Current Affairs Summary-September 2016

Current Affairs Summary-September 2016

CAUVERY WATER ISSUE

 

In August this year, the Tamil Nadu government showed a deficit of 50.0052 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water released from Karnataka reservoirs, as directed by the CDWT.

 Tamil Nadu sought the apex court’s intervention saying its farmers needed the water to begin cultivating samba crops.

 On September 5, the Supreme Court ordered the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of water a day for 10 days, to Tamil Nadu. This led to widespread protests and bandhs in Karnataka.

 

The Karnataka government’s stand was water could not be released due to drought conditions in South Karnataka.

 On September 22 two Houses of the Karnataka legislature, on Friday, unanimously passed a resolution stating that “it is imperative for the State government to ensure” that no water is drawn from the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin “except for drinking water requirements of villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and for the entire city of Bengaluru.”

 

As per 1924-agreement, Cauvery river water is distributed as 75% with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, 23% to Karnataka and remaining to go to Kerala.   In 1974, Karnataka (Mysore) asserted that the 1924  agreement entailed a discontinuation of the water supply to Tamil Nadu (Madras) after 50 years.

 Karnataka demanded that the river water should be divided according to international rules, i.e., in equal portions.

 

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), became the seventh party that can contest Lok Sabha and assembly polls across the country on its own symbol.

TMC fulfilled conditions to qualify as a so-called state party in four states West Bengal, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

 Under the revised rules of EC, a party’s performance over two consecutive Lok Sabha or assembly elections is considered, as opposed to one previously, for granting recognition as a national party.

 The changes have helped other parties that performed badly in 2014 elections to maintain their nation party status.

 The other six are the BJP BSP NCP CPI CPIM Congress

 

Criteria for becoming national party

A political party shall be eligible to be recognised as a National party if :-

 It secures at least six percent(6%) of the valid votes polled in

any four or more states, at a general election to the House

of the People or, to the State Legislative Assembly; and in

addition, it wins at least four seats in the House of the People

from any State or States.

OR

 It wins at least two percent (2%) seats in the House o the

People (i.e., 11 seats in the existing House having 543 members), and these members are elected from at least three different States.

OR

 A party has got recognition as a state party in at least four states.

What are the benefits of being recognised as national party?

 National party recognition leads to a reserved symbol for its candidates contesting from across the country.

 This is critical for political parties since a large section of voters in the country are illiterate and depend on symbols to identify the party they want to vote for.

 Having a pan-India symbol helps parties reach out to prospective voters.

 Candidates from a national party require only one proposer to file their nominations and are entitled to two sets of electoral rolls free of cost.

 National parties get dedicated broadcast slots on public broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio during the general elections.

 A national party can have a maximum of 40 ‘star campaigners’ while a registered unrecognised party can nominate a maximum of 20 ‘star campaigners’, whose travel expenses are not accounted for in the election expense accounts of candidates.

 

 

The government has clamped down on four American NGOs- Avaaz, Bank Information Centre (BIC), Sierra Club and 350.org. Earlier it had acted against Greenpeace.

 

Recently, Supreme Court (SC) voiced its concerns on the NGO becoming a “proxy litigant” and a front for settling corporate rivalry or personal vendetta.

As Presently, Home Ministry monitors foreign funds donated to NGOs and organisations through the FCRA. But for effective monitoring it wants the Finance Ministry to surrender its powers to monitor NGOs under FEMA as many International donors such as the Ford Foundation, the U.K.’s Department for International Development and Canada’s International Development Research Centre are registered under FEMA.

 

 

The Central Information Commission (CIC) now would function like an e-court with all its case files moving digitally and the applicant being alerted about case hearings through an SMS and email from September 2016.

 

As soon as an RTI applicant files an appeal or a complaint, he/she would be given a registration number and would get an alert on email and mobile phone about his case and progress.

 The case would then be electronically transferred immediately to the concerned information commissioner’s registry electronically

 

 

In 2006 it was announced that Tata would setup a car

manufacturing unit to roll-out its Nano model for which close

to 1000 acres of land would be allocated.

In 2008, government acquired 997 acres of land in Singur,

40km from Kolkata, under the Land Acquisition Act 1894, under “eminent domain principle and urgency clause” for Tata Motors to build the Nano factory.

ü Massive demonstrations were held against the forcible land acquisition proposed for the project.

ü It became controversial because it was prime arable land that was forcibly acquired by the West Bengal government.

In 2008, Calcutta high court upheld the acquisition of the land, holding it to be in the interest of the public and for public purpose. The Tatas moved the Nano project from West Bengal to Gujarat in the meantime to avoid judicial hassles.

In 2016, the Supreme Court in an appeal overturned the decision and has ordered to return the acquired land to farmers in 12 weeks.

 

‘Eminent domain principle’

Eminent domain is the right or power of a sovereign state to take private property for public use without the owner’s consent, after payment of just compensation.

 

 

 

NAM today, like the Commonwealth has always been, is a heritage we need not discard.

 

The 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) took place in Margarita, Venezuela.

 

It was founded in September 1961. At present NAM have 120 member countries and 17 observer countries.

The idea of NAM was jointly conceived by India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Indonesia’s President Sukarno, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah and Yugoslavia’s President Josip Broz Tito.

The first non-alignment summit was held in Belgrade in 1961.

Over the course of the past 60 years, the NAM has seen an erosion of its authority.

 The Third World debt crisis of the 1980s crushed the economic ambitions of NAM states.

Unipolar world: The Soviet Union collapsed, the U.S. bombed Panama and Iraq, and history seemed to end with American ascendency.

ü By the early 1990s, several important powers of NAM began to back away (Argentina left in 1991). Yugoslavia crumbled, with war tearing apart its promise.

ü India went to the IMF and gestured to the U.S. that its days of non-alignment had gradually come to a close. NAM oscillated between suspicion of U.S. motives and attempts to regenerate the economic engines of its members.

No binding principles: NAM does not have any binding principles and that it is a marriage of convenience among disparate countries.

 

In the wake of the Uri attack, several experts have demanded that India withdraw from the Indus Waters Treaty whose terms are considered generous to Pakistan. However, officials made it clear that the IWT will hold, at least for the moment. Instead, the Centre drew up a list of measures to optimize use of the Indus waters that India has so far failed to do.

 The Union government has decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee to study India’s further options on the Indus Waters Treaty.

 The government also decided to build more run-of-the-river hydropower projects on western rivers, to exploit the full potential of 18,600 MW (current projects come to 11,406 MW).

 A decision was taken to review restarting the Tulbul navigation project that India had suspended after Pakistan’s objections in 1987.

 

SAARC minus Pakistan’

By pulling out of the SAARC summit in Islamabad, the government is trying to achieve two ends: sending a tough message in the wake of the Uri attack, but also that it is going ahead with its plan for ‘SAARC minus Pakistan’ instead.

 Since the previous Nepal summit, Pakistan has blocked all protocols to better link the region, while India has pursued a “SAARC minus Pakistan” plan to push through with agreements it is keen on.

 Motor vehicle movement agreement, railway linkages, and the SAARC satellite programme for which all SAARC countries apart from Pakistan have signed up.

 With Afghanistan, which cannot be accessed by land, the two governments have discussed a separate “air corridor” for cargo.

 A bigger articulation of that vision is expected in mid-October, when India hosts the BIMSTEC outreach summit on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Goa.

 Another grouping of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka met for the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme in Delhi to release the first SASEC Operational Plan 2016-2025.

 SASEC’s lead financier, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has already approved about 40 infrastructures and IT projects worth about $7.7 billion.

 

APTTA (AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN TRANSIT TRADE AGREEMENT)

The Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (also known as APTTA) is a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2010 by Pakistan and Afghanistan that calls for greater facilitation in the movement of goods amongst the two countries.

 The 2010 APTTA allows for both countries to use each other’s airports, railways, roads, and ports for transit trade along designated transit corridors.

 The agreement does not cover road transport vehicles from any third country, be it from India or any Central Asia country.

 The APTTA agreement allows Afghan trucks to transport exports to India via Pakistan up to the Wagah crossing point, but does not offer Afghanistan the right to import Indian goods across Pakistani territory.

 

India is already one of the biggest importers of pulses in the world. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved decision to more than double the buffer stock limit from 800,000 tonnes to 2 million tonnes. Buffer stock of 2 million tonnes will comprise domestic procurement of 1 million tonnes and rest will be arranged via government-to-government contracts with other countries and spot purchases from the global market  Will help government to intervene and control spikes in retail prices of pulses and address recurring gaps between demand and supply.

  • Will increase buffer stocks to at least 10% of domestic consumption.
  • Will encourage domestic farmers to increase production of pulses.
  • Will also deter hoarders to hold stock, thus, preventing artificial hike in prices. Mechanism • Funding through ‘Price Stabilization Fund’ scheme. • Procurement by Central agencies (FCI, NAFED and SFAC) or State governments. • Procurement at prevailing market prices or Minimum Support Prices (MSP) whichever is higher. Buffer stock of 2 million tonnes will comprise domestic procurement of 1 million tonnes and rest will be arranged via government-to-government contracts with other countries and spot purchases from the global market

Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)

 

  • It is a not for profit, non-Government, private limited company incorporated in 2013.
  • The Government of India holds 24.5% equity in GSTN
  • All States including NCT of Delhi and Puducherry, and the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (EC), together hold another 24.5%.
  • Balance 51% equity is with non-Government financial institutions.
  • The Company has been set up primarily to provide IT infrastructure and services to the Central and State Governments, tax payers and other stakeholders for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  • After rolling out of GST, the Revenue Model of GSTN shall consist of User Charge to be paid by stakeholders who will use the system and thus it will be a self-sustaining organization.

 

PROJECT SAKSHAM

Cabinet committee cleared the Rs 2,256 crore back-end information technology (IT) project for the indirect tax department (CBEC). CBEC’s IT structure needs to integrate with Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) for processing of registration, payment and returns data sent to CBEC as well as act as a front-end for other modules like audit, appeal and investigation. This IT infrastructure is also urgently

required for continuation of CBEC’s e-services in Customs, central excise and service tax.

 Implementation of taxpayer services such as scanned document upload facility.

 Extension of Indian Customs SWIFT initiative and

 Integration with government initiatives such as e-Nivesh, e-Taal and e-Sign

 

CURRENT ACCOUNT MOVES INTO SURPLUS

 

India’s current account moved in to surplus in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal year after a gap of 9 years.

The major contributor to India’s Current

Account Deficit (CAD) has been imports of Gold and Crude Oil. Sustained period of CAD has led to currency depreciation, high rates of inflation which further effects the incoming foreign investment. There is no hard and fast rule about what will happen if a country has a current account surplus. It depends on the size of the current account and the reasons for the current account surplus. In the case of India, slow growth in imports, reflecting the persisting weakness in the investment sentiment, is the prominent reason behind this.

 

The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give a major push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions. Later on instead of the Rs2,000 crore equity portion that the cabinet approved earlier, with Rs1,000 crore coming from the government, HEFA will now have Rs1,050- 1,100 crore of equity that will be used to raise funds from the markets for lending to educational institutions.

Potential equity partners in HEFA balked at infusing Rs1,000 crore into the vehicle, given that it’s expected to be a low-margin business, prompting the government to set its sights lower. About HEFA

 It will be jointly promoted by the identified Promoter and the Ministry of Human Resource Development.  It would be formed as a SPV within a PSU Bank/ Government- owned-NBFC (Promoter). It would leverage the equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding projects for infrastructure and development of world class Labs in IITs/IIMs/NITs and such other institutions.

 It would also mobilise CSR funds from PSUs/Corporates

The principal portion of the loan will be repaid through the ‘internal accruals’ (earned through the fee receipts, research earnings etc) of the institutions. The Government would service the interest portion through the regular Plan assistance.

HEFA marks the beginning of a market-linked education financing structure in India and a departure from the traditional grant-based system of funding higher educational institutions.

 The agency is expected to ease pressure on the government, which currently is the sole funder of such institutions.

THE DRAFT NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION BILL, 2016

In March 2016, a parliamentary committee report delivered a scathing indictment of the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) functioning following which NITI Aayog was given task of drafting a bill for revamping MCI.

 The Bill does away with elected members to different bodies.

 Medical Advisory Council: The Council shall serve as the primary platform through which the states would put forward their views and concerns before the National Medical Commission (NMC).

 National Medical Commission (NMC):  The commission shall assess the changing requirements of the health care scenario, human resources for health, health care infrastructure and develop a road map for meeting these requirements.

 It shall frame requisite policies for the governance of Medical Education.

 It shall provide overarching policy coordination among the Boards with due regard to their autonomy.

 Commission shall exercise Appellate Authority with respect to decisions of the UGMEB, PGMEB and MARB.

 Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB): UGMEB will determine and prescribe standards and oversee all aspects of medical education at undergraduate level

 Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB): PGMEB will determine and prescribe standards and oversee all aspects of medical education at the postgraduate and super-speciality levels.

 Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB)

 MARB shall determine the process of Assessment and Rating of Medical Educational Institutions as per the standards laid down by the UGMEB or PGMEB

 It shall levy monetary and other such penalties on Institutions which fail to maintain the minimum essential standards.

 Board for Medical Registration (BMR)

 The BMR shall maintain a live National Register of all licensed medical practitioners to be known as the National Register.

 BMR shall prescribe the standards of professional conduct and frame a Code of Ethics for medical practitioners.

The bill provides for a uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to under-graduate medical education under the purview of National Medical Commission.

 

The bill aims to create the National Medical Commission Fund for meeting the salaries, allowances and other remuneration of the Chairman and Members of the Commission, Boards, officers and other employees of the Commission and the Boards

 

The UN released its High-Level Panel report on Access to Medicines showing concerns over non-accessibility of medicines due to high prices.

  • The report has urged governments to “Urgently” increase their current levels of investment in health technology innovation.
  • De-link drug prices from R&D costs.
  • To globally prioritise research on disease whose needs are unmet such as growing emergence of infectious diseases like Ebola and Zika.
  • The panel has recommended making the drug prices transparent both to the consumers and governments.
  • The report calls for human rights to be placed above intellectual property rights so that all countries are able to use flexibilities granted under TRIPS to access affordable medicines.
  • The report has also lashed out powerful nations on threatening weaker countries from overriding drug patents under TRIPS flexibilities.

 

INDIA DECLARED FREE FROM BIRD FLU

India has declared itself free from the highly contagious avian influenza or bird flu. Bird flu (avian influenza) is a disease caused by strains of influenza virus that primarily affects birds. Bird flu is caused by strains of the influenza virus that have evolved to be specially adapted to enter avian cells. There are three main types of influenza: A, B, and C. The virus that causes bird flu is influenza A type with eight RNA strands that make up its genome. Influenza viruses are further classified by analyzing two proteins on the surface of the virus. The proteins are called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). There are many different types of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase proteins. For example, the recent pathogenic bird flu virus has type 5 hemagglutinin and type 1 neuraminidase. Thus, it is named “H5N1” influenza A virus.

MARRAKESH TREATY COMES INTO FORCE

Why in News?

  • On Sep 29th, Marrakesh Treaty came into force, after 22 countries ratified the treaty adopted in 2013 by members of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

What is Marrakesh Treaty?

Marrakesh Treaty or Marrakesh VIP Treaty is formally known as Marrakesh treaty to facilitate Access to Published works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities.

It is also called “Books for Blind” treaty

The treaty allows for copyright exceptions to help for the creation, export and import, sharing, translation of the books in any format for accessible versions of copyrighted books and other works for the people with impaired visibility. India was the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty back in July 2014 and has set an example for other countries to follow. • In line with Marrakesh treaty, India launched Accessible India Campaign (Sugama Bharat Abhiyan) and has set up Sugamya Pustakalaya, which has 2,00,000 volumes.

(Note: It is not to be confused with Marrakesh Agreement signed at the end of Uruguay round of discussions for establishing WTO.)

Health Ministry to launch “Mission Parivar Vikas” for improved family planning services. It was launched in 145 high-focus districts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. The aim is to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework.

The latest Lancet series on maternal health reveals that nearly one quarter of babies worldwide are still delivered in the absence of a skilled birth attendant. One-third of the total maternal deaths in 2015 happened in two countries: India and Nigeria Reasons for High MMR in India. Institutional delivery: Institutional delivery rates in rural and urban areas were 28.9% and 67.5% respectively as per NFHS- III in 2005-06.

  • Women not getting Antenatal Care: More than one out of every three women (34%) in India did not receive an ante-natal check- up for births in the three years preceding the survey. Only 7% received antenatal checkup in third trimester.
  • Postnatal care is grossly deficient.
  • Teenage pregnancy and their risk of dying:  Despite the Child Marriage Restraint Act (1978), 34 percent of all women are married below the legal minimum age of marriage (ie 18 years);  Girls aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die from child birth as women in their twenties; those under age 15 are five times as likely to die.

HOUSEHOLD TOILET COVERAGE-SWACHH BHARAT MISSION

Sikkim (100%) and Himachal Pradesh (55.95%) have the maximum percentage of villages that are ‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF). The total number of districts declared ODF in the country stand at 23.

  • Three cities in Karnataka — coastal Mangaluru, Udupi and Mysuru — have been declared “open defecation free”. Mysuru tops the list of “clean cities” for two consecutive years.

Hague convention

The Hague Convention seeks “to protect to protect children internationally from the harmful effects of their wrongful removal or retention and to establish procedures to ensure their prompt return to the State of their habitual residence, as well as to secure protection for the rights of access.”

Ninety-four states are party to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

India is not a signatory to the Hague Convention. A country has to have a domestic law in place before it can become a signatory.

AARAMBH INITIATIVE

It is the country’s first-ever hotline to curb sexual abuse of children through the Internet and to remove child pornographic content online unveiled to eliminate the scourge of online child pornography and further the cause of child protection in online spaces. It is a network of organizations and individuals working on child protection in the country, has collaborated with the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The hotline in India will be hosted on aarambhindia.org and will enable users to report child sexual abuse images and videos in a safe and anonymous environment. It is a simple, accessible form (available in Hindi & English) that any informed user who stumbles across sexually explicit imagery of a child on the public internet can use to report the content

GSLV F05 AND INSAT 3DR  ISRO’s GSLV F05 spacecraft has successfully placed INSAT 3DR satellite into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) for eventually stationing in geosynchronous orbit. INSAT-3DR It is an advanced weather satellite which is expected to provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.

It can provide imaging in Middle Infrared band to provide night time pictures of low clouds and fog.

 It can also provide Imaging in two Thermal Infrared bands for estimation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) with better accuracy.

GSLV-F05 was the tenth flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. This is the third successful launch with the indigenous cryogenic engine in GSLV.

 It is a three-staged vehicle and cryogenic engine is used in the third and final stage. GSLVs are used to carry heavy satellites (usually 2 to 2.5 tonnes) into Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

  • ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) launched eight satellites in orbit in longest ever launch mission.
  • It is for the first time that satellites in two different orbits were placed by the same rocket, PSLV-C35 ( Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).

 

. NIDHI

  • NIDHI (National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations) is an umbrella programme pioneered by the Department of Science and Technology
  • It works towards nurturing knowledge-based and technology-driven ideas and innovations into successful start-ups.
  • It also aims to provide technological solutions to the pressing needs of the society and create new avenues for wealth and job creation.
  • NIDHI, by design connects and strengthens all the links of the innovation chain- scouting, sustaining, securing, scaling and showcasing.
  • The key stakeholders of NIDHI includes various departments and ministries of the central government, state governments, academic and R & D institutions, mentors, financial institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists, industry champions and private sectors.
  • Components of NIDHI that support each stage of a budding start-up are:

 PRAYAS (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators & Start- ups), which aims to support innovators to build prototypes of their ideas by providing a grant up to Rs.10 lakhs and an access to Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab).

 The Seed Support System which provides up to One Crore rupees per start-up and is implemented through Technology Business Incubators.

  • With a view to drive the innovation and start-up centric new initiatives in a scaled up manner for its wider outreach across the country, a 450% increase in allocation (Rs. 180 crores) has been made in the Department’s budget.

 

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

  • A major study has found that neonates in India are increasingly dying due to alarming degree of drug resistance after being infected at birth facilities within 72 hours of their birth.
  • The study found that nearly 26 percent of babies with sepsis died due to multi- drug resistance which made the disease untreatable.

Background

  • India has become the focal point for drug resistance so much so that a new bacterium that was found

to be resistant to a wide spectrum of antibiotics was named New Delhi-Metallo- Beta-Lactamase 1 in 2008.

  • Individuals across all ages are highly drug resistant due to dreadful sanitation conditions (open defecation and untreated sewage systems) and uncontrolled use of antibiotics.
  • Bacteria easily spread and thrive in India in humans, agriculture and livestock.
  • One of the major problems that the country is facing is today AMR (Anti-microbial Resistance) is the treatment of TB.

 

In February, 2016, India launched the Red Line campaign. Under this campaign prescription only antibiotics were marked with a red line to curb irrational use. The government has also backed it up with a communication campaign so as to create awareness that red line medicines should not be taken without prescription.

ANTI-MALARIA BATTLE

Why in News?

  • Scientists have discovered a new compound named bicyclic azetidine series that was found to act on all three stages of the malaria parasite, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

About The Discovery

  • The compound was found to cure the disease with a single, low dose treatment.
  • Also, it can provide prophylaxis; prevent disease transmission both in lab and in animals.
  • The compound works by targeting the parasite’s protein translation machinery. Protein translation is vital at every stage of the plasmodium life cycle. Since protein translation is quite vital for the parasite’s functioning, mutation is quite unlikely. Therefore, there

are less chances of parasite developing drug resistance against the compound.

 

NASA has successfully launched a space probe – OSIRIS-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification-Regolith Explorer) for a near earth asteroid Bennu. This will be NASA’s first asteroid sampling mission.

 

World’s largest telescope, Aperture Spherical Telescope or FAST began operations from China’s Ghinzou Province. The telescope surpasses the 300 meter Arecibo Observatory in Peurto Rico.

 

Scientists have found fossils of a tiny structure called stromatolites in ancient sedimentary rock along  Greenland’s ice caps.The finding has push back the date of origin of life on earth by hundreds of millions years. (Note: In geological terms, earth was originated 4.5 bn years ago). The structure and geology of the rock in which the stromatolite fossils has been found points to a rapid emergence of life on earth.

 

A European satellite named Gaia space probe has mapped the precise positions and brightness of more than 1.14 million stars in the Milky Way.

  • It is being lauded as the most accurate three dimensional map of the Milky Way.
  • It has also pinned down the distances and motions of more than 2 billion stars.
  • Gaia, the European space probe was launched in 2013 and started collecting data in July 2014.
  • It was launched to log the position, colour and brightness of a billion stars sending it an orbit around the sun, close to 1.5 million km from Earth.
  • It has been able to map the star with so much accuracy thanks to its twin telescopes and a billion pixel camera.
  • Gaia has not only mapped the distribution of the stars but also the neighbouring Small and Large

Magellanic Clouds.

 

NATIONAL CYBER COORDINATION CENTRE (NCCC)

National Cyber Coordination Centre is a proposed cyber security and e-surveillance agency in India. It is intended to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of other agencies.

Government’s cyber security arm Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) will be the main agency handling the establishment of NCCC. This Centre will have top experts from the field and it will be run like similar organisation in other countries such as the US, the UK, France, Germany, etc.   

 

An indigenously built warship equipped with a range of high-tech missiles was launched in Mumbai.

  • Christened ‘Mormugao’, the vessel has been built by government-run Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) and belongs to Visakhapatnam class of ships being constructed under Project 15B.
  • The Project 15B missile destroyers are modern warships equipped with the latest weapons package, in continuation of the lineage of the highly successful Delhi and Kolkata Class ships.
  • Fitted also with the Barak-8 long-range missiles, Mormugao has been named after the picturesque port in Goa.
  • The warships can achieve a maximum speed of 31-32 knots and are equipped with surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine launchers, multi mission radar for surveillance along with medium range air/surface surveillance radar and other advanced electronic warfare and decoys. The Visakhapatnam class (Project 15B)

The Visakhapatnam class (Project 15B) is a class of stealth guided missile destroyers currently being built for the Indian Navy. Based on the Kolkata-class design, the Visakhapatnam class will be an extensively improved version.

  • Project 15B destroyers will feature enhanced stealth characteristics as well as incorporate state of the art weaponry and sensors including the long range Barak 8 surface-to-air missile.
  • Project 15B will retain the same hull as 15A Kolkata-class destroyers, but there will be significant changes in the superstructure that will improve the ship’s stealth characteristics.
  • After Visakhapatnam and Mormugao, the next in the queue is ‘Paradip’ followed by another warship expected to be named after a coastal city of Gujarat.

 

Indian Army formally announced the establishment of the Army Design Bureau.It will act as an interface of the Indian Army that will provide a better understanding of the Army’s requirements. It will act as single point contact to the academia, research organisations and the industry for developing high tech defence products

 

A report “Explaining ocean warming: causes, scale, effects and consequences” released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – has shown the effects of ocean warming. World’s waters have absorbed more than 93 per cent of the enhanced heating from climate change since the 1970s, curbing the heat felt on land but drastically altering the rhythm of life in the ocean. Ocean has been shielding us and the consequences of global warming.

 

At sea, warming temperatures will cause changes to the abundance and range of marine species used for food. The billion people who depend on fish for their principal source of protein and. Fishing and aquaculture industries linked to this harvesting Along with ocean warming, we also have increasing atmospheric temperatures.

India now has just 12 varieties of food, which provide 80 per cent of the food energy. Changing lifestyles have affected variety, taste and nutritional value of food.

  • Agricultural biodiversity has been declining in India with more number of crops being commercially cultivated. Number of varieties grown under different agricultural systems has also fallen. Over 300,000 samples of indigenous plants kept in the National Gene Bank have gone out of cultivation.

With just 180 left across the world, the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a riverine species, is in the critically endangered category of the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (iucn).

 

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has become Asia-Pacific’s only and one of the world’s  few airports to achieve a “carbon neutral” status.

 

Indian scientists have developed two new sets of indigenous transgenic events in cotton cultivation that is a potential alternative to Mosanto seeds. Scientists at Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) have developed two independent ‘events’ for insertion of the cry1Ac gene. cry1Ac gene isolated from a soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and is toxic for American bollworm insect. The other promising indigenous GM event is whitefly-resistant cotton developed by the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow. Scientists have isolated and cloned a gene from an edible fern Tectaria macrodonta. The geneTma12 encodes a protein toxic to whitefly.

The two CGMCP new events will decrease dependence on Monsanto’s Bollgard II. The levels of cry1Ac protein expression is known to be much higher than that of Bt cotton varieties developed by Monsanto, Bollgard I and Bollgard II technologies. The cry1Ac protein expression in the two events declines over the growing season, but the overall level is 2-3 folds higher than MON531, Monsanto’s cry1Ac event. These events will make the Bt cotton variety much more resistant to bollworm attacks.

Higher protein expression will also address the growing vulnerability of Bt cotton to pink bollworm.Both CGMCP and NBRI events come at a time when there is growing susceptibility of pink bollworm and whitefly in the currently grown Bt hybrids. Not only has the total production fallen but also production per hectare.

 

HERITAGE HEROES AWARD

Assam-based ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar has become the first Asian to be awarded the prestigious Heritage Heroes Award by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). • He received the award at the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress. He has been working to save the grasslands, flora and fauna of Manas National Park area for the past two decades. He currently engaged as Manas Landscape Administrator for Aaranyak, an NGO working for biodiversity conservation in Northeast India. He was instrumental in connecting Manas Wildlife Sanctuary with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. • He had also conducted a GIS survey of the Manas area and his research findings were highly beneficial in the Manas Tiger Conservation.

NATIONAL GANGA COUNCIL

The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of PM Narendra Modi has cleared the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016.The Order enforces an institutional structure for policy and implementation and empowers National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to discharge its functions in an independent and accountable manner. The new council for River Ganga will replace the existing National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) for pollution prevention and rejuvenation of Ganga. A mission status will be granted to the Authority with corresponding power under the Environment (Protection) Act (1986).

The NMCG will now have the power to issue orders and also exercise the powers under the Environment Protection Act. It can now fine polluters. NMCG will only take action in case of non-compliance when CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) does not do so. CPCB can also take action jointly with NMCG.

The said infrastructure will ensure ecological flows, abatement to pollution and rejuvenation of the river. The authority will also be able to impose restrictions on polluting industries and carry out inspections to ensure compliance.

Scientists and wildlife conservationist feel that the development of the Ganga under the National Waterway 1 project is threat to the survival of the gangetic dolphins.

Ganges River Dolphin is a sub-species of river dolphins, found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers.

The Centre has planned to develop a 1600-km waterway between Allahabad and Haldia for inland transportation under a Rs. 4200-crore World Bank-aided project.

The first phase of the project from Haldia to Varanasi (1300 km) is now underway.

The stretch that covers that NW1 is also home to river dolphins.

There are almost 2500 river dolphins in Ganga and there population is diminishing.

River dolphins have been classified as “endangered” by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in 1966.

These species are practically blind and rely on bio-sonar waves to move around

 

HABITAT DESTRUCTION OF LAGGAR FALCON IN MADURAI

The Laggar falcon, once numerous in number, now has only two birds of this species surviving on the rock cliffs of Arittapatti in Madurai. Indiscriminate sand quarrying on the Vaigai river bed and indiscriminate granite and stone quarrying in many parts of Madurai has led to loss of habitat of these birds. Felling of palm trees in these areas, which is a nesting spot of many raptor species, is also one of the reasons for the disappearance of the birds. Laggar Falcons are an indigenous raptor species with white and grey plumage, which can hunt and fly at speeds of up to 180 kmph. It resembles the lanner falcon but is darker overall.

 

The International Union of Conservation of Nature has said in a report that the Panda is now classified as “vulnerable” instead of “endangered” species.

A new painted frog species and a new Pika (rat species) have been found this year.

PRAKAMPANA is a synergy between armed forces and civil administration during the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) situations. The armed forces, in association with the National Disaster Management Authority and the NDRF participated in these exercises.

JOGI ART

The Rajasthan government has installed Jogi Tribal Art Paintings across Jaipur in an attempt to make people aware and to keep the traditional art alive. The paintings have been installed at one of its stations, on billboards, buses as well as on bus stands around the city. Jogi Art is tribal art form that hinges on lines and dots.

 

BUNDI SCHOOL OF PAINTING

Bundi Paintings are one of the many art forms that have used to decorate public places by the Rajasthan Government. This art form has been used to decorate the Kota Railway Station. Bundi School of Painting is a Rajasthani style of Indian miniature painting that lasted from 17 the century towards the end of 19th century.

  • It basically existed in the princely state of Bundi and the neighbouring principality of Kotah.
  • The Bundi School is characterized by a fondness for lush green vegetation, dramatic night skies and a distinctive way of depicting water with light swirls.
  • The Bundi School has a close association with the Mughal style.
  • The Bundi Paintings emphasized on hunting, court scenes, procession, life of nobles, lovers, animals, birds and scenes from Lord Krishna’s life.

 

Labour issues are part of the concurrent list of the Constitution, allowing both the Union and state governments to make rules on it. The Union government has the power to declare a national minimum wage floor. The government, after accepting the Minimum Wage Advisory Board’s recommendations, announced a hike in the minimum wage for unskilled central government workers. The pay will be increased to Rs 350 a day from Rs 246.

 

NATHDWARA PAINTING

The Rajasthan government has decked the Udaipur railway station in Nathdwara paintings in an attempt to keep the traditional art form alive. The Nathdwara School of Painting is a subset of Mewar School and is seen as an important school in 17th and 18th century. These paintings have different sub-styles, of which the Pichwai Paintings are the most popular. Pichwai Paintings are cloth paintings hung behind the image of Hindu God, Shrinathji. Pichwai paintings illustrate different moods of Lord Krishna.

Carnatic Music

Carnatic music  is one of the two sub-genres of Indian classical music that evolved from Hindu traditions; the other being Hindustani music. Carnatic music pays a huge emphasis on vocals. Most compositions are to be sung even when they are being played on instruments. Like Hindustani music, Carnatic music also relies on two main elements; Raga and Tala.

WILDLIFE PANEL CLEARS FIRST PHASE OF THE KEN-BETWA PROJECT

The standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife gave a nod for Ken-Betwa interlinking of rivers, India’s first interstate river interlinking project.The panel headed by Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave has agreed to submerge more than 100 square kilometres of Panna Tiger Reserve in MP to link the Ken in MP and Betwa in UP.

World Bank’s biennial measure of international supply chain efficiency, called Logistics Performance Index which measures a country’s logistics performance at its key international gateways, has ranked India at 35th in 2016, jumping from 54th in 2014.

The LPI measures performance in terms of six components i.e. Customs, Infrastructure, International Shipments, Logistics Quality and Competence, Tracking and Tracing, and Timeliness.

Logistics Performance Index does not address how easy or difficult it is to move goods to the hinterland or movements within the country.

FDI PROMOTION: PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS

India has decided to grant Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors who meet some set criteria in respect of minimum investment and employment generation. This scheme will allow foreign investors who qualify for PRS status and their families multiple entry into the country for a maximum of 20 years without any stipulation governing their stay. The beneficiaries will also be exempted from registration requirement and given the right to purchase one residential property to live in. In order to avail this scheme, the foreign investor will have to invest a minimum of 10 crores within 18 months or 25 crores within 36 months, with the investment resulting in generation of employment to at least 20 resident Indians every financial year. The PRS will first be granted for 10 years, which can be reviewed for an additional 10 years if there is no adverse notice against the PRS holder. The scheme is similar to other such programs in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong which are favored FDI destinations across the globe.

NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP PROMOTION SCHEME

The Government has recently notified National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore and a target of training 50 lakh apprentices by 2019-20. It is unique since, it is the first scheme to offer financial incentives to employers, as 25% of the prescribed stipend payable to an apprentice would be reimbursed to the employers directly by the Government of India. All transactions including registration by employers, apprentices, registration of contract and payment to employers will be made as online mode. Eligible employers shall engage apprentices in a band of 2.5% to 10% of the total strength of the establishment. The scheme also supports basic training, by sharing of basic training cost with basic training providers in respect of fresher apprentices who come directly to apprenticeship without any formal trade training. It provides for an industry led, practice oriented, effective and efficient mode of formal training.

The National Policy of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 launched by Prime Minister focuses on apprenticeship as one of the key components for creating skilled manpower in India.

India had introduced a ‘buy-local’ provision under its National Solar Mission for large solar projects. Under it the projects were entitled to subsidy and assured government procurement if the equipment was manufactured locally. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had earlier this year ruled against this provision in order to remove any disadvantage to imported solar equipment in India. As per WTO the local content requirements undermine our efforts to promote clean energy by requiring the use of more expensive and less efficient equipment, making it more difficult for clean energy sources to be cost-competitive. However, this proved to be a setback for India efforts towards clean energy and fight climate change.

As per India, ‘Buy-local’ provisions are essential to generate political and popular support for the economic transition as they create jobs, promote health and make the process cost-effective, encouraging trade unions and vote banks to extend their cooperation.

India had, thus, filed an appeal before WTO on this issue. However, the appeal got dismissed recently.

NIRYAT BANDHU SCHEME

The Niryat Bandhu Scheme was announced as part of Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 in 2011 to focus on mentoring the first generation entrepreneurs in the field of international trade. Under the scheme, officers of DGFT (Niryat Bandhu) will be investing time and knowledge to mentor the interested individuals who want to conduct the business in a legal way. The scheme was given a major thrust in the new Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20. A programme called Niryat Bandhu@Your Desktop was started last year to facilitate online mentoring. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has been identified as the nodal agency for implementation of the programme.

INDIA’S FIRST COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION CENTRE

Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), India’s first major centre for commercial arbitration, will be launched in Mumbai on 8 October. It will make India a hub of international commercial arbitration. Help in improving ease of doing business. Act as an alternative forum that Indian businesses can approach instead of Arbitration Centre either at Singapore, London or Hong Kong. There are arbitration centres in India but none of them have been approached for settling major international disputes

This alternative dispute resolutions mechanism will also help in de-stressing our overburdened judicial system. Joint initiative between the Government of Maharashtra and the domestic and international business and legal communities. Arbitral rules will be based on international arbitration best practices.

Fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey revealed that around 94.4 per cent households had saving bank accounts in 2015-16. Figure is much higher than the official figure of Census 2011, which puts the figure for households with saving bank accounts in India at 58.7 per cent. 93.4 per cent households in rural areas and 96.8 houses in the urban areas had a savings bank account. According to the report, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana may have played a major role in this achievement.

GST COUNCIL SETS EXEMPTION FOR TAX THRESHOLD AND OTHER AGREEMENTS

The Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council has decided that businesses in the North- eastern and hill states with annual turnover below Rs.10 lakh will be out of the GST net. The threshold for the exemption in the rest of India would be an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh. The Constitutional Amendment paving the way for the GST has a provision to accord special status to the North- eastern and hill states. Many small scale traders and service providers will be saved from undertaking GST compliances and it also reduces a substantial burden for tax authorities to assess small time dealers.

MARKET ECONOMY STATUS TO CHINA  India is assessing the implications of China being granted “Market Economy Status” (MES) as in 2001, the WTO-member countries had decided to deem China as a ‘market economy’ in anti-dumping cases from December 2016.  As per the 2001 agreement, to calculate the ‘normal value’ of exported goods while adjudicating anti-dumping cases, the WTO member nations could ignore the selling price and production costs in China for 15 years.  Of the 535 cases where anti-dumping duties were imposed by India from 1994-2014, a maximum of 134 has been on goods from China. Market Economy Status will in turn mean lesser chances of anti-dumping duties being imposed or lesser anti-dumping duties even if they are imposed.

JOBLESSNESS RISES TO 5-YEAR HIGH

According Fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey conducted by Labour Bureau unemployment rate increased to a five-year high of 5 per cent in 2015-16. For female the unemployment rate rose sharply to 8.7 per cent in 2015-16 compared to 7.7 per cent in 2013-14. In rural areas it rose to 5.1 per cent in 2015-16 from 4.7 per cent in 2013-14. Whereas it declined in urban areas during the same period from 5.5 per cent 4.9 per cent. Among the states and union territories Tripura (19.7 per cent) tops the chart. The proportion of self-employed and salaried workers

NEW INITIATIVES APPROVED TO REVIVE THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a series of initiatives to revive the Construction Sector. It is the second largest contributor to economic activity accounting for about 8% of GDP. It accounts for the second highest inflow of FDI after the services sector. It generates the highest level of direct and indirect jobs employing about 40 million people and creating 2.7 new jobs indirectly for every Rs. 1.00 lakh invested. The sector has major forward (infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing) and backward (steel, cement, etc.) linkages, implying a high multiplier effect on economic growth, almost two times.

To recognize the contributions of marginal, small and landless farmers for developing sustainable integrated models of farming/ developing new innovations in any field of Agriculture/ developing value chain/ vertical farming module(s) or other such contributions of unique nature. The awards include one award at national level comprising Rs. One lakh and 11 zonal awards comprising of Rs. 50 thousand each along with a citation and certificate.

 This award has been instituted for recognizing the contributions of marginal, small and landless farmers for developing integrated and sustainable models of agricultural farming.

NATIONAL ACADEMIC DEPOSITORY

HRD minister inaugurated the National Academic Depository (NAD), a digital depository of academic awards. It aims to replicate digitization and dematerialization of financial security depositories for the educational awards. The awards will be verified, authenticated, accessed and retrieved in a digital depository. It is a move to enhance transparency and authenticity. NAD will develop an online portfolio of all education certificates across Academic Institutes, which can be submitted easily for employment, higher education, and loans. NAD will also integrate directly with Boards / Universities which issue Certificates and hence, will ensure authenticity of certificate records

NEW DELHI DECLARATION ON EDUCATION

BRICS nations adopted the ‘New Delhi Declaration on Education at 4th meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education. The main aim is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all. Facilitate mobility of students and scholars, and encourage exchange of teaching faculty.

WAQF PROPERTIES

The Union Minority Affairs Ministry has been planning for the commercial and institutional utilisation of Wakf Board land across the country, including building malls, schools, hostels and offices.

Recommendations of Justice GR Bhattacharya Commission

  • Decentralize Waqf properties management and form district Waqf
  • Prevent concentration of power and plug the routes to escape responsibilities by the Waqf Board members and Waqf Commissioner.
  • Fix collective and individual responsibility and bar anybody from holding office for more than one term.
  • A member or his close relatives should not be involved in transfer and transaction of Waqf property.
  • Laws and rules regarding lease and tenancy should be changed.
  • Complete survey and enrollment of Waqf properties in the quickest possible time.
  • Empower trustees of Waqf properties to move court against unauthorized sale.
  • No sale of Waqf properties to be registered without the board’s permission

10.30. WORLD’S FIRST BABY BORN FROM 3-PARENT TECHNIQUE

The world’s first baby using a controversial new technique developed by US scientists to include DNA from three parents in the embryo has been born. The baby boy was born five months ago in Mexico to Jordanian parents, and is healthy and doing well.

Since, the boy’s mother carried genes for a fatal nervous system disorder known as Leigh Syndrome in her mitochondria, doctors used her nuclear DNA and combined it with mitochondria from an egg donor, in a technique known as spindle nuclear transfer. The resulting egg, having nuclear DNA from the mother and mitochondrial DNA from a donor was then fertilized with the father’s sperm. In similar such attempts earlier some of the babies went on to develop genetic disorders, and the technique was banned.

Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft, carried eleven scientific instruments and a lander named Philae to sniff and photograph the comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from all angles for 12 years. The comet’s surface surprisingly was less “fluffy” and much harder than expected, and was super-dark and non-reflective by a thin layer of dust.

PARAM-ISHAN SUPERCOMPUTER LAUNCHED

Union Human Resource Development Minister launched the supercomputer PARAM-ISHAN at IIT Guwahati. Param-Ishan has the power of 250 Teraflops and three hundred tera bites capacity. This supercomputer can be used in application areas like computational chemistry, computational fluid dynamics, computational electromagnetic, civil engineering structures, nana-block self assemble, optimization etc. It can also be used for weather, climate modelling and seismic data processing.

PRABAL DOSTYAK-16

It refers to joint military exercise between the armies of India and Kazakhstan. “Prabal Dostyk’ meaning ‘Robust Friendship’ is a significant step towards fostering military as well as diplomatic ties between both countries. It was recently conducted in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. The primary aim of this 14 days exercise is to increase interoperability understanding along with efficiency and effectiveness between the two armies while undertaking counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations under the umbrella of United Nations.

INDIA TO BECOME AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF CERN

India is set to become an associate member of CERN, the world’s biggest laboratory of particle physics in the next few months. CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) operates the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator and is associated with the discovery of the Higgs Boson (popularly known as the God particle). India currently holds “observer” status that allows non-member states to attend council meetings and to receive council documents without taking part in the decision-making procedures of the organisation. As an Associate Member, India would be entitled to attend open and restricted sessions of the organization.

PRETERM BIRTH MYSTERY UNLOCKED

Why in news?

 Indian researchers have made a major discovery by understanding the mechanisms by which preterm births (between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation) occur. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria are normally found in human vagina and their numbers can shoot up in some pregnant women. The GBS bacteria have been associated with premature rupture of amniotic membrane and preterm birth.

Gram-positive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria produce small balloons called membrane vesicles, which contain toxins that kill both foetal and maternal cells and destroy the collagen that binds the cells together. Normally, a pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, but in case of preterm births has gestation between 28 and 32 weeks. India with 35% accounts for the highest burden of preterm births in the world.

Preterm babies’ bodies are not fully developed and they may have problems breathing and can also suffer from other complications including infections.

This finding could help understand the cause and its prevention as well as cure. This could also help control infant mortality rate which are quiet high in case of preterm births.

SLOWEST MAGNETAR SPOTTED

 NASA astronomers have found the slowest magnetar- magnetised neutron. The magnetar known as 1E 1613 is at the centre of RCW 103, the remains of a supernova explosion located about 9,000 light years from Earth. Neutron stars are created when giant stars die in supernovas and their cores collapse, with the protons and electrons essentially melting into each other to form neutrons. Magnetars have magnetic fields a thousand times stronger than the average neutron star. The resulting drag causes the star to take longer to rotate.