GK and Current Affairs Updates

 The languages handled by the contact centers include ten International languages besides English and Hindi, namely, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Silent Features of the Tourist Infoline Project:

• This project is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Tourism through M/s TATA BSS who have been associated with the work after open bidding process.

• This Infoline service will provide information relating to Travel and Tourism in India to the domestic and International tourists or visitors.

• And it will assist the callers with advice on action to be taken during times of distress while travelling in India and if need be alert the concerned authorities.

• The calls made by tourists both international and domestic while in India will be free of charge and can seek help and information for a hassle free experience.

• The international tourists in India and also international callers who speak the aforesaid languages will be directed to the call agents proficient in the respective language.

• This service will primarily serve those who know very little about India or about travel within India, and those who do not understand Indian systems and often not even English.

 This would disallow service providers to offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content being accessed by a consumer.

The Authority issued the Regulations:

  • Aimed at ensuring that consumers get an unhindered and non-discriminatory access to the internet; and

  • Intend to make data tariffs for access to the internet non discriminatory on the basis of the content.

The Authority also mandated the following:

• No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content.

• No service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged by the service provider for the purpose of evading the prohibition in this regulation.

• Reduced tariff for accessing or providing emergency services at times of public emergency has been permitted.

• Financial disincentives for contravention of the regulation have also been specified.

TRAI will keep a close watch on the implementation of the mandate by the service providers and may undertake a review after two years or at an earlier date as it may deem fit.

Background

Earlier, TRAI issued a Consultation Paper on Differential Pricing for Data Services on 9 December 2015.  It was an opportunity for submitting written comments and counter comments given to the stakeholders till 7 January 2016 and 14 January 2016 respectively.

 The one-day long exercise was held in Chusul-Moldo area that is located along the Line of Actual Control (LoAC) in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Details related to Sino-India 2016 exercise

• The exercise is part of the ongoing initiatives taken by India and China to ensure greater interaction between troops stationed along the LoAC.

• The focus of the exercise was on joint actions to tackle aspects of humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

• It was participated by 30 border troops each from both the countries.

• It complements the Hand-in-Hand series of India-China joint exercises which started in 2007.

 The project seeks to improve interventions against human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) among people who inject drugs (PWID) in eight north east States.

Features of Project Sunrise

• It seeks to improve coverage, quality and scale of HIV interventions among PWID, Female Injecting Drug Users (FIDU) and spouses of PWID.

• It is a 5-year programme aimed at complementing the ongoing National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).

• It will be implemented in 20 districts of 8 north eastern states at an estimated cost of 70 crore rupees.

Under the project, needles and syringes will be made available through secondary distributors such as Government health care facilities, preferred healthcare providers, non-traditional outlets and peer volunteers,

• It includes lower threshold strategies to improve Opoid Substitution Therapy (OST), coverage and sensitization workshops for law enforcing officials.

• It also includes HIV intervention in prison settings and will adopt the National Human Resource reduction strategy.

• It will be implemented in a customized flexible approach so as to increase the availability and accessibility to clean needles and syringes.

• Initiatives under the project are to be implemented through the existing system in close co-ordination with State AIDS Control Societies (SACS).

 Mrs. Aruna Sethi (ICoAS 1985), Principal Adviser (Cost), took over the charge of Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS) as head on 1st February, 2016. She is the first lady ICoAS officer who has achieved this laurel. She has earlier held important portfolios in Government of India including Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Defence etc.

ICoAS is one of the six Organized Accounting Services of the Government of India. ICoAS is comparatively young Accounting Service constituted in 1978. The sanction strength of ICoAS is 178 officers whereas present filled in strength is 116 officers. Office of Chief Adviser Cost is one of the divisions functioning in the Department of Expenditure. It is a professional body staffed by qualified Cost/ Chartered Accountants. This Office is responsible for advising the Ministries and Government Undertakings on cost accounts matters and to undertake cost investigation work on their behalf. 

 High Commission of India in Sri Lanka announced the inauguration of “Rise of Digital India” Exhibition on February 6, 2016, at 10:30 AM, as the next event under ‘Sangam: Festival of India in Sri Lanka 2015-2016’. The Exhibition was be inaugurated by Smt. Sushma Swaraj.

 Eminent cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, who chronicled contemporary Indian politics with wit and humour, died after battling brain cancer for over two years. He worked with almost all the well-known banners including Hindustan Times, Times of India and Indian Express. His last assignment was with the Asian Age. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2004 for his contribution to the art of cartooning.

 President Pranab Mukherjee inspected one of the largest maritime events in the recent past, as International Fleet Review 2016 (IFR 2016) took place off the Visakhapatnam coast. Close to 75 Indian warships and 24 from Navies across the globe sailed past the Presidential yacht- INS Sumitra, that, besides Mukherjee hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, three service chiefs besides others.

International Fleet Review 2016 is an International Military Exercise hosted and conducted by Indian Navy on behalf of the President of India. It's objective is to enhance mutual trust and confidence with neighboring navies by inviting their ships to participate in the event. Indian Navy is to display its maritime capabilities. The last International Fleet Review by Indian Navy was conducted in January 2001 at Mumbai. Around 49 countries, including, China, USA, UK, France an Australia participated in the event.

 The announcement comes days after the European Union urged Mugabe to declare a state of disaster. This declaration of disaster will allow international donors to raise money quickly to provide food aid to the nation.

An estimated 2.4 million people are now in need of food aid, more than a quarter of the population. The government also urged Zimbabweans not to panic, as it is importing maize from neighbouring Zambia.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in January 2016 said some 14 million people face hunger in southern Africa because of a drought that has been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon. South Africa, Namibia and Botswana have also been badly hit.

It seems that the worst drought in a quarter of the century is expected to increase the problems of the southern African nation, which is struggling to overcome a steep 1999-2008 recession that saw its economy contract by nearly 50 percent.

 The normal process of harvesting 2.25 tons of chickpea takes three days while the new variety will be harvested in just 75 minutes by the standard machinery.

This is made possible due to the breeding of a taller chickpea variety that is suitable for machine harvest which would be cost effective and quicker.
More research efforts are underway to develop machine harvestable chickpea varieties suited for other parts of India like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

About Chickpea variety, NBeG 47

• The new variety was developed through a project titled Developing chickpea varieties suitable for machine harvesting and tolerant to herbicides.
• It was funded by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under National Food Security Mission of Union Ministry of Agriculture.
• This was developed to address the issue of labor shortage on farms and reduce hard work, especially for women laborers.
• This development was demonstrated fields of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.
• This variety was developed by Doctor Veera Jayalakshmi, the Principal Scientist for Chickpea Breeding at Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University with support from ICRISAT.
• The breeding material and technical support for developing this variety was provided by ICRISAT.
• This is better for the health of the laborers, especially women as handling the crop causes painful dermatitis due to its high acid content.
• The yield of this new variety would be 2.25 tons per hectare provided the prescribed plant spacing is followed while the existing variety JG 11 is yielding 1.75 to 2.5 tons per hectare.
• It would reduce the risk of the ripened crop’s exposure to untimely rain and other extreme weather conditions.

About ICRISAT

• The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organisations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller Foundations.
• Its charter was signed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• It is an international organisation that conducts agricultural research for rural development and is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• Since its inception, India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organisation operating in the Indian Territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.
• It is managed by a full-time Director General functioning under the overall guidance of an international Governing Board.