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National Current Affairs March 4th week 2016

1) Revamped rural housing scheme gets Cabinet nod.
  • Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the implementation of rural housing scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G). This will help achieve the goal of Housing for All by 2022.
  • The total expenditure that will be incurred on implementing the project in a span of 3 years from 2016-17 to 2018-19 stands at 81,975 crore rupees.
  • Providing financial assistance for construction of 1 crore pucca houses to all houseless and households living in dilapidated houses in rural areas
  • The scheme would be implemented in rural areas throughout India except Delhi and
  • Funds will be transferred electronically directly to the account of the beneficiary.
  • The beneficiary would be facilitated to avail loan of up to 70,000 rupees for construction of the house which is optional.
2) Bill introduced in US Congress to help India join APEC.
  • A group of influential American lawmakers have introduced a legislation asking the Obama administration to help India join the APEC forum , an economically prosperous India benefits the US strategic goals in Asia.
  • Membership in APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) would provide India a constructive forum to glean insight from other Asian countries that have already taken significant steps to advance their economies.
  • The legislation notes that the US-India partnership is vital to the US strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region and across the globe, and is an integral aspect to the Administration`s Rebalance to Asia.
  • Singapore-headquartered Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 economies to promote free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. 

3) Government to create 2.5 lakh Dalit entrepreneurs under `Stand Up India`.

  • About 2.5 lakh SC/ST entrepreneurs would be created under the Centre`s Stand Up India initiative.
  • Under Stand-up India initiative, each of the 1.25 lakh bank branches would be encouraged to fund a SC/ST and woman entrepreneurs to create 2.5 lakh new entrepreneurs in the country.
  • The ministry is implementing major schemes like Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a credit- linked subsidy programme for creation of employment in both rural and urban area of the country. PMEGP is providing relaxation to SC/ST beneficiaries.
  • For urban SC/ST beneficiaries, margin money subsidy is provided at 25 per cent of the project cost while it is 35 per cent in rural areas.

4) 4th unit of NTPC-Bihar govt owned 195-MW plant synchronized.

  • The fourth unit of 195-MW Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station (MTPS) has been successfully synchronised with the national grid.
  • The plant is owned by Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Ltd (KBUNL) a joint venture between NTPC and Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd (BSPGCL) in which the two companies have 64.57 per cent and 35.43 per cent shares.
  • State-run power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electrical Engineering Ltd (BHEL) has been awarded the job for constructing two units of 195 MW under expansion project.

5) Mizoram, JICA sign pact for promoting sustainable agriculture.

  • The Mizoram government and Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) signed an agreement on `Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development`.
  • Experts of the Japanese company would, on the company`s own expense, undertake technical cooperation project in four rural development blocks in Aizawl, Kolasib, Serchhip and Champhai districts.
  • Training programmes would be conducted in Japan both for officials and farmers from Mizoram for three times during the period and the expenses would be borne by the Japanese government.

6) Gujarat government decided to set up first organic farming university of India.

  • To help farmers in switching to unconventional methods of farming, the state government will set up country`s first university exclusively focussing on organic farming.
  • The state government is committed to promote organic farming and allocated a fund of 10 crore rupees towards the university.
  • The location of the university is yet to be decided and also expected to be chosen near to agriculture Kamdhenu University in Gandhinagar district.
  • The university will exclusively focus on organic farming and research. Gujarat is most suited for organic farming as a significant portion of agricultural land in the state is rainfed.

About organic farming:

  1. Organic farming system in India is not new and is being followed from ancient time.
  2. It is a method of farming system which primarily aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health.
  3. It will use organic wastes (crop, animal and farm wastes, aquatic wastes) and other biological materials along with beneficial microbes (biofertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an eco friendly pollution free environment.

7) Haryana cabinet approved draft bill on reservation to Jats and four other castes.

  • The Haryana Cabinet approved a Bill to provide reservation to Jats along with four other communities in government jobs and education.
  • A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar gave the nod to the draft Bill on reservation to Jats and four other castes including Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois and Tyagis.
  • The existing 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the State would not be disturbed. The OBC community has been opposing the inclusion of Jats in their category for reservation.
  • The government wanted to give reservation to Jats under a new category for backward classes BC-3. The existing BC-1 and BC-2 categories already account for 27 per cent reservation in government jobs for backward classes.
  • Jat organisations have been demanding 10 per cent quota in jobs and educational institutions under the OBC category.

 

8) President’s rule in Uttarakhand.

  • State Assembly in suspended animation on recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
  • President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and placing the Assembly under suspended animation on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
  • The Cabinet considered several reports received from Governor K.K. Paul had described the political situation as volatile and expressed apprehensions over possible pandemonium during the scheduled trial of strength in the State Assembly.
  • The Chief Minister had lost majority and his continuation was unconstitutional and immoral.
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9) Maharashtra gets its first set of Women Commanders to protect forest.

  • Women have been finding a place for themselves in all the challenging fields. Recently Indian Navy announced to recruit 3 female fighter pilots.
  • Women have been chosen as forest guards in Maharashtra.
  • A batch of 20 women is likely to become the first women commandos of the state forestry department.
  • They were trained from Gadchiroli’s Jungle Tactic and Survival Course (JTSC).
 
10) Haryana launches scheme for the differently-abled.
  • A new scheme under which six months’ pension would be given in advance to persons with disabilities for adapting their homes as per their requirement.
  • Amount would be recovered over a period of 42 months under the Adapting homes for the differently-abled.
  • Haryana has been selected by the Centre as a pilot State for universal ID for persons with disability. Gurgaon and Faridabad districts have been selected for the ‘Accessible India’ campaign for persons with disabilities.
  • All municipal bodies have also been directed to take up the campaign.
  • A home for abandoned and mentally-challenged persons has been established at a village in the State in collaboration with an NGO Earth Saviours.
  • The grant for diet money to children with hearing impairment has been increased from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1,000 per month. The grant for the visually-impaired children has been increased from Rs 600 to Rs. 1,600 per month.
 
11) 112 to become India’s new emergency number.
  • The Telecom Commission approved the number 112 as the single emergency number for India. This is similar to 911 of United States and 999 of United Kingdom.
  • With this, Indian citizens in distress can just dial the single-number 112 for all emergency services such as police, ambulance and the fire department. It will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help.
  • The service will also be accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended.
  • The service will be operated by a call centre like facility, which will have representatives speaking in Hindi, English and the local language.
  • All existing emergency numbers such as police (100), fire brigade (101), ambulance (102) and Emergency Disaster Management (108) will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility.
12) Government Unveils New Defence Procurement Policy.
  • New defence procurement policy was unveiled by the government with an aim to ensure transparency, fast track acquisition process and give a push to `Make in India` initiative.
  • The offset level has been raised to Rs. 2,000 crore from Rs. 300 crore currently.
  • The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016 announced by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. It will take another 2-3 months for finalisation of this model.
  • The new DPP has included a new category to acquire weapons--IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured). The IDDM will be the first preferred category of preference.
  • The new Defence Procurement Procedure would help India reduce its dependency on foreign countries and source defence equipment within the country.
13) First direct box vessel to Bangladesh sets sail from Krishnapatnam Port.
  • The first direct container vessel between India and Bangladesh carrying cotton set sail from here to Chittagong.
  • The vessel, MV Harbour-1, owned by Neepa Paribahan of Bangladesh was formally flagged off as part of a coastal shipping agreement signed by India and Bangladesh.
  • Till now, shipments from Indian ports to Bangladesh were routed either via Colombo or Singapore. To facilitate easy trade, many existing norms were relaxed by both countries as part of the pact.
  • Bangladesh mainly imports raw cotton, cotton, steel, tyres and minerals, among others, which are valued at $6 billion per annum.
  • It exports goods worth half a billion US dollars which include textile yarn, fish, mineral fuels, cement, bran and husk.

 

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14) Supreme Court approved guidelines of Union Government to protect Good Samaritans.

  • The Supreme Court approved the Centre`s guidelines to protect Good Samaritans, who help road accident victims, from being unnecessarily harassed by police or any other authority.
  • A bench comprising justices V. Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra asked the Central government to give wide publicity to these guidelines so that people who help others in the time of distress are not victimised by any authority.
  • The apex court-appointed committee had also suggested strengthening of enforcement relating to drunken driving, over-speeding, red light jumping and helmet or seat belt laws.
  • Apex Court will pass an order on the recommendations on road safety which advocated that people saving lives of road accident victims need not fear harassment by police or other authorities.
15) Union Government launched Innovative Entrepreneurship & Skill Development Programme of MANAS.
  • Dr. Najma Heptulla, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs launched innovative entrepreneurship and skill development programme of Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) through leading national/ international experts in different skill.
  • It proposes to use such leading celebrities in various skill sets as the driving force behind the skill development projects, in their respective fields, for the benefit of marginalised sections of minority communities.
  • MANAS has been able to provide door-step access to quality skill development training to marginalised sections of Minority communities particularly to women and girl child.
  • Traditional Educational Institutions of Minorities like Madrasas/Maktabs and others, have been linked to Skill Development Programme of Ministry of Minority Affairs(MOMA) through Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills.
  • Maulana Azad National academy for Skills (MANAS) was established under the aegis of Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA) by National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), in order to fulfil the vision of Skill India" and also achieve the over-riding goal of the Government of India SabkaSaath SabkaVikas".
16) Govt launches e-CGHS cards, GIS-enabled HMIS application.
  • The Centre today launched two digital initiatives, including an e-health card, aimed at benefiting pensioners who find it difficult to visit Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) centres for its renewal.
  • The other digital initiative is the GIS-enabled Health Management Information System (HMIS) application.
  • These are steps towards the `Digital India` vision and ministry is committed to strengthening public health systems and provide user-friendly health services in the country.
  • The initiative will not only monitor the performance and quality of the health services being provided under the NHM (National Health Mission) but will also provide effective healthcare to the rural population throughout the country.
  • At present, 1.94 lakh health facilities (across all states/UTs) are uploading facility-wise data on monthly basis on the HMIS web portal.

National Current Affairs March 3rd week 2016

1) Union Government and Jammu & Kashmir Government signed MoU on UDAY Scheme.

  • Union Government and Jammu & Kashmir Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) for operational and financial turnaround of the State’s Power Distribution Department.
  • The main aim for signing the MoU is to restructure high interest rate of the total discom debt thereby improving financial condition of State Discom. With this, J&K became the ninth state to sign MoU with the combined DISCOM debt around 1.94 lakh crore rupees.
  • An overall net benefit of approximately 9800 crore rupees would accrue to the State by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc. during the period of turnaround.
About UDAY:
  1. The Scheme UDAY was launched by the Union government on 20 November 2015 to ensure a sustainable solution to enable the distribution utilities across the country to break out of a long standing debt of almost 4.3 Lakh crore rupees.
 
2) Over Rs. 1 lakh crore disbursed under MUDRA Yojana.
  • Loans worth Rs. 1.09 lakh crore have been given to small entrepreneurs under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana.
  • Under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, which was launched in April last year, loans between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 10 lakh are provided to small entrepreneurs.
  • The Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) focuses on the 5.75 crore self-employed who deploy funds totaling Rs. 11 lakh crore and provide jobs to 12 crore people.
  • The banking sector has been allocated an overall disbursement target of about Rs. 1.22 lakh crore during 2015-16 for MUDRA loans.
3) Union Government launches FCI’s Depot Online System.
  • Union Government has launched Depot Online System of state run Food Corporation of India (FCI) to bring transparency and minimise storage losses of foodgrains.
  • It was launched by Union Food and public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in New Delhi as part of Digital India initiative of Union Government.
Highlights of Depot Online System:
  1. The system will help real time monitoring of FCI operations and enhance transparency and efficiency.
  2. The project is being implemented in the FCI owned 553 depots and subsequently FCI hired godowns will be also brought under the ambit of the project later.
  3. The system will bring automation of the entire process from entry and exit of foodgrains at FCI depots.
 
4) Punjab Government notifies swine flu under Epidemic Disease Act.
  • Punjab Government has notified swine flu (H1N1) under the Epidemic Disease Act to prevent the spread of disease in the state.
  • Health and Family Welfare Department of state has issued notification based on recommendations of state advisory committee headed by Dr. D. Behera.
Important Points of the Circular:
  1. All government and private hospitals in state will have to inform the Health Department about a case of ILI (Influenza like Illness) having chronic diseases.
  2. Such medical cases should be treated as early as possible and proper guidelines of the government should be followed.
  3. All hospitals within state will have to keep suspected as well as confirmed cases (patients) of swine flu in isolation in order to contain the spread of the disease.
  4. For all the patients infected by swine flu, treatment will be provided free of cost as recommended by the Government.
 
5) Railways ties with ISRO for route surveys.
  • The Railway Ministry has signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to leverage space technology for providing passenger information in all trains, map railway assets and help survey new route alignments.
  • Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha also requested ISRO to conduct a study to find ways to ensure smooth rail traffic during the foggy season.
  • At present, Indian Railways uses space technology to provide connectivity to passenger reservation counters, unreserved ticketing system in remote areas, and emergency communication using satellite phones during disaster.
 
6) WHO suspends TB drugs from Svizera Labs on quality concerns.
  • The World Health Organisation (WHO) has suspended the approval of tuberculosis drugs made by India’s Svizera Labs, a major supplier to developing countries, following an investigation into standards.
  • The United Nations agency, which acts as a drug watchdog in markets lacking robust local regulation, had suspended all TB products made at Svizera’s Mumbai site because manufacturing standards and quality management were unreliable.
  • The move is a fresh blow for India`s pharmaceuticals industry, which supplies cheap generic medicines to countries worldwide but has been tarnished by a series of quality problems in recent years, denting confidence in its products.
  • It also said independent experts should retest batches of medicine already on the market and it might be necessary to recall supplies depending on the outcome of those tests.
 
7) Airbus to setup pilot training centre in India.
  • Airplane maker Airbus SAS will set up a pilot and maintenance training centre in the National Capital Region at a cost of $40 million for the first phase, to support India’s need for new Airbus pilots.
  • The proposed investment in a training centre is a key strategic Airbus initiative in line with the country’s Skill India programme launched in 2015 by the Indian government to develop a wide range of advanced competencies.
  • This new centre will be fully owned by Airbus Group India with training to be delivered by Airbus’s specialized training instructors.
  • The new center will accelerate the pace of training to help match the A320neo deliveries to India.
  • With 81 million trips, India’s domestic aviation market grew at over 20.3% during January-December 2015, the highest growth rate recorded in the world.
 
8) Ford Foundation taken off from Govt. watch list.
  • The Indian government has quietly taken US non-profit Ford Foundation off its watch list. The move comes only days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the US to meet with President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this month.
  • The Ministry, on the basis of a report sent by the Gujarat government last year, had put the international non-governmental organization Ford Foundation on the ``watch list``, citing concern to ``national security``.
  • The Gujarat government report had said that the organisation funded the “anti-India” activities of Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust run by Teesta Setalvad, activist.
  • The order means that banks will no longer require the Ministry’s clearance to process the foreign funds coming from the foundation to any Indian bank account.
 
9) Government cuts PPF interest rate to 8.1% and KVP interest rate to 7.8%.
  • The government has slashed interest rates payable on small savings including Public Provident Fund and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) in a bid to align them closer to market rates.
  • The interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will be cut to 8.1 per cent for the period April 1 to June 30, from 8.7 per cent, at present. Similarly, the interest rate on KVP will be cut to 7.8 per cent from 8.7 per cent.
  • While the interest rate on post office savings has been retained at 4 per cent, the same for term deposits of one to five years has been cut.
  • The popular five-year National Savings Certificates will earn an interest rate of 8.1 per cent from April 1 as against 8.5 per cent, at present.
  • Apart from these Sukanya Samriddhi Account will see interest rate of 8.6 per cent as against 9.2 per cent and Senior citizen savings scheme of five-year would earn 8.6 per cent interest compared with 9.3 per cent.
 
10) SC allows photos of governor, CM, ministers in ads.
  • The apex court bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi allowed the publication of photos of governor, chief minister and ministers of departments concerned while modifying their earlier order by which the court had permitted photos of president, prime minister and Chief Justice of India only in the government ads.
  • The centre and the states of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka had moved the court seeking the review of its earlier order, contending that it was contrary to the federal structure of the country.
  • Before in the verdict Calling it an “antithesis to democracy” to let political functionaries develop “personality cult” at the cost of public money, the Supreme Court ruled that photographs of only the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India can be published in newspapers and other media, including the Internet.
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11) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Kisan Suvidha mobile app.

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ``Kisan Suvidha`` mobile application for farmers.
  • It will provide information on subjects such as weather, market prices, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and agriculture machinery.
Key points about Kisan Suvidha Application:
  1. To operate this app farmer should own a smart phone and should register his or her Mobile Number and enter details of the state, district and block or sub-district. The information will be available in Hindi and English.
  2. A tap on the weather button shows details of temperature, humidity, wind and rainfall for the current day and the forecast for the next five days.
  3. The market price button shows latest price of all crops traded in a mandi or registered agriculture market of the particular district a farmer belongs to.
  4. Farmers can also access names and mobile numbers of input dealers selling pesticides, seeds, fertiliser and machinery, dealers of the produced grains and crops and their market prices, agro advisories, plant protection, IPM Practices etc.
  5. The app also incorporated with unique features like extreme weather alerts and market prices of commodity in nearest area and the maximum price in state as well as in India. It was added to empower farmers in the best possible manner.
12) Union Government bans repeat animal testing of drugs.
  • The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has scrapped repeat tests on animals for drugs which already have been approved by other countries.
  • In this regard, the ministry has amended Schedule Y of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
  • According to new rules there is no need for repeat tests on animals for new drug registrations if complete data from similar toxicity experiments already exists for drugs approved abroad.
  • However, no permission will be required to conduct clinical trial intended for academic purposes in respect of approved drug formulation.
  • The amendments come after repeated appeals by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and Union Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.
13) FENI is now Goa’s Heritage Spirit.
  • Goa government classified the country liquor, Feni as Heritage Spirit of Goa. Feni is the form of spirit produced exclusively in the coastal state.
  • Feni is the first liquor product in the country to obtain such status and got its Geographical Indication (GI) certification in 2000.
  • It used in various cultural traditions, cuisines and is well known for its medicinal value also.
  • Hence, the Government proposed not categorize it as country liquor as it is presently defined under the Goa Excise Duty Act, 1964 and proposed to bring an amendment to the Act.
About FENI:
  1. Feni is a brew made from coconut or cashew fruits and is synonymous with the Goan ethos and identity.
  2. There are two types of feni; cashew feni and coconut feni, depending on the original ingredient.
  3. Feni is classified as a “country liquor”, and is therefore not allowed to be sold outside the state of Goa.
  4. The word feni is derived from the Sanskrit word phena (“froth”); this is thought to be because of the bubbles that form a light froth when the liquor is shaken in a bottle or poured into a glass.
14) Union Government unveils Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016.
  • The Union Government has unveiled a Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016 for granting permission for construction of buildings.
  • It was released by the Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi. It seeks to provide an online single window framework for approval process.
  • Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016 intends to improve ease of doing business regarding issuance of construction permits.
  • The time limit for all kinds of single window approvals is 30 days and if it is not done by the concerned agencies within this time-frame then it will be deemed as approved.
  • Different set of environmental conditions are provided for each category of building ranging from 5000 square meters to 1.5 lakh square meters.
15) Govt launches mobile app `Pusa Krishi`.
  • Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched a new mobile app ‘Pusa Krishi’.
  • It will help the farmers to take the technology to farm fields.
  • The mobile app was launched at the valedictory session of the three-day `Krishi Unnati Mela`.
  • The app will provide farmers with information related to new varieties of crops developed by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR).
16) Govt sets up panel to look into `jewellers` demand.
  • The Union Ministry of Finance constituted a Sub-Committee under the aegis of the High Level Committee (HLC) to review issues related to excise duty.
  • The committee headed by former Chief Economic Advisor Dr. Ashok Lahiri and review excise duty imposed on different jewellery articles in Budget 2016-17.
  • The proposed tax will be applicable on all articles of jewellery except for silver jewellery, other than those studded with diamond, ruby, emerald or sapphire.
17) Report of the committee on Taxation E-Commerce submitted to Union Government.
  • A Committee on Taxation of e-commerce constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine the business models for e-commerce submitted its report to Union Government.
  • Government of India and taken into consideration in the preparation of Finance Bill, 2016.
  • The Report provides the view of the Committee on issues related to taxation of e-commerce and recent international developments in this area.
  • The Committee included officers of the CBDT, representatives from the industry, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and tax experts. The 8-member committee was headed by Akhilesh Ranjan, Joint Secretary (FT&TR-I), CBDT, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
18) Centre introduces new norms for plastic waste disposal.
  • Union Environment Ministry announced new Plastic Waste Management Rules to curb over 6000 tonnes of uncollected plastic waste generated daily by industries.
  • Rules related to usage and production of plastic to be more stringent as to bring in more eco friendly society.
  • Rules related to plastic waste management to give thrust on plastic waste minimization, source segregation, recycling, involving waste pickers, recyclers and waste processors in collection of plastic waste.
Key aspects of the new rules:
  1. Rural areas have been included and Gram Panchayats were given responsibility.
  2. Responsibility of waste generators is being introduced and also ban of plastic carry bags thinner than 50 microns.
  3. Manufacturing and use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic to be phased out in two years.
  4. The Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules 2016 are will replace the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011.
19) Karnataka develops mobile app to monitor rural employment scheme.
  • A mobile application developed by the Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department has drawn the attention of the Union government.
  • The App, titled ‘MGNREGA M-platform,’ helps officials monitor the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and allows the beneficiaries to monitor progress at every stage.
  • The mobile phones of around 6,000 gram panchayats receive data from the department’s central servers. The data is tagged to the phone number of the PDO attached to each GP.
20) Government amends Atal Pension Yojana.
  • Government has amended Atal Pension Yojana (APY) to give an option to the spouse to continue to contribute for balance period on premature death of the subscriber.
  • After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age of 60 years of the subscriber.
  • The spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death.
Atal Pension Yojana (APY):
  1. To address the longevity risks among the workers in unorganized sector and to encourage the workers in unorganized sector to voluntarily save for their retirement, the Government had launched Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
  2. Under APY, each subscriber, on completion of 60 years of age, will get the guaranteed minimum monthly pension, or higher monthly pension, if the investment returns are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension.
21) IKEA donates Rs. 92 crore for safe water projects in India, Indonesia.
  • The World Bank estimates that 2% of communicable diseases in India are linked to unsafe water and the lack of hygiene practices, and 50% of India’s population continues to practice open defecation.
  • Swedish furniture retailing giant IKEA will contribute 12.4 million euro (Rs. 92.84 crore) to provide safe water and sanitation to one million people in India and Indonesia through Water.Org on the occasion of the World Water Day (March 22).
  • About IKEA
  • Ikea is a multinational group of companies that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (such asbeds, chairs and desks), appliances and home accessories.
  • The company is known for its modern architectural designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with an eco-friendly simplicity.
  • The company is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector.

 

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22) India Post releases customised `My Stamp` on HAL.

  • India Post released a customised commemorative stamp on HAL in recognition of the company’s 75 years services to the nation.
  • It is the first time India Post is coming out with customised ‘My Stamp’ and HAL is the first organisation to have it.
  • The tag line ‘HAL: the force behind the forces’ for its Platinum Jubilee logo aptly represents HAL’s contribution to the nation’s defence forces.
23) Punjab Assembly passes Agriculture Indebtedness Bill.
  • The Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed the Punjab Settlement of Agriculture Indebtedness Bill.
  • The bill, aimed at providing “fair and expeditious settlement of agriculturists’ debt-related disputes”.
  • There is no ceiling on interest rate that can be charged by private moneylenders.
  • Once the Act is notified, all pending cases of dispute between the creditor and debtor will be transferred to the district forums having judicial powers.
24) MoEFCC notifies new environment standards for Gensets.
  • The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) for the first time notified new environment standards for Gensets running on various kinds of fuels including LPG, petrol and diesel in various cities.
  • The primary aim of the new standards for Gensets is to control air and noise pollution emanating from the operation of Gensets.
  • These standards were recommended by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) after consultations with industries and other stakeholders.
Highlights of Notification:
  1. These standards will control the air and noise emission profile across different category of Gensets.
  2. The manufacturers of Gensets are required to obtain the certification for engine products by empaneled agencies which help in regulating the unorganised sector.
25) Self regulatory code for industry to protect consumers against misleading advertisements and counterfeit products.
  • Department of Consumer Affairs under the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Industry Association for effective redressal of consumer complaints.
  • Under the MoU, the Industry Association comprising ASSOCHAM, CII, DICCI, FICCI and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry will implement six-point agenda to address consumer complaints.
The MoU will broadly cover the following areas under six-point agenda:
  1. Initiating advocacy action against unfair trade practices and preventing fake.
  2. Earmarking of Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) funds for consumer awareness and protection activities.
  3. Partnering with the National Consumer Helpline and State Consumer Help lines for grievance redressal.
  4. Launching joint consumer awareness, education and training programmes under the ``Jago Grahak Jago``.
  5. The six-point agenda will cover three priority areas, namely.
  6. Redressal of consumer grievances.
  7. Enhancement of consumer awareness.
  8. Protection and action against misleading advertisements, fake and counterfeit products.
26) Cabinet approves Udaan scheme till 2019-20.
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for extension of time period of the "Special Industry Initiative for J&K" (SII J&K) Udaan scheme till 2019-20. Initially, the time period of Udaan was up to 2015-16.
  • Udaan provides exposure to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir to the best of corporate India to the rich talent pool available in the State.
  • So far, 67 leading corporates have partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under Udaan with a commitment to train youth from the state covering Organized Retail, Banking, Financial Services, IT, ITES, Infrastructure, Hospitality etc.
  • It is expected that the target of the scheme, to train and enhance employability of 40,000 graduates, post graduates and three year engineering diploma holders, will be achieved by 2019-20.
  • Udaan is a national integration scheme with the goal to mainstream J&K youth with rest of the country. The scheme not only provides skill enhancement and job opportunity but also leads to counter - radicalization and weaning away youth of Jammu and Kashmir from militancy.
27) PMs of India, Bangladesh commission internet, power supply.
  • Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh commissioned international gateway of internet service in Agartala and supply of 100MW power to Bangladesh from Tripura.
  • Power and telecommunication ministers in their PMOs when two bilateral projects launched.
  • The commissioning of 10GBPS bandwidth import and 100 MW electricity from south Tripura’s 726MW Palatana gas based project a historic one and a day to celebrate friendly relations between two neighbours.
  • BSNL is hiring 10GBPS internet bandwidth at a cost of Rs 7.2 crores per year, but there is an arrangement to provide more bandwidth.
28) 10 more States to come under food security scheme.
  • All states going to implement the NFSA have made provisions for online allocation of food grains.
  • As many as 10 States are set to implement National Food Security Act (NFSA) from April 1, taking the total number of States covered under the subsidized food.
  • In the last two years, the Centre and the States have worked for digitization, linking ration cards with Aadhaar, computerization of PDS shops and supply chain network, which are required to implement the act nationally.
  • 24.18 crore ration cards in the country, almost 99 per cent have been digitized while 48 per cent have been linked with Aadhaar cards.
29) Government proposal to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement.
  • The government has approved a proposal to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement, a move that will further strengthen trade ties between India and the Eurasian region.
  • The Agreement is an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
  • This would synchronise with India`s efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for enhanced connectivity.
  • India`s intention to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement would now be conveyed to the Depository State (Turkmenistan).
30) India, France sign MoU for construction of six nuclear reactors.
  • India and France have signed an MoU for the construction of six nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, two months after the two countries decided to conclude the techno-commercial negotiations for the project by the year end.
  • The two-day visit of a high-level delegation of Electricite de France (EDF - French public utility) to Mumbai for holding discussions with National Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) on the construction of the plants.
  • Asserting that both industrial parties were working on the "Make in India" aspect of the Jaitapur project, this will be carried out through industrial partnerships, and joint ventures between Indo-French manufacturers for cost- effective and time-bound localisation in India.
  • The Jaitapur nuclear power project, proposing a nuclear power plant of 9900 MW, consists of 6 European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) of 1650 MW each.

 

National Current Affairs March 2nd week 2016

1) Air India operates world’s longest all-women flight.

  • National carrier Air India successfully flew the World’s longest all-woman operated and supported flight from the national capital New Delhi to San Francisco (United States).
  • The flight was operated as part of International Women’s Day celebrations and travelled a distance of around 14,500 kilometres in close to 17 hours. The non-stop flight to San Francisco took off on 6th March 2016 from New Delhi.

Things to Discuss:

  1. The flight was under the command of Kshamta Bajpayee and Shubhangi Singh. They were supported by First Officers Ramya Kirti Gupta and Amrit Namdhari.
  2. Entire operations in this historic flight on one of the world’s longest route were handled by women.
  3. They handled all operations including cockpit crew to cabin crew, check-in staff, doctor, customer care staff, ATC (air traffic control) and the entire ground-handling.

 

2) Indian Railways forms SPV to execute Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

  • Indian Railways has formed a new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Bullet Train project.
  • The entity has been named the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) Limited.

Key Facts:

  1. The high speed bullet rain project aims to introduce trains running at operating speeds over 320 kilometers per hour and maximum speed of 350 kmph.
  2. The bullet train project is expected to cover the 5O8 kilometers between Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
  3. The project will take about seven years to complete after the awarding of the contract at an estimated to cost 97,636 crore rupees.

 

3) Bill to amend Enemy Property Act introduced.

  • In a major move to prevent transfer of enemy property and allows state appointed custodian to sell it off, the government has introduced a Bill to amend retrospectively several provisions of the Enemy Property Act of 1968.

Background:

  1. The central government had designated some properties belonging to nationals of Pakistan and China as “enemy properties” during the 1962, 1965 and 1971 conflicts with the respective countries and vested these properties in the custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the central government.

Amendments:

  • While Enemy Properties Act of 1968 defined an ``enemy`` as a country and its citizens that committed external aggression against India namely Pakistan and China, the Bill expands this definition to include legal heirs of enemies even if they are citizens of India or of another country which is not an enemy, nationals of an enemy country who subsequently changed their nationality to that of another country.
  • The new Bill allows enemy property to be returned to the owner only if an aggrieved person applies to the government and the property is found not to be an enemy property.
  • The Bill also allows the custodian to sell or dispose of enemy property. The Custodian may do this within a time period specified by the central government, irrespective of any court judgments to the contrary.

 

4) NITI Aayog Launches `Women Transforming India` Campaign.

  • The NITI Aayog (GOIs premier think tank) has launched the Women Transforming India initiative on the International Women`s Day in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov.
  • Through this initiative the NITI Aayog seeks entries in the form of written essays or stories, preferably accompanied by photographs that set a context to the narrative.
  • As per the campaign the policy would engage directly with women leaders from across urban and rural areas of the country and making every effort to gather successful stories of change heralded by women at the grassroots level within communities.

About NITI Aayog:

NITI Aayog Chairman: PM Narendra Modi

Vice Chairman: Arvind Panagaria

CEO: Amitabh Kant

5) Karnataka CM to Launch Scheme for Accident Victims’ Free Treatment.

  • Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched ‘Santwana Yojana’ under which road accident victims will be given free treatment for the first 48 hours at any hospital.
  • The scheme, `Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana`, has been named after Harish Nanjappa who donated his eyes moments before his death even as he lay severely injured seeking help after a mishap in Bengaluru last month.
  • The victim would receive medical care for first 48 hours and get treatment at any hospital. All hospitals would be directed not to reject accident victims.
  • The state government has already sanctioned Rs. 10 crore for the scheme and the Chief Minister had agreed to set apart an additional Rs. 75 crore in the budget for the purpose.

 

6) Five regional centres of National School of Drama proposed.

  • Five regional centres of the prestigious National School of Drama (NSD) are to be set up across the country, besides upgrading a resource centre at Bengaluru to a regional centre.
  • On the basis of the recommendations made by the Broad Based Committee NSD Society proposed to establish 5 regional centres one each at Kolkata, Mumbai/ Goa, J&K, and North-East.
  • These regional centres would be established in consultation with the concerned State Governments, who were required to provide accommodation for the purpose.
  • Only the Government of Karnataka has allotted land for the purpose at Bengaluru. NSD has started one year teaching training programme in the Bengaluru Chapter commencing from academic session 2014-15.
  • In addition, under consolidation of Out-reach Programme in the North-East Region, NSD has opened its Centres in Sikkim and Tripura.

 

7) India inks Raptor MoU to save birds of prey.

  • India has signed ‘Raptor MoU’, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on conservation of birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia. With this India becomes 56th county to sign the Raptor MoU under the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS).
  • The MoU was singed Ambassador of India to the UAE Shri T.P. Seetharam the Convention on Migratory Species Office in Abu Dhabi.

About Raptor MoU

  1. The MoU seeks willingness of the signatory states for working for conservation of the raptor species and their habitats.
  2. It covers 76 species of birds of prey under its ambit and an action plan has been formulated under it that envisages the conservation action for Raptor species.

Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS):

  • It is also known as Bonn Convention under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
  • It aims to conserve migratory species throughout their range. India had become a party to the CMS since 1st November 1983.

8) Union Cabinet Approved Sikh Gurudwara’s Act.

  • The Union government has given the go-ahead for the amendment of the 91-year-old Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, in order to remove the exemption granted to Sahajdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in elections to Sikh religious bodies.

About Sikhs:

  1. The Sehajdhari Sikhs were continuously exercising their voting rights in the SGPC elections since 1949
  2. In 2003, the Union Home Ministry debarred the Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting by amending the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925
  3. The notification came as a result of the powers conferred by Parliament under Section 72 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966

 

9) Union Cabinet gives nod to MoU between India and UAE on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and Combating Cyber-Crime.

  • The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the MoU between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and Combating Cyber-Crime.
  • It was singed between both countries to cooperate in combating cybercrime in the wake of the serious security threat posed by it to safety of people.

About MoU:

  1. The MoU would provide help in handling of the issues related to the cyber-crime between the two countries.
  2. Both the countries shall cooperate in cyber space and combating cyber-crime in all forms, particularly through coordination and exchange of information in relation with cyber crime
  3. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be the nodal agency on the Indian side responsible for the implementation of this agreement.

 

10) India, Bangladesh sign $2 billion Line of Credit.

  • India has signed the second line of credit (LOC) agreement extending 2 billion dollars in development financing to Bangladesh for undertaking various development projects.
  • This credit line will be provided through Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), India’s external lending arm. It is Exim Bank’s biggest ever LOC facility given to another country.
  • The development financing will be used in the infrastructural projects like power sector, road transportation, railways, shipping, information and communication technology (ICT) and social sector projects like health and technical education.

Back Ground:

  1. The financing deal comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced new credit line to Bangladesh during his official visit to Dhaka.
  2. It follows India’s earlier 1 billion dollar in assistance provided to Bangladesh in 2011 for infrastructure development.
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11) Memorandum of Understanding between India and Bahrain.

  • The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bahrain on cooperation for prevention of human trafficking especially trafficking in women and children; rescue, recovery, repatriation and re-integration of victims of trafficking.
  • This MoU will strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries and increase the bilateral cooperation on the issues of prevention, rescue, recovery and repatriation related to human trafficking especially women and children expeditiously.
Features of MoU:
  1. Strengthen cooperation to prevent to all forms of human trafficking, especially that of women and children and ensure speedy investigation and prosecution of traffickers and organized crime syndicates in either country.
  2. Taking preventive measures that would eliminate human trafficking in women and children and in protecting the rights off victims of trafficking.
 
12) Parrikar launches Interactive Web Portal Of Kendriya Sainik Board Secretariat.
  • Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar launched an interactive web portal of Kendriya Sainik Board Secretariat in New Delhi.
  • This portal facilitates Ex-Servicemen and dependents to submit online applications under various welfare schemes.
  • This portal developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) at a cost of 58.93 lakhs rupees. It will later contain workflow software for all the schemes of the Secretariat which will provide complete information about Kendriya Sainik Board secretariat, its welfare schemes and allied activities.
About NIC:
  1. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the premier science & technology organisation of India`s Union Government in informatics services and information-and-communication- technology (ICT) applications.
  2. The NIC is a part of the Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology`s Department of Electronics & Information Technology.
13) Suresh Prabhu Has Launched "Clean My Coach" Service.
  • Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu has launched the `clean my coach` service.
  • The service allows a passenger to make request for a dirty coach to be swept and cleaned by sending an SMS on mobile number 58888 or by using an app or a designated website. Prabhu had announced the scheme in the Rail Budget last month.
  • The service is in keeping with the railways `cleanliness drive` Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat`, was launched through Video Conferencing from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi/Northern Railway.
  • A message is also sent by the server to the mobile number of On Board House Keeping (OBHS) staff travelling on the same train along with the details of the passengers such as coach number and seat number.
 
14) Rajya Sabha passes long-awaited Bill to protect Homebuyers.
  • The Rajya Sabha passed a landmark Real Estate Bill with a promise to secure the interests of homebuyers and developers in equal measure and remove corruption and inefficiency from the sector.
  • This bill, passed with all the new recommendations that were cleared by the Union cabinet in December, will regulate both commercial and residential projects and set up state-level regulatory authorities to monitor real estate activity.
  • Yet, the sector has been marked by a lack of trust and confidence between consumers and developers, which has had an adverse impact on investments in the sector.
15) Kakrapar nuclear plant shut down after coolant system develops leak.
  • A power generation unit at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Surat was shut down after leakage of heavy water.
  • Leakage in the primary heat transport system of unit one of Kakrapar atomic power station in Gujarat has forced the authorities to shut down the unit as an emergency measure. The leakage occurred but officials maintained that ``no nuclear radiation has occurred due to the leakage``.
  • Consequent to a small leak in primary heat transport (PHT) system, the reactor was shut down as intended as per design provisions. All safety systems are working as intended. The radioactivity/ radiation levels in the plant premises and outside are normal.
About Kakrapar atomic power station:
  1. Kakrapar Atomic Power Station is a nuclear power station in India, which lies in the proximity of the city of Vyara in the state of Gujarat.
  2. It consists of two 220 MW pressurized water reactors with heavy water as moderator (PHWR).
 
16) Aadhar Scheme Collects Biometric Data of 99 Crore Indians.
  • Lok Sabha has passed the Aadhaar (Target Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 by voice vote. It was introduced as Money Bill.
  • The Bill is aimed at giving statutory backing for transferring government subsidies and benefits to targeted people by assigning them Aadhaar numbers i.e. unique identity numbers. With this, government plans to plug leakages in disbursal of subsidies and other services and in ensuring that these reach intended beneficiaries.
Key Factors:
Eligibility: Every resident who has resided in India for 182 days in the one year preceding the date of enrolment application shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.
Information to be submitted: Individual has to submit his
Demographic (name, address, date of birth) information.
Biometric (finger print, iris scan, photograph).
Use of Aadhaar number:
Verifying the identity of a person receiving a subsidy or a service.
As a proof of identity of the Aadhaar number holder for any purpose asked by any public or private entity.
It cannot be a proof of citizenship or domicile.
Key functions of UID:
Assigning Aadhaar numbers to individuals S.
Specifying demographic and biometric information to be collected during enrolment.
Specifying the usage of Aadhaar numbers for delivery of subsidies and services.
Authenticating Aadhaar numbers.
 
17) Project Mausam aims to explore Multi-Faceted Indian Ocean World.
  • Project Mausam aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean world for collating archaeological and historical research and not to counter China’s Silk Route strategy.
  • It was announced by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
About Project Mausam:
  1. Project Mausam was launched in June 2014 in the 38th Session of World Heritage Committee (WHC) meeting which was held at Doha, Qatar.
  2. It is the initiative of Union Ministry of Culture which is to be implemented by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the nodal agency.
  3. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Museum will be associate bodies for research support.
  4. The research aims at collating archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, religious and commercial interactions in the Indian Ocean.
  5. It will be extending from East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka to the Southeast Asian archipelago.
18) GOI allows women in combat roles in all CAPFs.
  • The Union Home Ministry recently published new rules allowing women to apply as direct-entry officers in border guarding force ITBP, the only paramilitary which until now did not allow ladies to join in supervisory combat roles owing to its primary task of guarding the difficult Sino-India border.
  • Among the five of these forces, called the CAPFs, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Central Industrial Security Force have been allowing women to apply as direct-entry officers through the UPSC for a long time.
  • Two other forces Border Security Force and Sashastra Seema Bal were allowed to directly induct women officers in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
  • By allowing the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to do so now, all restrictions have been lifted on women who want to don the camouflage combat colours of any of these forces.
  • For the first time this year, a CAPF got its first woman chief when IPS officer Archana Ramasundaram was appointed the new Director General of SSB.
 
19) FSSAI to train 20,000 street vendors in Delhi.
  • As part of its project to promote clean food, food safety regulator FSSAI will train about 20,000 street food vendors in the national capital over the next four weeks.
  • The decision to launch ‘Project Clean Strategy Food’ was announced at an event to connect with corporates, media specialists and food experts to promote food safety.
  • The event was co-organised with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has partnered the government’s Skill India initiative and others for the project.
 

 

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20) PM Narendra Modi inaugurates three major railway projects in Bihar.

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three major railway projects in Bihar at an estimated cost of Rs. 7000 crore.
  • PM dedicated Patna Ganga Bridge (4.56 km) to the nation and inaugurated the freight operation through Munger rail-cum-road bridge.
  • PM dedicated a rail-cum-road bridge at Patna, inaugurated another at Munger and laid the foundation of additional bridge at Mokama over the River Ganga.
  • Modi laid foundation stone of second Mokama double line Railway Bridge adjacent to existing Rajendra Pul.
  • There are three bridges over the entire 460 km length of the river Ganga in Bihar one road bridge at Naugachia, a rail-cum-road bridge at Mokama and the third road bridge Mahatma Gandhi Setu at Patna.
 
21) ONGC plans to invest $5 billion on KG basin block.
  • ONGC may invest about $5 billion in its KG basin block KG DWN 98/2 to produce 17 million cubic meters per day (mcmd) of gas and 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil by 2019 fiscal.
  • The announcement comes within days of the government freeing up natural gas pricing.
  • This fresh investment in developing the KG DWN 98/2, with reserves of 70 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and 23 million tonnes of oil will be over and above the capital expenditure of Rs. 30,000 crore for FY17.
  • KG DWN 98/2 is next to the famous KG D6 block, owned by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which reportedly pumped $1.4 billion worth of gas from ONGC’s field.
About ONGC:
  1. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is an Indian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.
  2. It is India’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company. It produces around 69% of India’s crude oil and around 62% of its natural gas.
22) P&G stops sale of `Vicks Action 500 Extra` after government ban.
  • FMCG firm Procter and Gamble (P&G) has discontinued the manufacture and sale of its popular brand ‘Vicks Action 500 Extra’ with immediate effect after the government banned fixed dose combination drugs.
  • In a gazette notification on March 10, the government had, among others, banned manufacture, sale and distribution of fixed dose combination of chlorpheniramine maleate plus codeine syrup which is used in the cough syrups.
  • Drug majors Pfizer and Abbott stopped sale of their popular cough syrups corex and phensedyl respectively, after the government banned over 300 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) drugs.
  • In view of the government ban on manufacture and sale of Corex, the “company has discontinued the manufacture and sale of its drug ‘Corex’ with immediate effect.
 
23) Kanpur Metro DPR approved by Cabinet; policies for old people.
  • The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved the detailed project report of the 32 km-long Kanpur Metro project.
  • At a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the State Cabinet approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the metro project prepared by RITES.
  • It also approved the U.P. State Senior Citizen’s Policy that seeks to safeguard the interests of the aged by setting up old-age homes where 25 per cent seats will be reserved for the BPL category people.
  • The government has also decided to increase its share by Rs. 100 in the old-age pension following which a revised pension of Rs. 400 will be payable from April 1, a helpline will also be set up for the benefit of old people.
  • Apart from these a senior citizen welfare fund with contributions from private companies, trusts and individuals has also been proposed, which would be tax-free. The fund will initially be set up by the State with a corpus of Rs. 5 crore.
 
24) MoU Signed between Tourism ministry and Ecotourism Society of India.
  • The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India signed an MOU with the Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) to take its commitments to Responsible and Sustainable tourism to the next level.
  • The Ministry of Tourism and the Ecotourism Society of India started the process a couple of years ago when they formulated & published the STCI (Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India) and carried it to the grass root level through series of advocacy workshops.
  • Through this MOU, it is expected that sustainable tourism and Responsible Tourism will take the forefront and achieve the commitments of the Ministry’s action plan.
  • About Ecotourism Society of India:
  • The Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) was established in 2008 at the behest of the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) as a non-profit organization to promote environmentally responsible and sustainable practices in the tourism industry across the country.
  • It was formed by a group of eminent professionals from the tourism industry, Government, Parliament and environmentalists& Conservationists.
  • The Society has over the past eight years attempted to spread awareness and educate tourism service providers as well as local government officials on the urgent need to ensure sustainable tourism practices.
 
25) RUSA scheme for achieving equity, access, quality in higher education.
  • Central government is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for providing financial support to proposals contained in State Higher Education Plan (SHEP) approved by the State Higher Education Councils (SHECs) in order to achieve the objectives of equity, access and quality.
  • It is implemented and monitored through an institutional structure comprising of the National Mission Authority, Project Approval Board and the National Project Directorate at the centre and the State Higher Education Council and State Project Directorate at the state level.
Objectives of RUSA:
  1. To ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels.
  2. To achieve the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) target of 25.2% by the end of 12th Plan and 32% by the end of 13th Plan.
  3. To improve the overall quality of existing State higher educational institutions by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards.
  4. The central funding in the ratio of 65:35 for general category States and 90:10 for special category states which would be norm based and outcome dependent.
26) Rajya Sabha passes Sikh Gurdwaras Bill.
  • The Rajya Sabha passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill. The bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha which envisages to amend 91-year-old Sikh Gurdwaras Act to exclude Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in elections to Sikh religious bodies.
  • The Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 was a piece of legislation in British India, which legally defined Sikh identity and brought Sikh gurdwaras (houses of worship) under the control of an elected body of orthodox Sikhs.
  • The bill was introduced in the House by Union home minister Rajnath Singh. The bill proposes to remove the exception given to Sehajdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in the elections to select the members of the board and the committees constituted under the act.
 
27) Real Estate bill passed in Lok Sabha.
  • Lok Sabha approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016. The bill seeks to create a set of rights and obligations for both the consumers and developers and encourage both of them to live up to the expectations of each other as per the agreement entered into by both of them.
  • It would also ensure that customers are treated fairly by ensuring no arbitrary changes in project plans, full disclosure on apartment size and fairer penalty provisions.
  • The bill defines carpet area as net usable area of an apartment which means now people will be charged only for the carpet area.
  • This comes as a big relief to home buyers as developers today quote on super built up area also know as sellable area which takes into 30-40% area more than flat’s usable area.
  • The Bill ensures the completion and delivery of flats as strict regulations are imposed on developers for any violations of the Appellate Tribunals or monetary penalties or both.
 
28) Union Government fixes Maximum Sale Price of Bt Cotton Seed.
  • The Union Government has notified maximum selling price (MSP) of Bt cotton seed for the year 2016-17. It was announced by the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
  • In this regard, Union Government has issued notification as per the Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, 2015 under the Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
  • As per the notification Prices of BG-I version of Bt cotton hybrid and BG-II version of Bt cotton hybrid were fixed at 635 rupees and 800 rupees respectively.
About Bt cotton:
  1. Bt cotton is a Genetically modified organism (GMO) cotton variety, which produces an insecticide to bollworm.
  2. It is produced by the gene coding technique by inserting Bt toxin into cotton as a transgene that causes it to produce this natural insecticide in its tissues.
  3. The Bt toxin is obtained from the strains of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis which is only harmful to different insects including larvae of moths and butterflies, cotton bollworms, beetles but are harmless to other forms of life.
 
29) 400 e-tailers team up with postal department for delivery.
  • More than 400 e-commerce companies are leveraging the extensive reach of the Department of Posts (DoP) in an effort to deliver their consignments at every nook and corner of the country.
  • The Department has tied up with more than 400 e-commerce agencies, including Flipkart, Amazon, YepMe, Snapdeal and the like for delivering e-commerce pre-paid as well as cash-on-delivery (COD) orders. Of all, Amazon is the biggest partner in terms of business with India Post.
  • Department of Posts has a network of some 1.55 lakh post offices, of which 1.3 lakh are in rural areas.
  • Department of Posts is delivering 40,000 e-commerce parcels per day and the average value of parcels handled by India Post is Rs. 5,000 for urban areas and Rs 3,000 for rural areas.

National Current Affairs March 1st week 2016

1) Mahesh Kumar Singla committee constituted to consider ST status to 6 communities of Assam.
  • The Union Government has constituted a committee to consider Scheduled Tribe status to six Communities of Assam.
  • These six Communities are Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Adivasi (Tea Tribes).
  • It will be headed by Mahesh Kumar Singla, Special Secretary (Internal Security) Ministry of Home Affairs.
Key facts:
  1. The committee has been constituted by Union Home Ministry in consultation with the Government of Assam.
  2. It has been tasked to recommend the modalities for granting of Scheduled Tribe status for the required reservations to the 6 Communities in Assam.
  3. It will also look into modalities for shifting the existing reservation for these communities from Other Back Class (OBC) status to ST for protecting their interests to ensure fairness of reservations.
2) M.S. Swaminathan Research Chair for Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.
  • The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation has signed a MOU with Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) to establish a Research Chair.
  • The Chair will be named after M.S. Swaminathan, father of Indian Green Revolution for promoting knowledge and skill for empowerment for less privileged children in India.
  • This is the first-ever initiative of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation to establish a Research Chair in any private institute in the country.
  • The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) is the largest residential institute for the tribals in the world. It provides free of cost accommodation, education, food, health care from Kindergarten to Post Graduation to more than 25,000 children of whom 12,200 are girls.
3) Chennai gets India’s first self-cleaning smart toilets.
  • A total of 180 self-cleaning public eToilets have been installed in Chennai. These Toilets are free for public use.
  • Around 40 toilets come equipped with a sanitary napkin generator. Notably, these toilets can be located through an Android app called eToilet.
  • Spread over 35 square feet, each automatic unmanned toilet cleans itself before entry and after use.
 
4) 46 new coal blocks identified in India.
  • The Geological Survey of India has identified 46 new coal blocks in the country, out of which 12 are located in West Bengal.
  • Out of the 34 new coal blocks outside Bengal, Chattisgarh has 12, Madhya Pradesh 11, Maharashtra 4, Jharkhand 1, Telangana 2, North-Eastern regions 3 and Andhra Pradesh 1.
About Coal Blocks:
  1. Coal is made largely of carbon but also features other elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen.
  2. Different types of coal contain different amounts of carbon. Lignite contains only around 60 to 75%, while anthracite contains more than 92%.
  3. Coal has long been burned to create electricity and heat. The use of coal is increasing every year, in 2006 the world consumed over 6,000,000,000,000 kilograms of coal!
5) Carriage by Air` amendment bill passed by Rajya Sabha.
  • A bill that would enhance compensation for air travellers in case of death, injury, lost baggage or even inordinate delay in flights was passed by the Rajya Sabha.
  • The `Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015`, was passed by the Upper House with changes. It was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December 2015.
  • Piloting the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said it would bring legislative character to international character with respect to compensation for air passengers.
  • Now it will go for the Presidential assent as per Article 111 of Constitution.
Key Facts:
  • The Bill seeks to amend the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation in order adhere with the global counterparts.
  • Empowers Union government to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per the Montreal Convention.
  • Empowers Union Government to make rules to carry out provisions of the Act.
The Carriage by Air Act, 1972:
  1. Regulates carriage by air by giving effect to the Warsaw Convention, 1929 and as amended by Hague Protocol, 1955 and the Montreal Convention, 1999.
  2. It also provides for application of the international aviation travel rules to domestic travel, subject to exceptions and adaptations.
The Montreal Convention, 1999:
  • It establishes airline liability in the case of injury, death or delay to passengers.
  • It also includes liability in cases of damage or loss or delay of baggage and cargo.
  • It also mandates that every five years, limits of liability of the air carriers should be reviewed.
 
6) CCS gives nod to acquire 2 AWACS from Israel.
  • Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel later this year, a first by an Indian Prime Minister, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared the purchase of additional surveillance aircraft from the country.
  • The CCS chaired by Mr. Modi cleared the proposal to acquire two more Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) at a cost of Rs. 7,500 crore under a tripartite agreement with Israel and Russia.
About AWACS:
  1. They are advanced radars mounted on an aircraft to give an ability to see deep inside enemy territory and 360 degree coverage to detect incoming aircraft and missiles at long ranges.
  2. The Indian Air Force (IAF) already had three such AWACS platforms that comprise of Israeli-made radars mounted on Russian heavy transport planes IL-76.
  3. The CCS also approved a proposal for induction of the 4th regiment of supersonic cruise missile Brahmos and 2 more of Pinaka rocket launchers in the India Army.
 
7) Union Government gives nod for issuance of UDAY bonds to four states.
  • The Union Finance Ministry has approved the proposal of four states for the issuance of Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) bonds.
  • These four states are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh.
  • These states account for around about 35 per cent or around 1.5 lakh crore rupees of the outstanding loans of State electricity distribution utilities in the country.
  • State governments can take over 75 per cent of discom debt and pay back lenders by issuing bonds. The scheme provides for the remaining 25 per cent of the debt to be paid back through discom-issued bonds. Total discom debt in the country amounts to Rs. 4.3 lakh crore.
 
8) Govt plans to set up more nuclear power plants.
  • In order to meet the India’s growing needs, the GOI plans to set up nuclear power plants in Bihar, Haryana and Punjab.
  • The GOI aims to increase nuclear power generation capacity by three times in ten years.
  • There has been a delay there due to water shortage since the current level of water available is not sufficient for the project. 
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9) PM Modi launches `Setu Bharatam` project, vows to improve infrastructure.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Setu Bharatam Project to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019.
  • This project will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
  • Under the project, 208 rail-over bridges and rail-under bridges will be built at the cost of Rs. 20,800 crore.
  • Also, 1,500 decade-old bridges will be reconstructed and revamped for Rs. 30,000 crore.
  • Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways already has launched an Indian Bridge Management System to map 1,50,000 bridges across the country. So far inventory of 50,000 bridges has been prepared under it and the first cycle of condition survey will be completed by June 2016.
 
10) Union Government approves winding up of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council.
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved winding up of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) set up in 2004 by the UPA government as a forum for policy dialogue between the industry and the government.
  • The Union Cabinet, which also met on Wednesday, gave a green signal to the setting up of a society `36th International Geological Congress (IGC)` – for organizing the 36th (IGC) in 2020 with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 52 crore for preparatory activities.
  • The IGC will be hosted jointly by the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Earth Sciences with support from the science academies of India and co-host neighboring countries.
About National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC):
  1. The erstwhile UPA government had established NMCC in 2004 as a part of its Common Minimum Programme (CMP)
  2. Its mandate was to provide a continuing forum for policy dialogue to energize and sustain the growth of manufacturing industry.
  3. It was established as an autonomous organization with its Chairman in the rank of a Cabinet Minister and members from Government and Industry.
  4. Since its inception, NMCC had conducted various studies independently in consultation with several Government Ministries Departments and also industry association.
11) Uttar Pradesh Assembly passes UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
  • Uttar Pradesh Assembly passed the UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill 2016 replacing an ordinance that will allow Dalits to sell their land to non-Dalits in the state.
  • The ordinance to amend the pre-British era revenue law was replaced by UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which was presented by Revenue Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav in the house
  • The Bill allows Dalits to sell their land to non-Dalits even if they are left with less than 3.5-acres of land.
 
12) SC refuses interim relief to telcos on call drop.
  • The Supreme Court has declined any interim relief to telecom companies against the Delhi High Court’s order upholding TRAI’s decision making it mandatory for them to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 1, 2016.
  • The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on the other hand, maintained that its Telecom Consumers Protection (9th Amendment) Regulations, 2015 which was upheld by the Delhi High Court last month was framed purely in the interest of the common man.
  • TRAI making it mandatory for cellular operators to pay consumers one rupee per call drop experienced on their networks, subject to a cap of Rs. 3 a day.
 
13) GOI to digitise all rural post offices by 2017.
  • The government plans to digitise nearly 1.3 lakh rural post offices by March 2017.
  • The government has approved Rs. 4,909 crore for modernization of 1.55 lakh post offices including 1.29 lakh post offices in rural areas, called Gramin Dak Sewak post offices. The modernization process will include setting up centralized data centres and disaster recovery centres, networking of all post offices.
  • Telecommunication Consultant India Limited (TCIL) will provide the handheld devices alongside RICOH India Limited, and also ensure connectivity, while Infosys will be the Rural System Integrator.
14) India puts a halt on scanning Japanese food imports.
  • Indian Government has decided to discontinue the scanning of the Food products from Japan that run the risk of being contaminated by radioactive substance.
  • The order has been conveyed to the customs department and the food safety commissioners of all states.
  • The abrupt end to the practice has, however, alarmed experts. The move by the Indian government can be seen as an attempt to bolster the already strong business and cultural ties with Japan.
15) PM adopted Nagepur village in his Varanasi Constituency under SAGY.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected Nagepur village in his Varanasi Constituency of Lok Sabha in Uttar Pradesh under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
  • Earlier in the first phase of SAGY, PM had adopted Jayapur village in Sevapuri Assembly segment of Varanasi in 2014.
About SAGY:
  1. SAGY encourages Members of Parliament (MP’s) from both Houses to identify and develop one village from their constituency as a model village.
  2. Under this scheme, MPs will be responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024.
 
16) Oil Minister Lays Foundation Stone Of Octomax Unit At Mathura (UP).
  • Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan today laid the foundation stone of countrys first-of-its-kind Octomax unit at the Mathura refinery that will help in the production of high-octane gasoline.
  • Octomax, a "novel technology" developed in-house by Research and Development Centre of Indian Oil, involves conversion of cracked C4 streams to high-octane gasoline blending stock for production of Euro-IV/V equivalent gasoline.
About Octomax Unit:
  1. The refinery will setup a plant of 55 KTA capacity at an estimated cost of Rs. 43 crore and is expected to be completed by October 2017.
  2. The unit on Octomax technology has been conceptualized and designed based on indigenous efforts.
  3. Mathura refinery will play major role in meeting government`s target of introducing BS-VI standardizing petrol and diesel by 2020. 
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17) Union Government launches online marketing platform Mahila E-HAAT.
  • Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched Mahila e-Haat portal in New Delhi.
  • It will provide access to markets to thousands of women who make products and are spread all over the country.
About Mahila e-Haat:
  1. It is open to all Indian women citizens more than 18 years of age and women SHGs desiring for marketing their legal products/services after indemnifying RMK from any or all acts of transaction.
  2. Rahstriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) is primarily involved in the creation of the portal and the entire business of e-Haat can be handled through mobile phone.
  3. 3-Stages of women empowerment: The launch of Mahila E-Haat is the first stage towards achieving the objective of women empowerment.
  4. In the second stage Mahila E-Haat will be integrated with e-commerce portals to provide a larger platform for selling and buying.
  5. In third stage, it will culminate into Women’s Entrepreneurs Council which will help to expand this initiative further and give it an institutional shape.
  6. It will benefit more than 10000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) and 1.25 Lakh women beneficiaries spread across the country.
 
Germany Partners with India to Develop Kochi, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar As Smart Cities.
Germany will partner India in turning Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Kochi into smart cities, according to German ambassador to India Martin Ney Germany is an ideal partner in India`s mission to create smarter cities as the country is very strong at smart planning for urban centres.
Germany developed the technologies to make life in cities easier.
They developed the processes to bring on board the stakeholders to make cities thrive and German companies have developed smart solutions to make smart cities.
 
Five Healthcare ATMs Launched in 4 States.
Five healthcare ATMs have come up in four states. Those states are MP, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
These ATMs are going to come up under a Health Ministry pilot that combines telemedicine with a rudimentary free drugs programme.
The health ministry is aiming that these ATMs would tide over the massive shortage of doctors in the country. It will also save from the risk of pilferage in free drugs programmes.

For these ATMs technical support is being provided by the division of healthcare technology and National Health Systems Research Centre.