9th Dec- 10th Dec 2014

IntelCenter released Country Threat Index ranking 45 countries in terms of terrorist threat

10-DEC-2014

US based think tank IntelCenter on 9 December 2014 released Country Threat Index (CTI) ranking 45 countries in terms of terrorist and rebel threat to a country.
The Country Threat Index (CTI) rankings of these countries have been prepared after examining the volume of terrorist and rebel alerts, messaging traffic, videos, photos, incidents and the number of killed and injured in a country over the past 30 days.
According to the CTI,
• There are a total of 45 countries with a CTI greater than zero.
• The average CTI for these countries is 74 whereas the Global CTI is 3313.
• The higher the CTI score the greater the risk in that country.
• A low CTI does not necessarily reflect the absence of risk, however, it does reflect a lower level of activity over the preceding 30 days
The Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries

Rank	Country	CTI Score
1	Iraq	576
2	Nigeria	458
3	Somalia	336
4	Afghanistan	309
5	Yemen	290
6	Syria	233
7	Libya	166
8	Pakistan	162
9	Egypt	95
10	Kenya	86

About Intel Center

IntelCenter was established in 1989 in the US. The firm has been providing counterterrorism intelligence services for more than 20 years to the intelligence, military and law enforcement communities in the US and around the world.

President of Zimabawe Robert Mugabe sacked Vice-president Joice Mujuru

10-DEC-2014

President of Zimabawe Robert Mugabe sacked Vice-president Joice Mujuru on 9 December 2014. She was sacked for corruption and plotting to kill the President Mugabe.
Mugabe exercised his executive powers to dismiss Vice-President Joice Mujuru with immediate effect from 9 December 2014. He also dismissed seven other government ministers in connection with the same allegations.
The seven other ministers include Didymus Mutasa (Presidential Affairs), Webster Shamu (Information Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier Services), Francis Nhema(Youth Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment), Olivia Muchena ( Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development), Dzikamai Mavhaire (Energy and Power Development Minister), Nicholas Goche (Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare), Simbaneuta Mudarikwa( Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province) and Munacho Mutezo (Deputy Minister Engery and Power Development).
Mujuru, 59, was accused that she had led a disloyal meeting in which she planned to try and remove the President Robert Mugabe from the post.
Comment
Mugabe has been in power since independence of Zimbabwe in 1980. He is due to stand for election again in 2018. Grace Mugabe wife of President Mugabe entered the politics recently and she repeatedly accused Vice-President Mujuru of plotting against Mugabe.
Mugabe believed Grace Mugabe allegations and supported her allegations. Since then Mujuru has been under siege and Mujuru’s relationship with President Mugabe had broken down.
Mujuru fought alongside Mugabe in the 1970s guerrilla war against British rule and she had been thought a possible successor as president.

Richest man of Russia Alisher Usmanov decided to return the Nobel Prize medal of James D Watson

10-DEC-2014

Richest man of Russia Alisher Usmanov was in news in the first week of December 2014 as he decided to return the Nobel Prize medal to James D Watson which he bought for 4.8 million US dollars at auction from him.
He bought the Nobel Prize medal in order to return the medal to the American geneticist James D Watson, thinking that the medal will stay with the person who deserved it.
Watson was awarded for the discovery of the structure of DNA and he was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick in 1962. Watson planned to donate part of the proceeds to charities and to support scientific research.
According to Forbes magazine, Steel and telecom tycoon of Russia Alisher Usmanov is worth 15.8 billion US dollars. He is a major shareholder in Arsenal Football Club. He is the second richest man in Britain in 2014 according to the Sunday Times.

Bhutan became 181st member of MIGA, agency of World Bank

10-DEC-2014

Bhutan on 8 December 2014 became the 181st member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). MIGA is the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group.
Bhutan has fulfilled all of its membership requirements to become the member of MIGA.

Benefits of becoming a member
• The move will allow the private sector and corporations of a country to explore external commercial borrowing (ECB).
• Once a member of MIGA, the private sector and corporations in the country will have the option of directly applying to MIGA for issuance of guarantee to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
• MIGA’s guarantee can help investors obtain access to ECB with improved financial terms and conditions.
• Premium rates are decided on per project basis, and vary by country, sector, transaction and the type of risk insured.
• Bhutan is now eligible for the Agency’s investment guarantees.
• Investors from Bhutan going into MIGA’s other developing member countries may also receive coverage for their investments.
Earlier, in October 2012, Bhutan has applied for the membership of MIGA.
To become a member, the country is required to sign the MIGA convention, and deposit its instrument of ratification.
The signed convention will further submitted to Parliament for ratification. The ratified instrument will be deposited with the World Bank. Finally, the country will have to subscribe to shares of MIGA’s capital stock.
Membership in MIGA is available only to countries that are members of the World Bank. Bhutan does not have credit rating but has been a member of the World Bank since 1981.
About Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
MIGA is a member of the World Bank Group. MIGA aims to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing countries to help support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people's lives.
MIGA consists of total of 177 member Governments, out of which 152 are developing and 25 are industrialised countries.

James D Watson auctioned his Nobel Prize medal for DNA discovery for 4.8 million US dollars

10-DEC-2014

James D Watson was in news the first week of December 2014 because he auctioned his Nobel Prize medal for 4.8 million US dollars. He, thus, became the first living recipient to auction the Nobel Prize medal.
He decided to donate part of the proceeds to charities and to support scientific research.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1962. He was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick, with each receiving a gold medal.
He was forced to auction off the medal after being excluded for seven years for his public comments about black African IQ in 2007 treating as racist.
After commenting African IQ, Watson has not been invited to give public lectures and fired from the boards of companies, so he don’t have income apart from academic income.

Advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket successfully test-fired from Chandipur in Odisha

10-DEC-2014

The advanced version of Mark-II Pinaka Rocket was successfully test fired on 9 December 2014 from the Proof & Experimental Establishment (PXE) at Chandipur, about 15-km from Balasore in Odisha. It was test-fired using a multi-barrel launcher.
The tests were conducted by the Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) of DRDO with logistical support from the PXE labs.
Advance version of Mark-II rocket has a range of more than 60-km and capable of acting as a force-multiplier. It was developed to supplement artillery guns.
Pinaka is the unguided rocket system meant to neutralise large areas with rapid salvos. It has undergone several tough tests since 1995. It has been inducted into the Army and the present trials were conducted with some improvements.
Characteristic feature of Pinaka
• The Pinaka rocket is also known as the Weapon Area System (WAS) and it can fire rockets with a range of 40-65 km
• With a battery of six launchers, the Pinaka system can fire a salvo of 12 rockets with 1.2 tonne of high explosives in 44 seconds
• It can neutralise a target area of 3.9 sq. km and is meant as a supplement to the existing artillery system at a range beyond 30 km.
• It can be fitted with a variety of warheads ranging from blast-cum-pre-fragmented high explosives to anti-tank mines.

Union Government divested 5 percent stake in SAIL

10-DEC-2014

The Union Government on 5 December 2014 divested its 5 percent stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). The government divested 20.65 crores shares of SAIL through offer for sale (OFS) through stock exchanges as per SEBI Rules and Regulation.
With the sale of 5 percent stake in SAIL at a floor price of 83 rupees per share, Union government mopped up around 1715 crore rupees.
As a result, the government stake in SAIL came down from present 80 percent to 75 percent meeting the SEBI norms on listing of public shareholding.
As per the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules of SEBI, minimum public shareholding in listed state-owned firms should be 25 percent and all the listed PSU norms has to comply with the norm by 21 August 2017.
Apart from this, as much as 10 percent of the offered shares were reserved for retail investors, who can buy shares worth up to 2 lakh rupees in the disinvestment. A minimum of 25 percent of the issue size was reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies.
Background
The SAIL disinvestment is first PSU share sale of the fiscal year 2014-15 under NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During the fiscal year 2013-14, government raised 1500 crore rupees from sale of SAIL shares while the entire disinvestment proceeds stood at over 16000 crore rupees.
The NDA government, after coming to power in May 2014, in September 2014 decided to raise 43425 crore rupees in the financial year 2014-15 through selling shares in Coal India Ltd (CIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
The NDA government's disinvestment plans include 5 percent stake sale in ONGC, 10 percent in CIL and 11.36 percent in NHPC.
Besides, the 5 percent stake sale formed the second tranche of the 10.82 percent stake sale in SAIL envisaged by the previous UPA government in July 2012. The first tranche of disinvestment of 5.82 percent in SAIL was completed in March 2013 when the government had mopped up 1500 crore rupees.

International Anti-Corruption Day observed on 9 December

10-DEC-2014

International Anti-Corruption Day was observed by the United Nations on 9 December 2014. The day was observed to raise public awareness about corruption and what people can do to fight it.
The theme of 2014 International Anti-Corruption Day was Break the Corruption Chain. The theme focused on showing the importance of individual engagement in tackling a phenomenon that strikes hardest at the poor, hinders inclusive economic growth and robs essential services of badly needed funds.
On the theme a joint international campaign called Break the Corruption Chain was launched to focus on how corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to human rights violations, distorts markets, erodes quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.
About International Anti-Corruption Day
On 31 October 2003, UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption and designated the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as secretariat for the Convention against corruption.
The UNGA also designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.

France and the United States signed agreement to compensate Holocaust survivors

10-DEC-2014

France and the United States signed a 60 million US dollars agreement on 8 December 2014 to compensate thousands of Holocaust survivors who were deported to concentration camps by France's state rail company SNCF during Nazi occupation.
Although SNCF is not a party to the agreement, the company will contribute 4 million US dollars over the next five years to fund Holocaust memorials and museums in the US, Israel and France.
The agreement will come into effect after the approval by the French parliament.
Highlights of the agreement
• Under the agreement, the French government will pay 60 million US dollars to Holocaust survivors and their families.
• The agreement aims to pay those people who were deported from France to Nazi concentration camps through the French rail company SNCF during the country's occupation by the Germans between 1940 and 1944.
• In order to gain the benefits of the deal, the person should not have had access to any compensation or pension programmes which France has been providing since 1946.
• Spouses of the deportees who were not nationals of French, Belgian, Polish or British will also be compensated. These countries are already covered by bilateral agreements with France.
• Survivors including nationals from Israel and Canada as well as Americans may receive up to 100000 US dollars each while heirs and spouses may receive several tens of thousands.
• As part of the deal, the US Government will work to end lawsuits and compensation claims against SNCF.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel re-elected as head of Conservative party

10-DEC-2014

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected unopposed as head of Conservative Christian Democrats party on 9 December 2014. She was elected as the head of the party for the eighth time by winning 96.7 percent of delegates' votes.
She has been the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000 and the Chancellor of Germany since 2005. She is the first woman to hold either office.
A former research scientist, she entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989 and was appointed as the Federal Minister for Women and Youth in 1991 under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She became the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety in 1994, serving until 1998.
In 2007, Merkel was President of the European Council and chaired the G8, this made her the second woman (after Margaret Thatcher) to do so. She played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration.

Human Rights Day observed globally on 10 December

10-DEC-2014

Human Rights Day was observed globally on 10 December 2014. The theme for the 2014 Human Rights Day is Human Rights 365. The theme was based on the idea that every day is Human Rights Day and everyone is entitled to basic human rights day.
The day celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values.
The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948.
The day is marked both by high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues.
In addition it is traditionally on 10 December that the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize are awarded.
First Human Rights Day was celebrated in 1950.

First Arabic translation of Indian Constitution launched in Cairo

10-DEC-2014

The first Arabic translation of Indian Constitution was launched on 9 December 2014 in Cairo.
The Arabic translation was launched by the Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil El Araby along with Indian Secretary (East) ambassador Anil Wadhwa.
The launch was organised in the Secretariat of the League of Arab States by the Embassy of India in collaboration with the League of Arab States.
The translation was undertaken by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).
The translated Constitution meets the aspirations of all sections of society and is characterised by large lingual, religious and ethnic diversity.

Richard Rahul Verma became first Indian-American to be appointed as US Ambassador to India

10-DEC-2014

Indian-American Richard Rahul Verma’s nomination as the next US Ambassador to India was confirmed by the US Senate on 9 December 2014. With this, he became the first Indian-American to be the US Ambassador to India.
Verma will replace Nancy Powell who resigned from the post in March 2014 after a damaging row over the treatment of a junior diplomat of India, Devyani Khobragade.
At present, the US Embassy in New Delhi is headed by a charge d’affaires, Kathleen Stephens.
Currently, he is a senior counsellor at Steptoe & Johnson law firm and the Albright Stonebridge Group, a business advisory company led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
About Richard Rahul Verma
• Rahul verma served as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs at the US State Department in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011.
• He was a member of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism, and co-authored World at Risk in 2008.
• He was a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007.
• He served as an Air Force judge advocate in the US Air Force.
• He played an important role in the Congressional passage of India-US Civilian Nuclear Deal and is a strong advocator of Indo-US ties. In this regard, he started an India 2020 project at a top American-think tank named Center for American Progress.
• Richard Rahul Verma was born in 1968 in the US after his parents migrated to the US in 1960s.
Comment
The very fact that Verma nomination was confirmed by voice vote in a bitterly divided Senate signifies the bi-partisan support to stronger India-US relationship.

WEF released 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index

10-DEC-2014

World Economic Forum (WEF) on 8 December 2014 released the 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. The theme of the 2013 Index is Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation.
Out of 140 economies assessed in the 2013 Index, Switzerland topped the list in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness. It is followed by Germany and Austria at second and third place respectively.
The other countries in the top ten are: the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Sweden and Singapore.
India has been placed at 65th position in the 2013 Index and is positioned at 11th place in the Asia-Pacific region.
African countries namely Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania, Lesotho, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Haiti are positioned last in the index.
About the 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index
The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 assesses 140 economies worldwide based on the extent to which they are putting in place the factors and policies to make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism sector.
The report explores how, on one hand, the travel and tourism industry has the potential to boost economic resilience and job creation but, on the other, a number of factors continue to hinder its development.

BHEL commissioned Nyaborongo Hydro Power Plant in Rwanda

10-DEC-2014

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 8 December 2014 successfully commissioned a 28 MW Nyaborongo Hydro Electric Project in Rwanda on turnkey basis.
With the commissioning of this project, the installed generating capacity of Republic of Rwanda has gone up by 24 percent from 119 MW to 147 MW.
Nyaborongo Hydro Electric project
• Nyaborongo Hydro Electric project is owned by the Government of Rwanda and has been financed under the Government of India’s Line of Credit.
• BHEL's scope of work in the contract included turnkey execution for the Nyaborongo hydro power project comprising two hydro generating units of 14 MW each.
• Major equipment supplied for the project include hydro turbines, generators, transformers, controls, monitoring and protection systems and switchgear.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
• BHEL is an integrated power plant equipment manufacturer and one of the largest engineering and manufacturing company of its kind in India.
• BHEL has a vast experience in hydro-electric plants having contracted over 28000 MW of projects across the globe.
• The company has the capability to deliver complete Hydro Power Plants including design, engineering, supply/logistics, erection and commissioning.
• BHEL had established its presence in a number of African nations like Sudan, Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, etc.
• BHEL’s hydro installations are working in India, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

SBI launched two Composite Indices to track monthly and yearly economic trends

10-DEC-2014

The State Bank of India (SBI) on 9 December 2014 launched two indices namely the SBI Monthly Composite Index and the SBI Yearly Composite Index. These indices will primarily track manufacturing and services activity to determine contraction and expansion of the Indian economy.
This is the first time that an Indian bank launched a forward-looking economic index. Earlier to determine the economic trends, markets depended upon HSBC India Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and HSBC India Services Business Activity.
The SBI Composite Indices have been developed on the basis of the SBI’s internal loan portfolio, which mirrors the credit demand in the country.
Characteristics Feature of the SBI Composite Indices
• The indices will be released every month post-RBI’s credit growth numbers
• It will be published on a monthly basis and track two months in advance the possible trends in official estimates
• Indices will determine the trends of economic activity on a scale of 0 to 100. Index above 50 implies growth over previous respective period and less than 50 will suggest a contraction over respective period.
• It will help policymakers and market participants to identify turning points in the manufacturing cycles in advance and adjust their investment plans or strategy
• The index will also take into account other indicators of economic activities such as consumer spending, mining, interest rates, inflation and exchange rates on a monthly basis.
• The data collection will not be outsourced as is the case with the HSBC data.
Sample prediction for SBI Composite Index
As per the sample prediction of manufacturing activities during October 2006 to March 2013, the SBI Composite Indices was at 71 percent as against PMI at 49 percent.
During April 2013 to September 2014, the SBI Composite Index for manufacturing activities was at 72 percent as against PMI at 50 percent.
SBI Composite Index projects a stronger manufacturing recovery in December 2014.

Veteran Journalist Piratla Venkateswarlu passed away

10-DEC-2014

Veteran journalist Piratla Venkateswarlu passed away on 8 December 2014 in Narayanaguda following a brief illness. He was 74.
Piratla was unwell due to diabetes-related nervous complications.

Piratla Venkateswarlu
• Piratla began his career as a full-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
• He was the National Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of Bharatiya Janata Party.
• Later, he took up journalism by working for News Channel Jagruthi.
• He became the editor of Krishna Patrika Telugu daily in 1982 and ran the publication till 2012.
• He is also actively associated with small newspapers association of India.

Ministry of Railways inaugurated Wi-Fi broadband services at New Delhi railway station

09-DEC-2014

Ministry of Railways inaugurated Wi-Fi broadband services at the New Delhi railway station on 8 December 2014. The Wi-Fi facility is being executed by RailTel, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Railways.
The RailWire powered Wi-Fi will give maximum speed of 1 mbps and the facility is free for first 30 minutes by registering on the Wi-Fi network through mobile.
If user wants to use beyond 30 minutes then the user may purchase scratch cards priced at 25 rupees for 30 minutes and 35 rupees for 1 Hour and are valid for 24 hours.
RailTel will execute the Wi-Fi facility with Gigabit Ethernet network using Optic Fibre Cable (OFC) in a ring. The total cost of the project is 50 lakh rupees and an amount of 16 lakh rupees will be spent annually to run the Wi-Fi facility.
Besides, the Ministry also decided to extend the Wi-Fi facility at 75 A1 category stations within a period of next 12 months. The facility will be launched at Agra, Ahmedabad and Varanasi by end of December 2014 on trial basis and at Howrah, Mumbai and Secunderabad by January 2015.

RBI notified revised FDI policy in Defence and Railways

09-DEC-2014

The Reserve Bank of India on 8 December 2014 notified revised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy in Railways Infrastructure and Defence sectors.
As per the revised norms notified by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in August 2014, foreign investment ceiling in defence sector was increased to 49 percent and in rail infrastructure it was permitted 100 percent.
Revised guidelines in Railway
• Government permitted 100 percent FDI in railway infrastructure sector under the automatic route subject to conditions.
• 100 percent cap is allowed in railways sectors such as construction, operation & maintenance of suburban corridor projects through PPP, high speed train projects and dedicated freight lines and Mass Rapid Transport Systems.
• FDI also allowed in rolling stock including train sets, and locomotives or coaches manufacturing and maintenance facilities, railway electrification, signaling systems, freight terminals and passenger terminals, among others.
• FDI beyond 49 of the equity of the investee company in sensitive areas from security point of view will be under the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for consideration on a case to case basis.
Revised guidelines in Defence
• The foreign investment in defence sector (FDI, FIIs, RFPIs, NRIs, FVCIs and QFIs) up to 49 percent has been permitted under government route (FIPB). The earlier cap was 26 percent.
• Foreign Portfolio investment and FVCI investment will be under automatic route. The both will not exceed 24 of the total equity of the investee company.

Azim Premji awarded Swiss Ambassador's Award

09-DEC-2014

Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji was awarded Swiss Ambassador's Award in Mumbai on 3 December 2014. He was awarded for inspirational and socially responsible leadership.
Switzerland ambassador Linus von Castelmur praised Azim Premji as a beacon of the corporate world who has maintained values such as tolerance, honesty and modesty.
About Swiss Ambassador's Award
Swiss Ambassador's Award was constituted in 2010. The award recognises individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Indo-Swiss relations or have stood out for their exceptional role in society and industry.
In past, the award has been conferred on Yash Chopra director – producer of Bollywood; Ratan Tata Chairman-Emeritus of Tata Sons; Glenn Saldanha CMD of Glenmark Generics Limited and RV Kanoria, Chief Managing Director of Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd.
About Wipro
Wipro was established in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited in Maharashtra. Later it ventured into the fledgling IT industry in 1981.
Wipro started operations in Switzerland in 1999 and at present the company counts over 60 percent of the Swiss-headquartered blue chip companies as its customers and partners. Wipro is located at Zurich, Basel and Geneva in Switzerland.

US and NATO ended combat mission in Afghanistan

09-DEC-2014

The United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on 8 December 2014.
The mission ended with lowering of flags by the NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Joint Command in a ceremony held in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
This ceremony was the first of two that will draw a formal close to NATO’s combat mission by 28 December 2014.
The mission came to an end 13 years after the 9/11 terror attack in the US that sparked the invasion of the country in 2001 to topple the Taliban-led government.
Now onwards, the NATO and the US forces would make a transition to a training and support role for Afghanistan’s own security forces, which have led the fight against the Taliban insurgents since mid-2013.
From 1 January 2015, coalition will maintain a force of 13000 troops in Afghanistan as compared to one lakh forty thousand in 2011. At present, there are around 15000 troops in the country.
On the other hand, by end of December 2015, the total number of US troop will come down to 5500 and will reach to net zero by end of 2016.
However, in light of the recent announcement of launching of Operation Resolute Support by the US President Barack Obama, the mission of the US forces that remain in Afghanistan after 2014 will get broadened.
• Commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan was - General John F. Campbell
Comment
The combat mission comes to an end at a time when the Taliban have increased the attack on civilians and army personnel. The year 2014 saw the record number of causalities that has increased from 4350 in 2013 to 4634, a whopping 6.5 percent increase.
These figures become more amusing when compared to the number of causalities that has taken place since 2001. Some 3500 foreign forces, including at least 2210 American soldiers, have been killed since the war began in 2001.

President launched Karnataka Mobile One App in Bengaluru for m-governance

09-DEC-2014

President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 December 2014 launched the Karnataka Mobile One App (M One app) in Bengaluru. The app will provide a platform for m-governance in the State and is first such initiative of India.
The M One app has been developed by Karnataka government’s Centre for E-Governance and mobile VAS provider IMIMobile. It has been developed under the ICARE program of Karnataka government.
The app is currently available for Android and iOS devices. However, feature phone users can access the Mobile One services through Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or SMS by dialling 161 or through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) by dialling *161#.
The M One app is expected to provide more than 4000 services, including 637 government services & 3644 private services to the citizens.
Citizens through the M One app will be able to pay electricity bills, book train & bus tickets, recharge their mobile phones, receive traffic updates, track income tax refund status, book cabs, and much more.
Citizens can also keep a track of all transactions processed through this platform, complete with bill date, payment mode, bill number and many more services.
Comment
Karnataka Mobile One app is a pioneering effort to integrate mobile enabled services delivery system that signals a new era in Governance. This will improve delivery system and facilitate prompt redressal of grievances.

Rajya Sabha passed Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014

09-DEC-2014

Rajya Sabha on 8 December 2014 passed the Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014 during the parliamentary session.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Union Minister of Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar on 1 December 2014.
The Bill seeks to amend the Sick Textile Undertaking (Nationalisation) Act, 1974 and the Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1995 in order to revive sick Textile Mills.
The amendments are made to protect assets of sick textile undertakings and ensure lease-hold right of such units remain with the central government.
Provisions of Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014
•   According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the Bills seeks to clarify the vesting of lease-hold land with the central government in order to prevent the vacating of this land by National Textile Corporation (NTC) at the expiry of the lease.
•   Court proceedings directing lease-hold land that are meant to be divested from NTC will not be maintained or continued.
•   Lease-hold rights over land will continue to be exercised by NTC on behalf of the central government.
•   Even though lease-hold rights of the land are vested in the central government, NTC has the right to prosecute or defend any proceedings in respect of this land.
•   No proceedings can be instituted against NTC on the ground that textile operations were discontinued in the textile undertaking.
•   Any lease-hold property divested from NTC to other persons as a result of court proceedings must be returned to NTC.
•   The transfer of any property from NTC through any order of a civil court or other authority, which is not in keeping with either Act as amended by the Bill, will be deemed void.

Gwladys Nocera of France won Hero Women's Indian Golf Open 2014

09-DEC-2014

Gwladys Nocera of France on 6 December 2014 won the Hero Women's Indian Golf Open 2014 at the Delhi Golf Club. She received the prize money of 300000 US dollars.
She won her first title of the 2014 season with a score 11 under par total of 208.
Hannah Burke of England, Fabienne In-Albon of Switzerland and Hyeon Seo Kang of South Korea tied for second position while Vaishavi Sinha of India finished at fifth position.
The Hero Women’s Indian Golf Open began in 2007 with prize money of 100000 US dollars. The Tournament is sanctioned by three organisations namely the Ladies European Tour, the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and the Women's Golf Association of India.
The Winner of Hero Women’s Indian Open 2013 was Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand.

World’s first herbal Holy Quran unveiled in Dubai

09-DEC-2014

The world’s first handcrafted herbal Holy Quran was unveiled on 8 December 2014 in Dubai. It is made from about 200 medicinal plants.
The Quran has been made by the Islamic arts and calligraphy company Heddem Arts and has been crafted over 23 years from 1957 to 1979 by Turkish Unani Doctor Hamdi Taher.
The Herbal Holy Quran
• The Quran is made of high potency herbal mixtures prepared as per Unani medical system.
• Herbal sheets of the Holy Quran have many therapeutic properties when the reader moves his fingers on the letters or in and around the pages, the herbal mixture seeps through the pores in the fingers, providing health benefits.
• The herbal-cream-written Quran includes 606 pages and weighs about 7.5 kg.
• Every word and design in the Holy Quran is made without using any printing technology, tools or machinery because of which it is truly one of a kind.
• The Holy book includes a mixture of herbs that had been directly extracted from seeds, fruits, leaves, stems, barks and roots used in Unani medicine.
About Unani Medicine
Unani is Arabic word for Ionian which means Greek. It is a formal medicine that has been practiced for 6000 years.
Unani is also known as hikmat, a Unani Tibb Medicine that was developed by the Greek physician Hippocrates from the medicine and traditions of the ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Subramanian Committee on Leveraging the Post Office Network submitted report to Union government

09-DEC-2014

Subramanian Committee on Leveraging the Post Office Network on 4 December 2014 submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The objective of the Committee was to transform the Post Office Network in keeping with changing market trends and competition.
The committee has made around 181 recommendations to make the post office competitive and efficient. These recommendations ranges from formulation of a New Postal Law to New Organisational design of India Post to Extension of Post Office network in Rural areas.
Following are the recommendations made by Committee:
• Committee has suggested creation of a Postal Bank of India (PBI), which would work independently within the postal department with banking professionals.
• It has also suggested setting up of three subsidiaries as a part of a holding company under the postal department for extending services in the fields of banking, e-commerce and insurance.
• The task force has also recommended to launch the proposed postal bank through an Act of the Parliament and not by approaching the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which would make it easier for the government to take a decision in this regard even if the RBI has objections to it.
• It has recommended widening the ambit of work for India Post.
• It has said that India Post would not only run as a payment bank but also as a full-fledged commercial bank, which would help in financial inclusion with its 1.5 lakh postal offices across the country.
• It has also made several other recommendations to leverage the vast network of India Post and its local knowledge across regions in the country.
• The panel said commercial banks have reached only to urban cities and towns but postal banks will cover interior villages which have largely been excluded from banking services. This would be a major boost to govenrment’s financial inclusion in real sense.
• The committee claimed that with restructuring of India Post and establishing postal bank and involving e-commerce and other services, it would add 5 lakh more jobs.

Background
Government constituted the committee to review the operations of India Post headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian in August 2014.
Other members of the panel include Ravindra H Dholakia of IIM, Ahmedabad, former Sebi chairman GN Bajpai and former Infosys board member TV Mohandas Pai amongst other top officials from the government.
India Post has around 1.4 lakh post offices in rural areas and handles savings deposits of 600000 crore rupees and postal insurance of over 40000 crore rupees, which is just next to India’s largest bank, the state run State Bank of India.
It has already started connecting all its branches through internet and ATMs across the country.

China rejected UN mediation to resolve South China Sea dispute

09-DEC-2014

China on 7 December 2014 rejected the UN arbitration to resolve the South China Sea maritime dispute with its neighbours.
In response to UN mediation sought by Philippines, Beijing in its Position Paper asserted that it should be settled through direct bilateral negotiations and not through compulsory arbitration under the UN Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).
The Position Paper was released by China in response to the UN Arbitral Tribunal demand that China should submit counter-memorial before 15 December 2014.
Background
The Philippines approached the UN body in 2013 and questioned China’s claims to the Spratly islands, called as Nansha islands by Beijing and the waters around them. As a result UN Arbitral Tribunal was appointed to deal with the issue which had asked China to file its counter-response by 15 December 2014.

Hockey Olympian Grihanandan Singh died

09-DEC-2014

Hockey Olympian Grihanandan Singh died on 7 December 2014 in New Delhi. He was 88.
Nick named Nandy Singh was an Indian field hockey player who won two Olympic gold medals, at the 1948 London Olympics and later in 1952 Helsinki Olympics with the Indian team.
About Nandy Singh
• Singh was born on 18 February 1926, in Lyallpur district of undivided Punjab (now Faisalabad in Pakistan)
• He was a prolific centre-forward and a contemporary of the legendary Balbir Singh
• Before independence, he played for the Undivided Punjab University from 1943-46 before moving to Kolkata after Independence
• He joined the Indian Navy in 1949 and achieved the rare distinction of leading both the Navy team and the combined Services team at the time
• He was awarded with the Dhyan Chand award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports in 2006
• He retired as commander from the Indian Navy and was decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM)
• He served as the general secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament Society

Andhra Pradesh Government unveiled Land Pooling Policy to build new state capital

09-DEC-2014

The Andhra Pradesh government on 8 December 2014 unveiled a Land Pooling Policy to build new state capital near Vijayawada-Guntur region.
Under the policy, the state will secure about 30000 acres of land in order to construct a riverfront capital city on the southern side of the Krishna river.
Pooling of land for the capital will begin on 9 December 2014 as a majority of 22405 farmers in 29 villages are ready to part with their lands.
Highlights of the Land Pooling Policy
• The state government will immediately release a sum of 200 crore rupees to provide debt relief of up to 1.5 lakh rupees to each farmer as a one-time settlement.
• Under the package, farmers owning dry land will be given 1000 square yards of residential plot and 200 square yards of commercial plot as compensation for every acre given to the Andhra Pradesh government.
• Owners of wet land will be given 1000 square yards of residential land and 300 square yards of commercial plots in the proposed zone closer to their existing lands.
• The assigned land owners will be given 800 square yards of residential and 100 square yards of commercial plot against one acre of land.
• Besides, owners of dry land will also be paid 30000 rupees per annum as compensation for ten years with a 10 percent hike every year who give away one acre of land, while those owning wet lands will get 50000 rupees as well as a 10 percent hike per annum.
• 12000 landless families will be given pension of 2500 rupees a month for 10 years through the Capital Region Social Security Fund.
• Once a farmer hands over the land, he will be immediately handed over a Land Pooling Ownership Certificate (LPOC) and the developed land will be handed over to him within three years.
• The farmers in the new capital region will be exempted from paying farm loans.

Andhra Pradesh Government signed MoU with Singapore for development of its new capital

09-DEC-2014

Andhra Pradesh Government on 8 December 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore for the development of its new capital that is set to come up near Vijawayada region.
The MoU was signed by International Enterprise Singapore CEO Teo Eng Cheong and the Infrastructure Corporation of the Andhra Pradesh representative Sambasiva Rao.
Highlights of the MoU
• Under the MoU, Singapore will prepare a master plan for building the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
• The master plan will be designed for the capital region that is likely to come up in an area of approximately 7300 square kilometres and also for the capital city that will be spread in an area of 125 square kilometres.
• A joint High Level Committee will be set up to monitor the progress of the project.
• The first phase of the development of the capital will be completed by 2019 and some Singapore companies might also be involved in capital construction.
• The Centre for Liveable Cities and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise will also help Andhra Pradesh by providing training programmes for state government officials who will be involved in the development of the capital city.