Union Cabinet approved the Visa Waiver Agreements with Poland, Slovenia and Lithuania
The Union Cabinet on 7 November 2013 approved the visa waiver agreements with Poland, Slovenia and Lithuania. This move will help the Indians with diplomatic passports to visit the three countries. The agreements would be signed very soon.
The CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) cleared a proposal to disinvest 17 percent of paid up capital for Follow on Public Offering (FPO) of the state owned power grid corporation of India. As per the Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, 13 percent of fresh equity by the Public Sector Company and 4 percent stake sale by the government includes under the FPO.
A similar agreement was cleared with Cuba in first week of November 2013.By now India has similar agreements with about 50 countries that include Japan, Russia and Israe
Vice President Released a Book on India’s Nuclear Energy Programme
The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled India’s Nuclear Energy Programme: Future Plans, Prospects and Concerns at a function organized by Indian National Science Academy (INSA) on 7 November 2013. The book is edited by Prof. R. Rajaraman.
It is important to note that at present, the nuclear energy is contributing to a very small segment and by 2032; it will be around 10 percent. The book is aimed at creating the public opinion on nuclear energy.
The book contains state-of-the art discussions by top experts of a whole range of diverse issues that constitute this complex subject. It brings together expert contributions both from apex leaders of the Indian nuclear programme and from those who have serious reservations about the programme.
India to host Men's Hockey World Cup in 2018
India was selected by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on 7 November 2013 to host the Men’s World Cup of Hockey in 2018. The finals will be played from 1 to 16 December 2018. Also, England will host the Women’s World Cup of hockey from 7-21 July, 2018. This was announced by Leandro Negre, the President of FIH at Lausanne during the special ceremony.
Hockey's World Cup is held every four years and is second only to the Olympics in significance.
India hosted the world cup in 2010 at New Delhi. The 2014 edition of Hockey World Cup would be played in The Hague, Netherlands.
Competition Commission of India Imposed Penalty on Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association
Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed the penalty of 41393 Rupees on Tamil Nadu Film Exhibitors’ Association (TNFEA) (now known as Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association). The penalty was imposed after the information filed by Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (RBEPL).
Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (RBEPL) alleged that Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association contravened the provisions of Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2002. RBEPL alleged that it was entitled to distribute a film titled Osthe in Tamil language that was a remake of Hindi film Dabang. However, TNFEA boycotted this film with an effort to secure a claim of its members against a third party Sun TV.
CCI in its investigation concluded that the decisions and conduct of TNFEA in respect of the boycott against film Osthe and other films dealt by Sun TV were in contravention of the provisions of Section 3(3) (b).
Therefore, the penalty of 41393 Rupees was imposed at the rate of 10 percent of the average turnover of the Association for the relevant last three years. The penalty should be deposited within 60 days of receipt of the order of penalty. At the same time, CCI also directed TNFEA to cease and desist from indulging in such anti-competitive conduct in future.
About the Competition Act, 2002
• The Competition Act, 2002 was passed by the Parliament in the year 2002, to which the President accorded assent in January, 2003. It was subsequently amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007.
• In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal were established.
• The Competition Commission of India is fully functional body with a Chairperson and six members.
• The provisions of the Competition Act relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position were notified on 20 May 2009.
Exhibition Titled Czech Castles Inaugurated At the Red Fort, Delhi
The Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch along with Jan Kohout, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Jiri Balvin, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, on 7 November 2013 jointly inaugurated an exhibition titled Czech Castles.
It is for the first time that this exhibition has been organised in India in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India by the National Museum of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Czech Republic, New Delhi.
It is important to note that a cultural agreement was signed between India and Czech Republic in the year 1959. At the occasion of inauguration of the exhibition, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the ASI and the National Museum of the Czech Republic at the Red Fort for promotion of cultural exchange and bilateral cooperation. The MoU will form the basis for more active cooperation between the two institutes.
About the Czech Castles Exhibition
• The Czech Castle architecture is an important part of the cultural heritage of the Czech Republic.
• The Exhibition presents a selection of 37 most interesting castles and chateaux of Bohemia and Moravia, two of the historic areas that make up the Czech state.
• The criterion for the selection of the localities has been their historical significance as well as their architectural, artistic, and historical value.
• The exhibition is accompanied by rich cultural program consisting of film shows, art exhibitions, music presentations and other events that will together celebrate the Czech-India Cultural Year 2014.
• The Exhibition will stay at the Red Fort, Delhi till January 2014 and then tour various other cities of India.
• After Delhi, the exhibition will be presented in Leh (Leh Palace, June-July 2014), Kolkata (Currency Building September – October 2014), Mumbai (Nehru Science Centre, November 2014) and Goa –Panaji (Kala Academy, December 2014 – January 2015).
Engineers to attempt extraction of fuel rods from the wrecked reactor at Fukushima
Engineers in Japan on 7 November 2013 prepared to extract the first of more than 1000 nuclear fuel rods from one of the wrecked reactor of Fukushima nuclear power station. Being risky, the process will be taken as a step towards stabilizing the site. The fuel rods in the unit 4, storage pool is in the precarious stage.
In March 2011, the building as damaged badly due to the Great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The work of removal of the rods to a safe place would become possible after repair work and planning will be done. The repairing work can take more than a month.
Ministry for I & B Instituted New Centenary Award to Honour Contribution to Indian Cinema
The Ministry for Information & Broadcasting on 7 November 2013 announced the institution of a special award in the series of initiatives undertaken to commemorate the 100 years of Indian Cinema. The Centenary award would be given every year to an outstanding Indian film personality- A Film Icon, for his/her contribution to Indian Cinema at IFFI.
About the Centenary Award
• The award reiterated the rich legacy of Indian Cinema where eminent personalities had contributed to its growth through different stages of its evolution.
• The award is the second in the series instituted by the Government to commemorate the centenary celebrations.
44th International Film Festival of India
• The 44th International Film Festival of India was also be inaugurated to celebrate the 100 years of Indian cinema. 44th IFFI opened on 11 October 2013 and will close on 30 November 2013.
• For the first time two International Film personalities, Susan Sarandon and acclaimed Iranian Filmmaker Majid Majidi shared the stage at the opening ceremony.
• The 44th edition will also provide the platform to screen for the first time films on Nobel Prize winners, namely, Mandela, A long Walk to Freedom and Lech Walesa.
• For the first time, a film produced and directed by an Afghan Director would be screened.
• For the first time, a film on India’s great freedom struggle leader Basha Khan would be screened at the Festival.
• Acclaimed Hollywood Actress Michelle Yeoh would be the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony of the Festival.
• The festival would highlight for the first time Cinema from the North Eastern states of India.
Children’s Film Festival- Retrospective on Best Children’s Films in commemoration of 100 years to be screened
• The Children’s Film Festival is a unique one in various ways.
• It combines the traditional and modern aspects of film making on issues concerning children.
• For the first time a retrospective on the Best of Indian children’s Films, a specially curated package in commemoration of 100 years of Indian Cinema will be screened.
• The package would showcase 15 National Award winning and Classic Indian Children’s films.
• Special attention will be given to the animation section where 285 films have been received.
• For the first time, a separate category of Competitive Section for animation films has been introduced.
• For the Festival, a record number of entries, 123 in number, have been received for the “Little Director” Section, films made by children from India and around the world.
• For the first time, films had been sourced from prestigious International Children’s Film Festivals.
• The children’s film festival would have a country focus retrospective of Czech Films.
ISRO successfully raised Mars Orbiter Spacecraft's Orbit
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 7 November 2013 performed the first orbit raising manoeuvre of the Mars Orbiter spacecraft. The spacecraft was fired for 416 seconds by the command from the Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Peenya, Bangalore from the 440 Newton Liquid Engine of the spacecraft. With this engine firing, the spacecraft`s apogee (the farthest point to Earth) was raised to 28825 km, while its perigee (nearest point to Earth) was at 252 km. Earlier, Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was launched on 5 November 2013.
A series of five orbit raising operations during the Mars mission will be performed, of which the second and third raising operations would be performed on 8 November 2013 to apogee 40000 and 71650. The fourth and fifth raising to apogee of one lakh km and 1.92 lakh km will be performed on November 11 and 16 November 2013. After the operations will be completed, the mission is expected to take on the crucial event of the trans-mars injection on 1 December 2013.
The Mangalayaan, the Mars orbiter of 1350 kilogram was successfully injected by ISRO’s PSLV-C25 into the orbit around Earth in 44 minutes after launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on 7 November 2013.
The International Designator or the NSSDC ID of India's Mars mission is 2013-060A.
International Designator
The International Designator is the international naming convention for satellites. The name consists of launch year, a 3-digit incrementing launch number of the year and up to 3 letter code that represents the sequential identifier of a piece in a launch. It’s also known as COSPAR designation and in the United States as NSSDC ID.
National Conference on Intellectual Disability Inaugurated
The Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Kumari Selja inaugurated the National Conference on Intellectual Disability, jointly organised by the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and National Institute for Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad, on 7 November 2013.
About the National Conference on Intellectual Disability
• The National Conference on Intellectual Disability has special relevance in the present context because of the complex nature of problems. Mental retardation is a complex condition which affects the development of cognitive functions, motor functions, social and communication skills of the Individual.
• The findings of the conference would be useful for ensuring speedy empowerment of persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
• This is the first such conference and the Department has planned similar national level conferences of National Institutes to address the issues relating to the sector.
Some Important Facts
• It is important to note that as per 2001 Census out of the total number of persons with disabilities of about 2.19 crores, the number of persons with mental disabilities was about 23 lakhs.
• The causative factors of intellectual disabilities have their influence in the pre-conceptual, pre-natal, peri-natal and post-natal phases of the life cycle of a child. Intellectual disability can also occur due to hereditary reasons.
• India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
About the National Institute for Mentally Handicapped
• The National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH), Secunderabad was established in the year 1984.
• The primary objective of NIHM is to cater to the needs of Persons with Mental Retardation.
• NIMH has facilities for providing comprehensive therapeutic services for children with intellectual disabilities right from infancy stage to any age level.
• In order to meet the demand for the trained professionals NIMH is involved in manpower development by conducting long term academic programs from Diploma to M.Phil level.
• NIMH is also involved in research and developmental activities.
• The results of the research and developmental activities are disseminated through their published books, pamphlets, leaflets, videos, posters and radio-spots.
Agni-1 missile test fired from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast
India successfully test fired the indigenous Agni-1 missile from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on 8 November 2013. The user trial of the 12 ton bomb was conducted from Chandipur in Balasore district of Odisha.
The surface to surface missile Agni-1 was launched from a mobile launcher. It can travel a distance of 700 kilometers. The 15 meter long missile can carry a payload of 1000 kilogram. It has a specialized navigation system that ensures it to reach the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
Agni-I was developed by the advance systems laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of the DRDO and was collaborated with the Defence Research Development Laboratory and the Research Centre Imarat and integrated by the Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.
The sophisticated Agni-1 was for the last time was successfully carried out on 12 December 2012 from the same place.
13th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association was held in Australia
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held its 13th Council of Ministers meeting in Perth, Australia on 1 November 2013. On the occasion, India handed over the chair of the IORA to Australia. India chaired the IORA, since 2011.
The Perth reviewed the process made by IORA since 2012 meeting in Gurgaon, India. The future directions and initiatives to advance were considered then for the interests of the IORA and its members.
The thirteenth Council of Ministers' Meeting was visited by the member states Foreign Ministers namely Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Perth Principles
• Reiterating that IORA is the apex pan-regional organisation for the Indian Ocean.
• Recalling the six priority areas of cooperation agreed at the eleventh COMM (Council of Ministers' Meeting) in Bengaluru, namely: Maritime Safety and Security; Trade and Investment Facilitation; Fisheries Management; Disaster Risk Management; Academic and Science and Technology Cooperation; and Tourism and Cultural Exchanges.
• Recalling Also our desire to promote the sustainable growth and balanced development of the Indian Ocean region and IORA Member States, and to create common ground for regional economic cooperation.
• Committed to promoting cooperation and collaboration between IORA and other Indian Ocean regional stakeholders including Dialogue Partner States and other regional and international forums.
• Reaffirming our commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, to the Charter of IORA, and to the applicable principles of international law.
• Reaffirming Also our commitment to 'The Future We Want', as adopted at the 2012 United Nation as Conference on Sustainable Development, and to the protection, restoration, health, productivity and resilience of the Indian Ocean and its resources.
• Recognising that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources and plays a vital role in maintaining peaceful cooperation and stability across the Indian Ocean.
About the IORA
The IOR-ARC was formally launched at the first Ministerial Meeting in Mauritius on 6 – 7 March 1997. This meeting adopted the IOR-ARC Charter, and determined a number of administrative and procedural matters.
The apex body of the IOR-ARC is the Council of (Foreign) Ministers (COM). The meeting of the COM is preceded by the meetings of the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG), Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI), and the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO). The Coordinating Secretariat of IOR-ARC is located at Ebène, Mauritius. Apart from a Secretary-General, its present staff strength at the executive level includes two Directors and eight local staff.
IORA was formerly known as IOR-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation).
Members of IORA (IOR-ARC)
The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), initially known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, is an International/Diplomatic Organization with 20 Member States namely Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Whereas the China, Egypt, France, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States of America are Dialogue Partners of the IOR-ARC. The Indian Ocean Tourism Organisation (IOTO) and Indian Ocean Research Group (IORG) have been granted Observer Status.
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