WBCS Current Affairs 01/08/2015 to 07/08/2015

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1. During the 2015-16 time frame, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching 9 nano/ micro satellites of United States (US). This will be the first time in ISRO’s history it will launch US satellites. In this regard the commercial arm of ISRO, Antrix Corporation Ltd has signed agreement to US. For this mission the apex space agency of India will be using its indigenous workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It should be noted that, till date ISRO has launched around 45 satellites belonging to international customers from 19 countries using PSLV. Apart from this ISRO also announced that first Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) will be held at the end 2015. RLV-TD comprising series of technology demonstration missions which us considered as a first step towards realising the potential of Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable launch vehicle.

2. Russian journalist and social activist Zhanna Nemtsova was awarded with Poland’s Solidarity Prize 2015. She was bestowed with this award for championing (promotion and protection) democracy and human rights. Zhanna is the daughter of slain Russian statesman and liberal politician Boris Nemtsov who was assassinated by unknown assailants on February 27, 2014.

3. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has extended a contract worth US $490 million with Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). This contract was extended after lack of Congressional funding. Under the new contract Roscosmos will to take astronauts to the orbiting outpost in the space till 2019. NASA has been dependent on Roscosmos for access to ISS after it had ended its space shuttle program in July 2012. It was left no other option it lacked funding for development of private vessels by US companies like Boeing and Space-X over the last five years.

4. On 6 August 2015 India’s telecom giant Airtel has commercially launched the high-speed 4G services across 296 towns across India . In April 2012 Bharti Airtel had first launched its 4G service in Kolkata and from then conducted trials in 51 cities. For the 4G devices Airtel has join hands with mobile handset maker Samsung to develop and provide 4G-enabled handsets in affordable price. It should be noted that it is Airtel who has built first commercial 4G network in India that has brought high speed mobile broadband into reality. Note: Competitor to Airtel in 4G service is Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio who has bid aggressively for 4G spectrum and it is expected to launch more affordable 4G service with lowered priced handsets than Airtel by end of this year.

5. Now non resident single-branded retailers in India can operate their own outlets can franchise their stores and can even opt for wholesale business as per central government’s new notification. These single-brand retailers can opt for above said trading options only when they do business through subsidiaries in India or form a joint venture with Indian entity. Central government allowed single-brand retailers because the proceeds from franchise business will come into the current account while proceeds from FDI will be accounted in the capital account which does not violates rules set for non resident entities doing business in India. Central government norm of 30 percent input sourcing from Indian MSEs or cottage industries may be relaxed for all non-resident entities who are involved in FDI beyond 51 percent. Implications of sourcing norms: The norm of 30 percent sourcing was set by government to generate employment when non-resident entities set their retail outlet in India. This norm will generate jobs but will also create concern to the niche products of retailers due to lack of trained labours or the inputs in India. In order to generate job and maintain quality of the product the non-resident retailers can opt for specialised manpower training by setting centres of excellence (CoEs) through corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. Note: At present there is 100 per cent FDI allowed in single-brand retail trading and require prior approval from government for the proposals beyond 49 per cent FDI.

6. Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of direct release of wages in to the accounts of the workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Direct release of wages system under the MNREGA aims to streamline the flow of funds and to empower state governments to deliver entitlements as per the objectives of the Act. Henceforth, the wage component of MGNREGA will be directly released to the worker’s accounts based on a fund transfer order to be generated by states’ implementing agencies of government. The fund transfer order in case of wages of workers from implementing agencies will be based in accordance with procedures prescribed by Union Rural Development Ministry and the wage component will be given to the State Employment Guarantee Fund window for further transferring it to beneficiaries. In the implementation of this scheme, the gram panchayats will be empowered to take up work according to the agreed labour budget and without struggling for release of funds. The proposed system will Improve overall efficiency of implementation and benefit all stakeholders. Lesser will be the levels of corruption in MNREGA by bringing greater transparency in movement of funds. State governments instead of bothering to manage funds for implementation of scheme will be able to spend more time in planning and improving the process efficiency.

7. Union Cabinet gave its nod to a proposal to sign an agreement with UNESCO for establishment of a Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia-Pacific region. This centre will be established as a category-2 centre (C2C) of the UN body at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. By signing this agreement WII Dehradun will be first existing institute to be accorded recognition by UNESC. It will be also the first institute to get natural heritage recognition by UNESCO as currently there are 9 C2C institutes related to cultural heritage. It should be noted that this agreement has been mooted by the Union Environment Ministry. While, Union Government will provide capacity building for establishing this centre in order to support countries in the region for up keeping of heritage and natural sites. Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia-Pacific region will provide Services for evaluation and preparation of proposals for new cultural and heritage sites in Asia-Pacific region. Capacity building and training on management and monitoring of heritage sites. Thus its establishment will have a catalytic effect in case of improving management of heritage sites in the country. Presently, India has 32 UNESCO heritage sites of which 7 are natural sites and 25 are cultural sites. Implications: Operationalization of the UNESCO C2C at WII, Dehradun will enable India to establish leadership in the Asia-Pacific region that comprises of around 50 countries. This leadership will be in matters related to management, identification and monitoring of world heritage sites and to build capacity of a range of professionals and stakeholders.

8. Union Cabinet has approved hiving off Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) mobile towers into a new company. Decision in this regard was taken in Union Cabinet meeting presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This move will help state owned telecommunications giant to realign its structure in the highly competitive telecom sector in lines with private players. It will also help BSNL to unlock its tower assets and improve its financial position.

9. India and Mozambique agreed to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable Energy. In this regard both sides inked Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expanding cooperation in energy sector. It was signed after delegation level talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique who is on official 5 day visit to India. Apart from this, both nations also agreed ways to intensify cooperation in maritime security and ocean economy as both have large coastlines and are linked by Indian Ocean.

10. Bihar Assembly has passed Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015. It was passed by a voice vote. The bill seeks to empower people of state and provide legal rights to them for redressal of their complaints within a time-frame.

11. Russia has renewed its efforts to get the United Nations (UN) recognition for 1.2 million square kilometers of the Arctic shelf region which it claims to be its sovereign territory. In this regard, Russia has forwarded its fresh bid to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf backed by scientific data. However all other 4 countries bordering the Arctic viz. Norway, Denmark, Canada and the US have rejected Russia’s claim. It should be noted that earlier in 2001, UN had rejected Russia’s similar claim over the resource rich territory on the northern tip of Earth because of insufficient evidence. Background of Territorial dispute over Arctic There is territorial dispute between all 5 countries bordering the Arctic over its energy rich potential which is believed to hold up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas. These 5 countries claiming their own sovereignty over this region are Denmark, Canada, Norway, US and Russia. Since 2008 this issue is still pending and yet to be settled under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

12. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have inked MoU to impart training to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to make them competitive and boost productivity. The MoU was signed as part of the second phase of Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Global Programme. The second phase covers three years period from January 2014 to December 2017 wherein national institutes will provide training to MSMEs.

13. The water treatment engineering company Polutech Limited of Murugappa Group signed an agreement with Organo Corp of Japan to set an industrial water treatment requirement company in a Joint venture. According to the agreement signed the Murugappa Group will hold 51 per cent in JV and the remaining portion will be with the Organo Group.

14. To tame the world’s e-commerce giant Amazon, Alibaba is to invested 4000 crore rupees in m-commerce giant Paytm. Alibaba has picked up 25 per cent stake in Paytm’s parent company One97 through its subsidiary Ant Financial.

15. Aprecia’s Spritam becomes first anti-epilepsy pill manufactured with 3D printer to get the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval. The specified porous structure of the pill ‘Spritam’ was developed by using ZipDose 3D printing technology by Aprecia Pharmaceuticals. Designing detail structure of the Spritam pill made it possible for Aprecia to develop a pill that dissolve faster and delivers up to 1000 mg of medication in a single dose. The pill is supposed to reach in the market by 2016. Implications: Pill developed under 3D printer will reduce the costing of designing and creating complex structure in lesser time. This pill will improve the medications by delivering exact amount of content to the children and the elders. It will open endless possibilities of personalised medications. ZipDose 3D printing technology: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was first to develop Powder-liquid three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology in 1980s. Aprecia started developing ZipDose 3DP technology in 2007 which was designed to enable delivery of high-dose medications in a rapidly disintegrating form. This technology enables the aqueous fluid to stitch together multiple layers of powder to create a wide range of products.

16. Mathematician Dr. Amalendu Krishna has won the Ramanujan Prize for year 2015. He has been bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions in the area of algebraic cycles, algebraic K-theory and the theory of motives. Presently, Dr. Krishna is mathematician professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. He hails from Bihar and had completed his early college and schooling education there. About Ramanujan Prize Established: in 2005. It is named after the noted Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. It recognizes a researcher from a developing country who has conducted outstanding research in a developing country and is less than 45 years of age. Jointly awarded by: Italy based International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Department of Science and Technology (DoST) of India and the International Mathematical Union (IMU). Prize carries: citation and a monetary prize of US 15,000 dollars. The winner is invited to give a talk at the ICTP. It should be noted that Dr. Krishna is the second Indian to win this award. First was Sujatha Ramadorai who had won it in 2006.

17. Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST), Asia’s biggest telescope was inaugurated at the Udaipur Solar Observatory in Rajasthan. It was inaugurated by Professor U.R Rao, Chairman of Physical Research Laboratory, inaugurated. Facts about of MAST The telescope was installed under the project undertaken by Union Ministry of Science and Technology and was funded by Department of Space (DoS). The project will be monitored by Ahmedabad based Physical Research Laboratory. Features: MAST has a lens of 50 cm in diameter. These lenses were developed on the basis of optical and mechanical system of Belgium. The rear part of MAS has been developed by the observatory while its front part was developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). MAST has been designed in 2004 and its optical elements were added to it in 2008. In 2013, it was installed at the Udaipur Solar Observatory. Applications: It will provide 3 Dimensional (3D) images of solar activities such as solar blast and solar flares. It will also in vital studies about other planetary movements even in the day time. Site Specifications: Udaipur Solar Observatory was chosen as project site due to pleasant temperature around it as it is surrounded by water. Besides, the site provides ambient spot for observatory as it has more than 250 days of continuous sunshine, allowing observing the sun properly during day time.

18. Union Ministry of Rural Development has launched ‘SAMANVAY’ web portal to monitor progress and implementation of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) for development of Gram Panchayats. It was launched by Union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh. SAMANVAY web portal consist a compilation of all Government schemes of both Centra and State governments for Gram Panchayats. The purpose of this portal is to help Member of Parliament’s (MPs) to utilise relevant schemes in the planning and implementation of SAGY. It will act as a database for compiled and mapped information on various gram panchayat related activities through various schemes undertaken by the Centre and State Governments. In SAMANVAY, around 1800 state schemes from across all states have been documented. Apart from this, minister also launched a magazine Panchayat Darpan to monitor the progress of the SAGY. The magazine will act as a mirror of all the development activities by identifying 35 indicators undertaken in the village panchayats under SAGY. It should be noted that Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) was launched in October 2014. Under this flagship scheme of Union Government, MPs have adopted a village (Gram Panchyat) to create Model Village. Under this scheme MP from either house of Parliament will develop three Adarsh Gram Panchayats by 2019.

19. Lok Sabha passed The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2014 by voice vote. The bill seeks to amend parent law i.e. the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. It aims to prohibit the commission of offences against members of the SCs and STs and adds provisions for establishing special courts for the trial cases of such offences and the rehabilitation of victims. Key features of the Bill Actions to be treated as offences: The Bill adds new categories of actions to be treated as offences committed by non SCs and STs and amends certain existing categories. Impeding certain activities related to voting especially vote or not vote for a particular candidate will also be considered an offence. Addition of new offences: (a) garlanding SCs and STs with footwear (b) compelling to do manual scavenging or dispose carry animal or human carcasses. (c) abusing SCs or STs in public by caste name (d) disrespecting any deceased SCs or STs person held in high esteem or attempting to promote feelings of ill-will against SCs or STs (e) threatening or imposing economic and social boycott. Offences in case of sexual exploiting of SC or ST woman: It will be considered as an offence in case of (a) Using acts, words or gestures of a sexual nature against SC or ST woman. (b) Touching an SC or ST woman intentionally in a sexual manner without her consent (c) Practice of dedicating an SC or ST women as a devadasi to a temple. Following activities will be considered an offence: Preventing SCs or STs using common property resources, entering any places of public worship that is open to the public, and (d) entering an education or health institution. In case of any violation of any provisions mentioned in this act the courts will presume that the accused non SC or ST person was aware of the caste or tribal identity of the victim, unless it is proved. Public servants role: The Bill add provision specifying duties of public servants which includes (a) registering a FIR or complaint (b) public servant must read out the information given oral complaint by SC or ST person before taking the signature of the victim and giving copy of this information to the victim. It should be noted that parent Act has provision mentioning that public servant (non SC or ST) neglecting his duties related to SCs or STs will be punished with imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 1 year. Establishments of Courts: The Bill adds provision specifying establishment of Exclusive Special Court and Special Court at the district level to try offences mentioned under this Act. Exclusive Public Prosecutor and Public Prosecutor will be appointed for every Exclusive Special Court and Special Court. Rights of victims and witnesses: The bill adds new chapter dealing with the rights of victims and witness. It mentions that it shall be the duty of the state to make arrangements for the protection of victims and their dependents and the witnesses. It also mentions that state should specify a scheme to ensure the implementation of rights of victims and witnesses.

20. Noted Hindi litterateur Kashinath Singh has been chosen for the Bharat Bharti literary award for year 2014. Singh has penned many short stories and novels. His most famous novel is Kashi ka Assi (2004) which captures the vibrant hues of Varanasi (famously known as Banaras). This novel has been adapted into upcoming movie ‘Mohalla Assi’. Apart from him some other prominent writers were also chosen to the award in various categories. They are Vinod Kumar Shukla (Hindi Gaurav), Mridula Garg (Lohia Sahitya), Krishna Bihari Mishra (Mahatama Gandhi Sahitya Samman), Ramkrishna Rajput (Avantibai Sahitya Samman) and Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra (Deendayal Upadhaya Sahitya Samman). Bharat Bharti literary award: It is Uttar Pradesh state’s highest literary award. Annually given by UP Hindi Sansthan. It carries a cash prize of 5 lakh rupees.

21. Anil Ambani-led Reliance MediaWorks Ltd completed the sale of its multiplex business to Kochi based Carnival Cinemas that fetched approximately 700 crore rupees.

22. The Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award 2015 for exemplary work in Dairy Geographical Information System (GIS) has been awarded to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) at the annual Esri International User Conference held in San Diego. The NDDB was awarded for successful implementation of GIS applications in its dairy operations. NDDB has internet-based Dairy Geographical Information System (i-DGIS) application that uses to integrate data of dairy operations at the village level. NDDB is the first to start using of GIS in India where the GIS application is used to integrate data of livestock, land use or land cover and human census at the village level.

23. HSBC India’s chairman Naina Lal Kidwai announced to launch ’green bonds’ in India for raising funds for investments in environmental projects. Announcement was done by the HSBC chairman in a Ficci event held on 3 August 2015. The total investment attracted by Green Bonds in last two years is 37 million dollars. HSBC is the fourth largest issuer in the world. Green Bonds in India was initially launched by Axis Bank and Yes Bank in February 2015 that attracted investment of 1,000 crore rupees against the target of 500 crore rupees. What is Green Bond? A bond is a debt instrument with which a bond issuer gets capital while the investors receive fixed income in the form of interest. The issuer of green bond gets capital from the investors only if the investment is being raised to fund ‘green’ projects relating to renewable energy or emission reductions etc. Note: Besides green bonds HSBC is also emphasising on creating ‘Yieldcos’. It is a product that enables access to low cost liquid and generates predicable cash flows by bundling up renewable assets with long-term power purchase agreements.

24. India’s largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel has acquired YTS Solutions a mobile payments solutions company for an undisclosed price. YTS Solutions will be integrated with the operations of Airtel Money Services Ltd a subsidiary of Airtel.

25. Roland S Folger has been appointed as new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Mercedes-Benz India. He will replace Eberhard Kern who is going to head company’s operations in Europe.

26. Roland S Folger has been appointed as new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Mercedes-Benz India. He will replace Eberhard Kern who is going to head company’s operations in Europe.

27. United Nations 193 member states have reached an agreement on the outcome document New Sustainable Development Agenda for the next 15 years i.e. till 2030. The new agenda draft document called “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” was built on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The draft agreement outlines 17 non-binding goals with 169 specific targets that comprise different socio-economic issues. These goals will succeed 8 MDGs which was adopted in 2000. It has broader sustainability agenda dealing with ‘five Ps’ people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. It seeks to address the universal need for development that works for all people and root causes of poverty. It calls for eradicating hunger and poverty, improving living standards, ensuring quality education, affordable and reliable energy, achieving gender equality and taking urgent action to combat climate change etc. This new global agenda will be formally adopted by UN member states at coming Sustainable Development Summit to be held at the UN headquarters in New York from 25 to 27 September 2015. Success of Millennium Development Goals: Global effort under this initiative has helped to lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty in past 15 years. It also has helped to reduce gender disparity by enabling more girls to go to school than ever before. It has brought unprecedented results in fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

28. Union Government has extended term of senior IAS officer Rajan S Katoch as the Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In this regard, Apppointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an order. Thus, Mr. Katoch will have three months additional tenure till October 31, 2015.

29. International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognised ‘Frisbee’ as an Olympic sport. Decision in this regard was taken at the 128th IOC Session held in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia by giving official recognition to World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF).

30. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited has inked an agreement with Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) to form a joint venture (JV) company for Patratu Power Plant. The agreement will help optimise utilisation of improve performance, assets and expand capacity of Patratu Thermal Power Station located in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand. The JV company will have 74 per cent share or stake of state-run NTPC while JBVNL will have the rest 26 per cent stake.

31. Astronomers have discovered a new secret planetary system which has 3 super-Earths and one outer giant planet. This secret planetary system christened as HD219134, is located at a distance of just 21 light years from Earth and has the constellation named Cassiopeia. The constellation hosts one outer giant planet and three inner super-Earths. Of these inner planets, one of them transits in front of the star and so far it is the closest transiting planet known. The transiting super Earth planet has a density similar to the Earth. The three inner planets are mostly rocky. This new secret planetary system was discovered by using HARPS-N spectrograph, a specially designed high-precision radial-velocity instrument built by an international consortium. It has been installed at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo on the La Palma Island in Spain.

32. Ace Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has won bronze medal in women’s vault event at the 6th Senior ART Gymnastics Asian Championships held in Hiroshima, Japan. Yan Wang of China successfully defended her title to win gold medal with 14.988 points. The silver medal was won by Japanese Sae Miyakawa with 14.812 points. Karmakar, finished at in third position with 14.725 points.

33. Union Government has signed an historic and landmark peace accord with the Isaac Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). The pact was signed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at 7, Race Course Road in New Delhi on August 3, 2015. Nagaland is also known as epicenter of insurgency in north-eastern India. There was a ceasefire agreement in force since 1997. Many rounds of talks had taken place but peace had not dawned upon the state.

34. Pakistan was formally conferred Associate Membership status by European Organisation for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN). The membership was granted after Pakistan formally completed the required internal ratification process. With this, Pakistan became the first Asian country to become member of CERN. What it means to Pakistan? It will open a new era of scientific cooperation between CERN and Pakistani scientific community. Henceforth, Pakistan can attend the meetings of CERN council and also participate in the governance of the organisation. It will also open gateway for industries from Pakistan to bid for CERN contracts. About CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN) is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. CERN in French stands for Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire. It has 22 member states. Israel is the first and only non-European country with full membership status. Location: It is situated in the North West suburbs of Geneva on the France-Switzerland Border. Established: It was established in 1954. Main function: To provide the infrastructure needed for high energy physics research including particle accelerators. It should be noted that, India is currently having observer status in CERN programmes.

35. India will host second edition meeting of Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on 21 August 2015 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The meeting will be attended by the heads of 14 island nations from Indo-Pacific oceanic region. It is seen as India’s first step towards greater engagement with the region, which is important from geostrategic and economic standpoint. It could also help counter the growing Chinese influence in this oceanic region. The FIPIC meeting will pave the way for agreements in various potential areas between India and these nations. It will include sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, food processing, solar energy, e-networks for coordination in tele-education and tele-medicine. It will also include space cooperation and climate change. Earlier in November 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Fiji had proposed to hold FIPIC summits regularly to increase ties among the participating nations.

36. India has foiled UK based company Pangaea Laboratories Limited’s bid to patent use of pine bark, turmeric and tea for treating hair loss. India was able to protect its traditional knowledge after Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a unit of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had filed pre-grant opposition against UK based company along with prior-art evidences using these 3 natural ingredients.

37. Indian women’s recurve archery team has won silver medal in World Archery Championship held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Indian women’s team included trio of Laxmirani Majhi, Deepika Kumari, and Rimil Buriuly.

38. United States country singer Lynn Anderson passed away after she suffered a heart attack in Nashville, US. She was 67. She was best known for her 1971 worldwide hit I Never Promised You a from Rose Garden.

39. Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has recommended name of Indian Tennis legend Sania Mirza for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award 2015.
In this regard Union Sports Minister Sarbanada Sonowal forwarded Sania’s name for the highest honour given for achievement in sports. However, the final decision will be taken by Awards Committee.

40. Union Cabinet approved Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 in order deal with the growing concern over the safety of consumer products and services. The new bill seeks to replace Consumer Protection Act, 1986 in order to deal with consumer protection and safety. It aims at simplifying the consumer dispute resolution process along with enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the consumer grievance redressal agencies. Key features of the Bill Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA): establishment of CCPA as an apex regulatory authority with more powers to protect and enforce the rights of consumers. It will have powers to recall products and initiate action suit against defaulting companies including e-tailers for refunds and return of products. Product liability: If product or services causes personal injury, death or damage to property, CCPA will have powers to take action against defaulting manufacturers or service providers. Speedy disposal of court cases: In this regard, provision related to ‘mediation’ has been proposed which will act as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. However, mediation will be under the aegis of consumer courts. Stringent penalty: In certain cases, the Bill adds stringent penalty provisions including life imprisonment. Establishment of circuit bench: For speedy disposal of complaints consumers can file complaints electronically circuit bench along with traditional mechanism of filing complaints in consumer courts that have jurisdiction over the place of residence. Rationality behind introducing new Bill There is a need to modernise the Act to address challenges related to consumer protection effectively. In technologically evolved marketing strategies which uses advance methods of multi-level marketing, tele-marketing, direct selling and e-tailing in some cases are providing misleading advertisements. It has resulted in new challenges to consumer protection with growing concern over the consumer products and services safety, especially after the Maggi controversy. Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986 which was amended thrice earlier in 1991, 1993 and 2002 was not capable to deal with the changing scenario of consumer protection effectively.

41. French global financial services group Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas to acquire retail brokerage firm Sharekhan at about 2,000 crore rupees. BNP Paribas a key player in retail brokerage and digital banking services that have over 1.7 million patrons in Europe is one of the largest bank in the world. This acquisition would help BNP Paribas to expand its footprint in India.

42. The Russia’s state owned Oil Company Rosneft signed strategic agreement with Shashi Ruia’s Essar Oil to acquire its 49 per cent. The two companies have also agreed exploration and production of hydrocarbon in concurrence. As per the agreement Rosneft will get a stake in 1,600 retail chain stations of Essar Oil and has planned to increase it to 5,000 within the next two years. It has also agreed to deliver 100 million tonnes of crude oil over next ten years to Essar Oil.

43. Tata Motors has bagged the single-largest order of high mobility vehicle (LMV) worth Rs. 914 crore from the Indian Army. Tata Motor is going to supply over 1,239 high mobility vehicles in next two year.
Along with Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra have also been short listed to supply over 3,192 vehicles to the Army.