WBCS Current Affairs 29/08/2015 to 03/09/2015

[admin]

1. India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to enhance cooperation in different areas including trade, commerce, energy, defence, space, investments, security and combating Crime. Both sides reached to these agreements at the 11th session of the India-UAE Joint Commission meeting held in New Delhi. It was co-chaired by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her visiting counterpart, Foreign Minister of UAE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

2. India will launch Indonesia’s second multi-spectral remote sensing satellite LAPAN A2/Orari. The satellite will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on September 27, 2015

3. Union Government has notified the merger of commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) with an effect from 28 September 2015. In this regard, Union Finance Ministry has issued a notification mentioning that Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to SEBI under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956. Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA), 1952 gets repealed so does the FMC cease to exist. With this merger, all three national and six regional commodity exchanges will come under the ambit of national capital market regulator SEBI. Implication: This merger will create a unified regulator for commodities and capital markets which in turn will help streamline monitoring of commodity futures trading and curb wild speculations in the market. Background Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech of February 2015 had announced the merger of FMC with the capital market regulator SEBI in order to strengthen the regulation of commodity futures market. The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) also had recommended merger of SEBI, IRDA, FMC and PFRDA into a single entity called Unified Financial Agency (UFA).

4. The West-Central Railway (WCR) zone headquartered in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh has become the first Railway Zone in Indian Railways to eliminate all unmanned level crossings. The target was achieved after all 118 unmanned level crossings of WCR zone were eliminated in phase manner by August 31, 2015. 80 crossings were eliminated in the financial year 2014-15 and the remaining 38 crossings were eliminated in August 2015. This target was achieved by constructing 33 Limited Height Sub Ways (LHs) and manning of 30 level crossings. It is a being considered as a big success in the safety initiative of Indian Railways as unmanned railway crossings continue to remain a deathtrap in India as alone it had killed 126 people in 2014-15.

5. South African city of Durban has been selected as the host for the 22nd edition of Commonwealth Games to be held in 2022. For the first time in the history of Commonwealth Games, African nation has been chosen as host of the Games. The city was chosen by the Federation’s general assembly in New Zealand as it was the only bidder for the multi-sports event. It was lone bidder after Canadian city Edmonton withdrew from contention race in February 2015 over the economic slowdown in Canada. 22nd Commonwealth Games would be held from 18 to 30 July 2022. The opening ceremony will be held on the birth date of the late South African President and Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Note: Australian City of Gold Coast is hosting 21st edition of Commonwealth Games to be held in 2018.

6. United States has changed the name of tallest mountain in North America Mount McKinley to its original native name Denali. It was announced by US President Barack Obama ahead of his three-day visit to Alaska to highlight the issue of climate change. It was renamed following the lead of the state of Alaska, US Department of the Interior (USDoI) in conjunction with the US Board on Geographic Names (USBGN).

7. The Union Cabinet has approved reimbursement of 113 crore rupees for incurring losses on pulses imported by four government agencies between 2006- 2011 period. These four government agencies are National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC), State Trading Corporation of India (STC) and PEC. This decision will enable these 4 PSUs to be financially sound in order to intensify trading activities to cool down prices of essential commodities. This decision was taken at Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposal of Union Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs. Background During the period from 2006-11, Union Government had introduced two schemes in order to bridge the demand-supply gap in pulses. In first scheme, Government had asked these four PSUs to import and sell pulses in the open market with subject to reimbursement of 15 per cent losses. The other scheme government was to distribute these imported pulses via ration shops i.e. Public distribution System (PDS) to poor people at a fixed subsidy of 10 rupees per kg.

8. Union Cabinet has approved Marginal Fields Policy (MFP) for the development of unexploited hydrocarbon discoveries by state owned oil companies. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Key facts about Marginal Fields Policy (MFP) 69 unexploited oil fields owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) will be opened for competitive bidding based on revenue sharing model. These discoveries for many years were not able to monetize due to isolated locations, small size of reserves, technological constraints, high development costs and fiscal regime. These discovered oil fields were considered as marginal fields as they were not developed and thus were of lower priority. Private exploration companies will be able to submit bids for exploiting these oil fields. The policy allows the successful bidder to sell these oil fields at the prevailing market price of gas, rather than at an administered price. It should be noted that this is first time revenue sharing model introduced in oil sector. Implication: This decision is expected to stimulate investment in oil exploration sector as well as increase domestic oil and gas production. It will also help in monetizing 70,000 crore rupees worth of resources form these unexploited oil fields Earlier Methodology: The earlier exploration contracts were based on the concept of profit sharing model. Under this method it had become necessary for the government to scrutinize cost details of private participants which had resulted in delays and disputes.

9. Canada’s economy has fallen into a recession for first time after global financial crisis of 2009. Statistics Canada, nodal national statistical agency of Canada has reported that its economy i.e. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has retreated at an annual pace of 0.5 per cent from April through June 2015. In earlier quarter first three months of the year 2015, the economic slowdown had appeared which had felled to 0.8 per cent. Technically, two consecutive negative quarters leads to recession.

10. NASA and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have started the SERVIR-Mekong project, to strengthen the environmental monitoring in Southeast Asia region. It has been launched in the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Bangkok, Thailand to serve the 5 countries of the Mekong River Basin viz. Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Key facts The focus of this project is to host vital issues in the Mekong river basin region in the five countries which is often called as rice bowl of Asia. It will enable these countries better address issues of natural resource and disaster management and support climate resilience studies including reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions The project will help these Governments incorporate Earth observations and geospatial technologies in improving management of water and natural resources. Provide early warning of dramatic changes in regional water, weather, land cover and land use and climate and food security. About SERVIR project It was initiated in 2005 by researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre in Alabama. It name SERVIR is has been derived from Spanish which means to serve. It has been developed by an alliance of more than 90 nations and organisations which are collaborating to build a global Earth-observing system to benefit society’s needs.

11. India has won the UNESCO prize ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015 for the conservation efforts of the Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala. The top award was given in the Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. This award recognises the conservation effort of sacred sites and its tangible attributes with conservation techniques emphasising on architecture and construction. These scared sites employ age-old rituals and conservation techniques drawn from vastu shastra focusing on construction and architecture. It should be noted that, UNESCO’s “Award of Merit” in Heritage Award was bestowed upon 150-year-old Sino-Portuguese former residence of a Thai aristocrat, which now has been converted into a local museum and historic inn.

12. Union Ministry of Urban Development has come out with a Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless metro travel, shopping, In this regard, Union Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu has approved the EMV Open Loop Card with stored value.

13. India has decided to join UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance with a view to reduce cash transactions in its economy and achieve financial inclusion. The official announcement in this regard was made on the first anniversary of Government’s flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY.) Partnership with this UN alliance is an extension of Indian Government’s commitment to reduce cash transactions in its economy as digitization of payments to achieve financial inclusion a top priority. Better Than Cash Alliance is made up of Governments, international organizations and companies. It accelerates the transition of economy from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth.

14. Union Government has accepted Justice AP Shah Committee report on the Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) on foreign institutional investors (FIIs). By accepting the recommendations, Government will not impose levy on FIIs prior to 1st April 2015 i.e. retrospectively. In the meantime, government has ordered Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) field officers not to pursue cases against FIIs on the issues related to MAT. Key Recommendations There is no legal basis for levying 20 per cent MAT on past capital gains of FIIs. Amend Section 115 JB the Income Tax Act to clarify the issue with regard to levy of MAT on FIIs. MAT exemption will not be applicable to FIIs not having a place of business/ permanent establishment in India. Implication: This recommendation is considered as a big relief to FIIs as government had exempted them from MAT starting April 1, 2015 in the Union Budget for 2015-16 but had not made the clarification retrospective imposition.

15. A K Jha has been given additional charge of interim Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited. Presently, he is NTPC’s Director (Technical) and will be interim CMD for three months from September 1, 2015. Jha had joined NTPC as an Executive Trainee in 1977 and was directly associated with its flagship project Singrauli (5×200 MW). He has rich and varied corporate experience of 38 years in areas spanning across power projects such as engineering and design, monitoring and project planning, construction and management.

16. Maharashtra Government has decided to take ordinance route to amend Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981. Decision in this regard was taken in State Cabinet meeting by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.

17. Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided to recognize Yoga as a sports discipline and place it in the Priority category. This decision was taken by Ministry while reviewing and revising the categorization of various Sports disciplines.

18. The Supreme Court (SC) of India has stayed Rajasthan High Court’s order declaring Santhara, a Jain ritual of voluntary and systematic fasting to death illegal. The stay order was given by SC Bench comprising Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy. What is Santhara? Santhara is a religious custom of Jain religion that embraces voluntary death in order to purge oneself of bad ‘karma’ and attain ‘moksha’. The practitioners of this custom take an oath to stop eating until they die of starvation. This oath is taken in consultation with a guru and follows the most detailed of procedures. Background Earlier in August 2015, Rajasthan High Court had banned the practice of Santhara by declaring it as a criminal offence and mentioning it as illegal in the eyes of law. The High Court in its ruling had made this religious practice a punishable offence under section 306 (abetment of suicide) and Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Constitutional Validity Article 25: The Rajasthan High Court in its ruling had mentioned that as per Article 25, religious liberty and freedom is only limited to the scope of essential religious practices of particular religion. So practice of Santhara is not essential religious practice of Jainism. Article 21: The Rajasthan High Court also mentioned that Protection of life and personal liberty does not include Right to die. So it is illegal from this point of view. The ruling of High Court was based on public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate and human rights activist Nikhil Soni to ban this centuries old Jain ritual claiming it as social evil and should be considered as suicide. Jain Community’s Viewpoint Jain community clearly mentioned that the practice of Santhara is an integral part of Jainism and has been mentioned in religious texts. It is also an intrinsic practice to a person’s ethical choice to live with dignity until death and not an exercise in trying to achieve an unnatural death.

19. Islamic State (IS) militant group has destroyed part of historical Temple of Bel in the ancient site of Palmyra in Syria. The ancient temple was dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best preserved parts of the historical sites of Palmyra.

20. Manipur Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015 along with other two amendment bills to protect indigenous people of state. Other two bills are Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 and Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015. Apart from these bills, the assembly also passed a resolution welcoming the Peace Accord signed between the Union Government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN)-IM. Background Recently there was strong violent protest in the North Eastern State of Manipur over the issue of protection of indigenous people of state. The issue came into light after state assembly had passed the Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenant and Migrants Workers Bill, 2015 to protect the interest outsiders in the state. It should be noted that there is long standing demand for implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in the state.

21. Punjab Government has won first award in the category of highest capacity addition in grid connected solar rooftop power in the country during the financial year 2014-15. It is one of 5 awards won by Punjab New and Renewable Energy Department (PNRED) for outstanding performance in the various fields of Renewable Energy and Power Generation. The other four areas in which Punjab won awards includes Highest capacity addition of off-grid waste to energy plants. Deployment of highest cumulative numbers of Solar Water Pumps. Achieving highest cumulative grid connected solar rooftop power capacity. Achieving highest capacity addition in grid connected solar power in the country. These awards were conferred to the Punjab state by Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal at a function held in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Union Territory of Chandigarh bagged the second spot in the highest capacity addition in grid connected solar rooftop power in the country category.

22. Union Government has identified 305 cities and towns across 9 states for implementation of its flagship ‘Housing for All’ scheme. 305 cities were identified by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) for beginning of construction of houses for the urban poor under the scheme. In this regard, HUPA Ministry will provide assistance of over 2 lakh crore rupees over the next six years for construction of houses to enable two crore urban poor own their own houses. Selected cities and towns are in these states: Chhattisgarh (36 cities and towns), Gujarat (30), Jammu and Kashmir (19), Jharkhand (15), Kerala (15), Madhya Pradesh (74), Odisha (42), Rajasthan (40) and Telangana (34). These 9 states along with other 6 more states have signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with HUPA Ministry for their commitment to implement 6 mandatory reforms essential for making the housing for all mission successful in urban areas. 15 states which have agreed to implement the mandatory reform measures are Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. About Housing for All Scheme Union Government had launched this scheme named as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in June 2015 under the aegis of Housing for All by 2022 Mission. Under this ambitious scheme government plans to build two crore houses for the poor in urban areas by year 2022, which coincides with 75 years of Independence. It has four basic components viz. slum rehabilitation, affordable housing, credit linked interest subsidy and beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement.

23. United States (US) has extended the anti-dumping duty on Indian preserved mushrooms for another five years. This decision to revoke existing anti-dumping duty orders on preserved mushrooms was taken by US International Trade Commission on cheap imports Chile, China, India and Indonesia. The move will have a negative impact on India’s domestic exporters as US is a major export destination. What is Preserved mushroom? Preserved mushroom refer to mushrooms prepared or preserved by blanching, cleaning and sometimes slicing and cutting. It is very nutritious, rich in fibre, proteins. It has high content of folic acid which is uncommon in vegetables and also has amino acids which are usually absent in cereals. India’s Preserved mushroom trade and Production India exported mushrooms worth 16.08 million dollars in year 2014-15. Major export destinations are US, UAE, Israel and Russia. India’s mushroom export to US was record 24.76 million dollars in 2011-12. In 2009-10, India produced 40,600 tonnes of mushroom. China is a leading player in terms of mushrooms production. Major producing states: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. Solan district of Himachal Pradesh is popular as ‘Mushroom City of India’ because of the vast mushroom farming in the area. Anti-dumping duties: It is counter import measure under the multilateral World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime to protect domestic producers and market from below-cost/cheap imports. It varies from product to product and from country to country.

24. India has strongly pitched for finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) and UN Security Council (UNSC) reforms. On behalf of India, these issues were stressed by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her meeting with the President-elect of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Mogens Lykketoft who is on official two-day visit to India. India’s demand Urgent reforms in UNSC to reflect present day world realities in order to reflect current geopolitical realities and increasing role of developing nations. Early finalisation of the CCIT (a treaty proposed by India in 1996) in order to make it binding for countries to ban terrorists, deny funds and safe haven to them. In regard with terrorism, India clearly mentioned that no nation can be immune to the threat of terrorism especially with the emergence of Islamic State. So it is important to have collective effort to deal with menace of terrorism. Mogens Lykketoft was unanimously elected by the UNGA as the President of the 70th Session which is going to start in September 2015. Prior to this appointment he was speaker of the Danish Parliament and earlier had served as Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Denmark. 70th Session of UNGA: It is considered as landmark session as it is expected to address several important global issues, including UNSC Reforms, Review of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Climate Change, Adoption and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Review of the Tunis Agenda (World Summit on Information Society) etc.

25. Union Government has launched SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections for the consumers as parts of its consumer friendly initiative. It was launched by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a function held in New Delhi. Key facts Under the scheme, people can apply online for new LPG connection and they need not visit to the LPG distributors for it. SAHAJ facility will enable the customers to post online request for a new connection by filing Know Your Customer (KYC) form by uploading bank account details and photographs. After submitting the details, customer will receive the registration number to know the new connection status. Later, customer can opt for offline or online mode of payment for the new connection. Once payment is done, electronic subscription voucher will be mailed to the new customer. Later distributor will do physical delivery of the Gas cylinder, regulator with hose pipe. Initially, the scheme has been launched in twelve cities across the country. In near future, this scheme will be extended to other parts of the country. Twelve cities are Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Patna, Mumbai and Pune.

26. State-owned financial services lender Indian Bank has launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere. It was formally unveiled by the Indian Bank MD and CEO M K Jain

27. Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba has won the gold medal in the women’s marathon event at the World Athletics Championships 2015 held in Beijing, China. She won the women’s marathon by finishing it in two hours, 27 minutes and 35 seconds. Kenya’s Helah Kiprop (2:27:36) won the silver medal and Eunice Kirwa (2:27:39) of Bahrain won bronze medal in this event. With this victory, Dibaba became first Ethiopian female to win the marathon event at the world championships.

28. Indian wrestler Anil has clinched gold medal in Cadet Wrestling World Championships in the 50 kg freestyle competitions. In the final match played at Sarajevo, Bosnia he defeated Erfan Aeini of Iran by 10-6 score. Earlier, Anil had defeated Tumentsogt Bold of Mongolia in the semi-final bout and Ertugrul Kahveci of Turkey in quarter-final bout.

29. Indian women’s hockey team has qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics and now joining nine other teams. It was announced by International Hockey Federation (FIH) after Great Britain’s semifinal victory over Spain and Netherlands’ win over Germany in the other semifinal in the 2015 European Championships. These victories freed one quota for 2016 Rio Olympics as both the finalists already have qualified for the Olympic Games. This qualification for Indian women’s hockey team comes after long gap of 36 years as they had featured last time in 1980 Moscow Olympics and was placed at 4th position. 10 women’s team qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics: China, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Netherlands New Zealand and US through the Hockey World League Semi-Finals, South Korea as Asian Games champions, Argentina as Pan Am Games champions and India.

30. Pakistan has banned the Islamic State (IS) militant group which has undertaken vast stretches of Iraq and Syria in its control. This decision was taken Pakistan Government on the recommendation of the Foreign Office, which regularly updates it about international militant groups banned by the United Nations (UN). Why Pakistan is concerned about IS militant group? The UN banned group is believed to have gained a strong foothold in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Following the death of Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, the IS has become powerful in Afghanistan overtaking its weaker contenders Taliban and al-Qaida. Even some top Taliban militants joined IS and under their leadership the group has fought pitched battles with Taliban inside Afghanistan. In Pakistan, several graffiti and banners (known as Daesh in Arabic) supporting IS, have been often appeared which had raised security concerns. India’s position on IS militant group Union Government already has banned brutal terror group Islamic State under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and following the provisions of section two of the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947. India took this decision in December 2014 after UN has banned it under its sanctions regime of the Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism (Implementation of Security Council Resolutions) Order, 2007.

31. Mountaineer Jot Singh of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been honoured with the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2014-15.

32. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Nation Sports Awards in various categories at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29, 2015 on the eve of National Sports Day. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Sania Mirza– In recognition of her outstanding achievements in game of Tennis. Presently she is ranked no 1 women’s player in Women’s Double category. Dronacharya Award Naval Singh- Athletics (Javelin throw) Para-sports coach. Anoop Singh- Wrestling coach. Harbans Singh- Athletics coach. Swatantar Raj Singh- Boxing coach. Nihar Ameen- Swimming coach. Arjuna Award Sandeep Kumar- Archery. M R Poovamma- Athletics (4X400 metres relay). Kidambi Srikanth- Badminton. Mandeep Jangra- Boxing. Rohit Sharma- Cricket. Dipa Karmakar- Gymnastics. Sreejesh P R- Hockey. Manjeet Chhillar- Kabaddi. Abhilasha Mhatre- Kabaddi. Swaran Singh- Rowing. Anup Kumar Yama- Roller Skating. Jitu Rai- Shooting. Sathish Kumar- Weightlifting. Bajrang- Wrestling. Babita Kumari- Wrestling. Y Sanathoi Devi- Wushu. Sharath M Gayakwad- Para-Swimming. Dhyan Chand Award Romeo James- Hockey. Shiv Prakash Mishra- Tennis. P Nair- Volleyball.

33. Union Government has issued an executive order to include 13 Central Acts under the purview of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act , 2013. This inclusion will extend benefits related to determination of compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation to all cases related to land acquisition under the 13 central acts which were earlier kept out in the RFCTLARR Act, 2013. The order issued removes difficulties clause (Section 113) in the Land Acquisition Act 2013 which earlier had exempted 13 central acts. They are Railways Act, 1989. Electricity Act, 2003. Atomic Energy Act 1962. Indian Tramways Act 1886. Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885. National Highways Act 1956. Damodar Valley Corporation Act 1948. Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines Act 1962. Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act 1978. Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development Act 1957. Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1948. Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958.

34. Every year August 29 is being observed as National Sports Day across the country. Significance: The day marks the birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard, Major Dhyan Chand. On this day National Sports awards including Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards and Dronacharya Awards are bestowed upon sports personalities by the President of India.

35. Biggest harvest festival of Thiru Onam was celebrated by Keralites across the globe. Various cultural and religious programmes were organized throughout southern state of Kerala to celebrate the Onam. The festival falls during the Malayalam month of Chingam (August- September). It is reminiscent of Kerala’s agrarian past and is considered to be a harvest festival. It is also the state festival of Kerala.

36. India’s largest power generator National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited has achieved a record of highest single-day electricity generation of over 733 million units. The record generation of electricity on August 27, 2015 was achieved from NTPC’s 18 coal-based power plants, and 8 solar and hydro power stations and 7 gas-based units. On the record day, the Declared Cumulative Capability (DCC) of the stations was 91.10 per cent and Plant Load Factor (PLF) was of 86.34 per cent. About National Thermal Power Corporation Limited NTPC limited is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU), operational under the aegis of Union Ministry of Power. Established: in 1975 by Union Government which now holds 70% of its equity shares as of May 2015 (after divestment of its stake in 2004, 2010, 2013, and 2015). Headquarters: New Delhi. Total share: During financial year 2014-15, NTPC had contributed 25 per cent of total electricity generated in the country and accounted for 16 per cent share of country’s total installed capacity of 45,548 MW (including 6,196 MW through its joint ventures). In 2014-15, NTPC had recorded gross electricity generation of around 241 billion units, registering a growth of 3.42 per cent.

37. Union Government has given its nod to rename Delhi’s famous Aurangzeb Road has been renamed after former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam. It was decided by New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to rename road as APJ Abdul Kalam Road, as the jurisdiction of the road comes under it.

38. India has lost solar case against United States at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of WTO has ruled that, India’s requirement of only domestic solar equipment’s for its ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is inconsistent with the international trade norms. Background In 2014, US had dragged India in DSB of WTO against its JNNSM which favoured only to use locally manufactured solar equipment. US in its appeal had alleged that, the state sponsored programme of India has discriminated importation of solar equipment manufactured in US. Implications of this decision: US companies manufacturing solar equipment are looking JNNSM which has set an ambitious target of generating 20,000 Mega Watts (MW) solar power by 2022 as a big business potential. Note: This is second case India has lost at WTO against US. Earlier in June 2015, WTO had ruled against India’s ban on import of poultry meat, eggs and live pigs from US is inconsistent with international trade norms.

39. World Health Oraganistion (WHO) has officially declared India as Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus free country, i.e. mothers and newborns are free from tetanus at the time of birth. It was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after inaugurating the Call to Action Summit 2015 on reducing child and maternal deaths across the world in New Delhi. It should be noted that this is second milestone achieved by India in public health sector after it was declared polio free country in 2014.

40. National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has launched the second version of an open source web based tool India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 calculator (IESS 2047). The tool was launched by the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya at a function held at the Federation House in New Delhi. Key facts IESS 2047 tool aims to explore wide range of potential future energy scenarios for India including for its diverse energy supply and demand sectors leading up to 2047. The second version will play pivotal role in making more comprehensive policy discourse on India’s future energy security. It will help to explores India’s possible energy scenarios across energy supply sectors such as solar, bio fuels, wind, oil, gas, coal and nuclear. It will also explore energy scenarios on energy demand sectors such as transport, agriculture, industry, cooking and lighting appliances. The web based model allows users to make energy choices and explore a range of outcomes from carbon dioxide emissions and import dependence. In this project, United Kingdom’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is the initiative partner with NITI Aayog. About of IESS tool IESS tool seeks to engage various stakeholders in the country’s energy planning and facilitate well informed debates on energy policy at different levels. It has been developed in consultation with multiple stakeholders, such as industry bodies, research organizations and think tanks. It should be noted that, the first version of IESS 2047 calculator already has been playing an instrumental role in shaping India’s energy policy. Presently, more than 20 countries including China, Bangladesh and South Africa have developed their own climate/ energy calculators.

41. Noted Indian agricultural scientist Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta has been chosen for the inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize. He will receive the first Sunhak Peace Prize in South Korean Capital city of Seoul along with President of Kiribati Islands Anote Tong. Dr. M. V. Gupta has been selected for this award for his pioneering work in the blue revolution. He has invested his entire life to developing sustainable aquaculture as an alternative solution to the future food crisis. Anote Tong has been chosen for this award for creating global awareness on the severity of climate change issue and sought for action by the international community for its solution. About Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta Dr. M. V. Gupta hails from Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh and was born on 17 August 1939. He is recipient of the World Food Prize in 2005 for development and dissemination of low-cost techniques for freshwater fish farming by using tilapia species for the rural poor. Till his retirement, Dr. Gupta had served as the Assistant Director General at WorldFish, an international fisheries research institute. About Sunhak Peace Prize Sunhak Peace Prize was founded earlier in 2015 by South Korean religious leader Dr Hak Ja Han Moon. It is an annual award that recognises eminent individuals from around the world for their contribution to peace and development of the world.

42. Union Government has launched an e-payment module to make the payment of compensatory levies into the Compensatory Afforestation Management Planning Authority (CAMPA) Funds. It was launched by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi in order to make these payments for diversion of forest land quicker and more transparent. The e-payment module has a designated account for the payment purpose, depending on the States in which the forest land is proposed to be diverted. Initially, the payments will be allowed through two modes viz. online challan mode through RTGS and NEFT and offline challan mode. The deposit of compensatory levies through the e-portal will be optional till August 31, 2015 and will be accepted only through the e-module from 1 September 2015. With the launch of the e-payment portal, henceforth no payments will be accepted other than through the portal or unless specifically ordered guidelines issued by Ad-hoc CAMPA. What is CAMPA Fund? Levies are imposed on development projects that seek land inside a Reserved Forest or a Protected Area (PA) in a sanctuary or a national park. These collected levies are accrued in the CAMPA Funds which are to be utilised to plant trees elsewhere in order to ostensibly compensate the loss of forest due to development projects. It should be noted that the CAMPA has been created on the order of the Supreme Court in October 2002. The Ad-hoc CAMPA decides the procedure of per-verification of credits of levies in the State-wise accounts.

43. Union Government has approved six new proposals 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) proposals including four from Information Technology and IT enabled Service (ITeS) sector. This decision was taken by the Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZ (under the aegis of Union Commerce Ministry) chaired by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia. The approved SEZ proposals are HCL IT City Lucknow- set up IT/ITeS zones in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Loma IT Park Developer- set up IT/ITeS zones in Mumbai, Maharashtra. North Mumbai International Commodity Township- It is proposed free trade warehousing zone in Thane, Maharashtra. It should be noted that SEZs account for about 25 per cent of the India’s total exports. In 2013-14, exports from these zones had rose to 4.94 lakh crore rupees from 22,840 crore rupees in 2005-06. There are 330 notified SEZs across the country of which 36 are operational in Tamil Nadu, followed by Karnataka, Telangana having 26 each and Maharashtra having 25.