News Roundup- 6 November 2014

1. In the first six months of 2014, Facebook has restricted access to nearly 5,000 pieces of information from India on its website, the highest for any country. India is the social networking site’s largest user base outside the U.S. with over 100 million users.
2. The Union government reconstituted the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change on Wednesday to coordinate the National Action Plan for Assessment, Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change. The UPA constituted the council first in 2007, but it had not met for over three years. Official sources said the attempt was to revive and streamline the council and set the agenda to deal with climate change. The new council will coordinate the action plan and advise the government on proactive measures that can be taken by India to deal with the challenge of climate change. It will facilitate inter-ministerial coordination and guide policy in relevant areas. The council will evolve a coordinated response to issues relating to climate change at the national level, provide oversight for formulation of action plans in the area of assessment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change and periodically monitor key policy decisions. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change will assist the Prime Minister’s Office in facilitating the work of the council.
3. For the first time India and Russia have agreed on negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India & the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan & Russia. Other major decisions include proposals for establishment of a ‘Smart City’ in India by the Russian company “Sistema,” joint cooperation for development of potassium and magnesium deposits in Russia, project for launching telecommunication satellites “NextStar” in the geostationary orbit of the Earth on low cost platforms and projects in high end computing.
4. The Election Commission cancelled the scheduled by-elections to three Delhi Assembly seats on Wednesday after President Pranab Mukherjee dissolved the legislature on Tuesday.
5. A youth wearing a T-shirt with the letters ISIS, an Iraqi militant group, written on it and also bearing Pakistan and its national flag alongside was detaind on Wednesday in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. The arrested youth was found roaming in Jharia area of Dhanbad.
6. Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was at the centre of a controversy on Wednesday over the appointment of his son-in-law Devendra Kumar as his personal assistant, evoking sharp criticism following which Mr. Kumar resigned from the post. The appointments of close relatives violate a state Cabinet Secretariat Department order of May 23, 2000.
7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his debut among the world’s most powerful people, ranked 15th on the Forbes list topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin who pipped his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama for a second year in a row. The list of 72 most powerful people in the world also included the names of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at 36th, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal at 57th and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella at 64th.
8. NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has discovered the first mineral match from the Martian surface, the U.S. space agency has announced. Reddish rock powder from the first hole drilled into a Martian mountain by Curiosity has yielded the mission’s first confirmation of a mineral mapped from orbit. Curiosity collected the powder by drilling into a rock outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp in late September. The robotic arm delivered a pinch of the sample to the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument inside the rover. 
9. The Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the government has set a target of increasing road-building capacity to 30 km a day from a dismal three km a day at present.
10. Bharti Airtel said it did not renew its agreement to buy Loop Mobile following delay in permission from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). 
11. IndiGo has taken delivery of its 100th aircraft within eight years of its commercial operations. These 100 planes were ordered from French aircraft manufacturer Airbus in 2005, and were scheduled to be delivered by 2016. However, Indigo has taken delivery two years in advance. To celebrate this, the airline has launched a programme to sponsor the education of 100 underprivileged children.
12. Prime witness to one of the biggest controversies that rocked Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has finally spoken about the anger and sense of betrayal he felt during the ‘Monkeygate scandal’ in Australia. Writing in his autobiography —— ‘Playing It My Way’ —— Tendulkar wrote “Anil Kumble (the then captain) and I took the lead and it was unanimously decided that we would boycott the tour if Bhajji’s ban was upheld.

Credits: The Hindu, Google.