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IAEA- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks

Though established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaThe IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The IAEA has two "Regional SafeguardThe IAEA serves as an intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation i

The programs of the IAEA encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nucprovide international safeguards against misuse of nuclear technology and nucland promote nuclear safety (including radiation protection) and nuclear security

- Three main pillars – or areas of work – underpin the IAEA's mission: Safety and Security;- The Board of Governors is one of two policy making bodies of the IAEA. The Board consi- The outgoing Board designates the ten members who are the most advanced in atomic

North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle- General Conference Function is to serve as a forum for debate on current issues and p

United Nations Secur ity Council- one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance

- Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of in- it is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states- Security Council was created following World War II to address the failings of another int- The Security Council consists of fifteen members. The great powers that were the victor- These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, includi- The Security Council also has 10 non permanent members, elected on a regional basis t

Veto Power - Under Article 27 of the UN Charter, Security Council decisions on all substantive matters- A negative vote or "veto" by a permanent member prevents adoption of a proposal, even i- Abstention is not regarded as a veto in most cases, though all five permanent members

 APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member econoIt was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia Pacific ec- to fears that highly industrialized Japan (a member of G8) would come to domi- and to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyon

 APEC works to raise living standards and education levels through sustainable economic APEC includes newly industrialized economies, although the agenda of free trade was a Aims to enable ASEAN economies to explore new export market opportunities for natural APEC's Three Pillars(BOGOR GOALS):

- Trade and Investment Liberalisation- Business Facilitation

- Economic and Technical Cooperation- To help achieve the Bogor goals, APEC ministers committed to reduce tariffs on environ

Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance iThe Convention was developed jointly by the OECD and the Council of Europe in 1988 aThe Convention was amended to respond to the call of the G20 at its April 2009 London

in particular to ensure that developing countries could benefit from the new moThe Convention has now taken on increasing importance with the G20’s recent call for auDesigned to facilitate international co operation among tax authorities to improve their abil

National Identification Author ity of India Bill 2010The central government plans to issue a unique identification number (called Aadhaar) toThe number shall be linked to a resident’s demographic and biometric information.

 A resident can use his Aadhaar number to identify himself anywhere in the country in ord

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Highlights

The Bill seeks to establish the National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) to issue uniquEvery person residing in India is entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number after furnishing releThe information collected shall be stored in the Central Identities Data Repository. This sSharing of data is prohibited except by the consent of the resident; by a court order; or forKey issues and Analysis

The Bill does not make it mandatory for an individual to enroll with the NIAI.However, it does not prevent any service provider from prescribing Aadhaar as a mandatThe information collected by NIAI may be shared with agencies engaged in delivery of puThe Bill states that no court shall take cognizance of any offence, except on a complaint

Role of Aadhar within PDSOne Aadhaar = one beneficiary: Aadhaar is a unique number, and no resident can have aPortability in identification:Aadhaar is a universal number, and agencies and services can

 Aadhaar based authentication to confirm entitlement delivered to the beneficiary : Authenti Aadhaar based authentication to track food grain movementElectronic benefit Transfers : Beneficiaries could have an online food account on the PD

Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013The Lokpal consists of a Chairperson and a maximum of eight members of which 50% s50 per cent of members of Lokpal and Lokayuktas shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minoritiesLokpal at Centre and Lokayukta at StatesThe Lokpal Chairperson or member shall not be connected with any political party and onThe selection of Chairperson and members of Lokpal shall be through a Selection commi

Prime Minister, Speaker of Loksabha, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, CThe Selection Committee may consider a candidate other than one recommended by theInquiry initiated by the Lokpal shall be completed within 60 days and investigation to be co

 All entities receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign Contributi

Provides adequate protection for honest and upright Public Servants.The CBI may, with the consent of the Lokpal, appoint a panel of Advocates other than theThe Act also incorporates provisions for attachment and confiscation of property acquireWhy Lokpal in India?There is no truly autonomous or empowered body at present to deal with corruption caseCorruption has become more remarkable since the initiation of the developmental and wTo tackle corruption in the past government had enacted the Prevention of Corruption ActNeed for an agency independent of the executive, legislative and judiciary, to look into citiDue to burgeoning scams, result was the outburst of the accumulating anger and the unh

Jan Lokpal Bill

Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizens’ Ombudsman Bill) is an Indian draft anti corruption bill that wouldFeatures

To establish a central government anti corruption institution called Lokpal, supported by LLokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission and coMembers will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean rEvery month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief detaiGovernment office work required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed timComplaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a montThe existing anti corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti corruptio

World Trade OrganisationThe World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and libThe organization officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakech AgreemeThe organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by providin

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 a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participant's adherence to WTO agreemFunctions

It oversees the implementation, administration and operation of the covered agreementsIt provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputesPrinciples of the Trading systemNon discrimination. It has two major components: the most favoured nation (MFN) rule, aReciprocity. It reflects both a desire to limit the scope of free riding that may arise becausBinding and enforceable commitments. The tariff commitments made by WTO membersTransparency. The WTO members are required to publish their trade regulations, to maiSafety valves. In specific circumstances, governments are able to restrict trade.

Doha Development RoundCurrent trade negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which commencIts objective is to lower trade barriers around the world, and thus facilitate increased globThe most significant differences are between developed nations led by (EU), (USA), andWhat are the Issues?

 Agriculture

End agreement to commit to substantial improvements in market access; reductions (anImport sensitive products are of most concern to developed countries like the European Access to Patented medicinesTrade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) issue involves the balanceSpecial and Differential TreatmentDeveloping countries wanted to negotiate on changes to S&D provisions, keep proposalsDeveloped countries wanted to study S&D provisions, send some proposals to negotiatinDeveloping countries claimed that the developed countries were not negotiating in good fImplementation IssuesDeveloping countries claim that they have had problems with the implementation of the a

Bali Package- The Bali Package is a trade agreement resulting from the Ninth Ministerial Conference of- The package forms part of the Doha Development Round, which started in 2001- The accord includes provisions for lowering import tariffs and agricultural subsidies, with- Developed countries would abolish hard import quotas on agricultural products from the- Another important target is reforming customs bureaucracies and formalities to facilitate t

How it helps India ?

- During the conference, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to allow countries to- WTO has issued a revised draft of the Bali Package which addresses India’s concerns o- The draft proposes an interim mechanism to safeguard minimum support prices to farm- The deal allows nations such as India to fix a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farm pro

- It also permits countries to store food grains to meet contingency requirements.- India gains global leadership by getting a crucial poor rich country imbalance corrected o

Mid Day Meal Scheme- The Mid Day Meal Scheme is a programme of the Government of India designed to impro- The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in Primary and Upper

 Alternate Innovative Education Centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported unde- In 1925, meal scheme was launched for disadvantaged groups in Madras Municipal Corp- The Government of India initiated the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Prima- Article 21 – " Right to life" of Constitution when read together with Articles 39(a) and 47,

Implementation Models

- Decentralized Model meals are cooked on site by local self help groups, parent teacher- Disadvantages include lax monitoring, poor hygiene, and corruption- Centralized Model an external organization cooks and delivers the meal to schools, mos

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Walk through- Caste based discrimination in serving of food- The State of School Feeding Worldwide 2013 Report observes the two procurement proc

items like fresh fruits or vegetables, procured at the State level- According to the Report the Midday Meal Scheme is the primary reason behind increase i- The link is more pronounced in case of Scheduled Castes and Tribes.- Report notes that school feeding schmemes must be complemented with curriculum, te- Despite the success of the program, child hunger as a problem persists in India. Accordi

Right of persons with Disabilities Bill, 2011- Provides for 5% reservation in public sector jobs and makes the private sector more acc- To ensure political participation, the Bill says that every person with disability who fulfils el- He/she should not be disqualified from exercising the voting right on the grounds of disabi- Further, it says that any person who is unable to vote in person due to disability or becau- It allows mentally unsound women the right to fertility and prescribes punishment for forc

New Pric ing Formula

- Based on the Rangarajan committee formula.- The new formula will be valid for five years and applies only to new contracts or renewals- It does not apply to contracts which contain a specific formula for natural gas price index- As per the Rangarajan formula, beginning 1 April 2014, all domestic gas will be priced at- The increased domestically produced gas price in the country would hover around 7 8/m

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)- Is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on t- Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect t- While the Secretary General of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and

the UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Con

UNCLOS III- In 1973, the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea was convened in Ne- In an attempt to reduce the possibility of groups of nation states dominating the negotiatio- The convention introduced a number of provisions. The convention set the limit of various

Internal Waters

- Covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline. The coastal state iTerritorial Waters

- Out to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres; 14 miles) from the baseline, the coastal state is f- Vessels were given the right of innocent passage through any territorial waters, with strat

 Archipelagic Waters

- A baseline is drawn between the outermost points of the outermost islands, subject to th

- The state has full sovereignty over these waters (like internal waters), but foreign vesselsContiguous zone

- Beyond the 12 nautical mile (22 km) limit, there is a further 12 nautical miles (22 km) fromcustoms, taxation, immigration and pollution, if the infringement started within t

Exclusive economic zone

- These extend from the edge of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometresContinental Shelf 

- The continental shelf is defined as the natural prolongation of the land territory to the conti- A state's continental shelf may exceed 200 nautical miles (370 km) until the natural prolo

BCIM Economic Corr idor - The Bangladesh China India Myanmar Economic Corridor is an initiative conceptualised f- The multi modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pa- These advantages for greater market access for goods, services and energy, eliminatio

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 development of value and supply chains based on comparative advantages, b- The proposed corridor will cover 1.65 million square kilometres, encompassing an estim- This interconnectedness would facilitate the cross border flow of people and goods, mini- Dec 18, 2013, the four nations drew up a long discussed plan, emphasising the need to q

Benefitsaccess to numerous markets in Southeast Asia, improvement of transportation infrastrucit will lead to industrial transfer boosting industries such as processing, manufacturing an

 As labour costs rise in China, labour intensive industries such as textile and agro procesIndia’s isolated eastern and north eastern states also stand to gain by higher trade and c

The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013- The Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill, 2013 amends provisions related to appointmen- It establishes a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) as per Article 124 A and to ma- It empowers Parliament to pass a law providing for the composition, functions and proce- The JAC Bill, 2013 states that the JAC shall comprise

 (i) the Chief Justice of India (CJI) (ii) two other senior most judges of the Supreme Court (SC)

(iii) the Union Minister for Law and Justice(iv) two eminent persons to be nominated by the Prime Minister, the CJI and th- The functions of the JAC include making recommendations for appointments of the CJI,

Key Issues and Analysis

- The current method of appointments has been examined by various bodies including the- They vary in the role of the executive and judiciary in making appointments of judges- The composition of the JAC has not been included in the Constitution, but has been left f- This implies that modifying the composition of the JAC would not require a constitutional- The Article 124 (2) of the Constitution of India will be amended to give power to the Presid

National Skills Qualifications Framework

- a quality assurance framework which organizes qualifications according to a series of lev- These levels are defined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must possess- NSQF will also facilitate Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) that is largely lacking in the- The credit accumulation and transfer system that will be integrated in the NSQF will allow- Framework would be anchored, operationalized by the National Skill Development Agenc

Backward Regions Grant Fund- A new approach to addressing persistent regional imbalances in development in India. Th- The BRGF Program covers 250 districts in 27 States, of which 232 districts fall under the- The remaining 18 districts are covered by other local government structures, such as Aut

Objectives

- Bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other development requirements that are n- Strengthen, to this end, Panchayat and Municipality level governance with more appropria- Provides professional support to local bodies for planning, implementation and monitoring- Improve the performance and delivery of critical functions assigned to Panchayats, and c

Unique Features- First, the approach of putting the Panchayats and the Municipalities at the center stage of- Second, no Central funding stream is as ‘untied’ as the BRGF – the funds can be applied- Third, no other programme spends as much funds, nearly 11 percent of the total allocati

Direct transfer of cash subsidy- Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT is an anti poverty program launched by Government of Ind- bring transparency and terminate pilferage from distribution of funds sponsored by Centr- In DBT, benefit or subsidy will be directly transferred to the citizens living below poverty li- The price of the commodity remain same as that of the market price , government itself d

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- Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System CPSMS can be used for the preparation of ben- Without elimination of the corruption, Cash transfer may not necessarily lead to fiscal sav- Since, the Cash transfers have been linked to the Aaadhar, there seems to be no or mino

Rangarajan Panel on Highway Sector - The C Rangarajan panel recommended the guidelines prescribing bailout packages for d

- The panel recommended that 75% of the premium amount payable to the government wil- Further it recommended that the road developers should submit the entire premium amo- The proposal says if toll revenues turn out to be more than projected, the money left after

Double Taxation and DTAA- Is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same declared income (in the cas- This double liability is often mitigated by tax treaties between countries.- India has comprehensive Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA ) with 88(signe- This means that there are agreed rates of tax and jurisdiction on specified types of incom- Under the Income Tax Act 1961 of India, there are two provisions, Section 90 and Section

- Section 90 is for taxpayers who have paid the tax to a country with which India- Section 91 provides relief to tax payers who have paid tax to a country with whiIssue with Mauritius

- India wants Mauritius to amend DTAA but the differences over capital gains tax, especiall- Mauritius wants India to separate the two issues trade liberalization through the Compre- India, is of the view that conclusion of the trade deal would entail monetary concessions t- Article 13 on ‘capital gains’ of the India Mauritius DTAA provides for taxation of capital gain- India proposed to amend the pact to provide the source based taxation of such capital gai- The Mauritius govt issues Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) to companies investing from

LOB Clause

- Mauritius and India agreed on the principle of including a Limitation Of Benefit or anti treat

- The LOB clause limits treaty benefits to those who meet certain conditions including thosLimitations- An anti abuse provision that sets out where residents of the Contracting States- Purpose : Aimed at preventing ‘treaty shopping’ or inappropriate use of tax pact- To limit the ability of third country residents to obtain benefits under the said tre- India’s desire is to discourage ‘Treaty shopping’ by the ‘LOB’ policyTreaty Shopping- The practice of structuring a multinational business in order to take advantage- A business that resides in a home country and not having a tax treaty with the

UNESCO

- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized age- Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration

- in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights- It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Commission on Intellectual Cooperati- UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural science- Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher training program- the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural hist- translations of world literature; international cooperation agreements to secure the world- UNESCO's aim is "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustai

Education for All- Education For All is a global movement led by UNESCO(United Nation educational,Scient- UNESCO has been mandated to lead the movement and coordinate the international effo- Governments, development agencies, civil society, non government organizations and th

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- The EFA goals also contribute to the global pursuit of the eight Millennium Development- The Fast Track Initiative was set up to implement the EFA movement, aiming at "acceler

Highlights of Report 2013 14 (Global)

- Goal 1 Pre Primary EducationDespite improvements, far too many children lack early childhood care and edu

- Goal 2 Universal Primary EducationThe number of children out of school was 57 million in 2011, half of whom lived

- Goal 3 Lower Secondary EducationMany adolescents lack foundation skills gained through lower secondary educa

- Goal 4 Adult Literacy Adult literacy has hardly improved. In 2011, there were 774 million illiterate adult

- Goal 5 Primary Education Gender DisparityEven though gender parity was supposed to be achieved by 2005, in 2011 only

- Goal 6 Lower Secondary Education Gender ParityPoor quality of education means millions of children are not learning the basics.

P5+1

- The P5+1 is a group of six world powers which in 2006 joined the diplomatic efforts with I- Term refers to the P5 or five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely Un- P5+1 is often referred to as the E3+3 (or E3/EU+3) by European countries- Up to now, the UN Security Council has adopted six resolutions in response to the Iranian

Role of germany

- Germany is the key trading partner of Iran. Iran's nuclear program depends mainly upon- Around 50 German firms have their own branch offices in Iran and more than 12,000 firm- The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce has estimated that ec- Sanctions would especially hurt medium sized German companies, which depend heavil

2013 Interim agreement, 2014 negotiations- On 24 November 2013, an interim agreement was reached between the P5+1 countries

- It is expected to lead to a six month freeze and partial rollback of portions of Iran's nuclea

Urj it Patel Committee- Choice of nominal anchor: Currently, RBI uses a "multiple indicator approach" to draw m

- Inflation, as measured by CPI should be the nominal anchor for the monetary p- Nominal Anchor will be targeted at 4% with a band of +/ 2%- CPI inflation should be brought down to 8% over next 12 months, 6% in next 24

- Committee recommended that monetary policy decision making be vested in a Monetary- The two schemes Dependence on Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) and Cash Manag- All fixed income financial products should be treated on par with the bank deposits for the- Detachment of Open Market Operations (OMOs) from the fiscal operations and instead li

National Urban Health Miss ion- The Union Cabinet gave its approval to launch a National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) a- One Urban Primary Health Centre (U PHC) for every fifty to sixty thousand population.- One Urban Community Health Centre (U CHC) for five to six U PHCs in big cities.- One Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANM) for 10,000 population.- One Accredited Social Health Activist ASHA (community link worker) for 200 to 500 hous- The interventions under the sub mission will result in

· Reduction in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)· Reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)· Universal access to reproductive health care

· Convergence of all health related intervention

International Renewable Energy Agency

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- The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organizatio- It was founded in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010. The agency is h- RENA will provide practical advice and support for both industrialised and developing cou- The agency will facilitate access to all relevant information including reliable data on the p

Indian Hous ing Project of SriLanka

- The Indian Housing Project is a housing reconstruction project funded by the Governmen- Four Implementing Agencies (IAs) have been selected for this project, which is being exe- UN Habitat- International Federation for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)- India launched 3rd phase of Housing Project in Sri Lanka- Sri lankan Red Cross Society

- Under the Indian Housing project of Sri Lanka 50000 houses will be constructed and this i- Under the beneficiary driven model 2 lakh 55 thousand rupees are transferred to selected- The construction work is done by the internationally chosen agencies, which needs to wo- The beneficiaries are selected on basis of clearly laid down criteria in consultation with th- The Housing Project, with a commitment of over 270 million US dollars in grants, is the fl

National Waterway Project 4- National Waterway 4 (NW 4) is a 1,095 kilometres (680 mi) long waterway in India. It has- It connects the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the union territory of Pu- The NW 4 runs along the Coromandal Coast through Kakinada, Eluru, Commanur, Bucki- It was declared a National Waterway on 24 November 2008 under the Provisions of Nati

History- In India, the national waterways are developed by the central government through the Inla- IWAI was set up by the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act in 1985 and given respon- It is a statutory autonomous body for regulating and developing navigation and shipping in- Along with IWAI, Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC) also supports the I

Capacity Bu ilding Scheme Under National E Governance Plan- The scheme is mainly for providing technical & professional support to State level policy- Establishment of Institutional Framework for State Level Strategic decision making includi- Imparting of specialized training, Orientation programme for SeMTs and decision makers- Strengthening of Training Institutions in States- The scheme has an outlay of Rs.313 crore for a period of three years and will be implem

Need for Scheme

• Aligning project design to NeGP service orientation• Bringing standardization and consistency across initiatives and at the same time, have t• Change Management

• Government Process Reengineering• Optimizing cost and resource utilization• Leveraging external resources• Implementing best practices followed elsewhere• Project and Programme Monitoring

Cabinet approved the guidelines for television rating agencies- All the rating agencies including the existing rating agencies shall obtain registration from- All the rating agencies should go through detailed registration procedure, eligibility norms,- No company will be allowed to hold not more than 10 percent of paid up equity in both rati- Rating need to be technology neutral and shall capture across multiple viewing platforms- The rating agencies should scale up a minimum panel size of 20000 households to be im- The rating agency shall submit the detailed methodology to the government and publish it- It shall set up an effective complaint redressal system with tool free number and an intern

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- The guideline would come into effect immediately from the date of notification and 30 day

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project- Strengthening and empowering of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as well as ensuring- Sanitation in conjoint approach with water is conceptualized as an integrated componen- The project will implement pilot programs such as 24/7 water supply provision in select a

- There shall be an intensive Capacity Building programme for all stakeholders down to the- Intensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and Behavioural Change Co- The project will support the universal provision of household connections, meters for bulk- There will be a focus on monitoring and surveillance of drinking water quality,- Grievance redressal measures of a GP, District and State level will be captured by the M- Technical, financial, procurement and social audits during scheme planning, implementat- Demonstration of beneficiary support for the schemes through a onetime upfront commu- The Project will adopt a phased approach for achieving full Operation and Maintenance (

The Foreign Contr ibution (Regulation) Bill, 2006Highlights

- The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 replaces the Foreign Contribution (Regul- The 1976 Act lists a number of organisations and individuals that are prohibited from acc- The Bill requires all persons with a “definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or s- Organisations must renew FCRA certification every five years. Both the application and t- The Bill allows the central government to conduct separate audits for FCRA certified orga

Key Issues and Analysis

- Though the stated objective of the Bill is to strengthen internal security, it addresses only- Many of the objectives of the Bill are met by other laws in force such as the Unlawful Acti- It gives the cent govt powers to classify any organisation of "political nature" category rec- The FCRA registration process under the Bill confers a number of discretionary powers t- There are a number of terms in the Bill including, “foreign source,” “foreign hospitality,” an

 Agriculture Min is try issued guidelines on National Mission on- The issued scheme is aimed at enhancement of production of traditional and tree borne

Implementation of strategy includes- Increasing Seed Replacement Ration- Irrigation coverage under oilseeds from 26 to 36 %- Diversify of area from low yielding cereal crops to oilseed crops and inter cropping of oils- Use of fallow land after paddy and potato cultivation

NIC and Union Min is try of MSME launched India Inclusive Inno- IIIF will help create a new class of capital or venture capital to set up and scale entrepren- The Fund will invest in innovative ventures that are scalable, sustainable and therefore pr - It will address social needs of less privileged citizens in areas such as healthcare, food, n- It will also partner the entire ecosystem in this space, including incubators, angel groups,- The Fund will be registered under SEBI’s Alternative Investment Fund Category I guidelin- The initial corpus of fund is 500 crore rupees with the Union Ministry of MSME committing- The Government will set up Asset Management Company to take the responsibility of day

RBI issued new guidelines for loan restructur ing in NBFCs- The guidelines issued on loan restructuring for NBFCs were based upon the recommend- NBFCs to have more flexibility to deal with stressed loans but it is mandatory for them to

- NBFCs, like commercial banks, are required to set aside a 5% provision against restruct- At present, a majority of the NBFCs are not allowed to accept public deposits and most o- An infrastructure loan given by an NBFC will become a non performing asset (NPA) if the- If the loan is given to a non infra project, it will become an NPA if the borrower fails to co

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- NBFCs will have to make a provisioning of 0.25% of the loan amount for such loans.- For commercial real estate loans, an extension of DCCO will not be considered as restru

DIPP Issues guidelines and benefits for Clusters outside NIMZ- The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has issued guidelines for provi- The National Manufacturing Policy, (NMP) notified in 2011, provides benefits and incentiv

- The policy is applicable to the NIMZs as well as manufacturing clusters promoted by the i- A cluster is defined as a concentration of manufacturing units located within a clearly deKey features

- To avail the benefits/dispensations, the cluster should meet the definition as per the guid- The state government should constitute a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for each cluste- State governments will need to simplify state level business regulations like clearances, r- All the units in the cluster will be eligible for incentives for developing or manufacturing en- A standard deduction of 150% of the expenditure would be available to private units skill d

Guidelines on New Land Policy for Major Ports- Aimed at helping them leverage their land resources for commercial advantage and provi

- Discretionary powers have been reduced and tender cum auction has been prescribed a- land can be allotted only through licensing in custom bond areas by inviting competitive bi- There is also a provision to license land outside custom bond areas, but it should be only- The guidelines has also made it mandatory to draw land use plan by covering all land ow

Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Programme- The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched a health programme for adolesce- The key principles of this programme is adolescent participation and leadership, Equity a- The programme envisions enabling all adolescents in India to realize their full potential by- To guide the implementation of this programme, MOHFW in collaboration with UNFPA ha- It realigns the existing clinic based curative approach to focus on a more holistic model b

- It introduces community based interventions through peer educators, and is underpinnedObjectives:

- Improve Nutrition- Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health- Enhance Mental Health- Prevent Injuries and violence- Prevent substance misuse

Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006- The Act consolidates eight laws governing the food sector and establishes the Food Safe- It requires all food business operators (including small businesses and street vendors) to- According to the Regulations, all food business operators had to get a licence or registrati

Key Issues

- The organised & unorganised food sectors are required to follow the same food law. The- Does not require any specific standards for potable water ( provided by local authorities).- The Bill excludes plants prior to harvesting and animal feed from its purview. Thus, it doe- The power to suspend the license of any food operator is given to a local level officer. Thi- The Act requires a food business operator to get different licenses if articles of food are- News papers reported that the Supreme Court is examining the question whether liquor i

Minis try of Youth Affairs and Spor ts issues New guidelines for

- Weightage for the medals won in Olympic Games (Summer, Winter, Paralympic), Asian- Weightage to the marks given by Selection Committee for assesment of the eligble sport- Sportspersons who had won the medals and trained by the coach under the consideratio- In a particular sports discipline, names of not more than 2 Sportspersons ( 1 male and 1

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SEBI approved the new Corporate Governance norms- The board approved a long term policy for mutual funds to tax breaks on investments up- The SEBI board also approved new Know Your Client Registration Agency (KRA) Regula- Exclusion of nominee Director from the definition of Independent Director - Performance evaluation of Independent Directors and the Board of Directors

- Prohibition of stock options to Independent Directors- Separate meeting of Independent Directors- To restrict the total tenure of an Independent Director to 2 terms of 5 years- Compulsory whistle blower mechanism- At least one woman director on the Board of the company- Constitution of Stakeholders Relationship Committee- Enhanced disclosure of remuneration polic ies- Prior approval of Audit Committee for all material Related Party Transactions (RPTs)

CDM Gold Standard- The Gold Standard is a standard for creating high quality emission reductions projects in

- It was designed to ensure that carbon credits are not only real and verifiable but that they- Its objective is to add branding, a label to existing and new Carbon Credits generated by- The Gold Standard is open to any non government, community based organization espec

What is CDM?- The Clean Development Mechanism is one of the flexibility mechanisms defined in the K- The CDM is defined in Article 12 of the Protocol, and is intended to meet two objectives:

 to assist parties in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to thto assist parties included in achieving compliance with their quantified emission

- The CDM addresses the second objective by allowing countries to meet part of their emi- The projects and the issue of CERs is subject to approval to ensure that these emission- The CDM is supervised by the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) and is under the guidanc

Whistleblowers Protection Bill, 2014Seeks to establish a mechanism to register complaints on any allegations of corruption oHighlights

The Bill seeks to protect whistleblowers, i.e. persons making a public interest disclosure Any public servant or any other person including a non governmental organization may mEvery complaint has to include the identity of the complainant.The Vigilance Commission shall not disclose the identity of the complainant except to theThe Bill prescribes penalties for knowingly making false complaintsKey Issues and AnalysisNeed to protect honest officials from undue harassment with protecting persons making

It punishes any person making false complaints. However, it does not provide any penaltThe CVC was designated to receive public interest disclosures since 2004 through a govThe power of the CVC is limited to making recommendations. Also it does not have anyThe Bill has a limited definition of disclosure and does not define victimisationDiffers on many issues with the proposed Bill of the Law Commission and the 2nd ARC r

National Mission for Green IndiaRespond to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures, whiEnhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and other ecosystems;

 Adaptation of vulnerable species/ecosystems to the changing climate; and Adaptation of forest dependant communitiesIncreased forest/tree cover on 5 m ha of forest/non forest lands and improved quality of fImproved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon seIncreased forest based livelihood income for 3 million forest dependent households

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Enhanced annual CO2 sequestration of 50 60 million tonnes by the year 2020The GIM will be converged with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment GuarantThe Union government will provide 90 percent of the funds for implementing the scheme i

Equal Opportunities Commission for Minorties A statutory body to check discrimination of minority communities in jobs and education.

The Justice Sachar Committee, which went into the socio economic backwardness of MEOC will also deal with grievances like denial of accommodation or buying rights to minoThe EOC’s mandate is to ensure that no minority community is discriminated against onEOC is a three member body and will be headed by a retired judge of the High Court. It wi

OPCThe Organisation for prohibition of Chemical weapon is the United Nation’s implementingThe OPCW was established in 1997 and is headquartered at Hague, Netherlands. At preKey Functions:

Destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCWMonitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re emerging

Providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threatsFostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and p

The street vendors protection of livelihood and regulation of s- The Bill aims to protect the livelihood rights of street vendors as well as regulate street ve- Any person intending to undertake street vending needs to register with the Town Vendin- The state government shall frame a scheme for street vendors. The local authority shall,- The TVC comprises of the municipal commissioner, representatives of street vendors, lo- This Bill shall not apply to Railways land, premises and trains.

Key Issues and Analysis

- Currently, street vending is regulated under municipal laws enacted by state legislatures.

- The Bill does not specify principles to be followed by govts in issuing vending certificates,- The Bill does not require the stakeholders to be consulted in the formulation of the street- The central law will have overriding effect on state laws that are inconsistent with the Bill.- The Standing Committee suggests making the Bill applicable to the Railways, incorporati

Vocationalisation of Secondary and Higher Secondary Educati- This is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) under which financial assistance will be gi- To enhance the employability of youth through competency based modular vocational co- To maintain their competitiveness through provisions of multi-entry multi-exit learning opp- To fill the gap between the educated and the employable.- To decrease pressure on academic higher education.- Further, skills and employability of the youth will be enhanced through industry and dema

Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan- In 1986, Union Government started the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) pri- CRSP adopted a demand driven approach with the name Total Sanitation Campaign (TS- To give a fillip to the TSC, Government of India also launched the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (- Encouraged by the success of NGP, the TSC was renamed as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (N

Main Objectives

- Bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas.- Accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to achieve the vision of Nirmal Bharat by 20

- Motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions promoting sustainable sanitation fa- To cover the remaining schools not covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan & Anganwadi- Encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe and sustaina- Develop community managed environmental sanitation systems focusing on solid & liqui

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National Mission Agricultural Extension and Technology- The aim of the Mission is to restructure and strengthen agricultural extension to enable d- This is envisaged to be achieved by a judicious mix of extensive physical outreach and in

- institution strengthening to promote mechanisation, availability of quality seeds,Consists of four sub missions

- Sub Mission on Agricultural Extension- Sub Mission on Seed and Planting material- Sub Mission on Agricultural Machanizarion- Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine

National Miss ion on Librar ies- Creation of National Virtual Library of India- Setting up of NML model Libraries- Quantitative and Qualitative survey of Libraries- Capacity Building- National Virtual Library of India would provide digital resources by digitizing the relevant re

- The target users of NVLI will not only be students, researchers, doctors and professional- This initiative of National Mission on Libraries will largely facilitate the internet savvy peopl

National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem- This mission has been launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAP- The Mission has been developed with its primary objective to develop a sustainable natio- The mission will also assist states in the India n Himalayan Region with implementation o- To build and support capacities at central and state levels to assess climate change and- Safeguard the communities in the Himalayas from the impacts of climate change through

What it will Address?- Himalayan glaciers and associated hydrological consequences

- Prediction and management of natural hazards- Biodiversity conservation and protection- Wild life conservation and protection- Traditional knowledge societies and their livelihood- Capacity in regulation of science and critical peer evaluation to help governance issues r- Assist in restoration and rehabilitation process of Uttrakhand

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee- To permit the use of GMOs and products thereof for commercial applications.- To adopt producers for restriction or prohibition, production, sale, import & use of Genetic- To approve for conduct of large scale field trials, evaluation of large scale field trial data a- To authorize large scale production and release of GMOs and products thereof into the e- To authorize agencies or persons to have powers to take punitive actions under the EPA

 Aditya Puri Panel on Credit Information- The Report is titled Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information- The Committee has suggested to provide customers with a free copy of their Credit Infor- The committee also recommended a common Data Quality Index that could assist credit- To use a common data format that includes additional information in the formats, such a- The committee has showed its concern that low usage of credit information by member i- increasing the coverage of credit information in terms of membership (all credit institution

- CICs should have a common classification of Credit Scores so that it would be easier to

FIH Introduced 4 quarter format in Hockey- International Hockey Federation (FIH) on 20 March 2014 introduced a new format of 60-m

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- The new rule (format) will be applied to all the continental Olympic qualifying events from- Under the new format, 40-second time-out will be provided when a penalty corner is awar- The 40-second time-out will give a time for on-field celebration to the teams. It will also a- These additional time-outs for penalty corners and after goals in the new 60-minute form- After the first and third quarters each team will have a two-minute break with a 10 minute

Third Nuclear Security Summit- Reducing the amount of dangerous nuclear material (highly enriched uranium and plutoni- Improving the security of radioactive material (including low-enriched uranium) that can b- Improving the international exchange of information and international cooperation.- The NSS countries agreed to keep the quantities of nuclear material as low as possible a- The agreement also covers other radioactive material, such as low-enriched uranium, co- These materials have useful applications in hospitals industry, research and can also be- These countries have also pledged to allow teams of international experts to evaluate thei

 About Nuclear Securi ty Summit- The goal of the Summit is to address the threat of nuclear terrorism by enhancing interna

The first NSS was held in Washington DC in 2010 and the second NSS was held in Seou

International Secur ity Assis tance Force- The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is a NATO-led security mission in Afg- Its main purpose is to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afgha- ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban, al

- so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration h- In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission t- Troop contributors include from the United States, United Kingdom, NATO member state- The intensity of the combat faced by contributing nations varies greatly, with the United St

Four Stages

Stage 1: to the north – completed October 2004

Stage 2: to the west – completed September 2005Stage 3: to the south – completed July 2006Stage 4: ISAF takes responsibility for entire country – completed October 2006United Nations Security Council r esolution 1386

- adopted unanimously on 20 December 2001, after reaffirming all resolutions on the situa- Council authorised the establishment of the International Security Assistance Force (ISA- The Security Council supported international efforts to eradicate terrorism in accordance- The Council reiterated its support for the Bonn Agreement and noted an offer by the Unite

NSA level meeting on tr ilateral Maritime Secur ity CooperationDuring the third NSA-Level meeting in Delhi, the participants reviewed and expressed sati

- Initiatives to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) through access to systems ru- such as Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) services and sharing of

- Training and capacity building initiatives in areas of MDA, Search and Rescue, and Oil Po- Joint activities including trilateral exercises, maintaining lines of communication on illegal- They also discussed new areas of cooperation including hydrography; training in Visit, Bo

- raining on board Indian Sail Training Ships; exchanges between think tanks; an

Supreme Court directed all States and UTs to implement Manu- Directions for rehabilitation of those involved in manual scavenging by providing cash ass- At least one member of their family shall be given, subject to eligibility and willingness, trai- Besides, one adult member of the family is given subsidy or concessional loan for taking- To address sewer deaths, it suggested that entering sewer lines without safety gears sh- The people who were employed as scavengers should be allotted residential plots or con

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- Persons released from manual scavenging should not have to cross hurdles to receive w- Safai karamchari women should be provided support for dignified livelihood in accordanc- The Railways should take time-bound strategy to end manual scavenging on the tracks a

Instant Money Transfer Scheme- IMT is an innovative domestic money remittance facility.

- It allows the customer to send money to a receiver only by using the receiver’s mobile nu- The receiver can withdraw money from a Bank of India’s ATM without using a card.- The monthly withdrawal limit prescribed for IMT transaction is 25000 rupees for receiver,- IMT is valid for 14 days only from the date of issue. After 14 days the transaction expires- IMT can also be cancelled by the sender before its expiry and withdrawal

Process of Transaction

- The sender initiates IMT by providing receiver’s mobile number, four digits sender code, t- The sender provides receiver’s name, address and mobile number to the bank either on- The receiver receives the notification of IMT on his mobile phone, along with a four-digit S- The sender separately communicates the four-digit sender code to the receiver.- The receiver, after getting these two pieces of information - one from the sender and the

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite Sys tem- an autonomous regional satellite navigation system being developed by the Indian Space- The requirement of such a navigation system is driven by the fact that access to foreign- The IRNASS would provide two services, with the Standard Positioning Service open for- As per ISRO the series of satellite would provide an accurate real time Position, Navigati- The IRNSS system mainly consists of three components, namely

Space Segment (Constellation of Satellites & Signal–In–Space)Ground Segment and User Segmen

- IRNSS will have two types of signals in L5 and S-band centre frequency- L band centre frequency being 1176.45 MHz and S-band centre frequency bein

IRNSS Applications- Mapping and geodetic data capture with precise timing- Visual and voice navigation for drivers,- Integration with mobile phones and terrestrial- Aerial and marine navigation,- Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travelers

Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana scheme launched i- The implementation of the MGPSY scheme will be facilitated by UAE Exchange that is off- Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) is a special social security schem- The MGPSY is aimed at helping the workers to save money for their retirement, their retu

- It provides home and a life insurance cover for 1 lakh rupees during their work abroad.- The Government of India will contribute up to 2000 rupees every year for male workers a- It will be added to the Pension and Life Insurance (PLIF) account of each eligible subscri- workers have to contribute between 1000 & 12000 Rs per annum towards the pension fu- Indian Workers Resource Centre or IWRC is the support center for Indian workers in the

European Parliament approved the Banking Union reforms- The main features of the Banking Union reforms :-

- To establish a new oversight system known as the Single Supervisory Mechan- SSM will be complemented by a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). SRM wi- A fund of 55 billion euros (76 billion dollars) will be set up to cover the cost of c l- Customer deposits will be guaranteed up to 100000 euros, with the banks also- Lenders must comply with stricter rules of conduct and capital levels. The aim

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Umesh Bellur headed GIRO Advisory Group submitted its repo- The Reserve Bank of India constituted the GIRO Advisory Group (GAG) in October 2013 t

(GIRO) - Governm ent Internal Revenue Order 

- It is a centralised process that allows payments for utility bills, educational fees and insur- Advisory Group has suggested setting up two Organisations, Bharat Bill Payment Servic

- Recommended a tiered structure where the Bharat Bill Payment Services (BBPS) will be- BBPOUs will be the authorised operational units, working in adherence to the standards- The BBPS will also handle the settlement responsibilities arising out of the transactions i- All the entities in this tiered structure will operate under the uniform and single brand of th

MCA notified ru les on providing insurance cover for public de- Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) notified rules on providing insurance cover for p- The rules called Regulations for Acceptance of Deposits by Companies was notified und- Section 73(2) (d) of the Act provides a mandatory insurance cover for public deposits gar- The deposit insurance contract shall specifically provide that in case the company default

- depositor shall be entitled to the repayment of principal amount of deposits and

- Provided that in the case of any deposit not exceeding 20000 rupees, the deposit insuran- All deposit-taking companies would need to maintain a Deposit Repayment Reserve Acc

Kasturirangan Task Force on Waste to Energy submitted its re- he report highlighted the need for an integrated approach towards Municipal Solid Waste- It emphasized the need for setting up centralised or decentralised waste processing facil- The report provides guidance for the selection of appropriate technology and clearly indic- It emphasizes on converting the combustible waste into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to b- Urban India currently generates 170000 tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) each day.- The thrust of the task force is therefore to minimize the quantum of waste for disposal by

- adopting the “concept of 5-R” Reduce, Reuse, Recover,Recycle and Remanuf

- The report strongly recommended Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a mode of servic- Considering the projected waste generation of 165 million tonnes by 2031, the requireme- The Task Force (TF) has taken a serious view and considers it imperative to minimize th- The report also guide Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for adopting an integrated approach tow

- to advise Government of India and the State Governments to extend financial a

Drishti System- Drishti system is a sophisticated instrument for assessment of Runway visual range, whi- Drishti Transmissometer, a visibility measuring system is an innovative, indigenous prod- Web enabled health monitoring, remote control of the system from any location in the co- Servicing is made user friendly and cost-effective by modular electronics and virtual instr-

Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty- CANWFZ treaty is a legally binding commitment of Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Ky- Was signed on 8 September 2006 at Semipalatinsk (a major Soviet nuclear site), Kazakh- Included Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and came int- Treaty and its Protocol will promote regional cooperation, security, stability and peace in t- CANWFZ Treaty complements the NPT and enhances the international nonproliferation r- Under the Treaty, the five Central Asian zone states will not allow the stationing of nuclea- These states are also required to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) A

RBI allowed the minors o f age above 10 years to open Savings- Till now, banks allowed minors to operate bank accounts only along with a parent or a gu- RBI took this initiative to promote the objective of financial inclusion and also to bring unif

Main Highlights

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- This system with additional and more advanced sensors will focus onto greater details in- Fitted with state of art sensors, HGSS will bolster the probing prowess of aerogeophysic

Time domain Helicopter Borne EM system Advanced Airborne Gamma Ray Spectrometer Magnetometer Gravimeter GPS ReceiversData Acquistion Systems

HydrofluoroCarbon- any of several organic compounds composed of hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon. HFCs a- While HFCs have an ozone depletion potential of zero, they are potent greenhouse gases- They became widely used in the late 1980s, with the introduction of the Montreal Protocol,

Uses- As refrigerants, HFCs are used in a wide variety of cooling systems, from refrig- HFCs are also used as blowing agents in the production of polymer foams- as firefighting agents (having replaced halons); as solvents in cleaning product

- as propellants in metred-dose inhalers prescribed for the treatment of asthma- The breakdown of HFCs occurs in the troposphere (the lowest portion of the atmosphere- Within the troposphere, the carbon-fluorine bonds in HFCs are highly effective at trapping

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)- Any of several organic compounds composed of carbon, fluorine, and chlorine- When CFCs also contain hydrogen in place of one or more chlorines, they are called hyd- trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) and dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12), found use as a- They are well suited for these and other applications because they are nontoxic and nonfl- CFCs, once released into the atmosphere, accumulate in the stratosphere, where they c- Stratospheric ozone shields life on Earth from the harmful effects of the Sun’s ultraviolet

Montreal Protoco l- International treaty, adopted in Montreal on Sept. 16, 1987, that aimed to regulate the prod- Initially 46 countries, now has 200 signatories- In the early 1970s, American chemists F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina theorized

- releasing atoms of chlorine and chlorine monoxide that are individually able to d- In 1978 CFC-based aerosols were banned in the United States, Norway, Sweden, and C- Further validation of their work came in 1985 with the discovery of a “hole” in the ozone s

Following above discovery, representatives from 28 countries met to discuss the issue a- The meeting called for international cooperation in research involving ozone-de- empowered the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to lay the gr

- The initial agreement was designed to reduce the production and consumption- Amended to further reduce and completely phase out CFCs and halons, as well as the m

Greenhouse Gases- any gas that has the property of absorbing infrared radiation (net heat energy) emitted fro- Carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapour are the most important greenhouse gases. T- Greenhouse gases have a profound effect on the energy budget of the Earth system des

Processes which affect GHG are :-- tectonic activties, fossil-fuel combustion, vegetation, soil, wetland, ocean sourc

- Some gases have a high capacity for absorbing infrared radiation or occur in significant- Radiative Forcing:- is a measure of the influence a given greenhouse gas or other climati

Major Greenhouse Gases

Water Vapour 

- most potent of the greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, but its behaviour is fundam

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- The primary role of water vapour is not as a direct agent of radiative forcing but rather as- The warmer the surface, the greater the evaporation rate of water from the surface.

Carbon dioxide

- Natural sources of atmospheric CO2 include outgassing from volcanoes, the combustion- These sources are balanced, on average, by a set of physical, chemical, or biological pro- Significant natural sinks include terrestrial vegetation, which takes up CO2 during the pro

- Oceanic Sinks - “solubility pump,” involves the descent of surface sea water containing- Biological Pump :-involves the uptake of dissolved CO2 by marine vegetation and phytoplMethane (Marsh Gas)

- colourless, odourless gas that occurs abundantly in nature as the chief constituent of nat- as a product of the anaerobic bacterial decomposition of vegetable matter under water - Methane also is produced industrially by the destructive distillation of bituminous coal in th- Because of its abundance, low cost, ease of handling, and cleanliness, such gas is widel- CH4 is more potent than CO2 because the radiative forcing produced per molecule is gr - In addition, the infrared window is less saturated in the range of wavelengths of radiation- CH4 exists in far lower concentrations than CO2 in the atmosphere, and its concentratio

Shale Gas- Is natural gas obtained from sheetlike formations of shale, frequently at depths exceeding- Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks consisting of silt- and clay-sized particles that- Over time the mud layers were buried by further sedimentation, and the resulting heat an- Gas that was generated in the shales migrated into more-permeable rock layers, forming- The problem for producers is that it diffuses at an extremely slow rate and must be extra- The most productive method is usually horizontal drilling through the shale seam, followe- natural gas is promoted as a “bridge fuel,” a clean-burning fossil fuel that will enable soci

Little more on Shale- Shales characteristically consist of at least 30 percent clay minerals and substantial amo- They also contain smaller quantities of carbonates, feldspars, iron oxides, fossils, and or

- Shales typically have a laminated structure and are fissile; i.e., they exhibit a tendency to- Such physical properties as permeability and plasticity are largely dependent on the grain

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear WeaponsPrelude

- Achieving global nuclear disarmament was the subject of the General Assembly’s first re- It has been a prominent theme of review conferences held at the UN since 1975 of States- It was identified a priority goal of the General Assembly’s first Special Session on disarm

Current Situation

- Yet today, some 17,000 nuclear weapons remain. Countries possessing such weapons- As of 2014, not one nuclear weapon has been physically destroyed pursuant to a treaty,

- Meanwhile, the doctrine of nuclear deterrence persists as an element in the security policRelevance

- Above facts provide the foundation for the General Assembly’s designation of 26 Septem- provides an occasion for the world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nucle- provides an opportunity to educate the public—and their leaders—about the real benefits

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill 2010- Bill amends the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, which provides- The Bill adds a new definition of “central government factories” and amends the definition- In the Act, “commercial quantity” is defined as any quantity of drugs or psychotropic subs- The Bill broadens the definition of “illegally acquired property” to include not just property

- The central government may permit and regulate the sale, purchase or consumption of p- The Act prohibits any person from possessing or transferring any property or concealing

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Global Innovation Index- is an annual publication which features, among others, a composite indicator that ranks- Cornell University joined INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization as co-

Conceptual Framework

- The Global Innovation Index is the simple average of the Input and Output Sub-Indices.- The Innovation Efficiency Ratio is the ratio of the Output Sub-Index over the Input Sub-Ind

- The Innovation Input Sub-Index is the simple average of the first five pillar scores.- The Innovation Output Sub-Index is the simple average of the last two pillar scoresPillars

- Institutions,- Human capital and research,- Infrastructure,- Market sophistication,- Business sophistication,- Knowledge and technology outputs , and- Creative outputs

Sorphene Class Submarine- a class of diesel-electric attack submarine jointly developed by the French DCN and the- features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP)

What is AIP

- Technology which allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without the need to access- A nuclear ship's reactor must constantly pump coolant, generating some amount of dete- Non-nuclear submarines running on battery power or AIP, on the other hand, can be virtu- AIP is usually implemented as an auxiliary source, with the traditional diesel engine handli- Most such systems generate electricity which in turn drives an electric motor for propulsi

In Context to India

- In 2005, India chose the Scorpène design; purchasing six for US$3 billion (US$ 500m per

- submarines are to be manufactured under a technology transfer agreement by the state-- First Scorpene submarine is to be named INS Kalvari and sea trails will start within 2015

IRIGC- The Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) is the main body that conduc- It is divided into two parts, the first covering Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological a

- normally co-chaired by the Russian Deputy Prime Minister and the Indian Exter- second part of the commission covers Military Technical Co-operation this is co-chaired

PM Launches Digital life certificate for Pensioners- launched a new Aadhaar-based digital life certificate for pensioners ‘Jeevan Pramaan’ tha- Pensioners will no longer have to submit a physical life certificate in November each year,- Department of Electronics and IT has developed a software application which will enable- Key details of the pensioner will be uploaded to a central database on real-time basis, ulti

Pradhanmantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana- The programme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY), was announced in 201- The Union water resources ministry is the nodal ministry for implementing the programm- PMKSY is for those regions which are not covered by earlier irrigation programmes like th

- which is meant to provide irrigation to the north-eastern states, other hilly state- The scheme is fully centrally funded, and would converge with rural development schem

- Union Budget 2014-15Rural Development

Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission for integrated project based infrastructure in th

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- 500 crore rupees for Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for feeder separation to- 14389 crore rupees provided for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna(PMGSY).- More productive, asset creating and with linkages to agriculture and allied activities wag- Under Ajeevika, the provision of bank loan for women SHGs at 4 percent to be extended- Initial sum of 100 crore rupees for Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme for enc- Allocation for National Housing Bank increased to 8000 crore rupees to support rural ho- New programme Neeranchal to give impetus to watershed development in the country- Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) to be restructured to address intra-district inequaUrban Developm ent- Housing for All by 2022- Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing anchored in the National Housing Bank to be s- Slum development to be included in the list of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ac- One Hundred Smart Cities to be developed at a cost of 7060 crore rupees- Tax incentives for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS)Weaker Sections and Minorities

• Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna for the welfare of the tribals with an outlay of 100 crore rupee• National level institutes for Universal Inclusive Design, Mental Health Rehabilitation and• Up gradation of Traditional Skills in Arts, Resources and Goods for the up gradation of s• Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) to be revived for a limited period from 15 AugusWomen and Child Development

- Safety for Women on Public Road Transport Project with an outlay of 50 crore rupees s- Scheme to increase the safety of women in large cities with an allocation of 150 crore r - Crisis Management Centres to be set up in all the government and private hospitals of t- Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana a focused scheme to generate awareness and help in- School curriculum to have a separate chapter on gender mainstreamingHealth and Family Welfare- Free Drug Service and Free Diagnosis Service to achieve Health for All- Two National Institutes of Ageing to be set up at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical- A national level research and referral Institute for higher dental studies to be set up- AIIMS like institutions in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharashtra and Po- 12 new government medical colleges to be set up- 15 Model Rural Health Research Centres to be set up for research on local health issue- A national programme in Mission Mode to halt the deteriorating malnutrition situation in IEmployment and Skill Development- Skill India to be launched to skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrep- More productive, asset creating and with linkages to agriculture and allied activities wag- Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme ?for encouraging rural youth to take up loSchool and Education- A School Assessment Programme initiated at a cost of 30 crore rupees- Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme to infuse new training- Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses

Rashtriya Gokul Mission- to promote conservation and developments of indigenous breeds of cows in a focused a

 Aim and Objective of the Mission

- - Development and conservation of indigenous breeds- Undertake breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds to improve the g- It aims at enhancing milk production and productivity- Upgradation non-descript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, D- Distribution of disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service

Gokul Gram- Under the mission an Indigenous Cattle Centres or Gokul Grams will be established in br- The native breeding tracts- Near metropolitan cities for housing the urban cattle

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- These Grams that will have a capacity of 1000 animals will have unproductive animals al- Gokul Grams will have house fodder production to meet the Nutritional requirements of th

Main Highlights of UNHRC Resolution -2014- The Council strongly condemned the failure of Israel to end its prolonged occupation of th- It also condemned all violence against civilians wherever it occurs, including the killing of

- It also called for an end to attacks against all civilians, including Israeli civilians- It demanded Israel to immediately and fully end its illegal closure of the occupied Gaza St- It called upon the international community to provide urgently needed humanitarian assist- It expresses deep concern at the condition of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Isra- It also recommended the Government of Switzerland to promptly reconvene the conferen

What is UNHRC

- is a United Nations System inter-governmental body whose 47 member states are respo- Is the successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR, herein CHR), and is- The council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (O- Special procedures is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Hu- Special procedures can be either individuals (called "Special Rapporteurs" or "Independe

Union Government notified Public Servants Rules, 2014- It has been made mandatory for all Government employees to file declarations of their as

Declarations to be made

- New forms for filing the returns have been issued by the Government- the employees will have to declare motor vehicles, aircraft, yachts or ships, gold and silv- give detail of their immovable properties and statement of debts and other liabilities on firs- declarations are in addition to such returns being filed by the government employees und

Supreme Court ruled no automatic arrest of accused in dowry- The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice C K Prasad directed

- All the State governments to instruct its police officers not to automatically arrest when- The police should satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the paramete- The police officer shall furnish the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest- A person accused of offence punishable with imprisonment for a term up to seven with- The attitude of police to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is despicable and it m- Any arrest or detention by a police official without recording reasons as aforesaid by the

Universal Immunization Programme- is a vaccination program launched by the Government of India in 1985- It became a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992 and is curre- The program consists of vaccination for seven diseases- tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertus- On 2014 it was announced that four vaccines will be added to the program, namely rotavi

Importance and Impact of these vaccines

- These vaccines will collectively expedite India’s progress on meeting the Millennium Dev- The recent introduction of the pentavalent vaccine will help in preventing at least 1 lakh inf

Marrakesh Treaty- Marrakesh Treaty formally is the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Wor- Created to set mandatory limitations and exceptions for the benefit of blink, visually impai- Contracting parties need to adopt national law provisions that permit reproduction, distrib- India became the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to publish

Benefits of Marrakesh Treaty- - Access to published works for millions of blind, visually impaired and other print disable- It will establish equal rights and opportunities for education and employment for them- It will also facilitate import of accessible format copies from the member states by the In

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- It will facilitate translation of imported accessible format copies and export of accessible

Trade Receivables Discounting System (TRDES)- Scheme for setting up and operating an institutional mechanism for facilitating the financi- Facilitate the discounting of both invoices as well as bills of exchange.- Direct participants in the TReDS will be MSME sellers, corporate buyers and financiers, b

What are the RBI Guidelines- provide the platform to bring these participants together for facilitating uploading, acceptin- may also introduce some random audits to ensure that there is no window dressing and- Would put in place a standardized mechanism / process for on-boarding of buyers and s- Governed by the regulatory framework put in place by the Reserve Bank of India under th

Iron Dome Anti - Miss ile Defence System- The Iron Dome Anti-Missile Defence System was designed by Haifa-based Rafael Advan- Decision to build the system was taken in 2007 after the Second Lebanon War in 2006 in- It was first operated in April 2011 to combat Grad Rocket fired from Gaza by Hamas.- The dome is the only dual defence system in the world that offers protection against shor

Comprises of • Detection & Tracking Radar built by the Elta defense company• Battle Management & Weapon Control designed by the mPrest Systems software com• Missile Firing Unit manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd

Passive Immunization- Pre-synthesized elements of the immune system are transferred to a person so that the- This method of immunization begins to work very quickly, but it is short lasting, because t- Currently, Anitbodies can be used for passive immunization- Occurs physiologically, when antibodies are transferred from mother to fetus during preg- Artificial passive immunization is normally administered by injection and is used if there h

Why in news?- Zmapp - Drug uses passive immunization to treat Ebola infection

How it works

- First antibodies are extracted from infected patients and then induced into mice- The Ebola protein is then genetically altered and then inserted into tobacco leaves throug- The antibodies are then inserted into tobacco leaves using this technology and grown in l- Finally, the antibodies against the Ebola virus are then administered to patients to develo

Dot Bharat Domain- Union govt launched a New Domain, Dot Bharat in Devanagri Script- Domain will cover eight languages like Hindi, Bodo, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepa- The included languages are from the list of 22 languages that has been included in the Ei

Purpose

- Creation of the domain .Bharat is aimed to connect people with social media and provide- The domain will provide information to people in their own regional languages which will h- Website with this domain would also in bringing revolutionary changes in economic activi- Developed by the joint efforts of National Internet Exchange of India and Centre for Devel

SC issued notice to government seeking response on amend- Article 348 states that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and all the High Court shall b- The notice was issued on a plea of lawyer Shiv Sagar Tiwari seeking Courts direction to t

- Petitioner in its plea said that use of English as an official language in higher judiciary is aLogic and Arguments- Although Hindi in Devanagiri script is considered as an official national language as per A

- it is provided that all the proceedings in the Supreme Court and High Court shal

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- Under Article 349 of the Constitution, the Parliament was bound to bring an amendment f- same has not been done till date and people are forced to use English in the ap

Factories Amendment B ill, 2014- Improving workers’ safety- Increasing the provision for overtime

- Increasing the penalty for violations of the Act- Relaxing the norms for women to work night shifts in some industry segments- Reducing the number of days an employee needs to work before becoming eligible for be

Provisions

- Seeks to allow women to work at night between 7 PM and 6 AM, provided their work plac- Allows prosecution of factory owners to be commuted to penalties for minor offences- proposes to change the eligibility criteria for entitlement of annual leave with pay.- Cuts the minimum number of days employees must have worked to claim the benefit fro

 Apprentices Amendment Bill, 2014- Training of non-engineers as apprentices

- Expand employment opportunities- Appointment of apprentice from employer’s native state- Allows employer to formulate its own policy of recruitment- Proposes to expand the scope of employment for apprentices and push for the induction- Aims at allowing young job seekers and students to gain industry-relevant skills on the sh- Allows industries to appoint apprentices from a different state from where the employer is- Every employer allowed formulating its own policy on recruiting apprentices who have co

Juvenile Justice Bill, 2014- The bill will treat minors above the age of 16 as adults, who are accused of heinous crim- The bill empowered the Juvenile Justice Board to decide whether a minor would be tried i

- The bill provides that if a minor is sent to regular court, he would not be sentenced to lifeProvision for Children in conflict zones and Corporal punishment

- The Bill proposes up to seven year rigorous imprisonment, 5 lakh rupees fine or both for- The Bill widens the definition of corporal punishment by including physical and verbal abu- It proposes stringent punishment for those who subject "a child to corporal punishment c- Offenders could face jail term between six months on first conviction- If the offender is an employee of an institution dealing with children, he can be dismissed

Securities Laws Amendment Act, 2014- The Act empowers the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to clamp down on illi- It is a part of the government and regulators’ efforts to tighten noose around fraudsters i- It would also facilitate setting up of a special SEBI court to fast-track the investigation an- It also grants approval for search and seizure operations in suspected cases of frauds.- It has as many as 57 clauses to amend various sections of the SEBI Act and two other

115th Constitutional Amendment Bill- The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to provide for the introduction of a Goods and S- The Bill allows both Parliament and state legislatures to frame laws with respect to GST.- The Bill creates Goods and Services Tax Council consisting of state Finance Ministers, t- The Bill provides for a Dispute Settlement Authority to settle disputes between states or b- The Bill exempts certain commodities from GST, including petroleum products and alcoh

Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana- Re-launched scheme would provide financial security to almost half a million people by e

- The scheme would help the senior citizens across the country by providing monthly pen

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- The scheme is available to citizens aged 60 years and above- A beneficiary can take loan (up to 75% of subscribed amount), which will be availed afte- On death, the full purchase price will be refunded to nominee- Exit/surrender would be allowed after 15 years or earlier in special circumstances like c- Payment will be through ECS or NEFT

Digital India Programme- The programme is worth 1 lakh crore rupees and seeks to transform the Indian economy- The Digital India programme is a transformed version of the already running National e-G

 Aim

- To provide thrust to nine growth areas. These are: broadband highways, everywhere mo- e-Kranti (which aims to give electronic delivery of services), information for all,Vision

- creation of ICT infrastructure like high speed Internet at gram panchayat level, on demandMonitoring

- headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affair- A Digital India Advisory Group will be formed and will be chaired by the Union Minister of

- an Apex Committee which will be chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and the ExpenditureImplementation of the Programme- Government will prefer to adopt Public Private Partnerships (PPP) wherever feasible for r- Apart for existing e-governance projects, government will restructure National Informatics

Google App

- Google is working with the government (Dept of Information Technology) to encourage di• The mobile app will bring the PMO to every citizen.• Through this app, Google pledge to support and endorse the PM's digital India progra• The app will further help the Indian Government to realize the vision of a digitally conn• The app will continue to build a vibrant language ecosystem online.• The app will help women and small and medium enterprises get online and showcase

Delhi Resolution- 3rd Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Culture was held in Delhi, where this resolution was t

• To declare 2016–17 as the SAARC Year of Cultural Heritage with bamiyan as cultural• To formulate proposals for transnational nominations for the world heritage list and a r• To recognize the impact and contribution of maritime routes and the monsoon as also• To enhance interaction between member countries by redefining cultural linkages thro• To establish a SAARC Cultural Heritage Committee (SHC) and build cultural institutio• To promote the literatures produced in the local languages of the regions, and make t• To accord the highest priority to the preservation of folklores and other oral traditions t

United Nations Miss ion for Ebola Emergency Response (UNM- The Mission will provide the operational framework and unity of purpose to ensure the rap

- ensure essential services, preserve stability and prevent its spread to countries- The Mission will rely on the support of the entire UN system in particular the critical techni- The hub of the Mission will be located in Accra, Ghana

SC issued guidelines on fake encounters and cal led for mand- In case encounter that leads to death, FIRs should be filed and magisterial probe under S- No guidelines are in place for encounter killings in the country.- Cases of death in police encounters continue to occur in spite of Constitutional provision- Court also said that no out-of-turn promotion or instant gallantry rewards should be besto- It must be ensured at all costs that such rewards are given or recommended only when t

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

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• The Yojana aims at training 10 lakh (1 million) rural youths for jobs in three years, that is,• The minimum age for entry under the Yojana is 15 years compared to 18 years under th• Skill development training centres to be launched so as to address the unemployment p• The skills imparted under the Yojana will now be benchmarked against international sta• The Kaushalya Yojana will also the address the need for imparting training to the differe

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban areas• Imparting skills with an expenditure of 15000 rupees to 18000 rupees on each urban po• Promotion of self-employment through setting up individual micro-enterprises and group• With interest subsidy for individual projec