WBCS Current Affairs 17/09/2016 to 24/09/2016

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1. India and France has signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of 7.87 billion Euros. The deal was signed by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian. Eric Trappier in New Delhi. This is the first fighter aircraft deal signed by India with other country since the purchase of Sukhoi aircrafts from Russia in the late 1990’s. Key Facts The defence deal includes the aircraft in fly-away condition, simulators, weapons, spares, maintenance, and Performance Based Logistics support for five years. The Rafale is a twin-engine fighter, multi-role fighter aircraft manufactured by French aviation company Dassault. These aircrafts is capable of carrying out all combat missions such as interception, air defence, in-depth strikes, ground support, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence. They will come with various India- specific modifications including Israeli helmet mounted displays, low band jammers, radar warning receivers, infra-red search and tracking, 10 hour flight data recording, towed decoy systems among others. The weapons package of deal includes Meteor radar guided Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile which is considered the best in the class with range of over 150 kms. It also includes Scalp long range air to ground missiles. Meteor missile has a superior BVR than any of its competitor in the South Asia region. Comment The Rafale fighter jets are likely to succeed ageing fleet of Indian Air Force (IAF’s) Mirage fighters for nuclear warhead delivery as part of India’s nuclear doctrine. They will be stationed at two IAF bases, Sarsawa in Haryana and Hasimara in West Bengal. Integration of Meteor missile on Rafale jets give IAF air superiority to hit targets inside both Pakistan and across northern and eastern borders while staying within India’s territorial boundary. Background The deal comes after 17 months of tough negotiations since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision for direct purchase of the Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition in April 2014 citing “critical operational necessity” of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

2. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is going to launch Mission Parivar Vikas for improved family planning services in 145 High Focus districts in seven states. The objective of mission is to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework. Key features of Mission Parivar Vikas These districts are located in the seven high focus states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. They are having the highest total fertility rates and constitute 44% of the country’s population. They also have a substantial impact on maternal and child health indicators. As about 25 to 30% of maternal deaths and 50% of infant deaths occur in these districts. The key strategic focus of this initiative will be on improving access to contraceptives through delivering assured services, dovetailing with new promotional schemes. It will also ensure building capacity (service providers), commodity security, creating an enabling environment along with close monitoring and implementation.

3. The eighth edition of joint military exercise ‘Indra-2016’ between India and Russia has begun in Russian city of Vladivostok. The main focus of this edition of bilateral military exercise is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate. Key Facts The eleven days bilateral military exercise seeks to achieve interoperability in joint operations. Troops from both sides would acquaint themselves with the respective approach to such counter-Terrorism operations. Indian army contingent is represented by 250 soldiers from the Kumaon Regiment . It is led by Brigadier Sukrit Chadah. Russian army is being represented by 250 soldiers from the 59th Motorised Infantry Brigade. The ‘Indra’ series of annual bilateral exercises and is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and Russia since 2003. The seventh edition of this military exercise or ‘Indra-2015’ was held in Bikaner district of Rajasthan, India.

4. Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully fired recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA missile from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft on a manoeuvring target. During the test, the missile achieved a direct hit on a target which was much smaller than an actual aircraft and flying at a low altitude. With this success IAF has become one of the few air forces in the world that have capability of launching such beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile. Mirage-2000: It is a single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by France’s Dassault Aviation. The upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter jets are fitted with the Thales RDY 2 radar, new avionics, helmet-mounted display. They have ability to fire new weapons including BVR MICA, Meteor missiles.

5. The Tamil film “Visaranai” has been selected as the India’s official entry to Oscars 2017 (89th Academy Awards) in the Foreign Language Film category. The film has been directed by Vetrimaran and is produced by actor Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films. It is based on M.Chandrakumar’s novel Lock Up. Key Facts The film is based on true events recorded in novel Lock Up about autorickshaw driver, who shares his experience after he and three of his friends are arrested on false charges. It documents four migrant workers who suffer police brutality and corruption after being jailed on false charges. It starrs Dinesh Ravi, Samuthirakani, Kishore, Ajay Ghosh, Anandhi and Aadukalam Murugadoss. Awards and Honours: At 72nd Venice Film Festival it had won the Amnesty International Italia Award. At the 63rd National Film Awards, it had won three honours viz. Best Supporting Actor for Samuthirakani, Best Feature Film in Tamil and Best Editing for Kishore Te.

6. Renowned Hindi and Urdu writer, playwright and television personality Reoti Saran Sharma passed away in New Delhi. He was 92. He was pioneer in radio plays in All India Radio (AIR). For his contribution to theatre (dramatic literature and performance) he was conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007.

7. The world’s largest solar power plant with an installed capacity of 648MW was commissioned at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The plant was set up on an area of around 5,000 acres by Adani Group at a total cost of Rs 4,550 crore. It was connected to the grid through a sub-station. Key Facts The plant was set up the plant in eight months. For this purpose, Adani Group had sourced equipment and machinery from various parts of the world. The plant comprises 25 lakh solar modules, 3.8 lakh foundations, 27,000m of structure, 154 transformers, 576 inverters and 6,000km length of cables. A total of around 8,500 people had worked in a day to set up the plant in the stipulated time.

8. Union Government’s think-tank NITI Aayog has devised a short-term and medium-to-long term action plan to help India achieve 50 medals in 2024 summer Olympics. The action plans were devised after disappointing performance in 2016 Rio Olympics by India which is world’s second-most populous country with world-class talent in various disciplines. Key Facts Short-term vision (4-8 years): It envisages targeting a group of priority sports, organising sportspersons into three groups for each priority sport. It seeks to harness the potential of regional and indigenous sports, selecting world-class coaches as well as a grading system for coaches. It will also focus on a strengthening and scaling up of existing SAI training centres, sports injury insurance scheme, facilitating creation of sports academies for individual sports. Under it, a digital database for sports will be created. Besides national sports code and sports Bill will be promoted. Medium to long term vision (8-15 years): It will focus on identifying talent at a young age, a dedicated training programme for coaches, having sports curriculum in schools/ It will encourage development of sports infrastructure through PPP or private mode and developing a psychological and health support division. It will stress on the consistent funding of contracts, promoting a culture of sports in the country and hosting international events in priority sports. After each Olympics, a fixed 4-year contract will be signed between SAI and Group A sportspersons, keeping in mind their funding requirement for the next Olympics and other international events in between.

9. India, United States and Afghanistan have reaffirmed their shared interests in combating terrorism and advancing peace and security in the region. In this regard, a trilateral statement was issued after meeting of their delegates in New York on the sidelines of the 71st session of UN General Assembly. Key features of trilateral statement Three countries reaffirm their shared interests in advancing peace and security in the region, as well as countering terrorism. They have exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and on regional issues of mutual interest. The meeting provided a forum for the governments of India and the US to explore ways to coordinate and align their assistance with the priorities of the Afghanistan government. They welcomed the discussions focused on political, economic, and development goals in Afghanistan including the regional dimension.

10. Researchers from Pune (Maharashtra) have produced high-quality carbon from sugarcane waste within minutes by using a low power microwave system. They had used a simple, cost-effective and quick process to convert sugarcane bagasse into anode-grade porous, conducting, activated carbon material for use in Li-ion batteries. What they achieved it? They had carried out initial carbonisation overnight at room temperature by mixing bagasse with concentrated sulphuric acid. The acid treatment had dissolved most of the inorganic impurities present in bagasse except silica. This helped in forming robust carbon double bond backbone structure. The solid product obtained from acid treatment was washed thoroughly and was oven-dried at 70 degree C. Later it was mixed with potassium hydroxide to form slurry. The slurry is then heated in a microwave oven for a few minutes. The heating had led to graphitisation and pores were formed when potassium hydroxide reacts with carbon. Significance of Research The process will bring down the time to get anode-grade carbon dramatically. Thus, it will help to reduce electrical energy input substantially. The quality of carbon and battery performance using this carbon is quite good and competitive compared with carbon made through other complicated schemes and processes. The carbon was produced using Simple kitchen microwave used to derive high-quality material in minutes.

11. The Union Government has extended support to certain new products and the rate of incentives for certain other specified products under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Decision in this regard was taken by Department of Commerce (DoC) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in backdrop of the continued decline in growth of Indian goods exports. Key Facts DoC has added 2901 additional products falling under different product categories under the MEIS. With this the total number of items (products) covered under the scheme has been increased from 5,012 to 7,103. The major products added include several items of traditional medicines, dried onion, processed cereal products, marine products and value added items of plastics, leather articles and suitcases. The total government support extended under the scheme has been enhanced to Rs. 23,500 crore per annum from the present Rs. 22,000 crore. Besides, products that will get incentives include engineering goods, garments, fabrics, chemicals, glass products, ceramics, leather goods, periodicals, newspapers, silk items, wool products, made ups, tubes and pipes. What is Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)? MEIS was launched under Foreign Trade Policy of India (FTP) 2015-20. It is one of the two schemes introduced in FP 2015-20, as a part of Exports from India Scheme. The other scheme is Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS). Objective of MEIS is to offset infrastructural inefficiencies and associated costs involved in export of goods and products, which are produced and manufactured in India. It seeks to enhance India’s export competitiveness of these goods and products having high export intensity, employment potential.

12. The Union Government has appointed Navtej Sarna (59) was appointed as Ambassador to the United States. He will take over from Arun Kumar Singh, who has retired from the service. In his new role he will face the task of engaging with the new administration in United States following the November 2016 Presidential poll. About Navtej Sarna He is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1980 batch. In his career spanning 35 years, he has handled several important assignments at the MEA. Prior to this appointment he was serving as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He was appointed to India’s High Commissioner to UK in January 2016. Prior to it, he was serving as Secretary (West) in the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He was among the longest-serving spokespersons of the MEA from 2002 to 2008. He also has authored many fiction and non-fiction books and the most recent being ‘Second Thoughts: On Books, Authors and the Writerly Life’ released in 2016. He was also India’s ambassador to Israel from 2008 to 2012. He had served at various Indian missions including in Warsaw, Moscow, Tehran, Geneva, Thimphu and Washington.

13. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed three economists as the external appointees on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). They are Pami Dua, Chetan Ghate and Ravindra Dholakia. They will have a fixed four year term and it is non-renewable. Pami Dua She is the Director of the Delhi School of Economics (DSE). She is an expert on econometrics and forecasting, has a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. Her research work spreads across different fields like business cycle analysis, macroeconomics, econometrics, and forecasting. She is also the Chairperson of the Agricultural Economics Research Centre (AERC) at the University of Delhi. Chetan Ghate He is a macroeconomist and a professor at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Delhi. His research focus is on economic growth, economic development, fluctuations and monetary and fiscal policy in developing and emerging market economies. He is the only member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Monetary Policy who becomes a member of the MPC. Ravindra Dholakia He is a faculty member of Economics at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. He has served as an independent director on the boards of several corporations including Gujarat State Financial Services, Union Bank of India, Air India, and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. With this, MPC’s composition consists of three Reserve Bank of India (RBI) representatives and three external appointees. They will work to decide interest rates. RBI will be represented by Governor Urjit Patel (Chairman of MPC), Deputy Governor in-charge of monetary policy R. Gandhi and executive director M.D. Patra. About Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) MPC under the RBI will decide monetary policy by setting interest rates. It aims to bring significant changes in the power the RBI governor while deciding interest rates. The RBI will set interest rates according to the majority view of the six-member MPC, with the Governor having the casting vote in case of a tie. MPC replaces previous arrangement where RBI Governor along with a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) taking decisions on monetary policy including setting interest rates. In the previous arrangement TAC was only having advisory functions and the RBI Governor enjoyed veto power over the committee in setting interest rates. Thus, it is expected to bring “value and transparency” to monetary policy decisions taken by central banks which have far-reaching implications on economy, investors, savers and borrowers. Functions: Administer the inflation targeting monetary policy regime through determining the interest rates (policy rate or repo rate) to contain inflation. It will decide the changes to be made to the interest rates to contain inflation within the target level set under the inflation targeting regime. It will meet at least four times a year and make public its decisions following each meeting. Structure: MPC is formed under the RBI with six members. Three members will be from the RBI while the other three members will be appointed by the Central Government. Members from the RBI are Governor who is the chairman of the MPC, a Deputy Governor and one officer of the RBI. The government members to MPC will be appointed by the Central Government on recommendations of a search-cum-selection committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

15. Two Indian forest officials have been selected for the 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards. They are Assistant Conservator Ritesh Sarothiya of Madhya Pradesh State Forest Service and Range officer Sanjay Dutta of Belakoba Forest Range Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. Both of them have been honoured with this award for their exemplary law enforcement actions to protect wildlife. They will be presented with this award at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa in October 2016. About Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards The US based Species Survival Network, in cooperation with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) coordinates the presentation of the awards. The award has been named in memory of Clark R. Bavin, who was the Chief of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Law Enforcement. Clark R. Bavin had pioneered the highly effective use of covert investigations and ‘sting’ operations to uncover illegal wildlife trade. The award recognises the extraordinary efforts of law enforcement officers and other field-based individuals are willing to make in order to protect wildlife.

16. Syrian aid group White Helmets has won the prestigious Right Livelihood Award which is also known as ‘alternative Nobel’ prize. The White Helmets also known as the Syria Civil Defence is a Syrian civil organisation of emergency responders in rebel-held areas. It has been honoured for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war. The White Helmets will share the prize with Russian activist Svetlana Gannushkina, Egypt’s feminist leader Mozn Hassan and leading independent Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. About The Right Livelihood Award It is an international award that honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today. The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull. It is presented annually in early December. An international jury decides the awards in such fields as environmental protection, human rights, sustainable development, health, education, and peace. The award carries prize money of 3.0-million-kronor ($350,000) which is shared among the winners.

17. Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar was sworn in as Chief Justice of Kerala High Court as per Article 219 of the Constitution. He was administered oath to office by the Governor Justice (Retd) P. Sathasivam at a function held at Raj Bhavan. Prior to this appointment he was serving as the acting chief justice of the Kerala High Court.

18. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed a contract with German company DST to design vessels suited to navigate the 1620 km stretch of National Waterway (NW-1). Under the contract, DST will has been initially tasked to develop low draft vessels for transportation of cars that can carry upto 150-200 vehicles. Key Facts The contract has been awarded to DST in par with the objective of providing safe, environment friendly and economical mode of transportation through the waterway. The specially designed vessels will navigate on low drafts. They will be having high carrying capacity and most importantly, will be environment friendly. DST will develop draft vessels keeping in view the difficult hydro-morphological characteristics of the river in the upper stretches of NW1 between Patna and Varanasi. Background The Union Government is developing NW-1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly) under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, with assistance from the World Bank. This project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 tons. The Phase-I of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch. The project includes development of fairway, multi-modal terminals at Haldia, Varanasi and Sahibganj, strengthening of river navigation system. It also includes modern River Information System (RIS), Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), modern methods of channel marking, night navigation facilities, construction of a new state of the art navigational lock at Farakka.

19. The Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit (IITIS) 2016 has begun in New Delhi after it was inaugurated by Union Finance Minster Arun Jaitley. The three day summit has been organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Key Facts IITIS will provide a common platform for domestic and international investors to meet project owners from across Indian states and the private sector. It will host presentations of investible properties, session on why invest in India, Micro of Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) in tourism sector. Besides, it will also host panel discussions on core infrastructure for tourism, session on start-ups, digital India, Swadesh Darshan, PRASAD and niche tourism products, B2B meetings. The summit will also have dedicated space for seminars, business to business (B2B) meetings and roundtables around focus themes. There will be participation from major stakeholders including states/UTs with their ready investible projects, banks and financial Institutions, business developers. It will also see domestic investors, entertainment companies, global investors, helicopter services, infrastructure-developers, hoteliers, international associations, restaurateurs, tour and travel operators, venture capitalists, urban developers and civic amenity providers.

20. The Union Cabinet has given its approval to enact Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill 2016. The proposal to enact to this bill was forwarded by Union Ministry of Shipping to repeal five archaic admiralty statutes. Admiralty jurisdiction is related to the powers of the High Courts in respect of claims associated with transport by sea and navigable waterways. Key Facts The Bill consolidates the existing laws relating to admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, admiralty jurisdiction of courts, arrest of vessels and related issues. This legislative proposal will also fulfil a long-standing demand of the maritime legal fraternity. It also repeals five obsolete British statues on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters. They are (i) Admiralty Court Act, 1840 (ii) Admiralty Court Act, 1861, (iii) Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890, (iv) Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891, and (v) Provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865, Salient Features of Admirability Bill, 2016 Confers admiralty jurisdiction on High Courts located in coastal states of India, thus extending their 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. Background India is a leading maritime nation and maritime transportation caters to about 95% of its merchandise trade volume. However, the admiralty jurisdiction of Indian courts under the present statutory framework flow from laws enacted in the British era. The repealing of five archaic admiralty statutes is in line with the Union Government’s commitment to do away with archaic laws which are hindering efficient governance.

21. The Union Cabinet has given its approval to raise Rs. 31,300 crore in FY 2016-17 to augment infrastructure spending. Besides, it has also given approval to service principal and interest against the Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of Rs. 16,300 crore by Union Government for infrastructure spending. Key Facts The EBR is proposed to finance funds to be raised by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). This implies that interest and principal in respect of the EBR of Rs.16,300 crore will be financed by Union Government by making suitable budget provisions. It will supplement the efforts of the Union Government to improve infrastructure spending and also improve revenue-capital mix of expenditure for a more sustainable growth. Background Infrastructure spending is one of the key parameters for judging the sustainability of growth in a country. It is basically measured interms of the proportion of Capital expenditure to the total expenditure. In line with this approach, Union Finance Minister the Budget Speech 2016-17 had made an announcement to augment infrastructure spending further. For this purpose Union Government will permit mobilisation of additional finances to the through raising of Bonds during 2016-17.

22. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved capital grant of Rs. 5,176 crore for development Gas Infrastructure in Eastern part of the country. The grant in the form of viability gap funding (partial capital grant) at 40% will be used for the 2539 km long Jagdishpur-Haidia and Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project. Key Facts JHBDPL project will connect Eastern part of the country i.e. States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal with National Gas Grid. It will ensure the availability of clean and eco-friendly fuel i.e. Natural Gas to the industrial, commercial, domestic and transport sectors. The Capital Grant will encourage the supply of eco-friendly fuel at affordable tariffs to industries. Thus, it will encourage industrial development in these states. City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks Further, the CCEA also has approved the simultaneous development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks in cities en-route of JHBDPL project. These cities are Varanasi, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata. These distribution networks will be developed by GAIL in collaboration with concerned State Governments. They will provide clean cooking fuel at the door step of Domestic households as well as provide clean fuel to transport sector in the eastern region. These CGD networks will be directly benefit about 1.25 crore population living in these cities. Besides, all these projects will generate direct as well as indirect employment for about 21,000 people. It will also boost socio-economic development in eastern part of country.

23. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing and ratification of Agreement between India and Samoa for the exchange of information with respect to Taxes. It will help to stimulate the flow of exchange of information between India and Samoa for tax purposes which will help curb tax avoidance and tax evasion. Key features of agreement Enables competent authorities of both countries to provide assistance through exchange of information with respect to Taxes Information received under agreement will be treated as confidential and may be disclosed only to persons or authorities including administrative bodies or courts. Information will be disclosed to any other person or authority or jurisdiction with the prior written consent of the information sending country. Provides for Mutual Agreement Procedure for agreeing on procedures or for resolving any difference or under the Agreement.

24. Justice G C Gupta has sworn-in as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. He was administered oath by West Bengal governor Kesari Nath Tripathi as per Article 219 of Constitution. He will have a short tenure as Chief Justice of the High Court as he is due to retire in December 2016. Prior to this appointment he was judge at the Calcutta High Court. With this appointment for the first time sitting judge was made Chief Justice after almost 30 years when Justice Chittotosh Mukherjee became the Chief Justice of the High Court.

25. The Union Cabinet has approved the proposals of Ministry of Finance to merge of Railway budget with the General budget. Merger of Railway Budget with the General Budget will be effective from the Budget 2017-18. It will end 92-year-old tradition as the presentation of separate Railway budget started in year 1924. Since then it has continued after independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions. The merger has been approved with the following administrative and financial arrangements of Railways It will continue as a departmentally run commercial undertaking to maintain its distinct entity as at present. It will retain its functional autonomy and delegation of financial powers etc. as per the existing guidelines. Its existing financial arrangements will continue wherein it will meet the revenue expenditure from revenue receipts. The Capital at charge estimated at 2.27 lakh crore rupees on which Railways pays annual dividend will be wiped off. Consequently, Railways will not have dividend liability from 2017-18 and the Union Ministry of Railways will get Gross Budgetary support. It will save Railways from the liability of payment of approximately 9,700 crore rupees as an annual dividend to the Central Government. Benefits of merger The unified budget presentation will bring the affairs of the Railways to centre stage and present a holistic picture of the financial position of the Government. It is expected to reduce the procedural requirements and instead bring into focus on the aspects of delivery and good governance. The appropriations for Railways will form part of the main Appropriation Bill due to the merger.

26. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Chennai (mainland India) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The submarine OFC will connect mainland with Port Blair and five other islands viz. Little Andaman, Havelock, Car Nicobar, Kamorta and Great Nicobar. Key Facts The estimated cost of the project is 1102.38 crore rupees including operational expenses for 5 years. The project will be be completed by December 2018. It will equip Andaman & Nicobar Islands with appropriate bandwidth and telecom connectivity. It will help the islands to implement the e-Governance initiatives also enterprises & e-commerce facilities. It will also provide adequate support to educational institutes for knowledge sharing, fulfil the vision of Digital India and availability of job opportunities. Why it is important to provide OFC connectivity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands? The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located in the Bay of Bengal and their geographical configuration safeguard India’s eastern seaboard. Provision of secure, robust, reliable, and affordable telecom facilities in these islands is of importance from a strategic point of view to the country. Besides, the internet connectivity is also an important requirement for the socio-economic development of the islands. Background Currently the only available medium of providing telecom connectivity between Mainland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is though satellites, but bandwidth is limited to 1 Gbps. Satellite bandwidth availability is limited and is very costly. Thus future bandwidth requirement of islands cannot be met solely through it. Besides there is issue of redundancy with the satellite communication and there is no alternate media is available in case of any emergency. Lack of telecom connectivity and bandwidth is also hampering socio-economic development of the islands. Thus, it is essential to provide submarine OFC connectivity between Mainland India and Islands for catering to projected future bandwidth requirements.

27. The Union Cabinet has given in principle approval for advancement of the date of Budget presentation from the last day of February to a suitable date. Besides in another reform relating to budgetary process, Union Cabinet has approved merger of Plan and Non Plan classification in Budget and Accounts. Advancement of the date of Budget presentation Benefits Pave way for early completion of Budget cycle and enable Central Ministries and Departments to ensure better planning and execution of schemes from beginning of financial year. It will also enable Central Ministries and Departments to ensure better utilize the full working seasons including the first quarter of the year. It will preclude the need of appropriation through ‘Vote on Account’. It will enable implementation of legislative changes in tax and laws for new taxation measures from the beginning of financial year. Merger of Plan and Non Plan classification in Budget and Accounts The Union Cabinet also approved proposal of Union Finance Ministry to do away with the Plan and Non-Plan expenditure classification from 2017-18and replace with ‘capital and receipt’. The relevance of plan and non-plan expenditure was lost after the abolition of the Planning Commission. However Budget will continue earmarking funds for Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan/Tribal Sub-Plan and similarly, the allocations for North Eastern States. Plan/Non-Plan will help in resolving the following issues This distinction of expenditure had led to a fragmented view of resource allocation to various schemes. It had made it difficult to ascertain cost of delivering a service and also to link outlays to outcomes. It had led to bias in favour of Plan expenditure by Centre as well as the State Governments and had neglected essential expenditures on maintenance of assets and other establishment related expenditures to provide essential social services. The merger is expected to provide appropriate budgetary framework that will have focus on the capital and revenue expenditure.

28. The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given its approval to Rs. 10000 crore Ken-Betwa river interlinking project. It is India’s first inter-State river interlinking project. Decision in this regard was taken at the NBWL meeting chaired by Minister of State (MoS) for Environment and Forests Anil Madhav Dave. Key Facts The Ken-Betwa river interlinking project is divided into two phases and these clearances are only valid for the first phase. The clearance from NBWL will pave the way for the forest clearance and environment clearance process. The main feature of the project is a 230-km long canal and a series of barrages and dams connecting the Ken and Betwa rivers The key projects are Makodia and Dhaudhan dams. Significance of Project Ken-Betwa river interlinking project will irrigate India’s worst drought-affected and drought-prone Bundelkhand region. It will irrigate 3.5 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 14,000 hectares of Uttar Pradesh, in Bundelkhand. It will benefit 5 districts of Madhya Pradesh (Chhatarpur, Raisen, Panna,Tikamgarh, and Vidisha) and 3 districts of Uttar Pradesh (Mahoba, Jhansi and Banda) by assured irrigation supply, domestic and industrial water supply and power. On the other hand, about 20000 people in 38 villages will be affected due to the submergence by Daudhan reservoir and Makodia reservoir. Environmental Concern Ken-Betwa river interlinking project will be the first river project that will be located within a tiger reserve. It will submerge about 10% of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh which has been feted as a model tiger-conservation reserve.

29. Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $631 million loan for building India’s first coastal industrial corridor between Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Chennai. The fund will help develop the first key 800-km section of the planned 2,500-km East Coast Economic Corridor.

30. The International Day of Peace is observed across the world on 21 September every year to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. Significance: The International Day of Peace acknowledges the efforts of those who have strived to end conflict and promote peace. This day is also observed as a day of ceasefire. 2016 Theme: “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace”. To inaugurate the day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rung the United Nations Peace Bell at UN Headquarters in New York City. The bell has inscription on its side reading “Long live absolute world peace“. The bell has been casted from coins donated by children from all continents except Africa. It was given as gift from the United Nations Association of Japan as a reminder of the human cost of war. Background The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had designated 21 September as the International Day of Peace in 1981 by passing resolution 36/67. This day coincides with its opening session of UNGA which usually held annually on the third Tuesday of September. In 2001, UNGA again unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.

31. The Union Ministry of Urban Development has shortlisted 27 cities from 12 States in the list of third batch of Smart Cities Mission. These cities were shortlisted based on scores obtained in the latest round of the Smart City Challenge competition in which total 63 cities had participated. This competition list was topped by Amritsar in Punjab. With five cities, Maharashtra has the highest number of cities in the list. The list also includes four cities each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, three cities from Uttar Pradesh and two each from Rajasthan and Punjab. Nagaland and Sikkim with one city each for the first time have made it to the list. Earlier in the first batch announced in January 2016, 20 cities had made into the list. In the second batch 13 cities were selected. With declaration of third batch, total 60 cities have been chosen for the Smart Cities Mission. 27 shortlisted smart cities (Rank wise) are Amritsar (Punjab). Kalyan-Dombivili (Maharashtra). Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh). Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh). Nagpur (Maharashtra). Managaluru (Karnataka). Vellore (Tamil Nadu). Thane (Maharashtra). Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh). Agra (Uttar Pradesh). Nashik (Maharashtra). Rourkela (Odisha). Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Madurai (Tamil Nadu). Tumakuru (Karnataka). Kota (Rajasthan). Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu). Namchi (Sikkim). Jalandhar (Punjab). Shivamogga (Karnataka). Salem (Tamil Nadu). Ajmer (Rajasthan). Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). Kohima (Nagaland). Hubbali-Dharwad (Karnataka). Aurangabad (Maharashtra). Vadodara (Gujarat).

32. World leaders have adopted New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration expresses the political will of world leaders to protect the rights of refugees and migrants to save lives and share responsibility for large movements on a global scale. By adopting it UN member states are making bold commitments to Develop guidelines on the treatment of migrants in vulnerable situations. Start negotiations leading to an international conference and adoption of global compact for safe, regular and orderly migration in 2018. Achieve a more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees by adopting global compact on refugees in 2018. Commitments of declaration Protect human rights of all refugees and migrants. It includes rights of girls and women and also promote their full, equal and their meaningful participation to find solutions. Ensure that all refugee and migrant children receive education within few months of arrival. Prevent and respond to gender-based and sexual violence. Support countries receiving, rescuing and hosting large numbers of refugees and migrants Condemn strongly xenophobia against refugees and migrants and support global campaign to counter it. Strengthen positive contributions made by migrants for their social and economic development in their host countries. Improve delivery of humanitarian and development assistance through innovative multilateral financial solutions to those countries most affected. Strengthen global governance of migration by bringing the International Organization for Migration (IOM) into the UN system.

33. The 193 countries of the United Nations (UN) have signed a landmark declaration to rid the world of drug-resistant infections or Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or superbugs. It is the fourth time a UN declaration has been reached on a health issue, following HIV in 2001, non-communicable diseases in 2011 and Ebola in 2013. The signatory countries now have two years to submit action plan. These submitted plans are expected to address the seriousness and scope of the situation. It will also agree on sustainable, multisectoral approaches to addressing antimicrobial resistance. What is Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or superbugs? Antimicrobial resistance happens when microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs. These microorganisms are also termed as “superbugs”. As a result, the medicines or drugs become ineffective and infections persist in the body futher increasing the risk of spread to others. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Threats AMR has become one of the biggest threats to global health and endangers other major priorities, such as human development. All around the world, many common infections have become resistant to antimicrobial medicines used to treat them which resulted in longer illnesses and more deaths. At the same time, not enough new antimicrobial drugs especially antibiotics are being developed to replace older and increasingly ineffective ones.

34. India and Israel jointly developed most advanced long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) Barak-8 was successfully test fired off the Odisha coast. The missile was test fired from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in Balasore district in Odisha.

35. India has been ranked 112th out of 159 countries in the 2016 World Economic Freedom Index (WEFI). The index was release as part of the 2016 annual report of the Economic Freedom. The report measures the economic freedom by analyzing the policies and institutions of all 159 countries and territories and was based on data from the year 2014. Key Facts The economic freedom index of a country is directly proportional to the freedom and opportunities available to its citizens. People living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties and longer lives. On the contrary, countries with lower levels of freedom index tend to suppress its citizens’ freedom and rights. Top 10 Countries in 2016 WEFI: Hong Kong (1st), Singapore (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Switzerland (4th), Canada (5th), Georgia (6th), Ireland (7th), Mauritius (8th), UAE (9th) and Australia (10th). 10 lowest-ranked countries: Iran (150th), Algeria (151st), Chad (152nd), Guinea (153rd), Angola (154th), Central African Republic (155th), Argentina (156th), Congo (157th), Libya (158th) and Venezuela (159th). Other notable countries: United States (16th), Germany (30th), Japan (40th), France (57th) and Russia (102nd). India’s Neighbours: Bhutan (78th), Nepal (108th) and Sri Lanka (111th), China (113th), Bangladesh (121st) and Pakistan (133rd). Background The report was published by the Centre for Civil Society, a public policy think tank along with Canada’s Fraser Institute. World Economic Freedom Index measures the degree of economic freedom in countries in five broad areas based on 2014 data. They are (i) Size of government: expenditure, taxes and enterprises (ii) legal structure and security of property rights; (iii) access to sound money; (iv) freedom to trade internationally and (v) regulation of credit, labour, and business.

36. The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the super computer PARAM ISHAN at IIT Guwahati campus. PARAM ISHAN is the fastest and most powerful computer in North East, Eastern and Southern region of India outside Bengaluru (Karnataka). Key features of PARAM ISHAN PARAM ISHAN has been jointly developed by IIT Guwahati and C -DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing). It has a peak computing power of 250 Teraflops and three hundred tera bites capacity. It will help to augment the research initiatives and also in creating an ecosystem for attracting right talents to the field of research. Potential applications: It can be used research initiatives such as computational chemistry, computational electromagnetic, computational fluid dynamics, civil engineering structures, nana-block self-assemble, optimization etc. It can be also used for Weather, climate modeling and seismic data processing.

37. Indian Railways has launched launched ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’ in a move to make rail travel comfortable for elderly, differently-abled and ailing travellers. The ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’ will facilitate access to wheelchairs, battery operated cars and porter services elderly, differently-abled and ailing travellers. Key Facts ‘Passenger Friend’ or ‘Yatri Mitra’ can be assistant (Sahayak) or any other person nominated for the purpose. The service will be available at major railway stations across the country. The service can be availed at the time of online booking of tickets, calling or messaging ‘139’, accessing an app developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). It can be also availed by simply dialling a dedicated mobile phone number to be activated for the purpose. The IRCTC has been mandated to implement the service for ‘free of cost’ by involving some charitable trust, NGOs, PSUs, etc under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category. But, if due to lack of response the service cannot be provided free of cost then IRCTC may arrange this service on affordable and reasonable charges.

38. Anandi Ramalingam has assumed charge as Director Marketing of the Public sector Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). With this she becomes first woman to be appointed as the Director of the company. Prior to this appointment, she was the general manager heading the Military Communication Strategic Business Unit (SBU) at BEL’s Bengaluru Complex.

39. State owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has granted prestigious membership of Asia-Pacific Aerospace Quality Group (APAQG) under category ‘Full Member with voting rights’. With this India becomes seventh nation to join the APAQG under the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG). Other nations of APAQG are South Korea, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. Key Facts With this HAL is now a part of Global Quality team dedicated to bring improvements in the Aerospace Quality. The membership allows HAL to participate in international forums and contribute to the development and revision of current and new quality Standards It also enables HAL to have access to various Quality System Standards and other guidelines developed by IAQG. For becoming part of IAQG, HAL has to be a member of APAQG and then graduate to IAQG as a voting member by virtue of being an OEM in India. About International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) The IAQG is an international non-profit cooperative global organisation that brings aviation, defence and space companies together to deliver more value at all levels of supply chain. It establishes and maintains Quality Management System standards (9100 series) and controls the certification system. The IAQG comprises Europe (EAQG), Americas (AAQG) and Asia-Pacific (APAQG) sectors.

40. An Indian-origin South African Ravi Reddy has been appointed as the Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT). With this, Reddy became the first person from the African continent and first person of Indian origin to head ISBT. About Ravi Reddy Presently, he is serving as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of South African National Blood Service (SANBS). Earlier from 2006 and 2012, he had represented the African region on the board of the ISBT. He is also a member of the Working Party on Transfusion and Transmissible Infections. He is qualified as a medical technologist with an MBA from the University of Natal in South Africa. He has published and presented large number of scientific papers. About International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT) ISBT is a global organisation of medicine professionals working for the safety of blood transfusion worldwide. It was established in 1935 as a platform for exchanging knowledge and advancing the blood-transfusion practice. It is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It has now with 100 member countries.

41. The Supreme Court has moved away from death penalty (capital punishment) after it commuted the death sentence of a youth for raping and killing a seven-year-old girl with the Special Category of Punishment. The apex court in its judicial innovation awarded the convict 25 year jail term considering it appropriate punishment between death sentence and life imprisonment in heinous crimes. What is Special Category of Punishment? Special Category of Punishment is judicial innovation that will be veering away from capital punishment. It will be limited to a “very few cases”. In this case capital punishment will be shifted to life imprisonment without the benefit of release on remission for prolonged periods ranging from 25 to 30 years, if not more. It was formalised by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Rajiv Gandhi killers’ case in December 2015. It helps “get rid of death penalty” and addresses the genuine concerns of the society to see justice done. Evolution of Special Category of Punishment This special category of Punishment for the first time was mentioned in the Swami Shraddananda versus State of Karnataka judgment of the Supreme Court in 2008. Later in 2016, the apex Court had given itself the authority to tweak the sentencing laws and evolve a special category of sentence in its judgment in Union of India versus Sriharan alias Murugan. Comment The judicial innovation of the special category of punishment bridges the gap between death sentence (capital punishment) on the extreme and only 14 years of actual life imprisonment on the other. It may be considered as endeavour of the Supreme Court to make no party (convict or the society) a loser. Thus, it can be said that with judicial innovation of special category sentence the apex court may have found alternative to capital punishment.

42. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed former IAS officer Alka Sirohi as chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as per Article 316 of Constitution. She will replace Deepak Gupta who demits office on 20th September 2016. She will be in office till completion of her term as member on January 3, 2017.

43. China and Russia have carried out joint naval exercises dubbed as Joint Sea-2016 in the resource-rich South China Sea (SCS) off China’s southern Guangdong province. The exercises follow a spike in tensions after Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China’s claims in the SCS and slammed it for causing environmental damage there. Key Facts The eight-day naval exercises (from September 13 to 19) were held in a non-disputed area in SCS off China’s southern Guangdong province. It had featured surface ships, missile destroyer, anti-submarine vessels, missile frigates, ship-based helicopters and conventional submarines among others from both navies. The vessels were divided into two fleets and confrontations were staged off the eastern waters of Zhanjiang in Guangdong which is close to Chinese coast. Both sides had undertaken defence, anti-submarine operations and rescue operations in addition to joint island seizing and other activities They had carried out live-fire drills, sea crossing and island landing operations, and island defence and offence exercises among other.

44. Scientists in the United States including those of Indian origin have successfully grown three-dimensional (3D) lungs in the lab, using stem cells. The 3D lungs or organoids was created by coating tiny gel beads with lung-derived stem cells and then allowing them to self-assemble into the shapes of the air sacs found in human lungs. To show that these tiny organoids mimicked the structure of actual human lungs, researchers compared it with real sections of human lung. Significance: The laboratory-grown 3D lungs can be used to study diseases including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) which has been difficult to study using conventional methods and also test possible treatments for the lung diseases. What is Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)? IPF is a chronic lung disease characterised by scarring of the lungs. The scarring makes the lungs thick and stiff. It results in progressively worsening shortness of breath and thus results in lack of oxygen to the brain and vital organs. Though researchers do not know what causes IPF in all cases but cigarette smoking and exposure to certain types of dust can increase the risk of developing the disease.

45. Haryana Government has announced Charkhi Dadri as the 22nd district of the state. At present, it is part of Bhiwani, the state’s largest district carved out on December 22, 1972. It was announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at a public rally in Dadri in Bhiwani district. The new district will have two state assembly constituencies Dadri and Badhra under its jurisdiction.

46. India has officially declared itself free from highly contagious Avian Influenza (H5N1) or bird flu and has notified the same to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). It was announced by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare. This announcement was made as no outbreak of Avian Influenza (H5N1) was reported in the country after the last notified outbreak at Humnabad, Bidar district, Karnataka in June 2016. Various control measures adopted Stamping out of entire poultry population including destruction of eggs, litter, feed and other infected materials. Restriction on movement of poultry and poultry products from area of outbreak. Cleaning up and disinfection of infected premises and the Post Operation Surveillance Plan (POSP). Surveillance was carried out throughout the country around the areas of the outbreaks since completion of the operation. Post the surveillance has shown no evidence of presence of Avian Influenza. However, Union Government has emphasized that their need for continued surveillance especially in areas visited by migratory birds and vulnerable areas bordering infected countries. About Avian influenza (AI) AI commonly called bird flu is an infectious viral disease of birds and is zoonotic disease. It is an infectious viral disease of birds and can sometimes spread to domestic poultry and cause large-scale outbreaks of serious disease. AI viruses are divided into 2 groups based on their ability to cause disease in poultry: (i) high pathogenicity: Viruses result in high death rates up to 100% mortality within 48 hours in some poultry species. (ii) Low pathogenicity: Viruses are not generally associated with severe disease but causes outbreaks in poultry. Human Infections: Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans however A(H7N9) and A(H5N1) virus strains have caused serious infections in people. However, infections in humans have been associated with direct or indirect contact with infected live or dead poultry. Note: There is no evidence that the disease can be spread to people through properly cooked food. Controlling the spread of disease in animals is the first step in decreasing risks to humans.