Abhimanu

Weekly current affairs Series

Week: II, June 2016

Abhimanu’s IAS Study Group Chandigarh

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

SEBI(Security Exchange Board Of India) Issues Stricter norms For P-Notes

Markets regulator SEBI has put in place a stricter KYC and disclosure regime for Participatory Notes to make it tougher to use these offshore instruments without disclosing the money-trail and details of their users.

These norms are formed after taking into account suggestions from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money to ensure this route is not used for money laundering.

Under the new norms, all the users of ODIs(Offshore Derivative Instruments) would have to follow Indian KYC and AML (Anti Money Laundering) Regulations, irrespective of their jurisdictions, while the ODI issuers will be required to file suspicious transaction reports, if any, with the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit, in relation to the ODIs issued by them.

Presently, the details of ODI holders need to be mandatorily reported to SEBI on a monthly basis. SEBI has now decided that in the monthly reports on ODIs all the intermediate transfers during the month would also be required to be reported.

Besides, ODI issuers will have to carry out reconfirmation of the ODI positions on a semi-annual basis. In case of any divergence from reported monthly data, the same should be informed to SEBI in a prescribed format.

In order to bring about an uniformity in KYC/AML norms, it has been decided that Indian norms will now be applicable to all ODI issuers. These norms will be the same as that applicable for all other domestic investors.

Also, ODI Issuers will be required to identify and verify the beneficial owners in the subscriber entities, who hold in excess of the applicable threshold – 25% in case of a company and 15% in case of partnership firms, trusts or unincorporated bodies. In such cases, the ODI issuers will need to identify and verify the persons who control operations of these entities.

About P-notes or Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODIs) :-

P-Notes are derivative products issued by FPIs in foreign markets which give their holders the right to have a share of the profit and loss from underlying Indian stocks but at the same time help maintain anonymity about the actual owners of those notes. P notes are also called by the name of Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODIs)

So, P-notes, or off-shore derivatives instruments (ODIs), allow foreign investors to take exposure to Indian stocks without registering with Sebi.

Currently, around 10 per cent of foreign flows are through the P-note route.

Key Elements of the KYC

Customer Acceptance and Customer Severance Policy

Customer Identification Procedures;

Monitoring of Transactions;

Risk Management

Analysis:

The measure was issued after taking into account suggestions from Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money to ensure this route is not used for money laundering. In recent times ODIs have often been in

controversy in India for alleged misuse for round-tripping of funds

This will help SEBI to keep a penetrating eye on the investors and check the flow of black money and unwanted money from unknown persons in the Indian stock markets

Though this stringent rule may have short-term effect on the capital market, but it would be a boon for honest investors and FIIs and market as a whole in the long run.

The SEBI move is a balanced act since rather than imposing restrictions on the P-note issuance, which otherwise would have brought a lot of negativity in the market, it has concentrated more on strengthening the overall KYC checks and rightfully putting in more obligations on the issuer FPIs in the entire P-note issuance process

RBI revises debt recast norms: Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of

Stressed Assets' (S4A)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the norms for banks to undertake debt restructuring if they feel the project is viable in the long run.

The main aim of this is to “strengthen the lenders’ ability to deal with stressed assets and to put real assets back on track by providing an avenue for reworking financial structure of entities facing genuine difficulties.”

Highlights of scheme/norms:

The Reserve Bank will facilitate the resolution of large accounts which meets certain criteria. Those accounts facing severe financial difficulties might be put for restructuring or some write-down or larger provisions can be allowed. The paper describes resolution plans that can be implemented to service the debt. An Overseeing Committee (OC) will be formed by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in consultation with the Reserve Bank for overseeing the stressed assets cases.

Eligible Accounts

The paper mentions certain guidelines to choose accounts that will fall under this. Accounts that have commenced commercial operations. Projects in which institutional lenders have exposure of more than Rs 500 crore.

Sustainable Debt

This scheme defines sustainable debt as that where the Joint Lenders Forum or consortium of financial institutions believes that the existing loan can be serviced or can be retained at the existing level.

But, for this scheme, the sustainable debt cannot be less than 50 percent of current funded liabilities.

RBI also states that resolution may involve the current promoter to continue holding her stake in the company or some new promoter can be brought via the structural debt restricting (SDR) or non-SDR route. However, sustainable structuring is not permissible where promoters’ malpractices or wrongdoings have been revealed under audit.

Under the new scheme, banks will have to divide the borrower's debt into two parts - Part A and Part B. Part A will be the debt amount that can be serviced including any new funding that may be required within six months and non-funded credit facilities whereas the debt that cannot be serviced will be classified under Part B. Promoters will have to provide personal guarantee for sustainable part of the loan.

Resolution Plan

No moratorium will be granted to unsustainable debt as well as no extension will be given for repayment of principal or interest amount.

Part A of the loan will need to have the same amount of security cover as was prior to resolution.

Part B debt, on the other hand, can be converted into redeemable cumulative or convertible preference shares. Banks will also have the option to convert the debt into optionally convertible debentures. For Part B, the report mentions guidelines for fair valuations.

In case of equity, the share in the bank’s portfolio will be marked to market on daily or weekly basis.

In case the shares are not listed on stock exchanges, they should be valued at the lowest using methods like discounted cash flow and break-up value.

The bankers can obtain promoters’ personal guarantee for the sustainable part of the loan. In a situation where the resolution does not involve a change in promoter, the principle of proportionate loss sharing by promoters will stand.

In such a case, existing shareholders will have to dilute their holdings.

For the resolution plan to be passed, consent from 75 percent lenders by value and 50 percent lenders by numbers in JLF or consortium will be needed.

Once the resolution plan is decided, it will go to the OC. Once the resolution plan is approved by OC, it will be binding on all lenders. However, lenders will have the option to exit JLF and correction action plan.

Analysis:

Reserve Bank's new debt recast norms are credit positive for banks and will help in reducing the gross non-performing asset levels by 30-100 basis points after one year.

This move is expected to give an impetus, especially for projects that are viable in the long term but strapped for cash and/or good management.

This rule will benefit companies which are under severe stress and are highly leveraged.

This scheme will attract those corporate who are not able to service their debt due to weak cash flow or are unable to raise fresh equity due to poor valuations. Under this scheme, corporate will have to pay interest only on the sustainable part, which will reduce their interest liability.

The move is intended to help restore the flow of credit to crucial sectors such as infrastructure and iron and steel, among others, reduce the stress on corporate borrowers and stanch bad loans across banks.

Banks will be allowed to rework stressed loans under the oversight of an external agency, thereby ensuring transparency while also protecting bankers from undue scrutiny by investigative agencies.

Overall, this scheme will likely help only those banks which have good provisioning cover and adequate capital in the first place. For state-owned banks which suffer on both these counts, this might not be an option. So, the scheme might not be enough to free up capital and kick-start lending.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

India is already in process to join ASEAN+6 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

But this move is likely to harm the pharma sector of India and other developing countries.

There are some concerns over the proposals made by Japan and South Korea that go beyond the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

Two of the most worrying are the demands for ‘Data Exclusivity’ and ‘Patent Term Extensions’. Data exclusivity is a form of legal monopoly protection for a drug, over and above the patent protections. This is given expressly to compensate for the investment made during clinical trials. It implies that regulators cannot approve a similar drug with similar data for the next five years, delaying the entry of generic, affordable versions.

Patent term extensions are given to compensate the company for delays in processing patent applications. A company gets a 20-year patent monopoly on a drug from the date that the application is filed. Sometimes processing these applications takes time and the companies get only 13 years instead of 20. A patent term extension will give another five-year monopoly to the innovator company, again delaying the entry of generic drugs in the market.

So, Civil society organisations are pushing for the removal of harmful intellectual property provisions that could potentially increase drug costs by creating new monopolies and delaying the entry of affordable generics in the market.

About Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership:

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations were launched by Leaders from ASEAN and ASEAN's free trade agreement (FTA) partners in the margins of the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 20 November 2012.

The RCEP is among the proposed three mega FTAs in the world so far – the other two being the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership, led by the US) and the TTIP (Trans -atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the US and the EU).

The agreement is proposed between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).

Analysis:

This will help in furthering the aims and objectives of India’s own Look-East Policy. RCEP will have huge trade potential. In real practice, RCEP once formalized, is supposed to emerge as the most effective and largest free-trade bloc in the world.

It will also help achieve its goal of greater economic integration with countries East and south East of India through better access to a vast regional market ranging from Japan to Australia.

The challenge before India is about balancing its negotiations with RCEP partners, and utilising both promotional and conditional offers in a number of sectors. India can showcase to its regional partners, and indeed the world, that some of its domestic producers are ready for greater competition — especially those that have a comparative or competitive advantage and can connect with global value chains. This should include linking India’s high-quality information technology sector with manufacturing and commodity processing in regional value chains.

At the same time, due to greater flexibility in the RCEP, India can continue to support its domestic industry to give certain sectors the time to prepare for greater foreign competition. This should be done through a sensitive list approach, product-specific rules of origin criteria and offer extended phases for tariff reductions.

Ever-evolving trade-related standards — from packaging requirements to sanitary rules for exporting melons — are sharply affecting India’s trade in many products. While differential treatment on standards will not be possible, long phase-in periods are one way to promote greater competition and also address various domestic anti-competitive market distortions. This can be done while supporting domestic industries, giving them time to adapt. India’s government and industry will have to work together.

Conditional offers will also be needed to build industry’s capacity to deal with potentially stringent rules, such as Intellectual Property (IP) rights, which will affect India’s vital pharmaceutical industry. Affordable generic drugs are critical for India and other developing countries struggling with large low-income populations in need of better healthcare.

PMJDY(Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana) and Business Correspondens

PMJDY is launched with the ambition to ensure universal coverage of all households by financial institutions.

About PMJDY:

The primary aim of this scheme is to provide poor people access to bank accounts.

This scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 August 2014.

This scheme is run by Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance

Account holders will be provided zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in addition to accidental insurance cover of 1 lakh rupees (to be given by 'HDFC Ergo',).

Those who open accounts by 26 January 2015 over and above the 1 lakh rupees accident claim will also be given life insurance cover of 30,000 rupees (to be given by LIC).

After Six months of opening of the bank account, holders can avail 5,000 overdraft from the bank

With the introduction of new technology introduced by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can transfer funds, check balance through a normal phone which was earlier limited only to smart phones so far.

Mobile banking for the poor would be available through National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) for which all banks and mobile companies have come together

Analysis:

So far, more than 22 crore bank accounts have been opened under the scheme, utilizing a network of more than one lakh business correspondents (BCs). However, it is widely believed that many accounts were opened in response to political pressure on banks to achieve programme targets. Others may have been opened to avail of the insurance benefits that the accounts enabled or under the expectation that government transfers would require a savings account. As a consequence, duplicate accounts with zero balances represent a high percentage of the total accounts.

In order to improve current situation, Business Correspondents (BCs) can play a proactive role here. The government should effectively utilize their services to achieve the programme objectives.They lower the costs of serving the poor. They address many of thebehavioural constraints believed to adversely affect savings. Also, as BCs, who reside in the vicinity of their clients and are often from the same community, can more easily address constraints specific to regions.

Significant increases in financial savings are only likely to occur if the government also addresses some of the factors that cause households to borrow heavily from the informal sector.

Various surveys suggest that, even now, moneylenders represent the major source of loans for rural households, accounting for 35% of total loans, with family members accounting for 26% of loans and commercial banks for just 10%. And the primary reason for borrowing is ill-health: 38% of loans (48% of the loans from moneylenders) are for health-related expenses.

Though BCs have increased savings for poor households, this increase is not primarily held in savings accounts. There is also evidence that BCs better serve households who reside in the larger villages of the Gram Panchayats, and that coverage increases with village size.

NATIONAL POLITY

Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act,

1997

The President rejected an amendment by the Delhi government to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997, which sought to make the position of Parliamentary Secretary in the Delhi Assembly exempt from the definition of “Office of Profit”.

Twenty-one Aam Aadmi Party MLAs had been appointed Parliamentary Secretaries on March 13, 2015.

Now that the President has rejected the Bill, the 21 AAP MLAs can potentially be disqualified should the Election Commission of India so decide.

What is a parliamentary secretary

A parliamentary secretary works as a Minister of State or a junior minister in the department assigned.

Office of parliamentary secretary is defined as an ‘office of profit if one looks at the statutes of Delhi’ and that as per the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, the city can have only one parliamentary secretary attached to the office of the chief minister.

AAP argues that the post of parliamentary secretary is not an office of profit simply because the MLAs do not receive any financial benefit and are not entitled to any perks.

While constitutional observers says that there is no merit to AAP’s argument, noting, “For constituting office of profit, it is not necessary that pecuniary benefit should be derived from it.”

Constitutional Provisions

Under Article 102(1)(a) and Article 191(1)(a) of the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of Parliament or of a Legislative Assembly/Council if he holds an “Office of Profit” under the central or any state government, other than an office declared not to disqualify its holder by a law passed by the Parliament or state legislature. The Delhi MLA (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 did not include the post of Parliamentary Secretary as an “exempted post”.

Previous cases:

A Telangana government order appointing Parliamentary Secretaries was stuck down in 2015 by the High Court in Hyderabad.

In 2009, such appointments were held unconstitutional in Goa, and in 2005 in Himachal Pradesh

Way Ahead

The President’s decision cannot be challenged in any court as it is his executive power under the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court cannot interfere. However, any decision taken by the ECI can be challenged before the Delhi High court by the aggrieved party. This means that the AAP can approach the court if the EC decides to disqualify the MLAs.

Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016

The Union Ministry of Water Resources released the Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016

The proposed Act provides an overarching national legal framework with principles for protection, conservation, regulation and management of water as a vital and stressed natural resource.

Since ‘water’ is in the State list of the Constitution, the Act will be applicable only after approval of the concerned State legislature.

Highlights of Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016

Every person has a right to sufficient quantity of safe water for life within easy reach of the household. The right shall be provided regardless of, among others, caste, creed, religion, community, class, gender, age, disability, economic status, land ownership and place of residence.

The state at all levels holds water in public trust for the people and is obliged to protect water as a trustee for the benefit of all.

The appropriate government shall strive towards rejuvenating river systems with community participation, ensuring Aviral Dhara - continuous flow in time and space including maintenance of connectivity of flow in eachriver system, Nirmal Dhara- unpolluted flow so that the quality of river waters is not adversely affected by human activities and Swachh Kinara – clean and aesthetic river banks.

There shall be minimum interference in existing natural river flows; in the natural state of water bodies and wetlands and in floodplains and riverbeds, which shall be recognised as integral parts of the rivers themselves.

People-centred decentralised water management, for both surface and ground water, including local rainwater harvesting, watershed development and participatory irrigation management, shall be prioritised, while recognizing, encouraging and empowering local initiatives.

The appropriate Government shall evolve and implement economic models that promote sustainability of recycle-reduce-and-reuse of water resources, while ensuring adherence to principles of equity.

There shall be binding national water quality standards for every kind of water use. And, there shall be binding national water footprint standards for every activity or product.

The first priority and charge on water shall be meeting the right to water for life, followed by allocation for achieving food security, supporting sustenance agriculture, sustainable livelihoods and eco-system needs.

Integrated River Basin Development and Management

The appropriate Government shall prepare and oversee the implementation of a Water Security Plan for (a) attainment of sufficient quantity of safe water for life and sustainable livelihoods by every person; and (b) ensuring water security even in times of emergencies like droughts and floods.

The plan shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date on which it becomes binding. It shall be revalidated or amended after every 5 years.

Groundwater shall be conserved, protected, regulated and managed through appropriate laws based on the Model Bill for the Conservation, Protection, Regulation and Management of Groundwater, 2016.

The Central Government shall develop a Decision Support System (DSS) for flood forecasting and flood inundation under the National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC)

Each State Government shall prepare a Drought Mitigation and Management Policy and Action Plan within 6 months of coming into force of this Act.

The pricing of water shall be based on a differential pricing system in recognition of the right to water for life and its multiple roles, being a part of history, culture and religion.

Appropriate institutional arrangements shall be established at all levels within the State and beyond up to an inter-State river-basin, to obviate and/or resolve emerging inter-State river-water disputes.

Analysis;

India is the world’s biggest user of ground water, both in terms of quantity and number of users.

India still does not have an idea of its current ground water storage capacity because we have not invested time or resources in mapping ground water sources. More than 85 per cent of rural water supply, about 55 per cent urban and about 60 per cent industrial water supply comes from our ground water sources. 30 per cent of all ground water units in India now come under the “over exploited” category.

The failure to upgrade water storage capacity can be traced back to inadequate policy attention towards de-silting dams, tanks and canals, and also on repair and maintenance to plug leaks along the way..

India has already reached the state of being a water stressed nation. The vagaries of monsoon further add to our woes. Moreover, unless people themselves are available about the real time crisis that we face today, things will not change as we so desire.

A 2015 study by the International Monetary Fund concluded that water subsidies provided through public utilities amounted to 0.6% of global gross domestic product in 2012 and are “also inequitable, disproportionately benefiting upper-income groups”. With 18% of the world population, India has only 4% of the world’s renewable water resources. So, this further strengthens the need for a water pricing system.

Draft Bill on passive euthanasia

The Union Health Ministry has drafted and put up ‘The Medical Treatment of Terminally Ill Patients (Protection of Patients and Medical Practitioners) Bill’ in the public domain for consultation. This bill deals with only passive euthanasia.

Passive euthanasia entails withholding of common treatments in terminally ill patients such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life, while active euthanasia involves the use of lethal substances or forces, such as injections to kill, and is the most controversial.

Highlights of the bill

Every competent patient, including minors aged above 16 years, has a right to take a decision and express the desire to the medical practitioner attending on her or him.

When a patient communicates her or his decision to the medical practitioner, such decision is binding on the medical practitioner. However, it also notes that the medical practitioner must be “satisfied” that the patient is “competent” and that the decision has been taken on free will.

There will be a panel of medical experts to decide on case by case basis.

The medical practitioner has to maintain all details of the patient and ensure he/she takes an informed decision. He is also required to inform the patient whether it would be best to withdraw or continue treatment. If the patient is not in a conscious state, he/she needs to inform family members. In the absence of family members, the medical practitioner needs to inform a person who is a regular visitor.

In case any patient is not competent enough to take a decision then his or her next of kin, including spouse, parents or sibling, can approach the High Court, which will have to take a decision within a period of one month.

This bill only include legalizing of passive euthanasia only.

The Medical Council of India has been given the authority to formulate guidelines from time to time for the guidance of medical practitioners and might review and modify the guidelines periodically.

Analysis:

Medical expert opines that the person afflicted with a terminal disease has reached a point of no return, then he should be given the right to refuse being put on life support as it would only prolong the agony.

Moreover, if a life is not functional, it is not worth continuing. How long you can actively keep intervening to prolong a life is the question. There should be a point where we should be able to stop intervening

However, Euthanasia is difficult to regulate and laws allowing it can be vulnerable to malicious intent. At the very least, moral pressure could be exerted on the terminally ill to choose this option.

Relatives, medical personnel and the like can apply to the relevant high court for “witholding or withdrawing medical treatment of a competent patient who has not taken an informed decision”. This is dangerous.

Also in this bill, there is no complete clarity on the concept of a living will. A living will is defined as "a document in which a person states his/her desire to have or not to have extraordinary life-prolonging measures used when recovery is not possible from his/her terminal condition''. But paragraph 11 of the draft bill said that any "advance medical directive (living will) or medical power of attorney executed by the person shall be void and of no effect and shall not be binding on any medical practitioner''.

The Bill creates an irrational distinction between patients who are competent at the time at which a decision has to be made about refusing or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, and those who are incompetent at such time, even though they might have expressed their decision earlier in the form of an advance directive. Clause 3 of the Bill states that the decision of the former category of patients to refuse such treatment is binding on their medical practitioners. The time at which the decision was made to refuse or request the withdrawal of treatment cannot be a rationale for distinguishing between these categories of patients, so long as such decisions were taken freely, fully informed, and not altered fundamentally since. Apart from being an infringement of the right to life under Article 21, the classification stands the risk of being struck down as unreasonable and therefore a violation of the right to equality under Article 14.

The choice of the High Court as a forum to obtain permission for the withdrawal of treatment from incompetent patients imposes an unrealistic burden on medical practitioners as well as relatives and does not take into account the fact that High Courts are unlikely to be able to deliver swift judgment in such cases

Central Port Authorities Draft Bill 2016

The Ministry of Shipping has prepared a draft bill The Central Port Authorities Act 2016 to replace the Major Port Trust Act, 1963 and Indian port act, 1908. The step is aimed at giving more autonomy and flexibility to the Major Ports and to bring in a professional approach in their governance.

India with a coastline of around 7,517 km has 12 major ports—Chennai, Cochin, Jawaharlal Nehru port, Kandla, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar, Kamarajar and Visakhapatnam.

The salient features of the new Bill are:

Composition of board has been simplified. The board will consist of 9 members including 3 to 4 independent members instead of 17-19 under the Port Trust Model. Provisions has been made for inclusion of 3 functional heads of Major Port as Members in the Board apart from a Government Nominee Member and a Labour Nominee Member.

The disqualification of the appointment of the Members of the Board, duties of the Members and provision of the meetings of the Board through video conferencing and other visual means have been introduced on the lines of Companies Act, 2013.

Port related and non-port related use of land has been defined. A distinction has been made between these two usages in terms of approval of leases. The Port Authorities are empowered to lease land for Port related use for upto 40 years and for non-port related use upto 20 years beyond which the approval of the Central Government is required.

The need for Government approvals for raising loans, appointment of consultants , execution of contracts and creation of service posts have been dispensed with. The Board of Port Authority have been delegated power to raise loans and issue security for the purpose of capital expenditure and working capital requirement.

The provision for maintenance of books of account and financial statements in accordance with the accounting standards notified under the Companies Act, 2013 or as prescribed by Central Government has been provided.

Concept of internal audit of the functions and activities of the Central Ports has been introduced on the lines of Companies Act, 2015

The Board of the Port Authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for service and assets. The regulation to tariff by TAMP has been removed.

An independent Review Board has been proposed to be created to carry out the residual function of the erstwhile TAMP for Major Ports, to look into disputes between ports and PPP concessionaries, to review stressed PPP projects and suggest measures to review stressed PPP projects and suggest measures to revive such projects and to look into complaints regarding services rendered by the ports/private operators operating within the ports would be constituted. At present, there is no independent body to look into the above aspects and the Review Board will reduce the extent of litigation between PPP Operators and Ports. (Section 59)

Power of Central Govt. to take over the control of the Port Authority is limited to the event of grave emergency or in case of persistent default by Port Authority in performance of their duties.

Provisions of CSR & development of infrastructure by Port Authority have been introduced.

The status of Port Authority will be deemed as ‘local authority’ under the provisions of the General Clauses Act, 1887 & other applicable Statutes so that it could prepare appropriate regulations in respect of the area within the port limits to the exclusion of any Central, State of local laws.

Rise in Road accidents in India

Road Safety in India 2015 report by Ministry of Road transport and Highway says In 2015, 400 people lost their lives every day on India’s roads and acknowledged an escalation in road accidents and casualties. And If we talk about globally, India is second only to China for road fatalities.

1,46,133 people were killed in road accidents in India in 2015, a 4.6% rise over 2014 when 1,39,671 people were killed.

Two-wheelers contribute largely to the fatality rate, and serve as the first challenge.

Highest number of road accidents in 2015 are Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. These states contribute 29.66% to the total number of accidents recorded nationwide.

However, India signed on Brasilia Declaration to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50% by 2020.

Reason given by the ministry are:

Engineering defects in road projects

Unprofessional process of issuing driving licences, it is clearly evident in the findings that driver error accounts for over three out of four accidents.

Corruption is the single biggest contributor.

Compromised Engineering quality.

This is a public health emergency that requires immediate action. Which includes:

Zero tolerance enforcement like use of helmets and wearing seat belts.

Analysis

India does not have a scientific accident investigation agency. Which India needs desperately because police always blame driver for the accident but they does not see a composite factors for the accidents like bad road design and infrastructure.

Proposed National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board will only be an advisory body, which many believe that it will not be competent to change the current scenario.

There is virtual monopoly held by automotive companies on the sale of spares and servicing of vehicles, Which is affecting quality of maintenance. Centre government should act to end this vicious cycle.

All this actions required is not just owed to government but to non government organisations too.

Research suggests there will be an annual rise in fatalities until 2042, before a decline sets in.

Government frames new policy for ads in print media

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has framed a New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP) with the objective to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements in print media.

The policy focuses on streamlining release of Government advertisements and to also promote equity and fairness among various categories of newspapers/periodicals.

Highlights of the policy:

Policy introduces a new marking system to incentivise newspapers which have a better professional standing and get their circulation verified by Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) or Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI). The marking system is based on six objective criteria. The six parameters include circulation certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) or the Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI) (25 marks), employee provident fund subscription (20), number of pages (20), subscription to news services of PTI, UNI or Hindustan Samachar (15).

Other criteria include a paper having its own printing press (10) and annual subscriptions to the Press Council of India (10).

Advertisements shall be released by DAVP to newspapers based on marks obtained by the publication.

This policy includes circulation verification for empanelment of newspapers and journals with DAVP. It involves certification by RNI or ABC if circulation exceeds 45,000 copies per publishing day and for circulation

up to 45,000 copies per publishing day certificate from cost or chartered accountant, statutory auditor certificate or ABC is mandated.

The policy also says that RNI circulation certificate will be valid for a period of two years from the date of issue and in case of ABC, the current certificate will be used.

The policy allows relaxations to encourage publications in regional languages, small and medium newspapers, mass circulated newspapers (over 1 lakh), papers in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

To promote regional equity, the budget for all India release of ads shall be divided among states based on circulation of newspapers in each state or language.

INTETRNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India, U.S. to ratify Paris deal by 2017

India and the U.S have agreed to initiate domestic processes to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change — negotiated by over 190 countries in December 2015 — and complete the process within this year.

The Paris Agreement on climate change is a milestone in global climate cooperation. It is meant to enhance the implementation of the Convention and recognizes the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.

Highlights of Paris Pact:

Despite the strong objection by developed countries, the UNFCCC principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities incorporated into the Paris Agreement to provide developing countries a cushion.

The agreement binds together pledges by individual nations to cut or limit emissions from fossil-fuel burning, within a framework of rules that provide for monitoring and verification as well as financial and technical assistance for developing countries

The main goal is to bring down pollution levels so that the rise in global temperatures is limited to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages.

This agreement also expressed an ambition to restrict the temperature increase even further, to 1.5 degrees C, if possible.

The deal also requires developed nations to continue to provide funding to help poorer countries cut their carbon emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change – but does not set a legally binding level of money.

This non-binding agreement requires developed countries to continue a goal of “mobilizing” $100 billion of public and private finance for developing countries each year after 2020. It also calls on them to pledge a higher sum by 2025.

Financing had been a stumbling block throughout the talks. Developing nations had demanded legally binding commitments for developed nations to give more cash. Earlier drafts had proposed such a deal but this was scrapped after the US made clear it would never ratify such an agreement.

In 2018, nations will hold a “facilitative conference” to revisit some of the emissions reductions ideas. If it is ratified by more than 55 percent of nations or nations that cause 55 percent of global emissions, Paris will enter into force two years later, in 2020.

Then, in 2023, the world will meet again for a “global stock take,” where countries are supposed to announce new and improved emission-reduction plans. Rich countries may also announce more monetary help for poor ones at these events. And every five years after that, indefinitely, the world will meet again to discuss its renewed plans to decarbonizes.

These are the two milestones in the international climate agenda: 2018 and 2023. In between now and then, the economic trends of investment and divestment and fossil-fuel burning and solar printing will churn and fluctuate, but the international community will observe them most at those two sessions.

Modi's Visit to USA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington on his fourth visit to the USA in the last two years since taking office from 06 June to 08 June 2016.

He met President Obama for the seventh time during this period.

Highlights of visit

Advancing US-India Global Leadership on Clean Energy

India's ratification of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, have laid a strong foundation for a long-term partnership between US and Indian companies for building nuclear power plants in India.

Climate Change

The United States and India share common climate and clean energy interests and are close partners in the fight against climate change. Both countries are committed to working together and with others to promote full implementation of the Paris Agreement to address the urgent threats posed by climate change.

Clean Energy Finance

The United States supports the Government of India's ambitious national goals to install 175 GW of renewable power which includes 100 GW from solar power.

Strengthening Global Non-proliferation

The United States and India will work together to combat the threat of terrorists accessing and using chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological materials.

Standing Together Against Terrorism and Violent Extremism

Bolstering Economic and Trade Ties

There is strong and expanding economic relationship between the United States and India and committed to support sustainable, inclusive, and robust economic growth, and common efforts to stimulate consumer demand, job creation, skill development and innovation in their respective countries.

Expanding Cooperation: Science & Technology and Health

Both countries affirmed their nations' mutual support in exploring the most fundamental principles of science as embodied in the arrangement reached to cooperate on building a Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India in the near future and welcomed the formation of the India-US Joint Oversight Group to facilitate agency coordination of funding and oversight of the project

Building People-to-People Ties

Both sides committed to open additional consulates in each other's country. India will be opening a new consulate in Seattle and the United States will open a new consulate at a mutually agreed location in India.

Defence cooperation

However, India’s designation by the U.S. as a ‘major defence partner’ is not by itself likely to translate into any meaningful engagement because exports of sensitive technologies will continue to be dictated by U.S. law

Cyber issues

India has extracted a number of significant commitments, including U.S. support to tackle cybercrime that “emanates from its territory”. The U.S. has agreed to “strengthen” critical information infrastructure in India, which can be interpreted as a promise to host a “root server” within the country.

UN adopts action plan to end AIDS by 2030

United Nations has adopted a political declaration that stresses the need to help intravenous drug users, sex workers, gay men and transgender people as well as prisoners who are at high risk of contracting HIV in a bid to end the global AIDS pandemic by 2030.

Although the HIV epidemic has been on the decline over the past decade, there is still an estimated 36.7 million people around the world still living with HIV/AIDS, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

The UNGA meeting brings together heads of state and government, people living with HIV (PLHIVs), and donor organisations, to reiterate their commitments made in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and to set the world on course to end the epidemic by 2030 within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

India's Five point strategy:

India proposed a five-point strategy — the ‘global family’ — to end AIDS. The five point strategy includes adoption of the fast-track target; reaching 90 per cent of all people in need with HIV treatment; commitment to maintain the TRIPS flexibilities; creating an inclusive society with programmes that work towards restoring the respect and dignity of individuals, and lastly, global solidarity.

Analysis:

The world has achieved Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 — which was to halt and reverse the AIDS epidemic by 2015.

However there should be more stress on the action taken now that could avert an estimated 17.6 million new infections and 11 million premature deaths between 2016 and 2030.

There should be radical change within the next five years, if we are to achieve that goal. this requires commitment at every level: from the global health infrastructure, to all Member States, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations, to the United Nations Security Council that has dealt with AIDS as a humanitarian issue and a threat to human and national security.

India is proud of being one of the leading partners in the global fight against AIDS epidemic. Decline in HIV/AIDS cases would not have been possible without access to affordable medicines. The low cost generic medicines produced by the Indian pharmaceutical industry have been instrumental in scaling up access to HIV treatment not only in India but in other parts of the world. More than 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs, used globally, are supplied by the Indian pharmaceutical industry

Visit of Prime Minister to Switzerland

Indian Prime minister has visited Switzerland during his five nation visit.

Highlights:

Switzerland supported India’s application for membership of the nuclear suppliers group (NSG) that effectively oversees all trade of nuclear materials and parts, and transfer of technology, for civilian use of nuclear energy.

Switzerland also agreed to the “expeditious” and “automatic” exchange of information of money held illegally in Swiss banks through tax fraud and tax evasion by Indian nationals.

The automatic sharing of information concerning tax evasion and tax fraud, including the illegal accounts, will come into force in 2018

Switzerland also ready to cooperate on fiscal and tax-related issues through an enhanced framework to tackle illegal funds

Apart from NSG membership and black money, both countries broke new ground on several issues, including the immediate restart of stalled free trade agreement negotiations between the two countries, enhanced dialogue on issues raised by the Swiss pharmaceutical companies on intellectual property rights in India,

cooperation in the area of skill development, and working together in the areas of solar and renewable energy

India’s readiness to resume free trade agreement negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).

Both countries agreed to support each other for our respective bids for the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council

Analysis:

The support of Switzerland, itself a member of the NSG, is important to India’s nuclear journey. A pariah after the 1974 and 1998 nuclear bomb tests, India’s re-entry into the global nuclear regime was facilitated by the 123 Agreement between it and the US.

Switzerland’s support for India’s admission to the nuclear club is an important breakthrough after Berne acknowledged India’s positive contribution to ensuring that there is no proliferation of nuclear materials and weapons.

The FTA negotiations between India and the four EFTA countries went into cold storage in 2013 after India refused to agree to higher standards for intellectual property protection. The FTA negotiations between India and the EFTA countries are not just about the market access for tomorrow but to create stable conditions for the business community who want to be active in the Indian market

India joins Missile Technology Control Regime(MTCR)

India has become the 35th member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

This breakthrough comes days after India announced that it is subscribing to ‘The Hague Code of Conduct’ against ballistic missile proliferation, which is considered to be complementary to the missile technology control regime (MTCR).

India, had applied for its membership last year. A deadline for the members of the group to object to India’s admission had expired recently. Under this so-called ‘silent procedure’, India’s admission follows automatically.

About MTCR:

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal political understanding among states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology.

The regime was formed in 1987 by the G-7 industrialized countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States).

Members countries other than India: Argentina (1993); Australia (1990); Austria (1991); Belgium (1990); Brazil (1995); Bulgaria (2004); Canada (1987); Czech Republic (1998); Denmark (1990); Finland (1991); France (1987); Germany (1987); Greece 1992); Hungary (1993); Iceland (1993); Ireland (1992); Italy (1987); Japan (1987); Luxemburg (1990); Netherlands (1990); New Zealand (1991); Norway (1990); Poland (1998); Portugal (1992); Republic of Korea (2001); Russian Federation (1995); South Africa (1995); Spain (1990); Sweden (1991); Switzerland (1992); Turkey (1997); Ukraine (1998); United Kingdom (1987); United States of America (1987).

The MTCR is not a treaty and does not impose any legally binding obligations on members. Rather, it is an informal political understanding among states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology.

Main objective: The MTCR seeks to limit the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by controlling exports of goods and technologies that could make a contribution to delivery systems (other than manned aircraft) for such weapons. In this context, the Regime places particular focus on rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kg to a range of at least 300 km and on equipment, software, and technology for such systems.

Analysis:

India’s entry into the MTCR is a step closer to its Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership.

The entry into this group will shape the future of India’s engagement with not just the MTCR but also the broader global non-proliferation community.

Admission to the MTCR would open the way for India to buy high-end missile technology.

This membership will ease the way for India to export its supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, co-developed with Russia.

After MTCR's announcement, India and the US are expected to fast-track their discussion on sale of predator series of unmanned aircraft for the Indian military. The Predator drone, which recently eliminated the Taliban leader in Afghanistan, is the preferred tool of the CIA. Membership into MTCR is a huge boost for India's ability to procure this capability.

India’s accession will be seen as strengthening its own export controls, therefore lessening those risks and making it easier for other MTCR members to justify transferring sensitive technology to India.

Prime Minister Visit to Mexico

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mexico as the final leg of his five-nation tour . He hold talks with Mexican President Enrique Pe a Nieto on key bilateral issues. Mexico backed India's NSG bid during the Indian PM's visit.

Highlights:

Growth of bilateral relations in economic field, science and technology and global issues dominate the this visit.

There is detailed exchange of views on regional issues of mutual interest, including the political and economic developments in Latin America, CELAC and the Pacific Alliance, as well as the current situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Promoting the investment and the use of solar energy. Also, two sides agreed to explore ways and means to boost objectives of the international solar alliance.

Opportunities offered by the convergence between the National Digital Strategy of Mexico and the Digital India Initiative.

Collaboration in space science, earth observation, climate and environmental studies, and the efficient use of space-related resources available in India as well as in Mexico for remote sensing, advance warning for disaster prevention and launch of satellites between the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) and the Indian Space Research Organisation

Analysis:

Both countries are large emerging economies, with similar socio-economic development priorities and constraints, and have democratic, secular, and pluralistic systems, as well as convergent worldviews.

Both are at somewhat comparable levels of economic and technological development, and are members of the important G-20, even if Mexico graduated from G-77 to joining OECD in 1994, and also joined NAFTA in 1995.

Mexico was the first Latin American country to recognise India after her independence, and both established diplomatic relations in 1950. Mexican wheat variety Sonora was instrumental in India’s Green Revolution

Within Asia, India is the largest importer of crude oil from Mexico. India’s major exports to Mexico include pharmaceutical products and automobile parts.

In 2015, India was Mexico’s 12th largest trading partner worldwide and its 6th largest in Asia-Pacific. Bilateral trade grew 288.7% between 2005 and 2015, from $1.519 billion USD to $5.908 billion USD.

India is the 8th largest investor in Mexico of Asia-Pacific countries and the 42nd largest worldwide

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Maltitol

A team of scientists from Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has come up with a new bone reconstruction method similar to sutures.

For this, they are using maltitol which is derived from maltose, a sweetening agent found in most sugar-free foods such as ice-creams.

So far, there were only two options for injuries to bones: a cast for minor fractures, and implants like metal rods for more serious injuries.

About the new method:

Maltitol is combined with other components to make long chain-like structures that become plastic. This is then used to fill in the bone gap caused by fracture, instead of the traditional rod. Also, since the maltitol reacts to water and as the body is primarily made of water, the bonds start breaking slowly, over a course of time. The molecules are soluble in water, and they eventually come out. Once the bone grows back, the structure simply disintegrates.

This material would be a huge advantage over existing ones, such as metal rods, which do not allow growth of the bone.

The advantage of using maltitol to make the scaffold is that drugs can then be injected into it to hasten healing. The other benefit of using maltitol is fewer side-effects.

About Maltitol:

Maltitol is a disaccharide produced by hydrogenation of maltose obtained from starch.

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol (a polyol) used as a sugar substitute. It has 75–90% of the sweetness of sucrose (table sugar) and nearly identical properties, except for browning. It is used to replace table sugar because it is half as caloric, does not promote tooth decay, and has a somewhat lesser effect on blood glucose.

While maltitol does have some advantages over table sugar, such as a lower caloric value and glycemic index, it is not completely safe to consume in large amounts. Consumption of maltitol is associated with a variety of digestive disturbances.

It is used in commercial products under trade names such as Lesys, Maltisweet and SweetPearl.

Nilgai declared as Vermin

The environment ministry has declared Nilgai as vermin in state of Bihar.

By declaring any animal as vermin will allow state authorities to carry out an extermination of nilgai on a large scale without attracting penal provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

This exercise of the powers conferred by section 62 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Bihar government had asked the Centre to allow professional shooters accredited by the Centre to kill nilgai because acres of crops were being destroyed in areas where they exist in large numbers and regularly stray onto farms growing crops like wheat and pulses.

Legal provisions

Section 11(1)a of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) authorizes chief wildlife warden to permit hunting of any problem wild animal only if it cannot be captured, tranquillized or translocated.

For wild animals in Schedule II, III or IV, chief wildlife warden or authorized officers can permit their hunting in a specified area if they have become dangerous to humans or property (including standing crops on any land).

Section 62 of Act empowers Centre to declare wild animals other than Schedule I & II to be vermin for specified area and period.

About Nilgai:

Nilgai, also called bluebuck, the largest Asian antelope (family Bovidae). The nilgai is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.

It is the only one of the four Indian antelopes that is still abundant.

It is the largest of all Asian antelopes and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals in all of India.

The nilgai is categorised as Least Concern by the IUCN.

As for habitat, the large antelope prefer to live in grasslands and woodlands, avoiding dense forests in favor of plains and low hills covered in shrubs.

Most of the world's nilgai can be found in India, anywhere from the area around the base of the Himalayas, from Pakistan to the Bay of Bengal.

Analysis:

The killing of wildlife causes tremendous suffering and opens the door to the illegal wildlife trade, but does nothing toward providing genuine long-term help for farmers or others facing conflict.

Shooting animals fails to address the root cause of the matter, which is forests being torn down, and humans encroaching into animals’ homes, leaving animals with almost nowhere but human habitats to go and to venture into in search of food, and because when some wildlife are killed, other animals quickly fill the void left behind

It is the duty of every Indian citizen under Article 51A (G) of our nation’s constitution to protect wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. To save our tigers and other wildlife before it’s too late, town and project planning must include forest protection, and solutions must be found to conflict by engaging with farmers, animal protection experts and scientists in implementing humane, real solutions such as adequate fencing, noisemakers, and repelling animals naturally from farms through the use of chili plants or other such means. In Africa, for example, the planting of chili plants around crops was found to be successful in addressing conflict with elephants.

In contrast, when animals are hunted, some will be shot several times causing tremendous pain, but many others escape with one gunshot or flesh wound, and die later slowly and in unimaginable agony from blood loss, gangrene, starvation or dehydration.

Renewable energy

The renewable energy sector in the country has for the first time surpassed hydro power generation.

The total capacity of renewable energy projects expanded to 42,850 megawatts, overtaking hydropower that stood at 42,783 mw, out of the country's total capacity of about 3 lakh mw on April 30, as per the latest assement of Central Electricity Authority.

The renewable energy investments in solar and wind have benefited from a strong central policy and several years of early-stage private sector investment, respectively.

The government has ambitious plans for deployment of 175 GW renewable power capacities by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind, which may require investment of around $150 billion in the next seven years.

The total capacity of the thermal sector stood at 2,11,420.40 MW.

In international climate talks, the government had stated that India will achieve 40% cumulative electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and lowcost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund.

India is on track to becoming one of the world's largest producers of green energy and will surpass many developed countries in this endeavour.

Why there is fall in hydroelectricity

Hydro power suffered from multiple challenges, including non-availability of long-term financing; the cost imposed by royalty power to be offered free to the state government; and limited opportunities for the private sector.

Hydropower capacity has increased only marginally — from 40,531.41 mw in March 2014 to 41,267.42 mw in March 2015, to 42,783.43 mw at present.

The states with major potential for big dams at present are Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. But the Supreme Court stopped construction of 23 out of 24 new hydro projects in Uttarakhand whilewhile numerous legal and civil objections hindered projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

There is a perception that hydropower is neither environmentally friendly nor economically viable

India has good hydropower potential, but submersion is a big issue. Hydropower has become an activists' target. Benefits have to be weighed against negative aspects.

Hydropower's share has declined steeply from the mid-1960s, when it was over 45%. That was the time when energy experts shared the Nehruvian view that large dams were "the temples of modern India". By 2005, hydropower's share of the energy mix had dropped to 26%.

Only large dams are classified under hydropower. Small dams, with capacities up to 25 mw, come under the ambit of renewable energy. Small hydro capacity increased from 4025 mw at the end of March 2015 to 4273.47 mw at present. There is a proposal to increase the small dam size limit from 25 mw to 100 mw to encourage their growth, since that will make them eligible for tax benefits.

Globally, too, dam-building has suffered because of its ecological ramifications, especially after the World Commission on Dams, headed by Nelson Mandela, in its 2000 report, said large dams have not provided the benefits that were expected while their negative impact has been greater than imagined.

CO2 turned into stone

Researchers have developed a way to capture and store carbon dioxide by turning it into stone. This technique could provide a safer, faster way to sequester CO2 and limit global warming.

Till now carbon capture and sequester, or CCS, was seen as a potentially significant way to combat climate change. The idea is that storing CO2 emissions underground would prevent the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere. Most experiments involve pumping CO2 into sandstone or deep aquifers, though there are concerns that the gas could eventually escape and reenter the atmosphere — whether through human error or seismic activity.

Process:

Experiment of converting Co2 into stone is called Carbfix. In this experiment, Co2 was injected into a deep well in Iceland.

As a volcanic island, Iceland is made up of 90 per cent basalt, a rock rich in elements such as calcium, magnesium and iron that are required for carbon mineralisation. The CO2 is dissolved in water and carried down the well. On contact with the target storage rocks, at 400-800 metres under the ground, the solution quickly reacts with the surrounding basaltic rock, forming carbonate minerals.

Carbonate minerals do not leak out of the ground, thus this method results in permanent and environmentally friendly storage of CO2 emission

Analysis

One of the methods to battle climate change, in addition to reducing fossil fuel emissions, is to capture carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into rock. This new method might be a new hope for an effective weapon to help fight man-made global warming.

Carbon capture, however, can be expensive – especially the capturing part. Once the gas is grabbed from the air storing it is another issue.

It can be stored underground and is sometimes injected to depleted oil wells, but there are concerns about monitoring it and preventing it from escaping.

It’s not yet clear whether this approach could be viable on a large scale. The process requires a significant amount of water — 25 tons for every ton of CO2 — and some question whether it could be easily applied to

other parts of the world.

Nature of rocks in Iceland is different than that of rocks in north sea. Unlike basalt, these rocks lack the minerals needed to convert CO2 into stone. Such sedimentary reservoirs could potentially leak and therefore have to be monitored, which adds to costs.

4 New Elements Are Added To The Periodic Table

Names for four new elements, formerly known by their respective atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118, have been proposed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

The proposed names are

113- Nihonium (Nh): Nihon is one way to say the country’s name in Japanese. This is first to be discovered by Asian country

114 - Moscovium (Mc) - After Moscow in Russia

115- Tennessine (Ts) - After Tennessine state in USA

116- Oganesson (Og)- The name honors Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian

More about these elements

These four elements were added to the periodic table in December , 2015 which completed the Periodic table’s seventh row.

The elements, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and America, are the first to be added to the table since 2011, when elements 114 and 116 were added.

Element 113 is the first to be discovered in east Asia. It was created by Kosuke Morita’s group at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Science in Japan, by firing a beam of zinc-70 at a target made of bismuth-209.

Elements 115 and 117 were discovered by groups collaborating across three institutions – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US.

The Lawrence Livermore-Joint Institute for Nuclear Research collaboration is also credited with having fulfilled the criteria for discovering element 118 ..

The four new elements, all of which are synthetic, were discovered by slamming lighter ­nuclei into each other and tracking the following decay of the radioactive superheavy elements.

The four were verified by the US-based International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the global organisation that governs chemical nomenclature, terminology and measurement.

The discoverers of the elements were invited to propose the names. IUPAC provided the discoverers with guidelines to assist them in creating the names. These names keep with the longstanding tradition of being named after a mythological concept or character (including an astronomical object), a mineral or similar substance, a place or geographical region, a property of the element or a scientist. Also, they must end in “-ium,” “-ine,” or “-on” depending on the grouping of elements they belong to. IUPAC also prefers the names translate easily across major languages.

About IUPAC:

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU).

Headquarter: Zürich, Switzerland.

The IUPAC was established in 1919 as the successor of the International Congress of Applied Chemistry for the advancement of chemistry.

Its members, the National Adhering Organizations, can be national chemistry societies, national academies of sciences, or other bodies representing chemists.

There are fifty-four National Adhering Organizations and three Associate National Adhering Organizations.

The IUPAC’s Inter-divisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols (IUPAC nomenclature) is the recognized world authority in developing standards for the naming of the chemical elements and compounds.

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