15-16 JUNE 2016
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day observed
15 June: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was observed globally on 15 June 2016. The day is observed to voice against abuse and suffering inflicted on older people.
On this day, number of events is held across the globe to raise awareness of elder abuse and highlight ways to challenge such abuse.
About Global Elder Population
The global population of people aged 60-year and older will more than double, from 542 million in 1995 to about 1.2 billion in 2025.
Elder Abuse
Elder abuse can be defined as a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person.
At present, elder abuse is a global social issue, which affects the health and human rights of millions of older persons around the world. It can be termed as a violation of older people’s human rights and is an issue which deserves the attention of the international community.
Around 4 to 6% of elderly people have experienced some form of maltreatment at home. Elder maltreatment can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences.
• It can take various forms such as physical, psychological or emotional, sexual and financial abuse.
• It can also be the result of intentional or unintentional neglect.
• Elder abuse is a problem that exists in both developing and developed countries yet is typically underreported globally.
• The incidence of abuse towards older people is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
• Prevalence rates or estimates exist only in selected developed countries — ranging from 1% to 10%.
United Nations Resolution on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) via its resolution 66/127, designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2011.
The day represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated Child Labour Tracking System
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 12 June 2016 inaugurated Child Labour Tracking System (CLTS). The system was launched to keep a track of rescued child labour for their proper rehabilitation.
Besides, CM Nitish Kumar also announced that he had in principle accepted the Charter of Demandssubmitted by the rescued child labour.
A committee headed by Chief Secretary for implementation of children’s demands will also be set up.
Key highlights of Child Labour Tracking System
•Every rescued child will be given 25000 rupees from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
•The money will directly go to children’s bank account. The amount will instil a sense of confidence among the children.
•The money will be given to all those children who will be registered under the tracking system.
Why a tracking system is needed?
Even if children are rescued from working as child labour, there is no guarantee that they would not be forced to work. Therefore, there is need for tracking those children who have been rescued besides, monitoring such children as to what they are doing.
Child labour in India
•Child labour is a practice that deprives children of their childhood. Besides, it is also harmful to their physical and mental development.
•In India, poverty, lack of good schools and growth of informal economy are considered as the key causes of child labour.
•The 2011 national census of India estimated the total number of child labour, aged 5–14, to be at 4.35 million.
• Article 24of India's constitution prohibits hazardous child labour.
•The Juvenile Justice (care and protection) of Children Act-2000, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act-1986provide a basis in law to identify, prosecute and stop child labour in India.
Jupiter-like planet, Kepler-1647b, orbiting two stars discovered
Scientists have discovered a Jupiter-like planet, Kepler-1647b, orbiting a system of two stars, making it the largest such cosmic body ever found.
The planet Kepler-1647b, located in the constellation Cygnus, was discovered by astronomers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre and San Diego State University (SDSU) in the US.
Researchers said that the Kepler-1647 is 3700 light-years away and about 4.4 billion years old, roughly the same age as the Earth.
About Kepler-1647b
• The planet was discovered by using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, an instrument launched in 2009 to look for potentially habitable planets beyond our solar system.
• The stars are similar to the Sun, with one slightly larger than our home star and the other slightly smaller.
• The planet has a mass and radius nearly identical to that of Jupiter, making it the largest transiting circumbinary planet ever found. Planets that orbit two stars are known as circumbinary planets.
• It takes 1107 days (over three years) to orbit its host stars, which is the longest period of any confirmed transiting exoplanet found so far.
• Orbit of the planet puts it within the so-called habitable zone, which means the range of distances from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet.
• Like Jupiter, it is also a gas giant, making the planet unlikely to host life.
The study was published in theAstrophysical Journal.
Israel elected as Chair of a permanent committee of UN for the first time
The United Nations General Assembly on 13 June 2016 elected Israel to chair its Legal Committee, which is also known as the Sixth Committee.
It is for the first time ever that Israel has been chosen to head one of its six permanent committees.
In the secret ballot election, Israel received 109 Yesvotes. No votes were cast against Israel. However, there were 23 abstentions, 14 invalid ballots and 43 votes for other countries in the Western European.
About Sixth Committee
•The United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal) is one of the main committees of the United Nations General Assembly.
•The Sixth Committee is the primary forum for the consideration of legal questions in the General Assembly.
•The committee has universal membership, which means all member states of the UN are de jure members of the Sixth committee.
•It is led by a chairman assisted by three vice-chairmen and a rapporteur.
•It meets every year from late September to late November.
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai resigns
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai resigned on 14 June 2016 citing poor health. Rai recently underwent major surgery to remove a bullet that had been lodged in his neck for 17 years.
His resignation was accepted by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who gave his portfolio to cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain. Jain already holds key portfolios of Public Works Department (PWD), Health, Power and Home.
With this resignation, the departments left with Rai are the Labour, Irrigation and Flood Control department, the General Administration Department and the Development and Employment department.
About Gopal Rai
• Gopal Rai is a Post-graduate in Sociology from Lucknow University.
• He began his career with the All India Students Association, the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, in Lucknow University in 1992.
• He is a member of the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi party.
• He was elected as MLA from Babarpur constituency in Delhi Legislative election 2015 and got the Ministry of Transport and Labour.
Background
Presently, Rai is also facing allegations of corruption in connection with a proposal for a premium, app-based bus service in Delhi. The bus service was supposed to start during the second phase of the odd-even traffic rule in Delhi.
That proposal, though, became void after allegations that a particular bus aggregator was being favoured by Rai.
Peter Thomson of Fiji elected as President of 71st session of United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 13 June 2016 elected Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of Fiji, as President of its upcoming 71st session.
Thomson was elected in a rare secret ballot vote. He defeated Andreas Mavroyiannis of Cyprusby a secret-ballot vote of 94 to 90, with one abstention.
The Fiji representative will replace current General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft.
Thomson will begin his tenure in September 2016 at the commencement of the 71st General Assembly session.
Who is Peter Thomson?
•Peter Thomson is a Fijian diplomat.
•He has served as Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations since February 2010.
•For the year 2014, he was elected President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) and theUnited Nations Office of Project Services(UNOPS).
•He was the architect of the name-change of the UN's Group of Asian States to the new name of the Asia-Pacific Group, effective 2011.
•The President of Fiji conferred on Peter Thomson the award of Officer of the Order of Fiji in 2014.
About United Nations General Assembly
•The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
•It is the only organ in which all member nations have equal representation.
•Its powers are to oversee the budget of the UN, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the UN and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions.
•The General Assembly meets under its president or Secretary-General in regular yearly sessions.
•The first UNGA session was convened on 10 January 1946in the Westminster Central Hall in London. It included representatives of 51 nations.
Gunit Chadha resigns as CEO of Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific Region
Gunit Chadha on 14 June 2016 resigned as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asia Pacific region of Deutsche Bank AG. He will leave the office on 17 July 2016.
About Gunit Chadha
• Chadha joined Deutsche Bank in 2003 as the CEO for the global lender’s India business.
• In 2012, he was elevated to co-CEO for its Asia Pacific business and later in October 2015 was appointed as CEO for the Asia Pacific.
• Under Chadha’s leadership, Deutsche Bank had started its investment banking, retail banking and institutional broking business in India.
• Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was CEO of IDBI Bank Ltd.
Comment
This is the second high profile exit from the bank. Earlier in June 2016, the bank announced that Quintin Price, Head of its asset management business and a member of the management board is also set to quit.
The company had earlier announced a shocking 6.8 billion Euros loss for the year ended December 2015. In January, the bank had announced a restructuring drive and had decided to cut down its exposure in a number of global markets, while also announcing spending cuts.
Gujarat’s Shiyal Bet gets power after 70 years of Independence
Shiyal Bet: An island located off Pipavav Port in Gujarat’s Amreli district
Gujarat’s Shiyal Bet on 11 June 2016 got electricity for the first time, after 70 years of Independence.
State’s Chief Minister Anandiben Patel inaugurated the 18.35 crore rupees project to supply grid power to the island through marine cables.
CM Patel also unveiled a plaque dedicating the electrification project to the public at a ceremony organised in the compound of the Government Secondary School in Shiyal Bet.
The Shiyal Bet project is an important part of the Prime Minister’s target to electrify 18000 villages in India by mid-2018.
Earlier, electrification was attempted from Pipavav port, the nearest mainland from the island. However, it failed as there was a possibility that anchors at the port site could damage the undersea cables.
About Shiyal Bet
•Shiyal Bet is an island, which is a part of Jafrabad taluka of Amreli district.
•The distance from Pipavav port to Shiyal Bet is 600 metres.
•Around 90% dwellers of the island are fishermen.
•There are 841 households on the island. Out of them, 600 have applied for and got power connection.
•Before electrification of the island, the Island functioned on a solar power system, kerosene oil lamps or battery-run lights.
Union Government approves Measures for Conservation & Preservation of Lakes in Bengaluru
The Union Government on 14 June 2016 approved a series of measures for the abatement of pollution and for the conservation and preservation of lakes in Bengaluru.
The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting jointly chaired by Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananth Kumar and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar.
Under the decision, all Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of the city will be monitored online 24x7. Apart from this, lake water quality will be monitored by concerned authorities in Bengaluru.
Some actions that have been agreed upon include:
• Bio-development of lakes of Bengaluru will be undertaken.
• Lakes will be restored in a bio-diverse manner in Public-Private Partnership mode.
• All residential group housing projects/apartments with >20 units and total build-up area of 2000 sq meter will have to install Sewage Treatment Plants (STP).
• Dual piping system to be prescribed in apartments/commercial establishments for re-use of treated sewage for various purposes.
• State Pollution Control Board will be monitoring the STPs on regular basis.
ALSO READ:Industrial effluents caused fire on water of Bellandur Lake
• Retrofitting of existing STPs will be conducted to meet the revised effluent norms.
• Proper management of plastic waste will be carried out to ensure that it is not dumped in the lakes
• Madivala Lake will be developed as a biodiversity park on the lines of Yamuna Biodiversity Park under the guidance of Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
• Lake Wardens will be appointed for involvement of public in lake conservation.
• The corporate sector will be involved in the effort to conserve and preserve the lakes and the progress will be monitored every six months.
• CSR funds to be tapped for conserving and developing lakes.
Comment
The pollution of lakes in Bengaluru due to discharge of untreated sewage generated in the city has become a major environment problem in last few years. For instance, in May 2015, Bellandur Lake, the largest lake of Bengaluru, and Varthur Lake had caught fire due to formation of foam on water. This formation of foam was caused by discharge of industrial effluents like phosphorus present in detergents.
As a result, water of these lakes has become harmful for domestic and irrigation purposes and it may also contaminate groundwater. It also suggested that the foam may cause an environmental problem and can be a great threat for the wetlands of Bengaluru.
Steps taken to deal with Untreated Sewage
In order to deal with this, it is to be ensured that untreated sewage is not released in the lakes. To bridge the gap between sewage generation and treatment, several STPs are being developed in the city. The STPs under development by Bengaluru Water Supply & Sewerage Boardinclude
• 336 mld STP capacity to be completed by December 2018
• 515 mld STP capacity to be completed by December 2019
• 189 mld STP capacity to be completed by December 2020
At present, the installed treatment capacity is 721 mld (with quantity of sewage treated in these STPs is only 600 mld). But with the completion of these three STPs by 2020, the STP capacity will grow up to 1761 mld which will be available for treating the entire sewage generated in the city.
Projects totaling to 887.97 crore rupees relating to sewerage system and STPs in Bengaluru have been approved/initiated under AMRUT programme of Union Ministry of Urban Development. Apart from other benefits, these projects will help in rejuvenating lakes in Bengaluru by reducing the pollution load being discharged into them.
Ivory Coast honours President Pranab Mukherjee with its highest civilian Award
President Pranab Mukherjee on 14 June 2016 was accorded with Grand Cross National Order of the Republic of Cote D'Ivoirie in a simple ceremony at the President's Palace in Abidjan. It is the highest civilian award of Ivory Coast.
He received many honorary degrees but, it is the first such honour accorded to him by a country.
The President was honoured during his two days visit to the Country from 14 June to 15 June 2016.
It was the first visit of any Indian President to Ivory Coast. In fact, it is the first ever high level visit from India to Ivory Coast.
Highlights of President’s Visit
• Both the countries signed headquarters agreement for re-establishment of Exim bank regional head quarters in the Ivory Coast.
• The Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces highlighted the common concerns of both the countries to combat international terrorism and other key issues including disarmament, climate change and sustainable development.
• The Head of the State reiterated the commitment of India towards the South-South Cooperation through developmental assistance and sharing resources for the development in Africa.
• He appreciated the naming of an information technology park in Abidjan after Mahatma Gandhi calling him as a true son of India as well as Africa.
• The President also promised that India will remain a steadfast partner in assisting Cote D'Ivoirie (Ivory Coast) in its economic development and growth and trade between the two nations is expected to touch 1 billion US dollars in few years.
Florida’s Stonegate Bank to issue first US credit card for use in Cuba
Florida-based Stonegate Bank on 14 June 2016 issued a new credit card that will allow Americans to use it in Cuba during their visit to the country. The card will help the US visitors to avoid the Cuban 10-percent penalty on the dollar.
Pompano-beach based Stonegate is also the first US bank to introduce a debit card for use in Cuba.
The bank announced that US travelers will be able to use its Mastercard to charge purchases at Cuban state-run businesses and some private businesses, starting 15 June 2016.
Initially, the bank will issue only 1000 cards and each card will feature artwork by celebrated Cuban painter Michel Mirabal.
Vijay Mallya declared as Proclaimed Offender by Money Laundering Court
Businessman Vijay Mallya was on 14 June 2016 declared as a Proclaimed Offender by a special court for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai in a loan diversion case.
The court issued proclamation under Section 82 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) against Vijay Mallya.
The move came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), an investigation agency under the Union Finance Ministry, on 10 June 2016 filed a petition over a case where Mallya is suspected to have diverted a 430 crore rupees loan given by IDBI Bank Ltd to his Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.
The ED requested the court to issue an order under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and term Mallya a proclaimed offender, citing multiple arrest warrants pending against Mallya including a non-bailable warrant (NBW) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Mallya left the country on 2 March 2016 for London on a diplomatic passport. The ED now plans to send the court order to the UK authorities to start on the process of deportation.
The directorate has identified around 4000 crore rupees worth of assets owned by Mallya.
Who is a proclaimed offender?
A person is termed as a proclaimed offender in a criminal investigation if the court believes that the accused has absconded or is concealing himself, so that the warrant cannot be executed.
According to the Section 83 of CrPC, the proclaimed offender is required to appear before the PMLA court and the investigation agency within 30 days.
Union Ministry of Railways signs JV Agreement with Odisha Government
The Union Ministry of Railways on 14 June 2016 signed a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement with Odisha Government. The agreement was signed by VP Dudeja on behalf of Railways Ministry and Sanjay Rastogi, Pr Secretary of Transport, Odisha Government.
Highlights of the JV Agreement
• The MoU envisages formation of a Joint Venture company having 51 percent stake of the State Government and 49 percent stake of Ministry of Railways.
• The company will primarily identify projects and possible financing avenues in addition to Union Government and the State Government.
• After finances for a project are tied up, project specific special purpose vehicles shall be formed.
• These SPVs can have other stake holders from Industries, Central PSUs, State PSUs etc. However, the JV companies shall be mandatory stake holders with minimum 26 percent shares in the SPVs.
• The Railways Ministry will also sign a concession agreement of 30 years with the project SPV for safe and sound operation, revenue sharing and providing technical & marketing logistics to the SPV.
• At the end of concession period, the railways will have option to take over the assets at a nominal price.
• The most important aspect of this MoU is that the ownership of the land shall vest with the SPVs which is a departure from previous practice. This will give financial leverage to the company to exploit commercial potential of the land.
Background:
• In view of the growing demands for railway lines in various states, Railways Ministry announced in its budget speech regarding setting up of Joint Ventures with states for focused project development.
• 17 State Governments consented for formation of Joint Venture Companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways for development of rail infrastructure in their respective States.
• Draft MoUs were sent to these State Governments and discussions were also held with them to clarify various provisions of the MoU.
• MoUs have already been signed with seven state governments- Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Haryana.
• Jharkhand and Gujarat have shown their keenness to sign JV Agreements.
• Karnataka is already having a Joint Venture (by the name K-RIDE) with Ministry of Railways.
• The other States who have consented for formation of State JVs are Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Diabetes specialist Shashank S Shah wins Vivian Fonseca Scholar Award 2016
Pune-based diabetes specialist Shashank S Shah was conferred with the Vivian Fonseca Scholar Award 2016 on 12 June 2016. He was awarded at the ADA’s 76th Scientific Sessions from 10 June to 14 June 2016 in New Orleans.
The award was given by American Diabetes Association (ADA) for his pioneering research on diabetes in South Asia.
He was selected for his research titled Gastric Bypass vs. Medical/Lifestyle Care for Type 2 Diabetes in South Asia with BMI 25-40 kg/m2 — The COSMID Randomised. It is one of the pioneering bariatric surgeons in India and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in Asia.
The firstVivian Fonseca Scholar Award was awarded to Dr Vijay Viswanathanwho wasDiabetologist and Director of MV Hospital for Diabetes, Chennai in June 2014
About Shashank S Shah
• He was born in Solapur, Maharashtra and is the current director of Laparo-Obeso Centre in Pune.
• He is the first and only Indian to head three major international societies on diabetes, namely AIAARO (All India Association for Advancing Research in Obesity), Obesity Surgery Society of India (OSSI) and IEF (International Excellence Federation, India Chapter).
• He also holds a world record for conducting 45 hernia surgeries in 10 hours.
About ADA’s meetings
• This is the world’s largest medical conference in which more than 2500 original research presentations by the participants around the world and also gives them an opportunity to interact with leading diabetes experts and other join academic sessions.
• ADA is leading the fight to combat the diabetes since 1940 through research, managing and curing the lifestyle disease, community services, awareness programmes and prevention.
India’s membership of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program approved
The Union Cabinet on 15 June 2016 gave its approval for Indian membership of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) consortium.
The approval clears the path for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GFZ - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (German Research Centre for geosciences). The GFZ is a government-funded, Public Law Foundation of the State of Brandenburg, Germany.
How India will benefit from the ICDP membership?
• The MoU, which will be in force for 5 years, will enable India in engaging internationally renowned experts with profound expertise in different aspects of scientific drilling.
• The deep drilling and associated investigations will be conducted in Koyna region in Maharashtra.
• As a part of the membership agreement, India will get a seat on two ICDP panels - Executive Committee (EC) and Assembly of Governors (AOG).
• ICDP will provide technical / operational support, facilitate capacity building in terms of manpower training in key scientific areas, sample and data management
• The ICDP will also support workshops for the Koyna scientific deep drilling projectundertaken by Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• As a member of ICDP, scientists/engineers from India would have right to submit proposals, to participate in all ICDP co-funded workshops and drilling projects.
• They will get access to all data results from ICDP projects. This will shed new light on the genesis of seismicity and better understanding of earthquake processes.
About International Continental Scientific Drilling Program
• It was founded in February 1996 in the German Embassy in Tokyo as a result of the German Continental Deep Drilling Program.
• It is a multinational program to further and fund geosciences in the field of Continental Scientific Drilling.
• The research findings will provide direct insight into Earth processes by testing geological models.
• The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences serves as the headquarters for the ICDP.
• Members of ICDP: Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA and UNESCO.
Union Government launches Scheme for setting up 1000 MW Wind Power Project connected to CTU
Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on 15 June 2016 launched Scheme for setting up of 1000 MW Wind Power Project connected to Central Transmission Utility (CTU) transmission network.
The scheme has been launched with an objective to facilitate supply of wind power to the non-windy states at a price discovered through transparent bidding process.
The launching of the scheme is in line with the Union Government’s ambitious target of achieving 175 GW power capacity from renewable energy resources by 2022. Out of 175 GW, 60 GW will come from wind power.
Key features of the Scheme
• It envisages building of 1000 MW CTU-connected Wind Power Project on build, own and operate (BOO) basis.
• The capacity may go higher than 1000 MW, if there is higher demand from Discoms of non-windy states.
• Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has been designated as nodal agency for implementation of the scheme.
• It will encourage competitiveness through scaling up of project sizes and introduction of efficient and transparent e-bidding and e-auctioning processes.
• It will also facilitate fulfilment of Non-Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) requirement of non-windy states.
Status of Wind Power in India
It was in early 90’s India started generating electricity from wind power projects and since then this segment has achieved highest growth amongst the other renewable energy technologies.
The present wind power installed capacity in India stands at approx 26.7 GW contributing about 9% of total installed capacity. Globally, India is at 4th position in term of wind power installed capacity after China, USA and Germany.
The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) assesses the Wind power potential in India at 100-m above ground level, which is estimated to be over 302 GW.
The states with highest wind power potential are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
India, ISA contract for exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in Indian Ocean Region approved
The Union Cabinet on 15 June 2016 gave its approval for signing of a 15 years contract by the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
The contract seeks to undertake exploration and other developmental activities related to Polymetallic Sulphides in the allotted area of 10000 sq km.
Features of the contract
• Under the contract, exploration will be done in parts of Central and South - West Indian Ridges (SWIR), located in the Indian Ocean.
• India's exclusive rights for exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in the allotted area will be formalized.
• It will enhance India's presence in the Indian Ocean where other players like China, Korea and Germany are active.
• The exploration program will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the participation from various national institutes and research laboratories and scientific establishments.
Significance of Polymetallic Sulphides
• Deep seabed Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS) contain iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold, platinum in variable constitutions.
• They are precipitates of hot fluids from upwelling hot magma from deep interior of the oceanic crust discharged through mineralized chimneys.
• PMS in the Ocean Ridges have attracted worldwide attention for their long term commercial as well as strategic values.
About International Seabed Authority
• It is an autonomous international organization that governs non-¬living resources of seabed lying in international waters.
• It was set up under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• It primarily regulates deep seabed mining and gives special emphasis to ensuring that the marine environment is protected from any harmful effects which may arise during mining activities, including exploration.
• It formulates regulations for prospecting and exploration for Polymetallic Nodules in order to ensure environmentally sustainable development of the precious resources.
• Its headquarters is located in Kingston, Jamaica. Nii Allotey Odunton of Ghana is the Secretary-General of the authority.
• It encourages marine scientific research in the international seabed area through its Endowment Fund. The fund supports the participation of qualified scientists and technical personnel from developing countries.
What, Why and How of Cloud Computing
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 10 June 2016 released the Consultation Paper on Cloud Computing inviting suggestions and comments from the experts, academia and the public at large.
The consultation paper enumerates current trends in the cloud computing sector across the world. Besides, it also dealt with a gamut of opportunities in this sector and major challenges for its successful adoption in India.
What is Cloud Computing?
As per the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the US Department of Commerce, Cloud computing is defined as a model for enabling ubiquitous convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources.
The pool of shared resources include networks, servers, storage, applications, and services that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
The Internet is at the core of evolution of this technology
Cloud computing applications have become ubiquitous in India in recent years as they encompassed mundane activities of individuals like social networking, mail, online purchases as well as large scale operations of multinational companies including big data, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.
What are the features of Cloud Computing?
• Attributes: It has four attributes viz., Data Intensive (focus is on data rather than computation), Resource pooling, Scalability and rapid elasticity and On demand access.
• Service Models: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are the primary service models offered by the cloud computing technology.
Besides, there are also other service models like Data as a Service (DaaS), Identity and Policy Management as a Service (IPMaaS), Network as a Service (NaaS), Video as a Service (VaaS) or Hardware as a service (HaaS) amongst others.
• Deployment models: A cloud system can be operated in four deployment models, namely, Public cloud, Private cloud, Community cloud and Hybrid cloud.
What are the current trends in cloud computing?
Global level: Cloud computing accounted for about 33 percent of the total IT expenditure in 2015 across the world. Analysts project that from 2013 to 2018, the cloud computing market will grow at a 9.7 percent annual rate. Also, by 2019, cloud IT infrastructure spending is expected to be 52 billion US dollars or 45 percent of total IT infrastructure spending.
India: In India, Cloud Computing offers huge potential for industries to grow and is opening up new windows of opportunities. Verticals such as retail, railways, manufacturing, banking, education and healthcare have started switching their on-premise applications to cloud services for optimised reach and performance as well as elasticity and scalability.
Social, mobility, analytics and cloud (SMAC) are collectively expected to offer a 1 trillion US dollars opportunity in 2016. Cloud represents the largest opportunity under SMAC, increasing at a CAGR of approximately 30 per cent to around 650-700 billion US dollars by 2020.
Overall ranked 8th in the world, India’s cloud services market has generated interest among the technology leaders and optimistic predictions for the future.
What is the regulatory and legal framework for cloud computing in India?
Cloud computing requires careful scrutiny by regulators because of its multi-dimensional nature. Legal frameworks should be mandated for the concerns associated with cloud services such as data privacy and data protection, data ownership, multi-jurisdiction issues and disclosure and cross-border movement of data.
While the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Civil Procedure Code 1908, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 deal with this sector in an implicit way, the Information Technology Act of 2000 is of more relevance for regulating this sector.
Various sections of the IT Act, 2000 deals with penalties for the breach of data and privacy, at least in the domain of computers and cyber-crime. The Act is focused on e-commerce and cybercrime in general and data protection and data privacy are covered under it.
While the existing laws do cover some legal issues thrown up by cloud computing, they don’t contemplate the scope of cloud computing services and the resultant magnification of the issues.
What are the government initiatives in cloud computing sector?
• Infrastructure sector: Smart Cities Mission of the Union Government enables local development by harnessing technology for creating smart outcomes. Besides, the Government has also recognized the importance of cloud-based service-delivery platforms for establishing the foundation of Digital India, as it integrates smart devices and infrastructure and processes data from the large amount of scattered sources in real time.
• e-Governance: The government has been exploring a cloud based application and data access model to revolutionize its e-governance initiative. All e-governance platforms including State Wide Area Networks (SWANs, Data Centres, etc) across the country could be migrated into cloud architecture in near future with an option of a public cloud and a private cloud.
•Banking sector: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working on achieving 100 percent financial inclusion with the help of technology. The RBI has been incorporating Cloud based solutions particularly for Cooperative banks to extend the banking services across the country through core banking solutions.
Use of cloud computing in this sector will lead to reduced timelines, moving the cost from CapEx to OpEx and focus on core banking business. Indian Banking Community Cloud (IBCC)is the first Community Cloud initiative for banking industry in the country.
• Manufacturing sector: With Make In India initiative in full swing, adoption of this technology became even more relevant for the Indian manufacturing sector. Some of the most notable application areas in manufacturing suited for cloud are CRM and supply chain applications which provide better connectivity to external stakeholders and customers.
The other areas where cloud enhances manufacturing effectiveness are in data warehousing, information security, green IT, Human machine interface (HMI) applications and many others.
• Telecom sector: Deploying Operation Support System (OSS) and Business Support System (BSS) solutions over cloud platforms is a highly effective method of addressing several business and technical challenges faced by this sector.
Cloud-based infrastructure offers an efficient way to enable resource sharing, automation and monitoring, management of software upgrades (with near zero downtimes) and the on-demand scaling up of operations using virtual machines on the same hardware.
•Start-up and SMEs: One of the key benefits of cloud computing is the low capital investment and quick time to market the new ideas. This particularly encourages entrepreneurship in the country, enabling start-ups and small medium businesses to start small and expand their business based on demand.
Indian SMEs are expected to increase cloud adoption at a CAGR of 20 percent between 2012 and 2016.
• Indian Railways: Railways are utilizing the mobile technology in a big way for freight management and passenger reservation system. Strategies have been rolled out to use cloud for GIS management in railways, for e-ticket bookings and for automated surveillances of railway premises and storage of video logs in cloud data centres.
• Education Sector: Megh-Sikshak is a cloud-based learning management system, which is evolved from the objective of converting the traditional model of e-Learning system (eSikshak) to a SaaS model. The cloud-based eSikshak delivers e-Learning as a service rather than as a product, which helps the institutions/organizations/individuals in alleviating the burden of installation, maintenance, and management of the e-Learning application on-premise.
Apart from this, IIT Delhi, IGNOU and other universities have deployed their own cloud environments.
• Health Sector: Cloud Computing Innovation council of India has proposed a layout for systematic adoption of cloud services in Indian health sector, known as e-Health vision. e-Health vision aims to incorporate Health Information Exchange (HIE) mechanisms to successful deployment of cloud. An electronic health information exchange (HIE) allows stakeholders associated with health data to appropriately access and securely share a patient’s vital medical information electronically.
• Right to Information: Government initiative to digitize its database and make more and more information available to the public domain calls for an indispensable need of adoption of cloud services in the domain of RTI for efficient performances.
• Meghraj: Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) of the Union Government has initiated an extensive project termed as ‘GI Cloud’. The ‘GI Cloud’ Meghraj is the Government of India’s cloud computing environment that will be used by government departments and agencies at the centre and states following a set of common protocols, guidelines and standards.
• National eGov App Store: The eGov App Store will include the setting up of a common platform to host and run applications (developed by government agencies or private players) at National Cloud, which are easily customisable and configurable for reuse by various government agencies or departments at the central and state levels without investing effort in the development of such applications.
Apart from the above government-led initiatives, Microsoftannounced the opening of three data centres in India which would primarily drive adoption of public cloud services by government departments, state-owned agencies, banks and financial institutions. Microsoft now accounts for 30 percent share in public cloud market in India.
What are the barriers for adoption of cloud computing in India?
One of the biggest challenges that cloud computing in India is facing is the lack of dependable infrastructure for data centres. For Cloud computing to be successful in India, the basic data centre grade physical infrastructure i.e. Connectivity, Power and Cooling should be consistent.
Some of the other prime concerns associated with adoption of cloud services in India are –
• Energy resource management: It has been estimated that the cost of powering and cooling accounts for 53 percent of the total operational expenditure of data centres. The goal is not only to cut down energy cost in data centres, but also to meet government regulations and environmental standards.
• Server consolidation: Achieving effective server consolidation (using the remote servers to maximum level to minimize energy usage) without hurting application performance is a major challenge.
• Platform management: This includes challenges in delivering middleware capabilities for building, deploying, integrating and managing applications in a multi-tenant, elastic and scalable environments.
16 June
India won three-match ODI Series against Zimbabwe, 3-0
India on 16 June 2016 won the three-match One Day International (ODI) series against Zimbabwe 3-0.
In the third and final match played at Harare, India defeated Zimbabwe by 10 wickets.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Zimbabwe was bundled out for 124 runs in 42.2 over. In the second innings of the match, India chased the paltry target of 125 in 21.5 at the loss of no wicket.
Series Report
•1st Match: It was played at Hazare sports club, Harare, Zimbabwe on 11 June 2016. India defeated Zimbabwe by nine wickets. Lokesh Rahul was adjudged as the Man of the Match.
•2nd Match:It was played at Hazare sports club, Harare, Zimbabwe on 13 June 2016. India defeated Zimbabwe by eight wickets. Yazvendra Chahl was adjudged as the Man of the Match.
• 3rd Match: It was played at Hazare sports club, Harare, Zimbabwe on 15 June 2016. India defeated Zimbabwe by ten wickets. Lokesh Rahul was adjudged as the Man of the Match.
Man of the series: Lokesh Rahul
With this win, India got it’s a third successive series clean-sweep in Zimbabwe after the triumphs in 2013 and 2015. The ODI series will be followed by 3 Twenty-20 matches that will begin on 18 June 2016.
Margaret Atwood awarded 2016 PEN Pinter Prize
Canadian poet, novelist and environmental activist Margaret Atwood on 16 June 2016 was awarded the 2016 PEN Pinter Prize.
Atwood will receive her award at a public event at the British Library on 13 October 2016.
Atwood was chosen by judges Vicky Featherstone, Zia Haider Rahman, Peter Stothard, Antonia Fraser and President of English PEN and Chair of Judges, Maureen Freely.
Who is Margaret Atwood?
•Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist.
•She is also the inventor and developer of the LongPen and associated technologies that facilitate the remote robotic writing of documents.
•She is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Awardand Prince of Asturias Award for Literature.
•She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once for her novel The Blind Assassin.
•In 2001, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
•A few of her best novels are The Handmaid's Tale, The Robber Bride, The Year of the Floodamong others.
About PEN Pinter Prize
•The PEN Pinter Prize is an annual literary award launched in 2009 by English PEN.
•It was launched in honour of the late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.
•The award is given to a British writer or a writer resident in Britain of outstanding literary merit who casts an unflinching, unswerving gaze upon the world.
•The PEN Pinter Prize is one of the many PEN literary awards sponsored by PEN International affiliates.
•The 2015 PEN Pinter Prize was awarded to James Fenton, who shared the prize with Raif Badawias the International Writer of Courage.
Bramble Cay melomys is first mammal declared extinct from human-caused climate change
Scientists in June 2016 declared Bramble Cay melomys found only on a tiny island on the Great Barrier Reef as extinct.
It is the first recorded extinction of a mammal anywhere in the world thought to be primarily due to human-induced climate change.
The news was revealed in the report of a survey led by Ian Gynther from Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection in partnership with the University of Queensland.
Key points of the report
•The root cause of the extinction was reported to be high tides and surging seawater, which has travelled inland across the island.
•As a result of rising seas, the island was inundated on multiple occasions killing the animals. The rising seas also destroyed their habitat.
About Bramble Cay melomys
•The Bramble Cay melomys are also known as Australian Great Barrier Reef rodentorBramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat.
•It was a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
•It was similar to the Cape York melomys except that it had some protein differences and a coarser tail caused by elevated scales.
•It was prominent in herdfields and strandline vegetation where it built burrows.
•It was Australia's most isolated mammal.
•The Bramble Cay melomys was first discovered by Europeans in April 1845.
•The species was then apparently in high densities.
•It was not until the first part of the following century that the species was formally described as Melomys rubicolabased on a specimen collected by MacGillivray.
Underwater Robots to be used to Study Indian monsoon: Scientists
To predict the Indian monsoon, scientists have decided to release underwater robots into the Bay of Bengal who will help them in providing more accurate data on Indian monsoon. It is estimated to cost eight million pounds.
The decision was announced on 14 June 2016 by a team of scientists from Britain and India. The initiative will be undertaken as Indian monsoon is critical to millions of farmers.
As part of the initiative
• Seven underwater robots will be released from an Indian ship in the third week of June 2016 by Scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
• These Robots that have computers onboard and look like miniature yellow submarines will be released to study how ocean processes influence monsoon rainfall.
• Robots will spend a month moving through a southern section of the bay, to measure temperature, salinity and currents.
• Scientists from the University of Reading and climate experts in India will fly plane carrying scientific equipment over the Bay of Bengal to measure heat and moisture in the air.
Impact of the Study
Better forecast on monsoon will help in improving the livelihoods of more than 200 million farmers and agricultural labourers who have suffered huge losses financially as well as live wise due to the continuous droughts.
The precise predictions will also help hundreds of millions to prepare better for situations like droughts and floods.
American Literary Translator Gregory Rabassa dies
Gregory Rabassa, prominent literary translator, passed away on 14 June 2016 in Branford, Connecticut following a brief illness. He was 94.
Rabassa is known for his translations of several well-known Latin American writers, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortazar, Octavio Paz, Clarice Lispector and Jorje Amado.
About Gregory Rabassa
• A longtime professor at Queens College, Rabassa was an essential gateway to the 1960s Latin American boom, when authors Garcia Marquez, Cortazar and Mario Vargas Llosa became widely known.
• He broke into mainstream publishing in the 1960s when an editor at Pantheon Books asked him to translate Cortazar's Hopscotch, a novel for which Rabassa won a National Book Award in 1967.
• He also worked on the novel which defined the boom, Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, a monument of 20th century literature.
• Rabassa's other translations included Garcia Marquez's The Autumn of the Patriarch, Vargas Llosa's Conversation in the Cathedral and Jorge Amado's Captains of the Sand.
• In 2001, Rabassa received a lifetime achievement award from the PEN American Centre for contributions to Hispanic literature.
• He was presented a National Medal of Arts in 2006 for translations which continue to enhance our cultural understanding and enrich our lives.
• He was born in Yonkers, New York in 1922 and served as a cryptographer during World War II.
Union Cabinet approved merger of SBI with its five subsidiaries
The Union cabinet on 15 June 2016 approved the merger of the State Bank of India (SBI) with the five subsidiaries of Bank.
The cabinet approved the merger of the following subsidiaries-
• State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
• State Bank of Hyderabad
• State Bank of Mysore
• State Bank of Patiala
• State Bank of Travancore
Apart from this, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank will also be merged with the SBI and the cabinet had cleared this proposal too.
Highlights of the merger
• The merger will create a behemoth with an asset base of 37 lakh crore rupees with 22500 branches and nearly 60000 automated teller machines.
• The merger necessitates changes in various acts that govern the functioning of the SBI and its subsidiary banks - which require further cabinet approval.
• The merger will make SBI as one of the top 50 banks in the world as currently no Indian bank features in the top 50 banks of the world.
Background
SBI had seven associate banks, of which it has merged State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Indore with itself over the last 10 years. The parent bank had advances of 15.09 trillion rupees and deposits of 17.31 trillion rupees as of the end of the March quarter.
Bank consolidation was proposed by the Union Government in March 2016 at a congregation of bankers and government officials where various issues pertaining to banks were discussed. Also Read Consolidation in Indian Banking sector: Pros & Cons
DBS Bank appoints Niraj Mittal as institutional banking head
DBS Bank India in the second week of June 2016 has appointed Niraj Mittal as the Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking for the country.
Mittal will report to Jeanette Wong, Group Executive and head of institutional banking group in Singapore, and Surojit Shome, CEO of DBS India.
Prior to DBS Bank, Mittal served as Managing Director and Head of institutional banking business (North India) at The Royal Bank of Scotland NV (RBS).
About DBS Bank
•DBS Bank Ltd is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services company.
•It was previously known as The Development Bank of Singapore Limited.
•The present name of the bank was adopted in July 2003 to reflect its changing role as a regional bank.
•It was set up by the Government of Singapore in June 1968 to take over the industrial financing activities from the Economic Development Board.
Net-Neutrality Rules upheld by US Appeals Court
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on 14 June 2016 upheld government net-neutrality rules that prohibit broadband carriers from playing favourites or blocking competing online services.
This decision by the three-judge panel handed a defeat to cable, wireless and telephone companies who were trying to avert tighter oversight of the consumer broadband business. The challenge of telecommunication-industry to the net-neutrality regulations was defeated by 2-1 vote.
Benefits of the Decision
• It will prevent unfair competition from internet-service providers.
• All phone and cable companies will have to treat all of the traffic on their networks equally without blocking or slowing their competitors.
ALSO READ:Whither Internet Neutrality in India?
• This will ban these service provides from providing fast lanes to companies that pays more to them for their services.
The three judges of the panel were David Tatel, Sri Srinivasan and Stephen Williams and they were appointed by a Clinton, Obama and Reagan, respectively.
Judge Srinivasan is an Obama appointee who was on the president’s short list for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016.
ALSO READ:TRAI received over three lakh e-mails in support of Net Neutrality
What is Net Neutrality?
The Principle of Net Neutrality or Internet Neutrality refers to equal treatment of all data over the Internet by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The term was coined by Columbia University media law professor Tim Wu in 2003 as an extension of the longstanding concept of a common carrier.
ALSO READ:DoT released A K Bhargava committee report on Net Neutrality
As per the principle, the Governments and ISPs should treat every bit transmitted over the Internet equally, without any option for priority delivery or differential charges on the basis of user (Business or Domestic), content (voice or video or data), platform, application, type of attached equipment or mode of communication.
Maharashtra Government decides to use plastic waste in building roads
The Government of Maharashtra on 15 June 2016 decided to use plastic waste, along with tar, to build roads.
The decision is aimed at improving the durability and longevity of asphalt roads and reducing soil pollution caused by plastic.
The directive was given in the light of guideline released by the Union Government in November 2015 to deal with the growing problem of disposal of plastic waste in India's urban areas.
The guidelines made it mandatory for road developers to use waste plastic along with bituminous mixes for road construction.
Details related to the directive
• In the initial phase, municipal corporations with a population of over 5 lakh and municipal councils that have a population of over 2 lakh will execute the directive.
• The responsible agencies will build roads in 50-km radius by mixing 3 to 6 kg of plastic for every 100 kg of tar used.
• The plastic mix will include materials like carry bags, sacks, milk pouches, bin linings, cosmetic and detergent bottles, drinking water bottles, bottle caps, household articles, etc.
A well constructed Plastic Tar Road will result in the following advantages.
• Strength of the road increased (Increased Marshall Stability Value)
• Better resistance to water and water stagnation
• No stripping and have no potholes
• Increased binding and better bonding of the mix
• Increased load withstanding property( Withstanding increased load transport)
• Overall consumption of bitumen decreases
• Reduction in pores in aggregate and hence less rutting and raveling
• Better soundness property
• Maintenance cost of the road is almost nil
• The Road life period is substantially increased
• No leaching of plastics
• No effect of radiation like UV
Pan-India Ramayana & Krishna Circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme approved
1st Meeting of National Committee on Ramayana Circuit & Krishna Circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme was held on 14 June 2016. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Tourism & Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma.
During the meeting proposal to set up 11 Ramayana Circuits and 12 Krishna Circuits were approved.
The destinations for these two circuits were earlier approved by the expert committee.
Destinations under Ramayana Circuit
Under Ramayana Circuit, 11 destinations spread across 6 states are proposed. These are:
• Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringhverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh)
• Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar)
• Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh)
• Bhadrachalam (Telangana)
• Hampi (Karnataka)
• Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu)
Expert committee also suggested including Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Nashik & Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Mahendragiri (Odisha) in the proposed circuit.
Destinations under Krishna Circuit
Under Krishna circuit, 12 destinations spread across 5 states are proposed.These are:
• Dwarka (Gujarat)
• Nathdwara, Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan)
• Kurukshetra (Haryana)
• Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh)
• Puri (Odisha)
Besides, projects worth more than 300 crores rupees were approved in-principle in Uttar Pradesh under both the circuits.
Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Swadesh Darshan Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2014-15 with an aim to develop theme based tourist circuits in the country. It will be developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner by synergizing efforts. The scheme focuses on needs and concerns of all stakeholders to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities.
Under the Scheme, 13 thematic circuits have been identified, for development. These are: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.
Railway Ministry launched Liberalised Policies on Parcel Leasing and Parcel Cargo Train Express
Ministry of Railways on 15 June 2016 launched two polices related to Parcel Leasing and Parcel Cargo Train Express. These policies were launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in a programme held in New Delhi.
These policies were launched as part of Rail Budget announcement of the fiscal year 2016-17. It seeks to make the policy related to Parcel more liberalized and customer friendly.
Liberalised Comprehensive Parcel Leasing Policy (CPLP)
• Duration of parcel leasing scheme has been increased from 3 years to 5 years with a view to bring stability and adequate time for business development.
• To insulate parcel from budgetary hike it provides for (a) assured leased rates with fixed escalation @10% from 4th year; and (b) realistic assessment of bids.
• Security deposit has been rationalized. Firstly, it fixes the security deposit @10% of contract value for 1st year; and secondly, it incentivizes the running of contract for the full period.
• For the first time, powers have been delegated to zonal railways to fix the reserve price downwardly. It is a paradigm shift and will bring dynamic pricing in parcel business.
• Powers has also been delegated to zonal railways to enhance EMDs amount. This will curb fake and fictitious bidders.
Liberalised policy on Parcel Cargo Express Trains (PCET)
• Duration of contract is being increased from 3 years to 6 years to give stability and adequate time for development of business.
• To insulate parcel from budgetary hike it provides for (a) assured leased rates with fixed escalation @10% from 4th year; and (b) realistic assessment of bids.
• Security deposit has been rationalized. Firstly, it fixes the security deposit @10% of contract value for 1st year; and secondly, it incentivizes the running of contract for the full period.
• For the first time, powers have been delegated to zonal railways to fix the reserve price downwardly. It is a paradigm shift and will bring dynamic pricing in parcel business.
• Minimum composition of PCET reduced to 15 vans for first 6 months of the contract period to give time to the leaseholder in the initial stage to develop business.
• Empowers Tender Committee and delegates the power of finalizing PCET tenders.
• It empowers Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) to finalize tenders up to 25 crore rupees
• Loading/unloading facility at more intermediate stations - 4 intermediate stations is being allowed for a distance of 2000 km.
Besides, these two polices Railway Minister also launched and dedicated following services to the nation:
• Flagging off of inaugural run of first time-tabled container train service from Domestic Container Terminal, Okhla (Delhi) and Whitefield (Bengaluru).
• Integrated (Facebook & Twitter) Social Media Platforms for grievance redressal.
• Announcement of implementation of policy allowing differently-abled persons who are orthopaedically/paraplegic, mentally retarded, completely blind and deaf & dumb to avail concession while travelling without escort.
National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 released
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) released National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016 on 15 June 2016. The policy’s mission is to provide safe, secure, affordable and sustainable air travel for passengers and air transportation of cargo with access to various parts of India and the world.
Vision of the Policy
• To create an eco-system to make flying affordable for the masses
• To enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027
• To increase international ticketing to 20 crore by 2027
• Increase cargo volumes to 10 million tonnes by 2027
Key Objectives of the Policy are:
• To establish an integrated eco-system leading to significant growth of civil aviation sector that would promote tourism, increase employment and lead to a balanced regional growth.
• To ensure safety, security and sustainability of aviation sector through the use of technology and effective monitoring.
• To enhance regional connectivity through fiscal support and infrastructure development.
• To enhance ease of doing business through deregulation, simplified procedures and e-governance.
• To promote the entire aviation sector chain in a harmonised manner covering cargo, MRO, general aviation, aerospace manufacturing and skill development.
Highlights of the NCAP 2016
• Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS): It will not allow the airlines to charge more than 2500 rupees for one hour flight between two small cities. The RCS will come into effect in the second quarter of 2016-17.
• Code-share agreements: Indian carriers will be free to enter into code-share agreements with foreign carriers for any destination within India on a reciprocal basis. Indian carriers need to simply inform Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) 30 days prior to starting the code-share flights.
• Encourage Private Security: The Government will encourage use of private security agencies at airports for non-core security functions. The private security agencies will comprise retired personnel from military and para-military forces.
• No-Frills Airports: They will be built at an indicative cost of 50 crore to 100 crore rupees.
• Viability Gap Funding (VGF): It will be shared between MoCA and the State Government in the ratio of 80:20 while it is 90:10 for the North Eastern States.
• The payment of the full amount of VGF will be made to the airline operator from the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) and the State Governments will be subsequently asked reimbursement.
• MoCA’s share of VGF will be provided through the RCF, which will be collected and operated by Airport Authority of India (AAI) or any other entity identified by MoCA.
• MoCA will persuade State Governments to make Value Added Tax (VAT) zero-rated on MRO activities to develop India as an MRO hub in Asia.
• 5/20 Rule: The requirement for 5/20 is modified and all airlines can commence international operations provided that they deploy 20 aircraft or 20 percent of total capacity (in term of average number of seats on all epartures put together), whichever is higher for domestic operations.
• Bilateral Traffic Rights: Under this, government will enter into an ‘Open sky’ ASA on a reciprocal basis with SAARC countries and countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5000 kilometers radius from New Delhi.
• India has Air Service Agreements (ASA) with 109 countries covering aspects relating to the number of flights, seats, landing points and code-share.
• Upgradation of Airports: Airport Authority of India (AAI) will continue to modernize the existing airports and upgrade quality of services. It will also maintain an ASQ rating of 4.5 or more across all airports which have a throughput above 1.5 mppa and ASQ rating of 4.0 or more for the rest.
• Ground Handling Agencies (GHA): The airport operator will ensure that there will be three Ground Handling Agencies (GHA) including Air India's subsidiary/JV at all major airports as defined in AERA Act 2008 to ensure fair competition.
• Advanced Cargo Information system: It will be implemented in a phased manner after a universally accepted international template has emerged.
• MoCA will be nodal agency for developing commercial aero-related manufacturing and its eco-system in India in line with Aeronautical Make in India.
• Growth of helicopters: Government will support growth of helicopters for remote area connectivity and separate regulations for helicopters will be notified by DGCA.
Hollywood actor Anne Hathaway appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on 15 June 2016 appointed Anne Hathaway as global Goodwill Ambassador.
The Academy Award-winning actor will advocate for the adoption and implementation of policies worldwide to bring change at both government and corporate levels.
Hathaway has previously served as an advocate for Nike Foundation. She travelled to Kenya and Ethiopia to raise awareness on child marriage.
About Anne Hathaway
•Anne Hathaway is an American actress and singer.
•She made her professional screen debut in the Fox television series Get Real.
•She appeared in the lead role of Mia Thermopolis in the Disney comedy film The Princess Diaries.
•In 2005, she starred alongside Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Ang Lee's dramaBrokeback Mountain.
•In 2006, she was seen as an assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor in the movie The Devil Wears Prada.
•In 2006, she appeared on People magazine's list of the world's 50 Most Beautiful People.
•In 2012, she received the Academy Awardfor Best Supporting Actressfor the film Les Misérables.
About UN Women
•The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women.
•UN Women became operational in January 2011.
•Former president of Chile Michelle Bachelet was the inaugural Executive Director of the entity.
Union Government launches Vidyanjali Mobile App for volunteer work at government schools
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) on 16 June 2016 launched the Vidyanjali Mobile App that can be used by anyone to register for volunteer work at government schools.
Vidyanjali initiative is in line with the Union HRD Ministry's ongoing efforts under Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat.
Highlights of Vidyanjali Scheme
• Vidyanjali is being launched in pilot phase across 2200 schools in 21 states by HRD Minister.
• Volunteers can easily register for Vidyanjali by logging on to the MyGov website or app @mygovindia.
• Volunteers, however, cannot supplement the work of teachers by aiding them in the classroom as the Right to Education Act does not permit this sort of teaching.
• They will only be allowed to help with non-scholastic activities such as reading and theatre.
• This will also afford an opportunity to NRIs to do something to help the cause of government school education while visiting India.
• The exercise is not aimed at assessing how these schools benefit from these lateral initiatives, it is hoped reading sessions helmed by volunteers would make a small difference.
Background
Government schools, where large numbers of poor and disadvantaged children study, often lag behind in terms of quality. Several studies have pointed to problems in learning levels among children in India.
As per NGO Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report 2015, under half of students in Class 5 were able to fluently read a text meant for Class 2 students.
Famous TV actress Ann Morgan Guilbert dies
Famous Television actress Ann Morgan Guilbert died on 16 June 2016 after battling with cancer. She was 87.
About Ann Morgan Guilbert
• She began her TV career in the 1960s, appearing on popular programmes such as I Dream of Jeannie, My Three Sons, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Partridge Family, Love, American Style, and The New Andy Griffith Show.
• She was best known for her five-season run on classic sitcom Dick Van Dyke Show.
• In which, she played a character named Millie Helper, who was the neighbour and best friend of Laura Petrie, the character played by Mary Tyler Moore.
• She also portrayed Fran Drescher's elderly grandmother, Yetta Rosenberg, on hit US comedyThe Nanny.
• Earlier in 2016 she made her final credit for James Brolin's comedy Life In Pieces.
• She also appeared onstage multiple times, enjoying a stint in the 2005 Broadway play A Naked Girl on the Appian Way.
Arktika, the most powerful nuclear icebreaker launched by Russia
Russia on 16 June 2016 launched the new Project 22220 nuclear icebreaker dubbed ‘Arktika’. It was launched from the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg – the second largest city of Russia.
Project 22220 is the world’s largest and most powerful vessel of its kind and it has been built at the Baltic Shipyard of the United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia.
Key characteristics of Arktika
• The vessel is 189.5 yards long and 37.1 yards wide.
• It displaces 33540 metric tons and is fitted with two specifically designed RITM-200 nuclear power reactors.
• Nuclear fuel for the vessel's RITM-200 nuclear-power reactors is to be produced by the TVEL fuel company by the end of 2016.
• It is the first Russian nuclear icebreaker to be fully built in modern-day Russia.
• It will be able to escort convoys in Arctic and can break ice up to almost 10 feet (3 meter) thick.
The Baltic Shipyard will be building two more Project 22220 icebreakers by 2020 in collaboration with Rosatom. The two ships will be built at a cost of 84.4 billion rubles (1.2 billion dollars) and will be commissioned in December 2019 and December 2020 respectively.
Comment
According to Rosatom CEO Sergei Kirienko, the successful launch of ‘Arktika’ icebreaker indicates that the Russia is able to start the serial production of nuclear icebreakers. It is estimated that Russia may need at least five Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers for Arctic exploration.
Further, it will give boost to Russia in exploring oil and natural gas in Arctic region as it is believed that Arctic shelf holds huge amounts of oil and natural gas. Russia has been laying claims to deposits within its offshore border areas, as have the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark.
Senior IAS officer Supriya Sahu appointed as Director General of Doordarshan
Senior IAS officer Supriya Sahu was appointed as Director General of Doordarshan on 15 June 2016. She will be the full-time director general of the state-run broadcaster after two year as the post was lying vacant since July 2014.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved to appoint Sahu for the post.
She would replace Aparna Vaish who was acting head of Doordharsan. She was appointed after the board decided to appoint the senior-most additional director general (ADG) at Doordarshan.
Tripurari Sharan was the last full-time director general at Doordarshan who stepped down in July 2014.
About Supriya Sahu
• She is a 1991 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
• At the time of the appointment, she is working in her cadre state Tamil Nadu.
• She was the power behind the Say no to plastics campaign to protect the eco-system of the hill station, Ooty, during her tenure as District Collector of the Nilgiris district.
• She has also worked as Joint Secretary for Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).