Indian Polity - Current Affairs for June, 2016

Governor of Tripura, Tathagata Roy has been given additional charge of the Governor of AP during the absence, on leave, of Shri J.P. Rajkhowa, Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, by President Mukherjee.

BJP leader and Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal declared Majuli, a Bramhaputra island as a district making it the first of its kind in India.

• Decision to upgrade Majuli- a subdivision within the Jorhat district- was taken in the first cabinet meeting of the new BJP led government which won over the Congress that had been in power for three consecutive terms
• Majuli which shrunk from 1250 sq km to 515 sq km as a result of massive river bank erosion caused by the Brahmaputra has been competing as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO
• With 22 stars or Vaishnavite monasteries, home to the Mising tribals, Majuli is a major tourist destination despite erosion and seasonal floods.
• Majuli has been a cultural capital of Assamese civilisation since the 16th century associated with written records describing the visit of Srimanta Sankardeva, a 16th century social reformer
• He was a pioneer of the medieval age Neo Vaishnavite movement preaching monotheism through Vaishnavism and established monasteries and hermitages known as satra on the islet

Congress has appointed Asha Kumari as party in-charge of Punjab replacing Kamal Nath who stepped down from the post following criticism by opposition parties over alleged role in 1984 anti Sikh riots.

• She is a member of the HP assembly
• The 52 year old is currently out on bail in a land grab case
• Ms. Kumari hails from Chhatisgarh and belongs to the royal family of Chamba in HP and is known for her had work and political skills

The National Sample Survey Organisation founded in 2014 held that 94 percent people in rural India do not own a computer. Shri Arun Jaitley has proposed to address this issue whereby 8000 boundary pillars along the Indo Nepal border will be equipped by positioning system using Global Navigation Satellite System.

• This marks the first time that the authorities will be managing the 1700 km long porous boundary
• Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the Nepal-India Boundary Global Navigation Satellite System will be used for Nepal-India boundary pillars

India will soon launch an INR 1800 crore or USD 265 million Digital Literacy Mission for 60 million people in rural areas.

• This is another initiative to bridge the gap between those who can access computers and Internet and those who cannot
• Government will spend INR 300 each on training 60 million people
• CSC a-Governance India will be funding and monitoring the common services centre scheme
• This company has been promoted by Department of Electronics and Information Technology
• This will also implement the National Digital Literacy Mission which will ensure IT training for 52.5 million people

Union Government on 23rd June 2016 launched India’s first pilot program to run two wheelers on CNG in New Delhi.

• This program was launched by Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas as well as Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State for Environment, Forests & Climate Change
• Programme is implemented by GAIL and IGL
• It is implemented under the Hawa Badlo movement supported by GAIL

Maharashtra Cabinet on 21st June 2016 approved minority status to the Jew community. Decision will provide benefit to students from communities to avail scholarships from the state government.

• Following minority status in the state the Jews in the state will be entitled to use benefits of government schemes meant for minorities and can also apply in educational institutions under the minority status
• The Jewish people living in the state would now also be able to set up their own educational institutions and practice and promote their culture.

The Union Cabinet introduced labour law changes while approving a Rs 6,000-crore package for the textile and apparel sectors on June 22, 2016.

• A key element is increase in overtime for workers which should not exceed 8 hours per week, translating into nearly 90 hours over three months.
• The current norm allows only 50 hours of overtime in three months.
• The government also announced a change in income tax laws to allow for deduction in case more permanent workers are hired by textile and garment units.

There will be mega spectrum sale with the Union Cabinet giving a go-ahead to auctions across seven bands.

• The sale will see the government put around 2,300 MHz of spectrum on sale - the highest-ever in a single auction - which is likely to fetch the exchequer at least Rs 5.5 lakh crore if all the mobile airwaves are sold at the reserve price
• Telecom Commission - the inter-ministerial panel that is the supreme body on decisions on telecom matters - had suggested a flat 4.5% rate for spectrum acquired across bands at various points in time, a development that would have seen a hike in Mukesh Ambani's soon-to-be-launched Reliance Jio's charge (against the existing 1% in the 2,300 MHz band)
• The decision was not supported by the Attorney General.

Cabinet has approved fiscal incentives for textile sector. Cabinet has approved fiscal incentives for textiles sector aimed at improving exports and boosting jobs.

• Government will also subsidise employers’ social welfare contributions for employees in the textile sector.

Candidates taking various exams for recruitment into Central government will now be able to access scores and rankings through a dedicated portal.

• Government has approved the proposal of Niti Aayog in this regard
• Results are to be available for public viewing unless the candidate has opted out of the disclosure scheme at the time of filing applications
• NIC will be developing a website Integrated Information System for Public Recruitment Agencies, according to DoPT
• The integrated website will also have links to numerous recruiting agencies like UPSC, SSC etc own web pages

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved the Maharashtra CM’s proposal to set up a Central Marine Police Force to protect the sea, coasts, ports and key institutions along the 7516 km long coastline

• The suggestion had also been made that all landing points and non major ports be brought under tech based e-surveillance
• Decision to have central command for Marine Police elicited support from ministers and officials across States and UTs
• Decision was also taken to set up the National Marine Police Training Institute in Dwarka (Gujarat) and State Marine Police Training Centres in Police training academies of states and union territories

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th June 2016 proposed the RAPID mantra to tax officials during the inauguration of Rajasva Gyan Sangam, for senior income tax officials.
The mantra stands for the following aspects:
R-Revenue
A-Accountability
P-Probity
I-Information
D-Digitisation

• Mantra will help people to respect the rule of law as well as the long arm of the law for those evading taxes.
• Conference also provided a performance to debate on emerging issues

Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath resigned as the party’s general secretary in charge of Punjab on Wednesday, a post he was given just two days ago, after the Aam Aadmi Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party accused him of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

• In his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Nath said “certain elements” were raking up the 1984 riots and pinning charges on him for “political gains.”
• Ms. Gandhi accepted the resignation. Mr. Nath will continue to be general secretary in charge of Haryana.
• Mr. Nath said there was no complaint or FIR against him in the riots case and “this canard is therefore nothing but a cheap political ploy to gain traction ahead of the elections….”

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government approved the country’s first National Civil Aviation Policy for increasing air connectivity.

• This is allowing new domestic airlines to fly abroad quickly and opening up the skies for European and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries.
• New airlines, such as Vistara and AirAsia, will no longer have to wait for five years before starting operations on international routes.
• Start-up airlines can now fly abroad after operating at least 20 planes or 20 per cent of their total flying capacity, whichever is higher, on domestic routes.
• According to a 2004 norm, which is also known as the ‘5/20 rule’, a domestic airline is allowed to go international only after flying for five years to domestic destinations and operating at least 20 aircraft.
• India will have an open-sky policy for countries beyond the 5,000-km radius from Delhi on a reciprocal basis.
• This means that airlines from European or Saarc countries will have unlimited access, in terms of number of flights and seats, to Indian airports, leading to increased flight frequencies with these countries.

Ministry of Railways signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Govt. of Odisha on 14 June 2016.The company shall identify projects to be developed and find avenues for financing of the same. Ministry of Railways and Govt. of Odisha shall be essentially funding part of such identified projects. Project specific SPVs shall be formed after financial closure of the project.

• 17 State Governments consented for formation of Joint Venture Companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways for development of rail infrastructure in their respective States.
• Draft MoUs were sent to these State Governments and discussions were also held with them to clarify various provisions of the MoU.
• MoUs have already been signed by the Ministry of Railways with seven State Governments viz. Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Haryana.
• Around 9 States, the other States who have consented/ shown keenness for formation of State JVs are Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
• Karnataka is already having a Joint Venture (by the name K-RIDE) with Ministry of Railways.

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has framed a New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP).

• The key objective of the policy is to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements in print media.
• It also focuses on streamlining release of Government advertisements and to also promote equity and fairness among various categories of newspapers/periodicals.
• The policy directs all clients of DAVP to issue Letter of Authority/Cheque/DD/NEFT/RTGS up to 80 % of the actual expenditure in the previous year within the first month of the new financial year and clear all the remaining payments before February 28th of the financial year.

The Union Ministry of Shipping in June 2016 prepared a draft bill 'The Central Port Authorities Act, 2016'. The bill seeks to replace the Major Port Trust Act, 1963.

• The draft was prepared with an aim to provide more autonomy and flexibility to the Major Ports and to bring in a professional approach in their governance.
• Composition of board has been simplified. The board will comprise of 9 members including 3 to 4 independent members instead of 17-19 under the Port Trust Model and 3 functional heads of Major Port as Members in the Board apart from a Government Nominee Member and a Labour Nominee Member.
• The disqualification of the appointment of the Members of the Board, duties of the Members and provision of the meetings of the Board through video conferencing and other visual means have been introduced on the lines of Companies Act, 2013.

Though symbolic in nature, the pacts came during the first ever visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to the country.

• Ghana is the first country visited by the President during the six-day African tour which commenced on June 12, 2016.
• The other two include yet another maiden trip by a President to Ivory Coast and to Namibia after a gap of two decades.
• The three agreements signed with Ghana, after delegation level talks between Mr. Mukherjee and his Ghanaian counterpart John Dramani Mahama, included one for visa waivers for holders of diplomatic and official passports and one for setting up a Joint Commission.
• India is the largest foreign investor in Ghana today, with more than 700 projects. More than 222 of these projects are in the manufacturing sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an interactive session with the top brass of the two revenue collection arms of the government - CBDT and CBEC - during a first-of-its-kind 'Rajasva Gyan Sangam' to be held here on June 16.

• The meet will be attended by about 250 officials and the top brass of the Income Tax department and Customs and Central Excise.
• The conclave will deliberate on a host of issues related to taxpayer services and effective implementation of fiscal laws and government policies, including measures to curb black money generation and circulation.
• This is the first time that this annual conference of the two large departments is being held together.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday declared he was adding a qualifier to his ‘Make American Great Again’ slogan – ‘For Everyone.’

• Mr. Trump said at a rally 100 miles south of Washington DC, in the capital of Virginia, one of the 15 States the Trump team has identified for focused campaign ahead of the November presidential election.

Telangana government has ordered the setting up of a Pharma City on 12,500 acre of land in Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar.

• Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation shall send detailed project proposal to the government on militias for implementing as well as executing the programs and carrying out all aspects related to development of this park in a transparent manner following relevant rules.
• Telangana State has been a bulk drugs capital of the nation with close to 1/3rd of the total production in value terms
• Government has therefore decided to set up the pharma city.

Andhra Pradesh Government through its AP Food Processing Society has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the National Research Development Corporation, an Enterprise of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi (NRDC)

• The agreement is to strengthen the agribusiness & food processing sector by establishing Smart Agribusiness Platform Networks of Andhra Pradesh (SAPNAP).
• These networks will focus on creation of enabling ecosystem for accelerated growth of agribusiness by involving all the stakeholders.
• SAPNAP will have two key development platform
• Smart Agribusiness Value-chains and
• Smart Agribusiness Incubators & Accelerators
• NRDC will be the knowledge partner

The Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the report “Road Accidents in India 2015” in New Delhi on June 9, 2016.

• Road accidents have emerged as a major public health problem globally, and more so in India where almost 5 lakh accidents occurred last year, killing 1,46000 people and leaving thrice the number injured.
• With one of the highest motorisation growth rate in the world, accompanied by rapid expansion in road network and urbanisation over the years, India is faced with serious impacts on road safety levels.
• According to the report compiled by the Transport Research Wing, the total number of road accidents increased by 2.5 per cent from 4,89,400 in 2014 to 5,01,423 in 2015.
• Thirteen top states namely Tamil Nadu (69,059), Maharashtra (63,805), Madhya Pradesh (54,947), Karnataka (44,011), Kerala (39,014), Uttar Pradesh (32,385), Andhra Pradesh (24,258), Rajasthan (24,072), Gujarat (23,183), Telengana (21,252), Chattisgarh (14,446),West Bengal (13,208) and Haryana (11,174) together accounted for 86.7 per cent of all road accidents in the country. Around 83.6 per cent of all road accidents fatalities also occurred in the top thirteen states.

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav on June 7th 2016 appointed the judicial commission to probe into the recent Mathura violence

• Judicial commission will be headed by retired Allahabad HC judge Justice Mirza Imtiaz Murtaza
• It will submit its report within two months
• Commission has been mandated to conduct inquiry on 6 points of reference including finding the reason why this incident occurred and the plan and preparedness of district administration and its effectiveness
• Administrative inquiry by Aligarh commissioner has been disbanded

Rajasthan Government on 5 June 2016 launched mobile application RajVayu for sharing information about Air Quality Index of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. The app was launched by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on the eve of World Environment Day.

• With this, Rajasthan became first state in country to launch such app for sharing information about air quality index of cities.
• Information provided on RajVayu app is based on the data collected by sophisticated air quality monitoring equipment and weather sensors.
• The app has been designed by Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) jointly with Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

Aiming to make FDI policy simpler, government on June 8 2016 released an updated compendium for incorporating policy changes and doing away with unneeded explanations

• The earlier’s regime’s policy for opening multi-brand retail for foreign investment has also been carried forward
• FDI policy has been made simpler and investor friendly and the compendium also provides provisions for the issue of sweat equity to NRI employees and directors and defines the term private security agencies, private security and armoured car service.
• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion also said it clarified on private security agencies by borrowing definition of few terms from Private Security Agencies Regulation Act 2005

The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the TCI –IIM Calcutta joint study report on the operational efficiency of freight transportation by road in India in New Delhi on June 7.

• The report is based on a study commissioned by the Transport Corporation of India (TCI), of 28 routes in the country over the period 2014-15.
• In in China about 47 % of the freight is carried through waterways, in Japan and Korea it is about 43-44 percent and in European countries more than 40 percent. In India only about 6 percent of the freight is carried through waterways.

Congress Legislature party leader V Narayanasamy was sworn in as CM of the Puducherry UT on June 6, 2016.

• Lt. Gov Kiran Bedi administered his oath of office and secrecy along with 5 ministers at Beach Road Gandhi Tidal
• Five Congress legislators who were also sworn-in as ministers are A Namassivayam, Shah Jahan, Malladi Krishna Rao, M Kandasamy and R Kamalakannan.

In the eye of a storm over allegations of corruption including irregularities in a land deal, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse on June 4, 2016 resigned from the post. Khadse handed over his resignation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

State government has chosen distinguished space scientist of ISRO and former director of VSSC Padma Shri M Chandra Dathan as scientific advisor to the new Chief Minister Pinnarayi Vijayan.

• It is perhaps for the first time in the history of state that a chief minister who is also in-charge of the science and technology portfolio appoints a space scientist as advisor on scientific matters.
• Dathan began his career in 1972 joining ISRO where he worked on the SLV-3 project during its design phase and later on moved to solid propellant formulations.
• In 2000, he became the head of the ablative nozzle production unit and went on to become the chief executive of the Solid Propellant Plant for PSLV and GSLV boosters where he supervised the establishment of a new Solid Propellant Plant commissioned in 2008.
• From there he took over as director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in 2008.

The Prime Minister on May 31 approved the proposal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for enhancing the age of superannuation of all doctors of the Central Health Service to 65 years with effect from 31st May 2016.

• This will enable the Government to retain experienced doctors for a longer period, and to provide better services in its public health facilities, particularly to the poorest, who are entirely dependent on public facilities.
• This will also strengthen the efforts of the Ministry in conceptualising and rolling out various people-oriented schemes which l need the services of doctors in implementing them