CURRENT AFFAIRS 2015

Union Government sanctions Rs. 2,000 crore relief for drought affected areas in Maharashtra

Union Government on 24 March 2015 sanctioned 2,000 crore rupees as a relief package for the areas affected by drought in Maharashtra in the year 2014.

Decision in this regard was taken at high-level committee meeting of National Disaster Management headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The amount has been sanctioned by the Committee under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

The relief package was sanctioned by the high level committee proposal after they had examined the inputs of the central team which visited the drought affected areas of the State. The sanctioned amount is four times higher than the amount of nearly 500 crore rupees sanctioned in the year 2013.

In the year 2014, due to poor Monsoon many parts of Maharashtra state were affected from severe drought conditions which in-turn had severe impact on the crop yields and drinking water supply.

Apart from this decision, the high-level committee meeting also decided to sanction the required assistance from NDRF to the flood hit Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The committee decided to sanction this assistance after examining the proposals of the Central Team to the States affected by severe Natural Disasters in the year 2014.

62nd National Film Awards 2014

The 62nd National Film Awards for year 2014 was announced on 24 March 2015.

Court directed by Chaitanya Tamhane was selected as the Best feature film.Mary Kom (Hindi) directed by Omung Kumar was selected as the Best Popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

The 62nd National Film Awards in the various categories are as follows

• Best Actor- Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada).
• Best Actress- Kangana Ranaut for Queen (Hindi).
• Best Direction-Srijit Mukherji, Director of Chotushkone (Bengali).
• Best Film on Social Issues- Chotoder Chobi (Bengali) directed by Kaushik Ganguly.
• Best Supporting Actor- Bobby Simhaa for film Jigarthanda (Tamil).
• Best Supporting Actress- Baljinder Kaur for film Pagdi The Honour (Haryanavi).
• Best Children’s Film- Kaakkaa Muttai (Tamil) and Elizabeth Ekadashi (Marathi).
• Best Child Artist- Vignesh & Ramesh for Kaakkaa Muttai (Tamil).
• Special Jury Award- Bhaurao Karhade, Director of Khwada (Marathi).
• Best Cinematography- Sudeep Chatterjee for film Chotushkone (Bengali).
• Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director- Aditya Vikram Sengupta for Asha Jaoar Majhe (Bengali).
• Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration – Chotoder Chobi (Bengali) directed by Kaushik Ganguly.
• Best Writing on Cinema- Silent Cinema: (1895-1930) authored by Pasupuleti Purnachandra Rao.

About National Film Awards

• The National Film Awards are most prominent most prominent film award ceremonies in India.
• Established- 1954. Since then awarded annually.
• Winners in different categories of these awards are selected by the national panel of Juries appointed by Union Government.
• These awards are presented by the President of India in the official ceremony.

India Railways launches RuPay pre-paid debit card service

Indian Railways has launched RuPay pre-paid debit card service for the railway passengers.

The service was launched by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in collaboration with the Union Bank of India (UBI) and the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).

Key facts

• By using RuPay pre-paid cards, passengers now can book their tickets, do shopping and pay service bills.
• Initially the service will be available only for booking rail tickets and later on facility of shopping and bill payments will be upgraded.
• These cards will be made available from UBI offices or through IRCTC online.
• The cardholder can have a loading limit of Rs 10,000 with partial Know Your Customer (KYC) detail or with full KYC detail of Rs 50,000 loading limit.
• For every month, first five transactions done per card for purchase of train tickets through IRCTC will be free. Subsequent transaction after free usage limit, customer will be charged extra Rs 10 per transaction.
• For first six months no transaction charges will be levied from the customers for usage of this services.

It should be noted that RuPay is India’s own card payment gateway network like Master Card and Visa. It provides an alternative system for banks to provide debit card service.

Maharashtra Government makes sale of Gutka to be non-bailable offence

Maharashtra Government has made the sale of Gutka in the state a non-bailable offence under Section 328 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). It was announced by state government in state assembly in order to strictly enforce the ban of these products.

State Governments announcement comes after increase in the cases related to smuggling of gutka from the neighboring states where it is not banned.

Background

• In 2012, Maharashtra Government had banned sale and manufacturing of Gutka and Pan Masala under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
• State government also had imposed punishment of 6 months to three years imprisonment. However it was bailable offence that time.
• It should be noted that Maharashtra was fifth state to ban gukta after Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and first state to ban Pan Masala

Renowned Ecologist Madhav Gadgil wins Tyler Prize 2015 along with Dr. Jane Lubchenco

Renowned Indian Ecologist Madhav Gadgil has won the prestigious Tyler Prize 2015 for Environmental Achievement. He will share this prize with noted American marine ecologist and environmental scientist Jane Lubchenco.

Both of them were chosen for this year’s prize for their pioneering work, leadership and engagement in the development of conservation and sustainability policies in the United States, India and internationally.

Madhav Gadgil

• He was the chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) which is famously known as Gadgil Commission.
• Gadgil was chosen for this prize for leading WGEEP and producing landmark report on the preservation of the unique ecosystem of the Western Ghats and the inclusion of local committees which led the voice on environmental issues in India.
• He also had played leading role in crafting of India’s National Biodiversity Act, 2002.

Dr. Jane Lubchenco

She was chosen for this award for her dedication in raising awareness for protection of ocean ecosystems and its importance during her tenure as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

About the Tyler Prize

• Instituted in 1973. John and Alice Tyler are the founders of prize.
• Awarded by International Tyler Prize Executive Committee. The administrative support to committee is provided by the University of Southern California.
• It recognizes and honours persons for their exceptional dedication for environmental science, environmental health, and energy.
• Award carries monetary prize of US $ 200000 along with a gold medallion.

Note- Madhav Gadgil is second Indian to receive this prize. First was Father of Indian Green Revolution MS Swaminathan in 1991. He was awarded for his contribution to improve crop yields in India.

Union Government approves 17 Mega Food Parks for food processing across the country

Union Government has approved 17 mega food parks for food processing across the country. It was announced by Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Out of these 17 food parks, 7 parks have been allotted to state agencies whereas 10 to private players in 11 states.

Key facts

• These food parks will attract more investment in the concerned states and generate employment opportunities.
• It will also benefit five lakh farmers who are suffering due to lack of storage and proper transport system.
• These projects would help create infrastructure in rural areas in the line of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project Make in India.

About Mega Food Park Scheme

This scheme is based on cluster approach and on hub and spoke model.

The scheme aims at facilitating the establishment of a strong food processing industry in the country. It will be backed by an efficient supply chain, which includes collection centres, central processing center (CPC) and cold chain infrastructure.

SEBI sets norms to govern international financial centres

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved guidelines to govern international financial services centres (IFSC). These guidelines were approved by SEBI board meeting on 22 March 2015.

The news guidelines relax the norms for Stock exchanges and clearing corporations to set up IFSC. It also relaxes norms and allows existing exchanges to set up their subsidiaries in the IFSC

Key facts

• Stock exchanges will be set up with Rs. 25 crore capital. This capital is against the previous normal requirement of 100 crore rupees.
• However, this initial capital should be raised to 100 crore rupees within next 3 years. Such exchanges will also be given 3 years to complete de-mutualisation.
• The initial capital requirement will be 50 crore rupees for a clearing corporation, against the previous norm of Rs. 300 crore. But it will have to be achieved within 3 years period.
• IFSC will be established under the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005 and the issue of depository receipts and other securities by foreign issuers under the Foreign Currency Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014, will also be allowed.

Background

During the budget speech of 2015-16, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced relaxed guidelines in order to pave way for establishing Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT), the first IFSC in Ahmadabad.