WBCS Current Affairs 20/12/2014 to 26/12/2014
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 4:14 pm1.Government has launched a web portal for initiating the e-auction process of 24 coal blocks/mines. This portal aims to make auction process transparent, efficient.
These 24 coal blocks fall under the first phase of coal block auction out of the total 92.
Among the 24 mines, 7 are reserved for the power sector while 16 for iron & steel sector and cement plants. While 1 mine is reserved for steel.
e-Auctioning process
With the launch of portal, the registration process began. In the registration process interested bidders will register themselves as per KYC norms.
Then the process will comprise techno-commercial bid for qualification and financial bid (e-auction) for selection of successful bidder.
It should be noted that only 50 per cent of the qualified bidders from technical stage will be allowed to participate in the e-auction process.
Mines allocated for power sector will be auctioned through ‘descending reverse auction’ in order to minimise the impact on power tariffs at end use. In this case qualified bidders will bid above the pre-determined floor price.
For iron & steel, cement, blocks will be auctioned through ‘ascending forward auction’, where qualified bidders will quote incremental bids above the pre-determined floor price.
Last date for receiving technical bids will be 31st January 2015 and list of qualified bidders will be placed on 12 February 2015. After this process, final e-auction of coal mines for qualified bidders will be held from 14-22 February, 2015.
2.Reliance Industries (RIL) has inked shipping agreement with one of the world’s largest shipping company- Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL), for transporting liquefied ethane from North America to India.
As per the agreement
MOL will supervise the construction of six Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs), ordered by RIL.
These VLEC’s are hybrid version of LNG carrier and LPG carrier. They will be delivered before end of 2016.
As part of strategic tie-up between two companies, MOL will also manage and operate the vessels after they are built and delivered.
Background
Earlier in August 2014, RIL had decided to import 1.5 million tonnes per annum of ethane from US as feedstock to its cracking units in India. Imported Ethane will be primarily used as a petrochemical feedstock to produce ethylene by steam cracking.
After the shale revolution, North America is expected to produce large volumes Ethane, a natural gas component. Thus it will help to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) and cooking gas LPG in abundance.
3.Government has launched Mission Indradhanush to immunise kids against 7 vaccine-preventable diseases.
Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases.
7 preventable diseases: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
It was launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda on the occasion of National Good Governance Day.
Key facts about Mission Indradhanush
It will be focused and systematic immunization drive through a catch-up campaign mode aiming to cover all the children who have been left out or missed out for immunization.
Under this scheme government will conduct 4 special vaccination campaigns between January and June 2015 with intensive planning and monitoring .
These campaigns will be planned and implemented according to the learning’s of the successful implementation of the polio programme.
It will be implemented in 2 phases in 2015. First phase will cover 201 districts. While, second phase will cover 297 districts.
For the first phase government has identified 201. These are high-focus districts in the country which have nearly 50 per cent of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. Under this mission, these districts will be targeted intensively in order to improve the routine immunization coverage.
Among the 201 districts, 82 districts are in four BHIMARU states i.e Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. In these 82 districts nearly 25 per cent children are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children.
WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and others will be donor partners for Mission Indradhanush. While the mass media, interpersonal communication will play crucial role to monitor and evaluate the sturdy mechanisms for implementing this mission.
4.Governments ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer on LPG (DBTL) has become the world’s largest direct benefit transfer scheme after 2.5 crore households received about 550 crore rupees since 15th November 2014.
It has surpassed number of beneficiaries in direct benefit transfer programmes in countries like China and Brazil.
Background
Earlier, government had launched DBTL scheme in 54 districts from 15th November 2014 and planning to launch it all over the country from 1st January 2015.
Key facts about Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme
This scheme gives cash subsidy on cooking gas directly to consumers so that they can buy cooking gas at market price.
It aims to curb leakages, preventing black-marketing in cash subsidy on cooking gas.
As primary option, LPG consumers who join the DBTL scheme receive the LPG cash subsidy either by linking their Aadhaar number to the LPG and bank database.
In case of secondary option, consumers may get the subsidy directly into their accounts without linking it with Aadhaar.
Thus, DBTL scheme is will help government to save upto Rs 14,000 crores in subsidies
5.Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came into force on 24 December 2014, after it was adopted by the UN General Assembly in April 2013.
Now this landmark treaty has officially became binding international law, which aims to regulate around the USD 85 billion global arms trade.
It came into force after 60 nations ratified it, as of December 23 among the 130 signatories of the treaty. In order to come in force, the treaty in total needed 50 nations ratification.
Key facts of Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
It is the first legally-binding multilateral agreement that prohibits nations from exporting conventional weapons to countries that may use it for genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
It adds a new chapter in collective efforts of nations to bring responsibility, accountability and transparency to the global arms trade.
It set robust global standards for cross-border transfers of conventional weapons ranging from small firearms to tanks and attack helicopters.
It creates binding requirements for states to review cross-border contracts to ensure weapons will not be used in human rights abuses, violations of humanitarian law or organised crime
Countries that ratified ATT
Five of the top 10 arms exporters – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have already ratified the ATT.
In 2013, India was among the 23 nations that had abstained from voting on the treaty resolution. As per India, the treaty has weak provision on terrorism and non-state actors as these concerns are not mentioned in the specific prohibitions of the Treaty.
6.Former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna recipient Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 90th birthday was observed as National Good Governance Day on 25th December 2014.
In order to mark the occasion of this day, several programmes were organized nationwide and new initiatives were announced.
Events and new initiatives
Ministry of Petroleum expanded the 5 kg LPG cylinder scheme in Delhi.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated e-office in his office and e-clearance.
Ministry of Communication and IT made its Good Governance initiatives public and launched a number of new projects.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) launched an SMS service to forecast weather related information. It will provide real time cyclone alerts and warnings to general public.
Tourism and Culture Ministry launched e-ticketing facility at National monuments like Taj Mahal and Humayun Tomb.
It should be noted that this day is also being observed as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana( PMGSY) Divas.
7.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for withdrawal of pre-2005 of various denominations including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 by six months till 30th June 2015.
RBI also has clarified that all such notes will continue to remain a legal tender and can be exchanged for their full value.
8.Senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was appointed as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra state Legislative Assembly.
State Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde had announced his appointment.
9.4 Public sector undertakings (PSU’s) have signed Joint Ventures Agreements (JVA’s) to set up an Integrated Coal Gasification cum Fertilizer and Ammonium Nitrate plant at Talcher, Odisha.
4 PSU’s are: GAIL India Limited, Coal India Limited (CIL), Rashtriya Chemicals (RCF) and Fertilizers Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
Key facts of Joint Ventures Agreements
GAIL Coal Gas (India) led by GAIL will set up the Upstream Coal Gasification and Gas Purification section for production of Ammonia Syn Gas for downstream fertilizer unit. It will invest around Rs 3000 crore.
Talcher Chemicals & Fertilizers led by RCF will set up Ammonia-Urea, Nitric Acid-Ammonium Nitrate plants. It will initiated with an estimated investment of Rs 6000 crore with majority stake held by RCF & CIL.
The overall project comprises of 3850 MTPD Urea plant, 2700 MTPD Ammonia plant, 850 MTPD Nitric Acid plant and 1000 MTPD Ammonium Nitrate plant.
The entire project will help to produce per day: 3,850 tonne of urea, 2,700 tonne of ammonia, 850 tonne of nitric acid and 1,000 tonne of ammonium nitrate .
Execution of construction activities of these projects are likely to start in year 2015-16 and expected to complete by the year 2019.
Implications of Talcher plant
It has strategic importance for India, as it aims to make an alternative source path of feedstock coal for fertilizer industry from domestic sources rather than imported coal.
It will help to trigger a great economic boom in Odisha and eastern part of India, as it will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people.
10.Government has released 2015 Calender with theme ‘Clean India, Green India’. It was launched by the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Minister & Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
Calender focuses on the government’s flagship scheme Swachch Bharat- Clean India Programme with picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wielding the broom on the first page of the calendar.
Along with this printed calender, for the first time digital version of calender was lauched which includes mobile calendar app focusing governments another flagship scheme- Digital India.
The Directorate of Advertisement and Visual Publicity (DAVP) has developed the digital version of calender.
Digital version of Calender i.e. mobile app will feature latest tweets from the PMO, the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the Press Releases on PIB website, All India Radio news, Doordarshan news, a list of government websites etc.
11.Government has released commemorative postal stamp to highlight heroic deeds of those engaged in 1857 Kuka movement of the Namdhari Sikhs against the British rule.
It was released by Union minister for Communication and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi.
Key facts about Kuka Movement
This movement marked the first major anti British reaction and its new political order initiated in 1849 among the people in the Punjab in 1857.
The Namdhari Movement, aftermath of the Kuka Movement was the most important phase as it aimed at overthrowing the British rule and played important role in freedom struggle.
It had evoked the strong feelings of self-respect and sacrifice for the country’s freedom struggle.
This movement actively propagated the principles of boycott and non-co-operation given by Guru Ram Singh (founded the Namdhari sect) for the Namdharis.
Guru’s Non-co-operation Movement actively propagated few things such as boycott of education institutions of British and laws established by them.
At the time of movement, the Kuka followers were rigid in their clothing and wore only hand-spun white attire in order not to reveal their identity as large number of followers were in the police as well as army.
You may read more about – Kuka Movement 1857 here
12.For the first time, Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy deal agreement worth US $ 1.7 billion. As per the the agreement gas pipeline will be laid between Pakistani cities- Karachi and Lahore.
The energy agreement was signed after the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had visited Pakistan in November 2015. His visit to Pakistan was after 45 years, as the last visit to Pakistan was made by then Soviet Union’s defence minister Andrey Grechko.
This move of both countries aims to further improve their bilateral ties. Both countries also had inked a defence and military cooperation deals.
13.Japan’s Parliament has re-elected Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority following the conservative leader’s mid-December election triumph.
In the voting, lower house voted for Abe with 328 votes against 73 for acting opposition leader Katsuya Okada.
After he was elected he announced his cabinet members which is same as previous but replacing only Defense Minister Akinori Eto. The cabinet members will take charges of their office after the formal ceremony with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace
Current Affairs Today - Current Affairs 2014
Pakistan and Russia sign US $ 1.7 Billion Energy Deal
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December 25, 2014No comments
pak-russia-flag
For the first time, Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy deal agreement worth US $ 1.7 billion. As per the the agreement gas pipeline will be laid between Pakistani cities- Karachi and Lahore.
The energy agreement was signed after the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had visited Pakistan in November 2015. His visit to Pakistan was after 45 years, as the last visit to Pakistan was made by then Soviet Union’s defence minister Andrey Grechko.
This move of both countries aims to further improve their bilateral ties. Both countries also had inked a defence and military cooperation deals.
Key facts
This pipeline will help to transport imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Karachi to Punjab province.
The supply of LNG is expected to start before March, 2015.
Background
Currently, Pakistan is working on two LNG pipelines as an alternative to doom Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, which included LNG Gwadar pipeline and south pipeline from Karachi to Lahore.
Pakistan government also has signed a deal with China to award USD 3 billion Gwader LNG pipeline and terminal project.
Thus, for first time Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy pact decades after the recent deal to increase military cooperation.
Japan Parliament re-elects Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister
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December 24, 2014No comments
Shinzo Abe
Japan’s Parliament has re-elected Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority following the conservative leader’s mid-December election triumph.
In the voting, lower house voted for Abe with 328 votes against 73 for acting opposition leader Katsuya Okada.
After he was elected he announced his cabinet members which is same as previous but replacing only Defense Minister Akinori Eto. The cabinet members will take charges of their office after the formal ceremony with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace.
Background
Earlier in December, Mr Abe had called a snap election in order new mandate to get public support to implement Abenomics, a blend of aggressive monetary easing, public spending and economic reforms.
In this snap election, the ruling coalition led by Mr Abe had won a two-thirds majority amid a low voter turnout.
In this snap election Mr Abe’s party Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had won 290 seats and its ally Komeito had won 35 seats. Together they accounted to a total of 325 seats out of 475 seat of Japan’s Lower House in Parliament.
14.From 1st January 2015, Maharashtra government is allowing citizens to seek information under RTI Act, online
15.Jharkhand
In Jharkhand State Assembly election 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged victorious by winning 37 out of total 81 seats.
BJP’s along with its ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) which has won 5 seats will form government.
While the earlier ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has won 19 seats.
In this election BJP had contested for 72 seats while its alliance partner AJSU contested on 8 seats.
Key facts
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): Won 37 seats with vote share of 31.3 percent.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM): Won 19 seats with vote share of 20.4 percent.
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik): Won 8 seats with vote share of 10 percent.
Indian National Congress (INC): Won 6 seats with vote share of 10.5 percent.
All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU): Won 5 seats with vote share of 3.7 percent.
Others: Won 6 seats with vote share of 6.3 percent.
Jammu & Kashmir
In Jammu & Kashmir State Assembly election 2014, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged largest party by winning 28 seats out of total 87 seats.
While, BJP has emerged second largest party winning 25 seats. It should be noted that BJP has won maximum from the Jammu region. Earlier, ruling National Conference has won 15 seats.
In J&K no party has emerged victorious, thus hung assembly situation has arisen.
Key facts
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – Won 28 seats with vote share of 22.7 percent.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - Won 25 seats with vote share of 23 percent.
National Conference (NC) – Won 15 seats with vote share of 20.8 percent.
Indian National Congress (INC) – Won 12 seats with vote share of 18 percent.
Others- Won 7 seats with vote share of 3.5 percent.
Background
The elections in both states were held in 5 phases. It started on 25th November and ended on 20th December 2014.
16.Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and late educationist Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously) have been chosen for Bharat Ratna- country’s highest civilian award.
It was announced by the press communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Madan Mohan Malviya
He was born on December 25, 1861 and was an educationist and politician notable for his role in India’s freedom struggle. He was popularly known ‘Mahaman’.
He is founder of Asia’s largest residential university – Banaras Hindu University.
He was President of Indian National Congress in 1909 and 1918.
He is also remembered for his stellar role in the Independence movement and his espousal of Hindu nationalism.
He is considered as one of the initial leaders of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha and died in 1946.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
He was born on 25th December 1924. He is an Indian statesman who was the 11th Prime Minister first for 13 days in 1996 and then from 1998 to 2004. Notably he is the first PM from outside the Congress party to serve a full five-year term.
He is amongst the founder members of erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh which later became known as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He was parliamentarian for over 4 decades and was elected to the Lok Sabha for 9 times, and 2 to the Rajya Sabha.
He was also the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Janta Government headed by Morarji Desai i.e. from 1977-79.
In 2009, he retired from active politics due to health concerns.
Recently, Union government had announced to observe his birthday as Good Governance Day.
Bharat Ratna
It is India’s highest civilian award given to citizens for their exceptional work for the advancement of art, literature and science, and public service.
In December 2011, government had changed the criteria for including sportsperson for this award thus added category for performance of highest order in any field of human endeavour.
It was instituted in the year 1954.
The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President. No formal recommendations for this are necessary.
The recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion. It does not carry any monetary grant.
Till date 45 people have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna since its inception (Including Madan Mohan Malviya and A. B. Vajpayee).
In February 2014, it was awarded to eminent scientist Prof C.N.R. Rao and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
17.Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to co-ordinate military operations along their border to stop cross-border attacks by militants.
In this regard, Afghan army Chief General Sher Mohammad Karimi and his Pakistani counterpart General Raheel Sharif met in Islamabad and later announced their plans to co-operate in military operations.
Both generals met in presence US General John Campbell, who heads North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) coalition forces in Afghanistan.
This move of both severely terrorist affected countries comes after Taliban fighters attacked a school in Peshawar on 16th December 2014 killing 141 people, 132 of them children.
18.Maharashtra government had appointed committee to study the issue of balanced development of various regions of Maharashtra. It was headed by well-known economist Vijay Kelkar.
Committee’s recommendation report was recently tabled in the state Legislative Assembly.
19.Eminent South Indian filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Kailasam Balachander passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 84.
20.In India, 24th December is observed as National Consumer Day. On this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the President.
The enactment of this Act was considered as a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country.
This Act aims to provide consumers with effective safeguards against different types of exploitation such as defective goods, unsatisfactory services and unfair trade practices.
This day provides an opportunity for individuals to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.
It should be also noted that World Consumer Rights Day is observed on 15th March every year.
Some facts about Consumer Protection Act, 1986
It provides consumers with speedy and inexpensive redressal grievances mechanism and specific relief or award of compensation.
It recognizes six of the eight rights of the consumer as provided in the UN charter.
It envisages following rights of consumers
Right to Protection.
Right of Information.
Right of Choice.
Right of Hearing.
Right of Redressal.
Right of Education.
21.For the first time in history, NASA has emailed hardware digital file for 3D printing to International Space Station (ISS).
Using this digital file, a ratcheting socket wrench (hardware) was manufactured using ISS’s onboard 3D printer.
This 3D printer was installed in ISS in September 2014 by collaboration between NASA and company Made In Space. In November 2014, the 3D printer had started manufacturing the first 3-D printed object in space as a replacement part for itself.
Previously, if astronauts in space needed an item or any technical part they would have to wait until it is flown up on supply flights.
But now, the 3D printing is providing astronauts on-demand printing and manufacturing of a custom-designed tool whenever they needed.
3D printing technology
3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file with extreme precision.
This technology is also termed additive manufacturing as the 3D printed object is created us additive processes.
In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of manufacturing material on each other until the entire object is created.
This technology has limitless possibilities and can create almost anything with just raw material and a computer generated model.
22.The Defence Ministry has identified 4 strategic rail lines along the Indo-China border.
Four strategic rail lines are
Arunachal Pradesh: 378 kilometre long Missamari – Tenga -Tawang and 227 kilometre long Pasighat -Tezu -Rupai railway projects.
Jammu and Kashmir: 498 kilometre long Bilaspur- Manali –Leh. It also includes some part of Himachal Pradesh.
Assam: 249-kilometre long North Lakhimpur-Along-Silapathar.
However, Defence ministry has not identified any strategic railway line along Pakistan border.
After the approval of Defence Ministry, Railway Ministry will carry out the final location survey at a cost of Rs 345 crore.
The time of completion and cost of these projects will be finalized after detailed geo-technical studies and final sanction.
23.Beji Caid Essebsi had been elected as President of Tunisia. Thus he is the first democratically elected President in the country after the Arab Spring.
In the recent run-off elections he got 56 percent votes and defeated the outgoing President Moncief Marzouki.
24.Lok Sabha has passed the Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014. It was passed by voice vote.
This bill amends Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 and aims to strengthen the Regional Rural Banks and deepen their financial inclusion.
Key facts
Authorised capital: This amendment bill increases the authorised capital of each Regional Rural Bank (RRB) from Rs 5 crore to Rs 2000 crore divided into Rs 200 crore of fully paid share of Rs 10 each. As per the parent Act the Rs 5 crore share capital of RRBs is split into 5 lakh shares of Rs 100 each.
Issued capital: It also provides that the authorised capital issued by any RRB’s shall not be reduced below Rs 1 crore and shares in all cases to be fully paid up shares of Rs 10 each.
Shareholding: The Bill allows RRBs to raise capital from sources other than the central and state governments, and sponsor banks.
Board of directors: The Bill adds provision that any person who is a director of an RRB is not eligible to be on the Board of Directors of another RRB. It also mentions that directors will be elected by shareholders based on the total amount of equity share capital issued to such shareholders.
Tenure of directors: The bill raises the tenure of directors to 3 years from existing 2 years. The Bill also states that no director can hold office for a total period exceeding six years.
Closure and balancing of books: The parent Act had provision which mentioned that the balance books of RRBs should be closed and balanced by 31st December every year. However this amendment bill changes this date to 31st March in order to bring RRB’s balancing of books in uniformity with the financial year.
25.Rajasthan government has decided to fix minimum educational qualification as condition for aspiring candidates in panchayats elections.
In this regard, Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh has approved the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Ordinance-2014 after it was notified by the state government.
This ordinance will amend the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act 1994 and has provision for educational qualifications for candidates contesting zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls.
Key Provisions of Ordinance
Contestant for Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections should have the minimum qualification of secondary education i.e. Class 10 from the state board or any approved institution or board.
Contestant for the Sarpanch elections, must have passed Class VIII from any school in case of general category. In case of the scheduled area of panchayat, the contestant should have passed Class 5 from a school to become a Sarpanch.
26.Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Gaddam Venkat Swamy passed away at Hyderabad, Telangana. He was 85.
27.Bharat Ratna awardee and doyen of cricket Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the brand ambassador for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It was announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) at Dubai.
As a brand ambassador of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, he will promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of the tournament which is to be held in Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March, 2014.
Sachin for the second successive time is appointed brand ambassador for ICC Cricket World Cup. Earlier, he was ambassador in 2011 for the ICC Cricket world cup co-hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
28.Central government is planning to launch scheme for conservation of heritage and development of 12 cities across the country. It was announced by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
For this scheme government had allocated Rs. 500 crore in the Union Budget 2014 and it will be rolled out in January 2015.
Under this scheme, 12 cities will be covered under the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).
The 12 cities are: Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka, Badami, Velankanni, Kanchipuram, Warangal and Amaravati.About Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)
It aims to bring urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation together for heritage cities.
It also seeks beautification in an inclusive and integrated manner with focus on cleanliness, livelihoods, skills, safety, security, accessibility and faster service delivery of heritage cities.
Heritage management plan (HMP) will be prepared for the identified cities which will outline heritage resources and develop policies to guide their conservation, restoration, future use and development.
It will seek to improve last-mile connectivity heritage sites by documentation, conservation of areas, providing more facilities for women, senior citizens and differently abled citizens.
Thus it will help to create improved connectivity platform and access to tourists.
29.Eminent Konkani writer, critic and linguist Dr. Madhavi Sardesai passed away on 22nd December 2014. She was 52 years old.
She was the recipient of recently announced Sahitya Akademi award 2014 for her book ‘Manthan’ an anthology, of critical essays in Konkani language.
30.The festival of Losar has begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. 10 day long festival began with illumination of religious and residential places.
This festival marks the beginning of New Year in Ladakh and it is an important social and religious celebration in Ladakh. Losar is Tibetan word for ‘new year’.
31.Acclaimed British actress Billie Whitelaw passed away in London, United Kingdom. She was 82. She was well known for her roles on stage and screen.
32.Telangana government has started pilot project of National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) in a mandal each in four districts. This national mission in state is being named as ‘Prati Inta e-Sakshatha’ programme.
This pilot project initiative aims to make one person in every household e-literate and seeking to cover 30 thousand persons under it.
Four mandals along with each four districts for pilot project are:
Gajwel mandal in Medak district.
Suryapet mandal in Nalgonda district.
Sircilla mandal in Karimnagar district.
Achampet mandal in Mahabubnagar district.
33.Indian Golfer Arjun Atwal has won the Inaugural edition of US $500,000 Dubai Open Golf Championship title.
34.Every year 22nd December is observed as National Mathematics Day to celebrate birth anniversary of great Indian Mathematician autodidact Srinivasa Ramanujan.
This year, it will be the 127th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
35.United Nation’s General Assembly has passed a resolution asking Israel to pay Lebanon more than $850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by an Israeli air force attack in its war against Hezbollah in 2006.
The resolution was passed in the assembly by vote of 170-6 in favour, with three countries abstentions. Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, Micronesia and Marshall Islands voted “no”.
36.National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a committee to weigh and dispose around 70,000 cubic metre of sand and clay lying on the riverbed of Yamuna at Wazirabad and Jagatpur bund areas in New Delhi.
This decision was taken by a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swantanter Kumar after Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had informed NGT regarding disposing of sand and clay lying on the river bed to contractors which was banned earlier.
37.Indian women and men Kabaddi teams have won the 5th Kabaddi World Cup in their respective matches in the final held at Badal village in Sri Mukatsar district of Punjab.
Women’s Team
In the final match of Indian women’s team defeated New Zealand team by score of 27-36.
Indian team got a monetary prize of Rs. 1 crore, a trophy and a gold medal while runners up New Zealand team got a prize of Rs. 51 lakh, a trophy and a silver medal.
Men’s Team
While in the Indian men’s team defeated Pakistan by score of 45-42.
Indian team got monetary prize of Rs. two crore, a trophy, a gold medal and a tractor for each player and the runners up team of Pakistan got a prize of Rs. one crore, a trophy and a silver medal.
5th Kabaddi World Cup Tournament: In total 19 teams 11 in men section and 8 in women section participated in the tournament.
38.Atletico de Kolkata has won the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament by beating Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the finals held at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
In the final match, Mohammad Rafique of Atletico de Kolkata scored the most-important goal helping Kolkata team to win the tournament.
Thus ISL trophy has gone to the traditional and most passionate home of Indian football, Kolkata.
About Indian Super League (ISL)
The ISL football league was launched in 2013 to promote football in India. It is supported by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). The league operates on the lines of IPL and Twenty20. It uses a city based franchise system like IPL.
ISL’s mission is to make India a global football power and promote the game so that India qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Its vision is to develop an entertaining football league engaging hundreds of millions of fans and improve playing standards in India.
39.Senior IPS officer Prakash Mishra is appointed as new Director General (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force(CRFP). His name was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
40.Rajinder Khanna is appointed as new chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). His name was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
41.Supreme Court bench has refused to stay Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging Bombay high court earlier decision to ban 16% Maratha reservation quota and 5% quota for backward Muslims in government jobs.
SC bench headed of Chief Justice H L Dattu and comprising Justices A K Sikri and R K Agrawal dismissed the petitions filed by Maharashtra Government and private individuals in this regard.
42.Sahitya Academy has announced the names of 22 poets and authors who will be conferred the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award 2014.
This award has recognised premier works in 22 Indian languages that includes eight books of poetry, five novels, three books of essays, three of short stories, one of literary criticism and an autobiography.
About Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award (साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार) is conferred on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languages.
They are- Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthan, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
The award consists of a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of 1 Lakh rupees.
43.Forbes 9th annual ranking of the Best Countries for Business has placed India on 93rd position out of 146 nations.
This year among various factors, India has ranked:
122 on the trade freedom index, 135 in monetary freedom, 120 in technology, 122 in tax burden, 128 in red tape, 78 in corruption parameter and 55 on property rights.
Best performance: 3rd in market performance index and 7th on investor protection.
Key facts
Top 5: Denmark (1st), Hong Kong (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Ireland (4th), Sweden (5th).
Bottom 5: Guinea (146th), Chad (145th), Libya (144th), Myanmar (143rd), Haiti (142th).
India’s Neighbours: Sri Lanka (89th), China (97th), Pakistan (105th), Bangladesh (107th), Bhutan (110th), Nepal (113th), Afghanistan (NA).
44.National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has discovered a exoplanet i.e. ‘super-Earth’ located 180 light-years from Earth as part of its new Kepler 2 (K2) mission.
The discovered ‘super-Earth’ is dubbed as HIP 116454b.
45.Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed controversial Security Amendment Act 2014 into law that aims to enhance the fight against terrorism in the East African nation.
This new anti-terror legislation gives the security and intelligence agencies the right to
Detain terror suspects for up to one year from the current 90 days.
Imprison journalists up to 3 years if they fail to obtain police permission before investigating or publishing stories on domestic terrorism and security issues.
Punish guilty person up to 30 years in prison, if illegal weapons are recovered from his premises.
Imprison person promoting ideology based on violence to advance political, religious or social change up to 14 years in jail.
However, opposition parties and civil rights groups have condemned this law and clearly mentioned that it will turn Kenya into a police state.
Background
In past years, Kenya has become victim of terrorism, especially due to increasing terror attacks from Somalia’s based Al Qaeda-linked Al- Shebab terror group.
In November 2014, Al-Shabab militants had killed 64 people in two attacks in the north-eastern region of Kenya bordering Somalia.
In 2013, Al-Shabab militants had killed 67 people in Westgate shopping centre siege in Nairobi (Kenya’s Capital).
46.Veteran Gandhian, freedom fighter and land rights crusader Chunibhai Vaidya passed away in Ahemdabad, Gujarat. He was 97-year old.
About Chunibhai Vaidya
In Gujarat he was lovingly known as ‘Chuni-kaka’.
47.Lok Sabha has unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the grant of bail to 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
This resolution was called upon by government in order to pressurize Pakistan to punish the guilty. It will also help to take all necessary steps including coordination with other countries to pressurize Pakistan.
48.Twin sisters Tashi and Nungshi Malik have created history by becoming the first ever twin siblings to scale seven highest peaks in seven continents as a part of their Mission 2 for 7.
They achieved this distinction by successfully climbing 7th peak i.e. Mt Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica on 17th December 2014.
With this successful climb, the twins have entered the hall of fame for mountaineers -“The Seven Summits Club”.
49.The Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2014 in order to regularize e-rickshaws which were banned earlier by Delhi high court on safety grounds. The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
This bill was introduced by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and was passed by voice vote.
50.Delhi Police have launched ‘Operation Milap’ scheme. This noble scheme aims at uniting missing children with their parents.
51.Reverend Libby Lane was appointed as new Bishop of Stockport, England. Thus, she has become the first female bishop in the 500-year history of Church of England.
These 24 coal blocks fall under the first phase of coal block auction out of the total 92.
Among the 24 mines, 7 are reserved for the power sector while 16 for iron & steel sector and cement plants. While 1 mine is reserved for steel.
e-Auctioning process
With the launch of portal, the registration process began. In the registration process interested bidders will register themselves as per KYC norms.
Then the process will comprise techno-commercial bid for qualification and financial bid (e-auction) for selection of successful bidder.
It should be noted that only 50 per cent of the qualified bidders from technical stage will be allowed to participate in the e-auction process.
Mines allocated for power sector will be auctioned through ‘descending reverse auction’ in order to minimise the impact on power tariffs at end use. In this case qualified bidders will bid above the pre-determined floor price.
For iron & steel, cement, blocks will be auctioned through ‘ascending forward auction’, where qualified bidders will quote incremental bids above the pre-determined floor price.
Last date for receiving technical bids will be 31st January 2015 and list of qualified bidders will be placed on 12 February 2015. After this process, final e-auction of coal mines for qualified bidders will be held from 14-22 February, 2015.
2.Reliance Industries (RIL) has inked shipping agreement with one of the world’s largest shipping company- Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL), for transporting liquefied ethane from North America to India.
As per the agreement
MOL will supervise the construction of six Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs), ordered by RIL.
These VLEC’s are hybrid version of LNG carrier and LPG carrier. They will be delivered before end of 2016.
As part of strategic tie-up between two companies, MOL will also manage and operate the vessels after they are built and delivered.
Background
Earlier in August 2014, RIL had decided to import 1.5 million tonnes per annum of ethane from US as feedstock to its cracking units in India. Imported Ethane will be primarily used as a petrochemical feedstock to produce ethylene by steam cracking.
After the shale revolution, North America is expected to produce large volumes Ethane, a natural gas component. Thus it will help to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) and cooking gas LPG in abundance.
3.Government has launched Mission Indradhanush to immunise kids against 7 vaccine-preventable diseases.
Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases.
7 preventable diseases: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
It was launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda on the occasion of National Good Governance Day.
Key facts about Mission Indradhanush
It will be focused and systematic immunization drive through a catch-up campaign mode aiming to cover all the children who have been left out or missed out for immunization.
Under this scheme government will conduct 4 special vaccination campaigns between January and June 2015 with intensive planning and monitoring .
These campaigns will be planned and implemented according to the learning’s of the successful implementation of the polio programme.
It will be implemented in 2 phases in 2015. First phase will cover 201 districts. While, second phase will cover 297 districts.
For the first phase government has identified 201. These are high-focus districts in the country which have nearly 50 per cent of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. Under this mission, these districts will be targeted intensively in order to improve the routine immunization coverage.
Among the 201 districts, 82 districts are in four BHIMARU states i.e Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. In these 82 districts nearly 25 per cent children are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children.
WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and others will be donor partners for Mission Indradhanush. While the mass media, interpersonal communication will play crucial role to monitor and evaluate the sturdy mechanisms for implementing this mission.
4.Governments ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer on LPG (DBTL) has become the world’s largest direct benefit transfer scheme after 2.5 crore households received about 550 crore rupees since 15th November 2014.
It has surpassed number of beneficiaries in direct benefit transfer programmes in countries like China and Brazil.
Background
Earlier, government had launched DBTL scheme in 54 districts from 15th November 2014 and planning to launch it all over the country from 1st January 2015.
Key facts about Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme
This scheme gives cash subsidy on cooking gas directly to consumers so that they can buy cooking gas at market price.
It aims to curb leakages, preventing black-marketing in cash subsidy on cooking gas.
As primary option, LPG consumers who join the DBTL scheme receive the LPG cash subsidy either by linking their Aadhaar number to the LPG and bank database.
In case of secondary option, consumers may get the subsidy directly into their accounts without linking it with Aadhaar.
Thus, DBTL scheme is will help government to save upto Rs 14,000 crores in subsidies
5.Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came into force on 24 December 2014, after it was adopted by the UN General Assembly in April 2013.
Now this landmark treaty has officially became binding international law, which aims to regulate around the USD 85 billion global arms trade.
It came into force after 60 nations ratified it, as of December 23 among the 130 signatories of the treaty. In order to come in force, the treaty in total needed 50 nations ratification.
Key facts of Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
It is the first legally-binding multilateral agreement that prohibits nations from exporting conventional weapons to countries that may use it for genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
It adds a new chapter in collective efforts of nations to bring responsibility, accountability and transparency to the global arms trade.
It set robust global standards for cross-border transfers of conventional weapons ranging from small firearms to tanks and attack helicopters.
It creates binding requirements for states to review cross-border contracts to ensure weapons will not be used in human rights abuses, violations of humanitarian law or organised crime
Countries that ratified ATT
Five of the top 10 arms exporters – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have already ratified the ATT.
In 2013, India was among the 23 nations that had abstained from voting on the treaty resolution. As per India, the treaty has weak provision on terrorism and non-state actors as these concerns are not mentioned in the specific prohibitions of the Treaty.
6.Former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna recipient Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 90th birthday was observed as National Good Governance Day on 25th December 2014.
In order to mark the occasion of this day, several programmes were organized nationwide and new initiatives were announced.
Events and new initiatives
Ministry of Petroleum expanded the 5 kg LPG cylinder scheme in Delhi.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated e-office in his office and e-clearance.
Ministry of Communication and IT made its Good Governance initiatives public and launched a number of new projects.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) launched an SMS service to forecast weather related information. It will provide real time cyclone alerts and warnings to general public.
Tourism and Culture Ministry launched e-ticketing facility at National monuments like Taj Mahal and Humayun Tomb.
It should be noted that this day is also being observed as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana( PMGSY) Divas.
7.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for withdrawal of pre-2005 of various denominations including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 by six months till 30th June 2015.
RBI also has clarified that all such notes will continue to remain a legal tender and can be exchanged for their full value.
8.Senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was appointed as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra state Legislative Assembly.
State Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde had announced his appointment.
9.4 Public sector undertakings (PSU’s) have signed Joint Ventures Agreements (JVA’s) to set up an Integrated Coal Gasification cum Fertilizer and Ammonium Nitrate plant at Talcher, Odisha.
4 PSU’s are: GAIL India Limited, Coal India Limited (CIL), Rashtriya Chemicals (RCF) and Fertilizers Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
Key facts of Joint Ventures Agreements
GAIL Coal Gas (India) led by GAIL will set up the Upstream Coal Gasification and Gas Purification section for production of Ammonia Syn Gas for downstream fertilizer unit. It will invest around Rs 3000 crore.
Talcher Chemicals & Fertilizers led by RCF will set up Ammonia-Urea, Nitric Acid-Ammonium Nitrate plants. It will initiated with an estimated investment of Rs 6000 crore with majority stake held by RCF & CIL.
The overall project comprises of 3850 MTPD Urea plant, 2700 MTPD Ammonia plant, 850 MTPD Nitric Acid plant and 1000 MTPD Ammonium Nitrate plant.
The entire project will help to produce per day: 3,850 tonne of urea, 2,700 tonne of ammonia, 850 tonne of nitric acid and 1,000 tonne of ammonium nitrate .
Execution of construction activities of these projects are likely to start in year 2015-16 and expected to complete by the year 2019.
Implications of Talcher plant
It has strategic importance for India, as it aims to make an alternative source path of feedstock coal for fertilizer industry from domestic sources rather than imported coal.
It will help to trigger a great economic boom in Odisha and eastern part of India, as it will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people.
10.Government has released 2015 Calender with theme ‘Clean India, Green India’. It was launched by the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Minister & Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
Calender focuses on the government’s flagship scheme Swachch Bharat- Clean India Programme with picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wielding the broom on the first page of the calendar.
Along with this printed calender, for the first time digital version of calender was lauched which includes mobile calendar app focusing governments another flagship scheme- Digital India.
The Directorate of Advertisement and Visual Publicity (DAVP) has developed the digital version of calender.
Digital version of Calender i.e. mobile app will feature latest tweets from the PMO, the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the Press Releases on PIB website, All India Radio news, Doordarshan news, a list of government websites etc.
11.Government has released commemorative postal stamp to highlight heroic deeds of those engaged in 1857 Kuka movement of the Namdhari Sikhs against the British rule.
It was released by Union minister for Communication and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi.
Key facts about Kuka Movement
This movement marked the first major anti British reaction and its new political order initiated in 1849 among the people in the Punjab in 1857.
The Namdhari Movement, aftermath of the Kuka Movement was the most important phase as it aimed at overthrowing the British rule and played important role in freedom struggle.
It had evoked the strong feelings of self-respect and sacrifice for the country’s freedom struggle.
This movement actively propagated the principles of boycott and non-co-operation given by Guru Ram Singh (founded the Namdhari sect) for the Namdharis.
Guru’s Non-co-operation Movement actively propagated few things such as boycott of education institutions of British and laws established by them.
At the time of movement, the Kuka followers were rigid in their clothing and wore only hand-spun white attire in order not to reveal their identity as large number of followers were in the police as well as army.
You may read more about – Kuka Movement 1857 here
12.For the first time, Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy deal agreement worth US $ 1.7 billion. As per the the agreement gas pipeline will be laid between Pakistani cities- Karachi and Lahore.
The energy agreement was signed after the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had visited Pakistan in November 2015. His visit to Pakistan was after 45 years, as the last visit to Pakistan was made by then Soviet Union’s defence minister Andrey Grechko.
This move of both countries aims to further improve their bilateral ties. Both countries also had inked a defence and military cooperation deals.
13.Japan’s Parliament has re-elected Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority following the conservative leader’s mid-December election triumph.
In the voting, lower house voted for Abe with 328 votes against 73 for acting opposition leader Katsuya Okada.
After he was elected he announced his cabinet members which is same as previous but replacing only Defense Minister Akinori Eto. The cabinet members will take charges of their office after the formal ceremony with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace
Current Affairs Today - Current Affairs 2014
Pakistan and Russia sign US $ 1.7 Billion Energy Deal
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December 25, 2014No comments
pak-russia-flag
For the first time, Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy deal agreement worth US $ 1.7 billion. As per the the agreement gas pipeline will be laid between Pakistani cities- Karachi and Lahore.
The energy agreement was signed after the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had visited Pakistan in November 2015. His visit to Pakistan was after 45 years, as the last visit to Pakistan was made by then Soviet Union’s defence minister Andrey Grechko.
This move of both countries aims to further improve their bilateral ties. Both countries also had inked a defence and military cooperation deals.
Key facts
This pipeline will help to transport imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Karachi to Punjab province.
The supply of LNG is expected to start before March, 2015.
Background
Currently, Pakistan is working on two LNG pipelines as an alternative to doom Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, which included LNG Gwadar pipeline and south pipeline from Karachi to Lahore.
Pakistan government also has signed a deal with China to award USD 3 billion Gwader LNG pipeline and terminal project.
Thus, for first time Pakistan and Russia have signed an energy pact decades after the recent deal to increase military cooperation.
Japan Parliament re-elects Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister
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December 24, 2014No comments
Shinzo Abe
Japan’s Parliament has re-elected Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority following the conservative leader’s mid-December election triumph.
In the voting, lower house voted for Abe with 328 votes against 73 for acting opposition leader Katsuya Okada.
After he was elected he announced his cabinet members which is same as previous but replacing only Defense Minister Akinori Eto. The cabinet members will take charges of their office after the formal ceremony with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace.
Background
Earlier in December, Mr Abe had called a snap election in order new mandate to get public support to implement Abenomics, a blend of aggressive monetary easing, public spending and economic reforms.
In this snap election, the ruling coalition led by Mr Abe had won a two-thirds majority amid a low voter turnout.
In this snap election Mr Abe’s party Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had won 290 seats and its ally Komeito had won 35 seats. Together they accounted to a total of 325 seats out of 475 seat of Japan’s Lower House in Parliament.
14.From 1st January 2015, Maharashtra government is allowing citizens to seek information under RTI Act, online
15.Jharkhand
In Jharkhand State Assembly election 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged victorious by winning 37 out of total 81 seats.
BJP’s along with its ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) which has won 5 seats will form government.
While the earlier ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has won 19 seats.
In this election BJP had contested for 72 seats while its alliance partner AJSU contested on 8 seats.
Key facts
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): Won 37 seats with vote share of 31.3 percent.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM): Won 19 seats with vote share of 20.4 percent.
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik): Won 8 seats with vote share of 10 percent.
Indian National Congress (INC): Won 6 seats with vote share of 10.5 percent.
All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU): Won 5 seats with vote share of 3.7 percent.
Others: Won 6 seats with vote share of 6.3 percent.
Jammu & Kashmir
In Jammu & Kashmir State Assembly election 2014, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged largest party by winning 28 seats out of total 87 seats.
While, BJP has emerged second largest party winning 25 seats. It should be noted that BJP has won maximum from the Jammu region. Earlier, ruling National Conference has won 15 seats.
In J&K no party has emerged victorious, thus hung assembly situation has arisen.
Key facts
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – Won 28 seats with vote share of 22.7 percent.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - Won 25 seats with vote share of 23 percent.
National Conference (NC) – Won 15 seats with vote share of 20.8 percent.
Indian National Congress (INC) – Won 12 seats with vote share of 18 percent.
Others- Won 7 seats with vote share of 3.5 percent.
Background
The elections in both states were held in 5 phases. It started on 25th November and ended on 20th December 2014.
16.Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and late educationist Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously) have been chosen for Bharat Ratna- country’s highest civilian award.
It was announced by the press communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Madan Mohan Malviya
He was born on December 25, 1861 and was an educationist and politician notable for his role in India’s freedom struggle. He was popularly known ‘Mahaman’.
He is founder of Asia’s largest residential university – Banaras Hindu University.
He was President of Indian National Congress in 1909 and 1918.
He is also remembered for his stellar role in the Independence movement and his espousal of Hindu nationalism.
He is considered as one of the initial leaders of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha and died in 1946.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
He was born on 25th December 1924. He is an Indian statesman who was the 11th Prime Minister first for 13 days in 1996 and then from 1998 to 2004. Notably he is the first PM from outside the Congress party to serve a full five-year term.
He is amongst the founder members of erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh which later became known as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He was parliamentarian for over 4 decades and was elected to the Lok Sabha for 9 times, and 2 to the Rajya Sabha.
He was also the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Janta Government headed by Morarji Desai i.e. from 1977-79.
In 2009, he retired from active politics due to health concerns.
Recently, Union government had announced to observe his birthday as Good Governance Day.
Bharat Ratna
It is India’s highest civilian award given to citizens for their exceptional work for the advancement of art, literature and science, and public service.
In December 2011, government had changed the criteria for including sportsperson for this award thus added category for performance of highest order in any field of human endeavour.
It was instituted in the year 1954.
The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President. No formal recommendations for this are necessary.
The recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion. It does not carry any monetary grant.
Till date 45 people have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna since its inception (Including Madan Mohan Malviya and A. B. Vajpayee).
In February 2014, it was awarded to eminent scientist Prof C.N.R. Rao and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
17.Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to co-ordinate military operations along their border to stop cross-border attacks by militants.
In this regard, Afghan army Chief General Sher Mohammad Karimi and his Pakistani counterpart General Raheel Sharif met in Islamabad and later announced their plans to co-operate in military operations.
Both generals met in presence US General John Campbell, who heads North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) coalition forces in Afghanistan.
This move of both severely terrorist affected countries comes after Taliban fighters attacked a school in Peshawar on 16th December 2014 killing 141 people, 132 of them children.
18.Maharashtra government had appointed committee to study the issue of balanced development of various regions of Maharashtra. It was headed by well-known economist Vijay Kelkar.
Committee’s recommendation report was recently tabled in the state Legislative Assembly.
19.Eminent South Indian filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Kailasam Balachander passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 84.
20.In India, 24th December is observed as National Consumer Day. On this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the President.
The enactment of this Act was considered as a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country.
This Act aims to provide consumers with effective safeguards against different types of exploitation such as defective goods, unsatisfactory services and unfair trade practices.
This day provides an opportunity for individuals to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.
It should be also noted that World Consumer Rights Day is observed on 15th March every year.
Some facts about Consumer Protection Act, 1986
It provides consumers with speedy and inexpensive redressal grievances mechanism and specific relief or award of compensation.
It recognizes six of the eight rights of the consumer as provided in the UN charter.
It envisages following rights of consumers
Right to Protection.
Right of Information.
Right of Choice.
Right of Hearing.
Right of Redressal.
Right of Education.
21.For the first time in history, NASA has emailed hardware digital file for 3D printing to International Space Station (ISS).
Using this digital file, a ratcheting socket wrench (hardware) was manufactured using ISS’s onboard 3D printer.
This 3D printer was installed in ISS in September 2014 by collaboration between NASA and company Made In Space. In November 2014, the 3D printer had started manufacturing the first 3-D printed object in space as a replacement part for itself.
Previously, if astronauts in space needed an item or any technical part they would have to wait until it is flown up on supply flights.
But now, the 3D printing is providing astronauts on-demand printing and manufacturing of a custom-designed tool whenever they needed.
3D printing technology
3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file with extreme precision.
This technology is also termed additive manufacturing as the 3D printed object is created us additive processes.
In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of manufacturing material on each other until the entire object is created.
This technology has limitless possibilities and can create almost anything with just raw material and a computer generated model.
22.The Defence Ministry has identified 4 strategic rail lines along the Indo-China border.
Four strategic rail lines are
Arunachal Pradesh: 378 kilometre long Missamari – Tenga -Tawang and 227 kilometre long Pasighat -Tezu -Rupai railway projects.
Jammu and Kashmir: 498 kilometre long Bilaspur- Manali –Leh. It also includes some part of Himachal Pradesh.
Assam: 249-kilometre long North Lakhimpur-Along-Silapathar.
However, Defence ministry has not identified any strategic railway line along Pakistan border.
After the approval of Defence Ministry, Railway Ministry will carry out the final location survey at a cost of Rs 345 crore.
The time of completion and cost of these projects will be finalized after detailed geo-technical studies and final sanction.
23.Beji Caid Essebsi had been elected as President of Tunisia. Thus he is the first democratically elected President in the country after the Arab Spring.
In the recent run-off elections he got 56 percent votes and defeated the outgoing President Moncief Marzouki.
24.Lok Sabha has passed the Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014. It was passed by voice vote.
This bill amends Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 and aims to strengthen the Regional Rural Banks and deepen their financial inclusion.
Key facts
Authorised capital: This amendment bill increases the authorised capital of each Regional Rural Bank (RRB) from Rs 5 crore to Rs 2000 crore divided into Rs 200 crore of fully paid share of Rs 10 each. As per the parent Act the Rs 5 crore share capital of RRBs is split into 5 lakh shares of Rs 100 each.
Issued capital: It also provides that the authorised capital issued by any RRB’s shall not be reduced below Rs 1 crore and shares in all cases to be fully paid up shares of Rs 10 each.
Shareholding: The Bill allows RRBs to raise capital from sources other than the central and state governments, and sponsor banks.
Board of directors: The Bill adds provision that any person who is a director of an RRB is not eligible to be on the Board of Directors of another RRB. It also mentions that directors will be elected by shareholders based on the total amount of equity share capital issued to such shareholders.
Tenure of directors: The bill raises the tenure of directors to 3 years from existing 2 years. The Bill also states that no director can hold office for a total period exceeding six years.
Closure and balancing of books: The parent Act had provision which mentioned that the balance books of RRBs should be closed and balanced by 31st December every year. However this amendment bill changes this date to 31st March in order to bring RRB’s balancing of books in uniformity with the financial year.
25.Rajasthan government has decided to fix minimum educational qualification as condition for aspiring candidates in panchayats elections.
In this regard, Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh has approved the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Ordinance-2014 after it was notified by the state government.
This ordinance will amend the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act 1994 and has provision for educational qualifications for candidates contesting zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls.
Key Provisions of Ordinance
Contestant for Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections should have the minimum qualification of secondary education i.e. Class 10 from the state board or any approved institution or board.
Contestant for the Sarpanch elections, must have passed Class VIII from any school in case of general category. In case of the scheduled area of panchayat, the contestant should have passed Class 5 from a school to become a Sarpanch.
26.Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Gaddam Venkat Swamy passed away at Hyderabad, Telangana. He was 85.
27.Bharat Ratna awardee and doyen of cricket Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the brand ambassador for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It was announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) at Dubai.
As a brand ambassador of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, he will promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of the tournament which is to be held in Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March, 2014.
Sachin for the second successive time is appointed brand ambassador for ICC Cricket World Cup. Earlier, he was ambassador in 2011 for the ICC Cricket world cup co-hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
28.Central government is planning to launch scheme for conservation of heritage and development of 12 cities across the country. It was announced by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
For this scheme government had allocated Rs. 500 crore in the Union Budget 2014 and it will be rolled out in January 2015.
Under this scheme, 12 cities will be covered under the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).
The 12 cities are: Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka, Badami, Velankanni, Kanchipuram, Warangal and Amaravati.About Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)
It aims to bring urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation together for heritage cities.
It also seeks beautification in an inclusive and integrated manner with focus on cleanliness, livelihoods, skills, safety, security, accessibility and faster service delivery of heritage cities.
Heritage management plan (HMP) will be prepared for the identified cities which will outline heritage resources and develop policies to guide their conservation, restoration, future use and development.
It will seek to improve last-mile connectivity heritage sites by documentation, conservation of areas, providing more facilities for women, senior citizens and differently abled citizens.
Thus it will help to create improved connectivity platform and access to tourists.
29.Eminent Konkani writer, critic and linguist Dr. Madhavi Sardesai passed away on 22nd December 2014. She was 52 years old.
She was the recipient of recently announced Sahitya Akademi award 2014 for her book ‘Manthan’ an anthology, of critical essays in Konkani language.
30.The festival of Losar has begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. 10 day long festival began with illumination of religious and residential places.
This festival marks the beginning of New Year in Ladakh and it is an important social and religious celebration in Ladakh. Losar is Tibetan word for ‘new year’.
31.Acclaimed British actress Billie Whitelaw passed away in London, United Kingdom. She was 82. She was well known for her roles on stage and screen.
32.Telangana government has started pilot project of National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) in a mandal each in four districts. This national mission in state is being named as ‘Prati Inta e-Sakshatha’ programme.
This pilot project initiative aims to make one person in every household e-literate and seeking to cover 30 thousand persons under it.
Four mandals along with each four districts for pilot project are:
Gajwel mandal in Medak district.
Suryapet mandal in Nalgonda district.
Sircilla mandal in Karimnagar district.
Achampet mandal in Mahabubnagar district.
33.Indian Golfer Arjun Atwal has won the Inaugural edition of US $500,000 Dubai Open Golf Championship title.
34.Every year 22nd December is observed as National Mathematics Day to celebrate birth anniversary of great Indian Mathematician autodidact Srinivasa Ramanujan.
This year, it will be the 127th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
35.United Nation’s General Assembly has passed a resolution asking Israel to pay Lebanon more than $850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by an Israeli air force attack in its war against Hezbollah in 2006.
The resolution was passed in the assembly by vote of 170-6 in favour, with three countries abstentions. Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, Micronesia and Marshall Islands voted “no”.
36.National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a committee to weigh and dispose around 70,000 cubic metre of sand and clay lying on the riverbed of Yamuna at Wazirabad and Jagatpur bund areas in New Delhi.
This decision was taken by a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swantanter Kumar after Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had informed NGT regarding disposing of sand and clay lying on the river bed to contractors which was banned earlier.
37.Indian women and men Kabaddi teams have won the 5th Kabaddi World Cup in their respective matches in the final held at Badal village in Sri Mukatsar district of Punjab.
Women’s Team
In the final match of Indian women’s team defeated New Zealand team by score of 27-36.
Indian team got a monetary prize of Rs. 1 crore, a trophy and a gold medal while runners up New Zealand team got a prize of Rs. 51 lakh, a trophy and a silver medal.
Men’s Team
While in the Indian men’s team defeated Pakistan by score of 45-42.
Indian team got monetary prize of Rs. two crore, a trophy, a gold medal and a tractor for each player and the runners up team of Pakistan got a prize of Rs. one crore, a trophy and a silver medal.
5th Kabaddi World Cup Tournament: In total 19 teams 11 in men section and 8 in women section participated in the tournament.
38.Atletico de Kolkata has won the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament by beating Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the finals held at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
In the final match, Mohammad Rafique of Atletico de Kolkata scored the most-important goal helping Kolkata team to win the tournament.
Thus ISL trophy has gone to the traditional and most passionate home of Indian football, Kolkata.
About Indian Super League (ISL)
The ISL football league was launched in 2013 to promote football in India. It is supported by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). The league operates on the lines of IPL and Twenty20. It uses a city based franchise system like IPL.
ISL’s mission is to make India a global football power and promote the game so that India qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Its vision is to develop an entertaining football league engaging hundreds of millions of fans and improve playing standards in India.
39.Senior IPS officer Prakash Mishra is appointed as new Director General (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force(CRFP). His name was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
40.Rajinder Khanna is appointed as new chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). His name was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
41.Supreme Court bench has refused to stay Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging Bombay high court earlier decision to ban 16% Maratha reservation quota and 5% quota for backward Muslims in government jobs.
SC bench headed of Chief Justice H L Dattu and comprising Justices A K Sikri and R K Agrawal dismissed the petitions filed by Maharashtra Government and private individuals in this regard.
42.Sahitya Academy has announced the names of 22 poets and authors who will be conferred the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award 2014.
This award has recognised premier works in 22 Indian languages that includes eight books of poetry, five novels, three books of essays, three of short stories, one of literary criticism and an autobiography.
About Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award (साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार) is conferred on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languages.
They are- Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthan, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
The award consists of a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of 1 Lakh rupees.
43.Forbes 9th annual ranking of the Best Countries for Business has placed India on 93rd position out of 146 nations.
This year among various factors, India has ranked:
122 on the trade freedom index, 135 in monetary freedom, 120 in technology, 122 in tax burden, 128 in red tape, 78 in corruption parameter and 55 on property rights.
Best performance: 3rd in market performance index and 7th on investor protection.
Key facts
Top 5: Denmark (1st), Hong Kong (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Ireland (4th), Sweden (5th).
Bottom 5: Guinea (146th), Chad (145th), Libya (144th), Myanmar (143rd), Haiti (142th).
India’s Neighbours: Sri Lanka (89th), China (97th), Pakistan (105th), Bangladesh (107th), Bhutan (110th), Nepal (113th), Afghanistan (NA).
44.National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has discovered a exoplanet i.e. ‘super-Earth’ located 180 light-years from Earth as part of its new Kepler 2 (K2) mission.
The discovered ‘super-Earth’ is dubbed as HIP 116454b.
45.Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed controversial Security Amendment Act 2014 into law that aims to enhance the fight against terrorism in the East African nation.
This new anti-terror legislation gives the security and intelligence agencies the right to
Detain terror suspects for up to one year from the current 90 days.
Imprison journalists up to 3 years if they fail to obtain police permission before investigating or publishing stories on domestic terrorism and security issues.
Punish guilty person up to 30 years in prison, if illegal weapons are recovered from his premises.
Imprison person promoting ideology based on violence to advance political, religious or social change up to 14 years in jail.
However, opposition parties and civil rights groups have condemned this law and clearly mentioned that it will turn Kenya into a police state.
Background
In past years, Kenya has become victim of terrorism, especially due to increasing terror attacks from Somalia’s based Al Qaeda-linked Al- Shebab terror group.
In November 2014, Al-Shabab militants had killed 64 people in two attacks in the north-eastern region of Kenya bordering Somalia.
In 2013, Al-Shabab militants had killed 67 people in Westgate shopping centre siege in Nairobi (Kenya’s Capital).
46.Veteran Gandhian, freedom fighter and land rights crusader Chunibhai Vaidya passed away in Ahemdabad, Gujarat. He was 97-year old.
About Chunibhai Vaidya
In Gujarat he was lovingly known as ‘Chuni-kaka’.
47.Lok Sabha has unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the grant of bail to 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
This resolution was called upon by government in order to pressurize Pakistan to punish the guilty. It will also help to take all necessary steps including coordination with other countries to pressurize Pakistan.
48.Twin sisters Tashi and Nungshi Malik have created history by becoming the first ever twin siblings to scale seven highest peaks in seven continents as a part of their Mission 2 for 7.
They achieved this distinction by successfully climbing 7th peak i.e. Mt Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica on 17th December 2014.
With this successful climb, the twins have entered the hall of fame for mountaineers -“The Seven Summits Club”.
49.The Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2014 in order to regularize e-rickshaws which were banned earlier by Delhi high court on safety grounds. The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
This bill was introduced by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and was passed by voice vote.
50.Delhi Police have launched ‘Operation Milap’ scheme. This noble scheme aims at uniting missing children with their parents.
51.Reverend Libby Lane was appointed as new Bishop of Stockport, England. Thus, she has become the first female bishop in the 500-year history of Church of England.