11th April 2015

>>India and France today signed 17 agreements, including on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with French President Francois Hollande.

• An MoU was signed between Larsen and Tubro and AREVA aimed at cost reduction by increasing localisation, to improve the financial viability of the Jaitapur project.

• The agreement will also enable transfer of technology and development of indigenous nuclear energy industry in India.
• MoU was also signed between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) on the Indo-French Megha Tropiques satellite which was launched on board the Indian launch vehicle PSLV on October 12, 2011.
• The MoU shall extend by two more years, the joint project for sharing and use of data from the satellite.
• Under space cooperation, an agreement was also signed between ISRO and CNES. The agreement proposes cooperation in the areas of satellite remote sensing, satellite communications and satellite meteorology among others.
• An MoU on cooperation between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and French Ministry of Sports, Youth Affairs, Public Education and Community Life was also signed that envisages cooperation and exchange of experiences in the fields of sports medicine and institutional cooperation.
• An MoU on cooperation in the field of renewable energy between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and France's Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy was signed that will help establish the basis for cooperation and relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable energy issues on the basis of mutual benefits and reciprocity.
• A Railway protocol between Indian Ministry of Railways and French National Railways (SNCF) was also inked, seeking to establish cooperation between Indian and French Railways for semi-high speed rail and station renovation.

>>India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.

•  It became operational after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial hub.

Key facts of IFSC rules and regulations

• Aim at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in Dubai and Singapore.
• They also seek to check the flight of trading in rupee and Indian securities to such offshore financial hubs.
• These rules will allow companies incorporate outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC.
• They will also allow individual and institutional investors from India and abroad, including NRIs to trade.
• Allows foreign and Indian stock exchanges to set up separate bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries.
• Relaxes capital and other requirements for some time in order to facilitate exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set shop in the IFSC.
• Allows alternative investment funds and mutual funds that have set up in the IFSC to invest in the securities listed there.

>>Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela on 11 April 2015 won Bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the (International Shooting Sport Federation) ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Changwon, South Korea. 

>>President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a festival showcasing the culture of India's northeast region and highlighted the "immense contribution" made by the people of the region in nation building.

• The day-long festival - "Songs and Dances of the North East" - was organised by the Meghalaya government here and sponsored by the North Eastern Council.
• "The people of the region took active part in the freedom struggle... Song, dance and music are part of the everyday life of the people of the region, who are known for their hospitality and courtesy.
• "The festival, showcasing the rich, cultural ethnicity and diversity of India's northeast, will help bridge the gap between the people of the northeastern states and the rest of India.

>>Supreme Court ruled that private hospitals could neither “turn away” victims of acid attack nor wash their hands of after providing first aid.

• The court made it mandatory for these hospitals across the country to provide full and free medical treatment to the victims. The order said the term “treatment” included reconstructive surgery, free medicines, bed, rehabilitation and aftercare.
• The order came on a public interest litigation petition filed by Laxmi, an acid attack victim, following nine years of fighting for the rights of victims.
• The court directed the State governments to take action against the hospitals turning away victims.

>>The Union Government rejected the Odisha Government proposal to grant mining license to South Korean steel major Posco which needed mining license for its proposed 12 billion US dollar mega steel plant at Paradip in Odisha.

• Union Government in response to the proposal, asked Odisha Government that Posco, like others, will have to take part in the open auction to get Khandadhar or any other mines.
• Union Government declined the state government’s proposal in accordance to the Amendment of Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957. The amendment in the bill states that all contracts shall be accorded through auction by competitive bidding.

>>The state Govt Oklahoma in USA passed the bill for use of nitrogen gas (nitrogen-induced hypoxia) as a method of execution .

• The bill now awaits the governor's signature to become a law. Oklahoma will become the first state in the United States that will allow use of nitrogen for execution after the Governor’s approval.

>>Asteroid 316201 was named as ‘316201 Malala’ after the youngest Nobel laureate and girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai.

• The asteroid was named after her by Amy Mainzer, astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, United States under the International Astronomical Union rules.
•  In 2010, Mainzer had discovered the asteroid which was known as 316201. As a discoverer of the asteroid she had owned the rights to name it.
•  Asteroid 316201 Malala is located in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits around the Sun every 5.5 years and is more-than 2 mile wide.

>> India is going to host the ninth meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council to be organised for 2 days starting from 10^th  June 2015. The proposed meeting will be organised in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates.

India will chair the meeting of the 21 member council, which will guide the agency’s future programmes and activities and helps set the agenda for the meeting of the annual Assembly to be organised in January 2016.

The eighth meeting of the Council took place in November 2014 in Abu Dhabi.

About International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

• Irena was established on twenty six January 2009 as an intergovernmental organization to supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.
• It is the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy.
• It has one hundred forty (140) members including India, which is a founder-member of the organization.
• Irena has 2 main governing structures-IRENA Assembly and Irena Council.
• The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly takes decisions at the macro level and provides overall policy direction to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
• The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council is the main governing body of the Agency, which is responsible for implementing decisions of the Assembly.
• The Director-General of Irena is Adnan Z. Amin, a national of Kenya.

>>Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund body, on 9 April 2015 suspended the 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme from April 2015. 

• The end of the minimum monthly pension provided under Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)-95 will hit about 32 lakh pensioners.

• The decision to suspend the scheme was taken because, as per EPFO circular, there was no communication or direction from the Union Government to continue this scheme beyond 31 March 2015.
• The circular further said that the payment pension from the month of April 2015 will be released at earlier rates, that is, without minimum pension provision.

• Union Government had issued a notification on 19 August 2014 to hike the pension amount to flat 1000 rupees per month for those who were getting less than 1000 rupees per month as pension. The benefit of the scheme was made effective from 1 September 2014 to 31 March 2015. 

>>Today Naitonal Safe Motherhodd Day is observed across India to create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating women.

• This day was launched by the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA),India,a non-profit NGO that aims to decrease maternal and newborn death globally.

Some facts about Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in India

• India has registered an overall 70 percent decline in MMR during period from 1990 to 2012 as compared to global decline of 45 percent.
• During 2011-13, the MMR has declined 167 per one lakh live births compared to 178 per one-lakh live births in 2010-12.
• The rate of decline in MMR is showing an increasing trend from annual rate of 6.2 percent in 2011-13 compared to 4.1 percent in 2001-03.
•  Apart from MMR, the institutional delivery in India has risen sharply from 47 per cent in 2007-08 to over 75 per cent in 2013.

>>As the climate change measures is taking the center stage all over the world, National Green Tribunal, NGT, has directed Real Estate Sector in the National Capital Region to check air pollution caused by dust emanating from construction sites in New Delhi.

• The chairperson of NGT Justice Swatanter Kumar directed all the construction project an immediate halt in the national capital and ordered not to follow rules stipulated in the 2010 guidelines of the environment ministry.
• The bench also directed every builder and owner to put tarpaulin sheets around area of construction and said, "No person including builder and owner would be permitted to throw construction material particularly sand on the roads or inside colonies”.
•  It said that construction material of any kind that is stored at the building site would be properly covered so that it does not disperse through air. He also directed that every workers working on the construction site or