GK & Current Affairs March 2016

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 22 March 2016 launched the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI).
•    The Longitudinal Ageing Study is the largest survey of its kind. It will survey more than 60000 elderly over 25 years plan. 
•    The survey will provide scientifically validated data on various issues of the elderly.
•    The study will be important as it will investigate various health structures, and impact of social determinants on health of the elderly. It will also help in framing evidence-based policy.
•    LASI is the largest study on older population in the country.
•    The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Southern California (USC), USA is undertaking the LASI under the aegis of the Ministry of Union Health and Family Welfare.
•    LASI is jointly funded by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the United States’ National Institute on Ageing, and the United Nations Population Fund-India.

The display of state-of-the-art military systems and technologies by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) will narrate the saga of self-reliance & national pride with “Make in India” spirit in Defence Expo 2016 during 28th-31st March at Goa. 
•    Manohar Parrikar will inaugurate the ninth edition of this biennial Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems Exhibition, on 28th March 2016 at NaqueriQuitol in Quepem Taluka of South Goa. 
•    This year the design theme of DRDO Pavilion is “Rise of Futurism”. 
•    DRDO Futurism emphasises its vision to make India prosperous by establishing world class science and technology base and provide our Defence Services decisive edge by equipping them with internationally competitive systems and solutions. 
•    DRDO’s participation in this event is marked with the live demo of star products for first the time at Defexpo which includes Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AEW&C), Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Arjun MBT MK II & I, Wheeled Armoured Platform (WHAP), AKASH Air Defence System, Pinaka the Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System, Radars, BLT T-72, Bridging System Sarvatra, Modular Bridge and Mountain Foot Bridge etc.
•    Besides, static display of other attractive outdoor exhibits such as Quick Deployable Mobile Communication Terminal; Aslesha, Bharani and Coastal Surveillance Radars (CSR); MRSAM and Nirbhay launcher; Pinaka launcher & Rocket Mk I & Mk II; Advanced Torpedo Defence System (ATDS), Remotely Operated Vehicle Daksh, etc.
•    The indoor models and exhibits covers nearly the entire gamut of R&D from aeronautics, armaments & combat engineering, missiles, electronics and communication systems, materials, naval systems, life sciences, micro-electronic devices and computational systems. 
•    Some indoor exhibits includes: Model of Akash and Brahmos missiles; Aslesha, Bharani and SWATHI the Weapon Locating Radar, IR Guided Missile Tester, Laser Guided Bomb Kit Tester, Hand-held Stand-off Explosive Detector, Short Range Laser Dazzler, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), Nakshatra the Aerostat System, Combat Free Fall System, Biotoilet model, Computerized Pilot Selection System (CPSS) model, Multimode Hand Grenade, Family of small Arms, Sonars and Torpedoes, Night Vision and Microwave Devices, Bullet Proof Jacket, Robotics & Unmanned Systems, Telemedicine, Ready to Eat Food Technologies etc. 
•    Focusing on “Make in India” and “Self-Reliance”, the DRDO participation will provide a platform for collaboration with industry and academia. 
•    DRDO has amply demonstrated capability to design, develop and realize highly complex multidisciplinary weapon platforms for Army, Navy and Air force. 
•    These systems are among the most extensively evaluated systems in harsh environmental conditions, meeting stringent quality requirements of our services. 

In order to protect the rights of consumers against misleading advertisements, fake and counterfeit products, and for effective redressal of consumer complaints, the Department of Consumer Affairs has entered into partnership with the Industry Association to implement six points’ agenda. 
•    MOUs in this regard were signed on 22 march 2016 in the presence of Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan. 
•    The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has released a self-regulation Code of ethical business conduct to be adopted by the Industry on providing best products and services. 
•    In this regard, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) was inked between Department of Consumer Affairs and the industry bodies related to self-regulated code of fair business. 
•    The code contains provision of trustworthy products and services for the consumers comply with the competition and anti-trust laws and respond to consumer complaints promptly. 
•    It covers six broad principles to be adopted by the industry viz (i) safety of products and services, (ii) building sustainable supply chains, (iii) marketing products ethically, (iv) non-indulgence in unfair trade practices, (v) complying with competition and anti-trust laws, (vi) prompt response to consumer complaints. 
•    The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India is celebrating the World Consumer Rights Day on 22 march 2016. 

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2016 was observed globally on 25 March 2016. 
•    The theme for the year 2016 is Remember Slavery: Celebrating the Heritage and Culture of the African Diaspora and its Roots.
•    Each year on this day, the United Nations honours the memory of millions of Africans forcibly removed from their families and homelands over hundreds of years.
•    The UN General Assembly through a resolution on 17 December 2007 declared 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade to commemorate the memory of the victims. 
•    The resolution also called for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice.
•    The theme for the year 2015 was Women and Slavery.

The Netherland's soccer legend Johan Cruyff died of  lung cancer on 24 March 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. He was 68.
•    Cruyff’s talent was such that he is comfortably placed alongside Pele, Diego Maradona, Franz Beckenbauer and Lionel Messi as the best footballers of all time.
•    He was considered as one of the best player, coach, thinker, speaker and mentor in the football world.
•    Apart from the national team of The Netherlands, he represented Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs among others.
•    He was also the manager of the football clubs – Barcelona, Ajax and Catalonia.
•    During the career spanning over 19 years, he scored 33 goals in the 48 matches he played for The Netherlands national team. Overall, he scored 392 times in 520 games.
•    As a coach he had 242 victories in 387 matches, with 75 draws and 70 losses.
•    He reached his sporting peak in the early 1970s and went on to successfully manage Barcelona.
•    With Cruyff on the field, Ajax won the European Cup for three consecutive years from 1971-1973 before he moved to FC Barcelona midseason in 1973 and led the middle-of-the-table team to its first national title in a decade.
•    He played a key role as the coach of The Netherlands in 1974 FIFA World Cup in which the team was runner up.
•    He was European player of the year three times and, in 1999, was named Europe's Best Player of The 20th Century.
•    In the football world, he is famous for inventing 'Total Football' tactics in which players constantly interchange roles.
•    The tactics influenced the game worldwide, bringing fresh life to a sport that had become stuck in a defensive mindset.
•    He is also associated with the ‘Cruyff turn’ -- a technique he used for passing defenders by faking toward them, then flicking the ball behind his own other leg in the opposite direction and darting after it.

Arvind Kejriwal has been named among the world’s 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine with the Delhi Chief Minister being the sole Indian leader on the list topped by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. 
•    Fortune’s third annual ‘World’s 50 Greatest Leaders’ list features men and women from across the globe from the fields of business, government, philanthropy and the arts who are “transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same.”
•    47-year-old Aam Aadmi Party chief is ranked 42nd on the list and is the sole leader from India. 
•    South Carolina’s Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley is also on the list at 17th while another Indian-American Resham Saujani is at the 20th spot. 
•    Fortune credits Kejriwal for his efforts to curb pollution in New Delhi through the scheme of allowing vehicles of odd and even numbers on alternate days on the city’s roads.
•    Bezos, who topped the list this year, has been on the list all three times, along with Pope Francis who comes in at the 4th position followed by Apple CEO Tim Cook. 
•    The list includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2), Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at (3), US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (22), IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (36), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-chair and CEO Melinda Gates and Susan Desmond-Hellmann (41), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (48) and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay (50).
•    Also on the list is Saujani, Founder and CEO of tech organization ‘Girls Who Code’. 

Malayalam actor Jishnu Raghavan passed away at the age of 35 after prolonged battle with cancer. 
•    Jishnu passed away on 25th March morning at a hospital in Kochi. 
•    Jishnu was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and had been completely cured of it. But his cancer relapsed last year and since then he had been undergoing treatment.
•    Jishnu was the son of famous Malayalam actor Raghavan. He is survived by wife Dhanya Rajan, who is an architect by profession.
•    Jishnu Raghavan had worked as a child artist in the film Kilipatt which released in 1987. 
•    In 2002 that Jishnu made his acting debut as a male lead with Nammal in 2002, which was a major hit. 
•    His performance in the movie also earned him Kerala Film Critics Award for the Best Male Debut. 
•    In all, he acted in 21 films, including a Tamil and a Hindi film.
•    He was next seen in films like Choonda, Freedom, Parayam and then later in a supporting role in Nerariyan CBI, Pauran and Chakkara Muthu. 
•    He had also worked in four other Malayalam films including the blockbuster “Nammal”.

On 23-March-2016 The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed on 11th February, 2016 to mobilise long term investment into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). 
 
•    The objective of NIIF is to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both Greenfield and brownfield, including stalled projects, NIIF would solicit equity participation from strategic anchor partners.
•    The MoU will help establish a transparent and high-level framework and collaboration platform under which both countries intend to explore ways to facilitate and expand the participation of UAE's investment institutions in appropriate infrastructure projects and institutions in India including NIIF, in a manner consistent with the established investment criteria and standards in a mutually agreed manner.
•    A joint working group comprising of the concerned representatives of both parties would take forward cooperation under this MOU and to discuss and agree the terms, principles and criteria jointly.
•    The Cabinet approved the creation of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in July, 2015. 
•    The NIIF has already been established as a Category II Alternate Investment Funds (AIF) as per the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
•    The Joint Statement with UAE (India-UAE) during the visit of Prime Minister of India to UAE on 16-17 August 2015, mentions the establishment of UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, with the aim of reaching a target of USD 75 billion to support investment in India's plans for rapid expansion of next generation infrastructure, especially in railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors and parks.

On 23-March-2016 The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the implementation of the rural housing scheme of Pradhan MantriAwaasYojana – Gramin.  
•    Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided for construction of pucca house to all houseless and households living in dilapidated houses.
•    The expenditure involved in implementing the project in a span of 3 years from 2016-17 to 2018-19 is Rs.81975 crore. 
•    It is proposed that one crore households would be provided assistance for construction of pucca house under the project during the period from 2016-17 to 2018-19. 
•    The scheme would be implemented in rural areas throughout India except Delhi and Chandigarh. The cost of houses would be shared between Centre and States.
•    Identification of beneficiaries eligible for assistance and their prioritisation to be done using information from Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) ensuring total transparency and objectivity.
•    The list will be presented to Gram Sabha to identify beneficiaries who have been assisted before or who have become ineligible due to other reasons. The finalised list will be published.
•    The cost of unit assistance to be shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.
•    Annual list of beneficiaries will be identified from the total list through participatory process by the Gram Sabha. Gram Sabha will need to justify in writing with reasons for any alteration of priority in the original list.
•    Funds will be transferred electronically directly to the account of the beneficiary.
•    The Government in the President's address in the Joint Session of Parliament in May 2014 has announced that "By the time the nation completes 75 years of its Independence (by 2022), every family will have a pucca house with water connection, toilet facilities, 24x7 electricity supply and access". 
•    Union Minister for Finance, during the presentation of Annual Budget for 2015-16 has announced the intention of the Government to achieve 'Housing for All' by 2022. 
•    This proposal prepared by Department of Rural Development is to restructure the current programme on rural housing to achieve this objective to provide pucca house to all who are houseless and living in dilapidated houses. 
•    The urban component has already been approved on 25th June, 2015 and is under implementation.

On 23-March, 2016 The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post-facto approval to the Letter of Intent signed on 10.2.2016 between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India and the National Qualifications Authority of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E). 
•    The Letter of Intent will strengthen relations between the two countries and pave the way for bilateral cooperation between the two countries on skill development and recognition of qualifications. 
•    The Cabinet has also given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India and the National Qualifications Authority of the U.A.E. for cooperation in skill development and recognition of qualifications. 
•    The MoU will pave the way for bilateral cooperation between the two countries on skill development and recognition of qualifications. 
•    MoU will also facilitate workforce mobility, skill development and placement of youth in overseas jobs in UAE.