1. Govt to develop Bodh Gaya as spiritual capital
i. Describing Bodh Gaya as the “land of enlightenment”, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi today said his government would develop the site as the
spiritual capital for it to serve as a civilisational bond between India
and the Buddhist world.
ii. “The government of India would like to provide all possible support
that its Buddhist cousin nations need for the satisfaction of their
spiritual needs from this holiest of holy places for them,” he said
after visiting Mahabodhi Temple.
iii. Describing Buddha as a “crown jewel” of India, which accepts all
ways of worship, he said he revered Buddha as a reformer of not only
Hinduism but also the world, who gave a new world view and vision which
is critical for survival of all.
2. Maharashtra to train 55,000 employees under KRA programme
i. The Maharashtra Government has decided to provide training to over
50,000 employees as part of its Key Result Area (KRA) programme to
enhance their performance and bring them on par in competence with the
corporate sector.
ii.
During this programme, the government intends to train 55,000 employees
out of total 11 lakh across the State in the first phase. The
government is focusing on training bureaucrats, including fresh Class-I
officers and those reaching the age of 50.
iii. According to Ajit Deshmukh, in-charge of the training programme,
experts have set a syllabus to train employees in a manner that will
change their views and motivate them to perform better. Deshmukh is the
under secretary of General Administration Department (GAD).
iv. They will also be given training in public administration,
management skills, works related to budget and finance, using of human
resource, various laws and develop skills in computer and information
technology, he added.
3. India among few bright spots in global economy, says IMF
i. The IMF on Saturday said India is among the few bright spots in the
global economy as G20 finance ministers began their two-day meeting here
against the backdrop of concerns over Chinese economic slowdown looming
large on world markets.
ii.
The remarks from International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine
Lagarde came at the meeting of G20 finance minister and Central Bank
Governors where they also discussed monetary policy uncertainties.
iii. Lagarde told the gathering that between advanced and emerging
economies, there are problems in most places in the advanced world while
in emerging economies, there are problems in China although not that
big as stock markets are making it to be, according to officials present
at the meeting.
iv. Officials said that RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said at the meeting
that they are surrounded by economic gloom probably hinting at concerns
over slowdown in China.
v. On Thursday, India deprecated the recent devaluation of major
currencies followed by currency depreciation in a large number of
emerging markets which raises the risk of competitive devaluations.
4. G20, OECD announce new corporate governance code
i. To safeguard minority shareholders’ interests and promote capital
market as a key platform to raise funds, G20 and OECD today announced
new corporate governance principles for listed companies and regulators
in all member countries, including India.
ii. Consequently, regulators and policymakers across the world, which
include SEBI in India, will update their regulations for the listed
firms in line with the new code.
iii.
The new code calls for enhanced cross-border cooperation among
regulators, including through bilateral and multilateral arrangements
for exchange of information. It also states that the impediments to
cross-border voting by shareholders should be eliminated, while
shareholders should be allowed to consult each other.
iv. The new G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance were released
here by the OECD Secretary General, Angel Gurria, and Turkish Deputy
Prime Minister, Cevdet Yilmaz, on the sidelines of the ongoing G20
minister level meetings.
5. World's shortest man, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, dies at 75
i. Chandra Bahadur Dangi, verified by the Guinness Book of Records as
the world's shortest man - at 21.5 inches (54.6cm) - died of an
undisclosed illness in American Samoa.
ii. The shortest man shot to fame after his pictures with the world's
tallest man, Sultan Kosen from Turkey, were released in 2013. He was
touring Samoa Islands, a US territory in South Pacific Ocean, when he
fell sick and was admitted to Lyndon B Johnson Tropical Medical Center
in Pago Pago at around midday.
iii. Thaneswar Guragai, who assisted him on his tours, was quoted in
Himalayan Times: "Chandra Bahadur Dangi's nephew, Dolakh, called me from
the Samoa Islands and asked me to inform the family about the death."
Guragai was in Kathmandu when Dangi breathed his last.
iv. The 75-year-old Dangi lived in a remote village around 400km (248
miles) from Kathmandu, and travelled the world after he was officially
declared the world's smallest man in 2013.
6. Aadesh Shrivastava Dead: Madhuri Dixit Nene, Arjun Kapoor and Other Bollywood Celebs Mourn Music Composer's Demise
i. Bollywood music composer-director Aadesh Shrivastava, who had been
battling cancer, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday at around 12:30 a.m.
ii. The "Baabul" music director was being treated at the Kokilaben
Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital for over 40 days after his cancer relapsed for
the third time.
iii. His body is currently being kept at the hospital. The funeral will
take place at 12:30 p.m. at Oshiwara Crematorium, Andheri West
iv. Shrivastava rose to fame with his musical compositions for films
like "Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham", "Rajneeti", "Chalte Chalte", "Baabul"
and "Baghban" among others.
v. As soon as news of Shrivastava's demise broke, several Bollywood
celebs took to twitter to express their condolences to the acclaimed
music director.
