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CONTENTS VOL-15 ISSUE -09

Editor

N.K. Jain Key Highlights of Union Advisors Budget 2019-20 ICC World Cup 2019 Neeraj Chabra K.C.Gupta Registered Office Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd. 103, Pragatideep Building, Plot No. 08, Laxminagar,

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For queries regarding promotion, distribution & Interview 5 advertisement, contact:- Current Affairs - One Liner 6-9 [email protected] Ph.: 09208037962 Spotlight 10 The People 11-18 Owned, printed & published by News Bites 19-73 N.K. Jain Word of English - Etymology 74 103, Pragatideep Building, Designation : Who's Who 75 Plot No. 08, Laxminagar, District Centre, New Delhi - 110092 Key Highlights of Union Budget 2019-20 76-89 Please send your suggestions and ICC World Cup 2019 90-92 grievances to:- Apollo 11 at 50: Historic Moon Landing 93-94 Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd. One Nation One Election 95-96 CP-9, Vijayant Khand, Gomti Nagar Lucknow - 226010 Quiz Time - General Awareness 97-113 E-mail:[email protected] © Copyright Reserved Subscription form is on Pg 60 ## No part of this issue can be printed in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. ## All the disputes are subject to Delhi jurisdiction only. Mahendra Publication Pvt. Ltd. Editorial "Great things never come from comfort zones.”

Dear Aspirants, We are extremely gratified to publish "September 2019" edition of "Master In Current Affairs" an ideal magazine which presents appropriate information and essential knowledge. This edition is well designed specially by keeping all the upcoming examinations in mind. This edition encompasses highly admired sections NEWS MAKER, NEWS DIARY, ONE LINER, and WORLD OF ENGLISH which are undeviatingly related to the examinations. Chalte-Chalte is one of the most escorting elements of this which is mentioned at the bottom of every page. This edition creates a forum where all candidates and guidance personnel can meet the important issues of this month which may play a vital role in the forthcoming examination. The important topics covered in this edition are: “Union Budget 2019-20” – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the maiden budget of Narendra Modi 2.0 government in the Lok Sabha. “Gaon, Garib and Kisan [village, poor, and farmer] is at the centre of all policies of this government and the key highlights of the budget are given inside MICA. Then there is another topic “2019 ICC World Cup” as The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was hosted by England and Wales from May 30, 2019, to July 14, 2019. The big change in this 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup is that there is a single group of 10 teams and all the details are given inside. The next topic “Apollo 11 Mission” gives a detailed insight of fifty years ago event when human beings stepped on the moon for the first time. Some 650 million people around the world watched the historic landing on July 20, 1969, and heard astronaut Neil Armstrong say “... one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The next article is “One Nation, One Election”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the idea of “One Nation, One Election” to prevent costly and lengthy elections. But, what exactly does this idea mean and does it have the backing of political parties, the major details are inside MICA. There is a separate section named Quiz Time for your self-evaluation, which includes all the possible MCQ's from this month's current affairs. This will be highly beneficial for all the forthcoming examinations. The topics of the next issue will be different, we ensure that we will be trying to serve you with our next edition consisting of a rich piece of knowledge.

Best of Luck for your exams. Your suggestions will be worthwhile and accepted.

With Best Wishes Editor : N.K. Jain “Your Success is Our Success” Sudeshna INTERVIEW MICA : What is the role of “Time PERSONAL DETAILS Management” in one’s Sudeshna Bishnu success? Sudeshna : Now a days, exams are Father’s Name : Mr. Amar Kumar Bishnu totally time based, hence Mother’s Name : Mrs. Sukla Bishnu managing time during exam Hobbies : Singing, Cooking is very important and can be done by attempting Speed Prior Selection : Bank of Baroda (Clerk) tests. Name of the Exam : Bank of Maharashtra (P.O.) MICA : How did you prepare for the Interview? Roll No. of Qualified Exam : 3011001023 Sudeshna : I joined the interview batch Roll No. of Mahendra Institute : ASN2601575421 conducted by Mahendra, revised banking awareness Sudeshna : and gave mock interviews. English Language MICA : Tell us about the Interview I cleared my basics in coaching and Board and the questions solved the book provided by them and asked? then I attempted lots of Speed Test. Sudeshna : The interview board Reasoning Ability consisted of 4 male members Learned the techniques from coaching, and 1 female member. practiced from online sources and gave The questions asked were: Mahendra's test series. I. Introduction and educational Numerical Ability background. Revised the whole syllabus, and practiced II. Questions from subjects studied everyday atleast for 2 hrs. Attempted MICA : Mahendra's family expresses in B.Sc and some general science Speed tests to improve. its heartfelt congratulations questions. on your success. General Awareness III. Questions related to hobbies like Sudeshna : Thank You! Cleared basics in coaching, learned Dance Day and Music Day. from Mahendras book and online MICA : To whom do you want IV. Questions related to basic banking resources. Regular Newspaper reading to give the credit of your awareness. and solved quizzes. selection? V. Questions related to current affairs. Computer Knowledge Sudeshna : I would like to thank MICA : By whom did you get my parents, friends and Read book provided by Mahendra's information of your selection relatives for their support. I computer awareness and solved regular and what was your reaction? am thankful to Almighty. quizzes Sudeshna : I, myself checked my result MICA : After how many attempts MICA : What would you say about and was overwhelmed when did you succeed in this “Master in Current Affairs” I realised that I cracked it. examination? Magazine (MICA) and MICA : What message do you Mahendra Website? Sudeshna : This was my 1st attempt in want to convey to other IBPS PO and Clerk. Prior to Sudeshna : The Master in Current aspirants? this I attempted SBI Clerk Affairs magazine is one of Sudeshna : Maintaining consistency & PO, but could not make the best sources for current is most important. Never affairs. Mahendra Guru to final list. give up in any situation and website kept updated about MICA : What is the role of Mahendra's have faith in yourself, when all recent happenings. institute in your selection? chance, luck and labour MICA : What is the best thing about Sudeshna : From the beginning of comes together, you will our coaching institute, my journey till the end, surely succeed. according to you? Mahendra supported me MICA : Congratulations once again throughout. Sudeshna : The best thing are the on your success. Your faculty members who MICA : How did you prepare for the success is our success. helped me everytime when examination? Sudeshna : Thank You I needed it. The Reserve Bank of has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on South Indian Bank for violating SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA norms regarding bank guarantees. 5 CURRENT AFFAIRS One Liner Liner ONE ## Jeffrey Rosen has been appointed as deputy attorney PERSONS IN NEWS general of which country? - USA ## Om Birla has been named as the new Lok Sabha # Speaker by the NDA. From which of the following # Joko Widodo has been re-elected as the President of place,he is elected Member of Parliament? which country? - - Kota Rajasthan ## Volodymyr Zelenskiy takes oath as new President of ## Suman Rao was crowned the winner of Femina which country? - Ukraine Miss India World 2019. The event held at the Sardar ## Niki Lauda paased away at the age of 70. He was associated Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium. Sardar Vallabhbhai with which sport? - Formula one Patel Indoor Stadium is situated in which state/ut? ## Cyril Ramaphosa selected as president of which of the - Maharashtra following country? - South Africa ## Who has been appointed as the new leader of Rajya ## Murray Gell-Mann, the Nobel Prize-winner has died. Sabha? - Thawarchand Gehlot He was awarded with Noble prize in which field? ## Who was appointed as the executive director of United - Physics Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP)? ## ______appointed as the Prime Minister of Papua - Inger Andersen New Guinea. - James Marape ## Who was appointed as the executive director of Reserve ## Who is the youngest MP in the country and her debut Bank of India (RBI)? - Rabi N Mishra in Parliament? - Chandrani Murmu ## Who is the President of Nigeria? - Muhammadu Buhari AWARDS # # What is the name of the deceased minister and MNF ## Which film won the best film award in the 44th Matri (Mizo National Front) leader of Mizoram? Shree Media Awards for the year 2019? - Lalrinchhana - Badhai Ho ## Who is appointed as head to sort AAI trouble in World ## Which actress is selected for Danny Kaye Humanitarian Archery? - Abhinav Bindra Award by United Nations International Children’s ## Who was appointed as the Director General of Inter- Fund’s (UNICEF)? - Priyanka Chopra Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of ? ## Alfred Brownell was awarded with the Goldman - Lt Gen Faiz Hameed Environmental Prize. Goldman Environmental Prize is also ## Who leads Indian delegation to G20 Ministerial known as which names? - Green Nobel meeting in Japan? - Shri Piyush Goyal ## Author Amitav Ghosh was conferred the 54th Jnanpith ## Who is appointed as interim chief of J&K Bank by Jammu Award. Amitav Ghosh is the first writer to get this and government? - RK Chibber prestigious Jnanpith Award in which language? - English ## Who is conferred with Maldives highest award ‘Nishan ## Chinese President Xi Jinping was conferred with Manas Izzuddin’? - Shri Narendra Modi Order of the First Degree. This the highest national ## Who is appointed as pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha? award of which country? - - Virendra Kumar ## Jokha Alharthi has won the prestigious Man Booker ## Which country has appointed Sun Weidong, as its new International Prize for her book "Celestial Bodies". She envoy to India? - belongs to which country? -

MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Asian champion P U Chitra won the gold medal in women’s 1500m at the Folksam Grand Prix in 6 Sollentuna, Sweden. One Liner SCHEMES AND LAUNCHES ## Prasar Bharati and ……….. have joined hands for the election results day on May 23, providing for a dedicated ## According to NITI Aayog proposal, From which year live stream of the verdict of the Lok Sabha and state polls only electric vehicles should be sold? on YouTube. - Google - 2030 ## YSR Congress Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy will be ## How much collateral-free loans for MSME’s was sworn in as chief minister of which state? recommended by U K Sinha, from earlier Rs 10 lakh ? - - Rs 20 lakh ## Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS), Vigraha, has been # # Which State launched the ‘Pink Sarathi’ vehicles for decommissioned at …………. womens safety? - Karnataka - Vishakhapatnam # # Centre has reduced the employer’s and employee’s ## IAF successfully fired the BrahMos air version missile contribution under the Employees’ State Insurance from its frontline ……… fighter aircraft. (ESI) Act. It will be effective from ______- Su-30 MKI - July 1st ## Which country has launched a permanent residency INTERNATIONAL scheme "Golden Card" to woo wealthy individuals and ## Which country is designated as the Guest of Honour at exceptional talents? - UAE the 33rd Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara NATIONAL & STATE (Guadalajara International Book Fair) in Mexico? - India ## The 2nd Meeting of India-Italy Joint Working Group ## Where was the 48th DG level talks between India's on Counter Terrorism was held in ______Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard - New Delhi (BGB) held? - Dhaka, Bangladesh ## Operation Sunrise 2 is a coordinated military operation ## When was the United Nations Environment Programme which was carried out to target militant groups. Which (UNEP), a programme of the United Nations formed? countries have taken part in this operation? - 1972 - India and Myanmar ## Which country extended $15 million grant to Niger to ## Which country will be hosting the 14th session of the organize the AU summit? - India Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations ## Which country’s economy has emerged as the fastest Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for growing economy among the 45 countries of the - the first time? - India Pacific region as per the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO)? ## Which state topped the United States Green Building - Bangladesh Council's (USGBC) list of Top 10 States for LEED in India? - Maharashtra ## Which country has become the largest fish producing country as per the report released by the Fisheries # # Which state made GPS device mandatory for Department? - China trekkers? - ## Which airlines is named as the world's most punctual ## According to Randstad Employer Brand Research air service for second consecutive time? (REBR) 2019, which Company is the most attractive - SriLankan Airlines employer brand in India? - Amazon ## The navies of India and ………. conducted their ## India's First Dinosaur Museum Park inaugurated in bilateral naval drill SIMBEX-2019 in the South China which state? - Sea. The exercise will be conducted till May 22. - ## The Indian Navy is hosting a Maritime Information Sharing Workshop 2019 in which city? ## A Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) - Gurugram of Shanghai Cooperation Organization started in ……….. - Bishkek ## On which of the following dates, Ayushman Bharat ## Which country will host an international conference Diwas is celebrated across the country? against anti-Semitism in memory of the Holocaust? - 30 April - Sweden

World's largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, Kaleshwaram will be launched in Telangana. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 7 CURRENT AFFAIRS One Liner ## has signed a tripartite agreement with which ## Which organization introduced enhanced disclosure two countries for development of eastern terminal of guidelines for credit rating agencies (CRA)? Colombo port? - India and Japan - SEBI ## Which Country is not a BIMSTEC country? ## ………… has toppled Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) to - China become the country’s biggest company by revenue. ## For the first time in 92 years, 6 Indian-origin kids - Reliance Industries among _____ won the National Spelling Bee Contest. ## OECD has projected India’s GDP growth for the - 8 financial year 2019-20 to what percent? ## Where is the Third ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol being - 7.50% held? - Munich ## Which IT company has completed the acquisition of 75 percent shareholding in ABN AMRO Bank's FINANCIAL AWARENESS wholly-owned Stater NV? - Infosys

## Chairman of the Yash Birla group, Yashovardhan ## Which Bank has entered into an agreement with the Birla, has declared a ‘wilful defaulter’ by UCO Bank. BSE to buy stake in its subsidiary INX - located at Where is the headquarter of UCO bank? GIFT City Gujarat? - ICICI Bank - Kolkata ## Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an ## For which state in India, Asian Development Bank agreement to provide ……….. equivalent in Indian (ADB) has approved projects for infrastructure rupee long-term financing to electrify railway tracks in development worth Rs 1,650 crore ($235 million)? India. - USD 750 million - Tripura ## According to a report by which bank, India's economic ## Who will chair the five-member committee constituted growth in the fourth quarter ended March 2019 is by central government of India to review the existing expected to moderate to 6.1-5.9 per cent? marketing structure of Liquefied Petroleum Gas - SBI (LPG)? - Kirit Parikh ## International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest ## How much amount is granted as line of Credit (LoC) ………….. in Manappuram Finance Ltd (MFL). to Kyrgyzstan by Indian government? - $35 million - 200 million dollar ## Goldman Sachs is to invest $250 million to construct ## CCI approves Indiabulls Housing Finance and one of its largest global workspaces in ______, ______merger. - Lakshmi Vilas bank India. - Bengaluru ## What is the basic exemption limit in income tax? ## Tata Steel is to acquire Bhushan Energy Ltd for about - Rs. 2.5 Lakh ______. - Rs.800 crore ## Who headed the 8 member panel on Micro, Small and SPORTS Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)? - U K Sinha. ## Which two countries will be the guest nation at 2020 ## Reserve Bank of India imposed _____ crore penalty Copa America, an international football tournament? on Kotak Mahindra Bank. - Rs 2 Crore - Australia and ## RBI has slapped a penalty of ₹2 crore on which ## At which position the Indian men’s football team Bank for not disclosing information on promoter ranked in the latest FIFA rankings? shareholding? - Kotak Mahindra Bank - 101st ## Tata Consultancy Services surpassed which industry to ## Mahesh Mangaonkar and Joshna Chinappa emerged as become the most valued firm by market valuation? the men's and women's national champions at the 76th - Reliance Senior National Squash Championship. In which city, ## Which company clinches top spot in the world's most this event was held? - Pune valuable brand ranking? - Amazon ## Farrukh Amonatov emerged champion in A category ## Central government extended the_____ aid to of the 12th Mayor Club International for Rebuilding Earthquake-hit Houses. tournament. From which country does he belongs? - 1.6 millions - Tajikistan

Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi has been given extension of over three months Director General (DG) of MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 8 Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). One Liner ## Where was the Folksam Grand Prix 2019 held? SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Sollentuna, Sweden # ## Who won the gold medal in women’s 1500m at Folksam # On which Mount did the Scientists install two highest Grand Prix 2019 ? - PU Chitra weather stations to collect weather data to study the impacts of rising global temperatures? # # ______beats Ireland 1-0 in the final to claim U21 - Mount Everest four-nation title. - India ## By which year ISRO, in one of its most ambitious # # Team India's Champion All-rounder cricketer projects, is planning to launch its own space station? announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. - 2030 what is the name of this cricketer? - ## By which name Facebook unveiled its cryptocurrency? - Libra ## Ashleigh Barty has won the women's singles title of French Open by defeating Czech Republic' Marketa ## Who organises Capacity Building Program On Vondrousova. She belongs to which country? Electoral Technology? - IIIDEM (ECI) - Australia ## ISRO unveiled plan to set up its own space station in ## Who won Canadian Grand Prix 2019? seven years. The project will be an extension of which - Lewis Hamilton of the following mission? - Gaganyaan Mission ## Which cricketer is the sole Indian in the Forbes 2019 ## Amasebailu, a small village near the bank of river list of world's highest-paid athletes? haldi, have 100% solar-powered houses. This village - is situated in which state? - Karnataka ## Third Youth Men's and Women's National MISCELLANEOUS Championship held in which state? - Uttarakhand ## Which month is celebrated as the Lesbian, gay, ## Which country won the FIFA Women's World Cup bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Pride .They defeated in Group-F match at Reims in month all over the world? - June France? - USA ## Which Country banned commercials that reinforce ## Second World Challenge Cup Series gymnastics gender prejudices? - UK tournament will be held in which country? ## From which year, Ireland planned to ban sale of petrol - Croatia and diesel cars? - 22-Jul # # Who is elected as a member of the International Olympic ## The highest bridge in Asia at Kandror is located on Committee (IOC) by the executive board of the world which river? - Sutlej sport’s apex body? - Narindar Batra ## On which date, World sickle cell day is observed ## Karolina Pliskova has won the women's singles title of globally? - 19-Jun Italian Open in Rome. She belongs to which country? - Czech Republic ## When World Day Against Child Labour observed? - 12-Jun ## Who has won the men's singles title of Italian Open in Rome? - Rafael Nadal ## Where is the headquarters of ICAT? ## Shakib Al Hasan jumped to the top of the latest MRF - Manesar Tyres ICC ODI rankings for all-rounders, which doesn't ## Where is the headquarters of Amazon? feature a single Indian in the top-10 chart. He belongs to - Seattle, Washington, U.S. which country? - Bangladesh ## Bishkek is the capital of which country? ## Recently, who has won the Monaco Grand Prix title? - Kyrgyzstan - Lewis Hamilton ## Flooding in the Mississippi River is making record of ## Who has been elected the Vice President of the becoming the longest running flood in more than 90 Badminton Asia Council (BAC)? years since 1927. Where does the Mississippi River - Himanta Biswa flow? - North America ## Who won the Sekisui Open squash Tournament title in ## World Blood Donor Day is observed on which day? Kriens, Switzerland? - Mahesh Mangaonkar - 14-Jun

Archery's world body World Archery (WA) has de-listed the Archery Association of India (AAI) as a SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA member. 9 SPOTLIGHT ALL THAT MATTERS ABBREVIATIONS IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES EFTA : European Free Trade Association September 5 Teachers’ Day EGS : Employment Guarantee Scheme September 8 International Literacy Day EOUs : Export Oriented Units September 14 Diwas World Ozone Day; International Day for EPCG : Export Promotion Capital Goods September 16 Preservation of Ozone layer EPF : Employees Provident Fund Alzheimer’s Day; Day for Peace & Non- September 21 EPZs : Export Processing Zones/Export Promotion violence (UN) Zones September 27 World Tourism Day ESCAP : Economic and Social Commission for Asia and September 29 World Heart Day Pacific September 30 International Translation Day ECONOMIC GLOSSARY BOOKS & AUTHORS Index of Industrial Production (IIP) Industrial Production (IIP) is an index the satapur that shows the performance of different 01 moonstone industrial sectors of the Indian economy. The IIP is estimated and published on a :- Sujata Massey monthly basis by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) . As an all India index, it gives general level of industrial activity in the economy. gun island 02 According to the CSO. “It is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of :- Amitav Ghosh a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period.” Letters to ammi Importance of Index of Industrial 03 Production The IIP is used by public agencies :- Aftab Yusuf Shaikh including the Government agencies/ departments including that in the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India etc. for policy purposes. patna blues 04 The all-India IIP data is used for estimation of Gross Value Added of :- Abdullah Khan Manufacturing sector on quarterly basis. Similarly, the data is also used extensively by analysts, financial my life, my intermediaries and private companies 05 mission for various purposes. :- Swami Ramdev The Reserve Bank has assigned lead bank responsibility to the SBI for three new carved out districts MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 10 in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. APPOINTMENTS THE PEOPLE Arvind Kumar K. Natarajan he Appointments Committee Natarajan has been Tof the Cabinet (ACC) chaired K. appointed as new Director by Prime Minister Narendra Modi General (DG) of Indian Coast has appointed senior IPS officer Guard (ICG). He succeeded Arvind Kumar as new Director of Rajendra Singh, who retired on the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He 30 June 2019. will succeed Rajiv Jain and will Natarajan is 1984-batch officer. have two year tenure. He is IPS The flag officer has held various officer of 1984 batch of Assam- important command and staff Meghalaya cadre. He is currently appointments, both afloat and Special Director in IB and his job ashore. He also served as the involves supervising administrative and personnel desks. Commanding Officer, ICGS Mandapam. Before this he Before this, he had headed ‘X’ branch, the political wing was serving as Additional Director General (ADG) of in the IB. He has been working with the IB since 1991. ICG’s Western Sea Board, which looks after security of He also has served in the Indian Embassy in Moscow, sensitive maritime boundary from Gujarat to Kerala. Russia. He is considered an expert on Kashmir and Naxal issues. He is recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Indian Coast Guard is India’s statutory multi-mission Distinguished Service. paramilitary organization that is responsible for safeguarding country’s’ maritime interests and enforces Intelligence Bureau maritime law. It was established on 18 It is India’s internal intelligence agency. It was established August 1978 by Coast Guard Act, 1978. It in 1887 by British India Government. Later, functions under the aegis of Union Ministry it was recasted as Central Intelligence of Defence. It is country’s one of the Bureau in 1947 under Ministry of Home youngest Armed Force and has 142 ships & Affairs. It is headquartered in New Delhi. 62 aircraft in total. Its motto is Always Alert. Sharad Kumar Saraf Samant Goel xporters body, Federation of he Central Government has EIndian Export Organisations Tdecided to appoint Samant (FIEO) has elected Sharad Kumar Goyal as the head of Research and Saraf as its new president. Saraf Analysis Wing (RAW). Samant succeeded renowned exporter Goyal contributed to the planning Ganesh Kumar Gupta. Saraf in his of the Indian Air Force's Balakot earlier stints at FIEO has served Aerialsite. Samant Goyal is the twice as vice-president and four IPS officer of the 1984 batch. He times as regional chairman (west has been appointed chief of RAW region). He is also chairman and in place of Anil Dhasmana. founder of Technocraft Industries Research and Analysis Wing (India). Saraf during his earlier period as vice-president (RAW) and regional chairman (west region) established Indian Exporters Grievance Forum that work towards addressing Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is India's Foreign exporters’ grievances through legal channel. Intelligence Agency. It was established in 1968 as a result of India-China war. Its headquarters is located in New FIEO was established in 1965 with headquarters in New Delhi. Its motto is "Dharmo Rakshanti Delhi. It was formed by Union Ministry of Rakshit:". Its main task is to curb terrorist Commerce and private trade and industry. activities and to carry out the operation of It is an apex body of exports promotion the secret operation. This agency works to council, commodity boards and export collect information related to the Foreign development authorities in India. Its direct Intelligence. members contribute more than 70% of India’s exports.

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, yoga guru Baba Ramdev announced his first official SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA autobiography, titled "My Life, My Mission". 11 THE PEOPLE APPOINTMENTS Narinder Batra Ursula von der Leyen ndian Olympic Association erman Defence Minister IPresident Narinder Batra GUrsula von der Leyen has has been elected a member been nominated for the post to of the International Olympic replace Jean-Claude Juncker. The Committee, receiving 58 out of nomination came after the main 62 votes. Along with Batra, 10 front-runners were rejected. new members have been selected, Ursula was backed by German along with the number of Chancellor Angela Merkel international Olympic Committee but there was resistance to her members reached 105. Narinder nomination within the German Batra is working as the Chairman coalition. of the International Olympic Committee from December 2017. Chief of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde has been nominated as the first woman to head the European International Olympic Committee Central Bank. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel is It is a non-governmental sports body, headquartered nominated to replace European Council President Donald in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded by Pierre de Tusk, while Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell is Cauberstein and Demetrius Vickelas on 23 June 1894 in proposed as Foreign Policy Chief. Paris of France. This organization organizes In all, EU leaders were tasked with nominating five people Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In for the top jobs. the International Olympic Committee, 206 National Olympic Committees are included The fifth key role - President of the European Parliament as members. Its current chairman is Thomas - . Possible candidates include German centre-right Baci of Germany. MEP Manfred Weber and Bulgarian socialist Sergei Stanishev. K Shanmugham MEPs elected David Sassoli as President of the European enior IAS officer K Parliament having won 345 out of 667 SShanmugham has been valid votes in the second round. David appointed the new Chief Sassoli , as an Italian MEP since 2009, he Secretary of was re-elected on a Partito Democratico Government. He succeeded list in Central Italy in May 2019 for a Ms Girija Vaidyanathan, who third term. He will lead Parliament until retired on superannuation. Mr January 2022. Shanmugham is at present serving as the Additional Vikas Swarup Chief Secretary in charge of enior diplomat Vikas the state Finance Department. SSwarup has been appointed Senior IPS officer JK Tripathy has been named the new as Secretary, (consular, Director General of Police. He will be the head of the passport, visa and Overseas state police force. The current incumbent TK Rajendran Indian affairs) in the External superannuated on completion of his two years tenure as Affairs Ministry, according to the police chief. an order issued by the Personnel Currently, Mr Tripathy serves as the chairman of the state Ministry. His appointment uniformed forces recruitment commission. came into effect from August Mr Shanmugham and Mr Tripathy are 1985 1, 2019. batch officials and have served in various Swarup, a 1986-batch officer capacities throughout the state. Both will of the Indian Foreign Service, is at serve for two years from the day they present India's High Commissioner to assume charge. Canada.

12 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 India-EU Seminar on Talent Mobility held in Pune, Maharashtra. APPOINTMENTS BL Santhosh to oversee the organisational elections in the party. JP has appointed BL Santosh Bas its general secretary. Mr Singh will be assisted by He is presently the party's joint three other party leaders. They general secretary. are Lok Sabha member Vinod Sonkar, former MP Hansraj The appointment comes after Ahir and Karnataka MLA CT Ram Lal was moved back to Ravi. Former the RSS after holding the post A g r i c u l t u r e of general secretary for over 13 Minister Radha years. B L Santosh's appointment Mohan Singh is comes into immediate effect. presently a Lok Sabha MP from Bihar. Before made a national office bearer in charge of southern states in Vivek Kumar 2014, he was the party's general secretary (organisation) for eight years in Karnataka. ndian Foreign Service officer IVivek Kumar is appointed Anshula Kant as Private Secretary to Prime nshula Kant, Managing Minister Narendra Modi. ADirector of State Bank of According to an official order India, has been appointed as MD the decison was taken by the and Chief Financial Officer of Appointments Committee of the the World Bank. Ms Kant will be Cabinet, headed by the Prime responsible for financial and risk Minister. management of the organisation. Mr Kumar, a 2004 batch IFS Her work will include oversight officer, is currently working as of financial reporting, risk the Director in the Prime Minister's Office. management, and working Mr Kumar's appointment will come into closely with the World Bank effect from the day of the assumption of CEO on the mobilization of the International Development charge. Association (IDA) and other financial resources. IDA is Sanjeev Kumar the part of the World Bank that helps the world's poorest Singla countries. enior diplomat Sanjeev The World Bank was created at the 1944 Kumar Singla has been Bretton Woods Conference along with the S appointed as the next Indian International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Ambassador to Israel. president of the World Bank is, traditionally, an American. The World Bank and the IMF Mr Singla who is a 1997-batch are both based in Washington, D.C., and Indian Foreign Service officer, work closely with each other. was serving as Private Secretary to Prime Minister. Upender Radha Mohan Singh Singh Rawat has been named as the JP President Amit Shah appointed senior party leader Indian Ambassador to the Republic of BRadha Mohan Singh as the National Election Officer Panama.

11th India Stonemart will be organised in Jaipur in 2021. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 13 THE PEOPLE AWARDS RedInk Award Jhia" a new scheme on the line of BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO from 2015. Under this scheme, 416 girls from achna Khaira BPL families of 66 villages of Anugul, Damanjodi and of The Tribune R Potangi area in Anugul and Koraput district.s have been News Service has adopted by Company. bagged prestigious RedInk Award for for These girls are reading in 45 different Excellence in Indian schools. Under this scheme. The Company Journalism ‘Journalist is bearing all the expenditure for education of the Year’ 2019 for and promotion of talent from 8th to 10th her expose during 2018 class. The employees of the company have on functioning of the now joined the scheme. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and its Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships Aadhaar data cache. aestro Zakir Investigation conducted by Rachna Khaira confirmed that H u s s a i n personal data of millions of citizens was at risk of being and dancer hacked/traded for a price. The series of sting operations run M Sonal Mansingh are by journalist helped to raise serious doubts over government among the four eminent claims that Aadhaar data stored on UIDAI servers was safe personalities who have and secure. been selected for the RedInk Awards for Excellence in Indian Journalism prestigious Sangeet The Red Ink awards are a set of annual awards which Natak Akademi were instituted by The Mumbai Press Club in 2010. 2019 Fellowships in the field Lifetime Achievement Award– was jointly awarded to two of performing arts. retired senior journalists- Dinu Ranadive (94) who retired The two other personalities are dancer and choreographer from Maharashtra Times: He covered Goa freedom struggle Jatin Goswami and Bharatnatyam exponent (1961), Bangladesh war (1970-71) and broke stories on K.Kalyanasundaram Pillai. The decision on the names was cement scandal (1982). Sebastian D’Souza, taken at the General Council meeting of the Sangeet Natak Photojournalist who served as Photo Editor Akademi last month. for Mumbai Mirror: He achieved acclaim Forty-four artistes were also selected from the field of for his photographs that captured Lashkar- Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional, Folk, Tribal Music, e-Taiba (LeT) terror attack on Mumbai on Dance, and Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution or 26 November 2008. scholarship in the Performing Arts for the Sangeet Natak President’s award for CSR in social Akademi Awards for the year 2018. development The artistes include, Mani Prasad in Hindustani Vocal, Tarun Bhattacharya for Hindustani Instrumental - Santoor, d i s h a - b a s e d Radha Sridhar for Bharatanatyam, Akham Lakshmi Devi Navaratna Company O for Manipuri, Rajiv Naik for Playwriting and Malini NALCO has been selected Awasthi in Folk Music. The 44 artistes for President's award for include three joint awards. utilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility The awards will be conferred by the (CSR) fund in social President at a special development. NALCO investiture ceremony. started a scheme "Aliali SAARC Film Festival Jhia" in 2015. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has also praised the CMD of ndian entries won six awards including the Best Feature NALCO, Tapan Chand who started the scheme to adapt and IFilm for the movie Nagarkirtan at the 9th SAARC promote the poor and talented girls for education. Film Festival held in Colombo. Kaushik Ganguly got Best Director Award for Bengali film. Riddhi Sen won To promote the education of Girls of BPL families, the best actor award for the movie while Prabuddha NAVARATNA Company NALCO has started "Aliali

14 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 20th meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in New Delhi. AWARDS Banerjee won Best This series of transformative experiences was brought alive Original Score at the through unique storytelling in the format of autobiographies film Festival. of travellers, with the tagline “Find the Incredible You. SAARC Cultural PATA Gold Awards are given to tourism Centre organised the industry organizations and individuals SAARC Film Festival making an outstanding contribution for the 9th consecutive towards the successful promotion of the year in 2019 in Sri travel industry throughout the Asia Pacific Lanka. The SAARC Region. Film Festival 2019 focused on films created in South Asia and first screened after 1st May 2017. Directors and artistes David Malin Awards of these films were invited to participate in the workshop, oint winners which was conducted to encourage and improve future Jhave taken out productions. the David Malin There was three film categories open for nominations at the Awards — Australia's SAARC Film Festival 2019: most prestigious astrophotography honour ## Feature Films — for the first time in the ## Short Films event's 16-year history. ## Master Films The Central West Astronomical Society PATA award (CWAS) hosted this year's awards ceremony on the eve he "Find the of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing TIncredible You" beneath the grand CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope. campaign of the The judge — renowned scientific image- Tourism Ministry, has maker David Malin after whom the awards won the Pacific Asia were named — praised the quality of Travel Association the 261 space-related photographs and (PATA) Gold Award, animated sequences which were submitted. 2019. The campaign focuses on digital and Arthur C Clarke award social media and the ritish Yoruba promotion of niche tourism products of the country. This Bauthor Tade year's awards attracted 198 entries from 78 organisations Thompson has won and individuals worldwide. the Arthur C Clarke The campaign won the award under the "Marketing - award, the UK’s most Primary Government Destination" category. prestigious prize for science fiction novels, The Ministry of Tourism, as part of its promotional for Rosewater, his alien initiatives, annually releases Global Media Campaigns invasion novel set in a under the 'Incredible India' brand-line in the television, future Africa. Opening print, digital and social media platforms, in key and in 2066, in the aftermath of an alien invasion that has left potential source markets overseas. much of humanity powerless through airborne microscopic To take the campaigns to the next level, the 'Incredible fungal spores, Rosewater is the name of a new town that India 2.0' campaign was launched in September 2017. forms on the outskirts of an alien biodome dropped in As part of the 2.0 campaign, five new television commercials rural Nigeria. The opens just once a year, heals all were produced by the ministry, which were aired globally nearby sick people, gives new life to the dead and begins on television and social media. The campaign strategy to influence people in unusual ways. The alien presence was to shift the focus from the external experience of has also awakened telepathic skills among select humans, tourist destinations to the internal experience of travellers dubbed “sensitives”, and the novel follows one, Kaaro, themselves. who investigates when other sensitives begin to die.

India's Pankaj Advani won the 35th men's Asian Snooker Championship to complete a career grand SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA slam in cue sports. 15 THE PEOPLE AWARDS Rosewater was shortlisted alongside Iraqi novelist Ahmed The southpaw had missed the Award function last year Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad, which was nominated owing to international commitments. for the Man Booker International prize. After being awarded the ODI Player of the Year by ICC, this Thompson received a trophy and the £2,019 is yet another feather in the cap for the talented batsman. She has already registered 1951 runs in the format at a prize – the winnings are adjusted annually splendid average of 42.41. to match the year – at a ceremony in Foyles bookshop in central London. After a memorable season that saw the 22-year-old reach the top of the ODI New Zealander of the rankings, Mandhana is looking forward to Year award the upcoming cricketing season that starts in September as the South Africa series espite breaking approaches. DKiwi hearts at IAAF Veteran Pin Lord's, Ben Stokes has been nominated for the ormer Olympic New Zealander of the track and Year award. Stokes, 28, Ffield athlete P was man of the match T Usha nominated as England beat New for the International Zealand in a dramatic Association of final. But the all-rounder was born in New Zealand before Athletics Federations moving to England when he was 12 - and it seems some Veteran Pin the Kiwis still see him as their own. Olympic track for her The New Zealand public nominates "inspirational Kiwis" long and meritorious service to the cause of World Athletics for the award - those who they believe have made a She will receive the pin during the opening ceremony of the "significant contribution to our nation and make us proud 52nd IAAF Congress in Doha. About PT Usha P. T. Usha of our country". born in the village of Payyoli, Kozhikode District, Kerala Awards: Padma Shri, Arjuna Award for Athletics. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has also been About PT Usha nominated and will likely prove tough opposition for Stokes after he was named player of the tournament at Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha is a retired Indian the World Cup. The award is in its 11th year and previous track and field athlete. She has been associated with Indian winners include former New Zealand rugby union captain athletics since 1979. She is often called the "queen of Richie McCaw, filmmaker Taika Waititi and mental health Indian track and field". She represented India in 4 x 100 campaigner Mike King. metres relay together with Rachita Mistry, E. B. Shyla, and Saraswati Saha at the 1998 Asian Championships in Nominations close in September before a Athletics where her team won the gold medal on way to judging panel will create a shortlist on 10 setting the current national record of 44.43 s. Usha has won candidates to be announced in December. 101 international medals. She is employed as an officer The final winner will be announced at an in the Southern Railways. In 1984, she was conferred the awards ceremony in February. Padma Shri and the Arjuna Award. Currently she coaches young athletes at her training academy in Kerala, including Arjuna Award Tintu Lukka, who qualified for the women's semi-final 800m at the London 2012 Olympics. ndian opener Smriti Mandhana Iwas conferred with the Arjuna Currently she is committee head of Indian Award by the Union Sports and Talent organization which conducts the Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijeju National Level Indian Talent Olympiad in a ceremony held in New Delhi. examinations in schools across India.

16 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Veer Chotrani’s has won the Under-19 title at the Asian Junior Championship in Macau, China. OBITUARY Mohan Ranade popular presenter of Western Music in AIR Kolkata before eteran freedom fighter from shifting to AIR Delhi as an Goa and Padmashri Mohan V English Newsreader. He was with Ranade (89) died in Pune, after AIR News till 1999. President a prolonged illness. Ranade was Ram Nath Kovind has expressed a member of the Azad Gomantak grief over the demise of veteran Dal, a group of revolutionaries newsreader and extended his who believed in the doctrine condolences to the family. Barun of armed attacks against the Haldar was a well-known voice Portuguese colonial rule and from the golden age of radio participated in ambushes on and a familiar name for followers of All India Radio news several Portuguese installations bulletins. in Goa. Police stations were their major targets. Following his arrest in 1955 for an armed attack on Betim Hussain Ershad police station, the Sangli-born Ranade, who was undercover angladesh's former president as a Marathi school teacher in Goa, was sentenced to 26- BHussain Muhammad Ershad year imprisonment at Fort of Caxias near Lisbon. He was died due to complications from arrested after he received gunshot wounds to his lungs, old age at a hospital in Dhaka. from which he recovered. He served first five years in a He was 91. A former army chief, solitary confinement in Goa, after which he was tried in Ershad took over the state power Portugal. He served 14 years in prison on account of his in a bloodless coup in 1982 and struggle for Goa’s independence. subsequently ran the country for BK Birla eight years until he was forced to quit in a pro-democracy mass irla Group patriarch B.K upsurge in 1990. Birla passed away in MumbaiB at the age of 98. He Despite being imprisoned subsequently on several charges, had been suffering from age- Ershad emerged as one of the most powerful political related ailments. A doyen of the leaders in the 1990s after his Jatiya Party became the Indian industry, Mr. Birla was the country's third biggest political outfit. He was elected to chairman of Textiles and parliament several times, once contesting from the prison Industries and had been active even. in business since the age of 15. He was instrumental in a slew Sheila Dikshit of business initiatives, starting ikshit, a veteran politician, with his stint as the chairman of was the Delhi party chief Kesoram Industries. D during the Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Birla is survived by his daughters Manjushree Khaitan Recently, differences between and Jayshree Mohta, who run Kesoram Industries and Dikshit and All India Congress Jayshree Tea and Industries, respectively. His wife Sarala Committee (AICC) in-charge of Birla predeceased him in 2015. the national capital, PC Chacko, His only son Aditya Vikram Birla had died in 1995. Born came to the fore when the former in 1921, Birla was the youngest son of philanthropist had dissolved all 280 block-level Ghanshyam Das Birla. Mr. Birla was also the chairman of committees of the party and a the Krishnarpan Charity Trust, which runs an engineering day later, Chacko overturned the college named B K Birla Institute of Engineering and Technology at Pilani, Rajasthan and a patron of 25 decision. educational institutions across the country. Sheila Dikshit was an Indian politician who was the longest serving Chief Minister of Delhi, serving for a Barun Haldar period of 15 years from 1998 to 2013. Dikshit led Congress eteran Newsreader of All India Radio Barun Haldar party for three consecutive electoral victories in Delhi. Vpassed away in Kolkata. He was 85. Haldar was a In the December 2013 elections to the Delhi Legislative Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend the 14th G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan from 28th to 29th SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA June. 17 THE PEOPLE OBITUARY Assembly, Dikshit was defeated in New Delhi constituency Center in Florida in 2015. His goal was to go into suborbital by Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who replaced flight, during which he would experience weightlessness. her as Delhi's chief minister. He was nicknamed “Afronaut” and “Spaceboy” in his Subsequently, she was sworn in as of Kerala on home country. 11 March 2014. However, she resigned on 25 August 2014. Fernando Corbató She had been declared as Chief Ministerial candidate for the Indian National Congress in the 2017 ernando “Corby” Corbató, Legislative Assembly election; however she later withdrew. Fan MIT professor emeritus She was appointed as president of Delhi Pradesh Congress whose work in the 1960s on time- Committee on January 10, 2019. sharing systems broke important ground in democratizing the use Mandla Maseko of computers, died on July 12, South African man who had at his home in Newburyport, Awon a competition to become Massachusetts. He was 93. the first black African to go to Decades before the existence space has died in a motorbike of concepts like cybersecurity crash. Mandla Maseko, 30, was and the cloud, Corbató led the killed in Pretoria. development of one of the world’s first operating systems. Maseko won the opportunity in His “Compatible Time-Sharing System” (CTSS) allowed an international competition to multiple people to use a computer at the same time, greatly get a place in the Axe Apollo increasing the speed at which programmers could work. Space Academy and spent a week It’s also widely credited as the first computer system to use in training at the Kennedy Space passwords.

Pranati Nayak won the bronze medal in vault event at the Senior Asian Artistic Championships in MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 18 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. NATIONAL NEWS BITES Burning Topics of the Month

Government to launch All panchayats to have BS-VI emission norms to Universal Smart Card Broadband Connectivity be implemented across Driving License. by March 2020 India.

& Many More...

Indian Navy to build 6 submarines Parliament in New Delhi. The new government decided to widen the spectrum of the 'Khelo India Programme' to 21 June' 19 cover the entire country. ndian Navy issued an ‘Expression of Interest’ Under this programme, 2,500 talented players have for shortlisting potential strategic partners. The been selected and are being trained. This facility will Iconstruction of six P-75 (I) submarines costing be provided to 2,500 new players every year. It was nearly `45,000 crore. This is the second project being important to unearth talents from across the undertaken under the latest Strategic Partnership (SP) country and their selection process made Model. The procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters transparent in order to make India a global (NUH) are obtained recently. They provide a major boost sports powerhouse. It also stressed the to the indigenous design and construction capability of importance of strengthening the existing submarines in India. The latest submarine design and sports infrastructure in the country. technologies as part of the project. NHA and ICICI Foundation signed an ‘Make in India’ issued the Expression of Interest(s) for shortlisting of potential Indian Strategic Partners (SPs) for MOU 22 June' 19 construction of six conventional submarines for P-75(I) ational Health project of the Indian Navy on June 20. A u t h o r i t y The case was approved by the Defence (NHA) and Acquisition Council on January 31. The NICICI Foundation Expression of Interest (EoI) for shortlisting for Inclusive Growth of Indian strategic partners been uploaded signed a Memorandum on the Defence Ministry and Navy websites. Understanding (MoU) to train 15,000 state Government to widen the spectrum of and district personnel. They are trained for Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitra scheme. Khelo India Programme 21 June' 19 They are to provide the of health services under resident Ram Ayushman Bharat Scheme for a period of one year. Nath Kovind The main aim is to check the capacity building of Ph i g h l i g h t e d health personnel. The state personnel are assigned the importance of the responsibility to implement the scheme in their the government's respective states. Arogya Mitras, the flagship 'Khelo health service professionals are present India Programme'. at each empanelled hospital. lCICl The joint sitting of Academy for Skills conducts the training the two Houses of programme at its 20 centres.

Shefali Juneja was appointed as India's representative in the council of International Civil Aviation SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA Organisation (ICAO). 19 NEWS BITES NATIONAL IIIDEM (ECI) organises Capacity The school was founded in 1964 by Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati and is known for varieties of Yoga techniques. Building Program On Electoral Japan Yoga Niketan of Japan: Organisation Category Technology 22 June' 19 –International ndia International Institute of Democracy and Election It was established in 1980 and since then has been a torch- Management (IIIDEM) (ECI) organized a five-day bearer of Yoga in Japan. The Yoga Institute runs many high Itraining program. The program on Use of Technology quality Yoga training and therapy courses through which in Elections for Election Officials of Union Election Yoga have developed roots in Japan. Commission of Myanmar. The Capacity Building Programs In 2016, on occasion of 2nd International Day of Yoga on Electoral technology is the 7th program of 09 programs celebrations at Chandigarh, PM Narendra Modi had scheduled across 2018-2019. announced institution of awards for promotion and Election Commissioner of India Sushil development of Yoga. The guidelines for awards were Chandra shared the need of sharing best developed by AYUSH Ministry and Nominations for practices of Elections among Election awards were invited through open advertisement. Two Management Bodies. Their aim is to committees constituted were- Screening strengthen the democracy around the world Committee (for preliminary evaluation) and and create transparency. Evaluation Committee (Jury). Awardees will be felicitated with Trophy, Certificate PM Yoga Awards 2019 22 June' 19 and Cash Prize of Rs.25 lakh each. he Prime Jaipur Foot Korea: launched by M i n i s t e r ’ s Korean Ambassador to India A w a r d s T 24 June' 19 for outstanding contribution for ong-kil Shin, Promotion and South Korean Development of Ambassador Yoga 2019 were B to India launched announced by the Jaipur Foot Korea, Ministry of AYUSH (Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & a collaborative Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy). PM’s initiative between Awards for Outstanding Contribution for Promotion and South Korea (or Development of Yoga -2019. Award Recipients in various Republic of Korea) categories- and Bhagwan Swami Rajarshi Muni of Life Mission, Gujarat: Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), a Jaipur- Individual Category- National based prosthetic limb non-profit organisation. Swami is a practicing Yogi from Limbdi, Gujarat and is Republic of Korea (ROK) ambassador to India signed also spiritual Head and Chairman of Gujarat’s Lakulish an agreement with BMVSS for providing assistance in Yoga University, an institution that facilitates students to prosthetic limbs sector. Under the agreement ROK will excel in Yoga and to explore its different facets. provide financial and technical assistance to further research Antonietta Rozzi of Italy: Individual Category – and development (R&D) collaboration, technology transfer International and facilitate and develop business between India and Korea in med-tech (medical technology) sector specifically She is a practicing Yoga Teacher from Lerici, Italy with in area of prosthetic limbs, bionic arms, 3-D printing-based more than 42 years of experience in Yoga. Her work has Flat foot solution and mobility solutions. supplemented recognition to Yoga as a promising academic field and to Yoga Therapy as a viable healing system in About Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti Europe. BMVSS is the world’s largest organisation rehabilitating Bihar School of Yoga, Munger: Organisation Category more than 1.78 million disabled. It is a pan-Indian – National organisation having over 23 branches across country. It

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project 20 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 (KLIP) worth Rs 80,000 crore. NATIONAL provides all its assistance, such as artificial limbs, calipers Sister City Partnership: and many other aids/appliances with everything being totally free of charge. It was registered as a society under and Kobe 26 June' 19 Rajasthan Societies Registration Act on March 29, 1975 Letter of Intent (LoI) was exchanged between with its headquarters at Jaipur (India). Ahmedabad and Japanese city of Kobe for a sister About Jaipur Foot Acity partnership. The LoI was exchanged in presence It is a and durable prosthetic limb/ of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Kobe artificial limb. It is a rubber-based prosthetic to address a large Indian diaspora event. Authorities from leg for people with below-knee amputations. Japanese city of Kobe exchanged Letter of Intent (LoI) with Being inexpensive it is widely acceptable as their counterparts in Ahmedabad for Ahmedabad-Kobe prosthesis and has been widely used in India. Sister City Partnership. This development will further pave the way for an enhanced economic relationship as well as Government to launch Universal a cultural exchange between two vibrant cities as well as Smart Card Driving License between India and Japan. 25 June' 19 In November 2016, PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe inked a sister-state relationship nion Ministry Memorandum of Understanding for Gujarat and Hyogo of Road prefecture, a Japanese prefecture in Kansai region of UTransport and Japan’s main island, Honshu. Kobe is capital city of Highways (MoRTH) Hyogo. During his visit, Modi had also visited a bullet train has decided to modify plant in Kobe. MoU then signed was sought to promote the format of driving mutual cooperation between Gujarat and Hyogo in fields of licenses to smart card academics, cultural cooperation, business, environmental type driving licences protection and disaster management. so as to follow a standardised format nationwide. What is a sister city? Key Highlights The sister cities or twin towns concept is a legal and social Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport and Highways Minister agreement between towns, cities, oblasts, counties, provinces, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha, notified that MoRTH prefectures, states, regions between two different countries has prescribed a common standard format and design of to promote cultural as well as commercial ties. This plan Driving Licence for Pan India. Around 30% of Indians was conceived after World War II ended so as to promote drive with fake or bogus licenses. Police reports in just of peaceful coexistence and to encourage trade and tourism. Delhi NCR region suggests that, cases of underage driving India has signed sister city agreements with: have jumped to 589% and in 1st 15 days of January 2019, China, Australia, United States, South Korea 61 unpermitted juvenile cases were registered and issued (RoK), Russia, Canada, Germany, Belarus, with challans. A report from Nissan India and road safety , Hungary, , Bangladesh, NGO SaveLIFE Foundation highlighted worrying part of Lithuania and Portugal. underage driving. Thus, ministry’s move to this new format is expected to help curb this situation to some extent. Healthy States, Progressive India: SARATHI NITI Aayog’s Health Index 2019 The application is developed by NIC (National Informatics 27 June' 19 Centre). It has a common countrywide database of all driving license holders, with almost 15 crore driving license ITI Aayog has released the 2nd edition of report records being available in its central repository, which is a titled “Healthy States, Progressive India: Report part of National Registry. SARATHI has a unique feature to Non Rank of States and UTs”. The report has been identify duplicate records in real time online prepared in collaboration with Union Ministry of Health basis and can also access information about and Family Welfare along with technical assistance from challans if any, this then facilitates licencing World Bank. The current edition of health index accounts authority that offender drivers do not get a for period 2015-16 (base year) to 2017-18 (reference duplicate driving licence. year).

Fourth National Yoga Olympiad concluded at New Delhi. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 21 NEWS BITES NATIONAL Key Findings of Report Suggestions: Centre should spend 2.5% of Gross Domestic Categories: The Product (GDP) on healt and state governments should ranking was done increase their spending on health from under 3 categories an average of 4.7% to 8% of their budget so as to ensure (net state domestic product) on health. comparison among Currently, India’s health spending is only similar entities. 1.15-1.5% of GDP. 1. Larger states– All panchayats to have Broadband Kerala has emerged as Connectivity by March 2020: Govt top ranking state while Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra emerged as 2nd and 3rd 27 June' 19 best states in terms of overall health performance respectively. avi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister Electronics and While , Rajasthan and Jharkhand are top 3 ranking Information Technology in a written reply in Lok States in terms of annual incremental performance. Sabha informed Parliament that all gram panchayats UP and Bihar, finished at bottom of List. Bihar occupied R will be provided high speed broadband connections under 2nd last position in ranking of 21 large states while UP BharatNet project by March 2020. As per the government, stayed static at bottom of rankings. as of today 128870 gram panchayats have been connected 2. Smaller states– Mizoram was ranked 1st followed by with optical fibre under BharatNet Project. Manipur on overall performance. While Tripura followed In Phase I of BharatNet project government connected by Manipur were ranked top two states in terms of annual 1 lakh gram panchayats and the Phase II of project is incremental performance. Sikkim and Arunchal Pradesh under implementation, and a total of 2 lakh GPs (gram had biggest decrease in overall Health Index scores. panchayats) are targeted to be completed by March 2020. 3. Union territories (UTs)- Chandigarh ranked 1st in BharatNet project seeks to provide affordable last mile high overall performance of Health India, while Dadra and speed broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats Nagar Haveli improved most among UT’s. Sikkim and across the country. Its obejective is to facilitate delivery Arunchal Pradesh had biggest decrease in overall Health of e-governance, e-education, e-health, Index scores. e-banking, Internet and other services to Empowered Action Group– contains 5 states namely, rural India. It is being funded by Universal Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Service Obligation Fund (USOF). It was set Odisha which saw decline in overall Health Index score up to improve telecom services in rural and between base year and reference year due to deterioration remote areas of country. of performances of several indicator. Parliament passes Special Economic Indicators: The decline is attributed to deterioration of performances of several indicators such as total fertility Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 rate (TFR), low birth weight, sex ratio at birth, TB 28 June' 19 (tuberculosis) treatment success rate, quality accreditation of public health facilities, time taken for NHM (National arliament has Health Mission) fund transfer etc. passed Special E c o n o m i c Positive Correlation: was found between Health Index P Zones (Amendment) scores and economic development levels of States and Bill, 2019 to allow UTs as measured by per-capita Net State Domestic Product trusts to establish (NSDP). units in Special Wide Gap between Performances: Among large states, Economic Zone overall Health Index score of best-performing state is more (SEZs). It was first than 2.5 times that of overall score of least-performing legislation to be passed by newly-constituted 17th Lok state. States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have already Sabha. It replaces Special Economic Zone (Amendment) reached 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target Ordinance 2019 promulgated March 2019 and amends for neonatal mortality rate (NMR), which is 12 neonatal SEZ Act 2005. deaths per 1,000 live births.

22 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Third Indo-French cyber dialogue was held in Paris. NATIONAL Salient features of Bill Barring interest on savings deposits, which has been It amends definition of “person” under Section 2(v) of the retained at 4 per cent annually, rate on all other schemes has SEZ Act 2005 to include ‘trusts’. Apart from trusts, it also been slashed by 0.1 per cent. On the basis of the decision includes any entity that central government may notify of the government, interest rates for small savings schemes from time to time in the definition of ‘person’. are to be notified on a quarterly basis. Section 3(2) of SEZ Act, 2005 PPF and NSC will fetch an annual interest rate of 7.9 per cent from the existing rate of 8 per cent, while Kisan Vikas The proposal for establishment of SEZ can be made by Patra will yield 7.6 per cent with a maturity of 113 months. any “person”. Currently, person under Section 2(v) of the SEZ Act 2005 is defined as individual, whether resident At present, the interest rate on KVP is 7.7 per cent and in India or outside India, Hindu undivided family, co- maturity is 112 months. The girl child savings scheme operative society, company (whether incorporated in Sukanya Samriddhi Account will fetch a India or outside India), proprietary, firm, lower return of 8.4 per cent from 8.5 per concern, or association of persons or body cent. The interest rate for the five-year of individuals, whether incorporated or Senior Citizens Savings Scheme will now not, local authority and any agency, office fetch a lower rate of interest at 8.6 per cent or branch owned or controlled by such from 8.7 per cent. individual. 58 Railway stations of NE Frontier Go Tribal campaign launched Railway provided with free Wi-Fi 28 June' 19 services 28 June' 19

ribal Affairs s many as M i n i s t r y 58 railway Tand Trifed Astations of has launched go North East Frontier tribal campaign in Railway have been association with provided with free Amazon Global. The Wi-Fi services for collaboration aims to the passenger. Free create awareness and Wi-Fi services to promote tribal arts and crafts as well as aid in socio-economic passengers are being provided under ‘RailWire’ brand- the welfare of over 700 Indian tribes. Through this initiative the retail Broadband initiative of RailTel. In the last month government want to promote the tribal communities and alone, the total user logins were 2.35 crore their art while helping them to go global and providing them in1600 stations across India. Inspired by the opportunities to attain a sustainable livelihood. vision of Digital India, Indian Railways and The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of RailTel created a plan to transform stations India (TRIFED) came into existence in 1987. It is a national- into digital inclusion platform by providing level apex organization functioning under the administrative fast free public Wi-Fi at stations. control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. Colour-coded label for packaged of India. TRIFED has its registered and Head Office located in New Delhi and has food products 28 June' 19 a network of 13 Regional Offices located at ackaged food various places in the country. companies will Govt cuts interest rate on small savings Pbe required to label high fat, sugar schemes by 0.1 pc 28 June' 19 and salt content levels he government has reduced interest rate on small on the front side of savings schemes, including the National Savings the package with red- Certificate and Public Provident Fund, by 0.1 per colour-coding. As per T the draft regulations cent for the July-September quarter.

First international theatre festival of Bangladesh was held in Dhaka. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 23 NEWS BITES NATIONAL proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of The World Bank loan will support the Andhra Pradesh India, FSSAI, the idea behind the new labelling regulations government to scales-up its efforts to is to enable citizens to know more about the composition bring better health care to all its citizens, of food products. especially pregnant women and those at FSSAI’s new labelling and display regulations is ready for risk of non-communicable diseases, like draft notification. It has invited suggestions and objections hypertension, diabetes and cervical cancer. from stakeholders within 30 days from the publication of the draft regulations. BS-VI emission norms to be implemented across India 28 June' 19 According to the proposed draft, the packaged food companies will have to S-VI emission norms will be implemented across declare nutritional information such as the country next year which will drastically calories, saturated fat and added sugar on reduce vehicular pollution. From next year, BS-VI the front of the pack. B compliant vehicles will be available and the move will help reduce 90 per cent vehicular pollution. Due to the opening Indigenously developed nuclear- of the peripheral expressway in Delhi, over 60 thousand capable missile Prithvi-II test fired vehicles which earlier used to pass through the national successfully 28 June' 19 capital are now going to their destinations without coming to Delhi. he trial of The government has installed air pollutant monitor system the surface- in over 3500 industries. Air pollutant PM10 Tt o - s u r f a c e level has reduced by 16 per cent and PM2.5 missile, which has by 15 per cent in the national capital because a strike range of of the measures taken by the government to 350 km, was carried tackle the problem of air pollution. out from a mobile launcher from JNPT awarded ‘Best Port of the year Launch Complex- 29 June' 19 III of the Integrated Test Range, ITR at Chandipur. The (Containerised) missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1000 he Jawaharlal kg of warheads and is powered by liquid Nehru Port propulsion twin engines. TTrust (JNPT), Prithvi-II was also successfully test-fired the number one on 21st February, last year from the ITR at container Port in Chandipur. the country added another feather to India signs loan agreement of USD its cap, winning 328M with World Bank for Andhra the ‘Best Port of the Year- Containerised’ award at the 4th India Maritime 28 June' 19 Pradesh Award ’19. The Port won this coveted stature midst some of he agreement which was signed in New Delhi the best Ports in the country, being nominated in the same between the Government of India, Andhra Pradesh category. The JNPT also received a special felicitation for Tand the World Bank will help to improve the quality its thirty years of glorious service to the maritime sector. and responsiveness of public health services in Andhra The category ‘Best Port of Year’ evaluates the Ports across Pradesh. various parameters like Volume Handled, Year on Year Maternal mortality ratio in the state declined by 52 per Growth, Expansion Plans, New Initiatives, Variety of Cargo cent and infant mortality fell to 35 per one thousand live Handled, Handling Equipment, E- Business and Customer births from 54. Ninety-three percent of women now opt Satisfaction, to name a few. JNPT showed remarkable for institutional deliveries in the state. Non-communicable growth across all these parameters, be it crossing the diseases are on the rise and form 60 per cent of Andhra's 5 Million TEUs milestone in container handling for a burden of disease. financial year or the various projects underway such as

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has adopted a historic global treaty against violence and MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 24 harassment in the workplace. NATIONAL the on-going development of the 4th Terminal, the mega to shortlisted Indian shipyards. The RFP for Air Cushion road infrastructure development project, dredging of the Vehicles also includes the initial requirement for six ACVs navigational channel, development of Dry of the . In addition to these, a few more RFPs Ports, JNPT –SEZ project, automation & for more ship building projects are likely to be issued in the digitization of services and many similar next few months. initiatives focused on Port expansion and An exercise was undertaken by the Ministry along enhancing operational efficiency. with Indian Navy and Coast Guard in order to make the process of qualifying the shipyards for the issue of RFPs One nation, one ration card' by June more objective. Further, in order to encourage smaller 2020 29 June' 19 shipyards, participation in the projects with the anticipated annual outflow of less overnment than 75 crore rupees has been restricted to is all set to smaller shipyards having an average annual Gimplement turnover less than 500 crore rupees. one nation-one ration card scheme across SAT imposes fine on SEBI for alleged the country by the end of June next year. lapses in ruling 01 July' 19 The new mechanism he Securities will ensure that no A p p e l l a t e poor person is deprived of Public Distribution System, PDS Tribunal, (SAT) entitlement if the person shifts from one place to another. T has imposed a fine on The system will also help to remove fake ration card regulator Securities holders. Ten states - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, and Exchange Board Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, of India, SEBI for an Telangana and Tripura are already providing portability adjudicating officer's of PDS entitlements. Arrangements are being made to order that resulted in ensure that by the 15th of August this litigation and harassment for a former official of BGIL Films year, beneficiaries of Andhra Pradesh and and Technologies. It is a rare instance wherein the SAT has Telangana will be able to take ration from penalized the regulator for alleged lapses. either state. Similarly, the beneficiaries of Gujarat and Maharashtra can take ration SEBI had imposed a penalty of 50 thousand rupees for from each other's state. alleged lapses in making disclosures under the insider trading norms last year. According to the tribunal, in Defence Ministry issues RFPs for spite of this admitted position and the adjudicating officer acquisition of ships, craft worth Rs observing that a benefit of doubt should be given to the appellant, the adjudicating officer still imposed a penalty 15,000 cr 01 July' 19 of 50 thousand rupees. n a significant In an order, the tribunal said the appellant d e v e l o p m e n t , had to undergo this litigation and face Ministry of harassment for almost one-and-a-half years I and that a substantial portion was spent Defence has issued four shipbuilding towards fee paid to an advocate for drafting Requests for the appeal. Proposal, RPF amounting to 15,000 Nationwide Jal Shakti Abhiyan to be crore rupees for the launched 01 July' 19 acquisition of various ships and craft for the Navy and the Coast Guard. The RFP for six Next Generation Missile al Shakti Abhiyan will be launched across the country Vessels has been issued to seven shipyards, RFPs for from to accelerate water harvesting and conservation eight Fast Patrol Vessels, twelve Air Cushion Vehicles and Jmeasures. The scheme is aimed at making water eight Missile-cum-Ammunition Barges have been issued conservation and promotion of irrigation efficiency a mass

Head priest of shrine, Ghulam Hassan Banday, died. He was 80. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 25 NEWS BITES NATIONAL movement through asset creation and communication needs. The KCC campaigns. Over 250 officers, including Additional and facility will help Joint Secretaries, have been appointed as in-charge of fisheries and animal water-stressed districts in the country to plan ways to husbandry farmers to conserve the natural resource. They have been appointed meet their short term as Central Prabhari Officers of 255 water-stressed districts credit requirements for coordinating the Jal Shakti Abhiyan. These teams of rearing of animals, will visit identified blocks and districts, and coordinate poultry birds and the implementation of various water harvesting and other aquatic conservation measures. organisms and capture of fish. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had Under Kisan Credit Card facility, for the existing KCC called upon people to start a mass movement holders the credit limit is three lakh rupees to meet their for water conservation and resolve to save working capital requirements. Under KCC, interest every drop of water amidst water scarcity in subvention is available for animal several parts of the country. husbandry and fisheries farmers at the rate of two per cent per annum at the time of Govt to raise health services disbursal of loan and additional interest expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025 subvention of three per cent per annum in case of prompt repayment. 02 July' 19

he govt. has Parliament passes Homoeopathy set a target to Central Council (Amendment) Bill, Traise health 2019 02 July' 19 services expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the he tenure has been extended since the council country's GDP by could not be reconstituted within one year due to 2025. The National Tnon-updation of state registers of homeopathy. Health Policy 2017 The legislation will replace the ordinance promulgated envisages increasing in this regard. Under the bill, the affairs of the Central the public health expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the GDP Homeopathy Council have been entrusted to a Board of by 2025. The policy recommends that State governments Governors comprising eminent and qualified homeopathy should spend more than 8 per cent of their budget on the doctors and eminent administrators till such a time the health sector by 2020. The government proposes to set up Council is reconstituted. The legislation will ensure 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres by 2022 under the promotion of quality education and research in the field Ayushman Bharat programme. Of this 18,000-19,000 have of Homoeopathy. The legislation will put a check on already been established. flourishing of fake colleges. These centres will boost healthcare facilities in the rural The government has decided to set up 50 bedded Ayush as well as urban areas. The government Hospital in every district of the country. announced 4 per cent health and education Approval has been given to open more cess in place of 3 per cent education cess on than 150 such hospitals. The government personal income tax and corporation tax to has decided to set up over one lakh Health cater to the education and health needs of and Wellness Centres and 10 per cent of the poor and rural families. total Centre will have AYUSH doctors. Govt extends Kisan Credit Card Parliament passes Central facility to fisheries, animal husbandry Educational Institutions (Reservations sector 02 July' 19 in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill 03 July' 19

overnment has extended the facility of Kisan Credit he bill seeks to provide for the reservation of posts Card (KCC) to fisheries and animal husbandry in appointments by direct recruitment of persons Gfarmers to help them meet their working capital Tbelonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes 26 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Justice V Ramasubramanian appointed as the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. NATIONAL and educationally backward classes and economically Aadhaar is in national interest and it does not violate privacy weaker sections to teacher’s cadre in Central Educational of any Individual. There is no mandatory compliance to Institutions. The bill will replace the Ordinance promulgated have Aadhaar card to avail the benefits of government in this regard. schemes. Participating in the discussion, Manoj Jha of RJD stressed Aadhaar is getting appreciation globally and many on the need to remove institutional discrimination. He countries are showing interest to follow the India’s digital expressed concern over low representation identification scheme. The low cost technologies can of teachers belonging to SC, ST and OBC advance the country and Aadhaar is one such categories in forty Central Universities. technology developed by our scientists and Anil Desai of Shiv Sena supported the bill IT professional. The government respects saying that it will help fill up seven thousand the protection of individual’s Data and the vacant posts in 41 Central Universities. Data Protection law work is in progress and will come out shortly. 99% rural sanitation coverage in India 04 July' 19 Parliament passes Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019 nder Swachh 04 July' 19 B h a r a t UM i s s i o n arliament has passed the Indian Medical Council (Gramin), nine (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill seeks to supersede crore 62 lakh the Medical Council of India (MCI) for a period of individual household P two years with effect from 26 September, 2018, during toilets have been which the Board of Governors will exercise the powers and constructed so functions of MCI as assigned under the IMC Act, 1956. far. The sanitation coverage in the rural areas of the country has increased The bill aims at ensuring transparency, accountability to more than 99 per cent, which was over 38 per cent on and quality in the governance of medical education in the 2nd October 2014. 632 Districts, 30 States, over 2.50 lakh country. It also proposes to increase the number of members Gram Panchayats and five lakh 67 thousand 498 villages in the board of governors to twelve from the existing seven have been declared open defecation Free. members. The bill will replace the ordinance promulgated in this regard. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Swachh Bharat Mission is a nation-wide campaign in India for the The Board of Governors which replaced the Medical period 2014 to 2019 that aims to clean up Council of India has worked well in the last eight months and the streets, roads and infrastructure of India's taken a series of steps to improve medical cities, towns, and rural areas. The campaign's education in the country. 15 thousand more official name is in Hindi and translates to MBBS seats have been increased in 2019- "Clean India Mission" in English. 20 and it granted permission for opening of 37 new medical colleges out of which 12 Parliament passes Aadhaar and are private colleges. Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 Economic Survey 2018-19 05 July' 19 04 July' 19 he Economic he Bill also proposes giving a child an option to Survey 2018- exit from the biometric ID programme on attaining T19 projects T18 years of age. This Bill will make the use of GDP to grow at 7 Aadhaar for opening bank accounts and procuring mobile per cent in 2019-20. phone connections voluntary. More than 123 crore people The Indian economy of the country have been enrolled in Aadhaar and around is expected to grow 70 crore mobile phones are connected to Aadhaar number. at 6.8 per in 2018-19 2 crore 50 lakh Aadhaar authentications are done daily in while maintaining the country. macro-economic stability. International Olympic Committee (IOC) has lifted the sanctions imposed on India to host interna- SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA tional sporting events with immediate effect. 27 NEWS BITES NATIONAL ## The fiscal deficit has been pegged at 3.4 per cent reagents. On lentils, the duty has been increased from 40 of GDP for 2018-19. The survey has provisionally per cent to 50 per cent, on boric acid it has been increased estimated 2.9 per cent growth rate for the agriculture, from 17.5 per cent to 27.5 per cent and on forestry and fishing sector. diagnostic items from 20 per cent to 30 per ## 283.4 million Tonne food grain production has been cent. projected. The two statutory resolutions were moved ## Imports are slated to grow at 15.4 per cent while by Minister of State for Finance Anurag exports are projected to grow at 12.5 per cent for the Thakur. year 2018-19. Cabinet approves proposal to ## It has put forex reserves at 412.9 billion dollars for introduce Transgender Persons fiscal 2018-19. (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019 ## To achieve the vision, India needs to shift its gears to accelerate and sustain a real GDP growth rate of 8 per 10 July' 19 cent. he Union ## The theme of the survey is about enabling shifting Cabinet has of gears to sustained economic growth to achieve a 5 approved the trillion dollar economy by 2025. T proposal to introduce ## The survey has recommended creating a virtuous the Transgender cycle encompassing private investment, jobs, export Persons (Protection and demand. It states that the Indian economy has of Rights) Bill, 2019. performed well in the last five years. It will be introduced in the ensuing session # # The expenditure on Social Services by the Centre and of Parliament. The bill provides a mechanism for their States increased from 7.68 lakh crores in 2014-15 to social, economic, and educational empowerment. It will 13.94 lakh crore in 2018-19. benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate the ## The expenditure on education increased from 2.8 per stigma, discrimination and abuse against this marginalized cent to 3 per cent and expenditure on health increased section and bring them into the mainstream of society. from 1.2 per cent to 1.5 per cent from 2014-15 to 2018- This will lead to inclusiveness and make the 19. transgender persons productive members ## Under the PM KISAN 2019, around of society. The bill will also make all the 3 crore 10 lakh small farmers have stakeholders responsive and accountable received the first tranche of two for upholding the principles underlying the thousand rupees and two crore 10 lakh bill. farmers have got the second instalment, as on 23rd April this year. Lok Sabha passes New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill Parliament adopts resolution levying 10 July' 19 200% duty on Pakistani goods 08 July' 19 ok Sabha passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019 by voice vote. The bill arliament has adopted a statutory resolution for Lreplaces an Ordinance which was promulgated in levying 200 per cent duty on all goods originating March this year. It seeks to provide for the establishment Pin or exported from Pakistan. The Lok Sabha and and incorporation of New Delhi International Arbitration Rajya Sabha approved the amendment in the first schedule Centre, NDIAC for the purpose of creating an independent of the Custom Tariff Act in this regard. India had notified and autonomous regime for institutionalized arbitration. the basic custom duty to 200 per cent on all goods exported The legislation has provision to declare the NDIAC from Pakistan with effect from 16th of February 2019. as an institution of national importance for its overall Besides, the resolution related to increasing basic custom development as a major arbitration hub by promoting quick duty on lentils, boric acid and diagnostic and laboratory and efficient dispute resolution mechanism.

The air strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on a terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, was MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 28 code-named ‘Operation Bandar’. NATIONAL The proposed New Delhi International Arbitration Centre ## Mukhyamantri Rozgar Yojana announced to provide will be headed by a Chairperson, who one lakh jobs in the next five years. has been a judge of the Supreme Court ## State will open 50 new primary schools and eight new or a judge of a High Court or an eminent colleges. person, having special knowledge and experience in the conduct or administration ## *Compulsory defence training for girls enrolled in of the arbitration. primary and upper primary schools. ## Rs 10 crore allocated for Madrasa development fund. Rajasthan Budget 2019: Highlights ## State will utilise NABARD funds to stop additional 10 July' 19 water from Nahar Yojana flowing into Pakistan. ## No new tax proposed in the ## State announces to develop a cultural centre on the lines budget. of Indian International Centre in Delhi. ## Rs 10 crore ## Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announces allocated for to open Mohalla Clinics in the state. rehabilitation ## CM Ashok Gehlot presents Rajasthan centres. budget for the sixth time. ## Provision of one-time tax for vehicle owners. Cabinet approves bill to merge all ## Special investment zones along the Delhi-Mumbai labour laws into single code Industrial Corridor. 11 July' 19 # # Stamp duty exemption for projects under Rajasthan nion Cabinet Start-Up policy. has approved ## Freedom fighters, former MLAs, chairman of boards Ua bill to merge and commissions will be allowed to stay at Circuit 13 central labour laws Houses across the state and Rajasthan Bhawan in into a single code Delhi. which will apply to ## A provision of Rs 25 lakh for martyrs from August 1. all establishments employing 10 or ## Digital mapping of villages through remote sensing. more workers. This ## Free pilgrimage extended to Pashupatinath temple in consolidation can potentially benefit large sections of the Nepal. 40-crore workforce. The proposed Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, will enhance ## Digitization of offerings made in temples under coverage of workers manifold. The code will be applicable Devasthan board. to all business entities dealing in the port and mining sector ## Rajasthani Literature Festival announced. even if they have only one employee. ## CM announces mobile app to translate Rajasthani into The proposed changes are intended to improve ease of Hindi by Rajasthan State Archives Bikaner. business and giving enhanced protection ## State will identify one vehicle free zone in Jaipur to employees by mandating certain norms. walled city. The bill provides for a single licence regime for staffing firms, thus significantly ## Gehlot government renames the Environment improving their ease of doing business. Department to Environment and Climate Change Department. Defence Ministry signs MoU with IPFC ## Special assistance for the development of Ranthambore and NRDC 11 July' 19 National Park. ## Youth motivation program to provide scholarships and ntellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC), financial aid to state sportspersons. Department of Defence Production, Ministry of IDefence and National Research Development Canara Bank customers can deposit `50,000 cash for free only thrice a month and from the fourth SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA transaction there will be a charge from July 1. 29 NEWS BITES NATIONAL Corporation (NRDC), Ministry of Science and Technology, The amendment signed an MoU with a vision to bridge the capacity shortfall is expected to and provide a major fillip to the ongoing efforts of Ministry discourage the trend of Defence towards promoting a culture of Innovation and of child sexual Intellectual Property Rights IPR in Indian Defence industry. abuse by acting as a The step will be a boost to the Mission Raksha Gyan deterrent due to strong Shakti. It may be recalled that Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti penal provisions was launched with the aim to inculcate IP culture in Indian incorporated in the defence manufacturing ecosystem. Act. It intends to protect the interest of vulnerable children Under this mission, an IPFC has been established under the in times of distress and ensures their safety aegis of Directorate General Quality Assurance (DGQA) and dignity. The amendment is aimed to which has within a short span of a year establish clarity regarding the aspects of achieved the challenging target of training child abuse and punishment thereof. more than 12,000 personnel on IPR and facilitating the filing of more than 1000 Lok Sabha passes Central new IPR applications. Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2019 Cabinet approves PMGSY phase III 12 July' 19 11 July' 19 he Lok Sabha has passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by voice vote. The Bill he Cabinet seeks to establish two new universities- the Central C o m m i t t e e T University and the Central Tribal University in Andhra on Economic T Pradesh. Affairs has approved the launch of the third According to Human Resource Development Minister phase of the Pradhan Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the Universities will be set up Mantri Gram Sadak with a cost of 1700 crore rupees in four years in Andhra Yojana (PMGSY). Pradesh. Under PMGSY In the first phase, 450 crore rupees will be provided for third it is proposed to consolidate one lakh twenty-five the Central University and 420 crore rupees for the Central thousand-kilometre road length in the states. The scheme Tribal University. The government has accorded high would facilitate easy and faster movement to and from priority to strengthen the education system in the country. Gramin Agricultural markets. It will entail an estimated The NDA government has increased the budget of education cost of eighty thousand two hundred fifty from 67 thousand crore rupees in 2013-14 to 95 thousand crore rupees out of which the central share crore rupees this year. If thirty thousand crore rupees of will be fifty-three thousand eight hundred Higher Education Fund Agency budget is taken together crore rupees while the state would invest then the education budget will become to the tune of 1.25 twenty-six thousand four hundred fifty lakh crore rupees. crore rupees. University has proved Cabinet amended POCSO Act 2012 to be a very good institution in terms of research and the government will further 11 July' 19 enhance its standard. abinet has approved the Amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, Lok Sabha passes NIA (Amendment) CPOCSO, Act, 2012. It will make punishment Bill 2019 15 July' 19 more stringent for committing sexual crimes against children including the death penalty. The amendments also he Lok Sabha passed the National Investigation provide for levy of fines and imprisonment to curb child Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019. This bill will pornography. Tempower the investigating agency seek speedy trials and convictions.

Swiss Star Roger Federer defeated Belgium's David Goffin in straight sets to win his record 10th title MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 30 in the Halle ATP tournament. NATIONAL NIA was introduced in the absence of POTA to wipe out and they were ranked depending upon the Comprehensive terrorism from the country. Earlier, the NIA (Amendment) Environmental Pollution Index scores. Bill, 2019 was moved in the Lok Sabha. The amendment A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar will strengthen the investigation agency to speed up trials in Goel directed the CPCB to assess, in coordination with the terrorism-related cases. The Act is meant only to empower state pollution control boards, the quantum of compensation the NIA to counter terrorism without any to be recovered from polluting units for the compromise. The agency will be able period of last five years, taking into account to investigate terrorist acts against our the cost of restoration and cost of damage embassies and assets abroad and take up to the public health and environment and cases of drug, arms and women trafficking the deterrence element. apart from cyber-terrorism. Parliament passes National Over 1.28 Lakhs Gram Panchayats Investigation Agency (Amendment) linked with optical fibre 16 July' 19 Bill 18 July' 19 ver one lakh 28 thousand arliament has passed the National Investigation G r a m Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 with the Rajya OPanchayats are linked PSabha approving it unanimously. The Lok Sabha has with optical fibre under already passed the bill. The legislation aims at enhancing Bharat Net programme the jurisdiction of NIA to investigate scheduled offences and is uploading committed outside India targeting Indians as well as Indian photographic evidence assets abroad. The latest amendment will enable the NIA of the works taken up to additionally investigate offences related to human by them and assistance given to beneficiaries. trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism and offences under the Two lakh 19 thousand Gram Panchayats have uploaded Explosive Substances Act, 1908. their Development plan and the details of 16 lakh works taken up by them are on the website It also provides for constituting special courts for the trial ensuring transparency. of scheduled offences such as human trafficking and cyber terrorism. Replying to a debate on the bill, Home Minister On empowering Panchayats further, Amit Shah assured the House that the NIA will be able states which do not conduct local body to deal with the cases related to terrorism against Indian elections are not funded under the Finance citizens abroad and against the interest of the country. Commission. Since 2014, a total of 195 cases were registered by NIA, of NGT sets 3-month deadline to shut which charge- sheet was filed in 129 cases. Out of the 129 cases, judgement came in 44 cases and of them, punishment polluting industries across India were given in 41 cases. 184 accused have 16 July' 19 been convicted in these cases. he National The legislation will strengthen the legal Green Tribunal framework of NIA to counter-terrorism. has directed It will ensure harsher punishment for T terrorists. the Central Pollution Control Board, CPCB, to shut down Cabinet extends 15th Finance polluting industries Commission's term up to Nov 30 coming under 18 July' 19 "critically polluted" and "severely polluted" areas within three months. abinet has approved the extension of the On the basis of a study jointly carried out by the CPCB term of Fifteenth Finance Commission up to and state pollution control boards in 2009-10, industrial C30th November this year. It will enable the clusters were notified as Polluted Industrial Areas (PIAs) Commission to examine various comparable estimates

Pakistan's former foreign minister Abdul Sattar has died. He was 88. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 31 NEWS BITES NATIONAL for financial projections in view of reforms and the new The bill provides that the national entrance test that is realities to finalise its recommendations for the period NEET, common counselling, NEXT will also be applicable 2020-2025. to Institutes of National Importance (INIs) like AIIMS to Cabinet has also approved the proposed amendment to have common standards in the country. enable Fifteenth Finance Commission to address serious The Commission will regulate fee and all concerns regarding the allocation of adequate, secure other charges for 50 percent seats in private and non-lapsable funds for defence and internal security medical colleges and deemed universities. of India. Under the Terms of Reference, it is proposed to These measures will ensure a transparent ensure an assured allocation of resources towards defence admission process and also bring down and internal security imperatives. admission fee. The amendment provides that Fifteenth Finance Commission shall also examine whether a separate Parliament passes NDIAC Bill, 2019 mechanism for funding of defence and internal security 18 July' 19 ought to be set up and how such a mechanism could be operationalized. arliament has passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019, with the Rajya Sabha The Fifteenth Finance Commission was constituted by the approving it by a voice vote. The Lok Sabha has President on 27th November, 2017. It was to submit its P already passed the bill. It replaces an ordinance which was report on the basis of its Terms of Reference by 30th October promulgated in March this year. It seeks to provide for the this year covering a period of five years commencing from establishment and incorporation of New Delhi International 1st April, 2020. Arbitration Centre, NDIAC for the purpose of creating an The constitution of the Commission has been in the independent and autonomous regime for institutionalized backdrop of various major fiscal and budgetary reforms arbitration. introduced by the Centre in the past four years like the The legislation has provision to declare the NDIAC replacement of the Planning Commission as an institution of national importance for its overall by NITl Aayog and removal of distinction development as a major arbitration hub by promoting between Non-Plan and Plan expenditure. quick and efficient dispute resolution mechanism. The Terms of Reference of the Commission The government is keen to make the country a hub of takes into account these reforms. international and domestic arbitration. The proposed New Delhi International Arbitration Centre will be headed by a Cabinet approves setting up of chairperson who has been a judge of the Supreme Court or National Medical Commission a judge of a high court or an eminent person, having special replacing Medical Council of India knowledge and experience in the conduct or administration of arbitration. Institutional arbitration is being promoted 18 July' 19 across the world. he Union For infrastructural development in the Cabinet has country, foreign and domestic investment Ta p p r o v e d are required and there should be a proper National Medical redressal platform in case of disputes. Commission Bill, 2019. The bill Lok Sabha passes Protection of provides for setting Human Rights (Amendment) Bill up of a National 19 July' 19 Medical Commission in place of Medical Council of India and repeal the Indian he Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Medical Council Act 1956. Bill 2019 has been passed by voice vote in Lok The features of the bill include, the Common final year TSabha. MBBS Exams will be known as National Exit Test(NEXT) The Government is sensitive to the rights of humanity and which would serve as Licentiate Exam, for entrance to Post is committed to strengthen Human Rights Commission Graduate medical course and as screening test of foreign in the country. India’s Human Rights Commission has medical graduates. Ashleigh Barty became only the second Australian woman to top the world rankings after winning 32 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 the Birmingham WTA title. NATIONAL maintained its good grade and informed that it is given ‘A’ Indian Army successfully tested the grade by the international agency. third Generation of Anti-Tank Guided It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who suggested to increase the presence of civil Society in the Commission, Missile- NAG 19 July' 19 every section of the society has now received representation. ndian Army has He further added that they are not for Human rights of successfully carried terrorists and perpetrators of sexual crime but of the out summer user victims. He stressed that the amendment has ensured I trials of third Generation transparency in the appointment of Chairman and members Anti-Tank Guided of the Commission and will help fill all the vacancies. The Missile- NAG at Pokhran OBCs and minorities rights, he added, have been protected Field Firing Ranges in by the Government. Rajasthan. The applicants in Union Territories can now appeal in the The trials of NAG human Rights Commission of nearby states instead of missile developed by Defence Research and Development coming all the way to Delhi. The amended Act will enable Organisation (DRDO) were conducted between 7th to 18th appointment of the retired Chief Justice or retired Judges of this month. of the Supreme Court as the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission. It also provides for appointing NAG missile has been developed to engage highly fortified three instead of two members from civil society who have enemy tanks in all weather conditions with day and night knowledge of Human Rights. capabilities and with a minimum range of 500 metres and maximum range of four Among the three it is also proposed to kilometres. appoint one as woman member. It proposes to appoint retired Chief Justice or Judges of Completion of summer user trials will now the High Court as Chairperson of the State pave the way for production and induction Human Rights Commission. of the missile system into the Army. Govt appoints key functionaries in demolition case: SC seven ministries, organisations asks special judge to deliver verdict 19 July' 19 in nine months 19 July' 19

he government appointed key functionaries in he Supreme seven ministries and organisations, including the Court asked newly-created Jal Shakti Ministry. Bharat Lal, a Tthe special T judge conducting trial 1988-batch IFS officer, has been appointed as additional secretary in the Jal Shakti Ministry's Drinking Water and of 1992 Babri Masjid Sanitation department. He is at present additional secretary demolition case to to the President. deliver the verdict within nine months. The government has appointed Amita Prasad, a 1985-batch According to the IAS officer as chairperson of the Inland Waterways bench of Justices R F Nariman and Surya Kant, the recording Authority of India in the Ministry of Shipping. Jyoti Arora, of evidence in the case should be completed within six months. an IAS officer of the 1987 batch has been appointed as The bench also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pass additional secretary and financial advisor in the Electronics appropriate orders within four weeks to extend the tenure of and Information Technology Ministry. the special judge, who is set to retire on September 30. Rajesh Verma, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch has been According to the top court the extension of tenure of the appointed as additional secretary in the Department of special judge will only be for the purpose Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers of concluding the trial and delivering Welfare. 1988 batch IAS officer Indevar the verdict in the case. During the Pandey has been appointed as additional extended tenure, he will remain under the secretary in the Ministry of Development administrative control of the Allahabad of North Eastern Region. High Court. Indian Women Hockey team defeated Japan by 3-1 to clinch the FIH Women’s Series Finals Hockey Tournament. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 33 NEWS BITES NATIONAL ED attaches assets worth over Rs 1 cr amendments in the taxation Acts will promote 'Make in India' and Startups. The incentives being provided for 19 July' 19 in CWG Scam Electrical Vehicles, the deduction on the he Enforcement Directorate, ED has attached assets loan interest is to encourage buyers, keeping worth one crore 43 lakh rupees of Sweka Powertech in mind the state of the environment. TEngineering Private limited in Commonwealth Digital payments always leave a trail, right Games Scam. The attached assets consist of an Industrial from the destination to the source, making plot in Mewat, Haryana and a fixed deposit of 59 lakhs such payments more transparent. rupees in the name of the company. ED had initiated an investigation under the provisions MoU signed to eradicate TB by 2025 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis 19 July' 19 of Chargesheet filed by CBI against the then Superintendent Engineer and the nion Health then Executive Engineer of the company M i n i s t r y for fraud and criminal conspiracy in the Uhas signed a award of a tender for up-gradation of street MoU with Ministries Lighting in Delhi during the games. of Ayush, Defence and Railways to Centre directs all Cable TV strengthen the efforts Operators, DTH platforms to carry all towards a TB-Free India by 2025. 24 DD Channels 19 July' 19 Around 28 lakh people contract the disease every year in the country and four lakh people die every year. TB will he Centre has directed all Cable TV Operators and be completely eradicated from the country in the same way DTH platforms to carry all 24 DD Channels. The polio. operators are not showing all DD Channels which is T Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious in contravention of existing rules. A letter has been written, informing them that it is mandatory for Cable TV Networks infectious disease that mainly affects your to carry all 24 DD Channels. lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another An Affidavit has been sought from both existing Multiple through tiny droplets released into the air System Operators as well as fresh applicants that they are via coughs and sneezes. carrying all DD Channels, besides Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV channels, on their TV network. The Affidavit has AIFF Golden Baby Leagues handbook to be submitted within one month. 19 July' 19 In view of the contribution of Doordarshan towards dissemination of accurate information about policies ports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the All India and programmes of government, acceleration of socio- Football Federation's Golden Baby Leagues economic change, promotion of national integration handbook 2019-20 on the side-lines of the and stimulation of scientific temper, it S Intercontinental Cup in Ahmadabad. The launch marked is mandated that all Cable TV Networks the renaming of the 'AIFF Baby Leagues' to 'AIFF Golden should carry DD channels. However, it Baby Leagues', with emphasis being laid for ages under 6 is noticed that the same is not being done by several cable operators, which is in to under 12 both for girls and boys. contravention of existing rules. Baby League actual scouting for talent has to start from a very young age. The handbook is a guide to help the Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill 2019 stakeholder to organise the Golden Baby 19 July' 19 League. The Leagues aim to provide access to football in localities irrespective he Lok Sabha has passed the Finance Bill, 2019 of gender, religion, economic background, that gives effect to the proposals of the Central or ethnic origin. TGovernment for the year 2019-2020. The proposed Under Chief Minister Yuva Sambal Yojana, Rajasthan government will give unemployment MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 34 allowance up to Rs 3,500 to Unemployed youth. STATE NEWS BITES Burning Topics of the Month

17 castes included in Operation Khumaar Japan gifts Manipur a Scheduled Castes in Uttar launched to make 312 Peace Museum. Pradesh. panchayats tobacco-free.

& Many More...

Maharashtra govt announces scheme capital). The museum is funded by Nippon Foundation, a private, non-profit grant-making organization based in for smokeless kitchens 21 June' 19 Japan. About 70,000 Japanese soldiers, alongside those of Indian National Army (INA) of Subhash Chandra Bose, pilot project died in battles with British-led Allied forces in areas around aimed at Imphal and Kohima from March-June providing smoke A 1944. The last of these battles was fought at - free environment in Red Hill in Imphal. In 1994 Japanese War the kitchen for women Memorial was also built at Red Hill to mark will be launched 50th anniversary of battle. by the Maharashtra government, Finance Vaishno Devi Shrine to have its own Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar announced in his Budget speech. Disaster Response Force by 2020 The project, named "Chullah (wood-fired stove)-free and 22 June' 19 smoke-free Maharashtra", will target the women who have ata Vaishno not benefited under the Ujjwala or any other Devi shrine LPG distribution scheme. The pilot project located in will be implemented in Naxal-affected M Jammu and Kashmir areas as well as the districts where farmer (J&K) will get a suicide rate is high. dedicated in-house Japan gifts Manipur a Peace Museum disaster response force by September 21 June' 19 2020. For this purpose NDRF and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board had signed a apan gifted Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in early 2019. Manipur, one of India’s The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed J between NDRF and shrine board in early 2019 was keeping north eastern state a Museum of Peace in mind hilly terrain of region and emphasised the need for built on the memories imparting Advanced Disaster Management Training to of Battle of Imphal, shrine board staff in batches so as to keep them in state of one of the fiercest readiness for effectively and promptly responding to any battles of 2nd World disaster situation. The Shrine board employees who are War (WWII). The inauguration of Imphal Peace Museum fit and have about 15-20 years of service remaining will marked 75th anniversary of Battle of Imphal. undergo this training capsule. It includes staff from security, medical and assistance wings, sweepers, receptionists, The Imphal Peace Museum was inaugurated at Red Hill salesmen and catering providers etc. which lies about 20 km southwest of Imphal (Manipur

Swiss Star Roger Federer defeated Belgium's David Goffin in straight sets to win his record 10th title SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA in the Halle ATP tournament. 35 NEWS BITES STATE About Mata Vaishno Devi At an event organized by Doordarshan Kashir, Union It is a shrine dediacted to Vaishno Devi also known as Mata Information and Broadcasting Minister launched a Rani, Trikuta and Vaishnavi, who is a manifestation of spectrum of initiatives for state along with distribution Hindu Goddess Mata Adi Shakti (or Mahalakshmi/Matrika of 30,000 free DD set-top boxes. DD Kashir is a regional Goddess). The religious pilgrimage shrine subsidiary television station of Doordarshan. The Set Top lies atop Trikuta hills, in Reasi district of Box will be provided free of cost and audience will be able Jammu region. In 2019, it attracts 86 lakh to view over 100 channels for free. DD Kashir launched pilgrims from across the world which was a news bulletin titled Dogri News for Jammu region on highest in past 5 years. channel, which will be telecasted every day at 6.15 PM on channel on digital mode. Bihar Government bans Tree-Felling In small areas and districts where there is no mobile 23 June' 19 connection, no internet and no television this new step will help in providing information and making them aware. he Bihar DD DTH service Govt. recently a n n o u n c e d Doordarshan’s DTH service also known as DD Free T Dish was launched in 2004. It has been upgraded from ban on felling of trees in different time to time. At present it has capacity is cities of Bihar, citing 104 SDTV channels along with 40 Radio increasing pollution channels. DD Free Dish has emerged as an as well as a fatal empowering tool for masses and now it has heatwave in the state reached more than 34 million households as reason for the ban. in India. Bihar Government has taken this decision as most cities Unique Flood Hazard Atlas: Odisha of Bihar are ranked in list of World’s most polluted cities which includes- Patna (7th position), Muzaffarpur (13th 24 June' 19 position), Gaya (18th position) and Bhagalpur. Also, disha has come out with a unique flood hazard atlas currently Bihar does not have any Tree Protection Act aided by satellite imagery, which is expected to help active, due to which people who privately own a tree in the coastal state manage floods more efficiently. state are cutting it indiscriminately. O The atlas was released by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen The current order against banning Patnaik at the State-level Natural Calamity Meeting. tree felling was passed under Forest Atlas would serve as a useful resource of information for Conservation Act (FCA),1980. This new policy makers, planners and civil society groups. Atlas is scheme is valid only for State Government compiled on basis of historic flood inundation captured via owned properties and not for people who satellite imagery over 18 years period from year 2001 to privately own a tree. 2018. Centre distributed free DD set-top Firstly, all satellite data sets were analysed boxes in J&K 23 June' 19 and flood layers were extracted from it, then all flood layers corresponding rakash Javadekar, to a particular year were combined into Union Minister one inundation layer, so that this layer of Information represents maximum flooded area in 1 year P period. and Broadcasting, along with Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) P.B. Acharya sworn in as Governor of governor Satyapal Manipur 27 June' 19 Malik distributed Doordarshan (DD) admanabha Balakrishna Acharya was sworn in as the Free Dish Set Top Boxes to people living in border areas of Governor of Manipur. Justice Lanusungkum Jamir Jammu and Kashmir region in . Pof the High Court of Manipur administered the oath 36 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Pakistan's former foreign minister Abdul Sattar has died. He was 88. STATE of office to Acharya Indian political affairs as democracy was brought to a at the Darbar Hall grinding halt and all fundamental rights and legal remedies of the Raj Bhavan. protected by Indian Constitution were suspended. Manipur Chief During Emergency period, most of the political opponents Minister N Biren of Indira Gandhi were imprisoned, press censorship was Singh his cabinet placed and several other human rights violations were also colleagues, MLAs, reported such as forced mass-sterilization campaign. PM top civil and police Gandhi tried to defend her emergency move on grounds officers attended the of an attempt to protect state and Indian swearing-in ceremony. people but the emergency rule still faced Acharya will discharge the functions of the Governor immense criticism and is undoubtedly one of Manipur, in addition to his own duties (Nagaland of most controversial periods of political Governor), during the absence (on leave) of history of Independent India. Dr Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur. The governor is the constitutional head 17 castes included in Scheduled of the state and that he will discharge his Castes in Uttar Pradesh 28 June' 19 constitutional duties. ogi Adityanath Haryana CM announces Annual G o v e r n m e n t Health Assistance to Loktantra Yof Uttar Senanis 27 June' 19 Pradesh has taken a big decision regarding anohar Lal the backward castes. K h a t t a r , Yogi Government C h i e f has included 17 M backward castes (OBC) Minister of Haryana has announced an in Schedule Castes (SC) list. Yogi Sarkar, behind the annual financial inclusion of these castes in the list of Scheduled Castes, health assistance of says that these castes are far more backward than social Rs.5 lakh to loktantra and economically. Now these 17 backward castes will be senanis or their given the certificate of scheduled caste. For this, the district spouse for treatment at private or government hospitals. authorities have been ordered to issue caste certificate to the families of these 17 castes. Key Highlights Those backward people who have been included in the Loktantra Senanis: are people who were jailed during Scheduled Castes list are – Kashyap, Nishad, Bind, 1975-1977 Emergency under preventive detention laws. Mallah, Dhimar, Kevat, , Bhar, Dhivar, Tuhaha, Batham, As per the new changes proposed by Haryana government, , Gaur, Rajbhar, Kahar, Pumar, , Manjhi, the term Emergency Victim on their identity cards would Prajapati, and Fisherman. These backward be replaced with Loktantra Senani. Loktantra Senanis, who castes have now been put in the list of SC went to jail during the Satyagraha Movement in emergency, categories. The government has ordered the are already provided a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 by District Officer to issue caste certificate to the state government and also free travel in the Haryana the families of these 17 castes. Roadways buses. Indian Emergency that started from 25th June 1975 Meghalaya: Conclave on ‘Transforming continued for a 21 month period up to 21st March 1977. North East India through Science and Then President Fakhruddin Ahmed, upon advice by Technology' 28 June' 19 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of national emergency under Article 352 of Indian Constitution. Once n Meghalaya, a two-day North East Conclave 2019 on emergency was proclaimed it effectively bestowed on ‘Transforming North East India through Science and Prime Minister the power to rule by decree, suspending Technology’ began at Shillong. It has been organised by the elections and civil liberties. This was a dramatic turn in I Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD).

Ashleigh Barty became only the second Australian woman to top the world rankings after winning SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA the Birmingham WTA title. 37 NEWS BITES STATE Inaugurating the conclave, according Meghalaya Water In Chhabra, 4 Units Resources Minister, Metbah Lyngdoh that the North are already producing Eastern States of the country are a treasure house of rich power with a capacity biodiversity and their endowments can contribute to the of 250 MW each. nation’s progress and accelerate the pace of development. These two new units He lauded the initiative of the IBSD for organizing this are of capacity to conclave where leading experts and produce 660 Megawatt policymakers from different parts of the power each and now country along with local stakeholders come the total capacity of this together to discuss on transforming North thermal power station has reached up to 2 thousand 320 MW. East India through Science and Technology. This new technology is based on high pressure and temperature and it will reduce the consumption of coal. Assam: Irrigation Dept to implement With the starting of power generation at this project, 3 soon minor irrigation scheme ‘Har crore additional units of power daily will be generated and 78 lakh new consumers will Khet Ko Pani’ 29 June' 19 get benefitted. This Project will not only n Assam, with a meet out the power demand of the state but view to improve also it will make the state independent in Ifarm productivity the power production sector. and ensure better utilisation of water Jal Shakti Abhiyan launched in resources, Irrigation Meghalaya 01 July' 19 Department would implement soon n Meghalaya, as minor irrigation part of the pan- scheme ‘Har Khet Ko Pani’. IIndia Campaign “The Jal Shakti This initiative to increase access to ground water would Abhiyan” was be implemented under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee launched at Tura Yojana and will cover 14 districts in the first phase. in West Garo Hills The scheme will provide irrigation facilities to around district. The campaign 1.4 Lakh bigha of agricultural land in the state. Under aims to target water- this scheme, 4779 solar and electricity operated tube stressed areas for stock taking and conservation initiatives wells are to be installed benefitting over 19 thousand since India faces deficit monsoon season and widespread water farmers. shortages and also to increase the water table in water-stressed Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal while areas. Authorities in Tura, emphasized on the strategy and action reviewing the ongoing irrigation schemes for taking up Water Conservation and National Rural Mission in Guwahati, stressed on the need for (NRM) related works during the monsoon season as part of Jal drawing a road map to ensure effective Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a nationwide Water Campaign launched implementation of this scheme. by Government of India from 1st July to 15th September 2019. The campaign is time-bound and on a mission mode which 5th and 6th Unit of Chabra Super will be implemented phase-wise, the first phase commences Critical Thermal Power Station from 1st July to 15th September while the second phase from 1st October to 31st March 2020 which will be used innaugrated 30 June' 19 for the construction of big structure or multipurpose dam n Rajasthan, the 5th and 6th Unit of Chabra Super in any identified location especially in water-stressed areas. Critical Thermal Power Station was inaugurated. This The main objective of the Water Campaign is the state’s First project based on Super Critical is to ramp up rainwater harvesting and I conservation efforts so as to promote Thermal Power Technology and the estimated cost of this project is 9 thousand 550 Crore Rupees. efficient use of water especially during the dry months, he added.

Indian Women Hockey team defeated Japan by 3-1 to clinch the FIH Women’s Series Finals Hockey MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 38 Tournament. STATE Kalu Police station bags 1st Rank in UP government launches toll-free CM assessment by Home ministry helpline 1076 04 July' 19 02 July' 19 n Uttar Pradesh, n Rajasthan, Kalu police station in the Bikaner the State govt. district has set an example towards crime control and Ilaunched a toll- preventive action. Kalu Police station won First Rank free Chief Minister I Helpline 1076 that in an assessment by the Home ministry of 15 thousand 666 police stations across the country. will enable people from across the A clean campus, female dedicated help desk and good state to register their arrangements for the plaintiff are some of the specifications complaints and will making this police station unique. It was ranked 1st Due to ensure a time-bound action on the complaints also. Now preventive action, effective crime detection, Crime control, people will not have to travel to Lucknow just to lodge quick response and humanitarian behaviour and high-tech their complaints and action will be taken against those who working. The best among all police stations. S.H.O. Devi Lal make false complaints and play mischief with the helpline. told AIR that people do not hesitate to come to the station The CM helpline number 1076 will work 24x7 and anyone because of Jan Mitra image of the staff. The facilities like from any part of the state can call on this number anytime. Badminton and Volleyball court are also The 500-seater call centre has been established for the available. At the time when most of the police helpline and it has the capacity to handle stations are known for ignorance of plaintiff 80,000 inbound and 55,000 outbound calls and registration of complaints, this police on a daily basis. When the complainant station of Rajasthan has set an example. calls the helpline, he/she will get an SMS informing that the complaint has been sent Operation Khumaar launched to to the department concerned. make 312 panchayats tobacco-free 02 July' 19 Bi-cycle sharing scheme, to be introduced in Puducherry 08 July' 19 n Jammu and Kashmir a onceived and Icampaign has been prioritised under launched in Rajouri, CPuducherry a border district of smart city development Jammu division called plan, a bicycle sharing “Operation Khumaar” scheme, is introduced to make 312 in Puducherry. The panchayats tobacco- registered users or free. The programme is run by the district administration to customers can use make panchayats free from tobacco and tobacco-based products. bicycles to hop from one place to another within the District Development Commissioner, Rajouri convened a boulevard area. The bicycles can be left at any of the meeting of officers in this regard and gave necessary directions. docking stations after use. For the scheme, 100 spots Under this programme, even the headmaster of the schools have been identified for cycle docking stations. To begin have been authorised to impose a fine on the sale of tobacco with, 20 docking stations with 10 to 15 cycles each, are within 100 yards of school limits. Block Medical Officers to be set up in places like beach promenade, Bharathi have been directed to set up counselling centres at all Park, Gandhi Thidal, Aurobindo ashram and railway Community Health Centres (CHCs) to help station. tobacco consumers to quit this habit. The Moreover, it is a boon to tourists who throng to Puducherry district officers have been urged upon to in thousands whose number swells to several thousand on work in a mission mode so as to make the weekends. Puducherry is overcrowded now-a-days. The society free from the injurious tobacco and total population of the UT is over 11 lakhs and the total tobacco-based products. number of vehicle on road comes around 9 lakhs.

Under Chief Minister Yuva Sambal Yojana, Rajasthan government will give unemployment SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA allowance up to Rs 3,500 to Unemployed youth. 39 NEWS BITES STATE The project under the public-private partnership model will to economically weaker sections during the current be operationalised after a suitable operator financial year. The Rural Development Department is is found out through tender. This scheme is implementing the project for permanent dwelling houses one among the 22 prioritised schemes of the as per the Socio-Economic Census of 2011 carried out by Puducherry Smart City Project for which the Centre. about 194 crore rupees would be spent. Under the scheme, the Rural Development Department has constructed more than 14 lakh houses at different places Meghalaya becomes 1st state to in the last three years. Over 17 thousand crore rupees have ensure water conservation 13 July' 19 been spent for this purpose so far. e g h a l a y a As per the Socio-Economic Census, 38 lakhs houses will became the be built under the scheme for eligible beneficiaries. One first state lakh 30 thousand rupees is being given for each house in M backward areas of West Midnapore, Jhargram, Bankura in India to ensure the conservation of water and Purulia districts of the State while other districts are and have own water being given one lakh 20 thousand rupees for each house. policy following a The centre is giving 60 per cent of the fund while the State nod given by the Government is bearing the rest of the expenditure for State Cabinet. The implementation of the project. The scheme has changed the draft policy was approved by the State Cabinet in a meeting living standard of people of economically chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma. weaker sections in Rural Bengal. As the The objective of the policy is to recognize water resources Houses are having own toilet facilities, as a common pool resource, to provide safe and hygienic this is also helping to maintain cleanliness, water for drinking, domestic and sanitation and livelihood hygiene besides checking open defecation. development to all residents of the state. Newly appointed Governor of states Among other things, the draft State Water Policy which seeks to protect and improve management of water 15 July' 19 resources while actively involving the community. he Centre appointed six new Governors in the states It also aims at ensuring protection and conservation of of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, , catchment areas of all water sources to prevent degradation TBihar, Nagaland and Tripura. MP Governor and of the quantity and quality of water sources. former Chief Minister of Gujarat has Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong informed that the been transferred and appointed the new as Governor of implementation of the policy through active participation UP. Bihar Governor was also transferred of the community by constituting a Water and appointed as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. Sanitation Village Council at the village Senior Supreme Court advocate Jagdeep Dhankhar was level. He assured this policy will go a long appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal, replacing way in changing the mindset of the people . BJP member Ramesh Bais has and proper utilization of water. been appointed as the Governor of Tripura, replacing . BJP 8.3 Lakh houses under Bangla Abas MLA Phagu Chauhan has been appointed as the Governor of Bihar while RN Ravi 13 July' 19 Yojana as Governor of Nagaland, replacing he West . Bengal Govt. has decided Odisha envisages new Industrial T Policy to attract new investments to construct 8 lakh 30 thousand houses 18 July' 19 under Bangla Abas Yojana for the ndia new global outlook increased the intra-state people belonging competition. The infrastructure of competition is Ichanging with the adoption of new techniques. The 40 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Indian Air Force is participating in a bilateral exercise named ‘Garuda-VI’ in France from 01-12 Jul. STATE Odisha government be established is evaluating its by splitting Industrial Policy Kanchipuram district. Resolution (IPR). Tirunelveli and It is last revised in Kanchipuram remain 2015. The changing vast in area and dynamics, investor splitting them would perception and rising be beneficial for competition from better administration. other states cannot be wished away. The existing IPR to Revenue Minister R.B.Udhayakumar accommodate new provisions. The new policy statement is created a few more districts by splitting likely to be unveiled in 2020. bigger revenue units is being considered. About Odisha Industrial Policy A new district with Kumbakonam as its Aim and Purpose: headquarters are announced. ## The main aim is to be positioned among the top three Haryana Election Breathes Life into states in 'Ease of Doing Business', Saraswati Revival Project 18 July' 19 ## Odisha to finish at the 11th slot at the latest rankings released in 2018. ew months ahead of the legislative assembly elections in Haryana, efforts to revive the extinct ## Odisha plans a revised IPR that will offer investors’ Saraswati, a river from the ancient Hindu scriptures sops like SGST (State Goods & Services Tax) holiday F the Vedas, are back in focus. and electricity duty exemption for five years. The Saraswati revival project, proposed by the Bharatiya ## It is also expected to sweeten the subsidy on fresh Janata Party-led Haryana government, was recently capital investments by existing and prospective submitted to an expert panel of the central government investors. seeking terms of reference for environment clearance. ## The new policy statement set to be valid for at least The proposal was returned to the state as the proposal five years. neither pertains to irrigation nor hydropower, cases where ## This proposed policy expects industrial parks for environment clearance for a river project is required. each of the focus sectors and creation of industrial Considered sacred by millions of Indians, Saraswati is one corridors to set up small & medium enterprises across among the trio of India’s holy rivers, along with Ganga and the state. Yamuna. As per the documents submitted by the Haryana ## The state government in a fix overextending incentives government in the recent case, around 6,000 years ago the announced under VAT (Value Added Tax) after the Saraswati river disappeared due to tectonic disturbances, rollout of Goods & Services Tax (GST). impacting its tributaries. At present, those advocating for it, claim that the river is alive and flowing underground. ## The GST implementation and the finance department not to dangle the VAT related incentives. After coming to power in Haryana in October 2014, the BJP-led Haryana government announced its intent to revive ## The investors in emerging sectors the mythical river. Among the various works proposed to such as electronics manufacturing achieve this, was the construction of Adi Badri Dam on & information technology, textiles Somb River, its piped link to the origin of the (currently & apparel, petroleum, chemicals & non-existent) Saraswati River and the proposed Saraswati plastics, ancillary & downstream reservoir. industries, and food processing. According to the state’s pre-feasibility report for this Tamil Nadu to get two new districts project, the Saraswati river system in the Vedic period 18 July' 19 included rivers like Ghaggar, Markanda, Chautang, Sutlej and Yamuna. he total number of districts in the state will be The report referenced studies which have indicated that the raised to 35. Tenkasi District would be carved Yamuna, as well as Sutlej, were tributaries of Saraswati Tout of Tirunelveli and Chengalpet District would river but around 3700 BC, due to tectonic disturbances in K Natarajan will be the new Chief of the Indian Coast Guard. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 41 NEWS BITES STATE the area, Saraswati’s Yamuna tributary was diverted to its of urban poor present course and Sutlej was deflected to the west later to own a pucca causing the disappearance of the Saraswati river. The report house. Manipur claimed the Saraswati originated at Adi Badri, a site of Government has archeological and religious significance located around 40 kept a target to kilometres away from Yamunanagar town obtain approval for of Haryana, at the foothills of the Shivalik 46,360 numbers mountains, near the Somb river. of beneficiaries The origins and course of the river, however, for construction remain disputed in general discourse. of houses in 27 towns of the state. Till now, 26,348 beneficiaries for 24 towns have already been approved Cabinet approves Rs 1,600 cr for by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Dibang Multipurpose Project in Nearly 9,725 houses will be built by the end of the current year under the scheme. According to beneficiary Arunachal 19 July' 19 of the Housing for All by 2022 scheme expressed their happiness as under the welfare scheme for the poor, nion Cabinet one pucca house has been built. has approved U1,600 crore About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana rupees for Dibang Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is an initiative by Multipurpose Project Government of India in which affordable housing will be in Arunachal Pradesh. provided to the urban poor with a target of building 20 The project is million affordable houses by 31 March envisaged as a storage- 2022. It has two components: Pradhan based hydro-electric Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) project with flood moderation as the key objective. Cabinet, for the urban poor and Pradhan Mantri chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved a Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY-G and bill to scrap 58 redundant laws. The move is aimed at weeding also PMAY-R) for the rural poor. out archaic and dead statutes which have lost their relevance. The NDA government in its two terms has sent to the BMC plans to get two pairs of lions chopping block 1,824 old laws which had become from Gujarat for Veermata Jijabai redundant. Cabinet also approved the doubling of a vital Bhosale & Zoo 20 July' 19 railway line connecting Guwahati with New Bongaigaon at a cost of 2,042 crore rupees. The project will be completed s part of its efforts to revamp the Veermata Jijabai by 2022-23 and will be executed by the construction Bhosale Udyan and Zoo, the Brihanmumbai organisation of the Northeast Frontier Railway. AMunicipal Corp. (BMC) has planned to get two It also cleared seven amendments to the pairs of lions from Gujarat, in exchange for two pairs of insolvency law that seeks to put in place zebras from an international zoo and some exotic birds. a 330-day deadline for the corporate Director of Byculla zoo, confirmed that the Sakkarbaug resolution process. The changes would zoo, in Junagadh, Gujarat, had earlier demanded giraffes, help in clearing various roadblocks for but has now settled for the two pairs of zebras via barter resolution process and smoothen the exchange of donation way. The zoo authorities informed process as well as save time. that the exchange is likely to be done after the monsoon, Nearly 9,725 houses to be built by and the animals are expected to arrive by the year-end. the end of 2019 under PMAY-U in Jijamata Udyan, commonly known as Manipur 20 July' 19 Byculla Zoo formerly called Rani Baug after the original name Victoria Gardens, is n Manipur, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- a zoo and garden covering 50 acres located Urban(PMAY-U) is being implemented effectively. at Byculla, in the heart of Mumbai, India. It I The scheme has fulfilled dreams of hundreds is the oldest public garden in Mumbai. 42 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 India proposed to host the 2023 International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai. INTERNATIONAL

Burning Topics of the Month

Saudi Arabia becomes 1st Bangladesh and China Donald Trump signed Arab country to get full signed 9 instruments on order of ban on Iran. FATF membership. various sectors.

& Many More...

Bangladesh emerged as the fastest being pushed into the financial watchdog's 'blacklist' for now, but danger persists. economy in Asia-Pacific: Asian Pakistan has been able to attract the support Development Bank 21 June' 19 of Turkey, China, and , which has helped Islamabad avoid being placed on ccording to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the FATF blacklist. Bangladesh emerged as the fastest growing Aeconomy among the 45 countries of the Asia- India granted to Niger for holding Pacific region. Higher public sector investment, stronger African Union Summit 23 June' 19 consumption demand, revival in exports, improved power supply and higher growth in private sector credit were the ndia has extended key factors of the high growth performance USD 15 million of Bangladesh. Iassistance to Bangladesh registered a growth rate of Niger for organising 7.9%. They predicted that the growth will the African Union be 8% in the next financial year 2019-20. (AU) summit scheduled to be held Pakistan continues to be on FATF in Niamey from July 'grey list' 22 June' 19 7-8. The support of grant assistance was in response to a specific request made ATF maintains by the Niger government. This year, Niger grey list status is hosting an AU summit for the first time. of Pakistan, In this AU summit, the historic African F Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expresses concern likely to be launched. over insufficient steps taken to curb becomes 1st Arab terror financing. country to get full FATF membership The FATF has announced that 23 June' 19 Pakistan will remain on the grey list and asked Islamabad audi Arabia has become 1st Arab country to be to take steps to "address its strategic counter-terrorist granted full membership of Financial Action financing-related deficiencies" which basically means Task Force (FATF) following FATF’s Annual to act on the financing of terrorism after failing to meet S General Meeting held in Orlando, Florida in United deadline twice. States (US). Pakistan has garner support of at least three member Since November 2004, Saudi Arabia has been a founding states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to avoid member of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) arm

NITI Aayog Releases the Second Edition of “Healthy States, Progressive India” Report. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 43 NEWS BITES INTERNATIONAL of FATF group. At affected Russian economy by pushing the beginning of up food prices. Western sanction have 2015 Saudi Arabia deprived Russian economy of $50 had received an billion on the other hand EU has lost invitation from $240 billion. FATF as an observer member. Now, the holds election for 1st time kingdom’s accession in 60yrs 24 June' 19 came as global money laundering watchdog celebrated 30th anniversary auritania, a of its 1st meeting held in Paris (France) in country in 1989. The full membership to Saudi Arabia MNorthwest comes after it was reported that Kingdom Africa went to polls had made tangible progress for its efforts in for the first time implementing FATF’s guidelines. since the African nation gained Russia extends ban on EU Food independence from Imports until end of 2020 France nearly 60 years ago. Following 24 June' 19 the independence the country have mostly been ruled Non- u s s i a n elected military governments. P r e s i d e n t President (62), who seized RV l a d i m i r power in a military coup in 2008, agreed to step down and Putin recently signed abide by serving period of maximum two five-year elected a decree for extending terms. Under his reign he has positioned Mauritania, as Moscow’s embargo an ally of West against Islamist militants. Bound by term on food products limits, Abdel Aziz threw his support behind 62-year-old being imported from Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. Ghazouani, a former general the European Union and defence minister was heavily tipped to replace outgoing (EU) to the end of 2020. This decision was in continuation President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. of Russia’s s retaliation against sanctions over Ukraine. About Mauritania A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin posted on Moscow’s official government website, reads that ban on The country is officially named Islamic Republic of produce, dairy, meat and most other foods imported from Mauritania, lies on Atlantic coast of Africa. EU will now stretch to December 31, 2020. It is a home to fewer than 5 million people across a vast expanse of Western Sahara Background: Desert. In 1981, Mauritania became final In 2014, following the international sanctions imposed country in world to formally abolish by United States and other countries over Russia for its slavery, but it continues to this day. annexation of Crimea and support of east Ukraine’s separatists, Moscow in August 2014 imposed counter Nepalese nationals must have visa to sanctions on most food imports from the European Union, enter India via Pakistan, China US and several other countries. 25 June' 19 The international restrictions were primarily targeted at finance, energy and defense sectors of Russian economy. epalese nationals must have visa if they are Recently on 20 June 2019, EU further extended their entering India from Pakistan, China, punishing economic sanctions against Russia (over conflict Nand Macau, according to a notice issued by the in Ukraine) for a further 6 months period. Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi. Similarly, Nepalese Sanction Result: nationals travelling to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, , Oman, and , are The Western economic restrictions being faced required to acquire No Objection Certificate (NOC) from by Russia as well as country’s own embargo have the respective Nepalese Embassies.

44 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Swami Satyamitranand Giri Maharaj passed away. He was 87. INTERNATIONAL To get the NOC, a traveller is required to submit an Penny Mordaunt, Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence and application to the respective embassy along with relevant Ruchi Ghanashyam, Indian High Commissioner to the UK. documents, including employment permit, About The List the notice stated. According to the notice a citizen of Nepal must have a visa for India The ‘100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations: if he or she is entering India from China, Celebrating Women’ list was launched by Sajid Javid, UK Macau, Hong Kong and Pakistan. Home Secretary to mark India Day in Houses of Parliament in London. This is the 3rd year of list. The women mentioned ‘goAML’ launched by UAE in list holds influencing positions in India and UK across 11 26 June' 19 broad sectors such as politics, technology and sustainability. Priti Patel and Baroness Sandy Verma (Indian-origin he United parliamentarians in the UK), Gurinder Arab Emirates Chadha (filmmaker), Zia Mody and Pallavi T(UAE) has S Shroff (Indian law firm chiefs), Suneeta become 1st country Reddy (Apollo Hospitals’ managing in Gulf to launch director) and Debjani Ghosh (Nasscom new anti-money President) are ranked in this list. laundering platform called ‘goAML’ (Anti- Donald Trump signed order of ban Money Laundering). on Iran 27 June' 19 It is a one-stop solution, launched by UAE to crack down on organised financial crimes. S President goAML D o n a l d T r u m p Developer: It is the new anti-money laundering platform U signed an executive was launched by UAE’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) order imposing and is developed by United Nations Office on Drugs and sanctions on Iran on Crime (UNODC) to curb organised crimes. It is a fully June 24, 2019. With integrated software solution developed for use by UAE’s these restrictions, FIU. It is being considered as one of the UNODC’s strategic Iran's top leaders and responses to financial crime, such as money laundering other officials will not be able to take advantage of any and terrorist financing. It can be used for data collection, banking facility in the US area. document management and analysis and will be used by financial institutions Previously Iran killed an US drone in the area, some (like banks, finance companies) and law days after Donald Trump has taken steps to impose new enforcement agencies such as police and sanctions. According to the president of United State the designated non-financial businesses and country is not willing to struggle with Iran or any country. professions (lawyers, accountants). According to President Donald Trump, the executive order 100 Most Influential Women’ in UK he has signed will impose strict sanctions on Iran and prevent Iran's top leaders and other officials from taking Power List 26 June' 19 advantage of the banking facility. i r m a l a On June 13, the tensions between the two countries Sitharaman, increased after the fire broke out in two US oil tankers. The NU n i o n United States blamed Iran for the attack on oil tankers in Minister of Finance the Bay of Oman. Earlier this year, the US had raised the and Minister of finger towards the Islamic Republic about similar attacks Corporate Affairs in this strategic maritime area in May was named in 100 2019. External Affairs Ministry quoted US Most Influential in Secretary of State Mike Pompeio as saying UK-India Relations: that the US government believes Iran is Celebrating Women list. Besides Sitharaman, list included responsible for the attacks in the Gulf.

Freedom fighter Mohan Ranade, who participated in Goa’s liberation movement, passed away. He SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA was 90. 45 NEWS BITES INTERNATIONAL US Supreme Court blocks census India stressed that it remains firmly committed to prevent torture and other such punishment. India added that citizenship question 28 June' 19 where capital punishment is statutorily provided for, due process of law is followed. In India, capital he US punishment is a statutory provision, but is S u p r e m e used in the rarest of rare cases. Also, acts Court has T of torture are punishable under various blocked the Trump provisions of the Indian Penal Code. administration from adding a question Abu Dhabi hosted the first ISA's joint on citizenship to the 2020 census. security exercise ISALEX19 30 June' 19 Chief Justice John epresentatives of 50 law enforcement agencies Roberts joined the court's liberal justices, stating that the of the International Security Alliance took part in administration did not provide adequate justification for the the first joint security exercise in Abu Dhabi. The question. However, the decision left open the possibility R participants include representatives from tactical teams, that the Trump administration could still seek to make new rapid intervention units, communications, civil defence, justifications. and explosive ordnance disposal, teams. In a separate ruling, the top court's conservative majority The International Security Alliance, launched in 2017 in Abu refused to rule against electoral redistricting practices, Dhabi, is an international working group to confront organised, known as gerrymandering, that tend to favour the party in transnational and extremist crimes. power. The alliance now comprises nine countries, Held only once every 10 years, the census is instrumental the , Bahrain, in apportioning some 675 billion US dollars in federal , France, Italy, Spain, Senegal, funding to states and cities, and also determines the number Singapore, and the Slovak Republic. of seats allocated to each state in the House of Representatives. New Zealand bans single-use plastic The American Civil Liberties Union hailed shopping bags 01 July' 19 the decision as a victory for immigrants and communities of colour across America. ew Zealand has officially India abstains from voting on UNGA Nb a n n e d resolution 29 June' 19 single-use plastic shopping bags. ndia has Companies that abstained from break the ban will Ivoting on a face heavy penalties, United Nations including fines of up General Assembly to 100,000 New Zealand dollars (USD 67,000). Under the resolution aimed at new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer examining options be supplied, but reusable carriers are allowed. The legislation to end trade in was announced in August last year and is now enforced. goods used for Major supermarkets in the country have already banned capital punishment and torture. According to India, it is the bags voluntarily. More than 80 countries have already “unacceptable” to place death penalty on par with torture. introduced similar bans, according to the UN Environment The General Assembly adopted the resolution ‘towards Programme. Plastic pollution has become a growing global torture-free trade: examining the feasibility, scope and concern, with a million birds and more parameters for possible common international standards'. than 100,000 marine mammals injured or India stated that incorporating capital punishment into the killed every year by becoming entangled in scope of this resolution "raises concerns that it may be an packaging or ingesting it through the food attempt to place it on par with torture." chain. Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra has been elected as a member of the MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 46 International Olympic Committee. INTERNATIONAL Japan resumes commercial Whale The major thrust of the agreements and MoUs is in expanding cooperation between the two countries in the hunts 01 July' 19 power sector. China has agreed to provide concessional and preferential Buyer’s Credit loan to Bangladesh for h a l i n g expansion and Strengthening of Power ships set System Network in the country. sail on W An MoU was also signed between the the first commercial hunts in decades, as two countries to establish an Investment Japan brushed aside Cooperation Working Group to promote global outrage over investment. its decision to resume what conservationists World's largest burn and plastic say is a cruel and outdated practice. surgery institute 05 July' 19 Five vessels from whaling communities left port in northern he world's Japan's Kushiro. largest burn Japan's decision to withdraw from the International and plastic Whaling Commission and resume commercial hunts was T surgery institute in slammed by activists and anti-whaling countries, but has Dhaka has started been welcomed by Japanese whaling communities, who functioning. The celebrated the departure from Kushiro with a ceremony. OPD of the institute Whaling vessels were also leaving from other ports was inaugurated by including in Shimonoseki in western Japan. The country's Health and Family Fisheries Agency had set a cap for a total catch of 227 Welfare Minister of Bangladesh Zahid Maleque. About 6 whales through the season until late December, 52 minke, lakh people suffer burn injuries in Bangladesh every year 150 Bryde's and 25 sei whales. will benefit from the institute. Whaling has long proved a rare diplomatic The institute is named Sheikh Hasina National Burn and flashpoint for Tokyo, which says the Plastic Surgery Institute, the 500-bed hospital with 50 ICU practice is a Japanese tradition that should and 12 operation theatres will provide advanced treatment not be subject to international interference. to burn patients in Bangladesh. The institute has been built at a cost of over 500 crore Taka. Bangladesh and China signed 9 Bangladesh, to the east of India on the Bay of Bengal, is instruments on various sectors a South Asian country marked by lush greenery and many 04 July' 19 waterways. Its Padma (), Meghna and Jamuna rivers create fertile plains, and hina will travel by boat is common. On the southern provide 2,500 coast, the Sundarbans, an enormous metric tons of mangrove forest shared with Eastern India, C is home to the royal Bengal tiger. rice to Bangladesh for the forcibly displaced Rohingyas Naqab banned in Tunisian from Myanmar. This government offices 06 July' 19 was part of nine instruments signed unisia, banned the Naqab, Muslim face covering between Bangladesh and China. for women in government offices, citing security concerns after attacks in the North African The nine instruments, five agreements, three memorandums T country. The Prime Minister of , of understanding (MoUs) and a document, were inked after signed a government circular banning access to public the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina administrations and institutions to anyone with the face and her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang at the Great Hall covered for security reasons. of People.

Veteran Telugu actress and director G Vijaya Nirmala died. She was 73. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 47 NEWS BITES INTERNATIONAL The ban on the This was reported in Wall Street Journal, which says Naqab, which covers that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the the entire face apart settlement in a 3-2 vote with the two Democratic members from the eyes, of the consumer protection agency dissenting. comes at a time of According to the report, the deal, which would be the largest heightened security penalty ever imposed by the FTC for privacy violations, following a June still needs approval from the Justice Department before it 27 double suicide is finalized. bombing in Tunisia that left two dead and seven wounded. The FTC announced last year it reopened its investigation into a 2011 privacy settlement with Facebook after Tunisia is a North African country bordering the revelations that personal data on tens of millions of users Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert. was hijacked by the political consultancy Cambridge In the capital, Tunis, the Bardo Museum Analytica, which was working on the Donald Trump has archaeological exhibits from Roman campaign in 2016. mosaics to Islamic art. The city’s quarter encompasses the massive Al- The leading social network with more than Zaytuna and a thriving souk. two billion users worldwide has also been facing inquiries on privacy from authorities US House of Representatives passes in US states and regulators around the bill removing country cap on Green world. Card 11 July' 19 India lifted 271 mn people out of he US House of Representatives has passed a bill poverty between 2006 and 2016: UN aimed at lifting the present seven per cent country- 13 July' 19 cap on issuing Green Cards. The move will benefit T ndia lifted 271 thousands of highly-skilled Indian IT professionals. A Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently million people in the US. Iout of poverty between 2006 and The bill, on being signed into law, will considerably shorten 2016, recording the the agonising wait of talented professionals from countries fastest reductions in like India who have applied for permanent residency in the multidimensional the United States. Indian IT professionals, poverty index values most of whom are highly skilled and come during the period. to the US mainly on the H-1B work visas, This is according to a report by the United Nations which are the worst sufferers of the seven per said there have been strong improvements in areas such cent per country quota on allotment of the as assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition. The 2019 coveted Green Cards. global Multidimensional Poverty Index from the UN Development Programme, the Oxford Poverty and Human USD 5 billion US fine set for Facebook Development Initiative was released. on privacy probe 13 July' 19 According to the report in the 101 countries studied, 1.3 nited States billion people are multidimensional poor, which means that r e g u l a t o r s poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number h a v e of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work U and the threat of violence. The report identifies 10 countries, approved a five billion dollar penalty with a combined population of around 2 billion people, to to be levied on illustrate the level of poverty reduction, Facebook to settle a and all of them have shown statistically probe into the social significant progress towards achieving network's privacy and Sustainable Development Goal 1, namely data protection lapses. ending poverty in all its forms, everywhere.

48 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Amitabh Kant has been given a two-year extension as Chief Executive Officer of NITIAayog. INTERNATIONAL Over 5 billion dollar penalty imposed The growth, however, was in line with the government's annual target range of 6.0- on Pakistan 14 July' 19 6.5 per cent for the whole year, down from the 6.6 per cent growth China put up in n international 2018. a r b i t r a t i o n Acourt has Cycle rally in S Africa to celebrate imposed a penalty of over five billion Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary dollars on Pakistan 15 July' 19 for unlawful denial of a mining lease to a D News Indian company for the Reko diplomats in Diq project in 2011. The Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had DSouth Africa filed claims for international arbitration before the World Bank's participated in a cycle International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes rally along with scores (ICSID) in 2012 after the Balochistan government rejected a of people to promote leasing request from the company. greater awareness of Mahatma Gandhi's The company had claimed 11.43 billion dollars in ideals of non-violence damages. The case between the Pakistan government and Satyagraha to celebrate his 150th birth anniversary. and the company continued for seven years. The TCC Conceived by Indian Consul-General in Johannesburg Dr K completed an extensive and detailed bankable feasibility J Srinivasa, the event was co-hosted by the study establishing the basis for mine development at Reko Gandhi Walk Committee. Scores of cyclists Diq during August 2010 and submitted a mining lease joined Indian diplomats at the inaugural application in February 2011, along with an environmental Block Ride in the sprawling Indian township and social impact assessment report. The Reko Diq mine is of Lenasia. famous for its vast gold and copper reserves. The project stopped in November 2011, Google India's 'Internet Saathi' programme when the Balochistan government to empower rural women 16 July' 19 summarily rejected the application by the TCC's local operating subsidiary for a oogle India's 'Internet Saathi' programme aimed to mining lease in respect of Reko Diq. empower rural women on how to use the Internet has now added two more states -- Punjab and China GDP growth slows to 6.2 pc, G Odisha. With this, the programme has now reached 2.6 weakest in 27 years 15 July' 19 lakh villages in 20 states. Launched as a pilot project in 2015, along with Tata Trusts, 'Internet Saathi' programme hina's economic focuses on educating women on how to use the Internet. growth slowed These women, in turn, impart training to other women in Cto a record low their community and neighbouring villages. In the four- of 6.2 per cent in the year journey, trained 70,000 "Internet Saathis" are using second quarter of this the Internet to drive positive change in their communities year. This is the weakest and have already benefited over 2.6 crore fellow women. growth rate in nearly While some have gone ahead and started their own micro- three decades for the business such as stitching, honeybee farming and beauty world's second-largest parlour, many others are empowering their families and economy, in the midst of a trade war with the United States and communities with new skills to enhance their livelihood. There weakening global demand. are also those who are driving awareness for Government data showed that Gross Domestic Product issues like girl child education, menstrual (GDP) growth slid from 6.4 per cent in the first quarter to hygiene and more. In Punjab, the programme 6.2 per cent. China's GDP expanded 6.3 per cent year-on- will cover around 5,000 villages. In Odisha, it year in the first half of 2019 to about 6.56 trillion US Dollars. will cover over 16,000 villages.

Donald Trump has nominated Mark Esper to be the U.S. Secretary of Defense. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 49 NEWS BITES INTERNATIONAL Over 820 million people suffering G7 Finance Ministers agreed on a from hunger: UN Report 16 July' 19 plan for taxing digital companies 18 July' 19 ccording to UN report, 7 Finance Ministers meeting in France agreed a plan Amore than for taxing digital companies such as Facebook and 821 million people Google that will set a minimum level of taxation suffered from hunger G for them. According to a statement from France, Ministers worldwide last year. fully supported a two-pillar solution to be adopted by 2020. It is the third year in According to France, which holds the rotating chairmanship a row that the number of the group of world's most developed countries, new has risen. The rules should be developed to address new business models report named, 'The State of Food Security and Nutrition allowing companies to do business in a territory without in the World', produced by the UN Food and Agriculture any physical presence. Ministers agreed that a minimum level of effective taxation would contribute to ensuring that Organization and other UN agencies, including WHO, and companies pay their fair share of tax. was released. It added the G7 looks forward to further progress in the It noted that the number of people without enough to eat context of the G20 and a global agreement on the outlines had risen from 811 million in 2017 and getting to a world of the architecture by January 2020. The French Parliament where no one is suffering from hunger remains an immense earlier this month passed a new law that will tax digital challenge. giants on revenue accrued inside the country, even if their After decades of decline, malnutrition European headquarters are elsewhere, in a move that will affect huge US groups Google, Apple, Facebook and began to increase in 2015, mainly because Amazon. of climate change and war. Reversing the trend is one of the 2030 targets of the UN's The move infuriated President Donald Sustainable Development Goals which aim Trump and the US announced an unprecedented probe against France which to improve the planet and its people. could trigger the imposition of tariffs. Christine Lagarde resigns as Former Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan managing director of IMF 17 July' 19 Abbasi arrested in LNG case nternational Monetary 18 July' 19 Fund, IMF managing director Christine akistan's anti-graft body arrested former Prime I Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a multi-billion- Lagarde has resigned ahead of a decision on her Prupee case related to the award of a liquefied natural nomination to become gas (LNG) import contract. A National Accountability head of the European Bureau (NAB) team intercepted Abbasi's car in Lahore and Central Bank, ECB. arrested him. He initially resisted the arrest but eventually conceded. Her resignation has been accepted by the IMF Executive Board, which will come Abbasi, who served as the prime minister from August 2017 into effect from 12 September. to May 2018, had reached Lahore from Islamabad to hold a press conference but was arrested before reaching the venue If the European Council approves Ms Lagarde's ECB of the event. The NAB was probing alleged corruption in nomination, she will become the central the award of contract to import LNG from Qatar by Abbasi bank's first-ever female leader, responsible when he was minister for petroleum and natural resources in for the Euro and the monetary policy of the the cabinet of former premier Nawaz Sharif. eurozone. Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) The former French cabinet minister has alleged that Abbasi has been arrested on Prime Minister been heading the IMF since 2011.

50 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 San Francisco has become the first major US city to effectively ban the sale and manufacture of electronic cigarettes. INTERNATIONAL Imran Khan's direct order. Three-time prime minister and at Narayangunj by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif is already serving seven years the Indian High imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Mills case. Commissioner to Opposition Pakistan Peoples' Party's co- Bangladesh, Riva chairman and former president Asif Ali Ganguli Das, along Zardari is also in NAB's custody in fake with Ambassador bank accounts case. of Bhutan to Bangladesh Sonam Ebola outbreak declared global T. Rabgye. health emergency in DR Congo The Indian cargo ship MV AAI carrying stone aggregates 18 July' 19 from Bhutan arrived in Narayanganj in Bangladesh through the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route. The stone aggregates he World were transported by trucks from Phuentsholing in Bhutan Health Org. which is 160 kms from Dhubri jetty in Assam before being T( W H O ) shipped to Bangladesh through Brahmaputra. has declared the The transport of cargo through this route Ebola crisis in the will cut short travel time by 8 to 10 days, Democratic Republic and reduce transportation cost by 30 per of Congo, a public cent. It will also be a more environment health emergency of friendly mode of transport. international concern. The WHO made the declaration following a meeting of India sign US 91.26 mn agreement to its emergency committee in the Geneva. The UN health agency made the announcement days after the virus upgrade rail track in Sri Lanka was confirmed in Goma, a major regional crossroads in 18 July' 19 northeastern Congo on the Rwandan border. ri Lankan government signed an agreement with According to a statement by WHO, it was time for the IRCON International for upgrading of a railway world to take notice of the epidemic and called for a track with Indian concessional financing of redoubling of efforts to battle it back. A WHO expert S around 91.26 million US dollars. The agreement is for committee declined on three previous occasions to advise up gradation of over century old track of 130 km located the United Nations health agency to make the declaration between Colombo and Jaffna in Tamil -majority Northern for this outbreak, even though other experts say it has long Province. The contract agreement was signed by Sunil met the conditions. Kumar Choudhury, Chairman & Managing Director, More than 1,600 people have died since August in the IRCON International Limited, and L.P.Jayampathy, second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which is Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of Sri unfolding in a region described as a war zone. This Lanka. is the fifth such declaration in history. Sri Lankan Transport Minister thanked the Indian Previous emergencies were declared for the government for its generous assistance in development of devastating 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West transport sector in the island nation, including Railways and Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, air. Palali airport near Jaffna is expected to be connected by the emergence of Zika in the Americas, the air services to South India by early September. swine flu pandemic and polio. India has so far committed Line of Credit worth around First ever use of Indian waterway 1.3 billion USD for development of railway sector in to transport Cargo from Bhutan to Sri Lanka. The restoration of arterial railway lines, connecting the North and the South after decades of Bangladesh 18 July' 19 conflict, was undertaken under Indian concessional financing. n the first ever use of an Indian waterway to transport cargo from Bhutan to Bangladesh via India, a India has so far upgraded around 300 km of railway track shipment of stone aggregates was formally received and provided modern signalling & telecommunication I system for around 330 km in Sri Lanka. India has also

Parminder Singh Dhindsa has been re-elected the president of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI). SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 51 NEWS BITES INTERNATIONAL contributed substantially to capacity of all past results since June 29, 2018. The suspension building of Sri Lankan railway personnel. period also commenced from June 29, 2018. This project is in continuation of India’s Disqualification of the Athlete's results since 29 June 2018 efforts to partner with Sri Lanka in people- with all resulting consequences including the forfeiture of oriented connectivity projects in Sri Lanka. any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance Bulgarian lawmakers ratify US 1.3- money pursuant to Article 10.8 ADR. bn deal to buy eight F-16 fighter jets India's National Anti-Doping body NADA has the right to appeal against the decision to the Court of from US 19 July' 19 Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. She had failed a dope test in November 2018 when ulgarian lawmakers ratified a hefty 1.3-billion US her sample taken during the National Inter- Dollar deal to buy eight F-16 fighter jets from the State Athletics Championships was found US in the country's biggest military equipment B to contain Probenecid, a masking agent. purchase since the fall of communism three decades ago. Significantly the rate was higher than what other countries ICC suspends Zimbabwe Cricket with have paid for F-16s. immediate effect 19 July' 19 The deal with the US government, equivalent to 1.1 billion Euros, is for eight F-16 Block 70 multi-role fighters he International including six single-seaters and two double-seat jets. These Cricket Council, will replace the NATO country's ageing Soviet-built MiG- TICC has 29s. suspended Zimbabwe According to Lockheed Martin, the US manufacturer of Cricket with immediate the F-16s, US fighters have technology effect over violation of that features in more advanced jets such as global body's constitution the F-35 and F-22. According to Bulgarian which doesn't allow any Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov government intervention. Bulgaria will be the first Balkan country to The current elected members of Zimbabwe Board were have this brand-new version of the aircraft. suspended by government agency Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC) which was a violation of relevant articles Sanjivani Yadav handed two-year of ICC Constitution. suspension for doping violation The ICC Board unanimously decided that Zimbabwe 19 July' 19 Cricket, an ICC Full Member, is in breach of the article which imposes an obligation on Members to provide ndia's long- a process for free and democratic elections and to distance runner ensure that there is no government interference in its ISanjivani Yadav governance and/or administration for cricket. As a has been handed a consequence of suspension, ICC funding to Zimbabwe two-year suspension Cricket will be frozen and representative teams from by the IAAF's Zimbabwe will not be allowed to participate in any Athletics Integrity ICC events. Unit (AIU) for a The ICC has directed that the elected Zimbabwe Cricket doping violation. The Board be reinstated to the office within three months and 23-year-old won the progress in this respect will be considered 10,000m bronze at the 2019 Asian Championships and again at the October Board meeting. 5000m bronze in the 2017 edition. The Croatia, Morocco and Zambia Cricket According to an order by the AIU, the international Union have both also been suspended for federation's body for combating doping, the athlete continuing to be non-compliant. admitted to her first violation resulting in disqualification

52 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Arundhati Roy has authored a book named My Seditious Heart. ECONOMY NEWS BITES Burning Topics of the Month

GST council extends Govt. hikes Minimum Indian Govt to provide tenure of anti-profiteering Support Price of Kharif credit to foreign firms. body. crops for 2019-20 season.

& Many More...

Tech Mahindra signs contract with The 35th Council meeting, the first to be chaired by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, gave in principle nod to an Airbus 21 June' 19 electronic invoicing system for companies and e- ticketing for multiplexes. It also ech Mahindra allowed use of Aadhaar for registration signed a under GST and extended the deadline for m u l t i - y e a r T filing of annual returns by two months to contract with Airbus August 31. for cabin and cargo design engineering. Wilful Defaulters in Nationalised The main aim to capitalize on the Banks up by 60% in 5 years: Govt specialized skills and 23 June' 19 competencies in the growing cabin engineering business over the next few years. s per a written reply given by Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha, Airbus is a strategic customer and partner of Tech the number of wilful defaulters in nationalised Mahindra. Its motto to develop innovative A banks has increased by more than 60% to 8,582 in five engineering and digital solutions for our years to March 2019. The Finance Minister provided the customers. The relationship with Airbus written reply in Lok Sabha to a question asked that whether in consolidating their global supplier base the cases of willful defaulters of banks have increased while driving business efficiencies and during the past five years. Wilful Defaulter is an entity or competencies in this process. a person that has not paid the loan taken back to the bank GST council extends tenure of anti- despite having the ability to repay it. Wilful defaulters are acted against comprehensively. profiteering body 22 June' 19 Data Provided by Government: ndia has extended the anti-profiteering framework under By end of fiscal year 2014-15, the figure of wilful the goods and services tax (GST) by another two years defaulters in nationalised banks stood at 5,349, and since Iwhile also making the rules more stringent to ensure then the number of such borrowers has been consistently companies pass on the benefit of lower taxes to consumers. rising- with being 6,575 (2015-16), 7,079 (2016-17), 7,535 The GST Council, the apex decision-making body for (2017-18) and now increased to 8,582 in 2018-2019 fiscal. the levy, decided to extend the tenure of National Anti- During the last 5 financial years about `7,654 crore has profiteering Authority (NAA) and approved the imposition been recovered from wilful defaulters’ accounts. of an additional penalty of up to 10% of the profiteered Steps Taken By Government amount if companies don’t pay up fine in 30 days. At present, companies have to deposit a penalty of Rs 25,000. As per data reported by 17 nationalised banks in India, till The framework may remain in place for another two years, 31 March 2019, suits for recovery have been filed in 8,121 having originally been scheduled to end this year. cases out of 8,582. SARFAESI Act: In cases involving

Government has proposed to establish Five Sainik Schools in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA Odisha and Telangana. 53 NEWS BITES ECONOMY secured assets, action under provisions of SARFAESI Act The Loan Agreement (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and signed by Mr. Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002) has been Sameer Kumar initiated in 6,251 cases. Khare, Additional RBI Instructions: As per the instructions provided by Secretary, Department Reserve Bank of India (RBI), wilful defaulters are not of Economic sanctioned any additional facilities by banks/financial Affairs, Ministry of institutions, their unit is debarred from Finance. It supports floating new ventures for 5 year and even the government's criminal proceedings are initiated wherever National Strategic Plan to end TB in India by 2025. Direct necessary. In accordance with this FIRs Benefit Transfers (DBT) given to the patients for acquiring have been registered in 2,915 cases. the critical nutrition needed during treatment. Around $ 400 Million loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction RBI launches CMS for filing online and Development (IBRD) has a 19-year maturity It includes a complaints against banks, NBFCs 5-year grace period. The program is built on strategic partnerships with the 25 June' 19 Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, who are he Reserve Bank of India launched an application providing US$ 40.6 million to buy down the principal of on its website for lodging complaints against the loan; and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who banks and NBFCs with a view to improve are financing independent verification of results achieved T by the Ministry of Health and Family customer experience in timely redressal of grievances. The Complaint Management System (CMS) is a software Welfare, and providing technical support to application to facilitate RBI's grievance redressal scale up private sector engagement. Such process. Customers can lodge complaints against any partnerships fulfil the kind of cooperation regulated entity with public interface such as commercial and innovative financing envisaged in banks, urban cooperative banks, Non-Banking Financial the World Health Organization’s End TB Companies (NBFCs). Strategy. The complaint would be directed to the appropriate office Govt hikes Minimum Support Price of the Ombudsman/Regional Office of the RBI. The CMS will be accessible on desktop as well as on mobile devices. of Kharif crops for 2019-20 season The RBI also plans to introduce a dedicated Interactive 04 July' 19 Voice Response (IVR) system for tracking the status of complaints. Keeping the convenience of customers in n a major boost mind, the CMS has been designed to enable online filing to the farmers’ of complaints. Iincome, the Cabinet Committee With the launch of CMS, the processing on Economic Affairs of complaints received in the offices of has approved the Ombudsman and Consumer Education increase in the and Protection Cells of RBI has been Minimum Support digitalized. Prices, MSP for all Kharif crops for 2019-20 Season. India and World Bank signed USD This will increased investment and production through 400M loan agreement to eliminate TB assured remunerative prices to the farmers. The MSP of 27 June' 19 paddy has been increase by 65 rupees per quintal, Jowar by 120 rupees and Ragi by 253 rupees per quintal. The MSP he World Bank and the Government of India signed of Tur has been raised by 125 rupees, Moong by 75 rupees a loan agreement of $400 Million for the Program and Urad pulses raised by 100 rupees per quintal. Towards Elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) to kill T The MSPs of soyabean increased by 311 rupees, sunflower half a million people in India every year. The program will cover nine States of India. by 262 rupees and sesamum by 236 rupees per quintal which is a major step towards increasing the income of farmers. Fifteen-year-old Cori Gauff of the United States made history when she became the youngest player MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 54 to qualify for Wimbledon. ECONOMY The increase in MSP for Kharif Crops for dominate the sector, have not been able to drive increased 2019-20 season is in line with the principle lending because they are burdened with more than $145 of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 billion in bad loans. times of the all India weighted average Cost This has led to a severe credit squeeze for of production, which was announced in the smaller firms. They pay up to 17 per cent last budget 2018-19. annual interest on loans from banks, while the shadow banks, which are also known as Indian Govt to provide $14.5 billion non-banking financial companies (NBFCS) in credit to millions of foreign firms can charge as much as 20 per cent. 19 July' 19 China’s debt at 303% of GDP, 15% of he government is in discussions with multiple global total: Report 19 July' 19 foreign lenders, including Germany's state-owned Tdevelopment bank KfW Group, the World Bank key gauge of China's debt has topped 300% of and some Canadian institutions to extend lines of credit gross domestic product, according to the Institute to small enterprises. India's government is in talks with Aof International Finance (IIF), as Beijing steps up foreign lenders to provide as much as $14.5 billion in support for the cooling economy while trying to contain credit to millions of its small firms, in a sign the country's financial risks. China's total corporate, household and banking system may not be robust enough to do the job government debt rose to 303% of GDP in the first quarter of on its own. 2019, from 297% in the same period a year earlier, which The government is in discussions with multiple foreign highlighted rising debt levels worldwide. lenders, including Germany's state-owned development bank The IIF is a private global financial industry association, KfW Group, the World Bank and some Canadian institutions based in Washington. China's economic growth slowed to to extend lines of credit to small enterprises. 6.2% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 KfW's India office confirmed the discussions, though the years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of main focus was on credit lines to support small businesses' mounting US trade pressure. solar power generation. The government plans to source up China's economy growth cools to 6.2%, slowest in at least to 1 trillion Indian rupees of loans from foreign institutions 27 years. To revive investment and protect because Indian banks were not in a position to provide jobs, Beijing has been encouraging banks enough capital for the small business sector, which is seen to lend more, particularly to struggling as critical to job creation. India's micro, small and medium smaller firms. It has also unveiled billions enterprise (MSME) ministry is discussing the proposal to of dollars in tax cuts and infrastructure pull in foreign banks with the country's ministry of finance, spending. which will take final decision. The push for foreign loans comes on the heels of the Indian Asian Development Bank cuts India's government's announcement earlier this month that it plans FY-2020 GDP growth forecast to 7% to borrow about 700 billion rupees by issuing overseas 19 July' 19 sovereign bonds. India's 63 million firms in the micro, small and medium firm sector are responsible for more than a he Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised quarter of the country's manufacturing and services output, downwards its outlook for India's GDP growth and must be re-energised for Prime Minister Narendra Tfor the financial year 2019-20 to 7 per cent from Modi's government to kick-start the economy. its previous forecast of 7.2 per cent due to shortfall in the Gross domestic product growth fell to a five-year low of previous fiscal. According to the Manila-based bank in its 5.8 per cent in the January-March quarter, well below the 8 supplement to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) per cent-plus rates that the government is targeting. released the growth may improve in FY 2020-21 to 7.2 per cent. But credit availability for small and medium firms, which also account for about 45 per cent of India's total exports, The GDP growth forecast for FY2019 is revised down has worsened due to a liquidity crisis in the country's from the ADO 2019 forecast of 7.2 per cent to 7.0 per cent, shadow banking industry that has seen big lenders mainly reflecting the unexpectedly weak FY2018 outturn. struggling to remain solvent. State-owned banks, which Growth is expected to inch up again to 7.2 per cent in

India captain Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to reach 20,000 international runs. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 55 NEWS BITES ECONOMY FY2020-21, helped by recent reforms to improve the electric three-wheelers. SmartE is also the business climate, strengthen banks and relieve agrarian official last-mile connectivity partner to distress. The revised forecast is in line with the Reserve Delhi Metro, offering its services across Bank of India's revision, which was announced in June. multiple metro stations in Delhi, Gurugram, The Economic Survey 2019-20 released on July 4 also and Faridabad. Shinichiro Omachi is the pegged the growth estimate at 7 per cent. managing director of Mitsui & Co. India. GDP growth in India in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018-29 declined to 5.8 per cent year-on-year, down more Suzlon gets a bad loan tag from sharply than expected from 6.6 per cent in the prior quarter Union Bank 20 July' 19 and the lowest in five years. tate-run Union Bank of India has tagged Suzlon The slowdown was broad-based, with private consumption Energy Ltd as a bad loan and more banks are and investment growth slowing from previous quarters. Sexpected to follow suit, as the stressed wind turbine On the impact of the US decision to end preferential maker has struggled to repay its lenders. trade treatment for India under its Generalised System The bad loan tag by one of Suzlon’s lenders will force of Preferences, according to the ADB report that it will other Indian banks to set aside money to cover potential have minimal effect as it benefited only 1.8 per cent of all losses on their exposure to the firm. It will increase the Indian exports. Agriculture is expected to grow at a healthy `9.49 trillion bad loans on their books as of 31 March. rate in FY2019 as current weather trends Suzlon also missed a deadline to pay $172 million due to indicate a normal monsoon. Moderation foreign currency convertible bondholders. Under RBI’s in growth prospects for the advanced asset classification guidelines, banks have to set aside 15% economies could adversely affect tradable of their outstanding loans to a non-performing account as services, this drag on growth mitigated by provisions. To be sure, banks have to set aside money for a more competitive currency and benign every loan they make, but the quantum is just 0.4% till it oil prices. remains standard. Electric vehicle start-up SmartE gets Loans are classified into three major categories: standard, substandard and doubtful, depending on their repayment Rs 100-crore investment from Mitsui trends. The Pune-based company is led by founder Tulsi 20 July' 19 Tanti, reported a total debt of `11,141 crore as of 31 March. Suzlon Energy is working on a holistic solution for its debt lectric vehicle (EV) start-up SmartE has raised Rs and continues to be in discussions with stakeholders to 100 crore from Japanese major trading house Mitsui repay its outstanding debt, including bonds. & Co in a Series B funding round. In addition to E The central bank had, in FY16 conducted an asset quality the capital, Mitsui will bring to SmartE multiple synergies through its existing businesses in the EV domain to enable review to standardize asset classification across banks. the company for long-term growth. Other lenders to Suzlon include Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, IDBI Bank and Punjab Founded in 2014, SmartE provides electric mobility services National Bank. This is not the first time Suzlon has defaulted and focuses on offering shared last-mile connectivity. It has on bonds. In 2012, it defaulted on payments of $221 moved over 35 million commuters till date. With its fleet billion, forcing the firm into corporate debt restructuring. of nearly 1,000 electric three-wheelers in Delhi-NCR, it In the year ended 31 March, it reported a loss of `294.64 moves around 100,000 commuters daily. crore. Total consolidated income from operations declined The company will use the funding to rapidly increase its to `1,450.47 crore in the quarter ended 31 March from fleet size within Delhi-NCR as well as other key cities `2,189.18 crore in the year-ago period. around the country. It will also use the funds to significantly The payment cycle for private power ramp up its charging infra network to offer both plug-in developers has worsened in states such as vehicle charging and battery swapping solutions. Andhra Pradesh, where accounts receivable Goldie Srivastava is the co-founder and chief executive were due for 8-10 months, in March. In of SmartE. SmartE had built India’s largest EV charging Tamil Nadu the period is over nine months infrastructure, spread across five large park and charge now, harming the liquidity profile of several hubs with a capacity to concurrently charge more than 800 wind power developers.

MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh launched the “Go Tribal Campaign” by Tribes India at 56 New Delhi.

OUR PRESENCE BRANCH MOBILE NO.

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Mahatma Gandhi IT & Biotechnology Park (MGIT-BP) was inaugurated in Grand-Bassam, Cote MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 58 d’Ivoire. BRANCH MOBILE NO. OUR PRESENCE Kanpur Kakadev 9235253484 Patna Fraizer Road 9204855305/06/09/11 Kanpur Kidwainagar 9235253482 Pilibhit 9837186684 Kanpur Mall Road 9236757143/ 9236720133 Pratapgarh 9208245660 Karnal 8930175568 Pune 9225231629 Kolkata 9230141497/8017652045 Raebareilly 9235253412 9253678053 Raipur 9229174912/ 9200193438 Lakhimpur 9208251562 Rajkot 9979316870 Lucknow Alambagh PO 9235253521 Rampur 9208255388 Lucknow Bhootnath 9235253528 Ranchi 9204855313 Lucknow Gomti Nagar 9235253548 Rewa 7415690904 Lucknow Mahanagar PO 9235253443 8930403886 Lucknow Rajajipuram 9235253425 Roorkee 7706008033 Ludhiana 9256002028 Sagar 7509219781 Mainpuri 9208241450 Saharanpur 9235253445 Mathura 9208235067 Sambalpur 8594958962/ 8594959148 Meerut 9235253448 Shahjahanpur 9208256201 Mirzapur 9208243884 Shimla 8894100342 Moradabad 9235253442 Siliguri 7602742939 Mumbai 9221944071 Sitapur 7706008028/ 9235253514 Munger 8881667750 Sultanpur 9208252915 Muzaffarnagar 7706008032 Surat 9537360459 Muzaffarpur 9204303515/ 9204355614 Tirupati 9581933099 Nagpur-Buldi 9168558073 Thiruvananthapuram 9645415029 Nasik 9168512624/ 9168511626 Vadodara 9537589477 Noida 9953948834 9235253419 Orai 9208237457 Vijaywada 8886309897 Patiala 9780859721 Vishakapatnam 9966593419 Patna Boaring Road 9204855301/02 Warangal 8142230661

Abu Dhabi is hosting the International Security Alliance (ISA)'s first joint security exercise SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA ISALEX19. 59 ONLINE VIDEO GURU CARD Purchase Now myshop.mahendras.org

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Dutee Chand bags Gold clinches Ambati Rayudu retires medal in 100-metres event silver at 2020 Tokyo from all forms of cricket. at World Universiade. Olympic Games test event.

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India women’s rugby team create a best of 56.37 meters in the final. At the Asian Games in Incheon South Korea, she history with first international 15s won the bronze medal with a throw of 59.53 win 21 June' 19 meters She Born in Jatt Farmer Family in Dabthuwa Village of Meerut. n an historic a c h i e v e m e n t , Fernando Torres Announces IIndia women’s Retirement at the Age of 35 rugby team claimed 22 June' 19 their first-ever international 15s ernando Torres win. The historic is set to draw win came against Fcurtains over Singapore in the Asia his 18-year long Rugby Women’s Championship Division 1 as India won football career, 21-19. the footballer announced. Spanish In a tense match, India’s scrum-half Sumitra Nayak forward Torres has handed India the win after kicking a penalty in the dying represented top minutes. India were in the lead at the beginning when clubs like Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea and is Sweety Kumari scored two first-half tries. currently plying his trade in J-League at Sagan Tosu. She continued her good form as she had 35-year-old Torres has to his name a FIFA World Cup scored her two tries in their defeat to the victory, two Euro Championships titles, one Champions as well. Nayak converted the League and two Europa League trophies. Torres, in two second half penalty and propelled India to phases, played 394 games for Atletico a historic win. Madrid and scored 128 goals. At Liverpool, Torres spent four seasons scoring 81 goals Bronze for India in the 58th Ostrava in 142 appearances. He represented Chelsea Golden Spike Athletics meet in 172 games, finding the back of the net 45 times. 21 June' 19

nnu Rani won the women’s javelin bronze in Asian Snooker Championship: Pankaj the 58th Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet, Advani 22 June' 19 Croatia’s Sara Kolak took the gold and Slovenia’s A ndia’s Pankaj Advani defeated Thanawat Martina Ratej bagged the silver. Tirapongpaiboon of Thailand with 6-3 in final to Annu Rani is a Javelin thrower from Uttar Pradesh. She clinch the 35th men’s Asian Snooker Championship. is supported by Olympic Gold Quest. She finished eighth I

Justice Prasanta Kumar Saikia sworn in as Lokayukta of Arunachal Pradesh. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 61 NEWS BITES SPORTS India’s ace cueist was created by Pierre de Coubertin and Pankaj Advani won Demetrius Vikelas on 23 June 1894 in men’s Asian Snooker Paris, France. It is the authority responsible Championship to for organising modern Summer and Winter complete a career Olympic Games. grand slam in cue sports. Yuvraj Singh Likely to Participate in With this win Advani Foreign T20 Leagues 23 June' 19 has now become the only player to win Asian and World championships in all he just-retired formats and also only one to do it in both billiards and Yuvraj Singh snooker. He has now claimed ACBS (Asian Confederation Tis likely of Billiard Sports) Asian snooker events: 6-red (short to get the BCCI's format) and 15-red (long format) along with the IBSF permission to play World (Billiards and Snooker) Championships in both T20 leagues around formats. the world but he has not yet formally About ACBS Asian Snooker Championship written to the It is the premier non-professional snooker board seeking its nod. Yuvraj called time on his glorious tournament in Asia that started from 1984. international career and expressed a desire to play overseas The Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports, leagues for "fun". The BCCI has barred active players sanctions the event series. In most of the from taking part in overseas T20 leagues and that is one of seasons winner of tournament qualifies for the reasons, Yuvraj considered retirement to make himself next season of Professional Snooker Tour. available for competitions around the world. and , who had retired from IOC formally opens new international cricket, were allowed to be part of the T10 Headquarters in Switzerland League in the UAE. Last month, Irfan Pathan became the 23 June' 19 first Indian player to be included in the Caribbean Premier League draft though he remains an active first-class n Olympic player and did not take prior permission from the BCCI. Games’ 125th The BCCI had also withdrawn his brother Oanniversary, Yusuf's NOC for participation in a Hong International Olympic Kong T20 tournament two years ago. After Committee (IOC) announcing his retirement here, Yuvraj said has formally opened he is looking forward to play in foreign T20 its new headquarters leagues. in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Indian Women’s Hockey Team Wins innaugration of new headquarters comes exactly 125 years FIH Series Finals 24 June' 19 after Olympic Games were revived. The International Olympic Committee was founded by ndia clinched the Pierre de Coubertin, who was a great visionary and brought women’s FIH together entire world together in one peaceful competition. ISeries Finals The Olympic Games are a symbol of hope and peace for Hockey Tournament all humankind, to signify this rooftop of headquarters takes by beating hosts the shape of a dove which is another universal symbol of Japan 3-1 in peace. summit clash at the Hiroshima Hockey International Olympic Committee Stadium in Japan. It is a non-governmental sports organisation headquartered The World No.9 Indian women had put a hard fought win in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Sport’s governing body over the Asian champions. Captain gave India lead in 3rd minute before drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur struck

62 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Eminent freedom fighter Mohammed Baji has passed away. He was 103. SPORTS twice (45th and 60th minutes) late in match to set up win. In innings ( comprising last minutes of match Gurjit, the top scorer of tournament, 131 in Tests, 223 scored her second goal of match through a penalty corner in ODIs and 62 in to make it 3-1 and closed the victory for India. T20Is.), surpassing Women’s FIH Series previous record held by The 2018–19 Women’s FIH Series Finals that were held and Brian Lara. in June 2019 are 2nd stage of 2018–19 Both Tendulkar editions of Hockey Series. The event and Lara scored saw the participation of 24 teams (from 20,000 international runs in 453 innings. With this, Kohli 5 confederations) matches played were became overall 12th batsman and third Indian after Sachin 52. The top two teams from each event Tendulkar and to reach 20,000 international qualified for 2019 FIH Olympic Qualifiers. runs. Asian Artistic Gymnastic Sachin Tendulkar leads runs charts in ODIs and Tests with 18426 and 15921 runs respectively. Championship: Pranati Nayak wins He had scored 10 runs in only T20 bronze 24 June' 19 international he played against South Africa. Rahul Dravid has scored 10889 ranati Nayak and 13288 runs in ODIs and Tests, of India won respectively. He also played one T20I and Pbronze medal made 31 runs in it. in vault event held at Senior Asian Lewis Hamilton wins formula one Artistic Gymnastics 26 June' 19 C h a m p i o n s h i p s French Grand Prix 2019 in Ulaanbaatar, ewis Hamilton Mongolia. of Mercedes The 23-year-old Indian gymnast is from West Bengal, who Lwas named had qualified for vault finals with a 6th place, in finals Formula One French scored 13.384 to claim bronze medal. She had scored Grand Prix in his 13.400 and 13.367 in the 1st and 2nd vault respesctively. name, organized in China’s Yu Linmin (14.350) clinched the gold and Japan’s Circuit Paul Records Ayaka Sakaguchi (13.584) won silver medal at event. She of France. now currently stands tall as India’s 3rd major vaulting medallist after and Aruna Reddy. She now This is the 6th win of Hamilton in eight seasons this eyes her biggest challenge of World Championships 2019 season. The second place in this competition was which is scheduled to be held later this year. Mercadies' only Walterie Boutas. Charles Leclerc of AGC is organized by Asian Gymnastic Union (AGU) for Ferrar remains third in this competition. In this race, each of the FIG (International Gymnastics Max Worstappen remained fourth. Farer's Sebastian Federation) gymnastic disciplines for Vettel remained in the fifth position. both men’s and women’s. The FIG is the French Grand Prix governing body of competitive gymnastics which is headquartered in Lausanne, Formula One is the highest class of single seater auto Switzerland. racing. The French Grand Prix is a Formula One race that is hosted in Spain's Circuit Paul Records in Virat Kohli: Fastest batsman to reach Barcelona. The length of this circuit is 20,000 international runs 26 June' 19 5.842 kilometers, while the total length of the race is 309.690 kilometers. Grand ndia captain Virat Kohli (30) became fastest batsman Prix is a French word meaning "Great to reach 20,000 international runs, across formats. He Reward". Iachieved this milestone in only his 417th international

Famous Telugu writer Abburi Chaya Devi, a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005, SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA died. She was 86. 63 NEWS BITES SPORTS India proposes to host 2023 IOC His tenure is five years. It was established on August 6, 1967. Its headquarters is in session 27 June' 19 Jakarta, Indonesia. Its member countries ndia has proposed are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, to host 2023 Singapore, Thailand, , Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. II n t e r n a t i o n a l Olympic Committee bestowed (IOC) session in honorary doctorate by IIT Kanpur Mumbai, which is expected to choose 28 June' 19 host city for 2030 ndia's chief national Winter Olympics. badminton coach Key Highlights IPullela Gopichand was bestowed upon An IOC Session: is the general meeting of members of an honorary doctorate Committee (about 100-odd), held once in a year, in which by IIT Kanpur on each member has one vote. It is the supreme organ of IOC the occasion of their and its decisions are final. 52nd convocation. He Recent Developments: The formal bid for the purpose of received the honour hosting 2023 IOC session was submitted by Indian Olympic from former ISRO chairman and Chairman of the board of Association President Narinder Batra and Governors of IIT Kanpur, Prof K Radhakrishnan. The past recipients of the honour are Former President APJ Abdul Kalam IOC member Nita Ambani to IOC Chief and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Thomas Back on the sidelines of governing body’s 134th Session at Lausanne in An honorary degree is an academic degree Switzerland. 134th IOC Session took place for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, from 24 to 26 June 2019. residence, a dissertation, and the passing ASEAN countries decided to submit of comprehensive examinations. It is also known by the Latin phrases honoris causa contests for organizing Football or ad honorem. World Cup in 2034 27 June' 19 Indian pro boxer Vaibhav Yadav wins SEAN Countries (Group of Southeast Asian WBC Asia title 01 July' 19 Nations) has decided to submit a claim for the AFootball World Cup in 2034. Prior to this, the ndian pro boxer Football World Cup has been organized in Asia only, in Vaibhav Yadav 2002, Japan and South Korea jointly organized the Football Ibecame the World World Cup. Football World Cup will be held in Qatar in Boxing Council 2022. ASEAN countries include Cambodia, Indonesia, (WBC) Asia silver Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, champion Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei. after defeating Thailand's Fahpetch ASEAN Singmanassak in the This is an inter-governmental organization of 10 Southeast title bout held in Pattaya, Thailand. Asian countries. The charter has been told about the Yadav, a cousin of Commonwealth Games gold-medallist purpose of ASEAN. Its objectives include maintaining Vikas Krishan who has also turned pro now, clinched a sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of third-round knockout over Singmanassak. The fight, was member countries and peaceful settlement of disputes. conducted by the Asian Boxing Council and approved Its Secretary General works to implement the proposals by the WBC. Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is passed by the ASEAN and provide support in the work. regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan was elected unopposed to the Rajya MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 64 Sabha from Bihar. SPORTS fought for a purse that is divided between Canada Open: India's Parupalli the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised Kashyap loses in final 08 July' 19 by a regulatory authority to guarantee the arupalli Kashyap, fighters' safety. fell short against Veer wins U-19 Asian Squash title PFeng, by 22- 20 14-21 17-21 in the 01 July' 19 finals. Kashyap had reached the semi-finals n Squash, India of the India Open early won a gold as this year and the final Veer Chotrani I finish at Canada Open is beat compatriot his best performance of the season. Yash Fadte to win the Under-19 title The 2019 Canada Open, officially the YONEX Canada at the Asian Junior Open 2019, is a badminton tournament which took Championship in place at Markin-MacPhail Centre in Canada from 2 to Macau, China. With 7 July 2019 and has a total price of $75,000. The 2019 this victory, Veer became the third Indian to win the Asian Canada Open is the third Super 100 tournament of the trophy after Ravi Dixit and Vela Senthilkumar. It was a 2019 BWF World Tour and also part of the Canada Open contest of fluctuating fortunes until Veer held his nerve to championships, which has been held since 1957. This beat Fadte 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7. In the other two tournament is organized by the Badminton finals, India won two silver medals through Alberta and sanctioned by the BWF and Neel Joshi in the boys Under-17 category Badminton Canada. This international and Yuvna Gupta in the girl’s Under-15 tournament was held at Markin-MacPhail section. India finished the tournament with Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. one gold, three silver and as many bronze medals. Dutee Chand bags Gold medal in 100-metres event at World Ambati Rayudu retires from all forms Universiade 10 July' 19 of cricket 03 July' 19 utee Chand ndian middle- has clinched order batsman a Gold medal Ambati Rayudu D I in the 100-metre dash retired from all forms event at the World of cricket He did not Universiade at Napoli specify reasons for in Italy. The 23-year- calling it quits. old sprinter clocked The 33-year-old 11.32 seconds as she Andhra Pradesh led the race from start to finish. Del Ponte of Switzerland batsman was in India's official standbys list for the on- won the Silver, while German Lisa Kwayie took home the going World Cup but was omitted twice. In his mail to the Bronze. BCCI, he thanked the national body and state associations With the Gold, Dutee has become the first Indian woman which he represented in the game. track and field athlete to win the coveted yellow metal at According to him it was an honour and the event. She is also now only the second privilege for him to have represented the Indian sprinter to win a Gold in a global country. Rayudu played 55 ODIs for India, event after 19-year old Hima Das. Hima scoring 1694 runs at an average of 47.05. had clinched the top spot in the 400-metres He, however, did not play any Test. race in the World Junior Athletics Championships last year.

24th European Union Film Festival 2019 began in New Delhi. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 65 NEWS BITES SPORTS Lifter Ajay Singh wins gold at However, Sathiyan-Amalraj can take pride in the fact that they had beaten the Commonwealth Championships other Korean pair in the fray, Jang Woojin 12 July' 19 and Lim Jonghoon, in the quarterfinal. The Indian pair won 5-11, 11-6, 14-12, ndian weightlifter 11-8. Ajay Singh has Iwon Gold in Pardeep Singh creates new 81 kg category at Commonwealth record 13 July' 19 the Commonwealth Championships in ardeep Singh Apia, city of Samoa. created a new 22 year old also PCommonwealth created a new record in the clean Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk category by and jerk category lifting more than double his body weight (190kg) to score on the way to a gold vital points at the Olympic qualifying event. He also medal as Indian smashed the national record in the same category. weightlifters continued The Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships their impressive in the bronze medallist had earlier pulled off a clean lift of 148kgs Commonwealth Championships in Apia (Samoa). Pardeep, in the snatch event, taking his total to 338kg. This is also who is competing in the 109 kg category, smashed the record in Ajay's personal best. the clean and jerk event by lifting 202 kg. His earlier successful The other Indian in the 81kg category, Papul Changmai attempt of 148 kg took his total to 350 kg. clinched the silver medal by lifting a total of 313kgs. Two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Vikas Thakur P Anuradha lifted 221kg to grab the first clinched the silver medal in the men's 96 kg event. Vikas place in the men's 87kg category, while lifted a total of 338 kg (153kg, 185kg). Commonwealth gold medallist RV Rahul settled for the second spot by lifting 325kg India ended their campaign with a rich in the 89kg event. tally of 35 medals in the youth, junior and senior categories, breaking numerous World Tour Platinum Australian Open national, Commonwealth, world and Asian 13 July' 19 records. n Table Tennis, India wins three gold medals in Yasar the Indian pair Dogu Ranking series 13 July' 19 Iof G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj ndia has secured three Gold Medals in the Yasar Dogu won the bronze at the Ranking series wrestling tournament being held in World Tour Platinum Turkey. Australian Open after I they went down 12- Rahul Awaare in 61 Kg, Seema Bisla in 50 Kg and Manju 14, 9-11, 8-11 to top Kumari in 59 Kg categories clinched the yellow metal. seed Korean pair of Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu in Utkarsh Kale secured a Bronze in 61 Kg category. Geelong near Melbourne. Commonwealth and Asian Gold medal This was India's first ever medal in the Australian Open, winner Vinesh Fogat in 53 kg category which is a Platinum event. and Dipak in 86 kg competition have The Korean pair could not be pinned down despite being stormed into the finals. Sumit, Vicky and extended in the first game. But credit must be given to the Sonba Tanaji will compete for bronze Indian duo who fought really well before bowing out in the medal. semifinal.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) won the ‘Best Port of the Year- Containerised’ award at the 4th MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 66 India Maritime Award’ 2019. SPORTS wins 11th pro bout The match had to be decided in the fifth 14 July' 19 set, as both Federer IR Boxer and Djokovic won V i j e n d e r two sets each in the AS i n g h longest ever final remained an to be played so far. unstoppable force, This is Djokovic’s clinching a Technical 16th Grand Slam Knockout over Mike and 5th Wimbledon title. He is now level Snider on his debut in with Bjorn Borg as a five-time Wimbledon the US professional winner. circuit at Newark in US. The 33-year-old from Haryana England lift ICC Cricket World Cup prevailed in four rounds for his 11th consecutive victory in the circuit. 15 July' 19 The triumph came in the second minute of ngland won the fourth round when Vijender cornered their maiden Snider with a flurry of straight punches, EICC World prompting the referee to stop the bout in Cup cricket trophy the Indian's favour. This was Vijender's by defeating New eighth knockout win in all. Zealand in a nerve- wracking final that Vinesh Phogat wins gold at Yasar was decided via a dramatic Super Over 15 July' 19 Dogu International in London. Opting to bat, New Zealand put up a modest ndia wrestler 241 for eight. In reply, England ended at the same score Vinesh Phogat leading to the one-over eliminator at the Lord's. Ihas won gold in In the Super Over, England batted first and the duo the 53kg category of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler made 15, and New at Yasar Dogu Zealand also ended at the same score but for the loss International in of one , paving the way for an English victory on boundary count. Istanbul. England's Ben Stokes is named player of Phogat beat her the match for a heroic knock of 84 Russian opponent off 92 balls, while New Zealand's skipper Ekaterina Poleshchuk 9-5 in the final match to bag the gold Kane Williamson was adjudged player of medal. the tournament for his excellent returns It was third gold in the women's competition with the bat and inspiring leadership. for India after Seema (50kg) and Manju India won 2 Gold medals at ISSF (59kg) triumphed in their respective categories. Junior World Cup in Germany 16 July' 19 Djokovic defeats Federer to win fifth Wimbledon title 15 July' 19 ndia won two Gold and one Silver medal in the Women's 10-metre Air Rifle event at the International n Tennis, Serbian Novak Djokovic won his fifth IShooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Wimbledon title after defeating Swiss tennis ace Roger Suhl, Germany. IFederer 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 in a match that lasted In the Individual section of the category, Elavenil Valarivan for more than four hours. claimed the top honours with a total score of 251.6, while

North East Conclave 2019 on Transforming North East India through Science and Technology has SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA been began at Shillong. 67 NEWS BITES SPORTS another Indian of 52.88 seconds, Mehuli Ghosh settled which she managed for a Silver with earlier in the season. 250.2 points. It was Hima's fifth India also clinched gold medal since July a Gold in the team 2 when she ran her section by creating a first competitive race junior world record. in Europe. In her first The effort ensured competitive 200m that India remain at the top of the medals race of the year, she clocked 23.65 seconds on her way to tally with 14 medals, six Gold, six Silver gold at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland on July and two Bronze. China is second with two 2. After that, she won her second 200m gold at the Kutno Gold and a total of six medals. Athletics Meet, also in Poland, on July 7 with a time of 23.97 seconds. Vijayveer wins his 3rd gold at Junior On July 13, she won her third 200m gold at the Kladno Shooting World Cup 17 July' 19 Athletics Meet in Czech Republic with a time of 23.43 while her fourth gold came at the Tabor Athletics Meet in SSF Junior World the same country. It was first competition Cup Vijayveer in 400m for the 19-year-old from Assam, ISidhu picked up fondly called the 'Dhing Express', in the his third gold medal 400m event since she struggled to finish the of the ongoing ISSF Asian Athletics Championship in April this Junior World Cup year because of a back issue. in Suhl, Germany, combining with Deepika Kumari clinches silver at Rajkanwar Singh 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games test Sandhu and Adarsh event 18 July' 19 Singh to clinch the men's 25m pistol event. For Adarsh, it was his second gold of the competition. ndia's top- India maintained its top spot at the medal standings with ranked woman 7 gold 7 Silver and 2 Bronze in a total of 16 medals I archer Deepika won so far. China is second with 5 Gold 3 Silver and 5 Kumari won silver bronze. at the 2020 Tokyo A medal came in the men's 10m Air Rifle with the trio Olympic Games of Hriday Hazarika, Yash Vardhan and Paarth Makhija test event. Ranked winning the team silver with a combined score of 1877.4, which was just 0.4 less than the gold- fourth in the winning Chinese team's score. Junior world qualification round, champion Hriday, however finish fourth Deepika went down to Korean An San in straight sets. by scoring 207.3 in the 10m Air Rifle The second seed San produced fine shooting including individual competition. Russian Grigoril a flawless third set to clinch the match 6-0 in her Shamakov won gold with a score of 250. favour. This was Deepika's first individual final in a world Hima Das won 5 Gold Medals event since she won a gold at the third stage of the World 18 July' 19 Cup in Salt Lake City in June last year.

ndian sprinter Hima Das won her fifth gold of the month In the men's category, India had a forgettable as she run 400m competition with a season-best time of outing with country's top-ranked Atanu Das I52.09s in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Her personal making a second round exit, losing to Bae best timming is 50.79 seconds, which she reached at the Jaehyeon of Korea 4-6. Jakarta Asian Games. However, it was better than the timing

68 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Government cut interest rate on small savings schemes by 0.1% for the July-September quarter. SPORTS Indian Men & Women's teams win Joining Tendulkar Commonwealth Table Tennis title and Donald in the Hall of Fame was 19 July' 19 two-time World Cup- winning Australian n Commonwealth woman cricketer Table Tennis Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Championship I Tendulkar, the most held in Cuttack , India made a record by prolific batsman in winning gold in both history, was inducted immediately after becoming eligible men’s and women’s for induction, which requires that a player should have category. The Indian played his last international match at least five years men won the final before. match defeating England 3-2. The Indian The 46-year-old former right-hand batsman is regarded as women team defeated England 3-0 in final the greatest to have played the game along with Sir Donald match. The Indian women team won the Bradman and remains the top run-accumulator in both gold for the first time in the history in the Tests and ODIs. commonwealth games. Tendulkar, who retired in November 2013, Sarabjot Singh wins India's ninth gold scored 15,921 runs in Tests and 18,426 in in ISSF Junior World Cup ODIs, both of which remain records. He is the sixth Indian to be inducted into the ICC 19 July' 19 Cricket Hall of Fame. n Shooting, Aishwarya Pratap Singh wins gold in extending India's rifle 3-position event 20 July' 19 Idomination at the ISSF Junior World n the Shooting Cup, Sarabjot Singh Junior World shot a 239.6 to bag Cup, Aishwarya the men's 10 metres I Pratap Singh Tomar air pistol gold. This is won gold with a India's ninth yellow junior world record metal at the event in Suhl, Germany. in the final of rifle Sarabjit's effort meant that India swept both the men's and 3-position event women's 10 metres air pistol crowns with 14-year-old Esha in Suhl Germany. Singh winning the women's event . Facing a top-class field in the finals with multiple ISSF After six days of top-class shooting and with medallists and Russian Grigoril Shamakov, the reigning one more day to go, India remain on top of Youth Olympic Games champion in the mix as well, the medal standings with nine gold, nine Aishwarya began strongly and finished with a resounding silver and four bronze for a total of 22 medals. victory. After qualifying in the fourth place with a total of 1171, Sachin Tendulkar inducted into ICC Tomar with a score of 459.3 score beat Hall of Fame 19 July' 19 Zalan Pekler of Hungary by 4.5 points for the gold. India finished the ISSF ndian icon Sachin Tendulkar has been inducted tournament on top of the table with 10 into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame gold, nine silver and five bronze for a total Ialongside South African pace legend Allan Donald. of 24 medals. India has moved down one place to 74th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enter- SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA prises with Swiss bank. 69 NEWS BITES SCIENCE Burning Topics of the Month

NASA’s Mars Rover Ice Covering Arctic Ocean Scientists find new gene detects High Levels of Disappearing Faster Than linked to schizophrenia. Methane. Normal.

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NASA’s Mars Rover detects High Although the planned mission lifespan for Curiosity rover once it lands on Mars is 1 Levels of Methane 23 June' 19 Martian year (i.e. 687 days) however in December 2012 curiosity’s 2 year mission he Curiosity was extended indefinitely and rover is still Rover of National operational as of 25 June 2019. TAeronautics and Space Administration Mining polluted two major rivers in (NASA), an independent federal agency of Goa, hit ecology: Study 29 June' 19 United States has found he first the largest amount of study was methane ever measured published in during its mission on Red Planet (Mars). Although Methane T the Research Journal has been detected by the Curiosity team many times over the of Environmental course of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program but this time and Earth Sciences. unusually high’ levels of methane- about 21 parts per billion It says that in order units by volume (ppbv) were reported. 1 ppbv means that if to assess the long- we take a volume of air on Mars then 1 billionth of volume term contamination of air is methane. history of pollutants due to intense mining activities in Why Finding Methane is Important? the adjoining areas of rivers of northern Goa, sediment Finding such high level of methane is exciting because core samples were collected from three rivers- Bicholim, microbial life is an important source of methane on Mandovi and Terekhol. Earth, thus it may help scientist to look for possibility of The sediments were analysed for texture, organic carbon, life outside Earth. The methane on Red Planet can also major elements and trace metals. Environmental parameters be created through interactions between rocks and water such as contamination factor, geo-accumulation, enrichment and since Curiosity does not have instruments that can factor and pollution load index were used to assess the extent definitively say what exactly is the source of methane, or of pollution. The study revealed that the Bicholim River is even if it is coming from a local source within Gale Crater strongly polluted with iron and manganese and moderately or elsewhere on planet, it becomes impossible to tell if polluted with lead and chromium, while the Mandovi river is methane source is either biology or geology, or whether it moderately polluted with manganese and lead. is even ancient or modern. The Terekhol river, is getting polluted with copper and About Curiosity Rover chromium in the recent years because of It is part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission. It is human interference. The results indicate a car-sized rover designed to explore a crater on Mars called that mining has a considerable impact on Gale. It was launched on 26 November 2011, and landed on the Bicholim and Mandovi river sediments, Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 2012. which in turn affected the ecology of bottom-dwelling organisms.

70 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Martyred DD News cameraman, Achyutanand Sahu has been conferred with Narad Samman. SCIENCE Ice Covering Arctic Ocean Queensland in Australia and a team of Indian researchers searched the genomes of over 3,000 individuals and found Disappearing Faster Than Normal, those with schizophrenia were more likely to have a Say Scientists 14 July' 19 particular genetic variation.

ce covering the The team of Indian researchers was led by R. Thara, co- Arctic Ocean founder and director of the Chennai-based Schizophrenia Ireached the Research Foundation. second-lowest level Such studies had predominantly been done in populations recorded for this time with European ancestry, with more than 100 schizophrenia- of year after July associated variants identified previously. temperatures spiked This study identified a gene called NAPRT1 that encodes in areas around the an enzyme involved in vitamin B3 metabolism — we North Pole. were also able to find this gene in a large genomic dataset The rate of ice loss in the region is a crucial indicator of schizophrenia patients with European for the world's climate and a closely-watched metric by ancestry. bordering nations jostling for resources and trade routes. According to a statement released by the This year's heatwave in the Arctic Circle has led to record university, Dr. Mowry and Dr. Thara met in temperatures in areas of Alaska, Canada and Greenland, the late 1990s when they discussed studying extending long-term trends of more ice disappearing. Ice a population in India. flows are melting faster than average rates observed over the last three decades, losing an additional 20,000 square Arctic mission will trap scientists in kilometers (12,427 miles) of cover per day -- an area about ice to study climate 20 July' 19 the size of Wales. Ice begins melting in the Arctic as spring approaches in arkus Rex, an atmospheric scientist and leader of the northern hemisphere, and then it usually starts building the MOSAiC expedition, stands on the bridge of again toward the end of September as the days grow shorter Mthe research vessel. The group of scientists from and cooler. This summer, several dramatic images showing 17 nations will be rotated every two months. Scientists the pace and extent of Arctic ice melt have been seen around from 17 nations will take part in the year-long mission as the world underlining the harsh reality of global warming they anchor the ship to a large piece of Arctic sea ice to and the struggle governments face in trying to slow it down. study climate change Globally, June was the hottest year on record, according to In a couple of months, the German icebreaker RV Polarstern, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. a hulking ship will set out for the Arctic packed with An "unprecedented" number of wild fires supplies and scientific equipment for a year-long mission to are currently raging in the Arctic Circle explore the planet’s frigid far north. The icebreaker will be with over 100 burning in the last few the base for scientists from 17 nations studying the impact weeks in the Sakha Republic of Siberia and of climate change on the Arctic and how it could affect the Alaska. rest of the world. Scientists plan to sail the ship into the Arctic Ocean, anchor Scientists find new gene linked to it to a large piece of sea ice and allow the water to freeze schizophrenia 18 July' 19 around them, effectively trapping themselves in the vast sheet of white that forms over the North Pole each winter. fter 18 years The organizers say that the project is unprecedented in of research, scale and ambition. Indian and A As temperatures drop and the days get Australian scientists have identified a new shorter, they’ll race against time to build gene directly linked temporary winter research camps on the to schizophrenia. ice, allowing them to perform tests that wouldn’t be possible at other times of the Scientists from year or by satellite sensing. the University of In Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated 5th and 6th Unit of Chabra Super Critical SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA Thermal Power Station. 71 NEWS BITES MISCELLANEOUS Burning Topics of the Month

Pink City Jaipur enters Aparna Kumar becomes Kolhapuri chappals UNESCO World Heritage first civil servant to scale gets GI Tag. Site list. Mount Denali.

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DD India channel to be available in chappal (footwear) to four districts in each Bangladesh, South Korea state of Maharashtra 21 June' 19 and Karnataka. These 8 districts n bid to boost India’s relations with its neighbours, the government has entered into agreements with are- Kolhapur, Bangladesh and South Korea to broadcast DD Sangli, Solapur and I Satara districts of (Doordarshan) India channel in two countries and their state channels will be shown on DD Free Dish in India. Maharashtra and As per the agreement inked with Bangladesh, Indian Belgaum, Dharwad, Bagalkot and districts of government has decided to show BTV World, a channel Karnataka. owned by Bangladesh TV, on DD Free Dish which will be As per GI application made by two states of Maharashtra available for viewers of Doordarshan (around 35 million and Karnataka, Kolhapuris can be traced back to 12th households) in India. Also, DD India would be made century when King Bijjal ruled Bidar (in Karnataka). available in Bangladesh for being viewed by Bangladesh’s King’s Prime Minister Vishwaguru Basavanna, wanted to citizen. In this regard a Memorandum of Understanding create a casteless society and remove stigma attached to (MoU) has already been signed between Prasar Bharati and cobbler community, thus, the community Bangladesh TV (BTV) on 7 May 2019. Indian government has also approved Prasar Bharati (India’s Broadcasting embraced Lingayat faith and used its skills agency) proposal for making available KBS World, a 24×7 to start producing footwear that came to be South Korean channel (English) for Indian viewers and known equally for its ruggedness and regal simultaneously South Korean people would be able to view bearing. DD India in their country. This move is part of a robust cultural exchange in line with Prime Minister Narendra India’s Forest cover up by 1% Modi’s Act East policy and also marks 24 June' 19 an important watershed moment with respect to strengthening of ties between rakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment two countries. The step is also in line with informed the Lok Sabha that India’s forest cover has importance of building mutual cooperation Pincreased by 1% in last one year period and over with neighbouring countries. 24.39% of India’s geographical area now constitutes of green cover. GI Tag: Kolhapuri chappals Mr. Javadekar responded to supplementaries by stating. 22 June' 19 For every one tree chopped for reason of development work, 3-4 were planted either in same area or elsewhere. he Controller General of Patents, Designs and The satellite imagery were taken at regular intervals which Trade Marks (CGPDTM) has granted Geographical rules out such inconsistencies and makes it highly unlikely TIndication (GI) tag for Kolhapuris, the ethnic leather that sugar cane crops were counted in forest cover. As per 72 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 European Union and South American bloc Mercosur agree on free trade deal after 20 years of talks. MISCELLANEOUS a latest report, more than 24.39% of India’s The UN World Heritage Committee met geographical area now constitutes of green in to decide on the latest sites cover and government further plans to plant to be given the honour - awarded to areas 125 crore trees along highways to increase or landmark considered important for green cover. the whole of humanity and protected by international treaties. Aparna Kumar becomes first civil servant to scale Mount Denali Madakan: Water Conservation 01 July' 19 20 July' 19

n d o - T i b e t a n adaka is Border Police one of (ITBP) Deputy Mthe most I common traditional Inspector General (DIG) Aparna Kumar systems of water has become the first conservation followed civil servant to scale in several places in Mount Denali, the coastal Karnataka. It highest peak in North has been in use for America. She got her success in her third attempt. Ms hundreds of years at several places in the districts of Dakshina Kumar, a 2002 batch IPS officer from UP cadre is currently Kannada and Kasargod. However, this system is not unique posted as DIG, ITBP Northern Frontier at or restricted to Karnataka. Since madakas can be constructed Dehradun. This was her 7th summit in her in hard stone surfaces as also in clayey regions, these are also '7 Summits' challenge. She also became found in other states, though these are known by different the first woman IPS DIG and Indo-Tibetan names. Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully The cycle of water is that after rain falls on earth, it joins complete the South Pole expedition. the streams and rivers and flows into sea before getting absorbed by the clouds to result in rain once again. In this Pink City Jaipur enters UNESCO process, some of the rainwater is absorbed by the soil to World Heritage Site list 08 July' 19 form groundwater. It is this resource that meets the needs of the community in times of scarcity. ink City Madakas enhance the decreasing groundwater level. This Jaipur, known ensures rejuvenation of the subterranean water. Madakas for its iconic P increase the water levels in wells, tanks and borewells. architectural legacy Pumping of water to irrigate the land just below the madaka and vibrant culture, is considerably lessened. This in turn prevents irresponsible has made its entry use and exploitation of groundwater and water in wells, into the UNESCO tanks and borewells. World Heritage Site list. The decision was Afforestation is imperative in order to prevent silt deposits taken at the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee in the madakas. This step also augments the level of water. of UNESCO at Baku in Azerbaijan. It creates new ecosystem as various animals and birds seek shelter in the forest. The water in the madaka also nurtures The Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills, where the grapes aquatic life. that produce the famous prosecco sparkling wine are grown, is also in UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Water conservation means using less water or recycling Baku. The region became Italy's 55th World Heritage site. used water so that it can be used again. This type of program is important because water UNESCO also named ancient Babylon city a World conservation helps save energy, protect wild Heritage Site. The city's association with one of the Seven animals, and prevent people from using so Wonders of the Ancient World -- the Hanging Gardens -- much water that it cannot be replaced with has also inspired artistic, popular and religious culture on rain. a global scale.

The second anniversary of Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be celebrated on 1st July 2019. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 73 WORD OF ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY EDITORIAL WORD b : the convention established by such a precedent or by Precedent (noun) long practice An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or c : a person or thing that serves as a model guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances. ORIGIN e.g. ‘there are substantial precedents for using interactive Late Middle English: from Old French, literally media in training’. ‘preceding’. PRONUNCIATION Precedent (adjective) It could be simply broken into two parts pre+ cedent - 1. Going before: hence it may be pronounced as precedent advance, antecedent, anterior, earlier, preceding, previous, More example sentences prior. # # ‘People claimed that the precedent set out by the 2. Just gone by or elapsed: sleeper hit in 1998 was finally superseded.’ antecedent, anterior, earlier, foregoing, former, past, # # ‘The public sentiment would have been the necessity preceding. for humanitarian considerations to overcome precedent this once.’ SYNONYMS 2. In terms of Law Model, example, paradigm A previous case or legal decision that may be or (binding ANTONYMS precedent) must be followed in subsequent similar cases. After, following, later ‘we hope to set a legal precedent to protect hundreds of EXAMPLES OF PRECEDENT IN A SENTENCE miles of green lanes’ ## ‘If this court hears the case, they say, any decision More example sentences would set a precedent and would have ramifications ## ‘Furthermore, this is a case of general importance and across the country.’ it may well set a precedent.’ ## ‘The court should never view a foreign legal decision ## ‘Critics say that the judges should have let the 1963 as a precedent in any way.’ precedent stand, even if it was bad.’ ## ‘A lower court cannot set precedent, and must follow DEFINITIONS any higher courts decision.’ a : something done or said that may serve as an example or FIRST KNOWN USE OF rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or TH an analogous kind a verdict that had no precedent 15 Century NEW AND TRICKY SUFFIX DESCRIPTION PART OF SPEECH MADE FROM EXAMPLES ENT doing something Adjective or noun Verb Intransigent, fervent, complacent

OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH 2. an act, statement, legal decision, case, etc. that may variable noun serve as an example, reason, or justification for a later If there is a precedent for an action or event, it has happened one before, and this can be regarded as an argument for doing 3. a practice based upon earlier precedents it again. Contemporary Examples [formal] ## ‘I want the kind of precedent I have seen in Europe ## The trial could set an important precedent for dealing followed here.’ with large numbers of similar cases. ## ‘This is both illogical and a precedent we should not ## There are plenty of precedents in Hollywood for letting allow to be set.’ people out of contracts. # adjective # ‘However, based on precedent the cards are stacked against them.’ 1. that precedes; preceding

74 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix's title for the second year in a row. DESIGNATION WHO'S WHO WHO’S WHO S.No. DESIGNATION NAME 1. Chairman, Rajya Sabha Venkaiah Naidu 2. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla 3. Chairman of Niti Ayog Narendra D. Modi 4. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Gulam Nabi Azad 5. Leader of House in Lok Sabha Narendra D Modi 6. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha - 7. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora 8. Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, Sushil Chandra 9. Director General, ITBP S S Deshwal 10. Chief Vigilance Commissioner K V Chaudhary 11. Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale 12. Comptroller & Auditor General of India Rajiv Mehrishi 13. Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre S. Somanath 14. Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India R. S Sharma 15. CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla 16. Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Nand Kumar Sai 17. Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi 18. Chairman, UPSC Arvind Saxena 19. Director General, National Investigation Agency Y.C. Modi 20. Chairman, UGC D. P. Singh 21. Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO K. Sivan 22. Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Sec. Deptt. of Atomic Energy K. N. Vyas 23. Chairman, SSC Ashim Khurana 24. Chairman,National Human Rights Commission Justice H.L. Dattu 25. Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Sailesh 26. Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes Pramod Chandra Mody 27. Chairman, Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India Subash Chandra Khuntia 28. Chairman, Securities & Exchange Board of India Ajay Tyagi 29. Chairperson, State Bank of India Rajnish Kumar 30. Chairman, LIC M. R. Kumar 31. India’s permanent representative in UNO Syed Akbaruddin 32. Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba 33. Chairperson of National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma 34. Chairman, 15th Finance Commission N. K. Singh 35. Chairman, Competition Commission of India Ashok Kumar Gupta 36. Chairperson,Central Board of Film Certification Prasoon Joshi 37. President, ASSOCHAM Balkrishan Goenka 38. Chairman, NASSCOM Rishad Premji 39. New Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat 40. Chief, RAW Samant Goel 41. Children Film Society of India, Chairperson Mukesh Khanna 42. Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre A.K. Mohanty 43. President, CII Vikram S. Kirloskar 44. President, FICCI Sandip Somany 45. Chairman of 21st Law Commission Dr. Justice BS Chauhan 46. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval 47. Chairperson, Prasar Bharati Dr. A. Surya Prakash 48. DG of National Testing Agency Vineet Joshi 49. Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg 50. Chairman, Indian Banks Association Sunil Mehta Data as on 23rd July, 2019

Wimbledon open 2019 started in London. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 75 The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. ## Need for investment in: Nirmala Sitharaman made her maiden Budget Speech and presented the Union Budget 2019-20 before the Parliament. • Infrastructure. The key highlights of Union Budget 2019 are as follows: • Digital economy. 10-point Vision for the decade • Job creation in small and medium firms. ## Building Team India with Jan Bhagidari: Minimum ## Initiatives to be proposed for kick-starting the virtuous Government Maximum Governance. cycle of investments. ## Achieving green Mother Earth and Blue Skies through ## Common man’s life changed through MUDRA loans a pollution-free India. for ease of doing business. # # Making Digital India reach every sector of the ## Measures related to MSMEs: economy. • Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Maandhan ## Launching Gaganyan, Chandrayan, other Space and Scheme Satellite programmes. Pension benefits to about three crore retail traders ## Building physical and social infrastructure. & small shopkeepers with annual turnover less ## Water, water management, clean rivers. than Rs. 1.5 crore. ## Blue Economy. Enrolment to be kept simple, requiring only ## Self-sufficiency and export of food-grains, pulses, Aadhaar, bank account and a self-declaration. oilseeds, fruits and vegetables. • Rs. 350 crore allocated for FY 2019-20 for 2% ## Achieving a healthy society via Ayushman Bharat, interest subvention (on fresh or incremental loans) well-nourished women & children, safety of citizens. to all GST-registered MSMEs, under the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs. ## Emphasis on MSMEs, Start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, fabs and • Payment platform for MSMEs to be created batteries, and medical devices under Make in India. to enable filing of bills and payment thereof, to eliminate delays in government payments. Towards a 5 Trillion Dollar Economy ## India’s first indigenously developed payment ## “People’s hearts filled with Aasha (Hope), Vishwas ecosystem for transport, based on National Common (Trust), Aakansha (Aspirations)”, says FM. Mobility Card (NCMC) standards, launched in ## Indian economy to become a 3 trillion dollar economy March 2019. in the current year. ## Inter-operable transport card runs on RuPay card and ## Government aspires to make India a 5 trillion dollar would allow the holders to pay for bus travel, toll economy. taxes, parking charges, retail shopping. ## “India Inc. are India’s job-creators and nation’s wealth- ## Massive push given to all forms of physical creators”, says FM. connectivity through:

The Haryana government has appointed 1983-batch IAS officer KeshniAnand Arora as the new MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 76 Chief Secretary of the state. • Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. • Retirement of old & inefficient plants. • Industrial Corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridors. • Addressing low utilization of gas plant capacity due to paucity of Natural Gas. • Bhartamala and Sagarmala projects, Jal Marg Vikas and UDAN Schemes. ## Cross subsidy surcharges, undesirable duties on open access sales or captive generation for industrial and ## State road networks to be developed in second phase other bulk power consumers to be removed under of Bharatmala project. Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY). ## Navigational capacity of Ganga to be enhanced via ## Package of power sector tariff and structural reforms multi modal terminals at Sahibganj and Haldia and a to be announced soon. navigational lock at Farakka by 2019-20, under Jal Marg Vikas Project. ## Reform measures to be taken up to promote rental housing. ## Four times increase in next four years estimated in the cargo volume on Ganga, leading to cheaper freight and ## Model Tenancy Law to be finalized and circulated to passenger movement and reducing the import bill. the states. ## Rs. 50 lakh crore investment needed in Railway ## Joint development and concession mechanisms to be Infrastructure during 2018-2030. used for public infrastructure and affordable housing on land parcels held by the Central Government and ## Public-Private-Partnership proposed for development CPSEs. and completion of tracks, rolling stock manufacturing and delivery of passenger freight services. ## Measures to enhance the sources of capital for infrastructure financing: ## 657 kilometers of Metro Rail network has become operational across the country. • Credit Guarantee Enhancement Corporation to be set up in 2019-2020. ## Policy interventions to be made for the development of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO), to • Action plan to be put in place to deepen the market achieve self- reliance in aviation segment. for long term bonds with focus on infrastructure. ## Regulatory roadmap for making India a hub for aircraft • Proposed transfer/sale of investments by FIIs/ financing and leasing activities from Indian shores, to FPIs (in debt securities issued by IDF-NBFCs) to be laid by the Government. any domestic investor within the specified lock-in period. ## Outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore for 3 years approved for Phase-II of FAME Scheme. ## Measures to deepen bond markets: ## Upfront incentive proposed on purchase and charging • Stock exchanges to be enabled to allow AA rated infrastructure, to encourage faster adoption of Electric bonds as collaterals. Vehicles. • User-friendliness of trading platforms for ## Only advanced-battery-operated and registered corporate bonds to be reviewed. e-vehicles to be incentivized under FAME Scheme. ## Social stock exchange: ## National Highway Programme to be restructured to • Electronic fund raising platform under the ensure a National Highway Grid, using a financeable regulatory ambit of SEBI. model. • Listing social enterprises and voluntary ## Power at affordable rates to states ensured under ‘One organizations. Nation, One Grid’. • To raise capital as equity, debt or as units like a ## Blueprints to be made available for gas grids, water mutual fund. grids, i-ways, and regional airports. ## SEBI to consider raising the threshold for minimum ## High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) public shareholding in the listed companies from 25% recommendations to be implemented: to 35%.

First Ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF) will be held at New Delhi from 11th SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA to 13th October, 2019. 77 ## Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for Foreign ## India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking under the Portfolio Investors to be made more investor friendly. category of ‘paying taxes’ jumped from 172 in 2017 to 121 in the 2019. ## Government to supplement efforts by RBI to get retail investors to invest in government treasury bills and ## Direct tax revenue increased by over 78% in past 5 securities, with further institutional development using years to Rs. 11.37 lakh crore stock exchanges. Tax Simplification and Ease of living - making compliance ## Measures to make India a more attractive FDI easier by leveraging technology: destination: ## Interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar • FDI in sectors like aviation, media (animation, AVGC) and insurance sectors can be opened • Those who don’t have PAN can file tax returns further after multi-stakeholder examination. using Aadhaar. • Insurance Intermediaries to get 100% FDI. • Aadhaar can be used wherever PAN is required. • Local sourcing norms to be eased for FDI in ## Pre-filling of Income-tax Returns for faster, more Single Brand Retail sector. accurate tax returns ## Government to organize an annual Global Investors • Pre-filled tax returns with details of several Meet in India, using National Infrastructure Investment incomes and deductions to be made available. Fund (NIIF) as an anchor to get all three sets of global players (pension, insurance and sovereign wealth • Information to be collected from Banks, Stock funds). exchanges, mutual funds etc. ## Statutory limit for FPI investment in a company is ## Faceless e-assessment proposed to be increased from 24% to sectoral foreign • Faceless e-assessment with no human interface to investment limit. Option to be given to the concerned be launched. corporate to limit it to a lower threshold. • To be carried out initially in cases requiring ## FPIs to be permitted to subscribe to listed debt verification of certain specified transactions or securities issued by ReITs and InvITs. discrepancies. ## NRI-Portfolio Investment Scheme Route is proposed to Affordable housing be merged with the Foreign Portfolio Investment Route. # ## Cumulative resources garnered through new financial # Additional deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs for interest instruments like Infrastructure Investment Trusts paid on loans borrowed up to 31st March, 2020 for (InvITs), Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as purchase of house valued up to Rs. 45 lakh. well as models like Toll-Operate-Transfer (ToT) • Overall benefit of around Rs. 7 lakh over loan exceed Rs. 24,000 crore. period of 15 years. # # New Space India Limited (NSIL), a PSE, incorporated Boost to Electric Vehicles as a new commercial arm of Department of Space. ## Additional income tax deduction of Rs. 1.5 lakh on ## To tap the benefits of the Research & Development interest paid on electric vehicle loans. carried out by ISRO like commercialization of products like launch vehicles, transfer to technologies ## Customs duty exempted on certain parts of electric and marketing of space products. vehicles. Direct Taxes Other Direct Tax measures ## Tax rate reduced to 25% for companies with annual ## Simplification of tax laws to reduce genuine hardships turnover up to Rs. 400 crore of taxpayers: ## Surcharge increased on individuals having taxable • Higher tax threshold for launching prosecution for income from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 5 crore and Rs. 5 crore non-filing of returns and above.

Prime Minister has set up a High Powered Committee of Chief Ministers for ‘Transformation of MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 78 Indian Agriculture’. • Appropriate class of persons exempted from Indirect Taxes the anti-abuse provisions of Section 50CA and Make In India Section 56 of the Income Tax Act. ## Basic Customs Duty increased on cashew kernels, Relief for Start-ups PVC, tiles, auto parts, marble slabs, optical fibre cable, ## Capital gains exemptions from sale of residential CCTV camera etc. house for investment in start-ups extended till FY21. ## Exemptions from Custom Duty on certain electronic ## ‘Angel tax’ issue resolved- start-ups and investors items now manufactured in India withdrawn. filing requisite declarations and providing information ## End use based exemptions on palm stearin, fatty oils in their returns not to be subjected to any kind of withdrawn. scrutiny in respect of valuations of share premiums. ## Exemptions to various kinds of papers withdrawn. ## Funds raised by start-ups to not require scrutiny from Income Tax Department ## 5% Basic Custom Duty imposed on imported books. • E-verification mechanism for establishing identity ## Customs duty reduced on certain raw materials such of the investor and source of funds. as: ## Special administrative arrangements for pending • Inputs for artificial kidney and disposable sterilised assessments and grievance redressal dialyser and fuels for nuclear power plants etc. • No inquiry in such cases by the Assessing Officer • Capital goods required for manufacture of without obtaining approval of the supervisory specified electronic goods. officer. Defence ## No scrutiny of valuation of shares issued to Category- # II Alternative Investment Funds. # Defence equipment not manufactured in India exempted from basic customs duty ## Relaxation of conditions for carry forward and set off of losses. Other Indirect Tax provisions # NBFCs # Export duty rationalised on raw and semi-finished leather ## Interest on certain bad or doubtful debts by deposit # taking as well as systemically important non-deposit # Increase in Special Additional Excise Duty and Road taking NBFCs to be taxed in the year in which interest and Infrastructure Cess each by Rs. 1 per litre on petrol is actually received. and diesel # International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) # Custom duty on gold and other precious metals increased ## Direct tax incentives proposed for an IFSC: ## Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme for quick closure • 100 % profit-linked deduction in any ten-year of pending litigations in Central Excise and Service block within a fifteen-year period. tax from pre-GST regime • Exemption from dividend distribution tax from Grameen Bharat / Rural India current and accumulated income to companies # and mutual funds. # Ujjwala Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana have transformed the lives of every rural family, dramatically • Exemptions on capital gain to Category-III improving ease of their living. Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). ## Electricity and clean cooking facility to all willing • Exemption to interest payment on loan taken from rural families by 2022. non-residents. ## Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) Securities Transaction Tax (STT) aims to achieve "Housing for All" by 2022: ## STT restricted only to the difference between settlement • Eligible beneficiaries to be provided 1.95 crore and strike price in case of exercise of options. houses with amenities like toilets, electricity and The total gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in the month of June stood at 99,939 crore SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA rupees. 79 LPG connections during its second phase (2019- ## Dairying through cooperatives to be encouraged by 20 to 2021-22). creating infrastructure for cattle feed manufacturing, milk procurement, processing & marketing. ## Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) ## 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations to be formed, to ensure economies of scale for farmers. • A robust fisheries management framework through PMMSY to be established by the Department of ## Government to work with State Governments to allow Fisheries. farmers to benefit from e-NAM. • To address critical gaps in the value chain ## Zero Budget Farming in which few states’ farmers are including infrastructure, modernization, already being trained to be replicated in other states. traceability, production, productivity, post-harvest management, and quality control. ## India’s water security ## Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) • New Jal Shakti Mantralaya to look at the management of our water resources and water • Target of connecting the eligible and feasible supply in an integrated and holistic manner habitations advanced from 2022 to 2019 with 97% of such habitations already being provided • Jal Jeevan Mission to achieve Har Ghar Jal (piped with all weather connectivity. water supply) to all rural households by 2024 • 30,000 kilometers of PMGSY roads have been • To focus on integrated demand and supply side built using Green Technology, Waste Plastic and management of water at the local level. Cold Mix Technology, thereby reducing carbon • Convergence with other Central and State footprint. Government Schemes to achieve its objectives. • 1,25,000 kilometers of road length to be upgraded • 1592 critical and over exploited Blocks spread over the next five years under PMGSY III with an across 256 District being identified for the Jal estimated cost of Rs. 80,250 crore. Shakti Abhiyan. ## Scheme of Fund for Upgradation and Regeneration • Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management of Traditional Industries’ (SFURTI) and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund can be • Common Facility Centres (CFCs) to be setup to used for this purpose. facilitate cluster based development for making ## Swachh Bharat Abhiyan traditional industries more productive, profitable and capable for generating sustained employment • 9.6 crore toilets constructed since Oct 2, 2014. opportunities. • More than 5.6 lakh villages have become Open • 100 new clusters to be setup during 2019-20 with Defecation Free (ODF). special focus on Bamboo, Honey and Khadi, enabling 50,000 artisans to join the economic • Swachh Bharat Mission to be expanded to value chain. undertake sustainable solid waste management in every village. ## Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship’ (ASPIRE) ## Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta consolidated. Abhiyan, • 80 Livelihood Business Incubators (LBIs) and • Over two crore rural Indians made digitally 20 Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) to be literate. setup in 2019-20. • Internet connectivity in local bodies in every • 75,000 entrepreneurs to be skilled in agro-rural Panchayat under Bharat-Net to bridge rural-urban industry sectors. divide. ## Private entrepreneurships to be supported in driving • Universal Obligation Fund under a PPP value-addition to farmers’ produce from the field and arrangement to be utilized for speeding up for those from allied activities. Bharat-Net.

Union Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, announced a campaign for water conservation MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 80 and water security "Jal Shakti Abhiyan". Shahree Bharat/Urban India • To assimilate independent research grants given by various Ministries. ## Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY- Urban)- • To strengthen overall research eco-system in the country • Over 81 lakh houses with an investment of about Rs. 4.83 lakh crore sanctioned of which • This would be adequately supplemented with construction started in about 47 lakh houses. additional funds. • Over 26 lakh houses completed of which nearly ## Rs. 400 crore provided for “World Class Institutions”, 24 lakh houses delivered to the beneficiaries. for FY 2019-20, more than three times the revised estimates for the previous year. • Over 13 lakh houses so far constructed using new technologies. ## ‘Study in India’ proposed to bring foreign students to study in Indian higher educational institutions. ## More than 95% of cities also declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). ## Regulatory systems of higher education to be reformed comprehensively: ## Almost 1 crore citizens have downloaded Swachhata App. • To promote greater autonomy. ## Target of achieving Gandhiji’s resolve of Swachh • To focus on better academic outcomes. Bharat to make India ODF by 2nd October 2019. ## Draft legislation to set up Higher Education • To mark this occasion, the Rashtriya Swachhta Commission of India (HECI), to be presented. Kendra to be inaugurated at Gandhi Darshan, ## Khelo India Scheme to be expanded with all necessary Rajghat on 2nd October, 2019. financial support. • Gandhipedia being developed by National ## National Sports Education Board for development Council for Science Museums to sensitize youth of sportspersons to be set up under Khelo India, to and society about positive Gandhian values. popularize sports at all levels ## Railways to be encouraged to invest more in suburban ## To prepare youth for overseas jobs, focus to be railways through SPV structures like Rapid Regional increased on globally valued skill-sets including Transport System (RRTS) proposed on the Delhi- language training, AI, IoT, Big Data, 3D Printing, Meerut route. Virtual Reality and Robotics. ## Proposal to enhance the metro-railway initiatives by: ## Set of four labour codes proposed, to streamline • Encouraging more PPP initiatives. multiple labour laws to standardize and streamline registration and filing of returns. • Ensuring completion of sanctioned works. ## A television program proposed exclusively for and by • Supporting transit oriented development (TOD) start-ups, within the DD bouquet of channels. to ensure commercial activity around transit hubs. ## Stand-Up India Scheme to be continued for the period Youth of 2020-25. The Banks to provide financial assistance ## New National Education Policy to be brought which for demand based businesses. proposes Ease of Living • Major changes in both school and higher education ## About 30 lakh workers joined the Pradhan Mantri • Better Governance systems Shram Yogi Maandhan Scheme that provides Rs. 3,000 per month as pension on attaining the age of 60 • Greater focus on research and innovation. to workers in unorganized and informal sectors. # # National Research Foundation (NRF) proposed ## Approximately 35 crore LED bulbs distributed under • To fund, coordinate and promote research in the UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of Rs. 18,341 country. crore annually.

Vaibhav Yadav became the (WBC) Asia silver welterweight champion in SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA Pattaya, Thailand. 81 ## Solar stoves and battery chargers to be promoted using ## Measures related to PSBs: the approach of LED bulbs mission. • Rs. 70,000 crore proposed to be provided to PSBs ## A massive program of railway station modernization to boost credit. to be launched. • PSBs to leverage technology, offering online Naari Tu Narayani/Women personal loans and doorstep banking, and enabling customers of one PSBs to access services across ## Approach shift from women-centric-policy making to all PSBs. women-led initiatives and movements. • Steps to be initiated to empower accountholders ## A Committee proposed with Government and private to have control over deposit of cash by others in stakeholders for moving forward on Gender budgeting. their accounts. ## SHG: • Reforms to be undertaken to strengthen • Women SHG interest subvention program governance in PSBs. proposed to be expanded to all districts. ## Measures related to NBFCs: • Overdraft of Rs. 5,000 to be allowed for every • Proposals for strengthening the regulatory verified women SHG member having a Jan Dhan authority of RBI over NBFCs to be placed in the Bank Account. Finance Bill. • One woman per SHG to be eligible for a loan up • Requirement of creating a Debenture Redemption to Rs. 1 lakh under MUDRA Scheme. Reserve will be done away with to allow NBFCs to raise funds in public issues. India’s Soft Power • Steps to allow all NBFCs to directly participate on ## Proposal to consider issuing Aadhaar Card for NRIs the TReDS platform. with Indian Passports on their arrival without waiting for 180 days. ## Return of regulatory authority from NHB to RBI proposed, over the housing finance sector. ## Mission to integrate traditional artisans with global markets proposed, with necessary patents and ## Rs. 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure geographical indicators. intended over the next five years. Committee proposed to recommend the structure and required flow of funds ## 18 new Indian diplomatic Missions in Africa approved through development finance institutions. in March, 2018, out of which 5 already opened. Another 4 new Embassies intended in 2019-20. ## Steps to be taken to separate the NPS Trust from PFRDA. ## Revamp of Indian Development Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) proposed. ## Reduction in Net Owned Fund requirement from Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 1,000 crore proposed: ## 17 iconic Tourism Sites being developed into model world class tourist destinations. • To facilitate on-shoring of international insurance transactions. ## Present digital repository aimed at preserving rich tribal cultural heritage, to be strengthened. • To enable opening of branches by foreign reinsurers in the International Financial Services Banking and Financial Sector Centre. ## NPAs of commercial banks reduced by over Rs. 1 lakh ## Measures related to CPSEs: crore over the last year. • Target of Rs. 1, 05,000 crore of disinvestment ## Record recovery of over Rs. 4 lakh crore effected over receipts set for the FY 2019-20. the last four years. • Government to reinitiate the process of strategic ## Provision coverage ratio at its highest in seven years. disinvestment of Air India, and to offer more CPSEs for strategic participation by the private # # Domestic credit growth increased to 13.8%. sector.

82 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 New Zealand has officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags. • Government to undertake strategic sale of PSUs Discount Rate shall be imposed on customers as well and continue to consolidate PSUs in the non- as merchants. financial space. Mega Investment in Sunrise and Advanced Technology • Government to consider going to an appropriate Areas level below 51% in PSUs where the government ## Scheme to invite global companies to set up mega- control is still to be retained, on case to case manufacturing plants in areas such as Semi-conductor basis. Fabrication (FAB), Solar Photo Voltaic cells, Lithium • Present policy of retaining 51% Government stake storage batteries, Computer Servers, Laptops, etc to be modified to retaining 51% stake inclusive of • Investment linked income tax exemptions to be the stake of Government controlled institutions. provided along with indirect tax benefits. • Retail participation in CPSEs to be encouraged. Achievements during 2014-19 • To provide additional investment space: ## 1 trillion dollar added to Indian economy over last 5 ## Government to realign its holding in CPSEs years (compared to over 55 years taken to reach the first trillion dollar). ## Banks to permit greater availability of its shares and to improve depth of its market. ## India is now the 6th largest economy in the world, compared to 11th largest five years ago. • Government to offer an investment option in ETFs on the lines of Equity Linked Savings Scheme ## Indian economy is globally the 3rd largest in (ELSS). Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms. • Government to meet public shareholding norms ## Strident commitment to fiscal discipline and a rejuvenated of 25% for all listed PSUs and raise the foreign Centre-State dynamic provided during 2014-19. shareholding limits to maximum permissible ## Structural reforms in indirect taxation, bankruptcy and sector limits for all PSU companies which are part real estate carried out. of Emerging Market Index. ## Average amount spent on food security per year almost ## Government to raise a part of its gross borrowing doubled during 2014-19 compared to 2009-14. program in external markets in external currencies. This will also have beneficial impact on demand ## Patents issued more than trebled in 2017-18 as against situation for the government securities in domestic the number in 2014. market. ## Ball set rolling for a New India, planned and assisted ## New series of coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, by the NITI Aayog. Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees, easily Roadmap for future identifiable to the visually impaired to be made available for public use shortly. ## Simplification of procedures. Digital Payments ## Incentivizing performance. ## TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs. 1 crore ## Red-tape reduction. in a year from a bank account ## Making the best use of technology. ## Business establishments with annual turnover more # than Rs. 50 crore shall offer low cost digital modes of # Accelerating mega programmes and services initiated payment to their customers and no charges or Merchant and delivered so far.

EU leaders have nominated International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde to be the new SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA president of the European Central Bank. 83 BUDGET Special Q.1. Which of the following statement is correct about (1) Companies Amendment Bill Budget? (2) Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (1) It is a statement of financial position for a future period, setting out proposed expenditure (3) Customer Act and means of financing it. (4) NIRMAYA Scheme (2) Article 112 of the Constitution requires (5) Nishulk Bima Yojna the government to present to Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure Q.6. Consider the following statement (s) is/are related in respect of every financial year. to the annual financial statement. (3) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty was the first finance (1) The annual financial statement is divided into minister of India after independence. three parts, consolidated fund, contingency fund and public account. (4) All of these (2) All revenues raised by the government, money (5) None of these borrowed and receipts from loans given by the Q.2. Which of the following is related to the Operation government flow into the consolidated fund of Green’ mission? India. (1) Production of tomato, onion and potatoes (3) Article 112 of the Constitution requires the government to present to Parliament a (2) Production of tomato, Brinjal and potatoes statement of estimated receipts and expenditure in respect of every financial year. (3) Production of Spinach, Mustard and potatoes (4) All of these (4) Production of tomato, pulses and Chilli (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.7. Which of the following Yojna provides higher Q.3. Which of the following policy (Yojna) shall bring compensation at nominal premium in case of crop 5 lakh acres under organic farming? loss? (1) Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (1) PM Fasal Bima Yojna (2) Pramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (2) PM Krishi Sinchai Yojna (3) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojna (3) Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (4) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (4) Pramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (5) None of these (5) Nyuntam Shulk Bima Yojna Q.4. Which Bill was proposed to be passing to solve Q.8. Consider the following statement (s) is/are related problems in infrastructure contracts, PPP and to the MUDRA Yojna. Public Utilities? (1) It has been initially formed as a wholly owned (1) Skill Development Programme subsidiary of Small Industries Development (2) Companies Amendment Bill bank of India (SIDBI) with 100% capital being contributed by it. (3) Public Utility Resolution of Disputes Bill (2) According to this Yojna, loan is issued through (4) Goods & Services Tax Mudra credit card with a pre-assigned credit (5) None of these limit and the repayment tenure is as high as 7 years. Q.5. Service Tax to be exempted on general insurance schemes under which scheme: (3) There are three categories in Mudra Yojna: Shishu, Kishor and Tarun

84 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Eight core sectors in the country have recorded a growth of 5.1 per cent in May. 2019-20 (4) All of these Q.13. Which of the following new restructured scheme was launched to increase the governance (5) None of these capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions? Q.9. Which of the following scheme is related to the (1) National Skill Development Mission management and conversion of cattle dung and solid waste in farms to Compost, fertilizer, bio-gas (2) PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana and bio-CNG? (3) Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (1) Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (4) Swaccha Bharat Abhiyaan (2) Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan (5) Panchayati Raj Vikas Yojana (3) Pradhan Mantri Cattle waste Management Q.14. Which of the following three public general insurance companies will be merged into single (4) Prime Minister Natural Gas Yojna insurance company as per Budget 2019-20 (5) (1) National Insurance Company, United India Q.10. Which of the following statements is/are correct Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance about budget? (2) Life Insurance Corporation, Bharti AXA and (1) Budget is the process of preparing profit United India Insurance Company estimates (3) General Insurance, Max Bupa and United (2) Budget is the process of preparing Revenue India Insurance Company estimates (4) Agriculture insurance Company of India (3) Budget is the process of preparing expenditure Limited, Bharti AXA and United Insurance estimates (5) Agriculture insurance Company of India Limited, (4) Both 2 and 3 Oriental Insurance and National Insurance (5) All 1, 2 & 3 Q.15. What do you mean by "Fiscal Federalism"? Q.11. Consider the following statement (s) is/are true (1) Fiscal federalism is part of broader public about budgeting. finance discipline. (1) Budgeting is the process of creating a plan to (2) The term was introduced by the German-born spend your money. American economist Richard Musgrave in 1959. (2) This spending plan is called a budget. (3) Fiscal federalism deals with the division of (3) Budgeting is simply balancing your expenses governmental functions and financial relations with your income. among levels of government. (4) All of these (4) All of these (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.12. According to the 2019-20 budget speech, India is Q.16. Which of the following is not included in the at third rank on the basis of what? correct phase of budget process in India? (1) Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) (1) Budget formulation (2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (2) Budget enactment (3) Gross National Product (GNP) (3) Budget execution (4) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) (4) Judicial review of budget (5) Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) (5) None of these

Government has decided to enhance the import limit on Tur Dal from two lakh metric tonne to four SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA lakh metric tonne for the year 2019-20. 85 BUDGET Special Q.17. Who was the first Finance minister of independent (2) To reduce inequalities in income and wealth India? (3) To achieve social stability (1) Shanmukhan Chetty (4) All of these (2) John Mathai (5) None of these (3) PC Mahalanobis Q.22. Which of the following will cause current account (4) Jawaharlal Nehru deficit in India? (5) CD Deshmukh (1) Reduced excise duties on Sports Utility Vehicles Q.18. Select the correct Components of the Union (Central) Budget of India? (2) Reduced duties on Gold (1) Revenue Budget (3) Ban on export of Onions (2) Capital Budget (4) All of these (3) Expenditure Budget (5) None of these (4) Both 1 & 2 Q.23. Examine the following statement (s) in the context of Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB). (5) All of these (1) Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method Q.19. Which of the following is the correct definition of of budgeting in which all expenses must Capital payments? be justified and approved for each new (1) It refers to capital expenditures on construction period. of capital projects and acquisition of assets like (2) It was eveloped by Peter Pyhrr in the 1970s. land, buildings machinery and equipment. (3) Zero-based budgeting starts from a "zero base" (2) It refers to capital revenue collected from the at the beginning of every budget period. construction of capital projects and acquisition of assets like land, buildings machinery and (4) All of these equipment. (5) None of these (3) It refers to current expenditures on scheme. Q.24. Which of the following is true about ‘vote-on (4) It refers to revenue collected from tax, fines account’? and penaly. (1) Vote on Account is passed after general (5) None of the above discussion on the Budget. Q.20. 300 rurban clusters are to be set up under which of (2) Vote on account is as per provisions of Article the following schemes? 116 of the Constitution. (1) Shyama Prasad Mukherji Mission (3) Vote on Account can be passed on occasions when government needs some money on its (2) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna disposal to keep running the administration (3) Atal Awas Yojna (4) All of these (4) NIRMAYA Scheme (5) None of these (5) Smart City Mission Q.25. In context with the Public Finance in India, which Q.21. Which of the following is NOT the objective of of the following statements (s) is true? Indian Budget? (1) Disbursement from Public Account of India (1) To managed and proper distribution of resources are subject to the Vote of Parliament.

86 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 India has pledged to contribute 5 million US Dollars in 2019 to the UN Palestine refugee agency. 2019-20 (2) The Indian Constitution provides for the (3) Finance Bill, Voting of the demands for grant, establishment of a Consolidated Fund, a Public Presentation to legislature Account and a Contingency Fund for each State. (4) Finance Bill, Voting of the demands for grant, (3) Appropriations and disbursements under the General discussion Railways Budget are subject to the same form of parliamentary control as other appropriations (5) Voting of the demands for grant, Presentation and disbursement. to legislature (4) Only 1 & 2 Q.30. Which of the following documents is NOT presented to the legislature along with the budget? (5) Only 1 & 3 (1) An explanatory memorandum on the budget Q.26. The authorization for the withdrawal of funds from the consolidated Fund of India must come from: (2) A summary of demands for grants (1) The President of India (3) An Appropriation Bill (2) The Parliament of India (4) A Finance Bill (3) The (5) The economic survey (4) The Union Finance Minister Q.31. The number of demands in the General Budget for (5) The Speaker of Lok Sabha civil expenditures is: Q.27. What if the budget is not passed in the Lok Sabha? (1) 109 (2) 106 (3) 103 (1) The Budget is presented again (4) 102 (5) 110 (2) The Budget is referred to Speaker Q.32. The word ‘Budget’ is mentioned in which of the following Articles of the Constitution of India: (3) The Union Finance Minister resigns (1) Art. 121 (2) Art. 112 (3) Art. 174 (4) The Prime Minister resigns with Council of Ministers (4) Art. 280 (5) Art. 292 (5) President presides a common sitting of both Q.33. The budget was formally introduced in India in: house (1) 1860 (2) 1947 (3) 1950 Q.28. How is the Vote on Account passed? (4) 1868 (5) 1949 (1) After the voting of demands Q.34. Which of the following is NOT a correct statements (2) Before the general discussion about Public Account of India? (3) After the general discussion (1) No legislative appropriation is required for payments from the Public Account of India. (4) Either after the voting of the demands or after the general discussion. (2) Legislative appropriation is required for (5) None of these payments from the Public Account of India. Q.29. Which of the following is arranged as stages in the (3) All public moneys, other than those credited enactment of budget in proper order? to the Consolidated Fund of India, which are received by or on behalf of the government are (1) Appropriation Bill, Voting of the demands for credited to the Public Account of India. grant, Presentation to legislature (4) It is operated by executive action. (2) Presentation to legislature, General discussion, Appropriation Bill & Finance Bill (5) All of these

7-Bharti Airtel and Bharti Enterprises have injected about `325 crore in Airtel Payments Bank. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 87 BUDGET Special Q.35. Which of the following statements is/are development, completion of tracks, passenger incorrect? freight services? (1) Appropriation Bill cannot be amended while (1) 40 (2) 50 (3) 60 the Finance Bill can be amended. (4) 70 (5) 80 (2) Finance Bill cannot be amended while Appropriation Bill can be amended. Q.41. Under which scheme the GoI will extend pension benefits to 3 crore retail traders and shopkeepers (3) Appropriation Bill and the Finance Bill are who have a revenue of less than Rs 1.5 crore? governed by different procedures. (1) PM Karam Yogi Maan Dhan scheme (4) Appropriation bill cannot be rejected by the Rajya Sabha while Finance Bill can be rejected (2) PM Vaya Vandana Yojana by it. (3) PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (5) None of these (4) Atal Pension Yojana Q.36. How many houses have been sanctioned under the (5) PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana "PMAY-Urban Scheme" in Union budget 2019- 20? Q.42. Which of the following programme is initiated and designed by Government of India to achieve the (1) 75 lakhs (2) 81 lakhs (3) 85 lakhs three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., (4) 87 lakhs (5) 91 lakhs access, equity and quality? Q.37. ZBNF farming is a natural farming process which (1) Study Webs of Active Learning for Young is neither chemical-loaded nor organic with Aspiring Minds programme its reliance on manure. What is the full form of (2) Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan "ZBNF"? (3) Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for (1) Zero Based Natural Farming India's Developing Economy (2) Zero Budget Natural Farming (4) Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired (3) Zero Budget National Farming Research (4) Zero Budget Nutrition Farming (5) Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (5) Zero Budget Nuclear Farming Q.43. How many LED bulbs have been distributed by GoI under the Ujala Yojana scheme? Q.38. How many toilets have been constructed till now under "Swachh Bharat Mission"? (1) 20 crore (2) 35 crore (3) 25 crore (1) 7 crore (2) 8 crore (3) 9.6 crore (4) 30 crore (5) 50 crore (4) 9.2 crore (5) 11 crore Q.44. What is the duration of the phase-I of the Bharatmala project? Q.39. According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, by which year every single rural family, except (1) 2014-2018 (2) 2015-2019 (3) 2016-2020 those who are unwilling to take the connection, (4) 2017-2021 (5) 2018-2022 will have electricity and clean cooking gas? Q.45. On which date Rashtriya Swacchta Kendra is to be (1) 2020 (2) 2021 (3) 2022 inaugurated? (4) 2023 (5) 2024 (1) 2nd Oct 2019 (2) 15th Aug 2019 Q.40. The Finance Minister has proposed ______(3) 26th June 2020 (4) 26th Jan 2020 lakhs crore investment for Railway infrastructure between 2018 and 2030 to unleash faster (5) 21st June 2020

88 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 N. S. Vishwanathan has been reappointed as RBI deputy governor for one year. 2019-20 Q.46. How many villages are at present open defecation Q.51. How many rural Indians have been made digitally free? literate by the GoI? (1) 5.5 lakhs (2) 5.6 lakhs (3) 5.7 lakhs (1) over 1 crore (2) over 2 crore (4) 5.8 lakhs (5) 5.9 lakhs (3) over 3 crore (4) over 4 crore Q.47. Who is the first "Union Jal Shakti Minister" of (5) over 5 crore India? Q.52. Fiscal deficit has been brought down from 3.4% to (1) Gajendra Singh Shekhawat _____? (2) Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (1) 3.0% (2) 3.1% (3) 3.2% (3) Ramvilas Paswan (4) 3.3% (5) 3.4% (4) Smriti Irani Q.53. Customs duty on gold and other precious metals (5) Amit Shah has been increased from 10% to______? Q.48. Who is the first woman to become India's full time (1) 11.5% (2) 12.5% (3) 13% finance minister? (4) 13.5% (5) 14% (1) Indira Gandhi (2) Mayawati Q.54. To discourage business payments in cash, how much (3) Mamta Banerjee (4) Nirmala Sitharaman % of TDS will be charged on cash withdrawals exceeding Rs.1 crore in a year from bank accounts? (5) Sushma Swaraj (1) 1% (2) 2% (3) 3% Q.49. What is the rank of India in the "Ease of doing business" as per the World Bank's Doing Business (4) 4% (5) 5% Report, 2019? Q.55. Under which scheme 10 million youth will be (1) 98th (2) 77th (3) 54th provided industry-relevant skill training? (4) 90th (5) 80th (1) INSPIRE Q.50. Who among the following has originally (2) Skill India propagated the concept of zero budget natural farming (ZBNF)? (3) Kaushal Vikas Yojana (1) Subhash Palekar (2) PC Mahalanobis (4) National Skill Development Corporation (3) M.S. Swaminathan (4) Norman Borlaug (5) The National Scheme of Apprenticeship Training (5) Eli Whitney ANSWER KEY Q.1.(4) Q.2.(1) Q.3.(2) Q.4.(3) Q.5.(4) Q.6.(4) Q.7.(1) Q.8.(4) Q.9.(1) Q.10.(2)

Q.11.(4) Q.12.(1) Q.13.(3) Q.14.(1) Q.15.(4) Q.16.(4) Q.17.(1) Q.18.(4) Q.19.(1) Q.20.(1)

Q.21.(5) Q.22.(4) Q.23.(4) Q.24.(4) Q.25.(2) Q.26.(2) Q.27.(4) Q.28.(3) Q.29.(2) Q.30.(5)

Q.31.(3) Q.32.(4) Q.33.(1) Q.34.(2) Q.35.(1) Q.36.(2) Q.37.(2) Q.38.(3) Q.39.(3) Q.40.(2)

Q.41.(1) Q.42.(1) Q.43.(2) Q.44.(5) Q.45.(1) Q.46.(2) Q.47.(4) Q.48.(1) Q.49.(2) Q.50.(1)

Q.51.(2) Q.52.(4) Q.53.(2) Q.54.(2) Q.55.(1)

Indian middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu retired from all forms of cricket. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 89 ICC World Cup 2019

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket On 19 September 2017, results confirmed that the top World Cup, a quadrennial, international cricket tournament 8 ranked teams by 30 September would be Australia, contested by men's national teams from the International Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted by England and Wales South Africa and Sri Lanka; and these teams all qualified from 30 May to 14 July 2019, making it the fifth time automatically for the 2019 World Cup. England and Wales have hosted the World Cup. The final Following their recent success, Ireland and Afghanistan was played at Lord's on 14 July 2019, where England beat were promoted into the ICC ODI Championship and were New Zealand on boundary count after both the match and also granted full ICC membership, becoming the newest the subsequent Super Over finished as ties. Test cricketing nations. However, they still needed to The format for the tournament was a single group of 10 qualify for the World Cup via the current process. teams, with each team playing the other nine once, and The final stage of the tournament was a "Super Six" group, the top four at the end of the group phase progressing to from which the top two teams qualified for the 2019 the semi-finals. The first semi-final was played between World Cup. The West Indies were guaranteed a spot after the teams finishing first and fourth in the league, while the defeating Scotland in the penultimate round. Afghanistan second semi-final was played between the teams finishing joined them after defeating Ireland in the final over of their second and third. Given the increase of ICC Full Members match. This was the first time since 1983 that Zimbabwe since the last World Cup, from 10 to 12, this is the first failed to qualify for a World Cup. Ireland also missed the World Cup to be contested without all of the Full Member World Cup for the first time since 2003, and for the first nations being present and the first to feature no ICC time no Associate nation participated in the World Cup. Associate Member nations. Approximately 2.6 billion people around the world Venues watched the tournament, making it the most watched The fixture list for the tournament was released on26 cricket competition ever as of 2019. April 2018 after the completion of an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Kolkata. London Stadium had Hosting been named as a possible venue in the planning stages, The hosting rights were awarded in April 2006, after and in January 2017 the ICC completed an inspection of England and Wales withdrew their bid to host the 2015 the ground, confirming that the pitch dimensions would ICC Cricket World Cup, which was played in Australia and be compliant with the requirements to host ODI matches. New Zealand. It is the fifth time that the Cricket World Cup However, when the fixtures were announced, London is being played in England and Wales, following the 1975, Stadium was not included as a venue. All of the grounds are 1979, 1983 and 1999 World Cups. in England except for Sophia Gardens, which is in Wales. Qualification World Cup squads The 2019 World Cup features 10 teams, a decrease from All the participating teams had to submit the names of their previous World Cups in 2011 and 2015 which featured 14 respective World Cup squads by 23 April 2019. The teams were teams. The hosts, England, and the top seven other teams in the allowed to change players in their 15-man squad anytime up ICC One Day International rankings as of 30 September 2017 to seven days before the start of the tournament. New Zealand earned an automatic qualification, with the remaining two spots were the first team to announce their World Cup squad. The being decided by the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. oldest player for the tournament was South African player,

90 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 United States has declared the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a global terrorist organization. Imran Tahir who was forty years old while the youngest was Tournament summary Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman who is eighteen years old. Knockout stage Prize money The knockout stage started with semi-finals at Old Trafford The International Cricket Council declared a total prize and Edgbaston, the winners of each progressing to the final money pool of US $10 million for the tournament, the same at Lord's. All three knockout games were allotted a reserve as the 2015 edition. The prize money will be distributed day. If a reserve day came into play, the match would not according to the performance of the team. be restarted but resumed from the previous day's play (if any). In the event of no play on the scheduled day or the Stage Prize money (US$) Total (US$) reserve day, in the semi-finals, the team that finished higher Winner $4,000,000 $4,000,000 in the group stage progressed to the final, and if no play Runner-up $2,000,000 $2,000,000 were possible in the final, the trophy would be shared. If any match ended in a tie, a Super Over would be used Losing semi-finalists $800,000 $1,600,000 to determine the winner; each team would select three Winner of each $40,000 $1,800,000 batsmen and a bowler, with the full team available to field. league stage match There would be no penalty for the loss of a wicket, but Teams that do not $100,000 $600,000 the loss of two would end the Super Over. If the pass the league stage scores in the Super Over were also tied, the winner would Total $10,000,000 be determined by the two teams' overall boundary count, including both the match itself and the Super Over. Warm-up Matches On 25 June 2019, Australia became the first team to qualify Before the World Cup, the participating nations competed for the semi-finals after beating England at Lord's. India in 10 warm-up matches, which were played from 24 became the second team to qualify for the semi-finals after to 28 May 2019. These matches did not have One Day they defeated Bangladesh at Edgbaston on 2 July 2019. International (ODI) status as teams were allowed to field The following day saw tournament hosts England become all 15 members of their squad. the third team to qualify for the semi-finals, after they beat Michael Clarke, who captained Australia to the title in New Zealand at the Riverside Ground. New Zealand were 2015, took the World Cup trophy to the stage, accompanied the fourth and final team to qualify for the semi-finals by former England spin bowler Graeme Swann. The after Pakistan were unable to increase their net run rate ceremony came to an end with the official World Cup song sufficiently enough in their match against Bangladesh at "Stand By", performed by Loryn and Rudimental. Lord's. Semi-finals 9–10 July 2019 New Zealand 239/8 (50 overs) New Zealand won by 18 runs Scorecard v/s Old Trafford, Manchester India 221 (49.3 overs) Final 14 July 2019 New Zealand 241/8 (50 overs) Match tied Lord's, London Scorecard v/s England 241 (50 overs)

Super Over: England 15/0, New Zealand 15/1. England won the match on the boundary count back rule (26–17). Man of the Match : Ben Stokes Man of the Tournament : Kane Williamson

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated to lead EU Commission. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 91 Individual Statistics Most runs

Runs Player Inns HS Ave SR 100 50 4s 6s

648 Rohit Sharma 9 140 81.00 98.33 5 1 67 14

647 David Warner 10 166 71.88 89.36 3 3 66 8

606 Shakib Al Hasan 8 124* 86.57 96.03 2 5 60 2

578 Kane Williamson 10 148 82.57 74.96 2 2 50 3

556 Joe Root 11 107 61.77 89.53 2 3 48 2

Most wickets

Wkts Player Inns Ave Econ BBI SR

27 Mitchell Starc 10 18.59 5.43 5/26 20.5

21 Lockie Ferguson 9 19.47 4.88 4/37 23.9

Mustafizur Rahman 8 24.20 6.70 5/59 21.6 20 Jofra Archer 11 23.05 4.57 3/27 30.2

18 Jasprit Bumrah 9 20.61 4.42 4/55 28.0 Apollo 11 at 50: Historic Moon Landing

On July 20, 1969, 600 million people watched Neil A All the three astronauts inside Ed White, Roger B Chaffee Armstrong and Edwin E Aldrin took their first steps on the and Gus Grissom died in the tragic fire. moon's surface. They were the first humans to step on the moon. This year marks 50 years since Aldrin, Armstrong The deaths led NASA to improve its astronaut safety and Michael Collins made their daring journey to the moon. requirements. The agency revaluated its systems to make Over 400,000 people worked on this mission and made it sure they were safe enough to fly. After this first disaster, possible to land on the moon. NASA tested its safety issues with un crewed missions dubbed AS-201, AS-202, AS-203, and Apollo missions 4 Project Apollo through 6. Crewed flights resumed with Apollo 7, which was launched on October 11, 1968. It orbited Earth for more Before the Project Apollo, two project were carried than a week and returned back on October 22. The Apollo earlier the first was Project Mercury which began in 7 crew demonstrated the functionality of the command and 1958, and the second was Project Gemini which began service module. in 1961. The Soviet space program was ahead with several successful missions which included Sputnik, the Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968, and it first satellite to orbit Earth, and Luna 2, the first space returned back on earth a week later, on December 27. probe to touch the moon. It was an important testing ground for the spacecraft systems and navigation techniques that NASA had In 1961, President Kennedy proposed the goal of landing developed for approaching and orbiting the moon. It was a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth this systems and techniques that made the future lunar by the end of the decade. However the idea of a moon landing possible. mission was first discussed during Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration. This became the goal of the Apollo The Apollo 9 soon followed which was launched on March program, also known as Project Apollo. 3, 1969, and came back on March 13, after orbiting Earth. The Apollo 10 mission carried a command and a service The U.S. government allocated $25 billion dollars in 1960s module which was named as "Charlie Brown", and a to the Apollo program. It was about 2.5% of the U.S. gross lunar module known as "Snoopy." This mission which domestic product (GDP) at the time annually. The Apollo was launched on May 18, 1969 proved that NASA was Project continued from 1961 to 1972, even though NASA prepared for a lunar landing. The Apollo 10 mission proved accomplished Kennedy's goal in 1969. to be a "dry run" for the moon landing of Apollo 11. The Success of Apollo 11 astronauts performed all of the operations. Apollo 11 was successful only because of the earlier Inside the spacecraft missions. The earlier flights set the stage for the lunar landing Finally NASA decided to launch the mission on a Saturn V and served as the testing grounds for the technologies and rocket. That rocket lofted three modules into Earth's orbit, strategies that were eventually used in mission. including the command module to carry the astronauts to Apollo 1, originally named Apollo Saturn-204 or AS-204, and from the moon and the lunar module to land Aldrin and was to be the program's first crewed mission, set to orbit Armstrong on the surface. Earth with three astronauts aboard. However, on January The Saturn V rocket was 363 feet (111 meters) tall on 27, 1967, a fire ignited within the Apollo 1 command Launch Pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The module when the crew was performing a pre launch test.

Birla Group patriarch B. K. Birla passed away recently. He was 98. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 93 Saturn V was a type of extremely powerful rocket known from the moon which included 50 moon rocks, lunar soil, as a heavy lift vehicle, Saturn V is not just the tallest but pebbles, sand and dust. also the most powerful rocket ever launched. For the Apollo program, the Saturn V was fitted with three stages. The first The impact of Apollo stage had the most powerful engines on the rocket in order Around 600 million people around the world watched to lift the craft off the ground. This first stage separated as Armstrong and Aldrin left the first footprints on the from the rocket with the launch escape tower, leaving the lunar surface. The landing marked a historic milestone second stage to carry the rocket almost into orbit. The third and also the end of the Cold War space race between the stage then broke the vehicle out of Earth's orbit and sent it U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Apollo program included toward the moon. several missions and landings, but Apollo 11 marked an Apollo Spacecraft unparalleled victory for the U.S. On top of the Saturn V rocket, Apollo 11 launched the After Fifty years of Apollo 11, NASA has sent spacecraft command and service module and the lunar module out beyond Pluto, to the surface of Mars and to the sun. spacecraft. The command module occupied by the Researchers have discovered exoplanets with Earth- astronaut crew along with the spacecraft's operation like qualities, and our knowledge of the solar system systems and the equipment needed for re-entry. The and the universe at large has become profoundly more command module was made up of three compartments detailed over the decades. But many still view the — the forward compartment in the nose cone, the aft Apollo 11 lunar landing as the greatest achievement in compartment at the base of the module and the crew spaceflight. compartment. The forward compartment held parachutes New Space Rush for the Earth landing, while the aft compartment held propellant tanks, reaction-control engines, wires and No Humans have landed on the lunar surface since the plumbing. Inside the crew compartment, astronauts were Apollo 17 mission in 1972. NASA will send crew close seated on three couches facing forward in the middle of to the moon by 2022, then landing humans at the moon's the craft, which offered the crew an opportunity to look South Pole by 2024. out through five windows. Five silver/zinc-oxide batteries powered the command module which supported the craft Private enterprise SpaceX has publicly stated that it in re-entry and landing after it separated from the service intends to fly private citizens around the moon. The robotic module. Beresheet mission of Israeli start-up SpaceIL's ended with a crash. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) One of the command module's most important features is planning to land astronauts on the moon by 2029. China was its heat shield, which allowed the spacecraft to become the first country to land on the far side of the moon, survive incredibly hot temperatures while re-entering with the robotic Chang'e 4 mission. Earth's atmosphere. After Collins inspected the lunar module, Aldrin and Armstrong undocked it from the Chandrayaan-2 command and service module and headed for the lunar India has also been pursuing both crewed and robotic surface, leaving Collins to orbit the moon. The Apollo missions to the moon. The country has plans to launch lunar modules was the first crewed spacecraft to operate Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-2 is India's second lunar in space. exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1. Developed Along with the astronauts, the lunar module contained the by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package. That package the mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by held several self-contained experiments that were designed a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III to be left on the lunar surface. The Apollo 11 carried the (GSLV Mk III). It includes a lunar orbiter, lander and first geological samples of the moon to Earth. In total, rover, all developed domestically. The main scientific Armstrong and Aldrin collected 22 kilograms of material objective is to map the location and abundance of lunar water.

94 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) has elected Manoj Kumar Nambiar as its chairman. One Nation One Election

With a view to cleanse the political funding and some Legislative Assemblies were dissolved earlier due to decriminalize politics, the Election Commission (EC) is various reasons. working towards a comprehensive review of the election laws. Former Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi on 7th September, 2016 said that the poll panel is eagerly awaiting government's response on its slew of proposals to decriminalize politics and cleanse political funding. One Nation, One Election is a proposed electoral reform in India. It has been proposed to hold a single election for both Lok Sabha and States instead of separate and continuous elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of holding simultaneous elections in the country may be desirable but it may not work in a country as vast and diverse as India, according to experts. Recently in an interview to a news channel, PM Modi had said too many elections in the country were coming in the way of the development of the country. Noting that the country is trapped in the cycle of elections, “It is time to take it out of this cycle. It is time to stop connecting everything with politics.” India is called the largest democratic country of the world. It is because China is a communist country despite being What happens at present? the most populous country. General elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are held at the gap of 5 years ## There are 4120 MLAs in the 31 states & UTs. The in India. But in addition to this; elections for the different maximum expenditure limit for bigger assemblies is State Assemblies are held in some states separately which 28 lacs. Usually around 5 states go for polls every put huge burden on the government exchequer. The idea year. of One Nation One Election is about structuring the ## During election Model Code of Conduct no Indian election cycle in a manner such that elections to inauguration of new projects takes place. the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies are synchronized ## When elections are conducted throughout the year together. possibility of parallel economy is high. History ## A huge black turned into white money during elections The concept of “One Nation One Election” is not new for in the country. India. Elections were conducted for the Lok Sabha and the ## During elections smooth functioning of state assemblies simultaneously in India in 1952, 1957, the Government Machinery is hampered as 1962 and 1967. This was discontinued in 1968-69, because government deploys huge manpower and

Government has appointed MTNL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) P. K. Purwar as the SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 95 CMD of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). machinery to conduct free and fair elections in ## Article 172: It states that the term of the legislative the country and states. assembly will be five years from the date of its first sitting. ## Schools and colleges are closed; teachers and other ## Article 174: It empowers the Governor of the state to officials are utilised for election work. dissolve the Legislative Assembly. ## The concept of ‘One Nation One Election’ can help ## Article 356: It authorises the Central Government to keep a check on the poll expenses, party expenses impose President’s Rule for failure of constitutional etc. machinery in the state. ## When the first elections to the Lok Sabha took place ## The Representation of the People Act as well as related in 1951-52, 53 parties contested the elections, around parliamentary procedure will also need to be amended. 1874 candidates participated and poll expenses were ## The core issue which hinders its implementation is 11 crore. India’s Parliamentary Form of Government in which ## In 2019 elections, there were 610 political parties, the government is accountable to the Lower House (Lok around 9,000 candidates and poll expenses of around Sabha or Legislative Assembly). It is quite possible that 60,000 crore rupees (declared by ADR) are yet to the government can fall before completing its term and be declared by the political parties to save public the moment government falls, there has to be an election. money, reduce burden on administrative setup and Countries that conducts security forces, ensure timely implementation of the government policies. simultaneous elections. ## Ensure that the administrative machinery is engaged in 1. Sweden developmental activities. 2. Indonesia ## Voters will be able to judge the policies and 3. South Africa programmes of the government, at both level. 4. Germany Questions Remains, What if? 5. Spain ## Any of the states or central government does not have 6. Hungary the full majority? 7. Belgium ## Any alliance government which was made falls before 8. Poland 5 years? 9. Slovenia Requirement of Huge Machinery & Resources. According to the Law Commission, the election commission need to 10. Albania spend Rs 4,500 crore on new EVMs. Concluding Observation Required Constitutional Ideally, the ‘one nation, one election’ system should reduce Amendment: the amount of time, energy and resources invested in the ## Article 83: It states that the term of the Lok Sabha will conduct of polls. If simultaneous polls do reduce the duration be five years from the date of its first sitting. of conducting polls, political parties will have ample time to address national issues and enhance governance. The EC # # Article 85: It empowers the President to dissolve the is working in this direction, and shall succeed if all political Lok Sabha. parties and voters realize their responsibility.

96 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 In Uttar Pradesh, State government launched a toll-free Chief Minister helpline 1076. GENERAL AWARENESS Q.1. PM Modi laid a goal to bring Indian economy to a (4) Harsimrat Kaur Badal ______trillion economy by 2024-25. (5) None of these (1) $5 (2) $8 (3) $10 Q.8. Government of India has signed a MoU with (4) $12 (5) None of these ______to use AI in agriculture. Q.2. Economic Survey which was tabled by Finance (1) TATA Services (2) Adani-group Limited Minister Nirmala Sitharaman predicted ______(3) Infosys (4) IBM India GDP growth for financial year 2019-20. (5) None of these (1) 6% (2) 6.5% (3) 6.8% Q.9. Where is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (4) 7% (5) None of these located? Q.3. Under which Ministry does Bharat Dynamics (1) Maharashtra (2) Telangana Limited (BDL) function? (3) Uttar Pradesh (4) Andhra Pradesh (1) Ministry of Defence (5) None of these (2) Ministry of Civil Aviation Q.10. Which Ministry introduced the Digi Yatra Policy? (3) Ministry of External Affairs (1) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (4) Ministry of Science and Technology (2) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (5) None of these (3) Ministry of Home Affairs Q.4. National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has signed with which (4) Ministry of Civil Aviation organisation to supply sanitary napkins to students? (5) None of these (1) Sakhi Q.11. Which of the following sporstperson has (2) Saathi announced his retirement recently? (3) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) (1) Mahendra Singh Dhoni (4) Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) (2) Ambati Rayudu (5) None of these (3) Serena Williams Q.5. Who is appointed as the new President of European (4) Nicholas Cage Union Commission? (5) Chris Gayle (1) Jean-Claude Juncker Q.12. Birla Group patriarch B. K. Birla passed away (2) Ursula von der Leyen recently. He was awarded the medal of the Order (3) Federica Mogherini of Menelik II by which country? (4) Valdis Dombrovskis (1) Ghana (2) Ethiopia (3) Maladives (5) None of these (4) Nepal (5) Japan Q.6. Which country hosted the Poznan Athletics Grand Q.13. Who is the vice chairman of NITI Aayog? Prix 2019? (1) Dinesh Kumar (2) Rajiv Kumar (1) Italy (2) Poland (3) France (3) Vikram Sharma (4) Dinesh Gupta (4) India (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.7. Who is the Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Q.14. Who launched Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Welfare? Friendly Reforms Index 2019? (1) Narendra Singh Tomar (1) Operation Green (2) NITI Aayog (2) Thaawar Chand Gehlot (3) Khelo India (4) Atal Innovation Mission (3) Ravi Shankar Prasad (5) None of these

Hima Das has won the gold medal in 200m race in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 97 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS Q.15. Which place France obtained in the Powerful Q.23. Who won 2019 Austrian Grand Prix? Passport index 2019? (1) Charles Leclerc (2) Max Verstappen (1) 4th (2) 8th (3) 12th (3) L. Hamilton (4) V. Bottas (4) 16th (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.16. Which country ranked 86th in Most Powerful Q.24. Who is the chairman of Swiss National Bank? Passport index 2019? (1) John Williams (2) Peter Harrys (1) India (2) Pakistan (3) Indonesia (3) Thomas Jordan (4) Suresh Kumar (4) Sri Lanka (5) None of these Q.17. Which bank ties up with Bharti AXA Life (5) None of these Insurance to offer the Bharti AXA Life POS Saral Q.25. What is the name of the scheme, that will be Jeevan Bima Yojana? available across the country from july 1, 2020? (1) India Post Payments Bank (1) Atal Pension Yojana (2) Airtel Payments Bank (2) Digital India (3) Fino Payments Bank (3) 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme (4) Jio Payments Bank (4) Make In India (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.18. Which state ranked second in the Agricultural Q.26. Govt is to introduce new GST return filing system Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index which would replace ______. 2019? (1) GSTR - 2B (summary returns) and GSTR-1 (1) Gujarat (2) Himachal Pradesh (supplies return) (3) Kerala (4) Karnataka (2) GSTR-3B (summary returns) and GSTR-1 (5) None of these (supplies return) Q.19. Which state ranked first in NITI Aayog’s AM FFR (3) GSTR-3B (summary returns) only Index? (4) All of these (1) Maharashtra (2) TamilNadu (5) None of these (3) Kerala (4) West Bengal Q.27. Who won innovation award in UK? (5) None of these (1) Suresh Kumar (2) Rajesh Sharma Q.20. Which bank joined with IndoStar Capital partner (3) Vikram Singh (4) Nitesh Kumar Jangir to finance commercial vehicles? (5) None of these (1) State Bank of India (2) Dena Bank Q.28. Who is the author of the book "A Prime Minister to (3) Bank of Baroda (4) ICICI Bank Remember"? (5) None of these (1) Suresh Krishna (2) Rajesh Kumar Q.21. Who is the present HRD Minister? (3) (4) Vikram Singh (1) Shri Arun Jaitley (2) Shri Suresh Prabhu (5) None of these (3) Shri Nitin Kumar (4) Shri Prakash Javedakar Q.29. For how many districts the Bangla Shashya Bima (5) None of these scheme will be applied? Q.22. Which company launched 11th tranche of Electoral (1) 15 (2) 14 (3) 16 Bonds sale to start from July 1? (4) 25 (5) None of these (1) Microsoft (2) FinMin (3) Dell Q.30. Which Union minister to launch commemoration (4) Samsung (5) None of these of four years of Digital India initiative?

Italian former journalist David-Maria Sassoli has been selected as the new president of the European MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 98 Parliament. GENERAL AWARENESS (1) Shri Suresh Prabhu (1) Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (2) Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad (2) Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) (3) Shri Nitin Gadkari Bill, 2019 (4) Shri Vivek Sharma (3) Homeopathy Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (5) None of these (4) Homeopathy Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019 Q.31. On which day, Government of India organized an (5) None of these event to celebrate the second anniversary of Goods and Services Tax (GST)? Q.39. Which bill is recently cleared by Rajya Sabha? (1) 30 June (2) 01 July (3) 07 July (1) Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (4) 10 July (5) None of these (2) Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, Q.32. Which state hosted the triennial International Seed 2017 Testing Association (ISTA) Congress? (3) Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, (1) Telangana (2) Kerala 2018 (3) Tamil Nadu (4) Uttar Pradesh (4) Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, (5) None of these 2019 Q.33. What is the capital of Nagaland? (5) None of these (1) Dispur (2) Kohima (3) Pune Q.40. ______and World Bank signed USD 400M loan agreement to eliminate TB. (4) Patna (5) None of these (1) India (2) Pakistan (3) Indonesia Q.34. Who is appointed as the new President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)? (4) Saudi Arabia (5) None of these (1) Sharad Kumar Saraf Q.41. Which ministry successfully observed ' Swachhta Pakhwada'? (2) Giovanni Vincenzo (1) Ministry of Finance (3) Arun Prasad Yadhav (2) Ministry of Ministry of New and Renewable (4) Nirmal Kumar Energy (5) None of these (3) Ministry of External Affairs Q.35. Who won the Miss Universe Australia 2019 title? (4) Ministry of Internal Affairs (1) Reita Faria (2) Manish Paul (5) None of these (3) Manushi Chhillar (4) Priya Serrao Q.42. Which day is observed on 29th June? (5) None of these (1) Statistics Day Q.36. On which day, International Day of the Tropics (2) World Environment Day observed? (3) World Organ Day (1) 28 June (2) 29 July (3) 9 March (4) World Heart Day (4) 7 April (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.37. India successfully test-fired indigenously developed Q.43. In which city, Go Tribal campaign by Tribes India nuclear-capable missile ______. launched? (1) Prithivi II (2) Agni VI (3) Brahmos (1) Delhi (2) Chennai (3) Hyderabad (4) Nirbhay (5) None of these (4) Mumbai (5) None of these Q.38. ____ will extend the tenure of the Board of Governors Q.44. Maharaja Ranjit Singh honoured on his (BoGs) of the Central Homeopathy Council. ______death anniversary. Recruitment examination of Regional Rural Banks, RRBs will be conducted in 13 regional languages SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA in addition to English and Hindi. 99 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS (1) 180th (2) 154th (3) 172th Q.52. Who is appointed as the Director of Nehru Centre in London? (4) 195th (5) None of these Q.45. MOA signed between Ministry of Shipping and (1) Author Amish Tripathi ______to set up CICMT. (2) Author Suresh Kumar (1) IIT Madras (2) IIT Khargapur (3) Author Vikram Raj (3) IIT Roorkee (4) IIT Mumbai (4) Author Siva Rajan (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.46. What is the aim of the scheme PMGDISHA? Q.53. Which company launches Crime Mitigation (1) To increase Digital literacy rate solution for smaller banks? (2) To increase Farming industry (1) Oracle (2) Wipro (3) To increase Animal life security (3) Cognizant (4) Tech Mahindra (4) To increase Fishing zones (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.54. Which country extends ban on EU Food Imports till December 31, 2020? Q.47. Who is the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying? (1) Indonesia (2) Iran (3) Russia (1) Narendra Singh Tomar (4) Pakistan (5) None of these (2) Ravi Shankar Prasad Q.55. In which city, 7th India and Brunei Darussalam Foreign Office Consultations held? (3) Nitin Jairam Gadkari (1) Chennai (2) New Delhi (3) Hyderabad (4) Sanjeev Kumar Balyan (4) Mumbai (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.56. Which of the following application introduced by Q.48. How much will the Haryana government provide the government is the driving license app? to assist the loktantra senanis for treatment at private or government hospitals? (1) m-Parivahan (2) SukhadYatra (3) Sarathi (1) Rs.2 Lakh (2) Rs.4 Lakh (3) Rs.5 Lakh (4) HumSafar (5) None of these (4) Rs.7 Lakh (5) None of these Q.57. How many millions loan did World Bank issued for Uttarakhand Public Financial Management in Q.49. Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, who was sworn order to strengthen Project? in as Governor of Manipur, is also the Governor of ______. (1) 40.56 (2) 26.58 (3) 38.65 (1) Assam (2) Tripura (3) Meghalaya (4) 31.58 (5) None of these (4) Nagaland (5) None of these Q.58. Who is the new director general of Indian Coast Guard? Q.50. Who became the fastest cricketer to score 20,000 international runs? (1) K Natarajan (2) Vikram Singh (1) Suresh Raina (2) Virat Kohli (3) Ramesh kumar (4) Nitish Khanna (3) K H Rahul (4) Vijay Shankar (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.59. Who has won the Journalist of the Year 2019 Q.51. Who is the author of 'The New Delhi Conspiracy'? award? (1) Meenakshi Lekhi (2) Nitya Kumar (1) Varsha Bhosle (2) Dinu Ranadive (3) Rajesh Shrath (4) Vikram Kumar (3) Sebastian D’Souza (4) Rachna Khaira (5) None of these (5) None of these

Railways has set a target to install CCTV cameras in more than 7,000 coaches of mainline passenger MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 100 trains by March 2021. GENERAL AWARENESS Q.60. Who is the Chairman and Managing Director (2) Grievance Redressal System (GRS) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (3) Complaint Management System (CMS) (SIDBI)? (4) RBI Complaint Cell (RCC) (1) Raghuram Rajan (5) None of these (2) Upendra Kumar Sinha Q.67. Who is the Chairman of RAW, India? (3) Mohammad Mustafa (1) Samant Goel (4) Ajay Tyagi (2) Arvind Kumar (5) None of these (3) PM Narendra Modi Q.61. When is the International Day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking observed? (4) President Ram Nath Kovind (1) June 15 (2) June 17 (3) June 21 (5) None of these (4) June 26 (5) None of these Q.68. The Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 will amend ______. Q.62. Who released the Health Index India 2019? (1) Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (1) Committee on Health Welfare (2) Special Economic Zones Act, 2013 (2) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (3) Special Economic Zones Act, 1992 (3) NITI Aayog (4) Special Economic Zones Act, 1978 (4) Ayush Mantralaya (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.69. Which of the following organization developed, Q.63. What is the name of the scheme planned by the SARATHI, an app for driving license? central government to double farmers income by (1) National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) the year 2022? (2) National Informatics Centre (NIC) (1) Antyodaya Anna Yojana (3) Statistics and Programme Implementation (2) National Food Security Mission Centre (3) Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (4) Department of Telecommunications (4) Krishi Vigyan Kendras (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.70. Who won Mallorca Open Title 2019? Q.64. Which country has gifted Manipur a peace (1) Caroline Garcia (2) Sofia Kenin museum? (3) Tatjana Maria (4) Anastasija Sevastova (1) China (2) Pakistan (3) Japan (5) None of these (4) Indonesia (5) None of these Q.71. Who is the Minister of the Ministry of Road Q.65. Which state did topped at the rankings of MHA Transport and Highways? Police Stations for the year 2018? (1) Smriti Irani (1) Rajasthan (2) Tamil Nadu (3) Kerala (2) Ravi Shankar Prasad (4) West Bengal (5) None of these (3) Thawar Chand Gehlot Q.66. Which of the following facility/system launched by RBI to facilitate RBI’s grievance redressal (4) Nitin Gadkari process? (5) None of these (1) Grievance Redress and Monitoring System Q.72. Which film won award at Shanghai International (GRAM) Film Festival?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2018-19 in both houses of Parlia- SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA ment. 101 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS (1) The Predator (2) Hold the Dark (4) Katni Junction railway station (3) Veyilmarangal (4) Poomaram (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.79. Which of the following countries were reported as malaria-free cases in 2018, as per World Health Q.73. Who is the Chairman of NITI Aayog? Organization (WHO)? (1) President Ram Nath Kovind (1) China, Iran, Malaysia, Timor-Leste and El (2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Salvador (3) Rajiv Kumar (2) China, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore and Tajikistan (4) Amitabh Kant (3) China, Iran, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand (5) None of these (4) China, Iran, Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines Q.74. What is the name of Autobiography of Yoga guru (5) None of these Baba Ramdev? Q.80. In which two countries, DD (Doordarshan) India, (1) ‘The Race of My Life’ an Indian English News and Current Affairs (2) ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ Channel will be telecasted? (3) ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’ (1) Nepal and Bangladesh (4) ‘My Life, My Mission’ (2) Sri Lanka and Nepal (5) None of these (3) Pakistan and Myanmar Q.75. On which date, United Nations Public Service Day (4) Bangladesh and South Korea is observed annually? (5) None of these (1) June 23 (2) June 21 (3) June 20 Q.81. Fernando Torres was in news recently, he is (4) June 22 (5) None of these associated with which sport? Q.76. For which state Raghvendra Singh Chauhan (1) Badminton (2) Tennis (3) Football appointed as the second Chief Justice of High (4) Cricket (5) None of these Court? Q.82. Where was the 35th men’s Asian Snooker (1) Karnataka (2) Telangana Championship or men’s Asian Snooker (3) Andhra Pradesh (4) Himachal Pradesh Championship 2019 held? (5) None of these (1) Doha, Qatar (2) Jakarta, Indonesia Q.77. Which institute signed MoU with PGCIL to enter (3) Dhaka, Bangladesh (4) Beijing, China Power Distribution Business? (5) None of these (1) National Thermal Power Corporation Limited Q.83. In which city Third Indo-French cyber dialogue (NTPC Ltd) was held? (2) Bharat heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) (1) Paris (2) Oslo (3) New Delhi (3) Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited (BSNL) (4) Mumbai (5) None of these (4) Hindustan Petroleum Q.84. In which city First international theatre festival of (5) None of these Bangladesh was held? Q.78. Which railway station has became the India’s first (1) Chittagong (2) Dhaka (3) Khulna green and clean railway station? (4) Bogra (5) None of these (1) Varanasi Cantt Railway Station Q.85. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has (2) Udhana railway station adopted a historic global treaty against violence and harassment in the workplace. Where is the (3) Jaynagar railway station headquarter of International Labour Organization?

102 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2019 (Division A) will take place in Bengaluru from September 24 to 29. GENERAL AWARENESS (1) Geneva (2) Paris (3) Hague Q.92. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy launched village stay programme aimed at connecting with (4) Washington (5) None of these people. He is the Chief Minister of which state? Q.86. Head priest of Hazratbal shrine, Ghulam Hassan (1) Karnataka (2) Kerala (3) Sikkim Banday passed away. How old he was? (4) Odisha (5) None of these (1) 78 (2) 67 (3) 90 Q.93. Which state’s Chief Minister has inaugurated the (4) 80 (5) None of these Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) worth Q.87. For which of the following high courts, Justice V Rs 80,000 crore? Ramasubramanian appointed as the Chief Justice? (1) Andhra Pradesh (2) Kerala (1) Rajasthan High Court (3) Telangana (4) Karnataka (2) Himachal Pradesh High Court (5) None of these (3) West Bengal High Court Q.94. In which city Fourth National Yoga Olympiad (4) Uttar Pradesh High Court concluded? (5) None of these (1) Mumbai (2) Ranchi (3) New Delhi Q.88. International Olympic Committee (IOC) has lifted (4) Lucknow (5) None of these the sanctions imposed on which country to host Q.95. What is the name of the deceased minister and international sporting events with immediate effect? MNF (Mizo National Front) leader of Mizoram? (1) Russia (2) Pakistan (3) India (1) Pramod Mahajan (2) Vilasrao Deshmukh (4) Nepal (5) None of these (3) Gopinath Munde (4) Lalrinchhana Q.89. Customers of which of the following bank, can (5) None of these deposit ` 50,000 cash for free only thrice a month and from the fourth transaction there is a charge Q.96. On which date, World sickle cell day is observed from July 1. globally? (1) Punjab National Bank (1) June 19 (2) June 18 (3) June 17 (2) Canara Bank (4) June 16 (5) None of these (3) State Bank of India Q.97. What was the theme of World Refugee Day 2019? (4) Bank of Baroda (1) Theme – “Now More Than Ever, We Need to Stand with Refugees” (5) None of these (2) Theme – “Embracing Refugees to celebrate Q.90. What is the Code name of The air strike by the our Common Humanity” Indian Air Force (IAF) on a terrorist training camp (3) Theme – “Step With Refugees — Take A Step in Balakot, Pakistan? on World Refugee Day” (1) Operation Lion (2) Operation Bandar (4) Theme – “We stand together with refugees” (3) Operation Cheel (4) Operation Bagh (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.98. Where was the G20 (Group of 20) Ministerial Q.91. Who will attend the 14th G20 Summit in Osaka, Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Japan from 28th to 29th June? Environment for Sustainable Growth 2019 held? (1) PM Narendra Modi (1) Antalya, Turkey (2) President Ram Nath Kovind (2) Hangzhou, China (3) Home Minister Amit Shah (3) Buenos Aires, Argentina (4) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman (4) Nagano, Japan (5) None of these (5) None of these

Yes Bank has acquired 9.47% stake in Eveready Industries. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 103 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS Q.99. CCI approves merger of Indiabulls Housing (3) Insurance Regulatory and Development Finance and ______. Authority of India(IRDAI) (1) Lakshmi Vilas bank (4) Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (2) Yes bank (5) None of these (3) Dena bank Q.106. Which country’s economy has emerged as the fastest growing economy among the 45 (4) State Bank of India countries of the Asia-Pacific region as per the (5) None of these Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO)? Q.100. Who organises Capacity Building Program On Electoral Technology? (1) Bangladesh (2) U.S. (3) India (1) IIIDEM (ECI) (2) IIFC (4) China (5) None of these (3) IIM (4) IIT Q.107. Which country has become the largest fish producing country as per the report released by the (5) None of these Fisheries Department? Q.101. Who is appointed as head to sort AAI trouble in (1) Japan (2) China (3) India World Archery? (4) Indonesia (5) None of these (1) Suresh (2) Bindra (3) Krishna Q.108. Who was appointed as the Director General of Inter- (4) Vikram (5) None of these Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of Pakistan? Q.102. What is the basic exemption limit in income tax? (1) Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar (1) Rs 3 lakh (2) Rs 2.5 lakh (3) Rs 2 lakh (2) Lt Gen Asim Munir (4) Rs 3.5 lakh (5) None of these (3) Lt Gen Syed Shahid Hamid Q.103. Who headed the 8 member panel on Micro, Small (4) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)? (5) None of these (1) Sakha Ram Singh Yadav Q.109. Where was the Folksam Grand Prix 2019 held? (1) Sollentuna, Sweden (2) Ranjit Kumar (2) Karlstad, Sweden (3) U K Sinha (3) Gothenburg, Sweden (4) A S Kiran Kumar (4) Stockholm, Sweden (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.104. How much collateral-free loans for MSME’s was recommended by U K Sinha, from earlier Rs 10 Q.110. Who won the gold medal in women’s 1500m at lakh ? Folksam Grand Prix 2019 ? (1) Rs 20 lakh (2) Rs 30 lakh (3) Rs 15 lakh (1) Gaurav Kumari (2) PU Chitra (4) Rs 40 lakh (5) None of these (3) Suriya Loganathan (4) Kavita Raut Q.105. What is the name of the regulatory body, that (5) None of these permits stock exchanges with Commodity Q.111. Who is the President of Nigeria? Derivative Segment (CDS) to introduce futures on (1) Muhammadu Buhari commodity indices? (2) Boko Haram (1) Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI) (3) Theresa May (2) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural (4) Emmanuel Macron Development(NABARD) (5) None of these

Shillong will host the Short film Festival, the Kelvin Cinema Festival of Films, from November 7 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 104 to 9, 2019. GENERAL AWARENESS Q.112. Which country extended $15 million grant to (2) ATM charges and fees by banks Niger to organize the AU summit? (3) Current framework for the MSME sector (1) India (2) West Indies (3) Pakistan (4) Home-loan Securitization (4) Indonesia (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.113. Which state topped the United States Green Q.120. By which name Facebook unveiled its Building Council's (USGBC) list of Top 10 States cryptocurrency? for LEED in India? (1) Ripple (2) Libra (3) Ethereum (1) TamilNadu (2) Andhra pradesh (4) Cardano (5) None of these (3) Himachal Pradesh (4) Maharashtra Q.121. Which well-known author and one of the founders (5) None of these of the Dalit Panthers in 1972, passed away Q.114. From which year, Ireland planned to ban sale of recently? petrol and diesel cars? (1) Namdeo Dhasal (2) J. V. Pawar (1) 2020 (2) 2035 (3) 2040 (3) Raja Dhale (4) Brahmeshwar Mukhiya (4) 2030 (5) None of these (5) Kunwar Singh Q.115. The highest bridge in Asia at Kandror is located on which river? Q.122. Who defeated compatriot Mehuli Ghosh to win the individual gold in a one-two finish for India (1) Beas (2) Chenab (3) Ravi in women's 10m air rifle competition of the Junior (4) Sutlej (5) None of these World Cup in Suhl, Germany? Q.116. Which state had made GPS device mandatory for (1) Anish Anish (2) Elavenil Valarivan trekkers? (3) Singh Adarsh (4) Shikhov Daniil (1) Jammu & Kashmir (5) Kaushik Agneya (2) Sikkim Q.123. Elavenil Valarivan defeated which compatriot to (3) Himachal Pradesh win the individual gold in a one-two finish for India in women's 10m air rifle competition of the (4) Uttaranchal Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany? (5) None of these (1) Kaushik Agneya (2) Anish Anish Q.117. According to NITI Aayog proposal, From which (3) Mehuli Ghosh (4) Singh Adarsh year only electric vehicles should be sold? (5) Shikhov Daniil (1) 2022 (2) 2025 (3) 2030 Q.124. Where was the first China-Africa Peace and (4) 2035 (5) None of these Security Forum organized? Q.118. According to Randstad Employer Brand Research (1) Shanghai (2) Beijing (3) Nairobi (REBR) 2019, which Company is the most attractive employer brand in India? (4) Cape Town (5) Lagos (1) Amazon Q.125. Which Former Supreme Court judge, has been appointed as an international judge of the Singapore (2) Microsoft International Commercial Court (SICC)? (3) Sony (1) Justice AK Sikri (4) Mercedes-Benz (2) Justice Govind Mathur (5) None of these (3) Justice Pradeep Nandrajog Q.119. RBI has set up a committee under former chairman of SEBI UK Sinha to review ______. (4) Justice Gita Mittal (1) Economic monetary policy (5) Justice Rajan Gogoi International Monetary Fund approved a $6 billion, three-year loan for Pakistan to try to right the SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA nation’s economy. 105 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS Q.126. Who is the President of the Republic of Singapore? (4) IRCTC (1) S. R. Nathan (2) J. Y. Pillay (5) Air India (3) Benjamin Sheares (4) Halimah Yacob Q.133. Which of the following has has partnered with (5) Tony Tan National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to support skill development in India and celebrate Q.127. What is the full form of SICC? World Youth Skills Day 2019? (1) Serbia Internal Commerce Court (1) Tik Tok (2) Youtube (3) Musically (2) Singapore International Commercial Court (4) Savaan (5) Gaana (3) International Commercial Court Q.134. When is World Youth Skills Day celebrated? (4) Seoul International Commercial Court (1) 12-Jul-19 (2) 13-Jul-19 (3) 14-Jul-19 (5) Shanghai International Commercial Court (4) 15-Jul-19 (5) 16-Jul-19 Q.128. Which Data analytics and business intelligence Q.135. Which specialized agency of the United Nations platform has announced the appointment of Ankur leads international efforts to defeat hunger? Goel as its Managing Director for India? (1) United Nations Development Programme (1) Qlik (2) ThoughtSpot (3) Tableau (2) Food and Agriculture Organization (4) Microsoft (5) IBM (3) World Bank Q.129. Which state has recently became the first Indian state to ensure water conservation, having its own (4) International Monetary fund water conservation policy? (5) World Health Organisation (1) Tamil Nadu (2) Meghalaya (3) Nagaland Q.136. Who has been named the Player of the World Cup (4) Sikkim (5) Haryana 2019? Q.130. Who is the Chief Minister of Meghalaya? (1) Ben Stokes (2) Rohit Sharma (1) Tathagata Roy (2) Mukul Sangma (3) Kane Williamson (4) Virat Kohli (3) Conrad Sangma (4) (5) Mitchell Stark (5) Lahkmen Rymbui Q.137. Which Indian Sprinter has won the women’s 200m Q.131. Which online travel company has signed a event at the Kladno Memorial Athletics Meet in Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Czech Republic? the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for (1) Dutee Chand (2) Santhi Soundarajan convenient and hassle-free online bookings for (3) Srabani Nanda (4) Hima Das 116 historical monuments and sites across India? (5) Lalita Babar (1) Trivago (2) Clear Trip Q.138. Who has been appointed as the governor of Gujarat (3) MakeMyTrip (4) Ola recently? (5) Uber (1) (2) Acharya Devvrat Q.132. In a bid to promote India as a heritage tourism (3) Lalji Tandon (4) Anandiben Patel destination, online travel company MakeMyTrip has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (5) (MoU) with which of the following for convenient Q.139. Who has been appointed as the governor of and hassle-free online bookings for 116 historical Himachal Pradesh? monuments and sites across India? (1) Lalji Tandon (2) Anandiben Patel (1) Incredible India (3) Kalraj Mishra (4) Acharya Devvrat (2) Archaeological Survey of India (5) Mridula Sinha (3) Tourism Ministry Senior CBI officer M. Nageswar Rao has been appointed as Director General of Fire Services, Civil MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 106 Services and Home Guards. GENERAL AWARENESS Q.140. How much amount has been approved by United Q.148. When will NASA's Orion spacecraft be deployed? States regulators as penalty on Facebook to settle (1) 2022 (2) 2024 (3) 2026 a probe into the social network's privacy and data protection lapses? (4) 2028 (5) None of these (1) $2 Bn (2) $3 Bn (3) $4 Bn Q.149. CAPF is a combination of ______security forces in India. (4) $5 Bn (5) $6 Bn (1) 4 (2) 5 (3) 6 Q.141. Which India wrestler has won gold in the 53 kg category at Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul? (4) 7 (5) None of these (1) Babita Kumari (2) Vinesh Phogat Q.150. Under Which Ministry does the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) function? (3) Ritu Phogat (4) Sangita Phogat (1) Ministry of External Affairs (5) (2) Ministry of Home Affairs Q.142. Vinesh Phogat defeated Ekaterina Poleshchuk in the final match to win the gold medal at Yasar (3) Ministry of Defence Dogu International in Istanbul. To which country (4) Ministry of Law and Order does Ekaterina Poleshchuk belongs? (5) None of these (1) Ukraine (2) Czechoslovakia Q.151. Who is the Head of the World Health Organisation? (3) Russia (4) France (1) Prokopis Pavlopoulos (5) Tajikistan (2) John Michael Q.143. Where is the Hussain Sagar Lake located? (3) Tedros Adhanom (1) Telangana (2) Maharashtra (3) Odisha (4) Ali Khamenei (4) Rajasthan (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.144. Where was the National Sailing Championship inaugurated? Q.152. Recently, RBI fines how many Public Sector Banks for violating KYC norms? (1) Hyderabad (2) Cochin (3) Chennai (1) 5 (2) 4 (3) 7 (4) Kolkata (5) None of these (4) 8 (5) None of these Q.145. Who is appointed as the Chairman of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN)? Q.153. Who is appointed as the CMD of BSNL? (1) Vineet Chattree (1) P.K. Purwar (2) Suresh yadav (2) Gyan Mohan (3) Dinesh kumar (4) Vikram Sharma (3) Samit Ghosh (5) None of these (4) Manoj Kumar Nambiar Q.154. Which company got Presidents award for excellent Corporate Social Responsibilty? (5) None of these (1) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Q.146. Who won World Boxing Council (WBC) Asia title? (2) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) (1) Suresh Sharma (2) Vaibhav Yadav (3) National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) (3) Dinesh kumar (4) Vaibhav Yadav (4) Indian oil Corporation (IOC) (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.147. Where is the Kaziranga National Park located? Q.155. Where is the headquarter of NALCO? (1) Gujarat (2) Tripura (3) Assam (1) Chennai,TamilNadu (4) Rajasthan (5) None of these Indian team won the South Asia Basketball Association Zone under-16 basketball championship SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA trophy, with victory over Sri Lanka in Dhaka. 107 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS (2) Pune,Mumbai Q.163. Who has won the men's singles title of Wimbledon open by defeating Switzerland's Roger Federer? (3) Bhubaneswar, Odisha (1) Novak Djokovic (2) Roger Federer (4) Ranchi,Jaipur (3) Rafael Nadal (4) Andy Murray (5) None of these (5) Ken Rosewall Q.156. How much fund did Asian Development Bank approved for Chhattisgarh Road Improvement Q.164. Serbia's Novak Djokovic has won the men's Project? singles title of Wimbledon open by defeating who among the following? (1) $ 350 millions (2) $ 480 millions (1) Rafael Nadal (2) Novak Djokovic (3) $ 560 millions (4) $ 820 millions (3) Roger Federer (4) Andy Murray (5) None of these (5) Ken Rosewall Q.157. Who is elected to the board of IATA? Q.165. Novak Djokovic has won the men's singles title of (1) Suresh Kumar (2) Ramesh Kumar Wimbledon open by defeating Roger Federer. To (3) Dinesh Kumar (4) Ajay Singh which country do Novak Djokovic belongs? (5) None of these (1) Serbia (2) Spain Q.158. Who becomes the first civil servant & IPS Officer (3) Switzerland (4) Italy to conquer the 'Seven Summits' challenge? (5) France (1) Aparna Kumar (2) Srinidhi Kumar Q.166. Who has won the British Grand Prix title for a (3) Vivek Raj (4) Veena Kumar record sixth times? (5) None of these (1) Ayrton Senna Q.159. Which bank tied up with NIIF tie-up to finance (2) Michael Schumacher infrastructure projects? (3) Lewis Hamilton (1) Canara Bank (2) Bank of Baroda (4) Sebastian Vettel (3) State Bank of India (4) Dena Bank (5) M. Verstappen (5) None of these Q.167. Which Grand Prix has Lewis Hamilton won Q.160. NASA's PUNCH mission selected Indian Scientist recently for a record sixth times? ______as its co-investigator. (1) Australian Grand Prix (1) C N Rao (2) (2) Dutch Grand Prix (3) Dipankar Banerjee (4) Aditi Pan (3) Tripoli Grand Prix (5) None of these (4) British Grand Prix Q.161. Who gets extension by one year as RBI deputy (5) Russian Grand Prix governor? Q.168. Where has an Agri Business Incubation Centre (1) Suresh Kumar (2) N S Vishwanathan been started recently? (3) Dinesh Gupta (4) Ramesh Kumar (1) New Delhi (2) Solan (3) Lucknow (5) None of these (4) Surat (5) Chhattisgarh Q.162. Ola Electric invests ______funding from Q.169. Who has been conferred honorary fellowship of SoftBank. the Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand? (1) $ 250 millions (2) $ 360 millions (1) Rajesh Tripathi (2) P Raghu Ram (3) $ 450 millions (4) $ 650 millions (3) Sohan Mishra (4) Mukesh Lal (5) None of these (5) Prithvi Patil

108 MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 French lawmakers approve 3% tax on online giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook. GENERAL AWARENESS Q.170. Seven-time Kerala State Film Award winner, M. J. (2) Manpreet Kaur Radhakrishnan has passed away recently. He was (3) a ______. (4) Punam Yadav (1) Actor (2) Cinematographer (3) Novelist (4) Politician (5) (5) Scientist Q.177. The World Health Organisation has declared which country as ‘measles-free’ nation? Q.171. Which German luxury car manufacturer has appointed Balbir Singh Dhillon as its India (1) India (2) Sri Lanka (3) Pakistan Head? (4) Bangladesh (5) Sudan (1) Ferrari (2) Audi (3) Mercedes Q.178. Which of the following bank has recently set up a (4) Bentley (5) Chevrolet centralised hub for processing retail and MSME loans for better efficiency of branches in business Q.172. Which IIT has signed an MoU with Power Grid acquisition? Corporation of India Ltd (Power Grid) on energy efficiency and sustainable energy? (1) Punjab & Sind Bank (1) IIT Pune (2) IIT Patna (2) Bank of Baroda (3) IIT Roorkee (4) IIT Delhi (3) Bank of India (5) IIT Mumbai (4) State Bank of India Q.173. Under which campaign of the Central government (5) United Bank of India Google Maps has added more than 45,000 Q.179. Which of the following is true about “Operation community and public toilets? Thirst”? (1) Swachh Bharat campaign (1) It has been launched by the Indian Railways. (2) Loo Review campaign (2) It is a Drive to crack down selling of (3) Sanitation campaign unauthorised Packaged Drinking Water. (4) Sulabh campaign (3) It is a Drive to supply water to water scarce area by train. (5) None of these Q.174. Who has been appointed as Secretary, (consular, (4) Only 1&2 passport, visa and Overseas Indian affairs) in the (5) Only 1&3 External Affairs Ministry? Q.180. Where is the National Museum of Indian Cinema (1) Sunil Chandra (2) Rajesh Nigam located? (3) Vikas Swarup (4) Mahesh Mohani (1) New Delhi (2) Mumbai (3) Bangalore (5) Jagdish Chand (4) Pune (5) Lucknow Q.175. Which Indian lifter lifted a total of 305 kgs to win Q.181. Who has been appointed as the CEO of Accenture? gold in the senior and junior men's 73kg category in the Commonwealth Championships? (1) Julie Sweet (2) David Rolland (1) Farman Basha (2) Vicky Batta (3) Michael Lobo (4) Mukesh Kripalani (3) Marvesh Sharma (4) Achinta Sheuli (5) Prithvi Malhotra (5) Mehar Bhaskar Q.182. Joao Gilberto, the legendary musician and songwriter known as bossa nova, has passed away Q.176. Which Indian lifter lifted a total of 207 kgs to recently. He belongs to which country? win gold in the women's 76kg category in the Commonwealth Championships? (1) Mexico (2) Brazil (3) Spain (1) (4) Sweden (5) Russia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA 109 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS Q.183. The International Olympic Committee has lifted (3) (4) Virat kohli Kuwait suspension recently. Who is the Prime (5) MS Dhoni Minister of Kuwait? Q.191. Which UT is has decided to launch a bicycle (1) Sabah Ahmad al-Sabah sharing scheme? (2) Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah (1) Puducherry (2) Daman & Diu (3) Marzouq Al-Ghanim (3) Lakshadweep (4) Andaman and Nicobar (4) Abdulhussain Abdulredha (5) Chandigarh (5) Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Q.192. Who has signed a MoU to give boost to the Q.184. Which city has made entry into the UNESCO infrastructure sector in the country? World Heritage Site list? (1) National Highways Authority of India (1) Jaipur (2) Surat (3) Hampi (2) National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (4) Varanasi (5) Mathura (3) Industrial Development Bank of India Q.185. Which city has become the 38th World UNESCO (4) Both 1&2 World Heritage Site? (5) All 1,2&3 (1) Varanasi (2) Mathura (3) Jaipur Q.193. What is the full form NHAI? (4) Surat (5) Hampi (1) Nationalised Highways Agency of India Q.186. Where was 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO held? (2) Nationalised Highways Authority of India (1) Seoul, South Korea (3) National Highways Authority of India (2) Melbourne, Australia (4) National Highways Agency of India (3) London, United Kingdom (5) None of these (4) Baku, Azerbaijan Q.194. What is the full form of NIIF? (5) New York, USA (1) National Investment and Integrated Fund Q.187. Which was the first Indian city to get into the (2) National Integrated and Infrastructure Fund prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site list? (3) National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (1) Jaipur (2) Surat (3) Hampi (4) National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (4) Ahmedabad (5) Chennai (5) None of these Q.188. Which country has won the 2019 Copa America Q.195. The Defence Research and Development title? Organisation (DRDO) carried out three successful (1) Peru (2) Brazil (3) Spain test firing of NAG missile in the Pokhran firing ranges. Which type of missile is NAG missile? (4) Mexico (5) Canada (1) Air-launched ballistic missile Q.189. China's Li Shi Feng has won the men's singles title of Canada Open Super 100 tournament by (2) Anti-tank guided missile defeating which player? (3) Anti-satellite weapon (1) Lee Chong Wei (2) P Kashyap (4) Anti-ship missile (3) Chen Long (4) Lin Dan (5) Anti-submarine missile (5) Viktor Axelsen Q.196. Which state government is going to launch 'Meri Q.190. Who has been appointed as the Head of Cricket at Fasal Mera Byora' portal whereby farmers can the National Cricket Academy (NCA)? avail benefits of several government schemes directly after uploading their crop-related details? (1) Rahul Dravid (2) Sachin Tendulkar 5-World's largest burn and plastic surgery institute started in Dhaka. It is named as Sheikh Hasina MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 110 National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute. GENERAL AWARENESS (1) Haryana (2) Assam (3) Tripura (1) Harika Dronavalli (4) Maharashtra (5) Meghalaya (2) Humpy Koneru Q.197. Nalin Shinghal has been appointed as Chief (3) Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi Managing Director of Bharat Heavy Electricals (4) Limited. Where is the headquarters of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited? (5) R Vaishali (1) Mumbai (2) Kolkata (3) New Delhi Q.203. Who is the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Summer Universiade in Napoli, Italy? (4) Bengaluru (5) Hyderabad (1) Dutee Chand Q.198. Who has been appointed as Chief Managing Director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited? (2) Hima Das (1) Amit Varadan (2) R. Swaminathan (3) (3) Nalin Shinghal (4) Desh Deepak Goel (4) Santhi Soundarajan (5) Ranjit Rae (5) Mariya Savinova Q.199. Which of the following statement is true? Q.204. Who has been elected as the Prime Minister of Greece? (1) ISRO has signed a contract with Glavcosmos. (1) Kariyakos Mitsakovis (2) Glavcosmos is a Russian launch service provider and subsidiary of the state corporation (2) Panagiotis Pikrammenos Roscosmos. (3) Antonis Samaras (3) It shall provide selection support, medical (4) Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou examination and space training of Indian astronauts. (5) Alexis Tsipras (4) All of these Q.205. Who has won the Croatia Grand Chess Tour title? (5) None of these (1) Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera Q.200. Which of the following player is also known as (2) Magnus Carlsen 'Mr Commonwealth'? (3) Pavel Anisimov (1) (4) Hipolito Asis Gargatagli (2) (5) Michael William Brown (3) Karthik Venkatraman Q.206. Magnus Carlsen has won the Croatia Grand Chess (4) Tour title. Magnus Carlsen belongs to which country? (5) (1) Italy (2) Croatia Q.201. Who won the Commonwealth Chess 2019 men’s titles? (3) Spain (4) Estonia (1) Abhijeet Gupta (5) Norway (2) Viswanathan Anand Q.207. Ramkumar Ramanathan and Goncal Oliveira have won the doubles title in the €46,600 Challenger (3) Karthik Venkatraman tennis tournament in Italy. To which country does (4) Arjun Erigaisi Goncal Oliveira belongs? (5) Nihal Sarin (1) Italy (2) India Q.202. Who won the Commonwealth Chess 2019 (3) Portugal (4) Spain Women’s titles? (5) Sweden

B Harideesh Kumar has been appointed as director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection SEPTEMBER 2019 MICA (IBPS) for a period of three years. 111 QUIZ TIME GENERAL AWARENESS Q.208. Which of the following statement is true? (4) All of these (1) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (5) None of these has approved the increase in the MSP for all Q.212. Which of the following is related to financial Kharif crops for 2019-20 Season. inclusion in India? (2) The move will lead to increased investment (1) Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and production through assured remunerative prices to the farmers. (2) Atal Pension Yojana (3) The full form of MSP is Minimum Support (3) Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana Prices. (4) All of these (4) All of these (5) None of these (5) None of these Q.213. Which Indian is one of the two persons in the Q.209. Which of the following statement is true? world to have bagged an internship programme (1) The first model village in Sri Lanka was at the International Court of Justice based in inaugurated at Ranidugama in Gampaha. Hague? (2) India has partnered with the ministry of (1) Madhurima Chauhan housing and construction and cultural affairs (2) Isha Kanth to build 100 model villages. (3) Mohini Singh (3) It consist of a total of 2,400 houses all across Sri Lanka with Indian grant of Rs 1,200 million (4) Mitali Chaudhary (USD 17.5 million). (5) Nisha Pandey (4) All of these Q.214. Which of the following is the first cow sanctuary (5) None of these in India? Q.210. Which of the following statement is true? (1) Kachhua Cow Sanctuary (1) In the 'Forbes Celebrity 100' list, singer Taylor (2) Kaimoor Cow Sanctuary Swift secured her first place by earning $ 185 million last year. (3) Katarniaghat Cow Sanctuary (2) She was behind Reality TV star Kylie Jenner. (4) Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya Kylie ranked second in the list. (5) Gir Cow Sanctuary (3) Akshay Kumar only Indian in Forbes Highest- Q.215. Where is the India’s first cow sanctuary Paid Entertainers List. located? (4) All of these (1) Porbander (2) Agar Malwa (5) None of these (3) Charkhi Dadri (4) SantKabir Nagar Q.211. Which of the following statement is true? (5) Ayodhya (1) Akshay Kumar only Indian in Forbes Highest- Q.216. In which district of Kerala will the country’s Paid Entertainers List With $65 million (`444 first elephant rehabilitation centre is to be set crore) 2019. up? (2) The magazine wrote that he earns at least $5 million (`34 crore) and up to $10 million (1) Kottoor (2) Ernakulam (3) Idukki (`68 crore) per film, along with earnings from (4) Kannur (5) Kollam endorsements. Q.217. Which of the following place in world is the most (3) Akshay, who came 33rd, beat Hollywood expensive office location in the world, according actors including Chris Evans and Bradley to property consultant CBRE? Cooper. Sarada Kumar Hota has been appointed as new Managing Director of National Housing Bank MICA SEPTEMBER 2019 112 (NHB). GENERAL AWARENESS (1) Connaught Place, New Delhi Q.219. Which route Tejas Express will be first train to be (2) Hong Kong Central run by private operators? (3) West End neighbourhood, London (1) Jaipur-Delhi (4) Victoria Harbour, Kowloon (2) Mumbai-Ahmedabad (5) Midtown-Manhattan, New York (3) Delhi-Lucknow Q.218. Which of the following place in India is the ninth (4) Delhi-Mumbai most expensive office location in the world, (5) Jaipur-Lucknow according to property consultant CBRE? Q.220. Novak Djokovic has won the men's singles title of (1) Golghar, Gorakhpur Wimbledon open by defeating Roger Federer. To (2) Hazaratganj, Lucknow which country do Roger Federer belongs? (3) Connaught Place, New Delhi (1) Serbia (2) Spain (4) Vile Parle East, Mumbai (3) Switzerland (4) Italy (5) Nariman Point, Mumbai (5) France ANSWER KEY Q.1.(1) Q.2.(4) Q.3.(2) Q.4.(4) Q.5.(2) Q.6.(2) Q.7.(1) Q.8.(4) Q.9.(2) Q.10.(4) Q.11.(2) Q.12.(2) Q.13.(2) Q.14.(2) Q.15.(1) Q.16.(1) Q.17.(2) Q.18.(1) Q.19.(1) Q.20.(4) Q.21.(4) Q.22.(2) Q.23.(2) Q.24.(3) Q.25.(3) Q.26.(2) Q.27.(4) Q.28.(3) Q.29.(1) Q.30.(2) Q.31.(2) Q.32.(1) Q.33.(2) Q.34.(1) Q.35.(4) Q.36.(1) Q.37.(1) Q.38.(2) Q.39.(4) Q.40.(1) Q.41.(2) Q.42.(1) Q.43.(1) Q.44.(1) Q.45.(2) Q.46.(1) Q.47.(4) Q.48.(3) Q.49.(4) Q.50.(2) Q.51.(1) Q.52.(1) Q.53.(1) Q.54.(3) Q.55.(2) Q.56.(3) Q.57.(4) Q.58.(1) Q.59.(4) Q.60.(3) Q.61.(4) Q.62.(3) Q.63.(4) Q.64.(3) Q.65.(1) Q.66.(3) Q.67.(3) Q.68.(1) Q.69.(2) Q.70.(2) Q.71.(4) Q.72.(3) Q.73.(2) Q.74.(4) Q.75.(1) Q.76.(2) Q.77.(1) Q.78.(2) Q.79.(1) Q.80.(4) Q.81.(3) Q.82.(1) Q.83.(1) Q.84.(2) Q.85.(1) Q.86.(4) Q.87.(2) Q.88.(3) Q.89.(2) Q.90.(2) Q.91.(1) Q.92.(1) Q.93.(3) Q.94.(3) Q.95.(4) Q.96.(1) Q.97.(3) Q.98.(4) Q.99.(1) Q.100.(1) Q.101.(2) Q.102.(2) Q.103.(3) Q.104.(1) Q.105.(4) Q.106.(1) Q.107.(2) Q.108.(4) Q.109.(1) Q.110.(2) Q.111.(1) Q.112.(1) Q.113.(4) Q.114.(4) Q.115.(4) Q.116.(3) Q.117.(3) Q.118.(1) Q.119.(3) Q.120.(2) Q.121.(3) Q.122.(2) Q.123.(3) Q.124.(2) Q.125.(1) Q.126.(4) Q.127.(2) Q.128.(1) Q.129.(2) Q.130.(3) Q.131.(3) Q.132.(2) Q.133.(1) Q.134.(4) Q.135.(2) Q.136.(3) Q.137.(4) Q.138.(2) Q.139.(3) Q.140.(4) Q.141.(2) Q.142.(3) Q.143.(1) Q.144.(1) Q.145.(4) Q.146.(4) Q.147.(3) Q.148.(2) Q.149.(4) Q.150.(2) Q.151.(3) Q.152.(2) Q.153.(1) Q.154.(3) Q.155.(3) Q.156.(1) Q.157.(4) Q.158.(1) Q.159.(3) Q.160.(3) Q.161.(2) Q.162.(1) Q.163.(3) Q.164.(3) Q.165.(1) Q.166.(3) Q.167.(4) Q.168.(5) Q.169.(2) Q.170.(5) Q.171.(2) Q.172.(3) Q.173.(2) Q.174.(3) Q.175.(4) Q.176.(2) Q.177.(2) Q.178.(1) Q.179.(4) Q.180.(2) Q.181.(1) Q.182.(2) Q.183.(2) Q.184.(1) Q.185.(3) Q.186.(4) Q.187.(4) Q.188.(2) Q.189.(2) Q.190.(1) Q.191.(1) Q.192.(4) Q.193.(3) Q.194.(3) Q.195.(2) Q.196.(1) Q.197.(3) Q.198.(3) Q.199.(4) Q.200.(1) Q.201.(1) Q.202.(1) Q.203.(1) Q.204.(1) Q.205.(2) Q.206.(5) Q.207.(3) Q.208.(4) Q.209.(4) Q.210.(4) Q.211.(4) Q.212.(4) Q.213.(2) Q.214.(4) Q.215.(2) Q.216.(1) Q.217.(2) Q.218.(3) Q.219.(3) Q.220.(3)

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