- Mukta Dutta Tomar appointed India’s Ambassador to Germany
Mukta Dutta Tomar was appointed as new India’s Ambassador to Germany. Tomar, a 1984 batch IFS officer is presently working as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). She is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Earlier, Gurjit Singh was holding this post till in March 2017.
Pradeep Rawat, who is the joint secretary of East Asia at present, will be the next envoy to Indonesia. He will succeed Nengcha Lhouvum Mukhopadhaya, who will retire from service. Santosh Jha, another joint secretary at the headquarters, will be the next deputy chief of mission in Washington. He is succeeding Taranjit Sandhu, who has taken over as Indian envoy to Sri Lanka.
- Ajit Kumar Srivastava, Shabri Bhattasali named new CBDT members
Senior bureaucrats Ajit Kumar Srivastava and Shabri Bhattasali were appointed members of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the Income Tax department.The role of the CBDT is to provide inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes in the country and the statutory authority also administers the direct tax laws through Income Tax Department. The CBDT functions under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
- Former Supreme Court judge Shiva Kirti Singh to head TDSAT
The government has cleared retired Supreme Court judge Shiva Kirti Singh as the next chairman of the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The appointment is for a period of three years from the date of assumption of office or “until further orders, whichever is earlier. As per rules, the head of the dispute resolution agency for the telecom industry must be a person, who has been a Supreme Court judge, or the chief justice of a high court.
- Atu Zumvu becomes first Naga cop to receive ‘Shaurya Chakra’ award
Atu Zumvu, who is a Sub-Divisional Police Officer with the Nagaland Police received the prestigious Shaurya Chakra award at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Nagaland attained statehood in 1963 and since then this is the first time a police officer from the state has been honoured with this award. He joined Nagaland Police in 1997 as he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps, who passed away when he was 12. Atu’s father remained a role model, as did his ideals of passion, determination and belief in real action as the premise for change.
- President of India to present National Geoscience Awards 2016
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will confer the National Geoscience Awards – 2016 tomorrow (April 12, 2017) at Rashtrapati Bhavan. he National Geoscience Awards, previously known as the National Mineral Awards, was instituted by the Ministry of Mines in 1966, to honour individuals and teams of scientists for their extraordinary achievements and outstanding contributions in fundamental, applied geosciences, mining and allied fields.
- Survey General of India Completes 250 Years
- If the Battle of Plassey in 1757 laid the foundation of British rule in India, the Survey General of India, established ten years later by the British East India Company, helped it expand its footprint across the subcontinent.
- As the institute, one of the oldest scientific establishments in India, completes 250 years , it continues to touch the life of the common man even.
- The East India Company mapped the entire region and its data, like the measurement of the sea level, still remains the reference point for several south and East Asian countries. The institute first published a ‘Map of Hindoostan’ in 1783, depicting the subcontinent comprising India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, besides parts of Afghanistan and Burma.
- Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill passed in Lok Sabha
- India is a step away from a game-changing legislation that will revamp the laws governing transportation in the country, with the Lok Sabha passing the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
- The changes are significant as they will, for the first time, acknowledge the fundamental reordering of mobility with the introduction of laws recognizing app-based taxi operators.
- The amendment to the motor vehicles Act will now be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. If the House does not suggest any further changes, then it will be moved to the President for his assent.
- India’s first ever micro-drama festival held at Delhi
India’s first ever micro-drama festival was held in Delhi. Named after Thespis of Icaria, believed to be the first actor in Greek drama (6th century BC), the day-long event ‘Thespis’ saw screening of 28 independent plays at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Art. Organised by theatre group ‘Vriksh’, the festival marks the debut of the micro-drama concept in India.
- Manappuram Finance to launch co-branded prepaid card with YES Bank
The Kerala-based NBFC Manappuram Finance will launch its own co-branded prepaid card in tie-up with YES Bank. The ‘Manappuram YES Bank Prepaid Money Card’ can be pre-loaded up to a maximum amount of Rs. 50,000 and then be used to withdraw money from all ATMs. As the card works on the popular MasterCard and RuPay networks, it can also be used for online transactions and at merchant establishments with PoS terminals.
- China remains world’s biggest executioner: Amnesty
China executed more people in 2016 than all other nations combined, Amnesty International said, even as death penalties in the world decreased overall. The human rights organisation estimates the Asian giant alone killed “thousands” of people, a figure based on examinations of court records and news reports. All other countries together executed at least 1,032 people last year — a decline of 37 percent compared to 2015. Of those, 87 percent took place in just four countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.
- Carme Chacon, Spain’s first female defence minister, dies
Spain’s first female defense minister, Carmen Chacon, once a leadership contender for the main opposition Socialist party, died on Sunday at the age of 46. The cause of death has not been confirmed, although Spanish news outlets reported that she had been suffering from heart disease. Chacon, who was from Barcelona, was defense minister from 2008 to 2011 under Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. She was seven months pregnant when she took on the role, which cast her into the media spotlight.
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