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VETRII IAS STUDY CIRCLE

Current Affairs

TNPSC

(APRIL- 2016)

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TNPSC VETRII IAS

CURRENT AFFAIRS

INDEX

SL. NO

TITLE

PAGE NO

1. NATIONAL 1

2. ECONOMY 10

3. SOCIAL ISSUES 12

4. PERSONALITIES 13

5. AWARDS & HOUNOUS 15

6. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 17

7. SPORTS 22

8. INTERNATIONAL 24

9. COMMITTEES 33

Vetrii's TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

STUDY CIRCLE

Page 1

NATIONAL AFFAIRS Union Government releases Indian Intellectual Property

Panorama

Union Government has released Indian Intellectual Property (IP) Panorama to

increase awareness and build sensitivity towards IP in the SME sector, academia

and researchers.

The IP Panorma is a single window interface for information on IP and guidance on

leveraging it for competitive advantage.

Key facts

The Indian IP Panorama is a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia

toolkit developed by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Korean

Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and Korea Invention Promotion Association

(KIPA).

The toolkit has been adapted to cater to start-ups and SMEs especially India’s ICTE

sector based on an agreement signed between DeitY and WIPO.

Thus, the Indian IP Panorama is a customized version of WIPO’s original product

has been framed in accordance with Indian IP laws, standards and needs of the

Indian ICTE sector.

5 modules of the Indian IP Panorama:

(i) Importance of IP for SMEs

(ii) Trademark

(iii) Industrial design

(iv) Invention and Patent and

(v) Patent Information.

Developed under the aegis of:

Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Department of

Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Centre for Development of Advanced

Computing (C-DAC) in close coordination with the Indian IP office.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):

It is the global body for promotion and protection of intellectual property rights

(IPR), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It encourages and provides assistance

to all its 188 member countries in formulating a national IPR policy however it does

not dictate or prescribe any mandatory measures. India is a member of WIPO and

party to several treaties administered by WIPO.


STUDY CIRCLE

Page 2

First semi-high speed train Gatiman Express flagged off from Delhi

India’s First Semi-High Speed Train (SHST) Gatimaan Express was flagged off

between New Delhi and Agra.

It was flagged off by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu from Nizamuddin

Railway station in New Delhi and reached Agra on time in 100 minutes. It is faster

than Shatabdi Express which takes 117 minutes between two destinations.

Key facts

The Nizamuddin-Agra Gatiman Express runs at a speed of 160 kilometres

per hour. For first time train hostesses will be present on board of the train.

It covers the 200 km distance between two destinations in one hours and 40

minute (100 minutes). The train will run six days a week except Friday in both

directions.

The train is equipped with a 5,500 HP electric locomotive, 2 Executive AC Chair

Cars and AC Chair Car coaches.

It has enhanced passenger amenities including better catering service, improved

coach interiors with wide windows, bio-toilets.

It has high-power emergency braking system, automatic fire alarm, GPS—based

passenger information system and sliding doors in the coaches.

Besides there are also free multimedia services enabling passengers to view movies,

news and cartoons during their journey to Agra.

Wi-Fi hotspot devices also have been installed at coaches to enable passengers to

access multimedia services free of cost directly on their smartphones, tablets or

laptops.

Odisha Government launches Adarsh Vidyalaya Project

Odisha Government has launched Adarsh Vidyalaya (AV) project to provide

modern schools facilities on the lines of Kendriya Vidyalayas in the underdeveloped

rural areas of the state.

It was launched by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Sasan Ambagaon

village in his home constituency Hinjli in Ganjam district.

Key features of the project

Schools under AV project will provide free education to students the classes from VI

to XII along with free uniforms and other study materials.

These schools will be affiliated under the Central Board of Secondary Education

(CBSE) and shall have hostel facility in future.

Under this project, one Adarsh Vidyalaya will be set up in each of the 314 revenue

blocks of the state.

They will be managed by the Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya Sangathan (AVS) and will be

formed on the lines of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).


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In these schools, English will be the first language and Odia will be the second

language as medium of instruction.

The project will be implemented in phases and in the first phase 100 such schools

will start functioning on 5 April 2016.

The teacher-pupil ratio of these schools will be 1:25 and classroom-student ratio of

1:40. per cent of total seats will be reserved for the girls and scheduled categories.

Union Government constitutes B B Tandon Committee to monitor

GovernmentAdvertisements

The Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has constituted a three-

member Committee to see that guidelines set for government advertisements by the

Supreme Court are followed.

The committee will be headed by the former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) B

B Tandon.

Senior TV journalist Rajat Sharma and ad-man Piyush Pandey will be the other

two members of the committee.

Background

The committee was constituted by I&B Ministry based on the recommendation of

the three-member selection committee comprising Press Council Chairman Justice

(retd) C K Prasad, I&B Secretary Sunil Arora and advertising professional Prasoon

Joshi.

Supreme Court order on Government Advertisements

In May 2015, Supreme Court in its order had issued Guidelines on Regulating

Government Advertisements based on recommendations of Prof NR Madhava

Menon Committee.

In its order, SC had barred publication of photos of leaders in government

advertisements except those of the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice

of India.

SC had also directed the Union Government to constitute a three-member

committee to regulate the issue of public advertisements.

It had clearly mentioned that members of this committee should be consisting of

persons with unimpeachable neutrality and impartiality.

However, in March 2016 SC modified its earlier May 2015 order and allowed

photographs of Chief Ministers, Governors and ministers to be carried in public

advertisements.


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Page 4

Union Government launches ISBN portal

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched the

International Standard Book Number (ISBN) portal in New Delhi.

It was launched by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani as part of Union

Government’s ambitious Digital India campaign.

Key facts

The ISBN portal seeks to facilitate publishers and authors to register for allotment

ISBN online.

It aims to automate completely the process of seeking application, their

examination and allotment of ISBNs.

The portal has developed software has several modules such as users’ registration,

online application submission, ISBN generation.

It also includes ISBN generation request from the National Agency to the

International Agency at UK.

The automation process will lead to maintain inventory as well as process the data

that will be provided by the users.

It will help to move away from traditional process of registration and allotment of

ISBN.

What is International Standard Book Number (ISBN)?

The ISBN is a 13-digit unique International Publisher’s Identifier number, which is

meant for identifying monograph publications. The ISBN Nos. are allotted free of

cost.

It is displayed in barcode format to provide access to bibliographic data bases used

by the book industry and libraries to provide information.

In India, Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Agency for ISBN is responsible for ISBN

registration and is affiliated to UK based International Agency.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Maritime India Summit 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maritime India Summit 2016 in

Mumbai, Maharashtra.

This is India’s first ever Maritime Summit and the flagship event organised by

Union Ministry of Shipping.

Key facts

The first of its kind two day summit (from April 14 to 16, 2016) will be held at the

Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai.

South Korea is the partner country for the summit and will be represented by a high

level ministerial and business delegation.

The main focus of summit is to give impetus to Make In India and blue economy

under the Union Government’s ambitious Sagarmala Project emphasising on port-


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Page 5

led development It will be global summit that will comprise of an Investors’ Summit

along with exhibition and demo session. More than 50 other maritime nations have

been invited.

On the occasion of this event, Union government also released a national

perspective plan for the Sagarmala Project. The project involves more than 150

projects related to modernisation of existing ports, setting up 5-6 new ports.

It also seeks to enhance port connectivity through heavy haul rail corridor, freight-

friendly expressways, inland waterways, coastal Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

and industrial clusters, and so on. Its main purpose is to set sight on boosting

India’s exports by 2025, and create 40 lakh direct jobs and indirect employment for

60 lakh people.

Union Cabinet gives nod to operationalisation of IISER Tirupati

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for operationalisation of new Indian

Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

The operationalisation IISER Tirupati will commence from the Academic Year of

2015-16 from a transit or temporary campus.

Background

Union Government had decided to establish an IISER, an Institute of National

Importance, in the residual State of Andhra Pradesh.

This decision was taken after bifurcating of the then State of Andhra Pradesh to the

States of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana in 2014.

Consequently, Andhra Pradesh Government had earmarked 244 acres of land in

Yerpedu Mandal for construction of the permanent campus of IISER, Tirupati.

It was also decided to commence its functioning from the academic session of 2015-

16 from the transit campus at Sree Rama Engineering College, Tirupati.

About Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER):

IISERs are a group of most premier statutory science education and research

institutes in India of national importance and are intended to be the IITs of basic

sciences.

These institutes were created under The National Institutes of Technology

(Amendment) Bill, 2010 (an amendment of the National Institutes of Technology

Act, 2007).

Presently there are 5 IISERs in operational namely IISER Kolkata (West Bengal),

Pune (Maharashtra), Mohali (Punjab), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh),

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).


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President nominates 6 eminent members to Rajya Sabha

President Pranab Mukherjee has nominated of six eminent members to Rajya

Sabha as per the provisions of Article 80 of the Constitution.

These nominated members are

Mary Kom:

o Legendary boxer and Olympic bronze medallist. She belongs to the Sino-

Tibetan speaking Kom tribe of Manipur. She is five-time World Amateur

Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one

of the six world championships. In 2014,

o she became the first Indian woman boxer to get a gold medal in the Asian

Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Narendra Jadhav:

o He is renowned economist and former member of the erstwhile National

Advisory Council (2010-14) and Planning Commission (2009-14). He is also

the former vice chancellor of Pune University.

Suresh Gopi:

o He is Malayalam actor and had acted in over 200 films. He is a winner of the

National Film Award and Filmfare Award.

Swapan Dasgupta:

o He is journalist by profession. He had worked at senior editorial positions in

various publications including The Indian Express, India Today and The

Times of India.

Subramanian Swamy:

o He is BJP leader and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, 1980 and 1988,

and to the Rajya Sabha in 1974 and 1998.

Navjot Singh Sidhu:

o He is cricketer-turned-politician and former two time member of Lok Sabha.

Nomination of eminent members to Rajya Sabha

As per Article 80 (Part V) of the Constitution, President can nominate 12 members

in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).

These persons should have special knowledge or practical experience in the field of

Art, Science, Literature and Social Service.

The rationale behind the principle of the nomination is to facilitate the

representation of eminent professionals and experts who cannot face direct

elections.


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Page 7

India’s first online interactive heritage portal Sahapedia launched

The Union Government has launched India’s first online interactive heritage portal

named Sahapedia was in New Delhi.

The web portal is a collaborative knowledge resource on the arts, culture and heritage

of India.

About Sahapedia

Sahapedia is a not-for-profit society headed by former TCS chairman S. Ramadorai,

who currently helms the National Skill Development Agency.

The purpose of this portal is to inform, educate and act on subjects such as

knowledge traditions, visual and material arts, performing arts, literature and

languages.

It also seeks to educated and spread knowledge about practices and rituals,

histories, institutions, people, built spaces and natural environment.

It will be accessible across user groups such as scholars, practitioners, students,

teachers, travellers and enthusiasts.

It will also play important role in integrating activities and services including

research, documentation, digitization and conservation.

PM Narendra Modi launches Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday

Abhiyan’ (Village Self Governance Campaign) to strengthen Panchayati

Raj in villages and ensure social harmony in villages.

It was launched on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb

Ambedkar at his birthplace at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh.

Key facts

The campaign aims to generate nation-wide efforts to strengthen Panchayati Raj,

increase social harmony across villages, promote rural development and foster

farmers’ welfare and livelihoods of the poor.

It is eleven day campaign (from 14th April to 24th April 2016) will mainly focus on

generating nationwide efforts on promoting above mentioned aim of the campaign.

The campaign will be run jointly by the Union Ministries of Rural Development,

Social Justice, Agriculture, Labour and Information and Broadcasting along with

the States Governments.

Panchayat level programmes:

Between 14th April to 16th April 2016, a ‘Social Harmony Programme’ will be

conducted in all Gram Panchayats.


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Page 8

In this programme, villagers will resolve to strengthen social harmony. Information

regarding the various schemes of the government will be provided to foster social

justice.

Gram Kisan Sabha:

Between 17th April to 20th April, 2016 ‘Village Farmer Assemblies’ will be

organized in Gram Panchayats to promote agriculture.

In these assemblies, information regarding schemes regarding agriculture will be

provided to farmers and their suggestions for bringing about improvements in

agriculture will be solicited.

Gram Sabha meetings:

It will be held from 21th to 24th April, 2016 across the country. On these days,

Prabhat Pheris (or morning walk), cultural programme as well as a sports

programme will be organized in the village.

Panchayati Raj Day:

On 24th April 2016, the day will be celebrated at Jamshedpur, which will be

attended by selected Panchayat representatives from the country. Prime Minister

will address the gathering on this day.

India, France launch $1 Trillion Potential Solar Programme under

ISA

India and France have launched a programme with $1 trillion Potential Solar

Programme under the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

It is a solar finance programme that aims at helping developing countries to fully

harness their solar resources for a clean energy future.

It was announced by Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal and French

Environment Minister Segolene Royal at the ministerial side event on ISA at the

United Nations.

The solar finance programme aims at lowering the cost of finance and facilitates the

flow of more than 1 trillion dollars investment to members of the ISA.

Both countries also launched a second programme at the ISA meeting which aims

to make available solar technology for farmers. The meeting was attended by

representatives of over 25 countries including the US, Bangladesh, Brazil and

Nigeria.

About International Solar Alliance (ISA):

The ISA was launched at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Summit by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande.

It seeks to empower solar-rich countries located between the tropic of Cancer and

the tropic of Capricorn to make collaborative efforts to harness solar energy to

generate the electricity.


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Page 9

Under this alliance, 121 countries that fall within the tropics have been invited.

Most of these countries fall within Asia, Africa and South America.

Three Objectives:

(i) To force down prices by driving demand

(ii) To bring standardization in solar technologies and thirdly and

(iii) To foster research and development.

India, Mongolia hold joint exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant’ to boost

military cooperation

The eleventh edition of India-Mongolia joint military training Exercise ‘Nomadic

Elephant – 2016’ has commenced at Mongolia.

It seeks to promote military associations between India and Mongolia. The first

joint exercise was held in 2004 and since then it is annually held.

Key facts

Aim of exercise is to develop synergy and interoperability between the two armies

to fight in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism (CICT) environment under

the United Nation mandate.

In this edition, a platoon of the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army along with a

team of two observers is taking part in the event.

The Indian contingent will share its practical experiences of CICT operations

through a series of classroom lectures and outdoor demonstrations.

Permod Kohli : Retired Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Justice Permod Kohli was

sworn in as the Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

5th April: National Maritime Day of India Every year 5th April is being observed as National

Maritime Day of India. 2016 was the 53rd edition of National Maritime Day and the theme was

“Ease of doing business in the maritime sector”.


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Page 10

ECONOMICS ISSUES

DCB Bank launches India’s first Aadhaar-based ATM

DCB Bank has launched an India’s first of its kind Aadhaar-based Automatic Teller

Machine (ATM) usage facility.

Currently, this ATM has been placed in pilot site at DCB Bank at Peninsula

Business Park, Lower Parel, Mumbai.

Key facts

Under this facility, DCB customers can transact using his biometric details instead

of the PIN.

Thus it is a cardless and PIN less ATM.

The ATM will dispense cash from the bank account by accepting Aadhaar number

and Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) of the customer instead of ATM/Debit Card

and PIN.

The customer can swipe the card at an ATM or key-in the 12-digit Aadhaar number

to start a transaction. But at the stage of confirming the identity, it requires

biometric details rather than the PIN

Nauru becomes 189th member of IMF, World Bank

The Republic of Nauru, a tiny South Pacific island nation in Pacific Ocean became

the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank i.e.

Bretton-Woods institutions.

Nauru had applied for membership in the Washington-based IMF and World Bank

in April 2014. Its initial subscription quota for IMF will be of SDR (Special Drawing

rights) 2 million or about $2.81 million. It will be the second smallest member of

the Fund, after Tuvalu.

Benefits to Nauru

By joining the World Bank:

The island country gains access to financial support, technical support and special

expertise to deal with Pacific area issues, such as water and sanitation and disaster

risk management amid the threat of climate change and rising sea levels.

By joining the IMF:

Nauru can benefit from the IMF’s crisis lender’s advice on managing government

finances and monetary policy.

Before Nauru, the last country to join the World Bank and IMF as 188th member

was South Sudan in April 2012.


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Page 11

About Republic of Nauru

Nauru is a tiny island country in Micronesia, northeast of Australia. It is the

smallest sovereign state in the world after the Vatican City in terms of both

population and area.

It has a population of about 10,500 and a land area of about 8 square miles. The

Australian dollar is its currency or legal tender. It had joined United Nations (UN)

in 1996 as the world’s smallest independent republic.

PM Narendra Modi launches National Agriculture Market portal

eNAM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Agriculture Market portal eNAM

to connect emandis in several States.

eNAM is an online inter-connectivity of e-mandis, aimed at ushering in much needed

agriculture marketing reforms to enable farmers to get better price of their produce.

Key features

e-National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India e-trading platform. It is

designed to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

Farmers can showcase their produce online from their nearest market and traders

can quote price from anywhere.

It will result in increased numbers of traders and greater competition. It will also

ensure open price discovery and better returns to farmers.

During the launch, 21 mandis from eight states were connected to this unified

portal. The States include Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkahnd, Madhya Pradesh and

Uttar Pradesh.

Initially, online trade will be allowed within the state and inter-state trade will be

possible once all states and mandis are integrated.

25 commodities including onion, potato, apple, wheat, pulses, coarse grains and

cotton, have been identified for online trading.

To integrate a wholesale mandis across the country with the online platform, the

state governments have to amend their Agriculture Produce Market Committee

(APMC) Act.

eNAM will be implemented in different phases with an aim to integrate 585

regulated markets across the country with the common e-market platform by

March 2018. So far 365 mandis from 12 states have been granted approval.

Gurgaon renamed as Gurugram : Haryana Government has decided to rename Gurgaon

as Gurugram. State government also has renamed Mewat as Nuh.

April 7: World Health Day: Every year World Health Day (WHD) is being observed

on 7 April to disseminate knowledge and awareness about human health. 2016

theme: “Beat Diabetes”


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SOCIAL ISSUES

PM Narendra Modi launches Stand up India scheme for SC/ST,

women

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Stand-up India scheme aimed at

providing credit to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and women

borrowers in the non-farm sector.

The scheme is intended to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women and

further give a push to government’s financial inclusion programme.

The broad features of the scheme

Composite loan between 10 lakh rupees and up to 1 crore rupees will be provided to

SC/ST and women and also inclusive of working capital component for setting up

any new enterprise.

Debit Card (RuPay) for withdrawal of working capital. Credit history of borrower to

be developed of these under-banked sections of society.

Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

with an initial amount of 10,000 crore rupees.

Creation of a corpus of 5,000 crore rupees for credit guarantee through National

Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).

Handholding support for borrowers with comprehensive support for pre loan

training needs, facilitating loan, factoring, marketing etc.

Web Portal for online registration and support services will be provided.

Under the scheme, 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to 1 crore rupees

to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs. Thus it will help in creating 2.5 lakh

entrepreneurs throughout the country.

World’s first public dengue vaccination programme : The world’s first public dengue

vaccination programme was launched in the Philippines with a French drug Dengvaxia

(world’s 1st dengue fever vaccine) to combat mosquito-borne disease.

28 April: World Day for Safety and Health at Work Every year 28 year is being

observed as the World Day for Safety and Health at Work to promote the prevention

of occupational accidents and diseases globally.


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Page 13

PERSONALITIES

Mehbooba Mufti sworn in as first woman Chief Minister of Jammu

& Kashmir

Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed (56) took oath as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu

and Kashmir, bringing to an end the three-month Governor’s Rule in the state.

She was administered oath to the office by Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan in

the winter capital city of Jammu. Along with her 22 member council of ministers

from BJP-PDP alliance also took oath.

BJP leader Nirmal Singh took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

Mehbooba Mufti succeeds her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in the role who had

died in January 2016.

She is also second Muslim woman to become the Chief Minister of a state in India

after Syeda Anwara Taimur who had served as the first Muslim woman CM of

Assam from 1980 to 1981.

About Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed

Born on 22 May 1959 in Akhran Nowpora, Jammu and Kashmir.

She is the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

She is currently a Member of Parliament, representing Anantnag constituency in

the 16th Lok Sabha and shall vacate this role in light of her Chief Ministership.

Previously, she also had represented Anantnag constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha

(2004-09).

Background

After the death of then CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on 7 January 2016 due to ill

health, the state government of J&K had lapsed. Since then it was under the

Governor’s rule.

The PDP-BJP coalition has 56 MLAs in the 87-member J&K Assembly. The PDP

have 27 members while BJP have 25.

BCCI appoints Rahul Johri as its first CEO

Rahul Johri has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board

of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Mr. Johri will report to the BCCI secretary and shall be given freedom to work

independently in BCCI’s set-up that was traditionally controlled by honorary office-

bearers.

Novak Djokovic: World Number One tennis player Novak Djokovic from Serbia has

won the 2016 Miami Open Title in the men’s singles category.


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Page 14

In his new role he will be responsible for the smooth functioning of operations,

stakeholder management of BCCI and building robust strategies for further

promoting the sport of cricket.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Johri had served as Discovery Networks Asia Pacific’s

executive vicepresident and general manager for South Asia. He has two decades of

rich experience in the media industry.

Background

The appointment of CEO of BCCI was based on the lines of key recommendations of

the three-member Justice RM Lodha Committee.

The committee was appointed by the Supreme Court to suggest administrative

reforms in Indian cricket i.e. to bring reform in BCCI, an apex governing body for

cricket in India.

It had recommended creation of the post of the CEO in order to separate BCCI’s

governance and management duties with the CEO taking charge of the

management side.

April 12: International Day of Human Space Flight :

Every year 12th April is being observed as the International Day of Human

Space Flight to commemorate the date of the first human space flight in the

history of mankind.

3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the third edition of Asia

Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in New Delhi to save wild

tigers. India was host of this edition of conference in which more than 700

tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders had

participated


STUDY CIRCLE

www.vetriias.com Page 15

AWARDS & HONOUS

Vishwanathan Anand to be honoured with Hridaynath

Mangeshkar Award

Five-time world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand (46) will be honoured with

the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award.

Maharashtra State Governor C Vidyasagar Rao will bestow award upon him at an

event to be held in Mumbai on April 12, 2016.

About Vishwanathan Anand :

Born on December 11, 1969. He is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former world

champion. He became India’s first grandmaster in 1988.

He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002 and became the

undisputed world champion in 2007.

About Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award:

Established in 2011 by Mumbai- based socio-cultural organisation Hridayesh Art in

the honour of music composer and singer Hridaynath Mangeskar.

The award felicitates and recognises successful individuals across the country from

various walks of life. It carries monetary award of Rs 2 lakh and a memento.

Hridaynath is the son of renowned musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and is

younger brother of Indian music legends Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

The previous recipients of the award include eminent personalities like Lata

Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Amitabh Bachchan, Hariprasad Chaurasia and A R

Rahman.

Dogri Poetess Padma Sachdev selected for 2015 Saraswati

Samman

Dogri Poetess and novelist Padma Sachdev (76) has been chosen for the prestigious

Saraswati Samman for the year 2015.

She has been chosen for her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’ written in Dogri

language and published in 2007.

In her 662-page autobiography, Ms. Sachdev has included some historic

photographs with dignitaries from her state, nation and the world.

Her work was selected by the jury presided by former Chief Justice AS Anand from

22 works in as many languages published between the years 2005-2014.

About Padma Sachdev:

Padma Sachdev is first modern woman poet of Dogri language. She also writes in

Hindi.

She has published her several poetry collection and has 60 books to her credit.


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Some of her famous books are Tavi Te Chanhan (1976), Nheriyan Galiyan (1982),

Pota Pota Nimbal (1987), Uttar Vahini (1992) and Tainthian (1992).

Awards and Honours:

Her poetry collection Meri Kavita Mere Geet (My Poems, My Songs) has won the

Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971.

She also has been awarded Padma Shri (2001), India’s 4th highest civilian award

and the Kabir Samman for poetry (2007-08) by Government of Madhya Pradesh.

About Saraswati Samman

Saraswati Samman is an annual award bestowed upon Indian citizen for his

outstanding literary work written in any Indian language mentioned in Schedule

VIII of Constitution and published during last 10 years.

It has been named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be

among the highest literary awards in India.

Established: 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation.

Award Carries:

Monetary award of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.

Eminent Hindi author Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first recipient of this award

for his autobiography in four volumes.

2016 itzer Prize Winners

The Sympathizer, a debut novel of Vietnamese American professor Viet Thanh

Nguyen has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. While, Associated Press has won two

prestigious Pulitzer prize in Public Service for coverage for an investigation of

severe labour abuses tied to the supply of seafood to American supermarkets and

restaurants.

List of 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners Books, Drama and Music

Fiction: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.

Drama: Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

History: Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles.

Biography: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan,.

Poetry: Ozone Journal by Peter Balakian.

Music: In for a Penny, In for a Pound by Henry Threadgill. Journalism

Public Service: Associated Press.

Breaking News Reporting: Los Angeles Times Staff.

Shaheen (Eagle) 5 : Pakistan and China conducted a joint bilateral air force exercise

named Shaheen (Eagle) 5 in Pakistan. It was the fifth edition of the drill between the

two countries that took place from April 9 to 30, 2016.


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Investigative Reporting: Leonora LaPeter Anton and Anthony Cormier of the Tampa

Bay Times and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Explanatory Reporting: Christian Miller of ProPublica and Ken Armstrong of The

Marshall Project.

Local Reporting: Michael LaForgia, Cara Fitzpatrick and Lisa Gartner of the Tampa

Bay Times.

National Reporting: The Washington Post Staff.

International Reporting: Alissa J. Rubin of The New York Times.

Feature Writing: Kathryn Schulz of The New Yorker.

Commentary: Farah Stockman of The Boston Globe.

Criticism: Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker.

Pulitzer Prize: It honours the extraordinary work in US journalism, drama, literature

and other areas. It also brings welcome attention and recognition to newspapers and

websites

18 April: World Heritage Day :Every year World Heritage Day is being observed across

the world on April 18. It is also known as International Day for Monuments and Sites.


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Science & tech

Akash Missile System successfully test fired

Indigenously developed surface-to-air supersonic Akash missile System was

successfully test fired from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

Chandipuri in Odisha.

Test:

Two rounds of Akash missiles were fired against Pilot less target aircraft (PTA)

Lakshya, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Banshee and Para-barrel. It successfully

destroyed the targets coordinated by the user, demonstrating its ‘killing’ efficiency.

About Akash Missile

Akash (in English it means sky) is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM). It is

medium range nuclear capable supersonic missile. Indigenously developed by

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated

Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Features:

The missile has supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5. It is multi target,

multi directional, all weather air-defence system consisting of surveillance and

tracking radars.

It has capability to carry warhead of 60 kg. It can engage aerial targets up to a range

of approximately 25 kms. It can reach a high altitude of 18 kms and as low as 30

meters.

It is powered by Ramjet-rocket propulsion system (RRPS) which renders thrust for

the missile to intercept the target at supersonic speed without any retardation.

It is capable of neutralising aerial targets like cruise missiles, fighter jets,

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and air-to-surface missiles.

The missile was formally inducted into the IAF in July 2015.

Scientists discover new planet with triple-star system named KELT-4Ab

Scientists have discovered a rare triple-star system named KELT-4Ab with a gas

giant planet similar in size to Jupiter.

It was discovered by the researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for

Astrophysics in the United States. The research was published in The Astronomical

Journal.

Key facts

Known planets with three stars appearing in their sky are rare and the new

discovery is just the fourth and the closest one yet.

In KELT-4Ab triple-star system, the main star named KELT-A is brighter than the

other stars that serve as suns for their planets.


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It has a gas giant planet, similar in size to Jupiter takes approximately three days to

make its way around its sun (star) KELT-A.

The other two stars are named KELT-B and C. They are much farther away and

orbit one another over the course of approximately 30 years.

It takes the pair of stars approximately four thousand years to orbit KELT-A. They

appear much dimmer due to their great distance.

Nuclear-capable K-4 ballistic missile successfully tested from INS

Arihant

Nuclear capable submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLMB) code named K-4, was

successfully test fired from an undisclosed location in the Bay of Bengal.

Test:

It was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) along with Defence

Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which provided all logistics.

The missile was fired from 20-meter deep from onboard silos of the Ship

Submersible Ballistic, Nuclear (SSBN) submarine. During the test it successfully hit

with high accuracy after covering more than 700 km distance.

About K-4 ballistic missile

The K-4 is part of the K-family of missiles, a series of SLBMs (Submarine-launched

ballistic missile). The series is named after former president and scientist A.P.J.

Abdul Kalam.

It under development by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

to arm the Arihant-class submarines.

It is a derivative of nuclear capable Agni series (medium to intercontinental range)

missile which are already in service. It has reduced length compared to Agni series.

Features:

The K-4 missile is an Intermediate range SLBM with effective range of over 3500

km. It is 12 metres long and has a diameter of 1.3 metres.

It weighs nearly 17 tonnes. It is powered solid rocket propellant. It can carry a

nuclear as well as conventional warhead weighing up to 2 tonnes.

First test:

In 2010, the first gas-booster of K-4 missile was successfully tested from a

submerged pontoon. The first test was carried out in 2014 from a depth of 30

metres.

Zarb missile : Pakistan successfully test fired anti-ship surface to sea “Zarb” missile

from the coastal areas successfully. The missile was formally inducted into Pakistan

Navy‘s defence system soon after the test.


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Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga unveiled at NIT Sikkim

Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga was unveiled at the National Institute of

Technology (NIT) Sikkim. It has been named after Kangchenjunga mountain

(8,586 m), the third highest mountain in the world which lies partly in Nepal and

partly in Sikkim.

It was formally unveiled by Sikkim Governor Shrinvas Patil at the NIT Sikkim

campus at Ravangla in South Sikkim District.

It is said that it most powerful and fastest supercomputer among all the 31 NITs

and Sikkim NIT has secured a rare distinction of having such a supercomputer.

Param Kanchenjunga has been jointly developed by Pune-based Centre for

Development of Advanced Computing ‘C-DAC’ and the NIT Sikkim at a cost of three

crore rupees.

The supercomputer is expected to help achieve excellence in research and

engineering education in the north-east region.

Supercomputer:

It is a computer that can do complete tasks faster than any other computer of its

generation. It has high speed and memory and is usually thousands of times faster

than ordinary personal computers.

ISRO Scientists develop world’s lightest material Silica Aerogel

Scientists from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have indigenously

developed world’s lightest synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’ or ‘blue air’.

It was developed by the team of scientist from ISRO’s e Vikram Sarabhai Space

Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Silica Aerogel is the lightest synthetic material ever

made by man.

Key Properties of Silica Aerogel

Light in weight and can be delicately placed on a flower head.

Excellent thermal resistance and acts as a good insulator.

The matrix of aerogel is made up of 99 per cent air.

In its present development stage it is still very fragile and brittle.

Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre are still finding ways to make it

tough and resilient.

Applications

It can used as filler in soldiers’ uniforms to save lives of soldiers at the Siachen

glacier.

It can be used to insulate rocket engines as it can be used both in space and on

Earth.

It can be also used to make light weight clothing.

It can be also painted on windows in to keep buildings cool or warm.

ISRO is going to use this material on moon rover in Chandryaan-2 mission of India.


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ISRO successfully launches 7th navigation satellite IRNSS-1G

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched India’s

7th navigation satellite IRNSS 1G of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite

System (IRNSS).

The satellite was launched into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)

on-board of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-33 from Satish Dhawan Space

Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

IRNSS 1G satellite is last space segment satellites of the IRNSS system. With this

India joins elite group of selected nations that have their own GPS (Global

Positioning System) or navigation system.

Note: IRNSS system is similar to other satellite navigation systems like US’s GPS ,

Russia’s Glonass, Japan’s Quasi Zenith, Europe’s Galileo and China’s Beidou.

About IRNSS 1G

IRNSS 1G satellite has a lift-off mass of 1425 kg.

Its configuration is the same as IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F.

Payloads:

It equipped with two types of payloads viz. navigation payload and ranging devices.

The navigation payload will be mainly used to transmit navigation service signals to

the users.

The ranging payload consists of a C-band transponder that will facilitate accurate

determination of the range of the satellite.

About IRNSS System

IRNSS System consists of constellation of seven satellites of which three are

geostationary and four are non-geostationary.

Four Geosynchronous satellites:

They will be orbiting in pairs in two inclined geosynchronous orbits.

Three Geostationary satellites: They will be placed in the geostationary orbit over the

equator. They match the Earth’s rotation and shall remain at a fixed position in the sky.

Services: This satellite system aims to provide real-time accurate position information of

objects to users across the country and the region, extending up to an area of 1,500 km.

It would provide two types of 24/7 standard services

(i) Restricted Service (RS): an encrypted service provided to authorised users. It

will be used for military and missile-related applications.

(ii) Standard Positioning Service (SPS): to all users.

Applications:

(i) Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation

(ii) Disaster Management

(iii) Vehicle tracking and fleet management

(iv) Integration with mobile phones

(v) Precise Timing


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(vi) Mapping and Geodetic data capture

(vii) Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers

(viii) Visual and voice navigation for drivers.

Earlier the six satellites of the series namely IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F were

launched in July 2013, April 2014, October 2014, March 2015, January 2016 and

March 2016 respectively. It will become operational after checking the systems-space

(satellites), ground (ground stations) and the user end signal receivers.

22April: Earth Day : Every year Earth Day is being observed on the 22nd April to build

support for environmental protection around the world. This year is 46th anniversary of

Earth Day.


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SPORTS

Union Government merges Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan with Khelo

India

The Union Government has merged Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) with the

Khelo India Programme for development of sports.

The RGKA was a centrally sponsored scheme launched by then Congress-led UPA

government in 2014.

Union Government also has merged two other sport projects launched by then UPA

regime viz.

Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search

Scheme (NSTSS) under Khelo India.

Khelo India Programme is based on Gujarat Government’s model of Khel

Mahakumbh. In it chools and colleges from different parts of the country

participate in about 27 disciplines. Even the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG)

organises summer camps every year under this project.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan(RGKA):

It was launched in place of erstwhile Panchayat Yuva Kridaaur Khel Abhiyan

(PYKKA). RGKA aimed at constructing sports complexes in each block and

exclusively both for indoor and outdoor in different sports discipline for 5 years.

PYKKA:

It was a rural sports initiative introduced by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs

and Sports to promote youth and social development through sports.

Mary Kom named as AIBA ambassador for Women’s World Boxing Championship

Iconic Indian woman boxer Mary Kom has been named as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) ambassador for Women’s World Championship.

She is one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championship of AIBA scheduled from May 19 to 27, 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The AIBA-appointed ambassadors for the World Championship also include Nicola Adams (Great Britain), Marlen Esparza (US), Adriana Arauja (Kazakhstan), Stanimira Petrova (Bulgaria) and Khadija Mardi (Morocco). The female officials chosen as ambassadors are Kheira Siki Yakoub (Algerian) and Jennifer Huggins (Canada).

About MC Mary Kom

Her full name is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom and belongs to Kom tribal community of the north-eastern state of Manipur. She is nicknamed Magnificent Mary.

She is Five-time World Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won gold medal in each one of the six world championships.


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She had won a bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category and was only Indian woman boxer to qualify for this category.

She is also first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea.

Her Autobiography: Unbreakable Awards and Honours: For her precious contribution to the sport of boxing (sports), she has been conferred with Padma Bhushan (2013), Padma Shree (2010) and Arjuna Award for Boxing (2003).

Salman Khan named as Indian contingent’s Goodwill Ambassador for 2016 Rio Olympics

Bollywood actor Salman Khan was named as the goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Olympics to be held in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This is the first time when a Bollywood superstar has been chosen as a goodwill ambassador for the Indian contingent at the Olympics.

He was chosen by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from a list of two to three candidates which also included Shah Rukh Khan and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan.

IOA has chosen Salman Khan as he is considered to be more connected with the youth and sportspersons and also is considered as a youth icon for bodybuilding fans across the country.

India to host 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships India is going to host the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur,

Rajasthan. It was announced by the Judo Federation of India (JFI).

The announcement came after the Commonwealth Judo Congress allotted the Championships to India at its meeting held at Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

This will be the first time that Commonwealth Judo Championships will be held in India. However the Championsips dates are yet to be finalised.

Besides, India will also host the 10th Asian Cadet Judo Championships and the 17th Asian Junior Judo Championships from September 6th to 12th, 2016 at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadvanthaa in Kerala.

Judo

It is generally categorized as a modern martial art. It was created in 1882 as a physical, mental and moral pedagogy in Japan by Kanō Jigorō.

Later it evolved into a combat and Olympic sport. A judo practitioner is called a judoka. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the objectives is to either takedown or throw an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a force with a joint lock or a choke.


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INTERNATIONAL

RIC Forum pitches to deepen cooperation in combating terrorism

The 14th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Russia, India and China (RIC)

Forum have vowed to deepen cooperation in combating terrorism.

The meeting was held in Moscow, Russia and was attended Russian Foreign

Minister Sergey Lavrov, Union Minister of Foreign Affairs Sushma Swaraj, and

Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi took.

Key highlights of 2016 RIC Forum

The Ministers discussed various aspects of trilateral cooperation on global and

regional issues.

They pitched for progress in strengthening the international legal framework

underlying the modern world order and neutralisation of common challenges.

They also have pitched for setting up of a broad counter-terrorist front with the UN

playing a central role and stepping up efforts to combat global drug threat.

They also discussed on creating a new security and cooperation architecture in the

Asia- Pacific region.

They also exchanged views to the situation in the North Africa, Middle East

including Syria, and the situation in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

The Ministers have also decided to hold the next trilateral meeting in India.

RIC Forum:

It is a trilateral grouping of Russia, India and China that has met annually since

2002. In recent years, the RIC has functioned as a complement to other frameworks

involving three countries and including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

India ratifies Trade Facilitation Agreement of WTO

India has formally ratified the WTO’s (World Trade Organisation) Trade

Facilitation Agreement, which aims at easing customs procedures to boost

commerce.

In this regard, India’s WTO ambassador Anjali Prasad handed over the instrument

of acceptance to WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. India is the 76th WTO

member to ratify the TFA.

What is Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)?

The TFA is the WTO’s first-ever multilateral accord that aims to simplify customs

regulations for the cross-border movement of goods.

It was outcome of WTO’s 9th Bali (Indonesia) ministerial package of 2013. The

agreement includes provisions for Lowering import tariffs and agricultural

subsidies.


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It will make it easier for developing countries to trade with the developed world in

global markets.

Abolish hard import quotas:

Developed countries would abolish hard import quotas on agricultural products

from the developing world and instead would only be allowed to charge tariffs on

amount of agricultural imports exceeding specific limits.

Reduction in red tape at international borders:

It aims to reduce red-tapism to facilitate trade by reforming customs bureaucracies

and formalities.

Comment

The ratification will supplement India’s ongoing reforms to bring in simplification

and enhanced transparency in cross border trade in goods.

It will further help India to boost economic growth by reducing trade costs and

supporting its integration into the global economy.

The implementation of the TFA has the potential to create US 1 trillion dollars’

worth of global economic activity which may add 21 million new jobs and lower the

cost of doing international trade by 10 to 15 per cent.

4th Nuclear Security Summit begins in Washington

The fourth edition of Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) began in Washington, United

States to discuss a gamut of issues pertaining to nuclear security.

In this edition of summit, heads of about 53 countries and representatives of five

international organisations including the UNO, International Atomic Energy

Agency (IAEA), European Union (EU), Interpol are taking part.

India is being represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the two-day

summit. The fourth summit is the last summit under the current format and also

under the presidency of Barack Obama.

Key facts

The summit will highlight achievements and commitments of several countries

towards safeguarding nuclear devices and technologies and reducing the threat of

nuclear terrorism.

This edition of summit is expected to take stock of the measures being taken by all

countries to safeguard nuclear materials and facilities and also prevent non-state

actors gaining access to them.

It is also a crucial element of the US strategy to keep terrorists from acquiring fissile

material to make nuclear weapons.

The prime focus of the summit will be on North Korea and the terrorist

organisation ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

Background


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The idea of Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) was mooted by the US President Barack

Obama in 2009 and the first summit was held in 2010 in Washington.

It is a signature event of global diplomacy in Obama’s presidency that aimed at

preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe.

India has been contributing its bit to strengthen nuclear security by taking an active

part in the summit ever since its inception in 2010

The second, third summits were held in Seoul (South Korea) and The Hague

(Netherlands) in 2010, 2012 and 2014 respectively.

Key outcomes of last three Summits

Motivated countries to tighten national laws, rules pertaining to nuclear safety,

launch Nuclear Safety Fund (NSF) and set up Nuclear Safety training and Support

Centres to impart training in safe use of nuclear devices.

Helped countries to enhance physical protection at 650 international radiological

facilities and 32 nuclear plants besides putting in place radioactive detection

equipment at 328 border crossings, airports and seaports across the globe.

India, US ink MoU for setting up LIGO observatory in India

India has signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States

for setting up Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in

India. LIGO is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect

gravitational waves.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the

sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.

Key facts

The agreement was signed between the US’s National Science Foundation (NSF)

and India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and

Technology (DST).

As part of the agreement, the scientists of DAE, DST and NSF will form a Joint

Oversight Group (JOG) for better coordination of the project.

Background

Earlier in February 2016, the Union Cabinet had approved Rs 1200 crores for the

LIGO India project. It will be third LIGO interferometer in the world and it is

expected to be functional by 2023.

It will significantly improve the ability of scientists to pinpoint the sources of

gravitational waves and analyse the signals.

Presently there are twin LIGO Observatories at Hanford, Washington, and

Livingston, Louisiana.


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They are funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and were conceived,

built, and are operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and

Caltech.

World Bank launches ambitious Climate Change Action Plan

The World Bank has unveiled an ambitious Climate Change Action Plan (CCP) to

accelerate efforts to tackle climate change over the next five years i.e. by 2020.

It seeks to help developing countries to deliver their targets set in the national

climate plans submitted for the historic climate agreement reached at COP21 in

Paris in December 2015.

The Action Plan mainly seeks to help developing countries make major transitions

to increase sources of renewable energy, develop green transport systems, decrease

high-carbon energy sources and build sustainable, livable cities for growing urban

populations.

Key highlights

Help in developing countries add 30 GWs of renewable energy.

World Bank would focus on expanding universal access to early-warning systems in

the case of disasters to 100 million people by the year 2020.

World Bank will develop climate-smart agriculture investment plans for at least 40

nations.

Design sustainable forest strategies for 50 countries and promote climate-informed

fisheries management by 2020.

Bring adaptive social protection social safety nets that can quickly support people

affected by a disaster or an economic shock.

Pilot a new approach in 15 cities that aims to boost urban resilience by integrating

infrastructure, land use planning and disaster risk management.

World Bank to quadruple funding over next 5 years to make transport systems

more resilient to climate change. It will also invest at least US 1 billion dollars to

promote energy efficiency and resilient building by 2020.

Help to green the financial sector through a coordinated approach across banking,

capital and pensions markets to implement changes needed nationally and globally.

G7 Hiroshima Declaration calls for world without nuclear weapons

The Group of 7 (G-7) countries’ foreign ministers have issued Hiroshima

Declaration that calls for a world without nuclear weapons.

The foreign ministers G-7 countries’ signed this joint declaration after meeting in

Japan’s Hiroshima.

G7 countries include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US.


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The declaration came as ministers wrap up their final day of meetings focused on

global hotspot issues including terrorism and other security threats as well as

instability in the Middle East and the refugee crisis.

Key facts

Hiroshima Declaration reaffirms commitment of G-7 countries’ to seek a safer

world for all and create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons to

promote international stability.

It calls for creating the conditions without nuclear weapons in a way that promotes

international stability.

It has citied North Korea’s repeated provocations as a key challenge to achieve the

goal of safer world for all.

It also mentioned that the task is more complex due deteriorating security

environment in a number of regions such as Syria and Ukraine.

Earlier, all the foreign delegates of G-7 countries’ including US Secretary of State

John Kerry made a landmark visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The

Park commemorates atomic bombing of the city by US on August 6, 1945.

G-7 Countries

It is a group of seven major advanced economies as reported by the International

Monetary Fund (IMF).

Collectively they represent more than 64% of the net global wealth; very high

Human Development Index and it also represent 46% of the global GDP.

India, China agree for peaceful negotiations to settle border issue

India and China have agreed to adhere to peaceful negotiations to settle the border

issue and reach a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution.

Decision in this regard was taken during the annual 19th round of boundary talks

between National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart

Yang Jiechi at Beijing.

Key facts

Both the sides have discussed the vexed border dispute.

They also had an extensive, deep discussion on the 3,488 km-long Line of Actual

Control (LAC) which remains undemarcated resulting in tensions between the two

sides.

Besides the border issue, both sides also have a larger mandate to discuss all

contentious bilateral, regional and international matters of mutual concern.

The issue of China putting technical hold on India’s recent bid to bring about a UN

ban on Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Azhar for his involvement in the Pathankot

terrorist attack was also discussed.


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Europe becomes world’s first region to end malaria: WHO

Europe has become the world’s first region to wipe out Malaria, a mosquito-borne

vetor disease with zero cases reported in the year 2015.

It was revealed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its World Malaria

Report 2015. Particular region or country is declared Malaria free by WHO after it

has zero locally acquired malaria cases for at least three consecutive years.

Key Highlights of Report

The number of malaria cases fell to zero from 90,712 between 1995 and 2015 in the

countries of European region. Only 179 cases of malaria were reported in six

countries in 2010. The last cases of malaria were reported in Tajikistan in 2014.

The region was able to wipe out the deadly disease because of strong political

commitment, improved detection and surveillance, mosquito control, cross-border

collaboration.

Until the end of World War II, the spread of Malaria was common in southern

Europe, including Portugal, Italy, the Balkans and Greece. But the region was

declared malaria free in 1975.

In the year 2015, there were 214 million cases of the malaria across the world and it

had killed around 438,000 people, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

It should be noted that World leaders have committed to end the malaria epidemic

by 2030 as one the goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Union Cabinet approves signing the Paris Agreement adopted at

21st CoP

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing the Paris Agreement adopted at the

21st Conference of Parties of UNFCCC held in Paris in December 2015.

In this regard, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment,

Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar will sign the agreement on behalf of

India.

The Paris Agreement on climate change is considered as a milestone in global

climate cooperation. It is meant to enhance the implementation of the Convention

and recognizes the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, equity

and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.

Key features of the Paris Agreement

Rights of Developing Countries:

Acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries and their rights

to development.

It also supports their efforts to harmonize development with environment and

protecting the interests of the most vulnerable.


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Sustainable Development:

It recognizes the importance of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of

consumption.

In this regard developed countries take the lead and also highlight the importance

of ‘climate justice’ in its preamble.

Implementation of the Convention:

It reflects the principles of equity and common but

differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities especially in the light of

different national circumstances.

Other Objectives:

It further ensures that it is not mitigation-centric and includes other important

elements such as adaptation, finance, loss and damage, technology, capacity

building and transparency of action and support. Pre-2020 actions are also part of

the decisions.

Financial support from Developed countries:

They have been urged to scale up their level of financial support with a complete

road map.

The sole purpose the financial support from developed countries is to achieve the

goal of mitigating climate change jointly providing US 100 billion dollars by 2020.

The financial support will be used for mitigation and adaptation by significantly

increasing adaptation finance from current levels. It will further provide

appropriate technology and capacity building support.

For more details: (i) Paris Agreement (ii) Paris Agreement on Climate Change

Union Government renames Department of Disinvestment as

DIPAM

Union Government has renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset

Management (DIPAM). In this regard, the Union Finance Ministry has issued

notification.

The renaming decision aims at proper management of Central government’s

investments in equity and also its disinvestment proceeds in central public sector

undertakings (PSUs).

Key facts

DIPAM will work under Union Finance Ministry.

25April: World Malaria Day : World Malaria Day (WMD) is being observed annually on

25 April across the world to recognise the global efforts to control preventable vector

borne disease malaria.


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It has been mandated to advise the Union Government in the matters of financial

restructuring of PSUs and also for attracting investment through capital markets.

It will deal with all matters relating to sale of Union Government’s equity through

private placement or offer for sale or any other mode in the erstwhile Central PSUs.

Henceforth all other post disinvestment matters will continue to be handled by the

Union Finance Ministry or concerned department in consultation with DIPAM on

necessity.

Background

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech for 2016-17 had

announced about the renaming of the Department of Disinvestment.

He also had mentioned that a comprehensive approach will be adopted for efficient

management of government investment in Central PSUs by addressing issues such

as capital restructuring, bonus shares, dividend etc.

175 nations sign historic Paris Climate Agreement on Earth Day

175 nations including India have signed the historic Paris Climate Agreement at

United Nations

Headquarters in New York along marking a significant step to combat global

warming.

On behalf of India, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the

agreement at a highlevel ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

on the occasion of Earth Day (22 April).

The ceremony was attended by heads of governments, foreign ministers, corporate

leaders and artists from across the world.

The agreement will come into force 30 days after at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC,

accounting for at least 55 per cent of global emissions ratify the agreement.

Key facts

The Paris Climate Agreement was formulated within the framework of the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Facilitates enforcement of global GHGs reduction measures, adaptation and finance

in the post-2020 i.e. in post Kyoto Protocol scenario.

The agreement was adopted by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st

Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC held in Paris (France) in December 2015.

In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to

well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Takes into account the principle of equity (climate justice) and common but

differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and respective capabilities.

The mitigation will be based on consensus among the members that have

incorporated their respective Intended Nationally Determined Contributions


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(INDCs). Developed countries will provide 100 billion dollars annually to the

developing counterparts beginning in 2020 and it would increase with time.

Comment

The signing of this agreement is the first step toward ensuring that it comes into

force as soon as possible.

After the signing, countries must take the further national step of accepting or

ratifying the agreement.

23April: World Book and Copyright Day : Every year World Book and Copyright

Day is being observed on 23 April to promote reading, publishing and copyright.


STUDY CIRCLE

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IMPORTANT COMMITEES

MHA constitute Madhukar Gupta committee to suggest ways to

tighten security along Indo- Pak border

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted high-level committee to

suggest ways to tighten security along India-Pakistan border.

The committee will be headed by former Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta.

It will suggest

1. ways to strengthen the security along the India-Pakistan Border and

2. address the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing.

Terms of References of the Committee

Study all types of gaps in the fencing and all other vulnerabilities along the India-

Pakistan border.

Suggest a comprehensive approach to fix them on interim and permanent basis. It

will submit its report in three months i.e. till June 2016.

Background

MHA decision to constitute to this committee comes after two terrorist attacks in

Punjab. First was in July 2015 on Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur district

and second was in January 2016 on strategic Pathankot airbase.

In both attacks terrorists from Pakistan had infiltrated into India after beaching the

India-Pakistan border in Punjab especially from the riverine stretch.

Union Government constitutes Ashok Dalwai committee for

doubling farmers’ income by 2022

The Union Government has recently constituted 8-member inter-ministerial

committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

The committee will be headed by Ashok Dalwai, Additional secretary at the Union

Agriculture Ministry and is expected to submit the report in two months.

Its members will include officials from Agriculture and Food Ministries, experts

from the Delhibased National Council of Applied Economic Research and National

Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.

24April: National Panchayati Raj Diwas : Every year April 24 is being observed as

National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas across India. The day marks the passing of the

Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24

April 1993.


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Terms of reference of the Committee

Prepare plan to shift farm policies to income based from current production-

oriented.

Identify potential areas of agriculture where more investment should happen.

Suggest ways to reduce the risk of farming by diversifying to horticulture and allied

activities like livestock and fisheries to boost income.

Suggest measures for reducing the cost of cultivation and addressing

unpredictability of weather and price fluctuations in farm sector.

Background

In the Union Budget 2016-17, Government had announced to double farm incomes

by 2022.

To follow up its budget announcement, Government decided to set up the

committee.

Union Government is focusing on increasing crop yields and reducing the cost of

cultivation in order to increase the net income of farmers.

For this purpose, Government had launched various schemes related to agriculture

sector to bring down the cost of cultivation.

25April: World Malaria Day : World Malaria Day (WMD) is being observed annually

on 25 April across the world to recognise the global efforts to control preventable

vector borne disease malaria.

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