Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs from 21st to 26th September, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO VI Mains, RBI Assistant, NIACL AO and Bank of Maharashtra PO Exams.
Current Affairs at a Glance – 21st to 26th September, 2016
The Reserve Bank has given approval to Rs 26,000-crore cash credit limit (CCL) for purchasing paddy in poll-bound Punjab, which came as a relief for SAD-BJP combine that struggled hard in the past for release of funds to buy foodgrain.
State-owned Bank of India (BOI) has sold 18 per cent stake in the insurance joint venture (JV) Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company (SUD) to its Japanese partner.
Online aggregator of homestays Stayzilla.com has signed an MoU with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) to jointly promote and market homestays and alternate stays in Gujarat.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has landed a 99.7-million dollar (around 660 crore rupees) contract from Vietnam Border Guard to design, construct and supply high-speed patrol vessels. The contract provides for supply of 12 vessels in next 30 months.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited on 21 September 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited (DLTPL) for taking equity in the 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification Terminal.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 21 September 2016 approved the partial capital grant of 5176 crore rupees to GAIL (India) Limited for development of 2539 km long Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project.
The Union Cabinet on 21 September 2016 approved merger of Rail budget with Union Budget. It also decided to advance the date of presentation of the annual budget from the last day of February to start of February. In addition, it also decided to merge the Plan and the Non-Plan classification in the Budget and Accounts. All these changes will be put into effect simultaneously from the Budget 2017-18.
India's Centre for Civil Society in collaboration with Canada's Fraser Institute on 15 September 2016 released the Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Annual Report. India has slipped 10 positions and fetched 112th spot among all 159 countries in the Index.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 26 September 2016 successfully launched eight satellites in two different orbits in a single mission. These satellites were launched with the PSLV C35 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta.
Visaranai, a Tamil film directed by Vetrimaran and produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films, has been selected as India's entry in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards (Oscars) to be held in 2017.
India and Franceon 23 September 2016 inked the 7.8-billion Euro deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. As per the deal, the aircraft will be equipped with latest missiles and weapon system like Meteor and Scalp.
Indian Air Force on 23 September 2016 successfully fired the recently acquired long range air-to-air MICAmissile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
The Union Health Ministry has decided to launch Mission Parivar Vikasin 145 High Focus districts in seven states for improved family planning services. The Mission will be implemented in all the 145 districts at one go.
India's High Commissioner to Britain Navtej Sarna was on Thursday appointed as the next Ambassador to the US as that country prepares for a presidential transition.
Senior IAS officer Arun Goyal has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.
Justice Girish Chandra Gupta on 22 September 2016 was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
Monika Kapil Mohta was on 17 September 2016 appointed as the India's Ambassador to Sweden.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on 25 September 2016 became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets, reaching the milestone in his 37th Test.
International Day of Peace was observed across the world on 21 September 2016.
Finance/Industry/Banking –
RBI approves Rs 26,000 crore CCL for paddy procurement in Punjab
The Reserve Bank has given approval to Rs 26,000-crore cash credit limit (CCL) for purchasing paddy in poll-bound Punjab, which came as a relief for SAD-BJP combine that struggled hard in the past for release of funds to buy foodgrain.
"RBI has given its approval for the Rs 26,000 crore of CCL for procuring paddy from Punjab," Punjab Mandi Board Vice-Chairman Ravinder Singh Cheema said on Monday.
Paddy procurement in Punjab will commence from October 1 and the state is expecting procurement of 150 lakh tonne of crop from the state.
BOI sells 18% stake in insurance JV to partner Dai-ichi Life
State-owned Bank of India (BOI) has sold 18 per cent stake in the insurance joint venture (JV) Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company (SUD) to its Japanese partner.
The shareholding of DILIC will be 44 per cent up from 26 per cent upon completion of the transaction after receiving necessary statutory/regulatory approvals.
BOI said the transaction was completed on Monday.
With this, the shareholding of BOI has come down to 30 per cent from 48 per cent in SUD. While, Union Bank of India will continue to hold 26 per cent.
SUD was incorporated in 2007 as a JV among Bank of India, Union Bank of India and DILIC to undertake life insurance business in India.
AirAsia India ties up with Reliance General Insurance
No-frills carrier AirAsia India has partnered with Reliance General Insurance for providing travel insurance to its flyers.
Under the partnership, 'Reliance Inland Travel Care Policy' will be offered to passengers of AirAsia India.
The policy will cover "trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, missed flight connection, damage or total loss of checked-in baggage and hospitalisation due to accident," the airline said in a release today.
It will be priced at a premium of Rs 149 for 30 days, Rs 279 for 60 days and Rs 399 for 90 days.
Stayzilla inks pact with Gujarat Tourism to encourage homestays
Online aggregator of homestays Stayzilla.com has signed an MoU with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) to jointly promote and market homestays and alternate stays in Gujarat.
Homestay is a stay option wherein guests (travellers) can rent a room in the home of a local family (host) or the entire house.
Under this agreement, Stayzilla and Gujarat Tourism will share the current base of homestays on each other’s digital platforms to bring more awareness on homestays in Gujarat.
Stayzilla will also aid verification procedures and jointly promote the concept of homestays in the State. All homestays registered with TCGL will receive technological and operational support to run.
L&T bags 100 million dollar order from Vietnam Border Guard
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has landed a 99.7-million dollar (around 660 crore rupees) contract from Vietnam Border Guard to design, construct and supply high-speed patrol vessels. The contract provides for supply of 12 vessels in next 30 months.
As per the contract, L&T will also transfer design and technology along with supply of equipment and material kits for construction of follow-on vessels to a Vietnam shipyard.
These high-speed patrol vessels will be built for controlling and protecting sea security and sovereignty, detecting illegal activities such as smuggling, and undertaking search and rescue missions.
Constructed of aluminum alloy, these vessels will be about 35 meter long and clock a speed of 35 knots with navigation and surveillance equipment and self-defence capabilities on board.
IOCL, GAIL sign MoU for taking equity stake in Dhamra LNG terminal
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited on 21 September 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited (DLTPL) for taking equity in the 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification Terminal.
The Dhamra LNG terminal is being built by Adani Enterprises Ltd at Dhamra Port, Odisha.
Highlights of the MoU
As per the MoU, DLTPL shall be an equal Joint Venture of Indian Oil and GAIL on one hand and Adani Group on the other.
Indian Oil and GAIL will acquire 39 percent and 11 percent equity respectively in DLTPL, with the balance 50 percent stake being held by Adani group.
CCEA approves 5176 crore rupees Capital Grant for GAIL pipeline project
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 21 September 2016 approved the partial capital grant of 5176 crore rupees to GAIL (India) Limited for development of 2539 km long Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project.
This grant is 40 percent of the total estimated capital cost of 12940 crore rupees.
Union Cabinet approves Winding up of Hindustan Diamond Company Private Limited
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for initiating the process of winding up of Hindustan Diamond Company Private Limited (HDCPL). HDCPL is 50:50 joint venture of the Union Government and De Beers Centenary Mauritius Limited (DBCML).
The winding up of HDCPL is not likely to affect supply of rough diamonds to Indian diamantaires because the Indian diamond industry has grown in all these years. At present, India is a house of top diamond producers.
Besides, the Special Notified Zone (SNZ) at Bharat Diamond Bourse, Mumbai established in 2015 also enables the smaller Indian players to have a direct access to the supply of rough diamond.
Union Cabinet approves merging of Rail budget with Union Budget
The Union Cabinet on 21 September 2016 approved merger of Rail budget with Union Budget. It also decided to advance the date of presentation of the annual budget from the last day of February to start of February.
In addition, it also decided to merge the Plan and the Non-Plan classification in the Budget and Accounts. All these changes will be put into effect simultaneously from the Budget 2017-18.
The arrangements for merger of Railway budget with the General budget have been approved by the Cabinet with the following administrative and financial arrangements-
The Railways will continue to maintain its distinct entity -as a departmentally run commercial undertaking as at present
Railways will retain their functional autonomy and delegation of financial powers etc. as per the existing guidelines
The existing financial arrangements will continue wherein Railways will meet all their revenue expenditure, including ordinary working expenses, pay and allowances and pensions etc. from their revenue receipts;
The Capital at charge of the Railways estimated at 2.27 lakh crore rupees on which annual dividend is paid by the Railways will be wiped off. Consequently, there will be no dividend liability for Railways from 2017-18 and Ministry of Railways will get Gross Budgetary support. This will also save Railways from the liability of payment of approximately 9700 crore rupees annual dividend to the Government of India.
The decision scraps over nine-decade old tradition of having a separate Railway Budget. The presentation of separate Railway budget started in the year 1924, and has continued after independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions.
Ola ties-up with Yatra for Cab Booking Interface Integration
Transportation app Ola on 20 September 2016 tied-up with Yatra.Com for Cab Booking Interface Integration. It has integrated its application interface on Yatra.com.
Through this integration, users will be able to book a ride directly through Yatra.Com's app without having the Ola application installed on their devices.
It will also give customers the access to availability, booking, estimation and tracking across categories, directly on the Yatra app.
Ola has also opened up its Application Programming Interface (API) to other apps like Makemytrip, Oyo Rooms and others to extend its mobility offerings to a larger user base.
Lists & Indexes –
Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Report released: India stands at 112th spot on WEF Index
India's Centre for Civil Society in collaboration with Canada's Fraser Institute on 15 September 2016 released the Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Annual Report.
The report is based on data from 2014 and measures the World Economic Freedom (WEF) Index by analysing the policies and institutions of 159 countries and territories.
Highlights of the Index
Hong Kong topped the index followed by Singapore and New Zealand at second and third position.
The other top 10 countries in the Index are Switzerland, Canada, Georgia, Ireland, Mauritius, the UAE, Australia and the UK.
The 10 lowest-ranked countries are: Iran, Algeria, Chad, Guinea, Angola, Central African Republic, Argentina, Republic of Congo, Libya and lastly Venezuela.
Other notable countries are- the United States (16), Germany (30), Japan (40), France (57) and Russia (102).
The economic freedom has increased throughout the world during the past three decades. Between 1985 and 2014, economic freedom among high-income countries rose from 6.9 to 7.7 points.
India's Position in World Economic Freedom (WEF) Index
India has slipped 10 positions and fetched 112th spot among all 159 countries in the Index.
It ranks behind Bhutan (78), Nepal (108) and Sri Lanka (111) but stood higher than China (113), Bangladesh (121) and Pakistan (133) in the Index.
India has fared badly in all categories i.e. legal system and property rights (86), sound money (130), freedom to trade internationally (144) and regulation (132) except the size of the government (8).
India –
ISRO launched 8 satellites in two different Orbits
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 26 September 2016 successfully launched eight satellites in two different orbits in a single mission. These satellites were launched with the PSLV C35 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta.
The satellites that was carried into space include the primary payload SCATSAT-1 of India, weighing 371 kg, and seven other customer payloads (five foreign and two domestic) together weighing 304 kg during lift off. The weather satellite SCATSAT-1 will be hurled into a polar sun synchronous orbit of 730 kilometer height.
The other seven satellites that will be injected into a different orbit as compared to the principal payload are
Three smaller payloads from Algeria: Alsat-1B 103 kg, Alsat-2B 110 kg and Alsat Nano 7 kg. They are meant for earth observation, remote sensing and technology demonstration.
One from US: Pathfinder-1 of 44 kg. It is a high resolution imaging microsatellite and is owned by BlackSky.
One from Canada: NLS-19 of 8 kg developed at University of Toronto, Canada. It is a nano-satellite to experiment reduction of space debris.
The other two satellites are from India and they are
Pratham: A student-satellite of the IIT, Bombay. It would estimate the total electron count with a resolution of 1km x 1km location grid.
PISAT (पैसेट): It is developed by a consortium-led by the PES University in Bengaluru. It would explore remote sensing applications.
Tamil Film Visaranai is India’s official entry for 2017 Oscar
Visaranai, a Tamil film directed by Vetrimaran and produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films, has been selected as India's entry in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards (Oscars) to be held in 2017.
The national award-winning film documents four migrant workers who suffer police brutuality and corruption after being jailed on false charges.
The film is based on true events recorded in novel Lock Up written by M Chandrakumar, an auto rickshaw driver from Coimbatore.
India, France inked deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets
India and France on 23 September 2016 inked the 7.8-billion Euro deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. As per the deal, the aircraft will be equipped with latest missiles and weapon system like Meteor and Scalp.
The 7.8 billion Euro deal is crucial for the Indian Air Force and is expected to give India the dominant status in the air. The deal was signed in New Delhi by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.
The features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon is its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kilometre.
During the Kargil war, India had used a BVR having 50 kilometre range. The delivery of this aircraft will start in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is inked.
IAF successfully fired long range air-to-air MICA missile from Mirage-2000 combat aircraft
Indian Air Force on 23 September 2016 successfully fired the recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA missile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
A Defence Ministry release said in New Delhi that the missile achieved a direct hit on a target which was much smaller than an actual aircraft and flying at a low altitude.
The release said, with the success of this mission by 'Tigers', the first squadron of the force, IAF has become one of the few air forces in the world with the capability of such beyond visual range air-to-air missile.
Mission Parivar Vikas to be launched in seven states for improved family planning services
The Union Health Ministry has decided to launch Mission Parivar Vikas in 145 High Focus districts in seven states for improved family planning services. The Mission will be implemented in all the 145 districts at one go.
Its main objective is to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework.
These districts having the highest total fertility rates are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. These states constitute 44 percent of the country’s population.
PM approves constitution of two committees for birth centenary of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 September 2016 approved the constitution of two committees for the commemoration of the birth centenary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.
Modi will head the 149 member National Committee while Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the 23 member Executive Committee.
Former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and H.D. Deve Gowda, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar, former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and BJP President Amit Shah are the members of National Committee.
Besides, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, Film Director Chandraprakash Dwivedi, former Hockey player Dhanraj Pillai, former Chief Justice R C Lahoti and Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap will have also been included in the National Committee among others. The committee includes several Governors, Chief Ministers, Scientists, Journalists, Academicians, Social Workers and Spiritual Leaders.
IWAI signs contract with DST, Germany for designing Special Vessels for NW-1
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on 21 September 2016 signed a contract with M/s DST, Germany to design vessels, especially suited to navigate the 1620 km stretch of National Waterway-1 (NW-1). Under the contract, DST will develop 150 to 200 low draft vessels.
The contract was signed with an aim to provide safe, environment friendly and economical mode of transportation through NW-1.
The objective of IWAI is to go along with nature and disturb the river minimally. The specially designed vessels will navigate on low drafts and will be of high carrying capacity, and most importantly, will be environment friendly.
Union Cabinet approves submarine optical fibre cable connectivity with Andaman & Nicobar Islands
The Union Cabinet on 21 September 2016 approved the provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Mainland (Chennai) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The project to be completed by December 2018 will connect the mainland Chennai with Port Blair & five other islands viz. Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Havelock, Kamorta and Great Nicobar.
The estimated cost for development of the project is 1102.38 crore rupees including operational expenses for 5 years.
It will equip Andaman & Nicobar Islands with appropriate bandwidth and telecom connectivity for implementation of e-Governance initiatives and establishment of enterprises & e-commerce facilities.
National Board for Wildlife approves first phase of Ken-Betwa project
The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) on 20 September 2016 approved 10000 crore rupees Ken-Betwa project, India’s first inter-State river interlinking project.
With this, India will have a river project will be located within a tiger reserve for the first time.
Appointments –
Navtej Sarna appointed new Indian Ambassador to US
India's High Commissioner to Britain Navtej Sarna was on Thursday appointed as the next Ambassador to the US as that country prepares for a presidential transition.
He takes charge after Arun Kumar Singh retired last month-end. Both Sarna and Singh are former Indian ambassadors to Israel, underlying the importance of a posting in Tel Aviv which is one of Washington's closest allies.
Sarna was moved to London as the High Commissioner barely eight months back.
Sarna has had a previous posting in Washington when he was Minister for Press, Information and Culture between 1998 and 2002.
Arun Goyal appointed Additional Secretary GST Council
Senior IAS officer Arun Goyal has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.
The Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is mandated to decide on tax rate, exempted goods and the threshold limit.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved Goyal's appointment against the newly created post, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training said.
Girish Chandra Gupta sworn in as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court
Justice Girish Chandra Gupta on 22 September 2016 was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi administered the oath of office to Justice Gupta at the Raj Bhavan.
Justice Gupta replaced Manjula Chellur, who has taken over as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
Justice Gupta was functioning as the acting Chief Justice of the high court since 22 August 2016 after Chellur's transfer.
Monika Kapil Mohta appointed as India's Ambassador to Sweden
Monika Kapil Mohta was on 17 September 2016 appointed as the India's Ambassador to Sweden.
She is presently the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and looks after India's relations with a large part of the Asia-Pacific region.
Mohta is an 1985 batch Indian Foreign Services officer. Previously, she has served as the ambassador of India to Poland and Lithuania.
Sports –
R Ashwin becomes fastest Indian & second overall to take 200 Test wickets
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on 25 September 2016 became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets, reaching the milestone in his 37th Test.
Ashwin trapped New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson in front to get to the 200-mark on day four of the first Test at the Green Park in Kanpur.
With this feat, Ashwin left behind the likes of Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis, who took 38 Tests to get to 200 wickets. South African pacer Dale Steyn took 39 Tests to reach the landmark.
Only leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett got to the double century of wickets faster than Ashwin as the Australian reached there in 36 Tests.
Alexander Zverev defeats Stan Wawrinka to win St Petersburg Open Men’s Singles title
German tennis player Alexander Zverev on 25 September 2016 defeated Stan Wawrinka to win his first tour title in the St. Petersburg Open final.
Zverev defeated Wawrinka by 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to win the title.
With this, Zverev becomes the first man to beat Wawrinka in a tour final since 2013. The loss also ends a 10-match unbeaten run for Wawrinka.
Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen win St Petersburg Open Men’s Doubles title
Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen on 25 September 2016 won the 2016 St Petersburg Open Men’s Doubles title.
The duo defeated Leander Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann to grab the title.
The Indo-German duo lost 6-4 3-6 10-12 in a match that lasted an hour and 19 minutes.
NITI Aayog chalks up plan to secure 50 medals in 2024 Olympics
NITI Aayog, the think tank of union government, has devised a short –term and medium-to-long term action plan to help India achieve 50 medals in 2024 summer Olympics.
In its action plan for revitalising sports in India, Niti Aayog said, India still does not have a conducive environment for sports to polish the talent of Indian sports persons and make them at par with their global counterparts.
Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova lifts Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in Tokyo
India's Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova on 24 September 2016 lifted the women’s doubles title in the Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy in Tokyo. In the final clash, the Indo-Czech pair defeated the unseeded Chinese pair of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang 6-1, 6-1.
This is Sania and Strycova's second title in three tournaments since they have paired together.
This is Sania and Strycova's second title in three tournaments since they have paired together. They won their first title in Cincinnati.
India's Velavan Senthilkumar wins U-19 Asian Junior Individual squash title in Kuala Lumpur
India's Velavan Senthilkumar on 24 September 2016 bagged the Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship title. In the final clash played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he defeated Jordan's Mohammad Al-Sarraj 12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
The Chennai player, who trains at the Indian Squash Academy, is the second Indian to win the title after Ravi Dixit in 2010.
From among 31 Indian players in various age categories at the tournament, there were two more medal winners in Tushar Shahani, who claimed silver in boys'U-17, and Yash Fadte who earned a bronze in boys' U-15 section.
MS Dhoni named captain of India's all time Test XI by Wisden
Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the third week of September 2016 was named the captain of the all-time India Test XI chosen by cricket magazine Wisden.
Dhoni has received the honours ahead of Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin.
The openers in the team are Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, followed by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, all-rounder Kapil Dev and Dhoni.
Veteran Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev along with Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan have been named as pacers, while legendary Bishen Singh Bedi, Harbhajan Singh and Team India coach Anil Kumble are the spinners. Azharuddin has been named as the 12th man.
Days –
International Day of Peace observed with theme Building Blocks for Peace
International Day of Peace was observed across the world on 21 September 2016. The 2016 theme for the day is The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.
The day is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access.
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
Books & Authors –
Democrats and Dissenters authored by Ramachandra Guha released
Book titled Democrats and Dissenters authored by Ramachandra Guha was released in September 2016. The book is a work of rigorous scholarship on topics of compelling contemporary interest, written with elegance and wit.
Democrats and Dissenters covers a wide range of themes: from the varying national projects of India’s neighbours to political debates within India itself, from the responsibilities of writers to the complex relationship between democracy and violence.
It has essays critically assessing the work of Amartya Sen and Eric Hobsbawm, essays on the tragic predicament of tribals in India—who are, as Guha demonstrates, far worse off than Dalits or Muslims, yet get a fraction of the attention—and on the peculiar absence of a tradition of conservative intellectuals in India.
Awards & Honors –
Sanjay Dutta, Ritesh Sarothiya selected for Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards
Two Indian forest officials, Sanjay Dutta and Ritesh Sarothiya, have been selected for the 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards. Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards honours individuals engaging in exemplary law enforcement actions to protect wildlife.
Sanjay Dutta is the range officer of Belakoba Forest Range Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Ritesh Sarothiya is the assistant conservator of Madhya Pradesh State Forest.
The award ceremony will be held on 3 October 2016 at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
2016 Right Livelihood Award announced
The 2016 Right Livelihood Award widely referred as the Alternative Nobel Prize was announced on 22 September 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. The laureates of this year’s Right Livelihood Award include
Syria Civil Defence (The White Helmets)
Egypt’s Mozn Hassan and Nazra for Feminist Studies
Russia’s Svetlana Gannushkina
Turkish daily Cumhuriyet
The laureates will share the 3.0-million-kronor (350000 dollar) prize.
The White Helmets of Syria was awarded for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war’. It is the first time that a Right Livelihood Award goes to a Laureate from Syria.
Adi Godrej conferred Clinton Global Citizen Award
Adi Godrej, the Chairman of Mumbai-based Godrej Group, on 19 September 2016 was conferred the 10th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Award for leadership in business and philanthropy.
The award recognises Godrej's leadership in transforming the intersection of business and philanthropy and making the Godrej Group a global example of what can be achieved through inclusive, sustainable business strategies.
The award was presented by Hikmet Ersek, CEO and President of Western Union, in the presence of former US President Bill Clinton.
Some of the other awardees for the year 2016 include Jon Bon Jovi for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation in the US, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Hawa Abdi of Somalia.
Aung San Suu Kyi honoured as 2016 Humanitarian of the Year by Harvard Foundation
Nobel laureate and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on 15 September 2016 honoured as the 2016 Humanitarian of the Year by the students and faculty at the Harv