Current Affairs 16th October 2015

Current Affairs 16th October 2015 - Important Points

• Which two countries have signed 10 MoUs to enhance bilateral cooperation - India and Israel

• Central Victim Compensation Fund set up with 200 crore rupees by Union Government

• Name the birthplace of Dr. Abdul Kalam, included as 498th town under AMRUT - Rameswaram

• Science Express Climate Action Special train flaggedd of by - Union Government

• Pedana fabric recommended for the - Handloom Brand

• Which state has signed GCA with GAIL for construction of Urja Ganga Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline - Jharkhand

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Current Affairs 16th October 2015 - Details

Which two countries have signed 10 MoUs to enhance bilateral cooperation - India and Israel

On 15th October 2015, India and Israel signed ten Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) in various fields.

President pranab Mukherjee visited the country at the invitation of Reuven Rivlin, President of State of Israel. He is the first ever President of India to visit Israel.

The high level delegation who accompanied him during the visit include Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Members of parliament, senior officials, senior representatives of our educational and academic institution and media representatives.

List of Agreements/MoUs

• MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev: This agreement is in connection with academic objectives of each institution and to promote better understanding between the faculty and students of JNU and the faculty and students of BGU.
• Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur: The areas agreement is about the cooperation for program offered at either university which is felt to be desirable and reasonable for the development of cooperation between the two institutions.
• MoU for Institutional Collaboration between Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU): The objective of MOU is to promote interaction and collaboration between faculty, staff and students of the two institutions through visits and exchange programs, carry out joint academic and research programs, joint supervision of doctoral and masters students, on a reciprocal basis.
• MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel: The MOU is about to promote better understanding between the faculty and students of JNU and the faculty and students of HUJI.
• Framework for Academic Collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and the University of Haifa Haifa, Israel: The Parties have decided to enter into this Framework of Academic Collaboration (the "Agreement”) in order to promote, facilitate and consolidate international cooperation in education and research, based on the principles of reciprocity and mutual benefit.
• Protocol amending the Convention and the Protocol for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital: The agreement is in connection with the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital.
• Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-2018: The programme was signed in connection with exchange of culture and art experts, performing arts festivals, plastic arts, photography and design, architecture museums and exhibitions music, cultural heritage and archaeology etc.
• MoU between the University of Delhi, Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU), Beer Sheva, Israel: The MoU was inked for three kind of exchanges and they are
• Exchange of information and academic materials that are of mutual interest
• Exchange between the two institutions relating to:
• Academic faculty and administrative staff
• Research staff
• Visiting scholars
• Students
• Other staff mutually agreed upon
• Provision of briefing/orientation services by each institution for visitors from the other institution
• Other forms of co-operation which the two institutions may jointly arrange
• Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and the University of Delhi, India: The program shall be on
• Exchange of faculty members
• Exchange of students
• Joint research projects
• Joint conferences
• Exchange of research materials
• MOU between the University of Delhi, India and IDC, Herzilya, Israel: The two institutions shall seek to promote
• Exchange of information and academic materials that are of mutual interest
• Exchange between the two institutions relating to:
• Academic faculty and administrative staff
• Research staff
• Visiting scholars
• Students
• Other staff mutually agreed upon

Central Victim Compensation Fund set up with 200 crore rupees by Union Government

On 14th October 2015, a scheme called Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) with an initial amount of 200 crore rupees has been introduced by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The purpose of the scheme is to support victims of various attacks, such as women killed or injured in the cross border firing, rape, acid attacks and human trafficking.

Objectives of the scheme

• To motivate states / UTs to effectively implement the Victim Compensation Scheme notified by them under the provisions of Section 357A of Cr. P.C.
• To continue financial support to victims of various crimes especially sexual offences including rape, acid attacks, crime against children, human trafficking, etc.
• To support and supplement the existing Victim Compensation Schemes (VCS) notified by states/UT administrations.
• To decrease inequality in quantum of compensation amount notified by different states / UTs for victims of similar crimes.

Name the birthplace of Dr. Abdul Kalam, included as 498th town under AMRUT - Rameswaram

On 15th October 2015, Union Minister of Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu declared that former President Dr. Abdul Kalam’s birth place Rameswaram has been included in Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for providing basic urban infrastructure.

Rameswaram is the 498th to be included in the Mission. With the addition of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu would have 32 cities and towns under Atal Mission.

Apart from this, a committee composing of Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Manohar Parrikar, Pon Radhakrishnan and former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy will work out the details of a Memorial for Dr. Kalam at Rameswaram. This Committee will consult all concerned before giving a final shape to the Memorial.

Science Express Climate Action Special train flaggedd of by - Union Government

On 15th October 2015, the Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS) train was flagged off by the Union Government from Safderjung Railway Station in New Delhi.

The train is a one of its kind collaborative initiative of Ministry of Railway, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), and Department of Science & Technology.

Each coach of the train is covered by a specific theme:

• Coach 1: Understanding Climate Change
• Coach 2: Impact of Climate Change
• Coaches 3 and 4: Adaptation
• Coaches 5 and 6: Mitigation
• Coach 7: International Negotiations on Climate Change
• Coach 8: Handprint
• Coaches 9 and 10: Exhibition put up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
• Coach 11: Exhibition put up by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF)
• Coach 12: A Kids Zone
• Coach 13: The Joy of Science (JOS) Hands-on Lab

Pedana fabric recommended for the - Handloom Brand

In First week of October 2015, Pedana’s handloom woven fabric made of yarn dyed with natural was recommended by the Weavers’ Service Centre (WSC), Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, under the Ministry of Textile for recognition as one of the India Handloom Brands.

The fabric is produced by Pedana-based Shyamala Arts and Crafts (SAC), and is considered as one of the five textile products from Andhra Pradesh which was suggested to be included in Handloom Brands. The other four textile products are: Dharmavaram sari, Venkatagiri sari, Mangalagiri cotton sari and Uppada Jamdaani sari.

Which state has signed GCA with GAIL for construction of Urja Ganga Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline - Jharkhand

On 15th October 2015, The Government of Jharkhand and GAIL (India) Limited signed a Gas Cooperation Agreement (GCA) for creation of Natural Gas and City Gas Distribution infrastructure. The infrastructure will help the construction of Urja Ganga Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline project in the state.

According to the agreement, a 174 kilometres main line and 166 kilometres spurlines in Jharkhand will be set up by GAIL as part of the 2050 kilometres Jagdishpur-Haldia gas pipeline project linking Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar.

The pipeline will pass through six districts named Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, East Singbhum, Bokaro, Giridih and Ranchi.

World Food Day observed on - 16th October

On 16th October 2015, World Food Day (WFD) was observed across the world with the theme "Social Protection and Agriculture". The day is observed with an aim to raise public awareness about hunger challenges and encourage people worldwide to take action in the fight against hunger.

The theme aims to mark the role, social protection plays in reducing continual food insecurity and poverty by ensuring direct access to food or the means to buy food.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has stated agricultural production must increase by 60% globally to meet the food demand that will be required to feed the 9.2 billion people who will inhabit our planet in 2050.

Besides this, the FAO also observed World Food week from 12th October to 16th October 2015.