VETRII IAS STUDY CIRCLE CURRENT AFFAIRS TNPSC ( SEPTEMBER - 2015) Main Office at Vetrii IAS Study Circle F Block 37/38, 2 nd Avenue main Road, Chinthamani, Anna Nagar(E), Chennai – 102. Phone: 044 – 26265326 / 9600124042 / 9500005522 Branch Office at: Vetrii IAS Study Circle, No:189/1, Meyanoor Road, Near ARRS Multiplex, Opp.Venkateshwara Complex, Salem – 4 Phone: 0427 – 2330307 / 9442740307 Branch Office at: Vetrii IAS Study Circle, 243 Cauvery Nagar, Opp. New Housing Unit, Thanjavur- 05. Cell: 7871169099. www.vetriias.com
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VETRII IAS STUDY CIRCLE
CURRENT AFFAIRS
TNPSC
( SEPTEMBER - 2015)
Main Office at
Vetrii IAS Study Circle
F Block 37/38, 2nd Avenue main Road, Chinthamani, Anna Nagar(E),
Chennai – 102.
Phone: 044 – 26265326 / 9600124042 / 9500005522
Branch Office at:
Vetrii IAS Study Circle,
No:189/1, Meyanoor Road,
Near ARRS Multiplex,
Opp.Venkateshwara Complex,
Salem – 4
Phone: 0427 – 2330307 / 9442740307
Branch Office at:
Vetrii IAS Study Circle,
243 Cauvery Nagar,
Opp. New Housing Unit,
Thanjavur- 05.
Cell: 7871169099.
www.vetriias.com
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I. TAMIL NADU
Tamil Nadu’s first Global Investors Summit (TNGIM 2015)
Tamil Nadu‘s first Global Investors Summit (TNGIM 2015) has begun in Chennai to invest
in the state. TNGIM 2015 was officially inaugurated by state Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa.
Nine countries have registered themselves as partner nations for the mega investment
event. State government is aiming to translate investments from this summit by signing
about 100 MoUs in the two-day summit to generate around 150,000 jobs over the next 3
years.
the state‘s first Global Investor Meet has exceeded the investment target of Rs.100,000
crore.the state has planned an investment of $250 billion in infrastructure under its
Vision Tamil Nadu 2023 plan.
―Tamil Nadu ranks first in terms of number of new micro, small and medium enterprise
(MSME) projects registered during 2013-14 with 1,16,393 new units accounting for 32.04
percent of the total new MSME units promoted all over India.
During 2014-15 the number of MSME units registered went up even further to 1,43,104,‖
she said.Jayalalithaa said the government has come out with Tamil Nadu Investment
Promotion Programme (TNIPP) with the assistance of the Japan International Co-
operation Agency.
Governor of Meghalaya V. Shanmuganathan gets additional charge of Manipur
President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Governor of Meghalaya V. Shanmuganathan
to take the functions of the Governor of Manipur. V Shanmuganthan is a prolific writer
and had written three books related to culture and social aspects in Tamil
It should be noted that Article 153 of Constitution says that there shall be Governor for
each state. But the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 has facilitated the
appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.
II. NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Over 300 cities identified for Housing for All scheme
The union government has identified over 300 cities and towns across nine states for
implementing its Housing for All scheme.
―Three hundred and five cities and towns have been identified in nine statesChhattisgarh
(36 cities/towns), Gujarat (30), Jammu and Kashmir (19), Jharkhand (15), Kerala (15),
Madhya Pradesh (74), Odisha (42), Rajasthan (40) and Telangana (34) for beginning
construction of houses for the urban poor,‖said a statement from the housing and urban
poverty alleviation ministry with assistance of over Rs.200,000 crore over the next six
years to enable two crore urban poor get their own houses in 2022
The states that have so far agreed to implement the mandatory reforms are Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttarakhand.
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Black money: Indians urged to use compliance window
Swiss and other European banks have asked Indian customers to avail the on-going one-
time compliance window granted by the tax department for disclosure of foreign assets.
The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Act, 2015, or the
black money act, for the first time allows levy of tax in India on assets kept abroad.
The ministry has notified September 30 as the expiry date of the compliance window,
while allowing those with undisclosed income and assets abroad time till December 31 to
pay the levies.Unlawful undisclosed income abroad is taxed at a rate of 30 percent with
an additional 30 percent penalty.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the government has completed an assessment of
350 foreign accounts and tax evasion proceedings had been initiated against 60 account
holders.This move followed the Supreme Court last year giving a list of 628 entities in the
HSBC Geneva branch
.An unofficial estimate puts the sum somewherebetween $466 billion and $1.4 trillion.
Manipur assembly passes Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015
Manipur Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed the Protection of Manipur People
Bill, 2015 along with other two amendment bills to protect indigenous people of state.
Other two bills are Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015
and Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015.
The issue came into light after state assembly had passed the Manipur Regulation of
Visitors, Tenant and Migrants Workers Bill, 2015 to protect the interest outsiders in the
state. It should be noted that there is long standing demand for implementation of Inner
Line Permit (ILP) system in the state.
Manipur Union Government releases Rs 2,000 crore for Employees’ Pension
Scheme
Union Government has released 2,000 crore rupees to Employees‘ Pension Scheme
(EPS), 1995 as its contribution for the year 2015-16. This contribution is in addition to the
250 crore rupees contributed by the government as grant-in-aid in the EPS in order to
provide minimum pension of 1,000 rupees to pensioners under the scheme.
The contribution of Union government has been calculated at a rate of 1.16 per cent of the
monthly wages of the members contributing to the scheme.
Employers contribute nearly 8.33% of the monthly wages of the scheme members.
Approximately 28 lakh pensioners including five lakh widows will get benefit from this
scheme. (There are total 44 lakh pensioners).
Supreme Court stays Rajasthan High Court’s decision declaring ‘Santhara’ ritual
illegal
The Supreme Court (SC) of India has stayed Rajasthan High Court‘s order declaring
Santhara, a Jain ritual of voluntary and systematic fasting to death illegal. The stay order
was given by SC Bench comprising Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and Justice Amitava
Roy.
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What is Santhara? Santhara is a religious custom of Jain religion that embraces voluntary
death in order to purge oneself of bad ‗karma‘ and attain ‗moksha‘. The practitioners of this
custom take an oath to stop eating until they die of starvation. This oath is taken in consultation
with a guru and follows the most detailed of procedures.
Background Earlier in August 2015, Rajasthan High Court had banned the practice of
Santhara by declaring it as a criminal offence and mentioning it as illegal in the eyes of law.
The High Court in its ruling had made this religious practice a punishable offence under section
306 (abetment of suicide) and Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC). Constitutional Validity.
Article 25: The Rajasthan High Court in its ruling had mentioned that as per Article 25,
religious liberty and freedom is only limited to the scope of essential religious practices of
particular religion. So practice of Santhara is not essential religious practice of Jainism.
Article 21: The Rajasthan High Court also mentioned that Protection of life and personal liberty
does not include Right to die. So it is illegal from this point of view.
Maharashtra Government approves ordinance to amend MPDA Act,
Maharashtra Government has decided to take ordinance route to amend Maharashtra
Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981. Decision in this regard was taken
in State Cabinet meeting by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.
Key provisions of ordinance Illegal sand mining has been made non bailable offence.
Sand smuggling as well as smugglers will be added in the section II of the Act. Culprits
arrested in illegal sand mining cases will not get bail for one year after their arrest.
Tampering of the public distribution system (PDS) mechanism and foodgrain mafias will
be brought under the ambit of this Act. Offences under it will be made non–bailable.
Union Cabinet approves MFP for Development of Hydrocarbon discoveries 2015
Union Cabinet has approved Marginal Fields Policy (MFP) to aunction small and
marginal unexploited hydrocarbon discoveries by state owned oil companies
Key facts about Marginal Fields Policy (MFP) 69 unexploited oil fields owned by Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) will be opened for
competitive bidding to private and foeign companies based on revenue sharing model.
These discoveries for many years were not able to monetize due to isolated locations,
small size of reserves, technological constraints, high development costs and fiscal
regime.
Implication: To stimulate investment in oil exploration sector as well as increase
domestic oil and gas production. It will also help in monetizing 70,000 crore rupees
worth of resources form these unexploited oil fields Earlier.
UNESCO India to join UN’s Better Than Cash Alliance
UNESCO India to join UN‘s Better Than Cash Alliance to achieve financial inclusion,
India has decided with a view to reduce cash transactions in its economy and achieve
financial inclusion.
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Better Than Cash Alliance is made up of Governments, international organizations and
companies. It accelerates the transition of economy from cash to digital payments in
order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth.
Smart National Common Mobility Card Model for Metro Travel.
Petroleum Sector Union Government frames Smart National Common Mobility Card
Model to enable metro travel.Union Ministry of Urban Development has come out with a
Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless metro travel,
shopping,
Key facts, Union Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu has approved the
EMV Open Loop Card with stored value. . It can be used for traveling by any means of
transport and also enables account based retail shopping applications, banking and
transit requirements
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will develop the specified
standards and hardware for Metro gates and validators along with related ecosystems for
making NCMC card model operational.
Union Cabinet approves reimbursement to 4 government agencies for import of
pulses
The Union Cabinet has approved reimbursement of 113 crore rupees for incurring losses
on pulses imported by four government agencies between 2006- 2011 period. These four
government agencies are
i) National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED),
ii) Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC),
iii) State Trading Corporation of India (STC) and
iv) PEC.
Government had asked these four PSUs to import and sell pulses in the open market with
subject to reimbursement of 15 per cent losses. The other scheme government was to distribute
these imported pulses via ration shops i.e. Publc distribution System (PDS) to poor people at a
fixed subsidy of 10 rupees per kg.
National Teachers Day
Every year in India 5th September is being observed as National Teachers Day.
Significance of Day: This day commemorates the birthday of India‘s first Vice
President and second President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
This year’s celebration: On occasion of National Teachers Day, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi releasesed commemorative coins of 125 rupees and 10 rupees
denomination in honour of former President S Radhakrishnan. About Dr Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan was born on 5 September 1888 in Thiruttani in then Madras Presidency
of British India.
He was an Indian philosopher and statesman and one the best known scholars in the field
of comparative religion and philosophy in India in the 20th century. He had
tremendously contributed towards the new contemporary Hindu identity in the eyes of
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the ill-informed Westeners. He held great respect for teachers and always believed that
teachers are real nation builders.
Important Posts: First Vice President of India (in office from 1952–1962),
Second President of India (in office from 1962 to 1967).
Awards: He was honoured with Bharat Ratna (1954), British Royal Order of Merit
(1963) etc.
Note: He was first recipient Bharat Ratna, India‘s highest civilian award along with politician C.
Rajagopalachari, scientist C. V. Raman.
Union governments nod on OROP
Union Government has given its nod to implement One Rank One Pension (OROP)
scheme for ex-servicemen. It was announced by Union Defence Minister Manohar
Parikkar in New Delhi.
Facts about OROPscheme will provide ex-servicemen of same rank and same length of
service uniform pension regardless of date of retirement. The benefit will be given with
effect from 1st of July 2014 and it will benefit all three services- Army, Navy and Air
Force.
Estimated cost to implement OROP scheme would be around 8000 crore rupees to
10,000 crore rupees at present and it will increase further in future.
Union Government also has decided to constitute one member Judicial Committee for
examination of interests of retirees of different periods and different ranks. The
Committee will also cover inter-service issues of the three forces and submit its report in
six months.
Government Schemes Delhi High Court allows permanent commission for women
in Indian Navy
Delhi High Court in its landmark judgment has allowed women to get permanent
commission in Indian Navy and allowed them to board on warships. The ruling was given
by a Division Bench of Delhi HC headed by Justice Kailash Gambhir on the writ petition
moved by a group of women naval officers both retired and serving.
The HC also ruled that, henceforth female naval officers will have full term service in the
Indian Navy and also enjoy retirement benefits same as their male counterparts.
Presently, Indian Army and Air Force allow permanent commission for female officers.
While, Indian Navy has limited the role of women officers serving in short service
commission of 14 years.
Implications: It will eliminate the gender discrimination and ensure the rights of
women officers in Indian Navy similar to their counterpart in other forcesl
Bodh Gaya to be developed into spiritual capital: Modi
Prime Minister announced that Bodh Gaya, which is considered the birthplace of
Buddhism, would be developed as a spiritual capital of the Buddhist world.―We want to
develop Bodh Gaya as a spiritual capital of the Buddhist world.
Modi circumambulated the Mahabodhi tree under which Lord Buddha is said to have
attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago.
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India launched Women-20 (W20)
Group of Twenty (G-20), a forum of world‘s 20 largest economies, including India
launched Women-20 (W20), an engagement grouping of women leaders in order to push
for gender inclusive global economic growth.
It was launched in the on-going G-20 Summit of Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors in Ankara under the Turkish Presidency.. It would host its first summit in
October 2015 in Istanbul after all member countries appoint their respective nominees.
Gulden Turktan from Turkey has been appointed as the first President W20 forum.
About Group of Twenty ,G20 is the premier forum for global economic and financial
cooperation. Established in 1999 as a meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors on member countries in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It
brings together 20 nations that represent world‘s major advanced and emerging
economies, representing around 85 per cent of global GDP.
Presidency of the G20: It rotates annually among its members. Members: Brazil,
China, Russia, India, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Canada, France, Indonesia,
Germany, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, South Korea, United Kingdom
(UK), United States (US) and European Union (EU).
Delhi Metro rail being extended to Haryana cities
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inaugurated a metro line connecting Badarpur in Delhi
and Faridabad in Haryana and said the metro connectivity would be extended up to
Ballabhgarh to link an important part of the state with the national capital.
A sum of Rs.700 crore would be spent on this project, he said while addressing a ‗Gati
Pragati‘ rally after inaugurating the Badarpur-Mujesar Metro link here .
The 13.8-km Badarpur-Mujesar Metro link, an extension of the violet line between the
ITO and Badarpur Metro stations, will have nine stations About 1.95 lakh passengers are
expected to use the new corridor every day by the year-end, which cost Rs.2,500 crore to
construct.
Haryana would be able to attract weekend tourists, which would in turn provide
employment to the local populace.The prime minister said auxiliary electricity
requirements of the metro stations on the stretch would be met by solar energy, the
panels for which have been set up at the stations.
New features, numbering system to check fake currency
To check the menace of fake Indian currency, new notes, especially the Rs.1,000 and
Rs.500 denominations, will have 7 new security features and a new numbering system,
official sources in New Delhi.
The Reserve Bank of India subsidiary Bhartiya Note Mudran Pvt Ltd (BRBNMPL) and the
state-run Security Printing and Minting Corp are both working to introduce the revised
number pattern in currency notes, the source said
Malaysia, Thailand and Oman have emerged as the new centres for stocking fake Indian
currency for onward circulation across India.
As per latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Gujarat tops
the list of five Indian states that are considered the ―safest‖ for circulating counterfeit
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currency notes – allegedly pushed in by Pakistan‘s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
agency.
Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise, KUVERIN 2015
The sixth Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise, KUVERIN 2015 has commenced at
Pangode Military Station in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.
Aim of the Joint Exercise ,Total of 45 soldiers each from Indian Army (BIHAR
Regiment) and the Maldivian National Defence Force will take part which increase
understanding and interoperability between Armies of both countries
It should be noted that the sixth Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise commenced on 31
August 2015 and it will conclude on 13 September 2015 with the closing ceremony
involving cultural events by various military display teams along with aerial acrobatics
display by Sarang Team of Indian Air force.
Andhra Pradesh launches e-Pragati:
Persons In News Andhra Pradesh State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA) launches e-
Pragati to bring all government services under one roof
Key facts The basic objective of e-Pragati is to provide an integrated One Governance that
will be citizen-centric, transparent and effective by moving away from the traditional
piecemeal approach.
It has been developed in association with Information Technology (IT) giant Wipro. The
project aims to bring together 745 government to businesses (G2B), government to
citizens (G2C), government to employees (G2E) and government to governments (G2G)
services offered by 33 departments of state and more than 300 government agencies.
As many as 72 projects of various departments have been grouped under 14 packages.
Haryana Government bans gutka, pan masala
Haryana government has completely banned the gutka, pan masala and other similar
products containing tobacco in the state for one year from September 3, 2015.
In this regard State Food and Drugs Administration has issued notification in the interest
of public health. The ban includes manufacturing, distribution, storage and sale of gutka,
pan masala, flavoured or scented tobacco, kharra and other similar products containing
tobacco.
The ban also includes mix of other ingredients such as heavy metals and anti-caking
agents. These substances were banned due to presence of Nicotine which already has
been added by state government in the list of poisons substances notified under Haryana
Poison Possession and Sales Rules, 1966.
33% reservation for women in paramilitary forces: Rajnath
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced 33 percent reservations would be
provided for women in all paramilitary forces, including Central Industrial Security Force
(CISF).―‖ he said at the passing-out parade here at National Industrial Security Academy
(NISA), a premier training centre of the CISF.
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Noting that women share in the force stood at just 5.04 percent, he stressed on the need
to increase the number of women personnel up to one-third of the overall strength of the
force.
Rajnath Singh asked the CISF, which is actively involved in the developmental activities
at the areas affected by left-wing extremism, to also improve its core competence in newer
areas of crime such as dealing with cyber crimes.
Haryana Government sets minimum qualification for candidates in Panchayati
Raj polls
Haryana Assembly has passed Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that
seeks to fix matriculation as minimum educational qualification for elections to
Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs). With this Haryana became second state in India after
Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications for the candidates contesting
Panchayat elections.
Key provisions of bill General candidates contesting the Panchayat elections should have
class X certificates i.e. matriculation as essential qualification. For Women (general) and
Scheduled Caste candidates‘, class VIII mark-sheet is mandatory. The educational
qualification for SC candidates for the post of ‗panch‘ is class V. Mandatory for the
candidates contesting PRI elections to have functional toilets and payment of power bills.
Candidates should not have been charge-sheeted by any court of law and must not be
loan defaulters. State government has taken this decision to improve the quality of
leadership and governance in PRIs.
Union Cabinet cleared National Offshore Wind Energy Policy
Union Cabinet cleared National Offshore Wind Energy Policy to generate electricity from
offshore windmills located in areas within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country.
Under this policy, Offshore wind power projects and R&D activities will be carried in
waters up to the seaward distance of 200 Nautical Miles (EEZ of the country) from the
base line. Union Ministry of New & Renewable
Union Cabinet allows 100 per cent FDI under automatic route for white label
ATMs
The Union Cabinet has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the
automatic route for white label ATM operations (WLAO). Decision in this regard was
taken in Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
This decision will expedite and ease FDI inflows in WLAO further giving a fillip to the
government‘s ambitious effort to promote financial inclusion in the country, including the
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY).
Prior this approval, foreign investment in WLAO was allowed through the government
approval route which required some processing time and projects were delayed. White
labeled ATMs Private non-bank companies that own and operate their own brand of
ATMs are termed as White labeled ATMs. As per RBI guidelines, it is mandatory to non-
bank companies owning white labelled ATMs to provide banking services to customers
based on cards (credit/debit/prepaid) issued by banks.
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Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away
Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away in New Delhi following a
severe bout of viral fever. He was 86. He was instrumental in drafting India‘s first
National Water Policy in 1987.
Ramaswamy R. Iyer was born in October 1929 in Thakkalai district of Tamil Nadu. He
was best known for producing a rich body of commentary on water policy and
environmental issues. He was an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)
and also had served as Secretary of Water Resources in the Union Government. His last
held position was that of an honorary research professor at the New Delhi based Centre
for Policy Research.
Union Cabinet gives nod to Constitution of 21st Law Commission of India
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval
to constitute the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI). The 21st LCI will have a period of 3
years with effect from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018. Composition Chairperson
(full-time), Four Members (full-time). It will include a Member-Secretary.
The first commission was constituted in 1955 and since then various commissions were
re-constituted every three years. The 20th LCI was headed by Justice A P Shah, Former
Chief Justice (CJ) of Delhi High Court and its tenure ended on 31 August, 2015.
world Hindi conference in Bhopal
The 10th World Hindi Conference (WHC), to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, will have as its theme ―Hindi Jagat: Vistar evam Sambhavnai‖ (World of Hindi:
Expansion and Scope), Sushma Swaraj said while the earlier such events focused on
literature, or Hindi Shitya, this time the NDA government has decided to change the
―roop rekha‖ and focus it on the Hindi language.
The four main themes will be ―Videsh Niti mein Hindi‖ or the use of Hindi in India‘is
foreign policy, which will be chaired by Sushma Swaraj.
The previous World Hindi Conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in
September 2012.The first such conference was held in Nagpur in 1975 by then Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi . It was held from 10 to 12 January 1975. Since then every year
10th January is being observed as the World Hindi Day. It was held twice in Port Louis
(Mauritius), twice in India with the third edition held in New Delhi in October 1983.other
places it has been held include, Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), London (Britain),
Paramaribo (Suriname) and New York (US.
Ninth edition of World Hindi Conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in
2012. ―.―Experts believe that in this field, three languages – English, Chinese and Hindi –
will dominate the digital field,‖ Modi said, and added that it is the responsibility of tech
experts to develop software to popularize Hindi and other Indian languages.
Modi also released a postal stamp to mark the 10th World Hindi Day during the
conference.
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Professor Ramesh Chand appointed as full-time member of NITI Aayog
Renowned Agriculture expert Professor Ramesh Chand has been appointed as new full time
member of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. With this appointment he
became third full-time member of NITI Aayog,
The task force is mandated to formulate strategies for reforms, innovation and technology
diffusion in agriculture sector and recommend strategies for re-invigorating agriculture in all its
aspects.
- Hindi will be among three to dominate digital world: Modi
Tourism Rajasthan first state to submit State Annual Action Plan under AMRUT
Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan
under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). State
Government has submitted the action plan for approval by the Union Urban
Development Ministry for financial year 2015-16. The plan seeks to target two categories
of AMRUT projects in the state viz. universal coverage in respect of water supply
connections, sewerage connections and urban transport to all urban households.
DO YOU KNOW......
The Constitution of India recognizes 23 official languages, spoken in different parts
of the country, and two official classical languages, Sanskrit and Tamil.
Article 346 of the Indian Constitution recognizes Hindi in Devanāgarī script as the
official language of central government India.
.Article 345 provides constitutional recognition as "Official languages" of the union
to any language adopted by a state legislature as the official language of that state.
Indo-European whose branch Indo-Aryan is spoken by about 75 percent of the
population and Dravidian spoken by about 25 percent. Other languages spoken in
India come mainly from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman linguistic families.
DO YOU KNOW
National Institution for Transforming India Aayog ( niti aayog, Policy Commission) is a
Government of India policy think-tank established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
after his having dissolved the Planning Commission,Union Government was
announced formation of NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015
AIM: Foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by
state governments of India, a "bottom-up" approach in contrast to the Planning
Commission's tradition of "top-down" decision-making.
The Prime Minister heads the Aayog as its chairperson. Thus, while the Planning
Commission had no representation for state and Union Territories, the NITI Aayog
has.
First Planning commission was established in 1950
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In this regard, state government has proposed projects under these two categories worth
1,087 crore rupees to be taken up in 13 of the 28 AMRUT cities in Rajasthan. These citites
include Beawar, Alwar and Nagaur: Both water supply and sewerage projects will be
taken up. Baran, Bhilwara, Bhiwar, Dhaulpur, Chittorgarh, Ganganagar City and
Sujangarh: Only water supply projects will be taken up Sikar, Bhiwadi and Udaipur: only
sewerage and septage management projects will be taken up.
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
Union Government has announced to extend e-Tourist Visa
Union Government has announced to extend e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 37 more countries
in order to attract maximum foreign tourists in the country. It was announced by
Secretary of Union Tourism Ministry Vinod Zuthsi while addressing a function of Indian
Association of Tour Operators in New Delhi.
With this extension, the total 150 countries will come under the ambit of e-Tourist Visa
Scheme from present 113 countries. By August 2015, more than 22,000 tourists have
used this scheme to visit India, compared to 2700 tourists in August, 2014. Before,Union
Government had launched e-Tourist Visa Scheme (as Tourist Visa on Arrival scheme) in