27-28 MAY 2016
Ministry of Railways launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah
The Ministry of Railways on 26 May 2016 launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah, a week-long initiative to highlight significant achievements made by Indian Railways in all spheres.
The Rail Humsafar Saptaah will conclude on 1 June 2016.
In addition, each day of the week will focus on a particular theme and hence the days have been named as:
26th May: Swachchta Diwas
27th May: Satkar Diwas
28th May: Sewa Diwas
29th May: Satarkata Diwas
30th May: Saamanjasya Diwas
31st May: Sanyojan Diwas
1st June: Sanchaar Diwas
Activities to be undertaken during the week are:
•All Zonal Railways will ensure that various passenger amenities works nearing completion would be commissioned during this week.
•On 26th May, efforts were made to undertake Intensive Cleanliness Drive on all the Stations and in Trains. Stations of Indian railways were inspected by an officer including GMs and DRMs who will be supervising the cleanliness drive with the help of railway staff, NGOs, staff associations, scouts and guides.
•On 27th May, officers will be deputed to inspect all catering establishments and drinking water facilities at stations and in trains. In addition, pantry cars will be inspected and catering units at stations will be checked.
•On 28th May, each train, other than sub-urban commuting trains, will be monitored by an officer between 1000 to 1600 hrs. These nominated officers would travel by these trains and interact with passengers in all classes and ensure that amenities are provided and grievances are redressed.
•On 29th May, punctuality and ticket checking drive will be undertaken across the Zonal Railways. This drive will include ensuring 100% punctuality of mail/express and passenger trains.
•On 30th May, a day-long exercise will be undertaken on all divisions and zonal railway HQs wherein teams of concerned officers would inspect all railway staff colonies along with representatives of recognized unions to undertake cleanliness drive in the colonies. Besides, each zonal railways will undertake plantation of at least 1000 trees on each division especially in the railway colonies and other premises.
•On 31st May, all DRMs and GMs will hold meetings and seminars with all Major Freight Traffic Customers to advise them about the various reforms and policy initiatives on the freight traffic side.
•On 15th June, all DRMs and GMs will review various activities under taken during the week.
Baciro Dja named Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz on 26 May 2016 issued a presidential decree naming Baciro Dja as Prime Minister of the country.
Dja succeeds Carlos Correia, who was sacked earlier in May 2016. His removal threatened to deepen political turmoil in the tiny West African nation.
Effects of Presidential decree
• The presidential decree sparked protests from political opponents, who claimed the appointment as unconstitutional.
• The ruling party said it would not support Dja, who held the same post briefly in 2015.
• Dja was forced to resign when the Supreme Court ruled that the appointment was made without consulting all political parties and was therefore unconstitutional.
Guinea Bissau and its politics
• Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa.
• It covers 36125 square kilometres (13948 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1704000.
• In the 19th century, it was colonized as Portuguese Guinea.
• After its independence in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea).
• Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since independence, and no elected president has successfully served a full five-year term.
• It has had nine coups or attempted coups since 1980, and the turbulence has helped it become a major transit point for cocaine trafficked from South America to Europe.
Indian-American Rishi Nair wins 28th annual National Geographic Bee Competition
Indian American student Rishi Nair on 26 May 2016 won the prestigious National Geographic Bee competition 2016.
As National Geographic Bee champion, Nair received a 50000 US dollars college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. He also won a trip to Alaska and Glacier Bay National Park.
Highlights of 28th annual National Geographic Bee
• This Year, Indian-origin contestants maintained their dominance by sweeping all the top three slots.
• Nair, a sixth grader from Florida, took top honours at the 28th annual National Geographic Bee held at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington DC.
• Eighth-grader Saketh Jonnalagadda from Massachusetts was the runner up and recipient of the 25000 US dollars college scholarship.
• Third place and a 10000 US dollars college scholarship was grabbed by Kapil Nathan, a sixth-grader from Alabama.
• The seven other finalists, who won 500 US dollars each, were Grace Rembert of Montana, Rishi Kumar of Maryland, Pranay Varada of Texas, Lucas Eggers of Minnesota, Samanyu Dixit of North Carolina, Thomas Wright of Wisconsin and Ashwin Sivakumar of Oregon.
This is the fifth consecutive year that an Indian-American has won the prestigious national tournament. In 2015, Karan Menon had won the competition.
Sanjay Bangar appointed as India's head coach for Zimbabwe tour
Sanjay Bangar was on 26 May 2016 appointed as the head coach of Indian Cricket team for Zimbabwe tour.
Before this appointment he worked as assistant coach (batting) for the team at the World T20 Cup in March and April 2016, under team director Ravi Shastri.
Besides his appointment BCCI also appointed Abhay Sharma as fielding coach and Koka Ramesh as the administrative team manager for the tour.
The BCCI is looking forward to appoint a full-time head coach for the national team after tenure of team director Ravi Shastri has come to an end in April 2016. Sanjay Bangar (batting), B Arun (fielding) and R Sridhar (fielding) were part of the coaching staff along with Shastri.
Sanjay Bangar
• He started his cricket career playing in teams of Maharashtra and Mumbai, but at state level he represented Railways.
• He came into Indian squad for their matches against England in the 2001–02 season and made his only century in the second test he played.
• He was one of the gutsiest allrounders in Indian domestic cricket who played 12 tests and 15 ODIs with batting averages 29.37 and 13.84 respectively.
• Besides Vijay Hazare, he is the only cricketer to achieve a double of 6000 runs and 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy.
• He coached India A. He worked with the Kochi Tuskers as batting coach in 2010.
• He was named as assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab in January 2014 and later he was promoted to head coach of the franchise.
• He was named as batting coach of India in August 2014.
Google wins Java copyright case versus Oracle
A jury in San Francisco on 26 May 2016 cleared Google of copyright infringement in a case brought by Oracle over Google’s use of Java in Android. Oracle was seeking damages of up to $9 billion US dollars.
The jury of eight women and two men took three days to declare its verdict. The jury found that Android does not infringe Oracle-owned copyrights because its re-implementation of 37 Java APIs is protected by fair use.
What was the case?
•Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc. was a dispute related to Oracle's copyright and patent claims on Google's Android operating system.
•Java was originally developed at Sun Microsystems starting in 1991. It included a new programming language, a virtual machine, and a set of libraries for use with the language.
•Android, Inc. was founded in 2003 to develop a mobile phone platform.
•Google purchased Android in 2005 and continued developing the Android operating system.
•On 5 November 2007, Google released a beta of the Android platform noting that it would use some Java technologies. Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz responded the same day, congratulating Google.
•Google released the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) on 12 November 2007.
•Amongst other APIs, Android included Apache Harmony implementations of some of the APIs from the Java SE specification.
•Google negotiated with Sun about possible partnership and licensing deals for Java, but no agreement was reached.
•Oracle purchased Sun in January 2010, and continued developing Java.
•Oracle sued Google for copyright and patent infringement in August 2010.
Strides Shasun receives tentative nod from USFDA for HIV drug Efavirenz
Strides Shasun on 26 May 2016 announced that it has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Efavirenz tablets USP, 600 mg.
The final approval will be received after patent expiry in August 2018. The company will manufacture the product at its oral dosage facility in Bengaluru.
About Efavirenz
•Efavirenz is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI).
•It is used as part of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for the treatment of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) type 1.
•It is also used in combination with other antiretroviral agents as part of an expanded postexposure prophylaxis regimen to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people exposed to a significant risk.
•It was discovered at Merck Research Laboratories.
•It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medication needed in a basic health system.
About Strides Shasun
•Strides Arcolab is an Indian pharmaceutical company, headquartered at Bangalore in southern India.
•The company manufactures pharmaceutical products, over-the-counter drugs and nutraceuticals.
•The company has 15 manufacturing sites in six countries and marketing presence in 50 countries.
•The company's stock trades on the Bombay Stock Exchange and on the National Stock Exchange of India.
•Strides Arcolab changed name to Strides Shasun Ltd after an amalgamation of Shasun Pharmaceuticals with Strides Arcolab.
•Arun Kumar is the founder and Group CEO, and has been on the Board as Managing Director since its inception.
Noted Marathi writer RG Jadhav died
Noted Marathi critic R G Jadhav died on 27 May 2016 in Pune following prolonged illness. He was 83.
About RG Jadhav
• He was born on 24 August 1932 at Vadodara in Gujarat.
• He served as a professor of Marathi literature in various colleges, including one in Amravati, Elphinstone College in Mumbai, and also at Milind College in Aurangabad.
• He presided over Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held at Aurangabad in 2004.
• He also worked as chief editor of Marathi Vishwakosha between 2000 and 2002.
• He received many awards and wrote more than 45 books which includes Anandacha Doh (a study of saint Tukaram), Nilee Pahat (a critique of Dalit literature) and Bapu(a collection of 91 reflective poems on Mahatma Gandhi).
• He worked with rationalist and anti-superstition crusader Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who was killed in August 2013.
Cancer-causing chemical, potassium bromated/iodate, found in bread samples from Delhi: CSE
New study conducted by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on 24 May 2016 claimed presence of possible cancer-causing chemical in bread sold in Delhi. CSE in its recommendation asked Indian regulator FSSAI to act immediately and ban the two chemicals.
It says that Indian bread manufacturer’ use two chemicals, banned in many countries but not in India, being used by bread industry arepotassium bromate (KbrO3) andpotassium iodate (KIO3).
About the study and finding
The Study
• The study was conducted by CSE’s Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML).
• The PML tested 38 commonly available branded varieties of pre-packaged breads, pav and buns, ready-to-eat burger bread and ready-to-eat pizza breads of popular fast food outlets from Delhi.
• Presence of the two chemicals in the samples were re-confirmed through external third-party laboratory
Findings
• 84 percent (32/38) samples were found with are potassium bromate (KbrO3) or potassium iodate (KIO3) in the range of 1.15-22.54 parts per million (ppm).
• 79 percent (19/24) samples of packaged bread, all samples of white bread, pav, bun and ready-to-eat pizza bread and 75 per cent (3/4) samples of ready-to-eat burger bread were positive.
• High levels of potassium bromate/iodate were found in sandwich bread, pav, bun and white bread. Products of Perfect Bread, Harvest Gold and Britannia were those with higher levels.
• Use of potassium bromated, which is classified as a category 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans), is banned in most countries but is used in India.
• Use of potassium iodate is also banned in many nations because it can contribute to thyroid-related diseases
• No residues were found in all four tested products of Defence Bakery (Whole Wheat Bread, Jumbo Slices Brown, Brown Bread, Multigrain), one out of four samples of English Oven (Sandwich Bread) and one out of two samples of Nirula’s (burger bread of Chatpata Aloo Burger).
• Only one brand – Perfect Bread – labels use of potassium bromate. No maker among those tested labels potassium iodate. Only Britannia denied use of potassium bromate or iodate.
• Samples of two other fast food outlets -- Nirula’s and Slice of Italy -- also tested positive for potassium bromate/iodate. Slice of Italy denied use of the chemicals to CSE.
World action on use of potassium bromate/iodate
• European Union including UK: Use of potassium bromated in making of bread was banned in 1990.
• Use of the Potassium Bromate is also banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Nigeria, Peru and Columbia.
• ECFA (WHO/FAO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives):It in 1992 said that use of potassium bromate as a flour treatment agent was not appropriate.
• The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC):In the year 1999, it classified potassium bromate as possibly carcinogenic (cancer causing) to humans. It can cause tumors of kidney, thyroid and cancer of the abdominal lining in laboratory animals.
• CODEX Alimentarius: An international body which sets safety standards for food commodities formally withdrew specifications of potassium bromate in 2012 – which means the presence of bromate in food was considered unsafe and illegal for international trade.
Even after ban in several countries across the world, the food safety regulations of India allow use of potassium bromate as flour treatment agent in bread and other bakery products.
Why potassium bromated is used in bread making and how it is harmful?
• Potassium bromate is a powerful oxidizing agent, use of which makes bread fluffy, soft and gives it a good finish.
• Under ideal baking conditions, bromate converts into bromide which is harmless.
What CSE recommends
• The FSSAI should ban the use of potassium bromate in making bread with immediate effect. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) should also amend relevant available standards.
• Use of potassium iodate as a flour treatment agent in breads should not be allowed by the FSSAI. The BIS should amend relevant available standards in this case as well.
Book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up authored by Rana Ayyub released
Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up: Rana Ayyub
Book titled Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up authored by Rana Ayyub was released in May 2016.
The book is an account of an eight-month long undercover investigation by journalist Rana Ayyub, who posed herself as Maithili Tyagi, a filmmaker from the American Film Institute Conservatory to investigate the Gujarat riots. She was in Gujarat in 2010, when she was working for Tehelka magazine.
The book narrates the story of fake encounters and the murder of state Home Minister Haren Pandya.
Rana in form of Maithili met bureaucrats and top cops in Gujarat who held pivotal positions in the state between 2001 and 2010.
The transcripts of the sting operation reveal the complicity of the state and its officials in crimes against humanity.
With sensational disclosures about cases that run parallel to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s ascent to power and their journey from Gujarat to New Delhi, the book tells the hushed truth of the state in the words of those who developed amnesia while speaking before commissions of enquiry, but held nothing back in the secretly taped videos which form the basis of this book.
Union I&B Ministry frames Policy guidelines for Online Central Government advertisements
The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) on 26 May 2016 framed guidelines and criteria for Empanelment of suitable agencies and Rate fixation for Central Government advertisements on websites.
The aim of the guidelines is to devise principles and instruments to streamline the release of Government advertisements on websites.
Highlights of the Policy guidelines
• Websites which are owned and operated by companies that are incorporated in India will be considered for empanelment by Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP).
• However, websites owned by foreign companies/origin can still be empanelled if such companies have branch offices which are registered and operating in India for at least one year.
• The policy stipulates eligibility criteria for websites to get empanelled with DAVP which includes Unique Users (UU) per month data, which shall be verified by credible third party tool that monitors website traffic in India.
• The guidelines aim to ensure that the visibility of Government advertisements online is increased by strategically placing the ads on websites having higher Unique Users per month.
• The policy requires that the websites shall run the Government ads through a Third Party Ad Server (3-PAS) engaged by DAVP for providing all relevant reports linked with online billing.
• The Unique User Data of each empanelled websites will be reviewed in first week of April every year.
• The policy emphasizes that DAVP shall be the nodal agency for all Central Govt Ministries / Departments for advertising through DAVP empanelled internet websites.
• However, autonomous bodies/PSUs can directly release advertisements but at DAVP rates and to agencies empanelled with DAVP.
Categories of the Unique User per month data of the websites
|
Category |
Unique Users per month |
|
A |
5 million and above |
|
B |
2 million to 5 million |
|
C |
0.25 million to 2 million |
Key features of the policy guidelines
• Standard Banners on Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPTI) basis and a minimum Click-Through Rate (CTR) of 0.30.
• Video ads per five second videos.
• Fixed Banner on home page with minimum display size of 300 X 250 pixels in a time frame on six-hour slots (6 am-12 noon, 12 noon to 6 pm, 6 pm to 12 midnight and 12 midnight to 6 am).
• Fixed Video ads for 24 hour time slots on home page.
Union Government approves third NIMZ of India in Odisha
The Union Government on 26 May 2016 approved establishment of a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Odisha. This is the third NIMZ of India involving a massive area of 163 square kilometers. The project will come up at Kalinganagar industrial area in Jajpur district of Odisha.
For execution of the project, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has approved the 4241 crore rupees. Of this fund, estimated 3816 crore rupees will be invested for the first phase of the project which will be completed by 2020.
Key facts of the project
• It will create job opportunities for around 1.5 lakh people
• It will help Odisha grow as a manufacturing hub and help Paradip port's growth
National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs)
In order to boost manufacturing sector, the Union Government in 2014 announced setting up of sixteen national investment and manufacturing zones (NIMZs) under National Manufacturing Policy (NMP).
The NMP aims to enhance the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent and creating 100 million jobs over a decade.
Till 2013-14, 16 NIMZs have been set up. Of these, eight are along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). These are:
• Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region, Gujarat
• Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Part city near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
• Manesar-Bawal Investment Region, Haryana
• Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment Region, Rajasthan
• Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Regioin, Madhya Pradesh
• Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad investment Region, Uttar Pradesh
• Dighi Port Industrial Area, Maharashtra
• Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar Region in Rajasthan
Besides, eight other NIMZs have been given in-principle approval and they are:
• Nagpur in Maharashtra
• Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh
• Medak in Andhra Pradesh (now Telengana)
• Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh
• Tumkur in Karnataka
• Kolar in Karnataka
• Bidar in Karnataka
• Gulbarga in Karnataka
Mamata Banerjee sworn-in as West Bengal Chief Minister for a second term
Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee was sworn-in as the chief minister of West Bengal for second successive five-year term on 27 May 2016. Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi administered her oath of office and secrecy.
This is for the first time that a chief minister will take oath on Red Road. Banerjee, the state’s eighth chief minister and the first woman to occupy the post, took her oath in Bengali.
The 42-member ministry, of them 18 are new faces, has seven ministers from the minority community. Banerjee is among the four women representatives in the ministry.
Earlier on 19 May 2016, her party swept the electoral mandate begging 211 seats of the 294-seat Assembly.
Mamata Banerjee
• Born 5 January 1955, Banerjee has been Chief Minister of West Bengal since 2011.
• She is also the first woman to hold the office.
• Banerjee founded the party All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC or TMC) in 1997 and became its chairperson.
• She is often referred to as Didi (meaning elder sister in Bengali).
• In 2011, she pulled off a landslide victory for the TMC Congress alliance in West Bengal by defeating the 34-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government, the world's longest-serving democratically-elected communist government.
• Earlier, she has served as the Minister of Railways twice and is also the first woman Railway Minister of India
• She opposed forceful land acquisition for industrialisation by the communist government in West Bengal for Special Economic Zones at the cost of agriculturalists and farmers.
• In 2012, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential People in the World.
• In September 2012 Bloomberg Markets magazine listed her among the 50 most influential people in the world of finance.
Committee for Evolution of a National Education Policy submits report to Union HRD Ministry
The Committee for the evolution of a National Education Policy on 27 May 2016 submitted the report containing its recommendations to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).
Key Features of the committee
• The Committee examined the large body of outcome documents, recommendations and suggestions received from the various consultations.
• The Committee also had several meetings with various stakeholders and held regional consultations as well as undertaken field visits to educational institutions.
• Union HRD Ministry had undertaken a consultation process for framing a New Education Policy (NEP).
• The process included online, grassroots and national level thematic deliberations on 33 themes.
• The online consultations on www.MyGov.in portal were held from 26 January 2015 to 31 October 2015 and over 29000 suggestions were received.
• The bottom-up consultative process across nearly all Gram Panchayats, Blocks, Urban Local Bodies and districts of all 36 States/Union Territories was undertaken between May to October 2015.
• Thematic consultations were conducted both by the Ministry and also by the institutions like University Grants Commission(UGC), All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE), National Council for Teacher Education, National Council for Educational Research and Training(NCERT) and several centrally funded universities and institutions, autonomous bodies, attached offices.
• Along with this, all relevant stakeholders including experts, academics, industry representatives, civil society etc. were invited for deliberations on the individual themes during July to October 2015.
• Six zonal meetings were held by the Minister of Human Resource Development in Eastern, Central, North-Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern Zones covering all States and UTs in September-October 2015.
Composition of the Committee
Union Government had constituted a Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy comprising TSR Subramanian as the Chairman and Shailaja Chandra, Sevaram Sharma, Sudhir Mankad and Prof. JS Rajput as members of the Committee.
28 May
Para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha wins Gold in 2016 French Open Athletics Championship
Indian para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha clinched gold medal in men's club throw (F-51) at the 2016 French Open Athletics Championship in Paris. The event was held on 23 May and 24 May 2016.
Saroha’s effort of 26.58 meter broke the Asian record which he had himself set at 2015 World Championships in Doha.
The French Open Athletics Championship was part of his preparation for Rio 2016. The athlete has already qualified for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
About Amit Kumar Saroha
•Amit Kumar Saroha is a Paralympian who competes in the F51 category in Discus throw and Club throw.
•He is one of India's top Para athletes and the first quadriplegic to represent India at a Paralympic Games (London 2012).
•He currently trains at the Sports Authority of India in Sonipat and is being supported by the GoSports Foundation.
•In 2010, he took part in his first Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, where he won a silver medal in Discus throw.
•In 2012, he won a Gold medal in the Olympic qualifier event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
•He has also been conferred the Arjuna Award by the President of India, in recognition of his outstanding sporting achievements.
•At the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, Korea, he won two medals for India. He grabbed a Gold in Club throw with a distance of 21.31 m and a Silver in Discus throw with a distance of 9.89 m. His club throw distance was another Asian record, and the medal winning performance earned him an automatic qualification for Rio 2016.
Indian Coast Guard Ship ARUSH Commissioned
The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) ARUSH was commissioned on 26 May 2016 by the Coast Guard Commander (Western Seaboard) Additional Director General SPS Basra at Kochi.
The ship has been named ICGS ARUSH that means first ray of sun. ARUSH is the seventeenth ship in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs), designed and built by M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited.
Highlights of the ICGS ARUSH
• The 50 meter indigenous FPV displaces 421 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots with an endurance of 1500 nautical miles at economical speed of 13 knots.
• It is equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and navigational equipment.
• It makes an ideal platform for undertaking multifarious close-coast missions such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and medical evacuation.
• The special features of the ship include an Integrated Bridge Management System (IBMS) and Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS).
• It will be based at Porbandar under the administrative and operational control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (North West).
• The ship is commanded by Commandant Pramod Pokhriyal and has complement of four officers and 33 enrolled personnel.
Background
The Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) are the work horses of Indian Coast Guard. The coastal security has become of utmost importance keeping in view the asymmetric threats from the sea and ensuring the maritime safety.
Indian Coast Guard will be a 150 ships/boats and 100 aircraft maritime force in next few years. In addition to these operational assets, a coastal surveillance network is being established with 46 stations to ensure real time coastal surveillance.
Lakshadweep became first Union Territory to sign 24x7 Power for All document
Lakshadweep on 27 May 2016 signed 24x7 Power for All document. It became the first Union Territory (UT) to sign the document which aims to provide each household access to electricity through 24x7 Power supply by 2019.
Key Features of the Document
• It chalks out a plan to increase solar capacity of the region from 2.15 MW to 8.45 MW.
• The plan also envisions reduction of AT & C losses from current level of 21 percent to 6.7 percent till 2019 by increasing the collection efficiency up to 99 percent.
• As a part of energy efficiency measures, 1 lakh LED bulbs will be distributed by UT administration through Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and Incandescent lamps/CFL bulbs will be replaced with LED bulbs under UJALA programme.
• In addition to that 3000 conventional street lights will be replaced with LED street lights.
• Union Government is committed to improve the quality of life of its citizens through higher electricity consumption.
24x7 Power for All
• It is a major step in the direction to provide each household access to electricity, 24x7 Power supply by 2019.
• It is a joint initiative of union Government with respective State Governments for preparation of State specific documents for providing 24x7 power supply to all households /homes, industrial & commercial consumers and adequate supply of power to Agricultural consumers as per state policy.
• As on 27 May 2016, 22 States have already signed the ‘24x7 Power For All’ Documents.
• Implementation of the plan envisaged in the document is under progress, which is being jointly monitored by the State and the Union Governments.
• Successful implementation of these plans will ensure reliable and affordable power round the clock to all the consumers.
Formulate national policy to provide adequate relief to rape survivors: SC to Union Government
Supreme Court on 26 May 2016 directed the Union Government to formulate a national policy for providing adequate reliefs to rape survivors. It said that setting up of a separate fund like the Nirbhaya fund is not enough and amounted to just a lip service.
The direction was passed by a vacation bench of Justice PC Pant and Justice DY Chandrachud while hearing six petitions which were filed in the court between 2012 and 2013 after the Nirbhaya gangrape in Delhi on 16 December 2012. The incident raised various concerns on safety and security of women.
All the petitions were tagged by the apex court and several directions have been passed from time to time in this regard.
Courts observation and direction
• It said different states have different schemes and there is no national plan as how the rape victims are to be compensated.
• It said that the Union Government must ensure that adequate relief is being provided to the victims of sexual offences.
The bench issued notice to the Centre, all states and Union Territories and sought their responses on the effective implementation of Section 357(A) of the CrPC and status of victim compensation schemes, along with the number of victims of rape who have been compensated.
India’s first integrated web portal to promote Net Zero Energy Buildings launched
Union Power Ministry and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched India’s first integrated web portal on 27 May 2016.
The portal (www.nzeb.in) was designed to promote and mainstream Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in India.
Special Features of the Portal
• The portal is first of its kind and provides complete information about Net Zero Energy Buildings that generate as much energy as they use.
• It will help to achieve near-zero energy status through the use of efficient lighting and equipment, integration of renewable energy technologies, and best practice design strategies.
• The portal also hosts the NZEB Alliance, an industry-wide body setup to drive the Indian markets toward highly energy-efficient buildings.
• This portal will provide a wealth of information for policymakers, developers, architects, engineers, sustainability consultants, and academia.
• It will also allow the vibrant Indian building industry to leapfrog towards energy efficiency standards and practices.
Net Zero Energy Building
• A net-zero energy building (NZEB) also known as a zero-energy building, zero net energy (ZNE) building, or net zero building.
• It is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources elsewhere.
• Zero-energy buildings can be part of a smart grid. Some advantages of these buildings are as follows:
• Integration of renewable energy resources
• Integration of plug-in electric vehicles
• Implementation of zero-energy concepts
Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh bagged India Biodiversity Award 2016
Pakke Tiger Reserve on 22 May 2016 received the 'India Biodiversity Award 2016' in one of its four categories in Mumbai. The reserve is in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme of the Pakke Tiger Reserve was awarded the prize under Conservation of threatened speciescategory.
Besides this, Hong Niitii, Lower Subansiri was awarded under category IV Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) award.
Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme
• It is a collaboration of Ghora-Aabhe Society, Nature Conservation Foundation and the State Forest Departments.
• Under this programme, urban citizens contribute money to protect hornbill nests around Pakke Tiger Reserve.
• It is a major step towards conservation of four hornbill species that are found in the adjoining areas of the Tiger Reserve.
India Biodiversity Awards
• These awards are joint initiative of Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and United Nations Development programme (UNDP).
• It recognises the contribution of the stakeholders towards the biodiversity conservation.
• The four categories in which the awards given are Conservation of Threatened Species, Sustainable use of biological resources,Successful models for access and benefit sharing and Biodiversity Management Committees.
• Each category winner receives a cash prize of 1 lakh rupees while the runners up receive 50000 rupees.
Land-attack version of BrahMos missile successfully test-fired by Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on 27 May 2016 successfully test-fired the land-attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. It was test fired from a defence base in the western sector at the Pokaran in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
About the Test
• The flight conducted met its mission parameters in a copybook manner and the weapon hit and annihilated the designated target.
It is maiden air launch from a fighter aircraft.
The Indian Army and Navy have already inducted the BrahMos missile system. The accuracy in mountain warfare mode of the missile system was re-established in an exercise conducted by the Indian Army in the eastern sector in 2015 and the test was conducted in April 2016.
About BrahMos missile
• BrahMos missile was developed by an Indo-Russian joint venture (JV) after the two countries signed an agreement in February 1998.
• It has derived its name from the names of two rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva Rivers of the two countries.
• The nine-metre long missile can travel at a speed of Mach 2.8(that is, three times the speed of sound).
• It is the fastest missile in the world which has a flight range of up to 290 kilometers and carries a conventional warhead of 200 kilograms to 300 kilograms.
• It delivers with high-precision, devastating power at supersonic speed.
• It operates on fire and forgets principal and is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets.
Sunil Bharti Mittal receives 2016 Harvard Alumni Award
Bharti Enterprises founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on 26 May 2016 received 2016 Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award.
He was one of the five recipients of the year. the others include Mary Callahan, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management;Alan F. Horn, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios; W. James McNerney Jr., retired chairman of The Boeing Company; and Thomas J. Tierney, former worldwide managing director of Bain & Company and chairman and cofounder of The Bridgespan Group.
About Sunil Bharti Mittal
• He is the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, which has interests in telecom, financial services, retail and agri business.
• The Group flagship Bharti Airtel, with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and has customer base of over 275 million.
• It is India’s largest telecom company and world’s third largest mobile operator.
• He is listed as the eight richest person in India by Forbes with a Net worth of 7 billion dollars.
• He serves on the Prime Minister of India’s Council on Trade & Industry.
• He also held various prestigious positions like Vice-Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
• He was also felicitated with India’s third highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan in 2007.
About Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award
The award is presented annually since 1968 and is the highest honour given to any alumni of the institute.
The award confers on who have contributed significantly to their companies and communities while upholding the highest standards and values.