India and Japan Signed MoU to study Mumbai-Ahmedabad Rail Route

India and Japan on 9 October 2013 signed MoU to do a joint feasibility study of High Speed Railway system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. The aim of the Joint study is to prepare a feasibility report of High Speed Railway system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route with speed of 300-350kmph. The cost of the study will be shared equally between India and Japan.

The study will take 18 months to complete. The study will include traffic forecasting, alignment surveys and undertake comparative Study of High Speed Railway Technology and System.

India and Japan also decided to set up A Joint Monitoring Committee which comprises the Ministry of Railways, Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of External Affairs for the Indian side and the MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industries), the MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), the MOF (Ministry of Finance), EoJ (Embassy of Japan in India) and JICA from Japan.

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Janet Yellen Nominated as Head of US Federal Reserve Board

US President Barack Obama on 9 October 2013 nominated Janet L. Yellen as the new head of the Federal Reserve Board. Janet Yellen replaced Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board. 

Janet Yellen was previously vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Janet Yellen is the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve Board and also the first Democrat to head the Board since 1979.

About Janet Yellen

• Janet Louise Yellen (born on 13 August 1946) is an American economist and professor who is the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
• Janet Louise Yellen took office as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on 4 October 2010, for a four-year term.
• Prior to her appointment as Vice Chair, Yellen served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Twelfth District Federal Reserve Bank, at San Francisco.
• Janet Louise Yellen is Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley where she was the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics and has been a faculty member since 1980.
• Yellen was an Assistant Professor at Harvard University from 1971 to 1976 and she served as an Economist with the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors in 1977 and 1978.
• She earned a BA in economics from Brown University and a PhD in economics from Yale University.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement monetary policy of the United States.

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S. R. Bansal Took the Charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank

S. R. Bansal took the charge on 5 October 2013 as the Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank.

Prior to assuming the position of Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank he was Executive Director of Punjab National Bank.

About S. R. Bansal
• S. R. Bansal is a Post Graduate in English, a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) and an Associate of Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (AIIBF). 
• He is a seasoned banker with over 32 years of rich experience in various administrative and functional capacities at Branches, Regional Offices, Zonal Offices and also at the Head Office level.
• He started his banking career as a Direct Officer Recruit at Dena Bank in 1981 and went on to hold the office of the Field General Manager (North India) covering eight states.
• He was appointed as Executive Director of Punjab National Bank in June 2012, where he was responsible for large field operations and many other key areas.

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Indian Railways Carried 511.00 Million Tonnes of Freight During April–September 2013

As per the data released by Ministry of Railways on 10 October 2013, Indian Railways carried 511.00 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the first half of fiscal 2013. The freight carried shows an increase of 29.65 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 481.35 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 6.16 per cent.

During the month of September 2013, the revenue earning freight traffic carried by Indian Railways was 84.86 million tonnes. There is an increase of 8.93 million tonnes over the actual freight traffic of 75.93 million tonnes carried by the Indian Railways during the same period last year, showing an increase of 11.76 per cent.

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Ethiopia Parliament Elected Mulatu Teshome as New President

Ethiopia's parliament on 7 October 2013 elected Mulatu Teshome as the country's new president for a six-year term. Mulatu Teshome will replace Girma Wolde Giorgis, who first took the post in 2001 and was re-elected in 2007.
 
Mulatu Teshome was elected at a joint session of the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR) and the House of Federation (HoF). Mulatu Teshome is the Fourth president of Ethiopia

About Mulatu Teshome
• The 57-year-old Mulatu Teshome, born in Arjo town, Eastern Wolega Zone of the Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia, received education in China. He holds a Ph.D.
• Before being elected president, Mulatu also held government positions including that of speaker of the House of Federation, state minister of finance and economic development and minister of agriculture.
• Mulatu, who like all Ethiopia is known by his first name, comes from the Oromo people, the country's largest ethnic group. 
• He has also served as Ethiopia's ambassador to China and Japan.
• He served as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Turkey until his appointment.

In Ethiopia, the office of presidency is a largely symbolic and ceremonial post and real power rests in the hands of the prime minister.  The present Prime Minister of Ethiopia is Hailemariam Desalegn.

About Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the ninth largest country in Africa and is located in the northeastern region, popularly referred to as the Horn of Africa. As a landlocked country, Ethiopia is bound to the east by Djibouti and Somalia, to the north and northeast by Eritrea, to the south by Kenya and to the west by the Sudan.  The total land area is 440,284 miles (1.1 million square kilometers).  There are ten major rivers (7000 km long) and lakes (7400 sq. km. in area).

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Government of Pakistan Decided To Appoint Syed Ibne Abbas as Envoy to India

Government of Pakistan decided on 9 October 2013 to appoint Pakistani veteran diplomat Syed Ibne Abbas as the new Pakistani envoy to India. He will succeeded by Salman Bashir.

About Syed Ibne Abbas
• He joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1983.
• He served as Counsellor (Political) at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. His appointment comes at a time when tensions along the LoC have increased.
• He also served as the Director of Kashmir Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• He also acted as the Director General of the South Asia division

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Malayalam Magic Multiplication Table Kit

How to teach Kids Multiplication Tables (Random / Shuffled Method)

Best method to teach children Times Tables / Multiplication Tables
If you have kids studying in lower classes then you might be wondering how to teach them multiplication tables.
The  conventional way we use to teach multiplication tables is by making them write each table 5 or 10 times.
But most kids hate writing (even I too).
So here is a method I share with you that I tried and found useful.
Important: Read this whole page carefully for best results.
In this method, instead of making kids write tables 5 or 10 times we are writing it.
But leaving blank spaces for the child to fill by looking into a complete table chart.

Click here to get the Malayalam Magic Multiplication Table Kit.

*Warning: Do not print all shuffled tables at once and give them to your child. Your child may not fill them and all the paper would go waste. So, print one, teach it and then print the next sheet.
What is it?
It's a zip file that contain :
A Complete Multiplication Tables Chart from 1 to 10 (Your child need to look into this and fill up tables with blanks).
10 Shuffled Tables with blanks (These are 10 pdf files (most have two pages except 1 and 10) in which tables are shuffled and has blank spaces to be filled by your child.)
And Instructions.
What you need to do?
Take the print out of the Complete Tables Chart first.
Decide which table you are going to teach your child.
Then take the printout of that particular Shuffled Table with Blanks.
(For example, You need to teach your child Table 4 then Print the 4.pdf file. There are two pages. Print both back to back)

Now give your child the Shuffled Table and the Complete Tables Chart.
Tell him/her to fill the shuffled table by looking into The Complete Tables chart.
You can easily convince your child, as your child only need to fill blank spaces.
But after doing 3 or 4 columns they may start complaining that this is irritating.
But don't let them go. Make them complete both pages.
Once they complete, you should take back the sheets and ask them randomly 4 x 6=...., 4x 9 =...., 4x5=.... and so on. Mostly they would be saying it correct. If they are making mistakes correct them.
Then make them tell in the order 4x1=...., 4x2=...., 4x3=.....,up to 4x10=.... 1 or 2 times or until they learn it well. That's it

What You Have To Remember:
1.Teach only one table a Day.
2.Once your child starts filling a table, Don't let them go until they finish both sides and tells the table.
3.This is not a memory booster or anything like that.
   This is just a method to overcome the laziness of kids to write and learn tables.
4. Tables that are learnt may not last in their memory more than one or two weeks.
5. It's your duty to keep tables stay in their memory By making your child tell all tables (in the order 1 to 10) daily in the First week and Once or Twice a week after that
Order for Teaching tables
Assuming your child starts from Table 2:
Day1: 
Give your child the Shuffled Table 2 to fill the blanks by looking into Complete Tables Chart.
Once it is completed,you should first ask the table randomly and then make them tell orderly.

Day 2:
Before giving the shuffled Table 3 to your child, You should make him/her tell the previous day table. That is Table2.
Then give the Table 3 and make them fill it.
At the end, ask the table 3 in random manner first and then make your child tell in order.
Then make them tell Table 2 also to ensure they have not forgotten Table 2

Day 3:
First make your child tell Table 2 and Table 3.
Then give your child Table 4 to fill.
At the end make them tell Table 2, Table3 and Table4 ensuring, previous tables are not forgotten.

Day 4:
First ask previous 3 tables and then give the Table 5 to fill.
On completing make them tell Tables 2,3,4,5

Day 5:
First make your child tell tables 2,3,4,5 and then give Table 6 to fill.
At the end make them tell Tables 2,3,4,5,6

Day 6:
First make your child tell tables 2,3,4,5,6 and the give Table 7 to fill.
At the end make them tell Tables 2,3,4,5,6 and 7

Day 7:
First make your child tell tables 2,3,4,5,6,7 and the give Table 8 to fill.
At the end make them tell Tables 2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Day 8:
First make your child tell tables 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and the give Table 9 to fill.
At the end make them tell Tables 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

Day 9:
Make your child tell tables 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Tenth table is so easy. There is no need to write.

For the next one week you should daily make them tell all the tables
and there after once in a week to ensure they have not forgotten Tables

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