Current Affairs : May,
2016
Important Days in May
May 01 : International Labour Day,
Maharashtra Day
May 03 : International
Energy Day
May 08 : International
Red Cross Day (It is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of the
founder of the Red Cross Organization Jean Henry Dunant)
May 11 : National
Technology Day
May 15 : International
Family Day
May 17 : World Telecom
Day
May 24 : Commonwealth Day
May 31 : World No
Tobacco Day
National
India’s first integrated web portal to promote Net Zero Energy
Buildings launched
The Union Ministry of Power and the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched India’s first
integrated web portal designed to promote and mainstream Net Zero Energy
Buildings (NZEB) in India.
The portal (www.nzeb.in) was launched by
Secretary of Union Ministry of Power Pradeep Kumar Pujari and Ambassador Mr
Jonathan Addleton, USAID Mission Director to India.
Key features
A
first of its kind portal provides complete information about NZEB that generate
as much energy as they use.
It also helps to achieve near-zero energy
status through the use of efficient lighting and equipment, best practice
design strategies and integration of renewable energy technologies.
In addition it also hosts the NZEB
Alliance, an industry-wide body setup to drive the Indian markets toward highly
energy-efficient buildings.
It will also provide information for
policymakers, architects, engineers, developers, sustainability consultants and
academia.
Lakshadweep becomes first UT to sign 24×7 ‘Power for All’
document
Lakshadweep became first Union Territory
(UT) in the counry to sign 24×7 Power for All document. The document was signed
by representative of Union Government and administration of Lakshadweep.
At present, 10 inhabited islands of
Lakshadweep are mostly fed by diesel.
The 24×7 Power for All document chalks out
A plan to increase solar capacity from 2.15
MW to 8.45 MW of the island region. Envisions reduction of AT & C losses
from current level of 21% to 6.7% till 2019 by increasing the collection
efficiency up to 99%.
As a part of energy efficiency measures, 1
lakh LED bulbs will be distributed by Lakshadweep UT administration through
Energy Efficiency Services (EESL).
Besides under UJALA programme incandescent
lamps/CFL bulbs will be replaced with LED bulbs. Additionally, 3000
conventional street lights will be replaced with LED street lights.
About Power for All programme
Union Government has undertaken this
programme as a joint initiative with respective State Governments for
preparation of State specific documents.
This document envisions for providing 24×7
power supply to all households /homes, commercial and industrial consumers and
to Agricultural consumers as per state policy. So far, 22 States have signed
the ’24×7 Power For All’ Documents.
Union Cabinet approves MoU between ISRO and United Arab Emirates
Space Agency
The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) signed between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) for cooperation in the
exploration and user of outer space for peaceful purposes.
Decision in this regard was taken by Union
Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The
MoU seek to set up a Joint Working Group with members from ISRO and UAESA. It
will further work out the plan of action including the time-frame and the means
of implementing the MoU.
Union Cabinet gives approval to 6 new IITs
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to
amend The Institutes of Technology (IIT) Act, 1961 for incorporation of 6 new IITs.
This amendment will declare these 6 IITs as the institutions of national
importance Six new IITs will come up at: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Palakkad
(Kerala), Dharwar (Karnataka), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Goa, Jammu (Jammu and
Kashmir).
Besides, Union Cabinet also gave its
approval to convert of Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad into an IIT under
the ambit of the IIT Act, 1961. The Cabinet also gave its ex post facto
approval to set up the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Andhra Pradesh which
has been registered as a Society under the Andhra Pradesh Societies
Registration Act, 2001.
In this regard, National Institutes of
Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 will be
introduced in the parliament for inclusion of the NIT, Andhra Pradesh in its
first schedule. The bill will amend NITSER Act, 2007 to ensure a high level of
public accountability and increase participation of the stakeholders in
administration and academic activities of NIT.
Cyclonic storm ROANU hits eastern coast of India
Cyclonic Storm Roanu, an active tropical
cyclone in the Bay of Bengal has hit the eastern coast of India. It is the
first tropical cyclone of the annual cyclone season.
Roanu originated from a deep depression
(low pressure) area that formed south of Sri Lanka and later gradually drifted
north and intensified into a cyclonic storm.
Key facts
In its early stages, the storm was
responsible heavy rainfall in Sri Lanka causing flooding in its northern parts.
It also brought torrential rainfall to the
Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and is also affecting Odisha and
West Bengal.
Parliament passes bill on potable alcohol
Parliament has passed the Industries
(Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 after with the Lok Sabha
adopted certain amendments made by the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill seeks to amend the Industries
(Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 that provides for development and
regulation of certain industries.
Key facts
The Bill seeks to transfer from the Centre
to states the control over industries engaged in the production of potable
alcohol. It seeks to amend a schedule in the parent Act to exclude production
of alcohol for potable purposes.
It empowers central government to formulate
policy and regulate foreign collaboration for all products of fermentation
industries, including industrial and potable alcohol.
International
India, Australia sign MoU to enhance R&D capabilities in
biotech
India and Australia have signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) to enhance research and development (R&D)
capabilities in biotechnology by launching a joint funding call. The MoU was
signed between India’s BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance
Council) and Horticulture Innovation Australia.
Key facts
The MoU seeks to stimulate and enhance the
strategic research and innovation capabilities of the Indian biotech industry.
The focus of the funding call is to
undertake horticultural research in order to develop and deploy modern tools of
plant biotechnology to improve crop productivity.
The funding commitment from BIRAC and
Horticulture Innovation is up to 6 million Australian dollars over a period of
three years.
BIRAC: It a PSU under the Union
Ministry of Science and Technology. It seeks to stimulate and enhance the strategic
research and innovation capabilities of the Indian biotech industry,
particularly start-ups and SMEs, for the creation of affordable products
addressing the needs of the largest section of society.
China sign two agreements with Sudan to build nuclear reactor
China has signed two agreements with Sudan,
its close ally in Africa to build 600-megawatt (MW) atomic reactor. It was the
first of its kind project to be built by China in African country.
The two framework agreements in this regard
have been signed by state-owned China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) with Sudan.
These agreements include nuclear power development and building a 600 MW atomic
reactor.
Key facts
These agreements may involve a blueprint
for nuclear power development for Sudan in the next decade and building the
first nuclear power station in the country.
As part of agreement, CNNC has not
disclosed the contract value and also the type of nuclear technology to be used
for the reactor.
But experts believe that China may use its homegrown
reactor design Hualong One, a type of third-generation technology.
In recent years, Sudan has faced power
shortages and is seeking to build two 600-MW pressurised water nuclear reactors
to meet the growing demand for electricity.
Regional
Mamata Banerjee sworn-in as West Bengal Chief Minister for a
second term
Mamata Banerjee was sworn-in as the Chief
Minister of West Bengal for second successive five-year term at oath taking
ceremony held on Red Road. State Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi administered her
oath of office and secrecy along with the 42 ministers of her government.
Mamata Banerjee is eighth chief minister of West Bengal and the first CM of the
state.
Islamic Development Bank to open its first branch in India at
Ahmedabad
Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank
(IDB) has decided to open its first branch in India at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In
this regard, IDB and its private sector arm, Islamic Corporation for the
Development of the Private Sector (ICD), already have met with top officials of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), EXIM Bank and India’s other nationalized
banks.
This announcement comes as part of MoU
signed between IDB and India’s EXIM Bank during Prime Minister Narendra Modi
visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April 2016.
As part of the MoU a US 100 million dollars
line-of-credit (LoC) was to be given to IDB’s member countries to facilitate
exports. Besides, IDB also has decided to provide Gujarat state 30 medical vans
as part of its social sector initiatives.
About Islamic Development Bank
The IDB is a multilateral development
financing institution based in in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Presently, it has 56
Islamic countries as its members. It was founded in 1973 by the Finance
Ministers at the first Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation).
IDB’s objective is to foster the economic
development and social progress of member countries as well as the Muslim
community in accordance with principles of Islamic (Shariah) law.
Pinarayi Vijayan sworn-in as Kerala Chief Minister
Veteran CPI (M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan was
sworn-in as 12th Chief Minister of Kerala after the left Democratic Front (LDF)
had won 2016 state assembly election. State Governor P Sathasivam administered
his oath of office and secrecy to him along with other 18 ministers of his
government in Thiruvananthapuram.
In the 2016 state assembly election, the
CPI (M)-led coalition of LDF had emerged victorious after winning 91 seats in
the 140 member Assembly. Then ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) had emerged
as largest opposition coalition after winning 47 seats.
India, World Bank ink US$ 100 million loan agreement for
Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization
India and World Bank have signed the Loan
and Project Agreements for World Bank (IBRD) assistance of US 100 million
dollars for Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization project. Objective of the project: (i) Provide
city-wide access to a continuous piped water supply in the eligible cities in
Karnataka. (ii) Strengthen the service delivery arrangements at the city level.
KUIDFC is the nodal implementing agency for the project.
The project has four broad components: (i)
Capital Investment Program (ii) Technical Assistance for Sector Development
(iii) Institution Building and (iv) Project Management.
Key facts
The project will be implemented initially
in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad over a period of six years, and other
eligible cities will join the project later.
Under it, Hubballi Dharwad Municipal
Corporation has hired a professional water supply operating company for
improving the water supply system. The municipality will retain its ownership
over the water supply assets and shall also control of the service delivery set
up.
Sarbananda Sonowal sworn-in as Assam Chief Minister
BJP leader and former Union Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal (54) was sworn-in as the 14th Chief Minister of Assam after
winning 2016 state assembly election with absolute majority. State Governor
Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya administered the oath of office and secrecy to
Sarbananda Sonowal at the oath taking ceremony held in Khanapara, Guwahati.
Besides, Governor also administered oath of
office and secrecy to the 10 ministers of his government. With this, maiden BJP
government assumed power in the North Eastern state for first time in the
political history of independent India. Sarbananda Sonowal also became second
tribal chief minister of Assam after Jogen Hazarika who was in the office
1970s.
J Jayalalithaa sworn-in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for sixth
time
Ms. J Jayalalithaa has sworn in as the
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for record sixth time after winning 2016 state
assembly election with absolute majority.
State Governor Dr.K. Rosaiah administered
the oath of office and secrecy to her at oath taking ceremony held at the
Centenary Auditorium, Madras University.
Besides, Governor also administered oath of
office and secrecy to the 28 ministers of her government.
This is J Jayalalithaa’s second consecutive
term as chief minister and sixth overall. She is the second female Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu after Janaki Ramachandran.
President appoints Kiran Bedi as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
President appoints Kiran Bedi as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed
BJP leader and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of
Puducherry as per Article 239 of the Constitution.
The a post LG was vacant for the past two
years after the Union Government had sacked Virendra Kataria from the post in July
2014. Since then, it was under the additional charge of Ajay Kumar Singh, Lt.
Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
World’s largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant inaugurated in
Amritsar
World’s largest single rooftop solar power
plant of 11.5 MegaWatt (MW) capacity was inaugurated at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh
in Beas near Amritsar in Punjab. This is the largest Solar Power Plant spread
over 82 acres of rooftop in single campus on multiple roofs with installed
capacity of 19.5 MW.
Key facts
The plant has been set up with the cost of
139 crore rupees and would generate clean and green energy sufficient to power
approximately 8,000 homes. It will also help in abating 4-lakh tonnes of carbon
dioxide (CO2) in the next 25 years.
The clean power produced from this plant
will be purchased by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) as per
the power purchase agreement signed Dera for 25 years.
The first phase (7.5 MW) of this project
was launched in September 2013 and was synchronised with the grid in April
2014. Later, the second phase (12 MW) was launched in February 2015 and
synchronised in December 2015.
Economics
Union Government approves NIMZ in in Kalinganagar, Odisha
The Union
Government has given its final approval to setting up of National Investment
& Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Kalinganagar, Odisha. It will come up on a
massive area of 163 square kilometres and on completion will be the third NIMZ
of India.
For execution NIMZ project, Union Ministry
of Commerce and Industry has approved fund of Rs. 4241 crore. Of this total
amount, estimated Rs. 3816 crore will be invested for the first phase of the
project which will be completed by 2020.
NIMZ in Kalinganagar will create employment
opportunities for around 1.5 lakh people. It will help Odisha grow as a
manufacturing hub and also help Paradip port’s growth.
About National Investment & Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ)
Under National Manufacturing Policy (NMP),
Union Government in 2014 had announced to set up 16 NIMZs to boost
manufacturing sector. Till 2013-14, 16 NIMZs were set up, 8 of them are along
the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). NMP aims to enhance the share of
manufacturing sector in GDP to 25% and create 100 million employment
opportunities over a decade.
Union Cabinet approves National Capital Goods Policy 2016
The Union Cabinet has given its approval
for National Capital Goods Policy 2016 to give an impetus to the capital goods
sector and the Make in India initiative. This is first ever policy for Capital
Goods sector framed by the Union Government (Ministry of Heavy Industry &
Public Enterprise).
Key features of Policy
Objectives: (i) Increase
production of capital goods from 2,30,000 crore rupees in 2014-15 to 7,50,000
crore rupees in 2025. (ii) Raise direct and indirect employment from the
current 8.4 million to 30 million. (iii) Increase exports from the current 27%
to 40% of production. (iv) Increase the share of domestic production in India’s
demand from 60% to 80% to make India a net exporter of capital goods.
Aim of Policy: (i)
Facilitate improvement in technology depth across sub-sectors, (ii) Ensure
mandatory standards, (iii) Increase skill availability and promote growth and
(iv) Capacity building of MSMEs. Help in realising the vision of ‘Building
India as the World class hub for Capital Goods’ and also play a pivotal role in
overall manufacturing as the pillar of strength to the vision of ‘Make in
India’.
The Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) will
meet the objectives of the policy in a time bound manner through obtaining
approval for schemes as per the roadmap of policy interventions.
World Bank launches Pandemic Emergency Finance Facility
The World Bank has launched Pandemic
Emergency Finance Facility (FEP) to help countries and health agencies fight
deadly disease outbreaks. FEP is a financing mechanism designed to quickly
mobilize funds to tackle global disease outbreaks and create a new insurance
market for pandemic risk. It was unveiled at the G-7 Finance Ministers Summit
held in Ise-Shima, Japan. Japanese Government has committed to donate $50
million dollars to it, becoming the first donor.
Key facts
It was designed and built by World Bank in
collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the private sector
reinsurance companies etc.
PEF is meant to work almost like an
insurance policy, but it will be mainly to protect against deadly disease
outbreaks by ensuring “surge funding” to response efforts. The funding will be
disbursed according to a complex trigger mechanism and activation criteria
based on four categories of infectious diseases.
It will provide coverage up to US 500
million dollars for outbreaks of infectious diseases most likely to cause major
epidemics for an initial period of 3 years.
The major epidemics covered under PEF
include new influenza pandemic virus A, B and C, MERS, SARS, Ebola, Crimean
Congo, Marburg, Rift Valley, Lassa fever, etc.
The insurance window under it will combine
the funding from the reinsurance markets with the proceeds of catastrophe or
Cat bonds (World Bank issued pandemic bonds) as well as a complementary cash
window. It will be for the first time World Bank Cat Bonds will be used to
combat infectious diseases.
SEBI tightens P-note norms to keep vigil on foreign investments to curb black money inflow
SEBI tightens P-note norms to keep vigil on foreign investments to curb black money inflow
The market regulator Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened the Participatory Notes (P-note)
norms. The main purpose of this decision is to keep vigil on foreign
investments to curb black money inflows in the country.
In this regard, SEBI has introduced Know
Your Client (KYC) compliance for holders of these instruments in order to bring
them on a par with domestic investors. SEBI also has sought information on the
ultimate beneficiaries of these products.
What are Participatory notes?
Participatory Notes are offshore/overseas
derivative instruments (ODIs) issued by registered foreign institutional investors
(FII) to overseas investors. They are commonly known as P-Notes. P-Notes are
issued to overseas investors who wish to invest in the Indian stock markets
without registering themselves with the market regulator SEBI.
Investing through P-Notes is very simple
and is very popular amongst FIIs. SEBI had permitted FIIS to participate and
register in the Indian stock market in 1992. P-Notes are not used within the
country but are mainly used outside India for making investments in shares
listed in the Indian stock market.
For example, India-based brokerages buy
securities from the Indian stock and then issue P-Notes to foreign investors
for the securities. Any capital gains or dividends collected from the
underlying securities go back to the investors.
SBI seeks to take over 5 associate PSBs, Bhartiya Mahila Bank
The country’s largest lender, State Bank of
India (SBI) has decided to merge its five associate public sector banks (PSBs)
and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself. In this regard, SBI has
informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that it is seeking in-principle
approval for acquisition from the Union Government.
5 subsidiary banks are: (i) State Bank of
Bikaner and Jaipur, (ii) State Bank of Hyderabad, (iii) State Bank of Mysore,
(iv) State Bank of Patiala and (v) State Bank of Travancore.
Besides, the boards of the subsidiary banks
and the SBI also met individually in Mumbai to begin merger talks to acquire
the businesses including assets and liabilities.
Key facts
The merged entity will increase SBI’s
market share from 17 per cent to 22.5-23 per cent the country with total
business of over Rs. 35 lakh crore.
It will have one-fourth of the deposit and
loan market in the country and SBI’s staff strength will increase by 35-49 per
cent.
The merged entity will also increase branch
network by 6,000. At present, SBI alone has more than 15,000 branches in the
country.
Sports
Sunrisers Hyderabad win 2016 Indian Premier League title
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has won the ninth
edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It is their maiden IPL title. In
the final match played at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore (Karnataka), SRH
defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight runs. SRH had won the toss
in final summit and had chosen to bat first. Batting first, SRH had set the
target of 209 runs to their opponent team. However the RCB failed to reach the target
score.
Discus thrower Seema Punia qualifies for 2016 Rio Olympics
Discus thrower Seema Punia has qualified for
the 2016 Rio Olympics scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August
2016. She is the 19th Indian track and field athlete to qualify for Rio
Olympics.
Seema was able to qualify after throwing
discus at 62.62 meters at the Pat Young’s Throwers Classic 2016 event held at
Salinas (California) in the United States. She crossed the Rio Games
qualification standard of 61meters with her season’s best effort of 62.62
meters and winning gold medal in the event.
Pankaj Advani creates history by winning Asian 6-Red Snooker
title
India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani has
created history by clinching the Asian 6-Red Snooker title held in Abu Dhabi.
With this victory, Advani became the first cueist in the world to hold both
world and continental titles in 6-red snooker at the same time.
In the Asian 6-Red Snooker title held in
Abu Dhabi, Advani defeated top seeded Malaysian cueist Keen Hoh Moh by 7-5
score. Advani is 14-time World Billiards and Snooker Champion.
He is only player in the world to win world
titles in all formats of both, Billiards and Snooker.
He is the first cueist in the world to win
the Grand double three times in 2005 and 2008 respectively.
In recognition of his achievements in
sports, Union Government has bestowed several awards upon him including Arjuna
Award (2004), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2006) and Padma Shri (2009).
Anurag Thakur unanimously elected BCCI President
Anurag Thakur (41) was unanimously elected
as President of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) by the board’s
special general meeting (SGM) held in Mumbai. He is 34th BCCI President and
shall have tenure till September 2017.
He succeeds Shashank Manohar who stepped
down to take get elected as ICC’s first independent chairman.
Thakur is the second youngest BCCI
President after Fateh Singh Gaekwad who was the youngest BCCI President to get
elected at the age of 33 in 1963.
Before getting elected as President, Thakur
had resigned as BCCI Secretary. He is a BJP MP in Lok Sabha from Hamirpur
district of Himachal Pradesh.
Science & Technology
NASA successfully deploys BEAM, first inflatable room attached
to International Space Station
The
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully deployed
the first experimental inflatable room attached to the International Space
Station (ISS). The experimental inflatable room dubbed as BEAM (Bigelow
Expandable Activity Module) was deployed after it was successfully expanded and
pressurized.
Key facts
The inflatable room BEAM has been built by
Nevada Company Bigelow Aerospace. It will be attached to the ISS for a two-year
test and is the first such habitat to hold humans in orbit.
It is made up of aluminium and soft fabric
which expands in space. It is light weight and also takes minimal space. It
creates place for astronauts to live and work.
It is 4 metres long and 3.2 metres in
diameter with 16 cubic metres of interior volume when fully expanded.
Its 2 year orbital test is intended to pave
the way towards the use of such habitable rooms for long space trips, including
to Mars and Moon
India’s first reusable space shuttle RLV-TD launched
The Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) has successfully test launched the first indigenous Reusable Launch
Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD).
Launch Details: It was
launched from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
in Andhra Pradesh. The launch was part of a series of technology demonstration
missions, which is considered as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To
Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable vehicle.
After launch RLV-TD glided back onto a
virtual runway in Bay of Bengal and re-entered the atmosphere after reaching a
height of over 70 km.
Key facts
RLV-TD is winged body aerospace vehicle
that operated in hypersonic flight regime. It is capable of launching
satellites into orbit around earth and then re-enter the atmosphere
It has been configured to act as a flying
testbed to evaluate various technologies, including hypersonic flight,
autonomous landing, powered cruise flight. It was launched using a nine-ton
solid rocket motor (SRM) which is designed to burn slowly to accommodate the
vertical lifting of winged body
The RLV-TD was 6.5 meter long and has
aeroplane like structure. It weighs about 1.75 tonnes and is very similar to
the retired US space shuttle.
It was built by a team of 600 scientists
over five years at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
World’s first robot lawyer ‘ROSS’ hired by US law firm
The world’s first robot lawyer named ‘ROSS’
has been employed by a US law firm BakerHostetler. The first of its kind
artificial intelligence (AI) lawyer will assist the law firm and its various
teams in legal research.
The robot was built by the company ROSS
Intelligence and its working is based on cognitive computing. The project had
started in 2014 out of research at the University of Toronto to build an
artificial intelligence legal research assistant to allow lawyers to enhance
and scale their abilities.
The ROSS started functioning with first ten
months after they began teaching it bankruptcy law.
Key facts
The ‘ROSS’ robot is built upon IBM’s
cognitive computer Watson.
It will function using Watson’s cognitive
computing and natural language processing capabilities. Lawyers can ask ROSS
their research question and which it will answer by reading through the law,
gathered evidence, drawn inferences. ROSS will also monitor the law around the
clock to notify users of new court decisions that can affect a case.
It is programmed to continually learn from
the lawyers who will in turn use it to bring back better results each time.
Defence
India’s own submarine assembly workshop inaugurated at Mazgaon
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar a
state-of-the-art submarine assembly workshop at the Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders
Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The inauguration is considered as a major
step towards self-sufficiency in the area of submarine construction for the
Indian Navy.
Key facts
The newly built Submarine Marine Assembly
Workshop is a pre-engineered building structure built at a cost of Rs 153
crore. It is capable to handle construction of multiple submarines simultaneously
and will make it possible to assemble five submarines in the workshop at the
same time.
The workshop has features such as sewage
treatment plan, grey water treatment plant, rain water harvesting, oily water
separator plant for treatment of sewage, oily water and grey water
respectively, with zero discharge into the municipal drains.
This facility will enable MDL to go in for
a second line of submarines concurrently which is assembling Scorpene class
submarines at its East Yard in collaboration with DCNS of France.
Indian Air Force successfully test fires Brahmos missile at
Pokaran
The
Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the
supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos at the Pokaran field firing range in
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
Test: During the flight trial, the
missile met its mission goals and destroyed a designated target. Two squadrons
of IAF already have been equipped with the land-attack version of the missile
version (One squadron has about 70 to 80 missiles). IAF is deploying this
version of the missile in the border areas to take out the enemy’s
communication towers, runways, and radar in case of a conflict.
Features:
It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300
kilogram and has top supersonic speed of Mach 3 (that is, three times the speed
of sound). It can strike a target at maximum range of 290-km.
It is two-stage missile, the first one
being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.
BrahMos missile already has been inducted
into the Indian Army and Navy.
Indian Navy launches underwater Harbour Defence Systems in Visakhapatnam
Indian Navy launches underwater Harbour Defence Systems in Visakhapatnam
Indian Navy has launched the
state-of-the-art Harbour Defence Systems, viz. Integrated Underwater Harbour
Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Besides, Mine Warfare Data Centre (MWDC)
was also launched. IUHDSS and MWDC systems seek to enhance the Indian Navy’s
surveillance capability and response to security threats at the Naval Dockyard
in Visakhapatnam.
Key facts
IUHDSS: It is a multi-sensor system
capable of detecting, tracking, identifying and generating warnings for all
types of surface and underwater threats to Visakhapatnam harbour.
MWDC: It will collate, classify
and analyse data collected by the Indian Navy’s Mine Hunting Ships from various
ports along the East coast. This state-of-the-art facility will be the nodal
centre for maintaining an underwater information database of harbours along the
East coast.
Miscellaneous
Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh wins 2016 India
Biodiversity Award
Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district
of Arunachal Pradesh has won the ‘India Biodiversity Award 2016’. The tiger
reserve was selected in the conservation of threatened species category for its
Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.
Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme
The Programme is a joint collaboration of
Ghora-Aabhe Society, Nature Conservation Foundation and the State Forest
Department. Under it, urban citizens contribute money to protect hornbill nests
around Pakke Tiger Reserve.
The programme has been a major step towards
conservation of four hornbill species that are found in the adjoining areas of
the reserve. Besides, Hong Niitii, Lower Subansiri has been awarded under
category IV Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) award.
Union HRD Ministry to launch ASMITA, student tracking system
The Union Ministry of Human Resource
Development (HRD) has decided to launch ASMITA, a student tracking system
programme. ASMITA is acronym for All School Monitoring Individual Tracing
Analysis and shall be launched under Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY).
Key facts
SAY aims to track the educational journey
of school students from Class I to Class XII across the 15 lakhs private and
government schools in the country.
ASMITA will be an online database which will
carry information of student attendance and enrolment, learning outcomes,
mid-day meal service and infrastructural facilities among others. \
Students will be tracked through their
Aadhaar numbers and incase those not having unique number will be provided with
it.
Tsai Ing-wen sworn-in as first women President of Taiwan
Tsai Ing-wen (59) has sworn-in as the first
female and 14th President of Taiwan on 20 May 2016 in front of national flag.
She succeeds outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou. She is the leader of the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which favours independence from China.
Social
Issues
Union Cabinet approves Amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled
Tribes) Order, 1950
The Union Cabinet has given its approval
for introduction of two Bills in the Parliament for certain amendments in the
Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. These bills seek to modify the
list of Scheduled Tribes in respect of five States, namely, Assam,
Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Tripura.
They also seek identification of new
communities in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The Bills add the following communities to the list of Scheduled
Castes:
Assam: Inclusion of Boro, Boro Kachari, Bodo, Bodo Kachari and Karbi
(Mikir) communities in the list.
Chhattisgarh: Inclusion of Bhuinya, Bhuiyan, Bhuyan, Dhanuhar/Dhanuwar,Kisan,
Saunra, Saonra and Dhangad communities in the list.
Jharkhand: Inclusion of Bhogta, Deshwari, Ganjhu, Dautalbandi (Dwalbandi),
Patbandi, Raut, Maajhia, Khairi (Kheri) and Puran communities in the list.
Tamil Nadu: Inclusion of Malayali Gounder, Narikoravan and
Kurivikkaran communities in the list.
Tripura: Inclusion of Darlong community in the list.
Puducherry: Identification (First Order) of Irular (including Villi and
Vettaikaran).
After these Bills become Acts, members of
the included communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes will be able to derive
benefits meant for Scheduled Tribes under the existing schemes.
Constitutional provisions: The
Constitution provides certain privileges/concessions to the members of
Scheduled Tribes which are notified under the provisions of Article 342.
Article 342: It empowers President
after consultation with the State Government to issue an order for the first
list of Scheduled Tribes. Any subsequent inclusion or exclusion from the list
of Scheduled Tribes can be effected through an Act of Parliament as envisaged
under clause (2) of Article 342.
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