25 November 2014
National:
Bilal
Tanweer wins Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize
Lahore-based
author Bilal Tanweer’s maiden novel The Scatter Here is Too Great has bagged
the 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. The award carries a cash component of
Rs. 2 lakh. His novel was picked from a shortlist of six books by a jury of
authors Amit Chaudhuri, Aatish Taseer and Mridula Koshy. All the six books
including Tanweer’s have been published by Indian publishers. He was selected
as a ‘Granta New Voice’ in 2011. The award will be presented on December 2,
2014.
Legendary
Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi passes away
Legendary
Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi passed away in Mumbai. She was 94 years old. She
was honored with prestigious awards like Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma
Shri and Kalidas Samman.
C.K.
Prasad next PCI chief
The
former Supreme Court judge Chandramauli Kumar Prasad has been selected to be
the next Chairman of the Press Council of India. Justice Prasad retired in
mid-July. The 65-year-old judge will succeed Markanday Katju, whose three-year
term ended on October 11.
Rajasthan
to adopt self-attestation system
Rajasthan
government will introduce a system of self-attestation of documents from
January 1, 2015. Rajasthan would be the sixth State after Gujarat, Goa, Kerala,
Punjab and Madhya Pradesh to adopt self-attestation system which was mooted by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2014. The circular further says action
against people wilfully filing wrong declaration has been ensured under section
177, 193, 197, 198, 199 and 200 of the Indian Penal Code. These sections
include imprisonment from six months to seven years and a fine, or both.
Maharashtra
textbook has lesson on Rajkumar
For
many in Karnataka, thespian late Rajkumar is not merely a household name but
also lives in their memories. And, it may come as a surprise to many that
neighbouring Maharashtra has introduced a Kannada lesson in the memory of
Rajkumar under the title “Natasarvabhouma” in a textbook prescribed for
Kannada-medium high school students. Lesson No. 6 in the Kannada textbook for
VIII standard students has five dedicated pages in the name of the matinee idol
— including his life, his struggle, his contribution to the language and the
Kannada film industry, and his achievements.
Murli
Deora, Congress veteran, passes away
Murli
Deora, Congress veteran from Maharashtra, who held important posts in the party
and government during his over four decades-long political career, passed away.
He was 77. He joined the Union Cabinet in 2006, shortly before he turned 70. He
led India’s oil diplomacy in Myanmar, Algeria and Egypt, and held talks with
Ministers from Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia and Comoros. He was India’s longest
serving Petroleum Minister.
Three
new secretaries appointed
The
government has appointed three new secretaries in the Shipping, Overseas Indian
Affairs and Corporate Affairs Ministry. Senior IAS officers Rajive Kumar and
Sunil Soni have been appointed as Secretary in Shipping and Overseas Indian
Affairs Ministry respectively. Anjuly Chib Duggal, a 1981 batch IAS officer of
Punjab cadre, has also been appointed as Secretary in Corporate Affairs
Ministry.
NSA
Doval appointed Special Representative for China talks
National
Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been appointed Special Representative for
talks with China on the boundary issue. The post of Special Representative has
been vacant since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government demitted
office. The last Special Representative was former NSA Shivshankar Menon. India
and China created the role of Special Representatives during Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Beijing in 2003 to explore a solution to the
boundary issue from a political perspective.
International:
US
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel resigns
US
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has resigned under pressure after less than two
years in the top military post. His resignation is the first Cabinet-level
casualty which has come close on the heels of Democratic Party loosing majority
in the Senate and the Obama administration's struggle in dealing with the
militant group Islamic State.
Mexico,
Uruguay end diplomatic spat over 'failed state' dig
Mexico
and Uruguay declared an end to a brief diplomatic spat over the Uruguayan
President's description of Mexico as a "kind of failed state."
Mexico's government protested the remarks by Uruguayan President Jose Mujica
over the weekend and said it would summon the South American country's
ambassador for an explanation. But Mujica himself issued a statement to take
back his words, which he had made to a magazine in reference to the
disappearance, and presumed massacre, of 43 college students by a police-backed
drug gang in southern Mexico.
World
powers miss Iran nuclear deal deadline, extends it to July 1
Iran and
world powers missed a deadline to clinch a landmark nuclear deal and defuse a
12-year standoff but gave themselves seven more months to reach agreement. The
failure followed an intensive five-day diplomatic push in the Austrian capital
Vienna involving the foreign ministers of Iran, the United States, Russia,
China, Britain, France and Germany. In their second extension in 2014, Iran and
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as
the P5+1, will seek to strike an outline deal by March and to nail down a full
technical accord by July 1.
Business
& Economy:
IRDA
chief moots Jan Bima Yojana
Jan
Bima Yojana on the lines of Jan Dhan Yojana, which has given a boost to the
banking system, can be introduced to increase awareness of insurance, Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Chairman T. S. Vijayan said. There
had to be a concerted effort between industry, regulator and the government to
spread awareness of insurance.
SEBI
directs foreign investors to comply with P-Note norms
Amid
concerns about possible misuse of Offshore Derivative Instruments-ODI, or
P-Notes, for money laundering and other such purposes, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has directed foreign investors to ensure
compliance with all necessary norms before issuing such notes with immediate
effect. The existing ODI positions will be allowed to continue till expiry if
they are not in compliance with the relevant provisions of Foreign Portfolio
Investment (FPI) Regulations. However, there are no changes in the existing
regulations that FPIs need to comply with while issuing ODIs. P-Notes are mostly
used by overseas High Networth Individuals- HNIs, hedge funds and other foreign
institutions to invest in Indian markets through registered foreign
institutional investors, while saving on time and costs associated with direct
registrations. However, there have been often concerns about misuse of this
route. The investments through P-Notes rose to nearly seven-year high of over
Rs 2.65 lakh crore at the end of October 2014.
Adani
Power buys Avantha’s 600 MW plant for Rs.4,200 cr
Adani
Power has entered into a binding agreement with Gautam Thapar-led Avantha group
to buy out its 600-MW Korba West unit for more than Rs.4,200 crore. This is the
second acquisition by the Adani group since it bought the 1,200-MW coal-fired
Udupi plant from the debt-laden Lanco Infra for Rs.6,000 crore in August. Korba
West Power owns a completed 600-MW coal-based power plant at Korba, and an
expansion phase is in progress. The deal makes Adani Power the largest private
sector power utility in the country with an installed capacity of 11,040 MW.
With the Korba buy, the installed base of Adani Power will increase to 11,040
MW. The company has set a target of 20,000 MW capacity by 2020.
Sports:
Indian
cyclist Deborah creates history; Wins 4 golds in Track Asia Cup
Ms
Deborah, a tribal girl from Andaman and Nicobar Islands has created history in
National Level by winning four Gold Medals in the Track Asia Cup Cycling
Championship 2014 which concluded in New Delhi. Deborah won both the two gold
medals in the championship for an overall individual tally of four gold medals.
India also grabbed four silver medals including the two they won and added
three more bronze medals to their tally to finish with a total of 18 medals, 5
gold medals, 4 silver and 9 bronze.
