1.Karnatkaabamended Law for Conducting Kambala

January – March 2017

1.Karnatkaabamended law for conducting kambala-:

The karnatka government has recently decided to bring an amendment to the prevention of cruelty to animals Act, for conducting kambala and bull-cart race, traditional sports of the state. The state cabinet approved amendments to the Act, and the bill to beplaced before both houses of the state egislative .

NOTE-:Kambala is an annual traditional Buffalo race held in coastal districts of Karnataka to enterain rural people of the area. The sports season generally starts in November and lasts till march. Slushy/Marshy/paddy/field yrack is used for kambala.

2.PradhanMantriGramin Digital SakshartaAbhiyan Approve-:

:-PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world. This approval comes in line with the announcement made by Union Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2016-17. -:-:-Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh in 2017-18; and 300 lakh in 2018-19. The outlay for this project is Rs. 2,351.38 crore to usher in digital literacy in rural India. :-To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the 250,000 Gram Panchayats across the country will be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.

:- Digitally literate persons will be able to operate computers/digital access devices, send and receive emails, access government services, browse internet, search for information, undertaking cashless transactions, etc..

:-The scheme will be implemented under the supervision of Ministry of Electronics and IT in collaboration with States/UTs through their designated State Implementing Agencies, District e-Governance Society (DeGS), etc.

3.Assembly Election 2017 Results-:

The election commission on 11 march 2017 announced the results of legislative assembly electon 2017 for five states namely UP, Punjab,Uttrakhand,Goa , Manipur.

Uttar Pradesh-:The counting of votes for the 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh (UP) assembly elections 2017 saw a historic landslide verdict in favour of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) and its allies in 403-member UP assembly.

Uttarakhand-:TheBharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has won a majority in the 70 seat-Uttarakhand assembly, ousting the Congress led by chief minister Harish Rawat.

Punjab-:Congress won 77 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly with Amarinder Singh as its chief ministerial nominee, only one short of the 78 needed for a two-thirds majority.

Manipur-:The Congress won 28 seats, but the BJP is hot on its heels with 21 wins and neither party is yet assured of a majority.N.Biren Singh to form the government after being assured of requities support from regional parties and independents.

Goa-:The counting of votes for the 40 seats in Goa assembly elections 2017 show a close contest between the Congress and BJP, while other smaller parties such as the Goa Forward Party and MaharashtrawadiGomantak (MGP) also making inroads.cheif minister (ManoharParrikar).

4.Tamil Nadu Assembly asses Jallikattu Bill-:

Tamil Nadu Assemblyhas recentlyunanimously passed an amendment bill for conducting the bull-taming sport without any hindrance.Replacing an ordinance promulgated two days ago to allow jallikattu, the Bill to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 was unanimously adopted by the House after members of all parties spoke welcoming the legislative initiative.

The government had promulgated the ordinance in a bid to defuse the raging protests across the State, especially at the Marina Beach, by students and others, demanding lifting of the ban on jallikattu.

About Jallikattu- Jallikaatu could be referred to as bull taming event typically practiced in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations on MattuPongal day, third day of the four-day Pongal festival. The term 'jallikattu' is derived from the tamil words 'jalli' and 'kattu'. Jalli refers to gold or silver coins. Kattu means 'tied'. Therefore, combined together it refers to coins being tied to the bulls' horns, which is considered the prize for whoever tames the bull. The bull that wins is used to service numerous cows preserving the native breed. It is renowned as an ancient 'sport', believed to have been practised some 2500 years ago. It is controversial because the sport often results in major injuries and even deaths.:

5.PM Launched UPI based mobile payment app BHIM-:

Prime Minister NarendraModi launched UPI based mobile payment application called BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) at the DigiDhanMela held in Talkatora stadium, New Delhi, The app is rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) for simpler digital payments without cash.

Key Facts-: BHIM is Aadhaar-based payments app developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).

-: The app allows easily transferring money or making a payment from your bank account using only phone number.

-: It can work even on basic phones as it supports USSD payments. It has mobile wallet facility in which money can be loaded. Using it anyone can directly connect their phone to bank account like a debit card. -:The app also allows user to scan a QR code. The merchant can also generate his QR code through the app. Payment can be done through scanning QR code.

-:Merchants can also use the BHIM app to receive money from a smartphone or Aadhaar Pay if customer has linked a bank account and Aadhaar ID.

-: Payments through this app are happening directly from and to bank accounts, so merchants don’t have to worry about transferring wallet earnings to the bank account.

-:All major UPI connected Indian banks accepts money through BHIM app. Even banks not connected to UPI can receive money through BHIM through IFSC assigned to banks.

6.PradhanMantriGaribKalyan Launched-:

the (pmgky) came into effect from 17 dec 2016.it will remain open until march 31, 2017

PMGKY is government second income disclosure scheme to allow tax evaders to come clean with unaccounted wealth. It provides for 50 per cent and surcharge on declarations of unaccounted cash deposited in banks.

7.PMNarendraModi’sNewYeareve”s speech-:

PM NarendraModi in his address to the nation on new year’s eve made a series of announcements to the reiterating his government ‘s focus on the welfare of farmers anthe poor. Demonitisation was aimed at combating tax evasion and money laundering nd the pmMdi praised the people for working shoulde to shoulder with the gouerment to defeat corruption.

Key Announcement-:

1.Rural and urban housing for poor:

2.farmrs:

3.Micro,small and medium enterprises:

4.pregnant women and lacating women

5.senior citizen

8.India ranked 79th in the corruption Perception Index-:

India has been ranked 79th out of 176 countries in the recently released Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for the year 2016 by the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).

-:The index has been complied by using World Bank data, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and other institutions It ranks countries on the score in the scale ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean)

. Key Facts Top 10 Countries: New Zealand and Denmark in joint first place (with a score of 90), followed by Finland (3rd), Sweden (4th), Switzerland (5th), Norway (6th), Singapore (7th), Netherlands (8th), Canada (9th) and Germany (10th).

-:Counties bottom of the index: Somalia was ranked the most corrupt country. Other countries with lower rankings were Syria, South Sudan, North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

9.Supream Court makes national anthem mandatory in cinema halls-:

The Supreme Court ordered cinema halls to mandatorily play the national anthem before every screening even as all those present have to “stand up to show respect.” The practice, according to the court, will “instil a feeling of committed patriotism and nationalism.”

-: It also referred to Article 51 (A) of the Indian Constitution to contend that it was the duty of every person to show respect when the anthem was played. However, the petition had not asked the court to direct the anthem to be played in movie halls. Instead, it had focused on the commercial exploitation of the anthem.

10.Ex-CAG vinodRai appointed head of4- member BCCI panel by Supream Court-:

The supream court has appointed former Comptroller and auditor General (CAG) of India VinodRai to run the affairs of the BCCI and implement court-approved recommendations of the Justice RM Lodha panel on reforms in the cash-rich cricket body.

-:Other three members of the committee of administrators are famous cricket historian RamachandraGuha, VikramLimaye, managing director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) and former Indian women's cricket captain Diana Edulji, who would interact with Rahul Johri, CEO of BCCI, for supervision and functioning of the cricket board.

11.PM Launches PravasiKaushalVikasYojana-:

Prime Minister NarendraModi launched PravasiKaushalVikasYojana (PKVY), a skill development program targeted at Indian youth seeking overseas employment to make India the Skill Capital of the World.

Key Facts-: PKVY will provide training and certify Indians who are seeking overseas employment in selected sectors that have high demand in the global labour market in line with international standards.

-:It will be implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) through its training partners and in consultation with the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the Union Skill Development Ministry.

-:It also aims at boosting the confidence of the Indian youth so that they don’t feel like strangers when they land in a country of their choice for vocation.

-: For this purpose, NSDC will leverage various MoUs it signed between 2011 and 2015 with different agencies of Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, UK, US, European Union, France, Iran and China.

12.Railway Ministry unveils Mission 41K-:

-:Minister of Railways Shri Suresh PrabhakarPrabhu unveiled Mission 41k during the Roundtable Discussion with External Stakeholders on Energy Initiatives of Indian Railways. Shri Suresh Prabhu said that Ministry of Railways has come up with Mission 41k to save Rs. 41000 crore in the next decade in Railways’ energy costs.

-:To implement this comprehensive strategy with the participation of various stakeholders, we shall take advantage of regulatory frameworks, look at new technologies. He said that this is an opportunity to relook at everything and determine an ideal baseline. All electrification works done in the last decade would be doubled and this would change the energy mix of Indian Railways. Indian Railways has set a target of 1000 MW of solar power and 200 MW of wind energy.

13.Govt Launches Shagun portal to monitor SarvaShikshaabhiyan-:

he Union Government launched a dedicated web portal ShaGun for monitoring the progress of SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA).

-: The portal was developed by World Bank in collaboration with Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. Its name has been derived from the words Shala (means schools) and Gun (i.e. Gunvatta meaning Quality).

-: Key Facts-:ShaGun portal was developed with a twin track approach to monitor schools under the SSA and also the quality of education imparted by them.

It will capture and showcase innovations and progress in Elementary Education sector of India by continuous monitoring SSA.

ShaGun will help in monitoring progress in implementation of SSA by assessing the performance of states/UTs on key parameters that will help Government to plan and deliver quality education to all. It will collect and report data to enable the government and administrators to track the efficiency with which SSA funds are being utilised and the results are been delivered.

14.Union Cabinet approves scheme for promotion of Rural Housing-:

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has approved a new scheme for promotion of Rural Housing in the country. The Government would provide interest subsidy under the scheme. Interest subsidy would be available to every rural household who is not covered under the PradhanMantriAawasYojana (Grameen), PMAY(G).

-:The scheme would enable people in rural areas to construct new houses or add to their existing pucca houses to improve their dwelling units. The beneficiary who takes a loan under the scheme would be provided interest subsidy for loan amount uptoRs. 2 Lakhs.

15. Union Cabinet approves Varishtha Pension BimaYojana-:

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for launching of Varishtha Pension BimaYojana 2017 (VPBY 2017). The scheme will be launched as part of Government’s commitment for financial inclusion and social security.

-:The scheme will be implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) during the current financial year i.e. FY 2016-17. It will be open for subscription for a period of one year from the date of launch.

Features of Scheme-:The purpose of the scheme is to provide social security during old age and protect elderly persons aged 60 years and above against future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions

-: It will provide an assured pension based on a guaranteed rate of return of 8% per annum for ten years, with an option to opt for pension on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annual basis.

-: The Union Government will bear the differential return i.e., the difference between the return generated by LIC and the assured return of 8% per annum as subsidy on an annual basis.

16.National Action Plan for Cnildren Launched-:

The Union Ministry of Women & Child Development (WCD) has released National Action Plan for Children (NPAC), 2016 on the occasion of National Girl Child Day (24th January).

-:It was released by Union Minister of Women & Child Development Meneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi. The NPAC has been developed by the Ministry of WCD.

17.NITIAayog Launches India Innovation Index-:

-:To make India an innovation-driven economy, NITI Aayog, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) together launched a mega initiative “India Innovation Index” that will rank states on Innovations through country’s first online innovation index portal that will capture data on innovation from all Indian states on innovation and regularly update it in real time.

-:The India Innovation Index Framework will be structured based on the best practices followed in Global Innovation Index (GII) indicators and additionally by adding India-centric parameters those truly reflect the Indian innovation ecosystem. This initiative will be the point of reference for all international agencies to collect India’s up to date data points for global indices and analytic.

18.GST Council approves final draft to central GST,Integrated GST Laws-:

The GST Council meeting headed by Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley approved the final draft of Central GST (CGST) and Inter-State GST (IGST) laws. The approval of CGST and IGST laws is considered as significant step towards meeting the July 1, 2017 deadline for rolling out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Key Facts-: The UT-GST and SGST laws will be approved in the next GST Council meeting. It already has approved compensation bill.

-:Once all the bills are approved by the council, the Union government will collectively take the bills to the Union cabinet for its approval.

-:Subsequently, the CGST, IGST and UTGST laws and Compensation law to compensate states for revenue losses arising from a transition to GST will require the approval of Parliament. SGST law will require the nod of state legislative assemblies

-:. There will be no change in the tax rates approved by the Council. However, there will be a cap of 40% in the legislation.

-: Agriculturists will be exempted from registering under GST regime. Business entities with an annual turnover of up to 20 lakhs rupees will also not be required registration under the new tax regime.

About Goods and Services Tax (GST)-:GST is proposed uniform indirect taxation regime throughout the country. It will merge most of the existing indirect taxes into single system of taxation.

-:It is consumption based tax levied on the supply of Goods and Services which will be levied and collected at each stage of sale or purchase of goods or services based on the input tax credit method.

-:GST will be a comprehensive indirect tax on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services throughout India. It was approved by The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.

-:It seeks to enhance fiscal federalism by removing indirect tax barriers across states and integrate the country into a common market, boosting government revenue and reducing business costs.

19.Union Cabinet approves the indian institute of management (IIM) Bil,2017.

-:The Union Cabinet has approved the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bill, 2017, under which the IIMs will be declared as Institutions of National Importance. It will also enable IIMs to grant degrees rather than diplomas to their students. At present IIMs are not authorised to award degrees as they registered as societies. Hence, they are awarding Post Graduate Diploma and Fellow Programme in Management.

20.Govt. pproves amendment in modified special Incentive Package Scheme-:

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for amendment in the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) for electronics manufacturing. These modifications will further incentivize investments in electronic sector and move towards Union Government’s goal of ‘Net Zero imports’ in electronics by 2020.