Marathi novelist Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade chosen for 50th edition of Jnanpith award 2014

Eminent Marathi litterateur Bhalchandra Nemade, whose 1963 novel Kosala (Cocoon) changed the dimensions of Marathi novel, was on Friday selected for 2014 Jnanpith Award (also spelled as Gyanpeeth Award), the highest literary honour in India. His other important literary works include ‘Hool’, ‘Bidar’ (1967), ‘Zarila’ (1977), ‘Zhool’ (1979) and ‘Teeka Swayamvara’ (volume on literary criticism). G Sankara Kurup was the first recipient of Jnanpith award in 1965.

UN appoints Nickolay Mladenov as new Special Coordinator for Middle East peace

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appointed Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as his new Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. He will replace Robert Serry of the Netherlands .

Greek Parliament elects Zoe Konstantopoulou as its new President

Zoe Konstantopoulou, a member of the left wing party Syriza, will be the new President of the Greek Parliament after receiving a record 235 votes. Konstantopoulou will be the second woman to preside over the Greek House after Anna Psarouda-Benaki in 2004. She is also the youngest ever elected President of the Greek Parliament.

Dr. M.O. Garg takes charge as Director General of CSIR

Dr. M.O. Garg is a chemical engineer and he was the Director of the Dehradun-based CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CISR-IIP). He replaced Dr. P.S. Ahuja, who held this post since May 2014. Established in 1942, CSIR has over 4,500 scientists working across 38 laboratories and employs over 9000 scientific and technical personnel.

Micromax appoints Shubhajit Sen as new chief marketing officer

India’s largest mobile vendor, Micromax has appointed Shubhajit Sen as its chief marketing officer (CMO). His appointment seeks to boost its marketing efforts as it looks to further improve its position in the surging smartphone market in the country.

Indian Coast Guard inductes high-speed patrolling ship Amogh

Indian Coast Guard has inducted a high-speed patrolling ship Amogh into its fleet. Amogh will be stationed off Paradip coast in Odisha. It can travel at maximum speed of 63 km per hour. The ship has facilities like firing gun, rubber boats including one motor-run, GPS system and upgraded radar system.

ICC clears bowling action of Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal

Pakistan off spinner Saeed Ajmal received a huge boost as his action was cleared by International Cricket Council (ICC), giving him the go-ahead to bowl in international cricket. ICC also cleared the action of Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi. ICC confirmed that all the deliveries that were bowled by the duo during the official test at the Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai on 24 January were within the permitted 15-degree level of elbow extension.