Supreme Court declares NJAC Act Unconstitutional

Supreme Court has declared National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 and 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 unconstitutional and void. The decision was given four to one by a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice JS Khehar, who is in line to become the Chief Justice of India.

Note: The NJAC was supposed to have 6 members, three from Judiciary comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) as its Chairperson and ex officio member and 2 other senior most judges of SC. While, other three members were Union Minister of Law and Justice (ex-officio) and 2 eminent persons.

Kailash Satyarthi selected for 2015 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award

Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi has been conferred with Harvard University’s prestigious humanitarian award for this year, in recognition of his continuing contribution to in the field of child rights and the abolition of child slavery. Mr Satyarthi is the first Indian to have been given this award.

Aditya Birla Group enters e-commerce, launches online fashion portal abof.com

Fortune 500 company Aditya Birla Group has launched abof.com (aka – all about fashion), an online one-stop fashion portal for apparel, footwear and accessories. Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said, “the e-commerce sector is a sunrise sector from an investment point of view. While a lot has happened in the last couple of years, a lot more is yet to happen in this space”.

Kundhavi Kadiresan appointed as Assistant Director of FAO

Kundhavi Kadiresanwas appointed as the Assistant Director (AD) of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. She was appointed at the post by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and succeeds Hiroyuki Konuma who has retired.

16 October: World Food Day observed

Every year 16 October is being observed as World Food Day (WFD).

  • The significance of Day: It aims to raise public awareness about hunger challenges and encourage people around the world to take action in the fight against hunger.
  • Theme of 2015: ‘Social Protection and Agriculture’.

Zaheer Khan announces retirement from international cricket

One of India’s greatest fast bowlers Zaheer Khan has announced his retirement from international cricket with an immediate effect. He cited the reason that he could no longer handle the rigours of the game and is looking forward to signing off his last season in domestic cricket after the conclusion of the IPL season 9.

Zaheer Khan’s International cricket career

  • Test matches: He had played in 92 Test matches and was a left-arm pacer. He had taken 311 wickets. He is 4th highest wicket-taker in India after Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417).
  • One Day Internationals (ODIs): He had played in 200 ODIs and had taken 282 wickets.
  • T-20 Internationals: He had played in T-20 Internationals and had taken 17 wickets.
  • He had played a major role in India’s 2011 World Cup triumph by taking 21 wickets.