Rising shuttler P. V. Sindhu on Friday created
history by becoming the first Indian woman singles player to ensure a medal at
the World Badminton Championships after scoring an upset win over local
favourite Shixian Wang of China to enter the semifinals in Guangzhou.
Playing in her maiden World Championships, Sindhu,
seeded 10th, had an easy outing against the World No. 8 and seventh seeded
Wang. The Indian took just 55 minutes to get the better of her fancied Chinese
opponent 21-18, 21-17.
World No. 12 Sindhu will take on the winner of the
match between Carolina Marin and Ratchanok Intanon in the last four round.
Before Sindhu, Prakash Padukone won a medal in the
World Championships way back in 1983 when he bagged a bronze in the men singles
event in Copenhagen, while the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini
Ponnappa bagged another bronze for India in the last edition of the tournament
at London in 2011.
Barack
Obama, the US President would confer the Presidential Medal of Freedom on
former US President, Bill Clinton and talk show queen, Oprah Winfrey. It is the
highest civilian honour of America. The announcement of the Freedom Honorees
was done on 8 August 2013.
Clinton and Winfrey are among the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for the year 2013. The award was created by John F Kennedy and this year it marks its 50th Anniversary of the executive order signed by him. Since the day of its formation, the Presidential medal has been awarded to more than 500 exceptional individuals from different sections of society.
Other recipients of the award include
• Ernie Banks a baseball players
• Ben Bradlee, he as a newsmen of his generation
• Daniel Kahneman a scholar of psychology
• Richard Lugar a former Senator
• Loretta Lynn legend of country music
• Patricia Wald, an appellate judge of her generation
• Mario Molina, a visionary chemist and environmental scientist
• Cordy Tindell C T Vivian, a distinguished minister, author, and organiser
• Arturo Sandoval, celebrated jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer
• Dean Smith, head coach of the University of North Carolina basketball team between 1961 to 1997
• Gloria Steinem, a renowned writer and activist for women's equality
Three were honoured posthumously and they are Sally Ride (first American astronaut to travel to space), Daniel Inouye (a public servant) and Bayard Rustin (an activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all).
About Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States. Individuals, who have made some meritorious contribution for the national security and national interest of US, Cultural/Public/Private endeavors and World Peace are recognized by this award. Being a civilian award, it can be awarded to a military person and can be worn along with the uniform. It can also awarded even to non-US residents.
It was established in 1963 and replaced the earlier Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945.
About Bill Clinton
Mr Clinton, was the 42nd President of US and held the presidency from 1993 to 2001 and has since focused on his philanthropic foundation. He was the third youngest President of US.
About Oprah Winfrey
Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. She is often seen topping lists of most powerful celebrities. She is famous worldwide for her multi-award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011.
In the year 2012, recipient of the award were John Glenn an astronaut, Bob Dylan and Shiman Peres (President of Israel).
Clinton and Winfrey are among the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for the year 2013. The award was created by John F Kennedy and this year it marks its 50th Anniversary of the executive order signed by him. Since the day of its formation, the Presidential medal has been awarded to more than 500 exceptional individuals from different sections of society.
Other recipients of the award include
• Ernie Banks a baseball players
• Ben Bradlee, he as a newsmen of his generation
• Daniel Kahneman a scholar of psychology
• Richard Lugar a former Senator
• Loretta Lynn legend of country music
• Patricia Wald, an appellate judge of her generation
• Mario Molina, a visionary chemist and environmental scientist
• Cordy Tindell C T Vivian, a distinguished minister, author, and organiser
• Arturo Sandoval, celebrated jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer
• Dean Smith, head coach of the University of North Carolina basketball team between 1961 to 1997
• Gloria Steinem, a renowned writer and activist for women's equality
Three were honoured posthumously and they are Sally Ride (first American astronaut to travel to space), Daniel Inouye (a public servant) and Bayard Rustin (an activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all).
About Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States. Individuals, who have made some meritorious contribution for the national security and national interest of US, Cultural/Public/Private endeavors and World Peace are recognized by this award. Being a civilian award, it can be awarded to a military person and can be worn along with the uniform. It can also awarded even to non-US residents.
It was established in 1963 and replaced the earlier Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945.
About Bill Clinton
Mr Clinton, was the 42nd President of US and held the presidency from 1993 to 2001 and has since focused on his philanthropic foundation. He was the third youngest President of US.
About Oprah Winfrey
Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. She is often seen topping lists of most powerful celebrities. She is famous worldwide for her multi-award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011.
In the year 2012, recipient of the award were John Glenn an astronaut, Bob Dylan and Shiman Peres (President of Israel).
The
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 8 August 2013 approved the
export of additional 2 million tonnes wheat from its godowns. The additional
wheat would be traded through public sector trading firms. The proposal for
additional export of wheat was proposed by the Union Food Ministry.
The decision was taken for clearing the surplus stock and to ease the storage crunch. The additional export is allowed as there is a huge stock of 40 million tonnes of wheat. The overflowing stocks in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns have also put pressure on storage availability.
The decision was taken for clearing the surplus stock and to ease the storage crunch. The additional export is allowed as there is a huge stock of 40 million tonnes of wheat. The overflowing stocks in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns have also put pressure on storage availability.
National Book Trust (NBT) in first week of August
2013 unveiled its new logo nbt.india to mark completion of 56 Years of its
Operations. Union Human Resource Development Minister M. M. Pallam Raju
unveiled the new logo at a function organised at New Delhi.
The Logo carries a Banyan Tree, which symbolizes stability and knowledge, the flying leaves reveals an open book through a contemporary visual. The combination of red with earthy brown colour portrays the rootedness to Indian soil as well as the passionate urge for knowledge. The stylistic representation of nbt.india indicates the modernistic commitment of the organization engaged in preparing the readers for a future world. The typography is bold slab-serif, which provides a strong base to the idea.
The new logo of NBT has been designed by a Prof. Tarun Deep Girdher a faculty of Graphic design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and his team. This Logo of National Book Trust, India is a harmony of tradition and innovation, earthiness and imagination.
The Logo carries a Banyan Tree, which symbolizes stability and knowledge, the flying leaves reveals an open book through a contemporary visual. The combination of red with earthy brown colour portrays the rootedness to Indian soil as well as the passionate urge for knowledge. The stylistic representation of nbt.india indicates the modernistic commitment of the organization engaged in preparing the readers for a future world. The typography is bold slab-serif, which provides a strong base to the idea.
The new logo of NBT has been designed by a Prof. Tarun Deep Girdher a faculty of Graphic design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and his team. This Logo of National Book Trust, India is a harmony of tradition and innovation, earthiness and imagination.
The motto, Ekah Soote Saklam (एक: सूते सकलं), taken from Kalidasa's
Meghdutam, signifies the purpose of NBT for striving to give every thing
desired in the world of books.
About National Book Trust
The National Book Trust, India, is an apex body established by the Government of India (Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development) in the year 1957 to develop reading habits and creation of book culture in the country. To achieve its objectives, Trust is publishing good quality books at reasonable price, organizing Book Fairs and Exhibitions in all parts of the country to provide an opportunity for interaction among authors, publishers, librarians and book lovers.
The Trust publishes books in 18 major Indian languages, which includes Asamiya, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Manipuri, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Odiya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. In addition to this, the Trust has also published books in Bhojpuri, Himachali, Kokborok, Khasi, Garo, Lepcha, Bhutia, Mising Limboo, Mizo, Newari, Bodo, among others.
The National Book Trust, India, is an apex body established by the Government of India (Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development) in the year 1957 to develop reading habits and creation of book culture in the country. To achieve its objectives, Trust is publishing good quality books at reasonable price, organizing Book Fairs and Exhibitions in all parts of the country to provide an opportunity for interaction among authors, publishers, librarians and book lovers.
The Trust publishes books in 18 major Indian languages, which includes Asamiya, Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Manipuri, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Odiya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. In addition to this, the Trust has also published books in Bhojpuri, Himachali, Kokborok, Khasi, Garo, Lepcha, Bhutia, Mising Limboo, Mizo, Newari, Bodo, among others.
A special
report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Bihar has
revealed that a total of 83 percent households in the state did not get the
employment of 100 days under the scheme.
CAG studied 15 districts as sample out of 38 districts of Bihar and found that maximum 17 percent households were provided with 100 day jobs during 2007-2012 (period of 11th Five Year Plan). Of the fifteen sample districts, Madhubani stood at the last position with employment generation rate of below one percent and Begusarai topped in the list with seven percent employment.
The agency also recorded a decreasing trend in job offering from a sharp drop from 75 percent in 2007-08 to 20 percent in 2011-12. It also noted that of all the registered population for the scheme just one to seven percent were provided 100 days employment. The agency also noted that 76.42 man-days of work could not be created in Bihar because of certain irregularities, which included non-release or delay in release of funds, non-payment of wages, unspent amount of grant, excess consumption of material over wages and few problems at local level.
There were several loopholes and weaknesses on part of project implementation starting from planning, execution, fund management, monitoring and training in implementation of MGNREGS and grievance redressal mechanism in the State.
In the survey a sample of 1997 beneficiaries, there existed problems at different levels like fixation of photographs on job cards. About 37 percent job cards had no photographs, apart from this multiple job cards were issued to the same household.
In about 26 percent cases, the payment of wages that was entered on the job cards didn't matched with the amount credited to their accounts. Also, wages were deposited in the personal accounts of the working agencies first and further given via cheques which were dropped due to lack of balance in the accounts of the agencies.
CAG studied 15 districts as sample out of 38 districts of Bihar and found that maximum 17 percent households were provided with 100 day jobs during 2007-2012 (period of 11th Five Year Plan). Of the fifteen sample districts, Madhubani stood at the last position with employment generation rate of below one percent and Begusarai topped in the list with seven percent employment.
The agency also recorded a decreasing trend in job offering from a sharp drop from 75 percent in 2007-08 to 20 percent in 2011-12. It also noted that of all the registered population for the scheme just one to seven percent were provided 100 days employment. The agency also noted that 76.42 man-days of work could not be created in Bihar because of certain irregularities, which included non-release or delay in release of funds, non-payment of wages, unspent amount of grant, excess consumption of material over wages and few problems at local level.
There were several loopholes and weaknesses on part of project implementation starting from planning, execution, fund management, monitoring and training in implementation of MGNREGS and grievance redressal mechanism in the State.
In the survey a sample of 1997 beneficiaries, there existed problems at different levels like fixation of photographs on job cards. About 37 percent job cards had no photographs, apart from this multiple job cards were issued to the same household.
In about 26 percent cases, the payment of wages that was entered on the job cards didn't matched with the amount credited to their accounts. Also, wages were deposited in the personal accounts of the working agencies first and further given via cheques which were dropped due to lack of balance in the accounts of the agencies.
The
Companies Bill 2012 was passed in Rajya Sabha on 8 August 2013 (during the
monsoon session of the parliament). Earlier, the bill was passed by the Lok
Sabha on 18 December 2012. The legislation will replace the 57-year old
Companies Act, 1956 after getting the final consent from Pranab Mukherjee, the
President of India.
Highlights of the Companies Bill that was presented in the Parliament
• The new legislation, which would replace the nearly 57-year-old Companies Act of 1956 and would encourage the companies to undertake social welfare voluntarily instead of imposing the social responsibility.
• The proposed legislation would ensure setting up of special courts for speedy trial and stronger steps for transparent corporate governance practices and curb corporate misdoings.
• The new law would require companies that meet certain set of criteria, to spend at least two percent of their average profits in the last three years towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
• In case, entities are unable to comply with the CSR rules, they would be needed to give explanations. Otherwise, they would face action, including penalty.
• The amended legislation also limits the number of companies an auditor can serve to 20 besides bringing more clarity on criminal liability of auditors.
The Companies Act of 1956 replaced the first Companies Act that was created in 1919 (the pre-independent India). The Act of 1956 has been amended 25 times in all these years since its formation.
Highlights of the Companies Bill that was presented in the Parliament
• The new legislation, which would replace the nearly 57-year-old Companies Act of 1956 and would encourage the companies to undertake social welfare voluntarily instead of imposing the social responsibility.
• The proposed legislation would ensure setting up of special courts for speedy trial and stronger steps for transparent corporate governance practices and curb corporate misdoings.
• The new law would require companies that meet certain set of criteria, to spend at least two percent of their average profits in the last three years towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
• In case, entities are unable to comply with the CSR rules, they would be needed to give explanations. Otherwise, they would face action, including penalty.
• The amended legislation also limits the number of companies an auditor can serve to 20 besides bringing more clarity on criminal liability of auditors.
The Companies Act of 1956 replaced the first Companies Act that was created in 1919 (the pre-independent India). The Act of 1956 has been amended 25 times in all these years since its formation.
The
men-only Royal Yacht Squadron, a prestigious sailing club in Britain, in the
first week of August 2013 lifted its 200 years ban on women becoming member of
the club. Earlier, entrance of the queen, its patron, was not allowed into the
club. The ban was lifted after the agenda of change in club rules was voted.
The Duke of Edinburgh (husband of the Queen himself) is the Admiral of the club and the Queen Elizabeth II herself is a patron of the club. But officially, she isn't the member of the Yacht club.
About the Royal Yacht Squadron Club
Founded in 1815, the Royal Yacht Squadron is the most prestigious yacht club in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. Its clubhouse is located in the 16th Century Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. The club’s patron is Queen Elizabeth II and the club’s Admiral is Prince Philip. In 1833 William IV renamed the club, The Royal Yacht Squadron.
The Duke of Edinburgh (husband of the Queen himself) is the Admiral of the club and the Queen Elizabeth II herself is a patron of the club. But officially, she isn't the member of the Yacht club.
About the Royal Yacht Squadron Club
Founded in 1815, the Royal Yacht Squadron is the most prestigious yacht club in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. Its clubhouse is located in the 16th Century Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. The club’s patron is Queen Elizabeth II and the club’s Admiral is Prince Philip. In 1833 William IV renamed the club, The Royal Yacht Squadron.
Bhumi
Sena Scheme was launched in Uttar Pradesh on 8 August 2013 by the Chief
Minister of the State, Akhilesh Yadav. The scheme was launched in a function
held at 5, Kalidas Marg, Lucknow for reclamation of the barren, usar (alkaline
soils) and ravenous land. The scheme would help in increasing cultivation area
in the state.
The scheme was launched for the 2013-14 fiscal with an aim of recovering about 44000 hectares of barren, usar and ravenous land for being fit for use by making a cluster approach in 10 selected districts.
During the 2012-13 fiscal about 35000 hectares of flood-affected, rugged, barren and ravenous land were repaired for being fit for use and restored for farm purpose. it benefitted about 70000 marginal and average farmers at an investment of 50 crore.
About Bhumi Sena Yojna
Uttar Pradesh Bhumi Sudhar Nigam (UPBSN) a body that is a U.P. Government Undertaking is executing the scheme in 17 districts of the state. Under this, banjar land development, rehabilitation of ponds and treatment of water logged area through proper drainage development is being undertaken. For the first time it was launched in 1990 by the former Chief Minister of the state, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The Scheme involves following activities
• Treatment of Sodic, Wasteland, Barren and waterlogged land of selected allottees, small and marginal farmers under the scheme of Bhumi Sena to increase the productivity of their land as well as increase in income and availability of food grain of their family
• Treatment of cultivable waste land through Bhumi Sainiks to increase the area coverage of forestry/agricultural forestry, horticulture etc.
• Remodeling of ponds for water agriculture i.e. fishery and singhara cultivation and also improvement in ground water level through water harvesting.
• Formation of Bhumi Sena as an organized, disciplined, and active force by giving desired training as and when required and deploy this force for land and water management, water harvesting, minor irrigation, cleaning of silt, disaster management, forestry to ensure provision for minimum 100 days employment to every household in a year.
The scheme was launched for the 2013-14 fiscal with an aim of recovering about 44000 hectares of barren, usar and ravenous land for being fit for use by making a cluster approach in 10 selected districts.
During the 2012-13 fiscal about 35000 hectares of flood-affected, rugged, barren and ravenous land were repaired for being fit for use and restored for farm purpose. it benefitted about 70000 marginal and average farmers at an investment of 50 crore.
About Bhumi Sena Yojna
Uttar Pradesh Bhumi Sudhar Nigam (UPBSN) a body that is a U.P. Government Undertaking is executing the scheme in 17 districts of the state. Under this, banjar land development, rehabilitation of ponds and treatment of water logged area through proper drainage development is being undertaken. For the first time it was launched in 1990 by the former Chief Minister of the state, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The Scheme involves following activities
• Treatment of Sodic, Wasteland, Barren and waterlogged land of selected allottees, small and marginal farmers under the scheme of Bhumi Sena to increase the productivity of their land as well as increase in income and availability of food grain of their family
• Treatment of cultivable waste land through Bhumi Sainiks to increase the area coverage of forestry/agricultural forestry, horticulture etc.
• Remodeling of ponds for water agriculture i.e. fishery and singhara cultivation and also improvement in ground water level through water harvesting.
• Formation of Bhumi Sena as an organized, disciplined, and active force by giving desired training as and when required and deploy this force for land and water management, water harvesting, minor irrigation, cleaning of silt, disaster management, forestry to ensure provision for minimum 100 days employment to every household in a year.
Gitanjali,
the collection of poems (song offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore was released in
14 different languages at Kolkata by Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of
West Bengal on 8 August 2013.
About Gitanjali
• Gitanjali for the first time was published in 1913 and is a collection of 157 poems
• The English version of Gitanjali that is known as the Song Offerings is a collection of 103 English poems . These were self translated by Tagore and was published by the Indian Society of London. The English version contained translations of 53 poems from the original Bengali Gitanjali, as well as 50 other poems from Tagore's drama Achalayatan and eight other books of poetry 17 poems were taken from Gitimalya, 15 from Naivedya and 11 from Kheya.
• Gitanjali is composed from two words Git that means song and anjali that means offering, thus as a whole it means an offering of songs.
In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, largely for the English Gitanjali.
About Gitanjali
• Gitanjali for the first time was published in 1913 and is a collection of 157 poems
• The English version of Gitanjali that is known as the Song Offerings is a collection of 103 English poems . These were self translated by Tagore and was published by the Indian Society of London. The English version contained translations of 53 poems from the original Bengali Gitanjali, as well as 50 other poems from Tagore's drama Achalayatan and eight other books of poetry 17 poems were taken from Gitimalya, 15 from Naivedya and 11 from Kheya.
• Gitanjali is composed from two words Git that means song and anjali that means offering, thus as a whole it means an offering of songs.
In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, largely for the English Gitanjali.
No comments:
Post a Comment