WBCS Current Affairs 03/01/2016 to 08/01/2016
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 7:52 pm
1. Union Government has decided to merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This decision has been taken to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency in line with Union Government’s broad principle of minimum government, maximum governance. The merger was announced by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and proposal in this regard was cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Key facts MOIA was established in May 2004 as the Ministry of Non-Resident Indians’ Affairs (MNRIA). However it was renamed Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in September 2004. The primary task of the MOIA was to connect the Indian diaspora with its motherland by initiating various programmes. It also focused on developing networks with and amongst the overseas Indians with the intent of building partnership with the diaspora. The merger is expected to increase efficiency in MEA’s emergency work abroad especially in various crisis-prone countries in West Asia. It would also increase MEA staff strength.
2. India’s first River Information System (RIS) was launched by Union Government facilitate safe and accurate inland waterway navigation. It has been launched in phases and the first phase will cover 145-km stretch of National Waterways 1 (Phase I- Haldia to Farakka) on the Ganges River. Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), a statutory body under the aegis of Union Ministry of Shipping is implementing the RIS in India. About River Information Services (RIS) RIS are combination of modern tracking equipment comprising of hardware and software designed to optimize transport and traffic processes in inland water navigation. The system has capability to enhance swift electronic data transfer between mobile vessels and Base stations (on shore) through advance and real-time exchange of information. The main aim of the system is to streamline the exchange of information via Very high frequency (VHF) wireless communication between waterway operators and users. This system would facilitate: (i) Enhancement of inland navigation safety in ports and rivers. (ii) Better use of the inland waterways. (iii) Environmental protection. It enables safe and efficient inland water transport by avoiding risks such as (i) Ship-to-Ship collisions. (ii) Ship-Bridge collisions. (iii) Groundings. This system has been successfully implemented and is in operation in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, China and US. The RIS system will be later extended upto Varanasi in two more phases and in Phase-II, it will cover stretch from Farakka to Patna (410 Km.)
3. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt has been commission in the Indian Navy by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan at naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam It is the second ship of Project 28 (P28) class ASW corvettes and is the latest ship after Shivalik class, Kolkata class and INS Kamorta. About INS Kadmatt It is about 90 per cent indigenously designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and constructed by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. The stealth anti-submarine warfare has been named after one of the large islands amongst the group of islands in Lakshadweep off the west coast of India.
4. The Global Economic Prospect report published recently by the World Bank (WB) has projected a robust 7.8 per cent growth for the Indian economy in the year 2016. In its report bank also has cited strong investor sentiment in India and the positive effect on real incomes of the recent fall in oil prices.
5. India and France have started their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency bilateral military exercise Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan. In this bilateral exercise, French contingent comprising 56 personnel of 35th Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade are participating. Indian side is being represented by the 2nd Battalion of Garhwal Rifles which is part of the Sapta Shakti Command.
6. India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has partnered with FINO PayTech to foray into the payments bank space. With this partnership, ICICI Bank joins some of the leading lenders of the country that have partnered with payments banks. For example, Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) and State Bank of India (SBI) have picked up stake in payments banks to be floated by Bharti Group and Reliance Industries respectively.
7. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away due to multiple organ failure at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. He was 79. Mr. Sayeed, a two-time Chief Minister of J&K had started his second tenure on March 1st, 2015 heading Peoples Democratic Party-Bhartiya Janta Party (PDP-BJP) coalition government.
8. Renowned telecom engineer and inventor Sam Pitroda has been appointed as Technology Advisor to the Odisha Government. He has been appointed as the technology adviser for development of telecom, electronics, Information Technology, IT Enabled Services sectors of the state. With this appointment he will get the rank of a Cabinet Minister. He will play key role in formulation Vision 2036 for Odisha@100, a vision document for 2036 to celebrate the 100 years of state’s formation.
9. The British writer, Kate Atkinson has won the 2015 Costa novel award for her novel “A God in Ruins”, the companion her previous novel to ‘Life After Life’. With this, she became the first British author to receive a Costa prize three times. Earlier she had won it for Life After Life (2013) and Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995).
10. Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided to implement the stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from 1st April 2020 in a bid to curb vehicular pollution. Government will directly switch over to BS-VI emission norms from the present BS-IV emission norms and completely skip BS-V emission norms altogether. Decision in this regard was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Unon Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. Supreme Court Order Earlier Supreme Court has asked the Union Government to implement BS-VI emission norms earlier than April 2021 deadline amid concerns on rising air pollution in the country. Earlier Deadlines The Auto Fuel Policy 2003 had recommended implementation of BS-VI norms by 2024. Earlier in the draft notification issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had advanced dates for implementation of BS-V norms to 2019 and BS-VI norms to 2021. Present scenario Presently BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in whole of northern India covering states like Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, parts of Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh. While rest of the country is being supplied has BS-III grade fuel. The deadline implementation for BS-IV auto fuels is 2017 across the country.
11. The Union Cabinet has approved creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans. The CGF is expected to guarantee more than 1,00,000 crore rupees worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance. Features of scheme Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) will guarantee loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to reduce the credit risk to Banks and other financial intermediaries who are Member Lending Institutions (MLIs). National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company NCGTC Ltd will manage and operate various credit guarantee funds and shall be the Trustee of the NCFTC will be a wholly-owned company of Union Government and shall be constituted under the Companies Act, 1956 (2013). Under this scheme the guarantee would be provided on portfolio basis to a maximum extent of 50 per cent of Amount in Default in the MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank Cabinet also gave its nod for converting MUDRA Ltd. into MUDRA Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of SIDBI. The MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank will undertake refinance operations and provide support services with focus on portal management and also data analysis etc. Background In the Union Budget speech for 2015-16, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed to set up MUDRA Bank and CGF with a refinance corpus of 20,000 crore rupees and a corpus of 3,000 crore rupees respectively. MUDRA Ltd. was set up as a corporate subsidiary of SIDBI in March 2015 prior to the launch of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in April 2015.
12. The Union Cabinet has approved the Stand Up India Scheme to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) and Women entrepreneurs. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The Scheme seeks to facilitate at least two such projects on an average one for each category of entrepreneur per bank branch. The Stand-up India is component of Start-up India, Stand up India slogan anchored by Department of Financial Services (DFS) to encourage greenfield enterprises by Women and SC/ST entrepreneurs. Features of Stand Up India Scheme It will refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount 10,000 crore rupees. Under it, a credit guarantee mechanism would be created through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). It will be the operating agency for the loan. It will provide handholding support to the borrowers at both pre loan stage and during operations stage. It would seek to increase their familiarity with factoring services, e-market places and registration with online platforms as well as sessions on best practices and problem solving. It would provide women and SC/ST entrepreneurs bank loans repayable up to 7 years. It would be between 10 lakh to 1 crore rupees for greenfield enterprises in the non-farm sector. The overall intent is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to this under-served population. For this margin money of the composite loan will be up to 25%. It is expected that this scheme would benefit atleast 2.5 lakh borrowers and expected date of reaching the target of approvals is 36 months from the launch of the Scheme. Background Prime Minister in his Independence Day address to the nation on 15th August, 2015 had announced the “Start-up India, Stand up India” initiative.
13. Noted Gujarati writer and poet Labhshankar Thakar passed away after prolonged illness in Ahmedabad. He was 80. He was modernist author of Gujarati literature with influence of existentialism challenging traditional literature styles.
14. The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Singapore on cooperation in the field of civil aviation. The MoU was signed in November 2015 between Airports Authority of India (AAI) on behalf of Union Government and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) on behalf of Government of Singapore) during Prime Minister’s visit to Singapore.
15. Indian ace shooter Apurvi Chandela has set a new world record in the women’s 10 metre air rifle event at the 2015 Swedish Cup Grand Prix.
16. Senior United Nations (UN) official Filippo Grandi from Italy has taken the charge as new UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He succeeds Antonio Guterres of Portugal who has retired after heading the Refugee Agency for one decade. He will have tenure of five years.
17. The Union Government has launched Ganga Gram Yojana to develop 1600 villages in Uttar Pradesh (UP) situated along the banks of Ganga River. The scheme was launched by the Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti at Puth village in Hapur district of UP.
18. Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) at all its branches across the country to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service. The customer-friendly service was launched by Andhra Bank in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It also supports real time instant fund transfer system for inter-bank remittances. However the maximum caps of transaction of remittances will 2 lakh rupees and the charges will be at the rate of Rs.5 per transaction. Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) IMPS is a multi-channel, multi-dimensional inter-bank electronic fund transfer platform that allows customers to transfer money electronically within fraction of seconds with all the standards and integrity maintained for security. It is round-the-clock real time instant fund transfer system which is not possible in National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system. It also safest and most economical electronic fund transfer service.
19. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed to expand their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) by inclusion of services and investment. Statement in this regard was made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his official visit to Sri Lanka. The expansion of FTA would help companies of the two nations to form joint ventures (JV) for exports to other nations. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s official trip to Sri Lanka comes after eight months of President Sirisena’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015.
20. Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) has received nod from Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire Goldman Sachs’s mutual funds and exchange-traded funds business in India. This approval comes after the boards of both the companies had approved the acquisition transaction. Now RCAM needs to get final nod of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to complete the takeover. Under the acquisition deal, RCAM will acquire all 12 onshore mutual fund schemes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) India with total asset under management of 7132 crore rupees. US based Goldman Sachs had entered the Indian mutual fund industry in 2011 with acquisition of Benchmark Mutual Fund for 120 crore rupees.
21. 15-year-old cricketer Pranav Dhanawade created a world record by scoring 1009 runs (not out) in HT Bhandari Cup, an under-16 inter-school tournament held in Mumbai (Maharashtra). With this, he also has broken a century-old cricketing record becoming the first batsman to score 1000-plus runs in an innings in any form of cricket.
22. Former Cricketer Syed Kirmani was honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in Mumbai (Maharashtra) for his contribution to Indian cricket. He was presented with the award by the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Shashank Manohar at the BCCI’s annual award function held in Mumbai. India’s Test captain Virat Kohli was awarded with the Polly Umrigar Trophy for Cricketer of the Year. Mitali Raj was bestowed with
23. Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sarosh Homi Kapadia passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was He was 68. His funeral was held as per Parsi tradition at Tower of Silence at Kemps Corner, South Mumbai.
24. Jharkhand, a mineral-rich but energy-deficit state has become first state in country to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme with Union Government. In this regard a tripartite MoU was signed between the state government, Union Ministry of Power and state power distributor Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL).
25. The Union Government has reserved 33 per cent posts of Constables for women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance their representation. The proposal in this regard was approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and shall come into effect with immediate effect.
26. Justice RM Lodha Committee has submitted its report to the Supreme Court suggesting reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The committee was appointed by the SC in 2014 to make recommendations to the BCCI in order to prevent frauds and conflict of interest in cricket administration. Major Recommendations Committee Governing Bodies: They should be separate for Indian Premier League (IPL) and BCCI, with limited autonomy for the IPL Governing Council. BCCI office-bearer: No Minister or government servant should become a BCCI office-bearer. BCCI office-bearer’s tenure: It should not exceed more than two consecutive terms, and he/she cannot hold two posts at the same time. Membership: Only to team representing the respective states. Each state should have only one vote. Zones: The relevance of different zones should be for the purpose of tournaments and not for the governance of the BCCI and its committees. State Associations: There should be uniformity of structure in the organisation and functioning of state associations on the lines of BCCI. Management: The BCCI management affairs should be done by professionals led by Chief executive officer (CEO). Players Associations: It should be formed for the international as well as for the first class levels. It should be for both men and women teams. Player’s ethics: BCCI should carry out awareness programmes for the players. Players Agents: They must be registered under the BCCI and players association norms. Betting and match-fixing: Betting should be legalised and match fixing should be made criminal offence. Conflict of Interest: To avoid conflicts it should be handled with the norms laid down by an ethics officer. The Electoral Officer and Ombudsman: The electoral officer will oversee the election process, while the ombudsman to resolve grievances. Functioning and Transparency: All details and rues of BCCI must be uploaded on the website on BCCI for transparency functioning purpose. BCCI should come under the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Supervision of Expenses: It should be carried out by an independent auditor.
27. A friendship bus service between India and Nepal was flagged off via Champawat district in Uttarakhand after a gap of 27 years. The resumed bus service has been regularised and will run between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to the Banbasa border in Champawat district and Anand Vihar in New Delhi. People travelling in these buses do not require any special documents to travel. These buses are air conditioned and provide free wi-fi connectivity to passengers. The India-Nepal friendship bus service was suspended 27 years back in the wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty. This bus service is mainly used by the people on both sides of the border as they have family as well as trade relations with each other.
28. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of one crore rupees on State Bank of Travancore, an SBI associate bank for violation of some of its instructions. The monetary penalty was imposed on State Bank of Travancore for violation of its instructions including reporting of data to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC). Prior to imposing the penalty, RBI had issued a show cause notice to the bank for not having complied with the directions issued by the bank on submission of accurate data to the CRILC. Finally RBI came to the conclusion that the bank had violated the instructions or guidelines issued from time to time after considering the bank’s reply and information submitted and documents furnished. Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) It has been established by RBI to collect, store, and disseminate data on all borrowers’ credit exposures. It is mandatory for banks to report all such information under it including classification of an account as Special Mention Accounts (SMA) on all borrowers having aggregate fund-based and non-fund-based exposure of 5 crore rupees and above.
29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 103rd edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) on January 3, 2016 in Mysuru, Karnataka. The theme of this edition of the Congress is “Science and Technology for Indigenous Development in India.” During the inaugural speech Prime Minister gave a new mantra comprising five Es – “Economy, Environment, Energy, Empathy and Equity”
30. Former Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur (62) has sworn in as the eight Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of the Central Information Commission. He was administered the oath of office by the President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Mr. Mathur as the CIC will have tenure of about three years i.e. till 2019 till he attains the age of 65 years. He suc
31. India’s third largest IT exporter Wipro Limited has appointed Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Member of the Board of the company. He will succeed incumbent CEO T.K. Kurien who has been elevated as the Executive Vice Chairman of the company.
32. Presdent Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to five key bills as per the provisions of Article 111 of the Constitution of India. These key five legislations were passed by both the houses of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the recently concluded Winter session of Parliament. These five bills are Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015: Facilitates an arbitrator will have to settle a case within 18 months. After the completion of 1 year, certain restrictions will be put in place to ensure that the arbitration case does not linger on. Read more Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015: 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. Read more The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015: It will allow state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to have joint venture (JV) collaboration with other public sector undertakings in the nuclear field. Read more The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015: Enhances monthly bonus calculation ceiling to Rs. 7,000 per month from the existing Rs. 3,500. It also enhances the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from existing Rs. 10,000 per month to Rs. 21,000 per month. Read more Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015: This law enables setting up commercial benches in select high courts.
33. India has won the 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship for record seventh time. In the final match played at Thiruvanantapuram (Kerala), India defeated defending champion Afghanistan by 2-1 goal score. Jeje Lalpekhlua (72nd minute) and Sunil Chhetri (101th) had scored goals for India. For Afghanistan single goal was scored by Zubayr Amiri at 70th minute. Indian Team Captain: Sunil Chhetri. Afghanistan Team Captain: Faysal Shayesteh. Earlier India had won the SAFF Football Championship in year 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009 and 2011. About SAFF Football Championship The SAFF Championship also called South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup is the biennial football competition of the men’s national football teams of 8 countries in South Asia region. The championship was established in 1993 and is governed by the South Asian Football Federation. 8 participating countries are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan (joined in 2005).
34. India’s star amputee mountaineer Arunima Sinha has successfully scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina as part of her Mission 7 Summits. It was her 5th successful summit of the Mission 7 Summits that she had climbed on December 25, 2016 after starting on December 12, 2015. With this, she created World record by becoming First Female amputee to climb 5 Mountains of the World. These are Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Mt.Kosizko (Australia) and Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt. Aconcagua (6,960.8 metres) is the highest mountain outside Asia and is also known as second Everest. By extension it is the highest point in both Western Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.
35. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of watershed projects. Under this MoU Web-based monitoring will be undertaken for India-German Watershed Development (IGWDP) projects in three states viz. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana. NRSC will create a separate page for NABARD on Bhuvan web-portal and also develop customised software tool and mobile application for real time monitoring projects. It will also seek to add feature in this page for online comparison and visualisation with respect to activities implemented in the projects sanctioned by NABARD. NABARD will use this web-based monitoring technology to address problems of monitoring watershed projects in remote areas, apart from digitisation of the impact of watershed interventions for long term usage. It should be noted that NABARD only assists the watershed projects of Union Ministry of Rural Development by providing funds under Watershed Development Fund (WDF).
36. Telangana Government has launched e-Vahan Bima Scheme to issue motor insurance policy in digital form. With this, Telangana became the first state in the country to legally accept motor vehicle insurance policy in digital form.
37. Veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 92. He has been a leading figure of the trade union movement and left politics in India and had played a key role in maintaining the space for Communists in national politics.
38. The Union Government is going to roll out LPG-like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for kerosene from 1st April 2016. The scheme in the initial phase will be implemented in selected 26 districts of eight states. These states are Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Under the scheme People will buy kerosene at market rate (un-subsidised price) but will get subsidy directly in their bank accounts. The cash subsidy paid to users under it will be equivalent to the difference between current Public Distribution System (PDS) price and market rate of kerosene. During the initial phase, kerosene subsidy will be credited to eligible beneficiaries in advance to avoid any inconvenience of payment of un-subsidised price. Comment The move will help Government to curtail or reduce subsidy outgo for kerosene which in 2014-15 was about 24,799 crore rupees. It will also help in plugging the leakages in the kerosene subsidy system.
39. The Union Government has constituted a committee to examine the wage structure, service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts (DoP). It is one member committee comprising of Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Services Board. The Committee will be assisted by Senior Administrative Grade Officer T.Q. Mohammad who will act as Secretary to the GDS Committee.
40. The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp the film certification nuances by Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC). The committee is tasked to suggest recommendations provide a holistic framework and interpretation of provisions of Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983. Other Members of the Committee: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhawana Somaaya, Piyush Pandey, Nina Lath Gupta and Joint Secretary (Films) as Member Convenor.
41. Foremost south Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam has conferred with prestigious 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award. The prestigious award was bestowed upon him by renowned mathematician Manjul Bhargava at 89th annual conference of the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this, he became seventh artistes to be conferred with this award before completing 50 years of age. Others are Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam, M.L. Vasanthakumari and M. Balamuralikrishna
42. India and Pakistan have exchanged the list of their nuclear installations and facilities under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations. This exchange is done on 1st of January every year between the two neighbouring countries that bars them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities. This is the 25th consecutive exchange of such list between the two countries, the first one having taken place on 1 January 1992.
43. The Union Government has signed a Financing Agreement of 50 million dollars with the World Bank for Nai Manzil Scheme- Education and Skills Training for Minorities. Under this agreement, the credit will be facilitated by the International Development Association (IDA), World Bank’s concessionary lending arm. This credit will be in the form of loan which carries a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period. The loan funds will be used for interventions under this scheme improve the employability and performance of minority youth in the labour market. The total project size is 100 million dollars, out of which 50 million dollars will be available as IDA credit and the remaining balance funding from the Union Budget. About Nai Manzil Scheme The central scheme is designed to address educational and livelihood needs of minority communities lagging behind in terms of educational attainments. It aims to provide educational intervention by giving the bridge courses to the trainees and getting them Certificates for Class XII and X from distance medium educational system. It seeks to provide trade basis skill training in four courses at the same time of formal education, in field of (i) Manufacturing (ii) Engineering (iii) Services (iv) Soft skills. It intends to cover people in between 17 to 35 age group from all minority communities as well as Madrasa students. This scheme will provide new avenues for minorities for continuing higher education and also open up employment opportunities in the organised sector.
2. India’s first River Information System (RIS) was launched by Union Government facilitate safe and accurate inland waterway navigation. It has been launched in phases and the first phase will cover 145-km stretch of National Waterways 1 (Phase I- Haldia to Farakka) on the Ganges River. Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), a statutory body under the aegis of Union Ministry of Shipping is implementing the RIS in India. About River Information Services (RIS) RIS are combination of modern tracking equipment comprising of hardware and software designed to optimize transport and traffic processes in inland water navigation. The system has capability to enhance swift electronic data transfer between mobile vessels and Base stations (on shore) through advance and real-time exchange of information. The main aim of the system is to streamline the exchange of information via Very high frequency (VHF) wireless communication between waterway operators and users. This system would facilitate: (i) Enhancement of inland navigation safety in ports and rivers. (ii) Better use of the inland waterways. (iii) Environmental protection. It enables safe and efficient inland water transport by avoiding risks such as (i) Ship-to-Ship collisions. (ii) Ship-Bridge collisions. (iii) Groundings. This system has been successfully implemented and is in operation in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, China and US. The RIS system will be later extended upto Varanasi in two more phases and in Phase-II, it will cover stretch from Farakka to Patna (410 Km.)
3. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt has been commission in the Indian Navy by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan at naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam It is the second ship of Project 28 (P28) class ASW corvettes and is the latest ship after Shivalik class, Kolkata class and INS Kamorta. About INS Kadmatt It is about 90 per cent indigenously designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and constructed by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. The stealth anti-submarine warfare has been named after one of the large islands amongst the group of islands in Lakshadweep off the west coast of India.
4. The Global Economic Prospect report published recently by the World Bank (WB) has projected a robust 7.8 per cent growth for the Indian economy in the year 2016. In its report bank also has cited strong investor sentiment in India and the positive effect on real incomes of the recent fall in oil prices.
5. India and France have started their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency bilateral military exercise Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan. In this bilateral exercise, French contingent comprising 56 personnel of 35th Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade are participating. Indian side is being represented by the 2nd Battalion of Garhwal Rifles which is part of the Sapta Shakti Command.
6. India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has partnered with FINO PayTech to foray into the payments bank space. With this partnership, ICICI Bank joins some of the leading lenders of the country that have partnered with payments banks. For example, Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) and State Bank of India (SBI) have picked up stake in payments banks to be floated by Bharti Group and Reliance Industries respectively.
7. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away due to multiple organ failure at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. He was 79. Mr. Sayeed, a two-time Chief Minister of J&K had started his second tenure on March 1st, 2015 heading Peoples Democratic Party-Bhartiya Janta Party (PDP-BJP) coalition government.
8. Renowned telecom engineer and inventor Sam Pitroda has been appointed as Technology Advisor to the Odisha Government. He has been appointed as the technology adviser for development of telecom, electronics, Information Technology, IT Enabled Services sectors of the state. With this appointment he will get the rank of a Cabinet Minister. He will play key role in formulation Vision 2036 for Odisha@100, a vision document for 2036 to celebrate the 100 years of state’s formation.
9. The British writer, Kate Atkinson has won the 2015 Costa novel award for her novel “A God in Ruins”, the companion her previous novel to ‘Life After Life’. With this, she became the first British author to receive a Costa prize three times. Earlier she had won it for Life After Life (2013) and Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995).
10. Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided to implement the stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from 1st April 2020 in a bid to curb vehicular pollution. Government will directly switch over to BS-VI emission norms from the present BS-IV emission norms and completely skip BS-V emission norms altogether. Decision in this regard was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Unon Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. Supreme Court Order Earlier Supreme Court has asked the Union Government to implement BS-VI emission norms earlier than April 2021 deadline amid concerns on rising air pollution in the country. Earlier Deadlines The Auto Fuel Policy 2003 had recommended implementation of BS-VI norms by 2024. Earlier in the draft notification issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had advanced dates for implementation of BS-V norms to 2019 and BS-VI norms to 2021. Present scenario Presently BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in whole of northern India covering states like Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, parts of Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh. While rest of the country is being supplied has BS-III grade fuel. The deadline implementation for BS-IV auto fuels is 2017 across the country.
11. The Union Cabinet has approved creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans. The CGF is expected to guarantee more than 1,00,000 crore rupees worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance. Features of scheme Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) will guarantee loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to reduce the credit risk to Banks and other financial intermediaries who are Member Lending Institutions (MLIs). National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company NCGTC Ltd will manage and operate various credit guarantee funds and shall be the Trustee of the NCFTC will be a wholly-owned company of Union Government and shall be constituted under the Companies Act, 1956 (2013). Under this scheme the guarantee would be provided on portfolio basis to a maximum extent of 50 per cent of Amount in Default in the MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank Cabinet also gave its nod for converting MUDRA Ltd. into MUDRA Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of SIDBI. The MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank will undertake refinance operations and provide support services with focus on portal management and also data analysis etc. Background In the Union Budget speech for 2015-16, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed to set up MUDRA Bank and CGF with a refinance corpus of 20,000 crore rupees and a corpus of 3,000 crore rupees respectively. MUDRA Ltd. was set up as a corporate subsidiary of SIDBI in March 2015 prior to the launch of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in April 2015.
12. The Union Cabinet has approved the Stand Up India Scheme to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) and Women entrepreneurs. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The Scheme seeks to facilitate at least two such projects on an average one for each category of entrepreneur per bank branch. The Stand-up India is component of Start-up India, Stand up India slogan anchored by Department of Financial Services (DFS) to encourage greenfield enterprises by Women and SC/ST entrepreneurs. Features of Stand Up India Scheme It will refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount 10,000 crore rupees. Under it, a credit guarantee mechanism would be created through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). It will be the operating agency for the loan. It will provide handholding support to the borrowers at both pre loan stage and during operations stage. It would seek to increase their familiarity with factoring services, e-market places and registration with online platforms as well as sessions on best practices and problem solving. It would provide women and SC/ST entrepreneurs bank loans repayable up to 7 years. It would be between 10 lakh to 1 crore rupees for greenfield enterprises in the non-farm sector. The overall intent is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to this under-served population. For this margin money of the composite loan will be up to 25%. It is expected that this scheme would benefit atleast 2.5 lakh borrowers and expected date of reaching the target of approvals is 36 months from the launch of the Scheme. Background Prime Minister in his Independence Day address to the nation on 15th August, 2015 had announced the “Start-up India, Stand up India” initiative.
13. Noted Gujarati writer and poet Labhshankar Thakar passed away after prolonged illness in Ahmedabad. He was 80. He was modernist author of Gujarati literature with influence of existentialism challenging traditional literature styles.
14. The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Singapore on cooperation in the field of civil aviation. The MoU was signed in November 2015 between Airports Authority of India (AAI) on behalf of Union Government and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) on behalf of Government of Singapore) during Prime Minister’s visit to Singapore.
15. Indian ace shooter Apurvi Chandela has set a new world record in the women’s 10 metre air rifle event at the 2015 Swedish Cup Grand Prix.
16. Senior United Nations (UN) official Filippo Grandi from Italy has taken the charge as new UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He succeeds Antonio Guterres of Portugal who has retired after heading the Refugee Agency for one decade. He will have tenure of five years.
17. The Union Government has launched Ganga Gram Yojana to develop 1600 villages in Uttar Pradesh (UP) situated along the banks of Ganga River. The scheme was launched by the Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti at Puth village in Hapur district of UP.
18. Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) at all its branches across the country to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service. The customer-friendly service was launched by Andhra Bank in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It also supports real time instant fund transfer system for inter-bank remittances. However the maximum caps of transaction of remittances will 2 lakh rupees and the charges will be at the rate of Rs.5 per transaction. Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) IMPS is a multi-channel, multi-dimensional inter-bank electronic fund transfer platform that allows customers to transfer money electronically within fraction of seconds with all the standards and integrity maintained for security. It is round-the-clock real time instant fund transfer system which is not possible in National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system. It also safest and most economical electronic fund transfer service.
19. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed to expand their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) by inclusion of services and investment. Statement in this regard was made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his official visit to Sri Lanka. The expansion of FTA would help companies of the two nations to form joint ventures (JV) for exports to other nations. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s official trip to Sri Lanka comes after eight months of President Sirisena’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015.
20. Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) has received nod from Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire Goldman Sachs’s mutual funds and exchange-traded funds business in India. This approval comes after the boards of both the companies had approved the acquisition transaction. Now RCAM needs to get final nod of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to complete the takeover. Under the acquisition deal, RCAM will acquire all 12 onshore mutual fund schemes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) India with total asset under management of 7132 crore rupees. US based Goldman Sachs had entered the Indian mutual fund industry in 2011 with acquisition of Benchmark Mutual Fund for 120 crore rupees.
21. 15-year-old cricketer Pranav Dhanawade created a world record by scoring 1009 runs (not out) in HT Bhandari Cup, an under-16 inter-school tournament held in Mumbai (Maharashtra). With this, he also has broken a century-old cricketing record becoming the first batsman to score 1000-plus runs in an innings in any form of cricket.
22. Former Cricketer Syed Kirmani was honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in Mumbai (Maharashtra) for his contribution to Indian cricket. He was presented with the award by the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Shashank Manohar at the BCCI’s annual award function held in Mumbai. India’s Test captain Virat Kohli was awarded with the Polly Umrigar Trophy for Cricketer of the Year. Mitali Raj was bestowed with
23. Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sarosh Homi Kapadia passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was He was 68. His funeral was held as per Parsi tradition at Tower of Silence at Kemps Corner, South Mumbai.
24. Jharkhand, a mineral-rich but energy-deficit state has become first state in country to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme with Union Government. In this regard a tripartite MoU was signed between the state government, Union Ministry of Power and state power distributor Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL).
25. The Union Government has reserved 33 per cent posts of Constables for women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance their representation. The proposal in this regard was approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and shall come into effect with immediate effect.
26. Justice RM Lodha Committee has submitted its report to the Supreme Court suggesting reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The committee was appointed by the SC in 2014 to make recommendations to the BCCI in order to prevent frauds and conflict of interest in cricket administration. Major Recommendations Committee Governing Bodies: They should be separate for Indian Premier League (IPL) and BCCI, with limited autonomy for the IPL Governing Council. BCCI office-bearer: No Minister or government servant should become a BCCI office-bearer. BCCI office-bearer’s tenure: It should not exceed more than two consecutive terms, and he/she cannot hold two posts at the same time. Membership: Only to team representing the respective states. Each state should have only one vote. Zones: The relevance of different zones should be for the purpose of tournaments and not for the governance of the BCCI and its committees. State Associations: There should be uniformity of structure in the organisation and functioning of state associations on the lines of BCCI. Management: The BCCI management affairs should be done by professionals led by Chief executive officer (CEO). Players Associations: It should be formed for the international as well as for the first class levels. It should be for both men and women teams. Player’s ethics: BCCI should carry out awareness programmes for the players. Players Agents: They must be registered under the BCCI and players association norms. Betting and match-fixing: Betting should be legalised and match fixing should be made criminal offence. Conflict of Interest: To avoid conflicts it should be handled with the norms laid down by an ethics officer. The Electoral Officer and Ombudsman: The electoral officer will oversee the election process, while the ombudsman to resolve grievances. Functioning and Transparency: All details and rues of BCCI must be uploaded on the website on BCCI for transparency functioning purpose. BCCI should come under the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Supervision of Expenses: It should be carried out by an independent auditor.
27. A friendship bus service between India and Nepal was flagged off via Champawat district in Uttarakhand after a gap of 27 years. The resumed bus service has been regularised and will run between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to the Banbasa border in Champawat district and Anand Vihar in New Delhi. People travelling in these buses do not require any special documents to travel. These buses are air conditioned and provide free wi-fi connectivity to passengers. The India-Nepal friendship bus service was suspended 27 years back in the wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty. This bus service is mainly used by the people on both sides of the border as they have family as well as trade relations with each other.
28. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of one crore rupees on State Bank of Travancore, an SBI associate bank for violation of some of its instructions. The monetary penalty was imposed on State Bank of Travancore for violation of its instructions including reporting of data to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC). Prior to imposing the penalty, RBI had issued a show cause notice to the bank for not having complied with the directions issued by the bank on submission of accurate data to the CRILC. Finally RBI came to the conclusion that the bank had violated the instructions or guidelines issued from time to time after considering the bank’s reply and information submitted and documents furnished. Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) It has been established by RBI to collect, store, and disseminate data on all borrowers’ credit exposures. It is mandatory for banks to report all such information under it including classification of an account as Special Mention Accounts (SMA) on all borrowers having aggregate fund-based and non-fund-based exposure of 5 crore rupees and above.
29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 103rd edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) on January 3, 2016 in Mysuru, Karnataka. The theme of this edition of the Congress is “Science and Technology for Indigenous Development in India.” During the inaugural speech Prime Minister gave a new mantra comprising five Es – “Economy, Environment, Energy, Empathy and Equity”
30. Former Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur (62) has sworn in as the eight Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of the Central Information Commission. He was administered the oath of office by the President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Mr. Mathur as the CIC will have tenure of about three years i.e. till 2019 till he attains the age of 65 years. He suc
31. India’s third largest IT exporter Wipro Limited has appointed Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Member of the Board of the company. He will succeed incumbent CEO T.K. Kurien who has been elevated as the Executive Vice Chairman of the company.
32. Presdent Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to five key bills as per the provisions of Article 111 of the Constitution of India. These key five legislations were passed by both the houses of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the recently concluded Winter session of Parliament. These five bills are Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015: Facilitates an arbitrator will have to settle a case within 18 months. After the completion of 1 year, certain restrictions will be put in place to ensure that the arbitration case does not linger on. Read more Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015: 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. Read more The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015: It will allow state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to have joint venture (JV) collaboration with other public sector undertakings in the nuclear field. Read more The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015: Enhances monthly bonus calculation ceiling to Rs. 7,000 per month from the existing Rs. 3,500. It also enhances the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from existing Rs. 10,000 per month to Rs. 21,000 per month. Read more Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015: This law enables setting up commercial benches in select high courts.
33. India has won the 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship for record seventh time. In the final match played at Thiruvanantapuram (Kerala), India defeated defending champion Afghanistan by 2-1 goal score. Jeje Lalpekhlua (72nd minute) and Sunil Chhetri (101th) had scored goals for India. For Afghanistan single goal was scored by Zubayr Amiri at 70th minute. Indian Team Captain: Sunil Chhetri. Afghanistan Team Captain: Faysal Shayesteh. Earlier India had won the SAFF Football Championship in year 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009 and 2011. About SAFF Football Championship The SAFF Championship also called South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup is the biennial football competition of the men’s national football teams of 8 countries in South Asia region. The championship was established in 1993 and is governed by the South Asian Football Federation. 8 participating countries are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan (joined in 2005).
34. India’s star amputee mountaineer Arunima Sinha has successfully scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina as part of her Mission 7 Summits. It was her 5th successful summit of the Mission 7 Summits that she had climbed on December 25, 2016 after starting on December 12, 2015. With this, she created World record by becoming First Female amputee to climb 5 Mountains of the World. These are Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Mt.Kosizko (Australia) and Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt. Aconcagua (6,960.8 metres) is the highest mountain outside Asia and is also known as second Everest. By extension it is the highest point in both Western Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.
35. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of watershed projects. Under this MoU Web-based monitoring will be undertaken for India-German Watershed Development (IGWDP) projects in three states viz. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana. NRSC will create a separate page for NABARD on Bhuvan web-portal and also develop customised software tool and mobile application for real time monitoring projects. It will also seek to add feature in this page for online comparison and visualisation with respect to activities implemented in the projects sanctioned by NABARD. NABARD will use this web-based monitoring technology to address problems of monitoring watershed projects in remote areas, apart from digitisation of the impact of watershed interventions for long term usage. It should be noted that NABARD only assists the watershed projects of Union Ministry of Rural Development by providing funds under Watershed Development Fund (WDF).
36. Telangana Government has launched e-Vahan Bima Scheme to issue motor insurance policy in digital form. With this, Telangana became the first state in the country to legally accept motor vehicle insurance policy in digital form.
37. Veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 92. He has been a leading figure of the trade union movement and left politics in India and had played a key role in maintaining the space for Communists in national politics.
38. The Union Government is going to roll out LPG-like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for kerosene from 1st April 2016. The scheme in the initial phase will be implemented in selected 26 districts of eight states. These states are Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Under the scheme People will buy kerosene at market rate (un-subsidised price) but will get subsidy directly in their bank accounts. The cash subsidy paid to users under it will be equivalent to the difference between current Public Distribution System (PDS) price and market rate of kerosene. During the initial phase, kerosene subsidy will be credited to eligible beneficiaries in advance to avoid any inconvenience of payment of un-subsidised price. Comment The move will help Government to curtail or reduce subsidy outgo for kerosene which in 2014-15 was about 24,799 crore rupees. It will also help in plugging the leakages in the kerosene subsidy system.
39. The Union Government has constituted a committee to examine the wage structure, service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts (DoP). It is one member committee comprising of Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Services Board. The Committee will be assisted by Senior Administrative Grade Officer T.Q. Mohammad who will act as Secretary to the GDS Committee.
40. The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp the film certification nuances by Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC). The committee is tasked to suggest recommendations provide a holistic framework and interpretation of provisions of Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983. Other Members of the Committee: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhawana Somaaya, Piyush Pandey, Nina Lath Gupta and Joint Secretary (Films) as Member Convenor.
41. Foremost south Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam has conferred with prestigious 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award. The prestigious award was bestowed upon him by renowned mathematician Manjul Bhargava at 89th annual conference of the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this, he became seventh artistes to be conferred with this award before completing 50 years of age. Others are Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam, M.L. Vasanthakumari and M. Balamuralikrishna
42. India and Pakistan have exchanged the list of their nuclear installations and facilities under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations. This exchange is done on 1st of January every year between the two neighbouring countries that bars them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities. This is the 25th consecutive exchange of such list between the two countries, the first one having taken place on 1 January 1992.
43. The Union Government has signed a Financing Agreement of 50 million dollars with the World Bank for Nai Manzil Scheme- Education and Skills Training for Minorities. Under this agreement, the credit will be facilitated by the International Development Association (IDA), World Bank’s concessionary lending arm. This credit will be in the form of loan which carries a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period. The loan funds will be used for interventions under this scheme improve the employability and performance of minority youth in the labour market. The total project size is 100 million dollars, out of which 50 million dollars will be available as IDA credit and the remaining balance funding from the Union Budget. About Nai Manzil Scheme The central scheme is designed to address educational and livelihood needs of minority communities lagging behind in terms of educational attainments. It aims to provide educational intervention by giving the bridge courses to the trainees and getting them Certificates for Class XII and X from distance medium educational system. It seeks to provide trade basis skill training in four courses at the same time of formal education, in field of (i) Manufacturing (ii) Engineering (iii) Services (iv) Soft skills. It intends to cover people in between 17 to 35 age group from all minority communities as well as Madrasa students. This scheme will provide new avenues for minorities for continuing higher education and also open up employment opportunities in the organised sector.