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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Bihar will get 1st big FDI in railways
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has finally given the go-ahead to the long-stalled, big-ticket foreign direct investment (FDI) projects to set up state-of-the art diesel and electric locomotive manufacturing plants in Bihar .
- This is the the first major FDI in rail projects.The projects, closely monitored by the PMO.
- It was the first big ticket project under ‘Make in India’ initiative in the public transporter, GE and Alstom .
- Location : Marhora and Madhepura.
- Outlay : Rs 40,000 crore.
- Railways will have 26 per cent equity while the global players will have 74 per cent equity in each of the plants.
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Asias foremost Information Security Conference: Ground Zero Summit 2015 on November 5, 2015.
Theme : Digital India Securing Digital India
Objective : To deliberate upon various issues related to cyber security challenges emerging due to the latest technological developments.
Rajasthan government launched the Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy 2015
Rajasthan Chief minister Vasundhara Raje launched the Rajasthan Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy-2015 for the promotion of agro-processing and to reduce post harvest losses.
- The government signed 112 MoUs with private companies in different sectors.
Objectives of the policy :
To promote agro-processing and to reduce post harvest losses at the farmgate thus ensuring maximum prices of farmer’s agri produce.
Highlights of the policy :
- Investors in agro-processing sectors upto the investment of Rs. 25 lacs shall be granted 30% capital subsidy, 20% employment generation subsidy of VAT and CST deposited for 7 years.
- These investors shall be granted 50% exemption in land tax, electricity duty and mandi cess for 7 years and 50% exemption in stamp duty, conversion charges and entry tax on plant & machinery in the state..
- Customized Package shall be granted to the enterprises making an investment of Rs. 100 cores and more or employment generation of 250 persons in the unit.
- 50% exemption in stamp duty shall be granted on first transfer of plot in Food Park.
- Agriculture Department, Government of Rajasthan shall be a nodal department and Rajasthan State Agricultural Marketing Board shall act as nodal agency for this policy.
Key points :
- Rajasthan CM : Vasundhara Raje
- Rajasthan Governor : Kalyan Singh
- Rajasthan Capital : Jaipur.
India, China ink pacts on water resources, culture
India and China signed two agreements after talks between Vice President Hamid Ansari and his Chinese counterpart Li Yuanchao.Li is the first Chinese Vice president to visit India in more than six decades.
- Li has visited Aurangabad and Kolkata before his travel to the national capital.
Mou : water resources, culture
- MoU including one in the field of water resources on sharing hydrological data on Satluj river under the cultural pact, India will hold exhibition of art from the Gupta period, which was known as “golden period” in the country and during which famous Chinese traveller Fa Hien came.
Key points :
- China Currency : yuan or renminbi
- China Capital : Beijing
- China President : Xi Jinping
Notification for Implementation of OROP Issued
The Government issued the notification regarding implementation of ‘One Rank One Pension’ in respect of Defence Forces personnel.
- Accordingly the Government had announced modalities for implementation of OROP on 05.09.2015.
Features of the OROP:
- Arrears will be paid in four equal half yearly instalments. In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.
- The previous Government had made a budget announcement to implement the OROP and made a provision of Rs 500 Crore.The present Government undertook the task earnestly and realized that the actual additional annual expenditure would be eight to ten thousand crore at present.
Registration of Greenpeace India cancelled
- The Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies has cancelled the registration of environment group Greenpeace India on Friday. It was registered in Chennai.
- The move amounts to closure of all operations by the group, which has been at odds with the Union home ministry since 2014 over issues relating to foreign contributions and alleged activities against national interest.
- A letter dated November 4 by the district registrar, Chennai (South), says the non-government organisation (NGO) had violated provisions of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975. These specifically involve the under reporting of contributions received from foreign sources for the years 2004-06 and 2009-10.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
SBI’s Arundhati Bhattacharya remains the most powerful businesswomen in India
- Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson of country’s largest bank SBI, remains the most powerful woman in the Indian business sector, according to Fortune India.
- ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank follow Bhattacharya at the second and third place, respectively.
- Besides, HPCL chairperson and managing director (MD) Nishi Vasudeva has bagged the fourth position, while AZB & Partners Co-Founder Zia Mody and Aruna Jayanthi chief executive of Capgemini India shared the fifth rank.
India cultural week inaugurated in Shanghai
- An Indian culture week was inaugurated at China Shanghai International Arts Festival where India has been designated as a guest country for the first time.
- The India culture week called “India in Shanghai” was inaugurated by Indian Ambassador Ashok K Kantha along with Zhong Yanqun, Vice Chair of The Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, Indian Consulate in Shanghai.
- This is the first time the 17-year history of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival that India was designated as the guest country during the festival.
WHO officially declares Sierra Leone Ebola-free
- Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
- The WHO country director, Anders Nordström, confirmed 42 days had passed without any new cases, thereby satisfying criteria that transmission of the virus has ended.
APPOINTMENTS
Cipla appoints Naina Lal Kidwai as independent director
- Drug maker Cipla has appointed Naina Lal Kidwai as an independent director on its board.
- Until recently, she was executive director on the board of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) and was chairperson of HSBC India. She is also non-executive director on the board of Nestle SA.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Santoor maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma gets Kala Shikhar award
- Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has been honoured with the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement.
- Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao presented the award to 77-year-old Sharma.
- He also presented the Kala Kiran Awards to Murad Ali Khan (Sarangi), Satyajit Talwalkar (Tabla) and Special Jury Award to Sanjeev and Ashwani Shankar (both Shehnai).
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
New smartphone app to help cardiac arrest victims
- Japanese researchers have developed a new smartphone app that alerts rescuers with lifesaving AEDs when an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest occurs nearby.
- The earlier bystanders can deliver shocks with an automated external defibrillator (AED) to people who have cardiac arrest outside the hospital, the better their chances are for survival.
- Researchers from Kyoto University in Japan developed the app, called AED-SOS, which signals potential co-rescuers in communities when an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest occurs. Co-rescuers then deliver the needed AEDs to the scene.
Union HRD Minister Launches E-Pathshala, Saransh, Shaala Siddhi Portals/ Mobile APPS
The Union HRD Minister Smt Smriti Irani launched portals and apps at the edNEXT, – National Conference on ICT in School Education at New Delhi.
E-Pathshala:
E-Pathshala is a web portal which hosts educational resources for Students, Teachers, Parents, researchers and educators, is available through especially developed mobile app in English, Hindi and Urdu.
Shaala Siddhi :
- Shaala Siddhi is a comprehensive instrument for school evaluation.The initiative has already been successfully piloted in four districts of Tamil Nadu.
Saransh :
- Saransh is a tool which allows the schools to identify areas of improvement in students, teachers and curriculum to facilitate and implement change.
- The platform provides a comprehensive overview of standard 10th performance since 2007 and standard 12th performance since 2009 till the current academic session.
SPORTS
Jaffer becomes first to score 10000 runs in Ranji
- Vidarbha opener Wasim Jaffer on Sunday became the first cricketer in Ranji Trophy history to notch up 10000 runs on day two of their Group A match against Bengal at the Jadavpur University second campus ground in Saltlake.
After 13-yr hiatus, WWE LIVE events return to India
WWE LIVE will hold two live events in New Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on January 15 and 16 January. The announcement comes a couple of weeks after TNA Wrestling announced its first ever live event in India, to be held in December.
- WWE has last held an event in India in 2003 and has now renewed its focus on the country as a live events destination.
- WWE superstars including John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Big Show, Sheamus, Cesaro and Ryback are expected to participate in the event.
Army win shooting championship
The Army annexed the team title in the nine-day 25th All India G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship
Participants : 821 shooters from 34 states and the Army, Navy and Air Force took part in the championship
Organisers :
The West Bengal Rifle and Asansol Rifle Club, under the auspices of the National Rifle Association of India.
Winners list
| Team | Medals |
| Army shooters | 10 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze medals |
| National Cadet Corps (NCC) | 8 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze medals |
| Haryana | 6 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals. |
BCCI announces monetary benefits for former players
A slew of monetary benefits for former cricketers, both domestic and international, including monthly and one-time payments and the match fees for the umpires officiating in both domestic and international games by BCCI.
Benefiters :
- All Test cricketers
- Women cricketers
- All retired Test umpires
