WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM May 2015 Current Affairs INTERNATIONAL South Korea and Vietnam Signed Free Trade Agreement Vietnam and South Korea on 5 signed a bilateral free trade agreement in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, concluding the countries’ two-year talks. The deal, which was initiated a month back, will enable the trade between the two nations to reach $70 billion a year by 2020. David Cameron Re-elected as Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party on 8 May won the United Kingdom General election 2015 by securing 331 seats in a Parliament of 650.With this win, David Cameron will become Prime Minister for second term.The elections were held on 7 May 2015. Conservative Party received 36.9% vote share of the total national vote. Labour Party has won 232 seats with 30.4% vote share, emerging as largest opposition party. Canadian House of Commons Approved Anti-Terror Act 2015 The Canadian House of Commons on 6 May approved the Bill C-51, Anti-Terror Act, 2015 that empowers the country’s spy agency. It was adopted in a 183 to 96 vote. The act would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) the ability to operate overseas and make preventative arrests. It also makes it easier for police to arrest and detain individuals without charge. WHO Declares Liberia Free of Ebola World Health Organization (WHO), a U.N. health agency on 9 May declared Liberia Ebola-free. Liberia was one of the three West African countries at the center of the largest epidemic of Ebola till date since the disease was first reported in 1976. The two other countries are Sierra Leone and Guinea. WHO has hailed Liberia’s Ebola eradication efforts as an enormous development in the long crisis and monumental achievement as the virus has killed more than 4,716 people in the country alone. INDIA & WORLD India Ranked 140th In 2015 Mothers’ Index World’s Mothers 2015 report titled “The Urban Disadvantage” has been prepared by “Save the Children” organisation and was launched in India by Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla in New Delhi on 6 May 2015. According to the report, India was placed at 140th position out of 179 countries. Top 5 countries as per 2015 Mother’s Index – Norway (1st), Finland (2nd), Iceland (3rd), Denmark (4th) and Swedan (5th). India and China Signed 24 Agreements India and China on 15 May signed 24 agreements to augment bilateral co-operation between the two countries.The agreements were signed in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, China. These agreements include – protocol for establishment of consulates in Chengdu and Chennai, agreement on the establishment of sister states Sichuan and Karnataka, action plan between railways of the two countries, MoU on education exchange programme, MoU between India’s between NITI Aayog and Development Research Centre of China, etc. WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM V+TEAM WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM India and Mongolia Signed 13 Agreements India and Mongolia on 17 May signed 13 agreements, including an air services agreement and in cyber security, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Mongolian counterpart Chimed Saikhanbileg in Ulan Bator,the capital of Mongolia. India Ranked 100th On Human Capital Index India was on 14 May ranked at a low 100th position on a global Human Capital Index, which measures the countries in terms of the economies leveraging their human capital, where Finland has topped the 124-nation list.On the list, compiled by World Economic Forum (WEF), other emerging economies such as Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa are ranked ahead of India. NATIONAL Lok Sabha Passed Goods and Services Tax Bill 2014 Lok Sabha on 6 May passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2014 which is also known as Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution in order to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Consequently, the bill also seeks to carry out new indirect tax regime in the country that will subsume various central and state levies like sales tax, excise and service tax except taxes on the supply of alcoholic liquor for human consumption and petroleum products.Transition from the traditional taxation to GST will boost India’s growth by up to 2.5 percentage points. PM Narendra Modi Launches Three Social Security Schemes Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May launched three mega social security schemes in Kolkata, West Bengal. The schemes were launched simultaneously at 115 places in the country with Central and State Chief Ministers and senior ministers attending the functions. 1) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY) 2) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) 3) Atal Pension Yojana (APY) 1) Atal Pension Yojana (APY) :- Under APY scheme, the pension subscribers will receive a fixed minimum monthly pension ranging from 1,000 rupees to 5,000 rupees at the age of 60 years. The fixed minimum monthly pension will be depending on the contributions subscribers. The minimum age of joining – 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. Focus of APY – To target unorganised sector workers. 2) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY):- Under the PMJJBY, the insurance subscriber will get an annual life insurance in case of death. Eligibility – Available any person in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account. Risk Coverage – 2 Lakh rupees in case of death due to any reason. Payment Mode of premium – 330 rupees per annum will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. 3) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY):- Under the PMSBY, the insurance subscriber will get annual life insurance in case of accidental death, partial disability or full disability. Eligibility – Available to any person in the age group 18 to 70 years. Risk Coverage – For accidental death and full disability– 2 WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM V+TEAM WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM Lakh rupees For partial disability – 1 Lakh rupees. Payment Mode of premium – 12 rupees per annum will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account in case of long-term option. Parliament Passed Black Money Bill The Rajya Sabha on 13 May passed the Black Money Bill. It was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha on 11 May 2015. According to the new Bill those who conceal income and assets, and indulge in tax evasion in relation to foreign assets can face rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years. They will also be liable to face a penalty of 300 per cent of taxes on the concealed income and assets. PM Narendra Modi Launched Doordarshan’s Farmer-Centric Kisan TV Channel Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26 May launched India’s first television channel DD Kisan dedicated to farmers in New Delhi. This 24-hour channel is initially in Hindi and is dedicated to agriculture and allied sectors of India. It seeks to disseminate real-time inputs to farmers on new farming techniques, water conservation and organic farming among other information. STATES BHEL commissioned 195 MW Thermal Unit of KBUNL In Bihar State-owned electrical equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 4 May commissioned a 195 MW thermal unit of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUNL) in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. This was the first 195 MW unit to be commissioned by BHEL at the 2×195 MW Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station (TPS) Plant of KBUNL. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurated IISCO Steel Plant at Burnpur Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 May inaugurated the upgraded IISCO Steel Plant (ISP) in Burnpur, West Bengal. The ISP houses the largest blast furnace of India. The ISP was modernised by the Union Government at a cost of 16000 crore rupees. UP Govt Launched Samajwadi Water ATM scheme Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on 12 May launched Samajwadi water ATM scheme at bus stations. It seeks to provide potable water to bus passengers at reasonable price.In this regard, state government will install water ATMs at most of the bus stations which will provide potable water at the rate of 1 rupee per litre and cold water at 2 rupees per litre. Punjab Becomes First State To Issue Soil Health Cards To Farmers Punjab Agriculture Department on 13 May launched a pan-state programme to monitor the soil health of every farm in the state by issuing them personalised Soil Health Cards (SHCs). With this, Punjab became the first state in India to issue Soil Health Cards to farmers.Prime Minister had formally launched the nationwide ‘Soil Health Card’ Scheme from Suratgarh, Rajasthan in Februrary 2015. CONFERENCES 6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM V+TEAM WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM Nuclear Energy6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy was held in New Delhi on 15 May 2015. The Conference was organised by ASSOCHAM with the theme Nuclear Energy: a Clean Energy option. The conference discussed the issue related to the status of Nuclear Energy in India. India is on course to double its nuclear power generation capacity to more than 10,000 mega watts (MW) over the next five years i.e. 2020.Nuclear power plants account for 3.5% of India’s current electricity generation, and its share in India’s future electricity generation will be less than 10% even if the installed capacity is tripled. AWARDS & HONOURS CNR Rao Conferred with Japan’s Highest Civilian Award Eminent scientist C N R Rao was on 2 May conferred with Japan’s highest civilian award for his outstanding contributions to science and Indo-Japanese science coperation. The Emperor of Japan conferred the country’s highest award, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, on the Bharat Ratna awardee.Rao is also the only Indian to be elected as a foreign member of the Japan Academy in Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.