1) New Rules notified by Government to revamp Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

• Union Government has notified new rules to improve the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes Act also known as Preventions of Atrocities Act.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had notified the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules 2016.

1. The provision of completing an investigation and filing a charge sheet in the court within 60 days of the filing of the complaint by a member of SC/ST community.
2. A provision in the revamped bill is delinking the requirement of the medical examination for getting relief amount for non-invasive offenses against the women.
3. The new provisions have increased the existing quantum of relief amount from between Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 7,50,000 to between Rs. 85,000 and Rs. 8,25,000, depending on the nature of the offense. 

• Tata Trusts has signed a pact with the Odisha government to achieve elimination of Malaria from the state by 2030.
• Tata Trusts will be taking mass screenings twice a year in 557 villages in five selected blocks including Bissamcuttack and Muniguda blocks of Rayagada district, Lanjigarh, Thuamulrampur blocks of Kalahandi district and Kotgarh block of Kandhamal district in southern Odisha.
• The Centre has committed to eliminate malaria from the country by 2030. If the partnership between Odisha government and Trusts can demonstrate reduction in mortality in Odisha, it will bring down overall prevalence of malaria and incidence in the country.
• Therefore, the vision of the partnership is to reduce malaria deaths by 50 per cent in five years and incidence by 40 per cent.

• India has banned import of milk and milk products, certain mobile phones and a few other items from China after finding them sub-standard or not following security codes.
• Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha that India banned import of milk and milk products from China as their quality was unacceptable.
• Some mobile phones, which do not carry International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number or other security features, and some steel products have also been banned from importing from China.
• Complete ban of import from any country is not possible now due to WTO rules even if we have problems diplomatically, territorially or militarily.

• Taxi operator Uber has partnered with Election Commission in Tamil Nadu to spread awareness on voting among the electorate for the assembly polls.
• Uber held discussions with officials on the importance of voting and encouraging people to cast their vote and would collaborate with EC`s Systematic Voters` Education and Electoral Participation programme.
• Drivers of Uber cabs would be educating public on the importance of voting and encourage riders to vote.

• The minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattatreya informed Lok Sabha that the wage hike has been implemented based on a Supreme Court verdict.
• Increased minimum wage to Rs. 10,000 at the national level taking into consideration the Consumer Price Index and Dearness Allowance. This was based on the verdict of the Supreme Court. We have linked this increase of minimum wage to pension and bonus.
• It is the Endeavour of the central government to make reforms in labour laws and to proceed from minimum wage to universal wage. The decision to make changes to rule 25 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules.

• Good news for people seeking government jobs, over two lakh posts are estimated to be created by the central government in its various departments.
• The central government has projected in the Budget estimates for 2016-17 an increase of about 2.18 lakh in the existing workforce of 33.05 lakh, as on 2015, by 2017.
• The Home Ministry will add 5,635 new jobs to take its strength to 22,006 in 2017. Similarly, there will be 47,264 new posts in police departments to take its total to 10,75,341 in 2017, from 10,28,077 (its strength in 2015).
• There will be increase of 10,894 in staff strength of the Defence Ministry to take the manpower count to 51,084 in 2017, according to the Budget estimates presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

• The Lower House of the Parliament passed The Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016. The Bill seeks to establish a Regional Centre for Biotechnology, an institution of education, training and research, under the auspices of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

1. Disseminate knowledge by providing teaching and research facilities in biotechnology and related fields.
2. Create a hub of biotechnology expertise.
3. Facilitate transfer of technology and knowledge in the SAARC region and generally Asia.
4. Promote cooperation at the international level. The Regional centre will provide masters and doctoral degrees, and post-graduate diplomas in biotechnology and related subjects.

• The Parliament has passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to remove given to Sahjdhari Sikhs to vote in the elections to members of the Board and the Committees.
• The amendment bill first was passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2016 and later in the Lok Sabha in April 2016.

1. The amendment bill removes exception given to Sahjdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in the elections to members of the Board and the Committees constituted under the parent Act.
2. It will disentitle Sahjdhari Sikhs, who trim or shave their beard or hair, from casting their votes in elections to the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC). The proposed amendment was carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) Notification that had debarred Sahjdhari Sikhs voting rights.
3. The notification was issued in exercise of the powers conferred by the Parliament under section 72 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966.
4. The new amendment bill will come into force retrospectively from 2003.

• The Union Government has recently constituted 8-member inter-ministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers’ income by 2022. The committee will be headed by Ashok Dalwai, Additional secretary at the Union Agriculture Ministry and is expected to submit the report in two months.
• Its members will include officials from Agriculture and Food Ministries, experts from the Delhi-based National Council of Applied Economic Research and National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.

1. Prepare plan to shift farm policies to income based from current production-oriented. Identify potential areas of agriculture where more investment should happen.
2. Suggest ways to reduce the risk of farming by diversifying to horticulture and allied activities like livestock and fisheries to boost income.
3. Suggest measures for reducing the cost of cultivation and addressing unpredictability of weather and price fluctuations in farm sector.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for utilization of 400 hectares of un-cultivable farm land at the Central State Farm (CSF), Jetsar in Sri Ganganagar District, Rajasthan for setting up of a solar Power Plant of capacity exceeding 200 MW.
• The land is presently in possession of National Seeds Corporation (NSC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Solar Power Plant will be set up by a CPSE, which would be selected through negotiation.
• The selected CPSE will have to do tariff based competitive bidding for the project. It will be allowed to utilize the land for the installation of a Solar Power Plant over a contract period of 25 years, which may be extended on mutually agreed terms and conditions, after which the entire plant will be surrendered to the NSC.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to bring “sugar” under the purview of imposing stock holding limits on dealers of sugar, keeping in view the recent upward trend in sugar prices.
• The Government has noticed that in spite of sufficient availability of sugar stocks with the Sugar Mills, the wholesale and retail prices have shown a spurt.
• The Government has taken stock of the availability of sugar and different factors contributing to rise in market prices of sugar across the country.
• In order to check the inflationary tendencies in sugar and to reduce hoarding by wholesalers and retailers, Government felt an immediate need to bring sugar within the purview of stock limits.
• The decision will empower State and Central agencies to impose stock limits and regulate supply, distribution, storage and trade of sugar to bring down sugar prices at reasonable level by curbing unscrupulous trading.

• Indian Railways (IR) is working on a proposal to create a mega fund called Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK), with a corpus of Rs. 1,10,239 crore, to upgrade its creaking infrastructure.
• The fund would be used to eliminate level-crossings, install collision avoidance systems, as well as for track renewal and signal upgrades.
• This includes around Rs 40,000 crore for elimination of unmanned level crossings and replacing old signaling and telecom infrastructure, which lead to more than half the rail-related accidents.
• The rail ministry had set up a six-member committee under the executive director of its planning directorate for a scheme, including funding sources and focus areas.
• The committee had sought inputs on fund requirements from directorates - mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, among others. The inputs are expected by the end of next week. The committee will then create a consolidated proposal within a month and send it to the finance ministry.

• The Government has approved the policy for public disclosure of scores and ranking of the candidates who appear for recruitment examinations conducted by various public recruitment agencies for the benefit of employers in the public and private sector seeking qualified candidates through a portal.
• The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has given some observations in this regard that have been communicated to the concerned authorities.

• State-owned fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has got green nod for its Rs. 694 crore project of developing LPG import terminal as well as storage, bottling and bulk distribution facilities at Haldia Dock Complex in West Bengal.
• At present, domestic production of LPG is around 12.38 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa), much lower than the estimated demand of 18.65 mmtpa for this year.
• The proposed project aims to boost supply and help achieve the government`s target of making LPG available to each household by 2018.
• Based on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee (industry), the environment ministry has given environmental clearance and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance to the BPCL`s project in West Bengal.

• To make celebrities accountable for misleading ads, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended stringent provisions including jail term up to five years and hefty penalty of up to 50 lakh in order to protect consumer interest.
• In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015, tabled in Parliament, the panel has suggested legal teeth to make celebrities accountable for misleading advertisements, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended stringent provisions, including a jail term of up to five years and a hefty penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh, to protect consumer interest.
• The panel has suggested legal teeth to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to curb misleading ads, besides proposing severe penalties, jail and cancellation of license of those involved in food adulteration.

• Target fixed by Coal India Limited (CIL) for coal production during 2016-17 is 598.60 million tonnes. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy.
• The Minister further stated that coal availability of CIL is in tune with the quantity committed for Thermal Power Plants having Fuel Supply Agreement.
• Supply of coal to Power Utilities from CIL sources has grown from 353.83 MT in 2013-14 to 385.40 MT in 2014-15 and further to 409.14 MT (Provisional) in 2015-16. For the year 2016-17, the target of Off-take of CIL is 598.61 Mt. Out of this, 450 Mt will be supplied to Power Sector Utilities.

• In order to give fillip to the advancement of goals and objectives of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) relating to adult education, an initiative was undertaken to align the Saakshar Bharat programme with SAGY in Saakshar Bharat districts through convergence of existing resources available under the scheme.
• As a part of this initiative, it was aimed to make all out efforts to achieve 100 per cent literacy in 408 Saansad Adarsh Grams in 276 Saakshar Bharat districts spread in 23 States and One UT by 31st March, 2016.
• Plan-wise targets are fixed to achieve higher levels of literacy in a phased manner. The present targets are to raise the overall literacy rate of the country to 80 per cent and reduce the gender gap to 10 percentage points by the end of XII Five Year Plan.
• This information was given by the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani.

• The Law Commission of India has submitted its Reports No. 248th, 249th, 250th, and 251st ``Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal``, wherein it recommended for repeal of 72, 113, 74 and 30 obsolete Acts respectively.
• A Two-Member Committee was also constituted by the Prime Minister’s Office for review of repeal of obsolete laws. The Two-member Committee has submitted its Report, and has inter alia, identified a total number of 1741 Central Acts for repeal. On the basis of the Reports, total 1827 Acts have been identified for repeal.
• Total 125 Acts have been repealed during the year 2015-16 by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2015 (Act No. 17 of 2015) and the repealing and Amending (Second) Act, 2015 (Act No. 19 of 2015).
• Further, two Bills namely, ``the Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2015`` seeking to repeal 758 Acts and ``the Repealing and Amending (Third) Bill 2015`` seeking to repeal 295 Acts are pending in the Parliament. The Government is actively pursuing the matter to repeal the Acts identified for repeal. 

19) Government plans to keep 1% of highways project cost for road safety.

• The government plans to make it mandatory to set aside 1 per cent of total cost of any highway project for road safety, by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
• India witnesses as high as 5 lakh road accidents per annum in which 1.5 lakh people die and another 3 lakh are crippled.
• If cost of construction is Rs. 1,000 crore then one per cent comes to Rs. 10 crore. We will use those Rs. 10 crore for road safety issues that include fixing accidental spots, installing cameras and lights and on other such issues.
• The government is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50 per cent in next two to three years.

• The Election Commission has launched an innovative mobile application with comprehensive details about the imminent assembly polls in Kerala.
• Titled `e-voter`, the app is envisaged to help voters search electoral rolls, locate polling stations, obtain information about candidates and the affidavit filed by them, file complaints and so on.
• The app, developed by the state IT mission, is aimed at ensuring great transparency and conduct of free and fair elections, the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Kerala in a release.
• The `Know Your Candidate` option in the app will provide constituency-wise details of candidates, while the `Constituency List` option aims to give segment-wise details of voters (number of male voters, female voters and total number of voters) and total polling stations.
• Information about results of previous elections and names of Chief Ministers will also be made available in the app.

• The Gujarat government announced 10% reservation for the economically backward among upper castes, a move apparently aimed at placating the influential Patidars who launched a violent agitation last year seeking quota benefits.
• The decision, taken at a meeting of the BJP core committee headed by party president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar, will benefit all upper caste families with annual income less than Rs. 6 lakh.
• Anandiben Patel government’s decision is likely to run into a legal hurdle as the new quota will be in addition to the existing 49% reservation for OBCs, SCs and STs. Under guidelines set by the Supreme Court, a state cannot provide reservation beyond 50% of its population.

• Government of India’s National LED programme - Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) was launched in Madhya Pradesh by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister for State (IC) for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Shri Piyush Goyal, at a function held in Bhopal. The scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power.
• The launching of UJALA scheme in Madhya Pradesh, energy revolution has begun and will transform the State. In the State, 3 crore LED Bulbs will be distributed in the next 6 months under the Scheme.
• People of Madhya Pradesh will get energy efficient 9W LED bulbs at an upfront payment of just Rs. 85 per LED bulb, Shri Goyal added. The Minister further stated that within just one year, 9 crore bulbs have been distributed under UJALA Scheme, which helped consumers to save Rs 5500 crore every year. UJALA will not only help reduce consumers their electricity bills but also contribute to the energy security of India.

• Five-and-a-half years after the corruption scandal involving the Adarsh Housing Society emerged the Bombay High Court directed the Centre to demolish the 31-storey high-rise in South Mumbai’s Colaba but stayed the order for 12 weeks to allow the residents to file an appeal.
• The court ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Union of India to demolish the building and consider initiating appropriate civil/ criminal proceedings against the bureaucrats, ministers and politicians concerned for abuse of powers.
• A Division Bench of Justices Ranjit More and R.G. Ketkar had reserved its order on a bunch of petitions connected to the building erected for the welfare of war widows and defence personnel.

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated to the people 100 piped water supply projects for rural areas and pledged to make piped water provision in all gram panchayats by 2017.
• We are celebrating the birthday of Utkala Gaurav Madhusudan Das. On this occasion, we have dedicated 100 rural piped water supply projects in the service of the people of our state.
• Drinking water has been our priority and we have targeted to cover all our panchayats by 2017 with pipe water supply. The Chief Minister urged the citizens to avoid wasting water and encouraged villagers to take care of the piping infrastructure.

• The Indonesian Navy and the Indian Navy have been participating in coordinated patrol (CORPAT) twice a year since 2002 to keep this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.
• The 27th series of India – Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) is being conducted. Opening Ceremony of the CORPAT is being held at Port Blair and Closing Ceremony will be held at Belawan, Indonesia. The Indonesian Navy is being represented by the ship KRI Imam Bonjol and Maritime Patrol Aircraft CN 235 whilst INS Karmuk and one Naval Dornier aircraft are representing the Indian Navy.
• Apart from securing the trade sea route, the coordinated patrol also serves to enhance mutual understanding and inter-operability between the two navies. The CORPAT thus reflects the shared concern between the two countries for a peaceful Indian ocean for the benefit of international community. 

• The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Fourth Retreat of Judges of the Supreme Court at the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
• Judiciary is one of the three important pillars of our democracy. It is the final interpreter of the Constitution and laws. It helps in maintaining the social order by swiftly and effectively dealing with those on the wrong side of the law. As an upholder of the Rule of Law and enforcer of the right to liberty, the role of the Judiciary is sacrosanct. The faith and confidence people have reposed in the Judiciary must always be maintained.
• The Chief Justice of India and other companion Judges for organizing the Retreat which will provide a forum to discuss contemporary challenges that the country faces along with global and transnational elements of legal disputes and adjudication. Discussion and reflection of this nature is important, as well as necessary, to enable Judges keep pace with times and be able to deliver fair and effective justice in a rapidly changing world.

• National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) announced the formal launch of Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGRBMS) in New Delhi. The Ministry signed a 10 year Memorandum of Agreement with IITK for provision of continual scientific support in the implementation and dynamic evolution of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan.
• Focusing on cleaning the Ganga by setting up Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).These are the issues which can be solved by procuring the technologies around the world. To solve this, efforts needs to be done by each and every one which includes government authorities, academicians, researchers etc.

• Google, in association with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, announced the roll out of free WiFi services at nine more stations after Mumbai Central, bringing high-speed Internet access to about 1.5 million passengers and visitors.
• The WiFi service is now available at Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulum Jn (Kochi) and Vishakhapatnam stations.
• Google and RailTel had collaborated to make WiFi network available across 100 stations to deliver high-speed Internet to 10 million Indians a day by the end of the year. The project will eventually be rolled out to cover 400 railway stations across India.

• Indian School of Business (ISB) and Singapore Management University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop new thinking and practices in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as to design new joint programmme.
• Helping start-ups in both India and Singapore in multiple ways will be a focus. In terms of areas of operation, the MoU would look at technology, pharma and healthcare start-ups.
• Under the collaboration, the institutions would explore possibility of offering joint executive education programmes. Such programmes are to be co-designed and developed in specific areas of interest to the institutions and companies co-located in Singapore and India.

• The Indian Army is conducting a major Exercise SHATRUJEET by the elite STRIKE 1 in deserts of Rajasthan wherein the capability to Strike deep in enemy territory in an integrated Air-Land battle environment is being tested over 30,000 soldiers in action.
• The operationally oriented exercise is focusing on validating integrated theatre battle fighting concept incorporating new age technologies, weapon platforms and systems as well as long range precision targeting vectors.
• Indian Army undertakes such exercises at regular intervals at different levels to ensure forces are provided real war like situations and are kept in high state of battle readiness. The formation and units have been undergoing operational oriented training for past one month.
• Post preparatory training manoeuvres at subordinate units and formation levels the STRIKE 1 is now poised to conduct integrated operational manoeuvres to validate its operational plans in simulated high tempo battlefield environment and terrain.

• Delhi Government has launched the second phase of odd-even car rationing scheme to check pollution in the national capital. The scheme aims at curbing vehicular pollution and reducing traffic congestion on the roads of NCR Delhi.
• Under it, four wheelers with license plates ending in an odd number will ply on odd dates and those ending with an even number can run on even dates.
• It will be between 8am and 8pm and on Sunday no restrictions are applied. The penalty in case of a violation is Rs. 2,000.
• During this implementation, public transport including buses and the Metro will be run at high frequency. Residents are being urged to carpool in order to reduce pressure on public transport.
• The President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Union Ministers and other VIPs have been exempted. Besides emergency vehicles, vehicles driven by women, CNG vehicles and cars carrying school children in uniforms will be also exempted.

• Air India and is being viewed as a radical change from the state-owned airline’s earlier stance when it had opposed any move to remove the 5/20 rule. The views of the airline have been conveyed verbally and not in writing to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• The 5/20 rule stipulates that a domestic airline must have a fleet of 20 aircraft and must have completed five years of domestic operations before it becomes eligible to start flights abroad. The rule has seen a vertical spilt among Indian carriers. New entrants such as AirAsia India and Vistara are pressing for the removal of the 5/20 rule while older players such as IndiGo have called for its retention.
• Sources indicated that the promoters of IndiGo and Jet Airways were abroad and hence a postponement of the meeting was sought. No extension was given and the promoters have been unable to meet with senior Government officials to put across their views on various issues, including the 5/20 rule.

• The Union Minister for Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi inaugurated the Regional Conference of North Eastern States on Child Adoption in Shillong, Meghalaya. The Conference was organized by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of the WCD Ministry. The North Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura participated in the conference.
• The children are the most vulnerable of human beings and their issues need to be looked into with empathy. It is due to this reason that the adoption reforms were the first initiative taken up by the WCD Ministry after the new Government took charge.
• This reform process has culminated in the enactment of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The new Act lays down timelines for the Child Welfare Committees and Adoption Agencies for various stages of adoption. The Act provides for mandatory registration of Childcare Institutions and linkage with CARA, so that each child becomes ‘adoptable’. The Minister warned that a stringent penalty is provided in Law in case of non-compliance.

• Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/C) and Civil Aviation released a Commemorative Coin of Rs. 200 and a Circulation Coin of Rs. 10 on Tatya Tope on the occasion of his Martyr Day. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Narendra Kumar Sinha was present on the occasion.
• One of the most outstanding leaders of India’s First War of Independence, Tatya Tope was a patriot of the highest order. He was captured by the British Forces and after a hurried trial for waging war against the East India Company.

• Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) has plans to construct railway siding facility for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) in Mangaluru.
• KRCL proposed railway siding from Thokur station would help the transportation of products such as pet coke, polypropylene, sulphur and bitumen from the plant.
• After completion, around 2,800 tonnes of products are expected to be transported by railway every day. With the construction of a railway siding, the entire product can be loaded in train inside the premises of MRPL.
• If the products are transported by road, they require multiple handling and lead to road congestion. There will be two lines of 800 metres each in the railway siding. The project, which is estimated to cost Rs. 46 crore, will be completed in 24 months.

• Participants of founding Class of Management Programme in Public Policy at Indian School of Business, Mohali called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• This calls for constant up-gradation of skills and knowledge even on the part of the specialists.ISB, as a globally competitive educational institution has empowered them to face these challenges of continuous change.
• That capacity is directly related to the ability to make effective public policies and to implement these policies effectively. A good public policy with poor implementation is of no value and significance to society and nation. The President complemented the ISB for having made a good beginning by bringing professionals from private sector and public sector to learn from each other as well as from their Indian and international faculty. 

• Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC), an apex body to advise the Government in the consumer related issue has expressed concern over quality of drinking water being supplied through pipeline and has recommended mandatory standards for drinking water irrespective of its source.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) should formulate standards for water being supply through pipeline also and should monitor its quality. The meeting attended by representatives of various Government bodies including FSSAI, voluntary consumer organizations and senior officials of various Ministries, was chaired by Union Food Minister, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan.
• CCPC was also of the view that there should be guidelines for brand ambassadors of products and services and in the case of gross misrepresentation of the facts or misleading advertisements, brand ambassadors should also be made responsible.

• Hon’ble Raksha Rajya Mantri (RRM), Sh Rao Inderjit Singh was the chief guest of the event and in his key note that A number of measures have been taken by the Government of india to promote indigenous development and manufacture of defence equipment.
• The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 revised offset policy and enhanced FDI in defence sector are some such measures which offer several incentives to the private industry to participate in defence production. The Indian Air Force has prepared its indigenization requirements for future technologies and new weapon system capabilities that they plan to induct, in the form of this form of a booklet.
• Before the release of the booklet on ``Indigenisation Roadmap for the Indian Air Force`` It would provide useful inputs to the industry to map their potential with the requirements of the Indian Air Force.

• A team of senior officers of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation led by the Secretary, Shri Parameswaran Iyer, visited the State of Karnataka and met with State officials to evaluate the water crisis and sanitation situation in the State.
• The Secretary assured the senior officials of support from the Centre to combat the drought situation prevalent in parts of the State. A detailed discussion was held around possible drought management techniques and technologies, especially those dealing with water recharge and conservation.
• A key highlight of the meeting was a presentation made by a team of water experts from Latur district, Efforts are being made to replicate and scale this technique, and a pilot of the technique is being planned in North Karnataka to help the drinking water situation in the region.
• As part of the continuing efforts of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to involve the non-governmental sector in scaling up Swachh Bharat Mission, the Secretary also held a discussion with the organization ‘Arghyam’ to discuss their experiences with sanitation. He also visited the Indian Institute for Human Settlements to discuss monitoring and evaluation of Swachh Bharat Mission and other technical issues related to the programme.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, reviewed the functioning of official youth organizations, including the NCC, NSS, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Indian Red Cross Society, and NYKS.
• Discussing the immediate tasks ahead, where these organizations could play an important role that in the next couple of months, there would be a massive effort under MGNREGA for water conservation and storage mechanisms. These youth organizations to mobilize to the greatest extent possible, to dovetail and contribute to these efforts.
• As the representatives for the youth organizations explained their functioning and role in society, the Prime Minister gave several other inputs and suggestions. In particular, the tasks of Swachhta, creation of open-defecation free clusters, and inculcation of a fresh national spirit among the youth, as key objectives that the youth organizations should strive for. The Government`s Mission Indradhanush initiative to reach the unvaccinated children, youth organizations can aid in this initiative.

• The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Second Edition of Global Exhibition on Services - 2016 at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida.
• The services-sector had emerged as an agent of change for the country and it was driving the Indian economy in an inclusive and equitable manner.
• According to him, services-sector is the `sector of the current millennium` with its focus on generating employment, skill development, bringing in FDI, enhancing trade and boosting strategic partnerships.
• The expo as a much-needed forum to give global visibility to the need to encourage trade in services. The sector with its wide outreach can surpass geographical boundaries and unite nations through the common thread of offering skills and capabilities.

• The three day International Yoga Fest: A Curtain Raiser for International Day of Yoga-2016 was inaugurated by the Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) and Health & Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in New Delhi.
• Yoga is the greatest gift of this country to the entire mankind. In the past few decades, the health aspects of Yoga have become more popular. Yoga can play a great role in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases where conventional medicine is not having permanent or cost-effective solution.
• Shri Shripad Naik the Ministry of AYUSH is putting its best efforts to promote the science of Yoga as a healthcare system across the globe.
• The AYUSH Minster released the Common Yoga Protocol DVD at the Festival ahead of the International Day of Yoga this year. He also visited the walk through exhibition on Yoga arranged by DAVP and Photo Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

• Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari has fixed a 2.5 times increase in the target for award and construction of National Highways for the year 2016-17. Encouraged by the good performance of his Ministry in 2015-16, he expressed confidence that the pace of development that was established last year will result in even better outcomes during the current year.
• The Minister has set a target of 25,000 km of National Highways to be awarded in 2016-17 as against the 10,000 km awarded in 2015-16. The construction target has been set at 15,000 km as against the 6000 km constructed last year.
• The total length of National Highways targeted for award, 15,000 km would fall under the target of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and 10,000 km under the target of the Ministry and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL).

• In a major initiative to get administration of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry closer to people and changing the paradigm of Governance, the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (I/C) Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched the ``Twitter Seva``.
• Through this Twitter Seva, queries on matters relating to Department of Commerce (DoC) and Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) will be answered. Queries regarding DGFT, DGS&D, SEZs, Tea, Coffee, Rubber & Spices Boards, APEDA, MPEDA and any other matter relating to Department of Commerce will be addressed by DoC while queries regarding Manufacturing Policy, Industrial Corridors, Investment Promotion, Make in India, Start-up India, Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), FDI, Intellectual Property Rights, Patents, Trade Marks, Designs, Geographical Indicators, Copyrights, Paper, Light Engineering Industry, Cement, Linoleum and Rubber Industry will be addressed by DIPP.
• All officers have been sensitized to respond to the tweets within a short time frame. This Seva is open to all the services provided by the Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.
• This is an initiative of the Minister of Commerce & Industry keeping in line the dictum ``Minimum Government, Maximum Governance`` of the Prime Minister.

• The Department of Disinvestment has been renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam), a decision aimed at proper management of Centre`s investments in equity including its disinvestment in central public sector undertakings.
• The new department has been mandated to advise the government in the matters of financial restructuring of central public sector enterprises.
• The Dipam will work under Finance Ministry and it will deal with "all matters relating to management of central government investments in equity including disinvestment of equity in central public sector undertakings".

• Health groups around the world are demanding sugar drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to stop marketing sweetened beverages to children, citing growing disease burden.
• The groups, including city-based The George Institute for Global Health India, wrote to both the companies urging them to reduce container sizes, including health warnings on containers, restrict calorie content to 40 for 350 ml even as they requested the companies to not oppose health measures aimed at lowering consumption.
• Around two lakh deaths occur every year due to sugar related diseases. Excess sugar in the body causes multiple disorders and eventually leads to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
• Children are the worst affected by these disorders as all marketing and advertising campaigns for the sugar-sweetened beverages are targeted upon them he added in a news release.
• The release also stated that reports by Diabetes Foundation and Centre of Nutrition and Metabolic Research found the per capita consumption of sugary beverages had increased by five times since 1998.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Rs. 8,000 crore scheme to provide 5 crore free LPG connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families using the money saved from 1.13 crore cooking gas users voluntarily giving up their subsidies.
• The scheme is called Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Mr. Modi will be launching it at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh and Dahod in Gujarat.
• Maharashtra tops the list with 16.44 lakh consumers giving up subsidies, then Uttar Pradesh where nearly 13 lakh users gave up subsidies, followed by Delhi with 7.26 lakh people giving up subsidies.
• The Government had launched the ‘GiveItUp’ campaign which was aimed at motivating LPG users who can afford to pay the market price for LPG to voluntarily surrender their LPG subsidy.

• The Union Government has launched India’s first online interactive heritage portal named Sahapedia was in New Delhi. The web portal is a collaborative knowledge resource on the arts, culture and heritage of India.
• The purpose of this portal is to inform, educate and act on subjects such as knowledge traditions, visual and material arts, performing arts, literature and languages.
• It also seeks to educated and spread knowledge about practices and rituals, histories, institutions, people, built spaces and natural environment.
• It will be accessible across user groups such as scholars, practitioners, students, teachers, travellers and enthusiasts.
• It will also play important role in integrating activities and services including research, documentation, digitization and conservation.

• Cab aggregator, Uber has entered into a partnership with Gujarat Tourism and FICCI in Ahmedabad city to facilitate training for Uber driver-partners.
• The training is designed and conducted by Ace Driving & Road Safety Education Pvt Ltd on areas of Safe Driving and Interpersonal Skills of the drivers, in order to improve the overall rider experience in Gujarat.
• According to a statement from Uber, the training will be conducted on an ongoing basis and will be optional for all Uber driver-partners. All drivers who attend the training will be certified by FICCI and Gujarat Tourism under their program.

• Centre has decided to provide subsidy on Tur and Urad for distribution of pulses by States at retail price of not more than Rs. 120 per kg. For this, unmilled Tur dal is being allocated @ Rs. 66 per kg and unmilled Urad dal @ Rs. 82 per kg to the States, providing a subsidy of Rs. 27 per Kg for Tur Dal and Rs. 14 per kg for Urad dal. This would entail a subsidy of Rs 24.4 crore for 10,000 MT pulses ie, 8000 MT Tur and 2000 MT of Urad being allocated to the States.
• The Government of India has requested State governments to avail this benefit and utilize the available stocks for managing the prices of pulses in their respective States. The center has already empowered the States to impose stock limits on the pulses to ensure easy availability.
• Government agencies have made procurement of about 50,000 MT pulses from the farmers during the Kharif Marketing Season, 2015-16 and have contracted 26,000 MT of pulses for import. The Government has also initiated procurement of Rabi pulses and targeted to procure around 1, 00,000 MT of Chana and Masur to further build the buffer stock. 

1) Rajasthan Becomes the first state in India to clear land title Bill.

• The Rajasthan Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bill 2016 passed by the state assembly is aimed at curbing fraud practices in sale and purchase of non-agricultural land in urban areas by issuing a certificate of ownership for a nominal fee.
• The Bill would give clear titles to urban land owners and would reduce litigations in court. People would be able to seek certificate of title to claim ownerships of their non-agricultural lands falling in urban areas - those governed by the municipalities or the development authorities - by paying a nominal fee to the state government.

• The Uttar Pradesh government has directed all the district magistrates for plantation of five crore trees at 6,500 sites in 24 hours on a date fixed in month of July under the ‘Green UP - Clean UP’ programme.
• The coding of plantation sites should be done according to IGRS based coding of NIC. All online data of plantation sites should be prepared with the cooperation of National Informatics Centre (NIC) to ensure effective district-wise monitoring.
• Control room for this project would be set up at district level by District tree-plantation committees for efficient execution of the programme, it would be monitored by Zonal Forest Officer.

• Maharashtra will be launching a mobile application and digital payment gateway by the end of the year to facilitate to make all public services online so that a citizen does not have to visit a government office at all. The initiative was announced by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
• 150 public-related services have been taken online and by the October, the government is targeting to take the number to 250 which shall cover all the major services used by citizens.
• Maharashtra government has signed with Exuberant Support for Data Services to invest Rs. 200 crore in the facility, which will create 500 new jobs by the end of fiscal 2017-18.

• The Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) will construct 11 new stations and eight loop lines along its 741 km network to enhance line capacity and handle more trains.
• The average distance between two stations on a single-line network, like KRCL, should be 8 to 10 km for easier train movements.
• KRCL is strongly focusing on enhancing freight loading to improve revenues. It is prepared to offer containerized traffic and also ready to provide exclusive rakes for movement of parcel traffic.

• Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar has decided to issue universal identification cards for physically handicapped people across the country.
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to issue universal identification card for physically handicapped people. Some states do not accept cards of other states which leads to inconvenience. Thus, to shun this, the Centre has decided to issue universal cards. And also provide motor-operated wheel chairs for beneficiaries at subsidised prices.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the first time will introduce a heat index for the country. The index will be available on the IMD website, and will be updated every three hours across all weather stations.
• A heat index – a measure of how hot it really feels – is calculated based on actual temperatures and relative humidity levels. Many times, when the temperatures are low but humidity is high, we feel hotter than what the temperature projects. And we don’t feel as hot when the temperatures are high and humidity levels are low.
• The index will give citizens accurate and updated information on the heat conditions specific to their areas.

• India and Maldives have signed six agreements in different sectors to boost bilateral relations between both maritime neighboring countries.
• The agreements were signed after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at the Hyderabad House.

• The gravity of the agrarian situation after two back-to-back droughts. The Union government is all set to formulate a crop production strategy for the coming summer (kharif) season to ensure that the plan to double farmers income in the next six years gains momentum.
• A national conference on kharif campaign is being held in New Delhi in which senior officials of agriculture and allied sectors from the Centre and States would review the performance of the preceding crop season and formulate a crop production strategy for kharif.
• The kharif campaign-2016 assumes great importance in view of the recent crop damage on account of moisture stress due to deficit, and uneven and untimely rains, hailstorm and other natural calamities across various States.

• Central Council for Research in homoeopathy (CCRH) has signed two MOUs with institutions of higher education of Canada and Armenia. These MOUs between CCRH and College of Homeopaths of Ontario, Canada and another between CCRH and Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia, were signed during International Convention on World Homoeopathy Day(WHD) organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Hon’ble Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH, on the occasion of World Homoeopathy Day appreciated that Homoeopathy has taken major scientific leaps in the past and its body of evidence is growing by the day.
• It steps taken towards international cooperation during the convention, as it saw the signing of two MoUs in the field of education and research in Homoeopathy.

• The Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, today took a meeting to review the situation arising out of rain deficiency and drought affected areas of the country.
• The Central Drought Relief Commissioner made an overarching presentation to this Committee of Secretaries on rain fall deficiency and Kharif 2015, Rabi 2015-16 and measures taken/being taken to obviate difficulties faced by the farmers in the drought hit states.
• Make immediate allocation of funds to the State Governments under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for procurement of fodder. The State Governments should also approach the Centre immediately for availing financial assistance under the National Life Stock Mission implemented by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. A detailed Advisory will issue on measures for increasing availability of fodder to mitigate the effects of drought.

• The Consultative Committee meeting of the Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in Mumbai. The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Ananth Kumar, chaired the meeting discussed status of Neem Coated Urea production.
• The New Urea Policy, 2015 of Government of India is aimed at maximising indigenous urea production and promoting energy efficiency in existing plants. The Policy has led to an additional production of 20 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) from the previous year and the total production of Urea during the year 2015-16 was 245 LMT ie the highest ever Urea production in the country.
• Neem coated Urea is expected to result in the reduction of consumption of Urea and will also curb diversion of Urea for non agricultural purposes.

• Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat will celebrate the cultural vibrancy of India while establishing a concrete mechanism to inculcate nationalism and cultural awareness among the fellow citizens of our nation.
• Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/C) and Civil Aviation while addressing at the National Workshop on "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat". The National workshop was organised by Ministry of Culture in collaboration with NITI Aayog to initiate with various stakeholders.
• Secretary (Culture) Shri. N.K. Sinha discussed in details, overview and objectives of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme, areas of interaction and an implementation mechanism to attain these objectives. In a technical session, the detailed presentation on Cultural Mapping of India was presented by Secretary (Culture). In his presentation, detailed roadmap for dovetailing of Cultural Mapping of India with Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

• The monsoon seasonal rainfall during the forthcoming monsoon is likely to be 106% of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of ± 5%. The LPA of the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole for the period 1951-2000 is 89 cm. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) released the long range forecast for the 2016 southwest monsoon season rainfall.
• The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, Ministry of Earth Sciences, has been coordinating and working along with different climate research centers from India and abroad on the development of a coupled model for the forecasting of Indian summer monsoon rainfall under the Monsoon Mission project.
• The latest high resolution research version of the Coupled Forecasting System (CFS) originally developed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), USA has been used to generate experimental forecast for the 2016 southwest Monsoon season rainfall using the February initial conditions.

• State government officials for formulating and submitting proposals for accessing climate change finance under the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Adaptation Fund Board (AFB), the Environment Ministry held the third regional workshop with State governments in Bengaluru.
• Fourteen States/ Union Territories (U.T.s) from the southern and western regions of the country participated in the workshop.
• Special Secretary, MoEF&CC, Shri Susheel Kumar, Inaugurated the workshop and emphasized the need for generating good quality project proposals in a time-bound manner, which have full ownership by the State government departments. It is anticipated that the project benefits will continue to flow in a sustainable manner after project completion.

• NGC has taken over, from its joint venture partners Reliance Industries and BG, the infrastructure of abandoned Tapti gas field in western offshore. This move would save the company time and upto Rs. 4,000 crore in investments for bringing neighbouring Daman block into production.
• This is the first such transfer of assets in the country. With the infrastructure in place, ONGC plans to advance gas producing to the August-September period. ONGC plans to lay a pipeline from the Daman field to the Tapti process platform, which is connected by a 70 km pipeline to the company`s facility at Hazira.
• ONGC has committed an investment of over Rs. 8,600 crore for the Daman and C-26 cluster projects. The two projects are expected to produce 11 million cubic meters of gas and 11,000 barrels of condensate per day at their peak.

• The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation Chaudhary Birender Singh addressed the National Workshop on Housing for All-Rural in New Delhi.
• Housing for the poor is a priority area for our Government. The Government has declared the intention to provide a good quality house for all by the year 2022. As part of this, we have launched the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY).
• The entire rural housing programme has been revamped in Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. Subsidy provided by the state and central government has increased by more than 70%. From Rs. 70,000 the allocation has now gone up to Rs. 1,20,000. In hilly and difficult areas it has increased from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 1,30,000.

• An Implementation Agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under the Namami Gange Programme was signed in New Delhi between the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and German International Cooperation (GIZ) of Germany.
• The objective of the agreement is to enable responsible stakeholders at National and State level to apply integrated river basin management approach for the rejuvenation of the river Ganga.
• The project will closely cooperate with other National and international initiatives including Indo-German bilateral projects like Support to National Urban Sanitation Policy (SNUSP) and ‘Sustainable Environment-friendly Industrial Production’ (SEIP).
• The project duration is three years i.e. from 2016 to 2018 and the German contribution in the project will be to the tune of Rs. 22.5 crore. Initial actions will focus on the State of Uttarakhand, with scope of expansion to other upstream Ganga States. 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich floral tributes to B.R. Ambedkar and he launched `Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan` at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. The Abhiyan (campaign) was launched on the 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar at his birthplace to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages and ensure social harmony in villages.
• The campaign also seeks to promote rural development and foster farmers’ welfare and livelihoods to poor. It will focus on generating nationwide efforts on promoting the aim of the programme. The campaign will be run jointly by the Ministries of Rural Development, Agriculture, Social Justice, Labour and Information and Broadcasting along with the States.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed a gathering of farmers at the pilot launch of e-NAM - the e-trading platform for the National Agriculture Market (NAM).
• 21 mandis from 8 States have joined e-NAM. This is a turning point for the agriculture community. The agriculture sector has to be looked at holistically, and it is only then that maximum benefit of the farmer can be ensured.
• 200 mandis will be linked within five Months and 585 Mandis by March, 2018. Various Schemes Initiated to Double Farmers Income in next Five Years.

• The government imposed an anti-dumping duty of up to USD 149 on imports of a chemical used in fermentation of sugar from five countries, including the European Union, Malaysia, Singapore and the US.
• The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), in a notification, Normal Butanol, or N-Butyl Alcohol, exported from the EU, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the United States was found to be below normal value, thus establishing dumping of the same.
• Directorate General of anti-dumping and Allied duites (DGAD) in its investigation had found out that Normal Butanol, or N-Butyl Alcohol exported from five countries mentioned above was found to be below normal value compared to domestic value, thus causing material injury to domestic injury.

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched the `Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana` for widows. A target of 11,000 units (houses) has been set in the current financial year for the programme and Rs 80 crore has been earmarked in the budget for it.
• In this programme contributes Rs. 75,000 would be granted to build a house in districts in hilly terrains and Rs. 70,000 in plains and the amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments in their bank accounts.

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the second phase of subsidized meal scheme, Aahar, at a special programme organized in Cuttack. Opening of 100 more Aahar centres across the State as part of Government’s cheap meal programme for the poor.
• In this schema over 60,000 people will be provided food at these centers every day. The government officials to ensure quality of the food and maintain hygiene at Aahar outlets. The government has formed district aahar societies to monitor smooth functioning of the Aahar outlets at the district-level.

• Bhubaneswar based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and Educational Consultants India Limited (EdCIL), a central PSU, jointly signed a MoU to work in areas of education and human resource development.
• KISS and EdCIL will engage for academic collaborations and exchanges. EdCIL will provide financial support for organizing research projects and conferences. EdCIL distributed books worth over Rs. 4.5 lakhs to around 9000 tribal students from class I to class V of KISS on the ocassion. 

1) Union Government launched Vidyut PRAVAH Mobile App to empower People to demand 24x7 Power.

• Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal launching the mobile application `Vidyut PRAVAH` – Electricity.
• One can now get information related to electricity availability, shortage and pricing on their mobile phones.
• The mobile App provides a wealth of information pertaining to the current demand, shortages if any, surplus power availability and prices in the Power Exchange.
• This app will work as a manifestation of the Prime Minister`s vision of good governance via inculcating transparency in the system and will put pressure on power producers across the country.
• In the Vidyut PRAVAH mobile application, an all-India Power map will showcase surplus power available at power exchanges, average market clearing prices, peak-hour demand shortages and energy shortages

2) Haryana fixes edu qualification for Urban Bodies` polls.

• Any male person desiring to contest for Urban Local Bodies in Haryana will now have to be matriculate and have a functional toilet at home.
• A woman and a Scheduled Caste candidate will be required to be at least 8th standard pass.
• Minimum educational qualification for SC women candidates will be 5th standard pass.
• The minimum qualification and requirement of toilet for contesting Urban Local Bodies polls, like in the case of Panchayati Raj institutions, has been prescribed in the Haryana Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was passed by the Haryana Assembly.

3) Pranab signs ordinance on Uttarakhand expenditure.

• President Pranab Mukherjee has signed an ordinance to authorise expenditure. The Uttarakhand Appropriation (Vote on Account) Ordinance, 2016 was promulgated by the President.
• The ordinance is to provide for the withdrawal of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the State of Uttarakhand for the services of a part of the financial year 2016-17.
• The ordinance allows a withdrawal of about Rs. 13,642.43 crores to meet expenditure on certain services for the ongoing fiscal in the state, which was put under President’s rule.
• According to the Constitution, the government cannot spend any money without Parliament`s approval.

4) India to ratify COP 21 Global Climate Agreement.

• Reasserting India’s commitment to carbon emission reduction and sustainable development, Union Environment, Forests & Climate Change Minister Mr. Prakash Javadekar along with 100 other nations would ratify the COP 21 Global Climate Agreement.
• The agreement, negotiated in Paris, sets out a global action plan to put the world on track by limiting global warming below 2 degree Celsius.
• Climate change was a reality with 1 degree rise in temperature caused by 150 years of uncontrolled carbon emission by the developed world.
• While 30% of cumulative contribution was that of the United States, 50% by Europe, Canada and other developed world and 10% by China, India was responsible for only 3% carbon emission.

5) Government extends import taxes on some steel products.

• Government extended the safeguard duty on some steel imports by two years to protect domestic industry from onslaught of cheap supplies from China amid a global glut.
• The duty will however be reduced to 10 per cent in stages over the next two years.
• The 20 per cent safeguard duty would apply on import of hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy Steel in coils of a width of 600 mm or more.
• Facing domestic economic downturn, China had last year raised its exports of steel products, leading to new duties in several markets like India and the European Union, as well as anti-dumping investigations.

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the Green Delhi programme by planting trees at the Triangular Park at the ITO Chowk.
• The initiative was launched in line with a detailed action plan submitted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to the Supreme Court after it demanded information on steps being taken to improve air quality and reduce air pollution in the Capital.
• The exercise will involve the greening of approximately 120 acres, which includes central verges, side verges and the kutcha portion under flyovers.
• Pollution absorbing shrubs such as Thevetianerefolia (Pila Kaner), Nerium oleander (Lal Kaner), Calliandrabrevipes (Powder puff) and Bougainvilleas and trees such a Ficusinfectoria (Pilkhan), Cassia Siamea will be planted.
• The Public Works Department (PWD) greening will be completed within three months at an estimated cost of Rs. 2 crores.
• Apart from restoring greenery along the road sides and central verges of the roads, the cleaning of roads will be done by vacuum cleaners.

• Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off India’s fastest train, the “semi-bullet” Gatimaan Express, from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station in New Delhi.
• Gatimaan will run between Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station and Agra Cantonment Station.
• Gatimaan Express will clock a speed of 160 km per hour speed in the Tughlakabad-Agra section. Prior to that, it is slated to run at 120 km per hour.
• The original idea to run the train from New Delhi station and make it reach Agra in 90 minutes or even in 105 or 110 minutes has been abandoned.
• Hotspot devices have been installed at coaches to enable passengers to access multimedia services free of cost directly on their smartphones, tablets or laptops.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Stand Up India scheme which facilitates bank loans between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and women borrowers setting up greenfield enterprises in the non-farm sector.
• Over 5,000 e-rickshaws were distributed by Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna scheme at the event.
• Modi also launched the logo for Stand Up India with the tagline `Karen prayas, paayen vikas`.
• The Union Cabinet announced a refinance window of Rs. 10,000 crore that Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will provide for the Stand Up India scheme.

• Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy launched Transnational Skill Standards benchmarked to the United Kingdom across 82 identified job roles, aiming to to support international mobility of Indian workforce.
• Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) that will enable sharing of best practice, staff exchange, and development of new models to increase employer engagement and investment in skills.
• India and the UK have been collaborating on skill development since a long time now and this effort to bring more quality in vocational education which will open more avenues for employment across countries for the youth.
• A common set of project documentation was created by the National Skill Development Corporation and Federation of Industry Skills & Standards and the Sector Skill Councils partners were allowed to develop their own approach to the task.
• The Transnational Standards highlight the gaps between Indian Standards against the UK standards and provide a workable document to create bridge courses on the identified gaps between the standards of the two countries. 

• The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave ex post facto approval for the implementation of the `One Rank One Pension` (OROP) scheme.
• The pensions under the OROP have already been disbursed to most beneficiaries. The scheme has been brought into effect from 2014.
• Total of 15.91 lakh pensioners have been given the first instalment under the OROP till March, totalling Rs. 2,861 crore.
• As per the scheme, pension will be re-fixed for those retiring in the same rank and with the same length of service as the average of the minimum and maximum pension drawn by retirees in 2013. Those drawing pensions above the average will be protected.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to Implementation of the National Hydrology Project. It will be a central sector scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 3679.7674 crore. This includes Rs. 3,640 crore for National Hydrology Project (NHP) and Rs. 39.7674 crore for National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) to be taken up in two stages.
• The NHP will help in gathering Hydro-meteorological data which will be stored and analysed on a real time basis and can be seamlessly accessed by any user at the State/ District/ Village level. The project envisages to cover the entire country as the earlier hydrology projects covered only 13 States.

1. In Situ Hydromet Monitoring System and Hydromet Data Acquisition System.
2. Setting up of National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC).
3. Water Resources Operation and Management System.
4. Water Resources Institutions and Capacity Building.

• Data storage, exchange, analysis and dissemination through National Water Informatics Centre.
• Lead time in flood forecast from 1 day to at least 3 days.
• Mapping of flood inundation areas for use by the disaster management authorities.

• The Bihar government imposed a complete ban on liquor in the state. The decision was taken after Cabinet gave its approval to excise and prohibition department’s proposal to impose a complete ban on sale and consumption of liquor in the state including Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) brands.
• Announced the decision after the Cabinet meeting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the government which had earlier decided to allow sale and consumption of Indian Made Foreign liquor brands in selected parts of urban areas has now after growing public demand has decided to impose a complete ban.
• Bihar has become the fourth state to complete dry after Gujarat, Nagaland and mizoram.

• Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti inaugurated Water Film Festival at Water Expo-2016 in New Delhi.
• The Water Resources are the prime input to the growth and prosperity of a nation and Films can prove to be an effective tool of communication to spread the message of water conservation.
• The Films festival was organized by Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Limited, a PSU under Ministry of Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation as part of the ongoing India Water Week 2016 celebrations.

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya (OAV) project at Sasan Ambagaon village in his home constituency Hinjli in Ganjam district to provide modern schools on the lines of Kendriya Vidyalayas in the underdeveloped rural pockets of the State.
• The government aims at opening one Adarsh Vidyalaya in each of the 314 revenue blocks of the State. 100 of these schools started functioning with the official launch of the project. The inauguration ceremony organised on the premises of the newly-constructed Vidyalaya at Sasan.
• Adarsh Vidyalayas are expected to have hostel facility in future and will be affiliated to the CBSE. They would have English as the first language and Odia as the second language as medium of teaching. These schools will have teacher-pupil ratio of 1:25 and classroom-student ratio of 1:40. Around 50 per cent of total seats would be reserved for the scheduled categories and girls.

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel officially launched the state-wide implementation of National Food Security Act, which has been renamed as `Maa Annapurna Yojna (Scheme)` by the state government.
• Though the Food Security Act was passed during the UPA regime at the Centre, Patel, in her speech at a grand launching function at Sanathal village, This Maa Annapurna Yojna, 3.82 crore people of Gujarat will be benefited. Each of them will get rice at Rs. 3 per Kg and wheat at Rs. 2 per Kg.

• To promote the Swachh Bharat Mission, Union Urban development Minister Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated `Namma Toilet` in the national capital Delhi.
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is contributing in a major way to ensure hygiene and cleanliness to all in the country; public toilets are being built across the country. The mission targets to establish 2 lakh 56 thousand public toilets by 2017.

• The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan dedicated 36 new CNG stations located in Delhi and NCR to the public.
• Inaugurating the CNG dispensing at the retail outlet of Indian Oil located in Gole Market, New Delhi, and the commitment of the central government to make CNG available across the country so that clean fuel is accessible at doorsteps for all.
• While 25 out of these 36 CNG stations are located in NCT of Delhi, 11 are located in NCR - Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat and Khurja.
• 30 out of these stations have been installed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) at the retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies like Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL. 3 stations by Haryana City gas in Gurgaon, 1 station by GAIL Gas in Sonepat and 2 stations by Adani gas.
• The efforts of oil marketing companies and city gas distribution companies for rolling out the current initiative for City Gas Distribution (CGD) infrastructure in Delhi and NCR. These companies are geared up for extending all possible cooperation for converting cars to CNG in Delhi and NCR.

• The Prime Minister was given an overview of the work done by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) in addressing national challenges, and its recognition as a major Indian innovator.
• In this meeting, the potential that exists for a large number of start-ups to emerge from the research being done by CSIR labs. The importance of converting lab research to commercial applications. Medical device manufacturing, energy, and waste management were some of the areas mentioned where CSIR could play a key role.
• Parameters that to assess the performance of CSIR labs; and a mechanism whereby there could be internal competition among various labs.
• CSIR to list at least one hundred problems being faced by people in various parts of India, and take up the challenge of solving them technologically within a specified time period.

• The Union Minster of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani launched a portal for registration and allotment of International Standard Book Number (ISBN) in New Delhi.
• The ISBN portal has been created in a short period of time, to facilitate publishers as well as the authors to register for ISBN online. This interactive automated system would provide fast and efficient services in a stipulated time frame to the Publishers and Authors as well.
• The feedback from the publishers, a mobile app in the regional languages would also be launched in order to reach out to more and more publishers and authors across the country.
• Prof. Narendra Kohli, eminent author was the Guest of Honor on the occasion. In present times, ISBN has become an important part of publishing sector. Further this online system is a good initiative towards providing enhanced accessibility to the publishers and authors.

• The Union Textiles Minister Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated the Apparel and Garment Making unit in Bodhjungnagar Industrial Growth Centre, in Agartala. The Apparel Units in the North East are a significant step towards the Make in India Initiative of the Government.
• This was the first organized effort to bring modern ready-made garment industry in North East. It will be possible to realize the goals of Make in India, when our people have entrepreneurial abilities and our workforce has necessary skills.
• The project will develop entrepreneurship through various capacity building measures and also train the people to work efficiently on high-end garment machines. It will help to develop an ecosystem which will trigger further investments and employment in the state.

• Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu Inaugurates Fitment of CCTV In Amritsar- New Delhi Shan-E-Punjab Express.
• Shan-E-Punjab Express Becomes the First India Train Fitted with CCTV Surveillance Cameras. Surveillance Systems While Monitoring Security Shall Not Compromise on Privacy of Rail Passengers. Four to Six Cameras Per Coaches Installed with Digital Video Recorder Facial Recognition In Unambiguous Light and in Low Light Conditions Especially in Aisle Areas.
• The agenda of passengers’ safety has always been on priority of Indian Railways and to ensure safety of all rail passengers, various steps such as helplines, CCTVs, sensitization of RPF, integrated security system etc. have been introduced by the Railways.
• CCTV Surveillance Cameras in Shan-e-Punjab is a one more step towards improving security in Indian Trains. Installing CCTV in Indian trains is a technological step for improvement in safety. The technology and human efforts have to go hand in hand.

• Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung launched the online licensing system at Raj Niwas in the presence of Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma and other senior officers.
• The Delhi Police launched online licensing system for the citizens to improve "ease of doing business" and "service delivery" by simplifying the licensing process without diluting the legal requirements.
• The system would enable citizens to apply for license from the comfort of their homes and they would be able to check the status of their application online. This would be a win-win situation for the department as well since it would reduce their repetitive manual work and give them more time for quality checks.