Abhimanu Last minute current affairs revision Notes July, 2016 Abhimanu’s IAS Study Group Chandigarh I Delhi Table of contents NATIONAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS 4 NATIONAL POLITY 39 National Skill Development Mission: 4 The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014 39 Deepak Mohanty Committee 4 Rise in Road accidents in India 39 Recent Changes in FDI 5 T.S.R. Subramanian committee on New Education Policy 40 Seventh Pay Commisssion 6 Urja Mobile App 41 Sailesh Nayak committee on Coastal Zone Regulation 7 Pradhan Mantri UJALA Yojana 41 Trans-Pacific Partnership 8 “Vidyut Pravah” 42 Tapan Ray Report On Amendments In Companies Act,2013 8 Draft on National Forest Policy (NFP) 42 New Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) 10 Real Estate Act 43 Hybrid Annuity Model 10 Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Bill, 2015. 44 IMF Reforms: India, China, Brazil Get More Voting Rights 11 The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016 44 Easwar Panel On Income Tax 11 Jan Aushadhi Scheme 45 National Family Health Survey (NFHS- 4) 12 Health Protection Scheme (HPS) 46 Women Empowerment: NFHS -4 15 New IPR policy 46 Bharat Innovation Fund: 18 Red Line Campaign 47 Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV) 18 Ken Betwa Project 47 Subsidy on LPG 19 INFRACON, ePACE and up-Scaled INAM PRO launched 47 ‘Swiss Challenge’ Route 19 Draft on National Policy for Women 48 WTO Nairobi Summit, 2015 20 Mission Indradhanush 50 Millennium Development Goals(MDG) 21 Draft ‘Trafficking of Persons Bill, 2016 51 The Arbitration And Conciliation (Amendment)Act, 2015 22 AMRUT 52 Budget 2016-17 23 Draft on National Capital Goods Policy 53 Railway Budget , 2016-17 27 Shyam Benegal committee 54 US wins WTO dispute against India’s solar power rules 28 Bharat Net Project 55 Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) 28 The SC And ST(Prevention Of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 56 Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) 29 4 Mobile Health Services 56 Sagarmala port project 29 Amendment To The Power Tariff Policy 57 Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana 30 Pradhan Mantri Nai Manzil Scheme Yojana 58 India Overtakes China As Top FDI Destination 30 Sikkim Becomes The First Fully Organic State Of India 59 TFA(Trade Facilitation Agreement) 31 Dhirendra Singh Committee 59 Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code, 2015: 31 Ganga Gram Yojana 60 Banks Board Bureau (BBB) 33 Payment Of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015 60 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) 33 Governor’s Rule in J&K 61 Bihar Government imposes complete ban on alcohol 34 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 62 National Hydrology Project 34 Lodha Panel's Report on BCCI 63 New Solid Waste Management Rules 35 UDAY:-Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana 63 Kalasa-Banduri Nala diversion project 37 Stand Up India 64 Maritime India Summit 2016 (MIS 2016) 37 Project Sunrise 65 Centre’s nod for NIMZ in Medak 38 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 65 2 History of India (Prelim) Sehat(Social Endeavour For Health And Telemedicine) 67 GI tag for Basmati rice of 7 states approved 90 National Malaria Strategic Plan 68 Zika Virus 90 Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) 69 Snowflake Coral, A Serious Threat To Biodiversity 90 Amendment To The Delimitation Act, 2002 A 70 BS-IV To Bs-VI Emission Norms 91 eBiz Portal 71 Li- Fi 91 The Aadhaar Bill, 2016 71 System Of Aerosol Monitoring And Research (SAMAR) 92 Enemy property law: 72 Zinnia Flower 92 Decoding Of Three Medieval Copper Plates 73 IRNSS-1E(Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) 93 Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Rural Electrification Scheme: 73 Himalayan Forest Thrush 93 Defence Procurement Policy(DPP): 2016 74 Green Cement 93 INTETRNATIONAL AFFAIRS 76 National Deworming Initiative 94 Wild Pigs Declared Vermin In Uttarakhand For A Year 94 G - 7 summit 76 Himalayan Griffon 95 Ashgabat Agreement 76 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) 95 Nuclear Security Summit 77 Hadesarchaea Microbe 95 HSPD-6 (Homeland Security Presidential Directive) 77 2D Material For P-Type Semiconductor 96 Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) 77 ISRO successfully test cryogenic engine of GSLV Mark 3 rocket 96 Draft on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) 78 CRISPR 96 Lancet Journal On Stillbirths 78 Women at Work in 2016: A report by ILO 97 Border Haats 79 ExoMars 98 Shangri La Dialogue 79 Kodaikanal mercury poisoning 98 The Hague Code of Conduct 79 Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve 98 Salma Dam Project 79 3D printing could help fix damaged cartilage in knees 99 Paris Pact 80 Rotavirus Vaccine 99 India joins Missile Technology Control Regime(MTCR) 81 Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) 100 NSG(Nuclear Supplier Group) 81 Sand-eating tadpoles 100 Pelindaba Treaty 81 Meldonium 100 Global Peace Index 82 Honnametti bush frog 101 Indian Prime Minister Foreign visits in 2016: 82 Meta Skin 101 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 83 'Einstein ring' 102 Alloxan 83 Maltitol 102 Mogao caves 83 Nilgai declared as Vermin 102 Himalayan brown bears 84 4 New Elements Are Added To The Periodic Table 103 Helium microscope 84 Gravitational waves 104 Mahseer fish 84 Karnala Bird Sanctuary (KBS) 105 Potassium Bromate 85 PSLV-C34 Successfully Launches 20 Satellites in a Single Flight 105 Ballast water and invasive species 86 NASA tests deep space rocket booster 105 New Rules On Management Of Hazardous Waste 86 AWARDS 106 ISBN Portal 88 South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) 88 SPORTS 110 Panama disease 89 PERSONS IN NEWS 112 IRNSS or NAVIC 89 MISCELLANEOUS 115 3 General Studies Pre Series NATIONAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS National Skill Development Mission: The National Skill Development Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet on 01.07.2015, and officially launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 15.07.2015 on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day. The Mission has been developed to create convergence across sectors and States in terms of skill training activities. Further, to achieve the vision of ‘Skilled India’, the National Skill Development Mission not only consolidate and coordinate skilling efforts, but also expedite decision making across sectors to achieve skilling at scale with speed and standards. This mission is implemented through a streamlined institutional mechanism driven by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Key institutional mechanisms for achieving the objectives of the Mission have been divided into three tiers, which will consist of a Governing Council for policy guidance at apex level, a Steering Committee and a Mission Directorate (along with an Executive Committee) as the executive arm of the Mission. Mission Directorate is supported by three other institutions: National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and Directorate General of Training (DGT) – all of which will have horizontal linkages with Mission Directorate to facilitate smooth functioning of the national institutional mechanism. Seven sub-missions have been proposed initially to act as building blocks for achieving overall objectives of the Mission. They are:(i) Institutional Training, (ii) Infrastructure, (iii) Convergence, (iv) Trainers, (v) Overseas Employment, (vi) Sustainable Livelihoods, (vii) Leveraging Public Infrastructure. Deepak Mohanty Committee On Medium Term Path On Financial Incluison More focus on opening female accounts along with main focus on welfare schemes for women like Sukanya Shiksha yojana. 4 Unique biometric identifier such as Aadhaar should be linked to each individual credit account and the information shared with credit information companies to enhance the stability of the credit system and improve access.Same should be done for MSMEs. Recommends use of low-cost solution based on mobile technology for ‘last mile’ delivery To increase formal credit supply to all agrarian segments, digitization of land records should be done. Phase out of interest subvention scheme and ploughing the subsidy amount into a mandatory crop insurance scheme for small and marginal farmers 'Gold KCC' scheme for good borrowers. Recommends commercial banks to open specialized interest-free windows with simple products. Recommends RBI to take lead in creating a geographical information system to map banking access points. Integration of Business correspondents with bank branches. Introduction of a system of online registration of BCs, their training and monitoring their activity including delinquency, and entrusting more complex financial products such as credit to trained BCs with good track record. A geographical information system (GIS) to map all banking access points. To step up the self help group (SHG)-bank linkage programme (SBLP) initiated by NABARD with the help of concerned stakeholders including government agencies as a livelihood model. Corporate should be encouraged to nurture SHGs as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Provision of credit history of all SHG members by linking with individual Aadhaar numbers to check over-indebtedness To restore tax-exempt status for securitization vehicles for efficient risk transfer. More ATMs in rural and semi-urban centers Levying a surcharge on credit card transactions by merchant establishments should not be allowed. Recent Changes in FDI 49% FDI under automatic route permitted in Insurance and Pension sectors Foreign investment up to 49% in defence sector permitted under automatic route. The foreign investment in access of 49% has been allowed on case to case basis with Government approval in cases resulting in access to modern technology in the country or for other reasons to be recorded FDI