Current Affairs : November 3, 2009

November 9, 2009

Quick Points:

Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited’s (ABCL) debut Marathi production “Vihir” (The Well) was screened at the 11th Mumbai Film Festival . The world premier of “Vihir” was held at the Pusan International Film Festival 2009.
At present the three states top in terms of cashew production in the country are Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh & Orissa.

Appointments :

Atul Chaturvedi is new Steel Secretary
Mr. Chaturvedi has taken over as the Secretary, Ministry of Steel succeeding Mr P K Rastogi who superannuated on October 31.

Resignations:

CII Chief Mentor Tarun Das steps down
After his 35 years’ association with the apex industry body, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) chief mentor Tarun Das has stepped down.

Awards:

Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star- Japanese Honour for RK Pachauri
Chairman of the UN body on climate change R K Pachauri has been honoured by Japanese Emperor Akihito with ‘Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star’ in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the enhancement of Japan’s policy on climate change. The honour was given to the Indian environmentalist because he played a key role in forging global consensus on the climate change debate.
The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rissing Sun- Japansese Award to Dr Venkataraman Krishnamurthy
Another Indian Dr Venkataraman Krishnamurthy, Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council has also been honoured by the Emperor of Japan. He has been bestowed with ‘The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rissing Sun’ for his contribution to the promotion of bilateral economic relations and understanding of Japan in India. He has served as Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Chairman and CEO of Maruti Suzuki, and chairman and CEO of the Steel Authority of India.
Usha Sharma gets Lifetime award from Haryana Government
Director of Haryana Kala Parishad Usha Sharma has been awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by the Haryana government for promoting Haryanvi dance and culture in the state and abroad. The award was conferred on her by the Haryana Governor on the occasion of 44th Haryana Day on November 1.
America’s Democratic Legacy Award – Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg has bagged The Anti-Defamation League’s highest honour America’s Democratic Legacy Award for his work in the field of human rights.
YWCA Outstanding Achievement Award, Salt Lake City to Sanchaita Datta
Sanchaita Datta, chief technology officer, vice president and co-founder of Fatpipe Networks in Salt Lake City, Utah, has won the Young Women’s Christian Association’s (YWCA) Outstanding Achievement Award for Business and Industry.
ISF’s ‘Sikh of the Year’ award – Preneet Kaur
International Sikh Forum has chosen union minister of state for external affairs, Preneet Kaur, for the prestigious ‘Sikh of the Year’ award for the year 2009 for her outstanding contributions to the state of Punjab and Sikhs.
First Indian to be honoured by Yale University is Nandan Nilkeni
Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder and chairman of India’s Unique Identification Database Authority, is set to become the first Indian to receive Yale university’s prestigious Legend in Leadership Award. The award of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute will be presented to Nilekani by varsity’s president Richard C. Levin at a ceremony in New Delhi Nov 6, the New Haven based business school.

More Points about Nandan Nilkeni:

In 2009, Time magazine placed Nilekani on the Time 100 list of the World’s Most Influential People.
He is the inspiration for New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s book “The World Is Flat”.
Nilekani’s own book, “Imagining India,” dissected a range of political, economic and social issues confronting the country.
In 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honours awarded by the government of India.
The Legend in Leadership Award was created 20 years ago to honour current and former CEOs who serve as living legends to inspire chief executives across industries, sectors, and nations.

National & International :

Haryana to observe Nov 9 as Legal Services Day
November 9 will be observed as National Legal Services Day throughout Haryana. Suitable programmes, such as ‘holding of Lok Adalats, Rural Lok Adalts, literacy camps and seminars would be organised in this regard. These programmes would be held at district, Taluk and village levels for rededicating the legal services to the cause of bringing out equal opportunities and equal justice.
‘Linking High Potentials’ – A project of German Ministry in India
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, has announced launch of ‘Linking High Potentials’ project under its two-year research programme with India. The project aims at interlinking the scientific-technological cooperation between Germany and India in the field of print and media technology.The project is a cooperation between the Institute of Print and Media Technology, Germany and Manipal Institute of Technology,India.
Rosaiah releases cofee table book “Andhra Pradesh – a Great Synthesis”
A coffee table book ”Andhra Pradesh – a Great Synthesis”, brought out by Visakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP) as a corporate social responsible initiative, was released by Chief Minister K Rosaiah.
‘Shad Nongkrem’ the thanks giving festival of Meghalaya
‘Shad Nongkrem’, is the thanksgiving festival of tribal Khasi, was celebrated here on November 3, 2009 with traditional fanfare and fervour.Dressed in traditional attire, young men and unmarried women from ‘Hima Khyrim’ (erstwhile independent Khasi state) and the common people danced to the rhythmic beats of the drums and the claning of cymbals and the flute striking up a melody in the background.

Business & Economy :

Online banking begins in Bangladesh
Banking in Bangladesh entered a new era with the commencement of online payment system introduced by the country’s central bank-Bangladesh Bank. It facilitates fund transfers and payment of utility bills on the net.
SBI to foray into wealth management business
State Bank of India willl soon start wealth management business and financial planning services.The bank has about 12,000 branches across the country and has over 14 crore (140 million) account holders spread across length and breadth of the country. It would be targeting middle income group as many large players are already present to provide services to high net worth individual.
World’s lightest notebook launched by SONY

World’s lightest notebook, the Vaio X weighing around 655 grams and is about half an-inch in thickness has been launched by SONY. It is priced at Rs 65,000. Sony India has more than 4,000 dealers and distributors, 240 exclusive outlets and 19 direct branch locations across the country. Vaio X is a direct competitor of Apple’s Macbook Air, weighs around 600 grams and is half an inch thick. To emphasise the ‘slimness’ of the notebook, Sony has signed Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador for Vaio X and will invest Rs 15 crore in India to market it. The company enjoys about 12 per cent market share and targets 20% market share.

Sports:

Youngest Ever to complete 10kms Bermuda Round is Swapnali yadav.
Mumbai’s Swapnali Yadav known as “Little Mermaid” has become the youngest ever in swimming history to complete the 10km Bermuda Round the Sound Open Swimathon in the Atlantic Ocean. Swapnali completed the 10 km distance in three hours 52 minutes and 21 seconds to become the first Indian to win a gold medal in the U-12 category.

Other Achievements of Swapanali Yadav:

She became the youngest ever in open World Swimming Marathon history at eight years and seven months, had on September 1, 2007 stretched 30 km across Messinikos Gulf in Greece to qualify for the Limca Book of Records 2008-09.

National School Kabaddi-Dharmashala
Himachal Pradesh Girls have emerged the National School Kabbadi Champions after defeating Delhi in the final of the under-19 event here while among boys, Delhi bagged title by defeating Haryana.

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