www.talentsprint.com 1st January 2016 India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear facilities India and Pakistan have exchanged the list of their nuclear installations and facilities under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations. This exchange is done on 1st of January every year between the two neighbouring countries that bars them from attacking each other‟s atomic facilities. This is the 25th consecutive exchange of such list between the two countries, the first one having taken place on 1 January 1992. Union inks Financing Agreement with World Bank to fund education of minorities The Union Government has signed a Financing Agreement of 50 million dollars with the World Bank for Nai Manzil Scheme- Education and Skills Training for Minorities. Under this agreement, the credit will be facilitated by the International Development Association (IDA), World Bank‟s concessionary lending arm. This credit will be in the form of loan which carries a maturity of 25 years, including a 5- year grace period. The loan funds will be used for interventions under this scheme improve the employability and performance of minority youth in the labour market. The total project size is 100 million dollars, out of which 50 million dollars will be available as IDA credit and the remaining balance funding from the Union Budget. Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com DAVA project bags 2015 eASIA award for trade facilitation The Drug Authentication and Verification Application (DAVA) project of The Department of Commerce has won the 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category. The award was announced by Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation (APCTF) and Tehran based (Iran) Electronic Business. The eASIA award is administered by AFACT which aims to development and promotion of trade facilitation, electronic business policies and activities in the Asia Pacific region. India’s Petronet LNG ink revised contract with RasGas of Qatar India‟s biggest state owned gas importer Petronet LNG has signed a revised contract with RasGas of Qatar to import gas at a significantly lower price than earlier. Under the new contract, Rasgas will supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Petronet at 6-7 dollar per million British thermal units (mmBtu) from January 1, 2016. It would supply to 7.5 million tonnes of LNG India until the long-term contract ending in April 2028 The new rate is sharply lower than 12-13 dollar per mmbtu agreed earlier and has been revised after falling global prices of oil and gas, saving consumers around Rs.4,000 crore. Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com Indian-origin cancer expert Harpal Singh Kumar knighted An Indian-origin cancer research expert Harpal Singh Kumar was honoured with a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer. Mr. Singh‟s name has appeared in the 2015 New Year‟s Honours list that includes several other Indian-origin individuals. Harpal Singh Kumar was born in India in 1965. He had founded Nexan Group, a venture capital-backed medical devices company in 1997. Later he had joined Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRTL) as chief executive in 2002 and was promoted as COO of Cancer Research UK in 2004. He is the chairman of the Board at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) and also chairman of the Cancer Outcomes Strategy Advisory Group (COSAG) in England. He has won the Mobil Prize, Metal Box Prize, and Hughes Prize. ||<><><>|| 2nd January 2016 Government forms panel to study wage structure of gramin dak sevaks The Union Government has constituted a committee to examine the wage structure, service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts (DoP). It is one member committee comprising of Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Services Board. The Committee will be assisted by Senior Administrative Grade Officer T.Q. Mohammad who will act as Secretary to the GDS Committee. Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com Censor Board chief Nihalani on revamp committee The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has constituted a committee headed by noted film- maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp the film certification nuances by Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC). The committee is tasked to suggest recommendations provide a holistic framework and interpretation of provisions of Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983. Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award Veteran South Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam was on 1 January 2016 conferred with the 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award. The prestigious award was conferred upon him by mathematician Manjul Bhargava at 89th annual conference of the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this, Subrahmanyam became seventh artist to be conferred with this award before completing 50 years of age including Ariyakudi Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, GN Balasubramaniam, ML Vasanthakumari and M Balamuralikrishna. Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com Veteran CPI leader AB Bardhan passes away Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, passed away in New Delhi. He was 91. A widely respected politician, his influence extended beyond electoral strength and geographical spread of the CPI, which he steered through highs and lows during the challenging era of coalition politics in the last two decades. He was CPI‟s general secretary for 16 years from 1996. Born on September 25, 1925, in Sylhet, now in Bangladesh, he embraced Communism at the age of 15 after he moved to Nagpur. He joined All India Students‟ Federation (AISF) at Nagpur University in 1940. ||<><><>|| 3rd January 2016 China creates 3 new army units to modernize military China has created three new military bodies as part of reforms to modernize its military the world's largest standing force and improve its fighting capacity. State television showed President Xi Jinping giving military flags to the leaders of the three new units a general command for the People's Liberation Army, a missile force and a strategic support force. At the ceremony, which took place Thursday, Xi and PLA officers and soldiers sang the national anthem. He has promulgated the idea of a "Chinese dream" involving "the great renewal of the Chinese nation" and sees a strong military as key to this. Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com PM’s inaugural address at 103rd session of Indian Science Congress Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi set the tone for the 103rd Indian Science Congress which commenced in Mysuru. India had made giant strides in science and said that India‟s success spans from the core of the tiny atom to the vast frontier of space and the country was once again turning towards scientists and innovators to realize the goals of economic welfare and development of 1.2 billion people and address problems plaguing India. India was witness to another revolution in the present times, one of empowerment and opportunities in India. Jayalalithaa launches ‘Amma seeds’ scheme for farmers Implementing an announcement made in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2014 for farmers‟ welfare, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has launched the scheme „Amma Seeds‟ which is aimed at providing quality seeds. She had proposed the scheme in 2014, saying quality, certified „Amma Seeds‟ would be available through „Amma Service Centres‟ across the state. Jayalalithaa, fondly addressed as Amma by her supporters, had earlier launched Amma Canteens providing subsidised food and Amma mineral water, among others. Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com President Mukerjee clears five legislation, gives more teeth to SC/ST Act A law enabling setting up of commercial benches in select high courts and another on arbitration for speedy settlement of high value business disputes are among five legislations which have got nod from President Pranab Mukherjee. Besides, a law for stringent action against those involved in crimes against persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has also got the assent from Mukherjee. Mukherjee gave nod to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act; the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act; the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act; The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act; and the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015. Corp Bank gets NPCI awards Corporation Bank has bagged three awards at the „National Payments Excellence Awards 2015‟ event recently. The function was organised by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The bank release that these awards were instituted for recognition of exceptional performance of member banks. Corporation Bank received the winner award jointly with Indian Bank for „Cheque Truncation System‟ under the mid-sized category. The bank also received two runner-up awards for National Financial Switch for its performance in acquirer transactions and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). Talentsprint©2015 www.talentsprint.com NABARD, NRSC sign MoU for web-based monitoring of watershed projects. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of watershed projects. The web- based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed Development (IGWDP) projects will happen in three states, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana.