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- Dhruv Patel, who has interests in insurance, pharmacy and property, has become the first Indian-origin chairman of London’s largest independent grant giver after his election to the City of London Corporation’s key committee.
- The corporation is the governing body of the City of London, the historic financial district spread over a square mile that is home to the Bank of England, stock exchange and a large number of global banks and insurance companies.
- Patel, an elected member of the corporation since 2013, was elected chairman of the City Bridge Trust Committee, replacing Alison Gowman.
- The committee is the funding arm of the corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantaged communities across the capital.
- Patel, 35, who founded the City Hindus Network, will lead the delivery of ‘Bridging Divides’, the committee’s five-year funding programme, which will see £100 million distributed to the capital’s charity organisations to help Londoners most in need.
- Awarded an OBE in 2018 for voluntary service to the British Hindu community and to social cohesion, Patel said: “It is a great privilege to be in the leadership role of one of the UK’s most important supporters of civil society”.
- “Together we will continue to help give all London’s communities the opportunityto thrive, and give young people, in particular, the best possible start in life.”
- The City Bridge Trust has awarded nearly 8,000 grants totalling over £400 million since 1995
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- China on 9th may allowed India to export Chilli meals to its market, providing the crop with a much-needed export outlet. A protocol to this extent has been signed with Chinese customs officials.
- Chilli meal is the residue left after the oil is extracted from chillies. It is widely used as an industry input in the manufacturing of chilli sauce and other products.
- Chilli is the largest exported spice from India and China has emerged as a major buyer in the last few years.
- India is the world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of chilli. Official statistics show that red chillies are grown across India on 792,000 hectares of land in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- The crop is planted in August and September, and harvested in March and April. India produced nearly 3 million tonnes of dried chilli and peppers, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- “Of the more than 1.3 mt of red chilli produced in India every year, 70 per cent are consumed domestically, with the rest being exported. Dried chilli exports make up 22 per cent of all the spices exported from India,” according to Mumbai-based Agro Crops.
- India has persistently pushed for market access for agricultural and processed food products to China. India’s firm stance on the issue has led China to commit to providing market access after a gap of 13 years. Last year, Beijing had allowed market access to three Indian food products mangoes, grapes and rice.
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- Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma are among the 17 global public figures appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The new class of SDG Advocates' are 17 influential public figures "committed to raising awareness, inspiring greater ambition and pushing for faster action on the SDGs, which were adopted by world leaders on September 25, 2015, according to a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson's office.
- We have the tools to answer the questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality.
- They lie in the great agreements of 2015 - the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change," Guterres said."But tools are no use if you don't use them. So, today, and every day, my appeal is clear and simple.
- We need action, ambition and political will. More action, more ambition and more political will, said the Secretary-General.
- Co-Chairs of the Secretary-General's SDG Advocates are President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg.
- Founder and Executive Chairman of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group Jack Ma has been an SDG Advocate since 2016.
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- Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court here on 10th May.
- Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R Vala administered the oath of office to Justice Oka at the Raj Bhavan.
- "Oka took the oath in English as the new Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court at the Glass House in Raj Bhavan," an official told reporters here.
- Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, judges of the high court and other dignitaries, including state government officials, were present on the occasion.
- Justice Oka, 58, of the Bombay High Court, succeeded Justice Dinesh Maheshwari who was elevated as a Supreme Court judge in January.
- The central government on April 30 notified Oka's appointment by President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium on April 8.
- Oka was appointed additional judge of the Bombay High Court in August, 2003 and was made a permanent judge of the same court in November, 2005.
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- Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
- Noted novelist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, 74, died at his residence at Veerabahu Nagar in Pettai near here at around 1.30 a.m. on 10th May.
- He is survived by his wife Jaleela and two sons Shameem Ahmed and Mirzad Ahmed.
- Born in the coastal hamlet of Thaengaaipattinam in Kanniyakumari district on September 26, 1944, Mohamed Meeran authored the novels Oru Kadalora Graamaththin Kathai, Thuraimugam, Koonan Thoppu, Saaivu Naarkkaali and Anju Vannam Theru between 1988 and 2011. Of these, Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
- His short story collections Anbukku Muthumai Illai, Thangarasu, Ananthasayanam Colony, Oru Kutti Theevin Varippadam, Thoppil Mohamed Meeran Kathaigal and Oru Maamaramum Konjam Paravaigalum and translations gave him a prominent place in the literary world.
- In recognition, he received 8 awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award and Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumantram Award in 1992.
- “His mastery over both Tamil and Malayalam was amazing as he could use both the languages in his novels effortlessly.
- The speciality of all his literary works is that his novels lucidly narrated the fisherfolk’s life with finer and intricate details in Tamil laced with Malayalam, the slang found only in Kanniyakumari district,” Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko said in his condolence message.
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- Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd (KRCL) on 10th May signed an agreement with Nepal's Department of Railways under which the former will supply two 1600 HP DEMU train sets
- The agreement was signed in Kathmandu in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri, and Nepalese Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Secretary, Madhusudan Adhikari.
- The said trains will run on the 34 km long stretch between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal.
- Manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory located in Chennai, each train will consist of three coaches, including an air-conditioned coach.
- The Jayanagar-Kurtha Railway Link has been built by IRCON with a financial grant from the Government of India (GoI) under the India-Nepal Development Partnership program
- KRCL is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of GoI, under the Ministry of Railways.
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