Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Nobel prize for chemistry



Jean-Pierre Sauvage, J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard Feringa won the Nobel chemistry prize for work on molecular machines that may lead to developments like new materials, sensors and energy storage systems. Molecular machines can be developed to function as artificial muscles to power tiny robots or even prosthetic limbs in case of Bionics. These three laureates will share the 8 million Swedish kronor (around $933,000) prize equally.
Sauvage is professor emeritus at the University of Strasbourg and director of research emeritus at France’s National Center for Scientific Research. Stoddart, born in Edinburgh, is professor of chemistry at Northwestern University in the United States, while Feringa is professor in organic chemistry at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
molecular machines:
Molecular machines or nanomachines are the world’s smallest machines. Their working is inspired by proteins that naturally act as biological machines within cells. Molecular machines are discrete number of synthetic molecular components fused together. They produce quasi-mechanical movements in response to specific external stimuli such as light or temperature change. Molecular machines can be put to work as tiny motors, pistons ratchets or wheels to produce mechanical motion and can move objects many time their size.




Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes

Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sushil Chandra appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) by union government.Decision in this regard was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT):
CBDT is nodal policy-making body of the Income Tax (IT) department under the Union Finance Ministry. It is a statutory authority established under The Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. It is also the supreme body in India for framing policies related to direct taxes. The composition of CBDT includes Chairman and six members.

Sustainable Development Leadership Award

2016 'Sustainable Development Leadership Award' honoured to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling by President Pranab Mukherjee during “World Sustainable Development Summit” in New Delhi. The award was presented to Chamling in recognition of his vision and leadership in environment and sustainable development leading to the establishment of Sikkim as the first and only organic state in the country according to citation presented by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Sikkim is only state in India that has attained the official status of fully organic state in January 2016 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Around 75,000 hectares of land in Sikkim has been converted into certified organic farms following the guidelines as prescribed by National Programme for Organic Production. Sikkim contributes around 80,000 tonnes of organic production out of total 1.24 million tonnes of recorded production in India.

World Sustainable Development Summit

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first edition of World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).The aim of the summit is to provide various stakeholders a single platform in order to provide long-term solutions for the benefit of the global community. It underscored need for businesses and private sector to take lead in poverty reduction and to ensure rapid and sustained adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It had brought together Nobel laureates, decision-makers political leaders from around the world to deliberate on issues related to sustainable development.
Themed "Beyond 2015: People, Planet and Progress", WSDS has replaced what was earlier called Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), which was also organised by The Energy and Research Institute (TERI). The first DSDS was organised in 2005.


HRIDAY

For improving infrastructure facilities around core heritage sites in five cities Union Ministry of Urban Development has approved projects worth Rs.114 crore under Heritage Infrastructure Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme.
Five cities are: Varnasi in Uttar Pradesh, Amritsar in Punjab, Dwaraka in Gujarat, Puri in Odisha,  Warangal in Telangana. These sites are selected with the recommendation from inter-ministerial HRIDAY National Empowered Committee.

About HRIDAY scheme:
Central Government introduced the HRIDAY to renew the rich cultural heritage in the country by creating infrastructural facilities around the heritage sites. The aim of course is to promote tourisms and national pride.It aims to bring urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation together for heritage cities. It seeks to promote an inclusive, sustainable and integrated development of heritage sites, focusing on maintenance of monuments and advancement of their entire ecosystem.

Nobel Peace Prize 2016



 Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos  has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the peace process with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels. He dedicated the prize to the victims of his country's civil war. He was selected for the prestigious award by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
He is second Colombian to win Nobel Prize after writer Gabriel Gracia Marquez who had won the literature Prize in 1982. Santos is also second Latin American to receive Nobel Peace Prize after Guatemala’s Rigoberta Menchu had won it in 1992.

Worth reading