Current Affairs : July 9, 2011

July 9, 2011

South Sudan: An Independent Nation now

South Sudan emerged as the an Independent Nation
54th nation of Africa
193rd country recognized by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa
Born out of referendum in January, 2011 (Referendum: A popular vote by the electorate whether to approve a specific legislative act)
In the referendum nearly 99% of mainly Christian and Animist in South Sudan voted for independence from the Muslim and Arab majority, ending years of civil war
This Historic moment was witnessed by Honorable Vice President of India Mohd. Hamid Ansari
(*This indicates India’s support for the nation)
Formal proclamation of independence made today by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Food Bill sent by the NAC to the Government

The NAC (National Advisory Committee) headed by Ms Sonia Gandhi sent the draft Food Security Bill to the Union Government
Draft Bill attempts for legal food entitlements to 90% Rural and 50% Urban households via formation of priority and general categories of ration card holders
Bill also suggests the establishment of a National Food Commission and State Food Commissions to supervise the implementation of the Act
The a National Food Commission and State Food Commissions to have powers of a civil court to hold enquiries

The 5^th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians

The 5^th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians commences in New Delhi

Almost 130 delegates, observers and additional persons from the eight SAARC countries to attend the four day Conference
Afghanistan, which joined SAARC in 2007 as its eighth member, joins the Conference formally for the first time
Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the Conference
President of the Conference: Ms Meira Kumar (The Speaker of Lok Sabha)
Ms Meira Kumar to deliver the Welcome Address in her capacity as the President of the Conference

Bill concerning Sports Bodies to be introduced in the Monsoon Session

Government to bring in a Bill in Parliament concerning Sports Bodies in India
Some provisions of the proposed Bill:-

To declare all sports federations (including BCCI) as Public Authorities
Federations will be open to RTI queries
Sports Ombudsman / Lokpal will be there to hear all types of complaints
Anti-Doping norms would get legislative sanctions via this Bill
To check sexual harassment cases in sporting bodies provision will be there
In BCCI, One-fourth of the Executive body’s members to be ex-Cricketers (at National Level)
Tenure and age norms for BCCI, no person above 70 Years will head the BCCI
Tenure for President: 12 years and other members: NOT more than 8 years

Union Sports Minister: Ajay Maken

New Antrix Chief: Dr. V S Hegde

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) announced Dr. V S Hegde as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director for Antrix
Dr. V S Hegde: Veteran remote-sensing applications scientist. Served Bangalore-headquartered ISRO as its Scientific Secretary since January 2010, and had previously played a key role for several years in ISRO’s Earth Observation Satellite Programmes
Appointment, announced by ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan in Banglore
This declaration is a part of plans to reform Antrix in altering times so that it can take advantage of commercial opportunities emanating out of the space agency’s programmes
Antrix: A ‘Miniratna’ Company, it provides space products and services to customers worldwide
Antrix Corporation Limited: ISRO’s marketing arm

Books: “Man’s Fate and God’s Choice”

“Man’s Fate and God’s Choice”: A Book by Mr. Bhimeswara Challa
The Book was released by Honorable Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari
As per Shri Ansari, the book is an intellectual journey in a classical sense and while congratulating the author for such a valuable book he opined that the book addresses a perennial theme-‘The man, his environment and his creature’
About the Book:-

The book put forward that any improvement in human behavior needs a cathartic change at the deepest levels which call for diluting the authority of the mind and resurgence the long-dormant intelligence of the human heart.To meet that confront, we need minimum numbers, a ‘critical mass’ to create self-sustained momentum for transformation through consciousness chang.And every single human of this generation should behave in such a way that he or she is that single person whose transformation could make the decisive species-scale difference.The book offers a menu of ideas and an agenda of action

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