Current Affairs 21st October 2015

Current Affairs 21st October 2015

Updated : 24-Oct-2015

Current Affairs 21st October 2015 - Important Points
Current Affairs 21st October 2015 - Details
Who is appointed as acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court - Justice Vaiphei
Among the important appointmnets, On 19th October 2015, Justice Tinlianthang Vaiphei, senior-most Judge of Gauhati High Court has been appointed as the acting Chief Justice for the Gauhati High Court by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee by exercising the powers conferred by article 223 of the Constitution of India.

On 22nd February 2001, Vaiphei was appointed as a Senior Advocate and later on 15th September 2000, he was appointed as an additional Advocate General, Mizoram. On 17th July 2003, he was promoted to the Bench as Additional Judge, Gauhati High Court and was made Permanent Judge on 28th February 2005.
Tinlianthang Vaiphei was enrolled in the Bar Council of Assam on 22 August 1980. He started law practice in the Courts of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Munsiff and Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate in the Churachandpur district of Manipur in 1980.
Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports constituted - All India Council of Sports
Among the important National Current Affairs, On 19th October 2015, All India Council of Sports was inaugrated by Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to advise the ministry on matters relating to the promotion and development of sports and games in the country. The council was headed by Prof V K Malhotra.
Members of All India Council of Sports
- Sachin Tendulkar, MP (Rajya Sabha)
- N Kunjarani Devi (Weightlifting)
- I M Vijayan (Football)
- P Gopichand (Badminton)
- Baichung Bhutia (Football)
- Uday Shankar, CEO Star India
- P T Usha (Athletics)
- Limba Ram (Archery)
- Vishwanathan Anand (Chess)
- President/Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association
- Secretary, Department of Sports, Government of India
- Sandeep Pradhan, Director General, Sports Authority of Gujarat
- Vice Chancellor, Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education (LNIPE)
- Joint Secretary, Department of Sports, Government of India
- Secretary (Sports), Government of Madhya Pradesh
- Secretary (Sports), Government of Assam
- Director General, Sports Authority of India (SAI)
- Director General, National Anti Doping Agency
Who has been named brand ambassador of MRF - AB de Villiers
Among the important appointmnets, On 20th October 2015, South African batsman AB de Villiers was named as the brand ambassador of Tyre manufacturing giant MRF Limited for a period of three years.
De Villiers will support the company’s products and services through advertising campaigns and other such promotional programmes during the term of the agreement.

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting reconstituted - Central Press Accreditation Committee
Among the important National Current Affairs, On 19th October 2015, the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB) cards to journalists was reconstituted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
PIB director general Frank Noronha will be the ex-officio chairman of the committee.
Renowned journalists included in the the committee are:
- Rabi Rath from Association of Small and Medium Newspapers of India
- Meenakshi Pandit from All India Journalists Welfare Association
- Pramod Kumar of National Union of Journalists (India), International Federation of Journalists
- Surendra Verma of Association of Accredited News Cameraman
- Shyam Babu of Indian Federation of Working Journalists
The nominated members for the committee are:
- Jayanto Ghoshal from ABP
- Amitabh Sinha from IBN-7 TV
- Akhilesh Sharma from NDTV
- Kalyan Barua from Assam Tribune
- Navika Kumar from Times Now
- Diwakar Asthana from The Times of India
- Coomi Kapoor from Indian Express
- Iftikhar Geelani from DNA
- Nistula Hebbar from The Hindu
- Shekhar Iyer from Deccan Herald
Who is named Brand Ambassador of Champions Tennis League team Raipur Rangers - Anil Kumble
Among the important appointmnets, On 20th October 2015, Former Indian captain and leg spinner Anil Kumble was named as the brand ambassador of the Raipur Rangers – one of the franchises of Champions Tennis League (CTL).
Abhishek Mishra and Chinmay Tiwari are the co-0wners of Raipur Rangers. The team will comprise players like Ramanathan Ramkumar, Alize Cornet and Thomas Muster.
The Champions Tennis League was conceptualised by Vijay Amritraj in 2014.
CFO of Snapdeal - Anup Vikal
Among the important appointmnets, On 20th October 2015, Anup Vikal has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of E-commerce firm Snapdeal.

Prior to this appointment, Vikal was working as the CFO of Aircel since January 2013. And earlier to this, he worked as the group-CFO & head of strategy and IT with budget carrier IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Enterprises. He also served as a part of Bharti Airtel's finance team for around seven years before joining Colt, where he worked for a few years.
Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India by Sam Pitroda
Among the important National Current Affairs, On 19th October 2015, the auto biography of Sam Pitroda written with the help of David Chanoff named Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India was launched.
The book elaborates the journey of Satanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, considered as the ‘father of Indian telecom revolution.
The book start in 1964 when Pitroda commenced on a long journey to the USA from Titilagarh in Odisha.
Further, the book characterize his success in the technology space, his return to India to assist the former Rajiv Gandhi to assure in telecom revolution in the country and important incidents in his life post the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Who has won the Paul H Appleby Award - Noted criminologist K Chockalingam
Among the important International Current Affairs, In October 2015, Noted criminologist K Chockalingam was awarded with the prestigious Paul H Appleby Award given by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) for his distinguished services to public administration and IIPA.
Chockalingam is Vice President of World Society of Victimology and has served as a professor and a researcher in criminology in University of Madras. He also worked as Chair Professor of criminal law at the National Law University (NLU) in Delhi from 2012-14.
About K Chockalingam
- He won many awards like
- He is an author of four books and more than 75 research papers.
- He is also the founder and president of
Do You Know :
Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) awards the Paul H Appleby Award as a tribute to Paul Appleby, a noted author of works in the field of public administration who helped in developing the vision of the institute in the early years of its founding.
Name the renowned marine biologist who has passed away - Syed Zahoor Qasim
On 20th October 2015, Renowned marine biologist Syed Zahoor Qasim passed away in New Delhi at the age of 88.
In 1981-82, he was a part of the first Indian expedition to Antarctica nad is also regarded as the founder of Polar Biology in India.
After the first expedition, till 1988, he successfully organized and guided the next the seven expeditions and made pioneering contributions in the field of fisheries biology, mari-culture, estuarine ecology and environmental pollution.
He has also published around 200 original research papers in national and international journals based on his research.
He was honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Union Government and Life Time Achievement Award by the Indian Science Congress in 2008.
Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day observed on - 21st October
Among the important International Current Affairs, On 21st October 2015, Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Prevention Day was observed around the globe to create awareness of the need to prevent iodine deficiency.
Almost 1/3rd of world’s population is exposed to the risk of iodine deficiency disorders and is also the world’s single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation.
The main cause of iodine deficiency is a diet low in iodine which occurs among populations living in areas where the soil has been depleted of iodine because of flooding, heavy rainfall or glaciations.
Iodine deficiency can lead to enlargement of the thyroid, hypothyroidism and mental retardation in infants and children whose mothers were iodine deficient during pregnancy.
UN released The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics report
Among the important International Current Affairs, On 20th October 2015, a report entitled The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics were released by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.
The report provides an update of the statistics and indicators on the situation of women and men around the world covering gender-specific information on eight key areas-population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty.
Key findings of the report in eight key areas
Health
- Life expectancy over the past 20 years has risen for both sexes—reaching 72 years for women and 68 years for men in 2010–2015. The gender gap tends to widen as life expectancy increases.
- Men are at a higher risk than women of the same age of dying from cardiovascular disease, but more women than men die from the disease since they tend to live longer.
Environment
- About half of population in developing regions lack access to improved drinking water on the premises; and the burden of water collection falls mostly on women.
- The number of deaths from diarrhoea due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in developing regions was 0.8 million in 2012; the majority of such deaths in some parts of Asia were among women and girls.
Power and decision-making
- The number of female Heads of State or Government reached 19 in 2015, only seven more than in 1995.
- Around 30 per cent of electoral candidates in lower or single houses of parliament are women.
- The glass ceiling appears to be most impenetrable in the world’s largest corporations; less than 4 per cent of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are women and the gender composition of executive boards of private companies is far from parity.
Violence against women
- Women across the world, regardless of income, age or education, are subject to physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence.
- At least 119 countries have passed laws on domestic violence, 125 have laws on sexual harassment and 52 have laws on marital rape.
Population and Families
- There are about 62 million more men than women worldwide. In younger age groups, men outnumber women; in older age groups, women outnumber men.
- Child marriage has declined; still, almost half of women aged 20 to 24 in Southern Asia and two fifths in sub-Saharan Africa marry before age 18.
- Adolescent birth rates declined almost everywhere but are still high in many African and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Poverty
- On average 1 in 3 married women in developing countries have no say about major household purchases, and 1 in 10 are not consulted on how their own cash earnings are spent.
- Globally, 47 per cent of women have an individual or joint account at a formal financial institution compared to 55 per cent of men.
Education
- Despite progress, only one in two children in developing regions receive pre-primary education compared to nine in 10 in developed regions.
- An estimated 58 million children of primary school age—31 million of whom are girls—are out of school.
- Nearly two thirds of the world’s 781 million illiterate adults are women, and almost all of them live in developing regions.
Work
- Globally, about three quarters of men and half of women participate in the labour force; the gender gap in participation has narrowed in only some regions and remains widest in Northern Africa, Western Asia and Southern Asia.
- Vulnerable employment—that is, own-account and contributing family work—constitutes half of women’s and men’s employment globally, but is most common in Africa and Asia, especially among women.
- Women earn less than men across all sectors and occupations, with women working full-time earning between 70 and 90 per cent of what men earn in most countries.
About the report
The report is based on eight critical areas of policy concern as identified by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that was adopted by the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.
The Beijing Declaration seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women throughout their life cycle.
Agreement between India and Egypt on Maritime Transport was approveed by - Union Cabinet
On 21st October 2015, The Union Cabinet approved the agreement between India and Egypt on Maritime Transport.
Highlights of the agreement
- Both the nations will establish joint ventures in the fields of maritime transportation, shipbuilding and repairs, maritime training, information technology including development of simulators, port facilities and related maritime activities, etc.
- Both the nations will exchange and train staff and students from various maritime establishments.
- Both the nations will exchange-of information necessary for accelerating and facilitating the flow of commercial goods at sea and at ports.
- It will help both the nations to encourage and facilitate the development of their maritime relationship.
- It will help both the nations to cooperate in the task of enhancing and stimulating steady growth of maritime traffic.