- India up 5 spots, ranks 130th in Human Development Index: UNDP
- India continued to rank low in the Human Development Index (HDI), but climbed five notches to the 130th rank in the latest UNDP report on account of rise in life expectancy and per capita income.
- India ranked 130 among 188 countries in 2014 in Human Development Report 2015 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP
- India’s HDI value for 2014 is 0.609, which puts the country in the medium human development category, positioning it at 130 out of 188 countries and territories
- Between 1980 and 2014, India’s HDI value increased from 0.362 to 0.609, an increase of 68.1 per cent or an average annual increase of about 1.54 per cent
- The HDI is an average measure of basic human development achievements in a country. It is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development — a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living
- Apurvi Chandela bags air rifle gold
- Apurvi Chandela won the women’s gold in air rifle in the 59th National shooting championship
- Geetakshi Dixit clinched the silver, one point behind Apurvi.
- Arun Kumar Jain appointed Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman
- Senior revenue service officer Arun Kumar Jain is appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
- Jain will have short tenure of two months, till January 2016.
- IAEA ends 12 year Iran Nuclear Weapon probe
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons.
- In this regard, IAEA Board of Governors have passed a resolution ending its long-running inquiry against Ian but allowing inspectors to continue to police the country’s nuclear programme.
- IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
- World Bank offers $1.5 billion loan for Swachh Bharat Mission
- The World Bank has approved a $1.5 billion loan to support the Central government’s flagship cleanliness drive Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)
- It aims to ensure all citizens have access to improved sanitation – such as a toilet or latrine with a focus on changing behaviour – in ending the practice of open defecation by 2019.
- The project will support SBM’s rural component known as SBM-Gramin (SBM-G), over a five-year period using a new performance-based program which links funds directly to results, ensuring that benefits are delivered to the people in need – more than 60 per cent of India’s rural population.
- Supreme Court appoints Justice Virendra Singh as Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta
- In an unusual order, the Supreme Court on Wednesday exercised its constitutional authority and appointed former High Court judge, Justice Virendra Singh, as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh after the state government failed to comply with its directives.
- The law provides that a high-powered committee of the chief minister, the leader of opposition and the chief justice of the concerned High Court together appoints the chief of the state ombudsman.
- Government gives in principle nod to pilot Google’s Project Loon
- Google’s newly-appointed chief Sundar Pichai managed to secure support for the company’s ambitious Loon project in the government.
- Union minister for telecom and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government was in principle agreeable to pilots of Google’s Project Loon.
- Under the project Loon, Google has proposed to provide internet connectivity in hard to access areas of the country from balloons floating at a height of 20 km using LTE or 4G technology.
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