Vishwanath Tripathi selected for the Vyas Samman 2013
1.Vishwanath Tripathi, the eminent Hindi writer has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013. He has been chosen for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh' that is a biography of the noted Hindi scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
2.Tripathi, who is 82-year-old has around 20 publications by his name that includes memoirs, novel and poetry collection. Surya Prasad Dikshit, the Hindi litterateur headed the selection committee for the award.
3.The Vyas Samman 2012 was given to Hindi litterateur Narendra Kohli for his historical novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati published in 2004 that is based on Swami Vivekananda and the era he belonged. The 2011 award was given to Professor Ramdarash Mishra for his collection of poems Aam ke Patte published in 2004. The collection of poems has tried to establish a relationship of man with ordinary objects like pen and table and has reminded their unnoticed importance in human life.
About Vyas Samman
Vyas Samman was instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991 and is awarded annually in recognition of the hindi literary work published in past 10 years in genres like plays, novels, poetry, short stories, critiques and others. The award carries 2.5 lakh rupees and a citation and a plaque
New WWF chief appointed
1.WWF, a global conservation organisation, on Thursday announced the appointment of Marco Lambertini as director-general of WWF International.
2.Dr. Lambertini, who has 25 years of experience as a global conservation leader, will begin his new role with WWF International on May 1. He is at present chief executive of Bird Life International.
3.In a statement, WWF International Board of Trustees president Yolanda Kakabadse said: “Dr. Lambertini was an outstanding candidate in a broad field of exceptional applicants. We were searching for someone with proven global leadership credentials as well as a global mindset, first-class scientific and political acumen, someone who is an energetic fundraiser, a campaigner and a natural communicator, who demonstrates the passion and drive to save life on Earth.”
4.Prior to his current role as chief executive of Bird Life International, he was global director of Network and Programme for over a decade. That role saw him broaden BirdLife’s global reach and relevance, and develop decentralized structures for most effective global conservation impact.
Amul wins AIMA brand performance award
1.All India Management Association (AIMA), the national apex body of management professionals in the country, has conferred the high performance brand award for 2013 on Amul, the milk brand marketed by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).
2.The annual award is conferred on distinguished professionals and organisations for making outstanding contribution to their organisations and to recognise excellence in management, entrepreneurship and leadership, according to an Amul release here.
3.AIMA and RK Swamy BBDO had instituted the Award in 2009.
4.For the year 2013, Srinivasan Swamy, Jury Chairman and Past President, AIMA, along with others, unanimously decided to bestow the award on Amul. GCMMF is the largest food products marketing organisation of India with an annual turnover of Rs 13,735 crore during 2012-13.
5.This award was given in reorganization of the path breaking achievements of GCMMF which has successfully used commercial marketing to enrich the lives of millions of farmers. It has achieved market leadership in all the categories that it operates in.
Indian-American hedge fund boss in Bharara’s net
1.Mathew Martoma (39), a former portfolio manager at billionaire Steven Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund, was added to the list of Indian-Americans successfully prosecuted by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara when he was found guilty on Thursday of engaging in “the most lucrative insider trading scheme in U.S. history,” to the tune of $275 million.
2.In a statement Mr. Bharara welcomed the decision of the federal jury in the case, saying, “Martoma cultivated and purchased the confidence of doctors with secret knowledge of an experimental Alzheimer's drug, and used it to engage in illegal insider trading… netting a quarter billion dollars in profits and losses avoided for SAC, as well as a $9 million bonus for him.”
3.While Mr. Bharara’s office was said to have obtained guilty pleas from or convictions of seven other former portfolio managers or research analysts accused of illegal trading while at SAC, Martoma’s is being seen as unique among these as it appears to be the first to tangentially connect Cohen, the founder of the firm, to alleged illegal transactions.
4.At the heart of this observation is the investigation’s focus on a 20-minute conversation between Martoma and Cohen shortly after they received information from Sidney Gilman, a University of Michigan doctor and government witness involved in clinical trials for the Alzheimer’s drug.
Supreme Court upholds wage board notification
1.The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the constitutional validity of the November 11, 2011 Union government notifications, directing implementation of the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Boards for journalists and non-journalists of newspapers and news agencies.
2.A Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh, dismissing a batch of petitions filed by newspaper managements and the Indian Newspaper Society, said the recommendations “are valid in law, based on genuine and acceptable considerations and there is no valid ground for interference under Article 32 of the Constitution.”
3.Writing the judgment, the CJI said the wages as revised/determined were payable from November 11, 2011. The Bench said: “All arrears up to March 2014 shall be paid to all eligible persons in four equal instalments within one year from today [Friday]” and the revised wages should continue to be paid from April 2014.
Malala nominated for ‘Children’s Nobel Prize’
1.Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai has been nominated for the World Children’s Prize in Sweden for her crusade for education rights for girls.
2.Liv Kjellberg, 15, a member of the international prize jury, said Malala is a child herself and she stands up for girls’ rights to education in not only Pakistan, but also the world. According to Dawn News, Malala was last year nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and won the European Union’s Sakharov human rights prize for her fight for the right of all children to education.
3.The 16-year-old, who lives in Britain following extensive medical treatment, was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for her outspoken views supporting education for girls in Pakistan.
4.The World Children’s Prize, also known as the ‘Children’s Nobel Prize’, was founded in 2000 and aims to raise awareness of children’s rights in 60,000 schools in 110 countries through educational programmes, the report added.
Supreme Court tells NTPC not to cut supply to BSES till 26 March
1.An impending power crisis in Delhi was averted on Friday, with the Supreme Court directing state-owned NTPC Ltd to not suspend electricity supplies till 26 March to the Anil Ambani-controlled BSES firms that distribute power in the capital.
2.The apex court also directed BSES to pay Rs.50 crore to NTPC, India’s largest power generation utility, within two weeks.
3.The next date of hearing is 26 March.
4.NTPC had decided to suspend electricity supply to BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) over unpaid dues after 10 February. The BSES companies approached the Supreme Court on Thursday for relief in their stand-off against NTPC.
5.While an NTPC spokesperson declined comment, a BSES spokesperson in an emailed statement said, “We are extremely grateful to the Hon’ble Supreme Court for its kind intervention on our petition, restraining NTPC from cutting power supplies.”
RBI permits 4 non-bank entities to set up white label ATMs
1.The Reserve Bank today said it has issued ‘certificate of authorisation’ to four non-bank entities, including Tata Communications Payment Solutions and Muthoot Finance, to set up White Label ATMs (WLAs) in the country.
2.The other two non-bank entities to which the Reserve Bank has issued the certificate for setting up and operating the White Label ATMs are Prizm Payment Services and Vakrangee Ltd.
3.While Tata, Muthoot and Prizm have already launched their services, Vakrangee Ltd is likely to commence its service shortly, the central bank said.
4.Most of the ATMs belong to banks, but the cash dispensing machines which are owned and operated by non-banking companies are called White Label ATMs.
5.In June 2012, the RBI had issued policy guidelines permitting non-bank entities to set up and operate WLAs. Prior to this, only banks were permitted to set up and operate ATMs in the country.
6.The primary objective of permitting non-banks to operate WLAs, RBI said, was to enhance the spread of ATMs in semi-urban and rural areas (mainly in tier III to VI areas), where bank-owned ATM penetration was not growing.
DTH scheme to give money directly to beneficiaries, says Jairam Ramesh
1.After the direct benefit transfer project, the Government is now planning to usher in a Direct-To-Home (DTH) scheme to plug leakages and handover pensions, work wages and other entitlements directly to beneficiaries across the country.
2.Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said the scheme has been initiated in Andhra Pradesh and the need to bring out such a programme was thought as the government was witnessing those funds of welfare schemes were getting “leaked” rather than reaching legitimate beneficiaries.
Microsoft's new chairman appointment indicates
1.With Microsoft's appointment of John Thompson as chairman to replace co-founder Bill Gates, the world's largest software maker is looking to the veteran technology executive as the main outside voice in its new leadership structure. The new chairman is only Microsoft's second since the company was founded by Gates and Paul Allen in 1975.
2.Thompson was the lead independent director heading the board's search for a new chief executive offi cer, resulting in the appointment of Microsoft insider Satya Nadella to replace Steve Ballmer, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in a statement today. While the naming of Thompson and Nadella, who were already involved in Microsoft's transition, signal continuity, it's also the biggest break in the company's history as the Gates-Ballmer duo who have been in charge for more than three decades step aside.
3.Thompson joined Microsoft as a director in 2012 as part of an expansion of the board. In a video that Microsoft posted online, Thompson said he was "looking forward to working closely with Satya and other members of the board. The board is always focused on long-term success of this great company and takes seriously its responsibilities to shareholders to ensure long-term success."
Union Government hiked FRP of Sugarcane by 10 rupees per quintal for 2014-15
1.The Union Government on 6 February 2014 approved the increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane by 10 rupees per quintal for 2014-15 marketing season (October - September). As a result, FRP of sugarcane will increase from 210 ruppes per quintal to 220 rupees per quintal. This decision of hike in price was taken during a meet of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in New Delhi.
2.FRP is the minimum price that has been legally guaranteed to the sugarcane farmers, whereas, the state government has the right to fix Statutory Advised Price (SAP) as their own prices. Even the millers are free to offer any price above the FRP price announced by the Union government. FRP for sugarcane has been fixed by taking the margins for sugarcane farmers on the basis of production cost of sugarcane including transportation costs.
3.For this year, the government has pegged sugar output at 24.1 million tonnes, which is less than the 25 million tonnes achieved last year. After Brazil, India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world and is the biggest consumer of the sweetener. 23 million tonnes is the total annual demand of sugar in India.
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