kas-2017 prelims november -2016 current affairs … of india chief ... officer sushil chandra took...
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KAS-2017 Prelims
November -2016 Current Affairs
Current Affairs - NATIONAL
Indira Gandhi International achieved carbon neutral status
The Delhi International Airport Limited announced that the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA)
has become the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve carbon neutral status.
The announcement on the carbon neutral status was made by Airports Council International (ACI)
during the Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate presentation ceremony held in Montreal, Canada.
Arunachal CM flags off all-women Mt Gorichen expedition
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu flagged off an all-women Mt Gorichen expedition
here. This will be the first all women team attempting to summit the second highest peak of the
state, which is considered as a technical peak and only seasoned climbers can make it to the top
(6,488 m).
Anshu Jansempa, who climbed Mt Everest twice, will lead the team of ten members.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis declares Nagpur first digital
district of India
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared Nagpur as the first digital district of India.
At a function in Mumbai, he said all 29,000 gram panchayats across Maharashtra would be digitally
transformed by December 2018.
GSAT-18 launched successfully on board Ariane-5 from Kourou.
India's latest communication satellite GSAT-18 was successfully launched by a heavy duty rocket of
Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.
GSAT-18, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), aims at providing
telecommunications services for the country by strengthening ISRO's current fleet of 14 operational
telecommunication satellites.
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Rajnath Singh inaugurates 10 days long ‘RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav
– 2016.
Ministry of Culture has organised 10 days long diversified cultural carnival
‘RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav - 2016’ at the premises of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
(IGNCA), Janpath, New Delhi.
The inaugural day witnessed fusion performances from 400 artists, highlighting different dance
forms including folk and tribal, accompanied with glorious aerial acts.
The celebrated festival will continue to connect people with India’s rich culture till 24th October,
2016.
Union Government has launched Mining Surveillance System.
The mines ministry came out with mining surveillance system (MSS), a pan-India surveillance
network using latest satellite technology, to check illegal mining.
MSS is a satellite-based monitoring system, which aims to check illegal mining activity through
automatic remote-sensing detection technology.
The Indian Bureau of Mines, on behalf of the mines ministry, has developed MSS, in co-ordination
with the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar,
and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
Ashok Leyland launches first India-made electric bus.
Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland today launched - Circuit - the first “Made in India” electric bus.
The bus with a minimum seating capacity of 35 to a maximum of 65 can run up to 120 kilometres on
single recharge under standard test conditions.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates three mega hydro projects in
Himachal Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three hydro-electric projects (HEPs) with a generating
capacity of 1,752 MW in Himachal Pradesh.
Koldam HEP: It is 4×200 MW capacity project executed by National Thermal Power Corporation
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(NTPC).
Parbati HEP: It is Stage-III project with a capacity of 540 MW of National Hydropower Corporation
(NHPC).
Rampur HEP: It is 412 MW capacity project of Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN).
Vigilance Awareness Week
Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed across the country to promote probity in public life and
achieve a corruption-free society.
The theme of the week this year is “Public participation in promoting integrity and eradicating
Corruption”.
The Commission will visit schools, colleges and industry bodies and other institutions to seek support
for creating awareness against the corruptions.
PUSA 16
The scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute have developed a new variety of Arhar
PUSA-16 (pigeon-pea) variety that matures in 120 days.
11-day International "Space Science School" to be held in Sang
India's first rural skate park in Bundelkhand (Between UP & MP
Army launches 'School Chalo' operation in South Kashmir to identify teachers and
provide students with free coaching.
Captain Radhika Menon is the first female captain in the Indian Merchant Navy and the
first female to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.
India's first underwater festival to be held in Pune
Sushil Chandra takes charge as CBDT chairman
senior Indian revenue service officer sushil chandra took over as chairman of central
board of direct taxes CBDT.
CBDT is nodal policy making body of income tax department under the union finance ministry
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It is a statutory authority established under the central board of revenue act,1963
composition includes chairman and six members.
India’s HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar Launches the World’s Largest Nation-Building Digital
Initiative .
Union HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the world’s largest digital national
building initiative “Smart India Hackathon 2017”.
The students will be required to solve during the Hackathon that will take place in early 2017.
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC), i4c, MyGov,
NASSCOM, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhiniand Persistent Systems have joined hands to organize this
ambitious ‘Smart India Hackathon 2017’ under the aegis of Ministry of Human Resource
Development.
The Smart India Hackathon 2017 will aim to find digital solutions to problems in the areas of power,
education, health, water, finance, agriculture, energy, urban & rural development, aviation &
shipping, transport, sanitation, sports, law & justice, skill development & entrepreneurship, defence,
textiles, tourism, etc
GRAM.
Three day Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet GRAM A three-day international event of ‘Global
Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM)’ for farmers concluded in Jaipur on November 11.
It showcased best global practices and technologies suitable for farmers. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan
Singh inaugurated the event, a platform for farmers, investors
Make in India’ award for Akshit Batra Akshit Batra, founder of I Can.
India, a Dehradunbased company, was awarded the ‘Make in India Award’ by the Bharat Nirman
Foundation in New Delhi Akshit won the award under the entrepreneurship category.
The award was given by the Chief Imam of India, Dr Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, who is the United Nations
Peace Ambassador
TRANSGENDER AWARENESS WEEK.
Google releases films to mark 'Transgender Awareness Week'
Google has released a series of short films '#transvoices' to share stories of transgender people as
"regular people, doing regular things", as part of 'Transgender Awareness Week'.
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One of the films is about Jasmine, who was the first transgender to open a tattoo shop in
Philadelphia. Notably, many of the crew who worked on the films also identified as transgender.
NASA astronaut set to become the oldest woman in space NASA astronaut
Peggy Whitson, at an age of 56 years, will become the oldest woman in space history after she takes
off for the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday.
Notably, Whitson, who holds the record for most time spent in space by a woman, is also the first
woman to become ISS commander. This will be Whitson's third spaceflight
Made in India:
INS Chennai, one of the largest destroyers built in India, is to be commissioned in the Indian
Navy by Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar After its commissioning, INS Chennai will be
placed under the operational and administrative control of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief,
Western Naval Command. On completion of some additional sea trials of the ship-borne systems,
the destroyer will be assigned to the Western Fleet and would be based in Mumbai
Central India’s Natioal Park in National Geographic 'Best of the World List 2017' .
National Geographic Traveler magazine recently announced its annual 'Best of the World List',
highlighting 21 'must-see places' to visit in 2017.
The list includes Central India's National Parks, Kauai in Hawaii, Banff in Canada, Madrid in Spain,
and Marrakech in Morocco
India's longest expressway from Agra to Lucknow inaugurated Uttar Pradesh .
CM Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated India's longest expressway from Agra to Lucknow on Monday.
The 302-km expressway, completed in a record time of 23 months, would reportedly reduce the
LucknowDelhi journey time by almost half to 5-6 hours.
Bengaluru witnesses 'Pride Parade' to support LGBT community.
On the occasion of International Day of Transgender Remembrance on November 20, several
people took part in the 'Namma Pride Parade,' in support of the LGBT community in Bangalore.
The 'Pride Parade' was organised as a solidarity act across the entire LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) community.
Three-day wine festival begins in Mangaluru.
A three-day wine festival, organised by the Karnataka Wine Board and the Horticulture Department
began in Mangaluru .
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The festival aims to showcase 12 wineries and over 150 brands. "The board will showcase the state's
wine heritage at the festival in order to popularise wine culture and create awareness on the health
benefits of drinking wine said an official
DELHI DECLARATION ON AGROBIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT.
The first International Agrobiodiversity Congress (IAC) held in New Delhi has adopted New Delhi
Declaration on Agrobiodiversity Management.
In the declaration, 900 participants from 60 countries have urged researchers and policy-makers to
strengthen and promote complementary conservation strategies to conserve and use
agrobiodiversity.
Major Highlights.
agrobiodiversity for food and nutrition;
agrobiodiversity for adaptation to climate change;
intellectual property rights (IPRs) and access and benefit-sharing (ABS) and farmers’ rights;
quarantine, biosafety and biosecurity issues;
capacity-building and strengthening partnerships.
NASA’S NEW INSTRUMENT- BILI.
NASA has developed a new instrument that could search for signatures of life on Mars.
NASA will be using BILI- Bio Indicator Lidar Instrument, fluorescence based remote sensing
instrument. It is similar to radar in principle and operation but instead of using radio waves, it uses
light to detect and ultimately analyze the composition of particles in the atmosphere.
This instrument is currently in use by the U.S military to remotely monitor the air to detect
potentially life threatening chemicals, toxins and pathogens
EM DRIVE.
The EmDrive (Electro Magnetic Drive) is a microwave thruster developed by British engineer Roger
Shawyer that aims to replace the rocket engines
EmDrive requires no propellant at all. Instead of using heavy, inefficient rocket fuel, it bounces
microwaves back and forth inside a cone-shaped metal cavity to generate thrust.
SAUR SUJALA YOJANA.
The PM on the occasion of 16th Foundation Day of Chhattisgarh had launched the Saur Sujala
Yojana. Also, Chhattisgarh is the first state to implement the scheme.
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Under the scheme, solar powered irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity would be distributed to
farmers by March 2019.
The scheme targets areas where there is no reach of electricity.
Around 51,000 farmers would be benefitted in the state with the launch of the scheme.
President Pranab Mukherjee had inaugurated a smart model village pilot project at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan.
The five villages which will be developed into the smart villages under this pilot project are Dhaula,
Alipur, Harichandpur and Taj Nagar from Gurgaon district and Rojka Meo from Mewat district of
Haryana.
Recently there initiatives were inaugurated in these villages by the Chief Minister of Haryana.
A smart gram would have the required basic physical and social infrastructure with a layer of smart
information and communication embedded in the infrastructure to improve governance and
delivery of services, livelihood and economic opportunities.
The focus of Rashtrapati Bhavan is on creating a sustainable and inclusive development model that
can be easily replicated.
Maharashtra tops in 2016 Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index of NITI
Aayog.
Maharashtra has been ranked first state in the country in 2016 Agricultural Marketing and Farmer
Friendly Reforms Index.
The first-ever index based on initiatives taken by the states in implementing farm sector reforms was
issued by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog
What is purpose of the index?
The index aims at helping states identify and address problems in farm sector, which suffers
from low growth, low incomes and agrarian distress to double farm income.
It also seeks to bring reform in agriculture sector by ease of doing agribusiness as well as
provide opportunities for farmers to benefit from modern trade and commerce
Key Highlights of 2016 Index
Top 5 States are Maharashtra (score 81.7), Gujarat (71.5), Rajasthan (70), Madhya Pradesh (69.5)
and Haryana (63.3).
Maharashtra has implemented most of the marketing reforms and offers the best environment for
doing agribusiness among all states and UTs.
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10th Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran .
The tenth edition of Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran commenced at Army Battle School,
Saljhandi in Nepal. Its emphasis will be on counter terrorism in mountainous terrain.
The Surya Kiran series of military exercises are being conducted annually, alternatively in India and
Nepal.
Surya Kiran series of military exercises with Nepal is largest in terms of troop’s participation in series
of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries.
India ranks 133rd in 2016 Global Youth Development Index.
India has been ranked 133rd out of 183 countries in the 2016 Global Youth Development Index (YDI)
compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Global Youth Development Index report measures countries’ prospects for young people in
employment, education, health, civic and political spheres.
NHPC commissions 50 mw Wind project in Rajasthan.
India’s largest hydropower generation company National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC)
has commissioned its 50 MW wind power project (WPP) in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
The project has achieved synchronization with the national grid in October, 2016.
NHPC has signed a power purchase agreement with Inox wind and Rajasthan government to set up
25 turbines of 2 MW for the project.
NHPC is enterprise of Central Government incorporated with an objective to plan, promote and
organise an integrated and efficient development of hydroelectric power in all aspects.
Established: 1975 Headquarters: Faridabad, Haryana.
Union Government appoints Bindheswar Pathak as brand ambassador of Swachh Rail
Mission.
The Union Ministry of Railways has appointed Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak (73), the founder of Sulabh
International as a Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railway.
Indian Railways had tied up with Sulabh International to clean some important railway stations across
the country as part of the mission with an aim to promote cleanliness at rail premises
Sulabh International: It is a social service organization which works to promote environmental
sanitation, human rights, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms
through education
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PM Narendra Modi inaugurate Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in New Delhi.
The conference has been organised by Union Government in collaboration with the United
Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
2016 AMCDRR is the seventh edition of the conference after it was established in 2005 and the first
major inter-governmental event after the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction (SFDRR) adopted at 3rd UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015
IISER Researchers develop Gelator to scoop out marine oil spills.
Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram
have developed a compound named gelator to scoop out marine oil spills.
They had produced gelators using glucose as a starting material and through several other chemical
reactions
Gelator has ability to selectively congeal oil, including crude oil from an oil-water mixture
. It makes the process of recovering marine oil spills simple, efficient and cost-effective. It is in a
powder form and can be easily applied over oil-water mixture. It does not cause any environmental
damage.
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India’s first titanium project starts test production in Odisha.
The first titanium project of India has started its test production Ganjam district of Odisha.
The project has been established by Saraf Group. This is first of its kind titanium plant and the only
one in the country. During the test run, one of its four furnaces became functional.
NASA completes construction of James Webb Space Telescope.
JWST is the largest-ever space telescope is expected to launch in 2018 following the in-depth testing.
It is bigger and more powerful than NASA’s operational Hubble Space Telescope
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope optimized for observations in the
infrared. It is a planned to be launched in 2018 on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.
It is the formal successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. After its
launch it will be the premier observatory of the next decade. JWST has been named after James E.
Webb, former administrator of NASA.
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It was formerly known as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST).
It is an international collaboration between of about 17 countries including NASA, European Space
Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Maharashtra becomes first state to launch cyber police stations in all districts.
Maharashtra became the first state in the country to have a cyber-police station in each district to take
on cyber criminals.
In this regard, state government is converting 42 state-of-the-art cybercrime labs into cyber police
stations simultaneously.
These cyber police stations will also be set up at police commissionerate and Range IG offices
Any offence related to cybercrime will be registered in these police stations at district level.
GST Council fixes 4-rate structure.
The GST Council has finalised 4 tier Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate structure with a multiple-
slab rates, including the cess for the new indirect tax regime. Thus, GST will be levied at multiple
rates ranging from 0% to 28%
The four bands of tax rates have been fixed at 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Besides, another category of
tax between 40% and 65% will be imposed on luxury goods like pan masala, tobacco products,
aerated drinks and high-end cars.
Nearly half of the consumer inflation basket goods including food grains, will be zero-rated (i.e. 0%
GST) to insulate people from inflationary pressures.
The lowest slab of 5% will be for items of common consumption. The bulk of the goods and services
including fast-moving consumer goods will be included in two standard rates of 12% and 18%.
The GST will subsume the multitude of cesses currently in place, including the Swachh Bharat Cess,
Krishi Kalyan Cess and the Education Cess.
The GST Council was not able to take a call on the GST rate on gold. It will be finalised after the
fitting to the approved rates structure of all items is completed.
November 5: World Tsunami Awareness Day.
The First World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across the world on 5 November 2016 to
spread awareness among people across the world about Tsunami.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had constituted the day by adopting a resolution in
December 2015. The proposal was first mooted by Japan after the 3rd UN Conference on Disaster
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Risk Reduction held in Sendai (Japan) in March 2015.
2016 Theme: “Effective Education and Evacuation Drills”.
Significance of the Day
Spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami.
Stress on the importance of early warning systems in order to mitigate damage from the devastating
natural calamity.
India-Bangladesh joint military exercise SAMPRITI-2016 .
The seventh edition of India-Bangladesh joint military exercise SAMPRITI-2016 has commenced to
practise counter-terrorism and disaster-management operations.
The 14-day (from 05 to 18 November 2016) joint military exercise will be held at Shaheed Salauddin
Cantonment in Tangail, Dhaka (Bangladesh’s Capital).
The SAMPRITI 2016 will simulate a scenario where both nations are working together in a Counter
Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment under the UN Charter.
The exercise curriculum is progressively planned in which the participants will initially get familiar with
each other’s organizational structure and tactical drills.
SAMPRITI Exercise is important bilateral defence cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Earlier
six editions of the exercise were hosted alternately by both countries
Union Government launches Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiya.
The Union Government launched Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) to provide
free health check-ups to pregnant women at government health centres and hospitals.
The Scheme was launched by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda in New Delhi.
It was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat in
June 2016.
The national programme aims to provide pregnant ladies free ante-natal services (ANC) and required
treatment for free on 9th of every month.
Objectives of the scheme are
(i) Provide healthy life to the pregnant women.
(ii) Lowering the maternity mortality rate.
(iii) Making pregnant women aware of their health issues and diseases.
(iv) Making sure safe delivery and healthy life of the baby.
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The scheme is applicable only for the pregnant women in their pregnancy period of 3 to 6 months. It
will provide all kinds of medical checkups completely free to pregnant women.
Indian Women’s hockey team wins 2016 Asian Champions Trophy.
Indian Women’s hockey team has won the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy held in Singapore.
It was the maiden win of Indian Women’s hockey team in Asian Champions Trophy
The Asian Hockey Champions Trophy is held annually by the Asian Hockey Federation since 2011.
The tournament features the Asian Games top six field hockey teams competing in a round robin
format.
India’s Aniruddha Rajput elected to UN’s International Law Commission.
Indian lawyer, Aniruddha Rajput (33) has been elected as a member International Law Commission
(ILC), a top body of legal experts of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Rajput is among the 34 individuals elected by the UNGA as members of the ILC.
He is India’s first time candidate to the Commission and youngest among the group.
The members have been elected from five geographical groupings of Asia-Pacific, African, Latin
American and Caribbean, Eastern European and Western European states.
Rajput was elected from the Asia Pacific Group by garnering 160 votes.
They will have five-year term commencing from January 2017.
The ILC was established by the UNGA in 1947 to undertake the mandate of UN to ensure
promotion and progressive development of International law and its codification. It holds an
annual session at the UN Office at Geneva.
Professor Raj Bisaria selected for Kalidas Samman.
Madhya Pradesh Government has selected renowned theatre personality Prof Raj Bisaria for the
prestigious ‘Kalidas Samman’ national award for 2015-16.
He will be bestowed with the prestigious award for achievement in theatre in a ceremony to be held in
Ujjain.
It is an annual award constituted by Madhya Pradesh in 1980. It is bestowed upon personalities in the
four fields of classical music, classical dance, theatre and arts.
India, ADB sign $500 million loan to build longest river bridge across Ganges River.
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The Union Government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have inked a $500-million loan
agreement to build a 9.8 km long road bridge across the Ganga River in Bihar. It will be country’s
longest river bridge and shall provide better connectivity between North and South Bihar and also
Patna and its surrounding areas.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB) The ADB is a regional development bank which aims to
promote social and economic development in Asia.
It was established on 19 December 1966.
It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
ADB now has 67 members, of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
Maharashtra becomes first state to adopt Fly Ash Utilization Policy.
Maharashtra became the first state in the country to adopt the Fly Ash Utilization Policy.
Key Facts
The policy seeks 100% use of fly ash generated from thermal power plants and biogas plants for
construction activities.
Facilitates use of fly ash to make bricks, blocks, tiles, wall panels, cement and other construction
materials.
The policy extends use of fly ash to 300 kms radius of power plant from earlier 100 kms radius of
power plant.
It will help in environment protection and save soil excavation.
It also will make available raw material for construction at low cost to help ‘Housing for All’ projects
Fly ash is a fine, glass powder by-product recovered from gases of burning coal in thermal power
plants during production of electricity.
They are micron sized earth elements primarily consisting silica, alumina and iron.
Hunar Haat inaugurated at 2016 India International Trade Fair.
The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs for the first time had inaugurated Hunar Haat (Skill Haat) at India
International Trade Fair (2016) at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
It is aimed at promoting and supporting artisans from Minority communities and providing them
domestic as well as international market for display and sell their products.
Key Facts
The Hunar Haat exhibition has been organised by the National Minorities Development & Finance
Corporation (NMDFC) under “USTTAD” scheme In it about 184 master artisans from across the
country are showcasing their traditional art and skills at about 100 stalls at the international platform.
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USTTAD stands for Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development.
It was launched by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs.
The scheme aims at preserving and promoting the rich heritage of the traditional arts & crafts of the
Minority communities.
National Student Startup Policy.
President Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Student Startup Policy (NSSP) to promote
technology-driven student start-ups.
It was launched during the second Visitor’s Conference held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
The NSSP has been formulated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
It aims to create 1 lakh technology based student start-ups and a million employment opportunities
within the next 10 years.
It also aims to propel Indian youth to contribute to the nation’s socio-economic progress through
promotion of technology-driven student start-ups.
Doctors from Netherlands perform brain implant for the first time in history.
Doctors from Netherlands have performed the first-ever brain implant on a 58-year-old woman
paralysed by Lou Gehrig’s disease (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-ALS).
First-ever brain implant Doctors in first-ever brain implant directly installed a device called an
electrocorticograph (ECoG) on the women’s brain.
The device has electrodes fitted in the brain. Using these electrodes in brain, the patient can control
the computer using brain signals, spell out messages at two letters per minute.
she became the first patient to use a brain-computer interface. The implant has enabled paralysed
women to communicate in day-to-day life via a speech computer.
Russia withdraws from International Criminal Court.
Russia has officially withdrawn from International Criminal Court (ICC) after President Vladimir Putin
signed an executive order in this regard.
The executive order mentioned that Russia is pulling out of the 2002 Rome Statute, which establishes
the ICC’s status and powers. However, Russia had never ratified the statue meaning it was never
member subject to its jurisdiction
ICC based in The Hague, Netherlands is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal.
It has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes.
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International Conference on Brucellosis 2016 inaugurated in New Delhi.
The International Conference on Brucellosis 2016 and the 69th meeting of the International Society
on Brucellosis was inaugurated in New Delhi.
The three day conference has been organised by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in
collaboration with Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR).
Brucella Free Villages programme was also launched.
Brucellosis is a dreadful disease caused by genus of bacteria known as Brucella. It infects various
species of Brucella cows, buffalos, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs and other animals and also humans.
It will be implemented on pilot scale in 50 villages covering 10 states. This programme will be
supported by guidelines and standard operating practices along with an IT enabled application.
Quami Ekta Week (National Integration Week) 2016
The Qaumi Ekta Week (National Integration Week) will be observed all over the country from 19th to
25th November, 2016.
The week long programmes under it with a view to foster and reinforce the spirit of Communal
Harmony, National Integration and pride in vibrant, composite culture and nationhood
Key Facts
November 19: It will be observed as National Integration Day. Based on themes of secularism, anti-
communalism and non-violence programmes like meetings, symposia and seminars will be
organized.
November 20:
It will be observed as Welfare of Minorities Day. On this day, items of the 15 Point Programme will be
emphasized.
November 21: It will be observed as Linguistic Harmony Day. To enable people of each region to
appreciate the linguistic heritage of other parts of India programmes like Special literary functions and
Kavi Sammelans will be organized.
November 22: It will be observed as Weaker Sections Day. Help SCs/STs and weaker sections with
particular emphasis on the distribution of surplus land to landless labourers.
November 23: It will be observed as Cultural Unity Day. Various cultural functions will be organized
to present the Indian tradition of unity in diversity and for promoting cultural conservation and
integration. November 24: It will be observed as Women’s Day. It will highlight the importance of
Women in Indian Society and their role in development of nation-building.
November 25: It will be observed as Conservation Day. It will give emphasise to the growing need for
awareness and action to conserve the environment.
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Jagdish Singh Khehar appointed executive chairman of NALSA.
The Union government has appointed Jagdish Singh Khehar, a judge of the Supreme Court,
as the new Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
Tamil Nadu gets world’s first salt-tolerant plant garden.
The world’s first Genetic Garden of Halophytes (naturally occurring salt-tolerant plants) was
inaugurated at the coastal town of Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu.
The first of its kind garden in the world was inaugurated by Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib Fakim
through video-conferencing.
Key Facts
The garden has been set up by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) founded by
eminent agriculture scientist Prof M S Swaminathan, father of Indian Green Revolution.
It will have over 1,600 species belonging to 550 genera and 117 families of Halophytes plants.
Initially it will comprise halophytes occurring along the coasts of India including the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn conferred with first World Sanskrit Award.
Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was presented with the first ‘World Sanskrit Award’ for
her exemplary contribution for the promotion of the language for the year 2015.
Besides, American linguist and Indologist Prof. George Cardona was also presented with this award
for the year 2016.
The award was instituted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It was announced by the
Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her inaugural address in the 16th World
Sanskrit Conference in Bangkok in June 2015.
India ranks 20th on 2017 Climate Change Performance Index.
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India was placed at the 20th rank among the 58 countries on the 2017 Climate Change Performance
Index (CCPI).
The index was released by Germanwatch, an independent German NGO and Climate Action Network
Europe
India was placed at the 20th rank among the 58 countries on the 2017 Climate Change Performance
Index (CCPI). The index was released by Germanwatch, an independent German NGO and Climate
Action Network Europe.
Scientists have discovered a new ‘super Earth’ type exoplanet named as GJ 536b orbiting a
very bright star near to our Sun.
The planet was jointly detected by Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) and the
Geneva Observatory
Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa to be Chief Guest of 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
António Costa (54), the Indian origin Prime Minister of Portugal will be the chief guest at the 14th
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention.
The PBD Convention is scheduled to be held from January 7 to 9, 2017 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Mr.
Costa will participate in the inaugural session of the PBD Convention on January 8 and address the
delegates.
About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)
The PBD is celebrated every year on January 9 to mark the contribution of overseas Indian
community in the development of India.
It is celebrated every year since 2003. It provides a platform to the overseas Indian community to
engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities.
January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.Sex Ratio at Birth at decline in India: CRS data
According new data from Civil Registration System ( CRS) released by the Office of the Registrar
General of India, Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) continues to worsen in India.
Highest SRB has been reported in Lakshadweep (1043), followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands
(1031) and Arunachal Pradesh (993). Lowest SRB has been reported in Manipur (684), Rajasthan
(799) and Tamil Nadu (834). These states have worst SRB.
The level of registration of births with CRS has been improving. In 2014, it is estimated that 88.8%
births were registered, up from 85.6 % in 2013. 16 States/UTs recorded all births. 14 out of 20 major
States crossed the 90% level of registration of births in 2014.
The new date show that the majority of births in 2014 occurred in an institution i.e. government or
private hospital. Institutional delivery accounted for 72% of all births. Another 14.1% births were
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attended by physicians/nurse/midwife. However, around 3.8% of the cases were still attended by an
untrained midwife.
Lt General AK Bhatt appointed as new DGMO.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Lt-General A K Bhatt as the new
director-general of military operations (DGMO).
He will succeed Lt-General Ranbir Singh who has been promoted and will take over 1 Corps
(headquarters at Mathura), command of a strike corps on the Western border. Lt-General A K Bhatt
will be in charge of all army operations including on the LoC which has seen heightened tension.
He belongs to the Gorkha Rifles. Earlier he had served in the military operations directorate as a
brigadier. Prior to this appointment he was posted as the additional director general of the complaints
and advisory board at the Army HQ. Earlier he had commanded the 21 Division in Assam.
Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu to head CMs Committee on Demonetisation.
The Union Government has decided to constitute a sub-committee of Chief Ministers of five states in
the wake of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes. The committee will be
headed by Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu. It will suggest measures to normalise the
situation.
Since demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes was announced by the Union
Government, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu government has been effectively tackling
the cash crisis in the state. He has come up with several alternatives to encourage mobile and online
transactions besides distributing small change at vegetable markets as an immediate relief to the
people.
The state government is also designing a mechanism that makes ordinary phones do money
transactions. The government will distribute such phones to families which do not have one
Government launches e-Pashuhaat portal to connect farmers and breeders of bovine animals.
The Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare launched e-pashuhaat portal to connect farmers and
breeders of bovine animals. The portal will act as a single online e-trading market platform, including
availability of bovine germplasm. It will enable the farmers to buy bovine animals, frozen semen and
embryo.
Key facts
e-pashuhaat portal will connect farmers with breeders- State, Central, Co-operative, Milk Federations,
and private agencies.
It will provide information related to certification of the animal, breeding, its picture, volume of milk
given by the cow etc.
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It will facilitate farmers to purchase advanced breed of bovine animals at a reasonable price as per
as their requirements.
It will provide, certified picture of animals, its parents information, breeding, volume of milk given by
bovine animal information.
India has the largest bovine population in the world. It accounts for 14% of world cattle population,
while share for buffalo alone is 53% of which 79% of the cattle are indigenous and 21% are crossbred
and exotic varieties. The Indigenous bovine breeds are sturdy and are endowed with quality of heat
tolerance, resistance to diseases.
RBI introduces incremental CRR to manage excess liquidity in banking system.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced an incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of 100%
for fortnight to absorb excess liquidity in the banking system following demonetisation.
CRR is the proportion of deposits that banks have to keep as cash with the RBI (or the central bank).
Banks do not earn any interest on CRR balances kept with the RBI.
After Union Government announced demonization of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes on November
8, 2016, banks started depositing and exchanging those notes.
The deposits in banks had swelled by Rs.3.24 lakh crore between September 16 and November 11,
2016. The last fortnight of September 2016 saw deposit mobilisation jump by Rs.3.5 lakh crore.
Implications
It is intended to absorb a part of the surplus liquidity arising from the return of specified bank notes to
the banking system.
Thus, it leaves adequate liquidity with banks to meet the credit needs of the productive sectors of the
economy It will only have a marginal impact on bank’s cost of funds since it was a temporary measure
26 November: National Milk Day.
The National Milk Day (NMD) was observed on 26 November is to mark birth anniversary
Dr.Verghese Kurien, father of the White Revolution in India.
The idea of observing National Milk Day was first mooted by Indian Dairy Association (IDA) in 2014
on the lines of World Milk Day (observed every year on June 1) under the aegis of UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The first NMD was observed on 26 November 2014 by all Indian diary sector majors including
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), IDA along with around 22 state level milk federations.
Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro passes away.
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Cuba’s former president and leader of the Communist revolution Fidel Castro passed away due to old
age. He was 90.
He was commander in chief of the 1959 Cuban revolution 1959 and had successfully built a
communist state on the doorstep of the United States during Cold War.
He had ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century (from 1976 to 2008) before handing
over the powers to his brother Raul Castro in 2008 due to ill health.
Under his leadership, Cuba became a one-party communist state, industry and business were
nationalized and state socialist reforms implemented throughout society. His greatest legacy is free
healthcare and education, which have given Cuba some of the region’s best human development
statistics. In 2008, he stepped down as President of Cuba due to health issues. He was in office from
1976 to 2008. He world’s third longest-serving head of state, after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and the
King of Thailand.
November 26: Constitution day.
The Samvidhan Diwas or the Constitution Day of India is being observed on 26th November to spread
awareness of Indian Constitution.
On this day in 1949, constitution of India was adopted and came into force on January 26, 1950
marking the beginning of a new era in the history of free India
On this occasion Prime Minister Narendra has released two books on Constitution ‘Making of
Constitution’ and ‘New Version of Constitution of India‘.
Some facts about Indian Constitution.
The Indian Constitution is a core legal document which has nearly 448 articles or provisions in 25
parts, 12 schedules.
It is living fundamental document which makes the government system work effectively
It also defines the powers of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
The key feature of the Constitution is separation of powers while keeping a check on each arm of the
government.
The Indian Constitution drafters had borrowed concepts and ideas from the Constitutions of UK, US,
Germany, Ireland, Australia, Canada and Japan.
Union Government constitutes Amitabh Kant Committee to push cashless transactions .
The Union Government has constituted a new committee to form a strategy to expedite the process of
transforming India into a cashless economy.
The committee will be headed by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. It has been tasked with identifying
various bottlenecks affecting access of digital payments.
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The committee was set up following a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to back up the
demonetisation move. The Union Government is working towards moving all government transactions
to the cashless mode, through a new single window e-payment system that businesses or individuals
can use to make payments to any central or state department
Indian Railways to introduce Tri-Netra to check collisions.
Tri-Netra is an advance system is made up of a high-resolution optical video camera, high-sensitivity
infrared video camera and a radar-based terrain mapping system.
These three components will act as three eyes (Tri-Netra) of the Locomotive Pilot. The requirement
for this advance system gained more pace after 14 bogies of the Patna-bound Indore-Rajendra Nagar
Express went off the tracks near Kanpur Dehat on 20 November 2016.
It was one of the worst railway accidents in recent times in which over 146 passengers and 200
people were injured.
The Tri-Netra system uses infrared and radar technology to collect signals up to a distance of 2-3 km
and displays the information on a screen fitted inside the locomotive.
In case of any physical obstruction on railway tracks ahead it will alert the drivers and thus give ample
time for the driver to apply the brakes to prevent train accidents.
It will be very useful during fog, heavy rain and nights, when drivers have to constantly look outside
the locomotive to judge the condition.
Upma Chowdhary named first woman director of LBSNAA.
Upma Chowdhary was appointed as new Director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration (LBSNAA) at Mussoorie.
LBSNAA is India’s premier institution dedicated to training Officers of the country’s higher civil
services.
It was established in 1959 in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand as the National Academy of Administration by
merging the IAS Training School, Delhi and IAS Staff College, Shimla. Mission: Promote good
governance, by providing quality training for building a professional and responsive civil service in a
caring, ethical and transparent framework
India hosts World Robot Olympiad for the first time.
India hosted the 13th edition of the World Robot Olympiad on the sidelines of trade fair in New Delhi.
This is for first time India hosted World Robot Olympiad. It has been organised by National Council of
Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the India STEM Foundation (ISF).
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The three-day international championship aims to find innovative solutions using robotics technology
to reduce, manage and recycle waste.
The theme of the event is ‘Rap the Scrap’ selected in line with Union Government’s Swachh Bharat
Mission. It will see participation of over 2000 students from 54 countries.
About World Robot Olympiad
It is a global robotics competition that seeks to bring together young minds from across the world to
develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robotics
competition. It was formally established in 2003 and was for the first time held in 2004 in Singapore.
Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea are considered the founding countries of the competition.
5th International Tourism Mart begins in Imphal, Manipur.
The fifth International Tourism Mart has begun in Imphal, Manipur. It will be held between
23– 25 November 2016.
The event has been organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with the
North Eastern States and West Bengal
North East region of India has immense tourism potential because its varied topography, rich
flora, fauna and ethnic communities with rich heritage, lifestyles, festivals, arts, and crafts.
The event has been organised with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the
region in the domestic and international markets.
It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs together to facilitate
interaction between buyers, sellers, media, Government agencies and other stakeholders.
First Woman to conquer Mount Everest has passed away aged 77.
First Woman to conquer Mount Everest Junko Tabei passed away in Tokyo. The Japanese
mountaineer was 77 years old.
She conquered the Everest in 1975 at an age of 35. By 1992, she'd conquered the Seven Summits.
India lifts Asian Champions Trophy.
India has lifted the Men?s Asian Champions Trophy Hockey at Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium,Kuantan,
Malaysia.
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India has defeated defending champions Pakistan 3-2 to win the tournament.
Earlier, India had won the inaugural edition of the Asian Champions Trophy by defeating Pakistan in
the final in 2011.
Kieren Dsouza becomes the first Indian to complete World's toughest race, Spartathlon.
Bengaluru's Kieren Dsouza has become the first Indian to complete the Spartathlon, widely
described as the "world's toughest race".
The 23-year old completed the 246.6 km distance in the 2016 edition, in 33 hours, one minute and
38 seconds.
The Spartathlon is an annual run between Athens and Sparta in Greece, with a reported success rate
of 50%.
Brazil lifted Inaugural BRICS U–17 Football Tournament Championship.
Brazil has lifted the 1st BRICS U-17 Football Tournament 2016 held at Goa. In the Finals they
defeated South Africa 5-1.
Earlier in the match for the 3 rd place between Russia and China, Russia defeated China 2-1.
Ten-day BRICS tournament was held in Goa.
India becomes first team to play 900 ODIs.
When India walked out to the middle for the first match of the five-match series against New
Zealand, it was the 900th time the team took field in the format. No side has played more ODIs than
India.
India played its first ever ODI in 1974 against England at Leeds which ended in a victory for the
hosts.
FIFA unveils mascot for 2018 World Cup.
Russia have unveiled their mascot for the 2018 World Cup – Zabivaka the wolf.
The wolf’s name, according to FIFA means “the one who scores”.
It received 53 per cent of the more than one million votes cast in a poll, beating a tiger (27 percent)
and a cat (20 percent).
India beat Iran 38-29 to win 2016 Kabaddi World Cup.
A brilliant second half performance saw India stage a memorable comeback as they beat Iran 38-29
in the title clash to lift the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad.
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India has also beat Iran in last two WC finals and Asian games.
Ajay Thakur was the star performer claiming 12 points in the final.
North Korea won 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
North Korea won the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup after defeating Japan on
penalties in the final of the tournament.
North Korea, who were the champions of the tournament's maiden edition in 2008, became the first
team to win the tournament twice.
Gangtok conferred Cleanest Tourist Destination honour.
The Union Ministry of Tourism has conferred Gangtok, capital of Sikkim, the ‘Cleanest Tourist
Destination’.
Chandigarh and Mysore were awarded as ‘Clean Cities in million plus population category’.
Urban Development and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation responsible for implementing
the flagship programme, Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban and Gramin), had organised a workshop at
Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi.
C Radhakrishnan selected for Mathrubhumi Literary award.
Eminent writer C Radhakrishnan has been selected for the Mathrubhumi Literary Award in
recognition of his contribution to the field of literature.
The award carries a cash prize of 2 lakh, a citation and a statuette.
Recipient of several honours, including the Literary Academy of India, Kerala Literary Academy,
Radhakrishnan has proved his mettle in various capacities as novelist, short story writer, cine
director, teacher and media personnel
International Prize in Statistics awarded to Sir David Cox.
Noted British statistician Sir David Cox on 19 October 2016 was named the inaugural recipient of the
International Prize in Statistics.
He is honoured for Survival Analysis Model Applied in Medicine, Science, and Engineering.
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Chandigarh International Airports limited (CHIAL) won IBC award.
Chandigarh International Airports Limited (CHIAL), a Joint Venture Company of Airports Authority of
India and States of Punjab and Haryana, has been conferred with IBC award and Trophy for
excellence in built environment in infrastructure projects for “New Integrated Terminal Building of
Chandigarh International Airport for the year 2014-15” at 21st Annual Convention Inaugural function
held in New Delhi.
The award was presented by Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Urban Development, in presence of
Shri Shobhit Uppal, President IBC, Shri D. Kamra, General Manager (Engineering-Project), received
the award on behalf of Airports Authority of India
U.S. author Paul Beatty wins Man Booker Prize.
Paul Beatty has became the first US author to win the Man Booker Prize for his novel "The Sellout".
With this, he has become first American to win this prestigious prize.
The jury behind the world's most prestigious English-language literary award said the novel was a
"shocking and unexpectedly funny" portrayal of Beatty's native Los Angeles, using satire to explore
racial equality in a fictional neighbourhood.
The winner of the Man Booker receives £52,500, ($64,100, 59,000 euros).
The Man Booker was launched in 1969 and has awarded writers including Iris Murdoch and Salman
Rushdie.
This Prize is different from Man Booker International Prize, which was awarded this year to Han
Kang of South Korea.
World Bank award for Almatti dam.
Almatti dam, one of the largest reservoirs in Karnataka, was chosen for the World Bank’s Award of
Excellence for best utilisation of funds for renovation to enhance the strength of the dam.
The World Bank had granted Rs.72 crore to the Krishna Bhagya Jal Nigam Limited to prevent seepage
which could damage the dam.
Gujarat world heritage site: Rani Ki Vav bags ‘Cleanest Iconic Place’ award.
Gujarat’s 900-year-old World Heritage Site Rani ki Vav bag an award for the “Cleanest Iconic Place”.
The monument was felicitated at the conference, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Rani ki Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) was built as a memorial to a king in the year 1063 by Queen
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Udaymati and is located in the north Gujarat district of Patan.
It was added as part of the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2014.
'Murga' wins first prize at Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival.
Young filmmaker Katyayan Shivpuri, from Maharashtra, won the first prize at the Swachh Bharat
Short Film Festival for his work "Murga".
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, M Venkaiah Naidu awarded Katyayan with a certificate
and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs.
Vani Tripathi, filmmaker Gitanjali Rao, and Prahlad Kakar served as the jury to select the best 20
short films.
Daughters of Mother India wins at CAM International Film Festival.
Indian National Award winning documentary “Daughters of Mother India” has won the first prize in
the Documentary Film category at the sixth CAM International Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt.
The CAM International Film Festival has been organised by Arabic Egyptian Society for Culture,
Media and Arts (CMA).
The fest is organised annually to promote cinema as a means of combating ignorance, poverty and
terrorism.
The 2016 edition featured around 92 films from 33 countries in three categories(Short Fiction,
Documentary and Animation).
Sunil Bharti Mittal elected as GSMA Chairman.
Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Mittal has been elected as GSMA (Global System
Mobile
Association) Chairman for a two-year period from January 2017 through December 2018.
Current GSMA Chairman Jon Fredrik Baksaas will step down from the Board at the end of 2016.
Mittal, who is the first Indian to be elected as Chairman of global telecom industry board, will
oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, which represents nearly 800 of the world’s
mobile operators, as well as more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem
Gavaskar appointed ‘Stroke Ambassador’.
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Former Indian Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has been named as ‘Stroke Ambassador of India’.
The Indian Stroke Association which is hosting the World Stroke Congress (WSC) along with World
Stroke Organization (WSO) made this announcement.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide.
Gavaskar is happy to be “The Stroke Ambassador for India” to create awareness that strokes are
treatable
S Sivakumar appointed as full time member of 21st Law Commission of India
The Union Government has appointed S. Sivakumar as a full-time Member of the 21st Law
Commission of India (LCI). He is the professor at the Indian Law Institute (ILI) in New Delhi.
He hails from Kerala and has authored several books on law.
Former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan is Chairman of the commission.
The first commission was constituted in 1955 and since then various commissions were re-
constituted every three years
Amandeep Singh appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the UN Conference.
Former IAS officer Amandeep Singh Gill was appointed as the next Ambassador/PR of India to the
UN
Conference on Disarmament, Geneva.
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a forum established in 1979 by the international
community to negotiate multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements.
Yesudas to be brand ambassador of ‘Haritha Keralam’ project.
CPI(M)-led LDF government has roped in eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas
as the brand ambassador of its ambitious ‘Haritha Keralam’ (Green Kerala) project.
It is a massive initiative envisaged for a garbage-free and clean state.
Google to set up data centre in India by 2017.
Google will set up its first India data centre in Mumbai by 2017, hoping to take on global incumbents
such as Microsoft and Amazon, who have a presence in the country, and allow local customers to
host their applications on the internet.
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Google controls a majority market share in India in search, email and on smartphones through
isAndroid operating system.
It also has a significant presence in offering enterprise applications such as mail and other services,
but lags behind Microsoft and Amazon in its cloud business
India-Russia sign agreement to produce Ka-226T helicopters jointly.
India and Russia formally inked the agreement to create a joint venture to produce Ka-226T
helicopters in India.
Under the agreement, the joint Russian-Indian enterprise created by Russian Helicopters, JSC
Rosoboronexport and India's HAL must arrange for the localization of production and supply of 200
light multi role Ka-226T helicopters for nine years.
Switzerland Tourism names Ranveer Singhas Indian ambassador ,
The actor will bepromoting Switzerland Tourism's campaignfor 2017 named 'Nature wants you
back.
World Bank appoints Kristalina Georgieva as chief executive.
The Former head of EU humanitarian affairs and vicepresident of the European commission
Kristalina Georgieva has been appointed the chief executive of the World Bank. Recently, she lost
out in the race to become United Nations (UN) secretary general. Georgieva is currently European
commission vicepresident for budget and human resource.
Scientists develop new Arhar variety .
The scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute have developed a new variety of Arhar
PUSA- 16 (pigeon-pea) variety that matures in 120 days. It gives the same yields of normal plants and
is amenable to mechanical combine harvesting. The new high-yielding variety of the new arhar seeds
will be made available to farmers from next Kharif season so that these are brought into the
production chain at the earliest
11-day International Space Science School to be held in Sangli .
In a bid to bolster enthusuaism for the study of heavens among the rural young, a 11-day
international ‘Space Science School’ will be organised in Sangli district in Western Maharashtra from
November 7. This school is part of a series of schools conducted jointly by the Canada-based
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Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) and the International Space Weather
Initiative (ISWI)
The International Conference on Robotics, Automation and Communication Engineering .
The International Conference on Robotics, Automation and Communication Engineering, organized
by the SciencePlus will take place on 05 November 2016 at the Hotel grand sarovar in Mumbai,
India. The conference will cover areas like bring together leading researchers, engineers and
scientists in the domain of interest from around the world.
India's first rural skate park in Bundelkhand .
The Janwaar Skating Park, India's first rural skate park, is a not-for-profit project that teaches village
children skateboarding for free. It exists in Janwaar village in Bundelkhand and has been built by
German community activist Ulrike Reinhard
Army launches 'School Chalo' operation in South Kashmir.
The Indian Army has launched Operation School Chalo in South Kashmir, to identify teachers and
provide students with free coaching. The army also started 'Naujawan Club' where youth are given a
chance to display their talent in sports..
Dravid made brand ambassador for Blind T20 WC 2017.
Former cricketer Rahul Dravid was announced as the brand ambassador for the 2nd T20 World Cup
Cricket for the Blind, to be held in January and February 2017. Dravid also launched the 'Support
Blind Cricket by buying a Cricket Ball' campaign.
India's first LNG-powered bus flagged off in Kerala.
India's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bus was flagged off for its pilot run by Union Petroleum
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram. The Centre
plans to use LNG, considered a cleaner fuel that emits less carbon, for mass transportation.
Kamala Harris becomes 1st IndianAmerican to enter US Senate.
The 52-year-old Kamala Harris has become the first Indian-American elected to the US Senate.
Contesting for the Democratic party from California, Harris defeated Republican rival Loretta
Sanchez. is also the first black senator from California, and the second black woman to serve in the
US Senate
Pramila Jayapal 1st Indian-American woman to enter US House.
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India-born Pramila Jayapal won the Washington State Senate seat. She becomes the first Indian-
American woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives. 52-year-old Jayapal secured
57% votes to defeat her opponent, Brady Walkinshaw.
Second BRICS Communication Ministers meeting to begin in Bengaluru .
The two -day second BRICS Communication Ministers meeting chaired by Minister of State for
Communication Manoj Sinha will began in Bengaluru on 10th November. The high-level delegation
from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa deliberate for greater cooperation in
Telecommunication and ICT sectors. This meeting is hosted for the first time by India, the
Communication Ministers Conference will draw course of action on creating new frameworks of
cooperation and collaboration among BRICS countries
International summit on tobacco-control.
India Hosted Seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) in New Delhi from 7th
November to 12th November The meetings, jointly organised by the Government of India and the
Convention Secretariat, took place at the India Expo Centre & Mart. Government of India to increase
international cooperation and awareness of the WHO FCTC globally and especially in the WHO
South-East Asia Region
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Indian women's team wins gold at World Carrom Championship
India's women's carrom team defeated Sri Lanka to win the gold at the 7th World Carrom
Championship in UK on Friday. India's S Apoorwa and Kajol Kumari also won gold in the women's
doubles event.
India, Myanmar and Thailand Friendship Motor Car Rally, 2016.
India, Myanmar and Thailand Friendship Motor Car Rally, 2016 to Be Flagged-off on 13th November,
A Friendship Motor Car Rally from Delhi to Bangkok is being organized from 13th November to 3rd
December, 2016 to sensitize the stakeholders of India Myanmar and Thailand Motor Vehicle
Agreement.
'The Guest' won short film award at MAMI Film Fest Short film.
'The Guest', which emerged as the winner in the 'Large Short Films' category at the Mumbai
Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) Film Festival has been released online. The short film has been
directed by Ayappa KM and stars Avinash Tiwari and Yana Mistry. The film is about a young man,
who unknowingly ends up in a strange place.
Mark Zuckerberg named Fortune's Business Person of the Year.
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Facebook Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been named by Fortune magazine as the
'Business Person of the Year' for 2016.
According to Fortune, the 32-year-old's "ability to look into the future, his otherworldly consistency
and business discipline" make him an effective businessperson.
Zuckerberg is currently the world's fifth richest person,
Akufo-Addo To Receive Mother Teresa International Award For Social Justice.
The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is set
to receive the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice at an event in
Mumbai, India, on Sunday, November 20, 2016.
The event will also posthumously honour Faaraz Ayaaz Hossain, the brave Bangladeshi youth who
was killed in the Dhaka terror attack on July 1st, 2016 for refusing to leave behind his friends who
were from other countries.
International Children’s Peace Prize Kehkashan Basu.
A 16-year-old Indian girl in the UAE, is one of the three finalists for the International Children’s
Peace Prize instituted by the KidsRights Foundation.
World's first Bollywood theme park opens in Dubai Bollywood Parks Dubai.
which is the world's first Bollywood-themed park, recently opened to the public.
A part of Middle East's largest integrated theme park, Dubai Parks and Resorts, it features five
zones, including 'Bollywood Boulevard' and 'Mumbai Chowk'
Ariana wins Artist of the Year at American Music Awards Singer Ariana Grande was named 'Artist
of the Year' at the 2016 American Music Awards (AMAs).
While Selena Gomez won the AMA for 'Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock', Justin Bieber won the
award in the male category.
Miami named world's most inspiring city.
Miami has been named the world's most inspiring city, in a survey by travel company TravelBird.
It has been followed by Bruges and San Francisco.
TravelBird ranked a total of 85 cities, placing Jodhpur at 76th and Mumbai at 83rd place.
The cities were ranked based on the number of performing arts companies, art schools, galleries
and museums present there.
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CHINA’S OBOR INITIATIVE.
Latvia became the first country in the Baltic Sea area to sign a MoU to link up with China’s Belt and
Road Initiative, during the visit by Premier Li Keqiang to the country
Pros of India joining OBOR .
The technical know-how the project will bring back could be used to develop or iron out issues facing
technical bottlenecks.
The OBOR initiative could be icing on the cake for India’s flagship programs like Digital India.
The “Information Silk Route” has the telecom connectivity between the countries through fiber,
trunk line and under-sea cables. This will expand the bandwidth capabilities for India significantly,
without which offering e-Governance and delivering public services in an efficient manner will
remain a pipe dream and a good marketing campaign.
About OBOR
The initiative comprises of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21 Century Maritime Silk Road.
The initiative was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
It aims to boost connectivity and trade across Asia, Africa and Europe. Three main goals of China
are:
Economic diversification political stability and the development of a multipolar global order
INDIA-THAILAND-MYANMAR FRIENDSHIP MOTOR CAR RALLY
India flagged off a Friendship Motor Car Rally from India Gate lawns in Delhi to Bangkok.
Significance of the rally
It will play an important role in developing the economic, transport and cultural relations between
the three countries and will improve our relationship with our neighbouring countries.
It will give a boost to the PM Modi’s ‘ Act East Policy’.
It will highlight the potential benefits of connectivity and integration in the region.
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The India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway is an ambitious project of 1990 miles (3200 km)
that will connect India with the ASEAN region.
The highway will link Moreh in Manipur state (India), via Mandalay city (Myanmar) and to Mae Sot
district (Thailand).
It is a part of India’s upgraded “Act East” policy, which seeks to strategically build India’s link with
the Southeast Asian region.
ROHINGYA ISSUE.
The Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim minority group living primarily in Myanmar’s western Rakhine
state; they practice a Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni Islam.
The Rohingya differ from Myanmar’s dominant Buddhist groups ethnically, linguistically, and
religiously
Bangladesh, which shares a 168-km border with Myanmar, has refused to accept more Rohingya
refugees. The issue of migration happened due to a military crackdown in the Rakhine State of
Myanmar.
The Myanmar government refuses to grant the Rohingya citizenship status, and as a result the vast
majority of the group’s members have no legal documentation, effectively making them stateless.
India’s perspective At a time when refugee crisis is spreading over Europe, we may also suffer
similar crisis involving the Rohingyas.
India is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national
refugee protection framework
The Government of India’s approach to refugee issues results in different standards of protection
and assistance among refugee groups..
UNCITRAL.
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) recently completed 50 years
of establishment.
It’s celebration was hosted by India.
It is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law.
UNCITRAL was established in 1966 with a recognition that “international trade cooperation among
States is an important factor in the promotion of friendly relations and, consequently, in the
maintenance of peace and security”.
Its business is the modernization and harmonization of rules on international business
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India is a founding member of UNCITRAL.
India is only one of eight countries that has been a member of UNCITRAL from its inception, and has
recently been re-elected for a term of six years UNCITRAL’s conventions and its model legal texts
have formed the basis of new enactments in India and amendments to a wide array of our
commercial legislation ranging from the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996,
the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets
and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 etc.
UNCITRAL’s seminal model law on international commercial arbitration 1985 has formed the
bedrock of India’s Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The Centre has decided to extend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in three districts
of Arunachal Pradesh.
The main reason as per the Centre is violence and intimidation resorted to by the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), to dominate areas under the NSCN (Khaplang).
This comes after the NDA government had signed a ‘framework agreement’ with NSCN-IM in
September 2015 to find a final solution to the six-decade-old Naga issue.
AFSPA was being extended in the districts of Tirap, Changlang and Longding, all bordering Assam, as
these districts were being declared as “disturbed area” under Section 3 of the AFSPA.
INS CHENNAI.
The 3rd Ship in the Kolkata class guided missile destroyers INS Chennai was handed over to the navy
recently.
It has been built by Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai.
It is among the largest destroyers constructed in India, displacing 7,500 tonnes and with a length of
164m, it can sail at a top speed of over 30 knots (around 55km) per hour.
It is armed with supersonic surface-to-surface BrahMos, Long Rang Surface-to-Air Barak-8 missiles,
heavyweight torpedo tube launchers, rocket.
Nearly 60% of the ship has been built at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai. The weapons and sensors were
brought from Israel and Russia.
US-2I.
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India is likely to purchase Japanese amphibious airplanes, the ShinMaywa US 2i.
The primary reasons for this purchase seem to be the strengthening bilateral relations between New
Delhi and Tokyo, and the Chinese announcement of having built the world’s largest flying boat,
known as AG-600.
Japan wants to make progress in defence exports which was banned in Japan since 1964, to be
overturned only recently in 2014.
Some experts believe that the deal could help in creating a future roadmap for more such deals with
Japan, especially in naval warships and equipment
Coradia iLint: World’s first zero-emissions hydrogen train unveiled in Germany.
World first hydrogen-powered and zero-emission passenger train named as Coradia iLint was
unveiled in Germany.
The first of its kind ecofriendly train has been developed by French rail company Alstom.
The Coradia iLint only emits excess steam and condensed water into the atmosphere
Coradia iLint is powered by a hydrogen fuel tank fitted on its roof.
The fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen from the air.
The fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into electric power. Excess electric is stored with onboard
lithium batteries.
The train is totally carbon-neutral and carbon-free which makes it a much more sustainable alternative
conventional diesel trains.
Donald Trump elected as 45th President of United States.
Republican Party candidate Donald Trump (70) was elected as 45th President of United States of
America (USA).
He will be the first President of USA without political experience since Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th
President).
Besides, he will oldest first term President of USA. He will succeed Barack Obama and is scheduled
to take office as the President of the USA on 20 January 2017.
In the 2016 Presidential elections, Donald Trump gained 48% of the votes and 279 votes in the
Electoral College to defeat Democrat Party opponent Hillary Clinton who gained 47% votes.
Hillary Clinton had created history in this election by becoming the first woman to top the presidential
ticket of a major US political party.
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He is the chairman and president of Trump Organisation, a principal holding company for his real
estate ventures and other business interests.
He had joined his father’s company in 1968 after graduating in economics from University of
Pennsylvania. In 1971, he took control of company and renamed it Trump Organisation.
As of 2016, Forbes Magazine had listed him as the 324th wealthiest person in the world and 156th in
the US.
Peru to host 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
The 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum’s Leaders Summit will be held in Lima,
Peru from November 19 to 20, 2016.
The theme of the summit is “Quality Growth and Human Development” and the official logo is the
architecture of the ancient city of Caral
Four priority areas were laid out as topics to be discussed. These are Human Capital Development,
Regional Food Market, Upgrading SMEs and Regional Economic Integration Agenda. These subjects
were chosen to build upon on the discussions from the 2015 APEC summit held in the Philippines.
Meng Hongwei.
Elected as new INTERPOL President Meng Hongwei, high-level police official from China has
been elected as the new President of International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
Interpol is global police co-operation agency and a non-governmental organization (NGO). Its work
focuses on public safety and battling terrorism, crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes,
environmental crime etc. It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in
1923. Its headquartered is located at Lyon, France
ECONOMY
SBI opens branch in Yangon after 53 years.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, expanded its overseas footprint by entering
Myanmar, opening a branch Yangon after 53 years, the former capital and the largest city of that
country.
With the opening of this branch, SBI has extended (its) global presence to 37 countries through 198
offices
Ease of doing business: India ranks 130 out of 190 countries.
India is ranked 130 out of 190 countries in World Bank Group’s annual report on the ease of doing
business, ‘Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All’.
New Zealand topped the World Bank ranking for ease of doing business, followed by Singapore,
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Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea, Norway, UK, US, Sweden, and former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia.
ICICI Bank first Indian lender to execute Blockchain transaction.
ICICI Bank has become the first Indian lender to complete a banking transaction using Blockchain
technology.
This remittance transaction has been completed in partnership with Emirates NBD, a lender from
the West Asia.
Blockchain technology simplifies the process and drastically reduces duration of the transaction to
few minutes.
India ranks 2nd on global business optimism index.
India has ranked second on the global business optimism index during the September quarter. India
has improved its ranking by one spot, according to accounting firm Grant Thornton's report.
DEMONETISATION OF RS 500 AND RS 1000 NOTES
The PM of India announced that the 500 and 1000 Rs notes will no longer be a legal tender.
What is Demonetization?
It is a financial step where in a currency unit’s status as a legal tender is declared invalid.
Demonitisation was earlier done in 1978 .
When the government demonitised Rs. 1000, Rs. 5000 and Rs. 10000 notes. This was done under
the High Denomination Bank Note (Demonitisation) Act, 1978.
The difference between 1978 and 2016
Demonitisation is that the currency in circulation (of the higher denomination) is higher in 2016 than
was in 1978
Black Money and Imposition of Tax Act 2015, came into force, where the disclosure of foreign black
money within three months by paying 60% tax was passed.
Also under the Income Deceleration Scheme implemented earlier, citizens were allowed to declare
their undisclosed income and pay the tax, surcharge and penalty amounting to 45% of the declared
income.
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Roll out of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, whereby access to bank was made feasible.
Need of demonetization .
To help eradicate circulation of fake currency, black money, terrorism and smuggling.
Lax tax-compliance and low tax to GDP ratio – In assessment year 2012-13, 39 lakh people bought a
threewheeler or a four-wheeler but only 4 lakh paid income tax above 5 lakh.
The primary reason for demonetisation was the massive rise in currency in circulation over the past
one year. While the real gross domestic product rose by 7.56 per cent and inflation rose at 6 per
cent, the currency in circulation rose by 15 per cent.
Lack of transparency in financial dealings.
Challenges/ Criticism
Unorthodox methods being used and undeniable hardship borne by ordinary citizens are harshly
criticised.
Lack of Proper Planning and implementation of public policy; and lack of required capacity of the
government.
Population that does not have access to banking facility will face major inconvenience.
Replacing all the Rs.500 and Rs.1000 denomination notes, as ordered by the government, could cost
the RBI at least Rs. 12000 crore.
PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN YOJANA.
Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes to introduce a scheme named the 'Pradhan
Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016
Features
Its aim is to use black-money collected post-demonetization in welfare schemes for the poor.
The government wants to give people an opportunity to pay taxes with penalties and declare
undisclosed income through the proposed Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
PMGKY will allow people to deposit previously untaxed money by paying 50% of the total amount:
30% as tax and 10% as penalty on the undisclosed income, as well as 33% of the taxed amount as
cess
“HOUSING FOR ALL” IN RURAL AREA.
The Prime Minister has formally launched the “Housing for All” in rural areas scheme.
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Under the scheme the Government proposes to provide an environmentally safe and secure pucca
house to every rural household by 2022.
About the “Housing for All “in Rural Areas
It is named as the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin)- PMAY-G.
PMAY-G is a major step forward in bringing together Skill India, Digital India, Make In India,
IT/DBTAadhaar platform and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
The implementation of housing developments in the rural areas of the nation will be done under
the name of Gramin – Awaas Yojana.
Objectives
In its first phase the target is to complete one crore houses by March 2019.
The programme targets the poor households and uses ICT and space technology to further confirm
correct selection of beneficiaries and progress of work.
Provisions .
There is a provision of Bank loan upto Rs. 70,000/-, if the beneficiary so desires.
Selection of beneficiaries -completely transparent process using the Socio Economic Census 2011
data and validating it through the Gram Sabha.
The programme provides for skilling 5 lakh Rural Masons by 2019 and allows over 200 different
housing designs across the country based on a detailed study of housing typologies, environmental
hazards and the households’ requirements.
Local materials will be used largely - along with a complete home with cooking space, electricity
provision, LPG, toilet and bathing area, drinking water etc through convergence.
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RANKING AMONG STATES
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry had
given out a 340-point Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for States/UTs earlier this year
The BRAP included recommendations for reforms on 58 regulatory processes, policies, practices or
procedures spread across 10 reform areas spanning the lifecycle of a typical business
This study was recently released in its Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms
2015-16.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have jointly topped the rankings.
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Major progress was made by states like Telangana, Haryana, and Uttarakhand .While 12 states were
ranked as leaders with 90-100% implementation record, 17 states and union territories, including
Kerala, Goa and most north-eastern states, were ranked as laggards that need “jump - start” with 0-
40% implementation record
The reordering of the ranking signals that competitive federalism is rapidly taking root as states
move swiftly to showcase themselves as ideal investment destinations.
The rankings show greater acceptance of reform measures and seriousness about it among the
states. For example, previously, only 7 states implemented more than 50% of the reforms proposed
as against 17 this year. Further, last year, not a single state implemented more than 75% of reforms.
But 16 states implemented more than 75% this year.
World Bank is all set to rank cities globally on a “ease of living” index.
This news comes at a time when the World Bank is planning to tweak the “ease of doing business”
index.
The index is being launched keeping in mind that as cities grow and expand, the ease of living
becomes an important parameter.
The index could include categories on social inclusion, cost of living, public transport, housing,
education, health, environment-friendliness, crime/safety, governance and corruption.
India was ranked a lowly 130 on the “ease of doing business” index 2016.
India has recommended the World Bank that reforms undertaken in the entire country and not just
in Delhi and Mumbai be considered for the “Ease of Doing Business” Index.
POLITY
REGULATION OF MEDIA.
Inter-ministerial committee instituted by the Information and Broadcasting ministry ordered that the
Hindi channel NDTV India be shut down for a day for revealing “strategically sensitive” details during
its coverage of the Pathankot attacks in January.
This action has come under severe criticism for impinging the Freedom of the Press
Criticism of decision.
Editor’s Guild strongly condemned the unprecedented decision of the committee and demanded
that the order be immediately rescinded.
The government’s decision was a violation of freedom of media and therefore the citizens of India
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Press Council of India.
Created by Press Council Act of 1978.
It is the apex body for the regulation of the Press in India.
It enjoys independence from the government.
It acts as the regulator that prescribes and enforces professional standards for the print
media in India.
News Broadcasting Standards Authority.
It is an independent body set up by the News Broadcasters Association. It is headed by eminent
jurist
Way forward
Live coverage of terror events and the compromise of ongoing operations is now a global point of
debate to create a balance between the right to allow dissemination of information in real time and
aiding and abetting the enemy by providing helpful data on what’s going on to winkle them out.
It’s time to establish an independent television media watchdog on the lines of the Press Council of
India to ensure the freedom of the televised press. The UK has an independent media watchdog
Office of Communications (Ofcom) that is recognised by statute and has enforcement powers.
CONTEMPT OF COURT.
The Supreme Court recently created history by issuing a contempt notice against one of its own
former judges, Justice Markandey Katju.
Issue Former judge, Justice Katju wrote a blog criticising the judgment in the Soumya rape and
death case and calling it "grave miscarriage of justice".
Although there is a right to free speech in India, no person can say anything which “scandalizes the
court”, i.e., which lowers a court’s dignity or shakes public confidence in the judiciary.
Situation in India When the Constitution was enacted in independent India, contempt of court was
made an exception to the right to free speech.
The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 defines 'contempt' as Disobeying court orders, Interfering with
judicial proceedings,
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Obstructing the administration of justice Scandalising or lowering the authority of the court.