Prelims Tidbits 20 Sep 17

25 new Judges for 2 HCs

Context:

• President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday cleared the appointment of 25 judges in two High Courts.
• In a move towards reducing the large number of vacancies in the higher judiciary, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday cleared the appointment of 25 judges in two High Courts.
• Issuing separate notifications, the Law Ministry notified the appointment of 19 additional judges in the Allahabad High Court and six in the Calcutta High Court.
• The Allahabad High Court, the largest in terms of Bench strength, has an approved strength of 160 judges. But until Tuesday’s appointment, it was functioning with 91 judges.
• The Calcutta High Court, India’s oldest, too has a shortage as the court, until now, has been functioning with 31 judges against an approved strength of 72.
• Additional judges usually have a term of two years and are elevated to the rank of a permanent judge based on their performance.

High Court Judge  

Appointed by Collegium System 

• Qualification of Judges :

1. Should citizen of India 
2. Other Condition (Constitution not mentioned minimum tenure) 
3. Should have held judicial office in a territory of India for 10 Years ;
4. or should have advocate of a HC for 10 years 
5. No provision of appointing distinguished jurist as HCJudge 

• Oath by Governor 
• Tenure :age of 62 years 
• Can resign to President 

Centre approves cadre review in Army

Context:

• The Union government has approved the long-pending cadre review in the Army for Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Other Ranks (OR), which will improve promotion opportunities.
• “This is the third cadre review since Independence. It will benefit over 1.45 lakh JCOs and ORs. At present, more and more jawans retire in the same rank,” Defence Ministry Sources said
•  The first cadre review was done in 1979 and the second in 1984.
• Nearly 60,000 soldiers retire from the Army every year, most of them as jawans at a young age of 30.

Prelims Tidbits 19 sep 17

T.N. Speaker disqualifies rebel AIADMK MLAs

Context:
1. Defection rules invoked; they cease to be legislators with immediate effect
2. Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal on Monday disqualified 18 dissident
AIADMK MLAs, owing allegiance to sidelined party leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who
on August 22 submitted individual letters to Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao
withdrawing support to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
3. A Gazette notification later said the MLAs had “incurred disqualification” under
Article 191 (2) of the Constitution read with Clause (a) sub-paragraph (1) of
paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule, and that they ceased to be members with
immediate effect.

ANTI-DEFECTION LAW

• 10th Schedule, 52nd Amendment 1985 (2003:Not to apply in case of split)
• Deciding Authority :Decide by presiding officer of House
• Supreme Court declared: Unconstitutional on ground,
• it seeks to take away jurisdiction of SC & HC.

Note:-No time limit mention in constitution to take action to disqualify member
by Speaker

Context:
1. Disqualified MLA member of in the State government from membership of any
State legislature.

❖ Disqualifications for membership:
1. if he holds any office of profit under the Union or State government
2. if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a court/
3. if he is an undischarged insolvent.
4. if he is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a
foreign state
5. if he is so disqualified under any law made by Parliament

UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award

Context:
1. Nigerian lawyer gets top UN peace prize
2. Mustapha helped free Chibok girls
3. Nigerian lawyer who helped secure the release of more than 100 schoolgirls
kidnapped by Boko Haram was on Monday awarded one of the United Nations’
top prizes.
4. The UNHCR said Zannah Mustapha was given the annual Nansen award for his
“crucial mediating” role as well as his work helping children affected by the
long-running conflict. 

Representation of People Act(Amendment) Bill 2017
Context:
1. A bill for parliamentarians to declare their assets at the end of their tenure has been proposed.
2. The Representation of The People Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017, will be presented in the Winter Session of Parliament this year.
3. This bill aims to ensure accountability and transparency.

❖ Highlights of the Bill::
1. The bill proposes that Members of Parliament declare their assets within 90 days after their tenure ends. This provision is to be inserted as sub section 75B(1) in the ‘Representation of People Act, 1951’.
2. The proposed amendment in the parent act will help in maintaining transparency and accountability of people’s representatives at the apex level. It will also help in creating a positive atmosphere of corruption-free status of MPs.

State Funding of Polls

Context:
1. Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) T S Krishnamurthy has pitched for state-funding of elections, and banning the use of funds by political parties for polls, as part of electoral reforms.
2. He has also mooted creation of a national election fund to which companies and individuals can contribute. This is mainly aimed at ensuring that there is no connection between political parties and corporate.

❖ State / public funding of elections:
1. This means that government gives funds to political parties or candidates for contesting elections. Its main purpose is to make it unnecessary for contestants to take money from powerful moneyed interests so that they can remain clean.
2.In some countries, state funding is extended to meeting some specific forms of
spending by political parties, not confined to electioneering alone.
2. Countries keep changing laws relating to state funding depending on experience

and financial condition.

DECODING SHELL COMPANIES

Context:
1. The Centre has initiated action against more than two lakh shell companies as
part of Operation Clean Money.
2. Separately, the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has
identified 331 companies and initiated action against them.

❖ Shell companies:

• The Companies Act, 2013 has not defined what a ‘shell company’ is and as to
• what kind of activities would lead to a company being termed a ‘shell’.
• Shell companies are typically corporate entities which do not have any active
• business operations or significant assets in their possession.
• The government views them with suspicion as some of them could be used for
• money laundering, tax evasion and other illegal activities. 
• In India, there is no specific law relating to “shell companies.”
• However, some laws help, to an extent, in curbing illegal activities such as
• money laundering and can indirectly be used to target shell companies —
• Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act 2016; The Prevention of
• Money Laundering Act 2002 and The Companies Act, 2013.

Sashatra Seema Bal(SSB )

• Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh operationalised the New Intelligence Set-up of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) at a function here today.
• Sashastra Seema Bal or SSB, in English the Armed Border Force is one of India's Central Armed Police Forces.
• It is currently under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India
• The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) mans the 1,751-km long India-Nepal and the 699-km long Indo-Bhutan borders.

Prelims Tidbits 18 sep 17

Sardar Sarovar Dam 

Context:
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated the Narmada dam project to the nation on his birthday, calling it Gujarat’s lifeline that has been completed despite many hurdles.
2. Many people had “conspired” to stop it so that Gujarat did not make progress, he said.
3. The dam was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, 2017

❖ Sardar Sarovar Dam:

1. The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada river near Navagam,Gujarat in India.
2. Four Indian states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Rajasthan, receive water and electricity supplied from the dam.
3. The foundation stone of the project was laid out by Prime Minister Jawaharlal  Nehru on April 5, 1961.
4. The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity.

India under U.S. pressure to scale down ties with North Korea

Context:

1. As war clouds gathered over the Korean peninsula following the North Korean missile tests, visiting U.S. officials have asked India to cut down ties with Pyongyang, senior diplomatic sources have said.

2. American pressure on the issue has been rising over the last few months even as India joined Japan last week in describing North Korea as a common threat.

3. An India-Japan joint statement issued at the end of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit last week called upon North Korea to roll back its nuclear and missile programmes.

4.“They (India and Japan) pledged to work together to deal with the current serious situation and called on the international community to rigorously and fully implement relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions to maximise pressure on North Korea.”

Odisha Govt. rapped for delay in notifying Elephant Corridors      

Context:

1. NGT wants govt to give a specific timeframe for completion of processes

2. The National Green Tribunal has expressed extreme disappointment over the

lethargic pace of notifying elephant corridors — fixed paths which connect traditional elephant habitats — in Odisha.

3. Adjudicating the case filed by the Wildlife Society of Orissa, Justice S. P. Wangdi,

judicial member, and P. C. Mishra, expert member, of the NGT, Eastern Zone Bench, directed the Odisha government to give a specific timeframe for completion of processes before publication of the notification in respect of the elephant corridors.

Legal sanctity:

1. In 2010, the State government had identified 14 corridors, which would not only have helped the elephants move without any disturbances, but also increased chances of exchange of genetic diversity interchange.

2. Later, another nine corridors were identified. However, the government has been dilly-dallying in notifying the corridors that would have given legal sanctity for their preservation.

3. “The State government on January 13, 2017, had categorically stated that the work of assessing habitat viability and ground-truthing of the already identified

elephant corridors had been handed over to the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation (ANCF).

4. The report in respect of which was expected to be received by early 2017.

5. This has been repeated by the government in the subsequent affidavit filed on February 20,” the order says.

Asian Nature Conservation Foundation (ANCF).

The Nature Conservation Foundation is a non-governmental wildlife conservation and research organisation based in Mysore, India.

2. They promote the use of science for wildlife conservation in India.

3. The organisation was founded in 1996.

4. Their mission is to carry out "science-based and socially responsible conservation".

Snow Leopard now not endangered 

Context:

1. The conservation status of snow leopard has been improved from “endangered”

to “vulnerable”.

2. The decision was announced by the International Union for Conservation of

Nature (IUCN) – the global standard for assessing extinction risk. The status

change followed a three-year assessment process by five international experts.

3. The elegant yet elusive creatures, which live in the mountains of central Asia,

were first listed as endangered by the IUCN in 1972.

4. Scientists say they are threatened by poaching for their fur, infrastructure

developments, and climate change.

5. Usually found at elevations of 3,000-4,500m (11,480-14,760ft).

In India 

Snow leopards live in the mountainous regions of central and southern Asia.

In India, their geographical range encompasses a large part of the western Himalayas including the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas.

It is found in 11 countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

 Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh

 Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh

 Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand

 Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim

 Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh

IUCN

1.Started working from 1948: 1st Global EVS org

2. Headquarter:- @ Gland,

3. Not a part of UN

4. Official Observer Status at UNGA

5. Not only nature- others work: Gender equality & all kind

6. It led world in EVS research & conservation efforts & publishes Red data book

list: (Both Bird Animal)

7. Neutral forum for govt, NGOs, scientists, business & local com to find practical

solutions to conservation

ASTRA MISSILE

• Successful Development Trials of Astra Missile
• The final Development Flight Trials of Astra – Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRAAM) was conducted recently over the Bay of Bengal, Off the Coast of Chandipur, Odisha. The trials were successful.
• The missions included engagement of target at very long range, engagement of high manoeuvring target at medium range and multiple launches of missiles in salvo to engage multiple targets.
• All the sub-systems including the indigenous RF Seeker performed accurately, meeting all the mission parameters and objectives.
• It is a Beyond-Visual Range, air-to-air indigenously developed.
• The all-weather, radar homing missile has high manoeuvrability and capability to engage and destroy aerial targets at supersonic speeds.
• The 60-km plus range missile possesses Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) making it one of the most reliable in its class of weapon systems.
• The missile could be launched at different altitudes from sea level to 20 km for engaging aerial targets at various ranges.
• Apart from integrating the missile with Su-30, it is planned to be mounted on other fighter aircraft including Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, Mirage-2000 and MIG-29.
• The missile complex at Hyderabad and several DRDO laboratories in partnership with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Indian Air Force developed Astra.

Institute of National Importance (INI)

 INI is a status conferred to a premier public higher education institution in India by an Act of Parliament.

 It is conferred on an institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state".

 INIs receive special recognition and funding.

 All IITs, NITs, AIIMS’, School of Planning and Architecture and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research are considered Institutes of National Importance.

Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar

1. It is an award given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It is awarded in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by a worker or group of workers resulting in improvement in quality, productivity and working conditions such as safety,health and environmental conservation in the industrial undertakings.

Prelims Tidbits 16 Sep 17

AADHAR to be linked to driving License 

Context:
1. Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that after linking Aadhaar to PAN cards, the Union government would now link it with driving licences as well. It will help check the menace of multiple licences.
2. Mr. Prasad said: “I already had a word with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in this regard and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licences will be set in motion soon.”
3. Secure tool:- He added that Aadhaar was a safe and secure tool for good governance and empowerment.

Ministry clarifies on FCRA License 

Context:
1. The HRD Ministry on Friday clarified that the institutions created through an Act
of Parliament do not need an FCRA licence to receive foreign funds.
2. The Home Ministry has cancelled the FCRA licences of several hundred organisations, including the Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and IIT Delhi, for failing to file annual returns for five consecutive years.
3. “Institutions created through an Act of Parliament are exempted from filing returns as they are covered under the annual government audit,” a senior HRD Ministry official said. Citing Section 50 of FCRA 2010, the official said the statutory bodies created though Central or state Acts are exempt.

To know more about FCRA Click Here 

Forex reserves hit $400 Billion 

Context:
1. The country’s foreign exchange reserves have touched $400 billion for the first time.
2. Four years after the rupee hit a historic low, the RBI’s forex kitty has swelled by more than $125 billion.
3. The reserves act as a buffer to be used in challenging times.

4. Data showed foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.6 billion from the previous week to $400.7 billion in the week ended September 8.


5. Foreign currency assets mainly contributed to the increase in the period.

Foreign-exchange reserves:
1. Foreign-exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) is money or other assets held by a central bank or other monetary authority so that it can pay if need be its liabilities, such as the currency issued by the central bank, as well as the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank by the government and other financial institutions

Countries Ranking in Foriegn Exhange Reserves

OPEN SKY AGREEMENT

Context:

1. India-Japan sign open sky agreement, fares may come down
2. India and Japan have agreed to an open sky arrangement under which the airlines of both countries can operate an unlimited number of flights. The agreement was signed after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan PM Shino Abe.
3. The agreement will not only encourage connectivity and passenger travel between the two countries, but will also result in reduction in airfares on these routes.
4. The agreement was signed in accordance with the National Civil Aviation Policy
5. (NACP), 2016.
6. The NACP permits the government to enter into an ‘open sky’ air services agreement on a reciprocal basis with SAARC nations as well as countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5,000 kilometre radius from New Delhi.
7. Last year, India signed an open sky agreement with Greece, Jamaica, Guyana,Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka.
8. India also signed a bilateral open sky agreement with the US in 2005.
9. In 2003, India had signed an open sky agreement with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

PIB

Swachhta Hi Seva

1. It is the nation-wide sanitation campaign from 15th September to 2nd October 2017 to highlight the third year anniversary of Swachh Bharat mission.
2. It is coordinated by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the convening Ministry for the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Trade & Development Report 2017

1. Trade & Development report 2017 was recently released by United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
2. In its recent report titled ‘Beyond austerity — towards a global new deal’, it states that India, China unlikely to be ‘growth poles’ for global economy.
3. The report pegs India's rate at 6.7% in 2017, down from 7% in 2016.
4. It pointed out that effects of demonetisation and rollout of the Goods & Services Tax regime on the informal sector and reduction in pace of credit creation may affect India’s growth prospects.

UNCTAD

1. UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964.
2. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and part of the UN Secretariat.
3. It is also a part of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG).
4. It was formed specifically to handle the problems of developing countries dealing with trade, investment and development issues.
5. Other reports published by UNCTAD – World Investment Report, The Least Developed Countries Report, Information and Economy Report, Technology and Innovation Report and Commodities and Development Report.

Prelims Tidbits 15 Sep 17

North Korea :Japan draws in India

1. Displaying strategic convergence, India and Japan on Thursday asked North Korea to shut down its nuclear and missile programmes.
2. Both sides also hinted at Pakistan’s past involvement with North Korean nuclear and missile programmes and sought accountability of “all parties”
3. “Japan and India will take firm steps against the challenges that have emanated from North Korea.
4. We will force North Korea to roll back its recent aggressive moves. This is a message that I send out along with Prime Minister
5. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, elaborating on the country’s concerns over the recent test of a hydrogen bomb by Pyongyang, which also fired a long-range missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on August 29.

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

Context:
1. A decade-old diesel vehicles will now have to go off the roads with the National Green Tribunal on Thursday declining to lift its ban on them in Delhi-NCR, noting that emissions from diesel vehicles were carcinogenic.

❖ NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL (NGT):

1. National Green Tribunal is a statutory body established under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010.
2. It has replaced National Environment Appellate Authority.
3. It has jurisdiction over all civil cases where a significant question relating to environment is involved and would deal with all environmental laws on air and water pollution.
4. It solved cases within 6 month on appeals & don’t follow code of procedure 1908
It follow Natural justice for environment
2. It has Branches @ Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai
3. It is created for effective & speedy disposal of cases relating to Environmental protection, conservation of forests and for the case seeking compensation for damages caused to people or property due to violation of environmental laws.

❖ Composition:
1. Chairman:Administrative head / serving or retired Chief Justice of India/ serving or retired Chief Justice of high court/ judge of supreme court
2. Members: 40 (20 Administration+ 20 Judiciary)
1. At least 10 and maximum 20 Full time Judicial members and
2. At least 10 and maximum 20 Full time Expert Members.

YAMUNA RIVER

Context:
1. Villagers watch the rescue operation in the Yamuna after a boat capsized near
Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
2. Nineteen persons drowned when the boat, overcrowded with labourers, sank
early in the morning.

❖ Yamuna River:
1. Yamuna is the longest and the second largest tributary river of the Ganges
(Ganga) in northern India.

2. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres on the south
western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the uppermost region of the Lower
Himalaya in Uttarakhand.Before merging with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, the site for the Kumbha Mela every twelve years.

2. It is the longest river in India which does not directly flow to the sea.

3. It crosses several states, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, passing by Uttarakhand and later Delhi, and meets its tributaries on the way, including Tons, its largest tributary in Uttarakhand, Chambal, its longest tributary which has its own large basin, followed by Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken.

COURT SUGGEST AUDIT OF NULM FUNDS 

Context:
1. Supreme Court has questioned whether the money meant to build shelter
homes for the urban homeless and poor across the country is was actually lying
unspent or had been diverted for other purposes.
2. A Bench, led by Justice Madan B. Lokur, suggested an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of the funds disbursed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) scheme.

3. It said such an audit was necessary as the apex court-appointed committee,which is headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Kailash Gambhir and was set up to verify the availability of such shelters, would not look into this aspect.
4. ‘States not spending money allotted’
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, submitted that the amount not spent by the States for the previous year was ₹412 crore, while ₹228 crore had been released by the Centre for 2017-18.
2. “One thing is that you [Centre] give money and the States do not spend it. For 2017-2018, you have given ₹228 crore.

3. Why should you give them more money?” the Bench said.

National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), Government of India in 23rd September, 2013 by replacing the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana(SJSRY).

2. The NULM will focus on organizing urban poor in their strong grassroots level
institutions, creating opportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment venture by ensuring easy access to credit.

3. The Mission is aimed at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner.
4. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors.

U.S. TO EXTEND SANCTIONS RELIEF TO IRAN

Context:
1. The U.S. on Thursday was to extend wide sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal, sources familiar with the matter said, but no decision on whether to preserve the deal itself has yet been made.

2. At the same time, the U.S. Treasury announced new cyber-related sanctions on about a dozen Iranian individuals or entities.

3. Under the law, these sanctions can be waived for a maximum of 120 days, forcing the U.S. government to revisit the issue every four months. Sources familiar with the matter stressed that the wider U.S. policy toward Iran has yet to be decided.

CENTRE SEEKS ADVISERS FOR AI DISINVESTMENT 

Context:
1. The Union government on Thursday floated an expression of interest (EOI) to appoint two financial advisers and one legal adviser for strategic disinvestment of Air India, taking forward the process to shed a stake in the ailing national carrier.
2. “The Government of India has in-principle decided to consider the disinvestment of the AI Group as a whole or its constituents fully or part thereof throughstrategic sale with transfer of management control,” the notice by the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said.

3. The Union Cabinet on June 28 gave an in-principle nod to go for strategic disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries and formed a Group of Minister (GoM) led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to draw the roadmap.
4. The decision to appoint advisers to steer forward the disinvestment process was taken by the GoM.

RBI is not comfortable with Bitcoins,says sen 

Context:
1. The RBI has been repeatedly cautioning everyone about the usage of cryptocurrencies, flagging a slew of concerns.
2. It had stated that Bitcoins posed potential risks.
3. According to some media reports, there has been a growing number of investors in such currencies over the last few years, especially with the huge spurt in the value of a few of them since the Trump administration came in U.S.

❖ What are cryptocurrencies?
1. Crypto-currency that is planned to be brought under the regulatory regime is a digital currency which allows transacting parties to remain anonymous while confirming that the transaction is a valid one.
2. It is not owned or controlled by any institution – governments or private.
3. There are multiple such currencies — bitcoin, ethereum, ripple are some of the popular ones. Currently, they are neither illegal nor legal in India.
Need for regulation::
1. Cryptocurrencies have gained popularity in the last few years.

2. Currently, they are neither illegal nor legal in many countries including India.

3. The market cap for all crypto-currencies has just crossed $100 billion, with most of the increase coming in the past few months.

4. On April 1, 2017, the total market cap was just over $25 billion, representing a 300% rise in just over 60 days.

5. One bitcoin today is worth as much as 60 grams of gold.

Mouse deer released in Amrabad Reserve for the first time

Context:
1. In a novel and unique initiative attempted anywhere in the country, the Telangana State Forest Department has re-introduced the endangered ‘mouse deer’ into the forests of Nallamalla in Amrabad Tiger Reserve.

❖ Facts:
1. The release of these mouse deer into the protected enclosure of 2.4 hectares is aimed at improving the biodiversity.
2. The Amrabad Tiger Reserve was chosen because these animals were earlier wandering in this area.
3. The deer will gradually be weaned-off externally supplied food.
4. Afterwards if they get a clearing by the field biologists, they will be released from their enclosure into the wild.


Also called ‘spotted Chevrotain’, it is one of the endangered species usually found in deciduous and evergreen forests of the country. It has its own family called Tragulidae.
2. These animals are nocturnal in habitat and because of their small size they are called ‘smallest ungulates’ too.
3. Also called “Jarini Pandi” in Telugu, their number has been decreasing at an alarming rate in recent years because of destruction of habitat and poaching.

Context:
1. The home ministry will set up an expert group to look into the problems people living in villages along the Line of Control (LoC) face.

2. The study group will look at ways to improve lives of cross-border ceasefire violation victims.

3. The study group is expected to come up with suggestions to not only increase the safety and security of the border residents but also to look at ways of making funding in Border Are a Development Programmes effective.

Context:
The Global Human Capital Index for the year 2017 has been released by WEF.

❖ Global Human Capital Index:
1. Human capital on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) across four thematic dimensions and five distinct age groups to capture the full human capital potential profile of a country.
2. It aims to be used as a tool to assess progress within countries and point to opportunities for cross-country learning and exchange.
3. The list compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) takes into account “the knowledge and skills people possess that enable them to create value in the global economic system” to measure the ‘human capital’ rank of a country.
4. The report measures 130 countries against four key areas of human capital development; Capacity (determined by past investment in formal education), Deployment (accumulation of skills through work), Development (continued upskilling and reskilling of existing workers) and Know-how (specialised skills-use at work).

Performance of India::
1. India has been placed at a low 103 rank, the lowest among BRICS economies.India also ranks “among the lowest in the world” when it comes to the employment gender gap, but has fared well when it comes to development of skills needed for the future with a rank of 65 out of total 130 countries surveyed.
2. Among the South Asian countries also, India was ranked lower than Sri Lanka and Nepal, although higher than neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan.
3. India is held back by a number of factors, including low educational attainment (primary education attainment among 25 -54 year olds is 110th for example) and low deployment of its human capital, meaning the skills available are not getting put to good use.
4. Other countries in the top 10 include, the United States (4th), Denmark (5th),Germany (6th), New Zealand (7th), Sweden (8th), Slovenia (9th) and Austria(10th).

PIB

1. The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the Rajbhasha Awards on the occasion of Hindi Diwas at a function held in New Delhi today (September 14, 2017).
2. He also launched the ‘LILA Mobile App’ in the presence of Shri Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Shri Hansraj Gagaram Ahir and Shri Kiran Rijiju, Ministers of State
3. for Home Affairs.

OPERATION INSANIYAT

1. A humanitarian crisis arose in Bangladesh due to heavy influx of refugees from neighbouring Myanmar. 
2. The government of India has decided to assist Bangladesh in this crisis by sending relief material.
3. The Indian Air Force was tasked to airlift the relief material from India to Bangladesh.
4. One C-17 Globemaster strategic heavy lift cargo aircraft was positioned at short notice at Delhi on 13 Sep 17 to airlift 55 Tons of relief material to Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Prelims Tidbits 14 Sep 17

Petrol,diesel should come under GST,Oil Minister 

Summary: 

• Minister rules out intervention in daily pricing and non-committal on cutting taxes 
• Oil Minister also ruled out any government intervention to disrupt the daily revision in petrol and diesel prices despite the Rs 7.3 per litre spike since July, saying the reform will continue. 
• Saying that many States had drastically increased value-added tax, he said, “It is high time that the GST Council considered bringing the petroleum products in the ambit of GST.” 
• India relies on imports to meet 80% of its needs and so domestic fuel rates have been aligned to the movement of equivalent product prices in the international market since April 2002. 

Taxes which are not included in GST
Central	State
1.       Custom Duty	1.       Excise on liquor for humans
2.       Cess on Custom duty	2.       Stamp Duty on immovable property
3.       Tobacco product GST yes, but central excise also	3.       Electricity Duty & cess
4.       Petroleum products	4.       Petroleum products
	5.       Tax on items containing alcohol

 

 

 

               

 

India-Japan Annual Summit

1.Highlighting common ‘strategic interests,’ Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,who arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, said India-Japan ties will shape the Asia-Pacific region.
2. Mr. Abe will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday during the India-Japan annual summit, when both sides will firm up military and strategic ties.
3. Shinzo Abe promises peace in Indo-Pacific region
4. India & Japan will firm up strategic ties at summit today
5. Universal values:-“Both India and Japan place importance on the universal values and strategic interests that we commonly share.
6. Both countries are major Asian democracies and global powers

1st Indo-Russia All Armed Force Miltiary Excercise 

1. First tri-service military exercise to be held in October. 
2. It will also be India’s first bilateral military exercise with any country involving all three services. 
3. The Indra exercise is scheduled from October 19 to 29.

Payment of Gratuity Amendment Bill 2017

Context:

1. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of the Payment of

Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the Parliament.

❖ Key facts:-

1. The move aims at providing social security to workmen after retirement,

whether it is because of rules of superannuation, or physical disablement or

impairment of vital parts of the body.

2. The Amendment will increase the maximum limit of gratuity of employees, in

the private sector and in Public Sector Undertakings/ Autonomous

Organizations under Government who are not covered under CCS (Pension)

Rules, at par with Central Government employees.

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972:-

1. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 applies to establishments employing 10 or

more persons.

2. The main purpose for enacting this Act is to provide social security to workmen

after retirement, whether retirement is a result of the rules of superannuation,

or physical disablement or impairment of vital part of the body.

3. Therefore, the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 is an important social security

legislation to wage earning population in industries, factories and

establishments.

Chennai and Vladivostok amid China’s ambitious Maritime Silk Route (MSR)

❖Context:

1. Aiming to put in place a key maritime route connecting India with Northeast

Asia and Western Pacific region Delhi is contemplating to put in place a major

connectivity initiative — direct shipping link between Chennai and Vladivostok

amid China’s ambitious Maritime Silk Route (MSR) connecting Asia with Africa.

❖ Key facts:-

1. This proposed maritime route which could be transformed into a corridor could

juxtapose with Indo-Japan Pacific to Indian Ocean Corridor amid Beijing’s OBOR

of which MSR is a part – virtually connecting entire SE Asia through road,

shipping and rail links.

2. This shipping link would enable to transfer cargo between Chennai and

Vladivostok in 24 days in comparison to over 40 days currently taken to

transport goods from India to Far East Russia via Europe, according to experts

on the subject.

PIB

New NIRF Excercise 

National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) for the year 2018 has been announced by the centre with a change.

 The NIRF ranking was started in 2016, ranks higher educational institutions in India on the basis of a variety of parameters.

 The 2016 and 2017 NIRF lists reflected the ranks of only those institutions that had taken part in the exercise.

 But for 2018, instead of institutions choosing to take part in the exercise, they are being auto-registered through a large online database.

 The All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) portal of institutions available

with the Ministry of Human Resource Development will be used for auto registration of institutions.

 With this initiative, the number of institutions for NIRF is expected to raise three fold from previous year rankings.

 Last year ranking, among universities, Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore

was ranked first and Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi was second.

Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved setting up of Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund.

 It was announced in the union budget 2017-18, under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

 The project will be implemented by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Dairy Development Cooperation(NCDC).

 NABARD will give loans to NDDB and NCDC to help the milk cooperatives.

 The project will focus on building an efficient milk procurement system, expansion of processing infrastructure for value added products for the milk unions and producer companies.

sOURCE:oNLY ias

Prelims Tidbits 13 Sep 17

Cooling off period in Hindu divorce can go :SC

Context:
1. Hindu couples who have mutually agreed to separate need not wait anymore
for the mandatory “cooling off” period of six months before divorce, the
Supreme Court held on Tuesday.
2. Once a couple moves a court of law for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act,
they have to wait for a minimum period of six months.
3. Divorce by mutual consent was introduced as an amendment to the Hindu
Marriage Act in 1976.
4. The waiting period under Section 13B was mandated to prevent couples from
taking any hasty decision to end their marriage. Marriage is a sacrament in
Hinduism.
5. The waiting period was for them to have enough time to think through their
decision to separate.
6.Divorce was granted only after the ‘cooling off’ period and once the court found
there was no further chance for reconciliation. “The waiting period will only
prolong their agony,” a Bench of Justices A.K. Goel and U.U. Lalit observed in
their judgment.
7 . The court held that the waiting period should be done away with in cases where
there is no way to save the marriage and all efforts at mediation and

conciliation have run their course

HINDU MARRIAGE ACT 1955 

This Act, extends to whole of India, except state of Jammu and Kashmir, applies
also to Hindus domiciled in territories to which the Act extends and those who
are out side the said territories.

2. It applies to Hindus (in any of its forms or development) and also to Buddhists,
Sikhs, Jains and also those who are not Muslims, Christians, Parsis or Jews by
religion.

3. However, the Act does not apply to members of any scheduled tribes unless

Central Government by notification in the official Gazette otherwise directs

ROAD SAFETY BILL
Context 
1.Two Lok Sabha MPs from Rajasthan on Tuesday called for early enactment of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2016,which is at present lying with the Select Committee of the
Rajya Sabha.
2.The Bill addresses the issues relating to road safety, citizen facilitation, strengthening public transport, automation and computerisation of procedures and imposes hefty penalties for violation of traffic rules.

Features of bill:
1- Aadhar required for driving licence applications.
2- Digitization of learners licence application and approval.
3- Unified vehicle register for India. 
4- Stricter punitive measures for bad road contracts and also huge increase in fines for drunk driving and over speeding. 
5- And, definition of terms like ‘cab aggregators’ to reduce ambiguity and prevent hasty litigation in future.

Vishwajeet Scheme

• Recently, Vishwajeet scheme was scrapped by Union Finance Minsitry.

• The scheme aimed to help top IITs to get top league in global rankings.

• It had the provision of funding to top seven IITs over a period of five years to upgrade infrastructure, hire foreign faculty and collaborate with foreign institutions.

• However, Union HRD ministry has introduced “Higher Education Finance Agency (HEFA)” to provide support to universities for creating the research infrastructure. 

Higher Education Financing Agency

• The Government has signed an agreement with Canara bank to set up non-banking financial company (NBFC) called the Higher Education Finance Agency (HEFA).
• It will be a joint venture between the HRD ministry and the bank.
• It is formed to give a major push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.
• NBFC will rise funds from the market and also mobilize CSR funds from PSUs/Corporates and lend to government-run higher educational institutions for promoting research and innovation.
• The HEFA would finance the civil and lab infrastructure projects through a 10-year loan.
• HEFA will leverage the equity to rise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for the funding of world-class infrastructure at the IITs, IIMs, the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and such other institutions.

PIB

U.N. Security Council steps up sanctions on defiant North Korea

Context:

1. The United Nations Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against

North Korea over the country’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3,

imposing a ban on the country’s textile exports and capping imports of crude oil.

2. It was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member

council since 2006 over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

❖ The new sanctions include:

1. Limits on imports of crude oil and oil products. China, Pyongyang’s main

economic ally, supplies most of North Korea’s crude oil.

2. A ban on exports of textiles, which is Pyongyang’s second-biggest export worth

more than $700m (£530m) a year.

3. Measures to limit North Koreans from working overseas, which the US estimates

would cut off $500m of tax revenue per year.

FoSCoRIS 

Context:

1. FSSAI launches online platform for food inspection, sampling

2. To bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling, food regulator

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has put in place a

nationwide online platform called ‘FoSCoRIS’ and has asked states to adopt this

system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and make food safety officers

accountable.

3. The web-based ‘FoSCoRIS’ system will help verify compliance of food safety and

hygiene standards by food businesses as per the government norms.

4.The new system will bring together all key stakeholders — food businesses, food

safety officers (FSOs), designated officers, state food safety commissioners — on

a nation-wide IT platform and data related to inspection, sampling and test

result data will be shared seamlessly by all the officials.

5. This system will give a clear picture to the FSSAI on the real-time basis and helps

eliminate any discrepancy, hence inspection is accountable. The system will

ease out the process of sample collection, make it transparent and traceable

and controls the quality of compliances.