Major News and Events of 27 October 2014

Sania Mirza along with Cara Black of Zimbabwe won WTA Finals in Singapore. The Indian-Zimbabwe duo beat doubles partners China’s Peng Shuai and Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei in straight set – 6-1, 6-0. They wrapped up the final within one hour. Mirza dedicated the title to India and thanked her fans for the support. The only Indian who won this title before Sania was Vijay Amritraj in the year 1977.

 The government showed its seriousness for giving importance to scientific innovations as it increased fellowship amount of scientific research scholars by 50 per cent, effective from the month of October itself. This move is going to benefit around 1 lakh scholars and help research institutions retain talent.

 Dr. Khalid Shah of Harvard Stem Cell Institute has found a way to cure brain cancer. The Indian-American researcher, who hails from Kashmir, has come up with toxin-resistant stem cells that fight with brain cancer. These genetically engineered stem cells release toxins that kill cancerous tumor. The experiment was successfully done on mice.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed that the dual campaigns of 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' can be effectively manoeuvred to make healthcare facilities reach poorest of the poor of India. He stressed upon inexpensive preventive care facilities and said that it is an important part of healthcare. He delivered his speech while inaugurating refurbished H N Reliance Foundation Hospital, where a certain section has been rebuilt.

Nilofer cyclonic storm is on its way towards Gujarat coast. India Meteorological Department’s initial reports show that the storm is expected to intensify further in the coming 24 hours and is likely to hit northern Gujarat’s coastal area of Kutch either on October 30 or October 31. From Thursday, wind is expected to blow at a speed of 65 km per hour around coastal Gujarat. All the Gujarat ports have been asked by IMD to hoist ‘Distant warning signal-II’ due to the southwest Arabian Sea’s deep depression.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached three property orders, related to Saradha Ponzi scam, amounting to Rs 250 crore. By the end of October, ED will attach fourth Saradha property order, which will include the ponzi company’s properties in Kolkata, Malda, North Bengal, and Bishnupur of West Bengal. The order will be issued after the completion of required legal formalities.

After the Union Government cleared defence projects to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore, the defence stocks such as BEML, Bharat Electronics, Astra Microwave, Walchandnagar Ind, and Pipavav Defence gained anything from 4 per cent to 7 per cent at BSE Sensex. Available reports show that a committee has been set up for evaluating capabilities of Indian defence shipyards for building technologically advanced conventional submarines at Rs 50,000 crore under Project 75I.

The Union government has decided to implement a new bidding strategy to accelerate the process of completing failed PPP highway projects that didn’t get any takers earlier. While the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) mode is going on, the government has initiated a new system called Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode. Accordingly, under BOT mode, National Highways Authority of India has invited fresh bids for 4 projects.

BlackBerry CEO and Executive Chairman John Chen has said that his company is determined to provide most secure as well as best enterprise mobility solutions to its customers in India.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has shown confidence in containing fiscal deficit. Accordingly, National Food Security Act’s roll out has been delayed by six months and therefore the extra burden of Rs 15,000 crore has been passed on to the next fiscal. FCI has decided to cut rice purchase by 2/3rd from private millers and also offloaded food grains to the tune of ten million tonnes in the open market. 

Manohar Lal Khattar has been sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Haryana on October 26. Nine other cabinet ministers were also sworn in on Sunday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Khattar and expressed confidence in his team saying that they will take Haryana to new heights. Veteran BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were present at the ceremony.

 National Security Advisor Ajit Doval reached West Bengal’s Burdwan district today and assessed progress of investigation at Burdwan’s Khagragarh blast site. Other officials who accompanied Doval are Syed Asif Ibrahim (Intelligence Bureau Director), Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury (NSG Director General), and Sharad Kumar (NIA Director General). They are scheduled to meet West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for knowing the steps taken by her government in dealing with terrorism and seeking cooperation from her.