Capsule on Current Affairs

114 Pages·2012·1.74 MB·English

Capsule on Current Affairs

January, 2017

National School of Banking
H.O.: Mumbai
Hyderabad & Vijayawada Branches

Hyderabad: 103, First Floor, Delta Chambers, Opp. to Kakatiya Mess, Lane adjacent to Chennai
Shopping Mall, Ameerpet, Hyderabad – 500 016. Ph: 9908600600
Vijayawada: Second Floor, Above Canara Bank, Nandamuri Road, Lane adjacent to Chandana Grand,
M.G.Road, Vijayawada 500 020. Ph: 8142600600
2

INDIAN AFFAIRS

PM Narendra Modi’s Key Announcements on New Year’s Evening
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Nation on December 31, 2016, on the New
Year’s Eve, thanked people for patiently bearing the pain caused by the Government’s decision to
demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. Key Points of the Announcements Urban Housing
• PM Modi announced two new housing schemes for the urban poor. As per the decision,
home loan taken by urban poor in 2017 up to Rs. 9 Lakh would get 4 percent subvention on interest
while 3 percent subvention on interest on home loans of up to Rs. 12 Lakh.

Rural Housing
• In villages, taking home loans of up to Rs. 2 Lakh for new housing or extension of housing in 2017
would attract 3 percent subvention on interest.
• The number of houses being built for the poor, under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana in rural
areas has also been increased by 33 per cent.
Farmers
PM also announced to convert 3 crore Kisan credit card into RuPay card in the next 3 months. The
problem with Kisan Credit Card is that farmers need to go to bank to withdraw money, but RuPay
Card will enable them to buy/sell directly through the card.
• He also announced to waive 60-day interest on farm loans taken in the Rabi season from District
Cooperative Banks and Primary Societies.
• NABARD created a fund of Rs 21000 crore to Dstrict central Cooperative Banks in November 2016
to provide loan to farmers for Rabi season.

Senior Citizens
• The Prime Minister said that senior citizens would get a monthly fixed interest of 8% on their
deposits of up to 7.5 lakhs for 10 years.
Women
A sum of Rs 6000 would be deposited in the account of pregnant and lactating women in above 650
rural districts to meet medical expenses. The scheme would initially be implemented in form of a
pilot project in 53 districts, with the amount of Rs 4,000 MSMEfMicro, Small and Medium
Enterprises”)
• PM Modi said that the cash credit limit for small businesses would be raised to 25 per cent from 20
per cent. The Credit guarantee for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises would be raised to Rs 2
crore from current Rs 1 crore.
• Government also announced that earlier the tax on Income of businesses with turnover of up to Rs
2 crore was calculated at 8 per cent of the turnover. Now, for such businesses income from digital
transactions will be calculated at 6 per cent. This will effectively reduce their tax liability by 25 per
cent.
• Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani dedicated India’s first laser technology-based advanced AVMS RTO
check-post at Shamlaji
i. Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani launched India’s first laser technology-based advanced AVMS
RTO check-post and also laid foundation stones of various developmental works worth Rs 30 crore
at Shamlaji of Aravalli district in Gujarat.
ii. This new check-post is equipped with advanced ray technology with a cost of Rs 4.72 crore.
iii. All the check-posts in the state will be made advanced, automatic and transparent with a cost of
Rs. 35 crore during next financial year.
iv. The income from this check posts will be used for welfare of poor, deprived and lastperson of the
state.
3

Chandrababu Naidu Launches ArogyaRaksha Scheme to cover APL Families
Chandrbabu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh launched a new health scheme, ArogyaRaksha
Scheme on January 1, 2017 at TummalapalliKalakshetram in Vijayawada to provide the medical
treatment to the people of the Above Poverty Line at Rs. 1200 premium per annum.
Aim: To achieve the ambitious target of making the state among top three best developed
state in the country by 2020 and first best developed state by 2050. Features of ArogyaRaksha
Scheme
The ArogyaRaksha Scheme would provide health insurance coverage to about 35 Lakh Above
Poverty Line families in the state.
• Under the scheme, an end-to-end cashless service would be rendered to a total of 1044 diseases
covered under the scheme. Unlike other insurance schemes pre existing disease will not be
considered.
• To avail the ArogyaRaksha scheme benefits, every individual of the family would be required to pay
Rs. 100 per month or Rs. 1200 per annum as policy premium.
• A total of 432 hospitals including 80 government general hospitals have been enrolled for the
implementation of the scheme.
• The scheme would provide an insurance coverage of up to Rs. 2 Lakh per annum and free
treatment in any 432 corporate hospitals in the state.
The scheme is estimated to cost Rs 160.56 crore and the government would sanction the necessary
allocations for the scheme in the budget session 2017-2018.

Maharashtra Government Bans use of Purse Seine Nets for Fishing
i. Maharashtra Government has declared to ban the use of Purse Seine Nets for fishing across
Maharashtra from January 1, 2017 to safeguard the Fingerlings, a fish species.
ii. The move is aimed at curbing the exploitation of fish by safeguarding the fingerlings and its eggs
to increase their population.

Seeking Votes in the name of caste, language or religion is Corrupt and not Permissible: SC
i. The Supreme Court on January 1, 2017 ruled out that no politician can seek votes in the name of
caste, language or religion and seeking votes in this manner would be considered as a corrupt
practice and not permissible.
ii. A 7-judge constitution bench headed by headed by former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur in the
20 year old Hindutva case which questions whether a religious leader’s appeal to his followers to
vote for a particular political party amount to electoral malpractice under Section 123 of the
Representation of People Act.

Trial run of India’s first 700 MW PHWR expected in 2017
i. The trial run of India’s first 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor(PHWR) at Kakrapar,
Gujarat, is expected to take placein middle of 2017.
ii. India’s atomic power plant operator NPCIL is building four 700 MW PHWRs, two each at Kakrapar
Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat and Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) in Rajasthan.
iii. The construction of two 700 MW PHWRs at KAPS is at an advanced stage. The commissioning
activities of the first unit have begun and the trial run of the first unit is expected
to happen during the middle of 2017.

Union Government Keeps interest rates on Small Savings Schemes Unchanged
Interest rates on small savings are being reviewed every quarter since April last year. The
interest rates on small savings will remain unchanged from the rates prescribed for the fourth
quarter of 2016-17 starting from January 1, 2017, and ending on March 31. iii. Interest Rates
on Small Savings Schemes
4

1. Public Provident Fund (PPF): 8 percent annual interest rate.
2. 5-year National Savings Certificate: 8 percent
3.Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP):7.7 percent with maturity in 112 months.
4. SukanyaSamriddhi Account Scheme: 8.5 percent annually.
5. 5 years Senior Citizens Savings Scheme: 8.5 percent. The interest rate on the senior citizens
savings scheme is paid quarterly.
6. Savings deposit: 4 percent interest annually,
7. Term deposits of 1-5 years: 7-7.8 percent that will be paid quarterly. 8.5-year recurring deposit:
7.3 percent rate.

Maharashtra Government Unveils the Portrait of Social Reformer ‘Prabodhankar Thackeray at
BMC
i. The Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis unveiled the portrait of social reformer
‘Prabodhankar Thackeray’ in the general assembly hall of the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) on January 2, 2017 and paid rich tributes to him.
ii. KeshavSitaram Thackeray, famously known as Prabodhankar was born in September 1885. He
was a social reformer, author and key leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
which successfully campaigned for the linguistic state of Maharashtra. He is the father of late Shiv
Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

Centre Approves new Projects for Ganga Cleaning over Rs. 370 Crore
i. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved many new projects at an estimated
cost of over Rs.370 crore for its ongoing Ganga rejuvenation programme in Haridwar and Varanasi
and also decided to include six more cities\towns under surface cleaning exercise of the river using
trash skimmers.
ii. In Haridwar, 68 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) in Jagjeetpur and 14 MLD STP in Sarai have
been approved at an indicative cost of Rs 110.30 crore and Rs 25 crore respectively under Hybrid
Annuity based PPP mode.

Swachh Bharat survey, Swachh Survekshan 2017 Begins in 500 cities
i. In order to encourage competition for improving sanitation standards in the respective area, the
government started, Swachh Survekshan 2017 from January 4, 2017.
ii. The survey will be conducted by Quality Council of India to rank 500 cities across the country on
cleanliness.
iii. The cities will be judged on the basis of data provided by Municipal bodies which will caryy 900
marks, direct observations and independent assessment would carry 500 marks and citizen
feedbacks with 600 marks.

National Green Tribunal Imposes Stay on Pune Metro rail project
i. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) bench on January 3, 2017, issued an interim stay on any
construction activity in relation to the Pune Metro rail project passing through the Mula- Mutha
river bed in the city.
ii. The Tribunal’s West Zone bench comprising Justice U D Salavi and Dr Ajay Deshpande granted
interim stay Pune Metro route of corridor between Vanaz and Ramwadi passing through the
riverbed, after an Environmental Interest Litigation (EIL) was filed by a group of prominent
personalities.

Election Commission of India Announces Assembly polls Dates for Five States
The Chief Election Commissioner, DrNasim Zaidi on January 4, 2017, announced the schedule of
upcoming Assembly elections in five states Announcements made by the Election Commissioner i.
Polling Dates
5

1.Uttar Pradesh: Polling will be held in seven phases from 11 February, 15 February, 19 February, 23
February, 27 February, 4 March and 8 March
2. Manipur: Polling will be held in two phases between 4 March and 8 March 3.Uttarakhand: 15
February 4.Punjab: 4 February S.Goa: 4 February

Ministry of Commerce & Industry Launches IPR Enforcement Toolkit for Police and IPR Awareness
Campaign for school Children
The Union Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched an Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement Toolkit for Police along with an IPR Awareness Campaign for
School Children on January 4, 2017 in New Delhi.

The IPR Enforcement Toolkit has been jointly prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management
(CIPAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
This toolkit will enable the police officials across the country in dealing with IP crimes, specifically
Trade Marks counterfeiting and Copyrights piracy. The device would include details of offences
under various laws along with checklists for registering a complaint and conducting search and
seizures.

IPR Awareness Campaign
CIPAM is also launching an IPR Awareness campaign for schoolchildren, in collaboration with the
International Trademark Association (INTA) to spread the message of IPRs in a creative and
engaging manner among the children to inculcate respect for IPRs amongst them from an early
age, so that they become responsible users of IPRs in the future.

Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
is working to ensure effective implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016. Two MoU on IPRs
were recently signed with UK and Singapore.

Centre Grants Drought Relief Assistance of Rs. 1782 Crore for Karnataka
i. The Union Government has approved an assistance of Rs. 1782.44 Crore for droughtaffected
Karnataka on January 5, 2017. The decision was taken during a meeting of the High Level
Committee chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
ii. The committee approved the grant after examining the proposal based on the reports of the
Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) which visited the state. The assistance has been approved
from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

Japan to Help in Developing Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi Smart Cities
i. Japan’s Ambassador to India Mr. KenjiHiramatsu, informed about Japan’s Intention to help India
with the development of Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi as smart cities.
ii. The decision was announced by the Mr. Kenji during a meeting with Minister of Urban
Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu on January 5, 2017.

Telangana to Provide Monetary Help of Rs. 1000 to Single Women in State
i. The Telangana Government led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, announced a new
scheme on January 6, 2017, to provide financial assistance of Rs. 1000 per month to poor single
women in the state.
ii. Making an announcement in the Legislative Assembly, the CM informed that the new scheme will
be implemented from April 2017 and necessary funds will be allocated in the upcoming budget.

Delhi Government Approves Phase-IV of Delhi Metro
6

I. The Delhi cabinet gave its nod to the fourth phase of Delhi Metro. It will add 8.5 lakh new
passengers to its network.
ii.The fourth phase will have six new routes with a total length of around 103 km, and will be
completed in six years at a cost of around Rs 50,000 crore.

Chandrababu Naidu announces Rs.100 crore reward for Nobel Prize winners from Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced a reward of Rs 100 crore to
anybody who becomes a Nobel Prize winner from the state.

Aadhaar now mandatory for EPF pension scheme
i. Central government has made obtaining an Aadhaar number mandatory for 2.5 crore members of
the Employees’ Pension Scheme of 1995, one of the benefits available to Employees’ Provident Fund
subscribers.
ii. According to a notification from Labour Ministry, those without an Aadhaar number will have to
make an application to get enrolled by January 31, 2017.

Delhi Government unveils ‘Good Samaritan Policy’
i. The Delhi government has approved “Good Samaritan Policy’ to encourage people to help
accident victims.
ii. Delhi government approved ‘Good Samaritan Policy’ under which monetary incentive of Rs 2,000
and appreciation certificate will be given to people who help road accident victims in the national
capital.
i. Shri Piyush Goya I, Union Minister of Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, dedicated
the World’s Largest Street Light Replacement Programme in New Delhi to the nation on January 9,
2017.
ii. The Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC)
area is a joint venture between the Ministry of Power, Government of India and the Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).
iii. Under the SLNP, over 2 lakh street lights have been replaced alone in SDMC area which is the
largest amount till date in the world. This would save about 2.65 crore kWh energy annually and
avoid capacity addition of 6.6 MW besides reducing 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases

Rajnath Singh lays the Foundation stone for new (NDRF) campus
i. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new
campus of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at Kondapavuluru village of Gannavaram
mandal in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh on January 9, 2017 in presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah
Naidu.
ii. The government has allocated Rs. 200 Crore for the new campus. The construction works has
been assigned to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

Assam govt comes up with e-Wallet
i. The Assam government will be shortly launching its indigenously-developed e-Wallet,
Tokapoisa.in.
ii. Aim: To enable the people of the state for hassle-free online transactions in local language.
iii. The mobile application Tokapoisa.in has been developed by the Assam Electronics Development
Corp. Ltd.Besides being an e-Wallet, it will be a virtual payment terminal.

Supreme Court Directs Election Commission for Paper Audit Trail in EVMs
7

i. The Supreme Court is set to re-introduce the Vote Verifier Paper Audit Trail (WPAT) in Electronic
Voting Machines (EVMs) for 100 % transparency in elections. The WPAT in EVM would ensure free
and fair polls besides sorting out disputes.
ii. Justice Gogoi has directed the Election Commission to determine and inform the approximate
time within which the entire system of the WPAT can be introduced, including grant of sanction and
release of funds as and when required.

Gujarat Government Launches Student Startup and Innovation Policy
i. The Gujarat government has introduced India’s first Student Startup and Innovation Policy to
provide financial support to enable the students in developing their innovative ideas
ii. The Student Startup and Innovation Policy has been developed under the aegis of Education
Department. The policy will support student-led startups & innovations and create an Innovation
and Pre-incubation Ecosystem Support (IPIES) across all universities of the state.
iii. The Gujarat government would provide Rs 200 crore as State Innovation Fund for the next five
years, of which Rs 100 crore will be allocated by the state government and the remaining
amount will be created by internal sources, like university funds and CSR funds.

Railway Minister announces Non Fare Revenue Policy to boost Additional Revenue
i. Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu on January 10, 2017 launched a Non Fare Revenue
Policy to boost up additional revenue and reduce its dependence on traditional revenue system such
as passenger and freight traffic.
ii. The railway expects that the policy would boost the railway non-fare revenues within a year by
nearly six times from Rs. 300 crore to nearly Rs. 18000 crore.

Child Sex Ratio at Birth in Haryana Touches 900-mark in Two Decades
i. The Child Sex ratio at birth (SRB) in the State of Haryana crossed the 900-mark in the year 2016
for the first time in almost two decades. In December 2016, the SRB in the state was 914.
ii. As per the data registered, of the total 5,25,278 children born in the state from January to
December 2016, there were 2,76,414 boys and 2,48,864 girls taking the SRB to 914. However, the
state government is working to achieve the ratio of 950.
iii. As of 2011, India’s child sex ratio was 914 girls to 1000 boys, while the same in Haryana was far
worse than the national average which stood at 834 girls to 1000 boys.

Supreme Courts Directs Kerala Government to Compensate Victims of Endosulfan Poisioning
The state government of Kerala has been directed by the Supreme Court on January 10, 2017 to pay
Rs.500 crore as compensation to 5,000 victims suffering various types of deformities, health issues
and other complication due to the use of Endosulfan pesticides in the state. The apex court also
instructed the state to set up such treatment centers that can provide long term treatment to those
suffering from heath complications due to the poisoning. The victims mostly include newborns and
their families.

Center Drafts Rules to Regulate Dog Breeding Centres
i. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has proposed draft rules
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules, 2017), to regulate dog
breeding centres in the country.
ii. The proposed rule would prohibit dog breeding without registration. The rule prescribes the
various requirements that should be met by the registered breeders for breeding or housing of dogs.

Jammu & Kashmir Government Presents Reform Focused Power Budget
8

i. The Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu presented the Power Budget on January
12, 2017 with strategy to focus on addressing the purchase liability and put reforms as the core
agenda for the power sector.
ii. The first power budget was presented six months ago. This is the second power budget
that provides a transparent accounting system for the sector. In 2016-17, the government spent Rs
12,000 crore on power purchases and liquidating past liabilities.
iii. The investments were directed towards making systemic and capacity improvements in the
Transmission and Distribution infrastructure in the state, with an aim to supply adequate quality
power and make the State Power Development Corporation debt-free with financial restructuring.

Jitendra Singh Announces Rs. 9000 Minimum Pension for Central Government Employees
i. The Union Minister of state for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh while
addressing the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (Scova) in New Delhi
on January 12, 2017 informed that the minimum pension for central government employees has
been increased to Rs. 9,000 per person and ex-gratia amount has been increased
from Rs. 10-15 lakh to Rs. 25-35 lakh.
ii. The Scova meeting was organised by the Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare
(DoP&PW).

NITI Aayog calls for review of Right to Education Act
i. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has called for a review of the
provisions of the Right To Education (RTE) Act that specifies that children who don’t perform well
cannot be held back up to class VIII regardless of his performance.
ii. This means that a child is entitled to an eighth grade diploma even if he cannot recognise a single
letter or a number if he has spent eight years in school.
iii. The move is aimed to minimise the drop-out rate. However, the negative impact of the decision
will lower the learning process as it would take away the pressure to learn and to compete.

Ken-Betwa River Linking Project Receives Green Signal from Panel
i. The Ken-Betwa River Linking Project received clearance from the green panel and Tribal Affairs
Ministry on January 13, 2017.
ii. The ambitious Rs. 9,393 crore project aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken River to the
Betwa basin through concrete canals to irrigate India’s worst drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
iii. The project will benefit Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in terms of meeting irrigation,
drinking water and electricity needs of people across 6 districts in the two states.

Rabi Crop Sown Across 616 Lakh Hectare of Land Past One Year
i. As per the data released by the Ministry of agriculture, as on January 13, 2017, the total area
under which Rabi crop was sown 2017 was calculated to be 616.21 lakh hectares as compared to
581.95 lakh hectare in January 2016.
ii. The 616.21 lakh hectare of area sown with Rabi crop includes
Crop Area in 2017 in Lakh Hectare Area in 2016 in Lakh Hectare
Wheat 309.60 289.07
Rice 14.92 19.48
Pulses 155.35 139.93
Coarse cereals 54.87 58.40
Oilseeds 81.47 75.06
Total 616.21 581.95

Suprme Court Grants Permission to 24-Week Pregnant Woman for Abortion
9

i. The Supreme Court on January 16, 2017 allowed Mumbai based 22 year old pregnant lady with
24 weeks of Pregnancy to abort her baby as continuation may risk her life.
ii. Two bench of judges, Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice L. Nageswara Rao gave the verdict after a
panel of seven doctors from KEM Hospital, Mumbai declared that the skull and brain tissue
development of the foetus were absent and there was no chance of the foetus surviving outside the
uterus.
iii. Abortion is legal in India only up to 20 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of
Pregnancy Act, 1971.

Adoption Regulations 2017 Effective From January 16, 2017
i. The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development on January 4, 2017 issued a guideline
regarding the Adoption Regulations 2017.
These new rules will be effective from January 16, 2017.
ii. The Adoption Regulation 2017 implements the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Act, 2015. It has been framed by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)
to be mandatory under section 68 I of the Justice {Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and
will replace the existing Adoption Guidelines, 2015.

Akhilesh Yadav Gets Right over Party’s Symbol “Cycle”
i. The Election Commission (EC) on January 16, 2017 gave its decision that Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav would be the owner of the Samajwadi Party Symbol “Cycle” and also
acknowledged him as the national President of the party.
ii. The three-member EC committee headed by Nasim Zaidi and comprising of other two judges, O.P.
Rawat and A.K. Jyoti gave the decision after the founder of the party Mulayam Singh Yadav
approached EC as President of the party and claimed to be entitled for the symbol.

Petroleum Conservation Campaign ‘Saksham 2017’ Inaugurated in Nagaland
i. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP & NG) inaugurated one month long oil and gas
conservation campaign “Saksham-2017” at a function in Unity College, Dimapur in Nagaland on
January 16, 2017.
ii. The mass awareness campaign was inaugurated by chief guest Ramongo Lotha, secretary Food
and Civil Supplies. The campaign would be conducted from January 16 to February 15, 2017.
iii. The main aim of such campaign is to spread the awareness on fuel conservation so as to
minimize the wastage of petroleum products as the demand for it remains high.

Cabinet approves India’s Membership in the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), South Korea
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for India to become the full-fledge member of the
International Vaccine Institute (IVI) Governing Council.
• As a part of the membership India will have to contribute an amount of US $ 5,00,00 to the
International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South Korea.
• International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South Korea was established in 1997 on the initiatives
of the UNDP. It is an international organization that deals with developing and introducing new and
improved vaccines to protect the people, especially children, against deadly
infectious diseases.

Cabinet approves the repealing of the obsolete and redundant laws
The Union Cabinet also gave the approval for introduction of the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2017
to repeal 105 Acts.
• A two Member Committee was constituted by the PMO, the Law Commission of India and the
Legislative Department. It has identified 1824 redundant and obsolete Central Acts for repeal. After
10

careful examination and consultation with various Ministries/Departments in the Government of
India, 4 Acts have been enacted to repeal 1175 Central Acts by Parliament.

Cabinet Approves Rs 200 Cr for Setting Up IARI Jharkhand
The Union Cabinet has approved the 12th Plan Proposal of the DARE/ICAR Plan Scheme for the
‘Establishment of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)- Jharkhand’.
• The total estimated outlay of the project is Rs. 200.78 crores that will be 100% contributed by
ICAR. The project would be bulid on 1,000 acre land provided by the Government of Jharkhand at
the Gauria Karma Village in Barhi Block of Hazaribag.

Cabinet Gives Approval to the Package for Supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its ex-post facto approve
for the Augmentation of the Corpus of Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro and Small
Enterprises (CGTMSE), a package set up for supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). • The
augmentation of the corpus would facilitate larger flow of credit to MSEs and thus enable increased
output and employment.

IIMC Launches Full-Fledged Diploma Course in Urdu Journalism
i. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) has launched a full-fledged postgraduate
diploma course in the Urdu language journalism on January 17, 2017 to promote Urdu Language in
IIMC.
ii. The diploma course was launched by the Union Minister of Information and
Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu. The institute offered a five-month journalism course in the Urdu
language before launching the full-version.

J&K Assembly Unanimously Passes Resolution for Return of Kashmiri Migrants to Valley
i. The Jammu & Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on January 19, 2017 for th
return of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants to the Valley.
ii. Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit families had left the Valley when militancy broke out in 1989.

Karnataka allows sale of white kerosene in open market
i. Karnataka government lead by Siddaramaiah, has decided to allow the sale of white kerosem in
open market. An official order was issued by State Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader on
January 18, 2017
ii. The dealers who have interest in selling white kerosene in open market can approach the office of
the Food and Civil Supplies in their districts.

Indian Railways Unveils ‘Mission 41K’ to Save Energy Worth Rs 41,000 crore
i. The Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched ‘Mission 41K’ on January 17, 2017 to revamp
the existing railway system.
ii. The mission aims to save the Indian Railways’ expenditure of Rs 41,000 crore on energy
consumption over the next 10 years.
iii. To achieve this target, the railway has planned a series of measures that includes: switching over
90 percent of traffic to electric traction from diesel, procure electricity at cheaper
rates through open market instead of sourcing it through DISCOMs. This would save about 25
percent of energy expenses.

Divorce Granted Through Church Court Cannot be Held Legal: SC
i. The Supreme Court on January 19, 2017 said that Divorce granted by any ecclesiastical tribunals or
‘Church Courts’ under Christian personal law will not be taken as valid. It said that Church Courts
cannot veto the statutory law of divorce.