1. National web portal for apprenticeship training launched
i. Human resource development minister Smriti Irani on Thursday launched the national web portal for promotion of a national apprenticeship scheme. The scheme, which provides opportunities for practical training, is for graduates, diploma holders and 10+2 pass vocational certificate holders.
ii. The portal, through the mechanism of internal complaints committee, would also offer security for women at workplace and ensure grievance redressal for the apprentice, she said. It will also be a multilingual platform which currently engages with the user in Marathi, Bengali, Tamil and Hindi.
iii. Irani also asked the All India Council for Technical Education and National Skill Development Corporation to come together to expand the outreach and exposure especially for class 11 and 12 students. A logo and a slogan "Sashakt Yuva, Samarth Bharat" was also released for the portal.
iv. The ministry implements the apprenticeship training scheme for one year through board of apprenticeship training and board of practical training at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur and Kolkata.
2. FIPB clears 14 FDI proposals
i. The FIPB on Friday cleared 14 foreign investment proposals including that of Shyam Sistema Teleservices and IIFL Holdings.
ii. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das in its meeting considered 23 FDI proposals, deferred decisions on five and rejected four.
iii. The FIPB approved foreign investment proposals of Eros International Media, Indian Rotorcraft, AGS Transact Technologies and O-Zone Networks, sources said.
iv. The investment proposals of Reliance Globalcom, Firefly Networks, Apollo Hospitals and Aegon Religare Life Insurance were deferred.
v. The Aegon Religare's proposal involved hiking of stake of foreign partner in the Indian life insurance venture. Sources said the proposal of Aegon Religare was deferred due to want of comments from the department of financial services.
3. Union Cabinet gives nod to Constitution of 21st Law Commission of India
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to constitute the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI).
ii. The 21st LCI will have a period of 3 years with effect from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018.
iii. It will Undertake research in existing laws by reviewing them for making reforms therein and enacting new legislations.
iv. It will Undertake studies and research to bring reforms in the justice delivery systems in the country in order to eliminate the delays in procedures, speedy disposal of cases and cost reduction of litigations etc.
4. Tenth World Hindi Conference begins in Bhopal
i. The Tenth World Hindi Conference (विश्व हिंदी सम्मेलन) has begun in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh with the theme of Hindi Jagat-Vistar and Sambhavnaye.
ii. The three-day conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has been organised in Madhya Pradesh for the first time and being held in India after 32 years.
iii. It is joint event of Union Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the state Government of Madhya Pradesh. This edition of conference will host scholars from 39 countries who are going to discuss issues like Hindi in administration, foreign policy and law during the event. An exhibition showcasing assimilation of Hindi with modern techniques also has been set up at the conference venue.
iv. The First World Hindi Conference was organized in Nagpur by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It was held from 10 to 12 January 1975. Since then every year 10th January is being observed as the World Hindi Day.
5. Download 'Narendra Modi Mobile App'; Connect with the PM, Learn About his Day-to-Day Activities Digitally
i. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first political leader to have a mobile app, developed for him to digitally connect with the citizens of the country. The PM himself launched the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App' on Wednesday.
ii. The app not only connects the citizens of India with their Prime Minister, it also provides a platform to look into "comprehensive information on initiatives and achievements of the Union Government, including an 'infographics' section," the release said.
iii. The app has been developed for Android-powered devices and can be downloaded for free from the Android Play Store. After launching the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App', the Prime Minister invited people to give their feedback on the app.
iv. Ever since Modi took over as the PM of India, he has embraced technology to digitally connect with the people of the country.
6. Shashidhar Sinha New Head of ABC
i. The CEO of IPG Mediabrands India, Shashidhar Sinha, was elected as chairman of ABC during the 67th Annual General meeting for the year 2015-16.
ii. Sinha who also chairs the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is actively involved in other industry bodies including Advertising Standards Council of India, Media Research Users Council, and Ad Club.
iii. The statement from the bureau noted that the immediate task before Sinha was to implement the digital measurement project undertaken by ABC so that the industry benefited from credible digital data from a trustworthy independent body like ABC.
iv. L Venkat of EENADU was unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairman and Madhan Kumar from Mudra Communications will function as treasurer of ABC.
7. Indian American Jagdeep Grewal chosen as postmaster for Sacramento
i. The post service in Sacramento has got a female postmaster after a span of 166 years and the new postmaster is an Indian American named Jagdeep Grewal.
ii. The U.S. Postal Service said that Grewal will oversee 1,004 employees who process and deliver mail on 537 city routes and 94 rural routes – and fill nearly 20,000 post office boxes
iii. Grewal started her career with the postal service as a window clerk in 1988. Five years later, she became a manager. She has also worked as a postmaster in Pacifica-Daly City.
iv. There has been a steep decline in the usage of postal services due to the surge of Internet and privately owned courier services. Referring to this current situation, Grewal said that she looked forward to working with Sacramento’s Postal Service employees during a challenging time.
8. Virat Kohli starts tennis innings as UAE Royals co-owner in IPTL
i. After picking up minority stake in the Goa franchise of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) last year, Indian test captain Virat Kohli has now invested in the Dubai frnachise of Mahesh Bhupati-promoted Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).
ii. The franchise, called UAE Royals also has on board Neelesh Bhatnagar and Sachin Gadoya as co-owners.
iii. Sourav Ganguly is part of the consortium that owns the Atletico de Kolkata, the winner of the inaugural season of the Hero ISL.
iv. Roger Federer has joined the UAE Royals franchise in the second season of the Coca-Cola IPTL 2015 that will be held from 2nd to 20th December, 2015.