GK & Current Affairs March 2016

Moving a step closer towards fee regulation at the national level, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has accepted the report of the government appointed committee, which had recommended a ceiling on the tuition fee charged by all private institutes for technical courses including engineering and MBA.
•    A 10-member panel headed by former Supreme Court Judge B N Srikrishna had proposed a range of maximum fees to be charged by private institutes.
•    The committee has fixed the maximum (tuition and development) fee for a two-year MBA course at Rs 1.57 lakh to Rs 1.71 lakh per annum, depending on the location of the institute. The annual fee for a four-year engineering degree (BE or B Tech) has been fixed at Rs 1.44 lakh to 1.58 lakh. It has also proposed the maximum fee for technical courses like B Arch, B Pharma, MCA and M Tech.
•    The AICTE accepted all the recommendations at its council meeting on December 11 and decided to draft a regulation on the fee to be charged by private institutes. 

•    But before that, it will share the committee’s report with state governments for their comments, and to apprise them of the additional financial burden which they will have to bear because of increased scholarships, said sources.
•    The HRD Ministry too has been requested to consult the Finance Ministry on the funds required for scholarships once the recommendations are implemented. The AICTE, however, hasn’t decided on a timeline to introduce the fee regulation.
•    The Justice Srikrishna committee was set up by the AICTE to honour the Supreme 

Court’s direction in the TMA Pai Foundation case.
•    The apex court had ruled that to prevent commercialisation of technical 

education, the fee charged by private institutes should be decided by the state 

governments until a national-level fee fixation committee gives its recommendations.

Braving the elements, a team of Indian Air Force pilots has created a national record by completing a 10,000-km paramotor adventure expedition that traversed over mountains, deserts and plains.
•    Paramotor flying, which means flying in a powered paraglider, involves open cockpit flying where a pilot is exposed to the elements.
•    The IAF's 'Skyriders' team of 14 Air Warriors led by Wing Commander M.P.S. Solanki had set out on the arduous flight on February 1 from the Kalaikunda Air Force Station in West Bengal and returned to the base on Saturday.
•    The team followed the eastern coast to Kanyakumari before turning northwards along the western coast till Gujarat. It then transited over the desert of Rajasthan, fields of Punjab and followed the foothills of the Himalayas till Jammu.
•    The team then followed a southerly course till New Delhi and resumed on an easterly course through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar before arriving at Kalaikunda," the statement added.
•    The earlier paramotor flying national record was for 9,132 km.

In a historic moment, an Indian container vessel left from Krishnapatnam port for Bangladesh, on a direct route for the first time, as a part of coastal shipping agreement between both the countries. 
•    The voyage aims at developing and facilitating coastal trade between India and Bangladesh after the Narendra Modi government revived the trade agreements signed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974.
•    Earlier the shipments from Indian ports being transported to Bangladesh were routed either via Colombo or Singapore.
•    With the launch of the direct service, time taken for such shipments would come down from 2-5 days.
•    Last Novermber, the two countries had signed a standard operating procedure forcommercial cargo movement aiming at easier bilateral trade conditions.
•    Various provisions were added including that the vessels from both the countries will be treated as domestic vessels upon entry.
•    Krishnapatnam port is the country’s largest all-weather, deep water port situated at Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

The Country’s first cyber security public organisation has been launched by China on 26th March 2016, which consists of academic institutes, individuals and internet companies including Tencent and popular internet Security Company Qihu 360.
•    The Organisation aimed at better safeguarding national cyber security and guiding internet companies in perform their duties.
•    The Cyber Security organisation will focus on promoting self-discipline in the industry, accelerating the establishment of industry standards and cyber security studies and participating in international cooperation.
•    The association could emphasize on safeguarding the country’s internet security and building up China as an internet power, while attracting more cutting-edge cyber security enterprises and talent to enhance the industry’s authority.
•    China launched its first special fund for cyber security with an initial capital of 300 million Yuan($46 million) to realise the nation’s strategic goal of becoming a strong internet power in February this year.
•    An increasing number of high profile data breaches have taught us that how a company looks after their information and manages any incidents can make or break an organisation.
•    Cyber risk is now firmly at the top of the international agenda as high-profile breaches raise fears that hack attacks and other security failures could endanger the global economy.
•    90 % of companies worldwide recognize they are insufficiently prepared to protect themselves against Cyber Attacks.
•    Cybercrime costs the global economy over USD 400 billion per year, according to estimates by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced country’s first university exclusively focussing on organic farming. The main objective is to help farmers in switching to unconventional methods of farming.
•    A fund of Rs 10 crore has been earmarked towards the university in the annual 2016-17 budget, presented recently.
•    The place may be chosen near to agriculture Kamdhenu University in Gandhinagar district.
•    For promoting organic farming, state government has taken steps like setting up of a cell to implement its new organic farming policy.
•    Organic food is food that has been grown or processed without synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.
•    The organic food movement began in the 1940s in response to the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution marked a significant increase in food production due to the introduction of high-yield varieties, the use of pesticides, and better management techniques.
•    When farmers spray pesticides, this can leave residue on produce. Organic farmers use insect traps, careful crop selection (disease-resistant varieties), predator insects or beneficial microorganisms instead to control crop-damaging pests.
•    Currently, 800 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition worldwide. Around 16 million will die from it. 
•    If conventional farming were replaced by organic farming, the number of people suffering would explode to 1.3 billion, assuming farmers use the same amount of land they are using now.

President Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand on 27 March 2016 following the approval of the recommendation of the Union Cabinet by the President of India ,Pranab Mukherjee. The Cabinet recommended president rule in the state citing a constitutional breakdown.
•    President signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and placing the Assembly under suspended animation.
•    Under suspended animation, the legislative assembly though is not dissolved but the legislative power of the state is taken over by the parliament from the declaration of the president rule. An assembly remains in this state until further notice from the president.
•    The need of presidential rule in the state arose after 9 congress legislators in leadership of former Chief Minister and leader of the rebel group Vijay Bahuguna rebelled against Harish Rawat government and pulled back their support to it. 
•    Due to this division the government lost majority in the house of 70 seats where it needs support of at least 36 legislators to run the government.
•    Meanwhile, under the Anti-Defection law, 1985 Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal disqualified the nine Congress MLAs whose rebellion and association with the BJP earlier this month had triggered the latest crisis.
•    Consideration of reports received from Governor KK Paul. The governor had described the political situation as volatile and expressed apprehensions over possible pandemonium during the scheduled trial of strength in the State Assembly on Monday.
•    The release of video as part of a sting operation conducted against the Chief Minister in which he was found involved in horse trading by offering allurements like money for support.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the proposal for submitting guarantees sought by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from the Government of India for their bid to host the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under 17 World Cup Football Tournament in 2017 in India. 
•    The FIFA Under 17 World Cup is a prestigious event and would be held in India for the first time.
•    The AIFF have proposed holding of matches in five States, namely Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and one among the States of Assam, Goa and Kerala. 
•    While the expenditure for upgradation of stadium (Rs.95 crore) will be provided as additional central assistance to the State Governments, a sum of Rs. 25 crore is kept as a contingency to ensure smooth conduct of the tournament. 
•    AIFF and FIFA have agreed to bear the entire expenditure of hosting the tournament. The amounts required are to be raised through sponsorships and other commercial agreements. 
•    The proposed Under-17 World Cup would encourage more youngsters to participate in sports and also help develop the sport of football in the country. 
•    It will also promote tourism in the country. The event also has a lot of importance from the point of view of playing technique, training, coaching and competition exposure, etc., especially at under-17 level, and thus would be good for the future of football in India.
•    The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the following decisions with regard to holding of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under-17 World Cup to be held in India in 2017: -
(a)The venues are as under: 
1.JLN Stadium, New Delhi
2.D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
3.JLN Stadium, Kochi    
4.Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata    
5.JLN Stadium, Fatorda Goa    
6.I.G. Stadium Guwahati 
A Committee comprising of Secretary, Department of Sports, DG, SAI and Financial Adviser, Dept. of Sports has been authorized to make necessary adjustments for any changes in venues to remove difficulties in consultation with All India Football Federation (AIFF) /FIFA. 
Expenditure towards overlays and equipment including display boards, etc. may be incurred. The total cost, however, will be within Rs.95 crore as approved earlier. 
In the eventuality of any additional requirement of funds, Department of Sports will take up the matter with the Department of Expenditure. 
The Sports Ministry has been authorized to constitute Organizing Committee, for conduct of the event.

Late Capt. Shankar Laxman was posthumously chosen for the 2016 Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award. 
•    The award carrying purse of Rs. 30 lakh was accepted by his son Manohar Singh Shekhawat during the 2016 Hockey India Annual Awards held in Bengaluru. 
•    Late Capt. Shankar Laxman was one of legendary hockey player in India. 
•    He was a goalkeeper and was part of the Olympic medal-winning teams of 1956 (Melbourne, Gold), 1960 (Rome, Silver), and 1964 (Tokyo, Gold). 
•    Dhruv Batra Player of the Year Award: P.R Sreejesh (male), Deepika (female). 
•    Baljit Singh Goalkeeper of the Year Award: Savita. 
•    Pargat Singh Defender of the Year Award: Kothajit Singh. 
•    Ajit Pal Singh Midfielder of the Year Award: Ritu Rani. 
•    Dhanraj Pillay Forward of the Year Award: Rani. 
•    Asunta Lakra Upcoming Player of the Year Award: Harjeet Singh (male), Preeti Dubey (female). 
•    Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution: Baldev Singh. 
•    President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement: Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy.

On 26-March-2016 Shri J P Nadda launched Rotavirus vaccine as part of Universal Immunization Programme.In an attempt to bring down child mortality in the country, Union health minister J.P. Nadda on 26-March-2016launched rotavirus vaccine in Bhubaneshwar. 
•    In the first phase, the vaccine has been launched in four states – Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. It will subsequently be extended to the entire country.
•    Rotavirus is highly contagious and spreads fast once the infection breaks out in an area.
•    The vaccine, developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research, has been available in the private sector for many years. 
•    Its introduction in government’s immunization programme will extend its reach to rural and poor areas.
•    According to data from the Union health ministry, rotavirus infection causes 78 thousand deaths annually among children under-5 years of age in India. It accounts for 8.7 lakh hospitalisations yearly.
•    Three doses of vaccine are to be given within the gap of one month each starting at age one-and-a-half months. Nearly 50% of rotavirus associated deaths occur within first year of life. 
•    Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age, and that every year nearly 80,000 to one lakh children die in the country due to Rotavirus diarrhoea.
•    The vaccine is being introduced initially in four states Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha and will be expanded to the entire country in a phased manner.
•    Universal Immunization Programme is a vaccination program launched by the Government of India in 1985. 
•    It became a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992 and is currently one of the key areas under National Rural Health Mission(NRHM) since 2005.
•    The program consists of vaccination for nine diseases- tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles,Hepatitis B, Diarrhoea,Japanese Encephalitis andPneumonia. Hepatitis B was added to the UIP in 2007. 
•    Thus, UIP has 9 vaccine preventable diseases in the program.
•    In 2014 it was announced that four vaccines will be added to the program, namely rotavirus, rubella and Japanese encephalitis, as well as the inject table polio vaccine.

The PDP and the BJP on 26th March 2016 called on Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra and staked claim to form the new government under Mehbooba Mufti. 
•    The date for the swearing in has not been decided yet.
•    Ms Mufti will be the first woman Chief Minister of the state.
•    It was Ms Mufti's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday that broke the deadlock that had persisted for well over two months.
•    PDP legislature party had elected her its leader and named her the party chief ministerial candidate. 
•    BJP legislators in Jammu elected Nirmal Singh as its leader. He will again be the Deputy Chief Minister in the new cabinet, a post he had under Mufti Mohammed Sayeed who died in January.
•    The state has been under Governor's Rule since early January after the death of former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
•    The PDP chief had refused to succeed her father as the chief minister, demanding that the BJP honour the conditions laid down in the Agenda of Alliance, a blueprint crafted when the two parties decided on co-governing the state.
•    BJP has been strongly against  PDP because of its ideology.