9th SEPTEMBER 2014

The Supreme Court described as “serious” the allegation against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ranjit Sinha that he frequently met accused persons in the 2G scam at his residence

Following complaints raised by US companies on India's intellectual property rights (IPR) regime, the Modi Government has decided to come out with a policy framework on by early 2015. It has also at decided to disallow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said

N. Sridhar, a resident of Saibaba Colony, installed a 3.5kW rooftop solar energy system in his house over three years ago. The 3,300 sq ft house requires just about three to four units of energy a day as Mr. Sridhar has gone in for energy efficient appliances and gadgets. The additional units of solar energy produced every day are now sent to the grid as he went in for a solar net meter recently.

Antique idols in temples with inadequate safety measures in Perambalur and Ariyalur districts will soon be protected in highly secure centres to thwart theft of these precious icons. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR &CE) department is setting up these Icon Centres with necessary safety features and security mechanism. Construction of Icon Centres is currently apace at Perambalur and Ariyalur at a cost of nearly Rs. 90 lakh each, and 60 per cent of the works are already completed.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and discussion relating  bilateral cooperation can be deepened in renewable energy, infrastructure, cleaning of rivers and vocational training, besides high technology and the manufacturing sector

Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said he Railway Ministry has started work on 80 per cent of the budgetary pronouncements and hopes to initiate work on the remaining within a month.

The National Waqf Development Corporation (NAWADCO) and the National Building Construction Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday to develop Waqf properties in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah said NAWADCO had identified two properties in Rajasthan, six in Madhya Pradesh and seven in Karnataka and one piece of land in Delhi for development as institutional and commercial projects.

India has formally signed a free trade agreement for services and investments with ASEAN. Philippines, now the only ASEAN country yet to sign the pact, is also expected to do so soon. All ASEAN members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — are expected to get the agreement ratified by their Parliaments after which it will be formally adopted during the next India–ASEAN summit later this year.

A special promotion scheme for women scientists, KIRAN (Knowledge and Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing), would allow public sector institutions to make alternate offers to women who have had a break in their career or a change of residence.

R. Kamal Bawa, president, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India, and Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston, is among the three winners of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, 2014.

The winners were announced on Monday in Tokyo and Montreal. The other two who bagged the prize are Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair, Ghana National Biodiversity Committee, and Bibiana Vila, principal researcher, National Research Council and Director, Vicunas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM), Argentina.

The MIDORI prize is a biennial international prize given by the AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to honour individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at global, regional or local levels.

According to a press release, each recipient will be given a wooden plaque, a commemorative gift and $100,000 to support their work in safeguarding biodiversity.

They will be honoured at an award ceremony in Pyeongchang in South Korea on October 15.

Ashya King, the five-year-old cancer patient whose parents sparked an international manhunt after they took him from hospital in Britain, arrived in Prague on Monday for potentially life-saving treatment after leaving Spain.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) is gearing up to substantially enhance its crude oil and gas output through the development of multiple fields, top officials said. Though the state-run oil and gas explorer has already received approval for the development of Daman project at an investment of Rs.5,219 crore and the re-development Bombay High North project with an investment of Rs.5,707crore, it is at an advance stage to finalise the field development plan of KG-DWN-98/2 block, otherwise called KG-D5 fields off the east coast of India, which promises substantial reserves of gas and crude oil.

Sweden’s Electrolux is buying the appliances business of General Electric for $3.3 billion, boosting its presence on the North American market, the companies said Monday. The acquisition is the largest ever for Stockholm-based Electrolux, ranked as the world’s second biggest home appliance maker after U.S. rival Whirlpool.