36. The Union Finance Ministry has launched Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a pension scheme exclusively for senior citizens aged 60 years and above. Under this scheme, senior citizens will get a guaranteed interest of 8% for 10 years depending upon the investment made by them. Features of PMVVY This PMVVY scheme will be available from May 4, 2017 to May 3, 2018. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been given the sole privilege to operate the scheme. It can be purchased offline as well as online through LIC. This scheme provides an assured return of 8% per annum payable monthly for 10 years on single lumpsum premium ranging from Rs. 150000 (minimum) to Rs.750000 (maximum). Pension (minimum: Rs.1000/ month; maximum: Rs.5000) will be payable at the end of each period, during the policy term of 10 years, as per the frequency of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly as chosen by the pensioner at the time of purchase. It is exempted from goods and services (GST) tax. It will offer senior citizens more avenues to earn steady regular income at a time of falling interest rates. On survival of the pensioner to the end of the policy term of 10 years, the purchase price of the scheme along with the final pension instalment will be payable. The scheme also offers loan up to 75% of the purchase price after 3 policy years (to meet the liquidity needs). Loan interest will be recovered from the pension instalments and loan will be recovered from claim proceeds. The scheme allows for premature exit for the treatment of any critical terminal illness of self or spouse. On such premature exit, 98% of the purchase price would be refunded. On death of the pensioner during the policy term of 10 years, the purchase price should be paid to the beneficiary.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 22 Jul to 28 Jul 2017 (Part 2).

37. India’s Karamjyoti Dalal has won bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships 2017 in the discus-throw. In the women’s F55 category of discus-throw, she managed a throw of 19.02 m. Earlier, Sundar Singh Gurjar had opened India’s account at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships by winning gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event. Later, Amit Saroha won silver medal in the club throw event in the F-51 category. Karamjyoti Dala Karamjyoti Dala was originally a part of the national Kabaddi setup. But she had to give up the sport after she took a fall from her terrace, that resulted in her losing her motor sensations for a year. But she took up discus throw in 2014. Since then her performance has gone from being unranked in the top-10 in the world. Currently she is ranked World No.8. She had secured a fourth-place finish at the IPC Para-athletics championships in 2015. She had won two bronze medals at the 2014 Asian Games held in Beijing, China. About World Para Athletics Championships The World Para Athletics Championships are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Prior to 2017, it was known as the IPC Athletics World Championships. It features athletics events contested by athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The first IPC Athletics World Championships were held in Berlin, Germany in 1994.

38. President Pranab Mukharjee inaugurated the bicentenary (200th) celebration of Paika Rebellion (1817) of Odisha organised by the Union Ministry of Culture in New Delhi. Paika rebellion predates the 1857 Revolt i.e. first war of independence. Many scholars, researchers and historians have opined that the Paika Rebellion of 1817 was India’s first organized armed rebellion against British Raj (then British East India Company rule). About Paika Bidroha (rebellion) Paiks were the traditional landed militia of Odisha, used to perform policing functions. They owned rent-free land that was given to them for their military service to Kingdom of Khurda. However they were forcefully usurped their land rendering them landless by the policies of British East India Company. They were also subjected to repressive land revenue policies and humiliation by the British. At that critical juncture, Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar, the military chief of the King of Khurda, led army of Paikas forcing the East India Company forces to retreat. During the rebellion, the Paikas had attacked British symbols of power, setting ablaze policestations, administrative offices and treasury during their march towards Khurda, from where the British fled. The Paikas were supported by the rajas of Kujang, Kanika, Nayagarh and Ghumusar and zamindars, village heads and ordinary peasants. The British were initially taken aback and then tried to regain lost ground from the rebelling Paikas. Many a battle ensued with some victories to the rebel Paiks but the British finally managed to defeat them within three months. Widespread suppression followed with killing and imprisonment of many Paiks. Some Paik rebels fought a guerilla war till 1819 but were captured and killed. Baxi Jagabandhu was finally arrested in 1825 and died in captivity in 1829. At present, Paika Bidroha enjoys a cult status in Odisha but unfortunately it has received less attention at the national level than it should have got.

39. India’s first dedicated space observatory AstroSat along with other space and earth-based observatories have detected a massive coronal explosion on Proxima Centauri, sun’s closest star neighbour. The explosion was detected as part of joint multi-wavelength simultaneous observational campaign undertaken by three space-based observatories, Astrosat, Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) observatory. Proxima Centauri It is group of stars which hosts an Earth-like habitable planet — Proxima Centaur b — orbiting within (Proxima Centauri) its habitable zone. It is a cool dwarf star located around 4.25 light years away from the Earth. It was discovered in 2016. Key Facts The massive coronal explosion has sent out powerful solar flare having energy of 10-raised-to-30 ergs, about 100 times a typical solar flare. Such powerful flaring may have produced large radiations and particles which may significantly influence the atmosphere of the Proxima Centauri b and affect its habitability. The habitability of Proxima Centauri especially its ability to sustain its atmosphere and in particular to sustain water in liquid form may get affected due to abnormal planetary atmosphere heating due absorption of the high-energy photons like the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray photons released by the coronal explosion. If such a massive flare occurs in our Sun, it might have a devastating effect on power grids, interrupt broadcasts and electricity, affect electronic instruments, and cause excess UV radiation in space. Coronal explosion: is an unusually large release of plasma and magnetic field from the solar corona. They often follow solar flares and are normally present during a solar prominence eruption. The plasma is released into the solar wind, and can be observed in coronagraph imagery.

40. The first meeting of the newly formed Integrated Monitoring and Advisory Council (IMAC) was held in New Delhi. It was chaired by Union Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan. IMAC is an inter-ministry monitoring and advisory body for policy formulation and implementation of ‘Roadmap to achieve target of 10% reduction in import dependency in oil and gas by 2021-22. Key Highlights of 1st IMAC meeting Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas highlighted major policy initiatives undertaken in recent past to enhance domestic production of oil and gas. It includes measures like resource re-assessment, Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), National Data Repository (NDR), Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP), Discovered Small Field Policy, tapping unconventional sources such as Shale Gas and Coal Bed Methane (CBM), enhancing production of bio-diesel and increased use of PNG and LPG. Officials of other ministries also explained policies, schemes and projects taken towards augmenting the supply of energy, energy saving and demand substitution/reduction through alternate modes. Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway highlighted measures undertaken such as e-tolling to cut waiting time at toll plazas and notification of fuel efficiency norms for LCV. Ministry of Rural Development stressed upon its bio-fuel scheme for rural sector. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) elaborated on energy generation through renewable sources such as solar and wind power and their future strategy in this regard. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) pointed out measures for industrial and transport sectors. It stressed on the importance of concerted and coordinated efforts for promoting conservation and energy efficiency, exploring opportunities for oil demand substitution and tapping the potential of bio-fuels in more aggressive and synchronised manner. About IMAC IMAC has been envisaged to facilitate better coordination and comprehensive strategy for all energy resources by focusing on supply and demand side management. It consists of Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas and officers from ministries of new and renewable energy (MRNE), road and transport, agriculture, urban development, power, rural development and finance. Note: The target to cut India’s reliance on imports for meeting its oil needs by 10% to 67% by 2022 was set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2015 during Urja Sangam.

41. Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The MoU was signed for exchange of information concerning Central Counterparties (CCPs) under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). CCPs are entities that help facilitate clearing and settlement activities. Key Facts The MoU establishes cooperation arrangements, including exchange of information regarding CCPs which are established and authorised or recognised in India by SEBI and which have applied for EU recognition under EMIR. EMIR provides for signing of a cooperation arrangement between ESMA and relevant non-EU authorities, whose legal and supervisory framework for CCPs have been deemed equivalent to EMIR by the European Commission. Signing of MoU is one of the conditions for recognition of third country CCPs by ESMA under EMIR. About Central Counterparty (CCP) CCP is a corporate entity that exists in various European countries to help facilitate trading done in European derivatives and equities markets. It reduces counterparty, operational, settlement, market, legal and default risk for traders. It provides efficiency and stability to the financial markets in which they operate. CCP bear most of the credit risk of buyers and sellers when clearing and settling market transactions.

42. The landmark India-Japan civil nuclear agreement came into force. In this regard, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar exchanged the diplomatic notes with the Japanese envoy to India to formalise the completion of the process. The deal would enable Japan to export nuclear power plant technology as well as provide finance for nuclear power plants in India. It will also assist India in nuclear waste management and could undertake joint manufacture of nuclear power plant components under the Make in India initiative. Background The India-Japan Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy was signed in Tokyo during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in November 2016. Subsequently, the Japanese government also got approval from the Diet (Japanese Parliament) for the nuclear deal with India. India is the only non-Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory country with which Japan has entered into a civil nuclear deal, giving recognition for India’s impeccable non-proliferation record. Till now, India has also signed civil nuclear deal with 10 other countries viz. Russia, United States, France, South Korea, Mongolia, Namibia, Argentina, Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia. Comment The India-Japan civil nuclear agreement reflects of the strategic partnership between India and Japan and will pave the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy. It will also promote full cooperation between the two countries in the development and uses of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes on a stable, reliable and predictable basis.

43. The Union Government released the 76 point National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP). It was released by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi. The NTFAP has been adopted by the National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF), reflecting Government’s commitment to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Key Facts Aims of the action plan: Transform cross border clearance ecosystem through efficient, transparent, risk based, co-ordinated, digital, seamless and technology driven procedures supported by state-of-the-art sea ports, airports and land borders. Objectives of the action plan: Achieve improvement in ease of doing business by reduction in cargo release time and cost, transparent and predictable legal regime, move towards paperless regulatory environment and improved investment climate through better infrastructure. Activities listed in the Action Plan: It lists out specific activities which would be carried out by all regulatory agencies like Customs, Drug Controller, Plant Quarantine, FSSAI, DGFT etc. in time bound manner. The co-ordination among all the stakeholders is the key to achieve the objective of Trade facilitation. It not only covers the activities coming under the TFA but also goes beyond the ambit of TFA, defined as TFA Plus category. It covers many activities in the areas of infrastructure augmentation, particularly the road and rail infrastructures leading to ports, airports, Land Customs stations, ICDs that cuts across all stakeholders for which various ministries like Civil Aviation, Shipping, Railways, Home Affairs, Road transport and Highways, Finance, Commerce etc have been assigned specified targets. All actions falling under the plan have been categorised by prioritising the activities into short term, mid-term and long-term activities. Monitoring of the plan: The plan will be monitored by the Steering Committee (the operational arm of the NCTF) chaired by the Revenue Secretary and the Commerce Secretary. Further it will be reviewed by the Cabinet Secretary. Background Earlier in August 2016, the Union Government had constituted NCTF headed by the Cabinet Secretary in accordance with Article 23.2 of the WTO-TFA. It comprises stakeholders from the Government and the private sectors including trade community. It is headed by Cabinet Secretary.

44. Indian Navy’s second LCU (landing craft utility) Mark IV L52 ship built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, was formally launched in Kolkata, West Bengal. The LCU Mark-IV vessels are designed for multipurpose amphibious operations jointly carried out Indian Navy and Indian Army to ensure maritime security of Andamans and Lakshadweep islands. LCU L52 ship is the second in series of the eight Mark IV LCU vessels built by GRSE for Navy. The first ship of the series was commissioned in 2016. Key Facts LCU L52 ship is 62.8 meters long and 11 metres wide. It has 90% indigenous content. It has endurance of around 1,500 nautical miles at 12 knots. It is fitted with 2 x CRN-91 indigenous 30mm Guns. It is capable of carrying two tanks or four special vehicles and 160 troops for landing at remote beach heads. It can be deployed for multiple activities like operations for landing troops ashore, humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations and evacuation of personnel from distant islands. During sea trials, L52 had registered a speed of 15 knots. It also has successfully completed Weapon & Sensor trials prior delivery to the Navy. It has also been delivered with zero shipbuilders’ liabilities.

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