VISION IAS www.visionias.in CURRENT AFFAIRS AUGUST 2016 Copyright © by Vision IAS All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Vision IAS. 1 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. POLITY ___________________________________________________________________________ 7 1.1. Urban Governance: Directly Elected Mayors ________________________________________________ 7 1.2. Competitive Federalism _________________________________________________________________ 8 1.3. Issues Related to Regulatory Bodies in India ________________________________________________ 9 1.4. Demand for Special Category Status ______________________________________________________ 11 1.5. Pendency of Cases in Courts in India ______________________________________________________ 12 1.6. ECI Seeks More Powers ________________________________________________________________ 13 1.7. Monsoon Session of Parliament-Assessment _______________________________________________ 14 1.8. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ___________________________________________________ 14 1.9. Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ___________________________________________ 15 1.10. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ________________________________________ 16 1.11. Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Project _____________________________________ 16 1.12. Reservation for Economically Backward Classes ___________________________________________ 17 2. INTERNATIONAL/INDIA AND WORLD _________________________________________________ 19 2.1. India-Myanmar _______________________________________________________________________ 19 2.2. India-Pakistan ________________________________________________________________________ 19 2.3. Issue of Balochistan ___________________________________________________________________ 20 2.4. Gilgit-Baltistan _______________________________________________________________________ 21 2.5. 7th SAARC Interior and Home Ministers’ Conference ________________________________________ 21 2.6. USA-Pakistan ________________________________________________________________________ 22 2.7. China role in Afpak-Central Asia _________________________________________________________ 22 2.8. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) _______________________________________________ 22 2.9. RCEP-Stance of india __________________________________________________________________ 23 2.10. Akashvani Maitree ___________________________________________________________________ 24 2.11. NAVIC for south asian diplomacy _______________________________________________________ 24 3. ECONOMY _______________________________________________________________________ 26 3.1. Railway Budget Scrapped? _____________________________________________________________ 26 3.2. GST Bill Passed in Rajya Sabha __________________________________________________________ 27 3.3. Bank Consolidation: Merger of SBI Associated Banks ________________________________________ 29 3.4. Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-Sibs) ____________________________________________ 29 3.5. Promoting Inland Waterways ___________________________________________________________ 30 3.6. Logistic Costs Saving Through Sagarmala __________________________________________________ 30 3.7. Bill to Amend Sarfaesi and DRT Act _______________________________________________________ 31 3.8. Model Land Leasing Law _______________________________________________________________ 32 3.9. Tax Terrorism ________________________________________________________________________ 33 3.10. Tax Battle-Apple V/S EU ______________________________________________________________ 34 2 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS 3.11. Centre Owes Rs. 80,000 Crore to States: CAG Report _______________________________________ 35 3.12. Central Water Commission ____________________________________________________________ 35 3.13. National Committee on Trade Facilitation ________________________________________________ 36 3.14. Foreign Investment in Financial Services _________________________________________________ 37 3.15. Dispute Over Basmati GI Tag Claim ______________________________________________________ 37 3.16. Farming Becoming Unattractive for Youth: FAO ___________________________________________ 38 3.17. International Arbitration Mechanism ____________________________________________________ 38 3.18. Inclusive Housing and India's Mortgage Market____________________________________________ 38 3.19. Panel to promote card payments _______________________________________________________ 39 3.20. Electropreneur Park __________________________________________________________________ 39 3.21. Corporate bond market _______________________________________________________________ 40 3.22. Swift: Ease of Doing Business __________________________________________________________ 40 3.23. Formula for Production Subsidy to Sugar Mills ____________________________________________ 40 3.24. RBI’s Annual Report __________________________________________________________________ 41 3.25. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) _____________________________________________________________ 41 3.26. Inflation Targeting ___________________________________________________________________ 42 3.27. Green Cess _________________________________________________________________________ 42 3.28. Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ___________________________________________________ 43 4. SOCIAL __________________________________________________________________________ 45 4.1. Commercial Surrogacy Bill ______________________________________________________________ 45 4.2. Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 ___________________________________________________________ 46 4.3. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 _____________________________________________ 47 4.4. NIT, Science Education & Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ___________________________________ 48 4.5. Women Entry to Religious Places: Bombay HC ______________________________________________ 48 4.6. TB Burden on India ____________________________________________________________________ 49 4.7. National Health Accounts Estimates ______________________________________________________ 49 4.8. MAA Programme: Ministry of Health _____________________________________________________ 50 4.9. Hidden Hunger Biofortification __________________________________________________________ 50 4.10. India’s Fight Against Growing Hepatitis __________________________________________________ 50 4.11. Center's Views Sought on Triple Talaq ___________________________________________________ 51 4.12. Task Force for Next 3 Olympics _________________________________________________________ 51 5. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY _________________________________________________________ 53 5.1. Copyright Infringement: Govt Policy and Measures __________________________________________ 53 5.2. Successful Testing of Scramjet Engine _____________________________________________________ 53 5.3. Advanced Ultra Super Critical Technology (AUSC) ___________________________________________ 54 5.4. Cybathlon 2016 ______________________________________________________________________ 55 5.5. Flooded Canyons Found on Saturn’s Moon Titan ____________________________________________ 55 3 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS 5.6. Stephen Hawking’s Prediction about Black Holes ___________________________________________ 55 5.7. Proxima B ___________________________________________________________________________ 56 5.8. PAVA Shells _________________________________________________________________________ 56 5.9. First Human Genetic Editing Trial ________________________________________________________ 56 5.10. Need for an HPV Vaccine ______________________________________________________________ 57 5.11. Made-in-India Leprosy Vaccine _________________________________________________________ 57 5.12. Scientists Recycle CO2 to Create Usable Fuel ______________________________________________ 58 6. SECURITY ________________________________________________________________________ 59 6.1. National Crime Records Bureau Data, 2015 ________________________________________________ 59 6.2. First National Conference of investigating agencies __________________________________________ 60 6.3. Cybercrimes _________________________________________________________________________ 60 6.4. Organ Trafficking (organized illegal trade in organs) _________________________________________ 60 6.5. Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act ____________________________________________ 61 6.6. Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) _____________________________________________ 62 6.7. Scorpene Submarine Data Leak __________________________________________________________ 62 7. ENVIRONMENT ___________________________________________________________________ 64 7.1. Environment Awareness Activities by MOEF _______________________________________________ 64 7.2. Finance Mechanism of Disaster Management in India _______________________________________ 64 7.3. Flood Management ___________________________________________________________________ 65 7.4. CPCB Survey Findings: Air Pollution ______________________________________________________ 68 7.5. Udaypur Declaration: BRICS ____________________________________________________________ 68 7.6. Ecological Experimental Zones __________________________________________________________