Current Affairs Current Affairs October 30, 2009
India and Bosnia-Herzegovina today signed the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters. Aims of This treaty is to improve effectiveness in investigation and prosecution of crime, including those related to terrorism, and confiscation of proceeds and instruments of crime. Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran signed the treaty with Bosnia-Herzegovina Minister of Justice Barisa Colak. With the signing of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in criminal matters, cooperation between the two countries in the field of internal security will be strengthened. The Treaty will come into force after exchange of instruments of ratification. The Treaty shall also apply to any request for legal assistance relating to acts or omissions committed before its entry into force. A Bosnia-Herzegovina delegation is in New Delhi on a two-day visit that will conclude tomorrow. Two bilateral treaties viz Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Extradition Treaty will also be negotiated between the two sides.
What is MONUC?
MONUC, a French acronym for Mission de l’Organisation des Nations Unies en République démocratique du Congo (English: Mission of the United Nations Organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)), is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was established by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1279 (1999) and 1291 (2000) of the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict and the Kivu conflict.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently lauded the services of the 5000-strong Indian contingent in MONUC, saying it had not only engaged in peace-keeping but also carried out significant humanitarian work for Congolese people. The remarks by Congolese Foreign Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, who is currently on a visit to India, are significant as some Indian members of the MONUC were alleged to have been involved in child abuse cases.
DoNER Minister’s Meeting with NHAI
Minister for the Development of North Eastern Regions (DoNER), B K Handique, has reviewed the road projects being planned and implemented in North Eastern Regions at a meeting held here last evening with the senior officials of the Ministry of Highways and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). According to official sources, the review meeting specially discussed nine road projects of the North Eastern Region — Trans-Arunachal highway, Dhola Sadiya bridge, Numali-Gohpur bridge, Alternate route to Sikkim, Upgradation of NH-31-A to Gangtok, Lumla-Tashingong, Bile-Migging and Taliha-Tato Roads, Four-laning of NH-37 on the Nagaon-Jorhat-Dibrugarh stretch, Four-lane connectivity to Itanagar and Upgradation of NH-52, NH-53 and NH-54.
India Egypt Joint Action Plan for cooperation for Economic Ties
India and Egypt have signed a joint action plan for cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Indian Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to give a further boost to economic ties between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and his Egyptian counterpart Rachid Mohamed Rachid in Cairo.
US Embargo on Cuba:
The United States Embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960. It was enacted after Cuba expropriated the properties of United States citizens and corporations and it was strengthened to a near-total embargo in February 1962.
9th Green Energy Summit
9th Green Energy Summit was organised by india Forum in new Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit called for judicious use of green energy, including renewable energy, saying that energy resources from fossils fuel were not going to last longer and ”our energy requirements are galloping day by day. She also said that Delhi Government has signed MoUs with TERI to give fillip to its conservation efforts.
Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) of Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a proposal of Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) of Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (REC) of 17,17,32,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each constituting 20 per cent of existing paid-up capital. This comprises fresh issue of 12,87,99,000 equity shares (15 per cent of PUC) and offer for sale (disinvestment) of 4,29,33,000 equity shares (five per cent existing PUC) by the selling shareholder, that is, the President of India.
What is Follow on Public Offer?
The basic difference between Initial Public Offer (IPO) and Follow on Public Offer (FPO) is as the names suggest IPO is for the companies which have not listed on an exchange and FPO is for the companies which have already listed on exchange but want to raise funds by issuing some more equity shares.
Potential Threats to Andaman Security : Excerpts from MP’s talks to UNI:
The Only MP (please note that All Union Territories and Sikkim, Nagaland Miizoram States have only one MP seats each) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Bishnu Pada Rayhas recently revealed that remote islands of this Union Territory are ‘another Kargil in making and India urgently needs an interlinked road connectivity in Diglipur Islands of North Andaman region as counter move to Chinese development in the neighbouring Coco Island, situated just 40 miles from East Island of Andaman and Nicobar Chain.There are hundreds of inaccessible islands in Northern region of Andaman and after tsunami some have become totally unreachable due to tectonic lift, Mr Roy stated. ”If tomorrow terrorists, poachers or armed forces of neighboring countries attack these islands, it will be very difficult for our armed forces to respond, due to lack of connectivity. These roads if constructed by the Central government will not only ensure coastal security, but also check infiltration of foreign poachers and increase tourism as well as fishing potential of these islands. ”It will also help to tackle future territorial threat from Burma’s Coco Island, which is presently leased to China.
What is ‘Lightening Strike’
This is the name of the India and Maldives Defence Exercise currently undergoing in Belgaum.
A two-day Himalayan Chief Ministers conclave on Indian Himalayas Glaciers, Climate and livelihoods began in Shimla to focus on the critical need to ensure sustainable development of the Indian Himalayas.
JNTUK and Bangkok University will sign MOU
The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada(JNTUK)) will shortly sign an MOU with the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok on the joint collaborative research projects and sponsored PG programmes.
Position of India NewZealand Free Trade pact :
India and New Zealand had agreed in April 2009 to enter into FTA negotiations subject to completion by New Delhi of its own approval processes. A joint study by the two countries had concluded that the FTA would increase both countries’ real gross domestic product and welfare. During an interactive meeting on scope and opportunities in services in New Zealand and Australia in New Delhi. The FTA with New Zealand ”is likely to be finalised in 2009.
IFSEC India 2009
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today inaugurated the third edition of IFSEC India 2009, the security and fire technology. The three-day exhibition will unveil and expose the consumers to the latest technology in the security sector as more than 220 world’s leading security companies are participating in the exhibition this year
World Pneumonia Day 2009
World Pneumonia Day is observed on November 2.To focus on the killer pneumonia which claims lives of 410,000 children every year in India, Health advocates from across the country would launch a campaign against the disease on this day.
Birth Centeneary of Homi J. Bhabha
Homi J Bhabha laid the foundation of India’s huge atomic energy establishment almost singlehandedly, nurturing and expanding it with his dynamic vision. India’s atomic energy programme has acquired global stature today, capable of designing and testing nuclear weapons and aspiring to meet its growing demands for nuclear energy, owing to the dream visualized by Homi J Bhabha. The Following Introduction in Wikipedia is worth Reading:
World War II broke out in September 1939 while Bhabha was vacationing in India. He chose to remain in India until the war ended. In the meantime, he accepted a position at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, headed by Nobel laureate C. V. Raman. He established the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the institute, and began to work on the theory of the movement of point particles. In 1945, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, and the Atomic Energy Commission of India three years later. In the 1950s, Bhabha represented India in International Atomic Energy Forums, and served as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955. He later served as the member of the Indian Cabinet’s Scientific Advisory Committee and set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research with Vikram Sarabhai. In January 1966, Bhabha died in a plane crash near Mont Blanc, while heading to Vienna, Austria to attend a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
Common Wealth Baton:
Queen Elizabeth II launched the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010, 339 days before the start of the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi, by placing her message to the athletes in an exquisite jewellery box in a handcrafted Baton.
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Month: Current Affairs - October, 2009