1. Radha Binod Barman
takes charge as Chairperson of National Statistical Commission
(i) Radha Binod Barman has taken charge as the part-time
Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission.
(ii) S Mahendra Dev, Rahul Mukherjee, Rajiv Mehta and Manoj
Panda are the other part-time Members in the Commission.
(iii) Note: The Commission is an advisory body on all
statistical matters, established to enhance public trust in official
statistics.
2. Head of All World Gayatri
Pariwar nominated to RS
(i) President Pranab Mukherjee has nominated Pranav Pandya,
the chief of All World Gayatri Pariwar to the Rajya Sabha. Pandya fills the
last of the seven vacancies for nominated berths.
(ii) Pandya, an MD in medicine, is the director of the All
World Gayatri Pariwar, an organisation that claims to be a modern adoption of
Vedic values. It is headquartered in Haridwar.
(iii) A total of 12 MPs are nominated to the Rajya Sabha from
across fields lie art, sports, science, etc. Seven of these seats had fallen
vacant recently and thus new members have been nominated.
3. India ratifies WTO’s
Trade Facilitation Agreement
(i) The government has ratified The World Trade Organisation’s
Trade Facilitation Agreement which aims to quicken the movement, release and clearance
of goods.
(ii) India is the 76th member of WTO to adopt the
TFA, which will be effected once two-thirds of WTO members complete their
domestic ratification process.
(iii) The agreement is in accordance with India’s Ease of
Doing Business initiative and contains measures for cooperation between customs
and other authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues.
(iv) It will enable India to improve border procedures, and enhance
economic growth by reducing trade costs, improving trade flows and reap
benefits from international trade.
4. Tata Sons to tie
up with international colleges to boost innovation
(i) Tata Sons plans to join hands with several top universities
of the US and UK like Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, etc. to rope in students to carry
out research with the Tata group technology team in order to give a boost to
innovation.
(ii) The Tata group technology team, steered by Gopichand
Katragadda, will focus on innovation in energy, food and wellness, digital
consumer products and services and digital factory and fleets.
(iii) The group’s published patents increased twofold-from around
3,500 by the end of 2013 to about 7,000 by 2015-end. The patents are mainly in
areas of computation and data processing, materials, coating, casting and
vehicle propulsion, communications, engines and hybrids, fuels and controls.
5. Cabinet approves
MoC between WCD Ministry and Gates Foundation
(i) The
government has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the
Ministry of Women and Child Development and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
real-time supervision of the Integrated Child Development Services and allied
matters.
(ii) The MoC will enable officials to ensure proper delivery
of the service besides helping create a shared national communication campaign
customised to local contexts.
(iii) The MoC would cover 162 districts across eight states
of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
(iv) The Gates Foundation will provide technical support at national
and state level to make available timely-delivered nutrition, especially during
pre-conception, pregnancy and first two years of life.
6. Tata Sons
implementing women-centric polices
(i) Tata Sons is introducing ground-breaking policies in
favour of women, including paid maternity leave of seven months, 18 months of
half pay-half working day post-maternity support and flexibility to choose work
hours.
(ii) There is also a provision to secure performance ratings
during maternity leave and the subsequent flexible work period. Employees will
also be entitled to six months adoption leave and 6 months surrogacy leave.
(iii) Further, after a women employee completes five years in
the firm, she could opt for a one-year leave at half pay if she is a caregiver
at home. This leave can be taken in instalments – maximum six times for a
minimum of two months.
(iii) Presently, these policies have been launched only in the
holding company and will shortly be implemented across other businesses.
7. Financial inequality
highest in India, China: IMF
(i) The international Monetary Fund’s latest report reveals that
among Asia Pacific nation, financial inequality is highest in India and China.
(ii) Though, the nations have witnessed sharp growth, it has
been accompanied by high inequality.
(iii) While China and Thailand have been able to uplift middle
class in urban areas, India and Indonesia have struggled to lift sizeable
portions of their populations toward higher income levels.
(iv) Many factors have resulted in this divide. In China,
rapid industrialisation in a few regions, and concentration of FDI in coastal
areas and low levels of education are the reasons. In India, increase in the rural-urban
income gap, higher rural inflation and low levels of educational attainment are
the reasons.
(v) India has introduced many policies to tackle the rising inequality,
like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Jan
Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile, which has been instrumental in furthering financial
inclusion.
8. Telecom sector
sees $4 bn worth FDI since April 2014
(i) As per the telecom Ministry’s latest data, in nearly two
years since April 2014, the telecom sector has attracted foreign direct
investment to the tune of $4 billion.
(ii) Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also stated that the
total number of wireless and telephone connections have also crossed the 1 billion
mark.
9. Uttarakhand Chief Justice
KM Joseph transferred to Andhra Pradesh
(i) Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court KM Joseph has
been transferred to Andhra Pradesh. Justice Joseph recently made headlines when
he questioned the imposition of President’s rule in the northern state.
(ii) He steered the division bench which was severely critical
of Governor’s hasty decision in recommending President’s rule in the state, a
day ahead of a scheduled floor test agreed to by then Congress CM Harish Rawat.
(iii) Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh High Court’s acting Chief
Justice Dilip B Bhosale has been promoted and made Chief Justice of Allahabad
High Court as part of the reshuffle.
10. ECB ends production
and issuance of €500 banknotes
(i) The European Central Bank’s Governing Council has declared
to stop production and issuance of €500 banknotes addressing concerns that the note
could lead to illegal activities.
(ii) The issuance of €500 will be discontinued by end of
2018, when the €100 and €200 banknotes of the Europa series are to be
introduced.
(iii) The €500 banknote, like the other denominations of
euro notes, will retain its value and can be exchanged at central banks across
Europe anytime.
11. 63rd
National Film Awards conferred
(i) President Pranab Mukherjee recently presented National
Film Awards for the year 2015 to film personalities.
(ii) He also presented the 2015 Dada Saheb Phalke Award to
Manoj Kumar.
Following is the list of some of the salient award
categories and awardees.
Best Feature Film: Baahubali: The Beginning
Best Direction: Sanjay
Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Children’s Film: Duronto
Best Popular Film
Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Indira Gandhi Award
for Best Debut Film of a Director: Neeraj Ghaywan (Masaan)
Best Actor: Amitabh
Bachchan (Piku)
Best Actress: Kangana
Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu Returns)
Best Supporting Actor: Samuthirakani (Visaranai)
Best Supporting
Actress: Tanvi Azmi (Bajirao Mastani)
Special Jury Award: Kalki Koechlin for Margarita with a Straw
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