21 December

Deepak Agarwal appointed CEO of Noida Authority

The Uttar Pradesh Government on 20 December 2016 appointed Deepak Agarwal, CEO of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), as the CEO of Noida Authority.

Deepak Agarwal will replace P K Agarwal, who was officiating as the CEO of Noida Authority. P K Agarwal was given the charge of Noida after the Uttar Pradesh Government relieved senior IAS officer Rama Raman from the post on 25 August 2016. However, P K Agarwal will continue to function as the additional CEO of Noida Authority.

Who is Deepak Agarwal?

·         Deepak Agarwal is a 2000-batch IAS officer of UP cadre.

·         He has been the GNIDA chief since September 2015.

·         From February 2009 to March 2013, he was posted as the district magistrate of GB Nagar.

·         He had suffered a bullet injury in his leg during the Bhatta Parsaul farmer-administration clashes in May 2011.

·         As District Magistrate, he was instrumental in reining in the sand mining mafia in the region

 

OBC Ministry to be created in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 20 December 2016 announced that a separate Ministry will be created for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This ministry will be headed by an independent minister.

The announcement was made at the concluding session of the Kunbi Mahotsav at Shahapur in Thane district of the state.

Maharashtra becomes first Indian state to adopt Fly Ash Utilisation Policy

Besides, the Chief Minister also announced funds worth Rs 200 crore for gravity-based water supply projects. These projects will help in fulfilling the need of the town and surrounding areas.

He said that a policy will be prepared under which villages that provide land for dam projects would be entitled to the water from that project. 

In addition to this, he also directed the Zila Parishad of Thane to prepare a tourist circuit plan for Murbad and Shahpur talukas. He assured that maximum funds will be provided for the development of the plan.

The CM further said, in order to increase the green cover across the state, the government has come up with a target of planting 50 crore saplings in next three years.

Union Government approves 1269 crore rupees for drought affected Maharashtra

Earlier, on 19 December 2016, the state government adopted a resolution that seeks to boost plantation drive to increase the green cover of the state. As per the resolution, four crore saplings will be planted during the 2017 monsoon, which will be followed by planting 13 crore saplings during the monsoon season of 2018. 33 crore saplings will be planted during the rainy season of 2019.

Other Backward Classes (OBC)

OBC is a collective term that is used the Union Government to classify caste that is socially and educationally disadvantaged. The Mandal Commission report of 1980, found that the OBC list comprises of 52 percent of the country’s population. The figure shrunk to 41 percent by 2006, when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place. 
They are entitled to 27 percent reservations in public sector employment and higher education. Constitutionally, OBC is described as socially and educationally backwards class.

Status of Reservation of OBC in Various States 
The status is based on information given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sudarshan Bhagat in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 14 August 2014.

The list was prepared on the basis of the recommendations of the BP Mandal Commission that was formed for the upliftment of backwards classes.

Here is the list of people who were benefitted from reservation system (The details obtained from the DoPT are):

S.No.	Year	OBC
1	2007	196236
2	2008	390286
3	2009	410948
4	2010	447717

Maharashtra launches Kaushalya SETU initiative

State wise list

S. No.	Name State/UT	Reservation Quota for OBCs in States/UTs
1	Andhra Pradesh	Reservation to OBCs in State aided Educational Institutions and in State services is 29 percent. It is divided among five groups as under: BC-A=7 percent, BC-B=10 percent, BC-C=01 percent, BC- D=07 percent, BC- E=04 percent.
2	Arunachal Pradesh	There is no OBC population in the State. Hence there is no reservation for OBCs in the State.
3	Assam	Providing 27 percent reservation to OBCs in State services.
4	Bihar	The OBCs reservation quota in the State is  as follows: BC-II- 12 percent BC-I – 18 percent OBCs Women- 03 percent
5	Chhattisgarh	Providing 14 percent reservation to OBCs in State services.
6	NCT of Delhi	27 percent reservation in civil posts and services.
7	Goa	Government of Goa has approved enhancement of OBC quota from 19.5 percent to 27 percent.
8	Gujarat	Providing 27 percent reservation to socially and educationally backward class in State services.
9	Haryana	Providing 27 percent reservation in class III & IV and 10 percent in class I & II to OBCs in State services.
10	Himachal Pradesh	Providing reservation @ 12 percent in Class-I & II and 18 percent in Class-III & IV posts to the persons belonging to OBC category, in the services of the State.
11	J & K	Providing reservation to Socially and Educationally Backward Classes in direct recruitment as under: (i)   Weak & Under Privileged Classes (social castes)  2 percent (ii)  Residents of Areas adjoining Line Actual Line of Control (ALC) 3 percent (iii) Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) 20 percent.    For appointment by promotion as under : Resident of Backward Area – 10 percent Actual Line of Control (ALC) – 02 percent Weak and under privileged Classes – 01 percent
12	Jharkhand	Providing 14 percent reservation to OBCs.
13	Karnataka	Providing 32 percent reservation to OBCs for the purpose of admission to Educational Institutions and in Employment in State Civil Services and Government of Karnataka Undertakings.
14	Kerala	Providing 40 percent reservation to OBCs.
15	Madhya Pradesh	Providing 14 percent reservation to OBCs in the State.
16	Maharashtra	Providing reservation to OBCs in State services as under:    Special Backward Category 2 percent Other Backward Classes 19 percent
17	Manipur	Providing 17 percent reservation for OBCs in the State.
18	Meghalaya	No community has been recognized as OBCs.
19	Mizoram	There is no OBC in the State.  Hence making reservation for OBC in the State does not arise.
20	Nagaland	State of Nagaland does not have OBC.
21	Odisha	Provision for reservation of 27 percent for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes in the posts and services in the State.
22	Punjab	Providing 12 percent reservation to Backward Classes in direct recruitment in government employment and 5 percent reservation in educational institutions.
23	Rajasthan	Providing 21 percent reservation to OBCs in State services.
24	Sikkim	Reservation in posts and services to be filled up by direct recruitment by OBCs under the State Govt. & Public Sector Undertaking is 21 percent.
25	Tamil Nadu	Providing reservation to OBCs in the State level Services as under: Backward Classes 26.5 percent Backward Classes  Muslim 3.5 percent Most Backward Classes/Denotified Community 20 percent.
26	Tripura	There is no reservation quota for OBCs in the State.
27	Uttar Pradesh	Providing 27 percent reservation to OBCs.
28	Uttarakhand	Providing 14 percent reservation to OBCs in State level services.
29	West Bengal	17 percent of the vacancies are reserved for OBCs in services and posts under the Government of West Bengal.
30	A & N Islands	Providing 38 percent reservation to OBCs.
31	Chandigarh	Providing 27 percent reservation to OBCs in State services.
32	Daman & Diu	Providing 27 percent reservation to OBCs in State services.
33	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	Providing 5 percent reservation to OBCs in State services.
34	Lakshadweep	There is no OBC population in this Union Territory because entire population is Muslim Scheduled Tribe. Hence Nil.
35	Puducherry	Providing reservation to OBCs in State services as under : Most Backward Classes (MBCs) 20 percent Other Backward Classes (OBCs) 13 percent Backward Tribes (BT) 1 percent Total Backward Classes 34 percent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gravity-based Water Supply System

Gravity systems are water distribution schemes (without pumping) where the power of the earth gravity force is used to bring water from a high entry point to the lower outlet. 
Gravity schemes require the less operational cost for power and pump operation and less maintenance as compared to pumped schemes.

 

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II to step down as patron of 25 charities

United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II will be stepping from her position as the patron of a number of charities at the end of her 90th birthday year.

The decision was announced through a statement released by the Buckingham Palace, residence and administrative headquarters of the queen.

Key Highlights

• The queen, who is currently handling more than 600 organisations, will step down as patron of 25 charities.
• The patronage of these organizations will be passed on to the other members of the Royal family. 
• Some of the organizations include Holocaust Day Memorial Trust, Blind Veterans UK, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund and Wimbledon. 
• The transition will be smooth, as many of these organizations already have a Royal Family member as a vice-patron or president.  
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburg had also similarly resigned from a number of patronages when he had turned 90 in 2011.

According to the palace’s statement, the queen will continue her work as patron to hundreds of charities and institutions but will now just share the workload with her family.

Queen Elizabeth II became longest-reigning UK monarch

While acclaimed lawn tennis organisation, Wimbledon will go to Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge who is a huge tennis fan, the Children’s charity Barnardo's will go to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall and the patronage of Rugby Football Union will be taken over by rugby fan Prince Harry. The names of patrons of other organisations are yet to be announced.

 21 December

Meeting of Governing Body and General Body of Dr. Ambedkar Foundation held

 The meeting of the Governing Body and General Body of the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) was recently held under the Chairmanship of the Chairman DAF & Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot.

§  A compendium on various activities organized by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation during the Nationwide Celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar was released during the meeting.

 About the foundation:

Dr. Ambedkar foundation was set up on 24th March, 1992, as a registered body under the aegis of the Ministry of Welfare to promote Babasaheb’s ideals and also to administer some of the schemes which emanated from the Centenary Celebrations, such as the establishment of Dr. Ambedkar chairs in Universities and Dr. Ambedkar National Award for Social Understanding and up-liftment of Weaker Sections.

Apart from other aims and objects relating to research, development and educational programmes, it had to administer the following three special schemes which emanated from the Centenary Celebrations i.e. Scheme of Dr. Ambedkar National Award; Setting up of Dr. Ambedkar Chairs in Universities; Setting up of Dr. Ambedkar International Centre and Setting up of Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial.

Sources: pib.

GARV-II App launched
The government has launched GARV- II app to track Rural Household Electrification. This is the next step in Government of India’s aim to provide access to electricity to all households in the country.

 Key facts:

§  Under this module, village-wise and habitation-wise base line data on household electrification for all States, as provided by them, has been incorporated.

§  The data in respect of about 6 lakh villages, with more than 15 lakh habitations having 17 crore people, has been mapped for tracking progress on household electrification in each of the habitations of these villages, which is a remarkable progress over the previous GARV App.

§  In the earlier version of the ‘GARV’ App, launched in October 2015 for the effective and efficient monitoring of village electrification programme, the data of only 18,452 un-electrified villages had been mapped and a 12-stage milestone-based monitoring mechanism was put in place.

§  The status of village-wise works sanctioned under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and release of funds to the States for these projects has also been mapped in ‘GARV-II’ to monitor progress of works in each village. The progress is required to be updated by the implementing agencies of the States on day to day basis. All data would be made available in public domain to ensure transparency, enhance accountability of various stakeholders and facilitate view of near real time progress.

§  This app is an important part of the ‘Digital India Initiative’ of Government of India and will contribute in further development of the villages. In order to bring more transparency, the Minister asked the Power Ministry officials to place more details regarding discoms, tenders and contracts in public domain.

§  For places, where internet facilities are not available, information regarding rural electrification projects like contractor’s name, amount sanctioned by the Government, deadline of the project etc. will be put on boards on the working sites in villages. This will help people in better monitoring of Government’s work.

Digital India Awards 2016 – Healthy Ministry wins gold in the Web Ratna Category 

 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has won gold in the Web Ratna category in the recently concluded Digital India awards, 2016, conferred by the Ministry of Electronics & IT to promote more innovative e-governance initiatives by the government entities.

 Key facts:   

§  The website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conforms to the UUU trilogy. It is totally bilingual as per the directions of Parliamentary Committee of official languages and is accessible to all. Special features have also been incorporated in the website for visually challenged users.

§  The website complies with the mandatory requirements of Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW).

§  All relevant web policies have been implemented with due approvals. Content has been grouped systematically under drop down menus that result in easy navigation.

§  The ministry has been awarded for comprehensive web presence in Web ratna awards in 2014 and appreciated by SUGAM Web e-Newsletter as usable, user-centric and universally accessible.

 

About awards:

Digital India awards, earlier known as the Web Ratna Awards, were instituted under the Ambit of National Portal of India. The award acknowledges exemplary initiatives of various government entities in the realm of e-governance.

Web Ratna award felicitates a Ministry or Department of the Government of India which has a comprehensive web presence and display the level of accountability in terms of quantity, quality, spectrum of coverage, and innovation ascertaining user satisfaction. Level of convenience provided to the citizen for availing the services, usability and accessibility are also assessed.

Sources: pib.

Can courts make life terms more rigorous, asks SC
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the question whether courts are statutorily empowered to make life imprisonments tougher for the convicts by adding ‘rigorous’ (harsh) to life sentence as the law does not provide for this.

§  The court would consider whether the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) or any other penal law empowered the courts to add the term ‘rigorous’.

 Background:

The court has taken up the issue based on a submission which said neither the penal provision dealing with the offence of murder, nor the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provided that the term ‘rigorous’ can be added by courts while awarding life sentences.

 NCRPB tells States to submit action plan to curb pollution

With air quality deteriorating on a daily basis, the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has asked Delhi and adjoining States to submit action plans to control air pollution in the Capital. The Board will soon file an affidavit before the Delhi High Court regarding the matter.

 Background:
Air pollution in Delhi is a matter of serious concern and Delhi, along with Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab are acting in unison to mitigate the suffering of the people.

 About NCR:
National Capital Region (NCR) is a unique example of inter-state regional planning and development, covering the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, thirteen districts of State of Haryana, seven districts of State of Uttar Pradesh and two districts of State of Rajasthan, with the Nation Capital as its core.

The National Capital Region (NCR) in India was constituted under the NCRPB Act, 1985 with the key rationale to promote balanced and harmonized development of the Region, and to avoid any haphazard development.

Sources: the hindu.

Thiruvalluvar’s statue unveiled in Haridwar
 Uttarakhand Chief minister Harish Rawat has unveiled the statue of renowned Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar on the premises of Mela Bhawan in Haridwar. The ceremony was attended by members of the Tamil Sangam, in addition to officials from the Uttarakhand administration.

Key facts:

§  Thiruvalluvar is a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukkural, a work on ethics.

§  Thiruvalluvar is thought to have lived sometime between the 4th century BC and the 1st century BC.

§  The Tamil poet Mamulanar of the Sangam period mentioned that Thiruvalluvar was the greatest Tamil scholar and Mamulanar also mentioned the Nanda Dynasty of northern which ruled until the 4th century BC.

Sources: the hindu.

Facts for Prelims
 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights gets SKOCH Awards for POCSO e-Box:

§  The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of Ministry of Women and Child Development has been conferred the Skoch Silver and Skoch Order-of Merit award.

§  The two awards were received by NCPCR for applying technology to develop an electronic drop box, POCSO e-Box for registering complaints on Child Sexual Abuse.

§  The competition saw more than 3000 participants and NCPCR’s project, POCSO e-box was considered among the top 30 entries.

§  POCSO e-box is a unique endeavour by NCPCR for receiving online complaint of Child Sexual Abuse directly from the victim. The system maintains confidentiality of the victim/ complainant.

§  Through a well defined procedure complaints are directly followed up by a team which counsels the victim, providing further guidance for required legal action. Through a short animation film embedded in the e-box it assures the victim not to feel bad, helpless or confused as it’s not her fault. With the e-box, it is easy to register complaint through a step-by-step guided process.

Khanjar-IV:

§  During the recently held bilateral talks, India and Kyrgyzstan have finalised plans for joint military exercises in the New Year.

§  The annual joint military exercises named “Khanjar-IV” will be held in February-March. The “Khanjar-II” exercises were held in March 2015 in Kyrgyzstan and “Khanjar-III” in March-April 2016 in Gwalior.

jet stream’ detected in Earth’s outer core

Jet streams are typically associated with weather patterns, storms and the changing of the seasons but they don’t just appear in the atmosphere. The European Space Agency has discovered a jet stream deep below the surface of the Earth, and it’s moving at increased speeds. This is a remarkable new feature in Earth’s molten outer core.

Scientists describe this “jet stream” as a fast-flowing river of liquid iron that is surging westwards under Alaska and Siberia.

 How was it discovered?

The discovery was made by researchers using Esa’s Swarm satellites. Launched in 2013, the trio of satellites is used to measure the different magnetic fields that stem from Earth’s core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere.

 

About swarm mission:

Swarm is the fifth Earth Explorer mission approved in ESA’s Living Planet Programme. The objective of the Swarm mission is to provide the best-ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution as well as the electric field in the atmosphere using a constellation of 3 identical satellites carrying sophisticated magnetometers and electric field instruments.  

§  Swarm’s data help scientists understand better how the field is generated, and why it appears to be weakening.

§  All three satellites in the Swarm constellation are identical. Their super-sensitive instrumentation acts rather like a 3D compass, enabling the precise strength and direction of the magnetic field to be determined all around the globe.

§  The trio’s construction was led by the Astrium company, predominantly in Germany and the UK. Engineers have had to ensure the magnetism generated by the satellites’ own internal electronics does not obscure the mission’s subtle scientific measurements.

§  This has meant putting the instruments on the end of a long boom to keep them separate from the main spacecraft body. It has given Swarm a very distinctive look – like giant mechanical rats with long tails.

 

 

Uses of swarm data:

The major part of Earth’s global magnetic field is generated by convection of molten iron within the planet’s outer liquid core, but there are other components that contribute to the overall signal. These include the magnetism retained in rocks, and there is even an effect derived from the movement of salt water ocean currents. Swarm will attempt to tease apart these various factors, to get a clearer picture of the field’s true origins and its changing behaviour.

Other uses of the Swarm data will embrace investigations of the electrical environment of the high atmosphere and the way this interacts with the solar wind – the continuous stream of charged particles billowing away from the Sun.

 Existence of earth’s magnetic field:

Earth’s magnetic field behaves like a bar magnet with a north pole and south pole with magnetic field lines stretching into space, creating a bubble known as the magnetosphere. On the day side of Earth, the solar wind compresses the magnetosphere and charged particles stream around the planet and follow field lines into the poles, spawning the colorful auroras. On the side of Earth facing away from the sun, the magnetosphere is blown out like the tail of a comet.

§  The magnetic field exists because of an ocean of superheated, swirling liquid iron that makes up the outer core. Like a spinning conductor in a bicycle dynamo, this moving iron creates electrical currents, which in turn generate our continuously changing magnetic field.

§  But magnetism from rocks in the Earth’s crust and from the circulation of the oceans also contribute to the magnetic field, and solar activity is also an influence in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, the protective bubble around the planet.

 
Why scientists are interested in studying earth’s magnetic field?

Earth’s core is buried under about 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) of rock, so scientists study it indirectly by measuring the planet’s magnetic field. For instance, changes in the magnetic field suggested that liquid iron in the outer core moves faster in the Northern Hemisphere, largely beneath Alaska and Siberia.

§  The magnetic field appears to be weakening, according to researchers, and the magnetic poles have been drifting over the last few decades, leading some experts to suggest Earth is on the verge of a pole reversal.

§  The magnetic reversal has occurred, on average, about once every 250,000 years. But research shows the last time it happened was 780,000 years ago.

§  Scientists want to study the reversal’s potential impact on modern humans, especially high-tech electrical grids, navigation and communications.

 
How jet stream was discovered?

The jet stream, located roughly 3,000 km (1,860 miles) below the Earth’s surface — a region where the molten outer core meets the solid mantle — is estimated to be over 260 miles wide. Its speed of over 25 miles a year is three times faster than the typical speed of liquid in the outer core and hundreds of thousands of times faster than the speed at which Earth’s tectonic plates move.

A pattern of ‘flux patches’ in the northern hemisphere, mostly under Alaska and Siberia, led to the discovery of jet stream in the core. These high-latitude flux patches are like bright spots in the magnetic field and they make it easy to see changes in the field. Swarm reveals that these changes are actually a jet stream moving at more than 25 miles a year – three times faster than typical outer-core speeds and hundreds of thousands of times faster than Earth’s tectonic plates move.

Scientists explain it as acceleration in a band of core fluid circling the pole, like the jet stream in the atmosphere.