Current Affairs Dec 2015 - National

News 1 - Lok Sabha passed Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Lok Sabha on 17 December 2015 passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015. This Bill aims to make the arbitration process friendlier and cost effective for investors, ensuring speedy disposal of cases. It aims to amend Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

The amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 were approved by the Union Cabinet in August 2015.

News 2 - Union Cabinet approved Amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.

Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 December 2015 gave its approval for introduction of a Bill in the Parliament for Amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950. This bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in respect of Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal and in the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) of Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Kerala consequent upon inclusion of certain castes or parts thereof in the lists of Scheduled Castes.

News 3 - Lok Sabha passed Bill to create Commercial Benches in High Courts.

The Lok Sabha on 16 December 2015 passed the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015. This Bill will help bring in big foreign investments into the country and improve India's global image on ease of doing business. It will help set up commercial benches in select high courts to settle high value commercial disputes.

News 4 - Union Cabinet approved revised Model Text for Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty.

The Union Cabinet, presided by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 16 December 2015 gave its approval for the revised Model Text for the Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The revised Indian model text for BIT will replace the existing Indian Model BIT.

News 5 - Union Cabinet approved MoU with BRICS for energy conservation.

The Union Cabinet on 16 December 2015 gave its approval to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa) for strengthening energy efficiency cooperation.

The MoU provides for :

Joint scientific and technological research.
Conferencing and holding of lectures and seminars
Capacity building and technology transfer
Technology development, sharing policies and best practices
Encouragement of use of energy efficient and energy saving approaches and instruments in the work of the business entities of the BRICS countries, carried out within the BRICS countries in Consultation with the host country.

News 6 - UNION GOVERNMENT GIVES IN PRINCIPLE APPROVAL TO GOOGLE’S LOON PROJECT.

Union Government has given in principle approval to work on Loon project of internet search engine giant, Google for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons. The project will be started with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to expand Internet connectivity in the country. Google’s Loon project is Google’s research and development project, which aims at providing low-cost Internet availability to rural and remote areas.

News 7 - Operation Smile-II to start from 1 January 2016.

Union Government on 14 December 2015 requested the states and Union Territories (UT) to start Operation Smile-II from 1 January 2016. The operation will end on 31 January 2016. Operation Smile-II is a campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. It is a follow up of the exercise Operation Smile that helped in rescuing and rehabilitating 9,146 missing children.

Similarly, another dedicated campaign titled Operation Muskaan was launched in the month of July 2015 throughout the country. About 19,742 children were rescued and rehabilitated under this operation.

News 8 - World Bank approved 1.5 billion US dollar loan to support Clean India Campaign.

The World Bank on 15 December 2015 approved a 1.5 billion US dollar loan for the ambitious Clean India Campaign (Swachh Bharat Mission). The loan was granted to support the government in its efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019.

The loan will be used for Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Support Operation Project. Swachh Bharat Mission, launched on 2 October 2014 by the Government of India, plans to construct 12 crore toilets in rural India by October 2019, at a projected cost of 1.96 lakh crore rupees.

News 9 - Lok Sabha passed Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

The Lok Sabha on 14 December 2015 passed the landmark Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The bill seeks to overcome difficulties encountered in the setting up of new nuclear projects and enhancement of nuclear power generation. This bill was passed with a voice vote from both treasury as well as opposition benches. It will now be referred to Rajya Sabha for ratification.

News 10 - Government of India signed MoU to establish three IIITs on PPP mode.

The Union Government on 12 December 2015 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and documentation for establishing three Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) at Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune. These IIITs are operated on a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode with participation of State Government and Industry, apart from the Union Government.

News 11 - Construction work of TAPI Gas Pipeline started.

Construction work on the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) Gas Pipeline project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015. This pipeline will carry gas from the Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan to the Indian town of Fazilka, in Punjab, near the Pakistan-India border.

These four countries signed the TAPI gas pipeline (also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline) deal in September 2010. It is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at an estimated cost of 10 billion US dollars. It will become operational by 2018.

News 12 - India and Japan inked three agreements for cooperation in Railway Sector.

MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on cooperation and assistance in the Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (Bullet Train Project) − This project is a 508 Kilometer railway line costing a total of 97,636 crore rupees. It will be implemented in a period of seven years.

Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between Ministry of Railways and MLIT, Japan on technological cooperation.

Areas of cooperation include −

Railway Safety and Electrification.
Rolling stock including train sets/EMUs.
Information sharing for station development and land value capture.
Information sharing for environment friendly sanitation technology in trains.

MoU on technological cooperation between RDSO and Railway Technical Research Institute Japan.

Safety in train operation.
Advanced techniques of maintenance.
Use of environment friendly technologies.
Throughput enhancement measures.

News 13 - DAC approved purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 18 December 2015 has approved the purchase of 5 Russian advance S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile Systems from Russia at an estimated cost of 40,000 crore rupees. The approval was given by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar during DAC meeting in New Delhi.

This system is capable of destroying incoming hostile missiles, aircraft and even drones within a range of up to 400 kms and can take on up to 36 targets at a range of over 150 kilometers.

News 14 - PM Narendra Modi inaugurates top Police Officers' Conference in Gujarat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formally inaugurated the All-India Conference of Directors General of Police (AICDGPs) at Dhordo in White Rann of Kutch region near Bhuj, Gujarat. This three day conference was inaugurated in the presence of Union Minister for Home, Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Home, Kiran Rijju and Haribhai Patel.

News 15 - Union Government launched IPV injection as part of Global Polio Endgame Strategy.

As a part of its commitment to the Global Polio Endgame Strategy, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda launched the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). The first phase of this vaccine will be introduced in six states, viz Assam, Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.

IPV will roll-out to 126 countries, which are only using OPV in the National program and it will be the largest and fastest globally-coordinated vaccine introduction project in history.

News 16 - Union Government launches GIAN Scheme to boost higher education.

Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) Scheme to boost the quality of higher education in India. GIAN Scheme aims at improving the quality of higher education in the country through international collaboration.

These courses will vary in duration from one to three weeks depending on the subject and will be free for students of the host institution and available at a nominal fee for others. These courses will be web-casted live for students across the country through web portal www.gian.iitkgp.ac.in, which is designed by IIT Kharagpur.

News 17 - President gave nod to Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to allow women to work in night shifts.

President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 December 2015 gave assent to Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2015 of Maharashtra. Among other things, the bill amends Section 66(1)(c) of the Factories Act, 1948 that restricts women from working at a factory between 7 PM and 6 AM.

News 18 - Lok Sabha passed bill to establish BIS as National Standards Body.

The Lok Sabha on 3 December 2015 passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as a National Standards Body.

News 19 - First India International Science Festival began at IIT-Delhi.

The first India International Science Festival (IISF) began on 4 December 2015 at IIT-Delhi. The five day festival will explore ways to translate academic research into industrial applications benefiting the common man and encourage culmination of scientific temperament among youngsters, especially school children.

News 20 - NTC signed Integrity Pact with Transparency International India.

National Textile Corporation (NTC) Limited on 3 November 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Transparency International India (TII) for adopting Integrity Pact (IP).

With this signing, NTC became the 51st Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and 49th Central PSU to sign a MoU with TII. This Integrity Pact ensures that all activities and transactions between a Company or Government Department and their Suppliers are handled in a fair, transparent and corruption-free manner. It also prohibits any kind of bribing, favor or any other unethical practice, which is closely monitored by honorary Independent External Monitors (IEMs).

News 21 - YouTube opens first video production studio in India.

YouTube along with Subhash Ghai-owned film school, Whistling Woods International, has opened its first video production studio in the country called YouTube Spaces. Through this collaboration, India’s popular upcoming YouTube creators, as well as their students, will have free access to Whistling Woods’ studios, high-end audio, visual and editing equipment, in addition to training programs, workshops and community events.

News 22 - GAIL, ISRO launch satellite based portal to monitor pipelines.

GAIL (India) Limited in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre, a unit of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has launched a surveillance geo-portal – ‘Bhuvan-GAIL Portal’ – that utilizes space technology for its pipeline safety application. The launch took place in the presence of B.C. Tripathi, Chairman GAIL (India) Ltd, V.K. Dadhwal, Director NRSC, ISRO and senior officials from GAIL and ISRO.

News 23 - Cochin Shipyard launches fast patrol vessels for Coast Guard.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd has launched the nineteenth of the 20 Fast Patrol Vessels being built for the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel was named “ICGS Atulya”. As on date, 15 ships out of 20 have been handed over to the Indian Coast Guard.

News 24 - India and Japan exchanged 16 documents; Reached Agreement on Civil Nuclear Energy.

India and Japan on 12 December 2015 exchanged 16 bilateral documents including agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation. Besides, both the sides issued Joint Statement on India and Japan Vision 2025: Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World.

News 25 - National Commission for Safai Karamcharis recommended to make it a Permanent and Statutory Body.

National Commission for Safai Karamcharis presented its Annual Report 2014-15 to the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawar Chand Gehlot on 11 December 2015. It was constituted on 12 August 1994.

In its Annual Report, the Commission has made following important recommendations −

Make the Commission a permanent and statutory body with powers of Civil Court to lend it more credibility.
The Contract system should be abolished and payment ensured of minimum wages for Safai Karamcharis.
Death victims among Safai Karamcharis should be compensated with a minimum of 10 lakh rupees as has already been ordered by the Supreme Court.

News 26 - UNESCO designated Varanasi and Jaipur as members of Creative Cities Network.

Two Indian cities, Varanasi and Jaipur, on 11 December 2015 have made it to the Creative City Network of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the first time ever. Varanasi and Jaipur made it to the network in the categories, City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art respectively.

UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, announced the designation of 47 cities from 33 countries as new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

News 27 - Rajya Sabha passed SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2015.

Rajya Sabha on 21 December 2015 passed the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2015. The bill seeks to amend the SC &ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Lok Sabha passed this bill in August 2015.

These bills adds new offences, namely (a) Garlanding with footwear, (b) Compelling to dispose or carry human or animal carcasses, or do manual scavenging, (c) Abusing SCs or STs by caste name in public, (d) Attempting to promote feelings of ill-will against SCs or STs or disrespecting any deceased person held in high esteem, and (e) Imposing or threatening a social or economic boycott.

News 28 - Union Cabinet approved 4000 crore rupees proposal for shipbuilding and ship repair industry.

Highlights of the proposal

To counter the cost-disadvantages, the government will grant a financial assistance of 20 percent of the contract price or the fair price, whichever is lower following the delivery of the ship.
The assistance will be reduced by 3 percent in every three years and will be given for all types of ships.
This policy will be in force for ten years. The implementation of this policy would require budgetary support of 4000 crore rupees over ten years.
The proposals also include grant of a Right of First Refusal for Indian shipyards for government purchases; tax incentives and grant of infrastructure status for shipbuilding and ship repair industry.

News 29 - Operationalize Organized Crimes Investigation Agency by 1 December 2016: SC.

The Supreme Court on 9 December 2015 asked the Union Government to operationalize the Organized Crimes Investigating Agency (OCIA) by 1 December 2016. OICA will probe human trafficking cases across the nation. The direction was given by Supreme Court bench headed by Justice AR Dave and comprising of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph.

News 30 - Lok Sabha passed Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

The Bill seeks to amend the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 to remove the archaic provisions from the 133 year old legislations. Indian Trusts Act, 1882 regulates the functioning of private trusts and trustees in India. It also outlines the procedure for investment of surplus funds of the trust for future use.

It seeks to do away with the seven categories of securities in which trust money can be invested as stated in the Act.
It enables the Union Government to notify securities or class of securities for investment by trusts.
It states to take consent of any person, who is competent to contract and entitled to receive the trust income for his life.
It also outlines the manner in which surplus funds of the trust may be invested for future use of the trust.
It deletes all the other investment avenues specified in the Act.

News 31 - Union Cabinet approved amendments in the National Waterways Bill, 2015.

These amendments provide enacting a Central Legislation to declare 106 additional inland waterways as national waterways. After the inclusion of these 106 additional inlands waterways to the existing five national waterways, the total number of national waterways will go up to 111. The right over the use of water, river bed and the appurtenant land will remain with the State Government. The expeditious declaration of National Waterways and its subsequent development will enhance the industrial growth and tourism potential of the hinterland along the waterway.

News 32 - Union Cabinet approved Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015.

The salient features of the Bill are −

Applicable both for commercial and residential real estate projects.
Establishment of ‘Real Estate Regulatory Authority’ in States/UTs to regulate real estate transactions.
Registration of real estate projects and real estate agents with the Authority.
Mandatory disclosure of all registered projects, including details of the promoter, project, layout plan, land status, approvals, agreements along with details of real estate agents, contractors, architect, structural engineer etc.
Deposit of specified amount in a separate bank account to cover the construction cost of the project for timely completion of the project.
Establishment of fast track dispute resolution mechanisms for settlement of disputes through adjudicating officers and Appellate Tribunal.
Civil courts jurisdiction prohibited from taking up matters defined in Bill, however, consumer court allowed to hear real estate matters.
Promoters barred from changing plans and design without consent of consumers.
Provision of Appropriate Government to make rules for the matters specified in the Bill, and the Regulatory Authority to make necessary regulations.

News 33 - Centre sets up `SETU’ to support start-up businesses.

A mechanism known as SETU to support all aspects of start-up businesses and other self- employment activities has been set up by the government.

The Minister said the Department of Electronics and Information Technology is implementing a scheme entitled ’Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs’ (TIDE) under which 147 start—ups have been supported at 25 TIDE centres established in premier institutes like IITs, NITs, IIMs etc.

News 34 - Indo-Russia bilateral naval exercise Indra Navy-15 began in Visakhapatnam.

Indo-Russia bilateral maritime exercise Indra Navy 2015 commenced on 7 December 2015 in Visakhapatnam. The 8th edition of Indra Naval Exercise was conducted in the Bay of Bengal till 12 December 2015. In the current exercise, Indian Navy is represented by INS Sahyadri, INS Ranvijay and INS Shakti.

News 35 - SC directed State and UT Governments to consider acid-attack victims under Disabled Quota.

The Supreme Court bench of Justice MY Eqbal and Justice C Nagappan on 7 December 2015 directed State and Union Territory (UT) Governments to consider acid-attack victims under the disabled quota. The decision was made to make sure that the acid-attack survivors can be able to get reservations in government jobs as well as education benefits as disabled person.

News 36 - India’s first indigenously designed & built warship INS Godavari decommissioned.

India’s first indigenously designed and built warship, Indian Navy Service (INS) Godavari was on 23 December 2015 decommissioned in the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. It was commissioned into the Navy on 10 December 1983.

It was the lead ship of her class of three guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy. The other two warships are INS Ganga and INS Gomati. Over its 32 years of service, it was successfully deployed in numerous operations.

37) North India's first cable bridge inaugurated at Basohali town of J&K

The Basohali town which is located in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir was in news on 24 December 2015 as the Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar dedicated the first cable-stayed bridge of North India to the nation.

Key details related to Basohli Cable-Bridge

The 592-metre bridge was constructed over river Ravi on Dunera- Basohli-Bhadharwah road.
It would provide close connectivity between three northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
It was constructed by Border Roads Organization (BRO) at a cost of 145 crore rupees.

Other three major cable-stayed bridges in India

Vidyasagar	Over the Hoogly River in Kolkata
Bandra-Worli Sea Link	Mumbai
New Yamuna Bridge	Over Yamuna River in Allahabad

News 38 - Lok Sabha passed The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

The Lok Sabha on 22 December 2015 passed The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.

Provisions of the Bill

It seeks to raise the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from a salary of 10000 rupees to 21000 rupees a month.
It seeks to raise this calculation ceiling of bonus to 7000 rupees per month or as per the minimum wage notified for the employment under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (whichever is higher).
It will have retrospective effect and will come into force on 1 April 2016.

News 39 - Union Government launched two Mobile Apps for Farmers.

Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh on 23 December 2015 launched two mobile apps namely Crop Insurance and AgriMarket Mobile for farmers.

These apps were launched to celebrate the birth anniversary of former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Choudhary Charan Singh. Their birthday will be celebrated by organizing Kishan Jai Vigyan Week.

The Mobile app Crop Insurance will help the farmers not only to find out complete details about insurance cover available in their area, but also to get details of normal sum insured, extended sum insured, premium details and subsidy information of any notified crop in any notified area.

Mobile app AgriMarket Mobile can be used by the farmers to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 kms radius of the device and other mandis in the country. The prevailing prices are fetched from the Agmarknet portal.

News 40 - Cow named as Yahoo's Personality of the Year.

Search engine giant Yahoo on 21 December 2015 named Cow as the Personality of the Year 2015.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal were among the top newsmakers of 2015.
The rise of ISIS, 2015 World Cup, APJ Abdul Kalam's demise, the Sheena Bora Murder investigation and the Vyapam Scandal featured on the list of Most searched news / events in 2015.
In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained the Most Searched Politician in 2015 too.
Barack Obama's India visit, AAP's landslide victory in the Delhi elections, Lalitgate and Bihar’s Mahagatbandhan were among the Top 10 Political Moments of the Year.
Sunny Leone fetched the top position as the Most Searched Female Celebrity for the fourth year in a row. Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone took the second and third slots respectively.
Among the male celebrities, Salman Khan claimed the top spot, while singer-rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh came in second.

News 41 - Union HRD Ministry launched the 6th All India Survey on Higher Education.

The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Zubin Irani on 21 December 2015 launched the 6th All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) in New Delhi. She represents the state of Gujarat as a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha.

The major findings of the AISHE 2014-15 are :

Increase in overall enrolment from 27.5 million in 2010-11 to 33.3 million in 2014-15.
Improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratio which is a ratio of enrolment in higher education to population in the eligible age group (18-23) years from 19.4 percent on 2010-11 to 23.6 percent in 2014-15.
Gender Parity Index (GPI), a ratio of proportional representation of female and male, has marginally improved from 0.86 to 0.93 to the corresponding period.
Number of institutions of higher education listed on AISHE portal has also increased significantly – universities from 621 to 757 and colleges from 32974 to 38056 during the period.

News 42 - Cochin Shipyard Limited became first licensed Indian shipyard to make LNG Ships.

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on 21 December 2015 received certification to build LNG-transporting ships for any client world-wide making it the first shipyard in India to get the nod.

Thís shipyard successfully completed a Mark-III Flex Mock-Up, which has been certified by Gaztransport et Technigaz (GTT), France, thereby completing all requirements to be licensed by GTT.

About LNG Vessels

LNG Vessels are very complex ships and only a few yards in the world have the capability to build these ships. The most critical aspect of an LNG ship is its cryogenic containment and handling system as the LNG is carried at a temperature of -163 degrees. This requires fool- proof cryogenic containment and safe handling and transfer system.

News 43 - Rajya Sabha passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015.

Rajya Sabha on 22 December 2015 passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015. With this passage, the bill awaits the President’s nod to be qualified as an act. Most importantly, the Bill permits juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences. Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) will be constituted in each district.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires all signatory countries to treat every child under the age of 18 years as equal. The provision of trying a juvenile as an adult contravenes the Convention.

News 44 - Union Cabinet approved Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1A.

Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 December 2015 approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1 A. To be developed at an expenditure of 6928 crore rupees, the project will cover a length of 22.878 km with 22 stations.

The project will be implemented by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC), which will be reconstituted into a 50:50 jointly owned company of Union Government and Government of Uttar Pradesh.

The project will come under the legal framework of

The Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978.
The Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002.
The Railways Act, 1989, as amended from time to time.

News 45 - CCEA approved 3000-crore rupees scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 22 December 2015 gave its approval for implementation of an umbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries. The scheme will be implemented at an outlay of 3000 crore rupees, for a period of five years.

It will cover development and management of inland fisheries, aquaculture, marine fisheries and all activities undertaken by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) towards realizing Blue Revolution.

News 46 - Reliance Defence signs $6 billion pact with Russian arms firm as Modi visits Moscow.

Reliance Defence said on Thursday it had signed a manufacturing and maintenance deal potentially worth $6 billion with Russia's Almaz-Antey.

News 47 - Modi inaugurates new Afghan Parliament built by India in Kabul.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 December 2015 inaugurated Afghanistan’s newly-built Parliament House in Kabul.

The house was entirely built by India’s government owned construction agency Central Public Works Department (CPWD) at an estimated cost of 90 million US dollars. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh in August 2005.

The Parliament Block has two large assembly halls to accommodate the Wolesi Jirga (the House of the People) and the Meshrano Jirga (the Upper House). A block in the Parliament House was named after former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

News 48 - Indian Oil, Oil India sign MoU with Rosneft.

Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India Ltd have signed a memorandum of understanding with Russian national oil company Rosneft for cooperation in geologic survey, exploration and production of hydrocarbons in select onshore areas in Russia.

The MoU document was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia. In all, 16 agreements were signed between Indian and Russian firms in the field of nuclear energy, hydrocarbon, defence and other sectors.

News 49 - India, Russia signed 16 pacts to deepen bilateral cooperation.

India and Russia on 24 December 2015 signed 16 Agreements/Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to deepen bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, security, technology, etc. The pacts were signed after the conclusion of the 16th India-Russia Annual Summit in Moscow. The theme of the summit was Shared Trust, New Horizons.

News 50 - Union Government announced 4 new IT-based initiatives for citizen-centric health services.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda on 25 December 2015 announced 4 new Information Technology-based initiatives to provide citizen-centric health services. The initiatives include three applications, namely, Kilkari, Mobile Academy and M-Cessation and a dedicated toll free number 1800-11–6666 which will provide round the clock counselling and treatment support services for TB patients.

News 51 - Seychelles Govt allows India to build Naval Base on its Assumption Island.

Seychelles government allowed India to build its first Naval Base on the Assumption Island in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) as a joint project between both countries.

News 52 - Union Govt brings 376 drugs under the NLEM.

The Union Government has added 106 drugs including that of HIV/AIDS, Cancer and Hepatitis C to the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). Apart from that 70 medicines were deleted from the list. With this total number of essential medicines in the list has gone up to 376 from earlier 348 medicines. This move will ensure their availability across the country at affordable prices.

News 53 - Civil Aviation Ministry gave clearance for four greenfield airports.

The Civil Aviation Ministry on 28 December 2015 gave clearance for four greenfield airports - three airports in Andhra Pradesh and one international airport at Dholera, Gujarat.

Greenfield Airport means a new airport, which is built from scratch in a new location, because the existing airport is unable to meet the projected requirements of traffic. The projects which are modified or upgraded from existing facilities are called Brownfield Projects.

News 54 - Russia tied up with HAL to manufacture Kamov 226T helicopters.

Russia's Rostech State Corporation on 29 December 2015 tied up with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture at least 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters. The Kamov will replace the ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak.

The deal is estimated to be worth 1 billion US dollars and is the first Russian-Indian high-tech project implemented by the Indian government within the framework of the Make in India initiative.

News 55 - CCEA approved Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for textiles industry.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 30 December 2015 approved the introduction of Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) in place of the existing Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (RR-TUFS), for technology upgradation of the textiles industry.

The implementation of this scheme will be executed and monitored online under iTUFS, launched in April 2015.

News 56 - Union Cabinet approves Raptor MoU for conservation of migratory birds of prey.

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia.

This MoU is also called as the ‘Raptor MoU’ under the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS). By signing this, India will become the 54th signatory to the MoU.

News 57 - Union Govt approves constitution of 69 bridges on 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. Budget for constructing these 69 Bridges is 371.58 crore rupees. It will improve connectivity between India and Myanmar for movement of goods and traffic.

News 58 - Union Govt unveils National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020.

Union Government has unveiled National Biotechnology Development Strategy (NBDS) 2015-2020 to establish India as a world-class bio-manufacturing hub. It was unveiled by the Union Science and Technology Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi.

News 59 - India received first consignment of uranium from Canada.

India on 4 December 2015 received its first uranium consignment of about 2730 tonnes from Canada. The uranium is shipped to India for the country’s nuclear power reactors.

The consignment was shipped by Canada’s Cameco Inc, which entered into a contract with India’s Department of Atomic Energy during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ottawa in 2015. As part of the agreement signed in April 2015, Canadian Cameco Corporation will supply 7.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate to India till 2020. The deal is worth 350 million US dollars.

News 60 - Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Germany for Solar Energy.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 November 2015 approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Germany to expand bilateral development cooperation in the field of Solar Energy.

Under this agreement, Germany would provide concessional loans in the range of one billion Euros over the next five years through Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW). These funds from KfW will also be utilized for providing soft loans to the end-users through partner banks.

News 61 - Union Cabinet approved MoU with Israel on water resources management and development cooperation.

The Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 December 2015 gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Israel in the field of water resources management and development cooperation.

News 62 - Union Cabinet approved DTAC agreement with Japan.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 December 2015 approved signing and ratification of Protocol between India and Japan for amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) in order to facilitate tax-related exchange of information.

DTAC was signed between the two countries in 1989 for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion through a protocol.

News 63 - India, France launched International Solar Alliance.

India and France on 30 November 2015 launched the International Solar Alliance in Paris. The alliance was launched jointly by PM Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande during the United Nations climate change conference (COP21).

The alliance also invited all countries located fully or partly between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to join the group. It will function from the National Institute of Solar Energy in India, Gurgaon.