GK and Current Affairs Updates

Target of 1.5 crore connections fixed for the current financial year for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has been achieved within a span of less than 8 months and the scheme is being implemented now across 35 States/UTs.
●    Vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra  Modi to provide  clean cooking fuel to poor households in the country has been  taken forward through implementation of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).  An adult woman member of BPL family identified through Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC)  data is given a deposit free LPG connection with financial assistance  of  Rs. 1600/- per connection by Government of India.  
●    The announcement of releasing 5 crore LPG connections to BPL families over a period of three years was made with allocation of Rs 8000 crore in the Union Budget on 29.2.2016. Hon’ble  Prime Minister, Shri Narendra  Modi launched PMUY on 01.05.2016 from Balia, Uttar Pradesh. 
●    14 States/UTs having LPG coverage less than the national average, hilly states of J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and all North-East States are identified as priority states for implementing the scheme. 
●    The top five States with maximum connections are UP (46 lakh), West Bengal (19 lakh), Bihar (19 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (17 lakh) and Rajasthan (14 lakh).  These States constitutes nearly 75% of the total connections released.  The households belonging to SC/ST constitute large chunk of beneficiaries with 35% of the connections being released to them. 
●    It is also noteworthy that with the implementation of PMUY, the national LPG coverage  has increased from 61% (as on 1.1.2016) to 70% (as on 01.12.2016).

In continuation with its earlier announcement of providing 10% rebate in the basic fare on the vacant berths/seats after preparation of first chart in Rajdhani/Duronto/Shatabdi trains.
●    Indian Railways has decided to extend this rebate in the reserved class of all other trains w.e.f. 01.01.2017 on an experimental basis for six months.
●     The detailed provisions are as under
●    1.1. 10% rebate shall be applicable on the base fare of last ticket sold for a particular class and train just before preparation of first chart.
●    1.2. Reservation fee and superfast charge as applicable shall be levied in full & service tax etc. as applicable shall be levied.
●    1.3. 10% discount shall also be applicable for allotment of vacant berths (due to non-turned up passengers) in the train by TTEs.

From the first day of the new year, 1st January, 2017, additional power transfer of 80MW to Nepal is expected to commence. With this, the total supply of electricity to Nepal from India will be about 400 MW.
●    Shri Janardan Sharma, Minister of Energy, Government of Nepal, in a recent visit to India, held discussions with Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Government of India. Besides reviewing cooperation and expanding ties between the two countries in the power/energy sector, Minister of Energy of Nepal requested for an additional supply of 80 MW from India to alleviate power shortage in Nepal due to seasonal reduction in supply from domestic hydro projects in winter months. 
●    In a swift response to this request, within a period of 20 days, the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) installed an additional 220/132kV, 100MVA transformer at Muzaffarpur substation in India. This transformer will facilitate additional power supply up to 80MW to Nepal through the Muzaffarpur (India) - Dhalkebar (Nepal) transmission line. With this augmentation, a total of 160 MW can now be supplied to Nepal through this transmission line.
●    The electrical grids of India and Nepal are connected through various radial lines at 132kV, 33kV and 11kV voltage levels. Prior to February 2016, as per the request received from Nepal from time to time, various short-term augmentation schemes were carried out which resulted in enhancement of power flow to Nepal from 50MW to about 240MW.
●    In February 2016, Prime Ministers of India and Nepal inaugurated the first high capacity 400kV cross-border line, initially being operated at 132kV, from Muzaffarpur in India to Dhalkebar in Nepal. This had resulted in additional flow of 80 MW, enhancing the total power supply to Nepal to about 320MW.

The Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, had held a review meeting on implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 on 26.10.2016. During the meeting, some cases of sexual harassment pending with certain ministries/ departments were also examined. On the basis of the discussions, it was decided that DoPT will issue fresh instructions so that some of the issues can be suitably addressed.
●    On the basis of the decisions taken, DoPT has issued fresh guidelines regarding Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace vide their Office Memorandum dated 22.12.2016. According to the O.M., following have to be observed by the ministries/departments and Internal Complaints Committees:
●    Brief details of the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act including the number of cases received and disposed shall form a part of the Annual Report of all ministries/ departments and authorities there under.
●    The enquiry of cases must be completed within 30 days and under any circumstances within 90 days from the date of the complaint.
●    The ministries/ departments etc. have to keep a watch on the complainant so as to ensure that she is not victimized in any manner because of her having filed the complaint. The aggrieved woman has been given further option to send representation to the Secretary or head of the organization in case she feels that she is being victimized because of her complaint. The concerned authority will be required to dispose of this complaint within 15 days.
●    All ministries/ departments etc. are now required to submit a monthly progress report to the Ministry of Women and Child Development so that the progress can be monitored.

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has captured an up—close image of the red planet’s mountainous landscape, with purple-coloured rocks littered across the foreground.
●    The image captured from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Curiosity Mars rover shows purple—hued rocks near the rover’s late—2016 location on lower Mount Sharp.
●    The scene’s middle distance includes higher layers that are future destinations for the mission.
●    Variations in colour of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition on lower Mount Sharp, NASA said.
●    The purple tone of the foreground rocks has been seen in other rocks where Curiosity’s Chemical and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument has detected hematite.

Government has suspended the deemed recognition, granted by it to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) until the IOA reverses its decision to appoint Shri Suresh Kalmadi and Shri Abhay Chautala as Life Presidents.   
●    Following the suspension, IOA will cease to enjoy the privileges and prerogatives bestowed on it by the Government as the National Olympic Committee (NOC).  All Government assistance, financial or otherwise, to IOA will also be stopped. 
●    Government issued a show cause notice to IOA on 28th December, 2016 after the General Body meeting of IOA passed a resolution on 27th December,2016 to appoint Shri Suresh Kalmadi and Shri Abhay Chautala, both of whom have been charge-sheeted, as its Life Presidents.  
●    IOA was required to reply to the show cause notice by 5 p.m. today.  In their response, IOA today sought extension of time up to 15th January,2017 for replying to the show cause notice, stating that President, IOA was out of the country and they needed to consult him. 
●    Government is not satisfied with the response of IOA since they have not given any substantive reply especially with regard to the non-eligibility of Shri Suresh Kalmadi and Shri Abhay Chautala. Government considers the reply of IOA only as a ploy to buy time. 
●    This is a serious violation of the norms of good governance by IOA which is the mother sports body and corrective action needs to be taken immediately as it is a matter of national prestige and public sentiments.

The President of India has approved the promulgation of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 today i.e. on 30th December, 2016.
●    The Ordinance is a follow-up to the decision taken by the Government of India to cancel the legal tender character of the existing series of banknotes, as on November 8, 2016, in the denominations of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 (Specified Bank Notes-SBNs) in circulation.
●    The main objectives of the Ordinance are
●    to provide clarity and finality to the liability of the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India for the SBNs; 
●    to provide an opportunity to those persons who were unable to deposit the SBNs within the time provided; and 
●    to declare holding, transferring or receiving SBNs as illegal, with provisions for penalty for contravention of any of the provisions of the Ordinance.
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched ‘BHIM’ mobile App to make digital payments and transactions easier for citizens. Named after Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the ‘BHIM’ App can be downloaded from android phones.
●    On the last day of the 50-day window provided by the government to citizens to exchange or deposit their old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations, PM Modi launched the new App at the ‘DigiDhan Mela’ programme at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi.
●    PM Modi awarded students who have made posters, songs and slogans to spread the message of digital payments to their families, schools. 
●    Village level entrepreneurs who have helped their fellow villagers move to digital payments were also awarded by the PM.
●    The government is organising ‘DigiDhan Mela’ in 100 cities of the country over 100 days to promote digital payments and announce the winners of Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana. 
●    Conceptualised by the Niti Aaayog, DigiDhan Melas will take place until March.

Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, mother of actress Carrie Fisher, passed away on 28 December 2016 following a brief illness. She was 84.
●    Her death came just one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher, who died on 27 December 2016 following a heart attack.
●    She was born as Mary Frances Reynolds in April 1932. It was Warner Brothers who changed her name to Debbie.
●    She made her feature acting debut in 1950 in The Daughter of Rosie O`Grady.
●    She was signed by MGM in 1950 and that year, Reynolds performed the hit duet Aba Daba Honeymoon with Carleton Carpenter. 
●    Reynolds rose to stardom in the film Singin` In the Rain in which she starred opposite Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Donald O`Connor, Fred Astaire, and Dick Van Dyke. 
●    Her fame grew with leading roles in Susan Slept Here with Dick Powell, The Tender Trap with Frank Sinatra, Bundle of Joy with then-husband Fisher, It Started with A Kiss with Glenn Ford and The Pleasure of His Company with Astaire.
●    She was nominated for Best Actress performance in Academy Awards for the 1964 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

In a landmark moment, the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and President of the United States Barack Obama visited Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to offer condolences to the victims of the surprise Japanese bombing on US naval base 75 years ago.
●    The meeting of the two leaders at the memorial site was another move towards reconciliation.
●    Both the leaders used the ceremony to encourage their citizens to reconcile and move forward.  
●    Though Abe did not apologise for the attack, he did offer his most sincere and everlasting condolences to the victims and stated that Japan had taken a solemn vow to never wage a war ever again. 
●    Abe also visited the USS Arizona Memorial, which was built in 1962 in the memory of the American sailors and Marines who lay buried in the wreckage of the battleship, sunk by the Japanese during the attack. 
●    Both Abe and Obama sought to guide their citizens to embrace reconciliation and remembrance.
●    Though Abe is not the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit the historic site, he is the first to do so with a US President and the first one to visit Arizona Memorial.