NATIONAL NEWS
PM To Inaugurate 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference On Tiger Conservation
The three day 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on the Tiger Conservation was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 12th April, 2016 which will continue till 14th of April, 2016.
In this conference, more than 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders are gathering to discuss issues related to tiger conservation.
Apart from this, Ministers and government officials from all Tiger Range Countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russian Federation, Thailand, Vietnam, besides Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, having ranges of Snow Leopard are participating in the conference.
Haryana Government Decided To Rename Gurgaon And Mewat
Haryana Government on Tuesday decided to rename its largest city Gurgaon as Gurugram and Mewat as Nuh.
The decision to change the name of Gurgaon was taken on the basis of the representations received at several forums by the people of Gurgaon as they stated that Gurgaon had been a centre of learning where the princes used to get education and known as Gurugram since the times of Guru Dronacharya.
However, Mewat is not a town. It is a geographical and cultural unit spread beyond Haryana in the adjoining States of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Headquarters of Mewat district is at Nuh town. The decision of changing its name was taken following the demand of people of area and the elected representatives. They had been demanding that the name of Mewat be changed as Nuh.
Panama Papers : India To Attend OECD Meet In Paris
India will take part in a special meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris today to firm up cooperation between countries in the wake of the 'Panama Papers' leak. The GOI has decided to participate after it has received the invite last week from the Paris-based body.
To know about the leak report which has mentioned that 500 Indians are holding offshore assets in the tax haven, GOI has been decided that a Director- rank officer of Central Board Of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will represent the country at the day- long special session.
The government had also set up a Multi-Agency Group to investigate the Indian names and entities holding offshore assets in the tax haven as reported in the leaks . The officials said that a preliminary report has been sought by this week from the Finance Ministry, which is expected to be forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office.
Yesterday Finance Ministry officials stated that they are looking forward to the meet as the country adheres to a number of OECD mandated norms aimed at strengthening overseas tax cooperation and exchange of information.
They also said that India also follows fiscal guidelines endorsed by the OECD.
Varanasi Kathak Dancer Breaks World Record
Soni Chaurasiya, 31, Kathak dancer from Varanasi has broken the world record of longest dance performance by continuously dancing for 123 hours and 30 minutes.
She is a daughter of a pan vendor and broke the record on Saturday at 9.21 pm at Mount Litera Zee School, Varanasi.
With her performance, she broke the previous record of Hemlata Kundalu of Trichur, Kerala, who performed Mohiniattam (a classical dance) continuously for 123 hours and 20 mins.
Soni began her performance on April 4 at 6 pm on a school campus in Varanasi. While no official from the Guinness World Records attended the performance, two cameras had been installed to record Soni’s each move.
Her trainer Rajesh Dogra allowed Soni to take hourly breaks lasting five minutes. The dancer, however, decided to take a 20-minute break every four hours.
Shan-e-Punjab Express becomes India's first train fitted with CCTV cameras
Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated the fitment of CCTV in Train Shan-e-Punjab Express through video-conferencing from Rail Bhawan premises, New Delhi.
CCTV surveillance cameras in the Shaan-e-Punjab Express is one more step towards improving security in Indian trains.
The CCTV system on the Shaan-e-Punjab Express includes 4 to 6 cameras per coach strategically located so that the entire area can be covered. The system will facilitate facial recognition of the target person by giving high resolution images.
INTERNATIONAL
G7 Foreign Ministers' Meet Held In Hiroshima
The G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is one of the ministerial meetings that held in advance of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on 10th & 11th April, 2016.
It is the first of ten related ministerial meetings held leading up to the Ise-Shima Summit.
The Ise-Shima Summit will be held on May 26 and 27, 2016 in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. Outcome of this G7 FM's meeting will be the base for the discussion for G7 summit.
About G7 FM Meet
The G7 Fm's meet is a meeting attended by the leaders of the seven countries of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.
At the Summit, leaders discuss issues of a global magnitude that face international society and with a call to end nuclear weapons. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who has attended the two day annual meeting said that ministers has discussed anti-terrorism steps, maritime security and issues related to North Korea, Ukraine and the Middle East.
India, Maldives Sign Six Agreements To Boost Ties
India and Maldives have signed six agreements in different sectors to boost bilateral relations between both maritime neighbouring countries.
The agreements were signed after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at the Hyderabad House.
iii. In the talks it was agreed that India will set up a police academy, build the Defence Ministry building of Maldives besides speeding up infrastructure projects relating to security. India will also extend all possible assistance to the island nation, including in maritime sphere and capacity building of armed forces.
The two nations signed an action plan for defence cooperation. Action plan is in the context of defence cooperation being an important component of the India-Maldives bilateral relationship and the shared strategic and security interests of the two countries in the Indian Ocean region.
Below are the list of signed Agreements:
1. Double Taxation,
2. Exchange of Information,
3. Defence Cooperation,
4. Space Research,
5. Tourism Cooperation,
6. Conservation and Restoration.
India and Germany signed agreement on Namami Gange Programme
Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and German International Cooperation (GIZ) signed an Implementation agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under the Namami Gange Programme in New Delhi.
The agreement was signed in the presence of the German Ambassador to India, Dr. Martin Ney and Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shashi Shekhar.
The project will closely cooperate with other National and international initiatives including Indo-German bilateral projects like Support to National Urban Sanitation Policy (SNUSP) and Sustainable Environment-friendly Industrial Production (SEIP).
The project duration is three years that is from 2016 to 2018 and the German contribution in the project will be to the tune of 22.5 crore rupees.
It will enable responsibility of stakeholders at National and State level to apply integrated river basin management approach for the rejuvenation of the river Ganga.
India, US 'agree in principle' on sharing military logistics
India and the United States announced an in-principle logistics exchange agreement to enable their militarizes to use each other’s assets and bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
India, however, clarified it does not entail positioning of US troops on its soil.
In a fillip to ‘Make in India’ programme in defence, the US moved forward in providing technology for making seaborne aircraft carriers and shared two new projects for making fighter jets in India.
iv. As per the US counterpart and Parrikar, “As our engagement deepens, we need to develop practical mechanisms to facilitate such exchanges.
In this context, Secretary Carter and I agreed in principle to conclude a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in the coming months.”
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Bharti Airtel First Entity To Get Payments Bank Licence From RBI
India leading telecom company Bharti Airtel received its payment bank license that it had applied for in partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank, a move that will help the companies take Indian government's financial inclusion plans to the next level.
Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra had applied for the payment bank licence through AMSL, which launched Airtel Money in 2011.
Airtel Money was the first mobile based pre-paid payment instrument service in the country and it empowers millions across India to leverage their mobile phones as a secure way for making payments and transferring money.
The payment banks will cater to the needs of small savings accounts, remittance services, low income households, small businesses and other unorganised sector entities.
Tata starts U.K. steel sale
Tata Steel, the country’s largest steel producer, has signed an agreement to sell the loss-making 4.5-million tonne (mt) long-product Scunthorpe steel plant in Britain to UK-based investment firm Greybull Capital for a nominal consideration, with the latter taking assets and relevant liabilities.
APPOINTMENT & RESIGN
Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk To Resign
The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation two months after he survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, 15th Prime Minister of Ukraine is a lawyer and economist.
Yatsenyuk's government has been besieged by war, corruption and economic struggles.
Meeran Borwankar Appointed As The New DG Of BPR&D By GOI
Maharashtra cadre IPS officer Meeran C Borwankar has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) till the date of her superannuation in 2017.
Presently Meeran Borwankar is working with Maharastra State Cadre. She has also worked as anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in Maharastra.
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) headquartered in New Delhi is a consultancy organisation under the Centre for modernization of police forces which was set up on 28th of August 1970.
OBITUARY
Woman Biker Veenu Paliwal Died In A Road Accident
Indian woman biker Veenu Paliwal has died in a road accident in Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh. She was 44 year od.
The accident took place when she was on a national wide tour on her Harley Davidson. She was on the way to Jaipur from Lucknow.
At the time of accident she was undertaking the trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with her fellow biker and companion Dipesh Tanwar.
She was known for her skills with the motorcycle and for driven the Harley Davidson bikes at 180 kmph. She was planning to make a documentary on her nationwide bike journey. Veenu Paliwal had recently been named as the Lady of the Harley 2016.
SPORTS
Serena Williams Maintains Top Spot: WTA Rankings
American tennis star Serena Williams kept her lead in the women's rankings.
In the women's doubles, India's Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis retained their top status in the rankings
WTA Ranking are as follows :
Indian Teams Clinch Asian Kho Kho Championship Title
India's men's and women's teams have won both the category’s championship titles at the third Asian Kho-Kho championship organised in Indore defeating Bangladesh in both categories as well by 26-17 and 26-16 respectively
The Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar along with Asian Kho Kho Association secretary Qazi Rau-uddin Ahmed Choupal, Indian Olympic Association secretary Rajiv Mehta have felicitated winners at the event.
Sarika Kale won the women’s match-winner title, while counterpart Aniket Pote won the men’s prize.
Each player was awarded with Rs. 51,000. The three-day championship was organised at a newly-constructed state-of-the-art indoor kho-kho stadium in Indore.
England Cricketer James Taylor retired from International Cricket
England and Nottinghamshire batsman James Taylor on 12 April 2016 announced his retirement at the age of 26 due to ill health.
He is diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) that needs an operation to his Heart.
He played seven Test matches for England and the first was against South Africa at Headingley in 2012. He averaged 26 with top Test score was 76 against Pakistan in November 2015.
He made his one-day international debut in 2011 against Ireland and played 27 ODIs with an average of 42.23. He scored seven fifties and one century (101) against Australia in September 2015.
At the time of his retirement, Taylor had the fourth-highest limited-overs average (53.11) in international and domestic cricket history after Michael Bevan (57.86), Cheteshwar Pujara(54.12) and AB de Villiers (53.53).
Chawrasia wins Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Month
India’s SSP Chawrasia, who clinched the Hero Indian Open last month, has been named the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month for March.
Chawrasia produced a gutsy display of golf in his National Open last month to win his third Asian Tour title by defeating 2015 Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Year Anirban Lahiri and Korean rising star Jeunghun Wang by two shots.
The Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award is one of the partnership initiatives aimed at recognising outstanding efforts of Asian Tour members both at home and abroad.
BRAND AMBASSADORS
Virat Kohli Named As Brand Ambassador Of Premier Futsal Football League
A shorter and newer five-a-side variant of soccer ( football) Premier Futsal has named Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador.
This is the world's first multinational Futsal league which is all set to take place across eight Indian cities from July 15 to 24, 2016.
His announcement as brand ambassador follows the unveiling of soccer legend Luis Figo as Premier Futsal's president last week which marked another major coup for the league as it heads into its inaugural season.
The league is governed by the Futsal Association of India (FAI) with accreditation from the international governing body, Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF).
Around 50 international futsalers, from 4 continents and 21 countries are expected to participate in the game.
LAVA International Announces MS Dhoni As Its Brand Ambassador
The Noida based handset manufacturer Lava International has announced the Indian's limited over captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as it's new brand ambassador.
The contract value was not disclosed by company. The company has set up its first manufacturing plant in Noida (UP) and plans to invest Rs.2,615 crore to raise its annual production capacity to 216 million phone sets.
AWARDS & HONOUR
President Presents Padma Awards To 56 Eminent Personalities
Today, President Pranab Mukherjee has presented the Padma awards to the remaining 56 eminent personalities from various fields in a civil investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
Padma Vibhushan recipients :
Superstar- Rajnikant,
classical singer- Dr Girija Devi,
journalist-Ramoji Rao,
Singer- Udit Narayan,
tennis player -Sania Mirza
Padmashree recipients :
Actor-Priyanka Chopra,
Writer- Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah
The government had announced Padma awards, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, for 112 eminent persons on the eve of Republic Day and earlier in March, 56 eminent personalities were honoured with the Padma awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Aishwarya Rai Won Global Indian Of The Year Award
Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has won the ‘Global Indian of the Year’ award.
She was honoured at NRI of the Year award function held in Mumbai. The 42 year old actress has dedicated the award to her daughter Aaradhya.
The NRI of the Year Award recognizes outstanding achievements of the Indian diaspora globally.
Former Army Chief General JJ Singh Conferred Highest French Civilian Honour
Former Army Chief General(retd) Joginder Jaswant Singh has been conferred with the highest French civilian honour 'Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d Honneur' (Officer of the Legion of Honour).
Mr. JJ Singh has been chosen for the honour in recognition of his 'stellar role' in modernizing the Indian Army and initiating robust exchanges between the Indian and French armies.
The Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d Honneur' (Officer of the Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.
In his tenure, he has mooted the idea of holding joint army exercises between the two countries air forces (Garuda) and (Varuna). In 2009, he was invited as the Guest of Honour for the French National Day military parade in Paris in which an Indian Army contingent took part for the first time.
Padma Sachdev selected for Saraswati Samman 2015
Author and poet Padma Sachdev on 12 April 2016 was selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for 2015 for her autobiography titled Chitt-Chete, written in Dogri language.
The book, published in 2007, links the personal trials and tribulations of the author with issues concerning society, nation and the world at large.
She Born in Jammu, Padma Sachdev is first modern woman poet of Dogri language and has published her several poetry collection including Meri Kavita Mere Geet that has won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971.
She has also received the Padma Shri, the Indian fourth highest civilian award in 2001, and the Kabir Samman for poetry for the year 2007-2008, given by Government of Madhya Pradesh.
The Saraswati Samman for 2014 was given to Veerappa Moily for his work Ramayana Mahanveshanam.