Five New Non-Permanent Member Countries on UNSC

The UN General Assembly elected five new non-permanent members to the Security Council. The New Members are:    

1. South Korea

2. Luxembourg

3. Argentina

4. Australia

5. Rwanda

The newly elected member countries will have 2-year term in UN body that will begin on January 1, 2013.
The members which will be replaced are Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa, whose term ends on December 31, 2012.

The others Non permanent members in Security Council are Azerbaijan ,Guatemala , Morocco ,Pakistan ,Togo from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013.

Person in News :Anaka Alankamony

Indian Squash player Ms Anaka Alankamony clinched Ipswich Open women’s title after defeating top seed Kylie Lindsay of New Zealand.

Person in News : Yash Chopra

Renowned filmmaker Yash Chopra(80) passed away.

Human DNA Profiling Bill soon

The Human DNA Profiling Bill, to create a DNA data centre to profile people accused of serious crimes and unknown deceased is on the anvil

• Proposal was considered in 2007, but then dropped down due to factor in ethical, moral and legal issues on the sensitive issues.
• The Bill is drafted by the Department of Biotechnology.
• The bill allows DNA profiling for cases of culpable homicide, murder, etc.

Bharti Airtel: World’s fourth largest mobile operator

As per the ‘Scoreboard’ report by analyst firm Wireless Intelligence,Bharti Airtel with over 250 million mobile subscribers is world’s fourth-largest operator in terms of subscribers. Airtel overtook Telefónica ofSpain to reach this position.

Persons in News: Sunil Gangopadhyay

Eminent Bengali writer and poet Sunil Gangopadhyay passed away.

EC prohibits publication/broadcast Opinion Polls during election in Gujarat and HP

The Election Commission put a ban on the publication/broadcast kind of opinion poll during the period of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal  Pradesh.

Hyderabad ranked 3rd best city for 2013 visit

Travel guide book Lonely Planet ranked Indian city and capital of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad at 3^rd position to visit in 2013.

[Essay] Urbanization in India and issues involved

It is more than half of a century that India became independent. The country has evolved and emerged a lot from pre independence to post independence era. At the time of independence, the country was poverty stricken, impoverished and a rural agrarian society. In 1947, only 15 per cent of the population in cities and towns were classified under urban areas. The rapid development and economic growth helped the country achieve the status of emerged nations.

Conference of the Parties 11: Outcomes

During the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which was held in Hyderabad, the world’s governments have agreed to increase funding in support of actions to halt the rate of loss of biodiversity at the.

UN Women

UN Women unveiled South Asia's 1^st virtual knowledge hub in India.
What is UN Women?
UN Women is a UN organization established in 2010 with the aim to promote for gender parity and women empowerment.

Law Commission supports Passive Euthanasia

The Law Commission which advice government on legal matters suggested the government to take measures to enact a comprehensive law on Passive Euthanasia, subject to certain safeguards.
As per the Commission, Passive Euthanasia is not objectionable legally or constitutionally.

DoT rejects proposal of Parekh panel

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has rejected the proposal of the high-level committee on the financing of infrastructure to raise the ceiling on foreign direct investment (FDI) in this sector to 100 per cent, from the existing 74 per cent.

5+5 Summit calls for greater co-operation b/w member countries

The 5+5 Summit of European and North African nations along the Mediterranean Sea called for closer co-operation between the member nations. The heads of states and the foreign ministers of the 10 member group met at the capital of Malta  Auberge de Castille for two days. They discussed several issues including regional security, irregular migration, and ways of strengthening political and economic cooperation in the wake of Arab Spring.

Who are the members of 5+5?

Newly discovered black hole

Swift J1745-26

It is the name of newly discovered black hole toward the centre of Milky Way galaxy. It was discovered by NASA's Swift satellite which detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. It is named after the coordinates of its position in the sky. The nova is located a few degrees from the center of our galaxy toward the constellation Sagittarius

Ganges River Dolphin

In a collaborative effort World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India and the Uttar Pradesh forest department with the support of HSBC Bank will hold a 3-day programme "My Ganga, My Dolphin" to count the number of river dolphins in the Ganges River in and around Uttar Pradesh. The programme will also make people aware about the endangered mammal.

World observes first International Day of Girl Child

The first ever International Day of the Girl Child was observed on October 11, 2012. The theme for this year is “Ending Child Marriage”. The UN General Assembly had announced in 2011 to observe this day as International Day of Girl Child, to recognize rights of girls and the unique challenges they face around the world. 

Person in News : Chandrashekar Kambar

Poet-writer Chandrashekar Kambar has been conferred with the Jnanpith Award. The award was given to him in recognition to his contributions to Kannada literature.

Global Hunger Report 2012: India placed 65th

India was ranked at 65^th position on the Global Hunger Index released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide.

What was the theme of the report?

The theme of the report was “The Challenge of Hunger: Ensuring Sustainable Food Security under Land, Water, and Energy Stresses”.

Six Indian UN peacekeepers injured in Congo ambush

Six Indian peacekeepers and a local interpreter, serving with the United Nations mission in strife-torn Congo, were wounded when their patrol was ambushed in what is being termed as a “targetted and deliberate” attack.

The six peacekeepers were part of the Indian contingent serving with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

DGCA Suspends Kingfisher’s Scheduled Operator’s Permit

Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the Scheduled Operator’s Permit of Kingfisher Airlines dated 26.08.2003 pursuant to Clause 15(2) of Schedule XI  of the Aircraft rules 1937 read in conjunction with Para 10.21 of CAR Section 3, Series C Part II. The permit has been suspended with effect from 20th October, 2012 till such time the Kingfisher Airlines submits a concrete and reliable revival plan ensuring safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable Scheduled Air Transport Services to the satisfaction of DGCA. 

Prime Minister launches Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery

·     21 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated in 2 years: The 21^st crore Aadhaar number was handed over to  Smt.Vali, a resident of Meghwalon ka Mohalla, Kurawar, District Udaipur. UIDAI has generated 21 crore Aadhaar numbers since the issuance of the first Aadhaar number on Sep 29, 2010.

Government panel headed by A P Shah proposed curbs on phone taps

A government-appointed expert group suggested enactment of a law to protect individuals against misuse of information collected through telephone tapping, videography; use and storage of data as well as setting up of dispute resolution entities at Centre and state-level to protect the privacy of individuals.

UN State of the World's Cities Report-2012

UN-Habitat has launched the State of World's Cities Report 2012/2013. Titled 'The Prosperity of Cities', the report recommends that those engaged in development work need to explore a more inclusive notion of prosperity and development. According to the report there was an urgent need for a shift in attention around the world in favour of a more robust notion of development. – one that looks beyond the narrow domain of economic growth that has dominated ill-balanced policy agendas over the last decades, and includes other vital dimensions such as quality of life, adequate infrastructures, equity and environmental sustainability.

Chair’s Summary Statement at the High Level Segment of CoP-11 to the CBD

Following is the text of Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, the Minister for Environment and Forest and the CoP President’s, Summary Statement at the High Level Segment of CoP-11, being held in Hyderabad, to the CBD following the Plenary and Panel Discussions held on 17 – 18th October 2012: