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National
Union Cabinet Approvals – July 21, 2016
- Union cabinet approved the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015on July 20,2016.
- new amendment fortifies the existing Bill in terms of legal and administrative procedure in order to overcome the practical difficulties which come out in the case of implementation of the provisions of the Bill
- Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill is aimed atcurtailing domestic illegal and black money and it also endows the Government to impound the benami property with the help of proper guidelines and regulations
Indo – Swiss MoU for Skill Development
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)which was signed between India and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation of the Swiss Confederation for cooperation in skill development.
- MoU is highly conscious about capacity building and exchange of best practices in the area of skill developmentbetween both the nations.
AIIMS Gorakhpur gets its approval
- establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super specialty health care to the population
- creating a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions.
- new center will also perform research on prevailing regional diseases and other health issues and provide better control and cure of such diseases.
MoU between India and Mozambique on Airline Promotions
- Agreement intends as a move to regulate and advance air connectivitybetween the two countries
- designated airlines of either countries to establish offices in the territory of other for the promotion and sale of air services.
Approval of The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016
- Bill has evolved as a mechanism for the social, economic and educational empowerment of transgender personsin India.
- bill proposes that transgender persons be included in the OBC categoryin case they are not listed as scheduled caste or schedule tribe.
- bill also has provision of jail for minimum six months for those found harassing transgender persons with maximum imprisonment for two years.
Sagarmala Port Project gets its nod from the Central Union Cabinet
- The Sagarmala Project includes the following ports in India,
| West Bengal | Sagar Island |
| Tamil Nadu | Colachel |
| Gujarat | Wadhwan |
| Karnataka | Tadadi |
| Andhra Pradesh | Machilipatnam |
Indo – African MoU gets its approval
- MoU is signed between India and Tunisia on June 2, 2016 for toning up bilateral cooperation in the field ofInformation and Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy.
Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (GTPS) in UP approved
- plant is able to generate 1,980 mwthermal energy and this project is figured to cost Rs 17,238 crore.
- Ghatampur Thermal Power Project(GTPS) is going to be constituted through a joint venture company named Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd formed jointly by Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam.
CCEA approves for Cochin Shipyard Limited’s new Dry Dock Construction
- new augmentation facility will enable Cochin Shipyard to utilize the market potential of building specialized and technologically-advanced vessels.
- project is figured for an estimated cost of Rs 1799 crore to enhance shipbuilding and repair capacity of Indian maritime Industry.
- Once this new platform is set to roll, many specialized vessels like
♦ Liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels
♦ Indigenous higher capacity aircraft carriers
♦ Jack up rigs
♦ Drill ships
♦ Large dredgers
Repairing of offshore platforms and larger vessels can be done at ease.
Election Commission’s proposal to procure EVMs
- Election Commission’s proposal to buy nearly 14 lakh new EVMs today received a push by the government’s first tranche of nearly Rs 920 crore to procure 5.50 lakh new ballot units and 5.45 lakh control units during 2016-17.
- procurement plan for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail Units(VVPAT) for 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 would be considered subsequently after price negotiations.
- EC plans to buy nearly 14 lakh new EVMs at a cost of over Rs 5200 crore before 2019 when the next Lok Sabha polls are due.
Draft guidelines for standards of instant noodles
- guidelines for standards of instant noodlesfortified atta, fortified maida, durum wheat maida, quinoa, fortified rice, tapioca sago or palm sago and pearl millet flour.
- In the ingredients Starches, dried fruits and vegetables, nuts, edible protein and egg Powder may be added, according to the notification.
4,804 children rescued under ‘Operation Muskan’ in Mumbai
- Under the Operation Muskan Railway Police from Mumbai city has traced 4,804 missing childrenand reunited 4,386 of them with their family.
- three rounds were launched distinctly and each round lasted for a month was carried out in the month of July in 2015 and third round was carried out in April this year.
Apex body to deal with cyber-crime issues in West Bengal
- to address the mounding threat of cyber-crimes across the state.
- State is mulling to open an apex body for dealing with all cyber-security the West Bengal Cyber Security Centre of Excellence (WBCS-CoE) to deal with increasing cyber-offences.
Projects of Rs. 275 crore for development of Krishna & Heritage circuit of State of Haryana, Rajasthan & Gujarat
- project worth 275 Crore for development of Krishnaand Heritage circuit of State of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- projects worth Rs 80 crore for Heritage Circuit on Mahatma Gandhi theme in Gujarat.
- Under Krishna Circuit in State of Rajasthan many sites including Jaipur are covered with total project cost of approximately 98.00 Crore.
New high-tech museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan
- Arts center will represent the story of the planning and construction of Rashtrapati Bhavan
- It has 10,000 square meters that will be built in the form of a high-tech museum that will house precious collections, multiple-screens and holographic projections among other important things.
Petrapole Integrated Check Post with Bangladesh
- Petrapole ICP is the second ICP on the India-Bangladesh border after the Agartala ICP at the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) land border. It will also be the biggest land port in South Asia.
- Petrapole-Benapole is an important land border crossing for India-Bangladesh trade. More than 50 per cent of the India-Bangladesh trade passes through Petrapole.
- Trade worth more than Rs. 15000 Crore takes place through the Petrapole ICP, which is more than all the other Indian Land Ports and Land Customs Stations put together. Approximately 15 lakh people and 150,000 trucks cross Petrapole-Benapole every year.
International
7 Indian Companies among the 500 International Entries
- Business Magazine Fortunehas released the top 500 listings of the world biggest companies for the year 2016.
Wal-Mart with revenue of $482,130
Exxon with revenue of Mobil $246,204
Apple with revenue of $233,715
Berkshire Hathaway with revenue of $210,821
McKesson with revenue of $181,241
UnitedHealth Group with revenue of $157,107
CVS Health with revenue of $153,290
General Motors with revenue of $152,356
Ford Motor with revenue of $149,558
AT&T with revenue of $146,801
There are 7 Indian Companies in this prestigious list. The respective rankings are:-
Indian Oil Corp – 161,
RIL – 215,
Bharat Petroleum – 358,
Hindusthan Petroleum – 367,
Tata Motors – 226,
SBI – 232,
Rajesh Exports – 423.
BRICS Bank board of directors meet in Shanghai
- BRICS bank observed that countries like India and South Africa are struggling with infrastructure deficit.
- NDB Board of Directors approved funding for its first Russian project: the development of a small-scale energy project in Karelia.
- The new lender is allocating $100 million forthe project in Russia,
IISc top Indian institute in 2016 BRICS rankings
| Rank | Universities |
| 6 | Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore |
| 13 | IIT, Bombay |
| 15 | IIT, Delhi |
| 19 | IIT, Madras |
| 22 | IIT, Kanpur |
| 25 | IIT, Kharagpur |
| 39 | IIT, Roorkee |
| 41 | University of Delhi |
| 54 | University of Calcutta |
| 54 | IIT, Guwahati |
India Japan inks Social Security Agreement
- India and Japan have entered into a social security agreementand benefit thousands of Indian and Japanese professionals and skilled workers working in the both the countries.
- move is to avoid double social security contributions means an Indian worker working in Japan will be exempt from making a social security contribution there.
- exception for Indian worker if he/she is covered under the social security system of India and continues to pay his or her contribution during the period of overseas contract.
Science and Technology
NASA Marks 40 Years of Viking 1 Mars Landing
- The 90-day operation of the NASA was pushed into a six-year mission, paving the way for later Mars rovers like Opportunity and Curiosity.
- Spacecraft gladdened down on the Martian surfaceon July 20, 1976, seven years after Apollo 11 astronauts stepped out onto the moon.
Nasa’s New Institute to Explore Ways to Protect Astronauts
- As Astronauts have to undergo during long-duration exploration missions, including the journey to Mars, NASA has established a new institute for research and developmentof innovative approaches to reduce risks to astronauts.
- Institute named Nasa Translational Research Institute will instrument a bench-to-spaceflight model, stirring results or approaches from laboratory experiments or clinical trials to point-of-care astronaut health issues.