1.
Mufti Sayeed passes away, Mehbooba likely to succeed as CM
i. Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a crafty politician who took on the
powerful Abdullah family and rose to become the country’s first Muslim Home
Minister, died today at AIIMS here after his platelets dropped dangerously.
ii. Sayeed, 79, who took
charge of the State on March 1 last year heading a PDP—BJP alliance, breathed
his last this morning after remaining on ventilator for the past few days. He
was flown from Srinagar in a special plane on December 24 and admitted to the
AIIMS where he was diagnosed with sepsis (life threatening complication of an
infection) and pneumonia. During hospitalisation his platelets had dropped
dangerously, doctors said.
iii. He is the second
J&K Chief Minister to die in office, the first one being Sheikh Mohammad
Abdullah who died on September 8, 1982. Sayeed’s daughter 56-year-old Mehbooba
is expected to take over as the first woman Chief Minister of the state with
PDP leaders throwing their weight behind her. But this will require the
approval of BJP.
iv. Sayeed is survived
by his wife, three daughters and a son. Jammu and Kashmir government has
declared a seven-day mourning and holiday today. Flags will be flown at half
mast.
v. The mortal remains of
the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people
to pay homage. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village Bijbehera in
South Kashmir, about 48 km from Srinagar.
vi. Sayeed took over as
chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 last year. In the 87-member J
and K Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference
got 15 and Congress 12.
2.
Wattan Ko Jano initiative: A programme that aims to expose youth from J&K
to rest of India
i. Wattan Ko Jano, an
initiative being carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in
coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government, was in news on 6
January 2016. The initiative came in news after more than 240 youth in the
age-group of 15 to 24 from J&K met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New
Delhi.
ii. Watan Ko Jano
initiative was conceived by the J&K State Rehabilitation Council in 2011.
It essentially is a Youth Exchange Programme under which the children of
militancy-hit victims, orphanages, and weaker sections of society are
identified by Jammu and Kashmir State Rehabilitation Council as beneficiaries
under the programme in the state.
iii. The initiative aims
at exposing youth from the state to the vibrant development and vitality of
culture of people residing in other states of the country.
iv. Earlier on 29
December 2015, a group of 250 such youngsters participated in the Watan Ko Jano
tour and met Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
3.
Paramilitary forces to have 33% reservation for women in constable level
position
i. Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation for women in Central Armed Police
Forces (CAPFs) at constable-level positions.
ii. There will be 33%
reservation for women at constable-level posts in Central Reserve Police Force
and Central Industrial Security Force, and 14-15% reservation at the constable
level in border guarding forces i.e. Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal
and Indo Tibetan Border Police, starting immediately, according to an official
statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
iii. The Committee on
Empowerment of Women in its Sixth Report had advocated elevating representation
of women in paramilitary forces. The reservation is, however, limited to only
constable-level position.
iv. There are 9 lakh
troops in all these forces combined, of which women constitute a mere 20,000.
In 2015, 33% positions in the Delhi Police were reserved for women; six other
Union Territories also passed this proposal and women were also allowed for
combat roles in the Indian Air Force.
v. The Delhi Police
employed only 9.27% women when the regulation was passed.
4.
IAMAI appoints Freecharge founder Kunal Shah as chairman
i. Industry body
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which counts companies such
as Facebook, Microsoft and Google as members, named Kunal Shah, co-founder
FreeCharge as its new chairman.
ii. Shah succeeds
Nishant Rao, the ex-managing director of LinkedIn, who recently moved to
Freshdesk as the global Chief Operating Officer, the association said in a
statement.
iii. IAMAI also named
Vishwas Patel, chief executive officer, CCAvenue as the new treasurer.
iv. Shah co-founded
FreeCharge in August 2010 with an aim to build a business that turned recharges
in to rewarding experiences for its consumers. In April 2015, FreeCharge was
acquired by Snapdeal.
v. Vishwas, the
founderand CEO of Avenues India Private Limited, launched the company's first
initiative, CCAvenue in September 2001. CCAvenue provides payment gateway
services to thousands of eMerchants across the world.
5.
Gadkari launches India's first River Information System
i. Union Shipping
Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday inaugurated the River Information System
(RIS) - the first of its kind in India - to facilitate safe and accurate
navigation on National Waterway-1 (the Ganga River).
ii. "While it
remains a challenge how to develop the waterways of the country, the River
Information System is a major step in realising the dream of waterways,"
said Gadkari, according to an official statement statement.
iii. Phase-II of the
system from Farakka to Patna and Phase-III from Patna to Varanasi will be
undertaken on priority, the statement said.
iv. "River
Information Systems are combination of modern tracking equipment related
hardware and software designed to optimise traffic and transport processes in
inland navigation," the statement added.
6.
International media conference in Mysuru
i. The Global Communication
Association (GCA), a not-for-profit professional organisation, to host the 11th
international conference of media experts and communication specialists from
around the world at Mysuru on January 28-29.
ii. The meet has
University of Mysore, which is celebrating its Centenary year, as its academic
partner for hosting the conference. “The 2016 India conference focusing on
‘Ombudsman: Media and social responsibility’, has aroused keen interest amongst
many participants coming from different academic and industry backgrounds,”
said Krishna B Mariyanka, Curator and Organising Secretary, 11th GCA
Conference, Mysuru.
iii. At a time when
there is a massive explosion of the media across the globe, be it of the traditional
variety or the new media, it is increasingly being looked upon as a powerful
instrument of social change,” he added.
iv. On the flip side, as
with any instrument that can influence vast sections of a society, there are
also other ‘powerful forces’ that will misuse the media for vested interests.
v. Established in the
year 2007, the GCA objectives are the promotion of academic research in global
communication studies among major universities worldwide; facilitation of joint
project and research opportunities among scholars and students.
vi. More importantly,
GCA provides an eclectic international platform for corporate executives,
communication specialists, policy makers, academicians, bureaucrats, political
leaders, public relations practitioners and co-related industry professionals
to meet, interact and generate new ideas for growth.
7.
Mysuru to get Cauvery river gallery
i. Karnataka’s Tourism
and the National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI) have signed a memorandum
of understanding to set up a Cauvery river gallery in Mysuru.
ii. The gallery, to be
built at a cost of Rs. 3.5 crore, is expected to showcase the life, culture and
biodiversity along the river from its birth in Kodagu till it reaches the Bay
of Bengal. The exhibits at the gallery would also include multimedia features
and electronic display to provide the visitors an immersive experience of life
and culture along the river.
iii. Tourism Department
officials and NASI executives signed the MoU for establishing the gallery at
the Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) complex in Mysuru. The project will be
completed in 6-9 months and it is expected to become a tourist attraction.
iv. NASI former
president Manju Sharma said, “The Cauvery gallery in Mysuru will be third in
the country. So far we have completed the Brahmaputra river gallery project in
Guwahati and the Ganga river gallery in Allahabad.”
v. RV Deshpande,
Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Tourism, said NSAI
would execute the project and run it for three years before handing it over to
the State government.
vi. The Karnataka
Knowledge Commission (Jnana Ayoga) headed by K Kasturirangan had recommended
the establishment of the gallery and is providing input to the National Council
of Science Museums (NCSM) for the implementation of the project.
8.
Cabinet okays ‘Sampoorna Arogya Keralam’ medical care project
i. The State Cabinet has
decided to implement the ‘Sampoorna Arogya Keralam’ project announced in the
2015-16 State budget. The project aims to bring all major government health
services under one umbrella. With this, people will not be required to visit
multiple offices or agencies for medical care.
ii. Instead, they can go
to enlisted public and private hospitals and get the services through a smart
health card. A Sampoorna Arogya Keralam Trust would be set up to implement the
initiative. All families with annual income below Rs. 3 lakh will be brought
under the project, an official release said here. At least 42 lakh such
families are expected to benefit.
iii. The Chief Minister
will head the Sampoorna Arogya Kerala Trust, which will monitor and implement
the project. A corpus fund of Rs. 20 crore would be set up and a separate head
of account formed. Various financial assistance schemes under sundry
departments will be consolidated under the project and up to ₹2 lakh made
available to beneficiaries through means of the smart card.
iv. The IT platform of a
similar project implemented in Telangana by Arogyasri Trust will be customised
for use to roll out the project, the release said. Assistance for medical care
in Kerala is currently made available through Rashtriya Swayam Bima Yojana
(RSBY), Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (Chis), Chis-Plus, Arogyakiranam,
Karunya Benevolent Fund, Thalolam, cancer protection scheme and similar schemes
of various welfare fund boards.
v. Beneficiary families,
except the 32 lakh enrolled under the RSBY, Chis and Chis-Plus schemes, need to
produce an income certificate from the revenue department as a one-time
requirement. They would be issued smart cards in due course. A technical
committee will be set up to decide on treatment protocols and the various
procedures required to be adopted in accordance with the guidelines of the
project.
9.
India to skip BS-V, leapfrog to BS-VI norms from April 1, 2020
i. In a bid to curb
vehicular pollution, the Centre today decided to implement stricter emission
norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS-V altogether.
The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Road
Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which was attended by Oil
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
ii. “Government has
decided to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI directly by April 1, 2020. We have
decided to skip BS-VI emission norms. It is a bold decision and a commitment to
the environment,” Gadkari told PTI here after the meeting.
iii. All the other
ministries have assured cooperation to make the implementation successful, he
added. At the end of December, Pradhan had stated that India would go straight
from Euro-IV compliant petrol and diesel to Euro-VI fuel by 2020. Earlier, a
meeting of an inter-ministerial group, including representatives of the
Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Petroleum, Heavy Industries and
Environment and Forests, was unable to reach a consensus.
iv. The Road Transport
and Highways Ministry was of the view the roll-out of BS-V norms must start
from 2019 but the Petroleum Ministry expressed its inability to comply with the
deadline. Earlier in November, a draft notification by the Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways (MoEF), had advanced dates for implementation of BS-V
norms to April 1, 2019, and BS-VI norms to April 1, 2021.
v. At present, BS-IV
auto fuels are being supplied in the whole of northern India covering J&K,
Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, parts of Rajasthan and
western UP. The rest of the country has BS-III grade fuel.
10.
Uber launches ‘uberEXCHANGE’, start-up mentorship programme
i. Taxi-hailing app Uber
today announced a new start-up mentorship programme in the country in
partnership with Invest India called ‘uberEXCHANGE’. Over the next years, Uber
will host a series of six leadership talks by senior Uber executives, including
from their headquarters in San Francisco, the company said in a statement.
ii. The programme will
address issues that entrepreneurs face, like fund-raising, product design,
engineering and how to scale up a business. At the end of the programme, the
top 10 start-ups will travel to San Francisco, where they will be introduced to
global investors, fellow entrepreneurs and the team at Uber, it said.
iii. This public-private
initiative will enable students, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to learn
from each other, helping to create a culture that celebrates risk-taking and
views failure as an opportunity to learn. It will also support Prime Minister’s
vision to make India a global startup hub.
iv. “Today, more and
more people aspire to be entrepreneurs and build something themselves. That’s
why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s start-up India initiative is so important,
and that is why we’re excited to share our experience with hundreds of startups
and entrepreneurs as they begin their journey,” Uber’s chief executive Travis
Kalanick said.
v. Kalanick is expected
to give the inaugural speech at the Startup India Initiative on January 16,
speaking about his own journey as an entrepreneur. “This mentorship programme
will be immensely valuable to Indian entrepreneurs and I am excited about the
exchange of knowledge and ideas between the startup culture in India and the
Silicon Valley,” DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant said.
11.
AB Khare appointed CMD of Madras Fertilizers
i. The Centre has
appointed AB Khare as the Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run
Madras Fertilzers for a five-year term. In August last year, the government
headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) had recommended the name of
Khare for the post of CMD at Madras Fertilizers Ltd (MFL).
ii. Khare will succeed I
Vijay Kumar. His name was finalised after interviewing 7 shortlisted
candidates. Khare was previously working with state—owned fertiliser firm
Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers as Chief General Manager (Commercial).
iii. “The President is
pleased to appoint of A B Khare to the post of CMD, MFL in the pay scale of Rs.
75,000-90,000 for a period of five years with effect from the date of
assumption of charge of the post or till the date of his superannuation, or
until further orders, whichever is the earliest,” the Fertiliser Ministry said
in an notification.
iv. MFL was incorporated
in 1966 as a joint venture between the Government of India and Amoco India, a
subsidiary of Standard Oil Company of the USA. It is under the administrative
control of the Fertiliser Ministry.
12.
Achyuta Samanta elected as General President of 105th Indian Science Congress
i. Dr Achyuta Samanta
was on 6 January 2016 elected as the General President of the 105th Indian
Science Congress Association (ISCA) that is scheduled for 2017-18. Samanta is
also currently serving as member of Executive Council of Indian Science
Congress Association (ISCA).
ii. With this, Samanta
becomes the second person from Odisha to be elected as President of the ISC in
its 102 years history. On last occasion, Prof Prana Krushna Parija, eminent
Odia scientist, was elected as President of the 47th Session of the ISCA in 1960.
iii. He has been the
member of Executive Council of ISCA since 2011. He has also been the member of
many prestigious educational and other national level apex bodies, including
UGC (2008-2014), AICTE, National Coir Board, CAPART and NCTE.
iv. He was the only
person from Odisha to be the member of both UGC and AICTE. Samanta has set up
institutions like Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University
and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneshwar.
13.
Noted Gujarati writer Labshankar Thakar passed away
i. Noted Gujarati writer
and poet Labhshankar Thakar passed away on 6 January 2016 following prolonged
illness in Ahmedabad. He was 80. He was a modernist author of Gujarati
literature with influence of existentialism challenging traditional literature
styles.
ii. He was born on 14
January 1935 in Sedla village near Surendranagar in Gujarat. Some of his famous
poems are Vahi Jati Pachhal Ramya Ghosha (1965), Manasni Vaat (1968), Mara
Namne Darwaje (1972), Boom Kagalma Kora (1974), Pravahan (1986), Kalagranthi
(1987). He wrote many plays including Asatyakumar Ekagrani Dharpakad, Make
Believe (1967), Mari Jawani Maza (1973), Bathtub ma Machhali (1982) etc.
iii. He is also known
for his novels Akasmat (1968) and Kon? (1968). Apart from being Gujarati poet,
playwright and story writer he was also an Ayurvedic Practitioner. He also
wrote several books on Ayurveda and also had published several magazines
including Kriti and Unmoolan.
iv. He had also been
awarded several times for his works including Sahitya Akadami Award (1991) for
his poetry, Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar (2002) of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, Kumar
Chandrak (1962), Narmad Chandrak and Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak (1981).
14.
Sam Pitroda appointed as Odisha Government’s Technical Advisor
i. Satyanarayan Gangaram
Pitroda, popularly known as Sam Pitroda, on 6 January 2016 was appointed
Technology Advisor to the Odisha Government. Pitroda was appointed as the
technology adviser for development of telecom, electronics, IT, ITES sectors of
the state.
ii. Pitroda will have a
key role in Vision 2036 for Odisha@100, as the state government is making a
vision document for 2036 to celebrate the 100 years of state’s formation. Born
on 4 May 1942 in Titilagarh, Odisha, Sam Pitroda is a telecom engineer, inventor,
entrepreneur and policymaker. In 1964, he travelled to Chicago to study
electrical engineering.
iii. He is a director of
the Young Indian Company co-owned by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He also
served as Advisor to the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on Technology Missions
related to water, literacy, immunization, oil seeds, telecom, and dairy.
iv. He is the founding
Chairman of India’s Telecom Commission. He has also served as an advisor to the
United Nations.
15.
Pavan Kapoor To Be India's Ambassador To Israel
i. Senior diplomat Pavan
Kapoor has been appointed India's ambassador to strategically important Israel,
where he will succeed Jaideep Sarkar. Mr Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign
Service Officer, is currently India's High Commissioner in Mozambique capital
Maputo. "He is expected to take up his assignment shortly," the
External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
ii. The appointment
assumes significance as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to
visit India this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may also pay a return visit
to Tel Aviv. India's relations with Israel are on an upswing. President Pranab
Mukherjee had visited Tel Aviv in October last year, becoming the first Indian
Head of State to visit the Jewish nation.
iii. India is Israel's
largest buyer of military hardware. Israel has supplied various weapons
systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years but the
transactions have largely remained behind the curtains. Mr Kapoor, an MBA from
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, also a has a Master's degree in
International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.
iv. In his
diplomatic career of two decades, he has served in different capacities in the
Indian Missions in Moscow, London, Geneva and Kiev apart from serving in the
Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office. He has also done
a stint at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as Political Adviser on Asia
and Europe.
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