9-10 April 2015

9-april-2015

Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Government on 8 April 2015 conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh. 

Along with the award, the duo was given a cash prize of 21 lakh rupees. 

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav conferred the award on Neeraj and Singh. Yadav also announced that Neeraj will be givenRashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award for his lifelong service to Hindi literature.

Beside this, Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj namedGeetsri in Lucknow.
About Gopaldas Neeraj
He is among the best-known poets and authors in Hindi literature and he wrote under the pen name Neeraj.

Some of his poems were even used in Hindi movies. Some of them are
• E Bhai Jara dekh ke Chalo, Sung by Manna Dey in Mera Naam Joker
• Dhiire se jaanaa khatiyan me in Chhupa Rustom
• Dil aaj shaayar hai in Gambler
• Phoolon ke rang se, dil kee kalam se in Prem Pujari 
• Rangeela re, Rangeela re, mere man me yoon ranga hai tera mann in Prem Pujari

Born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2007

RBI notified hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in Insurance Sector to 49 percent

The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) on 8 March 2015 notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 percent from the present 26 percent.

As per the notification, FDI up to 26 percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The RBI notification is in tune with March 2015 decision of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) regarding operationalisation of increased FDI limit in the insurance sector.

Rajasthan and Vedanta Group signed a MoU to improve 3056 Anganwadi Centres in five districts

State Government of Rajasthan and Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group company on 8 April 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve 3056 anganwadi centres in five districts. The selected five districts are Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Rajsamand and Ajmer.

The anganwadi centres will be improved in five years under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) which will benefit around 90000 children in these five districts.

As per the MoU signed
• About one thousand centres will be converted into model anganwadis in 5 years, that is, 200 anganwadis a year would be converted into model Anganwadis.
• The centres will be renovated and provided with uniform, child-friendly toilets, water filters, play materials, story painting on inside wall and others
• They will get new utensils and smokeless stoves in the kitchen.

Dr. Nasim Zaidi appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 9 April 2015 appointed Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will assume the charge of office of the CEC with effect from 19 April 2015.

Zaidi is the 20th CEC of India and will succeed Harishankar Brahma who will demit his office on 18 April 2015.

He will have tenure up to July 2017 when he attains the age of 65, the upper age limit under the Constitution for holding the post.

Zaidi is the senior-most Election Commissioner after Harishankar Brahma and he was appointed as CEC following the convention in which the senior-most EC is appointed as the CEC.

Dr. Nasim Zaidi carries a rich experience of working in regulatory framework both at national & international levels. 

He has been associated with the conduct of fair and free Elections of 15 states assemblies and Lok Sabha 2014.

He assumed charge as Election Commissioner of India on 7 August 2012. Before this he served as a long-time civil servant of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) 1976 batch.

He was instrumental in formulating Financial Restructuring and Turnaround Plan of Air India (AI) and also setting up the Dharmadhikari Committee to ensure merger process of AI.

Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)

article 324 (2) under Part XV of the Constitution of India provides for appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC) by the President.

The CEC and the two EC draw salaries and allowances at par with those of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India as provided for by the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1992.

The tenure of CEC or an EC is six years from the date on which he assumes his office or 65 years of age whichever is earlier.

Sumit Mazumder elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industry for the year 2015-16

Sumit Mazumder on 7 April 2015 was elected as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2015-16. He succeeded Ajay Shriram.

He is the Chairman and Managing Director of the TIL Limited, India's largest manufacturer of material handling equipment.

Mazumder is also the Executive Chairman of TIPL (Tractors India Pvt. Ltd.) which is a distributor for Caterpillar, USA, in India, Nepal and Bhutan for earthmoving, construction, mining equipment and power systems.

Besides, Dr. Naushad Forbes was elected as the President-designate of the CII for the year 2015-16. He is the Director of Forbes Marshall, India's leading Steam Engineering and Control Instrumentation firm.

Shobana Kamineni was elected as the Vice-President of the CII for the year 2015-16. She is Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited (AHEL).

University of Cape Town voted for removal of the statue of British colonialist, Cecil Rhodes

The University of Cape Town (UCT) of South Africa on 8 April 2015 voted to remove a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the campus. The statue had become a focus of student protests.

The decision of removal of the monument was taken by the UCT's Council, the institutions highest decision-making body. It announced that the monument will be taken down from the campus on 9 April 2015 and stored for safe keeping.

The decision of Council follows weeks of protest and debate over the statue. The matter was known as the Rhodes Must Fall debate.

The 19th century figure unveiled in 1934 was a matter of campaigning for students. The students at UCT have been campaigning for removal of the statue. Other monuments to colonial-era leaders have also been recently vandalised.

About Cecil Rhodes

Cecil Rhodes born in July 1853 was a British colonialist, businessman, mining magnate and politician in southern Africa, who founded Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) which was named after him in 1895. Rhodes University is also named after him. He died on 26 March 1902.

PM announced relief measures for distressed farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 March 2015 announced two major measures aimed at providing relief to distressed farmers due to unseasonal weather conditions in the rabi season.

As per the decision announced,

• Farmers will be eligible for input subsidy even if 33 percent of their crop has been damaged due to unforeseen weather conditions as opposed to 50 percent or more, which is the norm till now.

• Input subsidy given to distressed farmers will be enhanced by 50 percent of the existing amounts.

The announcements were made in the backdrop of crop damage due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms in winter in North and Central India.

According to an estimate about 113 lakh hectares or 16 percent of total crop area under the rabi season in the country has suffered losses.

The decision was arrived at after taking into account the report submitted by the Inter-Ministerial team led by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to assess the crop damage.

In a similar move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 April 2015 instructed banks to restructure loans of farmers whose crops have been damaged by the recent abnormal weather conditions.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 8 April 2015 issued an order for revision of norms with regard to the centrally notified disasters including flood, cyclone, drought, hailstorm, tsunami and earthquake.

As per the issued order of MHA,
• State governments are permitted to spend up to 10 percent of allocation under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) on equipment. 
• A maximum of 5 percent of SDRF allocation can be spent on capacity building. 
• The state governments are allowed to use up to 10 percent of their SDRF allocation on local disasters. 
• Procedure for adjustment of available balances under SDRF while releasing assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) in case of severe disasters is simplified.
• Norms will be updated annually in relation to the movement of wholesale price index in automatic mode.
• Ex-gratia in case of loss of lives, disability and livelihoods due to disasters is revised.

About State Disaster Relief Fund

Constitution of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) at the State level is provided under the Section 48 (I) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

The fund from the SDRF is used only for meeting the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the disaster-affected persons.

The contribution towards the fund is made in accordance with the recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission (TFC) headed by Vijay L Kelkar. Of the total contribution recommended by TFC, 75 percent is contributed by the Union Government for the General Category States (GCS) and 90 percent for Special Category States (SCS). The contribution of Union Government to the funds is in the form of Grants-in-aid.

Visit Kerala 2015 campaign launched to promote Kerala tourism

Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma on 8 April 2015 launched Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promote Kerala tourism.
The campaign is an initiative of Kerala Government to promote state-specific tourism products including Ayurveda, Responsible Tourism and Spice route.
Under the campaign various innovative programmes and schemes will be launched in India and abroad to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Highlights of the Visit Kerala 2015 Campaign

• The campaign aims at increasing the number of tourist arrivals in the state to over 1.37 crore in 2015 compared to 1.26 tourist arrivals in 2014.
• The period from April 2015 to March 2016 is declared as Visit Kerala Year.
• The second phase of Kerala Tourism's Kerala-Home of Ayurvedacampaign will be launched in selected national and international markets.
• Social media and online campaigns will be launched to promote 2015 as the best time to visit the state highlighting the festivals and events along with the contests.
• Food festivals will be conducted in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to market Kerala's authentic cuisine.
• A tourism industrial meet to promote responsible tourism and encourage the participation of local communities in the tourism sector will be conducted. The meet would provide guidance to people on setting up home-stays and villas with small-scale investment.
• A new set of Kerala souvenirs will be designed and will be sold to travelers with the support of Kudumbashree units.

As per the state government's estimate Kerala earned a total of 24885 crore revenue from tourism during 2014 including foreign exchange earnings of 6399 crore rupees.

Jnanapith awardee Tamil writer Jayakanthan died

Tamil novelist, short story writer and literary critic Jayakanthan died in Chennai on 8 April 2015. He was 81. He is survived now by wife, two daughters and a son.

Jayakanthan writings were mainly focused against social injustices and economic inequality in the society. His writings earned him Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, Jnanpith in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2009.

He started writing from around 1953 in Tamil magazines such as Saraswathi, Thamarai, Grama Uzhiyan and Anantha Vikatan and went on to author about 40 novels and novellas along with several short stories, poems, and articles.

His autobiographies

a)         Oru Ilakkiyavathiyin Arasiyal Anubavangal

b)        b) Oru Arasiyalvathiyin Ilakkiya Anubavanga

Some of his novels were adapted as films and they were

a)         Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal

b)        b) Oru Nadigai Nadagam Paarkiral

c)         c) Yaarukkaga Azhudhaan

d)        d) Cinemavukku Pona Chithalu

e)         e) Unnaipol Oruva

f)         f) Ooruku Nooruper

g)        
Jayakanthan, known as JK among his friends, himself experimented with film-making and directed films like Yarukkaka Azhudhaan, Unnai

h)        ol Oruvan and Paathai Theiryuthu Paar.

Born on 24 April 1934 in Cuddalore, he became a member of the Communist party at a very young age and founded the Indo-Russian Cultural and Friendship Society.

Awards and honors conferred on him

a)         Fellow of Sahitya Akademi in 1996

b)        b) Russia in 2011 announced Order of Friendship for him

c)         c) Soviet Land Nehru Award (1978)

d)        d) Raja Rajan Award (1986)

e)         e) The Tamil Nadu Government Award (1986)

SEBI raised the limit for currency derivatives trades to 15 million US dollar

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 8 April 2015 raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million dollars. 

SEBI issued the circular after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 notified the revision.

The capital market regulator, SEBI in a circular said that the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to 15 million US Dollars or equivalent per exchange.

The notification said that the Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) or domestic investors should ensure that their short positions at the stock exchange across all contracts in USD-INR pair do not exceed the limit and do not exceed five million dollar per exchange in EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR pairs, all put together.

Liu Xiang, former Olympic 110m hurdles champion, retired

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang retired on 7 April 2015. Xiang, the first man from China to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, announced his retirement due to injury.

He sporting career was affected by an Achilles problem, which made him to pull out at 2008 Beijing Olympics. The injury also made him crash out from the 2012 London Olympics.

He won the Gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 110m hurdles track event. For this Olympic gold he equaled the then world record of 12.91. Later in July 2006, he improved the world record to 12.88 seconds in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He also won the Gold medal at the 2007 IAAF World Championships.

He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the triple crown of athletics, that is, World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion.

Liu, one of his nation's highest profile sports stars, is one of the official ambassadors for the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs suspended Greenpeace India Society (GIS) registration for 180 days

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 9 April 2015 suspended the registration of Greenpeace India Society (GIS) for 180 days for acting against public and economic interests of the country.

The ministry took the decision after an on-site inspection of the accounts and records of GIS in September 2014 which revealed it has utilised its funds received from foreign sources for unauthorised   purposes as per the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, under which it is registered in India.

GIS's all seven bank accounts in IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank have been frozen as per the order.

The order also allowed GIS to make representation against the order within thirty days to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

About Greenpeace India Society (GIS)
•    It is an Indian chapter of Greenpeace International, which is a non-profit environmental organization having presence in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
•    GIS has been working on various issues related to the environment in India since 2001. 
•    The organisation's work is focused on four broad campaigns viz., stop climate change, sustainable agriculture, preserving the oceans and preventing another nuclear catastrophe.

India and USA signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on transportation

Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari and US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx on 8 April 2015 signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in New Delhi for deepening partnership in the area of transport between the two countries.

Importance of MoC

• It will enable India to make use of world's latest technology available with the USA for projects like developments of waterways and multi-modal hub.
• It aims to foster cooperative work on key issues of mutual interest for all modes of transportation and coordinating public and private sector resources and expertise to advance safe, secure, efficient and integrated transportation systems. 
• It covers areas like highway transportation, urban transportation, safety and environmental protections, vehicle and behavioral safety, fuel efficiency, rail transportation, maritime shipping and intermodal transportation.

Spiders belonging to Thomisidae family named after Telangana state

The spiders belonging to the Thomisidae family in the first week of April 2015 were named after Telangana state. The spiders have been named as Telangana crab spider (Thomisus telanganensis).

Due to structural resemblance to crabs, these crabs are called as crab spiders. These spiders are also known as flower spiders, as they lie in wait for prey on flowering plants.

These crabs were discovered by two researchers from the Zoology Department of Osmania University, namely, G.B. Pravalikha and Chelmala Srinivasulu during their expedition at Nagnur in Karimnagar district.

The finding of the discovery was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, an International Journal of Conservation and Taxonomy. The study of the spiders was supported by grants from the Science and Engineering Research Board, Union Department of Science and Technology, and the University Grants Commission

About Telangana crab spider

• They closely resembles to Thomisus labefactus, a spider variety that is well known in Japan.
• These spiders do not weave webs like traditional spiders
• They attack prey all of a sudden and immobilize them with their venom
• The species is important for the ecosystem as they act as bio-controlling agents and help in keeping insect population under control 
• They are between 3 mm and 23 mm in size
• Theur colour varies from bright and colourful to dull 
• Usually found in plants, shrubs, grasses, flowering plants, leaf litter and sometimes under stones

Snapdeal acquired mobile recharge service FreeCharge

Snapdeal on 8 April 2015 acquired mobile recharge service FreeCharge in a cash and stock deal. With this acquisition, Snapdeal became the largest mobile commerce company in India.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed but as per estimates the deal is worth 450 million US dollars. The value of the deal is much higher than Flipkart Ltd's 330 million US dollars-plus acquisition of online fashion retailer Myntra in May 2014.

As per the deal, Freecharge will continue to work as an independent platform and will offer many more digital goods in future. Also, most of Freecharge's institutional investor would get Snapdeal stock.

The acquisition of FreeCharge, which boasts of 20 million users, also makes Snapdeal the company with the highest daily transactions and the highest user base.

Further the acquisition means that, Snapdeal and FreeCharge will together generate more than 1 million daily transactions and have 40 million users on the mobile.

Over the past six months, Snapdeal has so far bought four companies. These include amongst other software provider Unicommerce, logistics service company GoJavas and luxury fashion marketplace Exclusively. Snapdeal is run by Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Mobile commerce is booming in the country and the number of mobile Internet users is expected to increase to 480 million by 2017, according to a joint report by Google and AT Kearney.

Freecharge, which competes with Paytm, was launched in 2010 by Kunal Shah

10-april-2015

Former Australia Cricket Captain Richie Benaud died

Richie Benaud, the former Australian cricket captain and legendary commentator died in Sydney on 10 April 2015. He died after fighting a long battle with skin cancer. He was 84.

Richie Benaud in Cricket

benaud born in Penrith, New South Wales, in 1930 was an Australian Test cricket all-rounder and a pioneering leg-spin bowler. He became Australia's Test captain in 1958. He retired as a captain in 1964. After retirement from international cricket, he became a highly regarded commentator of the game.

Test cricket: He played his debut match on 25 January 1952 against West Indies at Sydney Cricket Ground. He played his last Test match on 12 February 1964 against South Africa at Sydney Cricket Ground. In his test career, he played 63 Tests, 28 as captain and never lost a series as Australian captain. He scored 2201 runs with top score of 122. He took 248 wickets. 

Benaud was the first player to score 2000 Test runs and take 200 Test wickets.

First-class cricket: Benaud took 945 wickets in 259 first-class matches and made 11719 first-class runs, scoring 23 centuries at an average of 36.50.

Richie Benaud as a cricket commentator

After retirement, he pursued his career in journalism and broadcasting. After an impressive playing career, he became even better known as a prolific author, columnist and commentator on cricket.

He made his first radio commentary in 1960 at the BBC from UK, after which he moved into television. His final commentary in England came during the 2005 Ashes series but he continued to work for Channel Nine in Australia until 2013.

Honours and Awards conferred on Benaud

In 1961, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cricket
• In 1985, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of fame

• In 2007, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

• In 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

Benaud also wrote several books and they were

• The Way of Cricket (1961)

• A Tale of Two Tests (1962)

• Spin Me a Spinner (1963)

• The New Champions (1966)

• Willow Patterns (1969)

• Test Cricket (1982)

• World Series Cup Cricket 1981–82 (1982)

• The Hottest Summer (1983)

• The Ashes 1982–83 (1983)

• Benaud on reflection (1984)

• The Appeal of Cricket (1995)

• Anything But (1998) was his autobiography

• My Spin on Cricket (2005)

• Over But Not Out (2010)

Book titled Suleiman Charitra written by Kalyana Malla translated from Sanskrit to English

Suleiman Charitra: Kalyana Malla

The book Suleiman Charitra written by Kalyana Malla was in news because on 9 April 2015 the translated version of it Sueiman Charitra of Kalyan Malla was released. The book has been translated from Sanskrit to English by diplomat-writer A.N.D. Haskar.

The translated version was released by Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, the National Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in New Delhi.

the original book Suleiman Charitra was written by Kalyan Malla who was an esteemed poet at the court of Lodhi prince Lad Khan in eastern Uttar Pradesh at the beginning of 16th Century. 

The book is a collection of stories drawn from Islamic and Biblical narratives. 

Malla is known to have also composed Ananga Rangawhich along with Suleiman Charitra were dedicated to his princely patron.

Former Air Chief Marshal of IAF Hrushikesh Moolgavkar died

Former Air Chief Marshal of Indian Air Force (IAF) Hrushikesh Moolgavkar died in Pune on 9 April 2015. He was 95. 

Moolgavkar had the honour of leading the fly-past on India's first Independence Day on 15 August 1947, and also on Republic Day on 26 January 1951. He had led the fly-past as a Squadron Leader

Selected and commissioned as a Pilot Officer in Royal Indian Air Force on 30 November 1940, he was appointed as the Chief of Air Staff on 1 February 1976.

His major achievement as Chief of Air Staff was implementation of new measures that brought down the accident rates. After serving IAF for 38 years, he retired on 31 August 1978.

Born in Mumbai on 14 August 1920, Moolgavkar was a recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) and Mahaveer Chakra.

In 2009, his biography titledLeading from the Cockpit: A Fighter pilot's story authored by his daughter Jyoti M Rai was published.

EPFO suspended 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund body, on 9 April 2015 suspended the 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme from April 2015.

The end of the minimum monthly pension provided under Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)-95 will hit about 32 lakh pensioners.

The decision to suspend the scheme was taken because, as per EPFO circular, there was no communication or direction from the Union Government to continue this scheme beyond 31 March 2015.

The circular further said that the payment pension from the month of April 2015 will be released at earlier rates, that is, without minimum pension provision.

Union Government had issued a notification on 19 August 2014 to hike the pension amount to flat 1000 rupees per month for those who were getting less than 1000 rupees per month as pension. The benefit of the scheme was made effective from 1 September 2014 to 31 March 2015. 

Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)-95

Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)-95 came into effect on 16 November 1995 and the scheme was launched under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

The Scheme applies to the employees of all factories and other establishments to which the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 applies.

Under the scheme, monthly benefits for superannuation/ retirement, disability, survivor, widow(er), children is provided and the amount of pension is based on average salary during the preceding 12 months from the date of exit and total years of employment.

The scheme also provides for minimum pension on disablement and also provides for past service benefit to participants of erstwhile Family Pension Scheme, 1971.

Scientists detected rapid accumulation of anesthetic gases in atmosphere causing global warming

The concentrations of modern inhalation anesthetics like Desflurane, Isoflurane and Sevoflurane in the global atmosphere is growing rapidly and the concentrations of these gases have been detected as far as Antarctica.

This was revealed by a study titled Modern Inhalation Anesthetics: Potent greenhouse gases in the global atmosphere published on 13 March 2015 in the online journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Major findings of the study

• Over the past decade, concentrations of anesthetics Desflurane, Isoflurane and Sevoflurane have been rising in the global atmosphere starting from crowed urban areas to pristine Antarctic environment.

• The accumulation of these medical gases is due to the fact that they undergo little metabolisation during medical application and evaporate almost completely to the atmosphere.

• The discovery is of major concern because unlike carbon dioxide, the major climate warmer, the medical gases are extra potent in their greenhouse-gas effects. For instance, one kilogram of Desflurane concentration is equivalent to 2500 kilograms of carbon dioxide in terms of the amount of greenhouse warming potential.

• The global combined emission of these gases to the atmoshphere is around 3.1 million tonnes CO2 equivalent in 2014.
• In 2014, atmospheric concentrations of Desflurane, Isoflurane, Sevoflurane and Halothene were recorded as 0.30 parts per trillion (ppt), 0.097 ppt, 0.13 ppt and 0.0092 ppt respectively; which shows that the most harmful Desflurane forms 80 percent of combined accumulations of the anesthetics.

The study was conducted by the lead researcher Martin Vollmer, atmospheric chemist at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology in Dubendorf, Switzerland along with six other scientists from Switzerland, South Korea and United Kingdom.

The history of modern inhalation anesthetics

Among the modern inhalation anesthetics, the fluranes have become the inhalation anesthetics of choice in most developed countries although nitrous oxide (N2O) and halothane are still applied in human anesthesiology around the world. Halothane was intensively used during 1960s and 1970s but was replaced in developed countries due to its potential for liver injuries (halothane hepatitis). 
Methoxyflurane used during 1960s and 1970s was the first halogenated ether used in anesthesiology but was phased out due to medical side-effects.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, enflurane became the inhalation anesthetics of choice across the world before it was replaced by isoflurane in early 1980s. Isoflurane is presently still used, in particular in veterinary anesthesia.

Since the introduction of Desflurane in 1992 and sevoflurane in mid-1990s, these anesthetics have become the widely used anesthetics.

Seoul won WWF's Earth Hour City Challenge to become the Global Earth Hour Capital 2015

Seoul city, the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea, on 9 April 2015 was awarded the title of Global Earth hour Capital 2015 after it won the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The challenge saw the participation of 163 cities from 16 countries.

The award ceremony was held in Seoul, South Korea.

The city of Balikpapan, Indonesia was recognized as the Most Loveable City for 2015 and Thane city was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015 of India.

Seoul was chosen as the winner by EHCC jury of international experts for its comprehensive approach to tackle climate change and its determination to ramp up use of renewable energy. Seoul's approach to radically reduce emissionsincludes
• Allocation of a realistic budget for increasing the use of solar power by residents 
• Reduction of transport emissions through greener fuels
• Building more bus lanes and car sharing programs

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 million tons Seoul has started an ambitious initiative under which by 2020 it will achieve 20 percent electricity self-reliance. 

Seoul was shortlisted as the Global Earth Hour Capital 2015 from the 16 National Earth Hour Capitals. These include
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil

• Cordoba, Spain

• Evanston, USA

• Gothenburg, Sweden

• Hatyai, Thailand

• Jakarta, Indonesia

• Lahti, Finland

• Monteria, Colombia

• Paris, France

• Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

• Puebla, Mexico

• City of Singapore, Singapore

• Thane, India

• Tshwane, South Africa

• Vancouver, Canada

Earlier, Seoul had special mention in Earth Hour City Challenge 2014 and Cape Town in South Africa won the title of Global Earth Hour Capital 2014 at a ceremony held at Vancouver, Canada.

How the participant cities were evaluated?

The participant of the WWF's Earth Hour City Challenge was evaluated by their level of ambition and innovation for low carbon development in relation to local circumstances.

Social Progress Index 2015 released by Social Progress Imperative

Social Progress Index (SPI) 2015 was released by the US-based non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative on 8 April 2015. On population-weighted basis, the SPI score for the whole world stands at 61 and at 64.39 when SPI scores are based on simple average of countries.

The SPI 2015 ranks 133 countries in terms of social progress from highest to lowest which are classified into six tiers from Very High Social Progress to Very Low Social Progress. These 133 countries cover 94 percent of the world's population.

Along with these 133 countries, the SPI 2015 also provides data for 28 countries with partial data. This brings coverage to a total of 99 percent of the world's population.

India with a score of 53.06 is ranked 101st and is placed in the Low Social Progress Group. In 2014, India with a score of 50.24 was ranked 102 out of 132 countries.

Main Highlights of the SPI 2015

• On a population-weighted basis, the world scores 68.33 in Basic Human Needs, 66.45 on the Foundations of Wellbeing dimension and 48.23 on the Opportunity dimension. Creating opportunity remains a goal that many nations fail to achieve.
• On a simple average basis, the world scores 70.82 in Basic Human Needs, 67.68 on the Foundations of Wellbeing dimension and 52.03 on the Opportunity dimension. Once again creating opportunity sees a drop in score despite the fact that developing countries have a smaller weight under this approach.
• Ten countries in the world have been ranked as Very High Social Progress Countries as these countries generally have strong performance across all three dimensions. The average dimension scores for this tier are: Basic Human Needs is 94.77, Foundations of Wellbeing is 83.85, and Opportunity is 83.07.
• As with most high-income countries, the top 10 countries score lowest on Ecosystem Sustainability and Health and Wellness.
• Nearly all of the top 10 are relatively small countries, with only Canada having a population greater than 25 million.
• The top three countries in the world on Social Progress are Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland with closely grouped scores between 88.36 and 87.97.
• Canada is the only country among the G7 countries that has been ranked in top ten on SPI 2015
• Under the High Social Progress Countries tier, there are 21 countries. This group includes a number of the world's leading economies in terms of GDP and population, including the remaining six members of the G7: the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, the United States, France, and Italy. The average dimension scores for this tier are: Basic Human Needs is 90.86, Foundations of Wellbeing is 77.83, and Opportunity is 73.82
• The third tier of Upper Middle Social Progress Countriescomprises of 25 countries.  This group reveals that high GDP per capita does not guarantee social progress. Average scores for this tier are: Basic Human Needs is 80.66, Foundations of Wellbeing is 73.52, and Opportunity is 57.73.
• The fourth tier Lower Middle Social Progress Countriescomprises of 42 countries. The average dimension scores for this tier are: Basic Human Needs is 72.34, Foundations of Wellbeing is 66.90, and Opportunity is 47.14
• Under the Low Social Progress Countries tier, there are 27 countries which include many Sub-Saharan African countries. The average dimension scores for this tier are: Basic Human Needs is 50.03, Foundations of Wellbeing is 58.01, and Opportunity is 38.35.
• Under the Very Low Social Progress Countries tier, there are 8 countries. The average dimension scores for this tier are: Basic Human Needs is 38.46, Foundations of Wellbeing is 48.55, and Opportunity is 26.05.
• The lowest three countries in the world on Social Progress are Afghanistan, Chad, Central African Republic.

SPI 2015 and BRICS countries

Among the BRICS countries, Brazil at 42nd rank leads the pack with a score of 70.89 and India with a score of 53.06 is placed at 101 position and is the worst country in terms of social progress. The other countries of BRICS and their ranks are: South Africa (63rd), Russia (71st) and China (92nd).

SPI 2015 and SAARC countries

Among the SAARC countries, Sri Lanka at 88th rank leads the pack with a score of 60.10 and Afghanistan with a score of 35.40 is placed at 131 and is the worst country in terms of social progress. The other countries of SAARC and their ranks are: Nepal (98) Bangladesh (100), India (101) and Pakistan (122).

SPI 2015 and India

• India falls into the Low Social Progress group with a score of 53.06 was ranked 101st.
• India has low scores common to lower-middle income countries, but shows particular weakness in Health and Wellness and Tolerance and Inclusion.
• India's score 58.87 on Basic Human Need, 57.38 on Foundations of Well-being dimension and 42.93 on Opportunity dimension

What is Social Progress Index?

This index is based on the writings of Amartya Sen, Douglass North, and Joseph Stiglitz and it is an aggregate index of 54 social and environmental indicators that capture three dimensions of social progress: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. The Index measures social progress strictly using outcomes of success, not how much effort a country makes.

India elected to four United Nations agencies

India was elected to four important United Nations (UN) agencies on 8 April 2015. These agencies are United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.

India was elected to these bodies at the Coordination and Management Meeting (CMM) of UNECOSOC (the United Nations Economic and Social Council) held at the UN headquarters in New York, USA.

India was elected by acclamation, which is a form of election that doesn't use a ballot.

Results of Elections
• India, along with thirteen other nations, was elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for a three year period starting from January 2016.
• India was re-elected to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) along with five other nations for a two year period starting from January 2016. 
• India was elected to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) along with nineteen other nations for a three year period starting from January 2016. Some of the nations that were elected to CCPCJ included Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Austria, France, Sweden and the United States.
• India was re-elected to the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) along with thirteen other nations for a three year period starting from January 2016.

Significance of India's election to UN bodies

• India has a 100 percent record of winning the UNECOSOC elections. For instance, in the first week of April 2015, India was re-elected to the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council for the period of 2015-17. In October 2014, India was re-elected to ECOSOC by garnering the maximum number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group. 
• These continuous wins at various UN bodies highlights the fact that India's role as an important and influential global power is now recognised by a vast majority of the UN membership