Justice R.M.Lodha to be Next Chief Justice of India

1.    Justice R.M.Lodha to be Next Chief Justice of India

i. President of India on 11 April 2014 appointed Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha as Next Chief Justice of India.

ii. Justice Lodha will take his charge from 27 April 2014. He will be the 41st Chief Justice of India.

iii. He will succeed Justice P. Sathasivam. 

iv. Justice Lodha will have a brief tenure of five months as the Chief Justice of India (CJI). He is scheduled to retire on 27 September 2014. He is 64.

v. Justice Lodha is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after CJI P. Sathasivam. The name of Justice Lodha was recommended as the next CJI by Justice Sathasivam.

About Justice Lodha

i. He practiced Law in the Rajasthan High Court and dealt with all branches of law — constitutional, civil, company, criminal, taxation and labour.

ii. He was elevated as a Permanent Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in January 1994. He was transferred to the Bombay High Court where he assumed office in February 1994.

iii. Justice Lodha was transferred back to the Rajasthan High Court in February 2007. He had been the Administrative Judge of the Rajasthan High Court and was chairman of State Judicial Academy.

iv. He was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on 13 May 2008 and elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on 17 December 2008.

2.    India leads global remittances with USD 70 bn in 2013

i. India lead global remittances in the year 2013 with a whopping USD 70 billion in its kitty, of which USD 65 billion were earned from the country's flagship software services exports, the World Bank reported.

ii. India's neighbour China follows second with USD 60 billion, said the World Bank report on Friday, according to which international migrants from developing countries are expected to send USD 436 billion in remittances to their home countries this year, despite more deportations from some host countries. 

iii. In its latest issue of the Migration and Development Brief, the World Bank said this year's remittance flows to developing countries will be an increase of 7.8 percent over the 2013 volume of USD 404 billion, rising to USD 516 billion in 2016. ‘

iv. Global remittances, including those to high-income countries, are estimated at USD 581 billion this year, from USD 542 billion in 2013, rising to USD 681 billion in 2016, the report said. 

v. The bank said growth in remittances to the South Asia region has slowed, rising by a modest 2.3 percent to USD 111 billion in 2013, compared with an average annual increase of more than 13 percent during the previous three years. 

3.    US slaps more sanctions over Crimea

i. The US has slapped additional sanctions on companies and individuals assisting Russia in its alleged annexation of Crimea, and announced that it will provide a USD 1 billion loan guarantee to the Ukrainian government.

ii. "The US will continue to impose costs on Russia for its illegal and illegitimate occupation of Crimea and, moreover, that we are fully prepared to impose additional significant sanctions on Russia if it continues to escalate the situation in Ukraine," US Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew, said. 

iii. "Crimea is occupied territory. We will continue to impose costs on those involved in ongoing violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S Cohen, said. 

iv. It is clear from the satellite images released by NATO yesterday that Russia has poised a menacing force near the Ukrainian border as part of its effort to destabilize Ukraine and destroy its chance for independence, self-determination, and democracy," Senator John McCain said. 

4.    Industrial Output dips by 1.9 per cent in February,

i. The Industrial Output in the country declined by 1.9 per cent in February, an all time low since the 2.5 per cent fall in May last year. Exports also dipped by 3.5 per cent during last month. 

ii. The Industrial Output fell on poor consumer demand which led to the weak manufacturing sector.

iii. The slow growth in Industrial production and exports has prompted the industry to demand an immediate rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India to boost economy.

iv. According to the data released by the Government, the Industrial Output, which had shown some signs of recovery in January, again entered the negative territory mainly due to 3.7 per cent contraction in the manufacturing sector.