Current Affairs - 28th Jan 2014

Airbus-A380s to fly in India

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry on 27 January 2014 approved the operations of Airbus A-380s in India at four airports currently equipped to handle these super jumbos. Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Lufthansa have been pressing the government for several years to allow them fly these super jumbos into India. Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore -Presently these four are equipped to handle huge A-380s. The restrictions on the fully double-decker planes were lifted after weeks of consultation between Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Air India and Airports Authority of India (AAI).

An A-380 aircraft can seat 850 passengers in an all-economy configuration, but those having a three-class configuration can accommodate between 550-600 passengers.

New fund announced by National Innovation Council

India Inclusive Innovation Fund – IIIF -The fund, launched by Sam Pitroda, head of the NInC, is an autonomous Rs. 500-crore fund, with the Union Government contributing 20%. The balance will come from public sector banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, multilateral/bilateral development agencies, Indian & global corporates.

It is the new fund announced by the National Innovation Council (NInC) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to combine innovation and the dynamism of enterprise to solve the problems of citizens at the bottom of the economic pyramid in India.

Tunisia adopted new constitution

Tunisia’s National Constitutional Assembly on 26 January approved the country’s landmark post-revolutionary Constitution its members have spent the last two years writing, by 200 out of 216 votes. The new document guarantees basic freedoms and gender equality. It has been called one of the most progressive Constitutions in the Arab world and involved lengthy negotiations between an Islamist-dominated Government and the largely secular Opposition.

National communal harmony award 2013

The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) won the award which was announced by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony. Mohinder Singh of Delhi and Dr. N Radhakrishnan of Kerala have been selected for the award in the individual category. Established in 1996, CSSS is a Mumbai-based organisation working to promote peace, secularism and communal harmony in the country. Mohinder Singh, 72, is a scholar and member of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions.

Dr. N. Radhakrishnan, 69, is a well-known academic, Gandhian scholar and peace worker. The National Communal Harmony Awards were instituted in 1996 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an autonomous organisation under the Union Home Ministry.

Aey mere vatan ke logon completes 50 years

“Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo“, the patriotic song sung by Lata Mangeshkar to commemorate the martyrdom of Indian soldiers in the Sino-Indian War of 1962, completed 51 years of its public performance on 27 January 2014.

The song written by Kavi Pradeep was performed live at Delhi’s historic Ramleela Maidan on 27 January 1963 by Lata Mangeshkar, just two months after the end of the war. This legendary song was composed by– C. Ramchandra.