Women Scientists Tessy Thomas, Geeta Varadan selected for

Dr.Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014

Two women scientists have been chosen as joint recipients of Dr.Y.
Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014. The award is being conferred on them
jointly for their significant contributions in the fields of missile technology and
remote sensing.
Recipients are
Tessy Thomas- Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory of DRDO and
Project Director (Mission) Agni V.
Geeta Varadan- Director Advanced Data Processing Research Institute
of ISRO.
This is the first time in history of this award that two eminent women scientists
are being awarded concurrently.
About Dr.Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award
This award was established in 1986 in memory of distinguished chemical
scientist and internationally renowned leather technologist Yelavarthy
Nayudamma.
It is conferred annually on persons who have made important contributions to
the development of science and technology in the country.
World renowned astrophysics scientist and cosmologist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar
was conferred this award for the year 2013.

Third National Lok Adalat disposes 56000 cases, disburses

Rs 265 crore
The third National Lok Adalat was organised on 14 February 2015 throughout
India involving the Supreme Court, high courts, districts courts and taluka-level
courts, except in Assam and Uttar Pradesh.
It was organised under the patronage of Chief Justice of India (CJI) H L Dattu
and the leadership of Supreme Court Judge Justice T S Thakur.
Nearly 56,000 cases were disposed of by the third National Lok Adalat in a
single day. It also saw disbursal of Rs 265 crore as claims towards final
settlement in bank recovery and cheques bounce cases.
Third Lok Adalat was organised by the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA)
to disburse cases related bank recovery, cheques bounce cases, particularly
under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Several banks,
financial institutions and others had participated in it.
First National Lok Adalats was held in November 2013 and had settled a record

71.50 lakh cases pending in various courts. The second National Lok Adalat was
held in December 2014 and had disposed of over 1.25 crore cases.
About Lok Adalats
Lok Adalats (peoples courts) settle dispute through conciliation and
compromise. The First Lok Adalat was held in Una city in Junagarh district
of Gujarat in 1982.
Generally, Lok Adalat accepts the cases pending in the regular courts
within their jurisdiction which could be settled by conciliation and
compromise.
The decision of the Lok Adalat is binding on the parties to the dispute and
its order is capable of execution through legal process. No appeal lies
against the order of the Lok Adalat.

Muthoot Group partners with WWF for elephant project

Kerala-based business conglomerate Muthoot Group has launched the Friends
for Life project in partnership with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-India.
This project aims at effective management of human-elephant conflict (HEC) to
protect the habitats of Asian elephants in six states as 4 priority landscapes
and 1 priority site earmarked by WWF-India.
Priority landscapes include North Bank landscape in Arunachal Pradesh,
Kaziranga and Karbi-Anglong in Assam, Terai Arc landscape in Uttarakhand,
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Western Ghats landscape in Tamil Nadu and Kerala
and also some parts of northern West Bengal.
This project was launched in Kochi as part of the Muthoots Haathi Mera Saathi
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
This project will address the problems and provide solutions in terms of
reducing elephant and human lives lost in the earmarked priority landscapes. It
will also secure crop and property damage in villages and build a future where
humans and elephants can live in harmony with each other in
selected landscapes.