7-8 july2015
7 july
Maldives submitted instrument of acceptance of Doha amendment to Kyoto Protocol to UNFCC
Maldives on 1 July 2015 submitted its instrument of acceptance of the Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The Doha amendment was agreed in the Qatari capital in 2012 by all the members of the UNFCC.
So far, 35 Parties have accepted the extension and 144 (3/4 of 192) parties are required to bring the Kyoto Protocol Extension into force.
The extension to the protocol became necessary against the backdrop of pending negotiations on replacement to the Kyoto Protocol that is set to be finalized in 2015 and come into force in 2021.
The Kyoto Protocol (KP) was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at Conference of Parties (COP) 7 in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2001, and are referred to as the Marrakesh Accords.
It was based on the common but differentiated responsibilities principle and first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012.
Doha Amendments to KP
In Doha on 8 December 2012, the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was adopted by the members of the UNFCC. The amendment includes:
• New commitments for Annex I Parties (developed countries) to the Kyoto Protocol who agreed to take on commitments in a second commitment period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020.
• A revised list of greenhouse gases (GHG) to be reported on by Parties in the second commitment period
• Amendments to several articles of the Kyoto Protocol which specifically referenced issues pertaining to the first commitment period and which needed to be updated for the second commitment period.
Difference between first commitment period and second commitment period
37 industrialized countries and the European Community committed to reduce GHG emissions to an average of five percent against 1990 levels in the first commitment period between 2008 and 2012.
During the second commitment period, Parties committed to reduce GHG emissions by at least 18 percent below 1990 levels in the eight-year period from 2013 to 2020; however, the composition of Parties in the second commitment period is different from the first.
Beyond Doha Amendment to Kyoto Protocol
In Durban in 2011, the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) was established to develop a protocol, another legal instrument under the UNFCC, applicable to all Parties of the UNFCC.
The future protocol will be based on the principle of Intended Nationally determined Contributions (INDCs) under which countries will publicly outline what post-2020 climate actions they intend to take.
The new protocol is expected to be ratified by the COP-21 in Paris in December 2015 in order to bring it into force in 2021.
Four World-Class Broadband Products developed by C-DOT launched under Digital India Programme
Union Minister for Communication and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad on 6 July 2015 launched four world-class broadband products developed by the C-DOT in New Delhi.
They are- Long Distance Wi-Fi, Solar powered Wi-Fi, Suteerva and Next Generation Network (NGN).
C-DOT stands for Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT)and is an Indian Government owned telecommunications technology development centre.
The products were launched under the Digital India Programme that was launched in August 2014 in order to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
Wi-Fi products: Long Distance Wi-Fi and Solar powered Wi-Fiaddress the connectivity problem of rural areas, hilly terrain, highways, dense vegetation, tunnels etc. They are also suited for green field projects like smart cities, areas where there is little/no grid supply, emergency situations, Disaster Management Networks etc.
C-DOT also developed a light weight Green Power Source to make these products self-sustainable. Using this solution, reach of BharatNet can be increased beyond Panchayats to the remotest part of country.
SUTEERVA: It’s a 100 Gbps Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) link system that addresses the telco’s requirement of optimizing communication transport backbone in smart cities, IT parks, Industrial Complexes, Inter City Traffic, Data Centres etc. It offers ease of deployment, lesser shell space and lower power consumption, and saves on the high cost of laying fiber for each individual user.
Further, SUTEEVRA is capable of serving multiple applications and protocols ranging from the Data, Storage, TDM and Video networks.
Next Generation Network (NGN): It is an advanced Internet Protocol (IP) based network which is designed to replace existing TDM network in BSNL and MTNL. It provides a centralized remote control to the operators to manage the exchanges thereby providing better services to the end subscribers.
Besides, there are considerable savings in the power consumptions with the introduction of the much smaller and low power consuming equipment.
President inaugurated Nakshatra Vatika at Rashtrapati Nilayam Gardens
President Pranab Mukherjee on 6 July 2015 inauguratedNakshatra Vatikaat his official RashtrapatiNilayam Gardens in Bolarum, Secunderabad. The vatika (garden) has plants representing planets, zodiac signs and stars.
The layout of ‘Nakshatra Vatika’ has been developed in various geometrical combinations corresponding to the Sree Chakra of Vedic astrology on a 0.91 acre plot.
About Nakshatra Vatika
• In the core, the formation is square shaped and accommodates nine squares to represent the Navagrah (Planets).
• Each square is planted with a particular tree/plant variety that represents the respective planet and is placed as per the astronomical direction.
• The first inner circular band is divided in 12 small circles at parts of 30º each corresponding to the 12 Rashi (zodiac sign).
• Each has a plant that represents the particular zodiac sign.
• The outer circular band consists of 27 parts of 13º- 20’ each with small circles which represents each a Nakshatra (Stars), planted with a representative tree/plant of that particular star.
• In all, 48 trees/plants representing nine Navgrahs, twelve Rashi and Twenty seven Nakshatra are present in the Garden.
• Beside these, the Peepal tree, Banana tree and Bilva have been also placed in appropriate locations in the Vatika bringing the total to 51 trees/plants.
The Nakshatra Vatika will be the second specialised garden within the complex of Nilayam Garden, which already has a Herbal Garden into it.
The Garden will be open to public along with other gardens of Nilayam in the first week of January 2016.
China nominated Jin Liqun, former Chinese Finance Minster, for the post of AIIB President
Former Finance Minster of China Jin Liqun was in news as on 6 July 2015 he was nominated by China to be the first president of the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
At present, Jin (65) is Secretary General of AIIB's interim secretariat. Earlier, he has held positions at the World Bank and was the first Chinese national to serve as a vice president at the Japan-controlled Asian Development Bank (ADB).
During his 5-year-long tenure at ADB, Jin headed its programmes for South, Central and West Asia and private sector operations.
Before joining AIIB in 2014, Jin was chairman of China International Capital Corporation, one of the mainland's largest investment banks.
He holds a master's degree in English Literature from the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in Boston University's economics graduate programme.
About the AIIB President
In accordance with the Articles of Agreement signed by 50 countries on 29 June 2015, the President of AIIB shall be elected through an open, transparent and merit-based process by the Board of Governors. The president should be a national of a regional member.
The term of office of the president will be five years, and a president can be re-elected once.
The nominations for the post of president can be sent by the regional members by 31 July 2015 and the name of the president-designate will be finalised at the 6th Chief Negotiators' Meeting of the AIIB founding members in August 2015.
37 Bridges authored by Aamer Hussein
37 Bridges and Other Stories: Aamer Hussein
Book 37 Bridges and Other Stories authored by a noted Pakistani author Aamer Hussein book is a new collection of his stories. The book was released on 15 March 2015.
The author through the book highlights the matter of identity with respect to both the Hindu and Muslim. Further, the book identifies itself with Hussein’s identity who is a British citizen born to a Pakistani father and an Indian mother both of whom later settled in Britain.
Aamer Hussein
Aamer Hussein born 8 April 1955 in Karachi is a Pakistani short story writer and critic. He started publishing fiction in the 1980s in journals and anthologies. His collection of stories includes Mirror to the Sun (1993), This Other Salt (1999), Turquoise (2002), Cactus Town (2003) and Insomnia (2007).
He has also published a novella and a novel and they are Another Gulmohar Tree (2009) and The Cloud Messenger (2011) respectively.
His stories have been translated into many languages, including Italian, Arabic and Japanese.
Cities, Regions committed cutting 1.5 bn tons in CO2 emissions at World Summit Climate & Territories
Cities and regions in the first week of July 2015 committed to cut 1.5 billion tons in CO2 emissions at the World Summit Climate & Territories held in Lyon, France.
A declaration statement in this regard was signed by 50 organizations of local and regional authorities as well as civil society groups including 20 sub national governments.
These 20 sub national governments include regions in South America (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo), North America (California, New York, Ontario), Europe (Basque Country, Catalonia, Scotland) and Australia representing more than 220 million people and 8.3 trillion US dollars in gross domestic product.
The commitments to cut CO2 emissions by regional and local actors were part of the Compact of States and Regions announced in Lyon, France in 2014.
All such pledges will now be fed into a centralized platform overseen by the United Nations for the purpose of collecting these actions by entities outside of central governments, the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action.
About World Summit Climate & Territories
The summit was a premier gathering of non-state actors- local authorities, business groups and civil society — ahead of the major climate negotiations slated to take place from 30 November to 11 December 2015 in Paris.
Around 800 representatives of local authorities and NGOs from more than 80 countries participated in the summit.
India, Uzbekistan released Joint Statement to intensify security cooperation, exchanges
India and Uzbekistan on 6 July 2015 released a Joint Statement (JS) to intensify security cooperation and exchanges. The JS was released during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Uzbekistan from 6 July to 7 July 2015. He visited Uzbekistan on the invitation of the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov.
PM Modi is on an eight-day visit to five Central Asian states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan from 6 July to 13 July 2015. During the journey, he will also visit Russia to attend BRICS summit and SCO summit at Ufa on 9 July and 10 July 2015.
Details of the Joint Statement
• The two sides agreed to maintain regular bilateral consultations and political dialogue to promote mutual understanding on bilateral as well as regional and international issues.
• The two sides expressed their intention to strengthen coordination between the law enforcement agencies and special services of the two countries under the framework of the Uzbekistan-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism.
• They also agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of defence and cyber-security.
• The two sides agreed to take joint measures to expand and diversify the bilateral trade through facilitating participation in exhibitions, trade fairs, business forums and other joint business activities in Uzbekistan and India.
• They called for partnership in creating favorable conditions for investment by Indian companies in Uzbekistan, including in the framework of the Special Economic Zones "Navoi", "Angren" and "Jizzakh".
• They agreed to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation in transport & communication and agreed to explore various options to enhance surface connectivity between them.
• They agreed on the proposal to set up telemedicine links connecting medical institutions in Uzbekistan and India for medical consultations, exchange of experiences and teleconferences.
• A new Programme of Cultural Cooperation for the period 2015-2017 was inked and the two sides called for its full and timely implementation to expand cultural exchanges.
• The two sides agreed to implement practical measures under the framework of the bilateral Agreement on cooperation in tourism was signed during the visit.
• Both the sides called for comprehensive reforms of the UN structures, first of all, its Security Council, including expansion in both categories of membership. Uzbekistan reaffirmed its support to India’s candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
• They agreed to further strengthen mutual cooperation under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
During the visit, Prime Minister Modi also presented a specially commissioned reproduction of Khamsa-i-Khusrau by the great 13th century sufi poet Amir Khusrau to President Islam Karimov. Khusrau’s father hailed from Uzbekistan and invited the President of Uzbekistan to pay a visit to India at his convenience.
USA, Brazil issued Joint Statement on Climate Change
Presidents of the United States of America and Brazil Barack Obama and Dilma Dilma Rousseff respectively on 30 June 2015 issued a joint statement on climate change in Washington, the USA.
The joint statement includes individual commitments towards reducing green house gas (GHG) emissions and bilateral mechanisms to protect the planet from the adverse effects of climate change.
Takeaways from the joint statement on climate change
• The USA and Brazil each intend to increase the share of renewables – beyond hydropower – in their respective electricity generation mixes to the level of 20 percent by 2030. This means the USA and Brazil will need to triple and double, respectively, their share of renewable energy in the next 15 years.
• The USA will reduce GHG emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels in 2025.
• Brazil intends to restore and reforest 12 million hectares of forests by 2030.
• Both the countries agreed to work multilaterally in the Montreal Protocol to consider promptly amendment proposals to phase down HFCs.
• A Joint Initiative on Climate Change will be implemented through a new high-level United States-Brazil Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation on issues relating to land use, clean energy, and adaptation, as well as policy dialogues on domestic and international climate issues.
• A bilateral joint Program on Forest and Land Sector Investment will be launched to improve the conditions for attracting investments in sustainable forest management and forest restoration, encouraging the provision of ecosystem services, building resilience, mitigating climate change, and contributing to improved income streams for farmers.
Comment
The targets announced by both the countries assume significance as the USA and Brazil are the second and the seventh top GHG emitters respectively.
Earlier, similar to the present statement, the USA and China reached an agreement in November 2014, Brazil and China issued a joint climate statement in May 2015, the EU and China issued a joint statement on climate change in June 2015 delineating the road map for coordinated action in the Conference of Parties (COP)-21 to be held in Paris in December 2015.
In the COP-21, a new protocol is expected to be ratified by the parties to the UNFCC that will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol in 2021.
China submitted climate action plan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
China on 30 June 2015 submitted its new climate action plan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The plan delineates China’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) paving the way for ratification of a post-2020 universal climate change agreement which will be reached at the UN climate conference in Paris, in December 2015.
Highlights of China’s Climate Action Plan/INDC
• CO2 emissions per unit of GDP (known as carbon intensity) will be reduced by 60 to 65 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. China’s existing target is to reduce the carbon intensity is by 40-45 percent by 2020.
• Forest carbon stock volume will be increased by around 4.5 billion cubic meters from 2005 levels by 2030. It implies an increase in forest cover of 50-100 million hectares (124-247 million acres) of forest, or about two to four times the size of the United Kingdom.
So far, including China, 43 parties to the UNFCCC, out of 192 member countries, have formally submitted their INDCs.
PCA began hearing on the Nine-dash line of South China Sea
Nine-dash line: Demarcation line initially used by China to claim major ports of South China Sea
Nine-dash line was in news as the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on 7 July 2015 began hearing a case brought by the Philippines against China on territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The nine-dash line also known as U-shaped line refers to the demarcation line which was initially used by China for their claims of the major port of the South China Sea (SCS). Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim that they have been bisected by China’s nine-dash line.
This is the first time that the disputed South China Sea came under international legal scrutiny, despite Beijing officially refusing to take part in the case. Philippines filed the case against China in 2013 under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The PCA will determine who has property rights over a 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. In past few years, China has created seven artificial islands especially in the Spratly archipelago, giving rise to tensions in the contested waters.
The contested area in the SCS includes the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands, and various other areas including the Pratas Islands, the Macclesfield Bank and the Scarborough Shoal. The claim encompasses the area of Chinese land reclamation known as the"great wall of sand".
Earlier on 1 December 1947, China published a U-shaped eleven-dotted line map. Later it removed, two dots in the Gulf of Tonkin at the behest of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, reducing the total to nine. Subsequent editions added dashes to the other end of the line, extending it into the East China Sea.
Despite having made the vague claim public in 1947, China is still (as of 2015) to file a formal and specifically defined claim to the area within the dashes.
SC issued notice to Union Government, EC on petition seeking to bring political parties under RTI
The Supreme Court of India on 7 July 2015 issued notices to the Union Government, Election Commission (EC) and six political parties and asked why it should not be brought within Right to Information (RTI) ambit to make them more accountable to public.
The six national parties involved are Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (M), Communist Party of India (CPI), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The notice was issued by a three-judge bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu, Justice Arun Kumar Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy on a PIL filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The petitioner in the plea filed in May 2015 demanded to declare all national and regional political parties as public authorities and bring them under the ambit of RTI Act, 2005.
Further, the petitioner sought transparency and accountability in functioning of political parties. It also sought a direction that the parties should be asked to declare all donations, including those below 20000 rupees.
June 3 order of Central Information Commission
The Central Information Commission (CIC) in its detailed order of 3 June 2013 held that the six national parties have been substantially financed by the Central government, therefore, they are held to be public authorities under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
Also the critical role these political parties played in Indian democratic set-up and the nature of duties performed by them point towards their public character.
Comment
The issue of notice by the apex court to all the stakeholders involved infuses oxygen into the dead case wherein even CIC in March 2015 expressed its inability to impose any action against the erring political parties.
In its March 2015 circular, the CIC expressing its inability had called for identifying the legal gaps and lacunae in the implementation mechanism as current provision under the RTI Act, 2005 do not allow for action for non-compliance.
8 july
Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years authored by AS Dulat & Aditya Sinha released
Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years: AS Dulat & Aditya Sinha
The book titled Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years was published on 6 July 2015 by HarperCollins. It was co-authored by AS Dulat and Aditya Sinha.
The book focuses on initiatives launched by the Vajpayee government between 1998 and 2004 to restore normalcy in India's most beautiful but troubled state.
The book includes firsthand account of AS Dulat, who was chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) during Vajpayee government, about the difficulties, successes and near triumphs in the effort to bring back Kashmir from the brink.
In the book, he showed the players, the politics, the strategies and the true intent and sheer ruthlessness of the meddlers from across the border.
After his retirement as the RAW chief in 2000, AS Dulat served as an advisor on Kashmir in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from January 2001 to May 2004.
Aditya Sinha has been a journalist since February 1987. He has been Editor-in-Chief of the New Indian Express and DNA. His published work includes the biographies Farooq Abdullah: Kashmir's Prodigal Son (1996) and Death of Dreams: A Terrorist's Tale (2000).
HDFC Bank launched watch banking application for Apple Watch
HDFC Bank, the country’s second largest private sector bank, launched Watch Banking application for Apple Watch in the first week of July 2015.
With this, HDFC became the first bank in India to offer the service of Watch Banking. In order to avail this service, customer will not be required to download a separate app but they just need to activate it from an upgraded version of HDFC Bank’s mobile banking app itself.
The Apple Watch app will work via Bluetooth on iPhone 5 and above versions. The application will allow customers to make around 10 banking transactions, like account information (on savings, current, fixed deposits), credit cards, mobile and DTH recharge, request account statements and cheque books.
It will also allow a person to locate the closest ATM and bank branch, view messages from the bank, avail discount offers and hotlist lost debit cards.
HDFC also aims to provide banking services through all wearable devices across platforms like iOS and Android.
Telangana Government signed MoU with Uber to expand operations in Hyderabad
Telangana Government on 6 July 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with transportation facilitation app Uber.
The MoU is aimed at creating thousands of jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities, foster technical innovation and research into smart city initiatives and a commitment to make significant investments to expand its operations in Hyderabad.
Highlights of the MoU
• Uber will collaborate with The Telangana Academy for Skills and Knowledge (TASK) to identify and train around 2000 candidates by the end of 2016 who will then drive on the Uber platform. The focus of this initiative will be on women and poor people.
• Uber will invest upwards of 50 million US dollars into Hyderabad to establish a state-of-the-art facility that will house hundreds of new employees. With this, India will have Uber’s second-largest employee pool after the USA.
• Uber will engage with T-Hub and the government and explore synergies to foster the smart cities initiative and technological innovation in the city using big data analysis.
For Uber, India is the second-biggest market after the USA in terms of the number of cities in which it operates. At present it has operations in 320 cities spread across six continents.
UN released Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
The United Nations on 6 July 2015 released the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report 2015. It is an annual assessment of global and regional progress towards the eight MDGs produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
Progress in achieving MDGs
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• The number of people now living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. The world’s most populous countries, China and India, played a central role in the global reduction of poverty.
• The number of people in the working middle class—living on more than 4 US dollars a day—nearly tripled between 1991 and 2015.
• The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions dropped by almost half since 1990.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• The number of out-of-school children of primary school age worldwide fell by almost half, to an estimated 57 million in 2015, down from 100 million in 2000.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• Gender parity in primary school has been achieved in the majority of countries.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• The mortality rate of children under-five was cut by more than half since 1990.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Since 1990, maternal mortality fell by 45 percent worldwide.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015.
• New HIV infections fell by approximately 40 percent between 2000 and 2013.
• By June 2014, 13.6 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally, an immense increase from just 800000 in 2003.
• Between 2000 and 2013, tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions saved an estimated 37 million lives.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Worldwide 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation.
• Globally, 147 countries have met the MDG drinking water target, 95 countries have met the MDG sanitation target and 77 countries have met both.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
• Official development assistance from developed countries increased 66 percent in real terms from 2000 and 2014, reaching 135.2 billion US dollars.
Hindrances in achieving MDGs
Although significant achievements have been made on many of the MDG targets worldwide, progress has been uneven across regions and countries, leaving significant gaps.
Millions of people are being left behind, especially the poorest and those disadvantaged because of persisting gender equality, gaps between the poorest and richest households and between rural and urban areas, climate change and environmental degradation, conflicts and poverty and hunger.
Report with respect to India in achieving targets within MDGs
India fared better and is on-track in achieving the targets on following goals:
• Universal primary education (target 2A)
• Integration of principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reversing the loss of environmental resources (target 7A), and
• Availing the benefits of new technologies especially information and communication in cooperation with private sector (target 8F)
India is almost nearly on track in achieving these goals
• Halving the proportion of people living below the poverty line (target 1A)
• Eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015 (target 3A), and
• Halting and to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015 (target 6A)
India is almost off track on
• Halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015 (target 1C)
New sustainable development agenda
Building on the success and momentum of the MDGs that are set to expire on 31 December 2015, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)were proposed as part of the Post- 2015 development agenda.
In this regard, the UN Secretary-General Bank ki-moon established the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda in 2012. The team brings together more than 60 UN agencies and international organizations to focus and work on the SDGs.
India, Uzbekistan inked three agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation
India and Uzbekistan on 7 July 2015 signed three agreements to deepen bilateral cooperation between the two nations. The agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uzbekistan from 6 July to 7 July 2015.
The agreements are
• Intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism
• Protocol on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Uzbekistan, and Ministry of External Affairs, India was inked.
• Agreement on Intergovernmental Programme of Cultural Cooperation for 2015-17
Besides, during his first visit to Central Asian countries, Modi met with President Islam Karimov and Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoev of Uzbekistan.
PM Modi is on an eight-day visit to five Central Asian states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan from 6 July to 13 July 2015. During the journey, he will also visit Russia to attend BRICS summit and SCO summit at Ufa on 9 July and 10 July 2015.
Targetting protein PfPKG in P falciparum can help stop Malaria: Scientists
Scientists belonging to the University of Leicester and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on 7 July 2015 published a research article that revealed the central role of Protein kinase (PfPKG)in regulating biochemical pathways in P falciparum parasite.
The discovery was published in the research article titledPhosphoproteomics reveals malaria parasite Protein Kinase G as a signalling hub regulating egress and invasion in the Nature Communications journal.
As per the scientists, the discovery would help in developing future anti-malarial drugs that are precisely designed to kill the parasite but with limited toxicity, hence, making them safe enough to be used by children and pregnant women.
Role of PfPKG in P falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent species of human malaria parasites. In these parasites Plasmodium falciparum cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PfPKG) acts as a signalling hub that plays a central role in a number of core parasite processes including in the development of both asexual and sexual stages.
PfPKG is also reported to be important in maintaining elevated calcium levels in the parasite, possibly through the regulation ofphosphoinositide biosynthesis, that are necessary for motility (mobility of unicellular organisms) in the human blood vessels and egress (movement) of the parasite from red blood cells (RBCs).
About the study
The research was jointly led by David A Baker and Andrew B Tobin and involved Indian scientist Dr Mahmood Alam, who hails from Jharkhand, among others.
For the study, the scientists employed state-of-the-artPhosphoproteomics technology. The technology identifies, catalogues, and characterizes proteins containing a phosphate group.
The research was funded by UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) andthe Wellcome Trust.
While the MRC is a publicly funded government agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the UK, the London-based Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation.
India Central Asia Relations authored by Amiya Chandra
India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension: Amiya Chandra
Book titled India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension authored by Amiya Chandra came in news in second week of July 2015. It came in news during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The book focuses on the economic dimensions of the ties. The author through the book wants to say that India can compete with China if it focuses on quality instead of quantity and improves credit line. The book also says that for that purpose, India will have to seriously take forward the trade disputes.
Amiya Chandra is the Joint Director-General of Foreign Trade in the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry.
Floyd Mayweather stripped of WBO Welterweight title he won against Manny Pacquiao
World Boxing Organization (WBO) on 7 July 2015 stripped Floyd Mayweather Jr of the Welterweight title which he won by defeating Manny Pacquiao in May 2015.
He was stripped of the title after he failed to pay the 200000 dollar sanctioning fee required by the WBO after he won the belt at iconic MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The deadline to make the payment was 3 July 2015.
The fight at MGM Grand was the richest boxing fight of all time which made Mayweather richer by a reported 220 million dollars.
According to WBO rules, a boxer should pay 3 percent of their purse to fight for a world title up to a maximum of 200000 dollars. The rules also prohibit WBO champions to hold any belts in any other weight divisions.
Mayweather is currently also the WBC and WBA champion at junior middleweight (154 lbs), as well as at welterweight (147 lbs).
Now, he has the chance to appeal against the decision until 20 July 2015.
Legendary producer Jerome Charles Weintraub died
Jerome Charles Weintraub, the legendary producer who produced Ocean’s Eleven, died on 6 July 2015 following cardiac arrest in a Santa Barbara hospital, California. He was 77. He is survived by his four children and his wife Susan Ekins.
Weintraub got fame in the 1960s as a music manager and concert promoter. Later as a producer, he produced Nashville in the 1970s and other hits including Oh God!, The Karate Kid and the immensely popular caper-comedy series Ocean’s Eleven.
Weintraub was an executive producer of HBO’s comedy show The Brink. He worked with everyone from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to Led Zeppelin and George Clooney.
Born on 26 September 1937 in Brooklyn, Weintraub was raised in the Bronx, New York.
Jodhpur Film Society honoured with Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15
The Film Society of Jodhpur was on 7 July 2015 conferred with the Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15 for the consequent fourth time for being the best film society in Northern Region in raising awareness and film appreciation.
The award was presented by the Federation of Film Societies of India (North Region). The award was given in recognition of screening of a series of films by the society in 2014-15 in Jodhpur to mark 100 glorious years of Indian cinema under the Incredible Journey of Indian Cinema.
The society screened 24 films of different times, culture and languages for Incredible Journey of Indian Cinema. These screenings included the films as old as Raja Harishchandra.
The first Pritiman Sarkar Award in 1997-98 was also given to the Film Society of Jodhpur.
UGC accorded Heritage Status on 19 Colleges across the country
University Grants Commission (UGC) on 2 July 2015 accorded special Heritage Status on 19 Colleges across the country. These include St Xavier’s College, Mumbai and Fergusson College, Pune among others.
The Heritage status was granted to institutions across the country with an aim of conserving college campuses which are more than 100 years old. The UGC also approved financial assistance for the improvement and upgradation of these 19 colleges.
List of 19 Heritage Colleges
• St Xavier's College, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
• Ferguson College, Pune (Maharashtra)
• Hislop College, Nagpur(Maharashtra)
• Midnapore College (West Bengal)
• St Xavier's College, Kolkata (West Bengal)
• Khalsa College, Amritsar (Punjab)
• Kanya Mahavidyalya, Jalandhar (Punjab)
• CMS College, Kottayam (Kerala)
• Government Brennan College, Thalassery (Kerala)
• Old Agra College, Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
• Meerut College, Meerut (Uttar Pradesh)
• St Joseph College, Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu)
• St Bede's College, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)
• Langat Singh College, Muzaffarpur (Bihar)
• University College, Mangalore (Karnataka)
• Cotton College, Guwahati (Assam)
• Government Medical Science College, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)
• Gandhi Memorial Science College, Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir)
• DAV College, Ambala (Haryana)
Background
The Commission invited proposals from colleges for the heritage tag under the Heritage College Scheme and had received 60 proposals. Out of the 60 proposals, a Selection Committee approved granting of the status to 19 colleges.
Moreover, a varied financial assistance was also approved for these colleges and they can use the grants for conservation work of the campus and for specialised courses.
India, Kazakhstan launched first drilling at Satpayev oil block
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov on 7 July 2015 jointly launched the first exploratory drilling of the Satpayev oil blockby ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and KazMunaiGaz of Kazakhstan.
OVL, the overseas arm of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had picked up 25 percent stake in Satpayev oil block in the North Caspian Sea in 2011 and committed to invest 400 million dollar in exploration in the block.
Satpayev oil block
The Satpayev oil block is an offshore field (1582 sq km) in the Northern Caspian Sea, in water depths of 6-8 m. It has a potential reserves estimated at 1.8 billion barrels crude oil and natural gas. ONGC Videsh has estimates a peak output of 2 lakh 87 thousand barrels per day from the Satpayev structures.
NDDB launched mobile application Pashu Poshan to boost dairy farmers' income
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on 7 July 2015 launched a mobile application named Pashu Poshan that will boost dairy farmers' income by raising milk yield and cutting feed cost. The app will recommend a balanced diet for cows and buffaloes.
The mobile application was launched by the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
The application will be available on both web and android platforms. It can be accessed by registering on the INAPH portal http://inaph.Nddb.Coop.
To use this application, the farmer needs to provide complete animal profile including breed, age, milk production, fat content in milk apart from food items being currently fed to the animal along with the cost in order to formulate the balanced ration formula.
India, Kazakhstan signed five Agreements including a contract for supply of uranium
India and Kazakhstan on 8 July 2015 signed five agreements during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kazakhstan. The agreement was signed in the presence of PM Modi and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Narendra Modi is on an eight-day visit to five Central Asian states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan from 6 July to 13 July 2015.
List of Agreements signed
• Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons
• Agreement on Defence and Military – Technical Cooperation
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation on Physical Cultural and Sports
• MoU on Technical Cooperation in the field of Railways
• Long term contract between Department of Atomic Energy, India and KazAtomProm for sale and purchase of natural uranium concentrates
In addition to above agreements, a MoU between JSC «Kazxnex Invest» and JSC «Invest India», which includes a Road Map on Trade, Economic and Investment Cooperation was also signed during the visit. The roadmap would identify concrete projects in various sectors and assist in efficient implementation of projects in both the countries to activate bilateral trade and economic relations.
Besides, the two leaders also issue a joint statement title Tej Kadamhighlighting the continuation of strategic partnership between the two nations that was established in 2009 and a shared desire for regional and international peace and stability.
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka entered Guinness World Records for spending 804 days on ISS
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in the first week of July 2015 entered Guinness World Records for spending most number of days in the space. He achieved the feat by spending 804 days on the International Space Station (ISS).
He surpassed cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, also a Russian, record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes in the space which Sergei achieved across six missions from 1998 to 2005.
Padalka, who is also the commander of the crew on the ISS, is scheduled to return to earth in September 2015. It means he would have spent a total of 877 days in space by then.
ISS is a space station that was launched in 1998. It is the largest artificial satellite body that orbits earth nearly 400 km above the surface and it can be seen with naked eye. ISS moves at a very high speed and it completes 15.54 orbits per day.
Goa to host the Youth Delphic Games in February 2016
Goa will host the fifth Youth Delphic Games in February 2016. The announcement was made in June 2015. The motto of the 2016 Games is Celebrating Arts and Cultures.
Started a 100 years after the modern edition of the Olympics, the youth edition of the Delphic Games will be hosted in India for the first time from 1 February to 14 February 2016 in Goa.
The Youth Delphic Games are held at every four years and invites participants of the age group of 15 to 25 years. The games will include competitions insix categories:
• Musical arts and sounds (singing, instrumental music, electronic sounds)
• Performing arts (dance, theatre, circus, puppetry)
• Language arts (literature, poetry, moderation)
• Visual arts (painting, graphics, sculpture, installation, fashion, photography)
• Social arts (communications, Internet, media, pedagogic, didactic)
• Ecological arts & architecture (urban planning, landscaping, preservation and conservation of nature, monuments)
The games will attract 125 countries with over 7000 participants for the 2016 Games.
About Youth Delphic Games
The Delphic Games, touted as the twin sister of Olympics, came into being over 1000 years ago in Delphi, Greece to praise the gods and honour peace. However, the games were banned in 394 AD due to wars and conflicts.
But later, the International Delphic Council (IDC) founded in 1994, revived the Games. The Delphic Games is a cultural movement that brings different cultures on a unified global platform and creates a window of opportunity to express, explore and imbibe new ideas.