Eminent Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail has been honoured with the Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel Hawthan.

The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh and a citation.

The 74-year-old writer's novel was shortlisted from 22 regional language books.

Best known for his work, 'Paltadcho Munis', which inspired a film by the same name, Sail is a renowned bi-lingual writer based in Goa. He has four Marathi dramas and seven Konkani novels to his credit.

He has also written short stories and a novel in Marathi.Published in 2009, 'Hawtha' is a work of fiction presenting the cultural map of the traditional potter community of Goa.

Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India is all set to launch ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ by January 2018. This will improve India’s position in ocean research field. Shri M Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences announced today.

Secretary was speaking through video conference in the workshop arranged by National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula. Shri M S Nagar, Member Standing Committee, Ministry of Earth Science, Dr VSN Murthy, Director, National Institute of Oceanography were also present at the inauguration of the workshop on ‘Three decades of India acquiring Pioneer Investor Status- Achievements and way forward’. India achieved a lot in the field of ocean research; still it is long way to go, said Secretary M Rajeevan on this occasion. 

The program on Poly metallic nodules was initiated at CSIR-NIO with the collection of the first nodule sample from Arabian Sea on board the first Research Vessel Gaveshani on 26 January 1981. India was th

Since nuclear weapons testing began on 16 July 1945, nearly 2,000 have taken place. Early on, having nuclear weapons was seen as a measure of scientific sophistication or military might, with little consideration given to the devastating effects of testing on human life, let alone the dangers of nuclear fallout from atmospheric tests. Hindsight and history have shown us the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing, especially when controlled conditions go awry, and in light of the far more powerful and destructive nuclear weapons that exist today.

The human and environmental tragedies that are the result of nuclear testing are compelling reasons for the need to observe the International Day against Nuclear Tests – a day in which educational events, activities and messages aim to capture the world’s attention and underscore the need for unified efforts to prevent further nuclear weapons testing.
The international instrument to put an end to all forms of nuclear testi

The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world's first diamond futures contracts on Monday to provide exporters with a hedging tool. India is a global diamond polishing hub where 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished. At the launch, the first diamond contract for delivery in November was traded at Rs 3,279/cent. One cent is the one-hundredth of a carat (ct).With over 103 registered members so far, ICEX has launched 1 ct diamond futures contract for delivery in November and followed by contracts with monthly settlements. 50 cents and 30 cents contracts will be introduced after making the initial contract successful. The 1-carat contract for expiry in November, December and January will have delivery centre at Surat.

The merger of Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) into ICEX was also announced on Monday. ICEX will soon approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad, to initiate the merger procedure. After merger clearance, ICEX w

Since the invention of computers or machines, their capability to perform various tasks went on growing exponentially. Humans have developed the power of computer systems in terms of their diverse working domains, their increasing speed, and reducing size with respect to time.

A branch of Computer Science named Artificial Intelligence pursues creating the computers or machines as intelligent as human beings.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

According to the father of Artificial Intelligence, John McCarthy, it is “The science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs”.

Artificial Intelligence is a way of making a computer, a computer-controlled robot, or a software think intelligently, in the similar manner the intelligent humans think.

AI is accomplished by studying how human brain thinks, and how humans learn, decide, and work while trying to solve a problem, and then using the outcomes of t

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 21st July 2017 formally launched a pension scheme for senior citizens with an assured return rate of eight percent, favouring efficiency with social security.

"Banks have to lend at feasible rates, while senior citizens want secure, reasonable, unfluctuating return on their investment," Jaitley said here launching the pension scheme -- Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY).

The PMVVY is a pension scheme announced by the government exclusively for the senior citizens aged 60 years and above, which is open for subscription between May 4, 2017 and May 3, 2018.

It provides an assured return of eight per cent per annum payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30 percent per annum effectively) for 10 years.

The scheme can be purchased offline as well as online through the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which has been given the sole privilege to operate this scheme.

Under the scheme, the pension returns are payable at the end of each period,

The first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in the country was formally launched today by Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan here.Biopharma mission can bring major change in the healthcare technologies, he said.

'It is time for India to capitalise now on our unique strengths and overcome any hurdles to ensure success in the bio-pharmaceutical market,' Dr Vardhan said.The first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India has been approved by the Government.

The program named Innovate in India (i3) will witness an investment of USD 250 million with USD 125 million as a loan from World Bank and aspires to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector.This Mission of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology will be implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) - a Public Sector Under

Under the plan scheme ‘Swadesh Darshan’ and ‘PRASAD’ the Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, for various tourism projects subject to availability of funds, liquidation of pending utilization certificates and adherence to the scheme guidelines.            

Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit. Under the PRASAD scheme thirteen sites have been identified for development, namely: Amritsar, Ajmer, Dwaraka, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Amaravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Kedarnath, Kamakhya and Patna. Under the ‘PRASAD’ scheme the focus is on de

In an official statement, NITI Aayog informed that it will work collaboratively with state machinery to prepare a blueprint of the program and achieve the objectives.

Indian government has launched a new program - SATH (Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital), on 10 June 2017, to trigger a transformation in the education and health sectors.

In an official statement, NITI Aayog informed that it will work collaboratively with state machinery to prepare a blueprint of the program and achieve the objectives.

The program will focus on the concerns of technical support from various states to NITI Aayog.

McKinsey & Company and IPE Global consortium will help NITI Aayog in the implementation of the program. The selections of companies were made through a bidding process.

NITI Aayog has designed a three-stage model for the program which includes ‘expression of interest, presentations by the states and assessment of commitment to

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a comprehensive tax levy on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services at a national level. One of the biggest taxation reforms in India — the Goods and Service Tax (GST) — is all set to integrate State economies and boost overall growth.

How Will GST Work?

In India, GST would work on dual model which will include – C-GST collected by Central Government + S-GST collected by State Government on intra-state sales. GST reform would also feature an Integrated GST (IGST) collected by Central government on inter-state sales, which is to-be divided between Central and States Government in a manner decided by the Parliament on recommendations by GST Council.By doing away with several Central and State Taxes, GST would diminish the cascading effect of tax (or double taxation, whereby the same product is taxed at the stage of manufacturing as excise, then as VAT/ sales tax on sale and so on..), which is prevalent in the c

Soil Health Card, a revolutionary scheme, was initiated for farmers and it has made a huge difference to farming and farm produce. It has helped in increasing the productivity and reduced the cost of production. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had inaugurated the scheme on February 19, 2015, in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

Soil Health Card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients for improving soil health and its fertility. This also gives farmers information about the nature of the soil. And post recommendations, the farmers use fertilisers and other chemicals accordingly. 

This reduces cost and increases production. In the first two-year (2015-17) of the Soil Health Card scheme, 2.53 million samples were collected and so far 93 percent samples have been tested. About 14 crore Soil Health Cards are being created by the State Governments and till May 31 it has been distributed among 8 crore f

India and Russia have linked 5 pacts after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Prime Minister's visit to Russia.

Agreements between the countries:

1. An agreement on cultural exchanges for a period of two years (2017-2019) has been signed between the two nations.

2. An agreement for the construction of the third stage of the Kudankulam NPP (KK5 & KK6) along with the Credit Protocol has been signed between NPCIL and ROSATOM.

3. An agreement between the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and the Council of India on Scientific and Industrial Research has been signed to provide access to Rospatent experts to the Indian Digital Library of Traditional Knowledge (TKDL).

4. Contract between JSC (Russian Railways) and the Ministry of Railways on the preparation of the justification for the implementation of the high-speed service at the Nagpur-Secunderabad section has been

Chitale committee on Desiltation  of Ganga has recommended a slew of measures which include study of reach wise sediment transport processes along with establishing annual sediment budgets to guide de-silting activities, Preparation of annual reports (Sand registry) describing the previous de-silting/ dredging activity and a technical institute may be entrusted to conduct the sediment budget, morphological and flood routing studies that would examine and confirm the necessity of the de-silting of the reach under consideration. The committee was constituted in July 2016 by the Ministry of Water Resources River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to prepare guidelines for desiltation of river Ganga from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka (West Bengal).

Shri Madhav Chitale (Expert Member, NGRBA) was appointed as Chairman of the committee. The other members of the committee were: Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Secretary, Ministry of Environm

India has been unanimously elected as the President of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations’ Organisation (UNO) that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world, after 10 years. UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly. 

Further to today’s election, Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu will chair the four day meeting of the 58 member Governing Council of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya from today. Shri Naidu will preside over the deliberations of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat for the next two years.  Since the UN-Habitat came into being in 1978.

It is only the third time that India has been  elected to lead this important organization after 2007 and 1988.  

As an inter-governmental policy making and decision making body, the Governing Council of UN-Habitat seeks to promote integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements, assist the

The centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s first Satyagraha in India is being marked this April. It was undertaken in the erstwhile undivided Champaran district in northern Bihar. He went there in April, 1917 on learning about the abuses suffered by the cultivators of the district, forced into growing indigo by British planters/estate owners. ‘The Champaran tenant’, informs Gandhi, ‘was bound by law to plant three out of every twenty parts of his land with indigo for his landlord’. This system was called Tinkathia. Agrarian issues rarely formed the part of the political discourse in those days. Even Gandhi was reluctant to commit himself to task in the beginning. But he was so thoroughly persuaded by Rajkumar Shukla, an indigo cultivator from Champaran that he decided to investigate into the matter.

Gandhi’s plan was to carry out an extensive inquiry in the district and demand action based on its findings. It was barely two years that he had returned from his two dec

British scientists exploring an underwater mountain in the Atlantic Ocean have discovered a treasure trove of rare minerals. Their investigation of a seamount more than 500km (300 miles) from the Canary Islands has revealed a crust of "astonishingly rich" rock. Samples brought back to the surface contain the scarce substance tellurium in concentrations 50,000 times higher than in deposits on land.

Tellurium is used in a type of advanced solar panel, so the discovery raises a difficult question about whether the push for renewable energy may encourage mining of the seabed.The rocks also contain what are called rare earth elements that are used in wind turbines and electronics.

Known as Tropic Seamount, the mountain stands about 3,000m tall – about the size of one of the middle-ranging Alpine summits – with a large plateau at its top, lying about 1,000m below the ocean surface.

Using robotic submarines, researchers from the UK's National Oceanography Centre found that the

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, nicknamed MOAB, or 'Mother of All Bombs', is a 21,600 pound, GPS-guided munition that is America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb. It's a weapon that justifies the use of the word 'terrifying' to describe its power and marks a deadly ramping up of America's military initiative abroad. Almost 20 feet long, it truly is the queen of the so-called 'bunker busters'.

The MOAB has been used once in combat, in a 13 April 2017 strike against ISIS forces in Afghanistan. Several news organizations called it the largest conventional bomb ever used in combat, but the 22,000-pound Grand Slam earthquake bombs dropped during World War II may have been even heavier.

Deployed from as high as 20,000 feet, the MOAB races to the ground at supersonic speed before slamming its way toward a hardened target through layered subterranean defenses such as native rock, reinforced concrete, and steel plates.
The 11-tonnes of TNT warhead then bursts about 6 fee

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina his hopes for an "early solution" to the Teesta waters dispute. But West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee may prove to be a hard nut to crack. Water is a state issue, so a deal cannot be inked without the state CM's approval. Here are ten points that explain what the dispute is about.

The Teesta river originates in Sikkim and flows through West Bengal as well as Bangladesh. India claims a share of 55 percent of the river's water.

Bangladesh wants a higher share than it gets now. Currently, its share is lower than that of India's.Negotiations on how to share the water have been going on since 1983.

A 2011 interim deal - that was supposed to last 15 years - gave India 42.5 percent of the Teesta's waters and gave Bangladesh 37.5 percent. Banerjee opposed this deal so it was shelved and remains unsigned. In fact, she was scheduled to accompany the then PM Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh to sign that deal in 2011, but

The Supreme Court banned the sale of vehicles that are not compliant with Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) fuel from April 1, 2017.

This would be applicable to all two wheeler, three wheeler, four wheeler, and commercial vehicles.

The Court also directed all vehicle registering authorities under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to not register vehicles that do not comply with BS IV fuel standards from April 1, 2017, unless these vehicles were sold before March 31, 2017.

As compared to BS III fuel, BS IV fuel has lesser emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and sulphur oxide.

Bharat stage emission standards (BSES) are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engines and Spark-ignition engines equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate cha

The central government has decided to merge the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with the State Bank of India (SBI).

Earlier in February 2017, the Cabinet had approved the acquisition of five of its subsidiary banks by the SBI.

According to the Ministry of Finance, in the three years since its establishment, the BMB has dispensed lesser loans to women and has a lower number of exclusive women branches, as compared to SBI. The administrative and managerial costs of the BMB, to reach the same coverage, are higher than SBI. A merger of the two banks would allow for providing a larger volume of loans to women through SBI.

The government on 25 March 2017 argued for a plan for sustainable development balancing the need to protect the environment and continued growth at the third World Conference on Environment organized by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi. Finance minister Arun Jaitley pointed out that the Indian society was at a “critical juncture” with challenges like pulling out 25-30% of population from below the poverty line, urbanization, creation of physical infrastructure across the country.

Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi took the example of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms introduced 25 years ago. He highlighted that these regulations disabled creation of appropriate infrastructure around the coasts, making neighbouring countries like Thailand, Vietnam more tourism friendly than India.

Chief justice of India J.S. Khehar, however, countered this by saying that courts interfered only when industrialisation was allowed without adequa

The Centre is contemplating an institutional mechanism to improve safety in India’s 5300-odd dams. Currently, guidelines in this regard are not effectively enforced by the States. The new law, which has been vetted by the Union Law Ministry and will now go to the Union Cabinet for approval, proposes a Central authority and State-level bodies that will enforce regulation. Dam and project proponents falling short could face a fine, though they are unlikely to face imprisonment.

There are around 4900 large dams in India and several thousand smaller ones. About 300 are in various stages of construction. However, large reservoirs and water storage structures, in the past few decades, are not seen as a model of safety. Kerala, for instance, continues to fight with Tamil Nadu over threats posed by the Mullaperiyar dam on the river Periyar. More recently, the Chennai floods of 2015, due to unusually-heavy winter rains, were thought to have been compounded by an unprecedented release of water from the

Recognizing the potential and possibilities in the fisheries sector, Government of India has envisaged a program named ‘’Blue Revolution’’ to unlock the country’s latent potential through an integrated approach. The Blue Revolution, in its scope and reach, focuses on creating an enabling environment for an integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for the socio economic development of the fishers and fish farmers. Thrust areas have been identified for enhancing fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt in 2020-21.

Greater emphasis will be on infrastructure with an equally strong focus on management and conservation of the resources through technology transfer to increase in the income of the fishers and fish farmers. Productivity enhancement shall also be achieved through employing the best global innovations and integration of various production oriented activities such as: Production of quality fish seeds, Cost eff

Hyperloop is a proposed mode of passenger and freight transportation that would propel a pod-like vehicle through a near-vacuum tube at more than airline speed. The alpha version of the proposal, published on the SpaceX website, describes design claims of the system, as well as its function. The pods would accelerate to cruising speed gradually using a linear electric motor and glide above their track using passive magnetic levitation or air bearings. The tubes could also go above ground on columns or underground, eliminating the dangers of grade crossings. It is hoped that the system will be highly energy-efficient, quiet and autonomous.

The concept of high-speed travel in tubes has been around for decades, but there has been a resurgence in interest in pneumatic tube transportation systems since the concept was reintroduced, using updated technologies, by Elon Musk after 2012, incorporating reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on an air cushion driven by linear induction moto

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Urja Ganga gas pipeline project seems on course to achieve the target of meeting the energy requirements of 40 districts and 2,600 villages across five eastern states by December 2020. After steady progress in Section 1 of the project — between Phulpur and Dobhi with spurlines to Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Patna and Barauni — construction work on sections 2 and 3 is expected to commence by December this year.

Launched in October 2016 to supply gas to Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, the 2,539-km-long pipeline project, also known as the Jagdishpur-Haldia/Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL), is estimated to cost Rs 12,940 crore. Urja Ganga would create enabling infrastructure for city gas distribution (CGD) in seven cities — Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi and Jamshedpur.

It would also revive three large fertiliser units at Gorakhpur (UP), Barauni (Bihar) and Sindri (Jharkhand) and help industrial

The West Bengal government gave official status to Kurukh language, listed as an endangered language by the UNESCO, to mark the International Mother Language Day, which is observed to mark the language movement in the then East Pakistan in 1952.

Announcing this at a function to celebrate the day, state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that official recognition would also be given to Rajbangshi/Kamtapuri language spoken in parts of north Bengal.

She said that around 16 lakh Oraon people spoke Kurukh language in Bengal and that the language had been identified as a vulnerable language in the UNESCO's list of endangered languages. 

Marking the movement in Bangladesh in 1952 for recognition of Bengali as an official language when it was part of Pakistan, February 21 has been recognised as the International Mother Language Day by the United Nations.

The Assam Cabinet’s decision to introduce Sanskrit as a compulsory subject till Class VIII has evoked sharp criticism from students organisations and opposition political parties in the State.

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has criticised the decision to make Sanskrit compulsory instead of promoting Assamese in schools.

Moreover, there can be no compromise with the teaching of Assamese in schools and the language has to be a part of the syllabus in the State, he added.

Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) also alleged that the move was a “well-orchestrated conspiracy are being micro managed and monitored from Nagpur (the RSS headquarters)”.

The State government was preparing to “recruit Sanskrit teachers from outside since the State now lacks the required strength but we won’t allow teachers from outside the State to be recruited in our schools.

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabh unveiled ‘Mission 41K’ to save Rs. 41,000 crore on the Indian Railways’ expenditure on energy consumption over the next 10 years. This target will be achieved by taking a slew of measures which include moving 90 per cent of traffic to electric traction over diesel. Presently, this is at 50 per cent of the total rail traffic.

The ministry plans to achieve this target by doubling the current pace of electrification, Railway Board Chairman A K Mittal said in an official statement. The railways also aim to procure more and more electricity at cheaper rates through open market instead of sourcing it through DISCOMs and thereby hopes to save as much as 25 per cent on its energy expenses.
New technologies are also being explored to bring down electric consumption.

In the last Budget the railways have already set a target of generating 1000 MW of solar power and 200 MW of wind energy. Indian Railways consumed over 18.25 billion units o

India may be able to meet all its energy requirements from resources from the Moon by 2030, said Dr Sivathanu Pillai, a professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ISRO recently launched a record 104 satellites to space in a single launch.

Elaborating on ISRO's future programme plans, Pillai, who was formerly the chief of BrahMos Aerospace, said all of India's energy requirements could be met through Helium 3 mined from the Moon.

"By 2030, this process target will be met," he said while delivering the valedictory address at the three-day ORF-Kalpana Chawla Space Policy Dialogue, organised by Observer Research Foundation here on 18 Feb, 2017.

Pillai said that mining lunar dust, which is rich in Helium 3, is a priority programme for his organisation. He added that other countries are also working on this project and that there was enough Helium in the Moon to meet the energy requirements of the whole world.

He said that ISRO was planning the whole of process

Barren Island volcano is India’s only active one, and was dormant for 150 years before it showed signs of ‘intermittent activity’ in 1991.

The only active volcano in India, Barren Island volcano in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is spewing ash again. Researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography said that the volcano, which was dormant for 150 years, had begun showing signs of activity in 1991.

“On the afternoon of January 23, 2017, the scientific team on board CSIR-NIO’s research ship R V Sindhu Sankalp were busy collecting sea floor samples in the Andaman Basin near the Barren volcano when it suddenly started spewing ash,” the NIO said. “Clouds were seen at the crater mouth where the smoke was bellowing out in otherwise clear sky.”

The statement added that the team, led by Abhay V Mudholkar, did not land on the volcanic island as it would have been unsafe. In the evening, the team also saw “red lava fountains spewin

In the Supreme Court, the hearing on Satluj Yamuna Link Canal issue has been adjourned till 22nd February as Punjab sought more time to file reply. The apex court directed Punjab to file reply by 20th February. 

Satluj Yamuna Link Canal (SARYU) or SYL as it is popularly known, is a proposed 214-kilometer (133 mi) long canal in India to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. However, the proposal met obstacles and was referred to the Supreme Court of India. It defines river water sharing between the states of Punjab and Haryana.

The canal is 85% complete with Haryana government completing its part of the Canal. It has completed 92 km of canal in its land. Haryana would benefit enormously by gaining water from Ravi-Beas from Punjab.

The dispute regarding sharing of river water emerged after Punjab was reorganised in 1966, and the state of Haryana was created. Haryana demanded 4.8 MAF out of Punjab's total 7.2 MAF share of water from the rivers, while Punjab claimed the entire

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has introduced the ‘Arunachal Civil Service Awards’ for excellence in public administration.In a release, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) informed that this has been started to encourage good governance in the state and to recognize the extraordinary services rendered by the government employees in the state.

Nominations for the awards will be considered on the basis of implementation of innovative schemes or projects, showing innovation and adaptation to meet the stakeholders’ requirement, building up perceptible system changes and institutions.It also aims to honour civil servants and government employees who make public service delivery system efficient, corruption free, including speedy and judicious execution of work. Extraordinary performance in emergent situations like floods, earthquakes etc shall also form the basis of being eligible for this award.

The awards will be given for setting high standards of leadership quality, improv

South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims among several sovereign states within the region, namely the Nation of Brunei, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, Indonesia, the Republic of the Philippines, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. As a high proportion of the world's trade passes through the South China Sea, there are many non-claimant nations that want the South China Sea to remain as international waters, with several nations (e.g. the United States of America) conducting "freedom of navigation" operations.

The disputes include the islands, reefs and banks of the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel islands, the various boundaries, including those in the Gulf of Tonkin. There is a further dispute in the waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands which by most definitions are not part of the South China Sea. The interests of the nations include retaining or acquiring the rights to fishing areas; the exploration and p

After over 50 years of military rule, Myanmar is finally making the long-awaited transition to elected government. Its second liberation is brought about by Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and the daughter of Aung San, the man who is known for engineering Myanmar’s first liberation from the British. Yet, as foreign media converges on the nation, coverage in recent months has been focused on one issue: the Rohingya.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been forcibly confined in deplorable conditions in Sittwe, whilst there is evidence that the ethnic cleansing perpetrated under the military government amounts to genocide. In May 2015, stranded Rohingya off the coast of Thailand elicited humanitarian outrage from the international community. Ever since, foreign commentators have called for an end to what appears to be government inaction or lack of accountability for extreme human rights abuses in Rakhine state.

But international attention

Addressing investors' concerns ahead of GAAR implementation from April 1, 2017 the tax department today said it will not interplay with their right to choose a method of transaction and won't apply if routing of funds through a jurisdiction is "based on non-tax commercial considerations". The General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR), which seek to prevent companies from routing transactions through other countries to avoid taxes, can be invoked through a two-stage process involving a nod at the level of principal commissioner of income tax and a panel headed by a high court judge.

Seeking to assuage concerns of investors, CBDT said GAAR provisions shall be effective from assessment year 2018-19 onwards and "shall not be invoked merely on the ground that the entity is located in a tax efficient jurisdiction". "If the jurisdiction of FPI is finalised based on non-tax commercial considerations and the main purpose of the arrangement is not to obtain tax benefit, GAAR will not apply.

GAAR