1) CCG (Chennai-Colombo-Gulf) service to boost trade links.

• The launching of Chennai-Colombo-Gulf (CCG) feeder service by Simatech Shipping and Evergreen Line, two leading shipping companies in the world to Visakhapatnam Port will provide huge opportunities for new markets in the Middle East, Africa and Far-East.
• CCG Offering direct connectivity to sohar besides jebel Ali.
• The CCG will operate four container ships of 2,000 TEU each, one by Evergreen Line and three by Simatech.
• The new service will facilitate export of buffalo meat, food grains mainly rice, fly ash and steel coils to only Gulf but also the European Union, the United States and the Mediterranean.

• Delhi High Court not only denied bail to police Head Constable Anil Kumar in a corruption case but also declared that Delhi government`s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) had the jurisdiction to arrest police personnel.
• Constable Anil Kumar was arrested on corruption charges following a complaint by a scrap- dealer on the helpline no 1031.
• He decried that the constable was trying to extort Rs 20,000 from him and had threatened to implicate him in false cases.

• Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa announced development and welfare schemes worth over Rs. 1,800 crore.
• Jayalalithaa launched several schemes, including those for improvement of roads, drinking water facilities and for helping needy families headed by women.
• Jayalalithaa had sanctioned green houses for 20,000 families in the initial phase. Each family will be granted Rs. 2.10 lakh; and poor in town panchayats living in mud or thatched houses were eligible for the scheme to be implemented by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board.

4) PM Modi launches `Kisan TV` for farmers.

• Marking the first anniversary of NDA government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Kisan TV’.
• The 24X7 channel is owned by public service broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) and is dedicated to agriculture and allied sectors.
• In his Union Budget 2014 speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had announced that a 24-hour TV channel will be dedicated to the agriculture sector, for which he had marked an outlay of Rs. 100 crore.

1. DD Kisan will disseminate real-time inputs to farmers on new farming techniques, water conservation and organic farming.
2. It will also share best farm practices in different parts of the country, quiz shows for farmers, and a bottoms-up approach involving agriculturists.
3. The channel show will also invite programme suggestions from general public and real-time interaction with experts and farm scientists.
4. Prior to launching this channel, Prasar Bharati was running ‘Krishi Darshan’ programme on DD1 for farmers. It was one of the longest running programmes on DD and was launched on January 26, 1967.

• Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley had announced that the PPP mode of infrastructure development has to be revisited, and revitalized, in which the major issue involved is rebalancing of risk.
• Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and revitalise public private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development.
• The committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.

1. Review of the experience of PPP Policy, including the variations in contents of contracts and difficulties experienced with particular variations/conditions.
2. Analysis of risks involved in PPP projects in different sectors and existing framework of sharing of such risks between the project developer and the Government, thereby suggesting optimal risk sharing mechanism.
3. Propose design modifications to the contractual arrangements of the PPP based on the above and international best practices and our institutional context.
4. Measure to improve capacity building in Government for effective implementation of the PPP projects.
5. The Committee shall submit its report within a period of three (3) months from the date of its Constitution.

• Tripura government decided to lift Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) from the state, where the controversial law was in effect for the last 18 years to curb insurgency.
• This Act was imposed in the state on February 16, 1997 following spurt of violence by the ultras.
• About Armed Forces Special Powers Act:
• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) is an Act of the Parliament of India which was passed on 11 September 1958.
• It is a law with just six sections granting special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in what the act terms as "disturbed areas".

• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) has announced projects worth Rs. 325 crores for the Northeast region on the occasion of completion of one year of NDA Government.
• 200 crore will be meant for projects in the State of Assam and Rs. 125 crore for "Organic Farming Mission" for the entire North-Eastern region.

• Gujarat Government has initiated Sloth Habitat Project in Jessore wildlife sanctuary to provide better habitat to sloth bears.
• As per the last census in 2011, nearly 293 sloth bears were found in the state forests.
• The project aims at planting good amount to trees in the sanctuaries and removing unwanted plant species that have intruded in the habitat.
• This project was implemented in Banaskantha district by state forest department in coordination with the Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC).

1. The sloth bear also known as the Stickney bear or labiated bear.
2. Categorised as vulnerable species in International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list.
3. Sloth bear is omnivorous animal and mainly eat honey, termites, fruits (mangoes and figs) and grass.

9) Mega Food Park Inaugurated at Nalbari, Assam.

• The first mega food park of North East will be inaugurated at Nathkuchi in Nalbari district of Assam. 
• Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal jointly inaugurated the North East Mega Food Park.
• Mega Food Park gives a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage and loss at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables.
• North East Mega Food Park has been set up in 50 acre of land at the cost of Rs. 76 crore.

1. Application for teacher education programmes. 
2. Appeal processes. 
3. Redressal of public grievances. 
4. Filing of RTI applications. 
5. Mapping of the teacher education institutions through GIS. 
6. Dynamic database of teacher education programmes and faculty database. 

• The Government of India is committed to the Flagship schemes of School Education including the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
• The Mid-Day Meal programme covers about 10.33 crore children studying in elementary schools in the government, government-aided schools and special training centres for mainstreaming the out of school children.
• The Mid-Day Meal programme is being administered in all the States and Union Territories of the country on an agreed funding pattern.
• The budget estimate for the MDM programme has been made at the level of Rs. 9236 crores for 2015-16.
• The Central Government has in fact enhanced outlays for States affected by drought for which an additional Rs. 466.70 crores has been approved under the MDM scheme to provide children at the elementary school level, with a mid day meal during the current summer vacations.

• Swachhata Saptapadi scheme launched by Maharashtra government on the lines of Union Government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
• The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with actor Aamir Khan who is brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Mumbai.
• The objective of the scheme is to expedite the process of cleanliness drive complete with toilet every household by October 2, 2015 and 2016.

1. A promise of participation of people in the Swachh Maharashtra campaign.
2. Mobilisation of public participation.
3. Construction of 100 per cent toilets in every corporation wards.
4. Creation of awareness about segregation of dry and wet waste.
5. Adaptation of scientific method for waste disposal.
6. Take initiative for promoting greenery and open spaces.

• The government approved signing of an agreement between India and Sweden to promote cooperation in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
• The objective of the MoU is to promote cooperation between the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of the two countries.
• It provides a structured framework and enabling environment to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector of the two countries to understand each other’s strengths, markets, technologies, policies etc.
• It also enables the respective MSMEs to participate in each other’s trade fairs/ exhibitions and to exchange business delegations so that joint ventures, tie-ups, technology transfer etc. could take place.

• The Union Government notified the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income as Assets) and imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
• The Act will come into effect from 1 April 2016.
• The Act prescribes tax of 30 per cent and penalty up to 90 per cent on undisclosed bank accounts and assets abroad. However, this provision will apply only to those who do not use the compliance window.
• The government will notify separate dates for the compliance window during which any Indian can disclose his/ her foreign bank account and assets, pay 30 per cent tax along with 30 per cent penalty and protect him/herself from legal action. 

1) To set up IIT in Nagpur, a nod have been given by MHRD.

• Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) gave an approval for setting up an IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology) in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• With this it will be the first IIT in the state.
• And also two another institutes are set to come up, namely the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Indian Institute of Management.
• The main intension to set up of these higher educational institutions in Nagpur to improve educational infrastructure in the Vidharba region.

• Kayakalp an initiative for awards to public health facilities was launched by the Union minister for health and family welfare J.P. Nadda.
• And he also released the Swachchta Guidelines for Public Health Facilities.
• This initiative will encourage every public health facility in the country to work towards standards of excellence to help the facilities stay clean and hygienic.

1. To promote cleanliness, hygiene and infection control practices in public health care facilities.
2. To incentivize and recognize such public healthcare facilities.
3. To inculcate a culture of ongoing assessment and peer review of performance related to hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation.
4. To create and share sustainable practices related to improved cleanliness in public health facilities linked to positive health outcomes.

• National nuclear energy conference held in New Delhi. It is the sixth nuclear energy conference.
• The theme of the sixth edition of the nuclear energy is Nuclear energy: a clean energy option.
• It was organized by ASSOCHAM (Associated chambers of commerce and Industry of India).
• India wants to double its nuclear power generation by 2020.
• At present India’s Nuclear power plants generating 3.5% electricity.

• A new programme Road Measurement and Data Acquisition System to take stock of the condition of the national highways was launched by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
• According to this a vehicle equipped with modern gadgets including GPS, cameras will cover every aspect of the road including road condition, wayside amenities, accident-prone zones, road strength, condition of bridges and culverts besides encroachment etc,.
• The fund for this project has been provided by World Bank and National Highway authority of India.

• Historical town of Badami in Bagalkot district of Karnataka will be developed into a tourist town under the Union government’s flagship programme HRIDAY (Heritage City Development Scheme).
• The Union government has selected 12 heritage cities in the country to develop them by providing better amenities and preserving the heritage structures. Badami, once ruled by the Chalukyan dynasty, is one of the cities selected for the project.
• The city would be developed and facilities would be created with the help of INTACH (Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage) which would share its expertise in executing the project.

6) Delhi CM Kejriwal announces various initiatives for auto drivers.

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a slew of sops like annual fare revision, over 400 new halt-and-go stands and relaxation in rules, including permission to refuse customers while returning home.
• Kejriwal addressing a gathering of auto drivers at Burari in Outer Delhi announced that government will revise auto fares every year from 1st of April.
• Kejriwal asked the auto drivers to improve their service and raised the issues of auto drivers turning away passengers and misbehaving, two of the most frequent complaints.
• Auto-complaint helpline number 011-42400400 will be revived to address the issue of overcharging and refusal. Strict action will be taken in case of violations.
• The JICA will charge 0.8 percent per annum interest rate and the loan repayment period is 20 years in addition a 6 years grace period. The project will be completed by January 2020.

• Indian mangoes, including the famed Alphonso have made a comeback to Britain after an eight month ban kept them out of the European Union for much of last season.
• But there is a new problem the majority of the stock being sold has turned out to be rotten. According to the owner of one of London’s best known Indian shops, bad quality fruits have ruined his business.

1. Capital: London.
2. Queen: Elizabeth II.
3. Prime Minister: David Cameron.
4. Chancellor: Chris Leslie.
5. Currency: Pound Sterling. 

• Government sanctioned proposals for setting up 30 new cold chains in the country with a total investment of Rs. 724.9 crore.
• It was announced by Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in New Delhi.
• These projects will play important role in reducing the wastage of food in the country.
• The total capacity of these projects will be around 1.12 lakh tonnes of cold storage and 11.10 lakh litres of milk storage per day.

• Three new type-2 diabetes medicines, two of which were recently launched in India, have come under the scanner of the US drug regulator for potential risk of causing acidosis that could require hospitalization.
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned medical professionals and patients that type-2 diabetes medicines - canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and empagliflozin - may cause high levels of blood acids which can lead to serious adverse effects. Dapagliflozin and Canagliflozin were recently Launched in india.
• The three drugs, all belonging to a new class known as SGLT2 inhibitors, work by lowering blood sugar by making the kidneys remove sugar from the body through the urine.

10) Centre to launch agri-training programme in 593 Sansad Adarsh Grams.

• Centre is planning to launch an agri-training programme in 593 villages under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
• The nodal Agriculture Ministry is working out the training programme guidelines for implementation in each village adopted by Members of Parliament under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
• The agri-training programme, to be conducted for two days in each village, will be implemented by the National Centre of Organic Farming and Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute along with the support of the state governments.

1. It is a rural development programme that primarily focuses upon the development in villages.
2. The programme was launched by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan, on 11 October 2014.

• President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of India`s first historic climb of Mt. Everest in 1965 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• The function was organized by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) to celebrate the historic climb of Mt. Everest in 1965 by an Indian team led by Captain Mohan Singh Kohli.
• On this day in 1965, Indian team of 21 mountaineers led by Captain M.S. Kohli of Indian Navy had successfully climbed world’s highest peak Mt. Everest (8848 m) after a series of three unsuccessful attempts in five years.

• Meghalaya has achieved 100 percent success in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.
• In the state, all eleven districts have been able to open at least one bank account of every household under the ambitious scheme. More than 5.53 lakh households have been covered with 1.55 lakh new bank accounts.
• 1.8 lakh accounts have been opened in rural areas, while in urban area the figure is over 47,000.
• All banks both from private and public sectors have contributed in successfully implementing the scheme. So far, under the PMJDY, banks have issued more than 1.31 lakh Rupay cards.

• Maharashtra Government has decided to make amendments to Factories Act 1948, thus making the way for women employees to work in night shifts.
• The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
• Earlier, section 66 (1) (c) of the Factories Act, 1948 restricted women from working at a factory between 7 PM and 6 AM. Now that has been done away with.
• The managements will have to ensure security of women working in night shift.
• The proposed amendment will also enable workers to be eligible for paid leave after working for 90 days in a year instead of the current 240 days or more.

• Authorities of the Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand opened the Nelong Valley for tourists for the first time since its closure in 1962.
• Nelong Valley: A picturesque valley located 45 km away from the Indo-China border 
• Nelong valley, situated 45 km away from the Indo-China border in the Uttarkashi district, was closed for civilians after the 1962 war between both the countries.
• Located at a height of 11600 feet, it is a cold desert offering a view of the Tibetan Plateau in China and home to snow leopard and the Himalayan blue sheep.

• The Union Cabinet gave its approval for setting up of a new Ammonia-Urea Complex at Namrup in Assam. The complex will be set up on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode by a joint venture (JV).
• In the proposed JV, PSU Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL), Government of Assam and Oil India Limited (OIL) shall have 11 percent, 11 percent and 26 percent equity holding respectively and balance 52 percent by private/public sector entity (entities) which would be inducted through a competitive bidding process.
• The annual consumption of urea in the country is estimated at 31 million tonne. While 23 million tonne is produced domestically, the rest of the demand is met through imports.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, gave its approval for the revival of closed urea unit of Fertilizer Corporation India Limited (FCIL) at Sindri (Jharkhand) with an investment of Rs. 6000 crore. 
• This unit was lying defunct and was not in operation since 2002.
• The setting up of a new unit at Sindri will meet the growing demand of urea in the States of Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
• It will also ease the pressure on railway and road infrastructure due to long distance transportation of urea from Western and Central Regions and thereby saving in govt. subsidy on freight.

• The Union Cabinet approved a relaxation of policy on investment proposals from Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), treating them at par with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
• In order to comply with this decision government will amend FDI policy on investments by NRIs, PIOs & OCIs which will give them parity in economy and education.
• Investments by NRIs under Schedule 4 of FEMA regulations will be deemed to be domestic investment at par with the investment made by residents.
• The amendments will lead to greater foreign exchange remittances and investment in the country.

1) Prime Minister releases commemorative coin on Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin to mark the birth centenary of Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati in New Delhi.
• The Hindu spiritual leader and teacher inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission, a worldwide nonprofit organisation, to spread the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta, the non dual system of thought found in the Upanishads, which epitomise the philosophical teachings of the Vedas.
• Advaita Vedanta is the nondual system of thought found in the Upanishads, which epitomise the philosophical teachings of the Vedas.

1. He was born as Balakrishna Menon on 8 May 1916.
2. He was known for teaching Bhagavad gita, the Upanishads, and other ancient Hindu scriptures.
3. Since 1951, he had spearheaded a global Hindu spiritual and cultural renaissance that popularised the religion’s esoteric scriptural texts and also taught them in English all across India and abroad.
4. He had authored around 95 publications that mostly include commentaries on the major Upanishads and Bhagavad gita.
5. He was also a visiting professor of Indian philosophy at several American and Asian universities. He also had conducted university lecture tours in many countries.
6. He died on 3 August 1993 at age 77 in San Diego, California of United States.

• Lok Sabha gave its nod for the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2015 which seeks to repeal 36 archaic laws either partially or entirely as they have ceased to be in force or have become obsolete
• With this, the bill has been passed by both the houses of Parliament as Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 5 May 2015.
• Out of the 36 acts, four acts will be repealed entirely. These include The Indian Fisheries Act, 1897, The Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947 and The Sugar Undertakings (Taking over of Management) Act, 1978.
• The remaining 32 Acts that are being repealed are amendments to principal Acts. These include amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Anand Marriage Act, 1909 the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 among others.
• A similar bill, the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2014 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 8 December 2014 and is lying with the Rajya Sabha. It is sought to repeal 90 laws and pass amendments to two laws. Out of 90 laws, 88 laws will be repealed completely.

3) PM Modi to unveil 3 social security schemes in Kolkata.

• Minister Narendra Modi launched three mega social security schemes in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• Three schemes intend to widen the process of financial inclusion in the country include Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

• Under APY scheme, the pension subscribers will receive a fixed minimum monthly pension ranging from 1,000 rupees to 5,000 rupees at the age of 60 years.
• The fixed minimum monthly pension will be depending on the contributions subscribers.

1. Union Government will co-contribute 50 percent of the total contribution of subscriber for a period of 5 years.

• Subscribers must have bank account and should not be members of any statutory social security scheme and or Income Tax payers.
• The minimum age of joining: 18 years and maximum age is 40 years.
• Focus of APY: To target unorganised sector workers.

1. The pension will also be available to the spouse on the death of the subscriber and thereafter, the pension corpus would be returned to the nominee.
2. Subscriber and Enrolment Payment: It will auto-debited from the accounts account holders depending upon selected monthly pension range.
3. Enrolment agencies: Subscribers will be enrolled through institutional architecture of National Pension System by all Points of Presence (Service Providers) and Aggregators under Swavalamban Scheme.

• It will be administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

• Under the PMJJBY, the insurance subscriber will get an annual life insurance in case of death.

1. Available any person in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account.
2. Risk Coverage:
3. 2 Lakh rupees in case of death due to any reason.
4. Payment Mode of premium:
5. 330 rupees per annum will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account.
6. Implementation of Scheme:
7. Will be offered by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and all other life insurers who are willing tie-up with banks for the purpose of joining the scheme.

• Under the PMSBY, the insurance subscriber will get annual life insurance in case of accidental death, partial disability or full disability.

1. Available to any person in the age group 18 to 70 years.
2. Any person having Aadhaar number linked bank account can join the scheme.
3. He/she must give a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June. In the form name of nominee also must be given.

1. For accidental death and full disability– 2 Lakh rupees.
2. For partial disability – 1 Lakh rupees.
3. Payment Mode of premium: 12 rupees per annum will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account in case of long-term option.
4. Implementation of Scheme: Will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance Companies and all other insurers who are willing tie-up with banks for the purpose of joining the scheme.

• As per the provisions of the Constitution, Education as a subject is on the Concurrent List (List III) of the Seventh Schedule. So central government and state government are agreed to establish central university in Jammu & Kashmir.
• By recognizing the needs of higher education, the Central Government has launched the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).
• Based on the State Higher Education Plan (SHEP) submitted by the state of Jammu & Kashmir under RUSA, the Central Government has approved setting up of two universities by clustering of colleges at Srinagar and Jammu.

1. Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) "National Higher Education Mission" is a holistic scheme of development for higher education in India initiated in 2013 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
2. The centrally sponsored scheme aims at providing strategic funding to higher educational institutions throughout the country.
3. Funding is provided by the central ministry through the state governments and union territories (UT), which in coordination with the central Project Appraisal Board will monitor the academic, administrative and financial advancements taken under the scheme.

1. RUSA aims to provide equal development to all higher institutions and rectify weaknesses in the higher education system. Its target achievement is to raise the gross enrolment ratio to 32% by the end of XII Plan in 2017.
2. Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes.

5) Modi dedicates India`s largest blast furnace plant to nation.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the upgraded IISCO Steel Plant (ISP), that houses the country`s largest blast furnace and has been modernised by the central government at a cost of Rs. 16,000 crore.
• After modernisation, the plant`s production capacity has increased from 0.85 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 2.9 mtpa.

• The Lok Sabha passed a tough bill imposing heavy penalties for stashing black money abroad.
• Introduced in the Lok Sabha by finance minister Arun Jaitley, the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, seeks to impose a 120% of tax and penalty on undisclosed foreign assets and income besides a jail term of up to 10 years.
• Under the proposed law, there would be a short compliance window within which persons with undisclosed income abroad can come clean by paying 30 per cent tax and 30 per cent penalty.
• Once the window closes, anyone found having undeclared overseas wealth would be required to pay 30 per cent tax, 90 per cent penalty and face criminal prosecution.
• There could be a two-month window to declare overseas assets and income and a six-month period to pay tax and penalty.

• A Constitution Amendment Bill providing for roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was referred to a select committee, which consists of 21 members.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the motion for referring the Bill (The Constitution 122 Amendment Bill, 2014) to the Select Committee.

1. The committee members are Chandan Mitra and Ajay Sancheti (of BJP), Madhusudan Mistry, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Bhalchandra Mungekar (of Congress), Naresh Agrawal (SP), K.C. Tyagi (JD-U), Derek O`Brien (Trinamool Congress), Satish Chandra Misra (BSP), A. Navaneethakrishnan (AIADMK), K.N. Balagopal (CPI-M), Dilip Kumar Tirkey (BJD), C.M. Ramesh (TDP), Praful Patel (NCP), Kanimozhi (DMK), Anil Desai (Shiv Sena), Naresh Gujral (SAD), Mohammad Fayaz (PDP), D. Raja (CPI), Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Independent).
2. AIADMK was the only party to have declared its opposition to the economic reform measure 

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for moving official amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012.

• Employment of children below 14 years prohibited in all occupations and processes and age of prohibition of employment linked to age under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. 

1. Where the child helps his family or family enterprises, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations.
2. Where the child works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus, such work does not affect the school education of the child.
3. A new definition of adolescent has been introduced in the CLPR Act and employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years of age) has been prohibited in hazardous occupations and processes. These provisions would go a long way in protecting adolescents from the employment not suitable to their age.

1. In case of first offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the Act, penalty would be imprisonment for a term not less than six months but which may extend to two years or with fine not less than Rs. 20,000, but which may extend to Rs. 50,000 or with both.
2. In case of a second or subsequent offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the Act, the minimum imprisonment would be one year which may extend to three years.
3. Punishment for parents/ guardians: In the Principal Act, the same punishment was provided for parents/ guardians for permitting a child to work in contravention of the Act, the penalty would be a fine which may extend to Rs. 10,000.

• The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act (CLPR Act) 1986 prohibits employment of a child in 18 occupations and 65 processes and regulates the conditions of working of children in other occupations/ processes.

• The Lok Sabha passed the negotiable Instruments Bill and it mainly aims at making filing of cases more convenient for payees if cheques bounce.
• It was passed by a voice vote and it necessitated due to a Supreme Court order that cases those having defaulted on their cheque.
• The Negotiable Instruments Bill 2015 was passed by a voice vote, with Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha he insisted that it would boost the “integrity of financial system” and not lead to the harassment of the common man.
• The courts were currently dealing with 21 lakh cheque bounce cases with 259 courts hearing them exclusively.

• The USTAD, a welfare scheme aimed at upgrading and promoting the skills of artisans from the minority community was launched by Union Minority affairs Minister Najma Heptulla in Varanasi, Uttara Pradesh.
• USTAAD means Upgradation of Skills and Training in Ancestral Arts/ Crafts for Development, aimed at minorities.
• It linked to the Make in India campaign and it is the first scheme being drafted for the minorities.

• The India Pavilion at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival was inaugurated by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
• India had signed co-production agreements with certain countries and five co-productions have been undertaken with France.
• He also unveiled the 46th IFFI, 2015 regulations and India film guide.
• The India’s Gurvinder Singh`s film Chauthi Koot (Punjabi) and Neeraj Ghaywan`s Masaan are chosen to be screened in the official Uncertain regard section of the Jamboree.

• The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approved the Gujarat State Climate Change Action Plan 2015-2020.
• This plan was prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

1. To create public health projects, environment-friendly water resource management.
2. Forest and environment improvement projects.
3. Agriculture improvement projects.
4. For this the state government proposed to invest more than 21,000 crore rupees in the action plan by 2020.

• Maharashtra government has decided to ban digging of borewells beyond 200 feet to check the steep decline in ground water level.
• And violators, in repeated offence will face a fine of Rs. 25,000 or imprisonment of six months.
• The move is part of governments ambitious water conservation project Jalayukta Shivar Yojana, which makes 5,000 villages in the state drought-free in one year.

• Agriculture Department of Punjab launched an ambitious program to monitor the soil health of every farm in the state by issuing them personalised soil health card.
• Under this every district has assigned one mobile soil testing lab that would take soil sample from every form and issue a digitalized soil health card with centralized data of central server of the department.
• Each health card holder to be issued written advisory on usage of fertilisers and seeds adaptability.

1) First meeting of Sub-Group of CMs on Swachh Bharat Mission held in New Delhi.

• The first meeting of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was held at NITI Aayog in New Delhi.
• The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu who is the convener of the sub group.

1. It discussed robust institutional mechanisms for effective implementation of the mission.
2. It prepared guidelines and process chart to work on the subject.
3. It decided to recommend measures for technological support, including solid waste management in rural and urban areas.
4. It decided to constitute a working group headed by NITI Aayog’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to study the best practices showing alternative methods and best technology.
5. It examined the need of sending some members to other countries to study sanitation practices.
6. Technologies from other countries would also be imported and modified to suit the country’s requirements.

• The Union Ministry of Tourism released the Draft National Tourism Policy 2015 after re-visiting National Tourism Policy 2002. The policy is aimed at boosting tourism sector in the country.
• Its objective is to increase India’s share in world tourist arrivals from the present 0.68% to 1% by 2020 and increase to 2% by 2025 and position tourism as a priority on the National political and economic agenda.

• Focus is on job creation and community participation in tourism development.
• Tourism to be developed in a manner which is responsible and sustainable.
• Comprehensive policy involving linkages with ministries, departments, states/UTs and stakeholders.
• Policy focusses on development and positioning of India as a Must Experience and Must Re-visit Tourist Destination.
• Policy aims for National Tourism Advisory Board under the Union Tourism Minister and members including Tourism Ministers of States/UTs as well as domain experts.
• Setting up of National Tourism Authority with trade and industry representation and interconnected departments/agencies for policy execution by Ministry.

1. Swachhta
2. Surkasha
3. Swagat

1. Air
2. Road
3. Rail
4. Water Way
5. Buddhist Circuit
6. Prasad
7. Swadesh Darshan
8. Skill development and technology enabled 
9. development across tourism sectors

• Online programmes for training international tour operators for creating India Specialists.
• Active and decisive role for India in multilateral tourism fora through BRIC, SAARC, ASEAN, IBSA and others.

• [Nitin Gadkari ] Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari dedicated Shillong Bypass Highway Project and four lane Jorabat-Barapani Section of NH-40 to the nation in Shillong, Meghalaya.
• The two projects are intended to improve connectivity between Guwahati and Shillong and other parts of the North East.
• The 48.76 Km Shillong Bypass was constructed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode and connects National Highway (NH) 40 and NH 44 (New NH 6). This will help decongest the traffic in the city of Shillong from trucks and heavy vehicles coming from or moving towards North Eastern parts of Assam, Mizoram and Tripura.
• Four laning of 61.80 km Jorabat-Barapani section is intended to augment connectivity between Guwahati and Shillong. The project was constructed by the NHAI on Design Build Finance Operate & Transfer (DBFOT) Mode on annuity basis.

• Union Government has finally recognised motorsports as a sport in India.
• In this regard, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has included Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) in the list of sports backed National Sports Federations (NSF).
• FMSCI is the governing body of motorsports in India and the motors sports was put into ‘Others’ category of NSF list which means that no financial assistance will be provided to it.
• With this inclusion, Motor Sports is now one of the 59 sports recognised by the Sports Ministry under NSF list which are categorized into various sports discipline such as High Priority, Priority and Others.
• At present 9 sports disciplines are included in High Priority category. They are Athletics, Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Wrestling, Shooting, Tennis, Weight Lifting and Hockey.
• While, 23 sports disciplines included in Priority category and rest 27 were included into others category.
• It should be noted that after each Olympics Games and Asian Games Union Sports Ministry reviews and categorise various sports discipline with respect to their performances. The categorization is done in order to review and provide financial assistance to the NSF. In 2008, such last review was done.

5) 14th Edition of Indo-French Naval Exercise VARUNA 2015 concluded.

• The Fourteenth edition of the Indo-French naval exercise VARUNA 2015 concluded. The exercise started on 23 April 2015 off the Goa Coast.
• Its aim was deriving mutual benefit from the experiences of the two navies. The experience gained through such exercises helps in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the fields of Joint Maritime Air Operations planning with exchange of Carrier Operational Capabilities.
• The exercise included both a harbor and sea phase and its mandate was to cover the entire gamut of maritime operations ranging from Aircraft Carrier Operations, Anti Submarines Warfare Exercises, Maritime Interdiction Operations and multi-ship replenishment exercise.

1. Relations between India and France have traditionally been close and friendly. With the establishment of strategic partnership in 1998, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation and exchanges including naval exercises.
2. The Indian Navy and the French Navy have been conducting naval exercises since 1983 and following the establishment of a strategic partnership, these exercises were christened as ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.Till date, fourteen such exercises have been conducted.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch three social security schemes relating to insurance and pension for the poor on May 9, a day after the Lok Sabha adjourns.
• The party plans to counter that with its information campaign. All Ministries have been asked to make use of the radio and television channels of the public broadcaster Prasar Bharti to spread its message.
• The CPI (M) launched a Twitter campaign against the government’s land acquisition Bill and followed it up with a bandh in Jharkhand.

• Under National Health Mission (NHM), the provision of health care to children particularly in rural areas is given priority attention.

1. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery including Caesarean section.
2. Facility Based Newborn Care (FBNC) at different levels to reduce child morbidity and mortality.
3. Home based newborn care through ASHAs has been initiated to improve newborn practices at the community level and early detection and referral of sick newborn babies.
4. India Newborn Action Plan (INAP) has been launched with an aim to reduce neonatal mortality and stillbirths.
5. Integrated Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (IAPPD) launched in four states with highest child mortality (UP, MP, Bihar and Rajasthan).
6. Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs) are organized for imparting nutritional counselling to mothers and to improve child care practices.
7. Minister of Health and Family Welfare: Jagat Prakash Nadda (Rajya Sabha M.P. from Himachal Pradesh)

8) Cabinet clears bill on Land Boundary Agreement between India, Bangladesh.

• The Union Cabinet approved Constitution 119th Amendment Bill on the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh.
• With the agreement between India and Bangladesh, India and Bangladesh will exchange several enclaves which are under each other`s adverse possession. The agreement has to be ratified by Parliament through a constitution amendment bill.
• The bill was placed in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 and subsequently referred to a select committee, headed by Shashi Tharoor of Congress, which unanimously recommended implementation of the deal.

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to allow the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as an eligible financial instrument/ structure under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999.
• Entities registered and regulated under the SEBI (REITs) Regulations 2014 will be able to access foreign investments which as of now are prohibited under the FEMA Regulations.
• The intent of introducing the instrumentality of REITs is to reduce pressure on the banking system to which the real estate sector looks for funds, free up existing funds of Banks and to encourage construction activities. 

1. The Finance Minister in his Budget 2014-15 Speech proposed the introduction of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which have been successfully used as an instrument for pooling of investment by several countries for investments in the real estate.
2. The instrument with a view to earning income and distributing earnings from its investments to investors, who have contributed to the pooled corpus. 

• The Government of India has announced a new Foreign Trade Policy for the period 2015-2020.
• The important measures taken by the Government in the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 to include `Make in India` and `Digital India` programmes to ease the trade are
• Specific Export Obligation under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, in casecapital goods are procured from indigenous manufacturers, has been reduced to 75% of thenormal export obligation, in   order to promote domestic capital goods manufacturing industry.
• Under   Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), export items with high domestic content and value addition have generally been provided higher   level of   rewards.
• For reward schemes and duty exemption schemes, hard copies of applications and specified documents which were required to be submitted earlier have now been dispensed with.
• There will be no need to submit copies of permanent records/ documents repeatedly    with    each application, once the same are uploaded in Exporter/ Importer Profile.
• For faster and paperless communication with various Committees of DGFT, dedicated  e-mail addresses have been provided for various Committees, e.g. Norms Committees, Exim Facilitation Committee etc.
• The Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 introduces two new schemes, namely, ‘Merchandise Exports from India Scheme` (MEIS) for incentivising export of specified goods to specified markets and ‘Services Exports from India Scheme’ (SEIS) for increasing exports of notified services from India.
• The scrips can be used for payment of customs duty, excise duty and service tax. All duty credit scrips issued under both the schemes and the goods imported against these scrips are fully transferable.

• Various Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have been signed by Indian industries with Germany recently during Hannover Messe 2015
• These MoUs are expected to increase FDI flows to India, bring in new technology, help growth of manufacturing sector and create employment opportunities in the country thereby boosting its economy. 

1. Instrumentation Limited with KE Kauer Engineering, Germany for production of control valves. 
2. Vikram Solar with Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.
3. Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) with FT Machine Tools, Germany for collaborating on flow forming machines. 
4. HMT with Enit GmbH, Germany for total Engineering Solutions. 
5. Essel Group with Wind and Sun Technology Group/ FeCon GmbH to develop 12500 MW of Solar and 4000 MW of Wind Energy Projects in India. 
6. Essel Group with with Passavant Energy and Environment (PE&E) for water and waste water treatment projects. 
7. Essel Group with Fichtner GmbH & Co to provide comprehensive interdisciplinary range of engineering and consultancy services in areas of energy, water, sanitation, infrastructure, IT and consultancy on the implementation. 
8. iPLON with Welspun Renewables in the area of Green Energy Commitment. 

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for building of the GSAT-18. This is a communication satellite, weighing about 3425 Kg, for providing replacement capacity.
• The GSAT-18 spacecraft project will require a total budget of Rs. 1022 crore including launch services. All heritage proven bus system will be used to build the satellite in 30 months period. The satellite structure will be similar to the GSAT-10 satellite. 
• The GSAT-18 spacecraft will provide replacement capacity supporting the existing television, telecommunication, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and VSAT services in the country. 
• The GSAT-18 spacecraft will also augment and support the existing telecommunication, television, DSNG and VSAT services in the country.

1. The proposal to build the GSAT-18 is part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) efforts towards protecting services of existing users. 

• The parliament of India has passed the 119th constitutional amendment bill 2013, which now after the assent of the President will enter in to the statue book [as Constitution 100th Amendment Act 2015].
• The 119th Constitution Amendment) Bill, 2013 was unanimously passed by the upper house, with 180 votes in favour and zero against it.
• The Bill is to operationalise the Land Boundary Agreement with India and Bangladesh, and the exchange of certain enclaves of land between the two countries.
• The Bill was earlier passed by the Union Cabinet and now includes territories in Assam along with those in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.
• Now, the Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha and it will then be sent for President`s signature.
• As it is the Constitutional Amendment Bill, It would require ratification of at least 50 per cent of the state legislatures before it comes into effect.
• The bill’s passage will lead to an amendment in the first schedule of the Constitution and give effect to a May 1974 agreement between India and Bangladesh on acquisition and transfer of territories.

1. The 119th constitutional amendment bill 2013 sought to ratify the land boundary agreement between the two countries. This amendment needed special majority in the parliament to get passed. The bill proposed to amend the 1st schedule of the constitution to exchange the disputed territories occupied by both the nations in accordance with the 1974 bilateral LBA.

1. The LBA envisages a notional transfer of 111 Indian enclaves to Bangladesh in return of 51 enclaves to India. The area transferred to India is less than that transferred by India to Bangladesh.
2. In totality India incurs a net loss in terms of area occupancy. This remained a major concern of opposition from the north-eastern affected states and west Bengal. Also, most of the area concerned is occupied by the tribal’s of the NE states and hence the swapping takes away their land rights leaving them more vulnerable.

• Lok Sabha passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014. The Bill clearly defines and classifies offences as petty, serious and heinous, and defines differentiated processes for each category.
• The amendment bill has introduced a new provision that disallows the protection from disqualification in cases where a juvenile is tried and convicted under the adult system.
• The bill will allow children in the 16-18 age group to be tried as adults if they commit heinous crimes.
• The bill will replace the existing Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. The bill states that in case a heinous crime has been committed by a person in the age group of 16-18 years it will be examined by a Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was committed as a child or as an adult.
• The Bill also seeks to consolidate and amend the law related to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children needing care and protection.
• It also has provision for the establishment of Child Welfare Committees (CWC) in each district. The CWC will determine institutional care for juvenile in need of care and protection.

• The Union Cabinet has approved amendments in the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 to keep issues of national security out of its purview.
• Decision in this regard was taken at Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The amendments accepted by the Union Cabinet to the parent Act are done with a view to incorporate necessary provisions that aim at strengthening safeguards against disclosures.
• The amendment in the parent Act will strengthen the safeguards against disclosures which may prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of the country and security of the state.
• It also safeguards against disclosures which may affect strategic, scientific or economic interest of the state, relations with a foreign state or that leads to incitement of an offence.

1. It establishes a mechanism to investigate alleged cases and register complaints on any allegations of corruption or willful misuse of power against a public servant.
2. The Act also provides safeguards against victimization of the person who makes the complaint and gives statutory protection to whistle blowers in the country.

• The Union Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment on launched the Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes. The scheme is being implemented by Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd.
• A sum of 200 crore rupees was allocated towards Credit Enhancement Guarantee scheme for young and start-up entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) to avail financial assistance. This allocation was made under Social Sector Initiatives to promote entrepreneurship among SCs.
• The main objective of this scheme is to encourage entrepreneurship in the lower strata of the Society resulting in job creation besides creating confidence in Scheduled Castes.
• Moreover, the Ministry also inaugurated the Commercial Motor Driving Training Programme with Self Defense Skills for 250 women organized by National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC).