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Lawyers plan nationwide agitations against Advocates
(Amendment) Bill, 2017
Bar Council of India (BCI) has called for a nationwide stir against what they allege
as the undemocratic provisions of the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
BCI has planned to submit a memorandum to the Union Law Minister to reject the
Law Commissions suggestions to amend the Act.
The Law Commission of India has proposed various amendments to the Advocates
Act, 1961 so as to usher in forward-looking reforms in the legal profession.
It has placed before the government, the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
BCIs objections
BCI has condemned those proposals that deter lawyers from going on strike
and also those that allow entry of foreign law firms and lawyers to practice in
India.
According to BCI, the Law Commission has hastily prepared the amendment
bill without waiting for its final suggestions.
It has stated that all the proposed amendments will take away the freedom of
lawyers to practice fearlessly in the court proceedings.
The Law Commission as a part of its recommendations has proposed that the
bar council(s) should comprise one non-lawyer member so that it can be
made sure that effective actions are taken against lawyers indulging in
professional misconduct.
BCI has vehemently opposed this demand too. It says that this provision will
destroy the autonomy of the state council and the Bar Council of India.
Law Commissions Response
According to Law Commission, the recommendations was worked out after
receiving the suggestions of the BCI, which clearly supported for imposing
punitive action against those lawyers who go on strike causing inconvenience
to the litigants and the justice delivery system.
Law Commission also feels that if medical councils, press councils and other
institutions can have members from other fields then bar councils can also
have non-lawyers as members so as to usher in accountability in the system.
Cabinet approves permission to avail external assistance by State
Government entities from bilateral agencies
The Union Cabinet has approved the policy guidelines to allow financially sound
State Government entities to borrow directly from bilateral ODA (Official development
Assistance) partners for implementation of vital infrastructure projects.
The guidelines will facilitate the State Government entities to directly borrow from
the external bilateral funding agencies subject to fulfilment of certain conditions and
all repayments of loans and interests to the funding agencies will be directly remitted
by the concerned borrower.
The concerned State Government will furnish guarantee for the Loan. The
Government of India will provide counter guarantee for the loan.
Significance of this move:
Several State agencies are implementing major infrastructure projects of national
importance.
These projects, even if viable and sound, have huge funding requirements and
borrowing by the State Governments for such projects may exhaust their
respective borrowing limits.
Therefore, in order to accelerate the pace of investment in major infrastructure
projects in the country without compromising the need for external assistance
for other sectors, this enabling provision in the existing guidelines was
considered necessary to facilitate direct borrowing by the State Government
entities from bilateral external agencies.
Present scenario: Presently, external development assistance from bilateral and
multilateral sources is received by the Government of India:
For projects/programmes in the Central sector.
For projects executed by Central Public Sector Undertakings.
On behalf of the State Governments for State sector projects/programmes to be
implemented by the State Governments and/or local bodies and public sector
undertakings.
The existing guidelines do not allow direct borrowings by the State Government
entities from external agencies.
Government launches programme for capacity building of Elected
Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats
The Ministry of W omen and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of
Panchayati Raj has launched a nationwide programme for capacity building of
Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats and a training program for
Trainers of women panchayat leaders at Ranchi, Jharkhand.
The Ministry of W omen and Child Development has launched the programme
representatives at the grassroots level in various fields like engineering (building of
roads, drains, latrines etc.), finance, social development, education, health, and
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environment among others.
In the first phase of the training, 40 master trainers of Jharkhand will be trained
at the State institute of Rural Development, Ranchi.
In the second phase, around 3000 Elected Women Representatives (EW Rs)
will be imparted training by the master trainers at the districts of Simdega,
Pakur and Chatra of Jharkhand.
At present, there are around 13 lakhs EWRs in panchayats throughout the country.
In subsequent phases, similar training modules will be organised in different
states throughout the country with the help of National Institute of Rural
Development, State Institutes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Departments of the States.
Union Cabinet decides to ban use of red beacon by VIPs from
May 1
The Union Cabinet has put a
ban on the use of red beacons
at cars of VIPs.
Only three categories were
exempted from the ban. They
are the President, Vice-
President and Chief Justice of
India.
The exemption also applies
to the emergency service vehicles.
Accordingly, fire brigade, ambulance services, police vehicles and other
emergency services will be allowed to use the blue beacon.
The decision will come into force from May 1, 2017.
In effect, the ban is applicable to the prime minister, union ministers, chief
ministers, state cabinet ministers, bureaucrats and judges of the High Court
and Supreme Court.
The decision was taken to end VIP culture.
As per the existing practice, a red light beacon can be used atop of vehicles of
high dignitaries specified by the Central and State government.
As per the notification issued by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in
2005, the following dignitaries were eligible to use red light with a flasher.
They are the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Former President, Deputy
Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Cabinet Ministers
of the Union, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Former Prime Ministers,
Leaders of Oppositions in the Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha, Judges of the Supreme
Court.
As per the present decision, neither the state nor the central government can
nominate any members to use the red beacon.
Allahabad HC becomes pilot project for case backlog study
The Supreme Court has decided to put the Allahabad HC under the microscope
as a pilot project to investigate how High Courts deal with pendency.
This is a target-specific exercise to study how criminal appeals face years of
delay as appellants face inhuman compulsions inside jails.
The court has called for real-time statistics from the Allahabad HC and has also
roped in some senior advocates to assist the Supreme Court.
The court has directed the HC Registrar to hand over particulars of the criminal
appeals, category-wise and year-wise, for the study in four weeks.
It also sought the High Court to produce details of the institution and disposal
statistics of last 10 years, average disposal time of the appeals, identified causes
for the delay, steps already taken and in contemplation for tackling and
accelerating disposals, mechanism in place to oversee the process and
progress recorded.
China announces names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh
China has unilaterally announced standardised names for six places in
Arunachal Pradesh.
It is felt that Chinese move comes as a retaliation against Dalai Lamas visit to
Arunachal Pradesh.
Experts feel that Chinas announcement is aimed at reaffirming its territorial
sovereignty over the region.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, change of names was a legitimate
action carried out in line with Chinese law.
China has named the six places in Arunachal Pradesh with Roman alphabet as
Wogyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidngarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bmo La and Namkapub Ri.
The name Wogyainling is likely to be given to the Ugyen Ling monastery
(birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama), Qoidngarbo Ri is likely to be the name
given to Choten Karpo Ri, Mainquka is likely to be Mechuka in West Siang
district and Bmo La is likely to be Bumla.
During the visit of Dalai Lama, Union minister of state for home Affairs Kiren
Rijiju, had categorically asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is an inseparable and
integral part of India.
Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 02
Technical textiles use in govt. projects gets push
Technical textiles or functional textiles, considered a sunrise sector in the country,
is all set for demand taking off for products such as geo and agro textiles.
Technical Textiles are defined as Textile material and products manufactured
primarily for their Technical performance and functional properties rather than
aesthetic and decorative characteristics.
Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles (e.g.,
implants), geotextiles (reinforcement of embankments), agrotextiles (textiles for
crop protection), and protective clothing (e.g., heat and radiation protection for fire
fighter clothing, molten metal protection for welders, stab protection and bulletproof
vests, and spacesuits).
Functional textiles can be woven or non-woven. Automobile, geo, medical,
industrial, and agro textiles are among the range of products that are made in the
country.
Technical textiles is a fragmented sector with several small and medium-scale
industries manufacturing specialised products.
The main challenges for technical textiles in the country are awareness among
consumers, need for technology and knowledge about it among entrepreneurs,
the investments and time needed to be innovative and develop applications, and
raw material availability.
Union Cabinet clears Election Commissions proposal to buy
VVPAT machines
The Union Cabinet has cleared the Election Commissions proposal to buy new
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.
The machines are expected to be used in the 2019 General Elections.
The Union Cabinet has permitted the Election Commission (EC) to procure
16,15,000 units, at an estimated base price of Rs. 3,173.47 crore.
So far, EC has sent at least 11 reminders to the Centre seeking funds for procuring
VVPAT machines.
The Centre has chosen Bengaluru-based Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and
Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) to manufacture the
VVPAT units.
The government has also directed the Price Negotiation Committee to negotiate
the final unit price.
It is expected that the two PSUs will need at least 30 months to produce over 16
lakh VVPATs.
VVPAT machines-
The usage of VVPAT machines of the Election Commission is expected to
ensure free and fair elections.
In the VVPAT system, when a voter presses the button for a candidate of his
choice in the electronic voting machines (EVM), a paper ballot containing the
serial number, the name of the candidate and poll symbol will be printed for
the voter.
The voters will be able to view the voter-verifiable paper audit trail slip for
seven seconds after which it will get deposited in a sealed box.
VVPAT machines can be regarded as an independent verification system as
it (i) allows voters to verify that their votes are cast correctly, (ii) detects
possible election fraud or malfunction and (iii) Provides a means to audit the
stored electronic results.
Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017 and National
Commission for Backward Classes (Repeal) Bill, 2017
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has given Ex-post facto approval
for introduction of the following bills in the Parliament:
Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-third Amendment) Bill 2017.
National Commission for Backward Classes (Repeal) Bill, 2017.
The proposed Act of repeal is necessary in view of setting up of the National
Commission for Backward Classes by insertion of Article 338B of the Constitution.
The decision will also enable effecting continuity in the functioning of the National Requirement to introduce because
Commission for Backward Classes under Article 338B.
The Constitution Amendment Bill is for:
Constitution of a Commission under Article 338B for socially and educationally
backward classes by name of National Commission for Backward Classes.
Insertion of Clause (26C) under Article 366 with modified definition viz. socially
and educationally backward classes means such backward classes as are
so deemed under Article 342A for the purpose, this Constitution.
NCBC repeal Bill is for:
Repeal of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 along
with Savings Clause for namely the National Commission for Backward
Classes (Repeal) Bill, 2017.
Dissolution of the National Commission for Backward Classes with effect
from such date as the Central Government may appoint in this behalf and
the National Commission for Backward Classes constituted under sub-
section (1) of Section 3 of the said Act shall stand dissolved.
PM inaugurates phase-I of the Link-2 pipeline canal of SAUNI
project
Prime Minister has inaugurated phase-I (Link-2)
pipeline canal of the ambitious Saurashtra
Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana in
Botad district of Gujarat.
He laid foundation stone for the Phase-II (Link-2)
of the SAUNI Yojana in Saurashtra.
The design of Link-2 is to pump Narmada water
in 17 dams spread across Botad, Bhavnagar and Amreli
districts of Gujarat.
This is considered as a second milestone of the Rs 12,000
crore projects to pump Narmada water to the arid
Saurashtra region.
Link-1 canal will take water to 30 dams in Jamnagar and
Devbhoomi Dwarka districts. Last year, in August, Prime
Minister dedicated phase-I of the Link-I canal to the nation.
About SAUNI project:
The project is not a part of the Narmada project but is based
on it.
The entire SAUNI project envisages supplying water for irrigation castes and
purposes to 10.22 lakh acres of land in Saurashtra region.
Under this project, one million acre feet (MAFT) of floodwaters of Narmada will
be diverted to the Saurashtra region.
In total, 1,126-kilometre-long network of giant pipelines would be laid to fill up
115 reservoirs in the Saurashtra region by diverting flood waters overflowing
from the Sardar Sarovar Dam across the Narmada in south Gujarat.
The project aims to utilize the floodwater which otherwise overflows the Narmada
dam during monsoon and drains into the sea.
Under the SAUNI project, instead of open canals, pipelines are used.
The massive pipelines of SAUNI project will run underground and thus requires
no acquisition of farmers land and results in less water loss.
The pumping stations for the project will be constructed on government land.
The project envisages filling irrigation dams that already have canal networks
to channel water to farms.
Therefore, technically, SAUNI project is a link project. Under the project, four
trunk lines (Link I, II, III and IV) will carry water to the 115 dams spread across
the 11 districts of the Saurashtra region.
Link-1 of the project (180 km) originates from the Machhu II dam in Morbi district
and carries Narmada water to 30 dams.
Link-2 (253 km) originates from Limdi Bhogavo II dam in Surendrangar, and
supplies water to 17 dams.
Link-3 (245 km) originates from Dholi Dhaja dam in Surendranagar and ends
at Venu I dam of Rajkot district, carrying water to 28 dams along its length.
Link-4 originates from Limdi Bhogavo II dam and ends at Hiran II dam in Gir
Somnath district.
Vastu Shashtra to be introduced in IIT Kharagpur
IIT Kharagpur plans to introduce Vastu Shashtra to the architecture students from
this year August.
While the rudiments of Vastu Shastra will be introduced to the first and second-
year undergraduate architecture students, detailed grounding on the subject will
be imparted to the post graduate and research scholars in infrastructure.
For the UG students, graded modules related to basic design and history of
architecture will be taught.
For the PG level, modules imparting solar principles, sacred diagrams, 9 circuit
placements or the nabagraha mandal, sacred altars and design semiotics and
semantics will be taught.
The faculty members of IIT Kharagpur feels that Vastu Shastra as a concept
needs to be included in the architecture and infrastructure syllabi.
They are of the view that students be conversant with ancient Indian architectural
traditions.
They believe that ancient Indian concepts have a scientific basis and introducing
students to these will open up new avenues of knowledge.
The basic concept of Vastu Shastra revolves around the healthy relationship
of nature and infrastructure and hence has modern relevance.
Legal Aid and Empowerment initiatives
Three key legal aid and empowerment initiatives of the Department of Justice were
recently launched.
These initiatives are aimed at fulfilling the departments core mandate of enhancing
access to justice for the poor and vulnerable communities, including making
accessible quality and effective legal aid for them.
Following initiatives were launched:
Pro bono legal Services:
The Pro bono legal
services initiative is a
web based platform,
through which interested
lawyers can register
themselves to volunteer
pro bono services for the
underprivileged litigants,
who are unable to afford
it.
The Department of Justice
has launched the online
application for this
initiative on its website
doj.gov.in.
Through this online portal,
litigants from marginalised
communities(including
members of scheduled
scheduled tribes, women,
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 03
children, senior citizens, persons with low income and persons with
disabilities) can also apply for legal aid and advice from the pro bono lawyers.
This is aimed at fulfilling the mandate of quality legal aid for all.
Tele Law: Mainstreaming Legal Aid through Common Service Centre:
Through this initiative, the Department of Justice and NALSA are partnering
with CSC- E- Governance Service Limited for mainstreaming legal aid to the
marginalized communities through the Common Service Centers (CSCs).
This initiative is aimed at facilitating delivery of legal advice through an expert
panel of lawyers stationed at the State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA).
The project would connect lawyers with clients through video conferencing
facilities at CSCs, operated by para legal volunteers.
For this purpose, this initiative would also play a pivotal role in empowering
1000 women para legal volunteers.
Using CSCs for mainstreaming legal aid services for the marginalized at the
panchayat levels would ensure that legal aid reaches populations which
remained untouched due to geographical challenges and/or lack of
infrastructure.
The project would be launched across 1800 panchayats in Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, North Eastern States and Jammu & Kashmir.
District Facilitation Centre to reduce pendency: Engagement of Nyaya Mitra
Nyaya Mitra scheme is aimed at reducing pendency of cases across selected
districts, with special focus on those pending for more than 10 years.
Functionalized through a retired judicial or executive officer (with legal
experience) designated as the Nyaya Mitra, the project would be operated
out of District Facilitation Centres, housed in CSCs.
Nyaya Mitras responsibilities would include among others assistance to
litigants who are suffering due to delay in investigations or trial, by actively
identifying such cases through the National Judicial Data Grid, providing
legal advice and connecting litigants to DLSA, CSC Tele Law, other
government agencies and civil society organisations.
He/she shall also refer the marginalized applicants to Lok Adalats for dispute
resolution and render assistance towards prison reforms within the district,
in coordination with the district judiciary and other stakeholders.
This initiative would be launched in 227 districts including 27 districts from
North East and Jammu & Kashmir and 200 districts from Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Gujarat, West Bengal etc. and would
be operated out of CSCs.
PM launches cashless/less cash township models across 12
states
Prime Minister has launched 81 cashless/less cash townships across 12 states
in Nagpur.
The 81 townships included 56 in Gujarat and 25 in 11 states including Delhi,
Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Chhatisgarh.
The model of cashless/less cash township was developed by Gujarat Narmada
Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) across these States under the
auspices of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
GNFCs township at Bharuch (Gujarat) had become Indias first 100% cashless
township after demonetization.
It is expected that these 81 townships will deliver 2.5 lakh cashless transactions
per day, translating into 9 crore cashless transactions in a year.
The townships for adopting GNFCs model were selected based on a third-party
assessment by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC).
The chosen 81 townships belonged to that of central public sector companies
such as ONGC, Indian Oil, NTPC, SAIL, BHEL, NMDC, CRPF, BSF and Police
Lines and also to private sector townships like Reliance, Essar, Adani, Birla Aditya,
Welspun etc.
Criteria for qualification of a township to a less cash township are:
Townships must have completed the payment acceptance infrastructure;
All the families residing in the townships must have been covered under
training programmes;
80% of total transactions during the review period should have been done
through digital modes.
NITI Aayog has appreciated GNFCs model and had advised Central ministries
and CMDs of 300-plus central PSUs for quickly adopting to this model.
As per the study conducted by PWC on GNFCs cashless initiative, following
benefits have been identified:
It resulted in financial inclusion, cashlessness as a lifestyle, better parental
control over childs expenses, womens empowerment, more convenience
in performing transactions and social upliftment.
Over 96% of farmers during the assessment reported cost savings resulting
from fewer trips to fertiliser shops and discounts on cashless transactions.
They have also reported better money management.
Government covers 14 SC, ST, OBC and DNT scholarship
schemes under Digital Payments
The Government has stated that 14 scholarship schemes for Scheduled Castes
and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) / Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic
Tribes (DNTs) students come under Digital Payments Initiatives.
This is expected to benefit 3.54 crore students across the country.
As per the modalities of this initiative, all scholarship amount will be deposited in
the bank accounts of the students.
There will be a 60% Aadhaar seeding in SC student bank account.
Educational Empowerment is carried out by virtue of scholarships, hostels for
students, coaching facilities, capital for creation/upgradation of premises,
institution etc.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment spends 54 % of its Budget on
scholarships for Scheduled castes. In addition, the government has tasked each
branch of public sector banks to handhold at least one SC/ST youth, as an
entrepreneur, to generate more employment among the members of the
community.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal ministry for the
implementation of seven different types of scholarships. They are:
Post and Pre-Matric Scholarships;
Top Class Scholarship;
National Overseas Scholarships;
National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes administered by the UGC;
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Children of those engaged in unclean occupations;
Free Coaching for Scheduled Castes and OBCs (70: 30 ratio); and
Upgradation of merit.
Regulatory body issues new ad norms for celebrities
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the ad industrys self-regulatory
body, has released a set of guidelines for celebrity endorsing products.
As per the guidelines, celebrities are personalities from the field of entertainment
and sports and also includes other well known personalities like doctors, authors,
activists and educationists who gets compensation for appearing in
advertisements.
The guidelines aim to clamp down on random or exaggerated claims made by
celebrity advertising.
The objective of this move is to protect consumer interest while encouraging
celebrities and advertisers to refrain from endorsing misleading advertisements,
especially of products or services which can cause serious financial loss or physical
harm.
Important guidelines:
Celebrities must exercise due diligence to make sure that all description
claims and comparisons made in the advertisements that they endorse are
not misleading and deceptive.
It will be the duty of the advertiser and the advertising agency to make sure that
celebrities are aware about the ASCI guidelines.
ASCI have barred celebrities to endorse product/treatment/remedy that is
prohibited under The Drugs & Magic Remedies Act (Objectionable
Advertisements) and the Drugs & Cosmetic Act.
Celebrities should not endorse those products which by law require a health
warning on its packaging or advertisement.
Celebrities seeking the advice of ASCI to ascertain whether the advertisement
potentially violates any provision of the ASCI code or not would be considered
of having completed due diligence.
Also, the advertising advice of ASCI cannot be construed as pre-clearance for
an advertisement.
Significance of this move:
Celebrities have been deployed by marketers to add credibility to their brand
offering.
These celebrities, however, have a huge responsibility to ensure that the
products they endorse or feature in, are true to the claims made in those
advertising messages.
The guidelines will help in ensuring that claims made in advertising are not
misleading, false or go unsubstantiated
About ASCI: ASCI is a self regulatory, voluntary, non-governmental body of the
advertising industry founded in 1985. The aim of ASCI is to enhance the publics
confidence in advertising and ensure that all advertising material is truthful, legal,
honest, decent and not objectify women and fair.
INTERNATIONAL
India contributes USD 2,50,000 to Election Assistance Division
of UN
India has contributed USD 2,50,000 to the UN Election Assistance Division to help
other countries to hold elections and develop their electoral systems.
This is the second time that India has contributed USD 2,50,000 towards electoral
assistance and capacity building.
The first assistance was made in 2012.
Types of Assistance:
Technical assistance
Election observation and other assessments
Organization or Supervision of Elections.
UN entities providing electoral assistance:
The Department of Political Affairs (DPA)
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
The United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS)
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Madhesi Parties in Nepal unite to form a new united Political
Party
Five prominent Madhesi parties in Nepal have united to form a new united party
named the Rastriya Janata Party, which will be the fifth largest party in Nepals
Parliament.
Interestingly the word Madhes has not been included in the new partys name.
This announcement of unification has come ahead of elections to local government
bodies scheduled on May 14.
The five parties that have united are Mahantha Thakurs Tarai Madhes Loktantrik
Party, Rajendra Mahatos Sadbhawana Party, Sharat Singh Bhandaris Rastriya
Madhes Samajbadi Party, Mahendra Yadavs Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party
and Rajkishor Yadavs Madhesi Janadhikar Forum- Ganatantrik.
It has been announced that leaders of the five parties will lead the Rastriya Janata
Party by rotation.
The new party will continue to push for addressing the demands and grievances of
Madhesis including amendment of the Constitution.
The new party has warned the Nepal government that they would disrupt the
upcoming elections to local bodies if their demands, including proportional
representation in Parliament are not met.
Pakistan Leases Gwadar port to a State-run Chinese firm for 40
years
Pakistan has leased the operations of its strategic Gwadar port to a State-run
Chinese firm, the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) for a period of
40 years.
COPHC is slated to carry out all the developmental work on the port situated in the
Balochistan province of Pakistan.
COPHC took over the operations of the port in 2013. Previously, the control of the
Gwadar port was with Singapores PSA (Port of Singapore Authority) International.
As per the contract, 91% share of revenue collection from gross revenue of terminal
Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 04
and marine operations as well as 85% share from gross revenue of free zone
operation will go to the COPHC.
The provinces will not be given any share in the revenue collection. Gwadar Port is
a warm-water, deep-sea port situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Balochistan
province of Pakistan.
It is located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf just outside the strategically important
Strait of Hormuz.
It features as the southern Pakistan hub of the $57 billion China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan.
It is considered as a vital link between the Chinese One Belt, One Road initiative
and the Maritime Silk Road project.
Advantages for China
Gwadar offers China a shortest route to oil-rich West Asia and Africa.
China can use the port to transport fuel into north-western China, by transporting
oil and gas from the port through pipelines to Chinas Xinjiang province.
Having Gwadar under its command would change the security dynamics for
China.
As Chinas oil imports increase, it would prefer to insulate its energy transports
from the troubled waters of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.
Implications for India
Gwadar port offers serious strategic implications for India.
Gwadar provides China a key listening post to observe the Indian naval
activities around the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden.
The Gwadar port, if fully operationalised, will wean Pakistan away from near-
total dependence on Karachi, which is much closer to India and hence within
the Indian militarys strike range.
Lease of Gwadar port also helps China to encircle India (String of Pearls) and
gain strategic advantage in the region.
India has apprehensions that these ports could be used for military purpose
as well.
Chinese President announces military restructure of PLA
Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced a restructure of the Peoples
Liberation Army (PLA) with an aim to make it as a leaner fighting force with
enhanced joint operations capability.
President Xi Jinping is the chair of the Central Military Commission, and also
commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The present restructure is the second major phase of President Xis reforms.
Earlier in September 2015, President Xi announced a reduction in the number of
military personnel by 300,000.
Those reforms also included establishing a joint operational command structure
by 2020.
Xi is also seen rooting out corruption in the military by jailing dozens of senior
military officers.
China is also rapidly upgrading its military hardware owing to its increasingly
assertive stance about its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and its
plans to expand its military influence overseas.
Salient highlights
The new structure of PLA will have 84 units. All the 84 units will be at the
combined-corps level so that the commanders will hold the rank of major-
general or rear-admiral.
The members of the units would likely be regrouped from existing forces.
All the 84 units will be placed under 15 agencies.
The military restructure will be carried out by placing greater emphasis on
new capabilities including cyberspace, electronics and information warfare.
Trumps order targets H-1B programme
President Trump has signed an executive order that directs federal agencies to
review employment immigration laws to promote Hire American policies.
The order makes no immediate changes to work visa programs but tells the
Departments of Labor, Justice, Homeland Security and State to study existing
laws and procedures and recommend changes.
In the case of one program, H-1B temporary visas, the order directs the agencies
to suggest changes to help ensure that the visas are awarded to the most skilled,
best-paid immigrant workers.
The order also calls for a crackdown on fraud and abuse in the current system of
work visas which the agencies had already signaled they would do.
What is the H-1B program, and why is the president focused on it?
The H-1B program grants 65,000 work visas a year to foreigners, with 20,000
more visas granted to foreigners with advanced degrees and an unlimited
number of extra visas available for universities, teaching hospitals and other
nonprofit organizations.
The program is aimed at highly skilled workers, and most of the visas are
awarded to technology companies, although other specialty industries such
as fashion also use the visas.
Under federal law, employers that use a large number of H-1B workers are
supposed to document that they tried to hire Americans for the jobs.
All H-1B employers are also required to pay prevailing wages to the immigrant
workers who receive the visas.
Labor Department data shows that about 40% of the visas go to entry-level
workers and another 40% go to people with limited experience and skills.
The Trump administration says that more of the jobs performed by those
people could and should be filled by Americans.
How are the visas allocated?
Visa applications must be sponsored by employers.
Every April 1, the government begins accepting applications for the next fiscal
year, which starts Oct. 1.
This year, the government received 199,000 H-1B applications in the first five
days and then stopped accepting them.
Because there are more applicants than visas, the visas are awarded by
lottery.
Each visa is good for three years and can be renewed for three more years.
Immigrants who are applying for a permanent residency visa, known as a
green card, can typically stay longer while waiting for approval.
Australia visa cut to hit Indian IT workers
The Australian government has scrapped the Australian 457 visa programme that
allowed Australian companies to hire foreign workers in a number of skilled jobs
for a period up to four years.
The programme will be replaced with a more stringent system, making it difficult to
hire non-Australian citizens.
This is aimed at giving priority for Australian workers for Australian jobs.
According to the notification, the new visa programme will cut more than 200 eligible
jobs for skilled migrants from 651 to 435, visa fees are set to increase, and the
visas will be restricted to filling critical skills shortages.
New regime:
The new Australian visa will have two streams: one for the short term, allowing
entry for up to two years, and a medium-term option granting up to four years
access, which will similar to the current 457 visa, the Australian government
said. The occupation list for the four-year visa includes IT professionals, so
there continues to be visa options for skilled Indian nationals.
But both streams will come with several riders such as mandatory labour
market testing with limited exemptions, a new non-discriminatory workforce
test, criminal history checks, a market salary rate assessment and a new
two-year work experience requirement. Further, English language
requirements will be tightened for the medium-term stream.
The new visa will also include a strengthened training obligation for employers
sponsoring foreign skilled workers to provide enhanced training outcomes
for Australians in high-need industries and occupations.
How would this affect Indians?
The move is expected to impact Indian IT and other companies.
India provides the highest number of temporary skilled workers to Australia of
any country; eight out of the top 10 occupations for Indian 457 visa holders (as
at December 2016) were IT professionals.
According to the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
Indians constituted 76% of the total 457 visas issued in the three IT streams,
and 57% of permanent migrant visas issued in the skilled stream of workers
last year.
The Centre is studying the implications of the Australian governments decision to
scrap a visa programme that benefited Indians.
It has warned that the move could have an impact on negotiations on the free trade
agreement Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECA)
between both countries.
Australia announces sweeping changes to Citizenship laws
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has made sweeping changes to
Citizenship laws unveiling tighter requirements for new applicants.
This announcement follows the recent scrapping of the 457 visa program for foreign
workers, which was used majorly by the Indians.
The 457 programme was scrapped to tackle the growing unemployment in the
country.
Salient highlights
As per the new requirement, applicants for obtaining citizenship must be
permanent residents for at least four years, which is three years longer than
the present requirement.
The applicants must be committed to embrace Australian values and
respect the countrys laws.
The applicant should not have got involved in criminal activity, including family
violence or involvement in organised crime, which is thoroughly inconsistent
with Australian values.
The applicants have to pass a standalone English test which will focus heavily
on respect for women and children.
English language proficiency test is meant for economic participation and
integration into the Australian community and social cohesion.
The number of times an applicant can fail the citizenship is determined as
three.
At present, there is no restriction on the number of times an applicant can fail.
In addition, applicants will be automatically disqualified if they are found
cheating during the citizenship test.
President Erdogan wins sweeping powers
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the referendum on granting him
sweeping new powers by a clear majority.
The Yes vote garnered by Erdogan was 51.36% and No was 48.64%. while the
supporters of Erdogan has hailed the results, the two main opposition parties
have challenged the results.
The draft of the new constitution has the following salient features:
Next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 3 November
2019;
It provides for a five year tenure and maximum of two terms for the President;
The president will have powers to directly appoint top public officials, including
ministers;
President will be able to assign one or several vice-presidents;
The job of prime minister would be scrapped;
President will have power to intervene in the judiciary;
The president will have power to decide whether or not to impose a state of
emergency.
MOU / AGREEMENT
MoU Signed Between NSFDC & Development Commissioner
(Handlooms)
National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) under
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Development Commissioner
(Handlooms) under Ministry of Textiles have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU).
The objective of signing this MoU is to help Scheduled Caste weavers and their
families by promoting production and marketing of high value quality Handlooms
products at Block level Cluster in various States like Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Odisha etc.
As per the MoU, signing parties shall popularize the schemes of DC (Handlooms)
amongst the SC weavers through Awareness Programmes and advertisements in
electronic/print media in SC weavers concentrated areas.
They shall collaborate for capacity building including skill upgradation and economic
development of SC weavers and their families for achieving the desired outcome.
Exhibitions/Fairs shall be organized by both the parties for providing marketing
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 05
assistance to SC weavers for enhancing their earnings.
Both the parties shall also organize relevant skill development programmes for
up-gradation of skills of the scheduled caste weavers in clusters and also for
sharing knowledge and experience.
This endeavour shall enable scheduled caste weavers to sharpen their skills for
production and marketing of high value quality handloom products and better
marketing linkages and therefore to have more income.
NSFDC: NSFDC was set up in 1989 as a non profit company under Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India for financing, facilitating
and mobilizing funds for the economic empowerment of persons belonging to the
Scheduled Castes families living below double the Poverty Line.
Power Purchase Agreement for Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power
Project signed
Madhya Pradesh government has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA)
with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to supply 24% of electricity generated
from the Rewa ultra mega solar project to be set up in the state.
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMS) project is a joint venture of Solar Energy Corporation
of India and MP Urja Vikas Nigam, where in both parties have 50% stake.
When completed, it will be the worlds largest singlesite solar power project.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the lead transaction advisor for this
project that will mobilise USD 550 million in private investment and avoid a million
tonnes of GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions.
Uttar Pradesh signs Power for All agreement with Centre
The Uttar Pradesh government has signed an agreement with the Centre for
Power for All.
With this, Uttar Pradesh, which was the only state in the country which had not
signed the agreement, has finally come on board the central government scheme.
As a part of energy efficiency measures, 10,000 energy efficiency solar- panel
pumps will be distributed through Centres undertaking, Energy Efficiency Services
(EESL).
In addition, it has been agreed to distribute energy efficient bulbs, tube lights and
fans at cheaper rates.
Separately, the state government has also launched 1912 as the toll-free helpline
for the consumers in rural areas to communicate their grievances pertaining to
power and electricity.
About Power for All scheme
247 Power for All scheme is a joint initiative of the central and state governments,
with the objective of providing round-the-clock electricity to all households,
industry, commercial businesses and any other electricity consuming entities
within four years.
The government strives to provide 247 power across the country by 2019.
Logistics pact with U.S. almost done
India is all set to notify the operationalising of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum
of Agreement (LEMOA) with the U.S.
The notification includes designating the points of contact for the U.S. military to
work with and setting up a common account for payments.
The U.S., which has similar agreements with several countries, has already notified
the details.
After the notification, the U.S. is expected to formally ratify the agreement which will
then operationalise the pact.
LEMOA, a tweaked India-specific version of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA),
which the U.S. has with several countries it has close military to military cooperation.
It is also one of the three foundational agreements - as referred to by the U.S.
LEMOA gives access, to both countries, to designated military facilities on either
side for the purpose of refuelling and replenishment.
India and the U.S. already hold large number of joint exercises during which
payments are done each time, which is a long and tedious process.
Under the new agreement, a mechanism will be instituted for book-keeping and
payments and officials, who will act as nodal points of contact, will be designated
on both sides.
The agreement will primarily cover four areas port calls, joint exercises, training
and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. Any other requirement has to
be agreed upon by both sides on a case-by-case basis.
However, this is not a basing agreement. There will be no basing of the U.S.
troops or assets on Indian soil. This is purely a logistical agreement.
BANKING & ECONOMY
RBI raises red flag over banks telecom exposure
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised a red flag over banks loans to telecom
players and asked the lenders to increase their standard asset provisioning more
than what is prescribed so that they can built necessary resilience.
RBI has asked the banks to make provisions for standard assets in this sector at
higher rates so that necessary resilience is built in the balance sheets should the
stress reflect on the quality of exposure to the sector at a future date.
Telecom players are reeling under a huge debt estimated to be about 4.2 lakh
crore amid a tariff war and a consolidation among some of the players.
The telecom sector is reporting stressed financial conditions, and presently interest
coverage ratio for the sector is less than one.
Interest coverage ratio of less than one means the companys EBIDTA (Earnings
Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is not sufficient to repay
interest, let alone principal.
Government of India to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18
Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, has decided
to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18 - Series I.
The Bonds will be sold through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited
(SHCIL), designated post offices and recognised stock exchanges viz., National
Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange.
Key features of the bond:
Issuance: To be issued by Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of
India.
Eligibility: The Bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities
including individuals, HUFs, Trusts, Universities and Charitable Institutions.
Denomination: The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold
with a basic unit of 1 gram.
Tenor: The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from
5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
Minimum size: Minimum permissible investment will be 1 gram of gold.
Maximum limit: The maximum amount subscribed by an entity will not be
more than 500 grams per person per fiscal year (April-March). A self-
declaration to this effect will be obtained.
Interest rate: The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50% per
annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value.
Collateral: Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loantovalue (LTV)
ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank
from time to time.
Tradability: Bonds will be tradable on stock exchanges within a fortnight of the
issuance on a date as notified by the RBI.
Telangana Cabinet clears bill to increase quotas for STs, Muslims
Both the houses of Telangana Legislature have cleared a bill which increases the
reservations for Scheduled Tribes and backward sections among the Muslim
community in government jobs and educational institutions.
The Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
(Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in
the Services under the State) Bill, 2017 was cleared amid opposition from many
MLAs.
Under the bill, quota for STs will be increased to 10% from the existing 6%, while
that for BC-E category (the backward sections among the Muslim community) will
go up to 12% from the existing 4%.
The total reservations in the state, consequently, will go up to 62% from the existing
50%.
States like Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand already have reservations totalling more
than 50 percent.
The reservation exceeds the Supreme Courts 50% ceiling for such benefits. Now,
the Centre has to include the bill in the 9th schedule of Constitution to grant it
immunity from a judicial review.
RBI issues Revised Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework
for NPAs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with a revised prompt corrective
action (PCA) framework for banks.
The revised framework would apply to all banks operating in India including small
and foreign banks.
The revised norms have set out three thresholds. The thresholds are based
on capital, net nonperforming assets, profitability and leverage ratio.
Need for revised framework
RBI had promised to revise the PCA framework at its first monetary policy
review of the current fiscal held on April 6, as the bad loans including those
already restructured reached USD 80 billion or 15% of the system as of March
2017.
As per the estimates, the NPAs of state-run banks reached Rs 6.3 lakh crore
as of September compared to Rs 5.5 lakh crore at the end of June 2016.
Salient guidelines of revised PCA
Capital, Asset Quality and profitability would be the basis on which the banks
would be monitored.
Banks would be placed under PCA framework depending upon the audited
annual financial results and RBIs supervisory assessment.
RBI may also impose PCA on any bank including migration from one threshold
to another if circumstances so warrants.
RBI has defined three kinds of risk thresholds and the PCA will depend upon
the type of risk threshold that was breached.
If a bank breaches the risk threshold, then mandatory actions include the
restriction on dividend payment/remittance of profits, restriction on branch
expansion, higher provisions, restriction on management compensation
and directors fees.
Specifically, the breach of Risk Threshold 3 of CET1 (common equity tier 1)
by a bank would call for resolution through tools like amalgamation,
reconstruction, winding up among others.
RBI in its discretion can also carry out the following actions:
Recommend the bank owner be it government/promoters/parent of foreign
bank branch to bring in new management/board.
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 06
Advise banks board to activate the recovery plan as approved by the supervisor.
Advise banks board to carry out a detailed review of business model, the
profitability of business lines and activities, assessment of medium and long-
term viability, balance sheet projections among others.
Review short term strategies and medium-term business plans and carry out
any other corrective actions like the removal of officials and supersession or
suppression of the board.
Way ahead
The provisions of the revised PCA framework will be effective from April 1, 2017
based on the financials of the banks for the year ended March 31, 2017.
The framework would be reviewed after three years.
Allow anchor investors in SME IPOs
Investment bankers have asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
to allow anchor investors in public issues of small and medium enterprises
(SMEs).
Enhancing the upper limit for paid-up capital of such companies to allow relatively
larger firms to enter the capital market while ensuring institutional investor
participation in the dedicated segment.
Background: With SME segment growing leaps and bounds, the SME segment is
being approached by many institutions who are keen to participate as anchors in
SME IPOs. However, the existing regulatory framework does not permit it.
Who are Anchor investors?
Anchor investors are institutional investors that can bid for shares ahead of the
IPO and have a lock-in of 30 days.
This rule ensures that investors who want to flip shares on listing, do not use
the anchor route.
Anchor investors or cornerstone investors are invited to subscribe for shares
ahead of the IPO to boost the popularity of the issue and provide confidence
to potential IPO investors.
The benefit for institutional investors applying in anchor quota is that they get
guaranteed allotment.
Allotment to investors applying in an IPO depends on the number of times the
issue gets subscribed.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) crosses loan targets
Loans disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) have crossed
its target of Rs 1.8 lakh crore in the financial year 2016-17.
Loans extended currently stand at Rs. 1,80,087 crore with final data still awaited
from some of the smaller non-banking lenders.
Of this amount, Rs. 1,23,000 crore was lent by banks while non-banking institutions
lent about Rs. 57,000 crore.
In this years budget, Rs 2.44 lakh crore has been set as a target for Mudra loans
for the financial year 2017-18.
Data compiled so far indicates that the number of borrowers this year were over 4
crore, of which over 70% were women borrowers.
About 20% of the borrowers were from the Scheduled Caste Category, 5% from the
Scheduled Tribe Category, while Other Backward Classes accounted for almost
35% of the borrowers.
Robust growth in bank loans to unfunded and underfunded segments of the society
indicates that this category of borrowers has emerged as a key driver of demand
for credit.
Non-insistence of collateral/guarantor, simple documentation and quick processing
are the three praiseworthy attributes of the MUDRA loans.
About the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) scheme:
The PMMY Scheme was launched in April, 2015.
The objective of this scheme to launch a Micro Units Development and
Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank to support the entrepreneurs of Scheduled
castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes entrepreneurs in the
MSME sector.
The scheme, which has a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore, can lend betweenRs
50,000 and Rs 10 lakh to small entrepreneurs.
MUDRA loans can be availed for non-agricultural activities upto Rs 10 lakh and
for activities allied to agriculture such as dairy, poultry bee keeping etc.
Banks and MFIs can draw refinance under the MUDRA Scheme after becoming
member-lending institutions of MUDRA.
Mudras unique features include a Mudra Card which permits access to Working
Capital through ATMs and Card Machines.
The scheme provides loans to micro units in three categories ranging from
Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 10 lakh.
Shishu: Loan up to Rs 50,000
Kishore: Loan ranging from Rs 50,001 to Rs 5 lakh
Tarun: Loan ranging from Rs 500001 to Rs 10 lakh.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Met dept. expects a normal monsoon
In its first official forecast of the season, the IMD expects India to have normal
monsoons this year.
Rains are likely to be 96% of the 50-year average of 89cm for the monsoon season
of June to September.
They are expected to fan out favourably and help agriculture. This estimate falls
at the bottom edge of what it considers normal monsoon rains.
However, due to the looming threat of El Nino and adoption of new weather model,
the IMD says there is significant element of uncertainty in this forecast.
The El Nino characterised by surface waters of the equatorial Pacific warming
up more than half a degree is known to dry up monsoon rains every six out of 10
years. This year, international weather models as well as the IMDs own dynamical
global climate forecasting system model indicate that El Nino conditions might
set in during the latter part of the monsoon.
Another climate phenomenon, called the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which refers
to a swing in the sea surface temperatures in the western and eastern Indian
oceans, is also known to influence the Indian monsoon.
A positive IOD can counter an ominous El Nino. In its assessment, the IMD
expects weak positive IOD to develop in the latter half of the monsoon, which
means that its unlikely to be a potent ally this year.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the Met Department,
is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
IMD has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for
tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits,
the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
CM Connect app
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has launched a new mobile app CM Connect.
The app Andhra Pradesh runs on Microsofts Kaizala platform.
The app will be useful in receiving feedback from the public directly on any given
issue.
With this App, people can share the confidential information with the Chief Minister
directly.
The app would help in effective planning, improving and implementation of the
schemes and programmes.
LHS 1140b: Another planet in habitable zone discovered
Astronomers have discovered yet another planet, called LHS1140b, which is
expected to be present in the Goldilocks Zone.
Its not so far away, either. It is found orbiting around the star LHS 1140 some 39
light-years away.
Goldilocks Zone refers to a habitable zone where the temperature is neither too
high nor too low.
The planet is found to be rocky, like the Earth but is over six-times as massive as
Earth and about 1.5-times larger and falls under the category of Super Earth.
Its gravitational pull will be three times stronger than that of the Earth.
Rocky planets within the habitable zone are the best candidates to find evidence of
some form of life.
Super Earth: These are planets that are bigger and more massive than Earth and
yet smaller and less massive than the next biggest planet, Neptune.
If the atmosphere is found to be thick and filled with carbon dioxide, like Venus,
then it can be concluded that it would be too hot to hold life or water.
On the other hand, if the atmosphere is too thin and wispy like Mars, then all the
water will get locked up as ice.
Not just a love hormone
According to a recent study, Oxytocin, often referred to as the love hormone, is
involved in a broader range of social interactions than previously understood.
The new study pinpoints a unique way in which oxytocin alters activity in a part of
the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is crucial to experiencing the
pleasant sensation neuroscientists call reward.
The findings not only provide validity for ongoing trials of oxytocin in autistic patients,
but also suggest possible new treatments for neuropsychiatric conditions in which
social activity is impaired.
Oxytocin has also been dubbed the hug hormone, cuddle chemical, moral
molecule, and the bliss hormone due to its effects on behavior, including its role in
love and in female reproductive biological functions in reproduction.
Oxytocin is a hormone that is made in the brain, in the hypothalamus. It is
transported to, and secreted by, the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of
the brain.
It acts both as a hormone and as a brain neurotransmitter.
The release of oxytocin by the pituitary gland acts to regulate two female reproductive
functions: Childbirth and Breastfeeding.
SREP robot developed by NIO
Scientists at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) have developed a
robotic platform, Seabed Resident Event Profiler (SREP) that is capable of being
stationed at any water depth from 0-200 metres to track the oceanic processes.
The robot has been designed to regularly record the water column information at
every 10 to 25 cm during every profile four times a day.
The robot was tested during the recent voyage of RV Sindhu Sadhana, the latest
state of the art research vessel of NIO.
The SREP robot has been designed particularly to carry out studies related to the
monsoon, global climate and upwelling.
Upwelling is a phenomenon associated with the monsoon that sees the migration
of deep sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) towards the coast.
It also brings the nutrient-rich water to the surface and enhances the biological
productivity of the region.
Several sensors attached to SREP is capable of detecting the conditions
associated with upwelling such as low temperature, low oxygen, high nutrients,
and changes in density patterns etc.
This enables SREP to effectively track upwelling during June to September.
Upwelling is an important phenomenon for the ecosystem sustenance and fishery.
Similarly, since south-west monsoon forms the backbone of the countrys economy,
knowing the conditions for its onset forms one of the major goals of SREP.
The robot in its final configuration will be capable of sitting on the seabed for 100
days continuously to track the oceanic processes in the upcoming monsoon season.
INS Chennai dedicated to Chennai
Naval Ship INS Chennai, a P15A Guided Missile Destroyer, was dedicated to
Chennai in the presence of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
INS Chennai, a Kolkata-class stealth Guided missile destroyer ship was
commissioned into Indian Navys combat fleet by Defence minister Manohar Parrikar
on 21 November 2016 in Mumbai.
It is the largest-ever destroyer to be built in India. It is third and last Kolkata-class
guided missile destroyers built under Project 15A.
The indigenously designed ship has state of the art weapons and sensors, stealth
features, an advanced action information system, a comprehensive auxiliary control
system, world class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution
system and a host of other advanced features.
The ship is capable of undertaking a full spectrum of maritime warfare.
The ship has the formidable prowess of missile technology and has been armed
with supersonic surface to surface BrahMos missiles and Barak-8 long-range
surface to air missiles.
The Project 15A Kolkata class are a class of stealth guided missile destroyers
built for Indian Navy.
These destroyers are follow-on of the legendary Project 15 Delhi class destroyers
which entered service in the late 1990s.
The class comprises of three ships.
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 07
INS Kolkata, the first ship of the class got commissioned on August, 2014.
The second ship, INS Kochi, got commissioned on September, 2015.
The third ship, INS Chennai, got commissioned on November, 2016
Portal and Mobile App of RUSA
The government has launched the unique portal and mobile app of Rashtriya
Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).
The portal is a one-stop for States Higher Education Plans, decision of the States
Higher Education Councils and details of the resources under this scheme.
Some of the key highlights of the App are:
It will capture the fund allocation as per the Project Approval Board, the
instalment-wise fund release by the centre and the state, the institution-wise
key project, vendors appointed and the payment made to them as also stage-
wise photos and time stamps of payments made and comments entered.
Component-wise details give a quick snapshot into the funding of RUSA
projects. Whether it is infrastructure grants of equity initiatives, this window
gives a peek into the funds approved, the amount released, the sum utilized
and the percentage of work completed.
Stakeholders can also get granular details on the money released from the
centre and the state. The date stamps give a picture on the timelines followed
and the pictures provide the ground reality.
Tracking projects is the soul of this App, and every initiative is tagged with a
unique ID number, thus providing the entire story of how an idea germinated
and matured.
A powerful Dashboard gives an overall picture of the scheme and the state-
wise performance of the impact that the programme has made.
About RUSA:
RUSA was initiated to incentivise and disincentivise state actions.
It aimed at creating new universities through upgradation of existing
autonomous colleges and conversion of colleges in a cluster.
The scheme was launched in 2013 and aimed at providing strategic funding
to eligible state higher educational institutions.
The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category States, 90:10
for special category states and 100% for union territories) would be norm
based and outcome dependent.
The funding would flow from the central ministry through the state governments/
union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the
identified institutions.
Objectives of the scheme are as follows:
Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to
prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory
quality assurance framework.
Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating
a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state
level, promoting autonomy in State Universities and improving governance in
institutions.
Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems.
Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational
institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment.
Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to
devote themselves to research and innovations.
Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing
institutions and establishing new institutions, in order to achieve enrolment
targets.
Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by setting up
institutions in unserved & underserved areas.
Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of
higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward
classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently abled
persons.
A frogs mucus could treat flu
Researchers have found that skin mucus secreted by a colourful, tennis ball-sized
frog species- Hydrophylax bahuvistara, found in Kerala can be used to develop an
anti-viral drug that can treat various strains of flu.
The secretion from frog contains peptide, or chain of amino acids. The researchers
have named the newly identified peptide urumin after the urumi, a sword with a
flexible blade that snaps and bends like a whip.
Urumin is not toxic to mammals, but appears to only disrupt the integrity of flu
virus.
It seems to work by binding to a protein that is identical across many influenza
strains, and in lab experiments, it was able to neutralise dozens of flu strains.
More research is needed to determine if urumin could become a preventive
treatment against the flu in humans, and to see if other frog-derived peptides
could protect against viruses like dengue and Zika.
Vistadome glass-ceiling coach launched by Indian Railways
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has flagged off Visakhapatnam-Kirandul
passenger train with first of its kind, see-through, vistadome coaches through a
video link from Bhubaneswar.
The Vistadome air-conditioned coach is a first-of-its-kind on Indian Railways that
has been introduced with an aim to promote tourism.
The 40 seat coach has been built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu at a cost of INR 3.38 crore.
At present only one coach has been attached to the train on trial basis. Similar
coaches are expected to be introduced in other routes like northeast as well.
The vistadome coaches have the specially designed features like glass roof, LED
lights, rotating seats, GPS-based information system, large glass windows and
observation lounge among others.
It also has a glass-domed ceiling, automatic sliding doors and a multi-tier luggage
rack.
The coach will offer a panoramic view of the sites along the 128-km rail route from
Visakhapatnam to Araku valley hill station.
A unique feature of the coach is the double-wide reclining passenger seats which
could be rotated 360 degrees for a better sightseeing experience.
This feature will enable tourists to get breathtaking views of Anantagiri ghat section,
Lambasingi, Borra caves and the tunnels lying all along the route.
Enceladus and Europa may be habitable: NASA
NASA has announced that Saturns sixth-largest moon Enceladus and Jupiters
fourth-largest moon Europa may be habitable as they have the necessary
ingredients required to sustain life.
The key ingredients of life are liquid water, a source of energy for metabolism, and
chemicals such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulphur.
Findings were made by NASA with the help of Cassini-Huygens unmanned
spacecraft and the Hubble Telescope.
Cassini-Huygens unmanned spacecraft was sent in 1997 to study Saturn, its rings,
and its moon.
Saturns moon Enceladus has a higher possibility of hosting life than Jupiters
Europa as it has a form of chemical energy on which life forms can feed.
Enceladus is a small, icy moon which has an abundance of hydrogen molecules
in water plumes.
Underwater vents present on Enceladus resemble the vents present on Earths
ocean floors, where microbes and other sea life congregate.
Scientists find second Great Spot on Jupiter
Scientists have found second Great Spot in Jupiter which is cold and high up.
The Great Spot was found to be 24,000 km across and 12,000 km wide.
It is found to be in the upper atmosphere and is much cooler than the hot
surroundings. Unlike the Great Red Spot which was identified in 1830, this newly
discovered Great Spot is continuously changing its shape and size.
The Great Cold Spot is believed to be caused by magnetic forces responsible for
Jupiters polar auroras.
This phenomenon drives energy into the atmosphere and creates a region of
cooling in the boundary layer between the underlying atmosphere and the vacuum
of space.
The Great Spot was discovered by a British-led team using a telescope in the
Southern Observatory in northern Chile.
It was found to be much more volatile than the slowly changing Great Red Spot and
found to be thousands of years old.
Scientists have planned to study the Great Cold Spot using ground telescopes and
NASAs Juno spacecraft that is orbiting around Jupiter.
The study has been published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the
American Geophysical Union.
NASA Finds Evidence of Hydrothermal Vents on Saturns Moon
Enceladus
NASA has made the next big announcement about Saturn: The Cassini team found
evidence of hydrothermal vents on Enceladuss ocean floor.
Hydrothermal vents: Hydrothermal vents are fissures in the rocky core of Enceladus.
They release water that has been heated by geothermal activity, and the jets of hot
water carry minerals and nutrients that could support life.
Significance of this discovery:
Hydrothermal vents were detected by the Cassini spacecraft when it flew
through the water geysers that erupt from Enceladuss surface.
Microbes, algae, tube worms, crabs, and even fish swim around hydrothermal
vents in Earths oceans.
Maybe a similar alien ecosystem exists on the seafloor of Enceladus.
Cassini Mission: CassiniHuygens is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet
Saturn. Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit.
Its design includes a Saturn orbiter and a lander for the moon Titan. The lander,
called Huygens, landed on Titan in 2005.
Objectives:
Determine the three-dimensional structure and dynamic behavior of the rings
of Saturn.
Determine the composition of the satellite surfaces and the geological history
of each object.
Determine the nature and origin of the dark material on Iapetuss leading
hemisphere.
Measure the three-dimensional structure and dynamic behavior of the
magnetosphere.
Study the dynamic behavior of Saturns atmosphere at cloud level.
Study the time variability of Titans clouds and hazes.
Characterize Titans surface on a regional scale.
After Mars, ISRO decides its time to probe Venus
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has invited scientists to suggest
studies for a potential orbiter mission to Venus somewhat similar to the one that
landed in Mars in 2013.
ISRO plans to send a spacecraft that will initially go around Venus in an elliptical
orbit before getting closer to the Yellow Planet. It will carry instruments weighing
175 kg and using 500W of power.
Venus, our closest planetary neighbour, is similar to Earth in many aspects. However,
it takes only 225 days to revolve around the Sun. Secondly, the surface is very hot
due to nearness to the Sun.
Ever since the then USSR sent the Venera mission to Venus in February 1961,
there have been close to 30 missions to the planet, the last one being Japans
Akatsuki in 2010. These comprised orbiters, landers, atmospheric probes and fly-
bys.
The erstwhile Soviet Union tops the list with 16 Veneras and two Vegas. The US
had Mariner, Pioneer and Magellan missions.
ISRO to share technology for manufacturing of Lithium-ion
batteries for production of electric vehicles
The government has directed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to
share battery technology for mass production of Lithium-Ion batteries for electric
vehicles.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre under ISRO has developed indigenous
technology to manufacture high-power batteries for use in two- and three-wheelers
and their feasibility tests conducted by the Automotive Research Association of
India (ARAI) was found to be successful.
This development is expected to push Indias electric vehicles (EV) industry.
It has been reported that many major automobile companies, battery manufacturers
and public sector undertakings like Indian Oil, BHEL, Mahindra Renault, Hyundai,
Nissan, Tata Motors, High Energy Batteries have approached ISRO for transfer of
Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 08
the battery technology so that it will enable them to produce indigenous Lithium-Ion
batteries.
ISRO is soon expected to come up with a framework to make the transfer process
smooth.
A MoU for manufacturing batteries is expected to be soon reached between ISRO
and BHEL.
The cabinet secretariat has asked ISRO to develop an enabling framework to
enable even interested private players to obtain the technology for mass production.
It is needed because batteries are the key components for the production of electric
vehicles. But, at present Lithium-ion batteries are imported from abroad which
makes them very expensive.
IMA issues advisory to tackle swine flu cases
With over 100 deaths due to swine flu (H1N1 virus) across Maharashtra this year,
including in Aurangabad, Pune and Nashik district, the Indian Medical Association
(IMA) has issued an advisory to its members from the three concerned branches.
Guidelines:
All cases of suspected or confirmed swine flu should be given anti-virals as per
the protocol and carry out vaccination of healthcare providers among other
crucial measures.
Doctors handling flu patients should wear N-95 mask, while patients should
wear surgical masks.
All should stay - at least 3 meter - away from a flu patient while coughing and
sneezing. One should not cough in hands and use disposable paper.
All hospitals and clinics should have enough surgical masks to be given at the
reception to every patient of cough with fever.
As per the advisory, all high risk patients, heart and diabetes patients should
take flu vaccination, whereas people traveling to Pune, Nasik and Aurangabad
should consult their doctors regarding precautions and treatment advice.
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza
viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. When it was first detected in 2009,
it was called swine flu because the virus was similar to those found in pigs.
Mother of all Bombs or MOAB
GBU-43, nicknamed as the Mother of All Bombs, has been dropped by the United
States over an ISIS complex in Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.
The bomb was dropped using a Lockheed MC-130 transport plane.
The Moab or GBU-43/B is the worlds largest non-nuclear weapon, however, is not
the largest bomb ever made.
It is designed to destroy heavily reinforced targets or to shatter ground forces and
armor across a large area.
Its blast is equivalent to 11 tons of TNT. By comparison, the nuclear weapon dropped
on Hiroshima had a blast yield of 15 tons of TNT.
While it has a blast radius that stretches a mile in each direction the bomb leaves
no lasting radiation effect because it is non-nuclear.
The bomb has been dropped to destroy a system of tunnels and caves used by the
ISIS fighters to move around freely making easier for them to target US military
advisers and the Afghan forces.
The strike was carried out with MOAB to maximize the destruction suffered by the IS
fighters and their facilities as well as to minimize the risk for Afghan and US forces
conducting cleaning operations in the area.
The official name used by the US Air Force for GBU-43 is the Massive Ordnance Air
Blast bomb (MOAB).
MOAB weighs 9,797 kgs and is a GPS-guided munition. MOAB is about 20 feet long
and is capable of burrowing through 200 feet of earth and 60 feet of concrete before
detonating.
Russia in 2007 tested Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, nicknamed
as the Father of All Bombs. It is estimated to be 4 times more powerful than
MOAB.
SPORTS
Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V.Sindhu moves to No. 3 in World
Ranking
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu has been ranked No. 3 in the latest BWF ranking.
Sindhu who was at No.5 climbed up two places on the basis of making the quarter-
finals of the recently-concluded Singapore Open Super Series.
Sindhus career best is when she reached World No. 2 two weeks ago.
As per the latest BWF ranking, London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal
has been ranked eighth.
Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth have been placed at 21st and 22nd positions
respectively.
Sagar Baheti: Indias first visually impaired athlete to complete
Boston Marathon
Sagar Baheti has become the first visually impaired Indian runner to complete the
historic Boston Marathon.
Bengaluru-based 31 years old Baheti completed a distance of 42.16 km distance
in just over four hours.
Supported by the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
(MABVI), Baheti finished the 121st Boston Marathon as one of 30,000 runners.
The 2017 Boston Marathon has been recorded as the second hottest marathon in
a decade.
Historic Boston Marathon is the worlds oldest, most competitive and the hardest
marathon to qualify for. It is always held on the third Monday of April.
B Sai Praneeth wins Singapore Open Super Series Title
Sai Praneeth defeated the world No 29 Kidambi Srikanth in an all-Indian mens
singles final and clinched Singapore Open Superseries badminton title.
With this, India has become only the fourth country after China, Denmark and
Indonesia to have its nationals in a mens singles Superseries final. Last year, Sai
Praneeth clinched the Canada Open.
Kidambi Srikanth has won the 2014 China Super Series Premier and 2015 India
Super Series. He also reached the quarterfinals of Rio Olympics.
He holds the distinction of being the first Indian to claim a Superseries title after the
graded events became part of the world badminton calendar.
Gayathri Gopichand wins singles and doubles crown at
Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix
Gayatri Gopichand, daughter of National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, has
bagged both the singles and doubles crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya
Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta.
Gayatri defeated her doubles partner Samiya Farooqui to win the girls U-15 singles
title.
Gayatri and Samiya defeated Indonesian pair of Kelly Larissa and Shelandry Vyola
to clinch the U-15 doubles title with a straight game win.
Both Gayatri and Samiya train under Pullela Gopichand at his academy in
Hyderabad.
IMPORTANT DAYS / DATES / EVENTS
April 21: Civil Services Day
The Civil Services Day is organized on 21st April every year, when civil servants re-
dedicate themselves to the cause of the citizens and renew their commitment to
public service.
This day coincides with the date on which SardarVallabhbhai Patel had addressed
the first batch of probationers at the All India Administrative Service Training School
at Metcalfe House, New Delhi in 1947.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated 11th Civil Services Day
programme this year.
The Civil Services Day function is organised by the Department of Administrative
Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances
and Pensions.
In this edition, awards will be given to five priority schemes, namely, Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana,
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Start Up India/Stand Up India and e-National
Agriculture Market (e-NAM).
Totally, 10 districts would be awarded this year under the five priority schemes. The
awards will be given in three groups.
The first group comprises of eight North-Eastern States and the three Hill States of
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The second group consists of the seven Union Territories and the third constitutes
rest of the 18 states.
Besides, two awards would be given to Central/State organisations under Innovation
category. Under this category, innovative work carried out by the Central/State
Government organisations in defined themes such as environment conservation,
disaster management, water conservation, energy, education, health, women and
child-centric initiatives etc. would be taken into cognizance.
Nepal, China hold first ever military exercise
Nepal and China are planning to hold the first-ever joint military exercise-
Sagarmatha Friendship-2017, with a special focus on combating terror and disaster
management.
The military exercise will also focus on common interests like disaster
management.
Sagarmatha is the Nepali name of Mount Everest, the worlds highest peak, that is
bordering between Nepal and China.
Canberra keen on joining naval games
Australia is keen on joining the Malabar trilateral naval exercises among India,
Japan and the U.S., and has requested observer status at the upcoming edition,
scheduled for July.
The Malabar drills, which began in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between
India and the U.S., has since grown in scope and complexity, acquiring considerable
heft in recent times.
In 2015, it was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan.
31st Meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council
Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution, chaired the 31st Meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council
held recently.
The topics discussed in the meeting included the points put forth by the Members
on challenges in combating adulteration, strengthening the enforcement machinery
and testing Infrastructure, training and capacity Building of all stakeholders.
The Consumer Protection Act postulates establishment of Consumer Protection
Councils at the Central and State levels for the purpose of spreading consumer
awareness.
The objects of the Councils, as per the Act, shall be to promote and protect the
rights of the consumers such as:
The right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which
are hazardous to life and property.
The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard
and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the
consumer against unfair trade practices.
The right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and
services at competitive prices.
The right to be heard and to be assured that consumers interests will receive
due consideration at appropriate forums.
The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade
practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.
The right to consumer education.
The Consumer Protection Act empowers the Central Government to establish a
Central Consumer Protection Council consisting of the Minister in charge of
consumer affairs in the Central Government as its Chairman and such number of
other official and non-official members representing such interests as may be
prescribed.
Textiles India 2017
It is the first ever global B2B Textile and handicrafts event in India. Hosted by the
Ministry of Textiles, the event was inaugurated recently.
Textiles India 2017 is a landmark global trade event for the Indian Textile and
handicraft Sector that will showcase the entire range of textile products from Fibre
to Fashion.
The aim of the event is to make it one of the key annual destinations for International
Buyers.
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 09
President inaugurates Global Exhibition on Services
President has inaugurated Global Exhibition on Services (GES-2017) that is set to
highlight Indias potential to boost its services exports across sectors at India
Expo Mart, Greater Noida.
The event has been organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry together
with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Services Export Promotion
Council.
This is the 3rd edition of GES and the earlier editions were held in 2015 and 2016.
This edition is set to see the participation of over 70 countries and comes in the
backdrop of increased focus on services trade and Indias submission to the
World Trade Organisation on trade facilitation in services.
The main focus of the event will be on 20 services sectors, including information
technology, tourism and hospitality, logistics, education and financial services.
This year, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will showcase its offering
of application of space technology on a real-time basis for implementing and
monitoring of public programmes.
Besides, the Ministry of Tourism will host Incredible India Haat, a cuisine, culture
and handicrafts show.
Objectives:
Position India as a leader in the services sector
Tap potential for exports in the services sector
Draw investments into the country in the services sector
Service sector
Indias services exports stood at $146.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2016-
17, growing at 3 per cent.
It has witnessed a surplus of $59 billion in April-February 2016-17.
In India, IT and software services accounted for over 48% of overall services
exports.
As per provisional estimates released by RBI, the service export touched US
$ 80 billion as against US $ 77 billion in the time period from April to
September 2016, a rise of almost 4%.
A strong services sector backed by a manufacturing sector is expected to play
a pivotal role in the growth of Indian economy.
19th April Aryabhata Day
Indias first satellite Aryabhata was launched successfully by a Russian
rocket on 19thApril 42 years ago in 1975, taking the country on an exciting space
odyssey as far as the Moon and the Mars.
Aryabhata is the first Indian spacecraft that was also built in the country. Named
after the 5th century astronomer, the experimental spacecraft did not last its
design life of six months in space.
But this kick-started the Indian capability to build satellites solidly on track.
It was meant to study distant celestial bodies that emit X-rays, Sun and Earths
ionosphere.
ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) - which has built nearly 90 bigger and far more
sophisticated spacecraft since then - proudly observes April 19 every year as
Aryabhata Day or Technology Day.
70th Himachal Day celebrated across Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh celebrated 70th Himachal Day function in Chamba.
Himachal Pradesh came into existence by merging 30 odd princely states in
1948.
According to a 2005 Transparency International survey, Himachal Pradesh was
found to be the second least corrupt state in the country.
India Licensing Expo (ILE) to be held in Mumbai in August
India Licensing Expo is scheduled to be held on August 20-21 in Mumbai.
The expo will be Indias first and most influential brand licensing event that will
collate opportunities, knowledge and recognitions under one roof.
The expo will be organised by License India, Indias first licensing media
Services Company and supported by Franchise India.
The expo is expected to see the participation of over 100 global and domestic
companies.
The expo aims to encourage and enable Indian licensing industry to take
advantage and network, capitalise on opportunities and grow bigger and faster
in the given peripheries.
It will bring together a wide range of intellectual properties comprising character,
entertainment, celebrity, corporate, sports, and art.
Significance
The expo will act as a dedicated hub for licensing professionals.
Though Brand Licensing has become an accepted retail strategy in India,
ILE will help in bringing global understanding to Indian landscape.
ILEs tie up with IFCCI is expected to opens gates for the French companies
to roll out their operations in Indian landscape through licensing.
Operation Meghdoot
Operation Meghdoot the code-name for an Indian Armed Forces operation, was
launched 33 years ago on April 13th.
It was launched in 1984, when Pakistan started permitting mountaineering
expeditions into Siachen Glacier because of which India had to keep a close
watch on Siachen.
The operation was launched to capture the Siachen Glacier in the Jammu and
Kashmir.
The military action resulted in gaining control over the worlds highest battlefield.
Siachen Glacier is 76.4 km long and covers about 10,000 sq km uninhabited
terrain.
It lies in the Karakoram Range in the North West India.
AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS
Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura chosen for Krishi
Karman Awards, 2015-16
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has selected Tamil Nadu,
Himachal Pradesh and Tripura for the Krishi Karman awards for their record
performance in the production of food grains during 2015-16.
Apart from these states, Meghalaya would get commendation prize for total food
grain production and would be given a cash award of Rs 1 crore.
Tamil Nadu has been chosen in large category (production more than 10 million
tonnes), Himachal Pradesh in medium category (1 to 10 million tonnes) and
Tripura in small category (less than 1 million tonnes).
Tamil Nadu had produced 130 lakh tonnes of foodgrains in 2015-16, which is
the highest in the last five years.
In terms of yield in foodgrains, the state managed to get a yield of 3.38 tonnes
per hectare as against the all-India average of 2.028 tonnes per hectare, which
is 67% more than the national average.
The state had adopted an innovative, eco-friendly integrated pest management
to achieve this feat.
In addition, government interventions like post-harvest management, disbursal
of subsidies and integrated soil health management were also taken into
account by the agricultural ministry.
Tamil Nadu will receive a sum of Rs 5 crore for the award.
Tamil Nadu had already bagged the award thrice in 2011-12 for highest food
grains production, in 2013-14 for highest pulses production and in 2014-15 for
highest coarse cereals production.
Tripura has been selected for the Krishi Karman Award 2015-16 for a
commendable increase in food grain production in small category states.
The state produced 825,000 tonnes of food grain in 2016. The state would also
receive a cash award of Rs five crore.
Tripura gets this national award for the second time. The state targets to
produce 935,000 tonnes of food grain in 2017.
NSCI Safety Awards 2016
Minister of State (IC) for Labour & Employment Bandaru Dattatreya awarded
NSCI Safety Awards 2016 to 70 Organisations at a function held in New Delhi.
In addition, 12 client organizations from Construction Sector were also awarded.
The Award was granted to the organisations under four categories:
SarvaShreshtha Suraksha Puraskar,
Shreshtha Suraksha Puraskar,
Suraksha Puraskar
PrashansaPatra.
In Manufacturing Sector, Indian Oils Digboi refinery, National Fertilizers, Panipat,
and NPCIL, Kaiga Generating Station 3 and 4, Karnataka, are the winners.
In Construction Sector, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. And L&T Ltd., Rawatbhata,
Chittorgarh has been selected for its works on NPCIL Atomic Power Project,
Rajasthan.
In MSME Sector, Electricals & Electronics, Thane, has won SarvaShreshtha
Suraksha Puraskar for the year 2016.
Interestingly, none of the winners witnessed any fatal accident during the 3-year
assessment period.
More specifically, National Fertilizers Ltd. Panipat has achieved a massive 49.67
million accident-free man-hours spread over 11 years and 5 months.
The Government framed the National Policy on Occupational Safety, Health and
Environment in 2009.
As many changes have taken place in national as well as international arena,
the government has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to review the
national policy.
National Safety Council : It is a self-supporting non- profit autonomous society
coming under the purview of Ministry of Labour and Employment. The main
objective of the NSCI award scheme is to recognise organisations that have
made meritorious performance in achieving occupational safety and health
(OSH) and implemented effective OSH management systems, practices and
procedures.
For the First Time, UNESCOs Peace Prize Goes to a Mayor
A Unesco jury has awarded the organizations prestigious peace prize to the
mayor of Lampedusa, the Italian island which gained fame as a hotspot for migrant
arrivals.
Mayor Giusi Nicolini was awarded the prize together with French NGO SOS
Mediterrannee, for their work in saving the lives of refugees and migrants and for
welcoming them with dignity.
The peace prize, also known as the Flix Houphout-Boigny Peace Prize, named
after the first president of Ivory Coast, has been awarded by Unesco each year
since 1989, to recognize individuals and groups who safeguard, maintain, and
seek peace.
GMR Hyderabad Airport gets carbon neutrality certificate
The GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited has received the Carbon Neutrality
(Level 3+) Certificate from the Airports Council International (ACI).
The certification comes under ACIs Airport Car Accreditation Programme that is
the industry standard for assessment of an airports efforts to manage and reduce
carbon emissions.
The programme was launched in June, 2009 and comprises four levels.
Airports Council International (ACI) is the only global trade representative of the
worlds airport authorities.
Established in 1991, ACI represents airports interests with governments and
international organizations, develops standards, policies and recommended
practices for airports, and it provides information and training opportunities to
raise the standards around the world.
One Part Woman bags Sahitya Akademi award
The English translation of writer Perumal Murugans novel Mathorubhagan (One
Part Woman) has won the Sahitya Akademis award for translation in English.
The translation was done by Aniruddhan Vasudevan.
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India, which the Sahitya Akademi,
Indias National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most
outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the major Indian languages
(24 languages, including the 22 listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian
Constitution, along with English and Rajasthani) recognised by the Sahitya
Akademi.
Gururaja Bhat Award conferred on historian A.V. Narasimha
Murthi
Dr. Paduru Gururaja Bhat Award 2017 has been conferred upon Prof. A.V. Narasimha
Murthy, Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), Mysuru and former Head,
Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore.
Murthy was selected for the award in consideration of his contribution to Indian
Archaeology, Ancient History and Numismatics.
The award was presented to Murthy by the Union Minister for Statistics and
Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 10
Programme Implementation D.V. Sadananda Gowda.
Dr. Paduru Gururaja Bhat Award was instituted in 2010 by Udupi-based Dr. Paduru
Gururaja Bhat Memorial Trust and carries a citation and a purse of Rs. 50,000.
The award recognises outstanding contributions in the field of history, archaeology,
sociology, and other social sciences.
PERSONS IN NEWS
Robert Taylor, a pioneer of Modern Computing and the Internet has passed away
at the age of 85. Rob Taylor was instrumental in creating the internet and the
modern personal computer. Taylors engineering team was also responsible for
the development of Ethernet and a word processing program, Microsoft Word.
BULLETIN BOARD
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has recently carried out first-
of-its-kind State-level mock exercise on forest fire. The main objective of the mock
exercise is to assess the efficacy of preparedness and response mechanisms
available with the forest department and the district administration. The exercise
was conducted by NDMA in collaboration with the State Government.
A deep depression in Bay of Bengal has intensified into a tropical cyclone named
Maarutha. This cyclone is expected to hit Myanmar on 17 April 2017 and bring
heavy rains in parts of that country. Tropical Cyclone Maarutha is the first named
storm of 2017 Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season.
The Second National Lok Adalat for 2017, conducted on April 8, throughout the
country from taluk level courts to High Courts, has settled nearly 6.6 lakh cases.
Out of this, 3.68 lakh cases have been reduced from court pendency and about
2.92 lakh cases were settled even before they could be filed in courts. The cases
ranged from matrimonial disputes, partition suits, civil matters, cheque bounce
cases, motor accident claims, revenue disputes pending in courts, criminal
compoundable cases and service matters pertaining to pension, retrial benefits,
etc.
The Supreme Court has clarified that a general prohibition on all online content
about pre-natal sex determination will curtail the fundamental right to know of a
genuine information-seeker. The clarification came based on a petition demanding
for strict adherence by search engines to Section 22. The three Internet search
engines - Microsoft, Google India and Yahoo! India - gave their assurances to the
Supreme Court that they would neither advertise nor sponsor advertisements
violative of the PNPCDT Act. The trio said they had already appointed in-house
experts to spot illegal content.
The regulator is considering completely barring NRIs from subscribing to
Participatory notes to prevent money laundering. The rules are being tightened as
many variants of P-notes have been issued after the implementation of GAAR
(General Anti Avoidance Rules) on April 1. Investments in P-notes are witnessing a
fluctuating trend since demonetisation.
Government is planning to propose one rate for each product group to avoid
complexities in tax structure. Most economies have single tax rate whereas India
has a four-tier tax structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. 18% will be applicable on
most products. GST Council is yet to decide which rate will be applicable to which
product. GST is expected to spur economic growth by 1-2 percentage points as all
interstate barriers will be removed thereby boosting efficiency.
India has moved to put on hold all talks with Pakistans water secretary on a World
Bank-facilitated initiative. This is because of technical issues on Indus River Hydel
projects. This has created legal hurdles for Pakistan who is trying to bring Gilgit-
Baltistan region under its Constitution for economic corridor. The refusal also
comes in wake of Pakistani military tribunals order to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Pakistans bid to alter status of Gilgit-Baltistan region which falls under PoK is
said to face many legal hurdles due to UN resolutions on geographical entity
which was earlier part of J&K princely state which acceded to India in 1947. GB
region has been generally remained undefined in Pakistani constitutions since
1947 and only recently Islamabad has taken the initiative to bring it under the
Constitution of CPEC.
President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted the recommendation of Committee of
Parliament on Official Languages for all speeches by the dignitaries to be only in
Hindi if they can read and speak the language. The decision has come after six
years after the committee made 117 recommendations to make Hindi more popular
language.
Mobile Wallet company executives have expressed concerns about the complete
KYC guidelines and wanted deadline to extend its implementation. RBI had issued
graft guidelines for licence holders of prepaid payment instrument PPI as it could
be a negative force for small transactions. Currently, these e-wallets and prepaid
payments instruments can only hold 20,000 per user with minimum KYC. These
PPIs will move full KYC details within 60 days of issue of PPI licence.
National Payments Corporation of India plans to develop a new security framework
for mobile phone-based payments for both banks and mobile wallets. This will be
equivalent to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) framework.
The increasing mobile phone based payments can be a potent point to attract
hackers. NPCI wants to build new security standards for mobile payments to
overcome any major loss of public money.
NITI Aayog has not been able to gather consensus on Proposed National Energy
Policy. The primary point of contention is freeing coal from price control, as this will
divest the ministry of its power to control coal prices. National Energy Policy has
proposed comprehensive reforms to free sectors such as coal, electricity and
fertilisers from subsidies and price controls, helping to produce more power by
making electricity generation projects commercially viable for private companies.
Central government will soon check status of various MoUs signed by states at
some grand investor fairs and ensure that these are taken more seriously and
result in concrete investments. The motive is to understand various roadblocks
faced by the states during execution of the projects. The Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion will be the nodal department to conduct the exercise. State
officials have stated that shortage of funds and delay in clearances are the major
reasons for failure of MoUs from seeing light of the day.
As per CII Annual CSR Tracker Survey, CSR of companies has considerably
improved in India in 2015-16 with companies managing to spend about 92% of
their slated CSR expenditure. Section 135 of the Companies Act of 2013 requires
companies to spend at least 2% of their average net profit for the immediately
preceding three financial years on CSR activities. 1270 BSE listed companies
together spent 8185 Crores for FY16 till December 2016.
North Koreas failed ballistic missile launch drew no major international reactions.
The missile was a medium-range projectile and failed in early few seconds.
The Central government has given its nod to allow Cash and ATM management
companies to attract 100% foreign direct investment and exempted them from
compliance to the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act (PSARA). Companies
that make devices such as currency authenticators and sorting and currency
counting machines will also benefit from this clarification.
Punjab government has prohibited the inclusion of names of the government
functionaries, including ministers and MLAs, on foundation stones and inaugural
plaques so as to build a stronger connect with the people by shedding the VIP
culture. The state government has clarified that though there is no bar on
government functionaries and leaders attending or laying the foundation stone of
any project, the practice of inscribing their names on foundation stones or plaques
would be discarded with immediate effect. Further, the order has clarified that
henceforth all projects and programmes, including those inaugurated by the CM,
would be dedicated to the people of Punjab.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his hopes for the earliest solution
to Teesta Water Dispute to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina. But, Mamata
Banerjee is the sole hurdle to the Teesta river water treaty for the past six years.
The controversy is about sharing of Teesta water during the lean season. As water
is a state subject, a deal cannot be inked without the approval of CM of W est
Bengal. Mamata Banerjee is accused of complicating water sharing issues for
perceived gains in domestic politics.
Small entrepreneurs have raised some concerns over the governments proposal
to provide social security coverage to its entire workforce. A National Social Security
Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, has been proposed to streamline and
make policy on social security schemes related to all the Ministries. Other members
would include: Finance Minister, Labour Minister, Health and Family Welfare Minister
along with employer and employees representatives.
The nodal climate agency of the United Nations, the UNFCCC, is seeking alternative
sources of funding, in the face of likely budget cuts by the United States. The Paris
Agreement is ambitious in several respects. It resolves to hold global temperature
rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue
efforts towards a 1.5 degrees C temperature limit. The Paris agreement presses
countries as far as they could on differentiation and finance. The
agreement includes a provision requiring developed countries to send $100 billion
annually to their developing counterparts beginning in 2020. This figure is expected
to increase with time.
Government is planning to impose anti-dumping duty of up to $118 per tonne on
import of hydrogen peroxide used by industries in applications such as corrosion
control and paper bleaching from six countries. The move is aimed at guarding
domestic players from cheap imports of hydrogen peroxide from Bangladesh,
Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand.
The President of India, recently, inaugurated the Kempe Gowda Festival organized
by the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Foundation in New Delhi. Kempe Gowda was a
chieftain under the Vijayanagara kings and ruled over most parts of Karnataka in
the 16th century.
Descendants of 16 families associated with a little-known but bloody rebellion
against British colonialism, called the Paika rebellion of 1817 will be felicitated by
the Prime Minister and other freedom struggles of Odisha in Bhubaneswar. In this
years budget speech, Finance Minister had mentioned about the Paika rebellion
led by Bakshi Jagabandhu and stated that the event will be commemorated
appropriately.
The stalled consultation process for the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar)
Economic Corridor is set to resume, with officials and scholars from the four
countries shortly meeting in Kolkata after a gap of more than two-and-half years.
The last meeting of the Joint Study Group (JSG), which has government sanction,
was held at Coxs Bazaar in Bangladesh in December 2014.
An Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) has reportedly been sighted for the first time
in the Sunderbans. The forest department is yet to verify the veracity of the claim.
The sighting is significant since wolves in Bengal are mostly found in the western
parts bordering Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The Indian wolf is a Schedule I animal
in the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 of India. It is categorised as endangered by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
History lovers, curious onlookers, veterans and NCC cadets gathered recently in
Chennai to commemorate The Battle of Adyar, a turning point in modern Indian
history. The Battle of Adyar took place on 24 October 1746. The battle was between
the French East India Company men and Nawab of Arcot forces over the St. George
Fort, which was held by the French. It was part of the First Carnatic War between
the English and the French.
The Channakeshava temple or Vijayanarayana Temple in Belur (Karnataka) - a
masterpiece of Hoysala architecture - turned 900 this year. Belur, along with
Halebid, is proposed as a UNESCO heritage site. The temple, constructed by
Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala dynasty, is a monument recognised by the ASI.
Considered to be the first temple of Hoysala style, it was built between 1106 and
1117. It commemorates the kings victory in 1104.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea of former Samajwadi Party leader
and MP Amar Singh seeking its direction that anti-defection law is not applicable to
an elected member of a House, who had been expelled by his party. The court said
the issue raised by the petitioner needed to be examined by a larger bench and
referred the case to the Chief Justice of India to constitute an appropriate bench to
decide the case.
For the first time, wind power installations (windmills) in the country have crossed
the 5 Gigawatt mark, to reach 5,400 MW in 2016-17. The earlier record was 3,472
MW of 2015-16. The current year might see installations of 6 GW. The Centre
wants to buy electricity from wind power producers and sell it to electricity supply
companies in other states, which are bound by law to buy a portion of their needs
from wind and solar sources.
The Supreme Court has granted an exemption to six categories of disabled people
from standing when the national anthem is played before the screening of a film in
theatres. The six categories include people suffering from cerebral palsy, Parkinson
disease, muscular dystrophy and other categories of disability.
The Supreme Court has also issued notice to the union government on the plea
seeking Vande Mataram to be made mandatory in schools. The Centre should file
its reply in a four weeks time on the plea. The reply should also ascertain the
feasibility of singing the national anthem and the national song in Parliament,
assemblies, courts, schools and colleges on working days.
According to Joint Plant Committees annual report on steel sector for the time
period 2016-17, Indias import of total finished steel declined 36 % to 7.4 million
tonnes (MT). At the same time, steel exports increased 102% to reach 8.2 million
tonnes (MT) in the said time period. The country also fared well in terms of
production as well. The production of crude steel was 97.385 MT during April-
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 11
March 2016-17, which is 8.5% increase over the previous year steel production. b. 14th April a. Rayappa Ramappa Hanchinal
The IMF has predicted that the global economy would grow at 3.5% in 2017, up c. 15th April b. VR Prasad
from 3.1 % last year, and 3.6% in 2018. This years projection of IMF is marginally d. both a and b are the same c. Ram Chet Chaudhary
higher than what was stated in their last update. The improvement in this years d. Brahma Singh
projection springs up from good economic news in Europe and Asia, notably from 20)WhichisknownastheFatherofAll
China and Japan. Bom bs? 34)WhohaswontheCartierWomens
Competitive video games will become a medal sport for the first time ever at the a. BLU82 b. GBU43 Initiative Awards for 2017?
2022 Asian Games. They will appear as a demonstration event at the 2018 edition c. ATBIP d. None of the above a. Trupti Sahni b. Trupti Sahni
of the next Asian Games, to be held in Indonesia, as part of the run-up to sports c. Trupti Jain d. Trupti Garg
official inclusion as a medal sport in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. 21)Whichnewspeciesofherbivore
Asian Games is a multi-sport competition, touted as second only to the Olympics dinosaur living 125 million years ago 35)WhichManipurstategovernmentweb
in terms of size. It is held every four years. was discovered by scientists in April applications were launched to check
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has mooted an idea of developing the 2017? corruption?
birthplace of Srimanta Sankardev Batadrava as an international tourist spot and a. Moabosaurus utahensis a. DARPAN, Anti Corruption Cell
plans to place it in the national and international tourist circuit. The state government b. Coabosaurus utahensis b. ARPAN, Anti Corruption Cell
plans to develop the birthplace on the lines of the Golden Temple of Amritsar. The c. Doabosaurus utahensis c. DARPAN, ARPAN
site is proposed to be developed as an ideal place for religious and cultural tourism. d. Toabosaurus utahensis d. None of the above
The union government has extended the ceasefire with the two Naga armed
factions, namely, National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Reformation (NSCN-R) 22)Whichpotentm oleculeshave 36)Whichstatecelebratedits
and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Neakpao-Kithovi (GPRN/NSCN) till Bengaluru scientists developed to 70thformationdayon16thApril?
April 27, 2018. The decision over extension of ceasefire was taken at a meeting combat TB? a. HP b. AP
held between the officials of Home Ministry and the Ceasefire Supervisory Board a. Acetylated compound c. UP d. UP
of Naga armed factions. A ceasefire is already in operation between the government b. Acteylated benzozylated compound
and the Naga armed factions of NSCN-R and NSCN-NK. c. Relacin molecules 37)Whichinternetpioneerproposed
ISRO is all set to undertake the first developmental flight of a game-changer d. Both a and b Arpanet?
rocket (launching vehicle) that will have the capacity to launch four-tonne class of a. Robert Taylor b. Tim Berners Lee
satellites, from Sriharikota spaceport. ISRO looks forward to conduct the second 23) Which countrys railways is c. Alan Turing d. Linus Torvald
developmental flight within this year. introducing dedicated train services
The Supreme Court in its latest ruling has set 25% of the net salary as the for global and national tourists? 38)WhichvillagewasadoptedbyMicrosoft
maintenance to be paid by a husband to his estranged wife. The Court has observed a. India b. Pakistan to be developed as Indias first digital
that the alimony paid to a woman must be just and proper and must be sufficient c. Bangladesh d. Sri Lanka village?
enough to ensure that a woman lived with dignity after separating from her husband. a. Harisal b. Melghat
It has further observed that the alimony must be befitting the status of the parties 24)Whichcountryseconomybeatits c. Dhule d. Bid
and the capacity of the spouse to pay maintenance. government target in the first quarter
of 2017? 39)WhichtropicalcyclonehashitBayof
a. China b. India Bengal region on April 17, 2017?
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE c. Pakistan d. Bangladesh a. Maarutha b. Katrina
c. Kyant d. Vardha
1)WhichcountrydidIndiainkapact a. Seabed Restore Event Profiler 25)WhichTurkishleaderwona
with to upgrade railways? b. Seabed Reset Event Profiler 40)WhichnewWorldBankreportwas
referendum to create a presidential
a. Australia b. Denmark c. Seabed Resident Event Profiler released on 16th April 2017?
system?
c. France d. New Zealand d. None of the above a. Gloablization March
a. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
b. Recep Tayyip Erdogan b. Globalization Fallout
2)Nepalandwhichcountryheldtheir 11)Whichstategovernmentprohibited c. Globalization Backlash
c. Sadi Guven
first ever military exercise? names of government functionaries d. None of the above
d. None of the above
a. China b. Japan on foundation stones and plaques?
c. Sri Lanka d. India a. Punjab b. Haryana 41)WhatisthefullformoftheWHOreport
26)Whichcountryhasdecidedtoreplace
c. MP d. HP coal thermal power plants with GLAAS?
3)Whichpanelhasproposed a. Global Analysis and Assessment of
energy-efficient supercritical plants?
autonomous fiscal council under FM? 12)WhichIndianshuttlerwonthe Sanitation and District Water
a. India b. Pakistan
a. FRBM b. FDBM Singapore Open, his maiden Super b. Global Analysis and Association of
c. Sri Lanka d. Nepal
c. FMBM d. None of the above series title? Sanitation and Drinking Water
a. K. Srikanth 27)Whichtouristcoachhasfeatureslike c. Global Analysis and Assessment of
4)WhatdoesGRAFstandforinthe b. B. Sai Praneeth Sanitation and Drinking Water
rotatable seats and LED lights,
context of PSBs and the BBB? c. Parupalli Kashyap d. Global Analysis and Assessment of
launched on April 16, 2017?
a. Governance, Recognition and d. None of the above Safe and Drinking Water
a. Vistadome
Accountability Framework
b. Lifeline Express
b. Governance, Reward and 13)Howm anytimeshasPankajAdvani 42)WhichIITisplanningtointroducevastu
c. Annapurna Express
Accountability Framework won the Asian title? shastra to architecture students?
d. Garib Rath
c. Governance, Redemption and a. 5 b. 6 a. Kharagpur b. Kanpur
Accountability Framework c. 7 d. 8 c. Madras d. Delhi
28)MPhassignedprojectagreementsfor
d. None of the above
solar power for which solar park?
14)WhichformerJ&Kgovernorwas a. Neemuch Mandsaur Solar Park 43)Whichcomm unitiesdoesthe
5)Whichgroupbesidesinsurersis also an IPS officer of UP cadre and a Telangana Backward Classes,
b. Chattarpur Solar Park
applicable for the IRDAI web portal for RAW chief? Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
c. RajgarhMorena Solar Park
registering and selling policies online? a. KV Krishna Rao Bill, 2017 seek to help?
d. Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park
a. Insurance intermediaries b. SK Sinha a. Scheduled tribes
b. NBFCs c. Narinder Nath Vohra b. Backward Muslims
29)Whichcompanyannounceditwillbe
c. Merchant Banks d. Girish Chandra Saxena c. Both of the above
building the Digital Twin Map of the
d. RRBs d. Neither of the above
Real World?
15)Whichabhiyanlauncheditsownportal a. MapMyFuture b. Apple
6)Whichstategovernmenthaslaunched and mobile app on April 17, 2017? 44)WhichcountryhastoppedtheWEFlist
c. Google d. MapMyIndia
Operation Durga? a. Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan on travel and tourism
a. Haryana b. Uttar Pradesh b. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan competitiveness?
30)Scientistshaveusedwhichlaser
c. Punjab d. Jharkhand c. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana a. Spain b. India
based techniques to undo tissue
d. Grameen Vidyuitkaran Abhiyan damage after a heart attack? c. Germany d. UK
7)Whichstategovernmenthassignedan
a. Laparoscopy
MoU for 24/7 power supply by 2018? 16)Whichwrestlersfatherandcoach 45)Whichnewpolicyissettoreduce
b. Laser based 3D bioprinting
a. Uttar Pradesh was awarded the FICCI gender parity operational cost of telco firms and
techniques
b. Himachal Pradesh award on April 16, 2017? remove right of way challenges?
c. Laser based 2D bioprinting
c. Uttarakhand a. Geeta Phogat a. Common duct policy
techniques
d. Kerala b. Sakshi Mallik b. Common tower policy
d. None of the above
c. Karnam Malleshwari c. Common revenue policy
8)Whichschemehasbeenlaunchedto d. Koneru Humpy d. None of the above
31)WhichIndiancompanyhasentered
detect black money generation post
into a strategic partnership with
demonetisation? 17)Whichyeardidhumanityharvestits 46)Aglaciersriskofthinningcanbe
defence major LIG Nex1?
a. Operation Clean Money largest cereal crop according to FAO? predicted by analysing its ________.
a. Reliance Defence
b. Operation Safe Money a. 20152016 b. 20162017 a. Shape b. Size
b. TASL
c. Operation Safe Cash c. 20142015 d. None of the above c. Rate of melting d. None of the above
c. Honeywell
d. Operation Clean Cash
d. None of the above
18)Whichcommitteewillbedismantled 47)Whichdigitallydevelopedeconomy
9)Whichstategovernmenthasbeen to improve ease of doing business? has topped the Huawei Global
32)Whichcorporategrouphasentered
conferred the Krishi Karm an award for a. Finance Ministry Committee for PPP Connectivity Index 2017?
into agreement with Taj Hotels
highest production of food grains in projects a. US b. UK
Palaces Resorts Safaris to build a Taj
2014-2015? b. PPCAC c. PPAC c. EU d. Germany
brand hotel?
a. HP b. AP d. Both a and c e. All the above a. Godrej b. Lodha
c. MP d. None of the above 48)Scientistshavediscovereda
c. Jaypee d. None of the above
19)OnwhichdatewastheBHIMAadhaar wristband that can analyse ________
10)WhatdoesSERPstandforinthe platform for m erchants launched? to diagnose conditions like diabetes
33)WhowonthesixthMSSwam inathan
context of CSIR-NOI and a. 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Bhim and cystic fibrosis.
Award?
oceanography? Rao Ambedkar
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 12
a. Sweat b. Skin c. Google Inc d. None of the above c. Panther d. Cheetah 91) The Civil Services Day (CSD) is
c. Blood d. Tissue celebrated on which day in India?
62)Whichstategovernmenthasevolved 78)Whichcountryhaslauncheditsfirst a. April 18 b. April 21
49)Whichcreaturehavescientistsinthe a detailed plan to implement the e- unmanned cargo spacecraft on April c. April 19 d. April 20
Philippines discovered for the first office software programme in keeping 20, 2017?
tim e? with the Centres national e- a. China b. Japan 92) Who has been named for the
a. Live giant shipworm governance plans? c. US d. UK prestigious Raj Kapoor Lifetime
b. Live giant airworm a. Puducherry b. Mysuru Achievement (LTA) award?
c. Live giant soilworm c. Bengaluru d. None of the above 79)WhichITservicesproviderhasbeen a. Vikram Gokhale b. Arun Nalawade
d. Live giant mudworm recognized by Oracle as Integrated c. Saira Banu d. Jackie Shroff
63)Researchershavedevelopeda Cloud Partner of the Year?
50)Whichcompanieswillsoonbeallowed thermal diode that runs on _______. a. Infosys b. Wipro 93) The National Disaster Managem ent
to attract 100 percent FDI investment? a. Heat b. Electricity c. TCS d. None of the above Authority (NDMA) has conducted its
a. Cash management companies c. Steam d. Carbon first-ever mock exercise on forest fire
b. ATM management companies 80) Which country has approached in which state?
c. Both a and b 64)WhatisRiverPiracy? NASSCOM for support in ICT capacity a. Madhya Pradesh b. Uttarakhand
d. Neither a nor b a. Retreat of Canadas largest glaciers building? c. Jharkhand d. Odisha
which has changed the flow of the a. Mauritius b. Maldives
51)Whichofthefollowingistrueabout northern river overnight c. Malaysia d. Indonesia 94) Which state government will set up
NPCI? b. Change in a rivers direction based on Book Banks in schools to provide
a. It stands for National Payments global warming, climate change 81) The Union Government has launched old books to needy students?
Corporation of India induced glacier retreat RUSA portal to act as a one-stop for a. Madhya Pradesh b. Rajasthan
b. It is the umbrella organisation of c. Both of the above States Higher Education Plans. What c. Punjab d. Uttar Pradesh
payments in India d. Neither of the above does RUSA stands for?
c. It is developing security framework for a. Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan 95) Which airline will become the worlds
mobile payments 65)WhichDaywillbecelebratedwith b. Rashtriya Uttam Shiksha Abhiyan first airline to adopt new satellite-
d. Only a and b special stamps by UNPA? c. Rashtriya Unmukht Shiksha Abhiyan based airplane tracking system?
e. All the above a. Yoga Day b. World Health Day d. Rashtriya Unnatsheel Shiksha Abhiyan a. Japan Airlines
c. Earth Day d. None of the above b. Singapore Airlines
52)Whichofthefollowing 82) Emma Morano, the worlds oldest c. Asiana Airlines
recom mendations of the 66)WhohasbeenappointedMDandCEO person has passed away. She hailed d. Malaysia Airlines
Parliamentary Committee was of LIC Housing Finance? from which country?
accepted by President? a. Vinay Modi b. Vinay Patel a. Norway b. Jamaica 96) Which country to host 2017 BRICS Film
a. Speeches of dignitaries including c. Vinay Majumdar d. Vinay Shah c. Italy d. France Festival?
President should be delivered in Hindi a. Russia b. South Africa
alone 67)Whohasbeenappointedthenew 83)Whatisthethemeofthe2017World c. China d. India
b. National carrier Air India should have Railways Financial Commissioner on Hemophilia Day (WHD)?
Hindi inflight journals 17thApril? a. Count Me In 97) Which Indian cricketer will be
c. All PSU communications should be in a. BN Mohapatra b. BN Das b. Together We Care honoured with the 75th Master
Hindi c. BN Singh d. BN Mehra c. Improve Your Life! Dinanath Mangeshkar award for his
d. Both a and b d. Hear their voices outstanding contribution to Indian
68)Whichofficehasseentheappointment Cricket?
53)WhatisthemaintenetbehindGSTtax of an RBI ombudsman? 84)Whatisthethemeofthe2017World a. Gundappa Viswanath
reform? a. Jammu b. Delhi Heritage Day (WHD)? b. Sunil Gavaskar
a. One Group, One Product c. Both of the above d. Punjab a. World Heritage for Tourism c. Kapil Dev
b. One Nation, One Tax b. Cultural Heritage and Sustainable d. Ravi Shastri
c. Both of the above 69)WhichisthemostvaluedPSUby Tourism
d. Neither of the above market valuation? c. The Heritage of Sport 98) Who has been chosen for the 2016
a. ONGC b. SBI d. Cultural Heritage for Tourism Sahitya Akademi Award for translation
54)Whatisthelatestamendmenttothe c. MNTL d. BSNL in English language?
FPI regulations by capital and 85)Whohasbeenbestowedwiththe6th a. A R Vankatachalapathy
commodities market regulator SEBI? 70)WhichindexdidIndiarank8thon,April edition of MS Swaminathan award? b. Sri Aniruddhan Vasudevan
a. Barring Indians, NRIs and entities 20, 2017? a. C. Parthasarathy b. M Y Saxena c. Githa Hariharan
beneficially owned by NRIs from a. AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index c. M V R Prasad d. R R Hanchinal d. K Satchidanandan
trading b. Morgan Stanley Index
b. Barring Indians, NRIs, and entities c. Moodys Rating 86)WhichIITinstitutewillstartVastu 99) India has recently signed pact with
beneficially owned by NRIs from d. ICRA rating Shastra classes for architecture which country for defence
being owners of participatory notes students? shipbuilding?
c. Barring Indians and NRIs from FDI in 71)WhichtwocompaniessignedanMoU a. IIT Kharagpur b. IIT Bombay a. Japan b. Australia
India to help develop low cost lithium c. IIT Madras d. IIT Indore c. South Korea d. China
d. None of the above batteries?
a. ISRO, BHEL b. BHEL, ESA 87)TheManipurgovernmenthaslaunched 100) Which state to have Indias first
55)WhichofthefollowingregionsinUK c. ISRO, ESA d. None of the above DARPAN web portal to check privately-run railway station?
voted against Brexit? corruption. What does DARPAN a. Tripura b. Odisha
a. Scotland 72)Whichcitywashonouredwitha stands for? c. Kerala d. Madhya Pradesh
b. Northern Ireland dedicated naval ship? a. Digital Application for Revalue by
c. Wales a. Chennai b. Thrissur Public And Nation
d. Only a and b c. Kolkata d. Delhi b. Digital Application for Reappraisal by ANSWER
e. All the above Public And Nation
01.(c) 02. (a) 03. (a) 04. (b) 05. (a)
73)WhichTDPleaderwasalsoknownas c. Digital Application for Review by Public
56)Whichcountryintroducedtougher Rajasekhar? And Nation 06. (a) 07. (a) 08. (a) 09. (a) 10. (c)
requirements for skilled overseas a. Devineni Nehru d. Digital Application for Reassessment
workers? b. Chandrababu Naidu by Public And Nation 11. (a) 12. (b) 13. (c) 14. (d) 15. (a)
a. New Zealand b. US c. NTR 16. (a) 17. (b) 18. (d) 19. (d) 20. (c)
c. Australia d. All of the above d. None of the above 88)Whohaswonthe2017Form ulaOne
Bahrain Grand Prix tournament? 21. (a) 22. (d) 23. (a) 24. (a) 25. (b)
57)Whichofthefollowingaresixplaces 74)WhowastheCPI-Mleaderfamously a. Sebastian Vettel
26. (a) 27.(a) 28. (d) 29. (d) 30. (b)
Chinese have given to places in AP, known as Bijoy-da? b. Felipe Massa
South Tibet? a. Narayan Sanyal c. Lewis Hamilton 31. (a) 32. (a) 33. (a) 34. (c) 35. (a)
a. Wogyainling b. Mila Ri b. Pratap Karat d. Valtteri Bottas
c. Namkapub Ri d. All of the above c. D. Raja 36. (a) 37. (a) 38. (a) 39. (a) 40. (c)
d. Sudhakar Reddy 89)Whichunionministryhaslaunched 41. (c) 42. (a) 43. (c) 44. (a) 45. (a)
58)Whichistheworldsfirsttruly nation-wide training programme for
collaborative dual arm industrial robot? 75)WhatdoesVVPATstandfor,invoting? Elected Women representatives 46. (a) 47. (a) 48. (a) 49. (a) 50. (c)
a. YuMi b. RedMi a. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (EWRs) of Panchayats?
c. XiaoMi d. ToMi b. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail a. Ministry of Home Affairs
51. (e) 52. (d) 53. (c) 54. (b) 55. (d)
c. Voter Verified Paper Auditing Trail b. Ministry of Human Resource 56. (d) 57. (d) 58. (a) 59. (a) 60. (a)
59)MyntraacquiredwhichBengaluru d. None of the above Development
based company? c. Ministry of Women and Child 61. (b) 62. (a) 63. (a) 64. (c) 65. (a)
a. InLogg b. InBlog 76)Whichstarhasanearthlikeplanet Development
66. (d) 67. (a) 68. (c) 69. (b) 70. (a)
c. InClog d. Limeroad about 40 light years away orbited, d. Ministry of Tribal Affairs
with the planet showing signs of life? 71. (a) 72. (a) 73. (a) 74. (a) 75. (b)
60)WhichcompanyhasacquiredFinancial a. A red dwarf star 90) Which of the following banks has
Navigator? b. LHS 1140 become the Indias most-valued Public 76. (c) 77. (d) 78. (a) 79. (c) 80. (a)
a. Asset Vantage b. Asset Advantage c. Both of the above Sector Unit (PSU) in terms of market 81. (a) 82. (c) 83. (d) 84. (b) 85. (d)
c. Asset Link d. Asset Lead d. Neither of the above valuation?
a. Punjab National Bank 86. (a) 87. (c) 88. (a) 89. (c) 90. (c)
61)WhatisAlphabetIncslifesciences 77)Whichisthefastestlandanimalinthe b. Exim Bank 91. (b) 92. (c) 93. (b) 94. (c) 95. (d)
business called? world? c. State Bank of India
a. ABC Inc b. Verily a. Tiger b. Lion d. Reserve Bank of India 96. (c) 97. (c) 98. (b) 99. (c) 100. (d)
 Career Sarthi Coverage 15th April - 21st April 2017 Page 13

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