Current Affairs 17th July 2015

Current Affairs 17th July 2015 - Important Points

• India-Canada Civil Aviation Pact was approved by - Union Government

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana was launched by - PM Narendra Modi

• Rs 671 crore penalty on 4 state-run insurance companies was imposed by - CCI

• DoT released report on Net Neutrality by - A K Bhargava committee

• RBI permitted CBS-enabled Cooperative Banks to issue ATM cards in tie-up with - A sponsor bank

• India and World Bank signed Financing Agreement for which project - Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project

• Name of Committtee which was approved by Union Govt to classify Caste Census data, 2011 - Panagariya Committtee

• Redevelopment of 400 railway stations was approved by Union Cabinet by which method - Swiss Challenge method

• Which Indian Army vessel was decommissioned after service of 31 years - INS Astravahini

• How many drugs Union Government brought under price control regime - 39

• Name of Indian American who was honoured as Champions of Change by US White House - Sunita Viswanath

Current Affairs 17th July 2015 - Details

India-Canada Civil Aviation Pact was approved by - Union Government

On 16th July 2015, Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Canada in the field of Civil Aviation. This MoU was inked with an aim to enhance the experience and technical knowledge in the field of Civil Aviation between India and Canada.

Under the MoU, an appropriate platform shall be formalized for exchange of views on the possibilities of fostering economic cooperation between the two countries in the areas of civil aviation and there will be a cooperation programme in the areas of safety of aircraft operations and related issues that will provide more up-to-date knowledge to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana was launched by - PM Narendra Modi

On 15th July 2015, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in New Delhi with an aim to impart skill training to 24 lakh youth during 2015-16 with focus on first time entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12 drop outs.

These are the main highlights of this programme : 

• It will be covering 24 lakh persons and skill training would be based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards.
• Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be implementing this scheme through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) training partners.
• Skill training would be on the basis of skill gap studies conducted by the NSDC for the period 2013-17 and focus of the training would be on improved curricula, better pedagogy and better trained instructors.
• The average monetary reward 8000 rupees per trainee will be given to trainees on assessment and certification by third party assessment bodies.

Rs 671 crore penalty on 4 state-run insurance companies was imposed by - CCI

On 17th July 2015, Penalty of 671.05 crore rupees was imposed on four Public Sector Insurance Companies for manipulating the bidding process initiated by Government of Kerala for selecting insurance service provider for Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna for the years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. The beneficiaries of the schemes were BPL and poor families.

These four companies and their penalties are  : 

• National Insurance (162.80 crores rupees)
• New India Assurance (251.07 crores rupees)
• Oriental Insurance (100.56 crores rupees) and 
• United India Insurance (156.62 crores rupees). 

DoT released report on Net Neutrality by - A K Bhargava committee

On 16th July 2015, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) released A K Bhargava committee report on Net Neutrality. A K Bhargava committee which was a six member committee was appointed in January 2015 in this regard.

Following are the highlights of this report :

• Legitimate traffic management practices may be allowed but should be tested against the core principles of Net Neutrality. Further, Improper (Paid or otherwise) Prioritization may not be permitted.
• India specific Net Neutrality approach should be formulated by taking into account international best practices that serve specific needs of the country.
• The primary goals of public policy in the context of Net Neutrality should be directed towards achievement of developmental aims of the country by facilitating Affordable Broadband, Quality Broadband and Universal Broadband for its citizens.
• User rights on the Internet need to be ensured so that Telecom or Internet Service Providers do not restrict the ability of the user to send, receive, display, use, post any legal content, application or service on the Internet, or restrict any kind of lawful Internet activity or use.
• Over-the-top (OTT) application services should be actively encouraged and any impediments in their expansion and growth should be removed.
• There should be a separation of application layer from network layer as application services are delivered over a licensed network.
• Specific OTT communication services dealing with messaging should not be interfered with through regulatory instruments.
• In case of OTT VoIP international calling services, a liberal approach may be adopted. However, in case of domestic calls (local and national), communication services by TSPs and OTT communication services may be treated similarly from a regulatory angle for the present.
• Content and application providers cannot be permitted to act as gatekeepers and use network operations to extract value in violation of core principles of Net Neutrality, even if it is for an ostensible public purpose. In this regard, the committee expressed its objections to Facebook’s Internet.org.
• In order to deal with the complexities of the new digital world, a think-tank with best talent may also be set up. 

RBI permitted CBS-enabled Cooperative Banks to issue ATM cards in tie-up with - A sponsor bank

Among Important Banking Current Affairs, On 16th July 2015, Reserve Bank of India given permission to Cooperative Banks with Core Banking Solution (CBS) to issue ATM cards/ATM-cum-debit cards in tie with a sponsor banks.

This decision was taken with an aim to to move towards a less-cash economy and with an aim to inculcate the habit of using electronic payment channels among bank customers.

Also, banks should set up their own arrangement for issuing cards, authorization of cards and customer support/redressal mechanism and ensure to provide uninterrupted services to their customers.

The RBI took the decision after it received representations from cooperative banks not having their own ATMs and sought permission to issue ATM-cum-debit cards to their customers in tie-up with banks having their own ATM network.

India and World Bank signed Financing Agreement for which project - Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project

On 16th July 2015, Financing Agreement for assistance of 250 million US dollars was inked between India and World Bank for Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project.

It is a loan for an implementation period of 5 years and Andhra Pradesh Government will be the implementing agency of project.

S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Onno Ruhl, Country Director (India) of World Bank signed this financing agreement.

It aims to increase the capacity of the State to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency.

Direct beneficiaries of the project will be populations of the affected coastal areas specifically the four heavily impacted districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari.

It will have seven components:

• Resilient electrical network
• Restoration of connectivity and shelter infrastructure
• Restoration and protection of beach front
• Restoration of environmental services and facilities and livelihood support
• Capacity building and technical support for disaster risk management
• Project implementation support
• Contingency Emergency Response 

Name of Committtee which was approved by Union Govt to classify Caste Census data, 2011 - Panagariya Committtee

On 16th July 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who chaired Union Cabinet gave approval to set up an expert group to classify the Caste names returned in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011.

This group will be chaired by Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairperson of NITI Aayog and will be serviced by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Ministry of Tribal Welfare.

The approval was given in lieu of the failure of the states in consolidating different categories and is in line with the one taken by the UPA government on 19 May 2011. 

Redevelopment of 400 railway stations was approved by Union Cabinet by which method - Swiss Challenge method

On 16th July 2015, Union Cabinet gave its approval for redevelopment of 400 railway stations which will be redeveloped by adopting the Swiss Challenge method. 

About Swiss Challenge Method :

• Need to redevelop large number of stations in light of inability of Indian Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) to redevelop such a large number of identified stations. IRSDC is the agency under which redevelopment of identified stations is being undertaken
• It will also encourage innovative ideas from interested parties at no cost to the Railways.
• It will allow interested parties to come up with their designs and business ideas including permitting commercial development of real estate by the Zonal Railways. The proposals presented by these parties will be put online and a second person can give suggestions to improve and beat that proposal. 

Which Indian Army vessel was decommissioned after service of 31 years - INS Astravahini

On 16th July 2015, Indigenously built Torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV) INS Astravahini was decommissioned after its 31 years service to the nation.

It was decommissioned at a ceremony presided over by Commodore K A Bopanna, Naval Officer-in-Charge ( Andhra Pradesh Division) at the Ship Building Centre, Andhra Pradesh. This auxiliary vessel was commissioned in Indian Navy in 1984 at Visakhapatnam.

The ship was commanded by Lt Rohan Kulkarni.

How many drugs Union Government brought under price control regime - 39

On 16th July 2015, Union Government brought 39 more drugs under the price control regime to make medicines affordable in the country. These drugs includes drugs of diabetes, infections, digestive disorders and pain among others.

As per the notification of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the medicines, which have been put under price control, include Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride, Cefotaxime, Paracetamol, Domperidone, Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride, and Metformin+ Glime.

Name of Indian American who was honoured as Champions of Change by US White House - Sunita Viswanath

On 16th July 2015, Indian American Sunita Viswanath was honoured with Champions of Change title by White House of United States, as was among 12 other faith leaders who were awarded for their efforts in protecting environment and communities from the effects of climate change.

She was honoured for her work to encourage Hindus to take care of the environment. She was born in Chennai and now has been working with women and human rights organisations for many years.