5-6 AUGUST 2016
RBI launches Sachet portal to check illegal money collection
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Raghuram Rajan, on 4 August 2016 launched Sachet portal,sachet.rbi.org.in, to check illegal money collection.
The portal will help anyone can obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints and share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.
Key highlights of Sachet
•The website is available in vernacular languages for the benefit of the people of different regions of the country.
•It will be helpful for the regulators in quick follow up of the unlawful money collection activities.
•It will also enable people get information regarding the financial entities that are allowed to accept the deposits.
•People will get the space to lodge complaints and share information regarding illegal collection of deposits by unscrupulous entities in their areas.
•The website also incorporates regulations prescribed by all financial regulators that different entities have to follow.
Nita Ambani becomes first Indian woman IOC member
Noted sports promoter and founder chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani was elected as an individual member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 4 August 2016. She was elected by IOC members at the 129th Session of the world body in Rio de Janeiro.
With this, she also becomes the first Indian woman to join the prestigious body which governs Olympic sports in the world.
Nita, the owner of Mumbai Indians cricket team franchise and founder of Indian Super League football tournament, was nominated for the post in June 2016 by the IOC Executive Board. 52-year-old Nita is the only current active individual member of the IOC from India and she will serve at the high-profile world body until she attains the age of 70.
Sir Dorabji Tata was the first person to represent India in the IOC. Raja Randhir Singh is currently holding the post of an honorary member after serving the international body from 2000-2014.
Besides Nita, seven other IOC Members were elected at the 129th IOC Session ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016. They are:
• Sari Essayah (Finland)
• Ivo Ferriani (Italy)
• Luis Moreno (Colombia)
• Auvita Rapilla (Papua New Guinea)
• Anant Singh (South Africa)
• Tricia Smith (Canada)
• Karl Stoss (Austria)
Apart from this, two Vice-Presidents were also elected on the executive board. They are:
• Juan Antonio Samaranch (Spain)
• Ugur Erdener (Turkey)
The two new Vice-Presidents will replace outgoing Vice-Presidents Nawal El Moutawakel (Morocco) and Sir Craig Reedie (Great Britain).
Vinod Rai steps down from IDFC Bank’s board
Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Vinod Rai on 1 August 2016 stepped down from private sector lender IDFC Bank’s board.
However, Rai will continue to be the non-executive independent chairman of IDFC Ltd.
The decision was taken to avoid conflict of interest as Rai is also the chairman of Bank Board Bureau (BBB). THE BBB will not only select board members of public sector banks but will also devise strategies for them.
Rai was on IDFC Bank board since its inception in October 2015. He was appointed as the Chairman of Bank Board Bureau on 28 February 2016.
About Vinod Rai
•Vinod Rai was the 11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
•He assumed office on 7 January 2008 till 22 May 2013.
•He is the current chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors and Honorary Advisor to the Railways.
•He is also a member of the Railway Kaya Kalp Council.
•He obtained a master's degree in Economics from the University of Delhi, and Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.
•He is widely considered as symbol of the anti-corruption movement.
•He is credited with having turned the office of CAG into a powerful force for accountability and transparency in contemporary India.
IOC agrees to add five sports in 2020 Tokyo Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 3 August 2016 agreed to add five new sports to the progaramme for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The sports to be added include Baseball/Softball, Karate, Skateboard, Climbing Sports and surfing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The decision was taken by the 129th IOC session being held in Rio de Janeiro.
The Organising Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Games proposed the five new sports in response to the new flexibility provided by Olympic Agenda 2020. Tokyo 2020, the first Organising Committee able to take advantage of the change, submitted its proposal for the five new sports to the IOC in September 2015.
The additional sports in Tokyo will not impact the athlete or event quotas of existing Olympic sports or be binding on future host cities. The inclusion of the new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes.
D K Gayen assumes charge as General Manager of East Central Railway
D K Gayen on 4 August 2016 assumed charge of General Manager of East Central Railway (ECR) with headquarters at Hajipur in Bihar. Gayen succeeds Rajeev Mishra, GM of Eastern Railways, who was holding additional charge of ECR.
Gayen is a 1979 batch officer of Indian Railway Service for Mechanical Engineers (IRSME). Gayen was earlier working as Chief Mechanical Engineer of South Eastern Railway at Kolkata.
About East Central Railway Zone
• East Central Railway is one of the 16 railway zones in India and is headquartered at Hajipur.
• ECR comprises of five divisions -- Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur and Sonepur.
• The zone came into existence on 8 September 1996 and is fully operational since 1 October 2002.
• This zone is spread over states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Youssef Chahed appointed as Prime Minister of Tunisia
Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi on 3 August 2016 named Youssef Chahed as the Prime Minister of the country. Chahed's appointment came after parliament ousted Habib Essid in a vote of no-confidence because of his handling of economic reforms and security.
Prior to this, Chahed was Minister for Local Affairs of Tunisia. He is an agricultural sciences specialist and academic who has taught in France and Tunisia.
About Youssef Chahed
• Born in Tunis on 18 September 1975, Chahed entered politics after initially establishing himself as an academic.
• Professionally, Chahed’s first post was as Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Higher Institute of Agriculture in France from 2003 to 2009.
• He is also part of the Nidaa Tounes secular party. Nidaa Tounes and the Islamist Ennahda party, both form part of the ruling coalition.
• He was also involved in the conception and delivery of capacity building systems between Tunisia and the United States.
• Prior to his role as Minister for Local Affairs, Chahed served as the Secretary of State for Fisheries.
RBI constitutes Tarun Ramadorai Committee on Household Finance
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4 August 2016 constituted a committee to look at various facets of household finance in India. The Committee will be chaired by Tarun Ramadorai, Professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford.
It will have representation from financial sector regulators namely, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) apart from Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Terms of reference of the Tarun Ramadorai Committee
• To benchmark the current depth of household financial markets in India among those in other major world markets and to identify areas of priority for growth and change.
• To characterize and evaluate Indian households' demands in formal financial markets (for assets such as pensions as well as liabilities such as home loans) over the coming decade.
• To consider whether, how and why the financial allocations of Indian households deviate from desirable financial allocation and behaviour like the large household allocation to gold.
• To evaluate the design of new systems and the redesign of existing systems of incentives and regulations to encourage better participation by Indian households in formal financial markets.
• To assess the role of new financial technologies and products in the cost-effective provision of high-quality financial products to Indian households while containing risks.
• The Committee is expected to submit its report by end of July 2017.
Background
The demand for formal financial market investment product like pension as well as liability product like home loan from the Indian household was discussed during the meeting of the Sub Committee of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC-SC) held on 26 April 2016.
It was decided during the meeting that a Committee should be set up to look at various facets of household finance in India and submit a report.
6 August
Gujarat HC quashes state government notification for EBC quota
Gujarat high court on 4 August 2016 quashed the state government's notification granting 10 percent reservation for the economically backward classes(EBCs).
Major Highlights of the Verdict
• The Court termed the notification as unconstitutional, which was issued by Anandiben Patel Government on 1 May 2016 granting 10 percent quota for EBCs in higher educational institutions and government jobs.
• It termed the Notification as unconstitutional as the total reservation exceeds 50 percent.
• Moreover, there was no survey conducted to grant this ECB quota.
The verdict was pronounced by a division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi on a petition filed by a social worker and others. The petitioners urged the high court to strike down the ordinance named, "The Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker Sections (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Ordinance, 2016".
Petition also demanded to cancel the Government Resolution by which 10 percent reservation was provided to EBCs over and above the existing 49 percent reservation.
Petitioner in his plea had cited the Supreme Court order in the Indra Sawhney case which had challenged reservations granted to OBCs on the recommendations of the Mandal commission in the early 1990s.
Earlier, the High court issued notices in response to a petition filed by a Rajkot-based writer and social worker, Jayantibhai Manani.
Meanwhile, State Government spokesperson Nitin Patel has said that Government will challenge this order in the Supreme Court.
Comment: Gujarat High court’s order to quash the notification providing 10 percent quota for Economically Backward classes is believed to be a setback for state Government. The Notification was issued following a yearlong quota agitation by Patidar community.
World Breastfeeding Week 2016 observed
1-7 August: World Breastfeeding Week
The 2016 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is being observed across the world. The week is held every year from 1 to 7 August.
The theme for the 2016 World Breastfeeding Week isBreastfeeding: A key to Sustainable Development. The theme aims at raising awareness of the links between breastfeeding and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The week is organized by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF.
WBW’s goal is to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, which yields tremendous health benefits, providing critical nutrients, protection from deadly diseases development.
Background
•World Breastfeeding Week was first celebrated in 1992 by WABA.
•At present, it is observed in over 120 countries by UNICEF, WHO and their partners.
•WBW commemorates the Innocenti Declarationmade by WHO and UNICEF in August 1990 to protect and support breastfeeding.
CSIR-CFTRI develops Nutrice Cream
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI) Mysuru on 4 August 2016 developed the Nutrice Cream.
Nutrice cream was developed in association with M/s Oleome Biosolutions, Bengaluru and M/s Dairy Classic Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd.
About Nutrice cream
• Nutrice cream is an Omega-3 and Vitamin-E enriched frozen nutritional dessert from vegetarian source.
• This product will provide the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of omega-3 for children in one serving.
• It has been developed using Chia seeds, having the highest content of Omega-3 fat from a vegetarian source.
• CFTRI has developed agro technology for Chia and has shared the seeds to farmers from across the nation.
Dietary supplementation of Omega-3 (ω-3) fats, which are the Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA), have been reported to have beneficial health functions including brain development in children and good health in elderly population.
Union Government launches nation-wide programme MAA for promoting breastfeeding
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on 5 August 2016 launched a nation-wide programme MAA - Mothers’ Absolute Affection for promoting breastfeeding.
The goal of the programme is to enhance optimal breastfeeding practices.
About the programme
• MAA is an intensified programme of the Health Ministry for creating an enabling environment to ensure that mothers, husbands and families receive adequate information and support for promotion of breastfeeding.
• The Ministry has allocated 30 crore rupees for the Programme and 4.3 lakh rupees for each district will be allotted for implementing the various activities under MAA programme.
• The chief components of the MAA Programme are Community awareness generation, Strengthening inter personal communication through ASHA, Skilled support for breastfeeding at Delivery points in Public health facilities, and Monitoring and Award/recognition.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
• The practice of breastfeeding enhances immunity level in the child which will help reduce the child mortality rate.
• Breastfeeding is one of the important interventions for child survival.
• Around 20 percent newborn deaths and 13 percent under-five deaths can be prevented by breastfeeding.
• Besides this, breastfeeding can prevent child deaths associated with Diarrhoea and Pneumonia.
• Infants who are not breastfed are 15 times more likely to die from pneumonia and 11 times more to die from diarrhea than children who are exclusively breastfed.
• Breastfed infant also have higher intelligence quotient.