GK & Current Affairs March 2016

The Union Finance Minister Aurn Jaitley on 22 March 2016 launched the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana in Mumbai.
The revamped scheme is aimed at reducing distress in the farm sector and to boost the agricultural sector in the country.
On this occassion, the Minister also launched the NABARD Agri-Credit Monitoring portal to help financial institutions to monitor the status of agricultural loans given to farmer and unveiled the Roadmap of E-Shakti Expansion Programme of digitization of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
• To avail the scheme, farmers will pay a uniform premium of only 2 percent for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for all Rabi crops.
• In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, farmers will pay a premium of only 5 percent.
• The balance premium, after farmers paying the premium at very low rate, will be paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
• There will not be any upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90 percent, it will be borne by the Government.
• Compared to the previous agriculture insurance schemes, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana is significant due to the following reasons -• Under the previous agriculture insurance schemes, there was a provision of capping the

premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. This capping limited the Government outgo on the premium subsidy.
• Now, this capping was removed and farmers will get full sum insured without any reduction against their claim. Also, farmers will have to pay much lower premiums compared to the previous schemes.
• While formulating the scheme, localized risks, including post harvest losses were also taken into account to ensure no farmer is alone in times of distress.
• The usage of technology will be encouraged to a great extent. Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers.
• Remote sensing technology will also be deployed to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.

The Union Cabinet has approved the national capital goods policy on 23 march 2016.
•    The government believes implementation of the capital goods policy is critical and needed to give a boost to the sector and the 'Make in India' initiative. 
•    The government had unveiled the National Capital Goods Policy in February. 
•    This is the first time such a policy has been framed for the sector. 
•    The Cabinet has also green flagged the doubling of two rail lines in Bihar and Jharkhand and approved incentives for rural housing. 
•    MS Unnikrishnan, Managing Director of Thermax welcomed the capital goods policy, saying it would improve trade and exports and also pave the way for advances in technology. 
•    The policy will make sure the country utilizes the capital goods that already exist and cut down on import. 
•    The capacity utilization for the industry as a whole would be between 45 percent and 70 percent, adding, Thermax operated at a capacity level of 50 percent-60 percent. 
•    Indian companies will find themselves exporting capital goods into countries where there is a trade deficit. 
•    Long-term loans will be made available to these companies through the likes of EXIM bank. 

Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and former Chief Justice of India HL Dattu on 22 March 2016 was appointed a member of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) Bureau in Geneva.
NHRC, India will now be representing Asia-Pacific Region along with Mongolia, Qatar and Australia.
No other National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) from the Asia Pacific region nominated a candidate against Dattu to fill the position of a member vacated by the representative of NHRI of South-Korea.
• The International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) is a global network of NHRIs administrative bodies set up to promote, protect and monitor human rights in a given country.
• The ICC coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the United Nations human rights system.
• The ICC Bureau is an important human rights body, which serves as the Management Committee of the ICC.
• The ICC Bureau implements all the decisions of the ICC General Meetings and directs the operations of the ICC between these meetings.
• All sub-committees and working groups report to the ICC Bureau.

The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve was on 19 March 2016 included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It is one among the 20 new sites adopted by the council to its Network.
It was included at the meeting of the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere programme of UNESCO in Lima.
• Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is located in the Western Ghats, in the southern part of India.
• The biosphere reserve includes peaks reaching 1868 meters above sea level and comprises mostly of tropical forests.
• It is home to 2254 species of higher plants including about 400 that are endemic.
• It is also a unique genetic reservoir of cultivated plants especially cardamom, jamune, nutmeg, pepper and plantain.
• The site includes three wildlife sanctuaries, Shendurney, Peppara, Neyyar and Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger reserve.
•    Besides Agasthyamala, 17 national sites and one trans-boundary site shared between Spain and Portugal were also included in the UNESCO’s Network of Biosphere Reserve. The Council also approved 9 extensions to existing Biosphere Reserves.
•    Following the withdrawal of two sites at the request of Austria, the total number of biosphere reserves now stands at 669 in 120 countries, including 16 trans-boundary sites.
•    It was created by UNESCO in the early 1970s as an intergovernmental scientific endeavour to improve relations between people around the world and their natural environment. 
•    Biosphere reserves are places for learning about sustainable development aiming to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with the sustainable use of natural resources.
•    New reserves are designated each year by the International Co-ordinating Council of the Programme, which brings together elected representatives of 34 UNESCO Member States.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 22 March 2016 announced that India will host the 8th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit from 15 October to 16 October 2016 in Goa.
India will host the summit in its capacity as chair of the influential bloc comprising five countries with 42% of the world population and combined GDP of over 16 trillion US dollars.
India assumed chairmanship of BRICS from Russia on 15 February 2016 and it will last till 31 December 2016.
The minister also unveiled a logo and a website of the Summit in New Delhi. The logo for the Summit is a lotus having colours from all the five member countries and a traditional Namaste in the centre.
The theme of India’s BRICS Chairmanship is Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions.
• Institution building to further deepen, sustain and institutionalise BRICS cooperation
• Implementation of the decisions from previous Summits
• Integrating the existing cooperation mechanisms
• Innovation: New cooperation mechanisms on government-to-government, Track-II, business-to-business and people-to-people to tap the full potential of BRICS cooperation
• Continuity: Continuation of mutually agreed existing BRICS cooperation mechanisms.
In 2015, the seventh BRICS summit was held from 8 to 9 July in the Russian city of Ufa in Bashkortostan.

Maharashtra top legal officer Shreehari Aney submitted his resignation on 22/03/2016 morning to Governor Vidyasagar Rao.
•    Mr Aney, was asked to step down after a furore in the state assembly over his controversial speech where he advocated separate statehood for Maharashtra's backward region of Marathwada.
•    The advocate general is the top legal officer who advises the government and defends the state in courts. 
•    Government was struggling to defend him.
•    Mr Aney had made another controversial comment by backing the demand for statehood for Vidarbha. 
•    Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had backed him.
•    Aney had been handpicked by Fadnavis for the coveted post last year. 
•    Aney said he decided to step down as he reckoned Budget Session failure could prove detrimental for the government.
•    Making it clear that he was not asked by the chief minister or the governor to resign, Aney cited two reasons — “conflict of duty and institutional stability”. 

The India-Russia Joint Commission meeting was held on 22/03/2016 to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries. 
•    The Russian delegation was chaired by Mr. Vladimir Andreevich Puchkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination Consequences of Natural Disasters and the Indian delegation was chaired by Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh. 
•    India is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world, Floods, droughts, cyclones and landslides are common hazards. 
•    Rijiju said that the field of Disaster Management would initiate new era of friendship that will enable both sides to work in close proximity in order to minimize the risk we face due to increased frequency of natural calamities. 
•    India has adopted an integrated approach to ensure sustainable, inclusive development. 
•    Earlier the Russian delegation visited the Headquarters of 
•    The 10 member Russian delegation, senior officers of MHA, NDRF and NDMA attended the meeting.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the foundation plaque of Dr Ambedkar National Memorial on 21-03-2016 to be constructed at 26, Alipur Road, Delhi where Dr Ambedkar breathed his last.
 
•    Modi said Dr Ambedkar contribution to the nation is immense. Most of the programmes being taken by the government now had been visualized by him only. 
•    Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Thawarchand Gehlot said the Government has organized year long celebrations to commemorate 125th anniversary of Dr Ambedkar and five places related with life and work Dr Ambedkar are being developed as ‘Panch Theerath’. 
•    This Mahaprinirvana Sthal will have Exhibition Halls, Office, Library, Cafeteria, Dormitory and other purposes. 
•    It will also have Bheem Stumbh at the Entrance and Meditation Hall at the back. 
•    He said that, since this building is to be constructed as memorial of Baba Saheb who was creator of the constitution of India, it is designed in the shape of the book. 
•    The cost of this project is Rs. 95 crores and would be completed by end of March 2018.

Punjab Legislative Assembly on 22 March 2016 passed The Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness Bill, 2016. 
•    The bill specifies that the interest payable on debt shall be calculated at such rate as may be notified by the government.
•    This would be in accordance with the interest rates charged by banks on yearly basis.
•    The bill, aimed at providing fair and expeditious settlement of agriculturists debt-related disputes.
•    It also specifies that the pledged property of the debtor who has repaid to the creditor double or more than double the principal amount or pays any amount which makes the total repayment equal to double the principal amount shall stand released and debt deemed to be discharged.
•    Legislation also proposed that on and from the commencement of the Act, no Civil Court shall entertain any new suit filed for the recovery of any debt covered under the Act.
•    Once the Act is enforced, any suit pending before a civil court, in respect of any such debt shall be transferred by that court to the Forum having jurisdiction in the matter.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 20 March 2016 won the 2016 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.
Rosberg's 15th Formula One victory was also his fourth in succession after he won the final three races of last season.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of 2015 Australian Grand Prix, secured the second place in the race.
• The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually in Australia, currently under contract to host Formula One until 2023.
• The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 79 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928.
• Since 1985, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship and is currently held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne.
• Prior to its inclusion in the World Championship, it was held at a multitude of venues in every state of Australia.
• It became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1985.
• The winner of the race is presented with a circular plate, recently named the Jack Brabham trophy, and a perpetual trophy, the Lex Davison trophy.