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Current affairs (26) RICE-IAS ACADEMY

29.04.2017-06.05.2017

The Eastern Peripheral Expressway for decongesting Delhi likely to be completed by August 2017 The Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari did an aerial survey of the ongoing construction work of the 135 km long Eastern Peripheral Expressway that runs from Kondli – Ghaziabad- Palwal Key facts:

The Peripheral Expressway Project comprises two expressways - Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) and Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) connecting NH-1 and NH-2 from Western and Eastern side of Delhi.

The EPE and WPE constitute one combined project forming a Ring Road around Delhi with a total length of 270 km.

About 183 km length passes through the State of Haryana whereas the remaining about 87 km length passes through the State of Uttar Pradesh.

The Expressway is planned to be equipped with the latest, world class smart technology and road safety features like intelligent highway traffic management system, video incident detection system and a closed tolling system where the toll will be charged on the distance travelled

The EPE will be the country’s first Green Highway, with landscaping, plantation with nearly 2.5 lakh trees and fully lit by solar energy. There will also be facilities for rainwater harvesting at short distances.

The Highway will also have roadside amenities like petrol pumps, motels, restaurants Importance of EPE

The two expressways together will allow a by-pass traffic not only meant for Delhi but also for traffic headed towards the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir.

This will not only decongest Delhi but also cut down pollution by almost 50 percent. The Expressway will greatly benefit farmers, traders and the people of the NCR region and

neighbouring states of UP, Uttarakhand, as a whole by providing better road connectivity in the region.

The projects will give a major boost to the transport infrastructure of the region, making it speedier, more efficient and less polluting, which in turn, will give a boost to the economy as a whole.

The projects will create both direct and indirect jobs. The construction work of EPE has generated 40 lakh mandays of employment. 2100 engineers and 5200 workers are employed daily.

Foreground:

I. The Minister further said that an efficient and integrated transport system is necessary to bring down logistics cost and give a boost to the economy.

II. He informed that twelve expressways are also being constructed in other parts of the country, including Delhi- Meerut ,Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi–Ludhiana-Amritsar-Katra, Mumbai - Vadodara, Bangaluru-Chennai, Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Amravati, Hyderabad-Bangaluru, Nagpur – Hyderabad and Amravati Ring Road Expressway.

III. The Government is fast moving towards meeting its target of building 2 lakh km of National Highways. Starting from around 57000 km of NH we have reached a figure of 103933 km .

RERA: Developers can only advertise projects with CC, OC from May 1

Developers cannot advertise their under construction projects from May 1 2017, once the Real Estate (Regulation & development) Act (RERA) will come into force across the country from May 1, 2017

About RERA

RERA is a central act, it doesn’t need to be notified by states.

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It’s only the Ministry of HUPA which notifies the sections etc. However, the states are supposed to make their own rules and set up authorities and tribunals which will function at the state and district levels.

As of Thursday, April 27, 2017, 12 states had notified the rules, 18 were in an advanced stage of doing it.

Once it is notified on May 1, developers and agents have to conform to the provisions and register themselves with the RERA authority.

This is in line with Section 3 & 4 of the Act which mandates registration of projects by developers comes into effect from 1st May. These are discussed in more detail below.

Section 3 deals with Registration of real estate

(1) No promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, in any real estate project or part of it, in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established under this Act: Provided that projects that are ongoing on the date of commencement of this Act and for which the completion certificate has not been issued, the promoter shall make an application to the Authority for registration of the said project within a period of three months from the date of commencement of this Act: Provided further that if the Authority thinks necessary, in the interest of allottees, for projects which are developed beyond the planning area but with the requisite permission of the local authority, it may, by order, direct the promoter of such project to register with the Authority, and the provisions of this Ac Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder, shall apply to such projects from that stage of registration. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no registration of the real estate project shall be required— (a) where the area of land proposed to be developed does not exceed five hundred square meters or the number of apartments proposed to be developed does not exceed eight inclusive of all phases: Provided that, if the appropriate Government c considers it necessary, it may reduce the threshold below five hundred square meters or eight apartments, as the case may be, inclusive of all phases, for exemption from registration under this Act; (b) where the promoter has received a completion certificate for a real estate project prior to the commencement of this Act; (c) for the purpose of renovation or repair or re-development which does not involve marketing, advertising selling or new allotment of any apartment under the real estate project.

There are some important points to note here. 1) The developer has just 3 months to register the project with the RERA authority. 2) If the project is outside the planned area but is being built with the requisite permissions of the local authority, the promoter can be directed to register that project too, in the interest of the allottees. 3) Projects below 500 sq m or less than 8 units in one development need not register with RERA. 4) Units with Completion Certificate do not need to register 5) Renovation projects that are not being marketed or allotted afresh are exempted 6) Where a project is being developed in Phases, every phase would be considered a stand-alone real estate project Section 4 deals with registration by developers

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(1) Every promoter shall make an application to the Authority for registration of the real estate project in such form, manner, within such time and accompanied by such fee as may be specified by the regulations made by the Authority. (2) The promoter shall enclose the following documents along with the application referred to in sub-section (1), namely:— (a) Brief details of his enterprise including its name, registered address, type of enterprise (proprietorship, societies, partnership, companies, competent authority), a brief detail of the projects launched by him, in the past five years, whether already completed or being developed, as the case may be, including the current status of the said projects, any delay in its completion, details of cases pending, details of type of land and payments pending; Prior registration of real estate project with Real Estate Regulatory Authority. (c) an authenticated copy of the approvals and commencement certificate from the competent authority obtained in acc with the laws as may be applicable for the real estate project mentioned in the application, and where the project is proposed to be developed in phases, an authenticated copy of the approvals and commencement certificate from the competent authority for each of such phases; (d) the sanctioned plan, layout plan and specifications of the proposed project or the phase thereof, and the whole project as sanctioned by the competent authority; (e) the plan of development wor ks to be executed in the proposed project and the proposed facilities to be provided thereof including fire fighting facilities, drinking water facilities, emergency evacuation services, use of renewable energy; (f) the location details of the project, with clear demarcation of land dedicated for the project along with its boundaries including the latitude and longitude of the end points of the project; (g) proforma of the allotment letter, an agreement for sale, and th e conveyance deed proposed to be signed with the allottees; (h) the number, type and the carpet area of apartments for sale in the project along with the area of the exclusive balcony or verandah areas and the exclusive open terrace areas apartment with the apartment, if any; (i) the number and areas of a garage for sale in the project; (j) the names and addresses of his real estate agents, if any, for the proposed project; (k) the names and addresses of the contractors, architect, structural engineer, if any and other persons concerned with the development of the proposed project; (l) a declaration, supported by an affidavit, which shall be signed by the promoter or any person authorised by the promoter, stating:— (A) that he has a legal title to the land on which the development is propo sed along with legally valid documents with authentication of such title, if such land is owned by another person; (B) that the land is free from all encumbrances, or as the case may be details of the encumbrances on such land including any rights, title, interest or name of any party in or over such land along with details; (C) the time period within which he undertakes to complete the project or phase thereof, as the case may be; (D) that seventy per cent of the amounts realised for the real estate project from the allottees, from time to time, shall be deposited in a separate account to be maintained in a scheduled bank to cover the cost of construction and the land cost and shall be used only for that purpose

Flying to become paperless soon

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The Government is working on a DigiYatra plan to allow paperless travel for air passengers, including digital boarding passes at airports

Key facts:

The Centre is looking to make either Aadhaar or passport mandatory to book air tickets so that passengers needn’t carry a printout of the ticket or document proof while entering the airport.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad had started a pilot project in 2015 allowing passengers to enter Aadhaar number at kiosks set up at one of the entry gates

Similarly, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports had also shown interest in introducing biometric screening at airport entry gates.

New Delhi says go slow on visas for Pak nationals New Delhi is quietly moving ahead with curbs on visas for Pakistani nationals visiting India, with

artists, singers and actors likely to be the first group to be singled out for maximum visibility and impact

This is, possibly, the first retaliatory step from India in the wake of the death sentence handed out to former navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a secret Pakistani military court on charges of spying

India has maintained that Jadhav is an “innocent Indian kidnapped by Pakistan”. The government is toying with the idea of placing a blanket ban, too. It would be difficult to implement as there are many categories requiring humanitarian

intervention, including patients and students.

India to host SAARC seminar, Pak to get invite

At a time when India and Pakistan are locked in a tussle over death sentence awarded to former Navy official Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani military court, New Delhi has cleared a proposal to host a disaster management seminar for officials from Pakistan and other SAARC countries in Gandhinagar. The seminar is likely to be held in May.

About:

The SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), which was being run from Delhi since last year, was shifted to Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) in January after Pakistan said it has ‘no objection’ to moving the institute to Gujarat.

Other SAARC nations, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka had already given their nod

According to the Home Ministry’s proposal, GIDM will hold a module on ‘application of space technology and managing risks’ and ‘programme on short-range regional early warning system’.

While the lecture on space technology will be a three-day programme, the seminar on early warning will have experts and special invitees from SAARC countries and will be a two-week residential event that will host nearly two dozen participants.

Islamabad too was keen on having the SAARC Disaster Management Centre but a compromise was worked out during a SAARC meet last year where the Council agreed to set up SDMC in India and proposed to expand an existing centre in Pakistan that will look after the environmental issues.

Eyeing West Pacific, China launches first domestically-made aircraft carrier

China has launched its second aircraft carrier, marking an incremental rise in its capacity to project power in the West Pacific.

Key facts:

The aircraft carrier, called ‘Type 001-A’ before it acquires a formal name, was transferred from dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony

The new carrier, which is likely to christened Shandong, will supplement the Liaoning — China’s first aircraft carrier that was purchased from Ukraine, and commissioned in 2012

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The Type 001-A is expected to enter service of the People’s Liberation Army (Navy) or PLAN by 2020, following other time-consuming preparations such as the debugging of all on-board devises and sea trials.

The launch coincided with the start of the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by the United States onto a golf course in Seongju, South Korea, in stated response to the North Korean threat.

The new carrier will have a displacement of 50,000 tonnes, which means that the Type 001-A will be a mid-sized carrier, significantly smaller than the super-carriers operated by the United States, which are above 70,000 tonnes

ISRO to get 208 acres of HMT Watches land, Cabinet meeting approves

The government today approved the transfer of 208.35 acres land belonging to HMT Watches Limited at Bengaluru and Tumkur in Karnataka to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on payment of Rs 1,194.21 crore and applicable taxes and duties.

Key facts:

The proceeds will be deposited in government's accounts against loans and advances, after meeting the immediate liabilities and accounting for tax liabilities.

The sale will free productive resources and ensure better utilisation of scarce land resources in the larger public interest.

Kabul for talks with India, U.S.

Pushing for greater collaborative efforts to defeat terrorism in the region, Shaida Abdali, Afghanistan Ambassador in India, called for a ‘trilateral’ strategic dialogue between India, Afghanistan and the U.S

Key facts:

India has been training several hundreds of officers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) it its military academies.

At present, 300 officers are training in India There is a plan for a 50% increase in training very soon.” Kabul has also given a wish-list of military items which includes artillery guns, tanks and

ammunition among others.

Surgical strikes here to stay

India’s latest military doctrine has added surgical strikes, including across the border, among India’s possible responses to terrorist attacks.

Key facts:

The ‘joint doctrine Indian armed forces’ prepared by the Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff was released by Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Navy Chief in the South Block on Tuesday.

The first joint military doctrine was released in 2006. The response to terror provocations could be in the form of ‘surgical strikes’ and these would be

subsumed in the sub-conventional portion of the spectrum of armed conflict

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Importance:

The reclassification of surgical strikes, officials said, shows that they are not a one-off event any more but part of several options that would be considered. In the last two years, the Army had carried out surgical strikes across the border with Myanmar and Line of Control (LoC) Pakistan, targeting terrorist camps.

The doctrine will serve as a cornerstone document for application of military power in a synergised manner leading to enhanced efficiency, optimum utilisation of resources and financial savings

Doctrines are always works in progress and keep evolving from time to time

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit to India

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in New Delhi on Sunday on a two-day visit,

Here Is All You Need To Know

1. As there is a high security threat perception for President Erdogan, his personal security officers will be allowed to carry 20 highly-sophisticated weapons and communication equipment during this tour.

2. During his visit, President Erdogan is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee at Hyderabad House and Rashtrapati Bhawan respectively.

3. In his meeting with PM Modi on May 1, Erdogan is likely to discuss India's NSG membership bid and ways to strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism and trade.

4. Talks on bilateral, regional and other international issues of mutual interest are also expected to take place.

5. According to sources, the expansion of ISIS network in the Indian subcontinent is a major security challenge.

6. While some ISIS-linked networks, who were planning to carry out terror attacks in India, were identified and neutralised in recent months, latest investigations have revealed the persistent efforts by ISIS-inspired jihadi groups to carry out strikes in India. This is primarily why such top-notch security is being ensured for President Erdogan.

7. Turkey is a member of the US-led coalition fighting against the ISIS and has carried out operation "Euphrates Shield" in Syria in retaliation to the threat posed by the terror outfit. It had simultaneously targeted Kurdistan Workers Party terrorists in North Syria and Iraq, including their hotbeds in the southern provinces of the country. This has made Turkey a soft target of those terrorist groups.

8. A number of suicide attacks have been carried out by the ISIS in Istanbul and Ankara. Recently, ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out an attack on the nightclub in Istanbul on January 1 which claimed 39 lives. The terrorists had also warned President Erdogan of more strikes.

9. Turkey also witnessed a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The state machinery since then has purged thousands of individuals associated with the banned Fethullah Gulen Movement in the country. The Gulen sympathisers present in various countries may assist anti-Erdogan groups, thus posing a threat to visiting dignitaries like him.

10. The country also recently concluded its constitutional referendum and victory of President Erdogan may drive him to intensify action against Kurds and his opponents, hence making him prone to enhanced threats from Kurds.

PMNarendraModi,CyprusPresidentNicosAnastasiadesHoldBilateralTalksPrime Minister Narendra Modi and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades held a detailed discussion on bilateral and regional issues and agreed on the need for all countries to decisively act against states that shelter and sustain violence factories in their regions.

After the meeting between their leaders, the two sides signed four pacts, including one for air services and cooperation in merchant shipping. The two sides also agreed on the need of early reforms of the UNSC, Mr Modi said and expressed India's appreciation for Cyprus' support to India's bid for inclusion in it as a permanent member.

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Government takes up Narmada, Chambal Expressway work on priority

The state government has initiated planning for alignment of two mega Expressways, Chambal and Narmada, to chalk out highway route and six or eight-lane controlled access for highest class of roads.

The Narmada Expressway

Narmada Expressway, which will begin from Amarkantak, the origin of holy river Narmada in Anuppur district, up to Alirajpur, the bordering district of Gujarat, measures 1,300 km of national highway.

Of this, 100 km area is to be aligned while the rest of the national highway is clear for Expressway.

This road will connect Alirajpur to Ahmedabad.

The Chambal Expressway The Chambal Expressway will measure almost half of the Narmada Expressway from Sheopur district to Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, covering Morena, Shampur, Gohad and Ater.

As a portion of Expressway comes under national highway, the alignment for the Expressway will complete soon.

Importance:

The Expressway would not only boost development, but provide an access to public through rough terrains of Chambal region by utilising the wasteland.

India to seal pact with Russia-led grouping

India is set to formalise a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, clearing the decks for negotiations on deepening trade relations with the five former Soviet republics.

The joint statement on the FTA is likely to be issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at St. Petersburg on June 1

Key facts:

The Eurasian Economic Union comprises Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The FTA is expected to open up a huge market with a trade potential of $37 to 62 billion. Trade between India and the five Eurasian countries stands at about $11 billion.

Importance

The Eurasian market could open up new export opportunities for Kerala in medical tourism, IT and IT-enabled services, besides traditional sectors like spices, marine products, coir and rubber.

There is a need for safeguards in the pact to protect the state’s interests. Exporters and representatives of trade organisations have called for steps to prevent dumping of

goods and misuse of the rules of origin. They also highlighted the need for clarity on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, import

licensing, quantitative restrictions and trade remedies.

GNFC to facilitate digital transition of residential townships

The NITI Aayog has appointed the State-owned Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) as the nodal agency to facilitate digital transition of residential townships across the country.

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Key facts:

After demonetisation, GNFC’s township in Bharuch was the first residential colony to adopt digital modes of payments. The firm’s digital drive was headed by it’s information technology division (n)Code Solutions.

Impressed with the initiative, the NITI Aayog appointed the firm to replicate its model across the country.

The 81 townships include those of Central public sector companies, like ONGC, Indian Oil, NTPC, SAIL, BHEL, NMDC, CRPF, BSF and Police Lines, and private sector townships, like Reliance, Essar, Adani, Birla Aditya, Welspun. As of now, the initiative covers the townships Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh.

Background:

The townships cover a population of around 2 lakh and are collectively doing about 2.5 lakh transactions everyday almost 9 crore transactions in a year.

After the demonetisation, the GNFC had launched a drive to ensure that fertilizers and other products in its outlets were booked and sold using digital payment options, like credit or debit cards, e-wallets, and net banking channels

Last known survivor of 19th century dies at 117

Emma Morano, at 117 the world’s oldest person who is also believed to have been the last surviving person born in the 1800s, died at her home in northern Italy

A woman in Jamaica, Violet Brown, who was born in that Caribbean island on March 10, 1900, is now considered the oldest known person in the world, according to a list kept by the Gerontology Research Group.

IITs to introduce 4% more seats for girl students

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will add more seats to be filled by girl students for four years starting 2018 to increase the representation of women in the prestigious institutions.

Key facts:

While there are just eight-per cent women in the IITs right now, the idea is to increase the proportion to 20 per cent and then discontinue the practice of additional seats for women.

It is expected that the girl students so admitted will become a role model for others and in the long run make a higher proportion of women in the IITs a self-sustainable goal.

Energy: going where the wind blows

Wind power industry is in the news. Why?

For the first time, wind power installations (windmills) crossed the 5 Gigawatt mark, to reach 5,400 MW in 2016-17. The earlier record was 3,472 MW of 2015-16. The current year might see installations of 6 GW.

In February, in the country’s first-ever auctions of wind power capacity, the price at which windmill owners would sell electricity to companies that supply power to consumers fell to a record low of Rs. 3.46 a kWhr, as competitive forces were at play. Otherwise, wind power prices are fixed by the various state electricity regulatory commissions.

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Why this optimism?

The Indian wind industry has been around since the late 1980s. For many years, it existed only in T.N., the windiest State. In the last decade, it spread to eight other States that have any wind potential — four other southern states, M.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. But now, the Centre wants to buy electricity from wind power producers and sell it to electricity supply companies in other states, which are bound by law to buy a portion of their needs from wind and solar sources. The 1,000 MW capacity auction of February took place under such an arrangement, and there will be more. Government of India playing trader truly expands the market for wind power companies.

So, are wind power companies mighty excited?

Well, yes, but there is a flip side too. Following the Centre’s example, all states want to determine prices through competitive bidding, and competition hammers down prices, as we saw in February. So, while the market expands, the prices also drop.

Besides, the government has let expire last month the ‘generation-based incentive’, a scheme which paid wind power companies 50 paise for every kWhr they produced, subject to certain caps. Also, the tax-saving ‘accelerated depreciation’ benefit, which engendered the industry in the late ‘80s, is now halved. So, it is a mixed bag for the wind industry.

How important is the sector, anyway?

India, with 32,280 MW, has the fourth biggest capacity in the world, after China, the U.S. and Germany.

The national target is 60 GW by 2022. Wind accounts for 10% of India’s total power capacity of 3.2 lakh MW; and 4% in terms of electricity produced

Drinking water innovations

Small transparent balls known as “ooho balls” have been developed by a UK start up firm knowm as Skipping rocks lab .

Key facts:

These are small transparent spheres covered by a jelly like membrane made up of plant and sea weed extracts.

This balls give a solution to UK’s plastic problems. These membranes decompose after four to five weeks if left unconsumed.

Maneka Writes To Javadekar: Father name on degree should not be mandatory

Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has written to the HRD Ministry asking it not to make it mandatory for students to mention their father’s name on degree certificates, keeping in mind that some may be the children of single mothers. Maneka had earlier made a similar plea regarding passports.

This time, Maneka wrote to HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Maneka has been approached by several women, single, separated or divorced, who are unable to procure their child’s degree certificate without giving the child’s father’s name. The minister explained that rules must factor in the sensitivity of the issue and be changed to reflect the reality of “breakdown of marriages”.

The Woman and Child Development Ministry had spoken about demeaning the single women when they are asked for irrelevant details that they are often not comfortable revealing.

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Immediately afterwards, an inter-ministerial committee was formed which recommended doing away with the practice of compulsorily printing the child’s father’s name or the name of the spouse on the passport. The recommendations were accepted by the MEA.

GSAT-9 heralds cost-saving electric propulsion

GSAT-9 or the South Asia Satellite will carry a new feature that will eventually make advanced Indian spacecraft far lighter.

Key facts:

The satellite will be flying with around 80 kg of chemical. In the long run, with the crucial weight factor coming down later even for sophisticated satellites,

Indian Space Research Organisation can launch them on its upcoming heavy rockets instead of sending them to space on costly foreign boosters. Shortly, its own vehicle GSLV MkIII is due for its full test flight.

It will even lower the cost of launches tangibly in the near future. GSAT-9's EPS would be used to keep its functions going when it reaches its final slot which is

roughly about two weeks after launch - and throughout its lifetime.

Next big trend

According to Dr Annadurai, A xenon based EPS can be five to six times more efficient than chemical-based propulsion on spacecraft and has many

A 3,500-kg EPS-based satellite, for example, can do the work of a conventional spacecraft weighing 5,000 kg, but cost far less.

GSAT-20 is planned as the first fully EPS-enabled satellite; its features were not immediately available. ISAC and the Kerala-based Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre are lead centres in developing it.

The 2,195-kg GSAT-9, due to take off on a GSLV rocket on May 5, carries an electric propulsion or EP system. The hardware is a first on an Indian spacecraft.

Vinegar to the rescue of Great Barrier Reef?

Common household vinegar may help protect Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef by effectively and quickly killing the coral-munching crown-of-thorns starfish

Key facts:

The innovative method of killing crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) is safe to other marine life and will now be introduced on the reef.

CoTS are breeding at epidemic levels and are one of the primary reasons for the decline in live coral

Researchers at James Cook University in Australia led a large-scale assessment using vinegar to inject CoTS at four sites on the reef over six weeks.

They had previously shown that the simple household chemical was just as effective at killing the reef-eating starfish as much more expensive chemicals with complicated processes

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Background:

The Great Barrier Reef has been exposed to multiple disturbances in recent years, including the 2016 and 2017 mass coral bleaching, three tropical cyclones in the past three years, and the ongoing CoTS outbreak.

Water is prasad, nobody has right to waste: PM Modi

Narendra Modi said that nobody has the right to waste a drop of Narmada water being pumped to reservoirs in Saurashtra as part of the Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojna as the project was being funded by taxes collected from the poor.

About SAUNI yojana:

It will start from Bhimdad dam and end at Shetrunji dam, the largest reservoir in Saurashtra in terms of water storage capacity.

Modi has announced the SAUNI project in 2012 when he was Gujarat chief minister The Gujarat government has estimated a budget of Rs 16,000 crore to pump water by SAUNI

Yojna The Link-II pipeline canal has been designed to pump Narmada water into 17 dams in Botad,

Bhavnagar and Amreli districts The 257-km line will have capacity to carry 258 million cubic metres of water. Phase-I covers

Limdi Bhogavo dam-II near Limdi to Bhimdad dam in Gadhda taluka of Botad district. Modi had inaugurated phase-I of Link-I near Dhrol in Jamnagar district last August

Reiterating the cental government’s intention to double income of farmers by 2022, he urged them to adopt mechanisation, dairy farming, use solar power and reduce use of chemical fertilisers.

World Bank says Indian economy to grow at 7.2% in FY18

Having seen a “modest setback” due to demonetisation last fiscal, the Indian economy will claw back to 7.2% growth this financial year and rise further to 7.5% in 2018-19, says a World Bank report.

Highlights of the report

The World Bank said that “significant risks” to economic growth could emanate from fallout of demonetisation on small and informal economy, stress in the financial sector and uncertainty in global environment.

A rapid increase in oil and other commodity prices could have a negative implication for the economy

The country’s economic growth is expected to see an uptick at 7.2% this fiscal and further accelerate to 7.5% in 2018-19

The growth slowed down to 6.8% in 2016-17 due to a combination of weak investments and the impact of demonetisation

As per the report, the economic growth is projected to increase gradually to 7.7% by 2019-20, underpinned by a recovery in private investments,

Inflation will stabilise, supported by favourable weather and structural reforms. Normal monsoons have so far offset increases in petroleum prices

Referring to the external factor, it said exchange rate has appreciated, partly reflecting expectations of a narrowing inflation gap between India and the US

It said challenges to India’s favourable growth outlook could stem from continued uncertainties in the global environment, including rising global protectionism and a sharp slowdown in the Chinese economy, which could further delay a meaningful recovery of external demand

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Govt, Coal India to help in treatment of kids suffering from

The Union Health Ministry has initiated a project to provide treatment to 200 children suffering from thalassaemia in the current financial year with Coal India funding it.

Key facts:

For this purpose, the government has identified four hospitals across the country where bone marrow transplant along with post-surgery treatment will be carried out.

The cost of the total procedure is Rs 10 lakh and it will be borne by Coal India The four institutions which have identified are Tata Medical Centre in Kolkata, CMC Vellore,

Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre and AIIMS in New Delhi. The project will benefit underprivileged thalassaemia patients who have a matched sibling donor

and are therefore eligible for bone marrow transplantation but do not have financial resources for the same.

Only patients whose monthly family income is below Rs 20,000 will be eligible for this assistance Initially, the project will be initiated at four centres and gradually it may be extended to six more

centres so that the waiting time for patients is reduced. Each centre should have performed at least five bone marrow transplants in a year for

thalassaemia patients

An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 children are born with thalassaemia every year in the country

SGPC to honour Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will honour Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, when he comes to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar

About Harjit Singh Sajjan:

“He (Sajjan) is a high dignitary of a sovereign country and India enjoys good relations with Canada,” he added. It will be a proud moment for all the Sikhs in Punjab and across the globe when the SGPC will honour the Canadian minister at the Golden Temple, said Badungar. Sajjan, a Sikh himself, has rendered commendable services to the community in Canada and he deserved to be honoured as per SGPC traditions, he added.

The SGPC has been officially informed about Sajjan’s visit and the Canadian Defence Minister will be presented with a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour), shawl, sword, a model of the Golden Temple and religious books in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, said Badungar. Reacting to Amarinder’s statement describing Sajjan as “pro-Khalistani”, the SGPC chief said, “It’s a political view.” SGPC is a religious body and it will stick to its tradition of honouring dignitaries who visit the Golden Temple, he added.

Meanwhile, radical outfit Damdami Taksal has also decided to honour the Canadian minister during his visit. Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma will be present at the Golden Temple to welcome Sajjan on behalf of the Taksal and Sant Samaj.

Tapping into creative skills of students

Special literary festivals for schoolchildren are now being held all over the district.

About ‘DEAR’

The literary meets for school students is an extension of the innovative library movement, ‘Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), was launched in the district more than two years ago. These literary meets have been dubbed ‘Sishu Galpa O Kabita Pathotsav (Children’s story and

poetry festival)”.

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As part of the experimental project, student representatives from all high schools in Berhampur city will take part in a literary meet at the V. V. Giri Government Girls’ High School.

Young writers chosen from these meets will take part in a creative writing workshop that would be attended by well-known authors of children’s literature in Odisha,

Key facts:

Groundwork for the project was prepared through DEAR. Under the project, classrooms were converted into small libraries with books contributed

from schools as well as students. Special classes are held where students and teachers leave behind their regular study

material and read other books in the library. This has led to the production of handwritten class magazines by students. Enthused by the response, authorities in the education department are promoting creative

skills of students by organising special story-telling sessions. It enhances the interest of children in literature and increases their self-confidence In these festivals, participants can read their own works or reproduce writings of famous

authors with their own critical analysis.

U.S. National Security Adviser Lt. General (retired) H.R. McMaster arrived in Delhi, the first such visit by a senior official of the Trump administration for talks that are expected to set the course of bilateral relations. He is expected to extend a formal invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington in the next few months.

The visit will be watched particularly closely for its timing, as it comes close on the heels of the Russian conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on April 14 and 15, which India attended and where Russia offered to mediate between the Taliban and the Ashraf Ghani government; and the detonation of the U.S.’s largest non-nuclear weapon, the MOAB, over Afghanistan.

Regional consultations

Mr. McMaster, who travelled to Delhi from Kabul and Islamabad as a part of “regional consultations,” according to an official release, will discuss the future of security operations in Afghanistan, India’s role in Afghanistan as well as the India-Pakistan impasse, and will meet his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Mr. Modi. Of particular note will be discussions on India’s concerns with cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, and tensions that have increased recently over the sentencing to death of Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan, accused of spying for India.

In Kabul, Mr. McMaster said he would impress on Pakistan that it was important to give up support to the Haqqani group and the Taliban. “The best way to pursue their interests in Afghanistan and elsewhere is through the use of diplomacy, and not through the use of proxies that engage in violence,” he told the Tolo news channel.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said that Mr. McMaster had “expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s democratic and economic development, and stressed the need to confront terrorism in all its forms,” during his discussions with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and senior advisers.

In its version of the meeting, Mr. Sharif’s office said they had also discussed India-Pakistan ties. Pakistan has praised the U.S. administration’s recent remarks on mediating between New Delhi and Islamabad, something India has been opposed to.

Sharif stand

“[PM Sharif] welcomed President Trump’s willingness to help India and Pakistan resolve their differences, particularly on Kashmir and noted that this could go a long way in bringing sustainable peace, security and prosperity in the region,” a statement issued in Islamabad said. The Pakistan Foreign

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Ministry also said that Foreign Adviser Sartaj Aziz had briefed the U.S. NSA “on the plight of Kashmiris” in Jammu and Kashmir, referring to Pakistan’s allegations against Indian security forces.

General McMaster is being accompanied on the visit by several National Security Council officials, including the most recently appointed director for South Asia, Lisa Curtis.

Tougher line

Ms. Curtis, who is a renowned expert on the region, has advocated a tougher line on Pakistan, and co-authored a paper in February this year suggesting enforcing conditions on military aid to Pakistan with action against terror groups in the region, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, the figures released in April 2017 of security-related aid that the Trump administration has requested from the U.S. Congress for Pakistan indicate the U.S. government has not decreased its allocations for the upcoming year.

Mr. McMaster’s visit to the Af-Pak region and India is also remarkable as in the past few years U.S. officials have avoided visiting Islamabad and New Delhi on the same trip, in keeping with a policy of de-hyphenating relations between the two. A recent statement by the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. indicating Mr. Trump’s desire to mediate between India and Pakistan are also in focus, given India’s statement rejecting the offer. The U.S. State department later clarified that there had been “no change” in its policy in the region, and that India and Pakistan must resolve their issues through “direct dialogue.”

Government working on a data protection framework: SC told

The government has told the Supreme Court that it was in the process of putting in place a comprehensive data protection framework and sought deferment of the hearing on the WhatsApp privacy policy matter.

Key facts:

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was in the process of evolving the data protection framework.

The supreme court bench has postponed the hearing in the WhatsApp privacy policy by a couple of months

The government is actively mulling over a comprehensive date protection framework The apex court had on January 16 sought responses from the Centre and telecom regulator

TRAI on a plea that privacy of over 157 million Indians has been infringed by social networking sites — WhatsApp and Facebook — for alleged commercial use of personal communication.

Background:

The Delhi High Court had earlier restrained WhatsApp, an instant messaging application, from sharing with Facebook the user information existing upto September 25, 2016, when its new privacy policy came into effect.

The high court had also directed the Centre and TRAI to examine the feasibility of bringing the functioning of internet messaging applications like WhatsApp under statutory regulatory framework.

WhatsApp had earlier informed the high court that when a user account was deleted, the information of that person was no longer retained on its servers.

‘Indian firm’s Zika virus vaccine 100% efficient in animal trials’

The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s ‘killed Zika virus vaccine’ using an African strain has shown 100% efficacy against mortality and disease in animal studies,

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A ‘killed virus vaccine’ or ‘inactivated vaccine’ contains virus that has been grown in culture and then killed using physical or chemical processes.

The results of the study has been published in the Nature group journal Scientific Reports. Two doses (5 and 10 microgram) of the vaccine given through intramuscular route on days 0 and 21 to mice were found to protect the animals against Zika virus seven days after the second vaccination.

The vaccine was found to confer 100% protection against infection caused by an Asian Zika virus strain as well as by the African Zika virus strain.

All the animals that were not vaccinated died eight days after infection by the African strain and 12 days after infection by the Asian strain.

While all the animals that received the vaccine exhibited “undetectable” viral load, the amount of virus present in animals that did not receive the vaccine peaked four days after being infected with either the African or Asian Zika virus strain.

“The vaccine was developed using the African strain of the virus. It is important to prove that the vaccine developed with the African strain also protects against Zika infection caused by the contemporary Asian strains of Zika virus.

Importing the contemporary Asian strains into the country was difficult, and hence the vaccine challenge studies with Asian strain had to be outsourced to a contact research organisation in the U.S.,” says K. Sumathy from Bharat Biotech and the first author of the paper. A particular kind of mouse — AG129 — which is highly immunocompromised and hence highly susceptible to virus infection was used for the study.

Immune response

The level of immune response induced by the vaccine was also studied using another kind of mouse model — Balb/c mice. Unlike the AG129 mice, this mouse model is immunocompetent and elicits full spectrum of immune response.

Animals that received the vaccine developed Zika-neutralising antibodies on day 14 after the first dose and a week after the second dose.

M.P. govt. to gift smartphones to brides

The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to gift smartphones to newly married women under its flagship scheme –“ Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana.”

The move is aimed at encouraging women to undertake cashless transactions using smart-phones.

M.P. shifts fiscal year

Madhya Pradesh will be the first State to switch to the January-December financial year from the present April-March cycle.

The change will mean the financial year will coincide with the calendar year. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet held at Mantralaya

On April 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the proposal at the third governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog in New Delhi. Mr. Modi said the switch could have a significant impact on the economy.

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India to unveil new IIP series

India will unveil a new series of Index of Industrial Production with a base year 2011-12 on May 9

Aims:

To map economic activities more accurately. The new series for Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which captures industrial activities on

monthly basis, will be launched by Chief Statistician and MOSPI Secretary T. C. A. Anant, A high-level panel had firmed up the methodology for the IIP with new base year of 2011-12.

Background:

Currently, the IIP is calculated on base year of 2004-05. The change in baseline for the IIP is expected to bring in more accuracy in mapping the level of

economic activity and calculating other numbers like national accounts.

The NDA government chose Achal Khare, a senior railway officer, to lead the ambitious bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

About:

Khare was the only official from Indian Railways to have applied for the post of managing director of the National High Speed Rail Corporation, which is a Centre-state joint venture for carrying out the over Rs 1-lakh crore bullet train corridor project that is being undertaken with financial and technical assistance from Japan.

Khare is currently Adviser (Infrastructure), heading the directorate that is responsible for the bullet train project, Public Private Partnership and FDI in the Railway ministry.

He is from the Indian Railways Civil Engineering cadre.

A search committee headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and including Chairman, Railway Board A K Mital, had picked Khare from a list of other applicants.

UDAN scheme for low-cost, regional connectivity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flagged off the maiden flight between Shimla and New Delhi under government’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, an endeavour to make regional connectivity easy.

The following are the key features of the scheme:

1. The UDAN scheme aims to stimulate regional connectivity with flights covering distances up to 800 km through a market-based mechanism.

2. 43 cities are expected to be mainstreamed on India’s flight connectivity grid. A dozen airports where limited but irregular flights operate will be connected. As many as 31 destinations that are not operational despite the existence of airports will become active.

3. Air India’s subsidiary Alliance Air will be the first airline to start operating flights between Delhi and Shimla under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). Alliance Air will operate regular flights using a 48-seater ATR-42 all-economy class aircraft from April 28.

4. Due to the short runway length, height and temperature restrictions, the aircraft will not be able to fly the total capacity of 48 passengers. In the Delhi-Shimla leg, the flight will carry 35 passengers while on the return only 15 passengers will be able to fly. The government is expected to compensate for the loss with a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of about Rs. 3,000 per seat.

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5. The VGF will be used to bridge the gap between the cost of airline operations and expected revenue. Airline operators would be extended VGF estimated to be around Rs 205 crore per annum for the operators chosen in the first round of bidding. So far, 19 States and three union territories have signed a MoU for this purpose.

6. Among the commitments of the States are those to make sufficient land available; ensure adequate security; and provide essential services at concessional rates for the airports or air strips. The Centre would like the States to provide minimum land, free of cost, for development of the RCS airports. More importantly, the States will have to bear 20% towards VGF. The share will be 10% for North Eastern States and Union Territories.

7. Five airlines — Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan — were awarded 128 routes under the scheme after a bidding process.

8. The government aims at making flying affordable by capping fares at Rs. 2500 per seat per hour. “Airfare for a 1-hour journey of approximately 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for 30 minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at Rs. 2,500,” the PMO said.

9. The scheme is a component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) which was released on June 15, 2016.

10. Hyderabad-Cuddapah, Hyderabad-Nanded, Nanded-Mumbai, Chennai-Mysuru, Chennai-Salem, Mumbai-Porbandar, Kolkata-Aizwal, Pune-Nashik, Delhi-Dehradun, and Ranchi-Raipur are some of the other proposed routes.

The most heavyweight museum in India

The first museum of weights and measures in the country sits in the Chamarajpeth market area of Davangere, Karnataka.

Key facts:

It is called ‘Tula Bhavan’ It exhibits include more than 3,000 varieties of weighing and measuring devices, some dating

back at least three centuries. . The bulk of the collection, though, originates in India, and includes devices from almost every

part of the country, including from the times of the Nizams of Hyderabad, the Mysore Wadiyars, the Adil Shahis, and the Keladis. \

Among the prize pieces are wooden beam scales from Mysore, and weighing stones used during the Adil Shah period.

The museum entered the Limca Book of Records in 2016, In January this year, the Department of Posts declared it the ‘first of its kind’ in the country in

its in-house magazine.

Background:

Chennaveerappa Yalamalli had been in the business of selling weights and measures for 45 years. His son Basavaraj joined the family business in 1982. In 1997, he decided he wanted to set up a museum to create awareness of varieties of measuring devices. He began travelling across the country to collect information and models for his project. In 2006, he had enough to start the museum.

New Delhi says no to London MoU on deporting illegals

Ahead of the first India-UK home affairs dialogue on May 4, New Delhi is learnt to have rejected London’s proposal to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on immigration and organised crime, which includes a provision for deportation of illegal Indian immigrants.

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Key facts:

London was keen to formalise the agreement — “Cooperation and exchange of information for the purpose of combating international criminality, tackling serious organised crime and pursuing immigration functions”.

According to information shared by UK authorities with their Indian counterparts, there are nearly 35,000 illegal Indian immigrants in different parts of Europe. London conveyed that there is an urgent need to deport these people.

But immigration officials in India said they have come across several cases of deportation from UK, where the people are actually from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Sri Lanka and it is very difficult to establish their country of origin

During the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Theresa May in November last year, India came up with a list of nearly 60 fugitives who are suspected to be hiding in Britain.

UK also provided a list of 17 people whose custody it seeks under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty or against whom Letters Rogatory have been issued.

India and Britain are also expected to discuss cooperation on international terrorism, organised crime and visa matters.

The two countries are likely to extend agency-to-agency cooperation in matters related to international terrorism, particularly on the Islamic State’s online propaganda.

The issue of visas under different categories, including medical, tourism, business, is also likely to be taken up during the bilateral dialogue.

INDIA

BrahMos missile achieves a rare feat

The Army carried out a successful test of the advanced BrahMos Block III Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Key facts:

This is the second consecutive test of the missile in two days. The test in an operational configuration was carried by the Army’s South Western Command-

based 1 strike corps. BrahMos is a product of joint collaboration between India and Russia and is capable of being

launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets. The range of the supersonic missile was initially capped at 290 km as per the obligations of the

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

Background:

Testing BrahMos in the Andaman and Nicobar islands is a symbolic statement, as it brings the strategic Malacca straits under its range.

Since India’s entry into the club, the range has been extended to 450 km and the plan is to increase it to 600km.

These tests were carried out in full operational land-to-land configurations from Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL) at full-range.

National Film awards celebrate India’s diversity: President

The 64th edition of the national awards represented a “microcosm” of India and celebrated the diversity of languages, customs, religions and culture.

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Key facts:

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Film Awards to this year’s winners

The prize owners:

Mr. Viswanath became the 48th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema, which consists of a golden lotus, a citation, cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a shawl.

Akshay kumar was honoured for his portrayal of a patriotic naval officer in Rustom, a court room drama directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, which is loosely based on the 1959 Nanavati murder case. He received the ‘Rajat Kamal’ and Rs. 50,000.

C.M. Surabhi got the best actress award for her role in the Malayalam film Minnaminungu. She received the Rajat Kamal and Rs.50,000.

Neerja, directed by Ram Madhvani, was awarded the best Hindi film. It is based on the 1986 hijacking incident during which flight attendant Neerja Bhanot was killed by terrorists while saving passengers.

Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Pink, a female-centric court room drama by Bengali filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, won the award for best film on social issues.

Marathi movie Kasaav led the regional cinema dominance bagging the best feature film honour and was awarded the Swarna Kamal and Rs. 2,50,000 each to the director and producer.

Kasaav, directed by Sunil Sukhtankar and Sumitra Bhave, revolves around the issue of depression and environment conservation

Kashmiri actress Zaira Wasim was given the best supporting actress award for her role in Dangal,

Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak was honoured as the best children’s film. Mapuskar took home the best director award for his film Ventilator. Actor Mohanlal received the Special Jury award for his work in films like Pulimurugan. The awards for the best male playback singer went to Sundharayyar for Tamil movie Joker for

the song ‘Jasmine E’, The best female playback singer award went to Iman Chakraborty for ‘Tumi Jaake’ from the

Bengali film Praktan.

Indian railways train toilets set for makeover

Toilets in the trains, an abiding pain-point for the Railways and its passengers, are finally set to get a major makeover to resemble those in premium-class airlines.

Key facts:

Railways is ready with a prototype of new ergonomic, modular toilets for all AC as well as non-AC classes.

Made of imported Korean material, the interiors of western-style toilets for AC coaches are predominantly white with soft, non-reflective LED illumination.

The typical steel sink has been replaced with a modular wash-basin. The toilet seat is attached with stainless steel, anti-theft fittings.

Railway engineers had also tried sensor-based touch-free taps as well, but that idea was done away with

The new toilet made for non-AC coaches carries a signature blue theme with a “posh look” Complete with modern toiletries and with specially coated flooring to minimise soiling, the toilets

also have an automatic fragrance dispenser and soap dispenser. There is absolute concealed plumbing and even the door-locks have been made aeroplane-like. These are all zero-discharge bio-toilets.

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It would take Railways an extra of Rs 3.5 lakh per toilet to make the upgrade

Iconic hall of nations at Pragati Maidan is now history

The iconic ‘hall of nations’ and Nehru pavillion at the Pragati Maidan is now a history as the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition against its demolition.

Key facts:

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva dismissed the petitions moved by INTACH and eminent architect Raj Rewal against demolition of these structures as part of Pragati Maidan's redevelopment project.

The heritage conservation committee (HCC) which took a relook in the matter after the petitions were filed in the court had also reverted saying the structures are not heritage.

The HCC had rejected the recommendations of a sub-committee which had said the structures were heritage.

About:

Hall of nations, India's first pillar-less building, was inaugurated in 1972.

The ITPO had proposed the demolition of these structures for redeveloping Pragati Maidan as a world-class exhibition centre.

Amid WHO praise for tackling tropical disease, concern over rise in leprosy

While India earned an honourable mention in a new WHO report on neglected tropical diseases (NTD), it is also one of the handful of countries around the world that have shown an increase in leprosy cases.

Key facts:

The number of leprosy cases in India went up from 1,25,785 to 1,27,326 between 2014 and 2015. India was certified free of Yaws in 2015. Yaws is a debilitating childhood infection that affected 46,000 people from 8 countries in 2015. This is the fourth NTD report. According to WHO estimates, one in six people suffer from NTDs worldwide including more

than half a billion children. India’s efforts to eradicate viral leishmaniasis, commonly known as kala azar, have also been

commended in the new report Since 2008 VL cases in India, Bangladesh and Nepal have come down by 82%, crediting

“improvement in vector control, social mobilisation of village volunteers, collaboration with other NTD programmes and drug donations from industry partners.”

The WHO target for VL elimination is 2020 but India has set its sights on eliminating it by the end of this year, a roadmap laid down both in the budget speech and the recently unveiled National Health Policy. It is an ambitious target.

At the partners meet new resource commitments were made, with the United Kingdom announced additional $205 million and Bill Gates announced another $330 million. The Belgian government also pledged an additional $27 million.

NGT orders closure of industries near Bellandur Lake

Banning the dumping of any kind of municipal solid waste around Bellandur Lake, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed immediate and complete shut-down of all industries around the water body.

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Key facts:

The bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar The green panel ordered the State Pollution Control Board to seal industries violating its

directions. It also announced an environment compensation of Rs5 lakh on anyone found dumping waste in

and around the lake. NGT directed a committee comprising officials of BDA, KLCDA and UDD to oversee one-time

cleaning of the lake in one month, including desilting, removal of all waste from the lake and surface cleaning.

The bench directed all authorities to ensure that no untreated sewage enters the lake.

The founding committees:

‘Namma Bengaluru Foundation’, the forefront of the fight to save the lake, announced the formation of a 10-member committee — United Bengaluru for Bellandur to ensure implementation of the NGT’s directions.

Our job is not to kill our people

A day after the Supreme Court questioned its silence over judicial enquiry commission reports accusing its personnel of committing atrocities in Manipur during insurgency, the Army on Wednesday said its job was not to kill “our own country’s people”.

Key facts:

The Army accused that the findings of the judicial probes may have been inadvertently “biased” as the judges who headed the inquiry commissions were locals.

Appearing before a Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit, Mr. Rohatgi submitted that the court should not shut its eye to the possibility that the judicial officers, who headed these commissions of enquiry, were local people and may have been guided by local apprehensions and factors.

India'sgrowthimpressiveinrecentyears:IMF

India’s growth has been “impressive” in recent years and this gives the room for tax broadening efforts by the government

Key facts:

India has recorded quite an impressive growth performance in recent years. Elimination of fuel subsidies and the targeting of social benefits has delivered in terms of

allowing the union budget target to be achieved at 3.5 per cent of GDP In this context, the rollout of the Goods and Services tax (GST) is an extremely important step

that would create a true unified national market in India Inequality has increased in both India and China. Globalisation and technological change have been major drivers of economic growth and cross

country convergence. More than one billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty since the early 1980s, and

most of them come from China and

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WORLD

China to host BRICS Film Festival in June

The 2017 BRICS Film Festival will be held in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province from June 23 to 27.

Key facts:

Chinese director Xie Fei will be the president of the festival jury. There will be 30 films from BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)

screened during the festival, including an anthology by five directors from the aforementioned countries, Where has the time gone,

The feature film consisting of five 18-minute shorts on the same theme is a joint work by Walter Salles from Brazil, Aleksey Fedorchenko from Russia, Madhur Bhandarkar from India, Jahmil X. T. Qubeka from South Africa, and Jia Zhangke from China

The first BRICS Film Festival was held in New Delhi, India, last September.

North Korea media warns China of ‘grave consequences’

North Korean state media have issued a stinging denunciation of the country’s chief ally and diplomatic backer China, saying Beijing should be grateful for its protection.

Key facts:

Beijing and Pyongyang have a relationship forged in the blood of the Korean War, and the Asian giant remains its wayward neighbour’s main provider of aid and trade.

But ties have begun to fray in recent years, with China increasingly exasperated by the North’s nuclear antics, fearful of a regional crisis.

In February it announced the suspension of coal imports from the North korea for the rest of the year, a crucial foreign currency earner for the authorities.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week warned the United Nations Security Council of “catastrophic consequences” if the international community most notably China failed to pressure the North into abandoning its weapons programme.

Indore the cleanest and Gonda, the dirtiest

A nationwide cleanliness survey by the urban development ministry has found, Indore in Madhya Pradesh as India’s cleanest city and Gonda in Uttar Pradesh as the filthiest

Key facts:

The survey of 434 cities, conducted as part of the Modi government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission, has seen the historic city in MP knock off Karnataka’s Mysuru, which has been topping the rankings.

The Top 5

Mysuru slipped to number five, an indication it failed to stick to the sanitation standards it achieved in 2016 and 2014. Waste collection, solid-waste processing and checking open defecation were among other criteria cities were measured against.

The cleanliness survey was carried out during January and February. Launched in 2014, the Swachh Bharat campaign aims to make India clean and open-defecation

free by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi.

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TOP TEN CLEAN CITIES RANKINGS*

Cities 2017 2016 2014

Indore (MP) 1 25 149

Bhopal (MP) 2 21 105

Vishakhapatnam (Andhra) 3 5 205

Surat (Gujarat) 4 6 63

Mysuru (Karnataka) 5 1 1

Tiruchirapally (Tamil Nadu) 6 3 2

NDMC (Delhi) 7 4 15

Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) 8 12 3

Tirupathi (Andhra) 9 Not surveyed 137

Vadodara (Gujarat) 10 13 214

The worst of the heap

Gonda, a town in Uttar Pradesh, is the dirtiest at 434. Bhusawal in Maharashtra is a rank above. Bihar’s Bagaha is at number 432, Hardoi in UP 431 Bihar’s Katihar at 430. It also points to the problem the authorities face in informing people about the link between

sanitation and public health.

BOTTOM TEN CITIES/TOWNS RANKINGS*

Cities 2017 2016

Gonda (UP) 434 151

Bhusawal (Maharashtra) 433 267

Bagaha (Bihar) 432 453

Hardoi (UP) 431 235

Katihar (Bihar) 430 385

Bahraich (UP) 429 449

Muktsar (Punjab) 428 384

Abohar (Punjab) 427 420

Shahjahanpur (UP) 426 425

Khurja (UP) 425 366

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How cities were ranked

Cities were evaluated on five parameters – waste collection, solid-waste management, construction of toilets, sanitation strategies and behaviour change communication.

The rankings are based on the data provided by municipal corporations, independent assessors and feedback from people. In all, 3.7 million citizens participated in the exercise.

India’s first ‘village of books’ opens

Terming it a “historic occasion”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on inaugurated India’s first ‘village of books’ in the picturesque mountain village of Bhilar in Satara district

Key facts:

Geographically modelled on the similarly idyllic market town of Bhilar, with its robust collection of literature in Marathi, aims to be the one-stop destination for lovers of vernacular literature.

The idea of a book village sited close to the hill-station town of Mahabaleshwar was to transform Bhilar into a haven where bibliophiles can devour books.

15,000 rare books and old magazines in Marathi, including copies of old Diwali issues, have been stocked and kept on display.

According to authorities, a nominal deposit fee would be charged from readers to ensure proper maintenance of books.

As the area is prone to heavy rainfall, special provisions would be made to preserve books from damp weather.

The Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea to make Hindi language compulsory for school students to promote national unity.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar said making Hindi compulsory might open the flood gates for people speaking other languages to demand that theirs should also be made compulsory.

What was in the plea?

The plea said the three-language formula provided for the study of Hindi, English and modern Indian language in Hindi-speaking States, and Hindi, English and a regional language in the non-Hindi speaking States and it was still not implemented.

In order to promote fraternity, assuring dignity of individual and unity and national integration, study of Hindi should be made compulsory for all the students of Class One to Class Eight through the country.

It said the 1968 policy was framed in response to demands from non-Hindi-speaking States like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. However, all these States had not followed the three-language formula till date

CIL mulling to get listed on London Stock Exchange

World's largest coal miner CIL is mulling to get listed on London Stock Exchange. "The proposal is at a very nascent stage,"

Key facts:

The development comes ahead of the listing of NTPC's masala bonds at London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Singapore Stock Exchange this month.

Coal India's (CIL) shares got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the year 2010.

State-owned CIL is looking at spending Rs 8,500 crore on capital expenditure in the ongoing fiscal..

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Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production and is eyeing 1 billion tonnes of production by 2020.

CIL produced 38.44 million tonnes (MT) of coal in April, falling short of the target of 43.58 MT.

Drug regulator finds D Cold Total, Combiflam, Oflox 100 to be substandard

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has found popular painkiller Combiflam and cold medicine D Cold Total, manufactured and sold by Sanofi India and Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare India, respectively, to be substandard in its tests done last month.

Key facts:

Cipla’s Oflox-100 DT tablets and Theo Asthalin tablets, as well as Cadila’s Cadilose solution have also been found to be substandard.

In total, the CDSCO has issued a drug alert for 60 medicines, including five aforementioned drugs, as they failed different quality tests in March 2017.

Combiflam batch number A151195, manufactured in October, 2015, failed the disintegration test of CDSCO. In last year, the CDSCO had found Combiflam to be substandard three times — in February, April and June — for failing the same disintegration test.

Oflox failed the “assay” test of CDSCO last month. In assay test, the analyst checks if the ingredients in the molecule are in proper amount and of

good quality. The D Cold Total tablets of batch AD762 were found to be substandard by the last month as it

failed the disintegration test.

CBSE asks schools not to sell books

The CBSE has issued an advisory to school managements against carrying out “commercial” activities such as selling books, stationery, uniforms and schoolbags.

Key facts:

The advisory issued said parents and others had brought to the Board’s notice such sales through select vendors or on the campus.

Quoting the CBSE affiliation bylaws, the advisory says the schools should run as a community service and not as a business.

They should not pressure parents and students to buy textbooks other than those of the NCERT or CBSE.

U.S.mustsupportParisaccord

The nodal climate agency of the United Nations, the UNFCCC, is seeking alternative sources of funding, in the face of likely budget cuts by the United States

Key facts:

Ms. Espinosa, who leads the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, was optimistic that the “Trump phenomenon” would not topple global climate action, despite the uncertainty it has cast on the future of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

She stressed that it was in America’s own interest to support the climate pact Multilateral agreements were signed by a sovereign state with the conviction that such a rules-

based world would help them further their interests. The U.S. government’s budget proposal which aimed at slashing funds for the Global Climate

Change Initiative could lead to a reduction of 20% of funding towards the UNFCCC’s operational costs.

Governments can no longer ignore the issue of climate change because of its widely felt impact.

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Making clean water, clean air and cheap energy accessible to citizens was on the agenda of every government and the best way to make this happen was by moving away from use of fossil fuels, as they were becoming increasingly risky and unviable.

Highlights:

On the recent executive orders issued by U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking to reverse the Obama administration’s climate-friendly policies, she said,

“The Trump administration has asked the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] to review the Clean Power Plan to make recommendations on what they should do with that policy. We need to wait and see what comes out of that revision.”

The veteran diplomat said the economy of the future had been aligned with the climate agenda, as sustainable use of natural resources was key to survival.

Chinasuccessfullylaunchesfirstcargospacecraft

China has successfully launched its first unmanned cargo spacecraft, taking another crucial step towards realising the Communist giant’s ambition to have a permanently manned space station in the next few years.

Key facts:

Powered by a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket, Tianzhou-1 roared into the air from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern Hainan Province

In space, the cargo ship will dock with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space station, provide fuel and other supplies, and conduct space experiments before falling back to Earth.

Target 2022

China aims to build by 2022 a permanent space station, which is expected to orbit for at least 10 years

Without a cargo transportation system, the station would run out of power and basic necessities, causing it to return to Earth before the designated time.

The space centre had conducted the final rehearsal for the launch, which covered all systems involved in the launch, such as the rocket, spacecraft, launching site and testing, control and communication systems.

More to follow

China's fast-expanding space programme targets a landing on the dark side of the Moon by 2018.

It aims to launch its first Mars probe around 2020, followed by a second mission that would include collection of surface samples from the red planet.

If the Tianzhou-1 mission completes its objective, China will become the third country besides Russia and the United States to master the technique of refuelling in space.

Jaipurhospitallaunchesprojecttohelpadultswithcancer

After the ‘Donate a Life’ fund brought back smiles on the faces of children, a new project has come to the rescue of adults suffering from a cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood. The fund looks to ensure that no patient suffers or dies for lack of effective treatment.

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Thanks to the “Freedom from Cancer” project, undertaken by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital here, as many as 88 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) now have access to free chemotherapy, investigation, nursing facilities and consultation.

The project, funded by philanthropists, charitable trusts and individual donors, offers a “cancer-free life” for five years to patients who are unable to bear the expenses of treatment. So far, an expenditure of Rs. 15.68 lakh has been undertaken.

The drug acts only on cancer cells, leaving other cells of the body unaffected with virtually no side effects. Taming chronic myeloid leukemia illustrates the struggle and sustained fight against cancer, affirmed Dr. Kabra, also a medical science researcher and activist.

Logistics pact with U.S. ‘almost done’

In just about two days, India is expected to notify the operationalising of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the U.S.

Delayed work

The implementation has been delayed, as India was unable to streamline administrative procedures to enable its operationalisation.

LEMOA gives access to both countries to designated military facilities on either side for refuelling and replenishment in primarily four areas — port calls, joint exercises, training and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The other foundational agreements are the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Information and Services Cooperation (BECA).

The notification includes designating the points of contact for the U.S. military to work with and setting up a common account for payments. The U.S., which has similar agreements with several countries, has already notified the details.

Ratification the next step

After the notification, the U.S. is expected to formally ratify the agreement which will then operationalise the pact.

Several U.S. officials had stated in the past that the agreements were required for taking forward high-technology cooperation forward.

SriLankaPMtovisitIndia

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe will arrive here on a three-day visit.

He will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Key facts:

His visit assumes significance as India last week pulled out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled to to be held in Islamabad citing Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in the region.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister will attend the opening plenary of the India Economic Summit

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Holistic policy must for affordable

According to K. Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.A policy framework which seeks to achieve the goal of making medicines affordable and accessible to the poor is necessary for the pharmaceutical industry,

The framework must be holistic in its approach, involve all the stakeholders and focus on serving the patients, he said addressing a seminar organised by the Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (India) in Hyderabad.

The G-20 meet

The Group of 20 major economies sent a message on the threat that rising protectionism poses to the global economy, but the United States cast doubt over its adherence to that stance.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated the Trump administration's emphasis on defending America against what it sees as unfair trade practices, and called on the IMF to do more in its watchdog role.

It seemed to mark a striking change of tone since the last finance ministers meeting in Germany, one month ago, when the United States prevented the G20 from including a traditional pledge against protectionism in its final communique, calling the language "irrelevant."

Navy test-fires land attack variant of BrahMos missile

The Indian Navy on Friday successfully carried out the maiden test-firing of the land attack variant of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a stealth frigate in the Bay of Bengal.

Key facts:

The test-firing is seen as a major capability addition as, so far, the Navy has inducted only the anti-ship variant in many of the frontline vessels.

This variant of Long Range BrahMos Missile was fired from Indian Naval Ship Teg, a guided missile frigate, on a target on land

Significance

The land attack variant provides the naval ships the capability “to precisely neutralise selected targets deep inland, far away from coast, from stand-off ranges at sea.”

Majority of the frontline ships of the Navy, like the Kolkata, Ranvir and Teg classes of ships, are capable of firing this missile.

About:

BrahMos, derived from Russian P-800 Oniks or Yakhont missile, is a joint product of India and Russia.

The present range of the BrahMos is 290 km, which is now in the process of being extended up to 450 km following India’s entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime last year.

Ease BHIM refund process, IT Minister Prasad tells NPCI

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has instructed National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to smoothen the refund mechanism for BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) application.

The issue was raised during the second review meeting on digital payments chaired by Mr. Prasad.

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Key facts:

In the meeting, it was pointed out that now 56 crore bank accounts have been linked to Aadhaar, of the total 97 crore back accounts, adding that the lag was due to some issues in states such as Assam and Meghalaya.

According to government data, as on December 2017, Assam and Meghalaya have the lowest Aadhaar penetration at 6% and 9%, respectively.

Further, the banks have been instructed to invest in and strengthen their IT infrastructure to deal with the rising number of digital payments and improve transaction success rates.

Additionally, every bank has been instructed to have at least 30 Aadhaar biometric machines at every branch, and that 50 lakh such devices be installed in the current year

India, South Korea ink pacts on artillery guns

India and South Korea signed two agreements to build artillery guns for the Indian Army and for collaboration in shipbuilding.

Key facts:

One of them is an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between the governments while the other is a manufacturing agreement between two private companies.

The Inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for defence industry co-operation in shipbuilding was signed by Ashok Kumar Gupta, Secretary Defence Production from India and Chang Myoung-Jin, Minister of Defence Acquisition and Programme Administration (DAPA), South Korea.

India has already nominated Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam while South Korea will designate their shipyard soon.

The MoU was conceived under the overall umbrella of the ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ between both sides,

The MoU will come into effect from the date of signature by both sides and will be initially valid for a period of five years and would be automatically extended for further successive five year at a time

Contract with L&T

Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Hanwa Techwin of South Korea signed a contract to manufacture the K9 Vajra-T tracked, self-propelled artillery guns for the Indian Army.

NCERTsettoreviewitsschooltextbooksaftermorethan10years

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is set to undertake a comprehensive review of all its school textbooks more than 10 years after the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) was drafted.

Key facts:

The Council’s Department of Curriculum Studies, headed by Prof Ranjana Arora, will conduct the exercise

The Council’s school textbooks underwent a major makeover after the NCF was framed in 2005. The NCERT had set up 21 expert committees to review the NCF towards the fag end of the UPA

government’s tenure in 2014. However, this was put on the backburner once the NDA came to power. The then HRD Minister, Smriti Irani, put off the exercise until a new national education policy was drafted.

The exercise is expected to take up to a year.

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The last major change was made to political science textbooks in 2012 when NCERT dropped six ‘offensive’ cartoons from four books meant for Classes IX, X, XI and XII following protests in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the NCERT released supplementary reading material based on Principles of Universal Design for Learning (or UDL) to encourage inclusivity in classrooms.

Using UDL, under which classroom material can be customised to suit students with different learning needs, the NCERT adapted its reading series titled ‘Barkha’ to include Braille vocabulary and tactile illustrations so that the books can be read together by the sighted and visually impaired students.

Ticket reservation on demand on all trains by 2020:

The railways would provide confirmed tickets on demand on all trains by 2020

Key facts:

This would be possible once the existing network capacity is freed up for passengers by opening up dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) by 2019 and increasing the capacity on the existing routes.

WBPCB-NEERI study to map pollution level of Kolkata-Howrah

The West Bengal Pollution Control Board has initiated a joint study to map the pollution level of the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah and chalk out an action plan.

Key facts:

The study will be done in collaboration with the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The study, which may take two years to complete, shall come up with a clear identification of pollution potential and help to formulate an action plan to curb air pollution

Background:

The air quality of the area is determined through monitoring network of 19 ambient air quality monitoring stations in Kolkata and six stations in Howrah.

The report of these air quality monitoring stations, analysed over a period of four years, shows that both cities remain non-compliant with respect to extremely vulnerable air pollutants like PM-10 and PM-2.5 for more than five months in a year, especially during winter time

The other parameters, in which the twin cities are also non-compliant, included nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a significant air pollutant from automobile tail pipe emission and industrial high temperature

The major sources of these pollutants are mainly automobile tail pipe emission, dust particles coming out of the construction sector, burning of fossil fuels, waste burning and re-suspension of particle matters

The deteriorating air quality has serious health effects leading to respiratory problem, asthma and many other serious ailments.

About remedial measures:

conversion of industrial fuel from coal to oil phasing out of old commercial vehicles introduction of BS standard for new vehicles improvement of auto fuel quality effective emission control system for large industries banning open burning of dry leaves were the pre-requisites

Chenab to get tallest rail bridge

Around two years from now, the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir will be spanned by the world’s highest railway bridge that is expected to be 35 metres taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower.

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Key facts:

The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crore, will use over 24,000 tonnes of steel and will rise 359 m above the river bed.

Designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 260 km per hour, the 1.315-km- long “engineering marvel” will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar).

The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.

The bridge will be made of 63-mm thick special blast-proof steel as the region is prone to frequent terror attacks.

Its concrete pillars will be designed to withstand explosions.

Vatican, Myanmar establish relations as Suu Kyi visits

The Vatican and the Asian nation of Myanmar have agreed to establish diplomatic relations at a time when the Buddhist-majority country is transitioning from decades of military rule but facing criticism for religious and ethnic discrimination.

The announcement, the same day that Pope Francis met with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s top civilian leader.

Myanmar is facing international criticism for military activities in the western state of Rakhine, where troops are accused of carrying out widespread abuses against the Muslim ethnic Rohingya minority in what the military says is a counter-insurgency operation.

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