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  • WBCS Current Affairs 30/04/2017 to 06/05/2017- WBCSMadeEasy
    Posted on May 10th, 2017 in Current Affairs, Weekly Current Affairs
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    WBCS Current Affairs 30/04/2017 to 06/05/2017- WBCSMadeEasy

    The Importance of Current Affairs in W.B.C.S examinations is immense.Success inW.B.C.S  Prelims and W.B.C.S Mains Exam is mainly subjected to how well an aspirant is aware of the important current affairs. Preparation of current affairs for W.B.C.S is the key to unlock the exam.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 30/04/2017 to 06/05/2017- WBCSMadeEasy.

    1. The US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system is operational in South Korea to guard against missile threats emanating from North Korea. South Korea is concerned about the nuclear threat posed by the North Korea especially after the accession of Kim Jong-un as the supreme leader of North Korea in 2012. However, China and North Korea have continually called the deployment of THAAD in South Korea as an act of aggression.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 30/04/2017 to 06/05/2017- WBCSMadeEasy.

    2. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened the rules around making the Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) more effective, directing banks not to break any rules and to meet all deadlines. The RBI has said that any breach of rules would attract a monetary penalty. JLFs are meetings held to revitalise stressed assets. In JLF banks attempt to red-flag stress early and check them by putting in place a corrective action plan (CAP). Need JLFs inefficiency basically stems out from the disagreements between lenders.The entire model of JLF is based on the premise that collective action of banks against a borrower for recovery. However, in reality, different lenders have different levels of comfort or discomfort, based on the exposure, collateral, etc. Many lenders have also complained about the lack of transparency in JLF. Salient Highlights As per the new norms, RBI has lowered the threshold needed for implementing the corrective action plan (CAP). Now, the decisions agreed to by a minimum of 60% of creditors by value and 50% of creditors would now be valid to implement the CAP. Once a decision is reached by the JLF, it would be binding on all other lenders and they must implement it without any additional conditionalities. However, if a lender wants to exit by exercising the substitution option but failed to exit within the given time, it has to go along with the decision taken. RBI has asked all banks to ensure their representatives on the JLF to be armed with appropriate mandates. It has also asked the executives to take an unambiguous and unconditional stand and vote accordingly. As per the new norms, the executives after taking the decision should be suitably empowered to implement them without necessitating any board approvals. The CAP can include resolution through the flexible structuring of project loans, change in ownership under strategic debt restructuring or scheme of the sustainable structuring of stressed assets.

    3. Kashmir based freelance photographer has bagged prestigious 2016 Wisden-MCC (Melbourne Cricket Council) Cricket ‘Photograph of the Year’ for capturing a stunning image of boys playing cricket at the Nishat garden in the outskirts of Srinagar. With this Saqib Majeed has become the first Kashmiri and second Asian after Atul Kamble to receive the prestigious award. Saqib Majeed is an engineer by profession. Every year MCC publishes a book with a title ‘Wisden Cricketer Almanack’ that includes best sports pictures that were taken across the globe. This year’s edition of the book will also feature Majeed’s picture

    4. The government has declared the entire Assam as a “disturbed” area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for another 3 months. As per the notification, the entire Assam besides bordering areas of Meghalaya has been declared as “Disturbed Areas”. In addition, the government has placed three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, namely, Tirap, Changlang and Longding and other areas falling under 16 police stations bordering Assam as “disturbed” area under the AFSPA. The government has cited various violent activities carried out by certain insurgent groups like ULFA, NDFB and others as a reason behind the extension of AFSPA. In Assam, 75 incidents of violence have been reported in 2016 and 9 in 2017. The Assam has been placed under AFSPA since November 1990. The AFSPA has been under force in the three Arunachal Pradesh districts since January 2016. AFSPA Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts is collective name of several acts passed by Indian parliament for providing special powers to the Indian Armed Forces and to provide army officers and jawans legal immunity for their actions in disturbed areas. Governor of the State and Central Government are empowered to declare any part or full of any state as disturbed area if it is in their opinion that it is necessary to prevent terrorist activity or any such activity that might disrupt the sovereignty of India or cause insult to the national flag, anthem or India’s Constitution. Section 4 of the act gives special powers to army officers in disturbed area to shoot (even if it kills) any individual who violates law / or is suspected of violating law (this includes assembly of five or more people, carrying of weapons) etc. The only condition is that the officer has to give warning before opening fire.

    5. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement, India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have increased by $1.594 billion to touch a lifetime high of $372.73 billion in the week that ended on April 28. The increase was due to increase in foreign currency assets (FCAs), The reserves had increased by $1.250 billion to $371.14 billion in the previous week. Components The components of India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves include: Foreign currency assets (FCAs) Gold Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) RBI’s Reserve position with International Monetary Fund (IMF) FCAs constitute the largest component of the Forex Reserves. FCA surged $1.569 billion to $349.055 billion in the reporting week. FCAs consist of US dollar and other major non-US global currencies. It also comprises of investments in US Treasury bonds, bonds of other selected governments, deposits with foreign central and commercial banks. FCAs include with them the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies like the euro, pound, and the yen and is expressed in terms of dollars. The gold reserves stand at $19.869 billion. SDRs’ value has increased $8.5 million to reach $1.460 billion. RBI’s reserve position with the IMF also increased by $15.8 million to reach $2.347 billion.

    6. The “South Asia satellite” for use by countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region has been launched on May 5. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed the satellite as an invaluable gift of India to South Asia and has further stated that the satellite “will go a long way in addressing South Asia’s economic and developmental priorities.” During the 2014 SAARC summit that held in Nepal, the plan for the satellite was announced and subsequently all SAARC countries have joined it except Pakistan. Hence, the beneficiaries of the satellite will be Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The total cost of launching the satellite (around Rs 235 crore) would be met by the Government of India. Salient features The 2,230 kg satellite called GSAT-09 has been built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is cuboid in shape and is built around a central cylinder. It has 12 Ku-band transponders. The satellite was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using a Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-II launch vehicle. It will have a mission life of over 12 years. The launch vehicle, GSLV-F09 is about 50m tall and is the 11th flight of the GSLV. Also, the launch is GSLV’s fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) engine. Significance The satellite will provide a full range of applications and services in the fields of telecommunication and broadcasting applications, namely, Television, Direct-to-Home (DTH), Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), Tele-education, Telemedicine and Disaster Management Support. Each of the participating countries would be able to use a dedicated transponder with a capacity of 36 to 54 Mhz for its own internal use. The participating countries would be made responsible for the content generation and its use.

    7. The Army, security forces and police had launched a massive cordon and combing operation in south Kashmir’s Shopian district following the recent militant attacks on policemen and banking facilities. This is the first time in 15 years that the combing operation of this magnitude has been conducted by the security forces. The major objective behind the combing operation is to bring the situation in the Kashmir Valley under control. It is also aimed at exerting pressure on militants and force them to move out of their comfort zone. The environment of the Shopian district with ravines and orchards offers ideal hideouts for militants.

    8. Facebook has launched its “Express Wi-Fi” commercially in India and the service is now available via 700 hotspots across four states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Meghalaya. Express Wi-Fi is a part of Facebook’s global initiative to expand internet connectivity. For the expansion of service, Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots covering millions of Indians over the next few months. Apart from India, “Express Wi-Fi” services are currently active in Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Salient Features “Express Wi-Fi” services will complement mobile data offerings by providing a low-cost, high bandwidth service allowing users to get online for accessing apps, downloading contents amongst other things at affordable rates. Anyone will be able to access the Express Wi-Fi network by signing up with an Express Wi-Fi retailer and purchasing a daily, weekly or monthly data pack. They will then be allowed to start browsing by connecting to the Express Wi-Fi hotspot.

    9. India’s first private sector small arms manufacturing plant has been inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh to supply world class weapons to the armed forces in line with the India’s defence indigenisation programme. The plant is a joint venture between India’s Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapon Systems. The plant will manufacture four products, namely, X95 carbine and assault rifle, Galil sniper rifle, Tavor assault rifle and Negev Light Machine Gun (LMG). The joint venture company named as Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems will help in replacing the weapons used by the armed forces with sophisticated and high precision products.

    10. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointments of Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah and M S Boje Gowda as chairmen of the Tea Board and the Coffee Board, respectively. Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah is a leading tea association industrialist who was once a banker in the US. Bezboruah is also the current head of the Tea Research Association (TRA) and has previously served as the chairman of Assam Tea Planters’ Association. Bezboruah will be the first non-IAS to head the Tea Board of India. Bezboruah’s tenure will last until November 1, 2018. As per the recently released gazette notification of the Union government, all agricultural boards under the ministry of commerce will be headed by a non-IAS and industry person. However, the post of vice-chairman will be filled by an IAS officer. The Tea Board of India headquartered in Kolkata is largely entrusted with regulating tea cultivation and export of tea. The tea industry is plagued with the higher cost of production, social responsibilities, labour problems and wage woes. Gowda is a renowned coffee grower and will be in the post until December 14, 2018. The Bengaluru-based Coffee Board works for promoting the interest of the coffee growers of the country.

    11. The government has released draft rules for a ‘no-fly list’ for banning unruly passengers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had set up a committee to come up with the final draft of the new set of rules. The new rules would be opened for public comments for a period of one month. After receiving comments, the civil aviation ministry would study the comments and then will release the final Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).

    12. Russia and Iran which are allies of the Syrian regime as well as the rebel supporter Turkey signed a Russia-backed plan for creating safe zones in Syria. The pact which was signed in the Kazakh capital Astana was meant to halt fighting in the war-torn Syria. However, the Syrian government and rebel delegations were not signatories to the agreement. Russia-backed plan to create safe zones in Syria is targeted at further pacification and cessation of hostilities and a halt in fighting in the zones. Salient Highlights As per the plan, the zones were set to remain in place for six months. The time period could eventually be extended. The zones would cover the whole of Idlib province, portions of the Latakia, Aleppo, Hama and Homs provinces, parts of the Deraa and Quneitra provinces, as well as the Ghouta suburb of Damascus. As per the memorandum, there will be a halt in the usage of all categories of arms among belligerents, including aerial weapons. The major objective of the memorandum is to halt the violence and facilitate conditions for the safe, voluntary return of refugees as well as to provide rapid and uninterrupted delivery of relief supplies and medical aid. However, the ways to monitor and police the safe zones are not clearly spelt out. Russia has stated that ways to monitor the zones would be an issue for separate talks. Background Russia-backed plan has to be viewed at the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s call for the establishment of safe zones in Syria. The Syrian conflict is six years old. It has been estimated that more than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

    13. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved re-structuring the schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under new Central Sector Scheme called as SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) for the time period 2016-20. Salient Highlights SAMPADA is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) such as Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc. It will also incorporate the new schemes like Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, as well as Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities. SAMPADA with an allocation of Rs. 6,000 crore is expected to benefit 20 lakh farmers and generate 5,30,500 direct and indirect employment opportunities in the country by the year 2019-20. The objective of SAMPADA is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing of agri products and decrease their wastage. Significance The new umbrella scheme gives renewed thrust to the food processing sector in the country. It aims to develop modern infrastructure to facilitate entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach and provide effective and seamless backward and forward integration for processed food industry. It proposes to achieve this by plugging gaps in supply chain and development of infrastructure facilities for processing and preservation and modernization of existing food processing units. As a result, SAMAPADA will result in the creation of modern infrastructure coupled with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to a retail outlet. It would provide better prices to farmers and would help in doubling their incomes. Implementation of the scheme will result in creating huge employment opportunities, especially in rural areas. From the perspective of the consumer, it would promote the availability of safe and convenient processed foods at an affordable price. Other initiatives to boost Food Processing industry The government has allowed 100% FDI in trading including through e-commerce with respect to food products manufactured and produced in India. The Governments has created a Special Fund of Rs. 2000 crore in NABARD to provide credit at the concessional rate of interest to designated food parks and agro-processing units in the designated food parks. Food and agro–based processing units and cold chain infrastructure have been placed under the ambit of Priority Sector Lending (PSL).

    14. The 50-share NSE Nifty spurted 47.95 points to end at a lifetime high of 9,359.90. Its previous record closing was 9,351.85 achieved on April 26. Similarly, the BSE Sensex has ended above the 30,000-mark. The upbeat performance of market benchmark Nifty and BSE Sensex is to be seen at the backdrop of reform steps taken by the government in banking and infra space. With government’s decision to bring an ordinance in the banking sector to empower RBI, banking stocks surged up to 9%. Sentiments also remained upbeat following government’s decision to boost steel output and consumption as well as following strong earnings by the biggest private lender ICICI Bank. The positive sentiments were also due to the decision of US Federal Reserve to keep its policy rate unchanged. The BSE Sensex closed at 30,126.21 which is its highest level since April 26 when it closed at a record high of 30,133.35. Also, the Bank Nifty closed at an all-time high of 22,720.10 after registering an intra-day record peak of 22,743.70. On the macro front, as per the Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), services sector registered growth for the third straight month in April. However, the pace of growth got slowed down due to slower rise in new business and employment. Stock Market Index A share market Index shows how a specified portfolio of share prices is moving in order to give an indication of market trends. It is a basket of securities and the average price movement of the basket of securities indicates the index movement, whether upwards or downwards. BSE Sensex is one index. The BSE SENSEX is a free-float market capitalization weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange.

    15. As per the updated FIFA world football rankings, the Indian national football has managed to secure a 100th spot and entered into the top 100 of FIFA rankings. This is the first time in 21 years that India has been ranked into top 100. India has been placed 100th alongside Nicaragua, Lithuania and Estonia with a total of 331 points. India had ranked 101st in the FIFA rankings for April. The team climbed one spot up owing to the recent wins over Cambodia and Myanmar. The current ranking is a 72-place jump from being 173rd in March 2015. In 1996, India managed to secure the 94th spot. Till date, it remains the country’s best ever FIFA ranking. FIFA Rankings The FIFA World Rankings ranks the men’s national teams in association football. The rankings were first introduced in 1992. The teams are ranked based on their game results of all FIFA-recognised full international matches. The teams are ranked based on its performance over the last four years. The rankings are currently led by Brazil. The teams like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain have also held top positions previously.

    16. The Union Cabinet has cleared an ordinance that seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act to give more powers to Reserve Bank of India to deal with non-performing assets (NPAs) in the banking sector. The ordinance has been sent to the President for assent. Amendments will empower RBI to act against loan defaulters and defaulting companies under the bankruptcy code. Amendments will enable RBI to set up multiple oversight committees to deal with NPAs. Amendments will be made to make sure that bankers opting for resolution of bad debts are ring-fenced from any regulatory backlash. Significance The ordinance would empower RBI to speed up the NPA resolution process. The NPAs would be resolved faster as the bankruptcy code provides for a time-bound winding up of companies and recovery of secured loans. The RBI and the government have already made ready a list of 50 top loan defaulters against whom action can be initiated. Those corporate borrowers who have diverted loans taken for specific purposes are expected to be first brought under the scanner. Background The assets of the banks which don’t perform (that is – don’t bring any return) are called Non Performing Assets (NPA) or bad loans. If customers don’t pay either interest or part of principal or both, the loan turns into bad loan. According to RBI, terms loans on which interest or instalment of principal remains overdue for a period of more than 90 days from the end of a particular quarter are termed as a Non-performing Asset. The menace of NPAs has been rising in the banking sector. As per the finance ministry data, the gross NPAs of the Scheduled commercial banks’ is Rs 9.64 lakh crore as on December 31, 2016. The menace of NPAs is more in State-owned banks than in the Private banks. It has been estimated that the state-owned banks had written off Rs 1.14 lakh crore of bad loans between 2013 and 2015. The gross NPAs of the private sector banks have also increased to Rs 70,321 crore by December 31, 2016, from Rs 48,380 crore as on March 31, 2016.

    17. India has successfully carried out a fresh user trial of Agni-II ballistic missile from a defence test facility in the Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. The objective of the test was to re-establish the operational effectiveness of the weapon system. Agni-II Ballistic Missile Agni-II missile is a nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface missile which forms a part of India’s strategic forces arsenal for nuclear deterrence with a range of over 2000 km. It can carry a payload of 1000kg. It is equipped with an advanced high accuracy navigation system and guided by a novel state-of-the-art command and control system. It is powered by a solid rocket propellant system and already been inducted into the army. Agni-II weighs 17 tonnes and the range of the missile can be increased to 3000 km by reducing the payload. It can be fired from both rail and road mobile launchers and it takes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing. The Agni-II missile being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is one of the sophisticated weapons that can act as a deterrent against nuclear-armed neighbours. Abdul Kalam Island To inspire youngsters to work dedicatedly for the scientific research, the state government of Odisha has renamed the Wheeler Island in Bhadrak district as Abdul Kalam Island as a humble tribute to former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Prior to the renaming, the island was named after an English commandant Lieutenant Wheeler.

    18. Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has announced the Cleanest Cities in the Country and the fastest moving cities on sanitation ladder under Swachh Sarvekshan-2017. Indore has been adjudged as the cleanest city in India while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh has been ranked as the dirtiest city among surveyed. In total, 434 cities and towns with a population of one lakh and above were surveyed. Last year survey had surveyed only 73 cities with a population of 10 lakh and above. Cities and towns in West Bengal did not take part in the survey as the Mamata Banerjee government did not participate in the Swachh Survekshan. Criteria The criteria for selecting the cities for ranking for this year included 45% marks for cities becoming open defecation-free; solid waste management like sweeping, collection, transportation and processing of garbage; education and capacity building. 25% marks were given for field inspection and another 30% marks were given for citizen feedback. In total, feedback from at least 18 lakh citizens across the surveyed cities about the sanitation were received. Best Performing Cities The top ten highly ranked cities are: Indore (1st), Bhopal (2nd), Visakhapatnam (3rd), Surat (4th), Mysuru (5th), Tiruchirapally of Tamil Nadu (6th), New Delhi Municipal Council (7th), Navi Mumbai (8th), Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh (9th), Vadodara (10th). Overall, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh have emerged as the best performing states in Swachh Survekshan, 2017. States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have performed well in sanitation rankings Worst Performing Cities As per the survey, four among the dirtiest cities are from UP, two each from Bihar and Punjab and one each from Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. Overall, UP and Bihar remains the biggest concerns. In UP, 50 of the 62 cities/towns surveyed have been ranked beyond 305. In Bihar, 19 of 27 cities/towns surveyed have been ranked beyond 300. The worst performing cities are: Gonda of Uttar Pradesh (434th), Bhusawal of Maharashtra (433rd), Bagaha of Bihar (432nd), Hardoi of Uttar Pradesh (431st), Katihar of Bihar (430th), Bahraich of Uttar Pradesh (429th), Muktsar of Punjab (428th), Abohar of Punjab (427th), Shahjahanpur of Uttar Pradesh (426th), Khurja of Uttar Pradesh (425th).

    19. The Registrar of Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai, has accorded GI Tag for the much famed Banganapalle Mango of Andhra Pradesh. Henceforth, Andhra Pradesh government will be the registered proprietor of the GI tag for Banganapalle mangoes. GI Tag A GI tag specifies that the product comes from a specific region. Geographical Indications of Goods are defined as that aspect of industrial property which refers to the geographical indication referring to a country or to a place situated therein as being the country or place of origin of that product. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness. Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of IPRs. They are also covered under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. A Geographical Indications Registry with all India jurisdiction operates in Chennai, as per the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999. Banganapalle Mango Banganapalle mango is known for its sweetness and is known as “the King of fruits.” Banganapalle mangoes can retain their quality under cold storage even up to three months and have been growing in Andhra Pradesh for over 100 years. The primary centre of origin of the fruit is Kurnool district. Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra are the secondary centres of origin. Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Medak and Adilabad districts in Telangana also form as secondary centres of origin. India exports around 5,500 tonnes of Banganappalle variety of mangoes to countries like the US and UK.

    20. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017 to give impetus to the steel sector. The policy aims to enhance domestic steel consumption and transform Indian steel industry into a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry. The new policy favours the domestic manufacturers. Key features Policy aims to create self-sufficiency in steel production by providing policy support and guidance to private manufacturers, MSME steel producers, CPSEs Encourages adequate capacity additions and promote the development of globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities. Facilitates foreign investment and aims to enhance the domestic steel demand. Promote cost-efficient production. Aims to ensure the domestic availability of iron ore, coking coal & natural gas and other raw materials at competitive prices. Salient Highlights The policy envisages the achievement of crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes (MT), production of 255 million tonnes (MT) and a robust finished steel per capita consumption of 158 Kgs by 2030 – 31. At present the current consumption is 61kgs. The policy aims to meet the entire demand of high-grade automotive steel, electrical steel, special steels and alloys for strategic applications through adequate local production. It aims to increase domestic availability of washed coking coal in order to reduce import dependence on coking coal from about 85% to around 65% by 2030-31. All the government tenders would give preference to domestically manufactured iron and steel products. The domestic manufacturers who import raw materials or intermediate products will be able to claim the benefits of the domestic procurement provision if they add a minimum of 15% value to the product. R&D in the steel sector would be carried out through the establishment of Steel Research and Technology Mission of India (SRTMI). Background India is the third largest producer of steel globally. The steel sector is contributing to about 2% of the country’s GDP. India had produced 100 Million Tonnes (MT) of steel in 2016-17. Though the National Steel Policy 2005 charted out a roadmap for the sustained and efficient growth of the Indian steel industry, the recent changes in the economic order calls for a new national policy.

    21. The Union Cabinet has granted international airport status for the Vijayawada Airport. The approval was given as per provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The decision was taken as the airport is witnessing significant growth in passenger traffic and also to cater to the demands made by airlines as well as the Andhra Pradesh government. The airport is currently undergoing infrastructural upgradations and improvement in facilities for international operations. The upgradation works are being carried out by the Airports Authority of India.

    22. World’s highest railway bridge which will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower is to come up over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crore in around two years from now. The bridge will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar). The bridge will be a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project. Once completed, the bridge will be an engineering marvel. The project is expected to be completed by 2019. After completion of the bridge it will surpass the record of the Beipan river Shuibai railway bridge (275 m) in China. The bridge is expected to contribute to the economic development of the state and improve its accessibility. The new railway bridge will be of an arch-shaped structure in hostile terrain. It will be constructed using over 24,000 tonnes of steel and will rise 359 m above the river bed. Steel has been chosen as the construction material as it would be cheap and would be able to resist temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius and wind speeds of above 250 kmph. The design of the bridge will be such that it will be able to withstand wind speed of up to 260 kmph. Security features The Indian Railways is also planning to install sensors on the bridge to check the wind velocity. The sensors will turn the track signal red to prevent the train movement if the wind speed exceeds 90 kmph. The bridge will be constructed using a 63mm thick special blast-proof steel to make the bridge to withstand terrorist attacks as the region is prone to frequent terror attacks. In addition, the concrete pillars of the bridge will be designed to withstand explosions. A ring of aerial security will be provided to safeguard the bridge. In addition, to safeguard the passengers and train at crucial times online monitoring and warning system will be installed on the bridge.

    23. In the recently updated ICC T20 International team rankings, India has been placed at the 4th position behind second placed England and third placed Pakistan. India has earned 118 points whereas England and Pakistan have earned 121 points each. New-Zealand has topped the table with 125 points. South Africa has managed to secure the fifth place followed by countries like Australia (6th), West Indies (7th), Sri Lanka (8th), Afghanistan (9th) and Bangladesh (10th). The rankings assume significance in the light of 2020 World T20. World T20 tournament will be hosted by the Australia. Apart from Australia, nine other top-ranked teams as on December 31, 2018 will be automatically qualified for the tournament. The bottom eight countries will join regional qualifiers in the 2019 World T20 Qualifier. Six countries from the qualifier will be qualified to join the 16-team World T20 pool.

    24. Indian Army has successfully test-fired advanced Block-III version of Brahmos cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. During the test, the Brahmos cruise missile had successfully hit the land-based target with desired precision in a top attack configuration demonstrating its high level and complex manoeuvring and its unmatched lethality of hitting the target with at most precision. Recently, on April 22, the Indian Navy had successfully carried out its first test-firing of the sea-to-land attack version of Brahmos. Brahmos The Brahmos is a supersonic cruise missile developed by a joint-venture between Russia’s Mashinostroyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It operates on ‘fire and forget principal’ and is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets. It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilogram and has top supersonic speed of Mach 2.8 to 3 (that is roughly three times the speed of sound). It is a two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant. It is hailed as the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation. After India has become the member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016, India and Russia have proposed to jointly develop a new generation of Brahmos missiles with a range of 600-km plus and capability to strike the targets with pinpoint accuracy.

    25. Fitch, in its latest rating review, has affirmed India’s sovereign rating at BBB-, which is the lowest investment grade rating. Despite pressure from the government and corporate for an upgrade in the rating, Fitch has kept its sovereign rating on India unchanged. Although Fitch acknowledged India’s strong growth and recent economic reforms, it has a given a BBB- rating owing to the weak state of the government’s finances. According to the rating agency, India’s general government debt burden was 67.9% of GDP whereas the ‘BBB’ median is 40.9%. Also, Fitch has estimated a wide fiscal balance of -6.6% of GDP for FY17. Similarly, India’s long-term foreign and local-currency issuer default ratings were also fixed at ‘BBB-’. Fitch expects a strong medium-term growth outlook as well as favourable external balances with a weak fiscal position and difficult business environment. However, it expects the business environment to gradually improve with the implementation of the government’s structural reform agenda. Fitch has said that economy of the country is less developed on a number of structural metrics. In India, the average per capita GDP remains low at $1,714, whereas the ‘BBB’ range median is $9,701. It has also observed that the governance standards of India also remain weak as evident from the World Bank governance indicator for India at 46th percentile when compared to the ‘BBB’ median of 58th percentile. Analysis An official committee of the government reviewing the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act has recommended lowering of the government debt to 60% of GDP. The finance minister in his February 2017 budget speech has recognised that India is largely a tax non-complaint society with a low number of taxpayers. The major liabilities for the sovereign emanates largely from public sector banks with the menace of banking sector’s non-performing assets (NPAs) continuing to linger. Fitch expects the NPAs to rise to 9.7% of total loans by the end of FY17.

    26. Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to shift its financial year from the present April-March cycle to January-December. The state’s budget session for the next financial year would be held in December-January. Hence, the state government plans to finish the current budget proceedings by December this year.

    27. Pakistan’s ‘border action team’ (BAT) has beheaded two Indian soldiers by sneaking 200 metres into Indian Territory in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. During the raid, bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh (22 Sikh Regiment) and head constable Prem Sagar (200 BSF Battalion) were left mutilated. This is the third such barbaric episode since the conduct of ‘surgical strikes’ against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29. In the same Krishna Ghati sector, BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles in 2013. India has strongly condemned this inhuman act and the Army has promised appropriate revenge at a place and time of its choice. Since january, 65 ceasefire violations have already been recorded along the LoC.

    28. India and Turkey have signed three agreements following delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first foreign visit after winning the April 16 referendum that will transform Turkey into a presidential form of democracy. The previous visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to India was made in 2008. In total three agreements were signed by both the sides in the fields of ICT, training and culture: An agreement for a cultural exchange programme for the years 2017-2020 was signed. A MoU was signed between the Foreign Services Institute (FSI) of India and the Diplomacy Academy of Turkey. A MoU was signed for cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also assured India of Turkey’s full support in the fight against terrorism and for India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. During his visit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the Jamia Millia Islamia university for “his contribution to strengthen international cooperation, peace and diplomacy as well as for his extraordinary humanitarian aid to millions of refugees.” India-Turkey India and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1948. Bilateral trade between both the countries stands at $6.5 billion. As of 2016, Turkey’s exports to India stood at $652 million, while its imports were $5.75 billion. Both the countries have set a target of increasing the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2020. Intelligence cooperation between Turkey and India over ISIS has increased in last few years, especially after it was found that many Indian nationals who attempted to travel to Syria travelled through Turkey.

    29. India’s second tallest flag pole has been Inaugurated in Kolhapur. The pole which is 303 feet high has been constructed in the Police training academy garden as a part of the Kolhapur beautification project. The poll is 90 metres tall and 60 metres wide and weighs 24 tonne. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the pole by unfurling a national flag of 5400sq ft as a part of the ‘Maharashtra Din’ celebrations in the state.

    30. The Minister for Human Resource and Development, Prakash Javadekar has launched Students for soldiers- a nationwide Vidya – Veerta Abhiyan to encourage Universities and educational institutions across the country to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers. The portraits of Param Veer Chakra decorated soldiers were handed over to the Vice Chancellors of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jammu and IIT Delhi, among others, to put it in their educational institutions. The “wall of heroes” depicting portraits of brave soldiers who showed exemplary bravery in defending the nation is expected to instil a sense of patriotism and nationalism among students.

    31. The Department of Telecommunications has launched a web portal called the ‘Tarang Sanchar’ web portal that will allow tracking of radiation emitted from mobile towers within their locality and check for their compliance with the Electromagnetic field (EMF) emission norms defined by the government. The web portal is aimed at myths and misconceptions about mobile towers and emissions from them. Background Recently, the Supreme Court had ordered the deactivation of a mobile tower in Gwalior after hearing the plea of a 42-year-old cancer patient. The order intensified the debate on the impact of radiation from mobile phone towers on health. However, the government has categorically stated that the mobile tower emissions rules in India are 10 times more stringent than the global norms. These are 10 times more stringent than those framed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). ICNIRP is the global agency that puts out norms on permissible radiation limits for tower firms worldwide. The ICNIRP pegs permissible tower emission at 4.5 watts/ sq m in popular 900 MHz band. In India, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has lowered it to be 0.45 W/sq m. India’s is among a handful of countries that have tougher emission standards than the ICNIRP norms. The others are China, Russia, Switzerland, Israel, Italy, Greece, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, Chile, Bulgaria and Liechtenstein

    32. Sanjay Pratihar, a scientist at Assam’s Tezpur University, has been selected for the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal for the Young Scientist Award, 2017, for his contribution to “multi-metal complexes, theoretical understanding, selective sensing of Hq2+ions and important applications in agriculture”. Sanjay Pratihar has done his PhD in Organometallic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Much of his research work focused on the re-source-efficient design of products and processes which entails maximum utilization of all the products or processes as far as possible. Sanjay Pratihar had earlier received ‘DST-INSPIRE Faculty’ award in 2012. The INSA award consists of a bronze medal and a cash award of Rs. 25,000. The award will be presented during INSA’s anniversary meeting scheduled to be held in December.

    33. The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has selected Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu for the ‘Transformative Chief Minister Award’ for his role in advancing the US-India partnership at the state level. The award will be presented to him at the USIBC West Coast Summit in the Silicon Valley on May 8th.

    34. Dubai has become the first city in the world to have its own Microsoft-designed font. The font will have typeface both in Latin and Arabic script. It will be made available in 23 languages– Afrikaans, Arabic, Basque, Britannic, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Farsi, Portuguese, Sami, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish and Urdu. The font was launched by the Crown Prince of Dubai Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The font will be used by UAE’s government bodies and also by 100 million Office 365 users around the world.

    35. Indian Railways is expected to launch a new 20 coach premier train called the Tejas Express connecting Mumbai and Goa in June. The Tejas service aims to provide comfort to passengers in the inter-city journeys. Once the Mumbai-Goa run becomes operational, the Railways is likely to extend the Tejas service in Delhi-Chandigarh route. The Tejas service was promised in the Union Railway Budget 2016-17. Salient features The Tejas Express will be the first train of Indian Railways to have automatic doors and secured gangways for all coaches. At present automatic doors are only operational in metro trains in the country.

    36. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the state’s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Nagpur. The state government proposes to install around 2,065 such weather stations across the state on a public private partnership (PPP) mode in this year and 1,000 in next year. The weather stations will be helpful in measuring the wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity and record amount of rainfall. The information gathered by the weather stations would be shared among the farmers by making them available on Mahavedh portal (Maharashtra agriculture weather information network) as well as on the mobile application of Skymet. Weather forecast firm Skymet Weather Private Ltd will be setting up these weather stations.

    37. Leveraging information technology in a big way, the Indian Railways is set to make use of the radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) for tracking of wagons, coaches and locomotives to ensure the effective and transparent functioning of the system. For this purpose, the RFID tags have been designed by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) at an estimated cost of Rs 1000 per tag. For the first phase of implementation of this project, the Railways have sanctioned a sum of Rs 57 crore. The trackside readers that will be installed at stations and other key points would read the RFID tag fitted in the rolling stocks and would transmit the wagon identity over a network to a central computer. From here afterwards, all new wagons coming out of manufacturing units would be equipped with RFID tags as a part of the standard practice. Indian railways have about 2.25 lakh wagons, 50,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives in its possession. Earlier, the Railways used RFID tags on Vishakhapatnam-Talcher-Paradeep section as a pilot project.

    38. Aizawl FC has won its maiden I-League title against Shillong Lajong in their final game of the league season to become the first ever club from the northeast to win the I-League title. This was the 10th edition of the I-League held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, The victory of Aizawl FC with a shoe-string budget against Shillong Lajong is considered as one of the biggest achievements in Indian football history. Aizawl ended the league with 37 points. I-League The Hero I-League is an Indian professional league for men’s association football clubs. The I-League was formed in 2007 as the ONGC I-League with an aim to professionalize the game of football in India. It is a successor of the National Football League and is considered as the primary competition in the field of Indian football.

    39. Scientists at IIT Roorkee have used Indian summer fruit, Jamun, to create low cost and more efficient solar cells. To create the solar cells, the researchers made use of naturally occurring pigment present in jamun as an inexpensive photosensitizer for Dye Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSCs) or Gratzel cells. Gratzel cells are nothing but thin film solar cells made of a porous layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated photoanode, a layer of dye molecules that are capable of absorbing sunlight, an electrolyte for regenerating the dye, and a cathode. The above components of the Gratzel cell form a sandwich-like structure with the dye molecule playing a crucial role through its ability to absorb visible light. Researchers made use of ethanol to extract the dyes from jamun. The extracted coloured pigment called anthocyanin was used as a sensitiser. The research got published in the Journal of Photovoltaics.

    40. The Real Estate Act which aims to protect the interests of homebuyers by ensuring transparency has come into effect. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) has asked all the states and Union Territories to implement the Act with letter and spirit. Since land is a state subject, real estate sector comes within the ambit of the state governments. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016 was passed by Parliament in March last year. Partially, the act came into force on 1 May last year with 59 of 92 notified sections of the act coming into force. The remaining provisions have come into the force now. Already the act has been notified by 13 states and Union Territories including Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Daman and Diu. Salient Provisions Buyers and developers of real estate property can seek relief by approaching Real Estate Regulatory Authorities against violation of the contractual obligations and other provisions of the Act. The act provides for the mandatory registration of projects and real estate agents. The act mandates depositing 70% of the funds collected from buyers in a separate bank account for construction of the project. The funds could be withdrawn only for construction purposes. The act prescribes penalty on developers if the project is delayed. The project developers are required to disclose the project details on the website of the regulator and need to provide quarterly updates on construction progress. Under the act, the Regulatory authorities are required dispose of complaints in 60 days and Appellate Tribunals will be required to adjudicate cases in 60 days. Significance The act will ensure transparency and accountability in the real estate sector. It will enhance the consumer confidence and will benefit the whole sector. It will help to attract more investments into the real estate sector and may also open gates for FDI. This act will aid in the effective implementation of projects such as Hosing for All by 2020 and Smart City.

    41. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all the existing asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) to have a minimum net owned fund (NOF) of Rs100 crore by March 2019. This decision has been taken by RBI in accordance with its last bi-monthly monetary policy in which it had proposed to stipulate a minimum NOF of Rs100 crore taking into consideration the enhanced role and greater cash based transactions carried out by ARCs. As per amended SARFAESI Act, 2016, ARCs cannot carry on the business of securitisation or asset reconstruction without having NOF of not less than Rs 2 crore or any other amount stipulated by the RBI. As per the notification of RBI, the existing ARCs not meeting the minimum NOF criteria need to achieve the minimum NOF of Rs100 crore latest by 31 March 2019.

    42. India will give Rs. 35 crore rupees to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh under the new ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme in the next five years. Under the scheme, students at higher secondary level will get a one-time grant of Tk 20,000 (Rs 15,370) and students at the undergraduate level will get a grant of Tk 50,000 (Rs 38,430). In addition, all freedom fighters will be eligible for multiple entries on Indian visa for a period of five years. Also, every year 100 of them will be entitled to free medical treatment in Indian hospitals.

    43. May 2, 2017 will be observed as Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas by National Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) at 12 locations, namely, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Raj Ghat (Hardoi), Bithoor, Srinagar ( Uttarakhand), Vidhur Kuti (Bijnor) and Devprayag. Apart from these locations, with the help of Ganga Vichaar Manch, local NGOs and volunteer support, the event is slated to be organized at more than 30 other locations. The objective of the event is to spread awareness and promote active involvement of the masses in Swachh Ganga. The event envisages developing a sense of pride and ownership among masses and to actively support for Namami Gange programme. Ganga Vichar Manch which is a volunteer wing of National Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) would execute the event in close coordination with State Programme Management Groups, State Government Departments/Agencies, District Administration and other key stakeholders at each of the above locations.

    44. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled translated volumes of Vachana in 23 Indian languages on the occasion of Basava Jayanti. The 23 Vachana volumes were edited by late M M Kalburgi and have been translated into other languages by more than 200 people. Prime Minister also released the digital version of the work. This is the first ever celebration of Basava Jayanti at the national level in New Delhi. The translated volumes of Vachana was commissioned by the Basava Samithi at a cost of 2.5 crore rupees of which the Karnataka government has contributed 1 crore rupees. The celebrations also coincide with golden jubilee of Basava Samiti that was set up by former Vice President B D Jatti 1964 to spread in Basavannas message.

    Courtesy – GKT

     

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