India Signs Agreements with World Bank for US$ 320 Million AID

The Loan and Project Agreements for World Bank (IBRD) assistance of US$ 320 million for Assam State Roads Project were signed between Government of India and the Government of Assam respectively and the World Bank in New Delhi today. The Loan Agreement was signed by Shri Prabodh Saxena (Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Onno Ruhl, Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank. The Project Agreement was signed by Shri Mohan Chandra Boro, Commissioner & Special Secretary, Public Works Road Department on behalf of the Government of Assam.
The Objective of the project is to enhance the road connectivity in Assam by assisting the Public Works Road Department to improve and effectively manage its road network.
Project Component: The project will have three components:
1. Road Improvement: This component will support improvement of priority sections of secondary roads in Assam to improve state connectivity and facilitate regional integration.
2. Road Sector Modernization and Performance: This component will support the implementation of Assam’s Road Sector Modernization Program
3. Road Safety Management: This component will strengthen safety management capacity of related agencies in Assam through developing and implementing a multi-sector road safety strategy.
The IBRD loan has a variable spread over LIBOR and is a US $ denominated loan. The project will be implemented over a period of six years.

President confers Dr Durgabai Deshmukh awards

The President confers Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Awards for Women’s Development for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 today (November 5, 2012) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The eighth Award for 2005 was jointly given to Mizoram Hmeithai (Widows) Association and People’s Forum, Bhubaneswar. The Mizoram Hmeithai (Widows) Association has been working to bring succour and relief to thousands of widows and destitute women and hundreds of abandoned orphan children. The People’s Forum, Bhubaneswar was awarded for its landmark services in the rescue and rehabilitation of hundreds of mentally ill women and for its exemplary work with women in distress.

The ninth Award for the year 2006 was awarded to Sumangali Seva Ashram of Bangalore. The main activities of the Sumangali Seva Ashram are care, education and development of deserted, orphan and needy children and socio-economic opportunities for development of women.

Snehalaya of Ahmednagar was awarded the tenth Award for the year 2007 for its landmark work in the rehabilitation of women of red light areas and other destitute women.

For More General Knowledge

Australian honour for Sachin Tendulkar

 

Sachin Tendulkar is all set to become the first Indian sportsperson to be conferred with the Membership of the Order of Australia, an honour “rarely” bestowed on non-Australians.The ‘Order of Australia’ is an order of chivalry to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service.

Nobel Prize 2012

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2012 was awarded jointly to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems"

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012 was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka "for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors"

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 was awarded jointly to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent"

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 was awarded to Mo Yan "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 was awarded to European Union (EU) "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe".

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management: 2012

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred on Smt. Tessy Thomas, the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management: 2012 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan today. The President congratulated Smt. Tessy Thomas and said that she had made the country proud by her achievements.

In a career spanning over 24 years, Smt. Tessy Thomas has contributed in various fields such as Guidance, Control, Inertial Navigation, Trajectory Simulation and Mission Design. She is also the Associate Project Director (Mission) for Agni-I, II & III systems. She has been associated with the Agni Programme right from their developmental stages. She has designed the guidance scheme for long range missile systems which is used in all Agni missiles. Currently, she is the Project Director of Agni –IV, which is a major project with state of the art technologies. The Agni-IV was successfully flight tested on 15th November, 2011. This is a state of the art system with range to launch mass ratio of 15% better than its equivalent missiles across the world. Smt.

Tessy is Project Director (Mission) for the long range Agni – V System also and has successfully flight tested Agni – V on 19th April, 2012. She, as the Technology Director for Mission Design and System Analysis Group of Advances Systems Laboratory, has significantly contributed in the development of various systems associated with missiles technology.
The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award, instituted by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM) honours each year an Indian, residing either in India or abroad, who is an exceptionally outstanding and distinguished business leader, management practitioner, public administrator, educator or institution builder for his/her sustained individual contributions and achievements of high professional order and excellence. The honour carries a cash award of Rupees Five Lakh plus a Citation and a Plaque. The Awardee’s name is inscribed on the Roll of Honour of LBSIM and he/she is designated as Lal Bahadur Shastri Fellow.

International Day of Non-Violence

In 2007 the United Nations (External website that opens in a new window) has declared October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence (External website that opens in a new window). According to the United Nations General Assembly resolution on 15 June 2007, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness". The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence".

MOOWES gets Priyadarshini Award

Marketing Organisation of Women Entrepreneurs (MOOWES) has won the Priyadarshini Award at the 12th Global Conference, in association with IFWE (International Federation of Women Entrepreneurs), on ‘Trade Liberalisation and its Global Impact on Women Entrepreneurs,’ held at Hotel The Ashok, New Delhi, from September 3 to 5.

The programme was organised by FIWE (Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs), Delhi.

Seetha Ranganathan, president-MOOWES, received this award for the Marketing Organisation.

Janaki Ananth, secretary-MOOWES, received an individual award for best Women Entrepreneur.