GK and Current Affairs Updates

Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a committee to prepare draft Ganga Act. Justice Shri Girdhar Malviya (Retd.) is the Chairman of the committee. Other members ot the committee are : Shri V.K.Bhasin, Ex-Secretary, Legislative Department, Govt of India, Prof. A.K. Gosain, llT Delhi and Prof. Nayan Sharma, llT Roorkee. Shri Sundeep, Director,National Mission for Clean Ganga is the Member Secretary. 

•    The Committee has been asked to prepre a Draft Act on Ganga ensuring wholesomeness of the River. The Act should have provisions to ensure cleanliness (Nirmalta) and uninterrupted e-flow (avirlta)) of Ganga. The Committee may take into consideration any other issue which it may deem fit in the drafting of the Act. The tenure of the Committee would be for a period of three months which may be extended by another three months, if required. 
•    Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti had said on 4th July, 2016 that a new act will be formulated for speedy implementation of Namami Gange programme. Chairing the 6th meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority in New Delhi the Minister had said that five Ganga basin states have agreed in principle to this idea. 
•    79 year old Justice Malviya who is Chairman of Ganga Mahasabha is associated with Ganga conservation movement. The Mahasabha was founded by his grandfather and founder of BHU Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya .

In order to contribute to mission ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by Prime Minister of India, Ministry of Railways have taken up a mammoth task of providing human discharge free bio-toilets in all its coaches and the same would be completed by September 2019. With provision of bio-toilets in all its coaches’ discharge of human waste from trains on to the ground would be completely stopped which in turn would help in improving cleanliness and hygiene. Ministry of Railways has already provided 40,750 bio-toilets in its coaches till 30th June, 2016 and in the current financial year, it is planned to fit additional 30,000 bio-toilets. 

•    To mark the beginning of this journey towards ‘Swachh Bharat’, Ministry of Railways is inaugurating ‘First Green Train Corridor-Rameswaram-Manamadurai’ free from human waste discharge from trains tomorrow i.e. 24.07.2016. The inauguration will be done from Chennai station by Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu through video conferencing between Chennai and Rameswaram station. 
•    The Rameswarm-Manamadurai (114 Kms) track was identified to make it Green Train Corridors- free from human waste discharge from trains. Accordingly, 10 passenger trains consisting of 286 coaches moving over this section have been provided with bio-toilets. 
•    After Rameswarm-Manamadurai, Okha-Kanalas Junction(141 Kms), Porbandar-Wansjaliya (34 Kms) and Jammu-Katra(78 Kms) would also be taken up for making them free from human waste discharge from trains. For this around 35 trains consisting of nearly 1110 coaches would be further provided with bio toilets and the work is underway. These sections and stations were chosen, because the number of trains originating and terminating at these stations and sections are few, thus making it operationally easier and faster to make them human-discharge free. 
•    Indian Railways in its commitment to provide hygienic environment to passengers and to keep station premises/tracks clean, have developed environment-friendly Bio-toilets for its passenger coaches. The technology has been developed jointly by Indian Railways (IR) and Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) for railway passenger coaches through an MoU. This environment friendly, low cost and robust technology, is the first of its kind in Railway Systems in the world. In the bio-toilet fitted coaches, human waste is collected in tanks below the toilets and the same is decomposed by a consortium of bacteria.

BJP Lok Sabha member Ganesh Singh on 22 July 2016 was appointed the new Chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Land Acquisition Bill.
After the appointment, Singh will have to move a resolution in the Lok Sabha seeking the seventh extension of the term of the panel.
•    Ganesh Singh is a member of the 16th Lok Sabha of India.
•    He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political party.
•    He represents the Satna constituency of Madhya Pradesh.
•    The Bill amends the principal Act passed in 2013.
•    The Bill enables the government to exempt five categories of projects from the requirements of: (i) social impact assessment, (ii) restrictions on acquisition of multi-cropped land, and (iii) consent for private projects and public private partnerships (PPPs) projects.
•    The five categories of projects are defence, rural infrastructure, affordable housing, industrial corridors, and infrastructure.
•    The Act deemed the head of a government department guilty for an offence by the department.  The Bill removes this, and adds the requirement of prior sanction to prosecute a government employee.

India test team captain Virat Kohli on 22 July 2016 became the first Indian captain to score a double century outside India.
Kohli scored 200 runs against West Indies on day two of the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in North Sound.
•    Virat Kohli is the fifth Indian captain to score a double century in a Test match after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (2013 vs England), Sunil Gavaskar (205 vs West Indies), Sachin Tendulkar (217 vs New Zealand) and MS Dhoni (224 vs Australia).
•    It is the highest score by an Indian skipper away from home. Mohammad Azharuddin had scored 192 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1990.
•    It is his highest score in first-class cricket and highest in Test cricket.
•    It is his highest score in the first innings as captain in West Indies. Earlier, Ricky Ponting has scored 158 in Kingston in 2008.
•    It is the third double hundred by a visiting captain in West Indies, after 205 by Len Hutton in Kingston in 1954 and 201 by Bob Simpson in Bridgetown in 1965.
•    It is the first double century for India outside the sub-continent since Wasim Jaffer's 212 in St. John's in 2006.

Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 25 projects under the Swadesh Darshan scheme worth Rs. 2048 Crore so far to 21 States and Union Territories since its launch of in January 2015. These States and UTs include Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura.
•    For North Eastern States, the Ministry has sanctioned 9 projects worth Rs. 821 Crores covering all the 8 states.
•    For Tribal areas, the Ministry has sanctioned 3 projects for Rs. 282 Crores to the SG of Nagaland, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
•    For Buddhist Circuit, the Ministry has sanctioned 2 projects worth Rs. 108.11 Crore to the SG of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
•    The Ministry of Tourism has launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 2014-15 with an objective to develop theme based tourist circuits in the country on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner by synergizing efforts to focus on needs and concerns of all stakeholders to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities. Under this scheme, 13 Thematic Circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.
•    The aim of the scheme are: 
•    To position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation;
•    To promote India as a global brand and a world class tourist destination;
•    To develop world class infrastructure in varied thematic circuits and pilgrimage sites;
•    To showcase full potential of wide range of unique products;
•    To provide complete tourism experience by enhancing tourist attractions;
•    Responsible Tourism Initiative- active involvement of local communities , pro-poor approach in a sustainable and inclusive manner.

Wrestler Narsingh has been detected by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) as dope positive. An Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) has been constituted by NADA under its rules for hearing the case. 
•    Its first hearing was held yesterday in which the wrestler was given an opportunity to defend himself. After the hearing, the panel has asked NADA for some further reports. 
•    After these reports are received, the panel would hold further hearing in the matter. 
•    ADDP is headed by a legal expert and includes doctors and sportspersons. 
•    NADA is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports to check doping in sports. 
•    India is committed to the World Anti-Doping code and follows prescribed procedures. 
•    Government does not interfere in the day-to-day functioning of NADA and is committed to total transparency and objectivity in matters relating to doping.

Kerala Tourism on 21 July 2016 won two Gold Gongs at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Awards.
•    Kerala Tourism bagged the award in recognition of its trend setting marketing initiatives, which have given a boost to the state's profile as a must-visit destination.
•    The awards were in the categories of Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media and E-Newsletter, which were grabbed by the successful Visit Kerala television commercial campaign and the popular Kerala Tourism E-Newsletter, respectively.
•    The awards will be presented at the PATA Gold Awards Luncheon and Presentation on 9 September 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
•    In 2015, Kerala Tourism was also awarded PATA Gold in the Heritage and Culture category for Muziris Heritage Project.
•    The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association.
•    It works to promote the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.
•    In 2011, PATA celebrate its 60th anniversary with a series of activities and events focused around the theme Building Tourism.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 20 July 2016 approved construction of a new dry dock within Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).
•    The dock at CSL will be developed at an estimated cost of 1799 crore rupees.
•    The project will augment the shipbuilding/ship repair capacity essentially required for tapping the market potential of building specialized and technologically advanced large vessels.
•    Large vessels include Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vessels, Indigenous Aircraft Carriers of higher capacity, Jack up Rigs, Drill ships, large Dredgers and repairing of offshore platforms and larger vessels.
•    This big sized dry dock is a critical requirement of CSL to promote ship building and is a step in the direction of "Make in India" initiative of the Government.
•    Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is one of the major shipbuilding and maintenance facilities in India. 
•    It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India.

The NITI Aayog on 19 July 2016 signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with Intel India to start the Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) initiative as a part of its flagship programme Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
•    The aim of setting up Atal Tinkering Laboratories is to build relevant skill sets among youngsters and to provide access to technology that will enable solutions. 
•    These laboratories intend to impact 250000 youth with innovation skills & skills for the future across 500 communities & schools. 
•    The initiative will enable the creation of millions of child innovators who will bloom into young entrepreneurs, thus enabling India’s unprecedented growth. 
•    Intel will co-lead the creation and management of ten ATLs as State Hubs. 
•    Intel will support NITI Aayog in building capacities of mentors and developing linkages with Maker ecosystem for quality improvement of projects made by youth, facilitating ideation, design thinking.
•    Intel will co-lead an innovation festival which reaches out to 500000 young innovators.

Indian professionals working in Japan on short term contracts of up to six years will no longer require to make any social security contribution in that country if they continue to make such payments in India with the two countries firming up an agreement in this regard.
•    Similarly, Japanese employees posted in India would enjoy the same benefit under provisions of the Indo-Japan Social Security agreement which will come into force on 1st October 
•    Besides benefiting the professionals in each other's country, the pact will provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion, employment facilitation and orderly migration.
•    The Social Security Agreement (SSA) between India and Japan was signed in Tokyo on November 16, 2012 and the administrative arrangement for implementation of the pact was exchanged between the two sides on June 9.
•    India has already signed SSAs with 15 countries -- Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Austria, and Australia.