Showing posts with label Current Affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Current Affairs. Show all posts

Saturday, 16 July 2016

Senior IPS officer A K Patnaik appointed new CEO of NATGRID

senior IPS officer A K Patnaik, who is son-in-law of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on July 13, 2016 has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). He will continue to hold this post till his superannuation in 2018.
Patnaik’s appointment was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The post had been lying vacant since the contract of Raghu Raman, the first CEO of Natgrid, was not renewed by the NDA government. The post was under the additional charge of former Special Secretary Ashok Prasad till January 2016. 
Patnaik is a 1983-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, currently posted as Additional Director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
He was awarded special duty medal in 1994, police medal in 1999 and President’s police medal in 2007.
About National Intelligence grid (NATGRID)-
NATGRID is an intelligence sharing network that collates data from the standalone databases of the various agencies and ministries of the Indian government. It is a counter terrorism measure that collects and collates a host of information from government databases including tax and bank account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records and itineraries of rail and air travel. This combined data will be made available to 11 central agencies, which are: Research and Analysis Wing, theIntelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Financial intelligence unit,Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Enforcement Directorate,Narcotics Control Bureau, Central Board of Excise and Customs and the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence.
Source: 
16 Jul, 2016

Cabinet approves the Revised Cost Estimate of Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project in Bhutan

The Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 13, 2016 has given its approval for Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of Rs 7,290.62 crore for the 1,020 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project (HEP) in Bhutan.
The Hydroelectric project will provide surplus power to India and thus augment power availability in the country and would enable project works to proceed smoothly without interruption. The total cost escalation for the project, at this stage, is Rs 3,512.82 crore. 
Background-
The factors behind cost escalation are; inflation from March 2009 to March 2015, change in surface power house to underground power house, increase in capacity from 990 MW to 1020 MW, additional requirements due to Bhutan’s National Transmission Grid Master Plan and adverse geological condition encountered during the project.
The bilateral agreement to execute the Punatsangchhu-II HEP was signed between India and Bhutan in April, 2010 at the approved cost of Rs 3777.8 crore (March 2009 price level) with funding by Government of India as 30% grant and 70% loan at 10% annual interest to be paid back in thirty equated semi-annual instalments.
Source: pib.nic.in
15 Jul, 2016

Theresa May becomes UK’s second female Prime Minister

Queen Elizabeth-II appointed Conservative party leader, Theresa May as the 76th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) on July 13, 2016. With this, she became the second woman prime minister of Britain, after ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher (in office from 1979-1990).
She succeeds David Cameron, who resigned from the post on the same day following Brexit vote. Cameron tendered his resignation to the Queen. Britons on June 22, 2016 voted to exit the European Union.
About Theresa May-
·  Theresa May has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidenhead since 1997.
·  Before entering front-line politics, she has worked for the Bank of England, and from 1985 until 1997 at the Association for Payment Clearing Services.
·  She had served as a councillor for the London Borough of Merton's Durnsford Ward.
·  On May 12, 2010, when Theresa May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of his first Cabinet.
·  She is also a member of the National Security Council. She is the longest-serving Home Secretary for over 60 years.

Harika Dronavalli wins Fide Women’s Grand Prix trophy in China

india's Grand Master Harika Dronavalli on July 14, 2016 has won the Fide Women’s Grand Prix trophy in Chendu, China. This was the first Grand Prix Chess title for the Grand Master from Guntur.
She won this title by defeating Russia’s Olga Girya.
Harika finished on 7 points in the round robin tournament featuring the world’s top 12 players to be crowned the champion.
Other India Grand Master Koneru Humpy too rounded off her campaign with a victory to also finish on 7 points. But Harika was declared winner for finishing with a better tie-break record in the tournament.

Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi appointed as Chairman of CBSE

senior IAS officer Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi on July 14, 2016 has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for a period of five years. The post of the CBSE chairman had been lying vacant since December 2014.
Chaturvedi appointment was made by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi is a 1987- batch IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre. Chaturvedi has wide-ranging experience in the revenue and commerce departments. But he has never worked in the education sector. 
About Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-
The Central Board of Secondary Education is a Board of Education for public and private schools, under the Union Government of India. CBSE affiliates all Kendriya Vidyalayas, all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, private schools and most of the schools approved by central government of India. It conducts the final examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 every year in the month of March. The results are announced by the end of May.

Ravinder Pal Singh appointed as new CIO of Vistara

Ravinder Pal Singh on July 14, 2016 has been named the new chief information officer of Vistara airlines. He will be in charge of the full-service carrier’s IT as well as innovation functions.
He would consolidate, identify, acquire, evaluate and incubate the right technology to support the airline’s IT and digital platforms. Vistara – a joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines – has a fleet of 11 aircraft.
Besides, Singh would be responsible to induce innovation as core to Vistara’s culture, thereby creating communities and co-creation projects to realise ideas as true business differentiators.
Earlier, Singh was associated with companies like Microsoft, Accenture and Wipro. He also holds several technology patents.

World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) 2016 observed globally

The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed globally on July 15, 2016 with the theme 'Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment'.
On the occasion, United Nations had organised the event facilitated by the UN Envoy on Youth Ahmad Alhendawi. It was co-organized with the Permanent Missions of Sri Lanka and Portugal to the UN along wth UNESCO and the International Labour Organization (ILO). 
The day is observed to create more awareness and a discussion on training and the development of skills for the youth of today, in hopes of creating a better opportunity for them when it comes to employment.
Observances in India-
·  The competition has been organised to commemorate Ministry of Skill Development's first anniversary on July 15, 2016.
·  President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first edition of "India Skills Competition" on the occasion of World Youth Skill Day.
·  National Skill Development Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 15, 2016 to create convergence across sectors and states in terms of skill training activities.
Background-
The World Youth Skills Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on November 11, 2014 to raise awareness about the importance of investing in youth skills development.