Nov 13th 2015-Current Affairs

>>Mr. Rajan is the first Indian central bank Governor to become the vice-chairman of BIS.

BIS is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and acts as a coordinating body among central banks to ensure global monetary and financial stability. The BIS board meets at least six times a year.

The BIS board comprise all central bankers. The board includes U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

Mr. Rajan has been a strong critic of unconventional monetary policies such as quantitative easing and keeping interest rates at near-zero level for long, and he also believes that the sooner central banks recognised the importance of coordination, the more sustainable global growth would be.

“The current non-system in international monetary policy is, in my view, a source of substantial risk, both to sustainable growth and to the financial sector,” Mr. Rajan said in a speech at an event organised by the Institute of Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, Tokyo, last year.

>>Rajasthan has announced an agri-marketing policy to promote agro-processing industries and ensure competitive prices to farmers through financial incentives and facilities.

To attract investments, the Rajasthan Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy, 2015 places agri-marketing and processing on par with priority sectors such as tourism, textiles and energy.

The policy also provides additional incentives such as provisions of subsidy for product patent, product registration and quality certification.

The financial incentives include provisions such as 5 per cent interest subsidy on term loans for five years, 50 per cent exemption in land tax, electricity duty and mandi cess for seven years, and 50 per cent exemption in stamp duty, conversion charges and entry tax on plant and machinery in the state.

The policy states that investors in agro-processing sectors, with investments up to Rs 25 lakh, shall be granted 30 per cent capital subsidy, and 20 per cent employment generation subsidy on VAT and CST deposited for a period of seven years.

Investors in agro-processing sectors making investment above Rs 25 lakh shall be granted 60 per cent capital subsidy, 10 per cent employment generation subsidy on VAT and CST deposited for seven years.

>>India Culture Week at China Shanghai International Arts Festival “India in Shanghai” inaugurated by H.E.Ambassador Ashok K. Kantha

For the first time ever in the 17-year history of the China Shanghai InternationalArts Festival, India has been designated as the guest country during the festival. The decision follows the high level importance attached by People’sRepublic of China to India following Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi to China which happened a few months after the successful visit of President Xi Jinpingto India. It also represents a renewed emphasis by the leadership of two countries on promoting people-to-people linkages as well as strengthening cultural exchanges between India and China. 

>>President Pranab Mukherjee has given approval to the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill that were passed by the Vidhan Sabha in March this year.

While conveying this, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said with the passage of the Bill, cow trafficking, slaughtering and eating beef are now banned in the state.

According to the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvard-han Bill, cow slaughter in Haryana will invite rigorous imprisonment ranging from three to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. Any person who attempts to export cows for slaughter would be imprisoned for not less than three years and up to seven years. Fine between Rs 30,000 and Rs 70,000 would be imposed.

>>NEW DELHI,: India has inked memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with six nations during the International Civil Aviation Negotiations held in Turkey, the central government announced .

The negotiations would enhance the international air connectivity from India and would offer the passengers wider choice and seamless connectivity.

The negotiations were held from October 19-23 in Turkey's Antalya and attended by 106 countries.

The MoUs were signed by India with countries like Finland, Kazakhstan and Sweden.

The agreements were signed during International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2015, which was held in Antalya, Turkey.

Mou with Kenya

The capacity have been increased to 21 additional frequencies.

Domestic code share was accorded to from any 4 points by both sides.

Kenya also agreed to grant one additional point, intermediate and beyond point with full 5th freedom rights in Africa to India.

Mou with Ethiopia

Capacity entitlements were increased to 28 frequencies per week.

Mou with Finland

Finland agreed for the provisions namely open sky on cargo, code share, intermodal services and routing flexibility.

Domestic code share was agreed to on 5 points in the territory of both parties.

Mou with Sweden, Norway and Denmark

The three Scandinavian countries agreed for the four provisions namely open sky on cargo, code shares, intermodal and routing flexibility which are the mandatory requirements of Horizontal Agreement.

Mou with Oman

Additional 5131 seats were accorded taking the total capacity entitlements to 21149 seats per week.

Mou with Kazakhstan

As per the latest Article 11 given by the Indian side, both the countries agreed to review the initialled Air Services Agreement (ASA).

>>The 12th ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting (ASEM FMM12) was chaired by Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and hosted by the Government of Luxembourg.

The ASEM FMM 12 was held under the theme "Working Together for a Sustainable and Secure Future"

51 Foreign Ministers from 30 European and 21 Asian countries as well as the Secretary General of ASEAN participated in the two-day meeting. The meeting comprised of, on the first day, an opening session and two plenary sessions and, on the second day, a retreat session as well as a closing session and a final press conference. At the end of the meeting, a Chair's Statement was issued. A large number of bilateral meetings took place in the margins of the Ministerial Meeting. 

>>Seventeen-year old Abraham M. Keita from Liberia is the 2015 winner of the International Children’s Peace Prize. Today, he was presented with the prestigious award for demanding justice for children who are victims of physical or sexual violence, and for successfully campaigning for the Liberian parliament to adopt the Children’s Law. 

In the presence of the world press Keita received the Prize from Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee who in 2011 was the first Liberian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in Liberia’s peace-building process. Gbowee said: “It is a great honour to award the Prize.

 It is very special and inspiring that Keita, already at such a young age, demands that perpetrators and would be perpetrators be held accountable. I recognise in him a true changemaker: fighting to end the extreme violence against children!”

>>GSAT-15, India’s communication satellite, was launched successfully by the European Ariane 5 VA-227 launch Vehicle in the early morning hours of today (November 11, 2015). 

 The 3164 kg GSAT-15 carries communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.

After a smooth countdown lasting 11 hours and 30 minutes, the Ariane 5 launch vehicle lifted off right on schedule at 0304 hrs (3:04 am) IST today. After a flight of  43 minutes and 24 seconds, GSAT-15 separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,819 km, inclined at an angle of 3.9 degree to the equator.  The achieved orbit was very close to the intended one.

ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-15 immediately after its separation from the launch vehicle. Preliminary health checks of the satellite revealed its normal health.

After the completion of orbit raising operations, the two solar arrays and both the antenna reflectors of GSAT-15 will be deployed.  Following this, the satellite will be put in its final orbital configuration.  GSAT-15 will be positioned at 93.5 deg East longitude in the geostationary orbit along with the operational INSAT-3A and    INSAT-4B satellites. Later, it is planned to experimentally turn on the communication payloads of GSAT-15. After the successful completion of all the in-orbit tests,   GSAT-15 will be ready for operational use.  

>>The Coast Guard's latest and largest offshore patrol vessel, Samarth, was today commissioned here by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who asked the force not to sit on past laurels and focus on securing India's maritime interests. 

With a displacement of 2450 tonnes, the ship is equipped with sophisticated technology, sensors, navigation, communication and weapon systems. Samarth is first in the series of six 105m offshore patrol vessels and has been built by Goa Shipyard. 

>> The Burst Prevention and Puncture Curative (BPPC) technology led by Sameer Panda a team of innovators called TycheeJuno has  recently won an award from NASA, in their Create the Future Design Contest - 2015, held this month in New York.

When tyres blow up, they can be the cause of many deaths, especially if said tyre was fitted on a vehicle travelling at a decent speed.

 The Mild Run Flat Tyre was developed by the team with the help of their BPPC tech. It features a multi-chambered tube/tubeless tire with a layer of sealant which prevents air from escaping from the tyre.

The tech helps prevent punctures and decreases the possibilities of tyre bursts and can even help a punctured tyre run normally on the road. The tech also helps with dynamic wheel balancing, increases the life of the tyre, and increases fuel efficiency.

Panda estimates that if his tech is used in 10 million vehicles, carbon emission due to replacement can be reduced up to 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. He also claims that fuel consumption also can be reduced by 200 million gallons.

>> Northeast India’s first exclusive hospital for elephants has been established at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. 

The hospital was set up at Mark Shand Memorial Learning Centre in Kaziranga National Park. It was inaugurated by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild who is founding patron of the UK-based charity Elephant Family.

About Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National Park is the name to exemplify the most popular conservation efforts to save the endangered species like one-horned rhinoceros in India.

Located in the Golaghat and Nagaon district of Assam, this most notable wildlife sanctuary is being declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1985. The park resides at an edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot and this could be the perfect reason to envision high degrees of diversified species with great visibility.

The park lies in the flood plains of Brahmaputra River and so every year the region is completely drenched with high water level; so do the wildlife gets affected by it too. And keeping such messy situation in mind, the park officials are always ready for every kind of provision for the safety of the jungle beings of Kaziranga.