National:
World Toilet Day: Lack of sanitation makes women vulnerable to
sexual violence
World Toilet Day is
being observed. The day is observed by United Nations to raise awareness about
all people who do not have access to a toilet - despite it is their basic
right. The theme for this year's UN World Toilet Day is "Equality, Dignity
and the Link Between Gender-Based Violence and Sanitation", which seeks to
raise awareness on the threat of sexual violence that women and girls face due
to the lack of privacy as well as the inequalities present in toilet usability.
On the eve of World Toilet Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement
said that a staggering 1.25 billion women and girls will enjoy greater health
and increased safety with improved sanitation. World’s 2.5 billion people do
not have improved sanitation and 1 billion people still defecate in the open.
This has dramatic consequences on the human health, dignity and security.
Centre praises Himachal for adopting e-Vidhan tech
Himachal Pradesh
Assembly Speaker B.B.L. Butail has claimed that e-Vidhan project adopted by the
Assembly has made the proceedings “paperless” and the exchequer is saving at
least Rs 17 crore annually. The Speaker also said he also got a appreciation
letter written by the Union Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prashad
who praised the hill State for becoming India’s first high-tech legislative
Assembly by implementing e-Governance solution “e-Vidhan” with the help of
Department of Electronics and IT, NIC and NICSI. The State assemblies of
Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Nagaland have shown a keen interest in
adopting the e-Vidhan system.
IIM-A hikes course fee by about 11%; Set to introduce changes in
curriculum
India's premier
business school, Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad -IIM-A has announced
a fee hike ranging from Rs1.9 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh for three of its flagship
courses. Courses whose fees have been hiked include Post-Graduate Program in
Management (PGP), PGP-Agri-Business Management (PGP-ABM) and PGP for Executives
(PGPX). This was announced by IIM-A Director Ashish Nanda. Mr. Nanda said that
the fee has been increased from Rs 16.6 lakh to Rs 18.5 lakh for two years
courses of PGP and PGP-ABM. The one-year PGPX course fee has also being raised
from Rs 21.5 lakh to Rs 24 lakh for the batch commencing from April 2015.
TSR Subramaniam Committee submits report on environment law
The TSR Subramaniam
Committee which was constituted to review the processes, laws and Acts of the
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change submitted its report. It
was submitted to Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had appointed the Committee
to review the Environment (Protection) Act, Forest (Conservation) Act, Wildlife
(Protection) Act, The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, and The
Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
Akash missile successfully test fired in Odisha
India has
successfully test-fired indigenously developed surface-to-air ‘Akash’ missile
from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Odisha coast. The
test-fire was a practice and evaluation trial for a new squadron of Indian Air
Force and a repeat performance as the medium range missile had been test-fired
successfully from the same test range. ‘Akash’ missile is a medium range
surface-to-air anti-aircraft defense system with a strike range of 25 km and
can carry a warhead of 60 kg. It has the capability to target aircraft up to 30
km away and is packed with a battery that can track and attack several targets
simultaneously. It has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter
jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles. The Air Force version of
'Akash' has already been inducted, while the army version is in the final stage
of induction.
Nanavati panel submits final report on Gujarat riots
Twelve years after
it was constituted, the Nanavati Commission of Enquiry probing the 2002
post-Godhra riots submitted its final report to Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
Justice Nanavati and Commission member Justice Akshay Mehta handed over 2,000
pages report. The Commission’s term expired on October 31 after 24 extensions.
It submitted the first part of its report related to the Sabarmati Express in
2008, which said that the train burning was a “planned conspiracy.” The same
year, after the death of Justice K.G. Shah, retired HC Justice Akshay Mehta was
appointed to the Commission.
Re-elected to IFABC
Hormuzd Masani,
secretary-general of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Mumbai, has been
re-elected to the Executive Board of the International Federation of Audit
Bureaux of Circulations (IFABC) for the fourth successive time. Mr. Masani will
also be the Treasurer of the IFABC, again for the fourth consecutive term. The
Executive Board has representatives from Australia, Sweden, Poland, Spain, the
U.K., Switzerland and Romania.
International:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifts Rani of Jhansi's petition to
Abbott
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has gifted to his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott Australian
lawyer John Lang’s 1854 petition against the East India Company on behalf of
Rani Lakshmibai. Mr. Modi gave the gift to Mr. Abbott just ahead of bilateral
talks. Born in 1816 in Sydney, Lang is generally regarded as Australia’s first
native novelist. As a man of many talents, he was also a lawyer, journalist and
born traveller. In 1842, he sailed to India and made the country his new home,
even learning the Hindustani language. While carrying on a successful legal
practice, he started a newspaper in 1845 called The Moffusilite, published
initially from Meerut and later from Mussoorie. In 1854, Lang became the
counsel of Lakshmibai — an iconic figure in the Indian uprising of 1857.
Indian-American wins peace prize
Neha Gupta (18), an
Indian-American from Philadelphia, has won the prestigious International
Children’s Peace Prize for her work to help orphans in India and other
vulnerable children. She became the first ever American to be awarded the prize
in The Hague, Netherlands. In 2013, the winner was Malala Yousufzai, who went
on to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Ms. Gupta was awarded the prize on by
Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu in The Hague. The prize is awarded annually
to a child, anywhere in the world, for his or her dedication to children’s
rights.
Oxford Dictionary names 'vape' as 2014 word of year
The Oxford English
Dictionary named "vape" the word used for the act of drawing on an
electronic cigarette instead of a burning stick of tobacco as its 2014 word of
the year. The 2013 word of the year was selfie, describing the decidedly less
controversial self-portrait usually taken with a smart phone. The word appeared
to peak in the United States in April, when New York City banned vaping
indoors. The United Kingdom opened its first vape cafe called The Vape Lab in
March.
First zero-gravity 3D printer installed
The world’s first
zero-gravity 3D printer has been installed by NASA on the International Space
Station (ISS), which will help astronauts to experiment with additive
manufacturing in microgravity. NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore installed the 3D
printer, designed and built by Made In Space for NASA, inside the Microgravity
Science Glovebox (MSG) aboard the ISS.
Pakistan ranks third in Global Terrorism Index
A new global study
by London based Institute for Economics and Peace has ranked Pakistan third on
the Global Terrorism Index list. The report said Iraq was the country hit
hardest by terrorism, with 2,492 attacks that killed more than 6,300 people. It
was followed by Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Nigeria and Syria in fourth and
fifth place respectively. With 10,000 worldwide attacks in 2013, Pakistan in
particular saw a 37 per cent increase in deaths and 28 per cent increase in
injuries since 2012. The report also says that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan between
2000 and 2013 has claimed 778 attacks, of which 12 per cent were carried out by
suicide bombers. It also says that the Taliban have the highest number of
fighters, estimated to be between 36,000 to 60,000.
Japan’s Abe calls snap polls
Japan’s Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election for December and put off a sales tax
hike planned for year 2015, seeking a renewed mandate for his all-or-nothing
policies to end two decades of economic stagnation. Despite those policies, the
Japanese economy slipped into a recession after a sales tax increase in April
crushed consumer and business spending. That forced Mr. Abe to delay the second
hike planned for October next year until April 2017.
Legendary Japanese actor Takakura dies
Legendary Japanese
actor Ken Takakura, a craggy-faced, quiet star known for playing outlaws and
stoic heroes in scores of Japanese films, has died of lymphoma. He was 83. He
was best known abroad for playing a policeman in Ridley Scott’s Black Rain in
1989.
Science and Technology:
Philae finds traces of organic molecules on comet
Mankind’s
first-ever probe of a comet found traces of organic molecules and a surface
much harder than imagined, scientists said of initial sample data from robot
lab Philae. Philae fell asleep on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Saturday,
having run out of onboard battery power after 60 hours of prodding and probing
an object zipping towards the Sun at 18 kmps. The lander control centre in
Cologne, operated by German Aerospace Center (DLR), said Philae had uncovered
much about the comet in spite of a rough touchdown in a less-than-perfect spot.
Among the most anticipated data from Philae had been chemical analysis of a
drill sample which scientists hoped would shed light on the origins of the
Solar System 4.6 billion years ago, and maybe even life on Earth.
Business & Economy:
India to strengthen trade ties with Tatarstan
Fertilizer Minister
Ananth Kumar has said that the government will form a joint working group to
promote trade in the fertilizer space with Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. A
Russian delegation led by President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov called on
the Fertilizer Minister for strengthening of bilateral relations and trade. The
Minister said, India looks forward to long-term agreement for import of potash,
phosphate and natural gas of which Russia has huge reserves.
Shell India wins multi-million dollar tax dispute
The Bombay High
Court has ruled in favour of the Indian unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc in a
multi-million dollar tax dispute, the latest verdict against the tax
department, which has been vigorously pursing claims against foreign firms in
India. Shell had challenged the largest ever claim in a tax case related to
transfer pricing. A rash of high-value tax claims on foreign firms, including
IBM Corp and Nokia Oyj, in the past year has sparked criticism that overly
zealous tax authorities could undermine foreign investment in India.
CCIL launches legal entity identifier services
The Clearing
Corporation of India (CCIL) has launched its services as a local operating unit
(LOU) for issuing globally compatible legal entity identifiers (LEIs) in India.
The LEI is a 20-charactrer unique identity number assigned to entities which
are parties to a financial transaction. As part of the global initiative to
have a structure to identify legal entities across the globe in a unique
manner, CCIL has been appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for
rendering this service for Indian entities undertaking financial transactions.
Initially all entities undertaking OTC derivative transactions will be required
to obtain LEI and include the same in the derivative transactions reported.
Sports:
Vengsarkar to receive C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award
Dilip Vengsarkar
who earned the sobriquet ‘colonel’ has been chosen for the BCCI’s Col. C.K.
Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2013-14. He will receive a citation,
trophy and cheque for Rs. 25 lakh at the BCCI’s eighth annual awards ceremony
to be held here on November 21. Vengsarkar was India’s prominent batsman from
the mid-70s to early 1990s. He earned fame for scoring three consecutive
centuries at Lord’s (103 in 1979, 157 in 1982 and 126 not out in 1986). He
scored 6,868 runs in 116 Tests (17 centuries) and 3,508 runs in 129 One-Day Internationals.Other awardees: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
(Polly Umrigar Award, best international cricketer, Rs. 5 lakh), Parveez Rasool
(Lala Amarnath Award, best all-rounder, Ranji Trophy, Rs. 2.5 lakh), R. Vinay
Kumar (Lala Amarnath Award, best all-rounder in domestic limited-over
tournaments, Rs. 2.5 lakh), Kedar Jadhav (Madhavrao Scindia Award, highest
scorer in Ranji Trophy, Rs. 2.5 lakh), Rishi Dhawan (Madhavrao Scindia Award,
highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy, Rs. 2.5 lakh), Rahul Tripathi (M.A.
Chidambaram Trophy, best u-25 cricketer, Rs. 50,000), B. Anirudh (M.A.
Chidambaram Trophy, best u-19 cricketer, Rs. 50,000), Shubham Gill (M.A.
Chidambaram Trophy, best u-16 cricketer, Rs. 50,000), Smriti Mandhana (M.A.
Chidambaram Trophy, best woman cricketer, Rs. 50,000) and Anil Chaudhary (best
umpire in domestic cricket), Rs. 50,000). Previous
Col. C.K. Nayudu awardees: 2007: Nari Contractor; 2008: G.R.
Viswanath; 2009: Mohinder Amarnath; 2010: Salim Durrani; 2011: Ajit Wadekar;
2012: Sunil Gavaskar; 2013: Kapil Dev.
