Employment News 5 September 2013

Employment News 5 September 2013 , World Current News 2013

Pro-Khalistan group files lawsuit against Sonia in U.S.

A federal court in New York issued summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for “shielding and protecting” leaders and workers of her party who were allegedly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A class-action suit filed by ‘Sikhs for Justice’, a pro-Khalistan organisation that has in the last couple of years taken to filing cases in international courts against those Indian leaders (the Congress and the Akali Dal) who its feels protected those responsible for atrocities and extra judicial killings of Sikhs.

The suit was filed on the SFJ’s behalf by Mohinder Singh and Jasbir Singh, two riot victims, under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). 

The plaintiffs sought that Ms. Gandhi pay compensatory and punitive damages for her role in shielding Kamal Nath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and other Congress leaders. 

The onus is on the SFJ to serve the summons to Ms. Gandhi in person.

Indian homeopath Batra gets Asian award

Noted Indian homeopath Mukesh Batra has been honoured with Asia's "most promising leader" award at a recent function in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for pioneering work in healthcare, using natural medicine.

An international jury headed by management guru Malcolm McDonald and validated by global consulting firm KPMG selected Batra, who founded Positive Health Clinic in 1982 in Mumbai and expanded across India, the Gulf region and Britain since then.

Dubai's Global Village chief executive Saeed Ali Bin Redha presented the award to Batra at Asia's most promising brands 2012-13 on Aug 26, in the presence of about 300 leaders from 18 Asian countries, representing diverse sectors.

The award is a measure of recognition to homeopathy, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) considers the second-largest medical system, growing at 25 percent annually over the past five years," Batra said in a statement here Wednesday.

The jury also ranked Batra's clinic among the top 200 brands in Asia, along with other Indian firms such as Ambuja Cement, Tata, Godrej, Mahindra and Fortis Healthcare.

Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test

In the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) 

working committee meeting on Sunday, the board decided to invite the West Indies over for a series in November.

The stakes hovering around the second Test against the West Indies, likely to be Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th, are so high that it has triggered a battle royal among state associations to win hosting rights for the landmark game.

Economist Ronald Coase dies in US at 102

Ronald Coase, the British-born US economist who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1991, died today in Chicago, the University of Chicago announced. 

He was 102.

Coase, who studied at the University of London and London School of Economics, was famed for his 1960 article, “The Problem of Social Cost,” was the basis for the famous Coase Theorem.

He was also known for the Coase conjecture, which held that monopolists selling durable goods — products like cars and refrigerators that are not replaced often — compete with themselves over time and so must sell at a lower price.

He also received an honorary doctorate from the University at Buffalo Department of economics in May 2012.

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Advertising Standards Council of India's Online Complaint and Monitoring Service (OCMS) has received 1,053 complaints, the maximum of which are against ads featuring Manforce Condom, Axe deodorant, Score Condoms and Micromax Canvas HD.

It regulates advertising content, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) received 215 complaints against 70 ads in July and about 152 against 30-odd ads in August after it launched the OCMS following a trial version that ran for nearly eight months.

"Through OCMS, consumers and industry members can now register complaints online and it will result in speedier redressal of complaints," said Alan Collaco, secretary general of ASCI. 

The unique login ID and password for the online account provides consumers a single window to lodge complaints, fast-track complaints or seek advice on advertising. 

The status of the complaints can be monitored through a unique tracking number generated by the website after one files a complaint. In addition to this, consumers will be updated on the status of the complaints via email or SMS."

Sixth Global Skills Summit held

The HRD Minister Dr. M M Pallam Raju today inaugurated the Sixth Global Skills Summit (GSS) at FICCI .

This two day FICCI annual event is being organized in collaboration with Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Labour and Employment and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

New Zealand is the country partner this time for the Summit.

The Theme of the Summit is “Industry Leads”.

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International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) focus on strengthening the supervision of securities market intermediaries, including fund managers.

A study conducted by the IMF, India: Financial Sector Assessment Program – Detailed Assessments Report on IOSCO objectives and principles of securities regulation, has said that the regulatory and supervisory regime for securities market in the country is well developed and largely in compliance with international standards. IOSCO is the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

However, the report also said that a few general pre-conditions for effective regulation of the securities markets requires further strengthening.

 India, Japan agree to step up negotiations for civil nuke deal

India and Japan on Tuesday agreed to "intensify" their negotiations on the civil nuclear pact towards an early conclusion at a high-level official meeting in Tokyo. 

Resuming their talks after a gap of nearly three years, the senior officials of the two countries held their fourth round during which they discussed "all aspects" of the pact which will pave the way for export of nuclear reactors and technology to energy-starved India. 

Launched in 2010, the nuclear-energy negotiations have been on hold since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011. The last round was held in November 2010. 

The fourth round comes nearly three months after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo in May where they decided to direct their officials to "accelerate the negotiations of an Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy towards an early conclusion".

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Greenland, hidden beneath the ice. It is at least 750 kilometres long. To put that in perspective, imagine a ten kilometre wide gorge, up to 800 metres deep, running from the Southern coast of England and into Scotland. This is on the same scale as parts of the Grand Canyon. It is almost twice the length of the Grand Canyon, half as deep but almost as wide, and certainly the only feature in Greenland this long. 

Jonathan Bamber, who led the research, was originally mapping Greenland’s bedrock, which was previously thought to be relatively flat and smooth. 

Unexpectedly, we found an enormous apparent formation,” he said. “We looked at it in more detail, and realised it was a canyon.” 

The canyon, which is thought to predate glaciation, has remained hidden beneath two kilometres of ice for more than four million years. It has the characteristics of a meandering river channel, an ancient river system that Bamber thinks hasn’t been significantly modified by ice cover. 

Union Cabinet approves setting up of Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal for setting up of the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) as an independent charitable society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

It will provide financial grants to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to meet their human resource and institutional costs for upscaling of proven interventions; invest in institutional strengthening of smaller CSOs and capacity building of professional resources working at the grassroots.

iii. Projects supported by BRLF would be able to reach 10 lakh poor families by the end of the fifth year.

BRLF would also have supported the capacity building of 1,000 CSO professionals and institutional strengthening of a significant number of smaller CSOs within the above time frame.

Rs 500 crore will be released for creating the corpus fund of the new Society, in two tranches.

The society will be constituted as a partnership between Government on the one hand and private sector philanthropies, private and public sector undertakings (under Corporate Social Responsibility) on the other hand.

The proposal was earlier considered by Cabinet on 18th April 2013 and referred to a Group of Ministers under chairmanship of the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOOGLE

Google, which initially set shop in a garage but now has more than 70 offices in more than 40 global locations, including India, turned 15.

Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who had met at university in 1995, incorporated the firm September 4, 1998. 

Originally called BackRub, it was eventually named Google. 

Since then, it has become synonymous with internet searching. 

And one can use Gmail in more than 50 languages. 

Befitting the occasion, Google has named the next version of the company's mobile operating system (OS) as Android KitKat after Nestle's popular chocolate and wafer confectionery. 

KitKat will be Android 4.4. "We couldn't imagine a better name for our Android K release than the tasty chocolate that's been a favorite among the team since the early days of Android," said Marc Vanlerberghe, director of Android marketing. 

According to Google, Android software powers more than a billion smartphones or tablets worldwide. 

Smartphones powered by Google's Android software increased their global market share as iPhones lost ground in the absence of new models being unleashed by Apple, the International Data Corporation reported last month. 

There are also reports Google will launch a Glass app store sometime next year. 

Nestle said that to mark the release of Android KitKat, more than 50 million specially branded KitKat bars will be available in 19 countries, including India. 

The packs will lead consumers to the website www.android.com/kitkat where they will have the opportunity to win prizes, including a limited number of Google Nexus 7 tablets, and credits to spend in Google Play. 

A small number of Android robot-shaped KitKat bars will be offered as prizes in selected markets.