GK and Current Affairs Updates

The government has approved the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) concept in principle, Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh (retd), who is spearheading the campaign for the sceheme's implementation, said. He told the media that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has also agreed to the issue of extending OROP to ex-servicemen who took premature retirement."By the grace of God, OROP has been approved by the government," Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh said at a press conference at Jantar Mantar.

"The third bone of contention is still there, which is when the revision of pension should take place. While the government is saying it should be five years, we have said that this will kill the definition of One Rank One Pension. The minister has said a committee will be formed on this 
About One Rank One Pension--One Rank, One Pension (OROP), or same pension, for same rank and for the same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement, was the basis for determining the pension and benefits of Indian Armed Forces till 1973 . In 1973, the Indian National Congress (INC) government headed by Indira Gandhi, Prime minister, following the Third Central Pay Commission (3 CPC), in an "ex-parte" decision terminated OROP. The termination of OROP caused disquiet in the Armed Forces and has since become a cause of public protests by Armed Forces Veterans.

Vinod Dasari was on 3 September 2015 appointed as President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), an automobile industry body. Dasari is the Managing Director of Ashok Leyland.

Other Appointments
• Arvind Saxena, President of General Motors India, was elected as the Vice-President of the organisation.
• Kenichi Ayukawa, Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO, was appointed as the Treasurer of SIAM. 

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
• SIAM is the apex Industry body representing leading vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India.
• It facilitates dialogue between the industry, government, national as well as international organisations. 
• It also works closely with concerned stakeholders and helps evolve rules, regulations and policies related to the automobile industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released two commemorative coins of Rs 125 and Rs10 in the memory of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.The PM released a commemorative coin of Rs 125 and a circular coin of Rs 10 at New Delhi’s Manekshaw Auditorium in presence of MoS Finance Jayant Sinha and HRD Minister Smriti Irani.Dr Radhakrishnan was the second President of India, educationist, teacher and philosopher, on the eve of his birth anniversary. Teachers’ Day is celebrated in his memory.

About Dr Radhakrishnan--Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, forty miles to the north-east of Madras, in South India.His early years were spent in Tiruttani and Tirupati, both famous as pilgrim centres.He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Arts from Madras University. In partial fulfilment for his M.A. degree, Radhakrishnan wrote a thesis on the ethics of the Vedanta titled “The Ethics of the Vedanta and Its Metaphysical Presuppositions”, which was a reply to the charge that theVedanta system had no room for ethics.In April 1909, he was appointed to the Department of Philosophy at the Madras Presidency College. From then on, he was engaged in the serious study of Indian philosophy and religion, and was a teacher of Philosophy.In 1918, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy in the University of Mysore.Three years later, he was appointed to the most important philosophy chair in India, King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science in the University of Calcutta.Radhakrishnan represented University of Calcutta at the Congress of the Universities of the British Empire in June 1926 and the International Congress of Philosophy at the Harvard University in September 1926.

Various Positions Held By Dr S Radhakrishanan
1.In 1929, Radhakrishnan was invited to take the post vacated by Principal J. Estin Carpenter in Manchester College, OxfordFrom 1936-39,

2.Radhakrishnan was the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford University.In 1939,

3. he was elected Fellow of the British Academy. From 1939-48, he was the Vice-Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University. He later held offices that dealt with India’s national and international affairs.He was the leader of the Indian delegation to UNESCO during 1946-52.
4. He was the Ambassador of India to U.S.S.R. during 1949-52.
5. He was the Vice-President of India from 1952-1962 and the President, General Conference of UNESCO from 1952-54.
6. He held the office of the Chancellor, University of Delhi, from 1953-62.
From May 1962 to May 1967, he was the President of India.
7.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan passed away on April 17, 1975. In India, September 5 (his birthday) is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in his honor.

Guatemala's Congress swore in former judge Alejandro Maldonado as president Thursday as his disgraced predecessor appeared in court over corruption allegations hours after resigning in the face of unprecedented protests.Maldonado, a 79-year-old conservative who only became vice president in May, will serve out the rest of his former boss Otto Perez's term, handing over on January 14.The country will hold elections  to choose his successor, in a climate of widespread outrage over the corruption scandal engulfing Perez and broad rejection of the traditional political elite. He was selected Vice President by Congress on May 14, 2015, after his predecessor, Roxana Baldetti, resigned amid allegations of corruption. Before becoming Vice President, he served as a constitutional judge, congressional deputy, ambassador to the United Nations, and political leader, including a failed presidential bid in 1982. He was Minister of Education from 1970 to 1974 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996.

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put into circulation Rs 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965. RBI said in a release that the coins will be legal tender as provided in the Coinage Act 2011. Existing coins in this denomination will also continue to be legal tender, it said. The new coin in the obverse will bear Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar in the centre with Satyamev Jayate inscribed below it, the release said. On the reverse it will bear image of 'Amar Jawan' monument along with the design of olive leaves branch on its left and right sides at the center, with the inscription "veerata aur balidan" in Devnagri script on the left upper periphery and "VALOUR AND SACRIFICE" in English on the right upper periphery. The year "2015" is written below the image of the monument.

The year "2015" is written below the image of the monument, it added. Also, "GOLDEN JUBILEE 1965 OPERATIONS" in English on the lower periphery will also be written on this face of the coin.

Sri Lanka's first official tour of India in 1982-83 was a mixed bag; they lost all three one-day internationals, but achieved an honourable draw in the inaugural Test. Doubts over Sri Lanka's stickability and class had persisted before the series, but their draw earned them respect in the cricketing world . India won the three-match cricket test series against Sri Lanka, 2-1. In the third and final match of the series, India defeated the host with an emphatic 117-run. With this win, India also ended a 22-year long drought of a win over Sri Lanka on Sri Lankan soil.

Player of the series - Ravichandran Ashwin of India

Some other facts of the series
• 135-run partnership between Captain Angelo Mathews and debutant Kushal Perera in the third test, is the second-highest stand in the fourth innings in Sri Lanka's Test history. 
• It was Virat Kohli's first test series win as a Test captain
• The first match at Galle saw the batting collapse of young Indian side in the fourth innings on Independence Day after being in total control for most of that match.
• The second match will be remembered for being the last Test of Kumara Sangakkara, the gentleman cricketer from Sri Lanka.

and a role model for many around the world.
• India won a memorable series victory in Sri Lanka after a gap of 22 years.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday declared State Bank of India and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). The RBI had issued the framework for dealing with Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) on July 22, 2014.

The D-SIB framework requires the RBI to disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs every year in August starting from August 2015,  in case a foreign bank having branch presence in India is a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB), it has to maintain additional CET1 capital surcharge in India as applicable to it as a G-SIB, proportionate to its risk weighted assets (RWAs) in India.

Bhardwaj took over on  from Satinder Singh Bajaj who was steering the organisation since January 2010. A post graduate in mechanical engineering, Bhardwaj was earlier with Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). He is a recipient of Indian Nuclear Society award for outstanding achievement in nuclear technology including nuclear safety and is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering.

About AERB 

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was constituted on November 15, 1983 by the President of India by exercising the powers conferred by Section 27 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962) to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions under the Act. The regulatory authority of AERB is derived from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986. The headquarters is in Mumbai.

India has won the top UNESCO prize 'Award of Excellence' 2015 for the remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala, the UN body announced today. The Award of Excellence for the conservation of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur, won this year's top prize in the Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation . Sdaring Xieng Thong Temple in Luang Prabang won the Award of Merit and became the first project in Lao People's Democratic Republic to receive the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award.

A 150-year-old Sino-Portuguese former residence of a Thai aristocrat, which has been converted into a historic inn and local museum, has been awarded UNESCO's "Award of Merit" in Heritage Award. Beating 36 projects, Baan Luang Rajamaitri in Chanthaburi province was among 12 winning projects from five countries. Thailand has so far won 12 awards in this category, among them the restoration of the main chedi at Wat Prayoon in Thonburi (Award of Excellence) in 2013 and Samchuk community and old market district, Suphan Buri (Award of Merit) in 2009. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the adaptation of the former residence of local aristocrat Luang Rajamaitri into a 12-room heritage inn and museum sparked an awareness about heritage conservation and catalysed a larger movement to revitalise the once-declining 150 year-old riverfront town. The enlistment of more than 500 shareholders to invest in the transformation of the house created an innovative new social enterprise model for urban heritage conservation.

Social worker Binny Yanga, known for her work for the welfare of weaker sections of society, died at a Guwahati hospital . A member of the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women and Country Women Association of India, 57-year-old Yanga is survived by husband, two sons and two daughters.Her body was brought from Guwahati to Naharlagun by road and her last rites would be performed here Despite being diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2007, she continued to work for the Oju Welfare Association (OWA), set up by her, which hosts 338 orphans and destitute.

She formed the All-Subansiri District Girls Welfare Association and raised her voice against social evils such as child marriage, forced marriage, dowry among others.She joined the first batch of women cadre under the Arunachal police in 1987 and the experience gathered there, where she closely watched the plight of girls, motivated her to set up shelter homes for such victims.In 1979, she initiated a small Adult Education and Nursery Centre in Naharlagun and shelter home for girls and victims of child marriage, forced marriages and the destitute.