September 5 Current News 2013

September 5 Current News 2013 , Gk Updates Today 2013

Supreme Court gives three women senior advocate status

Supreme Court has designated eight retired judges of High Courts and four lawyers, three of them women, as senior advocates.

The retired judges are S.N. Agarwal and Rakesh Chandra Mishra (from the Madhya Pradesh High Court), Partha Sakha Datta (Calcutta), Ashok Kumar Roopanwal and Yogendra Kumar Sangal (Allahabad), P.R. Raman (Kerala), G. Bhavani Prasad (Andhra Pradesh) and Vinod K. Sharma (Madras). Lawyers: Sushil Kumar Jain, Meenakshi Arora, Kiran Suri and Viba Datta Makhija. 

It has now been six years since women lawyers were designated as senior advocates. 

In August 2007, Indu Malhotra was made senior advocate. No lawyer from Karnataka has been given this recognition since 1989.

The Supreme Court follows a rigorous procedure for considering the applications of practising advocates. A minimum of five sitting judges are expected to recommend the candidature of a practising advocate. 

Upon such a recommendation, the application will be placed before the Full Court. Though the CJI has discretionary power in exceptional cases, the status is invariably granted by the Full Court unanimously. 

Raghuram Rajan takes over as RBI Governor

Raghuram G. Rajan took over as the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India today. The 50-year-old economist took charge from D. Subbarao.

The duo shook hands warmly and hugged after Rajan signed a 65-year-old scroll, made of toughened paper, that bears the signatures of all governors and deputy governors of RBI.

An alumnus of IIT Delhi (1985) and IIM Ahmedabad (1987), Rajan has taken over from D. Subbarao whose five-year term ended today.

He was earlier Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, a post that he held for about a year.

Earlier, he has also been Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund and Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Faced with a tough economy and unstable rupee against the dollar, new RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday stressed the need for monetary stability saying it was a top priority.

Tibetan Brimstone butterfly discovered after 74 years

A rare butterfly species has been sighted at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh by two nature enthusiasts, for the first time since British naturalist Frank Ludlow collected it in May 1938. 

According to Sondhi, the butterfly was seen by Roy at Anini in Upper Dirang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh in July 1987.

Another butterfly, Ludlow's Bhutan Glory, was also spotted at Eaglenest last year. This species, which is Bhutan's national butterfly, was known only from one location in Bhutan before its sighting at Eaglenest and Dirang.

RBI eases ECB norms

In order to encourage capital flows, the RBI today eased the External Commercial Borrowing, ECB norms by allowing companies to use funds raised from foreign partners for general corporate purposes.

On a review, the apex bank has decided to permit eligible borrowers to avail of ECB under the approval route from their foreign equity holder company with minimum average maturity of 7 years for general corporate purposes. 

Till now borrowings in the form of ECB were not permitted to be utilised for general corporate purpose. However, the RBI has put certain conditions for availing the benefits of relaxed norms.

The RBI said,minimum paid-up equity of 25 per cent should be held directly by the lender. Also, repayment of the principal will commence only after completion of minimum average maturity of seven years and no prepayment will be allowed before maturity.

The measure is aimed at encouraging capital inflows and arresting the decline in rupee value.

Capital outflows have caused volatility in the stock market, as the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex yesterday fell 651 points.

The rupee had touched an all time low of 68.80 against the US dollar last month.

India, Russia to undertake counterterror exercise

Indian and Russian soldiers are getting set to conduct a major joint exercise of mechanized forces at the Mahajan ranges in Rajasthan. 

The aim behind the joint exercise "Indra", to be held over 10 days in October-November, is to practice "employment of mechanized forces as part of peace-keeping/enforcing operations in a semi-urban terrain under the UN charter". 

An official said, "The exercise will see the participation of infantry combat vehicles like BMP-I and BMP-II as well as T-72 main-battle tanks. Counterterrorism drills will be a major thrust area.

The 44,570-tonne INS Vikramaditya, or the refitted Admiral Gorshkov, has been a major sore point in the bilateral ties. 

India has paid $2.33 billion for INS Vikramaditya's refit, instead of the original $974 million earmarked in the January 2004 contract under which the carrier was to be originally delivered by August 2008.

Rakesh Sood appointed as Prime Minister’s Special Envoy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed Rakesh Sood, India’s former Ambassador to Nepal, Afghanistan and France and the country’s first Ambassador in charge of Disarmament in Geneva, as his new Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

Rakesh Sood, a 1976 batch IFS officer and he held different positions including, India’s former Ambassador to Nepal, Afghanistan and France and the country’s first Ambassador in charge of Disarmament in Geneva.

In 1998 when India carried out a series of nuclear tests to become a declared nuclear power, Rakesh Sood accompanied then National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra to various world capitals to explain India’s stand on its newly developed nuclear capability.

Senate panel passes authorization for use of US military force in Syria

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution authorizing the use of military force in Syria by a vote of 10-7, with one senator merely voting "present.

The panel's action clears the way for a vote on the resolution in the full Democratic-controlled Senate, likely next week. 

The Republican-led House of Representatives must also pass a version of the measure before it can be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Tommy Morrison, the former Heavy Weight Champion died

Tommy Morrison, the former heavy weight champion, who was diagnosed positive for HIV died at the age of 44.

As a boxer, he was nicknamed as The Duke and in his entire boxing career; he played 52 professional fights and lost only 3 of them.

Morrison came in limelight in the year 1993 after he defeated George Foreman to win the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Heavyweight Title. 

He also became famous after being casted as a co-star against Sylvester Stallone in the 1990 boxing movie Rocky

Kalam for special Parliament session

The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has called for a special session of Parliament to devise a plan for reviving the economy.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has called for a special session of Parliament to devise a plan for reviving the economy.