1) 14.13 lakh BPL LPG connections released under PM Ujjwala Yojana.
- 14.13 lakh LPG connections have been released to women of BPL families under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The scheme is currently under operation in 487 districts of 17 states.
- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas has been drawn to a number of fake website which have come up on the internet on the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. The official website of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is www.pmujjwalayojana.com. General public and other stakeholders are requested to consult only the official website for any attention information with regard to the Ujjwala Yojana.
2) BHEL commissions 250 MW power plant in Gujarat.
- State-run BHEL has commissioned another 250 MW unit based on eco-friendly Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) technology, using low quality coal (lignite) as the primary fuel.
- The unit has been commissioned at Bhavnagar Energy Company (BECL) 2x250 MW thermal power project, located at Padva village in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat.
3) Commerce Ministry launches e-marketplace for government departments.
- The Commerce Ministry has launched an e-marketplace for online purchase of goods and services by various central government ministries and departments.
- The move is aimed at bringing in more transparency and streamlining the government procurement of goods and services. The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) has developed the portal for the purpose. The department, which is under the Commerce Ministry, carries out the procurement.
- Particular specification of a computer, various brands and specifications are available at the portal with cost.
- Departments that for the success of the marketplace, it is necessary to upload the demands of common user goods and services required by government buyers.
4) Railways to unveil vintage hotels on Palace on Wheels.
- According to the proposal by the heritage wing of the railways, the vintage hotels-cum-restaurants would be built in the coaches of the train set amid the ambience of an old station to serve the dual aim of preserving the transporter’s heritage and harnessing its potential to earn revenue.
- The vintage hotel proposal to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for consideration. Each vintage hotel will have two to three coaches and would cost an estimated Rs 16 crore.
- These coaches can be refurbished and transformed into vintage hotel-cum-restaurants and placed at suitable locations. The locations could be a prominent in-bound tourist destination or a place easily accessible by road from a prominent destination point.
5) Government launches online skill training platform.
- Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched an online platform for imparting skills with an aim to reach millions of skill seekers in the country.
- The web portal (indiaskillsonline.com) is a part of the government’s Skill India campaign that aims to provide vocational training to 1 crore workers in the next four years. It will provide free online courses to aspirants registered for skill training schemes that can also be downloaded as mobile applications.
- Apart from domain specific, qualification pack courses, the website will also offer courses on soft skills, languages, digital literacy, Orientation to regional cultures as well as modules on entrepreneurship, many of which are hurdles faced by skilled workers when they try to get jobs.
6) Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signs seven Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs).
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into seven Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers. Some of these agreements also have a ``Rollback`` provision in them.
- The scheme endeavors to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and setting the prices of international transactions in advance.
- The 7 APAs signed pertain to various sectors of the economy like banking, Information Technology and Automotives. The international transactions covered in these agreements include software development Services, IT enabled Services (BPOs), Engineering Design Services and Administrative & Business Support Services.
- The progress of the APA Scheme strengthens the Government’s mission of fostering a non-adversarial tax regime. The CBDT expects more APAs to be concluded and signed in the future.
7) Supreme Court accepts Lodha panel recommendations on structural reforms in BCCI.
- The Supreme Court accepted the major recommendations of the Lodha Committee on reforms to the BCCI, including ministers and civil servants and those above 70 from becoming its members.
- The court accepted the recommendations of the committee headed by retired Chief Justice of India Justice R.M. Lodha to have a CAG nominee in the BCCI.
- The recommendation that one person should hold one post in cricket administration to avoid any conflict of interest and scrapping of all other administrative committees in the BCCI.
- The Board to decide whether there is need for any change in the existing agreement relating to broadcasting rights and whether a franchise member should be in the Board to avoid any conflict of interest.
8) Government mulling law with stern provisions against river polluters.
- Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti announced a law having stringent provisions against polluters, industrial and sewage waste discharged into river Ganga was the primary source of its pollution.
- There are 764 industries located along the river Ganga.
- Government is carrying out a survey for resolving the issue of discharge of religious material into the river by evolving a project connecting the livelihood of people living along the river.
9) TRI-NETRA - Terrain imaging for diesel dRivers Infra-red, Enhanced Optical & Radar Assisted system.
- Ministry of Railways, Railway Board has initiated a proposal to install TRI-NETRA systems on locomotives for enhancing the vision of Locomotive Pilots in inclement weather.
- TRI-NETRA stands for - Terrain imaging for diesel dRivers INfra-red, Enhanced opTical & Radar Assisted system.
- TRI-NETRA system shall be made up of high-resolution optical video camera, high sensitivity infra-red video camera and additionally a radar-based terrain mapping system.
- These three components of the system shall act as three eyes (Tri-Netra) of the Locomotive Pilot.
- TRI-NETRA is designed to “see” the terrain ahead of the running locomotive during inclement weather by combining the images captured by the three sub-systems and to create a composite video image which shall be displayed in front of the Loco Pilot on a computer monitor.
10) LS Speaker launches e-portal to reduce paperwork.
- Reduce paper work in the day-to-day functioning of Parliament; Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan launched an e-portal for the members that will enable them to interact with various branches of the secretariat online.
- The initiative to make the Parliament paperless has saved around Rs. 80 lakhs so far. The e-portal has been launched. The members can put questions and give notices online as well.
- Every member will be given a login id and password. Using that the members will be able to access the portal. It can be used for issuing notices, calling adjournment motion, calling attention motion. The portal will be available in Hindi and English.
11) National Disaster Plan for Animals.
- The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries has prepared and launched Disaster Management Plan (DMP) for protecting animals and preventing and mitigating loss of livestock resources during various disasters.
DMP is divided into three parts:
(a) Pre-disaster preparedness,
(b) Disaster response and
(c) Post-Disaster Plan
- DMP aims to supplement the efforts of States/UTs in managing disasters and lays down the broad guidelines for management of animal during disasters like drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes and other man-made disasters etc. in the states/UTs.
12) Setting up of Ripening Chambers for the Benefit of Farmers and Entrepreneurs.
- Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC & FW) is implementing Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) for holistic development of horticulture in the country including creation of post harvest management infrastructure to reduce losses of perishable horticulture produce.
- Post harvest management component includes establishment of setting up of pack house, pre-cooling, primary processing, cold chain, refrigerated transport, ripening chambers etc.
- State Horticulture Missions are organizing regular training programmes and workshops on Post-harvest Management (PHM) including ripening chambers for the benefit of farmers and entrepreneurs.
- Govt releases Rs. 100 crore towards co-contribution in APY.
13) Government has released Rs. 100 crore towards its co-contribution for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) for 2015-16.
- Under the scheme, individuals who have registered before March 31, 2016, will get a co-contribution from the government, which will be 50 per cent of the subscriber contribution up to a maximum of Rs. 1,000. The co-contribution will be for 5 years from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
- Government`s co-contribution is payable only when accounts are regular and the admissible co-contribution is paid into the savings bank account of the subscribers.
14) Centre released Rs. 28,000 crore under MGNREGA this year.
- The Centre has released Rs. 28,000 crore to states under MGNREGA to clear the last year`s liabilities and for running the programme in the ongoing year.
- Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), funds are released to the states on the basis of agreed to labour budget and performance of the states.
- MNREGA provides a supplementary means of livelihood for the rural people, primarily during the lean periods and is not a substitute for all other employment opportunities.
15) Parliament passes Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016.
- Rajya Sabha passed a bill providing for setting up a regional centre for Biotechnology, which will act as a mentor institution and focus on training of skilled manpower as well as work on research and development.
- The bill provides for establishing a regional biotechnology centre that will work on education, training and research, under the auspices of United Na the National Capital Region and declare it to be an institution of national importance.tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in
16) Government sets incubation cell for export start-ups.
- The government set up an incubation cell at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) to provide support to export start-ups.
- The cell would enable young entrepreneurs to get all the expert advice and technical guidance at one point.
- The cell has been designed to provide export start-ups with necessary hand holding support towards expanding their existing domestic business to foreign markets.
- The initiative is named as - KITTES (Knowledge for Innovation in Trade and Technology for Entrepreneurial Start-ups). It is dedicated to startups in the domain of international business.
- Incubation cell will be supported by an advisory body consisting of industrialists, venture capitalists, technical specialists and managers established to help entrepreneurs through a range of infrastructure, business advisory, mentoring and financial services.
17) Blue Revolution: Odisha aims to create 400 hectares new water area.
- The state government has planned to create 400 hectares of new water area in private land. The government has also made a provision to provide 50 per cent subsidy assistance to fish farmers for increasing of the inland fish production to meet the demand of the state and generate income of farmers.
- This project proposal submitted by Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (FARD) Department was approved in a state-level sanctioning committee of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
18) Netherlands-UP signs agreement for setting up skill development centre for farmers.
- The Netherlands and Uttar Pradesh signed a MoU to set up a skill development centre to help farmers.
- Farmers would get information of not only food processing but also of how modern techniques can be also used for better produce of sugarcane, potato, dairy development and flowers.
- According to the MoU, Netherlands would assist Uttar Pradesh in solid waste management, urban development and infrastructure, water management, water supply, cleanliness of water resources, sewage treatment, transport management and revival of water bodies.
19) Cabinet approves amendment in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) amendment Bill.
- Cabinet approves a MoU signed between India and the Swiss Confederation for cooperation in skill development.
- Cabinet approves establishment of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences at Gorakhpur.
- Cabinet approves signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Mozambique.
- Cabinet approves procurement of Control Units, Ballot Units and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail Units during the years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
- Cabinet approves India and Tunisia for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of Information and Communications Technology and Digital Economy.
- Cabinet approves the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016.
- Cabinet approves Neyveli Lignite Corporation’s proposal for installation of 1980 MW coal based thermal power project at Ghatampur in Uttar Pradesh.
- Cabinet approves proposal of M/s. Ambuja Cements Limited for acquisition of 24% shares in its holding company-Holcim (India) Private Limited.
- Cabinet approves construction of a New Dry Dock of Cochin Shipyard Limited.
20) Government Approved for setting up of IT/ITES SEZs.
- Government has approved the proposal for setting up of IT/ITES Special Economic Zones in many parts of the Country. As on date, the Board of Approval (BoA) has approved 259 proposals for setting up of SEZ relating to Information Technology/ Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITES)/ Electronic Hardware sectors SEZs in many parts of the Country.
21) Bill introduced in Lok Sabha to bring 6 new IITs, ISM.
- A bill introduced in the Lok Sabha which aims at bringing the six new IITs as well as the Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad under the ambit of the IIT Act.
- These institutes need to be brought within the ambit of the aforesaid Act for the purpose of declaring them as institutions of national importance.
- The bill also aims at declaring ISM Dhanbad as an institute of national importance, integrate it with the IIT system and it would be called IIT (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.
- The new IITs which the bill intends to incorporate in the system are IIT Tirupati, IIT Palakkad, IIT Goa, IIT Dharwar, IIT Bhilai and IIT Jammu.
22) Approval for Second Unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station.
- The second unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP-2) attained after accord of regulatory and statutory clearances. This will be followed by various tests, connection to the grid and rising of power in steps to full power in line with the stage-wise clearances of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
- The compliance certificates from Ministry of Environment and Forest and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board are issued for the plant.
- The capacity of KKNPP Unit-2 on full power operation would be 1000 MW. Electricity generated by central sector generating stations is allocated to the beneficiary states and union territories in the electricity region by the Ministry of Power.
23) Strategic Partnership for Skill Development in Aviation Sector.
- Airports Authority of India has entered into a strategic partnership for skill development in the aviation sector. AAI has already imparted skills training to 1000 youth in partnership with the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) and released funds to CIDC based on the progress of the project and placement offers to the candidates.
- Priority for job opportunity has been given while finalizing the partnership. NSDC, the Implementation organization has been advised to carry out market survey so as to ensure employment opportunity to at least 70% of the trained candidates.
24) ECI launched National Electoral Roll Purification 2016.
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) gives importance to enrolment of all eligible citizens and to assist electors to reach and cast their votes in a hassle free way by establishing Polling stations (PSs) at a conveniently located building. ``No voter to be left behind`` is the motto of ECI for year 2016.
- National Electoral Roll Purification (NERP) programme has been launched this week across the country with intensive verification by the Commissions’ field functionaries and stakeholders interaction, to enhance the purity and fidelity of Electoral Rolls (ERs) and to standardization of PS for electors convenience and facilitate electors reach his PS with ease.
25) Odisha to Set up Judicial Commission to Reform Jagannath temple.
- The people of Odisha over breaking of age-old traditions in Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri, the state government announced that a judicial commission will be set up to bring reforms in the management of the 12th century shrine.
- Stating that former administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Mohinimohan Tripathy would assist the commission to deal with six subjects.
- The subjects on which the judicial commission would deal would include security arrangement of the temple, proper management of the Lord`s rituals, devotees` amenities, training and amenities for the family members of servitors, propaganda of Jagannath cult and whatever the commission deems to be required for the best management of the Temple.
26) Green nod for Odisha power project.
- A State green panel has given first-stage clearance to Orissa Integrated Power Ltd (OIPL) for diverting 17.02 hectares of revenue forestland to set up a 4,000 MW in Sundargarh district in Odisha at a cost of Rs. 29,000 crore.
- The ultra mega power project (UMPP) requires a total of 1,302.36 hectares, Regional Empowered Committee (REC), the proposal of the Orissa Integrated Power Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of State-run Power Finance Corporation of India.
27) NDMC signs MoU with NEERI to develop sewage treatment plants.
- Develop green areas and revamp big and small parks under its jurisdiction, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have signed an agreement with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to develop 12 sewage treatment plants (STP).
- The council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the agency that has an expertise in the field and the project will help increase the green cover in NDMC areas and curb dust pollution.
- There are 200 small parks in several colonies under NDMC and five big parks including Lodhi Garden, Nehru Park, and Sanjay Jheel, where the footfall is huge.
28) LokSabha passes Bill to establish new NIT in Andhra Pradesh.
- The Lok Sabha passed the National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research (Amendment) (NITSER) Bill, 2015fu6 to establish a National Institute of Technology in Andhra Pradesh.
- The Bill amends the NITSER Act 2007 so as to establish an additional NIT in Andhra Pradesh. While Rs. 40 crore has been allocated for the establishment of the new NIT in the current financial year, an outlay of Rs. 226 crore has been made for the institute over the next three years.
29) Solar power tree developed for generation of electricity.
- The Ministry of Science and Technology has come up with a `Solar Power Tree`, an innovative way to generate electricity using solar power in a limited space.
- Developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur, a laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Solar Power Tree model is actually designed like a tree with branches made of steel to hold the photovoltaic panel.
- It holds the panels at a higher height - thus gets more sun (by 1 hour) in a day in comparison to that of conventional layout on ground. This could also be rotated so that the photovoltaic panel gets more sunlight.
30) India first to contribute to UN trust fund.
- India, one of the largest troop-contributing countries in UN peacekeeping operations, has contributed USD 100,000 to a trust fund set up for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, becoming the first country to make a contribution to the fund.
- The United Nations Department of Field Support (DFS) announced that India provided USD 100,000 for the Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
- The department also announced the launch of a new mandatory e-learning programme for all uniformed and civilian personnel to strengthen training on the standards of conduct, as well as the expectations of accountability and individual responsibility in matters of conduct and discipline, with a special focus on sexual exploitation and abuse.
31) India to become Daimler`s mobility strategy hub.
- Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz announced plans to multiply the engineering workforce at its Bangalore research facility.
- The facility, which currently has Daimler`s second-biggest team of dedicated software professionals, will become the strategy hub for testing Daimler`s plans for becoming a mobility services company following recent trends in the automotive industry.
32) Centre approves 12 India Reserve Battalions.
- Thirteen new armed police battalions, including one comprising mostly tribals from the worst Maoist-hit districts, will be raised by the government to tackle the Naxal menace.
- The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved 12 India Reserve
- Battalions for the Left Wing Extremism affected states. Of the 12 battalions, four will be raised in Chhattisgarh, three each in Jharkhand and Odisha and two in Maharashtra.
33) Kerala Government launches first ever Water Metro project in the country.
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched integrated water transport the Kochi Water Metro project would be completed in four years.
- Water transport expected to give a much needed fillip to the city’s huge but untapped potential of waterways.
- The government would closely monitor the project to ensure that it was implemented in a time-bound manner. The potential to influence the development of the greater Kochi area and improve the standard of living of its residents.
- The Water metro project involves purchase of two variants of air-conditioned and Wi-Fi enabled catamaran passenger ferries with a capacity of 50 and 100 passengers.
- The boats will operate at an optimal speed of eight knots, with the potential to go up to 12 knots once the dedicated water transit corridor is established.
34) Maharashtra CM launches pilot project of e-complaint system.
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis flagged off a pilot e-complaint project by the Pune Police which enables citizens to file a police complaint from home.
- The police for improving the conviction rate and help the state rise from the lowest rankings in the country to become one with the highest conviction rates.
- The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) will help the police analyze data, and trends in crime to formulate a strategy.
35) All India Institute of Homoeopathy proposed to be set up at Narela, New Delhi: Construction of the three new Institutes of AYUSH: Shri Shripad Yesso Naik.
- The Government plans to establish an All India Institute of Homoeopathy (AIIH) at Narela, New Delhi. It will be a Post Graduate and Doctoral Research institute.
- The civil works of the three new institutes namely, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy (NEIAH), Shillong and North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine (NEIFM), Pasighat is complete and these institutes are to be operationalized during the current year (2016-17).
36) India-US Launch Innovative Agriculture Programme to Address Global Challenges.
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the second phase of the Feed the Future India Triangular Training Programme, bringing specialized agriculture training to 1,500 agricultural professional across Africa and Asia.