12 May 2016

12 May - International Nurses Day

Uttar Pradesh government approves 200-km 'Bicycle Highway

·        The Uttar Pradesh government gave approval to the development of a 200-km 'Bicycle Highway' from Agra to the lion safari in Etawah.

·        The 'Bicycle Highway' will cover historical and tourism centres and will not run along the Agra-Etawah main road.

·        This reportedly is a part of the government's attempts to promote eco-tourism around the Taj Mahal.

SAARC nations to set up uniform child helpline

·   SAARC nations agreed to set up a uniform toll-free child helpline at a three-day meeting of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children.

·India offered support to the nations in upgrading their child helplines to monitor violence against children.

· Home Minister Rajnath Singh said indicators of child protection will be monitored universally for the first time.

Brazil President Rousseff suspended for six months

·        Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff today was suspended for at least six months after the country's Senate voted 55-22 to impeach and put her on trial.

·        The Senate's upper house will try Rousseff for allegedly manipulating the government's accounts ahead of the last election.
·        The judges will reportedly be Senators, many of whom are accused of more serious crimes.

Kotak sole Indian on Forbes’ most powerful list

·        Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday Kotak, with a net worth of $7.1 billion, is the only Indian in Forbes' 'Money Masters: The Most Powerful People In The Financial World' list of 40.

·        The 57-year-old is ranked 33rd in the list topped by Blackstone Group's CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who has a net worth of $10.2 billion.

Obama honours Indian-American Teacher Revathi Balakrishnan

·        Indian American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan was among 56 “State Teachers of the Year” honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.

·        In addition to being chosen to the CCSSO honor, Balakrishnan in 2016 was named Patsy Sommer Elementary School Teacher of the Year, Round Rock Independent School District Elementary Teacher of the Year and Region XIII Elementary Teacher of the Year, as well as Texas Teacher of the Year and Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Texas Association of Supervisors and Administrators.

Reliance Jio launches JioMoney Wallet service

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm has launched digital wallet service, named JioMoney Wallet, for Indian consumers. JioMoney is a semi-closed prepaid wallet that aims to enable mobile-based transactions. Using it customers can store money and use it for purchasing goods and services.

 Key Features of JioMoney Wallet -

• The service will enable customers to make bill payments, mobile and DTH recharges, send/receive money and insurance premium payments, as well as for online shopping. 
• It also allows users to send and receive money to and from family and friends. It will also enable easy transfer of JioMoney balance into the customer’s bank account. 
• The wallet service allows consumers to use barcode scan to pay at physical stores. 
• It also offers coupons, deals and cashback directly to customers on their mobile phone from local merchants. 
• Customers with the help of Jio Money will be able to make payments from and for the entire Reliance ecosystem which includes Reliance Retail, Digital Express, Reliance Fresh etc. The service was launched after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had given licence to Reliance Payment Solutions for its JioMoney service in November 2015.

Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as ICC’s first independent Chairman

Veteran cricket administrator Shashank Manohar (58) was elected unopposed as ICC’s (International Cricket Council) first independent Chairman. He was the sole nominee for the position and the ICC Board has now unanimously supported his appointment. He will have tenure of two years. 

Background

 He was elected to the post after the ICC Full Council’s approval of constitutional amendments proposed by the Board following its April 2016 meeting. The amendments had abolished the post of the ICC President and created the post of independent Chairman. The provision of ICC chief can’t be associated with a cricket board was also added in these amendments. In order to comply with provisions of ICC rules, Shashank Manohar had resigned from the post of BCCI president.

 About Shashank Manohar 

Shashank Manohar by profession is a prominent lawyer. Born on 29 September 1957 in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He had twice served as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), from 2008 to 2011 and from November 2015 to May 2016. As a cricket administrator he is known for his impeccable clean image and track record & integrity in cricketing circles.