1-14th February 2015
Current Affairs
Union Government constituted Anil
Baijal Panel to suggest a framework to
assess CSR activities
The Union Government on 3 February 2015 constituted a High Level Panel to
suggest a framework to assess Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities
undertaken by companies under the Companies Act, 2013.
The panel will be headed by former Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal. It will
have members from the Department of Public Enterprises and Corporate
Affairs Ministry including:
• Deepak Nayyar, Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University
• Onkar S Kanwar, Apollo Tyres Chairman and Managing Director
• Kiran Karnik, Former Nasscom President
The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Indian Institute of Corporate
Affairs (IICA) will jointly provide the secretarial and technical support to the
panel.
Terms of Reference of Anil Baijal panel
• To evaluate money spent on CSR activities by the companies.
• To recommend suitable methodologies for monitoring compliance of the CSR
provisions.
• To suggest measures to be adopted by the companies for systematic
monitoring and evaluation of their own CSR initiatives.
• To identify strategies for monitoring and evaluation of CSR initiatives through
expert agencies and institutions to facilitate adequate feed back to the
government with regard to the efficacy of CSR expenditure.
• To look at whether a different monitoring mechanism is required for
government companies undertaking CSR works. If it is found necessary, then
necessary suggestions will be made.
About Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India
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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms defined under Clause 135 of
Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 came into effect on 1 April 2014.
The CSR norms is applicable to companies with an annual turnover of 1000
crore rupees and more, or a net worth of 500 crore rupees and more, or a net
profit of five crore rupees and more.
The CSR norms also require companies to set-up a CSR committee consisting
of their board members, including at least one independent director.
It also encourages companies to spend at least 2 percent of their average net
profit in the previous three years on CSR activities
Around 14000 crore rupees are expected to be spent towards CSR activities by
companies in 2015-16.
SMAP: NASA’s first satellite to collect
global soil moisture
Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) was in news in fourth week of January
2015. It is NASA’s first Earth satellite designed to collect global observations of
the vital soil moisture.
The satellite was launched aboard United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
The satellite is built to measure moisture in the top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of
soil. It can measure the moisture content of the soil from its spot in orbit about
426 miles (685 kilometers) above Earth's surface.
SMAP is equipped with a 20 feet (6 meters) mesh antenna which is the largest
of its kind that NASA has ever flown in space can complete an orbit of the earth
once in every 98.5 minutes. Its antenna is designed to spin at about 14.6
revolutions per minute while mounted to the end of a long arm on the satellite's
body.
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Sergio Mattarella
President of Italy
sworn-in
as
the
Sergio Mattarella was sworn-in as the President of Italy on 3 February 2015.
He is the 12th President of Italy since the country became a Republic after
World War II.
Sergio Mattarella, 73, a Constitutional Court Judge was elected as the
President of Italy on 31 January 2015. He succeeded Giorgio Napolitano, 89,
who stepped down from the post in January 2015 citing signs of fatigue.
He was elected after three inconclusive rounds of voting, in which no other
candidate secured the two-thirds majority that is needed to win the election.
He won the election in the fourth round of voting conducted on 31 January
2015 that required merely a simple majority of 1009 eligible voters to produce
result. His vote passed the threshold of 505-vote needed to get elected as the
President.
President’s position is a ceremonial role in Italy but the President reserves the
power to appoint a Prime Minister of the country. The president's term of office
lasts for seven years.
He is the first judge of the Constitutional Court to become President of the
country and also is the first President from Sicily in the history of Italy to
become a President
Born on 23 July 1941, Mattarella entered politics in 1983 as a member of
parliament from the now-defunct Christian Democrat party, after his elder
brother Piersanti, the then island's governor was killed by Mafia.
Madhya Pradesh won the 10th National
Award for excellent work in MGNREGA
Madhya Pradesh on 2 February 2015 won the 10th National Award for
excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,
2005 (MGNREGA).
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The award was presented to Madhya Pradesh Panchayats and Rural
Development Minister Gopal Bhargava by the Union Rural Development
Minister Virendra Singh at the MGNREGA summit held in New Delhi.
The award was given to Madhya Pradesh for convergence of MGNREGA and
other schemes for construction of permanent assets and for excellent work in
providing opportunities for earning permanent income.
Madhya Pradesh is leading in the construction of permanent assets through
MGNREGA convergence in the country. 74 percent construction of permanent
assets has been done through MGNREGA in the state.
As many as 179 crore 11 lakh man days of employment have been created. Out
of these, 77 crore 36 lakh man days of employment have been provided to
female labourers.
Electronic Fund Management System was also introduced in the State in April
2014 to ensure transparency in accountancy and immediate payment of wages
to labourers.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
(MGNREGA)
• MGNREGA aims to ensure livelihood security in rural areas by providing at
least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household
whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• It is social security program that aims to guarantee the right to work and
create durable assets such as roads, canals, ponds, wells, etc.
• Initially on 2 February 2006, MGNREGA was implemented in 200 districts. It
was extended to cover all the districts of India from 1 April 2008.
Pakistan successfully test-fired
Launched Cruise Missile Ra’ad
Air
Pakistan on 2 February 2015 successfully test-fired indigenously developed Air
Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Ra’ad. The missile, also called Thunder in
Arabic, has been developed by Pakistan's Air Weapons Complex and NESCOM.
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The missile gave Pakistan Air Force a strategic standoff capability on land and
at sea indicating that Ra'ad can be launched at sea-based targets such as
ships as well as land-based targets.
Ra'ad was tested for the first time on 25 August 2007.
About Ra’ad missile
• The missile is designed to operate with Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft’s like
Dassault Mirage III ROSE and JF-17 combat aircraft.
• This low altitude missile is designed to attack fixed enemy installations such
as radar posts, command nodes, surface to air missile launchers, etc.
• High maneuverability capabilities of missile enable it to deliver nuclear and
conventional warheads with pin-point accuracy.
• It has a range of 350 km and comprises stealth capabilities due to its cruise
technology.
• The missile can also be armed with a 10-35 kilo tonne nuclear warhead
Japan
successfully
launched
Information Gathering Satellite
the
Japan on 1 February 2015 successfully launched the Information Gathering
Satellite, a spy satellite. The Satellite was launched from the Tanegashima
Space Centre in the Kagoshima Prefecture in the south of Japan.
The satellite was taken into orbit by the H-2A (H-IIA) carrier rocket. The
satellite carries a sophisticated radar payload designed to survey the globe
night and day in all weather conditions from an orbit about 300 miles above
Earth.
The Satellite was scheduled to be launched on 29 January 2015. However, the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
delayed the planned launch due to the possibility of lightning during lift-off.
Background
Japan began putting spy satellites into operation in the early 2000s after its
neighbour North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile over the Japanese
mainland
into
the
western
Pacific
in
1998.
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Following this, Japan began the Information Gathering Satellite program.
Although the program was initially aimed at monitoring North Korea, but the
satellites could take pictures of nearly any place on Earth each day.
Under the program, Japan had launched various spy satellites. This is the fifth
spy satellite that Japan has launched into the Earth’s orbit on 1 February
2015. The other four Japanese satellites that are orbiting the Earth include two
optical imaging spacecrafts and two radar satellites.
India successfully test-fired canisterbased ICBM Agni-5 missile
India on 31 January 2015 successfully test-fired indigenously developed
canister-based inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-5 from Wheeler's
Island off Odisha coast. Agni-5 is a surface-to-surface nuclear capable missile.
Agni-5 missile is a three stage solid propellant missile with strike range of over
5000 kilometer and capable of carrying nuclear warhead of over one tonne. It is
about 17 meters long, 2 meters wide and has a launch weight of around 50
tonnes.
The missile reached the target point within few meters of accuracy with the
help of very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System
(RINS) and the most modern and accurate Micro Navigation System (MINS).
This launch was the third developmental trial of the long range missile. The
first and second tests were conducted on 19 April 2012 and 15 September
2013 from the same base. Agni-5 will be inducted into the services after few
more
trial.
At present, India in its armoury of Agni series have Agni-1 with 700 km range,
Agni-2 with 2000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2500 km to more than
3500 range.
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GTU launched e-Raksha Research Centre
to fight cybercrime
Gujarat Technological University (GTU) on 28 January 2015 launched eRaksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime.
The centre was launched to curb rising menace of cybercrimes. Centre will
encourage research and enhance capability to provide solution for issues
related to cyber security.
GTU is collaborating with Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF) with the goal of
establishing a peaceful and harmonious cyber space through research. The
research centre will train students in areas of cyber security and enhance their
capability to provide solution for issues related with cyber security.
It will also support the government in protecting critical infrastructure and
mission critical services. The centre will research on malwares such as botnet
and will be setting up malware analysis test bed.
The centre will also support Make in India concept by manufacturing routers,
switches, firewalls, UTMs (Unified Threat Management) and other network
appliances.
10th century sculpture
discovered in Thanjavur
of
Buddha
A headless sculpture of Buddha dating back to 10th century AD was
discovered at Manalur village in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu in January
2015.
Both the head and the right hand of the granite statue of Buddha were missing
when it was excavated. The findings of Buddha sculptures in and around the
area show the existence of a Buddhist temple in Thanjavur.
The three-foot long sculpture of Buddha was discovered by Buddhist scholar B
Jambulingam and heritage enthusiast Mani Maaran during their search in the
region.
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Jambulingam's search for Buddha idols began with an ordinary visit to a
remote village in Thanjavur in the 1980s. He has so far identified 67 Buddha
idols in Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts during his field study.
Background
Buddhism came to Tamil Nadu during the 3rd century BC and prevailed in the
Chola country up to the 16th century AD.
In Thanjavur, Buddha sculptures were found in various places and the
prominent among them are those in Vayyacheri, Cholanmaligai, Kumbakonam,
Madagaram, Manganallur, Pattiswaram, Perandakottai and Vikramam.
Of these, only the head of the Buddha were found in Vayyacheri and
Perandakottai.
India and China jointly launched Visit
India Year in China
India and China on 2 February 2015 jointly launched the Visit India Year in
China in Beijing during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj to China.
The initiative is aimed at enhancing the flow of tourists from China to India
and to strengthen the people to people bond. China will support the promotion
of Indian tourist resources in its country.
Background
The idea of Visit India Year was endorsed by the two countries during the visit
of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping to Delhi in September 2014.
At that time, it was agreed to designate 2015 as Visit India Year in China and
designate 2016 as Visit China Year in India.
Under this, the two countries will carry out a series of promotional activities to
boost two-way tourism inflow and strengthen people to people bonds.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated
Cricket diplomacy, called four SAARC
leaders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 February 2015 called four SAARC leaders,
namely Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to wish for 2015
Cricket World Cup. He called the leaders of the cricket playing nations and
wished them luck.
Five SAARC Nations are playing in the ongoing Cricket World Cup. Modi called
and wished luck to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghanistan
President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and
President of Sri Lanka Maithiripala Sirisena.
This courtesy call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be termed as Cricket
Diplomacy, which has been used in past by other leaders of the world for
connecting their countries through the means of sports. In context of the
SAARC nations, cricket helps people of the region to connect with each other
and promote goodwill.
With this cricket diplomacy, Modi also announced that the soon the Foreign
Secretary Dr S Jaishankar will be sent on a SAARC Yatra to further strengthen
the ties
Cricket Diplomacy
Cricket diplomacy means use of cricket as a political tool to enhance or worsen
the diplomatic relations between two cricket playing nations. Cricket, the
second-most widely played game in the world after football is used as a political
tool to bridge the gap in diplomatic vacuum. It can be said that cricket
diplomacy is better than gunboat diplomacy in which forces are deployed and
coercion is used against the opponent.
Cricket Diplomacy between India and Pakistan
In context of India and Pakistan, the cricket diplomacy has been playing a vital
role in bridging the gap in diplomatic relations. The cricket diplomacy between
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India and Pakistan began in 1987, the year when the then Pakistan's
president, General Zia ul-Haq, attended a test match between India and
Pakistan in Jaipur. His arrival to India helped to end the tensions that they
faced against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Soviet pressure on India.
Further in 2005, the then President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf
visited India to watch a cricket match and met Man Mohan Singh to revive
talks on Kashmir. After the 2005, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
toured India during 2011 Cricekt World Cup to watchthe semifinal match
between India and Pakistan. This helped the two nations to ease their
relationship which was estranged after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Arvind Kejriwal
Minister of Delhi
sworn-in
as
Chief
Arvind Kejriwal on 14 February 2015
was sworn-in as Chief Minister of
Delhi.
The oath of office and secrecy was
administered by Lieutenant Governor
Najeeb Jung at Ramlila Ground,
Delhi.
Other than Arvind Kejriwal, six other
party members Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, Jitendra Tomar, Gopal Rai,
Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan were administered oath as Cabinet
Ministers.
President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 13 February 2015 appointed Arvind
Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of the Government of National Capital Territory
of Delhi.
With the appointment, President of India revoked the order of President’s rule
with effect from 14 February 2015. The orders of Presidents rule in National
Capital Territory of Delhi were issued earlier on 16 February 2014, under
Article 239AB of the Constitution.
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Also, he had appointed six AAP leaders as ministers on the advice of the Chief
Minister.
Portfolio of Delhi Cabinet:
Arvind Kejriwal: Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia: Deputy Chief Minister, Finance & Planning, Education, UD,
Vigilance, Services, Administrative Reforms, Information Technology, Revenue
& any other department that is not allocated to any Minister
Sandeep Kumar: Women and child Social Welfare, Language, SC/ST
Gopal Rai: Transport, Development, Labour, General Administration
Department and Employement
Asim Ahmed Khan: Food and Civil Supply, Environment and Forest and
Election
Jitender Singh Tomar: Law and Justice, Home, Tourism, Art and Culture
Satyendar Jain: Power, Health, Gurudwaras, Industries, PWD and IFC
He became 7th Chief Minister of Delhi as a person and 10th Chief Minister as
tenure wise.
Union Government approved revised
Guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana
Union Government on 12 February 2015 approved revised Guidelines for
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
The guidelines were revised to accord priority in the selection of roads for new
connectivity as well as upgradation, leading to the eligible habitations in the
Gram Panchayats identified by the Members of Parliament (MP) under Saansad
Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Union Minister for Rural
Development. This is in accordance with the Cabinet decision wherein all
Ministries/Departments of the Central Government have been asked to take
necessary action to make suitable changes in the guidelines of their respective
Central sector and Centrally Sponsored schemes/programmes to enable
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priority to be given to the Gram Panchayats selected under Saansad Adarsh
Gram Yojana.
Highlights of the guidelines

The model villages adopted by the MP under the SAGY will now get rural
roads under PMGSY on priority basis. Similarly, in these model villages, rural
roads constructed or upgraded under PMGSY would have to be maintained by
the State Governments up to prescribed standards and even beyond the built
in period of first five years.

As per the amended Guidelines, the State Governments shall give priority to
all roads leading to the Gram Panchayats identified under SAGY irrespective
of Comprehensive New Connectivity Priority List (CNCPL) to include all eligible
unconnected habitations in the selected Gram Panchayats.

In case of upgradation of roads, priority shall be given to the roads which
have Pavement Condition Index (PCI) Value-I & II in the Gram Panchayats
identified under SAGY.

However, the length required for upgradation of these roads should be within
the overall target allocated to various States under PMGSY-I and PMGSY-II.

Moreover, in case of roads already built under PMGSY, in the Gram
Panchayats identified under SAGY, State should carry out maintenance as
per the activities suggested in the Operations Manuals and Rural Roads
Manual, even if the maintenance period of 5 years is over.

The State Governments must ensure PCI of not less than four for all such
roads at all times. Adequate funds for this purpose will be provided by State
Governments.
ICC Cricket World Cup started with
ceremonies
in
Melbourne
and
Christchurch
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 started on 12 February 2015 with inaugural
ceremonies held in Melbourne, Australia and Christchurch, New Zealand.
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During the inaugural ceremony, the Cricket World Cup trophy was unveiled by
International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson saying it was a
symbol of the ICC's values of excellence, integrity and inclusion.
Australia and New Zealand are co-hosting 2015 Cricket World Cup that will see
49 matches spread over 43 days.
Opening ceremony of the 11th edition of the ICC World Cup
The 11th edition of the ICC World Cup was officially declared open an event
that saw a wonderful mix of culture and traditions of the host nations Australia
and New Zealand. The events that marked the start of the great event, some of
them events included
• Fireworks that lit the skyline along with fine musical acts from artists
• Captains of the fourteen playing nations were participated with the trophy;
ten captains were in Melbourne while the remaining four were present at
Christchurch
• The opening ceremony show an impressive puppetry on show with a giant
batsman enacting all the key performances from past world cup finals
• Jhoom Bollywood Dance Company represented India at the opening ceremony
• Group of British ballet dancers displayed their performances
• Rhythm of Pakistan performed Jazba Junoon
• A group of Bangladeshi performers wearing the official jersey of their cricket
team showcased a dance act
• Traditional Mauri artists displayed an impressive show
The World Cup will see 14 cricketing nations playing against each others to win
the cup. The participant teams are India, Australia, New Zealand, England,
South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe,
Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and United Arab Emirates.
The first match of the mega event will be played on 14 February 2015, with
New Zealand playing against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval in Christchurch and
Australia playing against arch-rivals England at Melbourne Cricket Ground in
Melbourne.
India will play against its arch-rivals Pakistan on 15 February 2015 at the
Adelaide.
The finals will be played on 29 March 2015 a Melbourne, Australia.
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Union Government issued guidelines to
tackle increasing number of H1N1 cases
Union Government on 12 February 2015 issued new guidelines for the States
to combat the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak. It asked the States to categorise
cases for screening, isolation and hospitalization.
Health workers have been asked to screen people with symptoms of the flu on
the basis of their severity and categorise them.
Under the new guidelines, the disease has been categorised into three
categories, and they are
• Category A: For those who do not require testing for H1N1. This category
includes patients with mild fever, cough and sore throat, body ache, headache,
nausea and diarrhoea. These patients will be monitored for 24 to 48 hours and
will be advised to stay at home and not mingle with other people. They will not
need testing for H1N1 and no treatment with Oseltamivir.
• Category B: For those who have all the symptoms mentioned in Category A,
but have high-grade fever and are in the high-risk category. They will need
treatment with Oseltamivir and will have to be confined at home. High-risk
category includes children with mild illness, pregnant women, and persons
over 65, patients with lung, liver, heart, kidney, blood or neurological diseases
or has been on long-term cortisone therapy.
• Category C: For those who have all the signs and symptoms of Category A
and B. They will be hospitalised depending on their health condition. If the
patients have breathlessness, chest pain, drowsiness, fall in blood pressure,
sputum mixed with blood, bluish discolouration of nails they will need to be
immediately started on the medicine and hospitalised.
Category C will also include children with influenza-like illness, high and
persistent fever, inability to feed, convulsions and difficulty in breathing.
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SpaceX successfully launched Falcon 9
rocket from Florida
Experimental aerospace firm SpaceX
on 12 February 2015 successfully
launched the Falcon 9 rocket from the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Florida on its third attempt.
The rocket carried an unmanned
Deep Space Climate Observatory
(DSCOVR) satellite. This satellite will
be used by the United States National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to monitor the
Sun.
The satellite will collect the information on solar storms and will monitor
changes in solar wind and provide warnings on hazardous outbursts from
earth to warn forecasters. It will also help forecasters to predict changes which
affect
satellites,
power
grids
and
communication
systems.
DSCOVR will be positioned at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point, 1500000
kilometre away from Earth. The satellite will reach its final orbit in 110 days
after launch. DSCOVR was jointly developed by NOAA, NASA and the United
States Air Force.
About Falcon 9 rocket
• Falcon 9 rocket is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by Space
Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), a private space transport
services company.
• It is basically used for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and Dragon
spacecraft into orbit. It is powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade
kerosene (RP-1) propellants.
• In 2008, the Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule combination had won a
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract from NASA to resupply the
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International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Orbital Transportation
Services (COTS) program.
Union Government constituted SIT to
reinvestigate 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases
Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 12 February 2015 constituted a threemember Special Investigation Team (SIT) for re-investigation of the 1984 antiSikh riot cases. The newly-constituted SIT has been empowered to examine
fresh evidence in the cases that had even been closed.
The three-member SIT will be headed by Pramod Asthana, an IPS officer of
1986 batch. Other two members of SIT are retired district and sessions judge
Rakesh Kapoor and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi Police
Kumar Gyanesh.
The SIT will submit its report in six months and it will look into all serious
criminal cases related to the riots, examine evidence and even re-open cases
and file charge sheets in the courts concerned.
The SIT was constituted on the recommendations of the Mathur Committee.
Mathur Committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice GP Mathur
was constituted on 23 December 2014 to examine the possibility of
constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for reinvestigation of the 1984
anti-Sikh riot cases.
The committee submitted its report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in
January 2015 and recommended a fresh probe of the case.
Anti-Sikh riots erupted in Delhi and other northern States of India after former
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her security guards at her
official residence on 31 October 1984. The riots claimed lives of 3325 people
(2733 in Delhi and rest were killed in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra and other States).
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35th National Games mascot Ammu
named in Limca Book of Records
The mascot of India’s 35th National Games Ammu, the Great Hornbill on 11
February 2015 was included in the LIMCA Book of Records.
The mascot found its place in the record books for its play, Kalikkunna
Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu (India Awaits Children Who Play)
featuring the bird in lead role. The play was staged in 147 schools in Kerala.
LIMCA Book’s 2015 Special Literature Edition said that by 9 April 2014, the
play was staged in 147 schools across seven districts of Kerala. The play was
envisaged with an aim to promote sports among children and persuade them to
take up sports along with academics.
The mascot of the National Games was designed by Rakesh, while the play,
Kalikkunna Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu (India Awaits Children
Who Play) was scripted and directed by theatre artist Anil Karetee. The play
was enacted by a team of police officers led by Chandrakumar.
Ammu, the Great Hornbill
Great Hornbill is the State bird of Kerala and was selected as the Mascot of the
Games to reflect state’s concern for conservation of this species. The bird is
facing extinction and is facing loss of its habitat, which are rain forests of
Kerala.
The Mascot was given the feminine name to pay tribute to the women of the
state. At present, Kerala is the only Indian state that has more female
population than male.
As per details from Census 2011, Kerala has population of 3.34 Crores, of
which male and female are 16027412 and 17378649, respectively.
Telecom regulator TRAI released a report
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Telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 7 February
2015 released a report on subscriber base. India telecom subscriber base
reaches all-time high at 970 million at the end of December 2014.
Main highlights of the report
•The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 964.20 million
at the end of November 2014 to 970.97 million at the end of December 2014.
This surpasses the previous record of 965.5 million reached in June 2012.
•The total broadband subscribers base increased by 4.28% on monthly basis to
85.7 million at the end of December 2014 from 82 million in November 2014.
•Teledensity in the country reached 77.58. It is connection per 100 persons.
•The mobile or wireless subscriber base in country is now already at all-time
highs after it crossed 935.3-million mark at the end of October 2014.
•The previous record was set in June 2012 when the mobile subscriber base in
the country reached 934 million. Of the total wireless subscriber base, 833
million
wireless
subscribers
were
active
in
December
2014.
•Bharti Airtel has maintained its leadership with 217.2 million mobile
customers. It is followed by Vodafone with 178.6 million mobile subscribers,
Idea Cellular 150.5 million, Reliance Communications 106.2 million, BSNL
81.3 million, Aircel 78.6 million, Tata Teleservices 66.1 million and Uninor 43.6
million.
•Idea Cellular added over 2500000 customers, the highest by any company, in
December 2014. It was followed by Airtel which added over 1700000 new
mobile customers, Vodafone about 1500000, Telewings (Uninor) 1200000,
Aircel over 900000, Tata Teleservices about 600000, Videocon (including
Quadrant) 270000 and MTNL 22445 new mobile customers.
•New operator Videocon registered the fastest growth rate in its mobile
subscribers base and was followed by Telewings.
•State-run BSNL in the December 2014, lost 1300000 subscribers and Sistema
Shyam lost 68110 customers. Closure of Mumbai-based Loop Mobile business
in November also brought down subscriber base by about 700,000.
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•During the reported month, about 3500000 subscribers submitted request to
change their mobile service provider taking the total number of such requests
under Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service to 142.9 million.
•Wireline connections further declined to 27 million from 27.1 million in
November 2014.The growth in broadband subscribers was also dominated by
mobile operators with 69 million customers.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured
the rare triple-moon conjunction
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured the rare occurrence of the three
largest moons of Jupiter namely Europa, Callisto, and Io racing across the
banded face of the gas-giant planet. This was a rare occurrence, as the event
occurs once or twice in a decade.
NASA gave this information on 5 February 2015.
The moons in the photos captured by the camera have distinctive colours. The
ancient cratered surface of of
Callisto is brownish; the smooth icy
surface of Europa is yellow-white;
and the volcanic, sulfur-dioxide
surface of Io is orange.
The Hubble images were captured
by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in
visible light on 24 January 2015.
These so-called three Galilean
moons complete orbits around
Jupiter with durations ranging from
2 days to 17 days. They were
named after the 17th century
scientist
Galileo
Galilei,
who
discovered
four
large
moons,
namely Io, Europa, Ganymede and
Callisto with a telescope. Jupiter
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has over 60 moons.
About Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA
and the European Space Agency. The telescope is managed by NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, while the Hubble science
operations are conducted by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in
Baltimore.
China launched first Maritime Silk Road
cruise liner from Beihai port
China on 9 February 2015 launched its first cruise liner to sail via its
ambitious transcontinental initiative Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The sail was
launched from the Beihai port located in southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region.
During its maiden tour the liner will visit three South-East Asian nations
namely Vietnam, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia.
The cruise liner is a 135-meter-long and 20-meter-wide that can accommodate
400 people and is equipped with wireless internet access.
Maritime Silk Road (MSR)
• The 21st century Maritime Silk Road project is an initiative of President of
China Xi Jingping who in 2013 proposed the rejuvenation of the MSR and
revival of the ancient Silk Road to establish close relation between the ChinaASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) communities
• The MSR seeks to string together partnerships with countries in the AsiaPacific and Indian Ocean, including India
• This maritime route entails expanding ports and industrial parks in Asia, the
Mideast, Africa and Europe
• For development of the MSR, China had announced a 40 billion US dollar
Silk Road fund which became operational from February 2015
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Adani
Enterprises,
Rajasthan
Government signed MoU to set up 10000
MW Solar Park
The Rajasthan Government and Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) on 9 February
2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly set up India’s
largest solar park with capacity of 10000 MW of electricity in Rajasthan.
MoU was signed by Adani Enterprises CEO Vineet Jain and Rajasthan
Renewable Energy Corporation Managing Director B K Dosi.
The joint venture project includes generation projects and a manufacturing
unit for solar module, parts and equipments. The project will be completed in
the next ten years.
Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship company of Adani Group will set up solar
project
of
5000
MW
on
its
own
in
the
next
five
years.
It is expected that the project will produce 16644 million units of clean and
green energy and help in reducing carbon footprint by approximately 16.2
metric tonnes.
Vinod Mehta awarded with Yash Bharti
Samman 2015 by UP Government
Distinguished journalist Vinod Mehta was on 9 February 2015 awarded with
the Yash Bharti Samman 2015 by Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government.
Vinod Mehta has launched a number of successful publications such as the
Sunday Observer, Indian Post, The Independent, The Pioneer (Delhi edition)
and Outlook. He has authored a biography of Meena Kumari (movie actress
and poet) and Sanjay Gandhi- The Sanjay Story (2012).
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His other acclaimed work includes memoir Lucknow Boy published in 2012,
Mr Editor, How Close Are You to the PM? (1999) and Bombay: A Private View
(1971). Currently, he is editorial chairman of the Outlook Group.
Other Awardees
In all, 56 people were bestowed with the award. The other recipients of Yash
Bharti Samman are:
• Actors: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Jimmy Shergill
• Singers: Rahat Ali Khan Sabri, Kailash Kher, Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Shubha
Mudgal, Anup Jalota, Urdu poet Bekal Utsahi, lyricist Sameer, music director
Ravindra Jain
• Sports: Wrestler Alka Tomar, weight lifter Poonam Yadav
The other recipients of the award are Jagadguru Swami Bhadracharya,
Yogendra Singh Yadav (Paramvir Chakra receipient) and Bekal Utsahi.
About Yash Bharti Samman
• Yash Bharti Samman was instituted by Mulayam Singh Yadav Government in
1994.
• The award is conferred by the Uttar Pradesh Government for excellence in
literature,
fine
arts,
folk
and
classical
music
and
sports.
• The award carries cash prize of 11 lakh rupees, a citation and a shawl.
• The award was discontinued by the Bahujan Samaj Party Government from
2007-2013, but later it was revived after a gap of six years.
First World Ocean Science Congress held
in Kochi
The First World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) was held in Kochi, Kerala
from 5 February 2015 to 8 February 2015.
The focal themes of the WOSC 2015 were Protect Oceans for Posterity and
Blue Economy. WOSC -2015 was organised jointly by the Swadeshi Science
Movement, Vijnana Bharati, Kerala chapter and the Kerala University of
Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Kochi.
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The aim of the WOSC was to find sustainable means to utilize the resources
carefully without causing any damage to the oceans and its marine life.
The Congress witnessed presentation of 450 technical papers in 13 sessions by
86 Indian institutions and 14 foreign institutions. It evolved a set of
recommendations that will be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for
further guidelines.
The Congress urged the Union Government to form a separate ministry to bring
all the agencies and institutions working in the fields of ocean research and
fisheries research under one roof for the smooth implementation and
management of all the government policies related to the sectors.
About World Ocean Science Congress
World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) is designed as a quadrennial event
starting with WOSC-2015. It is expected to serve as a common platform for
Oceanographers, Environmentalists, Fishing community, Shipping industry,
Navigators, Defense establishments.
57th Annual Grammy Awards
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on 8 February 2015 at the Staples
Center in Los Angeles, California. In all, 83 Grammy Awards were presented at
the function.
The nominations of the award were announced on 5 December 2014.
List of Top Grammy Awards
Category
Album
Artist
Best album
the year
of Morning Phase
Beck Hansen
Best record
the year
of Stay With Me
Sam Smith
Best song of the Stay With Me
year
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James
Napier,
William
Phillips & Sam Smith
24
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Current Affairs
Best new artist
-
Sam Smith
Children’s Album I
Am
Malala:
How Neela Vaswani
One Girl Stood Up For
Education And Changed
The
World
(Malala
Yousafzai)
Best Pop solo Happy (Live)
performance
Pharrell Williams
Best
Pop Say Something
Duo/Group
Performance
A Great Big World
Christina Aguilera
Best Traditional Cheek to Cheek
Pop Vocal Album
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Best
Syro
Dance/Electronic
Album
Aphex Twin
Best
Rock Lazaretto
Performance
Jack White
Best
Metal The Last In Line
Performance
Tenacious D
Best Rock Album Morning Phase
Beck
Best
R&B Drunk in Love
Performance
Beyonce featuring Jay Z
Best
Rap I
Performance
Kendrick Lamar
Best
Country Something in the Water
Solo Performance
Carrie Underwood
Best
Ricky Kej & Wouter Kellerman
New
Age Winds of Samsara
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Album
Best Improvised Fingerprints
Jazz Solo
Chick Corea, soloist
Best
Gospel No Greater Love
Performance
Smokie Norful, Aaron
Lindsey, songwriters
Best Latin
Album
Ruben Blades
Pop Tangos
Best World Music Eve
Album
W.
Angelique Kidjo
Indians in 57th Annual Grammy Awards
This year two Indians have won Grammy Awards. They are:
• Ricky Kej: His collaborated album Winds of Samsara won the Best New Age
Album Trophy.
• Neela Vaswani: She won award in Children’s Album category for her album
I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World
(Malala Yousafzai).
About Grammy Awards
•
Grammy Awards are the recording industry’s most prestigious award
presented annually by National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
(NARAS) of the United States.
•
The awards are awarded to artists and technical professionals for their
outstanding
achievements
in
the
music
industry.
•
The awards are presented to recipients at the annual presentation
ceremony which features performances by prominent artists, and the
presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest.
• The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on 4 May 1959.
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First Robot-staffed Hotel of the World to
open in Japan
The Nagasaki-based Henn-na Hotel (meaning Strange Hotel) of Japan in the
first week of February 2015 announced to open the first Robot-staffed Hotel of
the World. The hotel will be opened on 17 July 2015 and it will significantly
reduce the operating costs.
The hotel will come up with a Huis Ten Bosch theme park (after a town of
Netherlands) in Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture.
The hotel in its first-phase will be two-storied hotel with 72 rooms. In the
second-phase, which will be completed in 2016, 72 additional rooms will be
added to it.
The hotel has been developed by Japan's Osaka University and manufactured
by the Japanese robotics company Kokoro. Several of these Actroid robots
resemble like a young Japanese woman.
Characteristic Features of the Hotel
• It will be partially staffed by actroid androids, human like robots that will
greet,
carry
luggage
to
rooms,
and
make
coffee
for
guests
• These robots will be able to speak languages like Japanese, Chinese, Korean
and English
• The hotel will have number of robots working for different purposes like three
robots will be acting as receptionists, four will act as service and porter robots
and others will be engaged in menial tasks like cleaning
• The guestrooms of the hotels will be accessed by facial-recognition technology
and guests can request the items through a tablet when needed
• The temperature of the rooms will be adjusted through a radiation panel
instead of air-conditioning. The panel will detect the body heat in rooms and
adjust the temperature
• To reduce operating costs, solar power and other energy-saving features will
be used
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Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
named in LIMCA Book of Records
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s name was included in the LIMCA book
of records in the first week of February 2015. Her name was included for being
the only woman of the country to represent the same Lok Sabha constituency
on the same party ticket for eight times in a row.
As a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), she represents the Indore
constituency of Lok Sabha in Madhya Pradesh. For the first time she was
elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989. Since then she has been re-elected to the Lok
Sabha in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and finally to the 16th Lok
Sabha on 18 May 2014.
During this period, Mahajan has served as member/head of various
parliamentary committees and as a Minister. She was unanimously elected as
Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha on 6 June 2014.
Eminent Marathi writer Bhalchandra
Nemade chosen for Jnanpith Award 2014
Eminent Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade on 6 February 2015 was chosen
for the Jnanpith Award 2014 by the Jnanpith Selection Board.
He will be the 50th recipient of Jnanpith award, the highest literary honour of
India and he will receive the award in April 2015.
The decision to confer the award on Nemade was taken in a meeting of 10member selection board chaired by Prof Namwar Singh, a scholar, writer and
critic.
His novel Kosala (Cocoon) published in 1963 was not only instrumental in
changing the dimensions of the Marathi novel, but also the world of Marathi
fiction was transformed with its advent. Only the mega-novel Hindu published
in 2010 appears to match this feat that Kosala achieved over five decades ago.
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With this award, he will join the league of three noted Marathi writers who have
won Jnanpith award. They are:
• Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar, received the award in 1974
• Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar alias Kusumagraj, received the award in 1988
• Govind Karandikar alias Vinda Karandikar, received the award in 2003
About Bhalchandra Nemade
• He is a novelist poet, critic, academic, and a relentless advocates of the
literary movements and the leader of the post-1960s Little Magazine movement.
• His novels among others include Bidhar, Hool, Jarila, Jhool, etc. He
composed various poems which are compiled up in his collections named
Melody and Dekhani.
• He received various awards for his work including Sahitya Akademi Award
(1990) for his critical work Teeka Svayanwar. He is also the recipient of Padma
Shri in 2011.
• Nemade was born in 1938 in the village of Jalgoan district of Maharashtra.
• He did his graduation from Fergusson College, Pune and received Doctorate
degree from North Maharashtra University.
About Jnanpith Award
• Jnanpith award is one of the prestigious literary awards in India. The name of
award is taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha which means knowledgeseat.
• The award was instituted in 1961 and is presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith, a
trust
founded
by
the
Sahu
Shanti
Prasad
Jain
family.
• The award is given to any Indian citizen who writes in any 22 official
languages of India mentioned in VIII Schedule of Constitution of India.
• Prior to 1982, the award was only given for a single work by a writer. But
since 1982, the award is given for lifetime contribution to Indian literature.
• The award includes cash prize of 11 lakh rupees, a citation plaque and a
bronze replica of Saraswati.
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Prime Minister constituted 3 sub-groups
of Chief Ministers within NITI Aayog
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 February 2015 announced constitution of
three sub-groups of Chief Ministers within the NITI Aayog. The decision was
made after the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.
Works assigned to the three sub-groups include
• First sub-group – it will study the 66 centrally-sponsored schemes and
recommend which schemes should continue, which should be transferred to
states, and which to discontinue.
• Second sub-group – it will focus on skill development and creation of skilled
manpower within States.
• Third sub-group – it will decide on the institutional mechanisms to be
evolved for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, so that cleanliness becomes a part of life
in perpetuity.
Beside this, the Prime Minister also asked the States to create two task forces
under the aegis of the NITI Aayog of which one will focus on poverty alleviation
and the other will focus on future development of agriculture in the states.
The first NITI Aayog meet was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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