Current Affairs 31st October, 2015

National:

Union Government appoints Najib Shah as Chairman of CBEC

Union Government has appointed senior IRS officer Najib Shah as the chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customers (CBEC).
His appointment was confirmed by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He will have tenure of 2 years i.e. till March 2017, when he attains the age of superannuation 60 years. He was serving as acting Chairman of the board after retirement of Kaushal Srivastava in July 2015.
Mr Shah is Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer of 1979 batch. Prior to this appointment he was working as Member in the CBEC board since May 2015. Earlier, he had served as Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC)

CBEC is the nodal government agency on Indirect Taxes responsible for administering Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics in India.
CBEC established in 1855 by the then British Governor General of India as Customs & Central Excise department. Thus, it is one of the oldest government departments of India.
Currently it operates and functions under the aegis of the Department of Revenue of Union Ministry of Finance.
CBSE scraps Problem Solving Assessment test for Std. IX, XI
Mid-way through the academic year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decided to do away with the Problem Solving Assessment (PSA) test from the 2015-2016 academic year. The assessment began in 2013 for students of classes IX and XI, who were expected to solve application-based problems to hone their research and analytical skills.
Ever since the PSA was introduced, it was resented by faculty members and students, who cited its ambiguous nature of the assessment, particularly students inclined towards humanities and social sciences subjects. The test aimed to help students assess their ability to comprehend and process information and did not merely assess the subject matter.
Students who were unable to attend the PSA in class IX and scored poor marks were allowed to take up a formative assessment test in class X. Circular issued by the board, however, asks school to conduct a formative assessment for students who were in class IX in 2014-2015 academic year and could not attend the PSA or want to improve their scores.
What is PSA all about?
One of the objectives of the assessment was to help students analyse life situations, comprehend and interpret it. The test assesses three aspects such as language convention, qualitative reasoning and quantitative reasoning Problem Solving Assessment (PSA) score is 10 per cent of total assessment for class IX for one language, mathematics, science and social science for class IX students. In class IX, students had three formative assessment, one PSA and two summative assessment For class XI, students were issued separate certificate for the assessment. Once the students go to class X and XII (who appeared for PSA when they were in IX and XI) they are given the option to improve their PSA score. It consists of 60 multiple choice questions that carry 60 marks.

93 % adults voluntarily possess Aadhaar: UIDAI

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said 93 per cent of adults in India voluntarily possess Aadhaar number as per a recent finding.
In UIDAI assigned states/UTs, Aadhaar saturation among adult population is 98 per cent while in Registrar General of India assigned states/UTs the adult population covered is 76 per cent.
The UIDAI is focusing on Child enrolment now, besides mopping up remaining persons.
UIDAI having issued first Aadhaar number on September 29 2010, has till date generated more than 92.68 crore Aadhaar in just five years time. However, its web portal indicates that it has issued 92.86 crore Aadhaar numbers.
Out of the 24 States/UTs where UIDAI has been mandated to enrol and issue Aadhaar numbers, it is found that 16 states/ UTs have more than 100 per cent adult population saturation with Delhi on the top with 128 per cent followed by Himachal Pradesh (111 per cent), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (111 per cent) and Punjab (110 per cent).
There are 18 States/UTs in total having more than 100 per cent Aadhaar adult population saturation.

Once a month, PM Modi steps in to revive stalled projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally taking on India's notorious red tape to clear tens of billions of dollars worth of stalled public projects, hoping that his hands-on intervention can bend a vast, dysfunctional bureaucracy.
Once a month, Mr. Modi holds a meeting with top bureaucrats to check why projects have not got off the ground. Since March this year, his intervention has helped revive nearly $60 billion (3.9 lakh crore) in projects, according to government data through September.
Mr. Modi has won plaudits for the initiative that has chipped away at a $150 billion backlog of planned roads, ports, railways, power stations and other projects. But equally, critics say, the fact he needs to personally intervene shows the level of government inertia in Asia's third-biggest economy.

Chinese Vice-President to visit India next week

Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao is heading to India next month, stepping up the momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries, following the visit to China by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the visit, at the invitation of Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, is “another major interaction between the two sides,” which will help “inject new momentum to bilateral ties.”
Mr. Li will commence his five-day visit on November 3.
Fan Changlong, one of the vice-chairmen of China’s Central Military Commission, will also visit India next month â the top military official’s visit following the conclusion of a major counterterrorism exercise by the two countries in Kunming earlier this month.

78 lighthouses to be developed as tourism hubs via PPP mode

The Ministry of Shipping on announced that the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships has drawn up a plan to develop 78 of the country’s 189 lighthouses as tourist-friendly destinations via the PPP model.
Lighthouses in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have so far been identified for development.

Modi pays tribute to Sardar Patel, flags off Run for Unity

Nearly 15,000 people ran the distance between Vijay Chowk and India Gate on Rajpath as part of the Run for Unity on the occasion of 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The day is being celebrated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day).
The run was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at around 8.15 a.m. on 31st October and present on the dais with him were Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung. Before flagging off the run, Mr. Modi offered floral tributes at Sardar Patel’s statue at Patel Chowk in Delhi’s Parliament Street.
A new scheme
Addressing the huge gathering, Mr. Modi said the government is planning to start a scheme ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’, for which a small committee has been formed. He said that once implemented, it will help states recognising and learning about the culture and language of another state, giving the example of Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Modi also paid his tribute to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary. October 31 is also celebrated as National Integration Day.

Give NOTA option in civic polls: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court once again criticised the State Election Commission (SEC) for its reluctance to implement the NOTA (none of the above) option in the coming municipal and panchayat elections in the State.
A Division Bench on Friday directed the SEC to implement it and the State government to give the SEC necessary help.
The court said the SEC must provide the option as directed by the Supreme Court, rejecting the SEC’s contention that it was not possible to include the NOTA button in the electronic voting machines in 20 days because the polls are scheduled for November 22 and 29.


International:

BRICS nations ink Moscow Declaration for supporting Multilateral Science Projects

BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa signed Moscow Declaration for partnership in addressing common regional and global socio-economic challenges by utilising science, technology and innovation (STI).

It was signed at the third meeting of the BRICS Ministers for Science, Technology and Innovation held in Moscow, Russia. Indian delegation to this meeting was led by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences.

Must Know Facts:

The joint declaration seeks to enhance co-investment of resources to support multilateral Research and Development (R&D) Projects in mutually agreed areas by BRICS nations.

BRICS nations mutually have agreed on the collaboration for

 (i) Co-operation for large research infrastructures, including mega-science projects along with coordination of the existing large-scale national programme of member countries.

(ii) Implementation and development of a BRICS Framework Programme for funding joint multilateral research projects, innovation and technology commercialisation.

(iii) Establishment of BRICS Research and Innovation Networking Platform. The meeting also endorsed a BRICS Action Plan 2015-18 on BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation cooperation.
 

Chinese Premier arrives in Seoul for three-way summit

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Seoul  for a three-way summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aimed at repairing relations strained from historical and territorial issues.

U.N. draft resolution asks U.N. to refer North Korea to ICC

The European Union and Japan circulated a draft U.N. resolution on Friday that condemns “gross” human rights violations in North Korea and encourages the U.N. Security Council to refer the reclusive Asian nation to the International Criminal Court.
Marzuki Darusman, the special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, put the spotlight on forced labour in North Korea as a human rights violation in a report to the General Assembly Wednesday that also cited summary executions, arbitrary detention, torture, massive ill-treatment of individuals in political prison camps and severe discrimination based on social class.
The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, strongly urges the North Korean government to immediately end human rights violations, close prison camps and tackle the root causes leading to people fleeing the country.
The 193-member General Assembly is expected to vote on the resolution in December.
Business and Economy:

P&G plans to set up South Asia Planning Centre in Telangana

The fast-moving consumer goods multi-national company, Proctor & Gamble, has come forward to establish its Planning Centre in Telangana to cater to the needs of its South Asia market and has sought help from the State Government in its endeavour.
A delegation of top executives of the company led by its Managing Director A.I. Rajwani called on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao here on Friday and expressed the MNC’s interest in expanding its facilities in the State. Mr. Rajwani sought the cooperation of State Government in its plans to set up the Planning Centre.

IPL 2015 contributed Rs. 11.5 bn to GDP: BCCI

The 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) contributed Rs.11.5 billion ($182 million) to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Friday.
The BCCI appointed KPMG Sports Advisory Group to undertake a survey on the economic impact generated by the IPL on the economy of India, which brought forward the figures.
IPL 2015 consisted of eight franchises that played 60 matches over 44 days in 13 host venues of 12 cities across the country.
As many as 193 cricketers took part in the tournament that attracted 1.71 million spectators at the venues, the BCCI statement added.

Economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das nominated on RBI Central Board

Union Government has nominated Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das to the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Mr. Dase is IAS officer of 1980 batch from of Tamil Nadu cadre. His nomination is effective from October 30, 2015 and until further orders.
About Central Board of Directors of RBI
RBI’s affairs are governed by the Central Board of Directors (CBD) which also responsible for its general superintendence and direction.
Composition: There are 21-members in CBD of RBI. It comprises of Governor, 4 Deputy Governors, 2 Finance Ministry representatives.
10 Directors are nominated by Union Government in order to represent important elements from India’s economy.
4 directors are from local boards of RBI which are headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi.

 

Share with your Friends

Join The Discussion

Comments ( 0 )

  1. Be the first one to review.