7-8-december-2016-eng

7 December

Justice JS Khehar to be 44th Chief Justice of India

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur on 6 December 2016 recommended Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar’s name to be the 44th Chief Justice of India. Justice Thakur wrote a letter recommending the name of Justice Khehar, who is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court to be his successor.

Justice Khehar, 64, will be sworn-in as the Chief Justice of India on 4 January 2017. He will retire from his office on 27 August 2017, after serving the nation as Chief Justice of India for over seven months.

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar appointed Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority

He will be the first Chief Justice of India from the Sikh community and succeed CJI Thakur who will be demitting office on 3 January 2017.

About Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar

SC declared National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) unconstitutional

He led the five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court that struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act for the appointment of judges.
He also led the bench that in January 2016 set aside the imposition of President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh.
He also headed the bench that passed a verdict of equal pay for equal work for the benefit of people engaged as casual and contractual employees who work like regulars and daily wagers.
He was a part of the bench that sent Sahara Chief Subrata Roy to jail after hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies.

Artist Helen Marten wins 2016 Turner Prize

Multimedia artist Helen Marten on 5 December 2016 won the Turner Prize, which is Britain’s top award for contemporary art. The prize comes with a cash award of about USD 31800.

The Turner Prize is the second prize in a month for Marten, who also won the inaugural Hepworth Prize.

The nominees for the 2016 Turner Prize were Michael Dean, Anthea Hamilton, Helen Marten and Josephine Pryde.

Who is Helen Marten?

Helen Elizabeth Marten is an English artist based in London.

She works in sculpture, video and installation art.

She studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at the University of Oxford from 2005 to 2008. Thereafter, she went to Central Saint Martins.

Her work has been included in the 56th Venice Biennale and the 20th Biennale of Sydney.

She is the winner of the 2012 LUMA Award and the 2011 Prix Lafayette, among others.

About Turner Prize

The Turner Prize is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50.

It is named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner.

Since its beginnings in 1984, the award has become the United Kingdom’s most publicised art award.

In 2015, the award was won by Assemble, which are a collective based in London who work across the fields of art, architecture and design.

Dr Ambedkar’s birthday to be celebrated as Water Day

Dr BR Ambedkar’s birthday, 14 April, will be observed as “Water Day” across India. The day will be observed to mark Ambedkar’s contribution in water resource management of the country.

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti announced the same while addressing a National Seminar on Marching ahead on Dr Ambedkar’s path of water resources management for inclusive growth. She was the Chief Guest of the seminar that was organised by Central Water Commission in New Delhi.

Nation pays homage to Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar on his Mahaparinirvan Diwas

The seminar was organised on 6 December 2016 to mark the 61st death anniversary of Dr Ambedkar.

The day will be observed with an aim to sensitise people about managing water resources, which is a precious resource for life.

Highlights of Uma Bharti's speech

She pitched for bringing reforms in the management of water resources across the nation and also suggested punishment for those who misuse water.
It’s time to know whether treated water is required for all purposes and people should know how to use treated and non-treated water
She referred to the Dr Mihir Shah report on restructuring of the Central Ground Water Board and the Central Water Commission (CWC) but said that the reforms should be acceptable to all.
She highlighted her ministry’s 99 Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) schemes, whose completion would help in irrigating about 80 lakh hectare additional lands. AIBP project will be completed by 2020.
She also called for redefining the flood management system of India, which would be taken to a positive direction.
During the seminar, the contribution of Dr Ambedkar in the field of water management and the way forward for ensuring the inclusive growth of all sections of the society was discussed.

Remembering Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on 125th Birth Anniversary and his contribution to Indian Constitution

Ambedkar’s role in defining water management in India

During his tenure (1942 to 1946) as Member (Labour) of the Viceroy's Executive Council, Ambedkar was a guide in the formation of the policy for the development of water resources in India.
For formation of the policy, he laid the foundation of the Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission (CWINC). CWINC later became the present-day CWC.
He was an advocate of the concept of River Valley Authority.
He was the man behind the existing multi-purpose development of Damodar Valley, Hirakud and other projects

Fisher, rare species of weasel, makes comeback in Washington

A weasel-like mammal (fisher) was spotted recently in the thick forest of Mount Rainier National Park, where it had been missing for around 70 years.

Ten Pacific fishers, which were trapped in British Columbia, were set free at the park as a part of a multiyear effort to reintroduce the native species to its historical range.

Historically, fishers were found throughout much of the forested areas of the West Coast. However, they declined in numbers due to trapping in the 1800s and early 1900s, and also due to the loss of forest habitats. By the mid-1900s, the creatures were eliminated from the state of Washington.

The dark-brown member of the weasel family with its lush fur and bushy tail was listed as state endangered species in 1998.

About fisher

The fisher is a small carnivorous mammal native to North America.

In some regions, the fisher is known as a pekan, derived from its name in the Abenaki language.

It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family.

The species is a forest-dwelling creature. Its range covers much of the boreal forest in Canada to the northern United States.

It feeds on a wide variety of small animals and occasionally on fruits and mushrooms. However, it prefers the snowshoe hare and is one of the few predators of porcupines.

Fishers have been trapped since the 18th century for their fur. Their pelts were in such demand that they were wiped out from several parts of the United States in the early part of the 20th century.

Earth observation satellite Resourcesat-2A launched

ISRO successfully launched its own earth observation satellite Resourcesat-2A on 7 December 2016. The observation satellite Resourcesat -2A was launched with PSLV C36/ RESOURCESAT-2A from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The PSLV-XL variant rocket standing 44.4 meters tall and weighing 321 tonne tore into the morning skies at 10.25am with a reverberating sound breaking free of the earth’s gravitational pull. The Resourcesat-2A weighing 1235 kilograms was injected into an 817 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at around 20 minutes into the destination.

RESOURCESAT-2A

Resourcesat-2A is a remote sensing satellite and is intending for resource monitoring. It is a follow-on mission to Resourcesat-1 and Resourcesat-2, which were launched in 2003 and 2011 respectively. This satellite is intended to continue the remote sensing data services to global users provided by its two predecessors. The Resourcesat-2A carries three payloads which are similar to those of the earlier two Resourcesat’s. This mission will provide inputs in avionic science.

ISRO launches advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR

It carries two solid state recorders with a capacity of 200 Giga Bits each to store the images taken by its cameras. These images can be read out later to ground stations. The data sent by Resource would be analysed at Hyderabad from 15 December 2016.

PSLV-C36 is the 38th flight of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). This flight used the 'XL' version of PSLV with six solid strap-on motors.

ISRO successfully test-fires Scramjet Rocket Engine

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

The PSLV rockets are a four stage engine rocket that is powered by solid and liquid fuel alternatively. It is a four stage engine rocket powered by solid and liquid fuel alternatively. In this flight, the 'XL' version of PSLV with six solid strap-on motors was used.

PSLV is ISRO’s versatile launch vehicle that is used for launch of multiple satellites in polar SSOs, Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), Low Earth Orbits (LEO) and sub-GTO. It has been used for launching satellites for international customers.
Since 1994, PSLV has been used for launching 121 satellites of which 79 were from other countries and 42 were Indian satellites.

Drones help assess land problems in North East

Besides, the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Dr Shivan said GSLV MK 3 D1; the heaviest form of the satellite will be launched by 20 January 2017. In addition to this, Director of ISAC Dr M Annadurai said that 12 more satellites will be launched in 2017 and work has been stepped up to launch Chandrayaan 2.

Bernard Cazeneuve named new French PM, as Valls resigns

The interior minister of the French Government, Bernard Cazeneuve has been named as the new Prime Minister of the nation, succeeding Manuel Valls.

Cazeneuve’s role has been especially significant for the French government, as he oversaw all the operations of the French security forces following the Paris and Nice terror attacks. He will take charge of the Socialist government until the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to be held in June 2017.

With just five months remaining until the final vote, Cazeneuve is not expected to make many changes in the government.

About Bernard Cazeneuve

He started his career as a legal adviser in the Groupe Banque Populaire.
He first rose to popularity when he was elected as a deputy of the National Assembly representing Manche in 1997 and then as a Mayor of Cherbourg in 2001.
His first government position came when he was appointed as the spokesman of the Socialist government in 2012.
A Hollande loyalist, Cazeneuve was appointed as the Minister of State for Budget after Jerome Cahuzac was forced to resign following a tax fraud scandal.
In 2014, he was made the interior minister, a post similar to that of the Home Minister.
His sober and composed way of tackling the terror situation was deeply appreciated by the French public during these last two years.

Bruno Le Roux, leader of the Socialists in the National Assembly, has been named as the successor of Cazeneuve as the Interior Minister of France. It will be Roux’s first appointment in a government post.

Former Prime Minister Valls exited the office to compete in the French presidential race. If he succeeds in winning the presidential primary in January 2017 then, he would be pitted against Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen in the first leg of the competition in April next year.

Valls’ announcement came after current French President Francois Hollande declined the offer of seeking a second term in office. This is the first time in French history that a president has refused to seek a second term.

The Presidential elections will be held in two rounds spanning over the months of April and May followed by legislative elections in June.

Konkan 16, bilateral maritime exercise between India and UK, begins

Konkan 16, the 2016 edition of the annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Britain, commenced in 5 December 2016 at Mumbai. The exercise will conclude on 16 December 2016 in Goa.

The 2016 edition of the bilateral maritime exercise will familiarise both forces with each other’s planning processes and further enhance synergy and inter-operability. Therefore, it will play an important chapter in the maritime interactions under the aegis of Konkan series.

In addition, participation of IN Marine Commandos (MARCOs) and Royal Marines would add another dimension to the exercise. It will provide valuable opportunity for both navies to interact and cooperate in the field of maritime security operations.

Key highlights of the exercise

The exercise will be conducted in two phases at Mumbai and Goa.

The first phase will be held from 5 December to 9 December 2016.

The first phase will include a Command Planning exercise involving the two navies. The planners from both sides will undertake planning for combined maritime operations.

The second phase of the exercise is known as a LIVE EXERCISE (LIVEX). It will be held from 12 December 2016 to 16 December 2016 at Goa.

The second phase will include interaction between the MARCOs and the Royal Marines.

Both the phases will involve sharing of best practices and lessons learnt from recent operations, especially in the field of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO).

About Exercise Konkan

Exercise Konkan is named after the Western coastal region of India.

It was institutionalised in 2004.

Successive editions of Konkan have built on past experiences and have enhanced operational inter-operability between the two navies.

RBI to issue of Rs 100 Banknotes

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 December 2016 announced to issue Rs 100 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005.

The new notes will be printed without inset letter in both the numbering panels. Moreover, the notes will bear the signature of Dr Urjit R. Patel, Governor of Reserve Bank of India.
The year of printing, that is '2016', will be printed on the reverse side of the banknote.
The design of these banknotes will be similar in all respects to the previous Rs 100 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series- 2005. The previous notes had ascending size of numerals in the number panels, bleed lines and enlarged identification mark on the obverse side.

However, the old banknotes in the denomination of Rs 100 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be the legal tender.

Rs 100 denomination banknotes with the ascending size of numerals in the number panels but without bleed lines and enlarged identification mark will also continue to be in circulation along with the banknotes being issued now.

Background
Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of India has also announced to issue new Rs 50 and Rs 20 denomination banknotes as well.

Issuance of these small value currencies will be a big relief for the people who are finding it difficult to meet their daily requirements after the ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

These small value notes will not only deal with the cash crunch but will also pour in liquidity in the country at the time when almost 86 percent of the cash has been wiped off from the market after the implementation of the demonetisation plan.

INS Sumitra visits Australia to strengthen bilateral ties

The Indian Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Sumitra on 6 December 2016 reached Darwin, Australia. The vessel is on a three day visit to the country and will return to India after participating in the Royal New Zealand Navy International Naval Review 2016.

The ship’s visit to Australia is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing maritime security cooperation between the two nations.

Key highlights

During INS Sumitra’s stay in harbour, various activities are planned towards enhancing cooperation and mutual understanding between the two navies. Such activities include professional interactions with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and discussions towards further enhancing inter-operability.

Calls on senior Government and military authorities, sporting and cultural interactions and sharing of best practices would also be undertaken.

On departure, the ship would also undertake a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with RAN ships.

About INS Sumitra

INS Sumitra is the fourth of the Saryu class ships.

It is based on an indigenous design and constructed by M/s Goa Shipyard Ltd, India.

It was commissioned in 2014. Since then, the ship has been deployed for multiple operational tasks, the most notable being ‘Operation Rahat.’

The ship has a range of 6500 nautical miles and is competent in embarking one Dhruv/ Chetak helicopter.

The ship is commanded by Cdr. KP Shreeshan.

European Union clears $26 billion Microsoft-LinkedIn deal

The European Union (EU) on 6 December 2016 approved Microsoft’s USD 26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn Corporation.

The Executive Arm of the European Commission stated that it was clearing the deal on the condition that, Microsoft, postmerger, will allow other professional networking sites access to programming commands for its Office applications and cloud-computing services for the next five years. The EU also said that the Microsoft must also grant computer manufacturers the option not to install the LinkedIn shortcut on desktop devices.

The EU’s clearance was the final hurdle to closing the deal, following approvals in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and South Africa.

About Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company.

It is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

The company develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services.

The best known software products of the company are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer etc.

It was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates on 4 April 1975.

About LinkedIn Corporation

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service.

It was founded on 14 December 2002 and launched on 5 May 2003.

As of 2015, most of the site's revenue came from selling access to information about its users to recruiters and sales professionals.

Background

Software giant Microsoft had announced its deal with LinkedIn on 13 June 2016.

As per the agreement, Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for USD 196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at 26.2 billion dollar, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash.

As per the deal, LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture and independence.

Massive earthquake hits Aceh in Indonesia

At least 54 people are fear to be dead and several more grievously injured after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit the coast of Aceh, a province located at the northern end of Sumatra, Indonesia.

It is the same province that was worst-hit by the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami, which also tore apart several areas in India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. A total of around 170,000 people were killed in Aceh alone and around 500 had become homeless at the time.

Key Details

The quake hit in the early hours of the morning. The initial quake was followed up by five aftershocks
he district closest to the epicentre, Pidie Jaya has suffered the maximum loss. The regency is about 110 km away from Aceh’s capital city, Banda Aceh.
A total of over 200 homes and shops have collapsed. Several mosques have also been severely damaged along with one school and a local hospital.
Many people are feared to be trapped inside the rubble, causing frantic rescue efforts.
At least 54 people are feared to be dead and 70 or more injured. Several children are reported to be among those who have lost their lives.
According to Indonesia’s meteorological agency, there is no risk of a tsunami.
Many people left their homes and are now reluctant to go back.
Earth movers being deployed to clear rubble and rescue victims trapped beneath the wreckage.
Though power is out in several parts of the region, the Aceh International Airport is functioning normally.

The rescue operation is being led by the National Search and Rescue agency with the support of Indonesian police and military personnel. The President of Indonesia would soon be visiting the affected site.

What they need urgently?

More medical staff
Medicines
Heavy machines to lift the heavier pieces of rubble

Indonesia is a country that falls in one of the most earthquake-prone zones. The country’s Sumatra Island was hit by an earthquake earlier this year as well. The massive earthquake measuring 7.8 had led to issuing of tsunami warnings in both Indonesia and Australia. The warning was, however, withdrawn later. Not much damage was caused.

Indian Railways makes Aadhaar Card mandatory for availing senior citizen benefits

Indian Railways on 5 December 2016 announced that the reservation of rail tickets for senior citizens will be directly linked to Aadhaar or Unique Identification (UID) cards from 1 April 2017 onwards on a mandatory basis for availing concessions at both counter and e-tickets.

This Aadhaar-based ticketing system for senior citizens will be implemented in a two-phased manner. Accordingly, from 1 January to 31 March 2017, requirement of Aadhaar verification for getting concessional tickets for senior citizens will be optional.

However, from 1 April 2017, such a requirement will become mandatory.

Highlights of the Aadhaar-based ticketing system

It is seen as a valuable measure designed to restructure the reservation process for people in 'Senior Citizen' category.
This will put an end to fraudulent bookings and curb cases of impersonation.
Passengers in the senior citizen category shall carry the original documents including Aadhaar card for the purpose of identity proof.
However, there will be no change in procedure with regard to concession to senior citizens in unreserved ticketing.
It will stop unauthorised agents from booking tickets in fake names and then selling these at a higher price.

Procedure for authentication of Aadhaar details on the IRCTC website

The first and foremost task is to log-in using User ID and password on the IRCTC ticketing website.
Then, you need to click on 'Master List' under 'My Profile' Menu.
While adding new senior citizen passenger in the Master List, one needs to provide correct and complete details like name, date of birth and gender as mentioned in the Aadhaar Card.
Thereafter, you need to select Senior Citizen Concession Option as Yes/No, ID card type and provide Aadhaar number.
Hence, passenger will be then added in the Master List by just clicking on the 'Add Passenger' button.

Background
Earlier, Indian Railways also made it mandatory for senior citizen to undergo advance verification through Aadhaar card by submitting Aadhaar card details online on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website with effect from 1 December 2016 onwards.

Noted journalist Cho S Ramaswamy passes away

Veteran journalist, political analyst and comedian Cho S Ramaswamy passed away on 7 December 2016 following a prolonged illness at Apollo Hospital in Chennai. He was 82. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

He was the first to propose Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate. He was also known to be very close to Late J Jayalalitha, CM of Tamil Nadu who died earlier this week, and also mentored her during her film career and continued to do the same even after she entered the politics.

About Cho S Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy was a law graduate, a play writer and a stage actor and also directed several movies and was also a screen play writer.
He practised law in the Madras High Court in 1957-63 and served as a legal adviser to TTK & Co, group Companies, till 1978.
He was a member of the BRC cricket club which played in the II division of Madras Cricket Association (now Tamil Nadu Cricket Association) in the 1950's.
He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha under the previous NDA government in 1999.
He had acted in movies along with MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalithaa, Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth and others.
He had written, directed and acted in over 20 Tamil plays which were performed over 5000 times.
He also acted in 180 movies, scripted 14 and directed four.
He founded and edited the political magazine Thuglak magazine.

Income earned from palace rent not taxable: SC

The Supreme Court (SC) on 5 December 2016 held that the income earned by erstwhile rulers of a princely state or by their heirs by renting out a portion of the residential palace is not taxable.

Moreover, the court also smacked the Income Tax department for registering such case despite their income being exempted under Section 10(19A) of the IT Act, 1961.

The ruling was made by a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Abhay Manohar Sapre.

The court was hearing a plea of the ruler of the former princely state of Kota, now a part of Rajasthan, challenging the high court order for bringing his income from rent in the Income Tax net. The ruler owns two residential palaces known as Umed Bhawan Palace and the City Palace.

The ruler is using Umed Bhawan Palace for his residence and a portion of it was rented out to the Ministry of Defence in 1976.

Background

In 1950, the Union Government declared residential palace of an erstwhile ruler as his inalienable ancestral property to be exempted from levy of income tax. But in 1984, the IT department initiated proceedings for assessment of income earned from renting out a portion of the palace.
The IT department contended that IT exemption was given for personal use and income earned from the rent was taxable. However, the Commissioner of Income Tax and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal turned down the plea of the IT department which later moved the Rajasthan High Court.
The High Court ruled that as long as the ruler continued to remain in occupation of his official palace for his own use, he will be entitled to claim exemption but if he let out any part of his palace, he becomes disentitled to claim benefit of exemption.
Quashing the HC order, the Supreme Court held that Section 10(19A) uses the term 'palace' for considering the grant of exemption to the ruler and income earned from renting out a portion of the palace was also exempted.
The government incorporated Section 10(19A) in the IT Act to give exemption to former rulers.

Joint Communique issued at the end of two-day BRICS Revenue meet

A Joint Communique was issued at the conclusion of the two-day BRICS meeting of Revenue heads and Tax experts at Mumbai, India.

The meeting was held from 5-6 December 2016 with the primary objective of discussing potential areas of cooperation in tax matters and to initiate an exchange of ideas, opinions, relevant knowledge and experience regarding the same.

It was attended by the Revenue heads of all BRICS countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Key Highlights

All heads vowed to continue their support to all actions and international initiatives taken towards achieving a universally transparent tax system.

They also reasserted their commitment towards actions taken to ensure fairness of the same system, especially in the case of prevention of base erosion, shifting of profits, and exchange of tax information and capacity building of the developing countries.

Combating Base Erosion and Profit Shifting

The leaders expressed extra concern on the process of erosion of the tax base due to aggressive tax practices including incomplete disclosure of information and committed to eliminate the concern by working in solidarity with each other.
They also acknowledged that profits should be taxed in those regions where activities, which are leading to their origin in the first place, are being performed.
They welcomed the measures mentioned in the action points of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project and urged timely implementation of the project across as many jurisdictions as possible.
They reaffirmed their commitment towards exchanging ideas and sharing best practices that would help in preventing base erosion and profit shifting.

Implementing the Automatic Exchange of Information

They reaffirmed their support for the global Common Reporting Standard for automatic exchange of information and set 2018 as the deadline for its implementation.
They also acknowledged the importance of the exchange of information between authorities in order to prevent cross-border tax evasion.

Extending the reach of tax cooperation and building capacity

The leaders acknowledged the fact that issues of the international tax agenda can only be effectively resolved when many more countries join in.
For the same, they are aiming to create an inclusive framework that would encourage other developing nations also to engage in the international tax cooperation.
Apart from this, they also showed firm support towards efforts made by the international community to provide assistance to the developing nations in overcoming the challenges that come with fighting tax evasion.

International Tax Cooperation

The heads jointly declared their continued commitment towards the promotion of closer cooperation on issues of mutual concern and interest.
They also recognised the importance of the economic and commercial links that are established between the BRICS nations and spoke about the need to strengthen these links further.
Lastly, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work towards the creation of a framework of cooperation between the administrations of the BRICS nations in order to contribute to their further economic growth.

RBI relaxes norms for online card transactions of up to Rs 2000

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 December 2016 relaxed the norms for Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) for online card transactions of up to Rs 2000.

However, only authorised card networks will provide such payment authentication solutions for online CNP (Card Not Present) transactions.

Customers opting for this facility will go through a one-time registration process by entering the card details and additional factor authentication by the issuing bank. Thereafter, the registered customers will not be required to re-enter the card details for every transaction at merchant websites or apps.

However, the relaxation in the process of online card transactions comes with some conditions. Have a look:

Only authorised card networks can provide such payment authentication solutions with participation of card issuing and acquiring banks.
Customer consent shall be taken while making this solution available to them.
The relaxation for AFA under such solutions shall be applicable for card not present transactions for a maximum value of Rs 2000 per transaction across all merchant categories.
Banks and card networks are free to facilitate their customers to set lower per transaction limits.
If the transaction limit goes beyond Rs 2000, then the card not present transaction will be processed as per the extant instructions with mandatory AFA; this goes same for the transaction value of below this limit.
Banks and card networks will decide the number of such small value transactions in a day, week or month.
There will be no change in the existing chargeback process.

Advise for banks and authorised card networks

To make customers aware that this solution is an optional facility for CNP transactions of up to Rs 2000 only and they are free to make payments using other forms of AFA as well.
To educate the customers about the use of this means, risk involved in it and the mechanism for customer grievance redressal and how they can report complaints through multiple channels.
To indicate the maximum liability that falls in on the customer's part and the responsibility of the customer to report any frauds while transacting.
To bear the full liability in the event of any security breach or compromise in the authorised card network.

Comment
This move will surely boost the digital transactions at this crucial time of demonetisation. This will certainly encourage more users to switch to online payments. Moreover, it will enhance consumer convenience so that they can use cards more often.

8 December

Trump named as Time magazine's person of the year

US President-elect Donald Trump was named as Person of the Year 2016 on 7 December 2016 by Time magazine. The magazine cited his role for the stunning victory in the US Presidential election.

The Time cover that features a photograph of the President-elect sitting on a chair reads, “Donald Trump – President of the Divided States of America”.

Nancy Gibbs who announced the name of Time’s person of the year said that the real baron and casino owner, Trump, who never spent a single day in public office, was elected as the 45th President of the US. His election as President.

Narendra Modi wins reader’s poll for the TIME Person of the Year 2016

Trump’s rival in the presidential elections and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was the first runner-up for Person of the Year. Online hackers were judged as the second runner ups.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the 11 candidates shortlisted by Time for its annual honour. Meanwhile, Modi won the online readers' poll conducted by Time magazine for Person of the Year 2016, the second time he emerged winner of the reader's choice poll.

Other contenders for the Time Person of the year were

The US gymnast Simone Biles
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan
CRISPR Scientists who developed a groundbreaking new technology that can edit DNA
The Flint Whistleblowers who along with civil-engineering professor Marc Edwards and local paediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha blew the whistle on the lead-poisoned water in Flint, Michigan
Singer Beyonce
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

TIME's Person of the Year since 2000
This is an annual honour bestowed by Time magazine since 1927. It goes to the person who most influenced the news during the year for better or worse.

2000: George W Bush
2001: Rudolph Giuliani, who was New York City's mayor on 9/11
2002: The Enron Whistleblowers
2003: The American soldier
2004: George W. Bush
2005: The Good Samaritans - Bono and Bill Gates
2006: You - represented by the Internet
2007: Vladimir Putin
2008: Barack Obama
2009: Ben Bernanke
2010: Mark Zuckerberg
2011: The Protester
2012: Barack Obama
2013: Pope Francis
2014: Ebola fighter
2015: Angela Merkel

PR Sreejesh takes charge as Goalkeeping Coach of India Under-21 hockey team

Indian field hockey player PR Sreejesh on 8 December 2016 took over as goalkeeping mentor of the India Under-21 team.

The decision was taken when the home team is all set to compete in the Junior World Cup title after a prolonged 15-year wait.

Sreejesh, who is the captain of the senior national men’s team, will take charge of the role from South African Dave Staniforth.

Staniforth was roped in by Hockey India to work with the junior goalkeepers for a short three-week period keeping in mind the World Cup. He is set to leave for his home nation tomorrow.

About PR Sreejesh

Born on 8 May 1986, Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian field hockey player.

He plays as a goalkeeper in the Indian national team and is its current captain.

He plays for Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League.

In 2004, he made into the junior national team in a match against Australia in Perth.

He made his debut in the senior national team at South Asian Games in Colombo in 2006.

After India's victory at the 2008 Junior Asia Cup, he was awarded the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

His second Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament award came at the 2013 Asia Cup, in which India finished second in the tournament.

He was the captain of the team that won the silver medal at the Hero Champions Trophy 2016 held at London.

On 13 July 2016, he was given the responsibilities of the captain of Indian hockey team.

Mobile banking service SIMsePAY launched in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh State Co-operative Apex Bank on 7 December 2016 launched Mobile Banking Service named SIMsePaY. The service was launched in collaboration with the Yes Bank Ltd.

The SIMsePaY service was launched by the State Industries and Cooperation Minister Tamiya Taga is aimed at helping bank customers’ in their cash crunch problem.

The SIMsePAY mobile service operates on simple phone handset on SMS without the internet. It would be very helpful for rural areas where there is no internet network.

While launching the service, the minister also appealed its 1.75 lakh customers to use the mobile banking service for payments of their utility bills, transfer of funds and other services for hassle-free cashless business. He asked the bank management to adopt the technology and provide efficient and effective services to its customers.

Besides, he also asked the bank to survey more areas in remote locations for opening new branches. He advised the bank to offer small loans to self-employed people and launch the vigorous drive for loan recovery.

Arunachal Pradesh State Co-operative Apex Bank is CBS enabled and extends various services like DBT, ATM, NFF and RuPay Debit cards to its customers.

Background

Earlier in the first week of December 2016, Yes Bank announced that it has plans to launch digital banking services in various states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Goa. It was supposed to launch the same facility in association with the Taisys Technologies that started its India operation a year ago. Taisys has indigenously developed the banking solution in cooperation with Yes Bank.

The SIMsePAY service was launched in Dehradun on 30 November 2016.

MCC Committee recommends limiting bat size edges and red card suspension

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Committee on 7 December 2016 recommended limiting bat size edges and depths along with many other suggestions.

The recommendations were made by the MCC’s World Cricket Committee, headed by former England captain Mike Brearley, to bring about a balance between bat and ball.

The suggestions were made during a two-day meeting of the committee in Mumbai, which hosts the fourth Test between India and England from 8 December 2016.

The recommendations will be sent to the main MCC Committee. If approved, these changes will be implemented into the new code of the Laws of Cricket, which will be introduced on 1 October 2017.

Major recommendations made by the Committee

The committee has come up with a radical proposal of introducing a football-hockey-like red card as punishment for violent acts on the cricket field.

It deliberated on the ball-tampering laws, which it felt will remain unaltered.

The committee was split vertically on the possibility of reducing Test cricket from a five-day affair to a four-day one.

It urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to continue to work towards introducing a World Test Championship and presenting the case for cricket at the Olympic Games and changing the law on ball striking a fielder’s helmet.

It was announced that 60% of the world’s professional players supported the decision to limit the bat size to 40 mm on edges and 67 mm for depths, including 7 mm for curvature.

Also, umpires will be given the power to expel cricketers from a game for serious disciplinary breaches. The player can be ejected for threatening an umpire, physically assaulting another player, official or spectator or for any other act of violence on the field of play.

About Marylebone Cricket Club

MCC is a cricket club based in London.

It was founded in 1787.

It was formerly the governing body of cricket both in England and Wales as well as worldwide.

In 1788, it revised the Laws of Cricket and continues to reissue them, and remains the copyright holder.

In 1993, many of its global functions were transferred to the International Cricket Council.

Pakistani plane crashed in northern Pakistan Mountain

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-661 crashed with 47 people, including five crew members and 42 passengers, on board into a mountain near the town of Havelian, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The plane crashed on 7 December 2016 en route from Chitral to the capital, Islamabad.

Plane carrying Brazilian first division football team crashes in Colombia

Junaid Jamshed, a well-known Pakistani pop star turned evangelical Muslim cleric, is among those dead. Jamshed was one of Pakistan’s first and most successful rock and pop bands of the 1990s. After abandoning his musical career in 2001, he became a travelling evangelist with the conservative Tableeghi Jamaat group.

The dead also included three foreigners, two Austrians and a Chinese man, as well as a member of Chitral's traditional royal family and his wife.

Chapecoense air tragedy: From dream to disaster

As per chairman of the airlines, recovery operations continued late into the night at the remote crash site.
As per reports, captain of the Pakistani flight that crashed reported losing power in one engine minutes before its plane lost contact with the control tower.

India to train Vietnam's Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter pilots

India on 5 December 2016 inked an agreement with Hanoi to train the pilots of Vietnam's fleet of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MK2 'Flanker F' multirole combat aircraft.

The agreement was signed in New Delhi by Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Vietnamese counterpart, General Ngo Xuan Lich.

Key highlights of the agreement

As per the deal, the training of the fighter pilots from the Vietnam People's Army Air Force (VPAAF) by Indian Air Force (IAF) instructors will commence in early 2017.

The two air forces are expected to imminently work out the details on the number of pilots to be trained, the scope of their instruction and the overall cost.

The overall cost will not be paid through the USD 500 million Line of Credit (LoC) extended by Delhi to Hanoi for defence procurements.

Comment

Both India and Vietnam operate Russian Su-30 jets. However, the two countries’ models differ slightly in their configuration. India operates over 200 Su-30MKI fighters and nine Kilo-class diesel electric submarines.

Both the countries have been steadily enhancing their cooperation, especially in the defence sector, against the backdrop of the growing assertiveness of China in the region.

Bilateral ties between Indian and Vietnam recently received a further impetus when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam in September 2016.

RBI releases fifth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2016-17

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7 December 2016 released the fifth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2016-17, the first policy review post-demonetisation.

The key announcement under the policy was that the policy Repo Rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) was kept unchanged at 6.25 percent. This decision was taken on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation.

Reverse Repo Rate: Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate under the LAF remains unchanged at 5.75 percent.
Marginal standing facility (MSF) Rate: The MSF rate was also kept unchanged at 6.75 percent.
Bank Rate: The Bank Rate also stands at 6.75 percent.

The policy decision was taken by Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India.

Assessment of the economy

Global growth picked up modestly in the second half of 2016. Activity in Advanced Economies (AEs) improved following the recovery in the US economy.
In the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs), growth was moderate, but policy stimulus in China shored up momentum.
International financial markets were strongly impacted by the result of the US presidential elections 2016 and incoming data raised the probability of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy.
Following the election results, the surge of the US dollar from late October intensified and resulted in considerable depreciations in currencies around the world. Gold lost its safe place to the increasing US dollar. Crude prices firmed after the OPEC’s decision to cut output.
On the domestic front, the growth of real Gross Value Added (GVA) in Q2 of 2016-17 turned out to be lower due to the slowdown in industrial activity. Manufacturing slowed down consecutively. Gross fixed capital formation contracted for the third consecutive quarter.
In Q3, the Committee felt that the assessment is impacted by the withdrawal of specified bank notes (SBNs) under the demonetisation plan. The agriculture sector showed the robust performance in Q2. By contrast, industrial activity remained weak.
Among the core industries in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the output of coal contracted in October due to less demand, while the production of crude oil and natural gas contracted under the binding constraint of structural impediments.
The production of cement, fertilisers and electricity continued to slow down. On the other hand, steel output recorded nonstop expansion following the application of countervailing duties.
The demonetisation plan could momentarily interrupt some part of industrial activity in November-December due to delays in payments of wages and purchases of inputs.
In the services sector, the outlook is mixed with construction, trade, transport, hotels and communication impacted by demonetisation effects.
While public administration, defence and other services would continue to be sustain by the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) award and one rank one pension (OROP).
Retail inflation measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased more than expected for the third consecutive month in October, driven down by a sharper than anticipated deflation in the prices of vegetables.
The elevated prices of sugar and protein-rich items, along with a turning up of prices of cereals, pulses and processed foods pushed up the momentum of food prices.
In the fuel category, inflation eased with the decline in LPG prices on an annual basis and a fall in electricity prices from a month ago. Inflation excluding food and fuel continues to show strong persistence.
Although housing and personal care inflation diminished marginally, the steady rise in inflation in respect of education, medical and health services, transport and communication imparted stickiness to inflation.
Liquidity conditions underwent large shifts in Q3 so far. Surplus conditions in October and early November were overwhelmed by the impact of demonetisation from 8 November 2016. Currency in circulation fell by Rs 7.4 trillion up to 2 December 2016.
Consecutively, deposits surged into the banking system leading to a massive increase in its excess reserves. The RBI scaled up its liquidity operations through variable rate reverse repo auctions of a wide range of tenors from overnight to 91 days, absorbing liquidity of Rs 5.2 trillion.
In the external sector, India’s merchandise exports rebounded in September and October. After a prolonged fall for 22 months, imports rose in October on the back of a sharp rise in the volume of gold imports and higher payments for POL imports.
Net Foreign Direct Investment remained reasonably good with more than half going to manufacturing, communication and financial services.
The level of foreign exchange reserves was 364 billion USD on 2 December 2016.

Comment

The withdrawal of SBNs (demonetisation) may result in a possible temporary reduction in inflation of the order of 10-15 basis points in Q3. The headline inflation is projected at 5 percent in Q4 of 2016-17 with risks tilted to the upside but lower than in the October policy review.
The fuller effects of the house rent allowances under the 7th Pay Commission award are yet to be assessed.
The outlook for GVA growth for 2016-17 has turned out to be uncertain after the unexpected loss of momentum by 50 basis points in Q2 and the effects of demonetisation which are still playing out.
Downside risks in the near term could travel through two major channels- short-run disruptions in economic activity in cash-intensive sectors and aggregate demand compression associated with adverse wealth effects.
The supply disruptions in the backwash of currency replacement may drag down the growth this year. Moreover, volatility in crude prices and the surge in financial market turbulence could put the inflation target for Q4 of 2016-17 at some risk.
It has become prudent to look through the momentary but uncertain effects of the withdrawal of SBNs while setting the monetary policy stance. Accordingly, the policy repo rate has been kept unchanged in this review.

Triple Talaq is unconstitutional and violates rights of Muslim women: Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court on 8 December 2016 declared ‘Triple Talaq’ as unconstitutional. The single judge bench of Justice Sunit Kumar observed that no Personal Law Board is above the Constitution.

SC sought Union Government view on petition challenging Triple Talaq & Polygamy practices

The verdict was pronounced while deciding two separate writ petitions that the ‘Triple Talaq’ practice, sanctioned under Muslim personal law that governs marriage, property and divorce - violated the rights of Muslim women.

Incidentally, the practice of ‘Triple Talaq’ has been challenged in the Supreme Court of India by several women. The Union Government has told the top court that it is against gender justice, equality and the Constitution. It had said that the issue of the validity of triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala should be considered in accordance with the principles of gender justice as well as dignity and equality.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has slammed Allahabad Court’s order stating that it is against Shariat. The board said that the order will be studied by its legal committee and challenged in the Supreme Court.

Comment: Triple Talaq is an Islamic practice of divorcing a woman in which the male counterpart of the woman pronounces the word talaq, three successive times. This judgement can be termed as a major boost for women right.

Serendipity Arts Festival to be held in Goa

The Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) is scheduled to be held from 16 December to 23 December 2016 in Goa.

The festival will see a stellar line-up of 33 global artists, who will display their work at the eight-day inspiration-packed festival.

More than 40 exciting projects and exhibitions featuring famous artists, like Kabi Raj Lama, Bandu Manamperi, Escif, Billy Chang, SP Pushpakanthan, Lisa Stertz and Paquito Gonzalees, will be a part of the festival.

Focus areas of the festival

Promoting patronage of the arts

Creating a space for interdisciplinary exploration across the arts

Being a driver for arts education

Connecting young aspiring artists and students with the professional possibilities of the art world in India

Connecting Indian arts community with international discourses in art

About the Serendipity Arts Festival

The Serendipity Arts Festival will be held on the banks of River Mandovi in Goa.

The festival is envisioned as a space, which brings together the visual, performing and culinary arts.

The festival is curated by a panel of artists and institutional figures.

The festival is a long-term cultural project that hopes to affect positive change in the arts in India on a large scale.

It is a cultural experiment that hopes to affect the way Indians interact with art on a daily basis by addressing issues such as arts education, interdisciplinary discourse, accessibility of the arts and patronage culture.

11 MoUs signed during PETROTECH 2016

In the PETROTECH-2016, 11 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed among various companies. The PETROTECH meet was held in the month of December 2016.

Among these 11 MoUs, a consortium agreement was signed between IOCL, BPCL and HPCL to set up India’s biggest oil refinery cum petrochemical complex with around 60 MMTPA capacity along the western Coast of India in Maharashtra.

List of the MoUs

MoU signed between	MoU Title	Purpose
IOCL, BPCL and HPCL	Consortium Agreement between Indian Oil Corporation as Lead Member and HPCL & BPCL in relation to pre-project activities for establishment of West Coast Refinery and Petrochemicals Project through creating a joint venture company amongst the Parties	This intends to set up India’s biggest oil refinery cum petrochemical complex with around 60 MMTPA capacity along the western Coast of India in Maharashtra. The parties will enter into a Consortium Agreement with Indian Oil as Lead Member and HPCL & BPCL as other partners.
Oil India Limited and Technology Incubation Centre, IIT Guwahati	MoU with IIT, Guwahati for supporting OIL’s start up initiative	Under this MoU, Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) of IIT-G will serve as an incubator with respect to housing and mentoring start-ups as per Oil India Limited Start-Up Initiative.
ONGC and IIT Mumbai	MoU with IIT, Mumbai for supporting ONGC’s Start-Up Initiative	This MoU intends to prepare a Roadmap for ONGC’s Start Up Initiative which will work on problems related to the energy sector and for enhancing the operational capabilities of ONGC.
ONGC and Halliburton	SoU between ONGC and Halliburton	The purpose of this Summary of Understanding (SoU) is for Production Enhancement Contract in Kalol field in Gujarat.
ONGC and Schlumberger	SoU between ONGC and Schlumberger	The purpose of this SoU is for Production Enhancement Contract in Geleki field in Assam. The terms are primarily governed by suggested Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East India.
IOCL and Praj Industries Ltd	Binding MOU for development of Ligno-Cellulosic Ethanol Plants.	This is a Cost Sharing Agreement between IOCL and Praj Industries Ltd. IOCL is planning to set up a 2G biomass to ethanol plant at Dahej, Gujarat with a capacity of 100 KL/day.
IOCL and Praj Industries Ltd	Binding MOU() for development of Ligno-Cellulosic Ethanol Plants.	This is also a Cost sharing Agreement between IOCL and Praj Industries Ltd. Under this, IOCL is planning to set up a 2G Biomass to Ethanol plant at Panipat, Haryana of 100 KL per day capacity.
BPCL and Institute of Chemical Technology	MoU for Technology Transfer for setting up of 2G Biomass Ethanol Bio-refinery at Bina, M.P.	BPCL is setting-up 2G Biomass Ethanol Bio-refinery in Bina, MP with a capacity to process 400 tonnes/day of Biomass. The plant will provide an indirect employment to 1000 people and the plant is expected to be commissioned in December 2018.
BPCL and Praj Industries Ltd	MoU for Technology Transfer for setting up of 2G Biomass Ethanol Bio-refinery at Bargarh, Odisha	BPCL is setting-up 2G Biomass Ethanol Bio-refinery in Bargarh, Odisha with a capacity to process 400 tonnes/day of Biomass. The plant is expected to be commissioned in December 2018.
HPCL and Department of Investment Promotion, Govt. of Punjab	MoU for setting up 2^ndGeneration Ethanol Bio-refinery	A 100 KL per day capacity Second Generation Ethanol plant is proposed to be set up by HPCL in Bhatinda, Punjab. The plant will help in abatement of environmental concerns due to burning of Biomass in state.
HPCL and Institute of Chemical Technology	MoU with Technology provider for 2^nd Generation Ethanol Bio-refinery	This purpose of this MoU is to explore technology tie-up for the proposed Second Generation Ethanol plant at Bhatinda.

Researchers discover hot hydrogen atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere

A team of researchers from University of Illinois discovered the existence of hot atomic hydrogen (H) atoms in an upper layer of Earth's atmosphere, known as the thermosphere.

The finding was recently published in the report titled Nature Communications.

The discovery significantly changes current understanding of the distribution of hot atomic hydrogen and its interaction with other atmospheric constituents.

Key highlights of the finding

The discovery was enabled by the development of new numerical techniques and their application to years' worth of remote sensing measurements acquired by NASA's Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite.

Atomic hydrogen efficiently scatters ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. The amount of scattered light sensitively depends on the amount of Hydrogen atoms that are present in the atmosphere. As an outcome, remote observations of the scattered H emission can be used to probe the abundance and spatial distribution of H.

In order to extract information about the upper atmosphere from such measurements, one needs to calculate exactly how the solar photons are scattered.

The researchers, under support from the National Science Foundation and NASA, developed a model of the radiative transfer of the scattered emission. This was done along with a new analysis technique that incorporated a transition region between the lower and upper extents of the H distribution.

The analysis of the TIMED data led to the counter-intuitive finding that the temperature of the H atoms in the thermosphere increases significantly with declining solar activity. The finding is in contrast to the ambient atmospheric temperature, which decreases with declining solar activity.

It was also found that the presence of such hot H atoms in the thermosphere significantly affects the distribution of the H atoms throughout the entire atmosphere.

Comment

Hot H atoms had been theorized to exist at very high altitudes, above several thousand kilometres. However, the new finding suggests that they exist as low as 250 kilometres. The origin of such hot H atoms, previously thought not to be able to exist in the thermosphere, is still a mystery.

The ongoing atmospheric escape of Hydrogen atoms is the reason why Mars has lost the majority of its water.

H atoms play a critical role in the physics governing the Earth's upper atmosphere. Also, it serves as an important shield for satellites in low-earth orbit against the harsh space environment.

Astronaut John Glenn, the 1st American to Orbit Earth, dies at 95

Former US astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, died on 8 December 2016. He was 95. The ex-Marine and Senator had been in hospital in Columbus, Ohio, for more than a week.

John Glenn was best known for circling the earth in 1962. He circled the planet aboard the Friendship 7 space capsule. This achievement of Glenn marked the moment the US caught up with the Soviet Union in manned space exploration.

After returning to Earth, Glenn was elected in 1974 as a Democrat to the US Senate, where he served for 24 years.

John Glenn

• He was the last of NASA's original seven astronauts to die.

• He circled the world three times on board the Mercury capsule "Friendship 7" before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean on 20 February 1962.

• At the age of 77, he also became the oldest person, worldwide, to fly into space. He went to the orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

• He was the colonel in the US Marine Corps and flew combat flights during the Second World War and Korean War.

• He was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honours awarded by the United States and Congressional Gold Medal.

• In 1959, he was named as an astronaut. He was named as the astronaut after he set a transcontinental speed record flying a jet to New York from California in three hours and 23 minutes.

• Glenn served as an advisor to NASA until 1964.