11-12 April 2015 eng
Arun Kumar Jha appointed as CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
The decision in this regard was taken on 10 April 2015 by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
As the CEO of KVIC, he will oversee the day-to-day functioning of the commission and report about its activities to the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Before this appointment, he had been working as the Director General of National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) functioning under the Union Ministry of MSME.
Jha is a 1985-batch Indian Economics Service (IES) officer.
About KVIC
• It is a statutory body established by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956.
• It functions under the aegis of Union Ministry of MSME.
• It’sprimary objective is to create self-reliance amongst the poor and build strong rural community spirit by producing saleable articles and providing employment.
Supreme Court ordered free treatment for acid attack victims
The Supreme Court (SC) of India on 10 April 2015 directed all the private hospitals in the country to provide for full and free medical treatment to acid attack victims.
The verdict was delivered by a social justice bench of the court comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Laxmi vs Union of India filed under theArticle 32 of the Indian Constitution.
The court, in its judgment, elaborated that the term treatment includes reconstructive surgery, free medicines, bed, rehabilitation and aftercare.
The recent order is in addition to its earlier orders aimed at providing justice, relief and rehabilitation to acid attack victims.
Earlier orders of the SC are
• Amendment of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) by inserting a special section to deal with issues related to acid attacks. In effect, the Union Government inserted the Section 357C into the IPC in February 2013.
• Fixing 3 lakh rupees as minimum compensation to the acid attack victims.
• Imposing complete ban on over-the-counter sale of acid.
The verdict assumes significance in the back drop of 309 cases reported in 2014 as against 66 and 85 cases reported in 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Bharat Hari Singhania became the president of JK Organization
Bharat Hari Singhania assumed the presidency of JK Organization. The company issued a formal statement on 9 April 2015 in this regard.
He succeeded Gaur Hari Singhania who died on 4 April 2015.
The JK Group is 125-year-old and has footprint in 100 countries. It has overseas manufacturing operations in Indonesia, Mexico, Romania, Belgium, Portugal and the UAE.
About Bharat Hari Singhania
• He is an industrialist with over forty-four years of experience in managing various industries including cement, automotive tyres, paper, synthetics, audio magnetic tapes and high yielding hybrid seeds.
• He has been the Chairman of JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd., the holding company of Hansdeep Industries and Trading Company Ltd., since May 2013.
• He has been a Director of Bengal and Assam Company Ltd. since February 2009.
• He is also the chancellor of JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur.
NGT banned construction activities causing air pollution in Delhi-Nation Capital Region (NCR)
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 10 April 2015 imposed ban on all construction activities in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) that do not follow the guidelines provided by the then Union Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2010.
The directive was delivered by a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, NGT chairman, in order to check growing menace of air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
Key points of the NGT order
• Workers employed in the construction site or engaged in loading and unloading of building materials should be provided with masks.
• Every builder and owner should put tarpaulin sheets around area of construction.
• No person, including builder and owner, is allowed to throw construction material particularly sand on the roads or inside colonies.
• Construction material of any kind that is stored at the building site would be properly covered so that it does not disperse through air.
• While carrying construction material and debris, the transport vehicles shall be covered fully.
• If any builder or owner is found violating the above norms at the construction site or during transportation of construction debris, he/she will be liable to a fine up to 50000 rupees and 5000 rupees respectively.
• The authorities in Delhi-NCR shall make efforts to increase tree cover and should take immediate steps to enhance the capacity for reutilisation and recycling of Construction and Demolition waste.
President inaugurated Songs and Dances of Northeast event in New Delhi
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 11 April 2015 inauguratedthe first ever Songs and Dances of Northeast event in New Delhi.
The purpose of the event is to showcase the various facets of Northeast to people living outside Northeast.
Key features of Songs and Dances of Northeast
• It denotes a series of events planned by the North-Eastern Council (NEC) andUnion Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) with an aim to attract investors and visitors to the region.
• A series of events will be held by rotation in different parts of the country in the coming months.
• Each event will be held in collaboration with one of the eight States of the region.
• The present event was organised in collaboration with Meghalaya.
The theme of events in this series will be determined on the basis of the characteristics of whichever State is hosting the event and the city in which it is being held.
• The necessary financial resources will be provided by the NEC.
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won WTA Family Circle Cup
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair of Tennis on 12 April 2015 won the 731000 US dollar WTA Family Circle Cup doubles title. In the title clash played at Charleston in the United States, the duo defeated Australian-Croatian pair of Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak 6-0, 6-4.
This was third consecutive team title for the Indo-Swiss pair. Earlier, they won the Miami Open Tennis women's doubles title on 5 April 2015 and Indian Wells Open title on 21 March 2015.
With this win, Sania Mirza also became the first female tennis player from India to achieve the world number one rank in doubles. Sania is also first female player from the country to win Grand Slam tournaments.
Before Sania, only Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhuapthi had achieved the top rank when they dominated men's doubles circuit in the last 1990s.