5-6 JULY 2016
India’s first Commercial Court & Disputes Resolution Centre inaugurated in Chattisgarh
India’s first commercial dispute resolution centre and commercial court was inaugurated on 2 July 2016 at Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
The centre and court were inaugurated by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr. Raman and Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Supreme Court of India.
Highlights
• The court also consists of arbitration centre and a mediation centre.
• Some facilities available for litigants through the new system includes video-conferencing, E-Court, E-Library, E-Filing and E-Summons.
• These ultra-modern facilities available at the court will facilitate the investors in their commercial dealings.
• The Court will help in improving the judicial system.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port becomes India’s first port to implement Logistics Data Tagging of Containers
Jawaharlal Nehru Port on 1 July 2016 became the first port in India to implement logistics data tagging of containers.
The implementation of the logistics data bank tagging of containers will help importers/exporters track their goods in transit through logistics data bank service.
Key highlights of the implementation
•A Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID) will be attached to each container. The containers will be tracked through RIFD readers installed at different locations.
•This will provide the Visibility and Transparency of the EXIM Container Movement by covering the entire movement through rail or road till the Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFSs).
•The service will integrate the information available with various agencies across the supply chain to provide detailed real time information within a single window.
•This will help in reducing the overall lead time of the container movement across the western corridor and lower the transaction costs incurred by shippers and consignees.
About Jawaharlal Nehru Port
•Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port in India.
•It is located east of Mumbai in Maharashtra. It is situated on the Arabian Sea and is accessed via Thane Creek.
•The port is also known as Nhava Sheva.
•Its common name derives from the names of Nhava and Sheva villages that were situated there.
•The port is also the terminal of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor proposed by Indian Railways.
National Mineral Exploration Policy unveiled by Narendra singh Tomar
Union minister of steel and mines Narendra singh Tomar unveiled the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) on 4 July 2016. It was unveiled to adopt comprehensive exploration of non fuel and non coal mineral resources.
The policy was released at National conclave on mines and minerals at Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
Highlights
• The policy aims to bring together best of knowledge and experience, modern technology, trained manpower and financial resources on a collaborative platform.
• The objective of the policy is to set in motion a massive process for mineral exploration of the country that would give a major boost to the economy.
• Space technology would be used to check illegal mining by developing a mining surveillance system.
• It prescribes for incentivising the participation of private companies in exploration.
• It calls for engaging the private agencies to carry out exploration with the right to a certain share in the revenue from the successful bidder of mineral block after e-auction, which will be discovered by that private explorer. The revenue will be shared by way of royalty/premium to be accruing to the state government.
• The revenue sharing could be either in the form of a lump sum or an annuity, to be paid throughout the period of mining lease, with transferable rights.
• Government will also work out normative cost of exploration works for different kinds of minerals so that the exploration agencies could be compensated, in case they could not discover any mineable reserves in their respective areas.
• This will be an added incentive for exploration agencies to mitigate their risk of exploration.
Process of selection of the private explorer via process of competitive bidding includes
• Acquisition, processing and interpretation of pre-competitive baseline geo-science data play a pivotal role in successful exploration process. In this regard, the NMEP proposes the following:
a) The pre-competitive baseline geo-scientific data will be created as a public good and will be fully available for open dissemination free of charge.
b) A National Aero-geophysical Mapping program will be launched to map the entire country. It will help to delineate the deep-seated and concealed mineral deposits.
• National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) will be set up. GSI will collate all baseline and mineral exploration information generated by various central and state government agencies and also mineral concession holders and maintain these on a geospatial database.
• Government will coordinate and collaborate with scientific and research bodies, universities and industry for the scientific and technological research to address the mineral exploration challenges in the country. For this, a not-for-profit autonomous body/company to be known as the National Centre for Mineral Targeting (NCMT) will be established.
• State Governments have a key role in building up a steady stream of auctionable prospects. They will have to take up mineral exploration and complete to G3 or G2 level for auctioning. The States need to build up the exploration capabilities, technical expertise and infrastructure facility. The Central Government will provide support to States for capacity building from National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET).
• On the lines of UNCOVER project of Australia, a special initiative will be launched to probe deep-seated/concealed mineral deposits in the country. The pilot project will be in collaboration with National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the proposed National Centre for Mineral Targeting (NCMT)) and Geoscience Australia.
• SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBICAP) has been selected as consultant by the Ministry of Mines for development of detailed modalities of contractual framework for mineral exploration. The Ministry will provide handholding support to the State Governments in this process of engaging the private agencies.
Hero MotoCorp inked 3-year wage agreement with Gurgaon workers
Country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL) has inked a wage settlement pact with its permanent workers at Gurgaon Plant, entailing a hike of 12500 rupees spread over three years.
The three-year agreement will be implemented with retrospective effect starting from 1 August 2015 till 31 July 2018. The previous wage settlement was effective from 1 August 2012 to 31 July 2015.
Hero MotoCorp employs about 1400 permanent employees at its Gurgaon facility.
Hero MotoCorp
Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (formerly Hero Honda Motors Ltd.) based in India is the world's largest manufacturer of two – wheelers.
In 2001, the company achieved the coveted position of being the largest two-wheeler manufacturing company in India and also, the 'World No.1' two-wheeler company in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year. Hero MotoCorp Ltd. continues to maintain this position till date.
Hero MotoCorp two wheelers are manufactured across 4 globally benchmarked manufacturing facilities. Two of these are based at Gurgaon and Dharuhera in Haryana and one each at Haridwar, Uttarakhand and Neemrana, Rajasthan.
Madhav Dhekane took over as Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit
Noted scientist Madhav Dhekane on 1 July 2016 assumed the office of Director at ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Department of Space, at Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Dhekane is the seventh director of IISU.
Who is Madhav Dhekane?
•Madhav Dhekane obtained a B-Tech degree in electrical engineering and an M-tech degree in Systems and Control from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.
•He had joined Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 1983.
•He holds wide experience and expertise in the launch vehicle control and guidance design, onboard software development and mission design, and analysis.
•He had also held various significant positions in ISRO such as Deputy Director, Control, Guidance & Simulation Entity at VSSC, Chief Controller at VSSC and Associate Director (R&D) at VSSC.
About ISRO Inertial Systems Unit
•The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit is a research and development unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
•IISU is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
•It specialises in inertial sensors and systems in satellite technology.
•Its specialized fields include the fields of launch vehicle inertial systems, spacecraft inertial systems, inertial sensors evaluation and simulation, inertial system production and more.
•The unit has the total capability to design, engineer, develop, qualify and deliver inertial systems for the entire Indian Space programme.
Madhav Dhekane took over as Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit
Noted scientist Madhav Dhekane on 1 July 2016 assumed the office of Director at ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Department of Space, at Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Dhekane is the seventh director of IISU.
Who is Madhav Dhekane?
•Madhav Dhekane obtained a B-Tech degree in electrical engineering and an M-tech degree in Systems and Control from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.
•He had joined Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 1983.
•He holds wide experience and expertise in the launch vehicle control and guidance design, onboard software development and mission design, and analysis.
•He had also held various significant positions in ISRO such as Deputy Director, Control, Guidance & Simulation Entity at VSSC, Chief Controller at VSSC and Associate Director (R&D) at VSSC.
About ISRO Inertial Systems Unit
•The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit is a research and development unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
•IISU is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
•It specialises in inertial sensors and systems in satellite technology.
•Its specialized fields include the fields of launch vehicle inertial systems, spacecraft inertial systems, inertial sensors evaluation and simulation, inertial system production and more.
•The unit has the total capability to design, engineer, develop, qualify and deliver inertial systems for the entire Indian Space programme.
Javeline thrower Annu Rani sets national record at National Inter-state Athletics Championships
Javeline thrower Annu Rani on 2 July 2016 bettered her national record with a 59.87m throw at the 56th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Hyderabad.
Rani improved her previous meet mark with her first round 59.06m at G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium. However, her 59.87m throw came in the fourth round.
Suman Devi could log only 55.88m to bag the second place. Haryana’s Sharmila Kumari finished third with 53.80m throw.
Who is Annu Rani?
•Annu Rani is the current national record holder in javeline throw.
•She is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a not-for-profit foundation that identifies and supports Indian athletes.
•At the 2014 National Inter-State Championship in Lucknow, Rani broke the national record held by Gurmeet Kaur with a throw of 58.83 metres.
•In 2014, she won the bronze medal with a throw of 59.53 meters at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. In the process, she bettered her personal best and also broke the national record that she previously held.
Cabinet Reshuffle: 19 New Ministers included
Union Council of Ministers was reshuffled and expanded with inclusion of 19 new Ministers of State on 5 July 2016. The new inductees were administered the oath of office and secrecy at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Besides, Minister of State with independent charge, Prakash Javdekar was elevated to the Cabinet rank.
Of the inductees, three each are from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Rajasthan has got four berths in expansion while Maharashtra two. There is one Minister each from West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
Of the nineteen new ministers, 17 are from the BJP, one each from Apna Dal and RPI. There are two minority leaders - MJ Akbar and SS Ahluwalia and two women Anupriya Singh Patel and Krishna Raj.
The Ministers of State are
•Faggan Singh Kulaste – A prominent tribal leader and Member of Parliament from Barbati in Madhya Pradesh.
• Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia– He is Member of Parliament from Darjeeling.
• Ramesh Chandappa Jigjinagi- a Dalit leader and Lok Sabha MP (five times) from Bijapur, Karnataka.
• Vijay Goel – He is a BJP leader from Delhi and was elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.
• Ramdas Athawale– He is the chief of Republican Party of India (Athawale) is a seasoned Dalit leader and a vocal Ambedkarite. He is the lone Rajya Sabha member.
• Rajen Gohain– He is a BJP MP (4th term in Lok Sabha) from Nawgong Assam.
• Anil Madhav Dave – He is a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh and is an environmentalist. He has written several books on the subject.
•Parshottam Rupala– He is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat and this is his second term as a Rajya Sabha member.
• MJ Akbar- Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh.
•Arjun Ram Meghwal– He is a Lok Sabha MP from Bikaner, Rajasthan.
• Jaswant Sinh Bhabhor– He is a tribal leader and a Member of the Parliament from Dahod constituency in Gujarat.
• Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey – He is a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh.
• Ajay Tamta -He is also a Dalit leader from the hill state of Uttarakhand. He is a Lok Sabha member from the Almora constituency.
• Krishna Raj– She is a Dalit leader from UP's Rohilkhand region and a Lok Sabha member from UP's Shahjahanpur.
• Mansukh Mandaviya – A native of Bhavnagar in Gujarat and a prominent leader from the Patel community is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat.
• Anupriya Singh Patel – She is the daughter of the late Sone Lal Patel, a Kurmi leader with significant influence in Uttar Pradesh. She is a Lok Sabha MP from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.
• C R Chaudhary– He holds a degree from the University of Birmingham and carries an expertise in the field of rural development. He is a BJP MP from Nagaur, Rajasthan.
•P P Chaudhary - He Lok sabha MP from Pali, Rajasthan and belongs the OBC Seervi caste. He is a recipient of the Sansad Ratna award twice in his stint at the Lok sabha. He also heads Seervi Mahasabha.
• Dr Subhash Bhamre– he is an oncologist and a practicing doctor. He is BJP Lok Sabha MP from Dhule, Maharashtra.
Five ministers were dropped from the Council of Ministers and they are Minister of State (MoS) for Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihal Chand Meghwal, MoS HRD Ram Shankar Katheria, MoS Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat, MoS Tribal Affairs Manuskhbhai D Vasva and MoS Agriculture MK Kundariya.
Comment
With this second expansion of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the total number of ministers in the Union Council went up to 83.
However, as per Constitutional provisions mentioned in Article 75, the total number cannot exceed 82 (i.e. 15% of the total number of members of Lok Sabha) and it may require the dropping of some ministers to keep the number within the prescribed cap.
This provision of constitutional cap for total number of Ministers in the Union Council was added by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Logistic Performance Index 2016 released by World Bank
World Bank on 1 July 2016 released the Logistics Performance Index 2016 titled ‘Connecting to compete: 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy.’ The 2016 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) allows for comparisons across 160 countries.
The 2016 LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.
Findings of the World Bank’s biennial report
Germany tops the 2016 rankings and is followed by Luxembourg, Sweden, Netherlands, and Singapore. Hong Kong SAR, China was ranked at 9th position while United States was placed at 10th Position in the list of rankings. Mainland China was placed at 27th position.
Syrian Arab Republic was ranked at 160th position in the list.
In context of India
• India’s ranking jumped from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016.
• India is ahead of comparatively advanced economies like Portugal and New Zealand.
• In 2016, India’s international supply chain efficiency was at 75 percent of top-ranked Germany. This is an improvement over the 66% efficiency when compared to the leader (again Germany) in 2014.
• The improvement was credited to recent reforms made into practice in the countrylike
a) Single Window Interface for Trade (SWIFT)
b) Electronic messaging system between Shipping lines and Custodians for electronic delivery order
c) Filing of import and export declarations and manifests online with digital signature
d) Extension of Customs’ risk management system to other regulatory agencies to ensure risk-based inspection
e) Reduction of documents required for export and import
f) Extension of 24x7 customs clearance facilities to 19 seaports and 17 air cargo complexes
g) Removal of limit on the number of consignments released under direct delivery and many more
India’s performance on the core pillars
India’s performance on the six core pillars of logistics performance Index that is used to rank the countries by World Bank in its study is
• The ability to track and trace consignments: From 57 to 33
• The quality of trade and transport infrastructure: From 58 to 36
• The competence and quality of logistics services: From 52 to 32
The six core pillars of logistics used to rank the nations includes
• The efficiency of customs and border management clearance
• The quality of trade and transport infrastructure
• The ease of arranging competitively priced shipments
• The competence and quality of logistics services
• The ability to track and trace consignments
• The frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times
Logistics Performance Index
The Logistics Performance Index is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.
The LPI consists of both qualitative and quantitative measures and helps build profiles of logistics friendliness for these countries. It measures performance along the logistics supply chain within a country and offers two different perspectives: international and domestic.
NASA extends New Horizons mission to Kuiper Belt
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the first week of July 2016 gave its approval to the New Horizons mission to investigate a mysterious object deep in the Kuiper Belt.
The mission will explore the mysterious object known as 2014 MU69.
It is expected that the New Horizons will reach 2014 MU69 on 31 December 2018 or 1 January 2019.
What is 2014 MU69?
•2014 MU69 is an ancient object considered one of the early building blocks of the solar system.
•It was selected as New Horizons' target in August 2015.
•After four course changes in October and November 2015, New Horizons is on course toward 2014 MU69.
•2014 MU69 was initially called PT1and 1110113Yby the New Horizons and Hubble teams respectively.
•It was discovered on 26 June 2014 using the Hubble Space Telescope during a preliminary survey to find a suitable Kuiper belt object for the New Horizons probe to flyby.
•2014 MU69 is the first object to be targeted for a flyby that was discovered after the spacecraft was launched.
About New Horizons
•New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program.
•It is engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), with a team led by S. Alan Stern.
•It was launched with the primary mission to perform a flyby study of the Pluto system. Its secondary mission is to fly by and study one or more other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs).
•New Horizons was launched on 19 January 2006 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
•It was launched directly into an Earth-and-solar escape trajectory with a speed of about 16.26 kilometers per second.
•On 14 July 2015, it flew 12500 km above the surface of Pluto, making it the first spacecraft to explore the dwarf planet.
Noel Neill, first actor to play Lois Lane in Superman, dies
American actor Noel Neill, the first actor to play the role Lois Lane on the Adventures of Superman television series died on 3 July 2016. She was 95.
Lois Lane is a fictional character who is an award-winning journalist and the primary love interest of Superman.
About Noel Neill
•Noel Neill was born in Minneapolis on 25 November 1920.
•In her teens, she was a popular photographic model.
•In the mid-40s, she appeared in a leading role in one of Monogram Pictures'melodramas.
•She played the role in the film serials Superman(1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman(1950) with Kirk Alyn playing Superman/Clark Kent.
•Over the decades, she appeared in various productions of the Superman franchise.
•She often played the parent or other relative of one of the main characters, including the 1978 Superman feature film, the 1980s TV series Superboy, the 1990s primetime drama Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and the 2006 film Superman Returns.
Para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan wins eight medals in IWAS World Games
Para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan won eight medals, including three gold medals, at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) U-23 World Games.
The games concluded on 3 July 2016 in Prague, Czech Republic.
Mukundan bagged gold medals in 200m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke, silver in 100m fly and 50m freestyle, and bronze in 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 100m backstroke events.
Who is Niranjan Mukundan?
•Born on 4 September 1994, Mukundan is an Indian para-swimmer.
•He was born with a physical deformity called Spina Bifida. It is a birth defect where there is incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord.
• He was crowned as the Junior World Champion in the year 2015.
•GoSports Foundation supports Mukundan through the Para Champions Programme.
•In 2015, he was given National Award for Best Sports-person of the Year by Government of India.
•In 2016, he was awarded with Ekalavya Award.
6 July
1mg Technologies acquires diagnostic labs aggregator Medd
Online healthcare start-up 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd on 4 July 2016 announced the acquisition of diagnostic labs aggregator Medd.
The step was taken to boost diagnostic footprint of 1mg Technologies. However, the value of the transaction was not disclosed by the company.
The deal comes after 1mg raised 100 crore rupees in a Series B round from investors including Maverick Capital Ventures.
About 1mg Technologies
•1mg Technologies operates an online marketplace for medicines.
•It also facilitates medical appointments and diagnostic test bookings.
•It claims to have over 6 million app downloads and 80 million annual visits on its platform.
•It has a database of about 100000 medicines with detailed information on their side-effects and composition.
•It also allows consumers to do a price comparison among multiple brands of medicines with the same composition.
About Medd
•Medd was co-founded by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay graduates Arpit Kothari and Anurag Mundhada and Carnegie Mellon graduate Era Dwivedi in 2015.
•It operates across Mumbai, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, Bengaluru and Jaipur.
World's largest charkha unveiled at IGI airport, Delhi
World’s largest Charkha (spinning wheels) was unveiled at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), New Delhi by Union Minister for MSME Kalraj Mishra on 5 July 2016.
The idea behind displaying the world’s biggest charkha at the country’s busiest airport is to highlight India’s quest to foster an egalitarian society as demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.
Aim behind Installation
The Charkha was installed at the departure forecourt of the terminal with a belief that it would help in carrying forward the legacy of promoting India’s rich cultural heritage through different artworks at the terminal.
All the existing artworks at the terminal - Mudras, Regal procession, Elephant statues, Surya Sculpture, Suryanamaskar and Worli Art among others - depict and showcase Indian heritage globally.
About the Charkha
• The Charkha that weighs 4-tonnes is made from high-quality Burma teak wood.
• It is 9 ft wide, 17 ft tall and 30 ft long.
• It is estimated that the Charkha would last for over 50 years.
• It was built in 55 days by a team of 42 highly skilled carpenters hailing from Ahmedabad.
MoU between India & Mauritius in the field of Rural Development & Poverty Alleviation approved
The Union Cabinet on 5 July 2016 approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mauritius in the field of Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation.
The MoU will help to establish a framework for cooperation between the National Development Unit, Prime Minister's Office of Mauritius and the Union Ministry of Rural Development in the sphere of rural development.
The MoU will come into effect from the date of its signature.
Highlights
• It will encourage cooperation in the field of rural development and capacity building on the basis of equality and mutual benefit between both countries.
• A Joint Committee on Cooperation on Rural Development will be established which will meet alternatively in both countries on mutually agreed dates.
• Under the MoU, the two countries have agreed to coordinate and facilitate appropriate technical cooperation, including
a) The access to Indian expertise institutions that can assist in fulfilling the objectives of this MoU.
b) Exchange of relevant information and documents in the sphere of rural development, including scientific and technical information together with policies, support measures adopted to foster rural development.
c) The two nations would exchange relevant information on issues of mutual interest.
Background
The MoU is based on the fact that the both countries have a large segment of their population living in rural areas and are pre-dominantly dependent on agriculture and its allied activities for their livelihoods.
An institutional arrangement for bilateral cooperation between India and Mauritius in the field of rural development and poverty alleviation was under consideration for some time.
Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami dies
Abbas Kiarostami, the critically acclaimed Iranian director died on 4 July 2016 following a prolonged illness in Paris. He was 76. Kiarostami is survived by two sons.
His 1997 film Taste of Cherry won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
About Abbas Kiarostami
• Kiarostami wrote and directed dozens of films over an illustrious career spanning more than 40 years.
• He was born in 1940 in Tehran and continued to work from Iran after the 1979 revolution.
• Kiarostami made his first film in 1970 titled The Bread and Alley that was just 12 minutes long.
• In 1977, he made his first feature-length film titled Report that is about a tax collector who takes bribes.
• Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry won the Best Picture Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997.
• His other famous films are Close-Up (1990), 1987 film Where is the Friend's Home? 2000 film The Wind Will Carry Us and many more.
• He also received the award from Martin Scorsese in the 2005 Marrakesh International Film Festival in Morocco.
• In 2016, he was among 683 film-makers who were asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
• He won more than 70 awards for his works.
Union Cabinet approves setting up of Major port at Enayam in Tamil Nadu
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 July 2016 gave in-principle approval for setting up a Major port at Enayam near Colachel in Tamil Nadu.
In this regard, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be formed for development of Port with initial equity investment from three Major Ports in Tamil Nadu- VO Chidambaranar Port Trust, Chennai Port Trust and Kamarajar Port Limited.
Highlights of the Project
• The Enayam project will cost around 27000 crore rupees and will be undertaken in three phases.
• The cabinet cleared an expenditure of 6575 crore rupees for phase one of the project.
• The SPV will develop the port infrastructure including dredging and reclamation, construction of breakwater, ensuring connectivity links, etc.
• Establishing this Major port at Enayam will not only act as a major gateway container port for Indian cargo but it will also become a trans-shipment hub for the global East-West trade route.
• It will also reduce the logistics cost for exporters and importers in South India who currently depend on trans-shipment in Colombo or other ports thus incurring additional port handling charges.
Background
At present, there are only a few ports in India that have sufficient draft and can match global cargo handling efficiencies.
Currently, all of India's trans-shipment traffic gets handled in Colombo, Singapore and other international ports. Indian port industry loses out up to 1500 Crore rupees of revenues each year.
Know Your Union Ministers: Who's Who
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 July 2016 expanded his Council of Ministers which included inducting of some new Ministers of State, changes in portfolio of some ministers and dropped 5 Ministers from CoM.
Here we give the complete list of Council of Ministers.
Portfolio Changes
Prakash Javdekar: Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change to HRD Minister
•Venkaiah Naidu:Additional charge of Information and Broadcast Ministry
•Ravi Shankar Prasad: Information and Broadcast Minister to Law Minister
•DV Sadananda Gowda:Law Minister to Statistics and Programme Implementation Minister
•Narendra Singh Tomar:Additional charge of Rural Development Minister
• Anant Kumar: Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister
• Vijay Goel:Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Sports (independent charge) and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga rejuvenation
• SS Ahluwalia: Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs
•Faggan Singh Kulaste: Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare
•MJ Akbar: Minister of State, External Affairs
•Jayant Sinha: Minister of State for Finance to Civil Aviation Minister
•Anil Madhav Dave: Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change
New Inductees
• Faggan Singh Kulaste- Health and Family Welfare
•Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia - Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Parliamentary Affairs
•Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi - Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Vijay Goel- Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge); Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
•Ramdas Athawale- Social justice and empowerment
•Rajen Gohain - Railways
• Anil Madhav Dave - Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge)
•Parshottam Rupala - Agriculture and farmers welfare; panchayati raj
• MJ Akbar - External affairs
•Arjun Ram Meghwal- Finance; corporate affairs
•Jasvantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor - Tribal affairs
•Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey - HRD
•Ajay Tamta- Textiles
• Krishna Raj - Women and child development
• Mansukh L Mandaviya - Road transport and highways, Shipping; chemicals and fertilizers
•Anupriya Singh Patel- Health and family welfare
• CR Chaudhary- Consumer affairs, food and public distribution
• PP Chaudhary - Law and justice; electronics and information technology
• Subhash Ramrao Bhamre - Defence
Complete List
Prime Minister
• Narendra Modi - Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic energy; Department of Space; and all important policy issues, and all other portfolios not allocated to any Minister
Cabinet ministers
•Rajnath Singh- Home affairs
• Sushma Swaraj - External affairs
•Arun Jaitley – Finance and Corporate Affairs
• Venkaiah Naidu - Urban Development and Housing; Urban Poverty Alleviation; Information and Broadcasting
• Nitin Jairam Gadkari -Road Transport and Highways; Shipping
• Manohar Parrikar -Defence
• Suresh Prabhu - Railways
• DV Sadananda Gowda - Statistics and Programme Implementation
•Uma Bharati -Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
• Najma A Heptulla - Minority Affairs
• Ramvilas Paswan -Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
• Kalraj Mishra- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• Maneka Sanjay Gandhi- Women and Child Development
•Ananth Kumar - Chemicals and Fertilizers; Parliamentary Affairs
• Ravi Shankar Prasad- Law and Justice; Electronics and Information Technology
• Jagat Prakash Nadda - Health and Family Welfare
• Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati- Civil Aviation
• Anant Geete - Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
•Harsimrat Kaur Badal -Food Processing Industries
• Narendra Singh Tomar -Rural Development; Panchayati Raj; Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Chaudhary Birender Singh- Steel
• Jual Oram -Tribal Affairs
• Radha Mohan Singh - Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• Thaawar Chand Gehlot- Social Justice and Empowerment
• Smriti Zubin Irani -Textiles
• Harsh Vardhan- Science and Technology; Earth sciences
• Prakash Javadekar- Human Resource Development
Ministers of state
• Rao Inderjit Singh- Planning (Independent Charge); Urban Development; Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
• Bandaru Dattatreya- Labour and Employment (Independent Charge)
• Rajiv Pratap Rudy - Skill development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge)
•Vijay Goel -Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge); Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
• Shripad Yesso Naik- AAYUSH (Independent Charge)
• Dharmendra Pradhan- Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)
• Piyush Goyal - Power (Independent Charge); Coal (Independent Charge); New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge); Mines (Independent Charge)
•Jitendra Singh- Development of northeastern region (Independent Charge); Prime Minister’s Office; Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space
• Nirmala Sitharaman - Commerce and industry (Independent Charge)
• Mahesh Sharma - Culture (Independent Charge); Tourism (Independent Charge)
• Manoj Sinha - Communications (Independent Charge); Railways
• Anil Madhav Dave - Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge)
• VK Singh - External affairs
• Santosh Kumar Gangwar- Finance
• Faggan Singh Kulaste - Health and family welfare
•Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi - Minority Affairs; Parliamentary Affairs
•SS Ahluwalia- Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Parliamentary Affairs
•Ramdas Athawale- Social Justice and Empowerment
•Ram Kripal Yadav - Rural Development
• Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
•Giriraj Singh- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
•Hansraj Gangaram Ahir - Home Affairs
• GM Siddeshwara -Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
• Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi - Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Rajen Gohain - Railways
• Parshottam Rupala - Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Panchayati Raj
• MJ Akbar - External Affairs
• Upendra Kushwaha - Human Resources Development
• Radhakrishnan P -Road Transport and Highways; Shipping
•Kiren Rijiju -Home Affairs
• Krishan Pal -Social Justice and Empowerment
• Jasvantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor- Tribal Affairs
• Sanjeev Kumar Balyan - Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
• Vishnu Deo Sai - Steel
• Sudarshan Bhagat- Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• YS Chowdary- Science and Technology; Earth Science
• Jayant Sinha - Civil Aviation
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore- Information and Broadcasting
• Babul Supriyo- Urban Development Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
• Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti - Food Processing Industries
•Vijay Sampla- Social Justice and Empowerment
• Arjun Ram Meghwal– Finance; Corporate Affairs
•Mahendra Nath Pandey - HRD
• Ajay Tamta - Textiles
•Krishna Raj - Women and Child Development
•Mansukh L Mandaviya - Road transport and Highways, Shipping; Chemicals and Fertilizers
• Anupriya Patel -Health and Family Welfare
• CR Chaudhary - Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
• PP Chaudhary -Law and Justice; Electronics and Information Technology
• Subhash Ramrao Bhamre - Defence
Union Cabinet approves The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016
The Union Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 5 July 2016 gave green signal to introduceThe High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016in Parliament.
The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 will facilitate the changing of the names of Bombay High Court as Mumbai High Court and Madras High Court as Chennai High Court respectively.
The bill is the proposal of the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry.
About Bombay High Court
•Bombay High Court is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
•It was inaugurated on 14 August 1862 under the High Courts Act, 1861.
•It is one of the oldest High Courts of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra, Goa, and the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
•The High Court has regional branches at Nagpur and Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Panaji in Goa.
•Since India's Independence, 22 judges from this court have been elevated to the Supreme Court and 8 of them have been Chief Justice of India.
About Madras High Court
•Madras High Court is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
•The court is one of the three High Courts in India established at the Presidency Towns by Letters patent granted by Queen Victoria.
Background
•The High Courts of Bombay and Madras were named after the cities in which they were located.
•There have been demands for change in the names of these High Courts, after the cities were rechristened in the 1990s.
•Currently, there is no Central Law under which the proposal for change of names of these High Courts can be addressed.
•British India's three presidency towns of Madras , Bombay and Calcutta were each granted a High Court by letters patent dated 26 June 1862. The letters patent were issued by Queen Victoria under the authority of the British parliament's Indian High Courts Act 1861.
Union Cabinet approves redevelopment of seven GPRA colonies in Delhi
Union Cabinet on 5 July 2016 approved redevelopment of seven General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) colonies in the national Capital, Delhi. The project will be completed in five years in a phased manner.
Highlights
• Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar and Nauroji Nagar will be redeveloped through National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC).
• Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Srinivaspuri and Mohammadpur will be developed through Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
This approval will help in replacing the existing housing stock of 12970 dwelling units of Type I to IV with Build Up Area (BUA) of approx. 7.49 lakh sq meter with approx. 25667 dwelling units of Type II to VI with BUA of approx. 29.18 lakh sq meter with supporting social infrastructure.
The project will also develop Government office accommodation for nearly 2.42 lakh sq meter at Netaji Nagar.
Costing for the Project
• The total estimated cost of the project is 32835 crore rupees.
• The cost includes maintenance and operation costs for 30 years.
• The project shall be implemented on self-financing basis by sale of commercial BUA in Nauroji Nagar and parts of Sarojini Nagar, adjoining the Ring Road.
Background
The decision of redeveloping the General Pool Residential Accommodation colonies was taken in light of shortage of Government accommodation in the National Capital Region. This shortage leads to wait by the Government officials for eligible housing.
This shortage made the Union Ministry of Urban Development to move a proposal for redevelopment of existing old dilapidated housing colonies to augment the housing stock by making optimum utilization of land resources as per Master Plan Delhi (MPD) - 2021 and using modern construction technology with green building norms and in-house solid/liquid waste management facilities.
MP Cabinet approved Madhya Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods in Local Areas Amendment Bill, 2016
State Cabinet of Madhya Pradesh on 5 July 2016 gave its nod to Madhya Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods in Local Areas Amendment Bill, 2016. The Bill seeks to levy 6 percent entry tax on goods brought to local areas for consumption after purchase under e-commerce.
The step has taken in the wake of losses to the state exchequer due to the online shopping.
Some other cabinet decisions include
• It made toilet in home mandatory for contesting the panchayat elections. Now those not having toilets in their house cannot contest panchayat elections. There are four lakh panch-sarpanchs in the state.
• It extended special recruitment drive being conducted for filling backlog/carry forward vacancies of SCs, STs, OBCs and disabled persons. Its deadline has been extended for one year from 30 June 2016.
• It authorized Finance Minister to hear problems of daily wagers and work charged employees in the state. After getting apprised of their problems, the Finance Minister would inform the Chief Minister.
• The cabinet sanctioned amended self-finance pension scheme sixth pay scale in accordance with terms and conditions of 1 April 2014 in Rajmata Scindia Agriculture University, Gwalior.
NASA's Juno Spacecraft successfully enters Jupiter’s orbit
Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 4 July 2016 successfully entered Jupiter’s orbit.
Confirmation of a successful orbit insertion was received from Juno tracking data monitored at the navigation facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Juno's main aim is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. The spacecraft will also investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere and observe the planet's auroras.
About Juno
•Juno is a NASA New Frontiers mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 5 August 2011.
•It is in a polar orbit to study Jupiter's composition, gravity field, magnetic field and polar magnetosphere.
•It will determine how much water is in Jupiter's atmosphere.
•It will look deep into Jupiter's atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties.
•It will map Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet's deep structure.
•It will explore and study Jupiter's magnetosphere near the planet's poles, especially the auroras, i.e. Jupiter's northern and southern lights.
•It is the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter after the Galileo probe which orbited from 1995–2003.
•It is powered by solar arrays.
•The spacecraft's name comes from Greco-Roman mythology.
•The mission had previously been referred to as JUpiter Near-polar Orbiterin a list of NASA acronyms.
•The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet 37 times in around 20 months.
•Juno will dispose off in the form of a controlled deorbit into Jupiter in February 2018.
NASA's Juno Spacecraft successfully enters Jupiter’s orbit
Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 4 July 2016 successfully entered Jupiter’s orbit.
Confirmation of a successful orbit insertion was received from Juno tracking data monitored at the navigation facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Juno's main aim is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. The spacecraft will also investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere and observe the planet's auroras.
About Juno
•Juno is a NASA New Frontiers mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 5 August 2011.
•It is in a polar orbit to study Jupiter's composition, gravity field, magnetic field and polar magnetosphere.
•It will determine how much water is in Jupiter's atmosphere.
•It will look deep into Jupiter's atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties.
•It will map Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet's deep structure.
•It will explore and study Jupiter's magnetosphere near the planet's poles, especially the auroras, i.e. Jupiter's northern and southern lights.
•It is the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter after the Galileo probe which orbited from 1995–2003.
•It is powered by solar arrays.
•The spacecraft's name comes from Greco-Roman mythology.
•The mission had previously been referred to as JUpiter Near-polar Orbiterin a list of NASA acronyms.
•The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet 37 times in around 20 months.
•Juno will dispose off in the form of a controlled deorbit into Jupiter in February 2018.
SC-appointed Green Panel recommends high pollution cess of 20-22% on diesel vehicles
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on 5 July 2016 recommended a green cess of 20-22 percent on diesel vehicles.
EPCA is a Supreme court-appointed Green Panel for Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).
Highlights of the recommendations
• The vehicles need to be divided into three categories- up to 1200 cc, up to 2000 cc and 2000 cc and above.
• An Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) of 10 percent of the vehicle's cost be imposed on diesel cars with engines up to 1200cc.
• EPCA recommended ECC of 20 percent tax on diesel vehicles with engines smaller than 1500cc in size.
• It recommended a cess of 22 percent on vehicles with engines over 1500cc.
• It also recommended high pollution cess of up to 25 percent on the cost of diesel cars above 2000 cc.
• The authority’s recommendation of 20 per cent (for less than 1500 cc) and 22 per cent (for over 1500 cc) green cess stands at 179766 rupees and 215883 rupees respectively.
• Diesel car users cannot pay less tax per litre of fuel compared to petrol car. This needs to be equalised to control growing use of low tax diesel fuel in cars that have cleaner substitutes.
Comment
If the EPCA’s recommendations are accepted, the cess for the present range of diesel vehicles in the national capital could translate to anywhere between 1-2 lakh rupees.
The main reason behind EPCA’s recommendation is to remove the existing incentive for buying diesel vehicles. Removing the fuel price differential, through the imposition of ECC will be a step in removing the incentive for diesel vehicles. This is needed to reduce public health risk.
The committee’s report is, however, not the last word on the environment cess on diesel vehicles as the Supreme Court is awaiting inputs of various stakeholders.
Background
In December 2015, the Supreme Court banned the registration of diesel-run SUVs and high-end cars with engine capacity of 2000CC and above in Delhi and NCR. The ban was initially instituted for a period of three months and was subsequently extended with no deadline.
Aditya Birla Fashion acquires global clothing brand Forever 21
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) on 5 July 2016 acquired global clothing brand Forever 21 in the Indian market for 26 million US dollars.
Forever 21 has a network of more than 700 stores worldwide. Its India operations reported a turnover of 262 crore rupees in 2015-16.
Highlights of the acquisition
• Aditya Birla Fashion executed a business transfer agreement with Diana Retail, Franchise of Forever 21, and DLF Brands for acquisition of the business undertaking of Diana Retail under the Forever 21 brand.
• The transaction involved acquisition of the Forever 21 Undertaking of Diana Retail with effect from 1 July 2016.
• The transaction of 26 million US dollars was an all cash deal through a business transfer agreement and not a share transfer.
• With this, Forever 21 business will form part of ABFRL’s Madura Fashion & Lifestyle division.
About Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL)
• Initially, the company was named as Pantaloons Fashion and Retail Ltd (PFRL).
• Later, it was formed as the consolidation of the branded apparel businesses of Aditya Birla Group - Aditya Birla Nuvo, Madura Fashion division, Pantaloons Fashion and Retail Ltd and Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail Company Ltd.
• Post consolidation, PFRL was renamed as Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, with over 7000 points of sale in over 375 cities and towns.