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INDIAN AFFAIRS
NEET Exam gets constitutional status – Lok Shaba passes bills favoring it status
Lok Shaba has passed two bills favoring the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (NEET) examination, for its constitutional status as promulgated by the government of India, which is to be mandated from next academic year.
i. The Rajya Sabha passed the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentist (Amendment) Bill, 2016, seeking to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and the Dentist Act, 1948.
ii. The bills were passed by Lok Sabha on 19 July and aim to bring private colleges under the ambit of the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill and Dentist (Amendment) Bill. These two bills assign constitutional status to the NEET examination.
iii. The bill aims to end the multiplicity of medical examinations and pave the way for fair and transparent examinations.
iv. The new legislation will end exploitation of students by colleges demanding capitation fees; a common entrance exam means students will not have to travel long distances to appear for various admission tests
Lok Sabha passes bill amendments for the fast track recovery of bad debts
In the evolving financial sector, Government leaped into the next step for collecting the bad debts and bad loans by passing two key bill amendments in the Lok Shaba namely Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, and the debt recovery tribunal (DRT) Act
i. This two new bills imparts two new rectifications namely gives 180 days for disposal of recovery applications and also provides a 30-day timeline for the district magistrate to complete this process and he will also assist the lender in taking over the management if the lender has secured more than 51% stake in the company through conversion of debt into equity.
ii. The Act provides for setting up of a central registry that will maintain records of transactions related to secured assets, which will help prevent fraud by providing clear rights over the assets.
iii. The amendments are aimed at faster recovery and resolution of bad debts by banks and financial institutions and making it easier for asset reconstruction companies (ARCs)to function.
iv. Along with the new bankruptcy law which came into effect earlier this year, the amendments will put in place an enabling infrastructure to effectively deal with non-performing assets in the Indian banking system.
Lok Shaba passes The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 for the betterment of transgender
Lok Shaba introduced The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 which attempts to define a transgender person and also to prohibit the discrimination against the transgender.
i. The bill introduced in the Lok shaba deals with the following in order to empower the transgender population
1.To define a transgender person;
2.To prohibit discrimination against transgender person;
3.To confer right upon transgender person to be recognized as such, and a right to self-perceived gender identity;
4.To issue of certificate of identity to transgender persons;
5.To provide that no establishment shall discriminate against transgender person in matters relating to employment, recruitment, promotion and other related issues;
6.To provide for grievance redressed mechanism in each establishment;
7.To establishment of a National Council for Transgender;
8.To punishment for contraventions of the provisions of the Bill.
iii. It is noted that the Transgender community is one of the most marginalized communities in the country because they do not fit into the general categories of gender of ‘male’ or ‘female’. Consequently, they face problems ranging from social exclusion to discrimination, lack of education facilities, unemployment and lack of medical facilities.
iv. With a whooping population of about 6 lakh trans gender, this measure provides for a jail term from at least six months to a maximum of two years with a fine for those found guilty of using transgender for bonded labor or begging.
Lok Shaba passes National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 for setting up NIT
Lok shaba passed The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016to establish the renowned National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Andhra Pradesh.
i. With an initial funding of Rs 40 crore, this bill seeks to establish an NIT in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh as like sanctioned in the 2016-17 budget,
ii. This institute has begun operating from a rented space with 900 students, but now 140-acre area has been earmarked for the NIT’s establishment and this move is to fulfill a promise made to the people of Andhra Pradesh by establishing an NIT in the AP.
iii. The National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradeshis the 31st institution among the chain of National Institutes of Technology started by the Government of India and is situated at Tadepalligudem, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh State.
iv. It is an Institute of National Importance, being an NIT. NIT Andhra Pradesh was established in Tadepalligudem, State of Andhra Pradesh and it is functioning from the academic year 2015–2016.National Institute of Technology Warangalis the mentor institute.
About Andhra Pradesh :
♦ Capital – Amaravathi, Hyderabad
♦ CM – Chandrababu Naidu,
♦ Governor – Narasimhan
Resolution for renaming of Madras High Court passed
i. The Tamil Nadu State Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution asking the union government to rename it as the High Court of Tamil Nadu. The Decision from the state is against the centre, as it proposed High court of Chennai is been passed by the assembly.
ii. The Chief Minister reads the Resolution says that the court is meant that it is located in the city of Chennai but has jurisdiction over the whole State of Tamil Nadu so it would not be appropriate to keep the same name.
iii. Last month parliament in the Lok Sabha has brought The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016’ to rename the Bombay, Calcutta and Madras High Courts.
iv. As per the Alteration bill 2016 the High Court of Madras would be known as the High Court of Chennai.
Bihar enacts Draconian Excise and Prohibition Bill, 2016 to restrict Alcohol Usage
A rigorous Bihar Excise and Prohibition Bill, 2016, was passed in the state Assembly of Bihar by voice vote amidst boycott by Opposition over the state government’s rejection of their proposals in the over three hour-long debate on the legislation on August 1.
i. Prohibition on the manufacture, sale, storage and consumption of alcohol was imposed in Bihar earlier in 2016, by amending the Bihar Excise Act, 1915. The Bill replaces the 1915 Act and the Bihar Prohibition Act, 1938.
ii. The Bill outlines the following process to be followed in case an offence is committed:
♦ If a person is found to have committed any offence under the Bill (such as consumption, storage or possession of alcohol), any authorized person (such as the District Collector, Excise Officer, and Superintendent of Police) may take action against the offender.
♦ The Bill allows an authorized person to arrest the offender without a warrant. Alcohol, any material or conveyance mode used for the offence may be confiscated or destroyed by the authorized person. In addition, the premises where alcohol is found, or any place where it is being sold, may be sealed.
♦ Under the Bill, the offender will be tried by a Sessions Court, or a special court set up by the state. The offender may appeal against the verdict of the special court in the High Court.
iii. Being , a provision the Opposition has termed as a “draconian” provision by the opposition, this clause include sending all family members above 18 years of age behind bars in case of recovery of alcohol from a house.
About Bihar :
♦ Capital – Patna,
♦ CM – Nitish Kumar
♦ Governor – Ram Nath Kovind.
Being a Forerunner, Odisha Govt. allows Transgender people to be a part of their Prison Warden posts
The Odisha government has initiated the process of recruiting transgender people as prison wardens in order to impart a social boom in their abandoned life style.
i. In accordance with a Supreme Court directive on transgender, the Odisha government has decided to recruit them as jail warders following the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC).
ii. By this move, Odisha government has provided livelihood support to the transgender community and has been welcomed by the community members for the step taken by the state government which had been a long standing demand.
iii. As per the Directorate of Prison guidelines, transgender community members can apply for 185 warders posts in jails.
iv. It is noted that the Supreme Court had given the order in 2014; Odisha is the first state to include transgender as a gender category in any government recruitment process. Earlier transgender were not eligible to participate in any of the recruitment processes due to absence of the third gender category.
BANKING & FINANCE
ICICI teams up with APOLLO India for an Asset Reconstruction Company
India’s largest private banking lendor, ICICI banks teamsup with US based Apollo India Credit Opportunity Management LLC to launch an asset reconstruction company (ARC).
i. This tie-up is mainly emphasizing on the establishment of the ARC, which will acquire debt from lenders as well as equity stakes in companies.
ii. ICICI has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with AION Capital Management Ltd to launch an asset reconstruction company (ARC) as third partner.
iii. It is noted that big shot asset buyers such as J.C. Flowers & Co and Apollo Global are constellating to Indian markets, where banks have been ordered to clean up an estimated $120 billion of bad and troubled loans.
iv. Apollo Global Management,LLCis an American private equity firm, founded in 1990 by former Drexel Burnham Lambert bankerLeon Black. The firm specializes in leveraged buyout transactions and purchases of distressed securities involving corporate restructuring, special situations, and industry consolidations.
v. Apollo is headquartered inNew York City and also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai.
BUSINESS
NPPA cuts prices of cancer, HIV, cardiac drugs by around 25%
i. Drug pricing regulator -National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised the ceiling prices of drugs used for cancer, HIV, bacterial infections, anxiety and cardiac conditions by 25% in average.
ii. The Price revision of 24 scheduled formulations is done by the regulator as of schedule-I under Drugs (Price Control) Amendment Order, 2016.
iii. The national regulator also revised the retail price of 31 formulations under DPCO, 2013.
iv .The prices of essential drugs is fixed by the centre on the basis of the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment, having sales of more than 1 per cent.
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority:
♦ Formed: 1997
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Agency executive: Bhupendra Sing
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Indian Artist won 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant
Anita Gopalan, A Bangalore based Translator and artist has been awarded the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for her English translation of Geet Chaturvedi’s Hindi novel “Simsim” . It is noted that Anita Gopalan is the second Indian writer and First Woman translator to be titled the winner of the PEN/Heim Translation Fund.
i. The Fund, which awards grants of $2,000-$4,000 to promote the publication and reception of translated world literature in English, received a total of 171 applications, spanning a wide array of languages of origin, including Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Chinese, Czech, Hindi, Yiddish, and has been augmented by support from Amazon for financial backing. Among these 171 contestants, Anita has been titled as a best interpreter for Simsim.
ii. Anita Gopalan is a translator and artist from in Bangalore, India.. She graduated in Computer Science and Mathematics from BITS Pilani, and worked in Banking sector for over fourteen years in India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Middle East.
iii. She has translated prose and poetry by contemporary Hindi author Geet Chaturvedi. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming in,Poetry International Rotterdam,Modern Poetry in Translation, World Literature Today, Drunken Boat, Mantis, International Poetry Review, and Circumference.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale sworn in as new CJ of Allahabad HC
i. Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
ii. He was administered the oath by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik in presence of High Court judges, and other dignitaries
iii. Justice Bhosale belongs to a family of freedom fighters and his father Babasaheb Bhosale had served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Dilip Rath took additional charge as the Chairman of NDDB – National Dairy Development Board
After Govt of India has given Dilip Rath, Managing Director of the Dairy Board took an additional charge of Chairmanship following the resingnment of the former IAS officer T Nanda Kumar from the chairmanship of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
i. Dilip Rath had a wide experience in dairy development and cooperatives especially in implementing various schemes of the Central Government, National Project on Cattle and Buffalo Breeding, Intensive Dairy Development Programme, Clean Milk Production, Assistance to Cooperatives, besides being the divisional head of 12 cattle development organizations under Central Government.
ii. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1979 after obtaining master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University and served in different capacities under the State Governments of West Bengal, Odisha and the Central Government. It is noted that he received MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.
About NDDB:
♦ The National Dairy Development Board is an institution of national importance set up by an Act of Parliament of India. The main office is in Anand, Gujarat with regional offices throughout the country.
♦ NDDB’s subsidiaries include IDMC Limited-Anand, Mother Dairy, Delhi, NDDB Dairy Services, Delhi and Indian Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad.
♦ It was founded by Dr. Verghese Kurien. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was created in 1965, fulfilling the desire of the then prime minister of India — the late Lal Bahadur Shastri to extend the success of the Kaira Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul) to other parts of India.
♦ NDDB has now integrated 1, 17,575 dairy co-operatives in what it calls the Anand Pattern, linking the village society to the state federations in a three-tier structure.
Reliance Life gets its new CEO – Ashish Vohra, Former CDO of Max Life
Ashish Vohra, former chief distribution officer at Max Life will be joining Reliance Life following his appointment as its Chief Executive Officer.
i. Earlier Ashish Vohra worked with Fullerton India Credit and Citibank and at last he joined Max Life in 2010 and was leading the distribution channels, including bank assurance, direct selling, agency and online and he has experience of over 21 years spanning marketing, sales, product and business roles in financial services.
ii. Ashish Vohra paved a way for maintaining Max Life’s distribution foot print across the nation and acquiring key partnership and bank distribution alliances.
iii. Reliance Life Insurance Company(RLIC) is one of the largest life insurance companies in India with a market share of 5% . The company has over 7 million policy holders and a distribution network of close to 1,230 branches with over 124,000 agents as of 31 March 2013.
iv. RLIC offers life insurance products targeted at individuals and groups, catering to four distinct segments: protection, children, retirement and investment plans.
Lt Gen Bipin Rawat to be new Army vice-chief
i. Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat took charge as the General Officer Commanding in Chief of Pune based Southern Command. He will fill the shoes of Lt Gen Ashok Singh.
ii. Prior to his new assignment, He was General Officer Commanding Maharashtra. First he was commissioned in the Fifth Battalion of the Eleven Gorkha Rifles from Indian Military Academy
iii. He is an alumni of St Edward’s School, Shimla and received Graduation from Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the Higher Command Course at Fort Leavenworth, USA.
iv. In his four decades career he has been bestowed with the gallantry and notable service with the AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, and COAS Commendation on two occasions.
Anant Maheshwari named as President of Microsoft India
i. IT major Microsoft India appointed Anant Maheshwari as the President of its India’s operations. He will join the office from September 1.He is set to take over from Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman.
ii. The chairman in the earlier next year as he retires. He will watch over the product, service, and support offerings across the country.
iii. Prior to his new appointment he worked for Honeywell-India Operations as a president, He also had successful stint with McKinsey & Company for 6 years where he had worked at multiple industries as well as telecom, IT and e-commerce, private equity, engineering equipment.
Senior Bureaucrat Bhaskar Khulbe Appointed As PM Narendra Modi’s Secretary
i. West Bengal cadre IAS officer Bhaskar Khulbe has been named as secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had been serving in the PMO as an additional secretary.
ii. Khuble’s appointment was cleared by the Cabinet with an immediate effect. He will work in the pay scale of Rs 80,000.
iii. Khuble is a 1983 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre. He will be responsible for Cabinet Secretariat and thrust areas of the government.
Prime Ministers office:
♦ The office headed by the Principal Secretary, currently Nripendra Misra.
♦ The office comprises of two Private secratries , one joint Secretary and National Security Adviser.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Union Communication Minster launches Twitter Sewa to address the Comman Man complaints and needs
In order to address the grievances and concerns of common man and other stake-holders in the telecom and postal sectors, The Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha launched “Twitter Sewa” program for better lucidity in helping the growing population.
i. The telecom ministry and Department of Post will henceforth compile a list of complaints from this Twitter Sewa and categorize them into immediate, mid-term and long-term complaints.
ii. The twitter handle of the Minister will be@manojsinhabjp and the Telecom operators from Government as well as private and the Department of Posts shall use the utility of Twitter sewa” to the fullest to address the grievances of the public.
iii. This platform may be misused by some rogue elements, under such conditions Twitter authorities will take care of the same.
iv. This new initiative will help in connecting Indian citizens through live communications platform to provide a transparent, clean and responsive and accountable administration.
About Twitter :
♦ Owner – Jack Dorsey
♦ HQ – San Francisco, US
♦ Establishment – 2006
China to perform world’s first human genetic editing trial
i. China’s Sichuan University to perform world’s first genetic editing trial on humans aiming to cure lung cancer.
ii. The university oncologists will inject cell that are modified using the CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas9 gene-editing technique into the humans to perform the trial.
iii. The Cas9 is an enzyme that can make alteration of genetic patterns by genome modification. The trail allows the scientists to take out microorganism parts and replace them with new DNA stretches.
iv. The treatment the edited cells will be multiplied in the lab that will start the T cells to attack on the tumor cells. The Multiplication process will be carried out in a lab before being injected into the human.
ENVIRONMENT
Typhoon Nida brings hurly burly situation in Southern part of China
Owing to a battering typhoon Nida people in the the region large areas of southern China are on emergency alert in order to reduce the damage to life and properties in case of any natural hit.
i. Typhoon Nida brought Hong Kong to halt with high winds and rains and many schools, businesses and transport services remained shut.
ii. The strong typhoon packing winds up to 151.2 km per hour is moving northwest at 25 km per hour, and is expected to sweep across the cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing to Guangdong’s neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
iii. All flights from Shenzhen and Zhuhai were cancelled and hundreds of trains to and from Pearl River Delta cities have also been delayed.
iv. It is also ntoed that sea waves as high as 11 meters are expected in the northern South China Sea and the SOA also issued a red alert storm tides and estimated that the sea level off the Pearl River estuary will rise up to 220 cm.
SPORTS
India’s Vivek Teja becomes World Karate Champion
i. India’s martial arts hero and rising star Vivek Teja bagged the World Karate Champion (All Styles) at the Martial Arts World Championships in Sydney, Australia.
ii. The Indian Teja defeated James Chatfield from New Zealand in the first round and England’s Anthony Raiyas, in the second round, and beat Australian star Matthew Rose in the title clash to clinch the title.
iii. Teja becomes the first Indian to have acquired expertise in all martial art styles of the world in his 15 years fighting career
Wrestler Narsingh Yadav gets NADA’s clean chit in doping case
i. The National Anti-Doping Agency has given a clean chit to wrestler Narsingh Yadav from doping charges, with this he will be eligible to take part in Rio Olympics.
ii .The wrestler had tested positive for a banned steroid in an out of competition test conducted by the Doping Agency.
iii. In addition Praveen Rana was named as the replacement of Yadav to secure quota in the in the 74kg category Wrestling in the Rio Olympics.
iv. Yadav qualified for the Rio after he won bronze medal in the World’s Championship held last year. India stages in 15 games including Wrestling with 120 athletes in the Mega event.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
‘Grassroots Innovation’ authored by Prof. Anil K. Gupta
i. A book titled Grassroots Innovation was released which was authored by professor Anil K Gupta of IIM Ahmedabad.
ii. The book describes about the people who are silently making contribution in the innovation for the economic development and also for the advancement of society.
iii. President Pranab Mukherjee a copy of book from the author at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Anil k Gupta:
♦ He is the founder of the Honey Bee Network also holds the post of Vice Chairman at National Innovation Foundation.
♦ He is Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
♦ He received Padma Shri award in 2004 for his contribution in the Management field.
