1. India wins UNHRC
re-election; PM expresses joy
i. In a significant victory, India
was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)from 2015-17, receiving
the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group.
ii. India is currently a member of
the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and its first term is due to end
on December 31, 2014.
iii. India was seeking re-election
to the UN body, the elections for which were held on Wednesday in the UN
General Assembly.
iv. India was competing in the
Asia-Pacific group in which four seats were up for election. The other
countries competing in the group were Indonesia, Bangladesh, Qatar, Thailand,
Kuwait, Cambodia, Philippines and Bahrain.
v. Out of them, India, Bangladesh,
Qatar and Indonesia made it to the UNHRC. India received 162 votes, the highest
number in the Asia-Pacific group.
vi. Apart from India, the other 14
member states elected to the Human Rights Council for a three-year term of
office beginning January 1, 2015, are Albania, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana,
the Congo, El Salvador, Ghana, Indonesia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Nigeria,
Paraguay, Portugal and Qatar.
2. India, Nepal
sign power trade agreement
i. India and Nepal have inked the
Power Trade Agreement (PTA), allowing exchange of electricity and opening up
new vistas of cooperation in the hydro-power sector.
ii. Energy Secretary of India
Pradeep Kumar Sinha and his Nepalese counterpart Rajendra Kishore Kshatra
signed the agreement at a function held at the Prime Minister's Office in
Kathmandu yesterday. The two sides had agreed to sign the agreement during
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in August.
3. Anita M Singh
appointed as Chief of Staff of NSD in US Justice Department
i. Indian-American Anita M Singh on
21 October 2014 was appointed as Chief of Staff and Counselor in the National
Security Division (NSD) of the US Justice Department.
ii. Her appointment is part of the
restructuring of the NSD. Her appointment was announced by John Carlin,
Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
4. Indian-American
student wins innovation award
i. An Indian-American student has
won ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’ award for his innovative design of an
eco-friendly device that seeks to reduce carbon footprint, while offering power
for household usage.
ii. Sahil Doshi, a ninth grader
from Pittsburg, competed alongside nine other finalists to be declared winner
of 2014 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
iii. The award includes $25,000 and
a student adventure trip to a destination such as Costa Rica.
5. Switzerland top
destination for expats
i.
Switzerland is the world’s favourite destination among expats, followed
by Singapore and China, a poll on quality of life for HSBC found today.
ii. “Many Switzerland-based expats
mentioned the better work-life balance, availability of outdoor activities and
the family-centric culture as the reasons they enjoy the Swiss lifestyle,” the
British bank said.
iii. Switzerland emerged the
winner, with a trusted economy, good quality of life and comfortable salaries:
a quarter of expats said they earned more than $200,000 (157,000 euros) a year.
iv. Asia was a strong region for
salaries, with an average annual expat wage of $120,000, compared with a global
average of $92,000.
v. Meanwhile, China was a top
country for high-earners, with one in four of respondents there earning more
than $300,000 a year, and having more disposable income to spend on their
social lives.
vi. Other top-ranked countries were
Germany, seen as stable and safe, followed by Bahrain, New Zealand, Thailand,
Taiwan, India and Hong Kong.
vii. The lowest-ranked of the 34
countries was Egypt, followed by the UK and Brazil.
6. AIBA suspends
boxer Sarita Devi for protesting at Asiad
i. Taking a strict action, AIBA has
provisionally suspended India's woman boxer Laishram Sarita Devi for refusing
to accept the bronze medal at the Asian Games podium ceremony.
ii. Protesting against a
controversial verdict, Sarita in an unprecedented move had refused to wear the
medal around her neck as she broke down on the podium during the ceremony for
the 57-60 kg category.
iii. "The AIBA also
provisionally suspended Sarita's coaches (Messrs Gurbakhsh Singh Sandhu, Blas
Iglesias Fernandez and Sagar Mal Dhayal) as well as Indian chef-de-mission in
the Incheon Asiad, Adille J. Sumariwalla and will not allow any of them to
participate at all levels of competitions, events and meetings until further
notice," an AIBA statement said.
iv. The 29-year-old boxer accepted
the medal in her hand and wiped her tears holding it, before handing it to
South Korean silver medallist Ji-Na Park, who had defeated Sarita after what
seemed to be a "bad" referee decision.
7. Malala Yousafzai
conferred 2014 Liberty Medal
i. Pakistani teenager and Nobel
Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has been conferred the 2014 Liberty Medal
for her continued demonstration of courage and resilience in the face of
adversity and for serving as a powerful voice for those who have been denied
their basic human rights and liberties.
ii. She is the youngest recipient
of the American award, which was established in 1988 to commemorate the 200
years of the US Constitution.
iii. The annual Liberty Medal, is
given to honour men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure
the blessings of liberty to people around the globe.
iv. Malala has pledged to donate
the award money of 100,000 US Dollars towards education in Pakistan. Malala,
17, called for spending money on books, not guns in her speech.
8. Union Government
constituted Vishwanathan committee to provide Bankruptcy code for SMEs
i. Union Government on 20 October
2014 constituted Vishwanathan committee to provide Bankruptcy code for small
and medium enterprises (SMEs). The committee
was formed under the Union Finance Ministry.
ii. The committee will be headed by
former Lok Sabha secretary-general and former law secretary T K Vishwanathan.
The committee will prepare a report on corporate bankruptcy framework for SMEs
by February 2015.
iii. The formation of the committee
is the first step to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with an exit
option in case of bankruptcy. The announcement is in tune with a budget promise
made by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley to introduce an
entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework.
9. Mayank Ashar
appointed as MD and CEO of Cairn India
i. Mayank Ashar on 21 October 2014
was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of the Cairn India with effect from 17 November 2014.
ii. Cairn India Limited was without
a full-time CEO after the resignation of Rahul Dhir in August 2012.
iii. The company first appointed P
Elango as Interim CEO who resigned in May 2014. After his resignation, Sudhir
Mathur, the Chief Financial Officer of the company was given additional charge
of interim CEO.
Cairn India Limited
i. On 9 January 2007, Cairn India
Limited was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange
of India.
ii. Cairn India is now part of the
Vedanta Group, a globally diversified natural resources group.
10. Walsh stays as
India coach with a fresh contract
i. A day after his dramatic
announcement to quit, India's chief hockey coach Terry Walsh decided on
Wednesday to continue in his post after a meeting with top sports officials,
who have assured the Australian that his concerns will be addressed in a fresh
contract.
ii. After a hectic meeting with the
Sports Ministry and SAI officials, the 60-year-old Walsh decided not to go for
his resignation. This decision gives much relief to the country's hockey
fraternity.
iii. Walsh's decision was announced
by the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who tweeted, "I am happy that
after SAI's efforts #TerryWalsh is back. Looking ahead for a bright future for
hockey in India."
iv. The Sports Authority of India
(SAI) issued a statement, giving details of the meeting and making it clear
that Walsh, who guided the Indian team to a historic gold at Incheon Asian
Games, had no financial issues with them.
