Employment News 3 September 2013

Employment News 3 September 2013 Business Economy News 2013

Rajya Sabha passes Food Bill

The Rajya Sabha on Monday approved by voice vote the government’s motion to pass the National Food Security Bill amid chaos and procedural wrangling over Opposition members’ insistence on a vote on their major amendments to the Bill.

The government did not move any official amendment, and none of the 237 amendments moved by the Opposition, mainly the BJP, the CPI(M), the CPI, the AIADMK and the Akali Dal, were carried.

A statutory resolution moved by Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley “disapproving the National Food Security Ordinance (no. 7 of 2013) promulgated by the President on July 5, 2013” was negated. Ninety-two members backed the resolution, while 118 members opposed it. 

Mr. Jaitley had questioned why the government showed undue haste in bringing the ordinance when the monsoon session of Parliament was to commence in 20 days. 

HDFC Bank launches rural financial literacy initiative in Gujarat

HDFC Bank Ltd on Monday launched its rural financial literacy initiative in Koteshwar village near here under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India, becoming the first bank to translate curriculum into Gujarati language.

Under the initiative, it will conduct literacy camps at 68 branches across 136 villages, reaching out to both adults and school children in the State.

It complements HDFC Bank’s efforts to support inclusive growth and take formal banking services to the remote corners of India.

Through this initiative, the bank will conduct a series of three literacy camps in every village, and each rural branch will hold this programme in two neighbouring villages over the next year.

These camps will give participants a conceptual understanding of financial products and services using material provided by the RBI.

HDFC Bank will use the financial literacy guide and posters as standard curriculum at these camps.

HDFC Bank has a board-mandated objective to bring 10 million families (40 million Indians) into the banking fold, said Ravi Narayanan, Regional Branch Banking Head, HDFC Bank.

HDFC Bank now has 270 branches in Gujarat, of which 71 are located in rural areas and an additional 100 are located in semi-urban areas. 

Across India, 53 per cent of all branches in its network are located in semi-urban and rural areas. 

The bank had a national distribution network of 3,119 branches and 11,088 ATMs in 1,891 cities/towns.

Supreme Court puts funding of all NGOs under the scanner

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the CBI to file an affidavit giving details of the NGOs registered with the various authorities and indicate whether they were filing the balance sheets regularly. 

A Bench of Justices H.L. Dattu and M.Y. Eqbal gave this direction on a PIL petition filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma for a direction to the CBI to probe the ‘irregularities’ in Anna Hazare’s Hind Swaraj Trust. 

The Bench said that it was expanding the scope to cover all NGOs so that the CBI could find out the source of income. 

It directed the matter to be listed after eight weeks.

Assam a role model in country's health sector: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Assam has emerged as role model in the health sector of the country by implementing the highest number of schemes under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Sunday.

Inaugurating the 102 National Ambulance Service and Tele Radiology Project along with other schemes under the NRHM here, the Union Health Minister lauded the state government's initiative in the health sector which he said would be replicated in other states as well. 

The 102 service would augment the existing 108 ambulance service, which has greatly benefited patients across the country and will provide quality transportation of patients to hospitals", 

The ambulance service would respond and reach patients within half an hour, besides transporting pregnant women and infants from home to hospital and if required back to home as well,

The service will facilitate an integrated all- comprehensive health care management providing high end ambulated transportation for appropriate care in the hospital", 

Azad also launched the Tele Radiology Project, the first in the country to initiate the project under the NRHM. 

Mr. Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate discharge from a hospital

95-year-old anti-apartheid leader returned to his residence after nearly three months in hospital

South Africans on Monday welcomed Nelson Mandela’s discharge from a hospital after nearly three months of treatment amid concerns that his health remains so poor that he still must receive intensive care at home.

An ambulance returned the 95-year-old leader of the anti-apartheid movement to his home in the leafy Johannesburg neighbourhood of Houghton.

The office of South African President Jacob Zuma said Mr. Mandela remains in critical and sometimes unstable condition and will receive the same level of care that he did in the hospital, administered by the same doctors.

Mr. Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is viewed around the world as a powerful figure of reconciliation. Despite being jailed for his prominent role in opposing white racist rule, Mr. Mandela was seemingly free of rancour on his release in 1990 after 27 years in prison.

Hyderabad Hotshots won the inaugural season of Indian Badminton League

The Hyderabad Hotshots won the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton league (IBL) 2013 played at Sardar Patel Stadium, Mumbai by defeating Awadhe Warriors in the finals.

Saina Nehwal helped Hyderabad hotshots on level terms after defeating PV Sindhu. Ajay Jayaram defeated Gurusai Dutt 10-21, 21-17, 11-7 in the third tie to secure the Men’s singles title of IBL 2013.

Saina Nehwal was awarded as the player of the tournament, because of her undefeated feat in the complete tournament. She received a prize amount of 1000 US dollars for being the player of the tournament.

The winning team Hyderabad hotshots received 3 crore 25 lakh rupees, whereas, the runner up team Awadhe Warriors received 1 crore 75 lakh rupees.

Earlier, Hyderabad Hotshots defeated the Pune Pistons by 3-0 in the first semi-finals, while Mumbai Masters were defeated in the second semi-finals by the Awadhe Warriors by 3-2

The league has emerged as one of the richest event of Badminton

Mars rover Curiosity drives itself for first time

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has used autonomous navigation for the first time, a capability that lets the rover decide for itself how to drive safely on the red planet.

This was a first for Curiosity. In a preparatory test Curiosity plotted part of a drive for itself, but kept within an area that operators had identified in advance as safe.

Curiosity is nearly two months into a multi-month trek from the “Glenelg” area, where it worked for the first half of 2013, to an entry point for the mission’s major destination: the lower layers of a 5-kilometre-tall mound called Mount Sharp. 

Pakistan beat Malaysia 3-1 to win bronze in Asia Cup

Pakistan, who needed to win the Asia Cup to qualify for next year's World Cup at The Hague, Netherlands, dished out a spirited performance to prevail over the erring Malaysians.

Pakistan, who will miss the World Cup for the first time since the introduction of the event in 1971, scored through a brace from Abdul Haseem Khan (35th, 56th) and skipper Muhammad Imran (54th) to register the victory in the third-fourth place play-off match at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium.

S. Bal Shekar, 59, Secretary of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, will perform the duties of the Lok Sabha Secretary-General for the time being, after T.K. Viswanathan demitted office on August 31. Mr. Shekar, a native of Salem district in Tamil Nadu, has served in the Secretariat for 32 years.