2015 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has been conferred with prestigious 2015 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award in Mumbai. He was presented with fifth edition of award by Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai for his contribution to the Indian music on the occasion of 78th birthday of Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar. About AR Rahman R. Rahman (full name Allah-Rakha Rahman) is one of the most globally popular Indian music icons. His work is well known and renowned for inter mixing Eastern classical music with electronic music and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won multiple international awards including 2 Academy Awards (famously known as Oscars), 2 Grammy Awards, BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award. About Hridaynath Mangeskar Award Established in 2011 by Mumbai- based socio-cultural organisation Hridayesh Art in the honour of music composer and singer Hridaynath Mangeskar. Hridaynath is the son of renowned musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and is younger brother of Indian music legends Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

European Union’s prestigious Sakharov Prize

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been selected for European Union’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights for year 2015. European Parliament assembly in Strasbourg, France has honoured Mr. Bidawi with this award considering him as a symbol of the fight for freedom of speech. Raif Badawi, author of the website Free Saudi Liberals received an international fame in 2012 after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in Saudi Arabia for insulting Muslim clerics. He was one of 3 nominees for this year’s edition prize along with the Assassinated Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and Venezuelan opposition movement Mesa de la Unidad Democratica. About Sakharov Prize The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is annual award given by the European Parliament. Bestowed on individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Established in December 1988 and named after Soviet scientist (physicist) and dissident Andrei Sakharov. The first prize was jointly awarded to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian human rights campaigner Anatoly Marchenko. It is awarded annually on or around December 10, the day on which the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, also celebrated as Human Rights Day.

2015 Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union

All India Radio’s (AIR’s) Programme on child labour titled Nilkkam Ivarkkoppam has won the first prize at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Prize ceremony. The programme has won the award under the Community Service Announcement category at the 52nd General Assembly of ABU held in Ankara, Turkey. Nilkkam Ivarkkoppam meaning Stand Beside Them is Malayalam programme. It has been scripted and produced by Biju Mathew, programme executive at AIR Thiruvananthapuram. The ABU prize is considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the broadcasting industry. The award carries of a cash prize of 2,000 dollars, a certificate, and a statuette.

Vishnudas Bhave Award

Renowned film, television and stage actor Vikram Gokhale was awarded with the prestigious Vishnudas Bhave Award. He was conferred with this award for his outstanding contribution to Marathi theatre. Eminent actress-singer Faiyaz Shaikh presented the award to him on the occasion of Marathi Rangbhumi Din observed on 5 November in Sangli district of Maharashtra. About Vikram Gokhale Vikram Gokhale was born on 30 October 1947 in Pune, Maharashtra. He comes from family which was been active in the starting phase of Indian film industry. He is the son well-known veteran Marathi theatre and film actor Chandrakant Gokhale. His great grandmother Durgabai Kamat was the first female artiste of the Indian screen and his grandmother Kamlabai Gokhale was the first female child artiste of Indian cinema. He has acted in more than 60 films, television series and stage performances. Awards: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2011), National Film Award for Best Actor category (2013) for his lead role in Marathi film Anumati. About Vishnudas Bhave Award: It is an annual award instituted by Sangli-based Akhil Maharashtra Natya Vidya Mandir in the memory of famous Marathi dramatist Vishnudas Bhave.

Japan has successfully launched its first commercial satellite

Japan has successfully launched its first commercial satellite on 24 November 2015 as part its national space programme. Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying Canadian TELSTAR 12V communications and broadcasting satellite for operator Telesat was successfully lifted off from Tanegashima Space Centre (TSC). With this, Japan is entered into the commercial satellite launch business which is mainly dominated by European and Russian companies. Key facts The first commercial satellite launch was overseen by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Japan is aiming to become a major player in the commercial satellite launching business which is worth 2.5 billion dollars a year. In this regard, it has tried to improve its H-IIA rocket in order to cut the cost of each launch to make its programme competitive. Some Facts: India had launched its first commercial satellite successfully in 2007 using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying Italian satellite AGILE for space exploration. With this, India had joined the elite club of nations comprising US, Russia, China, Ukraine and European Space Agency (ESA) having capacity to deploy their space exploration resources for commercial use. Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL) is the marketing arm of ISRO. It oversees commercialization of space exploration resources for commercial use developed by ISRO.

2019 deadline for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

Union Government has reduced the deadline for completion of flagship Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for rural connectivity through all- weather roads from 2022 to 2019. The annual allocation of the Central release for PMGSY works during year 2015-16 also has been increased by 5,000 crore rupees. With this, the total Central allocation to states under PMGSY would now be 15,100 crore rupees. Key facts By providing enhanced financial allocation through a modified funding pattern in the PMGSY scheme, Government is seeking to accelerate the implementation of rural connectivity. It is also considering giving financial incentives to the states achieving the targets allocated to them under the PMGSY. Government also has accepted the recommendation of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored on modified sharing pattern. Recommendations: The sub group has recommended that fund sharing pattern of PMGSY between the Centre and States for all states will be in the ratio of 60:40. But for all land locked 8 North Eastern states and 3 Himalayan states, the fund sharing pattern of PMGSY between the Centre and States will be in the ratio of 90:10. About Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) PMGSY was launched in year 2000 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Objective: To provide single all-weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected rural villages (habitations). Nodal Authority: Union Ministry of Rural Development. It was fully funded by the central government. Implantation: Under phase I of PMGSY, 1,78,184 unconnected habitations were identified. So far, 1,12,550 identified habitations which accounts for 63 per cent of the target have been connected with the PMGSY roads. Presently, about 37 per cent of identified habitations as per the mandate of the scheme are yet to be connected with the PMGSY roads.

Macri of Republican Proposal Party has won Argentina’s 2015 Presidential election

Conservative opposition candidate Mauricio Macri of Republican Proposal Party has won Argentina’s 2015 Presidential election. Mr Macri had secured more than 53 per cent votes defeating his rival Daniel Scioli of ruling Peronist Party who secured 47 per cent votes and ended the 12 years of leftist rule. He will succeed Christina Kirchner who had ruled the South American country since 2007 and reached the end of her two-term limit. About Mauricio Macri Born on 8 February 1959 in Tandil, Argentina. He is son of Francisco Macri who is one of Argentina’s richest men. Prior to entering politics, Mr Macri had a long career in business and holds civil engineer degree. Prior to getting elected as President, he was representing City of Buenos Aires in the lower house of the Argentine congress since 2007. In 1995, he was elected as president of Boca Juniors Football Club, one of the most popular football clubs in Argentina. He used his success at the club as a springboard for his political career and later was re-elected as President of Club in 1999 and 2003. Earlier in October 2015, Mr. Macri who is the mayor of Buenos Aires had lost to Mr.Scioli who is the governor of Buenos Aires province in the first round of voting.

T.S. Thakur as the Chief Justice of India

President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Justice T.S. Thakur as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) as per provisions of Article 124 of Constitution. T.S. Thakur will be 43rd Chief Justice of India and his appointment will come into effect from 3 December 2015. He will have tenure till January 3, 2017 i.e. till he attains the age of 65. Background The incumbent CJI H.L. Dattu had recommended Justice Thakur’s name for this top most post of Indian Judiciary, as he was senior-most judge of the apex court. Following the recommendation, the Union Law Ministry had processed his file and sent it to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for approval. From the PMO after its approval the file was forwarded to the President of India for approval. About Justice T. S. Thakur Born on January 4, 1952. He is the son of D.D. Thakur, who was an renowned advocate and eminent judge in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) High Court and later served as Union Minister. Judicial career: Justice Thakur had enrolled as a Pleader in October 1972. Later, he started practising in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. He also had worked in Karnataka High Court, Delhi High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court. He had worked as Chief Justice (CJ) of both Delhi High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court in 2009. In Supreme Court, Justice Thakur had headed of the bench which dealt with IPL spot-fixing scam. He also had headed of the bench which is monitoring the probe in the Saradha chit fund scam case.

The Competition Commission of India

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped penalties worth Rs 258 crore on three leading airlines- Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet for cartelisation in fixing cargo fuel surcharge. In this regard, it also issued a cease and desist order against these three airlines on the complaint filed by Express Industry Council of India (EICI). In its complaint EICI also had named Air India and GoAir apart from the three airlines. In its order, the CCI noted that These 3 airlines acted in collusion to fix fuel surcharge rates which resulted in indirectly determining the rates of air cargo transport. Imposed penalties are: 152 crores rupees upon Jet Airways, 64 crores rupees upon IndiGo and 42 crores rupees upon Spice Jet. The conduct of these airlines was contravention of the anti-competitive agreements in the air cargo industry and it undermined economic development of the country and ultimately affected the end consumers. Fuel surcharge was essentially introduced to mitigate the fuel price volatility. But cartelisation of it by these leading airliners has harmed the fair competition in the market. CCI however has imposed no penalty upon Air India and Go Airlines as they were not found violating competitive norms. It has asked Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet to immediately stop indulging in such anti-competitive practices. About Competition Commission of India The CCI was established to eliminate practices that adversely affect competition in different industries and protect interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade. Its predecessor was the MRTPC (Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission) which was functional prior to 1991 Economic Reforms. The CCI acts as a quasi-judicial body which gives opinions to statutory authorities and also deals with other cases. It is statutory body established under The Competition Act of 2002. It was established in 2003 and became fully functional in 2009.