0 President signed Ordinance to amend Mines and Minerals Development & Regulation Act.

President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 January 2015 gave his assent to an ordinance that amends the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957. The ordinance paves way for introduction of competitive bidding for allocation of mines of iron ore and other non-coal minerals.
Earlier, the promulgation of ordinance to amend the MMDR Act, 1957 was approved by the Union Cabinet on 5 January 2015. The ordinance route was taken by the Union government after it was not able to introduce the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in the winter session of the Parliament in December 2014.

Objective of the MMDR (Amendment) Bill, 2014

• Improved transparency in the allocation of mineral resources
• Obtaining for the government its fair share of the value of such resources
• Attracting private investment and the latest technology
• Eliminating delay in administration, so as to enable expeditious and optimum development of the mineral resources of the country

Main Provisions of the MMDR (Amendment) Bill, 2014

• It seeks to differentiate between bulk, surficial minerals and difficult to access minerals and prescribe different procedures for the same.
• Bulk minerals such as Iron ore, Limestone, Manganese, Bauxite etc., have been proposed to be notified, will account for 85 per cent or more of the value of mineral production in India.
• On the other hand, deep seated and difficult to access minerals have been proposed to be non-notified minerals.
• As far as non-notified minerals are concerned, the Bill seeks to grant a combined Prospecting Licences-cum-Mining Lease for these minerals through a competitive bidding process. The scheme envisages that
• the successful bidder will conduct the exploration and prospecting work at his own risk and cost.
• It seeks to increase the maximum areas permitted for prospecting licences and mining leases up to the extent specified in the lapsed MMDR Bill, 2011.
• It provides for competitive bidding by auction as the method to be followed for allocation of Mining Leases (MLs) in respect of notified minerals so as to bring both transparencies in allocation as well as to ensure a fair share of the value of minerals for the government.
• It proposes that there need not be any Reconnaissance Permits (RPs) or Prospecting Licences (PLs) issued for notified minerals.
• In case there are any gaps in the required knowledge related to notified minerals, they will have to be filled up by the State agencies themselves. This procedure is in line with recommendations of the High-level Committee on National Mineral Policy (Hoda Committee).
• It seeks to provide authority to the Union Government to pass orders even in cases where authorities entrusted with the powers under the Act fail to pass orders within the time limits prescribed therefore.
• It also empowers the Union Government to issue directions to State Governments for the conservation of mineral resources, on any policy matter in the national interest, and for the scientific and sustainable development and exploitation of mineral resources.
• It seeks to make the offence of illegal mining in respect of notified minerals a cognizable offence so as to deter illegal mining.
• The Bill also enable State Governments to set up special courts for trial of offences under the Act, if felt necessary.
• It empowers Union government to prescribe the Terms and Conditions for conduct of auctions both in respect of notified minerals as well as non-notified minerals.
• It also empowers Union Government to prescribe different Terms and Conditions for auctions of different types of minerals and their application to different States.
• It proposes to set up a District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in every district affected by mining

About District Mineral Foundation (DMF)

• It will be set up by State Government as a non-profit body in every district affected by mining.
• It will be funded by an additional levy related to royalty, the rate of which will be prescribed by the Central Government in case of minerals other than minor minerals
• In case of other minerals, the DMF shall be funded by such percentage of the royalty paid during the financial year as may be prescribed by the State Government
• The aim of DMF is to earmark funds for benefit of persons affected by mining as also for the rebuilding of infrastructure in mining affected areas
• The composition and functioning of the District Mineral Foundation shall be regulated in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government

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0 Charlie Hebdo: satirical weekly magazine Of French

Charlie Hebdo,  French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes was in news in first week of January 2015.
It was in news after masked gunmen on 7 January 2015 attacked its Paris office killing at least 12 people. The killed ones included five of Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists, including the editor Charbonnier.
The magazine has been under threat since 2006, the year when it published cartoons on Prophet Mohammad under title Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists (Mahomet débordé par les intégristes). Earlier, it was firebombed in 2011.

History of Charlie Hebdo

1. Charlie Hebdo first appeared in 1970 as a successor to the Hara-Kiri magazine, which was banned for mocking the death of former French President Charles de Gaulle.
2. Hara-Kiri magazine was launched as a monthly magazine in 1960 by Georges Professeur Choron Bernier and François Cavanna
3. In February 1969, Hara-Kiri launched its weekly issue named Hara-Kiri Hebdo focusing current affairs. It was later in May 1969 renamed as L’Hebdo Hara-Kiri
4. In 1970, the Hara-Kiri magazine was renamed as Charlie Hebdo deriving its name from a monthly comics magazine called Charlie which had been started by Bernier and Delfeil de Ton in 1969
5. In 1981 publication ceased, but the magazine was resurrected in 1992The magazine's current editor is Gérard Biard who took over the role after Charbonnier, who had been editor since 2009, was killed on 7 January 2015.

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0 Dr. Br. Ambedkar Open University Eligibility Test-2015

Dr. B.R. AMBEDKAR OPEN UNIVERSITY

ADMISSION INTO UNDER GRADUATE (B.A/B.Com./ B.Sc)PROGRAMMES

INFORMATION BROCHURE FOR ELIGIBILITY TEST – 2015

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Open University admits the candidates into Under-Graduate Programmes throughtwo streams : (i) Formal Stream – Candidates who passed Intermediate from Board of Intermediate Education /Intermediate through National Open School / Equivalent examination can take direct admission into UG programmes; & (ii) Non-Formal Stream - Candidates without any of the formal educational qualifications mentioned above, but completed 18 years of age as on 01.07.2015 are eligible to appear for Eligibility Test (ET) conducted by the University. Candidates who pass the ET can seek admission into UG Programmes. The main objective behind the establishment of Dr. BRAOU is to provide higher educational opportunities to the people who couldn’t continue their education through conventional mode / those who discontinued their studies due to various reasons. The University makes use of multimedia instructional components like providing print material in self-instructional style to the students, organising face-to-face contact-cum-counselling classes on Sundays at the Study Centres, broadcasting / telecasting lessons through AIR, Doordarshan - 8, etc., to reach the students. The University has a network of 214 study centres (including 23 Regional Coordination Centres). ALL THE PROGRAMMES OF THE UNIVERSITY ARE RECOGNISED BY DISTANCE EDUCATION BUREAU (DEB), UGC, NEW DELHI.

The Eligibility Test conducted by the University to admit students into BA/BCom/BSc programmes is neither an Entrance Test nor a Competitive Examination. It is conducted to ensure that the students possess the necessary reading, writing, analytical and arithmetic skills to understand the content of the course material supplied to them when they join the Programme.

 

for more Details Click Here

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0 Internet Every household in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved the large-scale project that aims to provide state-of-the-art optical fiber network in the State and 10-15 Mbps internet connection to 1.2 Crore homes at an affordable cost of Rs. 150/-. Chandhrababu Naidu’s Government plans to register Andhra Pradesh Fiber Grid Corporation as a public company to execute the ambitious project and the Cabinet decided to allocate Rs. 10 crore towards its initial expenses. Upon completion of the project, the most remotest of villages in the State will have access to quality internet.

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0 Engineering Services Examination Interview Schedule :2014

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the interview schedule for the Engineering Services Examination 2014.
The roll numbers of the candidates whose interview has been scheduled to be held on 5th-7th January 2015 has been declared.
A total of 246 candidates have been selected for the interview and personality test.
Candidates have been selected from various engineering disciplines like Civil, Electrical,
Mechanical and E&T. Candidates who had appeared for the written examination can check their roll numbers in the institutional website.

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0 USAID head Rajiv Raj Shah resigned from his position

The head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Rajiv Raj Shah on 17 December 2014 resigned from his position.
Rajiv will leave the office in February 2015. However, the reason behind his resignation was not revealed.
Shah joined the office of USAID on 24 December 2009. Being the head of USAID, Shah led more than 9600 professionals in 80 missions around the world, and managed an annual budget of over 22 billion US dollars.

Rajiv Raj Shah

• Shah served as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education and Economics and Chief Scientist at the US Department of Agriculture in 2009.
• He worked in a range of leadership roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation including Director of Agricultural Development, Director of Financial Services and manager of the Foundation's 1.5 billion US dollars commitment to the Vaccine Fund.
• He co-founded Health Systems Analytics, a health care consulting firm and the Project IMPACT for South Asian Americans.
• He also served as an advisor to Philadelphia's Public Health Commissioner and worked at the World Health Organization.
• Shah previously served on the boards of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
  In 2007, he was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and he serves on the Forum’s Global Agenda Council for Food Security.

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0 ISRO successfully launched GSLV Mark-III-X from Sriharikota In INDIA

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s heaviest rocket GSLV Mark-III-X carrying Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE) from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 18 December 2014. It weighs 630 tonnes.
Objective behind the test of the 155 crore rupees mission was to check the atmospheric stability around four tonne luggage and study the re-entry characteristics of the crew module.
The GSLV Mark-III-X lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre carrying the human crew module CARE and separated the crew module at an altitude of 126 km for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.
The module controlled by 3 parachutes safely splashed down into the Bay of Bengal off Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was recovered by coast guards near Indira Point, the southernmost point of India.
The experiment lasted for about 20 minutes saw all the events as pre-planned. The successful completion of the experimental test will boost India’s mission of sending human to the space. It will also double the capacity of payloads India can carry into space.
The full fledged launch of the rocket will take place in two years and is likely to be held in another two years.
A few years back ISRO had carried out a similar experiment on a smaller scale in which the module had orbited around the earth for 15 days before entering back.

Importance of GSLV MK – III-X

• It will help India become self-reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class weighing 4500 to 5000 kg.
• It would also enhance the capability of the country to be a competitive player in the multimillion dollar commercial launch market.
• It will double the capacity of payloads India can carry into space boosting India’s mission of sending human to the space.

Full Details click here

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0 Reverend Libby Lane appointed as first female bishop of the Church of England

Reverend Libby Lane was on 17 December 2014 appointed as the first female bishop of the Church of England. She will become the new Bishop of Stockport, a post that was vacant since May 2014
Libby will succeed the Reverend Robert Atwell, who is now the Bishop of Exeter. The nomination of Libby as the new Bishop of Stockport was approved by the Queen of England.
As Bishop of Stockport, she will serve as a suffragan (assistant) bishop in the Diocese of Chester. Presently, Lane is the vicar at St Peter's Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley.
Lane will be consecrated as the eighth bishop of the town at a ceremony at York Minster on 26 January 2015. Her appointment will end centuries of male leadership of the Church.

Reverend Libby Lane

• Libby Lane was ordained as a priest in 1994 and has served a number of parish and chaplaincy roles in the North of England in the Dioceses of Blackburn, York and Chester.
• She has been the vicar at St Peter's Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley since 2007. Later in 2010, she became the Dean of Women in Ministry for the diocese since January 2010.
• Prior to moving to Hale, Libby was Team Vicar in the Stockport South West Team, and Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Chester.
• Libby has served in the Diocese of York as Chaplain in hospital and as Family Life Officer for the Committee for Social Responsibility in the Diocese of Chester.
• Her husband George is also a priest, they were one of the first married couples in the Church of England who were ordained together.

Background

The Church of England supported the introduction of female priests in 1992 and the first female bishops were appointed two years later. However, till date women have not been able to take on the Church's most senior roles.
The historic appointment comes just after the Church of England’s ruling General Synod formally enacted a change to Canon Law by opening the episcopate for the women for first time.
The law opened the way for the first woman to be appointed to the episcopate as early as before 2015.
full details clickhere

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