India and the World
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1st Aug to 15 th Aug INDIA AND THE WORLD Indo-UK bilateral Air Exercise Indradhanush Indo-UK bilateral Air Exercise Indradhanush between Indian Air Force (IAF) and British Royal Air Forces (RAF) concluded successfully. It was held in Britain. Land Border Agreement between India and Bangladesh comes into effect 162 enclaves of India and Bangladesh were integrated with the main land with the execution of Land Border Agreement, 1974 between the two countries at midnight on 31 July 2015. According to the agreement, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves situated at Indian soil in Cooch behar District of West Bengal amalgamated with India, while 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladeshi territory integrated with Bangladesh. India foils Pangaea’s Patent bid on turmeric, pine bark and tea India foiled a British Company’s bid to patent the use of turmeric, pine bark and tea for treating hair loss and succeeded in protecting its traditional knowledge. The UK based company Pangaea Laboratories Limited had filed patent application at European Patent office in February 2011 on a medicinal composition containing turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss. India and Mozambique sign MoU India and Mozambique signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable Energy Sector. The agreement was signed during the official visit of Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique to India. Moreover, both nations also agreed to intensify cooperation in maritime security and ocean economy. India to boycott Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference India will boycott the 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, which was to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 30 September to 8 October 2015. The unanimous decision to boycott the meeting was taken after the conclusion of the meeting of the Speakers of all State Legislative Assemblies in New Delhi. The meeting was called to discuss the Pakistan's deliberate decision to not invite the Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Kavinder Gupta. India to set up Software Training Institute in Myanmar India and Myanmar inked an agreement to set up Centre of Excellence in Software Development and Training (CESDT) in Myanmar. The project will be set up with the financial support from ASEAN-India Cooperation fund and will be implemented by C-DAC. The project envisages setting up of a state of the art Information and Communication Technology Centre, imparting intensive teachers training, extending support for ICT curriculum development. World Bank loan for NCRMP-II Union Government and World Bank signed a USD 308.40 million credit agreement in support of the second phase of the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Program (NCRMP-II). The agreement was also signed by the state Governments of Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. 4th US - India Cyber Dialogue held US - India Cyber Dialogue 2015 was held at the US Department of State in Washington, DC. The dialogue was held with an aim to increase global cyber security and promote the digital economy. The Dialogue was led by the US Cyber security Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President Michael Daniel and by India's Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta. INTERNATIONAL UNGA reach consensus on new SDG The 193 member states of the United Nations reached agreement on a new Sustainable Development Agenda for the next 15 years. It calls for eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change. The draft agreement outlines 17 goals with 169 specific targets on issues ranging from ending poverty in all its forms everywhere to ensuring quality education and affordable and reliable energy. Egypt unveils Suez Canal expansion Egypt on unveiled a major expansion of the new Suez Canal. It was inaugurated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a ceremony held at port city of Ismailiya, located on west bank of canal. This new waterway is expected to boost traffic that passes through the canal. The project got completed in one-year span with an estimated cost of USD 8 billion. 70th Hiroshima Day observed 70th Hiroshima Day was observed on 6 August 2015. The day is observed to commemorate 6 August 1945, the day when an American Boeing B-29 Super fortress bomber, named the Enola Gay, dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meet held in Kuala Lumpur The 48th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Foreign Ministers’ meet was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The meet was held under the theme "Our People, Our Community, Our Vision", to create an ASEAN Community which is truly people-oriented and people-centered. Sino-Pak agreement on economic corridor China and Pakistan signed 20 agreements worth USD 1.6 billion to implement the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. These agreements were signed during the CPEC Forum that was held at Karamay city in Xinjiang province of China bordering. The CPEC connects Xinjiang Province of China with Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar Port and passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir. POLITY/ SC JUDGMENTS / COMMITTEES Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children 2015 comes into effect The new simplified “Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children 2015” came into effect from 1 August 2105. The new Guidelines will provide for more effective regulation for adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children and would bring more transparency and efficiency in the adoption system. Now it would become possible for Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) to track the status of their application. Historic Peace Pact with Naga Rebels Union Government signed a landmark peace accord with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Isak-Muivah (NSCN (I-M)), putting an end to almost two decades long pending peace talks. The signing of the pact is the end of over 80 rounds of negotiations that spanned 16 years with first breakthrough in 1997 when ceasefire agreement was sealed. Manipur passes Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015 Manipur Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015. The House also unanimously passed two amendment bills, namely the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015. Tripura passes a resolution against the death penalty Tripura legislative assembly passed a resolution against the death penalty. The resolution requested the Union government to amend the Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and replace it with life sentence unto death. The resolution was passed in the light of Yakub Memon’ shanging, the prime accused in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. AWARDS AND HONORS TN institutes Youth Award to honor Kalam The state government of Tamil Nadu instituted a youth award in the name of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The annual Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award will consist 8 gram gold, 5 laks rupees in cash and a citation. The award would be given from 2015 onwards on Independence Day (15 August) to a person from the state who works with exceptional merit in science, humanities and students welfare. Amalendu Krishna wins Ramanujan Prize 2015 Amalendu Krishna won the Ramanujan Prize for year 2015. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions in the area of algebraic cycles, algebraic K-theory and the theory of motives. Presently, Krishna is a mathematician professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. Goa Tourism Minister wins Travel Writers Award Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar received the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) - Safari India South Asia Travel Award 2015. Parulekar is the first tourism minister of Goa to receive this prestigious award. Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) was founded in 1998 at the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is a professional organization of travel writers. Dr. Moily conferred with 24th Saraswati Sammaan President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented the 24th Saraswati Sammaan for the year 2014 to Dr. M Veerappa Moily, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) in New Delhi for his poem Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam. Divided into five volumes, Ramayana Mahanveshanam was first published in 2007 in Kannada. Later the poem was translated into English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Kochi is the first Indian city to be a member WTCF Council Kochi became the first Indian city to be a member of Beijing headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council and join its league of leading tourism cities across the world. The WTCF, headquartered at Beijing, is a non-profit, non-governmental international organization voluntarily formed by tourist cities like Los Angeles, Berlin, Barcelona and others. Raghavendra Gadagkar Indian sociobiologist Raghavendra Gadagkar was awarded with Germany's highest civilian honour Cross of Order of the Merit at the German Consulate in Bengaluru. He was awarded for his contribution in the field of behavioural ecology and sociobiology and for strengthening research corporation between India and Germany. PAHAL enters Guinness Book of World Record Union Government’s ambitious Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh (PAHAL) scheme was acknowledged as the world’s largest cash transfer program (households) by the Guinness Book of World Records. The scheme was formally launched as Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG subsidy in 2013 in 291 districts under the aegis of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. ECONOMY AND BANKING SBI Life Insurance launches Smart Humsafar SBI Life Insurance launched Smart Humsafar, a unique plan that offers multiple benefits of savings and insurance cover for husband and wife under a single policy. Rail Links to North-East States inaugurated Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched new train services in the Northeast after the completion of North Lakhimpur-Murkongselek and Balipara-Bhalukpong sections into broad-gauge. He launched the service through video-conferencing from New Delhi. BUSINESS AND CORPORATES Airtel launches pan-India 4G services Bharti Airtel launched pan-India 4G high-speed data services.