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Current Affairs 1
NATIONAL NEWS
Under the Article, both the President and the Governor of a State shall not be
answerable to any court for acts done in performance of their powers and duties.
However, such immunity to the Governor under Article 361 does not take away the
power of the Supreme Court to examine the validity of his action on the ground of
mala fide.
involves inserting the DNA encoding an antigen (such as a bacterial surface protein)
that stimulates an immune response.
case being investigated by the Mumbai Police, he remains an accused in the NIAs
case.
With this phone, Headley had filmed the residential areas around the Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC), Taj Hotel, the Naval Air Station, the Police Headquarters,
the State Assembly, Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Chabad House and Mumbai Stock
Exchange, Leopold restaurant and Trident Hotel.
Headley has also said he used to get calls from Major Iqbal on this number, and the
calls were masked to have generated from New York.
Naidu-led urban development ministry convinced the power ministry inearly January
to amend the Electricity Regulatory Act 2013 and include the penalty clause for
companies that violate the new instructions.
The Centre now aims at generating 700 megawatts of electricity from solid waste-
run plants in the next fiveyears.
Every day, about 1.68 lakh tonnes of solid waste is collected across the country.
As State governments will have to build plants that can produce energy from solid
waste, the ministry offered to cover 20 per cent of the cost of each plant. This
money would come from the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Of its budget allocation of Rs. 62,000 crore, Rs. 38,000 crore would be spent on building
solid waste management infrastructure across the country.
The road to arriving at energy generation is still long but the ministry has made a
significant progress in setting up an effective door- to-door collection and
transportation of solid waste.
The U.S. announcement has come at an inconvenient time, when India is hoping to
extract action from Pakistan on the Pathankot terror attacks.
Mr. Jaitley also said: I dont think India has reached a state where India can pull out
of the banking all together.
In the last 3-4 decades, state-ownedbanks have played an important role as they
reached out to areas where there was no banking.
Mr. Jaitley said Just 20 months ago, when this government took over, we still had a
situation in which only 58 per cent of India was connected to banks and 42 per cent
of Indians had no bank accounts.
Therefore, these banks have an important role to play in financial inclusion and
geographical reach.
Now that the benefit of computerisation is available, placing such data in the public
domain should not be particularly difficult, the CIC had said.
Speaking on the proposed amendments to the existing law on child labour, he ex-
pressed the hope that Parliament would pass a progressive law.
While the existing law identified 83 hazardous occupations prohibiting children from
working, Mr. Satyarthi said the proposed amendment reduced the number of
hazardous occupations only to three.
It has many firsts to its credit like national coverage of post-harvest losses due to
inundation and unseasonal rains, no capping on subsidyand use of technology for
early and accurate settlement of claims.
Assistanceto farmers affected by natural calamities has been increased by 50 per
cent and eligibility norms have been relaxed.
The President said amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act to make it more
stringent were on the anvil.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced four new categories of trains one for
unreserved passengers and three for reserved passengers.
Antyodaya Express, a long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service, for
the common man, to be operated on dense routes.
Govt. will also add two to four DeenDayalu coaches to some long-distance trains for
unreserved travel to enhance our carrying capacity for the masses.
Minister also announced a fully third AC train, called Humsafar. The Tejas category
of trains will run at 130 km an hour, with entertainment, local cuisine, Wi-Fi and
other amenities on board.
The final category is UDAY (Utkrisht Double- Decker Air-conditioned Yatri), which
will be overnight trains plying on the busiest routes to increase capacity by 40 per
cent.
to tackle climate change without substantial help from the private sector.
Successful implementation of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) and the ambitious targets set out in the Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions (INDCs) will require huge financial resources which cannot be met
through budgetary sources alone.
Leveraging private finance along with public fi- nance, both international and
national, will be critical.
The SDGs set by the United Nations last September lay the onus on countries to
make significant progress on a wide range of goals including end- ing poverty and
hunger and combating climate change.
The INDCs are plans by governments communicated to the United Nations climate
change council regarding the steps they will take to address climate change
domestically.
As part of its domestic climate commitments, India has said it would source nearly
60,000MW of its energy by wind- power and 1,00,000 MW mega- watts via solar
power by 2022.
The latter is extremely ambitious considering that as of to- day only 5% of this
proposed solar capacity has been in- stalled.
The Survey also notes that a mission on Climate Change and Health mooted since
early 2015 is being developed and a National Expert Group on Climate Change
and Health has been constituted.
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irrigation and farming schemes for the turnaround in the agriculture sector.
Listing the Centres steps to get better prices for farmers, Mr. Modi hit out at the
State governments for misusing funds allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
He appealed to the States to use MGNREGS funds to support agriculture.
Shortly after his appointment as the first Parsi Chief Justice of India on May 12, 2010,
Justice Kapadia replied to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyers congratulatory message.
In this, he spoke of how he had started as a Class IV employee and described integrity
as his only asset.
A strict disciplinarian with interests ranging from Theoretical Physics to Buddhist
Philosophy, Justice Kapadia was best known for his statistical acumen.
They argued that a 1997 office memorandum merely provided for concessions for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category staff in promotion.
The issue is expected to be discussed when Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister Walid al Moualem meets National Security Adviser and External Affairs
Minister during a three-day visit to New Delhi.
The visit is significant as it comes just ahead of a series of trips by the government of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused on West Asia.
Mr. Moualem could ask India toplay a conciliatory role in reconciling the positions
of all the major players in the region, given Indias standing with them.
U.S.-led coalition of more than 60 countries that are conducting strikes on IS locations
and supporting anti-Assad rebel groups, the Russian forces sent in to support
President Assads Syrian military forces against IS and other groups, and the newly
announced Saudi Arabia-led coalition of 34 Muslim nations, which claims it will
attack IS as well.
Currently, the share of passenger and cargo traffic is only 3.5 per cent as against the
average of 30 to 40 per cent in countries such as China, South Korea, United Kingdom,
Germany and France.
Development of waterways would reduce the logistics cost, enabling India to
effectively compete in the international market.
Coastal shipping and inland water transport is a fuel efficient, environment friendly
and cost effective mode, especially for bulk goods.
While the road transportation cost per km is Rs.1.50 and for the Railways it is Re.1,
for waterways, it would be 25 to 30 paise.
To encourage transportation of goods by coastal shipping, service tax has been brought
on par with road and rail transport.
The government has also relaxed cabotage (right to operate transport services within
a particular territory) for specialised vessels like Ro-Ro, Hybrid Ro-Ro, car carriers
and truck carriers for a period of five years.
The issue of fair market valuation and tax on investments would also be resolved.
A tax is currently levied on all funding provided by domestic angel and venture
capital funds to start-ups, with income tax authorities having the power to determine
the valuation at which such investments are made on the basis of a fair market
value.
terror attacks in India, who are currently believed to be living in the neighbouring
country, with Azhar on top of the list.
Azhar, who was one of three men released in exchange for 150Indians during the IC-
814 hijack in 1999, activated his terror groups as soon as he reappeared in Pakistan,
striking in quick succession in 2001 with the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly building
bombing and the Parliament attack.
After the 1993 Mumbai blasts, India handed over a list of six more names, including
Dawood Ibrahim and his associates, that were regularly brought up in India-Pakistan
talks. Indias first fully collated list of 14 most wanted, modelled after the U.S.s
FBI list,was handed over by the thenHome Minister L.K. Advani
However, after the Parliament attack, Mr. Advanis new list hadAzhar on the top.
The next list of 20most wanted was handed over by India after the Mumbai attacks
in 2008.
The handing over of the lists is a good debating point for India. Asking for Masood
Azhar will not change anything, nor will asking for Hafiz Saeed or anyone on the
list.
But it is a good debating point, and shows to the rest of the world how Pakistan has
not been helpful.
In 2011, India proffered a list of 50 names, which was then amended in 2012. The
Multi Agency Centre coordinated the two-week effort, to build the list after consulting
the National Investigation Agency, the CBI, Intelligence Bureau and R&AW.
It was further updated to 60 names by the sameteam when NSA Ajit Dovalwas due
to meet his Pakistan counterpart Sartaj Aziz in Au-gust 2015 but that meeting never
took place
One thing, however, is clear, for the third time in the past decade and a half, Masood
Azhar will no longer be in the background, but right on top of that list, as Indias
most wanted.
some 19 minutes later. This is ISROs first launch for this year.
IRNSS-1E with a mission life of 12 years was launched into a sub geosynchronous
transfer orbit with a 284 km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 20,657 km apogee
(farthest point from Earth) with an inclination of 19.2 degree with reference to the
equatorial plane.
IRNSS-1E carried navigation and ranging payloads, including a rubidium atomic
clock, C-band transponder and corner cube retro reflectors for laser ranging.
The signal-in-space of four satellites has already been validated by various agencies
within and outside the country.
5 Booklets
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5653+ MCQs
Our Objectives:
Firstly to cover 100% syllabus of the Examination.
Secondly to compile all the required study materials in a single place, So to save the precious time of the
aspirants.
Our Strategy:
Content of every section of the syllabus is developed after a exhaustive research of last year Question
Papers.
The bottom 10 percent (in terms of total assets) of rural households had assets worth
Rs.25,071 on an average, largely as a result of the value of land, while the figure for
their urban counterparts was just Rs.291, implying that the urban poor hardly own
any assets.
On the other hand, the top 10 per cent of the rural and urban population had average
assets worth Rs.57 lakh and Rs.1.5 crore respectively.
Haryana and Punjab had the highest average assets per household in rural areas,
while Maharashtra and Kerala were on top in urban areas.
Odisha lay at the bottom in both rural and urban India.
Land and buildings held the dominant share in asset holdings, as was the case in the
previous decade, comprising more than 90% of all assets in both urban and rural
areas.
Financial assets that include shares in companies and cooperative societies, national
saving certificates, and deposits in companies andbanks, were just two per cent of
total assets in rural areas, compared with five per cent in urban areas.
The share of land as a proportion of total assets has increased with time, possibly
due to the escalation of land prices, says the NSSO report.
The data also show that 31 per cent of the rural households and 22 per cent of the
urban households were under debt.
started to embargo and deny access to them, he said. We have to develop capabilities
to utilise our natural resources. One or two scientific laboratories cant do this. It
should be a combined effort of all academic institutions, laboratories and universities.
He said India had not been able to develop a disruptive technology that would
redefine, change and open new windows of research to develop innovative materials
for the defence sector. Titanium is used in almost all aerospace engines.
We are not able to come up with world-class engines just because we dont have a
good supply of such a material. The bullet-proof jackets used by U.S. forces are eight
to 10 kg heavier and do not suit our forces. We have to reduce the weight of bullet-
proof jackets by at least half, but have not reached there yet, he said.
The institutions of governance and policy have to adapt to new challenges and must
be built on the founding principles of the Constitution, the resolution states. On the
planning process, it states that there was a need to separate the process from the
strategy of governance.
Transforming India, it further states, would involve changes of two types
consequences of market forces and those that would be planned. The maturing of
our institutions and polity also entails a diminished role for centralised planning,
which itself needs to be redefined.
A state-of-the-art Resource Centre for good governance practices is also proposed.
The original Planning Commission was set up in March, 1950 through a Cabinet
Resolution, which the Modi Government scrapped in August 2014.
Padma Vibhushan
Name (discipline), State/country: L.K. Advani (Public Affairs), Gujarat; Amitabh
Bachchan (Art), Maharashtra; Prakash Singh Badal (Public Affairs), Punjab; D.
Veerendra Heggade (Social Work), Karnataka; Dilip Kumar (Art), Maharashtra;
Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (Others), Uttar Pradesh; Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan
(Science and Engg), Tamil Nadu; Kottayan K. Venugopal (Public Affairs), Delhi; and
Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan (Trade and Industry) France/U.K.
Padma Bhushan
Jahnu Barua (Art), Assam; Vijay Bhatkar (Science and Engineering), Maharashtra;
Swapan Dasgupta (Literature and Education), Delhi; Swami Satyamitranand Giri
(Others), Uttar Pradesh; N. Gopalaswami (Civil Service), Tamil Nadu; Subhash C.
Kashyap (Public Affairs), Delhi; Gokulotsavji Maharaj (Art), Madhya Pradesh;
Ambrish Mithal (Medicine), Delhi; Sudha Ragunathan (Art), Tamil Nadu; Harish
Salve (Public Affairs), Delhi; Ashok Seth (Medicine), Delhi; Rajat Sharma (Literature
and Education), Delhi; Satpal (Sports), Delhi; Shivakumara Swami (Others),
Karnataka; Kharag Singh Valdiya (Science and Engg), Karnataka; Manjul Bhargava
(Science and Engg), USA; David Frawley (Others), USA; Bill Gates (Social Work),
USA; Melinda Gates (Social Work), USA; and Saichiro Misumi (Others), Japan.
Padma Shri
Manjula Anagani (Medicine), Telangana; S. Arunan (Science and Engg), Karnataka;
Kanyakumari Avasarala (Art), Tamil Nadu; Bettina Sharada Baumer (Literature and
Education), J&K; Naresh Bedi (Art), Delhi; Ashok Bhagat (Social Work), Jharkhand;
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Art), Maharashtra; Lakshmi Nandan Bora (Literature and
Education), Assam; Gyan Chaturvedi (Literature and Education), Madhya Pradesh;
Yogesh Kumar Chawla (Medicine), Chandigarh; Jayakumari Chikkala (Medicine),
Delhi; Bibek Debroy (Literature and Education), Delhi; Sarungbam Bimola Kumari
Devi (Medicine), Manipur; Ashok Gulati (Public Affairs), Delhi; Randeep Guleria
(Medicine), Delhi; K.P. Haridas (Medicine), Kerala; Rahul Jain (Art), Delhi; Ravindra
Jain (Art), Maharashtra; Sunil Jogi (Literature and Education), Delhi; Prasoon Joshi
(Art), Maharashtra; Prafulla Kar (Art), Odisha; Saba Anjum (Sports), Chhattisgarh;
Ushakiran Khan (Literature and Education), Bihar; Rajesh Kotecha (Medicine),
Rajasthan; Alka Kriplani (Medicine), Delhi; Harsh Kumar (Medicine), Delhi;
Narayana Purushothama Mallaya (Literature & Education), Kerala; Lambert
Mascarenhas (Literature and Education), Goa; Janak Palta McGilligan (Social Work),
Madhya Pradesh; Veerendra Raj Mehta (Social Work), Delhi; Tarak Mehta (Art),
Gujarat; Neil Herbert Nongkynrih (Art), Meghalaya; Chewang Norphel (Others),
Jammu and Kashmir; T.V. Mohandas Pai (Trade and Industry), Karnataka; Tejas Patel
(Medicine), Gujarat; Jadav Molai Peyang (Others), Assam; Bimla Poddar (Others),
Uttar Pradesh; N. Prabhakar (Science and Engg), Delhi; Prahalada (Science and Engg),
Maharashtra; Narendra Prasad (Medicine), Bihar; Ram Bahadur Rai (Literature and
Education), Delhi; Mithali Raj (Sports), Telangana; P.V. Rajaraman (Civil Service),
Tamil Nadu; J.S. Rajput (Literature and Education), Uttar Pradesh; Kota Srinivasa
Rao (Art), Andhra Pradesh; Bimal Roy (Literature and Education), West Bengal;
Shekhar Sen (Art), Maharashtra; Gunvant Shah (Literature and Education), Gujarat;
Brahmdev Sharma (Literature and Education), Delhi; Manu Sharma (Literature and
Education), Uttar Pradesh; Yog Raj Sharma (Medicine), Delhi; Vasant Shastri (Science
and Engg), Karnataka; S.K. Shivkumar (Science and Engg), Karnataka; P.V. Sindhu
(Sports), Telangana; Sardara Singh (Sports), Haryana; Arunima Sinha (Sports), Uttar
Pradesh; Mahesh Raj Soni (Art), Rajasthan; Nikhil Tandon (Medicine), Delhi; H
Thegtse Rinpoche (Social Work), Arunachal Pradesh; Hargovind Laxmishanker
Trivedi (Medicine), Gujarat; Huang Baosheng (Others), China; Jacques Blamont
(Science and Engg), France; Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin (Others), Maharashtra
(Posthumous); Jean-Claude Carriere (Literature and Education), France; Nandrajan
Raj Chetty (Literature and Education), France; George L Hart (Others), USA; Jagat
Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja (Others), Portugal; Meetha Lal Mehta (Social
Work), Rajasthan (Posthumous); Tripti Mukherjee (Art), USA; Dattatreyudu Nori
(Medicine), USA; Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (Medicine), USA; Saumitra Rawat
(Medicine), UK; Annette Schmiedchen (Literature and Education), Germany; Pran
Kumar Sharma alias Pran (Art), Delhi (Posthumous); and R. Vasudevan (Civil Service),
Tamil Nadu (Posthumous) .
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Mr. Tusk had earlier hoped to put up a draft for discussion before the 27 EU heads in
Brussels on Monday. A summit on Brexit (Britains exit from the EU) is scheduled
for February 18 and 19.
State benefits to refugees Britains demand that it be al- lowed to restrict state bene-
fits to EU migrants for the next seven years has emerged as a sticking point.
As per this condition, any migrant arriving in Britain over the next seven years will
have to wait for a period of four years be- fore becoming eligible for any government
benefit that British citizens enjoy.
The European Commission (EC) has instead offered the option of an
emergencybrake a ban on benefits that can be activated only if the country can
prove that its public services are under un- sustainable pressure.
This cannot be invoked by the country concerned but has to be voted on by the EU.
India and Thailand recently held a joint task force meeting in Delhi to deepen maritime
and defence cooperation which covers a range of issues, including ocean safety,
disaster management and anti-terror drills.
The delegations also confirmed that India and Thailand will soon hold naval exercises
in the Andaman Seas.
Activity in the services sector expanded at its fastest pace in six months in January, a
private survey showed on February 3, while manufacturing activity fell to the lowest
since August 2012.
For Pope Francis, the meeting was an ecumenical and diplomatic coup that eluded
his predecessors but that also opened him to criticism that his embrace of the Russian
patriarch would indirectly give a boost to Mr. Putin as hewages a war in Syria and
continues to meddle in Ukraine.
The NDBs initial capital has been fixed at $50 billion, and the total paid in capital
would be $10 billion.
On the eve of its operational launch, the NDB has bagged a AAA institutional rating
from domestic credit rating agencies in China, where the China Development Bank
and the Bank of China have been appointed as rating advisers.
process.
The Saudi reservations were mis- placed as Iran continues to be in the U.S. list of
state sponsors of terrorism.
this frequency.
A national crisis like this demands a national response. Reducing gun violence will
be hard.
Its clear that common-sense gun reform wont happen during this Congress. It wont
happen during my presidency.
Still, there are steps we can take now to save lives. And all of us at every level of
government, in the private sector and as citizens have to do our part. We all have
a responsibility.
New steps include making sure that anybody engaged in the business of selling fire-
arms conducts backgroundchecks, expanding access to mental health treatment and
improving gun safety technology.
These actions wont prevent every act of violence, or save every life but if even
one life is spared, they will be well worth the effort.
world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and
Taiwan have rival claims.
Pentagon said the operation was carried out near Triton Island in the Paracel Islands,
to challenge excessive maritime claims of parties that claim the Paracel Islands.
US says that the excessive claims regarding Triton Island are inconsistent with
international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention.
This operation was about challenging excessive maritime claims that restrict the rights
and freedoms of the United States and others, not about territorial claims to land
features.
But the list does not include Nimrs nephew, Ali al-Nimr, whose arrest at the age of
17 and alleged torture during detention sparked condemnation from human rights
groups and the U.S.
i executions are usually carried out by beheading with a sword. Executions have
soared in the country since King Salman acceded the throne in January 2015, after
the death of king Abdullah.
Last year, Saudi Arabia executed 153 people convicted of various crimes, including
drug- trafficking, after 87 were put to death in 2014.
The website, www.bose-files.info, also sheds light on what may have been the freedom
fighters dying words, which reflected his devotion to the cause of Indias freedom.
The documents say that early in the morning on Au- gust 18, 1945, a Japanese Air
Force bomber took of from Tourane in Vietnam with Bose and 12 or 13 other
passengers and crew. The planned flight path was Heito-Taipei-Dairen-Tokyo.
India is better placed to recover but will have to wait for an overall upturn. The
markets will consolidate at current levels and then will wait for cues from the budget.
Equity markets globally have been witnessing weakness on account of an economic
slowdown in China. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already cut its global
growth outlook thrice in less than a year.
Crude futures fell below $28 per barrel the lowest level since 2003over concerns
of an oversupply amidst falling demand on account of the bearish economic outlook.
Data as per the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) shows that foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) have sold Indian shares worth Rs.7,146 crore.
that they should not be deaf to the cry of the poor and must consider their own role
in creating inequality.
New technologies such as robotics must also not be al- lowed to replace humans
with soulless machines, he said in a message to the World Economic Forum in
Davos.
The Pope, who wrote a ma- jor encyclical on climate change and protection of the
environment last year, also urged business leaders to see to it that the planet does not
become an empty garden.
The annual Davos meeting brings together many of the worlds wealthiest and most
powerful people to consider issues such as economics, climate change and war, with
an eye to working on solutions to them.
It has been criticised by anti-globalisation activists and others, however, as a forum
for organisations that have been responsible for the problems in the first place.
They are boosted by reports such as one from charity Oxfam estimating that 1 per
cent of the worlds population owns 99 per cent of the wealth.
Pope Francis, who has made the defence of the poor a hallmark of his pa- pacy and
has in the past called money the dung of the devil, said businesses and wealthy
societies must acknowledge their role in creating poverty.
This operation was about challenging excessive maritime claims that restrict the rights
and freedoms of the United States and others, not about territorial claims to land
features.
Our Objectives:
Firstly to cover 100% SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Tier - II examination syllabus.
Secondly to compile all the required study materials in one place, so to save the precious time of the
aspirants. Further, in this study kit we have incorporated all available study material in the market,
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Content of every section of the syllabus is developed after a thorough research of last year Question
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Every section and every chapter is covered with overview of chapter along with exercise and practice
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The Study Kit is available in English only.
Last year, Saudi Arabia executed 153 people convicted of various crimes, including
drug- trafficking, after 87 were put to death in 2014.
North Korea has repeatedly threatened the U.S. and has described the latest nu-
clear test a response to U.S. aggression.
Mr. Kim, unlike his late father, is not particularly sensitive to Chinese concerns.
However, though its influence over the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is
diminishing, China remains a crucial player which can calm the situation.
The U.S. is also exploring new sanctions and considering strengthening the existing
sanctions against.
The U.S. also said it was open to talking to North Korea in the Six Party format.
The talks, started in 2003 but aborted in 2009, involved China, Japan, South Korea,
North Korea, Russia, and the U.S. Washington wants the talks to restart but with a
predetermined objective of dismantling the nuclear apparatus of North Korea and
also hopes China will take the initiative.
North Korea has been unwilling to accept that. U.S. has ruled out any review of the
U.S. position on this.
Force bomber took of from Tourane in Vietnam with Bose and 12 or 13 other
passengers and crew. The planned flight path was Heito-Taipei-Dairen-Tokyo.
Moscows shadow, and had to be rapidly integrated in the western institutional web.
China, which was steering a Eurasian Silk Road connectivity initiative, was now a
major pivot of global economy. Chinas growing economic and political clout had
been accomplished in little over two decades of the Soviet Unions collapse.
Eastern Europe is an example of how the world has changed. Ten years ago, those
countries would have been looking for investors from Western Europe; they are now
widening their portfolio and that includes China.
In recent years because of signs of weakness in the Euro Zone and so on, those
countries in Eastern Europe have been trying to diversify their sources of investment.
They have looked at the Gulf, they have looked at Asia, looked at North America
and China has started investing much more in Eastern Europe.
Analysts point out that the launch of the AIIB is another example of the reinforcement
of economic bonds between Europe and Asia. In fact, the run-up to the formation of
the bank opened cracks within the Atlantic alliance.
Despite U.S. objections, European countries, including Britain, France and Germany,
joined the AIIB. Australia and South Koreatop U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacificalso
decided to participate in the development bank as its founding members.
Under the new Silk Route blueprint, the Chinese want to open up the transportation
channel from the Pacific to the Baltic Sea, from which would radiate rail and road
routes, which would also connect with East Asia, West Asia, and South Asia.
China wants to connect with Nepal and South Asia through an extension of the
Qinghai-Tibet railway. The rail line from Lhasa has already been extended to Shigatse,
Tibets second largest city, 253 km away.
The Chinese plan to build two lines from Shigatse. One would lead to Kerung, the
nearest Chinese town from Nepal, from where it would be extended to Rasuwagadhi
in Nepal. The other line would head to Yadong on the India-Bhutan border.
The website ekantipur.com of Nepal reported that visiting Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi urged his Nepalese hosts last week to conduct a feasibility study so that the
railway could be extended to Kathmandu and beyond.
A portion of one of the papers that was visible showed a listing of the arrivals of
whaling ships from various ports to Boston. Conservators didnt try to unfold the
papers.
Pam Hatchfield, the head of objects conservation for the museum, removed each
item using a slew of tools, including her grandfathers dental tool. Ms. Hatchfield
said the paper in the box was in amazingly good condition.
said.
The three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit will begin tomorrow in Ahmedabad. He
would also be reiterating throughout the trip, our shared commitment to address
the challenge of climate change, promoting clean energy in the future. Prime Minister
Modi has a strong track record in this regard, she said, adding that the Obama
administration sees this trip as a pivotal point in India-US relationship.
After a brief stopover in Munich to meet the Sultan of Oman, Kerry leading a high-
level US delegation is scheduled to arrive in Ahmedabad. Soon after his arrival, he is
expected to visit the Gandhi Ashram, meet members of the civil society and visit the
Ford plant, which is expected to open shortly. He would address the Vibrant Gujarat
Summit and hold a round table with top Indian CEOs.
Kerry is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Modi and hold another round-table with
American CEOs participating in the summit.
Referring to the multi-fold increase in bilateral trade in the last 10 years, which stands
now at about USD 100 billion, Psaki said the summit is an opportunity to further the
goal that US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Modi have talked about in
terms of increasing trade five-fold to USD 500 billion.
He added that India, as well as other countries in the region, need to take a stand on
nuclear disarmament as the growing stockpile of nuclear weapons in the region is a
cause for concern, even as other nuclear states have announced limitations and end
to production of nuclear materials.
It is urgent in our era of rising terrorism, he said. Further, he added that the fruits
of development need to reach all groups in India.
India has lifted millions out of poverty but it must do more, he said, adding that the
other facets of development, such as discrimination against minority groups, such
as religious as well as gender, need to be ensured in the country.
Education is key, he said, adding that schools have to foster equality and harmony
and shouldnt be a battleground of divisive ideologies.
On sustainable development, too, Ban said India has a huge role to play. While lauding
Prime Minister Narendra Modis call for Make in India, he said, I want to add two
words to it. Make it green in India.
Climate action can power growth, increase energy security, deliver better health
and many others, he said. Challenges here mirror global challenges poverty,
gender inequality, discrimination, environmental degradation.
Minister Shinzo Abe looks to strengthen surveillance of territorial waters in the face
of a continuing spat with China.
For the year to March 2016, Tokyo will spend 4.98 trillion yen ($41.97 billion), the
government said, rising for the third straight year.
This is the largest budget ever, said a defence ministry official, adding the highest
allocation previously was 4.96 trillion yen earmarked in 2002.
The trend reflects Mr. Abes wish to build a more active military, with an eye on a
possible escalation of tensions with China.
Another of the late monarchs half-brothers, Moqren, was named the new crown
prince.
In his first public statement as the new ruler, the 79-year-old King Salman vowed to
maintain a steady course for the conservative kingdom.
Power to Councils
He further said that all Provincial Councils will have equal powers now that the
Tamil National Alliance has said that they are for a solution within an undivided Sri
Lanka.
Provincial Councils became part of the Sri Lankan statute as a direct result of the
landmark 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka accord, popularly known as the Rajiv-Jayawardane
Accord, after its architects Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Lankan
President J. R. Jayewardene.
Mr. Wickramasinghe also blamed the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for failing
to resolve the thorny issues concerning the Tamil minority despite having ended the
two-and-a-half decade-old civil war with the LTTE in 2009.
On the U.N.s human rights investigation on Sri Lanka, Mr. Wickramasinghe said it
was the result of Mr. Rajapaksas mishandling of the issue.
did not inform the WikiLeaks staff until December 23, 2014, according to documents
obtained by AFP.
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over the army being deployed in the north and east to allegedly disrupt elections, he
said: You saw that there was no such incident. The transition was very smooth, he
said.
On whether Mr. Rajapaksa or his brother gave him orders to stage a coup, General
Ratnayake said: I cant comment on that, it is very sensitive. You have to check with
the politicians. However, should the government initiate an enquiry, the army would
cooperate in the process, he said.
the best and immediate response is to emulate the enduring patience, tolerance,
gentleness and mercy as was the character of our beloved Prophet.
For the year to March 2016, Tokyo will spend 4.98 trillion yen ($41.97 billion), the
government said, rising for the third straight year.
This is the largest budget ever, said a defence ministry official, adding the highest
allocation previously was 4.96 trillion yen earmarked in 2002.
The trend reflects Mr. Abes wish to build a more active military, with an eye on a
possible escalation of tensions with China.
Rosatom, as part of its plans for expanding its global footprint, is in the process of
opening its regional office for South Asia office in Mumbai.
The Action Programme includes areas of cooperation in the field of joint machinery
production, especially for nuclear power plants, as well as cooperation in the field of
joint development, mastering and technological support of the implementation of
end-to-end production technologies of products for heavy and power engineering
industries.
The three joint working groups, set up under the Indo-Russian Coordinating
Committee on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy established in
December 2014, are on the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear CM energy and scientific-
technical cooperation.
The localisation plans are part of the governments efforts to build manufacturing in
the country under its ambitions Make in India initiative.
Russia is currently building six reactors in Kudankulam of which the first unit was
commissioned in autumn 2013. It was shut for the first scheduled preventive
maintenance (SPM) and has now successfully restarted power generation.
Addressing the press after the signing ceremony at the Hyderabad House, Mr.Oli
said that both sides were determined to avoid the disruption of Nepals transit
facilities as experienced over the past five months.
Referring to Nepals dependence on India for receiving essential commodities, Mr.Oli
said without naming Madhesi protesters, Unscrupulous elements should not be
allowed to abuse the open borders between Nepal and India.
Though both the sides tried to address the grievances of the pro-blockade agitators
by agreeing to build a road network in the Madhesregion, the leaders of the Madhesis
are planning more agitation.
UAE, India, China and Netherlands, the number of distruster countries has grown
significantly to 13 including Japan, Russia, Hong Kong, South Africa and Italy.
Brazil, Malaysia, France and the US are among the 8 neutral nations as per the
trust index, the survey said.
India, which last year saw the BJP-led NDA government storming to power at the
Centre, stands tall.
According to the report, an alarming evaporation of trust has happened across all
institutions, reaching the lows of the Great Recession in 2009.
Trust in government, business, media and NGOs in the general population is below
50 per cent in two-thirds of countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Germany, it said.
From fifth most trusted in 2014, India has now become the second-most trusted in
2015 with a score of 79 per cent in the barometer. The study has put India Prime
Minister Narendra Modis image on the first page.
ECONOMY
The number of phones be- ing manufactured was 10 mil- lion sometime back (which
increased) to 45 million and then to 100 million. The time has come when we will
reach 500 million, may be in two years.
The government wants to reduce imports of electronic products while meeting
domestic requirement through indigenous production.
It has received proposals worth Rs. 1.13 lakh crore in the electronics manufacturing
segment under the modified special incentive package scheme (M-SIPS), which offers
capital subsidies to large investments in electronics manufacturing and system design.
The Indian banking sector is seeing rise in stressed assets over the last three years.
According to RBI data, stressed asset, that is gross NPA plus standard restructured
advances, as a percentage of advances moved up to 11.3 per cent as on September
2015 as compared to 9.2 per cent in March 2013.
The NPA levels of these banks are over Rs.3 lakh crore. How much of these can be
ab- sorbed by such an ARC or`bad bank? Even allowing for a discounted price for
such purchases, the effort requires quite a funding from the Government.
A resource-constrained Government will have difficulty in providing money for this.
Elsewhere in the globe, national ARCs were funded by issuing long-term
Government-guaranteed bonds.
only Rs.13,330crore through divestment which is less than20 per cent of the budgeted
target.
This has further helped create about 80,000-85,000 jobs during 2015.
As of January 2016, there were 19,400 technology-enabled start-ups in India, of which
5,000 had been started in 2015 alone.
The survey added no lessthan 2000 of the start-ups have been backed by venture
capital/angel investors since 2010, of which 1005 were created in 2015 alone.
he health of Indias manufacturing economy improved for the 25th successive month
in November, although to the least extent in this sequence. The latest PMI data showed
slower increases in incoming new business and output, while subdued demand
growth led firms to keep workforce numbers broadly unchanged
material is being adopted. Efforts are also being made to iron out the differences
over third party sampling.
The G20 summit mechanism for economic co-operation had evolved in the aftermath
of the 2008 financial crisis.
Due to growing divergence in economic performance and policy priorities among
major economies, we are seeing increasing difficulties in macro-economic policy co-
ordination. The world economy calls for a new impetus.
China has questioned the significant rise in protectionist measures adopted by
countries in trade and investment and the lack of movement on the World Trade
Organisations (WTO) Doha Development round of talks. G20 nations account for 80
per cent of global trade volumes.
China has proposed a new assessment system that focuses on aggregate impacts of
the structural reform measures undertaken by G20 countries instead of focusing on
the progress of implementation. This, it has argued, would provide a more objective
and effective evaluation of reforms.
PAN, he said. Other than that, the requirement of PAN applies to opening of all bank
accounts including the co-operative banks.
Those who do not hold PAN would have to fill a form and furnish any one of a
specified list of documents to establish their identity, according to press statement.
One of the recommendations of the Special Investigation Team on black money was
to make PAN compulsory for all sales and purchases of goods and services above
one lakh.
It is an extremely healthy move, and will improve governance. In the U.S., more
than 50 per cent of enterprises follow this and this practice is followed all over the
world, said Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, DH Consultants.
Combining the positions of Chairman and Managing Director with one person is
contradictory to the effective functioning of the organisation as the Chairman is the
custodian of governance, while the MD/CEO is the custodian of assets and efficiency
of running of the organisation.
When the same person holds both positions, it leads to confusion and some time
even to sacrifices. These are different roles, and so these positions must be occupied
by different individuals, Mr. Haribhakti added.
The move to separate the posts would bring in more professionalism in their
functioning, said D. S. Rawat, national Secretary-General, Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry of India.
It looks as though the government wants to bring in outside experts as chairmen in
some of the banks, which will be a great value addition to the state-owned banks,
said Mr. Rawat.
However, it is time the remuneration of CEOs in PSU banks is enhanced somewhere
near to their peers in the private sector. It cannot be that while we expect the CEO to
give performance under challenging circumstances taking into account the social
obligations of these banks, but we do not pay them the commensurate salaries, he
added.
Sangam, Mr. Adhia also said that asset quality was a problem for many PSU banks,
while low credit offtake was also an area of concern.
He said there is a need for a rethink on strategies for public sector banks. Gyan
Sangm was scheduled to start later this afternoon and would be addressed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Others expected at the event include Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan, along with a host of PSU bank chiefs and top executives of insurance
companies.
Among other issues, Prime Ministers Jan Dhan Yojana would also be discussed at
the event and Mr. Adhia said that 10.3 crore accounts have been opened so far under
this programme for giving bank accounts to all.
up bad debts of banks and restructure other possible non-performing assets (NPAs)
within a year to put the economy back on track.
He also favoured channelising full savings of the households into the financial
system so that the requisite resources for growth were made available.
In the short-term (up to 12 months), there is need to clean up the NPAs and then
restructure other stressed loans so as to put the economy back on the track, Dr.
Rajan said at the two-day Gyan Sangam.
Total gross NPAs of public sector banks stood at over Rs.2.43 lakh crore as on
September 30, 2014. The top 30 NPAs accounted for Rs.87,368 crore or 35.9 per cent
of total gross NPAs of PSBs.
Dr. Rajan said the bona fide mistakes made by the bankers while taking commercial
decisions should be protected by the government.
If the officers are hauled up for such decisions, this would to lead to delay in good
decisions because of avoidance of risk, he said.
The Governor also stated that there was a need for internationalisation of the banking
system in the current global environment.
The capital base of the banks may need to be enhanced, Dr. Rajan said while
emphasising on the need for consolidation in ownership, improvement in governance,
and enhancement of management capability.
With the licensing of the small banks and the payments banks, there would be new
players in the industry and competition among the PSBs will also grow to meet
these challenges. Accordingly, PSBs have to develop differentiated products, Dr.
Rajan said.
The temperature gradient between the equator and the poles essentially drives the
atmospheric circulation in the southern hemisphere in the form of three north- south
systems: the polar cell, the mid-latitude Ferrelcell and the tropical Hadley cell. These
cells are dynamically linked together.
The AWARE project by the United States located at McMurdo station in Antarctica
will observe how climate change affects the polar region as it has been determined
that when the polar region warms, the lo- cation of the boundary be- tween the polar
and Ferrel cells will change, along with the strength of circulation in both cells.
Antarctica acts as a global heat sink. Near the equator the Sun is highest in the sky
and insolation (solar radiation reaching the surface) is larger than thermal radiation
loss to space.
At the South Pole during winter there is no insolation and the Antarctic continent
loses energy to space.
Energy and warmth transported over the Antarctic continent by global circulation
patterns is lost to space by radiative cooling.
Another wind system is the circumpolar westerlies which prevents warm air from
the northern latitudes of the southern ocean from reaching the interior of eastern
Antarctica which remains a cold, isolated desolate region, losing energy to space.
also re-ported that two endemic species recorded from theseareas were classified as
endangered and five as vulnerable to extinction in the RedList of the
InternationalUnion for Conservation ofNature.
Crab Pulsar
Scientists have discovered the most energetic light ever detected in the universe from
the centre of a supernova known as Crab pulsar which is situated 6,500 light years
away from Earth.
The Crab pulsar is the corpse left over when the star that created the Crab nebula
exploded as a supernova.
It has a mass of 1.5 times the mass of the Sun, concentrated in about a 10 km diameter
object, rotating 30 times per second.
It is surrounded by a region of intense magnetic field 10 thousand billion times
stronger than that of the Sun.
The pulses were found by researchers working with the Major Atmospheric Gamma-
ray Imaging Cherenkov (Magic) observatory in the Canary Islands, Spain.
The Crab pulsar, created in a supernova explosion that occurred in 1054 A.D., is
located at the centre of a magnetised nebula visible in the Taurus constellation.
The Crab is the most powerful pulsar in our galaxy and it is one of only a few pulsars
detected across all wavelengths, from radio up to gamma rays.
In its rotating magnetic field, electrons and positrons are accelerated up to relativistic
energies and emit radiation that arrives to our telescopes in the form of pulses every
33 millisecond, each time the neutron star rotates and meets our telescopic sight.
New drugs of TB
For the first time, child-friendly TB drugs for first-line medication in a fixed-dose
combination was launched by TB Alliance, UNITAID and WHO at the 46th Union
World Conference on Lung Health. These drugs, which meet the WHOs revised
dosage guidelines of 2010, are meant for children weighing less than 25 kg.
The fixed-dose drugs are already available and countries can place an order, which
can take 2-3 months for delivery.
The Mumbai-based Macleods Pharmaceuticals is the only company manufacturing
the child-friendly drugs. The medicines will cost $15.54 for the six-month course of
treatment.
The availability of child-friendly TB drugs of correct dosages will increase drug
adherence and thereby reduce acquired drug resistance. According to the WHO,
each year, at least 1 million children become ill with TB.
It was during an expedition to study the floristic diversity of the high mountains in
the southern regions of the Western Ghats that the researchers led by scientist K.M.
Prabhu Kumar and director Indira Balachandran came across the new species in the
grasslands of the Palamala hills in the Dhoni mountain range.
The plant belonging to the genus Chlorophytum of the Asparagaceae family was
later reported from the Elival hills of Muthikulam in Palakkad by a team comprising
scientists from the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi.
Named Chlorophytum palghatense, after the place of discovery, the plant is a
perennial herb endemic to the grassland ecosystem of the Dhoni and Muthikulam
forests at a height above 6,000 feet. It flowers and fruits from September to November.
The finding has been published in Phytotaxa, an international journal on botanical
taxonomy.
Distributed throughout Africa and India, the Chlorophytum genus is represented
by 17 species in India, of which 15 occur in the Western Ghats.
Detailed taxonomic studies carried out at Shivaji University, Kolhapur, revealed that
the new species was distinct from C.sharmae endemic to Munnar. Mr. Kumar said
C.Palghatense was named thus to highlight the rich biodiversity of Palakkad district,
especially as a reservoir of rare plants endemic to the Western Ghats.
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Kepler442b is about one-third larger than Earth with a 60 per cent chance of being
rocky. Scientists give it a 97 per cent chance of being in the habitable zone, but caution
that the estimations arent certain.
Although the original image was dubbed the "Pillars of Creation", this new image
hints that they are also pillars of destruction. The dust and gas in these pillars is
seared by intense radiation from the young stars forming within them, and eroded
by strong winds from massive nearby stars.
The ghostly bluish haze around the dense edges of the pillars in the visible-light
view is material that is being heated by bright young stars and evaporating away.
The infrared image shows that the reason the pillars exist is because the very ends of
them are dense, and they shadow the gas below them, creating the long, pillar-like
structures and the gas in between the pillars has long since been blown away by the
winds from a nearby star cluster.
For micro-blogging site Twitter, the percentage of users logging in daily decreased
from 46 percent in 2013 to 36 percent last year. 53 percent of internet-users, between
the ages 18-29, use Instagram, also owned by Facebook.
The survey also found that 45 percent of internet users log in to Facebook several
times a day. Of the respondents, 52 percent use more than one social media website
- an increase compared with 42 percent in 2013.
"The data shows quite clearly that it's the greenhouse gas trends that are responsible
for the majority of the trends," he told reporters. Emissions were still rising "so we
may anticipate further record highs in the years to come."
U.N. studies show there already are more extremes of heat and rainfall and project
ever more disruptions to food and water supplies. Sea levels are rising, threatening
millions of people living near coasts, as ice melts from Greenland to Antarctica.
The team found species like the Sandpipers, which come from Western Europe, the
Northern Pintails, that migrates from Northern Europe and North America, and the
Black-tailed Godwits, a bird species coming from Iceland area in Europe, among
few others, which comes to western region of the State during winter season, in
coastal areas too with some of them even noticed in smaller numbers around irrigation
tanks in sanctuaries like Koonthankulam near Tirunelveli.
Changes to titin, a protein that is part of the mechanism muscles use to contract and
relax, have been implicated as a cause for dilated cardiomyopathy.
Titin is the largest human protein and is produced by a gene whose genetic
information exists as 364 separate segments, known as exons. Variations in how the
genetic data from these exons are assembled mean that the protein can exist in a
variety of forms.
A 2012 study carried out in severe and familial cases of dilated cardiomyopathy
found that disruptive mutations in the gene, resulting in truncated titin variants
being produced, were the commonest genetic cause for the ailment.
Researchers who carried out that study have gone on to examine titin gene sequences
from over 5,200 individuals, with and without the condition, as well as scrutinising
150 heart tissue samples collected from patients who underwent heart surgery.
nations Astronomer Royal, has been found on Mars 11 years after it went missing
searching for extraterrestrial life.
Beagle 2, part of the European Space Agencys Mars Express mission, had been due
to land on Mars on Christmas Day 2003, but went missing on December 19, 2003.
Until now, nothing had been heard from it since then.
But in an announcement made to a packed news conference at Londons Royal Society
scientific institution, space experts said the tiny Mars lander has been found on the
surface of the red planet.
Beagle 2 is no longer lost, said David Parker, chief executive of the UK Space
Agency. He said scientists now had good evidence that the spacecraft successfully
landed on Mars on the date it was due December 25, 2003 but had only partially
deployed.
This find shows that the entry, descent and landing sequence for Beagle 2 worked
and the lander did successfully touch down on Mars on Christmas Day 2003, the
UK space agency said in a statement.
Beagle 2 which measures less than 2 metres across was named after the ship
Charles Darwin sailed when he formulated his theory of evolution. It was built by
British scientists for about 50 million pounds ($85 million)
The plan was for it to report back from the Mars surface using instruments designed
to help search for signs of life, but nothing was heard after it was dropped off to
make its landing.
have to look at newer avenues for growth as clients move towards digital technologies
to cut cost.
SPORTS
The Indian men had earlier dominated Bangladesh beating them by 30-17 margin.
The other semifinal will feature Pakistan against Sri Lanka.
reduce the number of members in the all-powerful Working Commit- tee to nine
from 14, with the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and joint-secretary.
As a result, there will only be one vice-president instead of five.
The strength of the IPL Governing Council, it is recommended, should be reduced to
nine and include two representatives from the franchisees, nominees of the Players
Association and the Comptroller & Auditor Generals office.
The Players Association, to be constituted by the Board, should include former Union
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai as the chairman, former India players Mohinder
Amarnath, Anil Kumble and Diana Edulji as members of the Steering Committee.
The PA would not act like a union, and all the costs of running the association would
be met by the BCCI, Justice Lodha announced at a press conference after releasing
the report.
Former first-class players, five years after retirement, would become part of the
association.
In 2005-06, Kumble was the principal negotiator for the players in a fight for an
enhanced share in the profitsearned by the Board.
He had then drafted the terms for player contracts, and was instrumental in securing
the players a share of the profits in the International Cricket Council conducted events.
During his term as president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, he took
steps to make every decision transparent. These initiatives did not escape the notice
of the Lodha Committee.
The panel, in a significant departure from the past, suggests that one individual
hold only one post in cricket administration. The office-bearers would have to choose
between positions in respective state associations and the parent body.
In a move that was evidently pushed by the players, the senior selection committee,
the report recommends, should comprise only three members, instead of five at
present.
The Lodha Committee also calls for dividing the governance into two parts: cricketing
and non-cricketing.
The non-cricketing management will be handled by six professional managers headed
by a CEO, and the cricket matters like selection, coaching and performance
evaluation should be left to the players.
Another key recommendation tackled the fact that three units from one state now
enjoy the power to vote. For example, Maharashtra and Gujarat have three full
members each. But Bihar has no representation at all in the Board.
The Committee recommended that one association should represent an entire state.
The Lodha Committee comprising retired judges, Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Ashok
Bhan and Justice R.V. Raveendran was formed by the Supreme Court in January
last year.
In an incredible feat, Sania and Martina have now extended their unbeaten run to 36
matches, winning eight titles in a row.
India- SA series
The host remained invictus to win the Freedom Series, conceptualised as a tribute
to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, with a 3-0 verdict.
It also pushed India to second place in the ICC rankings.
legends came face to face in the second edition of the International Premier Tennis
League (IPTL) here on Saturday.
Nadal won the contest 6-5(4), leaving a bigger impression than Aces 30-19 triumph
on the day. Earlier, Nadal and Rohan Bopanna beat Federer and Marin Cilic 6-4 to
seal it for the host.
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Youth Affairs and Sports has recommended Saina Nehwal for the Padma Bhushan
award as a special case.
At a media briefing, Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal claimed that the decision
was taken after considering the 24-year-old badminton players commitment,
contribution and achievement.
The minister asserted, however, that this move should not be treated as a precedent.
The Sports Ministry claimed that the Badminton Association of India (BAI) had not
sent the letter of recommendation.
Since Minister Sonowal was away from the city and there was no working day, Sainas
case could not have been considered earlier. It was revealed at the media briefing
that the letter dated August 9, 2014, was received at the Ministers residence.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had invited the nominations for the Padma awards
from May 1 to September 15 last year. According to the Sports Ministry, a letter was
circulated to all National Sports Federations and Sports Control Boards that set August
20 as the last date for receiving nominations.
After considering all cases, wrestler Sushil Kumars name was recommended to the
Home Ministry. Sainas allegation that the Sports Ministry had intimated her that
she could not be considered in 2014 since she had received the Padma Shri in 2010
was quashed too.
Under normal circumstances, theres a five-year period between two Padma awards.
However, according to the ministry, her name had not been recommended by BAI
for the 2014 list, and the discussion with Saina never took place.
Acknowledging the debate around the nomination process, Minister Sonowal claimed
the decision to nominate Saina was impacted by his clear intention to encourage
sportspersons and promote sport.
The Sports Minister also emphasised that he only viewed the nomination from a
sporting angle and did not wish to be involved in petty politics.
Sonowal added that there was a provision that allows a person to apply directly for
the Padma awards to the Home Ministry.
Axar & Jadeja get the nod for ICC World Cup
After obtaining the opinion of its NCA-attached physiotherapist Nitin Patel, the BCCI
has selected all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in its 15-member team for the ICC World
Cup to be played in Australia and New Zealand in February-March.
The 26-year-old from Saurashtra, who has played 109 One-Day Internationals,
returned home from Australia in the last week of December to remedy the damaged
shoulder of his bowling hand.
He is undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCIs NCA set-up with SRMC, Chennai.
Hes doing wonderfully well. He should be able to hit training after 10 days, said
BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel at the first team announcement press conference in six
years.
Patel also said that fast bowler Ishant Sharma had been laid low by a minor knee
niggle and hence was not included in the XI for the fourth and final Test at Sydney.
Taking into account the heavy workload for the likes of Ishant,
Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami in the four-Test series and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
(hes just recovered from an injury), the BCCI has made available to captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni two additional seamers for the tri-series in which the third team will be
England.
Defending champion TN had no one to blame but itself for the result letting its
crown slip when it had one hand on it with some poor defence work and unforced
errors in the final three sets.
For Railways, attacker S. Prabagaran was the star performer of the day. He, along
with all-rounder Manu Joseph, kept the visitors in the game with some attacking
play.
Williamson (97) and Taylor (96) provided the backbone of New Zealand's 315 for
eight in 50 overs and Sri Lanka was all out for 195 in the 41st over.
The win puts New Zealand 4-1 up in the seven-match series with one game washed
out.
Only Kumar Sangakkara looked at ease in Sri Lanka's run chase with 81 off 66
deliveries, but none of the other recognised batsmen were able to get past 30 as New
Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson stamped his mark on the game.
Anderson smacked 40 from 28 balls to support Williamson and Taylor during New
Zealand's innings and then took four for 52 with the ball as the Sri Lankan batsmen
again showed a lack of fight.
Australias Mitchell Starc has moved up nine places to 33rd after returning five wickets
for 142 runs.
Amongst the other bowlers from the Sydney Test are Australia duo Shane Watson
and Josh Hazlewood, up to 38th and a career-high 46th respectively.
decision regarding the allegations against Mr. Kundra and Mr. Meiyappan. The two
teams face the possibility of being scratched from the high profile domestic T20
tournament.
The Board will have to elect its new president in six months time and N. Srinivasan
can contest only if he lets go of his commercial interest in CSK. It is East Zones turn
to have a president. However, BCCI rules allow a candidate from outside the zone to
contest if there is a proposer and seconder a from that zone.
It is compulsory for the candidate to have attended two Annual General Meetings of
the Board apart from being a principal office-bearer.
McCullum, 33, led the Kiwis to their first World Cup final where they did lose to
Australia by seven wickets at a packed MCG on March 29 but won a million fans
with their entertaining show throughout the 50-over showpiece event.
With 328 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 188.50, McCullum led by example to
be named captain of the ICCs team of the tournament.
McCullum won the top award ahead of Kane Williamson, who claimed the Redpath
Cup for first-class batting, and Trent Boult, who was the winner of the Winsor Cup
for bowling.
Williamson had a season to savour in 2014-15 and was recognised in winning the
Twenty20 International Player of the Year, the ODI Player of the Year and the Test
Player of the Year.
But come April 8 and many of the Kiwi cricketers will be seen in their respective IPL
colours with McCullum turning out for Chennai Super Kings.
World TT Day
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has launched a promotional video
on YouTube to mark the first-ever World Table Tennis Day to be observed on Monday(
6th April).
The video has already registered over than 22,000 viewers. The 88-second video
highlights the growth of the sport in several parts of the world. The ITTF, has also
posted the video on its website ( www.ittf.com ), along with the message table
tennis for everyone and every where.
The ITTF (development programme) director Leandro Olvech has mailed all national
federations highlighting the event.
Arijit Singh "Sooraj Dooba Hain" Roy Shreya Ghoshal "Deewani Mastani" Bajirao
Critics Awards
Best Movie (Best Director)
Piku - Shoojit Sircar
Best Actor Best Actress
Amitabh Bachchan - Piku Kangana Ranaut - Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Technical Awards
Anju Modi and Maxima Basu Bajirao Mastani Anupam Roy Piku
Best Special Effects Best Action
Special Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award
Moushmi Chatterjee
RD Burman Award
Armaan Malik
Best Debut Director
Neeraj Ghaywan - Masaan
Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet Peace Prize
Svetlana Alexievich Literature
Arthur B. McDonald Physics
Angus Deaton Economic Sciences
William C. Campbell Physiology or Medicine
Satoshi Omura Physiology or Medicine
Japanese and Canadian scientists won the physics prize for discovering that tiny
particles called neutrinos have mass.
The Nobel announcements continue with the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the
economics award on Monday.
Dr. Prasad is selected for his outstanding contribution to R&D in the field of space
science in his long and chequered career at the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO). Prior to Dr. Prasad, those who received this award were former ISRO chairmen
Dr. Satish Dhawan, Dr. K. Kasturi Rangan, Dr. G. Madhavan Nair and Dr. K.
Radhakrishnan.
The ISCA, which is a premier scientific organization of the country established in
1914 in Kolkata, has been giving this award in alternate years.
Padma Bhushan
Jahnu Barua (Art), Assam; Vijay Bhatkar (Science and Engineering), Maharashtra;
Swapan Dasgupta (Literature and Education), Delhi; Swami Satyamitranand Giri
(Others), Uttar Pradesh; N. Gopalaswami (Civil Service), Tamil Nadu; Subhash C.
Kashyap (Public Affairs), Delhi; Gokulotsavji Maharaj (Art), Madhya Pradesh;
Ambrish Mithal (Medicine), Delhi; Sudha Ragunathan (Art), Tamil Nadu; Harish
Salve (Public Affairs), Delhi; Ashok Seth (Medicine), Delhi; Rajat Sharma (Literature
and Education), Delhi; Satpal (Sports), Delhi; Shivakumara Swami (Others),
Karnataka; Kharag Singh Valdiya (Science and Engg), Karnataka; Manjul Bhargava
(Science and Engg), USA; David Frawley (Others), USA; Bill Gates (Social Work),
USA; Melinda Gates (Social Work), USA; and Saichiro Misumi (Others), Japan.
Padma Vibhushan
Name (discipline), State/country: L.K. Advani (Public Affairs), Gujarat; Amitabh
Bachchan (Art), Maharashtra; Prakash Singh Badal (Public Affairs), Punjab; D.
Veerendra Heggade (Social Work), Karnataka; Dilip Kumar (Art), Maharashtra;
Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (Others), Uttar Pradesh; Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan
(Science and Engg), Tamil Nadu; Kottayan K. Venugopal (Public Affairs), Delhi; and
Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan (Trade and Industry) France/U.K.
Padma Shri
Manjula Anagani (Medicine), Telangana; S. Arunan (Science and Engg), Karnataka;
Kanyakumari Avasarala (Art), Tamil Nadu; Bettina Sharada Baumer (Literature and
Education), J&K; Naresh Bedi (Art), Delhi; Ashok Bhagat (Social Work), Jharkhand;
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Art), Maharashtra; Lakshmi Nandan Bora (Literature and
has to be fully tamed, growth has to be brought back to potential and the banking
system cleaned of distressed assets, even while we build the platform for the financial
sector to support strong and sustainable growth.
IN THE NEWS(PERSON)
York (2010-2011).
He was previously Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste
and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) at the
level of Under-Secretary-General (2006-2009).
H.S. Brahma
H.S. Brahma, the seniormost Election Commissioner, will succeed V.S. Sampath as
the next Chief Election Commissioner of India. Mr. Sampath will demit office after
turning 65.
Mr. Sampath paid a farewell visit to President Pranab Mukherjee. In just under six
years in the Election Commission, first as EC then as CEC, he helped conduct two
Lok Sabha elections and at least one round of Assembly elections in every State.
A 1973-batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, he held several important
positions in the Union government, including as Secretary, Rural Development and
Power, before being appointed an Election Commissioner in March 2009.
Mr. Brahma, who hails from Assam, is also an IAS officer from the 1975 batch of the
Andhra Pradesh cadre. Like Mr. Sampath, he too held the post of Power Secretary
before being appointed Election Commissioner in August 2010.
He will hold office for only a very short period, until he turns 65 on April 19 this
year. Mr. Brahma has also held posts such as Joint Secretary (Border Management) in
the Union Home Ministry. He also worked as Special Secretary & Additional Secretary
in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Anupam Shrivastava
Anupam Shrivastava has been appointed the chairman and managing director (CMD)
of state-run BSNL from January 15, a company statement said.
Mr. Shrivastava has been appointed CMD of BSNL for a period of five years or till
the time of superannuation at the age of 60 years, it said.
Government is focusing on connecting unconnected people with telecom services
including high-speed broadband. As BSNL CMD, it will be my top propriety to
work with government in connecting people at affordable cost, expeditiously and at
turning around BSNL into a profitable venture, Mr. Shrivastava said after assuming
the office.
I will take up important pending project of NOFN (National Optical Fibre Network),
mobile service in Maoist-hit areas, he added.
Prior to this posting, Mr. Shrivastava has served as director (consumer mobility)
BSNL. He has also worked as senior general manager at Jodhpur, Ajmer and Jaipur
in Rajasthan Telecom Circle.
Kiran Vadodaria
Kiran B. Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro was elected president of Indian Newspaper
Society (INS) for 2014-15 at its 75th annual general meeting.
P.V. Chandran ( Grihalakshmi ) will be the deputy president, Somesh Sharma (
Rashtradoot Saptahik ) the vice-president, Mohit Jain ( Economic Times ) the honorary
treasurer and V. Shankaran the secretary-general of INS.
V. Gowarikar
Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar, a stalwart who played a key role in Indias space
programme, passed away in Pune after catching dengue. He was 81.
Atul Khare
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of
Atul Khare of India as Under-Secretary-General, Department of Field Support (DFS).
He succeeds Ameerah Haq of Bangladesh.
Dr. Khare, a former Indian Foreign Service officer and AIIMS graduate, brings to the
position strategic management and innovative reform expertise in both headquarters
and field perspective, a U.N. statement said.
Currently providing charitable medical advice in India, Dr. Khare has a long senior
career with the U.N., most recently as Assistant Secretary-General leading the Change
Management Team (2011-2012) and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations and Deputy Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New
York (2010-2011).
He was previously Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste
and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) at the
level of Under-Secretary-General (2006-2009).
A.S.Kiran Kumar
A.S. Kiran Kumar is the new Secretary of the Department of Space as also Chairman
of the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Space Commission.
Currently Director of the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, Mr. Kiran Kumar
will head the organisation for three years from the date he assumes charge, according
to the order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Department of
Personnel & Training under the Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances.
R K Laxman
The messy business of the democracy that was India was unforgettably captured in
the iconic creation, labelled simply The Common Man , of R.K. Laxman, died .
Mr. Laxman, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan and the Magsaysay Award,
was a complex man, who defined his mtier with an ingenious lightness of touch as
evinced in his autobiography, Tunnel of Time.
Shekhar Sen
Eminent singer and theatre director Shekhar Sen has been appointed the new
chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the countrys premier institution for
performing arts.
Mr. Sen was awarded the Padma Shri on Republic Day.
According to an order issued by the Culture Ministry , Mr. Sen has been appointed
for a five-year term with immediate effect.
Subhash Ghisingh
Subhash Ghisingh, the founder-leader of the movement for a separate homeland for
the Gorkhas in northern Bengal, passed away at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New
Delhi. He was 80 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.
For almost 20 years from 1988 to 2007 Mr. Ghisingh headed the Darjeeling
Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). However, in 2007, his political disciples led by Bimal
Gurung formed a separate outfit, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Eventually, it
became difficult for the legendary Gorkha leader to operate from the hills and he
was forced to shift to Siliguri in the plains of north Bengal.
Paulina
Colombias Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe , beating out contenders from
the United States, Ukraine, Jamaica and the Netherlands among the top-five at the
worlds top beauty pageant in Florida.
The 22-year-old model and business student triumphed over 87 other women from
around the world, becoming only the second beauty queen from her nation to take
home the prize.
The last time Colombia won the crown was in 1958, when Luz Marina Zuluaga took
the title.
A beaming and tearful Vega, wearing a long silver-sequinned gown, accepted her
sash and crown from the reigning Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler, from Venezuela.
She hugged first runner-up, Nia Sanchez, from the United States as the win was
announced.
London-born Vega dedicated her title to Colombia and to all her supporters.
Study Kit for SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II)
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