[CA] Sunday Bytes [Nov 27,2016]

·        Senior journalist Akshaya Mukul won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2016 for his book "Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India"

·        Infosys Science Foundation declared the names of six individuals as the winners of Infosys Prize 2016

(i) Prof V. Kumaran for Engineering and Computer Science

(ii) Prof. Sunit Amrith for Humanities

(iii) Dr. Gagandeep Kang for Life Sciences

(iv) Prof. Akshay Venkatesh for Mathematical Sciences

(v) Dr. Anil Bhardwaj for Physical Sciences

(vi) Prof. Kaivan Munshi for Social Sciences

·        Captain Radhika Menon was bestowed with the 2016 International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Captain Menon became the first female to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. Another Indian to receive a commendation certificate during the ceremony was B. M. Das, a winch operator and a diver of the rescue helicopter CG 822, Indian Coast Guard Air Station, Daman

·        Tennis Player Roger Federer has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the 12th time in his career.

·        Bangladesh will honour 1668 members of the Indian Army, who were martyred during the Bangladesh Liberation War; their families will receive a Rs. 5 lakh purse as a mark of respect

·        India & Switzerland Signed ‘Joint Declaration’ for the implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI); India will be possible to receive the financial information of accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years from September 2019 onwards.

·        India has been elected as the Vice Chair for 2018 and Chair for 2019 of KPCS (Kimberly Process Certificate Scheme)

·        India and European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) signed an agreement for making India an Associate Member State of CERN; CERN is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory, where scientists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the Universe by using the most sophisticated scientific instruments and advanced computing systems. CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border. Presently CERN has 22 member states, four associate member states, and the observer status is given to four states and three International Organizations.

·        Pankaj R Patel was elected as the new President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) for the year 2017

·        Former IAS officer Ms. Upma Chowdhary was appointed as the Director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) at Mussoorie; She would be the 23rd director and first woman director of the prestigious academy, imparting training to officers of civil services.