United States removed nuclear sanctions against Iran

United States (US) has removed a wide range of nuclear sanctions against Iran after it has meet its commitments to roll back its nuclear programme. These sanctions were lifted after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has met its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) or Vienna agreement with P5+1 countries signed in July 2015. So called P5+1 countries include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) viz. USA, Russia, China, UK, France and non- permanent member Germany. Key facts US has only removed secondary sanctions on Iran that mainly restricts dealings of other countries with Iran. These lifted secondary sanctions include financial services, banking, insurance, energy and petrochemicals, shipping and ports. However, primary sanctions imposed by US on Iran still remains in force. These sanctions bar US citizens and companies from doing business with Iran. Benefits to India Lifting of primary sanctions will benefit India with lower oil prices on imports from its traditional supplier Iran and also boost trade opportunities. It will also bring proposed India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) gas pipeline closer to reality. Give impetus to development and construction of strategic Chabbar port which is focal point of India’s gateway to energy rice central Asia and eastern Europe through proposed International North South Trade Corridor (INSTC).

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

Faced with two consecutive drought years, the Centre on Wednesday cleared a crop insurance scheme under which farmers’ premium has been kept at a maximum of 2 per cent for foodgrains and oilseeds and up to 5 per cent for horticulture/cotton crops. To be rolled out from the kharif season this year, the much awaited scheme — Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana — was cleared at the Cabinet meeting. PMFBY will replace the existing two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as Modified NAIS which have had some inherent drawbacks. The cabinet has cleared the Agriculture Ministry’s proposal on new crop insurance scheme. It has approved farmers’ premium between 1.5 to 2 per cent for foodgrains and oilseeds crops, and up to 5 per cent for horticultural and cotton crops.The farmers’ premium would be 1.5 per cent for rabi foodgrains and oilseeds crops, while 2 per cent for kharif foodgrains and oilseeds crops. For horticutural and cotton crops it has been fixed at up to 5 per cent for both the seasons. According to sources, PMFBY will increase the insurance coverage to 50 per cent of the total crop area of 194.40 million hectare from the existing level of about 25—27 per cent crop area. The expenditure is expected to be around Rs 9,500 crore. In PMFBY, there will not be a cap on the premium and reduction of the sum insured, they said. Besides, 25 per cent of the likely claim will be settled directly on farmers account and there will be one insurance company for the entire state as well as farm level assessment of loss for localised risks and post harvest loss. Private insurance companies, along with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd, will implement the scheme. All claim liability will be on insurer and the government would give upfront premium subsidy. The new scheme is significant as the country is facing drought for the second straight year due to poor monsoon rains and the government wants to enhance insurance coverage to more crop area to protect farmers from vagaries of monsoon.

New Defence Procurement Procedure

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has approved major changes in the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DDP) 2016. These changes were made in DPP 2016 to streamline defence acquisitions and give a big impetus to indigenisation of Defence sector through the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Some of the changes were based on recommendations of the expert committee headed by former Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh. Major Changes are Addition of new category to promote domestic manufacturing, including government funding. The funding will be mainly in technology development for Research & Development (R&D) and recognition of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). New category Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) platforms have been added and it will be the priority route for procurements. Under IDDM, there will be two sub-categories one with mandatory 40 percent domestic content for a domestic design. Other will be for mandating 60 percent local content if the design is not domestic. Under it, eligible domestic companies will have majority Indian control and operated by Indian nationals. Government will fund private R&D for building a defence technology base in the country for which various norms have been stipulated. Under it companies are eligible for up to 90 percent funding. Contentious issue of offsets has been amended from the current 300 crore rupees to 2000 crore rupees to give flexibility for foreign companies. Currently, offset clause mandates that a foreign company should invest 30 percent of the contract value back into the country with a view to bring in technology.

Space industry enclaves two parks

Two space industry enclaves or “parks” that have been conceived — one for launchers at Sriharikota and a smaller one at an existing Bengaluru spacecraft campus — signal increased privatisation of the nation’s space programme over the next five years. For now, the facilities will be “captive” to drive the future missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation. First, ISRO wants to groom and engage domestic industry in the launch vehicles area from integrating sub-systems up to assembling, and even launching the PSLV. This well-established rocket has put Indian and foreign satellites of up to 1,600 kg into space. ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, A.S. Kiran Kumar, told The Hindu: “Internal discussions have just started on the mechanism of forming a (launch vehicle) consortium. A few key industry players working in the space programme have been sounded.” Eventually the future consortium will be fully responsible for building and launching the light-lift PSLV rocket. Currently industries such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Godrej & Boyce, Larsen & Toubro, MTAR and Walchandnagar Industries produce 80 per cent of the launch vehicle parts and sub-units. These production works are scattered across their respective locations. The launch industry initiative must be close to ISRO’s launch complex, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at the 145-sq km Sriharikota range, on the lines of the launch complex of Europe’s Arianespace in French Guiana.

WTA Brisbane International Tennis trophy 2016

Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis have won the 2016 WTA Brisbane International Tennis trophy in the women’s doubles category. In the final match played at Brisbane (Australia), the top seeded duo defeated German pair of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic by 7-5, 6-1 score. Key facts It was sixth title in a row of Indo-Swiss pair after the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and WTA Finals in the women’s doubles category. With this win, they have recorded 26-match winning streak together. The last doubles team to win more than 25 consecutive matches was Gigi Fernandez (Puerto Rico) and Natasha Zvereva (Belarus) who had notched up 28 straight victories in 1994. Women’s Singles Title Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) has won the 2016 WTA Brisbane International tennis trophy in the Women’s Singles Category. In the final match she defeated Angelique Kerber of Germany by 6–3, 6–1 score.

उत्तर कोरिया के द्वारा हाइड्रोजन बम का परीक्षण

उत्तर कोरिया (North Korea) की सरकार ने 6 जनवरी को दावा किया कि उसने एक हाइड्रोजन बम का सफल परीक्षण कर लिया है। उसकी इस घोषणा के बाद विश्व के कई प्रमुख देशों ने अपनी आशंकाएं व्यक्त कीं। ऐसा इसलिए है क्योंकि हाइड्रोजन बम प्राय: परमाणु बम (Nuclear Bomb) के मुकाबले अधिक शक्तिशाली तथा घातक माना जाता है। इस घटनाक्रम के बाद संयुक्त राष्ट्र सुरक्षा परिषद ने एक आपातकालीन बैठक आयोजित करने की घोषणा कर दी। यदि उत्तर कोरिया द्वारा परीक्षण किए जाने का यह दावा सही सिद्ध होता है तो यह संयुक्त राष्ट्र की व्यापक परीक्षण निषेध संधि (CTBT) का उल्लंघन मानी जायेगी। उल्लेखनीय है कि CTBT संधि वर्ष 1996 से परमाणु हथियारों के परीक्षण पर संपूर्ण प्रतिबन्ध को विश्व भर के 183 देशों की मान्यता प्राप्त सर्वप्रमुख संधि है। उत्तर कोरिया के नेता किम जोंग-उन (Kim Jong-un) ने दिसम्बर 2015 में दावा किया था कि उनके देश ने हाइड्रोजन बम को बनाने में सफलता हासिल कर ली है। उत्तर कोरिया ने परमाणु बम के परीक्षण के लिए वर्ष 2006, 2009 और 2013 में भूमिगत परीक्षण किए थे। इसके बाद संयुक्त राष्ट्र सुरक्षा परिषद ने उस पर तमाम आर्थिक तथा वाणिज्यिक प्रतिबन्ध लगाकर उसके परमाणु कार्यक्रम को बाधित करने का प्रयास किया है।

Ganga Gram Yojana for develop villages

The Union Government has launched Ganga Gram Yojana to develop 1600 villages in Uttar Pradesh (UP) situated along the banks of Ganga River. The scheme was launched by the Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti at Puth village in Hapur district of UP. About Ganga Gram Yojana In the first phase of the Ganga Gram Yojana, 200 villages in UP have been selected. In these selected villages open drains discharging waste directly into river Ganga will be diverted to sewage treatment facility. Government will spend one crore rupees on every village under this programme. It would be mandatory for every household in selected villages to have functional toilets. Under this programme, these selected villages will be developed under the Sichewal model (Village in Punjab) which is based on cooperation of the villagers for water management and waste disposal. Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation also deployed the first company of Ganga Task force Battalion to fast track implementation of Namami Gange Programme. It was deployed at Garhmukteshwar town in Hapur district of UP.

Trilateral Highway in Myanmar

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 69 Bridges including Approach Roads on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the Trilateral Highway in Myanmar. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. These bridges will be constructed at a cost of Rs.371.58 crore and shall impart all weather usability to the TKK road section. Key facts TKK road section seeks to improve connectivity between India and Myanmar and facilitate movement of goods and traffic. The project will be implemented in Engineering Procuring and Construction (EPC) mode through Project Management Consultant (PMC). It will be closely monitored by the Indian Embassy in Yangon, PMC and the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The project is envisaged to be completed by mid-2019 and is also part of the route for the proposed Imphal-Mandalay bus service. Background Union Government had agreed to undertake construction of 71 bridges on the TKK road section of the Trilateral Highway at the request of Government of Myanmar during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar in May 2012. Myanmar Government had started work on constructing two bridges on its own as these bridges needed urgent attention. The balance of constructing remaining 69 bridges will be undertaken by Indian Government.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Project at Bara town in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh. This is the first supercritical thermal unit to be commissioned in the state to achieve capacity addition on attaining full load. It is Greenfield thermal power project is owned by Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited (PPGCL), a subsidiary company of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited. Super-critical units are generally eco-friendly and more efficient thermal power plants as they consume less coal as fuel. About Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) BHEL is a power plant equipment manufacturer completely owned by Union Government. It is largest engineering and manufacturing company of its kind in India. It was established in 1964 and was awarded a Maharatna Company status in 2013.