Anita Kapur Appointed As CBDT new Chairperson
Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Anita Kapur has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex authority of the income tax department. Kapur, a 1978-batch officer of the income tax cadre, was till now serving as member (legislation and computerisation and income tax) in the CBDT. She took over the top charge after her appointment was made by the government as incumbent CBDT Chairman K.V. Chowdary retired on 31 October 2014.
Narendra Modi Named 15th Most Powerful World Leader
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his debut among the worlds most powerful people, ranked 15th on the Forbes list topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin who pipped his US counterpart Barack Obama for a second year in a row. The list of 72 most powerful people in the world has 12 newcomers on the list, including Modi and Egypt President Abdel el-Sisi.
Sachin Tendulkar Unveils His Autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’
Indian cricket legend and Member of Parliament Sachin Tendulkar launched his autobiography, Playing It My Way in Mumbai on 5 November. Earlier, Sachin gave first copy of the book to his mother Rajni, while at the launch he presented a copy to his mentor and childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar in the presence of his daughter Sara.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Won ICC People’s Choice Award
India’s bowling all-rounder, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has been named as the winner of the 2014 LG ICC People’s Choice award. He is the third Indian player to win the coveted prize and overall fourth cricketer to win this prize.
Mumbai Has Highest Number of Internet Users In India
According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) latest study report, Mumbai has the highest number of Internet users at about 16.4 million in the country which has over 243 million web users. Delhi was second with a user base of 12.1 million. The National Capital recorded the fastest year-on-year growth rate of 50 percent in Internet user base among top eight cities of the country.
Union Cabinet Approved Dissolution Of Delhi Assembly
The Union Cabinet on 4 November gave its approval to the proposal for dissolution of the Delhi Assembly. The approval will pave the way for holding of fresh Election in Delhi. Delhi has been under the President’s Rule since February 2014 following the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government’s resignation after 49 days in office.
Narinder Batra gets FIH President’s Award
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) gave its prestigious President’s Award to Hockey India (HI) President Narinder Batra on 4 November at Morocco. The President’s Awards were presented to Narinder Batra and Italian Valentina Quaranta for their lengthy and valuable services to the sports. Narinder Batra was recently included in the FIH Executive Board at 2014 Ordinary Congress of FIH.
One World Trade Center Opens For Business In New York
One World Trade Center, the 104-storey building at the same spot where the twin towers of World Trade Centre (WTC) fell down more than 13 years ago, was opened in New York. This building is constructed at a cost of $3.9 billion and is the tallest building in the United States.
Former PM Manmohan Singh Chosen For Japan’s Top National Award
Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be awarded ‘The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers’, after becoming the first Indian to receive the rare honour. He has been chosen for one of Japan’s top national awards for his significant contribution to the enhancement of relations and promotion of friendship between Japan and India for about 35 years.
Lewis Hamilton Won F1 US Grand Prix
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton of UK won the US Formula One Grand Prix on 3 November. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton teammate Nico Rosberg (Germany) to take 24 point lead over him with just two races left in the season. Third spot was taken by Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) of Red Bull team.
Hasmukh Adhia Is New Financial Services Secretary
Hasmukh Adhia, a 1981 Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the new Financial Services Secretary by the union government on 3 November. Hasmukh Adhia replaces G S Sandhu, who was transferred as the new Chairman of National Authority for Chemical Weapon Convention (NACWC).
Veteran Bollywood Actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar Died
Veteran Bollywood actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who essayed villainous and comic roles with equal ease and gave powerful performances in Ardh Satya and Sadak, died in Mumbai on 3 November. Sadashiv Amrapurkar was born as Ganesh Kumar Narwode in Nasik in 1950 and later in 1974 he adopted the name Sadashiv. He was associated with Marathi stage before migrating to the world of Hindi and Marathi films. He received the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role in 1991 for Sadak — the first time the award was instituted.
Laser Drone Defence System Successfully Tested By China
China has successfully tested a homemade laser defense system specially targeting small-scale drones flying at low attitude.The machine is able to shoot down various small aircraft within a two-kilometer radius and can do so in five seconds after locating its target.
Legendary jazz clarinetist Acker Bilk Died
Acker Bilk, the legendary jazz musician and clarinet player, has died on 2 November in Bath, southwestern England. Born in Pensford in Somerset in 1929, Bilk tried a number of different careers before becoming a learned clarinet player. Born as Bernard Stanley Bilk, he changed his name to Acker after learning to play the clarinet in the Army. He learned the clarinet as a bored army recruit stationed in Egypt after World War II. He formed his first band in Bristol after his demobilisation. Bilk was named as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001 for services to music.
Central Zone Won 2014-15 Duleep Trophy
Central Zone won the 2014-15 Duleep Trophy title of cricket on 2 November by defeating South Zone in the finals played at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi with 9 runs. K Rahul was adjudged as the Man-of-the-match for his knocks of 185 and 130 in the final.
Alok Kumar Takes Over As Central Vigilance Commission Secretary
Senior IAS officer Alok Kumar has taken over as secretary of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), country’s top anti-corruption body. Alok Kumar, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has also been entrusted with additional charge of Joint Secretary (Training) under the Ministry of Personnel till completion of his tenure or till posting of his successor. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC), headed by the Prime Minister, has also extended central deputation tenure of Kumar for three months beyond December 13, 2014.
Bangalore Renamed Bengaluru
Karnataka’s capital Bangalore on 1 November 2014 shed its colonial name to become Bengaluru along with 11 other cities across the state, renamed in the native Kannada language. The renaming of India’s tech hub and other cities coincided with Karnataka’s 59th formation day. The state government on 31 October 2014 notified that Bangalore and 11 other cities across the state will be pronounced and spelt in Kannada from 1 November 2014, following approval by the central government to rename them in the local language. Other well-known cities like Mysore will be pronounced and spelt Mysuru, Mangalore as Mangaluru ; Belgaum as Belagavi ; Bellary as Ballari ; Hubli as Hubballi and Gulbarga in the state’s northern region as Kalaburgi. The remaining five cities — Bijapur became Vijayapura ; Chikmagalur Chikkamagaluru ; Hospet Hosapeta ; Shimoga in Malnad region as Shivamogga and Tumkur Tumakuru.
CSIR Scientist Venkat Mohan Won Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize
S Venkata Mohan, scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad has been awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize 2014 in Engineering Sciences. His contributions in generating wealth from waste leading to the establishment of a viable link between waste remediation, renewable energy and third generation biofuels, has been recognised.
Rajiv Mehrishi Took Over As New Economic Affairs Secretary
Rajiv Mehrishi took charge as Union Finance Secretary under the Union Ministry of Finance. He was appointed as Secretary of Economic Affairs of Finance. Rajiv Mehrishi succeeded Arvind Mayaram who was shifted to Ministry of Minority Affairs on 30 October 2014. Earlier on 16 October 2014 Arvind Subramaniam joined as the new Chief Economic Advisor.