5-6 August 2015
5 August
Rural Development Minister launched ‘SAMANVAY’ for Gram Panchayats
Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh on 4 August 2015 launched SAMANVAY, a compilation of all schemes of both Union and State governments for Gram Panchayats.
SAMANVAY was launched with an aim to help MPs in utilising relevant schemes in the planning and implementation of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). It will also act as a database for mapped and compiled information on various gram panchayat activities through schemes undertaken by the Centre and State Governments.
More than 1800 state schemes from across all states have been documented in SAMANVAY.
Besides, the Singh also launched 'Panchayat Darpan' magazine to monitor the progress of the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. It will act as a mirror of all the development activities in the village panchayats.
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was launched in October 2014 under which MPs are to develop three Adarsh Gram Panchayats by 2019. The objective of the programme is to create Model Villages.
British singer Cilla Black passed away
Legendary British singer Cilla Black, who had a 50-year music and television career, passed away on 1 August 2015 in Estepona, southern Spain. She was 72.
Black was known for such her 60s and 70s hits such as Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re My World. Both the songs went to Number 1 position in Britain and the latter also charted in the United States.
She also saw her success with the Bacharach-David theme tune for the 1966 film Alfie and recorded several Beatles songs including The Long and Winding Road. She also hosted a BBC variety show named Cilla.
She became a British television fixture as the host of matchmaking game show Blind Date between 1985 and 2003 and a heart warming program Surprise Surprise between 1984 and 2001.
Black was born as Priscilla White in Liverpool, Northwest England in 1943.
Kamayani Express & Mumbai-Jabalpur Janata Express derailed over Machak River of MP
Machak River, Madhya Pradesh: Two trains, Kamayani Express and Mumbai-Jabalpur Janata Express derailed
Two trains, Kamayani Express and Mumbai-Jabalpur Janata Express, derailed while crossing a swollen Machak river in Harda District of Madhya Pradesh (MP) on 4 August 2015. The twin-train derailment claimed lives of at least 20 people and injured over 60.
According to West Central Railway PRO Piyush Mathur, seven coaches of Kamayani Express and three coaches and Engine of Janata Express derailed after base material on the tracks got washed away in heavy rain. The mishap took place at 11.30 PM.
Railway has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Commissioner Railway Safety (Central Zone) will conduct the probe. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu also announced an ex-gratia payment of two lakh rupees each to the kins of the dead.
Snapdeal launched Snapdeal Instant to make instant delivery of packages
eCommerce firm Snapdeal on 4 August 2015 launched its new service named Snapdeal Instant to enable delivery of packages to customers as early as within an hour of placing the order.
Snapdeal Instant is aimed at further improving customer experience on the eCommerce platform by enabling faster deliveries and maintaining product quality at the same time.
Highlights of Snapdeal Instant
• Based on hyperlocal delivery approach, Snapdeal will allow sellers to ship the product directly to consumers through its courier partners or via its fulfilment centres.
• Customers need not pay out extra for getting their products delivered faster, but this service is currently limited to packages weighing below 5 kg.
• Initially, this service will be available in three cities Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and later it will be extended to eight major cities by October 2015.
Jharkhand empowered ACB to arrest Ministers & civil servants in bribery cases without permission
Jharkhand Government on 4 August 2015 empowered Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to arrest Minister, MLA and senior civil servants without taking permission from the concerned authorities in cases of being caught on taking bribes.
The decision to change the rule of ACB was taken during the state’s cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das. With this, the earlier known Vigilance Bureau has been given new name and greater power.
Besides, the Cabinet also decided to provide tab to all girl students of 8th standards of state- run Kasturba Gandhi schools. There are about eight thousands students in class eight of total 203 Kasturba Gandhi Schools in Jharkhand.
Delhi Government decided to have tram network in Old Delhi
Delhi government on 4 August 2015 decided to run trams in several walled city areas including Lal Quila, Jama Masjid and Old Delhi Railway Station. The decision was taken to augment transport infrastructure of the city.
The tram network in Old Delhi will comprise Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Sheeshganj Gurudwara, Old Delhi Railway Station and Fatehpuri Masjid. It will also link New Delhi Railway Station and several other localities.
Besides, the government also decided to make Shahjahanad Redevelopment Corporation, set up to carry out infrastructure projects in Old Delhi, on the lines of New Delhi Municipal Council.
As of 2014, the Kolkata tram in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the only public tram system in the country.
Maharashtra government increased the retirement age of medical officers from 58 to 60
Maharashtra government on 4 August 2015 increased the retirement age for group 'A' category medical officersfrom 58 to 60 years. The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai and will be implemented with retrospective effect from 31 May 2015.
This means that the relaxation will be provided for all those who retired on 31 May 2015.
The state government also decided to award special increments to officers holding post graduate diplomas and degrees to ensure availability of sufficient human resources to provide health services.
Besides, the Cabinet approved a proposal to amend the lacunae in theTransplantation of Human Organs Act 1994, and increase quantum of punishment for crimes pertaining to human organ transplants.
It also decided to grant financial assistance to three new cotton mills that will generate employment for about 1000 people.
SHEFROL: An Eco-friendly way of treating water
Scientific technology named SHEFROL (SHEet Flow ROot Level)was in news in the first week of August 2015. It was in news as the SHEFROL-based waste water treatment plant built at Chinna Kalapet fishing hamlet in Puducherry, was found to be successful.
The waste water treatment plant was set up in November 2014 by PhD student Ashraf Bhat as part of his thesis work with the guidance of Assistant Professor Tasneem Bhat. Both are from the Centre for Pollution Control and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Pondicherry University.
The plant uses clean, green and inexpensive technology called SHEFROL method to treat wastewater using two aquatic plants, four leaf clover and water hyacinth.
Highlights of waste water treatment plant
• The plant was designed by Professor SA Abbasi from Pondicherry University. The plant measures around 9 metres and has a capacity of 10000 litres.
• This bio-reactor uses the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) to absorb nutrients, pathogens and micro organisms from water.
• The plant consists of sand bags placed in pits and channels, a sedimentation tank and a non-permeable sheet which ensures wastewater does not seep into the ground.
• The treated water is used to irrigate a patch of Casuarina saplings.
• This plant takes only six hours to treat wastewater. It also rids it of its turbidity and smell.
SHEFROL technology
The SHEFROL technology was first tested within the Pondicherry University in 2006 to treat the wastewater for one building. Subsequently, two more plants were installed in the university using the same technology, which uses duckweed, water hyacinth and salvinia.
The SHEFROL technology can be used anywhere. It makes use of the topography and gravity, thus doing away with the requirement of pumping water.
A patent claim for the SHEFROL technology, backed financially by the Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology, was registered in 2011, and published in the Official Journal of The Patent Office, India.
Though the technology has been patented, the inventors are offering free transfer of technology to communities and in public interest It is inexpensive, efficient, simple, robust and eco-friendly.
Uttar Pradesh government decided to rename UPTU as APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Cabinet on 4 August 2015 approved UP Technical University (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The amendment was approved during a state cabinet meet chaired by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
The Bill amends the UP Technical University Act, 2000to rename the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (APJAKTU), Uttar Pradesh in the honour of 11th President of India.
Former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, 83, passed away in Shillong on 27 July 2015 after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture to students at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
The cabinet also decided to create a memorial and central library in memory of Kalam and other famous scientists at the new campus of the University.
Earlier during the Mayawati-led government in 2010, the University was bifurcated into Gautam Budha Technical University (GBTU) and Mahamaya Technical University (MTU) to be restored by its original name in 2013 by Akhilesh Yadav-led government.
Mathematician Amalendu Krishna won 2015 Ramanujan Prize
Mathematician Doctor Amalendu Krishna on 3 August 2015 won the Ramanujan Prize for year 2015. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions in the area of algebraic cycles, algebraic K-theory and the theory of motives.
Presently, Krishna is a mathematician professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
He hails from Bihar and had completed his early college and schooling from there itself. From 2001 til 2004, he taught mathematics as the Hedrick Assistant Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Krishna is the second Indian to win this award, first was Sujatha Ramadorai who had won the award in 2006.
About Ramanujan Prize
• Constituted in 2005, the award is named after the noted Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
• The award recognizes a researcher from a developing country who has conducted outstanding research in a developing country and is less than 45 years of age.
• It is awarded jointly by Italy based International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Department of Science and Technology (DoST) of India and the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
• The award carries a citation and a monetary prize of 15000 US dollars.
Last surviving Dambusters Pilot Les Munro died
The last surviving Dambusters pilot, Les Munro, died on 4 August 2015 in New Zealand following heart problems. He was 96.
Les Munro was among the pilots who took part in the legendary Dambusters operation of World War II in 1943. The operation consisted of using bouncing bombs to attack German dams. Out of 133 crew members, only 77 returned after the war. There are now only two surviving crew members of the Dambusters missions.
Munro retired in 1946, although he became a local hero with a street named after him in his home town of Te Kuiti, in New Zealand’s North Island. However, Munro was still flying at the age of 95 and had co-piloted an Avro Anson plane in January 2015.
Munro was born into a farming family on New Zealand’s east coast and got enlisted in the New Zealand air force in 1941.
Dambusters mission
• On the night of 16 May 1943, 19 bombers left RAF Scampton near Lincoln in three waves. The first wave headed to the Mohne and the Eder Dams, the second and third headed to the Sorpe dam.
• Out of the 133 crew that set off, only 77 returned including Squadron Leader Munro, who made it home after flak destroyed the internal and external communications in his Lancaster bomber over the Netherlands.
• The Sorpe Dam was damaged but the Mohne and Eder Dams were destroyed, flooding the Ruhr valley and killing an estimated 1300 people, mostly civilians.
Two films Masaan & Jaanisaar made tax free in UP
Uttar Pradesh Government on 4 August 2015 announced that two films namelyMasaan and Jaanisaarwill be free from the entertainment tax in the state. They were made tax free as they were entirely shot in Uttar Pradesh.
The decision to make these films tax free in the state, under Section 11 (1) of the Uttar Pradesh Entertainment and Betting Tax Act, 1979, was taken during a cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Masaan, an Indian Hindi drama film directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and written by Sudhish Kamath is set in Varanasi. ‘Masaan’ follows the stories of four people from a small town and how they fit in to the moralities. Earlier, the film was screed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festivalwinning two awards.
Jaanisaar, film directed by Muzaffar Aliis, is a love saga of a revolutionary courtesan of Avadh, India, and a prince brought up in England, set 20 years after the first war of Indian independence of 1857. A period drama set in 1877, the film depicts the story of a revolutionary dancer. The film was initially titled Raqs: The Dance Within, but was later changed to Jaanisaar.
Bihar legislative Assembly passed the Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015
Bihar legislative Assembly on 4 August 2015 passed the Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015. The Bill was introduced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the bill was passed by a voice vote.
The Bill is aimed at empowering the people to seek redressal of their grievances by government servants in a time-bound manner.
Under the proposed legislation, rules will be framed to make the government servants duty-bound to dispose grievances of the people in a time-bound manner and their failure to do so would amount to misconduct for which errant officials could be dismissed from service or will be penalised to pay 500 to 5000 rupees on failure to hear and redress grievances.
As per the proposed legislation, Public Grievance Redressal Officer and the first and second Appellate Authorities will have the same powers as vested in a civil court while trying a suit under criminal panel code and can summon any person and examine him on oath and receive evidence on affidavits.
Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015 will come into effect from the date of framing of rules in this regard.
6 August
Union Cabinet approved direct release of wages into bank accounts of MNREGA workers
The Union Cabinet on 5 August 2015 approved release of wages directly to the accounts of the workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The decision in this regard was taken by the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi.
As per the scheme, the wage component of MGNREGA will be released following the State Employment Guarantee Fund window directly to the worker's accounts. The transfer will be based on a fund transfer order to be generated by states' implementing agencies in accordance with procedures prescribed by Rural Development Ministry.
The decision is aimed at further streamlining the flow of funds and to empower state governments to deliver entitlements as per the objectives of the Act.
The proposed system would benefit all stakeholders and improve overall efficiency of implementation. The scheme will also ensure bring greater transparency in movement of funds and lesser levels of corruption in MNREGA.
The gram panchayats would also be empowered to take up work according to the agreed labour budget, without struggling for release of funds. After this scheme the state governments would be able to spend more time in planning and improving the process efficiency, without bothering to manage funds for implementation of scheme.
India, Mozambique signed MoU to boost ties in Renewable Energy Sector
India and Mozambique on 5 August 2015 signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable Energy Sector. The agreement was signed during the official visit of Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique to India.
Moreover, both nations also agreed to intensify cooperation in maritime security and ocean economy as both the countries have large coastlines and are linked by Indian Ocean.
India’s strong relation with this south eastern African nation will play important larger role in its foreign policy in Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Mozambique will also play prominent role to meet India’s energy security as it is a proximate source of natural gas, coal and other minerals.
India and Mozambique
India and Mozambique share a history of profitable trade relations and their bilateral trade in 2014-15 was valued at 2.4 billion US dollars. The trade between the two countries has multiplied five times in the last five years.
Indian investments in Mozambique are presently valued at over 7 billion US dollars primarily in the hydrocarbon and coal sectors. India is also an important destination for Mozambicans for higher education and high quality health care facilities.
Forbes released the World's Highest-Paid Actors 2015 list
Forbes on 4 August 2015 released the list of 2015 World's Highest-Paid Actors. The list, that includes names of 34 global actors, was topped by Robert Downey Jr., for the third year in a row, with earnings of 80 million US dollars.
Jackie Chan was placed at the second place in the list with earnings of 50 million US dollars. Vin Diesel stood at the third spot with earnings of 47 million US dollars.
Top ten in the list are
• Robert Downey Jr. stood at top position in the list with earnings of 80 Million US dollars
• Jackie Chan stood at second position with earnings of 50 Million US dollars
• Vin Diesel stood at third position with earnings of 47 Million US dollars
• Bradley Cooper stood at fourth position with earnings of 41.5 Million US dollars
• Adam Sandler with stood at fifth position with earnings of 41 Million US dollars
• Tom Cruise stood at sixth position with earnings of 40 Million US dollars
• Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan stood at seventh position with earnings of 33.5 Million US dollar
• Akshay Kumar stood at ninth position with earnings of 32.5 Million US dollars
• Mark Wahlberg stood at tenth position with earnings of 32 Million US dollars
Indian Actors in the list of 2015 World's Highest-Paid Actors
The Forbes list also includes the names 12 newcomers of which five are from India alone. The Indian stars stood at the second position with combined earnings of 140.5 million US dollar, just after the US.
The list figures five bollywood actors of which three are ranked among top 10 highest-paid actors.
The three Indian actors ranked among top 10 highest paid actors are Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan at No. 7 and Akshay Kumar at 9th position.
The other two Bollywood actors in the list are Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor.
Murugappa Group signed agreement with Organo Corp to form Joint Venture
The water treatment engineering company Polutech Limited of Murugappa Group on 4 August 2015 signed an agreement with Japan-based Organo Corp to form a Joint venture (JV) of an industrial water treatment requirement company.
As per the agreement, the Murugappa Group will hold 51 percent in JV and the remaining portion will be with the Organo Group. The estimated new venture will deal in industrial water treatment requirements services to meet growing demand of industries for waste water management.
Murugappa Group’s Polutech manufactures equipment and designing systems for water and waste water treatment plants. It is a complete turnkey solution provider in raw water and effluent treatment systems and claims to have executed numerous projects over 30 years across industries.
While, Organo is a key player in general water treatment engineering. It provides water treatment systems, management and maintenance of delivered systems and also deals in sales of standard products and chemicals.
Multi Application Solar Telescope operationalised at Udaipur Solar Observatory
Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST), a telescope for the detailed study of the solar activity including its magnetic field, was operationalised at the Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO) of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).
MAST is an off-axis Gregorian-Coude telescope with a 50 cm aperture.
Mast, built by Mechanical and Optical Systems (AMOS) of Belgium, was tested by USO for onsite acceptance. Its back-end instruments were developed in-house at USO and include an adaptive optics system and a narrow band imaging polarimeter using a tandem Fabry-Perot etalon pair and LCVR polarimetric module.
Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST)
• Multi Application Solar Telescope’s dome is a collapsible dome made of tensile fabric.
• It will be used to measure vector magnetic fields of active regions at different heights of the solar atmosphere.
• It will also be used to study seismic effects of solar flares.
Test results accumulated over a year was examined by a committee of experts and telescope was made operationalised on 16 June 2015.
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)
PRL is an autonomous unit of the Department of Space and is a premier research institute engaged in basic research in the areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Solar Physics, Planetary Science and Exploration, Space and Atmospheric Sciences, Geosciences and Theoretical Physics.
Its main campus is located at Ahmedabad and it also has two other campuses at Mt. Abu and Udaipur, hosting the Infrared Telescope and a Multi-Application-Solar Telescope (MAST), respectively. The planetary exploration (PLANEX) programme and the astronomy group are housed in the fourth campus at Thaltej, close to Ahmedabad.
Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO)
The USO considered as the best solar observing site in Asia is situated on an island in the middle of the Lake Fatehsagar of Udaipur, Rajasthan as the sky conditions at Udaipur are quite favourable for solar observations.
The large water body surrounding the telescopes decreases the amount of heating of the surface layers.
This decreases the turbulence in the air mass and thereby improves the image quality and seeing. The main objective of obtaining the high spatial and temporal resolution observations of solar photospheric and chromospheric activity is to understand the various dynamic phenomena occurring on the surface of the Sun.
The observatory was built in 1976 by Dr. Arvind Bhatnagar following the model of the Solar Observatory at Big Bear Lake in Southern California.
Bedies, it is decided that an another instrument, viz., a spectropolarimeter, has been developed at ISRO Satellite Centre, which will be soon deployed at MAST.
FICCI, ILO signed MoU to establish National Coordination Centre for SCORE Training Services
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on 5 August 2015 signed the Phase II of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation for establishing a National Coordination Centre for Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE)Training Services in India.
The MoU will contribute to holistic development of the SMEs in India from the perspective of skill development, employees’ relation and better business efficiency.
The objective of the MoU is to draw a framework for coordination and cooperation between the ILO and AIOE/FICCI that will result in phase-wise capacity building of the ‘Centre’ in the national coordination of SCORE training services in India.
This MoU sets forth the detailed goals and objectives agreed to by the two organisations for collaboration during Phase I of SCORE institutionalization, and the terms and conditions under which they will cooperate to achieve these goals and objectives.
In line with the objective of SCORE, ILO is entrusted with building capacity of FICCI in three phases to enable the industry body to effectively coordinate and manage SCORE training services.
Each phase will be approximately for a year or more and will be governed by a technical partnership agreement.
Haryana’s CM Manohar Lal launched ‘Thari Pension Thare Pass’ scheme
Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar on 4 August 2015 launched scheme named Thari Pension Thare Pass in Chandigarh.
Khattar launched the scheme by pressing a button that allowed transfer of social security pensions of July 2015 amounting to about 119 crore rupees directly into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries under the scheme.
He also transferred the arrear of pension from March to June 2015 amounting to 13.23 crore rupees.
The scheme launched with a view to ensure transparency in disbursement of social security pensions will be implemented phase wise.
In the first phase, over ten lakh beneficiaries living in 1744 villages and 81 towns of the state would get pensions through banks and post offices. The residents of other villages would, for the time being, get the pension manually.
Features of the scheme
• The beneficiaries of social security schemes would get their pension through different methods including Banks, Branch Post Offices, Resident Business Correspondent Agents (BCAs), Additional BCAs, Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS), Vodafone M-Pesa, Common Service Centres and Gramin Dak Sewaks.
• The beneficiaries could withdraw the amount as per their requirement as and when they feel convenient.
• Those villages where there are no bank branches, pension would be disbursed through Business Correspondent Agents (BCAs) of banks located in the nearby villages and through Post Offices.
• Those beneficiaries who are above 80 years of age and are not physically fit to go to banks to collect their pension would be given pension at their door step.
At present there are over 23.3 lakh beneficiaries getting benefit under various social security schemes upon which an expenditure of 270 crores rupees monthly is being incurred.
Zhanna Nemtsova awarded with Poland's Solidarity Prize 2015
Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of slain Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, was on 5 August 2015 awarded with Poland's Solidarity Prize 2015. Nemtsova received the award for championing democracy and human rights.
She received 1.1 million US dollars human rights prize as a recognition. Presently, Nemtsova works for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in Berlin.
Nemtsova, a former journalist at Russian business news channel RBK, left Russia in June 2014 after her father was assassinated by unknown assailants on 27 February 2014.
About Solidarity Prize
• The Solidarity Prize was named after the trade union launched by anti-communist icon and former Polish President Lech Walesa.
• The award was set up in 2014 to mark the 25th anniversary of Poland's semi-free elections in 1989, signaling the end of communism across the Soviet bloc.
BSNL’s proposal to hive its towers into a new company got approval from Union Cabinet
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi approved the proposal of hiving about 65000 towers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a new company on 5 August 2015.
This will help BSNL to realign its structure in the highly competitive telecom sector. It will also help the public sector company to unlock its tower assets and improve its financial position.
The Telecom Department will constitute an inter-ministerial group for working out capital structure and organizational structure of the new company.
Apart from this, the Union Cabinet also cleared financial assistance of 627 crore rupees to BSNL and MTNL for surrendering 800 MHz telecom spectrum in some circles.
The Cabinet decision to separate the tower assets was prompted by BSNL’s inability to make much headway in generating revenue from sharing the assets with other telecom service providers.
BSNL mobile tower assets consist of about 64500 towers and more than 50000 tower sites have optical fibre cable connectivity. The company expects valuation of its mobile tower company to be to the tune of 20000 crore rupees.
Other decisions taken during the Cabinet meet includes
• Nod for providing one rank one pension facility for retired High Court judges. It also cleared amendments to arbitration law for faster disposal of commercial disputes.
• Nod to a proposal to sign an agreement with UNESCO for establishment of a Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia-Pacific region at the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun as a category-2 centre of the UN body.
NASA signed 490 million US dollars contract with Russia for International Space Station travel
NASA on 5 August 2015 signed a contract worth 490 million US dollars with Russia's space agency Roscosmos for carrying the US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The contract was signed amid a lack of Congressional funding.
The US space agency in a statement said that the US will continue to rely exclusively on Russia to take astronauts to the orbiting outpost under the new contract, which runs until 2019.
NASA further said a lack of funding for development of private vessels by US companies Boeing and Space-X over the last five years has left NASA with no other option. As a result, the US will pay for use of space vessels belonging to the Roscosmos.
The US has been dependent on Russia for ISS access since it ended its space shuttle program in July 2012.
CBDT signed two unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements to usher in tax certainty
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 3 August 2015 signed two unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with two Multi-National Companies (MNCs). The aim of the APAs is to user in an era of certainty in taxation.
This includes for the first time an APA with “Rollback” provision which means extending the tax certainty for nine financial years as against five years in APAs without “Rollback”.
With this, the CBDT has so far signed 14 APAs of which 13 are unilateral APAs and one is a bilateral APA. The 14 APAs signed relate to various sectors like telecommunication, oil exploration, pharmaceuticals, finance/banking, software development services and ITeS (BPOs).
What are APAs?
APAs are a means to settle transfer prices and of setting prices of international transactions in advance. There are two types of APAS, viz., unilateral APA and bilateral APA.
Unilateral APAs are those agreements that are agreed between Indian taxpayers and the CBDT, without involvement of the tax authorities of the country where the associated enterprise is based. On the other hand, bilateral APAs are those which include agreements between the tax authorities of the two countries.
Bharti Airtel launched 4G services in 296 towns across India
Bharti Airtel on 6 August 2015 launched pan-India 4G high-speed data services. The service was launched in 296 towns across India and it will be available to customers through 4G-enabled mobile phones, internet dongles and Wi-Fi routers.
With this the largest telecom company of India became the first company to roll out the pan-India 4G network which is built on an open partner ecosystem model.
In order to roll out the 4G services, Airtelhas exclusively partnered with mobile manufacturer major Samsung and 4G service will be available at 3G prices with packs starting at 25 rupees.
Besides, Airtel also announced the launch of a carrier agnostic mobile app ‘Wynk Movies’ that offers a library of thousands of movies and other popular videos.
The launch of Wynk Movies after the successful launch of Wynk Music establishes Airtel as the only mobile operator in India to offer OTT (Over-the-Top) mobile applications that work across carriers.
Bharti Airtel launched the first 4G services in India in Kolkata in April 2012 and until now it was available in 15 select cities. These cities were – Bangalore, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Nagpur, Patiala, Pune and Nasik.
World War-II hero Colonel Harwant Singh passed away
Colonel Harwant Singh (retd), a World War-II hero, died on 4 August 2015 at Patiala. He was 95. He was officer-in-charge of the flag hoisting ceremony on the first Independence Day of India in 1947.
Commissioned in 2nd battalion of the Sikh Regiment in September 1941, Singh served in Iraq, Palestine, North Africa, Cyprus and Italy during World War-II for the British Army. On the outbreak of hostilities with Pakistan in October 1947, colonel Harwant Singh was one of the leading company commanders who was airlifted to Srinagar.
Later in 1951, he was transferred to the Rajputana Rifles when the state forces began to be merged with the Indian army. He commanded 18 Rajputana Rifles, 6 Rajputana Rifles and the Rajputana Regimental Centre.
He was awarded with the Military Cross in 1944 for gallantry during an offensive against the German forces in Italy. The Military Cross is the highest award of the British Army.
Lok Sabha passed Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015
The Lok Sabha on 5 August 2015 passed the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on 17 February 2014 and was passed by Rajya Sabha on 6 May 2015. The Bill amends the Delhi High Court Act, 1966.
With the passage of the bill in Parliament, the protesting district court lawyers called off their two-week-long strike. The Bill will affect 12211 cases pending in the High Court, according to data cited by the Departmental Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
Provisions of the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015
• It increases the pecuniary jurisdiction of district courts from 20 lakh rupees to 2 crore rupees.
• It proposes that civil suits up to 2 crore rupees will be heard by the 11 district courts in the city instead of the Delhi High Court. Litigants will no longer have to travel to the High Court only.
• It empowers the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to transfer any pending suit to a relevant subordinate court.
About Pecuniary jurisdiction
Pecuniary jurisdiction refers to the jurisdiction of a court over a suit based on the amount or value of its subject matter. Earlier, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Delhi high court was 20 lakh rupees.
Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi passed away
Arnold Scaasi, the Canadian Fashion Designer, died on 4 August 2015 following cardiac arrest in New York. He was 85. Scaasi was known for his exuberant creations that were worn by socialites and Hollywood stars.
Scaasi was known for bringing the techniques of the French couture to prominent American women. Among them were Barbra Streisand, who wore a sheer, sequined, broadly bell-bottomed pantsuit designed by Scaasi to the 1969 Academy Awards and Barbara Bush, wife of George Bush.
Scaasi also designed formal wear for first ladies Mamie Eisenhower, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. Scaasi's most devoted clients were Joan Crawford, Joan Rivers, Elizabeth Taylor, Diahann Carroll and Mary Tyler Moore.
Scaasi was presented with the Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 for his creations.