General - Current Affairs for June, 2017

The words Chana and Chana Dal were on 27 June 2017 added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). ‘Chana’ means Chickpeas and ‘Chana Dal’ stands for split chickpea lentils.

With this, these Indian food essentials Chickpeas (chana) and the split chickpea lentils (chana dal) join the vast list of more than 600 other words and phrases that have been included in its quarterly update of the Oxford English Dictionary.

The other prominent new entries in the OED include a batch of tennis-related words like “Forced Error”.

A slang ‘Bagel’ has also been added which refers to a score in a set of six games to love, as there is similarity of the numeral zero to the shape of a bagel.

A new sense of ‘woke’, which was shortlisted for ‘Word of the Year’, has also been added. It means alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice.

OED update also includes a new related sense of the verb ‘academise’ which means to convert a school into such an academy.

The latest update also included the word ‘footless’ which means footless drunk, an alternative to the more familiar ‘legless’.

‘To have a canary’ or ‘to lose one’s composure’ have also found their way into the OED’s new list of words.

A new usage of ‘thing’ has also been added into the new list. This new sense of ‘thing’ is often used in questions conveying surprise or doubt, such as ‘how can that be a thing?’

In the scientific words, ‘Zyzzyva+’ has become the latest entry in the dictionary. It means a set of tropical weevils native to South America and typically found on or near palm trees.

Other remarkable entries in the latest update are swimmer (sperm) and son of a bachelor.

In 2016, Oxford Dictionary announced ‘post- truth’ as its Word of the Year.

Since then, the huge increase in usage of the words has motivated lexicographers to add them to the latest edition of ‘OED’.

Petya ransomware, (called Goldeneye in Romania) is part of a new wave of cyber-attacks and has infected computer servers across the world.

In India, the ransomware has crippled the operations at one of the terminals of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. The affected terminal was being operated by AP Moller-Maersk.

The company operates the Gateway Terminals India (GTI) which has a capacity to handle 1.8 million standard container units.

The attack has impacted the external trade by affecting the systems dealing with the cargo and ships at the country’s largest port.

The Petya ransomware has hit computer servers all across Europe. Ukraine and Russia are the worst affected countries.

The ransomware has also impacted some companies in the US and other Western European countries. In the severely affected Ukraine, government offices, energy companies, banks, cash machines, gas stations, and supermarkets,

Ukrainian Railways, Ukrtelecom, and the Chernobyl power plant has been worst affected.

Petya ransomware: Know More

• Petya is a ransomware, similar to the Wannacry ransomware.
• However, it is a variation of the WannaCry cyber-attack.
• It follows the WannaCry’s pattern and locks up the computer data and cripples the Enterprise services in the corporate sector.
• Researchers are yet to find who authored this malware for this attack.
• The ransomware demands $300 Bitcoins as ransom to unlock computer’s files.
• The attack is believed to have originated against an update used on a third-party Ukrainian software called MeDoc. This explains why Ukraine is the worst affected.

The government has cleared a proposal for setting up a greenfield airport in Jewar in Greater Noida, which is likely to be operational in the next five to six years.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced at a press briefing that “in-principle clearance has been granted” for the airport.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority has notified 3,000 hectares of land for a world-class international airport.

Noida International Airport will cater to 30-50 million passengers per year over the next 10-15 years. The airport will help reduce congestion at the Delhi international airport.

In Delhi, authorities are expecting 91 million passengers by 2020 and 109 million passengers by 2024.

Aadhaar is not a valid identification document for Indians travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, the Union home ministry has said. Indians can travel to Nepal and Bhutan–both countries for which they don’t need visas–if they possess a valid national passport or election ID card issued by the Election Commission.

Moreover, to ease travel, persons over 65 and below 15 years can show documents with photographs to confirm their age and identity. These include PAN card, driving licence, Central Government Health Service (CGHS) card and ration card but not Aadhaar.

Aadhaar (UID) card is not an acceptable travel document for travel to Nepal/Bhutan.

The advisory assumes significance as Aadhaar is mandatory for a host of things, including government subsidies on LPG and other social welfare schemes.

The Aadhaar card, which has a 12-digit unique identification number and personal details like name and address, acts as a proof of identification and residence.

Indians entering Bhutan by road are required to obtain an ‘Entry Permit’ on the basis of a valid travel document from the immigration office of Royal Government of Bhutan at Phuentsholing, located on the Indo-Bhutan border opposite Jaigaon, West Bengal.

The border with Nepal is an open one with people who enter the country needing to show any valid identity card. Nepal shares borders with five Indian states–Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Around six lakh Indians are living or domiciled in Nepal.

Bhutan, which shares borders with Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal, has about 60,000 Indian nationals, employed mostly in the hydroelectric power and construction industry.

In addition, between 8,000 and 10,000 daily workers enter and exit Bhutan everyday in border towns. In another development, Indians flying abroad will not be required to fill departure cards from next month.

The world’s first ATM (automated teller machine) celebrated its 50th anniversary.

In the past five decades, ATM machines have heralded a transformation in the way people obtained and used cash.

ATM machines were the brainchild of Scottish inventor Shepherd-Barron.

The first ATM was opened on June 27, 1967, by Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London. English actor Reg Varney became the first person to withdraw cash from the first ATM machine.

At present, there are over 3 million cash machines across the globe.

Around 70,000 cash machines are present in the UK alone.

The World’s most northerly ATM machine is present at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. The most Southerly ATM is situated at the McMurdo station of the South Pole.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary, Barclays Bank has transformed the first ATM that it commissioned at its Enfield branch into gold.

An agreement for IBRD Credit of USD 35 Million from World Bank for “Assam State Public Financial Institutional Reforms Project” was signed at New Delhi.

The agreement was signed by Shri Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (MI), Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. John Blomquist, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

The Implementing Entity Agreement was signed by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), Department of Finance, on behalf of Government of Assam, and the Country Director (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

The programme size is USD 44 million, of which USD 35 million will be financed by the Bank, and the remaining amount will be funded out of State Budget. The programme duration is 5 years.

The objective of the project is to improve predictability and transparency in budget execution and efficiency in tax administration in Assam.

The project will benefit the citizens of Assam through efficient processes, enhanced transparency and better service delivery (such as electronic payments and collections for services, better public procurement, and enhanced taxpayer services) provided by public institutions.

The United States is set to declare China as one among the world’s worst offenders on human trafficking in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

The report will be unveiled by the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to the US Congress.

The declaration would place China in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria.

The move will be Donald Trump administration’s first major public rebuke of China’s human rights record. Trump’s administration has so far avoided direct public criticism of China.

The report is expected to receive condemnation from China’s Communist government.

The US is seeking China’s cooperation in combatting North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. China will be placed in “Tier 3,” which will be the ranking system’s lowest category.

Countries listed in this tier are those who have failed to meet minimum standards to prevent human trafficking.

Countries like Sudan, Iran and Haiti have recently been on that list. As per the report, forced begging in China which particularly affects children is a matter of great concern.

The 2016 report had called China as a “source, destination and transit country” for forced labour and sex trafficking.

In this year’s report, China has been downgraded to the lowest classification as it had not increased its anti-trafficking efforts from the previous year.

Tier 3 Nations: The Implications

• Countries placed on Tier 3 are liable to be penalised with sanctions, including the withholding of non-humanitarian aid and assistance that could affect agreements with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
• Officials of the Tier-3 countries are also liable to be barred from participating in US government educational and cultural exchange programs.
• However, the US president retains the authority to waive the sanctions taking into account national interest or if he feels that the penalties could adversely affect vulnerable populations.
• The previous administrations of the US have often granted waivers for the tier-3 countries.

What was a much-awaited prestige for many, has finally found its suitable bearer. Yes, the new face of India has been chosen–Miss Haryana Manushi Chhillar has been declared Miss India 2017.

Days of hard work and dedication of 30 aspirants of the coveted title, culminated in the grand finale, held on the night of June 25, at Yash Raj Film Studio, Mumbai.

At the judges’ panel were seated some of the leading faces of the fashion and Bollywood fraternity.

Those given the task of choosing the winner included Arjun Rampal, Manish Malhotra, Illeana D’ Cruz, Bipasha Basu, Abhishek Kapoor, Vidyut Jammwal and Miss World 2016 Stehanie Del Valle.

Besides walking the ramp for fashion designers, each of the contestants had to go through rounds of screening, before the winner was chosen.

Contestants had to voice their opinion on various social issues and awareness.

Miss Jammu and Kashmir, Sana Dua, and Miss Bihar, Priyanka Kumari were declared the first and second runner-up respectively.

Nashik’s army doctor Srinivas Gokulnath and Nagpur’s doctor Amit Samarth has created history by becoming the first Indians to complete the 4,900-km Race Across America (RAAM) in the solo 18-59 age category.

While Srinivas Gokulnath finished the distance of 4941 kms in 11 days and 18 hours, Samarth took 11 days and 21 hours to finish the race.

Among the 9 persons who managed to finish the race, Gokulnath stood 7th while Samarth finished at number 8.

The race was won by Christoph Strasser.

Srinivas Gokulnath is an aerospace medicine specialist and had participated in the 2016 edition of RAAM. However, he withdrew from the event after covering 2447 km.

Gokulnath also has a national record for cycling 4,000km from Leh to Kanyakumari in 16 days in 2014. His feat got into the Limca Book of Records. Dr Amit Samarth is also a doctor and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health.

In the three decades old history of RAAM, only three Indians had attempted RAAM solo but so far no one was able to finish the event in the solo category.

RAAM: Know More

• RAAM is considered as the toughest cycle race in the world.
• It is about 30 percent longer than the Tour de France and the riders have to pedal over 400 km a day to finish the race in 12 days.
• The riders are allowed to rest for only a couple of hours a day. Racers have to pedal 2447 km across 12 states and climb over 1,70,000 vertical feet.
• The route traverses through three major mountain ranges (Sierra, Rocky and Appalachian) and crosses four of America’s longest rivers (Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio).

Retirement fund body EPFO signed a pact with the Housing and Urban Development Corp (HUDCO) to enable members of its housing scheme to avail subsidy and interest subvention under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Under the housing scheme, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allows its subscribers from societies for withdrawing up to 90 per cent of their EPF accumulations to buy homes.

As part of the government commitment for ‘housing for all by 2022’, the EPFO is signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HUDCO on June 22, 2017.

Agreement is regarding coverage of EPFO subscribers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by providing them various benefits like cheaper loans for buying homes.

EPFO will not construct houses for its subscribers but would act as a facilitator so that the members can buy homes.

The labour ministry intends to facilitate at least 10 lakh subscribers in the next two years by allowing them to use 90 per cent of EPF accumulations to make down payments to buy houses and use their accounts for paying EMIs of home loans.

In April this year, the EPFO had amended the EPF Scheme to enable the subscribers to make down payment to buy homes and pay EMIs through the EPF account.

The scheme (withdrawal of 90 per cent of EPF) will be aligned with the Urban Development Ministry (programmes) and other organisations because the Centre is also giving subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh to weaker sections (to buy houses).

HUDCO: Know More

• The HUDCO is a nodal agency for implementation of credit linked subsidy scheme for middle and lower-income groups and economically weaker section under the PMAY
• Headquarters: India
• Founded: 1970
• Number of employees: 976
• Parent organization: Government of India

The urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has launched its first liveability index which will rank the country’s 116 major cities on the basis of the quality of life.

The index named ‘City Liveability Index’ will cover cities with a population above one million, including the capital cities.

The index will help cities to analyse where they stand in terms of the quality of life. It will help them to come up with interventions required to improve it.

The index will assess cities based on a comprehensive set of 79 parameters such as availability of roads, education, healthcare, mobility, employment opportunities, emergency response, grievance redressal, pollution, availability of open and green spaces, cultural and entertainment opportunities etc. The rankings based on the index would be released in 2018.

The urban development minister has disbursed INR 500 crore as an incentive to 16 states that have performed well in implementing urban reforms during 2016-17.

Andhra Pradesh has topped the list of 16 states with the highest score in implementing urban schemes. The second place has been occupied by Odisha which is followed by Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Goa, Mizoram, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

While ranking, the progress achieved by these states in terms of reforms like e-governance, an audit of accounts, tax revision policies, extent of tax revenue collection, energy and water audit, establishing state level financial intermediaries for resource mobilisation and credit rating was taken into account.

Further, it has been proposed by the government to increase the incentive fund to INR 10,000 crore for the next three years to promote next generation urban reforms.

Survey of India has has met the challenges of surveying the indomitable Himalaya, blazing deserts and animal infested jungles.

The Department is continuously striving to keep abreast of modern technology and has successfully entered the era of Digital Mapping and Geographic Information Systems.A set of two commemorative postage stamps and a miniature sheet on “Survey of India” were released on 22nd June 2017 on the occasion of its 250th anniversary.

Survey of India, fondly called ‘the Department’ by its members is built on solid foundations, strong traditions and deep roots, keeps striving to keep India among the best surveyed countries in the world, adopting the latest technologies to meet new challenges and always living up to its motto: A Setu Himachalam i.e. 'From Setu to the Himalaya' (covering entire India).

Department of Posts issues Commemorative postage stamps on Institutions that have a national or International stature or have made national/international contribution.

The origin of Survey of India can be traced back to Year 1767, when Major James Rennell was appointed as the Surveyor General of Bengal. It is the oldest scientific department in India and one of the oldest survey establishments in the world.

Survey of India also has the distinct honour of printing the first Postage Stamp of India and the first copy of the Constitution of India.

Survey of India officers have to pioneer untrodden lands for others to follow and build upon.

The Survey of India acts as advisor to the Government of India on all survey matters, viz geodesy, photogrammetry, mapping and map reproduction.

Survey of India: Know More

• Headquarters: Dehradun
• Founder: East India Company
• Founded: 1767
• Key Subsidiaries: Geological Survey of India

The iconic Taj Palace hotel in the city has acquired an ‘image trademark’, making it the first building in the country to get intellectual property rights protection for its architectural design.

It will ensure that commercial use of the image of its dome and grand exterior can be made only with the consent of Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris.

For more than a century the Taj dome has anchored the Mumbai skyline we are very proud to recognise its important role as a symbol of Mumbai’s people and its past through the trademark.

The dome of The Taj Mahal Palace, which stands on the waterfront in south Mumbai, has long been been `triangulation point’ for the Indian Navy which guides its vessels to the harbour.

The distinctive red-tiled Florentine Gothic dome, which crowns the elegant Indo-Saracenic arches and architraves of the hotel, sits 240 feet above the street level.

The architects modelled it on the dome of the Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus).

The hotel opened on December 16, 1903.

The hotel has hosted many eminent personalities, including Neil Armstrong, John Lennon and Barack Obama

A Protocol of Cooperation was signed between the National Archives of India and the Minister of Culture of the Portuguese Republic in the field of archives on 17th May, 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal.

As a first step under this agreement, the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of Portugal) handed over to the National Archives of India digital copies of 62 volumes of the collection known as ‘Moncoes do Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence).

These volumes were originally part of over 456 volumes that cover the period from 1568 to 1914 and form the largest of all record collections in the Goa State Archives.

The collection consists of direct correspondence from Lisbon to Goa and is important primary source for the study of the Portuguese expansion in Asia, their trade rivalries with the Arabs and European powers and their relations with neighbouring Kings in South Asia and East Asia.

In 1777, these 62 volumes, consisting of over 12,000 documents, pertaining to the period from 1605 to 1651 were shifted from Goa to Lisbon where these were subsequently printed in under the title ‘Documentos Remetidos da India’(Documents sent from India) by the Academy of Science at Lisbon between 1880 and 1893.

The original volumes had remained in Lisbon ever since.

A set of digital images of the missing volumes of the Moncoes do Reino was handed over to India.

Ever since the very successful visit of the Portuguese Prime Minister to India in January this year, there is a lot of synergy between the two countries in diverse fields ranging from technology to education and from civil aviation to football - to name a few.

Cultural being an important part of the lives of our people, is an important area where cooperation in the areas of shared heritage and legacy is greatly cherished by one and all.

UNHCRA record 65.6 million people are either refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced across the globe, announced the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The revelation was made on 19 June 2017 in the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR annual Global Trends study.

By the end of 2016, 65.6 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations.

During the year, 10.3 million people were newly displaced by conflict or persecution.

This included 6.9 million individuals displaced within the borders of their own countries and 3.4 million new refugees and new asylum-seekers.

The number of new displacements was equivalent to 20 people being forced to flee their homes every minute of 2016.

Children below 18 years of age constituted about half of the refugee population in 2016.

Developing regions hosted 84 per cent of the world’s refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, with about 14.5 million people.

During 2016, 552200 refugees returned to their countries of origin, often in less than ideal conditions.

Refugees in the World

• Lebanon continued to host the largest number of refugees relative to its national population, where 1 in 6 people was a refugee.
• Altogether, 55 per cent of all refugees worldwide came from just three countries: Syrian Arab Republic (5.5 million), Afghanistan (2.5 million) and South Sudan (1.4 million).
• For the third consecutive year, Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees worldwide, with 2.9 million people.
• Unaccompanied or separated children, mainly Afghans, and Syrians, lodged around 75000 asylum applications in 70 countries during the year, although this figure is assumed to be an underestimate.

The Australian High Commission and Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection announced on 16 June 2017 that from 1 July 2017, all Indian nationals will be able to apply for visitor online visa.

The application option would make applying for the country’s visitor visa easier for Indians and thus enhance their overall experience.

According to an official statement by the Australian government, there has been a significant increase in demand for Australian visas in India with the rising popularity of Australia as a holiday destination. The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection granted more than 65000 visitor online visa to Indian nationals in the first four months of 2017 alone.

Indians would be able to make the online applications through the department’s ImmiAccount portal.

The benefits of online lodgement include 24/7 accessibility, electronic payment of the visa application charge and the ability to check the status of applications lodged online.

The other benefit is that the form could be completed by a third party such as a family member in India or in Australia, a travel agent or a contracted visa application centre with due permission from the applicant.

The processing time for the visas would also be faster considering both applications and supporting documentation would be made immediately available to the processing office.

The move would also enable the applicant to check the status of the application online and know immediately when it is finalised.

This expansion by the Australian government in providing the option of online lodgement to Indian applicants is a significant move towards the easier management of a large number of visitor visa applications processed in India.

There were 265,000 Indian visitor arrivals from July-Mar 2017, an increase of 15.4 percent in comparison to July-March 2016.

The World’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, Vivid Sydney has entered into Guinness World Book of Records.

The Guinness World Record have given the Vivid Sydney installation Dreamscape the title for the ‘Largest interactive lighting display’.

The annual outdoor lighting festival installation Dreamscape has been made up of 124,128 lights and links the entire Circular Quay precinct beginning from the Sydney Opera House to the Sydney Harbour Bridge into one cohesive canvas of light.

Moreover, 3D interactive modelling present in the control room in Circular Quay allows the participants to change the color, texture and pattern of the lighting across the cityscape.

With this record, the Vivid Sydney has trumped its own 2016 predecessor, Dress circle that Circular Quay.

This year the Vivid Sydney had added an additional one km of lights to achieve the record. With this record, the annual outdoor lighting festival has trumped its own 2016 predecessor, Dress Circle which also illuminated the Circular Quay.

This year the annual outdoor lighting festival had added an additional one km of lights to achieve this record.

Vivid Sydney: Know More

• Vivid Sydney is an annual outdoor lighting festival held in Sydney city of Australia.
• The festival includes immersive light installations and projections as well as performances from local and international musicians.
• The festival takes place over a period of three weeks in the winter months of May and June.
• The highlight of the festival are the light sculptures and multimedia interactive works that will transform various buildings and landmarks around the Sydney Central Business District such as Opera House, Harbour Bridge into a cohesive canvas of light.

According to the ‘One Family at a Time’ study conducted by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Indians working across the world had sent home USD 62.7 billion in 2016 making India the top remittance-receiving country surpassing China.

Around 200 million migrants across the world have sent more than USD 445 million in 2016 as remittances to their families. Top Remittance Receiving Countries: India (USD 62.7 billion), China (USD 61 billion), the Philippines (USD 30 billion) and Pakistan (USD 20 billion).

Around 80% of the remittances across the world are received by 23 countries such as India, China, the Philippines, Mexico and Pakistan.

US, Saudi Arabia and Russia: these countries account for almost half of annual flow of remittances.

The study is the first ever study conducted that analysed a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over the period 2007-2016.

In the period between 2007 and 2016, India has surpassed China to become the world’s largest receiver of remittances.

In 2007, India was at the second spot behind China.

Asia remains the main remittance-receiving region with 55% of the global flows. The amount of money sent to the families in developing countries have increased by 51% over the past decade.

This increase in remittances is expected to lift millions out of poverty and in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The report expects that in the year 2017, one of out of every seven people will be involved in either sending or receiving more than USD 450 billion in remittances.

The amount of money sent back home by the migrants’ averages less than 1% of their host’s GDP. In total, these individual remittances account for more than the total foreign direct investment to almost every low-and-middle-income country.

The report has also made recommendations for improving public policies to reduce costs and create opportunities for migrants and their families to use their money more productively

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development: Know More

• IFAD was set up in 1977 as the 13th specialised agency of the United Nations.
• India is a founder member of IFAD and a key contributor among the member countries.
• IFAD works towards removing poverty and hunger in rural areas all over the world, especially in developing countries.
• Its goal is to empower poor rural men and women in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security.
• IFAD is managed by the two main governing bodies i.e. the Governing Council and the Executive Board.
• The Governing Council is the highest decision-making body of IFAD.

Minister of Food Processing Industries said that it was an honour for India to be a co-partner country in such a prestigious international event. “

Food Processing Sector has lots of challenges to deal with but due to the transformation happening in this sector in the last 3 years, the industry is ready to overcome the obstacles.

India’s Government has started nine Mega Food Parks; strengthening cold chain infrastructure; implementing Kisan-SAMPADA scheme with allocation of Rs 6000 crore; creation of corpus of Rs. 2000 Crore with NABARD for priority lending to the food processing industries; rationalising taxes; allowing 100% FDI in retail market for Food sector, etc.

These steps will help the Government in achieving its vision of making India a Global Food Factory rather than being a market place only.

Brand India will be standing parallel with Brand ANUGA in Cologne, Germany, highlighting the importance of International Food Exhibitions like SIAL in France and ANUGA in Germany.

Food diplomacy will bridge many differences and would transform the lives of farmers through farming techniques and need investment not only in Food Processing but also in Farming technologies.

ANUGA 2015 had 135 Indian exhibitors, more than 200 Indian companies are expected to participate in ANUGA 2017 from October 7th to October 11th 2017 at Cologne.

For ANUGA 2017 e- commerce in food industry will be focussed for the first time. Ms Hamma said India’s food industry is known for its efficiency and culinary competence.

World is attracted to Indian cuisines and its diversity.

India is a home to a diverse variety of spices, a large number of which are exported across the globe. Traditional Organic produce of North East India is held in high esteem.

ANUGA Background: Know More

• ANUGA - an acronym for Allgemeine Nahrungs Und Genußmittel Ausstellung ( General Food and Non essential Provisions Exhibition) is the world’s biggest and most important trade fair for Food and beverage trade. It takes place biennially (every 2 years). ANUGA 2017 is the 34th edition.
• ANUGA offers an extensive supporting programme with Lectures, Special exhibition and attractive industry events
• ANUGA is the leading export platform with 7,189 exhibitors from 109 countries with over 85% of Exhibitors from abroad.
• 1,60,000 decision makers from the retail and out-of-home market from 192 countries visited during last ANUGA. 66% of the industry visitors are foreigners

According to a recently released CRY Report on child labour, more than 8 lakh children between the age group of 5 and 6 years in India are engaged in child labour.

Child Rights and You (CRY) is an NGO working towards the upliftment of underprivileged children. The organization got established in 1979 by Rippan Kapur.

As per the report, over 5 lakh children in India do not attend school. A majority of them are involved in family based employments.

Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the number of child labourers (2,50,672 children) in the country followed by Bihar (1,28,087 children) and Maharashtra (82,847 children).

The report has identified that the high level of poverty and unemployment along with a lack of adequate social security net are the important factors forcing children to work, compromising with their learning.

These children are often forced to migrate with their parents and assist in family occupations such as working in brick kilns.

The report cites that the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) suffers many limitations and is now covering only 50% of the child labourers. In the decade 2001-11, the working children in the age group of 10-14 years saw a reduction of 30% but the child labourers in the age group of 5-9 years have seen an increase of 37% from 2001.

ICDS Integrated Child Development Services: Know More

• (ICDS) Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by the states/UTs. The Scheme was launched on 2nd October 1975.
• The scheme has the following objectives: to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-6 years; to reduce mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout; to promote policy coordination and implementation for promoting child development; to lay an adequate foundation for the psychological, physical and social well-being of the children etc.
• Under the scheme, the services such as Supplementary nutrition; Pre-school non-formal education; nutrition and health education, immunization, health check-ups; and Referral services through Anganwadi Centres for children below 6 years of age as well as to pregnant women & lactating mothers are offered.

Kolkata will soon have an underwater Metro which will pass through tunnels several feet under the Hooghly.

The first underwater transportation tunnel of India is ready with the second one nearing completion.

The Kolkata underwater Metro transportation tunnel is unique to India because never before in the history of the country has a tunnel been made under a flowing river.

The tunnel has been constructed 30 metres below riverbed, just a few metres away from the famous Howrah Bridge, built in the last century to connect Howrah and Kolkata.

There aren’t even roads that are under a river in India making the Kolkata Metro tunnel a complete technology marvel which will see trains will chugging through it every two and a half minutes.

It will be connecting two main terminals: Howrah and Sealdah – each of which has a footfall of about 10-12 lakh passengers per day.

These type of tunnel-boring machines, which we call ‘earth pressure balancing tunnel boring machines’, have been used for the first time in Eastern India.

Another interesting point is that more than 10 lakh tonne of mud has been dug out for the construction of this tunnel.

The tunnel-boring machines were used for the first time in eastern India. The entire 16.6-kilometre stretch of the first tunnel is ready.

The second tunnel is yet to be completed.

Of the entire length, 10.8 kms is underground and around one kilometre is underwater.

For tunnelling below the river, the water tightness, waterproofing, and the design of gaskets were the major challenges, because the tunnel is being constructed for a service of 120 years, so we cannot afford any water leakage during service.

Tunnelling cannot be done for long hence the homework was done for almost a year and then the machines and equipment shifted to the location for final implementation and execution of the plan.

The material used gives it immunity to survive quakes in seismic zone 3, in which Kolkata falls.

The use of the standard gauge makes it a unique one. It is the latest technology that has been utilised to ensure that the tracks have sharp curves, keeping in mind that this tunnel passes under a lot of heritage buildings.

Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar will be joining the likes of Noval Djokovic and David Beckham for a United Nations campaign/initiative titled Super Dads.

The UNICEF initiative Super Dad highlights the critical role played by fathers in children’s early development.

The initiative that was launched on 6 June 2017, few days ahead of the Father’s Day (18 June), will celebrate fatherhood by highlighting the importance of love, play, protection and good nutrition for the healthy development of young children’s brains.

Other participants of the Super Dads campaign include Mahershala Ali, the All Blacks, Daniel Cormier, Lewis Hamilton, Hugh Jackman, Thalía and Chris Weidman.

The Super Dads campaign that will have stars from entertainment to sports as its participant is a part of a larger campaign called #EarlyMomentsMatter.

The campaign aims to bring awareness to the significance of early childhood experiences on a child’s future.

The campaign/initiative invites families to post photos and videos of what it takes to be ‘super dads,’ using the hashtag #EarlyMomentsMatter on their Instagram and Twitter accounts.

All photo and video submissions to the Super Dads initiative will feature on the #EarlyMomentsMatter gallery.

UNICEF will select the most heart-warming, humorous, and imaginative photo and video submissions post them on the organisation’s own digital platforms.

The Union government would be appointing Nyaya Mitras across the country to speed up the hearing of cases that have been pending in the lower courts for the last 10 years.

The same was confirmed by Union Law and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad while addressing a function at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court to inaugurate the Tele Law Service through Common Service Centers on 6 June 2017.

The Minister announced that retired judges will be appointed as Nyaya Mitras to expedite over seven lakh fifty thousand cases that are pending across the country.

The government is committed to providing justice to the poor people in a fast, smooth and affordable manner.

The Nyaya Mitra scheme would be functionalised through retired judges who would be designated as the Nyaya Mitras.

Their responsibilities would include offering assistance to litigants who are suffering due to delay in trial.

Besides this, the Law Minister said that the number of Common Service centres has been increased to two lakh fifty thousand across the country.

The centres provide around 300 kinds of services to the common people. He also made an appeal to the Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs) working at these centres to make themselves dependable for poor people.

Supreme Court judge and Chairman of National Legal Service Authority Justice, Deepak Misra also made an appeal to the PLVs to become friendlier to litigants and serve them.

The number of PLVs would be increased from 500 to 15000 in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The ‘Vatsalya - Maatri Amrit Kosh’, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre was inaugurated at the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi.

This centre would be the largest public sector human milk bank and lactation counselling centre available in North India.

“Vatsalya - Maatri Amrit Kosh” has been established in collaboration with the Norwegian government, Oslo University and Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI).

Vatsalya - Maatri Amrit Kosh will collect, pasteurize, test and safely store milk donated by lactating mothers and make it available for infants in need.

With the establishment of this donor human milk bank, all newborns in and around Delhi will have access to life saving human milk irrespective of the circumstances of their birth.

The centre will protect, promote and support breastfeeding by providing lactation support to mothers with the help of dedicated lactation counsellors.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also launched Mothers Absolute Affection (MAA) programme to create awareness regarding breastfeeding among mothers for enhancing the child’s immunity.

The facility will act as a dedicated centre to support breastfeeding and improve infant survival.

The centre will serve as teaching, training and demonstration site for other milk banks that will be established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Government of Kerala has initiated a green protocol to make auspicious occasions such as weddings more nature-friendly.

With the implementation of the protocol, the use of plastic and other non-degradable articles including disposable glasses, plates and thermocol decorations would be prohibited at marriage functions. Instead, people would be encouraged to use tumblers, plates and utensils made from glass and other environment-friendly metals.

To ensure proper implementation of the green protocol, inspections will be held at marriage halls, convention centres, hotels and other venues of the wedding ceremony.

Special squads, comprising officials of Suchitwa Mission and revenue department, have been formed to carry out inspections in wedding halls and record the ceremony.

Strict action would be taken in case of any violation based on the nature of utensils and articles found.

Suchitwa Mission: Know More

• Suchitwa Mission’, the state nodal agency for sanitation, has already launched the initiative on a pilot basis in some districts of the state including Kannur, Ernakulam, Kollam and Alappuzha.
• The government has sought cooperation of the owners of marriage halls and convention centres for effective implementation of the green protocol.
• The main objective behind the initiative is to reduce the use of plastic in daily life.
• Plastic articles including glasses and plates are used in large numbers during functions, especially marriage ceremonies in the state
• The green-protocol was launched as a part of the government’s anti-plastic drive and Green-Kerala Mission.
• The Mission has joined hands with district administration, panchayat authorities and socio-cultural and religious outfit for the green-protocol initiative.

According to the Animal Discoveries 2016, New Species and Records, brought out by the Zoological Survey of India and Plant Discoveries 2016, by the Botanical Survey of India, 499 new species have been discovered from various parts of the country last year.

Animals Of the new discoveries, comprise 258 are invertebrates and 55 are vertebrates.

Around 97 are insects, 27 are fish, 12 are amphibians, 10 are Platyhelminthes, nine are Crustacea, six species of reptiles, 61 species of moths and butterflies and 38 of beetles.

The new species are known to occur in the four biological hotspots of the country, namely, the Himalayas, the northeast, the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

As per the Animal Discoveries 2016, the number of animal species in the country for the first time has crossed one lakh to number 1,00,693. Till last year, the number of animal varieties in India was 97,514.

India is one of the 17 mega diversity countries and is home to 6.42% of the global fauna.

As per Plant Discoveries 2016, 186 new varieties of plants have been discovered including seven new genera, four subspecies and nine new varieties taking the total number of varieties to 206.

The publication lists 113 new records from India. The new varieties of the plant were discovered in the Western Ghats (17%), followed by the Eastern Himalayas (15%), the Western Himalayas (13%), the Eastern Ghats (12%) and the west coast (8%).

Eight new varieties of wild balsams, five species of wild ginger and one species of wild amla has been discovered.

In addition, 39 varieties of mushrooms have been discovered. BSI The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is the apex research organization under the MOEF for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country.

BSI + ZSI: Know More

• BSI was established on 13th February, 1890 with the basic objective to explore the plant resources of the country and to identify the plants species with economic virtues.
• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was launched in 1916.
• It is India’s apex organization on animal taxonomy. It’s objective is to promote the survey, exploration, research and documentation on various aspects of animal taxonomy in the Indian subcontinent.
• It also seeks advancement of knowledge on animal taxonomy.
• It has been declared as the designated repository for the National Zoological Collection as per section 39 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002.

Danish lawmakers in the first week of June 2017 repealed a 334-year-old blasphemy law that forbids public insults of a religion, such as the burning of holy books.

Denmark was the only Scandinavian country with a blasphemy law, which called for up to four months in prison upon conviction, although most people were fined instead.

Only a handful of blasphemy trials have taken place in the past 80 years in the country, and several high-profile cases have been dropped, including one involving a caricature of the prophet Muhammad published in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in 2005.

The Danish Parliament stated that politicians, who wanted to repeal the law introduced in 1683 “do not believe that there should be special rules protecting religions against expressions.”

India on 5 June 2017 signed a USD 39.2 million loan agreement with the World Bank for the Assam Citizen Centric Service Delivery project.

The loan will be provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), an international financial institution under the World Bank that offers loans to middle-income developing countries.

The loan agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary under Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of India and Hisham Abdo, Manager Operations (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

The Implementing Entity Agreement was signed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Assam Government and the Country Director (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

The total estimated cost of the Citizen Centric Service Delivery project is USD 49 million, out of which USD 39.2 million will be financed by the World Bank.

The remaining funds will be utilised from the Assam Budget. The objective of the project is to improve access in the delivery of selected public services in Assam.

The Project seeks to enable citizens to access services under the Assam Right To Public Services Act, 2012 in a timely, efficient, and accountable manner.

The Project adopts an integrated approach to improve access and accountability. The programme duration is of 5 years.

The world’s fastest elevator that can operate at a record breaking speed of 1260 metres per minute is set to been installed in a skyscraper complex building in China.

The record-breaking speed was recorded during a test of the elevator at the CTF Finance Center, a 530-meter tall skyscraper in the city of Guangzhou, China.

The test was conducted for technology development of Hitachi elevators. However, the elevator in Guangzhou will only run at its rated speed of 72 kilometres per hour when it is in service.

The elevator has been developed by the Japanese tech company Hitachi.

In May 2016, the ultra-high-speed elevator had reached 1200 metres per minute as its rated speed.

The achievement was recorded by China’s National Elevator Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre, a public accreditation body of elevators.

The elevator has various safety features including brake equipment using materials with outstanding heat resistance. An air pressure adjustment technology eases ear blockage by reducing the changes in air pressure inside elevator car.

Active guide rollers installed in the elevator absorbs vibration during high speed operation, making the ride comfortable.

Nepal on 5 June 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China for construction of 1200-megawatt Budhigandaki Hydropower Project.

The agreement was signed at Kathmandu, Nepal by Nepal Energy Minister Janardan Sharma and Lv Zexiang, President of China Gezhouba Water & Power (Group) Co Ltd (CGGC).

Budhigandaki Hydropower Project will be developed on Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance (EPCF) model.

Under this model, CGGC will help arrange funds required to develop the project.

As per the MoU, CGGC has one year time to conduct assessment of the hydropower project and arrange necessary funds for its development.

The funds will be mobilised in the form of soft loan or commercial loan from Chinese financial institutions on terms and conditions acceptable to the Nepal government.

CGGC will also undertake the overall responsibility of executing the project. It will also conduct additional studies on and investigations into the project, if required.

Budhihgandaki Project: Know More

• The Budhigandaki Hydropower Project is expected to resolve the perennial power crisis in Nepal.
• The Nepal Government has allocated a budget of Rs 5.33 billion for the project’s development in the current fiscal year.
• These funds have been procured by the Nepal Government by raising infrastructure tax of Rs 5 from sale of every litre of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.
• The project is presently in the phase of acquisition of land from locals of Dhading and Gorkha districts of Nepal.

The first bicycle sharing initiative in the country has launched, bringing 450 bicycles and 48 docking stations to the city of Mysuru.

The bikes, of which 450 will be available to the city’s 1.2 million inhabitants, will be hirable from 48 docking stations across the city.

The scheme, which is being run by bike sharing company Trin Trin, was launched with a fair amount of fanfare in the city of Mysuru which is already known as India’s cleanest city.

Alongside the physical launch, an app has been released and several videos have been published detailing how the system works.

Registered users will be able to access the bikes with an NFC-capable card.

Registration costs INR 350 rupees, which is just over £4, and includes a refundable deposit for the activation cards.

Mysuru: Know More

• Mysore (or Mysuru), a city in India’s southwestern Karnataka state.
• It was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947.
• In its centre is opulent Mysore Palace, seat of the former ruling Wodeyar dynasty. The palace blends Hindu, Islamic, Gothic and Rajput styles.
• Mysore is also home to the centuries-old Devaraja Market, filled with spices, silk and sandalwood.

The Indian Army is all set to open up combat positions for women, a gender barrier broken by only a few countries globally.

Army chief general Bipin Rawat said the process to allow women in combat roles, currently an exclusive domain of men, is moving fast and initially women will be recruited for positions in military police.“

Currently, women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army, but combat roles are kept off limit for them due to operational concerns and logistical issues.

The army chief said he was ready to recruit women as jawans and the matter is being taken up with the government.

world-bank Incentives, safe and conducive environment besides a level playing field were critical to boost women participation in the Indian workforce, the World Bank said.

In its India Development Report released on 29th May 2017, the World Bank said the country had one of the lowest female participation in the workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries for which data was available.

While overall job creation has been limited, most of the new ones have been grabbed by men given the social norms, the report said.

What is worrisome is the fact that the participation level has been dropping since 2005, despite having 42% women who are graduates.

The report highlighted that India’s potential GDP growth rate can be boosted by a percentage point if women participation increased. Jobs for Indian women remain primarily in the agriculture sector.

The share of women in services and industry is less than 20%.

Amid lower rate of job generation, most regular jobs were being grabbed by men. India created only 0.9% jobs equivalent of the adult population between 2005 and 2012.

An agreement for IBRD Credit of USD 36 Million from World Bank for “Himachal Pradesh Public Financial Management Capacity Building Program” was signed in New Delhi.

The Implementing Entity Agreement was also signed.

The objective of the project is to improve the efficiency of Public Expenditure Management and Tax Administration in Himachal Pradesh.

The Program is expected to contribute to enhancing efficiency of key departments, improving budget credibility, strengthening systems and procedures to improve fiscal discipline, improving revenue administration to increase fiscal space, and targeted organizational reforms including human resource reforms.

The Program focuses on the priority areas identified by the GoHP, which were articulated in various stakeholder workshops during Program preparation.

The programme size is USD 45 million, of which USD 36 million will be financed by the Bank, and the remaining amount will be funded out of State Budget. The duration is 5 years.

In accordance with the Government of India’s policy to introduce online Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) for Group ‘A’ services, Smt. Rita Teotia, Commerce Secretary launched the SPARROW-ITS (Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window).

The window is to enable the Indian Trade Service (ITS) officers to fill their APAR online for the year 2016-17 onwards.

The APARs would be generated and transmitted online to the concerned officers for filling up of the self appraisal.

The officer can then submit the self appraisal online through Digitally Signed Signature (DSC) or through E-sign.

The subsequent processes of reporting and reviewing would also be done online by the Reporting and Reviewing Officer by using DSC or E-sign.

The timelines have been drawn up for each stage of the process.

The entire process of filling up of APAR would have to be completed by 31st December and no remarks can be added after that date.

The very idea of switch over from manual to online system is to ensure ready access of APAR dossier by the authorized users, preventing loss of APARs in transition, address the issues of ante-dating, remarks recorded by the Reporting Authorities without dates, etc.

Above all, it brings in transparency into the APAR management system. This would, in turn, ensure that the APAR dossiers are readily available for promotions at various levels which used to get delayed for want of updated APARs.

This is another step towards Digital India in the government, where various administrative processes are being moved to IT platform leading to transparency and ease of administration.

The 150 officers of ITS would, thus, get benefited by timely promotions and all other benefits dependent upon the evaluation of their APARs. SPARROW-ITS is e-sign enabled.

What is E-Sign Enabled?

• eSign is an innovative initiative for allowing easy, efficient, and secure signing of electronic documents by authenticating signer using Aadhaar eKYC services.
• Through this service, any Aadhaar holder can digitally sign an electronic document without having to obtain a physical digital signature dongle through OTP based authentication.
• The user should possess a 12 digits Aadhaar Number.
• For OTP based authentication, the mobile number should be registered with Aadhaar number at the time of Aadhaar Registration.

United States for the first time has successfully tested its defence system against an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

During the test, a ground based interceptor launched from the California air base had shot down a mock intercontinental ballistic missile target which was fired from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands.

A rocket from the Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) entered into space and deployed its exo-atmospheric kill vehicle that smashed the target destroying it.

Such an interception of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is hailed as an important milestone for the GMD system.

The GMD uses globally deployed sensors to detect and track ballistic missile threats. Need The test comes at the backdrop of US’s increased tensions with North Korea.

Recently, North Korea test fired its ninth missile this year. North Korea’s quest is to develop weapons capable of hitting the United States.

The test was the first live-fire test against a simulated ICBM for the Ground-Based Missile (GBM) Defense.

It has helped in the establishment of effective though limited ground-based defence against ICBMs.