GK and Current Affairs Updates

Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Joginder Jaswant Singh on 12 April 2016 was conferred the highest French civilian honor, Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honor).
•    It is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients. Singh was conferred the honour by French Ambassador to India Francois Richier.
•    He was chosen for the honor in recognition of his stellar role in modernizing the Indian Army. His initiations led to robust exchanges between the Indian and French armies, which in turn created enduring ties and promotion of mutual understanding between the two countries.
•    Legion of Honour is the highest French order for military and civil merits.
•    It was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
•    The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand'Croix (Grand Cross).
•    The order's motto is Honneur et Patrie (Honour and Fatherland) and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the River Seine in Paris.

Royal Mail of British on 12 April 2016 honoured playwright William Shakespeare by issuing a set of special postage stamps to mark the 400th anniversary of his death. They will be sold at 8000 post offices across Britain.
•    It published ten first class stamps featuring famous phrases from the playwright’s repertoire to mark the impact of his writing on the present day.
•    The stamps are the latest of many commemoration items and events to remember Shakespeare who was born in 1564 to become an actor, poet and playwright as well as a businessman. Shakespeare is believed to have died on his birthday 23 April 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon.
•    Famous lines from the plays of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet are included in the new collection, while a special postmark saying William Shakespeare 1564-1616 will appear on letters as part of the commemoration this week.
•    His plays are continually performed and re-interpreted throughout the world, making him arguably the most influential writer of all time.
•    He introduced around 1700 words and phrases into the English language, including assassination and all's well that ends well.

India and the US on 12 April 2016 agreed in principle to conclude a logistics exchange agreement to enable both militaries to use each other's assets and bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
•    The agreement on Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) was reached after delegation-level talks between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and visiting US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter in New Delhi.
•    The agreement, which was cleared during the meet and will be signed in coming months, does not entail deployment of American troops on Indian soil.
•    To set up a new bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue between officials of defence and foreign affairs ministries
•    To enhance on-going navy-to-navy discussions to cover submarine-related issues
•    Both countries will deepen cooperation in maritime domain awareness by finalising a ‘White Shipping’ agreement in the near future.
•    LEMOA traditionally known as the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) facilitates the provision of logistical support, supplies and services between the US military and armed forces of partner countries on a reimbursable basis. It also provides a framework that governs the exchange of logistics support, supplies and services.
•    The logistic support agreement with India was earlier proposed in 2004 but it was resisted by the then UPA government for a decade. The then defence minister AK Anthony saw the agreement as intrusive and compromising on India’s non-aligned stance.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Ragbubar Das on 10 April 2016 announced that the government would reserve two percent employment in various departments for meritorious sportspersons of the state.
•    The announcement was made at the inaugural function of the National Archery Championship (Indian round) at Arjuna stadium.
•    At present, two percent job quota for medal-winning sportspersons is there only in state police department, it was extended to all departments.
•    A Kamal (lotus) Club will be set up in each panchayat, block and district level of the state to promote talented sportspersons.
•    A residential football training centre will be set up in a month's time in Kharswan while the fourth Archery training centre of the state will be set up at Kumardungi High School, Chaibasa (West Singhbhum) in 2016.
•    The state government has already set up archery training centres at Seraikela, Dumka and Silli.
•    The state government has been providing 3000 rupees stipend to archers whereas, the welfare department provide 3 lakhs rupees for purchase of equipment.

India and Maldives on 11 April 2016 singed six agreements to boost the bilateral relations between the two countries.The agreements were inked in New Delhi during the two-day official visit of Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to India.
•    Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation of income - The Agreement seeks to avoid double taxation of income derived from international air transport.
•    Agreement for the Exchange of Information with respect to Taxes – It envisages mutual assistance for exchange of information that is relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws concerning taxes covered by the Agreement. It also includes exchange of information relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation and prosecution of tax matters.
•    Bilateral Agreement related to Orbit Frequency Coordination of "South Asia Satellite” proposed at 48oE – It will be used for the purpose of performing intersystem orbit-frequency coordination for the operation of ‘South Asia Satellite’. It will also be used for fulfilling ITU level regulatory requirements and obtaining international level protection/recognition for the ‘South Asia Satellite’.
•    MoU for Cooperation in the area of conservation and restoration of ancient mosques and joint research and exploratory surveys in Maldives - It proposes for development of detailed proposals for such projects by Archaeological Survey of India and Department of Heritage, Maldives.
•    MoU on cooperation in the field of Tourism - It envisages cooperation in areas of tourism including expansion of bilateral cooperation and exchange of information and data related to tourism. It seeks to encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders including Hotels and Tour Operators and establishing exchange programmes for cooperation in Human Resource Development. It seeks investment in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors and exchange visits of Tour Operators/Media/Opinion Makers for promotion of two way tourism.
•    It looks forward for exchange of experience in the areas of promotion, marketing, destination development and management. It also looks for participation in travel fairs/exhibitions in each other’s country and promoting safe, honourable and sustainable tourism.
•    Action Plan for Defence Cooperation – It is an important component of the India-Maldives bilateral relationship and the shared strategic and security interests of the two countries in the Indian Ocean region. It envisages an institutional mechanism at the level of the Defence Secretaries to further bilateral defence cooperation.

The Information & Broadcasting ministry on 11 April 2016 constituted a three-member committee to check violations of the Supreme Court guidelines with regard to content in government advertising. The committee was formed in compliance with the Supreme Court directions dated 13 May 2015.
•    The committee is headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B BTandon. Apart from Tandon, the other two members of the committee are Rajat Sharma, Editor-in-Chief of India TV, and Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman South Asia, Ogilvy and Mather.
•    The three member committee was selected by a three member panel constituted by ministry after obtaining advice from the Law ministry. The selection panel for constitution of the committee was headed by Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, Chairman, Press Council of India.
•    Under the terms of reference, the committee will address complaints from the general public of violation on the implementation of the guidelines set out by the Supreme Court.
•    The committee will also take suomotu cognizance of any violation/deviation of the guidelines of the Supreme Court and recommend corrective action to the ministry department.
•    The committee may recommend suitable changes to the Supreme Court guidelines to deal with new circumstances and situations that may arise from time to time, without making major policy changes within the policy direction of Supreme Court.
•    The tenure of the members will be initially for a period of two years, which shall be extendable by one year at a time, but overall extension should not be more than two times.
•    The committee will be operational from Delhi and the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity would facilitate day to day functioning of the committee.
•    The Supreme Court on 13 May 2015 had laid down criteria as per which government advertisements can only carry pictures of certain dignitaries like the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.
•    Subsequently, the apex court modified its earlier order. It allowed that Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors and State Ministers can now appear in government advertisements.

Indus Towers, the country's largest telecom tower firm, on 11 April 2016 appointed Hemant Kumar Ruia as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
•    Before joining Indus Towers, Ruia worked as CFO at the Reliance Retail Ltd. At Reliance, he played the role of business partner across various brands with Reliance Retail - Reliance Fresh, Digital, Jewellery, Trends, Footwear and Reliance Markets.
•    Ruia started his career with Larsen & Toubro and has since worked with ICI India Ltd and Reckitt Benkiser India. He also served as the CFO of Agro Tech Food Ltd, a subsidiary of ConAgra Foods Inc, for over seven years.
•    Indus Towers is an independently managed company offering passive infrastructure services to all telecom operators and other wireless services providers.
•    It was incorporated in November 2007.
•    The company has 118687 towers in 15 circles across the country. It has the widest coverage in India and has already achieved 265606 tenancies, a first in the telecom tower industry globally.

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at its Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) have discovered a way to forecast earthquakes based on tremors or earthquakes below a Richter scale of 2.
•    The study, led by Indian-origin researcher Deepa MeleVeedu, was published in scientific journal Nature on 4 April 2016.
•    So far, scientists believed that larger earthquakes are unlikely to occur following tremors or earthquakes below a Richter scale of 2 that are caused by small vibrations or slow fault movements.
•    However, the NTU team found that not only do these vibrations potentially point to an impending earthquake, but they also discovered a discernible pattern to them.
•    The team’s latest findings could potentially be applied in the seismic monitoring of the area to help better forecast large earthquakes in the region.
•    The discovery defied the understanding of how faults accumulate and release stress over time. These vibration patterns are caused by alternating slow and fast ruptures occurring on the same patch of a fault.
•    If only slow movements are detected, it does not mean that a large earthquake cannot happen there. On the contrary, the same area of the fault can rupture in a catastrophic earthquake.
•    Seismic hazards in the Southeast Asia region will probably come from an impending large earthquake in the Mentawai seismic gap in Sumatra, Indonesia – a current area of active monitoring and investigation.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) on 10 April 2016 announced that after a century of constant decline, global wild tiger populations have increased.
•    According to the most recent data, around 3890 tigers now exist in the wild, which is up by 22 percent from an estimated 3200 in 2010.
•    This rise in the number of tigers can be attributed to increase in tiger population in tiger survey countries, namely India, Russia, Nepal, and Bhutan and enhanced protection of the specie through use of latest technology.
•    Further, the support of government of different countries, law enforcement agencies, and local communities to WWF in its advocacy of zero tolerance for tiger poaching across Asia also led to increase in tiger population.
•    Governments of countries with tiger populations came together in 2010 in Russia to pledge the goal of doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022.
•    Although the target of doubling their population is not achieved but to make sure that the goal is achieved at time, these countries have planned to meet again in April 2016 to report on their progress and commit to next steps to help tigers to rebound.
•    The 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation takes off on 12 April 2016 in New Delhi. The conference will see participation of more than 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders from all Tiger Range Countries. During the conference they will discuss issues related to tiger conservation and ant poaching strategies during three-day event
•    India: 2226
•    Russia: 433
•    Indonesia: 371
•    Malaysia: 250
•    Nepal: 198
•    Thailand: 189
•    Bangladesh: 106
•    Bhutan: 103
•    Besides, tiger population is also found in countries like Myanmar, China and Laos PDR.
•    Although, this increase in tiger population is welcome news for conservationists and wildlife lovers but the question arises on how to manage the pace of their growth.
•    The question is pertinent because in recent past we have seen death of at least 27 tigers in India itself of which 9 alone were recorded in Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, 11 instances were recorded in which tiger bone and skin was seized from poachers.
•    In first 10 days of April 2016, at least three tiger deaths were recorded across Chandrapur (Maharashtra), Ranthambore (Rajasthan) and Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh).

The Tata group has started disentangling itself from Corus Group Plc., agreeing on 11th April 2016 to sell one of its main steelworks to investment firm Greybull Capital Llp.
•    Under the agreement, which will save about 4,800 jobs, Greybull Capital will pay a nominal £1 for the entire long-products business and take over its assets and liabilities.
•    The deal includes a £400 million investment and financing package for the business, as well as agreements with suppliers and unions on cutting costs.
•    The transaction came at the start of the formal sale process of Tata Steel Ltd’s UK assets, which it acquired in 2007 through the $12.9 billion (around £9.2 billion today) purchase of Corus Group.
•    Tata Steel signaled its intention to divest the business at the end of March, saying it couldn’t sustain the losses it was taking any longer. The company said that it will consider various restructuring options, including a partial or full sale of its UK assets, putting in jeopardy nearly 15,000 jobs.
•    The deal with Greybull will save about a third of those jobs—4,400 in the UK in addition to 400 in France.
•    The sale covers several UK-based assets including Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teeside, an engineering workshop in Workington and a design consultancy in York along with a mill in Hayange, France.
•    In a separate statement, Greybull added that it would take over the associated sales and distribution network as well. Products from this division would now sell under the brand British Steel, Greybull said.
•    The deal is subject to the resolution of conditions including transfer of contracts, government approvals and the completion of financing arrangements, Tata Steel Europe said in a statement. Deal closure may take eight weeks.
•    Greybull is arranging the £400 million investment and financing package for the business from a combination of banks and shareholders to fund working capital and future investments, it said.
•    The existing management team will stay and run the business, implementing the plan that they have drawn up to return the company to profitability. The search for a permanent chief executive officer (CEO) has started and an appointment will be made in due course, Greybull said.
•    Hans Fischer, CEO of Tata Steel’s European operations, said the company was pleased with the deal.
•    Tata Steel Europe has appointed KPMG Llp as advisers for the sale of its UK assets.
•    KPMG and Slaughter and May also advised Tata Steel UK on the successful divestment of the long products division.
•    Greybull is not taking on pension liabilities under the deal with Tata Steel.
•    Tata Steel has been struggling with its European business since the 2007 acquisition, the biggest by an Indian company, amid declining demand for steel and a sharp drop in the price of the alloy as well as competition from cheap Chinese imports.
•    As of 30 September, the consolidated debt of Tata Steel was Rs.71,798.36 crore. The total long-term debt of its Europe business is about €3 billion.
•    The debt related to the long products division of Tata Steel Europe may be between Rs.12,000 crore and Rs.15,000 crore, said Rahul Dholam, an analyst at Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd.