27 November 2014
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Minister to roll out E-visa facility for 43 countries
Visitors from over 40 countries
including Israel, Palestine, Germany and the US, will be able to avail of the
much-awaited electronic visa facility. Russia, Brazil, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine,
Jordan, Norway and Mauritius, among others, would be getting the e-visa
facility in the first phase. All the 12 countries currently enjoying the
visa-on-arrival facility, including South Korea, Japan, Finland, Singapore, New
Zealand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos will also come under the E-visa
facility. However, the facility will not be available to people from countries
like Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
An official said, it would be a historic occasion for the tourism sector and
launching of e-visa system for so many countries would boost the industry. In
order to get an e-visa, one would need to apply on the designated website along
with the required fees.
More than
15-year-old vehicles not permitted to ply in Delhi
The National Green Tribunal (NGT)
has held that all vehicles which are more than 15 years old would not be
permitted to ply on Delhi roads. A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice
Swatanter Kumar, passed the order saying that it is unquestionable that air
pollution of the National Capital Territory is getting worse with each passing
day, and it only projects the very dismayed state of affairs with clear
indication that worst is likely to follow. The bench directed the concerned
authorities to take appropriate steps in accordance with law, including seizure
of the vehicles, wherever such vehicles of this age are noticed.
WB to
procure agricultural machines for farmers
The West Bengal government has
launched a scheme for procuring big agricultural machines and tools for small
and marginal farmers. Under the scheme the Government will give maximum 24 lakh
rupees financial grants as subside to the Self Help Group, farmer organizations
and Co-operative Societies for purchasing big agricultural equipments. These
include Harvesters, Tractors, Transplanters, Seed drills and others. As these
costly equipments are not affordable to purchase for the small and marginal
farmers, as per scheme Self Help Groups, Co-operative Societies and farmers
organizations will give those agriculture equipments on rental basis. The aim
of the scheme is to reach modern farming facilities to small and marginal
farmers to increase productivity.
Aaranyak
organization in Assam gets UN award
Aaranyak, a biodiversity
conservation organisation in Assam, has bagged 2014's Lighthouse Activity
award. The award, announced by the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, has been given to Aaranyak for the successful implementation of
the community-based flood early-warning system in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur
districts of Assam along with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development. The information and communications technology-enabled system uses
a flood sensor attached to the transmitter to detect rising water levels. When
the water reaches a critical level, a signal is wirelessly transmitted to the
receiver. The flood warning is then disseminated via mobile phones to concerned
agencies and vulnerable communities downstream. The award will be given on the
11th December 2014 in Lima, Peru.
Parliament
passes Apprentices Bill
A Bill seeking to remove
imprisonment as punishment for violating the provisions of the Apprentices Act,
1961 and allowing employers to fix the hours of work and leave as per their
discretion or policy was passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Apprentices (Amendment)
Bill, 2014 was passed by voice vote with a majority of speakers favouring the
legislation, saying it is aimed at enhancing the skills of youth and make them
employable. It had been passed by the Lok Sabha in the last session.
Anoop
Mishra new Lok Sabha Secretary-General
Anoop Mishra, former Uttar
Pradesh Chief Secretary, will be the new Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has announced the appointment. Mr. Mishra, a former IAS
officer of the 1978 batch, will have the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary
with effect from December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2016 or until further orders.
He had been the Chief Secretary for a year with overall responsibility of the
State administration, superintendence of law and order and development and
infrastructure schemes.
The
Hindu’s photographers win prestigious awards
Two photographers of The Hindu
won prestigious awards for their work. Manob Chowdhury, the newspaper’s
Jharkhand photographer, was awarded the Press Institute of India –
International Committee of the Red Cross (PII-ICRC) award 2014 in the category
‘Best Photograph on a Humanitarian Subject’. He was chosen for his work documenting
tribal communities affected by the armed conflict between Maoists and security
personnel. K.R. Deepak was selected for the annual Media Foundation of India
award in the arts and culture category.
International:
Spain's
Health Minister Ana Mato resigns over corruption scandal
Spain's Health Minister Ana Mato
has resigned after a judge accused her of benefiting from illegal payments. Her
ex-husband, Jesus Sepulveda, was found to be linked to a huge corruption case
involving the ruling People's Party. Ms Mato said she had not herself been
linked with any crime but that she was standing down for the good of the
government.
Lebanese
actress, singer Sabah dies at 87
Iconic Lebanese actress and
singer Sabah Shammas died in Beirut. She was 87. Sabah had skyrocketed to fame
and prominence in the early 1950s as the star of high profile Egyptian movies.
She is also well known for her leading role in the all star comedy Velvet Hands
with top Egyptian actors Ahmed Mazhar, Salah Zulfikkar, Laila Taher and Mariam
Fakhr el-Din. She was the first Arab singer to perform at Carnegie Hall in New
York, Piccadilly Theatre in London, Royal Albert Hall, and Sydney Opera House
in Australia. She also performed at Olympia in Paris.
Germany:
quota for women on company boards
Germany’s biggest companies will
have to fill 30 per cent of supervisory board positions with women candidates
from 2016 under a law agreed by the country’s ruling parties. Enterprises that
fail to find suitable female candidates for their board of directors will have
to leave them vacant under a so-called “empty chair sanction”. The rule would
apply to about 100 listed companies with employee representatives on the
non-executive supervisory board, while another 3,500 enterprises will have to
publish their gender-equality targets in coming years.
Business
& Economy:
Govt
invites Arab countries to invest in infrastructure, manufacturing sectors
The government has invited the
Arab countries to invest in infrastructure and Manufacturing sectors for
promoting the economic activities in the country. Addressing the 4th India
-Arab Partnership Conference in New Delhi Commerce and Industry Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has liberalized the FDI in defence and
railway sectors. The Commerce and Industry Minister of Saudia Arabia H E Tawfiq
Fawzan AL Rabiah said that Indian is biggest trade partner of 76 billion
dollars and both the countries are committed to take the relation at new
horizon. The trade between India and Arab League nations is stood at about
185.6 billion dollars in 2013-14.
SBI MF to
launch Islamic fund
SBI Mutual Fund will be launching
a Shariah-compliant diversified equity fund, which is aimed at attracting
investments from the country’s large Muslim population. The leading asset
management firm will become the fourth fund house in India to have an Islamic
equity fund after Goldman Sachs MF, Taurus MF and Tata MF.
Exim Bank
issues Samurai bonds
The Export-Import Bank of India
(Exim Bank) issued 10-year bonds in the Japanese bond market (Samurai Bonds)
for 20 billion yen. The proceeds of the Samurai bonds will be used by the Exim
Bank to fund Indian project exports to Sri Lanka for financing Railway Projects
in Sri Lanka.
Sports:
Boxer
Manoj Kumar finally receives Arjuna Award
Boxer Manoj Kumar has received
the prestigious Arjuna Award. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medalist was
given the award by Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a function in New
Delhi yesterday. Manoj was, earlier, denied the award by the Kapil Dev-led
selection committee, after which he had approached the Sports Ministry. After
being snubbed for a second time in the review meeting, Manoj took the legal
route and filed a case in the Delhi High Court. He won the case which led to
the Ministry accepting his nomination for the award.
Pankaj
Advani advances in World Snooker Championships
Star Indian cueists Pankaj Advani
and Manan Chandra have stormed into the last-32 stage of the Seaways IBSF World
Snooker Championships in Bengaluru. But Kamal Chawla crashed out of the
tournament. The 2003 world champion Advani over-powered young Tomasz Skalski
4-2. Most impressive of the Indians was Chandra who routed last year's runner
up Muhammad Asif of Pakistan 4-2.
