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Current affairs for today (15) IAS ACADEMY-RICE

Sports- Ruled in the Padma Shri list

The govt has announced the names of the awardees of Padma on 25th January, 2017.

The awards are given on the subheads of: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhusan and Padma Shri.

Eight eminent personalities from the field of sports have been awarded with the Padma shri

Facts about Padma shri

The padma shri awards is India’s fourth civilian highest award, affter Bharat ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and

Padma Bhusan

The awards are declared on republic day of every year

The awards are given for various activites for example in arts, social science, engineering, trade etc

As of 2017, 2913 people have received this award

The Padma awards 2017- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhusan and Padma Shri conferred

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced the names of the awardees of padma on 25th

January, 2017.

There are 7 Padma Vibhusan, 7 Padma Bhushan, and 75 Padma Shri awardees

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19 of the awardees are women, while 5 person falls under the category of NRI, foreigners and 6 are Posthumous

awardees.

Difference between Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhusan and Padma Shri

Padma vibhusan is conferred for exceptional and distinguished service

Padma Bhusan is awarded for distinguished service of high order

Padma shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field.

National Action plan for children

On the occasion of National girl child day, ‘The National Action plan For Children’ was introduced by the

Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD).

The Action Plan has four key priority areas:-

Survival

Health and nutrition;

Education and development

Protection and participation.

Highlights of the Plan

It has defined the objectives, sub-objectives, strategies, action points and indicators for measuring

progress under the four key priority areas.

It also aims to identify key stakeholders for the implementation of different strategies.

To focus on new and emerging concerns for children such as children affected by natural and man-

made disasters, climate change and online child abuse etc.

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To take into account the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide a roadmap towards

achieving them though co-ordination and convergence with different stakeholders.

Background

The National Action Plan for Children (NPAC), 2016 was prepared as per the mandate of the National Policy

for Children (2013). The policy provides for formation of a National Co-ordination and Action Group (NCAG)

under the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development for coordinating and implementation of the plan

and monitors the progress with other Ministries concerned as its members.

No separate rail budget

For nine decades, India has had a separate budget for the Indian railways, which is going to end soon. From

2017-18 the railway budget will be merged with general budget. Thus, this initiative will facilitate multi-modal

transport planning between highways, railways an inland water ways beside providing greater elbow room for

the finance ministry during the mid-year review of the economy to work on better allocation of resources. The

railways will no longer have to pay the annual dividend to the govt and will function like a department –run

commercial undertaking.

Dis-investment advisory dept changed

To streamline the disinvestment process, the government has transferred the role of advising the government

regarding utilisation of the proceeds from disinvestment, from the Department of Investment and Public Asset

Management (DIPAM) to the Department of Economic Affairs.

According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat regarding change in the allocation of Business

rules, the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry will now be in charge of “financial policy in

regard to the utilisation of the proceeds of disinvestment channelized into the National Investment Fund.”

In lieu of preparation of budget, the Department of Economic Affairs has been given the charge i.e. deciding

what to do with the proceeds from dis-investment. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced renaming the

previously known Department of Investment as DIPAM in the budget session of 2015.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its

approval to Alternative Mechanism, who would decide on the quantum of disinvestment.

Negotiation committee has been set up to issue Mahanadi water dispute b/w Odisha and

Chattisgarh

In the backdrop of the Mahanadi water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the Union government

has constituted a negotiation committee to assess availability and utilisation of water in the river and its

tributaries, asking it to submit its report within three weeks.

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Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a negotiation

committee to assess availability and utilisation of waters of Mahanadi and its tributaries.

The committee will also examine existing water sharing agreements on river Mahanadi and will consider claims

of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand regarding availability and utilisation of

waters of these rivers.

The committee has been set up with reference to complaint of Odisha under section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956

regarding utilisation of waters of Mahandi basin.

The committee will be chaired by Member (WP&P), Central Water Commission and will have 11 other

members comprising representatives from the Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and

Jharkhand, Union Ministries of Agriculture, Environment Forest and Climate Change, Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, India Meteorological Department and Central Water Commission.

3D zebra crossings in Delhi

Delhi got its first 3D pedestrian crossing on Rajaji Marg. This unique initiative has been taken to make roads

safer by alerting motorists in advance to slow down at a pedestrian crossing

The 3D version is created by using thermoplastic paint, which is used to mark dividers and is used to mark lanes

for buses.

Along with this, a plan has been proposed to make all 130km of avenue roads in Lutyens’ Delhi ‘smart’. The

smart roads project, will include cycling tracks, better signage, pelican crossings and 3D zebra crossings.

Scholarships for B.Ed students to improve the quality

Sastra University Vice-Chancellor R. Sethuraman has written to Minister of Human Resource Development

Prakash Javadekar suggesting the government to consider offering a scholarship of Rs. 3000 a month to students

clearing the proposed national-level B.Ed examinations.

However, there is catch to the proposed scholarship scheme, i.e. the recipients should work as teachers for at

least five years after completion of the course. Such scholarships would also be provided to the top 50 students

irrespective of which B.Ed college they join and another 50 from among the first 500 if they choose to join

Sastra University.

The Ministry stated that B. Ed cannot be the last resort for youngsters who do not qualify for other disciplines.

With an aim to improve the quality of teachers & teaching in schools, the HRD Ministry is proposing to

introduce a national-level entrance test for the B. Ed course, certification of B. Ed colleges, exit test for all B. Ed

graduates and a compulsory induction programme for government school teachers.

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SASTRA University is prepared to join this National Mission by offering 50 scholarships to top 50 students

irrespective of their place of choice of study and another 50 scholarships to candidates within the top 500

students who prefer to join SASTRA University and completes their B. A., B. Ed./B. Sc. B. Ed. (NCTE

approved programmes).

Farmers’ death, a human rights issue: SC

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and the States to explain whether there was a lifeline, which includes a

comprehensive insurance plan for farmers, to end the vicious circle plaguing in the agriculture sector.

Crop failure and natural calamities are driving debt-ridden farmers across the country to take their lives. Chief

Justice of India J.S. Khehar has included all the States, the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India in the litigation

to get a holistic picture of the plight of farmers.

The Bench which included Justice J.S. Khehar has termed the death of farmers due to crop losses as “human

rights issue.” It has also asked, the government the reasons for not formulating a national policy to protect the

lives of the country's bread-winners.

This hearing came against a petition filed by Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative, a NGO, seeking a

compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of 692 farmers who committed suicide in Gujarat between

January 2003 and October 2012

Kerala village to become Drug free

‘Disha-2017’, an anti-drug awareness campaign of the Koodaranhi grama panchayat will soon be inaugurate.

The project, has been launched to help the village achieve drug-free status. It will encourage de-addiction

programmes and raids against hooch dens. The panchayat has rolled out the campaign after it noticed an

increase in liquor consumption and use of tranquillizers among students.

‘Disha’ will make use of the service of its local vigilance committees in the panchayat. The committees will be

responsible for alerting local body administrators on illicit liquor sales and the distribution of sedative

substances.

Home visits and counselling service to the needy will also be offered under the scheme. The women

entrepreneurs will play an active role in the vigilance committees, which will have workers of various voluntary

organisations and religious groups as participants.

The panchayat authorities said Disha would have a positive impact on tribal hamlets in the panchayat limits.

Trump pulled US from Trans-Pacific Trade Pact

U.S. President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade

deal, distancing America from its Asian allies, as China's influence in the region rises.

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Fulfilling a campaign pledge to end American involvement in the 2015 pact, Trump signed an executive order in

the Oval Office pulling the United States out of the 12-nation TPP.

Trump, who wants to boost U.S. manufacturing, said he would seek one-on-one trade deals with countries that

would allow the United States to quickly terminate them in 30 days "if somebody misbehaves."

The TPP accord, backed heavily by U.S. business, was negotiated during former Democratic President Barack

Obama's regime but never got approved by Congress.

The TPP excluded China, as an effort to write Asia's trade rules before Beijing could, establishing U.S.

economic leadership in the region as part of his "pivot to Asia."

China has proposed a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific and has also championed the Southeast Asian-backed

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

This exclusion/ pull out from TPP means multiple bilateral trade agreements. Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam

should be approached first as they are key to any new Asia strategy that President Trump will enact

Trump is also working to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to provide more favorable

terms to the United States

The other policies

The new president also met with a dozen American manufacturers at the White House, pledging to slash

regulations and cut corporate taxes; but warning them he would take action on trade deals he felt were unfair.

A border tax would soon be implemented in America.

Cut Taxes And Regulations

The president declared that corporate taxes ranging from 15 percent to 20 percent would be implemented.

India may ratify Doha amendments of Kyoto protocol.

A new climate change agreement for the post-2020 period, negotiated in Paris in 2015 known as “Paris

Agreement”, has already entered into force. And now, it’s the time for Kyoto protocol.

Hoping to trigger stronger climate change action from the developed countries, India is expected to announce

ratification of Doha amendments to the Kyoto Protocol. Only 75 countries have so far ratified the Doha

amendments. It requires ratification from a total of 144 of the 192 parties of the Kyoto Protocol to become

operational. The Doha amendments, made in 2012, had extended the legal obligation of developed countries to

take targeted greenhouse gas emission cuts until 2020, the year Kyoto Protocol is now scheduled to expire.

A new climate change agreement for the post-2020 period, negotiated in Paris in 2015 and hence called Paris

Agreement, has already entered into force, but its architecture is very different from that of Kyoto Protocol that

had put the burden of emission cuts solely on rich and developed countries with specific reduction targets

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assigned to each. Under the Paris Agreement, every country has the freedom to decide for itself what action it

will take.

More than four years after they were finalised, the Doha amendments have still not become operational because

majority of the countries, including most developed countries, have not yet ratified it. India, and other

developing countries, have been demanding an early ratification of the Doha amendments by the developed

countries. But India itself had not ratified it till now.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol had itself become operational only in 2005 and a group of rich and industrialised

countries were assigned emission reduction targets for the 2005-2012 period, called the “first commitment

period”.

Seven more districts in Rajasthan to join for fighting against malnutrition

After the successful completion of Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) in 13

districts, seven more districts in Rajasthan will shortly join the fight against malnutrition during the second

phase of the much-acclaimed initiative.

Over 9,600 children have been declared free from malnutrition after their identification and four-month-long

follow-up. Seven new districts to be covered under CMAM are Churu, Jhalawar, Bharatpur, Bikaner,

Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur and Bhilwara.

Japan introduces ‘washable mobile phone’

Japan-based firm Kyocera has introduced a new “rafre” washable smart-phone that features resistance to hot

water and a touch-screen that be can be used even when the user’s hands are wet or when wearing gloves.

The product will be available from March 2017 in Japan and will be offered in three colours — pale pink, clear

white and light blue.

The smartphone is a successor to the orignal DIGNO rafre, which was launched in December 2015 as the

world’s first hand-soap-washable smartphone.

The current set is equipped with phase detection auto-focus and auto HDR,13MP rear camera, 2GB of RAM,

16GB internal memory, 3,000mAh battery and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.

Supreme Court in support of animal life

The Supreme Court has upheld the rights of animals and birds to lead a life of “intrinsic worth, honour and

dignity,” even at the cost of popular faith and practices of human beings.

The starting point of the trend dates back to May 7, 2014 — the day of pronouncement of the judgment banning

‘jallikattu’, a bull taming sport practised in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court historically extended the fundamental right to life to animals. It held that bulls have the

fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution to live in a healthy and clean atmosphere, not to be

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beaten, kicked, bitten, tortured, plied with alcohol by humans or made to stand in narrow enclosures amidst

bellows and jeers from crowds

Article 21, till then, had been confined to only human life and dignity. In May 2014, with its ‘jallikattu’ verdict,

the then Supreme Court Bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice P.C. Ghose stretched the fundamental

right to include “every species”.

In the ‘jallikattu’ case, the court had held that the sport, even though has cultural significance, was an act of

“inherent cruelty.”

However, in Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court did not lift the ban on rooster fights conducted during the

Makar-sankranthi festival. The court only stayed the power of the police to arbitrarily raid farmsteads and

private property for prize roosters.

In both ‘jallikattu’ and cock fight cases, the Supreme Court refused to heed the common argument that a ban

would destroy the livelihoods of farmers and end the indigenous species of bulls and roosters, respectively.

Thrissur Pooram

In another case dealing with the rights of captive elephants used in Kerala for temple festivals like ‘Thrissur

Pooram’, the Supreme Court put temple managements and private owners of the elephants on a tight leash,

threatening them with criminal prosecution and “severe consequences” if they were found torturing the animals

merely for the sake of the grandeur of the festival.

In December 2015, in another case, the Supreme Court have asked the Central government to clarify whether it

was cruelty to employ elephants for joyrides.

A month prior to that, in November 2015, the court had also asked the government to respond on whether exotic

pet birds were safer in cages or do they have a fundamental right to fly.

Centre seeks to withdraw its jallikattu notification

The Centre informed the Supreme Court, that it will move an application withdrawing the January 7, 2016

central notification allowing ‘jallikattu’ in the wake of the Bill passed unanimously by the Tamil Nadu

Assembly.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s statement for the Centre was spurred by a mentioning made by a lawyer as

soon as a three-judge Special Bench sat for a scheduled hearing in the BCCI-Lodha Committee spat case.

UAE signals a ‘look east’ policy

The United Arab Emirates has highlighted its “Look East” policy with its participation in the Republic Day

celebrations in India.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi has preside as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

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The UAE wants its troops in the Republic Day parade to be viewed as the indicator of the UAE’s growing

power in the Indian Ocean

The UAE has been carrying out military modernisation in recent years and, according to SIPRI, UAE was one

of the five biggest arms importers in the world between 2011 and 2015. Alongside Qatar, the UAE has spread

out to several conflict zones in the world in a show of Arab assertion.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has concluded the comprehensive strategic partnership

between the two nations, at his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump signs order promising ‘great rebuilding’ of military

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will lead to “a great rebuilding” of the armed forces

as he vowed to develop new aircrafts, naval ships and resources for the military. The memorandum directs a 30-

day military readiness review by the Secretary of Defence.

Indo-Bangla railway link

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is expecting to begin its work to connect Agartala with Akhaura in

Bangladesh after completion of land acquisition in April’17. Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu had laid

the foundation stone for the cross-border train service project in Agartala on July 31 2016

The 15-km proposed route is running behind time as Laying of tracks is delayed for non-availability of land.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry Of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)

will fund the entire project on both sides of the boundary. An initial fund of Rs. 100 crore has been released.

Tripura government and the NFR have marked 67 acre land. In which, 5-km stretch is on the Indian side. While

ten kilometre route falls in Bangladesh and India is also funding land-acquisition costs across the border.

Indian government has allocated Rs. 968 crore. Out of this, Rs. 388 crore will be spent in Bangladesh.

National Exit Test (NEXT) for doctors

It connotates to ‘National Exit Test’. All the medical students completing their five-and-a-half-year medical

course will have to clear this exam, in-order to use the 'doctor' title. This move has been suggested by the Union

health ministry in its draft of Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill 2016, unveiled by the recently. The test

is expected to create a level-playing field in medical education. It is also believed that NEXT would improve the

quality of medical education in the country and help benchmark students.

SBI signs MoU with Coca-cola

State Bank of India has recently signed an agreement with Coca-Cola India and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages

to enable over 2.6 million retailers and 5,000 distributors to conduct business transactions digitally. Arundhati

Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI and T Krishnakumar, Chairman & CEO HCCBPL & Region Director (South

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Asia) signed the MoU to forge the strategic partnership. It entails initiating the digitisation process among the

retailers by on-boarding them into the SBI's digital payment options such as Buddy P2P, Buddy Merchant App,

SBI Pay. To aid a smooth transition process, Coca-Cola and SBI will provide training to the retailers on new

and evolving digital business transaction solutions.

Strategic use of section of RTE, 2005 by RBI

Section 8(1) (g) – Under this section of the RTI Act,2005 the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reserved the

right to keep mum on the money it has disbursed after demonetization. The section bars "information", "the

disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of

information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes".

Digital Unlocked

It is a training programme launched by Google recently for Indian small business owners, to empower them

with essential digital skills. Along with this, it also launched a free website builder called ‘Google My Business

app’. These are aimed at empowering nearly 51 million small and medium businesses SMBs) in the country.

Under Digital Unlocked, Google will hold 5,ooo offline training workshops, in partnership with FICCI and the

Indian School of Business over the next three years across 40 cities. The internet giant also launched a new

mobile app, called ‘Primer’, which will impart similar training to businesses in an interactive manner

Mesentery

It is a new organ which has been discovered hiding in plain sight inside the human body. It was previously

thought, to be just a few fragmented structures in the digestive system. It has been discovered by J Calvin

Coffey, a researcher at the University Hospital Limerick, Ireland

Bumblebee

It is the first bee species in the US to be declared endangered after suffering a dramatic population decline over

the past 20 years. Bumblebees are social insects that form colonies with a single queen. The colonies are smaller

than those of honeybees, growing to as few as 50 individuals in a nest. Bumblebees have round bodies covered

in soft hair (long branched setae) called pile, making them appears and feel fuzzy.

Xiao Nan

The robot has recently made its debut as a journalist. The robot journalist made its debut in a Chinese daily

recently with a 300-characters-long article written in just a second. The article, published in the Guangzhou-

based Southern Metropolis Daily, focused on the Spring Festival travel rush. Its author took only a second to

finish writing the piece and is able to write both short stories and longer reports, according to Wan Xiaojun, a

professor at Peking University who leads the team studying and developing such robots.

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Arbitrage

It is an investment strategy which is used to take advantage of the price differential between two or more

markets to earn a profit. This activity of buying and selling the same security can happen on different exchanges

or between spot prices of a security and its future contract. Cross selling across exchanges is not allowed in

Indian markets, so one has to reverse the position before the end of day as trade needs to be squared off on the

same exchange.

India-UAE signs defence MoU

India upgraded its relations with UAE through a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) which included

wide-ranging defence and energy pacts. The initiative is significant with India inviting the Crown Prince of Abu

Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as Chief Guest for Republic-day. As many as 14 pacts were

signed following PM Narendra Modi's dialogue with the visitor

The MoU on cooperation in the field of Defence Industry, aims to establish cooperation in the identified fields

of defence manufacturing and technology, including through studies, research, development, innovation and

cooperation between public and private sector institutions of the two countries. The two sides will cooperate in

areas of armaments, defence industries and transfer of technology. India sees UAE as one its main destinations

for arms exports in the future. Reliance Defence Limited has earlier signed a strategic MoU with Emirates

Defence Industries Company, a leading integrated Defence Company in the United Arab Emirates. In fact

strengthening Defence partnership was one of the major outcomes of Narendra Modi’s trip to the UAE in 2015.

UAE contributes in a major way to India's energy security, being the sixth-largest supplier of crude oil. India is

the second-largest destination for UAE's oil exports. Since India imports nearly 80 percent of its oil

requirements, the government had decided to set up oil storages as a cushion against external supply disruptions,

as also during emergencies. These storages, typically in rock caverns, are in addition to the existing ones of oil

companies.