India's Neeraj Goyat is WBC Asia Boxer of the Year
Indian pugilist Neeraj Goyat has been conferred with the WBC Asia Boxer of the Year 2017 Award by the Asian Boxing Council.
Currently, Neeraj is the WBC Asia champion in welterweight category.
Since turning pro in 2011, Neeraj has won nine fights including two knockouts.
Hockey India names Harendra Singh as men's coach
Hockey India named Women's hockey coach Harendra Singh as chief coach of the Indian men's team.
Incumbent men's in-charge Sjoerd Marijne has been re-appointed as Indian women's hockey coach.
Harendra Singh coached the Indian men's team earlier from 2009 to 2011.
Under his guidance, the Indian women's team finished an impressive fourth at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Earlier Harendra had led the Indian junior men's hockey team to the World Cup title in 2016.
National Appointment
Subhash Chandra Khuntia is new IRDAI chairman
Former Karnataka Chief Secretary ‘Subhash Chandra Khuntia’ (1981-batch IAS officer Karnataka cadre) has been appointed as Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for three years.
The post was vacant after TS Vijayan’s tenure came to an end on 21st February this year.
Mr. Khuntia had taken over as Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka in October 2016 and held the position until last year.
Note:
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and reinsurance industries in India.
IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.
Shri Sitanshu Kar takes over as DG, PIB
Mr. Sitanshu Ranjan Kar (1983 batch-Indian Information Service officer) has taken over as the Principal Spokesperson of the Government of India and Director General (DG) of Press Information Bureau (PIB) in New Delhi.
He succeeds Mr. Frank Noronha.
Mr. Kar has worked in key positions in various Media Units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In 1988, he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Visnews Fellowship of London in a worldwide competition.
Note:
Mr. Kar had graduated in Humanities from BJB College, Bhubaneswar and secured the First Rank in Political Science Honours in Utkal University.
He earned his post-graduate degree in Political Science and M. Phil in Chinese and Japanese Studies from Delhi University.
Obituaries
Eminent Economist Ashok Mitra passes away
Eminent economist and Marxist politician Ashok Mitra (90-year) passed away in Kolkata.
Mitra left his job as chief economic adviser (CEA) to the government of India in 1972 and join as the first finance minister of the Left Front government in 1977.
Mitra authored the "Calcutta Diary" in Economic and Political Weekly and "Terms of Trade and Class Relations".
Bilateral trade between India and China resumes through Nathu La border
The bilateral trade between India and China through Nathu La border (at a height of 14,200 feet) has resumed.
Earlier, a meeting was held between the representatives of both sides on how to make this year's trade more efficient and cordial.
The trade will take place four days a week (Monday to Thursday) till 30th November.
As per the agreement, both countries agreed to the list of items to 36 as export items and 20 as import items.
Note:
Nathu La connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Nathu La is one of the three open trading border (Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh & Lipulekh at the trisection point of Uttarakhand India & Nepal) posts between China and India.
14 out of world’s 20 most polluted cities in India: WHO
According to the WHO released data, Delhi and Varanasi are among the 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016.
In terms of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figured among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016.
India accounts for 34% or 2.4 million of the seven million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air pollution together globally every year.
The PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.
Note: WHO’s global urban air pollution database measured the levels of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) from more than 4,300 cities in 108 countries.
Exercise “Vijay Prahar” of South Western Command
About 20,000 troops of strike formation of the Army's South Western Command (SWC) are carrying out 'Vijay Prahar' exercise in the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges close to Suratgarh in Rajasthan.
The exercise is aimed to orchestrate wide spectrum of threats which are planned to be tackled through high tempo joint air and land operation.
It involves hundreds of aircraft, thousands of tanks and artillery pieces supported by real-time intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and just in time logistic support.
Legendary Singer Asha Bhosle honored with PC Chandra Puraskaar
Singing legend Asha Bhosle has been honored with the 26th Lifetime PC Chandra Puraskaar 2018 at the Science City auditorium in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
She has been awarded for her contribution in the field of Indian music.
It carries an honorarium of Rs 10 lakh which is tax exempted
Asha Bhosle made her singing debut in 1943 and sung in a great variety of musical genres.
Note: The award is a tribute to the founding father of the P. C. Chandra Group, the late Shri Purna Chandra Chandra.
Chhattisgarh extends the ban on CPI (Maoist) for one more year
The Chhattisgarh Govt. has extended the ban on the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and six of its front organizations for one more year (from 12th May 2018).
In April 2006, The CPI (Maoist) was banned, along with its affiliates, under provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act-2005.
The ban has been extended for a period of one year every year since then.
Sri Lankan govt declares a day of mourning for late Dr. Lester James Peiris
Sri Lankan government has declared a day of mourning in respect of late filmmaker Dr. Lester James Peiris(99-year), who passed away recently.
The day coincides with the funeral of Dr. Peiris which will take place with full state patronage.
A veteran filmmaker of Sinhala cinema since 1949, he was involved in over 28 films, including short films and documentaries.
His films often dealt with Sri Lankan family life in rural settings and conflicted characters and helped create an authentic expression of Sinhala Cinema.
