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India's trade deficit with China rises to $ 53 billion in FY16

India’s trade deficit with China increased to $52.69 billion in 2015-16 from $48.48 billion in the previous financial year, Parliament was informed on Monday.
●    During the April-September period of 2016-17, the deficit is at $25.22 billion, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
●    She added that efforts are being made to increase overall exports by diversifying the trade basket with emphasis on manufactured goods, services, resolution of market access issues and other non-tariff barriers.
●    India and China are WTO members, any restrictions imposed on trade needs to be WTO compliant.
●    No blanket ban can be imposed on China or any other member country under the WTO framework, she added.
●    India’s import of bulk drugs from China stood at $1.63 billion in 2015-16, which constitutes 64 per cent of India’s total bulk drug imports. 
●    Overall, India had imported such drugs worth $2.5 billion last fiscal.

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Govt approves strategic disinvestment of Salem Steel Plant

Government has in-principle approved strategic disinvestment of loss-making subsidiary of Indias largest steelmaker SAIL, Salem Steel Plant (SSP). 
●    SSP, a special steel unit of state-run SAIL, pioneered the supply of wider width stainless steel sheets and coils in the country. 
●    SSP is a loss-making unit of Maharatna firm SAIL. 
●    It has been consistently making losses for the last 5 years despite investment of around Rs 2,200 crore by SAIL under the modernisation and expansion project of SSP.
●    The Salem plant can produce austenitic, ferritic, martensitic and low-nickel stainless steel in the form of coils and sheets with an installed capacity of 70,000 tonnes per annum in cold rolling mill as well as 3.64 lakh tonnes a year in hot rolling mill.
●    Its steel melting shop can produce 1,80,000 tonnes of slabs per annum. 
●    Besides, the plant has the countrys first top-of-the-line stainless steel blanking facility with a capacity of 3,600 tonnes per year of coin blanks and utility blanks/circles.

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Great Barrier Reef sees largest coral die-off ever

A mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef this year killed more corals than ever before, scientists said on Tuesday.
●    The 2,300-kilometre long reef — the world’s biggest — suffered its most severe bleaching in recorded history, due to warming sea temperatures during March and April.
●    Further south over the vast central and southern regions, including major tourist areas around Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands, there was a much lower toll.
●    Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour.
●    Algae are vital to the coral, which uses the organic products of photosynthesis to help it grow.
●    The loss of algae makes the host vulnerable to disease and means it will eventually die.
●    However, coral can recover if the water temperature drops and the algae are able to recolonise them.
●    Environmentalists blame the burning of fossil fuels for global warming and repeated calls for Australia to abandon coal mining to help prevent further bleaching disasters.

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'Indian Police at Your Call' mobile app launched

An app launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday helps the citizen locate the nearest police stations wherever he or she is. 
●    Indian Police app provides the names of the police stations, the telephone numbers, the distance from the place where you are and how much time it will take to reach whichever police station one wants to go to. 
●    The features of the app, are citizen-friendly. 
●    The app provides the police station number, the control room number and also the SP office number. 
●    The app was developed by NIC.
●    Narendra Modi inaugurated the app during the conference of DGPs at the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Police Academy.
●    The Mobile App has been developed on Android and iOS platforms and is available for free download from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. 
●    Indian Police at Your Call App is a Digital India initiative aimed at the safety and security of the citizen anytime anywhere.

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India, EU medicine dispute issue settled

In a significant victory for the global access to medicines campaign, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dropped the term ‘counterfeit’ and retained ‘falsified’ to describe medicines of inferior quality.
●    The terms were being used interchangeably to confiscated Indian made generic drugs exported to other countries by showing that they were in violation of intellectual property.
●    The European Union Free Trade Agreement (EU FTA) had reached a deadlock after affordable, safe-to-use generic drugs made in India were confiscated as ‘illegal’ and ‘counterfeit.’ 
●    Nearly 20 shipments of generic drugs, including basic antibiotics and antiretrovirals, were detained while in transit from India to several developing countries via Europe between 2008 and 2009, derailing the free trade agreement negotiations.
●    Big pharmaceutical companies were using the term ‘counterfeit’ to describe generic medicines and disrupting trade of generic medicines.


 

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Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of MSME Technology Centre at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 

Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) laid the Foundation Stone for MSME Technology Centre at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh today in the presence of Shri Ram Naik, Governor of Uttar Pradesh and Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism & Culture and other dignitaries. A National Vendor Development Programme (NVDP) Exhibition was also organized during this event. 
●    Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said that Technology Centre at Greater Noida will focus to cater to ESDM sector development, Innovation & design services, prototyping, testing & calibration, incubation and training in Electronic Repair & Maintenance and Computer Hardware & software would be the prominent activities to be undertaken by the Technology Centre. 
●    Shri Ram Naik, Governor, Uttar Pradesh, on the occasion said that timely completion of the Technology Centre is very important for the development of the State. 
●    Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/c), Ministry of Tourism & Culture said that these Technology Centre will go a long way in developing the skills of the people in this region. It will also help in increasing the odds of getting skilled jobs for the people. 
●    Shri Surendra Nath Tripathi, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner (MSME) while welcoming the dignitaries conveyed thanks to State Government of Uttar Pradesh for allotment 15 acres of land free of cost for the Project and assured that all efforts would be made to complete the project in a time bound manner. 

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Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship sign MoU

The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) here today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to scale up skill development initiatives in the Hydrocarbon and allied sectors among other areas of cooperation. The MoU was signed by Secretary MSDE Shri Rohit Nandan and Secretary, MoPNG Shri K. D. Tripathi in the presence of Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
 
●    Welcoming contribution from the hydrocarbon sector, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, the hydrocarbon sector has tremendous potential for employment generation, and hence it is vital to develop a skilled workforce to meet both current and future needs. The setting up of the Hydrocarbons SSC is the first step in that direction. He said, with today’s partnership, both Ministries commit to develop globally benchmarked workforce for the sector so that lakhs of youth can aspire for better economic opportunities through skill development programs.
●    MoPNG has now formally joined hands with MSDE to:
●    Develop comprehensive skill development plans for existing and potential workforce in alignment with National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)
●    Certify existing workforce in the hydrocarbon sector for Recognition of Prior Learning under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
●    Promote and scale-up apprenticeship training under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme
●    Facilitate the setting-up of Skill Development Institutes/Centres of Excellence for vocational training to meet sectoral needs

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Lt General AK Bhatt appointed as new DGMO

Lt-General A K Bhatt was on 28 November 2016 appointed as the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO).
●    Lt-Gen Bhatt will succeed Lt-General Ranbir Singh, who declared at a press briefing that Army Special Forces had conducted surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on 29 September 2016.
●    While, Lt-Gen Ranbir Singh will now head the 1 Corps (headquarters at Mathura), which is one of four strike corps among the 14 corps of the 1.3 million strong Army. He will replace Lt-Gen Shokin Chauhan, who in turn has been appointed as the director-general of Assam Rifles.
●    General Dalbir Singh Suhag and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha will retire from their posts on 31 December 2016.
●    Bhatt belongs to the Gorkha Rifles.
●    He has earlier served in the Military Operations Directorate as a Brigadier.
●    He is currently posted as the Additional Director General of the Complaints and Advisory Board at the Army Headquarters after he commanded the 21 Division in Assam.

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Scientists discover new material for gen-next data storage devices

Scientists have developed a new material - the first ever magnetic photoconductor - that may lead to next generation of memory-storage systems, featuring higher capacities with low energy demands.
●    Scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland have now developed ferromagnetic photovoltaic material whose magnetic order can be rapidly changed without disrupting it due to heating.
●    Perovskite photovoltaics are gradually becoming a cheaper alternative to current silicon systems, drawing much interest from energy scientists.
●    Magnetism in material arises from the interactions of localised and moving electrons of the material; in a way, it is the result of competition between different movements of electrons.
●    This means that the resulting magnetic state is wired in the material and it cannot be reversed without changing the structure of electrons in the material's chemistry or crystal structure.
●    This new crystal structure combines the advantages of both ferromagnets, whose magnetic moments are aligned in a well-defined order, and photoconductors, where light illumination generates high density free conduction electrons.

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RBI relaxes cash withdrawal limits to increase deposits

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 28 November 2016 relaxed the cash withdrawal limit from the bank accounts with an aim to spur the deposits.
●    The depositors, who have made the deposits in the current legal tender notes, can now withdraw that amount over and above the weekly limit of Rs 24000.
●    This move comes as a relief for certain depositors who were hesitating to deposit their monies into bank accounts due to the current limits on cash withdrawals from accounts.
●    The Union Government on 8 November 2016 banned the legal tender of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes. 
●    Since then, this demonetisation plan has fetched Rs 8.1 lakh crore in bank accounts. On the other hand, around Rs 34000 crore had been exchanged till date.
●    In terms of total cash withdrawals, around Rs 2.16 lakh crore had been withdrawn as cash till date as per RBI record of 27 November 2016.

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