Chronicle November 2018

NEWS NOTES

Tenzing Norgay Award

·         The all-women crew of INSV Tarini has been bestowed with the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award for sailing across the world in eight months.

·         The award is the highest national recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of adventure.

 

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

·         Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the Maldives' bitterly fought presidential election with 58.3 per cent of the popular vote.

·         Results released by the Elections Commission showed Mr. Solih securing 133,808 votes compared to the 95,526 for incumbent Abdulla Yameen.

Jack Ma

·         Jack Ma, the charismatic co-founder of China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, will step down as chairman in exactly one year on Sept.10, 2019.

·         Current Alibaba Chief Chief Executive Daniel Zhang will replace him as chairman.

·         Jack Ma, who co-founded Alibaba in 1999, is one of China's richest people with a net worth of $36.6 billion (28.3 billion pounds), according to Forbes.

·         The company has grown to have more than 66,000 full-time employees and a market value of some $420 billion.

 

Bimal Jalan

·         The government has constituted a panel under former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan to select the next chief economic adviser (CEA) in the finance ministry.

·         Apart from Mr. Bimal Jalan, secretary of the department of personnel and training Mr. C. Chandramouli and economic affairs secretary Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg will be members of the panel which will vet the applications received and conduct the interviews.

 

Varun Dhawan & Anushka Sharma

·         Bollywood stars – Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission.

·         The duo, through their film Sui Dhaga – Made in India, are saluting India's entrepreneurs and skilled workforce, especially homegrown artisans, craftspeople and weavers who are making the country proud the world over.

 

Vikram Misri

·         Senior diplomat Vikram Misri has been appointed as India's next ambassador to China.

·         He will replace Gautam Bambawale.

 

KN Vyas

·         Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas, director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), was appointed as the secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and chairperson, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), on 18^th September, 2018.

 

India's 1^st Corn Festival

·         The first corn festival of the country was held recently in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh.

 

PM Inaugurates Odisha's Jharsuguda Airport

·         Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 22 inaugurated a new airport at Jharsuguda, which will attract investors to the mineral-rich area and act as a lifeline in the western region of Odisha.

·         The new airport has been named after freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai.

·         The Jharsuguda airport has been developed by the Airports Authority of India in collaboration with the Odisha government at an estimated cost of Rs 210 crore, with a contribution of Rs 75 crore from the state. The airport has been developed under the Centre's UDAN scheme.

 

Sikkim Gets its First Airport

·         Sikkim's first airport, the Pakyong Airport, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 24^th September.

 

India its 1^st Rail University

·         On September 5, to mark Teachers' Day, India's first railway university was opened in Gujarat's Vadodara.

 

Lokpal Search Committee

·         The government of India has set up an eight-member Lokpal Search Committee under the Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.

·         Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash, former SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya and Justice Sukha Ram Singh Yadav among others will be members in the search panel.

·         The Committee will recommend the names for the Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal to the Lokpal Selection Committee.

 

World Hindu Congress

·         The three-day World Hindu Congress (WHC) organised by Sangh Parivar affiliates concluded on September 9.

·         WHC 2018 was attended by 2,500 Hindus from 60 countries. It was graced by 220 speakers, including several high achievers and experts from the world of economy, education politics, social work, media, and blessed by revered spiritual & religious heads.

·         It was a tribute to the 125^th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic address to the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago.

·         The theme of WHC 2018 was "Suman-trite Suvikrante- Think Collectively, Achieve Valiantly."

 

India's 1^st Global Mobility Summit

·         MOVE: Global Mobility Summit, India's first global mobility summit was held in New Delhi from 7^th and 8^th September, 2018.