Indian-origin
boy wins Oz spelling bee
Anirudh
Kathirvel, a nine-year-old Indian-origin boy, has been crowned champion of the
first Great Australian Spelling Bee contest, winning a 50,000-dollar
scholarship.
Kathirvel,
born in Melbourne to a Tamil couple, also won goods 10,000 dollars worth for
his school on Tuesday.
Cabinet approves spectrum trading
guidelines
The
Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved much awaited spectrum trading guidelines
that will allow telecom companies to buy and sell spectrum. This is expected to
help address the problem of shortage of spectrum, leading to better quality of
services for mobile phone users.
The
decision comes close on heels of the government allowing companies to share
airwaves in the same band so as to reduce call drops. Presently, spectrum can
be acquired by companies only through government auctions. Industry has been
demanding clarity on these guidelines for a long time.
Government clears two gold schemes
The
Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved two schemes — the Sovereign Gold Bond
Scheme and the Gold Monetisation Scheme — that could bring an estimated 20,000
tonnes of idle gold lying with Indian consumers into the economy and also
reduce India’s dependence on gold imports.
Union Cabinet allows 100 per cent FDI
under automatic route for white label ATMs
The
Union Cabinet has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under
the automatic route for white label ATM operations (WLAO). Decision in this
regard was taken in Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in New Delhi.
Union Cabinet approves National Offshore
Wind Energy Policy
Union
Cabinet cleared National Offshore Wind Energy Policy to generate electricity
from offshore windmills located in areas within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
of the country. Under this policy, offshore wind power projects and R&D
activities will be carried in waters up to the seaward distance of 200 Nautical
Miles (EEZ of the country) from the base line.
Ratan Tata joins IDG Ventures India as
senior advisor
After
investing in a few start-ups Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons has now
joined the board of IDG Ventures India, a leading venture capital firm, as a
Senior Advisor.
South Asian Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point
meeting begins in New Delhi
Sub-Regional
Drug Focal Point Meeting and Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (CPDAP),
South Asia under the Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Expert Group Consultation has
begun in New Delhi. The three-day meeting was inaugurated by Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh which has been organised by Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB).
Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 conferred on ISRO
President
Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2014 on Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO). ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar on behalf of
the organisation received the prize at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in
New Delhi.
India, Indonesia sign pact to cooperate
on criminal matter
India
and Indonesia have signed a pact for repatriation of wanted prisoners and
cooperate in all criminal matters, including gathering evidence. In this regard
Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an official gazette notification for
service or execution of summons or warrant in relation to criminal matters in
both countries.
Australia boosts refugee intake
Australian
Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday bowed to pressure to increase refugee
numbers and confirmed Canberra will also join US-led air strikes on the Islamic
State group in Syria.
Australia
would take an additional 12,000 refugees from the Syria-Iraq conflict.
Source: The Hindu,PIB