WBCS Current Affairs 13/03/2017 to 18/03/2017
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 6:25 pm1. The Union Finance Ministry has given permission to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to conduct field trials of plastic (polymer-based) currency notes of Rs 10 denominations. It was announced by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Key Facts These notes will be first introduced in five cities (not yet declared) across the country with diverse geographical and climatic conditions. The Finance Ministry has asked the RBI to go ahead with the procurement of the requisite plastic substrate material and approved the printing of plastic Rs. 10 notes. The plastic notes are considered to be cleaner than paper (cotton substrate-based) currency notes. They will last longer (average life span of about 5 years) and are difficult to counterfeit. Background Under the previous UPA Government, Parliament was told in February 2014 about a plan to print one billion plastic notes of Rs. 10 denomination for a field trial in five cities viz. Kochi, Mysuru, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar. Note: Plastic currency notes were first adopted by Australia in 1988 and are now used in more than 20 countries. These notes are smaller and stronger than cotton-based paper notes. They also have more security features that make them harder to counterfeit.
2. The World Bank has approved $175 million for India’s ambitious National Hydrology Project to improve its ability to forecast floods and reduce vulnerability to recurring floods and droughts. The loan has been issued from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with maturity of 23 years. It also has a six-year grace period in which no interest payments will be due. About National Hydrology Project (NHP) NHP was approved by the Union cabinet in April 2016 as a central sector scheme with a total outlay of Rs 3679 crore. Later it was approved by the World Bank Board. Of the total fund, Rs 3,640 crore will be spent for the national project, remaining Rs 39 crore will be used to establish National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) as a repository of nation-wide water resources data. It aims at improving extent, quality, and accessibility of water resources information, decision support system for floods and basin level resource planning and strengthen capacity of institutions in India. It is expected to take forward the success of the Hydrology Project-I and Hydrology Project-II by covering the entire country, including the states along the Ganga and Brahmaputra-Barak basins. Earlier Project-I and Project-II were limited only to large river systems viz. Krishna and Satluj-Beas. They had established real-time flood forecast systems to give reservoir managers an accurate picture of the water situation in their region. The early forecast had increased the time available for early flood warnings and improved flood management preparation from hours to days, saving hundreds of lives and avoided flood damages of $65 million a year. Potential Advantages NHP It will strengthen the capacity of existing institutions to assess the water situation and equip them with real-time flood forecast systems across the country. It will help the states monitor all the important aspects of the hydro-meteorological cycle and adopt the procedures laid out in the earlier projects. It will help communities to plan in advance to build resilience against flooding and droughts due to uncertainties of climate change It will reduce the vulnerability of many regions to recurring floods and droughts as absence of real-time ground information for the entire country creates difficulties in issuing alerts on time.
3. India and Russia have signed two long-term support agreements for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft fleet, covering around 57,000 spares and components related to the aircraft. The agreements were signed by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and United Engine Corporation at the first India-Russia Military Industrial Conference held in New Delhi. Background India has contracted 272 Su-30 fighter jets from Russia in various batches and has so far inducted over 230 jets. However, their serviceability rate has been an issue of constant concern. Over the last couple of years, the serviceability rates had dropped below 50% and at one point it had improved to over 60%. Key Facts These pacts provides for an upgraded schedule for delivery of spares from Russia for Su-30MKI, local manufacturing of parts and a proposed logistics hub for the fighter jets in Bengaluru (Karnataka) by HAL. Pacts were also signed for maintenance and life-cycle support for other Russian-origin platforms, such as MiG-29K aircraft, Mi-17 helicopters, INS Vikramaditya and T-90 tanks. They will address a long-lasting concern of India with respect to Russian-origin military equipment and also address issues of life-cycle support and maintenance. Need for such Agreements India has the third largest armed forces in the world and one of the largest importers of defence equipment. Since most of India’s defence platforms and weapon systems are of Russian-origin, their maintenance and life-cycle support is extremely important from the point of view of our defence preparedness. Comment The deal follows a Russian legislation permitting its companies to enter into direct agreement with foreign companies for long-term support agreements. Currently, procurement of spares is a long and cumbersome process as India cannot deal directly with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) but has to deal with designated intermediaries. India is also exploring the possibility of Russian OEMs allowing licence manufacture of the spares locally by Indian vendors under Make in India initiative
4. GST Council meeting presided by Finance Minister Arun Gaitley has approved draft Bills for implementing the goods and services tax (GST) in States and Union Territories (UTs). It was the 12th meeting of the GST Council. The Council already has approved three other GST Bills pertaining to central GST, integrated GST and the compensation to be paid to States for loss of revenue. The approval of these bills paves the way for the Centre and the States to pilot GST, the new indirect tax system, proposed to be introduced from July 1, 2017 through Parliament and the state assemblies. Key Facts The Council also approved the ceiling rates for the cess to be levied on top of the maximum GST rate of 28% on demerit or sin goods. Four tax rates (ceilings) 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% have been proposed under the GST. It also proposed 15% ceiling on the cess to be levied on aerated drinks and luxury cars over and above the maximum proposed GST rate of 28%. It also proposed separate cess ceilings for pan masala and tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and cigarettes. However, Beedis have been kept out of the GST net. It also decided to make the tax treatment of items produced in special economic zones (SEZs) similar to that on exports. Procurement of supplies by SEZs will be zero-rated. About Goods and Services Tax (GST) GST is proposed uniform indirect taxation regime throughout the country. It was approved by The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016. It will merge most of the existing indirect taxes into single system of taxation. It is consumption based tax levied on the supply of Goods and Services which will be levied and collected at each stage of sale or purchase of goods or services based on the input tax credit method.
5. The Union Labour Ministry has proposed a labour code which will provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country, including self-employed and agricultural workers. In this regard, it has proposed a draft code on Social Security and Welfare with an aim to provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country of about 45 crore workers. Features of Draft code It will cover every working person whether he/she belongs to the organised sector or the unorganised sector in the country under it. Thus, for the first time, agricultural workers along with self-employed people will be covered under the social security cover. Even factories employing single worker will have to contribute towards social security benefits. It will cover any factory, mine, shop, plantation, charitable organisations and all establishments or households employing casual, fixed-term, part-time, informal, apprentice, domestic and home-based workers. If such establishments or factories fail to contribute towards the social security schemes of the workers, they will be liable to pay compensation. It even covers households employing domestic help and they will also have contribute towards schemes, including gratuity for the worker and provident fund. It proposes, National Social Security Council (NSSC), chaired by the Prime Minister to streamline and make policy on social security schemes related to all the Ministries. NSSC’s other members will include Union Finance Minister, Labour Minister, Health and Family Welfare Minister along with employer and employees’ representatives. It will co-ordinate between central and State governments, monitor the implementation of social security schemes, regulate funds collected under various social security schemes, among others.
6. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have signed an agreement to work together They will work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals. It will benefit small farmers in India and globally. Key Facts The agreement has identified climate smart crops, smart food and digitalisation of breeding database as some of the core areas of research. The other areas of focus include developing genetic and genomic resources of finger millet and enhancing genetic gains for priority traits, integrating systems modelling tools for upscaling climate resilient agriculture. On crop improvement front, it will facilitate research on pigeonpea and chickpea for insect resistance. Dryland cereals and grain legumes are branded as smart foods. About International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) ICRISAT is a non-profit agricultural research organization headquartered in Patancheru in Hyderabad, Telangana. It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organizations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller Foundations. Its charter was signed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It has several regional centres around globe- Niamey (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya) and research stations Bamako (Mali), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe). Since its inception, India has granted special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian Territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges. About Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) ICAR is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president.
7. The Union Government has announced that total of 29 lakh debit cards were subjected to malware attack in through ATMs that were connected with the switch of Hitachi. It was announced by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The reply mentioned that the malware-induced security breach between May and July 2016 had compromised only 3,291 cards as reported by banks to the RBI. Measures taken after security breach The Hitachi Payment Services (HPS) had appointed SISA Infosec for The Payment Card Industry (PCI) forensic investigation. NPCI had not carried out independent investigation. The forensic report suggested that the only ATM infrastructure of HPS was breached and not the POS (point of sale) infrastructure. RBI had advised banks to improve and maintain customer awareness and education with regard to cyber security risks. RBI also has set up a Cyber Security and IT Examination (CSITE) Cell within its Department of Banking Supervision in 2015. The central bank also had issued a comprehensive circular in June 2016 covering best practices pertaining to various aspects of cyber security. It had instructions on banks cyber-security framework, asking them to put in place a board-approved cyber security policy, make arrangement for continuous surveillance and prepare a cyber-crisis management plan. About Malware Malware is short form of malicious software. It is any software used to disrupt computer or mobile operations, gain access to private computer systems, gather sensitive information, or display unwanted advertising. Before the term malware was coined by Yisrael Radai in 1990, malware was referred to as computer viruses.
8. India and Brazil have finalised text of the Social Security Agreement (SSA). It will come in force by early 2018 after it is ratified. It will be the first such agreement between the BRICS countries. This SSA takes forward the spirit of Goa Declaration adopted at 8th BRICS Summit, outcomes of the meetings of BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers held in June 2016 in Geneva and September 2016 in New Delhi.
9. India’s contribution to the United Nations has rose by 55% to Rs 244 crore in 2015-16 compared with the previous fiscal. In 2014-15, India had contributed Rs 157 crore. It was announced by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha. In the same period, India also made voluntary contributions to tune of Rs 22 crore to international organisations, including UN agencies. For the period 2016-18, India’s Scale of Assessment for the UN’s Regular and Peacekeeping budgets has been fixed at 0.737% and 0.1474%, respectively. How countries contribute to UN? Each UN member is required to contribute to the organisation’s Regular and Peacekeeping budgets. These obligatory contributions are calculated based on a member’s relative ‘capacity to pay’. It is defined through a scale of assessment that takes into account the member country’s Gross National Income relative to the Global Gross National Income, further adjusted for the level of its national external debt and low per capita income. For Peacekeeping budget all permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) bear special responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security, but they also contribute additional amounts.
10. India along with other countries in the South East Asian Region have signed World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Call To end Tuberculosis (TB) by 2030 in the region. It was signed by Health ministers from countries in WHO South-East Asia Region (WHO SEARO) during two-day ministerial meeting towards ending TB in the region held in New Delhi. Key Facts Call To End TB by 2030 initiative also stresses on increasing government and partner budgetary allocations to enable national TB plans to be fully funded. WHO SEARO countries have pledged to scale-up efforts and implement adequately funded, innovative, multi-sectoral and comprehensive measures to achieve the global target to end the disease by 2030. They also agreed to set up of a ‘regional innovation to implementation fund’ for accelerated sharing of knowledge, intellectual resources and innovations to reach out and treat all cases. The WHO global targets seek to reduce TB mortality by 90% and incidence by 80% by 2030. Background WHO South East Asian Region bears half of the global tuberculosis burden. Six of the region’s countries Bangladesh, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand are among the 30 high TB burden nations globally. In 2015, TB caused estimated 4.74 million new TB cases were reported in the region and nearly 8,00,000 deaths. India represents the single highest number of TB cases in the world reporting 2.8 million new TB cases annually and nearly half a million deaths due to the disease. Note: WHO’s South-East Asia Region comprises Bhutan, Bangladesh, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Tuberculosis is an infectious, airborne disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It mainly affects the lungs. It can be transmitted from person to person through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze, laugh or speak, spit, propelling the germs into the atmosphere.
11. The Union Union Cabinet approved the National Health Policy 2017. It will replace the previous policy which was framed 15 years ago in 2002. It aims at providing healthcare in an “assured manner” to all by addressing current and emerging challenges arising from the ever changing socio-economic, epidemiological and technological scenarios. Highlights of National Health Policy, 2017 It aims to raise public healthcare expenditure to 2.5% of GDP from current 1.4%, with more than two-thirds of those resources going towards primary healthcare. It envisages providing a larger package of assured comprehensive primary healthcare through the ‘Health and Wellness Centers’. It is a comprehensive package that will include care for major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), geriatric healthcare, mental health, palliative care and rehabilitative care services. It proposes free diagnostics, free drugs and free emergency and essential healthcare services in all public hospitals in order to provide healthcare access and financial protection. It seeks to establish regular tracking of disability adjusted life years (DALY) Index as a measure of burden of disease and its major categories trends by 2022. It aims to improve and strengthen the regulatory environment by putting in place systems for setting standards and ensuring quality of healthcare. It also looks at reforms in the existing regulatory systems both for easing drugs and devices manufacturing to promote Make in India and also reforming medical education. It advocates development of mid-level service providers, public health cadre, nurse practitioners to improve availability of appropriate health human resource. Targets: It aims to ensure availability of 2 beds per 1000 population to enable access within golden hour. It proposes to increase life expectancy from 67.5 to 70 years by 2025. It aims to reduce total fertility rate (TFR) to 2.1 at sub-national and national level by 2025. It also aims to reduce mortality rate (MR) of children under 5 years of age to 23 per 1000 by 2025 and maternal mortality rate (MMR) to 100 by 2020. It also aims to reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019 and reduce neo-natal mortality to 16 and still birth rate to ‘single digit’ by 2025.
12. Indian-American teenager Indrani Das (17) has won the top prize of $2,50,000 in the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition in the United States (US). She has won the award for her research on treating brain injury and disease. Her research showed a way for increasing the survival rate of neurons affected by brain injury or neurodegenerative disease. Key Facts One of contributors to neuron death is It is a condition that occurs when cells called astrocytes react to injury by growing, dividing and reducing uptake of glutamate, which in excess is toxic to neurons. Das’s in a laboratory model showed that exosomes isolated from astrocytes transfected with microRNA-124a improved astrocyte uptake of glutamate and also increased neuron survival. Indian-American teen, Arjun Ramani was placed at third place for his project on networks using mathematical field of graph theory and computer programming. He won prize of $1,50,000. Other Indian Winners Of the 40 finalists of the science talent search, 13 were Indian-Americans. More that 1,700 students took part in the contest. 5th place award ($90,000): Won by Archana Verma for research related development of windows that could produce solar power. 7th place award ($70,000): Won by Prathik Naidu for a developing software to study human genomes and cancer. 9th place award ($50,000): Won by Vrinda Madan for her study of medications for malaria. About Regeneron Science Talent Search competition It is the oldest science competition in US for students. It is nicknamed as the “Junior Nobel Prize”. Twelve of the contest alumni have won Nobel Prizes. It was originally sponsored by Westinghouse in 1942 and Intel took it up from 1998 till 2016. Now it is organised by the Society for Science and the Public in association with medical firm Regeneron.
13. Scientists from US for first time have developed a blood test to accurately predict whether a child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The first of its kind of physiological test for analysing a blood sample opens the door to earlier diagnosis and potential future development of therapeutics. Key facts To develop this test, scientists had investigated patterns of several metabolites and found significant differences between metabolites of children with ASD and those that are neurotypical. These differences allowed them to categorise whether an individual is on the autism spectrum. This algorithm by measuring 24 metabolites from a blood sample can tell whether or not an individual has Autism spectrum and even to some degree where on the spectrum they land. About Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ASD is characterised as a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. It is estimated to affect about 1.5% of individuals and The physiological basis for ASD is not known, but genetic and environmental factors are both believed to play a role. People with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. Early intervention can improve development, but currently diagnosis depends on clinical observation of behaviour, that is considered as an obstacle to early diagnosis and treatment.
14. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Gas Marketing and Pricing Freedom for CBM Gas. The policy provides marketing and pricing freedom to the CBM Contractors to sell the CBM at Arm’s Length Price in the domestic market. Key Facts The policy is expected to incentivize the CBM operation in the country to boost gas production and will generate economic activities. It will in turn be beneficial for creating more employment opportunities in CBM operations and related activities. Under it, contractor while discovering the market price has to ensure a fully transparent and competitive process for sale of CBM at the best possible price without any restrictive commercial practices. It allows contractors to sell the CBM to its any affiliate, in the case it cannot identify any buyer. However, royalty and other dues to the Government will be payable on the basis of Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) notified prices or selling prices, whichever is higher. About Coal Bed Methane (CBM) CBM is natural gas found in coal seams. It mainly consists of Methane (CH4) with minor amounts of nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and heavier hydrocarbons like ethane (C2H6). It is clean source of energy. During the initial years of mining, CBM was vented out and wasted into the atmosphere as it was considered as serious safety hazard while conducting coal mining operations. However, later with advancement of technology it was possible to extract CBM, a precious energy resource and an unconventional form of natural gas. Advantages of CBM as a fuel It is environmentally safe and clean fuel which on combustion emits only carbon dioxide and water. It is not only considered as an efficient fuel but also reduces emission of greenhouse gas from coal mining. Its extraction prior to coal mining activities makes mining activities safer by degassing the coal seams.
15. The Union Cabinet has approved Revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Mode of Operation (MoO) between India and Bangladesh for establishing Border Haats on India-Bangladesh Border. The revised MoU and MoO will provide a legal framework for establishment and operationalization of additional Border Haats along India-Bangladesh border. Key Facts The Border Haats aim at promoting traditional system of marketing the local produce through local markets across the India-Bangladesh border. It will help to improve economic well-being of marginalised sections in remote areas across along the border. The Border Haats allows to people living in border areas to trade in specified products in accordance with the regulations agreed and notified by both Governments. Currently four Border Haats are operational, two each in Meghalaya and Tripura, along the border. They were established and operationalized under the MoU and MoO signed between Bangladesh and India in 2010. Subsequently, an Addendum to MoO of Border Haats was also signed in May, 2012.
16. The Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection has submitted its report to the Union Government to strengthen border protection and address vulnerabilities in fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border. It was announced by the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha. Key Facts The committee has given broad recommendations on the issues of Threats and Border Protection, assessment of force level, deployment on the border, infrastructure and technology issues for protection of border and administrative issues. The Union Government has decided to initiate action in light of the recommendations of the Committee in consultation with the stakeholders. Background The Committee was constituted under chairmanship of former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta in April 2016. It was tasked give recommendations for strengthening border protection and addressing the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing along India-Pakistan Border. It was constituted three months after the terror attack on Pathankot IAF base in January 2016 by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists from Pakistan. These terrorists had infiltrated into India by beaching the India-Pakistan border (through porous border) in Punjab especially from the riverine stretch. Note: Four Indian states share 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan. Of this, 1,225 km falls in Jammu and Kashmir (including Line of Control), 1,037 km in Rajasthan, 553 km in Punjab and 508 km in Gujarat.
17. According to Mercer’s Quality of Living index rankings 2017, for the third consecutive time, Hyderabad (Telangana) has emerged as the best Indian city in terms of quality of living. Globally, Vienna (Austria) for the fourth time in a row has emerged as world’s best city for overall quality of living for the eighth year running. Key Facts In this edition of rankings, 8 European cities are in the top ten list: Vienna (1), Zurich (2) Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9) and Basel (10). The only non-European cities in the top ten are Auckland (3) and Vancouver (5). The highest ranking cities in Asia and Latin America are Singapore (25) and Montevideo (79), respectively. Both Hyderabad and Pune ranked higher 145 and 146, respectively than the country’s traditional business centres Mumbai and New Delhi, which were ranked at 154 and 161, respectively. In terms of city infrastructure rankings, Singapore has topped the list followed by Frankfurt and Munich both in 2nd place. Baghdad (230) and Port au Prince (231) ranked at the bottom for city infrastructure. Amongst Indian cities, Mumbai is ranked the highest at 141, followed by Kolkata (149) and Pune (151) in city infrastructure rankings. Bangalore was rated the lowest (177) by the report. Background Mercer, head-quartered in New York, is a global human resources consulting firm. Its survey, covering over 230 cities across the globe, is conducted annually to enable MNCs and other employers compensate its employees fairly, while sending them on international assignments. Its city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city’s supply of drinking water, electricity, public transportation and telephone and mail services as well as traffic congestion and the range of international flights available from local airports.
18. Scientists have discovered polka dot tree frog (Hypsiboas punctatus), the world’s first fluorescent frog in Argentina. The newly discovered amphibian sports a muted palette of greens, reds and yellows under normal light, but in the dark gives off a bright blue and green glow. What have Scientists discovered? Scientists found that the polka dot tree frog uses fluorescent molecules totally unlike those found in other animals. Scientists expect to find red fluorescence in these frogs from a pigment called In some insects, proteins bound to biliverdin emit a faint red fluorescence. However, in the polka dot tree frog, biliverdin turned out to be a red herring. In ultraviolet flashlight (or black light), polka dot tree frogs gave off an intense greenish-blue glow instead of a faint red. Three molecules hyloin-L1, hyloin-L2 and hyloin-G1 were responsible for green fluorescence. These molecules contain a ring structure and a chain of hydrocarbons, and are unique among the known fluorescent molecules in animals. What is Fluorescence? Fluorescence is the ability to absorb light at short wavelengths and re-emit it at longer wavelengths. It is rare in terrestrial animals. Many ocean creatures exhibit fluorescence, including corals, fish, sharks and one species of sea turtle. But, until now, it was unheard of in amphibians. On land, fluorescence was previously known in only parrots and some species of scorpions. But it is still unclear why animals have this ability. Scientists believe that Fluorescence may be shown by animals for the purpose communication, camouflage and mate attraction.
19. The Parliament has passed Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 by voice vote to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968. The Bill replaces the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee for five times. Background The Bill passed by Lok Sabha incorporates the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha earlier. The Bill replacing the ordinance was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier but certain amendments were introduced to it in the Rajya Sabha, on the recommendations of a Select Committee. Key Features of the Bill Defines enemy property as: Any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm. Further, it expands definition to include legal heirs of enemies even if they are Indian citizens or of another country which is not an enemy and nationals of an enemy country who have changed their nationality to another country, etc. Custody of enemy property: The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the Central government. Once an enemy property is vested to the custodian, it shall continue to be vested in him. The law of succession does not apply to enemy property. Thus, enemy property will not revert back to enemy subject or enemy firm due to reasons such as death of subject or firm ceased to function. About Enemy Property Act, 1968 After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, to regulate enemy properties and lists the Custodian’s powers. The act provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property in the custodian. The possession of enemy properties spread across many states in the country vest with the Union Government through the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.
20. The Union Ministry of Agriculture has launched Mission Fingerling, a programme to enable holistic development and management of fisheries sector in India with a total expenditure of about Rs. 52000 lakh. The mission aims to achieve the target to enhance fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21 under the Blue Revolution. Key Facts Government has identified 20 States based on their potential and other relevant factors to strengthen the Fish Fingerling production and Fish Seed infrastructure in the country. This program will facilitate the establishment of Fingerling rearing pond and hatcheries to ensure the fish production of 426 crores fish fingerling, 25.50 crores Post Larvae of shrimp and crab in the country. This will converge in the production of 20 lakh tonnes of fish annually, which will inturn benefit about 4 million families. The implementation of this program will supplement the requirement of stocking materials in the country up to a large extent, which is a much needed input to achieve the enhanced fish production. Blue Revolution Blue Revolution aims to recognize the potential and possibilities in the fisheries sector of the country by unlocking country’s latent potential through an integrated approach. In its scope and reach, it focuses on creating an enabling environment for integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for socio economic development of fishers and fish farmers. It gives greater emphasis to infrastructure with an equally strong focus on management and conservation of the resources through technology transfer to increase in the income of the fishers and fish farmers. It also seeks to achieve productivity enhancement by employing best global innovations and integration of various production oriented activities viz. production of quality fish seeds, cost effective feed and adoption of technology etc.
21. The Union Government is going to launch pilot project on ornamental fisheries in 8 potential States with total outlay of over 61 crore rupees. These 8 potential States identified includes Assam, West Bengal , Odisha, Maharashtra , Gujarat , Karnataka , Tamil Nadu and Kerala. What is Ornamental fishery? It is a sub-sector of the fisheries sector dealing with breeding and rearing of coloured fish of both freshwater and marine water. There are about 400 species of marine ornamental fishes and 375 freshwater ornamental varieties are available in various parts of the India. Need for such project Ornamental fishery industry does not directly contribute to the food and nutritional security, but it generates livelihood and income for the rural and periurban population, especially women and unemployed youth as part-time activities. In India, ornamental fishery industry is small but vibrant, with potential for tremendous growth. The low production cost and high returns within a short span of time and the ever growing demand, both in international and domestic markets, are the major attractions for this industry. Key Facts Objectives of pilot project are Promote ornamental fish culture with cluster-based approach, augment ornamental fisheries trade, export earnings and create employment opportunities for the rural and periurban population and use of modern technology and innovation to make ornamental fisheries a thriving activity. It will be implemented by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) through the Fisheries Departments of States and Union territories.
22. The land-attack version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an extended range increased from 290 km to 450 km was successfully test fired. The missile was test fired from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha. It met its mission parameters fully by achieving 100% results. About BrahMos missile BrahMos supersonic cruise missile has been designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia. It name has been derived from the names of two rivers, India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River. Features: It has top supersonic speed of Mach 2. It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilogram, both conventional and nuclear. Range: Its earlier strike range was 290 km. But after India’s induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016, missile’s range has been increased beyond 300km in the same configuration. Another version of the missile with a strike range of 800 km is under development. Deployment: It has already been inducted into the Indian Army and Navy, while the Air Force version is in the final stage of trials. Navy’s first version was inducted in 2005 on INS Rajput. The Indian Army is already equipped with three regiments of Block III version of Brahmos missiles. Now, it is fully operational with two regiments of the Army.
23. The Lok Sabha has passed the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016. The Bill aims to establish uniform legal framework by consolidating the existing laws relating to admiralty jurisdiction of courts, admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, arrest of vessels and related issues. It also aims to repeal five obsolete British statutes statutes (laws) on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters which are 126 to 177 years old and were hindering efficient governance. The five laws are Admiralty Court Act, 1840; Admiralty Court Act, 1861; Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890; Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891; and Provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865. Salient Features of Admirability Bill, 2016 It confers admiralty jurisdiction on High Courts located in coastal states of India, thus extending their jurisdictions upto territorial waters. The jurisdiction will be extendable by the Union Government notification upto exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or any other maritime zone or islands constituting part of India. It applies to every vessel irrespective of place of domicile or residence of owner. It does not apply to naval auxiliary, warships and vessels used for non-commercial purposes. Inland vessels and vessels under construction are excluded from its application. But it empowers Union Government to make it applicable to these vessels also by a notification. It lists the jurisdiction for adjudicating on a set of maritime claims. A vessel can be arrested in certain circumstances in order to ensure security against a maritime claim. It also provides for prioritization of maritime claims and maritime liens while providing protection to owners, operators, charterers, crew members and seafarers at the same time.
24. State-run NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) has installed India’s largest floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant (RGCCPP) at Kayamkulam in Kerala. The 100 kWp (kilowatt peak) floating solar PV plant has been indigenously developed as a part of Union Government flagship ‘Make In India’ initiative. Key Facts It has been indigenously developed by NETRA (NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance), R&D arm of NTPC, in collaboration with Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Chennai. The system was installed by Chennai based Swelect Energy Systems Ltd with support from NETRA and NTPC Kayamkulam station in a short span of 22 days. Floating solar PV systems are fast emerging as an alternative to conventional ground mounted PV systems which are land intensive. It can also be installed on saline water environment. It has various benefits like conserving water through reduction of evaporation, increased power generation due to cooling effect on the panels, reduced installation time etc. Installation potential of such type of floating systems in India is huge because of abundance of water bodies.Particularly in Kerala this type of system has a great potential due to availability of water bodies and lack of presence of enough land. About National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) NTPC limited is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU), operational under the Ministry of Power. It is India’s largest power generator and accounts for 25% of total electricity generated in the country It was established in 1975 by Union Government which now holds 70% of its equity shares as of May 2015 (after divestment of its stake in 2004, 2010, 2013, and 2015). Its headquarters are located in New Delhi.
25. Union Government has appointed Narendra Kumar as the new chairman of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
26. Punjab has won the 71st Santosh Trophy football tournament by defeating Railways by 2-1 goals. It was Punjab’s overall ninth Santosh Trophy after it had earlier won it in 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2006 and 2007. For Punjab, both goals were scored by Rajbir Singh (16th and 61st minutes). For Railways, goal was scored by Rajesh Soosanayakam (59th minute). About Santosh Trophy Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament played in India. It was founded 1941. The trophy is named after the late Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh (now it is in Bangladesh). It is knock-out competition contested by the regional state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
27. Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei won the 2017 All England Championship Title of Badminton in the men’s singles event. In the final match he defeated China’s Shi Yuqi by 21-12, 21-10 score. It was his overall fourth title in men’s singles event and had earlier won in 2010, 2011 and 2014. Other category winners are Women’s Single: Tai Tzu-ying (China) won the title by defeating Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) by 21-16, 22-20 score. Men’s Double: Indonesia’s Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo won the title by defeating China’s Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen by 21-19, 21-14 score. Women’s Double: South Korea’s Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee won the title by defeating Denmark’s Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen by 21-18, 21-13 score. Mixed Double: China’s Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong won the title by defeating Malaysia’s Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh by 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 score.
28. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have found India’s first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1 which was considered lost, is still orbiting the moon. They also have found NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The ISRO lost communication with Chandrayaan-1 on August 29, 2009, almost a year after it was launched on October 22, 2008. The unmanned spacecraft is still circling some 200 km in the polar orbit around the moon How these probes were discovered? Both space probes were discovered using JPL’s new ground-based radar technique by sending out a powerful beam of microwaves towards the moon. The beams were produced using 70-metre antenna at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California. The radar echoes bounced back from lunar orbit were received by the 100-metre Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. Key facts The LRO was easily discovered as scientists were working with the mission’s navigators had precise orbit data. But finding of Chandrayaan-1, very small and cuboid in shape, about 1.5 metres in length on each side was little bit difficult as ISRO had last contact with it. Even finding a derelict spacecraft at lunar distance that has not been tracked for years is tricky because the moon is riddled with Mascons are regions with higher-than-average gravitational pull. It is believed that they may had dramatically affected spacecraft’s orbit over time, and even cause it to crashed into the moon. Background Chandrayaan 1 after its launch in October 2008 had operated for 312 days, as against the intended two years, but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives. It had sent more than 70,000 images of the lunar surface which provided breathtaking views of lunar mountains and craters, especially craters in the permanently shadowed areas of the Moon’s polar region.
2. The World Bank has approved $175 million for India’s ambitious National Hydrology Project to improve its ability to forecast floods and reduce vulnerability to recurring floods and droughts. The loan has been issued from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with maturity of 23 years. It also has a six-year grace period in which no interest payments will be due. About National Hydrology Project (NHP) NHP was approved by the Union cabinet in April 2016 as a central sector scheme with a total outlay of Rs 3679 crore. Later it was approved by the World Bank Board. Of the total fund, Rs 3,640 crore will be spent for the national project, remaining Rs 39 crore will be used to establish National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) as a repository of nation-wide water resources data. It aims at improving extent, quality, and accessibility of water resources information, decision support system for floods and basin level resource planning and strengthen capacity of institutions in India. It is expected to take forward the success of the Hydrology Project-I and Hydrology Project-II by covering the entire country, including the states along the Ganga and Brahmaputra-Barak basins. Earlier Project-I and Project-II were limited only to large river systems viz. Krishna and Satluj-Beas. They had established real-time flood forecast systems to give reservoir managers an accurate picture of the water situation in their region. The early forecast had increased the time available for early flood warnings and improved flood management preparation from hours to days, saving hundreds of lives and avoided flood damages of $65 million a year. Potential Advantages NHP It will strengthen the capacity of existing institutions to assess the water situation and equip them with real-time flood forecast systems across the country. It will help the states monitor all the important aspects of the hydro-meteorological cycle and adopt the procedures laid out in the earlier projects. It will help communities to plan in advance to build resilience against flooding and droughts due to uncertainties of climate change It will reduce the vulnerability of many regions to recurring floods and droughts as absence of real-time ground information for the entire country creates difficulties in issuing alerts on time.
3. India and Russia have signed two long-term support agreements for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft fleet, covering around 57,000 spares and components related to the aircraft. The agreements were signed by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and United Engine Corporation at the first India-Russia Military Industrial Conference held in New Delhi. Background India has contracted 272 Su-30 fighter jets from Russia in various batches and has so far inducted over 230 jets. However, their serviceability rate has been an issue of constant concern. Over the last couple of years, the serviceability rates had dropped below 50% and at one point it had improved to over 60%. Key Facts These pacts provides for an upgraded schedule for delivery of spares from Russia for Su-30MKI, local manufacturing of parts and a proposed logistics hub for the fighter jets in Bengaluru (Karnataka) by HAL. Pacts were also signed for maintenance and life-cycle support for other Russian-origin platforms, such as MiG-29K aircraft, Mi-17 helicopters, INS Vikramaditya and T-90 tanks. They will address a long-lasting concern of India with respect to Russian-origin military equipment and also address issues of life-cycle support and maintenance. Need for such Agreements India has the third largest armed forces in the world and one of the largest importers of defence equipment. Since most of India’s defence platforms and weapon systems are of Russian-origin, their maintenance and life-cycle support is extremely important from the point of view of our defence preparedness. Comment The deal follows a Russian legislation permitting its companies to enter into direct agreement with foreign companies for long-term support agreements. Currently, procurement of spares is a long and cumbersome process as India cannot deal directly with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) but has to deal with designated intermediaries. India is also exploring the possibility of Russian OEMs allowing licence manufacture of the spares locally by Indian vendors under Make in India initiative
4. GST Council meeting presided by Finance Minister Arun Gaitley has approved draft Bills for implementing the goods and services tax (GST) in States and Union Territories (UTs). It was the 12th meeting of the GST Council. The Council already has approved three other GST Bills pertaining to central GST, integrated GST and the compensation to be paid to States for loss of revenue. The approval of these bills paves the way for the Centre and the States to pilot GST, the new indirect tax system, proposed to be introduced from July 1, 2017 through Parliament and the state assemblies. Key Facts The Council also approved the ceiling rates for the cess to be levied on top of the maximum GST rate of 28% on demerit or sin goods. Four tax rates (ceilings) 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% have been proposed under the GST. It also proposed 15% ceiling on the cess to be levied on aerated drinks and luxury cars over and above the maximum proposed GST rate of 28%. It also proposed separate cess ceilings for pan masala and tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and cigarettes. However, Beedis have been kept out of the GST net. It also decided to make the tax treatment of items produced in special economic zones (SEZs) similar to that on exports. Procurement of supplies by SEZs will be zero-rated. About Goods and Services Tax (GST) GST is proposed uniform indirect taxation regime throughout the country. It was approved by The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016. It will merge most of the existing indirect taxes into single system of taxation. It is consumption based tax levied on the supply of Goods and Services which will be levied and collected at each stage of sale or purchase of goods or services based on the input tax credit method.
5. The Union Labour Ministry has proposed a labour code which will provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country, including self-employed and agricultural workers. In this regard, it has proposed a draft code on Social Security and Welfare with an aim to provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country of about 45 crore workers. Features of Draft code It will cover every working person whether he/she belongs to the organised sector or the unorganised sector in the country under it. Thus, for the first time, agricultural workers along with self-employed people will be covered under the social security cover. Even factories employing single worker will have to contribute towards social security benefits. It will cover any factory, mine, shop, plantation, charitable organisations and all establishments or households employing casual, fixed-term, part-time, informal, apprentice, domestic and home-based workers. If such establishments or factories fail to contribute towards the social security schemes of the workers, they will be liable to pay compensation. It even covers households employing domestic help and they will also have contribute towards schemes, including gratuity for the worker and provident fund. It proposes, National Social Security Council (NSSC), chaired by the Prime Minister to streamline and make policy on social security schemes related to all the Ministries. NSSC’s other members will include Union Finance Minister, Labour Minister, Health and Family Welfare Minister along with employer and employees’ representatives. It will co-ordinate between central and State governments, monitor the implementation of social security schemes, regulate funds collected under various social security schemes, among others.
6. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have signed an agreement to work together They will work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals. It will benefit small farmers in India and globally. Key Facts The agreement has identified climate smart crops, smart food and digitalisation of breeding database as some of the core areas of research. The other areas of focus include developing genetic and genomic resources of finger millet and enhancing genetic gains for priority traits, integrating systems modelling tools for upscaling climate resilient agriculture. On crop improvement front, it will facilitate research on pigeonpea and chickpea for insect resistance. Dryland cereals and grain legumes are branded as smart foods. About International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) ICRISAT is a non-profit agricultural research organization headquartered in Patancheru in Hyderabad, Telangana. It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organizations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller Foundations. Its charter was signed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It has several regional centres around globe- Niamey (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya) and research stations Bamako (Mali), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe). Since its inception, India has granted special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian Territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges. About Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) ICAR is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president.
7. The Union Government has announced that total of 29 lakh debit cards were subjected to malware attack in through ATMs that were connected with the switch of Hitachi. It was announced by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The reply mentioned that the malware-induced security breach between May and July 2016 had compromised only 3,291 cards as reported by banks to the RBI. Measures taken after security breach The Hitachi Payment Services (HPS) had appointed SISA Infosec for The Payment Card Industry (PCI) forensic investigation. NPCI had not carried out independent investigation. The forensic report suggested that the only ATM infrastructure of HPS was breached and not the POS (point of sale) infrastructure. RBI had advised banks to improve and maintain customer awareness and education with regard to cyber security risks. RBI also has set up a Cyber Security and IT Examination (CSITE) Cell within its Department of Banking Supervision in 2015. The central bank also had issued a comprehensive circular in June 2016 covering best practices pertaining to various aspects of cyber security. It had instructions on banks cyber-security framework, asking them to put in place a board-approved cyber security policy, make arrangement for continuous surveillance and prepare a cyber-crisis management plan. About Malware Malware is short form of malicious software. It is any software used to disrupt computer or mobile operations, gain access to private computer systems, gather sensitive information, or display unwanted advertising. Before the term malware was coined by Yisrael Radai in 1990, malware was referred to as computer viruses.
8. India and Brazil have finalised text of the Social Security Agreement (SSA). It will come in force by early 2018 after it is ratified. It will be the first such agreement between the BRICS countries. This SSA takes forward the spirit of Goa Declaration adopted at 8th BRICS Summit, outcomes of the meetings of BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers held in June 2016 in Geneva and September 2016 in New Delhi.
9. India’s contribution to the United Nations has rose by 55% to Rs 244 crore in 2015-16 compared with the previous fiscal. In 2014-15, India had contributed Rs 157 crore. It was announced by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha. In the same period, India also made voluntary contributions to tune of Rs 22 crore to international organisations, including UN agencies. For the period 2016-18, India’s Scale of Assessment for the UN’s Regular and Peacekeeping budgets has been fixed at 0.737% and 0.1474%, respectively. How countries contribute to UN? Each UN member is required to contribute to the organisation’s Regular and Peacekeeping budgets. These obligatory contributions are calculated based on a member’s relative ‘capacity to pay’. It is defined through a scale of assessment that takes into account the member country’s Gross National Income relative to the Global Gross National Income, further adjusted for the level of its national external debt and low per capita income. For Peacekeeping budget all permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) bear special responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security, but they also contribute additional amounts.
10. India along with other countries in the South East Asian Region have signed World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Call To end Tuberculosis (TB) by 2030 in the region. It was signed by Health ministers from countries in WHO South-East Asia Region (WHO SEARO) during two-day ministerial meeting towards ending TB in the region held in New Delhi. Key Facts Call To End TB by 2030 initiative also stresses on increasing government and partner budgetary allocations to enable national TB plans to be fully funded. WHO SEARO countries have pledged to scale-up efforts and implement adequately funded, innovative, multi-sectoral and comprehensive measures to achieve the global target to end the disease by 2030. They also agreed to set up of a ‘regional innovation to implementation fund’ for accelerated sharing of knowledge, intellectual resources and innovations to reach out and treat all cases. The WHO global targets seek to reduce TB mortality by 90% and incidence by 80% by 2030. Background WHO South East Asian Region bears half of the global tuberculosis burden. Six of the region’s countries Bangladesh, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand are among the 30 high TB burden nations globally. In 2015, TB caused estimated 4.74 million new TB cases were reported in the region and nearly 8,00,000 deaths. India represents the single highest number of TB cases in the world reporting 2.8 million new TB cases annually and nearly half a million deaths due to the disease. Note: WHO’s South-East Asia Region comprises Bhutan, Bangladesh, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Tuberculosis is an infectious, airborne disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It mainly affects the lungs. It can be transmitted from person to person through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze, laugh or speak, spit, propelling the germs into the atmosphere.
11. The Union Union Cabinet approved the National Health Policy 2017. It will replace the previous policy which was framed 15 years ago in 2002. It aims at providing healthcare in an “assured manner” to all by addressing current and emerging challenges arising from the ever changing socio-economic, epidemiological and technological scenarios. Highlights of National Health Policy, 2017 It aims to raise public healthcare expenditure to 2.5% of GDP from current 1.4%, with more than two-thirds of those resources going towards primary healthcare. It envisages providing a larger package of assured comprehensive primary healthcare through the ‘Health and Wellness Centers’. It is a comprehensive package that will include care for major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), geriatric healthcare, mental health, palliative care and rehabilitative care services. It proposes free diagnostics, free drugs and free emergency and essential healthcare services in all public hospitals in order to provide healthcare access and financial protection. It seeks to establish regular tracking of disability adjusted life years (DALY) Index as a measure of burden of disease and its major categories trends by 2022. It aims to improve and strengthen the regulatory environment by putting in place systems for setting standards and ensuring quality of healthcare. It also looks at reforms in the existing regulatory systems both for easing drugs and devices manufacturing to promote Make in India and also reforming medical education. It advocates development of mid-level service providers, public health cadre, nurse practitioners to improve availability of appropriate health human resource. Targets: It aims to ensure availability of 2 beds per 1000 population to enable access within golden hour. It proposes to increase life expectancy from 67.5 to 70 years by 2025. It aims to reduce total fertility rate (TFR) to 2.1 at sub-national and national level by 2025. It also aims to reduce mortality rate (MR) of children under 5 years of age to 23 per 1000 by 2025 and maternal mortality rate (MMR) to 100 by 2020. It also aims to reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019 and reduce neo-natal mortality to 16 and still birth rate to ‘single digit’ by 2025.
12. Indian-American teenager Indrani Das (17) has won the top prize of $2,50,000 in the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition in the United States (US). She has won the award for her research on treating brain injury and disease. Her research showed a way for increasing the survival rate of neurons affected by brain injury or neurodegenerative disease. Key Facts One of contributors to neuron death is It is a condition that occurs when cells called astrocytes react to injury by growing, dividing and reducing uptake of glutamate, which in excess is toxic to neurons. Das’s in a laboratory model showed that exosomes isolated from astrocytes transfected with microRNA-124a improved astrocyte uptake of glutamate and also increased neuron survival. Indian-American teen, Arjun Ramani was placed at third place for his project on networks using mathematical field of graph theory and computer programming. He won prize of $1,50,000. Other Indian Winners Of the 40 finalists of the science talent search, 13 were Indian-Americans. More that 1,700 students took part in the contest. 5th place award ($90,000): Won by Archana Verma for research related development of windows that could produce solar power. 7th place award ($70,000): Won by Prathik Naidu for a developing software to study human genomes and cancer. 9th place award ($50,000): Won by Vrinda Madan for her study of medications for malaria. About Regeneron Science Talent Search competition It is the oldest science competition in US for students. It is nicknamed as the “Junior Nobel Prize”. Twelve of the contest alumni have won Nobel Prizes. It was originally sponsored by Westinghouse in 1942 and Intel took it up from 1998 till 2016. Now it is organised by the Society for Science and the Public in association with medical firm Regeneron.
13. Scientists from US for first time have developed a blood test to accurately predict whether a child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The first of its kind of physiological test for analysing a blood sample opens the door to earlier diagnosis and potential future development of therapeutics. Key facts To develop this test, scientists had investigated patterns of several metabolites and found significant differences between metabolites of children with ASD and those that are neurotypical. These differences allowed them to categorise whether an individual is on the autism spectrum. This algorithm by measuring 24 metabolites from a blood sample can tell whether or not an individual has Autism spectrum and even to some degree where on the spectrum they land. About Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ASD is characterised as a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. It is estimated to affect about 1.5% of individuals and The physiological basis for ASD is not known, but genetic and environmental factors are both believed to play a role. People with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. Early intervention can improve development, but currently diagnosis depends on clinical observation of behaviour, that is considered as an obstacle to early diagnosis and treatment.
14. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Gas Marketing and Pricing Freedom for CBM Gas. The policy provides marketing and pricing freedom to the CBM Contractors to sell the CBM at Arm’s Length Price in the domestic market. Key Facts The policy is expected to incentivize the CBM operation in the country to boost gas production and will generate economic activities. It will in turn be beneficial for creating more employment opportunities in CBM operations and related activities. Under it, contractor while discovering the market price has to ensure a fully transparent and competitive process for sale of CBM at the best possible price without any restrictive commercial practices. It allows contractors to sell the CBM to its any affiliate, in the case it cannot identify any buyer. However, royalty and other dues to the Government will be payable on the basis of Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) notified prices or selling prices, whichever is higher. About Coal Bed Methane (CBM) CBM is natural gas found in coal seams. It mainly consists of Methane (CH4) with minor amounts of nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and heavier hydrocarbons like ethane (C2H6). It is clean source of energy. During the initial years of mining, CBM was vented out and wasted into the atmosphere as it was considered as serious safety hazard while conducting coal mining operations. However, later with advancement of technology it was possible to extract CBM, a precious energy resource and an unconventional form of natural gas. Advantages of CBM as a fuel It is environmentally safe and clean fuel which on combustion emits only carbon dioxide and water. It is not only considered as an efficient fuel but also reduces emission of greenhouse gas from coal mining. Its extraction prior to coal mining activities makes mining activities safer by degassing the coal seams.
15. The Union Cabinet has approved Revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Mode of Operation (MoO) between India and Bangladesh for establishing Border Haats on India-Bangladesh Border. The revised MoU and MoO will provide a legal framework for establishment and operationalization of additional Border Haats along India-Bangladesh border. Key Facts The Border Haats aim at promoting traditional system of marketing the local produce through local markets across the India-Bangladesh border. It will help to improve economic well-being of marginalised sections in remote areas across along the border. The Border Haats allows to people living in border areas to trade in specified products in accordance with the regulations agreed and notified by both Governments. Currently four Border Haats are operational, two each in Meghalaya and Tripura, along the border. They were established and operationalized under the MoU and MoO signed between Bangladesh and India in 2010. Subsequently, an Addendum to MoO of Border Haats was also signed in May, 2012.
16. The Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection has submitted its report to the Union Government to strengthen border protection and address vulnerabilities in fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border. It was announced by the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha. Key Facts The committee has given broad recommendations on the issues of Threats and Border Protection, assessment of force level, deployment on the border, infrastructure and technology issues for protection of border and administrative issues. The Union Government has decided to initiate action in light of the recommendations of the Committee in consultation with the stakeholders. Background The Committee was constituted under chairmanship of former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta in April 2016. It was tasked give recommendations for strengthening border protection and addressing the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing along India-Pakistan Border. It was constituted three months after the terror attack on Pathankot IAF base in January 2016 by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists from Pakistan. These terrorists had infiltrated into India by beaching the India-Pakistan border (through porous border) in Punjab especially from the riverine stretch. Note: Four Indian states share 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan. Of this, 1,225 km falls in Jammu and Kashmir (including Line of Control), 1,037 km in Rajasthan, 553 km in Punjab and 508 km in Gujarat.
17. According to Mercer’s Quality of Living index rankings 2017, for the third consecutive time, Hyderabad (Telangana) has emerged as the best Indian city in terms of quality of living. Globally, Vienna (Austria) for the fourth time in a row has emerged as world’s best city for overall quality of living for the eighth year running. Key Facts In this edition of rankings, 8 European cities are in the top ten list: Vienna (1), Zurich (2) Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9) and Basel (10). The only non-European cities in the top ten are Auckland (3) and Vancouver (5). The highest ranking cities in Asia and Latin America are Singapore (25) and Montevideo (79), respectively. Both Hyderabad and Pune ranked higher 145 and 146, respectively than the country’s traditional business centres Mumbai and New Delhi, which were ranked at 154 and 161, respectively. In terms of city infrastructure rankings, Singapore has topped the list followed by Frankfurt and Munich both in 2nd place. Baghdad (230) and Port au Prince (231) ranked at the bottom for city infrastructure. Amongst Indian cities, Mumbai is ranked the highest at 141, followed by Kolkata (149) and Pune (151) in city infrastructure rankings. Bangalore was rated the lowest (177) by the report. Background Mercer, head-quartered in New York, is a global human resources consulting firm. Its survey, covering over 230 cities across the globe, is conducted annually to enable MNCs and other employers compensate its employees fairly, while sending them on international assignments. Its city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city’s supply of drinking water, electricity, public transportation and telephone and mail services as well as traffic congestion and the range of international flights available from local airports.
18. Scientists have discovered polka dot tree frog (Hypsiboas punctatus), the world’s first fluorescent frog in Argentina. The newly discovered amphibian sports a muted palette of greens, reds and yellows under normal light, but in the dark gives off a bright blue and green glow. What have Scientists discovered? Scientists found that the polka dot tree frog uses fluorescent molecules totally unlike those found in other animals. Scientists expect to find red fluorescence in these frogs from a pigment called In some insects, proteins bound to biliverdin emit a faint red fluorescence. However, in the polka dot tree frog, biliverdin turned out to be a red herring. In ultraviolet flashlight (or black light), polka dot tree frogs gave off an intense greenish-blue glow instead of a faint red. Three molecules hyloin-L1, hyloin-L2 and hyloin-G1 were responsible for green fluorescence. These molecules contain a ring structure and a chain of hydrocarbons, and are unique among the known fluorescent molecules in animals. What is Fluorescence? Fluorescence is the ability to absorb light at short wavelengths and re-emit it at longer wavelengths. It is rare in terrestrial animals. Many ocean creatures exhibit fluorescence, including corals, fish, sharks and one species of sea turtle. But, until now, it was unheard of in amphibians. On land, fluorescence was previously known in only parrots and some species of scorpions. But it is still unclear why animals have this ability. Scientists believe that Fluorescence may be shown by animals for the purpose communication, camouflage and mate attraction.
19. The Parliament has passed Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 by voice vote to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968. The Bill replaces the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee for five times. Background The Bill passed by Lok Sabha incorporates the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha earlier. The Bill replacing the ordinance was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier but certain amendments were introduced to it in the Rajya Sabha, on the recommendations of a Select Committee. Key Features of the Bill Defines enemy property as: Any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm. Further, it expands definition to include legal heirs of enemies even if they are Indian citizens or of another country which is not an enemy and nationals of an enemy country who have changed their nationality to another country, etc. Custody of enemy property: The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the Central government. Once an enemy property is vested to the custodian, it shall continue to be vested in him. The law of succession does not apply to enemy property. Thus, enemy property will not revert back to enemy subject or enemy firm due to reasons such as death of subject or firm ceased to function. About Enemy Property Act, 1968 After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, to regulate enemy properties and lists the Custodian’s powers. The act provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property in the custodian. The possession of enemy properties spread across many states in the country vest with the Union Government through the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.
20. The Union Ministry of Agriculture has launched Mission Fingerling, a programme to enable holistic development and management of fisheries sector in India with a total expenditure of about Rs. 52000 lakh. The mission aims to achieve the target to enhance fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21 under the Blue Revolution. Key Facts Government has identified 20 States based on their potential and other relevant factors to strengthen the Fish Fingerling production and Fish Seed infrastructure in the country. This program will facilitate the establishment of Fingerling rearing pond and hatcheries to ensure the fish production of 426 crores fish fingerling, 25.50 crores Post Larvae of shrimp and crab in the country. This will converge in the production of 20 lakh tonnes of fish annually, which will inturn benefit about 4 million families. The implementation of this program will supplement the requirement of stocking materials in the country up to a large extent, which is a much needed input to achieve the enhanced fish production. Blue Revolution Blue Revolution aims to recognize the potential and possibilities in the fisheries sector of the country by unlocking country’s latent potential through an integrated approach. In its scope and reach, it focuses on creating an enabling environment for integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for socio economic development of fishers and fish farmers. It gives greater emphasis to infrastructure with an equally strong focus on management and conservation of the resources through technology transfer to increase in the income of the fishers and fish farmers. It also seeks to achieve productivity enhancement by employing best global innovations and integration of various production oriented activities viz. production of quality fish seeds, cost effective feed and adoption of technology etc.
21. The Union Government is going to launch pilot project on ornamental fisheries in 8 potential States with total outlay of over 61 crore rupees. These 8 potential States identified includes Assam, West Bengal , Odisha, Maharashtra , Gujarat , Karnataka , Tamil Nadu and Kerala. What is Ornamental fishery? It is a sub-sector of the fisheries sector dealing with breeding and rearing of coloured fish of both freshwater and marine water. There are about 400 species of marine ornamental fishes and 375 freshwater ornamental varieties are available in various parts of the India. Need for such project Ornamental fishery industry does not directly contribute to the food and nutritional security, but it generates livelihood and income for the rural and periurban population, especially women and unemployed youth as part-time activities. In India, ornamental fishery industry is small but vibrant, with potential for tremendous growth. The low production cost and high returns within a short span of time and the ever growing demand, both in international and domestic markets, are the major attractions for this industry. Key Facts Objectives of pilot project are Promote ornamental fish culture with cluster-based approach, augment ornamental fisheries trade, export earnings and create employment opportunities for the rural and periurban population and use of modern technology and innovation to make ornamental fisheries a thriving activity. It will be implemented by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) through the Fisheries Departments of States and Union territories.
22. The land-attack version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an extended range increased from 290 km to 450 km was successfully test fired. The missile was test fired from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha. It met its mission parameters fully by achieving 100% results. About BrahMos missile BrahMos supersonic cruise missile has been designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia. It name has been derived from the names of two rivers, India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River. Features: It has top supersonic speed of Mach 2. It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilogram, both conventional and nuclear. Range: Its earlier strike range was 290 km. But after India’s induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016, missile’s range has been increased beyond 300km in the same configuration. Another version of the missile with a strike range of 800 km is under development. Deployment: It has already been inducted into the Indian Army and Navy, while the Air Force version is in the final stage of trials. Navy’s first version was inducted in 2005 on INS Rajput. The Indian Army is already equipped with three regiments of Block III version of Brahmos missiles. Now, it is fully operational with two regiments of the Army.
23. The Lok Sabha has passed the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016. The Bill aims to establish uniform legal framework by consolidating the existing laws relating to admiralty jurisdiction of courts, admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, arrest of vessels and related issues. It also aims to repeal five obsolete British statutes statutes (laws) on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters which are 126 to 177 years old and were hindering efficient governance. The five laws are Admiralty Court Act, 1840; Admiralty Court Act, 1861; Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890; Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891; and Provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865. Salient Features of Admirability Bill, 2016 It confers admiralty jurisdiction on High Courts located in coastal states of India, thus extending their jurisdictions upto territorial waters. The jurisdiction will be extendable by the Union Government notification upto exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or any other maritime zone or islands constituting part of India. It applies to every vessel irrespective of place of domicile or residence of owner. It does not apply to naval auxiliary, warships and vessels used for non-commercial purposes. Inland vessels and vessels under construction are excluded from its application. But it empowers Union Government to make it applicable to these vessels also by a notification. It lists the jurisdiction for adjudicating on a set of maritime claims. A vessel can be arrested in certain circumstances in order to ensure security against a maritime claim. It also provides for prioritization of maritime claims and maritime liens while providing protection to owners, operators, charterers, crew members and seafarers at the same time.
24. State-run NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) has installed India’s largest floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant (RGCCPP) at Kayamkulam in Kerala. The 100 kWp (kilowatt peak) floating solar PV plant has been indigenously developed as a part of Union Government flagship ‘Make In India’ initiative. Key Facts It has been indigenously developed by NETRA (NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance), R&D arm of NTPC, in collaboration with Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Chennai. The system was installed by Chennai based Swelect Energy Systems Ltd with support from NETRA and NTPC Kayamkulam station in a short span of 22 days. Floating solar PV systems are fast emerging as an alternative to conventional ground mounted PV systems which are land intensive. It can also be installed on saline water environment. It has various benefits like conserving water through reduction of evaporation, increased power generation due to cooling effect on the panels, reduced installation time etc. Installation potential of such type of floating systems in India is huge because of abundance of water bodies.Particularly in Kerala this type of system has a great potential due to availability of water bodies and lack of presence of enough land. About National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) NTPC limited is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU), operational under the Ministry of Power. It is India’s largest power generator and accounts for 25% of total electricity generated in the country It was established in 1975 by Union Government which now holds 70% of its equity shares as of May 2015 (after divestment of its stake in 2004, 2010, 2013, and 2015). Its headquarters are located in New Delhi.
25. Union Government has appointed Narendra Kumar as the new chairman of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
26. Punjab has won the 71st Santosh Trophy football tournament by defeating Railways by 2-1 goals. It was Punjab’s overall ninth Santosh Trophy after it had earlier won it in 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2006 and 2007. For Punjab, both goals were scored by Rajbir Singh (16th and 61st minutes). For Railways, goal was scored by Rajesh Soosanayakam (59th minute). About Santosh Trophy Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament played in India. It was founded 1941. The trophy is named after the late Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh (now it is in Bangladesh). It is knock-out competition contested by the regional state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
27. Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei won the 2017 All England Championship Title of Badminton in the men’s singles event. In the final match he defeated China’s Shi Yuqi by 21-12, 21-10 score. It was his overall fourth title in men’s singles event and had earlier won in 2010, 2011 and 2014. Other category winners are Women’s Single: Tai Tzu-ying (China) won the title by defeating Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) by 21-16, 22-20 score. Men’s Double: Indonesia’s Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo won the title by defeating China’s Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen by 21-19, 21-14 score. Women’s Double: South Korea’s Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee won the title by defeating Denmark’s Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen by 21-18, 21-13 score. Mixed Double: China’s Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong won the title by defeating Malaysia’s Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh by 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 score.
28. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have found India’s first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1 which was considered lost, is still orbiting the moon. They also have found NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The ISRO lost communication with Chandrayaan-1 on August 29, 2009, almost a year after it was launched on October 22, 2008. The unmanned spacecraft is still circling some 200 km in the polar orbit around the moon How these probes were discovered? Both space probes were discovered using JPL’s new ground-based radar technique by sending out a powerful beam of microwaves towards the moon. The beams were produced using 70-metre antenna at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California. The radar echoes bounced back from lunar orbit were received by the 100-metre Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. Key facts The LRO was easily discovered as scientists were working with the mission’s navigators had precise orbit data. But finding of Chandrayaan-1, very small and cuboid in shape, about 1.5 metres in length on each side was little bit difficult as ISRO had last contact with it. Even finding a derelict spacecraft at lunar distance that has not been tracked for years is tricky because the moon is riddled with Mascons are regions with higher-than-average gravitational pull. It is believed that they may had dramatically affected spacecraft’s orbit over time, and even cause it to crashed into the moon. Background Chandrayaan 1 after its launch in October 2008 had operated for 312 days, as against the intended two years, but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives. It had sent more than 70,000 images of the lunar surface which provided breathtaking views of lunar mountains and craters, especially craters in the permanently shadowed areas of the Moon’s polar region.