Islamic State

Islamic State (IS) militant group has destroyed part of historical Temple of Bel in the ancient site of Palmyra in Syria. The ancient temple was dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best preserved parts of the historical sites of Palmyra. Key facts The ancient site of Palmyra in ancient times was one of the most important cultural centres and now has monumental ruins of great ancient city. The site boasts a number of monumental projects including more than thousand columns and more than 500 tombs. The art and architecture of this city is blend of Greco-Roman techniques with combination of local traditions and Persian influences, dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries. The ancient city of Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a major tourist attraction of Syria before it descended into civil war. Earlier in August 2015, IS militant group had destroyed the ancient Temple of Baalshamin in same region of Palmyra.

Jain ritual

The Supreme Court (SC) of India has stayed Rajasthan High Court’s order declaring Santhara, a Jain ritual of voluntary and systematic fasting to death illegal. The stay order was given by SC Bench comprising Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy. What is Santhara? Santhara is a religious custom of Jain religion that embraces voluntary death in order to purge oneself of bad ‘karma’ and attain ‘moksha’. The practitioners of this custom take an oath to stop eating until they die of starvation. This oath is taken in consultation with a guru and follows the most detailed of procedures. Background Earlier in August 2015, Rajasthan High Court had banned the practice of Santhara by declaring it as a criminal offence and mentioning it as illegal in the eyes of law. The High Court in its ruling had made this religious practice a punishable offence under section 306 (abetment of suicide) and Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Constitutional Validity Article 25: The Rajasthan High Court in its ruling had mentioned that as per Article 25, religious liberty and freedom is only limited to the scope of essential religious practices of particular religion. So practice of Santhara is not essential religious practice of Jainism. Article 21: The Rajasthan High Court also mentioned that Protection of life and personal liberty does not include Right to die. So it is illegal from this point of view. The ruling of High Court was based on public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate and human rights activist Nikhil Soni to ban this centuries old Jain ritual claiming it as social evil and should be considered as suicide. Jain Community’s Viewpoint Jain community clearly mentioned that the practice of Santhara is an integral part of Jainism and has been mentioned in religious texts. It is also an intrinsic practice to a person’s ethical choice to live with dignity until death and not an exercise in trying to achieve an unnatural death.

India has inked an information exchange agreement on tax matters with Seychelles

India has inked an information exchange agreement on tax matters with Seychelles in order to curb tax evasion and boost its efforts to fight against black money. The agreement was signed after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Seychelles President James Alix Michel who is on three days visit to India. This pact will help India to curb tax evasion and also pave way for mutual assistance between the authorities of both nations to take action against suspected tax evaders along with other related matters. It should be noted that, this Indian Ocean island nation for long time was perceived as one of the preferred offshore havens for routing of funds though the foreign direct investments  (FDIs) were being small at just about 1,100 crore rupees over the last 15 years. Other 5 MoUs/Agreements signed are Presentation of Navigational chart related to Aldabra Island:  This island is the world’s second largest coral atop which is extremely isolated, making it virtually untouched by human. It is home to the world’s largest population of giant tortoises. Air Services Agreement: It will enable more and easier connections between both nations and help to expand cooperation in space, weather forecasting and disaster management, marine resources and fisheries advisory. MoU to provide one Dornier Maritime Aircraft: India will gift Seychelles one Dornier Maritime Aircraft for maritime security. MoU for Cooperation in agricultural research and education: It was signed between between Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Seychelles Agricultural Agency.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal for payment of differential royalty in respect of 28 discovered fields to the respective State Governments concerned. These 28 discovered fields were awarded by the Union Government to different companies in states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat during the years 1994-95, 2001 and 2004. The royalty payment will be through budgetary allocation from the year 2015-16 onwards instead of Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) fund. Financial Implication: The estimated expenditure for the year 2015-16 based on this payment mechanism has been estimated at 56 crore rupees of which 30 crore rupees for Arunachal Pradesh and 26 crore rupees for Gujarat. This expenditure is calculated assuming average crude oil price of 50 US dollars per barrel and one US dollar being equivalent to 60 rupees. Background The Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Gas (SCPNG) while examining the functioning of OIDB had recommended that differential Royalty to the concerned State Governments should be made through budgetary allocation, rather than OIDB fund in order to ensure proper utilization of the fund. What is Payment of differential royalty? In the approved proposal, payment of differential royalty is the difference between the rates of Royalty as per provisions of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and the notified rate of Royalty on crude oil production. What is current Royalty payment mechanism? Currently, OIDB pays differential Royalty to respective State Governments based on the Oilfields (Regulation & Development) Act, 1948 and Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules, 1959. In this case, the differential Royalty is the difference between the Royalty rates as per PSC and the notified rate of Royalty on crude oil production.

census data on religion

As per recently released 2011 census data on religion, the proportion Muslim population in India has increased by 0.8 per cent and Hindu population has declined by 0.7 per cent. This religion based data during 2001-2011 was released by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Key facts Population Composition: The total population of India was 121.09 crore population of which 96.63 crores are Hindus, 17.22 crores are Muslims, 2.78 crore  are Christians. Sikhs constitutes 2.08 crore, Buddhist 84 lakh, Jains 45 lakh and other religions and persuasions 79 lakh. Growth Rate: The overall decadal population growth rate was 17. 7 per cent. The growth rate of Muslims was 24.6 per cent, Hindus 16.8, Christians 15.5, Sikh 8.4, Buddhist 6.1 and Jain 5.4 per cent. Sikh population has declined by 0.2 per cent and Buddhist by 0.1 per cent. There has been no significant change in the population of Jains and Christians. Top 5 states/UTs having highest Muslim Population: Lakshadweep (96.2 per cent), Jammu & Kashmir (68.3), Assam (34. 2), West Bengal (27) and Kerala (26.6). As per 2001 census, India’s total population was 102 crores of which Muslim population comprised of 13.8 crore (13.4 per cent) and Hindu were 82.75 crore (80.45 per cent).

Launched a Sehat telemedicine

Union Government has launched a telemedicine initiative dubbed as Sehat to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas in collaboration with Apollo Hospitals. This telemedicine initiative was launched by Union Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a function held in New Delhi. Key facts It will seek to provide quality and affordable healthcare services as it is one of the emerging needs of citizens in rural areas. Under the Sehat initiative people will be able to consult doctors through video link i.e. Vice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and also order generic drugs. It will use Common Service Centres (CSCs) for delivering tele-consultation services with support from Medanta and Apollo Hospitals in some areas. CSCs will promote sale of generic drugs through collaboration with Union Health Ministry by setting up Jan Aushadhi Stores and also provide diagnostic services. This initiative has been extended to 60,000 centres across the country for the telemedicine consultation services in the rural areas.

Roger Federer

World number two, Roger Federer from Switzerland has won the Cincinnati Masters title for record seventh time in men’s singles title category. In the final match played at Ohio near Cincinnati, US he defeated world number one, Novak Djokovic by 7–6, 7-1 and 6–3 score. Earlier, Roger Federer had won this title in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014. Other Results Women’s Singles Title: Serena Williams (US) won the women’s Singles Title by defeating Simona Halep (Romania) by 6–3, 7–6 and 7–5 score. Men’s Doubles champions Title: Daniel Nestor (Canada) and Édouard Roger-Vasselin (France) pair won by defeating Marcin Matkowski (Poland) and Nenad Zimonjić (Serbia) pair by 6–2, 6–2 score. Women’s Doubles champions Title: Chinese Taipei pair of Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan won by defeating Casey Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) pair by 7–5, 6–4 score. Cincinnati Masters titles: It is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city started in September 1899.  It is the second largest summer tennis event in the after the US Open in US.

भारत-प्रशांत द्वीप सहयोग मंच

भारत-प्रशांत द्वीप सहयोग मंच (Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation – FIPIC)  द्वितीय FIPIC शिखर सम्मेलन का आयोजन कर भारत प्रशांत महासागर स्थित इन द्वीपीय देशों के साथ व्यापार और निवेश सम्बन्धों को और ऊँचाई पर ले जाना चाहता है। उल्लेखनीय है कि ये देश प्राकृतिक संपदा के मामले में काफी धनी हैं। इसके अलावा यह देश दक्षिणी प्रशांत महासागर में अपनी अवस्थिति के लिहाज से रणनीतिक रूप से काफी महत्वपूर्ण हैं। इस शिखर सम्मेलन हुए देश थे – फीजी (Fiji), मार्शल आइलैण्ड्स (Marshall Islands), नौरू (Nauru), नियु (Niue), पलाऊ (Palau), पापुआ न्यू गिनी (Papua New Guinea), समोआ (Samoa), तुवालु (Yuvalu), वनुआतु (Vanuatu), कुक आइलैण्ड्स (Cook Islands), किरिबाती (Kiribati), माइक्रोनेशिया (Micronesia), सोलोमन आइलैण्ड्स (Solomon Islands) और टोंगा (Tonga)।

Ranil Wickremesinghe has sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Ranil Wickremesinghe has sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for fourth time. He was administered the oath of office by President Maithripala Sirisena at the oath taking ceremony held at Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. Immediately after oath taking ceremony, two main parties in the country Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form national unity government and work together in the parliament. Ranil Wickremesighe has held the position of Prime Minister of the country on three earlier occasions i.e. in 1993-94, 2002-2004 and from January 2015 to August 2015. He holds record of being Member of Parliament continuously without losing his seat for the last 38 years in Sri Lankan history. Background In recently concluded Sri Lankan parliamentary election 2015, UNP led by Mr. Wickremesinghe had emerged single largest party by winning 106 seats. They were short by seven members to become majority party in the 225-member parliament. SLFP which is loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena had won 95 seats. In this election, Mr. Wickremesinghe had secured a record 5 lakh preferential votes from the Colombo constituency which is the highest number of votes polled by a candidate in Sri Lanka’s electoral history. Comment Wickremesinghe has a high reputation of being an honest and progressive politician in Sri Lanka who has always tried to bring reconciliation between the various communities. During his earlier stints as Prime Minister, Mr. Wickremesinghe had marked friendly and close relations with India.

Eduction Poratal For Loan

The portal has been developed and maintained by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited (NSDL e-Gov) under the guidance of Ministry of Finance, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). It is a first of its kind portal that provides access to information and makes application for educational loans provided by banks and also government scholarships under a single window. The portal also has a provision to apply to multiple banks for educational loans and facility for banks to download students’ loan applications among others. It also carter facility for banks to upload loan processing status and students can view status of their loan application and linkage to National Scholarship Portal for information and application for government scholarships on the dashboard of the portal. Up till now over 13 banks have registered and 22 educational loan schemes on the Vidya Lakshmi Portal. SBI, Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Canara Bank & Union Bank of India have integrated their system with the portal for providing loan processing status to students.

Mi-35 ‘Hind E’

Pakistan and Russia have signed a landmark defence deal including the sale of 4 advance Mi-35 ‘Hind E’ combat helicopters to Pakistan. The agreement was signed by top defence officials from both countries in Rawalpindi as per negotiations for the deal which had taken place in 2014. Earlier in November 2015, both countries had signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement to strengthen military-to-military relations between them. Mi-35 ‘Hind E’ attack helicopters The Mi-35 helicopter is modernised version of the Mi-24 combat helicopter. It has new advanced onboard equipment and avionics. It is also incorporated with more powerful engine and a different tail rotor. Currently, Pakistan has a number of ‘Mi-17’ combat helicopters. These combat helicopters were delivered to Pakistan by US in order to assist them to fight against growing militancy as part of its special defence package.

Twin National Heritage Cities

Union Tourism Ministry will soon confer the title of ‘Twin National Heritage Cities’ on the temple towns of Rishikesh and Haridwar. This will be the first instance in the country in which tag is being given to any of the cities. Both heritage cities will receive funds which have been earmarked for the development. Under the Twin National Heritage Cities, development plan has been proposed to develop two cities as world-class yoga and spirituality centres. The first priority of this development plan is to improve the infrastructure and traffic situation in these cities. Haridwar is very rich in cultural heritage as it has more than 370 heritage sites while Rishikesh has around 30 heritage sites. These heritage sites include old temples, akharas, dharamshalas, havelis, etc and have many artefacts and murals of historic value.

Bangladesh has won maiden Under-16

Bangladesh has won maiden Under-16 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship title 2015. In the title clash played at the Sylhet District Stadium the hosts defeated defending champions India 4-2 in penalties shoot out. In the regular play, both team had scored equal one goal against each other. The goals were scored by Fahim Murshed (Bangladesh) in the 46th minute and later Amey Morajkar (India) scored equalised goal in the 60th minute of the match. In the penalty shootout, Bangladesh did not miss any of their four penalties, while India failed to score its second and fourth shootout resulting Bangladesh to win title for the first time. In this edition Under-16 SAFF tournament Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives had participated.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II is set to become Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch in the history. On 10th September 2015, she will become the longest-reigning British head of state and the longest-reigning female monarch in history. She will surpass record held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned thousand-year-old institution of Britain for more than 63 years. It should be noted that, presently Queen Elizabeth II (88 years old) is world’s oldest living monarch. About Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II was born as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on 21 April 1926. She acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952 at the age of 25 after her father, King George VI died. She was crowned as queen of Britain and other realms, including Canada and Australia on 2 June, 1953. Presently, she is Queen of 16 member states in the Commonwealth of Nations which consists of overall 53 member states. She is also Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In 1945, she had actively joined World War II as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (WATS).

Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB)

Former Cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth has been appointed as the Chairman of the government’s head-hunter, Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) on 14 August 2015. As per the order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Ajit Kumar will head PESB by replacing Atul Chaturvedi for period of three years or till he attains 65 years of age. He is an IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre of 1974-batch, whose extended tenure of four years as the Cabinet secretariat had ended on 13 June 2015. Two other IAS officers Gauri Kumar and Anshuman Das the former CMD of NALCO, have been appointed as members in PESB. About Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB): It is a high powered body constituted by Government of India in 1987. Its objective is to develop sound managerial policy for the Central Public Sector Enterprises and to advise Government on appointments of Chairman, Managing Director or Chairman-cum-Managing Director and Functional Director to CPSEs. It advises the Government on matters relating to appointments, confirmation or extension of tenure and termination of services of the appointed personnel. It advises the Government on formulation and enforcement of a code of conduct and ethics for managerial personnel in PSEs. It advises the Government on evolving suitable training and development programs for management personnel in PSEs. Members: PESB board consists of a part-time or full-time Chairperson and three full-time Members, they are the distinguished performers in management of public or private corporations or public administration. The Chairperson/Members of the board hold the office for a term of three years or until the age of 65 years whichever is earlier. They can be reappointment for a second term subject to the age-limit of 65 years. Tags: Appointments • Business • CPSEs • PESB

IRDAI

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed banks to tie up with insurers. This decision was taken as part of the IRDAI’s new Bancassurance model guidelines which will be notified soon. Prior to this decision, banks were not allowed to  have insurance agency tie-ups with more than one insurer. As per new decision banks can tie up with nine insurers from three segments viz. life, non–life and standalone health. It will not be binding on banks and they are free to take their call. Earlier, IRDAI had constituted a 7 member committee to study the reviewing of the existing architecture of the Banacassurance model. About Bancassurance model Bancassurance is a French term referred as selling of insurance through a bank’s. Thus it can be said that Bancassurance= Banks as Insurance Agents. In this case, selling insurance means distribution of insurance and other financial products of insurance companies through Banks. Under this model banks act as a major distribution channel for insurers which in turn helps them to generate profits from alternative source. This model originated in France and soon spread to other European countries. In case of India a number of insurers have already tied up with banks under bancassurance model and some banks already have flagged off selected insurance products.

Saraswati Sammaan 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred prestigious literary award Saraswati Sammaan for the year 2014 to Dr. Marpadi Veerappa Moily in New Delhi. He was bestowed with this award for his Kannada poem ‘Ramayana Mahanveshanam’ which was first published in 2007. The poem explores the ‘Ramarajya’ or the true principle of the ‘ideal State’ from a secular and modern point of view. It has been translated into English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. With this Dr. Moily became second Kannada writer to receive this prestigious award after S. L. Bhyrappa (2010). About Dr. Marpadi Veerappa Moily Marpadi Veerappa Moily is a senior Congress leader from Karnataka. Political Career: He served Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1992 and 1994. He also has held several other ministerial portfolios in UPA government at Centre including Corporate Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Law and Justice. Writer Career: He is renowned writer in Kannada and has authored 3 collections of poetry, 4 novels, numerous essays and number of plays. His 4 novels are Kotta, Suligali, Tembare: Typhoon, and Sagaradeepa: Ocean lamp. His 3 poem collections include Halu-Jenu Maththe, Yakshaprashne and Nadeyali Samara. About Saraswati Samman (सरस्वती सम्मान) Established: in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. It is annual award, awarded to persons for their outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. Award carries: Cash price of Rs 10 lakh, a citation and a plaque. Eminent Hindi author Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first recipient of this award for his autobiography in four volumes.

China and Pakistan have signed 20 more agreements worth 1.6 billion dollars to implement the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. These agreements were signed at the CPEC Forum held at Karamay city in Xinjiang province of China bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). In this forum both countries also issued the Karamay Manifesto. About China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project 3,000 km strategic CPEC project is brainchild of China and is part of its ambitious six economic corridors conceived under Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. It connects Xinjiang Province of China with Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar Port and passes through PoK. It was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Pakistan in April 2015. During this visit, around 51 agreements were signed of which 30 were linked to this strategic corridor. Significance: CPEC project seeks to boost economic cooperation, political trust and cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan. It is regarded as the biggest connectivity project between the two countries with total investments around 46 billion dollars. The project includes building of railways, highways as well as pipelines in order to shorten China’s energy imports route from the Middle East by about 12,000 kms. India’s Concern: As it passes through disputed territory of PoK, India has conveyed its objections to China.

Jethabhai Patel Chairman of the prestigious Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation

Jethabhai Patel the veteran cooperative leader and Sabar Dairy chief was unanimously elected as Chairman of the prestigious Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets the Amul brand of dairy products in India and overseas. Patel will head GCMMF Asia’s largest milk cooperative and apex marketing body comprising 17 dairy unions of the state for next two and a half years. He was unanimously elected by chairmen of all 17 district dairy unions under GCMMF, who are also board members of GCMMF. Patel has been chairman of Sabarkantha District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd, Sabar Dairy, since 2010. He had been serving as GCMMF’s interim chairman following a no-confidence motion passed against former Chairman Vipul Chaudhary in 2013. About Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) The GCMMF is Asia’s largest milk cooperative and the largest food products marketing organisation of India that exclusively markets products under the brand name of Amul and Sagar. It was formed by late Dr. Verghese Kurien in 1973, which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. He chaired GCMMF for more than 30 years (1973–2006). It is the apex marketing body comprising 17 dairy unions that daily procures approx 14.85 million lit per day from 18,536 village milk cooperative societies. Note: More than 70% of the members are small or marginal farmers and landless labourers including a sizeable population of tribal folk and people belonging to the scheduled castes.

China devalued yuan

In line with economic slowdown in China, the People’s Banks of China devalued yuan by 2 per cent against the US dollar. Devaluation was done based on a new way of managing the exchange rate that better reflected market forces which differs greatest from the one introduced at the start of 1994. Devaluation was done with an aim: To encourage export through devalued yuan. To support domestic demand and to help Chinese firms to borrow and invest abroad. To encourage foreign firms and governments to make greater use of the currency. Immediate Reason of Devaluation: Exports tumbled due to weaker demand from its trading partners. Steep drop in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in late June and early July. Weaker consumer demand within China. Sales dropped in Automobile sector. Methodology Chinese currency is not freely tradable its movements are tightly controlled by the government. Every morning People’s Bank of China sets a midpoint for the yuan’s value against the dollar and other major currencies. This midpoint is set in window of as much as 2 percent higher or lower than the previous day’s value, but usually the change is in tiny fraction of 1 percent. Usually People’s Bank of China (PBOC) manages the exchange rate through an official midpoint using formula based on a basket of currencies, but under the new methodology which sets midpoint based on market force has devalued the yuan greater since 1994. Note: Initially China’s currency was fixed peg to the dollar that ended in 2005. Since then, it has risen more than 25 percent against the dollar, strengthened even more against the euro and the yen.

Bhalchandra Pendharkar passed away

Veteran Marathi stage actor, drama producer and singer Bhalchandra Pendharkar passed away in Mumbai after a brief illness. He was 94. Pendharkar was born on 25 November 1921 in Hyderabad, Telangana (then Andhra Pradesh). He was affectionately known as Anna among the theatre circle. He had gained immense popularity through his play Duritanche Timir Javo (1957). Some of his other most memorable theatre plays are Gita Gaati Dnyaneshwar, Panditrao Jagannath and ‘Shabbas Birbal Shabbas’. He had played important role in the strengthening a drama group called Lalitkaladarsh Natak Mandali which was founded by Keshavrao Bhosale in 1908. Awards and recognition: Vishnudas Bhave Puraskar (1973), Bal Gandharva Puraskar (1983), Sangeet Natak Kala Academy (2004) etc.

Russia renews bid for Arctic regions

Russia has renewed its efforts to get the United Nations (UN) recognition for 1.2 million square kilometers of the Arctic shelf region which it claims to be its sovereign territory. In this regard, Russia has forwarded its fresh bid to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf backed by scientific data. However all other 4 countries bordering the Arctic viz. Norway, Denmark, Canada and the US have rejected Russia’s claim. It should be noted that earlier in 2001, UN had rejected Russia’s similar claim over the resource rich territory on the northern tip of Earth because of insufficient evidence. Background of Territorial dispute over Arctic There is territorial dispute between all 5 countries bordering the Arctic over its energy rich potential which is believed to hold up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas. These 5 countries claiming their own sovereignty over this region are Denmark, Canada, Norway, US and Russia. Since 2008 this issue is still pending and yet to be settled under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Bihar Assembly has passed Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015

Bihar Assembly has passed Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015. It was passed by a voice vote. The bill seeks to empower people of state and provide legal rights to them for redressal of their complaints within a time-frame. Key provisions of Bill Duty-bound binding rules on government servants to dispose grievances of the people in a time-bound manner. Failure to do so it time will amount to misconduct for which errant officials could be dismissed from service. Powers in this regard is vested on the Public Grievance Redressal Officer and the first and second Appellate Authorities to deal with delayed grievances cases. In case of on failure to hear and redress grievances, penalty ranging from 500 to 5,000 rupees will be imposed on the government servants.

India and Mozambique agreed to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable Energy

India and Mozambique agreed to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable Energy. In this regard both sides inked Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expanding cooperation in energy sector. It was signed after delegation level talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique who is on official 5 day visit to India. Apart from this, both nations also agreed ways to intensify cooperation in maritime security and ocean economy as both have large coastlines and are linked by Indian Ocean. India and Mozambique Relations India and Mozambique share a history of profitable trade relations and there bilateral trade in 2014-15 valued at US 2.4 billion dollars. In last 5 years trade between the two countries has multiplied five times. India’s strong relation with this south eastern African nation will play important larger role in its foreign policy in Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Mozambique also can important role to meet India’s energy security as it is a proximate source of natural gas, coal and other minerals.

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