Current Affairs September 2014 ( Second Weak)

50 years of man in space : authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher

50 years of man in space was authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher

Starmus is a book about the first Starmus festival that took place in 2011. The authors of the book was Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher. The author of the foreword of the Starmus was Stephen Hawking a theoretical physicist, cosmologist.

The Starmus book is a historical document, because it contains the last lecture by Neil Armstrong and talks by the Soviet and Apollo astronauts, as well as the rest of the festival material.

The book was in news because Stephen Hawking wrote that the Higgs potential has the worrisome feature that it might become metastable at energies above 100bn gigaelectronvolts (GeV) in foreword of the book.

Former NASA Scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died

A former NASA chief scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died on 5 September 2014 due to brain tumor. He was 78.

He was involved in the scientific exploration of the moon for the Apollo program and later oversaw projects such as the Mars Surveyor Program.

About Noel Hinner

Hinners began his meteoric space career in 1963 by helping plan the lunar exploration and was just 33 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. He worked on the Apollo program until 1972, when he became the space agency’s director of lunar programs.

He later served as the director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington and the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He retired from NASA as its third-ranking executive.

At Lockheed Martin, Hinners was vice president of flight systems whose responsibilities included NASA’s Mars Surveyor Program and Stardust, the first program dedicated to exploring a comet.

He was a member of the NRC Space Studies Board (1981-1982 & 1989-1996) and chaired its Committee on Human Exploration.

Union Government extended deadline for employees to file details of assets

Union Government on 8 September 2014 extended the deadline for Central Government employees to file the details of their assets and liabilities till 31 December 2014. The previous date for filing the details was 15 September 2014.

As mandated in the Lokpal Act, 2013 the employee of the Central government needs to file the details of assets of their spouses and dependent children.

The date was extended because some government officials highlighted difficulties that were being faced by them in filing these returns.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) notified extension of the date under the Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Amendment Rules, 2014.

Public Servant (Furnishing of Asset Information) Amendment Rules, 2014
Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Amendment Rules, 2014 was notified under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

As per the new rule, the employees of the Central government needs to mention details like, cash in hand, bank deposits, investment in bonds, debentures, shares and units in companies or mutual funds, provident fund, insurance policies, personal loans and advance given to any person or entity and others.

The employees also have to declare details of motor vehicles, aircraft, yachts or ships, gold and silver jewellery and bullion possessed by them, their spouses and dependent children.

The rules also says that the competent authority can/may exempt the public servant from filing information in respect of any asset if its value of any asset of its value does not exceed his or her four months’ basic pay or 2 lakh rupees, whichever is higher.

Massive 100 million year old ancient extinct volcano discovered beneath Pacific Ocean

A massive 100 million-year-old ancient extinct volcano was discovered beneath the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists discovered a new seamount near the Johnson Atoll in the Pacific Ocean during a seafloor mapping mission.

The mapping mission aimed at helping delineate the outer limits of the US continental shelf.

About the seamount

The yet-unnamed sea-mount, located about 300 kilometres southeast of the uninhabited Jarvis Island, lies in one of the least explored areas of the central Pacific Ocean.

The summit of the seamount rises 1100 meters from the 5100 metre-deep ocean floor.

Mr. Gardner and his team used multi-beam echo-sounder technology to create detailed images of the seafloor. The team was able to map the conical seamount in its entirety.

A seamount is typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from the seafloor.

About multi-beam echo-sounder technology

Multibeam sonar sounding systems is also known as swathe. It was originated for military applications.

A multi-beam echo-sounder is a device typically used by hydrographic surveyors to determine the depth of water and the nature of the seabed.

The Sonar Array Sounding System (SASS) was developed in the early 1960s by the US Navy, in conjunction with General Instrument to map large swaths of the ocean floor to assist the underwater navigation of its submarine force.

In order to determine the transmit and receive angle of each beam, a multi-beam echo-sounder requires accurate measurement of the motion of the sonar relative to a cartesian coordinate system. The measured values are typically heave, pitch, roll, yaw, and heading.

To compensate for signal loss due to spreading and absorption a time-varied gain circuit is designed into the receiver.

For deep water systems a steerable transmit beam is required to compensate for pitch, this can also be accomplished with beam forming.

V Nagarajan joined IGL as a new director

V Nagarajan on 4 September 2014 took over as Director (Commercial) of Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL).

Before joining the new assignment at IGL, he was serving as Senior Vice President in-charge of Bina dispatch terminal at Bharat Oman Refineries Limited in Bina

About V Nagarajan
• He is a post graduate in Organic Chemistry
• He carries a diverse experience on over 32 years in operations, retail, industrial and commercial sales and businesses. He gained this diverse experience during his service in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

About Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL)
Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL) is a joint venture company of GAIL (India) Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) along with the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It was incorporated in 1998, IGL took over Delhi City Gas Distribution Project in 1999 from GAIL (India) Limited (Formerly Gas Authority of India Limited).

In Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) towns like Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, IGL is the sole supplier of
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
• Piped Natural Gas (PNG)

Chief Minister of AP announced Vijayawada region as the new capital of AP

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 4 September 2014 formally announced that the new capital of Andhra Pradesh would be located around Vijayawada. Vijayawada is located at the centre of the Andhra Pradesh.

The decision was taken on 1 September 2014 in the State's Cabinet meeting which suggested for the decentralised development of the state with three mega cities and 14 smart cities. This would enable equal access to people from all regions of the state.

Andhra Pradesh will share capital Hyderabad with Telangana for 10 years, after which it's capital will be around Vijayawada. The land for the capital would be acquired through pooling system to be worked out by a cabinet sub-committee.

The decision made by Naidu bypassed the Sivaramakrishnan Committee's recommendation that opposed Vijayawada-Guntur region as the best location for the capital area. The Sivaramakrishnan Committee was against the Vijayawada region due to high land prices and agricultural land.

The committee strongly was of the view that locating several governmental offices within the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri (VGTM) urban area is both unfeasible for financial reasons and undesirable for decentralized development.

Other Decisions taken at State's Cabinet meeting
• Visakhapatnam, the biggest city in AP and one of the leading contenders for the capital, would be transformed into a mega city.
• A new international airport to be built at Visakhapatnam to attract information technology firms, start-ups and the film industry.
• Three metro rail projects have been proposed at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati.

Background
After the victory of Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in assembly elections in April-May 2014, the Vijayawada- Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri (VGTM) region was widely expected to be named the new capital of AP.

After this fuelled speculations, the land prices around Vijayawada region have skyrocketed to as much as 10 crore rupees per acre from about 50 lakh rupees per acre in a few months.

Vijayawada
• Vijayawada is the biggest town in Krishna district.
• Vijayawada got its name from the Vijaya Kanaka Durga temple in the city.
• Vijayawada has evolved as a trading town and has given rise to several wealthy families due to its central location and the presence of a mercantile community.

India slipped to 71st rank in WEF's annual Global Competitiveness List 2014-2015

India slipped to 71st position out of 144 countries by losing 11 places in the global competitiveness list of Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) that came on 3 September 2014.

India stood at the lowest position among the BRICS countries. Among BRICS countries, China stood at one place with 28th spot, Russia stood at 2nd place with rank at 53rd position followed by South Africa (56th rank) and Brazil (57th rank).

The decline of 11 places poses challenge for the Indian government to improve competitiveness and revive the economy. However, in Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, India ranked at 60th position.

India was ranked third globally only in one aspect- Market Size. A rank of 1-7 is considered among best in the world.

Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of India
India stood at 71st position in GCI with the score of 4.2 out of 7. The three basic parameters that decide the rankings are:

Basic Requirements: India stood at 92nd position in Basic Requirements category with the score of 4.2. The basic requirement is of 60 percent that includes institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education.

Efficiency Enhancers: India stood at 61st position in efficiency enhancers scoring 4.2. Efficiency Enhancers contribute 35 percent for the evaluation of the GCI. It includes higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness and market size.

Innovation and Sophistication Factors: India stood at 52nd position in Innovation and Sophistication Factors scoring 3.9. Innovation and Sophistication Factors contribute 5 percent for the evaluation of the GCI. It includes business sophistication and innovation factors.

The problematic factors behind the slide in India's position are- Access to financing, Tax rates, Foreign currency regulations, Corruption, Inadequate supply of infrastructure, Policy Instability, Inefficient government bureaucracy, Inflation, Restrictive labour regulations, Government instability, Inadequately educated workforce, Poor work ethics, Crime and theft, Tax Regulations and Poor public health

Top ten rankings in the Global Competitiveness List
As per the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15, Switzerland stood first in the list. Other countries in the top ten are:
• Singapore- 2nd rank
• United States- 3rd rank
• Finland- 4th rank
• Germany- 5th rank
• Japan- 6th rank
• Hong Kong SAR- 7th rank
• Netherlands- 8th rank
• United Kingdom- 9th rank
• Sweden- 10th rank

WEF's annual Global Competitiveness Index
Global Competitiveness Report was launched in 1979 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. Initially, it covered 16 countries. However, 144 countries were included in the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15.

The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) is an yearly report published by the World Economic Forum. Since 2004, the Global Competitiveness Report ranked countries based on the Global Competitiveness Index. The report assesses the ability of countries to provide high levels of prosperity to their citizens.

The rankings are based on scores covering 12 categories- institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.

Delhi Government unveiled need-based development plan for villagers

Delhi Government on 7 September 2014 unveiled need-based development plan for villagers. Under the plan, Delhi Government allotted 1.25 crore rupees per village for the current financial year 2014-15. The amount of 1.25 crore rupees per village will be earmarked to provide basic amenities to each villager.

The plan cleared by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung aims to ensure balanced and equitable development of all rural villages in the city. Total sanctioned budget for the current financial year 2014-15 is 200 crore rupees.

The funds allocated will primarily be used in providing for integrated development of villages, with focus areas on providing roads, drinking water, streetlights, rejuvenation of water bodies, drainage to prevent flooding, etc.

Deputy Commissioner will choose the appropriate scheme with the consultation of the concerned Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Asembly. Besides, the monitoring of the scheme will be done by Deputy Commissioners who will send a monthly report to the Divisional Commissioner.

As per the 2011 Census, 4.19 lakh people live in rural villages in Delhi.

Unit 5 of RAPS became second longest running nuclear reactor of World

Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station on 6 September 2014 became the second longest running reactor in the world.

The Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) is a 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). The power station is in uninterrupted operation from 2 August 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of 105 per cent.

The unit 5 has been in operation for 765 days continuously. It has since then generated around 4258 million units of electricity.

World’s first

Unit 7 of Canada's Pickering nuclear plant holds the world record of running the largest operating plant that ran continuously for 894 days.

There are only 10 reactors in the world that have crossed 500 days of uninterrupted operation.

About the plant

The plant was commissioned in February 2010. It has been running at the capacity of 98.5 per cent and until now generated 8663 million units of electricity.

RAPS Unit 1 was commissioned in August 1965 with a gross capacity of 100 MW.

RAPS have 6 units of which five are in operation.

Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott visited India

Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott visited India from 4 to 5 September 2014. Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Abbott held talks on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. During the visit of Prime Minister of Australia to India, four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed. The following are

• Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy
• MOU on cooperation in Sport
• Renewal of MOU on cooperation in the field of Water Resources Management
• MoU on Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy
MoU will promote cooperation in the field peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It recognizes India’s commitment and use of nuclear energy with a view to achieving sustainable development and strengthening energy security. Australia can play the role of long-term reliable supplies of uranium to India. It provides for supply of uranium, production of radio isotopes, nuclear safety and other areas of cooperation.

MoU on cooperation in Sport
MoU will promote exchange of programmes, experience, skills, techniques and knowledge in the field of Sports. It will facilitate exchanges of sports personnel, coaches and officials as well as of training and technologies. It will develop preparation for competitions and broad cooperation in sports.

Renewal of MoU on cooperation in the field of Water Resources Management
This will promote sharing of policy and technical experiences in the water resources, particularly river basin management. It will encourage familiarisation of best practices and technologies developed by each side and for exchange of information and training. A JWG will coordinate the activities.

MoU on Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
Promotes exchange of information and policy ideas in TVET systems, joint implementation of collaborative projects and facilitating links between governments, industry organizations, TVET bodies. The focus will be to share experience and policy to build work force that is skilled and globally productive. The skills will promote broader cooperation including greater access to skilled labour across the region.

Bilateral Cooperation
• Both Countries Prime Ministers affirmed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral Strategic Partnership and moving towards a new level of mutual trust.
• They signed the bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement as a concrete symbol of the bilateral partnership.
• The Agreement will enable the sale of Australian uranium to support India’s growing energy needs and directed the negotiators to conclude the Administrative Arrangements at an early date.

Economic Engagement
• Both the countries are committed to expand trade further for mutual benefit and as a long term and sustainable boost to economic growth in India and Australia.
• They agreed to boost investment and collaboration in both directions in infrastructure, resources, agriculture, manufacturing, health, education and other sectors to increase efficiencies, introduce new technologies and develop innovation and skills.
• Both the countries, expected s a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) will support a significant expansion of two-way trade and investment. They renewed the commitment of both countries for an early conclusion of an equitable, balanced, comprehensive and high quality agreement.
• They agreed that economic engagement and business partnerships should be strengthened through a revitalized CEO Forum and encouraged regular exchange of business and trade missions and the convening of an India-Australia Business Summit in Delhi in early 2015.

Defence and Security Cooperation
• Both the countries agreed for the inaugural bilateral maritime exercise to be held in 2015. The initiatives under way to further strengthen defence cooperation, including closer engagement and cooperation in defence science and industry.
• Prime Minister Modi was invited to attend the commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of Gallipoli in 2015 by the Prime Minister of Australia, Abbott on behalf of the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand
• Both the countries committed to strengthening the defence and security partnership and enhance the cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism, cyber policy, transnational crime, disarmament and non-proliferation, humanitarian assistance, disaster management and peacekeeping.
• Both the countries called for deepening the framework of defence and security cooperation to guide the bilateral engagement in these and other priority areas.

Cooperation in Energy, Science, Water, Education and Skills
• Both the countries agreed an extension of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) for a further period of four years.
• The AISRF helps Australian researchers to participate in leading edge scientific projects and workshops with Indian scientists. It supports the development of strategic alliances between Australian and Indian researchers.
• Prime Minister of Australia, Abbott launched the New Colombo Plan at the Mumbai University.

During his visit, Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott described India as an emerging democratic superpower and found the most of the abundant opportunities for business India. He launched the New Colombo Plan at a programme at the Mumbai University.

World Literacy Day was observed across the world on 8 August 2014. The theme of International Literacy Day 2014 is Literacy and Sustainable Development. The aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individual, communities and societies. On this day, UNESCO reminds the international community of status of literacy and adult learning.

On this day, International Conference on Girls’ and women’s literacy and education: Foundations for sustainable development and the awarding of UNESCO Literacy Prizes was held in Dhaka with cooperation of Bangladesh.

About World Literacy Day
First World Literacy Day was celebrated on 8 September 1966 and it was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1965.

UNESCO observed the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012) which envisions Literacy for All. Throughout the Decade UNESCO takes actions to increase the absolute numbers of those who are literate. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is the main mechanism for reaching this objective.

Arab League agreed to join global coalition to counter IS militants

The 22-nation Arab League on 7 September 2014 agreed to join the global coalition to counter the threat of jihadist militants from the Islamic State Group. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held in Cairo, Egypt. In the decision, the foreign ministers of the Arab League decided to block the funds of the militants as the first step.

The Arab League adopted the UN Security Council Resolution by chocking funds and stopping the flow of foreign fighters to the radical Islamic extremists. The UN resolution was passed in August 2014 and called on the member states to act to stem the flow of logistical, military and financial support to ISIS, the extremists in Iraq and Syria.

As per the decision, the League will cooperate with all international, regional and national efforts that are on or has been initiated to combat the militant groups. The league’s Secretary General, Nabil Al Arabi said that the rise of the jihadist militants is a challenge which has to be confronted on all fronts, militarily as well as financially.

But the League has yet not cleared that will they directly join the military action to confront the jihadists. The Arab League includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Harika Dronavalli won bronze in women Grand Prix chess

Harika Dronavalli on 6 September 2014 won bronze at the women Grand Prix chess at the Asian Games.

Chinese top seed Hou Yifan won the gold, while compatriot Zhao Xue got the silver.
Harika scored 6.5 points with five wins, three draws and one loss.
Grand Master Yifan won eight rounds and drew one to score 8.5 points. And Xue won seven matches, drew one and lost one to finish with 7.5 points. She is also a grand master.

Harika tied with Tuvshintugs Zhao Xue of China and Anna Ushenina of Ukraine on points but came ahead on account of her superior tie-break score.

Meanwhile, another Indian women's player Tania Sachdev could earn only 5.5 points with five wins, one draw and three losses, to finish on sixth position.

Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani Inaugurated KRITI Exhibition - 2014

KRITI Exhibition 2014: organised as part of International Literacy Day-2014 celebration

The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani on 6 September 2014 inaugurated KRITI Exhibition 2014. The exhibition was open for public from 6 September to 8 September 2014 at Dilli Haat in New Delhi.

The exhibition has been created and organised as a part of International Literacy Day 2014 celebrations that is observed annually on 8 September and its theme for 2014 is Literacy and Sustainable Development. Around 250 JSSs from different parts of India participated in the exhibition. Some of them also displayed the products made by their beneficiaries.

Massive 100 million year old ancient extinct volcano discovered beneath Pacific Ocean

Ever since the BJP led NDA government came into power in May 2014, it has constantly shown its opposition to the FDI in multi-brand retail. This is despite the fact that the victory of BJP in recent elections was mainly based on bringing in the much needed reform in the Indian economy to boost the ailing industrial production and economic growth. This raises obvious question whether FDI in multi-brand is needed in Indian economy.

Present status of FDI in Retail
The Indian retail sector is highly fragmented with 97 per cent of its business being run by the unorganized retailers. The organized retail however is at a very nascent stage. The sector is the largest source of employment after agriculture, and has deep penetration into rural India generating more than 10 per cent of India’s GDP.

India being a signatory to World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services, which include wholesale and retailing services, it allowed FDI in cash and carry (wholesale) with 100 percent ownership under the Government approval route in 1997. It was brought under the automatic route in 2006. 51 per cent investment in a single brand retail outlet was also permitted in 2006.

In November 2011, the Cabinet approved 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, a decision that will allow global mega chains like Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour to open outlets in India. The Cabinet also increased the foreign investment (FDI) ceiling to 100 per cent from the present 51 per cent in single-brand retail.

Pros and Cons of FDI in Multi-brand Retail
The following are the main issues raised by those in favour of foreign equity in multi-brand retailing and those opposed to it:
Those against:
• It will lead to closure of tens of thousands of mom-and-pop shops across the country and endanger livelihood of 40 million people.
• It may bring down prices initially, but fuel inflation once multinational companies get a stronghold in the retail market.
• Farmers may be given remunerative prices initially, but eventually they will be at the mercy of big retailers.
• Small and medium enterprises will become victims of predatory pricing policies of multinational retailers.
• It will disintegrate established supply chains by encouraging monopolies of global retailers.

Those in favour:
• It will cut intermediaries between farmers and the retailers, thereby helping them get more money for their produce.
• It will help in bringing down prices at retail level and calm inflation.
• Big retail chains will invest in supply chains which will reduce wastage, estimated at 40 per cent in the case of fruits and vegetables.
• Small and medium enterprises will have a bigger market, along with better technology and branding.
• It will bring much-needed foreign investment into the country, along with technology and global best-practices.
• It will actually create employment than displace people engaged in small stores.
• It will induce better competition in the market, thus benefiting both producers and consumers.

Conclusion
It can be said that the advantages of allowing unrestrained FDI in the retail sector evidently outweigh the disadvantages attached to it and the same can be deduced from the examples of successful experiments in countries like Thailand and China where too the issue of allowing FDI in the retail sector was first met with incessant protests, but later turned out to be one of the most promising political and economic decisions of their governments and led not only to the commendable rise in the level of employment but also led to the enormous development of their country’s GDP.

FDI in multi-brand retailing and lifting the current cap of 51% on single brand retail would be a steady progression toward level of employment and economic development. One hopes that the government would stand up to its responsibility, because what is at stake is the stability of the vital pillars of the economy- retailing, agriculture, and manufacturing. In short, the socio economic equilibrium of the entire country is at stake.

Enormous species of Dinosaur that weighs nearly 60 tons discovered in Argentina

A group of researchers on 4 September 2014 announced that they have discovered fossilized remains of an enormous species of a long-necked, long-tailed dinosaur that weighs nearly 60 tons. This discovery is being considered as the largest terrestrial animal with a body mass that can be accurately determined.

The researchers have discovered the fossilized remains of the dinosaurs in the Patagonian hills of Argentina. The remains of the skeleton were unearthed between 2005 and 2009.

The giant herbivore has been dubbed as Dreadnoughtus Schrani by paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Dreadnoughtus schrani is a reference to the armored battleship meaning fearing nothing and is also a tribute to the dinosaur's perceived fearlessness.

The team that studied the fossil remains of the species said that it died about 77 million years ago. They also claimed that at the time of its death it was in the process of growth. The giant herbivore belongs to a group known as tyrannosaurs that had enormous bodies and long necks.

Measurement of the fossilized bones from hind leg and foreleg revealed that the animal was 26 meters long and weighed 59.3 tons, which made it heavier than some Boeing 737 that is around 50 tons. The team of researchers has been able to calculate the body size of the species much accurately as they were able to collect 70 percent of bones of it, except for those in the head.

The group of researchers, including those at Drexel University in the US, the announcement in the British science magazine Scientific Reports.

Habib Wali Mohammad died at 90

Habib wali Mohammad on 4 september 2014 died. He was 90. He was residing in Los Angeles at the time of his death.

He was best known for his film ghazal Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo that catapulted him to widespread recognition.

Habib Wali received classical music lessons from Ustad Latafath Husain, nephew of Ustad Fayyaz Khan.

In college, he became active in the musical functions of Ismail Yusuf College gaining the nickname Taan sain. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Bombay.

In 1941, Habib Wali was awarded first prize in a Bombay music competition with 1200 contestants, including the singer Mukesh Chand Muthur. His winning performance was singing the ghazal of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, Lagta Nahin Hai Jee Mera Ujray Diyar Mein.

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, his family migrated to Pakistan.

Ravindra Nath took charge as CMD of NSIC

Ravindra Nath on 4 September 2014 assumed the charge of Chairman and Managing director (CMD) of National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC).

He succeeded H P Kumar. He was appointed to the post on 15 July 2014.

The Public Enterprises Selection Board had interviewed nine applicants in July 2014.

Earlier, Nath was serving as the Director for Finance with NSIC.

About NSIC

National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) is a PSU established by the Government of India in 1955.

NSIC works under Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises of India.

NSIC was established with the objective to provide help to small scale industries (SSI).

Sri Lankan Navy arrested 9 Indian fishermen near Delft Island

Deft Island in the Indian Ocean was in news on 2 September 2014 when Sri Lankan Navy arrested 9 fishermen and remanded them on custody till 16 September 2014 as per the orders of Kankesanthurai magistrate.

Sri Lankan Navy claimed that arrest was made inside the Sri Lankan territory and all fishermen were handed over to the fisheries authorities of Kankesanthurai for legal action before the local magistrate.

Further it was claimed by the Sri Lankan Navy that the boat was unregistered and owned by Sakthivel, who recently bought this boat when his registered boat sunk at Talaimannar.

The action of Sri Lankan Navy comes after the break down of the official talks between the two countries in New Delhi in last week of August 2014.

About Delft Island

Called Pas uthivu or Nedunthivu (the island of cows) by natives, it was thus named Illha das Vaka by the Portuguese and renamed Delft by the Dutch, after the town in the Netherlands. It covers approximately 4700 hectares and is situated in Palk Strait.

The sparsely populated island is a coral reef island where the houses are fenced by coral-stones piled up.

Its barren plains are populated with wild horses which were introduced by the Portuguese in the 1600s and these horses are forbidden by law to leave the island.

US comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers died

talk-show host Joan Rivers died on 4 September following a cardiac arrest on 28 August 2014. She was 81.

Joan Rivers was an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, television host and was best known for her stand-up comedy.

Joan Rivers
• She was born as Joan Alexandra Molinsky to a family of Jewish immigrants who had fled the Russian Revolution in Brooklyn, New York.
• She got her big break in 1965 when she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
• Rivers hosted a morning talk show on NBC in 1968.
• In 1978, she wrote, directed and co-starred in the movie Rabbit Test.
• She launched The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers on Fox in 1986 but the venture lasted just a season
• She faced true crisis in the mid-1980s when her husband Edgar Rosenberg committed suicide in 1987 after which she was fired from her Fox talk show.
• She won Daytime Emmy Award for The Joan Rivers Show as an Outstanding Talk Show Host.
• Rivers slammed actors at the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes on their worst appearance on the red carpet while hosting the E! network's Fashion Police.
• In 2010, she was featured in the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.

India's largest offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra commissioned into Indian Navy

India's largest naval offshore patrol vessel (NOPV) INS Sumitra was commissioned into Indian Navy on 4 September 2014. It was commissioned by Admiral RK Dhowan at Chennai Port Trust. Admiral RK Dhowan is the chief of the Naval Staff of India.

INS Sumitra would join the Eastern Naval Command fleet for maritime surveillance and coastal security. Moreover, the vessel would further the coastal surveillance, anti-piracy and counter maritime terrorism operations of the Indian Navy.

The vessel is the fourth in the series of indigenous NOPV developed for Indian Navy. Earlier, the first, second and third of the series of 105 meter class of NOPV- INS Saryu, INS Sunayna and INS Sumedha were handed over to the Navy by Goa Shipyard Limited.

The ship is commanded by Commander Milind Mohan Mokashi, a Communication Specialist who is an alumnus of the 53rd Naval Academy Course and the prestigious 67th Defence Services Staff Course at Wellington. The ship is manned by nine officers and 105 sailors.

INS Sumitra
• INS Sumitra will have a major role to play in patrolling India’s eastern seaboard and will be an important component under the NOIC (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry) and the Eastern Naval Command
INS Sumitra is the first major ship being based at Chennai in recognition of the growing importance of the region and enhanced surveillance needs.
• The primary role of the ship is to undertake surveillance of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) including operations like anti-piracy patrols, fleet support operations and maritime security of off-shore assets.
• Designed and built by Goa Shipyard Limited, INS Sumitra demonstrates the immense potential of the country’s indigenous design and ship building capability.
• It measures about 105 meters in length, 13 meters in breadth and displacing 2200 tons. The ship can achieve speed of 25 knots with an endurance of 6000 nautical miles.
• The ship’s weapon and sensor outfit include a 76.2 mm gun (Super Rapid Gun Mount), Close in Weapon Systems (CWS), Electronic Support System Sanket Mk III and Communication Intelligence System ELK 7036.
• The vessel is also equipped with two Rigid Inflatable Fast Motor Boats. In addition, the ship is also capable of carrying a helicopter onboard.
• The entire propulsion and power management of the ship is controlled electronically by means of a remote control system.
• The ship is equipped with a fully integrated LAN system along with a CCTV management system which enables optimal utilisation of onboard equipment and optimisation of manpower.

UNESCO Asia‐Pacific Heritage Awards 2014 announced

UNESCO Asia‐Pacific Awards 2014 for Cultural Heritage Conservation were announced in Bangkok on 2 September 2014. Esplanade House & Shri Sakhargad Nivasini Devi Temple Complex bagged the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards from India.

Out of 46 entries a total of 14 projects have been recognized for UNESCO Asia‐Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation 2014.

The award is an annual recognition of conservation projects by non-state actors across five categories: Award of Excellence, Award of Distinction, Award of Merit, Honourable Mention and Jury Commendation for Innovation.

Awards for 2014
Award of Distinction: Saryazd Citadel, Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran
The award recognized the commitment made by private sector partnerships to protect a unique historic desert complex, while providing significant socio‐economic benefits for the local community through renewed employment opportunities.
Awards of Merit:
• Shri Sakhargad Niwasini Devi Temple Complex, Kinhai Village, Maharashtra, India
• Exeter Farm, Glenwood, New South Wales, Australia
• Frankton Boatshed, Queenstown, New Zealand
• Wak Hai Cheng Bio, Singapore
• Phraya Si Thammathirat Residence, Bangkok, Thailand
Honourable Mention:
• Shahzada Hussain Mausoleum, Karez Village, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
• Cape Inscription Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters, Shark Bay, Western Australia, Australia
• Rottnest Island World War II Coastal Defences, Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia
• Nanjing Yihe Mansions, Jiangsu Province, China
• Esplanade House, Mumbai, India
• De Driekleur, Bandung, Indonesia
• Gali Surjan Singh, Lahore, Pakistan
Jury Commendation for Innovation:
• Lucky Shophouse, Singapore

About Esplanade House

Esplanade House is residence of the founder of the Tata Empire, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata in Mumbai. Esplanade House, built in the Renaissance Revival architectural style, is a testimony to the role merchant princes played in the growth of the city in the 19th century.

About Shri Sakhargad Niwasini Devi Temple complex

The Shri Sakhargad Niwasini Devi Temple complex is located in Kinhai village near Satara, Pune. It was restored by the city-based Kimaya architects, headed by conservationist Kiran Kalamdani.

About the UNESCO Asia‐Pacific Heritage for Cultural Heritage Conservation Awards
The Awards was established in 2000 with the aim to encourage other property owners to undertake conservation projects within their communities, either independently or by seeking public‐private partnerships.

The UNESCO Asia‐Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation programme recognizes the efforts of private individuals and organizations that have successfully restored and conserved structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.

The conserved or restored heritage structure, place or property must be over 50 years old and for settlements and landscapes, the essential historic elements must be more than 50 years old to consider for these awards.

Previous Awards for India
2013
Awards of Distinction: Lal Chimney Compound, Mumbai
Awards of Merit: Royal Bombay Yacht Club Residential Chambers, Mumbai
2012
Awards of Distinction: Sethna Buildings in Mumbai, India and the Water Systems in Hampi.
Awards of Merit: Chandramaules hwar Temple in Hampi.
Honourable Mentions: Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan.
2011
Awards of Excellence: Sumda Chun Gonpa in Leh Sumda Chun Gonpa in Leh
2010
Awards of Merit: Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad
Honourable Mentions: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum) in Mumbai
2009
Awards of Merit: YMCA Students Branch in Mumbai
Honourable Mentions: YWCA Lady Willingdon Hostel in Mumbai
2008
Awards of Merit: Vysial Street in Pondicherry
Honourable Mentions: Archiepiscopal Palace in Goa and Craigie Burn Bungalow in Matheran
2007
Award of Excellence: Maitreya Temples, Ladakh
Awards of Distinction: Convocation Hall, Mumbai
2006
Award of Merit: Sir JJ School of Art
Award of Honourable Mention: Arakkal Kettu and Leh Old Town
2005
Awards of Excellence: Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai
Awards of Distinction: Mehrangarh Fort, Rajasthan
2004
Awards of Distinction: Lakhpat Gurudwara in Lakhpat village, Gujarat
2002
Awards of Distinction: Lakhpat Gurudwara in Lakhpat village, Gujarat

Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded at Pithoragarh

Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded on 31 August 2014 at Pithoragarh. The exercise was seventh in the series.

The 14-day exercise was based on to practice counter insurgency, jungle warfare and disaster management under the aegis of the Indian Army's GARUD division. The exercise has also boosted bilateral ties between the two countries.

Surya Kiran aimed to create a greater understanding between the Indian and Nepalese armies and develop expertise in jungle warfare and counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrains.

The exercise also focused on the basics of disaster management with special reference to pandemic/epidemic control. The current combined army training exercise marked the growing military cooperation between the two countries.

The First series of Surya Kiran exercise between India and Nepal armies started in 2011 at Vairangate in Mizoram. The decision to start such an exercise was taken following an agreement reached during the 7th India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security in 2011.

Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded at Pithoragarh

The exercise also focused on the basics of disaster management with special reference to pandemic/epidemic control. The current combined army training exercise marked the growing military cooperation between the two countries.
The First series of Surya Kiran exercise between India and Nepal armies started in 2011 at Vairangate in Mizoram. The decision to start such an exercise was taken following an agreement reached during the 7th India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security in 2011.

Taslima received one year Visa to stay in India

writer of Bangladesh in first week of September was given a one-year long visa that allows her to stay in India till August 2015. She has been granted the multiple entry visa (X Visa).

Earlier in August 2014, the 51-year-old writer was given a two-month temporary visa after the Union Home Ministry decided to initiate a verification process on her visa application. She met the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 2 August 2014 after she was granted only a two-month visa. Rajnath Singh assured her that he will resolve the issue and thus she has been granted the permission to stay for next one year.

She carries an EU Passport and has been living in India since 2004 on the X Visa. Earlier, she needed to renew the X visa in every six months but in 2011 UPA II government issued her X Visa renewable every year.

About Taslima Nasreen
• Taslima Nasreen is a Bangladeshi author who has been living in an exile since 1994 in the wake of death threats by Muslim fundamentalist outfits
• At present, she is a citizen of Sweden and has been continuously allotted Indian passport since 2004
• In last two decades, she has lived in the US, Europe and India
• She was born on 25 August 1962 and became famous owing to her essays and novels with feminist views and criticism of Islam in particular and of religion in general

Some Novels of Taslima Nasreen
• Oporpokkho (The Opponent), 1992
• Shodh, 1992
• Nimontron (Invitation), 1993
• Phera (Return), 1993
• Lajja, 1993
• Bhromor Koio Gia (Tell Him the Secret), 1994
• Forashi Premik (French Lover), 2002
• Shorom (Shame Again), 2009

As a person, several times, she had expressed that she wants to live in India permanently mainly in Kolkata. She was forced to leave Kolkata in 2007, after a section of Muslims did violent street protests against her works.

About Information for Foreigners Possessing Entry (X) Visa
Foreigners visiting India on long term Entry(X) visa would not require registration with the concerned FRROs/FROs if the duration of his/her stays does not exceed 180 days on a single visit. In case a foreigner intends to stay for more than 180 days on a single visit he should get himself registered well before the expiry of 180 days

Sri Lanka’s trade unionist, Bala Thampoe died

Trade Unionist Bala Thampoe died on 1 September 2014 in Sri Lanka. He was 92. He played a major role in Sri Lanka’s labour movement for nearly seven decades.

He was a general secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) for the last 65 years. He was considered as one of the most powerful private sector unions in Sri Lanka.

About Bala Thampoe
• Bala Tampoe was born in May 1922 and was a lawyer and a trade unionist in Sri Lanka
• He was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo and gained a BSc degree from the newly established University of Ceylon in 1943 and the University of London in 1944
• He also studied law at the Colombo Law College and became an advocate, practicing criminal law.
• He joined the Trotskyist faction of the Leftist and then underground Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) in 1941. He joined the CMU in 1948 as its general secretary and served in the capacity till he died.
• He opposed the LSSP joining the ruling coalition in the 1960s due to uncompromising leadership.
• Ceylon Mercantile Union came under the influence of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP).

President released a Set of Eight Commemorative Postage Stamps on Indian Musicians

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 released a set of eight Commemorative Postage Stamps on Indian Musicians. The postage stamps were released at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The set of stamps has been brought out by the Department of Posts and it features luminaries in the field of classical Indian music and they are
• Pandit Ravi Shankar – was the best-known exponents of the Sitar of the 20th century and was also a composer of Hindustani classical music
• Pandit Bhimsen Joshi – was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition and is known for the khayal form of singing. He was also popular for renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs)
• D.K. Pattammal – was a prominent Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages
• Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur – was an Indian classical singer of the khyal style in the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana of Hindustani classical music
• Gangubai Hangal – was an Indian singer of the khyal genre of Hindustani classical music and was from to the Kirana gharana. She was known for her deep and powerful voice
• Pandit Kumar Gandharva – was a Hindustani classical singer and was well known for his unique vocal style and his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana
• Ustad Vilayat Khan – was one of India's well known sitar maestros and was one of the great pioneers of his generation to introduce Indian Classical Music to the West, along with Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Nikhil Banerjee and his younger brother Imrat Khan
• Ustad Ali Akbar Khan – was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the Sarod. He was instrumental in popularising Indian classical music in the West, both as a performer (often in conjunction with Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar) and as a teacher

All these Indian Musicians on whom a set of Commemorative Postage Stamps has been released are eight greatest music maestros of contemporary India.

President released a Set of Eight Commemorative Postage Stamps on Indian Musicians

Qaedat al-Jihad, a terrorist outfit created by Al-Qaeda

Qaedat al-Jihad: A Terrorist Outfit to spread jihad in South Asia
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on 3 September 2014 announced creation of a new branch of the terrorist outfit named Qaedat al-Jihad. The new outfit has been formed to carry out militancy to spread Islamic rule and to raise the flag of jihad in South Asia.

The new branch Qaedat al-Jihad will take the fight to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. With the creation of this terrorist outfit Zawahari renewed the pledge of loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Zawahri described creation of the Al Qaeda wing in the Indian Subcontinent as good news for Muslims in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir and termed that the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.

Reason behind creation of the outfit Qaedat al-Jihad
Reason for creation of Qaedat al-Jihad militant outfit is a move to snub ISIS militant outfit that has created problems in Iraq and Syria in past few months. It is seen as challenging Al-Qaeda to lead Islamist militancy worldwide.

About Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global militant Islamist and Wahhabist organization founded by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other militants, at some point between August 1988 and late 1989, with origins traceable to the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda as a terrorist outfit is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are the two countries where the surviving leadership is thought to be hiding out.

President cleared the appointment of Justice H.L. Dattu as 42nd CJI

President Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 cleared the appointment of Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu as the 42nd Chief Justice of India.

Justice Dattu will become the Chief Justice of India after the retirement of CJI R.M. Lodha on 27 September 2014. He would hold the post until his retirement on 2 December 2015.

Justice H.L. Dattu
• Born on 13 December 1950, he joined up as an advocate in 1975 and began the practise in Bangalore.
• Justice Dattu was elevated as a judge of the Karnataka High Court after his appointment as a senior standing counsel for Income Tax department in 1995.
• In 2007, Justice Dattu became the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh high court and shortly afterwards in the same year he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Kerala high court.
• Justice Dattu joined the Supreme Court as a judge in 2008.

Comment

Justice Dattu could be the last Chief Justice of India who would be appointed through the collegium system of judicial appointments. If the states approve the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 the collegium system will come to an end. Further the Bill before becoming an Act has also to go through legal hurdle. This is because legal fraternity, specially senior Supreme Court advocate Fali Nariman, feels that it comprises Independence of Judiciary which is the basic feature of the Constitution and thence Supreme Court can declare the Act as ultra vire.

Oxford Summit of Leaders conferred Mrunalinidevi Puar with Best Manager Award

Mrunalinidevi Puar, Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University was conferred with the Best Manager award at the Oxford Summit of Leaders (Science and Education) in UK. It was announced by the Socrates Committee of Europe Business Assembly (EBA Oxford, UK) on 2 September 2014.

The award will be presented at the summit of leaders and International Socrates Award ceremony to be held in Oxford UK on 14 October 2014.

She was selected for the Best Manager award based on the criteria that includes the university in the field of quality educational services rendering, implementation of up-to-date technologies and social focus.

About Mrunalinidevi Puar

She is the first woman Chancellor of the Recognized Indian University with more than 35000 students.
Puar did basic Degree in Home Science and MS (Food & Nutrition) from Iowa State University Of Science & Technology, USA.

She was awarded PhD (Food & Nutrition) from The Maharaja Sayajirao University Of Baroda.
She received Outstanding Woman Achiever Award of the All Indian Management Association and also Alumni Achievement Award from MS University of Baroda.

At Present, she is a member of the Advisory Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Institute For Contemporary Studies, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi.

Oxford Summit of Leaders conferred Mrunalinidevi Puar with Best Manager Award

Maharaja Sayajirao University was conferred with the Best Manager award at the Oxford Summit of Leaders (Science and Education) in UK. It was announced by the Socrates Committee of Europe Business Assembly (EBA Oxford, UK) on 2 September 2014.

The award will be presented at the summit of leaders and International Socrates Award ceremony to be held in Oxford UK on 14 October 2014.

She is the first woman Chancellor of the Recognized Indian University with more than 35000 students.
Puar did basic Degree in Home Science and MS (Food & Nutrition) from Iowa State University Of Science & Technology, USA.

She was awarded PhD (Food & Nutrition) from The Maharaja Sayajirao University Of Baroda.
She received Outstanding Woman Achiever Award of the All Indian Management Association and also Alumni Achievement Award from MS University of Baroda.
At Present, she is a member of the Advisory Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Institute For Contemporary Studies, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi.

Bombay High Court set up V V Daga Committee to conduct forensic audit of NSEL

Bombay High Court on 2 September 2014 set up V V Daga Committee to conduct forensic audit of NSEL and liquidate the assets of its defaulting borrowers in the over 5500 crore rupees payments scam. V V Daga is a retired judge of Bombay High Court.

The V V Daga headed committee will be a three member committee and will also have a solicitor and a chartered accountant.

The committee will discover the liability that is outstanding against the defaulting borrowers of NSEL, conduct a forensic audit, and monetise the assets. The Committee has been empowered to distribute the assets to the duped investors but distribution of funds will require the court’s permission.

However, the Court ordered the committee will have to seek separate directions from the court to access the assets that have been attached by the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police and the Income Tax Department in the NSEL fraud. Sale of assets attached by the Enforcement Directorate is excluded.

The court further ordered that in case of any mutual settlement between NSEL and the borrowers, the committee will give a notice to the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) of such a settlement, and also should inform the court about the mutual settlement.

The Court ordered setting up of the committee while hearing a representative suit filed by Modern India Ltd., one of the major investors in the bourse, against NSEL and its promoters.

Background
NSEL was promoted as a spot commodity exchange by Financial Technologies (India) Limited (FTIL) and a token 100 share were given to National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED).

In July 2013, it was discovered that underlying commodities did not exist and the buying and the selling of commodities was being conducted only on paper. Jignesh Shah and Shreekant Javalgekar who were believed to be masterminds of the scam were arrested.

Ukraine pulled back troops from Luhansk Airport

pulled back

Luhansk airport in eastern Ukraine was in news because of Ukrainian troops pulling back from the airport on 1 September 2014.

The Ukrainian troops pulled back after a coloumn of Russian tanks entered the airfield which was described by President Petro Poroshenko as direct and open aggression by Russia.

However, Russia denied helping the rebels in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine who want to be part of Russia ather than Ukraine which seeks integration into mainstream Europe.

The pulling back from the airport is strategically a big loss to Ukraine because it was being held by Ukrainian paratroopers who could have been easily be supplied by the air anywhere.

About Luhansk

Luhansk is formerly known as Voroshilovgrad. It is the administrative center of Luhansk Oblast in easternmost Ukraine.

The city itself is also designated as its own separate municipality within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 425848.

Vinod Mehta selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014

and Editorial Chairman of Outlook group, was selected for G K Reddy Memorial Award 2014. The award was announced by the TSR Foundation on 2 September 2014 and the award will be presented in New Delhi in December 2014.

He was selected for this award for his outstanding contribution in the field of Journalism. He is one the popular editors in India, who launched successful publications including The Sunday Observer, The Independent and The Pioneer. He also authored the biographies of actress Meena Kumari and politician Sanjay Gandhi.

About GK Reddy Award
• T Subbarami Reddy established the award in the memory of G K Reddy
• It is presented annually for outstanding contribution in journalism.
• The Award carries a cash award of 5 lakh rupees, a gold medal and a citation.
• The New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, The Hindu Editor-in-Chief N. Ravi and The Indian Express former Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta are some of the recipients of the award

Ukraine pulled back troops from Luhansk Airport

Luhansk airport in eastern Ukraine was in news because of Ukrainian troops pulling back from the airport on 1 September 2014.

World's Oldest Test cricketer Norman Gordon died

The world`s oldest test cricketer Norman Gordon died in Johannesburg on 2 September 2014. He was 103. He was a former South African international fast bowler.

Norman Gordon was the oldest living international cricketer and was the last man alive to have played Test cricket before World War II. Now, the former South African Lindsay Tuckett is the oldest living international cricketer.

Norman Gordon

Gordon became the oldest-ever Test cricketer on 23 March 2011 when he surpassed New Zealander Eric Tindill who died on 1 August 2010.
He was Nicknamed Mobil for the way he greased down his hair with hair gel.
He made his Test debut against England in Durban in December 1938
Gordon played first-class cricket for Transvaal as a right-handed fast bowler from 1933–34.
He was born in oksburg, Transvaal on 6 August 1911

Former Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati died

Former Attorney General of India Goolam Essaji Vahanvati died of a heart attack in Mumbai on 2 September 2014. He was 65.

He was the first Muslim to become India's Attorney General.

Goolam Essaji Vahanvati
• Born on 7 May 1949, Goolam Essaji Vahanvati obtained a law degree from Government Law College in Mumbai after graduating from St Xavier’s College.
• He began his practice as an advocate in his father’s chambers in 1972.
• He became the advocate general of Maharashtra in 1999.
• He served as the solicitor general of India from 2004 to 2009.
• In 2004, he was appointed by the International Cricket Council to probe the allegations of racism in Zimbabwe.
• He became India's 13th Attorney General in 2009 under UPA-2 regime.
• He resigned from the position of Attorney General on 27 May 2014 following the regime change at the Centre.

Blue Economy-International workshop on sustainable growth held in Bangladesh

was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 1 -2 September 2014 to discuss better ways to explore the resources of the Bay of Bengal.

The aim is to establish links with countries and organisations working in ocean research and resources to ensure the protection and sustainable utilization of the resources of the Bay of Bengal.

The main areas of discussion are to understand the dynamics of ocean-based blue economy, developing maritime policies, and access and sustainable development of ocean resources.

Representatives from Australia, Seychelles, Sweden, Oman, China, South Africa, Iran, the Philippines, Japan, India, the Netherlands, Thailand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, United States, Kenya, Mauritius, Myanmar, Tanzania, Mauritius experts on marine resources are participated and shared experiences.

Sushma Swaraj visited Bahrain

Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister of External Affairs and Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs visited Bahrain. She was on a two day visit to the country from 6 September to 7 September 2014. This was Swaraj’s first official visit to Bahrain and to the Gulf region.

During the official-tour, she met with His Majesty the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain and also interacted with the top Bahraini leadership. A range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest were discussed during the meet with the leaders.

Apart from this, she also attended the inaugural Indian Diaspora Engagement meet for Indian businesses in Bahrain. The meet was organised by Overseas Indian Facilitation Center (OIFC) and was held in Manama. Aim of the meet was to acquaint the Indian Business group with the various investment opportunities in India and also seek investments from the nationals of Bahrain.

The OIFC is a public- private initiative of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Confederation of Indian Industry for promotion of
• Overseas investments into India
• Facilitation of business partnerships
• For assisting States in India to project investment opportunities to overseas Indians

India and Bahrain relationIndia and Bahrain shares a cordial and friendly relation that is marked by close people to people contacts and regular high-level political exchanges. His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa paid his first State visit to India in February 2014. Bahrain as a Gulf nation is a home for 350000 Indian nationals, who work there and contributes to the development of the country.

In the Gulf region, Bahrain is an important partner of India and its bilateral trade in 2013-14 exceeded 1.3 billion US dollar.

Electrolux agreed to buy GE Appliances for 3.3 billion US dollars

The Swedish company Electrolux agreed to buy a home-appliances unit of General Electric Company of Louisville for 3.3 billion US dollars in cash. The agreement was done on 8 September 2014. This acquisition would enable Electrolux to compete with Whirlpool in US Market.
The combination of Electrolux and GE's appliance businesses would represent a combined market share of over 26% of the American major appliances market according to data from consultancy Euromonitor. It will outdistance Whirlpool, which commands over 25% of the US market.
Electrolux said it would continue to use the GE Appliances brand.

About the GE-Electrolux Deal
• GE is selling all the smaller businesses as it is concentrating on its heavy industrial businesses such as jet engines, power turbines, and oil-sector services.
• The deal comes amid a wave of consolidation among makers of home appliances such as dish washers, washing machines, and cookers.
• The GE deal gives the Swedish company a great market position in North America with a combined market share of 40%, on par with that of market leader Whirlpool.
• Electrolux gains economies of scale increasingly important in the appliance sector.
• The purchase of GE's Appliance's business - including cookers, refrigerators, air conditioners and water heaters - will more than double Electrolux's sales in the US market from the 31.9 billion crowns (4.5 billion US dollars) it had in 2013.
• With this deal Electrolux will get access to both North and South America in a very good way and will become very strong in all of the Americas.

Union Government approved Task Force to monitor Citizenship, Long Term Visas

Union Home Ministry on 5 September 2014 approved setting up of a task force to monitor and expedite the processing of citizenship and Long Term Visa (LTV) applications. The task force will be headed by a Joint Secretary level officer and will start its operation in next two weeks.

The task force will review the matters relating to grant of citizenship that takes a long time for completion of the entire process. This time schedule and other matters cause hardships and difficulties to applicants, especially to minorities from neighboring countries who are often of poor economic background.

Activities that will be performed by the Task Force would
• Cases having complete documents will be expedited so that all processing is completed within two months.
• Where representations are received about specific pending cases in State Governments, Ministry Home Affairs (MHA) will follow up with State Governments concerned. MHA officials may also be sent to coordinate with State Home Department and FRO officials.
• Since the initial applications are filed online, the Task Force would monitor the applications filed and keep track of progress.
• For many applicants, the grant of LTV would have to be processed/considered first. The Task Force will coordinate LTV related matters also.

State that would be benefitted with the work of the Task Force
The work of the task force will be beneficial at least for the people of Goa and will help the state government to resolve the issue of dual citizenship of many residents of the state (Goans) who registered their births in the Portuguese registry and in such case their Indian citizenship seems to be in danger.

Reasons behind the births of residents of the state in Portuguese registry
Goa was a Portuguese territory from 1510 to 1961. It remained under Portuguese territory of the Empire control even after independence of India in 1947 and the process of making Goa an integral part of India saw certain happenings like Operation Vijay of December 1961 and United Nations resolution condemning the action of India was proposed in the UNSC.

Further, under Indian control, Goa voted in a referendum to become an autonomous, federally administered territory. Goa was admitted to Indian statehood in 1987.

SC asked Union Government to clarify its stand on citizenship of surrogate children

The Supreme Court of India on 4 September 2014 asked the Union Government to clarify its stand on granting dual citizenship of children who are born in India via an Indian surrogate mother, while the biological mother of children is a foreign national.

The Supreme Court bench led by Justice Ranajan Gogoi highlighted that under the Constitution, a child born in India from a surrogate mother is entitled to an Indian citizenship, but what happens when the biological mother is a foreign citizen and the child applies for citizenship of that country. The Bench asked the Government after looking into the larger issue as there is a need of a comprehensive legislation that deals with all situations of a surrogate child that is created by the latest reproductive technology.

The bench asked the Government that whether it was open to consider dual citizenship for surrogate children born under such situations. The dual citizenship can give limited entitlements to such children

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta in its reply to the SC informed that a Bill - Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill - was introduced in the parliament in 2010. He would get instruction on the status of the Bill.

After hearing the response of the ASG, the court adjourned the case for hearing after 6 weeks, so that it can to hear the reply from the government.

Background
First time the problem of citizenship of a surrogate child was highlighted in the case of twin babies who were born to an Indian surrogate mother and a German father, Jan Balaz in 2008. The twin boys named Balaz Nikolas and Balaz Leonard were conceived in January 2008 by Indian women in Gujarat’s Anand district.

Citizenship as per Constitution of India
Part II, Citizenship of Constitution of India under Article 5 defines Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution, it says
At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and-
(a) Who was born in the territory of India; or
b) Either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or
(c) Who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India.

South Africa denied visa to Dalai Lama for Nobel Summit

South Africa on 3 September 2014 denied visa to Dalai Lama for Nobel Summit.

He was scheduled to attend the 14th world summit of Nobel peace laureates in Cape Town in October 2014.

Other Nobel laureates have warned that they will not attend the summit if the Dalai Lama is not permitted into the country.

South Africa believed that the Tibetan spiritual leader's trip would jeopardize relations with China.

In response, China highly appreciates South Africa for its respect and support for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The summit was an annual gathering. South Africa is holding this summit for the first time.

This is the third time in five years the Dalai Lama has been refused a South African visa.

For the first time visa was cancelled in 2009. A peace conference in Johannesburg was arranged to highlight the World Cup in South Africa and again in 2011.

China – South Africa

China is South Africa's biggest single trading partner. The trade volume of two countries in 2012 was worth 21 billion US dollar.

Both countries also cooperate in the BRICS grouping of emerging economies along with Brazil, India and Russia.

Ravindra Nath took charge as CMD of NSIC

Union Government approved Task Force to monitor Citizenship, Long Term Visas

Sudhakar Jayant won gold medal at IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships

Indian Army's Lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant on 5 September 2014 won the gold medal for the third time at the IWF World Masters Weightlifting Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He being 45 years old lifted a total of 185kg while competing in 62kg weight category. In snatch, Jayant lifted 85kg and finally in clean and jerk category, he showed his best by lifting 100kg.

Silver medal was won by Finland's Huuskonen Jari who lifted a total of 170kg. While Frederic Robert of France bagged the bronze medal by lifting 145kg.

Lt Colonel Sudhakar Jayant
• Lt Col Sudhakar Jayant is an IIT Alumnus of 1990 batch of Electrical Engineering from Nilgiri Hostel.
• In September 2012, he bagged the Gold medal in the 56 Kg Category with a Snatch of 75 Kg and Clean & Jerk of 95 Kg in 28th Men's and 19th Women's World Masters Championship at Lviv, Ukraine.
• In 2013 at Italy, Jayant won the gold medal with a lift of 192 kg. His lift of 87kg in Snatch category made the Games recor

WHO recommended Ebola survivors' blood to treat EVD

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 5 September 2014 announced to use the Ebola survivors' blood to treat Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The announcement was done in Geneva. It is an experimental Ebola treatment as there is no licensed treatment.
Experts opined that the antibodies in the blood of people who have survived Ebola might help other patients stave off the virus long enough for their own immune systems to respond. It was noted that survivor's blood was first used to treat Ebola patients in a 1995 outbreak in rural conditions of Africa.
But, the blood from survivors would have to be screened for HIV, malaria and other diseases before being used as a treatment.

About Blood medicine
• Studies on the 1995 outbreak of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo showed seven out of eight people survived after being given the blood therapy.
• People, who survived from Ebola produces antibodies in their blood to combat Ebola infection. In theory, those antibodies can be transferred to a sick patient to give a boost to their immune system.

About Ebola virus disease (EVD)
• High fever, Internal or external bleeding and central nervous system damage are the main symptoms of Ebola.
• Infected to other through blood and saliva
• Virus takes two to 21 days to incubate.
• There is no proven vaccine or cure
• Fruit bats are considered to be virus's natural host.

WHO recommended Ebola survivors' blood to treat EVD

Snapdeal signed joint venture with Den Networks

Snapdeal on 4 September 2014 signed 50:50 Joint Venture with Den Networks. The deal was aimed to extend its reach to television home shopping audiences.

The venture will leverage the robust distribution network of Den Networks and Snapdeal’s wide product range and more than 30000 vendors.

Den Networks is the largest cable TV distribution company of India. The company serves 13 million homes in more than 200 cities.

This deal would benefit both Snapdeal and Den Networks where Snapdeal gets direct access to millions of households at one go while Den gains from the deep domain expertise of the former to build up a strong revenue stream.

The deal creates an entity that could evolve into something similar to US based QVC, the world largest home shopping company with annual sales of 8.6 billion US dollar.

Sri Lankan Navy arrested 9 Indian fishermen near Delft Island

Delft Island: 9 fishermen arrested

Further it was claimed by the Sri Lankan Navy that the boat was unregistered and owned by Sakthivel, who recently bought this boat when his registered boat sunk at Talaimannar.

The action of Sri Lankan Navy comes after the break down of the official talks between the two countries in New Delhi in last week of August 2014.

About Delft Island

The sparsely populated island is a coral reef island where the houses are fenced by coral-stones piled up.

Its barren plains are populated with wild horses which were introduced by the Portuguese in the 1600s and these horses are forbidden by law to leave the island.

SC upheld Uttar Pradesh Government decision to use Urdu as second official language

Supreme Court on 4 September 2014 upheld the Uttar Pradesh government decision to use Urdu as second official language in the State.

The judgement was given by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha. The other judges were Justices Dipak Misra, Madan B. Lokur, Kurien Joseph and S.A. Bobde.

The apex court while upholding the Uttar Pradesh Official Language (Amendment) Act, 1989 said that language laws of the country are not rigid but accommodative to secure the object of linguistic secularism.

Further it noted that nothing in Article 345 of the Constitution bars a state government to declare one or more of languages used in the State, in addition to Hindi, as the second official language. That is, State governments have the right to adopt any language as the second language as long as it is in use in the state and figures in the official languages listed in the Constitution.

The SC bench also noted that there are many States in India which have officially adopted other languages in addition to Hindi. These States include Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi.

Moreover, it noted that National Capital Delhi has adopted Punjabi and Urdu as other officially recognized languages in addition to Hindi. In fact, Bihar was the first state to declare Urdu a second official language in November 1980.

Background

The Uttar Pradesh government in 1989 enacted Uttar Pradesh Official Language (Amendment) Act which recognised Urdu as the second official language of the State.

However, it was challenged by the UP Hindi Sahitya Sammelan in Allahabad High Court in 1996. The Allahabad High Court upheld the UP government’s decision to amend the UP Official Language Act, 1951.

The Sahitya Sammelan then filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision claiming that the state government decision had no rationale as there was not much Urdu speaking population in the state.

Article 345 of the Constitution

Article 345 which empowers the State Legislature to make law for adoption of one or more of the languages in use in the State leaves no manner of doubt that such power may be exercised by the State Legislature from time to time.

Justice Dharmadhikari Committee recommended complete ban on dance bars

State-appointed, Justice CS Dharmadhikari Committee on 1 September 2014 asked Maharashtra Government to enforce a complete ban on dance bars in hotels and restaurants to curb attacks on women and reduce crime rate.

Besides, asking for the ban on dance bars, the Dharmadhikari Committee also gave its view on social media and Jat Panchayats (caste council) and their effect on woman.

The Main Recommendations of the Dharmadhikari Committee
• It asked the state government to frame a policy to check vulgarity on social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and other social media.
• Social media sites are responsible for harassing women and also develops violent tendencies among the youth as such there is increase in cases of crime against women.
• Further the Committee also said that these sites have been responsible for increase in divorce cases.
• It advised that at the time of registration of marriage, the bride must be asked to disclose on oath whether dowry was demanded and that all the laws for protection of women were followed.
• The committee also said that the bride must declare that whether all gifts and cash received by her were kept by her name by the family. These measures would go a long way in making the anti-dowry law more effective, the panel, which was set up in 2010.
• The committee also asked the state government to frame a policy to deal with Jat Panchayats (caste councils) that bars or punish the couples for inter-caste marriages.
• The committee also asked the state government to look after the children of unwed minor tribal girls and sex workers, who are deprived of education and do not go to schools as they have to disclose their father’s name. Thus they are kept away from the schools although Right to Education is their Constitutional right.

The committee recommended the steps in its fourth and fifth interim reports that were submitted to the Bombay High Court. The panel gave 22 recommendations in its fourth interim report and six suggestions in its fifth report.

The interim report was submitted on the PIL filed by Help Mumbai Foundation, seeking measures to ensure safety and security of women.

Background
In 2005, dance performances in the bars in the Maharashtra were banned but performances in three-star and higher-standard hotels were exempted. This was challenged in the Supreme Court on the grounds of discrimination in 2012. The Supreme Court had termed the ban as discriminatory.

In order to end the protracted legal battle over the issue, on 13 June 2014, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a Bill to extend the ban on dance performances at high-end hotels and a host of other public premises.

Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari committee
Justice (Retd.) Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari committee was constituted by the Maharashtra government in 2010 to suggest measures to curb atrocities against women. The committee comprises of senior women political leaders, social activists and bureaucrats.

India-Japan Annual Summit 2014

India-Japan Annual Summit 2014 was held at Tokyo, Japan on 1 September 2014. The Summit was held during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi five-day visit to Japan from 30 August - 3 September 2014. The Summit saw the issuing of Joint Statement by the two Prime Minister, viz., Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe. The Joint Statement called for enhancing the cooperation between the two countries.

Main Highlights of the Joint Statement
• The Japan announced the launch of a feasibility study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for setting up of a 10 MW canal-top grid connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Gujarat as a model for next generation infrastructure.
• Japan pledged a loan of 50 billion yen (approximately 500 million US dollars) for the Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Financing Project to the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), and of around 15.6 billion yen (approximately 156 million US dollars) for the Guwahati Sewerage Project in Assam.
• Both sides directed the respective relevant authorities to start a feasibility study by JICA on a potential yen loan project for the MRTS between Gurgaon and Bawal in Haryana.
• Both sides instructed their officials to accelerate the implementation of the Smart Community projects, viz. the Logistics Data Bank project, the Mega Solar Power project at Neemrana and the Seawater Desalination project at Dahej.
• Both sides instructed their officials to expeditiously finalise the Master Plan and the Development Plan of the three cities, viz. Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) as potential industrial nodes by the end of March 2015.
• Both sides welcomed Japan becoming the partner country of the 21st International Engineering & Technology Fair (IETF 2015) to be held in New Delhi and expressed their expectation that this would lead to expansion of trade and investment between the two countries.
• Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in the field of new and renewable energy.
• Loan agreement signed between the State Bank of India and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the super-critical coal-fired power project in Meja in Uttar Pradesh and the launch of a feasibility study by JICA for Barauni super critical thermal power plant in Bihar.
• Both sides welcomed substantial agreement on the commercial contract between Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) for the production of rare earths as a significant step in India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership
• Both side decided to strengthen cooperation including the acceleration of Preparatory Survey for New Dholera International Airport Development Project.
• The Indian side welcomed Japan’s intention to launch a new sub-project named Village Buddha, which aims at leadership development for self-help groups in rural areas, taking into account the important role played by women in such groups.
• The Indian side welcomed Japan’s hosting the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai in March 2015. Both sides affirmed active participation in and close cooperation for the conference in order to adopt the succeeding framework of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005- 2015.
• Both sides directed the Joint Working Group to accelerate progress for the development of the Indian aircraft industry through US-2 amphibian aircraft cooperation including the transfer of the aircraft and its technology to India.
• Both sides expressed their desire to further promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation on maritime issues and decided to hold the next bilateral dialogue in Tokyo and joint exercise off the coast of Haneda between Indian and Japanese Coast Guards in October 2014.
• The Indian side welcomed Japanese side’s intention to invite young Indian researchers and students to Japan through Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship Program and Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science.
• Both sides welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent between the Ministry of Earth Sciences of India and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) to launch new cooperation in the field of ocean and earth science & technology.
• Both sides decided to pursue further cooperation in the field of space through approaches such as Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) and expressed their expectation that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would work together to further strengthen its cooperation.
• Both sides expressed satisfaction with the ongoing plan of exchange of approximately 1300 youth between the two countries under JENESYS 2.0 program.
• The Japanese side briefed the Indian side about the international symposium on women, the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo (WAW! Tokyo 2014) to be held in September 2014.
• Both sides welcomed the Programme on Empowerment for Women Leaders in India to be held in November 2014 in Tokyo by HIDA.

India-Japan Annual Summit 2014

V Nagarajan joined IGL as a new director

Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia launched New Colombo Plan

Australian Government's New Colombo Plan for India was launched at Mumbai University on 4 September 2014 by Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott. The plan was launched and the MoUs were signed at the time when Australian Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott is on a two day visit to India. He was on a two day visit of India from 4 September to 5 September 2014.

The plan was launched to enhance student exchange and collaboration between universities of the two countries. At the event, fourteen memorandums of understanding were signed between the Universities.

Aim of the New Colombo Plan
Canberra’s New Colombo Plan aims at lifting knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study in India.

Plan involves
• Scholarship programme for study up to one year
• Internships or mentorships
• A flexible mobility grants programme for short- and long-term study

The plan will be implemented from the next academic year.

Signing bodies of the MoUs from the two sides

India	Australia
Mumbai University The University of Hyderabad The University of Calcutta Jawaharlal Nehru University The IIT, Madras Deakin University The Swinburne University of Technology The University of Queensland, Melbourne and others

As per the MoU, the fund for the programme has been divided between the Government of Australia and University Grants Commission. Both the bodies will bear half of the funds with an aim at targeting a two-way traffic from this plan.

He started his visit from Mumbai and then during the visit he paid homage to the 26/11 terror attack victims and addressed business leaders. Apart from this, he also attended felicitation ceremony of young cricketers by Oz cricket greats Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee at Cricket Club of India.

The Colombo Plan
The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950. It was launched on 1 July 1951 as a cooperative venture for the economic and social advancement of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia.

At the time of plan and launch, it was called Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia and was a group of seven Commonwealth nations namely Australia, Britain, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand and Pakistan. But at present the international organisation has 26 nations including non-Commonwealth countries. Its name was changed to The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific when it adopted a new Constitution in 1977.

Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran-VII concluded at Pithoragarh

SC asked Union Government to clarify its stand on citizenship of surrogate children

itu Rani to lead Indian Women’s Hockey team in Asian Games 2014

Midfielder Ritu Rani was selected to lead Indian women's hockey team in Asian Games 2014. It was announced by a panel comprising B P Govinda, Harbinder Singh and Surinder Kaur along with Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans and chief coach Neil Hawgood on 3 September 2014.

Ritu Rani also led Indian Women hockey team in the Common Wealth Games 2014 that was held in Glasgow, Scotland from 23 July to 3 August 2014. India stood at fifth place in CWG 2014.

Team for Asian Games 2014
Goalkeeper: Savita
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika , Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo ,Jaspreet Kaur , Sushila Chanu , Monika
Midfielders: Ritu Rani, Lilima Minz, Amandeep Kaur, Chanchan Devi Thokchom.
Forwards: Rani, Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Navjot Kaur.
Capitan: Ritu Rani
Vice Capitan: Deepika

2014 Incheon Asian Games
2014 Incheon Asian Games is the 17th Asian Games and will be held will be held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September -4 October 2014. Incheon is the third city in South Korea where Asian Games will be held after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002). Asian Games is governed by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Government approved 7% hike in Dearness Allowance

Union Government on 4 September 2014 approved 7 percent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners. The notification of DA and DR will be effective from 1 July 2014.

This hike is an increase over the existing rate of 100 percent of the Basic Pay or Pension to compensate for price rise. This means that the DA has reached to 107 percent of the Basic Pay and the hike would benefit more than 30 lakh central employees and about 50 lakh pensioners.

In the current financial year period of July 2014 till February 2015, the decision will cost to the public exchequer around 12818 crore rupees. DA will be of approximately 7691 crore rupees per annum and that of the DR would be 5127 crore rupees.

The decision of hiking the Dearness Allowance was taken at the Cabinet meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The announced increase is in accordance to the accepted formulae based on recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission.

Other decisions taken during the Cabinet Meet
• Nod for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation in the field of traditional systems of medicine and homoeopathy between India and Bangladesh – the nod will not have any additional financial implications, as the financial resources to conduct research, training courses, conferences and meetings will be met from the existing allocated budget and existing plan schemes of the Department of AYUSH
• Nod was given to a proposal for constituting a four member Ministerial panel to give recommendations for setting up a green regulator in the Environment and Forest Ministry - the proposed regulator will grant green clearances, appraise projects, enforce environmental norms for approvals and impose penalties on polluters

Chief Minister of AP announced Vijayawada region as the new capital of AP

Tea Board of India postponed the implementation of Plant Protection Code

The Tea Board of India decided on 31 August 2014 to postpone the full implementation of the plant protection code (PPC) which was supposed to be effective from 1 September 2014.

The implementation of PPC has been postponed till January 2015, but some of other provisions of the code will come into force from September 2014.

The decision to postpone the implementation of PPC was taken after the representations made by the tea industry wherein they requested Tea Board to postpone the three clauses of PPC notification for some more time because the small tea growers needed more time.

The Plant Protection Code is a comprehensive document that lays down the manner in which chemicals are going to be used safely, in tea cultivation.

The aim of PPC is to achieve sustainability through Good Agricultural Practices, including integrated pest management by gradually reducing dependence on chemicals.

The code was developed by the Tea Board to use safer, healthier and more environment-friendly products.
Earlier in March 2014, the Tea Board issued a directive in this respect exercising its powers under the Tea Marketing (Control) Order, 2003.

About Tea Board of India
• The Tea Board of India is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce. It was constituted under Tea Act 1953 in 1954.
• The Board is composed of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade unions .
• The Board is reconstituted every three years.

Tea Board of India postponed the implementation of Plant Protection Code

The Tea Board of India decided on 31 August 2014 to postpone the full implementation of the plant protection code (PPC) which was supposed to be effective from 1 September 2014.

The implementation of PPC has been postponed till January 2015, but some of other provisions of the code will come into force from September 2014.

The Plant Protection Code is a comprehensive document that lays down the manner in which chemicals are going to be used safely, in tea cultivation.

The aim of PPC is to achieve sustainability through Good Agricultural Practices, including integrated pest management by gradually reducing dependence on chemicals.

Japan PM named five women for his new cabinet

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 3 September 2014 named five women for his new cabinet. These five women make up the quarter of the cabinet that comprises 18 members.

As estimated by the Japanese Government, only 11 percent of managerial jobs are occupied by women in Japan. Abe emphasized the need to get more women into the workforce to stop the growing gap in the labour market. He aimed to recruit women for 30 percent of senior business and political positions by 2020.

The chief figures of the administration remained in their place including Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Finance Minister Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

One of the female among five was 40 years old Yuko Obuchi who became economy, trade and industry minister. She is the daughter of former premier Keizo Obuchi. She holds the record for being the youngest female cabinet minister Japan has had.

Other female politicians were Midori Matsushima as justice minister and Haruko Arimura as minister in charge of women's activities.

Background
Shinzo Abe is president of the Liberal Democratic Party and was elected prime minister of Japan in December 2012. The present cabinet of Japan is one of the longest-serving collectives since the end of World War II.

Since Abe came into power in December 2012, it is the first cabinet reshuffle which is seen as an exercise in strengthening his power base in Liberal Democratic Party and reviving the economic and security agenda of the country.

Taslima received one year Visa to stay in India

Taslima Nasreen, the controversial writer of Bangladesh in first week of September was given a one-year long visa that allows her to stay in India till August 2015. She has been granted the multiple entry visa (X Visa).

Himachal Pradesh High Court banned animal sacrifice in HP

Himachal Pradesh High Court on 1 September 2014 banned animals sacrifice in religious places in Himachal Pradesh.

The high court bench comprised of Justice Rajeev Sharma and Justice Sureshwar Thakur ordered that no person will sacrifice any animal in any place of worship. It includes adjoining lands and buildings.

The court has directed all senior government and police officials to impose the ban after a petition was filed by animal rights activists, Rajeshwar Negi raising concern about animal sacrifice in many places ranging from big temples to small village temples.

The Court ordered animals sacrifice cannot permitted since the sacrifice causes immense pain and suffering to innocent animals and found that thousands of animals are sacrificed every year in the name of worship.

Rechargeable magnesium battery developed at IICT- Hyderabad

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) developed a rechargeable magnesium metal battery. The discovery was announced by the ICCT under Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Hyderabad on 3 September 2014.

The rechargeable Magnesium battery was developed by a team led by Vatsala Rani. The battery is a substitute to lead acid battery and has advantages like eco-friendliness and is cost effectiveness as compared to conventional lead acid battery.

About Magnesium battery
• The new battery utilizes eco-friendly materials such as modified natural graphite (cathode), magnesium (anode), and ionic liquid electrolyte. These are both safe and abundantly available.
• The battery replaces highly toxic lead acid batteries with the eco-conscious rechargeable magnesium battery.
• The new battery with natural graphite cathode is safe, cost effective and best applicable for stationary applications like UPS and inverter.
• The Mg-ions from the anode diffuse into the graphite layers of the cathode during discharge and while charging they revert to the anode.
• The ionic liquid used as electrolyte was prepared in-house. The liquid was found to be stable and non-corrosive at room temperature.
• The electrode materials are reusable and also biodegradable.
• The cycle life of the battery is established for 800 to 900 cycles and the shelf life of the battery is estimated to be 2-3 years.
About Lead acid battery
Lead compounds are extremely toxic and its long term exposure to even tiny amounts of these compounds can cause problems like brain and kidney damage, hearing impairment, and learning problems in children. Lead acid battery can be recycled and it is possible to prevent lead emission.

Justice Dharmadhikari Committee recommended complete ban on dance bars

V Nagarajan joined IGL as a new director

India slipped to 71st rank in WEF's annual Global Competitiveness List 2014-2015

of 144 countries by losing 11 places in the global competitiveness list of Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) that came on 3 September 2014.

India stood at the lowest position among the BRICS countries. Among BRICS countries, China stood at one place with 28th spot, Russia stood at 2nd place with rank at 53rd position followed by South Africa (56th rank) and Brazil (57th rank).

The decline of 11 places poses challenge for the Indian government to improve competitiveness and revive the economy. However, in Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, India ranked at 60th position.

India was ranked third globally only in one aspect- Market Size. A rank of 1-7 is considered among best in the world.