implementation was pushed back due to problems like lack of bank accounts and it’s seeding with Aadhaar number, which didn’t allowed government in creating biometric database of beneficiaries.

As a part of this scheme, implementing States will be given fiscal incentives equivalent to 75 % of subsidy saved in the first two years, 50 % of subsidy saved in third year and 25 % of subsidy saved in 4th year.

 

World Space Week observed with theme Remote Sensing: Enabling our Future

4–10 October: World Space Week

World Space Week is an annual event that is observed from 4 October to 10 October 2016 in various parts of the world including Europe and Asia. 2016 World Space Week is being observed with theme Remote Sensing: Enabling our Future.

This year's theme celebrates Earth Observation from Space for the betterment of the human race.

By Resolution 54/68 of 6 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed World Space Week, to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.

The dates recall the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, on 4 October 1957 and its entry into force on 10 October 1967, of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

Key Facts

• World Space Week is the largest annual space event in the world.

• It builds the workforce of tomorrow by inspiring students, demonstrates visible public support for the space program, educates the public about space activities, and fosters international cooperation into space outreach and education.

• Since 2007, more than 94 nations have participated in more than 2250 events with more than 1.3 million attendees.

• Each year a theme is selected by the World Space Week Association Board of Directors in close coordination with the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs.

• The theme provides broad guidance to World Space Week participants on the content of their programs.

• The theme is selected to increase the impact of World Space Week on all humanity further, by using a uniform theme globally.

4 October

Kersti Kaljulaid elected as first female President of Estonia

Kersti Kaljulaid on 3 October 2016 was elected as the President of Estonia by the parliament.

With this, Kaljulaid will become Estonia’s first female president.

Kaljulaid won vote 81-0, with 20 members absent or abstaining. Her selection follows two failed votes and weeks of heated debate.

About Kersti Kaljulaid

• Kersti Kaljulaid is the President-elect of Estonia.

• She is due to take office on 10 October 2016 as the country's fifth President.

• She will be the first woman to become President of Estonia since the country declared independence in 1918 and again in 1991.

• She will also be the youngest person elected President, aged 46.

• She graduated from Tallinn Secondary School no. 44 in 1987.

• In 1992, she graduated from University of Tartu cum laude as a biologist.

• In 2001, she graduated University of Tartu with an MBA in business management.

• In 1996–1997, she worked as a sales manager in state-owned telecom Eesti Telefon.

• In 1997–1998, she worked as a project manager in Hoiupanga Investeeringute AS.

• In 1998–1999, she worked in the investment banking department of Hansapank Markets.

• In 1999–2002, she worked as the economic advisor of Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar.

• Since May 2011, she has been the representative of Estonia in the European Court of Auditors.

 

India ratifies historic Paris Climate Agreement

India on 2 October 2016 ratified historic Paris Agreement on climate change, giving a significant push for the deal to enter into force by the end 2016. The agreement is expected to give momentum to implementation of measures at international level to control global warming.

India, the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounts for 4.1 per cent of the emissions. China and the US is the biggest carbon emitter and are jointly responsible for around 40 per cent of the global carbon emissions.

COP 21 under UNFCCC adopted Paris Agreement on Climate Change

With India's move, a total of 62 countries accounting for almost 52 per cent of emissions, have ratified the accord. The pact will come into force after it has been ratified by at least 55 countries which account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin handed over the Instrument of Ratification signed by President Pranab Mukherjee, to Santiago Villalpando, the Head of the Treaties Division at the UN in a special ceremony in New York.

The ceremony was attended by top UN officials and senior diplomats to commemorate the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s birth anniversary is observed as an International Day of Non-violence.

Union Cabinet approves ratification of Paris Agreement

In total, the 62 countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement account for about 51.89 per cent of the global gas emissions. This means for adoption, the agreement needs slightly more than 3 percent to reach the 55 per cent threshold. UN says that at least 14 other countries that together contribute about 12 per cent of global emissions have committed to ratify the pact before end of 2016.

Earlier in September 2016, the US and China had formally ratified the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris. On the other hand, it is expected that the European Union and Russia, the other two among the top five emitters, will ratify the agreement soon.

Paris Agreement

• It was adopted by more than 190 countries at the 21st Conference of Parties of UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) held in Paris in December 2015.

• It seeks to encourage global action to reduce greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This would help in preventing catastrophic effects of climate change.

• It seeks to give a momentum to actions being taken to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and raise financial and technological resources to do so.

• Initially, the Paris Agreement supposed to come into operation by 2020, the year when the existing Kyoto Protocol, the international arrangement to deal with climate change, expires. But later, the deadline was dropped and it will come into force after 30-days after the minimum ratifications are over.

• For few years, the Paris Agreement as well as the Kyoto Protocol would exist side by side.

 

Indian-American Vinaya Manchaiah named Future Leader of Audiology

Vinaya Manchaiah, an Indian-American associate professor at Lamar University in Texas, in the first week of October 2016 was named to the 2016 class of the Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology by the American Academy of Audiology.

Manchaiah is one of only a dozen individuals selected nationwide for the honour.

Who is Vinaya Manchaiah?

• Vinaya Manchaiah is originally from South India.

• He holds a PhD in disability research from Linkoping University, Sweden.

• He also holds a number of degrees including an MBA from Swansea University, United Kingdom, Doctor of Audiology from Nova Southeastern University, MS in Audiology from the University of Southampton, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Speech and Hearing from the University of Mysore, India.

• He is the co-founder and director for strategic planning for the non-profit non-governmental organisation Audiology India, for which he served as president from 2011 to 2015. The organisation seeks to foster ear and hearing health care in India.

About American Academy of Audiology

• The American Academy of Audiology is the world’s largest professional organisation of audiologists.

• The members look to provide hearing care services through education, research and increased public awareness of hearing and balance disorders.

 

MS Sahoo assumes charge as Chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India

MS Sahoo on 1 October 2016 assumed charge as Chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). The oath of the office was administered by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley.

He will serve the office will 2021.

Sahoo was recently serving as a member of anti-trust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) and was earlier a member at capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
• IBBI is a four-member Board. The members of the IBBI are Ajay Tyagi, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, GS Yadav and Unnikrishnan.
• The main activity of IBBI is to regulate the functioning of insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
• The Board will be expanded to 10 Members (including the Chairman) in the future.

 

Wildlife film-maker Prajna Chowta conferred knighthood by France

Film-maker and elephant researcher Prajna Chowta was recently appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (Knight in the National Order of Merit) by the French Government.

The official ceremony is expected to be held later in 2016 in Bengaluru.

The appointment of Chowta by the President of the French Republic comes in recognition of a life devoted to caring for wild Asian elephants.

Who is Prajna Chowta?

• Chowta is the founder of Aane Mane Foundation.

• The Foundation has been researching and conserving wild Asian elephants.

• She has also authored the Elephant Code Book on captive elephant management as well as the French book Enfant d’Elephant (Elephant’s Child)in 2014. The book is based on the sketches of tribals and their relationship with elephants.

• As a researcher, she was also instrumental in developing an online monitoring system and one of the first GPS collars for elephants in India.

• She is among the few Indian women to be appointed a Knight.

• Earlier in 2016, businesswoman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and actor Kamal Hassan were recognised under the French government’s Legion of Honour award.

About National Order of Merit

• The National Order of Merit is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic.

• It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle.

• The reason for the order’s establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ministerial orders previously awarded by the ministries; and to create an award that can be awarded at a lower level than the Legion of Honour, which is generally reserved for French citizens.

 

Jawhar Sircar resigns as CEO of Prasar Bharati Corporation

Jawhar Sircar on 3 October 2016 resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharati Corporation. His resignation came four months ahead of the end of his tenure which was about to end in February 2017.

As per rules of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, chairman or any other member may resign the office by giving notice thereof in writing to the President of India and on such resignation being accepted, the chairman or other member shall be deemed to have vacated his office.

Sircar was appointed as Prasar Bharati CEO in 2012 during the rule of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

He had also served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India from late 2008 to February 2012, where he reported directly to the Prime Minister for most of his tenure.

About Prasar Bharati
• Prasar Bharati is the Public Service Broadcaster of India.
• It is a statutory autonomous body which was established under the Prasar Bharati Act and came into existence on 23 November 1997. 
• The objectives of public service broadcasting are achieved in terms of Prasar Bharati Act, 1990 through All India Radio and Doordarshan.

 

Urban areas of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh declared open defecation free

Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh on 2 October 2016 became the first states to declare their urban areas as Open Defecation Free (ODF) on the second anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Other states that will soon declare all their urban centres as ODF are Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram and a few other Northeast states.

The mission launched by PM Narendra Modi, with its urban and rural component handled by the respective ministries, aims to make the country ODF by 2019.

Key highlights

• All 110 cities and towns in Andhra Pradesh were given the ODF tag by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at an event in Tirupati.

• Gujarat gave ODF status to each of its 180 cities and towns at a function in Porbandar attended by Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation Narendra Singh Tomar and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

• Gujarat also declared the entire district of Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, as ODF to commemorate the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2 October 2016.

What is open defecation?

• Open defecation is the practice of people defecating outside and not into a designated toilet.

• The term is widely used in literature about water, sanitation, and hygiene issues in developing countries.

• Open defecation causes public health problems in areas where people defecate in fields, urban parks, rivers, and open trenches in close proximity to the living space of others.

• High levels of open defecation in a country are usually correlated with a high child mortality, as well as high levels of undernutrition, high levels of poverty, and large disparities between rich and poor.

• About one billion people around the globe practice open defecation.

• India has the highest number of people practicing open defecation (around 190 million people).

• The other countries with the highest number of people openly defecating are Indonesia (54 million), followed by Pakistan (41 million), Nigeria (39 million), Ethiopia (34 million), and Sudan (17 million).

 

SBI becomes first domestic bank to open branch in Yangon

The State Bank of India (SBI) on 3 October 2016 became the first domestic bank of India to open a branch in the capital city of Yangon, Myanmar. Ghanshyam Srivastava will be the Chief Executive Officer of the SBI Yangon branch.

This was made possible with the permission of the Myanmarese central bank, which allowed SBI to open a branch with the primary objective of extending wholesale banking services to foreign corporates.

The Yangon branch is the 54th foreign branch of the SBI, nation's largest lender. This branch extends the global presence of SBI in 37 countries through 198 offices.

Background
India has been a major trading partner of Myanmar for centuries. Since the signing of India and Myanmar trade agreement in 1970, bilateral trade between both the countries has been growing steadily.

SBI has been associated with Myanmar since 1861, when the erstwhile Bank of Bengal operated its branch in the then Rangoon. Later, as part of bank nationalisation, the operations of the Rangoon branch of SBI were taken over by the Peoples' Bank of Burma in February 1963.

 

Karnataka starts releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for irrigation purpose

Karnataka on 3 October 2016 started releasing Cauvery water from Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam. It was released after the legislature passed a Resolution authorizing the state government to take appropriate decisions to release water.

Resolution: The resolution states that the government will take an appropriate decision regarding the release of water for irrigation purposes after ensuring the drinking water requirements of the state.

The move comes after the Supreme Court asked Karnataka government to apprise it whether it has released water to Tamil Nadu or not. On 30 September 2016, the Supreme Court directed Karnataka to discharge 6000 cusecs water from 1 to 6 October 2016.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that about 1300 cusecs of water is flowing into Tamil Nadu every day through seepage. If water is released to irrigation canals in the basin region, then additional 3000 cusecs will flow down to the neighbouring state through seepage.

Besides, the Union Government informed the Supreme Court that it can’t direct the government on constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board. It said the issue fell under the domain of the legislature. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that the government is setting up a technical panel to assess the ground realities to defuse the wrangle between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, the Union Government moved to the apex court seeking modification of its order asking it to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board.

 

Ashish Vohra appointed as CEO of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Ltd

Ashish Vohra was on 3 October 2016 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Ltd. The position of CEO of the company was lying vacant after Anup Rau left the company in June 2016.

Prior to this appointment, Vohra was working at Max Life Insurance.

About Ashish Vohra
• Vohra is a mechanical engineer from IIT BHU and an MBA from IIM Bangalore.
• He has over 25-years of experience with various companies including Max Life Insurance, Fullerton India Credit, Citibank and Eicher Motors.
• He spent 8 years with Max Life Insurance and served as Senior Director and Chief Distribution Officer.
• Prior to joining Max Life, Ashish was Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Business at Fullerton India Credit Corporation.
• He has also served a long stint with Eicher Motors earlier.

About Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Ltd
• Reliance Life Nippon Life Insurance is a 51:49 joint venture between Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital and Nippon Life Insurance of Japan, a Global Fortune 500 company. 
• It is one of the largest non-bank supported private life insurers with over 10 million policy holders, a strong distribution network of over 800 branches and over 100000 advisors.
• It is rated amongst the Top 3 Most Trusted Life Insurance Service Brands by Brand Equity‘s Most Trusted Brands Survey 2015.

 

David Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane And Michael Kosterlitz won 2016 Nobel Prize In Physics

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics was on 4 October 2016 one half awarded to David J Thouless and the other half jointly to F Duncan M Haldane and J Michael Kosterlitz for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter.

David J Thouless is a Emeritus Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. While, F. Duncan M. Haldane is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Princeton University, USA and J Michael Kosterlitz is the Harrison E. Farnsworth Professor of Physics at Brown University, USA.

All three will jointly share the 8 million Swedish kronor prize.

Discoveries of all three Laureates
• All three Laureates used topological concepts in physics for their discoveries. 
• In the early 1970s, Michael Kosterlitz and David Thouless overturned the then current theory that superconductivity or suprafluidity could not occur in thin layers. 
• They demonstrated that superconductivity could occur at low temperatures and also explained the mechanism, phase transition, that makes superconductivity disappear at higher temperatures.
• In the 1980s, Thouless was able to explain a previous experiment with very thin electrically conducting layers in which conductance was precisely measured as integer steps. 
• At around the same time, Duncan Haldane discovered how topological concepts can be used to understand the properties of chains of small magnets found in some materials.