1st Sept to 30 th Sept AWARDS & H ONOURS Haryana won the ‘Best Horticulture State’ award of the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) for its concerted efforts made to increase the income of the farmers in horticulture. Odisha won the ‘Best Horticulture State’ award in recognition of its efforts towards development of agriculture and bringing rural prosperity . Assam-based ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar won the prestigious ‘Heritage Heroes Award’ of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), thus becoming the first Asian to win this prestigious environmental award. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Limited was appointed ‘Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour’ for her contribution to biosciences and research. India-born innovator and scientist Ramesh Raskar won the prestigious 2016 Lemelson-MIT Prize for his co- invention of an ultra-fast imaging camera that can see around corners, low-cost eye-care solutions. Stuart Blackburn was presented the MM Bennetts Award for his novel “Into the Hidden Valley”. Published by Speaking Tiger, the book tells the story of the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh during British India. Bezwada Wilson, a renowned campaigner against manual scavenging, and Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna from Chennai were named for the prestigious Magsaysay Award. Born into a Dalit family in Karnataka, Mr. Wilson, 50, is the national convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan. The award committee was impressed with his work which focussed on “asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity.” Under the category ‘Emergent Leadership,’ Mr. Krishna was chosen for the award for bringing “social inclusiveness in culture.” The award committee hailed him for “showing that music can indeed be a deeply transformative force in personal lives and society itself.” The other four awardees are: Conchita Carpio Morales (Philippines): for restoring faith in the rule of law. Dompet Dhuafa (Indonesia): for expanding the transformative impact of zakat. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (Japan): for building a world of genuine solidarity. Vientiane Rescue (Laos): for volunteering to save lives at risk. Indian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese, whose work has emphasized empathy in medicine, was selected for the prestigious 2015 National Humanities Medal. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy was honoured with ‘Tamil Ratna’ award by a body of Tamil diaspora in New York for fighting corruption and working for more transparency in the functioning of the government. BUSINESS & CORPORATE Japanese automobile maker Isuzu announced top level changes in its Indian operations with Hiroshi Nakagawa taking over as the Chairman of Isuzu Motors India (IMI) with immediate effect. South Korea's LG Electronics Inc announced its partnering with Amazon.com Inc on smart-home services, enabling the US company's services such as the Alexa virtual assistant on some of the electronics maker's devices. Microsoft, Google and Salesforce officially adopted the EU-US Privacy Shield framework. This will enable them to receive personal data from the European Union (EU) in compliance with the new standards. In the biggest consolidation deal in the telecom sector, Reliance Communications Ltd of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group announced to merge its mobile phone services business with smaller rival Aircel. The RCom-Aircel combination will create a telecom operator ranked fourth by customer base and revenues and number three operator by revenues in 12 important circles. RCom and Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) of Malaysia, which owns Aircel, will hold 50 per cent each in the merged entity with equal representation on the board and committees. The merged company will be one of India’s largest private sector companies, with an asset base of over Rs 65,000 crore and net worth of Rs 35,000 crore ($5.2 billion). Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) appointed Sunil Godhwani as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Reliance Industries Limited launched the Reliance Jio Service offering free voice calls and zero roaming charges for its customers as a part of Jio Welcome Offer. The Jio Welcome Offer will be effective from 5 September 2016 up to 31 December 2016. Media firm Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ten Sports Network from Zee Entertainment Enterprises for $385 million. BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES The Union Cabinet approved the signing and ratification of the Extradition Treaty between India and Afghanistan. The treaty would provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders and other criminals from and to the Afghanistan. The Union Cabinet approved the extension of contract between Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules for a further period of 5 years (2017-22). The earlier contract is expiring on 24th March 2017. By extending the contract, India's exclusive rights for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules in the allotted Area in the Central Indian Ocean Basin will continue and would open up new opportunities for resources of commercial and strategic value in area beyond national jurisdiction. Polymetallic nodules (also known as manganese nodules) are potato-shaped, largely porous nodules found in abundance carpeting the sea floor of world oceans in deep sea. Besides manganese and iron, they contain nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, cadmium, vanadium, titanium, of which nickel, cobalt and copper are considered to be of economic and strategic importance. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of the Technical Arrangement between India and Switzerland on the identification and return of Swiss and Indian Nationals and its implementation. The Union Cabinet gave its expost-facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kenya on cooperation in the field of National Housing Policy Development and Management (NHPDM). The MoU was signed on 11th July, 2016 at Nairobi during the visit of the Prime Minister of India. Under the MoU, both the sides will collaborate on all matters relating to housing and human settlements through various strategies including training of personnel, exchange visits, expos/exhibitions, conferences and workshops. The Odisha Government launched the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) in three districts of the state- Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul. The objective of the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts. ECONOMY & FINANCE The Union Cabinet approved the exchange of tariff concessions, on Margin of Preference (MoP) basis, under the Fourth Round of Negotiations under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement and related amendments. The Asia Pacific Trade Agreement or APTA (formerly the Bangkok Agreement) is an initiative under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among developing country members of the Asia Pacific Region. The current membership of APTA consists of six countries or Participating States (PSs), namely, Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka. Since this is a preferential trade agreement, the basket of items as well as extent of tariff concessions are enlarged during the trade negotiating rounds which are launched from time to time. The Cabinet approved India's offer 28.01% of dutiable national tariff lines with an average MoP of 33.45%. This will deepen the concessions being offered under this Agreement. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-second Amendment) Bill, 2016, for introduction of Goods and Services tax in the country was accorded assent by the President on 8 th September, 2016, and the same has been notified as the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016. The Union Cabinet approved setting up of GST Council and setting up its Secretariat. The Cabinet also decided to provide for adequate funds for meeting the recurring and non-recurring expenses of the GST Council Secretariat, the entire cost for which shall be borne by the Central Government. The GST Council Secretariat shall be manned by officers taken on deputation from both the Central and State Governments. The Union Cabinet approved the creation of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give a major push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions. The HEFA would be jointly promoted by the identified Promoter and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) with an authorised capital of Rs.2,000 crore. The Government equity would be Rs.1,000 crore. The HEFA would be formed as a SPV within a PSU Bank/ Government-owned-NBFC (Promoter). It would leverage the equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding projects for infrastructure and development of world class Labs in IITs/IIMs/NITs and such other institutions. The HEFA would also mobilise CSR funds from PSUs/Corporates, which would in turn be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on grant basis. The Union Government issued fresh flexi-fund guidelines for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). The guidelines would give more freedom to states in spending money under the CSS to meet local developmental requirements. Under the new norms, flexi-funds in each CSS have been increased from the current 10 percent to 25 percent for states and 30 percent for Union Territories. Now, the states can use the fund to undertake mitigation or restoration activities in case of natural calamities, or to satisfy local requirements in areas affected by internal security disturbances. The guidelines said that state governments will have to constitute a state-level sanctioning committee to avail of the flexi-fund facility. The flexi-fund facility is not for CSS which emanate from legislation, like MNREGA. Based on the recommendations of the sub-group of chief ministers and consultations with stakeholders, Niti Aayog had issued instructions for rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes.