Grammy Award-winning percussionist T.H. Vinayakram and veteran
playwright Ratan Thiyam are among three personalities chosen for the
prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship, while legendary South
Indian composer Ilayaraja will receive the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
N
Rajam, violinist who performs Hindustani classical music, T.H.
Vinayakram and Ratan Thiyam have been selected for the prestigious the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships.
The Fellowship of the Akademi
is restricted to a very limited number at a given time. Presently there
are only 40 Fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The honour of
Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs. 3 lakh, while Akademi Awards
carry Rs. 1 lakh besides Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
At the
General Council meeting on Friday, the Akademi also selected 36 persons
from the fields of Music, Dance, Theatre and Puppetry for the Sangeet
Natak Akademi Awards 2012.
Nine eminent artists -- Rajashekhar
Mansur and Ajay Pohankar for Hindustani Vocal Music, Sabir Khan (Tabla)
and Bahauddin Dagar (Rudra Veena) for Hindustani Instrumental Music,
O.S. Thyagarajan for Carnatic Vocal Music, Mysore M Nagaraja (Violin)
and K V Prasad (Mridangam) for Carnatic Instrumental Music, Ilayaraja
for Creative and Experimental Music and Bhai Balbir Singh Ragi (Gurbani)
for Other Major Traditions of Music have been selected for the Award
2012.
In the field of Dance, nine eminent practitioners, namely
Priyadarsini Govind (Bharatanatyam), Vijay Shankar (Kathak), Vazhengada
Vijayan (Kathakali), Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry (Kuchipudi), Sharmila
Biswas (Odissi), Jai Narayan Samal (Chhau), Painkulam Damodara Chakyar
(Kutiyattam), Jwala Prasad (Music for Dance) and Aditi Mangaldas
(Creative & Experimental Dance) have been selected for the Akademi
Award 2012.
In the field of Theatre, eight eminent artists have been selected for Akademi Awards 2012.
They
include Arjun Deo Charan for Playwriting, Tripurari Sharma and Waman
Kendre for Direction, Parvesh Sethi, Nirmal Rishi and Purisai Kannappa
Sambandan for Acting, Murari Roychoudhury for Theatre Music and Ghulam
Rasool Bhagat for Major Traditions of Theatre (Bhand Pather).
Goru
Channabasappa for Folk Music (Karnataka), Kinaram Nath Oja for Suknani
Ojapali (Assam), Prem Singh Dehati for Folk Theatre (Haryana), Sulochana
Chavan for Lavani (Maharashtra), Mattannur Sankaran Kutty Marar for
Thayambaka (Kerala), Govind Ram Nirmalkar for Nacha (Chhattisgarh),
Heera Das Negi for Mask Making (Himachal Pradesh) and Prafulla Karmakar
for Traditional Puppetry (West Bengal) have also been chosen.
Nandini Ramani and Arun Kakade will receive the Akademi Award 2012 for Overall Contribution/Scholarship in Performing Arts.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
India, Russia sign defence deals worth around $3 bn
Boosting their military ties, India on December 24 inked deals worth around $
3 billion with Russia to procure 42 new Su-30 MKI combat aircraft and
71 Mi-17V5 medium-lift helicopters.
The contracts for acquiring these weapon systems were signed during the
13th India-Russia Annual Summit after talks between Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in New
Delhi.
At the Summit meeting on December 24 a joint venture agreement was also inked between Elcom
Systems Private Ltd. and OAO “Vertoleti Rassi” (JSC “Helicopters
Russia”), which aims to set up a modern industrial facility for
manufacturing Russian Mi and Kamov choppers in India.
Under one contract worth around $2.2 billion for licence production of
42 Su-30MKIs, Russia will deliver technical kits to the Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to assemble them.
With this contract, the number of Su-30MKIs in the IAF would go up to
272 in next four to five years with 170 of them already at present in
the force.
These multi-role frontline aircraft could also be equipped with Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.
Under the contract for 71 Mi-17V5 choppers, 59 of the machines would be
given to the IAF while the remaining 12 would be used by paramilitary
forces in their anti-Naxal operations.
These helicopters would be used by the IAF to replace its existing fleet
of older versions of Mi-17 and Mi-8 aircraft in its inventory.
This is a follow up order by the IAF for the new ‘V5’ version as it is
in the process of inducting 80 such machines for which orders were
placed around three years ago.
Already more than 40 of them have been inducted into the force at
locations including Bathinda in Punjab, Srinagar and Bagdogra in West
Bengal.
Eight Indians in HBR’s 100 best CEO list
Eight Indian CEOs have made it to the list of 100 global chief
executives, compiled by Harvard Business Review (HBR), with ITC’s Y C
Deveshwar and late Subir Raha of ONGC finding a place in the top 20.
Mr. Deveshwar was first among the Indian CEOs featured in this list, and cornered the seventh place overall.
Under his leadership, ITC delivered industry-adjusted shareholder
returns of 1,574 per cent and saw its value increase by $ 45 billion.
The other Indians on the list include late Subir Raha of ONGC, at 13th
place, ahead of Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani who was ranked 28th.
Larsen and Toubro’s A M Naik was ranked 32nd, followed by BHEL’s A K
Puri (38), Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Bharti Mittal (65), Jindal Steel and
Power’s Naveen Jindal (87) and Steel Authority of India’s V S Jain (89).
Meanwhile, the best-performing CEO over the past 17 years globally was
Steve Jobs of Apple. From 1997 to 2011, Apple’s market value increased
by $ 359 billion, and its shareholder return experienced average
compound annual growth of 35 per cent.
Others in the top 10 include, Samsung Electronics’ Yun Jong-Yong (3rd),
followed by Vale’s Roger Agnelli (4), Gilead Sciences’ John C Martin
(5), Hyundai Motor Company’s Chung Mong-Koo (6), ITC’s Y C Deveshwar
(7), Simon Property Group’s David Simon (8), eBay’s Margaret C Whitman
(9) and Cisco Systems John T Chambers (10).
The highest-ranked woman on the list is Meg Whitman, currently the CEO
of beleaguered HP, whose performance as the CEO of eBay from 1998 to
2008 earned her the 9th spot.
Interestingly, overall, only 1.9 per cent of all the CEOs studied were women.
The HBR 100 best performing CEOs in the world list assessed the
long-term performance of each CEO, from the first day on the job to the
last and for CEOs still in office, until August 31, 2012.
The list accessed how much total shareholder returns had changed over
the tenure of the respective CEO, and the overall increase in market
capitalisation.
Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships (Akademi Ratna) and Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the Year 2012
The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi,
the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi at its meeting held
on 21 December 2012 elected three (3) eminent personalities in the field of
performing arts, namely N. Rajam, T.H. Vinayakram and Ratan Thiyam as Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). The Fellowship of the Akademi
is the most prestigious and rare honour, which is
restricted to a very limited number at a given time. Presently there are only 40 Fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The General Council of the Akademi also selected thirty six (36) persons from the
fields of Music, Dance, Theatre and Puppetry for the Sangeet
Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the year
2012.
In the field of Music, nine
eminent artists, namely Rajashekhar Mansur and Ajay Pohankar for
Hindustani Vocal Music, Sabir Khan (Tabla) and Bahauddin Dagar (Rudra Veena)
for Hindustani Instrumental Music, O.S. Thyagarajan
for Carnatic Vocal Music, Mysore M. Nagaraja, (Violin) and K.V. Prasad (Mridangam)
for Carnatic Instrumental Music, Illayaraja
for Creative & Experimental Music and Bhai Balbir Singh Ragi (Gurbani) for Other Major Traditions of Music have been
selected for the Akademi Award 2012.
In the field of Dance, nine
eminent practitioners, namely Priyadarsini Govind (Bharatanatyam), Vijay Shankar (Kathak),
Vazhengada Vijayan (Kathakali), Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry (Kuchipudi), Sharmila Biswas (Odissi), Jai Narayan Samal (Chhau), Painkulam Damodara Chakyar (Kutiyattam), Jwala Prasad (Music for Dance) and Aditi
Mangaldas (Creative & Experimental Dance) have
been selected for the Akademi Award 2012.
In the field of Theatre, eight
eminent artists have been selected for Akademi Awards
2012. They include Arjun Deo
Charan for Playwriting, Tripurari
Sharma and Waman Kendre for
Direction, Parvesh Sethi,
Nirmal Rishi and Purisai Kannappa Sambandan for Acting, Murari Roychoudhury for Theatre
Music and Ghulam Rasool Bhagat for Major Traditions of Theatre (Bhand
Pather).
For their contribution to Other
Traditional/Folk/ Tribal Music/ Dance/ Theatre and Puppetry, eight artists have
been selected for the Akademi Award. They are Goru Channabasappa for Folk Music
(Karnataka), Kinaram Nath Oja for Suknani Ojapali (Assam), Prem Singh Dehati for Folk Theatre (Haryana), Sulochana
Chavan for Lavani
(Maharashtra), Mattannur Sankaran
Kutty Marar for Thayambaka (Kerala), Govind Ram Nirmalkar for Nacha
(Chhattisgarh), Heera Das Negi
for Mask Making (Himachal Pradesh) and Prafulla Karmakar for Traditional Puppetry (West Bengal).
Nandini Ramani and Arun Kakade will receive the Akademi
Award 2012 for Overall Contribution/Scholarship in Performing Arts.
The honour
of Akademi Fellow has been conferred since 1954 and Akademi Award since 1952. They not only symbolize the
highest standard of excellence and achievements on a national basis, but also
recognize sustained individual work and contribution to the practice and
appreciation of the arts through performance, teaching and scholarship. The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs 3,00,000/-
(Rupees three lacs) and Akademi
Awards carry Rs 1,00,000/- (Rupees one lac), besides Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
Chhattisgarh launched first food security law in the nation
|
The
Chhattisgarh Assembly enacted landmark legislation by unanimously
passing the Food Security Act, becoming the first state in the country
to introduce such a law, covering several deprived sections of society
left out by existing welfare programmes.
The law also takes a major step to empower women by considering the eldest woman in a household as its head in matters related to the ration card. The Act considers entitlements under both public distribution system (PDS) and non-PDS on a household basis and not per person and places them under the Chhattisgarh Lok Seva Guarantee Act 2011. The Act makes food entitlements a right and its non-compliance has been made an offence. Officials can be penalised if PDS rations are being siphoned. The state government will pay for entitlements not covered by the Centre. While some households mentioned under the Act will get rice at Rs 1 per kg, several categories such as destitutes and disaster-affected persons will get it free. The Act includes all households of landless agricultural labourers, small or marginal farmers, workers in the urban informal sector and construction workers. It also defines a new category of “particularly vulnerable social groups” which includes households headed by terminally ill persons, widows or single women, physically challenged persons, all households headed by a person aged 60 or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support and a person freed from bonded labour. All households of particularly vulnerable social groups shall be designated as Antyodaya households. The law also makes foodgrains mandatory for all students living in hostels or ashrams, meals through dal-bhat centres or take-home rations through panchayats for destitutes and homeless persons, besides making special provisions for emergency or disaster-affected persons. The Act also includes meals for pregnant women and lactating mothers and children from six months to six years through anganwadis, mid-day meal for children of 6-14 years in school and supplementary nutrition for malnourished children. These groups will now have a right to food entitlements and officials will be penalised for any failure. Households paying income tax, households in non-scheduled areas who own more than four hectares of irrigated or eight hectares of non-irrigated land, all households that own a pucca house (concrete roof) of carpet area more than 1,000 sq ft in urban areas and are liable to pay property tax, are among categories excluded. |
Union Government of India Constituted a Commission to suggest measures for Safety of Women
The Union Government of India on 23 December 2012 constituted a three-member Commission to be headed by the Former Chief Justice of India J.S. Verma for reviewing the laws in existence and the lapses of the police to suggest measures for ensuring safety of women in Delhi as well as across the nation. It would also look into the matter of the gang rape incident.
Former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam and Justice Lalitha Seth are the two other members of the constituted inquiry commission. The commission would submit its report and findings within 30 days to the Government. Senior High Court lawyer Dyan Krishnan was appointed as the Special Prosecutor to ensure speedy trial and enhancement of the punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault.
Former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam and Justice Lalitha Seth are the two other members of the constituted inquiry commission. The commission would submit its report and findings within 30 days to the Government. Senior High Court lawyer Dyan Krishnan was appointed as the Special Prosecutor to ensure speedy trial and enhancement of the punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault.
Madhya Pradesh Government set up a Senior Citizen Commission
The Madhya Pradesh Government on 21 December 2012 set up a Senior Citizen Commission to look into problems of the elderly in the State. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Senior Citizen Commission would comprise one Chairman and four members. The commission will try to solve the problems of the senior people of the State and providing an ideal platform for old persons’ policy for the welfare and solution of their problems.
Karnataka Announced Safety Measures in Public Transport
On 23 December 2012, Karnataka became the first state that announced some measures for making public transport safer via use of technology. The Karnataka government announced that it would equip taxis as well as autorickshaws with surveillance cameras as well as GPS for providing safety to the women travellers.
All the state transport buses would be equipped with the surveillance cameras. Apart from this, the deputy chief minister R Ashoka who has home department under him also announced establishment of fast-track courts for dealing with all rape cases.
All the state transport buses would be equipped with the surveillance cameras. Apart from this, the deputy chief minister R Ashoka who has home department under him also announced establishment of fast-track courts for dealing with all rape cases.
Additionally, the deputy chief minister announced that Karnataka government would push aggressively regarding capital punishment in rarest-of-rare cases.
On 22 December 2012, a meeting of the home department officials discussed about the safety concerns of women.
On 22 December 2012, a meeting of the home department officials discussed about the safety concerns of women.
Sachin Tendulkar announced Retirement from One Day Cricket
Sachin Tendulkar on 23 December 2012 announced retirement form one day cricket which put an end to his 23- year old glorious career.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian Batsman who is considered one of the greatest batsman of the world after Don Bradman in Test Cricket and the second most successful one day batsman after Viv Richards as per the ranking done by Wisden-the Bible of Cricket. Tendulkar who belongs to Mumbai Maharashtra made his appearance in six world cups for India and was the member of the 2011 World Cup winning squad of the nation.
The major facts related to his one day international career are as follows:
• Sachin scored 18426 runs in 463 one-day matches at an average of 44.83
• Tendulkar made his ODI debut on his international tour against Pakistan in 1989 in Gujranwala, where he scored zero runs
• He scored his first half century in the 9th ODI
• He made 49 hundreds in the one-day format, including a double hundred which is the first in this form of cricket and 96 half centuries
• He scored his first century in the 79th ODI against Australia in 1994 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in a day-night match-this was the third match of singer world series
• In the 2003 World Cup in South Africa he finished as the highest run-getter
• He became the first cricketer to score a double century in the history of One Day international Cricket against South Africa in February 2010
• He played his last One Day International Match against Pakistan in Asia Cup Dhaka played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur and scored a half century to help India win the match
• Tendulkar scored his 100th international century on 16 March 2012 against Bangladesh, where he scored 114 runs
The major facts related to his one day international career are as follows:
• Sachin scored 18426 runs in 463 one-day matches at an average of 44.83
• Tendulkar made his ODI debut on his international tour against Pakistan in 1989 in Gujranwala, where he scored zero runs
• He scored his first half century in the 9th ODI
• He made 49 hundreds in the one-day format, including a double hundred which is the first in this form of cricket and 96 half centuries
• He scored his first century in the 79th ODI against Australia in 1994 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in a day-night match-this was the third match of singer world series
• In the 2003 World Cup in South Africa he finished as the highest run-getter
• He became the first cricketer to score a double century in the history of One Day international Cricket against South Africa in February 2010
• He played his last One Day International Match against Pakistan in Asia Cup Dhaka played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur and scored a half century to help India win the match
• Tendulkar scored his 100th international century on 16 March 2012 against Bangladesh, where he scored 114 runs
NASA Ruled out Asteroid Collision with Earth in 2040
The Mayan Doomsday predictions about the world ending on 21 December 2012 had failed and additionally NASA ruled out the asteroid collision with Earth in 2040. NASA claimed that the fear of asteroid collision with Earth does not pose a threat to our planet any more.
NASA declared that doubt about orbit of this asteroid called 2011 AG5 initially enabled that there were less than 1 percent chances of it hitting the planet in February 2040. Initially the scientists had estimated that risk of 140m-diametre asteroid collision with Earth was just one in 500.
In case, this asteroid would have collided with Earth, there would have been a release of around 100 megatonnes of energy, which is a lot more than atom bombs used in World War II. Considering the statistics, it was found that a body as huge as this would have created an impact on Earth every 10000 years on an average.
The observations were made while making use of Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The observations were very challenging for the team. The scientists were especially surprised about the fact that a telescope could recover faint asteroid in the sky.
NASA declared that doubt about orbit of this asteroid called 2011 AG5 initially enabled that there were less than 1 percent chances of it hitting the planet in February 2040. Initially the scientists had estimated that risk of 140m-diametre asteroid collision with Earth was just one in 500.
In case, this asteroid would have collided with Earth, there would have been a release of around 100 megatonnes of energy, which is a lot more than atom bombs used in World War II. Considering the statistics, it was found that a body as huge as this would have created an impact on Earth every 10000 years on an average.
The observations were made while making use of Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The observations were very challenging for the team. The scientists were especially surprised about the fact that a telescope could recover faint asteroid in the sky.
NEW APPOINTMENTS
- New President of India- Pranab Mukherjee
- Re-elected Vice President- Hamid Ansari Secretary in National Commission for Women - Ajit Saran
- New Indian envoy to Israel – Jaideep Sarkar
- New Indian envoy to Canada – Nirmal Kumar Verma
- New MSME secretary - Vivek Rae
- New chairman of ICC Cricket Committee - Anil Kumble
- Junior pistol chief coach - Jaspal Rana
- India’s ambassador to Brazil - Ashok Kumar
- New Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau – Rajiv Mehta
- New FMC (Forward Markets Commission) Chairman – Ramesh Abhishek
- New Director on the Central Board of Directors of the RBI - Y C Deveshwar
- New President of Indian Newspaper Society – Tilak Kumar
- New Secretary Gen of Rajya Sabha – Shumsher K Sheriff
- New Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulation – Shailesh Gupta
- New President of Indian Boxing Federation – Abhishek Matoria
- New Economic affairs secretary-Arvind Mayaram
- New Chief Economic Advisor- Raghuram Rajan
- New Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL)Chairperson - Shyamala Gopinath
- Re-appoint Deputy Governer of RBI: K C Chakrabarty
- New CBDT Chairperson- Poonam Kishore Saxena
- New Union Railway Minister- Pawan Kumar Bansal
- New Aviation Secretary- K N Srivastava
- New Election Commissioner- S Nasim Ahmad Zaidi
- New Chief Election Commissioner-VS Sampath
- New secretary to the Prez of India- Omita Paul
- Head of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Committee - Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
- New CMD of Oriental Bank of Commerce- SL Bansal
- New Executive Director of PNB- S R Bansal
- New CEO of Prasar Bharti – Jawhar Sircar
- New Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh- Virabhadra Singh
Friday, December 21, 2012
Barack Obama was named TIME's Person of the Year for 2012
US President Barack Obama was named TIME's Person of the Year for 2012, because of his historic win over the re-election in November 2012 which is being considered as symbol of the nation's changing demographics amid the backdrop of high unemployment and other challenges.
His name was announced by TIME editor Rick Stengel on NBC's Today program on 19 December 2012.
It is the second time Barack Obama is being accorded with this honour. He had also received the honour in 2008, when he was first elected as president.
Obama had won re-election despite a higher unemployment rate than anybody's had to face in basically in 70 years. He's the first Democrat to actually win two consecutive terms with over 50 percent of the vote.
The short list for the honour included Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head for advocating for girls' education, as well as Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Italian physicist Fabiola Giannati.
Time's Person of the Year is the person or thing that has most influenced the culture and the news during the past year for good or for ill. In 2010, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg received the honour.
Last year in 2011 Time honoured "The Protester," citing dissent across the Middle East that spread to Europe and the United States, saying the protesters reshaped global politics.
Other previous winners have included Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Bono and President George W. Bush.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Miss Universe 2012 is Miss USA Olivia Culpo
Olivia Culpo, Miss USA was crowned Miss Universe 2012. Olivia Culpo beat out 88 other beauty queens to take the title from Leila Lopes of Angola during the competition at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Miss Philippines held the second spot, followed by Miss Venezuela, Miss Australia and Miss Brazil.
India’s hope of winning the Miss Universe 2012 crown crashed as Shilpa Singh failed to make it to the list of top 10 contestants. Ji Dan Xu, Miss China won the Best National Costume title while Laura Godoy from Guatemala grabbed the Miss Congeniality title. Diana Avdiu from Kosovo became Miss Photogenic of the year 2012. Indian beauty Shilpa Singh could not make it to the Top 10, though she succeeded in making it to the top 16 list.
As Miss Universe, Culpo will receive an undisclosed salary, a wardrobe fit for a queen, a limitless supply of beauty products, and a luxury apartment in New York City.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
India won the World Cup Kabaddi Tournament 2012
India on 15 December 2012 won the 3rd World Cup Kabaddi Tournament for the third consecutive time in the Men’s category and second consecutive time in the Women’s category. Indian men defeated arch rival Pakistan with a decisive margin of 37 points whereas, Indian women thrashed Malaysia 72-12. Both the finals were played at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana. The Kabaddi world cup was a 15-day tournament. In men's category, third prize went to Canada and in women's category, it was given to Denmark.
Indian men registered a hat trick by outclassing Pakistan in every aspect of game. At the end of the first half, Indian men squad was leading with a point difference of 34-9. India’s raider and stoppers showed an extraordinary sport in collecting points for their country. Women’s final was virtually a one sided show as Malaysian team was no match against Indian eves.
India Lost the Test Series by 1-2 after Nagpur Test ended as a Draw
The last test match between India and England of the Tournament England Tour to India ended up as a draw and with this India lost the four-test match cricket series against England by 1-2 on 17 December 2012. With this win England succeeded in ending a 28 year long wait of winning a test series on Indian Soil. Before this the English side under the captaincy of David Gower won the test series in India 1984-85.
Minorities Rights Day Celebrated By the National Commission for Minorities
National Commission for Minorities celebrated Minorities Rights Day on 18 December 2012. Minorities Rights Day is celebrated on 18th December every year. The day is celebrated to protect rights of the minorities communities as well as bringing the better understanding among religious minorities in India.
The participants of the Minorities Rights Day included the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities as well as Vice Chairman and other Members of the Commission.
The day is celebrated because on 18th December 1992, United Nations adopted as well as broadcasted Declaration on Rights of Persons who belong to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The United Nations had declared that cultural, religious, linguistic and national identity of the minorities shall be protected by the states. The rights of these minorities shall be respected within the individual territories.The states shall also encourage the conditions for promotion of cultural, religious, linguistic and national identity.
On Minorities Rights Day, i.e. on 18 December 2012, the National Commission for Minorities also released the special issue of publication called Minorities India. This publication highlights activities as well as functions of the Third Statutory Commission of the National Commission for Minorities.
The participants of the Minorities Rights Day included the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities as well as Vice Chairman and other Members of the Commission.
The day is celebrated because on 18th December 1992, United Nations adopted as well as broadcasted Declaration on Rights of Persons who belong to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The United Nations had declared that cultural, religious, linguistic and national identity of the minorities shall be protected by the states. The rights of these minorities shall be respected within the individual territories.The states shall also encourage the conditions for promotion of cultural, religious, linguistic and national identity.
On Minorities Rights Day, i.e. on 18 December 2012, the National Commission for Minorities also released the special issue of publication called Minorities India. This publication highlights activities as well as functions of the Third Statutory Commission of the National Commission for Minorities.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
India lifts World T20 for blind
 |
Hosts India on December 13 triumphed in the inaugural Blind Cricket
Twenty20 World Cup after defeating Pakistan by 29 runs in the title
clash in Bangalore.
After Ketan Bhai Patel guided India to 258 with a hurricane knock of 98,
the hosts restricted the visitors to 229 for nine in the allotted 20
overs.
Batting first, Prakash Jayaramaiah made useful 42 while vice-captain
Ajay Kumar Reddy contributed 25, helping India to post a competitive
total.
For Pakistan, Mohammed Jameel scored a quickfire 47, Ali Murthaza struck 38 while Mohammed Akram helped himself to 32 runs.
Having won eight matches on the trot in the group stage, Pakistan could not maintain the winning streak when it mattered most.
India had only lost to Pakistan in the group stage and thrashed Sri Lanka in the semifinal.
Pakistan had spanked England by nine wickets in the semifinals.
The victory is India’s first in a World Cup final after they lost to Pakistan in 2006.
Uttarakhand tops in “Environmental Performance Index (EPI)”
Uttarakhand (scored 0.8123) topped the list of best-performing States and Union territories in terms of environmental performance. As per the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) released by Planning Commission:
· Uttarakhand is followed by Himachal Pradesh (0.7316), Chandigarh (0.7270), Sikkim (0.7149), and Andhra Pradesh (0.7147).
· Best states in terms of air quality: Mizoram, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Tripura, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar (all with average score of 1)
· Paradoxically, except for Uttarakhand, all the States meet the prescribed national ambient air quality standard in respect of the sulphur dioxide of 20 micrograms per cubic metre.
· More than 10 States do not meet the national standard of 30 microgram per cubic metre for Nitrogen dioxide.
· Except for Goa, Kerala, and Mizoram, no State meets the 60 microgram per cubic metre national standard for particulate matter.
· Himachal Pradesh is the only state with 100 % sewage treatment capacity, in the remaining States it ranges from 0 (13 States) to less than 20 % (8 States) and more than 50 per cent in 4 States.
· Total fecal coliform count is as much as 92 % in most of the States.
· States leading in forest conservation and expansion of green cover are Chandigarh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Environmental well-being is one of the considerations for transfer of funds to the States under the Gadgil formula.
Indicators taken under consideration to arrive at water quality:
· Sewage disposal
· water quality of rivers
· dissolved oxygen
· total coliform count
· percentage of water exploitation
The indicators considered for measuring the ambient air quality performance:
· sulphur dioxide
· nitrogen oxide
· particulate matter
· Best states in terms of air quality: Mizoram, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Tripura, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar (all with average score of 1)
· Paradoxically, except for Uttarakhand, all the States meet the prescribed national ambient air quality standard in respect of the sulphur dioxide of 20 micrograms per cubic metre.
· More than 10 States do not meet the national standard of 30 microgram per cubic metre for Nitrogen dioxide.
· Except for Goa, Kerala, and Mizoram, no State meets the 60 microgram per cubic metre national standard for particulate matter.
· Himachal Pradesh is the only state with 100 % sewage treatment capacity, in the remaining States it ranges from 0 (13 States) to less than 20 % (8 States) and more than 50 per cent in 4 States.
· Total fecal coliform count is as much as 92 % in most of the States.
· States leading in forest conservation and expansion of green cover are Chandigarh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Environmental well-being is one of the considerations for transfer of funds to the States under the Gadgil formula.
Indicators taken under consideration to arrive at water quality:
· Sewage disposal
· water quality of rivers
· dissolved oxygen
· total coliform count
· percentage of water exploitation
The indicators considered for measuring the ambient air quality performance:
· sulphur dioxide
· nitrogen oxide
· particulate matter
Vinod Rai re-elected as chair of UN auditors panel
Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai has been re-elected as chairman of United Nations Panel of External Auditors for 2013.
"CAG Vinod Rai has been re-elected Chair of the (UN) Panel for the year 2013, while the CAG of the United Kingdom, Amyas Morse, has been re-elected the vice-chair of the Panel".
The Panel headed by Vinod Rai discussed the major business transformations currently underway in the United Nations with Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Some of the major issues that came up for discussion during the meeting include the requirement for optimising the process of deriving benefits from the business transformations currently underway.
The need to put in place a mechanism to govern voluntary contributions which form a major portion of funding that the UN receives and the need for strengthening coordination between the panel and the UN secretariat were other issues discussed during the meet.
The panel of external auditors plays an important role in promoting accountability and strengthening governance mechanisms in the UN organisations.
The panel meets annually to discuss emergent issues in the audit of UN organisations. At present, the panel comprises Canada, China, France, India, Italy, Pakistan, Philippines, Switzerland, Tanzania and the UK.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Poland to host next round of UN climate talks
Poland will host the next round of UN climate talks in 2013.
The decision to hold the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Warsaw, capital of Poland, in 2013 was adopted by negotiators from over 190 countries here in the capital of Qatar, Doha, at the 18th session of the COP.
Poland was chosen on the basis of geographical rotation as next year marks the turn of East European countries to host the annual UN event.
Poland, which relies on carbon-intensive coal for nearly all its power needs, has already voiced concern that greater action on climate will harm its economy.
At the latest UN climate conference in Doha, negotiators extended the Kyoto Protocol, the only internationally binding treaty on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, to the end of 2020.
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre
The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC)
established at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Sciences,
(INCOIS - ESSO) Hyderabad, autonomous body under Ministry of Earth
Sciences, is being upgraded continuously to provide tsunami advisories
for the events occurring in the global oceans, though it has been
recognized as one of the best systems in the world. The major
upgradation work would be Standardization of the Operating Procedures,
bulletin formats and terminologies with warning centres operating in
other global basins. To achieve this, the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC of UNESCO) has set up a task team
comprising of experts from tsunami warning centres of all ocean basins,
with India as the Chair. The ITEWC encompasses a real-time seismic
monitoring network of 17 broadband seismic stations to detect
tsunamigenic earthquakes, a network of real-time sea-level sensors with 4
Bottom Pressure Recorders (BPR) in the open ocean and 25 tide gauge
stations at different coastal locations monitor tsunamis and a 24 X 7
operational tsunami warning centre to provide timely advisories to
vulnerable community. It also receives earthquake data from all other
global networks to detect earthquakes of M>6.5. The state-of-the-art
early warning centre at INCOIS - ESSO is operational since October 15,
2007 with all the necessary computational and communication
infrastructure that enables reception of real-time data from seismic
& sea-level sensors, analysis of the data, tsunami modeling, and
dissemination of tsunami advisories guided by a comprehensive Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP). A host of all available communication
technology options have been employed for timely dissemination of
advisories to various designated authorities to deal with effective
emergency response actions as appropriate. The centre is capable of
detecting tsunamigenic earthquakes occurring in the whole of Indian
Ocean region as well as in the Global Oceans within 10 minutes of their
occurrence and disseminates the advisories to the concerned authorities
within 20 minutes through various modes of communication like email,
fax, SMS, GTS and website. Since its inception in October 2007 to till
date, ITEWC has monitored 339 earthquakes of M > 6.5 out of which 63
are in the Indian Ocean region. ITEWC also acts as one of the Regional
Tsunami advisory Service Provider (RTSP) along with Australia &
Indonesia for the Indian Ocean region. As the oceans on the earth are
interconnected, the tsunami waves generated due to any great earthquakes
in the global oceans can affect the Indian Coasts. In order to protect
our coasts from tsunamis up-grading the present system is very
essential. Up-gradation of ITEWC will also enhance its capability to
provide tsunami advisories to the other needy countries in the world.
The basic infra-structure and the necessary computational facilities are
established while setting up the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre
and hence no major hardware upgradations are proposed. The maintenance
of the entire early warning system is carried out with a budget
allocation of Rs. 17.00 Crores per annum. Model simulations required for
global operations would be run as part of this itself. Additional data
required for the enhancement of ITEWC for global operations can be
obtained by collaborations with centres operating in other countries.
Currently, there are 1800 coastal forecast points covering coastal areas of the entire Indian Ocean region. The necessary actions have been initiated to upgrade the same for covering other the coastal regions.
Currently, there are 1800 coastal forecast points covering coastal areas of the entire Indian Ocean region. The necessary actions have been initiated to upgrade the same for covering other the coastal regions.
Reconstitution of Inter-State Council
The Inter-State Council has been reconstituted under the chairmanship of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister.
The Council will have Chief Minister of all States, Chief Ministers of Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly and Administration of Union Territories not having Legislative Assembly and six Union Ministers Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture & Minister of Food Processing Industries, Shri P.Chidambaram, Minister of Finance, Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, Minister of Home Affairs, Shri M. Veerappa Moily, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Urban Development and Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of Railways as members.
Five Union Cabinet Ministers/Minister of State (Independent Charge) namely Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Shri S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Science & Technology, Shri C.P.Joshi, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shri M.K.Alagiri, Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Shri Ashwani Kumar, Minister of Law & Justice are permanent invitees for the Inter-State Council.
The Council will have Chief Minister of all States, Chief Ministers of Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly and Administration of Union Territories not having Legislative Assembly and six Union Ministers Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture & Minister of Food Processing Industries, Shri P.Chidambaram, Minister of Finance, Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, Minister of Home Affairs, Shri M. Veerappa Moily, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Urban Development and Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of Railways as members.
Five Union Cabinet Ministers/Minister of State (Independent Charge) namely Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Shri S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Science & Technology, Shri C.P.Joshi, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shri M.K.Alagiri, Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Shri Ashwani Kumar, Minister of Law & Justice are permanent invitees for the Inter-State Council.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Govt wins FDI vote in Lok Sabha
Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail on December 5 got the approval of the Lok Sabha as the Opposition motion seeking immediate withdrawal of the decision was rejected convincingly as the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party walked out.
The House also rejected the motion seeking amendment to the rules notified by the Reserve Bank under Foreign Exchange Management Act to enable FDI in multi-brand retail.
Members of SP and BSP, with respective strength of 22 and 21, did not participate in the voting as they walked out alleging that interests of farmers and small retailers had been ignored.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
India ranks 94 in list of corrupt nations
India was ranked 94 out of 176 countries surveyed in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2012, with a score of 36 on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), the Transparency International India (TII) said.
Last year India ranked 95 out of 183 countries. However, due to an update in the methodology, CPI scores of 2011 cannot be compared with this years' score, S.K. Agarwal, vice-chairman of TII told IANS. He added that India had the same score of 36 in 2011 as well.
"The 2012 index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption and assigns scores of between one (highly corrupt) and 100 (clean).
While Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan were the most corrupt countries with a score of eight, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for the first place of the least corrupt with a score of 90.
China had a CPI score of 39, which is better than India, while Pakistan's was 27.
CPI scores and ranks countries based on how corrupt a country's public sector is perceived to be. It is a combination of surveys and assessments of corruption collected by a variety of reputable institutions.
Last year India ranked 95 out of 183 countries. However, due to an update in the methodology, CPI scores of 2011 cannot be compared with this years' score, S.K. Agarwal, vice-chairman of TII told IANS. He added that India had the same score of 36 in 2011 as well.
"The 2012 index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption and assigns scores of between one (highly corrupt) and 100 (clean).
While Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan were the most corrupt countries with a score of eight, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for the first place of the least corrupt with a score of 90.
China had a CPI score of 39, which is better than India, while Pakistan's was 27.
CPI scores and ranks countries based on how corrupt a country's public sector is perceived to be. It is a combination of surveys and assessments of corruption collected by a variety of reputable institutions.
Bangalore better than Delhi, Mumbai in quality of living: Survey
Bangalore ranks better than New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata
amongst Indian cities in overall global quality of living index,
according to a Mercer 2012 Quality of Living Survey.
Mercer conducts this survey annually to help multinational companies and
other organisations compensate employees fairly when placing them on
international assignments. According to the global consulting firm, its
Quality of Living index list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York
as the base city.
Global ranking by infrastructure
This year’s ranking separately identifies the cities with the best
infrastructure based on electricity supply, water availability,
telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion
and the range of international flights from local airports, a statement
said.
Singapore is at the top of this index, followed by Frankfurt and Munich.
Copenhagen (4) and Dusseldorf (5) fill the next two slots, while Hong
Kong and London share sixth place. Port-au-Prince (221) ranks at the
bottom of the list.
Indian cities
Bangalore’s overall quality of living rank went up from 141 in 2011 to
139 in 2012 and is highest amongst other Indian cities. While New Delhi
ranks (143), Mumbai (146), Chennai (150), and Kolkata (151) in overall
Quality of living.
Bangalore’s rise in its quality of living ranking can be attributed to
positive ratings for international schools which are suitable for
expatriates, the survey says.
Mumbai ranks highest on city infrastructure category (134) amongst
Indian cities followed by Kolkata (141), New Delhi (153), Chennai (168),
and Bangalore (170).
Vienna retains top slot
In a statement issued here, Mercer said, Vienna retains the top spot as
the city with the world’s best quality of living. Zurich and Auckland
follow in the second and third place, respectively. Munich is in the
fourth place, followed by Vancouver, which ranks fifth.
Düsseldorf dropped one spot to rank sixth followed by Frankfurt in
seventh, Geneva in eighth, Copenhagen in ninth, and Bern and Sydney tied
for the 10th place.
Asia-Pacific cities
Qualifying the Asia-Pacific cities, the survey says that Australian and
New Zealand cities rank higher on the index with Sydney (11), Wellington
(13), Melbourne (18) and Perth (21) following Auckland (3).
At the bottom
Globally, the cities with the lowest quality of living are Khartoum,
Sudan (217); N’Djamena, Chad (218); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (219); and
Bangui, Central African Republic (220). Baghdad, Iraq (221) ranks last.
Region-wise
Honolulu (28) is the city in the United States with the highest quality
of living, followed by San Francisco (29) and Boston (35). Chicago is at
42 and Washington, DC ranks 43. New York, the base city, ranks 44.
In terms of city infrastructure, Vancouver (9) tops the ranking for the
region with Atlanta and Montreal following at 13. In the United States,
Dallas ranked 15, followed by Washington, DC (22), Chicago (28) and New
York (30).
Europe has 15 cities among the world’s top 25 cities for quality of
living. Vienna retains the highest-ranking for both the region and
globally. With six cities in the top 10, European cities also fare well
in the city infrastructure ranking.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Assistant Director in A.P. LifeInsurance (Gazetted) Service (Notification No. 03/2012) Final Key
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Manager (Engineering) in Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Notification No. 54/2011) Key (Exam Held on: 29/07/2012)
Inspector Of Factories in A.P. Factories (Notification No. 02/2012) Final Key (Exam Held On: 19/08/2012)
BSE launches carbon-based index CARBONEX
The
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched BSE Carbonex, the first
carbon-based thematic index in the country, which takes a strategic view
of organizational commitment to climate change mitigation.
This index has been launched with the aim of creating a benchmark, and increasing awareness about the risks posed by climate change.
It will enable investors to track performance of the constituent companies of BSE-100 index regarding their commitment to greenhouse gases emission reduction.
Constituents of BSE Carbonex are over or underweighted compared to the benchmark based on their performance in the assessment process. In every industry, companies that achieve the strongest assessment scores are favoured at the expense of those achieving poor results.
This index has been launched with the aim of creating a benchmark, and increasing awareness about the risks posed by climate change.
It will enable investors to track performance of the constituent companies of BSE-100 index regarding their commitment to greenhouse gases emission reduction.
Constituents of BSE Carbonex are over or underweighted compared to the benchmark based on their performance in the assessment process. In every industry, companies that achieve the strongest assessment scores are favoured at the expense of those achieving poor results.
The British High Commission in India through the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Prosperity Fund supported the development phase of the index. ENDS Carbon, a specialist in environment, social and governance (ESG) ratings and benchmark services provider, has provided its expertise in assessing the companies with data sourced from the carbon disclosure project (CDP), a not-for-profit organisation which holds the largest and most continuous set of climate change data in the world.
The top 10 constituents in BSE Carbonex are ITC Ltd having 7.11 per cent market capitalisation followed by Reliance Industries (6.48 per cent market capitalisation), ICICI Bank (5.54 per cent), HDFC Bank (5.48 per cent), HDFC Ltd (5.30 per cent), Infosys (5.27 per cent), L&T (4.21 per cent), TCS (3.49 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (2.73 per cent) and ONGC (2.68 per cent).
Meanwhile, the carbon credit market worldwide is now reported to be worth about USD 188 billion, one of the only markets that continued to increase during the recent years of worldwide recession.
About BSE
Established in 1875, BSE Ltd. (formerly known as Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd.), is Asia’s first Stock Exchange and one of India's leading exchange groups and has played a prominent role in developing the Indian capital market. BSE is a corporatized and demutualised entity, with a broad shareholder-base which includes two leading global exchanges, Deutsche Bourse and Singapore Exchange as strategic partners.
BSE provides an efficient and transparent market for trading in equity, debt instruments, derivatives, mutual funds. It also has a platform for trading in equities of small-and-medium enterprises (SME). BSE also provides a host of other services to capital market participants including risk management, clearing, settlement, market data services and education. It has a global reach with customers around the world and a nation-wide presence. BSE systems and processes are designed to safeguard market integrity, drive the growth of the Indian capital market and stimulate innovation and competition across all market segments. It operates one of the most respected capital market educational institutes in the country (the BSE Institute Ltd.). BSE also provides depository services through its Central Depository Services Ltd. (CDSL) arm.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Election Commission Makes Sportswomen Saina Nehwal And Mary Kom As Its "national Icons"
London Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom have been designated as "national icons" by the election commission to help promote voter participation in polls.
The poll body already has former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni as its other "national icons".
Sources in the election commission said 22-year-old Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom, 29, who had won bronze medals in London Olympics 2012 in badminton and boxing respectively, will help in boosting women participation during the forthcoming elections.
Nehwal has earlier been the EC's 'state icon' in Andhra Pradesh. She has now been elevated as its 'national icon'.
The commission has been using the services of prominent personalities across the country to help increase voter awareness and participation, and fight the public apathy towards elections.
Kalam and Dhoni have earlier helped the poll body in its campaigns for increasing voter participation in elections.
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