Shri Ajit Doval Appointed as National Security Adviser [31/05/2014]
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Ajit Doval, IPS (Retired) as National Security Adviser. The appointment of Shri Doval is effective from 30th May 2014 on approved standard terms and conditions. The appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
Ranjit Kumar is Solicitor General[30/05/2014]
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar will be the next Solicitor-General as Mohan Parasaran resigned following the change of government at the Centre. Mr. Kumar had been counsel for the Gujarat government and amicus curiae in several cases in the Supreme Court. He had represented Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case pending in a Bangalore court.
Top contenders for Additional Solicitors-General are the outgoing Additional Solicitor-General L. Nageswara Rao, senior advocates Maninder Singh, P.S. Narasimha, Neeraj Kishan Kaul and P.S. Patwalia, and Additional Advocate-General of Gujarat Tushar Mehta.
Indian Americans win Spelling Bee,create history[30/05/2014]
Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe won the 87th Spelling Bee on 29th May 2014 making history as the first Indian Americans to win the contest jointly, a first for the championship since 1962. Hathwar, a five time veteran of the championship came as a favourite, but Sujoe, a first timer surprised everyone with a dazzling performance, forcing a draw.
Reliance announces takeover of TV18[30/05/2014]
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will take control of popular television news channels CNN-IBN, IBN7, CNBC-TV18, Lokmat, and an entire clutch of ETV channels with a massive infusion of Rs 4000 crore into Network 18 Media and TV18 Broadcast Ltd. News websites like firstpost.com and ibnlive.com as well as the Colours entertainment channel will also be acquired.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Ajit Doval, IPS (Retired) as National Security Adviser. The appointment of Shri Doval is effective from 30th May 2014 on approved standard terms and conditions. The appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
Ranjit Kumar is Solicitor General[30/05/2014]
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar will be the next Solicitor-General as Mohan Parasaran resigned following the change of government at the Centre. Mr. Kumar had been counsel for the Gujarat government and amicus curiae in several cases in the Supreme Court. He had represented Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case pending in a Bangalore court.
Top contenders for Additional Solicitors-General are the outgoing Additional Solicitor-General L. Nageswara Rao, senior advocates Maninder Singh, P.S. Narasimha, Neeraj Kishan Kaul and P.S. Patwalia, and Additional Advocate-General of Gujarat Tushar Mehta.
Indian Americans win Spelling Bee,create history[30/05/2014]
Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe won the 87th Spelling Bee on 29th May 2014 making history as the first Indian Americans to win the contest jointly, a first for the championship since 1962. Hathwar, a five time veteran of the championship came as a favourite, but Sujoe, a first timer surprised everyone with a dazzling performance, forcing a draw.
Reliance announces takeover of TV18[30/05/2014]
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will take control of popular television news channels CNN-IBN, IBN7, CNBC-TV18, Lokmat, and an entire clutch of ETV channels with a massive infusion of Rs 4000 crore into Network 18 Media and TV18 Broadcast Ltd. News websites like firstpost.com and ibnlive.com as well as the Colours entertainment channel will also be acquired.
Yemen to become 160th WTO member[28/05/2014]
Yemen deposited its "Instrument of Acceptance" on 27 May 2014 with Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, confirming its membership terms. According to WTO rules, Yemen will become a full-fledged member on 26 June 2014.
Govt announced the setting up of a high level SIT to help unearth black money stashed away abroad[28/05/2014]
The Union government announced the setting up of a high-level Special Investigation Team to help unearth black money stashed away abroad, at the first meeting of the Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Union Law and Justice, Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the SIT would be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice M. B. Shah and another retired Supreme Court judge Justice Arijit Pasayat would be its vice-chairman.
“The SIT will have high-profile government officials like Revenue Secretary, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Director of Intelligence Bureau, Director of Enforcement Directorate, Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, Research and Analysis Wing chief, Director-General of Revenue Intelligence, Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Director of Financial Intelligence.”
Nripendra Mishra Principal Secretary to PM[28/05/2014]
Former telecom regulator and a reforms champion in recent years, Nripendra Mishra has been appointed as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those familiar with Mishra's meticulous working style say the move is a strong signal that the government will forge ahead with its policy change agenda and that tangible results will be expected.
Yemen deposited its "Instrument of Acceptance" on 27 May 2014 with Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, confirming its membership terms. According to WTO rules, Yemen will become a full-fledged member on 26 June 2014.
Govt announced the setting up of a high level SIT to help unearth black money stashed away abroad[28/05/2014]
The Union government announced the setting up of a high-level Special Investigation Team to help unearth black money stashed away abroad, at the first meeting of the Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Union Law and Justice, Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the SIT would be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice M. B. Shah and another retired Supreme Court judge Justice Arijit Pasayat would be its vice-chairman.
“The SIT will have high-profile government officials like Revenue Secretary, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Director of Intelligence Bureau, Director of Enforcement Directorate, Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, Research and Analysis Wing chief, Director-General of Revenue Intelligence, Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Director of Financial Intelligence.”
Nripendra Mishra Principal Secretary to PM[28/05/2014]
Former telecom regulator and a reforms champion in recent years, Nripendra Mishra has been appointed as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those familiar with Mishra's meticulous working style say the move is a strong signal that the government will forge ahead with its policy change agenda and that tangible results will be expected.
Mukul Rohatgi appointed as Attorney General of India[28/05/2014]
Senior Supreme Court advocate and Additional Solicitor General under the earlier NDA regime, Mukul Rohatgi, was on 28th May 2014 appointed the Attorney General for India. Rohatgi is one of the top corporate lawyers in the country.
Exim Bank extends $ 100-million credit to Nigeria[26/05/2014]
Exim Bank has extended $100 million in line of credit to Nigeria for building energy projects, which will eventually help boost Indian exports. The projects to be financed under the arrangement are supply and commissioning of transmission lines, distribution transformers for 96 communities, solar mini-grid electrification and solar street lighting, including a sub-station, and a 26-mw gas-based plant.
15th Prime Minister of India[26/05/2014]
Shri Narendra Damodar Das Modi has been taken oath as 15th Prime Minister of India along with his cabinet minister & minister of state.
A. B. Pandya Appointed Chairman of Central Water Commission[15/05/2014]
Shri Ashwin B. Pandya, has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Water Commission & Ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India. He was holding additional charge of the post since November, 2013. A graduate in Civil Engineering from Saurashtra University and post-graduate in Structural Engineering from IIT, Delhi, Shri Pandya joined the Central Water Engineering Service in CWC in October, 1977 as Assistant Director. In a career spanning more than 36 years, he has held various positions in the Department and other organizations under the Ministry of Water Resources like WAPCOS, NWDA and NPCC. He was elevated to the post of Member (Design & Research) & Ex-officio Addl. Secretary to the Government of India in August, 2012. Shri Pandya has all round experience in water resources sector involving resource assessment, project planning, design, execution, operation and safety assurance, funds management, commercial consultancy management etc. An avid proponent of irrigation, multi-purpose and hydropower projects, his stint as the Chairman of the Organisation is expected to provide much needed boost to the Sector.
Whistleblowers Protection Act gets President nod[14/05/2014]
The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011, which provides a mechanism for protecting the identity of whistleblowers - a term given to people who expose corruption - got the assent of President Pranab Mukherjee on 9th May 2014.
The Act also provides for a system to encourage people to disclose information about corruption or the wilful misuse of power by public servants, including ministers.
As per the law, a person can make a public interest disclosure on corruption before a competent authority - which is at present the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The government, by notification, can appoint any other body also for receiving such complaints about corruption, the Act says.
The Act, however, lays down punishment of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 30,000 for false or frivolous complaints.
Lt. General Dalbir Singh Suhag named new Army chief of India[13/05/2014]
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will be the next Army Chief succeeding Gen Bikram Singh as the government appointed him to the top post, ignoring protests from BJP.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the recommendation of the Defence Ministry a day after it was received, sources said.
59-year-old Lt Gen Suhag, a Gurkha officer, is currently the Vice Chief of Army Staff and the senior most among the Lt Generals. He will have a tenure of 30 months as the Chief of the force when he takes over from Gen Singh who retires on July 31.
President of India to dedicate RuPay to the nation[08/05/2014]
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee dedicate 'RuPay' India's own card payment network to the nation on May 8, 2014 at function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The RuPay card is accepted at all the ATMs (1,60,000+), 95% of PoS terminals (9,45,000+) and most of the eCom merchants (10,000+) in the country. A variant of the card called 'Kisan Card' is now being issued by all the Public Sector banks in addition to the mainstream debit card which has been issued by 43 banks. A variant of Pre-paid RuPay card would shortly be launched by IRCTC. More than 150 Cooperative banks and the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in the country have also issued RuPay ATM card. The total number of cards issued as on date is 17 Million and is growing at a rate of about 3 Million per month. This card symbolizes the capabilities of banking industry in India to build a card payment network so that dependency on international card scheme is minimized.
'RuPay' is developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) - a 'not-for-profit' Company envisioned by Reserve Bank of India and created by the banking industry.
IAA Receives International Arch of Europe Award[08/05/2014]
Indian Aviation Academy (IAA) has been selected this year by the Business Initiative Directives Group (BIDG), Madrid (Spain) for the International Arch of Europe Award for quality and technology in Gold Category. The award was received by Mr. Rajiv Goel, Director, IAA from Mr. Jose E. Prieto, President & CEO, BID Group at a function held in Frankfurt, Germany Later, the award was presented to Mr. Alok Sinha, Chairman, Airports Authority of India.
The Academy has been set up for training and development by pooling resources of the three mainstay organizations of civil aviation namely, Airports Authority of India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. It conducts training in airport management, maintenance, airport safety and regulations, HR discipline, etc. The Academy has collaboration with several international agencies such as ICAO, IATA, ACI, FAA, European Union and CATC, Thailand.
Ratan Tata gets honorary knighthood[06/05/2014]
Former chairman of the Tata Group Ratan Tata has received an honorary knighthood in recognition of the company’s heavy British investments and philanthropy, a British High Commission statement said.
Tata, who retired in 2012 as head of the group, was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, one of Britain’s highest civilian honours.
“Tata is the only Indian national to be given this particular award since India became a republic in 1950,” the High Commission added.Ratan Tata, who is now Tata Group chairman emeritus, was presented the award by British High Commissioner James Bevan.
Jury says Samsung infringed Apple patents[04/05/2014]
A California jury awarded Apple $119 million far less than it demanded in a patent battle with Samsung over alleged copying of smart phone features, and the jury made the victory even smaller by finding that Apple illegally used one of Samsung’s patents.
The verdict was a far cry from the $2.2 billion Apple sought and the $930 million it won in a separate 2012 trial making similar patent infringement claims against older Samsung products, most of which are no longer for sale in the United States.
The jury found that Apple had infringed one of Samsung’s patents in creating the iPhone 4 and 5. Jurors awarded Samsung $158,400, trimming that amount from the original $119.62 million verdict. Samsung had sought $6 million.
Facebook acquires Finnish fitness app Moves[03/05/2014]
Facebook has acquired Helsinki-based fitness tracking app Moves in an undisclosed deal. “We are joining Facebook’s talented team to work on building and improving their products and services with a shared mission of supporting simple, efficient tools for more than a billion people,” a statement from the firm read. Earlier this year, Facebook bought mobile messenger WhatsApp for $19 billion and Oculus VR for $2 billion. Facebook has confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the Moves deal was “nowhere near the size of other acquisitions the company has made in recent months”.
Senior Supreme Court advocate and Additional Solicitor General under the earlier NDA regime, Mukul Rohatgi, was on 28th May 2014 appointed the Attorney General for India. Rohatgi is one of the top corporate lawyers in the country.
Exim Bank extends $ 100-million credit to Nigeria[26/05/2014]
Exim Bank has extended $100 million in line of credit to Nigeria for building energy projects, which will eventually help boost Indian exports. The projects to be financed under the arrangement are supply and commissioning of transmission lines, distribution transformers for 96 communities, solar mini-grid electrification and solar street lighting, including a sub-station, and a 26-mw gas-based plant.
15th Prime Minister of India[26/05/2014]
Shri Narendra Damodar Das Modi has been taken oath as 15th Prime Minister of India along with his cabinet minister & minister of state.
A. B. Pandya Appointed Chairman of Central Water Commission[15/05/2014]
Shri Ashwin B. Pandya, has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Water Commission & Ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India. He was holding additional charge of the post since November, 2013. A graduate in Civil Engineering from Saurashtra University and post-graduate in Structural Engineering from IIT, Delhi, Shri Pandya joined the Central Water Engineering Service in CWC in October, 1977 as Assistant Director. In a career spanning more than 36 years, he has held various positions in the Department and other organizations under the Ministry of Water Resources like WAPCOS, NWDA and NPCC. He was elevated to the post of Member (Design & Research) & Ex-officio Addl. Secretary to the Government of India in August, 2012. Shri Pandya has all round experience in water resources sector involving resource assessment, project planning, design, execution, operation and safety assurance, funds management, commercial consultancy management etc. An avid proponent of irrigation, multi-purpose and hydropower projects, his stint as the Chairman of the Organisation is expected to provide much needed boost to the Sector.
Whistleblowers Protection Act gets President nod[14/05/2014]
The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011, which provides a mechanism for protecting the identity of whistleblowers - a term given to people who expose corruption - got the assent of President Pranab Mukherjee on 9th May 2014.
The Act also provides for a system to encourage people to disclose information about corruption or the wilful misuse of power by public servants, including ministers.
As per the law, a person can make a public interest disclosure on corruption before a competent authority - which is at present the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The government, by notification, can appoint any other body also for receiving such complaints about corruption, the Act says.
The Act, however, lays down punishment of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 30,000 for false or frivolous complaints.
Lt. General Dalbir Singh Suhag named new Army chief of India[13/05/2014]
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will be the next Army Chief succeeding Gen Bikram Singh as the government appointed him to the top post, ignoring protests from BJP.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the recommendation of the Defence Ministry a day after it was received, sources said.
59-year-old Lt Gen Suhag, a Gurkha officer, is currently the Vice Chief of Army Staff and the senior most among the Lt Generals. He will have a tenure of 30 months as the Chief of the force when he takes over from Gen Singh who retires on July 31.
President of India to dedicate RuPay to the nation[08/05/2014]
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee dedicate 'RuPay' India's own card payment network to the nation on May 8, 2014 at function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The RuPay card is accepted at all the ATMs (1,60,000+), 95% of PoS terminals (9,45,000+) and most of the eCom merchants (10,000+) in the country. A variant of the card called 'Kisan Card' is now being issued by all the Public Sector banks in addition to the mainstream debit card which has been issued by 43 banks. A variant of Pre-paid RuPay card would shortly be launched by IRCTC. More than 150 Cooperative banks and the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in the country have also issued RuPay ATM card. The total number of cards issued as on date is 17 Million and is growing at a rate of about 3 Million per month. This card symbolizes the capabilities of banking industry in India to build a card payment network so that dependency on international card scheme is minimized.
'RuPay' is developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) - a 'not-for-profit' Company envisioned by Reserve Bank of India and created by the banking industry.
IAA Receives International Arch of Europe Award[08/05/2014]
Indian Aviation Academy (IAA) has been selected this year by the Business Initiative Directives Group (BIDG), Madrid (Spain) for the International Arch of Europe Award for quality and technology in Gold Category. The award was received by Mr. Rajiv Goel, Director, IAA from Mr. Jose E. Prieto, President & CEO, BID Group at a function held in Frankfurt, Germany Later, the award was presented to Mr. Alok Sinha, Chairman, Airports Authority of India.
The Academy has been set up for training and development by pooling resources of the three mainstay organizations of civil aviation namely, Airports Authority of India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. It conducts training in airport management, maintenance, airport safety and regulations, HR discipline, etc. The Academy has collaboration with several international agencies such as ICAO, IATA, ACI, FAA, European Union and CATC, Thailand.
Ratan Tata gets honorary knighthood[06/05/2014]
Former chairman of the Tata Group Ratan Tata has received an honorary knighthood in recognition of the company’s heavy British investments and philanthropy, a British High Commission statement said.
Tata, who retired in 2012 as head of the group, was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, one of Britain’s highest civilian honours.
“Tata is the only Indian national to be given this particular award since India became a republic in 1950,” the High Commission added.Ratan Tata, who is now Tata Group chairman emeritus, was presented the award by British High Commissioner James Bevan.
Jury says Samsung infringed Apple patents[04/05/2014]
A California jury awarded Apple $119 million far less than it demanded in a patent battle with Samsung over alleged copying of smart phone features, and the jury made the victory even smaller by finding that Apple illegally used one of Samsung’s patents.
The verdict was a far cry from the $2.2 billion Apple sought and the $930 million it won in a separate 2012 trial making similar patent infringement claims against older Samsung products, most of which are no longer for sale in the United States.
The jury found that Apple had infringed one of Samsung’s patents in creating the iPhone 4 and 5. Jurors awarded Samsung $158,400, trimming that amount from the original $119.62 million verdict. Samsung had sought $6 million.
Facebook acquires Finnish fitness app Moves[03/05/2014]
Facebook has acquired Helsinki-based fitness tracking app Moves in an undisclosed deal. “We are joining Facebook’s talented team to work on building and improving their products and services with a shared mission of supporting simple, efficient tools for more than a billion people,” a statement from the firm read. Earlier this year, Facebook bought mobile messenger WhatsApp for $19 billion and Oculus VR for $2 billion. Facebook has confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the Moves deal was “nowhere near the size of other acquisitions the company has made in recent months”.
Maheswary nominated again for Arjuna Awards[03/05/2014]
Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, who has been stopped from receiving Arjuna Award under controversial circumstances on charges of dope violation last year, has again been recommended by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the coveted honour this year.
"Superbugs" that can overpower anti-biotics are spreading: WHO[02/05/2014]
The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is no longer a prediction but is happening right now across the world, United Nations officials said on 30th April 2014. Antibiotic resistance has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country, the U.N.'s World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a report. It is now a major threat to public health and "the implications will be devastating".
Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, who has been stopped from receiving Arjuna Award under controversial circumstances on charges of dope violation last year, has again been recommended by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the coveted honour this year.
"Superbugs" that can overpower anti-biotics are spreading: WHO[02/05/2014]
The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is no longer a prediction but is happening right now across the world, United Nations officials said on 30th April 2014. Antibiotic resistance has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country, the U.N.'s World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a report. It is now a major threat to public health and "the implications will be devastating".
India displaces Japan to become third-largest world economy in terms of PPP: World Bank[02/05/2014]
India has displaced Japan to become the world's third biggest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), according to a World Bank report released on 29th April 2014. The 2011 round of the bank's International Comparison Program (ICP) ranked India after the US and China. The last survey in 2005 had placed the country on 10th place. PPP is used to compare economies and incomes of people by adjusting for differences in prices in different countries to make a meaningful compcomparison. India's share in World GDP in terms of PPP was 6.4% in 2011 compared with China's 14.9% and the US' 17.1%, the latest ICP showed. The survey covered 199 economies. "The United States remained the world's largest economy, but it was closely followed by China when measured using PPPs. India was now the world's third largest economy, moving ahead of Japan," the report said.
Former IAF chief appointed Indias ambassador to Norway[01/05/2014]
Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Norman Anil Kumar Browne has been appointed India's next Ambassador to Norway. He had served as IAF chief between July 31, 2011 and December 31, 2013. Mr. Browne is expected to take up his new assignment shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs said here on Tuesday. He will succeed R. K. Tyagi as India's envoy in Norway.
During his four-decade long career in the Air Force, he had served as Joint Director at Air War Strategy Cell at the Air Headquarters, Chief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft base.