Emami Limited on 2 June 2015 acquired ayurvedic hair and scalp care brand Kesh King for 1651 crore rupees. With this acquisition, Emami forays into the fast-growing haircare segment. Emami’s current oil portfolio includes Navratna Cool Oil and Emami 7 Oil in One Damage Control Hair Oil. Under this acquisition, Kesh King’s business will be transferred to Emami and now Emami will include brand portfolio of ayurvedic medicinal oil, herbal shampoo, conditioner and ayurvedic capsules, along with its respective formulations and all related assets.
Introduced in 2009 by Sanjeev Juneja, Kesh King brand offers products such as oil, herbal shampoo and conditioner and ayurvedic capsules. The brand has presence in 5.4 lakh outlets across India and has a turnover of around 300 crore rupees in 2014-15.
India and Belarus signed six agreements to enhance bilateral co-operation. The agreements were signed in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee during his state visit to Belarus. President Pranab Mukherjee is on two nation’s tour viz Sweden and Belarus. The tour had started from Sweden on 31 May 2015 and later in Belarus on 3 June.
Renowned biochemist Irwin Rose who was awarded 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering molecule Ubiquitin passed away. He was 88. He had shared this noble prize with Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko. Discovery of Ubiquitin Rose, Ciechanover and Hershko had discovered a molecule called Ubiquitin which destroys or cleans up unwanted proteins. This discovery had served as the basis for developing new therapies for diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis which are caused by failure of the clean-up mechanism. The Ubiquitin molecule is also involved in repairing faulty DNA and quality control of newly made proteins. It should be noted that each human cell contains around100,000 different proteins, which carry out different jobs such as speeding up chemical reactions and acting as signals etc.
Rose was born on July 16, 1926 in New York, United States. He had spent much of his career as a researcher at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, US. His Nobel-winning work was done in this cancer centre in late 1970s and early 1980s.
Union Government has launched IAP HealthPhone programme, world’s largest digital mass education programme to address malnutrition in women and children. It was launched by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi. This programme is initiative of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in partnership with Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD). United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Supported by Vodafone India. It should be noted that Bolloywood Actor Aamir Khan is support partner and brand ambassador of this programme.
IAP HealthPhone aims to tackle the challenge of malnutrition in mothers and children across India. It is a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative that seeks to educate over 6 million girls and women between 13 and 35 years of age and their families on better health and nutrition practices by 2018 by leveraging penetration of mobile phones in the country. It will promote and distribute four re-edited videos from the Poshan (nutritional videos) series in 18 Indian languages, which are jointly produced by Union Ministry WCD and UNICEF. These videos addressed issues of status of women, care of pregnant women and children, breastfeeding. It also seeks to spread awareness and importance of balanced diet, health and simple changes in nutritional care practices to enhance nutritional levels. Vodafone India will encourage the viewing of the four videos by enabling its customers to view/download them for free. It will also provide its users with incentive talk time of Rs.10 on viewing the 4 videos. It will also send around 300 million awareness text messages to its subscribers every year to promote the viewing of the four videos. Vodafone India will also help for comprehensive communication campaign to promote the programme across the country via print and social media. The three-year intensive awareness campaign under IAP HealthPhone programme is expected to benefit to improve health of around 60 million children born by 2025 in India and also play important transformative role in India’s fight against malnutrition.
Bangladesh has granted permission to India’s state-owned insurance group Life insurance Corporation (LIC) to do business in the country. It was announced by M Shefaq Ahmed, Chairman of Bangladesh Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA). LIC will start its operations in Bangladesh as a joint venture (JV) entity to be called LIC Bangladesh Ltd with a paid up capital of one billion Taka. In this JV entity LIC will hold half of the amount while the rest would be owed by its Bangladeshi partners. The capital will be raised from the Bangladesh’s capital market and local entrepreneurs.
Earlier in 2013, Bangladesh IRDA had rejected LIC’s proposal to operate in the country citing small capital base. It should be noted that LIC will be the second foreign insurance company to operate in Bangladesh after the US-based MetLife-ALICO. LIC has been in the insurance business for six decades after it was established in 1956. It was established after Indian Parliament had enacted Life Insurance of India Act, 1956 for nationalising the private insurance industry in India. Presently, LIC is worth over 15,000 billion Indian rupees and operates in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Singapore apart from India.
Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at achieving 14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The approval decision of new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed capacity of renewable energy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700 MW. The target will be achieved through public-private partnerships (PPP) and captive power projects and rolled out of slew incentives for developers for these renewable power projects.
Policy aims at achieving the installed capacity of 7,500 MW solar energy, 5,000 MW of wind energy, 1,000 MW of bagasse based co-generation by 2020. It also seeks to achieve installed capacity 400 MW small hydro, 200 MW of industrial waste and 300 MW of agriculture waste-based products by 2020. In order to promote installation of new renewable projects, the state government has simplified consent norms and reduced the number of clearances. State government will also provide financial incentives including electricity duty exemption for ten years apart from various other capital subsidies. Procurement process for these projects will be done through competitive bidding with an assurance that consumers will benefit in terms of affordable tariff.
Edward Snowden, former US security contractor and electronic surveillance whistleblower has been awarded a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression (also known as Bjornson Prize). The award was bestowed upon him by the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US surveillance of its citizens and others. In 2013, Snowden had uncovered the most extensive US global electronic surveillance programmes carried out by National Security Agency (NSA). Presently, he is leaving his exile in Russia. Earlier, Snowden was awarded Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award in 2014 but chose to accept it by video link. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the second year in a row.
Norwegian prize for freedom of expression is also known as Bjornson Prize named after a Norwegian Nobel literature laureate. It is given by Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression which promote understanding of cultures other than our own and for literary free speech. The award carries cash prize of 100,000 kroner (approximately US 14950 dollars).
Union Government has launched Khoya Paya web platform for people to directly report, track and upload information on missing children. It was jointly launched by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Union Minister of Communication & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi. Khoya Paya is joint initiative of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). The first-of-its-kind web portal will serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery.
My child is missing- where citizens can report missing children. I have sighted a child- where citizens can report sightings and whereabouts of missing children without wasting much time. Search a missing child and the found children can also be reported on it. The reporting to the KhoyaPaya site can be done through text, photographs, videos and other means of transmitting and uploading information. The website will also provide links to court orders wherein police have been mandated to register an FIR in the matter of a child gone missing and treat it as either abduction or trafficking unless it is proved otherwise in the investigation.
President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has resigned amid a corruption scandal which under investigation in United States. Earlier on 30 May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA President for a fifth term by defeating his rival candidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan. FIFA, world soccer’s governing body was hit with worst crisis in its history after U.S. investigation agency FBI had alleged its officials were involved in widespread financial wrongdoing in past years. Swiss authorities also had stared their own criminal probe into FIFA’s decision of awarding 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Blatter, a Swiss football administrator had ruled FIFA since 1998 after he was elected for first time. Prior to his Presidency, Blatter was a public relations executive representing various organizations and had served as the general secretary of FIFA since 1981.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. It was announced in the second bi-monthly policy of RBI. It says that Cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks has kept unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). Continuation of providing liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bankwise NDTL at the LAF repo rate. Liquidity under 14-day term repos as well as longer-term repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions. Continuation with overnight/term variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity. This the third time RBI has cut interest rates in 2015. RBI has reduced the rates in order to take advantage of subdued inflation and to give more support to an economy.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on 3 June 2015 inaugurated phase 1A of metro rail services in Jaipur. With this, the pink city became the sixth city in the country to have metro service; other five cities are Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. In the first phase, the metro will run on 9.6 kilometer stretch covering nine stations from residential area Mansarovar to business hub in Chandpole.
Jaipur Metro has added three unique features in its service, and they are
The Jaipur metro work is publicized as one of the fastest-built metros in the country as it has been developed in a time period of four-and-a-half years. One most important fact of Jaipur metro service is that six out of 24 Metro train operators, that is, 25 percent of metro drivers, are women.
Jaipur Metro Rail Project has been developed by Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (JMRCL) which was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary by the Government of Rajasthan.
US President Barack Obama on 2 June 2015 signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015 in law. The USA FREEDOM stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015. With this, the National Security Agency (NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone records of millions of Americans.
The Act was approved by the Senate on 1 June 2015 by 67-32 votes and was passed by the House of Representatives on 13 May 2015. The Act will remain in effect until 15 December 2019.
It is the first piece of legislation to reform post 9/11 surveillance measure known by the name USA PATRIOT Act which was adopted in October 2001, six weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The USA PATRIOT stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
The Act is the culmination of efforts to reform the NSA that blossomed out of NSA leaker Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations. Snowden is the former NSA contractor who released secret information about U.S. spying in June of 2013
Indian-American Punit Renjen was on 1 June 2015 appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) with immediate effect. Renjen succeeded Barry Salzberg, who retired from Deloitte Global on 31 May 2015.
Renjen has a total of 28-year career with Deloitte. Prior to this appointment, Renjen was working as Chairman of the Board of Deloitte United States. However, Renjen will remain with the Deloitte U.S. firm until he transitions to the role of Deloitte Global CEO. Moreover, Punit is a member of the Boards of Directors at United Way Worldwide and at the US-India Business Council as well. He was named as an honoree to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship 100.
Punit was born and raised in India. He moved to the United States after winning a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to Willamette University, where he earned a master’s degree in management.
Fishing ban along the Western Coast became effective from 1 June 2015. The ban will be in place for 61 days till 31 July 2015 in all the western coast states except in Kerala. Kerala decided to stick to the 47-day ban, as in previous years, and allowed its fishermen to continue operating till June 15.
Against the order of the Union Government, Kerala had sought some relaxation as it would affect the livelihood of its fisherfolk along the 450-km coastal belt of the state. Hence, as a special case, the Union Government has allowed only traditional fishermen of Kerala to sail into the sea and that too up to a distance of 12 nautical miles ( country’s territorial waters).
Earlier, the Union Government had issued a notification imposing uniform fishing ban for 61 days in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, from 1 June to 31 July 2015 along the Country’s Western Coastal Zone. The ban is intended to safeguard fish in their breeding season and increase the fish catch.
Similarly, along the East Coast including Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Union Government imposed a 45-day ban on fishing by all fishing vessels in the EEZ between 15 April and 31 May 2015.
The term the Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015 was in news in the fourth week of May 2015 as the President of India Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill, 2013 that related to the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh.
Cult bike maker Harley-Davidson on 2 June 2015 tied up with fashion portal Myntra to sell its casual merchandise through an exclusive online store. Known for rebellious designs and bold urban styling, Harley-Davidson will now offer its casual merchandise on an exclusive online store on Myntra. The online store will offer Harley-Davidson jackets, denims, shirts, t-shirts, caps, wallets and other accessories.
With this partnership, Harley-Davidson merchandise will now be easily accessible to over 12000 pin codes in India. Harley-Davidson merchandise and accessories are also offered through the brand’s dealership network across 17 locations in India.
South Korea and China on 1 June 2015 signed the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Seoul, South Korea. The agreement was signed by the South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng. The negotiations for the agreement that began in May 2012 formally concluded in November 2014.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the trade volume of both countries increased over the past 23 years from 5 billion US dollars to 235.3 billion US dollars in 2014. The volume of mutual investment also multiplied, from 0.11 billion US dollars to 61.64 US billion dollars.
China is already Korea’s largest trade partner and its largest destination for investment which stood at 1.6 billion US dollars between January-March 2015. South Korea is China`s third largest trade partner and is the fifth largest investment destination.
The Union Government on 1 June 2015 simplified the defence rules to boost defence manufacturing in the country and encourage foreign players to explore business in India. In order to provide a level-playing field to private players, the government withdrew excise and Customs duty exemptions enjoyed by the Ordinance Factory Board and defence Public Sector Undertakings.
It will encourage more private sector firms to collaborate with foreign partners such as Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin and enter the defence equipment manufacturing business.
Defence manufacturing is one of the key sectors among the 25 sectors identified under the Union Government’s Make-in-India campaign. The Indian aerospace and defence market is among the most attractive as the country is the highest importer of defence items in the world. The Government has recently opened up this sector for private investment by increasing FDI cap in defence to 49 percent and rationalizing conditions. Almost 60 percent items required for industrial licence have now been de-reserved.
Like this post? Comment here !! Or have something to share? Write to us: info@khichdionline.com
Read Also:
#Current Affairs – 2nd June 2015
#Current Affairs – 1st June 2015
#Current Affairs – 31st May 2015
#Golden Treasure of Ayurveda : Organic Cultivation of Turmeric
#The five strategic pillar of ‘SKILL INDIA MISSION’ – 5Cs of Skill Ministry
#15 Places in India to Chill Out this Summer
#Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) – SSC has allocated Targets for PMKVY phase 1
#10 Most celebrated festivals around the World
#Current Affairs of JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH – Date-wise | 2015