News in Short Flashcards
NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SAFAI KARAMCHARIS
Recently, government approved the proposal for extension of tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis (NCSK) for next three years.
constituted in 1994
constituted as statutory body, but now it is non-statutory body
Ministry of social justice and empowerment
recommendatory body
The commission is also monitoring the implementation of The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
National productivity council
It is an autonomous registered society under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
It aims to promote the cause of productivity in all sectors of the Indian economy.
It is a multipartite organization with equal representation from employers’ & workers’ organizations and Government, apart from technical & professional institutions and other interests.
It is a constituent of the Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organization (APO), an Inter-Governmental Body, of which the Government of India is a founder member.
SAMADHAN PORTAL
Recently, the Ministry of Labour and Employment launched Samadhan (Software Application for Monitoring and Disposal, Handling of Industrial Disputes) portal.
It is a dedicated web portal for conciliation, arbitration and adjudication of the industrial disputes.
It brings all stakeholders - Government, Industry and Labour - involved in industrial disputes on single integrated platform.
Workers have the option to go to the labour court directly in case no action is initiated within 45 days of raising a dispute online, putting a time limit on the process which presently is missing.
NYAYA BANDHU
Recently, Union Minister for Law and Justice and IT launched a mobile app for the ‘tele-law’ service and its dashboard (to monitor the usage of the app).
o Tele Law app aims to Mainstream Legal Aid through Common Service Centres.
It will enable the Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs) to perform on field pre – registration of cases with a facility to seek appointment from the Panel lawyer on preferred date and time, in coordination with Village Level entrepreneur (VLE) at the CSC.
He also launched an app Nyaya Bandhu for solidifying the pro bono (providing legal services without charge) culture in the country.
o It provides a platform to connect the registered eligible beneficiaries with the practicing advocates who are willing to volunteer their time and money in providing their services as a pro bono.
Both initiatives are in pursuance of Constitutional commitment under Article 39A.
INSTEX SAS
France, Germany and the United Kingdom (E3), announced the creation of INSTEX SAS (Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges).
It is a Special Purpose Vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran.
US pulled out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nuclear deal and re imposed sanctions last year. However, E3, in accordance with their commitment to preserve the deal decided to open this mechanism.
It will function as a non- dollar, euro-denominated clearing house
It would be based in France with a German banker heading it and UK will head the supervisory board.
It will focus initially on sectors such as pharmaceutical, medical devices and agri-food goods which are not the target of the US’s sanctions.
It is not expected to address oil-related transactions, which are Iran’s primary source of foreign currency.
Recent country to join NATO
North Macedonia- 30th member
Under Prespa Agreement, 2018 between Greece and Macedonia, the changed name North Macedonia was adopted.
World Government Summit
The World Government Summit was held in Dubai, UAE recently.
It is a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of governments worldwide.
Each year, the Summit sets the agenda for the next generation of governments, focusing on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
Which country recently launched Hindi as official court language
Abu Dhabi– 3rd language after arabic and english
Other than UAE, Fiji also has Hindi as official language.
WOMEN’S GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY (W-GDP) INITIATIVE
The White House has launched the W-GPD Initiative, a government project led by Ivanka Trump.
It aims to coordinate current programs and develop new ones to assist women in areas such as job training, financial support, and legal or regulatory reforms.
Its goal is to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025.
Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog
The Aayog will work in collaboration with Animal Sciences or Agriculture University or departments or organizations of the Central or State Government engaged in the task of research in the field of breeding and rearing of the cow, organic manure, biogas etc.
It would help in providing a policy framework for conservation of indigenous cow breeds.
SWAYATT & START-UP RUNWAY
Minister of Commerce and Industry launched ‘SWAYATT’ initiative and GeM Start-up Runway initiative.
SWAYATT is an initiative to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e-Transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM).
o It will bring together the key stakeholders within the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem to Government e-Marketplace, the national procurement portal.
GeM Start-up Runway is an initiative of GeM in association with Start -up India to facilitate Start-ups registered with Start -up India to access the public procurement market and sell innovative products and services to government buyers.
WOMEN’S LIVELIHOOD BOND
World Bank, UN Women, and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have joined hands to launch Women’s Livelihood Bonds (WLBs), with an initial corpus of Rs 300 crore.
It will enable individual women entrepreneurs in sectors like food processing, agriculture, services and small units to borrow around Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh at an annual interest rate of around 13-14 per cent or less.
It will have a tenure of five years and SIDBI will act as the financial intermediary and channel funds through participating financial intermediaries like banks, NBFCs etc.
It will be unsecured, unlisted bonds and offer fixed coupon rate of 3 per cent per annum to bond investors. They will be backed by a corpus fund to be mobilised through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions and through grant support from UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
E-AUSHADHI PORTAL
Ministry of AYUSH recently launched e-AUSHADHI portal for Online Licensing System of AYUSH Medicine.
It will provide real time information of the licensed manufactures and their products, cancelled and spurious drugs and contact details of the concerned authority for specific grievances.
SELA TUNNEL
It is being built by the Border Roads Organization to provide all weather connectivity to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and other forward areas.
ARUN-3 HYDRO PROJECT
Cabinet approved ₹1236 crore investment for Arun-3 Hydroelectric project (900 MW) in Nepal.
The project is located on Arun River in Sankhuwasabha District of Eastern Nepal. It is a run of the river project.
PETROTECH -2019
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
PETROTECH conference is a biennial International Oil & Gas Conference which provides a platform for national and international experts in the oil and gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise and experience.
DHANUSH
It is the first long-range artillery gun to be produced in India.
It is an upgraded version, based on the original design of the Swedish 155-mm Bofors howitzers, which India procured in the mid-1980s.
It is the product of joint efforts by the Ordinance Factory Board and the Army with contributions from the DRDO, DGQA etc. and several private enterprises.
OPPORTUNITY ROVER MISSION
The Opportunity rover mission of NASA has been recently declared as complete.
The robot has been missing since the U.S. space agency lost contact during a dust storm in June last year.
It operated for 14 years on Mars and confirmed that water once flowed on the red planet.
SPHEREX
NASA has announced the launch of a new telescope Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) in 2023.
It is part of NASA’s Explorer Program and is planned as a two-year mission with a twofold aim: to understand the evolution of the universe and how common the ingredients for life are in our galaxy.
It will also study the origin of water and organic molecules in planetary systems.
It will survey the entire sky every 6 months in optical as well as near-infrared light, creating the first spectral all-sky survey at infrared wavelengths.
The mission will create a map of the entire sky in 96 different colour bands, far exceeding the colour resolution of previous all-sky maps.
It will accomplish its mission from a low-Earth polar orbit, also known as a Sun-synchronous orbit
It will also help in identifying targets for more detailed study by future missions, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope.
STARS Scheme
Recently, Ministry of Human Resource Development launched STARS Scheme (Scheme for Translational and Advanced Research in Science)
o Under this, 500 science projects would be funded.
o The project will be coordinated by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
INDIA’S FIRST ESG FUND
India’s first ESG (environment, social and governance) based fund – Avendus India ESG Fund has been launched by Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies.
The open-ended fund seeks to raise $1 billion from the domestic and international markets. It will invest in the listed Indian equities based on pre-determined ESG factors.
ESG investing is an umbrella term for investments that also consider and evaluate the long-term impact that business practices have on society and the environment.
WALLACE’S GIANT BEE
This species of bee has been rediscovered in a remote part of Indonesia in its first sighting in nearly 40 years. The bee (Megachile Pluto), aka ‘flying bulldog’ is the world’s largest bee, with a wingspan more than six centimeters (2.5 inches).
It is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of the theory of evolution alongside Charles Darwin.
These are resin bees, they don’t make honey.
They make their nest in termite mounds.
IUCN status-Vulnerable.
Ghumot
Ghumot, a membranophone type percussion instrument has been notified as a heritage instrument of Goa.
It is also known as Ghumat, Dakki or Budike.
It is part of the Mando, a musical form of the Goan Catholics that combines elements of both Indian and Western music. It is also part of the Zagor folk dance and Dulpod (Goan dance song).
A smaller form of ghumot is generally used as the main accompaniment to the ‘Burrakatha’ a folk, storytelling tradition of Andhra Pradesh.
Attukal Pongala
Recently, annual 10-day Attukal Pongala festival was held at Attukal Temple in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).
Pongala (meaning- ‘to boil over’) is the ritual in which women prepare sweet payasam (a pudding made from rice, jaggery, coconut and plantains) and offer it to the Goddess.
The Goddess is fondly referred to as ‘Attukalamma’.
Attukal temple is also popularly known as women’s Sabarimala - where only women are allowed to take part in the rituals.
It was listed in the Guinness World Records in 2009 for being the largest religious gathering of women on a single day.
Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)
Recently, government reconstituted Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), an autonomous organization under Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), registered under Societies Registration Act 1972
Its objective is to promote and give direction to historical research and to encourage and foster objective and scientific writing of history.
o It also provides fellowships and financial assistance to the young teachers in colleges, universities and also assists to promote scientific research, both in India and abroad.
o The composition of council is:
o An eminent historian nominated by the Government of India (Chairman);
o Eighteen historians nominated by the Government of India;
o A representative of the University Grant Commission;
o Director General of Archaeology
o Director of National Archives;
o Four persons nominated by the Government of India with one representative each of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Culture and the Ministry of Finance, and Member Secretary.
CULTURAL HERITAGE YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME (CHYLP)
It aims to promote, understand and develop fondness for India’s rich cultural heritage amongst the youth with a view to develop appropriate leadership qualities amongst youth.
It focusses on the less privileged children residing in backward areas by interacting with them in vernacular languages for their better understanding.
Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, is the implementation agency for this programme.
Know India Programme
Recently, 40 Indian Origin youth from 8 countries visited the country under the 53rd Edition of “Know India Programme”. The partner states of this edition are Maharashtra and Daman & Diu.
It is a diaspora engagement programme through a three-week orientation, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
Its objective is of familiarizing the India Diaspora Youth, in the age group of 18-30 years, with developments and achievements made by the country and bringing them closer to the land of their ancestors.
SWACHH SHAKTI-2019 PROGRAMME
It is a convention of Women Sarpanches, aimed at empowering the women, which was held in Kurukshetra.
It aims to bring in to focus the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission.
It is being organized by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in association with the Government of Haryana.
The Swachh Shakti program was first held in 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
DARWAZA BAND CAMPAIGN
Ministry of Drinking Water and sanitation has launched part two of the nation-wide campaign called Darwaza Band to promote toilet use and freedom from open defecation.
It is promoted under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) and envisages to bring about a behavioral change in men who have toilets but are not using them.
In part 2 of the campaign it aims to further promote the use of toilets and to sustain the open defecation free status of villages across India.
World Bank is supporting the ongoing part two of the Darwaza Band campaign.
Girmitiya countries.
Girmityas or Jahajis are descendants of indentured Indian labourers brought to Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, East Africa, the Malay Peninsula, Caribbean and South America (Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname) to work on sugarcane plantations by European colonizers.
Fair Value for Innovation
The United States Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) launched a new innovation initiative titled “Fair Value for Innovation” at the Raisina Dialogue. It will examine economic underpinnings that would enable breakthrough innovation, and explore how policymakers can harness innovation capital in India and around the globe through research, advocacy, partnerships, and programs.
ASIA REASSURANCE INITIATIVE ACT (ARIA)
US President has signed ARIA act to counter the threat from China and to reinvigorate US leadership in the Indo-Pacific region.
It aims to establish a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security, economic interests, and values in the Indo-Pacific region.
ARIA recognizes the vital role of the strategic partnership between the U.S. and India in promoting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and it calls for strengthening diplomatic, economic, and security ties between both the countries.
Beirut Declaration
At the conclusion of the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit, countries taking part in the summit issued a joint statement called the Beirut Declaration.
• It called for establishment of an Arab free trade zone and the international community to support countries hosting refugees and displaced people.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COMMISSION
Recently Chairman and member of National Statistical Commission (NSC) resigned due to difference with Government.
NSC was set up by the Government of India as an autonomous institution in 2005 on recommendation of Dr. C. Rangarajan committee.
• It serves as a nodal organization for all core statistical activities of the country including evolving, monitoring and enforcing statistical standards and ensuring statistical co-ordination among the different agencies involved.
• The Commission has a part-time Chairperson, four part-time Members and Chief Executive Officer of the NITI Aayog as ex-officio member.
• The Chief Statistician of India serves as the Secretary of the Commission. He is also the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Debentures
A debenture is a type of bond that is not secured by physical assets or collateral. Debentures are backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer.
• An entity which needs to raise money for itself can issue debentures promising a fixed rate of interest and return of the principal at a certain date known as Debenture Redemption.
• Treasury Bills issued by governments are a type of Debentures.
DEBENTURE REDEMPTION RESERVE
- Recently Ministry of Finance rejected the proposal of SEBI to remove the requirement of the debenture redemption reserve (DRR).
- DRR is a provision under Companies Act. DRR is to be funded by company profits every year until the debentures are redeemed. The reserve is to be created out of the issuer’s profits of until at least 25% of the face value of debentures issued.
- Financial institutions such as banks and non-banking financial companies are exempted.
- DRR protects investors against the possibility of default by Company.
