Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in India on a three-day from Dec
11 to Dec 13 for firming up on India’s first bullet train and over
progress in the talks on a civil nuclear deal.
After the delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe both nations have inked 16
agreements.
Cancellation and Refund of Railway Tickets – New Rules
With effect from 12 November 2015, certain provisions of Railway
Passengers (Cancellation of tickets and refund of fare) Rules have been
amended and comprehensive Railway Passengers Rules 2015 have been
notified through Gazette Notification G.S.R. 836(E). dated 4 November
2015.
The information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in Rajya Sabha.
TAPI gas pipeline work instigated by Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan started work on its 1,814 Km natural gas pipeline to
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) project funded by Asian
Development Bank. It designed to reduce its dependence on gas sales to
Russia and China.
The ground-breaking ceremony took place at
city of Mary of Turkmenistan which was attended by Turkmenistan
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani,
Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and Indian Vice President Hamid
Ansari.
Project outlay – $10 bn
Completion time – December 2019
Leading partner – Turkmengaz
Haryana joins UDAY scheme for debt-laden discoms
Haryana became the 11th state to join UDAY scheme (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) for reviving debt- laden discoms.
Other states communicated in-principle approval to the Power
Ministry for joining the UDAY scheme includes – Chhattisgarh, Andhra
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
About UDAY
UDAY aims at reviving ailing state electricity boards and operational
efficiencies of power distribution companies. It envisages on reducing
interest burden, cost of power and AT&C losses.
The discoms will become sustainable to provide adequate and reliable power enabling 24×7 power supply.
The scheme provides that states would take over 75% debts of discoms as on September 30 in 2 years.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP 21 was held in
Paris, France from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st
yearly session of the Conference of the Parties with a proposal of
achieving zero GHG emissions growth by 2060-80.
The conference reached its objective for the first time to achieve a
global agreement onreduction of climate change in the Paris Agreement,
which was adopted with acclamation by nearly all states.
On the
sidelines of summit 189 parties had submitted their Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions (INDCs) on climate actions.
TAPI gas pipeline work instigated by Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan started work on its 1,814 Km natural gas pipeline to
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) project funded by Asian
Development Bank. It designed to reduce its dependence on gas sales to
Russia and China.
The ground-breaking ceremony took place at
city of Mary of Turkmenistan which was attended by Turkmenistan
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani,
Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and Indian Vice President Hamid
Ansari.
Project outlay – $10 bn
Completion time – December 2019
Leading partner – Turkmengaz
Gambia declares itself an Islamic Republic
Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh has declared the tiny West African
country an Islamic republic as because Islam is the majority religion of
its citizens and is an attempt to break away from the country’s
colonial past.
Rights of minorities
Rights of Gambia’s Christian community will be respected who make up about eight percent of the country’s population
There will be no mandates on dress.
Keys
Gambia is a popular beach destination for British tourists.
About 90 percent of Gambia’s 1.8 million people are Muslim.
The country gained independence from Britain in 1965.
Gambia Capital – Banjul
Gambia Currency – Gambian dalasi
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Etihad Airways wins world’s leading airline award
At the annual World Travel Awards Grand Finale gala ceremony 2015,
Etihad Airways has been awarded the World’s Leading Airline award for
the seventh consecutive year.
The company also bagged further two awards, World’s Leading First Class and the World’s Leading Cabin Crew.
About Etihad Airways:
Etihad Airways is the second-largest airline of the United Arab Emirates.
Headquarter – Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi
Establishment – 2003
Parent company – Etihad Aviation Group
Chairman – Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei
About World travel Awards
World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge excellence
across the tourism industry and is widely recognised as a hallmark of
ultimate quality.
The awards are decided through a global
vote by more than 500,000 travel professionals and high-end tourism
consumers from 171 countries.
APPOINTMENTS
First women councillors elected in “Conservative Kingdom”
A historic step for poll in which women can vote and be candidates,
female winners are declared across the Saudi Arabia where women are
banned from driving and face routine discrimination.
Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi was elected to the council of Madrakah, a region in the holy city of Mecca.
Rasha Hefzi, a prominent businesswoman who won a seat in Jeddah.
Municipal council elections indicated 17 female winners. These
included four in Jeddah, one near Mecca and others in Tabuk, Ahsaa and
Qatif.
Zensar Technologies names HCL Technologies’ Sandeep Kishore as CEO
Zensar Technologies names HCL Technologies’ Sandeep Kishore as CEOIT
Company Zensar Technologies announced appointment of Sandeep Kishore as
company’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. He will succeed
Ganesh Natarajan. Kishore will join Zensar on January 12, 2016. He will
be based in San Jose, California.
About Sandeep Kishore
Currently Mr. Kishore is HCL Technologies Corporate Vice President
and Global Head for Life Sciences & Health Care and Public Services
businesses.
An alumnus of IIT Bombay, he has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry.
Govt Appoints Justice L Narasimha Reddy to Head Judicial Committee on OROP
A five-member judicial commission with representatives from military
fraternity, the government appointed Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, former
Chief Justice of Patna High Court to head the one-man judicial
committee.
Committee for : To look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
The committee is as per the points of the notification issued by
the government on November 7 for implementing OROP. A statement issued
by the Defence Ministry.
The committee based in Delhi, will submit its recommendations within six months of the date of its constitution.
The committee was swiftly rejected by the veterans agitating over the issue.
O P Longia new national president of IIMM
Senior supply chain professional O P Longia elected as its new National
President of the Indian Institute of Materials Management
(IIMM).Ranbaxy was elected unopposed as the national president of IIMM
for 2015-17 at its national convention held in Vadodara.
About IIMM :
Mumbai-headquartered IIMM, an NGO, is the apex body of nearly
10,000 supply chain, materials and purchase professionals and is run
with funding from its members.
IIMM is engaged in modernising
the supply chain knowledge pool in the country as per global norms
through its academic and research programmes.
It is represented
on several bodies of the government and is affiliated to the
International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management.
