Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Starred Articles

India, Iran sign MoU for development of Chabahar port
India > MoU > May 06
India signed an agreement with Iran for development of Chabahar port which will give India access to sea-land route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. After extensive talks, an MoU was signed between the two nations. US had been warning countries to not rush into any trade agreements with Iran until it works out a deal on nuclear programme. However, India went ahead with the deal as the port is set to reduce transportation costs of India. Another advantage of a container and cargo terminal at Chabahar is that it would provide landlocked Afghanistan with access to the sea, reducing its reliance on Pakistan.

Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill passed in the Lok Sabha
India > Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill > May 07
The Lok Sabha passed a bill on the 7th of May, 2015 to amend the Juvenile Justice Bill passed in 2014, which will allow the judiciary to treat children between the age of 16-18 as adults depending on the heinousness of the crime committed. The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2014 will now replace the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. The amended bill also categorises offences as petty, serious and heinous, and defines differentiated processes for each category.

Rohan Bopanna wins doubles title at the Madrid Open
Sports > Tennis > May 10
Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna won his third doubles title of the year by winning the Madrid Open in the doubles category. Bopanna was paired with Romanian Florin Mergea for the first time and defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Marcin Matkowski on Sunday to lift the trophy. Bopanna had previously won two titles with Daniel Nestor of Canada in Sydney and Dubai at the start of the 2015 season before splitting with him. With this win, Rohan Bopanna overtook Leander Paes to become India’s highest ranked doubles player at the moment. Bopanna is currently ranked 21, three places ahead of Paes.

Shashi Kapoor receives Dada Saheb Phalke award
Awards > Dada Saheb Phalke Award > May 11
Shashi Kapoor received the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award from Union Information and Broadcasting Minster Arun Jaitley in Delhi. The award is given for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema. After Prithvi Raj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor is the third member of the Kapoor family to receive the award.

Others

China proposes joint mining of Indian Ocean with India
India > Sino-Indian Relations > May 07
China has expressed its desire to work in cooperation with India on deep seabed mining in the Indian Ocean where its deep diving vessel reported to have discovered large deposits of precious metals like gold and silver. Speaking about this cooperation, the deputy director of State Oceanic Administration said that it will benefit both the countries by sharing costs and risks. India and China both being contractors with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), hold plenty of cooperation opportunities.

Achal Kumar Jyoti appointed as Election Commissioner
India > Civic Affairs > May 07
Achal Kumar Jyoti was appointed as one of the Election Commissioners, filling one of the two vacancies of the Election Commission (EC), which comprises of three members – one Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners. The general tenure of an Election Commissioner is six years or till the age the employee attains 65 years. As Achal Kumar Jyoti is 62 years old, he will serve for a period of 3 years.

Rashtriya Janta Dal expels MP Pappu Yadav for anti-party activities
India > Politics > May 07
The Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) on Thursday, 6th May, 2015 expelled party MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav from the party for a period of six years. Anti-party policy activity has been the reason cited for the expulsion. The MP had also made statements against party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the past, and faced a lot of irk for that. He also in the past made use of Lalu Prasad Yadav's photograph without permission for the programmes of Yuva Shakti, an organisation set up by Pappu Yadav, with which RJD has no links.

Book titled "Unbelievable - Delhi to Islamabad' released by Vice President
Books > Unbelievable - Delhi to Islamabad > May 08
A book titled "Unbelievable - Delhi to Islamabad” written by senior Advocate Prof. Bhim Singh was released by Vice President Shri M. Hamid Ansari at Delhi. On the occasion, the Vice President said that this book is a travelogue and should be read by all. The book is an effort initiated by the lawyers of India and Pakistan to work jointly to ensure that the Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails are treated in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution of India.

Yuki Bhambri wins first doubles title of 2015
Sports > Tennis > May 09
Indian Tennis player Yuki Bhambri won his first doubles title of 2015 by winning the ATP Challenger event at Karshi, in Uzbekistan on Saturday, 9th May, 2015. He was paired with Spain's Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and defeated Sergey Betov and Mikhail Elgin in the rain affected final.

1-year baby becomes ‘world's youngest open heart surgery patient'
World > Medicine > May 10
A 1-year old baby from Europe became the world's youngest ever open heart surgery patient and made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Having undergone about 10 operations, the chances of the child's survival were so low that her parents were offered termination twice.

India's largest blast furnace plant inaugurated by PM Modi
India > Largest Blast Furnace > May 10
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country's largest blast furnace in the steel township of Burnpur. The event attended by two prominent political personalities- PM Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee- displayed a clear indications of growing relations between the Centre and the West Bengal government. IISCO steel plant in Burnpur, which houses country's largest blast furnace was upgraded by the government at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore. This furnace has a capacity to produce 2.9 million tonnes of steel and will eventually be increased by the year 2025.

HDFC among world's top ten consumer finance firms
World > World's Top Ten Consumer Finance Firms > May 10
The Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) was the only Indian firm to be ranked among the top ten consumer finance companies of the world. HDFC was ranked at the seventh position after biggies like American Express, Visa and MasterCard. The list compiled by Forbes is headed by American Express and is a part of the company's annual survey of the world's 2000 most powerful companies. Overall 56 Indian companies find themselves in the survey, HDFC is ranked at the 485th position overall and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was placed at the 142nd position overall, the highest for an Indian company on the survey.

India appoints K V Kamath as head of BRICS Bank
World > BRICS Bank > May 11
K.V Kamath has been appointed by India as head of BRICS bank set up by the BRICS nations. The BRICS had agreed to set up the $100 billion development bank last year which will work towards funding of infrastructure projects in developing nations. This bank will be headed by Kamath for five years followed by a Brazilian and then a Russian.

Jayalalitha set to return as TN CM after acquittal
Politics and government > Jayalalitha > May 11
AIADMK chief Jayalalitha was acquitted by the Karnataka High Court on the 11th of May, 2015 in a case of Disproportionate Assets (DA). Apart from Jayalalitha's verdict the court also acquitted her close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her relatives J Elavarasi and V N Sudhakaran and Jayalalithaa's disowned foster son. Earlier, Jayalalitha had to step down as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu as a trial court had convicted her for a term of four years and a Rs. 100 crore fine. But, the acquittal on Monday will serve her as a breather and she is likely to become the CM again.

Britain's Andy Murray stuns Rafael Nadal to win Madrid Open
Sports > Tennis > May 11
Britan's top tennis player Andy Murray stunned former champion Spain's Rafael Nadal to win his first master series title on a clay court at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The defeat will see the Spaniard fall down to the seventh place in the rankings, out of the top five for the first time in the last ten years. The victory, which was Murray's 10th master series win, also moved him up to the third position in rankings.

Yoga day to be observed on June 21 in US
World > Yoga Day > May 12
The historic National Mall of the US is set to host the first International Day of Yoga celebration on June 21. Since the event is being organised by the Indian Embassy in the US, it will feature an exclusive video message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With an aim to promote yoga across the world, the Indian government is planning to celebrate the First International Day of Yoga in all countries, including the US.




0 comments:

Post a Comment