GK and Current Affairs Updates

 Union Government and Jammu & Kashmir Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) on 15 March 2016 for operational and financial turnaround of the State’s Power Distribution Department.
•    With this, J&K became the ninth state to sign MoU with the combined DISCOM debt around 1.94 lakh crore rupees. 
•    The main aim for signing the MoU is to restructure high interest rate of the total discom debt thereby improving financial condition of State Discom
•    An overall net benefit of approximately 9800 crore rupees would accrue to the State by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT & C)and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc. during the period of turnaround.
•    It will enable Jammu & Kashmir to raise funds at cheaper rate to clear the outstanding dues of around 3538 crore rupees of Community and Public Sector Union (CPSUs), which would entail an annual saving of 1200 crore rupees over 4 years towards interest cost to the State.
•    Compulsory Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of high-end consumers, feeder audit etc would improve the operational efficiency of the Power Distribution Department of the State.
•    AT & C Losses and transmission losses would be brought down, besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realisation.
•    Union government would also provide incentives to the DISCOMs and the State Government for improving Power infrastructure in the State and for further lowering the cost of power.
•    The State shall also be supported through additional coal at notified prices and in case of availability through higher capacity utilization, low cost power from NTPC and other CPSUs.
•    Other benefits such as coal swapping, coal rationalization, correction in coal grade slippage, availability of 100 percent washed coal would help the state to further reduce the cost of Power. 
•    The State would gain around 785 crore rupees due to these coal reforms.
•    Cost per unit of electricity will be reduced for the consumers.
•    The scheme would allow speedy availability of power to around 108 villages and 3.56 lakh households in the State that are still without electricity.
•    Availability of 24x7 power to hitherto unconnected villages/households etc. would boost the economy, promote tourism and industries, thereby improving employment opportunities for the people of the State.
•    The Scheme UDAY was launched by the Union government on 20 November 2015 to ensure a sustainable solution to enable the distribution utilities across the country to break out of a long standing debt of almost 4.3 Lakh crore rupees.

 Lok Sabha on 15 March 2016 passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015. 
•    The Bill seeks set up a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for the orderly growth of the real state sector.
•    The bill aims at protecting the interests of the large number of aspiring house buyers and enhances the credibility of construction industry. 
•    Earlier, it was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 10 March 2016.
•    The bill seeks to create a set of rights and obligations for both the consumers and developers.
•    The mandatory registration for projects has been brought down to 500 sq m area, or those comprising eight flats. 
•    It also provides for a clear definition of carpet area and a system that would require the consent of two-thirds of the buyers in case there are changes in project plans.

 Uttar Pradesh Government on 14 March 2016 approved a policy for senior citizens. Under the policy the state government will set up old age homes and also announced increase in monthly pension by 100 rupees, that is, monthly pension will increase from existing 300 rupees to 400 rupees.
•    The decision was taken during a cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. The policy will come into effect from 1 April 2016 and the social welfare department has been made the nodal agency for this new policy.
•    The policy was formulated under which old age homes and juvenile homes would be set up under one roof.
•    The Government would provide land free of cost and the NGO would be asked to operate the same at no profit no loss basis.
•    The new policy reserves 25 percent seats in these old age homes for the BPL families who will be provided free residence and food.
•    A tribunal would be set to hear the cases related to the atrocities against the senior citizen.
•    All the police stations would also have a separate senior citizen register.
•    Any offence against senior citizen, like throwing them out of their houses by children, would be punishable for up to three years of jail and 10000 rupees fine.
•    The schools and colleges would be asked to celebrate Dada-dadi and nana-nani diwas on regular basis.
•    Free dialysis at district hospitals will be created: The scheme will be operated with the help of private players under PPP model. Under this scheme 180 dialysis machines would be set up in select district hospitals.
•    Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Kanpur metro to the tune of 17000 crore rupees was approved. The DPR is prepared by RITES. The total length of the Kanpur metro would be 32 km divided in two corridors. It will have 31 stations – 19 of which will be elevated. 
•    The implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana under which houses will be made available to all by 2022 was approved. 
•    Under the scheme, Union Government would finance 60 percent of the project while the rest would be shared by the state government.
•    Decision to construct Taj Orientation Centre and Shilpgram at the eastern gate of Taj Mahal was made. DPR of 23185.25 lakh rupees was approved.
•    It approved demolition of the structure of UP Animal Husbandry Department at CG City to facilitate construction of cancer institute.  
•    It also approved the Mobile (Trolley-based) Solar Panel and Pump Programme.

 India on 14 March 2016 successfully test-fired indigenously built nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile. It was launched from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island) on the Odisha coast.
•    The trial was as part of training exercise by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army.
•    The sophisticated missile covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36 seconds.
•    The latest trial of Agni-I followed the first successful test-fire that was conducted on 27 November 2015 from the same base.
•    Agni-I was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.
•    The missile is 15-metre-long and weighed 12 tonnes and equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
•    It is designed to carry a payload of more than one tonne. Its strike range can be extended by reducing the payload.
•    The launch was undertaken as a part of periodic training activity by SFC to further consolidate operational readiness
•    The missile is a surface-to-surface and single-stage missile powered by solid propellants and capable of hitting a target 700 kilometers away.
•    The trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships from its launch till the missile hit the target area with accuracy.

 Sanjay Gupta, the Jagran Group CEO and Dainik Jagran editor was on 12 March 2016 presented with the Editor of the Year award at the 4th Indian Advertising Association (IAA) Awards in Mumbai.
•    Sanjay Gupta received the award from Union Minister of State (Home Affairs) Kiren Rijiju.
•    Other awards which were announced
•    Brand Endorser of the Year: Varun Dhawan, a Bollywood actor
•    TV Anchor of the Year award: Rajat Sharma of India TV
•    Media Person of the Year: Raj Nayak of Colors
•    CEO of the year: Kumar Mangalam Birla
•    Bharat Patel from Procter and Gamble was inducted in the IAA Hall of Fame for building the Vicks brand in India and making it a household name.
•    The International Advertising Association (IAA) is a unique strategic institution that addresses the common interests of all the disciplines across the full spectrum of marketing communications from advertisers to media companies as well as breitling replica advertising and interactive agencies, direct marketing firms and even individual practioners.
•    The India Chapter of IAA was incorporated in July 1991. IAA-IC promotes the freedom to compete through responsible commercial speech while defending consumer choice.
•    The IAA recognises excellence and leadership in the fields of marketing, advertising and media.

 Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare JP Nadda on 13 March 2016 launched Project ‘Clean Street Food’. The project of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) aims at to raise the safety standards of foods sold on streets across the capital city of New Delhi.
•    In the first phase of the project, about 20000 roadside vendors will be trained on aspects of health and hygiene.
•    FSSAI will partner with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to train street food vendors at more than 40 centres across Delhi
•    The food vendors will receive training under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) category of the Government’s flagship skills training scheme - Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
•    Under the Delhi Project, 20000 food street vendors would be trained, assessed and certified by seven training partners over the next four weeks at 40 training centres set up for the purpose across Delhi.
•    The Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Council (THSC), an affiliate of the National Skill Development Corporation, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship will be the training provider under the Project.
•    Food vendors will receive Smart Skill-cum-Registration cards on completion of the training.
•    Delhi Food Safety Commissioner and the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) are engaged in mobilization of street vendors across Delhi.

 Renowned Indian scholar and plant physiologist H Deep Saini on 9 March 2016 was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the prestigious University of Canberra.
•    Saini, currently the Vice-President of the University of Toronto and Principal of the University of Toronto Mississauga campus in Canada, will succeed Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker in September 2016.
•    Hargurdeep Saini, also known as Deep Saini, is a notable scientist and plant physiologist.
•    He has previously served as the dean of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario.
•    An alumnus of Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, and later the University of Adelaide, Australia, he joined many Indian-origin educationists holding high positions in Canadian universities.
•    He began his academic career in Canada in 1982 when he joined the University of Alberta as a post-doctoral fellow.
•    He is currently a member of the NSERC's Biological Systems and Functions grant selection panel, the Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Botany.

 The Booker prize-winning British author and renowned art historian Anita Brookner died on 10 March 2016. She was 87.
•    Brookner, who won the Booker in 1984 for her novel Hotel du Lac, was a bestselling author and wrote more than 25 novels.
•    Brookner, who in 1967 became the first female to be named a Slade professor of art at Cambridge University, was known for her style and stories centering on the theme of middle-class loneliness, often featuring female protagonists.
•    In 1990, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). She was a Fellow of King's College London and of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
•    She was born in Herne Hill, a suburb of London to a Polish immigrant family. Her family changed the family’s surname to Brookner because of anti-German sentiment in Britain.
•    Brookner was educated at the private James Allen's Girls' School. In 1949 she received a BA in History from King's College London, and in 1953 a doctorate in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.
•    Some of her works includes
•    A Start in Life, 1981 (her first novel)
•    Greuze 1725-1805: The Rise and Fall of an Eighteenth-century Phenomenon (1972)
•    Jacques-Louis David (1980)
•    A Start in Life (1981, US title The Debut)
•    Providence (1982)
•    Look at Me (1983)
•    Hotel du Lac (1984) (won the Booker Prize)
•    Family and Friends (1985)
•    Latecomers (1988)
•    Lewis Percy (1989)
•    The Next Big Thing (2002, US title Making Things Better), longlisted for the Booker Prize
•    The Rules of Engagement (2003)
•    At The Hairdressers (2011), novella, available as an e-book only

• Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) Altico Capital India on 14 March 2016 appointed former HSBC India chairperson Naina Lal Kidwai as an independent non-executive director on its board.
• Kidwai retired as Executive Director on the board of HSBC Asia-Pacific and Chairperson of HSBC India after a 13-year stint in December 2015.
• Naina Lal Kidwai is an Indian banker, Chartered Accountant and business executive.
• She is also a former President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
• She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from University of Delhi and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1982. She was the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School and also the first woman to guide the functioning of a foreign bank in India.
• She has also been honoured with the Padma Shri award for her contributions in the areas of trade and industry.
• She has also received ALL Ladies League's Delhi Women of the Decade Achievers Award 2013 for Excellence in Banking.

 Delhi on 13 March 2016 won the 20th edition of the Lloyd Business Today Pro-Am of Champions golf tournament.

• The final of this event was played at the Jack Nicklaus designed Classic Golf Resort in Gurgaon.
• Delhi, comprising of Bharat Dhawan (Mazars), Avesh Bhatnagar(M/S Bhatnagar Agencies), Ravi Khanna (Kwikforms Structurals) and Saurabh Sood (GATX,) prevailed with a combined score of 105 points in the event where India's top corporate decision makers and leading golfing professionals played together.
• The Mumbai team, comprising of Subrat Mohanty, Pramod Bhambani, Jayen Ramesh Shah and Paras Shah, ended as runners-up with 101 points.
• Lloyd Business Today Pro-Am of Champions is one of India's most prestigious corporate Golf events. It is an exclusive invitational event for CEOs and corporate heads across India.
• In its 20th edition, the tournament was played across 4 regions and culminated with the national finals in Delhi.