Current Affairs October 2014 (1st to 10th)

Leela Samson resigned as Sangeet Natak Akademi chairperson

10-OCT-2014

Leela Samson tendered her resignation as the Chairperson of Sangeet Natak Akademi. Samson put in her papers on 30 September 2104, which has been accepted by Union Ministry for Culture.
62-year-old Samson submitted her resignation as the Chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi a year before her term ends.
Samson, an eminent Bharatnatyam dancer was appointed as the chairperson of the Akademi in August 2010 for a period of five years by the Union government.

About Leela Samson
• At present, Samson is also a chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) since 2011 and was also director of Kalashetra from 2005 onwards.
• In 1995, Leela Samson formed Spanda, a dance group to review the traditional vocabulary of Bharatanatyam
• Sanchari and The Flowering Tree are two documentary films made on her works
Awards conferred on Samson are
• Padma Shri (1990) in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the art of Bharata Natyam
• The Sanskriti, Nritya Choodamani, Kalaimamani (2005) given by Government of Tamil Nadu
• The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1999–2000) for contributions to Bharatanatyam

Sangeet Natak Akademi
The Sangeet Natak Akademi is India's national academy for all performing arts. It was set up as an autonomous body in 1952. It is fully funded by the Ministry of Culture and is currently headed by Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Shripad Yesso Naik.

Cyclonic storm Hudhud

10-OCT-2014

Hudhud is in news because is expected to cross north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Odisha coast between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur.

Cyclonic storm named Hudhud is the deep depression over north Andaman Sea crossed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is expected to reach east cost of India. The cyclonic storm is named after a bird by Oman, has been categorized as a very severe cyclonic storm.

The Wind speed range of Hudhud is expected to be 130-140 kmph and may reach up to 155 kmph.

A very severe cyclonic storm Phailin with wind speed of more than 210 had hit Odisha coast at Gopalpur caused extensive damage in 2013.

DIPP constituted a special team Japan Plus to fast track Japanese investments

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) on 9 October 2014 constituted a special management team to facilitate and fast track investment proposals from Japan. The team was named as Japan Plus.
Japan Plus will be coordinated by Kenichiro Toyofuku from METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), Government of Japan and will comprise of four Indians from Government of India and two Japanese officials from METI.
Highlights of the Japan Plus Team
•   The mandate of the Japan Plus team runs through the entire spectrum of investment promotion – research, outreach, promotion, facilitation and aftercare.
•   The team will support the Government of India in initiating, attracting, facilitating, fast tracking and handholding Japanese investments across sectors.
•   It will also be responsible for providing updated information on investment opportunities across sectors, in specific projects and in industrial corridors in particular.
•   Moreover, it will identify prospective Japanese companies including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and facilitate their investments in India.
•   The team will also provide assistance to DIPP in undertaking regular benchmarking studies, identifying bottlenecks and areas of concern in sectors of interest to Japanese companies and analyzing their impact on industrial development production in India.

Formation of a Core Group
Union Government has also constituted a Core Group chaired by Cabinet Secretary on India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership. This group will comprise of Chairman of Railway Board, Foreign Secretary and Secretaries of DIPP, Economic Affairs, Expenditure, Financial Services, Revenue, Commerce, Urban Development, Electronics and Information Technology and others.
The Core Group will be serviced by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. This Core Group will co-ordinate and closely monitor the process to ensure that investments from Japan are facilitated in various sectors and opportunities of investment and technology transfer are fully exploited.
India and Japan
Japan is the 4th largest FDI contributor to India with major interests in pharmaceuticals, automobiles and services sectors. It accounts for 7.46 percent of total FDI equity inflows into India.
India is an attractive investment destination for Japanese companies with 1072 Japanese companies having 2542 business bases in India.
Over the last decade, the number of Japanese establishments in India have increased by 11 times reflecting the positive sentiments of Japanese investors for Indian market

Union MNRE signed MoU for setting up first-ever Offshore Wind Power Project in India

09-OCT-2014

Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 1 October 2014 for setting up a Joint Venture Company to undertake the first-ever Offshore Wind Power Project in India along the Gujarat coast.

The MoU was signed between Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), and Consortium of partners consisting of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Power Trading Corporation (PTC), and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL).

Details of MoU signed

The Joint Venture Company will undertake detailed feasibility study and necessary steps for implementation of the first offshore demonstration wind power project.
The offshore wind power project along the Gujarat coast will be of about 100 MW capacity.
Subsidy to be provided for setting up of evacuation and transmission infrastructure including financial support for carrying out studies such as wind resource assessment, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), oceanographic survey and Bathymetric studies.

Efforts undertaken by the Union MNRE towards Offshore Wind Power development

India with a coastline of around 7600 kilometres has vast potential for Off-shore wind power development. But it is still to be harnessed.

World-wide offshore wind power projects aggregating to about 7.5 GW capacity have been installed (UK - 4.2 GW; Denmark - 1.2 GW; Belgium – 0.7 GW; Germany – 0.6 GW; China – 0.4 GW; the Netherlands – 0.2 GW and Sweden – 0.2 GW)

Thus, Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) have undertaken various initiatives to develop the offshore wind power in India. These include announcement of Draft National Offshore Wind Energy Policy; preparation of Draft Cabinet note on National Offshore Wind Energy Policy; and finalization of the proposed National Offshore Wind Energy Policy.

Onshore wind power development in India

Since the start of the onshore demonstration projects undertaken by the Ministry in early 90’s, the onshore wind power development has reached to commercial stage in India. In fact, it is the fastest growing renewable energy option today. Today India has more than 22 GW installed onshore wind power capacity.

World Post Day observed globally on 9 October

9 October: World Post Day
World Post Day was observed globally on 9 October 2014. This day is observed to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives as well as its contribution to the social and economic development of countries.
On this day, various programme and activities were undertaken with an aim to generate awareness of their Post’s role as well as activities among public and media on a national scale.
Across the world, the day was celebrated in variety of ways and they include
• In certain countries, World Post Day was observed as a working holiday
• In some countries, the day was used by Many Posts as an event to introduce or promote new postal products and services
• Some Posts also used World Post Day to reward their employees for good service
• In some countries philatelic exhibitions were organized and new stamps and date cancellation marks are issued.

World Post Day celebrations in India
In India, the day will be celebrated as a part of the National Postal Week which will continue till 15 October 2014. This week is observed in different forms and they are
• 10 October – will be the Savings Bank Day
• 11 October – will be the Mails Day
• 13 October – will be Philately Day
• 14 October –will be observed as Business Development Day
• 15 October – will be observed as Personal Life Insurance Day when insurance claims settlement will be given priority with the name to bring down pendency in claims settlement to zero.
On all these days school children will be involved to educate them on functioning of the Postal Department. Customer Forums meeting will also be held in various postal circuits.
About World Post Day
The day is observed annually on the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern.
Universal Postal Union Congress held in Tokyo, Japan in 1969 declared a day to be observed as the World Post Day. Since that declaration, the day is being observed and celebrated in different countries across the world.
At the time of establishment in 1874, UPU had 22 founding member countries but at present it has 192 member countries.

Union Government to sell LED bulbs at 10 rupees against 400 rupees

09-OCT-2014

Union Government on 8 October 2014 decided to sell LED bulbs to households at 10 rupees against the market price of 400 rupees. In this regard, Union Power Ministry launched a business model enabling the sale of LED bulbs to households at 10 rupees against the market price of 400 rupees.

As per the envisioned business model, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will work with electricity distribution companies (discoms) to develop a business model under which EESAL will procure LED bulbs in bulk and sell the bulbs to households at 10 rupees. The discoms will then repay EESL, over a period of five to eight years from the savings that mount up due to use of this energy efficient lighting technology.

The Union Power Ministry has already decided that all below-poverty line households at the time of electrification will be provided LED technology under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyuthikaran Yojana (RGGVY).

Meanwhile, according to MoU signed between EESL and the Andhra Pradesh government, EESL completed the procurement of two million LEDs.

About LED
LEDs (Light Emitting diode) are emerging as the most energy-efficient source of lighting as they use one-tenth of the energy of a normal incandescent bulb and half as much energy as a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) to produce the same amount of light.

About EESL
• Union Ministry of Power set up Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) as a Joint Venture of NTPC Limited, PFC, REC and POWERGRID to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects.
• EESL works closely with BEE and is leading market activities of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE).

About Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)
The Government of India set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency in 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
The mission of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles, within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
The primary objective of BEE is to reduce energy intensity of the Indian economy which will be achieved with active participation of all stakeholders

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg arrived in New Delhi, to meet PM tomorrow

Founder of social site Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg arrived in New Delhi on a two day visit from 9 October to 10 October 2014. His aim behind the visit is to take help of India in connecting people of the world.

During his visit, one of his big engagements is his meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi as a person is a supporter of social media as he thinks that it is a mean to reach out to people.

In terms of users, India is the second-largest market of social network outside the US but one that generates little revenue.
On the first day of his visit, he addressed Internet.org summit where he presented different social and economic roadblocks on the way of connectivity, which is right of every person. He said that social roadblocks are greater than the economic roadblocks. In the summit, he also claimed that connectivity allows people to perform unbelievable works.
Zuckerberg said that even in developed countries, about 25 percent women are not connected with social media as compared to men. Whereas, in context of India about 69 percent people are not connected with the social network and as they don’t know that they can connect with the world through internet.

Ocean Health Index for the year 2014 released

09-OCT-2014

Ocean Health Index (OHI) 2014 was released by the National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at UC Santa Barbara, Califronia, US on 30 September 2014. The Index, third in the series, was released in partnership with Conservation International.

As per the OHI 2014, the overall health score of the Oceans of the world stands at 67 out of 100.

The third annual OHI for the first time includes scores for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean plus the 15 other ocean regions beyond national jurisdiction (high seas areas).

Together with the 220 Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) measured in 2012 and 2013, the OHI 2014, now measures all of the oceans on planet Earth.

OHI 2014 and High Seas

For the assessment of the Ocean Health of the High Seas, three goals and sub-goals were assessed. There are: Fisheries, Iconic Species, and Biodiversity (measured as the threat of extinction to all assessed Species).
The overall score for global EEZ is 68 in 2014
The Western Indian Ocean and Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean scored the highest overall score of 79 and the North-western Pacific Ocean scored the lowest score of 53
The Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean had a Fisheries score of 81 out of 100, followed by the Western Indian Ocean with 80, making them the highest-scoring sectors for fisheries.
At 7, the North-western Pacific Ocean had the lowest Fisheries score because, among other things, its stocks were farthest from the biomass that provides maximum sustainable yield.

OHI 2014 and Antarctica & the Southern Ocean

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean region scored 72, however Antarctica’s biodiversity score was 94 out of 100.
The OHI score of eight goals assessed for Antarctica are: Food Production (55), Natural Products (29), Economies and Livelihoods (83), Tourism and Recreation (55), Sense of Place (46), Coastal Protection (99), Clean Water (100) and Biodiversity (94).
The high score for Antarctica on Clean water, Coastal protection and Biodiversity goals highlight the fact that it is protected by distance from many of the threats caused by human populations such as chemicals, excessive nutrients, pathogens and trash.
However, the low Fisheries score of Antarctica highlights the fact that fishing is still having an impact in this region, despite improved monitoring, successful efforts to reduce by-catch and new management of krill fisheries.
The report also highlights that many historically overexploited species in Antarctica are recovering. These are blue whale and Antarctic fur seal, the Southern right whale, and humpback whale.
However, 38 species in the Antarctica and Southern Ocean are decreasing. These include iconic species such as Southern bluefin tuna, basking shark, porbeagle, Gentoo penguin, and the Tristan, wandering and black-browed albatrosses.
Two of the species found in these Oceans are critically endangered, seven are endangered, 14 are vulnerable and 15 are near threatened according to the IUCN Red List.
In terms of Sense of Place, Antarctica scored 46. As proxy measures, this goal assesses the status of iconic species, which scored 90, and special places, which only scored 1, because just a tiny percentage of Antarctica’s near shore waters and coastline is protected compared to the target of 30 percent.
In Antarctica, as elsewhere, low scores in Food Provision, Natural Products, Sense of Place and others point to things to improve so that we can maintain the health of ocean habitats, wildlife and economic species and still help meet the needs of our growing human population.

About the Ocean Health Index (OHI)

The Ocean Health Index (OHI) is the first assessment tool that scientifically compares and combines key elements from all dimensions of the ocean’s health – biological, physical, economic and social.

The Ocean Health Index was developed with the contributions of more than 65 ocean experts including the National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and the University of British Columbia’s Sea Around Us project.

The founding partners of the Index are Conservation International, National Geographic, and The New England Aquarium. The Founding Presenting Sponsor of the Ocean Health Index is the Pacific Life Foundation. The founding grant was provided by Beau and Heather Wrigley.

Railways Revenue earnings up by over 12 percent during April 2014 - September 2014

09-OCT-2014

Railway Ministry data released on 8 October 2014 said that Railways' revenue earnings have gone up by over 12 percent during 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014. According to the data, approximate earnings of railways was about 73404 crore rupees during this period as compared to 65526 crore rupees during the same period in 2013.

The total earnings from goods during the period was about 48772 crore rupees as against 44162 crore rupees during the same period of 2013, registering an increase of 10.44 per cent. The total approximate revenue earnings from passengers during this period was 21079.09 crore rupees as compared to 18099.80 crore rupees during the same period of 2013, registering an increase of 16.46 percent.
However the released data also shows that the total approximate number of passengers booked during this period was around 4253 million compared to 4255 million during the same period in 2013, showing a decrease of 0.06 per cent.

Worthy Fights authored by Panetta and Newton released

09-OCT-2014

Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace: Leon Panetta and Jim Newton
A book titled Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace authored by Leon Panetta, and Jim Newton was released on 7 October 2014. Panetta is a former Defence Secretary and ex-CIA Director and Newton is an editor of the Los Angeles Times.

The authors in the book have said that Pakistani spy agency ISI have close ties with terror groups and is an open secret. It also accuses ISI by telling that this was the reason why the US did not share the intelligence about the raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout with Islamabad.
Panetta through the book for the first time came in a different tone in relation to ISI links with terror outfit. Earlier, he has been a strong advocate of US-Pakistan relationship and always came out in strong defence of ISI and the Pakistan Army whenever allegations of spy agency having links with the terrorist outfit was raised. He has issued certificates to ISI on allegations of its links with terror outfit.

About Leon Panetta
• He was the director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2009–2011 in the first term of the Obama Administration and later served as his Defence Secretary from 2011–2013
• The Italian American Democrat was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1977–1993,
• He was the director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993–1994 and President Clinton’s chief of staff from 1994–1997
• He is the founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy
• He has served as professor of public policy at his alma mater, Santa Clara University
About Jim Newton
• He is editor at large of the Los Angeles Times
• He has worked with Los Angeles Times for twenty-five years as a reporter, editor, bureau chief, and columnist
• He is the author of two critically acclaimed biographies, namely
a) Justice for All: Earl Warren
b) The Nation He Made and Eisenhower: The White House Years

Veteran journalist Madhav Vittal Kamath died

09-OCT-2014

Veteran journalist Madhav Vittal Kamath died on 9 October 2014 following a cardiac arrest at Kasturba Hospital in Manipal. He was 93.
He was the former chairman of Prasar Bharati Board.

Madhav Vittal Kamath
•   Born in Udupi on 7 September 1921, Mr. Kamath did his early education in Manipal. He graduated from Aloysius College in Mangalore.
•   After working as a chemist, Mr. Kamath began his journalistic career as a reporter in the Free Press Journal in Mumbai. He was the president of Bombay Union of Journalists in 1953.
•   Kamath was the Washington correspondent of the Times of India from 1969 to 1978.
•   He was also the editor of Illustrated Weekly of India and has also worked for the Press Trust of India.
•   Kamath was the honorary director of School of Communication, Manipal University since its inception in 1997.
•   He was awarded Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian journalism in 2004.
•   He has written over 50 books and the latest was Narendra Modi – The Architect of a Modern State.

Eric Betzig, Stefan W Hell and William E. Moerner won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

09-OCT-2014

Eric Betzig, Stefan W Hell and William E. Moerner on 8 October 2014 won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy.
They were awarded for having bypassed a presumed scientific limitation stipulating that an optical microscope can never yield a resolution better than 0.2 micrometres.
Two separate principles were rewarded:
Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy: It was developed by Stefan Hell in 2000. Under this method, two laser beams are utilized, one stimulates fluorescent molecules to glow, another cancels out all fluorescence except for that in a nanometre-sized volume. Scanning over the sample yields an image with a resolution better than stipulated limit of 0.2 micrometers.
Single-Molecule Microscopy: Eric Betzig and William Moerner, working separately, laid the foundation for this method. The method relies upon the possibility to turn the fluorescence of individual molecules on and off. Scientists pictured the same area multiple times, letting just a few interspersed molecules glow each time. Superimposing these images yields a dense super-image resolved at the nanolevel. In 2006 Eric Betzig utilized this method for the first time.

Development of Super-Resolved Fluorescence Microscopy
In 1873, the microscopist Ernst Abbe stipulated a physical limit for the maximum resolution of traditional optical microscopy that it could never become better than 0.2 micrometers. Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner ingeniously circumvented this limitation and brought optical microscopy into the nanodimension.
Through nanoscopy, scientists visualize the pathways of individual molecules inside living cells. They can see how molecules create synapses between nerve cells in the brain as well as they can track proteins involved in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases. Moreover, they can track cell division at the nanolevel itself.
About the Awardees- Eric Betzig
•   Eric Betzig is a scientist based at the Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia.
•   He was educated at the California Institute of Technology in 1983 and Cornell University in 1985.
•   He did the PhD in 1988 from the Cornell University.
•   Since 2005, he has been a Group Leader at Janelia Farm Research Campus and is developing new optical imaging technologies for biology.
Stefan W. Hell
•   Stefan W. Hell is a scientific member of the Max Planck Society and a director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen where he currently leads the Department of NanoBiophotonics.
•   Stefan W. Hell received his diploma in 1987 and doctorate in physics in 1990 from the University of Heidelberg.
•   From 1991 to 1993, he worked at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg.
•   In 1997 he was appointed to the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, where he has built up his current research group dedicated to sub-diffraction-resolution microscopy.
William E. Moerner
•   William E Moerner is an American physical chemist and chemical physicist with current work in the biophysics and imaging of single molecules.
•   Moerner attended Washington University in St. Louis for undergraduate studies.
•   His Ph.D. thesis was on vibrational relaxation dynamics of an IR-laser-excited molecular impurity mode in alkali halide lattices.
•   W.E. Moerner worked at the IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California as a Research Staff Member from 1981-1988.
•   His current areas of research and interest are physical chemistry, chemical physics, biophysics, nanoparticle trapping, nanophotonics, photorefractive polymers and spectral hole-burning.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg granted an honorary Knighthood

08-OCT-2014

Former New York Mayor and philanthropist billionaire Michael Rubens Bloomberg on 6 October 2014 was granted an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in Britain.
Bloomberg, who is well known for his love of Britain, was honoured for his prodigious entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavours and his works that have benefitted British-US relations.
As an American, Bloomberg is not entitled to call himself Sir Mike but can add the initials KBE, an abbreviation for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, to the end of his name.

About Michael Rubens Bloomberg
• 72-year-old Bloomberg is one of the richest men in America
• He is the founder of the news and financial data company Bloomberg PLC
• He has served as New York Mayor for a record 12 years between 2002 and 2013
Previous recipients of honorary knighthoods include director Steven Spielberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and actress-activist Angelina Jolie.

Union Government launched attendance.gov.in website to monitor attendance of staff

08-OCT-2014

The Union Government on 7 October 2014 launched a website attendance.gov.in to monitor the attendance of government employees in real time.
The move is aimed at increasing transparency and accountability. The government launched the attendance system as part of its Digital India programme.
Highlights of the website
•   The website attendance.gov.in uses an Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system to track employees from the cabinet secretariat to Border Road Organization. It provides a graphical representation of attendance in real time.
•   The information which can be found on the website are attendance, over time, the number of registered employees and number of employees present.
•   A back-end administrator will check the details submitted by the organisation and make the organisation active by assigning it a unique sub-domain which will be the first name of the website.

Biometric attendance system
•   A common Biometric Attendance System is implemented in central government offices in Delhi.
•   Employees will mark attendance through biometric terminals from now onwards.
•   The employees will be required to enter their 6-digit Attendance ID on the terminal and subsequently the system will ask for finger print verification.
•   The 6 digit number will be generated based on the last 6 or first 6 digits of the individual's Aadhaar number.
•   Since network connectivity is essential for marking attendance, the government is planning two types of connectivity with each attendance terminal- wi-fi on broadband and SIM based GSM connectivity on tablets.
So far, 148 central government organizations have opted for the Biometric Attendance System while fewer than 50000 employees have registered for it. The implementation of the system is a work in progress and all employees are yet to adopt the system.

Madhava Menon panel submitted its report with guidelines on government ads

08-OCT-2014

The Supreme Court appointed high-powered committee headed by Professor NR Madhava Menon submitted its report to the court on 6 October 2014. The committee in its report has framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of advertisements paid out of tax payers' money.

The three-member committee that also comprised TK Viswanathan, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar has recommended that names and pictures of political parties and their office bearers like presidents should not be mentioned in government advertisements. It supported its recommendation by stating that there had been misuse and abuse of public money on such advertisements.
However to keep politics away from such ads, it emphasized that only the pictures and names of the President, the Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Ministers should be published. The committee also endorsed the suggestions of the Election Commission that there must be severe restrictions on such advertisements six months prior to election.
Apart from this, the committee also recommended that a deadline should be fixed to prohibit their publication and the poll panel should be authorised for the purpose.

The committee also recommended that there should only be a single advertisement, preferably by Information and Broadcasting Ministry, in respect of commemorative advertisements, which are given on birth and death anniversary of an important personality.

DIPP approved 33 defence proposals

08-OCT-2014

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in first week of October 2014 approved 33 defence proposals. Of these 33 proposals, 19 are related to the foreign direct investment that aims to boost the manufacturing in defence sector.
These proposals were approved by the Licensing Committee chaired by Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

Apart from this, a release of Union Minister of Commerce said that the decision will give a major impetus to Make In India programme that was initiated by Union Government to boost domestic manufacturing.

Nineteen proposals who’s Industrial License for defence production have been granted include Reliance Aerospace Technologies Limited, Bharat Forge Limited, Mahindra Telephonic Integrated Systems Limited, Punj Lloyd Industries Limited, Mahindra Aero Structure Pvt Limited, Tata Advanced Materials Limited. Apart from this, 14 applicants didn’t required licenses as a vast number of defence items have been de-licensed.
This decision was made after the FDI policy vide Press Note 7 was simplified and the FDI cap was in defence was raised from 26 to 49 percent. It also permitted portfolio investments up to 24 percent of the total equity of the investee / joint venture Company under automatic route and doing away with requirement of 51% equity ownership by a single Indian investor/company.

DIPP approved 33 defence proposals

08-OCT-2014

World Habitat Day observed globally on 6 October

08-OCT-2014

First Monday of October: World Habitat Day

United Nations celebrated World Habitat Day on 6 October 2014. The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day.
The theme of 2014 World Habitat Day is Voices from Slums.
Each year, World Habitat Day takes on a new theme chosen by the United Nations. Theme was based on current issues relevant to the Habitat Agenda. The themes are selected to bring attention to UN-Habitat’s mandate to promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all.

The World Habitat Day 2014 campaign aims to recognize life in slums and give a voice to slum dwellers for improving quality of living conditions in existing slums.
About World Habitat Day
World Habitat Day was established in 1985 by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/202. It was first celebrated in 1986.
The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.
It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

World Bank released South Asia Economic Focus report

08-OCT-2014

World Bank on 6 October 2014 released South Asia Economic Focus report. According to the report, the region’s economy will expand by 6 percent in 2015 and by 6.4 percent in 2016 as compared to 5.4 percent in 2014, potentially making it the second fastest growing region in the world after East Asia and the Pacific.

Highlights of the report
• South Asia’s economy will expand by a real 6 percent in 2015 and by 6.4 percent in 2016 compared to 5.4 percent in 2014. The increase of economy is potentially making it the second fastest growing region in the world after East Asia and the Pacific.
• The outlook for South Asia over the next years indicates broad economic stability and a pick-up in growth with potential risks concentrated on the fiscal and structural reform side.
• But the Future growth will increasingly depend on strong investment and export performance.
• Global recovery remains below expectations and has proven uneven in the across major economies like US and Euro Zone.
• Monetary tightening in an increasingly dynamic US and potential deflation in a weak Euro zone constitute sources of risk for developing and emerging market economies alike. However, bigger effects on the fortunes of the region could come from domestic developments.
• Political turmoil and non-sustainable fiscal policies could undermine stability and investor confidence in South Asia whereas sound macroeconomic policies and economic reforms could spur faster growth.
• Exports in the South Asia region have recently shown a strong export performance which is growing in the double digits in most of the countries.
• Sales abroad were boosted by favorable tailwinds, such as the depreciation of the Indian rupee in 2013; there are also deeper trends at play.
• Export diversification by type of product increased, as did the share of emerging markets in total exports. These are manifestations of an increasingly stronger position of the region in global markets.
• South Asia has an opportunity to become the manufacturing hub of the world since East Asian labour costs increased but achieving this will require boosting competitiveness.
• Other countries in South Asia are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• Pakistan’s economic growth is forecast at 4.4 percent in FY2015 after 4.1 percent in 2014. Recent political turmoil of Pakistan had damaged investor confidence and thereby weakened growth prospects.
• Bangladesh is forecast to grow by 6.2 percent in 2015 and an estimated 6.1 percent in 2014.
• Sri Lanka is expected to continue its strong growth at 8.2 percent in 2015 rising from 7.8 percent in 2014.
• Afghanistan is on a more fragile path, dominated by security and political concerns, after having grown by a modest 1.5 percent in 2013.

About India
• The report claims that the Indian economy will comprise 80 percent of the region’s output, which is set to grow by 6.4 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2015-16 after 5.6 percent in FY 2014-15.
• According to report, India is benefiting from a Modi dividend as the economic activity kept floating by expectations from the newly elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Recovery of US economy will provide a market for Indian merchandise and service exports. Private investment is expected to pick up, and declining oil prices should boost private sector competitiveness.
• But economic reforms will be needed for India to achieve its full long-term growth potential.

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics

08-OCT-2014

Three Japanese-born researchers Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura on 7 October 2014 won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics.
They were honoured for inventing efficient blue Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) lamps that worked as a bright and energy-saving white light sources. These white LED lamps are seen as a boon in the fight against global warming and aiding people in poverty.
The winners will share the prize sum of 8 million Swedish kronor. As per the tradition, the laureates will receive their prize at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 2014 which marks the anniversary of Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.
In 2013, Nobel Prize for Physics went to Peter Higgs of Britain and Francois Englert of Belgium for the discovery of the God particle, the sub-atomic Higgs boson which gives mass to other elementary particles.

The invention of blue Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) lamps
Red and green diodes had been around for a long time but for the creation of white light, blue light was necessary. Despite considerable efforts, the blue LED had remained a challenge for three decades. However, the trio of Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura succeeded where everyone else had failed.
Akasaki and Amano working at Nagoya University and Nakamura working at the Nichia Corporation focussed on the compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) which could be ideal for creating blue LEDs. The trio used their high-quality p-doped GaN along with other GaN-based semiconductors in multilayer heterojunction structures and created the first high-brightness blue LED in 1993.
Their inventions were revolutionary. Where incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century, the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps invented by them.

About the Awardees- Isamu Akasaki
•   Isamu Akasaki was born in 1929 in Chiran, Japan. He did Ph.D (Doctorate of Engineering) from School of Engineering, Nagoya University in Japan in 1964.
•   He had served as a Professor of School of Engineering at Nagoya University in 1981.
•   In 1992, he took retirement from Nagoya University and joined Meijo University as a Professor.
•   However, he joined the Nagoya University again in 2004 as a Distinguished Professor.
•   He has contributed in the discovery of nitride semiconductor p conduction and p-n junction blue luminescent device and achieved a high-quality nanostructure in nitride semiconductors and verifying the quantum effects.
Hiroshi Amano
•   Hiroshi Amano was born in 1960 in Hamamatsu, Japan.
•   He did Ph.D (Doctor of Engineering) in 1989 from Nagoya University in Japan.
•   He joined the Nagoya University as a Research Associate in 1988 and obtained the position of the Professor at the University in 2010.
•   He has made his contribution in various fields like Light emitting diode, laser diode, High power and high frequency transistor, Solar cells, Nano structure, Crystal growth of compound semiconductors and Semiconductor device physics.
Shuji Nakamura
•   Born in 1954 at Ikata in Japan, Shuji Nakamura is now an American citizen.
•   Nakamura graduated from the University of Tokushima in 1977 with a degree in electronic engineering.
•   He was awarded a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Tokushima in 1994.
•   He is a Japanese American professor at the Materials Department of the College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara.
•   Nakamura has worked on green LEDs and is responsible for creating the white LED and blue laser diodes used in Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs.

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics

08-OCT-2014

Rockwell Collins signed MoU with Zen Tech to tap Indian defence market

08-OCT-2014

Communication and aviation electronic solutions firm Rockwell Collins on 7 October 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with the Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies to tap the Indian defence market.

Highlights of the MoU agreement
•   The two companies signed a MoU to combine their strengths in simulation and training to offer industry-leading, high fidelity solutions to Indian military customers.
•   The deal will help Rockwell Collins in opening up its avenues to further extend its reach in the Indian defence market.
•   Both companies will combine to provide air and ground solutions to Indian military customers that will help them in preparing their soldiers and airmen to successfully complete missions.

Rockwell Collins
Since its founding as Collins Radio in the United States in 1933, Rockwell Collins and its products have been recognized for distinctive quality and state-of-the-art technology.
US-based Rockwell Collins has facilities in Hyderabad and near New Delhi. It provides aviation simulation and training products, systems and integration solutions.
Zen Technologies
Zen Technologies was incorporated in 1993 as an Indian military simulation and trainings solution firm. It designs, develops manufactures world-class, state-of-the-art training simulators.
Its mission is to provide its customers quality products and services. It was the first Indian company to commercialize PC-based visual simulation technology for training simulators.

Union Science and Technology Minister launched microscope with 3-D feature

08-OCT-2014

Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on 8 October 2014 launched the ingeniously manufactured Broad Spectrum Confocal Microscope that generates 3D images of objects. This 3D microscope was launched in New Delhi.
The Confocal Microscope can be used to obtain three dimensional features at microscopic level and can play a vital role in scientific understanding of nano material and biological object. It can also do resonant scanning up to 1024x1024 pixels.

Functioning of the microscope
Several small holes on the surface help the optic fibre to produce multiple wavelengths from the laser and which is similar to the way a peacock’s feather scatters light. This light is projected on the target object that allows people to see a three dimensional structure of the object.
It has several applications in medicine and material sciences as it uses infra red beam that passes through a patented photonic crystal fibre. This crystal fibre is made by the Central Glass and Ceramics Research Institute (CGCRI), Kolkata
First of its kind, the microscope has been developed under the public-private partnership mode by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research along with Vinvish Technologies, Thiruvananthapuram, under the New Millennium Indian Technology Initiative (NMITI), which was an effort launched by the CSIR over a decade ago. CSIR launched NMITI to develop technologies through collaborative efforts by research laboratories and technology companies in India. It has been developed in two years with a 2.5-crore rupees loan from CSIR.

17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 held in South Korea

07-OCT-2014

17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 was held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October 2014, featuring 439 events in 36 sports. It is officially called XVII Asiad. It is governed by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The theme of the 2014 Asian Games is Meet Asia’s Future.

The moscot of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 was three spotted Harbour Seal siblings named Barame, Chumuro and Vichuon meaning wind, dance and light in Korean language.

The logo of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 portrayed a huge wing consisting a string of A, the first letter of Asia, with a shining sun at its upper left, symbolizing the Asian people holding hands in the sky.

The Slogan of the Asian Games Incheon 2014 was Diversity Shines Here that represents and highlights the significance of Asia’s wonderful diversity in history, cultures, and religions.

To help English speaking visitors, mobile apps named WAZE and JiHaChul. Mobile app WAZE was provided to navigate on the routes of Incheon Asian games 2014 and JiHaChul provided maps of the routes in advance respectively.

Next Asian Games Incheon will be hosted by the Singapore in 2018.

RSP felicitated hockey player Birendra Lakra

07-OCT-2014

Rourkela Steel Plant on 6 October 2014 felicitated Birendra Lakra, the hockey player who was a part of the triumphant India team that defeated Pakistan in the final of men's hockey to bag the gold medal in Asian Games after 16 years.
Lakra, an alumnus of SAIL Hockey Academy played a key role in India's campaign at Incheon, South Korea.

Birendra Lakra in Hockey
• Lakra was spotted by SAIL Hockey Academy coach Peter Tirkey in 2003 during an inter-school tournament and enrolled him in the day scholar scheme of SAIL Hockey Academy
• Further in 2004, he was taken in the SAIL Hockey Academy as a cadet, where he was groomed till 2009
• Lakra with the expert guidance of coaches like Tirkey, Harman Lakra and Rajukant Saini created space as a sport star of international repute
• Till date, Lakra has represented India in several important events that include London Olympics 2012 and Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014
• Lakra as a player is capable of playing at any position

ASKeA in Tonk district decided to end its 150 year old tradition of sacrificing camel

07-OCT-2014

Anjuman Society of Khandan-e-Amiriya (ASKeA) in Tonk district on 6 October 2014 decided to end its 150 year old tradition of sacrificing camel on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Zuha festival.
However, ASKeA families gathered in Nawab haveli sacrificed the goat to observe the Eid-ul-Zuha festival.
The decision came following the Rajasthan government's move to adopt Camel as the state animal.

Declaration of camel as a state animal
Earlier in June 2014, the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan amended the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Exports of Camel) Act, 1995 and declared the camel as a state animal.
The decision was taken after seeing an alarming decline in number of camels from 7.63 lakh in 1995 to 2.24 lakh in 2013. The draft bill proposed jail term between three to seven years for slaughtering and smuggling camels.

Tradition of sacrificing camel
•   The tradition of sacrificing camel had begun in 1864 by the then ruler of Tonk Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan IV.
•   During that period the entire state was governed under Shariat Law (Islamic law).
•   The practice of sacrificing camel had begun keeping in mind the poor people of Tonk who could not enjoy and afford to have sacrificial meat on Eid-ul-Zuha.
•   Till 1990, the erstwhile Nawabs sacrificed two camels, one at the Eidgah and the second at their mansion in Tonk.
•   After 1990 the camel sacrifice at Eidgah was discontinued but one camel continued to be sacrificed at the mansion after which the meat was distributed among the people.

Brain Global Positioning System

07-OCT-2014

Recently, Noble Prize was announced for the research in Brain Global Positioning System. The Nobel laureate John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser investigates with brain imaging techniques, as well as studies of patients undergoing neurosurgery.

The Scientists have provided evidence that place and grid cells exist also in humans. In patients with Alzheimer´s disease, the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are frequently affected at an early stage, and these individuals often lose their way and cannot recognize the environment.
Knowledge about the brain´s positioning system may, therefore, help us understand the mechanism underpinning the devastating spatial memory loss that affects people with this disease.

The discovery of the brain’s positioning system represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of how ensembles of specialized cells work together to execute higher cognitive functions. It has opened new avenues for understanding other cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking and planning.
The discovery of cells in rats’ brains that function as a kind of built-in navigation system that is at the very heart of how animals know where they are, where they are going and where they have been. They called them grid cells.
Often, the workings of billions of neurons that produce our thoughts are opaque. But electrical recordings of signals emitted by grid cells show a map “with a framework and coordinates that are completely intuitive.
Implications of the discovery
The implications of the discovery are both practical and profound. The cells have been proved to exist in primates, and scientists think they will be found in all mammals, including humans.
It is now clear that the grid cells, in combination with cells that sense head direction and others that sense borders or boundaries — both originally identified in other parts of the brain by other labs — form a kind of dead-reckoning navigation system in the brain that maps movement.
Information flows from this part of the brain to the hippocampus, and then back. Exactly how the grid informs the place cells, and vice versa, is not known.
What scientists have now are two ends of a system with a black box in the middle that is not fully understood. At one end are place cells. At the other are grid cells. As to what exactly happens in between, and how the grid cells form in the first place.

New York Declaration on Forests released at UN Climate Summit

07-OCT-2014

New York Declaration on Forests was released at the UN Climate Summit in New York, US on 23 September 2014. The Declaration called all the Governments, multinational companies and campaigners to take pledge to eliminate deforestation by 2030.
The New York Declaration on Forests calls for the restoration of more than 350 million hectares of forests and croplands. New York Declaration on Forests is a non-legally binding political agreement.
The New York Declaration aims to reduce more climate pollution each year than the United States emits annually.
Pledge of other stakeholders
In support of the Declaration, 20 global food companies announced their pledges to deforestation-free sourcing policies of palm oil.

The world’s largest palm oil companies – Wilmar, Golden Agri-Resources and Cargill – also committed to work together to implement and join the Indonesian Business Council in asking incoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo to support their efforts through legislation and policies.
Taken together, the share of palm oil under zero deforestation commitments has grown from 0 to about 60 per cent in 2013, with the potential to reduce up to 450 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2020. That is the equivalent of 2 billion tonnes in the period through 2020.
Among other announcements, 26 governors from Peru and Liberia presented new forest policies and pledged to cut deforestation by 80 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Guatemala, Uganda and several other countries are set to make national pledges to restore more than 30 million hectares of degraded lands.
Also, the Consumer Goods Forum, a coalition of 400 companies, called on Governments to pass a legally binding climate deal in Paris in 2015 that includes REDD+, including large-scale payments to countries that reduces deforestation.

More than 120 Heads of States and Government, business, finance and civil society representatives announced commitments to reduce emissions enhance resistance to climate change and mobilize financing for climate action.
Comment
If the initiative goes as per expectation, it would avoid between 4.5 and 8.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year by 2030. That is equivalent to removing the carbon emissions produced by the one billion cars that are currently on the world’s roads.
Deforestation is a significant contributor to climate change. Trees which store carbon release carbon when they are burned during slash-and-burn land clearing of forests.

Mauritian Parliament dissolved for elections

07-OCT-2014

The Mauritian parliament was dissolved on 6 October 2014 to pave the way for elections that could lead to changes in the country's constitution. The parliament was dissolved as the ruling Labour party wants to split powers between the president (now a largely ceremonial position) and the Prime Minister and this split requires certain changes in the Constitution.
The National Assembly in a statement said that Mauritian President Kailash Purryag has proclaimed and declared that parliament has been dissolved.

The agreement sets down a deal that whoever wins will submit a bill to amend the constitution to provide for the direct election of the president. Currently the president is elected by parliament.
Now Mauritius has up to six months to hold elections, but several political leaders have suggested that polls will be held earlier. This dissolution follows an election agreement between the Labour Party of Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and the key opposition Movement Militant Mauritian party (MMM

U.S. Supreme Court allowed gay marriage in five more states

07-OCT-2014

US Supreme Court allowed gay marriages in five more states and declined to hear appeal against the decision. The decision was given on 6 October 2014.
The five states involved in the decision are Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana. With the decision, the court left intact lower-court rulings that struck down bans in those states.
Now, the total number of states with gay marriage is likely to jump from 19 to 30.
Conservative protesters appealed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on 6 October 2014 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court announced that it will not hear the five pending same-sex marriage cases, paving the way for gay and lesbian marriage in 11 more states.
The other states would be North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Wyoming, Kansas and Colorado.
The issue could still return to the court, but the message sent by the court in declining to hear the matter would be a boost to gay marriage advocates involved in similar litigation in states that still have bans on the books.
Background
Just over a year ago, the justices ruled 5-4 in June 2013 to strike down a key part of a federal law that had restricted the definition of marriage to heterosexual couples for the purpose of federal government benefits.

That decision in the case U.S. v. Windsor led to a series of court rulings favoring gay marriage in numerous states. In a separate case decided on the same day, the justices sidestepped the broader question of whether state bans violated the U.S. Constitution but allowed gay marriage to move forward in California.
The momentum within America's courts in favor of gay marriage reflects a sea-change in public opinion in the past decade, with polls showing a steady increase in support. Politicians, mostly Democrats but also some notable Republicans, have increasingly voiced their support for ending bans.
It was only as recently as 2004 that Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay marriage following a state court ruling in the 2003.
In 17 other states, judges have issued rulings in favor of gay marriage - most of which struck down bans - although the prohibitions have remained intact while litigation continues.

investments up to 24 percent of the total equity of the investee / joint venture Company under automatic route and doing away with requirement of 51% equity ownership by a single Indian investor/company.

MS Dhoni became ISL team Chennaiyin FC co-owner

07-OCT-2014

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 6 October 2014 became the co-owner of the Indian Super League franchise Chennaiyin FC. The high-profile Indian Super League (ISL) is scheduled to start on 12 October 2014 and the final will be played on 20 December 2014.
Dhoni inked the deal to be a co-owner of Chennaiyin FC along with Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan who is the owner of the team. The announcement was made by Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dan.

Dhoni is the fourth cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli to own a football team of the Indian Super League. Sachin is a co-owner of Kerala Blasters, while former captain Ganguly is a co-owner of Atletico de Kolkata. Vice-Captain of Indian cricket team, Kohli is the co-owner of ISL team FC Goa.
About Indian Super League (ISL)
Indian Super League (ISL) is a football event similar to Indian Premier League. The first edition of ISL has eight teams and each team is a mix of foreign and Indian talent. The eight teams of the league are
• Atlético De Kolkata
• Chennaiyin FC
• Delhi Dynamos FC
• FC Pune City
• FC Goa
• Kerala Blasters FC
• Mumbai City FC
• NorthEast United FC
Comment: It seems that Indian Super League is an approach that would help Indian football to garner a place in world football. By playing with international stars, Indian players would learn the footballing style and techniques, which would help them in performing better in the international arena.

NIIT Limited named Rahul Keshav Patwardhan as its next CEO

07-OCT-2014

IT training solutions firm National Institute of Information Technology Limited (NIIT Ltd) on 6 October 2014 appointed Rahul Keshav Patwardhan as its next chief executive officer (CEO). Patwardhan will take charge as CEO on 1 April 2015.
His appointment is part of the implementation of the NIIT's succession plan.
Other Appointments
The NIIT board also approved other changes that are scheduled to take place at the senior leadership level in NIIT Ltd in 2015.
NIIT Chairman and MD Rajendra Pawar will continue to be the Chairman of NIIT Ltd, the present CEO Vijay Thadani will become Vice Chairman and Managing Director and P Rajendran will be the Joint Managing Director.

Rahul Keshav Patwardhan
•   With an MBA from IIM Calcutta, Patwardhan joined NIIT in 1984 as a production engineer. He was the President of Europe and APAC software business in NIIT Technologies.
•   Patwardhan served NIIT till 2004 before joining as CEO of Logica India in 2005.
•   He served as Managing Director- Global Application Management of Logica India till June 2011 following which he took the position of Vice President- Global Operational Excellence in July 2011.
About NIIT
•   The company was set up in 1981 to help the nascent IT industry overcome its human resource challenges.
•   NIIT is a leading Global Talent Development Corporation which builds skilled manpower pool for global industry requirements.
•   Today, NIIT is among world's leading talent development companies offering learning solutions to Individuals, Enterprises and Institutions across 40 countries.
•   NIIT has provided computer-based learning to over 17000 government and private schools across the country cumulatively impacting lives of more than 10 million students.
•   NIIT was ranked 4th in Best companies to work for in India category by Great Place to Work Institute in 2013-2014.

Hewlett-Packard to split into two publicly traded companies

07-OCT-2014

Technology giant Hewlett-Packard known as HP on 6 October 2014 announced that it will split itself into two separate publicly traded companies. Besides, it also announced to lay off another 5000 employees and invest the saved money on account of lower headcount into research and development.
One part, HP Inc., will consist of the company’s personal-computer and printer businesses.
The other, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, will sell computer servers, data-storage gear, software, consulting operations and other services for corporate-technology departments.
The cloud-focused company will be named Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. It will be led by current CEO Meg Whitman. The computer-and-printer-focused business will be named HP Inc and led by Dion Weisler. Dion Weisler is currently serving as executive vice president of HP’s printing and personal systems business.

Whitman will serve as non-executive chairman of HP Inc’s board of directors.
HP Inc will retain HP’s existing logo. Current HP shareholders will own shares of both Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and HP Inc once the split is complete.
The split is part of a radical restructuring plan.The split aims at helping the firm adapt to the new era of mobile and online computing. The firm is now in the fourth year of its five-year turnaround plan.
HP said it expected the division to be complete by the end of the 2015 financial year. Shareholders will be given a stake in both businesses. The news makes investors happy which resulted into 5% rise in shares in early trading.
Business pressures
The division of HP's businesses comes at a time when other large tech firms are being urged to break up.
Earlier, in the first week of October 2014, online auction site eBay announced it was splitting off its payments system PayPal into a separate company.
HP has been under pressure from newer rivals such as Chinese firm Lenovo, which overtook HP as the world's largest PC maker in 2012. Third-ranked US rival Dell was taken private in 2013.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States.

The company was founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. HP helped usher in the PC revolution and now has more than 300000 employees globally.

It provides hardware, software and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors.

Saiyid Hamid conferred with Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award 2014

06-OCT-2014

Saiyid Hamid was conferred with Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award 2014 for Excellence in Leadership, Education, community & Public Service on 30 September 2014. He was conferred the award by Vice-President Hamid Ansari . He was presented with a citation and a cheque in the form of award.
He is the Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard University and former Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AM).
The award was established by Aligarh Muslim University Association Inc. New York (AAANY). It was established with the objective to make a very modest contribution by recognizing truly outstanding individuals during their lifetimes who are selflessly dedicated their lives as leaders and educators, and in the service of the community and public at large.
About Sayyid Sir Ross Masood
Sayyid Sir Ross Masood was the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University in 1929.

Masood was the son of Syed Mahmood. His grandfather was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Masood was educated at Aligarh Muslim University and Oxford University.
From 1916 to 1928, he was Director of Public Instruction in Hyderabad. He was knighted by the British Government in the 1933.
Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu was a biography of Masud. It was published in 2011. A residential hall constructed in the year 1969 in Aligarh Muslim University is named after him.

Pakistan recorded highest number of polio cases in 14 years

06-OCT-2014

Pakistan recorded the highest number of polio cases in 14 years. This was revealed by the data of polio cases released by the National Institute of Health of Pakistan on 3 October 2014.

The data revealed that polio cases in 2014 reached 202 which was the highest in 14 years. The previous highest was recorded in 2000 when it reached 199 polio cases.

One of the prime reasons for the increase in the polio cases in 2014 was cited as the rise on attacks on immunisation teams.

Militants attack immunization teams

Most of the infections are in the north-western tribal region where militants have targeted health teams. Militants there accuse doctors of being spies and say the vaccinations are part of a Western plot to sterilise Muslims.

Since December 2012, about 60 people, including health workers and police providing security to medical teams, have been killed by Taliban militants targeting polio teams.

Suspicions over the programmes worsened after the US was accused of using a fake vaccination programme during its tracking of Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.

Other than Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of three countries where polio is still endemic. The country has failed to curb the disease despite massive investment on immunisation programmes by the international community.

Earlier in 2014, the World Health Organization imposed travel restrictions on the country meaning all Pakistanis must now carry proof of vaccination before travelling abroad.

US partially lifted 40 year ban on arm sales to Vietnam to boost defence in South China Sea

06-OCT-2014

The US on 3 October 2014 announced to lift 40 years long ban on arms sales to Vietnam to boost sea defence in the South China Sea.
The decision to lift the ban partially was taken after the meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh in Washington. Minh who is also the foreign minister of Vietnam was on a visit to the US.
The ban on arm sales was lifted partially and applied only to supply of lethal and non-lethal weapons for maritime security purposes. A prohibition on sales of other kinds of lethal weapons like tanks would stay in place. The ban was put in place after the end of Vietnam War in 1975.
The decision was taken after Vietnam showed positive improvements in the area of human rights record and a full lift of ban may take place if Vietnam would make additional progress in this area.

With this, Vietnam will be able to improve its maritime domain awareness and maritime security capabilities. Besides, it would make it possible for Vietnam to receive patrol boats equipped with defensive capabilities to conduct maritime security activities.
Comment

The lifting of ban partially comes amidst the heightened tensions in the South China Sea region. The move would certainly anger China who has been involved in dispute with countries surrounding the South China Sea.
However, it would certainly make Malaysia and the countries in the region will be happy to see Vietnam enhance its capabilities. Although the US has not taken sides in the territorial disputes, it has warned Beijing against destabilising actions amid a series of tense incidents.
South China Sea that witnesses about 40 percent of maritime trade is claimed in part by Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia as well as China and The Philippines.
Further the decision would lift the relationship between the US and Vietnam psychologically. Having that embargo was the thorn in the side of those pushing for closer ties.

Saiyid Hamid conferred with Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award 2014

06-OCT-2014

US partially lifted 40 year ban on arm sales to Vietnam to boost defence in South China Sea

West Bengal government constituted task force to probe into Burdwan blast

06-OCT-2014

The State Government of West Bengal on 5 September 2014 constituted a high-level composite Task Force to investigate into the blasts at Khagragarh in Burdwan District. The blasts occurred on 2 October 2014 in which two persons were killed.
This high-level task force will be headed the Director General of Police GM P Reddy and will also co-ordinate with various investigating agencies like CID, Kolkata police and others probing the blast.

Apart from this, the state government is also keeping close touch with the National Investigating Agency (NIA) on the matter.
One the other hand, State Home Secretary Basudev Banerjee denied involvement of Al-Qaeda behind the blast. Whereas, the local court remanded two women arrested in connection with the blast to police custody till 9 October 2014.

John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser named for 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology

The Nobel Assembly on 6 October 2014 decided to award the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser. The award was given for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
The Nobel Laureates of 2014 have discovered a positioning system, aninner GPS in the brain that makes it possible to orient ourselves in space, demonstrating a cellular basis for higher cognitive function.

Positioning System
In 1971, John O´Keefe discovered the first component of this positioning system. He found that a type of nerve cell in an area of the brain called the hippocampus that was always activated when a rat was at a certain place in a room. Other nerve cells were activated when the rat was at other places. O´Keefe concluded that these place cells formed a map of the room.

More than three decades later, in 2005, May-Britt and Edvard Moser discovered another key component of the brain’s positioning system. They identified another type of nerve cell, which they called grid cells,that generate a coordinate system and allow for precise positioning and pathfinding. Their subsequent research showed how place and grid cells make it possible to determine position and to navigate.
The discoveries of John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser have solved a problem that has occupied philosophers and scientists for centuries – how does the brain create a map of the space surrounding us and how can we navigate our way through a complex environment?
About the awardess
John O’Keefe: He was born in 1939 in New York City, USA. He holds both American and British citizenships. John O´Keefe is currently Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre in Neural Circuits and Behaviour at University College London.
He received his doctoral degree in physiological psychology from McGill University, Canada in 1967. After that, he moved to England for postdoctoral training at University College London. He has remained at University College and was appointed Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in 1987.

May-Britt Moser: She was born in Norway in 1963 and is a Norwegian citizen. Currently, she is the Director of the Centre for Neural Computation in Trondheim. She studied psychology at the University of Oslo together with her future husband and co-Laureate Edvard Moser. She received her Ph.D. in neurophysiology in 1995.

She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Edinburgh and subsequently a visiting scientist at University College London before moving to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim in 1996. May-Britt Moser was appointed Professor of Neuroscience in 2000.
Edvard I. Moser: He was born in 1962 in Norway and has Norwegian citizenship. Currently, he is the director of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim.

He obtained his Ph.D. in neurophysiology from the University of Oslo in 1995. He was a postdoctoral fellow together with his wife and co‐Laureate May‐Britt Moser, first at the University of Edinburgh and later a visiting scientist in John O´Keefe´s laboratory in London.
In 1996 they moved to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, where Edvard Moser became Professor in 1998.

New York Times issued Apology for Racist Cartoon on India's Mars Mission

A reputed newspaper of United States, The New York Times on 6 October 2014 issued an apology to its readers for its racist cartoon on India’s Mars Mission. In its apology, it clarified that it in no way was trying to impugn India.

The apology was published on the New York Times Facebook page in response to criticism from many quarters. The clarification issued by Andrew Rosenthal, Editorial Page Editor reads that readers have complained about a recent editorial cartoon in the International New York Times about India’s foray into space exploration. It said that the cartoonist Heng Kim Song’s intent after the cartoon was to highlight that how exploration of space is no longer the exclusive domain of rich, Western countries. It says that Heng based in Singapore uses images and text-often in a provocative way to make observations about international affairs. Thus the newspaper apologises to readers who are offended with the choice of images in cartoon, but the cartoonist was not trying to impugn India, its government or its citizens.

Problem with the cartoon
The cartoon showed a farmer accompanied by a cow knocking on the door of the Elite Space Club where two men sit reading a newspaper which has India's space mission on the front page. It means that still India and Indians are considered as cattle-rearing folks. It became an ironic after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared to the world at Madison Square Garden that we were no longer a country of snake-charmers.

World’s first womb-transplant baby born to a Swedish woman

06-OCT-2014

World’s first womb-transplant baby was born to a 36-year-old Swedish woman. The identity of the woman was not disclosed.
The healthy baby boy was born in August 2014 at the University of Gothenburg's hospital in Sweden. The baby boy weighing 1.775kgs was born by Caesarean section at 31 weeks after the mother developed pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy condition.
How it happened?

The woman had to undergo womb transplant as she was suffering from a genetic condition called Rokitansky syndrome wherein the woman is born without a womb, although the ovaries are intact.
The replacement womb came from a 61-year-old woman, who was a friend of the woman. The organ was transplanted in a 10-hour operation in 2013.
The recipient underwent in-vitro fertilisation, in which eggs were harvested from her ovaries and fertilised using sperm from her partner, and then cryogenically preserved.

A year after the transplant, a single early-stage embryo was inserted into the transplanted womb. A pregnancy test three weeks later was positive.

The significance of the development
This feat is a boon to women with no uterine. The absence of uterine has been one of the major causes of infertility. The uterine is absent in women either due to heredity or due to surgical removal for medical reasons. The development in fact smashes through the last major barrier of female infertility.
Absolute uterine factor infertility was the only major type of female infertility that was viewed as untreatable.

World’s first womb-transplant baby born to a Swedish woman

TS GENCO and BHEL signed MoU for power generation in Telangana

06-OCT-2014

Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TS GENCO) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) signed MoU to establish thermal power plants to generate 6000 MW of electricity in Telangana in the next three years. The MoU was signed in Hyderabad on 5 October 2014.

According to the MoU, 4000 MW will be set up at Manuguru of Khammam district and the other 2000 MW at Ramagundam in Karimnagar district. The land for the projects will be allocated by the Telangana Government and power will be generated by importing coal.

About Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
• BHEl is a Central Public Sector Unit, which was established in 1964 for rise in Heavy Electrical Equipment industry in India.
• BHEL is an integrated power plant equipment manufacturer and one of the largest engineering and manufacturing company in India engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, construction, testing, commissioning and servicing of a wide range of products and services for the core sectors of the economy, viz. Power, Transmission, Industry, Transportation (Railway), Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas and Defence.
• BHEL attained the Maharatna status in 2013.

About TS GENCO
• Telangana Power Generation Corporation Limited commenced its operations on 02 June 2014.
• It was formed with an aim to Self sufficiency in power in next three years, 12000 MW overall capacity addition and providing reliable and uninterrupted power supply to Agriculture, Industrial, Commercial and Domestic sectors.

TS GENCO and BHEL signed MoU for power generation in Telangana

06-OCT-2014

EU Competition Commission approved Facebook – WhatsApp deal worth 19 billion US dollar

06-OCT-2014

European Union (EU) Competition Commission approved Facebook – WhatsApp deal worth 19 billion US dollar on 3 October 2014. The Commission cleared the deal saying that the Facebook-WhatsApp deal would not hurt competition.
The deal was disputed by telecom companies as soon as Facebook had announced to acquire whatsApp earlier in 2014. The telecom companies worried that deal would hurt competition.
With the approval of EU regulators, the deal will give Facebook a strong foothold in the fast-growing mobile messaging market.

Also, WhatsApp is poised to become a potentially powerful rival to companies such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Telecom Italia with its plan to add free voice-call services for its 450 million customers.
WhatsApp and its rivals such as KakaoTalk, China's WeChat and Viber have in recent years won over telecoms operators' customers with a free text messaging option.
According to market researcher Ovum, the total share of revenue from this sector totaled about 120 billion US dollar in 2013.

EU Competition Commission approved Facebook – WhatsApp deal worth 19 billion US dollar

06-OCT-2014

Sumitomo acquired Carzonrent unit for 200 crore rupees

06-OCT-2014

Sumitomo Group of Japan on 30 September 2014 acquired the car lease division of Carzonrent India for 200 crore rupees.

Carzonrent had a market share of about 18% in the domestic organized car rental sector. Carzonrent will now focus on investing 2000 crore rupees in the next four years to grow its network from 39 to 100 cities in India, increase the fleet size of 7500 cars to 30000 cars in the car-with-driver and self-drive services and foray into markets outside India.
Sumitomo Group
Sumitomo Group runs Japan's largest car lease business with over six lakh cars. It has set up Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company Limited (SMAS) Auto Leasing India.

It will gain rights to car lease division of Carzonrent with a fleet of about 2000 cars and about 135 marquee corporate clients spread across India.
Carzonrent India
The company was founded by Rajeev K. Vij in year 2000 and caters to over 6000000 customers annually. It operates Easycabs radio taxis and provides car rentals and self-drive cars.

Shah Rukh Khan received Global Diversity Award 2014 at the House of Commons

06-OCT-2014

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on 4 October 2014 received Global Diversity Award 2014 at the Britain’s House of Commons. He was conferred the award by House of Commons speaker John Bercow for his outstanding achievements in the field of cinema and his involvement in philanthropic endevours.

Earlier, Shah Rukh has been honoured with several international awards, like Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (France's highest civilian award), Wissame Al Kafaa Al Fikria (Morocco’s highest honour), Malaysian title of Datuk (akin to the British knighthood) and others.
The past recipients of the award include Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Hollywood actor Jackie Chan, Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh Prime Minister), Roberta Gutman, Lewis Hamilton and others.
About Global Diversity Award
The award is instituted by Rainbow Foundation. It is presented to an outstanding individual who has made a major contribution to worldwide diversity and is an international role model and icon.

Chennai Super Kings won 2014 Champions League Twenty20 title

06-OCT-2014

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 4 October 2014 won the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) 2014 title of Cricket. CSK lifted the title by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 8 wickets in the final match played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

To help Chennai Super Kings win the CLT20 title, Suresh Raina scored 109 off 62 balls with the help of six fours and eight sixes. His century came off only in 59 balls. With this century, Raina became the only player to score a century in T20 Internationals, IPL and CLT20 tournaments.

Brief Scores
• Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that batted first scored 180 runs at the loss of 6 wickets
• Chennai Super Kings (CSK) chased the competitive target by scoring 185 runs at the loss of 2 wickets in 18.3 over

Captain of the two teams
• Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Mahendra Singh Dhoni
• Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Gautam Gambhir
Man of the Match: Pawan Negi, for his bowling figures of 5 for 22
Man of the Series: Suresh Raina (CSK)
Golden Bat Award: Suresh Raina (CSK)
Golden Wicket Award: Sunil Narine (KKR)
Fair Play Award: Cape Cobras
Power Player of the Series: Suresh Raina (CSK)
Chennai Super Kings have won the trophy second time. Earlier they won the CLT20 in South Africa, back in 2011. CSK lost IPL final to KKR in 2012.

British aid worker Alan Henning beheaded by ISIS militants

04-OCT-2014

The British aid worker, Alan Henning was beheaded by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants. The militants group fighting in Iraq and Syria on 3 October 2014 posted a video that shows, the British-accented Jihadist known as Jihadi John beheading Henning.
The released video has shown Henning on his knees against a desert backdrop with a masked militant standing over him wielding a combat knife before and beheading him. The masked person while beheading Henning claims that his death is retaliation for UK strikes against the group.

Henning, a 47-year-old from Manchester in England was kidnapped in December 2013. He volunteered to help drive an aid convoy to Syria for a Muslim country. Henning is the second British national and fourth Western hostage killed in the same manner. Apart from Henning other three are David Haines (a Briton), James Foley (American) and Steven Sotloff (American).
Reaction on beheading of Alan Henning
The ISIS act of beheading Henning has been condemned by the British Prime Minister David Cameron and he vowed to bring his killers to justice. A statement released by Cameron’s Downing Street office says that the brutal murder shows how barbaric these terrorists are.

The United Nations has condemned the act by terming it as heinous and cowardly murder of a British humanitarian aid worker. The 15-nation UN Security Council said that the killing of Henning is a tragic reminder of increasing dangers against the volunteer humanitarian personnel working in Syria.
US President Barack Obama condemned the murder and said that Henning worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, his family and the people of United Kingdom.

Aral Sea dried: NASA’s Earth Observatory

04-OCT-2014

NASA’s Earth Observatory in October 2014 claimed that Aral Sea, the world’s fourth-largest lake of its time has dried and is at the verge of vanish. The observatory says that the lake tucked between two former Soviet states in central Asia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is now just a vast toxic desert and its disappearance has also affected the local climate. Now, the summers of the area are getting hotter, whereas, the winters are colder.

Recently the Earth Observatory posted some images that show the extent of the lake’s recession over past 14 years. The released image of Aral Sea was taken by NASA’s Terra satellite in August 2014 and was released on 2 October 2014.
The damage was recorded the most in 2014, as the eastern lobe of the South Aral Sea that is the center of the original lake has dried completely. The researchers have predicted that Aral Sea will be vanished completely by 2020.
About Aral Sea
Once the Aral Sea was spread in an area of 68000 square kilometer (26300 square miles) but has steadily shrunk since the 1960s. By 2007, the lake declined to 10 percent of its original size by splitting into four lakes, namely the North Aral Sea, the eastern and western basins of the once far larger South Aral Sea and one smaller lake between the North and South Aral Seas. Further, by 2009, the southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the extreme west of the former southern sea.

Cause of its disappearance
Aral Sea located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan was fed by two rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, till 1960s. These two rivers brought snowmelt from mountains to the southeast and local rainfall to the sea. But in 1960s, the erstwhile Soviet Union diverted the water of the two rivers through canals and dams to supply agriculture of cotton and other agricultural products in the region, leading to stoppage of water into Aral Sea.
With this stoppage of water into the sea by the rivers has resulted into recede of the sea although its salinity level kept on rising. On the other hand, the lake bed got contaminated due to chemical and fertilizer runoff. The salty dust that blew from the exposed lakebed became a public health hazard and degraded the soil, after which the croplands were flushed with larger volumes of river water. This flushing of volumes of water into croplands affected it more

Rajasthan became first Indian state to start Olive refinery

04-OCT-2014

Rajasthan on 3 October 2014 became the first state of India to start olive refinery. The refinery established at an expense of 3.75 crore rupees in Lunkaransar area of Bikaner was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
With this launch, the state government feels that the refinery would fulfill people’s demand of olive oil in coming years. Olive oil produced in the refinery will be marked under the brand name of Raj Olive Oil and would be made available in market after some time.

Background
Rajasthan is one of the leading states that cultivate olive. The state started cultivation of olive in 2007 under olive cultivation project that was launched during the previous tenure of Vasundhara Raje as the Chief Minister of the state. The project was started by taking assistance of Israel and planted 1.12 lakh saplings in 7 agro-climatic zones.
At present, Olive has been planted in 282 hectare land in districts like Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Bikaner and other districts of the state. The state has seven leading varieties namely Barnea, Arbequina, Crotina, Picholine, Picual, Coraniki and Frontoy. Now the government wants to increase the area to 5000 hectares, so that the refinery would get more fruits to increase production.
Olive is a small tree and belongs to the oleaceae family. Generally, it is found in coastal areas of eastern Mediterranean in Italy and Spain, northern Iraq. It is also available in the northern Iran south of the Caspian Sea.

World Animal Day observed globally on 4 October

04-OCT-2014

4 October: World Animal Day
World Animal Day was observed across the world on 4 October 2014. Unofficially also known as World Animal Lover Day is observed to pay tribute to all animals and people who loves animal and respect them. The Day is observed across the world in different ways irrespective of their nationality, faith, religion and political ideology.
The World Animal Day is observed with an aim to improve animal welfare standards across the world through support and involvement of individuals, groups and organisations that care about animals. The day is unique in itself as its celebration unites the animal welfare movement around the world, embracing all animals and the unique concerns of each and every country.

World Animal Day
World Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. 4 October was chosen as a day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Prime Minister connected to people over radio with programme, Mann Ki Baat

04-OCT-2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 October 2014 addressed the countrymen over radio for the first time in his programme Mann Ki Baat. Mann ki Baat is a new initiative of Modi to reach out to maximum populace
In his address, he advocated for use of Khadi products as homage to Mahatma Gandhi and said that the use of Khadi at least as a handkerchief or bed sheet would benefit poor and light the lamp of prosperity in their house. He also impressed upon people to generate confidence among them including the specially-able children.

He cited two examples so that people can shed despondency and use their skills for betterment and prosperity of the country. The examples were a short story of Swami Vivekananda about how a lion brought up by sheep rediscovered his prowess after coming in touch with another lion.
He promised to make such radio broadcast a regular affair and invited ideas from the citizens while noting that he had been receiving a number of suggestions since it was announced that he would be addressing the nation over radio.

History of Radio talks by leaders
The radio talks were first started by the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He started the process of communication with his countrymen to deal with the effects of the 2nd World War and economic downfall in US. Historians have categorized Roosevelt’s programme as relief, recovery and reform. In this relief meant for unemployed people, recovery meant boosting the economy back to normal and reform meant long-term fixes of what was wrong mainly in terms of financial and banking systems.
Further, the process was once again started by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. At present, President Barack Obama every week communicates with his countrymen through a video chat.

32 people killed in Stampede at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan

04-OCT-2014

Gandhi Maidan in Patna: 32 people killed in stampede
A stampede occurred at Gandhi Maidan in Patna during the Ram Leela ceremony on 3 October 2014. In the stampede at least 32 people were killed and about 15 were injured. The injured have been admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).

The tragedy occurred at the time when people were returning from the ground after watching the Ravan Vadh (killing of demon king) ceremony.
After the incident the state and union government announced a relief compensation of 3 lakh rupees and 2 lakh rupees, respectively for the families of the dead. Apart from this, the State Home Secretary and Additional Director General of Police have ordered a high level probe into the incident. The probe team has been asked to submit the report within 24 hours.

Cause of Stampede
The stampede was caused due to rumors of snapping of an electrical wire. The rumors sparked panic in the public resulting into stampede.

24th International Day of Older Persons observed across the world

01-OCT-2014

24th International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) 2014 was observed across the world on 1 October 2014. The theme was Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All.

The theme Leaving No-One Behind demands the understanding that demography matters for sustainable development and that population dynamics will shape the key developmental challenges that the world in confronting in the 21st century.

On this day, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Division for Social Policy and Development (UNDESA – DSPD) and the NGO Committee on Ageing celebrated the IDOP with the following objectives

• Highlight the core principles that anchor the post -2015 development agenda that leaves no one behind, including areas where concerns of older persons have been reflected.
• Draw attention to how different groups deal successfully with ageing issues towards ensuring inclusiveness.

About International Day of Older Persons (IDOP)
The United Nations General Assembly designated 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons in 1990. The first International Day of Older Persons was observed in 1991.

The Second World Assembly on Ageing adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, to respond to the opportunities, challenges of population ageing and to promote the development of a society for all ages.

Prime Minister connected to people over radio with programme, Mann Ki Baat

04-OCT-2014

24th International Day of Older Persons observed across the world

01-OCT-2014

24th International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) 2014 was observed across the world on 1 October 2014. The theme was Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All.

First case of Ebola virus in the US diagnosed

01-OCT-2014

The United States in last week of September 2014 diagnosed its first case of the deadly Ebola virus. The person was diagnosed for the disease after being hospitalised with the symptoms that were confirmed to be caused by Ebola.
As per the US health officials, the person became infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia and traveled to Texas, US. The patient left Liberia on 19 September 2014. The symptoms of the virus on the patient became apparent on 24 September 2014. He was admitted to hospital in Texas on 28 September 2014 and since then has been put in isolation.

About Ebola
Ebola virus disease (EVD) also known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF) is a disease of humans and other primates caused by an ebola virus. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus. The virus causes bleeding both internally and externally to the affected patient.
According to the World Health Organization, the world's largest outbreak of Ebola has infected over 6500 people across five West African countries, and killed more than 3000, till date.

MC Mary Kom bagged her first Asian Games Gold Medal

01-OCT-2014

Legendary Indian boxer MC Mary Kom on 1 October 2014 bagged her first ever Asian Games Gold Medal. She defeated Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan in the finals of the women’s flyweight category (48-51kg) at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon.
She became the first Indian woman boxer to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Games. This is the seventh gold for India at Incheon games.

Mangte Chungneijang (MC) Mary Kom
•   MC Mary Kom is the five-time world champion and the Olympic bronze-medallist.
•   Nicknamed as Magnificent Mary, she is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal.
•   She has been ranked at fourth position in the AIBA World Women's Ranking Flyweight category.
•   She co-wrote an auto-biography called Unbreakable published in 2013 and was portrayed by actress Priyanka Chopra in the film Mary Kom (2014).
•   Mary won the country's highest sporting award the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009 followed by the third highest civilian award the Padma Bhushan in 2013.

Apollo Hospitals tied up with pharma firm Sanofi

01-OCT-2014

Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals on 30 September 2014 tied up with the global pharma firm Sanofi. The aim behind this tie-up is to expand Apollo Sugar Clinics which provide integrated diabetes care programmes in India.
Through this collaboration, Apollo and Sanofi plan to leverage their respective expertise in diabetes to provide patients with access to comprehensive educational resources, treatment and care programmes for better management.
Under this collaboration, the plan is to roll out another 150 clinics over the period of next two three years with an investment of 30-60 lakh rupees each.

Diabetes in India
Globally, Diabetes has affected close to 382 million people with India alone accounting for over 65 million people affected with diabetes (III). Around 77.2 million people were diagnosed as being pre-diabetic.
As per estimates, an average person with diabetes in urban India spends approximately 30000 rupees per year on treatment. In cases of late diagnosis, it results in 10-18 times higher spending.
The number of people with diabetes in India is expected to rise to 109 million by 2035. Such scenario demands for quick actions and a sense of purpose to arrest the disease from claiming more lives.
Sanofi
•   In 1718, Laboratoires Midy was founded by a family of pharmacists. In 1980, the this Midy group was acquired by Sanofi.
•   Sanofi is a global healthcare leader that focuses on the needs of the patients. It is engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative therapeutic solutions.
•   Sanofi has core strengths in healthcare with 7 growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme.

Apollo Hospitals
•   Apollo Hospitals was inaugurated in 1983 by Shri Giani Zail Singh (President of India). The first Apollo Hospital was in Chennai. The hospital commenced commercial operations in 1984.
•   It aims to bring healthcare of International standards within the reach of every individual.
•   Today, it has over 10000 beds across 51 hospitals, more than 1500 pharmacies, over 100 primary care & diagnostic clinics, 115 telemedicine units across 9 countries, health insurance services, global projects consultancy, 15 academic institutions and a Research Foundation.

Union Government approved six STPIs for Odisha

01-OCT-2014

Union government on 30 September 2014 accorded in-principle approval for setting up six more Software Technology Parks of India (STPIs) in Odisha. With this the number of such parks in the state will go up to 10.
These six STPIs will be developed at Jaypore in Koraput district, Sambalpur, Jajpur, Angul, Rayagada and Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi. The four existing STPIs are at Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Brahmapur and Balasore.

Background
The Union Government gave its approval for the STPIs after Odisha’s Information Technology Minister Pranab Prakash Das met Union Minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in July 2014 at New Delhi and raised the demand of STPIs.

About Software Technology Parks of India (STPIs)
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is an autonomous society established in 1991 under the Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. It was set up to promote software exports from the country and manages the Software Technology Park scheme.

Google social network site–Orkut closed

01-OCT-2014

Google closed the social networking site Orkut permanently on 30 September 2014. Google announced the decision to shut down Orkut in June 2014.

Old users of Orkut will be able to take backup of their pictures and posts till September 2016 and users can export their profile data, community posts and photos using Google Takeout. But no one will be able to create new IDs on Orkut account.

Decision of shutting down Orkut was taken as its competitor social networking sites namely Facebook and Twitter were much popular than orkut. Now, Google has moved to a new platform - the Google Plus.

About Orkut

Orkut started in 2004 was named after its creator, Orkut Buyukkokten, a Google employee.

Orkut had some features similar to the facebook like sharing videos, like option, uploading the pictures and others. Some options were different from facebook like who visited the user profile will be known in Orkut whereas it is not available in Facebook.

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day celebrated across the country on October 1

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day was celebrated on 1 October 2014 across the country. The day is celebrated every year to share the need and importance of the blood in the life of an individual.

To make the people aware towards the blood donation, a variety of events, awareness programmes, camps and supplementary promotional activities were organized in all states on the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.

On this occasion, Union Health Minister Dr Hrash Vardhan:

Felicitated Gabruddin, a resident of Sonepat and a senior citizen who has donated blood 157 times.
Officially inaugurated an E-Registry for Voluntary Blood Donorswhich has been developed with support from the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. The registry works through a simple procedure of registering oneself online even on a smart phone. Dr Harsh Vardhan became the first person to register
Released a NACO-NBTC document Training Module for Blood Bank Medical Officers and Laboratory Technicians. It lays out uniform standards for training blood bank staff in Transfusion Medicine.
Released a report, Rapid Situation Assessment of Blood Transfusion Services in India. The report has been published by NACO in collaboration with the United States Centre for Disease Control and Christian Medical Association of India

About the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day

The day was first celebrated in the year 1975 by the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohaematology.

The day is celebrated with following objectives:

To make aware the people all over the country about the importance of the voluntary blood donation
To successfully achieve the target of Voluntary Blood Donation to fulfill the urgent need of the needy patients
To store the blood in stock in blood banks for any urgent and serious requirement
To promote and emphasize the self esteem of blood donors through a lot of thanks
To motivate and encourage people who are not interested in donating blood even being a healthy person
To stimulate people to donate blood voluntarily who are interested in donating blood only to their relatives or friends

Who can donate the blood?

There are various criteria laid down for the blood donors under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940. The age of blood donors should be between 18 – 60 years, weight 45 kg or above, pulse rate range 60 to 100/ minute, BP normal, Hb 12.5gm/100ml and body temperature should not exceeds 37.5 degree centigrade.

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day celebrated across the country on October 1

01-OCT-2014

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day was celebrated on 1 October 2014 across the country. The day is celebrated every year to share the need and importance of the blood in the life of an individual.

On this occasion, Union Health Minister Dr Hrash Vardhan:

Felicitated Gabruddin, a resident of Sonepat and a senior citizen who has donated blood 157 times.
Officially inaugurated an E-Registry for Voluntary Blood Donorswhich has been developed with support from the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. The registry works through a simple procedure of registering oneself online even on a smart phone. Dr Harsh Vardhan became the first person to register
Released a NACO-NBTC document Training Module for Blood Bank Medical Officers and Laboratory Technicians. It lays out uniform standards for training blood bank staff in Transfusion Medicine.
Released a report, Rapid Situation Assessment of Blood Transfusion Services in India. The report has been published by NACO in collaboration with the United States Centre for Disease Control and Christian Medical Association of India

About the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day

The day was first celebrated in the year 1975 by the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohaematology.

The day is celebrated with following objectives:

To make aware the people all over the country about the importance of the voluntary blood donation
To successfully achieve the target of Voluntary Blood Donation to fulfill the urgent need of the needy patients
To store the blood in stock in blood banks for any urgent and serious requirement
To promote and emphasize the self esteem of blood donors through a lot of thanks
To motivate and encourage people who are not interested in donating blood even being a healthy person
To stimulate people to donate blood voluntarily who are interested in donating blood only to their relatives or friends

Who can donate the blood?

Union MNRE announced the organisation of the first RE-INVEST Promotion Meet & Expo

01-OCT-2014

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE) on 30 September 2014 announced the organisation of the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo (RE-INVEST). The meet is scheduled to be held on 15 February 2015 in New Delhi.
The central theme of the meet is to attract large scale investments in the renewable energy sector in India. The event, which is the follow-up to the Make in India initiative, is proposed to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It will be the first major platform for investment promotion in the renewable energy sector at the level of Government of India.

Highlights of the RE-INVEST Promotion Meet & Expo
•   RE-INVEST will be jointly organised by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
•   Moreover, other leading industrial and sector specific Associations including ASSOCHAM and PHDCII will also be closely associated.
•   RE-INVEST will enable the global investment community to connect with renewable energy stakeholders in India. Over 1000 delegates are expected to attend the Meet.
•   The event is expected be attended by over 200 investors including domestic and international.
•   RE-INVEST will be the culmination of a conference and exhibition of manufacturers, project developers, investors and other players in the renewable energy space to showcase manufacturing capabilities, latest technologies, financing options and investment opportunities.
•   International companies in the renewable energy space from different countries will also have the opportunity to exhibit and showcase at the Expo to a wide Indian audience.
Renewable Energy Sector in India
Renewable Energy Sector is contributing about 6.5 percent in the electricity mix of the country. FDI up to 100 percent under the automatic route is permitted in Renewable Energy Sector.
Major initiatives by the Government including accelerated depreciation, generation based incentive, feed-in-tariff, viability gap funding is expected to add massive investments in the renewable energy sector.