29 December 2014 Current Affairs
Union Cabinet Approved Ordinance On Land Acquisition Act
The Union Cabinet on 29 December approved an ordinance to amend the contentious land acquisition act and ease restrictions including a "consent clause" which was seen as obstacle for power, highways, housing, defence and infrastructure projects and holding up the economy's growth potential. The ordinance seeks to waive the "consent clause" - the requirement to secure specific consent of owners of 70% -80% of land owners if acquisitions are meant for defence and defence production, rural infrastructure including electrification, housing for poor and affordable housing, industrial corridors and infrastructure projects including projects under Public-Private Partnership mode where ownership the land continues to be vested with the government. Multi-crop land can also be acquired for such purposes.
Noted Educationist Saiyid Hamid Died
Noted educationist and former vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University Saiyid Hamid, who played a key role in the drafting of the Rajindar Sachar Committee report on the state of Muslims in the country, died on 29 December in New Delhi. He was 94. Hamid worked for the educational uplift of Indian Muslims. After retiring from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1980, he was appointed as the vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He later succeeded Hakeem Abdul Hameed as the Chancellor of Hamdard University in Delhi. Saiyid Hamid was one of the members of the high-level Rajendra Sachar committee appointed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 on the state of Muslims in the country. He was a winner of several national level awards, including Sanskriti Award for literature, Urdu Academy Delhi award, Hindi Academy Delhi award and National fellowship award by Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Sanjiv Sarin Appointed As CEO and MD of Tata Coffee Limited
Sanjiv Sarin has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tata Coffee Limited with effect from 8 January 2015. His appointed was approved by the Board of Directors of Tata Coffee Ltd. Sanjiv Sarin will succeed Hameed Huq, who will retire on 31 March 2015.