Important Appointments

India-born Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan  has been appointed as the President of the British Royal Society on December 1. With this appointment, he became the 61st president of the society. There have been 60 presidents of the Royal Society since it was founded in 1660. Previous incumbents include Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton, Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy and Ernest Rutherford.

Key Facts about Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan :-

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in 1952 in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, to C. V. Ramakrishnan and Ramakrishnan Rajalakshmi . Both his parents were scientists.

Ramakrishnan who is the President of the British Royal Society now was once denied admission to the Indian Institute of Technology and the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Chennai.

He did B.Sc in physics from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and a PhD degree in Physics from Ohio University in the USA,  however, he changed his course of studies to biology later.

His transition from theoretical physics to biology helped him to understand the quantum qualities of cells and organic particles, which propelled his research in the role of ribosome in human cells.

​Awards and honours :-

In 2009, Ramakrishnan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome" which he shared with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath .

He received India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2010. He was also awarded the knighthood by Her Royal Highness, the Queen of England in 2012.

Key position:- 

Ramakrishnan was elected a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2002 and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2003. He was elected a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2004. Since 2008, he is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge and a foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy.

About British Royal Society :-

British Royal Society founded in 1660 is the oldest scientific organisation existing in the world. It was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as "The Royal Society".

The society today acts as a scientific advisor to the British government, receiving a parliamentary grant-in-aid. The society acts as the UK's Academy of Sciences and funds research fellowships and scientific start-up companies.

There are currently about 1,450 fellows, allowed to use the postnominal title FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society), with up to 52 new fellows appointed each year.

Former Supreme Court judge Balbir Singh Chauhan has been appointed as the Chairman of the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI). Currently he is heading the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal. Chauhan was judge of the Supreme Court from May 2009 to July 2014, he also served as the Chief Justice of Odisha High Court from July 2008 to May 2009.

The term of the 20th Law Commission ended on August 30 last year and the Union Cabinet approved creation of the 21st Law Commission on September 9, for period of 3 years with effect from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018.

Composition of 21st Law Commission of India (LCI): The commission will have

(i)   1 full-time chairperson

(ii)  4 full-time members

(iii) Secretaries: Department of Legal Affairs, Legislative Department and Legislative Department as ex             offcio Members.

(iv) 5 Part time Members.

 

Role: It will look at the issue of revamp of the criminal justice system and recommend a bail law to ensure uniformity in the procedure of granting the relief as these two issues are pending with it for a long time.

Law Commission of India (LCI):

• Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. The first commission was constituted in 1955 and since then the Commission is reconstituted every three years and is usually headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or former Chief Justice of a high court.

• It is usually headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or former Chief Justice of a high court.  The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.

• Till date various Law Commissions have submitted 262 reports which have made important contribution towards codification and progressive development of law in the country. Previous law commission was headed by Justice A P Shah, Former Chief Justice (CJ) of Delhi High Court whose tenure ended on 31 August, 2015.