Insights Daily Current Events, 18 May 2015

Insights Daily Current Events, 18 May 2015

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475^th birth anniversary year celebrations of Maharana Pratap

The Union Home Minister recently unveiled a statue of Maharana Pratap at Pratapgarh in Mewar region of Rajasthan. He also said that the Centre has decided to celebrate the 475th birth anniversary year of Maharana Pratap all over the country in a big way and a committee has been formed at the Central level to commemorate the event.

• The Rajasthanstate government has declared Maharana Pratap Jayanthi as a holiday.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has declared May 9 (Maharana Pratap’s birth anniversary) as a public holiday.

Quick facts:

• Maharana Pratap was born on May 9th 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. His father was Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons and hence given the title of Crown Prince. He was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar, in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.
• Maharana Pratap became the ruler of Mewar when he was 32.
• He ruled the region from 1572 to 1597.
• He took on Akbar’s forces and challenged his army through his guerilla warfare techniques.
• Battle of Haldighati: On 21 June 1576, the armies of Pratap and Akbar led by Sayyed Hashim Barha son of Sayyed Mahmud Khan met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda. in which Pratap’s army was defeated. But Pratap organised another attack, known as the Battle of Dewar, in which the Mewar army was victorious. Pratap was able to claim back much of the lost territories of Mewar and freed much of Rajasthan from the Mughal rule.

Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, PIB.

A special gift from Indian PM

Prime Minister of India recently presented Mongolian President, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, a specially commissioned reproduction of a rare 13th century manuscript on the history of Mongols, considered by many as the first world history.

Details:

• The manuscript is Called Jamiut Tawarikh. This work was one of the grandest projects undertaken by the Ilkhanate king Ghazan Khan. The king’s wazir Rasheeduddin Fazlullah Hamedani wrote it in Persian and chronicled the history up to the reign of Oljeitju (1304-1316).
• The manuscript from the Rampur Raza Library, Rampur (Uttar Pradesh), has over 80 fine miniature illustrations. It is a part of Volume 1 of the work and no other copy of it is known to exist.
• The breadth of coverage of the work often caused it to be dubbed as the first world history.

The Prime Minister of India also received traditional fiddle- morin khuur- as a gift from Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. The ‘morin khuur’, also known as horse-head fiddle, is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered a symbol of the Mongolian nation.

India and Mongolia:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Mongolia. He is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia.

• India established diplomatic relations in December 1955. India was the first country outside the Soviet bloc to establish diplomatic relations with Mongolia. Since then, there have been treaties of mutual friendship and cooperation between the two countries in 1973, 1994, 2001 and 2004.
• Mongolia is a landlocked country. Mongolia lies in central Asia between Siberia on the north and China on the south. It is slightly larger than Alaska.
• The name Mongol comes from a small tribe whose leader, Ghengis Khan, began a conquest in the 13th century that would eventually encompass an enormous empire stretching from Asia to Europe, as far west as the Black Sea and as far south as India and the Himalayas. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century.

Sources: The Hindu, PIB, Wiki.

Mongolia gets $1-bn credit gift

India recently announced a $1-billion credit line to Mongolia for infrastructure development as they upgraded their ties to strategic partnership and agreed to deepen defence cooperation besides exploring potential for tie-ups in areas such as the civil nuclear sector.

• The two countries have inked 13 other pacts that include one on enhancing cooperation in border guarding, policing and surveillance, air services, cyber security and new and renewable energy.

Important agreements:

• A treaty was inked by the two sides on the transfer of sentenced persons.
• On economic cooperation, the countries have agreed to encourage development of equal and mutually beneficial trade, investment and economic cooperation, which is balanced, sustainable and leads to prosperity in both countries.
• It was also agreed to encourage Indian companies to further explore cooperation opportunities in Mongolia’s mining sector through joint ventures and investment.

Sources: The Hindu, TOI.

SC upholds validity of Company Law Tribunal

The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and its appellate forum under the Companies Act of 2013. Thus, it has paved the way for setting up the National Company Law Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, a move that will help in faster disposal of corporate disputes and improve the ease of doing business in India.

• Now, these tribunals would adjudicate cases which were so far being dealt by high courts, Company Law Board , Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.
• However, the SC has held a few provisions as invalid. It noted that the selection committee was made a five-member body under the 2013 Act even though previous judgement held that it should have four-members, comprising the CJI or his nominee, a senior Judge of the Supreme Court or high court chief justice and Secretaries in Ministry of Finance and Company Affairs and in Ministry of Law and Justice. Now, the selection committee would be composed of four members, instead of the five as provided by the law. The four members would be the chief justice or his nominee with a casting vote, a senior apex court judge, finance or company affairs secretary, and secretary of the law ministry.
• The court has also quashed Section 409(3)(a) and (c) and Section 411(3) of the Act providing for qualifications of technical members. It held that for appointment of technical members to NCLT, directions contained in the 2010 judgment should be scrupulously followed. According to the court’s directions, the technical members would now be limited to only the ranks of additional secretary and secretary, as determined by an earlier constitution bench ruling from 2010.

Background:

Lawyers’ body Madras Bar Association (MBA) had approached the Supreme Court claiming that the government had not incorporated changes in the companies law regarding the two tribunals—the NCLT and the NCLAT—which the apex court had directed in a 2010 verdict.

Effects of the decision:

• Entities will now have the option of approaching the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to appeal against a judgment of NCLT.
• To challenge a NCLAT decision, they can now directly approach the Supreme Court.

National Company Law Tribunal:

• National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a proposed quasi-judicial body that will govern the companies in India.
• It will be established under the Companies Act, 2013 and is a successor body of the Company Law Board.
• NCLT will have the same powers as assigned to the erstwhile Company Law Board (which are mostly related to dealing with oppression and mismanagement), Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)(revival of sick companies) and powers related to winding up of companies (which was available only with the High Courts).
• The setting up of NCLT as a specialized institution for corporate justice is based on the recommendations of the Justice Eradi Committee on Law Relating to Insolvency and Winding up of Companies.

Powers of NCLT:

• Most of the powers of the Company Law Board under the Companies Act, 1956.
• All the powers of BIFR for revival and rehabilitation of sick industrial companies;
• Power of High Court in the matters of mergers, demergers, amalgamations, winding up, etc.;
• Power to order repayment of deposits accepted by Non-Banking Financial Companies;
• Power to wind up companies;
• Power to Review its own orders.

Sources: The Hindu, MCA, PIB, BS, TOI.

Insights Secure Prelims 2015

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Welcome to Insights Secure Prelims – 2015 initiative. The following questions are based on current events that appear in PIB (Public Information Bureau) and from some important newspapers. For more challenging question papers (Full Length), please join our Preliminary Exam – 2015 Test Series (Please Click Here for Reviews)

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1. Question 1 of 5

   1. Question

   Which of the following are correctly matched?

   1. Patagonian Desert: Argentina
   2. Great Victoria Desert: Australia
   3. Great Basin Desert: United States

   Choose the correct answer using the codes below:

   • a) 1 and 3 Only
   • b) 2 and 3 Only
   • c) 1 and 2 Only
   • d) All
   Correct
   

   Solution:d

   Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deserts_by_area.

   Incorrect
   

   Solution:d

   Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deserts_by_area.
2. Question 2 of 5

   2. Question

   The Kalahari Desert is spread across:

   1. Botswana
   2. Namibia
   3. South Africa.
   4. Zambia

   Choose the correct answer using the codes below:

   • a) 1,2 and 4 Only
   • b) 1, 2, and 3 Only
   • c) 2, 3 and 4 Only
   • d) 1, 3 and 4 Only
   Correct
   

    

   Solution: b

   Incorrect
   

   Solution: b
3. Question 3 of 5

   3. Question

   With reference to Maharana Pratap, consider the following statements:

   1. He was the ruler of Mewar.
   2. He was victorious in the Battle of Dewar.
   3. Battle of Haldighati was fought between the armies of Pratap and Akbar.

   Which of the above statements is/are correct?

   • a) 1 and 3 Only
   • b) 1 and 2 Only
   • c) 2 and 3 Only
   • d) All
   Correct
   

   Solution: d

   Incorrect
   

   Solution: d
4. Question 4 of 5

   4. Question

   With reference to Mongolia which of the below statements is/are correct?

   1. It is a landlocked Asian country.
   2. It lies between Siberia on the north and China on the south.
   3. The famous leader, Ghengis Khan, is from this country.

   Choose the correct answer using the codes below:

   • a) 1 and 2 Only
   • b) 2 and 3 Only
   • c) 1 and 3 Only
   • d) All
   Correct
   

   Solution: d

   Incorrect
   

   Solution: d
5. Question 5 of 5

   5. Question

   With reference to the National Company Law Tribunal, consider the following statements:

   1. It will be established under the Companies Act, 2013.
   2. It is a successor body of the Company Law Board.
   3. It is a quasi-judicial body.

   Which of the above statements is/are correct?

   • a) 1 and 3 Only
   • b) 1 and 2 Only
   • c) 2 and 3 Only
   • d) All
   Correct
   

   Solution: d

    

   Incorrect
   

   Solution:d