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Current affairs (30) RICE-IAS ACADEMY

15.06.2017- 21.06.2017

Cryptocurrency: An idea whose time has come

A spectre is haunting global capitalism: the spectre of cryptocurrencies. Three distinct forces of our modern age have come together to breathe life into this strange and wondrous monetary artifice. One, the rise of computational power that allows algorithms to programmatically issue currencies; two, a distrust towards governments that can idiosyncratically debase currency or even demonetise at will; and three, a scarcity of safe assets to store wealth over the long term. The birth of the first cryptocurrency — bitcoin — was announced to the world in 2008 by still unidentified inventor(s) who goes by the name ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’.

If you have never heard of bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, one way to think of it is as tokens sold by temples — for special rituals or prasadam — in exchange for cash. These temple tokens, typically, can only be used within the premises. They are often exchangeable between individuals without the permission of any supervening authority. And if you lose the token or forget to use it, it is as good as losing money. This analogy is useful, but it can only go so far. Unlike tokens in a temple which are controlled by authorities, cryptocurrencies are generated by a network of computers that run a software called ‘blockchain’.

Most networks — be it, businesses or families — rely on trust to build consensus. What happens to consensus formation if there is no trust in families or businesses?

A network that uses ‘blockchain’ transcends this requirement of trust among members to form consensus. It is does this by relying on two fundamental ideas: the near-impossibility of reverse engineering a mathematical algorithm (‘SHA-256 hash function’) and human self-interest. In a blockchain (think of units of information arranged as separate blocks which are concatenated to form a chain), when a new piece of information arrives, it is appended to a previous block to create a new block. This new block is arranged in a specific architecture (‘the Merkle tree’) and the ‘header’ of this new block is passed through the hash function. This function spits out transformed output. We check if this output has specific preset properties. If not, then the block header is incremented by a random number (‘nonce’) and this new set is passed through the hash function again.

Finally, after many trials, when we find the appropriate nonce, the ‘miner’ announces this random number to the rest of his peers in the Bitcoin network. They check using this nonce if adding this information produces an output with specific properties, including an untampered old block. If verified, then this new block is deemed valid. The new public ledger with updated information is now deemed as the new consensus. Thus we have a cleverly-engineered consensus via a system that doesn’t rely on trust but rather on a ‘proof of work’.

Known unknowns

A natural question: why would anyone bother to mine for this random number?

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This is the part of the system that relies on human self-interest. For every verified number that is ‘mined’, the Bitcoin network allocates 12.5 bitcoins [~ $30,000] to the miner. When more people (as of 2015, nearly 1,00,000 merchants) accept bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for goods and services, their value increases.

The real, and perhaps unanswerable, question is what is their true value— i.e. how many rupees is any given cryptocurrency worth? The real answer is: no one knows. Unlike fiat currencies, whose long-term relative values are driven by differentials in purchasing power, we do not have a good understanding of what determines the long-term relative value of these cryptocurrencies. But this has not stopped investors from betting on the increased acceptance of various versions of blockchain technology and its currency units.

Since 2014, the American tax authorities have treated cryptocurrencies as ‘property’ subject to appropriate capital gains tax rate. On April 1 this year, Japan deemed bitcoin as a legitimate payment method; on July 1, Australia will follow suit. Chinese authorities have aggressively stepped in, when needed, to ensure cryptocurrency exchanges function well.

However, over the past seven years, successive Indian governments have ignored cryptocurrencies. Finally, on April 12 this year, the Indian government constituted an inter-disciplinary committee to study regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies. It has sought public comments. However, prominent voices like the BJP parliamentarian Kirit Somaiyya have called for an outright ban citing some understandable (what happens to the monopoly of rupee in India as medium of exchange?) and many absurd fears (drugs, money laundering, Ponzi schemes).

What the Indian government ought to do instead is follow, learn, and innovate based on what China, South Korea, and Japan have done: enshrine minimum capital requirements, force segregation of customer accounts, and make potential criminal activity difficult. The Indian state can either help structure the growth of cryptocurrencies or drive the whole enterprise underground beyond its control.

Facebook seeks India payment system patent

Facebook has sought an Indian patent for its electronic payment system enabled through messaging.

The firm has already filed for the patent at the Chennai Patent Office. The move comes at a time when Facebook is looking to unveil its electronic payment

service in India. It has already filed for patent for the system in the U.S.,

Technicalities

A messaging application on a client device could receive payment information input (such as a payment amount and payment method) from a sender for making a payment to a recipient

During the payment process, the messaging system could provide status updates to the sender and receiver of the payment via status messages that were included in a message thread corresponding to the sender and the recipient, it added.

The patent application envisages peer-to-peer payment between users of a messaging application such as WhatsApp.

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A patent grant to Facebook will enable WhatsApp to monopolise key aspects of the technology that enables peer-to-peer payments using messaging application

India is third in best-value fares

India dropped to a third position from its top slot on offers for the best-valued air ticket prices on its domestic and international routes worldwide, as airfares soared in 2017, a recent study by Kiwi.com showed.

The survey said India’s average flight cost for travel of 100 km rose from $3.25 in 2016 to $4.96 in 2017.

Malaysia, with airfares at $4.18 for 100 km travel and Bulgaria ($4.65) preceded India.

Online portal Kiwi.com conducted a research of short-haul and long-haul flights from 80 of the world’s most frequently visited countries and cities, calculating an average ticket cost per 100 km of travel, using high and low season flight costs for over a million journeys.

However, India’s full-service carriers offered the cheapest airfares at $4.25 (2.67 per 100 km travel.

India’s average fares on low-cost domestic flights rose from $2.27 to $3.88. Average international fares on low-cost flights rose from $3.54 to $5.81 and on full-

service carriers from $4.51 to $6.51 per 100 km travel.

India ratifies ILO pacts on child labour

India ratified two core Conventions of International Labour Organisation (ILO) on child labour – a global commitment to end the worst form of child labour and to ensure minimum basic education to children.

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya handed over the Instruments of Ratification to ILO at Geneva as a part of the ceremony.

Key facts:

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Commitment for a child labour free India was done by ratifying the two Core Conventions of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 138 regarding admission of age to employment and Convention 182 regarding worst forms of Child Labour

The Central government had enacted a new law — Child labour (Prohibition and Prevention) amendment Act, 2016 – banning employment of child labour below 14 years of age in all occupations and processes.

It further prohibits employment of adolescents (14-18 years of age) in hazardous occupations. However, children were allowed to “help” families in running their domestic enterprises only after school hours.

The new law linked the age of employment for children to the age of compulsory education under Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009.

With ratification of the two core ILO conventions, India has ratified six out of eight core ILO conventions. Four other conventions were related to abolition of forced labour, equal remuneration and no discrimination between men and women in employment and occupation.

Now, Aadhaar must for opening bank accounts; Centre sets deadline for existing customers

The government has announced its decision making the Aadhaar card mandatory for opening bank accounts and conducting financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above.

Existing bank account holders have been asked to submit their Aadhaar cards issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to banks by December 31 this year, failing which banks will invalidate their accounts.

The move comes days after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of an I-T Act provision making Aadhaar a must for allotment of PAN cards and for filing Income Tax returns

Swiss ratify pact on information sharing

Switzerland ratified automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) with India and 40 other jurisdictions to facilitate immediate sharing of details on suspected black money even as it sought strict adherence to confidentiality and data security.

Adopting the dispatch on introduction of the AEOI, a global convention for automatic information exchange on tax matters, the Swiss Federal Council said the implementation was planned for 2018, and the first set of data should be exchanged in 2019.

The decision follows hectic parleys between India and Switzerland for introduction of the AEOI on tax matters under the guidance of G20, OECD and other global organisations.

In an attempt to keep India’s regional navigation satellite system fully operational, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch a back-up for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the constellation, that has been hobbled by the failure of the atomic clocks on board.

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Key facts:

The PSLV C39 mission, scheduled for late July or early August, will carry the new satellite named IRNSS-1H into orbit

Replacing IRNSS-1A became a priority for the ISRO after it was confirmed in January this year that all the three rubidium atomic clocks on board had stopped functioning

About:

IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven satellites comprising the Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC), a multi-purpose satellite-based positioning system, envisaged as India’s alternative to the American GPS.

NavIC has been designed to support vehicle tracking, fleet management, disaster management and mapping services besides terrestrial, marine and aerial navigation for India and its neighbourhood.

Navy eyes advanced subs

Mazagon Docks Ltd., Mumbai, is manufacturing the Scorpene conventional submarines with technology transfer from DCNS of France under a $3.75-billion deal signed in October 2005. The first submarine Kalvari is set to join the Navy in August and all six are expected to be inducted by 2022.

India and France have held informal discussions for three additional Scorpenes as a follow-on contract.

Project-75I

The P-75I submarines will be more modern and advanced with all of them equipped with Air Independent Propulsion modules to enhance the reach and stealth characteristics. AIP modules were not part of the Scorpene deal, and the Navy is trying to have them fitted on the last two Scorpenes. That is contingent on the timely delivery of the AIP being indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The deal for six submarines under P-75I is expected to cost about ₹50,000 crore and the tender process will begin soon as per the guidelines of the SP model.

National Current News

KELT-11b-the name of potentially habitable Earth-like planet discovered by scientists, located just 21 light years away which may host liquid water on its surface. Scientists from Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias(IAC) in Canary Islands found that the planet, with a mass between two and three times the Earth, resides at the edge of the habitable zone of its host star GJ625(Gliese 625). This is the sixth super-Earth closest to our solar system in the habitability zone of its star.

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Marocail-the deciding word which helped the twelve-year-old Ananya Vinay to win won the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee. The sixth-grader from Fresno, California, won by spelling 'marocain', a French word for dress fabric made of ribbed crepe. She got more than $40,000 in cash and prizes .Runner-up Rohan Rajeev missed the word 'marram', a Scandinavian-derived word for beach grass. Ananya's victory was the first time since 2013 that the bee has declared a single champion. It ended in a tie for three consecutive years. Competitors age 6 to 15 emerged from early spelling bees involving more than 11 million youths from all 50 US states, US territories from Puerto Rico to Guam, and several countries, from Jamaica to Japan.

‘Connecting People to Nature’-the theme for World Environment Day 2017 which implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share.World Environment Day is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every 5 June. This year’s host country Canada got to choose the theme and will be at the centre of celebrations around the planet.World Environment Day is a day for everyone, everywhere. Since it began in 1972, global citizens have organized many thousands of events, from neighbourhood clean-ups, to action against wildlife crime, to replanting forests.

3.5% of GDP–this was the target of fiscal deficit for 2016-17 which was achieved by government for the year as the recent release issued by the Controller General of Accounts. For 2017-18, the government aims to further bring down the fiscal deficit- the gap between expenditure and revenue-to 3.2%.

116- the rank of India in the global index of places where childhood is most and least threatened- the index is part of a new report ‘Stolen Childhoods, from Save the Children, which assesses children missing out on childhood. The index scores reflect the average level of performance across a set of eight indicators related to child health, education, labour, marriage, child birth and violence. India lagged behind many of its neighbouring countries like Myanmar (112), Bhutan (93), Sri Lanka (61) and Maldives (48).

7.1%-the GDP growth in 2016-17 which was almost at 2 year low. India’s growth slumped to a two-year low and the country ceded its top ranking as the world’s fastest growth economy back to China in the March 217 quarter, suggesting that the effects of November’s note swap were rippling through economy.

INAM-Pro+-the first of its kind web based platform for procurement of various kinds of infrastructure materials and machinery by Construction agencies engaged in implementation of infrastructure projects. The platform www.inampro.nic.in has been developed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India through National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

31st May–this day was recently celebrated as World No Tobacco Day to spread awareness about the use of tobacco which can help in prevention of cancer and heart disease. There are about 1,200mn total tobacco users in the world out of which around 274.9mn are in India.

7.5%-the expected rate of growth of Indian Economy in the fiscal year 2017as per global ratings agency,Moody’s Investors Service. It will grow by 7.7% in 2018 and will reach 8% in 3-4 years.The agency said that the negative impact of last year's

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demonetization on the economy has been limited in size and duration.Moody's said the government has been successful in pushing through several key reforms including liberalization of foreign direct investment rules in a number of key sectors, including defense, railway infrastructure, civil aviation and insurance; the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for food; fertilizer and kerosene subsidies; the goods and service tax , which is expected to come into effect in July; and a national bankruptcy code,together these will help reduce inefficiencies and improve trend growth over the long run.

DIPP –it stands for The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is the nodal department for managing the Fund of Funds (FoF) created by the government for pumping money into startups. This was in the news as the nodal department has asked the finance ministry for an additional allocation of Rs.1600 crore in the current financial year. The fund announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2016 has a total corpus of Rs.10, 000 crore to be released till 2025. The FoF has committed Rs.623 crore to 17 alternative investment funds(AIFs) set up under it and these AIFs have further invested in 62 startups as on March 2017.The FoF is being managed by Small Industries Development bank of India (SIDBI).

6.8%-the expected GDP growth of India in 2016-2017 as per the World Bank bi-annual India Development Update released recently. India's economy was slowing down in early 2016-17, until the favourable monsoon started lifting the economy, but the recovery was temporarily disrupted by the government's demonetisation initiative. As a result, a modest slowdown is expected in the GDP growth in 2016-2017 to 6.8 per cent as per World Bank report. The report attributes it to coping mechanisms, including greater usage of digital transactions, higher rural incomes, and robust public consumption. The pick-up in rural wages in November and December, 2016, and the growth of agricultural output suggests the positive impact of the monsoons substantially dampened the disruption from demonetisation.The report said that demonetisation has the potential to accelerate the formalisation of the economy in the long-term leading to higher tax collections and greater digital financial inclusion.It also said that the country's growth is expected to recover in 2017-2018 to 7.2 per cent and is projected to gradually increase to 7.7 per cent in 2019-2020.The World Bank also noted that India remained the fastest growing economy in the world with strong economic fundamentals and ongoing reform momentum.

GCMMF-it stands for Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which recently signed an agreement with ISRO for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology.GCMMF markets its products under the brand name of 'Amul'.Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ISRO will help in identification between food crops and fodder crops at village level and also locate suitable areas of current fallows and cultivable wastelands at village level for green fodder cultivation. Amul and Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, had earlier carried out a joint pilot, which found that to assess green fodder availability for dairy livestock at district and village level through remote sensing is feasible. Fodder acreage estimation would act as a decision making tool for monitoring and planning of fodder development activities by the stakeholders in the dairy sector. Amul is currently procuring around 150 lakh litres of milk daily from around 35 lakh milk producer members from over 18,500 villages. The milk producer farmers of Gujarat will get benefit of fodder cultivation by using this technology.

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Prithvi-II- the indigenously developed nuclear-capable missile of India which was recently successfully test-fired from a test range in Odisha as part of a user trial by the Army. The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. The Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target with precision and accuracy.

Trin-the name of the India's first public bicycle sharing (PBS) system, which was launched recently in Karnataka by chief minister Siddaramaiah, bringing Mysuru on the list of select global cities which already have bicycles as a commuting option. A total of 450 bicycles (430 regular and 20 with gear) can be borrowed for a nominal fee from 48 automated docking stations set up at major tourist destinations, universities and offices. The users have to obtain a smart card which they can swipe and take a bicycle from a docking station, and return it at any other station, where a user fee would be deducted from the smart card. The initiative has been jointly funded by the World Bank, Global Environmental Fund and state directorate of urban land transport. While Mysuru City Corporation owns the bicycles, the project is being operated by Green Wheel Ride, a city-based manufacturer of eco-friendly bicycles. While the city's cycling enthusiasts had a joyride, more people, particularly foreigners, are expected to opt for the green transport mode in the coming days.

World Bank–they projected a strong 7.2 per cent growth rate for India for 2017 against 6.8 per cent growth in 2016.They have also said that India remains the fastest growing major economy in the world as for now. The growth projections for China remains unchanged at 6.5 per cent for 2017 and then 6.3 per cent for the next two years, 2018 and 2019. The World Bank in its latest Global Economic Prospects, projects India’s growth to 7.5 per cent in 2018 and 7.7 per cent in 2019.

Block level–this would be the base level of weather forecast systems under the National Monsoon Mission (NMM) from 2019 as per the recent announcements by Union Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan recently.The Rs 400 crore National Monsoon Mission will be a revolutionary step in weather forecasting and it would help the farmers, policy makers, administrators and all concerned alike. Further to make weather forecasting with higher accuracy in the mountainous northeastern region, most modern Doppler weather radars have been installed in Cherrapunjee in Meghalaya, Mohanbari in Dibrugarh (Assam) and Agartala (Tripura). Rs 475 crore project has been set up two mega centres at Koyna in Maharashtra and Shillong in Meghalaya for the study of earthquake prediction.

Oversight Committee- the committee which will be reconstituted to operationalise the banking ordinance for resolving the issue of non-performing assets (NPAs) by Reserve Bank of India as per its plan to deal with the mounting problem of banks' bad loans. The existing OC, which has two members, was constituted by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) in consultation with the RBI. The government earlier this month passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, that allowed more power to the RBI to tackle the NPAs' issue. It has been empowered to issue directions to commercial banks to initiate insolvency proceedings for recovering bad loans. The NPAs, or bad loans, of state-run banks at the end of last September rose to Rs 6.3 lakh crore (almost $100 billion), as compared to Rs 5.5 lakh crore at the end of June 2016. The RBI said it is also working on a framework to facilitate an

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"objective and consistent" decision-making process for cases that may be referenced for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Paytm-the entity which launched its payment bank in India recently. Paytm is the third entity in the country to launch a payments bank after Airtel and India Post.Targeting 500 million customers by 2020, digital payments firm Paytm on 23rd May 2017 launched its payments bank with 4 per cent interest rate and cashbacks on deposits, zero fees on online transactions and no minimum balance requirement. Backed by Chinese firm Alibaba and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, the company has earmarked an initial investment of Rs 400 crore to build its banking network over two years. Paytm plans to roll out 31 branches and 3,000 customer service points of the bank in the first year.Paytm will offer virtual Rupay debit cards to customers immediately and physical cards on request for withdrawing cash from any ATM in the country.

3rd-the rank of India among nations most affected by internal displacements due to disasters and conflicts as per the recent report released by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. In India 2.85 million people were displaced as per the report (2.4mn displaced due to disaster and 0.45mn displaced due to conflict & violence). China with 7mn and Phillipines with 6mn are the two top worst hit nations affected by internal displacement.

50% or more–the value addition done in India which will qualify a good to be defined as local goods as per the new policy titled ‘Government Procurement preference to Make in India order, 2017’ which was approved by Cabinet recently. The policy involves purchases of at least Rs.2 lakh crore a year and also covers autonomous bodies, government companies and entities under the government’s control. Small purchases of less than Rs.50, 000 are exempt from the policy, procurement of goods and services worth Rs. 50 lakh or less where the nodal ministry determines that there is sufficient local capacity and local competition can be made only from local suppliers. For procurement of orders worth more than Rs.50 lakh or where there is insufficient local capacity or competition, local suppliers or competition will get 20% margin of purchase preference.

FIPB– It stands for Foreign Investment Promotion Board was recently abolished by government in a major decision aimed at further easing doing business in India. The Union Cabinet recently abolished the 25-year-old Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), obviating the need for prior clearance for Foreign Direct Investment in more than 90 per cent cases. After this only 11 sectors would require prior approval for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).The Union Budget 2017-18 presented in February had announced the proposal for abolition of FIPB. The FIPB was set up in the early 1990s as an inter-ministerial single-window for allowing FDIs that need government approval. The government relaxed FDI norms in June 2016 in single brand retail, civil aviation, airports, pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry and food products, whereby investors in these sectors do not need to seek approval from the FIPB.

Rs.225 per quintal- the new fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane for 2017-18 which was approved by The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently. The CCEA gave the approval for fixing FRP of sugarcane at Rs 255 per quintal for sugar season 2017-18 linked to a basic recovery rate of 9.5 per cent subject to a premium of Rs 2.68 per quintal for every 0.1 per cent point increase in recovery above that level. The approved FRP reflects an increase of 10.87 per cent over the FRP of sugar season 2016-17.The recommended FRP has been arrived at by taking into account factors like cost of production, overall demand-supply situation, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade prices of primary by-products, and likely impact of FRP on general price level and resource use efficiency. FRP or the minimum price that sugarcane farmers are legally guaranteed, has been determined on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with state governments and

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other stake-holders. Cane price arrears for the current sugar season 2016-17 is the lowest as compared to last five years of the corresponding period. In order to address the current sugar season's shortfall in production and any possible adverse price sentiment, the Government has allowed import of only 5 lakh MT of raw sugar at zero duty. However, to protect the Indian farmers, import quantity has been restricted along with zonal restrictions so as to make it available only in actually deficient areas and safeguard the interest of cane farmers. The sugar industry impacts livelihood of about 50 million sugarcane farmers and around 5 lakh workers directly employed in sugar mills, apart from those employed in various ancillary activities.

e-Sanad-the name of programme which was launched by government for digital attestation of documents. The government recently announced a service to digitise the process of attestation of documents for those going abroad, so that they are spared the trouble of visiting government offices for the purpose. 'e-Sanad' -- an initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in association with two other ministries -- will initially be hosting school leaving certificates with the help of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). In subsequent phases, the portal will also host documents from central universities.'Parinaam Manjusha', the CBSE repository of documents like mark-sheets and migrations certificates, has been integrated with e-Sanad for this purpose.

State Bank of India (SBI)-they launched a national hackathon for developers, start-ups and students to come up with innovative ideas and solutions for the banking sector. The hackathon, named 'Code For Bank', will focus on the business value driven by technologies like predictive analytics, fin-tech/block chain, digital payments, IOT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, BOTS and robotic process automation. In the phase 1, participants can register their ideas during May 20-29 followed by hackathon which will start from June 6, 2017 and ends on June 20, 2017.

SIMBEX-17-the name of joint week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy which recently came to a close. It also displayed the maiden participation of Singapore's F-15SG fighter jets. Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and at a sea phase in the South China Sea. This year's exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994. Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

Mora- the name of the cyclone which affected areas around the Bay of Bengal. Under the influence of the Cyclone 'Mora' over east-central Bay of Bengal, conditions became favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some parts of southeast Arabian Sea, southwest Bay of Bengal and east central Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of southeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of west central and northeast Bay of Bengal.

ISRO achievements are many, enumerate them in some detail

Indian space research organization established 15 august 1969 and the aim of it .Manav jati ki seva mai Antrariksa Praudyogiki

The headquartered in the city of Bengaluru. The first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and his close aide and scientist vikaram sarabhai. ISRO always updating with new advanced technology and creating strong place in world space sector. ISRO is establishing new record every year.

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The great personalities (APJ Abdul kalam, Dr K Radhakrishnan, etc) had given their great contribution in new direction and Success of ISRO. Specially APJ Abdul Kalam had created the history in ISRO. Mr. Kalam was transferred to the Indian space research organization (ISRO) where he was the project director of India First Indigenous satellite launch vehicle (SLV_III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near earth orbit in july 1980. Joining ISRO was the biggest achievement in his life and he said to have found himself when he started to work on the SLV project. During the period between 1970 and 1990 kalam made an effort to develop the polar SLV and SLV III projects both of which proved to be success. ISRO achievements

Aryabhata, 1975

ISRO built India's first satellite, aryabhata which was launched by the soviety Union on 19 April 1975. It was named after the mathematician Aryabhata.

Rohini 1980

Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit.

Indian National satellite system 1983

Known better by its popular name Insat, The system is a network of satellites that facilitates communication and broadcasting across the south Asian region. The first satellite in the series was placed into orbit in 1983 and ushered in a revolution in Indias television and radio broadcasting, telecommunications and meteorological sector. Nine satellites are operational.

Polar satellite launch vehicle 1993

It developed two other rockets the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) for launching satellites into polar orbits and the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into geostationary orbits.

Chandrayan 2008

Indias first unmanned lunar probe was launched almost a decade ago and was a land mark in Indias space mission. ISRO joined and elite list of just six space organizations to send an orbiter to the moon.

Mangal yann 2014

India joined an exclusive global club when it successfully launched the Mars orbiter Mission on a low budget that was at least 10 times lower than a similar project by the U.S. The Rs 450 crore project revolved round the red planet and to collect data on Mars atmosphere and mineral composition.

Indian Regional Navigation satellite system

ISRO achieved the success in navigation satellite systems like GAGAN and IRNSS have been deployed. ISRO successfully used and indigenous cryogenic engine in GSLV- D5 launch of the GSAT -14. The seven satellite system created Indias very own satellite navigation system e terrestrial and will provide service in marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management and navigation aide for drivers.

PSLV C28 2015

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ISRO successfully placed into orbit five British satellites using its polar satellites using polar satellite launch. Vehicle PSLV C28, in a landmark mission in July 2015.

Launching 20 satellites 2016

ISRO successfully set a record with a launch of 20 satellites in one mission, a record for the space agency. Apart from ISRO satellites and those built by university students in the country, the mission carried satellites from the US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia.

Reusable launch vehicle 2016

ISRO successfully tested the reusable launch vehicle technology Demonstrator (RLV_TD) that wat built for the 95 crore. The winged flight vehicle dubbed as Indias space shuttle.

104 Satellites 2017

Recently ISRO created the new history in world by successfully launching a record 104 satellite, on a single rocket from the spaceport in Sriharikota. This is the highest number of satellites ever launched in single mission. The space agencys trusted workhorse polar satellite launch vehicle PSLV- C37, on its 39th mission, From Sriharikota space centre with the 104 satellites of which 101 belongs to international customers.

ISRO is the best organization In India and all great and hardworking scientists giving their best performance. These scientists are playing their role honesty, responsibility and dedication in their work and giving new direction for ISRO.

Rajasthan government adopts green building rating system

To promote construction of environment-friendly buildings, the Rajasthan government has adopted the green building rating system developed by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), which is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

A three-day training workshop on the new rating system started had laid emphasis on checking exploitation of natural resources in the construction of buildings.

The new rating system will help ensure environment-friendly construction

Konkan railway unveils expansion plans

The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) will double 147 km tracks and develop 21 more railway stations under an ambitious expansion and modernisation project of worth ₹3,000 crores

The Konkan railway connects the Konkan region of Maharashtra to Kerala via Goa and Karnataka and passes through 94 tunnels in its 736 km stretch

Key facts:

This project will also comprise electrification at a cost of ₹1,110 crores. After doubling of the tracks, 21 new stations would be developed taking the total

number of stations to 87, which would reduce the average distance between two stations from 12.75 km to 8.3 km.

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The work on Multi Modal Logistics Park is being developed at Balli station in South Goa.

Its work was progressing and was expected to be completed by end of this year or early next year.

There are plans to develop a food court at Margao station in Goa. A rail coach has been shifted near the station and would be developed as a unique

restaurant

India-Afghan air freight corridor to start soon

New Delhi and Kabul will operationalise their first air-freight corridor in the next few days,

The flight to be operated by Ariana Afghan Airlines — Afghanistan’s national carrier will carry commodities from Kabul to Delhi and then return with Indian goods to Kabul.

The corridor is aimed at providing the private sector in Afghanistan with a platform to increase their exports to India.

The project was also envisaged to enable traders to export Afghan products to the vast Indian market by air with minimum costs while circumventing the obstacles faced in the land route, which was denied by Pakistan.

The development assumes significance since Pakistan does not allow use of its land for trade between Afghanistan and India.

Bhushan, Essar Steel among 12 firms listed

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed lenders to immediately move the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to begin insolvency proceedings against 12 defaulters including Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel and Alok Industries

State Bank of India (SBI) is the leader of 6 such consortiums, while ICICI Bank and IDBI Bank are the other leaders.

The 12 companies account for 25% of the total non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking system, which is about ₹7 lakh crore.

All these accounts have bank loans exceeding ₹5,000 crore each and 60% of the lenders have identified these accounts as non-performing.

Some of the other borrowers are Lanco Infratech, ABG Shipyard, Electrosteel Steels, Jyoti Structures, Bhushan Power & Steel

RBI had formed an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), which had in its first meeting on June 12 agreed to focus on the top 500 stressed exposures in the banking system.

The IAC had recommended 12 NPA accounts for immediate reference under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 .

The NCLT has been appointed as the nodal court for insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings

AIIB approves 3 new members at 2nd annual meeting

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the membership of Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga at its second annual meeting

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The international infrastructure bank owned about USD 100 billion of subscribed capital

India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent.

The second annual meeting was held under the theme of "Sustainable Infrastructure,

China-led AIIB touts ‘green’ growth

China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has now committed to sustainable development at its annual meeting, even as environmental groups were disappointed by its openness to investing in coal projects.

China includes CPEC in scientific expedition to Tibet

China has included the controversial $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor in its second scientific expedition to the 4,000-metre-high Qinghai-Tibet plateau to study changes in climate, biodiversity and environment over the past decades in the region. Key facts

The expedition will also scientists to a pass linking to south Asia This time, the expedition will last five to 10 years and the first stop will be Serling

Tso, a 2,391-square-km lake The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will take more than 100 scientists to the

lake area and the origin of the Yangtze, China's longest river. They will be divided into four groups and make a comprehensive survey of the

plateau glaciers, climate change, biodiversity and ecological changes

New data on jobs to be ‘all inclusive’

The task force on employment data set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to submit its report next week and could recommend inclusion of data on jobs created under the government’s employment generation programmes such as MGNREGA and MUDRA.

Key facts:

The revamped data will also use proxies such as vehicle registrations in the country in a year to determine informal job creation in the economy,

Apart from an endeavour to capture informal sector workers in the new employment-unemployment data series, the Centre would also use data from social security schemes such as the Employees’ Provident Fund, National Pension System and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation to determine formalisation of workforce in a year

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The enterprise-level survey by the Bureau “will be revamped” to cover informal sector firms

The present Labour Bureau survey covers firms employing more than 10 workers. Firms with less than 10 workers – comprising over 98% of total establishments in

India – may be surveyed for gauging employment strength in the economy

As of now, the only employment data in India is available through quinquennial (once every five years) surveys by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), annual household surveys and quarterly enterprises survey conducted by Labour Bureau after the global financial crisis in 2008 and the Annual Survey of Industries (which only captures the employees of the registered factories).

No-fly list norms likely in July first week: Govt

The norms for no-fly list to rein in unruly passengers is expected to be ready.

A revised Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) is being finalised The civil aviation ministry has already come out with draft rules for a 'national no-fly list' of unruly passengers for all domestic carriers, under which the flying ban could extend from at least three months to an indefinite period.

Key facts:

As per the draft norms, the national no-fly list will include names of passengers identified as unruly after an inquiry by a committee constituted by a particular airline

The government had recommended three levels of unruly behaviours, each with a corresponding duration of flying ban.

The first level of misdemeanour includes disruptive behaviour such as physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly behaviour because of inebriation. This level of offence would carry a flying ban of three months.

The second level relates to physically abusive behaviour such as pushing, hitting, grabbing, inappropriate touching or sexual harassment. Such actions could attract a six-month ban.

The third category pertains to life threatening behaviour such as damage to aircraft operating system, physical violence and attempted breach of flight crew compartment. In such instances, the ban could be for two years or an indefinite period.

If a passenger repeats the same degree of offence, he or she would be banned for twice the period of the previous ban.

PSBs told to explore smaller peers’ buyout

The Finance Ministry has asked four large PSU lenders to explore opportunities for acquisition of small and mid-sized banks with a goal to create global sized lenders

One of the possibilities is that large public sector banks (PSBs) like Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Bank of India could try looking for potential candidates for acquisition,

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Informally the Finance Ministry has sounded them that they should study the possibility for mergers and acquisitions so as to acquire scale and size of State Bank of India (SBI)

No card, only hard cash for President nomination in digital India

Despite the Centre’s push for digital payments post demonetisation, candidates who wish to be president have to pay ₹15,000 in cash.

Under the rules, candidate have to deposit the amount with the returning officer while filing their nomination papers for the post.

The candidate can also deposit the cash at the Reserve Bank of India, enclosing the receipt with the nomination papers.

The presidential poll is scheduled to be held on July 17 while the counting of votes is on July 20.

India is getting hotter than previously thought, study shows

A new study shows that India is now two and a half times more likely to experience a deadly heat wave than a half century ago, and all it took was an increase in the average temperature of just 0.5 degrees Celsius.

The findings are sobering considering that the world is on track for far more warming. For the last two weeks much of Asia has been gripped by a heat wave, with a record high of 53.5 degrees C set in the southwest Pakistani city of Turbat on May 28 the world’s hottest-ever temperature recorded for the month of May. Temperatures in New Delhi have soared beyond 44 degrees C.

Even if countries are able to meet the Paris Agreement goals in curbing climate-warming carbon emissions, that would still only limit the global temperature rise to an estimated 2 degrees C. U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent pledge to exit the Paris treaty won’t help.

While India’s average temperatures rose by more than 0.5 degrees C between 1960 and 2009, the probability of India experiencing a massive heat-related mortality event defined by more than 100 deaths shot up by 146 per cent.

The study also found that the number of heat wave days increased by 25 per cent across most of India.

Areas in the south and west experienced 50 per cent more heat wave events, or periods of extreme heat lasting more than three or four days, in 1985-2009 compared with the previous 25-year period.

India’s fast-rising population and income levels were considered in the analysis, to make sure neither affected the results. In the case of income, it was found that there is stronger correlation between heat waves and deaths among those who are poor.

Effects:

Many who work as farmers or in construction will have to shorten their work days by 2-3 hours within four decades, simply because it will be too hot outdoors, according to a report last year by the U.N. Environment Program.

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Heat wave stress is a relatively new aspect that hasn’t been recognized” as a climate change threat in the region

INDIA

BJP man set to be 2nd Dalit President

Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind is in the race to be the 14th president after incumbent Pranab Mukherjee retires

He will be the 2nd Dalit president of India after K.R Narayanan He hails from Uttar Pradesh

Meet to build digital roadmap

The Ministry of Electronics and IT has convened a roundtable of senior industry representatives, including those from the software services and mobile wallet firms, to develop a roadmap for making India a 1-trillion-dollar economy.

Industry is an important partner in the success of Digital India program. The Government has partnered with the industry in the design of new services and

platforms like MyGov, Digital Locker, e-Sign, Cloud Services, Government e-marketplace, eNational Agriculture Markets etc.

The Centre aims to grow India’s digital economy to $1 trillion by 2022 The Government has also roped in consulting firm McKinsey to help draw a roadmap

to achieve this target.

Adityanath Govt reviews Akhilesh’s ‘perfume city’ project

Akhilesh Yadav’s ambitious project to make Kannauj a perfume city like Grasse in France is under the scanner of the Adityanath government

Key facts:

Two years ago, Akhilesh had visited France with his wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav.

He had declared to develop Kannauj as a perfume city. Named ‘International Perfume Museum and Perfume Park’, the project’s foundation stone was laid by the couple in April 2016.

Around two years ago, 7.68 hectares were notified for the project in Parthana and Balnapur villages of Tirwa Tehsil in Kannauj.

It was projected that the perfume park would house a special attar manufacturing zone for modern distillation and extraction units.

Moreover, a perfume-based skill institute was also to be set up.

MEIT

The government is mulling a new data protection law to protect personal data of citizens, while also creating an enabling framework to allow public data to be mined effectively. The move assumes significance amid the debate over security of individuals’ private data, including Aadhaar-linked biometrics, and the rising number of cyber-crimes in the country.

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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEIT) is working on a new data protection law.

To ensure that personal data of individuals remain protected and is not misused, and to unlock the data economy.

8,387 children create ‘longest’ yoga chain with an eye on Guinness record

Mysuru is hopeful of etching its name in the record books as 8,387 schoolchildren formed the “longest yoga chain” in front of the iconic Mysuru palace for the Guinness World Records.

The participating children performed four asanas as part of the attempt. They include Veerabhadraasana, Trikonasana, Veerabhadraasana (Type 2), and Prasaritha Padottanasana

Lockheed signs pact with Tata at Paris airshow to make F-16 planes in India

Tata Group and American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin have signed an "unprecedented" deal to produce, operate and export the combat-proven F-16 fighters in India,

It is a large step towards boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' plan ahead of his first summit with US President Donald Trump.

Under the deal, Lockheed will shift its ‘Fort Worth’, Texas plant to India without directly affecting American jobs, a campaign pledge of Trump who has vowed to put "America First".

The deal announced during the Paris Airshow between Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Lockheed Martin is ideally suited to meet Indian Air Force's single-engine fighter needs.

The agreement was signed by Sukaran Singh, CEO of TASL, and George Standridge, vice president of Strategy and Business Development, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Anti-profiteering body under GST can take suo motu action The National Anti-Profiteering Authority, to be set up under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, will have wide-ranging powers

It will be able to issue notices to anybody that it feels warrants a “fair enquiry,” as per the rules finalised by the GST Council

Powers given to authority:

order a reduction in prices

impose a penalty

cancel the registration of a company deemed to have not passed on a tax rate reduction to consumers

Structure of proposed authority:

1. Authority is to be chaired by either a retired High Court judge OR

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2. a member of the Indian Legal Service who has at least three years of experience at the level of Additional Secretary or higher

3. Step 1: There will be a Standing Committee, which would receive complaints from anyone about profiteering practices

4. Step 2: The Standing Committee, after reviewing the prima facie evidence, will refer the matter to the Director-General of Safeguards (DGS) for a detailed investigation

5. Step 3: The DGS must complete its investigation within three months of receiving the reference from the Standing Committee OR

6. furnish in writing reasons for a delay, which itself cannot exceed three months more

7. Total time to be taken: The Authority will have three months to issue its verdict following the investigation by the DGS, which means the entire procedure, from investigation to verdict, cannot exceed nine months

Back2Basics:

Anti Profiteering

1. Since goods and services are taxed at multiple stages of supply chain, any changes in tax structure or tax rates create an opportunity for improved profit margin at each stage of supply chain

2. Clause 171 has been inserted in the GST bill which provides that it is mandatory to pass on the benefit due to reduction in rate of tax or from input tax credit to the consumer by way of commensurate reduction in prices

Bombay High Court to consider maths optional for Class 10 Bombay HC, has asked education boards to consider mathematics an optional subject for 10th standard students who are opting for Humanities.

A bench of justices V M Kanade and A M Badar made their observation

Implication

The petition raised the issue of students suffering from learning disabilities at school levels and also mentioned about steps taken by the education boards to help such students.

There is a high percentage of students dropout after the Class 10, as they cannot clear Maths and language papers. Inorder to curb this menace, the Bombay HC have thought of reviewing by the education board

MPLADS

It refers to Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund.

It is a shared working space facility in Mangaluru for the benefit of start-ups which usually prefer tech capital Bengaluru

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The facility, with a capacity of 60 seats, will be operational in a month.

Shashi Shanker to be next ONGC chief Shashi Shanker will be the next chairman and managing director of India’s biggest oil and gas producer, ONGC.

He will replace Dinesh K. Sarraf, who retires on September 30 upon attaining superannuation

Transfer pricing: rule on adjustment notified

The Finance Act 2017 has inserted Section 92CE in the I-T Act to give effect to the secondary adjustment norms, which are based on OECD’s transfer pricing guidelines for multinational enterprises and tax administrations.

It is also provided that where the excess money available with the associated enterprise on primary adjustment is not repatriated to India within the prescribed time, it shall be deemed to be an advance made by the assessee to such associated enterprise.

The tax department has now notified the time-limit for repatriation of excess money and the rate of interest to be applied for computing the income in case of failure to repatriate the excess money within the prescribed time-limit.

The time-limit of 90 days for repatriation of excess money shall begin only when the primary adjustments exceeding Rs. 1 crore made in respect of Assessment Year 2017-18 or later, attains finality.

AU small finance bank to launch its IPO

AU Small Finance Bank, a retail focused non-banking finance company (NBFC), will launch its Initial Public Offer (IPO) on June 28. The price band for the IPO is Rs 355 to Rs 358 per share.

On 27 November 2014, RBI had released the guidelines on Small Finance Banks along with the Payment Banks. The objective of small finance banks is to further financial inclusion by providing:

Basic banking facilities to the unbanked and thereby boosting saving habits. Supply of credit to small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small

industries and other unorganized sector entities, through high technology-low cost operations.

As one of the largest financial inclusion initiatives so far; RBI has granted small bank licenses to 10 firms on 16 September 2015.

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Who is eligible to apply for Small Finance Bank?

The business model of the small finance banks is such that they are aimed to serve the small borrowers. Due to this, RBI has shut the door of big business houses from entering into the business of small finance banks. According to RBI guidelines, the eligible entities / persons to apply for small finance banks include:

Resident individuals/ professionals with 10 years of experience in banking and finance

Companies and societies owned and controlled by such individuals. Further, existing NBFCs, Micro Finance Institutions, and Local Area Banks owned

and controlled by residents can also opt for conversion into small finance banks. The RBI has also stipulated the ‘fit and proper’ criteria for such persons and groups.

They must have a sound track record of professional experience or of running their businesses for at least 5 years.

Applicants with a business plan to serve under-banked regions and north-eastern states of the country will be preferred for the license, and they will be permitted to expand nationally after a few years.

Scope of activities

The RBI has not put any restriction on the operations of small finance banks. They are meant to provide basic banking facilities for the poor and small businessmen.

Minimum Paid-up equity capital

Small Finance Banks should have a minimum capital of Rs. 100 crore and maintain a capital adequacy of 15%. Further, Minimum initial contribution of the promoter to the paid-up capital shall be 40% and they can bring down his holding to 26% in 12 years from commencement. RBI makes listing mandatory once the net worth reaches Rs. 500 crore.

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Prudential Norms

The Small Finance Banks will be subject to all prudential norms and regulations of RBI as applicable to other commercial banks.

Business Model

The Small Finance Banks model is for local players or niche players. Since objective behind establishment of such banks is to serve unbanked, marginal customers; they have been mandated to extend 75% of their credit to priority sector lending. Further, at least half of these loans should be below Rs. 25 Lakh.

WORLD

China, Kazakhstan sign deals worth over $8 billion

Chinese President Xi Jinping signed at least 24 deals with Kazakhstan, valued at more than $8 billion, during his visit to the country, state news agency

Key facts:

The deals aimed for cooperation between the two countries in the energy, mining, chemical, mechanical manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure industries

The deals include the entry of Kazakhstan's frozen mutton into China as well as China supplying Kazakhstan with super computer equipment, the newspaper reported, adding the two countries are discussing renewing their investment protection deal

The two countries also agreed to speed up implementing plans to align the China-proposed Silk Road initiative with Kazakhstan

In 2015, China and Kazakhstan had signed 33 deals worth $23.6 billion covering areas ranging from hydropower to steel